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<h1>THE<br />
MYSTERIES OF ALL NATIONS:</h1>

<h3>RISE AND PROGRESS OF SUPERSTITION,</h3>

<h3>LAWS AGAINST AND TRIALS OF WITCHES,</h3>

<h3>ANCIENT AND MODERN DELUSIONS,</h3>

<h4>TOGETHER WITH</h4>

<h3>Strange Customs, Fables, and Tales</h3>

<h4>RELATING TO</h4>

<p>MYTHOLOGY&mdash;DAYS AND WEEKS&mdash;MIRACLES&mdash;POETS AND SUPERSTITION&mdash;MONARCHS, PRIESTS, AND
PHILOSOPHERS&mdash;DRUIDS&mdash;DEMONOLOGY&mdash;MAGIC AND ASTROLOGY&mdash;DIVINATION&mdash;SIGNS, OMENS,
AND WARNINGS&mdash;AMULETS AND CHARMS&mdash;TRIALS BY ORDEAL&mdash;CURSES AND EVIL
WISHES&mdash;DREAMS AND VISIONS&mdash;SUPERSTITION IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.</p>

<h2><span class="smcap">By</span> JAMES GRANT.</h2>

<p class="center">LEITH: REID &amp; SON, 35 <span class="smcap">Shore</span>.</p>

<p class="center">EDINBURGH: W. PATERSON. LONDON: SIMPKIN, MARSHALL, AND CO.</p>

<p class="center">[THE RIGHT OF TRANSLATION IS RESERVED.]</p>

<p class="center">REID AND SON, PRINTERS, LEITH.</p>



<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<p><a name="Page_iii" id="Page_iii"></a></p>

<h2><a name="PREFACE" id="PREFACE"></a>PREFACE.</h2>


<p>In whatever light this work may be regarded by arch&aelig;ologists
and general readers, the writer submits it to the
public, chiefly as the result of antiquarian research, and
actual observation during a period of nearly forty years.
The writer does not attempt to define what superstition
is, either in its broadest or most literal sense; but, as he
desires the expression to be understood, it may be considered
to imply a fear of the Evil One and his emissaries,
a trust in benign spirits and saints, a faith in occult
science, and a belief that a conjunction of certain planets
or other inanimate bodies is capable of producing supernatural
effects, either beneficial or prejudicial to man.
Superstition, generally so called, has run through a course
of ages from sire to son, leaving it still deeply rooted in
the minds of many of the present generation.</p>

<p>Not a few seeming repetitions in this work are not
such in reality, but are instances brought forward to
mark the resemblance between the opinions prevalent in
past and present times, and to illustrate the similarity of
perverted views in various parts of the world.</p>

<p>The examples of superstition herein given are taken
from an almost unlimited number, yet the writer confesses
to have omitted many interesting particulars. In
proof of this it may be stated, that while the last sheet
of these pages was being revised, an esteemed friend<a name="Page_iv" id="Page_iv"></a>
wrote, saying: "I can quite corroborate what you say
of Ireland; for lately, on my way from Macroom to
Glengariff, at a weird mountain pass, the coach stopped
to enable us to visit the hermitage of St. Finbar. There,
beside a lonely lake, I saw a number of devotees, afflicted
with various ailments, expecting to be healed through
the good offices of the departed saint."</p>

<p>In spite of a determination to omit unimportant
matter and to be concise, this volume has swelled out
far beyond what was originally intended. The more the
subject of superstition is studied, the more interesting
it becomes. One judges of a nation's strength by its
victories, of its industry by its products, of its wealth
by its mines and cultivated fields, of its domestic condition
by its diet and dress, of its moral condition by its
laws, of its religion and intelligence by its literature;
but before obtaining full knowledge of a people's convictions,
it is necessary to search into their superstitions.
In these are discovered the secrets of man's inner life, and
by these also have been forged strong fetters, which have
kept his soul in thraldom for ages.</p>

<p>If the author has succeeded in pointing out, that,
notwithstanding the progress of science and the advancement
of civilisation and Christianity, some of the darker
shadows that have disfigured past ages are still floating
over a portion of our social horizon, he feels his labour
will not have been altogether in vain. Like many of the
ghosts alluded to in the following pages, that of superstition
needs only the continued light of day to shine upon
it, in order to make it vanish for ever.</p>

<p><i>January 1880</i>.</p>



<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<p><a name="Page_v" id="Page_v"></a></p>
<h2><a name="CONTENTS" id="CONTENTS"></a>CONTENTS.</h2>

<hr style='width: 45%;' />

<p class="center">
<a href="#THE_RISE_AND_PROGRESS_OF_SUPERSTITION"><b>THE RISE AND PROGRESS OF SUPERSTITION.</b></a><br />
<br />
<a href="#CHAPTER_I"><b>CHAPTER I.</b></a><br />
</p>

<ul class="toc">
<li>&nbsp;<span class="ralign">PAGE</span></li>
<li><p>
Rise and Progress of Superstition&mdash;The Serpent&mdash;Cain's Departure
from the true Worship&mdash;Worship of the Sun, Moon, and Stars&mdash;Strange
Story of Abraham&mdash;The Gods of Antiquity&mdash;Ether,
Air, Land, and Water filled with living Souls&mdash;Guardian Angel&mdash;Cause
of the Flood&mdash;Magic&mdash;How the Jews deceived the
Devil&mdash;A Witch not permitted to live&mdash;Diviners, Enchanters,
Consulters with familiar Spirits, and Necromancers proved a
Snare to Nations&mdash;Charms worn by the Jews&mdash;Singular
Customs and Belief&mdash;Prognostication&mdash;Allegorical Emblems&mdash;Marriage
Customs&mdash;Ceremonies at Death and Burials&mdash;Divination
among all Nations&mdash;Observers of Times&mdash;Opinion
concerning the Celestial Bodies&mdash;Power of Witches&mdash;Wizards&mdash;Necromancers'
Power to call up the Dead<span class="ralign">1</span>
</p></li>
</ul>

<p class="center">
<a href="#CHAPTER_II"><b>CHAPTER II.</b></a><br />
</p>

<ul class="toc">
<li><p>
Men endowed with Prophetic Spirits&mdash;The Jews forbidden to
consult the Oracles of the Heathen&mdash;Schools of Prophets&mdash;Influence
of Music&mdash;The Prophetic Mantle&mdash;Way Revelations
were made&mdash;Bath Kol&mdash;Urim and Thummim&mdash;False
Prophets Strangled or Stoned&mdash;Diabolical Art&mdash;Moloch&mdash;Seething
a Kid in its Mother's Milk&mdash;The Smooth Stones
mentioned by Isaiah&mdash;Sheep-head and Sheep-head Broth&mdash;Casting
Sins into the Sea&mdash;Fasting among the Pharisees&mdash;Dust
of Heathen Countries&mdash;The number 10&mdash;Angels that had the
Care of Men&mdash;Predictions by Hebrew Women&mdash;Punishment in
the Grave<span class="ralign">10</span>
</p></li>
</ul>

<p class="center">
<a href="#CHAPTER_III"><b>CHAPTER III.</b></a><br />
</p>

<ul class="toc">
<li><p>
Egypt steeped in Superstition&mdash;Power of Magicians&mdash;Obtaining
Visions&mdash;Demons&mdash;Departed Heroes&mdash;Gods and Demi-gods&mdash;Altars<a name="Page_vi" id="Page_vi"></a>
or Living Stones&mdash;Sacred Animals&mdash;Isis searching for
Osiris&mdash;Leeks and Onions&mdash;Priests, Physicians, and Interpreters
of Oracles&mdash;Sacrificing Human Victims&mdash;Wax Figures&mdash;Magic&mdash;Teaching
of the Egyptian Priests&mdash;Transmigration<span class="ralign">14</span>
</p></li>
</ul>

<p class="center">
<a href="#CHAPTER_IV"><b>CHAPTER IV.</b></a><br />
</p>

<ul class="toc">
<li>
<p>Babylon&mdash;The Chaldeans&mdash;Downfall of Babylon predicted&mdash;Worship
of the Medes and Persians&mdash;Sacred Fire&mdash;The Gaures&mdash;Births
and Deaths in Early Times&mdash;A Narrow Bridge&mdash;An
Immense Tree&mdash;Creation of Prophets&mdash;A Stone to which
Abraham tied his Camel&mdash;Adam and Eve's Trysting Place&mdash;Black
Art&mdash;Ways of discovering whether a supposed Criminal
was Guilty or Innocent&mdash;Looking into Futurity&mdash;Canaanites,
Syrians, and Arabians&mdash;Strange Fables&mdash;Abraham breaking
Heathen Idols&mdash;Altars&mdash;Religion of the Carthagenians and
Tyrians&mdash;Supremacy of the Gods<span class="ralign">20</span>
</p></li>
</ul>

<p class="center">
<a href="#CHAPTER_V"><b>CHAPTER V.</b></a><br />
</p>

<ul class="toc">
<li><p>
Greek Religion and Superstition&mdash;Jupiter regarded as the
President of the Law and Protector of Cities&mdash;Dreams and
Charms&mdash;Sacred Stones&mdash;Omens of Evil&mdash;Sacrificing the Hair&mdash;Flight
of Birds&mdash;Compassing the Altar to the Right&mdash;Love
secured by Magic&mdash;Marriage Ceremonies&mdash;Way of protecting a
Child from Evil Spirits&mdash;Divers Magical Ceremonies&mdash;Laws as
to Dead Bodies&mdash;Fingers and Toes of Dead Men worn as
Charms&mdash;Preparing a Body for Burial&mdash;Swine and Swine's
Flesh&mdash;Drinking Toasts&mdash;Prophets consulted before Armies
marched to Battle&mdash;Certain Words avoided&mdash;Sneezing&mdash;Evil
Omens&mdash;Throwing a Person overboard to save a Ship<span class="ralign">26</span>
</p></li>
</ul>

<p class="center">
<a href="#CHAPTER_VI"><b>CHAPTER VI.</b></a><br />
</p>

<ul class="toc">
<li><p>
Roman Delusions and Customs&mdash;Tokens of Futurity&mdash;Drawing
of Lots&mdash;Events foretold by reading the first passage that
turned up on opening a Book&mdash;Lucky and Unlucky Stars&mdash;Fortune-tellers&mdash;Dreams&mdash;Omens
drawn from the Appearance of
parts of Animals offered in Sacrifice&mdash;Sibylline Books, Charms,
and Incantations&mdash;Spirits observers of Men's Actions&mdash;Unlucky
Days&mdash;Dress of a Bride&mdash;Anointing Door-posts and crossing
the Threshold&mdash;Fire and Water&mdash;Bridal Feast and Nuptial<a name="Page_vii" id="Page_vii"></a>
Songs&mdash;Funeral Rites&mdash;Souls of Unburied Persons&mdash;Customs
at a Deathbed, and Funeral Observances&mdash;Hobgoblins&mdash;Purifying
with Water and Fire&mdash;Appeasing the Manes&mdash;Dead
Bodies used for Magical purposes<span class="ralign">34</span>
</p></li>
</ul>

<p class="center">
<a href="#CHAPTER_VII"><b>CHAPTER VII.</b></a><br />
</p>

<ul class="toc">
<li><p>
Ethiopian Superstition&mdash;Heathen Indian Gods&mdash;Superstitious
Observances at Marriages&mdash;Disposal of Dead Bodies&mdash;Different
Degrees of Glory after Death&mdash;Reverence for the Cow&mdash;Detecting
Criminals&mdash;Addressing Oracles&mdash;Astronomy&mdash;Eclipse of
the Moon&mdash;Magic&mdash;John Gondalez<span class="ralign">39</span>
</p></li>
</ul>

<p class="center">
<a href="#CHAPTER_VIII"><b>CHAPTER VIII.</b></a><br />
</p>

<ul class="toc">
<li><p>
Wizard and Man-tiger&mdash;Man-lion&mdash;Sacrificing Children&mdash;Offerings
to the Ganges&mdash;A Rajah offering himself as a Sacrifice&mdash;Various
Superstitious Ceremonies&mdash;King's Wives and Retainers
going with the Dead Monarch into another World&mdash;An eternal
Succession of Worlds&mdash;Apes supposed to have Human Souls&mdash;Worshipping
Demons&mdash;Drinking Blood&mdash;Prognosticating
from the Cries of Beasts&mdash;Witchcraft and Magic&mdash;Singular
Opinions and Customs&mdash;Foretelling Future Events at the New
Moon&mdash;Discovering a False Swearer&mdash;Offerings to the Sea and
Winds&mdash;Superstition in China&mdash;Superstition in Japan<span class="ralign">48</span>
</p></li>
</ul>

<hr style='width: 45%;' />

<p class="center">
<a href="#THE_GODS_AND_GODDESSES_OF_HEATHEN_NATIONS"><b>HEATHEN GODS AND GODDESSES.</b></a><br />
<br />
<a href="#CHAPTER_IX"><b>CHAPTER IX.</b></a><br />
</p>

<ul class="toc">
<li><p>
Classification of Gods and Goddesses&mdash;Primeval Parent
Chaos&mdash;Creation&mdash;Influence of Ether&mdash;Celestial Fire&mdash;Birth and
Banishment of Cupid&mdash;Fate&mdash;Eternal Decrees&mdash;Throne of
Jove&mdash;Fortune and Happiness&mdash;Misfortune and Misery&mdash;Rewards
and Punishments&mdash;First Man and Woman&mdash;Pan the
Emblem of all Things&mdash;Power of Heathen Gods&mdash;Descriptions
of Juno&mdash;Venus the Goddess of Love and Beauty&mdash;Rustics
turned into Frogs&mdash;Vulcan&mdash;&AElig;olus&mdash;Momus the Jester&mdash;The
Carping God<span class="ralign">59</span>
</p></li>
</ul>

<p class="center"><a name="Page_viii" id="Page_viii"></a>
<a href="#CHAPTER_X"><b>CHAPTER X.</b></a><br />
</p>

<ul class="toc">
<li><p>
Satyrs described&mdash;Diana's Retirement&mdash;Pallas, the Goddess of
Shepherds&mdash;The vile Flora&mdash;Pomona deceived&mdash;Nymphs&mdash;River
Gods and Goddesses&mdash;Sirens&mdash;Witch Circe&mdash;Infernal
Deities&mdash;Passage to Tartarus&mdash;Palace of Pluto&mdash;Judges of
Hell&mdash;Goddesses of Destiny&mdash;Furies&mdash;Night, Death, and
Sleep&mdash;Tartarian Regions&mdash;Delights of the Elysian Fields&mdash;Festivals
of Heathens&mdash;Sacrifices to Deities&mdash;Things sacred to Gods<span class="ralign">65</span>
</p></li>
</ul>

<p class="center">
<a href="#CHAPTER_XI"><b>CHAPTER XI.</b></a><br />
</p>

<ul class="toc">
<li><p>
Achilles&mdash;Taking of Troy&mdash;Acrisius's Daughter&mdash;Danae and her
son Perseus&mdash;Ardea changed into a Bird&mdash;Pluto's Invisible
Helmet&mdash;Minerva's Buckler&mdash;Mercury's Wings&mdash;Medusa deprived
of Life&mdash;Sea Monster&mdash;A Gorgon's Head&mdash;Stheno and
Euryale&mdash;Minerva's Revenge&mdash;Serpents and Pegasus produced
by Medusa's Blood&mdash;Tales by the Daughters of Minyas&mdash;Punishment
by Bacchus&mdash;The Search of Cadmus for his
sister Europa&mdash;Halcyon's Sorrow&mdash;Transmigration&mdash;Exploits
of Hercules&mdash;Love Potion&mdash;Hymen&mdash;Jason's Adventures&mdash;Power
and Cruelty of Medea&mdash;How a Favourable Wind was
procured&mdash;Manner in which Orion came into Existence&mdash;False
Swearer punished&mdash;Palladium&mdash;Deeds of Paris&mdash;Golden Apple&mdash;Marriage
of Peleus and Thetis&mdash;Impiety of Pentheus&mdash;Rhea
and her Sons&mdash;Scylla turned into a Sea Monster<span class="ralign">71</span>
</p></li>
</ul>

<hr style='width: 45%;' />

<p class="center">
<a href="#MYTHOLOGY_OF_GERMANY_GREAT_BRITAIN_SCANDINAVIA_ETC"><b>MYTHOLOGY OF GERMANY, GREAT BRITAIN, SCANDINAVIA, ETC.</b></a><br />
<br />
<a href="#CHAPTER_XII"><b>CHAPTER XII.</b></a><br />
</p>

<ul class="toc">
<li><p>
Mythology of Germany, Great Britain, and Scandinavia&mdash;The
world Niflheim&mdash;The world Muspelheim&mdash;How Ymir was
created&mdash;The cow Aedhumla&mdash;Ymir's Offspring&mdash;Odin, the
chief God&mdash;Valhalla&mdash;Queen Frigga&mdash;How the Seas, Waters,
Mountains, and Heavens were made&mdash;Chariots and Horses in
Heaven&mdash;Night and Day&mdash;Evil-disposed Maidens&mdash;Creation of
New Beings&mdash;Bridge between Midgard and Asgard&mdash;Sacred
Fountain&mdash;Roots of the ash Yggdrasil&mdash;Baldur's Dreams and<a name="Page_ix" id="Page_ix"></a>
sad End&mdash;Loki, the Evil Spirit&mdash;Hel and her Brothers&mdash;Worship
of Scandinavian Gods&mdash;Norsemen and their Ancient
Gods and Goddesses&mdash;The Volsung Tale&mdash;Odin, Loki, and
H&aelig;nir's Wanderings&mdash;The Sword Gram&mdash;Sigurd's Exploits&mdash;What
the Worshippers of Odin believed&mdash;Frodi's Maidens and
Quern&mdash;Gods of the Laplanders&mdash;Sale of Winds&mdash;Lucky and
Unlucky Days&mdash;Other Superstitions<span class="ralign">85</span>
</p></li>
</ul>

<hr style='width: 45%;' />

<p class="center">
<a href="#NAMES_OF_DAYS_WHENCE_DERIVED"><b>NAMES OF DAYS, WHENCE DERIVED.</b></a><br />
<br />
<a href="#CHAPTER_XIII"><b>CHAPTER XIII.</b></a><br />
</p>

<ul class="toc">
<li><p>
The Calendar&mdash;Names of Days, whence derived&mdash;The Power of
Jupiter&mdash;Influence of Zeus&mdash;The God Indra&mdash;Origin of the
term "Hours"&mdash;Hours under Planetary Control&mdash;Coronation
of a Persian King&mdash;Evils transferred to the Turks and Kafirs&mdash;The
Moon's Controlling Power&mdash;Time reckoned by Moons&mdash;A
Strange Story&mdash;Heathen Gods&mdash;Thor's Palace&mdash;Thor's Power&mdash;Frigga's
Abilities&mdash;Description of Seater or Crodo<span class="ralign">99</span>
</p></li>
</ul>

<hr style='width: 45%;' />

<p class="center">
<a href="#NAMES_OF_MONTHS_WHENCE_DERIVED"><b>NAMES OF MONTHS, WHENCE DERIVED.</b></a><br />
<br />
<a href="#CHAPTER_XIV"><b>CHAPTER XIV.</b></a><br />
</p>

<ul class="toc">
<li><p>
Names of Months, whence derived&mdash;January&mdash;First of January,
how kept&mdash;New Year Gifts&mdash;February&mdash;Sacrifices for purging
Souls&mdash;Second of February&mdash;Virtue of Candles&mdash;Shrove Tuesday&mdash;Eating
Pancakes&mdash;Partaking of Brose&mdash;Choosing a
Valentine&mdash;March&mdash;April dedicated to Venus&mdash;First of May&mdash;May
Poles and May Fires&mdash;Dispute between Men and Gods&mdash;Superstitious
Customs in Scotland&mdash;Superstitious Ceremonies
in England&mdash;June Marriages&mdash;July&mdash;August&mdash;September&mdash;October&mdash;Hallow-e'en
Ceremonies&mdash;December&mdash;Christmas
Trees and Gifts&mdash;The Misletoe&mdash;Privileges in Leap Year&mdash;Yule
Log&mdash;Christmas Festivities<span class="ralign">110</span>
</p></li>
</ul>

<hr style='width: 45%;' />

<p class="center"><a name="Page_x" id="Page_x"></a>
<a href="#MIRACLES_PERFORMED_BY_SAINTS_AND_OTHER_HOLY_PERSONS_AND_THE_INFLUENCE_OF_SACRED_RELICS"><b>MIRACLES PERFORMED BY HOLY PERSONS, AND THE INFLUENCE OF SACRED RELICS.</b></a><br />
<br />
<a href="#CHAPTER_XV"><b>CHAPTER XV.</b></a><br />
</p>

<ul class="toc">
<li><p>
St. Peter, and Simon the Magician&mdash;Clement's Miracles and
Death&mdash;St. Agnes&mdash;A Miraculous Circumstance&mdash;St. Blase's
Power&mdash;St. Agatha's Holy Life&mdash;St. Patrick's Missionary
Labours, and Expulsion of Reptiles from Ireland&mdash;St. Germanus
stilling the Raging of the Sea&mdash;St. David and the Welsh
Leeks&mdash;Stirrup Cup and Origin of "Pledging"&mdash;Elfrida's
Treachery and Remorse&mdash;St. Benedict's Power&mdash;St. Dunstan
cured by an Angel&mdash;The &AElig;olian Harp&mdash;St. Columba's
Prophecy concerning Iona&mdash;Sacred Ducks of Ireland&mdash;St. Paul
binding a Dragon&mdash;Saints and Frogs&mdash;Friars and Jesuits&mdash;Father
Mark proof against Fire&mdash;Virtue of Holy Water&mdash;St.
Noel's Imprecation&mdash;St. Boniface&mdash;Pope Silvester assisted
by Satan&mdash;Necromancing Popes&mdash;St. Januarius's Blood&mdash;St.
Anthony's Conflicts with the Devil&mdash;St. Anthony's Hog and
Bees&mdash;A Tradition concerning Melrose&mdash;St. Cuthbert&mdash;A
Princess swallowed up by the Earth&mdash;Monk Waldevus's
inexhaustible Stores&mdash;Holy Relics&mdash;Rusticus and his Hog<span class="ralign">130</span>
</p></li>
</ul>

<hr style='width: 45%;' />

<p class="center">
<a href="#HOW_THE_POETS_HAVE_FANNED_THE_FLAME_OF_SUPERSTITION"><b>POETS AND SUPERSTITION.</b></a><br />
<br />
<a href="#CHAPTER_XVI"><b>CHAPTER XVI.</b></a><br />
</p>

<ul class="toc">
<li><p>
Prophetic Verse&mdash;The Bardi&mdash;Bards maintained by Noblemen&mdash;Queen
Elizabeth and the Bards&mdash;Effects of Prophetic Sayings
and of Pipe Music&mdash;Messages to another World&mdash;Voices
of Deceased Friends heard in the Gale&mdash;Human Forms in the
Clouds&mdash;Evenings in the Highlands&mdash;Michael Scott&mdash;Constant
Work for Evil Spirits&mdash;Stemming the Tweed&mdash;How the Eildon
Hills were formed&mdash;Ropes of Sand&mdash;Scott and his Magic
Books buried at Melrose&mdash;Ossianic Poems&mdash;Stories by Bards<span class="ralign">150</span>
</p></li>
</ul>

<p class="center">
<a href="#CHAPTER_XVII"><b>CHAPTER XVII.</b></a><br />
</p>

<ul class="toc">
<li><p>
Shakspeare&mdash;An Outline of his Composition&mdash;"The Tempest"&mdash;Miranda
beseeching Prospero to allay the Wild Waters&mdash;Ariel's<a name="Page_xi" id="Page_xi"></a>
Readiness to serve his Master&mdash;The Witch Sycorax&mdash;Caliban's
Evil Wish&mdash;Neptune chased&mdash;"Midsummer Night's
Dream"&mdash;Exploits of a Fairy&mdash;Doings of Puck&mdash;Titania and
her Attendants&mdash;Ghosts and Spirits&mdash;Song&mdash;"Macbeth"&mdash;Weird
Sisters&mdash;Macbeth's Doom&mdash;Witches' Caldron&mdash;Macbeth
admonished by Spirits&mdash;"Antony and Cleopatra"&mdash;Dreadful
Apparition&mdash;King's Death avenged<span class="ralign">161</span>
</p></li>
</ul>

<p class="center">
<a href="#CHAPTER_XVIII"><b>CHAPTER XVIII.</b></a><br />
</p>

<ul class="toc">
<li><p>
The Poet Gay&mdash;The "Spell"&mdash;Hobnelia&mdash;Lubberkin&mdash;Spells
resorted to&mdash;Valentine Day&mdash;Ladybird sent on a Message of
Love&mdash;Virtue of United Garters&mdash;Gipsies' Warnings&mdash;Knives
sever Love&mdash;Story of Boccaccio&mdash;Apparition of a Deceased
Lover&mdash;Poems by Burns&mdash;"Address to the Deil"&mdash;"Tam o'
Shanter"<span class="ralign">173</span>
</p></li>
</ul>

<p class="center">
<a href="#CHAPTER_XIX"><b>CHAPTER XIX.</b></a><br />
</p>

<ul class="toc">
<li><p>
Sir Walter Scott&mdash;His Belief in Superstition&mdash;How his Tales of
Fiction are composed&mdash;A Town-Clerk frightened by an Apparition&mdash;A
Ghost that did not understand Erse, but could communicate
in Latin&mdash;Lovel and Edie Ochiltree&mdash;Discovery of
Hidden Treasure&mdash;"Rob Roy"&mdash;Fairies' Caverns&mdash;Supposed
Apparition in the Trossachs&mdash;Elfin People at the Firth of Forth&mdash;A
Minister taken away by Fairies&mdash;Dame Glendinning's
Tale&mdash;Lines from "Marmion"&mdash;A Fairy Knight&mdash;Mysterious
Steed<span class="ralign">187</span>
</p></li>
</ul>

<p class="center">
<a href="#CHAPTER_XX"><b>CHAPTER XX.</b></a><br />
</p>

<ul class="toc">
<li><p>
Lord Byron taught Superstition&mdash;Byron and the Maid in Green&mdash;Bridge
of Balgonie&mdash;Byron's Fear to ride over it&mdash;His Belief
in Unlucky Days and Presentiments&mdash;Socrates's Demon&mdash;Monk
Lewis's Monitor&mdash;Napoleon's Warnings&mdash;A Sorrowful Tale&mdash;Byron's
Fortune told by a Sibyl&mdash;Hebrew
Camyo&mdash;Abracadabra&mdash;Loch-na-Garr&mdash;Oscar of Alva&mdash;Byron's last Instructions<span class="ralign">197</span>
</p></li>
</ul>

<p class="center">
<a href="#CHAPTER_XXI"><b>CHAPTER XXI.</b></a><br />
</p>

<ul class="toc">
<li><p>
Tale by Hogg, the Ettrick Shepherd&mdash;Aikwood Castle&mdash;The
Witch Henbane&mdash;Imps demanding Work&mdash;Michael Scott&mdash;Curious<a name="Page_xii" id="Page_xii"></a>
Sport&mdash;Dreadful Threat&mdash;Rats transformed into the
form of Men&mdash;Inventor of Gunpowder&mdash;Summoning Evil
Spirits&mdash;Latin the Language best understood by Satin and his
Emissaries&mdash;Holy Signs and Charms&mdash;Effects of a Friar's
Blessing&mdash;Magic Lantern&mdash;Michael Scott's Subscribed Conditions&mdash;Imps'
Song&mdash;Dreadful Storm&mdash;Warlocks' Hymn&mdash;Eildon Hill<span class="ralign">210</span>
</p></li>
</ul>

<p class="center">
<a href="#CHAPTER_XXII"><b>CHAPTER XXII.</b></a><br />
</p>

<ul class="toc">
<li><p>
Allan Ramsay&mdash;"The Gentle Shepherd"&mdash;Bauldy the Clown&mdash;Mause
the reputed Witch&mdash;Praying Backwards&mdash;Sad Misfortunes&mdash;Supposed
Power of the Devil to raise the Wind and
send Rain and Thunder&mdash;Sir William disturbed&mdash;Symon's
Announcement&mdash;Promise to gain a Lassie's Heart&mdash;Witches'
Tricks&mdash;Longfellow's "Golden Legend"&mdash;"Song of Hiawatha"<span class="ralign">218</span>
</p></li>
</ul>

<hr style='width: 45%;' />

<p class="center">
<a href="#MONARCHS_PRIESTS_PHILOSOPHERS_AND_SUPERSTITION"><b>MONARCHS, PRIESTS, PHILOSOPHERS, AND SUPERSTITION.</b></a><br />
<br />
<a href="#CHAPTER_XXIII"><b>CHAPTER XXIII.</b></a><br />
</p>

<ul class="toc">
<li><p>
Superstition&mdash;Commencement of Monarchy in Scotland&mdash;King
Fergus I. crowned on the Fatal Stone of Destiny&mdash;Signs,
Assistance of Spirits, Magicians, and Fortune-tellers&mdash;Natholocus
sends a Friend to consult a Cunning Woman&mdash;Her Prediction&mdash;Constantine
and Maxentius&mdash;A Heavenly Cross&mdash;A
Famous Standard&mdash;Queen Guanora's Grave&mdash;Fear of St.
Martin&mdash;The Church's Belief in Departed Saints&mdash;Relics
venerated&mdash;King bewitched by Witches of Forres&mdash;Evil Signs&mdash;Sea
Monster in the Don&mdash;Kenneth III. killed by an Infernal
Machine&mdash;Virtue of Precious Stones&mdash;Weird Sisters&mdash;Consulting
a Pythoness&mdash;Predictions by Druids&mdash;Domitian's Death
foretold by Astrologers&mdash;Simon Magus&mdash;A Platonic Philosopher&mdash;The
Emperor Julian instructed in Magic<span class="ralign">234</span>
</p></li>
</ul>

<p class="center">
<a href="#CHAPTER_XXIV"><b>CHAPTER XXIV.</b></a><br />
</p>

<ul class="toc">
<li><p>
Louis XI. and the Astrologer&mdash;A King's Enchanted Cap&mdash;David
I. and the Mysterious Stag&mdash;Merlin the Magician&mdash;Prophecies
concerning Queen Elizabeth and Mary&mdash;Dragon<a name="Page_xiii" id="Page_xiii"></a>
Caverns&mdash;Predictions of Evil&mdash;Changing a King's Love&mdash;The
Holy Maid of Kent&mdash;Nobles put to Death for keeping company
with Sorcerers&mdash;James I. of England and the Witches&mdash;Tranent
Witches and Warlocks&mdash;Wise Wife of Keith&mdash;Two
Hundred Witches sailing in Sieves&mdash;Raising Storms&mdash;Witch
and Warlock Convention at Newhaven&mdash;Meeting of Witches
at North Berwick&mdash;Witches tortured in Holyrood&mdash;The Devil's
Mark&mdash;Bothwell's Fortune told&mdash;Witches and their Associates
burned<span class="ralign">242</span>
</p></li>
</ul>

<p class="center">
<a href="#CHAPTER_XXV"><b>CHAPTER XXV.</b></a><br />
</p>

<ul class="toc">
<li><p>
Cromwell in league with the Devil&mdash;Cromwell consulting
Astrologers&mdash;Memorable Days in the Life of Cromwell&mdash;Duke of
Hamilton warned of his Fate&mdash;Peden's Predictions&mdash;Traditions
concerning Peden&mdash;John Brown the Martyr&mdash;Linlithgow Loch
Swans&mdash;Hereford Children&mdash;Great Comet&mdash; Conjunction of
Saturn and Jupiter at Eventful Periods&mdash;Solomon's Power<span class="ralign">254</span>
</p></li>
</ul>

<hr style='width: 45%;' />

<p class="center">
<a href="#THE_DRUIDS"><b>THE DRUIDS.</b></a><br />
<br />
<a href="#CHAPTER_XXVI"><b>CHAPTER XXVI.</b></a><br />
</p>

<ul class="toc">
<li><p>
Druids laid claim to Supernatural Power&mdash;Representations of the
Sun and Moon&mdash;Belief of Druids&mdash;Beltane Feasts&mdash;Arkite and
Sabian Superstition&mdash;Dancing to the Song of the Cuckoo&mdash;Initiation
into the Druidical Mysteries&mdash;The Goodmane's Land
and the Guidman's Fauld&mdash;Offerings to Demi-gods&mdash;Propitiating
Beasts of Prey&mdash;Sacred Cairns&mdash;Trees dedicated to Demons&mdash;Law
forbidding Worship of the Sun, Moon, Fire, Rivers,
Wells, Stones, or Forest Trees&mdash;Extracts from Kirk-Session
Records&mdash;Land dedicated to Satan&mdash;Midsummer and Hallow
Fires forbidden&mdash;Yule-day&mdash;Order of the General Assembly as
to Druidical Customs&mdash;Old Customs ordered to be discontinued<span class="ralign">262</span>
</p></li>
</ul>

<p class="center">
<a href="#CHAPTER_XXVII"><b>CHAPTER XXVII.</b></a><br />
</p>

<ul class="toc">
<li><p>
Dr. Stuart on the Druids&mdash;Their Deities, etc.&mdash;Gauls descendants
of Dis&mdash;Funeral Rites&mdash;Slaves and Clients burned&mdash;What
Pliny says&mdash;Tallies used in making known the Will of Heaven&mdash;Walking<a name="Page_xiv" id="Page_xiv"></a>
through the Fire&mdash;Wonder-working Eggs&mdash;Easter
Eggs represent Druidical Eggs&mdash;Origin of Druids&mdash;Wise Men
of the East were probably Druids&mdash;Island of Iona&mdash;Druidical
Cairns&mdash;Stones of Judgment&mdash;Misletoe regarded as a Charm&mdash;Rings
worn as Preventatives against Witchcraft&mdash;Stonehenge&mdash;Merlin
the Magician&mdash;Stones brought from Africa by Giants&mdash;Graves
of British Lords<span class="ralign">267</span>
</p></li>
</ul>

<hr style='width: 45%;' />

<p class="center">
<a href="#DEMONOLOGY"><b>DEMONOLOGY.</b></a><br />
<br />
<a href="#CHAPTER_XXVIII"><b>CHAPTER XXVIII.</b></a><br />
</p>

<ul class="toc">
<li><p>
First Ideas of Demonology&mdash;Rabbinical Tradition&mdash;Adam's Marriage&mdash;The
Wicked Lilith&mdash;Egyptian Tradition&mdash;Arabian Worship of
Genii&mdash;Christians' Opinions of Demons&mdash;Forms assumed
by Evil Spirits&mdash;Demoniacal King&mdash;Duty of Inferior Demons&mdash;Task
of Benign Spirits&mdash;Schools of Magic&mdash;Circassian
Opinions&mdash;Belief of Indians&mdash;Situation of Hell&mdash;Men's Actions
recorded&mdash;Rewards and Punishments&mdash;How to frighten
Demons&mdash;Treatment of the Sick&mdash;Attendant Angels&mdash;Worship of
Gods&mdash;Foretelling Future Events&mdash;Small-pox propagated by an Evil
Genius&mdash;Souls of Deceased Persons&mdash;Effect of Charms<span class="ralign">273</span>
</p></li>
</ul>

<p class="center">
<a href="#CHAPTER_XXIX"><b>CHAPTER XXIX.</b></a><br />
</p>

<ul class="toc">
<li><p>
Heathen Devotion in Ceylon&mdash;Superstitious Customs among the
Schismatic Greeks&mdash;Negro Belief in Fetishes&mdash;Charms&mdash;Magic
taught by the Priests&mdash;Dead Persons metamorphosed into
Serpents&mdash;How the Gaures disposed of their Dead&mdash;Souls
Blessed or Damned&mdash;Orders of Genii in Madagascar&mdash;Belief of
the Caribbees&mdash;Brazilian Superstition&mdash;Peruvian Tradition&mdash;American
Indians&mdash;Demons in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth
Centuries&mdash;Satan in France&mdash;Manes, Anima, and Umbra among
the Greeks and Romans<span class="ralign">279</span>
</p></li>
</ul>

<p class="center">
<a href="#CHAPTER_XXX"><b>CHAPTER XXX.</b></a><br />
</p>

<ul class="toc">
<li><p>
Visible Ghosts&mdash;Superstition on the Baltic Shores&mdash;A German
Legend&mdash;Demons in the West of Europe&mdash;Love, how plighted in<a name="Page_xv" id="Page_xv"></a>
Orkney&mdash;The Monster Ymir&mdash;Origin of Fairies&mdash;The Duergar
or Dwarfs&mdash;Brownies in Ireland and the Highlands of Scotland&mdash;Nine
Classes of Evil Spirits&mdash;Vampires&mdash;Man's Double
or Fetch&mdash;Churchyard Ghosts&mdash;Souls of Suicides&mdash;Burial of
Suicides and Murderers at Cross Roads&mdash;Luther on Evil Spirits
and Witches<span class="ralign">284</span>
</p></li>
</ul>

<p class="center">
<a href="#CHAPTER_XXXI"><b>CHAPTER XXXI.</b></a><br />
</p>

<ul class="toc">
<li><p>
Belief and Teaching of the Roman Catholic Church&mdash;Swedenborg's
Intercourse with Spirits&mdash;Marcus Brutus and his Evil Genius&mdash;Cassius
and Julius C&aelig;sar's Ghost at Philippi&mdash;Plutarch on
Spectres&mdash;Socrates on the same subject&mdash;Archbishop Bruno and
the Spectre&mdash;A Haunted House&mdash;Spectre at Sea&mdash;Ghost of a
Murdered Man in New South Wales<span class="ralign">291</span>
</p></li>
</ul>

<p class="center">
<a href="#CHAPTER_XXXII"><b>CHAPTER XXXII.</b></a><br />
</p>

<ul class="toc">
<li><p>
Spiritualism Past and Present&mdash;Magic taught in Leipsic&mdash;Spirit
of Marshal Saxe&mdash;How Spirits were Invoked&mdash;Voices of Spirits&mdash;Mysterious
Death of a Magician&mdash;Unearthly Huntsman&mdash;Prediction
and its Fulfilment&mdash;An Estate lost at the Gaming
Table&mdash;A Baron Shot&mdash;A Marriage prevented by an Apparition&mdash;Consulting
a Witch&mdash;Raising the Spirit of a Murdered
Man&mdash;A Murderer's Fate<span class="ralign">297</span>
</p></li>
</ul>

<p class="center">
<a href="#CHAPTER_XXXIII"><b>CHAPTER XXXIII.</b></a><br />
</p>

<ul class="toc">
<li><p>
Antonio the Rich&mdash;Dreadful Announcement from a Volcano's
Mouth&mdash;Three Ghosts&mdash;Mozart apprehensive of Death&mdash;Mozart
writing a Requiem for himself&mdash;Messenger from another World&mdash;Mozart's
Death&mdash;Ghost of a Lady&mdash;A Haunted House&mdash;Iron
Cage&mdash;Youth starved to Death&mdash;Frightful Dreams and Dreadful
Sights&mdash;Dog frightened by a Spirit&mdash;Disturbed House&mdash;Duchess
of Mazarin&mdash;Madame de Beauclair&mdash;Compact between
the Living and the Dead&mdash;A Lady's Death foretold by a Spirit<span class="ralign">304</span>
</p></li>
</ul>

<p class="center">
<a href="#CHAPTER_XXXIV"><b>CHAPTER XXXIV.</b></a><br />
</p>

<ul class="toc">
<li><p>
Sir George Villiers' Ghost&mdash;Duke of Buckingham Murdered&mdash;Lord
Lyttelton and others profaning Christmas&mdash;A Troubled<a name="Page_xvi" id="Page_xvi"></a>
Mind&mdash;Apparition of a Suicide&mdash;Neglected Warning&mdash;Ominous
Hour&mdash;Lord Lyttelton found Dead at the dreaded time&mdash;Death
of an old Roman King&mdash;Alarming Prodigies&mdash;Tales from the
<i>Eddas</i>&mdash;A Scandinavian Warrior's Ghost&mdash;An Icelandic Lady's
Ghost&mdash;Fear of approaching Calamities&mdash;Association of Ghosts&mdash;Apparitions
of Drowned Men&mdash;Christians not disturbed by
Spectres&mdash;A Band of Demons&mdash;Priest exorcising Evil Spirits<span class="ralign">312</span>
</p></li>
</ul>

<p class="center">
<a href="#CHAPTER_XXXV"><b>CHAPTER XXXV.</b></a><br />
</p>

<ul class="toc">
<li><p>
A Mysterious Hunter&mdash;Man and Horse supposed to be Devils&mdash;Flagellation&mdash;Tales
of the Scotch Highlands&mdash;Croaking Raven&mdash;Death
of a suspected Witch&mdash;Resort of Witches and Evil
Spirits&mdash;Spirits hastening to a Church&mdash;Black Man with Eyes
like Fire&mdash;Horse breathing Smoke and Flame<span class="ralign">318</span>
</p></li>
</ul>

<p class="center">
<a href="#CHAPTER_XXXVI"><b>CHAPTER XXXVI.</b></a><br />
</p>

<ul class="toc">
<li><p>
Churchmen subjected to the Onslaught of Demons&mdash;St. Maurus
rebuking Evil Spirits&mdash;St. Romualdus' Conflict with Satan&mdash;St.
Frances&mdash;St. Gregory&mdash;Monk in Purgatory&mdash;Institution of the
Thirty Masses for the Dead&mdash;An Excommunicated Gentleman&mdash;St.
Benedict and the Blackbird's Song&mdash;A Monk restored to
Life&mdash;St. Benedict's Sister ascending to Heaven&mdash;St. Francis'
Dominion over Living Creatures and the Elements&mdash;St. Catherine's
Power&mdash;St. Stanislaus' Miracles&mdash;A Dead Man giving
Evidence&mdash;The Dead refusing a Renewal of Life&mdash;St. Philip
Nerius and Evil Spirits&mdash;Spirits ministering to St. Erasmus&mdash;St.
Norbert&mdash;Story relating to Henry I.&mdash;St. Margaret's
Triumph&mdash;St. Ignatius&mdash;St. Stephen&mdash;Satan's Hatred of St.
Dominick&mdash;St. Donatus endowing a Corpse with Speech&mdash;St.
Cyriacus, St. Largus, and St. Smaragdus, the Martyrs&mdash;St.
Clare&mdash;St. Bernard's Power&mdash;St. C&aelig;sarius' Wonder-working
Crook&mdash;St. Giles and the Hind&mdash;St. Euphemia's Guardian
Angels&mdash;St. Francis' Spirit&mdash;St. Bridget&mdash;St. Denis' Spirit&mdash;St.
Teresa and the Angels&mdash;St. Hilarian&mdash;St. Martin&mdash;St.
Catherine's Body carried by Angels to Mount Sinai&mdash;St. Francis
Xaverius' Belief in Virtue of Bells&mdash;St. Nicholas&mdash;St. Ambrose&mdash;St.
Lucy raising her Mother from the Dead&mdash;St. Anastasia
sustained by Bread from Heaven&mdash;St. Thomas enduring Martyrdom
in Life and after Death&mdash;Penance of Henry II.&mdash;Barbarous
Conduct of Henry VIII.&mdash;A Hungarian Legend<span class="ralign">323</span>
</p></li>
</ul>

<hr style='width: 45%;' />

<p class="center"><a name="Page_xvii" id="Page_xvii"></a>
<a href="#MAGIC_AND_ASTROLOGY"><b>MAGIC AND ASTROLOGY.</b></a><br />
<br />
<a href="#CHAPTER_XXXVII"><b>CHAPTER XXXVII.</b></a><br />
</p>

<ul class="toc">
<li><p>
Magic a Study among the Learned&mdash;Plato and Pythagoras travelled
to learn the Art, and taught it&mdash;Speakers made Eloquent by
Magical Art&mdash;Virtue of Gems&mdash;How Jewels should be set&mdash;When
they are to be Graven&mdash;Cures effected by Hippocrates&mdash;Democritus
on Magic&mdash;Many Charms&mdash;Evil Spirits&mdash;Magicians
sacrificing to the Planets&mdash;Magician's Power to produce Monstrous
Creatures&mdash;Egyptian Magicians&mdash;Magical Circles&mdash;Throwing
Old Shoes&mdash;Figures on Shoes&mdash;A Hangman's Soul&mdash;Directions
for raising Ghosts and Spirits<span class="ralign">339</span>
</p></li>
</ul>

<p class="center">
<a href="#CHAPTER_XXXVIII"><b>CHAPTER XXXVIII.</b></a><br />
</p>

<ul class="toc">
<li><p>
Josephus' Account of Astrology&mdash;Antediluvians acquainted with
Astrology&mdash;Astrology after the Flood&mdash;Magicians in various
Nations&mdash;Compact and Confederation with Spirits&mdash;Feats of
Magicians&mdash;A French Priest in compact with the Devil&mdash;Married
to Venus&mdash;Turning Leather into Gold&mdash;A Novice in Magic
destroyed by a Spirit&mdash;Principles of Magic&mdash;Lilly the Astrologer&mdash;Lilly
consulted by Royalists&mdash;Astrological Predictions<span class="ralign">349</span>
</p></li>
</ul>

<p class="center">
<a href="#CHAPTER_XXXIX"><b>CHAPTER XXXIX.</b></a><br />
</p>

<ul class="toc">
<li><p>
Judicial Astrology&mdash;Reading the Heavens&mdash;Lucky and Unlucky
Days&mdash;Highland Superstitions&mdash;Climacterics&mdash;Astrologer and
Charles IX.&mdash;Influence of the Moon&mdash;Official Air-gazers&mdash;Sacrificing
to Planets&mdash;Dryden's Faith in Astrology&mdash;Dryden
calculating the Nativity of his Children<span class="ralign">356</span>
</p></li>
</ul>

<hr style='width: 45%;' />

<p class="center">
<a href="#DIVINATION_AND_ORACLES"><b>DIVINATION AND ORACLES.</b></a><br />
<br />
<a href="#CHAPTER_XL"><b>CHAPTER XL.</b></a><br />
</p>

<ul class="toc">
<li><p>
Divination&mdash;Heathen Gods giving Signs&mdash;Sortes Pr&oelig;nestin&aelig;&mdash;St.
Augustine's View of Divination&mdash;Sortes Sanctorum&mdash;Divination
in the Greek and Latin Churches&mdash;Declarations of the<a name="Page_xviii" id="Page_xviii"></a>
Divine Will&mdash;How St. Consortia became a Nun&mdash;Hieroglyphic
Texts&mdash;Divination among the Jews&mdash;Plutarch on Oracles&mdash;Malthus'
Belief in Oracles&mdash;A Missionary's Opinion&mdash;Sibylline
Oracles&mdash;Alectoromantia&mdash;Belomancy&mdash;Cleromancy&mdash;Napoleon's
Belief in Cleromancy<span class="ralign">362</span>
</p></li>
</ul>

<hr style='width: 45%;' />

<p class="center">
<a href="#SIGNS_OMENS_AND_WARNINGS"><b>SIGNS, OMENS, AND WARNINGS.</b></a><br />
<br />
<a href="#CHAPTER_XLI"><b>CHAPTER XLI.</b></a><br />
</p>

<ul class="toc">
<li><p>
Crying in Youth&mdash;Image of Opis&mdash;Man born to Trouble&mdash;Bacon's
Belief in Presages&mdash;Dugdale's Foresight&mdash;Sir Thomas More's
Power to judge of Passing Events&mdash;Erasmus at the Tomb of
Becket&mdash;Sir Walter Raleigh's Predictions&mdash;What Tacitus foresaw&mdash;Solon's
Predictions&mdash;Cicero's Predictions&mdash;Knox's Predictions&mdash;Queen
Mary and Darnley&mdash;Death of Thomas Maitland
and of Kirkaldy of Grange predicted&mdash;Regent Murray
warned against going to Linlithgow&mdash;The Human Body a
medium for discovering Future Events&mdash;Death Warnings&mdash;Appearance
of Spirits<span class="ralign">372</span>
</p></li>
</ul>

<p class="center">
<a href="#CHAPTER_XLII"><b>CHAPTER XLII.</b></a><br />
</p>

<ul class="toc">
<li><p>
Ornithomancy&mdash;Mohammed's Pigeons&mdash;Cock-crowing&mdash;Sacred
Geese&mdash;Phenomenon at Rome&mdash;Divination by means of a
Sieve&mdash;Capnomancy&mdash;Catoptromancy&mdash;Dactyliomancy&mdash;Cledonism&mdash;Onomancy&mdash;Names&mdash;Romans
toasting their Mistresses&mdash;How
Success in War was ascertained&mdash;Loss of Ships'
Colours&mdash;Regimental Standards&mdash;Consecrated Banners&mdash;Battle
of the Standard&mdash;A Highland Superstition<span class="ralign">380</span>
</p></li>
</ul>

<p class="center">
<a href="#CHAPTER_XLIII"><b>CHAPTER XLIII.</b></a><br />
</p>

<ul class="toc">
<li><p>
Caution of our Ancestors&mdash;Magpies&mdash;Flight of Birds&mdash;Swarming
of Bees&mdash;Howling of Dogs&mdash;Lowing of Cattle&mdash;Crowing of
Cocks&mdash;Stockings wrong side out&mdash;Sign of a Letter coming&mdash;Sneezing
of a Cat&mdash;Various Signs and Omens&mdash;How to prevent
Ill Luck&mdash;Reputed Witches&mdash;Print of a Caldron, what it denoted&mdash;Unlucky
to pass over a Balance&mdash;When not to pare<a name="Page_xix" id="Page_xix"></a>
your Nails&mdash;Touching a Dead Body&mdash;Funeral Processions&mdash;Storks&mdash;How
to Sit&mdash;Marriages&mdash;A Prophetic Rhyme&mdash;Wedding
Ring&mdash;Throwing Slippers, Besoms, Salt, and Rice after
Newly-married Persons&mdash;Charms for Bridegrooms and Brides&mdash;Mothers
and Children&mdash;Rules to be observed at Baptisms&mdash;How
to treat Young Children<span class="ralign">387</span>
</p></li>
</ul>

<p class="center">
<a href="#CHAPTER_XLIV"><b>CHAPTER XLIV.</b></a><br />
</p>

<ul class="toc">
<li><p>
Sweeping Floors&mdash;New Year and Christmas&mdash;"First-Foots"&mdash;Weather
Prognostications&mdash;How to secure Favourable Gales&mdash;Superstitious
Customs&mdash;Corpse of one guilty of <i>Felo-de-se</i>&mdash;Finding
of Persons who die unseen&mdash;Superstitious Belief of Russian
Seamen&mdash;Ancient Customs of Scotland&mdash;Friday an Unlucky
Day for commencing an Important Undertaking&mdash;Friday as a
Marriage Day&mdash;Anecdote of a Ship called "Friday"&mdash;Loss of
the Ship "Amazon"&mdash;Sunday a Favourable Day for commencing
a Voyage&mdash;Lawyers and Clergymen, how looked upon by
Sailors at Sea&mdash;Rats deserting a Ship&mdash;Whistling to raise the
Wind&mdash;Legend of Vanderdecken or the Flying Dutchman&mdash;A
Grandfather's Axe&mdash;Other Signs and Warnings<span class="ralign">393</span>
</p></li>
</ul>

<hr style='width: 45%;' />

<p class="center">
<a href="#AMULETS_AND_CHARMS"><b>AMULETS AND CHARMS.</b></a><br />
<br />
<a href="#CHAPTER_XLV"><b>CHAPTER XLV.</b></a><br />
</p>

<ul class="toc">
<li><p>
Amulets and Charms among the Chaldeans, Jews, and Persians&mdash;Amulets
among the Greeks and Romans&mdash;Ecclesiastics forbidden
to wear Amulets and Phylacteries&mdash;Pericles' Amulet&mdash;Lord
Bacon's Opinion of Charms&mdash;Effect of Music&mdash;Yawning
and Laughing, Fear and Shame&mdash;Diseases cured by Charms&mdash;Philosophers'
Opinions of Amulets&mdash;Mr. E. Chambers on
Amulets&mdash;Poets on Enchantments&mdash;A Dairymaid's Charm&mdash;A
Charm sent by a Pope to an Emperor<span class="ralign">401</span>
</p></li>
</ul>

<p class="center">
<a href="#CHAPTER_XLVI"><b>CHAPTER XLVI.</b></a><br />
</p>

<ul class="toc">
<li><p>
Ear-rings buried by Jacob&mdash;Solomon's Belief in Spells&mdash;Reginald
Scot's Recipe for preserving Cattle&mdash;What Mr. Pennant says
on Charms&mdash;Images Powerful Charms&mdash;The Egyptians' Confidence<a name="Page_xx" id="Page_xx"></a>
in Amulets and Charms&mdash;Evil Eye&mdash;Cold Iron&mdash;Holy
Things used as Charms&mdash;Filing of St. Peter's Keys&mdash;Lustral
Water&mdash;Uses of Snow&mdash;Keys of a Consecrated Building&mdash;Virtue
of Consecrated Bread&mdash;Various Methods of securing
Love&mdash;Indian Charms&mdash;Cure for Corns&mdash;Simple Plan for getting
rid of a Troublesome Person&mdash;Curing the Hooping-cough,
etc.<span class="ralign">409</span>
</p></li>
</ul>

<p class="center">
<a href="#CHAPTER_XLVII"><b>CHAPTER XLVII.</b></a><br />
</p>

<ul class="toc">
<li><p>
Horse Shoes used as Charms&mdash;Spitting on Money to secure Luck&mdash;Fortunate
Persons to deal with&mdash;Professor Playfair on Superstition&mdash;The
Lee Penny&mdash;Divers Charms&mdash;A Seer's Prescription&mdash;Grose
on Sorcerers, Magicians, and Witches&mdash;Irish Shamrock&mdash;Praying
to Swords&mdash;Irish Superstition&mdash;Smugglers and
Brigands addicted to Superstition&mdash;Superstition in the East&mdash;Arab
Charms&mdash;Ladies' Arts<span class="ralign">415</span>
</p></li>
</ul>

<p class="center">
<a href="#CHAPTER_XLVIII"><b>CHAPTER XLVIII.</b></a><br />
</p>

<ul class="toc">
<li><p>
Earl of Derby's Death&mdash;A Queen Enchanted&mdash;Image of a young
King&mdash;Belgrave on Charms&mdash;Childebert's Device for detecting
Witches&mdash;Witch Burned&mdash;Witch Ointment&mdash;Men-Wolves&mdash;Church
Authorities' Instructions to Inquisitors&mdash;Killing by a
Look or Wish&mdash;The King of Sweden and his Witches&mdash;Witches'
Help in War&mdash;Witches causing a Plague&mdash;Cattle Poisoned&mdash;Various
Charms&mdash;An Angel's Charm to Pope Leo&mdash;Physicians'
Faith in Charms&mdash;Inescation&mdash;Insemination&mdash;Egyptian Laws&mdash;Curing
the King's Evil<span class="ralign">421</span>
</p></li>
</ul>

<p class="center">
<a href="#CHAPTER_XLIX"><b>CHAPTER XLIX.</b></a><br />
</p>

<ul class="toc">
<li><p>
Precious Stones regarded as Objects of Virtue&mdash;Extravagance in
Jewellery accounted for&mdash;Abraham's Precious Stones&mdash;Altars
called Living Stones&mdash;Rod of Moses&mdash;Sacred Rings and Belts&mdash;The
Month of one's Nativity has connection with one or
other of the Precious Stones&mdash;Kings of England hallowing
Rings&mdash;Ring preserved in Westminster Abbey&mdash;Iona Relics&mdash;The
Green Stone of Arran&mdash;A Crystal kept as a Charm&mdash;A
Conjuring Beryl&mdash;Prophetic Stones&mdash;The Coronation Stone
or Stone of Destiny<span class="ralign">429</span>
</p></li>
</ul>

<hr style='width: 45%;' />

<p class="center"><a name="Page_xxi" id="Page_xxi"></a>
<a href="#TRIALS_BY_ORDEAL"><b>TRIALS BY ORDEAL.</b></a><br />
<br />
<a href="#CHAPTER_L"><b>CHAPTER L.</b></a><br />
</p>

<ul class="toc">
<li><p>
Trials by Ordeal resorted to in Ancient and Modern Times&mdash;Ordeal
by means of Hot Iron&mdash;Plunging the Arm into Boiling
Water or Oil&mdash;Walking Blindfold in Dangerous Places&mdash;Weighing
a Witch&mdash;Extending the Arms before a Cross&mdash;Swallowing
Consecrated Bread&mdash;Ordeal among the Hindoos&mdash;Touching
a Dead Body&mdash;An Inquest, how conducted long ago&mdash;Dead
Henry's Wounds&mdash;Sir George M'Kenzie's Opinion of
Trial by Ordeal&mdash;Sir K. Digby on Trial by Ordeal<span class="ralign">438</span>
</p></li>
</ul>

<p class="center">
<a href="#CHAPTER_LI"><b>CHAPTER LI.</b></a><br />
</p>

<ul class="toc">
<li><p>
A Popular Story&mdash;Theatberge, wife of Lothaire&mdash;Forbes's Memoirs&mdash;Trial
by Wager of Battle&mdash;When Trial by Wager of Battle
ceased&mdash;Trial by Jury&mdash;Court of King's Bench deciding the
Legality of Trial by Battle&mdash;Sir Walter Scott's Illustrations
of Superstition and Trial by Battle in Olden Times<span class="ralign">445</span>
</p></li>
</ul>

<hr style='width: 45%;' />

<p class="center">
<a href="#CURSES_AND_EVIL_WISHES"><b>CURSES AND EVIL WISHES.</b></a><br />
<br />
<a href="#CHAPTER_LII"><b>CHAPTER LII.</b></a><br />
</p>

<ul class="toc">
<li><p>
Curses, Excommunication, and Anathemas&mdash;Dir&aelig;, the Executioners
of Vengeance&mdash;Interment of Excommunicated Persons&mdash;Excommunication
among the Hebrews&mdash;Last Degree of
Excommunication sometimes followed by Banishment or Death&mdash;Form
of Excommunication used by Ezra and Nehemiah&mdash;The
Greek Church annually excommunicates Roman Catholics&mdash;The
Druids resorted to Excommunication&mdash;Bishops excommunicating
Rats, Mice, Caterpillars, and other Insects and
Vermin&mdash;The Pope's Claim&mdash;Napoleon I. excommunicated&mdash;Victor
Emmanuel excommunicated&mdash;The Inquisition and
its terrible Doings&mdash;The Pope's Fearful Curse&mdash;Mr. Donald
Cargill excommunicating the King and Nobles&mdash;Indulgences,
Pardons, and Penance<span class="ralign">453</span>
</p></li>
</ul>

<p class="center"><a name="Page_xxii" id="Page_xxii"></a>
<a href="#CHAPTER_LIII"><b>CHAPTER LIII.</b></a><br />
</p>

<ul class="toc">
<li><p>
St. Adelbert's Curse&mdash;Complexion of Blackamoors attributed to a
Curse of Noah&mdash;False Accusation, and its Results&mdash;Ancestors
of the Whelphs and Guelphs of Germany&mdash;An Interesting
Legend&mdash;A Gipsy's Curse&mdash;A Cruel Father and
Husband&mdash;Morrar-na-Shean&mdash;Restoration of Three Daughters&mdash;A Grateful
Father&mdash;Ancestors of the Sinclairs of Caithness, and of the
noble family of Keith&mdash;The Curse of Moy&mdash;A Cruel Chieftain
of Clan Chattan&mdash;Swearing by the Hand of a Bride&mdash;Grant of
Glenmorriston waiting his Doom&mdash;Death of a Father and
Lover&mdash;Maledictions and Prediction&mdash;Lady leaping from a Lofty
Tower&mdash;The Monroes of Foulis&mdash;End of a Relentless Tyrant<span class="ralign">462</span>
</p></li>
</ul>

<hr style='width: 45%;' />

<p class="center">
<a href="#DREAMS_AND_VISIONS_OF_THE_NIGHT"><b>DREAMS AND VISIONS OF THE NIGHT.</b></a><br />
<br />
<a href="#CHAPTER_LIV"><b>CHAPTER LIV.</b></a><br />
</p>

<ul class="toc">
<li><p>
The Gift or Art of interpreting Dreams&mdash;Official Interpreters of
Dreams&mdash;Sleep, how portrayed&mdash;Goddess of Dreams&mdash;Greeks
soliciting the Inspiration of Dreams&mdash;Xenophon on Sleep&mdash;Prophetic
Power of the Dying&mdash;&AElig;sculapius's Discoveries in
Dreams&mdash;Code of Menu&mdash;The Soma-drink&mdash;Josephus as a
Seer&mdash;Dreadful Proposal by Josephus&mdash;His Fortunate Escape&mdash;An
Eastern Conjuror&mdash;Reading a Sealed Letter&mdash;A Sultan
warned of his Death in a Dream&mdash;Alexander's Death foretold
in a Dream&mdash;Records of Dreams in Westminster Abbey&mdash;Lord
Falkland's Dream&mdash;Rev. John Brown's Opinions&mdash;Early Christian
Faith in Visions and Dreams&mdash;Death of a Friend foretold&mdash;The
Devil's Sonata&mdash;Marriage of Queen Mary&mdash;Fatality of
the Stuart Family&mdash;Death of Henry IV. of France<span class="ralign">469</span>
</p></li>
</ul>

<p class="center">
<a href="#CHAPTER_LV"><b>CHAPTER LV.</b></a><br />
</p>

<ul class="toc">
<li><p>
Dreaming Dictionaries&mdash;Dreaming of an Anchor&mdash;Sick
Persons&mdash;Raiment&mdash;Fruit&mdash;Funerals&mdash;Dreams sometimes to be read
contrariwise&mdash;Dreaming of Darkness&mdash;Jewellery&mdash;Losing and
finding Property&mdash;Fowls and Eggs&mdash;Flying&mdash;Bagpipes, Dancing,
and Banquets&mdash;Dreaming of Animals, Cakes, Corn, and
Milk&mdash;Dreaming of Carrying and of being Carried&mdash;Angels,<a name="Page_xxiii" id="Page_xxiii"></a>
Spirits, and Children&mdash;Clergymen and Churches&mdash;A Broken
Watch or Clock&mdash;Clouds&mdash;Falling&mdash;Flowers and Fruit&mdash;Sailors'
Dreams&mdash;Running Streams and Still Water&mdash;Ploughed
Ground and Green Fields&mdash;Presents&mdash;Glass, Hair,
Fire, Cold, Tooth, Kisses, and Knives&mdash;Leaping, Climbing, and
Writing&mdash;Linen&mdash;The Sun, Moon, and Stars, Rainbow, Snow,
Thunder, and Lightning<span class="ralign">475</span>
</p></li>
</ul>

<hr style='width: 45%;' />

<p class="center">
<a href="#LAWS_AGAINST_AND_TRIALS_OF_WITCHES"><b>LAWS AGAINST AND TRIALS OF WITCHES.</b></a><br />
<br />
<a href="#CHAPTER_LVI"><b>CHAPTER LVI.</b></a><br />
</p>

<ul class="toc">
<li><p>
Witchcraft treated with Severity&mdash;Cutting out the Tongue&mdash;Laws
of &AElig;thelstane&mdash;Witchcraft in England&mdash;Royal Writers&mdash;Sir
Edward Cole's Opinion&mdash;Statute of Elizabeth against
Sorcerers&mdash;Law of Mary Queen of Scotland against Witches&mdash;Law
against Witches abolished&mdash;Sir George Mackenzie on
Witchcraft&mdash;Extracts from Forbes's <i>Institute of the Law of
Scotland</i>&mdash;Sir Matthew Hale a Believer in Witchcraft&mdash;Trial
of Rose Cullender and Ann Duny&mdash;Punishment of Witches, by
whom first countenanced&mdash;Pope John's Bull&mdash;Bishop Jewell&mdash;Lord
Bacon and the Law against Witches&mdash;Fearful Slaughter
of supposed Witches&mdash;<i>Malleus Maleficarum</i>, or Hammer for
Witches&mdash;The last Persons executed in Scotland and England
for Witchcraft&mdash;First German Printers condemned to be
burned as Sorcerers&mdash;Reginald Scot on the Fables of Witchcraft&mdash;Mr.
E. Chambers's Views of Witchcraft<span class="ralign">482</span>
</p></li>
</ul>

<p class="center">
<a href="#CHAPTER_LVII"><b>CHAPTER LVII.</b></a><br />
</p>

<ul class="toc">
<li><p>
Witch-finders&mdash;Disasters ascribed to Witches&mdash;Witches' Familiars&mdash;John
Kinnaird&mdash;Patrick Watson and his Wife pricked&mdash;The
Devil's Sabbaths&mdash;Grandeur at Satan's Feasts&mdash;When
Feasts ended&mdash;Transformation&mdash;A Witch-finder sent from
Scotland to Newcastle&mdash;Complaints against Witches&mdash;Deception
discovered&mdash;Trying Witches in Northumberland&mdash;Escape
of a Witch-finder from Justice&mdash;Zeal of the Clergy in Scotland
in condemning Witches&mdash;Witch burned within the Sea-mark&mdash;Extracts
from Kirk-session Records of Perth relative to Witchcraft&mdash;Witches
at Kirkcaldy&mdash;A Clerical Witch-finder<span class="ralign">493</span>
</p></li>
</ul>

<p class="center"><a name="Page_xxiv" id="Page_xxiv"></a>
<a href="#CHAPTER_LVIII"><b>CHAPTER LVIII.</b></a><br />
</p>

<ul class="toc">
<li><p>
Hiring a Witch to detect a Witch&mdash;Clerical Witch-finders&mdash;Agnew,
the Sturdy Beggar&mdash;A Distressed Family&mdash;Minister's
Remonstrance and Advice&mdash;Fresh Afflictions&mdash;Prayer and
Fasting&mdash;Spirits Speaking&mdash;Minister's Reply&mdash;Application to
the Synod for Advice&mdash;Solemn Humiliation ordained by the
Synod&mdash;Beggar suspected and hanged for Blasphemy&mdash;Bargarran
Witches&mdash;An Esquire's Daughter bewitched&mdash;Physicians
puzzled&mdash;Ministers' Visits to Bargarran&mdash;Presbytery ordering
Days of Humiliation&mdash;Recourse to the Law&mdash;Catherine Campbell
imprisoned&mdash;Girl's continued Affliction&mdash;Representation to
His Majesty's Privy Council&mdash;Commission appointed to inquire
into the case&mdash;Trial of Witches&mdash;Condemnation and Execution<span class="ralign">500</span>
</p></li>
</ul>

<p class="center">
<a href="#CHAPTER_LIX"><b>CHAPTER LIX.</b></a><br />
</p>

<ul class="toc">
<li><p>
Victims of Superstition&mdash;Lady Glammis&mdash;Her Trial for causing
the Death of her Husband and attempting to poison the King&mdash;Found
Guilty, and Burned&mdash;Lady Fowlis an intended Victim&mdash;Image
of the young Lady of Balnagowan&mdash;Elf Arrows&mdash;Consulting
Egyptians&mdash;Hector Munro's connection with Witches&mdash;Charge
against Sir John Colquhoun and Thomas Carlips
for consulting Necromancers&mdash;Love Philters and Enchanted
Tokens&mdash;Bewitching Sir George Maxwell&mdash;Witch-marks discovered
before the Sheriff of Renfrewshire&mdash;Commission appointed
by the Privy Council to try Witches&mdash;Witches Burned&mdash;Intercourse
with Fairies&mdash;Another Witch Story<span class="ralign">511</span>
</p></li>
</ul>

<p class="center">
<a href="#CHAPTER_LX"><b>CHAPTER LX.</b></a><br />
</p>

<ul class="toc">
<li><p>
Edinburgh and Leith Witches&mdash;Black Catalogue&mdash;James VI. and
the Witches&mdash;Complaint to the Scottish Privy Council of Barbarous
Conduct&mdash;Relics of Superstition&mdash;Witch-finders in
Edinburgh and Leith&mdash;Royal Commission to Magistrates and
Ministers to search for and put Witches to Death&mdash;Wife of a
Judge in Edinburgh meeting a Witch's Fate&mdash;Repeal of the
Laws against Witchcraft&mdash;Opposition to Acts being Repealed&mdash;Judge
of the Supreme Courts against a Change of the Law&mdash;James
Reid&mdash;Potter-row Witch&mdash;Alexander Hamilton, the
Warlock&mdash;The Devil and Hamilton burning a Provost's Mill&mdash;Bewitched
Man&mdash;A habit-and-repute Witch&mdash;Young Laird<a name="Page_xxv" id="Page_xxv"></a>
of Duddingston&mdash;Major Weir and his Magical Staff&mdash;A
Magical Distaff&mdash;Agnes Williamson, a Haddingtonshire Witch&mdash;Elizabeth
Bathgate of Eyemouth&mdash;Isabella Young of Eastbarns
burned at the Castlehill<span class="ralign">519</span>
</p></li>
</ul>

<p class="center">
<a href="#CHAPTER_LXI"><b>CHAPTER LXI.</b></a><br />
</p>

<ul class="toc">
<li><p>
The Demon of Jedburgh&mdash;An Apparition&mdash;Witch shot in the
form of a Cat&mdash;Auldearne Witch&mdash;Sabbath Meetings with
Satan&mdash;Farmer Breadley&mdash;Disinterring Unbaptised
Children&mdash;Singularly-constructed Plough and Team&mdash;Attempt to shoot
a Minister&mdash;Borrowstounness Witches&mdash;A Pittenweem Witch&mdash;An
Unearthly Horse&mdash;Merciful View of a Witch's Case&mdash;A
Perthshire Witch&mdash;Water of Ruthven Well&mdash;A Changeling<span class="ralign">524</span>
</p></li>
</ul>

<p class="center">
<a href="#CHAPTER_LXII"><b>CHAPTER LXII.</b></a><br />
</p>

<ul class="toc">
<li><p>
Witchcraft in Aberdeen&mdash;Dean of Guild rewarded for his Diligence
in burning Witches&mdash;Expense of burning Witches&mdash;The
Marquis of Huntly's Desire to punish Witches&mdash;Action of the
Presbytery anent Witches&mdash;Man under the Protection of the
Fairy Queen&mdash;Strathdown Witches&mdash;Riding on Brooms&mdash;Crossing
the Spey in Riddles&mdash;Disappearance of Witches&mdash;Madge
M'Donald of Tomintoul&mdash;Witches' Pool&mdash;A Mountain
Tale&mdash;Girl controlling the Elements&mdash;Witch Burned&mdash;Caithness
Witches&mdash;One of the Evil Sisterhood&mdash;Investigation by the
Sheriff&mdash;Margaret Nin-Gilbert&mdash;Helen Andrew&mdash;Shetland
Witches&mdash;An Orkney Lady&mdash;Mary Lamont of Innerkip<span class="ralign">529</span>
</p></li>
</ul>

<p class="center">
<a href="#CHAPTER_LXIII"><b>CHAPTER LXIII.</b></a><br />
</p>

<ul class="toc">
<li><p>
Neither Police nor Medical Men much required in Olden Times&mdash;Instrument
of Torture&mdash;Torture declared Illegal&mdash;Berkly
Witch&mdash;Attempt on the Life of Edward II.&mdash;Master John of
Nottingham&mdash;Escape of Coventry Necromancers from Justice&mdash;Rutland
Family bewitched&mdash;A Pendle Witch&mdash;Strange
Narrative&mdash;Essex Witches&mdash;Witches of Northamptonshire&mdash;Bullet-proof
Witch&mdash;Drawing Blood above the Temples&mdash;Anne
Bodenham foretelling how a Law Plea would be decided&mdash;Strange
Proceedings&mdash;Discovering Concealed Poison&mdash;Performing
Spirits&mdash;Ride to London through the Air&mdash;Impenitent
Witch<span class="ralign">538</span>
</p></li>
</ul>

<p class="center"><a name="Page_xxvi" id="Page_xxvi"></a>
<a href="#CHAPTER_LXIV"><b>CHAPTER LXIV.</b></a><br />
</p>

<ul class="toc">
<li><p>
Paying Blackmail to Witches&mdash;Demon of Tedworth&mdash;A Persecuted
Family prayed for&mdash;Unaccountable Sounds and Sights&mdash;Drummer
found guilty of Sorcery&mdash;Raising Storms&mdash;A Wizard
in Cromwell's Army&mdash;Aldermen's Children bewitched&mdash;Man
kissed to Death&mdash;Witch unable to say the Lord's Prayer&mdash;A
Taunton Witch&mdash;Bewitched Cattle&mdash;Mode of discovering a
Witch&mdash;Selling a Soul to the Devil&mdash;Witch Executed&mdash;A Song
of the Seventeenth Century<span class="ralign">547</span>
</p></li>
</ul>

<p class="center">
<a href="#CHAPTER_LXV"><b>CHAPTER LXV.</b></a><br />
</p>

<ul class="toc">
<li><p>
Elizabeth Style's Confession&mdash;Signing a Covenant with Blood&mdash;Alice
Duke, Anne Bishop, and Mary Penny&mdash;Somerset
Witches&mdash;Running backwards round a Church&mdash;Compact with
Satan&mdash;Accusation against Sarah Morduck&mdash;A Judge's Opinion
of Witchcraft&mdash;Supposed Sufferer from Witchcraft prayed for
in the Church, and a Subscription raised for him&mdash;Falsely
accusing a Woman of Witchcraft&mdash;Witch and Stolen Plate&mdash;Charm
for Sore Eyes&mdash;Flames issuing from a Bewitched
Person's Mouth&mdash;Tormenting a Witch&mdash;Jane Wenham's Witchcrafts
and Trial&mdash;The last Persons who suffered in England for
Witchcraft&mdash;List of Persons who suffered as Witches<span class="ralign">552</span>
</p></li>
</ul>

<p class="center">
<a href="#CHAPTER_LXVI"><b>CHAPTER LXVI.</b></a><br />
</p>

<ul class="toc">
<li><p>
Scotchmen and Englishmen in America&mdash;Superstition in the
Back Settlements&mdash;Witchcraft in New England&mdash;Rev. Cotton
Mather's View of Witchcraft&mdash;Judges and Witnesses overawed
by Witches&mdash;Bewitched Persons prayed for&mdash;Trial of
Susan Martin&mdash;Absurd Evidence&mdash;Witchcraft in Sweden&mdash;Commission
of Inquiry&mdash;Day of Humiliation appointed on
account of Witchcraft&mdash;Threescore and Ten Witches in a
Village&mdash;Children engaged in Witchery put to Death&mdash;The
Devil bound with an Iron Chain&mdash;An Angel's Warning Voice&mdash;Witch
assaulting Ministers&mdash;Witches' Imps&mdash;Butter of
Witches&mdash;Witches Punished&mdash;Horse Burned<span class="ralign">558</span>
</p></li>
</ul>

<p class="center">
<a href="#CHAPTER_LXVII"><b>CHAPTER LXVII.</b></a><br />
</p>

<ul class="toc">
<li><p>
Superstition in France&mdash;Pope John XXII. celebrated in the
History of Sorcery and Magic&mdash;A Bishop skinned alive and<a name="Page_xxvii" id="Page_xxvii"></a>
torn by Horses for Witchcraft&mdash;King Philippe and Superstition&mdash;Extracting
Teeth without Pain&mdash;Berne Witch&mdash;Sorcerers
in Navarre&mdash;Demoniacal Operations&mdash;Witches meeting their
Deserts&mdash;Maria Renata's Witchcrafts&mdash;Nuns possessed of
Devils&mdash;Jeanne D'Arc&mdash;Credulity of France and England&mdash;Fairies
of Domremi&mdash;Charmed Tree&mdash;Sparkling Spring&mdash;Jeanne's
Heavenly Mission&mdash;Maid at the head of Troops&mdash;Her
Achievements&mdash;Siege of Orleans&mdash;Great Victories&mdash;Dauphin
Crowned&mdash;Heroine Betrayed&mdash;Charmed Sword&mdash;Jeanne's
Surrender&mdash;King's Ingratitude&mdash;Great Rejoicing at the Maid's
Downfall&mdash;Attempt to Escape&mdash;Trial and Condemnation&mdash;Maid
Burned&mdash;A White Dove rising from her Ashes<span class="ralign">564</span>
</p></li>
</ul>

<hr style='width: 45%;' />

<p class="center">
<a href="#SUPERSTITION_IN_THE_NINETEENTH_CENTURY"><b>SUPERSTITION IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.</b></a><br />
<br />
<a href="#CHAPTER_LXVIII"><b>CHAPTER LXVIII.</b></a><br />
</p>

<ul class="toc">
<li><p>
Generality of Superstition&mdash;The Church and Superstition&mdash;St.
Mourie&mdash;Various Modes of Superstition&mdash;Charms&mdash;Lucky and
Unlucky Times&mdash;Sailors' and Fishermen's Delusions&mdash;Weddings,
Funerals, and Baptisms&mdash;Spae-wives&mdash;May Dew&mdash;Holy-days&mdash;Kirk-session
Records&mdash;Fort-William Fisherman&mdash;Dipping
in Fountains&mdash;Lochmanur&mdash;Holy Well of Kilvullen&mdash;Well
of Craiguck&mdash;Superstition in the Highlands&mdash;Warlock
Willox&mdash;Superstition in Dundee<span class="ralign">572</span>
</p></li>
</ul>

<p class="center">
<a href="#CHAPTER_LXIX"><b>CHAPTER LXIX.</b></a><br />
</p>

<ul class="toc">
<li><p>
Ghost at Sea&mdash;Ghosts in Edinburgh&mdash;Fear of Ghosts in
Glasgow&mdash;Fortune-telling&mdash;Choice of Lovers, how decided&mdash;Irish
Story&mdash;How a Ghost settled a Land Question&mdash;Prophecy respecting
the Argyll Family&mdash;Yetholm Gipsies&mdash;Curses&mdash;Superstition
among Fishermen&mdash;Superstition among Seamen&mdash;Providing
for the Dead&mdash;A Warning&mdash;Blood Stains&mdash;Hallow-e'en
at Balmoral&mdash;Faith in Dreams, etc.<span class="ralign">583</span>
</p></li>
</ul>

<p class="center">
<a href="#CHAPTER_LXX"><b>CHAPTER LXX.</b></a><br />
</p>

<ul class="toc">
<li><p>
Lizzie M'Gill, the Fifeshire Spae-wife&mdash;Predicting a Storm&mdash;Servants
alarmed&mdash;Prediction fulfilled&mdash;Adam Donald, an
Aberdeenshire Prophet&mdash;His Predictions and Cures&mdash;His<a name="Page_xxviii" id="Page_xxviii"></a>
Marriage&mdash;The Wise Woman of Kincardineshire&mdash;The Recruiting
Sergeant&mdash;High-spirited Lady&mdash;Charmed Ring and
its Effects&mdash;Elopement and Marriage&mdash;An Enraged Father&mdash;Life
in America&mdash;Strong-minded Women<span class="ralign">597</span>
</p></li>
</ul>

<p class="center">
<a href="#CHAPTER_LXXI"><b>CHAPTER LXXI.</b></a><br />
</p>

<ul class="toc">
<li><p>
Superstition at Chelmsford&mdash;Woman Bewitched&mdash;Old Zadkiel&mdash;Incantation
in Somerset&mdash;Turning the Bible and Key&mdash;Woman
assuming the form of a Hare&mdash;Ruling the Stars&mdash;Superstition
in London&mdash;How to preserve Children from Disease&mdash;Dreams
fulfilled&mdash;Virtue of Holly and Ivy&mdash;Legend concerning the
Tichborne Family&mdash;Romantic Divorce Case<span class="ralign">608</span>
</p></li>
</ul>

<p class="center">
<a href="#CHAPTER_LXXII"><b>CHAPTER LXXII.</b></a><br />
</p>

<ul class="toc">
<li><p>
Spiritualism&mdash;Spiritualism not a new Delusion&mdash;Phantoms at a
<i>Seance</i>&mdash;Juggling of a Medium&mdash;Unsuccessful Effort at a Vulgar
Deception&mdash;Spiritualists Exposed&mdash;A Medium's Deception discovered&mdash;Foolish
Exhibitions&mdash;Russian Peasants and their
House Spirits&mdash;Spirits' Care over Persons and Property&mdash;Death,
Pestilence, War, and other Evils foretold by Spirits&mdash;A
Suggestion<span class="ralign">622</span>
</p></li>
</ul>

<p class="center">
<a href="#CHAPTER_LXXIII"><b>CHAPTER LXXIII.</b></a><br />
</p>

<ul class="toc">
<li><p>
Superstition in Roman Catholic Countries&mdash;Miracle-working
Images, etc.&mdash;Image paying Homage to the Virgin Mary&mdash;Madonnas
at Trastevere&mdash;Miraculous Cures&mdash;Superstitious
Ceremony at Dieppe&mdash;Blessing the Neva&mdash;Superstitious
Belief of Napoleon's Mother&mdash;Trust in Amulets&mdash;Zulu Superstition&mdash;Witchcraft
forbidden by Great Britain&mdash;Eating Fetish&mdash;Superstition
among the Ashantees&mdash;Endeavour to prevent
the Advance of the British Army&mdash;Shah of Persia's Talismans&mdash;Indian
Princes consulting Fortune-tellers&mdash;Procuring Rain
in India&mdash;Mysterious Lights on the River St. Lawrence&mdash;The
Queen of Hearts&mdash;Superstition in America&mdash;Superstitious
Artists&mdash;Hogarth's last Picture, "The End of all Things"<span class="ralign">629</span>
</p></li>
</ul>

<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[Pg 1]</a></span></p>
<h2><a name="THE_RISE_AND_PROGRESS_OF_SUPERSTITION" id="THE_RISE_AND_PROGRESS_OF_SUPERSTITION"></a>THE RISE AND PROGRESS OF SUPERSTITION.</h2>

<hr style="width: 65%;" />

<h2><a name="CHAPTER_I" id="CHAPTER_I"></a>CHAPTER I.</h2>

<div class="blockquot"><p>Rise and Progress of Superstition&mdash;The Serpent&mdash;Cain's Departure from
the true Worship&mdash;Worship of the Sun, Moon, and Stars&mdash;Strange
Story of Abraham&mdash;The Gods of Antiquity&mdash;Ether, Air, Land, and
Water filled with living Souls&mdash;Guardian Angel&mdash;Cause of the Flood&mdash;Magic&mdash;How
the Jews deceived the Devil&mdash;A Witch not permitted to
live&mdash;Diviners, Enchanters, Consulters with familiar Spirits and
Necromancers proved a Snare to Nations&mdash;Charms worn by the Jews&mdash;Singular
Customs and Belief&mdash;Prognostication&mdash;Allegorical Emblems&mdash;Marriage
Customs&mdash;Divers Ceremonies at Death and Burials&mdash;Divination
among all Nations&mdash;Observers of Times&mdash;Opinion concerning the
Celestial Bodies&mdash;Power of Witches&mdash;Wizards&mdash;Necromancers' Power
to call up the Dead.</p></div>


<p>Superstition has prevailed in every generation and
country in the world. There are people who think
that even Adam and Eve were tainted with this hateful
delusion, and that their offspring of the second generation
entertained opinions opposed to true religion. That man,
soon after the Creation, became acquainted with and yielded
to the doctrine of devils, scarcely admits of doubt. Those
who conversed with our first parents must have learned
from them the circumstances connected with the temptation,
fall, and expulsion from the Garden of Eden. It is
not unreasonable, then, to suppose that the serpent was
looked upon at an early period as something more than
an ordinary earthly reptile. One can imagine Adam and
Eve, when wandering in perplexity and fear, after their
first great sin, starting at the sight of a serpent,&mdash;not being
certain whether they beheld a reptile of flesh merely, or
looked upon their old enemy that had betrayed them in
their days of innocency. If they looked with suspicion<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[Pg 2]</a></span>
on the serpent, it is natural to suppose that their children
would learn to view this creeping animal as a creature
endowed with supernatural powers, by which it could
bring about evil, and perhaps good.</p>

<p>Cain, there is reason to conclude, departed from the true
worship of the Most High before his offering was refused,
and ere he dipped his hands in his brother's blood. In
Genesis iv. 26 there is an implication that man had forsaken
the right and holy religion prior to the days of Seth.
There is an opinion that men soon began to worship the sun,
moon, and stars, and that subsequently they paid homage
to objects which contributed to their preservation and to
things that might do them injury. The wandering Jew,
Benjamin, one of the greatest travellers in the East, gives
an interesting account of solar worship in early times.
The posterity of Cush, he tells us, were addicted to the
contemplation of the stars, and worshipped the sun as a
god. Their towns were filled with altars dedicated to
this orb. At early morn the people rose, and ran out of
the cities to await the rising sun, to which on every altar
there was a consecrated image, not in the likeness of a
man, but after the fashion of the solar orb, formed by
magic art. These artificial orbs, as soon as the sun rose,
took fire, and resounded with a great noise, to the joy of
the deluded devotees.</p>

<p>Many Jewish doctors have condescended upon the
precise time when man began to commit idolatry, and
they name Enos as the first star-worshipper. Arabian
divines tell a story of Abraham being brought up in a
dark cave, and at his first coming forth he was so much
struck with the appearance of the sun, moon, and stars,
that he worshipped them; and there are people who
imagine that in the Book of Job they discover evidence
of the heavenly host being adored in the time of the old
patriarch of Uz.</p>

<p>Some suppose that all the gods of antiquity were<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[Pg 3]</a></span>
Egyptian kings, others that they were Thessalian princes,
others that they were Jewish patriarchs; while not a few
are of opinion that they were kings of the several countries
where they were worshipped. It has been supposed that
Saturn represented Adam; Rhea, Eve; Jupiter, Cain;
Prometheus, Abel; Apollo, Lamech; Mercury, Jabal;
Bacchus, Noah; and Phaeton, Elias. Others imagine that
Saturn came in place of Noah; Pluto, of Sem; Neptune,
of Japheth; Bacchus, of Nimrod; and Apollo, of Phut.
A third class of thinkers maintain that all the heathen
gods centre in Moses, and the goddesses in Zipporah his
wife, or in Miriam his sister. A fourth class hold that
Saturn was Abraham; Rhea, Sarah; Ceres, Keturah;
Pallas, Hagar; Jupiter, Isaac; Juno, Rebecca; Pluto,
Ishmael; Typhon, Jacob; and Venus, Rachel. Such are
examples of imaginary resemblances between real and
fictitious persons or gods that never had any existence
except in the minds of fanatical romancers and a deluded
people, whose faith was kept alive by deception and artifice.</p>

<p>It was an early belief that ether, air, land, and water
were full of living spirits; and people believed, soon after
man was created, that the souls of just men, subsequent to
death, had part of the universe committed to them. This
opinion being once established, assistance was sought
from the spirits of departed men and women, and efforts
were made in various ways to secure their favour. In
course of time altars were set up, temples consecrated, and
sometimes victims offered to obtain favour from spirits and
false gods. Some rabbis affirmed that the angel Raziel
was Adam's master, and taught him the Cabbala; and that
Shem, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Elias, etc.
had each his guardian angel, who directed his thoughts
and actions. Jewish doctors assign to magic great
antiquity; they assert that it was known to those who
lived before the Flood. There is a tradition that one of
the causes of the Flood was the intercourse men had with<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[Pg 4]</a></span>
demons. Though it has been stated by ancient historians
that Abraham was given to magic, and that he taught it
to his children, Josephus (obviously overlooking what had
been written prior to his time, and forgetting what Moses
had seen performed by the Egyptian priests before Pharaoh)
thinks Solomon was the first who practised this art. The
Jewish historian gives credit to the "wisest man" for inventing
and transmitting to posterity certain incantations
for the cure of diseases, and for the expulsion of evil spirits
from the bodies of those possessed with such demons.
According to Josephus, the expulsion was brought about
by the use of a certain root sealed up in a wrapper, and
held under the afflicted person's nose while the name of
Solomon and words prescribed by him were pronounced.
The learned historian does not seem to doubt the wonderful
power of Solomon, but rather advances statements corroborative
of what he had heard, for he asserts that he himself
was an eye-witness to a like cure effected, by equally
mysterious means, on a person named Eleazar in presence
of the Emperor Vespasian. Descendants of Abraham
believed that their great ancestor wore round his neck a
precious stone, the sight of which cured every kind of
disease.</p>

<p>Suppose we set aside these assertions as fables, we
cannot deny that the Jews were at an early period
addicted to magical arts. This propensity, there can be
no doubt, whenever first manifested, was increased through
the Hebrews' intercourse with the inhabitants of Egypt,
Syria, and Chaldea.</p>

<p>Jews, who professed to work wonders by enchantments,
gave directions how to select and combine passages and
proper names of Scripture that would render supernatural
beings visible, and bring about many surprising results.
The sacred word Jehovah, they said, when read with
points, multiplied by or added to a given number of
letters, and composed into certain words, produced miraculous<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[Pg 5]</a></span>
effects. By that sacred name and strange arrangements,
their prophets, they thought, performed miracles.
The devil was supposed to have the power of accusing
mortal man at the great day of propitiation, so the Jews
endeavoured to appease him with presents. They believed
that on that day only he had the power to bring a charge
against them, and therefore, to deceive him, they had recourse
to a singular stratagem. In reading the accustomed
portion of the law, they left out the beginning and the
end,&mdash;an omission which was expected to cause Satan to
overlook the important time. Those versed in magic could
tell that the five Hebrew letters of which the devil's name
was composed constituted the number 364, during which
number of days he could not accuse them; and in some
way or other unknown to us, in addition to the plan of
mutilating the law, they kept his mouth shut year after year.</p>

<p>We find from the Holy Scriptures, that a witch was not
permitted to live,&mdash;that there should not be found among
the Hebrews any that used divination, an enchanter, a
charmer, a consulter with familiar spirits, nor a necromancer,
because the abominations of these mischievous people
proved a snare to the nations that were driven out before
the Israelites. Various opinions have been expressed regarding
the witch of Endor. Parties are not agreed as to
whether she did or did not bring up Samuel before Saul;
but into their disputes it is unnecessary for us to enter.
All that we mean to draw from the narrative is, that if
the King of Israel had recourse to a witch in his hour of
perplexity, superstition must have been general in the
nation.</p>

<p>Religiously disposed Jews wore upon their arms and
foreheads two pieces of parchment containing the ten
commandments. These charms, or emblems of sanctity,
or whatever they were called, were not allowed to be
worn by women or by men when they went to a funeral
or approached a dead body.</p>

<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[Pg 6]</a></span>The Jews confessed their sins to their rabbis, and the
penance or punishment was commensurate with their guilt.
It was not uncommon for Jewish devotees to lash themselves,
but the number of stripes did not at any time
exceed thirty-nine. During the flagellation the penitent
lay on the ground with his head to the north and his feet
to the south, and it would have been considered profane
to look to the east or west while the chastisement was
being inflicted. A Jew would as soon have eaten swine's
flesh as look to the east or west while he was in a bath.
Offenders were sometimes cursed in addition to their other
punishments; hence, it is presumed, the more modern
recourse to curses or denunciations. A doomed or cursed
individual was consigned to the power of evil angels, and
prayers were offered up that he might be tormented in life
with every disease, and afterwards cast into eternal darkness.</p>

<p>At the commencement of the Jewish Sabbath, half an
hour before sunset on Friday, every Jew was bound to
have his lamp lighted, though he should beg the oil. The
women were required to light the lamps in memory of Eve,
who by her disobedience extinguished the light of the
world. Every Hebrew was obliged to pare his nails on
Friday, beginning with the little finger of the left hand,
and then going to the middle finger, after which he returned
to the fourth finger, and then to the thumb and
fore finger. In cutting the nails of the fingers of the right
hand, he began with the middle finger, then proceeded to
the thumb, and after that took the fore finger, the middle
and fourth fingers, in the order stated. The parings were
either buried or burned. The Hebrews believed that the
sounding of a consecrated horn drove away the devil.</p>

<p>A curious custom prevailed among them in early times.
The father of a family took a white cock, and each of his
wives selected a hen, but such of them as were expectant
mothers took both a cock and a hen. With these fowls
they struck their heads twice, and at every blow the head<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[Pg 7]</a></span>
of the family said, "Let this cock stand in my room; he
shall die, but I shall live." Having said this, the neck of
the fowl was drawn and its throat cut; and either the
dead fowl, or its value in money, was given to the poor.
In the evening previous to the feast of expiation, a man
wishing to pry into futurity carried a lighted candle to
the synagogue, and from particular appearances of the
flame he prognosticated whether good was to follow him
and his, or whether he and his family were to be overtaken
by evil.</p>

<p>At their great feasts of tents or tabernacles (observed
in memory of their living in tents in the wilderness) the
Israelites went from their tents to the synagogue every
day during the feast, bearing in their right hands branches
of palms, myrtle, and willows, and in their left hands
branches of citron. When they reached the synagogue,
they turned the branches first to the east, then to the
south, next to the west, and lastly to the north. These
ceremonies were allegorical: the palm was an emblem of
hypocrisy, the myrtle pointed to good works, the willow
represented the wicked, and the citron the righteous. At
marriages, while the young persons present held torches
in their hands and sang the marriage song, the bride
walked three times round the bridegroom, and he in turn
walked thrice round her. In some countries&mdash;Germany
and Holland, for instance&mdash;the guests threw handfuls of
corn at the young wedded pair, telling them to "increase
and multiply." The newly married people drank a little
wine, and then emptied the cup on the floor. At the
wedding repast a roasted hen and an egg were presented
to the bride, who, after partaking of them, distributed the
remainder to the guests. The hen had reference to the
fruitfulness of the bride, and her delivery in childbirth.</p>

<p>The thumbs of a dead Jew were tied down close to the
palms of his hands, to preserve the deceased from the
devil's clutches. While the body was being washed, an<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[Pg 8]</a></span>
egg was put into a glass of wine, and the deceased's head
anointed with the mixture. Those who were not reconciled
to the departed, before his death, kissed his great toe
and asked pardon, lest he should accuse them at the great
tribunal before the Most High. When the body was carried
away for interment, a person, who remained behind, threw
a brick after it, as a sign that all sorrow was past. The
nearest friends or relations walked seven times round the
grave, after each of them had driven a nail into the coffin.
Hence the saying in our own time, when one signifies his
willingness to do a friend a favour or kindness, "I will
drive a nail into your coffin." When the body was put
into the grave, every person present threw a handful of
earth in after it.</p>

<p>On important occasions the Hebrews, like Pagans, consulted
diviners, who had recourse to various ways of
divination. In the days of Joseph there was divination
by cups, one particular manner of proceeding being to
observe how their wine sparkled when poured out.
Casting or drawing of lots was a favourite method of
divination, not only among the Jews, but among all nations.
Mention is made of divination by means of household
gods or images in human shape, prepared by astrologers
under particular constellations, and made capable of the
heavenly influences. The rabbis, in making some of
these images, killed a man who was a first-born son,
wrung off his head, seasoned it with salt, spices, etc., and
then put a gold plate, bearing the name of an unclean
spirit, under the head, which was fixed to a wall, and had
candles burning beside it. The images were consulted as
oracles concerning things accomplished but unknown, and
regarding events in the future.</p>

<p>Among the Jews there were observers of times who
laid great stress on certain seasons and critical moments,
which they supposed depended on particular positions of
the heavenly bodies. A learned rabbi expressed the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</a></span>
opinion that the celestial bodies rewarded persons who put
confidence in them, and that consequently men acted
wisely to reverence the stars and implore their assistance.
Guesses at futurities were made from the falling
of a crumb of bread out of one's mouth or a staff from a
man's hand, from a person sneezing, or the breaking of a
shoe-latchet.</p>

<p>The Hebrew witches were supposed to possess the power
of doing mischief to man and beast by their occult science,
and of changing the form of things. Witches used their
wicked skill to allure maidens. Through magical operations,
a Jew endeavoured long ago to procure the love of
a Christian woman, but she was preserved from the power
of his craft by sealing herself with the sign of the cross.
It was an ancient way of enchantment, to bring, by the
power of magic, various kinds of beasts together into one
place, which were designated as the "great congregation"
and the "little congregation." The great congregation
consisted of many of the larger animals, and the lesser
was made up of numerous smaller creatures, such as
serpents, scorpions, and the like. Wizards were famous
fortune tellers; they pretended to be the interpreters of
all the most important occurrences of the world. According
to the Hebrew laws, the deceivers, and those who consulted
them, were liable to be stoned. Necromancers obtained
a footing among the Jews. Such wicked people were
accustomed to fast, go to burying-places, and there lie
down, fall asleep, and pretend that the dead appeared to
them in dreams or otherwise, and told them what was
desired. They also pretended to call up the dead by
means of certain fumes and particular words. In cases
where the spirits of dead men were obstinate and refused
to appear or answer when summoned in the more simple
form, recourse was had to the burning of portions of
black cats, or the still more cruel method of cutting up young
boys and virgins.</p>



<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[Pg 10]</a></span></p>
<h2><a name="CHAPTER_II" id="CHAPTER_II"></a>CHAPTER II.</h2>

<div class="blockquot"><p>Men endowed with Prophetic Spirits&mdash;The Jews forbidden to consult the
Oracles of the Heathen&mdash;Succession and Schools of Prophets&mdash;Burial
of Prophets&mdash;Influence of Music&mdash;The Prophetic Mantle&mdash;Way through
which Revelations were made&mdash;Bath Kol&mdash;Urim and Thummim&mdash;False
Prophets Strangled or Stoned&mdash;How False Prophets were discovered&mdash;Recourse
to Diabolical Art&mdash;Moloch&mdash;Seething a Kid in its Mother's
Milk&mdash;The Smooth Stones mentioned by Isaiah&mdash;Oil and Candles supposed
to possess peculiar Virtues&mdash;The Saint entombed near the Barbary
shore&mdash;Sheep-head and Sheep-head Broth&mdash;Casting Sins into the Sea&mdash;Custom
of Fasting among the Pharisees&mdash;Dust of Heathen Countries&mdash;The
number 10&mdash;Angels that had the care of Men&mdash;Souls of Dead
Persons whispered with a feeble Voice&mdash;Hebrew Women who predicted
when one would die&mdash;Punishment in the Grave by the Devil.</p></div>


<p>Every person who has read the Old Testament, knows that
the Hebrews had among them extraordinary men really
endowed with prophetic spirits. The Jews were forbidden
to consult the oracles of the heathen nations round about
them, but they were permitted to consult their own true
prophets concerning that which was concealed from
ordinary persons. There was a constant succession of
prophets, and there were schools where young persons
aspiring to the office of a seer were instructed. Over each of
these institutions a venerable prophet presided. At first
the scholars were not inspired, but received prophecies
from the mouth of their master or president. At Jerusalem
there was one of these schools within the second wall of
the city. So great respect was paid to the prophetic character,
that none were suffered to be buried in Jerusalem
but kings, descendants of David, and prophets. Though
old prophets could not inspire their young students, they
improved their natural faculties, and taught them how to
subdue irregular emotions that hindered inspiration. That
the minds of the prophets might be the better disposed to
receive the proper impulses, instrumental music was used
in their devotions; and it is reported that at certain of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</a></span>
their musical meetings the young men became so elated,
that they manifested poetical genius as well as a prophetic
spirit. When a young prophet gave unequivocal evidence
of being inspired, he was installed into office by having
the prophetic mantle (made of lamb's skin) thrown over
his shoulders. Subsequent to inauguration, a prophet
wore hair-cloth next his skin, and had a leather girdle
round his loins.</p>

<p>The general way through which revelations were made
to them was in dreams and visions, or by immediate inspiration.
Their dreams were sometimes, indeed generally,
sent for instruction or admonition; and in the
prophetic dreams a clear and distinct impression was left
through a real or imaginary communication with an apparition.
At times the prophets had overpowering visions
when awake, during which mighty revelations were made
to them. When prophetic revelations ceased, the Jews had
recourse to Bath Kol, that is, the Daughter of Voice, or the
Daughter of a Voice, because it succeeded, they say, the
Oracular Voice delivered from the Mercy Seat when Urim
and Thummim was consulted.</p>

<p>The prophetic spirit being so common among the
Hebrews, it became necessary to adopt a method to prevent
false prophets from deceiving the people. To deter
men from pretending they possessed a prophetic spirit, a
severe punishment for every such pretence was appointed,&mdash;strangling
or stoning to death. The manner of trying a
false prophet was this: the judgments threatened by a
prophet, and the good things predicted by him, were observed.
If the judgments declared were not fulfilled, it was
not regarded as conclusive evidence against him, because it
might be that the punishments were for some wise reason
averted; but if the promised good did not come to pass,
the predictor was condemned as a deceiver and false
prophet. If the words of a prophet were fulfilled in one
or more particulars, but not in all, he was not deemed<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</a></span>
worthy of credence. When once one was condemned as
a false prophet, no interest was powerful enough to save
him from death.</p>

<p>The trial of prophets prescribed by the Mosaic law was
intended to prevent impostors pretending to be prophets,
and to save the people from being enticed by wicked
deceivers into idolatry. In the time of Moses there were
many who had recourse to diabolical arts. The oblation
of children to Moloch being frequently mentioned, together
with other diabolical and divinatory arts, reasons
appear for supposing there was something magical in
such superstitious rites, and that thereby people consulted
demons about things future or secret. Moloch was the
principal idol of the Ammonites, but other nations took
the same idol for their chief god; for it appears from
Pagan records, that the different nations were so very
accommodating with their gods that they lent them to one
another. Moloch seems to have been the same as Baal,
both names signifying dominion, or more particularly the
sun, the prince of the heavenly bodies.</p>

<p>There can be no doubt but the passage in the Old
Testament, "Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother's
milk," was a warning to the Hebrews not to follow the
example of the heathen in connection with the payment
by the latter of their first fruits. Dr. Cudworth, writing
on this subject, says that he learned from the comments
of an ancient Karaite upon the Pentateuch, that a superstitious
rite prevailed among the ancient idolators, of
seething a kid in his mother's milk when they had gathered
in all their first fruits, and sprinkling the trees and fields
with the broth, after a magical manner, to make them
more fruitful in the following year. Spencer also observes
that the Zabii used this kind of magical broth to sprinkle
their trees and gardens, in hope of obtaining a plentiful
crop.</p>

<p>The smooth stones mentioned by Isaiah, to which meat<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</a></span>
offerings were offered and drink offerings poured out,
were anointed stones in the streets, on which passengers
poured on them oil from phials; but what advantages
were to result from the custom we are not fully informed.
Oil and candles were believed by the ancients to possess
peculiar virtues. Oil was often burned in honour of the
dead; and the Algerines, when on the water, tied bundles
of wax candles together, and, with a pot of oil, threw them
overboard as a present to the saint, entombed near the
Barbary shore, whom they regarded as their protector.
We believe few who partake of sheep-head or sheep-head
broth know that it is, or was, a custom with the Jews to
serve up sheep-head on New Year's Day at their chief entertainment,
as a mystical representation of the ram offered
in sacrifice instead of Isaac. When a family or company
sat down to this repast, each person took a piece of bread,
and, dipping it in honey, said, "May this year be sweet
and fruitful." The Jews, to cast their sins into the depth
of the sea, sometimes went after dinner to the brink of a
pond, if not near the sea, and threw into the water a
live fish, in the hope that it would carry away all their
iniquities, never more to be found.</p>

<p>It was customary among the Pharisees not only to fast
twice a week (on Monday and Thursday), but at periods of
perplexity to fast thirteen days consecutively. Sometimes,
on account of such small trifles as dreams, they would
abstain from food; but severe drought, pestilence, famine,
war, and inundations were sure to make them fast until
nature was nearly exhausted. The Hebrews held certain
views and followed particular customs with respect to the
dust of heathen countries. Dust that came from Gentile
lands was reckoned so defiling, that the Jewish rulers
would not permit vegetables to be brought from heathen
countries into the land of Israel, lest the detested particles
should be brought along with them. The number 10
was much noticed and used by the Jews. The blessing<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</a></span>
of the bridegroom, which consisted of seven blessings, was
of no avail unless delivered in the presence of ten persons.
Angels, which were believed to have the care of men, were
supposed to ride unseen, on white horses, beside the
objects of their attention.</p>

<p>Among the Jews there was a popular notion that the
spirits of dead persons whispered in a feeble and peculiar
way out of the dust; and it was a common belief that the
soul had no rest unless the body was interred. There were
women among the Hebrews who predicted how long one
would live, and pretended to know when he was to die.
One of a Jew's solemn prayers on the day of expiation
was that he might be delivered from the punishment of
the devil in his grave,&mdash;a punishment supposed to be
inflicted by causing the soul to return to the body, breaking
the deceased's bones, and tormenting both soul and
body for a season. A similar form of prayer was used by
the Mohammedans.</p>



<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<h2><a name="CHAPTER_III" id="CHAPTER_III"></a>CHAPTER III.</h2>

<div class="blockquot"><p>Egypt steeped in Superstition&mdash;Power of Magicians&mdash;Way of obtaining
Visions&mdash;Demons&mdash;Deification of Departed Heroes&mdash;Gods and Demi-gods&mdash;Altars
or Living Stones&mdash;Sacred Animals&mdash;Isis searching for
Osiris&mdash;Leeks and Onions&mdash;Priests were Physicians and Interpreters
of Oracles&mdash;Sacrificing Human Victims&mdash;Wax Figures&mdash;Magic&mdash;Teaching
of the Egyptian Priests&mdash;Transmigration&mdash;Character of Men
judged of after Death.</p></div>


<p>Egypt was a country steeped in superstition. The people
believed in sorcery, magic, and enchantments; and
there is the fullest evidence in the sacred pages that the
Egyptian magicians were able to perform dexterous feats
that were truly surprising. Astronomy was studied with
a view to success in astrology, as the latter was a science
much esteemed, and very lucrative. Public or state
astrologers were consulted in cases of emergencies. None<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</a></span>
dared to practise astrology, magic, sorcery, or any of the
various modes of divination unless authorised by a master
in the art, before whom he had "spread the carpet" for
prayer. To procure sublime visions, seers shut themselves
up for a long time, without food or water, in a dark
place, and prayed aloud until they fainted. While in a
swoon, strange visions appeared to them, and revelations
made which sometimes filled the nation with gladness,
and at other times spread mourning over the country.
In advanced ages, as well as in early times, men believed
there were a multitude of subordinate spirits, as ministers,
to execute the behests of the supreme sovereign. To
these spirits were committed the superintendence of all
the different parts of nature, and their bodies were
imagined to be composed of that particular element in
which they resided. Altars were built in the midst of
groves, where the spirits were supposed to assemble.
Gratitude and admiration tended to the deification of departed
heroes and other eminent persons. This probably
gave rise to the belief of national and tutelar gods, as
well as the practice of worshipping gods through the
medium of statues cut into human form. At one time
demi-gods gradually rose in the scale of divinities until
they occupied the places of the heavenly bodies. Thus,
following ancient hyperbole, a king, for his beneficence,
was called the sun, and a queen, for her beauty, was
styled the moon. As this adulation advanced into an
established worship, the compliment was reversed by
calling planets or luminaries after heroes. And to render
the subject more reconcilable to reason, the Eastern
priests taught that the early founders of states and
inventors of arts were divine intelligences, clothed with
human bodies. When celestial divinities disappeared or
were obscured from observation, men had recourse to
symbols of a temporary nature that produced fire. Altars
of stone were built and consecrated in the name of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</a></span>
divinity whom it was intended to represent. Such altars
were called animated or living stones, from a belief that a
portion of divine spirit resided in them, and the prayers
and praises offered up before them were thought to be as
acceptable as if addressed to the gods themselves. That
those altars or stones might be as near as possible to the
objects of worship represented, they were generally placed
on the tops of mountains, or, in flat countries like Egypt,
on high structures, the works of men's hands. Many
have attributed the building of the pyramids to the
worship of gods; but whether that was the purpose to
which those majestic structures, that have puzzled learned
men, were devoted, we shall not venture to say. This,
however, is certain that, throughout the East, altars, statues,
and pillars were erected for superstitious purposes upon
mountains and other high places.</p>

<p>Herodotus informs us that the ancient Egyptians were
the first people who gave names to their gods. Of Osiris,
Isis, and the many other gods and sacred animals that
were worshipped in Egypt, we shall say little at this part
of our subject. The bull, it is well known, was one of the
most sacred animals. The priests affirmed that Apis was
of divine origin, the cow that produced him having been
impregnated with holy fire. Dogs, the Egyptians said,
deserved homage because they guided Isis when she
searched for the body of Osiris. She, it may be remembered,
sought for the precious remains with true pertinacity till
she found them. To accomplish her purpose, she found
it necessary to transform herself into a swallow, to dry up
the river Ph&oelig;drus, and to kill with her glances the eldest
son of a king. Her tears were supposed to cause the inundation
of the Nile. At times she had the head of a cow,
which identified her with the cow of whom the sun was
born. The hawk was deified because one of these birds
brought to the priests of Thebes a book, tied round with
a scarlet thread, containing the rites and ceremonies to be<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</a></span>
observed in the worship of the gods. The wolf was
adored because Osiris arose in the shape of that animal
from the infernal regions, and assisted Isis and her son
Horus to battle against Typhon. The cat was revered as
an emblem of the moon, for its various spots, fruitfulness,
and activity in the night. The goat (which, by the by, is
said to be absent from the earth and present with Satan
a part of every twenty-four hours of the day, and can never
be seen from sunrise to sunrise without being lost sight of
for a longer or shorter time) was honoured as the representation
of manhood in full vigour, and was worshipped,
from gratitude to the gods, for multiplying the people
of the country. The crocodile was also advanced to the
dignity of a god. If one killed any of the sacred animals
designedly, he was put to death,&mdash;if involuntarily, his
punishment was referred to the priests; but if a man
killed a hawk, a cat, or an ibis, whether designedly or
not, he died without mercy. During a severe famine,
when the Egyptians became cannibals, not one of them
was known to have tasted the sacred animals.</p>

<p>All revered animals were kept at great expense, and
when they died costly funerals took place. When the
Apis died at Memphis, in the reign of Ptolemy the son of
Lagus, his funeral cost not less than &pound;13,000 sterling.
When a cat died, the family it belonged to expressed great
grief, and prayed and fasted several days. In cases of fire,
more care was taken to preserve the feline animals than
the most valuable property in the house. Dead cats, which
were almost invariably embalmed, were sometimes carried
from remote parts to be interred in the city of Bubastis,
and hawks and moles were buried with great solemnity at
Butos, even though they should have died in foreign
countries. Juvenal mentions that leeks and onions were
objects of worship, and others say that the lotus was also
sacred in various parts of the East. The priests were both
physicians and interpreters of oracles; they carefully<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</a></span>
observed the phenomena of nature, and registered every
uncommon occurrence. From such observations, they
calculated the results of other events of similar nature.
Hence arose the practice of divination, and afterwards
that of dispensing oracles. Oracles were erected in every
part of Egypt. Even the sacred animals had their several
oracles. The Apis was consulted by observing into which
of his chambers he entered. By a certain principle understood,
the omen was regarded as foretelling good or evil.</p>

<p>The barbarous custom of sacrificing human victims was
long in force in Egypt, and prevailed down to the reign of
Amasis, by whom it was abolished. Not to give too severe
a shock to the superstitious feelings of the people, wax
figures, representing human beings, were permitted to be
substituted for the living mortals. These customs were,
no doubt, what sorcerers and witches imitated at their
midnight feasts in after ages, and which led old women to
imagine that, by making wax images of those whom they
intended to injure, and sticking sharp instruments into
them at one time, and at another time exposing them to a
scorching heat before a fire, they would wreak their vengeance
upon the individuals whom the figures represented.
We have it from more than one learned writer, that the
cruel and gloomy worship of Egypt arose from a belief
that Typhon was labouring incessantly to counteract the
happiness of mankind. He was considered to be greedy
and voracious, and that it was necessary to glut his altars
with blood in order to appease his anger.</p>

<p>Magic was a science in which the Egyptians excelled.
Its attainment was esteemed the highest exertion of human
intellect. Some imagined that the invention of magic exceeded
human invention, and they pretended that the angel
who fell in love with the antediluvian women taught it,
and that the principles thereof were preserved by Ham
after the Deluge, and that he communicated them to his
son Mizraim; but others ascribed the invention to Hermes.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</a></span>
Without either admitting or denying these assertions, we
can have no hesitation in stating that much of our superstition
may be traced back to Egyptian religion and
customs, and that the singular belief of the Egyptians was
general, and long anterior to the time Jacob and his sons
went down to that country.</p>

<p>The Egyptian priests, taking advantage of the people's
credulity, taught that the sun, moon, and whole host of
heaven were endowed with intelligence, and exerted an
influence over the destinies of men; and they (the priests)
pretended to work miracles, and obtain oracles and omens.
They also laid claim to the power of interpreting dreams.</p>

<p>The Egyptians believed that the souls of men went into
other bodies at death,&mdash;such as had been virtuous going
into exalted bodies, but the vicious passing into mean
reptiles and other contemptible creatures. After remaining
in a state of punishment for a certain number of years,
they were supposed to pass into more exalted beings.
Praise was not bestowed indiscriminately upon every
person who died, however exalted his position. Characters
were given by judges, after inquiry into the life and
conduct of the deceased. The judges sat on the opposite
side of a lake; and while they crossed the lake, he who sat
at the helm was called Charon, which gave rise to the
fable among the Greeks, that Charon conducted the souls
of deceased persons into the infernal regions.</p>



<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</a></span></p>
<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IV" id="CHAPTER_IV"></a>CHAPTER IV.</h2>

<div class="blockquot"><p>Babylon&mdash;The Chaldeans were Priests, Philosophers, Astronomers,
Astrologers, and Soothsayers&mdash;Downfall of Babylon predicted&mdash;Worship
of the Medes and Persians&mdash;Devils confined in an Egg&mdash;Sacred Fire&mdash;The
Gaures&mdash;Births and Deaths in Early Times&mdash;A narrow Bridge&mdash;An
immense Tree&mdash;Creation of Prophets&mdash;A Stone to which Abraham
tied his Camel&mdash;Adam and Eve's Trysting Place&mdash;Black Art&mdash;Ways of
discovering whether a supposed Criminal was Guilty or Innocent&mdash;Looking
into Futurity&mdash;Canaanites, Syrians, and Arabians&mdash;Strange Fables&mdash;Abraham
breaking Heathen Idols&mdash;Worship of the Egyptian Thorn&mdash;Altars&mdash;Religion
of the Carthagenians and Tyrians&mdash;Supremacy of
the Gods.</p></div>


<p>The great city of Babylon owed its origin to the ambition
of the proud people who built the tower of Babel. In
course of time Babylon rose to great grandeur, but superstition
became so prevalent that it proved a snare to the
inhabitants. Like the heathen around, they worshipped
fire and images. The Babylonians pretended to great skill
in astrology, soothsaying, and magic. The Chaldeans, so
called in a strict sense, were a society of pretenders to
learning, priests, philosophers, astrologers, and soothsayers,
who, it is said, dwelt in a region by themselves,
and the rest of the people were called Babylonians. While
Babylon was in its glory, prophets predicted that dreadful
judgments would befall it. And so it happened.
On the very night the destruction came, the king, alarmed
by the mysterious handwriting on the wall, consulted his
magicians; and Daniel, who had been made master of
the magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans, and soothsayers,
made known the sad end of Belshazzar and his kingdom.</p>

<p>The Medes and Persians worshipped the sun, fire, water,
the earth, the winds, and deities without number. Human
sacrifices, as in other idolatrous countries, were offered
by them, and they burned their children in fiery furnaces
appropriated to their idols. At first the gods
they worshipped were Arimanius, the god of evil, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</a></span>
Oromasdes, the giver of all good. Plutarch says that
Oromasdes created several inferior gods or genii, and that
Arimanius created many devils. The former also created
twenty-four devils, and enclosed them in an egg; but
the latter broke the egg, and by that means let out the
demons, and created a mixture of good and evil. The
religion of the Persians underwent a variety of revolutions.
Temples were built for the worship of fire, prior to which
Magian priests kept the sacred fire burning on mountain
tops under considerable difficulties. They fed it with
wood stripped of the bark; they were prohibited from
blowing the fire with their breath or with bellows, lest it
should be polluted. Had one done either, he would have
been punished with death. The Jews had the real fire
from heaven, and the Magi pretended to have received
theirs from the upper regions likewise.</p>

<p>The Gaures held that the earth was inhabited at first by
two persons. They had a tradition that Eve brought twins
into the world every day, and that for one thousand years
death had no power over her seed. They believed that
a select company of angels were appointed guardians of
mankind, but that, notwithstanding this, evil increased:
men grew wicked and perverse in their ways, and therefore
the deluge was sent to sweep them away. The
Gaures had their guardian angels for every month and
day throughout the year, and to them they devoted their
prayers. New Year's Day was a high day with them, and
they had a great many lucky and unlucky days.</p>

<p>The Persians hold that at the last judgment every man
must pass along a bridge no wider than a razor's edge; that
the unbelievers and the wicked will certainly in their
passage fall into hell, there to be for ever and ever tormented;
but that the faithful shall be so guided and supported
that they shall pass the bridge swifter than a bird
can fly through the air, and enter into paradise, and seat
themselves on the banks of the river of delight, which, they<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</a></span>
say, is shaded by a tree of such immense size, that if a man
were to ride forty thousand years, he would not pass the
extent of one of its leaves. In Persia it was a common
belief that there were many prophets living between the
days of Adam and Mohammed, who were created before
the world was made. Their prophets, according to history,
were possessed of the power of working miracles; and
charms and amulets were common in the country.</p>

<p>Pilgrims who went to Mecca invariably kissed a black
stone, regarding which there is a curious legend: Abraham,
we are informed, tied his camel to this stone when
he went to sacrifice Ishmael, for the Mohammedans
represent Hagar as Abraham's lawful wife, and Ishmael
his heir. There is another tradition, that when Abraham
was about to build the Kaaba, held in great veneration,
the stones marched thither of themselves ready hewn and
polished, and that the black stone, being left out when the
building was completed, demanded of Abraham why it
had not been used in the sacred structure. The prophet
told the stone not to be disappointed, for he would cause
it to be more honoured than any stone in the building, by
commanding all the faithful to kiss it as they went in
procession. The faithful people were wont to meet at the
place which they supposed was Adam and Eve's trysting
place after the expulsion, for it is related in one of their
legends that the first man and woman wandered about
the world, separately, hundreds of years after the Fall.</p>

<p>The Persians were extremely addicted to the study and
practice of the black art and all magical incantations,
supposing that by such mysterious operations they could
influence the elements and all the products of nature.
When any one was suspected to have died an unnatural
death, the surviving relatives consulted spirits, with the
view of discovering the cause of it. Sometimes the relatives
alleged that a spell had been cast on the spirits
consulted, which prevented their giving answers to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</a></span>
interrogatories. In that case, magicians were employed to
remove the fascination. A suspected murderer was submitted
to a severe ordeal:&mdash;A particular liquid was poured
upon the arm or thigh of the unfortunate person; but
before the fluid was used it was boiled, while the supposed
criminal's name was repeatedly mentioned. The
moment the liquid began to boil, they commenced to
address their imaginary spirits in the following terms:
"Is the party on whom I pour this water guilty or not?
If he is, may it scald him and shrivel up his skin." If
the application of the boiling liquid did not injure the
suspected person he was declared innocent, but if it
burned him he was pronounced guilty. People anxious
to know the result of approaching warlike engagements
put a vessel full of water, mixed with particular ingredients,
over a fire. As soon as the water commenced
to boil they performed magical incantations, which, as
they imagined, irresistibly attracted the titular genius of
their enemies, and obliged the spirit or god to plunge
himself into it. In this painful situation they confined
him for a considerable time. When he had endured
sufficient penance to humble him, he was questioned relative
to the success of the war. The information sought
was delivered, as the people thought, through the appearance
of the scum on the water. By turning a red-hot
pot upside down, attended with magical incantations,
they imagined the courage of their soldiers exposed to its
heat could be raised.</p>

<p>Canaanites, Syrians, and Arabians were all superstitious,
and given to idolatry. These people had various idols,
regarding which there are strange fables. An idol worshipped
by the Philistines and Syrians, called Derceto,
has an interesting history. Near Askelon there was a
deep lake, abounding with fish. Not far from the lake
stood the temple of this famous goddess, the mother of
Semiramis, who had the face of a woman, and the rest<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</a></span>
of her body resembling part of a fish, for which the
Syrians assigned the following reason:&mdash;Venus having
conceived a hatred against Derceto, caused her to fall in
love with a young Syrian, whom she subsequently murdered,
and then threw herself into the lake, where she
was transformed into the shape of a fish with a woman's
face; for which reason the Syrians did not eat any fish,
but worshipped them as gods. There is a legend of
Abraham, before he left Ur of the Chaldeans, which exhibits
the contempt he had of idols. It is said he took
an opportunity of breaking in pieces all the idols he could
reach, except Baal, and that he suspended about the neck
of this idol the axe with which he had performed the
destruction. The people coming to see what had been
done, supposed that Baal was the author of the mischief.
Some say that Abraham accomplished the exploit in his
father's shop during his absence, and that Terah, returning
home, inquired how the work of destruction had taken
place. Abraham told him that the idols had quarrelled
about an offering of flour that an old woman had brought
them, and that Baal had proved the strongest, and broke
all the rest to pieces.</p>

<p>The Arabians, Ishmael's offspring, were equally guilty
of idolatry. So far did they carry this sin, that they
actually worshipped idols under the shape of Egyptian
thorns. In early times the thorns were adored in the
open fields, but subsequently altars and temples were
erected for their worship. The Arabians worshipped
Assaf under the shape of a calf; and they had a goddess
named Beltha, supposed to be the Venus of the Greeks.
The Sabeans were the principal worshippers of this
goddess; and such was their devotion to her, that they
regularly presented to her a portion of their plunder.</p>

<p>The religion of the Carthaginians and Tyrians was
horrid and barbarous. Nothing of moment was undertaken
without consulting the gods, which was done in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</a></span>
various ridiculous ways. Hercules was the god in whom
the people placed most confidence. He was invoked before
they went on any important expedition; and when
their armies were victorious, sacrifices were offered to him.
One of the chief deities that they worshipped was Urania,
or the moon, to whom they appealed when overtaken by
calamities, such as drought, excessive rain, destructive
hail, thunder, and dangerous storms. Urania was the
queen of heaven mentioned in the Scriptures, to whom
even the Jewish women offered cakes, etc. Carthaginians,
in worshipping Saturn, offered up human sacrifices to
him. Even princes and other great men were wont, in
times of distress, to sacrifice their most beloved children
to this deity. People who had not any children of their
own, purchased infants that they might offer them as
victims to this idol, with the view of inducing him to
fulfil their desires. Diodorus relates that when Agathocles
was going to besiege Carthage, the people imputed
all their misfortunes to the anger of Saturn, because, that
instead of offering up to him children nobly born, he had
been fraudulently put off with the offspring of slaves and
foreigners. To atone for past shortcomings, two hundred
children of the best families in Carthage were sacrificed,
and further, to obtain the god's favour, three hundred
adult citizens immolated themselves.</p>

<p>Nimrod, the great-grandson of Noah, was an idolator,
as were also his descendants. Nineveh was the seat of
his empire. As the sun and moon became early objects
of worship among the Assyrians, so in later days they
adored the fire as their substitute,&mdash;a form of worship that
was common among the ancients in many lands. The
Assyrians published abroad that the gods of other nations
could not stand before their fire-gods. A competition
took place. A vast number of idols were brought from
foreign nations, but as they were composed of wood, the
god Ur (or fire) consumed them. After many contests,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</a></span>
an Egyptian priest discovered a plan of destroying the
reputation of this idol, which had become the terror of
alien people. He caused the hollow figure of an image
to be made of perforated earth, with the holes stuffed
with wax, and the large internal cavity filled with water.
He then challenged the god Ur to oppose his god Canopus,&mdash;a
challenge which was accepted by the Chaldean priests.
No sooner did the heat that was expected to devour the
Egyptian idol begin to take effect, than, the wax being
melted, the water gushed out and extinguished the fire.
Before the Assyrian empire was joined to that of Babylon,
Nisroch was the god worshipped in Nineveh, and it was
in the temple of this idol that the great Sennacherib was
murdered. This idol was in the shape of a bird&mdash;a dove
or an eagle&mdash;made, if we can believe the Jewish rabbis,
from a plank of Noah's ark. The people repented at the
preaching of Jonah, but it was not long before they relapsed
into their former idolatry and general wickedness.</p>



<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<h2><a name="CHAPTER_V" id="CHAPTER_V"></a>CHAPTER V.</h2>

<div class="blockquot"><p>Greek Religion and Superstition&mdash;Whence the Greeks derived their
Religion&mdash;Jupiter regarded as the President of the Law and Protector
of Cities&mdash;Entertainment of Strangers&mdash;Dreams and Charms&mdash;Sacred
Stones&mdash;Omens of Evil&mdash;Sacrificing the Hair&mdash;Flight of Birds&mdash;Compassing
the Altar to the Right&mdash;Methods of discovering whether a
Person was in Love&mdash;Love secured by Magic&mdash;Marriage Ceremonies&mdash;Most
lucky time for Marriage&mdash;Way of protecting a Child from Evil
Spirits&mdash;Divers magical Ceremonies&mdash;Strange Laws as to Dead Bodies&mdash;Fingers
and Toes of Dead Men worn as Charms to frighten away
Ghosts&mdash;Preparing a Body for Burial&mdash;Superstitious Customs&mdash;Swine
and Swine's Flesh&mdash;Drinking Toasts&mdash;How Strangers were expected to
behave in a Strange Land&mdash;Prophets consulted before Armies marched
to Battle&mdash;Certain words avoided&mdash;Sneezing&mdash;Evil Omens&mdash;Throwing a
Person overboard to save a Ship.</p></div>


<p>Herodotus was of opinion that the Greeks derived their
religion and superstition from the Egyptians; Plutarch
arrived at another conclusion; while many maintained that<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</a></span>
Orpheus brought the mysteries of religion into Greece.
Whoever is right, this we know, that the Greeks became
so prone to worship ancient deities, and so anxious to do
homage to all the divinities, that they erected altars to
unknown gods, for fear they would fail in their duty
to any power that could assist them in time of need.
Above all gods, Jupiter was held in the highest esteem.
He was regarded as the president of law and justice, as
the protector of cities, as governor and director of their
councils, and as chief of their societies. To him they
ascribed thunder, and supposed it was he who delivered
them from the Persians, and who assisted them to buy
and sell to advantage. They erected altars to him in
the courts of their houses and before their gates. Regarding
him as the god of strangers, they received and entertained
visitors with great ceremony. As a sign of fidelity, the
right hand of fellowship was given to a stranger, to whom
salt was presented, in token that his person would be safe
under the entertainer's roof. A stranger's bottle was kept,
and when a visitor arrived at the door the head of the
family and he joined feet together on the threshold. A
cup of wine was drunk to an unknown person before his
name was asked. To return respect to those in the house,
the stranger did reverence to the genius of the place, and
saluted the ground with a kiss. When one sojourned in
a strange land, he was expected to conform to the recognised
customs thereof; and on taking his departure he not
only bade farewell to those with whom he
had become acquainted, but took leave of their deities. When an important
agreement was entered into, Jupiter was sacrificed
to, and called to witness the covenant.</p>

<p>The Greeks purified themselves after frightful dreams;
they wore charmed rings to protect themselves from
witchcraft; they were accustomed to spit three times on
seeing a madman; and they spat every time the devil's
name was mentioned in their hearing. Stones were cast<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</a></span>
at every cat and weasel met by one when commencing a
journey, and the meeting of a bitch with whelps was
carefully avoided. The crowing of hens and the whistling of
maidens were listened to with as great fear as the
hissing of a serpent.</p>

<p>If a rat or a mouse ate a hole in one's clothes, evil, it
was thought, was about to befall the luckless owner. The
people had days of good luck and of bad omen. They cut
their hair, and sacrificed it to rivers. They marked the
flight of birds, particularly that of the owl. On seeing
this night bird flying overhead at the battle of Salamis,
the soldiers considered it a good sign, took courage, and
won the fight. When one was going round an altar, he
took care to keep his right hand towards it. People
anointed sacred stones in token of thankfulness, as Jacob
poured oil on the stone he took for a pillow at Bethel.</p>

<p>To know if one was in love, special notice was taken of
his garland at a feast, and from its appearance the wearer's
feelings were supposed to be known, though it might be
thought there was no necessity for such observation;
for, according to an old proverb, "Love and the cough
can never be concealed."</p>

<p>If one could not secure a lady's affections in the usual
way of courting, he endeavoured to get something of
hers into his possession in order to bewitch her. Having
received a glove, a ring, or any other article, he operated
on it in a magical way, and thus obtained his desire.
If a lady's girdle was properly tied into a true-lover's
knot, she could not resist loving him who performed the
charming trick. Another way of softening a woman's
heart was by throwing a bitten apple into her lap. If
she received it and ate the fruit, her affections were won.
All the tokens and charms did not come from the gentleman's
side, for it was not unusual for a lady, when she
wanted to control a lover's affections, to send him charmed
garlands, roses, or bitten apples.</p>

<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</a></span>On the wedding day, a bride, on coming to the house
of her husband, found the doors hung with garlands made
of herbs, flowers, and plants consecrated to certain gods
and goddesses, which possessed peculiar virtues suitable
for the occasion. Cakes were bestowed on the bride on her
marriage day; and there was a custom among the Greeks
and Romans of combing her hair with a spear which had
belonged to a man that lost his life in a fight, or with a
weapon that had been used in killing a man. If this was
done, she was sure to have brave sons. As the bride rose to
leave her father's house, she was carried over the threshold;
and as she entered her husband's house, a practice similar
to that observed among other nations was followed,&mdash;throwing
figs and other fruit at her head, as an omen of
fruitfulness. It was also the custom for a servant, on
first coming into his new home, to have palm branches
and various ornaments placed on his head, to secure prosperity.
As the bride was led into her chamber, there was
a sieve carried along with her, and a pestle hung at the
door, implying that afterwards she was to assist in the
household duties. When the bride and bridegroom were
together in the house, they ate an apple between them, to
signify the pleasantness and harmony they were to enjoy
in after life. Recourse was had to augury, the day before
the wedding, to ascertain whether the married life
was to be prosperous. Before the bride retired for the
night, she was bathed with water drawn from nine different
springs. The time of the year the Grecians deemed most
lucky for marriage was the first month of winter. This
was contrary to the views of the Persians, who considered
spring the proper season for entering into the matrimonial
state. The Greeks thought it better to get married in
the first or second quarter of the moon rather than when
it was waning. General rules were at times departed from,
for occasionally astrologers were consulted as to the most
auspicious day and hour for the happy lovers being united.</p>

<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</a></span>Through magical influence, a husband could have been
made to hate his wife; but, to regain his affections, a
spider caught in early morn was confined in a box, protected
by charms, prepared for its reception. When a
child came into the world, three men kept watch all night
to keep away evil spirits. One of those on guard was
armed with an axe, another with a pestle, and the third
with a broom. Each protector kept his implement swinging
through the air, to prevent the approach of the
dreaded beings. As soon as a child was born it was
washed in water or wine, and wrapped in a cloth worn
by the mother when she was a virgin. In the cloth were
wrought the image of the Gorgon and the snakes of that
monster's head, together with the likenesses of two dragons.
When the child was five days old, it was carried about
the hearth to introduce it to the Penates. Arrangements
were then made for naming the child. A feast was prepared,
at which there were doves, thrushes, coleworts, and
toasted cheese, besides many other things. The feast was
kept up for seven days. The mother, in gratitude for her
child, sacrificed to Diana, and the father returned thanks
to the nymphs for giving him a fruitful wife.</p>

<p>If the little stranger died in infancy, it had only a cold
funeral without fire, or any burial service or mourning.
Sons, as soon as they were three years old, were registered
in the tribe. A feast was then prepared, called "the
shearing feast," because at that time the youngster's hair
was cut, and consecrated to one of their gods.</p>

<p>The Athenians had a law, that if any one happened to
discover a dead body, whether of a friend or a stranger,
he should cast earth on it three times; and the Romans
had a similar law. If a Greek omitted this duty, he was
bound to make satisfaction by sacrificing a sow-pig. But
some went farther, and insisted that whoever saw a dead
body and did not cast dust upon it, was both a law-breaker
and an accursed person. The people feared that<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</a></span>
the gods underground were angry if the dead were left
uncovered with their kindred dust. No greater imprecation
could have been cast at an enemy than that he
might not be covered with the earth. Hence it was that
the ancients stood in great fear of death on the ocean, for
there their bodies could not be interred. When one went
to sea, it was not uncommon for him to tie a reward to his
body, that in case he should be drowned and his body
found, the finder would see it buried, and so become
entitled to the treasure. Next to the happiness of being
assured that the body would be buried, was that of being
interred in one's own country, and not among strangers.
When a man died far from home, frequent solemn invocations
were made for his soul, which, it was thought, could
hear and understand what was said by friends even in
distant lands. At the burial of one that was slain
in battle, his comrades marched three times round the burning
pile or grave, shaking their arms, and throwing swords,
bridles, belts, and other articles into the fire or grave
after the body. When a soldier fell fighting in the field,
and his body could not be found, he was honoured
with the carriage of an empty bier, and funeral ceremonies as
if his remains were present.</p>

<p>If a man killed himself, the hand with which the deed
was committed was cut off, and buried in another place
to that in which the other part of the body was interred.
If one man killed another in a righteous cause, the slayer
washed his hands and held up the weapon that had been
used towards the sun, with the blood on it, to show that
he feared not though the heavens as well as the earth
knew what he had done. The ancients were of opinion
that if one were slain by a relative, the blood could
never be thoroughly wiped off the blade that had cut
down the individual. And for fear the Furies would
avenge the death of one killed by a relation, amulets and
spells were provided to prevent untoward events. The<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</a></span>
most powerful charms were supposed to be parts of the
slain individual. Therefore the fingers, toes, and other
extreme parts of the body were cut off and worn under
the arm-pits, to prevent the murdered person's ghost
taking revenge for the unlawful deed. In preparing a
body for burial, the Greeks took a piece of money and
put it into the mouth, to give to the ferryman Charon.
With the money a small quantity of pudding or cheese
was put in for Cerberus, to propitiate him. As a corpse
was being carried out to be interred, the deceased was commended
to the protection of the infernal gods. To burn
a body was considered more honourable than to lay it
in the cold grave, for the Greeks thought that the divine
and purer part of man was carried by fire to the abode of
the gods above. This belief induced fanatical persons,
when tired of life below, to burn themselves, that they
might all the sooner take their flight to the regions of
bliss. If a high wind sprang up when a body was being
consumed by flames, it was regarded as a favourable omen.
On the body being consumed, the fire was extinguished
with red wine.</p>

<p>After a funeral, the people fumigated the house with
brimstone, and cleansed themselves by passing over a fire.
They then kept a feast, or rather feasts, at which
they sacrificed to Mercury, that he might carry the soul of the
deceased to the realms of happiness. At the same time the
ghosts of relations were sacrificed to. Those who petitioned
the gods had garlands about their necks, or green boughs
in their hands. The branches were either laurel or olive,
because the former signified triumph, and the latter
peace and goodwill.</p>

<p>Swine and swine's flesh were held in high esteem by the
Greeks and Romans, for various reasons&mdash;one of which
was that Jupiter was nursed by a sow. It was the custom
to drink healths or toasts, and the last one before going to
bed was to Mercury, that he might give sound sleep and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</a></span>
pleasant dreams. Great men would, on a high occasion,
drink to a favourite, and hand him the cup to keep.
When a person drank to the health of one he loved, he
partook of part of the liquor, and poured the remainder of
the wine on the ground. Drinking cups in remote times
were made from bulls' horns. The Greeks consecrated
their horses to the sun, and before engaging in war
they consulted their prophets and diviners. In particular,
they paid great attention to the utterances of Egyptian
priestesses kept by them. Then, similar to the manner of
the Jews, Persians, and others, the Greeks consecrated to
the gods, in the event of obtaining victory, portions of
goods secured from the vanquished; and even relations
were offered in sacrifice to the gods supposed to have
given triumph to the victorious armies. A Greek general
did not think it lucky to march his forces before full
moon, or until the seventh day of the month. Sacrifices
were offered to the water when an army came to a river,&mdash;a
custom observed by other nations.</p>

<p>Certain words were never pronounced by the Greeks.
For instance, they carefully withheld their lips from
uttering "prison;" and if they happened to hear what they
thought an unlucky speech, they replied, "Let it return to
thine own head." So far did they carry their superstition,
that if one heard an unfavourable expression when he was
about to drink, he would throw the liquor on the floor
and call for another cup. Sneezing was so superstitiously
regarded, that it came to be counted among the number of
gods. It was deemed inauspicious if a host sent his guests
away from a feast without giving each of them a piece of
cake, or such like, to take home. The cracking of a table
and the spilling of wine or salt were regarded as evil
omens. When a Greek ship was in danger in a storm,
one of the crew or a passenger was chosen by lot, and
thrown overboard, like Jonah, to appease the spirit that
ruled the winds and the waves.</p>



<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</a></span></p>
<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VI" id="CHAPTER_VI"></a>CHAPTER VI.</h2>

<div class="blockquot"><p>Roman Delusions and Customs&mdash;Augury&mdash;Election to the Magistracy;
Omens relative thereto&mdash;Tokens of Futurity&mdash;Dire Misfortunes followed
the Contempt of Augurs&mdash;Drawing of Lots&mdash;Events foretold by reading
the first passage that turned up on opening a Book&mdash;Lucky and Unlucky
Stars&mdash;Fortune Tellers&mdash;Dreams&mdash;Omens drawn from Appearance of
parts of Animals offered in Sacrifice&mdash;Sibylline Books, Charms, and
Incantations&mdash;Spirits going about to observe Men's Actions&mdash;Unlucky
Days&mdash;Dress of a Bride&mdash;Marriage Ceremonies&mdash;Anointing Door-posts
with the Fat of Swine or of Wolves, and crossing the Threshold&mdash;Fire
and Water&mdash;Bridal Feast and Nuptial Songs&mdash;Funeral Rites&mdash;Souls
of Unburied Persons&mdash;The Expiring Breath&mdash;Customs at a Deathbed;
the Cypress exhibited at Houses in which were Dead Bodies and
Funeral Observances&mdash;Hobgoblins and Lares&mdash;Purifying with Water
and Fire&mdash;Ghosts partial to Beans, etc.&mdash;Offerings made to appease the
Manes&mdash;Persons reported to be Dead&mdash;Dead Bodies used for Magical
purposes.</p></div>


<p>The old Roman delusions and customs were as extraordinary
as those of any nation with which history has
made us acquainted. The augurs pretended to foretell
future events from the flight of birds and the chirping
and feeding of fowls, and also from other appearances.
"Augurium" and "auspicium" were generally used promiscuously.
Auspicium was properly the foretelling of
future events from the inspection of birds; augurium from
any omen or prodigy whatever. The augurs are supposed
to have derived tokens of futurity chiefly from five sources&mdash;appearances
in the heavens (such as thunder or lightning),
from the singing or flight of birds, from the feeding
of fowls, from the movements of quadrupeds, and
from uncommon accidents. The birds which chiefly gave
omens by sound were ravens, crows, owls, and cocks,&mdash;and
those by flight, eagles and vultures. Contempt of the
augurs, and neglect of their intimations, were said to be
followed by dire misfortunes. Omens coming from the
left were generally supposed by the Romans to be lucky.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</a></span>
Thunder on the left was regarded as a good sign, and so
was the cawing of a crow on the same side; but it was
considered more fortunate to hear the croaking of a raven
on the right than on the left. The Romans, as the Greeks
had done before them, took omens from quadrupeds crossing
their path or appearing in unaccustomed places. The
augurs taught the people how to draw conclusions from
sneezing, spilling salt, and other accidents, called dira.</p>

<p>Drawing of lots was frequently resorted to by the
Romans wishing to pry into futurity. The lots were
dice, or articles resembling those instruments of chance.
They were thrown into an urn filled with water, or cast
as dice in the ordinary way. If there was any difficulty
in ascertaining the import of the dice throwing, the
priests were employed to interpret. Future events were
frequently inquired into by an inquisitive person cutting
the branch of a tree into small pieces, and distinguishing
them by certain marks, and then scattering them at
random on a white cloth. The searcher after knowledge
having prayed to the gods, took up the slips three times,
and interpreted according to the marks. Future events
were often inquired into by reading the first line or
passage which happened to turn up on opening a book,
or by observing the stars. It was supposed to be lucky
to be born under a certain star, and unlucky to come into
the world under another. Astrologers were consulted regarding
one's natal hour. Fortune-tellers and books of fate
were consulted on the most trivial occasions; and persons
aspiring to the magistracy, after saying their prayers in
the open air, had recourse to augury with the view of
ascertaining whether the gods favoured their cause.</p>

<p>Great attention was paid by the Romans to dreams, and
persons of disordered minds were supposed to possess the
faculty of presaging future events. Omens of futurity were
also drawn from the appearance of the entrails of animals
offered in sacrifice to the gods. The flame and smoke<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</a></span>
from the altar were noticed, and so were the circumstances
attending the driving, felling, and bleeding of the victim.
Sibylline books were inspected by appointment of the
senate at perilous times, as they were supposed to contain
the fate of the Roman Empire. There was something
mysterious about the origin of the sibylline books. It is
reported that a woman called Amalth&aelig;a, from a foreign
country, came to Tarquin the Proud to sell nine sibylline
books. Upon Tarquin refusing to give her the price
asked, she went away and burned three of them. Returning
soon after, she sought the same price for the
remaining six. Still the price was refused, and she went
away and burned other three books. She again came to the
king, and demanded the same price for the three unconsumed
volumes as she had asked for the nine. Tarquin,
who first regarded the woman as a senseless old creature,
became surprised at her strange behaviour, and inquired
at the augurs what he should do. They advised him to
give the woman the price she demanded. The woman
delivered the books, and, after desiring that they should
be carefully kept, disappeared, and was never seen again.</p>

<p>The use of charms and incantations originated in the
worship of the heathen gods. As people in this country
believe that spirits, good and bad, go about at night, so
did the Romans suppose that their gods went up and
down the earth during the night to observe the actions of
men. The priests and others, when engaged in acts of
piety or important business, took care, when turning, to
move to the right. Every Roman avoided repeating
words of bad omen. Certain days were reckoned unfortunate
for the celebration of marriages. The month of
May was thought an unlucky time for marriages being
solemnized. The most fortunate time for weddings taking
place was in the middle of June. The dress of a bride on
her marriage day was a long white robe and her face was
covered with a veil, in token of her modesty; her hair<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</a></span>
was divided with the point of a spear into six locks, and
she was crowned with flowers. No marriage was celebrated
before recourse to auspices. The nuptial ceremony was
performed in the bride's father's house, or in the residence
of the nearest relation. In the evening the bride was
conducted to her husband's house, taken thither apparently
by force from the arms of her mother or other relative,
in memory of the violence used to the Sabine women.
Three boys, whose parents were alive, attended her; two
of them supported her by the arms, while the third
walked before, bearing a flambeau of pine or thorn.
Maid-servants followed with a distaff and wool, intimating
that she was to spin as matrons formerly did. Many
relations and friends attended the nuptial procession.
The young men repeated jests and made sport as she
passed along. The bride bound the door-posts of her new
home with woollen fillets, and anointed them with the fat
of swine or wolves, to prevent enchantments. She was
lifted over the threshold, or lightly leaped over it, as it
was thought ominous to put her foot upon it, because
the threshold was sacred to Vesta, the goddess of virgins.
Both she and her husband touched fire and water, as
all things were supposed to be produced from these two
elements. With the water their feet were bathed. The
husband gave a feast, and musicians attended and sang
the nuptial song. After supper the bride was conducted
to her bed-chamber by matrons who had been only once
married, and laid on her couch, which was covered with
flowers; songs were then sung by young women before
the chamber door till midnight. Next day another
entertainment was given by the husband, when presents
were sent to the bride by her friends and relations; and
she began her family duties by performing sacred rites.</p>

<p>Great attention was paid to funeral ceremonies. Many
people believed that the souls of the unburied were not
admitted into the abodes of the dead before they had<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</a></span>
wandered about the Styx at least a hundred years. If
one happened to discover an unburied body and did not
throw earth on it, he was compelled to expiate his crime
by sacrificing a hog to Ceres. When persons were at the
point of death, their nearest relation present endeavoured
to catch the expiring breath with their mouth, as they believed
the soul or living principle went out by the mouth.
The nearest relation among the Romans closed the eyes
and mouth of the deceased, after putting money into the
mouth for the ferryman who was to take the soul of the
dead over the lake it had to cross. A branch of cypress
placed at the door where the deceased lay, indicated that
there was a dead body within. People were invited to
public funerals by a herald. Magistrates and priests
were supposed to be violated by seeing a corpse, and
therefore the dead were generally buried at night with
torch-light. At funeral processions pipers and other
musicians attended, and women sang the funeral song
or the praises of the deceased to the sound of the flute.
By the law of the twelve tables, the number of flute
players was restricted to ten. Next followed actors and
buffoons, who danced and sang, while one of them imitated
the deceased's words and actions when alive. Before
the corpse there were carried the images of the deceased
and of his ancestors. The ancients buried their dead at
their own houses, whence arose the fear of hobgoblins, and
a belief in lares, supposed to be the souls of the deceased.</p>

<p>When the body was laid in the tomb, the people present
were sprinkled three times with pure water by the
priest, and when the friends returned home they were
again sprinkled. Beans, lettuces, bread, eggs, etc. were
laid in the tombs, in the belief that the ghosts would come
and eat them. Offerings were made to appease the
manes. If a person, falsely reported to have been dead,
returned home, he did not enter his house by the door,
but went into it through the roof. Dead bodies were<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</a></span>
often violated for magical purposes, by stripping them of
valuable articles, or cutting off fingers, toes, or arms.
Wax images of deceased persons were made, and, after a
variety of ridiculous ceremonies, burned on piles, from
the tops of which eagles were let loose to convey to heaven
the souls set free from the body.</p>



<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VII" id="CHAPTER_VII"></a>CHAPTER VII.</h2>

<div class="blockquot"><p>Ethiopian Superstition&mdash;Sacred Bread&mdash;Customs of Ethiopian Monks&mdash;Heathen
Indian Gods&mdash;Paraxacti and her three Sons&mdash;Thirty thousand
millions of Gods&mdash;Fate of a Child written on its Forehead&mdash;Transmigration
of Souls&mdash;Seven Seas&mdash;Mountain of Gold&mdash;Adder of
monstrous size with a Hundred Heads&mdash;Vixnu&mdash;Dispute between
Bruma, Vixnu, and Rutrem&mdash;Curse pronounced against the Thistle&mdash;Iranien
the Giant&mdash;Transformation&mdash;Morning Star&mdash;Vixnu's different
Forms&mdash;A King's Head kicked into the lowest Abyss&mdash;Prediction by
Soothsayers&mdash;A Tyrant's Intentions frustrated&mdash;Vixnu's Guilt and
Punishment; his Marriages and supposed future Appearance&mdash;Rutrem&mdash;A
Son with Seven Heads&mdash;The Seven Stars as Nurses&mdash;Parvardi's
Loss of her Husband and Birth of a Son&mdash;Rutrem's Revenge and its
Consequences&mdash;The Indians' Offering to the Sun&mdash;The Ganges&mdash;The
Giant Piamejuran&mdash;Superstitious Observances at Marriages&mdash;Disposal
of Dead Bodies&mdash;Different degrees of Glory after Death&mdash;Reverence
for the Cow&mdash;Ways of detecting Criminals&mdash;Addressing Oracles&mdash;Astronomy&mdash;Eclipse
of the Moon&mdash;Magic&mdash;John Gondalez.</p></div>


<p>In Ethiopia, superstition was general over the entire
empire. The Ethiopians used a sacred bread, called the
corban. While this bread was being made, the baker was
obliged to repeat seven psalms. Upon every loaf there
were twelve impressions of the cross, and each cross was
within a square. Ethiopian monks slept on a mat spread
on the ground, and before lying down they stretched out
their hands one hundred and fifty times in the form of a
cross. Baptism was understood by the people of this
empire to be a solemn ceremony that washed away all
impurities; but the rite was observed by nearly all the
ancient nations, in memory of the Deluge.</p>

<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</a></span>In an account of the empire of the Great Mogul, we
find no end of superstitious observances. Each heathen
Indian tribe had a separate god. Some tribes even worshipped
boiled rice; after the same manner the Egyptians
paid homage to leeks. Indian writers say that, in the
beginning, a woman, whose name was Paraxacti (brought
into existence by the great Creator), had three sons,&mdash;the
first named Bruma, who came into life with five heads.
He was endowed with the power of creating all inferior
beings. The name of the second was Vixnu, appointed
lord of providence and preserver of all things formed by
Bruma. The third was named Rutrem, whose function
or inclination was to destroy all things his other two
brothers had made and preserved. Rutrem, like his
brother Bruma, had five heads. Bruma assumed the
form of a stag; and, to punish him for a serious crime he
committed when in that shape, his brothers and thirty
thousand millions of gods punished him by cutting off
one of his heads.</p>

<p>According to the notions of Indian heathens, Bruma
writes upon the forehead of every child an account of all
that shall happen to him in the world. It is reported
of Vixnu that he metamorphosed himself at pleasure.
He first took the form and nature of a fish, and the
second form assumed was that of a tortoise. The Indians
believed there were seven seas in the world,&mdash;one of
milk, of so delicious a nature that the gods ate butter
made of it. One day, when the gods wanted to feast
on the butter according to custom, they brought to the
shore of the milk sea a high mountain of gold, which
supported fourteen worlds that composed the universe.
The uppermost part of the mountain served for a resting
place, and over it was brought an adder of monstrous
size, having a hundred heads. The gods made use of
this adder as a rope, in order to get at the butter more
easily; but while they were attempting to procure the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</a></span>
butter, the giants, who had a continual hatred against
the gods, drew the adder on the other side with so much
violence that it shook the whole universe, and sunk it so
low, that Vixnu, in his tortoise form, placed himself under
it and supported it. Meanwhile the hundred-headed
adder, being unable any longer to endure the pain the
gods and giants inflicted on him, vomited poison upon
the giants, which killed many of them on the spot. Vixnu
afterwards assumed the form of a beautiful woman, and
such of the giants as remained alive fell in love with the
fair being. In this guise, he amused the giants till the
gods had eaten all the butter.</p>

<p>In his third incarnation, Vixnu changed himself into
the form of a hog, in consequence of the following circumstance:&mdash;One
day a contest arose between the three gods,
Bruma, Vixnu, and Rutrem, regarding the extent of their
power. Rutrem undertook to go and hide himself, and
at the same time promised to submit himself to him who
should first discover his head and feet; but if they could
not find these parts, then the baffled gods were to acknowledge
him their superior. Bruma and Vixnu having
agreed to this proposal, Rutrem vanished, and hid his
head and feet in places a great distance from each other,
where he imagined they could not be found. Bruma,
in the likeness of a swan, commenced to search for the
head, but, finding he could not obtain any trace of it, he
resolved to return home. Just, however, as he was going
to give up the search, he met the thistle flower, which
came and saluted him, and showed the place where
Rutrem had hid his head. Rutrem, exasperated, cursed
the flower, and forbade it ever to enter his presence. For
this reason, his followers prevented thistles being brought
into their temples in any part of the East Indies.</p>

<p>For the purpose of finding the feet, Vixnu transformed
himself into a hog, and went from place to place digging
into the earth, but without success. For cogent reasons,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</a></span>
Vixnu next assumed the form of a man and lion at the
same time. Rutrem, it appears, conceived a strong friendship
for one Iranien, a mighty giant, and granted him
the privilege that no one should kill him either by day
or by night. Instead of the giant proving grateful, he became
proud and overbearing, and even insisted on being
worshipped as a god. To punish the giant, Vixnu
suddenly appeared before him in the form of a cloud,
and then, taking the monster shape of a being half-man
half-lion, resolved to take vengeance on the ungrateful
wretch. In the evening, when Iranien was standing at
the threshold of his door, Vixnu sprang at him, tore him
to pieces, and drank his blood. But the blood affected
Vixnu so much that he became stupid. Vixnu's fifth
transformation was into a dwarf. At that time a cruel
king's subjects appealed to Vixnu to relieve them of their
oppressor, and, to carry out the people's desire, he, in
the form of a dwarf, went to the city where the tyrant
kept court. The dwarf begged from the king a grant of
three feet of ground whereon to build himself a house.
The tyrant was about to comply with the request, when
the morning star, which attended the king in the character
of secretary of state, suspected there was treason in
the case. It was common, when requests were granted,
for the king to take water into his mouth and pour some
of it into the hand of the suppliant, and therefore the
secretary, by the assistance of magic, slipped imperceptibly
down the prince's throat, in order to prevent the water
being thrown out. The magic had not the desired effect;
for the king, finding something in his throat, forced a
sharp instrument into it, which put out one of the secretary's
eyes, and the water gushed out, ratifying the agreement.
Vixnu changed himself into a monster so large
that the whole earth was not sufficient to afford room for
his feet. He then said to the king, "You have given me
three feet of earth, and yet the whole world can scarcely<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</a></span>
contain one of my feet: where am I to place the other?"
The tyrant, seeing deserved wrath awaiting him, laid his
head down before Vixnu, who with one kick tossed it
into the lowest abyss of hell. The wretched king, finding
himself condemned to such a place of torment, begged
pardon and mercy of Vixnu, but all the favour he received
was one day's respite every year, to enable him to take
part at a particular ceremony, to be observed in commemoration
of his own downfall and punishment.</p>

<p>Vixnu's sixth form was that of a white man. He subdued
many tyrants, and washed his hands in their blood.
In this form he destroyed many giants, and compelled all
the apes in the country to attend him. The last form Vixnu
assumed was that of a black man, in which likeness his cunning
and success were not less marked than when he was
disguised in several of his former shapes. Here is another
story told of him:&mdash;There was a great tyrant named Campsen,
a violent persecutor of good men, who had a sister
called Exudi. It happened that the soothsayers, of whom
there were many in the country, having consulted the
stars, told the king that Exudi would have eight children,
and that the youngest of them would kill him. This enraged
the monarch so much that he destroyed seven of her
children as soon as they were born. Notwithstanding the
natural affliction of the princess, she became pregnant for
the eighth time, but, wonderful to relate, of no less a personage
than the god Vixnu, who, unknown to her, succeeded
in finding a place in her womb. Fearing the child
would be conveyed beyond his reach as soon as it was born,
the king placed spies everywhere to prevent the young
prince's escape. The supposed father of the child succeeded
in carrying him away, and placing him under the
care of shepherds far up the mountains. Every effort
was made by the baffled monarch to discover the young
prince, and at last he found him. Desiring to be the
executioner himself, he went and laid hold of the child to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</a></span>
murder him. Just as the hand was raised to inflict the
fatal blow, the prince vanished, and in his room appeared
a little girl, whom the tyrant also attempted to kill; but
she too, after mocking the king, disappeared uninjured.
Vixnu grew from boyhood to manhood, when he raised
an army against Campsen, whom he defeated and slew
with his own hands, fulfilling the prediction of the soothsayers.
Vixnu married two wives, but, neither of them
pleasing him, he divorced them and espoused sixteen
thousand shepherdesses. The people imagined that he
would appear some time or another in the form of a horse,
but thought that until that metamorphosis took place he
would wallow in a sea of milk, with his head supported
by a beautiful snake.</p>

<p>We are informed that Rutrem, the third son of Paraxacti,
was much respected by the people, though, judging from
the accounts transmitted to us, the wonder is that he was
not detested. He married Parvardi, daughter of a king,
whose dominion was in the mountains, with whom he
lived a thousand years; but his two brothers, Bruma and
Vixnu, having disapproved of the match, gathered together
the thirty thousand millions of gods, and went in search
of him. Accordingly he was found and dragged away
from his wife, which caused him to wander up and down
the earth in search of forbidden pleasures. One day the
earth gave him a son with seven heads; but as a nurse
could not be got to bring up the child, the seven stars
undertook the task. Parvardi, disconsolate at the loss of
her husband, went in search of him, but could not discover
his place of abode. In her lonely state, she begged
the gods would give her a son,&mdash;a request that was complied
with, for a man-child dropped out of the sweat of her forehead.
In the meantime Rutrem returned to his house,
and, finding the child, became exceedingly enraged. His
anger, however, turned into love on being informed
of the miraculous manner in which he was born. The<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</a></span>
king of the mountains made a feast, to which the gods
were invited, but Rutrem, his son-in-law, was not asked.
This want of respect provoked him so much that he went
to the banquet, and, laying hold of one of the gods, tore
off a handful of hair from his head. From the hair a
giant of enormous size started up, whose head reached to
the firmament, and struck the sun with so great violence
that all its teeth were knocked out. For this reason, the
Indians refused to offer anything to the sun but what
could be eaten without teeth. Not satisfied with knocking
out the teeth of the sun, he bruised the moon so
severely that the marks remain to the present day. He
then killed several of the guests, among whom was his
step-son, created from the sweat of his mother's forehead.
Vinayaguien (that was the youth's name) lost his head,
and had it replaced with that of an elephant. In the
disfigured state into which he was turned, his father
dispatched him in search of a wife as beautiful as his
mother,&mdash;a task that proved endless, because there could
not be found a woman equal in beauty to his maternal
parent.</p>

<p>Rutrem married the River Ganges, which was represented
under the form of a blooming woman. At that
time there was a giant named Piamejuran, who had for
several years undergone a severe penance for having
offended Rutrem, but, becoming sensible of his offence,
desired to be absolved. The favour was granted him, with
the privilege of reducing to ashes everything he laid his
hands upon. The power with which he was endowed
proved his death. One day he went to the Ganges to
bathe, and, lifting his hand to his forehead, it reduced
him to dust.</p>

<p>At their marriages, the Indians were very superstitious,
and paid great regard to omens. The consent of the
parents being obtained, and a fortunate day appointed,
the parties met with the relations, when the bridegroom<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</a></span>
threw three handfuls of rice on the head of the bride,
and she cast an equal quantity at him. Part of the
marriage ceremony consisted of the fathers of both bridegroom
and bride putting a piece of money and a small
quantity of water into the bride's hand. This being done,
the bridegroom hung a ribbon, with a coin attached to
it, round her neck.</p>

<p>As soon as a man died, his beard was shaved, his body
washed, lime put into his mouth, and women rubbed his
face with rice. When the body was burned, the deceased's
ashes were thrown into the Ganges, for the water of that
river was supposed to have a virtuous and holy influence
on whatever it touched. The Brahmins believed that
there were five different degrees of glory after death.
Bruma, with his wife Sarassuadi, was in the fourth state
attended by a large swan, on which he rode abroad, this
god being supposed to be exceedingly fond of travelling.
None but the most innocent were exalted to the fifth seat
of glory.</p>

<p>Cows' dung was spread over the floors of Indian temples;
and such was the people's reverence for the cow, that
when sacrificing they poured milk on their altars. Their
priests pretended that their gods had oracles, by which
they could foretell future events. When several persons
were suspected of stealing anything, and the guilty one
could not be discovered by ordinary means, the priests
wrote the names of the suspected persons on different
pieces of paper, and laid them down before the altar, and
invoked their oracle, after which they locked the doors,
so that no person could get in. When they returned and
found any paper removed, the person whose name was
on it was declared to be the criminal. On the priests
addressing their oracles, they became so excited that they
remained for hours seemingly in great agony. After recovering,
they explained to the people the sayings of the
oracles. The Indians had tables of astronomy which<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</a></span>
they consulted. When the moon was eclipsed, they believed
she was fighting with a black devil.</p>

<p>The Indians supposed that by means of magic a man
could change himself into the form of a lion or any other
animal he chose. We have heard of one John Gondalez,
who changed himself into the shape of a lion, and in
that form was shot by a Spaniard. The day on which
Gondalez was fired at he was reported to be sick. A
clergyman was called in to take his confession. The
pious man, in giving an account of what he saw and heard,
said, "I saw Gondalez's face and nose all bruised, and
asked him how he had received the injuries. He told me
that he had fallen from a tree and nearly killed himself.
After this he accused the Spaniard of shooting at him.
The affair was inquired into by a Spanish justice of the
peace. My evidence was taken, and I told what Gondalez
had said to me regarding his fall. The Spaniard swore
that he had shot at a lion in a thick wood, where an
Indian was not likely to be."</p>

<p>Gondalez was examined as to how he was not seen by
the Spaniard when he went to look for the lion; to which
he replied that he ran away lest the Spaniard should kill
him. As Gondalez's dealings with the devil were well
known to all in the neighbourhood, it was held that he had
received his injuries when roaming as a four-footed beast;
and therefore the justice discharged the Spaniard.</p>



<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</a></span></p>
<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VIII" id="CHAPTER_VIII"></a>CHAPTER VIII.</h2>

<div class="blockquot"><p>John Gomez the Wizard and Man-tiger&mdash;Lopez the Man-lion&mdash;Vermilion
Marks rendered the Devil powerless&mdash;Sacrificing Children&mdash;Offerings
to the Ganges&mdash;A Rajah offering himself as a Sacrifice&mdash;Preventatives
against Disease&mdash;Various Superstitious Ceremonies&mdash;Sacrificing
to the Gods of the Four Winds&mdash;How the Devil was kept
away&mdash;King's Wives and Retainers going with the Dead Monarch into
the other World&mdash;An eternal Succession of Worlds&mdash;Apes supposed to
have Human Souls&mdash;Worshipping Demons&mdash;Drinking Blood&mdash;Prognosticating
from the Cries of Beasts&mdash;Witchcraft and Magic&mdash;Singular
Opinions and Customs&mdash;Watching Graves, and providing for
the Dead&mdash;Foretelling Future Events at the New Moon&mdash;Method of
discovering a False Swearer&mdash;Offerings to the Sea and Winds&mdash;Superstition
in China&mdash;Chinese Genealogy and Worship&mdash;Opinion of their
Gods and Goddesses&mdash;Sacrifices&mdash;Beggars&mdash;Magical Arts&mdash;False
Worship&mdash;Comfort of the Dead provided for&mdash;Superstition in Japan&mdash;Fortune-telling&mdash;Idols&mdash;Gods
and Goddesses&mdash;Five Hundred Children
hatched from Eggs&mdash;Human Souls supposed to reside in Inferior
Animals&mdash;Beasts held in great esteem&mdash;Statues of Witches and
Magicians placed in Temples in Japan&mdash;Charms sold by Priests&mdash;Value
of Charms&mdash;Fortunate and Unfortunate Days&mdash;A Fairy in the likeness
of a Fox&mdash;A valuable Charm.</p></div>


<p>The gentleman (a clergyman) who told the story of John
Gondalez, gives another tale equally interesting. John
Gomez, the chief of an Indian town, was nearly eighty
years of age, and reputed to be possessed of more than
ordinary shrewdness. His advice was preferred to that
of all other chiefs. He seemed to be a very godly
Indian, and very seldom missed morning and evening
prayers in the church. "He was suddenly taken ill,"
proceeds the clergyman; "and one of his friends, fearing
that he might die without making confession, called me
up at midnight, desiring me to go presently to John
Gomez to help him to die. I therefore visited Gomez,
who lay with his face muffled. He confessed, wept, and
showed a willingness to die. I comforted him, after which
I returned home to refresh myself. Scarcely had I crossed<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</a></span>
the threshold of my house than I was called on to visit
the sick man a second time, and give him extreme unction.
As I anointed him on his nose, lips, hands, eyes, and feet,
I perceived he was swollen black and blue. I went home
again, and after I had rested a little, an Indian called to buy
candles to offer up for the soul of John Gomez, who, he
told me, had departed. I went to the church, and found
the grave being prepared for the deceased. Two Spaniards,
to whom I spoke, told me of a great stir being made in
the town concerning the death of Gomez. Amused at
the information received, I desired a full and particular
account of the whole circumstances. They told me that
Gomez was the chief wizard of the town&mdash;that he was
often changed into a tiger, and in that form walked about
the mountains. Wondering at this statement, I went
straight to the prison, where, I was told, I might obtain
information on the subject. At the stronghold the officers
communicated to me the whole matter. There were witnesses,
they said, who saw a lion and a tiger fighting,
and presently lost sight of them, but saw in their places
Gomez and a man named Lopez. Gomez returned home
much bruised, and on his deathbed declared to his friends
that Lopez had killed him. Lopez was therefore taken
into custody, and put in irons. The crown officers investigated
the case with great care, and found that the
body of Gomez was all bruised and torn in various places.
Lopez, upon this, was taken to Guatemala, and there
hanged, the evidence against him, in the estimation of
the judges and people, being conclusive that he had
fatally injured Gomez while the former was in the shape
of a tiger, and the latter in the likeness of a lion."</p>

<p>The inhabitants of Bisnagar, Deccan, and elsewhere
believed that the moment a priest marked any one on the
forehead with vermilion, the devil had no power over the
person thus distinguished. At Samorin there was a statue
to which children were sacrificed. It was of brass, and,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</a></span>
when heated by a furnace underneath it, the children were
thrown into its mouth and consumed. Flowers were
scattered upon the altars during the sacrifices, and herbs,
steeped in the blood of a cock, perfumed the idol. The
cock's throat was cut with a silver knife dipped in the
blood of a hen. At the conclusion of the barbarous
ceremony, the priest walked backwards from the altar to
the middle of the chapel, where he threw a handful of
corn over his head.</p>

<p>The Ganges, as is well known, was, and still is, worshipped
by a large number of people. Vast numbers of
pilgrims continually visit this great river. Formerly, if
not now, they bathed in it in a peculiar fashion, holding
short straws in their hands while they were performing
their ablutions. Gold and silver were often thrown into
the stream, in testimony of admiration.</p>

<p>At Quailacara a remarkable ceremony took place once
every twelve years. On the morning of the important
day, the rajah, who was both high priest and sovereign,
offered himself a sacrifice to the gods. He first delivered
an oration, and then with a sharp instrument cut off his
nose, lips, and ears, and concluded the tragical event by
cutting his throat. Similar ceremonies were performed in
the same district by scores of deluded devotees, who bent
their steps to the most celebrated temples, where they cut
off their flesh, piece by piece, and then stabbed themselves
to death. Their bodies were burned, and the ashes sold
by the priests at high sums, as preservatives against disease.
When the people came to bathe in the Ganges in the
month of May, they erected piles of cows' dung, on which
were placed baskets of rice, roots, and every description of
vegetables. These were surrounded with wood besmeared
with butter, and set on fire. From the appearance of the
smoke and flame, those present pretended to discover
whether the harvest was to be abundant or otherwise.
At seed-time the priests took branches from trees, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</a></span>
walked in procession with them, going three times round
the temples. A hole was then dug in the ground, and
water from the Ganges poured into it. In this hole cows'
dung and the branches were put and set on fire, and from
the appearance of the flames the arch-priest was enabled
to foretell what was to happen during the year. When a
person was dying, he was carried to a river and dipped
into it, that his soul and body might be purified. Happy
was the individual who could be conveyed to the Ganges,
because its waters were supposed to be possessed of virtues
that did not exist in other rivers. Sometimes the hands
of the dying person were tied to a cow's tail, and the
invalid dragged through the water. If the cow emitted
urine upon the person, it was considered a most salutary
purification. If the fluid fell plentifully upon the expiring
man, his friends testified their joy by loud acclamation,
believing he was about to be numbered among the blessed.
But when the cow did not supply the purifying liquid,
the relatives showed their grief, for they thought their
dying friend was going to a place of punishment.</p>

<p>At Assam and elsewhere, when a person was sick,
sacrifices were offered to the god of the four winds. If
the patient died, servants were kept beating on instruments
of copper to keep away evil spirits, supposed to be
hovering round the corpse. There was a belief that if an
evil spirit passed over a dead body, the soul would return
to the inanimate remains. At a funeral procession, men
surrounded the coffin with drawn scimitars, to drive the
devil away and help to confine him to his home of darkness.
At a king's death, all his wives, ministers of state,
and retainers surrounded the grave, and poisoned themselves,
in order to accompany him into the other world.
Horses, camels, elephants, and hounds were also interred
along with his majesty, to be useful to him in the world
of bliss.</p>

<p>In Pegu, the people believed in an eternal succession<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[Pg 52]</a></span>
of worlds, and imagined that, as soon as one would be
burned, another would spring out of its ashes. They
thought that people devoured by crocodiles went to a
place of perpetual happiness. The people believed that
asses had human souls, and, reversing the theory of
Darwin that human beings were the offspring of inferior
animals, thought they were formerly men; but, to
punish them for crimes they had been guilty of, the gods
transformed them into their present shape. White elephants
were much esteemed by the people. As the devil
was worshipped, altars were erected in honour of him,
and sacrifices were daily offered to appease his wrath and
obtain his favour. Devout persons refused to taste food,
before throwing part of it behind them for the dogs or
devils to eat; for they imagined that every dog was
possessed with evil spirits, if the animal was not Satan
himself. It sometimes happened that a man left his
house, swept clean and genteelly furnished, for the devil
to take possession of it for a whole month.</p>

<p>On entering into a solemn agreement, the natives of
Siam drank each other's blood. They attentively listened
to the groans and cries of wild beasts, and prognosticated
from them, and believed in witchcraft. They imagined,
as spiritualists of the present time do, that answers were
received from deceased friends or relations. Natives of
the Philippine Islands had a notion that they could know,
from seeing the first objects that presented themselves to
them in the morning, whether they would be successful
or unsuccessful in their undertakings during the day. If
one of them happened to tread upon an insect when setting
out on a journey, he would proceed no further. The
islanders of the Moluccas watched the graves of their
deceased relations seven nights, for fear the devil would
steal the body away, and during that time the bed of the
deceased was made as if he were alive. Further, victuals
were prepared for him, lest he should return to earth and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[Pg 53]</a></span>
require nourishment. Many of the people wore bracelets,
and on the appearance of the new moon a hen's neck
was cut, and the bracelets dipped into the blood. From
the appearance of the ornaments after being taken out,
future events were brought to light. When the people of
Ceylon were called upon to make oath, they wrapped
their right hands in a cloth the previous night, and
when they appeared in court, a caldron, containing a
mixture of cows' dung and water, kept boiling over
a strong fire, was in readiness for the deponents, subsequent
to removing the bandages, to immerse their
hands therein. This being done, their hands were again
wrapped up until next day, when the fingers were
rubbed with a linen cloth. He whose skin peeled off
first, was declared to have spoken falsehoods; and he
not only lost his cause, but was compelled to pay a
penalty to the king. At the Maldive Islands, offerings
were made to the sea when a voyage was about to be
undertaken. Sacrifices were also offered to the winds,
which was done by setting fire to a new boat, and consuming
it to ashes. But if one was too poor to offer a
boat, he threw into the ocean several cocks and hens; for
it was the opinion that there was in the water a god
that ate such things as were offered in sacrifice. One was
warned not to spit against the wind when at sea. The
ships and other vessels belonging to the people of these
islands were consecrated to the gods of the sea and the
winds.</p>

<p>Superstition in China was, and still is, both general and
absurd in the extreme. The Chinese profess to have an
uninterrupted genealogy of their kings for a period of
twenty-four thousand years; but, notwithstanding their
pretensions to antiquity, learned men suppose that these
people are descendants of the Egyptians. On this difficult
question, however, we do not propose to enter, and therefore
proceed to notice a few of their ridiculous customs<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</a></span>
and notions. They have been idolaters for ages, and pay
divine honours to numerous gods&mdash;particularly to Fo,
who was deified and worshipped for more than a thousand
years before the Christian era. The Chinese say that Fo
was a king's son. As soon as the infant god was born,
he could speak and walk. When young, he had four
philosophers to instruct him, and at the age of thirty he
began to work miracles. Report has it that he was born
eight thousand times, and that his soul had passed through
the bodies of many different animals. The doctrine of
transmigration of souls was part of the people's creed, and
this doctrine is still believed in by the people generally.
Cang-y was the god of the lower heavens, and had power
over life and death. He had three spirits constantly
attending him, the first of whom sent rain to refresh and
nourish the earth; the second was the god of the sea, to
whom all their navigators made vows before going away
with ships, and performed them on their return home;
and the third presided over births and war. The great
Chinese reformer, Confucius, was born four hundred and
fifty years before Christianity was preached. As soon as
he was born, two dragomans came to guard him against
harm, and the stars bowed themselves before him. He
married a wife, but, finding that she hindered him in his
pursuit of knowledge, he put her away. He lived to the
age of seventy years, when he died of a broken heart
at beholding the evils around him. The highest honours
were paid to him after death.</p>

<p>Hogs were offered in sacrifice to the gods. Wine was
poured on the animals' ears, and if they shook their
heads at this operation they were deemed proper objects
to be offered, but if they remained motionless they were
rejected.</p>

<p>On the 14th August of every year sacrifices were offered
by the people to their ancestors, and all who assisted them
at the solemn ceremonies were assured that they would<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</a></span>
receive particular favours from their dead relatives. Vast
numbers of beggars constantly went about the country.
If those mendicants were refused alms, they told the people
that their souls would pass into the bodies of rats, mice,
snakes, toads, and such other creatures as they knew the
Chinese abhorred. Those mendicants told fortunes, and, if
report speaks true, could raise the wind by striking the
earth with a hammer of magical virtue. A ship captain,
on going to sea, might have a fair wind and a prosperous
voyage for a moderate sum. Divination was practised by
means of household gods, of which there were many in
the empire.</p>

<p>Conjurers and fortune-tellers were by law forbidden to
frequent the houses of civil or military officers under the
pretence of prophesying impending national calamities or
successes, but the prohibition was not understood to prevent
them telling fortunes and casting nativities by the
stars in the usual manner. Whenever signs of calamity
were observed in the heavens by the officers of the
astronomical board, and they failed to give faithful notice
thereof; they were punished with one hundred and twenty
blows and two years' banishment. In later times a law
was passed against sorcerers and magicians, prohibiting
them, under pain of death, from employing spells and incantations,
calculated to agitate and influence the minds of
the people. Killing by magic was by statute placed among
the most serious classes of offences. Magicians who raised
evil spirits by means of magical books and dire imprecations,
or who burned incense in honour of the images of
their worship when they assembled by night to instruct
their followers, were strangled.</p>

<p>It was enacted by the Chinese laws, that if any members
of a private family performed the ceremony of the adoration
of heaven and of the north star, and lighted the lamps
of the sky and of that star, they were guilty of profanation,
and liable to be punished with eighty blows. When<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</a></span>
a dead body was laid in the coffin, the mouth of the
deceased was filled with corn, rice, silver, and gold; and
scissors, tied up in purses, were put into the coffin, that
the departed person might cut his nails as often as he
pleased.</p>

<p>There was a sect in Japan called Jammabugi, who
studied magic chiefly among the rocks and mountains.
They procured a subsistence by pretending to tell fortunes.
They possessed an almost incredible number of idols, one
of which was Abbuto, noted for curing inveterate diseases,
and for procuring a favourable wind at sea. To secure a
quick passage, sailors and passengers were wont to throw
money into the ocean as an offering to this idol.</p>

<p>The Japanese had gods for almost everything. A
most ridiculous account is given of their goddess of riches.
When a mortal, she had no children by her husband, which
caused her to supplicate the gods to give her offspring.
Her prayers were heard, and she produced five hundred
eggs. Being afraid that if the eggs were hatched they
would bring forth monsters, she packed them up in a box
bearing a particular mark, and threw them into a river.
An old fisherman found the box, and, seeing it full of eggs,
carried it home to his wife. Not having a sufficient
number of hens to hatch so many eggs, she put them into
an oven, and, to the surprise of the aged couple, every
egg produced a child. The two old people succeeded in
bringing up the strange progeny to manhood, for they
were all sons. They became robbers and beggars by turn;
and it happened, one day during their rambles, that they
came to their mother's house. From inquiries she made,
it became clear that the young ruffians were her own
children. She kept them, and reared them up to be
virtuous and useful. She was afterwards taken up from
the earth to be among the gods, where she remains,
attended by her five hundred sons.</p>

<p>Apes and monkeys, as well as other creatures, were<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</a></span>
worshipped in Japan. So great faith did the people of
that country put in the transmigration of souls, that
they had hospitals for the reception of animals in whose
bodies souls were supposed to reside. In a wood near
Jeddo there were many sacred animals, daily fed by
priests. These animals, the priests said, were animated
by the souls of the most noble and illustrious heroes that
ever lived. The people had such a profound veneration
for stags, that they were to be seen in every street as
numerous as the dogs in our country. If one killed a stag,
not only was he condemned to die, but the houses where
the deed was committed were razed to the ground. Dogs
were held in great esteem. The inhabitants of every street
were obliged to support a fixed number of them, they
being quartered on the people like so many soldiers. When
a dog died, it was buried among human remains. A man
who killed a canine creature was punished with death.
Fish were looked upon as sacred. Near the capital was
a river that was so plentifully stocked with fish, that they
thrust one another ashore, yet not one of them was injured.
The people believed that if they touched one of the finny
tribe, they would be smitten with leprosy, and it was considered
an unpardonable sin to eat any of them. A belief
prevailed, that fish possessed the souls of naval officers.
Statues of witches, magicians, and devils find places in the
Japan temples.</p>

<p>Charms were sold by the priests, which were represented
to possess the virtue of curing diseases and driving away
the devil. Money was sometimes borrowed on security of
charms, not to be repaid in this world. A note was given,
authorizing payment of the money in the land of spirits;
and when the holder of the document died, his relations
put it into his hand, believing that the debt would be duly
paid to the deceased. The Japanese thought certain days
were more fortunate than others. A table of their fortunate
and unfortunate days was hung up in the passage of every<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</a></span>
house, for the guidance of the family when they went out.
This table of days was prepared by a celebrated astrologer
of universal knowledge in all mysteries, whether relating
to the stars, dreams, or omens. Like other men of note
in the East, he was born in a miraculous manner. His
father was a prince, and his mother a fox. It appears
that the lady fox being pursued by huntsmen, ran to and
obtained protection from his highness. The creature discovered
herself to be a fairy, and, throwing off her false
appearance, became a beautiful princess. The prince
being enamoured with her charms, married her, and had
by her the celebrated astrologer spoken of. When he
grew up he invented a set of mysterious terms, which he
comprised within the compass of one verse, as a charm or
protection for such persons as were compelled to work
on unlucky days; and every one who repeated the verse
reverently on the morning of an unlucky day, was preserved
from all the evils that would have otherwise befallen
him.</p>



<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</a></span></p>
<h2><a name="THE_GODS_AND_GODDESSES_OF_HEATHEN_NATIONS" id="THE_GODS_AND_GODDESSES_OF_HEATHEN_NATIONS"></a>THE GODS AND GODDESSES OF HEATHEN NATIONS.</h2>

<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IX" id="CHAPTER_IX"></a>CHAPTER IX.</h2>

<div class="blockquot"><p>The Classification of Gods and Goddesses&mdash;Primeval Parent Chaos&mdash;Creation&mdash;Influence
of Ether&mdash;The Human Race in danger of Perishing&mdash;Celestial
Fire&mdash;Birth of Cupid&mdash;Banishment of Cupid from the
Blest Abodes&mdash;Cupid's Armour&mdash;Fate&mdash;Eternal Decrees&mdash;Throne of
Jove&mdash;Fortune and Happiness&mdash;Misfortune and Misery&mdash;Twofold
Nature&mdash;Rewards and Punishments&mdash;First Man and Woman&mdash;Pan the
Emblem of all Things&mdash;Power of Heathen Gods&mdash;Descriptions of Juno&mdash;Venus
the Goddess of Love and Beauty&mdash;Rustics turned into Frogs&mdash;Vulcan&mdash;&AElig;olus&mdash;Momus
the Jester&mdash;The Carping God's Fault-finding&mdash;Improper
Position of the Bull's Horns&mdash;Minerva as a House&mdash;Window
in Man's Breast.</p></div>


<p>We do not intend to notice at great length the ancient
opinions and writings concerning the deities which
heathen nations thought presided over the world and the
heavens, and influenced the affairs of the spheres above
and below; but as much of comparatively modern
superstition has been traced to mythology, generally so
called, we cannot pass without observation the history of
the gods, nor avoid giving such extracts therefrom as bear
particularly on our subject, "The Collected Mysteries of
all Nations."</p>

<p>The gods and goddesses of heathen nations were classified
as follows:&mdash;1st, the celestial gods and goddesses;
2nd, the terrestrial deities; 3rd, the marine and river
gods and goddesses; 4th, the infernal gods; 5th, the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</a></span>
subordinate and miscellaneous deities; 6th, the ascriptious
gods, demigods, and heroes; and 7th, the modal deities.
Ancient writers speak thus:</p>

<p>"When the primeval parent Chaos, hoary with unnumbered
ages, was first moved by the breath of Erebus,
she brought forth her enormous first-born Hyle, and at
the same portentous birth the amiable almighty Eros, chief
of the immortals. They had no sooner come to light
than they produced the terrible Titans."</p>

<p>Again we are informed that&mdash;"Ere the universe appeared;
ere the sun mounted on high, or the moon gave
her pale light; ere the vales were stretched out below, or
the mountains reared their towering heads; ere the winds
began to blow, or the rivers to flow, or plants or trees had
sprung from the earth; while the heavens lay hid in the
mighty mass, and the stars were unknown, the various
parts of which the wondrous creation consists lay
jumbled without form in the Abyss of Being." There,
it is said, they had lain for ever and ever if the breath
of the terrible Erebus, the spirit that dwelt in eternal
darkness, had not gone forth and put the mass into vital
agitation.</p>

<p>From another source we learn that, first of all, Chaos
existed; next in order the broad Earth; and then Love
appeared, the most beautiful of all things. Of Chaos
sprang Erebus and dusty Night, and of Erebus and Night
came Ether and smiling Day.</p>

<p>The Earth conceived by the influence of Ether, and
brought forth man and every description of animal. The
human race was in danger of perishing from the face of
earth. Naked, needy, and ignorant, they passed their
dreary days, living in caves and lurking in woods like
wild beasts. They were alike destitute of laws and arts.
Their food consisted of herbs. Often were they compelled
to fly before the mountain tigers and bears of the forest,
while they were nearly frozen to death. Thus they lived<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</a></span>
in wretchedness until Prometheus came to their relief.
He called Pallas, the goddess of wisdom, to his aid. By
her assistance he mounted to heaven, where he secretly
held the reed he carried in his hand to the wheel of the
sun's chariot. In this way he obtained the celestial fire,
and conveyed it to Earth, where he presented it to man.
Prometheus did not stop here: he instructed man in arts
and industry of almost every description.</p>

<p>There is an interesting account of Cupid. The goddess
of beauty, we are informed, brought forth a delicate
infant, whom she gave to the Graces to nurse. Unhappily,
the child neither throve in person, nor put forth feathers
to cover the wings which he had. Under this affliction,
Cupid's mother and nurses had recourse to the most
ancient and infallible Themis, who gave this answer:
That love came, for the most part, single into the world,
but that the child would not thrive until his mother
brought forth another son. Then the one would thrive
in virtue of the other; but if the one died, the other
could not long survive. Venus brought forth another
son, Anteros. He no sooner came into being, than his
elder brother Cupid grew, and his wings were soon fledged.
So strong did the little urchin become, that he flew to
heaven. There he associated with the Muses, became
intimate with Mercury, kept company with Hymen, and
grew in favour with every one except the implacable
Momus. Unfortunately, Cupid became insolent and vain,
behaving with arrogance to the superior powers. He
made enmity reign where peace and concord should have
been found. Feuds raged among the gods and goddesses
on his account. To rid themselves of a pest, the rulers of
heaven called an assembly of the gods, to consider how
peace could be restored. Cupid was accused of being a
public incendiary, a disturber of good order; and the
fomenter of discord being found guilty, he was banished
from the blest abodes; ordered to be a retainer of Ceres<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</a></span>
and Bacchus on earth; and doomed to have his wings
stripped of their feathers, that he might not again infest
the confines of heaven.</p>

<p>Cupid is now armed with two bows, one of which he
bends with the aid of the Graces, to secure a happy smiling
lot, and he with the other, blind-folded, lets fly his arrows,
to the confusion and misery of many in life. Like his
mother, he is constantly in want. He is eager, ravenous,
and wandering about bare-footed, without home or habitation,
sleeping before doors or by the wayside, under the
open sky. But at the same time he is ever forming
designs upon all that is beautiful, is forward, cunning,
and fond of new tricks.</p>

<p>Fate mysteriously clings round this earth, the heavens,
and the creatures in the regions above and below. When
Jupiter heard of the death of his son Sarpedon, in great
grief he called on Mercury to go instantly to the Fates,
and bring from them the strong box in which the eternal
decrees are laid up. Mercury went to the Fatal Sisters,
and delivered his message. The Sisters smiled, and told
him that the other end of the golden chain which secured
the box with the unalterable decrees was so fixed to the
throne of Jove, that were it to be unfastened, the master's
seat itself might be shaken.</p>

<p>Jupiter holds in his hands the unerring balance of fate.
Close to his throne stand the two inexhaustible urns&mdash;the
one filled with good fortune and happiness, the other with
misfortune and misery. Out of these is mixed a dose of
life to every mortal man; and as the draught is, so are
one's days embittered with disasters, or made pleasant
with serenity, ease, and prosperity. To every star is
allotted a mind, and all things have their fixed irrevocable
laws. The human nature is twofold; and man, who lives
well on earth, returns after death to the habitations of his
congenial star, and there leads a blessed life; but, failing
in his duties, he is doomed to live a thousand years in a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</a></span>
degraded state. Sometimes a human soul is destined to
animate a wild beast, never to be relieved until it reattain
the purest of its first and best existence.</p>

<p>The Goths and Vandals entertained the opinion that
the first man and woman were made of an ash-tree. Odin,
it is said, gave them breath, Hener endowed them with
reason, and Lodur injected blood into their veins, and
provided them with beautiful faces.</p>

<p>Pan has been represented as the emblem of all things,
and among the learned of early times he passed for the
first and oldest of the divinities. His person is composed
of various and opposite parts&mdash;a man and a goat.
According to the most ancient Egyptians and Greeks, he
had neither father nor mother, but sprang of Demogorgon
at the same instant with the Fatal Sisters, the Parc&aelig;.</p>

<p>The power of the heathen gods and goddesses is
reported as truly wonderful. Apollo turned Daphne,
whom he loved, into a laurel, and his boy Hyacinth into
a violet. Mars was the son of Jupiter and Juno, or,
according to Ovid, of Juno alone, who conceived him at
the smell of a flower shown her by the goddess Flora.</p>

<p>Juno is esteemed the goddess of kingdoms and riches.
She is represented as a majestic beautiful woman, riding
in a golden chariot drawn by peacocks, waving a sceptre
in her hand, and wearing a crown set about with roses
and lilies, and encircled with fair Iris, or the rainbow.
She is also supposed to preside over matrimony and
births, and is the guardian angel of woman.</p>

<p>Venus is the goddess of love and beauty; she sprang from
the foam of the sea. As soon as she was born she was
cast upon the island of Cyprus, where she was educated,
and afterwards being carried to heaven, was married to
Vulcan. Her image is fair and beautiful; she is clothed
with purple, glittering with diamonds. There are two
Cupids on her side, while around her are the Graces. Her
chariot is of ivory, drawn by swans, doves, or swallows.</p>

<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</a></span>Whilst Latona was wandering through the fields of
Lycia, she desired to drink from a spring at the bottom of
a valley, but the country rustics drove her away. In spite
of her entreaties, they refused to allow her to slake her
thirst, whereupon, in wrath, she, cursing them, said,
"May ye always live in this water!" Immediately they
were turned into frogs, and leaped into the streams and
pools, where they continued to exist.</p>

<p>Vulcan, notwithstanding his noble descent, is obliged
to follow the trade of a blacksmith. On account of
his deformity, he was cast down from heaven into the
isle of Lemnos. His leg was broken by the fall. He
erected a forge, where he makes thunderbolts for his father
Jupiter and armour for the other gods. His servants
are called Cyclops, because they have but one eye.
Though Vulcan is unpleasant in the sight of others,
Venus thinks him the most beautiful of all the divinities.</p>

<p>&AElig;olus keeps the winds under his power in a cave in the
&AElig;olian Islands, where he dwells. He can raise storms and
hurricanes, and restrain their rage at pleasure.</p>

<p>Momus is a jester, mocker, or mimic. His life is spent
in idleness, merely observing the sayings and doings of
the gods, and then censuring and deriding them. For
instance, when Neptune was made a bull, Minerva a
house, and Vulcan a man, Momus was appointed to
judge as to whom the greatest skill was manifested in
creation. The carping god disapproved of all. He found
fault with the bull for not having his horns before his
eyes in his forehead, that he might be enabled to push
the surer. He condemned the house, because it was fixed
and could not be carried away in case it was placed in a
bad neighbourhood. But the god, he said, who made
man, was most imprudent because he did not make a
window in the human breast, that the thoughts might
be seen.</p>



<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</a></span></p>
<h2><a name="CHAPTER_X" id="CHAPTER_X"></a>CHAPTER X.</h2>

<div class="blockquot"><p>Satyrs described&mdash;Diana's Retirement&mdash;Pallas, the Goddess of Shepherds
and Pasture&mdash;The vile Flora&mdash;Pomona deceived&mdash;Celestial Nymphs&mdash;Terrestrial
Nymphs&mdash;River Gods and Goddesses&mdash;Sirens&mdash;Witch Circe&mdash;Infernal
Deities&mdash;Passage to Tartarus&mdash;Palace of Pluto&mdash;Judges of
Hell&mdash;Goddesses of Destiny&mdash;Furies&mdash;Night, Death, and Sleep: by
whom presided over&mdash;Names of Monsters condemned in the place of
Punishment&mdash;Tartarian Regions&mdash;Delights of the Elysian Fields&mdash;Food
and Drink of Pagan Gods&mdash;Festivals of Heathens&mdash;Colour of
Gods&mdash;Sacrifices to Deities&mdash;Things sacred to Gods.</p></div>


<p>Satyrs are partly of human likeness and partly of bestial
shape. They have heads of human form, with horns and
brutish ears; they have crooked hands, rough hairy
bodies, goats' legs and feet and tails. The chief of these
monsters is the god Pan, the inventor of the musical pipe.</p>

<p>Diana, out of love to Chastity, avoids consort with men,
retires into the woods, and there diverts herself with
hunting, whence she is reckoned the goddess of the woods
and the chase. Pallas is esteemed the goddess of shepherds
and pasture, and is the reputed inventress of corn,
and is thought by some to be Ceres or Vesta. Flora is the
goddess of flowers. By a vile trade, she accumulated a
vast amount of money, and made the people of Rome her
heirs, who, in return, placed her among the divinities.</p>

<p>Ferona and Pomona are two goddesses of trees and fruits.
The latter was advised by the god Vertumnus to enter the
matrimonial state in the guise of a hagged old woman;
but without success, till he appeared to her as a fair
young man, and then she felt the power of love, and
yielded to his wishes. The Nymphs are a company of
neat charming virgins, living near the gardens of Pomona.
They are of three classes:&mdash;1st the Celestial Nymphs,
called Genii, who guide the spheres and dispense the influences
of the stars to things on earth. 2nd, the Terrestrial
Nymphs, as Dryades, who preside over the woods<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</a></span>
and live in the oaks; and Hamadryades, who are born
and die with the oaks; the Oreades, who preside over the
mountains; the Nap&aelig;&aelig;, who preside over the groves
and valleys; the Limnatides, who look after the meadows
and fields. 3rd, Marine Nymphs.</p>

<p>As the chief of the marine and river gods and goddesses,
Neptune stands at the head. He is represented with
black hair and blue eyes, arrayed in a mantle of azure,
holding a trident in his right hand, and embracing his
queen with his left arm. He stands upright in his
chariot, drawn by sea horses, and is attended by
nymphs. Proteus is the son of Neptune, but some say
he is the offspring of Oceanus and Tethys. His business
is to tend the sea-calves. He can turn himself into any
shape. Triton, the son and trumpeter of Neptune, is a
man to the middle and a dolphin below; he has two
fore feet, like those of horses, and is provided with two
tails. Oceanus is the son of C&oelig;lum and Vesta, husband
to Tethys, god of the sea, and father of the rivers and
springs. Nereus, also the son of Oceanus and Tethys, is
father of fifty daughters, called Nereides or Sea Nymphs.
Pal&aelig;mon and his mother Ino, together with the fisherman
Glaucus, are reckoned among the sea deities. The
Sirens resemble mermaids, having the faces of women,
but bodies of flying fish. They are reported to be excellent
songsters, that play on the Sicilian coasts, and tempt
passengers on shore, where they sing them asleep and kill
them. Scylla and Charybdis are two other sea monsters.
Scylla is the daughter of Phorcys, and beloved by Glaucus,
whom therefore the witch Circe by her enchantments
turned into a rock, with dogs around her. Charybdis is
a very ravenous woman, who stole Hercules's oxen, for
which crime Jupiter struck her dead with a thunder-bolt,
and then turned her into a gulf or whirlpool in the
Sicilian Sea. The Sea Nymphs are the Nereides already
referred to. The Naides or Naiades preside over fountains<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</a></span>
and springs; the Potameides preside over rivers, and
Limniades over lakes.</p>

<p>In noticing the Infernal Deities, we shall describe the
dismal regions, where wicked spirits dwell, and over which
they are reported to preside. The name commonly given
to these regions is Hades or Tartarus, understood to
signify hell. The passage leading thereto is a wide dark
cave, through which one has to pass by a steep rocky
descent till he arrives at a gloomy grove and an unnavigable
lake called Avernus, from which such poisonous
vapours rise as to kill birds flying over it. Yet over this
lake the souls of the dead must pass. To assist them, an
old decrepit, long-bearded fellow, the oft-heard of Charon,
attends with a ferry-boat to carry them to the other side,
at a fare not less than a halfpenny.</p>

<p>After this there are four rivers to be passed over&mdash;Acheron,
whose waters are very bitter; the Styx, a lake
rather than a river, and so sacred to the gods, that if any
of them swore by it and broke his oath, he was deprived
of his godhead, and was prohibited from drinking nectar
for a hundred years; the river Cocytus, which flows out
of Styx with a lamentable groaning, resembling the painful
sounds and exclamations of the damned; the river
Phlegethon, so called because it swells with waves of fire
and streams of flames.</p>

<p>The souls having passed these rivers, are conducted to
the palace of Pluto, king of the infernal regions, where
the gate is guarded by Cerberus, a dog with three heads,
whose body is covered with snakes in place of hair. This
dog is the porter of hell.</p>

<p>Pluto initiated funeral obsequies for the dead: he sits
on a throne covered with darkness, holding a key in his
hand, and crowned with ebony. Beside him is his queen
Proserpina, whom he stole from Ceres.</p>

<p>Minos, &AElig;acus, and Rhadamanthus are judges in hell.
The first two are sons of Jupiter by Europa, and the last<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</a></span>
is his son by &AElig;gina. These are believed to judge the
souls of the dead.</p>

<p>The Fates are named Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos, and
are the goddesses of destiny. They order and manage the
fatal thread of life. Clotho draws the thread, Lachesis
turns the wheel, and Atropos cuts the string asunder when
spun to a due length.</p>

<p>The Furies, called sometimes Eumenides, Dir&aelig;, and
Manes, are the daughters of Nox and Acheron: their names
are Alecto, Tisiphone, and Meg&aelig;ra, and are known by the
common name of Erinnys. They have faces like women,
their looks are full of terror, they hold lighted torches in
their hands, and snakes and serpents cling to their necks
and shoulders. Their office is to punish the crimes of
wicked men, and to torment and frighten them by following
them with ghastly looks and burning material.</p>

<p>Erebus and Nox preside over darkness and the night;
Mors over death; and Somnus is the god of sleep, who,
by his servant Morpheus, sends dreams to men while
asleep.</p>

<p>Besides others, there are in the infernal regions the
following monsters:&mdash;The Centaurs, whose upper parts
are human, but whose bodies and legs are those of a horse.
They were begotten of a cloud by Ixion. Gorgon is a
monster with three heads. The Harpies, born of Oceanus
and Terra, have the faces of virgins, and the bodies of birds
with claws. Their names are Ocypete, Aello, and Celeno.
The Gorgons are Medusa, Stheno, and Euryale, daughters
of Phorcys and Cete. They have heads covered with
snakes instead of hair, which so terrifies beholders that
they immediately turn into stones. The Lami&aelig; and
Empus&aelig; have each only one eye and one tooth. They
have faces, necks, and breasts like women, but their bodies
are covered with scales, and they have the tails of serpents.
The Chim&oelig;ra is a monster that vomits fire, and has the
head and breast of a lion, the belly of a goat, and the tail<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</a></span>
of a dragon. The Sphinx, begotten of Typhon and
Echidna, has the head and face of a virgin, the wings of
a bird, and the body of a dog. A riddle she put forth
being explained by &OElig;dipus, so enraged her that she threw
herself from a rock and was killed.</p>

<p>The most famous of the condemned in the place of
punishment are the Giants; they are great in stature, and
have horrible feet, like dragons. They make war against
the celestial gods, but never prevail, and are struck down
to hell by Jupiter's thunder-bolts and the arms of the
gods. The principal offenders are Typhon, &AElig;g&aelig;on,
Al&oelig;us, and Tityus; and, to prevent them rising again,
the Island of Sicily is fixed on Typhon, and Mount &AElig;tna
on &AElig;g&aelig;on, and Tityus is doomed to have a vulture
always gnawing his liver, which grows afresh every
month. Phlegias fired Apollo's temple at Delphi, for
which he was sentenced to have a great stone hung over
his head, ready every moment to fall and crush him to
pieces. Ixion, for an assault on Juno, was struck down
to hell, and tied to a wheel, which kept continually turning.
Sisyphus is a notorious robber, condemned to roll a
stone up to the top of a hill, which is made to roll down
again immediately; and as he has to begin and roll it up
again as soon as it comes down, his labour is perpetual. The
Danaides are fifty virgins (sisters), who all but one, by the
command of their father Danaus, slew their husbands on
their wedding night. For this they were condemned to
draw water out of a deep well, to fill a tub whose bottom
was full of holes like a sieve. Tantalus invited the gods
to a feast, and, to improve their divinity, he killed, boiled,
and served up Pelops on the table before them to eat.
They refused to partake of this horrid dish, and condemned
Tantalus to stand in water which he could not
drink, and to have meat placed before him which he
could not taste, though suffering the pangs of hunger
and thirst&mdash;a punishment he was to endure for ever.</p>

<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</a></span>In the Tartarian regions there is a place supposed to
abound with all kinds of pleasures and delights, called
Elysium, because thither the souls of good men are conveyed
after being freed from the body. This is the
heathen paradise, consisting of pleasant plains, the most
verdant fields, the shadiest groves, and the finest and most
temperate air that can be found. After the souls of the
pious have spent many ages in these Elysian fields, they
drink the water of the river Lethe, which makes them
forget all things past; and then they return to the world
and pass into new bodies.</p>

<p>The Pagan deities have ambrosia for their food, and
nectar for their drink, both of which have the property
of giving immortality to those who partake of them.</p>

<p>The festivals of the heathens were many, as almost every
deity was allowed sacred honours. In sacrificing, the
animals offered to the celestial deities were white, and
those to the infernal gods were black. To Jupiter a
white ox was sacrificed; to Neptune, Mars, and Apollo a
bull, ram, and boar; to Ceres, milk, honey, and a sow-pig
were offered; to &AElig;sculapius, goats and poultry; to the
Lares, a cock; to the Sun, a horse; to Juno, a she-lamb;
to Venus, a dove; to Diana, a crow; to Pan and Minerva,
she-goats; and to the Fauns, kids.</p>

<p>The fir and vine were sacred to Bacchus, the cypress
to Pluto, the cedar to the Furies, the ash to Mars, the
oak to Jove, the laurel to Apollo, the myrtle to Venus,
the olive to Minerva, the poplar to Hercules, the pine to
Cybele, and the rose to Venus.</p>



<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</a></span></p>
<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XI" id="CHAPTER_XI"></a>CHAPTER XI.</h2>

<div class="blockquot"><p>Achilles's Mother&mdash;Prediction concerning the taking of Troy&mdash;Bravery,
Armour, Love, and Death of Achilles&mdash;Acrisius's Daughter&mdash;Danae and
her son Perseus&mdash;Ardea changed into a Bird&mdash;Pluto's Invisible Helmet&mdash;Minerva's
Buckler&mdash;Mercury's Wings&mdash;Medusa deprived of Life&mdash;Sea
Monster&mdash;A Gorgon's Head and its Virtues&mdash;Stheno and Euryale
not subject to Old Age or Death&mdash;Minerva's Revenge against Medusa&mdash;Serpents
in Africa and Pegasus produced by Medusa's Blood&mdash;Tales
by the Daughters of Minyas&mdash;Punishment by Bacchus&mdash;The Search of
Cadmus for his sister Europa&mdash;Halcyon's Sorrow&mdash;Transmigration&mdash;Strength
and Exploits of Hercules&mdash;Love Potion&mdash;Hymen&mdash;Jason's
Adventures&mdash;Power and Cruelty of Medea&mdash;How a Favourable Wind
was procured&mdash;Manner in which Orion came into Existence&mdash;False
Swearer punished&mdash;Palladium&mdash;The Life and Deeds of Paris&mdash;Golden
Apple&mdash;Marriage of Peleus and Thetis&mdash;Impiety of Pentheus&mdash;Rhea
and her Sons&mdash;Scylla turned into a Sea Monster.</p></div>


<p>Achilles's mother being endowed with a prophetic spirit,
knew that her son would lose his life at Troy. She dipped
him in the river Styx, by which he was rendered invulnerable,
except in the heel, by which he was held during the
operation. The seer Calchas announced that, without
Achilles, Troy could not be taken. His mother, to keep
him from danger, concealed him among King Lycomedes's
daughters, disguised as a girl; but being discovered by
Ulysses, he joined his countrymen, and sailed for the
Trojan coast. After giving many proofs of his bravery
and military prowess, he quarrelled with Agamemnon,
commander-in-chief of the Grecian army, and in disgust
withdrew from the contest. During the absence of Achilles,
the Trojans were victorious; but his friend Patroclus, clad
in his armour, having rashly encountered Hector, fell by
the hand of that hero. Achilles, to revenge his death, resolved
instantly to take the field. For this purpose, Vulcan,
at the request of Thetis, made her son a complete suit of
armour and weapons. With these celestial arms, many of
the Trojans were put to death. Achilles, falling in love<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[Pg 72]</a></span>
with Polyxena, a daughter of the Trojan king, whilst
soliciting her hand in the temple of Minerva, was wounded
by her brother Paris in the heel, which caused his death.</p>

<p>Acrisius, the son of Abas, king of Argos and Ocalea,
being informed by an oracle that he would be put to
death by his daughter Danae's son, confined her in a
tower, to prevent her having children; but without effect,
for Jupiter, in a golden shower, entered the chamber of
Danae, and she became the mother of Perseus. She and
her infant son were then, by order of Acrisius, exposed
to the sea in a slender bark, which the wind drifted to
Seriphus, where both were taken ashore by some fishermen
and carried to Polydectes, the king of the island.
The king conceived a violent attachment to the mother,
but sought the destruction of the son. Danae and her
son left Seriphus and went to Larissa. Danae built
Ardea; and on its being burned, the inhabitants said it
was changed into a bird. Perseus, by the aid of Pluto's
invisible helmet, Minerva's buckler, and Mercury's wings
(the Talaria), and short dagger made of diamonds (called
Herpe), deprived Medusa, one of the Gorgons, of life, and
carried off her head in triumph. He killed the sea
monster to which Andromeda was exposed, and then
married her. A memorable battle ensued at their
nuptials. Phineus, the uncle of Andromeda, who passionately
loved her, entered with a band of armed men,
and attempted to carry her off by violence. But Perseus
made a brave resistance; and at last, finding himself on
the point of being overpowered, presented the Gorgon's
head, which instantly turned all his enemies to stone in
the posture in which they were then standing. Immediately
after this he returned to Seriphus, in time to
protect his mother from the insult of Polydectes, to
whom Perseus showed the Gorgon's head, which converted
him into stone also. Medusa, it will be remembered,
was the only one of the three Gorgons who was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[Pg 73]</a></span>
mortal. Her sisters, Stheno and Euryale, were neither
subject to old age nor death. She greatly surpassed the
other two in elegance of figure and comeliness of face;
but in nothing was her superiority more remarkable than
in the beauty of her locks. Minerva, provoked either
because her temple had been profaned, or because her
personal charms had been slighted by Medusa, who had
preferred her own beauty to that of the goddess, turned
her fine hair, of which she boasted greatly, into serpents,
and gave to her eyes the power of converting to stone all
at whom she looked. The blood which fell from Medusa's
head when Perseus carried it over Africa in his flight,
was supposed to produce the numerous serpents which
infest that country, and also the winged horse Pegasus.</p>

<p>But to return to Acrisius. Let us see whether the prediction
of the Oracle, that foretold he would be put to
death by his daughter's son, was fulfilled. The fame of
his grandson, after his remarkable adventures, having
reached the ears of Acrisius, he went to Larissa to see
him, at the time Teutamis was celebrating funereal games
in honour of his father. To this city Perseus had repaired
with the view of distinguishing himself among the
combatants. Here he accidentally killed, with a quoit,
an old man, who was found to be his grandfather Acrisius,
and thus verified the oracular prediction.</p>

<p>Alcithoe and her sisters denied the divinity of Bacchus,
and refused to join in his worship. Whilst the Theban
women were employed celebrating the orgies of that god,
the daughters of Minyas (for that was their father's name)
continued at their looms. To enliven their hours of
labour, one of them proposed that each in her turn should
relate some amusing tale, to which, the other sisters
agreeing, she with whom the idea originated was requested
to begin. After hesitating for some time which of her
numerous collections would be most agreeable&mdash;whether
Babylonian Dercetis changed to a fish or her daughter<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[Pg 74]</a></span>
to a dove, or Naias, who by magic transformed young
men to fishes, or the tree the berries of which were
formerly white, but turned to purple by being stained
with blood&mdash;she preferred the last in consequence of its
being little known. She then narrates the simple but
beautiful and affecting fable of Pyramus and Thisbe.
Leuconoe next, after mentioning the exposure of Mars and
Venus, relates the history of Leucothoe, with whom Apollo
fell in love, and afterwards turned into a rod of frankincense.
To this she adds the fiction of Clytie, whom
the same god changed into a sunflower. Alcithoe being
then requested by her sisters to tell a story&mdash;despising
as too common the fables of Daphnis, a shepherd on
Mount Ida, who, for violating his marriage promise, was
transformed to stone; of Scython, who changed his sex;
of Celemis, a nurse of Jupiter, converted to adamant; and
of the nymph Similax, and her lover Crocus, turned into
flowers&mdash;prefers the history of the fountain Salmacis,
who conceived a violent attachment for Hermaphroditus,
the son of Mercury and Venus. These sisters, having discontinued
their narrating, remained still obstinate in their
contempt of Bacchus, who, in revenge, changed their
implements into vines and ivy, and themselves into bats.</p>

<p>Cadmus, a son of Agenor, king of Ph&oelig;nicia, and
Telephassa or Agriope, was ordered by his father to go in
search of his sister Europa, whom Jupiter had carried
away, and not to return unless he found her. His search
being unsuccessful, he is said to have consulted the oracle
of Apollo, by which he was commanded to build a city
where he saw a heifer standing on the grass, and call the
country B&oelig;otia. Having found the heifer, he sent his
men to a fountain for water, which was at no great
distance, that he might offer a sacrifice in gratitude to the
god. But the spring being sacred to Mars, a dragon
guarded it, which devoured all his men. By the art of
Minerva, he overcame the dragon, and sowed its teeth,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[Pg 75]</a></span>
which grew up armed men, who, on his throwing a stone
amongst them, began to fight, and all were killed except
five, who assisted him in building Thebes. Hence
Pentheus, in addressing the Thebans, calls them
Anguigen&aelig;, serpent or snake-descended. The ferocity of
the petty tribes who inhabit that part of Greece, and
Cadmus's plan of subduing the natives by artfully exciting
them to fight against each other until the strength and
resources of the contending parties were quite exhausted,
satisfactorily explain the tale of the dragon, the armed
men that sprang from his teeth, and the stone which he
threw among them. He afterwards married Harmonia or
Harmonie, the daughter of Mars and Venus, by whom he
had one son and four daughters. In advanced life,
oppressed with sorrow at the fate of his daughter Ino and
her two sons, he fled from Thebes to Illyricum, where he
was changed into a dragon.</p>

<p>Halcyone's husband, Ceyx, a king of Trachinia, was
drowned while attempting to cross to Claros to consult
the Oracle. Disconsolate in consequence of his departure,
she incessantly implored the gods for his safe
return. Juno, moved by her constant prayers for her
husband after his death, and compassionating the violence
of her sorrow, entreated Somnus to send Morpheus, who,
assuming the form and voice of Ceyx, appeared in a
dream, and informed her of his fate. Frantic with grief,
she ran to the beach, and, according to her dream, found
the body of Ceyx floating lifeless to the shore. The
queen of Trachinia was changed into a bird, in her
attempt to reach by a bound the body of her husband,
which she no sooner touched than it underwent the same
transformation. Their mutual attachments remaining,
they continue to live together as birds, distinguished by
the same tenderness and affection which had marked their
conjugal state when in the human form.</p>

<p>Hercules was possessed of the greatest physical strength.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</a></span>
He had a great enemy in Hera, who, knowing that the
child who should be born that day was fated to rule
over all the descendants of Perseus, contrived to delay
the birth of Hercules and hasten that of Eurystheus.
Eurystheus thus, by decree of fate, became chief of the
Perseid&aelig;. While yet in the cradle, Hercules showed his
divine origin by strangling two serpents sent by Hera to
destroy him. In course of time Eurystheus summoned
Hercules to appear before him, and ordered him to
perform the labours which, by priority of birth, he was
empowered to impose on him. Hercules, unwilling to obey,
went to Delphi to consult the Oracle, and was informed
that he must perform ten labours imposed on him by
Eurystheus, after which he should attain to immortality.
The first labour imposed on him was to destroy the lion
that haunted the forests of Nemea and Cleon&aelig;, and could
not be wounded by the arrows of a mortal. Hercules
boldly attacked the lion and strangled him. The second
was to destroy the Learn&aelig;an hydra, which he accomplished
with the aid of Iolaus; but because he obtained
assistance in his work, Eurystheus refused to reckon it.
Hercules's third labour was to catch the hind of Diana,
famous for its swiftness, its golden horns, and brazen feet.
The fourth was to bring alive to Eurystheus a wild boar,
which ravaged the neighbourhood of Erymanthus. The
fifth was to cleanse the stables of Augeas, king of Elis,
where three thousand oxen had been confined for many
years; which task he accomplished in one day, by turning
the rivers Alpheus and Peneus through the stables. For
certain reasons this exploit was not counted. His sixth
was to destroy the carnivorous birds, with brazen wings,
beaks, and claws, which ravaged the country near the lake
Stymphalis, in Arcadia. The seventh was to bring alive
to Peloponnesus a bull, remarkable for its beauty and
strength, which Poseidon had given to Minos, king of
Crete, in order that he might sacrifice it; which Minos<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</a></span>
refusing to do, Poseidon made the bull mad, and it laid
waste the island. Hercules brought the bull on his
shoulders to Eurystheus, who set it at liberty. The
eighth labour was to obtain the mares of Diomedes, king
of the Bistones, in Thrace, which fed upon human flesh.
The ninth was to bring the girdle of Hippolyta, queen of
the Amazons. The tenth was to kill the monster Geryon,
and bring his herds to Argos. These were all the labours
originally imposed on Hercules; but as Eurystheus
acknowledged only eight of them, Hercules was commanded
to perform two more. The eleventh labour was
to obtain the golden apples from the garden of the
Hesperides. Atlas, who knew where to find the apples,
brought them to Hercules, who meantime supported the
vault of heaven. The last labour was to bring from the
infernal regions the three-headed dog Cerberus. When
Hercules brought the dog to Eurystheus, the latter, pale
with fright, ordered him to be set at liberty, whereupon
Cerberus immediately sank into the earth. Hercules's
servitude was now ended, but his great performances
were not. He fought with the centaurs and giants.
When his period of slavery had ended, he married
Dejanira; with her he went to Trachinia. At the river
Evenus he encountered the centaur Nessus. Nessus,
under pretence of carrying Dejanira over, attempted to
offer her violence, which caused Hercules to slay him
with a poisoned arrow. Nessus, before expiring, instructed
Dejanira how to prepare a love potion for Hercules.
He erected an altar to Zeus Ken&aelig;os. In order to celebrate
the rite with due solemnity, he sent Lichas to Trachis
for a white garment. Dejanira, being jealous, anointed
the robe with the philter she had received from Nessus.
Hercules put it on, and immediately the poison penetrated
his bones. Maddened by the pain, he seized Lichas by
the feet and flung him into the sea. He tore off the dress,
but it stuck to his flesh, which was thus torn from his<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</a></span>
bones. Dejanira, being informed of what had taken place,
destroyed herself. Hercules repaired to Mount &OElig;ta,
where he erected a funeral pile, and, ascending it, commanded
that it should be set on fire. The pile was suddenly
surrounded by a dark cloud, in which, amid thunder
and lightning, he was carried up to heaven.</p>

<p>Hymen, the god of marriage, attended the celebration
of marriage, and the ancients believed the parties would
be miserable during the remainder of their lives unless he
attended.</p>

<p>Jason was a famous hero of antiquity. No sooner had
he finished his education under the centaur Chiron, than
he went boldly to Pelias, who had banished him, and
mounted the throne, and demanded the kingdom. Pelias,
for various reasons, durst not appeal to arms, but, to
accomplish the warlike youth's ruin, advised him to
undertake an expedition against &AElig;etes, king of Colchis,
who had murdered their relation Phryxus, and, on his
return, promised to resign to him the crown. To this
proposal Jason agreed, and undertook the voyage to
obtain the golden fleece, so celebrated in history under
the name of the Argonautic Expedition. After a series
of wonderful adventures he arrived at Colchis; and by the
assistance of Medea, the king's daughter, whom he promised
to marry, he fulfilled the hard terms on which he
was to accomplish the object of his voyage. By her aid
and directions, he was enabled to tame the bulls with
horns and feet of brass, which breathed nothing but
fire, and to plough with them a certain field; to kill a
huge serpent, from whose teeth sprang up armed men; to
destroy a dreadful dragon, which watched continually at
the foot of the tree on which the golden fleece was suspended;
and then to carry off the prize in the presence of
all the Colchians, who were equally confounded at his
intrepidity and success. He returned to Thessaly in great
triumph, but his future life was rendered miserable by his<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</a></span>
infidelity, and the barbarous mode of revenge adopted by
Medea, whom he married according to promise and
carried to Greece. After many years' happiness, it may
be remembered, he most iniquitously divorced her. But
she severely revenged his ingratitude by causing the death
of his favourite Glauce, and the ruin of her family. Not
satisfied with these acts of cruelty, she put two of Jason's
sons to death before his eyes, and then fled through the
air in a chariot drawn by winged dragons. Having
visited Corinth, she settled at Athens. Other barbarous
actions again forced her to have recourse to her chariot.
She returned to Colchis, where a reconciliation took place
between her and Jason.</p>

<p>When the princes of Greece had, in fulfilment of their
oaths, taken up arms to revenge the criminal conduct of
Paris, Agamemnon, on account of his military talents,
and being the brother of Menelaus, was appointed commander-in-chief
of the combined forces. After the army
had assembled in the port of Aulis, Diana, provoked at
his having killed one of her favourite stags, prevented by
contrary winds their sailing for Troy. On consulting the
Oracle, the Greeks were informed that Iphigenia, daughter
of Agamemnon, must be sacrificed to appease the enraged
goddess, otherwise they must remain in harbour. Struck
with horror at this awful response, Agamemnon sternly
refused to give up his daughter, and ordered the princes
to return home with their troops. But the winning
eloquence of Ulysses and the urgent remonstrances of
the other chiefs at last prevailed, and paternal affection
yielded to military fame. Ulysses was then sent to
Mycen&aelig;, to carry the beautiful Iphigenia to bleed on
the altar of Diana. The innocent victim's blood procured
a favourable wind to the Grecian fleet.</p>

<p>Orion sprang from Jupiter and Mercury. These gods
promised to Hyricus, a B&oelig;otian peasant, who had entertained
them hospitably, whatever he would ask. Having<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[Pg 80]</a></span>
no child, his wife being dead, and he being bound by
promise not to marry again, requested a son. The gods
then put water into the hide of a bull, which Hyricus had
offered to them in sacrifice on discovering their divinity,
and ordered him to bury it in the earth for nine months.
At the end of that time, taking it out, he found a lively boy.</p>

<p>Palici, twin brothers, were sons of Jupiter and Thalia or
&AElig;tna, a daughter of Vulcan, who during her pregnancy
prayed to be saved from the fury of Juno, by being
concealed in the bowels of the earth. Her request was
granted, and Tellus at the proper time brought to light the
two boys. They were worshipped with great solemnity
by the Sicilians. Their temple stood near the lakes or
springs, strongly impregnated with sulphur, to which
those who wished to put an end to quarrels by oath used
to repair. False swearers were punished there in a
miraculous manner, whilst the innocent escaped without
injury. Some suppose that the perjured persons were
destroyed by secret fire, while others think they were
drowned.</p>

<p>Palladium was a statue of the goddess Pallas or Minerva,
said to have fallen from heaven, near the tent of the king
of Troy, when he was building the Citadel. An ancient
oracle declared that, so long as the Palladium remained
within the walls, Troy could not be taken. On that
account it was kept with great care. The Greeks, aware
of this prediction, sent Diomedes and Ulysses to carry it
away during the night&mdash;a feat which they accomplished.</p>

<p>Paris was a son of Priam, king of Troy. His father
ordered him to be put to death at his birth, in consequence
of his mother having dreamt that she was delivered of a
firebrand which reduced the city to ashes, and the augurs
interpreting the dream to portend that the child would
occasion the destruction of Troy. The persons appointed
to despatch the child, contented themselves with exposing
him on Mount Ida, where he was brought up by the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[Pg 81]</a></span>
shepherds. On account of his extraordinary strength and
courage in defending the flocks from ravenous beasts and
repelling the attacks of robbers, he was called Alexander.
There he passed the early part of his life, and, whilst engaged
tending his flock, gave judgment in the appeal of
the three goddesses, Venus, Juno, and Minerva, who
contended for the golden apple. Each endeavoured to
bribe him: Juno promised him a kingdom, Minerva
military glory, and Venus the most beautiful woman in
the world for his wife. Upon the mind of the noble
shepherd the promise made by Venus produced the
deepest impression, and he adjudged the golden apple to
her. The decision of Paris, which gave great offence to
the other two goddesses, provoked their wrath against the
empire and nation, and caused the Trojan War, and all
the evils and calamities to which that memorable struggle
gave rise. His father subsequently received him at court,
and treated him as his son. After spending some time
in his native city among the Trojan princes, Paris set
out for the court of Menelaus, king of Sparta, with a view
to carry off his wife Helena, the most beautiful woman in
the world, as the reward of the judgment which he had
pronounced in favour of Venus. The young Trojan met
with a most welcome reception at the Spartan court; but he
abused the laws of hospitality by prevailing on the queen
to elope with him. Though demanded back by all the
princes who had sworn to protect her, and threatened
with the vengeance of the combined forces of Greece, he
persisted in refusing their request. His father, on account
of Ajax carrying off his sister Hesione, encouraged him
in his obstinacy and guilt. In consequence of this
outrage, the Greeks immediately commenced hostilities,
which ended in the total destruction of the city and
kingdom of Troy.</p>

<p>To bring out more fully the story of the apple adjudged
by Paris to Venus, it is necessary to notice what happened<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</a></span>
at the marriage of Peleus and Thetis. At the celebration
of the nuptials, all the gods and goddesses were present
except the goddess of discord, who, exasperated at not
being invited, threw into the assembly a golden apple
with the inscription, "Detur Pulchriori." At first all the
female deities asserted their right to the apple; but subsequently
it was claimed by Juno, Minerva, and Venus
only. These three agreed to refer the matter to Jupiter.
But the sovereign of Olympus, knowing that it could not
justly be given to Juno, and dreading the effects of her
anger were it awarded to either of the other goddesses,
advised them to plead their cause before Paris. The
decision of Paris, and the serious results thereof; are
already known.</p>

<p>Pentheus foolishly refused to acknowledge the divinity
of Bacchus. To complete his impiety, the Theban king
sent his servants to bring the god in chains before him.
Assuming the appearance of one of his attendants, Bacchus
allowed himself to be taken prisoner, and to be carried into
the presence of the king, to whom, under the character of
Ac&oelig;tes, he related the transformation of the Tuscan sailors.
Despising the narrative, Pentheus ordered him to be put
to death. Loaded with fetters, the attendants of that
prince shut him up in prison, from which he miraculously
escaped. Pentheus then went out to see the Bacchanals,
and to learn their mysteries; but, approaching too near,
he was torn in pieces.</p>

<p>Quirinus, son of Rhea Sylvia, sometimes called Ilia, a
vestal virgin, the daughter of Numitor, king of Alba Longa,
was the twin brother of Remus. This princess, to extenuate
her guilt, and to give divinity to her sons, declared
that Mars, the god of war, was their father. Amulius,
who had dispossessed his brother Numitor, killed the sons
of the latter, and made Rhea a vestal, and, to secure the
crown to himself and his descendants, ordered his niece
to be burnt alive, and her infants thrown into the Tiber.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</a></span>
The river at that time being swollen above its banks, the
persons appointed to dispose of the children could not
reach the main current. The cradle in which the twins
were exposed floated to a place of safety on dry ground;
and the infants were suckled by a wolf until found by
Faustulus, the king's shepherd, who carried them to his
house, where they were brought up as his own children.
Their youthful years were spent in feeding cattle. After
they were grown up, Remus being taken prisoner by the
servants of Amulius, Faustulus, anxious to preserve the
captive, disclosed to Romulus the truth respecting their
birth. He, with the assistance of a few daring and resolute
young men, killed Amulius, delivered his brother,
and restored their grandfather to the throne.</p>

<p>After this event, the two brothers formed a design of
building a city on the mountains where they had spent
the early part of their life. From its being unknown
which of them was the elder, they had recourse to augury
to decide which of them should have the honour of
founding and governing the new city. To Remus six
ravens appeared, and to Romulus twelve. The former
claimed the sovereignty from the priority of his omen,
and the latter from the greater number of the birds.
Each being saluted king by his own party, a battle ensued,
in which Remus was killed. Others say that he was killed
by Romulus, because he had, in contempt, leapt over the
wall the latter was building when founding the city of
Rome. The measures which Romulus adopted to increase
the number of his subjects, the plans he formed
for the regulations of the city, and the laws he enacted,
discovered a surprising degree of political knowledge.
His military talents were still more remarkable. He conquered
every nation which declared war against him.
The Sabines and Romans having for a considerable time
fought with great ferocity, and victory inclining to
neither side, they coalesced, and Tatius, the king, was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</a></span>
appointed joint sovereign of Rome with Romulus. After
the death of Tatius, Romulus found himself sole master
of the city. His prosperity rendered him insolent and
tyrannical. When reviewing his army, the senators,
taking advantage of a storm that suddenly arose, tore
him in pieces, and reported that he had been translated
to heaven. The Romans, believing the story, deemed
Romulus worthy of divine honours, and accordingly ranked
him among their gods under the name of Quirinus.</p>

<p>Scylla, a daughter of Phorcys, was turned by Circe
into a sea-monster of a most hideous form, either from
jealousy, because she was a greater favourite with Glaucus,
or at the request of that deity. According to some,
she retained her original form and beauty down to the
waist; but others say she had six heads and as many
throats, and instead of hands had two claws. Her middle
was compassed by dogs, which never ceased barking.
The lower part of her body terminated in a large fish
with a forked tail.</p>

<p>There was another Scylla, the daughter of Nisus, king
of Megara, who conceived a violent passion for Minos when
he was besieging her father's capital. To ensure the fall
of the city, she cut off from her father's head, whilst he
slept, a hair of purple colour, on which his good fortune
depended, and presented it to her lover. Possessed of
this charm, Minos soon carried the place, but he punished
the perfidy of Scylla: she was thrown into the sea, and
changed, according to one account, into a fish, and, if we
can believe another narrative, her form became that of
a bird.</p>



<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</a></span></p>
<h2><a name="MYTHOLOGY_OF_GERMANY_GREAT_BRITAIN_SCANDINAVIA_ETC" id="MYTHOLOGY_OF_GERMANY_GREAT_BRITAIN_SCANDINAVIA_ETC"></a>MYTHOLOGY OF GERMANY, GREAT BRITAIN, SCANDINAVIA, ETC.</h2>

<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XII" id="CHAPTER_XII"></a>CHAPTER XII.</h2>

<div class="blockquot"><p>Mythology of Germany, Great Britain, and Scandinavia&mdash;Scandinavian
Gods, Giants, and Elves&mdash;The world Niflheim&mdash;The world Muspelheim&mdash;How
Ymir was created&mdash;The cow Aedhumla&mdash;Ymir's Offspring&mdash;Odin,
the chief God&mdash;Odin's Seat and Ravens&mdash;Valhalla&mdash;Queen Frigga&mdash;How
the Seas, Waters, Mountains, and Heavens were made&mdash;Chariots
and Horses in Heaven&mdash;Night and Day&mdash;What a Wolf is to
do&mdash;Three beautiful but evil-disposed Maidens&mdash;Creation of New
Beings&mdash;Bridge between Midgard and Asgard&mdash;Sacred Fountain&mdash;Roots
of the ash Yggdrasil&mdash;Baldur's Dreams and sad End&mdash;Loki, the
Evil Spirit&mdash;Hel and her Brothers&mdash;Ignorance of Giants, and Cunning
of Dwarfs&mdash;Worship of Scandinavian Gods&mdash;Norsemen and their
Ancient Gods and Goddesses&mdash;The Volsung Tale&mdash;Odin, Loki,
and H&aelig;nir's Wanderings&mdash;The Sword Gram&mdash;Sigurd's Exploits&mdash;What
the Worshippers of Odin believed&mdash;Frodi's Maidens and
Quern&mdash;Thor, and Subordinate Gods of the Laplanders&mdash;Belief and
Worship of the Laplanders&mdash;Drums as Implements of Superstition&mdash;Sale
of Winds&mdash;Power of Demons&mdash;Lucky and Unlucky Days&mdash;Other
Superstitions.</p></div>


<p>The mythology of Germany, Great Britain, Scandinavia,
and the other northern nations is as extraordinary as
that of Greece and Rome. Every race and nation under
the heavens were at one time steeped in superstition to
such an extent as to make people, living in enlightened
ages, wonder that creatures endowed with reasoning
powers should ever have given themselves over to such
vile delusions as some of our forefathers seem to have<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</a></span>
done. The adventures of the Scandinavian gods, giants,
and elves were not behind those of the gods and supernatural
beings in the south and east. In the beginning
of time, we are informed, a world existed in the north
called Niflheim, in the centre of which was a well
from which sprang twelve rivers. In the south was
another world, Muspelheim&mdash;a light, warm, radiant world,
the boundary of which was guarded by Surt with a
flaming sword. From Niflheim flowed cold streams called
Elivaager, which, hardening into ice, formed one icy layer
upon the other, within the abyss of abysses that faced the
north. From the south there streamed forth the sparkling
heat of Muspelheim; and as the heat and cold met, the
melting ice-drops became possessed of life, and produced,
through the power of him who had sent forth heat, Ymir,
the sire of the frost giants. Ymir obtained his nourishment
from four milky streams that escaped from the
udders of the cow Aedhumla&mdash;a creature formed from the
melting frost. From Ymir there came forth offspring
while he slept, viz. a man and woman, who emerged from
under his left arm, and sons from his feet. Thus was
produced the race of the frost giants. Meantime, as the
cow Aedhumla licked the frost-covered stones, there came
forth the first day a man's hair, a head the second day,
and a man, complete in all his parts, the third day. This
man, Buri, had a son named Bor, who married Beltsa,
one of the giant race, by whom he had three sons, Odin,
Vili, and Ve.</p>

<p>Odin became the chief god, and ruled heaven and earth,
and was omniscient. As ruler of heaven, his seat was
Valaskjalf, from whence he sent two black ravens, daily,
to gather tidings of all that was being done throughout
the world. As god of war, he held his court in Valhalla,
whither brave warriors went after death to revel in the
tumultuous joys in which they took pleasure when on
earth. Odin had different names and characters, as many<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[Pg 87]</a></span>
of the gods had. By drinking from Mimir's fountain, he
became the wisest of gods and men. He was the greatest
of sorcerers, and imparted a knowledge of his wondrous
art to his favourites. Frigga was his queen, and the
mother of Baldur, the Scandinavian Apollo; but he had
other wives and favourites, and a numerous progeny of
sons and daughters. All over Scandinavian lands, but
particularly in Denmark, the people imagine that they
hear his voice in the storm.</p>

<p>The other two brothers were less famous, but they were
gods, and assisted Odin to slay Ymir, and carry his body
into the middle of Ginnungagap, and formed from it the
earth and heavens. Of his blood the brothers made all
the seas and waters, taking the gore that flowed from his
body to form the impassable ocean which is supposed to
encircle the earth. Of his bones they made the mountains,
using the broken splinters and his teeth for the stones and
pebbles. From his skull they made the heavens, at each
of the four corners of which was stationed a dwarf, of
whom we shall hear more by-and-bye. Of Ymir's brains
clouds were formed, of his hair plants and herbs, and of
his eyebrows a wall of defence was made against the
giants round Midgard, the central garden or place of
abode of the sons of men. The work of the celebrated
brothers was not ended by these achievements; for they
took the sparks that were cast out of the world Muspelheim,
and, throwing them over the face of the heavens,
produced the sun, moon, stars, and fiery meteors, and so
arranged them in their places and courses, that days,
months, and years followed. Allfader placed chariots and
horses in heaven, where Night rode round the earth with
her horse Hrimfaxi, from whose bit fell the rime-drops
that every morning bedewed the earth. After her course
followed her son Day, with his horse Skinfaxi, from whose
shining mane light beamed. Mani directed the course of
the moon, and Sol drove the chariot of the sun. They<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[Pg 88]</a></span>
were followed by a wolf, which was of the giant race, and
that will in the end of time swallow, or assist to swallow,
up the moon, darken the sun's brightness, let loose the
boisterous winds, and drink the blood of every dying
man.</p>

<p>Three beautiful but evil-disposed maidens arrived at
Asgard from the giants' world, Jotunheim, by whom confusion
and ill-will were spread over the world. Then the
gods determined to create new beings to people the
universe. They gave human bodies and understanding
to dwarfs, who had been generated within the dead body
of Ymir, and who took up their abodes in the bowels of
the earth, in rocks, in stones, and in trees and flowers.
Then Odin, with two companions, went forth on an excursion
to the earth, and created a man and woman; and
from this pair, whose abode was at Midgard, the human
race sprang. A bridge of various colours, known to men
as the rainbow, connected Midgard with Asgard, and
over this the gods rode daily to a sacred fountain. This
fountain lay at one of the three roots of the ash Yggdrasil,
whose branches spread over the whole earth and reached
above the heavens. Under one of these roots was the
abode of Hel, the goddess of the dead, under another that
of the frost giants, and under the third was the dwelling of
human beings.</p>

<p>Baldur dreamt evil dreams of threatened danger to his
life. He related them to the gods, who endeavoured to protect
him from injury. Frigga made fire, water, iron, and all
metals, stones, earth, plants, beasts, birds, serpents, poison,
and all diseases, swear that they would not hurt Baldur.
Loki was displeased at this. He changed himself into the
form of an old woman, and, inquiring the cause of Baldur's
invulnerability, was told by Frigga that all things, animate
and inanimate, had sworn not to harm him, with the
exception of one little shrub, the misletoe. Loki, rejoicing
at the information he had received, procured this little<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</a></span>
shrub, and hastened with it to an assembly of the gods,
where he placed it in the hands of the blind Hoder, the
god of war, who cast it at Baldur, and pierced him to the
heart. Hermoder, the son of Odin, offered to proceed to
Hel to release Baldur; and Hel, on hearing the request
made, consented to let him go, on condition that all things
would weep for Baldur. All men, all living beings, and
all things wept except the witch Thock, who refused to
mourn for the departed god. Baldur was therefore
compelled to remain in Hel, where he will be to the end
of the world.</p>

<p>Loki was beautiful, and possessed of great knowledge
and cunning. He often brought the gods into trouble,
from which, however, through his craft he extricated them.
Hence he was regarded as the Evil Spirit. Sometimes he
was called Asa-Loki, to distinguish him from Utgarda-Loki,
a king of the giants, whose kingdom lay at the
uttermost limits of the earth.</p>

<p>Hel, who dwelt under one of the three roots of the
sacred ash Yggdrasil, was the daughter of the wicked
Loki. Hel, together with her brother, the wolf Fenrir,
and the serpent Jormundgand, was brought up in the
giants' home of Jotunheim, where she remained until, at
the request of the gods, Allfader sent for her and her
brothers to destroy them, as it was known that by their
origin they would prove the instruments of calamity.
After casting the serpent that surrounded all lands into
the deep ocean, he hurled Hel into Niflheim, and gave her
authority over nine worlds, in which she was to assign
places to all who died of sickness and old age. Her abode
was surrounded by a high enclosure and massive gates.
She was of fierce aspect, was inexorable, and would set no
one at liberty who had once entered her domain. Her
dish was hunger, her knife starvation, her servants slow-moving,
her bed sickness, and her curtains wide-spread
misery.</p>

<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[Pg 90]</a></span>With Ymir perished all the giants except Bergelmir.
It was a popular belief that, through the power of giants,
mountains and islands were raised, and that, by these
monsters, mountains and rocks were hurled from their
original sites. Notwithstanding the huge bulk and the
number of heads and arms that many of the giants had,
they were supposed to be ignorant monsters, unable to
cope with ordinary human beings.</p>

<p>The Dwarfs, of whom an account is given in the
<i>Eddas</i>, were cunning and crafty elves, and skilled in
magic. Some gave them a place between men and giants.
It was believed that the dwarfs appeared under the
forms of elves, brownies, and fairies. They used charms,
and possessed all the skill of witches. It was in their
power to raise storms, kill people by their diabolical art,
fly away with children, and even with grown-up persons,
through the air, or imprison them in caverns within the
earth. They assisted men to discover the precious metals,
of which they (the dwarfs) were very fond. Occasionally
they were seen through an aperture of a hill, in their
underground retreat, in palaces with jasper columns, surrounded
with vast treasures of gold and silver.</p>

<p>The Scandinavian gods were worshipped in spacious
temples, or on stone heaps or altars. These sacred places
were always near a consecrated grove or tree and a sacred
fountain. Human sacrifices were not uncommon at times
of public calamities, such as war, disease, or famine.
Three great festivals were held every year, the first of
which was celebrated at the new year, in the Yule-month.
On these occasions offerings were made to Odin for success
in war, and to Freyr for a peaceful year. The chief victim
was a hog, which was sacrificed to the latter god, on
account of swine having first instructed man to plough
the soil. Feasting and games occupied the whole month,
therefore it was called the Merry Month. Yule continues
to be observed in several places at the present time, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[Pg 91]</a></span>
points to the custom of sun worship and the adoration of
the early gods of the north. The frumenty eaten on
Christmas eve or morning in England, and the sowans
in Scotland, seem to be imitations of the offerings paid to
Hulda or Berchta, to whom the people looked for new
stores of grain. The second festival was in mid-winter,
and the third in spring, when Odin was chiefly invoked
for prosperity and victory.</p>

<p>The mythology of the Scandinavians and our ancestors
was in many respects similar. It was from the principal
gods of the northern nations that the names of the days of
our week were taken, as will appear under the observations
we shall make on the Calendar. But in addition to the
chief gods there were inferior deities, who were supposed
to have been translated to heaven for their great deeds,
and whose greatest happiness consisted in drinking ale
out of the skulls of their enemies in the hall of Wodin.
The Norsemen delight to recount the exploits of their
ancient gods and goddesses and celebrated mythical persons.
The Volsung Tale is often referred to with pleasure.
Volsung, a descendant of Odin, was taken from his mother's
womb by a surgical operation, after six years' bearing.
In his hall grew an oak, whose branches spread out in
every direction. In that hall, when Volsung's daughter
was to be given away to Siggeir, king of Gothland, in
came an old guest with one eye. In his hand he held a
sword, which at one stroke he drove up to the hilt in the
oak. "Let him," said he, "of this company who can pull
it out, bear it, and none shall say he bore a better blade."
Having said this, he disappeared, and was seen no more.
Many tried to possess himself of the sword, but none could
draw it from the oak, till Sigmund, the bravest of Volsung's
sons, laid his hand upon its hilt. At his touch, it freed
itself from the mighty oak; and the sword turned out to
be the celebrated blade Gram, of which every Norseman
has heard. Sigmund was armed with this weapon when<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[Pg 92]</a></span>
he went out to battle against his brother-in-law, who
quarrelled with him about this very sword; for every one
who knew its virtues was anxious to become its possessor.
All perished in the fight except Sigmund, who was saved
by his sister Signy. Sigmund, after taking vengeance
against his brother-in-law, took possession of the kingdom,
which was his by inheritance. When Sigmund was
stricken in years, he went out to fight against the sons of
King Hunding. Just as he was about to prove victorious,
a one-eyed warrior, of more than mortal might, rushed at
him with spear in hand. At the outstretched spear Sigmund
struck with his hitherto trusty blade, when it
snapped in two. In the one-eyed warrior's features he
discovered the giver of the sword, who was no less famous
a personage than Odin. Sigmund then knew that his
good fortune had departed from him, and he sank down
on the battle-field and died.</p>

<p>There is a legend of Odin, Loki, and H&aelig;nir in one of
their many wanderings coming to a river side, where they
saw an otter with a salmon in its mouth. Loki killed the
otter with a stone. Then the &AElig;sir passed on, and came
at night to Reidmar's house to seek shelter. They showed
the otter and salmon to him, on which he cried to his sons
to seize and bind them, for they had slain their brother,
Otter. To make compensation for what they had done,
they agreed to pay any sum Reidmar might name. Otter
was flayed, and Reidmar commanded the &AElig;sir to fill the
skin with gold, and cover it without that not a hair
could be seen. Odin sent Loki down to the dwellings
of the black elves to obtain the precious metal. The
cunning god caught Andvari, the dwarf, and compelled
him to surrender all the gold he had accumulated. The
dwarf begged and prayed that he might be permitted to
retain one ring, for it was the source of all his wealth, as
ring after ring dropped from it. Loki was inexorable;
not a penny-worth would he leave with the dwarf. Seeing<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[Pg 93]</a></span>
he could not retain the ring, the dwarf laid a curse on it,
and said it would prove a bane to every one into whose
possession it might pass. Reidmar having all the gold
except the ring laid at his feet, filled the skin with the
yellow ore, and set it up on end. Odin poured gold over
it until it was covered up. Reidmar carefully looked at
the skin, and declared that he saw a grey hair, and desired
them to cover it also. Odin reluctantly drew out the
ring, which he would fain have kept for himself, and laid
it over the grey hair. Before the &AElig;sir departed, Loki
repeated the curse which Andvari had laid upon the ring.
The curse began to take effect. Regin, one of Reidmar's
sons, asked for a share of the gold, but his father refused
to give him any. This undutiful son and his brother
Fafnir conspired against their sire, slew him, and took
possession of the gold. Fafnir being the stronger brother,
determined to keep the whole treasure to himself; and
not only that, but he threatened that unless Regin went off
he would share his father's fate. Regin fled for his life,
and his brother assumed the form of a dragon, in which
shape he lay on the Glistening Heath, coiled round his store
of gold and precious things.</p>

<p>Sigurd requested Regin, who was the best of smiths, to
forge him a sword. Two were made, but both broke at
the first stroke. The broken pieces of Gram were then
obtained, and out of them Regin forged a blade that clave
the anvil in the smithy, and cut a lock of wool borne down
to it by a stream. Armed with Gram, and mounted on
Gran, his steed, which Odin had instructed him to choose,
Sigurd rode to the Glistening Heath, dug a pit in the
dragon's path, and slew him as he passed over him on
his way to drink at the river. Sigurd roasted the heart of
Fafnir; and while it was being cooked, he tried it with
one of his fingers to see if it were soft. The hot roast
burned his finger, which caused him to put it to his mouth.
He tasted the dragon's blood, and instantly he understood<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[Pg 94]</a></span>
the songs of birds. Sigurd slew Regin, ate the heart, rode
on Gran to Fafnir's lair, took the spoil, and escaped
with it.</p>

<p>On and on he rode, till on a lone fell he saw a flame;
and when he reached it, it blazed all around a house.
No horse but Gran could pass through that flame, and
no man but Sigurd could guide him in his fiery path.
Brynhildr, Atli's sister, who in consequence of giving
victory on the wrong side had the thorn of sleep thrust
into her cloak by Odin, lay in the house in a deep sleep.
She was under a curse to slumber there until a man bold
enough to ride through the fire came to liberate her,
and win her for his bride. Dashing onward to where the
fair maiden lay, his first touch wakened her from the long
sleep to which the cruel god had consigned her. They
swore with a mighty oath to love each other, and she
taught him runes and wisdom.</p>

<p>Sigurd's mission was not yet accomplished; so on he
rode to King Giuki's hall, king of Frankland, whose queen
was Grimhildr, who had two sons named Gunnar and
Hogni, and a step-son called Guttorm, and whose daughter
was the lovely Gudrun. Sigurd, greatly attached to his
lovely bride at the lone fell, purposed going back for her;
but Grimhildr, who was skilled in the black arts, longed
for the brave Volsung for her own daughter, and therefore
prepared for him the philter of forgetfulness. He quaffed
it off, forgot Brynhildr, fraternised with Gunnar and
Hogni, and married Gudrun. Giuki now wanted a wife
for Gunnar, and the brothers with their bosom friend set
out to woo. They chose Brynhildr, whom they found
still sitting on the fell, waiting for Sigurd to come back.
She had made it known, that whoever could pass that
flame should have her for his wife; so, when Gunnar and
Hogni reached the spot, the former rode at the flame, but
his horse swerved from the fierce fire; then, by Grimhildr's
magic arts, Sigurd and Gunnar changed shapes and arms,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[Pg 95]</a></span>
and Sigurd mounted Gran, and the noble steed carried
him through the flame. Thus Brynhildr was wooed and
compelled to yield. That evening they were united in
wedlock; but when they retired to rest Sigurd unsheathed
Gram, and laid it between them. Next morning, when he
arose, he took the ring which Andvari had laid under a
curse, and which was among Fafnir's treasures, and gave
it to Brynhildr as a gift, and she gave him another ring
in return. Then Sigurd returned to his companions in
his own shape; and Gunnar went and claimed Brynhildr
as his bride, and carried her home. No sooner was
Gunnar wedded than the power of the philter ceased to
operate: he remembered all that had passed, and the oath
he had sworn to the fair Brynhildr. When she discovered
that she had been deceived, she engaged Gunnar to revenge
her wrong. By charms and prayers the two brothers set
on Guttorm, their half-brother, to take vengeance, and the
hero was pierced through with a sword while he lay
in Gudrun's white arms. Though Sigurd turned and
writhed in agony, he had strength left to hurl Gram after
the treacherous Guttorm as he fled. The keen blade cut
him asunder, and his head rolled out of the room. Brynhildr's
love returned; and when Sigurd, who expired of
his wound, was laid upon the pile, her heart broke. She
in song predicted woes that were to come, made them lay
her side by side with Sigurd, with Gram between them,
and so went to Valhalla with her old lover. Andvari's
curse was thus fulfilled.</p>

<p>The worshippers of Odin believed that at certain times
the gracious powers showed themselves in bodily shape,
passing through the land, and bringing blessings with
them. On other occasions the gods were supposed to ride
through the air on clouds and storms, and speaking in
awful voice as the tempest howled and the sea raged.
They were also supposed to be present in battle, fighting
for votaries, and defeating the wicked. The goddesses<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[Pg 96]</a></span>
assisted women in times of peril; they taught the maids
to spin, and punished them if the wool remained long on
the spindles. It was supposed that Odin had a band of
followers who accompanied him in the whirlwind. The
wanderings of the gods are mentioned in the <i>Odyssey</i>, and
the sanctity of the rites of hospitality, and the dread of
turning a wanderer from the door, originated lest the
stranger should be a disguised being of exalted character.
Goddesses as well as gods were supposed to wander up and
down among men, telling them what was to happen.
Freyja, the goddess of love and plenty, who presided over
marriages, was one of these, and the three moons, Urd,
Verdandi, and Skuld, who determined the fate of gods and
men, were also among the number.</p>

<p>We are informed that in Frodi's house were two maidens
of the old giant race, whom he had bought as slaves, and
he made them grind his quern Grotti, out of which peace
and gold were produced. He kept them at the mill, not
giving them any longer rest than the time the cuckoo's note
lasted. That quern turned out anything that the grinder
chose, though formerly it had ground nothing but peace
and gold. The maidens ground and ground without
ceasing. As Frodi was deaf to their cries for rest, they
caused the quern to grind fire and war. While the quern
went on making these evils, Mysing, the sea rover, came
at night and slew Frodi and all his men, and carried away
the hand-mill, maidens and all. When at sea, the rover
caused the maidens to grind salt; and they performed
their task until they ground as much as has kept the sea
salt ever since that time.</p>

<p>Thor was the chief god of the Laplanders. They had
also subordinate deities, one of which was Storjunkarr,
their household god. Wirchu Archa was a female deity
worshipped by them. She was the goddess of old women.
These deities were represented under the figure of
unsculptured stones. Spirits, angels, and devils were<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[Pg 97]</a></span>
worshipped by those people. Souls of departed relations
were also prayed to by the more superstitious of the
people. Magic was a famous art among them. When
sacrificing to Thor, they smeared the head of his image
with the victim's blood; and when they made an offering
to Storjunkarr, a thread was run through the right ear of
the victim. When it was a reindeer that was sacrificed, the
horns, head, and other parts were carried to a mountain
devoted to Storjunkarr, and deposited there, the animal's
tail being tied to one of the horns, and a red thread to
the other.</p>

<p>The Laplanders used to sacrifice reindeers to the sun. In
this ceremony a white thread was put through the victim's
right ear. In sacrificing to the sun, willows were used,
but in their other sacrifices birch trees were employed.
Many of their superstitions were similar to those of the
Greeks, Romans, and Tartars.</p>

<p>So much were the Laplanders given to superstition, that
they worshipped the first object that presented itself in the
morning. Every house and family had a deity. They
had magical drums, which were consulted in a particular
manner on important occasions; and when they engaged
in battle, these drums were carried to the scene of action.
In consequence of their supposed virtue, writers have said
that drums were originally implements of superstition in our
armies rather than instruments of music. Brass and copper
rings, together with a hammer, were appended to a drum.
A woman was not allowed to touch a sacred drum, nor was
she permitted to go over the same road that it was carried,
within three days of its removal.</p>

<p>Laplanders and Norwegians sold favourable winds to
sailors and travellers. A rope with three knots was given
to the buyer, who, when he wanted a gentle breeze, untied
one of the knots; when he wished a fresh strong wind, he
undid another; and when he desired storms and tempests,
he unfastened the third. The first two descriptions of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[Pg 98]</a></span>
wind were generally obtained for good purposes, but the
third through wicked motives. By the unloosing of the
third knot, many a shipwreck was caused to bring about
the death of a hated individual, and for the purpose of
securing wreck cast ashore by the sea. Magicians could,
the moment they were born, control the winds that blew.
In this way one magician had power over the east wind,
another of the south, a third of the west, and a fourth of
the north. Magical shafts, which went through the air
unseen, were thrown at enemies, and distempers were
caused by charms. Gans or demons were enticed by
secret art to perform acts of malice and deeds of revenge.</p>

<p>The Laplanders had their lucky and unlucky days.
They thought it was unlucky to meet a woman when they
were going out to hunt. When a Laplander died, the
house was deserted by the family, because it was supposed
the soul of the deceased remained near the inanimate body.
When they buried their dead, they, like the ancient Danes,
Saxons, and others, deposited a hatchet, warlike implements,
a steel, flint, and tinder-box with each body, under
the impression that they would be useful to the deceased in
another world. Their witches&mdash;and they had many&mdash;who
were born in winter, were supposed to be able to make
that season cold, or comparatively mild, as they pleased.</p>



<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[Pg 99]</a></span></p>
<h2><a name="NAMES_OF_DAYS_WHENCE_DERIVED" id="NAMES_OF_DAYS_WHENCE_DERIVED"></a>NAMES OF DAYS, WHENCE DERIVED.</h2>

<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIII" id="CHAPTER_XIII"></a>CHAPTER XIII.</h2>

<div class="blockquot"><p>The Calendar&mdash;Names of Days, whence derived&mdash;Worship of Plants&mdash;Nature-Worship&mdash;The
Power of Jupiter&mdash;Influence of Zeus&mdash;The god
Indra&mdash;Origin of the term "Hours"&mdash;Hours under Planetary Control&mdash;Coronation
of a Persian King&mdash;Evils transferred to the Turks and
Kafirs&mdash;The Moon's Controlling Power&mdash;Time reckoned by Moons&mdash;A
strange Story&mdash;Discovery of Maize, Beans, and Tobacco&mdash;Sayings of an
Old Writer&mdash;Heathen Gods&mdash;Thor's Palace&mdash;Thor's Power&mdash;Frigga's
Abilities&mdash;Description of Seater or Crodo.</p></div>


<p>The Fates have apparently decreed that the Pagan
religion and superstitions shall be kept in perpetual
remembrance. If one examine heraldry, he will find
traces of heathen mythology and superstition; if he look
at the most famous of Great Britain's public buildings, he
will see emblems of the ridiculous; if he glance at the
Calendar, he will ascertain that months and days have
been named after, or mentioned in connection with,
mythological beings or objects of profane adoration; and
if he read the pages of the greatest authors, he will discover
much that has assisted to keep alive the embers of
superstition. Passing over heraldry and ancient edifices,
let us inquire whence the names of months and days are
derived, and how certain seasons are observed.</p>

<p>The Saxons called the day D&oelig;g; whence the term. It
is thought they obtained it from the Roman Dies, a Diis,
the names of the Roman days having been taken from the
planets, which were called Dii, or gods.</p>

<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[Pg 100]</a></span>In noticing the first day of the week, we need scarcely
give the reason for its being denominated "Sabbath," as
every Jew and Christian knows the reason why one day of
the week is so called; but we shall, in carrying out the
line of our narrative, take leave to make a few remarks as
to the cause of that day being known as "Sunday." The
Romans called it Dies Solis, because it was dedicated to the
worship of the sun; and the Saxons gave it the name
Sunnan-d&oelig;g, or Sun's-day, for a similar heathenish cause.
Whether the Saxons received their mythology from the
Romans, or whether they had idols of their own, is a
matter of doubt. The Romans worshipped the planets
by the names of some of their favourite deities; and there
is a resemblance in the Latin characteristics to certain of
those of the Saxons, though they are in most instances
different in their appellations. The names of the days of
the week have no doubt been continued from the Saxons,
whatever the origin may have been.</p>

<p>The luminous body which gives title to our first day
of the week was regarded by the ancient heathen with
superstitious reverence, as it was considered to be the
superintending and governing power presiding over nature.</p>

<p>The adoration, therefore, that was paid to the sun was
the most prevalent of all the errors of superstition. That
this should have been the case among people ignorant of
the existence of the great omnipotent Being, is not
surprising; for how much more glorious were the shining
lights in the heavens, but more particularly the sun, than
the many objects worshipped by Pagans in our own and
other lands! Nature-worship was the foundation of all
polytheistic religions; and that the principal heathen
deities were originally personifications of the great
luminary that gives light and heat to the earth, or of
certain influences thereof, admits of little doubt. The
solar character of numerous deities is clearly discernible.
Jupiter had power over the phenomena of the skies. The<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[Pg 101]</a></span>
future was known to him; the destinies of human beings
were in his hands. Strange appearances in the heavens, or
wonderful events happening on the earth, were the signs by
which he made his pleasure or displeasure known. On
special occasions sacrifices were offered to Jupiter, and his
favour implored.</p>

<p>Zeus's influence was like that of the sun; he had the
rule of the heavens and air, he directed the lightning, and
guided the stars in their courses, and controlled the
seasons. Prophecy belonged to him, and it was from
this god Ph&oelig;bus received oracular gifts. Indra was a
god of similar attributes; he was the great ruler of the
firmament, and the upholder of the heaven and earth, and
the god who created the dawn. He presided over the
east, and was the god that sent rain and wielded the
thunder-bolts. Many sacrifices were offered to him, and
homage was also paid in numerous ways. Baal was
originally the god of the sun, and ruler of nature. Some
suppose that Baal was the same god as Moloch, to whom
human sacrifices were offered, and whose worship also
consisted principally of purifications, mutilations, perpetual
virginity, and ordeals by fire. Bullocks, and even
children, were sacrificed to Baal.</p>

<p>The origin of the term "hour" has been supposed by
some authors to be derived from Hora, a surname given to
the sun, the parent of time, and called by the Egyptians
Horus. Hours are occasionally distinguished by the
epithet of "planetary," from a supposition of the ancients
that the Sun, Venus, Mercury, the Moon, Saturn, Jupiter,
and Mars alternately presided over them. The first hour
of the first day of the week was under the control of the
Sun, the second under that of Venus, the third of Mercury,
the fourth of the Moon, the fifth of Saturn, the sixth of
Jupiter, and the seventh of Mars. After such rotation,
the sun governed the eighth hour, Venus the ninth, and
so on through the whole twenty-four hours.</p>

<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[Pg 102]</a></span>The sun, moon, and stars have been considered by the
people of nearly every nation on the face of the earth to
affect the destiny of mortals here below. A story of the
proceedings at the coronation of a Persian king is not
without interest. The important ceremony of crowning
could not be performed before the lord of the astrologers&mdash;an
officer of great importance&mdash;declared the lucky moments
that a happy constellation pointed out the time for placing
the crown on the monarch's head. It was recorded that
about ten o'clock at night the chief of the astrologers and
his companions, having been long observing the position of
the stars and conjunction of the planets, returned to give
notice to the prince and company that the fortunate time
for the coronation would be within twenty minutes.
When the twenty minutes were nearly expired, everything
being in readiness, the grand astrologer winked,
and immediately the prince was made king.</p>

<p>For two years everything went well; but then the
king's health began to decline. Sometimes he lay whole
weeks together, languishing in his harem. In consequence
of his majesty having indulged too freely in stimulants,
the court physician applied his secret arts to counteract
the effect of the baneful liquids, but without any good
result; and the astrologers began to whisper that the
monarch would not recover. They could not, they
reported, find in his horoscope that he had more than six
years to live after the date of his coronation; and they
predicted that two of the years he had to survive would
be spent in perpetual misery. The queen-mother
quarrelled with the physician, asking him how it came to
pass that her son was sick, and accused him of treason or
ignorance. The man of healing art defended his own
conduct, and blamed the stars or astrologers. He said
that if the king lay in a languishing condition and could
not recover, it was because the astrologers had failed to
observe the happy hour, or the aspect of a fortunate<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[Pg 103]</a></span>
constellation at the time of the coronation. This view of the
case was taken by many at court, and even by some of
the astrologers themselves. One of those wise men made
it plain to those whom he addressed, that the moment
fixed for the coronation was inauspicious; and afterwards,
by arguments, satisfied the queen-mother and chief
courtiers that the king's ill-health proceeded from his
coronation, which had been solemnized under unfortunate
aspects. The king, his wives, and others believed the
physician, and therefore it was in vain the unlucky astrologer
maintained the correctness of his calculations.</p>

<p>The question now arose, What was to be done to rectify
the mistake which had been committed? And at length
it was resolved that the king should change his name,
and that a second coronation should take place. Long
deliberations took place before the second coronation was
fixed. The astrologers at length agreed that the happy
hour would be about the time of the year that the sun
was under the influence of a certain planet, which,
according to account, was to be on Tuesday the
twentieth of March, about nine in the morning. The
new ceremony had the desired effect, for the king
became well again.</p>

<p>No sooner had the king improved in health than
another danger threatened the nation. A great and
remarkable comet appeared, which filled the people's
minds with terror. All the Persian astrologers declared
that the alarming sign signified wars, murders, seditions,
conflagrations, dangerous diseases, overturning of kingdoms
and states, and all kinds of calamities; but, by
means unknown to us, they transferred all these evils on
the Turks, Kafirs, and Christians, and so Persia escaped
danger.</p>

<p><i>Monday</i> was dedicated by the Saxons to the adoration
of the moon, whence it was called Mon-day, Moon-day,
and Monan-d&oelig;g. The Romans, as well as the Saxons,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[Pg 104]</a></span>
consecrated this day to the moon. They (the Romans)
called it <i>Dies Lun&aelig;, feria secunda</i>; and anciently, on the
first day of every lunar month, festivals were held in
commemoration of the benefits bestowed during the
former moon, and in gratitude for the return of that
luminary. The worship that was paid to the moon as a
deity, originated from causes similar to that assigned to
the sun. In Europe all avowed sincere adoration of these
orbs has ceased, but traces of sun and moon worship
having been once common still remain. In several parts
of England it is customary to bless the new moon, while
in Scotland people not only do the same, but in mock
adoration they bow to it at the same time.</p>

<p>Many superstitious beliefs remain as to the influence of
the moon. It is unlucky for one to have his hands empty
when he first sees the new moon, and it is regarded as a
good sign if one has silver in his hand the first time he
sees it. It has, or is supposed to have, a great effect on
the weather and sea. One often hears it said in times of
stormy weather, "We will not have a change before the
new moon." It influences the affections of lovers to a
very great extent. If a swain is halting between two
opinions, viz. whether he will propose to such a lady, let
him invite her to take a walk with him by moonlight,
and the chances are ten to one, that if they go out together,
they will be married. If one doubts this, he is advised to
try it, and he will see how warm the affections will become.
If one is going to enter into an important undertaking,
he will be wise to do so when the moon is filling. People
who are married in one of the first two quarters of the
moon, are more happy than those who enter into the
matrimonial state when it is on the wane; and, taking a
sudden bound from the sublime to things that are common,
we are compelled to say that not a few consider the effects
of the moon so great, that they would not kill their pigs
but when it was on the increase. Then every one has<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[Pg 105]</a></span>
heard of the effects the moon has on the human mind;
whence the term "lunacy." There are many tribes and
nations that reckon time by moons, and not by years, as
we now do. This reminds us of a story which shows the
credulity of the savages of North America, and how they
calculated time. It is this:&mdash;</p>

<p>A Swedish minister was preaching a sermon one day to
the savages, and when he had finished, an Indian orator
stood up to thank him for his discourse, which had reference
to our first parents eating the forbidden fruit.
"What you have told us," said the orator, "is very good.
It is indeed bad to eat apples; it is better to make them
all into cider. We are much obliged by your kindness
in coming so far to tell us those things which you have
heard from your mothers. In return, I will tell you some
of those we have heard from ours. In the beginning, our
fathers had only the flesh of animals to subsist on; and
if they were unsuccessful in the hunt, they could get
nothing to eat. Two of our young hunters having killed
a deer, made a fire in the wood, to broil part of the flesh.
When they were about to satisfy their hunger, they beheld
a beautiful woman descend from the clouds, and seat herself
near the young men. They said to each other, 'It is
a spirit that has smelt our broiled venison, and perhaps
wishes to eat of it: let us offer some to her.' They
presented her with the tongue. She was pleased with the
taste of it, and said, 'Your kindness shall be rewarded.
Come,' said she, 'to this place after thirteen moons, and
you will find something that will be of great benefit in
nourishing you and your children to the latest generation.'</p>

<p>"The hunters, deeply impressed with what the fair one
had said, watched with something like impatience the
appearance and disappearance of moon after moon, till
the thirteenth moon had come and gone, and then they
repaired to the spot where they were to receive their
reward. To their surprise, they found plants they did<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[Pg 106]</a></span>
not know, but which have been constantly cultivated
ever since, to the great advantage of man. Where the
woman's right hand had rested, they found maize; where
her left hand had touched the ground, they discovered
beans; and where she had sat, tobacco grew luxuriantly."</p>

<p>We are accustomed to speak of the sun as "he," and of
the moon as "she," but in many other countries the
former is considered to be feminine, and the latter
masculine. In Hindoo mythology the moon is a male
deity, and is represented as the son of the patriarch Atri,
who procreated him from his eyes; but by others it is
said the moon arose from the milk sea when it was
churned by the gods to procure the beverage of
immortality. An old writer says that the sun supplies
the moon, when reduced by the draughts of the gods to a
single ray; and in the same proportion as the moon is
exhausted by the celestials, it is replenished by the sun,
for the gods drink the nectar accumulated in the moon
during half the month; and from this being their food,
they are immortal. When the remaining portion of the
moon consists but of a fifteenth part, the Manes (infernal
spirits, or inferior deities) approach it in the afternoon,
and drink the remaining portion of nectar. And probably
in this statement are to be found grounds for the superstitious
belief that the time when the moon is increasing
is more fortunate than when it is waning.</p>

<p><i>Tuesday</i> was so called from Tiwes-d&oelig;g, which signifies
the day of Tiw, or Tiu, a name for the old Saxon war god
Tyr. Other names were given to it by the Romans and
Germans. It was called by the Romans <i>Dies Martis,
feria tertia</i>, from its having been dedicated to Mars. Wormius,
Marshall, and Sommes endeavour to prove that the
day took its name from Thisa or Desa, the goddess of
justice, the wife of Thor. Taking the views of any of
the authors who have written on the subject, it is plain
that the day was named in honour of some mythological<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[Pg 107]</a></span>
deity. Tyr did not belong entirely to the Northern
mythology, but was known to the Germans as Ziu or Zio,
and to Anglo-Saxons as Tiv.</p>

<p>Tyr, it will be remembered, was single-handed. When
the gods prevailed on the wolf Fenrir to allow himself to
be bound with the bandage Gleipner, Tyr put his right
hand into the wolf's mouth, as a pledge that he would be
loosened. The gods refused to liberate the wolf, which in
revenge bit off Tyr's hand. He and his enemy, the
monster dog Garmr, met their death in the twilight battle
of the gods.</p>

<p>The Roman divinity, Mars, was a war god, and seems
to have been originally an agricultural deity. To him
propitiatory offerings were presented, as the guardian of
fields and flocks; but as the shepherds who founded the
city of Rome were of a warlike disposition, it is easily
understood how Mars became the god of war.</p>

<p><i>Wednesday</i> signifies Wodin's-day or Odin's-day. Wodin
or Odin, as is well known, was a great Northern god.
He was believed to be the god of war, who gave victory,
and revived courage in the conflict. He was also worshipped
as the god of arts and artists; and to him
magnificent temples were built, and sacrifices offered.
He adopted as his children all those who were slain with
swords in their hands; hence the hardihood and brilliant
examples of courage displayed by Northern warriors. He
had two black ravens, that flew forth daily to obtain
tidings of all that was being done throughout the world.
His greatest treasure consisted of his eight-footed steed
Sleipner, his spear Gungner, and his ring Draupner, by
which he performed many strange acts. Frigga was his
queen, but he had other wives and favourites, and a
numerous family of sons and daughters. By drinking at
Mimir's sacred fountain, he became the wisest of gods and
men. He is reputed to have possessed every power of
witchcraft, prophecy, and transformation; and in the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[Pg 108]</a></span>
shape of a lion or other beast of prey, he, we are told,
destroyed whole armies.</p>

<p><i>Thursday</i> (Thors-d&oelig;g) was dedicated to the adoration of
Thor, the bravest of the sons of Odin. Thor was the god of
thunder; he had a magnificent palace, which had five
hundred and forty pillars, where he received and made
happy the warriors who had fallen in battle. By the
rolling of his chariot, thunder was produced. He had a
smasher or mauler, made by cunning dwarfs, which, after
being thrown at an enemy, had the property of returning
to him. It was believed by the Pagans that he possessed
marvellous power and might, and that all people in
the world were subject to him. In the air he governed
the winds and clouds; and when displeased, he caused
thunder, lightning, and tempest, with excessive rain, hail,
and bad weather. When pleased with his worshippers, he
gave them favourable weather, and caused corn and fruit
to grow abundantly, and kept away disease from man and
beast.</p>

<p>The Laplanders represented Thor by the stump of a tree,
rudely carved to represent a man; and they supplied him
with flint and steel, that he might strike fire when he
wanted it. Moreover, they placed a hammer near him,
which they supposed he would use with force against evil
spirits, for they thought he had sovereign authority over
all the mischievous and malevolent spirits that inhabited
the air, mountains, and lakes. High festivals were held in
honour of this deity, as noticed elsewhere, to supplicate
for a propitious year, and at these festivals every excess
of extravagant and dissolute pleasure was not only
permitted, but was considered requisite.</p>

<p><i>Friday</i> derived its name from Frigga, the wife of Odin.
She, as well as her husband, possessed wonderful abilities,
and, like Juno, was held in the highest esteem and veneration
for her power of procuring easy access into the world,
and bestowing every felicity connected with the softer<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[Pg 109]</a></span>
endearments of life. Frigga was thought to be the mother
of all the Pagan divinities of the Northern nations begotten
by Odin.</p>

<p>The Romans dedicated this day to Venus; whence its
name, <i>Dies Veneris, feria sexta</i>. That goddess having
possessed many of the attributes for which Frigga was
celebrated, many authors have supposed them originally
to have meant the same divinity.</p>

<p><i>Saturday</i> has its name from Seater or Crodo, worshipped
by the old Saxons. He was lean, had long hair and a
long beard. In his left hand he held up a wheel, and in
his right he carried a pail of water, wherein were flowers
and fruits. He stood on the sharp fins of the perch, to
signify that the Saxons, for serving him, should pass,
without harm, in dangerous and difficult places.</p>

<p>The seventh day of the week was dedicated by the
Romans to Saturn, and called, in honour of him, <i>Dies
Saturni, feria septima</i>. Seater or Crodo, and the Roman
Saturn, have been considered by many to be the same
deity.</p>



<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[Pg 110]</a></span></p>
<h2><a name="NAMES_OF_MONTHS_WHENCE_DERIVED" id="NAMES_OF_MONTHS_WHENCE_DERIVED"></a>NAMES OF MONTHS, WHENCE DERIVED.</h2>

<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIV" id="CHAPTER_XIV"></a>CHAPTER XIV.</h2>

<div class="blockquot"><p>Names of Months, whence derived&mdash;January&mdash;First of January, how kept&mdash;Heathens
and Christians&mdash;New Year Gifts&mdash;February&mdash;Sacrifices for
purging Souls&mdash;Second of February, how kept&mdash;Virtue of Candles&mdash;Shrove
Tuesday&mdash;Eating Pancakes&mdash;Partaking of Brose&mdash;Choosing a
Valentine&mdash;March&mdash;Prognostications observed in this Month&mdash;April
dedicated to Venus&mdash;First of May&mdash;Roman Floral Games&mdash;Queen of
the May&mdash;May Poles and May Fires&mdash;Dispute between Men and Gods&mdash;Superstitious
Customs in Scotland&mdash;Superstitious Ceremonies in
England&mdash;June regarded as the most favourable Month for Fruitful
Marriages&mdash;July&mdash;August&mdash;September&mdash;October&mdash;Hallow-e'en Ceremonies&mdash;November&mdash;All
Hallows&mdash;Souls in Purgatory&mdash;St. Leonard&mdash;St.
Britius&mdash;December&mdash;Christmas Trees and Gifts&mdash;The Misletoe&mdash;Privileges
in Leap Year&mdash;Yule Log&mdash;Christmas Festivities.</p></div>


<p>January, it is generally admitted, derived that appellation
from the Latin <i>Januarius</i>, in honour of Janus, one
of the heathen divinities. Janus was supposed to preside
over the gates of heaven. The Saxons originally called
this month Wolf-monat, and afterwards it was called
Aefter-Yule&mdash;After-Christmas. The first of January
having been observed by the heathens as a day of great
rejoicing, and offering up profane and superstitious sacrifices
to Janus, the early Christians observed it as a fast
to avoid the appearance of doing honour to a heathen
deity. The Grecians, at the commencement of every
year, held festive meetings to celebrate the completion of
the sun's annual course. From that people the Romans
borrowed the custom of observing the first of January;
and from the Romans our forefathers received it. In<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[Pg 111]</a></span>
giving New Year gifts, we follow the example of the
ancients; and to receive such tokens of goodwill, was then,
as now, considered propitious.</p>

<p>The name of February is taken from <i>Februa</i>, <i>Februta</i>,
or <i>Februalis</i>, names of Juno, who presided over the purification
of women; or, according to other authors, from
<i>Februis expiatoriis</i>, sacrifices for purging souls, there
having been a feast on the second day of this month, when
sacrifices were offered to Pluto for the souls of the dead.
This day was kept by certain Christians as a solemn festival,
in memory of the humiliation of the Virgin Mary,
who submitted to the injunction of the law under which
she lived. They offered up thanksgiving on this day, and
paraded about with flambeaux and candles&mdash;proceedings
which some thought were too close imitations of the Pagan
customs of <i>brenning</i>&mdash;in honour of Juno. There is in this
instance a resemblance to the Pagan superstition; and
from the burning of candles on the day we are referring
to, they were, and are yet, lighted on occasions of danger,
to avert evil. Persons in this country have been known
to light candles, as a charm against thunder and lightning;
and lighted candles, when once charmed (which it is
supposed can be done), are considered by the ignorant at
home and abroad, to possess virtue sufficiently powerful
to frighten away evil spirits. Such candles are sometimes
placed in the hands of persons while in the agonies of
death, to protect them from the evil one.</p>

<p>Shrove Tuesday, or Fasten's Eve, is a day observed in
many lands. In olden times, after the people had made
confession at this season, they were permitted to indulge
in festive amusements, although not allowed to partake of
any repast beyond the usual substitutes for flesh; and
hence arose the custom of eating pancakes and fritters,
and partaking of brose, in Scotland, at this time. The
brose was then made of oatmeal and butter, with a ring
in it. The bicker of brose being set in the middle of a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[Pg 112]</a></span>
table, the unmarried members of the family, and invited
friends who had not entered the matrimonial state, seated
themselves around and partook of the repast. They took
spoonful about till the ring was found, and then it was
put into a second dish of brose, and again into a third, and
he or she who found the ring twice left the table, assured
of being married before another Fasten's Eve. At a later
hour of the evening, pancakes, sometimes called "sauty
bannocks," were made, and through their magical virtues
future husbands and wives were discovered. A large cake
or bannock was prepared, in which a ring or other small
article was put, and the young person whose lot it was to
secure the piece of cake or bannock with the concealed
article was looked upon as being as lucky as the individual
who picked the ring twice out of the brose. While all
this was going on, unbounded mirth prevailed, and before
the company broke up, dreaming cakes or bannocks were
prepared, that every one might take one and place it under
his or her pillow. To make the cakes of any avail, the
baker had to remain mute when preparing them, and the
receivers had, immediately after obtaining them, to slip off
quietly to bed, when, if all the preliminaries had been
duly observed, the sleeper's future companion in life
appeared in a vision or dream of the night.</p>

<p>The practice of choosing a valentine on the 14th of
February is well known. The first person of the opposite
sex who was seen by an unmarried person on the morning
of that day, was regarded as the valentine for the year.
Another way of finding out a valentine was to cast into a
receptacle small billets, with (if the consulters were young
women) bachelors' names on them, and then to draw them
out lottery-wise. The bachelor whose name appeared
on a billet thus extracted at random, became the valentine
of the spinster to whose lot it fell. In this way a bevy of
young ladies ascertained, in a few minutes, secrets they
were most anxious should be disclosed. When the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[Pg 113]</a></span>
gentlemen were anxious to discover their valentines, they
proceeded in the same way, taking care, however, that the
ladies for whom they had the greatest affection should be
named on the billets. A lady's valentine was her knight
for the year, and not unfrequently he became her husband.
The amusements of Valentine's Day were very popular
among all classes in the fifteenth century. It was customary
at one time for both sexes to give each other presents, but
the ladies, through modesty, or some other cause best known
to themselves, have ceased to bestow gifts in their valentines.
Many attempts have been made to abolish the heathen
custom of young men drawing the names of young
women, and <i>vice versa</i>, on this day, but without success.</p>

<p>March was called after Mars, the god of war; but the
Anglo-Saxons knew it as <i>Hraed-monat</i>, signifying rugged
month, and <i>Hlyd-monat</i>, meaning stormy month. Those
who indulged in prognostications, carefully observed the
state of the weather in this month. Dry weather at this
time portended a plentiful season, while a rainy month
indicated scarcity of food.</p>

<p>The fourth month of the year, it is generally believed,
derived its name, April, in allusion to the buds then beginning
to open; but the old Anglo-Saxons called it <i>Eoster-monat</i>,
in honour, some think, of the goddess Easter. The
Romans dedicated April to Venus, and frequently called
it <i>Mensis Veneris</i> as well as <i>Aprilis</i>. The old and general
custom of sending people useless errands on the first of
April is so well known that we do not require to say
anything more about it, than that it is thought to have
originated in the acts of sending Christ backward and
forward to various tribunals to secure His condemnation.</p>

<p>On the first day of May the Romans offered sacrifices
to Maia, the mother of Mercury. Apollo was the tutelar
deity of this month. This day is observed with mirth, in
imitation of the old Roman celebration of the days when
the goddess Flora was worshipped. The Roman floral<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[Pg 114]</a></span>
games began on the 28th April, and continued a few days.
At one time these celebrations were conducted with
obscenity, but by degrees the amusements became more
moral. It was customary during the middle ages for rich
and poor to go out on May-day, with music and other
signs of joy and merriment, to gather flowers, and sip the
dew before sunrise. The people then decorated their houses
with the flowers, conspicuous amongst which was the
hawthorn blossom. The most beautiful maid of the
district was chosen "Queen of the May," and crowned
with flowers. So general was the custom of observing
May-day in the reign of Henry <span class="smcap">VIII</span>. that the Corporation
of London went out a-Maying, and so did the king and
queen. In England, France, Germany, and elsewhere,
every village had its May-pole, till the May games were
suppressed, or rather discouraged, on the ground that
they were remnants of heathen superstition.</p>

<p>The Celts kindled their May-fires with much superstitious
ceremony, a custom which had its origin in the worship of
Baal. The principal festival of this worship was held in
the beginning of May, but there were similar ceremonies in
November. On these occasions all the fires in the district
were extinguished, under the pain of death. Needfire was
then obtained by friction, and all the fires were rekindled
from what was regarded as the sacred flame. At times of
public calamities and distress, the practice of kindling
needfire was resorted to. It was supposed to counteract
sorcery, and stay disease among cattle. These superstitious
operations remind one of the story of Prometheus. The
myth runs thus:&mdash;"During the reign of Zeus, men and
gods, once upon a time, were disputing with one another.
With the view of outwitting Zeus, Prometheus cut up
a bull and divided it into two parts, hiding the meat and
the intestines in the skin, and putting an inferior piece
on the top, while he heaped the bones together and
covered them with fat. Zeus was asked to choose either<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[Pg 115]</a></span>
of the lots, and, suspecting that an attempt was made to
deceive him, he selected the good portion; but, enraged
at the stratagem, he took his revenge on the mortals by
withholding from them the fire necessary for the cooking
of meat. Prometheus by his cunning art obtained fire in
a hollow staff, and brought it to them; and he took from
man the gift of foreseeing future events, but gave him the
better gifts of hope and of fire." Down to a recent date,
people in the north of Scotland cut a trench in the ground;
they then kindled a fire and dressed a repast of milk and
eggs, something like a custard. This being done, they
kneaded a cake of oatmeal, and toasted it before the fire.
The custard was then eaten, and the cake was broken
into pieces and thrown into a bag, not, however, before one
of the pieces was burned black. Every one of the company
in turn was blindfolded, and drew out a piece of the cake;
and he who drew out the burned piece was dedicated to
Baal, in order to render the year fruitful. The person
supposed to be devoted was then compelled to leap three
times over the fire, as symbolical of the sacrifices offered
to this god in former ages.</p>

<p>In England there were Ram Feasts. At one of these
a ram was roasted in its skin, and after it was cooked a
great scramble took place for pieces thereof, it having been
thought good fortune would attend those who secured a
portion. Men and women partook of the feast.</p>

<p>The name of June was given in reverence to Juno, and
was called <i>Sear-monat</i> by the Anglo-Saxons. Mercury
was regarded by the Romans as the deity who presided
over this month. June is considered in the present age
as the most favourable period of the year for marriages.</p>

<p>July was originally called <i>Quintilis</i>, or fifth month, in
honour of Julius C&aelig;sar; but the Anglo-Saxons came to
know this month as <i>Maed-monat</i>, or mead month, in
consequence of it being the usual season of the year for
securing honey and making mead.</p>

<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[Pg 116]</a></span>St. Swithin's Day (15th July) is observed in commemoration
of this wet or rainy saint. He was of Saxon
descent, and distinguished for his piety and learning.
St. Swithin was buried in the churchyard of Winchester,
and the consecrated spot where his remains rest has been,
we are told, the scene of frequent miracles. In consequence
of the virtues flowing from his body, it was resolved to
convey his remains to the choir of the cathedral, but,
on the day appointed for the removal of his sacred dust,
violent rain commenced, which continued without ceasing
for forty days. From this circumstance, it was inferred
that the intended removal of his remains was displeasing
to St. Swithin, and the intention was for a time abandoned.
Subsequently his body was transferred to another resting
place, without the elements or the saint manifesting any
displeasure. It is unnecessary to do more than recall
to memory the wide-spread opinion, that if it rain on
St. Swithin's Day, forty days wet weather will follow.
Absurd as this superstition may appear, it has been believed
in from the time of his death, in 862.</p>

<p>St. Margaret, whose festival falls to be held on the 20th
July, was the daughter of an idolatrous priest at Antioch.
She became a convert to the Christian religion, from
which she was sought to be seduced by Olybius, a
ruler in the East who sought her hand in marriage.
She refused to forsake the true religion, or to become his
wife; and her refusal was fatal to her. The cruel monster
put her to the most dreadful torments he could invent,
and afterwards ordered her to be beheaded, about the year
275. St. Margaret has been worshipped by the Eastern
and Western Churches, from her supposed power to assist
females in childbirth. It is related that Satan, in the form
of a dragon, swallowed her alive, but that she escaped
unhurt from the monster. Her girdle was long preserved
in the abbey of St. Germain, in Paris; and females
were, it was generally believed, undoubtedly relieved in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[Pg 117]</a></span>
their hour of suffering by the application of the sacred
relic.</p>

<p>August, formerly called <i>Sextilis</i>, was named August in
honour of the Emperor Augustus. And September still retains
its original Roman name&mdash;that of the seventh month,
though now really the ninth month&mdash;in consequence of
the change made by commencing the year in January
instead of March; but the Anglo-Saxons knew it by the
name of <i>Gerst-monat</i>, or barley month, because their
barley crop was usually gathered in in this month.</p>

<p>October, known by the Saxons as <i>Wyn-monat</i>, or wine
month, has long been regarded with peculiar interest,
owing to the many superstitious customs observed in it.
In Rome, a horse, called October, was sacrificed to Mars
in this month; and the Greeks and Romans held many
Bacchanalian festivals in it, at which the people had
recourse to magic and divination. In the days of our
ancestors the Hallow-e'en ceremonies were more generally
followed than they are by the present generation, but still
in various places, particularly in the north of Scotland,
people observe them with mirth, mixed with superstitious
fear of fairies, ghosts, and other supernatural beings, supposed
to be then at large, performing good and evil deeds.
At this season, however, the most diabolical fiends are
supposed to be chained in their abodes of darkness, or at
all events prevented from venting their full wrath against
the human race. The worst thing that Satan, assisted by
all his emissaries, can do on Hallow-e'en, is to allot to one
an ill-looking, decrepit, or sour partner in life, or send
him or her a great swarm of children; or perhaps do
what is worse&mdash;prevent any offspring being given to
loving married couples. Unmarried men and women are
accustomed to meet at the house of a friend, to spend this
evening in searching into futurity. Various are the charms
and modes of divination they have recourse to. The
first spell they try is pulling kail-stocks in the dark with<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[Pg 118]</a></span>
their eyes closed. There must be no attempt to pick what
is thought the best stocks, but each person should pull up
the first plant that comes to hand. After every one has
obtained a root, the company returns to the house to
examine the stocks. A long straight plant denotes that
the holder thereof is to get a fine-looking husband or wife,
as the case may be; whereas one who has unfortunately
pulled a crooked, ill-shaped stock, may expect that his or
her conjugal companion will be deformed and uncouth.
In proportion to the quantity of earth adhering to the
root, so will the riches of the possessor be; and according
to the sweet or sour taste of the stem's centre, so
will the temper or disposition of the expected partner be.
The ceremony of pulling and tasting being over, the
stocks are deposited above the door, and careful notice
is taken of the strangers who come in when they are there.
Favourites are invited in, but those whose presence is
not desired are prevented, if possible, from crossing the
threshold.</p>

<p>Those in pursuit of pleasure and fortune next proceed
to the stack-yard, and pull each a stalk of oats, and, by
counting the grains upon the stem, the puller will ascertain
the number of little branches that will shoot forth from
the family tree. It is peculiarly fortunate if the top grain
be found on the stalk.</p>

<p>If a young man or single woman go to the barn three
times to winnow corn, an apparition resembling the future
spouse will appear before the chaff is separated from the
third sieveful of grain. The like result may be expected
if one go unperceived to the peat-stack and sow a
handful of hempseed, or travel three times round it.
Another way of revealing one's husband or wife, is this:&mdash;Go
to a ford through which a funeral has passed, dip the
sleeve of the shirt or chemise, and the wearer, on returning
home and going to bed, after hanging the garment
before the bedroom fire, will see the apparition of his or<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[Pg 119]</a></span>
her object of affection turn the sleeve to dry the other
side. To find the name of one's future spouse, one has
nothing more to do than to go on Hallow-e'en to a barn
or kiln, throw into it a clew of blue thread, which the
person begins to wind up into another clew, having of
course kept hold of one end of the thread. Before the
winding operation is completed, some one will take hold
of the thread, and on the question being asked, "Who
holds?" an answer will be returned, in which will appear
the name of him or her the fates have destined to be the
inquirer's partner in life.</p>

<p>These modes described of lifting the veil that conceals the
future are easy, and the objects aimed at pleasant; but even
Hallow-e'en has both its lights and shadows; and one has
something more to do than to inquire into the affairs of
affection and domestic bliss. From curiosity or some other
cause, a person may wish to know whether he or any of
his neighbours will be taken away by the cold hand of
death before another year. If he has such a wish, let
him repair to a public highway which branches off in three
directions, and take his seat (a three-legged stool is thought
the best) in the centre of the road, a little before twelve
at night. Simultaneously with the nearest clock striking
that hour, he will hear proclaimed the names of those who
are to die in the parish before the next Hallow-e'en. The
curious individual should not omit to take with him a
good many articles of wearing apparel. If he hear
pronounced the name of any one whose life he does not
desire to prolong, he will do well to retain his property;
but if the name of one dear to him is sounded, he may
rescue the person from early doom by casting away one
of the articles. The life of esteemed friends is precious in
one's sight, but his own life is generally dearer, and therefore
the listener should take care not to cast away every
rag he has, lest his own name should be called after he
has parted with his last garment.</p>

<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[Pg 120]</a></span>Another way of discovering one's future partner:&mdash;Let
a person take up a position before a mirror, eat an apple
before it while combing his or her hair, and now and
again holding out the apple, as if offering it to some one
supposed to be standing on the right side. Before the
hair is properly arranged and the apple eaten, the person
whose presence is desired will appear in the attitude of
accepting the apple.</p>

<p>By the burning of nuts, it may be discovered whether
lovers are to prove true or false to each other. One nut
is taken to represent the gentleman, and another is named
after the lady. Both nuts are laid in the fire: if they
consume quietly together, then it is learned that fortune
has appointed the lady and gentleman to spend their lives
in happy union; but if one of the nuts start away, or
should they both fly off in different directions, the individuals
appealing to the fates are to understand that they
will never be united in wedlock.</p>

<p>November&mdash;gloomy November&mdash;was known as <i>Blot-monat</i>
(blood month) by the Saxons, as it was the time
when large numbers of sheep and cattle were killed for
sacrifices and for provisions.</p>

<p>The first day of November&mdash;All Saints or All Hallows&mdash;is
a day of general commemoration of all saints and
martyrs in honour of whom no particular days have been
expressly assigned. The origin of this festival is supposed
to have been in 607, when Phocus, the emperor, wresting
the Pantheon from the heathens, gave the splendid edifice
to the Christians. Boniface <span class="smcap">IV</span>. consecrated it to the
Virgin Mary and all the saints of both sexes. The
Pagan dedication of it was to Cybele and all the gods.</p>

<p>The second day of November is an important day in
the eye of the Church of Rome. On this day there are
particular services in that Church relative to the souls
supposed to be in purgatory. Odilon, abbot of Cluny,
enjoined, in the ninth century, the ceremony of praying<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[Pg 121]</a></span>
for the dead. The practice became common after this, and
the next century a general festival was established, having
for its object the release of suffering souls. Persons
dressed in black went round the towns, ringing bells on
the streets, every Sunday evening during the month of
November, calling upon the inhabitants to remember the
deceased suffering the expiatory flames of purgatory, and
to join in prayer for the repose of their souls. The
practice is still continued in some places, but an edict
for its abolition was passed in the reign of Elizabeth.
Praying for the dead, and offering sacrifices at their tombs,
were early resorted to. Ovid ascribes the origin of the
ceremonies to &AElig;neas; and Virgil favours this idea in his
fifth book. Certain saints declared that they heard the
howlings of devils, as they complained of the souls of men
being taken away from them, through the alms and prayers
of holy people.</p>

<p>The Romans held a festival which lasted eleven days,
during which period they imagined that ghosts were
not only relieved from punishment, but were suffered to
wander round their tombs. In the Roman Catholic
Church mass is performed for the repose of departed
souls; but it is requisite that those who desire to aid their
deceased friends should give substantial proof of sincerity.
In the <i>Clavis Calendaria</i> we read, "When the Duke of
Assuna was supplicated for charity by a mendicant friar,
he said, 'Put a pistole in this plate, my lord, and you
shall release that soul from purgatory, for which you design
it.' The duke complying, was assured his charity had been
effective. 'Say you so, holy man?' replied his grace; 'then
I shall take back my money for a future occasion, as you
cannot, nor would you, I am confident, if you were capable,
again condemn the poor soul to its former endurance.'"</p>

<p>Frederick the Great of Prussia, desirous of recovering
the revenues of one of his forests from a monastery,
demanded of the prior by what title it was held. To this<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[Pg 122]</a></span>
question he received the prompt reply, that the income
had been given in consideration of the holy brotherhood
daily saying mass for the repose of the soul of one of his
Majesty's ancestors. "How much longer," said Frederick,
"will that holy work continue requisite?" "Sire," said the
prior, whose experience far surpassed that of the friar who
had addressed the duke, "it is not possible for me to speak
of the precise time; but when it shall have been effected, I
shall instantly despatch a courier to inform your Majesty."</p>

<p>The 6th November is sacred to St. Leonard. He was the
friend of captives and all others in distress. If monkish
legends can be credited, the mere mention of his name by
one bound in fetters was sufficient to break the chains
wherewith he was secured, and cause the prison doors to
open, seemingly of their own accord, that the captive
might go free. St. Leonard died in the year 500.</p>

<p>On festive and holy days at this period of the year,
people strewed the graves of their relatives and the churchyards
with evergreens.</p>

<p>Martinmas, now regarded in Scotland as the winter
term-day, is observed by Roman Catholics in honour of
St. Martin, born in Pannonia in or about the year 316,
who is reported to have performed many miracles.
Formerly, St. Martin's Day was one of great festivity.
Sports were entered into at the market cross and village
green, and kept up till a late hour, when, by the ringing
of a bell, the people were warned to retire to their
homes. It has been supposed that the Martinmas feeing
markets, for the engagement of agricultural and other
servants, originated at these sports. At those merry
gatherings there was invariably a large concourse of
people, either taking part in or witnessing the games;
consequently the opportunity was taken advantage of
by masters requiring servants, and by servants seeking
employment.</p>

<p>The 13th of November is St. Britius's Day. He was a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[Pg 123]</a></span>
pupil of St. Martin, who prophesied that his youthful
scholar would be subjected to many severe afflictions, but
that he would be appointed a bishop some day. The
latter part of the prediction was fulfilled in 399, by the
election of St. Britius to the see of Jaurs, on the death of
his master. The other part of St. Martin's prophecy also
came to pass. Grievous slanders were circulated concerning
St. Britius; and among other offences he was accused of
being the father of a child by his laundress. The people,
enraged at the incontinence of their bishop, threatened to
put him to death; and they would have carried their
threat into execution, but for most extraordinary evidence
coming from the lips of a child only one month old. Holy
St. Britius adjured the infant, on the thirtieth day of its
existence on earth, to tell who was its father. Whether
the infant revealed the name of its paternal parent, we are
not informed; but this we are told, that it clearly and
audibly testified that it had not sprung from the bishop's
loins. This miracle did not satisfy certain wicked people&mdash;they
attributed the strange occurrence to sorcery; and to
give another test of his innocence, St. Britius had recourse
to the fiery ordeal. He, to show that he was free from
guilt, carried burning coals on his head to the shrine of
St. Martin, without the cap he wore being burned or a
hair of his head singed. This second miracle was also
attributed to his intimacy with Satan, and he was expelled
from the city for seven years. At the end of that time
he was restored to his dignities, which he enjoyed until
his death, in the year 444.</p>

<p>St. Britius was among the first who submitted to a fiery
ordeal, but others had been subjected to this mode of trial
before him. The first appeal of this nature, we are informed,
was that of Simplicius, a bishop of distinction, in the fourth
century. Having been married before attaining his high
ecclesiastical position, he was charged with continuing to
partake of matrimonial indulgences. To prove his innocence,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[Pg 124]</a></span>
the bishop's wife not only held burning coals in her
lap without injury, but applied the coals to her breast
without receiving hurt. He, too, submitted to various
forms of fiery ordeal, and came out scatheless; and as their
innocence was in this way manifested, they were acquitted.</p>

<p>From the strange custom of ordeal by water originated
the practice of ducking witches, but to the witch either
sinking or swimming proved alike fatal. If she sank she was
permitted to drown, and if she swam it was regarded as
a proof of guilt, and was therefore forced below the water
and drowned. Sometimes the ordeal was by hot water.
The bare legs and arms were immersed in boiling liquid,
and if they sustained no injury the accused was considered
innocent.</p>

<p>Edmund, the king and martyr, to whose memory the
20th of November is sacred, was the last titular of the
East Angles. When the Danes first landed in his district,
in England, they defeated him, and when he fell into their
hands they scourged him, bound him to a tree, pierced
him with many arrows, and afterwards beheaded him.
Before being captured, Edmund offered to surrender himself
to the Danes, provided they would spare his subjects, and
permit them to enjoy the privileges of Christians; but the
invaders refused to listen to the proposition, hence the
Church has regarded him as a martyr. His head was
thrown into a thicket, and lay there for twelve months, at
the end of which time the Christians found it in a perfect
state, guarded by a wolf, which held the precious caput
between its paws. Probably it never would have been
seen, but for the departed saint being heard uttering the
words, "Here, here, here!" Fifty years after the head
was discovered, the body was found near the same spot.
The remains of Edmund were buried in a remote place in
the year 903, but in 1010 they were exhumed and translated
to London. In 1012 this human dust was removed
to the place whence it was taken.</p>

<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[Pg 125]</a></span>The Danish invasion and murder of Edmund are
ascribed to Bearn, a dissolute English nobleman. The
story runs that Lodebrock, king of Denmark, having
been alone in a boat, was driven by a tempest from
the Danish coast to the Yare, in Suffolk. The inhabitants
brought him to Edmund, who treated him with so much
mildness and consideration, that his affections were
alienated from his own country. Among other pastimes,
the Dane was in the habit of hawking with Bearn, the
king's huntsman, who at length murdered him. A
favourite hound belonging to Lodebrock never quitted
the body of its murdered master, except when compelled
by hunger. This being noticed, and Bearn being found
guilty of the murder, he was sentenced to be put in
Lodebrock's boat, without food or instrument of navigation,
and committed to the mercies of the sea. By a strange
providence, he was carried to the very place in Denmark
from which Lodebrock had been driven. The Danes, who
knew the boat, and who had heard of the murder,
examined Bearn on the rack as to his guilt. To
avoid the just punishment of his crime, he affirmed that
Edmund was the author of the horrid deed. On hearing
the false declaration, wrung from Bearn by torture,
Hinguar and Hubba, sons of Lodebrock, to avenge
their father's death, sailed for East Anglia, where they
killed Edmund.</p>

<p>St. Cecilia's Day is the 22d of November. She was a
native of Rome, and suffered martyrdom in consequence
of her embracing the Christian religion. Her story is a
remarkable one. It is related that she made a vow of
chastity, but that nevertheless her parents compelled her
to marry a young nobleman named Valerianus, a heathen.
On the evening of their wedding day, Cecilia told her
husband that he must not enter her chamber, as she was
nightly visited by an angel, who would destroy him were
he found in it. Surprised at the statement, but not alarmed,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[Pg 126]</a></span>
he sought an interview with the spirit, but she told him
that could not be unless he first became a Christian.
He consented to change his religion, and he and his
brother Tibertius were baptized. Shortly afterwards the
husband found his wife at prayers in her closet with an
angel, like a beautiful youth, clothed with brightness, by
her side. The angel informed Valerianus that he and his
brother would soon be beheaded, and that Cecilia would
be thrown into a cauldron of boiling water, and scalded
to death. All the predictions were fulfilled. Cecilia's
martyrdom took place about the year 230, though some
authorities suppose it happened earlier.</p>

<p>The 30th November is the anniversary of St. Andrew,
the patron saint of Scotland. There is a wonderful legend
regarding St. Andrew's Cross. The cross, we are informed,
appeared in heaven to Achaius, king of Scots, and Hungus,
king of the Picts, to encourage them to engage in battle
with Athelstane, king of England. Achaius and Hungus
led on their forces, and were victorious. In acknowledgment
of this wonderful manifestation, they vowed to bear
St. Andrew's Cross for ever on their ensigns and banners.</p>

<p>November was considered a good month for invalids
being bled or physicked, but every day was not considered
equally lucky for applying the lance or swallowing the
draught. Almanacs were therefore sold, with directions
how to avoid the inauspicious times.</p>

<p>December, it is generally believed, was consecrated to
Saturn; others, however, think it was sacred to Vesta. In
ancient times the Saxons called it <i>Midwinter-monat</i> and
<i>Yule-monat</i>. This last-mentioned name points to the far-back
period and high festivals held this month by the
Northern nations in honour of the sun. The evergreens
with which houses are decked, and Christmas trees with
their gifts, are relics of the symbols by which our heathen
ancestors exhibited their belief in the power of the sun to
deck the earth anew with green, and to laden the trees<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[Pg 127]</a></span>
with rich fruit. The misletoe, exhibited at Christmas and
the New Year in almost every house, is looked upon as
a semi-sacred thing, that possesses charms and confers
privileges on people possessed of it, or who may come
under the support from which it is suspended. In olden
times the ancient Britons believed their gods were in the
oaks. When the misletoe berries were ripe, the Druids
invited the people to a great feast, and the oldest Druid,
dressed in white, climbed up the trees where the misletoe
grew, and with a golden sickle cut it down, while the
other Druids sang and prayed. We have various accounts
of the misletoe, and of the strange superstitious proceedings
in gathering it. The misletoe is supposed to be the
golden bough which &AElig;neas made use of, to introduce
himself to the Elysian regions. It is often worn about
the neck of children, to prevent convulsions and pain
when getting their teeth.</p>

<p>New Year's gifts and Christmas boxes were given by
friends to friends in ancient times. Both the Greeks and
Romans gave presents and entertainments during their
annual superstitious meetings. Masses and prayers were
offered for the safety of persons and ships, but more
particularly for vessels that went on long voyages. A
box, devoted to each ship, was kept by the priest, into
which money might be dropped, in order to give efficacy
to the supplications of the Church; and these boxes being
opened at Christmas in each year, acquired the name of
Christmas boxes. In course of time all presents given at
this season of the year were familiarly called boxes. Poor
people begged box money to enable them to supply the
priest's box, that they might have the benefit of his
prayers.</p>

<p>The old salutation of "a merry Christmas," like that of
wishing "a happy New Year," adverted to the hospitality
of the rich, whose spacious halls, crowded with tenants
and neighbours, were scenes of boundless hospitality.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[Pg 128]</a></span>
Boar's-head is sometimes served on Christmas Day, to give
expression of the abhorrence of Judaism. Plum-puddings
are emblematical of the offerings of the wise men; and
mince-pies, with their pieces of paste over them in the
form of a hay rack, commemorate the manger in which
the Saviour was first laid. Dancing and gambols have
been among the Christmas amusements for a long series
of years.</p>

<p>The wassail bowl was the vessel out of which our Saxon
ancestors took such copious draughts, that legislative
measures were adopted with the view of enforcing
temperance. Wassail not only refers to a certain liquid
preparation, but it is a term applied to drinking songs,
which in the cider-producing counties were sung on the
eve of the Epiphany, when libations were poured out to
the apple-trees for a fruitful season&mdash;a custom evidently
followed in example of the heathen sacrifices to Pomona,
the goddess of fruit-trees and orchards.</p>

<p>Dunstan, to check the vicious habit of excessive indulgence
in intoxicating liquors, introduced the custom
of marking or pegging drinking-cups at certain places,
to restrain the draught to a limited quantity. But
the contrivance, instead of being attended with good
effects, led to greater excess; for those who formerly
strove to avoid intoxication, were now, they thought,
obliged to drink to the "pegs," it being understood that
it was imperative to drain the vessel to the pin.</p>

<p>From the use of peg or pin-cups or tankards, may be
traced phrases yet repeated. When a person is in a
cheerful mood, he is said to be in a merry pin. Speaking
of bringing a man "down a peg," refers to a regulation
which deprived a troublesome fellow of his turn of
drinking. When a person is dull, he is described as being
"a peg too low." "Getting on peg by peg," means that
a man is gradually emptying his cup.</p>

<p>Anciently, confectionery was presented to the Fathers<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[Pg 129]</a></span>
of Rome, made up in the forms of crosses, infants, etc., to
which has been ascribed the origin of bakers presenting
their customers with cakes, or, as they are sometimes
called, "Yule dough." It is supposed that the New
Year's ode composed by the Poet Laureate was originally
regarded as a Yule song or Wassail song. For such
verses Christmas carols were substituted, as being more
appropriate for the season of the year, observed with joy in
honour of Christ's birth in Bethlehem.</p>



<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[Pg 130]</a></span></p>
<h2><a name="MIRACLES_PERFORMED_BY_SAINTS_AND_OTHER_HOLY_PERSONS_AND_THE_INFLUENCE_OF_SACRED_RELICS" id="MIRACLES_PERFORMED_BY_SAINTS_AND_OTHER_HOLY_PERSONS_AND_THE_INFLUENCE_OF_SACRED_RELICS"></a>MIRACLES PERFORMED BY SAINTS AND OTHER HOLY PERSONS, AND THE INFLUENCE OF SACRED RELICS.</h2>

<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XV" id="CHAPTER_XV"></a>CHAPTER XV.</h2>

<div class="blockquot"><p>Introductory&mdash;St. Peter and Simon the Magician&mdash;Clement's Miracles
and Death&mdash;St. Agnes the Innocent&mdash;A Miraculous Circumstance&mdash;St.
Blase's Power over Men and Beasts&mdash;St. Agatha's Holy Life,
Tortures, and Wonder-working Veil&mdash;St. Patrick's Missionary Labours,
and Expulsion of Reptiles from Ireland&mdash;St. Germanus stilling the
Raging of the Sea&mdash;St. David and the Welsh Leeks&mdash;The Stirrup
Cup, and Origin of "Pledging"&mdash;Elfrida's Treachery and Remorse&mdash;St.
Benedict's Power over the Elements&mdash;St. Dunstan cured by an Angel;
his Encounter with Satan&mdash;The &AElig;olian Harp&mdash;St. Columba's Prophecy
concerning Iona&mdash;The Dream of Columba's Mother&mdash;Tragic Events&mdash;Prayer
answered&mdash;Sacred Ducks of Ireland&mdash;St. Paul binding a
Dragon&mdash;Saints and Frogs&mdash;Friars and Jesuits&mdash;Father Mark proof
against Fire&mdash;Virtue of Holy Water&mdash;St. Noel's Imprecation&mdash;Men-wolves&mdash;Stories
about Bees&mdash;Strange Story about the Host&mdash;Blood-stained
Jews&mdash;Miracles&mdash;St. Boniface&mdash;Pope Silvester assisted by
Satan&mdash;Necromancing Popes&mdash;St. Januarius's Blood&mdash;St. Anthony's
Conflicts with the Devil&mdash;St. Anthony's Hog and Bees&mdash;A Tradition
concerning Melrose&mdash;St. Cuthbert&mdash;Waves of Blood&mdash;Strange
Narrative&mdash;A Princess swallowed up by the Earth&mdash;Monk Waldevus's
inexhaustible Stores&mdash;Holy Relics&mdash;Rusticus and his Hog.</p></div>


<p>In laying down rules for our own guidance in carrying
on this work, we resolved to make few allusions to the
miracles and mysteries related in the Old Testament. We
also determined to avoid reference to Christian rites,
ceremonies, and performances, either in early or later
times, when that could be accomplished without materially
affecting the subject of superstition generally so called;<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[Pg 131]</a></span>
but as an important link would be left out were we to
refrain from giving a few examples of miracles wrought,
or said to have been wrought, by holy persons connected
with Christian churches, we are under the necessity (considering
those persons have had numerous base imitators)
of departing to a certain extent from our original plans,
and of devoting this chapter to the "Miracles performed
by Saints and other Holy Persons" since the dawn of
Christianity.</p>

<p><i>St. Peter</i>, whom the Roman Catholics place at the head
of the list of bishops of Rome, did undoubtedly perform
miracles; but tradition tells us of so many strange circumstances
concerning him, that at least a few of the relations
must be regarded as nothing better than romance. We
are informed that he went to Rome to oppose Simon, the
celebrated magician; that at their first interview, at which
Nero was present, the magician flew up into the air, but
that the devil, who assisted him up, let him fall from a
great height to the ground, by which his legs were broken.
This tradition was long believed; and a reddish stone,
supposed to be blood-stained, was pointed out as the stone
on which Simon received his injuries.</p>

<p>We read that <i>Clement</i>, the third bishop of Rome, was
banished by Trajan beyond the Euxine Sea; that there
he caused a fountain to spring up miraculously for the
benefit of Christians; and that he converted the whole
country to the true faith. These acts provoked the Emperor
so much that he ordered him to be thrown into the sea,
with an anchor fastened to his neck. On the anniversary
of his death, the sea ebbed to the place where he had been
drowned, though three miles from the shore; that on its
retiring there appeared a most magnificent temple of the
finest marble, and in the temple a monument containing
the saint's body; that the sea continued thus to retire
every year on the same day, and did not return for a
week, that worshippers might, without apprehension of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[Pg 132]</a></span>
danger, perform their devotions in honour of the holy
martyr. In connection with these ceremonies, a most
wonderful circumstance occurred, even more strange than
what has been related of the temple. One year a mother
left her young infant in the temple, and on her return next
year she found her child not only alive, but in perfect
health. Gregory of Tours and many others gave credit
to this story.</p>

<p><i>St. Agnes</i> was so great a favourite that her festivals
were celebrated with more than ordinary pomp. She was
descended from a Roman family of rank and opulence,
and endowed by nature with great personal beauty. She
was beheaded at the early age of thirteen, in the year
306. By the sentence of her judge, she was ordered to be
treated in a most shameful manner, but through a providential
interposition she was saved from the ignominy her
persecutors intended for her. After that event the Roman
women worshipped her. The parents of St. Agnes were
blessed with a vision while praying at her tomb, in which
she appeared to them in white raiment, with a lamb
standing by her side, being the universally acknowledged
emblem of innocence. On the fast held on St. Agnes's
Day, two of the whitest lambs that could be procured were
presented at her altar, and afterwards carefully reared
until they were shorn. Their wool was then hallowed,
and converted into white cloth for holy garments. Rural
virgins were said to practise singular rites, in keeping
St. Agnes's Fast, for the purpose of discovering their future
husbands.</p>

<p>In the time of Liberius, a Roman of wealth and rank,
named John, having no children, resolved to make a gift
of his whole substance to the Holy Virgin. With the
consent of his wife, the entire estate was therefore conveyed
to Mary, whom they thenceforth jointly entreated
in their prayers to let them know by some token in what
manner she chose to dispose of it. Their prayers were<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[Pg 133]</a></span>
heard. On the night of the 4th August, when the
heat was great at Rome, there was a miraculous fall of
snow, which covered part of the Esquiline Mount. The
same night John and his wife were advised in their dreams
to build a church on the ground which they should find
covered with snow. Next morning they went to acquaint
Pope Liberius with what had happened. Strange to say, the
Pope had had a similar dream. A grand procession of the
whole clergy, in which the Pope walked himself, attended
by crowds of people, went to the above-mentioned mount,
and having discovered the snow-covered spot, the Pope
laid the foundation of a magnificent church there, long
known as Saint Mary in the Snow.</p>

<p><i>St. Blase</i>, who suffered martyrdom by decapitation in
the year 289, after having been cruelly whipped and
scourged, wrought numerous miracles of an extraordinary
nature. Shortly before his decease, he prayed that whosoever
sought his help in consequence of disease in the
throat, or any sickness, he might have the assistance desired.
After this, all who implored the aid of the saint were heard
and healed. In his lifetime he saved from death a
devout widow's son, who, without his assistance, would
have been choked by a fish bone. Even the wild beasts of
the field were under the saint's control. A wolf that had
carried away a poor person's pig, was forced by the holy
man to bring back another animal of equal value. In
honour of St. Blase, candles were offered to him, which,
through the very act of devotion, were rendered holy,
and became serviceable for all pious uses.</p>

<p><i>St. Agatha</i> performed many miracles. Quintianus,
the governor of Catania, smitten with her beauty and
extraordinary accomplishments, endeavoured to gain her
affections, but was unsuccessful. Consequently his love
turned into inveterate hatred, which ended in the fair
Agatha being scourged and cast into a loathsome prison.
The Pagan ruler commanded her to sacrifice to heathen<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[Pg 134]</a></span>
deities, but she adhered to her Christian principles in spite
of his wrath, which found vent in burning her with hot irons
and cutting off her breasts. To manifest the displeasure
of heaven, the walls of her prison were thrown down by
some unseen power, and two of the governor's servants
were deprived of life in a mysterious manner when torturing
her. Her enemy had intended other and more fearful
cruelties, but, in answer to her earnest prayers, death
stepped in and relieved her from every trouble. In
Catania a church was built and dedicated to St. Agatha,
and her sacred veil, which she had often used to conceal
her lovely features from the lustful Quintianus, was placed
in it, to protect that city from the eruptions of Mount
&AElig;tna, and the earthquakes so frequent in Sicily. This
valuable relic was long preserved by those who believed
in its efficacy. It not only had power over the mountain
and internal fires, but it conveyed virtue to everything
it touched, similar to that which itself possessed. There
were few Catanians who did not obtain, through this veil,
sovereign protections from evil.</p>

<p><i>St. Patrick</i>, the apostle and father of the Hibernian
Church, and patron or tutelar saint of Ireland, was a
Briton by birth, having been born at Kilpatrick, near
Dumbarton, in the year 377. When about sixteen years
of age he was taken prisoner and conveyed to Ireland,
where he was sold as a slave. Escaping from his master,
he returned to the place of his nativity. When in exile,
he saw the evils arising from Paganism, and resolved to do
what he could to convert the Irish Pagans to Christianity.
In due time he entered into his missionary labours with
indefatigable zeal, and proved to be the blessed means of
converting the benighted Irish to the true faith. The
miracles attributed to him are numerous, the most noted
of which is the expulsion of reptiles from the Irish soil.
It was he who made the shamrock&mdash;the Irish national
emblem&mdash;so famous.</p>

<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[Pg 135]</a></span><i>St. Germanus</i>, bishop of Auxerre, and <i>St. Lupus</i>, bishop of
Troyes, were sent to Britain by Celestine, the forty-second
bishop of Rome, in the year 429, to preach Christianity.
The two missionaries, on their way, passed through Paris;
thence they pursued their journey to the sea-side, and
embarked. On the ocean a storm was raised by the devil,
when Germanus, who was asleep, awoke just as the vessel
was on the point of sinking, and having rebuked the sea
and poured a few drops of oil into it, the raging of the
waves ceased. Germanus, after safely landing in Britain,
restored to sight a blind girl by the application of certain
relics he possessed.</p>

<p><i>St. David</i> was a learned, elegant, and zealous saint,
reported to have performed miracles. The Welsh regarded
him as their tutelar saint, and annually held
festivals in his honour. In answer to the saint's prayers
in the year 640, the Britons, under King Cadwallader,
gained a complete victory over the Saxons. From a
garden near the battle-field, he caused leeks to be pulled
and stuck in the caps of the British warriors, to enable
them to distinguish each other, whereas the opposing
parties, through want of a distinguishing badge, mistook
friends for foes, and cut one another to pieces. From
this circumstance sprang the custom of the Welsh wearing
leeks in their hats on St. David's Day. Tradition says
that the birth of this saint was predicted thirty years
before the event took place; that a spirit constantly
attended him, to minister to his wants; that the waters
of Bath received their excellent qualities from his benediction;
that he healed the sick; and that he even restored
the dead to life.</p>

<p><i>Edward</i>, the martyr, was crowned King of the West
Saxons, when a youth, by Archbishop Dunstan, who had
espoused his cause in opposition to the wishes of Elfrida,
his step-mother, who desired to secure the throne for her
own son Ethelred. Four years after his accession, Edward<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[Pg 136]</a></span>
was hunting one day in Dorsetshire, near Elfrida's castle,
and took the opportunity of paying her a visit, unattended
by any of his retinue. After what was thought an agreeable
interview, he mounted his horse to ride away, and
when in the act of drinking the stirrup-cup, a servant,
instigated by Elfrida, stabbed him behind. The youthful
prince, finding himself wounded, put spurs to his steed,
but, becoming faint from loss of blood, fell from the
saddle and was killed. The foul deed struck the nation
with so much dread, that subsequently every man secured
the protection of a staunch friend before he would venture
in public to drain the wassail-bowl. Hence arose the expression
of "pledging," when partaking of the cheerful
glass. Elfrida, seized with remorse, strove to atone for her
guilt, but could not get rid of the heavy load that constantly
weighed her down. At length she gave way to despair,
her conscience causing her to imagine that a monstrous
fiend was always on the watch to drag her down to the
place of everlasting torment. When alone, in the still
hours of the night, she imagined she felt the infernal being's
grasp, and, to protect herself, she had recourse to charms.</p>

<p><i>St. Benedict</i> possessed the power of performing miracles.
Not only could he control the actions of man in a way
that showed his supernatural ability, but he also set the
elements at defiance. In the year 529, Benedict, with a
few devotees selected from the many pious men around
him, went to Monte Casino, where idolatry prevailed,
and broke the images in Apollo's temple; they then
founded a monastery there, and instituted the order after
the saint's name. The manner of this Christian's death is
not mentioned, but it is supposed to have been easy and
natural. When the Goths invaded Italy, they attempted
to burn him in his cell. Fiercely did the flames rage
around him, but they could not burn so much as a hair
of his head. This preservation still more enraged the
heathen, who threw him into a close hot oven, and kept<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[Pg 137]</a></span>
him there till next day. To their surprise, when the
oven was opened, they found the saint safe&mdash;neither his
body being scorched nor his clothes singed.</p>

<p><i>St. Dunstan</i> was thought by the ignorant people to be
in league with infernal spirits. When a boy, disease
brought him to the point of death, but he was restored to
health by medicine brought to him by a spirit riding in a
storm. Feeling himself well again, Dunstan repaired to
the church to return grateful thanks. Satan met him on
the way, surrounded him with numerous fierce-looking
black dogs, and endeavoured to defeat his pious intention.
Nothing daunted, the holy saint pursued his way, and,
by the assistance of an angel that came to his help, he
defeated the devil and his black dogs. Dunstan found
the church door shut; and to save time, lest Satan should
overtake them before entering the sacred edifice, the
angel carried him through the roof to the proper place
of devotion. At another time, while St. Dunstan was
working at his forge, the devil attempted to lead him into
evil paths. The evil spirit appeared, not in a hideous
form, but as a beautiful young lady, all smiles and endearments.
Though the hook was skilfully concealed,
the deception did not succeed: the saint knew the arch-fiend,
and suddenly taking a pair of red-hot tongs from
the fire, seized the fiend's nose with them, whereby the
nasal organ was disfigured for ever. The &AElig;olian harp is
thought to have been invented by St. Dunstan, and he
is said to have been able to play upon that instrument
without touching a string thereof. At one time, in consequence
of the high esteem in which harps were held,
every person of rank was supposed to possess one of these
instruments, and to be able to perform on it. Slaves were
prohibited from performing on this sacred instrument.
Creditors were prevented by law from seizing for debt a
gentleman's harp, though everything else he possessed
might be sold to discharge his obligations.</p>

<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[Pg 138]</a></span><i>St. Columba</i> was the apostle of the Highlands and
Western Islands of Scotland, and founder of the famous
cathedral of Iona, long regarded as the mother church of
the Picts. Concerning this building he wrote the prophetic
lines, which have been in part verified:</p>

<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">"O sacred dome of my beloved abode!<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Whose walls now echo to the praise of God;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">The time shall come when lauding monks shall cease,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And howling herds here occupy their place;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">But better ages shall hereafter come,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And praise re-echo in this sacred dome."<br /></span>
</div>
</div>

<p>Striking miracles were ascribed to him; his prophecies
almost invariably came to pass, and he had marvellous
visions. Columba's mother dreamed, one night before his
birth, that a person of superhuman mien and figure presented
her with a veil of the most beautiful texture; that
in a short time the giver resumed possession of his gift,
and, raising it up, it flew through the heavens. Gradually
the veil extended itself on all sides, till it spread over
mountains and plains. Grieved at the loss of such a
valuable article, she expressed her sorrow; but he who had
given and taken away, comforted her with the assurance
that it was an emblem of the child soon to be born, who,
he assured her, would prove a blessing to the nation.
One day, while the saint was a youth, a young girl, pursued
by a barbarian, came running to him for protection;
but before he could lift his slender arm to save her, the
monster pierced her through with a spear. One who
witnessed the tragic deed exclaimed, "Ah! how long
will this atrocious crime remain unpunished?" To this
question Columba replied, "The soul of the murderer
may yet be in hell as soon as that of the murdered is in
heaven." Scarcely had he uttered these words, than the
unhappy criminal fell a lifeless corpse. At another time
the saint observed a man falling from a considerable
height, and beseeched an angel to uphold him. The<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[Pg 139]</a></span>
good man's prayer was heard: a heavenly messenger, with
a speed swifter than that of lightning, came to the rescue,
and the man escaped unhurt.</p>

<p>In olden times there were sixteen ducks that usually
swam about a certain lake in Ireland; but when any
injury was done to the church or clergy they flew away,
and did not return until satisfaction was given and reparation
made for the wrong perpetrated. During the absence
of the ducks, the water of the lake, naturally clear, became
corrupt and smelt so badly that man and beast
refused to taste it. If any person injured one of those
birds, condign punishment was sure to overtake him. A
kite having caught one of them, flew to a tree with it,
but immediately all the ravenous bird's members became
so powerless that it could not devour its prey. At another
time a fox caught a second bird of the flock, but he
had better, we are told, have let it alone, for next day the
greedy animal was found dead near the lake, with the
innocent duck sticking in its throat.</p>

<p><i>St. Paul</i>, bishop of Leon, was entreated by the inhabitants
of a seaport in Ireland to deliver them from a
dragon that had killed many people. The pious bishop
assured them of help, provided they repented and renounced
their superstitions. They promised to do all he
required of them. An altar was prepared, whereon he
said mass. Then he went out and, with a loud voice,
commanded the dragon to come before him. Immediately
it appeared with open mouth and rolling eyes, and cast
itself at the saint's feet. St. Paul cast a stole round its
neck, and, fixing his staff in the ground, bound the
dangerous creature so that it could not hurt any one
after that time.</p>

<p>A holy saint, being disturbed one day by the croaking
of a number of frogs in a pool near the church, went and
smote the waters with his staff. Presently the frogs ceased
their noise, and never croaked again.</p>

<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[Pg 140]</a></span>Once upon a time a rivalship existed between the
Austin friars and the Jesuits. The father-general of
the Austin friars was dining with the Jesuits, and, on
the table-cloth being removed, he entered into a formal
discourse touching the superiority of the monastic order,
and charged the Jesuits with assuming the title of
"Fratres," while they held not the three vows which
other monks were obliged to consider sacred. The general
was very eloquent and authoritative. On the contrary, the
superior of the Jesuits being unlearned, though shrewd in
many respects, preferred to see a miracle performed, to
prove the superiority of his order, rather than enter into
a controversy. He therefore proposed that one of his friars
and an Austin friar should show which of them would
most readily obey his superior. The Austin friar consented.
The Jesuit then, turning to the holy friar Mark,
who was waiting on them, said, "Brother Mark, our
companions are cold; I command you, in virtue of the
obedience you have sworn to me, to bring instantly, in
your hands, some burning coals from the kitchen fire,
that our friends may warm themselves over your hands."
Father Mark obeyed, and, to the astonishment of the
Austin friars, brought on his palms a supply of red burning
coals, that whoever thought proper might warm
himself. The father-general, with the rest of his brethren,
stood amazed. He looked wistfully at one of his monks,
as if he wished to command him to perform a similar
exploit; but the Austin monk, who understood what
was meant, said, "Reverend father, forbear; do not
command me. I am ready to fetch fire in a chafing dish,
but not in my bare hands." The triumph of the Jesuits
was complete: the miracle was noised about to their advantage.
But the Austin friars could never account for
the miracle, nor could they imitate it.</p>

<p>A priest in Ireland, travelling in Ulster, was forced to
pass a night in a forest. He, and a boy who accompanied<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[Pg 141]</a></span>
him, lighted a fire under the branches of a tree. Scarcely
had they seated themselves than a wolf came near, and
spoke as follows:&mdash;"Fear nothing; I am of a race of men-wolves,
from which every seven years, by force of an imprecation
made by St. Noel, two from among us, a male
and a female, are constrained to lay aside the outward
shape of reasonable creatures, and live in the form of
wolves for seven years. At the end of that period other
two men-wolves are sent out, and the former two return,
if they survive the dangers of wolf-life. Not far from this
place, my wife, who is the female wolf, lies very unwell,
and I beseech you to go and comfort her." So the priest,
ever ready to perform a good act, went to see the sick
wolf. She was in the hollow of a tree, suffering great
pain. He administered comfort to the invalid, but
possessed not the power of changing her into her natural
shape. The male wolf conducted the priest back to the
fire, remained on watch all night to keep the other wolves
away, and in the morning directed the priest how to go.</p>

<p>A French peasant, whose bees were dying of disease,
was advised to go to the communion, carry off the host,
and blow it into one of his hives. He did as recommended,
but the result proved different to what he expected.
Some time afterwards he discovered that his bees were
dead. On examining the hive, he was amazed to find that
the host put among the honey-combs was turned into a
beautiful infant&mdash;cold, however, in the arms of death.
Intending to bury the child's body in the church, he was
proceeding thither, when, on the way to the sacred edifice,
the infant vanished. This unhallowed use of the host
brought a curse on the neighbourhood. The people were
so chastised by divers calamities, that the country was depopulated,
and became like a wilderness.</p>

<p>Another peasant, having communicated on Easter Day,
received the host into his mouth; but instead of using
it according to sacred rules, he laid it among his bees,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[Pg 142]</a></span>
thinking that by doing so he would bring all the bees in
the neighbourhood, with their honey, to his hives. So
far did his project succeed; but the bees brought no fruit
which the wicked peasant could desire. They hummed
melodious music, and built a small wax church at the
time the wicked wretch thought they should be collecting
honey for him. One day, walking near the hive into
which he had put the host, the bees came out, and stung
him nearly to death. Remorse seized him, and in bitter
anguish he went to the priest to confess his fault. As the
case was an extraordinary one, the priest consulted the
bishop, who advised that the parishioners, headed by the
priest, should go in procession to the hives. On the
people's arrival, the bees testified their joy by their
melodious humming. In the hive into which the host
had been put an altar of wax was found, and a sacred
relic lying thereon.</p>

<p>In 1399 a woman and her daughter engaged to procure
consecrated hosts for a band of wicked Jews, who intended
to use them for unhallowed purposes. The woman went
to a church and stole three hosts when the friars were at
dinner. Having received the hosts, the Jews assembled
in a cellar, threw them contemptuously on a table, and
stabbed them with a dagger. Blood spurted out from
the dagger holes, and covered the faces of the impious
men. The marks could not be washed away, so that they,
Cain-like, bore unmistakeable signs of guilt to the day of
their death. Blood also ran on the cellar floor, and could
not by any means be removed. The Jews being terrified,
sent two men to bury the hosts in a field. As the men
passed a pious youth, named Paul, who had charge of two
oxen, the hosts flew up in the air, and became like beautiful
butterflies. At the sight of these, the oxen kneeled
down on the ground. Paul, on becoming acquainted
with what had happened, hastened to a magistrate to
give information against the wicked people. Instead of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[Pg 143]</a></span>
being believed, he was cast into prison as a base fellow.
In answer to his prayers, the prison gates opened of themselves;
so he went out, and again presented himself before
the judge. This time Paul's word was taken. The case was
reported to the bishop, who ordered the hosts to be
collected for preservation. Proceedings were taken against
the Jews: they were burned, and their goods confiscated.
By order of the king, a church was built at the place
where the hosts appeared to Paul as butterflies. Many
miracles were afterwards wrought there. From that time
to the year 1604 no fewer than 382 were performed, the
most notable ones being the raising of thirty-six persons
from the dead.</p>

<p><i>St. Boniface</i>, the apostle of Germany, slept one night in
a tent pitched in an open plain. In the still dark hours
a bright light suddenly appeared, in which he saw St.
Michael, who spoke words of encouragement to him.
After devotional services in the forenoon, he ordered his
steward to prepare dinner, but the servant told him he
had nothing in that barren place to set on the table.
"What!" replied the apostle, "has he that fed his people
forty years in the wilderness nothing to give his servant
and his attendants?" Having said this, he ordered the
cloth to be spread on the table, and immediately a large
bird came flying with a fish, sufficient to feed the whole
company for a day.</p>

<p>Another good story is told of St. Boniface. When he
was a child, he observed a fox running away with a hen
belonging to his mother. He hastened to the church, and
prayed that the hens and chickens, which his mother fed
in her back-yard to maintain herself and little family,
might be preserved. To his astonishment, on returning
home, the fox appeared before him with the hen, unhurt,
in its mouth. Crouching like a spaniel, the beast of prey
laid the fowl at the child's feet, and fell down dead.</p>

<p>Pope Silvester <span class="smcap">II</span>. is reported to have reached the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[Pg 144]</a></span>
Papal chair by Satan's assistance. In his youth Silvester
was a monk, but he deserted the monastery, and became
a follower of the devil. He went to Spain in
search of magical instruction. Being introduced to a
Saracen philosopher skilful in magic, he became his
disciple. But his stay with the learned man was short;
for seeing a valuable book of necromancy belonging to
his instructor, he stole it. Fleeing to a place of safety, he
studied the black art very closely. His intercourse with
Satan was frequent. Through the devil's assistance, he
became an archbishop, and subsequently a pope, upon
condition that, after his death, he would become the
absolute property of the black fiend. During his popedom
he kept a brazen head, which he regularly consulted
concerning diabolical subjects. Desirous to know how
long he would reign, Silvester betook himself to the devil
for information. In answer to a question, the wicked
spirit informed him that if he stayed away from Jerusalem
he would live to an old age. A few years after this information,
Silvester imprudently went to the Holy City,
where he was suddenly seized with fever. Before his
senses left him he repented, and confessed his familiarity
with Satan. He desired that, after death, his hands and
tongue might be cut off, because with them he had served
the devil; that his mutilated body should be put into a
cart, with horses having no driver, and that wherever
they halted, after being started, his body should be buried
there. All being done as requested by the dying pope,
the horses stopped when they came to the church of
Lateran, and there he was interred. Whatever became of
his soul, it is plain the devil did not let his body alone.
Shortly before the death of many popes who succeeded
him, his bones were heard to rattle, and his tomb was seen
to sweat. By these signs people knew when the dissolution
of a pope was nigh. This narration may seem
strange to the present generation, but to people living in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[Pg 145]</a></span>
olden times it was not considered very extraordinary.
Report says that eighteen popes, who succeeded one
another, were necromancers. Benedictus <span class="smcap">IX.</span> was, through
his wickedness and sorcery, called Maledictus. He was
killed, we are told, by the Devil in a wood. After his
death, a hermit met his body, in the form of a bear, with
a mitre on his head. The hermit, so the story goes, asked
him how it happened that he was metamorphosed.
"Because," said he, "in my popedom I lived without
law, and now I wander like a beast."</p>

<p><i>St. Januarius</i>, the patron saint of Naples, suffered
martyrdom about the end of the third century. When
he was beheaded, a pious lady secured a small quantity of
his blood, which, report says, has been preserved in a
bottle ever since, without losing a grain of its weight.
The blood is usually congealed, but when brought
near the saint's carefully preserved head, it is miraculously
liquified. The experiment is, or at least was,
made twice a year by the Neapolitans. When there is an
eruption of Mount Vesuvius, the saint's head is, or was,
carried in procession, in order to render the outbreak
harmless.</p>

<p><i>St. Anthony</i> had serious conflicts with the Devil in
bodily shape, when victory was generally declared in
favour of the good man. The saint performed miracles,
and was famed for curing the disease called after his name.
In youth he was a swine-herd, and afterwards became
the patron saint of swine-herds. To do him honour, the
Romanists were wont to keep a hog at the public expense,
which was venerated, and designated St. Anthony's hog.
A picture or an image of the saint, hung up in a house,
kept away the plague from the dwelling. As the relics of
this saint were capable of curing St. Anthony's fire, so
were those of St. Lucia useful in removing toothache, and
those of St. Apollonia were infallible remedies in cases of
hydrophobia.</p>

<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[Pg 146]</a></span>The history of Melrose is made up in great part of
romance and superstitious traditions. Melrose, Malerose,
or Mull-ross, signifying a bare promontory, derived its
name from a young princess, who was obliged to fly from
her home on an island of the Greek Archipelago, in consequence
of her too close intimacy with a lover to whom she
was sincerely attached. In her country a breach of the
seventh commandment by a young female was visited by
death. As soon as her guilt became known, she, to save
her life, fled in search of an asylum, where she might
have time and opportunity to atone for her guilt. Certain
good priests whom she consulted, directed her to sail northwards
to an island called Hibernia; and, moreover, the
priests offered to accompany her wherever she went, for
the good of her soul. They accordingly set sail, and
landed at a port on the north-east coast of Scotland. She
and her companions went inland, and settled down at
Melrose, on the banks of the Tweed, where she erected an
abbey. St. Cuthbert was an abbot at Melrose before he
removed to Lindisfarne, now called Holy Island, where he
was appointed bishop of St. Peter's Church at the latter
place. He died at Holy Island in the year 687, and was
buried in a stone coffin there. Eleven years after the
interment he was taken out of the grave, when it was
found that the body was free from corruption.</p>

<p>Three years afterwards, Abbot Edred stealthily removed
the body, carrying it from town to town for
seven years. Many of the inhabitants of Holy Island, on
learning that the saint's body was taken away, left their
property, and went south after it. In consequence of the
persecution then raging in England, the body, it was
resolved, should be conveyed to Ireland for its greater
security. The bishop, abbot, and others engaged in transporting
the body, went on board a ship with their sacred
treasure, intending to cross the Channel. A storm was
encountered, three waves were turned into blood, and the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[Pg 147]</a></span>
ship was driven ashore, and cast on its side. A volume,
containing the Evangelists' writings, in letters of gold and
having its boards set with precious stones, fell from the
vessel into the sea, which caused the saint to appear in a
vision to one of the monks, and commanded him to search
the shore for the book. He searched and found it, and,
to his surprise, it appeared more beautiful than before,
seeming to have been polished with a heavenly hand. On
attempting to remove the body again, it became heavy
and difficult to carry, which greatly perplexed those bearing
the burden; but their difficulty was of short duration,
for they perceived a bridle on a tree, and a red horse
running toward them, which, on its approach, offered to
carry St. Cuthbert's body. Accepting the proffered service,
the body was put on the mysterious animal's back,
which carried it to Crake Minster. Thence it was conveyed
to Chester, where it remained a hundred and ten
years. At the termination of that time it was removed
to Ripon, to be laid beside the body of St. Wilfrid; but it
was not destined to remain there more than a few months.
As war, which had devastated the country, had ceased,
St. Cuthbert's body was lifted with the intention of bringing
it back to Chester; but the bearers halting with it
at Wardenlaw, could not remove it again, as it seemed
to be fastened to the ground. This caused the monks to
pray for three days, and instructions were asked as to how
the body was to be disposed of. Their prayers were
heard: it was revealed to Eadmer, one of the monks, that
the body should be taken to Durham, as its last resting-place.
The extraordinary heaviness of the remains was
no longer felt; it was removed thither, and deposited in
the abbey in the year 997, where it lies to the present day.</p>

<p>Another story of St. Cuthbert is related. He lived on
the borders of the Pictish territory, where many people went
to him for instructions. At this time the king's daughter
was injured by a young man, whom the princess spoke of as<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[Pg 148]</a></span>
"the solitary young man who dwelleth hard by." Greatly
incensed, the king went to St. Cuthbert, thinking that he
was the guilty person, and accused him of committing the
crime. For unknown reasons, the princess stated, and
persisted in saying, that the holy man was the offender.
Knowing his innocence, the saint prayed that the work of
iniquity should be laid open, and that by some token it
would be made known that the accusation was false. A
sign was soon given; for scarcely had the supplication
been made than the earth on which the princess stood
suddenly opened with a hissing noise, and swallowed her
up. The king, struck with terror, and in great distress
at the loss of his daughter, implored the saint to restore
the princess. This petition the holy father granted,
clogging it, however, with the condition, that thenceforward
no woman should resort to him. From that
time a woman was never seen approaching his place of
seclusion; and more than that, the restriction was extended
to all the Pictish churches dedicated to him.</p>

<p>In connection with the history of Melrose, there is a
tale of a monk named Waldevus, who increased the corn
in the granaries belonging to the monastery in the villages
of Eildon and Gattonside, out of which were fed, in a
time of scarcity, four thousand poor people for three
months, without any diminution of the first quantity, until
the fruits of harvest were gathered, and then the store began
to diminish according to the quantities withdrawn from it.
Waldevus's tomb was opened twelve years after his death,
which took place about the middle of the twelfth century,
when his body was found entire, and his garments undecayed.
In the year 1240 Waldevus's place of sepulchre
was again opened, but his remains were then decayed.
Those who were present carried away some of the small
bones, leaving the rest of the ashes to repose in peace.
William, son of the Earl of Dunbar, was one of the company
present: he secured one of the saint's teeth, which<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[Pg 149]</a></span>
turned out to be a valuable prize, for by it many wonderful
miracles were performed.</p>

<p>Waldevus and his corn reminds us of Rusticus and his
hog. Two Christian pilgrims, we are informed, were
travelling in Poland, when they were hospitably entertained
by Rusticus, then a Pagan peasant, afterwards
converted, and promoted to sovereignty. They arrived
at his residence when he was preparing to give an entertainment
on the occasion of the birth of a son. A hog
was killed for the feast, to which the wearied travellers
were invited; and rumour has it, that they did ample
justice to the good things, particularly to the hog's flesh,
set before them. To show their gratitude, they resolved
to work a miracle for the everlasting benefit of their
host and his family. Half of the hog remained uneaten,
and over it they prayed earnestly that it might never be
consumed, but become a constant source of supply to the
family. Their prayers were heard; and the swine's flesh
remained undiminished in weight, however freely slices
were carved from it for hungry mortals. Such was the
effect produced on Rusticus's mind by this miracle, that
he forsook heathenism and became a Christian.</p>



<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[Pg 150]</a></span></p>
<h2><a name="HOW_THE_POETS_HAVE_FANNED_THE_FLAME_OF_SUPERSTITION" id="HOW_THE_POETS_HAVE_FANNED_THE_FLAME_OF_SUPERSTITION"></a>HOW THE POETS HAVE FANNED THE FLAME OF SUPERSTITION.</h2>

<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVI" id="CHAPTER_XVI"></a>CHAPTER XVI.</h2>

<div class="blockquot"><p>Prophetic Verse&mdash;Druids called Bardi&mdash;The Bardi as Instructors&mdash;Virtue
of Serpents' Eggs&mdash;Bards maintained by Noblemen&mdash;Queen
Elizabeth and the Bards&mdash;Effects of Prophetic Sayings, and of Pipe
Music&mdash;Message, how conveyed to another World&mdash;Voices of Deceased
Friends heard in the Gale&mdash;Human Forms in the Clouds&mdash;Evenings
in the Highlands&mdash;Michael Scott&mdash;Constant Work for Evil Spirits&mdash;Stemming
the Tweed&mdash;How the Eildon Hills were formed&mdash;Place of
Torment&mdash;Ropes of Sand&mdash;Scott and his Magic Books buried at
Melrose&mdash;Ossianic Poems&mdash;Stories by Bards.</p></div>


<p>Poets have done much to fan the flame of superstition.
They have indulged in prophetic verse, and handed down
to posterity the strange belief of our ancestors. Certain
Druids, called Bardi, were well known to be versed in
astrology. They are supposed to have been the same, in
particular respects, among the Britons as the Sophi among
the Greeks, or the Magi among the Persians. Having
been chosen from the best families in the land, the Bardi
were held in the highest esteem by the common people;
and the children of the chiefs were instructed by them.
Their practical verses were never written, but given to
their pupils <i>viva voce</i>, that they might assist in conveying
them orally to the people. The Bardi dealt in particular
charms, such as serpents' eggs, gathered in a particular
way, and under certain phases of the moon. These eggs
were imagined to be effectual for the gaining of law-suits,
and for the securing of the good graces of princes. The
Vates (another class of Druids), if not the Bardi, sought<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[Pg 151]</a></span>
for omens among the entrails of victims offered in
sacrifice.</p>

<p>The Bards, at various periods, possessed uncommon
privileges, but these were from time to time diminished
or increased, according to the caprice of those under
whose government they lived. Almost every nobleman
of distinction maintained bards in his family, and treated
them with great consideration. Queen Elizabeth, however,
acted differently: she ordered bards and minstrels to
be hanged as traitors, as she believed they instigated
rebellion by their songs. Bards followed clans to the
field, where they eulogized the chiefs, and sang in extravagant
verse the deeds of the favourite warriors. Before a
battle, they went from tribe to tribe, or from clan to clan,
exhorting and encouraging by prophetic sayings, in which
success to friends was foretold and the doom of enemies
pronounced. In the tumult of fight, when the bards' voices
could not be heard, they were succeeded by pipers, who
with inspiring warlike strains kept alive the enthusiasm
the composers of verse had kindled. After the contest was
sounded, the bards were employed to honour the memory
of the brave that had fallen in battle, to celebrate the
deeds of those who survived, and to excite to future acts
of heroism. The piper was called upon, in turn, to sound
mournful lamentations for the slain. In poetical language,
the people were told that the dead sympathized with the
living left behind to maintain the honour of their clans
or country. Messages were given to dying friends, that
they might be delivered to the spirits of relatives in another
world. Highlanders imagined they heard, in the passing
gale, the voices of departed relatives, and in their solitude
they beheld the forms of their fathers in the bright clouds.
In cases of emergency, the spirit of the mountains gave
friendly warnings, which enabled cautioned ones to avoid
dangers, that otherwise could neither be foreseen nor
prevented.</p>

<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[Pg 152]</a></span>Traditional poetry is highly esteemed by the mountaineers.
It is a favourite pastime with the Highlanders,
when seated round the evening fire, to relate and listen
to tales of witches, fairies, etc., and to sing the soul-stirring
songs of their native bards. Formerly, those who could
recount the deeds of Fingalian times were special favourites.
To such persons every door was open, and every table
free. Nothing but ignorance could lead inhabitants of
towns to suppose that Highlanders spend their winter
months in gloomy solitude. Except where poverty or
sickness prevails, the winter evenings among the mountains
have something bewitching about them. The day's
toil being over, neighbours come in, and parents and
children, masters and servants, friends and relations, hold
social intercourse in the same apartment, where there
blazes a hearty fire of peats and bog-fir. None of the
young women remain idle; for while the joke and merry
laugh go round, one knits, a second sews, a third spins,
and a fourth handles a distaff. Once the happy conversation
has commenced, the wind may blow, the tempest
roar, without disturbing the friendly group. There
may be now less highly-gifted bards in the Highlands,
romance and chivalry may have yielded to other ideas
and pursuits, but still much of the same characteristic
spirit remains: the love of ancient tradition and song exists,
and the superstitions of bygone ages are unforgotten.
Those who do not venerate their poets, and have respect
to the early history of their country, are a dull, besotted
people.</p>

<p>Not unfrequently were poets and other men of genius
regarded as wizards or magicians. As an instance, we
refer to the history of Michael Scott, the celebrated philosopher
and poet, who lived in the thirteenth century.
He was a native of Fife, and in early life became versant
in occult science. After studying in Scotland, he went to
Oxford and Paris, where he attained wonderful proficiency<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[Pg 153]</a></span>
in philology, mathematics, natural philosophy, and theology.
He visited other foreign countries&mdash;in particular,
Norway, Germany, and Spain. His fame spread over the
whole of Europe. His knowledge of natural magic procured
for him the appellations of enchanter, magician,
wizard. His works recommended him to the favourable
notice of Frederick <span class="smcap">II.</span> of Germany, by whom he was
appointed his royal astrologer. To Scott, it is reported,
the heavens were as a great book, wherein was written
not only the history of nations, but of individuals also.
In the vaulted heavens, he declared, man might read his
own fortune. He predicted when, where, and how the
Emperor Frederick's death would take place. Scott returned
to Scotland, when he had the honour of knighthood
conferred on him. He performed almost innumerable
miracles; and so thoroughly was he believed to be in league
with the Devil, that he was tried for sorcery, but through
his influence in high quarters, or his subtle arts, he escaped
the fangs of the law. Tradition says that upon a certain
occasion, being embarrassed by evil spirits, he undertook
to find the wicked ones constant employment. Not a
few strange feats were gone through, which Scott thought
were impossible for Satan himself to perform. Nevertheless,
they were done. One day, the spirits demanded more
work; and the wizard ordered that a dam-head should be
built across the Tweed at Kelso, to prevent the flow of the
river. Next morning the work was found completed.
More work was demanded; and this time Scott requested
that the Eildon Hill, which had only one cone, should be
divided into three parts. Away went the infernal spirits
in great glee to perform the task assigned them. On the
sun rising the following day, the hill had three cones, as
are to be seen at the present time. Back came the wicked
beings to intimate that the task was accomplished. This
Sir Michael well knew meant a determination to have
more work, or to claim him in accordance with an agreement<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[Pg 154]</a></span>
between him and Satan. Scott remembered he had
sold himself to his Satanic Majesty, but did not forget
that he was entitled to a respite so long as he could procure
diabolical work for Satan's favourite imps. "What,"
Scott asked himself; "is next to be done? Am I to order
the world to be turned upside down, and perhaps perish
in the ruins? or am I to demand the evil spirits, which
torment me night and day, to bring down the sun, moon,
and stars, and leave the universe in perpetual darkness?
No," replied he, mentally; "to do so, would be to make
myself more of a fiend than they that take pleasure in
gathering together into the place of torment those who
have persistently disobeyed the dictates of reason. Shall
I then at once surrender myself to the merciless tyrants,
and thereby free the world from an instrument of unrighteousness?
Ah!" exclaimed Scott, "life is sweet, and
death bitter; let me prolong my days to the utmost
limits allowed to man." Exhausted, Sir Michael leaned
back on the seat whereon he sat. Long watching, deep
study, and vexatious encounters with the evil ones so
exhausted him that he fell into a disturbed sleep. In his
dreams he beheld the place of torment with all its horrors.
The fiery lake looked more dismal than anything he had
heard described, or what he could have imagined. Within
were many known faces; every one endeavoured to excel
the other in his endeavour to make the place what it was
intended to be&mdash;a place of torment. No one repented of
his wicked deeds or expected mercy. The gates of the unholy
place were thrown open, and in went the chief spirit
that had so often communed with Scott. Like a furnace
door, the gate was closed after him. What took place may
be imagined. Again the red-hot gate turned on its hinges,
and out came Satan, with a thousand of his swiftest
messengers, to bring home Sir Michael, against whom a
charge was pending of breach of bargain. Horror-stricken,
the sleeper started to his feet, and to his great relief found<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[Pg 155]</a></span>
none but his old familiar spirits before him. "Work,
more work," said the spirits. "Yes, work, endless work,"
shouted Scott. "Go," said he, "and make the sea-sand
into ropes." With a gloomy countenance the fiends departed,
never to return to molest the enchanter. For
aught that is known, says the legend, the spirits may still
be endeavouring to perform the impossible task of making
ropes out of sea-sand. All parties are not agreed as to
how Sir Michael Scott died, nor where he was interred, but
the general belief as to where his remains rest is, that he
was buried, together with his magic books, at Melrose
Abbey.</p>

<p>Assuming that the poems asserted to be those of Ossian
are authentic, we see there was in his time a general belief
that ghosts and spirits floated through the air, that the
dead revisited the earth, that the destiny of man was
under the control of supernatural beings, and that the
astonishing power of witches was real, and not imaginary.
This is abundantly proved (always assuming the authenticity
of the Ossianic poems) by the work before us, from
which we take the following quotations:&mdash;</p>

<div class="blockquot"><p>"Fingal advanced his steps wide through the bosom of night, to where
the trees of Loda shook amid squally winds.... I beheld the dark
moon descending behind thy resounding woods. On thy top dwells the
misty Loda, the house of the spirits of men. I saw a deer at Crona's
stream; a mossy bank he seemed through the gloom, but soon he bounded
away. A meteor played round his branching horns; the awful faces of
other times looked from the clouds of Crona. These are the signs of
Fingal's death. The king of shields is fallen, and Caracul prevails. 'Rise,
Comala, from thy rock; daughter of Sarno, rise in tears. The youth of
thy love is low; his ghost is on our hills.'...</p>

<p>"Autumn is dark on the mountains; grey mists rest on the hills. The
whirlwind is heard on the heath. Dark rolls the river through the
narrow plain. A tree stands alone on the hill, and marks the slumbering
Connal. The leaves whirl round with the wind, and strew the grave of
the dead. At times are seen here the ghosts of the departed, when the
musing hunter alone stalks over the heath....</p>

<p>"The deer of the mountain avoids the place, for he beholds a dim<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[Pg 156]</a></span>
ghost standing there. The mighty lie, O Malvina! in the narrow plain
of the rock.</p>

<p>"Often did I turn my ship, but the winds of the east prevailed. Nor
Clutha ever since I have seen, nor Moina of the dark-brown hair. She
fell in Balclutha, for I have seen her ghost. I knew her as she came
through the dusky night, along the murmur of Lora: she was like the new
moon, seen through the gathered mist, when the sky pours down its flaky
snow, and the world is silent and dark. 'Raise, ye bards,' said the mighty
Fingal, 'the praise of unhappy Moina. Call her ghost, with your songs,
to our hills, that she may rest with the fair of Morven, the sunbeams of
other days, the delight of heroes of old.'...</p>

<p>"The night passed away in song; morning returned in joy. The
mountains showed their grey heads; the blue face of ocean smiled. The
white wave is seen tumbling round the distant rock; a mist rose slowly
from the lake. It came in the figure of an aged man along the silent
plain. Its large limbs did not move in steps, for a ghost supported it in
mid air. It came towards Selma's hall, and dissolved in a shower of blood.</p>

<p>"The king alone beheld the sight; he foresaw the death of the
people....</p>

<p>"'My spirit, Connal, is on my hills: my corse on the sands of Erin.
Thou shalt never talk with Crugal, nor find his lone steps in the heath.
I am light as the blast of Cromla. I move like the shadow of mist!
Connal, son of Colgar, I see a cloud of death: it hovers dark over the
plains of Lena. The sons of green Erin must fall. Remove from the
field of ghosts.' Like the darkened moon, he retired in the midst of the
whistling blast. 'Stay,' said the mighty Connal, 'stay, my dark-red friend.
Lay by that beam of heaven, son of the windy Cromla! What cave is
thy lonely house? What green-headed hill the place of thy repose?
Shall we not hear thee in the storm? in the noise of the mountain
stream? when the feeble sons of the wind come forth, and, scarcely
seen, pass over the desert.'...</p>

<p>"'Sons of Cona!' Fingal cried aloud, 'stop the hand of death. Mighty
was he that is low; much is he mourned in Sora! The stranger will
come towards his hill, and wonder why it is so silent. The king is fallen,
O stranger! The joy of his house is ceased. Listen to the sound of his
woods. Perhaps the ghost is murmuring there! But he is far distant,
on Morven, beneath the sword of foreign foe.'</p>

<p>"Lorma sat in Aldo's hall. She sat at the light of a flaming oak.
The night came down, but he did not return. The soul of Lorma is sad.
'What detained thee, hunter of Cona? thou didst promise to return. Has
the deer been distant far? Do the dark winds sigh round thee on the
heath? I am in the land of strangers; who is my friend but Aldo?
Come from the sounding hills, O my best beloved.'</p>

<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[Pg 157]</a></span>"Her eyes are turned towards the gate. She listens to the rustling
blast. She thinks it is Aldo's tread. Joy rises in her face! But storm
returns again, like a thin cloud on the moon.... His thin ghost
appeared on a rock, like a watery beam of feeble light, when the moon
rushes sudden from between two clouds, and the midnight shower is on
the field. She followed the empty form over the heath. She knew that
her hero fell. I heard her approaching cries on the wind, like the
mournful voice of the breeze, when it sighs on the grass of the cave!</p>

<p>"She came. She found her hero! Her voice was heard no more.
Silent she rolled her eyes. She was pale, and wildly sad! Few her days
on Cona. She sank into the tomb. Fingal commanded his bards; they
sang over the death of Lorma. The daughters of Morven mourned her
for one day in the year, when the dark winds of autumn returned."</p></div>

<p>In Ossianic times there were prophets and prophetesses,
who were consulted by the chiefs of armies and by the
common people on important occasions. Even a thousand
years after the time of Ossian, the bards uttered their
prophetic sayings. We have the story of five bards
passing an October night in the house of a chief, who,
like his guests, was a poet, entertaining their hearers
with poetic descriptions of the night. The first bard
delivered himself thus:</p>

<div class="blockquot"><p>"Night is dull and dark. The clouds rest on the hills. No star with
green trembling beam; no moon looks from the sky. I hear the blast in
the wood, but I hear it distant far. The stream of the valley murmurs,
but its murmur is sullen and sad. From the tree, at the grave of the
dead, the long-howling owl is heard. I see a dim form on the plain! It
is a ghost! it fades, it flies. Some funeral shall pass this way: the
meteor marks the path. The distant dog is howling from the hut of the
hill. The stag lies on the mountain moss: the hind is at his side. She
hears the wind in his branchy horns. She starts, but lies again. The
roe is in the cleft of the rock; the heath-cock's head is beneath his
wing. No beast nor bird is abroad, but the owl and the howling fox. She
on a leafless tree; he in a cloud on the hill. Dark, panting, trembling,
sad, the traveller has lost his way. Through shrubs, through thorns he
goes, along the gurgling mill. He fears the rock and the fen. He fears
the ghost of night. The old tree groans to the blast; the falling branch
resounds. The wind drives the weathered burs, clung together, along
the grass. It is the light tread of a ghost! He trembles amidst the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[Pg 158]</a></span>
night. Dark, dusky, howling night, cloudy, windy, and full of ghosts!
The dead are abroad! My friends, receive me from the night."</p></div>

<p>The second bard says:</p>

<div class="blockquot"><p>"The wind is up. The shower descends. The spirit of the mountain
shrieks. Woods fall from high. Windows flap. The growing river
roars. The traveller attempts the ford. Hark! that shriek! He dies!
The storm drives the horse from the hill, the goat, the lowing cow. They
tremble as drives the shower, beside the mouldering bank. The hunter
starts from sleep, in his lonely hut; he wakes, the fire decayed. His wet
dogs smoke around him. He fills the chinks with heath. Loud roar two
mountain streams, which meet beside his booth. Sad on the side of the
hill the wandering shepherd sits. The tree resounds beside him. The
stream roars down the rock. He waits for the rising moon to guide him
to his home. Ghosts ride on the storm to-night. Sweet is their voice
between the squalls of wind. Their songs are of other worlds. The rain
is past. The dry wind blows. Streams roar and windows flap. Cold
drops fall from the roof. I see the starry sky. But the shower gathers
again. The west is gloomy and dark. Night is stormy and dismal.
Receive me, my friends, from night."</p></div>

<p>The third bard sings:</p>

<div class="blockquot"><p>"The wind still sounds between the hills, and whistles through the
grass of the rock. The firs fall from their place. The turfy hut is torn.
The clouds divided, fly over the sky, and show the burning stars. The
meteor, token of death, flies sparkling through the gloom. It rests on
the hill. I see the withered form, the dark-browed rock, the fallen oak.
Who is that in his shroud beneath the tree by the stream? The waves
dark tumble on the lake, and lash its rocky sides. A maid sits sad
beside the rock, and eyes the rolling stream. Her lover promised to
come. She saw his boat, when yet it was light, on the lake. Is this his
broken boat on the shore? Are these his groans on the wind? Hark!
the hail rattles around. The flaky snow descends. The tops of the hills
are white. The stormy wind abates. Various is the night, and cold.
Receive me, my friends, from night."</p></div>

<p>The fourth bard takes up the theme thus:</p>

<div class="blockquot"><p>"Night is calm and fair; blue, starry, settled is night. The winds,
with the clouds, are gone. They sink behind the hill. The moon is up
on the mountain. Trees glister; streams shine on the rock. Bright rolls
the settled lake; bright the stream of the vale. I see the trees<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[Pg 159]</a></span>
overturned; the shocks of corn on the plain. The wakeful hind rebuilds the
shocks, and whistles on the distant field. Calm, settled, fair is night!
Who comes from the place of the dead? That form with the robe of
snow; white arms with dark-brown hair! It is the daughter of the chief
of the people&mdash;she that lately fell! Come, let us view thee, O maid!
thou that hast been the delight of heroes! The blast drives the phantom
away; white, without form, it ascends the hill. The breeze drives the
blue mist slowly over the narrow vale. It rises on the hill, and joins its
head to heaven. Night is settled, calm, blue, starry, bright with the
moon. Receive me not, my friends, for lovely is the night."</p></div>

<p>The fifth bard chants:</p>

<div class="blockquot"><p>"Night is calm, but dreary. The moon is in a cloud in the west.
Slow moves that pale beam along the shaded hill. The distant wave is
heard. The torrent murmurs on the rock. The cock is heard from the
booth. More than half the night is past. The housewife, groping in
the gloom, rekindles the settled fire. The hunter thinks the day approaches,
and calls his bounding dogs. He ascends the hill, and whistles
on his way. A blast removes the clouds. He sees the starry plough of
the north. Much of the night is to pass. He nods by the mossy rock.
Hark! the whirlwind is in the woods! A low murmur in the vale! It
is the mighty army of the dead returning from the air. The moon rests
behind the hill. The beam is still on the lofty rock. Long are the
shadows of the trees. Now it is dark all over. Night is dreary, silent,
and dark. Receive me, my friends, from the night."</p></div>

<p>The chief replies:</p>

<div class="blockquot"><p>"Let clouds rest on the hills, spirits fly, and travellers fear. Let the
winds of the woods arise, the sounding storms descend. Roar streams,
and windows flap, and green-winged meteors fly! Let the pale moon,
from behind the hills, enclose her head in clouds! Night is alike to me,
blue, stormy, or gloomy the sky. Night flies before the beam when it
is poured on the hill. The young day returns from his clouds, but we
return no more.... Raise the song, and strike the harp; send
round the shells of joy. Suspend a hundred tapers on high. Maids and
youths, begin to dance. Let some grey bard be near me to tell the deeds
of other times, of kings renowned in our land, of chiefs we behold no
more. Thus let the night pass until morning shall appear on our hills.
Then let the bow be at hand, the dogs, the youths of the chase. We
shall ascend the hill with day, and awake the deer."</p></div>

<p>From the foregoing, we obtain a glimpse of the superstitions
and customs of remote ages. Greek mythology<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[Pg 160]</a></span>
is confessedly the creation of poets; and to the bards of
our own country we are indebted for some of our strangest
fictions. Fletcher of Saltoun must have been fully aware
of the poetic influence; for he expressed himself as willing
to let any one who pleased make the laws, if he were
permitted to compose the national ballads.</p>



<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[Pg 161]</a></span></p>
<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVII" id="CHAPTER_XVII"></a>CHAPTER XVII.</h2>

<div class="blockquot"><p>Shakspeare&mdash;An Outline of his Composition&mdash;"The Tempest"&mdash;Ship at
Sea in a Storm&mdash;Miranda beseeching Prospero to allay the Wild
Waters&mdash;Ariel's Readiness to serve his Master&mdash;The Witch Sycorax&mdash;Ariel
kept in a Cloven Pine twelve years&mdash;Caliban's Evil Wish&mdash;Mischief
by Ariel&mdash;Neptune chased&mdash;Charmed Circle&mdash;Miracles&mdash;"Midsummer
Night's Dream"&mdash;Exploits of a Fairy&mdash;Doings of Puck&mdash;Charmed
Flower&mdash;Titania and her Attendants&mdash;Ghosts and Spirits&mdash;Song&mdash;"Macbeth"&mdash;Weird
Sisters&mdash;Hecate and the Witches&mdash;Magic
Arts&mdash;Macbeth's Doom&mdash;Witches' Caldron&mdash;Macbeth admonished
by Spirits&mdash;Eight Kings and Banquo's Spirit&mdash;Noblemen warned by a
Spirit&mdash;"Antony and Cleopatra"&mdash;Dreadful Apparition&mdash;King's Death
avenged.</p></div>


<p>Shakspeare, the immortal English poet, born in the
year 1564, has assisted in no small degree to spread the
knowledge of superstition. So opportunely do his works
come to support our statements, that we are induced to
give, in prose and verse, an outline of certain portions
of his compositions touching the many mysterious subjects
on which he wrote.</p>

<p>In the <i>Tempest</i> there is a ship at sea in a storm,
with thunder and lightning. On board are the master,
boatswain, mariners, Alonso, Sebastian, Antonio, Ferdinand,
Gonzalo, and others. The ship is thought to be
in danger; but Gonzalo tells his companions to take
comfort, for he thought the boatswain had no drowning
mark upon him, his complexion being perfectly gallows-like.
"If," said Gonzalo, "he be not born to be hanged,
our case is miserable." The mariners thought all was
lost, and went to prayers.</p>

<p>Miranda beseeched Prospero, whom she addressed as
father, to allay the wild waters in their roar, and not
suffer a brave vessel that had noble creatures in her to
sink. Prospero laid aside his magic garment; and while<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[Pg 162]</a></span>
Miranda slept, Ariel declared his readiness, at the request
of Prospero, to swim, to dive into the fire, to ride
on the curled clouds. In answer to Prospero's inquiry
whether the spirit had directed the tempest according
to instructions, Ariel answered that he had boarded the
ship, joined Jove's lightnings, and made Neptune's bold
waves tremble. Ariel, who thought his services were
most valuable to his master, craved his liberty; for Ariel
was a bound servant of Prospero for a specified time.
Prospero reminded the spirit that he had freed him
from torment; and asked if he remembered the witch
Sycorax, famed for her sorceries, and who had, by the
aid of her most potent ministers, put him (Ariel) into
a cloven pine, within whose rift he remained imprisoned
for twelve years, tormented so greatly that his groans
made the wolves howl, and penetrated the breast of
every bear. Sycorax could not, proceeded Prospero,
undo what she had done; it was his art alone that made
the pine gape and set him free. Then he threatened the
spirit that if he again murmured, he would send an
oak, and peg him in its knotty trunk till he had howled
away twelve winters. The spirit asked pardon, and
declared his readiness to obey Prospero's commands.
Prospero promised that if he did so, he would discharge
him in two days. "Go," said Prospero, "make
thyself like to the nymph o' the sea; be subject to no
sight but mine; invisible to every eye-ball else. Go take
this shape, and hither come in't: hence with diligence."
Miranda having been awakened, was invited by Prospero
to visit his slave Caliban, son of Sycorax, then dead.
Ariel here came before his master, who was pleased with
his appearance.</p>

<p>On Prospero calling to Caliban, "Thou poisonous
slave, got by the Devil himself," to come forth, Caliban
appeared and said, "As wicked dew as e'er my mother
brush'd with raven's feather from unwholesome fen, drop<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[Pg 163]</a></span>
on you both!" For this, replied Prospero, thou shalt be
tortured this night.</p>

<p>Alonso, Sebastian, Antonio, Gonzalo, Adrian, and
Francisco escaped to an island, which to them seemed to
be a desert. Caliban found them; and a conspiracy was
entered into to kill Prospero and secure the person
of Miranda. Solemn and strange music was heard, and
several strange shapes appeared at a banquet. Thunder
rolled, and lightning flashed: Ariel, in the form of a
harpy, clapped his wings upon the table, and the banquet
vanished. Prospero gave Ferdinand a rich compensation
to make amends for past austere punishments; and that
compensation was nothing less than the hand of Miranda.
He recommended them to be prudent before their nuptials,
and told them that if they disregarded his injunctions in
this respect, they would have hate and discord between
them. Ariel, by an unseen power, induced Caliban and
others whom Prospero desired to have in his cell, to repair
thither; but before reaching it they were hunted by divers
spirits in the shape of hounds, that chased them to the
lime groves, where they were secured as prisoners.</p>

<p>Prospero, addressing the elves of hills, brooks, standing
lakes, and groves, those that on the sands with printless
foot chased the ebbing Neptune, the demi-puppets that
by moonshine made the sour-green ringlets which ewes
would not bite, those whose pastime was to make midnight
mushrooms, reminded them that he had, among
other mighty deeds, by their aid, rifted. Jove's stout oak,
plucked up the pine and cedar, and roused sleepers in
the grave. But this rough magic, he informed them,
he would abjure, after working his airy charms. This
being done, he would break his staff, bury it deep in
the earth, and drown his book. Ariel re-entered, and
after him Alonso, Gonzalo, Sebastian, Antonio, Adrian,
and Francisco, and stood charmed within a circle which
Prospero had made.</p>

<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[Pg 164]</a></span>Gonzalo exclaimed, "All torment, trouble, wonder, and
amazement inhabit here! Some heavenly power guide
us out of this fearful country!" Prospero made himself
known to the king as the wronged Duke of Milan.
Pardon was sought, and the dukedom resigned. Alonso
craved, that if he were Prospero, he should give them
particulars of his preservation, and how he met them
there, having, but three hours before, been wrecked upon
the shore, where he had lost his dear son Ferdinand.
A door was opened, and Ferdinand and Miranda were
discovered playing at chess. Sebastian declared this to
be a most high miracle. Ariel, who had been instructed
by Prospero to go to the ship and bring the master
and boatswain to him, entered with these worthies. In
answer to the question, "What is the news?" the
boatswain answered, "The best news is, that we have
safely found our king and company; the next, our ship&mdash;which,
but three glasses since, we gave out split&mdash;is
tight and yare, and bravely rigged, as when we first
put out to sea." The boatswain, in answer to another
query how they came thither? replied, if he were
awake, he would strive to tell. He remembered hearing
strange noises&mdash;roaring, shrieking, howling, jingling
chains, and more diversity of sounds, all horrible; and
when they were wakened (for they had been asleep),
they found themselves at liberty. Prospero, pointing
out Caliban, told his friends, "This mis-shapen knave's
mother was a witch; and one so strong that she could
control the moon, make flows and ebbs." Prospero
invited the king and his train to take rest in his cell,
where he would tell the story of his life, and in the
morning bring them to their ship and give them auspicious
gales; then, addressing Ariel, he concluded,
"Chick, that is thy charge; to the elements, be free,
and fare thee well!"</p>

<p>In the <i>Midsummer Night's Dream</i> Shakspeare brings<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[Pg 165]</a></span>
forward a fairy at a wood near Athens. The fairy, in
answer to Puck's question whither it wandered, replied
that it went over hill, over dale, through bush, through
brier, over park, over pale, through flood, through fire.
It wandered everywhere, swifter than the moon's sphere;
it served the fairy queen to dew her orbs upon the green.
Puck told the fairy that the king would keep revels there
that night, and advised that the queen should not come
within his sight; for Oberon was fell and wroth, because
she, as her attendant, had a lovely boy, a sweet changeling,
and that jealous Oberon would have the child to
be a knight of his train to trace the forests.</p>

<p>The fairy asked Puck if he was not the knavish spirit
that frightened the maidens of the villagery, that skimmed
milk, and sometimes laboured in the green, and bootless
made the housewife churn, and sometimes made the drink
to bear no barm, and whether Puck did not mislead night
wanderers, and then laugh at their harm, and do the work
of hobgoblins? Puck acknowledged that the fairy spoke
aright; said he was the merry wanderer of the night,
playing pranks, and making people laugh. A smart angry
discussion took place between Oberon and Titania as to
which of them was to have the little changeling boy.
They parted in rage, Oberon threatening to torment
Titania. Oberon summoned Puck to attend him, and
bring the herb he once showed him, the juice of which,
laid on sleeping eyelids, made man or woman dote upon
the next creature seen. Having this herb's juice, Oberon
would watch Titania when she was asleep, and drop
the liquor into her eyes, that when she wakened she might
pursue the first object she cast eyes on with the soul of
love, whether it should be lion, bear, wolf, or bull, or
meddling monkey, or busy ape. The delusion accomplished,
he would give her another herb to remove the
charm, but not before she gave up the boy.</p>

<p>Puck found the charmed flower; and while Oberon was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[Pg 166]</a></span>
to streak Titania's eyes with some of the juice thereof,
Puck was to anoint the eyes of the disdainful youth with
another quantity of it, that he might be compelled to
adore a sweet Athenian lady in love with him. Puck
was then dismissed with instructions to meet Oberon
before the first cock-crow. Titania, in another part of the
wood, distributed her attendants, some to kill cankers in
the musk-rose buds, some to war with bats for their
leathern wings to make small elves' coats, and some to
keep back the clamorous owl that nightly hooted at the
quaint spirits. Having given her instructions, she fell
asleep. This was Oberon's opportunity&mdash;and one he did
not neglect. He squeezed the flower on Titania's eyelids,
and disappeared.</p>

<p>Titania wakened with eyes fixed on Bottom, who, by
Puck's art, had an ass's head. Nevertheless, she thought
him wise and beautiful. She instructed her attendant
fairies to be kind and courteous to the gentleman, and
to feed him with apricots, dewberries, purple grapes,
green figs, and mulberries. Then they were to steal
the honey-bags from bumble bees for his service, and
to crop their waxen thighs, and light them at the fiery
glow-worm's eyes, to show her love to bed; and further,
to pluck the wings from butterflies, to fan the moonbeams
from his sleeping eyes. By Puck's mistake, the love juice
was laid in absence of the fair Athenian lady, and so the
object desired was not obtained. In consequence of this,
much confusion and misunderstanding followed. To prevent
a fight, Oberon, whom Puck addressed as "king of
shadows," ordered the night to be overcast with drooping
fog, that the rivals might be led astray. Other instructions
were given, which Puck suggested should be done quickly,
as in the distance shone Aurora's harbinger, at whose
approach ghosts, wandering here and there, trooped home
to churchyards. Damned spirits, he said, that had
burial in cross-ways and floods, had already gone to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[Pg 167]</a></span>
their wormy beds, lest day should look on their shame.
Oberon began to pity Titania, and, touching her eyes
with an herb, her love for the loathsome visage she had
admired for ever vanished.</p>

<p>The <i>Midsummer Night's Dream</i> concludes with the
following song, if we except Puck's address:</p>

<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">"Now, until the break of day,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Through this house each fairy stray,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">To the best bride-bed will we,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Which by us shall blessed be;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And the issue, there create,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Ever shall be fortunate.<br /></span>
<span class="i0">So shall all the couples three<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Ever true and loving be:<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And the blots of nature's hand<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Shall not in their issue stand;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Never mole, hare-lip, nor scar,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Nor mark prodigious such as are<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Despised in nativity,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Shall upon their children be,&mdash;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">With this field-dew consecrate,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Every fairy take his gait;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And each several chamber bless,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Through this palace with sweet peace:<br /></span>
<span class="i0">E'er shall it in safety rest,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And the owner of it blest.<br /></span>
<span class="i3">Trip away,<br /></span>
<span class="i3">Make no stay;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Meet me all by break of day."<br /></span>
</div>
</div>

<p>In gleaning from <i>Macbeth</i>, we shall pass over the weird
sisters' predictions as lightly as possible, without breaking
the connecting links, though we are greatly tempted to
incorporate a considerable part of this play into our collection
of tales and traditions, seeing that, in our opinion,
none of Shakspeare's works bring out more graphically
the superstition of past ages than the poet's <i>Macbeth</i>.</p>

<p>The play is represented as beginning in an open place,
where, in a thunder-storm, three witches appeared and disappeared
without doing any important deed of darkness.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[Pg 168]</a></span>
They met again on a heath, in another thunder-storm.
One of them told the other hags that she had been away
killing swine. Another told tales of a sailor's wife who had
gone to Aleppo, and threatened to sail thither in a sieve.
Macbeth and Banquo discovered the witches and saluted
them. Through the women's subtlety, the fiend entered
Macbeth's heart, and induced him to form the bloody
plans of removing all obstacles in the way of his obtaining
the crown, and handing it down to his descendants. First
one victim, and then another, fell under his treachery. He
was sorely troubled: the ghost of Banquo haunted him.</p>

<p>Hecate joined the witches on the heath, and upbraided
them for trading and trafficking with Macbeth without
consulting her, the mistress of their charms. Away the
witches were sent, with instructions to meet at the pit of
Acheron in the morning. There Macbeth was to know
his destiny. Vessels and spells the hags were to provide,
while Hecate was to catch a vaporous drop that hung on
the corner of the moon, before it touched the ground.
That drop, distilled by magic sleights, would raise such
sprites, that by the strength of their illusion would draw
Macbeth to confusion. Such, Hecate declared, would be
his doom for spurning fate, scorning death, and bearing
his hopes above wisdom, grace, and fear.</p>

<p>The three witches met in a dark cave, and, while the
thunder rolled without, they boiled a cauldron of hellish
soup, the ingredients of which may be gathered from the
following lines:&mdash;</p>

<div class="speaker">1 <i>Witch</i>.
<span class="metric" style="margin-top: -1.25em;">"Thrice the brindled cat hath mew'd.</span></div>

<div class="speaker">2 <i>Witch</i>.
<span class="metric" style="margin-top: -1.25em;">Thrice; and once the hedge-pig whined.</span></div>

<div class="speaker">3 <i>Witch</i>.
<span class="metric" style="margin-top: -1.25em;">Harper cries: 'Tis time, 'tis time.</span></div>

<div class="speaker">1 <i>Witch</i>.
<span class="metric" style="margin-top: -1.25em;">Round about the cauldron go;<br /></span>
<span class="metric" style="margin-left: 5.5em;">In the poison'd entrails throw.&mdash;<br /></span>
<span class="metric" style="margin-left: 5.5em;">Toad, that under coldest stone,<br /></span>
<span class="metric" style="margin-left: 5.5em;">Days and nights has thirty-one<br /></span>
<span class="metric" style="margin-left: 5.5em;">Swelter'd venom sleeping got,<br /></span>
<span class="metric" style="margin-left: 5.5em;">Boil thou first i' the charmed pot.</span></div>

<div class="speaker"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[Pg 169]</a></span><i>All.</i>
<span class="metric" style="margin-top: -1.25em; margin-left: 4em;">Double, double toil and trouble;<br /></span>
<span class="metric" style="margin-left: 5.5em;">Fire, burn; and, cauldron, bubble.</span></div>

<div class="speaker">2 <i>Witch</i>.
<span class="metric" style="margin-top: -1.25em;">Fillet of a fenny snake,<br /></span>
<span class="metric" style="margin-left: 5.5em;">In the cauldron boil and bake;<br /></span>
<span class="metric" style="margin-left: 5.5em;">Eye of newt, and toe of frog,<br /></span>
<span class="metric" style="margin-left: 5.5em;">Wool of bat, and tongue of dog,<br /></span>
<span class="metric" style="margin-left: 5.5em;">Adder's fork, and blind-worm's sting,<br /></span>
<span class="metric" style="margin-left: 5.5em;">Lizard's leg, and owlet's wing,<br /></span>
<span class="metric" style="margin-left: 5.5em;">For a charm of powerful trouble,<br /></span>
<span class="metric" style="margin-left: 5.5em;">Like a hell-broth boil and bubble.</span></div>

<div class="speaker"><i>All.</i>
<span class="metric" style="margin-top: -1.25em; margin-left: 4em;">Double, double toil and trouble;<br /></span>
<span class="metric" style="margin-left: 5.5em;">Fire, burn; and, cauldron, bubble.</span></div>

<div class="speaker">3 <i>Witch</i>.
<span class="metric" style="margin-top: -1.25em;">Scale of dragon; tooth of wolf;<br /></span>
<span class="metric" style="margin-left: 5.5em;">Witches' mummy; maw and gulf<br /></span>
<span class="metric" style="margin-left: 5.5em;">Of the ravin'd salt-sea shark;<br /></span>
<span class="metric" style="margin-left: 5.5em;">Root of hemlock, digg'd i' the dark;<br /></span>
<span class="metric" style="margin-left: 5.5em;">Liver of blaspheming Jew;<br /></span>
<span class="metric" style="margin-left: 5.5em;">Gall of goat; and slips of yew,<br /></span>
<span class="metric" style="margin-left: 5.5em;">Silver'd in the moon's eclipse;<br /></span>
<span class="metric" style="margin-left: 5.5em;">Nose of Turk, and Tartar's lips;<br /></span>
<span class="metric" style="margin-left: 5.5em;">Finger of birth-strangled babe,<br /></span>
<span class="metric" style="margin-left: 5.5em;">Ditch delivered by a drab,&mdash;<br /></span>
<span class="metric" style="margin-left: 5.5em;">Make the gruel thick and slab:<br /></span>
<span class="metric" style="margin-left: 5.5em;">Add thereto a tiger's chaudron,<br /></span>
<span class="metric" style="margin-left: 5.5em;">For the ingredients of our cauldron.</span></div>

<div class="speaker"><i>All.</i>
<span class="metric" style="margin-top: -1.25em; margin-left: 4em;">Double, double toil and trouble;<br /></span>
<span class="metric" style="margin-left: 5.5em;">Fire, burn; and, cauldron, bubble.</span></div>

<div class="speaker">2 <i>Witch</i>.
<span class="metric" style="margin-top: -1.25em;">Cool it with a baboon's blood;<br /></span>
<span class="metric" style="margin-left: 5.5em;">Then the charm is firm and good.</span></div>

<div class="speaker"><i>Hecate.</i>
<span class="metric" style="margin-top: -1.25em; margin-left: 2.25em;">O, well done! I commend your pains;<br /></span>
<span class="metric" style="margin-left: 5.5em;">And every one shall share i' the gains.<br /></span>
<span class="metric" style="margin-left: 5.5em;">And now about the cauldron sing,<br /></span>
<span class="metric" style="margin-left: 5.5em;">Like elves and fairies in a ring,<br /></span>
<span class="metric" style="margin-left: 5.5em;">Enchanting all that you put in.</span></div>

<p class="metric" style="margin-left: 12em;"><span class="smcap">Song.</span></p>

<p>
<span class="metric" style="margin-left: 9em;">'Black spirits and white,<br /></span>
<span class="metric" style="margin-left: 10em;">Red spirits and grey;<br /></span>
<span class="metric" style="margin-left: 9em;">Mingle, mingle, mingle,<br /></span>
<span class="metric" style="margin-left: 10em;">You that mingle may.'</span>
</p>

<div class="speaker">2 <i>Witch</i>.
<span class="metric" style="margin-top: -1.25em;">By the pricking of my thumbs,<br /></span>
<span class="metric" style="margin-left: 5.5em;">Something wicked this way comes:&mdash;<br /></span>
<span class="metric" style="margin-left: 5.5em;">Open, locks, whoever knocks."</span></div>

<p>Macbeth appeared and demanded what the midnight<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[Pg 170]</a></span>
hags were about. The reply was, "A deed without a
name." He entreated them, by that which they professed,
to answer him. One of the witches asked whether he
would rather have his answer from their mouths or from
their masters'. On Macbeth desiring to see the masters,
witch No. 1 directed that the blood of a sow that had
eaten her nine farrow, and grease that had been sweaten
from the murderer's gibbet, should be thrown into the
flame. Accompanied by a clap of thunder, an armed
head rose, and admonished Macbeth to beware of Macduff.
Another demon, more potent, in the shape of a bloody
child, rose and bade Macbeth be courageous; to laugh
to scorn the power of man, for none born of woman
could harm him. A second child, after the first had
descended into the bowels of the earth, told the king
that he would not be vanquished till great Birnam
wood to high Dunsinane hill should come against him.
The monarch was admonished to ask no more, but he
disregarded the warning. "Why sinks that cauldron?
and what noise is this?" he asked. Eight kings, and
Banquo following, appeared to Macbeth's vision. The
whole vision, if such it could be called, surprised him
greatly; but no part of it so much as the spirit of Banquo,
whom he had cruelly put to death with the intention of
frustrating destiny, as revealed to him by the weird sisters,
when he first met them on the heath. Seeing the king
dejected, the witches, to cheer him, danced and sang for
a time, and then suddenly disappeared.</p>

<p>Before Macbeth had time to recover from his reverie, a
messenger arrived to inform him that Macduff, whom
he dreaded, had fled to England. So greatly was he
exasperated by the tidings, that he declared his intention
of seizing Macduff's castle, giving to the sword his wife,
babes, and all his other relations of whatever degree.
This threat he partly carried into execution.</p>

<p>The day of vengeance was near. Macbeth, mad with<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[Pg 171]</a></span>
fear and ambition, strove to avert the evil brooding over
him, but he could not succeed. The fiat had gone forth:
he was king, as the weird sisters had foretold he would be,
but all his bloody deeds, and the scheming of his queen,
unscrupulous like himself, could not change the decree.
Birnam wood seemed to come to Dunsinane, and Banquo's
seed came in due time to inherit the throne the fates had
reserved for them.</p>

<p>In <i>King Henry the Sixth</i> more light is thrown on the
doings of evil spirits. On a deep dark night, the time
when owls cried, dogs howled, spirits walked, and ghosts
broke up their graves, a spirit rose, in compliance with
certain ceremonies for making demons appear. Bolingbroke
inquired of the evil one what would become of
the king? The reply was, "The duke yet lives that
Henry shall depose. But him outlive, and die a violent
death." In answer to the question, "What fate awaits
the Duke of Suffolk?" came the reply, "By water shall
he die." The Duke of Somerset was advised by the
spirit to shun castles. Having thus delivered itself, the
evil spirit descended to the burning lake. Farther
on in the piece we are told of a witch that was condemned
to be burned at Smithfield.</p>

<p>Passing from <i>Henry the Sixth</i>, we come to <i>Antony and
Cleopatra</i>, and proceed to glean a few sentences bearing
on superstition.</p>

<p>Charmian, addressing Alexas in a flattering manner,
asked where was the soothsayer he praised so much. The
soothsayer, who was immediately forthcoming, told those
who listened to him that he knew "things" from nature's
book of secrecy. A banquet was prepared, at which
Charmian asked the soothsayer to give him good luck.
"I make not, but foresee," was the response. Charmian,
Alexas, and their companions seek to hear their fortunes
told, but the soothsayer did not choose to reveal anything
important at that time.</p>

<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[Pg 172]</a></span>We shall take leave of Shakspeare by noticing, in a
few sentences, the ghost of Hamlet's father.</p>

<p>Bernardo, Marcellus, and Horatio were met at a late
hour to talk over a dreadful apparition that had disturbed
the two former on the previous night, when they were
startled by the same apparition&mdash;a ghost making its
appearance. They observed it resembled the king who
was dead. Horatio charged it to speak, but it stalked
away without deigning a reply. It reappeared, but
suddenly vanished on hearing the cock crow. How long
elapsed we are not informed; but on a certain night,
just after the clock had struck twelve, Hamlet, Horatio,
and Marcellus were engaged in earnest conversation when
they were alarmed. The first entreats the ghost to say
wherefore it visited them. It beckoned to Hamlet to
follow it; and he did so, despite those who were with
him, and saw the spirit as well as he did. The ghost's
tongue was unloosed, and thus it spake: "Lend thy
serious hearing to what I shall unfold: My hour is almost
come, when I must render up myself to sulphurous and
tormenting flames. I am thy father's spirit; and, for the
day, confined to fast in fires, till the foul crimes, done in
my days of nature, are burnt and purged away. Were
I not forbidden to tell the secrets of my prison-house,
I could a tale unfold that would harrow up thy soul;
freeze thy young blood; make thy eyes start; and make
thy locks part like quills upon the fretful porcupine: but
this eternal blazon must not be. If ever thou didst love
thy father, revenge his foul and most unnatural murder."
"Murder!" exclaimed Hamlet. "Murder," said the ghost,
"most foul, as in the best it is." "Reveal it," gasped
Hamlet, "that I may with swift wings sweep to my
revenge." "Thou shouldst be duller than the fat weed
that rots itself on Lethe's wharf, wert thou not to stir in
this," ejaculated the spirit. The ghost continued: "It has
been given out, that, when sleeping in mine orchard, a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[Pg 173]</a></span>
serpent stung me to death; but know thou that the
serpent that did sting thy father now wears his crown....
Sleeping within my orchard, as my custom
was in the afternoon, on my secure hour thy uncle stole
with cursed juice of hebenon in a vial, and did pour the
leprous distilment into mine ears, that curdled my blood.
Thus was I, by a brother's hand, despatched from crown and
queen; cut off in the blossoms of my sin, unprepared,
disappointed, and, without extreme unction, sent to my
account with all my imperfections on my head. O, horrible!
most horrible! Let not the royal bed be a couch for
luxury and damned incest. Farewell; the glow-worm
shows the morning to be near, and begins to pale his
ineffectual fire: Adieu! Remember me." The king's
death was avenged. The treacherous queen, and he who
murdered the monarch, drank a poisoned cup, and thus
received measure for measure.</p>



<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVIII" id="CHAPTER_XVIII"></a>CHAPTER XVIII.</h2>

<div class="blockquot"><p>The Poet Gay&mdash;The "Spell"&mdash;Hobnelia&mdash;Lubberkin going to Town&mdash;A
Maiden fine&mdash;Spells resorted to&mdash;Marking the Ground, and turning
three times round&mdash;Hempseed as a Charm&mdash;Valentine Day&mdash;A
Snail used in Divination&mdash;Burning Nuts&mdash;Pea-cods as a Spell&mdash;Ladybird
sent on a Message of Love&mdash;Pippin Parings&mdash;Virtue of United
Garters&mdash;Love Powder&mdash;Gipsies' Warnings&mdash;Knives sever Love&mdash;Story
of Boccaccio&mdash;Apparition of a Deceased Lover&mdash;Poems by Burns&mdash;"Address
to the Deil"&mdash;"Tam o' Shanter."</p></div>


<p>John Gay, the old English poet, writes in his <i>Spell</i>:</p>

<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">"Hobnelia, seated in a dreary vale,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">In pensive mood rehearsed her piteous tale;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Her piteous tale the winds in sighs bemoan,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And pining Echo answers groan for groan.<br /></span>
<span class="i2">I rue the day, a rueful day I trow,<br /></span>
<span class="i2">The woeful day, a day indeed of woe!<br /></span><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[Pg 174]</a></span>
<span class="i0">When Lubberkin to town his cattle drove,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">A maiden fine bedight he kept in love;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">The maiden fine bedight his love retains,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And for the village he forsakes the plains.<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Return, my Lubberkin, these ditties hear,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Spells will I try, and spells shall ease my care.<br /></span>
<span class="i2">With my sharp heel I three times mark the ground,<br /></span>
<span class="i2">And turn me thrice around, around, around.<br /></span>
<span class="i0">When first the year I heard the cuckoo sing,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And call with welcome note the budding spring,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">I straightway set a-running with such haste,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Deb'rah that won the smock scarce ran so fast;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Till, spent for lack of breath, quite weary grown,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Upon a rising bank I sat adown,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Then doff'd my shoe, and, by my troth, I swear,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Therein I spy'd this yellow frizzled hair,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">As like to Lubberkin's in curle and hue,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">As if upon his comely pate it grew.<br /></span>
<span class="i2">With my sharp heel I three times mark the ground,<br /></span>
<span class="i2">And turn me thrice around, around, around.<br /></span>
<span class="i0">At eve last summer no sleep I sought,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">But to the field a bag of hempseed brought,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">I scattered round the seed on every side,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And three times in a trembling accent cry'd:<br /></span>
<span class="i0">This hempseed with my virgin hand I sow,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Who shall my true love be, the crop shall mow.<br /></span>
<span class="i0">I straight look'd back, and if my eyes speak true,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">With his keen scythe behind me came the youth.<br /></span>
<span class="i2">With my sharp heel I three times mark the ground,<br /></span>
<span class="i2">And turn me thrice around, around, around.<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Last Valentine, the day when birds of kind<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Their paramours with mutual chirping find,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">I early rose, just at the break of day,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Before the sun had chas'd the stars away;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Afield I went, amid the morning dew,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">To milk my kine (for so should housewives do).<br /></span>
<span class="i0">The first I spy'd, and the first swain we see,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">In spite of fortune shall our true love be;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">See, Lubberkin, each bird his partner take,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And canst thou then thy sweetheart dear forsake?<br /></span>
<span class="i2">With my sharp heel I three times mark the ground,<br /></span>
<span class="i2">And turn me thrice around, around, around.<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Last May-day fair I searched to find a snail<br /></span>
<span class="i0">That might my secret lover's name reveal;<br /></span><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[Pg 175]</a></span>
<span class="i0">Upon a gooseberry bush a snail I found,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">For always snails nearest sweetest fruit abound.<br /></span>
<span class="i0">I seiz'd the vermin, home I quickly sped,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And on the hearth the milk-white embers spread.<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Slow crawl'd the snail, and, if I right can spell,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">In the soft ashes mark'd a curious L:<br /></span>
<span class="i0">O may this wonderous omen luck prove!<br /></span>
<span class="i0">For L is found in Lubberkin and love.<br /></span>
<span class="i2">With my sharp heel I three times mark the ground,<br /></span>
<span class="i2">And turn me thrice around, around, around.<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Two hazel nuts I threw into the flame,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And to each nut I gave a sweetheart's name,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">This with the loudest bounce me sore amaz'd,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">That in a flame of brightest colour blaz'd.<br /></span>
<span class="i0">As blaz'd the nut, so may thy passion grow,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">For 'twas thy nut that did so brightly glow.<br /></span>
<span class="i2">With my sharp heel I three times mark the ground,<br /></span>
<span class="i2">And turn me thrice around, around, around.<br /></span>
<span class="i0">As pea-cods once I pluck'd, I chanc'd to see<br /></span>
<span class="i0">One that was closely fill'd with three times three,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Which, when I crop't, I safely home convey'd,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And o'er the door the spell in secret laid,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">My wheel I turn'd, and sung a ballad new,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">While from the spindle I the fleeces drew;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">The latch mov'd up, when who should first come in,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">But in his proper person&mdash;Lubberkin.<br /></span>
<span class="i0">I broke my yarn, surpris'd the sight to see,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Sure sign that he would break his word with me.<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Eftsoons I joined it with my wonted slight,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">So may his love again with mine unite.<br /></span>
<span class="i2">With my sharp heel I three times mark the ground,<br /></span>
<span class="i2">And turn me thrice around, around, around.<br /></span>
<span class="i0">This lady-fly I take from off the grass,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Whose spotted back might scarlet red surpass.<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Fly, lady-bird, north, south, or east, or west,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Fly where the man is found that I love best.<br /></span>
<span class="i0">He leaves my hand; see, to the west he's flown,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">To call my true love from the faithless town.<br /></span>
<span class="i2">With my sharp heel I three times mark the ground,<br /></span>
<span class="i2">And turn me thrice around, around, around.<br /></span>
<span class="i0">I pare my pippin round and round again,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">My shepherd's name to flourish on the plain,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">I fling th' unbroken paring o'er my head,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Upon the grass a perfect L I read;<br /></span><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[Pg 176]</a></span>
<span class="i0">Yet on my heart a fairer L is seen<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Than what the paring marks upon the green.<br /></span>
<span class="i2">With my sharp heel I three times mark the ground,<br /></span>
<span class="i2">And turn me thrice around, around, around.<br /></span>
<span class="i0">This pippin shall another trial make,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">See from the core two kernels brown I take;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">This on my cheek for Lubberkin is worn,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And Boobyclod on t' other side is borne.<br /></span>
<span class="i0">But Boobyclod soon drops upon the ground,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">A certain token that his love's unsound,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">While Lubberkin sticks firmly to the last;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">O were his lips to mine but joined so fast!<br /></span>
<span class="i2">With my sharp heel I three times mark the ground,<br /></span>
<span class="i2">And turn me thrice around, around, around.<br /></span>
<span class="i0">As Lubberkin once slept beneath a tree,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">I twitch'd his dangling garter from his knee;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">He wist not when the hempen string I drew.<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Now mine I quickly doff of inkle blue;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Together fast I tye the garters twain,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And while I knit the knot, repeat the strain:<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Three times a true-love's knot I tye secure,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Firm be the knot, firm may his love endure.<br /></span>
<span class="i2">With my sharp heel I three times mark the ground,<br /></span>
<span class="i2">And turn me thrice around, around, around.<br /></span>
<span class="i0">As I was wont, I trudged last market day<br /></span>
<span class="i0">To town with new-laid eggs preserved in hay.<br /></span>
<span class="i0">I made my market long before 'twas night,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">My purse grew heavy, and my basket light.<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Straight to the 'pothecary's shop I went,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And in love powder all my money spent;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Behap what will, next Sunday, after prayers,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">When to the ale-house Lubberkin repairs,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">The golden charm into his mug I'll throw,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And soon the swain with fervent love shall glow.<br /></span>
<span class="i2">With my sharp heel I three times mark the ground,<br /></span>
<span class="i2">And turn me thrice around, around, around.<br /></span>
<span class="i0">But hold: our Lightfoot barks and cocks his ears,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">O'er yonder stile see Lubberkin appears.<br /></span>
<span class="i0">He comes, he comes, Hobnelia's not bewray'd,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Nor shall she, crown'd with willow, die a maid.<br /></span>
<span class="i0">He vows, he swears he'll give me a green gown;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">O dear! I fall adown, adown, adown.<br /></span>
</div>
</div>

<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[Pg 177]</a></span>Gay also writes:</p>

<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">"Last Friday's eve, when, as the sun was set,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">I, near yon stile, three sallow gipsies met,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Upon my hand they cast a poring look,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Bid me beware, and thrice their heads they shook;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">They said that many crosses I must prove,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Some in my worldly gain, but most in love.<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Next morn I missed three hens and our old cock,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And off the hedge two pinners and a smock.<br /></span>
<span class="i0">I bore these losses with a Christian mind,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And no mishap could feel while thou wert kind;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">But since, alas! I grew my Colin's scorn,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">I've known no pleasure, night, or noon, or morn.<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Help me, ye gipsies, bring him home again,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And to a constant lass give back her swain.<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Have I not sat with thee full many a night,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">When dying embers were our only light,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">When every creature did in slumber lie,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Besides our cat, my Colin Clout, and I?<br /></span>
<span class="i0">No troublous thoughts the cat or Colin move,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">While I alone am kept awake by love.<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Remember, Colin, when at last year's wake<br /></span>
<span class="i0">I bought the costly present for thy sake:<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Could thou spell o'er the posy on thy knife,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And with another change thy state of life?<br /></span>
<span class="i0">If thou forget'st, I wot I can repeat,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">My memory can tell the verse so sweet:<br /></span>
<span class="i0">'As this is grav'd upon this knife of thine,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">So is thy image on this heart of mine.'<br /></span>
<span class="i0">But woe is me! such presents luckless prove,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">For knives, they tell me, always sever love."<br /></span>
</div>
</div>

<p>In the story of <i>Isabella</i>, by Boccaccio, there are touching
incidents of the apparition of a deceased lover appearing
to his mistress. The tale is thus rendered by Keats:</p>

<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">"It was a vision. In the drowsy gloom,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">The dull of midnight, at her couch's foot<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Lorenzo stood and wept: the forest tomb<br /></span>
<span class="i1">Had marr'd his glossy hair, which once could shoot<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Lustre into the sun, and put cold doom<br /></span>
<span class="i1">Upon his lips, and taken the soft lute<br /></span><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[Pg 178]</a></span>
<span class="i0">From his lorn voice, and passt his loomed ears<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Had made a miry channel for his tears.<br /></span>
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Strange sound it was, when the pale shadow spoke;<br /></span>
<span class="i1">For there was striving in its piteous tongue,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">To speak as when on earth it was awake,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">And Isabella on its music hung:<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Languor there was in it, and tremulous shake,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">As in a palsied Druid's harp unstrung;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And through it moaned a ghostly under-song,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Like hoarse night gusts sepulchral biers among.<br /></span>
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Its eyes, though wild, were still all dewy bright<br /></span>
<span class="i1">With love, and kept all phantom fear aloof<br /></span>
<span class="i0">From the poor girl by magic of their bright,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">The while it did unthread the horrid woof<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Of the late darkened time&mdash;the murd'rous spite<br /></span>
<span class="i1">Of pride and avarice&mdash;the dark pine roof<br /></span>
<span class="i0">In the forest&mdash;and the sodden turfed dell,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">When, without any word, from stabs it fell.<br /></span>
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Saying moreover, 'Isabel, my sweet!<br /></span>
<span class="i1">Red whortle-berries droop above my head,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And a large flint-stone weighs upon my feet,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">Around me beeches and high chesnuts shed<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Their leaves and prickly nuts; a sheep-fold bleat<br /></span>
<span class="i1">Comes from beyond the river to my bed:<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Go shed one tear upon my heather-bloom,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And it shall comfort me within the tomb.<br /></span>
</div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">'I am a shadow now, alas! alas!<br /></span>
<span class="i1">Upon the skirts of human nature dwelling<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Alone: I chaunt alone the holy mass,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">While little sounds of life around me knelling,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And glossy bees at noon do fieldward pass,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">And many a chapel bell the hour is telling,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Paining me through: these sounds grow strange to me,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And thou art distant in humanity.'"<br /></span>
</div>
</div>

<p>Let us now see what Burns, the never-to-be-forgotten
Scottish poet, says in his <i>Address to the Deil</i> and <i>Tam
o' Shanter</i>. In his own felicitous way he brings out the
belief the ancient inhabitants had of visible devils, water-kelpies,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[Pg 179]</a></span>
spunkies, witches, charms, spells, and many other
forms of superstition.</p>

<div class="poem">
<span class="i3">ADDRESS TO THE DEIL.</span>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">"O thou! whatever title suit thee,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Auld Hornie, Satan, Nick, or Clootie,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Wha in yon cavern grim an' sootie,<br /></span>
<span class="i6">Closed under hatches,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Spairges about the brunstane cootie,<br /></span>
<span class="i6">To scaud poor wretches.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i1">Hear me, auld Hangie, for a wee,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">An' let poor damned bodies be;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">I'm sure sma' pleasure it can gie,<br /></span>
<span class="i6">E'en to a deil,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">To skelp and scaud poor dogs like me,<br /></span>
<span class="i6">An' hear us squeel?<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i1">Great is thy pow'r, and great thy fame;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Far kend and noted is thy name:<br /></span>
<span class="i0">An' tho' yon lowin' heugh's thy hame,<br /></span>
<span class="i6">Thou travels far;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">An' faith! thou's neither lag nor lame,<br /></span>
<span class="i6">Nor blate nor scaur.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i1">Whyles ranging like a roarin' lion<br /></span>
<span class="i0">For prey, a' holes and corners tryin';<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Whyles on the strong-winged tempest flyin',<br /></span>
<span class="i6">Tirling the kirks;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Whyles, in the human bosom pryin',<br /></span>
<span class="i6">Unseen thou lurks.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">I've heard my reverend grannie say,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">In lanely glens you like to stray;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Or where auld ruined castles grey<br /></span>
<span class="i6">Nod to the moon,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Ye fright the nightly wand'rer's way,<br /></span>
<span class="i6">Wi' eldritch croon.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i1">When twilight did my grannie summon<br /></span>
<span class="i0">To say her prayers, douce honest woman!<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Aft yont the dyke she's heard you bummin'<br /></span>
<span class="i6">Wi' eerie drone;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Or, rustlin', thro' the boortrees comin',<br /></span>
<span class="i6">Wi' heavy groan.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[Pg 180]</a></span>
<span class="i1">Ae dreary, windy, winter night,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">The stars shot down wi' sklentin' light,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Wi' you, mysel', I got a fright,<br /></span>
<span class="i6">Ayont the lough;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Ye, like a rash-bush stood in sight,<br /></span>
<span class="i6">Wi' waving sough.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i1">The cudgel in my nieve did shake,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Each bristled hair stood like a stake,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">When wi' an eldritch stour, quaick&mdash;quaick&mdash;<br /></span>
<span class="i6">Amang the springs,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Awa ye squatter'd like a drake,<br /></span>
<span class="i6">On whistling wings.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i1">Let warlocks grim, and wither'd hags,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Tell how wi' you on ragweed nags,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">They skim the muirs, and dizzy crags,<br /></span>
<span class="i6">Wi' wicked speed;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And in kirk-yards renew their leagues<br /></span>
<span class="i6">Owre howkit dead.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i1">Thence countra wives, wi' toil an' pain,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">May plunge an' plunge the kirn in vain;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">For oh! the yellow treasure's ta'en<br /></span>
<span class="i6">By witching skill;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">An' dawtet, twal-pint Hawkie's gaen<br /></span>
<span class="i6">As yell's the bill.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i1">Then mystic knots mak great abuse,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">On young guidman, fond, keen, and crouse,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">When the best wark-lume i' the house,<br /></span>
<span class="i6">By cantrip wit,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Is instant made no worth a louse,<br /></span>
<span class="i6">Just at the bit.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i1">When thaws dissolve the snawy hoord,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">An' float the jinglin' icy-boord,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Then water-kelpies haunt the foord,<br /></span>
<span class="i6">By your direction,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">An' 'nighted trav'llers are allured<br /></span>
<span class="i6">To their destruction.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i1">An' aft your moss-traversing spunkies<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Decoy the wight that late and drunk is;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">The bleezin', curst, mischievous monkeys<br /></span>
<span class="i6">Delude his eyes,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Till in some miry slough he sunk is,<br /></span>
<span class="i6">Ne'er mair to rise.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[Pg 181]</a></span>
<span class="i1">When masons' mystic word an' grip<br /></span>
<span class="i0">In storms an' tempests raise you up,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Some cock or cat your rage maun stop,<br /></span>
<span class="i6">Or, strange to tell,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">The youngest brother ye wad whip<br /></span>
<span class="i6">Aff straught to hell!<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i1">Lang syne, in Eden's bonnie yaird,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">When youthfu' lovers first were pair'd,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">An' a' the soul of love they shared,<br /></span>
<span class="i6">The raptured hour,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Sweet on the fragrant flowery swaird<br /></span>
<span class="i6">In shady bower!<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i1">Then you, ye auld, sneck-drawing dog!<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Ye came to Paradise <i>incog.</i>,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">An' played on man a curs&egrave;d brogue,<br /></span>
<span class="i6">(Black be your fa'!)<br /></span>
<span class="i0">An' gied the infant world a shog,<br /></span>
<span class="i6">'Maist ruined a'.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i1">D'ye mind that day, when in a bizz,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Wi' reekit duds and reestit gizz,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Ye did present your smoutie phiz<br /></span>
<span class="i6">'Mang better folk,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">An' sklented on the man of Uz<br /></span>
<span class="i6">Your spitefu' joke?<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i1">An' how ye gat him in your thrall,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">An' brak him out o' house an' hall,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">While scabs and blotches did him gall<br /></span>
<span class="i6">Wi' bitter claw,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">An' lowsed his ill-tongued wicked scaw,<br /></span>
<span class="i6">Was warst ava?<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i1">But a' your doings to rehearse,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Your wily snares an' fechtin' fierce,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Sin' that day Michael did you pierce,<br /></span>
<span class="i6">Down to this time,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Wad ding a Lallan tongue, or Erse,<br /></span>
<span class="i6">In prose or rhyme.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i1">An' now, auld Cloots, I ken ye're thinkin'<br /></span>
<span class="i0">A certain Bardie's rantin', drinkin',<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Some luckless hour will send him linkin'<br /></span>
<span class="i6">To your black pit;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">But faith, he'll turn a corner, jinkin',<br /></span>
<span class="i6">And cheat you yet.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[Pg 182]</a></span>
<span class="i1">But, fare ye weel, auld Nickie-ben!<br /></span>
<span class="i0">O wad ye tak a thought and men'!<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Ye aiblins might&mdash;I dinna ken&mdash;<br /></span>
<span class="i6">Still hae a stake&mdash;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">I'm wae to think upon yon den,<br /></span>
<span class="i6">Even for your sake!"<br /></span>
</div>
</div>

<hr style='width: 45%;' />

<div class="poem">
<span class="i4">TAM O' SHANTER.</span>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">"When chapman billies leave the street,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And drouthy neebors, neebors meet,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">As market days are wearing late,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">An' folk begin to tak the gate;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">While we sit bousing at the nappy,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">An' gettin' fou an' unco happy,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">We think na on the lang Scots miles,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">The mosses, waters, slaps, an' styles,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">That lie between us and our hame,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Where sits our sulky sullen dame,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Gathering her brows like gathering storm,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Nursing her wrath to keep it warm.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i1">This truth fand honest Tam o' Shanter,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">As he frae Ayr ae night did canter;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">(Auld Ayr, wham ne'er a toun surpasses,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">For honest men and bonny lasses.)<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i1">O Tam! hadst thou but been sae wise,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">As ta'en thy ain wife Kate's advice!<br /></span>
<span class="i0">She tauld thee weel thou was a skellum,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">A blethering, blustering, drunken blellum;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">That frae November till October<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Ae market-day thou was na sober;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">That ilka melder, wi' the miller,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Thou sat as lang as thou had siller;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">That ev'ry naig was ca'd a shoe on,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">The smith and thee gat roaring fou on;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">That at the L&mdash;d's house, even on Sunday,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Thou drank wi' Kirkton Jean till Monday.<br /></span>
<span class="i0">She prophesy'd that, late or soon,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Thou would be found deep drown'd in Doon;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Or catch'd wi' warlocks in the mirk,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">By Alloway's auld haunted kirk.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[Pg 183]</a></span>
<span class="i1">Ah, gentle dames! it gars me greet,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">To think how mony counsels sweet,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">How mony lengthen'd sage advices,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">The husband frae the wife despises!<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i1">But to our tale: Ae market night<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Tam had got planted unco right;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Fast by an ingle, bleezing finely,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Wi' reaming swats, that drank divinely:<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And at his elbow, Souter Johnny,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">His ancient, trusty, drouthy crony;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Tam lo'ed him like a vera brither;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">They had been fou for weeks thegither.<br /></span>
<span class="i0">The night drave on wi' sangs an' clatter;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And aye the ale was growing better:<br /></span>
<span class="i0">The landlady and Tam grew gracious,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Wi' favours, secret, sweet, and precious;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">The souter tauld his queerest stories;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">The landlord's laugh was ready chorus:<br /></span>
<span class="i0">The storm without might rair and rustle,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Tam did na mind the storm a whistle.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i1">Care, mad to see a man sae happy,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">E'en drown'd himself amang the nappy;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">As bees flee hame wi' lades o' treasure,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">The minutes wing'd their way wi' pleasure:<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Kings may be blest, but Tam was glorious,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">O'er a' the ills o' life victorious!<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i1">But pleasures are like poppies spread&mdash;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">You seize the flow'r, its bloom is shed!<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Or like the snow-fall in the river,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">A moment white&mdash;then melts for ever;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Or like the borealis race,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">That flit ere you can point their place;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Or like the rainbow's lovely form,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Evanishing amid the storm.&mdash;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Nae man can tether time nor tide:<br /></span>
<span class="i0">The hour approaches Tam maun ride&mdash;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">That hour, o' night's black arch the key-stane,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">That dreary hour he mounts his beast in,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And sic a night he taks the road in,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">As ne'er poor sinner was abroad in.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i1">The wind blew as 'twad blawn its last;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">The rattlin' showers rose on the blast:<br /></span><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[Pg 184]</a></span>
<span class="i0">The speedy gleams the darkness swallow'd;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Loud, deep, and lang the thunder bellow'd;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">That night a child might understand<br /></span>
<span class="i0">The deil had business on his hand.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i1">Weel mounted on his grey mare, Meg&mdash;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">A better never lifted leg&mdash;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Tam skelpit on through dub and mire,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Despising wind, and rain, and fire;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Whiles holding fast his guid blue bonnet;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Whiles crooning o'er some auld Scots sonnet;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Whiles glow'ring round wi' prudent cares,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Lest bogles catch him unawares;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Kirk-Alloway was drawing nigh,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Whare ghaists and houlets nightly cry.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i1">By this time he was 'cross the foord,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Whare in the snaw the chapman smoor'd;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And past the birks and meikle stane,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Whare drucken Charlie brak's neck bane;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And thro' the whins, and by the cairn,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Whare hunters fand the murder'd bairn;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And near the thorn, aboon the well,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Whare Mungo's mither hang'd hersel.&mdash;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Before him Doon pours all his floods!<br /></span>
<span class="i0">The doubling storm roars thro' the woods;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">The lightnings flash from pole to pole;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Near and more near the thunders roll;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">When glimmering thro' the groaning trees,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Kirk-Alloway seem'd in a bleeze;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Thro' ilka bore the beams were glancing,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And loud resounded mirth and dancing.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i1">Inspiring bold John Barleycorn!<br /></span>
<span class="i0">What dangers thou canst make us scorn!<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Wi' tippenny we fear nae evil;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Wi' usquebae we'll face the devil.&mdash;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">The swats sae ream'd in Tammie's noddle,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Fair play, he cared na deils a boddle.<br /></span>
<span class="i0">But Maggie stood right sair astonish'd,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Till, by the heel and hand admonish'd,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">She ventured forward on the light;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And, wow! Tam saw an unco sight!<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Warlocks and witches in a dance;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Nae cotillon brent new frae France,<br /></span><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[Pg 185]</a></span>
<span class="i0">But hornpipes, jigs, strathspeys, and reels<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Put life and mettle in their heels.<br /></span>
<span class="i0">A winnock-bunker in the east,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">There sat auld Nick in shape o' beast;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">A towzie tyke, black, grim, and large,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">To gie them music was his charge:<br /></span>
<span class="i0">He screw'd his pipes and gart them skirl<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Till roof and rafters a' did dirl.<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Coffins stood round like open presses,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">That shaw'd the dead in their last dresses;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And by some devilish cantrip sleight,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Each in its cauld hand held a light,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">By which heroic Tam was able<br /></span>
<span class="i0">To note upon the haly table,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">A murderer's banes in gibbet airns;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Twa span-lang, wee unchristen'd bairns,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">A thief, new cutted frae a rape,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Wi' his last gasp his gab did gape:<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Five tomahawks, wi' blude red-rusted;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Five scimitars, wi' murder crusted;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">A garter which a babe had strangled;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">A knife a father's throat had mangled,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Whom his ain son o' life bereft,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">The grey hairs yet stack to the heft<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Wi' mair o' horrible and awfu'<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Which ev'n to name wad be unlawfu'.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i1">As Tammie glowr'd, amaz'd and curious,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">The mirth and fun grew fast and furious:<br /></span>
<span class="i0">The piper loud and louder blew,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">The dancers quick and quicker flew;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">They reel'd, they set, they cross'd, they cleekit<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Till ilka carlin swat and reekit,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And coost her duddies to the wark<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And linket at it in her sark!<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i1">Now Tam, O Tam! had they been queens<br /></span>
<span class="i0">A' plump an' strapping, in their teens;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Their sarks, instead o' creeshie flannen,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Been snaw-white seventeen hunder linen!<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Thir breeks o' mine, my only pair,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">That ance were plush o' guid blue hair,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">I wad hae gi'en them aff my hurdies,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">For ae blink o' the bonnie burdies!<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[Pg 186]</a></span>
<span class="i1">But wither'd beldames auld and droll,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Rigwoodie hags wad spean a foal,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Louping and flinging on a crummock,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">I wonder didna turn thy stomach.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i1">But Tam kenn'd what was what fu' brawlie,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">There was a winsome wench and walie,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">That night enlisted in the core,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">(Lang after kenn'd on Carrick shore!<br /></span>
<span class="i0">For monie a beast to dead she shot,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And perish'd monie a bonnie boat,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And shook baith meikle corn and bear,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And kept the country side in fear).<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Her cutty sark o' Paisley harn,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">That while a lassie she had worn,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">In longitude though sorely scanty,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">It was her best, and she was vauntie:<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Ah! little kenn'd thy reverend grannie,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">That sark she coft for her wee Nannie,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Wi' twa pund Scots ('twas a' her riches),<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Wad ever graced a dance o' witches!<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i1">But here my muse her wing man cour:<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Sic flights are far beyond her power:<br /></span>
<span class="i0">To sing how Nannie lap and flang,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">(A souple jade she was an' strang),<br /></span>
<span class="i0">An' how Tam stood like ane bewitch'd,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">An' thought his very een enrich'd:<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Even Satan glowr'd and fidg'd fu' fain,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And hotch'd and blew wi' might and main:<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Till first ae caper, syne anither,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Tam tint his reason a' thegither,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And roars out, 'Weel done, Cutty sark!'<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And in an instant all was dark;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And scarcely had he Maggie rallied,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">When out the hellish legion sallied.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i1">As bees bizz out wi' angry fyke,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">When plundering herds assail their byke;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">As open pussie's mortal foes,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">When, pop! she starts before their nose;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">As eager runs the market crowd,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">When 'Catch the thief!' resounds aloud,&mdash;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">So Maggie runs, the witches follow,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Wi' monie an eldritch screetch and hollow.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[Pg 187]</a></span>
<span class="i1">Ah, Tam! Ah, Tam! thou'll get thy fairin'!<br /></span>
<span class="i0">In hell they'll roast thee like a herrin'!<br /></span>
<span class="i0">In vain thy Kate awaits thy comin'!<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Kate soon will be a waefu' woman!<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Now do thy speedy utmost, Meg,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And win the key-stane o' the brig;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">There at them thou thy tail may toss,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">A running stream they darena cross.<br /></span>
<span class="i0">But ere the key-stane she could make,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">The fient a tail she had to shake!<br /></span>
<span class="i0">For Nannie, far before the rest,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Hard upon noble Maggie press'd,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And flew at Tam wi' furious ettle;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">But little wist she Maggie's mettle&mdash;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Ae spring brought aff her master hale,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">But left behind her ain grey tail:<br /></span>
<span class="i0">The carlin caught her by the rump,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">An' left poor Maggie scarce a stump.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i1">Now, wha this tale o' truth shall read,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Ilk man and mother's son take heed:<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Whene'er to drink you are inclined,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Or cutty sarks run in your mind,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Think ye may buy the joys o'er dear,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Remember Tam o' Shanter's mare."<br /></span>
</div>
</div>



<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIX" id="CHAPTER_XIX"></a>CHAPTER XIX.</h2>

<div class="blockquot"><p>Sir Walter Scott, the "Great Unknown"&mdash;His belief in Superstition&mdash;How
his Tales of Fiction are composed&mdash;A Town-Clerk frightened by
an Apparition&mdash;A Ghost that did not understand Erse, but could
communicate in Latin&mdash;Lovel and Edie Ochiltree&mdash;Discovery of
Hidden Treasure by Occult Science&mdash;"Rob Roy"&mdash;Fairies' Caverns&mdash;Supposed
Apparition in the Trossachs&mdash;Elfin People at the Firth of
Forth&mdash;A Minister taken away by Fairies&mdash;Dame Glendinning's Tale&mdash;Lines
from "Marmion"&mdash;A Fairy Knight&mdash;Mysterious Steed.</p></div>


<p>Sir Walter Scott, the "Great Unknown," was sensibly affected
by his country's tales of witches, fairies, and
ghosts. Whether the fear he entertained proceeded from<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[Pg 188]</a></span>
early impressions, or whether an awe imperceptibly crept
over him, through his frequent communings with old
people (when he was in more advanced life) who had no
doubt of the existence of witches and spirits, good and
bad, visiting the earth, and performing acts of benevolence
or malevolence, according to the inclination or caprice of
the uncanny or unearthly agent, we cannot say; but of
one thing there can be no doubt, that even in years of
maturity he believed there were spirits that appeared to
men, and assisted them to perform actions they could not
have done without superhuman aid, and that by such
beings future events were made known. Were it not for
the dash of superstition he threw here and there into his
tales, they would be comparatively of a commonplace
description. Like other writers of fiction, or authors
whose writings rest on a slender foundation of truth,
Sir Walter Scott often brings forward a witch, wizard,
gipsy, fairy, ghost, and other spirits. A haunted castle,
a fortune-teller, and a good or evil genius are as indispensable
in a good story as a cruel parent, a rich uncle,
and a disappointed lover. None knew better than the
great Scottish novelist how to work on his readers' feelings;
and hence his success.</p>

<p>Sir Walter tells, in the <i>Antiquary</i>, a story of Rab Tull,
the town-clerk, being in an old house searching for important
documents, but who was obliged to go to bed without
finding them. The bodie had got such a custom of
tippling and tippling with his drunken cronies, that he
could not sleep without his punch, and as usual he took
his glass that evening. In the middle watches of night
he had a fearful wakening&mdash;he was never himself after
it&mdash;and was stricken with the dead palsy that very day
four years. He thought he heard the bed curtains move,
and out he looked. Before him appeared an old gentleman
in a queer-fashioned dress. Rab, greatly frightened,
asked the apparition (for it was a spirit that stood before<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[Pg 189]</a></span>
him) what it wanted. The spirit answered in an unknown
tongue. Rab replied in Erse, but the spirit did not seem
to understand this language. In his strait, the clerk bethought
him of two or three words of Latin he used in
making out the town's deeds; and no sooner had he tried
the strange object before him with these, than out came
such a blatter of Latin, that Rab Tull&mdash;who with all his
pretensions was no great scholar&mdash;was overwhelmed. It
then made a sign to Rab to follow it. He followed up-stairs
and down-stairs to a tower in a corner of the house.
There the ghost pointed out a cabinet, and suddenly disappeared.
In a drawer of that repository the missing
deed was found.</p>

<p>Lovel, after shooting M'Intyre in a duel, fled from
justice, under the guidance of old Edie Ochiltree. Exhausted
by excitement and a long walk through a thicket,
they reached a cave with narrow entrance, concealed by
the boughs of an oak. Passing through the aperture, not
much larger than a fox-hole, they reached the interior.
Lovel was led to a narrow turnpike stair leading to a
church above. In the evening they reached a spot which
commanded a full view of the chancel in every direction.
Ere long, Lovel was startled by the sound of human voices.
Two persons, with a dark lantern, entered the chancel.
After conversing together some time in whispers, Lovel
recognised the voice of Dousterswivel, pronouncing in a
smothered tone, "Indeed, mine goot sir, dere cannot be
one finer hour nor season for dis great purpose....
I will show you all de secrets dat art can show&mdash;ay, de
secret of de great Pymander." The other individual
turned out to be Sir Arthur Wardour, and their business
evidently had reference to the discovery of hidden treasure,
by means of consulting the heavenly bodies or some
friendly spirit. Before Sir Arthur and Dousterswivel left
the ruins of St. Ruth, they found a casket containing gold
and silver coins. These two worthies, along with Mr.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[Pg 190]</a></span>
Oldenbuck, set out, on another occasion to search for
treasure at the ruins of St. Ruth. Arrived at the scene
of operations, the Antiquary addressed the adept Dousterswivel:
"Pray, Mr. Dousterswivel, shall we dig from east
to west, or from west to east? or will you assist us with
your triangular vial of May-dew, or with your divining-rod
of witch-hazel?" This was said tauntingly, yet
nevertheless they proceeded to dig, in the hope of finding
treasure; and sure enough, a chest containing ingots of
silver to the value of a thousand pounds was discovered.
Dousterswivel claimed the credit of bringing about the
discovery. Mr. Oldenbuck refused to give him any credit,
telling him that he came without weapons, and did not
use charms, lamen-sigel, talisman, spell-crystal, pentacle,
magic-mirror, nor geomantic figure. "Where," asked the
Antiquary, "be your periapts, and your abracadabras,
man? your May-fern, your vervain&mdash;</p>

<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">"Your toad, your crow, your dragon, and your panther,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Your sun, your moon, your firmament, your adrop,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Your Lato, Azoch, Zernich, Chibrit, Heautarit,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">With all your broths, your menstrues, your materials,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Would burst a man to name?"<br /></span>
</div>
</div>

<p>Dousterswivel, like all others who resort to enchantments,
believing in the existence of hobgoblins and divination,
was not certain but his own art had really contributed
to the success of his party. Chagrined at the treatment
of Mr. Oldenbuck, and separated for a time from Sir
Arthur, he was glad to enter into conversation with Edie
Ochiltree, who witnessed the finding of the treasure with
a keen eye to future operations. Edie had surreptitiously
obtained possession of the treasure box-lid, and on it he and
the conjurer were able to decipher, "Search number one."
The old beggar, who knew many of the traditions of the
country, told Dousterswivel that the remains of Malcolm
the Misticot were, along with a large amount of gold and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[Pg 191]</a></span>
silver, buried somewhere at St. Ruth. Moreover, he recited
the old prophecy:</p>

<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">"If Malcolm the Misticot's grave were fun',<br /></span>
<span class="i0">The lands of Knockwinnock are lost and won."<br /></span>
</div>
</div>

<p>They resolved to return to the ruins of St. Ruth at
midnight to make another search, not on account of Sir
Arthur or Mr. Oldenbuck, but for themselves. Neither
gold nor silver were found; but those engaged in the
search got a fright, one supposing he saw evil spirits
rising from the earth's bowels, and the other that he was
chased by a ghost on horseback. A series of interesting
incidents connected with adventure, love, and crime follow.
Dousterswivel was discovered to be an impostor; certain
persons engaged in a dark plot were cut off by death, but
the virtuous were rewarded.</p>

<p>Sir Walter Scott, in <i>Rob Roy</i>, makes mention of an
eminence or mound near the upland hills, whence the
Forth springs, supposed by the people in the neighbourhood
to contain within its unseen caverns the palaces of
fairies; and in his Notes to <i>Rob Roy</i> it is stated that the
lakes and precipices, amidst which the river Forth has its
birth, are still, according to popular tradition, haunted by
elfin people. In one note the reader is informed that the
Rev. Robert Kirk, who died at Aberfoyle in the year 1688,
was supposed to have been taken away by fairies. Mr.
Kirk was walking near his manse on a <i>Dun Shie</i>, or fairy
mound, when he sank down apparently in a faint, and
seemingly died. The body was supposed to be buried,
but shortly afterwards he appeared in living form to a
friend, to whom he told that he was not dead, but in
fairyland, whither he was carried at the time he fell down
in a swoon. The reverend captive gave directions how
he might be rescued by him; but the person who was
appointed to perform the prescribed ceremony failed to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[Pg 192]</a></span>
proceed as directed, and Mr. Kirk, who had been twice
seen after his supposed death, never appeared again.</p>

<hr style='width: 45%;' />

<p>As we are writing of Rob Roy's country, and of an
incident connected with the fate of a minister there, we
suddenly break the thread of our narrative, to introduce
the particulars of a most extraordinary circumstance connected
with another clergyman in that quarter.</p>

<p>A few years ago, about 1870, a most respectable gentleman
belonging to Edinburgh, devoid of superstitious fear,
told the writer: "In the autumn I was enjoying the retirement
and grandeur of the Trossachs and surrounding
district. The lake, the hill, the dale, and, above all, the
people, interested me. Often was I in the humble cot,
and, although a sojourner, I became acquainted with
families in the more exalted positions in society. Among
others, I gained the friendship of a venerable clergyman,
whose charity and piety were known far and near.</p>

<p>"While I had my residence in the Trossachs Hotel, the
clergyman, I was told, one day was dangerously ill. Next
morning, before starting with a few friends up Loch
Katrine, I sent to inquire after the invalid's health. The
answer returned conveyed the impression that he was fast
sinking. We proceeded up the lake, and came back by
the last boat for the day. We took outside seats on the
coach, and while turning a corner of the road, about half-way
between the lake and the hotel, I and several other
passengers (including the captain of the Loch Katrine
steamer and the driver) observed a gentleman passing
us, whom we all declared was the clergyman. Trusting
our sight, we thought it most extraordinary that a man,
considered to be dying in the morning, should be seen in
the evening on the highway, far from home.</p>

<p>"The steamboat being unusually late of arriving at her
destination, the sun had gone down, and the shades of
night were closing over us before half our journey by<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[Pg 193]</a></span>
coach could be accomplished, still it was not so dark when
the figure of the pious minister appeared but that one
might not only see the figure of a man, but observe his
every feature. The sight struck all, who recognised in the
traveller the invalid minister with amazement, and some
with fear. On the coach arriving at the hotel, a messenger
was despatched to inquire after the reverend gentleman's
health. The answer received disclosed the startling intelligence
that the clergyman had expired shortly before
the time we saw his figure walking with slow step and
sad countenance towards Loch Katrine.</p>

<hr style='width: 45%;' />

<p>But we now return to Sir Walter Scott's works. Those
who have read the <i>Monastery</i> (and who have not?) may
recollect of Dame Glendinning telling Tibb what she
had seen on a Hallowe'en in her youth&mdash;which was as
follows:&mdash;</p>

<p>"Aweel, aweel, I had mair joes than ane, but I
favoured nane o' them; and sae, at Hallowe'en, Father
Nicolas the cellarer&mdash;he was cellarer before his father,
Father Clement, that now is&mdash;was cracking his nuts and
drinking his brown beer with us, and as blithe as might
be, and they would have me try a cantrip to ken wha
suld wed me; and the monk said there was nae ill in it,
and if there was, he would assoil me for it. And awa'
I went into the barn to winnow my three weights o' naething&mdash;sair,
sair, my mind misgave me for fear of wrang-doing
and wrang-suffering, baith; but I had aye a bauld
spirit. I had not winnowed the last weight clear out,
and the moon was shining bright upon the floor, when in
stalked the presence of my dear Simon Glendinning, that
is now happy. I never saw him plainer in my life than
I did that moment; he held up an arrow as he passed
me, and I swarf'd awa' wi' fright. Muckle wark there
was to bring me to mysel' again, and sair they tried
to make me believe it was a trick o' Father Nicolas and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[Pg 194]</a></span>
Simon between them, and that the arrow was to signify
Cupid's shaft, as the Father called it; and mony a time
Simon wad threep it to me after I was married&mdash;gude
man, he liked not it suld be said that he was seen out
o' the body!&mdash;But mark the end o' it, Tibb: we were
married, and the grey-goose wing was the death o' him,
after a'!"</p>

<p>The following lines appear in <i>Marmion</i> in reference
to a combat with a goblin knight:&mdash;</p>

<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">"Soon as the midnight bell did ring,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Alone, and armed, forth rode the King<br /></span>
<span class="i0">To that old camp's deserted round:<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Sir Knight, you well might mark the mound,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Left hand the town,&mdash;the Pictish race<br /></span>
<span class="i0">The trench, long since, in blood did trace;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">The moor around is brown and bare,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">The space within is green and fair.<br /></span>
<span class="i0">The spot our village children know,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">For there the earliest wild flowers grow;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">But woe betide the wandering wight,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">That treads its circle in the night!<br /></span>
<span class="i0">The breadth across, a bowshot clear,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Gives ample space for full career;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Opposed to the four points of heaven,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">By four deep gaps is entrance given.<br /></span>
<span class="i0">The southernmost our monarch passed,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Halted, and blew a gallant blast;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And on the north, within the ring,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Appeared the form of England's king,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Who then a thousand leagues afar,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">In Palestine waged holy war:<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Yet arms like England's did he wield,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Alike the leopards in the shield,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Alike his Syrian courser's frame,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">The rider's length of limb the same:<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Long afterwards did Scotland know<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Fell Edward was her deadliest foe.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">The vision made our monarch start,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">But soon he manned his noble heart,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And in the first career they ran,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">The Elfin Knight fell horse and man;<br /></span><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[Pg 195]</a></span>
<span class="i0">Yet did a splinter of his lance<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Through Alexander's visor glance,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And razed the skin&mdash;a puny wound.<br /></span>
<span class="i0">The king, light leaping to the ground,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">With naked blade his phantom foe<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Compelled the future war to show.<br /></span>
<span class="i1">Of Largs he saw the glorious plain,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">Where still gigantic bones remain,<br /></span>
<span class="i2">Memorial of the Danish war;<br /></span>
<span class="i1">Himself he saw amid the field,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">On high his brandished war-axe wield,<br /></span>
<span class="i2">And strike proud Haco from his car,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">While all around the shadowy kings,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">Denmark's grim ravens cowered their wings.<br /></span>
<span class="i0">'Tis said that, in that awful night,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Remoter visions met his sight,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Foreshowing future conquests far,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">When our sons' sons wage northern war;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">A royal city, tower and spire,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Reddened the midnight sky with fire;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And shouting crews her navy bore,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Triumphant, to the victor shore.<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Such signs may learned clerks explain,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">They pass the wit of simple swain.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">The joyful king turned home again,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Headed his host and quelled the Dane;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">But yearly, when returned the night<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Of his strange combat with the sprite,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">His wound must bleed and smart;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Lord Gifford then would gibing say,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">'Bold as ye were, my liege, ye pay<br /></span>
<span class="i1">The penance of your start.'<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Long since, beneath Dunfermline's nave,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">King Alexander fills his grave,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">Our Lady give him rest!<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Yet still the nightly spear and shield<br /></span>
<span class="i0">The elfin warrior doth wield,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">Upon the brown hill's breast;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And many a knight hath proved his chance<br /></span>
<span class="i0">In the charmed ring to break a lance,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">But have all foully sped;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Save two, as legends tell, and they<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Were Wallace wight, and Gilbert Hay.&mdash;<br /></span>
<span class="i1">Gentles, my tale is said."<br /></span>
</div>
</div>

<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[Pg 196]</a></span>One of Sir Walter Scott's poetic effusions has reference
to a popular story concerning a fairy knight:&mdash;</p>

<p>"Osbert, a bold and powerful baron, visited a noble
family in the vicinity of Wandlebury, in the bishopric
of Ely. Among other stories related in the social circle
of his friends (who, according to custom, amused each
other by repeating ancient tales and traditions), he was
informed, that if any knight, unattended, entered an
adjacent plain by moonlight, and challenged an adversary
to appear, he would be immediately encountered by a
spirit in the form of a knight. Osbert resolved to make
the experiment, and set out, attended by a single squire,
whom he ordered to remain without the limits of the
plain, which was surrounded by an ancient entrenchment.
On repeating the challenge, he was instantly assailed
by an adversary, whom he quickly unhorsed, and seized
the reins of his steed. During this operation, his ghostly
opponent sprang up, and darting his spear like a javelin
at Osbert, wounded him in the thigh. Osbert returned
in triumph with the horse, which he committed to the
care of his servants. The horse was of a sable colour,
as well as his whole accoutrements, and apparently of
great beauty and vigour. He remained with his keepers
till cock-crowing, when, with eyes flashing fire, he reared,
spurned the ground, and vanished. On disarming
himself, Osbert perceived that he was wounded, and
that one of his steel boots was full of blood. Gervase
adds, that as long as he lived, the scar of his wound
opened afresh on the anniversary of the eve on which he
encountered the spirit."</p>



<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[Pg 197]</a></span></p>
<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XX" id="CHAPTER_XX"></a>CHAPTER XX.</h2>

<div class="blockquot"><p>Lord Byron taught Superstition by his Nurse and others&mdash;Byron and the
Maid in Green&mdash;The Maid's Keepsake or Charm&mdash;Bridge of Balgonie&mdash;Byron's
fear to ride over it&mdash;His belief in Unlucky Days and Presentiments&mdash;Socrates's
Demon&mdash;Monk Lewis's Monitor&mdash;Napoleon's
Warnings&mdash;A Sorrowful Tale&mdash;A Strange Story&mdash;Qualities of Mind
descending from Sire to Son&mdash;Byron's Fortune told by a Sybil&mdash;Hebrew
Camyo&mdash;Abracadabra&mdash;Loch-na-Garr&mdash;Oscar of Alva&mdash;Byron's
last Instructions.</p></div>


<p>Lord Byron, who was taught superstition by his nurse,
became acquainted with the peculiar belief of the Highlanders
while, in early life, he dwelt within sight of "dark
Loch-na-Garr." When wandering about Pannanich, the
shepherds told him many strange legends, and the old
dames often enticed him into their huts to amuse him
with fairy tales and witch stories. It was thought by the
old crones that the wonderful boy had communings
with more uncanny neighbours than these simple-minded
people, who no more doubted the existence of witches
and fairies than they doubted that the Dee flowed from
the mountains to the sea. If report spoke true, he was
often heard in conversation with intelligent beings, though
to ordinary human eyes no other form but that of his own
was seen. After his fame was wide-spread, an old woman,
who lived in a little straw-thatched cottage by the roadside
near Balmoral, declared that she expected that he
would enlighten the world, for she had often seen him
with those who could instruct him and tell him of past
and future events. One of those persons, she said, was a
little maid dressed in green, whose beautiful face, flowing
hair, and agile figure were faultless. Frequently was she
seen climbing steep precipices on which human foot was
never known to rest, and bring him flowers, and even<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[Pg 198]</a></span>
the eagles' nests were not beyond her reach. While the
young and middle-aged would wonder who she was, the
aged shook their heads. Whoever the fair little maid was,
one thing in connection with her was exceedingly strange.
Either Byron did not know her relations and home, or,
for reasons he kept to himself, he chose to conceal them.
Her merry laugh, clear as the sound of a silver bell, or
her sweet voice in song, was generally what indicated her
approach. At one time she would emerge from a thicket,
and rise at another, like a spectre from behind a rock.
Her disappearance was equally mysterious. At their
last parting she gave him a keepsake or charm, which he
long wore, suspended by a ribbon, round his neck, and it
was not till he threw it aside that he became unfortunate
and unhappy. We cannot vouch for the truth of this
story; but if Byron did not hold intercourse with unearthly
beings, he has, by his writings and speech, left
room for simple-minded people who have read his works
and history, to suppose that he did. His belief in presentiment
was very strong, as also visionary warnings of
imminent danger or impending calamities.</p>

<p>A school-fellow of Byron had a small pony, and one
day they went to the Don to bathe. When they came
to the bridge of Balgownie, the young poet remembered
the old prophecy:</p>

<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">"Brig o' Balgownie! wight is thy wa',<br /></span>
<span class="i1">Wi' a wife's ae son, an' a mare's ae foal,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Down shalt thou fa'."<br /></span>
</div></div>

<p>He immediately stopped his companion, who was then
riding, and asked him if he recollected the prophecy,
saying, that as they were both only sons, and as the pony
might be "a mare's ae foal," he would rather ride over
first, because he had only a mother to lament him should
the bridge fall, whereas he, his companion, had both a
father and mother to grieve for him if he perished.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[Pg 199]</a></span>
Byron, however, was not the only one who put faith
in such prophecies. Leslie says, "Persons have been
known to dismount when they came to the brig o' Balgownie,
and send their horses over before them."</p>

<p>Byron had a belief in unlucky days. He once refused
to be introduced to a lady because the day was Friday;
and on this day of the week he would not visit his friends.
"Something," he said, "whispered to me at my wedding
that I was signing my death warrant. I am a great
believer in presentiments. Socrates's demon was no fiction;
Monk Lewis had his monitor, and Napoleon many warnings.
At the last moment I would have retreated if I
could have done so."</p>

<p>The poet had a high opinion of Monk Lewis. Here
are two stories told by Byron:</p>

<p>"Whilst Lewis was residing at Mannheim, every night
at the same hour, he heard, or thought he heard, in his
room, when he was lying in bed, a crackling noise like that
produced by parchment or thick paper. This circumstance
caused inquiry, when it was told him that the sounds were
attributable to the following cause:&mdash;The house in which
he lived had belonged to a widow who had an only son.
In order to prevent him marrying a poor but amiable
girl to whom he was attached, he was sent to sea. Years
passed, and the mother heard no tidings of him nor of
the ship in which he had sailed. It was supposed the
vessel had been wrecked, and that all on board had perished.
The reproaches of the girl, the upbraidings of her own
conscience, and the loss of her child, crazed the old lady's
mind. Her only pursuit was to turn over the gazettes
for news. Hope at length left her: she did not live long,
and continued her old occupation after death."</p>

<p>The other story runs thus:</p>

<p>"Two Florentine lovers, who had been attached to each
other almost from childhood, made a vow of eternal
fidelity. Mina was the name of the lady; her husband's<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[Pg 200]</a></span>
I forget, but it is not material. They parted. He had
been some time absent with his regiment, when, as his
disconsolate lady was sitting alone in her chamber, she
distinctly heard the well-known sound of his footsteps,
and, starting up, beheld not her husband, but his
spectre, with a deep ghastly wound across his forehead.
She swooned with horror. When she recovered, the ghost
told her that in future his visits should be announced
by a passing bell, and the words distinctly whispered,
'Mina, I am here!' Their interviews became frequent,
till the woman fancied herself as much in love with
the ghost as she had been with the man. But it was
soon to prove otherwise. One fatal night she went to a
ball. She danced, and, what was worse, her partner was
a young Florentine, so much the counterpart of her lover,
that she became estranged from the ghost. Whilst the
young gallant conducted her in the waltz, and her ear
drank in the music of his voice and words, a passing bell
tolled. She had been accustomed to the sound till it hardly
excited her attention, and, now lost in the attractions of
her fascinating partner, she heard, but regarded it not. A
second peal!&mdash;she listened not to its warnings. A third
time the bell, with its deep and iron tongue, startled the
assembled company, and silenced the music. Mina turned
her eyes from her partner, and saw, reflected in the mirror,
a form, a shadow, a spectre: it was her husband. He
was standing between her and the young Florentine, and
whispered, in a solemn and melancholy tone, the accustomed
accents, 'Mina, I am here!' She instantly fell down dead.
The two ghosts walked out of the room arm in arm."</p>

<p>Byron believed that the quality of mind descended
from sire to son, and contended that any passion might
be worn out of a family by skilful culture. To his
uncle, who was very superstitious, and fed crickets, he
ascribed his superstition; to another of his ancestors,
who died laughing, he ascribed his buoyant spirits.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[Pg 201]</a></span>
Two of his relations had such an affection for each other,
that they both died at the same time. "There seems,"
he said, "to have been a flaw in my escutcheon there, or
that that loving couple have monopolised all the connubial
bliss of the family."</p>

<p>Byron's superstition was so great that it led him to
have his fortune told by a sybil. It was prophesied that
his twenty-seventh and thirty-seventh years would prove
unlucky to him. Some people have thought that the
prophecy was fulfilled: he was married in his twenty-seventh,
and died in his thirty-seventh year.</p>

<p>He was convinced that the principal charms of the
Scotch resembled those of other nations. He was
not ignorant of the supposed virtue of the mountain
ash as an antidote against witchcraft. Everything
pertaining to superstition was interesting to him. He
had stored up in his memory many curious anecdotes.
On being told of a particular race of men skilled in
Cabala, who by a single gaze of their "evil eye" could
level an enemy to the earth and occasion instantaneous
death, and of parents who had handsome children
hanging cameos round their necks to protect them from
the evil consequences of a wicked eye, his Lordship
said, "I remember reading somewhere that Serenus
Samonicus, preceptor to a young Gordian, recommended
the Abracadabra or Abrasadabra as a charm or amulet
in curing agues, and preventing other diseases."</p>

<p>A Hebrew Camyo, supposed to have been handed
down from father to son since the building of the first
temple, has a similar effect. Lucky is the circumcised
Jew who has, in the time of need, the good fortune to
have the Hebrew charm applied to his leprously-inclined
body; and thrice fortunate is he, whoever he may be,
that has it constantly at his command, and can claim it
as his family relic.</p>

<p>The word Abracadabra or Abrasadabra must be<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[Pg 202]</a></span>
written on parchment, or other suitable substance, in
the manner below, omitting in every new line the last
letter of the former line, so that the whole may form a
kind of inverted cone:</p>

<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">A&nbsp;b&nbsp;r&nbsp;a&nbsp;c&nbsp;a&nbsp;d&nbsp;a&nbsp;b&nbsp;r&nbsp;a</span>
<span class="i0">&nbsp;A&nbsp;b&nbsp;r&nbsp;a&nbsp;c&nbsp;a&nbsp;d&nbsp;a&nbsp;b&nbsp;r</span>
<span class="i0">&nbsp;&nbsp;A&nbsp;b&nbsp;r&nbsp;a&nbsp;c&nbsp;a&nbsp;d&nbsp;a&nbsp;b</span>
<span class="i0">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;A&nbsp;b&nbsp;r&nbsp;a&nbsp;c&nbsp;a&nbsp;d&nbsp;a</span>
<span class="i0">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;A&nbsp;b&nbsp;r&nbsp;a&nbsp;c&nbsp;a&nbsp;d</span>
<span class="i0">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;A&nbsp;b&nbsp;r&nbsp;a&nbsp;c&nbsp;a</span>
<span class="i0">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;A&nbsp;b&nbsp;r&nbsp;a&nbsp;c</span>
<span class="i0">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;A&nbsp;b&nbsp;r&nbsp;a</span>
<span class="i0">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;A&nbsp;b&nbsp;r</span>
<span class="i0">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;A&nbsp;b</span>
<span class="i0">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;A</span>
</div>
</div>

<p>Byron looked as if he had added greatly to his stock
of knowledge when he learned that, which way soever
the letters of the charms might be taken, beginning from
the lower point and ascending from the left to the right,
they make the same word.</p>

<p>To every one who has read <i>Loch-na-Garr</i>, it must
be evident that Byron believed, or wished it to appear
that he believed, like the Highlanders, that the voices
of the dead were heard in the storm, that the souls of
departed heroes rode on the wind, and that the dark
clouds encircled the forms of chieftain sires that added
lustre to their country's glory. But the poet shall speak
for himself:&mdash;</p>

<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">"Away, ye gay landscapes, ye gardens of roses!<br /></span>
<span class="i1">In you let the minions of luxury rove;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Restore me the rocks where the snow-flake reposes,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">Though still they are sacred to freedom and love:<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Yet, Caledonia, beloved are thy mountains,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">Round their white summits though elements war;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Though cataracts foam 'stead of smooth-flowing fountains,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">I sigh for the valley of dark Loch-na-Garr.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[Pg 203]</a></span>
<span class="i0">Ah! there my young footsteps in infancy wander'd;<br /></span>
<span class="i1">My cap was the bonnet, my cloak was the plaid:<br /></span>
<span class="i0">On chieftains long perish'd my memory ponder'd,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">As daily I strode through the pine-cover'd glade;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">I sought not my home till the day's dying glory<br /></span>
<span class="i1">Gave place to the rays of the bright polar star;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">For fancy was cheer'd by traditional story,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">Disclosed by the natives of dark Loch-na-Garr.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">'Shades of the dead! have I not heard your voices<br /></span>
<span class="i1">Rise on the night-rolling breath of the gale?'<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Surely the soul of the hero rejoices,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">And rides on the wind, o'er his own Highland vale.<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Round Loch-na-Garr, while the stormy mist gathers,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">Winter presides in his cold icy car:<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Clouds there encircle the forms of my fathers;<br /></span>
<span class="i1">They dwell in the tempests of dark Loch-na-Garr.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">'Ill-starr'd, though brave, did no visions foreboding<br /></span>
<span class="i1">Tell you that fate had forsaken your cause?'<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Ah! were you destined to die at Culloden,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">Victory crown'd not your fall with applause:<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Still were you happy in death's earthy slumber,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">You rest with your clans in the caves of Braemar;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">The pibroch resounds to the piper's loud number,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">Your deeds on the echoes of dark Loch-na-Garr.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Years have roll'd on, Loch-na-Garr, since I left you,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">Years must elapse ere I tread you again:<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Nature of verdure and flowers has bereft you,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">Yet still are you dearer than Albion's plain.<br /></span>
<span class="i0">England! thy beauties are tame and domestic<br /></span>
<span class="i1">To one who has roved o'er the mountains afar:<br /></span>
<span class="i0">O for the crags that are wild and majestic!<br /></span>
<span class="i1">The steep frowning glories of dark Loch-na-Garr!"<br /></span>
</div>
</div>

<p>In <i>Oscar of Alva</i> will also be found something of
popular superstition. Passing over a part of the tale,
Byron says:&mdash;</p>

<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">"From high Southannon's distant tower<br /></span>
<span class="i1">Arrived a young and noble dame;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">With Kenneth's lands to form her dower,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">Glenalvon's blue-eyed daughter came.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[Pg 204]</a></span>
<span class="i0">And Oscar claimed the beauteous bride,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">And Angus on his Oscar smiled;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">It soothed the father's feudal pride<br /></span>
<span class="i1">Thus to obtain Glenalvon's child.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Hark to the pibroch's pleasing note!<br /></span>
<span class="i1">Hark to the swelling nuptial song!<br /></span>
<span class="i0">In joyous strains the voices float,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">And still the choral peal prolong.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i4">*&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;*&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;*&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;*&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;*<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">But where is Oscar? Sure 'tis late:<br /></span>
<span class="i1">Is this a bridegroom's ardent flame?<br /></span>
<span class="i0">While thronging guests and ladies wait<br /></span>
<span class="i1">Nor Oscar nor his brother came.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">At length young Allan join'd the bride;<br /></span>
<span class="i1">'Why comes not Oscar?' Angus said:<br /></span>
<span class="i0">'Is he not here?' the youth replied;<br /></span>
<span class="i1">'With me he roved not o'er the glade.'<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i4">*&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;*&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;*&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;*&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;*<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">'O search, ye chiefs! O search around!<br /></span>
<span class="i1">Allan, with these through Alva fly;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Till Oscar, till my son is found,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">Haste, haste, nor dare attempt reply.'<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Three days, three sleepless nights, the chief<br /></span>
<span class="i1">For Oscar searched each mountain cave<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Then hope is lost: in boundless grief<br /></span>
<span class="i1">His locks in grey torn ringlets wave.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i4">*&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;*&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;*&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;*&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;*<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Days rolled along: the orb of light<br /></span>
<span class="i1">Again had run his destined race;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">No Oscar bless'd his father's sight,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">And sorrow left a fainter trace.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">For youthful Allan still remain'd,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">And now his father's only joy:<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And Mora's heart was quickly gain'd,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">For beauty crown'd the fair-hair'd boy.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">She thought that Oscar low was laid,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">And Allan's face was wondrous fair:<br /></span>
<span class="i0">If Oscar lived, some other maid<br /></span>
<span class="i1">Had claim'd his faithless bosom's care.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[Pg 205]</a></span>
<span class="i0">And Angus said, if one year more<br /></span>
<span class="i1">In fruitless hope was pass'd away,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">His fondest scruples should be o'er,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">And he would name their nuptial day.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Slow roll'd the moons, but blest at last<br /></span>
<span class="i1">Arrived the dearly destined morn;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">The year of anxious trembling past,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">What smiles the lovers' cheeks adorn!<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Hark to the pibroch's pleasing note!<br /></span>
<span class="i1">Hark to the swelling nuptial song!<br /></span>
<span class="i0">In joyous strains the voices float,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">And still the choral peal prolong.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Again the clan, in festive crowd,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">Throng through the gate of Alva's hall;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">The sounds of mirth re-echo loud,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">And all their former joy recall.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">But who is he whose darken'd brow<br /></span>
<span class="i1">Glooms in the midst of general mirth?<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Before his eyes' far fiercer glow<br /></span>
<span class="i1">The blue flames curdle o'er the hearth.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Dark is the robe which wraps his form,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">And tall his plume of gory red;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">His voice is like the rising storm,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">But light and trackless is his tread.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">'Tis noon of night, the pledge goes round,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">The bridegroom's health is deeply quaff'd;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">With shouts the vaulted roofs resound,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">And all combine to hail the draught.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Sudden the stranger chief arose,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">And all the clamorous crowd are hush'd;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And Angus' cheek with wonder glows,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">And Mora's tender bosom blush'd.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">'Old man!' he cried, 'this pledge is done;<br /></span>
<span class="i1">Thou saw'st was duly drunk by me:<br /></span>
<span class="i0">It hail'd the nuptials of thy son:<br /></span>
<span class="i1">Now will I claim, a pledge from thee.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[Pg 206]</a></span>
<span class="i0">While all around is mirth and joy,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">To bless thy Allan's happy lot,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Say, had'st thou ne'er another boy?<br /></span>
<span class="i1">Say, why should Oscar be forgot?'<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">'Alas!' the hapless sire replied,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">The big tear starting as he spoke;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">When Oscar left my hall, or died,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">This aged heart was almost broke.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">'Thrice has the earth revolved her course<br /></span>
<span class="i1">Since Oscar's form has bless'd my sight;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And Allan is my last resource,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">Since martial Oscar's death or flight.'<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">''Tis well,' replied the stranger stern,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">And fiercely flashed his rolling eye;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">'Thy Oscar's fate I fain would learn:<br /></span>
<span class="i1">Perhaps the hero did not die.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">'Perchance if those whom most he loved<br /></span>
<span class="i1">Would call, thy Oscar might return;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Perchance the chief has only roved;<br /></span>
<span class="i1">For him thy beltane yet may burn.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">'Fill high the bowl the table round,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">We will not claim the pledge by stealth;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">With wine let every cup be crown'd:<br /></span>
<span class="i1">Pledge me departed Oscar's health.'<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">'With all my soul,' old Angus said,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">And fill'd his goblet to the brim;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">'Here's to my boy! alive or dead,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">I ne'er shall find a son like him.'<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">'Bravely, old man, this health hath sped;<br /></span>
<span class="i1">But why does Allan trembling stand?<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Come, drink remembrance of the dead,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">And raise thy cup with firmer hand.'<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">The crimson glow of Allan's face<br /></span>
<span class="i1">Was turn'd at once to ghastly hue;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">The drops of death each other chase<br /></span>
<span class="i1">Adown in agonizing dew.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[Pg 207]</a></span>
<span class="i0">Thrice did he raise the goblet high,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">And thrice his lips refused to taste;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">For thrice he caught the stranger's eye<br /></span>
<span class="i1">On his with deadly fury placed.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">'And is it thus a brother hails<br /></span>
<span class="i1">A brother's fond remembrance here;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">If thus affection's strength prevails,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">What might we not expect from fear?'<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Roused by the sneer, he raised the bowl,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">'Would Oscar now could share our mirth!'<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Internal fear appall'd his soul;<br /></span>
<span class="i1">He said, and dash'd the cup to earth.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">'Tis he! I hear my murderer's voice!'<br /></span>
<span class="i1">Loud shrieks a darkly gleaming form;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">'A murderer's voice!' the roof replies,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">And deeply swells the bursting storm.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">The tapers wink, the chieftains shrink,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">The stranger's gone&mdash;amidst the crew<br /></span>
<span class="i0">A form was seen in tartan green,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">And tall the shade terrific grew.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">His waist was bound with a broad belt round,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">His plume of sable stream'd on high;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">But his breast was bare, with the red wounds there<br /></span>
<span class="i1">And fixed was the glare of his glassy eye.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">And thrice he smiled, with his eye so wild,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">On Angus bending low the knee:<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And thrice he frown'd on a chief on the ground,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">Whom shivering crowds with horror see.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">The bolts loud roll from pole to pole,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">The thunders through the welkin ring;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And the gleaming form, through the mist of the storm,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">Was borne on high by the whirlwind's wing.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Cold was the feast, the revel ceased,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">Who lies upon the stony floor?<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Oblivion press'd old Angus' breast,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">At length his life-pulse throbs once more.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[Pg 208]</a></span>
<span class="i0">Away! away! let the leech assay<br /></span>
<span class="i1">To pour the light on Allan's eyes:<br /></span>
<span class="i0">His sand is done&mdash;his race is run;<br /></span>
<span class="i1">O! never more shall Allan rise:<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">But Oscar's breast is cold as clay,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">His locks are lifted by the gale:<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And Allan's barbed arrow lay<br /></span>
<span class="i1">With him in dark Glentanar's vale.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">And whence the dreadful stranger came,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">Or who, no mortal wight can tell;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">But no one doubts the form of flame,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">For Alva's sons knew Oscar well.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Ambition nerved young Allan's hand,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">Exulting demons wing'd his dart;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">While Envy waved her burning brand,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">And pour'd her venom round his heart.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Swift is the shaft from Allan's bow;<br /></span>
<span class="i1">Whose streaming life-blood stains his side?<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Dark Oscar's sable crest is low,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">The dart has drunk his vital tide.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">And Mora's eye could Allan move,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">She bade his wounded pride rebel;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Alas! that eyes which beam'd with love<br /></span>
<span class="i1">Should urge the soul to deeds of hell.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Lo! seest thou not a lonely tomb<br /></span>
<span class="i1">Which rises o'er a warrior dead?<br /></span>
<span class="i0">It glimmers through the twilight gloom:<br /></span>
<span class="i1">O! that is Allan's nuptial bed.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Far, distant far, the noble grave<br /></span>
<span class="i1">Which held his clan's great ashes stood;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And o'er his corse no banners wave,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">For they were stain'd with kindred blood.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">What minstrel grey, what hoary bard,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">Shall Allan's deeds on harp-strings raise?<br /></span>
<span class="i0">The song is glory's chief reward,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">But who can strike a murderer's praise?<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[Pg 209]</a></span>
<span class="i0">Unstrung, untouch'd the harp must stand,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">No minstrel dare the theme awake;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Guilt would benumb his palsied hand,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">His harp in shuddering chords would break.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">No lyre of fame, no hallow'd verse,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">Shall sound his glories high in air:<br /></span>
<span class="i0">A dying father's bitter curse,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">A brother's death-groan echoes there."<br /></span>
</div>
</div>

<p>The incidents immediately preceding Byron's death
show that, to his last moments, he entertained what is
generally regarded as superstitious sentiments. He
thought it possible for him to waken from the sleep of
death, and torment those he desired to punish. Perceiving
that he was seriously ill, he called his faithful
attendant Fletcher, and gave him several directions. The
servant expressed a hope that he (his master) would
live many years. To this Byron replied, "No, it is now
nearly over;" and then added, "I must tell you all,
without losing a single moment. Now pay attention&mdash;You
will be provided for&mdash;Oh, my poor dear child, my
dear Ada!&mdash;could I but see her&mdash;give her my blessing&mdash;and
my dear sister Augusta and her children&mdash;you
will go to Lady Byron, and say&mdash;tell her everything."
Here his Lordship seemed to be greatly affected; his
voice failed him so much that it was difficult to understand
what he said. After remaining silent for a short
time, he raised his voice and said, "Fletcher: now if you
do not execute every order which I have given you, I
will torment you hereafter, if possible." These were
nearly the last words he spoke, having very soon afterwards
fallen into an easy sleep, from which he never
awoke.</p>



<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[Pg 210]</a></span></p>
<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXI" id="CHAPTER_XXI"></a>CHAPTER XXI.</h2>

<div class="blockquot"><p>Tale by Hogg, the Ettrick Shepherd&mdash;Aikwood Castle&mdash;Black Pages in
Livery&mdash;The Witch Henbane&mdash;Imps demanding Work&mdash;Michael Scott&mdash;Curious
Sport&mdash;Dreadful Threat&mdash;Rats transformed into the form
of Men&mdash;Inventor of Gunpowder&mdash;Witches' Operations&mdash;Summoning
Evil Spirits to torture a Man&mdash;Latin the Language best understood
by Satan and his Emissaries&mdash;Holy Signs and Charms&mdash;Two Captives&mdash;Effects
of a Friar's Blessing&mdash;Magic Lantern&mdash;Man blown into the
Air&mdash;Michael Scott's Sealed and Subscribed Conditions&mdash;Imps' Song&mdash;Spirits
in the forms of Crows&mdash;Dreadful Storm&mdash;Warlocks' Hymn&mdash;Eildon
Hill.</p></div>


<p>Hogg, the Ettrick Shepherd, whose memory will long
be remembered in Scotland, particularly in the Border
counties, introduces, in his <i>Three Perils of Man</i>, a party
of travellers approaching Aikwood Castle, about nine
miles from Melrose. The edifice scarcely seemed to be
the abode of man. "Is that now to be my residence,
Yardbire?" said the beautiful Delany. "Will you go
away, and leave Elias and me in that frightsome and
desolate-looking mansion?" "Thou art in good hands,"
said the friar. "But thou art perhaps going into a place
of danger, and evil things may await thee. Here, take
thou this, and keep it in thy bosom; and, by the blessing
of the Holy Virgin, it will shield thee from all malevolent
spirits, all enchantments, and all dangers of the wicked
one." As he said this, he put into her hand a small gilded
copy of the four Evangelists, which she kissed and put
into her bosom. All the rest of the company saw the
small volume, and took it for a book of the black art.
Close to the castle gate there appeared three pages in
black livery, although a moment before there was no
living creature there. They seemed to have risen out of
the ground. All at once the horses and mules on which
the travellers rode became restive; at this, the elves set<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[Pg 211]</a></span>
up a shout, and skipped about with the swiftness of lightning.
Hearing the noise, the great master asked his only
attendant, Gourlay, "What is the meaning of the uproar?"
"It is only Prim, Prig, and Pricker making sport," replied
the servant.</p>

<p>As soon as the mighty master knew of the friar and his
companions being in the castle, he ordered them to be
treated as spies. The old witch Henbane, who acted as
housekeeper, and the three pages, were called into the
presence of the wizard, to receive instructions from him.
First the imps threatened Gourlay, and then rushed on
Michael himself, as if they would tear him to pieces, and
cried out with one voice:</p>

<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">"Work, master, work; work we need;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Work for the living, or for the dead:<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Since we are called, work we will have,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">For the master, or for the slave.<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Work, master, work. What work now?"<br /></span>
</div>
</div>

<p>Michael Scott (no doubt the reader has by this time
discovered that he was the master of the castle), to keep the
restless beings at work, told them to give Gourlay three
varieties of punishment, but no more. They soon began
their wicked pranks, first changing the seneschal from
one grotesque form to another. Quickly transforming
him into a dog, they chased him up and down and round
about with a pan at its tail. Next they made him assume
the shape of a hare, while to all appearance they became
collie dogs. An exciting chase followed over hill and
dale, but the poor hare succeeded in eluding its pursuers,
and returned to the master, who, by one touch of his
divining rod, changed Gourlay into his own natural shape.
As soon as the poor ill-used servant recovered speech, he
threatened to cut his throat, that he might be freed from
his severe bondage. Michael dared him to do such a
thing, as he had him wholly in his power, dead or alive.
"Were you to take away your life by a ghastly wound,"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[Pg 212]</a></span>
said the wizard, "I would even make one of these fiendish
spirits enter into your body, reanimate it, and cause you
to go about with your gaping wound, unclosed and
unpurified, as when death entered thereat." "Cursed be
the day that I saw you, and ten times cursed the confession
I made, that has thus subjected me to your tyranny!"
exclaimed Gourlay.</p>

<p>Michael again asked what living creatures were in the
castle. The servant replied, "I again repeat it, that there
is no mortal thing in the castle but the old witch, and
perhaps two or three hundred rats." "Call out those
rats," said Michael; "marshal them up in the court, and
receive the visitors according to their demerits." At
the same time the master gave the servant a small piece
of parchment, with red characters traced on it, and told
him to put it above the lock-hole of the door. "It shall
serve as a summons, and Prig, Prim, and Pricker shall
marshal your forces," continued the wizard. The citation
was effective: the running and screaming of rats were
heard in every corner of the castle, and forthwith a
whole column of armed men marched into the court, led
by the three pages, and headed by the seneschal in grey
mantle and cap. In walked the strangers, and passed
between two ranks of men, or rather rats, the appearance
of which raised a suspicion that they were spirits or elves.</p>

<p>The friar, it should be noticed, was the great philosopher
and chemist who invented gunpowder, and made many
other wonderful discoveries, for which he was in danger
of being burnt as a wizard and necromancer.</p>

<p>The friar, followed by his companions, found entrance
to a room, where they expected to meet the great enchanter
Michael, but instead of him they beheld an old
woman, so busily engaged with something on the fire, that
she scarcely deigned to notice their entrance. She had a
wooden tube, with which she blew up the fire, and then
spoke through it, saying:</p>

<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[Pg 213]</a></span>
<span class="i0">"Sotter, sotter, my wee pan,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">To the spirit gin ye can;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">When the scum turns blue,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And the blood bells through,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">There's something aneath that will change the man."<br /></span>
</div>
</div>

<p>The crone continued her orgies, one time blowing her
fire, again stirring the liquid in the caldron, and then
making it run from the end of a stick that she might note
its gelidity. All her operations were being gone through
to call up certain familiar spirits whose presence she
desired.</p>

<p>In another apartment sat Michael Scott. He wore a
turban of crimson velvet, ornamented with mystic figures
in gold, and on the front of it was a dazzling star. His
eyes were bright and piercing, resembling those of a
serpent. He was stout-made, and had a strong bushy
beard, turning grey. On beholding Charlie Scott (he
alone entered the wizard's <i>sanctum sanctorum</i>), the wizard
stamped three times on the floor, and in a moment Prim,
Prig, and Pricker stood beside him. "Work, master,
work&mdash;what work now?" demanded they. "Take that
burly housebreaker, bind him, and put him to the test,"
were the instructions they received. When the elves were
about to seize Charlie, he drew his sword, and thrust out
right and left, but his blade did nothing more than whistle
through vacancy. In an instant he was thrown down
and bound with cords. The master and his familiars then
had a conversation in Latin (the language best understood
by Satan and his emissaries) concerning the prisoner's
baptism. They stripped him, and were about to begin a
painful operation, when Charlie, bound though he was,
succeeded in crossing himself and pronouncing a sacred
name. That instant the pages started back trembling,
and their weapons fell from their hands. Another of the
company was thrown down and bound by the imps;
but when they attempted to seize the friar, they could<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[Pg 214]</a></span>
not so much as touch his frock. The fair Delany stood
trembling behind the pious father; and on the fiends
feeling their want of power over him, they rushed at the
young virgin. But the moment they touched her garments,
they retired in dismay. The friar, remembering
that the maid had the blessed Gospel concealed in her
bosom, concluded that in that precious book she found
protection. As to his own personal safety he had no fear,
as he possessed a charm, proof against Satan himself.
"He drew his cross from below his frock&mdash;that cross
which had been consecrated at the shrine of Saint Peter,
bathed in holy water, and blessed with many blessings
from the mouths of ancient martyrs&mdash;had done wondrous
miracles in the hands of saints of former days&mdash;and lifting
that reverently on high, he pronounced the words from
holy writ, against which no demon or false spirit's power
could prevail. In one moment the three imps fled yelling
from the apartment." At the same time the countenance
of the enchanter fell, and his whole body quaked. The
friar then unloosed those that were bound.</p>

<p>"Great and magnificent Master of Arts," said the friar,
addressing Michael Scott, "we are come to thee from the
man that ruleth over the borders of the land, and leadeth
forth his troops to battle. He sendeth unto thee greeting,
and beseecheth to know of thee what shall befall unto his
people and to his house in the latter days. It is thy
counsel alone that he asketh, for thou art renowned for
wisdom and foresight to the farthest corners of the earth.
The two nations are engaged in a great and bloody contest,
and high are the stakes for which they play. The man
who sent us entreateth of thee to disclose unto thy servants
who shall finally prevail, and whether it behoveth him to
join himself to the captain of his people. He hath moreover
sent unto thee, by our hand, these two beautiful
captives, the one to be thine handmaiden, and the other
to be thy servant, and run at thy bidding."</p>

<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[Pg 215]</a></span>The wizard, highly flattered, listened with patience to
the friar, and answered that the request made would take
many days to consider, as he had to deal with those who
were more capricious than the changing seasons, and more
perverse than opposing winds and tides. Reluctantly the
friar and his friends were prevailed on to remain at the
goblin castle, and how it fared with them we shall soon see.</p>

<p>Gourlay was summoned into the presence of Scott,
who instructed him to provide an entertainment for the
strangers. In due time the steward appeared with his
rod of office in his hand, and with great ceremony
marshalled his guests upstairs to an apartment, where
there was a table covered with rich viands in great
abundance. A few graceless fellows in the company
began to eat and drink before a blessing was asked, and
seemingly fared well. But with the holy friar it was
different. In conformity with a good old custom, he
lifted up his hands, closed his eyes, and, leaning forward,
repeated his oft-said stereotyped phrases. In his respectful
attitude, he came in close contact with what appeared to
be a beautiful smoking sirloin of beef. So near was he to
it that he actually breathed upon it, and was nearly overcome
by its savoury flavour. Never had blessing a more
baneful effect on meat: when the friar opened his eyes
the beef was gone&mdash;there was nothing left but an insignificant
thing resembling the joint of a frog's leg, or that
of a rat.</p>

<p>A contention arose between Michael Scott and the friar
as to which of them could perform the most wonderful
feats; and when the former discovered that he was in conversation
with no less a personage than the Primate of
Douay, author of the book of arts, he was much pleased.
By means of a curious lantern, he made it appear that the
mountain Cape-Law was rent and divided into three parts.
This was only an optical delusion, but he in reality blew
poor Gourlay into the air by an explosion of gunpowder,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[Pg 216]</a></span>
the composition and power of which were unknown to the
wizard, or to any one except the friar. The master could
not bear the idea of being outdone by any one. He strode
the floor in gloomy indignation. "Look," he shouted, "at
that mountain on the east. It is known to you all&mdash;the
great hill of Eildon. You know and see that it is one
round, smooth, and unbroken cone." He then gave three
knocks with his heel on the floor, and called the names of
his three pages, Prig, Prim, and Pricker. As at other
times, these infernal spirits were before him, exclaiming,
"Work, master, work; what work now?" "Look at that
mountain yclept the hill of Eildon. Go and twist me it
into three." The imps looked with Satanic glare. "The
hill is granite," said one. "And five arrows' flight high,"
said another. "And seventy round the base," said the first.
"All the power of earth and hell to boot are unmeet to
the task," added the third. In an imperious manner, the
master declared the thing must be done. "I know my conditions;
they are sealed and subscribed, and I am not to be
disobeyed," continued he. The three pages began singing:</p>

<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i6">"Pick and spade<br /></span>
<span class="i6">To our aid!<br /></span>
<span class="i6">Flaught and flail,<br /></span>
<span class="i6">Fire and hail:<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Winds arise, and tempests brattle,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And, if you will, the thunders rattle.<br /></span>
<span class="i6">Come away,<br /></span>
<span class="i6">Elfin grey,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Much to do ere break of day!<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Come with spade, and sieve, and shovel;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Come with roar, and rout, and revel;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Come with crow, and come with crane,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Strength of steed, and weight of wain.<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Crash of rock, and roar of river,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And, if you will, with thunders shiver!<br /></span>
<span class="i6">Come away,<br /></span>
<span class="i6">Elfin grey;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Much to do ere break of day."<br /></span>
</div>
</div>

<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[Pg 217]</a></span>As they sang the last line, they sped away, in the forms
of three crows, toward Eildon Hill.</p>

<p>That night was a dreadful one. A storm burst forth in
all its fury, sweeping over hill and dale. The woods
roared and crashed before the blast, and a driving rain
dashed with such violence on the earth, that it seemed as
if a thousand cataracts poured from the western heaven
to mix with the tempest below. Now and again eldritch
shrieks, as of some one perishing, were heard, and then
the voices of angry spirits, yelling through the tempest,
reached the ear. One of the inmates of the castle
was reminded, by the raging storm, of the warlocks'
hymn:</p>

<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i3">"Pother, pother,<br /></span>
<span class="i3">My master and brother,<br /></span>
<span class="i3">Who may endure thee,<br /></span>
<span class="i3">Thus failing in fury?<br /></span>
<span class="i0">King of the tempest that travels the plain<br /></span>
<span class="i0">King of the snow, and the hail, and the rain,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Lend to thy lever yet seven times seven,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Blow up the blue flame for bolt and for levin,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">The red forge of hell with the bellows of heaven!<br /></span>
<span class="i3">With hoop and with hammer!<br /></span>
<span class="i3">With yell and with yammer,<br /></span>
<span class="i3">Hold them in play<br /></span>
<span class="i3">Till the dawn of day!<br /></span>
<span class="i3">Pother, pother!<br /></span>
<span class="i3">My sovereign and brother.<br /></span>
<span class="i3">O strain to thy lever,<br /></span>
<span class="i3">This world to sever<br /></span>
<span class="i3">In two or in three&mdash;<br /></span>
<span class="i3">What joy it would be!<br /></span>
<span class="i0">What toiling and mailing, and mighty commotions!<br /></span>
<span class="i0">What rending of hills, and what roaring of oceans!<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Ay, that is thy voice, I know it full well;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And that is thy whistle's majestic swell;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">But why wilt thou ride thy furious race<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Along the bounds of vacant space,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">While there is tongue of flesh to scream,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And life to start, and blood to stream?<br /></span><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[Pg 218]</a></span>
<span class="i3">Yet pother, pother!<br /></span>
<span class="i3">My sovereign and brother<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And men shall see, ere the rising sun,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">What deeds thy mighty arm hath done.<br /></span>
</div>
</div>

<p>Michael Scott and his guests kept watch together during
the eventful night; and when the friar and Charlie stepped
out to the battlements in the morning, they beheld the
great mountain of Eildon, which before then had but
one cone, piled up in three hills, as described by us in
chapter <a href="#CHAPTER_XVI">XVI</a>.</p>



<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXII" id="CHAPTER_XXII"></a>CHAPTER XXII.</h2>

<div class="blockquot"><p>Allan Ramsay&mdash;"The Gentle Shepherd"&mdash;Bauldy the Clown&mdash;Mause the
reputed Witch&mdash;A Witch's Crantraips&mdash;Praying Backwards&mdash;Sad Misfortunes
attributed to Mause&mdash;Supposed Power of the Devil to raise
the Wind and send Rain and Thunder&mdash;Mause's Reflections&mdash;Sir
William disturbed&mdash;Symon's Announcement&mdash;Promise to gain a
Lassie's Heart&mdash;Doings of the supposed Witch&mdash;Witches' Tricks&mdash;Longfellow's
"Golden Legend"&mdash;"Song of Hiawatha."</p></div>


<p>Allan Ramsay, who wrote in the first half of the eighteenth
century, does not appear to have believed in witches or
evil spirits. He, however, like other poets, found it convenient
to introduce superstition into his poetical effusions.
This will be seen from the following extracts from his
<i>Gentle Shepherd</i>.</p>

<div class="poem">
<p><span class="i6">BAULDY.</span></p>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i1">"What's this?&mdash;I canna bear't!&mdash;'tis worse than hell,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">To be sae burnt with love, yet daurna tell!<br /></span>
<span class="i0">O Peggy! sweeter than the dawning day;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Sweeter than gowany glens or new-mawn hay;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Blyther than lambs that frisk out o'er the knows;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Straighter than aught that in the forest grows;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Her een the clearest blob of dew outshines;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">The lily in her breast its beauty tines;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Her legs, her arms, her cheeks, her mouth, her een,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Will be my dead, that will be shortly seen!<br /></span><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[Pg 219]</a></span>
<span class="i0">For Pate looes her&mdash;waes me!&mdash;and she looes Pate<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And I with Neps, by some unlucky fate,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Made a daft vow. O, but ane be a beast,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">That makes rash aiths till he's afore the priest!<br /></span>
<span class="i0">I darna speak my mind, else a' the three,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">But doubt, wad prove ilk ane my enemy.<br /></span>
<span class="i0">'Tis sair to thole;&mdash;I'll try some witchcraft art,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">To break with ane, and win the other's heart.<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Here Mausy lives, a witch that for sma' price<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Can cast her cantraips, and gie me advice.<br /></span>
<span class="i0">She can o'ercast the night, and cloud the moon,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And make the deils obedient to her crune;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">At midnight hours, o'er the kirk-yard she raves,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And howks unchristen'd weans out of their graves;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Boils up their livers in a warlock's pow;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Rins withershins about the hemlock low;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And seven times does her prayers backwards pray,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Till Plotcock comes with lumps of Lapland clay,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Mixt with the venom of black taids and snakes:<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Of this unsonsy pictures aft she makes<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Of ony ane she hates,&mdash;and gars expire<br /></span>
<span class="i0">With slow and racking pains afore a fire,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Stuck fu' of pins; the devilish pictures melt;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">The pain by fowk they represent is felt.<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And yonder's Mause: Ay, ay, she kens fu' weel,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">When ane like me comes rinning to the deil!<br /></span>
<span class="i0">She and her cat sit beeking in her yard:<br /></span>
<span class="i0">To speak my errand, faith, amaist I'm fear'd!<br /></span>
<span class="i0">But I maun do't, tho' I should never thrive:<br /></span>
<span class="i0">They gallop fast that deils and lasses drive.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i5">*&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;*&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;*&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;*&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;*<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i1">How does auld honest lucky of the glen?<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Ye look baith hale end fair at threescore-ten.<br /></span>
</div>

<p><span class="i6">MAUSE.</span></p>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i1">E'en twining out a thread with little din,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And beeking my cauld limbs afore the sun.<br /></span>
<span class="i0">What brings my bairn this gate sae air at morn?<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Is there nae muck to lead? to thresh nae corn?<br /></span>
</div>

<p><span class="i6">BAULDY.</span></p>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i1">Enough of baith: but something that requires<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Your helping hand employs now all my cares.<br /></span>
</div>

<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[Pg 220]</a></span><span class="i6">MAUSE.</span></p>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i1">My helping hand! alake, what can I do,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">That underneith baith eild and poortith bow?<br /></span>
</div>

<p><span class="i6">BAULDY.</span></p>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i1">Ay, but you're wise, and wiser far than we;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Or maist part of the parish tells a lie.<br /></span>
</div>

<p><span class="i6">MAUSE.</span></p>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i1">Of what kind wisdom think ye I'm possest,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">That lifts my character aboon the rest?<br /></span>
</div>

<p><span class="i6">BAULDY.</span></p>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i1">The word that gangs, how ye're sae wise and fell,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Ye'll maybe tak it ill gif I should tell.<br /></span>
</div>

<p><span class="i6">MAUSE.</span></p>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i1">What folk say of me, Bauldy, let me hear;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Keep naething up, ye naething have to fear.<br /></span>
</div>

<p><span class="i6">BAULDY.</span></p>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i1">Well, since ye bid me, I shall tell ye a'<br /></span>
<span class="i0">That ilk ane talks about you, but a flaw.<br /></span>
<span class="i0">When last the wind made Glaud a roofless barn;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">When last the burn bore down my mither's yarn;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">When Brawny, elf-shot, never mair came hame;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">When Tibby kirn'd, and there nae butter came;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">When Bessy Freetock's chuffy-cheeked wean<br /></span>
<span class="i0">To a fairy turn'd, and cou'dna stand its lane;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">When Wattie wander'd ae night thro' the shaw<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And tint himsell amaist amang the snaw;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">When Mungo's mare stood still and swat wi' fright,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">When he brought east the howdy under night;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">When Bawsy shot to dead upon the green;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And Sara tint a snood was nae mair seen;&mdash;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">You, lucky, gat the wyte of a' fell out;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And ilka ane here dreads ye round about,&mdash;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And say they may that mint to do ye skaith:<br /></span>
<span class="i0">For me to wrang ye I'll be very laith;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">But when I neist make groats, I'll strive to please<br /></span>
<span class="i0">You with a firlot of them mixt with pease.<br /></span>
</div>

<p><span class="i6">MAUSE.</span></p>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i1">I thank ye, lad!&mdash;Now tell me your demand;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And, if I can, I'll lend my helping hand.<br /></span>
</div>

<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[Pg 221]</a></span><span class="i6">BAULDY.</span></p>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i1">Then, I like Peggy; Neps is fond of me;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Peggy likes Pate; and Patie's bauld and slee,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And looes sweet Meg; but Neps I downa see.<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Could ye turn Patie's love to Neps, and then<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Peggy's to me, I'd be the happiest man.<br /></span>
</div>

<p><span class="i6">MAUSE.</span></p>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i1">I'll try my airt to gar the bowls row right;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Sae gang your ways and come again at night;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">'Gainst that time I'll some simple things prepare,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Worth all your pease and groats, tak ye nae care.<br /></span>
</div>

<p><span class="i6">BAULDY.</span></p>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i1">Well, Mause, I'll come, gif I the road can find;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">But if ye raise the deil, he'll raise the wind;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Syne rain and thunder, maybe, when 'tis late<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Will make the night sae mirk, I'll tine the gate.<br /></span>
<span class="i0">We're a' to rant in Symie's at a feast,&mdash;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">O! will ye come, like badrans, for a jest?<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And there you can our different haviours spy;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">There's nane shall ken o't there but you and I.<br /></span>
</div>

<p><span class="i6">MAUSE.</span></p>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i1">'Tis like I may: But let na on what's past<br /></span>
<span class="i0">'Tween you and me, else fear a kittle cast.<br /></span>
</div>

<p><span class="i6">BAULDY.</span></p>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i1">If I aught of your secrets e'er advance,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">May ye ride on me ilka night to France!<br /></span>
</div>

<p><span class="i6">MAUSE.</span></p>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i1">This fool imagines&mdash;as do many sic&mdash;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">That I'm a witch in compact with Auld Nick,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Because by education I was taught<br /></span>
<span class="i0">To speak and act aboon their common thought:<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Their gross mistake shall quickly now appear;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Soon shall they ken what brought, what keeps me here.<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Now since the royal Charles, and right's restor'd,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">A shepherdess is daughter to a lord.<br /></span>
<span class="i0">The bonny foundling that's brought up by Glaud,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Wha has an uncle's care on her bestow'd,&mdash;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Her infant life I sav'd, when a false friend<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Bow'd to the usurper, and her death design'd,<br /></span><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[Pg 222]</a></span>
<span class="i0">To establish him and his in all these plains<br /></span>
<span class="i0">That by right heritage to her pertains.<br /></span>
<span class="i0">She's now in her sweet bloom, has blood and charms<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Of too much value for a shepherd's arms.<br /></span>
<span class="i0">None know't but me!&mdash;And if the morn were come,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">I'll tell them tales will gar them a' sing dumb.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i5">*&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;*&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;*&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;*&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;*<br /></span>
</div>

<p><span class="i6">SIR WILLIAM.</span></p>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i1">How goes the night? does day-light yet appear<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Symon, you're very timeously asteer.<br /></span>
</div>

<p><span class="i6">SYMON.</span></p>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i1">I'm sorry, sir, that we've disturb'd your rest;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">But some strange thing has Bauldy's spirit opprest,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">He's seen some witch, or wrestled with a ghaist.<br /></span>
</div>

<p><span class="i6">BAULDY.</span></p>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i1">O! ay; dear sir, in troth, 'tis very true;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And I am come to make my plaint to you.<br /></span>
</div>

<p><span class="i6">SIR WILLIAM.</span></p>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i1">I lang to hear 't.<br /></span>
</div>

<p><span class="i6">BAULDY.</span></p>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i7">Ah! sir, the witch ca'd Mause,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">That wins aboon the mill amang the haws,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">First promis'd that she'd help me with her art,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">To gain a bonny thrawart lassie's heart.<br /></span>
<span class="i0">As she had trysted, I met wi'er this night;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">But may nae friend of mine get sic a fright!<br /></span>
<span class="i0">For the curst hag, instead of doing me good&mdash;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">The very thought o't's like to freeze my blood!<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Rais'd up a ghaist, or deil, I kenna whilk,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Like a dead corse in sheet as white as milk;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Black hands it had, and face as wan as death.<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Upon me fast the witch and it fell baith,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And gat me down, while I, like a great fool,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Was labour'd as I wont to be at school.<br /></span>
<span class="i0">My heart out of its hool was like to loup;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">I pithless grew with fear, and had nae hope;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Till, with an elritch laugh, they vanished quite.<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Syne I half dead with anger, fear, and spite,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Crap up and fled straight frae them, sir, to you,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Hoping your help to gie the deil his due.<br /></span><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[Pg 223]</a></span>
<span class="i0">I'm sure my heart will ne'er gie o'er to dunt,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Till in a fat tar-barrel Mause be burnt!<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i5">*&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;*&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;*&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;*&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;*<br /></span>
</div>

<p><span class="i6">SIR WILLIAM.</span></p>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i1">Troth, Symon, Bauldy's more afraid than hurt;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">The witch and ghaist have made themselves good sport.<br /></span>
<span class="i0">What silly notions crowd the clouded mind,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">That is through want of education blind!<br /></span>
</div>

<p><span class="i6">SYMON.</span></p>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i1">But does your honour think there's nae sic thing<br /></span>
<span class="i0">As witches raising deils up through a ring?<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Syne playing tricks&mdash;a thousand I could tell&mdash;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Cou'd ne'er be contriv'd on this side hell.<br /></span>
</div>

<p><span class="i6">SIR WILLIAM.</span></p>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i1">Such as the devil's dancing in a moor,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Amongst a few old women craz'd and poor,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Who were rejoiced to see him frisk and lowp<br /></span>
<span class="i0">O'er braes and bogs with candles in *&nbsp;*&nbsp;*<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Appearing sometimes like a black-horn'd cow,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Aft-times like Bawty, Badrans, or a sow;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Then with his train through airy paths to glide,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">While they on carts, or clowns, or broomstaffs ride;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Or in an egg-shell skim out o'er the main,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">To drink their leader's health in France or Spain;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Then aft by night bumbaze hare-hearted fools,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">By tumbling down their cupboards, chairs, and stools.<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Whate'er's in spells, or if there witches be,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Such whimsies seem the most absurd to me."<br /></span>
</div>
</div>

<p>To glean from Cowper, Wordsworth, Tennyson, and
the many other poets who have contributed to superstitious
lore, would swell this portion of our work (<i>The Poets and
Superstition</i>) to an undue proportion; and therefore we
take leave of the poets, after giving extracts from Longfellow,
whose talented effusions are not only read and
appreciated in America and England, but over the whole
world.</p>

<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[Pg 224]</a></span><span class="i1">FROM "THE GOLDEN LEGEND."</span></p>
</div>

<p><span class="i5">LUCIFER.</span></p>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">"Hasten! hasten!<br /></span>
<span class="i0">O ye spirits!<br /></span>
<span class="i0">From its station drag the ponderous<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Cross of iron, that to mock us<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Is uplifted high in air!<br /></span>
</div>

<p><span class="i5">VOICES.</span></p>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">O, we cannot!<br /></span>
<span class="i0">For around it<br /></span>
<span class="i0">All the saints and guardian angels<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Throng in legions to protect it;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">They defeat us everywhere!<br /></span>
</div>

<p><span class="i5">THE BELLS.</span></p>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i3">Laudo Deum verum!<br /></span>
<span class="i3">Plebem voco!<br /></span>
<span class="i3">Congrego clerum!<br /></span>
</div>

<p><span class="i5">LUCIFER.</span></p>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Lower! lower!<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Hover downward!<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Seize the loud, vociferous bells, and<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Clashing, clanging, to the pavement<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Hurl them from their windy tower!<br /></span>
</div>

<p><span class="i5">VOICES.</span></p>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">All thy thunders<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Here are harmless!<br /></span>
<span class="i0">For these bells have been anointed,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And baptised with holy water!<br /></span>
<span class="i0">They defy our utmost power.<br /></span>
</div>

<p><span class="i5">THE BELLS.</span></p>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i3">Defunctos ploro!<br /></span>
<span class="i3">Pestem fugo!<br /></span>
<span class="i3">Festa decoro!<br /></span>
</div>

<p><span class="i5">LUCIFER.</span></p>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Shake the casements!<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Break the painted<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Panes, that flame with gold and crimson;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Scatter them like leaves of autumn,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Swept away before the blast!<br /></span>
</div>

<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">[Pg 225]</a></span><span class="i5">VOICES.</span></p>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">O, we cannot!<br /></span>
<span class="i0">The archangel<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Michael flames from every window,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">With the sword of fire that drove us<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Headlong out of heaven, aghast!<br /></span>
</div>

<p><span class="i5">THE BELLS.</span></p>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i3">Funera plango!<br /></span>
<span class="i3">Fulgura frango!<br /></span>
<span class="i3">Sabbata pango!<br /></span>
</div>

<p><span class="i5">LUCIFER.</span></p>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Aim your lightnings<br /></span>
<span class="i0">At the oaken,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Massive, iron-studded portals!<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Sack the house of God, and scatter<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Wide the ashes of the dead!<br /></span>
</div>

<p><span class="i5">VOICES.</span></p>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">O, we cannot!<br /></span>
<span class="i0">The apostles<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And the martyrs, wrapped in mantles,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Stand as warders at the entrance,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Stand as sentinels o'erhead!<br /></span>
</div>

<p><span class="i5">THE BELLS.</span></p>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i3">Excito lentos!<br /></span>
<span class="i3">Dissipo ventos!<br /></span>
<span class="i3">Paco cruentos!<br /></span>
</div>

<p><span class="i5">LUCIFER.</span></p>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Baffled! baffled!<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Inefficient,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Craven spirits! leave this labour<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Unto Time, the great destroyer!<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Come away, ere night is gone!<br /></span>
</div>

<p><span class="i5">VOICES.</span></p>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Onward! onward!<br /></span>
<span class="i0">With the night wind,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Over field and farm and forest,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Lonely homestead, darksome hamlet,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Blighting all we breathe upon!"<br /></span>
</div>
</div>

<hr style="width: 45%;" />

<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">[Pg 226]</a></span>
<span class="i2">THE SONG OF HIAWATHA.</span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">"Should you ask me whence these stories?<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Whence these legends and traditions,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">With the odours of the forest,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">With the dew and damp of meadows,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">With the curling smoke of wigwams,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">With the rushing of great rivers,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">With their frequent repetitions,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And their wild reverberations,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">As of thunder in the mountains?<br /></span>
<span class="i1">I should answer, I should tell you:<br /></span>
<span class="i0">'From the forests and the prairies,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">From the great lakes of the Northland,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">From the land of the Ojibways,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">From the land of the Dacotahs,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">From the mountains, moors, and fenlands,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Where the heron, the Shuh-shuh-gah,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Feeds among the reeds and rushes.<br /></span>
<span class="i0">I repeat them as I heard them<br /></span>
<span class="i0">From the lips of Nawadaha,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">The musician, the sweet singer.'<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i3">*&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;*&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;*&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;*&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;*<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Can it be the sun descending<br /></span>
<span class="i0">O'er the level plain of water?<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Or the red swan floating, flying,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Wounded by the magic arrow,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Staining all the waves with crimson,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">With the crimson of its life-blood,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Filling all the air with splendour,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">With the splendour of its plumage?<br /></span>
<span class="i1">Yes, it is the sun descending,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Sinking down into the water;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">All the sky is stained with purple,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">All the water flushed with crimson!<br /></span>
<span class="i0">No; it is the red swan floating,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Diving down beneath the water;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">To the sky its wings are lifted,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">With its blood the waves are reddened<br /></span>
<span class="i1">Over it the star of evening<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Melts and trembles through the purple<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Hangs suspended in the twilight.<br /></span>
<span class="i0">No; it is a bead of wampum<br /></span><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">[Pg 227]</a></span>
<span class="i0">On the robes of the Great Spirit,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">As he passes through the twilight,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Walks in silence through the heavens!<br /></span>
<span class="i1">This with joy beheld Iagoo,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And he said in haste, 'Behold it!<br /></span>
<span class="i0">See the sacred star of evening!<br /></span>
<span class="i0">You shall hear a tale of wonder;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Hear the story of Osseo,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Son of the evening star Osseo.<br /></span>
<span class="i1">'Once, in days no more remembered,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Ages nearer the beginning,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">When the heavens were closer to us,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And the gods were more familiar,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">In the Northland lived a hunter,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">With ten young and comely daughters,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Tall and lithe as wands of willow;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Only Oweenee, the youngest,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">She the wilful and the wayward,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">She the silent, dreamy maiden,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Was the fairest of the sisters.<br /></span>
<span class="i1">'All these women married warriors,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Married brave and haughty husbands;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Only Oweenee, the youngest,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Laughed and flouted all her lovers,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">All her young and handsome suitors,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And then married old Osseo,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Old Osseo, poor and ugly,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Broken with age and weak with coughing,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Always coughing like a squirrel.<br /></span>
<span class="i1">'Ah, but beautiful within him<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Was the spirit of Osseo,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">From the evening star descended,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Star of evening, star of woman,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Star of tenderness and passion!<br /></span>
<span class="i0">All its fire was in his bosom,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">All its beauty in his spirit,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">All its mystery in his being,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">All its splendour in his language!<br /></span>
<span class="i1">'And her lovers, the rejected,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Handsome men with belts of wampum,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Handsome men with paint and feathers,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Pointed at her in derision,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Followed her with jest and laughter,<br /></span><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">[Pg 228]</a></span>
<span class="i0">But she said, "I care not for you,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Care not for your belts of wampum,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Care not for your paint and feathers,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Care not for your jests and laughter:<br /></span>
<span class="i0">I am happy with Osseo!"<br /></span>
<span class="i1">'Once to some great feast invited,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Through the damp and dusk of evening<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Walked together the ten sisters,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Walked together with their husbands;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Slowly followed old Osseo,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">With fair Oweenee beside him;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">All the others chatted gaily,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">These two only walked in silence.<br /></span>
<span class="i1">'At the western sky Osseo<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Gazed intent, as if imploring,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Often stopped and gazed imploring<br /></span>
<span class="i0">At the trembling star of evening,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">At the tender star of woman;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And they heard him murmur softly,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">"<i>Ah, showain nemeshin, Nosa!</i><br /></span>
<span class="i0">Pray, pity me, my father!"<br /></span>
<span class="i1">'"Listen!" said the elder sister,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">"He is praying to his father!<br /></span>
<span class="i0">What a pity that the old man<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Does not stumble in the pathway,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Does not break his neck by falling!"<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And they laughed till all the forest<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Rang with their unseemly laughter.<br /></span>
<span class="i1">'On their pathway through the woodlands<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Lay an oak by storms uprooted,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Lay the great trunk of an oak-tree<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Buried half in leaves and mosses,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Mouldering, crumbling, huge and hollow.<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And Osseo, when he saw it,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Gave a shout, a cry of anguish,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Leaped into its yawning cavern,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">At one end went in an old man,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Wasted, wrinkled, old, and ugly;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">From the other came a young man,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Tall and straight and strong and handsome.<br /></span>
<span class="i1">'Thus Osseo was transfigured,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Thus restored to youth and beauty;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">But, alas for good Osseo,<br /></span><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">[Pg 229]</a></span>
<span class="i0">And for Oweenee, the faithful!<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Strangely, too, was she transfigured.<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Changed into a weak old woman,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">With a staff she tottered onward,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Wasted, wrinkled, old, and ugly!<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And the sisters and their husbands<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Laughed until the echoing forest<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Rang with their unseemly laughter.<br /></span>
<span class="i1">'But Osseo turned not from her,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Walked with slower step beside her,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Took her hand, as brown and withered<br /></span>
<span class="i0">As an oak-leaf is in winter,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Called her sweetheart, Nenemoosha,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Soothed her with soft words of kindness,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Till they reached the lodge of feasting,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Till they sat down in the wigwam,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Sacred to the star of evening,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">To the tender star of woman.<br /></span>
<span class="i1">'Wrapt in visions, lost in dreaming,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">At the banquet sat Osseo;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">All were merry, all were happy,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">All were joyous but Osseo.<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Neither food nor drink he tasted,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Neither did he speak nor listen,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">But as one bewildered sat he,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Looking dreamily and sadly,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">First at Oweenee, then upward<br /></span>
<span class="i0">At the gleaming sky above them.<br /></span>
<span class="i1">'Then a voice was heard, a whisper,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Coming from the starry distance,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Coming from the empty vastness,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Low and musical and tender;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And the voice said, "O Osseo!<br /></span>
<span class="i0">O my son, my best beloved!<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Broken are the spells that bound you,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">All the charms of the magicians,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">All the magic powers of evil;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Come to me; ascend, Osseo!<br /></span>
<span class="i1">'"Taste the food that stands before you;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">It is blessed and enchanted,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">It has magic virtues in it,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">It will change you to a spirit.<br /></span>
<span class="i0">All your bowls and all your kettles<br /></span><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">[Pg 230]</a></span>
<span class="i0">Shall be wood and clay no longer;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">But the bowls be changed to wampum,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And the kettles shall be silver;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">They shall shine like shells of scarlet,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Like the fire shall gleam and glimmer.<br /></span>
<span class="i1">'"And the women shall no longer<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Bear the dreary doom of labour,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">But be changed to birds, and glisten<br /></span>
<span class="i0">With the beauty of the starlight,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Painted with the dusky splendours<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Of the skies and clouds of evening!"<br /></span>
<span class="i1">'What Osseo heard as whispers,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">What as words he comprehended,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Was but music to the others,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Music as of birds afar off,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Of the whippoorwill afar off,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Of the lonely Wawonaissa<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Singing in the darksome forest.<br /></span>
<span class="i1">'Then the lodge began to tremble,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Straight began to shake and tremble,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And they felt it rising, rising,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Slowly through the air ascending,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">From the darkness of the tree-tops<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Forth into the dewy starlight,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Till it passed the topmost branches;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And behold! the wooden dishes<br /></span>
<span class="i0">All were changed to shells of scarlet!<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And behold! the earthen kettles<br /></span>
<span class="i0">All were changed to bowls of silver!<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And the roof-poles of the wigwam<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Were as glittering rods of silver,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And the roof of bark upon them<br /></span>
<span class="i0">As the shining shards of beetles.<br /></span>
<span class="i1">'Then Osseo gazed around him,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And he saw the nine fair sisters,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">All the sisters and their husbands,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Changed to birds of various plumage.<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Some were jays, and some were magpies,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Others thrushes, others blackbirds;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And they hopped and sang and twittered,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Perked and fluttered all their feathers,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Strutted in their various plumage,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And their tails like fans unfolded.<br /></span><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">[Pg 231]</a></span>
<span class="i1">'Only Oweenee, the youngest,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Was not changed, but sat in silence,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Wasted, wrinkled, old, and ugly,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Looking sadly at the others;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Till Osseo, gazing upward,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Gave another cry of anguish,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Such a cry as he had uttered<br /></span>
<span class="i0">By the oak-tree in the forest.<br /></span>
<span class="i1">'Then returned her youth and beauty,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And her soiled and tattered garments<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Were transformed to robes of ermine,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And her staff became a feather,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Yes, a shining silver feather!<br /></span>
<span class="i1">'And again the wigwam trembled,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Swayed and rushed through airy currents,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Through transparent cloud and vapour,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And amid celestial splendours<br /></span>
<span class="i0">On the evening star alighted,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">As a snow-flake falls on snow-flake,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">As a leaf drops on a river,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">As the thistle-down on water.<br /></span>
<span class="i1">'Forth with cheerful words of welcome<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Came the father of Osseo,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">He with radiant locks of silver,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">He with eyes serene and tender.<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And he said, "My son, Osseo,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Hang the cage of birds you bring there,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Hang the cage with rods of silver,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And the birds with glistening feathers,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">At the doorway of my wigwam."<br /></span>
<span class="i1">'At the door he hung the bird-cage,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And they entered in and gladly<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Listened to Osseo's father,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Ruler of the star of evening,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">As he said, "O my Osseo!<br /></span>
<span class="i0">I have had compassion on you,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Given you back your youth and beauty,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Into birds of various plumage<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Changed your sisters and their husbands;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Changed them thus because they mocked you<br /></span>
<span class="i0">In the figure of the old man,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">In that aspect sad and wrinkled,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Could not see your heart of passion,<br /></span><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">[Pg 232]</a></span>
<span class="i0">Could not see your youth immortal;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Only Oweenee, the faithful,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Saw your naked heart and loved you.<br /></span>
<span class="i1">'"In the lodge that glimmers yonder,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">In the little star that twinkles<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Through the vapours, on the left hand,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Lives the envious Evil Spirit,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">The Wabeno, the magician,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Who transformed you to an old man.<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Take heed lest his beams fall on you,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">For the rays he darts around him<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Are the power of his enchantment,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Are the arrows that he uses."<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i1">'Many years, in peace and quiet<br /></span>
<span class="i0">On the peaceful star of evening<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Dwelt Osseo with his father;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Many years in song and flutter,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">At the doorway of the wigwam,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Hung the cage with rods of silver,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And fair Oweenee, the faithful,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Bore a son unto Osseo,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">With the beauty of his mother,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">With the courage of his father.<br /></span>
<span class="i1">'And the boy grew up and prospered,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And Osseo, to delight him,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Made him little bows and arrows,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Opened the great cage of silver,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And let loose his aunts and uncles,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">All those birds with glossy feathers,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">For his little son to shoot at.<br /></span>
<span class="i1">'Round and round they wheeled and darted,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Filled the evening star with music,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">With their songs of joy and freedom;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Filled the evening star with splendour,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">With the fluttering of their plumage;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Till the boy, the little hunter,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Bent his bow and shot an arrow,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Shot a swift and fatal arrow,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And a bird, with shining feathers,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">At his feet fell wounded sorely.<br /></span>
<span class="i1">'But, O wondrous transformation!<br /></span>
<span class="i0">'Twas no bird he saw before him,<br /></span><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">[Pg 233]</a></span>
<span class="i0">'Twas a beautiful young woman,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">With the arrow in her bosom!<br /></span>
<span class="i1">'When her blood fell on the planet,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">On the sacred star of evening,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Broken was the spell of magic,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Powerless was the strange enchantment,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And the youth, the fearless bowman,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Suddenly felt himself descending,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Held by unseen hands, but sinking<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Downward through the empty spaces,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Downward through the clouds and vapours,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Till he rested on an island,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">On an island, green and grassy,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Yonder in the big sea-water.<br /></span>
<span class="i1">'After him he saw descending<br /></span>
<span class="i0">All the birds with shining feathers,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Fluttering, falling, wafted downward,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Like the painted leaves of autumn;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And the lodge with poles of silver,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">With its roof like wings of beetles,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Like the shining shards of beetles,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">By the winds of heaven uplifted,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Slowly sank upon the island,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Bringing back the good Osseo,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Bringing Oweenee, the faithful.<br /></span>
<span class="i1">'Then the birds, again transfigured,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Resumed the shape of mortals,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Took their shape, but not their stature;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">They remained as little people,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Like the pigmies, the Puk-Wudjies;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And on pleasant nights of summer,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">When the evening star was shining,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Hand in hand they danced together<br /></span>
<span class="i0">On the island's craggy headlands,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">On the sand-beach low and level.<br /></span>
<span class="i1">'Still their glittering lodge is seen there,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">On the tranquil summer evenings,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And upon the shore the fisher<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Sometimes hears their happy voices,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Sees them dancing in the starlight!'"<br /></span>
</div>
</div>



<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">[Pg 234]</a></span></p>
<h2><a name="MONARCHS_PRIESTS_PHILOSOPHERS_AND_SUPERSTITION" id="MONARCHS_PRIESTS_PHILOSOPHERS_AND_SUPERSTITION"></a>MONARCHS, PRIESTS, PHILOSOPHERS, AND SUPERSTITION.</h2>

<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXIII" id="CHAPTER_XXIII"></a>CHAPTER XXIII.</h2>

<div class="blockquot"><p>Generality of Superstition&mdash;Commencement of Monarchy in Scotland&mdash;King
Fergus I. crowned on the Fatal Stone of Destiny&mdash;Signs,
Assistance of Spirits, Magicians, and Fortune-tellers&mdash;Natholocus sends
a Friend to consult a Cunning Woman&mdash;Her Prediction verified&mdash;Constantine
and Maxentius&mdash;A Heavenly Cross&mdash;A Famous Standard&mdash;Queen
Guanora's Grave&mdash;Fear of St. Martin&mdash;The Church's Belief
in the Intercession of Departed Saints&mdash;Relics venerated&mdash;King bewitched
by Witches of Forres&mdash;Evil Signs during Elthus Alipes's
Reign&mdash;Sea Monster in the Don&mdash;Kenneth III. killed by an Infernal
Machine&mdash;Virtue of Precious Stones&mdash;Weird Sisters&mdash;Consulting a
Pythoness&mdash;Predictions by Druids&mdash;Domitian's Death foretold by
Astrologers&mdash;Simon Magus&mdash;A Platonic Philosopher charged with
Sorcery&mdash;The Emperor Julian instructed in Magic.</p></div>


<p>In speaking of superstition, it may be truly said, "As with
the people, so with the priest; as with the subjects, so with
the monarch." In the humble cot the peasant is deluded
and overawed by superstition; in the church the priest
lays claim to supernatural power; and crowned heads have
played a not unimportant part among the believers in and
performers of the occult science, which has so long held
the souls of men in bondage. We have it on record that
a monarch has been made to tremble by the sayings of an
old woman, supposed to be in league with the prince of
darkness. A king and his army have been kept from
battle by the movements of a harmless quadruped, or by<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">[Pg 235]</a></span>
the flight of a bird, unaware that before sunset it would
be the eagle's portion. Other sovereigns have supported
their tyranny over a down-trodden people by an arrogant
pretension to an authority derived in a mysterious manner
from another world.</p>

<p>Ancient historians date the commencement of monarchy
in Scotland from Fergus I., who was crowned according
to the superstitious custom of the age in which he reigned.
He was seated on the fatal stone of destiny, to be afterwards
described. Both before and after the introduction
of Christianity into Scotland, not a freebooting excursion
was undertaken before seeking a sign; not a friend was
to be gained without asking the assistance of a generous
spirit or fairy; and not an enemy to be overcome till the
magicians and fortune-tellers secured the aid of unearthly
creatures, either good or bad. When Natholocus's cruelty
and oppression excited an insurrection, he had recourse
to cunning people, supposed to be in league with Satan.
He sent one of his particular friends to a distant island to
an old woman, said to be skilled in necromancy, to inquire
whether any of his courtiers were seeking his destruction.
The sorceress, having consulted her familiar
spirits, answered that Natholocus would die a violent death
by the hand of one of his most intimate friends. On being
pressed to disclose by whose hand the blow would be
struck, she replied, "By thine own." The messenger
reproached the woman, and told her that he entertained
the greatest friendship for his master. He was afraid to
tell Natholocus what the fortune-teller had said, and therefore
entertained him with such false predictions as he
knew would inspire confidence. For what reason we are
not informed, but this is certain that the servant's friendship
turned into hatred, and before long he verified the
witch's prophecy.</p>

<p>Constantine, the son of Constantius Chlorus, being
proclaimed his father's successor, caused Maxentius to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">[Pg 236]</a></span>
declare war against Constantine. The latter, although
a heathen, implored the true Deity to assist him. His
prayers were heard. As he was marching with his army,
about mid-day, he, and all who were with him, beheld in
the heavens a bright cross of light, with an inscription
over it, "By this, conquer." Constantine was greatly
surprised at the vision, and the troops were equally
astonished. On the following night a holy being appeared
to him, and ordered him to make a representation of what
he had seen in the sky, and use it for an ensign in battle.
Next morning he called workers of fine material, and
instructed them to make a standard according to tracings
he prepared. It was made, adorned with gold and sparkling
precious stones; and we scarcely require to say that
Constantine was victorious when he fought under such a
famous standard.</p>

<p>Queen Guanora, widow of Arthur, was, after the king's
fall, about the middle of the sixth century, taken prisoner,
and kept as such during the remainder of her life at
Dunbar. She was buried at Meigle; and, if tradition can
be trusted, every female walking over her grave is doomed
to perpetual sterility. Speaking of the grave reminds us
of a son of Clotaire, who was desirous of executing vengeance
against his enemy Bason. He was prevented
from doing so by the latter fleeing to St. Martin's Church
for sanctuary. The prince, fearing that an invasion of
the church would displease the saint, wrote a letter, and
placed it on the glorified individual's tomb, requesting
to be informed if he would be guilty of an outrage against
religion were he to drag Bason from the church. For
reasons best known to the saint, he did not return an
answer. This mode of obtaining information may now
be considered ridiculous; but it was not considered so,
even in the Church, in the eighth century. After due inquiry
and consideration, the second Council of Nice, in
the year 787, declared that the Church had always<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">[Pg 237]</a></span>
believed it lawful and useful to invoke the intercession
of departed saints, and to venerate their relics.</p>

<p>Duff, the son of Malcolm, having established Culen,
son of Indulph, Prince of Cumberland, set out for the
Hebrides, where great predatory disorders prevailed. He
summoned the thanes of the isles to appear before him,
and swore that if any of them should oppress the poorer
inhabitants, he would visit the actors with condign punishment.
His threats not being enough to deter the
depredators, active measures were taken to punish the
offenders. Meantime the king fell into a languid sickness,
which baffled the skill of his physicians. A rumour
was circulated that he was suffering under the incantations
of certain far-famed witches at Forres. The report reaching
the king's ears, he caused certain confidential servants
to investigate the case secretly. Donevald, master of the
fort at Forres, having learned that the <i>bonne amie</i> of a
soldier there was the daughter of a witch, apprehended
the damsel, and learned from her the whole secret concerning
a diabolical plot to torture his Majesty. Means
were taken to secure the wretches concerned when
engaged in their devilish art. So carefully were the
faithful servants' plans laid, that they could tell what part
each traitorous one performed. While one of them turned,
upon a wooden spit before the fire, a wax image of the
king, fashioned as was supposed by Satan, another of
them sang her charms, and poured a liquid slowly upon
the image. According to the interpretation of these wicked
women, the vocal charm kept his Majesty awake; that
while the effigy was exposed to the fire and moistened with
the liquor, he would sweat and consume away; and that
when the image dissolved away, the king would cease to
exist. The women declared they had been hired by the
nobles of Murray&mdash;who were highly displeased at their
king for oppressing them and compelling them to betake
themselves to labour unsuitable to their rank&mdash;to perform<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">[Pg 238]</a></span>
the cruel acts. The implements of enchantment were
destroyed, the witches burned, and the king recovered.
This was but a mere respite to his Majesty: the friends
upon whom he relied turned their hands against him, and
before long his mangled body lay buried in the bed of the
river Findhorn.</p>

<p>Elthus Alipes, or Swiftfoot, being a worthless prince,
was confined in prison to the day of his death. Historians
record many evil signs seen during his short reign&mdash;two
years. An ominous comet, and shoals of monstrous fishes
resembling human beings, swimming with half their bodies
above the water, and having black skin covering their
heads and necks, were among the portentous appearances.
Spalding, in his history of the troubles of Scotland in his
own time, describes a sea monster seen in the river Don
in the month of June 1635. It had, says the historian, a
head like a great mastiff dog, hands, arms, and breast like
a man, short legs and a tail. Spalding concluded that
the appearance of such a monster did not come as a sign
of good to Aberdeen.</p>

<p>Kenneth III. became a victim to revenge, an inordinate
taste for magnificence, and superstition. Kenneth, it
appears, for reasons well pleasing to the Church, visited
the shrine of St. Palladius at Fordun; and on returning
home he fell into a snare laid for him. Around the
castle of Fettercairn were grounds well stocked with
beasts of chase, and there the king intended to indulge in
the manly exercise of hunting. The owner of that place,
Lady Fenella, a relative of Constantine and Grime, having
a long deep-rooted hatred against Kenneth, conceived the
design of bringing him to an untimely end. With this
object in view, she built a grand tower, containing an
infernal machine for throwing javelins or sharp-pointed
lances at any one who should handle a golden apple, set
with precious stones, held in the hand of a bronze statue
of Kenneth that stood in the centre of a room. She<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">[Pg 239]</a></span>
invited him to become her guest&mdash;an invitation he accepted.
After dinner, the perfidious woman conducted him into
the tower, professedly to see and admire the exquisite
furnishings with which it was decorated. In his fondness
for grandeur, he lingered to admire the elegant figures
and flowers; the rich tapestry, interwoven with gold; and
the statue with its golden apple. Just at the moment the
king's eyes rested on the statue, Fenella stepped forward
and said, "Sire, this is a statue of your Majesty; I have
given it the most adorned place in my castle, that all may
perceive in what veneration I hold you. The apple you
behold is intended as a present to you, beloved monarch&mdash;unworthy
indeed of your acceptance, yet an expression
of the good-will of the donor. The inserted gems are an
emerald, a hyacinth, a sapphire, a topaz, a ruby, an azure,
emitting an antidote against pestilence and deadly poison."
Having thus excited the king's curiosity, she abruptly left
the apartment, seemingly with the intention of bringing
some other strange article for his inspection. Meantime
Kenneth, left alone and charmed with the apple, commenced
handling it. In an instant the secret machinery,
being set in motion, discharged a shower of deadly darts
against the king, who fell mortally wounded on the floor.
The traitorous Fenella, rejoicing at her bloody cruelty,
mounted a swift steed and fled far away before her act of
treachery became known. Had she remained in Scotland,
a cruel death would have been her doom, but she escaped
to Ireland, and was lost sight of.</p>

<p>Fenella is reported as pointing out to the king pretended
special virtues, to be found in the gems that ornamented
the golden apple. And no doubt the credulous monarch
believed what she said, because we have it on record, that
not only in the tenth century, but long before and after
it, both pagans and professing Christians believed that
precious stones possessed greater virtues than even that
which she ascribed to the settings of her golden apple.</p>

<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">[Pg 240]</a></span>The story of Macbeth and the three witches, noticed in
chapter <a href="#CHAPTER_XVII">XVII</a>., does not require to be repeated. Greater
men than Macbeth were wont to consult fortune-tellers.
A Druid told Alexander Severus that he would be unhappy.
Vopiscus relates that the prince, having consulted
the Gaulish Druids whether the empire should remain in
his family, received the answer, that no name would be
more glorious in the empire than that of the descendants
of Claudius.</p>

<p>Titus Flavius Domitian, who commanded himself to be
called by the names by which the Most High is known,
and who passed the greatest part of his time in catching
flies and killing them with a bodkin, became suspicious
of his best friends, and his fears were increased by the
predictions of astrologers. He was so frightened, that, to
prevent sudden surprise, he caused a wall of shining stones
to be built round the terrace where he usually walked,
that he might perceive, as in a looking-glass, whether any
one was approaching him. His precautions were unavailing:
he perished by the hand of an assassin, as was
foretold.</p>

<p>It is reported that St. John was thrown into a cauldron
of boiling oil, by order of the Emperor Domitian, but
that he came out unhurt. He was then at Rome, and
from thence he was banished to the Isle of Patmos.</p>

<p>Lucius Apuleius, a Platonic philosopher of the second
century, having married a lady of fortune against the
wish of her relatives, they pretended that he had made
use of sorcery to gain her heart and money. He was
dragged before Claudius Maximus, on the charge of being
a magician. In his defence he said, "Do you wonder
that a woman should marry again after living thirteen
years a widow? It is much more wonderful that she did
not marry sooner. You think that magic must have been
employed to induce a widow of her age to marry a young
man; on the contrary, this very circumstance shows how<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">[Pg 241]</a></span>
little occasion there was for magic." He continued: "She
was neither handsome nor young, nor such as could in any
way tempt him to have recourse to enchantments." He
also took notice of many inconveniences which attended
the marrying of widows, and spoke highly of the advantages
of a maid over a widow. "A handsome virgin,"
said he, "let her be ever so poor, is abundantly portioned;
she brings to her husband a heart quite new, together
with the flowers and first fruits of her beauty. It was
with great reason," he argued, "that husbands set so great
value upon virginity; all the other goods which a woman
brought her husband were of such a nature that he might
return them if he had a mind, but the flowers of virginity
could not be given back; they remained in the possession
of the first husband." Through his eloquence he escaped
punishment, and the odium of being branded a sorcerer.</p>

<p>Maximus, the celebrated cynic philosopher and magician
of Ephesus, instructed the Emperor Julian in magic.
Certain historians say it was through his teaching that the
apostacy of Julian originated. When the emperor went
in search of conquests, the magician promised him success,
and even predicted that his triumphs would be more
numerous and brilliant than those of Alexander. After
the death of Julian, Maximus was nearly sacrificed by the
soldiers, but his friends succeeded in saving his life. He
retired to Constantinople. Subsequently he was accused
of magical practices before the Emperor, and beheaded at
Ephesus in the year 366.</p>



<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">[Pg 242]</a></span></p>
<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXIV" id="CHAPTER_XXIV"></a>CHAPTER XXIV.</h2>

<div class="blockquot"><p>Louis XI. and the Astrologer&mdash;A King's Enchanted Cap&mdash;David I. and
the Mysterious Stag&mdash;Merlin the Magician&mdash;Prophecies concerning
Queen Elizabeth and Mary&mdash;Merlin's Mother&mdash;His mysterious Birth&mdash;Dragon
Caverns&mdash;Predictions of Evil&mdash;Strange Sights and Sounds in
the Air&mdash;Changing a King's Love&mdash;The Holy Maid of Kent&mdash;Nobles
put to Death for keeping company with Sorcerers&mdash;James I. of England
and the Witches&mdash;His Queen in Danger&mdash;Marriage of the King and
Queen&mdash;Tranent Witches and Warlocks&mdash;Wise Wife of Keith&mdash;Engagements
to serve the Devil&mdash;Satan's Respect of Persons&mdash;Two
Hundred Witches sailing in Sieves&mdash;Mischief at Sea&mdash;Raising Storms
at Sea&mdash;Witch and Warlock Convention at Newhaven&mdash;Meeting of
Witches at North Berwick&mdash;Dead Men's Joints used for Magical
Purposes&mdash;Witches tortured in Holyrood&mdash;The Devil's Mark&mdash;Strange
Confessions&mdash;Bothwell's Fortune told&mdash;Witches and their Associates
burned.</p></div>


<p>An astrologer told Louis XI. that a lady to whom he was
fondly attached would die in a few days, and the prediction
was fulfilled. The king caused the astrologer to be brought
before him in an upper chamber, and commanded the
royal servants to throw the prophet out of the window
on a certain signal being given. As soon as the astrologer
was dragged before the king, the latter said, "You who
pretend to be a foreteller of events, and know so exactly
the fate of others, tell me instantly when and in what way
your end will come." "Sire," replied the astrologer,
knowing he had much to fear, but without displaying
alarm, "I shall die just three days before your Majesty."
On hearing this the king's countenance changed from
rage to concern, if not alarm; and instead of giving the
signal of death, he dismissed the astrologer in peace, heaped
honours on him, and took special care to prolong his life.</p>

<p>King Erricus of Sweden publicly confessed that he was
a magician. He had an enchanted cap, which he<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">[Pg 243]</a></span>
pretended enabled him to control spirits, and to turn the
wind into any direction he pleased. So firmly did his
subjects believe in his supernatural powers, that when a
storm arose they would exclaim, "Ah! the king has got
on his magic cap."</p>

<p>David I. founded the abbey of Holyrood. By tradition
we are informed that, in the year 1128, he, while out
hunting in the royal forest near Edwinsburg, was miraculously
delivered from a stag at bay by the interposition
of an arm, wreathed in smoke, brandishing a cross of the
most dazzling brilliancy. At the sight of it the stag fled.
The cross remained as a celestial relic in the royal hand.
In consideration of this deliverance, strengthened by a
vision, the foundations of Holyrood were laid. The same
tradition further tells us that the miraculous cross was
enshrined in silver, and placed on the high altar, where it
remained until the fatal battle of Durham, when David II.
was captured with his cross and crown.</p>

<p>Merlin was a noted magician and astrologer, who
prophesied many things that came to pass in England
hundreds of years after his death. Prophesying of the
reigns of Queen Elizabeth and Mary, he says:</p>

<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">"Then shall the masculine sceptre cease to sway,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And to a spinster the whole land obey;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Who to the Papal monarchy shall restore<br /></span>
<span class="i0">All that the Ph&oelig;nix had fetched thrice before.<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Then shall come in the faggot and the stake,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And they of convert bodies bonfires make;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Match shall this lioness with C&aelig;sar's son,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">From the Pontific sea a pool shall run,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">That wide shall spread its waters, and to a flood<br /></span>
<span class="i0">In time shall grow, made red with martyrs' blood.<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Men shall her short unprosp'rous reign deplore,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">By loss at sea, and damage to the shore;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Whose heart being dissected, you in it<br /></span>
<span class="i0">May in large characters find Calice writ."<br /></span>
</div>
</div>

<p>Those acquainted with the history of Queen Mary's<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">[Pg 244]</a></span>
time, can have no difficulty in discovering the circumstances
to which the several prophetic sayings refer; nor
can they fail to be satisfied that the following lines apply
to Queen Elizabeth, and the state of England at the time
she swayed the sceptre:</p>

<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">"From th' other ashes shall a Ph&oelig;nix rise,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Whose birth is thus predicted by the wise;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Her chief predominant star is Mercury,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Jove shall with Venus in conjunction be.<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And Sol, with them, shine in his best aspect;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">With Ariadne's crown, Astrea deckt,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Shall then descend upon this terrene stage:<br /></span>
<span class="i0">(Not seen before since the first golden age).<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Against whom all the Latian bulls shall roar,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">But at Jove's awful summons shall give o'er.<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Through many forges shall this metal glide,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Like gold by fire re-pured, and seven times try'd,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Her bright and glorious sunbeams shall expel<br /></span>
<span class="i0">The vain clouds of the candle, book, and bell.<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Domestic plots, and stratagems abroad,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">French machines, and the Italianated god,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">The Spanish engine, Portuguized Jew,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">The Jesuitic mine, and politic crew<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Of home-bred vipers: let their menaces come<br /></span>
<span class="i0">By private pistol, or by hostile drum;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Though all these dogs chase her with open cry,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Live shall she, lov'd and fear'd, then sainted die."<br /></span>
</div>
</div>

<p>Merlin's early history was as strange as his prophecies
were singular. For reasons best known to herself, his
mother refused to reveal his father's name. She was
daughter of King Demetrius, who reigned about two
hundred years after Christianity was introduced into
England. King Vortigern was obliged to fly into Wales
from the fury of Hengist, and, fearing that he would be
pursued thither, commenced building a stronghold on
the Welsh soil. Though the ground appeared to be firm,
it turned out that every stone laid sank suddenly into the
ground. With the intention of discovering the cause of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245">[Pg 245]</a></span>
this mystery, the king sent for his wizards and bards.
After consultation, the wise men informed him that his
castle could never be built until the stones were cemented
with the blood of a male child begotten without a father.
The king, believing what he was told, sent his servants
to search for such a child. On their way the messengers
arrived at Marlborough, where they observed two boys
fighting. One of these was young Merlin, whom they
heard taunted by his youthful antagonist of being an
imp that never had a father. This was enough: Merlin
and his mother were seized and carried before the king.</p>

<p>In answer to the king's inquiries, the mother, not
knowing the danger to which she was exposing little
Merlin, told him that her boy never had a father. Her
tale was believed; but Vortigern had compassion on the
youth, who was fair and comely, and not only spared
his life, but took him into his house. When Merlin
learned all the particulars regarding the mysterious disappearance
of the foundation stones, and the charm proposed
by the wizards and bards, he told the king that
his wise men were alike destitute of learning and natural
penetration. "Know," said he, "that under the ground
where your Majesty intends to build your castle is a deep
lake, which has swallowed up all your building materials,
and that under the water there are two stone caverns
which contain two dragons. Dig deep into the earth,
and you will discover that what I have said is true," concluded
Merlin. The king commanded that a search, such
as the youth had recommended, should be commenced
under his (Merlin's) directions. Means were taken to
drain the lake, which was discovered without difficulty,
and, true enough, two horrible dragons were found. On
the caverns being opened, the monsters, one red and
the other white, rushed at each other. A terrible conflict
took place between them, ending in the red dragon's
death.</p>

<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_246" id="Page_246">[Pg 246]</a></span>Merlin, in reply to the king's inquiries as to what all
this portended, informed his Majesty that evil days were
drawing near&mdash;that the time was not far distant when the
Britons would be compelled to fly before the Saxons, and
seek refuge among the caves and mountains of the earth,
and that many of them would perish, for the red dragon
signified the Britons, and the white monster the Saxons.
But he assured the king that the Saxons would not always
triumph, as a boar would come from the forest and devour
the white dragon. Merlin predicted for Vortigern disappointments,
defeats, and at last a miserable death, all
of which came to pass.</p>

<p>It is reported of Merlin, that after King Vortigern was
driven from power, he sought to amuse him in his solitude
by bringing strange sights before his eyes, and
causing pleasant sounds to salute his ears. The king
supposed he heard melodious music in the air, and
imagined that shepherds and shepherdesses, in rustic
costume, danced before him. At times eagles and falcons
were seen pursuing their prey; and whatever bird the
king wished for his dinner, fell down dead, as if shot by
a fowler. Hares and hounds were also made to appear
in the clouds, for the king's amusement. On his castle-tower
he could stand and watch a stag hunt with all the
vividness of an ordinary chase. Merlin professed to have
the power of transforming a man into a beast, and of
making a man or woman look like a wild animal.</p>

<p>In the year 1474 the Duchess of Bedford was charged
with having, by the aid of an image of lead made like a
maid, turned the love of King Edward IV. from Dame
Elianor Butteler, daughter of the Earl of Shrewsbury, to
whom he was affianced, and transferred the royal affections
to her own daughter.</p>

<p>The Holy Maid of Kent, a nun of great sanctity,
having, according to common belief in the time of Henry
VIII., the gift of prophecy, and the power of working<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_247" id="Page_247">[Pg 247]</a></span>
miracles, pronounced the doom of speedy death against
that monarch for his marriage with Anne Boleyn. She
was attainted in Parliament, and, along with several accomplices,
executed. So extraordinary were her miracles,
and her predictions so striking, that even Sir Thomas
More believed in her.</p>

<p>In the year 1521 the Duke of Buckingham was put to
death in consequence of certain actions he was guilty
of in conjunction with a magician; and in 1541 Lord
Hungerford was beheaded for inquiring at fortune-tellers
how long Henry VIII. would be king. In 1562 the Earl
and Countess of Lennox were found guilty of treason, and
of holding intercourse with sorcerers.</p>

<p>The story of King James VI. of Scotland and I. of
England, and the witches who attempted to drown him
and his queen at sea, enables us to judge of the credulity
of the age in which this Solomon lived. The king having
resolved to marry, sought the hand of Princess Anne of
Denmark. In the month of July 1589 the Earl Marischal
was despatched to Copenhagen with a suitable retinue
to conclude the match. He found the Court of Denmark
ready to listen to his proposals, and the lady so willing
to comply, that little time was lost in arranging the
match. Hasty preparations were made, and the marriage
was solemnised by proxy. A fleet of twelve sail was
fitted out to convey the young queen to Scotland.
Through unforeseen circumstances, the queen's departure
was long after the time originally intended. At last the
fleet sailed; and it encountered such a fearful storm,
that the ships were driven back to the coast of Norway.
Owing to the lateness of the season, and the disabled
state of the vessels, it was resolved that the queen should
not again expose herself to the dangers of an angry sea
that season.</p>

<p>When news reached the king of his queen's unfortunate
misadventure, he resolved to proceed on a voyage of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248">[Pg 248]</a></span>
discovery in search of her. On the 22nd of October he embarked
at Leith, taking with him his chancellor, chaplain,
and a few courtiers. After a stormy passage of five days
the king landed at Upsal, where the queen was waiting.
On the 23rd of November the king and princess were
married in a more solemn manner than they had been some
time previously by proxy, and they went to Copenhagen to
spend the winter. In Denmark the king spoke learnedly
to the great men of the state, whom he convinced of his
superior knowledge: he disputed on predestination and
other favourite topics. After six months delay, he departed
for his kingdom, and on May-day 1590, he, his
youthful bride, and splendid train arrived in Leith.</p>

<p>The coronation ceremony, performed with great solemnity,
was gone through on the 17th of May at Holyrood
House. After three sermons, the queen's shoulders and
part of her breast were uncovered, and the holy oil
poured thereon, subsequent to which the crown was put
on her head. On the Tuesday following the queen made
her public entrance into Edinburgh, where she was received
with extraordinary marks of rejoicing. At the
city gate a municipal orator greeted her Majesty with
an address in Latin, and then from a gilded globe, resting
over the gate, a little fellow, representing an angel, descended
and delivered to the queen the keys of the city.</p>

<p>James was convinced that the storms which kept him
and his queen so long from meeting were the results of
diabolical agencies. After his return to Scotland, suspicion
fell on a dangerous gang of witches and warlocks at
Tranent, and the king resolved to inquire into the whole
case, with the laudable design of getting rid of such
wicked subjects should he find them guilty. A man
named David Seytoun, who held the appointment of
deputy bailiff of Tranent, had a young female servant
named Geillis Duncan, celebrated among the town's
people for her skill in curing diseases. Seytoun, becoming<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_249" id="Page_249">[Pg 249]</a></span>
suspicious that she was in league with Satan, questioned
her closely without receiving satisfactory answers. Not
to be defeated, he first put her to the torture, which he
thought he had a right to do in virtue of his office, and
then searched her person for devil's marks. One of those
sure tokens of witchcraft being found on her throat, she
was committed to prison. There she made a full confession,
in which many persons were implicated. She
admitted that the cures effected by her were brought
about by means of witchcraft.</p>

<p>Of those said to have been associated with this woman
in her guilty deeds, the most noted were Dr. John Fian,
sometimes called John Cunningham, and three women,
named Agnes Sampsoun, Euphame Mackalzeane, and
Barbara Napier. Fian was a schoolmaster at Tranent,
a small town on the south side of the Firth of Forth, and
about nine miles east of Edinburgh. He admitted that
he was an agent of the evil one. One night, he said, the
devil appeared to him, and induced him to become his
servant, under the promise that he would never want if
he served him faithfully and well. The offer being
tempting, the unscrupulous doctor became an instrument
of evil. That there might be no mistake about the
bargain, the devil put his mark on Fian's person. From
that time the doctor was a sorcerer: he was often carried
away in the night to visit distant places of the world, and
was present at, and took part in, all the nightly meetings
of witches held in the Lothians. He rose so high in the
devil's favour, that he was appointed registrar and secretary
of the conventions. One night Fian was carried through
the air to North Berwick, where he found a number of
witches and sorcerers assembled listening to Satan preaching
to them from a pulpit. He implored them to give up
all slavish fears of him; promised them great rewards so
long as they were his servants, and assured them, that so
long as they had hairs on their bodies they would receive<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_250" id="Page_250">[Pg 250]</a></span>
no injury. He exhorted them to do all the evil they
could, and to eat and drink and be merry. One night
when Fian was riding home along a dreary road, in
danger of losing his way, Satan came to his assistance,
and put four candles on the horse's ears, which enabled
the traveller and his servant to see as well as if it were
day.</p>

<p>The three women mentioned occupied good places in
society. Agnes Sampsoun was known as the wise wife
of Keith; she, too, had knowledge of the healing art.
In her confession she said that, after her husband's
death, the devil appeared to her and offered her great
riches if she would abandon all that was good, and serve
him, the lover of evil. At times Satan appeared as a
man, but more frequently like a black dog. On one
occasion, when she was attending Lady Edmestoune, who
was unwell, the devil came to her at night in the shape
of a dog, and informed her that the lady would die. He
then inquired where the lady's daughters were, for he
wanted to have one of them. The witch, however, protested
against such an outrage as the carrying away of a
dying lady's daughter, and the dog went away howling
into a well in the garden. At a later hour that night,
when the young ladies were walking in the orchard, the
evil one, disguised as before, rushed at them, seized one
of them, and attempted to drag her into the well. Agnes,
seeing this, laid hold of the lady, and sent the dog away
howling. On another occasion Agnes and other witches
wanted assistance from Satan at the bridge of Faulstruther,
and, to secure this, they threw a cord into the
river while some magical words were being repeated.
Presently the devil seized the end of the cord that was in
the water, and they drew him to land. After an assurance
from them that they had been good servants to him,
he gave them a charm by which they could perform wonderful
works.</p>

<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_251" id="Page_251">[Pg 251]</a></span>Euphame Mackalzeane was the daughter of Lord
Cliftounhall. It would appear that when this lady bore
her first child, she consulted Agnes Sampsoun as to how
she could best get rid of her pains, which she dreaded
much. Agnes, willing to relieve the amiable lady of
every pang nature was prone to, transferred the pains to
a dog. Time passed on, and another child was about to
be brought into the world by Euphame Mackalzeane.
Agnes was again called in, and the pains were conveyed
to a cat.</p>

<p>Barbara Napier was of a respectable family also, but
nearly all the other associates in their guilt were in
poverty. Satan, like human beings on earth, made more
of the rich than of the poor; for while he assigned exalted
places to Dr. Fian and the ladies of birth, he appointed
a poor peasant, called Grey Meal, to be doorkeeper
at the witches' meetings.</p>

<p>More than one of the witches said that on Hallow-eve
upwards of two hundred witches went to sea in riddles or
sieves, and that, notwithstanding their perforated vessels,
they were quite dry and comfortable, faring on the best
food, and drinking the richest wines. At another time,
Dr. Fian, Agnes Sampsoun, one Robert Griersoun, and
others, left Prestonpans in a boat, proceeded to a ship at
sea, went on board and made merry on good wine, after
which they sank the vessel with all her crew. Dr. Fian
stated, on being put to the torture, that Satan had told
him and others, before the event, that he would make a
hole in the queen's ship on the way from Denmark, and
force her to return to her own country. Having intelligence
that the queen was at sea, they held a meeting at
Broomhills, where it was resolved they should go out to
the ocean and raise a storm, to endanger her Majesty's life.
They took steps accordingly, and threw a dog into the
water, whereby the wind became boisterous, the sea rose,
and the ships were damaged. Other diabolical means<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_252" id="Page_252">[Pg 252]</a></span>
were resorted to, to endanger the queen's fleet. A meeting
of witches was held at Prestonpans, when the following
ceremonies were gone through:&mdash;First, one of the witches
held a finger on the one side of the chimney crook, and
another witch put one of her fingers on the other side;
then they put a cat three times through or under the
links of the crook; they next tied four joints of dead
men's fingers to the four feet of the cat; and then the
animal was conveyed to Leith pier and thrown into the
water. Cats were also thrown into the sea at other places
on the Firth of Forth. By these means a dreadful storm
was raised, which wrecked many ships&mdash;amongst them
the ferry-boat sailing between Leith and Kinghorn, with
all on board. The fiendish crew, disappointed at the
safety of the queen, determined to endeavour to drown
the king. More cats were cast into the sea during his
Majesty's voyage to Denmark; but all infernal arts proved
ineffectual, as the king had a charmed life. Prior to their
Majesties' return, another convention was held, at which
Satan himself was present. He promised to raise a mist
when the royal ships were coming home, which would
cause them to land in England. According to Dr. Fian,
the devil threw something like a foot-ball into the sea.
This caused a dense fog to rise; yet, in spite of all their
plans, James and his queen arrived safe in Leith.</p>

<p>Not long afterwards, more plots were entered into with
the view of doing harm to the king. On Lammas-eve a
grand convention was held at the Fairyhills, Newhaven,
at which were present thirty of the principal witches and
sorcerers in the country. The devil, the presiding genius,
expressed a fear that their designs would be frustrated
unless unusual measures were resorted to. He promised
to give them an image of wax; and directed them to hang
up and roast a toad, and then to lay the drippings of the
toad mixed with wine, an adder's skin, and a certain part
of the forehead of a newly-foaled foal, in the way where<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_253" id="Page_253">[Pg 253]</a></span>
the king was to pass, or to hang the preparation in a
position where it might drop on his body. These plans
again miscarried; for the king escaped the dangers of
them all.</p>

<p>At Hallow-eve of the year 1590 there was a meeting of
witches and sorcerers, including those already named, in
the church of North Berwick. According to all accounts,
three hundred women and a few men were present. They
danced across the churchyard; and when they reached
the church door the women first paid their homage, turning
six times round widderschinnes, and, following them,
the men performed the same ceremony nine times. The
devil, it was seriously asserted, took his place in the pulpit,
around which old-like men, holding black candles in their
hands, stood. Satan appeared as a black man, with a
beard like that of a goat and a nose resembling a hawk's
beak, and having on a black gown, and a black skull-cap
on his head, and he read from a black book the names of
those summoned to the meeting. The names, however, were
not the real or proper names of the persons, but nicknames,
by which they were known in the gang. The devil exhorted
his hearers to pursue a course of evil, and assured
them that the more mischief they did to mankind, the
better he would be pleased with them. After their
master's address, loud revelling was indulged in. Graves
were opened, and the joints of two dead men taken out
for magical purposes.</p>

<p>When information reached the king's ears of the doings
of this wicked crew, he resolved to inquire into the case
himself. Dr. Fian and a good many witches were tortured
in Holyrood House, in presence of James, who took great
delight in listening to their forced false confessions.
Agnes Sampsoun was stripped naked, that the devil's
mark might be discovered; but as it could not at first be
seen, her body was shaved, that what was looked for
might not pass unnoticed. Of course it was found, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_254" id="Page_254">[Pg 254]</a></span>
the unfortunate woman confessed her guilt. She said that
Bothwell had consulted her as to the length of time the
king was to live. She had a spirit that regularly attended
her in the form of a dog, and it told her that in consequence
of his Majesty's piety and wisdom he was proof
against incantations. The notorious sorcerer Richard
Graham confessed that the Earl of Bothwell had asked
him for supernatural assistance to hasten the king's death.
He said Bothwell had informed him that it had been
predicted by a necromancer in Italy that he (Bothwell)
would become rich and powerful; that he would slay
two men; and would be accused before the king for
two capital crimes, but would be forgiven for the one,
but not for the other. Bothwell was satisfied that up
to the time he consulted Graham the prophecy was fulfilled;
and now, he said, the time was come for either him
or the king being despatched. Barbara Napier, a witch
against whom James had a bitter feeling, was acquitted,
on her trial, by the jury, very much to the king's annoyance.
Dr. Fian, Agnes Sampsoun, Euphame Mackalzeane,
and many of their associates in supposed guilt, after mock
trials, were burned.</p>




<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXV" id="CHAPTER_XXV"></a>CHAPTER XXV.</h2>


<div class="blockquot"><p>Cromwell in league with the Devil&mdash;Cromwell consulting Astrologers&mdash;Memorable
Days in the Life of Cromwell&mdash;Singular Narrative&mdash;Duke
of Hamilton warned of his Fate&mdash;Peden's Predictions&mdash;Traditions
concerning Peden&mdash;John Brown the Martyr&mdash;Linlithgow Loch Swans&mdash;Hereford
Children&mdash;Great Comet&mdash;Conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter
at Eventful Periods&mdash;Solomon's Power over Evil Spirits and over the
Beasts of the Field.</p></div>


<p>Fabulous relations are given in connection with the career
of Cromwell. We are told he was in league with the
devil, to whom he sold himself for a brief period of power
among a people whom he ruled with a rod of iron, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_255" id="Page_255">[Pg 255]</a></span>
trampled their rulers under his feet. That Cromwell used
to consult astrologers, there can be little doubt. He was
accustomed to obtain advice from Lilly, the wizard, before
entering into any important engagement. In particular,
he sought the assistance of Lilly before he entered
Parliament, and when he besieged Dunkirk. The 3rd of
September was a memorable day in the life of Cromwell,
for on a 3rd of September he fought his two most famous
battles, and on a 3rd of September he yielded up the ghost&mdash;circumstances
that gave colour to the reports circulated
concerning the help and protection he received from
Satan. Colonel Lindsay was responsible for the extraordinary
stories spread abroad affecting the character of
the dictator. From the colonel's statement, it appears that
on the morning of the 3rd September 1651, the day on
which the battle of Worcester was fought and the forces
of Charles II. were routed, Cromwell and Lindsay entered
a dark wood near the battlefield. Lindsay, unaware of the
object Cromwell had in view in being in such a gloomy
place, and thinking he perceived something strange in
the appearance of his leader, was seized with horror and
trembling, which prevented him going farther. Cromwell
proceeded a short distance alone. He was met by
an old man with a roll of parchment in his hand, which
he gave to Cromwell, who perused it carefully. An
altercation took place between Cromwell and the old
man or devil, during which Lindsay heard Cromwell
say, "This is but for seven years; I was to get twenty-one."
The being to whom he spoke, replied that only
seven years could be given. Cromwell, modifying his
demands, craved fourteen years, but the old man was
inexorable. "Seven years, and no more," he sternly
replied. And the document, whatever was its real
meaning or tendency, was signed by the two parties,
with the "seven years" undeleted. As soon as the
signatures were adhibited, Cromwell hastily returned to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_256" id="Page_256">[Pg 256]</a></span>
Lindsay, standing in amazement, and said with great
emotion, "Now the battle is ours!" Cromwell and Lindsay
were soon at their posts in the field, the former resolute
and hopeful, the latter dismayed and irresolute. To retain
his proper place in the field was Lindsay's intention; but
after the first charge his courage forsook him, and he fled
as fast as his charger could carry him, although no man
pursued. The king's troops were beaten, leaving Cromwell
master of the position. Prior to the result of the
day's engagement being communicated by mortal man to
Lindsay, he made known to a clergyman what had taken
place in the morning, finishing his statement in these
words: "I am sure the king's forces are beaten, and I am
certain Cromwell will die this day seven years, for he has
sold himself to the devil, who will not fail to claim him
then."</p>

<p>Ever after this memorable day, Cromwell regarded the
3rd of September auspicious to him, as well he might; for
in addition to the events at Worcester, it was on the
same day of that month, in 1650, that he gained the
battle of Dunbar. Years rolled on, in the course of which
Cromwell encountered numerous dangers, and escaped
conspiracies and plots, provoked by serious crimes, yet
he survived to breathe his last on downy pillows, on
the anniversary of his great triumphs at Dunbar and
Worcester. Neither the clang of swords nor the roar
of guns disturbed his last moments, but a dreadful commotion
raged all around. Nature seemed to have lashed
itself into a rage: a high wind, such as had never been
heard before by the oldest inhabitants, unroofed houses
on land, and caused wrecks at sea. In the midst of the
tempest were heard shrieks, not of men, but of spirits
revelling in the gale, as it carried destruction and death
over the country. Notwithstanding Cromwell's body
being embalmed and put into a leaden coffin, the stench
therefrom became so insufferable, that the remains had to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_257" id="Page_257">[Pg 257]</a></span>
be immediately consigned to the grave, and afterwards
the funeral ceremonies were performed over an empty
coffin,&mdash;so at least says Echard, on whose authority we
give the foregoing particulars concerning the Lord Protector.
Though Cromwell's dust was interred in Westminster,
it was not permitted to rest there. In January
1661, on the anniversary of the death of Charles I., his
decayed body was disinterred and conveyed to Tyburn,
where it was hanged on a gallows, then cut down, and the
trunk cast into a pit, while the head was set up on a pole
at Westminster Hall.</p>

<p>The Duke of Hamilton, who was executed in the year
1649, was warned of his fate by a witch. She said the
king would be put to death, and that he would be his
successor. This prediction being delivered somewhat
ambiguously, Hamilton misunderstood its meaning. His
impression was that he was to obtain the crown (which
led him to act treacherously towards his Majesty), whereas
the beldam meant that he would succeed the king on the
scaffold.</p>

<p>Peden, one of the celebrated Covenanters, who was
persecuted for righteousness' sake, foretold many of the
woes that Scotland would pass through before the Church
could have peace. The good old man died a natural
death in his bed, and his bones were decently interred by
the Boswells of Auchinleck in their family vault, under
the deep shadows of wide spreading plane-trees. This
honour coming to the ears of the soldiers in the garrison
of Sorn, forty days after the interment, they cruelly rifled
the tomb of its dead. There is a tradition in the district
to the present day, that when the soldiers burst open the
coffin and tore off the shroud, there came a sudden blast
like a whirlwind, though the day had previously been
without a breath of stirring air, which caught up the
shroud, and twisted it round a large projecting branch
of one of the plane-trees. From that day the branch<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_258" id="Page_258">[Pg 258]</a></span>
withered away, and remained, for ages like a black
shrivelled arm uplifted to heaven, as a protest against
the sacrilegious crime. This is only one of the many
wondrous tales concerning Peden, who was known far and
wide as "The Prophet." Peden's remains were carried
to the hill above Cumnock, where the common gallows
stood, and there, in spite of the remonstrances of the
Boswells and the Countess of Dumfries, suspended on the
gibbet. When cut down, the body was interred, like that
of a felon, at the foot of the gallows-tree. At that time
the churchyard of Cumnock was in the town, but the old
residenters, generation after generation, on seeing their
end approaching, desired to be buried beside the old
prophet. Thus the gallows-hill of Cumnock became the
ordinary burying-ground of the town. Two old thorn
bushes mark the spot where the prophet's ashes rest, in the
midst of the remains of those he loved while in the land
that groaned under the despotic sway of relentless tyrants.</p>

<p>Though Peden died, as we have stated, a natural death,
he suffered great persecution in his life on account of his
religion. His persecutors, who often pursued him as a
beast of prey, at last seized him, confined him a prisoner
in Edinburgh Castle, immured him in a dungeon on the
Bass Rock, and sentenced him, along with sixty others, to
banishment in America, then a penal settlement. Chained
together, Peden and his companions were marched to Leith,
and conveyed on board a ship for London, from thence
to be taken to Virginia. Seeing his companions in bonds
dejected, Peden shouted out to them, in presence and
hearing of their guard, "Fear not, brethren, the ship is
not yet built that will take us either to Virginia or any
foreign plantation." Uneasiness was felt on board the
ship, in consequence of a report being spread among the
prisoners that thumbkins and other instruments of torture
were to be used to them as implements of punishment.
Peden assured his fellow-passengers that their fears were<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_259" id="Page_259">[Pg 259]</a></span>
groundless, for, said he, neither thumbkins nor bodkins
would hurt them. A tedious voyage of a fortnight brought
them to London. When they were about to be put on
board the vessel that was to carry them to Virginia, the
captain of the foreign ship, discovering the character of
those intended to be banished, declared that no authority
in the world would compel him to go to sea with them.
As another ship could not be procured, the prisoners were
set at liberty, as Peden predicted. Fortunately for the discharged
persons, they were befriended by Lord Shaftesbury,
an ancestor of the present Lord Shaftesbury, who, along
with other friends, provided for their immediate wants.</p>

<p>One morning, while Peden was at his devotions, a
young girl fourteen years old began to mock him. The
good man, turning an eye of pity on her, said, "Poor
thing, thou laughest and mockest, but a sudden and
surprising judgment on thee will soon stay the laughter
of many." This was when he was in confinement on the
Bass Rock. Shortly afterwards a swift gust of wind swept
her into the sea, where she was lost.</p>

<p>Alexander (this was his Christian name) Peden said to a
brother and sister during his last illness, "You will all be
displeased at the place where I shall be buried at last. I
could have wished to lie in the grave of my beloved Richard
Cameron; but I shall not be allowed to rest where you lay
me, though my bones shall at last be glorified."</p>

<p>Peden foretold the early and violent death of the
martyr John Brown. Addressing Mrs. Brown one day,
he said, "Isabel, you have got a good man to be your
husband, but you will not enjoy him long; prize his
company, and keep linen beside you for his winding sheet,
for you will need it when you are not looking for it, and
it will be a bloody one." Brown had a presentiment, too,
that his end would be a tragical one. The end did come
early. Claverhouse, who had been searching for him
as well as for several other Covenanters, suddenly<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_260" id="Page_260">[Pg 260]</a></span>
surprised him one morning, and ordered the dragoons to
bring him in front of his (Brown's) house, where stood
his weeping wife and helpless children. "Go to your
prayers," shouted Claverhouse, "for immediately you shall
die." Mrs. Brown exclaimed, "This is the day I have
expected;" and Brown, while addressing a few farewell
words to his beloved spouse, said calmly, "Isabel, this is
what I told you of before we were married." Mrs. Brown
was dragged from the side of her husband, who stood resigned
to his fate. "Fire!" cried Claverhouse, and instantly
the martyr fell, pierced through by half a dozen bullets.</p>

<p>According to Wodrow, the Scottish historian, the swans
which were on Linlithgow Loch when the English obtained
the mastery in Scotland, disappeared. On the
king's return, the swans came back. Their flight was
considered to foreshadow evil to the royal family, and
their reappearance was regarded as a happy omen.</p>

<p>So great was the consternation caused about the middle
of the seventeenth century by prodigious apparitions, that
lamentations were heard in every dwelling. Women who
were with child brought forth prematurely. At Hereford
the town-clerk's wife bore three children at a birth, who,
we are told, had all teeth, and spoke immediately after
they were born. One said, "The day is appointed that no
man can shun;" another asked, "Who will be sufficient
to bury the dead?" and a third predicted that "there
will not be enough of corn to feed the hungry." Each
having thus expressed himself, expired.</p>

<p>In the year 1680 a great comet appeared, striking every
beholder with awe. The terror partly arose from the fact
that Kepler, the astronomer, had calculated that the conjunction
of Saturn and Jupiter in Leo, which happens
only once in eight hundred years, and which took place at
the time of the appearance of this comet, would have an evil
influence on the Romish Church. The consternation was
increased by mathematicians declaring that the comet was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_261" id="Page_261">[Pg 261]</a></span>
six times longer than that which portended the death of
Pope Alexander VII. These conjunctions were believed
to have been always attended with important circumstances
on earth. Tycho Brah&eacute; reckoned them thus:&mdash;The first,
he said, was under Enoch; the second under Noah;
the third under Moses; the fourth under Solomon; the
fifth under a greater than Solomon; the sixth under
Charlemagne, when the Romans were subdued; and the
seventh conjunction was at the time first mentioned.
Those who have made themselves acquainted with the
cruel persecutions in the year 1680 and subsequent years,
will not refuse to admit that, whether Kepler did or did
not know beforehand through astronomical calculations
what dire calamities were to take place on account of
truth, his words prepared many for coming danger, and
emboldened them to struggle on until Protestantism
triumphed over Papacy.</p>

<p>In the <i>Day of Rest</i> for September 1877 we find the
following statement relative to Solomon:&mdash;"Eastern traditions
inform us that Solomon possessed the secret power
of expelling demons; that he composed spells by which
diseases were removed; and that he left behind him exorcisms
by which devils were driven away, never to return.
In wild exaggerated stories in the Talmud, Solomon is
credited with having dominion over the wild beasts, and
over the birds of heaven, and over the creeping beasts of
earth, and over all devils and spirits of darkness. He
understood the languages of them all, and they understood
him. On one occasion, proceeds the legend, when the
wise king's heart was influenced with wine, he commanded
that all the wild beasts, birds, and creeping things of earth,
and also the devils and spirits of darkness, should be
gathered together, that they might dance before him.
And what is most wonderful, if the Rabbis lie not, every
one that was summoned appeared before Solomon, and
took part in the great dance."</p>



<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_262" id="Page_262">[Pg 262]</a></span></p>
<h2><a name="THE_DRUIDS" id="THE_DRUIDS"></a>THE DRUIDS.</h2>

<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXVI" id="CHAPTER_XXVI"></a>CHAPTER XXVI.</h2>

<div class="blockquot"><p>Druids laid claim to Supernatural Power&mdash;Functions exercised by Druids&mdash;Representations
of the Sun and Moon&mdash;Belief of Druids&mdash;Beltane
Feasts&mdash;Arkite and Sabian Superstition&mdash;Dancing to the Song of the
Cuckoo&mdash;Holy Liquor&mdash;Initiation into the Druidical Mysteries&mdash;The
Goodmane's Land and the Guidman's Fauld&mdash;Places frequented by
Fairies&mdash;Good Manes gave Plentiful Crops&mdash;Offerings to Demi-gods&mdash;Propitiating
Beasts of Prey&mdash;Sacred Cairns&mdash;Trees dedicated to Demons&mdash;Law
forbidding Worship of the Sun, Moon, Fire, Rivers, Wells, Stones,
or Forest Trees&mdash;Extracts from Kirk-Session Records&mdash;Land dedicated
to Satan&mdash;Midsummer and Hallow Fires forbidden&mdash;Yule-day, how
kept&mdash;Order of the General Assembly as to Druidical Customs at the
Fires at Beltane, Midsummer, Hallow-e'en, and Yule&mdash;Old Customs
ordered to be discontinued.</p></div>


<p>In our introduction to <i>The Poets and Superstition</i> we
noticed briefly particular classes of Druids&mdash;the Bardi
and Vates. We now proceed to give fuller details of the
Druids, a class of people who played a not unimportant
part among the nations in olden times. There were male
and female Druids; the latter generally called Druides.
Both the men and women laid claim to supernatural
power and knowledge.</p>

<p>The Druids were expert at legerdemain, and, by their
astonishing exploits, sustained among an ignorant people a
reputation of being magicians. They devoted much time
to the study of astrology, observing closely the heavenly
bodies, through which they pretended they could predict
events kept secret from ordinary mortals. The Druids
exercised the functions of magistrates, priests, teachers,
and physicians. As judges, their authority was unlimited;<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_263" id="Page_263">[Pg 263]</a></span>
they desired the people to believe that not only had they
the power of imposing punishment in this world, but that
they might sentence offenders to torment in the world
beyond the grave.</p>

<p>The Arch-Druid wore a gold chain round his neck,
from which was suspended a gold plate, having engraved
thereon, "The gods require sacrifice," and on the front of
the Druid's cap was a golden representation of the sun, and
a silver representation of a half moon.</p>

<p>They believed in one supreme being; supposed that the
soul was immortal; and thought the spirit of man began
to exist in the meanest insect, and that it proceeded through
the lower orders of existence, rising at every new birth
until it reached the human body. When the soul animated
the human form, a knowledge of good and evil dawned
upon the being, who then became responsible for the
thoughts and actions of life. If one chose evil instead of
good, the soul, it was asserted, went after death into an
inferior grade of animal life, low in proportion to the sinfulness
of that existence. Those who chose the better
part became at last so exalted that evil had no power over
them, and they were happy for ever and ever. It was also
believed that the beatified soul retained the love of its
country and relations, and that the spirits of the good
sometimes returned to earth, and became prophets among
mankind, that they might assist in teaching divine things,
and oppose the evil one.</p>

<p>The Druids were worshippers of Bel, Beal, Bealan, from
whence come the Beltane or Bealteine feasts, of which
they observed four of considerable importance every year,
viz. those of May-eve, Midsummer-eve, and of the eve of
the 1st of November, and of the eve of the 10th of March.
With Druidical religious rites were blended Arkite and
Sabian superstition. Dancing round the May-pole, old
authors say, took its rise from the Druidical custom of
dancing on the green to the song of the cuckoo. Taliesin,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_264" id="Page_264">[Pg 264]</a></span>
the Druidical bard, informs us that those who joined in the
mystical movements went according to the course of the
sun, as they attached much importance to the ceremony
of going three times round their sacred circle from the
east to west. At the celebration of sacred mysteries
there was a caldron for the preparation of a decoction
from plants held in high esteem. This liquor being holy,
possessed rare virtues, one of which was the power of
inspiring those who partook thereof, or to whom it was
applied. The caldron was kept boiling a year and a day.
During this time, at certain hours and under particular
planets, plants possessed of peculiar properties were collected
and added to the caldron's contents.</p>

<p>Not only did the sacred liquor, properly applied, enable
one to see into futurity, but it was supposed to confer
immortality on those who bathed in it. Further, by its
application, the dead might have been brought to life again.
All the sacred utensils and the company assembled at
mystical feasts were purified with the decoction.</p>

<p>Initiation into the Druidical mysteries was something
dreadful. None but those of strong nerve could successfully
pass through the ordeal, all of which took place at
night. Every one admitted into the fraternity bound
himself by a solemn oath, like a freemason, not to commit
to writing or divulge the secrets revealed to him.</p>

<p>In various parts of the country there were "the goodmane's
land and the guidman's fauld," to cultivate which
it was supposed would be followed by dire calamities.
These places were, according to popular opinion, frequented
by fairies and other supernatural beings. Music
was often heard, and dancing seen, at such places.
There, too, people are reported to have been enticed
into subterranean abodes, and retained for years. Places
dedicated to gods and demi-gods lay uncultivated,
though the surrounding ground bore good crops. For
these acts of self-denial in permitting ground to remain<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_265" id="Page_265">[Pg 265]</a></span>
waste which might have been producing good fruit, "the
good neighbours" sent untold-of blessings. To secure
prosperity, goodmanes attached themselves to deserving
persons and families, making their crops plentiful, causing
their cows to have calves, and giving milk in abundance.
We have an account of how offerings were presented to
those demi-gods at stated occasions. The people made
a circle on the ground, in which they kindled a fire, and
then cooked a mess, consisting of milk, butter, eggs, and
meal, for the beings whose favour they desired to secure
for the first time, or whose continued good service was
wished. Cakes were baked and offered to the manes in
this manner: piece after piece was broken off the cake or
bannock and thrown over the left shoulder, while the
desire was expressed aloud, that those to whom the offering
was made would preserve the cattle, horses, and other
animals and substance from the power of evil spirits. In
the same way, or after a fashion somewhat similar, beasts
of prey were propitiated.</p>

<p>Then there were sacred cairns, consisting of stones
thrown together by passers by, every one adding his stone.
If any one removed these cairns, or part thereof, superstitious
people predicted evil to the spoiler. The late
Rev. James Rust, in his <i>Druidism Exhumed</i>, mentions
that circles stood on the spot where one of the extensive
manufactories at Grandholm, near Aberdeen, has been
built. The people, shocked at the removal of the
Druidical works, predicted retributive justice to those
who disturbed the sacred relics. For a long time every
misadventure to the company, or to individuals connected
therewith, was attributed to the sacrilegious action.</p>

<p>Trees were sometimes dedicated to demons. The people
worshipped such trees, holding them in the highest esteem
that any earthly thing could be regarded. It was a
capital offence to cut off a branch or shoot from one of
them. King Cnut passed a law forbidding the worship<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_266" id="Page_266">[Pg 266]</a></span>
of the sun, moon, fire, rivers, wells, stones, or forest trees
of any kind.</p>

<p>Mr. Rust gives the following extracts from the Kirk
Session records of the parish of Slains, which bear upon
Druidical superstitions:&mdash;</p>

<div class="blockquot"><p>"18th November 1649.&mdash;The sd day the Minister and Elderis being
conveinit in Sessione ... the Minister askit at ye Elderis for
delationes, and desyrit them to try if yer was aney hallowe fyres set on be
aney of the parochiners upon a hallarse evine. The sd day the Minister
requirit of the Elderis if they knew aney peices of land within the paroche
that was calit the goodmane's land or fauld, or dedicated to Satane, or
lattine by unlabourit. They sed yer was ane peice land in Brogane calit
Garlet or guidman's fauld, within Andrew Robes tak that was not
labourit this manie yeires, for quhat respect they knew not. The Minister
desyrit them to try qrfr it lay unlabourit."</p>

<p>"25th November 1649.&mdash; ... Intimat that yr be no Midsumer,
no hallow fyres, under the paine of the haveris of them to be
condinglie punishit."</p>

<p>"Sessione the 30th December 1649.&mdash;The sd day the Minister and
Elderis being conveinit in Sessione ... compeirit Thomas
Patersone, and confessit that yr was a peice land in his rowme calit the
goodmane's fauld, quhilk was this long time unlabourit. He is ordainit
to labour it, and promist to do so efter Whitsonday, qn it was for faching.
The sd day the Minister did inquyr of the Elderis that knew of aney that
superstitiouslie keipit Yoolday. They did all report that it was not
keipit, that they did not yoke yr pleuches, but yokt their work-horses."</p></div>

<p>In the same year (1649) the General Assembly of the
Church of Scotland appointed a commission of their own
number to report to the next General Assembly as to the
Druidical customs observed at the fires at Beltane, Midsummer,
Hallow-e'en, and Yule. All the old customs
were ordered to be discontinued, and the people warned
against kindling fires for superstitious purposes.</p>



<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_267" id="Page_267">[Pg 267]</a></span></p>
<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXVII" id="CHAPTER_XXVII"></a>CHAPTER XXVII.</h2>

<div class="blockquot"><p>Dr. Stuart On the Druids&mdash;Their Deities&mdash;Augury&mdash;Human Victims&mdash;Nature
of the Gods&mdash;Gauls descendants of Dis&mdash;Funeral Rites&mdash;Slaves
and Clients burned&mdash;What Pliny says&mdash;Tallies used in making
known the Will of Heaven&mdash;Walking through the Fire&mdash;Barbarous
mode of discovering Future Events&mdash;Wonder-working Eggs&mdash;Colours
of Eggs, and by whom worn&mdash;Virtue of Globule of Ink&mdash;Easter Eggs
represent Druidical Eggs&mdash;Origin of the Druids dated from the Dispersal
of Babel&mdash;Arch-Druid of the Mountains&mdash;Wise Men of the East
were probably Druids&mdash;Island of Iona&mdash;Druidical Cairns&mdash;Stones of
Judgment&mdash;Mr. Rust's Opinion&mdash;Misletoe regarded as a Charm&mdash;Rings
worn as Preventatives against Witchcraft&mdash;Legend concerning Stonehenge&mdash;A
Famous General&mdash;Merlin the Magician&mdash;Stones brought
from Africa by Giants&mdash;Graves of British Lords.</p></div>


<p>Dr. Stuart, writing of the Druids, says their chief deity
was Mercury, of whom they have many images. They
also worship Apollo and Mars, and Jupiter and Minerva.
They held a meeting at a certain time of the year in a
consecrated spot. They used rites of augury from the
slaughter of human victims. According to Strabo, three
classes of persons were much venerated among the Gauls&mdash;the
Bards, Druids, and Soothsayers.</p>

<p>C&aelig;sar, from whom Dr. Stuart largely borrows, tells us
that the whole of the Gallic nation was exceedingly superstitious.
People of distinction who laboured under the
more fatal diseases, and those who engaged in battles and
other dangerous undertakings, either immolated human
beings, or vowed that they would immolate themselves.
They employed the Druids as their ministers at those
sacrifices. It was thought the divine nature of the immortal
gods could not be propitiated but by human life
being substituted for human life. There were, C&aelig;sar continues,
effigies of immense magnitude, interwoven with
osiers, filled with living men. Then these former being<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_268" id="Page_268">[Pg 268]</a></span>
ignited, the latter perished in the flames. The people
thought that the sacrifices of guilty human victims,
apprehended in the act of theft, robbery, or any other
crime, were more agreeable to the immortal gods than
those of innocent persons; but when the supply of culprits
failed, non-guilty victims were sacrificed. All the Gauls
boasted that they were descended from Dis as their
father&mdash;a tradition communicated to them by the Druids.
Funeral rites, considering the culture of the Gauls,
were magnificent and sumptuous. Everything dear to the
deceased, when alive, was carried into the fire. Even the
animals did not escape; and, to manifest high esteem for
a person of note, his slaves and clients who were beloved
by him, were cremated together after the obsequies demanded
by justice had been performed.</p>

<p>Pliny writes that the Druids exhibited the herb vervain
in the exercise of their rites. They had tallies, consisting
of sprigs lopped from a fruit-bearing tree, marked in a
particular manner, thrown into a garment or covered with
a veil, and drawn out by chance, through which means, it
was supposed, the will of heaven was made known.</p>

<p>From various sources of information we know that the
Druids had recourse to sortilege by fire. It was customary
for a nobleman to take the entrails of a sacrificed animal
in his hands, to walk barefooted three times through the
embers of an expiring fire, and then carry them to a Druid
performing at the altar. If the nobleman escaped unhurt,
it was reckoned a good omen, but if injured, it was deemed
unlucky to the country and himself. When a victim was
put to death by the sword, the Druids who investigated
the deed, pretended to discover future events by the manner
in which he fell, the flavouring of the reeking blood, and
the quivering of the body in the agonies of death.</p>

<p>The wonder-working eggs possessed by the Druids were
insignia of a sacred character, set in gold, and worn
suspended from the neck.</p>

<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_269" id="Page_269">[Pg 269]</a></span>The Rev. John B. Pratt, in his work on the Druids,
says: "These eggs were wholly artificial. Some of
them were blue, some white, a third sort green, and a
fourth regularly variegated with all these colours. They
are said to have been worn by different orders&mdash;the white
by the Druids; the blue by the presiding bards; the
green by the Vains; and those with the three colours
blended were pendants of the disciples. That the secret
of manufacturing these amulets was totally unknown in
Britain, except to the Druids, is thought most probable;
and the secret of discovering things by looking into a
globule of ink, which, it is asserted by some, the Egyptian
jugglers still possess, may be a remnant of the ancient
sortilege by means of the Druid's egg." Probably the
coloured eggs children play with at Easter were anciently
intended to represent the Druidical eggs.</p>

<p>Mr. Pratt concludes, that if it be true that the Druids
came from the East, and that the traces of their existence
there run back, as some suppose, into the remotest
antiquity, "it is not altogether preposterous," he continues,
"to suppose that their origin is to be dated from
the dispersion at Babel.... Balaam, the Eastern
magician, was probably the Arch-Druid of the mountainous
country in which he lived. The offerings he made were
at the high places of Baal, and for the purpose of enchantments,
although he was not ignorant of the Most High....
The magi, or wise men of the East, probably
were Druids, who, from their knowledge of astronomy,
at once detected the star which indicated the fulfilment
of Balaam's prophecy."</p>

<p>The earliest name borne by the island of Iona, so far as
known in modern times, was Innis-nan Druidneach, or
Isle of the Druids. The Druids retained their power not
only in Iona until the year 563 or 564, but also on the
mainland and in the islands. Mullingar is supposed to
have been the last place in Ireland where the Druids had<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_270" id="Page_270">[Pg 270]</a></span>
a residence. In the beginning of the last century a
number of gold coins, found on the hill Karn Bre, near
Truro, were thought to be Druidical coins. Some of them,
Mr. Davies thinks, were impressed with rude hieroglyphics,
symbolical of Ceridiven. Objects of different kinds are
combined in one compound figure. To an arc or half
moon is added the head of a bird, probably symbolical of
the mother of the mystical egg. On other coins found
there, magical ceremonies are represented, and on others
the mystical sow appears sketched out.</p>

<p>In Druidical times there were rocking stones, or stones
of judgment. They were large, some of them weighing
fifty tons, and having sharp edges, on which they stood
nicely balanced. A rocking stone of judgment, says
Mr. Rust, "had been intended to test difficult questions,
which could not be proved, disproved, or solved in the
ordinary way, or for want of evidence, or which required
the divine interposition of some particular deity, likely a
bloodthirsty one; for as they had different deities, different
temples, and different altars, they had also different judgment
stones attached to them, and different ordeals through
which the tried individuals, whether devotees, criminals,
or captives, had to pass. These judgment stones had been
anciently very common." According to the number of
times a stone oscillated or refused to oscillate, the Druids
determined to convict or acquit the suspected person.</p>

<p>Of the misletoe, and the esteem in which it was held by
the Druids, we have written in page <a href="#Page_127">127</a>. This parasitical
plant was regarded as a charm of no ordinary virtue.
But the misletoe was only one of many articles they had
possessing occult virtue.</p>

<p>Glass rings, manufactured by Druidical priests, were
worn by the ancient Britons, as preventatives against
witchcraft and the machinations of evil spirits.</p>

<p>A ridiculous legend is told concerning Stonehenge, the
supposed Druidical temple near Salisbury. Aurelianus<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_271" id="Page_271">[Pg 271]</a></span>
Ambrosius, a famous general of the ancient Britons, of
Roman extraction, was, at the request of the Britons, sent
over with ten thousand men to assist them against the
Saxons, whom Vortigern had invited into Britain. Ambrosius
had such successes against the Saxons that the
Britons chose him for their king, and compelled Vortigern
to give up to him all the western parts of the kingdom
divided by the Roman highway, called Watling Street.
Ultimately Ambrosius became sole monarch of Britain.
Geoffrey says that this monarch built Stonehenge. Ambrosius,
we are told, coming to a monastery where lay
buried three hundred British lords who had been massacred
by Hengist, resolved to perpetuate the memory of this
action by raising a monument over their remains.</p>

<p>By the advice of Tremounus, Archbishop of Caerleon,
Ambrosius consulted Merlin, the celebrated magician, as
to how he should proceed. Merlin recommended him to
send to Ireland for certain great stones, called <i>chorea
gigantum</i>, the giant's dance, placed in a circle on a hill
called Killaci, which had been brought there by giants
from the farthest borders of Africa. A strong force was, in
accordance with this advice, sent to Ireland, but the king
of that country derided the folly of the Britons in undertaking
such a ridiculous expedition, and opposed them
in battle. The Irish king was vanquished, and, by the
direction and assistance of Merlin, who had accompanied
the expedition, the wonderful stones were conveyed to
Salisbury, and, by order of Ambrosius, placed over the
graves of the British lords. These gravestones are what
are now called Stonehenge. Such stories, as may be expected,
are discredited by historians, but our best antiquaries
disagree as to the origin of these monuments of
antiquity.</p>

<p>Gale, Dickenson, and others say the Druids borrowed
their philosophy and religion from the Jews and Eastern
heathen nations. Our older antiquarians believe that<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_272" id="Page_272">[Pg 272]</a></span>
cromlechs are Druidical altars, in imitation of older
heathen altars&mdash;a theory supported by reference to the
stones called Petroma, near the temple of Eleusinian
Damater in Arcadia: The Philistines pointed to the
Deluge in their hieroglyphics of the serpent and mundane
egg, the history which the serpent is supposed to designate
being that of Noah, and the egg being reckoned an emblem
of the ark, from the circumstance of it containing
the rudiments of future life. The serpent is not unfrequently
represented when reference is made to the
betrayal of Eve.</p>

<p>People making acknowledgment to the gods for continual
benefits, surrendered part of their increase for the
service of the altar. Egyptian offerings consisted of fruits
and herbs, while shepherds offered firstlings of their flocks.
For this cause the Egyptians disliked shepherds almost
with the cruel hatred Cain bore his brother Abel.</p>

<p>As the oak and misletoe were sacred to the Druids, so
were they to the Israelites in their days of declension.
And in Greece we find the famous oracle of Jupiter at the
oaks of Dodona. To the ancient inhabitants of Italy the
misletoe was a sacred emblem; and the golden branches of
Virgil were none other than those of the misletoe.</p>

<p>As the Druids studied the heavenly bodies as a book (so
says Origen), the heathen learned through the discovery
of a new star the birth of a great person. From Virgil,
it appears, it was commonly imagined the gods sent stars
to point the way to their favourites in perplexity. The
Jews entertained similar opinions.</p>

<p>According to Suckford, the ancients believed that heroes
and other great men were transferred at death to some
bright planet. In consequence of such belief, eminent
persons were deified. Julius C&aelig;sar was canonised, because
it was thought he was translated to a new star, discovered
at the hour of his death.</p>



<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_273" id="Page_273">[Pg 273]</a></span></p>
<h2><a name="DEMONOLOGY" id="DEMONOLOGY"></a>DEMONOLOGY.</h2>

<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXVIII" id="CHAPTER_XXVIII"></a>CHAPTER XXVIII.</h2>

<div class="blockquot"><p>First Ideas of Demonology&mdash;Rabbinical Tradition&mdash;Adam's Marriage&mdash;The
Wicked Lilith&mdash;Demons&mdash;Egyptian Tradition&mdash;Arabian Worship
of Genii&mdash;Christians' Opinions of Demons&mdash;Forms assumed by Evil
Spirits&mdash;Demoniacal King&mdash;Duty of Inferior Demons&mdash;Task of Benign
Spirits&mdash;Schools of Magic&mdash;What was taught in them&mdash;Circassian
Opinions&mdash;Belief of Indians&mdash;Situation of Hell&mdash;Men's Actions recorded&mdash;Rewards
and Punishments&mdash;How to frighten Demons&mdash;Treatment
of the Sick&mdash;Condemning Spirits to Everlasting Punishment&mdash;Attendant
Angels&mdash;Worship of Gods&mdash;Foretelling Future Events&mdash;Small-pox
propagated by an Evil Genius&mdash;Souls of Deceased Persons&mdash;Dread
of Evil Spirits&mdash;Effect of Charms.</p></div>


<p>To the Chaldeans we are indebted for the first ideas
of demonology. From Chaldea the notions of demonology
spread to Persia, Egypt, and Greece; but, as stated in
another part of these pages, a belief in spirits or genii
and of witchcraft prevailed at an early period of man's
existence. There is an ancient Rabbinical tradition, no
doubt very absurd, but illustrative of early notions of
superstition, that Adam was first married to a sorceress
named Lilith, or the mother of devils. She refused submission
to Adam, and disregarded commandments conveyed
to her by angels. She persisted in her disobedience;
and having one day, in a more than ordinary state of
impiety, invoked the name of Jehovah, according to the
rules of the Cabala, she ascended into the air and disappeared.
Lilith was feared by divers nations. When
children died of diseases not properly understood, their
deaths were attributed to Lilith, who was supposed to
carry out her wicked purposes as an a&euml;rial spectre. Newly<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_274" id="Page_274">[Pg 274]</a></span>
married pairs were accustomed to inscribe the names of
angels on the inside partitions of their houses, and the
names of Adam and Eve and the words "Begone, Lilith,"
on the outside walls. The name Lilith was given to
women suspected of holding intercourse with demons. The
legends of Lilith were transmitted from people to people
until they came down to the Jews, who believed them.
This people were wont to inscribe on their bed-posts the
words, "Et zelo Chuizlilith," that the sleepers might be
delivered by Lilith from dreams.</p>

<p>Demon was a term applied by the Greeks and Romans
to certain genii or spirits who made themselves visible to
men, with the intention of doing them either good or
harm. The Jews and early Christians ascribed a malignant
nature to demons, the former endeavouring to trace their
origin to intercourse between man and supernatural beings,
and the latter maintaining that they were the souls of
departed human beings, permitted to visit the earth to
assist those they favoured, and punish persons against
whom they or their favourites had a grudge. Certain
spirits were supposed to be celestial, others watery, some
airy, and not a few of them fiery. Tertullian said: "Spirits
flew through the air faster than any winged fowl. Unless
commissioned to act, they remained passive, neither doing
good nor evil; but the evil spirits went and came at the
devil's command, and both classes of spirits were at man's
service if he only knew how to summon them into his
presence."</p>

<p>The ancient Egyptians had a tradition, that at a far past
period men rebelled against the gods, and drove them
away. Upon this taking place, the gods fled into Egypt,
where they concealed themselves under the form of
different animals; and this was the first reason assigned
for the worship of inferior creatures. A leading principle
in the religion of the ancient Arabians was their belief in
fairies or genii. They thought that these genii attended<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_275" id="Page_275">[Pg 275]</a></span>
people through life; that every man had two of these
waiting on him, the one good and the other evil; that
all evil actions were committed at the instigation of the
evil spirit in the absence of the good genii, who sometimes
went with messages to the celestial regions. The Arabians
further believed these genii were continually at war with
each other, which, the people considered, accounted for the
contending passions in their minds. Their principal genius
was Hafedhah, to whom the people, on setting out on a
plundering expedition, prayed he would send them a
strong genius to assist them.</p>

<p>In the middle ages conjuration was regularly practised
in Europe, and devils were supposed to appear under
decided forms. A devil would appear either as an angel
of light, or as a monster in hideous shape. An anonymous
writer, discussing the subject, says: "A devil would appear
either like an angel seated in a fiery chariot, or riding on
an infernal dragon, and carrying in his right hand a viper,
or assuming a lion's head, a goose's feet, and a hare's tail,
or putting on a raven's head, and mounted on a strong
wolf. Other forms made use of by demons were those of
fierce warriors, or old men riding upon crocodiles, with
hooks in hand. A human figure would arise, having the
wings of a griffin; or sporting three heads, one of them
being like that of a toad, the other resembling that of a
cat; or defended with huge teeth and horns, and adorned
with a sword; or displaying a dog's teeth, and a large raven's
head; or mounted upon a pale horse, and exhibiting a
serpent's tail; or gloriously crowned, and riding upon a
dromedary; or presenting the face of a lion; or bestriding
a bear, and grasping a viper. There were also such shapes
as those of archers or bowmen. A demoniacal king would
ride on a pale horse, assume a leopard's face and griffin's
wings; or put on three heads, one of a bull, another of a
man, and a third of a ram, with a serpent's tail and the
feet of a goose; and in this appearance sit on a dragon,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_276" id="Page_276">[Pg 276]</a></span>
and bear in his hand a lance and flag; or, instead of being
thus employed, goad the flanks of a furious bear, and
carry on his fist a hawk. Other forms were those of a
goodly knight; or of one who bore lance, ensign, and even
sceptre; or of a soldier, either riding on a black horse,
and surrounded with a flame of fire; or wearing on his
head a duke's crown, and mounted on a crocodile; or
assuming a lion's face, and, with fiery eyes, spurring on
a gigantic charger, or, with the same frightful aspect, appearing
in all the pomp of family distinction, on a pale
horse; or clad from head to foot in crimson raiment, wearing
on his bold front a crown, and sallying forth on a red steed."</p>

<p>To inferior demons was assigned the duty of carrying
away condemned souls, and superior benign spirits had
the pleasing task of conveying from earth the souls of the
blessed.</p>

<p>Toledo, Seville, and Salamanca were great schools of
magic. The teachers taught that all knowledge might be
obtained by the assistance of fallen angels. These teachers
were skilled in the abstract sciences, in alchemy, in the
various languages of mankind, and of the lower animals,
divinity, magic, and prophecy. They professed to possess
the power of controlling the winds and waters, and of
influencing the stars. They also pretended to be able to
cause earthquakes, spread diseases or cure them, release
souls out of purgatory, to influence the passions of the
mind, procure the reconciliation of friends or foes, engender
discord, and induce mania and melancholy.</p>

<p>The Circassians sprinkled holy water over their friends'
graves, and the priests tolled bells near them to keep evil
spirits from the bodies. Affectionate relations visited the
burying grounds from time to time, to repeat prayers for
the repose of the dead, who, they thought, continued to
be acquainted with the affairs of the world.</p>

<p>When an Indian became ill, the Brahmin prayed over
him; for it was believed that two spirits, one good and the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_277" id="Page_277">[Pg 277]</a></span>
other bad, attended the dying at the hour of death. If the
expiring person lived a commendable life, he was conveyed
in a flying chariot to a place of happiness; but if he was
wicked, the evil spirit carried him before a dread tribunal,
to be judged according to his works. Deceased was then
sent back to wander on the earth ten days, in the shape
of a magpie. For this reason the people always fed a
magpie for ten days after the death of a relation, imagining
that the bird might possess their friend's soul.</p>

<p>Indians believed in former times, whatever they may
do now, that hell was situated at a great distance below
the world, and that there was a president in it called
Yhamadar. Under him, a secretary named Xitragupten
wrote down a man's good and bad actions, and presented
his record to the president the instant the deceased's soul
came before him. This infernal president was reported to
have been very equitable, distributing rewards and punishments
according to justice. Some souls were supposed
to be sent back to inhabit inferior bodies in this world,
while others were tormented in the most cruel manner in
the infernal regions. If a dying person laid hold of a cow
by the tail, and a Brahmin poured water over his hand,
and put a sum of money into it (the hand), the soul would
be protected from the power of demons.</p>

<p>In Pegu, copper vessels or bells were used to frighten
demons that wanted to disturb the repose of the dead.
There the priests pretended to know what was most agreeable
and acceptable to evil spirits, and professed to be able
to appease their anger. A grand entertainment was
sometimes made for the devil, at which the friends of a
sick man danced to the sound of vocal and instrumental
music. These heathens believed devils had bodies as well
as souls, and that, although immortal, they had the same
passions as men. They believed, also, that the devils or
demons had power to foretell future events, and that all
dreams happened in consequence of their promptings.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_278" id="Page_278">[Pg 278]</a></span>
They therefore consulted such devils nearly after the
manner the witches of Great Britain were accustomed
to do.</p>

<p>When a person in Cochin-China was at the point of
death, his male relations surrounded his bed, brandishing
their sabres and other warlike weapons, to drive away
the demons, which they supposed were hovering around
him to seize his soul the instant it was liberated from the
body. When a prince died, the priests held a consultation,
in order to discover what demon it was that caused the
sad event; and when they made the discovery, which
they invariably did, they in a solemn manner condemned
the evil spirit to everlasting punishment. The inhabitants
of the Molucca Islands were under the impression, like
other heathens and Christians too, that two angels
attended on every person on earth, the one seeking his
good, and the other his eternal hurt. The good angel
prompted the individual to holy actions, while the
malignant one was constantly instigating him to shun
the right path. The people worshipped the air under the
name of Lanitho, which was subject to another being or
spirit named Lanthila, but they had many gods they consulted
on all occasions of importance. If it was considered
necessary to consult a Nito or god, the people assembled
under cloud of night, with tapers burning, and, after pronouncing
mysterious words, called on their god to appear.
As soon as the prescribed forms were gone through, Nito
entered with one of the people, who, while under the
demoniacal influence, foretold future events. A few
families in that island claimed to have the power of witchcraft
vested in them from generation to generation.</p>

<p>Being often afflicted with small-pox, the people conjectured
the disease was propagated by an evil genius;
and, to frighten the demon from their homes, images were
placed on the house-tops. If one accidentally met a
funeral or saw a corpse on the road, he returned home<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_279" id="Page_279">[Pg 279]</a></span>
in haste. If the unlucky person was a woman carrying a
child in her arms, her consternation was great, for it was
imagined the soul of the deceased hovered in the air near
the corpse, and endeavoured to injure the living, particularly
young children. To protect their children from
demons, parents tied charmed beads round the infants'
necks. Indeed the people lived in constant dread of evil
spirits; and, to frustrate their evil intentions, they, in
addition to the preventatives already mentioned, always
kept consecrated articles under their pillows.</p>



<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXIX" id="CHAPTER_XXIX"></a>CHAPTER XXIX.</h2>

<div class="blockquot"><p>Heathen Devotion in Ceylon&mdash;Superstitious Customs among the Schismatic
Greeks&mdash;Negro Belief in Fetishes or Genii&mdash;Charms and Sacred
Rings and Belts&mdash;Magic taught by the Priests&mdash;Dead Persons
metamorphosed into Serpents&mdash;How the Gaures disposed of their
Dead&mdash;Modes of discovering whether Souls were Blessed or Damned&mdash;Orders
of Genii in Madagascar&mdash;Devil Worship&mdash;Belief of the
Caribbees&mdash;Brazilian Superstition&mdash;Peruvian Tradition&mdash;Devil
Worship among the American Indians&mdash;Demons in the Sixteenth and
Seventeenth Centuries&mdash;Satan in France&mdash;Manes, Anima, and Umbra
among the Greeks and Romans.</p></div>


<p>In Ceylon, when the heathens' prayers were not answered,
they repaired to the most gloomy parts of their sacred
groves, and offered up red cocks to the devil, where they
supposed he and his imps and attendants delighted to
dwell. And when any of the people were sick, they
devoted a red cock to one of their genii. The priest, in
offering the cock, made it known that the fowl was given
only on condition that the invalid would be cured. It
was believed that all the sacrifices offered to these genii
were carried by them to heaven, to be presented to Buddha.
To discover whether a patient's sickness was caused by a
good or evil spirit, a bow of the first little stick that could
be found was prepared, and on the bow-string the operator<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_280" id="Page_280">[Pg 280]</a></span>
hung a small chisel, and holding the bow by the two
extremities, named all the gods and devils he thought of.
As soon as the name of the good or evil spirit that caused
the disease was pronounced, the bow turned round. By
means of bows the natives of Ceylon were also enabled
to foretell future events.</p>

<p>Among the schismatic Greeks, an infant, previous to
its baptism, was crossed by the priest, who commanded
the devil to come out of the child, for it was believed an
unclean spirit resided in it before baptism. After baptism,
the priest hung a cross of gold, silver, or tin about the
child's neck, which, in accordance with usual custom,
was worn till death. If at death one was found without
his cross, his body was cast into the ground without
sacred ceremonies.</p>

<p>The negroes had fetishes or genii similar to the Manitous
of the North Americans, and the ancient Fauns or
Sylvans of the Romans. To these fetishes the negroes paid
great respect. Particular kinds of birds, fishes, and trees
were looked upon as fetishes; and certain of them were
accounted the guardians of hills, mountains, and streams.
Negroes supposed that if one broke off a branch from
a sacred tree, he would immediately cause the destruction
of their crops. They had stones resembling the Roman
terminal-stones. Fetishes were consulted by the people
as oracles; and when they appeared in living form to
return answers, it was generally as black dogs. Large
fetishes were kept for the protection of houses; and the
people carried small ones about them, sometimes suspended
from their necks, and sometimes concealed under
their arm-pits, for their protection. Negro women hung
charms round their infants' necks, to protect them from
harm. Children four years of age had sacred rings
round their legs and arms, to protect them from evil
spirits. This was not all: mothers went the length of
making their children wear bandages adorned with fetishes,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_281" id="Page_281">[Pg 281]</a></span>
to strengthen the little ones and keep away demons.
Thursday was set apart for the worship of fetishes. The
priests studied magic, and instructed the people in the art
thereof. It was a belief among the negroes, that at death
they were metamorphosed into serpents, and for that
reason they would not kill or injure one of these reptiles.</p>

<p>Because the Gaures thought decomposed bodies polluted
the earth, they did not bury their dead. They had round
towers as receptacles for their departed friends, whose
bodies were let down to their final resting-place through
an aperture in the roof. During the first three days after
the body had been laid in the tower, it was thought
to be in danger of being carried away by the devil. It
therefore became necessary for the friends to keep watch,
in order to prevent Satan having an opportunity to
torment the soul as it winged its way to the celestial
regions. On or before the fourth day the soul was in a
place of torment or happiness. On this, the fourth day,
the priests prognosticated the future state of the deceased.
The discovery was made in this way: the dead body was
laid on its back, with the eyes turned towards heaven,
and the vultures being permitted to come and feast on
the deceased, it was considered a certain sign that the soul
had gone to bliss if the right eye was taken out first, but
it was an equally sure omen that it had gone to a place
of punishment if the left eye was the first devoured.
Another mode of ascertaining the state of happiness or
misery of a soul was by the movements of a dog near a
corpse. If the animal went close to it, then were the
relatives convinced the soul was in a state of bliss, but if
the dog could not be tempted to go near the body, they
despaired of their friend escaping everlasting torment.</p>

<p>The islanders of Madagascar entertained the opinion
that there were divers orders of genii or spirits; that some
of them directed the motions of the stars and planets, and
that others had power over the air, the meteors, the sea,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_282" id="Page_282">[Pg 282]</a></span>
and men. Besides these genii there was another order of
spirits, male and female, who married and had offspring.
They made known future events to man, and performed
superhuman actions, such as are done by Scotch fairies.
The natives of Madagascar also believed in the existence of
phantoms and ghosts. To protect themselves, their friends,
and property from the power of Satan, they, at stated
times, with javelins in hand, danced, to the beat of drum,
to drive away evil spirits.</p>

<p>The Floridans worshipped the devil in various ways.
In the Caribbee Islands the inhabitants had a great
variety of omens and superstitions. They thought bats
were supernatural creatures, whose duty it was to watch
over mortal man during night. These people consulted
relics of deceased friends as to things past and future.
The Boias, the native medico-priests, had each his particular
genii, whom he pretended to summon to his assistance
by humming certain words and burning tobacco.
These genii were conjured in the night time, at a place
without fire or light. The Boias were reported to have
possessed the power of killing enemies by means of charms.
The Caribbees ascribed diseases to Maboia; and whenever
they were desirous of knowing the result of any illness
with which they were afflicted, they presented an offering
to Maboia, and sent for a Boia in the night, who, on his
arrival, ordered the fires to be extinguished. In presence
of the patient, he smoked a quantity of tobacco, rubbed
another portion of the weed into powder, and blew it up
in the air. From certain appearances the priest discovered
the cause of the disease, and ascertained what would be
the result thereof. If the patient was to die, the priest
gave his assurance that the spirits would receive the
dying individual into their blessed abode.</p>

<p>The Brazilians had domestic gods, which they consulted;
and their priests were fortune-tellers and interpreters of
dreams. After a friend died, the relations carried<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_283" id="Page_283">[Pg 283]</a></span>
provisions to the grave every day for a short time, under the
impression that the nourishment brought would prevent
the deceased's spirit from dying.</p>

<p>The Peruvians had a tradition that a man of extraordinary
form and character, whose name was Choun,
came from the north into their country; that he levelled
mountains, filled up valleys, and opened passages for himself
through places inaccessible to ordinary man. It is
related that this being having been offended by the inhabitants
of the plains, changed part of the ground which
was fruitful into a sandy desert, forbade the rain to fall,
and dried up the plants. Subsequently he had compassion
on the erring people, and opened the springs, so
that the rivers once more flowed. Choun was worshipped
till the appearance of a more mighty god called Pachacamac,
who, on his coming, metamorphosed into wild
beasts the former inhabitants that had done homage to
Choun. The people had superstitious opinions concerning
comets and rainbows. They drew predictions
from dreams, from signs on earth, and from appearances
in the heavens.</p>

<p>In olden times there was a system of devil worship
among the American Indians; and almost everywhere,
in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, demons made
themselves seen and felt in nearly every part of the
earth. In France, Satan had his witches, imps, and other
inferior demons, who carried out his wicked purposes. At
Lyons the devil appeared in the shape of a little woman,
and, by cunning stratagem, led many persons into serious
crimes. In the year 1612 the evil one, in the appearance
of a beautiful woman, allured some Paris gentlemen into
paths of sin. As a good deal of scandal was the result,
the justices and physicians of the city commenced an inquiry,
which ended in it being discovered that the apparently
beautiful lady was the evil spirit of a woman
that had been hanged shortly before. Great excitement<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_284" id="Page_284">[Pg 284]</a></span>
prevailed at St. Steven's Church, Mascon, through the
devil opening graves, raising the dead, and destroying
the vintage.</p>

<p>The Greeks and Romans affirmed that, after the dissolution
of the body, every man possessed three different
kinds of ghosts or spirits, distinguished by the names of
Manes, Anima, and Umbra. The Manes, it was supposed,
descended into the infernal regions, the Anima ascended to
the skies, and Umbra hovered about the tomb, seemingly
unwilling to depart from the body.</p>



<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXX" id="CHAPTER_XXX"></a>CHAPTER XXX.</h2>

<div class="blockquot"><p>Belief in the Existence of Visible Ghosts&mdash;Superstition among the People
dwelling on the Baltic Shores&mdash;A German Legend&mdash;Demons in the
West of Europe&mdash;Love, how plighted in Orkney&mdash;The Monster Ymor&mdash;Origin
of Fairies&mdash;The Duergar or Dwarfs&mdash;More about Fairies&mdash;Brownies
in Ireland and the Highlands of Scotland&mdash;Nine Classes of
Evil Spirits&mdash;Vampires&mdash;Man's Double or Fetch&mdash;Churchyard Ghosts&mdash;Souls
of Suicides&mdash;Burial of Suicides and Murderers at Cross Roads&mdash;Luther
on Evil Spirits and Witches.</p></div>


<p>A belief in the existence of visible ghosts on earth was
general before and after the middle ages. An old divine
of our own country says:&mdash;"I look upon it as a special
piece of providence, that there are, ever and anon, such
fresh examples of apparitions and witchcraft as may rub
up and awaken their" [the people's] "benumbed and
lethargic minds into a suspicion at least, if not assurance,
that there are other intelligent beings besides those clothed
in heavy earth or clay. In this, I say, methinks the
divine providence does plainly interest the powers of the
dark kingdom, permitting wicked men and women, and
vagrant spirits of that kingdom, to make leagues or
covenants one with another, and to make the confession
of witches against their own lives, and the miraculous<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_285" id="Page_285">[Pg 285]</a></span>
feats they play, palpable evidence that there are bad
spirits" as well as good.</p>

<p>An author, who wrote on second sight, last century,
under the name of Theophilus Insulanus, considered all
persons were irreligious who entertained a doubt of the
reality of apparitions of departed souls.</p>

<p>Another author thought ghosts were mere a&euml;rial beings
without substance that could pass through walls and
other solid bodies at pleasure. Ghosts commonly appeared
in the same dress as the persons whose spirits they
represented were accustomed to wear when alive, though
the ghosts were sometimes clothed in white. The appearance
of spirits was generally accompanied by an unaccountable
light. Dogs and horses possess the faculty
of seeing ghosts.</p>

<p>People living on the Baltic shores have a deity named
Putseet, whom they encourage to remain with them, by
placing in their barns, every night, tables with bread,
butter, cheese, and ale thereon. If the provisions are
taken away, good fortune is expected; if left untouched,
bad luck is looked for. This spirit assists in thrashing,
churning, grinding, and sweeping the house at midnight.</p>

<p>The Northern nations regard spirits of this description
as the souls of men who gave themselves up, during life,
to illicit pleasures, and therefore were doomed, as a punishment,
to wander about the earth for a limited time,
to assist mankind.</p>

<p>There is a legend in Germany of an extraordinary
nature. Travellers were shown a pair of brass gates, one
of which had a crack, caused by the following circumstance:&mdash;When
a supreme monarch had given orders for
the building of a church, the devil came one day and asked
what he intended it for, to which the Emperor answered,
"For a gaming-house," and Satan went away seemingly
well pleased. A few days afterwards the fiend returned,
and seeing altars erected, asked what they were for.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_286" id="Page_286">[Pg 286]</a></span>
The Emperor answered, "For gaming-tables," which encouraged
the devil to lend his assistance in the completion
of the sacred building. Next time Satan made his appearance
he brought a pair of large brass gates for the edifice,
but happening to see a crucifix, he flung them down with
such force that one of the gates was damaged. For many
years the gates were objects of curiosity.</p>

<p>In the west of Europe, where superstition prevailed, there
were many formidable demons, whose history originated
in Celtic, Teutonic, and Eastern fables. In Orkney, even
during the last century, lovers met within the sacred
circle of stones dedicated to Scandinavian deities, to
plight their love. Through a hole in one of the pillars
the hands of contracting parties were joined, and the vow
made was called the promise of Odin. To violate this
vow, rendered the false one infamous in all time coming.</p>

<p>In the body of the giant Ymir several maggots had
been generated, which, by order of the gods, partook of
both human shape and reason. These little beings, to
which reference is also made in pages <a href="#Page_88">88</a> and <a href="#Page_90">90</a>, possessed
the most delicate figures, and always dwelt in subterranean
caverns or clefts in the rocks. They were remarkable
for their riches, activity, and malevolence, and
were probably the modern fairies of the north and west,
who are usually described as beings of small stature, and
gaily dressed. These creatures, the offspring of worms,
possessed the power of making themselves visible and invisible.
They multiplied their species, and lived in a
style of grandeur that could not be surpassed by the
greatest monarch on earth. They were good friends to
certain members of the human family, but bitter enemies
to others of Adam's posterity. With their elf arrows they
could kill or wound man and beast. They carried off
children and domestic animals, generally leaving vile
creatures resembling the children or animals carried
away, so as to prevent the felony being discovered.</p>

<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_287" id="Page_287">[Pg 287]</a></span>Opinions originally entertained in this country relative
to the dwarfs have undergone considerable modifications,
from the same attributes being assigned to them
as to the Persian peris. Fairies were supposed to have
brought many blessings to England, sending people
pleasant dreams, giving money to them in a mysterious
manner, and causing the nation to prosper. In remote
times a brownie was attached to the home of every considerable
family in Ireland and the Highlands of Scotland.
Like men, some brownies were tall, and some of small
stature. They were industrious and faithful, if well
treated in the way the Samogit&aelig; did the Putseet. When
a brownie once united himself to a family, he seldom
deserted it, but continued to serve generation after generation.
Burton speaks of nine classes of evil spirits:&mdash;First,
the false gods of the Gentiles, adored as idols, who gave
oracles at Delphos and elsewhere, whose prince was
Beelzebub; second, the liars and equivocators, as Apollo,
Pythias, and the like; third, the inventors of mischief,
as Theutus, in Plato; fourth, malicious, revengeful devils,
whose prince was Asmodeus; fifth, coseners, such as belong
to magicians and witches, their prince being Satan; sixth,
a&euml;rial spirits, that corrupted the air, and caused plagues,
thunder, fires, and other calamities; seventh, a destroyer,
causing wars, tumults, and combustions; eighth, an
accusing or calumniating devil, that drove people to despair;
and the ninth, tempters in divers shapes, having
mammon for their prince. Burton goes further. He
asserts that "no place is void, but all full of spirits,
devils, or other inhabitants; not so much as a hairbreadth
is empty in heaven, earth, or waters above or
under the earth. The earth is not so full of flies in
summer as it is at all times of invisible devils."</p>

<p>Psellus founded a system of demonology, which had for
its basis the natural history and habitation of demons.
His first class consisted of fiery devils, that wandered in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_288" id="Page_288">[Pg 288]</a></span>
the regions near the moon, but were prevented from entering
that luminary. They displayed their power in blazing
stars, in counterfeit suns, moons, and meteoric lights, and
prevented foul weather. These demons, we are informed,
occasionally resided in the furnaces of Hecla, Etna, or
Vesuvius. His second class was made up of a&euml;rial devils,
that inhabited the atmosphere, caused tempests, thunder,
and lightning, rended asunder trees, burned down steeples
and houses, struck men and beasts, showered stones, wool,
and frogs from the skies; counterfeited in the clouds the
battles of armies, raised whirlwinds, fires, and corrupted
the air so as to spread disease. The third class was
terrestrial devils, such as lares, genii, fauns, satyrs, wood-nymphs,
foliots, robin-goodfellows, or trulli. The fourth
class was aqueous devils, as the various descriptions of
water nymphs. The fifth class consisted of subterranean
devils, known by the name of Getuli or Cobals. They
preserved treasure in the earth, and prevented it being
suddenly revealed; they were also the cause of horrible
earthquakes. Psellus's sixth class of devils was named
lucifugi. They delighted in darkness, entered into the
bowels of men, and tormented those whom they possessed
with frenzy and the falling sickness. An opinion prevailed
that devils possessed corporeal frames, capable of
sensation; that they could feel and be felt; that they
could injure and be hurt; that they were nourished with
peculiar food; that they did not hurt cattle from malevolence,
but through a desire to obtain natural temperate
heat and moisture from the animals they killed; that
they disliked the sun's rays; and that they attained a
great age.</p>

<p>Of all the kinds of demons we have heard of, the most
loathsome are the vampires. Horst speaks of a vampire
as a "dead body which continues to live in the grave,
which it leaves, however, by night for the purpose of
sucking the blood of the living, whereby it is nourished<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_289" id="Page_289">[Pg 289]</a></span>
and preserved in good condition, instead of becoming decomposed
like other dead bodies." Fischer, who believed
there were vampires, informs us that the bite of a vampire
left no mark upon the person, but that the bite speedily
proved fatal, unless counteracted by the injured person
eating some of the earth from the vampire's grave, and
smearing himself with his blood. These precautions had
only a temporary effect, if at all successful; for the bitten
victim, sooner or later, became a vampire himself&mdash;died
and was buried, but continued to follow the examples of
old vampires in nourishing themselves, infecting others,
and propagating vampirism.</p>

<p>Down to the middle of the last century there was a
belief in vampirism in the east of Europe. This form of
superstition created much anxiety in the public mind,
none knowing when he might be bitten by one of those
hated demons, and be thereby transformed into a vampire.
Men of science bore testimony in favour of vampirism
with seeming truthfulness and ability, worthy of a better
subject.</p>

<p>In England every man was supposed to have his
"double" or "fetch." The appearance of a fetch created
great uneasiness in the mind of the person witnessing the
apparition. It was taken as foreboding death or serious
calamity to the being represented.</p>

<p>There were also churchyard ghosts in England, whose
duty it was to watch bodies over which church rites had
not been performed after violent death. In Scotland and
England there were peculiar superstitious views concerning
the souls of suicides. Authoritative decrees prohibited
graveyard gates being opened to permit the bodies of such
persons being carried through them for interment. If
relations persisted in depositing the remains of a friend
who had committed suicide, it was necessary for them to
take the dead body over the graveyard wall after sunset.
But in most cases the bodies of suicides and murderers<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_290" id="Page_290">[Pg 290]</a></span>
were buried at a "cross road," with a stake driven through
the corpse, to prevent its ghost rising to frighten or harm
innocent people.</p>

<p>The precaution of driving a stake through the body did
not always prove effectual, if countless tales related of
ghosts being seen in the vicinity of such unhallowed
burying-grounds be true. Surprise need not be expressed
at such superstition prevailing in a country where faith
in witchcraft still lingers, and in which, at no very remote
time, the statutes against witches were in full force. The
State and the Church believed in the existence of demons
and witches.</p>

<p>Luther's opinions on the subject of the agency and operations
of evil spirits may be inferred from his <i>Colloquia</i>.
"Many devils," he says, "are in woods, in waters, in
wildernesses, and in dark poolly places, ready to hurt and
prejudice people; some are in the thick black clouds,
which cause hail, lightnings, and thunderings, and which
poison the air, the pastures, and grounds."</p>

<p>In a conversation on witchcraft, Luther said he had no
compassion on witches: he would burn every one of them.
He reminded the people, that, according to the old law,
the priests threw the first stones at such malefactors.
Luther said his mother had undergone infinite annoyance
from one of her neighbours who was a witch. This witch
could throw a charm upon a child, which would make it
cry itself to death. A pastor having punished the witch
for some of her wicked tricks, she cast a spell on him
by means of some earth he had walked upon. The
good man fell sick of a malady, which no remedy could
remove, and shortly thereafter died. Luther was satisfied
the devil, through his prophets, could, and did, foretell
future events; that he (the devil) was so skilled that he
could cause death even by the leaf of a tree; that he had
more boxes and pots full of poison, wherewith he destroyed
men, than all the apothecaries in the world had of healing<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_291" id="Page_291">[Pg 291]</a></span>
medicine. The devil, Luther thought, was so crafty that
he could deceive our senses. He caused one to think he
saw something he saw not, and to hear thunder or a
trumpet he heard not. Men, he argued, were possessed
by the devil, corporeally and spiritually. Those whom
he possessed corporeally were mad people.</p>



<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXXI" id="CHAPTER_XXXI"></a>CHAPTER XXXI.</h2>

<div class="blockquot"><p>Belief and Teaching of the Roman Catholic Church&mdash;Instructions to
Ecclesiastics in reference to Demons&mdash;Swedenborg's Intercourse with
Spirits&mdash;Marcus Brutus and his Evil Genius&mdash;Cassius and Julius
C&aelig;sar's Ghost at Philippi&mdash;Phantom Soldiers and Horses&mdash;Plutarch
on Spectres&mdash;Socrates on the same subject&mdash;Archbishop Bruno and
the Spectre&mdash;A Haunted House&mdash;A Child's Ghost&mdash;Spectre at Sea&mdash;Ghost
of a Murdered Man in New South Wales&mdash;A Haunted House&mdash;A
Spectre at Sea.</p></div>


<p>The belief and teaching of the Roman Catholic Church
lead to a conviction that there are many evil spirits who
act on men immediately by forming in the imagination
representations and phantasies of an evil nature. The
subjects of Satan, on whom his tyranny is chiefly exercised,
are those who wilfully come under the empire of the
prince of darkness, such as magicians, sorcerers, and
persons who have renounced their baptism.</p>

<p>In a summary of instructions for the guidance of
ecclesiastics, entitled <i>De Instructione Sacerdotum</i>, which
appeared about the middle of the seventeenth century,
we find in substance the following:&mdash;</p>

<div class="blockquot"><p>"Magic is produced by the power of demons. In reality there is no
power existing in the magician, for the effects are produced by the devil
at the command of the magician. In the first place, demons produce
effects by transferring bodies with great rapidity from one place to another.
For they have power over all inferior things, natural and artificial,
in this respect; and, moreover, they are endowed with wonderful agility,
which enables them to pass in an instant from one place to another,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_292" id="Page_292">[Pg 292]</a></span>
however remote. Secondly, demons produce effects by the occult application
of natural causes, and by accelerating their actions, for their
knowledge is incredible. They understand the nature and properties of
everything in the mineral, vegetable, and animal worlds, and they know
where everything is. Hence they sometimes produce trees, fruits, and
animals in an incredibly short space of time. They often effect cures
by the occult use of medicines, or by entering the body and expelling
evil humours. Thirdly, they perform prodigies by acting on the senses.
The compacts between the demons and magicians are based upon engagements
mutually entered into. The magician promises to obey the demon,
and the demon, on his part, promises to work for him and at his bidding.
The compact is sometimes entered into with great solemnity, with the
demon seated on a throne, surrounded by a host of evil spirits, as attendants
and witnesses."</p></div>

<p>Swedenborg entertained the conviction that the world
of spirits held communion with certain favoured persons
in this life; and up to the period of his death, in the year
1772, he pretended to have intercourse with spirits of
celestial origin and those of deceased men. Swedenborg
frequently narrated the wonders of other worlds, and
particularly those of the infernal regions.</p>

<p>There are endless accounts of spirits appearing to men
on earth. Here are a few of them:&mdash;Marcus Brutus, one
of the murderers of Julius C&aelig;sar, being one night in his
tent, saw a monstrous figure coming in about the third
hour of night. Brutus immediately cried out, "What art
thou, a man or a god? and why art thou come hither?"
The spectre answered, "I am thy evil genius; thou shalt
see me at Philippi." Brutus, with feigned calmness,
answered, "I will meet thee there." Disordered, however,
in body, and disturbed in mind, Brutus related
the affair to Cassius, who, being of the sect of Epicurus,
told Brutus that what he supposed he saw was nothing
more than mere fancy; that there were no such things
as genii or other spirits which could appear to man; that
even if they should appear, they could not assume a
human shape or voice, and had no power over men.
Though Brutus was somewhat encouraged by what<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_293" id="Page_293">[Pg 293]</a></span>
Cassius said, he could not entirely overcome his uneasiness.
In the midst of the battle of Philippi, Brutus
thought he saw Julius C&aelig;sar, whom he had assassinated,
riding to him at full speed, which so terrified him that he
fell upon his own sword. Cassius also fell there under the
hand of his freedman Pindarus.</p>

<p>Pausanius writes that, four hundred years after the
battle of Marathon, there were heard, in the place where
it was fought, the neighing of horses, and the shouts of
soldiers animating one another to the fight. Plutarch
also speaks of spectres seen and dreadful howlings heard
in the public baths, where several citizens of Ch&oelig;ronea,
his native town, had been murdered. He says that the
inhabitants had been obliged to shut up these baths, but
that, notwithstanding this precaution, great noises continued
to be heard, and dreadful spectres were frequently
seen by the neighbours. Plutarch frequently makes
mention of spectres and apparitions; particularly he says,
that, in the famous battle above alluded to, several
soldiers saw the apparition of Theseus fighting for the
Greeks and against the Persians.</p>

<p>It is recorded in Socrates, that after the defeat of the
Athenian army under the pr&aelig;tor Laches, as he was
flying in company with the Athenian general, and came
to a place where several roads met, he refused to go the
same road that the others took, and the reason being
asked him, he answered that his genius, or familiar spirit,
who frequently attended him, dissuaded him from it; and
the event justified the precaution, for all those who went
a different way from him were killed or made prisoners
by the enemy's cavalry.</p>

<p>When Bruno, Archbishop of Wirtzburgh, a short time
before his sudden death, was sailing with Henry III., he
descried a terrific spectre standing upon a rock which
overhung the foaming waters, by whom he was thus
hailed; "Ho! bishop, I am thy evil genius. Go whither<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_294" id="Page_294">[Pg 294]</a></span>
thou choosest, thou art and shalt be mine. I am not now
sent for thee, but soon thou shalt see me again."</p>

<p>A house at Athens was haunted by a spirit which
roamed through the apartments at night, seemingly
dragging a heavy chain after it. Athenodorus, the
philosopher, hired the house, with the intention of discovering
the cause of so much alarm to the inmates. One night,
while pursuing his studies, he was startled by hearing
what seemed to be the rattling of chains. On looking up
he beheld a spectre enter his apartment and make a sign
to him to follow. The philosopher rose and followed the
ghost, which went into the courtyard and disappeared.
The philosopher marked the spot where the spectre
vanished, and on the following day caused a search to be
made. The result was that the skeleton of a man in
chains was discovered. The bones were publicly burned,
and the ghost never again appeared.</p>

<p>A lady, while going along a dreary path one evening
to see a sick child, was frightened by a strange sight before
her. The mysterious object represented her friend's
child dead, and wrapt in its winding sheet, floating up in
the air heavenwards. It is almost needless to say that
just about that time the sick child died.</p>

<p>Many years ago, when a ship of war was one night off
the African coast, the officer on watch became deeply
affected in a manner he could not explain, and became
partially insensible, and could not rouse himself before
a cold hand touched him. He then beheld a white figure
walking away. It turned round, and in the face he beheld
the features of a brother in England. The spectre,
after remaining a few seconds, vanished. On arriving in
Great Britain, the officer discovered that his brother died
on the very night he saw the apparition.</p>

<p>A ghost story was related for the first time about twenty
years ago, of the ghost of a murdered man appearing in
the colony of New South Wales. A farmer named Fisher,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_295" id="Page_295">[Pg 295]</a></span>
in the prime of life and unmarried, suddenly disappeared,
leaving &pound;4000 worth of property behind him. A neighbour
called Smith reported that Fisher had gone to
England, and that he was authorized to act for him in all
business matters during his absence. The statement was
received as a fact; but a strange circumstance changed
public opinion. An old man named Ben Weir, who had
a small farm near that of Fisher, was returning home one
night from Sydney, when he beheld farmer Fisher with a
severe wound on the forehead, and blood flowing from it.
When Weir got within a few paces of the figure, it disappeared.
He could not rightly comprehend the meaning
of all this, and did not mention what he had seen, lest his
neighbours would say he had been drunk. A few nights
afterwards he had occasion to pass the spot where Fisher
had appeared, and there again the farmer stood before him
as before. Weir could not now remain silent. He went
to a justice of the peace and told his tale. At first the
justice would not credit his informant, but subsequently
he instructed an inquiry to be made. Marks of blood
were discovered at the spot where the ghost appeared, and
in a pond, a little distance off, Fisher's dead body was
found. Smith was consequently arrested, and tried before
the late Sir Francis Forbes. His guilt was established,
and he was sentenced to death. Before his execution he
confessed that he alone had murdered Fisher at the very
spot where Weir saw the murdered man's ghost.</p>

<p>An account is given of a house that was haunted at
Bow last century. A young girl declared one morning
that a cold hand had been laid on her about midnight.
This proved to be the hand of death. She sickened, and
before many suns went down she lay in her winding sheet.
Then followed a series of strange annoyances, which gave
rise to the report that the house was haunted. So dreadfully
were the inmates frightened, that though the house
contained many apartments upstairs and downstairs,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_296" id="Page_296">[Pg 296]</a></span>
they took refuge in a small room on the ground floor.
Night and day strange noises were heard, and furniture
and other articles were flung about by unseen hands. A
gentleman, a friend of the family, hearing of what was
going on, engaged to solve the mystery. Entering an
apartment upstairs, he observed the furniture moving
about the floor, although no living being could be seen.
Stones and bricks were thrown through the window; a
staff danced round the room; dishes were thrown at his
head. He examined every hole and corner, but could not
discover any person or thing by which the articles were
made to move. Fearing the presence of evil spirits, he
hastened out, closing the door after him. It was instantly
opened, and chairs, stools, candlesticks, and dishes were
hurled after him. The worst had not come. While all
the family were standing in amazement, a small boiler
with hot water moved from one side of the grate to the
other, the poker and tongs stood up and exchanged places,
the pots and pans clattered loudly, and a small table was
lifted into the air. A witch residing in the neighbourhood
being suspected of causing the mischief, a noted wizard
undertook to solve the mystery. He ordered the dancing
staff to be burned. When it was blazing up, a suspected
witch entered in great agony. She asked for a drink of
water to quench her burning thirst. Those cognisant of
the facts concluded that the perpetrator of the mischief
was discovered. She was apprehended, tried, and acquitted
for want of sufficient evidence. As she left the court she
was heard to mutter, "I shall be revenged." She kept her
word. The following night, the annoyance, which had
ceased during her incarceration, recommenced with double
fury. The inmates of the house, who had previously
escaped without bodily injury, were struck by invisible
persons, who, as often as they dealt their blows, shouted,
"Take that;" while at the same time the furniture was
knocked against the walls and broken to pieces. The<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_297" id="Page_297">[Pg 297]</a></span>
inmates fled for their lives, and the house was shut up for
many years, none daring to occupy the haunted house.</p>

<p>A young man at sea was alarmed, one night, to see
an apparition of his mother standing before him. She
delivered a message concerning family business. So
frightened was he that he could not reply or put any
questions to the spirit, although he earnestly desired to
speak. After delivering the message, the apparition slowly
retired, went over the ship's bulwarks, dropped gently
into the sea, and floated away. The last glimpse he had
of the unearthly figure was on the crest of a wave near
the vessel's stern. On his return home he learned that his
mother had died at the time he had seen her ghost. What
was more strange, she left a message for him similar to
that which the apparition delivered. On his next voyage
the young man told his companions that on the previous
night he had seen his mother floating in the water like a
mermaid, and that she had made a sign for him to come
to her. Next night a storm arose; the ship was in great
danger, the decks were swept, and the young man was
washed away. His last words were, "Mother, I come."</p>



<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXXII" id="CHAPTER_XXXII"></a>CHAPTER XXXII.</h2>

<div class="blockquot"><p>Spiritualism Past and Present&mdash;Coffee-house Keeper&mdash;Magic taught in
Leipsic&mdash;Intercourse with and Control over Spirits&mdash;Spirit of Marshal
Saxe called up&mdash;How Spirits were Invoked&mdash;Voices of Good and Evil
Spirits&mdash;A Terrified Company&mdash;Mysterious Death of a Magician&mdash;Unearthly
Huntsman&mdash;Prediction and its Fulfilment&mdash;An Estate lost
at the Gaming Table&mdash;A Baron Shot&mdash;A Marriage prevented by an
Apparition&mdash;Strange Sights and Sounds&mdash;Murder&mdash;Consulting a
Witch&mdash;Raising the Spirit of a Murdered Man&mdash;A Murderer's Fate.</p></div>


<p>Writers generally supposed to be well informed have
said that spiritualism is a system of professed communication
with the unseen world, which originated in America
about the year 1848. Others have endeavoured to trace<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_298" id="Page_298">[Pg 298]</a></span>
the origin of spiritualism to the writings of Swedenborg.
Both parties are in error. Long before Swedenborg's time,
and anterior to Columbus discovering America, spiritualism
in various forms was believed in in Scotland, England,
Ireland, all over Europe, and elsewhere. Reginald Scot, in
the year 1584, wrote against witchcraft and demonology;
but so general was the belief in spiritualism, and so abhorrent
were the opinions of Scot, that his book was
ordered to be burned by the common hangman. Let
those who claim for America the discovery of spiritualism,
real or feigned, read 1 Samuel xxviii., and they will perceive
how much they have been deceived. We may return to
spiritualism as looked upon in the present time; meanwhile
we shall continue our own course, proving, step by
step, the former belief in spiritualism, or what we prefer
to call demonology.</p>

<p>A coffee-house keeper in Leipsic, named Schrepfer,
studied and taught magic as an art. He boasted of his
intercourse with and control over spirits, whose presence,
he alleged, could be commanded at any time. Owing
to a degrading insult offered him, he left Leipsic, none
knew whither, but after a lapse of time he appeared at
Dresden, where his magical skill attracted many followers.
His reputation reached Prince Charles of Saxony, who
had been instrumental in causing the magician to depart
from Leipsic; he visited Schrepfer, apologised for what he
had done, and requested him to give manifestations of
his supernatural art. He accepted the apologies, and
exhibited many difficult operations in the science of
magic. The prince requested Schrepfer, who had the
power of calling before him the ghost of any one, however
long dead, to bring up the ghost of Marshal Saxe,
Charles's uncle, in the hope that information would be
obtained regarding a vast amount of hidden treasure the
deceased was supposed to have concealed from his relatives.
This was a few years after the Chevalier de Saxe<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_299" id="Page_299">[Pg 299]</a></span>
died, yet the magician readily agreed to comply with the
request. The place chosen for commanding the spirit to
appear was Prince Charles's palace in Dresden. On the
appointed night, the prince and a large company of
friends assembled in the apartment named for the purpose.
Everything being in readiness, the door and
windows were secured, that none possessed of mere human
strength could effect an entrance. Schrepfer retired
into a corner of the room, knelt down, and, with many
mysterious ceremonies, invoked the spirits to come to
his aid. A considerable time elapsed before they obeyed.
While waiting he was under great agitation, being wet
with sweat, and bordering on convulsions. At length a
loud noise was heard at the windows, followed by other
noises of a peculiar description, not easily described. The
second sounds Schrepfer announced as the voices of good
spirits come to help him. A short time afterwards frightful
yelling was heard, which came, he declared, from
malignant spirits, whose presence, he affirmed, was also
essential. By this time the prince and his friends were
filled with horror, wishing that the scene was over; but
their courage had to stand more severe tests. Schrepfer
continuing his invocations, the door suddenly opened with
violence, and something resembling a black globe rolled
into the room. It was surrounded with smoke or cloud,
in the midst of which appeared to be a human face like
the countenance of the Chevalier de Saxe. In a loud and
angry voice the form inquired why it was disturbed.
Great consternation prevailed among the spectators at
such a sight. Charles did not venture to say a word concerning
the concealed treasure, neither did his uncle's
ghost. Kneeling down, the terrified prince besought
the magician to dismiss the apparition, a request easier
asked than could be complied with. Nearly an hour
elapsed before Schrepfer, by his invocations, succeeded in
dismissing the spirit. Just at the moment all thought<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_300" id="Page_300">[Pg 300]</a></span>
that it had vanished, the closed door was again burst
open, and the hideous form presented itself again to
view. General terror prevailed, every one thinking he
was about to be snatched away to the place of everlasting
torment. None but the magician remained firm.
He continued reiterating exorcisms until the apparition
finally disappeared. The spectators dispersed, filled with
amazement, and satisfied of Schrepfer's supernatural
powers. Schrepfer's fame became great: gentlemen resorted
to his night meeting to be initiated in his mysteries.
For this purpose they accompanied him into a grove near
Leipsic; and one night, when he was about to exhibit
something more wonderful than his followers had ever
seen, his earthly career suddenly terminated. While his
disciples waited in great expectation, he retired to a quiet
spot to make the requisite invocations. In a few minutes
the report of a pistol resounded through the forest; his
admirers rushed to the spot, and found him shot through
the heart. A few thought he had shot himself; the more
superstitious ones however, came to the conclusion that
the deed was done by the devil. Whether the unfortunate
magician terminated his existence by his own hand remains
doubtful, but one thing the most of old people
believed&mdash;that, having sold himself to the evil spirit, his
time was come to go down to the dark abode; and such
being the case, it mattered little by what instrument the
deed was perpetrated. The demon sent to call Schrepfer
hence might have fired the shot, or caused the magician
to be his own executioner; yea, the foul fiend could have
caused an elf shot or the glance of an evil eye to effect
the fatal catastrophe.</p>

<p>Ludovicus Adolisius, lord of Immola, sent one of his
secretaries on important business to Ferrara. On the
way the secretary met one on horseback, dressed like a
huntsman, with a hawk upon his fist, who addressed him
by name, and desired him to request his master to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_301" id="Page_301">[Pg 301]</a></span>
meet him (the huntsman) at the place they then were, at
the same hour next day, when he would discover things
of no mean importance, which concerned his master and
his estate. In the apparent huntsman the secretary discovered
the apparition of his master's father. The secretary
returned and delivered the important message to his lord.
His lordship being afraid that evil was intended, sent one
of his subordinates to meet the apparition. At the time
and place appointed, the spirit appeared in the likeness it
had done the previous day. It lamented the son's absence,
on account of the strange revelations that would have been
made had he come himself. "Return to your master,"
said the apparition, "and tell him that in twenty-two
years, one month, and one day, he will lose the governorship
of the city." Like a small cloud the spirit vanished.
At the very time predicted, Philip, Duke of Milan, besieged
the city, and the water being frozen, he was enabled
to pass the moat, and having scaled the walls,
surprised the city, and took Ludovicus prisoner.</p>

<p>An Italian of mean birth, named Carlo Stella, ingratiated
himself into the good favour of Baron Cattaneo,
a nobleman, who unfortunately was over fond of wine
and the gaming-table. The former induced the latter to
play for no less a stake than the baron's whole estates.
The unlucky nobleman lost, and in the moment of excitement
made over all his property to the wicked Stella.
Next day the baron, remembering what had taken place,
went to Stella, and expressed the hope that the conveyance
he had given the previous day would be returned. Stella
told him that he could not give up the document, for
he had destroyed it, looking on the whole proceeding
as a farce. A few days afterwards the baron was found
shot through the brain, and then Stella produced the
document which he pretended had been destroyed. In
virtue of the conveyance, the holder of it came into possession
of a large sum of money and many acres of land,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_302" id="Page_302">[Pg 302]</a></span>
together with two noble castles, pleasantly situated. Being
thus raised into an elevated position, he sought in marriage
a lady of rank. He was accepted, and an early day was
fixed for the nuptial ceremony. Bride and bridegroom,
priest, and rejoicing friends were assembled at the appointed
time in the church, and the service was about to
begin, when a man stained with blood entered the sacred
building. He looked Stella sternly in the face, and then
retired. Every one was horror-stricken, but none appeared
so much affected as the bridegroom. He fainted,
and had to be carried out without the marriage taking
place. Next day he seemed better, and arrangements
were entered into for having the pair (we cannot say
happy pair) united in wedlock in the evening. As
formerly, all were assembled, and the priest was about to
begin the ceremony, when the lights went out, leaving
the company standing in consternation. A dark cloud,
which had obscured the moon, passed away, and then her
pale rays partially lighted up the edifice. At this instant
the bloody figure appeared, walked forward to Stella,
whispered in his ear, and then vanished. So disconcerted
were all parties that the marriage was again delayed, and
ultimately it was resolved, on the part of the lady and
her father, that the engagement should be broken off.
Stella became troubled, sleep forsook him, horrid sounds
reached his ears in the night, and the bloody apparition
that had frightened him in the church frequently appeared
to his sight. The cause of the strange sights
and sounds was known to himself; those around were
ignorant whence they proceeded. All may be explained
in a few words. Stella had murdered the baron, and the
bloody figure was his ghost. Disappointed and humbled,
Stella resolved to consult a noted witch, of whom he had
heard much. Arriving at her cottage, he handed her a
purse of gold, and promised her a greater reward if she
would send to the lower world the spirit that disturbed<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_303" id="Page_303">[Pg 303]</a></span>
him. The old hag complied, received the money, counted
it, spat on it, put it into a weasel-skin purse, and then into
her pocket. With much ceremony she put a powder into
the fire, which caused a blue flame to arise. In its midst
the living form of the murdered baron appeared. The
witch tried to reduce the spirit to her power, but the task
proved a difficult one, for more than once it was nigh
breaking through the circle she had formed. At last her
magic charms prevailed, and the spirit descended into the
bowels of the earth, exclaiming, "Murderer, we shall soon
meet again." Stella's mind was greatly disturbed; he
drank deep to drown his care, but peace was far from
him. In company he was the gayest of the gay, but
when alone in the still hours of night he would groan
and start in his sleep, as if endeavouring to escape from
some one. Already he seemed to be enduring the torments
of internal fire. Drink, drink, more drink, he
would call for, and then, mounting his horse, would ride
ten or twelve miles without knowing whither he was
going. One day he rode farther than usual, all the time
his horse going at full speed, while now and again he
looked behind him as if pursued. Several people, who
witnessed Stella's mad career, feared that evil would
happen him before he went much farther. Their fears
were not groundless, for before him, where the road
took a sharp turn, was a bridge that spanned a deep
flowing river; and unless the animal was carefully guided,
there was danger of him plunging into the water instead
of taking the bridge. Nearer and nearer he approached
the dangerous spot, swifter and swifter the horse went,
urged on by the spurs that pierced its sides. Excited and
more excited the rider became. Both man and beast appeared
to be doomed; and so it proved. Over the fence
they went, and in a few minutes Stella's body was carried
over a fall into a deep boiling pool, out of which it could
never be recovered.</p>



<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_304" id="Page_304">[Pg 304]</a></span></p>
<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXXIII" id="CHAPTER_XXXIII"></a>CHAPTER XXXIII.</h2>

<div class="blockquot"><p>Antonio the Rich&mdash;Soul sold to the Devil&mdash;Dreadful Announcement from
a Volcano's Mouth&mdash;Three Ghosts&mdash;A Thrilling Story&mdash;Human Remains
found behind a Stove&mdash;Mozart apprehensive of Death&mdash;A
Strange Visitor&mdash;Mozart writing a Requiem for himself&mdash;The
Stranger's Return&mdash;Messenger from another World&mdash;Mozart's Death&mdash;Ghost
of a Lady&mdash;The White Lady&mdash;A Haunted House&mdash;Terrified
Servants&mdash;Iron Cage&mdash;Youth starved to Death&mdash;Frightful Dreams
and Dreadful Sights&mdash;Dog frightened by a Spirit&mdash;Ghost sinking into
the Earth&mdash;Deserting a Disturbed House&mdash;Duchess of Mazarin&mdash;Madam
de Beauclair&mdash;Compact between the Living and the Dead&mdash;A
Lady's Death foretold by a Spirit&mdash;The Prediction fulfilled.</p></div>


<p>In the reign of Henry VIII., Mr. Gresham, a London
merchant, coming home from Palermo (wherein resided
one Antonio, generally called the Rich, who at one time
had two kingdoms mortgaged to him), heard a strange
voice that filled him with alarm. Antonio had accumulated
a vast amount of riches, in ways not altogether
in accordance with the eighth commandment. His
money was given in loan at shamefully high rates of
interest, and both principal and interest were often recovered
by oppression. In fact, gold seemed to be
his god: for it he appeared to live; for it, his poor neighbours
asserted, he had sold his soul to the devil. Mr.
Gresham being detained at Strombuli by contrary winds,
he, with eight sailors, ascended a burning mountain there.
Approaching the crater as near is they could with safety,
they heard a hideous noise proceeding from the volcano's
mouth, and a voice crying aloud "Dispatch, dispatch,
haste, the rich Antonio is coming!" Terrified, the company
hastened down the mountain, which, before they
reached the level country, vomited out fire. At Palermo
Mr. Gresham inquired for Antonio, and was informed
that he died at the very time the voice proclaimed from<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_305" id="Page_305">[Pg 305]</a></span>
the scorching flames, "Antonio is coming." Mr. Gresham,
on his return to England, reported the strange circumstances
to the king, who had the facts confirmed by the
mariners' oaths. So deeply was Mr. Gresham impressed
with what he had heard, that he abandoned commerce,
distributed nearly all his riches among his friends and the
poor, and spent the remainder of his days in pious works.</p>

<p>A learned professor of moral philosophy in K&ouml;nigsberg,
when a young man, was presented by William I. of
Prussia with a small benefice in the interior of the
country, at a considerable distance from K&ouml;nigsberg. On
taking possession of the parsonage, he slept in the bedroom
which had been occupied by his predecessor, then
dead. While lying awake in bed one morning, the
curtains of his bed being drawn aside, he beheld the
figure of a man dressed in a loose gown, standing at a
reading desk, whereon lay a large book, the leaves of
which he appeared to turn over. On each side of the
figure stood a little boy, on whom he now and again
looked earnestly. His countenance, pale and disconsolate,
indicated distress of mind. At length the figure closed
the book, and taking the children, one in each hand, he
walked slowly with them across the room, and disappeared
behind an iron stove at the farthest end of the apartment.
The young parson was deeply affected by the
sight, but thought it prudent to divulge nothing at the
time concerning the apparitions. In nearly all Lutheran
churches of the Prussian dominion, it was customary to
procure and hang up in some part of the church the
portraits of the pastors who had held the living. On
looking, soon after seeing the three figures, at the portraits
suspended in one of the aisles, he was astonished to discover
in the last-placed picture an exact likeness of the
man he had beheld in his bed-chamber. The sexton, with
whom he entered into conversation, told him that he
remembered several incumbents. "The last one," said he,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_306" id="Page_306">[Pg 306]</a></span>
"we considered as one of the most learned and amiable
men who had ever resided among us. His character and
benevolence endeared him to all his parishioners; but he
was carried off in the midst of his days by a lingering
illness, the cause of which has given rise to many unpleasant
reports. It is, however, commonly believed that
he died of a broken heart." The new incumbent's
curiosity being excited, he pressed the sexton to disclose
what more he knew of the subject. "Nothing respecting
it," answered he, "is absolutely known, but scandal has
propagated a story of his having formed a criminal connection
with a young woman in the neighbourhood, by
whom, it is asserted, he had two sons. As confirmation
of the report, I know that there were two children who
were seen at the parsonage&mdash;boys of about four or five
years of age; but they suddenly disappeared, some time
before the decease of their supposed father, although to
what place they were sent, or what became of them, all
are ignorant. It is equally certain that the surmises and
unfavourable opinions formed respecting them reached his
ears, and precipitated the disorder of which he died." This
information recalled to the new pastor's mind, and seemed
to give proof, of the existence of all that he had seen.
Soon after, when winter approached, it became necessary
to light fires in various apartments in the parsonage.
Some difficulty was experienced in heating the room in
which the figures of the man and two boys had appeared,
as the stove not only smoked, but emitted an offensive
smell. Having procured the assistance of a tradesman to
make an inspection, he discovered in the inside, at the
farthest extremity, the bones of two small human bodies,
corresponding exactly in size, as well as in other respects,
with the description of the two boys who had been seen
at the parsonage.</p>

<p>Mozart, the celebrated composer, was extremely apprehensive
of death, and at all times he laboured under<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_307" id="Page_307">[Pg 307]</a></span>
profound melancholy. The circumstances attending the
composition of his last piece were remarkable. One day,
when his spirits were unusually depressed, a stranger, of
a tall dignified appearance, was introduced. His manners
were grave and impressive. He told Mozart that he came
to request he would compose a solemn mass, as the requiem
for the soul of a friend recently lost, and whose memory
he was desirous of commemorating by this solemn service.
Mozart undertook the task, and engaged to have it completed
in a month. The stranger immediately paid a
hundred ducats for the piece, and departed. This visit,
somehow, had a serious effect on the mind of Mozart. He
brooded over it for some time, then, suddenly calling for
writing materials, began to compose with extraordinary
ardour. Severe application to his studies brought on fainting
fits, and failing health compelled him to suspend his
work. "I am writing this requiem for myself," said he
abruptly; "it will serve for my funeral service." This impression
never left him. At the expiration of the month the
mysterious stranger appeared, and demanded the requiem.
"I have found it impossible," said Mozart, "to keep my
word; the work has interested me more than I had expected,
besides I have extended it beyond my first design.
I shall require another month to finish it." The stranger
made no objection, but, observing that for this additional
trouble it was but just to increase the price, laid down
fifty ducats more, and promised to return at the time
appointed. Astonished at the stranger's proceeding,
Mozart ordered a servant to follow the singular person, to
find out who he was. The servant, however, lost sight of
him, and returned unable to communicate the desired information.
Mozart, persuaded that the stranger was a
messenger from the other world sent to warn him that
his end was fast approaching, applied himself with fresh
zeal to the requiem, and, in spite of the exhausted state
of his body and mind, completed it before the expiration<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_308" id="Page_308">[Pg 308]</a></span>
of the month. On the day named the stranger returned,
but Mozart was no more.</p>

<p>The ghost of a lady who died in the fifteenth century
from the effects of her husband's cruel treatment, long
after her decease haunted the castles of the allied families
of Brandenburg, Baden, and Darmstadt, and other places
far distant. The ghost was generally called "the White
Lady," in consequence of it appearing in white dress and in
the veil, through the folds of which a faint light glimmered.
She glided hither and thither along the corridors and
apartments of castles and palaces. Her appearance gave
certain indication that a member of the family at whose
residence she showed herself was about to expire. At another
part of the country a white lady invariably looked
in at the window of a house where a person was dying;
and, at a third place, a woman hovered in the air over the
abode of one taking leave of earth.</p>

<p>At the commencement of the first French Revolution,
Lady Pennyman and her daughters retired to Lisle, where
they hired a large house at a small rent. During their
residence in this abode, the lady received from her husband,
Sir John Pennyman, a draft for a large sum, which
she carried to a banker in the town, and requested to have
it cashed. She received a considerable portion of the
money in silver, and, as she had several calls to make, she
requested the banker to send the money in a parcel to her
house. The parcel was committed to the care of a porter;
and on the lady inquiring whether he understood from
her directions the place to which he was to proceed, the
man replied that he was perfectly aware of the place described&mdash;that
it was called the "Haunted House." She
paid little attention to his remarks at the time, but a few
weeks afterwards his words were recalled to her recollection
in a manner that surprised her. The housekeeper came
to Lady Pennyman, and said that two of the servants, who
had accompanied her ladyship from England, had that<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_309" id="Page_309">[Pg 309]</a></span>
morning given warning, and expressed a determination to
quit her ladyship's service, on account of being terrified,
night after night, by mysterious voices in their apartments.
This caused her ladyship, who was a woman of strong
nerve and an unbeliever in all that related to ghosts and
haunted houses, to sleep in a room evacuated by one of
the servants, hoping that, by so doing, her domestics would
change their minds and remain. She was greatly surprised
to see in the room a large iron cage, and much
astonished to hear the legend respecting it. It was related
that a late proprietor of the house, a young man of great
property, had in his minority been confined in that
apartment by an uncle, his guardian, until the privations
and divers acts of cruelties he was exposed to ended
fatally. Often had the youth been kept for days in
the iron cage without food. The unfeeling relative inherited
the nephew's wealth, but, like all ill-gotten gear,
it did not bring happiness. Frightful dreams and dreadful
sights compelled the uncle to leave the mansion, where
he had murdered by inches a comely, docile young man,
once the comfort of a fond mother and loving father.
For a few nights nothing of an alarming nature occurred;
she began to hope that confidence would be restored in
her household, and that she would be enabled to return
in peace to her own proper sleeping apartment. Her
expectations were not fulfilled. One night she was
awakened by the sound of footsteps in the haunted chamber,
generally known as the "cage chamber," while her
son, a young man, who had just returned from sea, was
annoyed by loud knocking at his bedroom door, and
strange figures appearing before him. A friend, hearing
of the noises and apparitions, resolved to sleep in the
"cage room," that he might ascertain, if possible, who or
what it was that disturbed the family. Locking himself
and a faithful dog into the "cage chamber," he retired to
rest, confident that he was secure against every intruder,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_310" id="Page_310">[Pg 310]</a></span>
whether material or airy. His assurance was of short
duration. He had not lain long before his dog leaped
into the bed, howling and terrified. The chamber door
slowly opened, and a pale, thin, sickly youth came in,
walked to the iron cage in the centre of the room, leaned
against the iron bars, and, after remaining a short time,
retired by the way he entered. The gentleman rose
quickly to follow the ghost. On reaching the door, it
was fastened on the inside, as he had left it before going
to bed. His courage, however, did not fail him, and he
continued to watch the retiring figure. The youth descended
the stair-case with slow measured steps to the
ground floor, when the form sank into the earth. Every
one was now convinced that the house was haunted: a
panic ensued, which ended in Lady Pennyman and her
family abruptly leaving the disturbed habitation.</p>

<p>It is well known that the celebrated Duchess of Mazarin
was a favourite of King Charles II., and Madame de
Beauclair was a lady admired and beloved by his brother
and successor, James II. Between these ladies there was
an uncommon friendship. The two beauties were allotted
handsome apartments in Stable Yard, St. James's, but, for
obvious reasons, they had little conversation with the
outer world. It was agreed between the ladies, that she
who should be first taken away by death, would return,
if possible, and give the survivor an account of what was
doing in the other world. This promise was often repeated;
and the duchess happening to fall sick, and her
life despaired of, Madame de Beauclair reminded her of
their agreement. Her Grace replied she might depend
upon her performing what she had promised. These last
words passed between them not more than an hour before
the lady's death. Years passed on, yet not a voice or
sign came from the dead. Madame de Beauclair concluded
that there was no such thing as existence after
death. Probably her mind would have remained<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_311" id="Page_311">[Pg 311]</a></span>
unchanged, had not the Duchess of Mazarin at last appeared
to her. One evening Madame de Beauclair was
sitting alone, when she happened to turn her eyes to a
corner of the apartment, and lo! before her stood the
form of the departed duchess. The figure moved through
the room, approached near the lady, and, looking with
great sweetness, said, "Beauclair, between the hours of
twelve and one this night you will be with me." Having
said this, the spirit vanished. So convinced was Madame
de Beauclair, though in excellent health and spirits, that
her dissolution was at hand, that she sent for her friends,
to whom she gave tokens of friendship, and summoned
a clergyman to administer spiritual consolation. All
who visited the lady endeavoured to dissuade her from
giving way to thoughts which there seemed not the least
probability of being verified. "Talk not to me," she said
to those who imagined she was labouring under a singular
delusion, "with the view of making me believe that my
eyes and ears have deceived me: my time is short, and I
would not have the small space allowed me to be with
you wasted in vain delusion. I know I have seen the
Duchess of Mazarin, and am convinced that her words
will come true." Twelve o'clock was about to strike, yet,
to all appearance, Madame de Beauclair continued in
good health. Another attempt, to no purpose, was made
to remove all apprehension of early dissolution. The only
response that came was, "I am already sick at heart."
Her countenance suddenly changed, and before half an
hour expired she had entered the world of spirits.</p>



<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_312" id="Page_312">[Pg 312]</a></span></p>
<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXXIV" id="CHAPTER_XXXIV"></a>CHAPTER XXXIV.</h2>

<div class="blockquot"><p>Sir George Villiers' Ghost warning his Son of Danger&mdash;Warnings
Neglected&mdash;Duke of Buckingham Murdered&mdash;Apparitions do not
lie&mdash;Lord Lyttelton and others profaning Christmas&mdash;A Troubled
Mind&mdash;Apparition of a Suicide&mdash;Neglected Warning&mdash;Deception of
Friends&mdash;Accusing a Ghost of Falsehood&mdash;Approach of the Ominous
Hour&mdash;Alarm&mdash;Lord Lyttelton found Dead at the dreaded time&mdash;Death
of an old Roman King&mdash;Alarming Prodigies&mdash;Tales from the
<i>Eddas</i>&mdash;A Scandinavian Warrior's Ghost&mdash;An Icelandic Lady's Ghost&mdash;Spectral
Appearance&mdash;Mysterious Death of a Herdsman&mdash;Fear of
approaching Calamities&mdash;Man beaten to Death by a Ghost&mdash;Association
of Ghosts&mdash;Demon in the shape of a Seal&mdash;Apparitions of
Drowned Men&mdash;Christians not disturbed by Spectres&mdash;A Band of
Demons thirty strong&mdash;Priest exorcising Evil Spirits&mdash;Spirits
frightened away.</p></div>


<p>An officer in the king's service at Windsor Castle, in the
beginning of the seventeenth century, when a boy, was
taken much notice of by Sir George Villiers, the Duke of
Buckingham's father. The officer, after he had reached
manhood, was lying in bed one night, awake and in good
health, when he perceived a venerable form draw near his
bed. The apparition (for so it turned out to be) asked
him if he knew who he was. The frightened gentleman
told the apparition that the figure of the deceased Sir
George Villiers stood before him. The apparition replied
that he was right, and that he (the gentleman) must go
and acquaint Sir George's son, that unless he ingratiated
himself into the good opinion of the people, he would
soon be cut off. Next morning the gentleman began to
think his senses had deceived him, and therefore he did
not deliver the message. Next night the apparition appeared
in a terrible aspect, and told him that, unless he
complied with his commands, he could not expect peace
of mind. A promise to obey was promptly made. Again<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_313" id="Page_313">[Pg 313]</a></span>
the gentleman tried to persuade himself that he had been
dreaming, and a second time broke his word. A third
night the spectre appeared, reproaching him with breach
of promise, and, after again requesting him to deliver the
message to the duke, uttered threats of fearful punishment
in case of non-compliance. Delay seemed dangerous,
so the gentleman hastened to London, where the Court
then was, and entrusted Sir Ralph Freeman, who was
married to a lady nearly allied to the duke, with the
message. Sir Ralph communicated with the duke, who,
however, could not receive the messenger, but sent him
word that next day he was going to hunt with the king,
and that he would meet him at Lambeth Bridge at five
o'clock in the morning, where, if the gentleman attended,
he would speak to him. Sir Ralph, being satisfied of the
importance of having the message correctly delivered,
accompanied the gentleman to the appointed place of
meeting. The messenger and the duke spoke privately
for nearly an hour. Neither Sir Ralph nor his servants
could hear what was said, but they observed that several
times the duke laboured under great emotion. The duke
rode off to meet the king, and the gentleman and Sir
Ralph returned together. The man told Sir Ralph that
when he mentioned certain facts to the duke, he swore that
he could not have come to the knowledge of them except
through the devil, for the particulars he disclosed, as a
token of him being sent by his deceased father, were profound
secrets. The duke returned from the hunting-field
before the morning was past, and retired with his mother
to her private apartments for two or three hours. On
coming out his countenance was troubled. He received
other warnings, which were disregarded. The result may
be anticipated. His Grace was stabbed on the 23d
August 1628 by John Felton, a discontented lieutenant,
at Portsmouth. When the news of the duke's murder
was brought to his mother, she received it with grief, but<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_314" id="Page_314">[Pg 314]</a></span>
without surprise. She had long foreseen what would
happen. "Apparitions," she said, "did not lie."</p>

<p>Lord Lyttelton, in the winter of 1778, left the metropolis
with a party of loose and dissipated companions
to profane the Christmas by riotous debaucheries, at
his country house, near Epsom. They had not long
abandoned themselves to their desperate orgies, before a
sudden gloom came over the party by their host becoming
extraordinarily depressed in spirits and dejected of countenance.
All his vivacity departed, and he fled from his
guests. Urged to make known the cause of his uneasiness,
he revealed the secret. He told them, that the
previous night, after retiring to bed, and his light extinguished,
he heard a noise resembling the fluttering of
a bird at his window. Looking to the window, he saw
the figure of an unhappy female whom he had betrayed,
and who in consequence had committed suicide, standing
in the window recess. The form approached the foot of
his bed, and, pointing her finger to a dial which stood
on the mantel-piece, announced that if he did not take
warning and repent, his life and sins would be concluded
at the same hour of the third day after the visitation.
By a preternatural light in the chamber he observed
distinctly everything around him. While the warning
spirit was speaking, he saw the time was twelve o'clock.
Darkness came, and the apparition disappeared. Lord
Lyttelton's companions laughed at his superstitious fears,
and endeavoured to convince him that he must have
mistaken a dream for a real spiritual visitation. He
felt somewhat relieved by what they said, but was not
altogether convinced or reassured. The fatal night approached,
and, with the connivance of Lord Lyttelton's
attendants, the guests put all the clocks in the house an
hour and a half too fast. They kept his lordship as lively
as possible, but when ten o'clock struck he was silent
and depressed; eleven struck, the depression deepened;<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_315" id="Page_315">[Pg 315]</a></span>
twelve struck: "Thank God; I am safe!" exclaimed the
nobleman: "the ghost was a liar, after all!&mdash;some wine&mdash;what
a fool I was to be cast down by such a circumstance!
But," continued he, "it is time for bed; we shall be up
early, and out with the hounds to-morrow. By my faith,
it is half-past twelve; so good night." He went to his
chamber, ignorant that the ominous hour was not yet
past. His guests, notwithstanding their avowed unbelief,
remained together in fearful dread. They heard the valet
descending from his master's room; it was just twelve
o'clock. Lord Lyttelton's bell rang violently; the company
ran to his apartment, and found the unhappy
nobleman lying in bed lifeless, with his countenance
terribly convulsed.</p>

<p>Shortly before the death of an old Roman king, several
prodigies of an alarming nature appeared. When he first
became sick there arose a violent tempest of wind, which
blew down the cross from one of the churches. After
this followed a terrible earthquake, which shook the whole
city. Moreover an old eagle, a domestic of the royal
palace, that had lived there many years, took wing the
day before the king's sickness began, and flew away no
one knew whither; then the bells of the imperial chapel
rang thrice of their own accord in the space of twelve
hours. Strange apparitions were seen at midnight, some
of them hovering in the air, and others of them lurking
about the palace court. In particular, a funeral procession,
consisting of unearthly beings, was observed one night
going along the principal thoroughfare from the palace to
the place of sepulchre, where the royal remains were soon
afterwards laid.</p>

<p>From the <i>Eddas</i> we learn that when these singular
works were written or compiled, a belief must have prevailed
of the existence of ghosts, spirits, and demons in
various forms. We therefore propose giving a few
examples of ghost stories from the <i>Eddas</i>:&mdash;After the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_316" id="Page_316">[Pg 316]</a></span>
death of Helge (a Scandinavian warrior), a maid witnessed,
in the evening, his ghost, with a numerous train, riding
into the cairn where Helge's remains were deposited. The
brave damsel inquired whether it was an illusion she saw,
to which the ghost replied that it was not. When the
maid told Sigrum, Helge's widow, what she had seen,
the faithful mourning wife hastened to the cairn, and,
on searching it, sure enough there was the shade of her
dead husband. It addressed her thus: "Thou, Sigrum,
art the cause of Helge lying here, slain by the dew of
sorrow. Thou weepest burning tears, maid of the sun-glowing
south; but we will drink the precious mead together,
though we have lost gladness and lands. Now are
the brides closed in the cairns, and the princely maidens
laid beside us." Sigrum made a couch in the cairn, and
invited the spirit to rest there from all trouble, saying,
"Son of the Ylfinga, I will sleep in thy arms as formerly,
when my hero lived." To this the ghost replied, "No
longer will I say thou art unfaithful, since thou consentest
to sleep in the embrace of the dead. And yet
thou livest, offspring of kings. Let the pale steed tramp
the steeps of the air. In the west must we be, by the
bridge Vindhjalen, ere the cock in Walhalla wakes the
sons of victory."</p>

<p>Far back in the history of time, the ghost of a lady that
died in Iceland, whose deathbed commands were disregarded,
returned to punish the living for disregarding
her injunctions. The lady's corpse was conveyed to a
distant place of sepulchre. As the interment could not
take place the first day, the bearers, with their dead
burden, reposed in a house over night. At midnight an
apparition of the lady glided through the kitchen, and, on
the night when the conductors of the funeral returned
home, a spectral appearance, resembling a half moon,
moved round the mansion in a direction opposite to that
of the sun, and continued its revolution until the domestics<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_317" id="Page_317">[Pg 317]</a></span>
retired to rest. This apparition appeared every night for
a week, and was pronounced by certain wise sages as a
presage of pestilence and death. A herdsman at the
mansion was, shortly after the lady's death, persecuted by
demons, and one morning he was found dead in bed.
One Thorer, who himself had predicted that the apparitions
were come to give warning of approaching calamities, was
the next victim. One evening he was set upon by the
shepherd's ghost, and so fearfully beaten that he died in
consequence thereof. Evils continued to multiply: Thorer
and the herdman's ghost associated themselves together
in persecuting the inhabitants, several of whom fell victims
to their rage. At times unseen agents upset tables and
chairs, flung kitchen utensils about in all directions, and
on other occasions a demon in the shape of a seal rose from
the earth, to the dismay of a whole household. Thorodd,
the master of the family, in crossing a river in a boat,
was, along with two of his servants, drowned. Apparitions
of the drowned men walked about Thorodd's old residence,
but the appearances did not much disturb the people, who
were Christians, as they believed that the spectres of such
persons as had been favourably received by the goddess
Rana were accustomed to show themselves after death.
So fast did the demons increase in number that they became
a great band of thirty, the exact number of people
supposed to have had a period put to their existence by
demons. Many fled from the neighbourhood, fearing
that, if they remained, they would ere long be dead men,
and their spirits infernal demons. Possibly their fears
would have been realized, had not a pious priest exorcised
the evil spirits. By a plentiful application of holy water
and celebration of a solemn mass, they were frightened
away, to return no more.</p>



<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_318" id="Page_318">[Pg 318]</a></span></p>
<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXXV" id="CHAPTER_XXXV"></a>CHAPTER XXXV.</h2>

<div class="blockquot"><p>A Mysterious Hunter&mdash;Man and Horse supposed to be Devils&mdash;Extraordinary
Talents of the suspected Hunter&mdash;Signs of Uneasiness&mdash;Terrible
Shrieks&mdash;Groans of Despair&mdash;Tortured Spirits&mdash;Severe
Flagellation&mdash;Disappearance of the Flagellant&mdash;Tales of the Scotch
Highlands&mdash;Witches in the shape of Hares worried by Dogs&mdash;Croaking
Raven&mdash;Death of a suspected Witch&mdash;Resort of Witches and Evil
Spirits&mdash;Spirits hastening to a Church&mdash;Dogs in Pursuit&mdash;Black Man
with Eyes like Fire&mdash;Horse breathing Smoke and Flame&mdash;Witch's
Ghost and Demons sinking into the Earth.</p></div>


<p>A strange tale of a mysterious hunter is given in the
<i>Letters</i> of Lord Lyttelton, the truth of which, it is said,
was attested by gentlemen whose veracity was beyond
question. We give an abridged version of the tale:&mdash;</p>

<p>In the early part of &mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;'s life he attended a
hunting club at their sports, when a stranger of genteel
appearance, and well mounted, joined the chase, and was
observed to ride with a degree of courage and address
that called forth the utmost astonishment of every one
present. The beast he rode was of amazing power;
nothing stopped them; the hounds could never escape
them; and the huntsman, who was left far behind,
swore that the man and his horse were <i>devils from hell</i>.
When the sport was over, the company invited this extraordinary
person to dinner: he accepted the invitation,
and astonished the company as much by the powers of
his conversation, and by his elegance of manners, as by
his equestrian prowess. He was an orator, a poet, a
painter, a musician, a lawyer, and a divine; in short, he
was everything, and the magic of his discourse kept the
drowsy sportsman awake long after his usual hour. At
length, however, wearied nature could be charmed no
more, and the company began to steal away by degrees<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_319" id="Page_319">[Pg 319]</a></span>
to their repose. On his observing the society diminish,
he discovered manifest signs of uneasiness; he therefore
gave new force to his spirits, and new charms to his conversation,
in order to detain the remaining few some time
longer. This had some little effect; but the period could
not be long delayed when he was to be conducted to his
chamber. The remains of the company retired also;
but they had scarce closed their eyes, when the house
was alarmed by the most terrible shrieks that were
ever heard; several persons were awakened by the noise;
but, its continuance being short, they concluded it to
proceed from a dog which might be accidentally confined
in some part of the house; they very soon, therefore,
composed themselves to sleep, but were again soon
awakened by shrieks and cries of still greater terror than
the former. Alarmed at what they heard, several of
them rang their bells, and when the servants came, they
declared that the horrid sounds proceeded from the
stranger's chamber. Some of the gentlemen immediately
arose to inquire into this extraordinary disturbance;
and while they were dressing themselves for that purpose,
deeper groans of despair, and shriller shrieks of agony,
again astonished and terrified them. After knocking
some time at the stranger's chamber door, he answered
them as one awakened from sleep, declared he had heard
no noise, and, rather in an angry tone, desired he might
not be again disturbed. Upon this, they returned to
their chambers, and had scarce began to communicate
their sentiments to each other, when their conversation
was interrupted by a renewal of yells, screams, and
shrieks, which, from the horror of them, seemed to issue
from the throats of damned and tortured spirits. The
gentlemen listened attentively, and traced the sounds to
the stranger's room, the door of which they instantly burst
open, and found him upon his knees in bed, in the act of
scourging himself with the most unrelenting severity, his<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_320" id="Page_320">[Pg 320]</a></span>
body streaming with blood. On their seizing his hands
to stop the strokes, he begged them, in the most ringing
tone of voice, as an act of mercy, that they would retire,
assuring them that the cause of their disturbance was
over, and that in the morning he would acquaint them
with the reasons of the terrible cries they had heard,
and the melancholy sight they saw. After a repetition
of his entreaties, they retired; and in the morning
two of them went to his chamber, but he was not there,
and, on examining the bed, they found it to be one gore
of blood. Upon further inquiry, the groom said that, as
soon as it was light, the gentleman came to the stable,
booted and spurred, and desired his horse might be immediately
saddled, and appeared to be extremely impatient
till it was done, when he vaulted into his saddle, and rode
out of the yard at full speed. Servants were immediately
sent into every part of the surrounding country, but not
a single trace of him could be found; such a person had
not been seen by any one, nor has he since been heard of.</p>

<p>Tales are related in the Scotch Highlands of witches
being mortally worried by dogs while they (the witches)
appeared in the likeness of a hare. They are so similar
in all essential particulars, that one is inclined to think
that they are different versions of the same story. Here,
at all events, is one version:&mdash;A hunter, one early morning,
observed an old woman prowling about a glen in a suspicious
manner. Wishing to know what she was about, he
watched her movements, and succeeded in getting so near
her that he was able to recognise her features. She was
a near neighbour of his own, held in good repute by all
in the district. Observing him approaching, the old
woman walked away quickly, to avoid him recognising
her; but, as the hunter was likely to overtake her, she
transformed herself into the likeness of a hare, and darted
away at great speed. The hunter's dog gave chase, and,
after a long run, seized her. At that instant a shriek<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_321" id="Page_321">[Pg 321]</a></span>
arose that made the hills echo and re-echo. Hurrying
forward to call off his dogs, the hunter came within a few
paces of the spot where the struggle was going on, when
a raven rose from the ground and flew away, croaking
angrily. A pool of blood marked the place, and his two
dogs lay dead. On returning home, he learned that the
old woman whom he had seen transformed into a hare
lay dangerously ill in her house. At night she died.
The same night another neighbour of the woman was returning
home, whistling to keep up his courage, for he
had to pass the old parish church and burying-ground,
and walk through a wood, the favourite resort of witches
and evil spirits. As the deep shadows of the forest
were beginning to conceal the moon from view, he was
startled by the appearance of a woman running in the
direction of the church. She asked if she could reach it
by twelve o'clock. He answered that he thought she
could if she ran fast. His impression was that the voice,
face, and figure were those of the woman the hunter had
surprised in the morning. A little farther on he met two
hounds coursing along at great speed. In a few minutes
he met a black man riding on a black horse. The horseman
inquired whether the traveller had seen a woman,
and two dogs pursuing her. On replying in the affirmative,
the horseman asked a second question, whether he
thought the dogs would overtake her before she went the
length of the old church? With a faltering voice he said
it was likely they would. The frightened traveller, more
dead than alive, observed that the black man had eyes
like balls of fire, and that his horse breathed smoke
and flame. As swift as his feet could carry him, the pedestrian
hastened homeward, trusting that the terrors of the
night were past, yet fearing and trembling exceedingly.
Having to pass the old woman's house, and seeing a light,
he went in, and then learned that she was dead. He had
no doubt that the human-like figure he saw running on<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_322" id="Page_322">[Pg 322]</a></span>
foot towards the church was the spirit of the departed
witch, and that the pursuers were demons. After condoling
with the bereaved relations, he took his departure
from an abode cursed with the presence of a witch's remains.
Scarcely had he crossed the threshold before he
observed the black horseman riding swiftly towards the
house, with the woman lying across the saddle-bow, and
the two dogs following close behind. In an instant, man,
woman, horse, and dogs sank into the ground.</p>



<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_323" id="Page_323">[Pg 323]</a></span></p>
<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXXVI" id="CHAPTER_XXXVI"></a>CHAPTER XXXVI.</h2>

<div class="blockquot"><p>Leading Churchmen subjected to the Onslaught of Demons&mdash;Warfare
with the Devil in corporeal shape&mdash;Triumph of Churchmen&mdash;St. Maurus
rebuking a Troop of Evil Spirits&mdash;St. Romualdus' Five Years' Conflict
with Satan&mdash;The Faculty of St. Frances&mdash;St. Gregory's Detection of
the Devil entering a Man&mdash;A Greedy Monk denied Christian Burial&mdash;Monk
in Purgatory&mdash;Institution of the Thirty Masses for the Dead&mdash;An
Excommunicated Gentleman of Rome hiring Pagan Witches and
Sorcerers&mdash;What befell them&mdash;St. Benedict and the Blackbird's Song&mdash;A
Monk restored to Life&mdash;St. Benedict's Sister ascending to Heaven
like a White Dove&mdash;St. Francis' Dominion over Living Creatures
and the Elements&mdash;St. Catherine's Power over Evil Spirits&mdash;St.
Stanislaus' Miracles&mdash;A Dead Man giving Evidence in a Court of
Justice&mdash;The Dead refusing a Renewal of Life&mdash;St. Philip Nerius and
Evil Spirits&mdash;Spirits ministering to St. Erasmus&mdash;St. Norbert closing
the Mouths of Evil Spirits&mdash;Story relating to Henry I.&mdash;St.
Margaret's Triumph&mdash;St. Ignatius' Command over Devils&mdash;St. Stephen
curing Persons possessed of Devils&mdash;Satan's Hatred of St. Dominick&mdash;St.
Donatus endowing a Corpse with Speech&mdash;St. Cyriacus, St. Largus,
and St. Smaragdus, the Martyrs&mdash;St. Clare&mdash;St. Bernard's Power&mdash;St.
C&aelig;sarius' Wonder-working Crook&mdash;St. Giles and the Hind&mdash;St.
Euphemia's Guardian Angels&mdash;St. Francis' Spirit in Chariot of Fire&mdash;Devils
blowing the Fire of Discord&mdash;St. Bridget's Intercourse with
Angels&mdash;St. Denis' Spirit&mdash;St. Teresa and the Angels&mdash;St. Hilarian a
Match for Satan and his Sorcerers&mdash;Her Miracles&mdash;St. Martin's Wonderful
Power&mdash;St. Catherine's Body carried by Angels to Mount Sinai&mdash;St.
Francis Xaverius' Belief in Virtue of Bells&mdash;St. Nicholas' Piety and
Powers&mdash;St. Ambrose's Power over Necromancers and Spirits&mdash;St. Lucy
raising her Mother from the Dead&mdash;St. Anastasia sustained by Bread
from Heaven&mdash;St. Thomas enduring Martyrdom in Life and after Death&mdash;Penance
of Henry II.&mdash;Barbarous Conduct of Henry VIII.&mdash;A
Hungarian Legend.</p></div>


<p>If reliance can be placed on tradition and the writings of
biographers, good men (particularly those of them who
took a leading part in the ancient Church) were subjected
to dreadful onslaughts by Satan. Not only had they to
contend with invisible spirits of darkness, but they were<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_324" id="Page_324">[Pg 324]</a></span>
compelled to carry on a continual warfare with the
devil, in corporeal shape, seeking to seduce them from
their faith. None were more frequently or fiercely assailed
than the canonised saints of the old Catholic Church.
To their praise, however, be it remembered, that almost
invariably the Churchmen, sooner or later, triumphed.
Having good consciences, and being protected by wonder-working
relics, the saints defied the enemy of mankind.
Those seeking lengthened information on the subject
should consult <i>The Lives of the Saints, and the Calendars</i>,
published by learned men, who believed what they wrote,
and spoke that which they thought to be true. The subjoined
sketches, read in connection with chapter <a href="#CHAPTER_XV">XV</a>., bear
out what is affirmed.</p>

<p>St. Maurus had an encounter with Satan and a whole
squadron of his monsters in bodily shape. At Maurus'
rebuke the troop vanished, but not before they made the
monastery shake, and brought the affrighted monks to
their knees.</p>

<p>St. Romualdus may be said to have had a five years'
conflict with Satan in visible forms. St. Frances had the
faculty of seeing evil spirits when people beside her perceived
nothing but natural forms. St. Gregory witnessed
the devil entering into a man who indulged in and loved
lies. A monk who determined to throw off his habit and
forsake the monastery, was set upon by the devil in the
form of a black dog. Other monks who broke their vows
shared no better. Because a monk had been guilty of
hoarding up a large sum of money, contrary to the rules
of his order, he was denied Christian burial, and his body
was cast upon a dunghill. After mass was said for the
miser thirty days, the deceased monk appeared to a brother
of his order and told him that he had been in purgatory
till that day. From this blessed liberation St. Gregory
instituted the custom of saying thirty masses for the dead.
A gentleman in Rome, who was excommunicated by St.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_325" id="Page_325">[Pg 325]</a></span>
Gregory for unlawfully putting away his wife, hired
certain pagan witches and sorcerers to torment the holy
Pope. They caused the devil to enter into the Pope's
horse, that it might cast the rider and crush him to death.
The holy father, becoming aware of the plot, cast out the
devil, and struck the witches and sorcerers with blindness.
St. Gregory was entreated to restore the witches
and sorcerers to sight, but he refused to do so, lest they
should be tempted to return to their wicked art, and read
books of magic and necromancy.</p>

<p>St. Benedict had his encounters with the tempter. One
day the devil transformed himself into a little blackbird,
which fluttered about him, and sang so sweetly that he
was nearly drawn away from his devotions and led into
sin. By a higher power than his own he overcame the
enemy. He stripped himself of his clothes, and, casting
himself on a thicket of briars and thorns, mangled his
body so severely that blood ran from him in streams. The
devil on one occasion endeavoured to hinder the building
of a monastery, and at another time he cast a stone at a
young monk and killed him. St. Benedict, in his goodness,
put the devil to flight, and restored the monk to life.
This saint, while watching over the spiritual welfare of
the monks with whom he was associated, observed the
devil riding on a mule to the monastery, and entering
into an aged monk possessed of a covetous heart. Penance
and a trust in holy relics drove the evil spirit away, and
brought the monk to a proper frame of mind. When a
pious sister of St. Benedict died, he saw her spirit in the
likeness of a white dove ascending to heaven.</p>

<p>St. Francis, a devout servant of great sanctity, had
dominion over all creatures. Fire, air, water, and earth
were also subject to him. He drove away wicked spirits;
he gave sight to the blind, speech to the dumb, health to
those in decay, and life to the dead. The elements could
not affect him. He walked upon fire, held his hands in a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_326" id="Page_326">[Pg 326]</a></span>
burning hot oven without sustaining injury; and he and
a companion passed over the sea upon his cloak spread on
the waves.</p>

<p>St. Catherine resisted the devil in various guises. On
one memorable occasion she witnessed two thieves being
conveyed to the place of execution, and tortured, in a cart.
Instead of lamenting their sins, they behaved like demons.
Though no one else beheld anything unearthly near the
culprits, St. Catherine saw a multitude of devils provoking
them to blaspheme and curse. Having compassion on the
unhappy men, she went into the cart beside them, drove
the evil spirits away, and brought the condemned men to
repentance before expiating their crimes.</p>

<p>St. Stanislaus performed miracles, and, as for evil spirits,
he made them fly as chaff before the wind. He cured
sickness, and even gave life to the dead. One instance
of his supernatural power is worthy of remembrance.
Stanislaus bought a piece of ground from a man named
Peter, but received no receipt for the price paid. Peter
died, and then his heirs, to please the king, who desired
to do Stanislaus an injury, sought to have the land restored
to them. An order of court was about to be issued
for the restoration of the land to Peter's heirs, when the
saint craved three days to bring forward proof of the
money having been paid. Accordingly an adjournment
took place. Meantime Stanislaus fasted, prayed, and
watched. At the termination of the time appointed, the
saint, having offered up the holy sacrifice of mass, went
to Peter's grave and caused it to be opened; then, touching
the body with his crosier, the dead man came to life,
followed the saint to the court, testified, to the astonishment
of all, that the land had been lawfully bought, and
duly paid for. After this no one could dispute the ownership
of the land, which, we ought not to omit saying, had
been bought for the Church. St. Stanislaus offered Peter a
renewal of life for many years, but he who had been dead<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_327" id="Page_327">[Pg 327]</a></span>
chose to return to the grave rather than to live longer a
life of trouble. He told the saint he was in purgatory,
and that he had yet something more to suffer for his sins,
but still he would prefer undergoing his deserved punishment,
that at last he might be free. St. Stanislaus accompanied
Peter to the grave. Peter laid himself down
in the dust, and the ground was closed over him, in the
presence of a multitude of people.</p>

<p>St. Philip Nerius encountered three infernal spirits while
in the proper discharge of his Christian duties; and the
ghosts of deceased persons were visible to him. After
the saint's death he appeared to his favourite followers,
environed with a glorious light. Spirits ministered to St.
Erasmus, at one time breaking the fetters wherewith he
was bound, and at another speaking comforting words to
him when he was sad at heart. St. Norbert had the power
of controlling devils, and casting them out of possessed
persons. Evil spirits went about in his time revealing all
the sins of professing Christians, until St. Norbert closed
their mouths in reference to such shortcomings as had
been confessed to a priest. After the saint's death, he
appeared to divers persons who knew him in life.</p>

<p>The following story is told of Henry I.:&mdash;At the time
he was dying, a hermit saw the devil, in human shape, running
in the direction where the emperor lay. "Whither
passest thou?" demanded the hermit. "I am going,"
said the fiend, "to be present at his Majesty's death."
"Come again," said the hermit, "and tell me how far
thou hast succeeded." Within a short time Satan returned,
howling and crying out, "Woe, woe to us, we are cozened,
and have lost our labour; all our slight and power have
come to nought; the angels have confounded us and
driven us away. As the works and merits of the soul
were examined and weighed in the balance, in presence of
us and the angels, and our scale began to sink down
with the weight of his sins, there stepped in a burned man with<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_328" id="Page_328">[Pg 328]</a></span>
a golden cup and put it into the other scale, which caused
it to descend with great force. Seeing this, the angels
cried out 'Victory,' and conveyed away the soul with them,
leaving us nothing but shame, ignominy, and confusion."
The renowned martyr St. Lawrence turned out to be the
burned man the devil saw with the cup.</p>

<p>St. Margaret at one time had a severe encounter with a
serpent that appeared with death in his looks. She
triumphed then as well as at other times. The enemy
wounded her sorely and often, but she was cured, and
ever afterwards had peace.</p>

<p>St. Ignatius had a strange command over the devils, who
abhorred and persecuted him as their great enemy. Both
at Paris and Rome the devils appeared to him in ugly
shapes. Before he prevailed they nearly choked him, and
scourged him so sorely that he did not recover for some
time. In St. Ignatius' life-time the arch-fiend seems to
have had considerable power. At one time he possessed
a child, a woman, and a soldier, and raised tempests and
furious storms. How far the mischief would have been
continued no one can tell, had not this saint withstood
him to the face. It fell upon a time that the holy fathers,
in a certain Loretto college, were greatly disturbed night
and day by devils making a hideous noise, and appearing
like black-a-moors, cats, bears, and other beasts. Recourse
was had by saying holy mass, prayers, sprinkling holy
water, using exorcisms, and applying relics of saints, without
effect. Father Ignatius' assistance was ultimately
solicited; and he, without much difficulty, drove away the
tormentors as if they had been as many mice.</p>

<p>St. Stephen exercised great control over Satan. The
saint cured no fewer than threescore and thirteen persons
possessed of devils.</p>

<p>Satan had a deadly hatred against St. Dominick, and
often endeavoured to destroy his soul and body. St.
Donatus was another mark at which the devil shot his<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_329" id="Page_329">[Pg 329]</a></span>
fiercest arrows; but a man who raised the dead, as this
saint did, did not stand in fear of an evil spirit. St.
Donatus raised to life a woman that died suddenly without
informing her husband where she had concealed a
sum of money belonging to him. From the mouth of the
grave the resuscitated woman told where the treasure lay.
A dishonest creditor was proved to be a false swearer and
cheat by a corpse endowed with speech by St. Donatus.</p>

<p>St. Cyriacus, St. Largus, and St. Smaragdus drove evil
spirits not only out of afflicted persons, but out of the
country. Cyriacus, in particular, was so famous for his
power over evil spirits, that princes in distant lands
solicited his assistance to banish the demons to their own
peculiar place of torment.</p>

<p>The holy virgin, St. Clare, though a feeble woman,
fought and prevailed over the devil that came to her in
the form of a black man.</p>

<p>St. Bernard cured persons possessed of devils, and he
performed miracles with a crook of St. C&aelig;sarius. The
former used his staff as a miracle-working instrument.</p>

<p>St. Giles was miraculously preserved by a hind sustaining
him with her milk in a cave; and such was the saint's
care over the helpless animal, that on two occasions he
drew a line on the ground over which a pack of hounds
chasing the hind could not pass, although there was
nothing visible to restrain them.</p>

<p>St. Euphemia had her guardian angels that protected
her from the violence of her enemies, who sought to burn
her in an oven full of pitch, brimstone, and tow. She
came out of the oven unhurt, but two men who laid hands
on her were consumed by the flames. Wild beasts refused
to devour her in their dens, and iron lost its force
on her. St. Euphemia's time came however, and she met
her fate as a martyr with Christian fortitude.</p>

<p>St. Francis' spirit appeared in a chariot of fire, sweeping
through the air. Over a city distracted by factions and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_330" id="Page_330">[Pg 330]</a></span>
civil broils, he saw the devils very jocund, blowing the
fire of discord. With a loud voice he commanded the
spirits to depart; they obeyed him, and the city was
restored to peace and concord.</p>

<p>St. Bridget possessed the faculty of witnessing angels, and
enjoyed the privilege of having them for her companions;
nevertheless, she had to sustain many conflicts with the
devil. One time she saw Satan in a dreadful shape, with a
hundred hands and as many feet. Terrified, she fled from
the horrid monster and took shelter near a holy relic,
where she was safe. In a sad hour of affliction the spirit
of St. Denis appeared to her, and told her he would be
her protector ever afterwards. She certainly, if report
be true, turned out to be a saint endowed with extraordinary
power, which enabled her to give sight to the
blind, hearing to the deaf, speech to the dumb, and health
to the sick; and, moreover, we are informed that she
raised ten dead persons to life. On account of these
miracles, and for her most holy life, Pope Boniface IX.
canonised her, and put her in the number of the saints.</p>

<p>St. Gregory of Tours recounts numerous miracles wrought
by St. Denis in life, and after his death. St. Teresa had
glorious visions; and after, in her walks and seclusions,
had the company of angels with beautiful countenances
and corporeal shapes. In particular, one angel of the
order of the Seraphim attended her in times of danger
with a flaming sword, to drive back her enemies. Among
St. Teresa's other powers was one of no mean importance&mdash;the
power of delivering souls out of purgatory. Her
faith in holy water was great, for by its force she swept
away devils as by a mighty river.</p>

<p>St. Hilarian was a match for Satan and his sorcerers.
A young man, desperately in love with a lady of rare
beauty and chastity, who rejected his advances, applied to
certain sorcerers, ministers of the temple of Esculapius.
By means of their evil devices the damsel began to love<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_331" id="Page_331">[Pg 331]</a></span>
her admirer extravagantly; indeed, so much so, that her
emotions savoured more of madness than of true affection.
Her parents laid her at St. Hilarian's feet, and he immediately
drove out a devil that had taken possession of
the maiden, both bodily and mentally. At one time St.
Hilarian did what at first seemed invaluable service to
the neighbourhood in which he lived. The people besought
him to send rain, as their crops were withering away, and
their cattle dying of thirst. He sent what they desired,
but the rain bred serpents and venomous creatures, which
destroyed the fruits of the earth and injured the inhabitants.
Like St. Patrick, he drove away the reptiles, and
healed the people who had been wounded by them. St.
Hilarian also consumed, as with fire, a dragon of enormous
size which swallowed oxen, devoured men, and laid
waste the country far and near.</p>

<p>St. Martin, like many other saints, possessed the
wonderful power of bringing the dead to life. It was said
he had dominion over devils and men, over the heavens
and the elements, over diseases, and over all birds and
beasts of the field.</p>

<p>So holy was St. Catherine, that, when she died, angels
carried her body to Mount Sinai and buried it there, that
her persecutors might not discover where she was laid.
From her place of sepulture a sweet smell long continued
to pervade the neighbourhood.</p>

<p>Although it would appear that all saints had many
gifts and graces, certain of them possessed peculiar talents
denied to others. St. Francis Xaverius, for instance, held
the elements in his power. He was almost constantly at
war with the devil and the flesh. To frighten away the
one he kept ringing a bell by night, and to subdue the
other he wore a hair shirt, lived on spare diet, and slept
on hard boards or lay on the cold ground.</p>

<p>St. Nicholas was so uncommonly good a Catholic, that,
even when an infant at the breast, he would not suck his<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_332" id="Page_332">[Pg 332]</a></span>
mother's breast but once on the Wednesdays and Fridays.
He, too, controlled the winds and waves, and sent the
evil spirit away howling through the tempest.</p>

<p>St. Ambrose, of ever blessed memory, controlled sorcerers
and necromancers, and made even the evil spirits
obedient to him. On the day of the saint's death the
devils flew away, crying that they were tormented by St.
Ambrose.</p>

<p>St. Lucy raised her mother from the dead, and conquered
demons.</p>

<p>St. Anastasia had power over Satan, and was for
two months sustained by bread from heaven. And what
shall we say of St. Thomas and many of the other saints
who triumphed so gloriously in their day? St. Thomas,
Archbishop of Canterbury, we are told, endured martyrdom
twice&mdash;once in life, and again after death. To
subdue the flesh, he scourged himself until the blood ran
down his body. He kept long night vigils, and wore a
hair shirt. In a vision he was told that he would illustrate
the Church with his blood&mdash;a prediction that was
fulfilled. It being proved that Henry II. was implicated
in the foul deed, he had to do penance in public and
private before being absolved. Many years afterwards,
Henry VIII. commanded the dead saint to be summoned
before him, and having condemned him as a traitor,
directed his name to be erased from the catalogue
of saints; forbade, under pain of death, his day to be
celebrated, or his name to be mentioned as a saint; and
ordered that his name should be blotted out of every book
and calendar in which it appeared. The revengeful king
also commanded that the saint's relics should be burned,
and the ashes thereof scattered to the winds.</p>

<p>With the following old tale in verse we close our collected
information on Demonology&mdash;a tale founded upon
one of the most extraordinary events recorded in the annals
of the human mind. Not a century and a half ago all the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_333" id="Page_333">[Pg 333]</a></span>
circumstances which form the romance, with the addition
of many others nearly as ridiculous, were not only firmly
believed by the peasants of a few Sclavonian villages, among
whom they were supposed to have happened, but were received
as truths, and seriously commented upon by learned
divines and physicians of the surrounding provinces. A
superstition somewhat similar appears to have prevailed
in Bohemia and Silesia previous to the days of Dr. Henry
More, who details several of the stories to which it gave
rise, in his <i>Philosophical Works</i>:&mdash;</p>

<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">"I left the chaulkie Cliftes of olde Engl&ograve;nde,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">And paced thro' many a Countrie faire to see,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Thorowe the Reaulme of Greece and Holie-Londe,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">Untill I journeied into sadde Hongr&igrave;e.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">I sawe olde Cecrops' Towne, and famous Rome;<br /></span>
<span class="i1">But Davyd's holie place I liked beste:<br /></span>
<span class="i0">I sawe dire Sightes before I found my Home,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">But much the direst at the Towne of Peste.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">It was a goodlie Citie, fayre to see;<br /></span>
<span class="i1">By its prowde Walles and towering Mosques it gave<br /></span>
<span class="i0">A delicate Asp&egrave;ct to the Countr&egrave;e,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">With its Bridg of Boates acrosse the Danow's Wave.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Yet manie thinges with Woe I did surveie;<br /></span>
<span class="i1">The Stretes were overgrowne with spiery grasse;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And, though it was upon a Sabbath-daie,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">No Belles did ringe to calle the Folke to Masse.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">The Churchyardes all with Barrs were closed fast,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">Like to a sinfulle and accursed place;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">It shewd as though the Judgment-daie were past,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">And the Dedde exiled from the Seate of Grace.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">At last I met an old sadde Man, and asked<br /></span>
<span class="i1">Where a tired Traveller maye finde repose.<br /></span>
<span class="i0">The Old Man shook his Hed, and wold have passed;<br /></span>
<span class="i1">But I caught him by his Arme and held his Clothes.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_334" id="Page_334">[Pg 334]</a></span>
<span class="i0">'Straunger,' said he, 'in Marie's name departe!'<br /></span>
<span class="i1">(Soe saying, wold agen have passed me by);<br /></span>
<span class="i0">His hollow Voyce sank depe into my Harte:<br /></span>
<span class="i1">Yet I wold not let him goe, but asked Why?<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">'It now is Morne,' quoth he, 'the Sun shines brighte,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">And the Springe is blithe, save in the Walles of Peste;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">But, were it Winter wylde, and a stormie Nighte,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">Not here, O Straunger, sholdst thou seeke to reste;<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">'Though Rayne in Torrents powred and cold Winds blew,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">And thou with travelling tired and with Hunger pale.'<br /></span>
<span class="i0">'Though the Sun,' sed I, 'shine brighte and the Daie be new,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">I will not goe, till I have herd thy Tale.'<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">This woefull Wight then took me by the Hande;<br /></span>
<span class="i1">(His, like a Skeletonne's; was bonie and cold).<br /></span>
<span class="i0">He seemed as though he scarse cold goe nor stande,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">Like one o'er whom full fourscore years had rold.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">We came together to the Market-Crosse,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">And the Wight all woe-begon spake not a Word.<br /></span>
<span class="i0">No living thinge along our Waie did passe,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">(Though dolours Grones in evrie House I herd).<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Save one poore Dogge that walked athwart a Court,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">Fearfullie howling with most pyteous Wayle.<br /></span>
<span class="i0">The sadde Man whistled in a dismall sort,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">And the poore thinge slunk away, and hid his Tayle.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">I felt my verie Bloud creepe in my vaynes;<br /></span>
<span class="i1">My Bones were icie-cold; my Hayr on ende.<br /></span>
<span class="i0">I wishd myself agen uponn the Playnes,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">Yet cold not but that sadde old Man attende.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">The sadde old Man sate down upon a Stone,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">And I sate on another by his Side;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">He heaved mournfullie a pyteous Grone,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">And then, to ease my doubts, himself applied.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">'Straunger!' quoth he, 'Behold my Visage welle,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">And graspe this bonie Hand so thinne agenn!<br /></span>
<span class="i0">How manie Winters thinkest thou I telle?'<br /></span>
<span class="i1">I answered doubtinglie: 'Three-Score and Tenn.'<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_335" id="Page_335">[Pg 335]</a></span>
<span class="i0">'Straunger! not fourty yeares agoe I lay<br /></span>
<span class="i1">A puling Infant in my Nurse's arms:<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Not fourty daies agoe two Daughters gay<br /></span>
<span class="i1">Did blesse my Vision with their dawning Charms.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">'Yet now I am an olde and worn-out Man,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">And evrie droppe of Bloud hath left my Vaynes;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Als' my fayr Daughters twaine lie cold and wan<br /></span>
<span class="i1">And bloudless, bound in Deathe's eternal Chaynes.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">'Straunger! This Towne, so pleasant to our sightes,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">With goodlie Towers and running Streames so faire,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Whilom for tender Maydes and doughtie Knightes<br /></span>
<span class="i1">From all Hungaria's Londe the Prize did beare.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">'But now, the verie fewe that here remayne<br /></span>
<span class="i1">Are sobbing out their Breath in sorie Guise;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">All that might flie, have fled this mournfull playne<br /></span>
<span class="i1">But onlie I, who wishe to close mine eyes.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">'Seaven Weekes are gon since owr Townesfolke beganne<br /></span>
<span class="i1">To wax both pale and sadd, yet none knewe why:<br /></span>
<span class="i0">The ruddiest Visage yellowe seemed and wanne,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">Our stoutest Youthes for very cold did cry.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">'Some Doctours sed the Lakes did Agewes breede,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">But Springe returning wold the same disperse;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Whyles others, contrarie to Nature's creede,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">Averred the Heate itself wold make us worse.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">'And though we leugh at these, like Doaters fonde,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">Or Menn that love in Paradox to deale;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Yett, as the Sunn grew warme, throughout the Londe,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">All Menn the more did wintr&igrave;e shiverings feele.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">'One miserable Wight did pyne and wane,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">And on the seaventh Daie gave upp the Ghoste;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">His Corse was oped by a Chirurgeon of fame<br /></span>
<span class="i1">Who found that evrie dropp of bloud was loste.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">'Nathless, our People though they pined and pined,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">Yet never did our appetites decaye;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Whole Oxen scarse suffised when we dined,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">And we cold drinke whole hogsheds of Tokaye.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_336" id="Page_336">[Pg 336]</a></span>
<span class="i0">'Soone Hundereds evrie daye gave up the Ghoste,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">(Els' we a Famine in our Lande had bredde).<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And, to repayr the Bloud that we had loste,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">Our Beastes we killd and ate, but never bledde.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">'Thus, by the Eve, our Colour freshe arose,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">And we did look agen more briske and gay.<br /></span>
<span class="i0">All Nighte deepe Slumbers did our Eye lidds close,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">But worse and worse we wax by Breake of Daie.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">'There was a taylour, Vulvius by name,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">Who long had dwelt at Peste in honest pryde;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">A Godlie Man he was esteemed by Fame,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">And since some twelvemonths of a Feaver dyde.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">'Now when at last this straunge Disease had growne<br /></span>
<span class="i1">To suche a Highte as neer was heard afore,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Among the reste in our unhappie Towne<br /></span>
<span class="i1">My youngest Daughter was afflicted sore.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">'One Nighte it happed, as she was slepyng laied,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">Her wayting Girle at Midnight left her roome<br /></span>
<span class="i0">To fetch some possett, brothe, or gellie, made<br /></span>
<span class="i1">To quelle the plague that did her life consume.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">'When, as she softly shut the Doore, she heard<br /></span>
<span class="i1">An heavie Thinge come lumbering upp the Stayres,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Whereon the buried Tailour soone appeard<br /></span>
<span class="i1">And She (poor Mayd) full loud 'gan saye her Prayres.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">'Shrowded he was, as when his Corse was laied<br /></span>
<span class="i1">Under the Earthe, and buriall Service redde;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Nor yet was he a Ghoste, for his Footsteppes made<br /></span>
<span class="i1">A Noyse more hevie than a Tunne of Ledde.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">'She sawe him ope my Daughter's chamber-Doore,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">And had no Spirit to persewe nor flie,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And Vulvius agen, in half an houre,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">Lumbered downe Stayres yett much more hevilie.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">'This Storie herd, I cold not chuse, but smild<br /></span>
<span class="i1">To think the seelie Mayd such Feares cold shake,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Yet the next Nighte, to prove such Phan'sies wild,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">I kept myself untille Midnighte awake;<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_337" id="Page_337">[Pg 337]</a></span>
<span class="i0">'Whenn as the Midnight-Houre was past, I heard<br /></span>
<span class="i1">An hevie thinge come lumbering upp the Stayre;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">The Tailour Vulvius to my Sights appeard&mdash;<br /></span>
<span class="i1">I could not follow to my Daughter fayre.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">'Next Day, untoe a Convent nighe I hied,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">And found a reverend Father at his prayer;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">I told him of the Wonderres I had spied,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">And begged his ghostlie Counsel I may share.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">'Together to Sainct Stevenn's Churche we went,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">And he a Prayer on evrie Gravestone made,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Till at the Tailour Vulvius' Monument<br /></span>
<span class="i1">We stopped&mdash;we broughte a Mattocke and a Spade;<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">'We digged the Earthe wherein the Tailour lay;<br /></span>
<span class="i1">Tille at the Tailour's Coffin we arrived,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Nor there, I weene, much Labour found that Day,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">For evrie Nayle was drawen and the Hinges rived.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">'This Sighte was straunge&mdash;but straunger yet remaynd,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">When from the Corse the cered Clothes we tore;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">The Veynes seemed full of Bloud, the Lipps distained,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">All dripping with my Daughter's new-suck'd gore.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">'When through own Towne this Sighte we had proclaimed,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">A dismall Horrour chilled our Townsmen's hartes;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">The Vampyre (So our Priest the Tailour nam'd)<br /></span>
<span class="i1">Their Midnight-sleeps disturbed with feaverish startes.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">The Churchyardes straight were ransacked all throughout<br /></span>
<span class="i1">With Pick-ax, Shovell, Mattocke, and with Spade;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">But evrie Corse that we did digge thereout,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">Did shewe like living Menn in Coffins laied.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">'It was the Corses that our Churchyardes filled,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">That did at Midnight lumberr up our Stayres;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">They suck'd our Bloud, the gorie Banquet swilled,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">And harrowed everie Soule with hydeous Feares.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">'And nowe the Priestes burnd Incense in the Quire,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">And scattered Ave-Maries o'er the Graves,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And purified the Church with lustrall Fire,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">And cast all thinges prophane to Danowe's Waves.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_338" id="Page_338">[Pg 338]</a></span>
<span class="i0">'And they barr'd with Boltes of Iron the Churchyard-pale<br /></span>
<span class="i1">To keepe them out; but all this wold not doe;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">For when a Dead-Man has learn'd to draw a naile,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">He can also burst an iron Bolte in two.'<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">The sadde old Man was silent&mdash;I arose,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">And felt great Grief and Horrour in my Breste.<br /></span>
<span class="i0">I rode nine Leagues before I sought repose,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">And never agen drew nigh the Walles of Peste."<br /></span>
</div>
</div>



<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_339" id="Page_339">[Pg 339]</a></span></p>
<h2><a name="MAGIC_AND_ASTROLOGY" id="MAGIC_AND_ASTROLOGY"></a>MAGIC AND ASTROLOGY.</h2>

<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXXVII" id="CHAPTER_XXXVII"></a>CHAPTER XXXVII.</h2>

<div class="blockquot"><p>Magic a Study among the Learned&mdash;Plato and Pythagoras travelled to
learn the Art, and taught it&mdash;How to subdue a Furious Bull&mdash;How to
make a tough Fowl tender&mdash;Eagles' Feathers&mdash;Power of a Small Fish&mdash;Speakers
made Eloquent by Magical Art&mdash;Virtue of Gems&mdash;How
Jewels should be set&mdash;When they are to be Graven&mdash;Various Magical
Operations&mdash;Cures effected by Hippocrates&mdash;Democritus on Magic&mdash;Many
Charms&mdash;Evil Spirits&mdash;Magicians sacrificing to the Planets&mdash;Vessels
and other articles used for Magical purposes&mdash;Success in Magic&mdash;Magician's
Power to produce Monstrous Creatures&mdash;Egyptian
Magicians&mdash;Horses' and Asses' Heads&mdash;Magical Circles&mdash;Throwing
Old Shoes&mdash;Figures on Shoes&mdash;A Hangman's Soul&mdash;Directions for
raising Ghosts and Spirits.</p></div>


<p>Magic was, in ancient times, a favourite study among the
learned. Plato, Pythagoras, and other men of note,
travelled over many countries to learn this art. After
studying for a long time, they publicly communicated the
knowledge of magic to students from every quarter of the
globe. The knowledge acquired by magicians, if real,
was wonderful. One discovered that, by tying a bull
to a fig tree, the animal, though of a furious nature,
instantly became subdued. The same authority states
that, by hanging an old tough fowl on the same description
of tree, it would become tender. Another professor of
magic taught that the feathers of an eagle, mixed with
those of other birds, would consume them, and that a
small fish called Remora could stop the progress of a ship
at sea. Magicians supplied precious stones to public
speakers, the possession of which made them eloquent,
and brought them into favour with princes. A certain
gem carried in a husband's pocket made him love his wife,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_340" id="Page_340">[Pg 340]</a></span>
and enabled him to overcome his enemies. Coral was
a preventative against witchcraft, hence the fashion of
ladies and children wearing necklaces and bracelets of
this material. Hyacinth brought down rain, obscured the
sun, and preserved from lightning. One stone resisted
drunkenness, so that the bearer could be able to drink
freely without becoming intoxicated. A chalcedony made
the wearer lucky at law, increased the vigour of one's body,
and prevented illusions of the devil. Those acquainted
with magical art concluded that all stones possessed
virtues, infused into them by the influence of planets.
Alexander, Hermes, Zoroaster, and several other ancients,
entertained this opinion. Magicians were the first to set
stones in rings&mdash;an invention which, if not beneficial to
man and woman, has helped to adorn their persons.</p>

<p>Gems used for magical purposes required to be set in
such metals as had affinity with the planets whereby they
(the gems) were influenced. The image of Saturn should
be made in lead; of Sol, in gold; of Luna, in silver; of
Jupiter, in tin; of Mars, in iron; of Venus, in copper; of
Mercury, in quicksilver. A proper time should be observed
for the graving of magical figures. If love is to
be procured, the graving must be done under proper and
friendly aspects, as in the hour of Venus. Such signs as
ascend in the day must be taken in the day. If they increase
in the night, then the work must be done in the
night. Wise men tell us that an olive planted by a
virgin will thrive, but if by an unchaste woman it will
wither. If a serpent be found in a hole, it may be safely
pulled out by the left hand, but to attempt to do so
with the right would be dangerous.</p>

<p>Learned writers on magic say that if one take a new
knife, and cut a lemon with it while the operator is expressing
words of hatred or dislike against a person he or
she may wish evil to, the object of hatred will feel uneasy,
and become unwell. If a live pigeon be cut through the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_341" id="Page_341">[Pg 341]</a></span>
heart while an evil wisher is venting curses against a
friend or neighbour, the individual against whom the evil
wishes are made will suffer in body and mind. A man
will be put in great fear if his image, prepared according
to the arts of magic, be suspended by a single hair or
thread, however far distant he may be from the scene
of operation. If a person suffering from toothache or
asthma catch a live frog before sunrise, and spit into its
mouth, immediate relief will be the result. If the plague
or any epidemic disease threaten a village or town, the
disorder will be stayed by a live toad being suspended for
three or four days in a chimney. The dried body of a
dead toad, worn in the breast, prevents the possessor of
the charm from being injured by any infectious disease.
Hippocrates had great honours conferred on him on account
of the cures he effected by the application of
certain parts of reptiles to disordered persons. The heart
of a toad, suspended by a blue ribbon round the neck,
will cure the king's evil. Rape seed, sown with cursing
and imprecation, grows better, we are told, than when the
seed is blessed. If one wear a girdle of civet-cat skin in
battle, he will escape unhurt. Those skilled in such
secrets say they can be easily explained. In their arguments
they point to the antipathy of certain natural
things, animate and inanimate, to other things in nature.
The wing of a bat and the heart of a lapwing repel evil
spirits and wicked passions; the bustard flies off when
a horse comes in sight, and the hart bounds away at the
sight of a ram or viper; a lion trembles at the crowing
of a cock. If one swallow the heart of a lapwing, mole, or
weasel, taken from the animal when alive, it will improve
his understanding, and enable him to prophesy.</p>

<p>Democritus says that if one cut the tongue out of a live
frog, and lay it on a woman's breast opposite her heart,
she will be compelled to answer every question put to her.
Dogs will never attack a person that has a weasel's tail in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_342" id="Page_342">[Pg 342]</a></span>
his pocket or breast, provided the appendage has been
severed from the little animal when it was alive. If one
has a chameleon's tongue, cut out before the creature's
death, he may defy all the sharpers in the world. If the
blood of a civet-cat be sprinkled on the doors and windows
of a house, witches and sorcerers will be prevented from
entering it or molesting the inmates thereof. If an enemy
desire to render any one hateful to friends and neighbours,
it may be done by the touch of an ointment composed of
the ashes of a calcined ankle-bone of a man, oil extracted
from the left foot of the same body, and the blood of a
weasel. Civet-cat gut tied round a man's left arm, makes
all the ladies look on him with favour; and civet-cat
skin worn as a cap, protects the wearer against the art of
witches. If a stone that has been in a mad dog's mouth
be put into ale handed round at a feast, discord will
take place. If a bone taken from a toad's left side be
secretly put into any part of a woman's dress, it will
kindle her love into a burning flame; but if the corresponding
bone of the toad's right side be used, the most
ardent love of the woman will be cooled. If the snaffle
of a bridle be made of a sword that has killed a man, the
rider may with ease control a horse, however wild the
animal may be; and if a sword that has been used in
beheading a person be dipped in wine, it will impart a
medicinal virtue to the liquor.</p>

<p>Pliny is accountable for a few of the foregoing and many
other similar stories, all of which were believed at one time.</p>

<p>Fires kindled with human fat or oil frightens away
evil spirits. On the other hand, vapours exhaled from
certain suffumigations induce spirits to appear. The
lungs of an ass, when burned, drive evil spirits away.
Magicians say that if gold or silver be hid when the moon
is in conjunction with the sun, and the place be perfumed
with saffron, henbane, and black poppy, the treasure will
never be feloniously carried away, for spirits will<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_343" id="Page_343">[Pg 343]</a></span>
constantly watch over it. The blood of doves, lapwings,
and bats possesses peculiar virtues&mdash;attracting spirits to
places where they may be required to appear, and exciting
love passions.</p>

<p>Magicians, when sacrificing to the planets with the view
of securing their diabolical ends, throw into the flames
such things as raise a pleasant perfume when they wish
to perform good actions; but when they desire to bring
about wicked results, they raise disagreeable smells.
When soliciting the aid of the sun, it was customary to
take the brain of an eagle or the blood of a white cock;
when appealing to the moon, the blood of a goose was
supposed to be good; when sacrificing to Saturn, the
brain of a cat and the blood of a bat were indispensable;
when soliciting Jupiter's assistance, the blood of a swallow
or stork and the brains of a hart were recommended;
when sacrificing to Mars, the blood of a man or of a
black cat was thought best; and when Mercury was
sacrificed to, the brain of a fox or of a weasel and the
blood of a magpie were burned on the altar.</p>

<p>All instruments, vessels, and other things used for
magical purposes were recommended to be new; and
when a magical missive was to be written, the parchment
was prepared from the skin of a black kitten, the pen was
a feather plucked from a live crow or raven, and the ink
consisted of human blood, or a preparation of calcined
cuttle-fish bones, nutgalls, and rain water, prepared in the
day and hour of Saturn.</p>

<p>In order to secure success in the magical art, it was
necessary for the operator to have his whole soul in his
work, otherwise his labour was in vain. Ancient philosophers
have informed us that when the human mind is
intent upon magical work, it is joined with the mind
and intelligence of the stars, and hence the wonderful
result of secret art.</p>

<p>Magicians pretended to possess the power of producing<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_344" id="Page_344">[Pg 344]</a></span>
monstrous creatures, even devils. They could, if their
statements can be relied upon, create a cockatrice by artificially
hatching an egg in a preparation of arsenic and the
poison of serpents. The ashes of a burned duck, treated
in a magical manner, produced a huge toad. Numerous
writers conclude that there are two species of toads&mdash;the
one produced by ordinary generation, and the other by
devilish science. Plutarch and more modern writers say
that frogs descend from the clouds in rain. Egyptian
magicians produced proof of mice, frogs, and serpents
growing out of earth and flowers. It was said that
Damnatus Hispanus could make them in any number he
pleased.</p>

<p>By certain charms, magicians could place a horse or an
ass's head upon a man's shoulders, and change the head
of an inferior animal into that of a human pate.</p>

<p>Magicians attached great importance to their circles.
One of the fraternity, when about to proceed with his
secret art, clothed himself with a black robe reaching to
the knee, and under that a white garment of fine linen.
He then took his position in the centre of the place where
he intended to perform his conjurations, and, throwing
his old shoes about ten yards from the circle, put on consecrated
sandals with curious figures on each. (Here
we may observe that not a few antiquarians are of opinion
that from these practices arose the custom of persons
throwing old shoes after newly-wedded pairs and others
for luck, and of shoemakers making fanciful outlines on
shoes by means of pegging and stitching.) With a magical
wand of hazel the magician stretched forth his arm
to the four winds, turning himself round to every wind,
and beseeching his "master" to consecrate the circle. All
these ceremonies being performed, he claimed the consecrated
ground as a defence from all malignant spirits, that
they might not have power over his soul or body.</p>

<p>The most suitable time for making circles was during<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_345" id="Page_345">[Pg 345]</a></span>
bright moonlight, or when storms of wind or thunder
were raging, because then the infernal spirits were nearer
the earth than at other times, and could more easily hear
the invocations of those who sought their assistance.
Magical circles were recommended to be formed at dark
lonely places&mdash;either in woods or deserts, or in places
where three ways met, or among ruins of castles, abbeys,
or monasteries, or on the sea-shore. But if the conjuration
was to raise the ghost of one deceased, the fittest
places for the purpose were spots where persons had been
slain, woods in which suicides had been committed,
churchyards, and burying-vaults. If any one doubts the
correctness of what is here stated, perhaps he will change
his mind after reading the following story:&mdash;</p>

<p>"A certain hangman, passing the image of our Lady,
saluted her, and commended himself to her protection.
Afterwards, while he prayed before her, he was called
away to hang an offender, but his enemies slew him by
the way. And lo! a certain priest, who walked nightly
about every church in the city, rose that night to go to
our Lady's church. In the churchyard he saw the ghosts
of many dead men. On demanding what was the matter,
he was told that the hangman was slain, and that the
devil demanded his soul, but which our Lady said was
hers, and that the judges were at hand to hear the cause.
The priest having made up his mind to be at the trial, hid
himself behind a tree. When the judges had taken their
seats, the hangman was brought forward pinioned, and
proof adduced that his soul belonged to the devil. On
the other side it was pleaded by our Lady, that at the
hour of death the hangman commended his soul to her.
The judges gave sentence that the hangman's soul should
return to his body until he made sufficient satisfaction.
The priest was called from his hiding-place and sent to
the Pope with a rose of rare beauty, and instructions to
crave the prayers of his Holiness for the poor man."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_346" id="Page_346">[Pg 346]</a></span>
Although we are not made acquainted with the result of
the application to the Pope, there can be little doubt but
that, through our Lady and his Holiness, Satan lost his
eagerly desired victim.</p>

<p>Directions are given by the learned how to raise ghosts
and evil spirits. To raise the ghost of one who had
hanged himself, the exorcist was to provide himself with
a straight hazel wand, and bind the head of an owl with
a bunch of St. John's-wort to the end thereof. This done,
he was to repair to a place where a miserable wretch
had strangled himself, and at twelve o'clock at night, while
the body remained suspended, begin his conjurations.
First, he was directed to stretch forth his wand towards
the four corners of the world, saying, "I conjure and
exorcise thee, thou distressed spirit, to present thyself
here and reveal unto me the cause of thy calamity&mdash;why
thou didst offer violence to thine own life, where thou art
now in being, and where thou wilt hereafter be?" Then,
gently striking the body nine times with the wand, he
was to demand the spirit of the deceased to reveal unto
him what secrets he wished made known, whether these
referred to the past or future. The conjuration being
thrice repeated, we are assured the spirit would rise and
answer the exorcist's questions. Directions were next
given for laying the spirit, and that might be done by
burying the body naked with lime, salt, and sulphur. If
the ghost which the exorcist consulted was of one who
died a common death, and received the usual burial,
it was essential to dig the body out of the grave at
twelve o'clock at night; and while the exorcist held
a torch in his left hand, he was to smite the corpse three
times with his consecrated rod, held in the right hand,
and demand answers to his questions. When the ceremonies
were gone through in a regular way, the interrogatories
were truly answered. A caution was offered
to the practiser of this art. The magician of no great<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_347" id="Page_347">[Pg 347]</a></span>
experience was told that if the constellation and position
of the stars at his nativity were not favourable, it would
be dangerous for him to encounter a ghost for fear of
being slain, as the ghosts of men could easily destroy
magicians not protected by the stars.</p>

<p>Magicians were instructed how to raise the spirits
Paymon, Bathin, and Barma, and secure their assistance.
These spirits, though of various ranks and orders, were of
one power, ability, and nature, and the mode of raising
them is the same. The magician who desired to consult
with these spirits had to appoint a night in the waxing of
the moon, when the planet Mercury reigned, at eleven
o'clock at night. But for four days before the appointed
night he was required to shave his beard every morning,
change his linen, and put on a consecrated girdle made of
a black cat's skin. When all was prepared for the summoning
of the spirits, the magician was instructed to
enter a dark parlour or cellar, to light seven candles, and
draw a circle with his own blood. When the candles
were lighted, it was essential for the magician to protect
himself with two drawn swords, and consecrate the circle,
so that all evil spirits might be expelled. Everything
being ready, the conjuration commenced in these words:
"I conjure and exorcise you, the three gentle and noble
spirits of the power of the north, by the great and dreadful
name of your king, and by the silence of the night, and by
the holy rites of magic, and by the number of the infernal
legions, I adjure and advocate you that without delay ye
present yourselves here before the northern quarter of the
circle, all of you, or any one of you, and answer my
demands." This, we are informed, had to be repeated
three times, and then the three spirits appeared, or one of
them by lot, if the others were engaged elsewhere. Before
their appearance, they sent in advance three swift hounds
in pursuit of a hare, which ran round the circle for seven
and a half minutes. After this chase more hounds came in,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_348" id="Page_348">[Pg 348]</a></span>
and after all a little ugly Ethiopian, who snatched the hare
from the hounds. Next was heard a hunter's horn, and
a herald on horseback came galloping swiftly with three
hunters behind him upon black horses. After riding
round the circle seven times, they stood at the northern
quarter. The magician then demanded the demons to be
faithful and obedient, which they readily agreed to be.
Valuable information was obtained from the spirits, who
gave the magician the powerful girdle of victory, which,
on being tied about him, enabled him to conquer armies,
and all men, however powerful. The spirits also were
compelled to bring, at the magician's bidding, the richest
treasure earth could afford, and to reveal the positions of
hidden gold and silver mines.</p>

<p>The spirits could bestow the gift of invisibility, and the
foreknowledge of the change of the weather; they could
teach the exorcist how to raise storms and tempests, and
how to calm them again; they could bring news in an
instant of the result of any battle or other important
event, wherever it took place. They could also teach the
language of birds, and how to fly unseen through the air.</p>



<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_349" id="Page_349">[Pg 349]</a></span></p>
<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXXVIII" id="CHAPTER_XXXVIII"></a>CHAPTER XXXVIII.</h2>

<div class="blockquot"><p>Josephus' Account of Astrology&mdash;Antediluvians acquainted with Astrology&mdash;Astrology
after the Flood&mdash;Magicians in various Nations&mdash;The
Spirit Bokim&mdash;Compact and Confederation with Spirits&mdash;Long Life
and Magical Power&mdash;Feats of Magicians&mdash;A French Priest in compact
with the Devil&mdash;Married to Venus&mdash;Turning Leather into Gold&mdash;A
Novice in Magic destroyed by a Spirit&mdash;Principles of Magic&mdash;Implements,
Materials, and Doings of Magicians&mdash;Piercing Sight&mdash;Lilly
the Astrologer&mdash;Lilly consulted by Royalists&mdash;Astrological
Predictions concerning Fires, Plagues, Famine, War, and the Fortunes
of Great Persons.</p></div>


<p>Josephus says that the antediluvians were well acquainted
with astrology, and inscribed the principles thereof on
pillars to preserve them to posterity from the Flood; for
it was by this art, he believes, that they were enabled to
foresee the coming Deluge. Subsequent to the Flood, the
Assyrians were the first people who turned their attention
to astrology. The Chaldeans, Egyptians, and Arabians
soon became acquainted with the art, and by perseverance
brought it to perfection and high estimation. In several
nations none but those skilled in astrology were admitted
to the administration of sacred rites or to the management
of state affairs.</p>

<p>In China, by the sacrifice of blood and the repetitions
of several superstitious invocations to the sun and moon,
devils were brought up from their place of abode, if not
repose. In Tartary the magicians offered to the ocean,
the mountains, and the stars, divers sorts of incense,
by which means the spirits were compelled to appear.
In the East and West Indies the power of magic was
equally powerful. Greek and Roman magicians invocated
spirits by prayers to the moon, and sacrifices of
milk, honey, and blood. In our own country, incantation<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_350" id="Page_350">[Pg 350]</a></span>
and conjuration, as already observed, were by no means
uncommon.</p>

<p>When Chiancungi and his sister Napala first attempted
to call up spirits, they began with the spirit Bokim, in the
twentieth degree. They commenced their operations in a
vault hung round with black cloth. Having drawn their
circle of the order of thrones and the seven planets, and
stamped their magical characters in the centre thereof,
they proceeded to the ceremonies of conjuration without
anything appearing. This caused them to become so
desperate that they left the circle and betook themselves
to the most detestable branch of magic&mdash;compact, or confederacy;
through which they obtained from Bokim 155
years of life, and almost unlimited magical power, on the
condition that in return their bodies and souls should at
last be given to him. They performed strange miracles in
every country. By the assistance of these magicians, the
Tartars destroyed above one hundred ships belonging to
the Chinese. Many a loss did they bring upon those
against whom they had a private grudge, or against whom
they were hired. Kingdoms were ruined, children slain,
fruits withered, corn blasted, silk destroyed, navigation impeded,
and adult lives sacrificed. Chiancungi had numerous
public contests with magicians of several countries
in magical science, in which art he was said to excel
them all.</p>

<p>Lewis Gawfridi, a French priest, was another famous
magician, who had compact with the devil of a closer
relationship than common men of his craft could pretend
to have. He served Satan for fourteen years in performing
detestable works&mdash;sacrificing children, worshipping
the devil in various shapes, and tempting people to
become magicians, and to take part in disgraceful nocturnal
conventions.</p>

<p>A wonderful relation is given in support of the belief
of magicians having power over spirits. The story is<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_351" id="Page_351">[Pg 351]</a></span>
this:&mdash;A newly-married man was amusing himself with
his companions, when, in case he should lose his wedding
ring, he put it on the finger of a statue of Venus.
Returning to take his ring, he found the finger so bent that
the ornament intended for his bride could not be removed.
At night the image of Venus appeared to him and said,
"Thou hast espoused me, and shalt not enjoy the society
of any other woman." Again returning to the statue in
the morning he found the finger straight, and discovered
that the ring was gone. So greatly was he troubled, that
he consulted a magician, who put him on a plan of obtaining
his ring and releasing him of his engagement with
Venus. The magician wrote a letter to a principal spirit
in the dominion to which Venus belonged, and, giving it
to the unhappy young man, instructed him to watch at a
certain time and place, when he would see a troop of spirits
pass by him, one of which, he said, would be seated on a
chariot; and he it was for whom the letter was written.
The young man, on acting as directed, espied the spirits,
and gave the letter to the one for which it was intended.
As soon as the fiend read its contents he burst into a rage,
exclaiming, "How long shall we be subject to this accursed
magician?" With hesitation, he called on a most
beautiful woman near the chariot, and commanded her to
return the ring to its owner, an order she reluctantly
obeyed.</p>

<p>Henry Cornelius Agrippa, who was born at Cologne in
1486, was an astrologer and magician. When travelling,
he paid his hotel bills with pieces of horn, which appeared
as gold to those to whom they were presented. A foolish
fellow entered Agrippa's study, and raised the devil
therein during the magician's absence. The novice, being
unable to subdue the fiend, lost his life. On Agrippa
coming home, he found several spirits dancing on the
house-top. He ordered them to enter the dead body,
which they did, and then he cast it into a pit. Though<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_352" id="Page_352">[Pg 352]</a></span>
Agrippa seldom left his study or conversed with any one,
he was well acquainted with everything going on at home
and abroad. People were of opinion that a black dog
he kept was an evil spirit, which duly informed him of
what was taking place far and near.</p>

<p>Every magical charm had its first principles according
to certain laws; and the garments worn by magicians were
manufactured and stitched at stated hours. The time was
generally in the hour of Luna or of Saturn, in the moon's
increase. Their needles were made of hedgehog's prickles,
or bones of animals, as iron or steel possessed virtues
not always favourable to magic. Their ointments were
of man's fat, blood, hog's grease, oil, etc. Their characters
were ancient Hebrew, and their speech in the learned
languages; their fires were kindled with sweet wood and
oil or resin; and their candles, of the fat of men and
children. Their vessels were earthenware; their candlesticks
had three feet, of dead men's bones. Their capes
were like pyramids, with lappets or ears on each side, and
lined with fur. Their gowns were, for ordinary purposes,
long, reaching to the ground, and lined with fox-skin.
Their girdles were three inches broad, having cabalistical
names, signs, and circles inscribed thereon.</p>

<p>Some magicians had such piercing sight that they could
discover everything, however carefully concealed, and
look into futurity with a certainty of making known what
was to come to pass. Lilly the astrologer was a great
authority in England. He was consulted by the Royalists,
(with the king's privity) as to whether the king would
escape from Hampton Court, and whether he would
or should sign the propositions of Parliament. For giving
his opinion on these and a few other subjects, the astrologer
received &pound;20. In Lilly's <i>Astrological Predictions</i> in
1648 occurs the following passage:&mdash;</p>

<p>"In the year 1656, the aphelium of Mars, who is the
general signification of England, will be in Virgo, which<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_353" id="Page_353">[Pg 353]</a></span>
is assuredly the ascendant of the English monarchy, but
Aries of the kingdom. When this apsis, therefore, of
Mars shall appear in Virgo, who shall expect less than
a strange catastrophe of human affairs in the commonwealth,
monarchy, and kingdom of England? There will
then, either in or about these times, or near that year,
appear in this kingdom so strange a revolution of fate, so
grand a catastrophe and great mutation unto this monarchy
and government, as never yet appeared; of which,
as the time now stands, I have no liberty or encouragement
to deliver my opinion&mdash;only, it will be ominous to
London, unto her merchants at sea, to her traffic on land,
to her poor, to her rich, to all sorts of people inhabiting
in her or her liberties, by reason of consuming fires and
devastating plagues."</p>

<p>Accomplished events, even those which happened in
his own time, and information obtained from the writings
of ancient astrologers, enabled Lilly to predict important
results. We find in a work <i>On the Probable Effects of the
Great Conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter</i>, that "the mean or
second greatest conjunction that happened in 1603"&mdash;Lilly
was born in 1602&mdash;"was in the eighth degree of Sagittarius,
the opposite sign of the ascendant of London. They
were nearly conjoined the greater part of the year in
which Queen Elizabeth died; and there was a severe
plague in London, whereof died, in 1603 and 1604, more
than 68,000 persons; and the year after, or in 1605, the
Gunpowder Plot was nearly being carried into execution.</p>

<p>"The next conjunction happened in the seventh degree
of Leo, in 1623. Within two years after, King James I.
died; and there was also a severe plague in London,
which carried off 35,417 persons, in 1625; and, what was
observable, in 1639 there was a great eclipse of the sun,
in ten degrees of Gemini, in opposition to the place of
the first conjunction, in 1603; and exactly when Mars
arrived to ten degrees of Pisces, or in quartile to both<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_354" id="Page_354">[Pg 354]</a></span>
places, the Long Parliament began; and near the same
time the Scots and English disagreed; and when Charles I.
applied to the citizens of London, they refused to lend
him money to be employed against them. It is also
remarkable that Leo, the sign where the conjunction
happened, was the ascendant in King Charles's nativity;
and how unfortunate he was afterwards till his death, is
pretty well known.</p>

<p>"The next took place in 1643, in the sign of Pisces,
which found the king and his subjects in open arms, and
was followed by dreadful civil wars in England, that
terminated in beheading the king."</p>

<p>Whether Lilly did really foresee what he pretended
had been revealed to him, we shall not here affirm or
deny, but, there can be no doubt, many strange circumstances
following his predictions went far to support
his claim to the prophetic mantle. Further quotations
from the same work will supply additional matter for
reflection:&mdash;</p>

<p>"The fourth conjunction in this trigon took place in
1663, in Sagittarius, again opposite to the ascendant of
London. The year after followed a war with the Dutch,
and in 1665 they took our valuable Hamburgh fleet;
and in that year also was the great plague in London,
that carried away 68,586 people. This was followed by
the dreadful fire of London, in 1666, that destroyed
13,200 houses, and consumed nearly 400 streets.</p>

<p>"The next happened in Leo, in 1682, and was repeated
in 1683, when Lord William Russell was beheaded; and,
two years after, Charles II. died.</p>

<p>"The next was in seven degrees of Aries, the ascendant
of England, in 1702. That year King William died, and
war commenced with France. In short, whoever takes
his ephemeris in one hand and history in the other,
will have no difficulty in convincing himself of the efficacy
of such configurations; and though, by changing the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_355" id="Page_355">[Pg 355]</a></span>
signs, they may vary the effects and also the places most
subject to their influence, yet it will appear that the
observations of different authors (wherein they all agree
that England is most passive to the fiery trigon) are
founded on truth.</p>

<p>"The conjunction under consideration happened in the
earthy triplicity, to which Ptolemy refers to Europe in
general; however, the places most particularly under the
sign Virgo are France, and more especially Paris; and
some authors say Lyons, and the principal port of the
Turkish dominions. Indeed it is curious to observe that
the Turks have got possession of nearly all the places said
by Ptolemy to be under this sign, wherein the conjunction
happened, and I have no doubt will most sensibly feel the
effects of it; neither will Russia and some parts of Germany
and Switzerland escape its influence.</p>

<p>"As the signs of Sagittarius and Pisces are also afflicted,
and Jupiter so oppressed by the conjunction, Spain and
Portugal will likewise be sensible of their effects; neither
do I like the mischievous position of Mars in Taurus, the
ascendant of Ireland, particularly as he is upon the mid-heaven,
and so near the mundane quartile of Saturn and
Mars.</p>

<p>"Most authors agree that evil configurations in Virgo
are generally attended with bloodshed, and that configurations
in earthly signs have more signification of feuds,
dissatisfaction, and secret contrivances among the common
people, than they have of wars and differences between
kings and rulers, who are more properly denoted by
princely or fiery signs."</p>



<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_356" id="Page_356">[Pg 356]</a></span></p>
<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXXIX" id="CHAPTER_XXXIX"></a>CHAPTER XXXIX.</h2>

<div class="blockquot"><p>Judicial Astrology&mdash;Reading the Heavens&mdash;Lucky and Unlucky Days
discovered&mdash;Kings' and Queens' Unlucky Days&mdash;Highland Superstitions&mdash;Climacterics&mdash;Priests
foretelling Children's Future Destiny&mdash;Astrologer
and Charles IX.&mdash;Influence of the Moon&mdash;Official Air-gazers&mdash;Sacrificing
to Planets&mdash;Children born under different Phases
of the Moon&mdash;Dryden's Faith in Astrology&mdash;Dryden calculating the
Nativity of his Children&mdash;Predictions concerning his Son fulfilled.</p></div>


<p>Judicial astrology, it is supposed, was invented in
Chald&aelig;a, and thence transmitted to the Egyptians,
Greeks, and Romans, but there are persons who think
it commenced with the Arabs.</p>

<p>Astrologers, in reading the heavens, had recourse to
a semicircle which they called Position, by which they
represented the six great circles passing through the intersection
of the meridian and horizon, and dividing the
equator into twelve equal parts. The spaces included
between these circles were styled the Twelve Houses,
which referred to the twelve triangles marked in their
theme, placing six of these houses above and six underneath
the horizon. The first of the houses under the
horizon towards the east they named the Horoscope, or
House of Life; the second, the House of Wealth; the
third, the House of Brothers; the fourth, the House of
Parents; and so on to the twelfth house, each having
reference to a particular subject. All matters relating to
issue, diseases, wedlock, death, religion, honour, friendship,
and woe could be foretold by astrologers.</p>

<p>In the time of the civil wars the royalists and the
rebels had their astrologers as well as their soldiers; and
the predictions of the former had great influence over
the latter. By means of astrology, lucky and unlucky<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_357" id="Page_357">[Pg 357]</a></span>
days were discovered. Thursday was the unlucky day of
Henry VIII. He, his son Edward VI., Queen Mary,
Queen Elizabeth, and many other illustrious persons,
died on a Thursday, as had been foretold; and we have
already pointed out that the 3d of September was a
memorable day in the life of Cromwell.</p>

<p>The Highlanders of Scotland entertained many superstitions
in regard to the moon as well as in reference to
the sun. A Highlander would not willingly commence
any serious undertaking in the waning of the moon&mdash;such
as marrying, flitting, or going on a far journey. When
the roth, rath, or circle of the moon was full, then was
the lucky time for beginning serious or important
matters.</p>

<p>Astrologers have employed all the rules of their art to
show that the years of man's age, called climacterics, are
dangerous, even threatening death. The first climacteric
is in the seventh year of life, the rest are multiples of the
first&mdash;as 21, 49, 56, 63, and 84, which two last are called
the grand climacterics. Marc Ficinus accounts for the
foundation of this opinion. He says there is a year
assigned for each planet to rule over the body of a man,
each in his turn; and that Saturn, being the most malignant
planet of all, every seventh year (which falls to its
lot) becomes very dangerous, especially those of 63 and
84, when the person is advanced in years.</p>

<p>There were those who pretended that the climacteric
years were fatal to political bodies as well as to individuals.
Pythagoras based his calculations very much on numbers.
He thought considerable importance should be attached
to the number 7.</p>

<p>In France the new-born child was often presented
naked to the astrologer, who read the first lineaments in
its forehead, and the transverse lines in its hands, and
from these he wrote down its future destiny. Catherine
de Medicis brought Henry IV., then a child, to old<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_358" id="Page_358">[Pg 358]</a></span>
Nostradamus, to ascertain the youth's destiny. An astrologer
having assured Charles IX. that he would live as many
days as he would turn on his heels in one hour, his
Majesty, putting faith in the prediction, performed the
exercise of revolving, as directed, every morning during
the prescribed period of an hour.</p>

<p>The Egyptian astronomers held that the moon influenced
all sudden matters of importance, but others not
less learned affirmed that portentous events were regulated
by wandering stars. Seneca speaks of a custom
which prevailed, of appointing official air-gazers to give
notice of an approaching storm, similar to the practice
at the present day, of having persons at meteorological
stations throughout the country to forecast the state of
the weather. When they observed a cloud which indicated
a hail-shower, they warned the people in order
that they might protect their crops. The peasants, to
propitiate the planets, offered in sacrifice fat cocks and
white lambs; and the poor, who had neither fowls nor
four-footed beasts to offer, cut their thumbs, in the
full expectation that this insignificant libation of a few
drops of human blood would secure the favour of the
heavenly bodies, and avert the threatened calamity.</p>

<p>A child born on the first day of the new moon is likely
to live long and happy, if it survives infancy. The child
born on the second day of the moon shall grow strong,
and be noted for wisdom. This day is fortunate in many
respects. If one wishes to inquire into secrets, let him
begin before the clock strikes the midnight hour. The
infant born on the third day will never want an influential
friend to lend him a helping hand in time of need.
The fourth day is not quite so lucky, and the infant
who comes into the world will require to be honest
and diligent, to support an honourable position in life.
The child born on the fifth day of the moon will turn out
to be fickle and capricious. It is a good day, however,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_359" id="Page_359">[Pg 359]</a></span>
for beginning any new undertaking&mdash;particularly for
laying the foundation of a building. Promises made on
the sixth day will be long of being fulfilled. On this day
people ought to take good heed to their ways, for on it they
are very liable to err. The parents of children born at this
time had better nurse the little ones tenderly, for nothing
but scrupulous attention will sustain them through the
dangers of youth. Dreams of the seventh day of the
moon must not be revealed. Long life is promised to
the child born this day; and if a person be stricken with
sickness on it, a speedy cure will be effected. Tricksters
and all sorts of dishonest people will be disappointed on
the eighth, ninth, and tenth days of the moon; and
children born on any of these days will be blessed with
long life and health, if they escape certain contingencies
known to the wise. The child born on the eleventh day
will go far from home, and may expect to die in a foreign
country, unless he make a fortune and return home, or
have an estate left him.</p>

<p>The child born on the twelfth day of the moon will be
wise and long-lived; but the infant born on the following
day will be of slow understanding&mdash;in fact, will be a
stupid creature, unless the disadvantage can be overcome
by hard study. Children born on the fourteenth will
excel in everything they may apply their minds to, or
which they may take in hand. Every girl who comes
into the world on the fifteenth will be beautiful, and have
many admirers. Those born on the sixteenth day may
expect to have many enemies; and those who are born
on the seventeenth day are not likely to become rich by
their own industry, but they may look for money from
rich friends. The man-child born on the eighteenth day
of the moon is likely to rise to honour and distinction,
after encountering much opposition in his upward career.
He or she born on the nineteenth day will require to pray
for grace to subdue the natural disposition. The<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_360" id="Page_360">[Pg 360]</a></span>
individual born that day will be churlish, perverse, and combative;
and the infant who first draws the breath of life
on the following day will be covetous and parsimonious.</p>

<p>The infant born on the twenty-first day of the moon
may possess a strong constitution, but it is not certain
that the mind will be vigorous. If the child of the
twenty-second day survive infancy, long life will be
awarded it, though much grief will be met with in life's
rough path. Fair promises, with certain drawbacks, are
made to children of the twenty-third day; and infants
of the twenty-fourth day will be good-tempered, perhaps
sottish. One who has been born on the twenty-fifth
day of the moon had better walk carefully, lest adversity
and danger overtake him. The young lady who has
been born on the twenty-sixth day will, in all probability,
be courted and married by a rich gentleman, who will
ardently love her. Those born on the twenty-seventh
day must not expect to become famous; and children
born on the twenty-eighth day are more likely to be pious
than rich. The twenty-ninth day of the moon does not
promise prosperity to the children born on it; if they rise
in the world, it will be in spite of great opposition, even
from those near, if not dear, to them.</p>

<p>Dryden put faith in judicial astrology, and used to
calculate the nativity of his children. On the birth of
his son Charles, he caused the exact minute of his coming
into the world to be noted. He calculated the child's
nativity, and observed with grief that he was born in an
evil hour; for Jupiter, Venus, and the sun were all under
the earth, and the lord of his ascendant afflicted with a
hateful square of Mars and Saturn. Dryden told his
friends that if the child lived to the eighth year, he would
narrowly escape a violent death on his very birthday; but
if he should then overleap danger, he would in his twenty-third
year be under the same influence; and if he should
escape the second time, the thirty-third or thirty-fourth<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_361" id="Page_361">[Pg 361]</a></span>
year would prove fatal. The boy's eighth birthday was
looked forward to with great anxiety by his parents. On
the dreaded day, Dryden, with the view of keeping him
indoors and away from danger, gave him a double exercise
in Latin. Charles was complying with his father's
command, when a stag pursued by hounds was seen
making towards the house. The noise reached the servants'
ears, and they rushed out to see the chase. A manservant
seized Charles by the hand, and took him out
with him. Just as they reached the gate, the stag, being
at bay, made a bold rush and leaped over the court wall,
which, being old and low, the dogs followed, threw down
a part thereof, and the unfortunate boy was buried in the
ruins. He was much bruised, so that he was six weeks
in a dangerous state. In the twenty-third year of the
son's age he was at Rome, where he fell from an old tower
belonging to the Vatican, which so greatly injured his
head that he never fully recovered the accident. In his
thirty-fourth year he was bathing in the Thames with
another gentleman, when he was seized with cramp while
in the water, and drowned before assistance could reach
him. Thus the father's astrological calculations proved
correct.</p>



<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_362" id="Page_362">[Pg 362]</a></span></p>
<h2><a name="DIVINATION_AND_ORACLES" id="DIVINATION_AND_ORACLES"></a>DIVINATION AND ORACLES.</h2>

<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XL" id="CHAPTER_XL"></a>CHAPTER XL.</h2>

<div class="blockquot"><p>Divination&mdash;Heathen Gods giving Signs&mdash;Sortes Pr&oelig;nestin&aelig;&mdash;St.
Augustine's View of Divination&mdash;Sortes Sanctorum&mdash;Divination in
the Greek and Latin Churches&mdash;Ceremonies at the Consecration of
Bishops, etc.&mdash;Declarations of the Divine Will&mdash;How St. Consortia
became a Nun&mdash;Responses&mdash;Hieroglyphic Texts&mdash;Oracles&mdash;Sorcery
and Divination among the Jews&mdash;Training of Rabbins&mdash;Bath-Kool&mdash;Death
of a Friend foretold&mdash;Recovery from Sickness made known&mdash;Plutarch
on Oracles&mdash;Malthus's Belief in Oracles&mdash;A Missionary's
Opinion&mdash;Sibylline Oracles&mdash;Various Modes of Divination&mdash;Alectoromantia&mdash;Belomancy&mdash;Divination
by means of Rods&mdash;Cleromancy&mdash;Napoleon's
Belief in Cleromancy&mdash;Questions and Answers.</p></div>


<p>Divination is an art of foretelling future events by supernatural
means. The word is generally understood to
denote fortune-telling or sorcery, performed in divers
ways&mdash;such as by the inspection of planets, stars, clouds;
consulting spirits, witches, magicians; watching the flight
of birds, inspecting the entrails of beasts and human
victims, and examining the lines of the hand. But it is
not necessary to extend the list here, as the various
methods of divination will be enumerated and explained
as we proceed. It was a maxim with the heathen nations
of antiquity, that, if there were gods, they cared for men;
and if they had any regard for the human family, they
would give signs of their will. The Sortes Pr&oelig;nestin&aelig;
were famous among the Greeks; and this superstition
passed into Christian nations.</p>

<p>St. Augustine did not disapprove of divination being
resorted to, provided it was not used for worldly purposes.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_363" id="Page_363">[Pg 363]</a></span>
Gilbert of Nogent says that in his time (about
the beginning of the twelfth century) it was customary,
at the consecration of bishops, to consult the Sortes
Sanctorum, to ascertain the success, fate, and other particulars
of their episcopate. Many divines held that the
lot was conducted by Providence. Though several popes
about the eighth century disapproved of divination, and
classed it among Pagan superstitions, traces of this mode
of searching into futurity were found in after ages in the
Greek and Latin Churches.</p>

<p>Upon the consecration of a bishop, after laying the
Bible upon his head, the book was opened, and the first
verse that the eye fell on was supposed to throw light on
the bishop's future career. A bishop of Rochester, at his
consecration by Lanfranc, Archbishop of Canterbury,
had a happy presage in these words: "Bring hither the
best robe, and put it on him." But the answer of the
Scriptures at the consecration of St. Lietbert, Bishop of
Cambray, was still more propitious: "This is my beloved
son." The death of Albert, Bishop of Liege, was reported
to have been made known to him by these words, which
the archbishop who consecrated him found on opening
the New Testament: "And the king sent an executioner,
and commanded his head to be brought; and he went
and beheaded him in prison." The Primate, greatly
moved, embraced the new bishop, and said: "My son,
having given yourself up to the sacred office, carry yourself
righteously and devoutly, and prepare yourself for
the trial of martyrdom." The bishop was afterwards
murdered by the treacherous connivance of Henry VI.</p>

<p>De Garlande, Bishop of Orleans, became so odious to
his clergy that they sent a complaint against him to Pope
Alexander III., concluding: "Let your apostolical hands
put on strength to strip naked the iniquity of this man,
that the curse prognosticated on the day of his consecration
may overtake him; for, the gospel being opened<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_364" id="Page_364">[Pg 364]</a></span>
according to custom, the first words that appeared were:
'And the young man, leaving his linen cloth, fled from
them naked.'"</p>

<p>William of Malmesbury relates that Hugh de Montaigne,
Bishop of Auxerre, was obliged to go to Rome to answer
several charges brought against him by some of his
chapter, touching his morals; but his friends urged as
undoubted testimony of his chastity the prognostic on the
day of his consecration: "Hail Mary, full of grace."</p>

<p>Piously-inclined people not unfrequently went to church
with the intention of receiving a declaration of the divine
will, by hearing words of Scripture read or sung at the
moment of the person's entrance. St. Anthony, when
irresolute about his retirement, went to a church, where
on entering he heard the words: "Go, sell all thou hast,
and give it to the poor, then come and follow me." These
expressions terminated his wavering: he withdrew to his
solitude, leaving wealth and friends behind, and took up
his abode in an old ruin on the top of a hill, where he
spent many years of rigorous seclusion. He became the
mighty oracle of the valley of the Nile.</p>

<p>It is reported that Clovis, the first Christian king of
France, marching against Alaric, king of the Visigoths,
sent nobles with presents to be offered at the tomb of St.
Martin, and with instructions to endeavour to bring him
a favourable augury, while he himself prayed for supernatural
help. His messengers had no sooner entered the
sacred place than they heard the priest chanting: "Thou
hast girded me with strength for war; thou hast subdued
under me those that rose up against me." Encouraged by
this favourable prognostic, Clovis girded on his armour,
engaged in battle, and gained a complete victory.</p>

<p>Peter de Blois, who lived in the twelfth century, says
in a letter to Reginald, whose election to the see of Bath
had long been strenuously opposed, that he believed
he would soon be established in his diocese, for he (De<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_365" id="Page_365">[Pg 365]</a></span>
Blois) had dreamed two nights successively of being at
Reginald's consecration; and also, that being anxious to
know the certain meaning of his dreams by lots and the
psalter, his dreams were confirmed by the words turning
up to him: "Moses and Aaron among the priests."</p>

<p>St. Consortia, in her youth, was passionately courted
by a young man of a very powerful family, though he
knew she had formed the design of taking the veil.
Knowing that a refusal would expose her parents to
many inconveniences, if not to positive danger, she
desired a week to determine whether she would become
his wife. At the expiration of that time her lover came
to know her answer. "I can neither accept you nor
refuse the offer," said she; "but if you agree to it, let
us go to the church and lay the holy gospel on the altar,
and say a joint prayer, then we will open the book, to be
informed of the divine will." He did as suggested, and
the first words that met the eyes of both were: "Whosoever
loveth father or mother more than me, is not
worthy of me." This was enough: the lovers acquiesced
in the decree, and she became a nun.</p>

<p>Responses were given in the heathen temples through
certain objects, such as the tinkling of the caldrons
at Dodona, the rustling of the sacred laurel, the murmuring
of streams, or by the action of sacred animals.
In the Egyptian hieroglyphic texts the gods speak in
an oracular manner, and their consultation by the
Pharaohs is mentioned. Oracles were used by the
Hebrews. Their oracles were by word of mouth, dreams,
visions, and prophetical sayings. They were also in use
throughout Babylonia and Chald&aelig;a; but the Grecian
oracles possessed the highest reputation for truthfulness,
the most renowned of which was the Delphic oracle.
The precedence of consulting this oracle was determined
by lots; and sacrifices were offered by the inquirers,
who went, with laurel crowns on their heads, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_366" id="Page_366">[Pg 366]</a></span>
delivered their questions carefully sealed. There was
a secondary class of oracles or prophetic persons in
Greece. One was situated at Oropus, in Attica, being
the shrine of a deified magician. Those who consulted
it fasted a whole day, abstained from wine, sacrificed
a ram to Amphiaraus, and slept on the skin in the
temple, where futurity was opened up to them through
dreams. The oracle of Trophonius, which owed its
origin to a deified seer, was given in a cave into which
the votary entered, bathed, and anointed himself, while
holding a honeyed cake. He obtained the desired knowledge
by what he saw and heard. Written oracles existed
of the prophecies of celebrated seers, and were preserved in
the acropolis of Athens. Among the Arabs divination
was, and is, greatly practised, and also among the Celtic
people. Oracular answers were usually couched in dark
ambiguous terms; and it was thought that at times the
information was given by demons.</p>

<p>Lightfoot proved that the Jews, after their return from
Babylon, gradually abandoned themselves to sorcery and
divination. The Talmud abounds with directions for the
due observance of superstitious rites. Many Jews were
highly esteemed, after the destruction of their holy city,
for their pretended skill in magic. Rabbins were trained
in the school of Zoroaster; they interpreted dreams, cured
the sick, healed wounds, and detected thefts, through their
intercourse with superior beings.</p>

<p>Bath-Kool, daughter of the voice, was the name given
by the Jews to an oracle in the second temple, which,
according to report, was destined to supply the defect of
the Urim and Thummim, the mysterious oracles of former
and greater days. Of Bath-Kool many stories are related.
When two Rabbins went to consult this oracle concerning
the fate of another Rabbin, they passed before a school, in
which they heard a boy reading: "And Samuel died."
On inquiry they subsequently found that their friend<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_367" id="Page_367">[Pg 367]</a></span>
was no longer a dweller among men. Two other Rabbins
went to visit Acha in his sickness, and as they proceeded
on their way they agreed to hear what Bath-Kool would
pronounce on the fate of their brother. Immediately on
their going to the sacred place appointed for inquirers,
they heard a voice saying: "The candle is going out; let
not the light be extinguished in Israel." By these words
they were assured that the sickness was not unto death.
Acha recovered.</p>

<p>Plutarch wrote a treatise on the ceasing of oracles;
and Van Dale, a Dutch physician, published a volume
to prove that they did not cease at the dawn of Christianity,
as had been supposed by early Christians. Malthus
laboured to prove that there were real oracles, such as
could not be reasonably attributed to any artifices of
priests or priestesses; but he thought several of the
oracles became silent before the Church and the prayers
of saints. A pious missionary in India gave it as his
opinion that the devil gave oracles there, but that he
became meek wherever the gospel was preached. This
religious man was not singular in his opinion, for most
of the Fathers of the Church believed it was the devil
that gave oracles. Pagan priests went to sleep in their
temples, that they might receive responses in their dreams,
and that they might with greater certainty play the
prophet. The sibylline oracles were held in so great
veneration among the ancients, that nothing of importance
was undertaken without consulting them.</p>

<p>That divination was used and believed in by the
Hebrews, is proved by the Scripture injunctions against
divinations. The Jews were told not to have among
them any that used divination, or any observers of times,
or enchanters, or witches, or charmers, or consulters with
familiar spirits, or wizards, or necromancers, or star-gazers,
or miracle-mongers, or seekers of oracles.</p>

<p>One species of divination was performed by laying an<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_368" id="Page_368">[Pg 368]</a></span>
agate stone on a red-hot hatchet. This is known as
Axinomancy. The agate was called sacred, as it was
regarded as a preservative against the poison of reptiles.
Pliny has written a whole chapter on the virtues of
agates.</p>

<p>There was an art among the Greeks known as Alectoromantia,
by which future events were made known by
means of a cock's movements. A circle was made on the
ground, and divided into twenty-four equal parts, in each
of which spaces was written one of the letters of the
alphabet, and upon each of these letters was laid a grain
of wheat. This done, the fowl was turned loose, and
watched to ascertain the order in which the grains were
picked up. The letters corresponding to those grains
were formed into words, and supplied an answer to important
questions.</p>

<p>Belomancy was a kind of divination by arrows, practised
among various nations in the East, but chiefly
among the Arabians. It was performed in different
ways. One was to mark a parcel of arrows, and put
eleven or more of them into a case. These were drawn
out, and according to their marks future events were
judged. Another way was to have but three arrows,
upon one of which was written an injunction to do a
certain thing; upon another a warning against doing it;
and upon the third there was no writing. These were
put into a quiver, out of which one of the arrows was
drawn at random. If it happened to be the one with
the injunction, the thing regarding which there was a
consultation was done; if it chanced to be the arrow
with the warning, the matter was let alone; but if the
arrow without an inscription, a second drawing took
place. Kings going out to war frequently consulted with
arrows and images, and according to the drawing or flight
of an arrow was it determined which city or town should
be first besieged. The king of Babylon resorted to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_369" id="Page_369">[Pg 369]</a></span>
Belomancy before assaulting Jerusalem. When he came to
a place where two roads met, one led to the city of
Rabbath, and the other to Jerusalem. There he wrote
the names of the two cities upon several arrows which
were mixed together promiscuously in a quiver, and a
boy who was unacquainted with the matter drew out
one, and the name Jerusalem being on it, the king determined
to lead his army towards that city.</p>

<p>Divination by means of rods prevailed among the
Magi, Chald&aelig;ans, and Scythians, whence it passed to the
Sclavonians, and thence to the Germans. The women
among the Alani gathered straight rods or wands, and
used them in their superstition. In Sheppard's <i>Epigrams</i>
we find:</p>

<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">"Some sorcerers do boast they have a rod,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">Gathered with vows and sacrifice,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And borne about will strangely nod<br /></span>
<span class="i1">To hidden treasure where it lies;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Mankind is sure that rod divine,<br /></span>
<span class="i1">For to the wealthiest ever they incline."<br /></span>
</div>
</div>

<p>The notion still prevails in England and elsewhere, that
water and precious treasure could be discovered, though
far below the surface of the earth, by carefully and
skilfully handling the divining rod. Men of scientific
knowledge have been believers in the occult power
ascribed to the divining rod, while others, who have considered
the subject, regard the supposed power of this
rod as a delusion, and ascribe the whole phenomenon to
the effect of a strong impression on the mind of the
operator.</p>

<p>Cleromancy was performed by the throwing of dice.
At Brura, a city of Achaia, there was a temple and a
celebrated oracle of Hercules, where such as consulted the
oracle threw four dice, the points whereof being observed
by the priest, he was supposed to draw an answer from
them. The great Napoleon was a firm believer in various<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_370" id="Page_370">[Pg 370]</a></span>
modes of superstition, particularly in Cleromancy. A
curious book on divination was found in Bonaparte's
cabinet of curiosities at Leipsic, during the confusion that
ensued there after the defeat of the French army. It was
looked upon by him as a sacred work, and he was accustomed
to consult it prior to his most hazardous undertakings.
The book, which was upwards of five hundred
years old, was written in German. It contained a table
called the Oraculum, at the top of which was a column of
dots or points similar to those on dice, but arranged in
somewhat different order. The way of proceeding to
inquire what was about to happen, was by asking questions,
and the answer, whether good or bad, was according
to the number and position of the dots opposite to the
interrogatives. There was also a table containing the
letters of the alphabet from A to Q, disposed of in a particular
manner, the exact position of which had to be
observed in prying into futurity. But as it is not our
province to instruct any one in occult science, we shall
not further explain the method of procuring answers to
the questions propounded.</p>

<p>Information on almost every subject might be asked, if
not obtained. Among the list of questions we find:&mdash;"Shall
I obtain my wish? Shall I have success in my
undertaking? Shall I gain or lose my cause? Shall I
have to live in foreign parts? Shall I have to travel?
Will the stranger return from abroad? Shall I recover
my stolen property? Does the person love and regard
me? Will the marriage be prosperous? Will my wife
have a son or a daughter? Will the patient recover
from his illness? Will the prisoner be released? Shall
I be lucky or unlucky to-day? What does my dream
signify?"</p>

<p>Among many answers and advices there are:&mdash;"What
you wish for, you will shortly obtain. Be very cautious
what you do this day, lest trouble befall you. If you<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_371" id="Page_371">[Pg 371]</a></span>
marry this person, you will have enemies unlooked for.
The patient should be prepared to leave this world. She
will have a son, learned and wise. You had better decline
this love, for it will neither be constant nor true. Your
travels are in vain; you had better stay at home. You
must not expect to regain that which you have lost. You
will obtain a great fortune in another country. You may
have many impediments in the accomplishment of your
pursuits. Beware! an enemy is endeavouring to bring
you into strife and misfortune. This day is unlucky,
therefore alter your intentions. Your fortune will soon
be changed into misfortune."</p>

<p>There were unlucky days, on which one was advised
not to consult the Oraculum: for instance, January 1,
2, 4, 6, 11, 12, and 20 were looked on as particularly
unpropitious. The 1st, 17th, and 18th February were
lucky, and so were the 14th and 16th March. Besides
those mentioned, there were unfortunate days in all the
months of the year. If a person wished to avoid meeting
with severe disappointment, he was not to inquire twice
in one day regarding the same subject.</p>



<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_372" id="Page_372">[Pg 372]</a></span></p>
<h2><a name="SIGNS_OMENS_AND_WARNINGS" id="SIGNS_OMENS_AND_WARNINGS"></a>SIGNS, OMENS, AND WARNINGS.</h2>

<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XLI" id="CHAPTER_XLI"></a>CHAPTER XLI.</h2>

<div class="blockquot"><p>Crying in Youth&mdash;Image of Opis&mdash;New-born Babes&mdash;Man born to
Trouble&mdash;How Man's Time is spent&mdash;Bacon's Belief in Presages&mdash;Dugdale's
Foresight&mdash;Sir Thomas More's Power to judge of Passing
Events&mdash;Erasmus at the Tomb of Becket&mdash;Sir Walter Raleigh's Predictions&mdash;What
Tacitus foresaw&mdash;Solon's Predictions&mdash;Cicero's
Predictions&mdash;Philosophers' Observance of Signs and Omens&mdash;Knox's
Predictions&mdash;Queen Mary and Darnley&mdash;Death of Thomas Maitland
and of Kirkaldy of Grange predicted&mdash;Regent Murray warned against
going to Linlithgow&mdash;Belief in Physiognomy&mdash;Natural Phenomena&mdash;The
Human Body a medium for discovering Future Events&mdash;Phrenology&mdash;Hairy
People&mdash;The Finger Nails&mdash;Unaccountable Sounds&mdash;Death
Warnings&mdash;Appearance of Spirits.</p></div>


<p>If the Romans were right in considering that crying in
youth portended ill-fortune in old age, there can be little
doubt it has been decreed that man's existence shall be
more embittered with disappointments than sweetened
with unalloyed pleasures; for it is nearly as common for
children to cry as it is for them to come into the world.
Parents may pray to their favourite gods for wise, happy
children; expectant mothers may wear suspended from
their girdles the image of Opis, in the fond expectation
that their offspring shall find a smooth passage through
life; and nurses may bring new-born babes into contact
with sacred things before defiled hands have touched
their tender skins,&mdash;yet the sad experience of every man
and woman is, that misfortunes overtake them sooner or
later. True, some people are more fortunate than others,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_373" id="Page_373">[Pg 373]</a></span>
but none are exempted from grief and pain. Have we
not the best authority for saying that "man is born to
trouble, as the sparks fly upwards." This being so, every
member of the human family must submit to his destiny,
strive against it how he may.</p>

<p>Since the time the old serpent beguiled Eve, to the
present day, the half of man's time has been spent in
bringing about prosperity and averting evil. He watches
the signs of the times; he seeks for tokens and omens, as
these, he supposes, are often sent for his guidance. That
warnings were given to our fathers and mothers of old in
mysterious ways, they fully believed; and if sent to them,
there is no good reason for supposing, say our aged relations,
that they should not be sent to us. Lord Bacon
believed in presages; and so did other learned men of
his time. Dugdale anticipated the approaching scenes in
1641, when many ancient monuments were destroyed. So
convinced was he of their early destruction, that he hurried
on his itinerant labours of taking sketches and engraving
inscriptions, to preserve their history and appearance for
future times. Sir Thomas More was enabled to judge from
passing events of what was to happen in after years.
Erasmus, when looking at the tomb of Becket at Canterbury,
wished that the jewels with which it was loaded had
been given to the poor; "for," said he, "those who have
heaped up all this mass of treasure will one day be plundered,
and fall a prey to rapacious tyrants in power." His
prediction was literally fulfilled twenty years after it was
uttered. Sir Walter Raleigh regarded omens, and from
these predicted truly. Tacitus foresaw the calamities which
long desolated Europe on the fall of the Roman empire,
and wrote concerning the future events five hundred
years before they happened. Solon predicted many
of the miseries that overtook the Athenians. Aristotle
collected remarkable information concerning predictions.
Cicero always judged of the affairs of the republic by<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_374" id="Page_374">[Pg 374]</a></span>
prediction; and he not only told what was to happen in
his own time, but he also foretold important things that
came to pass long after his death. Philosophers, however,
did not pretend to have the second sight, or to possess
any superhuman powers; but the art of prediction,
if art it could be called, was acquired, they confessed, by
carefully observing signs and omens.</p>

<p>Few put more confidence in signs and omens than
Knox, the great reformer, did; and he himself foresaw
several events, and the fate of certain persons. When
condemned to a galley in Rochelle, he predicted that
within two or three years he would preach the gospel at
St. Giles's, in Edinburgh, which, improbable though it
was at the time, happened as he had foretold. Of Queen
Mary and Darnley he said, that in justice she would be
made an instrument of retribution, and that he (the
king) would be overthrown. Knox predicted the death
of Thomas Maitland, and of Kirkaldy of Grange; and
he solemnly warned the Regent Murray against going to
Linlithgow, where he was assassinated. The common
people imagined that Knox was not only a preacher,
but a prophet. A Spanish friar foretold the death of
Henry IV. of France. The king's friends made known to
him that his life was in danger, but he disregarded the
prediction, and, before a year went round, the friar's
words were verified.</p>

<p>None of the persons we have named laid claim to the
prophetic gift. Their predictions rested chiefly or solely
on the observation of what was passing around them.
The augury to which they trusted was more physical than
divine. Some believed in physiognomy, others relied on
the appearance of the political horizon, and so on. The
foolhardy mariner sees the barometer falling, and perceives
the blackened heavens, yet he goes to sea with his
frail craft: the storm overtakes him, and he, his crew,
and ship are lost in the mighty deep. The prudent sailor<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_375" id="Page_375">[Pg 375]</a></span>
takes warning: he observes the black clouds gathering
over his head, and hears the distant thunder; he stays in
port until the disturbed elements cease their raging, and
he lives to go to sea again and again. If the weather be
propitious, we may expect a plentiful harvest; if a horse
is given to stumbling, he is likely to come down some
day; if the lakes are frozen, skaters may be expected to
be drowned; and if men and women will bathe, we may
calculate with certainty that some of them will go beyond
their depths and perish in the water. Then again, if a
man be diligent in business, we may expect him to become
rich; but if he be slothful, he has nothing to look for
but poverty. If an individual persist in a course of crime,
he will, to an almost absolute certainty, be punished. All
this is easily understood by the dullest-headed person,
but it is not every one who can comprehend the more
secret science that enables the initiated in deep subjects
to gain knowledge from such trifles as air-bubbles or
spiders' webs.</p>

<p>Everything connected with the human body is a medium
through which future events may be foretold. A pale
complexion has its signification, and so has a ruddy face.
The hands and veins are special objects of observation,
and so are the nails of one's fingers. From the colour,
shape, and marks on nails, there are, or at least were,
people who could read a person's fortune from infancy to
old age.</p>

<p>Phrenology is a favourite science among ourselves; and
so was it with the ancients, who, however, understood
the science in a somewhat different light to what people
of the present time do, and therefore we shall give an
outline of their observations and deductions. The ancients
supposed that a moderately large head denoted a well-conditioned
person, studious, and possessed of a good
memory and understanding. Those with large heads
were supposed to be dull and stupid, gluttonous, rough<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_376" id="Page_376">[Pg 376]</a></span>
in their manners, frequently melancholy, and predisposed
to madness.</p>

<p>One with a head too large for the body, and having a
thick neck and extended veins, was generally strong and
of a martial spirit. When the head was long and of
conical shape, the person was generally impudent and
rash; and, if sprightly in early life, was supposed to lose
spirit and vivacity before reaching the age of thirty
years. A well-proportioned head, but slightly compressed
at the sides, denoted a person of good apprehension, proceeding
from the spirits domiciled there. A spherical
head denoted inconstancy, forgetfulness, and want of
discretion. A small head was looked on as an evil sign.
The person having such a head was supposed to be vicious
and ill-conditioned in many respects, in consequence of
the spirits being confined in a narrow compass, and unable
to exercise their functions. A person with a spherical
head seldom lived beyond middle age. A long oblique
head denoted lust and intemperance, and a flat cranium
caused one to have a similar disposition.</p>

<p>A large head and broad brow indicated slowness,
but laboriousness. A little forehead denoted obstinacy,
wickedness, and weakness of intellect, yet conceited and
given to mischief. According to Aristotle, a square forehead
denoted magnanimity and courage. A person with
a forehead without wrinkles showed that he was honest,
but at the same time contentious, fond of law, and void
of devotion. A forehead pointed at the temples, signified
shallow capacity, vanity, and want of courage.</p>

<p>Those with hanging eyebrows were thought to be
fraudulent, bold, and unmerciful. A person with a depressed
forehead was put down as servile, cowardly, and
fearful. Of the lines of the forehead, those which were
straight or bent towards the nose foretold good fortune.
If they were very crooked or approaching the form of a
semicircle, they foreboded evil. Simple and straight lines<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_377" id="Page_377">[Pg 377]</a></span>
were the signs of simplicity, honesty, and truth. Many
lines signified changes in life, and the fewness of lines spoke
of evenness and simplicity. When the lines increased or
decreased, they gave warning of approaching changes in
person and fortune. If the lines on the forehead near
the hair of the head were broad, long, and not winding,
they denoted eventful changes in the person's life; for it
was believed that the first line next the hair referred to
Saturn, that below it to Jupiter, and the next below it to
Mars. If the third line mentioned was longer than the
others, and not broken or discontinued, and having a cross
upon it, the person was looked upon as one courageous
and ambitious, and who would be fortunate in war; but if
the line was broken or discontinued, or had a semicircular
form, dangers and misfortunes were supposed to be
threatened. If there were no more than three lines that
bended at the extremities, the person was marked to be a
prattler; and if the individual was a woman, she was put
down as a scold or abusive person. Hairy people were
among those on whom fortune smiled; whereas smooth-faced,
beardless men were numbered among the despicable
and despised ones.</p>

<p>Fortune-telling by means of the finger nails was not
uncommon. The ancient practice was to rub the nails
with oil and soot or wax, and to hold up the nails, thus
prepared, against the sun; and upon the transparent
horny substance were supposed to appear figures or
characters, which gave the answer required. In more
recent times, people have been found predicting by means
of nails of the hand, and telling the disposition of persons
with certain descriptions of nails. However absurd it may
appear, we shall give examples of this superstition:&mdash;A
person with broad nails is of gentle nature, timid, and
bashful. Those whose nails grow into the flesh at the
points or sides are given to luxury. A white mark on
the nail bespeaks misfortune. Persons with very pale<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_378" id="Page_378">[Pg 378]</a></span>
nails are subject to much infirmity of the flesh, and persecution
by neighbours and friends. People with narrow
nails are ambitious and quarrelsome. Lovers of knowledge
and liberal sentiment have round nails. Indolent
people have generally fleshy nails. Small nails indicate
littleness of mind, obstinacy, and conceit. Melancholy
persons are distinguished by their pale or lead-coloured
nails; and choleric martial men, delighting in war, have
red and spotted nails.</p>

<p>Particular marks on the person were looked on as
having reference to one's destiny. A mole on the chin
told that the person thus adorned would be prosperous
and esteemed. A mole on the right breast denoted
sudden accidents and reverse of fortune; one on the left
breast was a sign of success and of an amorous disposition.
The mole on the right breast foretold that the issue would
be girls; that on the left indicated that the children would
be boys. A mole under the left breast of a man
was a sign of him having an unsettled mind, fond of
rambling, and light in his conduct. A similar mark under
a lady's left breast showed her to be sincere in love. A
mole on the right knee gave tokens of the person so
marked being destined to trouble and misfortunes. A
mole on the left knee portended a good spouse, with great
riches, to the happy individual so marked. A mole on
either foot foreboded sudden illness, or unexpected misfortune,
and one on any part of the shoulders indicated
imperceptible decline and gradual decay in health and
fortune. There were many other ways of divining the
fate and dispositions of man, such as by the hand, foot,
hair, mouth, ears, tongue, eyes, chin, walk, conversation,
and complexion; but as it would be unprofitable to treat
all these separately, we pass them without further notice
in this chapter.</p>

<p>Mysterious knockings and unaccountable noises were
indicative of the death of a relative. Warnings of this<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_379" id="Page_379">[Pg 379]</a></span>
description were common and believed in. Educated
people, as well as the ignorant, were victims of this kind
of superstition. In the beginning of the last century a
highly respectable gentleman in England was one night
surprised by a sudden knock at the street door, so loud
that he thought an attempt was being made to break it
open. Springing from bed, he seized a brace of pistols,
and was hastening to the door, when a second knock,
louder than the first, was heard. A third knock followed
just as he was withdrawing the bolt, but on looking out
not a single person was to be seen, though it was clear
moonlight, and nothing to prevent him seeing a long way
off. Next post brought a letter informing him that a
near relation in London had died just at the time the
knocking alarmed him and his family, for they too heard
the startling sounds. The disturbed persons firmly believed
that, in one way or another, the knockings had
reference to their friend's death.</p>

<p>A few years afterwards, the same gentleman, sitting one
night at twelve o'clock with a sick brother, heard a noise,
as of the driving of nails into a coffin, in the workshop of
an undertaker, who was a neighbour. The gentleman
thought it was very unkind of the undertaker, an intimate
acquaintance of the sick person, to disturb him. As soon
as the noise of nail-driving ceased, other and more disagreeable
sounds reached his ears. The street door was
opened, and, as he thought, two or three men went upstairs
with a coffin. He naturally suspected that all this
was a forerunner of his brother's death; and so it turned
out to be. The invalid died next day at noon. Those
who live in our time may think that the gentleman was
insane, and that what he heard resulted from him having
a diseased brain. If he was labouring under delusions,
others must have been deranged too; for it was not uncommon
in those days for an undertaker and his family
to be advised of an early order to make a coffin by the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_380" id="Page_380">[Pg 380]</a></span>
sound of planes and hammers at work in the workshop.
Gravediggers were not without their early notices of
funerals. Sometimes the church bell would toll at midnight,
the graveyard gate would be thrown open by unseen
hands, and a living form be seen to enter alone; or
it might be that the whole funeral cortege which would
appear in the flesh a few days later, could be observed in
spirit in the dreary hours of night. If the deceased person
had lived a good and holy life, his spectre appeared in a
pleasant, comely form; but if his career was a wicked one,
he passed in a hideous shape, probably attended by infernal
spirits.</p>



<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XLII" id="CHAPTER_XLII"></a>CHAPTER XLII.</h2>

<div class="blockquot"><p>Ornithomancy&mdash;Mohammed's Pigeons&mdash;A Gigantic Fowl&mdash;Cock-crowing&mdash;Sacred
Geese saving a City&mdash;Phenomenon at Rome before C&aelig;sar's
Death&mdash;Young Swallows&mdash;Virtue of a Goose's Tongue&mdash;Crows'
Hearts&mdash;Divination by means of a Sieve&mdash;Detection of Crime&mdash;Capnomancy&mdash;Catoptromancy&mdash;Dactyliomancy&mdash;Cledonism&mdash;Onomancy&mdash;Names&mdash;Romans
toasting their Mistresses&mdash;How Success in War
was ascertained&mdash;Loss of Ships' Colours&mdash;Importance attached to
Regimental Standards&mdash;Consecrated Banners&mdash;Flag of the Prophet&mdash;Battle
of the Standard&mdash;A Highland Superstition.</p></div>


<p>Ornithomancy was a popular way of searching into
futurity. Mohammed had holy pigeons, which came to
his ears and conversed with him about things that were
to happen. And the Prophet, it will be recollected, gave
an account of a multitude of angels that appeared to him
in all kinds of shapes, some of which were in the form
of birds. One of the angel birds resembled a white cock,
so prodigiously large that its height extended from the
first to the second heavens&mdash;a distance of five hundred
years' journey, according to the rate we usually travel on
earth. Many Mohammedans will have it that the sacred
bird was even larger than what we have stated. They<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_381" id="Page_381">[Pg 381]</a></span>
assert that the fowl's head reached to the seventh heavens;
and in describing him, they say his wings were decked
with carbuncles and pearls, and that he extended his
pinions from the east to the west to a distance proportionate
to his height. This winged creature was represented
as the chief angel of the cocks, and was said to
crow so loud every morning that every living creature,
except men and fairies, heard it. Following the example
of this great bird, the smaller cocks, before sunrise, herald
that bright luminary as he speeds to the west.</p>

<p>When the Gauls under Brennus had scaled the Capitol
without arousing even the sentinels or the watch-dogs,
the sacred geese, kept in the court of the temple in honour
of Juno, heard the approach of the enemy and commenced
cackling. The patrician, Manlius, struck with
the noise, roused his fellow-soldiers&mdash;the Gauls were discovered,
attacked, and driven back. Thenceforth Roman
geese were fattened, but not eaten. A golden image of
a goose was made to commemorate their vigilance, and
upon a certain day in every year one was placed in
a litter, and carried in state about the city, while a dog
was impaled upon a stake, to denote the national contempt
for that animal. A singular circumstance happened at
Rome about twenty-four hours before C&aelig;sar's death. A
little bird was observed to direct its flight towards the
senate-house, consecrated by Pompey, whilst a flock of
other birds was seen to follow in close pursuit, apparently
to destroy the little bird, or to deprive it of a sprig of
laurel it carried through the air. The bird was overtaken,
and torn to pieces by its pursuers.</p>

<p>We are told that if one take young swallows and put
them in a pot to cook them, he will, on taking off the lid,
find two of the swallows kissing each other, and two
turning one from the other. If the kissing birds be dissolved
in oil of roses, they will prove effectual, when
applied according to custom, in securing the affections of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_382" id="Page_382">[Pg 382]</a></span>
the most blooming young lady in the parish; but in
making use of the birds found back to back, for creating
sympathetic feelings, they require to be pounded into an
ointment, and applied to the eyelids of him or her whose
affections are sought. If the tongue of a goose be cut out
when the fowl is alive, and laid on the breast of a man or
woman when asleep, he or she will confess every sin of life.
When a man carried the heart of a male crow, and his
wife the heart of a female crow, they lived in peace and
happiness. It was customary with the good housewives
of England, on placing eggs in a nest for incubation, to
swing a lighted candle over them, as a charm to prevent
hawks, crows, and other birds of prey, flying away with
the young birds hatched from the eggs.</p>

<p>Divination by means of a sieve was often resorted to.
The sieve was suspended after the operator had repeated
a particular form of words, and, by certain manipulations,
information was obtained concerning thefts, etc. The
names of suspected parties were repeated while the implement
was made to turn round; and on the guilty person
being named, the sieve, instead of turning swiftly and
steadily, began to oscillate and shake. This was a very
ancient practice, in which great faith was put. Theocritus
mentions a woman who was very skilful in her art. At
times the sieve was suspended by a thread, or fixed at the
point of a pair of scissors, giving it room to turn, and
naming, as before, the suspected persons. Coscinomancy
was practised in England at no distant date.</p>

<p>Divination by means of smoke (Capnomancy) was in
use among the ancients in their sacrifices. It was a good
sign when the smoke rose light and straight. If, on
the contrary, the smoke ascended dark and dense, evil was
foretold.</p>

<p>Catoptromancy was a species of divination performed by
the aid of a mirror. This method of divination was common
among the Achaians. The mode of procedure was, when<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_383" id="Page_383">[Pg 383]</a></span>
one was sick and in danger of death, to let down a mirror
into a fountain before the temple of Ceres, and, from the
appearance of the glass, to judge what was to be the result&mdash;whether
the sickness was to be removed, or death to
take place. If a ghastly, disfigured face was seen, it was
regarded as a certain evidence of death; but if the patient's
face appeared fresh, healthy, and comely, it was a sign of
recovery.</p>

<p>Dactyliomancy was divination performed by means of
a ring. The ring was suspended by a thread above a
round table, on the edge of which letters of the alphabet
were marked. The ring, in shaking or vibrating over the
table, stopped over certain of the letters, which, on being
connected, supplied the answer asked. But the operation
was preceded and accompanied by several superstitious
ceremonies. In the first place, the ring had to be consecrated;
the person from whose hand it was suspended
required to be clothed in linen garments; his head had to
be shaven all round; and he required to hold vervain in
his hand.</p>

<p>Cledonism denoted divination drawn from words only
occasionally uttered. Cicero observes that the Pythagoreans
made observations not only of the words of gods,
but those of men also. Accordingly the people thought
it was unlucky to pronounce at meal-time such words as
conveyed peril, evil consequences, sickness, death, estrangement
of friends, or the displeasure of their deities. In
another sense Cledonism seems to be divination drawn
from the movements of birds, such as those noticed in
another part of our work.</p>

<p>Onomancy, Onomamancy, or Onomatomancy, was the
art of divining the good or bad fortune of man from the
letters of his name. This mode of divination was popular
among the ancients. The Pythagoreans taught that the
mind, actions, and successes of mankind were according
to their fate, genius, and name. Plato, who recommended<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_384" id="Page_384">[Pg 384]</a></span>
parents to give their children happy names, was inclined
to think they were right, and adduced grounds for maintaining
his opinion. Some of the Bible worthies are referred
to in support of Onomancy; and a certain profane
writer calls attention to tippling Meroe, supposing she
would drink her wine without water. Hippolitus was
torn to pieces by his own coach-horses, as his name imported;
Agamemnon signified that he should linger long
before Troy; Priam, that he should be redeemed out
of bondage in his childhood. The greatest empires and
states have been founded and destroyed by men of the
same name. Cyrus, the son of Cambyses, established the
Persian monarchy; and Cyrus, the son of Darius, ruined
it; Darius, son of Hystaspes, restored it; and again, Darius,
son of Asamis, overthrew it. Philip, son of Amyntas,
greatly enlarged the kingdom of Macedonia; and Philip,
son of Antigonus, lost it. Augustus was the first emperor
of Rome; Augustulus, the last. Constantine founded the
empire of Constantinople, and Constantine lost it. Some
names are unfortunate to princes: Caius, among the
Romans; John and Henry of France, and John of England
and Scotland. One of the principal rules of this
kind of divination among the Pythagoreans was, that an
even number of vowels in a name signified an imperfection
in the left side of a man, and an odd number in the right
side. Another rule was, that the persons were the most
happy in whose names the numeral letters added together,
made the greatest sum; for which reason, it was alleged,
Achilles vanquished Hector, the numeral letters in the
former name amounting to a greater number than in the
latter. From a like idea, the young Romans toasted their
mistresses at their meetings as often as their names contained
letters. Theodotus, king of the Goths, being anxious
to ascertain the success of his wars against the Romans,
consulted a Jew, who ordered him to shut up a number
of swine in styes, and to give some of them Roman and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_385" id="Page_385">[Pg 385]</a></span>
others Gothic names, and there to keep them until a
certain day. The Jews' instructions were complied with;
and, on inspecting the styes at the appointed time, it was
discovered that the animals which had received the Gothic
names were dead, and those to which the Roman names
had been assigned were alive. From these circumstances,
the fortune-teller truly predicted the defeat of the Goths.</p>

<p>There was an old superstition among seamen, which is
supposed to linger among them still,&mdash;we mean the evil
that was feared would follow the total loss or tearing of
a ship's colours. Sailors would have been less grieved
at all their sails being split, their spars carried away, and
their masts gone by the board, than at being deprived
of their colours. The loss or tearing of a flag was a sign
of misfortune, both to the vessel and the crew.</p>

<p>Soldiers, particularly those in Highland and Irish
regiments, were equally credulous. Vast importance was
attached to the preservation of their standards, and hence
in some instances the great bravery that has been displayed
in preventing the enemy carrying away a standard.
A brave Highlander, or courageous Irish soldier, would
rather die than surrender the flag of his company. Not
only did the loss of regimental colours bring disgrace for
the time on those whose duty it was to defend them, but
it portended future defeats and demoralisation.</p>

<p>Consecrated banners were common in times when almost
every man was a soldier. "<i>Go, conquer by this</i>" was the
motto inscribed on ensigns of several nations. In the
devices of standards were found the eagle, the wolf, the
horse, the boar, the lion, and often a figure of Victory or
Mars. The "Flag of the Prophet" was the sacred banner
of the Mohammedans. It was composed of the turban of
the Koreish, captured by Mohammed. A black flag was
afterwards substituted in its place, consisting of a curtain
that used to hang in front of the door of Ayeshah's (one
of the Prophet's wives) tent. The Mohammedans regarded<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_386" id="Page_386">[Pg 386]</a></span>
this flag as a most sacred relic. Subsequent to passing
through several hands, it was brought to Europe by
Amurath III. It was kept in a costly casket, and deposited
in a chapel, guarded by emirs. The banner used
to be unfolded when war broke out, and carefully laid
aside, as stated, when peace was restored.</p>

<p>In the history of the "Battle of the Standard," which
took place on Cutton Moor, near Northallerton, between
the English and Scots, at which the Scots lost 10,000 men,
the success of the English was reported to have been due to
their having consecrated banners with them. The battle
derived its name from the circumstance of a flag-staff
being attached to a waggon in the army's centre, bearing
at its top the consecrated host, and the banners of St.
John of Beverley, St. Peter of York, and St. Wilfred of
Ripon.</p>

<p>A superstition long lingered in the Scottish Highlands,
that it was unlucky for a clansman to learn any handicraft
engaged in by Lowlanders. If a Highland youth
left his native mountains and engaged in mercantile or
mechanical pursuits, his friends thought he turned effeminate.
For warfare he became unsuited, either as a leader
or follower. The prowess of his ancestors forsook him, he
became incapable of handling the bow or spear skilfully,
and, what was worse, he carried ill luck with himself and to
his companions wherever he went. Powerful clans have
been beaten in the open field by opposing clansmen of
inferior numbers, solely through the circumstance of the
former having in their ranks men who had imprudently, in
an evil hour, apprenticed themselves to the vulgar callings
of life. To be a soldier was honourable, to be a tiller of the
ground was not a disgrace, to be a cattle reiver was not a
crime, but for a clansman to condescend to earn his bread
by ordinary industry in a workshop, could not fail to bring
discredit and misfortune on himself and kindred, however
remote the relationship might be. To this superstition the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_387" id="Page_387">[Pg 387]</a></span>
nation is indebted for the many stalwart Highlanders who
have fought England's battles, and won them too, at home
and abroad. Ask the decrepit old woman, leaning on her
staff, far up yonder glen, the cause of the expiring zeal
among the mountain youths to study the art of war,
and she will tell you in effect what we have said; and
will add, that through the intimacy that has long existed
between Highlanders and Lowlanders, and the frequent
evictions that have brought a scandal on our nation,
her country no longer remains a recruiting ground for
armies.</p>



<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XLIII" id="CHAPTER_XLIII"></a>CHAPTER XLIII.</h2>

<div class="blockquot"><p>Caution of our Ancestors&mdash;A Magpie crossing one's Path&mdash;What four
Magpies betokened&mdash;The Poet and the Magpies&mdash;More about Magpies&mdash;Flight
of Birds&mdash;Swarming of Bees&mdash;Howling of Dogs&mdash;Lowing of
Cattle&mdash;Crowing of Cocks&mdash;Dogs' Power of Sight&mdash;Stockings wrong
side out&mdash;Evil effect of Suspended Eggs&mdash;Burning Fish Bones&mdash;Sign
of a Letter coming&mdash;Sneezing of a Cat&mdash;Various Signs&mdash;The sight of
a Fox foreboding Evil&mdash;Owls and Ravens&mdash;Various Signs and Omens&mdash;How
to prevent Ill Luck&mdash;Reputed Witches crossing the Path&mdash;Highland
Superstition&mdash;Print of a Caldron, what it denoted&mdash;Unlucky
to pass over a Balance&mdash;How to see in the Dark&mdash;When not to
pare your Nails&mdash;Touching a Dead Body&mdash;Funeral Processions&mdash;Storks
and Storks' Hearts&mdash;How to Sit&mdash;Marriages&mdash;A Prophetic
Rhyme&mdash;Favourable and Unfavourable Times for Marriages&mdash;Unfortunate
to lose or break a Wedding Ring&mdash;Rules to be observed in
taking possession of a House&mdash;Throwing Slippers, Besoms, Salt, and
Rice after Newly-married Persons&mdash;Charms for Bridegrooms and
Brides&mdash;Mothers and Children&mdash;More about Marriages&mdash;Rules to be
observed at Baptisms&mdash;How to treat Young Children.</p></div>


<p>Mark the caution of our ancestors: If a magpie crossed
one's path when setting out on a journey, his mission,
whatever it happened to be, was certain to prove unsuccessful,
unless the traveller immediately crossed himself&mdash;a
ceremony he invariably performed&mdash;and thus the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_388" id="Page_388">[Pg 388]</a></span>
unfavourable influence of the hateful bird ceased. In the
south of England, people supposed that if a person saw four
magpies at one time, he would soon lose by death a dear
friend. But an old English poet, writing of magpies, says:</p>

<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">"One is a sign of sorrow; two are a sign of mirth;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Three are a sign of a wedding; and four a sign of birth."<br /></span>
</div>
</div>

<p>The chattering of one of these birds in the morning
bespeaks the arrival of a stranger before evening. It is
thought unlucky to kill a magpie or a swallow. The
congregating of magpies on a house-top precedes an important
event, in which the inmates are interested. If a
bird fly through a window, it is a sign that one of the
inmates will soon die. If a pigeon, which does not belong
to any one of the family, come into a house, it forebodes
death to the occupant of the domicile. The alighting of
a swarm of bees on a dead tree or on the withered bough
of a living tree, signifies that the owner of the tree will
soon pass through death's portal. The howling of dogs,
the lowing of cattle, and the crowing of cocks at night,
foretell the death of some person in the neighbourhood.
Dogs are supposed by not a few people to see death as it
enters a dwelling; and hence, in their opinion, the cause
of that quadruped's frequent dismal howling.</p>

<p>When one, by mistake, puts on his stockings in the
morning wrong side out, he secures good luck for that day
at least. Birds' eggs hung up in a house, prevent good
luck entering that dwelling. He who wishes to thrive
should abstain from burning fish bones. A spark in the
candle gives notice that a letter is coming. If the cat
sneeze or cough, nothing is more certain than that one
person, at least, in the house will soon have a cold.
When one's ears tingle, lies are being told about him.
When his cheeks burn, he is assured people are talking
about him. If the right eye itches, good luck is
expected; and when the left eye waters, misfortune is<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_389" id="Page_389">[Pg 389]</a></span>
looked for. When the nose itches, vexation&mdash;probably
the death of friends&mdash;is expected. The meeting of a fox,
or the seeing of one crossing the path, presages the attempt
of an impostor to commit a fraud at the expense of
the traveller. Owls or ravens appearing on important
occasions, portend unlucky events. If a weasel be met
in the morning, it is necessary to turn three times on the
heel and throw three stones, to prevent ill luck. It is
more lucky to meet a man than a woman as a first-foot.
Every person is advised to avoid meeting a cat, when
going on an important mission. It is also unlucky to
meet a pig; and it is thought prudent to return home
when a hare or a reputed witch crosses the path ere the
morning dew disappears before the sun. A man leading
or riding on a mare with foal, is cautioned against allowing
the animal to go in the track of a wolf; because, if she
place a hoof on the spot where that ravenous beast's foot
has been, she will cast her foal.</p>

<p>Time was, in Great Britain as in the East, when almost
every one, whether walking, riding, or sailing in a boat,
went with the sun, when setting out on a journey, or proceeding
to sea. The Highlanders of Scotland invariably
went <i>deiseal</i>, or to the right, at every meeting of importance.
They went to the right, around the grave, with the corpse&mdash;to
the right three times around the consecrated well
before drinking. The company at a marriage went three
times round the house before crossing the threshold. Companies,
on taking their seats at table, were expected to turn
to the right. Even at the present day, the loving-cup and
decanters are handed to the right around the social board.
When one lets salt fall on the floor or table, he should not
omit to cast a small quantity of the condiment over his left
shoulder. Beware of passing the salt at table unless it be
asked for, and of placing your fork and knife cross-ways.</p>

<p>When one sneezed, he did not evoke Jupiter to save
him, the same as the people of some other countries did,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_390" id="Page_390">[Pg 390]</a></span>
but he, or some of his friends present, said <i>Deiseal</i>. When
an infant was born, the midwife encircled it three times
right about with a burning candle. These customs were
no doubt commenced by the Highlanders in honour of the
sun, which they once worshipped; but in later times people
did as their forefathers and foremothers had done, through
a superstitious belief, thinking that by so doing they would
prevent evil consequences, and secure good fortune.</p>

<p>It is unlucky to leave the print of a caldron in the ashes
after taking the utensil off the fire. If people are wise, they
will not pass over a balance, or take up fire with a sword.
To enable a person to see in the dark, he is recommended
to anoint his eyes with a salve prepared from the right
eye of a hedgehog, boiled in oil, and preserved in a brazen
vessel. A blackamoor is an unlucky first-foot. If the
chickens do not come out readily to feed in the morning,
the owner may make up his or her mind to meet with
disappointments before night.</p>

<p>It was formerly, if not now, unlucky to pare your nails on
Sunday or Friday. To prevent one dreaming about a dead
person he has seen, it is necessary to touch the body. To
secure money being always in one's pocket, he is advised
to keep a bent sixpence, or a coin with a hole in it, in his
purse; to take it out and spit on it at every new moon; and
to return it to the pocket while wishing himself good luck.</p>

<p>It is unlucky to look at a funeral through a door or a
window. Should one wish to gaze on the melancholy
procession, he ought to take his position in the open air.
The family will be fortunate on the roof of whose house
a stork builds its nest; and if any one take the heart of a
stork, and tie it up in the skin of a hawk or of a vulture,
no enemy can conquer him so long as he carries the
charm attached to his right arm. To sit with one's hands
closed is bad, but to sit cross-legged secures good fortune.
At a card-table, people occasionally sit in the latter position,
with the view of bringing lucky deals.</p>

<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_391" id="Page_391">[Pg 391]</a></span>A bride should not be married in a white satin dress.
That a newly-married couple may have no obstacles in the
way of prosperity, every one meeting them going to church
to be united, or returning home after the hymeneal knot
is tied, should retrace his steps with them a short distance.
No small importance is attached to the old rhyme:</p>

<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">"Blessed is the bride that the sun shines on;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Blessed is the corpse that the rain rains on."<br /></span>
</div>
</div>

<p>Marriages at the festival of St. Joseph are carefully
avoided as unfortunate. All fast-days and vigils should
also be avoided as marriage-days, they being considered
inauspicious. The first day of May continues in many
lands to be held in great esteem, and the 12th of that
month is a high day among the witches. At that time
they may be seen dancing on the surface of lakes, brushing
the dew off the grass, milking cows in their folds,
and flying through the air, or escaping from pursuers in
the shape of hares.</p>

<p>If a married woman lose her wedding ring, she has
reason to fear the estrangement of her husband's affections.
If she break it, she thinks there is danger of the matrimonial
tie being soon severed by death. If a newly-married
couple go into a clean-swept house, they expect to be
poor all their days; but if the house be but indifferently
cleaned, and the precaution taken to throw salt and a
small quantity of coals in at the door before any furniture
or household goods are carried across the threshold, good
luck is expected. As a warning, however, to persons
who might wish to injure their neighbours, we think it
right to say that, down to the time we write, it is considered
that any one removing from a dwelling with clean-swept
floors, has reason to expect grief and trouble in his new
abode. Every one knows that slippers, besoms, salt, and
rice should be thrown after a newly-wedded pair; and
that a cake must be broken over a bride's head when she<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_392" id="Page_392">[Pg 392]</a></span>
first enters the house of her husband; but it is not so
well known that a bridegroom should have silver&mdash;say
sixpences&mdash;and salt in his shoes, when he first approaches
the marriage bed, and that the bride should avoid putting
her bare feet on the floor when preparing to retire for
the night with her future companion in life. If these
precautions be neglected, there is danger of the wedded
pair being deprived of little prattlers around their fire in
the early days of their wedded life, and of having sons or
daughters to comfort them in declining years. A mother
should not enter a neighbour's house after having an
infant before she is "kirked"; nor should she carry her
child even to her nearest and dearest friend's abode before
the little one has been baptized.</p>

<p>It is unlucky for a bridegroom to have for his "best-man"
one who is not his blood relation. It is unlucky
for a "best-man" to have on a black coat at a marriage;
it is an omen of evil to the bride and bridegroom. If
a bride slip her foot or her horse stumble when proceeding
to church to be married, it is regarded as an evil
sign; and if the bridegroom come down when on his
way to meet his betrothed, before the hymeneal knot is
tied, misfortunes are expected. If he has to cross a stream,
and his bonnet or hat fall into the water, his death is not
far distant. A bride's glove should not be taken off before
the bridegroom's is removed, preparatory to their
joining hands in wedlock before the clergyman. If any
part of a dinner-set or tea-set be broken at a marriage or
baptismal feast, it is a sign that misfortunes are coming.</p>

<p>If two children&mdash;a boy and a girl&mdash;are baptized in
church on the same day, and the latter be sprinkled before
the former, the girl's relations have reason to fear that in
ripe years she will have a beard. If a mother or nurse
do not give bread and cheese to the first person she
meets when going to church with a child to be baptized, it
is questionable whether the infant's career through life<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_393" id="Page_393">[Pg 393]</a></span>
shall prove prosperous. The "first-foot," on receiving
his bread and cheese, is expected to return a short distance
with the child, to show his good will.</p>

<p>If a person, who is a stranger, leave a house wherein
there is an unbaptized child, particularly if it be a girl,
without eating or drinking, the infant's beauty is in
danger of being taken away. It is unlucky to let a child
see its face in a mirror before it is a year old. When an
infant is suspended by the dress with its head downwards
for a few seconds after being washed in the morning, it
prevents an evil eye from affecting the little one that day.</p>



<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XLIV" id="CHAPTER_XLIV"></a>CHAPTER XLIV.</h2>

<div class="blockquot"><p>Floors should not be swept at Night&mdash;Fires at New Year and Christmas&mdash;Presents
at New Year and Christmas&mdash;Lucky and Unlucky "First-Foots"&mdash;Looking
through a Ladder&mdash;Sneezing&mdash;Air Bubbles on Tea&mdash;Tea
Stalks&mdash;Stepping out with the Left Foot&mdash;Left Shoe to be put
on first&mdash;Weather Prognostications&mdash;How to secure Favourable Gales&mdash;Superstitious
Customs at time of Death&mdash;Corpse of one guilty of
<i>Felo-de-se</i>, how to be Buried&mdash;Finding of Persons who die unseen&mdash;Superstitious
Belief of Russian Seamen&mdash;Ancient Customs of Scotland&mdash;Friday
an Unlucky Day for commencing an Important Undertaking&mdash;Friday
as a Marriage Day&mdash;Anecdote of a Ship called "Friday"&mdash;Loss
of the Ship "Amazon"&mdash;Sunday a Favourable Day for commencing
a Voyage&mdash;Lawyers and Clergymen, how looked upon by Sailors at Sea&mdash;It
is Lucky to have Women and Children at Sea&mdash;Dogs and Cats at
Sea&mdash;Rats deserting a Ship&mdash;Whistling to raise the Wind&mdash;Deceased
Sailors' Clothes&mdash;Old Boats not to be Broken up&mdash;Reluctance to go to
Sea in a Boat from which a Person has been Drowned&mdash;Sharks following
a Ship&mdash;Unfavourable Sign to see a Hatch turned upside down&mdash;A
Four-footed Beast not to be named at Sea&mdash;Legend of Vanderdecken
or the Flying Dutchman&mdash;A Grandfather's Axe&mdash;Other Signs and
Warnings.</p></div>


<p>If a housewife wish everything to prosper with her
and her family, she will not permit the floors of her
house to be swept at night. The sweeping not only prevents
good fortune, but it disturbs the spirits of the dead,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_394" id="Page_394">[Pg 394]</a></span>
supposed to be constantly walking about in thousands.
If the kitchen fire burn down on New Year's morning or
Christmas eve, it is thought, some person belonging to the
house will die before these seasons come round again.
Old women, who wish to have a peep into futurity, are
accustomed to cover over with ashes the smouldering
embers of their fires on the last night of the year. If a
death is to happen in the house before twelve months expire,
the foot marks of the doomed individual will be imprinted
in the ashes; but if no such event is to happen,
the ashes will remain with a smooth surface, and the
embers kindled below. It is thought lucky to receive a
present on New Year's day or Christmas; but it is unlucky
to borrow or lend on these days. The destiny of the members
of a family is greatly affected for a whole year, if not
for life, by the "first-foot" on New Year's and Christmas
mornings. An unlucky "first-foot" brings misfortune with
him or her, but a lucky "first-foot" introduces prosperity.</p>

<p>If one look through a ladder, he should spit three times
to prevent evil consequences; and it is unlucky to hand
anything through a ladder. Sneezing to the left hand is
unlucky, but prosperous when to the right. Plutarch
relates that, by the sneezing of a soldier towards his right
hand, the soothsayer predicted the victory of the Greeks
and the complete overthrow of the Persians in battle.
Candles and lights burn dim when spirits are present.
The stalk of the tea plant floating on the surface of a cup
of tea, foretells the coming of a stranger. If the stalk be
short, look for a female visitor; but if long, then a man may
be expected. Air bubbles on tea denote kisses and money.
It is thought lucky to step out with the left foot first;
and no one who has attended to the recommendation of
his grandmother, thinks of putting his right shoe on first
in the morning. These precautions&mdash;stepping out with
the left foot first, and putting the left shoe on before the
right&mdash;keep one from stumbling.</p>

<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_395" id="Page_395">[Pg 395]</a></span>With reference to prognosticating the state of the
weather, our fathers, we may premise, carefully observed
the winds, the clouds, the sky, and the seasons. If the
wind blew from the west on New Year's night, it was
considered lucky, and supposed to foretell a season of
abundance.</p>

<p>In the north of Scotland, the people wished to see the
first three days of winter dark and cloudy. A northern
bard says:</p>

<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">"The south wind, heat and plenty,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">The west wind, fish and milk,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">The north wind, cold and stormy,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">The east wind, fruit on trees."<br /></span>
</div>
</div>

<p>People in Scotland also prognosticated the weather of
the coming season, according to whether Candlemas was
clear or foul. Every one can repeat the old rhyme, and
some put faith in it:</p>

<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">"If Candlemas is fair and clear,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Ther'll be twa winters in the year."<br /></span>
</div>
</div>

<p>When this day passed without a shower of rain or a
fall of snow, people imagined there would be severe weather
before spring was past; and they expected heavy snow
storms before the following Christmas. A showery and
tempestuous Candlemas, on the other hand, raised the
people's spirits, for by such omens they were to expect a
favourable summer and an abundant harvest.</p>

<p>Though they may be well known to most readers, we
subjoin a few poetical proverbs on the weather:</p>

<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">"The evening red, and the morning grey,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Are certain signs of a fair day."<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">"If red the sun begins his race,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Expect that rain will fall apace."<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">"In the waning of the moon,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">A cloudy morn&mdash;fair afternoon."<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_396" id="Page_396">[Pg 396]</a></span>
<span class="i0">"If woolly fleeces spread the heavenly way,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">No rain, be sure, disturbs the summer's day."<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">"When clouds appear like rocks and towers,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">The earth's refreshed by frequent showers."<br /></span>
</div>
</div>

<p>From rainbows, shepherds and sailors predicted the state
of the weather.</p>

<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">"A rainbow in the morning is the shepherd's warning;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">A rainbow at night is the sailor's delight"<br /></span>
</div>
</div>

<p>When peacocks cry, be sure rain will early fall; and
when the night owl screeches from the ruined tower,
look for a storm; so also, if the cat is seen washing
its face with its fore paws, expect a gale. When ocean
birds flock on shore, a tempest is brewing on the sea.</p>

<p>Seamen and fishermen's wives can secure a favourable
gale for their husbands by going to a chapel after mass, and
blowing the dust on the door in the direction the vessels
have gone.</p>

<p>When a person is dying, no one in the house, of whatever
age, should be permitted to sleep. When one expires, the
clock should be immediately stopped, and the dial plate
covered with a towel, and mirrors and pictures should be
concealed, or their faces turned to the wall. All the cats
belonging to the house ought to be caught and confined
till after the funeral. That a necessity prevails for
putting the feline animals out of the way, will be understood
by the existing generation, when they understand
that if a cat cross a corpse, and afterwards pass over a
living person in a recumbent posture, that individual will
be deprived of sight. When a dead body is dressed and
laid out, the relatives would do well to put a Bible below
the head, and one plate with salt, and another plate with a
piece of green turf, on the breast. The corpse of every
one guilty of <i>felo-de-se</i> should be buried either in a remote
spot not customarily used as a place of burial, or near
to a cross road; but if the relatives of any such unhappy
person insist on having the remains interred in the ordinary<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_397" id="Page_397">[Pg 397]</a></span>
place of sepulchre, they are expected to carry the corpse
over the burying-ground wall, and inter it after sunset.
It is believed that if a person die unseen, they who first
discover the body will meet his death in a similar
manner. This superstitious belief often prevents seamen
and fishermen picking up and taking ashore dead bodies
discovered at sea. Seamen have not yet risen above these
superstitious delusions. A few years ago a Russian ship
was lying in Leith Docks, when one of the crew fell overboard
and was drowned. As long as there was a chance of
rescuing the man, his companions did everything they could
to save him; but as soon as they discovered that their
comrade was dead, they rushed into the forecastle of their
vessel, and refused to search for the body, believing that
they who first beheld the corpse after being brought to
the surface, would, sooner or later, meet a watery grave.</p>

<p>No person who understands the ancient customs of
Scotland will think of commencing to make a new garment
at the end of the year, if it cannot be finished before
the new year comes in; nor will any one commence to make
an article of clothing on Saturday, unless it can be ready
for wearing on the Sunday. Friday is also an unlucky
day for commencing any important undertaking. Some
people refuse to be bled or physicked on a Friday. In certain
parts of the country, Friday is the usual day for young
men and women being united in wedlock, but at other
places it is supposed bad luck would cleave to them during
the whole of their lives if they were married on that day.
It is believed by old crones that children born on Friday
are doomed to misfortune. Friday night's dreams are
sure to come true. It is well known, seamen dislike going
to sea on Friday. Mr. Fenimore Cooper relates a very
extraordinary anecdote in reference to Friday. He says:</p>

<p>"A wealthy merchant of Connecticut devised a notable
scheme to give a fatal blow to the superstition of Friday
being an unlucky day. He caused the keel of a very large<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_398" id="Page_398">[Pg 398]</a></span>
ship to be laid on a Friday; he named her the 'Friday';
he launched her on a Friday; he gave the command of
her to a captain whose name was Friday; and she commenced
her first voyage on a Friday, bound for China
with a costly cargo; and in all respects she was one of the
noblest and best-appointed ships that ever left the port.
The result was, neither ship nor crew was ever heard of
afterwards. Thus his well-meant plan," adds Mr. Cooper,
"so far from showing the folly of superstition, only confirmed
seamen in their absurd belief."</p>

<p>Another instance may be given of a splendid ship
sailing on a Friday being lost, as was supposed by the
superstitious, through the imprudence of sending her to sea
on the sixth day of the week. We refer to the West India
steamer "Amazon," whose sad fate is a matter of history.
Other examples might be given of ships beginning their
voyages on Friday being lost; and, to the present time,
sailors will tell you that more misfortunes happen to
vessels leaving port on Friday than to ships departing on
any other day of the week. Sailors consider Sunday a
favourable day for commencing a voyage. They are
averse to proceed to sea if a lawyer or clergyman is on
board. They think the presence of one of these gentlemen
raises a tempest that puts their craft in peril. This
superstition is probably founded on the biblical story of
Jonah in his flight to Tarshish, when such a mighty tempest
was raised as to endanger the lives of those who
manned the vessel that conveyed him from Joppa. Sailors
are of opinion that it is lucky to have women or children
on board a ship. Time was when they objected
to sail with a native of Finland as one of the crew, thinking
that the Finns were leagued with Satan, and that if
they were offended, they took their revenge by raising
adverse winds and causing accidents to happen. Old
sailors objected to have dogs on board, but cats were held
sacred; and if all tales be true, Puss often secured favourable<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_399" id="Page_399">[Pg 399]</a></span>
winds, and prevented shipwreck. When rats are
seen deserting a ship ready for sea, it is regarded as an
evil omen. In calm weather, sailors whistle to raise the
wind; but in a gale they neither whistle themselves, nor
permit others to do so. It is unlucky to wear the clothes
of a fellow-sailor who dies at sea before the termination
of the voyage. It is thought unlucky to break up
an old boat&mdash;a fact which accounts for so many useless
boats being seen at fishing villages. If a man be drowned
in or from a boat, sailors and fishermen are reluctant to
put to sea again with her. It is an evil sign to see sharks
following a ship. Inadvertently turning a hatch upside
down, is considered an unfavourable sign. A four-footed
beast should not be named at sea. A child's caul hung
in the cabin, prevents the ship from sinking. A legend of
Vanderdecken, the Flying Dutchman, is believed by
seamen. It runs thus:&mdash;</p>

<p>Three hundred years ago a large Dutch Indiaman,
commanded by Mynheer Vanderdecken, attempted to
round the Cape of Good Hope against a head wind. His
vessel was frequently driven back, but he doggedly persevered,
in spite of many signs and warnings of failure,
and declared that he would double the Cape, though he
sailed till the day of judgment. For this impious saying,
and disregard of signs and warnings, the ship and wicked
captain, with his crew, were doomed to sail continually in
the latitude of the Cape, without doubling it. Sailors
have asserted that, in the midnight gale, the ship may be
seen, with her antique build and rig, and the figure of
Vanderdecken, on the poop, giving orders to his ghostly
crew, contending with the wind and waves, which they
can never overcome.</p>

<p>One day in the Middle Ages, as a troop of Condottieri
crossed the Roman country, a young peasant, named
Attendole, stood under an oak to admire them. Some of
the soldiers invited him to join their company. The<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_400" id="Page_400">[Pg 400]</a></span>
peasant was inclined to follow them, but being undecided
he said, "I will throw the axe I hold in my hand against
this oak, and if it enter far enough into the bark to remain
fixed, I will be a soldier." So saying, he threw the
axe with so much violence that it entered the tree deep
and stuck fast. From that moment all hesitation was
over: tearing himself from his friends, he joined the
troop. Because it was with all his force he decided
what his vocation was to be, his comrades called him
Sforza. He fought in more than one hundred battles,
and, after having served in Rome and at Milan, he at an
advanced age perished while endeavouring to save one of
his own pages from drowning. He left a son, who, like
his father, gained renown. He rose so high in Italy as to
be considered a suitable match for Bianca Visconti, the
heiress of Milan. Their son Galeazza, Duke of Milan, used
to look on the fair city and say, "See what I owe to my
grandfather's axe!"</p>

<p>Warnings of approaching death are given in various
ways. There are ancient families to whom the ghosts of
their ancestors appear before the death of the chiefs or
heads of the families. In one instance we have heard that
the ghost of an old murdered lady keeps wandering
through the castle halls shortly before any of the family
dies; and in another instance it is said that a mysterious
light blazes from the lofty battlements before the noble
proprietor is laid low in death.</p>

<p>The falling of his portrait or statue is a sure presage
of a great man's death. Archbishop Laud, going into his
study (which no one could enter without him being present,
as he invariably locked the door and kept the key),
found his portrait one day lying on its face on the floor.
He was extremely perplexed, for to him it was as his
death knell, and he commenced setting his house in order.
The sad summons was not long of coming, and death took
him for its own.</p>



<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_401" id="Page_401">[Pg 401]</a></span></p>
<h2><a name="AMULETS_AND_CHARMS" id="AMULETS_AND_CHARMS"></a>AMULETS AND CHARMS.</h2>

<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XLV" id="CHAPTER_XLV"></a>CHAPTER XLV.</h2>

<div class="blockquot"><p>Amulets and Charms among the Chald&aelig;ans, Jews, and Persians&mdash;Amulets
among the Greeks and Romans&mdash;Ecclesiastics forbidden to
wear Amulets and Phylacteries&mdash;Amulets and Charms very numerous&mdash;Pericles'
Amulet&mdash;Lord Bacon's Opinion of Charms&mdash;Cramp Rings and
Eel Skins&mdash;Moss off a Dead Man's Skull&mdash;How to remove Warts&mdash;Cure
for St. Vitus' Dance&mdash;Effect of Music&mdash;Kittens and Pigeons used
as Cures&mdash;Yawning and Laughing, Fear and Shame&mdash;Diseases cured
by Charms&mdash;Surprise a Cure for Hooping-cough&mdash;A Mad Dog's Bite&mdash;Touch
of a Torpedo&mdash;Philosophers' Opinions of Amulets&mdash;Bane and
Antidote&mdash;Mr. E. Chambers on Amulets&mdash;Poets on Enchantments&mdash;A
Dairymaid's Charm&mdash;A Charm sent by a Pope to an Emperor.</p></div>


<p>Amulets and charms were in great variety among the
Chald&aelig;ans, Jews, and Persians. They were also held
in estimation among the Greeks and Romans, chiefly
on account of their supposed virtue in exciting or conquering
the passion of love. The Council of Laodicea
forbade ecclesiastics to wear amulets and phylacteries, on
pain of degradation. St. Jerome was likewise opposed to
their use. Nevertheless, although amulets and charms are
not held in the same repute they once were, their efficacy
is not supposed to be entirely gone. Among early
Christians amulets and charms were acknowledged to
possess peculiar virtues beneficial to man. Amulets and
charms were, and are, so numerous that it would be a
herculean task to give an account of one half of them.
Where the inhabitants were destitute of medical resources,
amulets and charms were employed for the alleviation of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_402" id="Page_402">[Pg 402]</a></span>
bodily suffering. Pericles wore an amulet about his neck,
as such charms were supposed to be capable of preserving
the wearers from misfortune and disease. Lord Bacon
was of opinion that if a man wore a planet seal, it might
aid him in obtaining the affection of his sweetheart, give
him protection at sea and in battle, and make him more
courageous. Cramp rings and eel skins were worn round
the limbs, to prevent sickness; and people were sometimes
cured by laying sticks across each other in front of their
beds at night. Moreover, the sticks thus placed prevented
demons approaching the couch of rest. The moss off a
dead man's skull, says the great Mr. Boyle, is an effectual
remedy against bleeding at the nose. We are told by Lord
Verulam, that when he was at Paris he had above one
hundred warts on his hands, and that they were removed
by the English ambassador's lady rubbing them with a
piece of bacon, afterwards nailed to a post. In five weeks
the bacon, being exposed to the sun, melted away, and
the warts disappeared.</p>

<p>St. Vitus' dance was cured by the sufferer visiting the
tomb of the saint, near Ulm, every May. The bites of
certain reptiles are rendered harmless by music. Dr.
Sydenham orders, in cases of iliac passion, a live kitten to
be laid on the abdomen. Pigeons, split alive and applied
to the soles of the feet, are efficacious in fevers and convulsions.
Quincey says that yawning and laughing are
infectious, and so are fear and shame; and from these, by
a system of reasoning peculiarly his own, he endeavours to
prove that amulets may be sufficient to counteract, if not to
entirely hinder, infection. Throughout the Mohammedan
dominions the people were convinced that charms were
indispensable to their well-being. By charms they cured
every kind of disease, provided predestination had not
determined that the sick man's days were at an end. Surprise,
it is urged, removes the hooping-cough; looking
from a precipice, or seeing a wheel turn swiftly, causes<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_403" id="Page_403">[Pg 403]</a></span>
giddiness. "Why then," asks a wise man, "may not
amulets or charms, by their secret influence, produce the
effects ascribed to them? Who can comprehend by what
impenetrable means the bite of a mad dog produces hydrophobia?
Why does the touch of a torpedo induce numbness?
When these causes and effects are explained," he
concludes, "so may the virtue of amulets be accounted
for." Ancient philosophers laid it down, as a proof of
ignorance, the condemnation of a science not easily understood.
In this way the advocates of amulets and charms
have been enabled to silence people who have had the hardihood
to throw odium on their superstitions. Believers in
amulets and charms remind us that it is a well-ascertained
fact in nature, that for every bane there is an antidote.
Wherever the stinging nettle grows, the slimy stem of the
dock is near; whenever the wasp stings, honey gathered
by the industrious bee may be had, without going far, to
put on the injured part; when the cold is most intense
without, the fire burns brightest within; and if there be
evil spirits seeking man's hurt, there are good angels
hovering round him for his protection.</p>

<p>Mr. E. Chambers, who published his <i>Cyclop&aelig;dia, or A
Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences</i>, in 1728, says that
an amulet (<i>amuletum</i>) is a kind of medicament hung about
the neck or other part of the body to prevent or remove
diseases. Amulets, he proceeds, are frequently nothing
else than spells or charms, consisting of quaint words and
characters, supposed to have the virtue of warding off
ill. And Mr. Chambers informs his readers, under the
word "charm," that a charm is a magic power or spell,
by which, with the assistance of the devil, sorcerers and
witches are supposed to do wondrous things, far surpassing
the power of nature.</p>

<p>Ancient poets, who were of a superstitious turn of mind,
attached no small importance to amulets and charms.
One of them says:</p>

<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_404" id="Page_404">[Pg 404]</a></span>
<span class="i0">"Enchantments pluck out of the sky,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">The moon though she be plac'd on high;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Dame Circe with her charms so fine,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Ulysses' mates did turn to swine:<br /></span>
<span class="i0">The snake with charms is burst in twain,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">In meadows where she doth remain.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i3">*&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;*&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;*&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;*&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;*<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">These herbs did Meris give to me,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And poysons pluckt at Pontos,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">For there they grow and multiply,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And do not so amongst us.<br /></span>
<span class="i0">With these she made herself become<br /></span>
<span class="i0">A wolf, and hid her in the wood;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">She fetched up souls out of the tombe,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Removing corn from where it stood."<br /></span>
</div>
</div>

<p>The following is an old translation from Virgil:</p>

<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">"From thence a virgin priest is come<br /></span>
<span class="i0">From out Massyla land,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Sometimes the temple there she kept,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And from her heavenly hand<br /></span>
<span class="i0">The dragon meat did take: she kept<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Also the fruit divine,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">With herbs and liquors sweet that still<br /></span>
<span class="i0">To sleep did men incline.<br /></span>
<span class="i0">The minds of men (she saith) from love<br /></span>
<span class="i0">With charms she can unbind,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">In whom she list: but others can<br /></span>
<span class="i0">She cast to cases unkind.<br /></span>
<span class="i0">The running streams do stand, and from<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Their course the stars do wreath,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And souls she conjure can: then shalt<br /></span>
<span class="i0">See sister underneath<br /></span>
<span class="i0">The ground with roring gape and trees,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And mountains turn upright."<br /></span>
</div>
</div>

<p>Ovid is made to say:</p>

<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">"The river I can make retire<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Into the fountains whence they flow,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">(Where at the banks themselves admire)<br /></span>
<span class="i0">I can make standing waters go;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">With charms I drive both sea and cloud,<br /></span><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_405" id="Page_405">[Pg 405]</a></span>
<span class="i0">I can make it calm and blow aloud,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">The viper's jaws, the rocky stone,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">With words and charms I break in twain;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">The force of earth congeal'd in one,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">I move, and shake both woods and plain;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">I make the souls of men arise,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And pull the moon out of the skies.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i3">*&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;*&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;*&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;*&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;*<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">And thrice she spake the words that caus'd<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Sweet sleep and quiet rest;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">She staid the raging of the sea,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And mighty floods supprest."<br /></span>
</div>
</div>

<p>Other poets, writing of charms, say:</p>

<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">"With charms the corn is spoiled so<br /></span>
<span class="i0">As that it vades the barren grass;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">With charms the springs are dried low,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">That none can see where water was.<br /></span>
<span class="i0">The grapes from vines, the mast from oaks,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And beats down fruit with charming strokes.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i3">*&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;*&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;*&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;*&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;*<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">She plucks each star out of his throne,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And turneth back the raging waves;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">With charms she makes the earth to cone,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And raises souls out of their graves:<br /></span>
<span class="i0">She burns men's bones as with fire,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And pulleth down the lights from heaven,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And makes it snow at her desire,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Even in the midst of summer season.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i3">*&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;*&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;*&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;*&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;*<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">The course of nature ceas&egrave;d quite,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">The air obey&egrave;d not his law,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">The day delayed by length of night,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Which made both day and night to yaw;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And all was through that charming gear,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Which caus'd the world to quake for fear.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i3">*&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;*&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;*&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;*&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;*<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">They talked with tongues of birds,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Consulting with the salt sea coasts,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">They burst the snake with witching words,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Soliciting the spiritual ghosts;<br /></span><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_406" id="Page_406">[Pg 406]</a></span>
<span class="i0">They turn the night into the day,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And also drive the light away:<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And what is 't that cannot be made<br /></span>
<span class="i0">By them that do apply this trade."<br /></span>
</div>
</div>

<p>Sir Thomas Brown mentions that a chalked tile at each
corner of a field and one in the centre thereof were rural
charms that prevented weeds growing; and the three
following charms are given in Herrick's <i>Hesperides</i>:</p>

<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">"This I'le tell ye by the way,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Maidens when ye leavens lay,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Cross your dough, and your dispatch<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Will be better for your batch.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">In the morning when ye rise,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Wash your hands and cleanse your eyes,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Next be sure to have a care<br /></span>
<span class="i0">To disperse the water farre,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">For as farre as that doth light,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">So farre keeps the evil spright.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">If ye fear to be affrighted,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">When ye are (by chance) benighted;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">In your pocket for a trust<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Carry nothing but a crust;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">For that holy piece of bread<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Charms the danger and the dread."<br /></span>
</div>
</div>

<p>Here are older charms in metre:</p>

<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">With blessynges of Saynt Germayne<br /></span>
<span class="i0">I will me so determyne,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">That neyther for nor vermyne<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Shall do my chyckens harme.<br /></span>
<span class="i0">For your gese seke Saynt Legearde,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And for your duckes Saynt Leonarde,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">There is no better charme.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Take me a napkin folte<br /></span>
<span class="i0">With the byas of a bolte,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">For the healing of a colte<br /></span>
<span class="i0">No better thynge can be;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">For lampes and for bottes<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Take me Saynt Thomas Lattes,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">On my life I warrande ye."<br /></span>
</div>
</div>

<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_407" id="Page_407">[Pg 407]</a></span>In the <i>Hesperides</i> we also find the following spell:</p>

<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">"Holy water come and bring:<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Cast in salt for seasoning:<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Set the brush for sprinkling.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Sacred spittle bring ye hither:<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Meale and it now mix together,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And a little oyle to either.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Give the tapers here their light;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Ring the saints' bell to affright<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Far from hence the evil sprits.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">And good Saynt Francis' gyrdle,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">With the hamlet of a hyrdle,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Are wholesome for the pyppe.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Besides these charms afore<br /></span>
<span class="i0">I have feates many more<br /></span>
<span class="i0">That kepe still in store,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Whom I now over hyppe."<br /></span>
</div>
</div>

<p>The same writer quaintly says:</p>

<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">"A charm or an allay for love,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">If so be a toad be laid<br /></span>
<span class="i0">In a sheep-skin newly flaid,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And that ty'd to man, 'twill sever<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Him and his affections ever."<br /></span>
</div>
</div>

<p>Butler, in his <i>Hudibras</i>, describes the supposed power
of a cunning man thus:</p>

<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">"Not far from hence doth dwell<br /></span>
<span class="i0">A cunning man hight Sidrophel,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">That deals in destiny's dark counsels,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And sage opinion of the moon sells;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">To whom all people, far and near,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">On deep importances repair;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">When brass and pewter hap to stray,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And linen slinks out of the way;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">When geese and pullen are seduced,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And sows of sucking pigs are chows'd;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">When cattle feel indisposition,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And need the opinion of physician;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">When murrain reigns in hogs or sheep<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And chickens languish of the pip;<br /></span><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_408" id="Page_408">[Pg 408]</a></span>
<span class="i0">When yeast and outward means do fail,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And have no power to work on ale;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">When butter does refuse to come,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And love proves cross and humoursome;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">To him with questions and with urine<br /></span>
<span class="i0">They for discovery flock, or curing."<br /></span>
</div>
</div>

<p>In the seventeenth century, dairymaids, when churning,
used a charm, said over the churn in the following lines:</p>

<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">"Come, butter, come,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Come, butter, come;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Peter stands at the gate,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Waiting for a buttered cake,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Come, butter, come."<br /></span>
</div>
</div>

<p>This having been said three times, the butter came
straightway; and very good butter it was, on the good
saint being invoked.</p>

<p>A holy Pope of the good old times sent the following
lines to an exalted Emperor:</p>

<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">"Balme, Virgine-wax, and holy water,<br /></span>
<span class="i2">An Agnus Dei make,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">A gift than which none can be greater,<br /></span>
<span class="i2">I send thee for to take.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">From fountain clear the same hath issue<br /></span>
<span class="i2">In secret sanctified;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">'Gainst lightning it hath soverain virtue,<br /></span>
<span class="i2">And thunder-cracks beside.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Each hainous sin it wears and wasteth,<br /></span>
<span class="i2">Even as holy precious blood;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And women while their travel lasteth<br /></span>
<span class="i2">It saves, it is so good.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">It doth bestow great gifts and graces<br /></span>
<span class="i2">On such as well deserve;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And borne about in noisome places,<br /></span>
<span class="i2">From peril doth preserve.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">The force of fire, whose heat destroyeth,<br /></span>
<span class="i2">It breaks and bringeth down;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And he or she that this enjoyeth<br /></span>
<span class="i2">No water shall them drown."<br /></span>
</div>
</div>



<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_409" id="Page_409">[Pg 409]</a></span></p>
<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XLVI" id="CHAPTER_XLVI"></a>CHAPTER XLVI.</h2>

<div class="blockquot"><p>Ear-rings buried by Jacob&mdash;Solomon's Belief in Spells&mdash;Reginald
Scot's Recipe for preserving Cattle&mdash;What Mr. Pennant says on
Charms&mdash;Parts of the Chameleon as Charms&mdash;A Condemned Sorcerer's
Charm&mdash;Virtue of Trees and Plants&mdash;Deities' Crowns&mdash;Virtue of May
Dew&mdash;Images Powerful Charms&mdash;How the Romans regarded their
Images&mdash;The Egyptians' Confidence in Amulets and Charms&mdash;Evil
Eye&mdash;Effects of an Evil Eye, how counteracted&mdash;Charms for Horses
and Children&mdash;Sixpence-piece an Excellent Charm&mdash;Mothers and
Children protected from Fairies&mdash;Cold Iron&mdash;Holy Things used as
Charms&mdash;Filings of St. Peter's Keys&mdash;Lustral Water&mdash;Curing Sick
Children by weighing them&mdash;Uses of Snow&mdash;Transferring Diseases
from one Body to another&mdash;Keys of a Consecrated Building&mdash;Effect
of standing on one Foot&mdash;Virtue of Consecrated Bread&mdash;Virtue
rewarded&mdash;Pricking the Image of a King&mdash;Various Methods of
securing Love&mdash;Indian Charms&mdash;Cure for Corns&mdash;Simple Plan for
getting rid of a Troublesome Person&mdash;Curing the Hooping-cough.</p></div>

<p>There are people in existence, of opinion that the ear-rings
which Jacob buried under the oak of Sechem were
charms, and that Solomon had recourse to spells after
his strange wives led him away from the true faith.</p>

<p>Reginald Scot gives a recipe for a charm to preserve
cattle from witchcraft. Here it is: "At Easter you
must take certain drops that lie uppermost of the holy
paschal candle; and upon some Sunday morning, light
and hold it so as it may drop upon and between the horns
and ears of the beast, and burn the beast a little between
the horns on the ears with the same wax, and that which
is left thereof stick it cross-wise about the stable or stall,
or upon the threshold, or over the door, where the cattle
go in and out; and for all that year your cattle shall
never be touched."</p>

<p>Mr. Pennant says: "The farmers of Scotland preserve
their cattle against witchcraft by placing boughs of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_410" id="Page_410">[Pg 410]</a></span>
mountain-ash and honey-suckle in their cow-houses on
the 2nd May. They hope to preserve the milk of their
cows and of their wives by tying red threads about them."
The ancients had several superstitious customs touching
the chameleon,&mdash;as that its tongue, torn out when the
animal was alive, would assist the possessor to gain his
law-suits; burning its head and neck with oak-wood, or
roasting its liver on a red tile, would bring thunder and
rain; that its right eye, torn out before the animal was
slain, and steeped in goat's milk, removed disease of the
eye; that its tongue, worn as a charm by a married woman,
eased her pains; that its right jaw dispelled fear; and
that its tail prevented streams overflowing their banks.
A famous sorcerer, when under sentence of death, gave
directions how to prepare a potent charm. It consisted of
a new earthen pot&mdash;not bought nor bargained for&mdash;with
sheep's blood, wool, hair of several beasts, and certain
herbs therein. The pot and its contents were to be placed
in a secret part in the neighbourhood where its effects were
intended to be felt, which might be either the poisoning
or tormenting of enemies. The charm could not be taken
away but by the person who secreted it or by a superior
power.</p>

<p>Particular trees and plants possess peculiar virtues
in consequence of crowns for deities having been made
from them. Thus we find Jupiter's crown was composed
of flowers, generally of laurel; Juno's of the vine;
Bacchus' of the vine, with grapes, and branches of ivy,
flowers, and berries; those of Castor, Pollux, and the
river gods, of bulrushes; that of Apollo, sometimes of
laurel, and sometimes rushes; that of Saturn, new figs;
that of Hercules, poplar; that of Pan, pine or alder; that
of Lucina, dictamnus; that of the Hor&aelig;, the fruits proper
to each season; that of the Graces, olive branches; that
of Venus, roses; that of Ceres, ears of corn; and that of
the Lares, myrtle or rosemary. Rue was detested by<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_411" id="Page_411">[Pg 411]</a></span>
witches and evil spirits. There was a heathen ceremony,
called Dendrophoria, which consisted of the carrying of
one or more pine trees through a city, at times of sacrifice
in honour of certain deities. The pine or pines were afterwards
planted, and the branches thereof were supposed to
possess virtues not to be found in non-sacred things.</p>

<p>There was a spirit drawn from May dew, which had
striking virtues attributed to it. Images were considered
the most powerful of all charms. They were held in great
reverence by the Romans and other nations. The noble
Romans preserved the images of their ancestors with great
care, and had them carried in procession at their funerals
and triumphs. They placed them in the vestibules of
their houses, there to remain, even though the houses
happened to be sold, it being considered impious to displace
them. It was not, however, allowed for every one
who had the images of their ancestors, to have them carried
at funerals. The privilege was conferred on those only who
had honourably discharged themselves in their various
offices in life. Persons who failed in this respect, forfeited
all right to bring their images before the public; and
the images of persons who had committed serious crimes
were broken in pieces.</p>

<p>The Egyptians had great confidence in the power of
amulets and charms to prevent and deliver from mischief.
There was a class of persons who gained their livelihood
by writing billets, to secure the wearers from the power
of enchantment and all kinds of accidents. Their most
intrinsically valuable relic was the veil sent to the Sultan
to cover the Kaaba of Mecca. It was cut in pieces,
and distributed over the whole empire. Parts of it were
worn by the faithful, as one of the means of grace, and
an assurance of divine protection; and these charms were
sometimes buried in the grave along with the individuals
who had prized them when in life.</p>

<p>The belief of the baneful effect of the evil eye, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_412" id="Page_412">[Pg 412]</a></span>
of envious commendations, was prevalent in the East.
Virgil's shepherd attributed to the malicious glance of an
enemy the diseased appearance of his flock. Pliny relates
that the Thessalian sorcerers destroyed whole harvests
by speaking well of the crops. In Egypt, everything
which could possibly attract attention or excite jealousy
was protected by some counteracting influence. The eye
of the malicious observer was rendered harmless by a
sacred sentence, written in conspicuous characters, and
placed in a particular way that the wicked eye might see
it. The horse, it was believed, carried his rider in safety
if a charm of blue beads dangled from the animal's neck.
But the anxious mother did not consider her darling child
safe, though it had a charm about its person, unless she
frequently spat in its face.</p>

<p>When a mother had reason to suppose an evil eye
had been cast on her little helpless babe, her duty was
to borrow a sixpence from a neighbour, put it into a
basin of water, and then wash the child with the water so
charmed. By these means the spell was removed. To
pass a child over a table was unlucky. Great apprehensions
were formerly entertained of the malignant influence
and interference of fairies with mothers in child-bed and
children unbaptized. A Bible under the pillow protected
the mother, or a bottle of holy water at the bed-foot did
equally well; and the sacrament of baptism rendered the
infant secure from fairies and witches. If one meet or see
anything unlucky, all he has to do to avert evil is to touch
cold iron. To prevent evil in time of a thunder-storm,
let a candle be kept burning until the warring elements
have ceased raging. And surely it has not been left
for us to tell the good Catholics, that, to extinguish a fire
or stop an inundation, their forefathers threw a consecrated
wafer into the midst of the flames or overflowing
river. Every little Catholic maid, who can count her
beads, knows that if she cannot secure the affections of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_413" id="Page_413">[Pg 413]</a></span>
the young man on whom she has set her affections, she
should unsparingly besmear him with the holy oil of
her Church. We are assured that, before Protestantism
weakened the hands of priests and rent the Church asunder,
consecrated oil was regarded as an infallible charm and
love-philter.</p>

<p>It was the custom at one time for the Popes to send a
golden key to faithful priests, wherein was enclosed a
small quantity of the filings of St. Peter's keys, kept
sacred at Rome. These charms were worn in the bosom,
to protect the happy possessor from disease, misfortune,
and evil spirits.</p>

<p>The ancients had their lustral water for sprinkling and
purifying the people. From them the Romanists borrowed
the holy water used in their churches. The ancients called
<i>Dies Lustricus</i>, or Lustral Day, that whereon the lustrations
were performed for a child, and its name given,
which was the ninth day from the birth of a boy, and the
eighth from that of a girl. Lustral water possessed something
like magical virtue. On the great day of ceremony
the nurses and domestics handed the child backwards and
forwards around a fire on the altars of the gods; after
this the infant was sprinkled with the precious water,
mixed with saliva and dust. There were public lustrations
for purifying cities, fields, and people defiled by
crime or impurity. A custom prevailed in the East, of
curing sick children by weighing them at the tomb of a
saint. The counterpoising or balancing medium consisted
of money to be given to the Church.</p>

<p>It was generally supposed that the first snow which fell
in the year had particular virtues. Bartholin wrote a
treatise on the uses of snow, wherein he endeavoured to
show that early gathered snow preserved from the plague,
cured fevers, toothache, and sore eyes. In Denmark the
people kept snow water, obtained in March, as a medicine.</p>

<p>Transplantation in natural magic was a method resorted<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_414" id="Page_414">[Pg 414]</a></span>
to for curing diseases by transferring them from one body
to another. The transplantation was effected either by
the use of a medium or by simple contact. If a gouty
person desire to get rid of his troubles, he is recommended
to bore a hole in an oak, and deposit the parings of his
nails therein; and if one has whitlow in his finger, the
pain might be transferred to the domestic cat by rubbing
the sore finger with the ears of the animal.</p>

<p>The keys of a consecrated building, shaken over the
heads of dogs, horses, and cattle, when they are ill,
effect a cure; and a faithful worshipper finds relief from
acute suffering by standing on one foot and holding a
wax taper in his hand, during particular portions of the
mass. It is common in some places to lay upon the
altar, during mass, the nails of a shoe taken from a horse
which has become lame, to restore the animal to soundness.
Pieces of consecrated bread carried home and preserved
is a preventative against the bite of a mad dog. The
shepherd who first gives his offering will be rewarded by
his ewes bringing forth the finest lambs in the neighbourhood;
and the horses and cattle that are watered immediately
after the owners or keepers return from mass,
will be saved from illness.</p>

<p>In 1589 the people placed on the altars of many of
their churches in Paris, wax effigies of King Henry III.,
and pricked them with pins and needles during mass, in
the hope of obtaining a speedy termination to his existence.</p>

<p>The wearing of a ribbon which has been worn by a
lady, or a lock of her hair, near the heart, is supposed
to be capable of securing her affections. But if everything
else fail, the proper application of dead men's bones, holy
relics, and magic spells will soften the hard heart.</p>

<p>It is related by the Indians of Vixnu, that a ribbon
tied round the neck or arm, with the name "Laximi"
(who for many years was worshipped under the form of
a cow, and sometimes of a horse) written thereon or<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_415" id="Page_415">[Pg 415]</a></span>
attached thereto, is a certain cure for all diseases; and
is likewise a preventative against accidents. Corns are
cured by one stealing a small piece of beef and burying it
in the ground. As the flesh rots, the corns disappear.
Whenever either an enemy or friend becomes troublesome,
and it is considered necessary to get rid of him, the
desire can be accomplished by securing a garment belonging
to him and burying it in the earth. Just as sure
as the burying of the beef destroys corns, as certain will
the concealment of the garment in the earth send the obnoxious
person to his long home. Fond mothers endeavoured
to cure hooping-cough by passing their afflicted
children three times before breakfast under a blackberry
bush the branches of which grew into the ground; other
parents went out into the highways in search of a man
riding on a piebald horse, to ask him what would restore
to health their children affected with this painful cough.
Whatever he recommended, was adopted as a remedy.</p>



<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XLVII" id="CHAPTER_XLVII"></a>CHAPTER XLVII.</h2>

<div class="blockquot"><p>Horse Shoes used as Charms&mdash;Spitting on Money to secure Luck&mdash;Fortunate
Persons to deal with&mdash;Methods of securing Cattle against
Accidents&mdash;Effect of Herbs&mdash;Professor Playfair on Superstition&mdash;The
Lee Penny&mdash;How to prevent Toothache&mdash;Divers Charms&mdash;A Seer's
Prescription&mdash;Lating the Witches&mdash;Grose on Sorcerers, Magicians,
and Witches&mdash;Man carried away by an Evil Spirit&mdash;Irish Shamrock&mdash;Praying
to Swords&mdash;Irish Superstition&mdash;Smugglers and Brigands
addicted to Superstition&mdash;Charm found on a Smuggler&mdash;Superstition
in the East&mdash;Arab Charms&mdash;Ladies' Arts.</p></div>


<p>Horse shoes have long been regarded as most valuable
charms. Such shoes, nailed on the back of doors, keep out
witches and evil spirits. Horse shoes are also safe-guards
on board of ships and boats. To secure good luck in a
market, the vendor is in the habit of rubbing or spitting<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_416" id="Page_416">[Pg 416]</a></span>
on the first money obtained for goods sold. The good or
bad luck of cattle-salesmen and petty merchants, superstitious
people think, depends very much on the first
purchaser. In the early part of the day a reduced price
is sometimes accepted from a person reputed to be lucky,
while business will not be entered into under any conditions
with uncanny people.</p>

<p>In Suffolk an abortive calf is buried under the path
along which the cows go to the fields, to prevent them
being accidentally injured. One description of herb given
to a horse prevents the horse-shoer pricking the animal's
feet; and another, put into a man's shoes, enables him to
travel more than forty miles a day without becoming
wearied. Moon-wort is a powerful charm that loosens
locks, fetters, and shoes from horses' feet. In olden
times it was a stratagem in warfare to lead the enemy's
horsemen upon a heath where moon-wort grew plentiful,
for, in passing over it, the horses were sure to lose their
shoes. In Aristotle's time, rue hung about the neck
as an amulet prevented witchcraft. Rue was called an
herb of grace, because the Romanists used it on Sundays
in their exorcisms.</p>

<p>Professor Playfair, in a letter to Mr. Brand, dated from
St. Andrews, in 1804, says: "In private breweries a live
coal was thrown into the vat, to prevent the interference
of the fairies. A cow's milk no fairy could take away, if
a burning coal was conducted across her back and under
the belly immediately after she calved. Witches and evil
spirits were prevented from entering a dwelling-house if
the lower end of the crook or iron chain by which the
pots were suspended over the kitchen fire was raised up a
few links before the inmates retired to bed. It was a
common opinion in Scotland and England, that a woman
may, by means of charms, convey her neighbour's cow's
milk to her own dairy. When a cow's milk was charmed
away, a small quantity of rennet was taken from all<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_417" id="Page_417">[Pg 417]</a></span>
suspected persons and put into an egg-shell full of milk, and
when that obtained from the charmer mingled with it, it
presently curdled. Some women used the root of groundsel
as a protection against the produce of their dairy being
charmed, by putting it among their milk and cream."</p>

<p>The Lee Penny, the property of a Scotch gentleman,
was a charm known far and wide. Many were the cures
effected by it, <i>i.e.</i> if tradition speaks true. This charm,
when applied externally to man or beast, proved better
than all known healing medicine, and, when water in
which it had been dipped was given to man or beast to
drink, it produced an effectual cure. Nails driven into an
oak tree prevented toothache. A halter that had been used
in suspending a criminal, when tied round the head, prevented
headache. A dead man's hand dissipated tumours
of the glands, by stroking the affected part nine times with
it; but the hand of a man who had been hanged was the
most efficacious. Chips cut from a gallows, when carried in
a bag suspended from the neck, cured the ague. A stone
with a hole in it, tied to the key of a stable door, deterred
witches stealing the horses and riding them over the country
at night. If a man or woman were afflicted with fits, he
or she might be cured by partaking of broth in which a
human skull had been boiled. This last-mentioned cure
was not uncommon in the beginning of the present century.</p>

<p>A young girl, about sixteen years of age, being seized
with fits, a seer was consulted, and he prescribed brose
made from oatmeal and the "broo of a dead man's skull."
That a cranium might be obtained, a grave was violated,
and a body mutilated. The brose was prepared according
to directions, and given to the afflicted girl. As might be
expected, the matter created no small excitement in Perthshire,
in which county the superstitious acts were perpetrated;
but though the whole affair was looked on with
disapproval by the better educated classes, and proceedings
were taken by the authorities against the guilty parties,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_418" id="Page_418">[Pg 418]</a></span>
the death knell of superstition was not rung; for in that
county a belief in witches, spirits, and charms still exists.</p>

<p>At one time a custom prevailed in Lancashire, called
"lating the witches." It was observed on the eve preceding
the 1st November, when witches were supposed to
be busier than usual. The ceremony of lating was gone
through in this way:&mdash;The poorer neighbours called at the
houses of the more opulent, and at the door demanded
lighted candles to carry in procession. We say demanded
them at the door, because it would have been unlucky for
those receiving the candles to cross a threshold then, and
it would have been equally unlucky for any one of them
to enter a house that night from which his or her candle
was received, if the light was extinguished before the lating
was concluded. Candles were given out according to the
number of inmates of a house&mdash;one for every person&mdash;but
it was optional for one to carry his own candle, or to find
a substitute who would sally out for him to frighten the
witches. The custom originated in the belief that if a
lighted candle were carried about from eleven to twelve
o'clock at night without being extinguished, the person it
represented would be proof against witches during the
year, but if the candle went out it foreboded evil.</p>

<p>Grose, in describing the difference between a sorcerer,
magician, and witch, speaks highly of the power of charms
and invocations. "A witch," he tells us, "derives all her
power from a compact with the devil, while a sorcerer commands
him and the infernal spirits by his skill in charms and
invocations, and also soothes and entices them by fumigations;
for the devils," he continues, "are observed to have
delicate nostrils, abominating and flying from some kinds
of stinks. Witness the flight of the evil spirits into the
remote parts of Egypt, driven by the smell of fishes' liver
burned by Tobit. The devil and spirits," he tells us,
"are, on the other hand, peculiarly fond of certain perfumes."</p>

<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_419" id="Page_419">[Pg 419]</a></span>Lilly writes that one Evans, having raised a spirit, at
the request of Lord Bothwell and Sir K. Digby, and forgotten
a suffumigation, the spirit, enraged, snatched him
out from his circle, and carried him from his house in the
Minories into a field near Battersea.</p>

<p>The shamrock is held sacred by the Irish. It became
a custom among Irish soldiers, when going to battle, to
conceal about their persons bunches of shamrock, to say
certain prayers to their swords, to make crosses upon the
earth, and thrust the points of their weapons into the
ground, under the impression that by so doing they
would secure success in the field. The shamrock was
highly esteemed by lovers. An exchange of this plant
frequently took place between betrothed persons in the
same way as engagement rings are exchanged in our time.
In Ireland many people continue to put faith in incantations
and spells. Women's hair is thought to be a precious
amulet; hence the custom of wearing hair bracelets,
guards, and other such like ornaments.</p>

<p>Smugglers and brigands are much addicted to superstition.
On the apprehension of one Jackson, a smuggler,
who died in Chichester, there was found in his possession
a linen purse containing the following charm:</p>

<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">"Ye three holy kings,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Gaspar, Melchior, Balthasar,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Pray for us now and at the hour of death."<br /></span>
</div>
</div>

<p>The charm had actually touched the heads of three kings
at Cologne, and was thought by the smuggler to be an
effectual protection against accidents, headaches, falling
sickness, witchcraft, and various kinds of mischief. Jackson
died suddenly, but this did not prove the charm to be
worthless, as he lost it before his end came.</p>

<p>Various nations in the East entertained superstitious
opinions concerning serpents and reptiles. They attributed
numberless powers of good and evil to these reptiles.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_420" id="Page_420">[Pg 420]</a></span>
A belief prevailed, that if one killed a snake, the whole
race to which it belonged would persecute the cruel individual.
When any one was bitten by a serpent, a sovereign
remedy was found in a particular stone. Such valuable
stones were rare, and consequently they were greatly
prized, even, more so than gold.</p>

<p>Arabs believed that the smoke of burnt hair taken from
a Christian's head would cure a patient, whatever the
disease was under which he laboured. They also wore
enchanted rings, and carried herbs to strengthen their
arms in the day of battle.</p>

<p>A young lady thought she could discover the social
position and character of her future husband, by pulling
a large flower and taking off the leaves and petals one
by one, while she repeated,</p>

<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">"Rich man, poor man, farmer, ploughman, thief."<br /></span>
</div>
</div>

<p>The one who happened to be named at plucking the
last leaf or petal was, she supposed, to be her husband.
Another way: pluck an even ash leaf, and keep it in the
hand, saying,</p>

<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">"The even ash leaf in my hand,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">The first I meet shall be my man;"<br /></span>
</div>
</div>

<p>then put the leaf into the glove, and say,</p>

<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">"The even ash leaf in my glove,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">The first I meet shall be my love;"<br /></span>
</div>
</div>

<p>and then put it into the bosom, and repeat,</p>

<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">"The even ash leaf in my bosom,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">The first I meet shall be my husband."<br /></span>
</div>
</div>

<p>Immediately after this the future husband will make his
appearance.</p>

<p>Another method: After nightfall the sighing maiden
may walk through the garden with a rake in her left
hand, and throw hemp seed over her right shoulder while
she keeps repeating,</p>

<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_421" id="Page_421">[Pg 421]</a></span>
<span class="i0">"Hemp seed I set, hemp seed I sow,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">The man that is my true love come after me and mow."<br /></span>
</div>
</div>

<p>Sure enough, we are assured, the future husband will
appear beside the fair sower with a scythe, ready to cut
down the crop when it grows.</p>

<p>We are further assured that a lady would succeed quite
as well, were she, on going to bed, to place her shoes so
as to form the letter T, and say,</p>

<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">"Hoping this night my true love to see,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">I place my shoes in the form of a T;"<br /></span>
</div>
</div>

<p>or were she, on retiring for the night, to write the alphabet
on small pieces of paper, and put them into a basin of
water, with the letters downwards,&mdash;in the former case
she would in her dreams perceive her future husband, and
in the latter she might expect to find, in the morning, the
first letter of his name turned upwards, and all the other
letters downwards, as she had left them.</p>



<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XLVIII" id="CHAPTER_XLVIII"></a>CHAPTER XLVIII.</h2>

<div class="blockquot"><p>Earl of Derby's Death&mdash;A Queen Enchanted&mdash;Image of a young King
made for Wicked Purposes&mdash;Belgrave on Charms&mdash;Childebert's
Device for detecting Witches&mdash;A Pot of Ointment&mdash;Witch Burned&mdash;Witch
Ointment&mdash;Men-Wolves&mdash;Component Parts of Witch Ointment&mdash;Church
Authorities' Instructions to Inquisitors&mdash;Killing by a Look or
Wish&mdash;The King of Sweden and his Witches&mdash;Witches' Help in War&mdash;Witches
causing a Plague&mdash;Cattle Poisoned&mdash;Various Charms&mdash;How
to make Hair grow Long and Yellow&mdash;Holy Vestments&mdash;An
Angel's Charm to Pope Leo&mdash;Physicians' Faith in Charms&mdash;Illusions&mdash;Inescation&mdash;Insemination&mdash;Method
of discovering if one is Bewitched&mdash;Egyptian
Laws&mdash;Curing the King's Evil.</p></div>


<p>Andrews, in his continuation of Henry's <i>History of
Great Britain</i>, speaking of Ferdinand, Earl of Derby, says
his death was attributed to witchcraft. No doubt the
disease appeared to be peculiar. After his death a wax<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_422" id="Page_422">[Pg 422]</a></span>
image with hair, in colour like that of the earl, was found
in his chamber, which confirmed the suspicions entertained
as to the cause of his demise. Another alleged atrocious
crime was that of the wife of Marshal D'Ancre. She was
beheaded for witchcraft, in so far as she had enchanted
the queen, and made an image of the young king in virgin
wax, and melted away one of its legs that he might become
a cripple. Old Belgrave, in his <i>Astrological Practice
of Physic</i>, observes: "Under adverse planets, and by
Satan's subtlety, witches injured man and beast by making
images or models of them, and pricking the likenesses
with thorns, pins, or needles."</p>

<p>Childebert's device for detecting witches who dealt in
charms, was to torture them by putting sharp instruments
betwixt every nail of their fingers and toes. Judges, before
whom witches were tried, were cautioned not to allow
them to come near their persons nor the seat of judgment.
That they might be all the more secure from witchcraft,
judges kept suspended from their necks conjured salt,
palm, holy herbs, and wax hallowed by the Church. To
compel witches to confess their guilt, officers of justice
were wont to write the seven words spoken on the cross,
and cause these, with relics of saints, to be hung round
the culprits' necks. When these charms were thus applied,
it was impossible for witches to refrain from confessing
their guilt, if at the same time they were sufficiently
racked and tortured.</p>

<p>An incredible story is told of a gentlewoman in Lyons,
who possessed a pot of ointment of such rare virtue, that
the application of it to one's body proved sufficient to transport
the individual, in an instant, through the air to
distant towns and countries. The lady being one evening
in a room with her lover, anointing herself with part
of the ointment, and repeating words in an under tone,
was in the twinkling of an eye carried away through the
air. Her companion, though astonished and somewhat<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_423" id="Page_423">[Pg 423]</a></span>
alarmed, did as he had observed his fair friend do,
and <i>presto</i> he was conveyed away many miles to an
assembly of witches. Afraid at what he beheld, he uttered
a holy ejaculation. In an instant the assembly vanished,
leaving him alone. He returned on foot to Lyons, and
brought an accusation of witchcraft against his lover.
The charge being proven, the woman, with her ointment,
was consigned to the flames.</p>

<p>Witches and warlocks, learned in the art of transubstantiation,
could by means of witch ointment turn
themselves into wolves. Peter Burget and Michael Worden,
having by means of such ointment turned themselves into
wolves, killed and ate a large number of people. One
night, when the men-wolves were out on one of their
murderous expeditions, an archer shot one of them with a
charmed arrow. Tracing the wounded creature to Peter's
residence, the pursuers found the luckless man in bed in
his natural shape, with the arrow deep in his thigh. Another
man-wolf was punished by having his feet amputated,
and in a moment he became a man without hands or feet.</p>

<p>Mountain parsley, wolves-bane, leaves of the poplar,
and soot were frequently used in the preparation of witch
ointment; and so were yellow water-cresses, the blood of a
mouse, night-shade, oil, etc. A witch, rubbed all over with
a preparation of these, could skim through the air in a
moonlight night, singing, dancing, and otherwise making
merry with her companions.</p>

<p>So generally did the belief in witchcraft, incantations,
and charms prevail in the time of Pope Innocent VIII.
and of Pope Julius II., that the Church authorities sent
to the inquisitors the following official notice and instructions:&mdash;"It
has come to our ears that many lewd persons
of both kinds, as well male as female, using the company
of the devils <i>Incubus</i> and <i>Succubus</i>, with incantations,
charms, conjurations, etc., to destroy the births of women
with child, the young of all cattle, the corn of the field,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_424" id="Page_424">[Pg 424]</a></span>
the grapes of the vines, the fruit of the trees; also men,
women, and cattle of all kinds, and beasts of the field; and
with their said enchantments, etc., do utterly extinguish
and spoil all vineyards, orchards, meadows, pastures,
grass, green corn, and ripe corn: yea, men and women
themselves are by their imprecations so afflicted with external
and internal pains and diseases that the births of
children are but few: Our pleasure therefore is, that all
impediments that may hinder the inquisitors' office be
utterly removed from among the people, lest this blot of
heresy proceed to poison and defile them that may yet
be innocent: And therefore we ordain, by virtue of the
apostolical authority, that our inquisitors may execute
the office of inquisition by all tortures and afflictions, in
all places, and upon all persons, what and wheresoever,
as well in every place and diocese as upon any person;
and that as freely as though they were named, expressed,
or cited in this our commission."</p>

<p>Witches have confessed their power to kill a neighbour
by a word, a wish, or a look.</p>

<p>In the wars between the kings of Denmark and Sweden,
in 1563, the Danes wrote that the King of Sweden carried
about with him in camp four old witches, who with their
charms so affected the Danes that they were thereby
unable to annoy their enemies. One of the witches, on
being taken prisoner, confessed her guilt.</p>

<p>The West Indians, Muscovites, and Huns sought the
help of witches in time of war.</p>

<p>A band of witches in Italy, in 1536, renewed a plague,
then almost ceased, by besmearing with an ointment
and a powder the posts and doors of men's houses.
One of the wicked old hags having been apprehended
and examined, confessed the fact. The like villany was
perpetrated elsewhere about the same time. Weeping
and lamentation were heard in every dwelling for
fathers stricken down by death; but, strange to say,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_425" id="Page_425">[Pg 425]</a></span>
the women escaped injury. Cattle were killed through
wolves' dung being hidden in stalls and among the
pasture where they fed. The stench caused the animals
to refrain from eating, and made them run about as if
they were mad.</p>

<p>Witches highly prized, and frequently used in their
nefarious art, the hair growing on the end of a wolf's tail,
the brain of a cat, the head of a lizard, the bone of a green
frog from which the flesh had been eaten by ants. One
bone of a frog engendered love, while another bone caused
hatred.</p>

<p>Garments of the dead, candles that had burned before
a stiffened corpse, and needles wherewith dead bodies had
been sewn in sheets, were precious in the eyes of cunning
persons.</p>

<p>Witches and magicians had power, by means of charms,
to put into the minds and consciences of men such thoughts
as they pleased; and, moreover, they could induce people
to disclose their heart secrets.</p>

<p>Maids hung up a quantity of their hair before the image
of St. Urbane, trusting that by so doing their hair would
grow long and yellow.</p>

<p>A holy vest was at times given by the Pope to a faithful
son of Mother Church, to protect him from violence
of every description. The manner of making a charmed
waistcoat is thus explained:&mdash;On Christmas night, flax
thread was spun by a virgin girl, and afterwards woven
by her. After the garment was sewn by the same little
hands which had spun the thread and woven the cloth,
two figures in needlework were wrought on it to resemble
Beelzebub and the Cross. One of these vestments gave
the wearer courage in the hour of danger: witches were
unable to harm him, bullets could not hit him, the sword's
edge was turned aside, and the pointed spear levelled
against him proved harmless.</p>

<p>Leo, Pope of Rome, reported that an angel delivered to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_426" id="Page_426">[Pg 426]</a></span>
him the following holy writing&mdash;a charm of inestimable
value, as we shall presently learn:&mdash;"+ Jesus, + Christus,
+ Messias, + Soter, + Emmanuel, + Sabbath, + Adonii,
+ Unigenitus, + Majestas, + Paracletus, + Salvator
Noster, + Agiros Iskiros, + Agios, + Adonatos, + Gasper,
+ Melchior, + Mattheus, + Marcus, + Lucas, + Johannes."
The angel, so said Leo, directed him to take it to King
Charles when he went to the battle of Roncesvalles.
Moreover, the holy messenger said that whatever man or
woman carried a copy of this writing, and every day said
three paternosters, three aves, and one creed, would not
be overcome by enemies, either bodily or ghostly; nor
would the person thus protected be robbed, or slain by
thieves, pestilence, thunder, or lightning; neither would
he be hurt by fire or water.</p>

<p>By the writings of various authors, we gather that both
the physician and priest placed a high value on amulets,
charms, and incantations. Argerius Ferrarius, a celebrated
physician, expressed the opinion that physic might benefit a
patient to a certain degree, but that, to complete a cure, the
application of amulets, charms, and characters was desirable.
He cited many cases that came under his own observation
and that of other physicians. Galen expressed the opinion
that charms prevented bones sticking in people's throats.</p>

<p>Physicians skilled in magic applied three seeds of three-leaved
grass to tertian ague, and four to a quartian. Of
Homerical medicines, Argerius Ferrarius writes there are
four sorts, whereof amulets, characters, and charms are
three; but he commends and prefers the fourth, which,
he says, consists in illusions or stratagems. He tells how
Philodotus put a cap of lead upon one's head who imagined
he was headless, whereby the person was freed from his
delusion. Another cured a woman, under the impression
that a serpent continually gnawed her entrails, by giving
her a vomit, and making her believe that she vomited a
little serpent.</p>

<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_427" id="Page_427">[Pg 427]</a></span>A man who imagined that he was always burning in a
fire, had his illusion dispelled by seeing fire taken out
from beneath his bed. Great stress is put on the alleged
fact that hiccough is cured by sudden fear or startling
news, and that agues and many other diseases may be
removed by excitement.</p>

<p>Inescation is a curious method practised for the cure of
certain diseases. The cure may be effected by impregnating
a proper medium or vehicle with some of the mumia
or vital spirit of the patient, and giving it to an inferior
animal to swallow. It is pretended that the animal unites
and assimilates the mumia with itself, and imbibes its
vicious qualities, and by that means restores health to the
person to whom the mumia belonged.</p>

<p>Insemination is a cure, in certain respects, not unlike
to that of inescation. It is performed by mixing the
medium, impregnated with the mumia taken from the
patient, with earth wherein has been sown the seed of a
plant appropriate to the disease; but care must be taken
to sprinkle it from time to time with water wherein the
part affected had been washed. The disease, we are told,
becomes less virulent as the plant grows.</p>

<p>By pouring molten lead into water held above a sick
man, it could be discovered whether he was bewitched.
If his illness arose from wicked and cruel tormentors, his
image appeared in the lead; but if the disease resulted
from natural causes, no distinct impression remained on
the lead.</p>

<p>Montaigne says that it was an Egyptian law that the
physician should for the first three days take charge of
his patient at the patient's own peril, but afterwards at
his own. He mentions that, in his time, physicians gave
their pills in odd numbers, appointed remarkable days in
the year for taking medicine, and gathered their simples
at certain hours.</p>

<p>The mode of curing the King's Evil, or scrofula, by<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_428" id="Page_428">[Pg 428]</a></span>
royal touch, has been so often referred to by various
writers that we might well pass it without notice, were it
not that our object is to bring together in these pages
the many varied particulars of ancient superstition. Consequently
we shall briefly describe the ceremonies gone
through when sick persons were brought before the king.
Let us premise, in the first place, that all parties are neither
agreed as to the time nor the sovereign who first applied
his royal hand to this method of healing disease. The
kings of England and France long pretended to possess
the power of curing scrofula by touching the sore. The
right or faculty, the French people say, existed originally
in their monarch; but the English nation would not
admit this, and claimed the power for their king. In support
of England's claim, monkish writers assert that the
virtue was inherent in our kings as early as the days of
Edward the Confessor. Others will have it that King
Robert first exhibited the miraculous gift. Charles VIII.
of France touched several persons at Rome, and cured
them. At whatever time the power first manifested itself
is of little importance; and through whatever royal line
it descended need not trouble those alive, seeing, we
are assured, the virtue perished with the last British
sovereign of the House of Stuart. But, to return to the
manner of curing the king's evil, we shall give, as an
instance, the method pursued by Charles II. of England,
Scotland, and Ireland, when healing any of his subjects:&mdash;</p>

<p>On 14th May 1664 a notice was given that his sacred
Majesty would continue the healing of his people for the
evil during the remainder of that month, and then cease
doing so until Michaelmas. His Majesty sat in state in
the banqueting house, and the chirurgeons led the sick
to the throne; there, the invalids kneeling, the monarch
stroked their bodies with his hands. The ceremony being
concluded, a chaplain in attendance said, "He put his
hands upon them, and healed them." These words were<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_429" id="Page_429">[Pg 429]</a></span>
repeated as every one was touched. After all the diseased
persons were operated on, another chaplain, kneeling,
delivered gold angels, attached to white ribbons, to his
Majesty, who suspended one about the neck of every one
to whom his healing virtue had gone forth. Prayers
being said for the sick, the ceremony concluded by his
Majesty washing his hands in a basin brought to him by
the lord chamberlain and comptroller of the household.</p>

<p>If a monarch could not be found to cure the king's
evil, it might have been effected by the touch of a seventh
son, between whom and his eldest brother no daughter
had come to swell the family circle. And the virtue of
healing by laying on of hands existed in particular noble
families of untainted blood.</p>



<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XLIX" id="CHAPTER_XLIX"></a>CHAPTER XLIX.</h2>

<div class="blockquot"><p>Precious Stones regarded as Objects of uncommon Virtue&mdash;Extravagance
in Jewellery accounted for&mdash;Significance in relation to Gems&mdash;Abraham's
Precious Stones&mdash;Altars called Living Stones&mdash;The Urim and
Thummim&mdash;Rod of Moses&mdash;Charmed Rings&mdash;Sacred Rings and
Belts&mdash;Sacred Cairns, etc.&mdash;Destiny and Fate&mdash;The Month of one's
Nativity has connection with one or other of the Precious Stones&mdash;Examples
adduced&mdash;Kings of England hallowing Rings&mdash;Ring
preserved in Westminster Abbey&mdash;Cramp Rings&mdash;Various Stones of
great Virtue&mdash;Iona Relics&mdash;The Green Stone of Arran&mdash;A Crystal
kept by ancient Priests as a Charm&mdash;A Conjuring Beryl&mdash;Prophetic
Stones&mdash;The Coronation Stone or Stone of Destiny.</p></div>


<p>From an early period of history man has regarded precious
stones as objects of uncommon virtue. A belief in
their excellence has prevailed among Pagans, Jews, and
Christians down to the present period. Extravagance in
jewellery originated not so much from a love of finery as
from a belief that jewels possessed efficacy or power
peculiar to themselves. When we consider that every gem
is supposed to be an amulet, we cannot be surprised at<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_430" id="Page_430">[Pg 430]</a></span>
hearing of people in distant lands wearing jewels on their
fingers and toes, on their ankles and arms, in their noses
and ears, and even in their lips; nor can we be astonished
at seeing in modern times the weaker sex loaded with
rings, bracelets, pendants and other such articles, studded
with precious stones.</p>

<p>As a language of flowers is known among botanists, so
there is a significance in relation to gems, understood by
the credulous. Every stone has its virtue, at least so we
are told, as surely as every light and shadow produces its
own effects. Important events connected with the lives
of great men and memorable circumstances desired to be
kept in remembrance, help to lend importance to sparkling
gems and less ornamental stones. This will be better
understood as we proceed.</p>

<p>Descendants of Abraham believed, as will be found
under "Rise and Progress of Superstition," that their great
ancestor wore, suspended from his neck, a precious stone
the sight of which cured every disease. An interesting
legend is also given there concerning Abraham and the
stones marching, ready hewn, to find a place in the Kaaba
he was about to build; of the black stone left out, which
afterwards became so famous; and of the stone to which
Abraham tied the beast he rode on when going to sacrifice
his son. In that part of our work it will also be ascertained
that altars were called living stones, from a belief that a
portion of divine spirit resided in them.</p>

<p>Josephus and others maintain that the precious stones
of Aaron's breast-plate were the Urim and Thummim, and
that they discovered or predicted the issue of events to
those who consulted them; and the Rabbins held that
the rod of Moses consisted partly of sapphire. At page
<a href="#Page_27">27</a> it will be seen that the Greeks wore charmed rings,
and at pages <a href="#Page_7">7</a> and <a href="#Page_58">58</a> we have stated that priests sold
charms to credulous persons. At page <a href="#Page_280">280</a> we have
noticed the custom of negro children being provided with<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_431" id="Page_431">[Pg 431]</a></span>
sacred rings and belts, to protect them from evil spirits.
Again, when treating of magic and astrology, we pointed
out that magicians supplied people with precious stones,
supposed to be of immense value as amulets.</p>

<p>From time immemorial an opinion has obtained that
there are sacred edifices, piles, cairns, and separate stones,
which possess peculiar virtue. Not a few instances of
these have been adduced in preceding pages; but a few
more examples, we venture to say, will not be considered
void of interest, more particularly if they can be connected
with the destiny of man.</p>

<p>Every individual is supposed to be born under a
particular destiny or fate (as has been over and over
again stated in these pages), which it is impossible to
avoid. The month of his nativity has a mysterious connection
with one or other of the precious stones. This
was so well understood by the ancients, that when one
wished to make the object of his affections an acceptable
present, a ring was given, set with the jewel by which the
fate of the receiver was determined and described. For
instance, we are informed by an old author, that the ring
of a woman born in January should have a jacinth or
garnet in it, for these stones belong to that month, and
express constancy and fidelity. A list of the months and
stones therewith connected, and their respective significance,
is as follows:&mdash;</p>

<div class="blockquot"><p><span class="smcap">January</span>&mdash;Jacinth, or Garnet&mdash;Constancy and fidelity in every
engagement.</p>

<p><span class="smcap">February</span>&mdash;Amethyst&mdash;This month and stone preserve mortals from
strong passions, and ensure them peace of mind.</p>

<p><span class="smcap">March</span>&mdash;Bloodstone&mdash;Courage, and success in dangers and hazardous
enterprises.</p>

<p><span class="smcap">April</span>&mdash;Sapphire or Diamond&mdash;Repentance and innocence.</p>

<p><span class="smcap">May</span>&mdash;Emerald&mdash;Success in love.</p>

<p><span class="smcap">June</span>&mdash;Agate&mdash;Long life and health.</p>

<p><span class="smcap">July</span>&mdash;Cornelian or Ruby&mdash;The forgetfulness or the cure of evils
springing from friendship or love.</p>

<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_432" id="Page_432">[Pg 432]</a></span><span class="smcap">August</span>&mdash;Sardonyx&mdash;Conjugal fidelity.</p>

<p><span class="smcap">September</span>&mdash;Chrysolite&mdash;Preserves from or cures folly.</p>

<p><span class="smcap">October</span>&mdash;Aquamarine or Opal&mdash;Misfortune and hope.</p>

<p><span class="smcap">November</span>&mdash;Topaz&mdash;Fidelity in friendship.</p>

<p><span class="smcap">December</span>&mdash;Torquoise or Malachite&mdash;The most brilliant success and
happiness in every circumstance of life. The torquoise has also the
property of securing friendly regards, as is verified by the old saying,
"He who possesses a torquoise will always be sure of friends."</p></div>

<p>Anciently, the kings of England, on Good Friday,
hallowed, with great ceremony, certain rings the wearing
of which was believed to prevent the falling sickness.
The custom originated from a ring, long preserved in
Westminster Abbey, which is reported to have been
brought to King Edward by persons from Jerusalem.
The rings consecrated by the sovereigns were called
"cramp rings." Andrew Boorde, speaking of the cramp,
says, "The King's Majesty hath great help in this matter
in hallowing 'cramp rings' without money or petition."</p>

<p>Writing of Fladda Chuan, Martin writes: "There is a
chapel in the isle, dedicated to St. Columbus. It has an
altar in the east end, and therein a blue stone of a round
form on it, which is always moist. It is an ordinary
custom, when any of the fishermen are detained in this
isle by contrary winds, to wash the blue stone with water,
all round, expecting thereby to procure a favourable
wind. And so great is their regard for this stone that
people swear decisive oaths upon it." Martin also says it
was an ancient custom among the islanders to hang a
he-goat's skin to the boat's mast, in the hope of securing
a favourable wind.</p>

<p>There was a stone in Iona, over which, if a man stretched
his arm three times, he would never err in steering a
vessel. In the island of Bernera there was a stone in the
form of a cross, near St. Mary's Church, about five feet
high, which the natives called the water cross. The old
inhabitants were in the practice of erecting it when they
wished rain, and of laying it flat on the ground when they<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_433" id="Page_433">[Pg 433]</a></span>
desired dry weather. Martin further mentions a green
stone, about the size of goose's egg, in the island of Arran,
which possessed rare virtue, and was consequently handed
down to posterity for many ages. By laying it on the
side of a person troubled with pains in that part of his
body, the patient immediately recovered, unless doomed
to die. If the latter event were to happen, the stone removed
of its own accord from the side; but if the patient
was to recover, it rested where placed until the cure became
complete. Disputed cases between the islanders
were settled by oath at this stone. It possessed another
virtue&mdash;causing powerful enemies to run away when it
was thrown at their front. The custody of this valuable
relic long remained a privilege of the Chattans.</p>

<p>In the Highlands of Scotland a large oval crystal&mdash;probably
a Cairngorm stone&mdash;was kept by the ancient
priests by which to work charms. Water poured upon it
was given to the cattle, to preserve them from disease.
Such charms were common in Scotland, England, and
Ireland. Lilly describes a conjuring beryl or crystal.
It was, he tells us, as large as an orange, and set in silver
with a cross at the top, and round about it were engraved
the names of the angels Raphael, Gabriel, and Uriel. A
delineation of another charm is engraved in the frontispiece
to Aubrey's <i>Miscellanies</i>. A mode of making inquiry
by charms is imputed to Dr. Dee, the celebrated mathematician.
The stone used by him came into the possession
of Horace Walpole, and was long, if not now, in the Strawberry
Hill collection. Sorcerers or magicians, says Grose,
did not always employ their art to do mischief, but, on the
contrary, frequently exerted it to cure diseases inflicted
by witches, to discover thieves, recover stolen goods, to
foretell future events, and the state of absent friends. A
favourite method of consultation was this: The conjuror
having repeated the necessary adjuration, and applied the
proper charms, with the litany or invocation peculiar to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_434" id="Page_434">[Pg 434]</a></span>
the spirits or angels whose assistance was to be asked, the
seer looked into a crystal or beryl, wherein he saw, or
pretended he saw, the answers to his interrogatories,
represented either by types or figures. Sometimes the
spirits or angels answered audibly.</p>

<p>This part of our subject would be incomplete without
reference to the Coronation Stone, the history of which is
as interesting as it is curious. We have made mention of
a stone or stones, under various names&mdash;Jacob's Pillow,
Lia-Fail, Stone of Destiny, Marble Chair, Coronation
Stone, etc. Writers on arch&aelig;ological subjects are not
agreed as to whether all these are or are not different
names for one and the same relic. On the whole, we are
inclined to think that there was but one coronation stone,
but we leave that point to be definitely settled by others.
From the information before us, we assume there was but
one stone, and therefore proceed on this assumption,
which is supported by tradition.</p>

<p>The Stone of Destiny, we are told, formed Jacob's pillow
on the plain of Luz, and consequently was regarded as a
sacred relic by the Jews. It was carried to Egypt, thence
to Spain, and from the latter country it was conveyed
by Simon Breck to Ireland, where it became known as
the "Lia-Fail" or "Stone of Destiny" of the Irish kings.
Ireland is often, from this stone, called by the priests
Innis-phail. The ancient Irish supposed that, in whatsoever
country this stone remained, there one of their blood
would reign. They pretended to have authentic memoirs
of the stone for a period extending backwards more than
two thousand years. In the practical tales of Ossian we
find:</p>

<div class="blockquot"><p>"Though the sun glitters upon the heath, I will not behold her golden
rays; though the stag should start by me, Ossian will chase him no more.
Although Manus should cross the ocean again to invade Albin, my sword
is not victorious in the slaughter, and my fame is not celebrated by the
bards. I am not invited to a feast. My kiss is scorned by the virgin.
My esteem is not equal to a king's son; one day is like a year to me.</p>

<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_435" id="Page_435">[Pg 435]</a></span>"It was the reverse in Innis-phail, also in Selma, the mansions of my
mighty father: Ossian was honoured above the rest: behold the uncertainty
of everything under the sun."</p></div>

<p>After the enchanted stone&mdash;for it was regarded as such&mdash;had
long been kept at Tarah, it was sent to Fergus,
the first actual king of Scots; and it remained in Argyle
(the original seat of the Scots in Britain) until about the
year 842. Three hundred and thirty years before the
Christian era, Fergus was crowned and seated on the
famous chair. Kenneth, the second son of Alpin, having
enlarged his dominions by the conquest of the Picts, transferred
the stone to Scone. As the supreme kings of Ireland
and the kings of the Scots used to be inaugurated by
being seated on the ancient chair before it was carried to
Scone, so were the kings at Perth installed into regal office
down to the time that Edward I. carried to England the
sacred relic, highly prized by every Scotchman. As soon as
the news of the loss spread, great concern was manifested.
The death of a beloved monarch, or the loss of many
battles, where brave sons and fathers had fallen, would
have been as nothing compared with the national loss
sustained. In fact, many in the highest circles conceived
that the glory of the kingdom had departed.</p>

<p>It appears from a document found among the records
of England, that King Edward treated the relic with great
veneration. With the intention of using it for the same
purposes in England as it had been used for in Scotland
and Ireland, he proposed to make it a part of a throne
or royal seat, and ordered his goldsmith to prepare a
copper case for it. He changed his mind, and gave instructions
for a wooden chair being made, and the stone
inserted in the seat. Such was the estimation in which
he held the stone, that he placed it in the most sacred
place in England&mdash;close to the altar and shrine of St.
Edward. There are reasons for concluding that Edward
had intended to return the stone to Scotland, and had<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_436" id="Page_436">[Pg 436]</a></span>
made arrangements to that effect in a treaty; but the
citizens of London, who were anxious to retain the stone
in England, remonstrated against its being restored to the
legal owners, and the king complied with their wishes.
This famous "Stone of Destiny," long sacred in Ireland,
and on which the kings of Scotland were crowned for
more than a thousand years, now forms part of the coronation
chair of the kings and queens of England.</p>

<p>When the supreme kings of Ireland were inaugurated,
in the times of heathenism, on the hill of Tarah, the
stone, which was enclosed in a wooden chair, was supposed
to emit a sound under the rightful heir to the
throne, but to be mute under a man seeking power under
false pretences. On Aidanus being elected by universal
acclamation, and solemnly seated in the same chair, he
was crowned by St. Columba, who with his right hand
placed the diadem on the king's head, while in his left he
held a trumpet or wooden tube, to announce to the
assembled throng the completion of the joyful event.
This tube was long preserved with great care at Dunkeld.
Some suppose that the fatality long assigned to the stone
was fully believed in by Kenneth, by whose orders the
following couplet was carved on the chair:&mdash;</p>

<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">"Where'er this marble's placed, there, sure as fate,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Shall be the Scottish monarch's regal seat."<br /></span>
</div>
</div>

<p>Wintoun tells us that Fergus, the son of Ere,</p>

<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">"Braucht this stane wytht-in Scotland<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Fyrst quhen he came and wane that land,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And fyrst it set in Ikkolmkil,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And Skune thare-eftir it was braucht tyle;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">And there it wes syne mony day,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Qhyll Edward gert have it away."<br /></span>
</div>
</div>

<p>Without endorsing the opinion that Scotland and Ireland
have lost their wonted power, or suffered decline
through the "Prophetic or Fatal Stone" being carried<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_437" id="Page_437">[Pg 437]</a></span>
away, it is an indisputable fact that in neither of these
countries is there, strictly speaking, a "monarch's regal
seat." The "Enchanted Stone"&mdash;the "palladium of
Scottish liberty"&mdash;is certainly, as the English well know,
one of the most ancient and valuable relics in Westminster
Abbey.</p>



<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_438" id="Page_438">[Pg 438]</a></span></p>
<h2><a name="TRIALS_BY_ORDEAL" id="TRIALS_BY_ORDEAL"></a>TRIALS BY ORDEAL.</h2>

<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<h2><a name="CHAPTER_L" id="CHAPTER_L"></a>CHAPTER L.</h2>

<div class="blockquot"><p>Trials by Ordeal resorted to in Modern and Ancient Times&mdash;Ordeal by
means of Hot Iron&mdash;Plunging the Arm into Boiling Water or Oil&mdash;Walking
Blindfold in Dangerous Places&mdash;Weighing a Witch&mdash;Extending
the Arms before a Cross&mdash;Swallowing Consecrated Bread&mdash;Ordeal
among the Hindoos&mdash;Touching a Dead Body&mdash;A Murdered
Traveller&mdash;An Inquest, how conducted long ago&mdash;Dead Henry's
Wounds&mdash;Sir George M'Kenzie's Opinion of Trial by Ordeal&mdash;Killing
a Brother by Sorcery&mdash;Touching a Dead Body&mdash;Sir K. Digby on
Trial by Ordeal.</p></div>


<p>Trial by ordeal were resorted to by many people and
nations both in ancient and modern times, with the view
of establishing the criminality or innocence of suspected
persons. Among the ordeals may be enumerated: holding
in the hand a red-hot bar of iron, plunging the arm into
boiling water or oil, walking blindfold amidst burning
ploughshares, passing through fires, swallowing a morsel
of consecrated bread, swimming or sinking in water (or, as
it was occasionally termed, weighing a witch), stretching
out the arms before the cross until the sorest wearied
competitor dropped his arms, and so lost his cause, and
therewith perhaps his life or his estate, or it might be both.</p>

<hr style='width: 45%;' />

<p>A dispute occurred between the Bishop of Paris and
the Abbot of St. Denis about the patronage of a monastery;
and Pepin, surnamed the Short, not being able to decide
such an intricate question, decreed that the matter
should be settled by ordeal. Each of the disputants chose
a man, and both the men appeared in a chapel, where they<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_439" id="Page_439">[Pg 439]</a></span>
extended their arms in the form of a cross. Numerous
spectators were present to witness the trial, and betted on
the feat. The bishop's representative dropped his arms
first, and thereby ruined his employer.</p>

<p>Warren Hastings has found, from Asiatic researches,
that trial by ordeal was common among the Hindoos. He
says these trials are conducted in nine ways: first, by the
balance; secondly, by fire; thirdly, by water; fourthly,
by poison; fifthly, by the C&oacute;sha, or water in which an idol
has been washed; sixthly, by rice; seventhly, by boiling
oil; eighthly, by red-hot iron; ninthly, by images.</p>

<div class="blockquot"><p>"I. Ordeal by the balance is thus performed:&mdash;The beam having been
previously adjusted, the cord fixed, and both scales made perfectly
even, the person accused and a Pandit fast a whole day; then, after
the accused has been bathed in sacred water, the h&oacute;ma, or oblation,
presented to fire, and the deities worshipped, he is carefully weighed;
and, when he is taken out of the scale, the Pandits prostrate themselves,
and pronounce a certain mentra or incantation, agreeably to
the S&aacute;stras, and having written the substance of the accusation on a
piece of paper, bind it on his head. Six minutes after, they place him
again in the scale, and, if he weigh more than before, he is held guilty;
if less, innocent; if exactly the same, he must be weighed a third time;
when, as it is written in the Mit&aacute;csher&aacute;, there will certainly be a difference
in his weight. Should the balance break down, it would be
considered a proof of guilt.</p>

<p>"II. For the fire ordeal, an excavation, nine hands long, two spans
broad, and one span deep, is made in the ground, and filled with a fire
of pippal wood: into this the person accused must walk bare-footed,
and, if his foot be unhurt, they hold him blameless; if burned, guilty.</p>

<p>"III. Water ordeal is performed by causing the person accused to stand
in a sufficient depth of water, either flowing or stagnant, to reach his navel;
but care must be taken that no ravenous animal be in it, and that it be
not moved by much air: a Br&aacute;hman is then directed to go into the water,
holding a staff in his hand, and a soldier shoots three arrows on dry
ground from a bow of cane; a man is next despatched to bring the arrow
which has been shot farthest, and, after he has taken it up, another is
ordered to run from the edge of the water; at which instant the person
accused is told to grasp the foot or the staff of the Br&aacute;hman, who stands
near him in the water, and immediately to dive into it. He must remain
under water till the two men who went to fetch the arrows are<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_440" id="Page_440">[Pg 440]</a></span>
returned; for, if he raise his head or body above the surface before the
arrows are brought back, his guilt is considered as fully proved. In the
villages near Ban&aacute;res, it is the practice for the person who is to be tried
by this kind of ordeal to stand in water up to his navel, and then, holding
the foot of a Br&aacute;hman, to dive under it as long as a man can walk
fifty paces very gently; if before the man has walked thus far the
accused rise above the water, he is condemned; if not, acquitted.</p>

<p>"IV. There are two sorts of trial by poison. First, the Pandits having
performed their h&oacute;ma, and the person accused his ablution, two retti's
and a half, or seven barley-corns, of vishanag&aacute;, a poisonous root, or of
sanc'hy&aacute;, that is, white arsenic, are mixed in eight m&aacute;shas, or sixty-four
retti's of clarified butter, which the accused must eat from the hand of a
Br&aacute;hman: if the poison produce no visible effect, he is absolved; otherwise,
condemned. Secondly, the hooded snake, called n&aacute;ga, is thrown
into a deep earthen pot, into which is dropped a ring, a seal, or a coin;
this the person accused is ordered to take out with his hand; and, if the
serpent bite him, he is pronounced guilty; if not, innocent.</p>

<p>"V. Trial by the c&oacute;sha is as follows: the accused is made to drink
three draughts of the water in which the images of the sun, of D&eacute;vi, and
other deities have been washed for that purpose; and if within fourteen
days he has any sickness or indisposition, his crime is considered as proved.</p>

<p>"VI. When several persons are suspected of theft, some dry rice is
weighed with the sacred stone called s&aacute;lcr&aacute;m; or certain sl&oacute;cas are read
over it; after which the suspected persons are severally ordered to chew
a quantity of it: as soon as they have chewed it, they are to throw it on
some leaves of the pippal, or, if none be at hand, on some b'h&uacute;rja patra,
or bark of a tree from N&eacute;p&aacute;l or Cashm&iacute;r. The man from whose mouth
the rice comes dry or stained with blood, is holden guilty; the rest are
acquitted.</p>

<p>"VII. The ordeal by hot oil is very simple: when it is heated sufficiently,
the accused thrusts his hand into it; and, if he be not burned, is
held innocent.</p>

<p>"VIII. In the same manner they make an iron ball, or the head of a
lance, red-hot, and place it in the hands of the person accused; who, if it
burn him not, is judged guiltless.</p>

<p>"IX. To perform the ordeal by dharm&aacute;rch, which is the name of the
sl&oacute;ca appropriated to this mode of trial, either an image named Dharma,
or the Genius of Justice, is made of silver, and another, called Adharma,
of clay or iron, both of which are thrown into a large earthen jar; and
the accused, having thrust his hand into it, is acquitted if he bring out
the silver image, but condemned if he draw forth the iron; or the
figure of a deity is painted on white cloth, and another on black, the
first of which they name dharma, and the second adharma: these are<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_441" id="Page_441">[Pg 441]</a></span>
severally rolled up in cow-dung, and thrown into a large jar without
having ever been shown to the accused; who must put his hand into the
jar, and is acquitted or convicted as he draws out the figure on white or
black cloth."</p></div>

<p>Touching the body of a murdered person was one way,
in Scotland, England, and elsewhere, of discovering who
the murderer was. The practice, we are informed, originated
in Denmark. Certain gentlemen in that kingdom,
being together in a house, one evening fell out among
themselves, and from words came to blows. Unfortunately
the candles went out during the fray, and before lights
could be procured one of the gentlemen was stabbed.
The murderer was unknown. Christernus II., then king,
to find out the murderer, caused all who were present at
the brawl to stand around the dead body, and commanded
that one after the other should lay his right hand on the
dead man's breast, and swear that he had not committed
the foul deed. The gentlemen complied; and no sign appeared
to indicate the guilt of any of them, until the
king's pursuivant kissed the feet of the corpse, and laid
his hand on the breast. As soon as he did so, the blood
gushed out in great abundance from the wound and
nostrils. Thus condemned, the pursuivant confessed his
guilt. By the king's sentence, the criminal was beheaded.
Hence arose the practice, which was long common in many
places, of finding out unknown murders. In most cases
the murderer was discovered by the corpse bleeding the
instant the bloodstained hand was placed on the cold inanimate
clay, but at times the sign was given by the dead
man opening his eyes on the slayer approaching the corpse.</p>

<p>A traveller was found murdered on a highway in
Denmark; and because the slayer was unknown, the
magistrates of the place caused one of the hands of him
that was slain to be cut off, and hung up by a string
at the top of a room in the town prison. About ten
years after the crime was committed, the murderer happened<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_442" id="Page_442">[Pg 442]</a></span>
to enter the apartment; and as soon as he did so,
the dry withered hand began to drop blood on a table
below it. The gaoler, beholding this, detained the man
and called in the magistrates, who extracted from him a
confession of his guilt.</p>

<p>In Herefordshire, in the time of Charles I., Johan
Norkett, wife of Arthur Norkett, was found dead. At
first it was thought she had committed suicide, but afterwards
circumstances transpired which led to the belief that
the unfortunate woman did not lay violent hands upon
herself. A jury was summoned, and, after deliberation,
the coroner directed that the body, which had been buried
for a month, should be exhumed, and four suspected persons
brought to touch the corpse. The persons being
afterwards brought to trial at the assizes, an old minister
swore that, the body being taken out of the grave and
laid on the grass, the accused were required to touch it.
On laying their hands on the brow, which before was of
a livid and carrion colour, it began to have a dew or
gentle sweat upon it, which increased by degrees until
the sweat ran down the face. The brow then turned to
a lifelike and flesh colour, and the dead woman opened
one of her eyes and shut it again, and this opening the
eye was done three times. She likewise thrust out
the ring or marriage finger three times, and the finger
dropped blood on the grass. Another clergyman corroborated
the statement of the first witness. Sir Nicholas
Hyde threw doubt on the correctness of the evidence, but
the jury found three of the prisoners guilty of murder,
and two of them were executed; the third being a woman,
escaped with her life.</p>

<p>The popular superstition that the wounds of a murdered
person would bleed afresh when touched by the
murderer, is thus referred to by Shakspeare:</p>

<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i7">"Dead Henry's wounds<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Open their congealed mouths, and bleed afresh;"<br /></span>
</div>
</div>

<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_443" id="Page_443">[Pg 443]</a></span>And Dryden says:</p>

<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">"If the vile actors of the heinous deed<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Near the dead body happily be brought,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Oft hath been proved the breathless corpse will bleed."<br /></span>
</div>
</div>

<p>That murder might be discovered in the way referred
to, was generally believed in Scotland in the seventeenth
century. Sir George Mackenzie, when conducting the
prosecution in the trial of Philip Stansfield, said: "That
divine power which makes the blood circulate during
life, has oft-times, in all nations, opened a passage to it
after death upon such occasions, but most in this case;
for after the wounds had been sewed up, and the body
designedly shaken up and down, and, which is most
wonderful, after the body had been buried for several
days, which naturally occasions the blood to congeal,
upon Philip touching it, the blood darted and sprang out,
to the great astonishment of the chirurgeons themselves,
who were desired to watch this event; whereupon Philip,
astonished more than they, threw down the body, and
became so faint that they were forced to give him a
cordial."</p>

<p>In the middle of the seventeenth century, Christina
Wilson was accused, in one of the supreme courts of
Scotland, of having killed her brother by sorcery. On
being suspected of the crime by the minister and others,
she was brought in to touch the corpse. At the first
sight of the dead body, she prayed that He who made the
sun to shine on their house would bring the murder to
light, and immediately thereafter she touched the corpse.
It bled, though it did not do so before when touched by
others. Of course this was held sufficient proof against
the unfortunate woman, and she suffered according to her
supposed guilt.</p>

<p>In another case a man was condemned on similar
evidence for the murder of his father; but the prisoner
insisted that the bleeding was owing to an incision<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_444" id="Page_444">[Pg 444]</a></span>
made on the body, and not to his presence. The defence
was disregarded; but this need not be a matter of
surprise, when such men as Sir K. Digby and Sir George
Mackenzie took it for granted that the corpse of a
murdered person would bleed on being touched by the
murderer. He (Sir K. Digby) says in his <i>Religio Medica</i>:
"And to this cause, peradventure, may be ascribed the
strange effect which is frequently seen in England,
when, at the approach of the murderer, the slain body
suddenly bleedeth afresh: for certainly the souls of them
that are treacherously murdered by surprise leave their
bodies with extreme unwillingness, and with vehement indignation
against them that forced them to so unprovided
and abhorred a passage. The soul then, to wreak its evil
talent against the hated murderer, and to draw a just and
desired revenge upon his head, would do all it can to
manifest the author of the fact. To speak it cannot, for
in itself it wanteth organs of voice, and those it is parted
from are now grown too heavy, and are too benumbed
for it to give motion unto; yet some change it desireth to
make in the body, which it hath so vehement inclination
to, and therefore it is the aptest for it to work upon. It
must then endeavour to cause a motion in the sublimest
and most fluid parts (and consequently the most moveable
ones) of it. This can be nothing but the blood, which,
being violently moved, must needs gush out at those
places where it findeth issues."</p>

<p>The swallowing of a piece of barley bread, over which
mass had been performed, was not unfrequent in trials of
ordeal. If the suspected person swallowed the bread
without injury, he was declared innocent; but if the bread
choked him in the attempt to swallow it, then was he
considered to be guilty. At times cheese was given with
the bread; but when that was done, it was essential to
supply ewe-milk cheese made in the month of May.</p>



<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_445" id="Page_445">[Pg 445]</a></span></p>
<h2><a name="CHAPTER_LI" id="CHAPTER_LI"></a>CHAPTER LI.</h2>

<div class="blockquot"><p>A Popular Story&mdash;Ordeal of Red-hot Iron&mdash;Ordeal by Boiling Water&mdash;Theatberge,
wife of Lothaire, accused of Incest&mdash;Purgation by Cold
Water&mdash;Forbes's Memoirs&mdash;Ordeals by Boiling Oil&mdash;Trial by Wager
of Battle&mdash;When Trial by Wager of Battle ceased&mdash;Trial by Jury&mdash;Combats
in Germany&mdash;Bier placed near the Combatants&mdash;Court of
King's Bench deciding the Legality of Trial by Battle&mdash;Sir Walter
Scott's Illustrations of Superstition and Trial by Battle in Olden
Times.</p></div>


<p>A popular story is told of Emma, mother of Edward the
Confessor, being accused of too great familiarity with the
Bishop of Leicester. To justify herself, she demanded the
ordeal of red-hot iron. Her demand was complied with,
and she passed barefooted and blindfolded over nine red-hot
ploughshares without touching them. Her innocence
was thereby held to be proved.</p>

<p>Nobles and great persons who submitted to ordeal by
water were purged by boiling water, but the populace had
to undergo the cold-water test.</p>

<p>Theatberge, wife of Lothaire of France, having been
accused of incest, certain bishops were consulted as to the
manner of establishing her guilt or innocence; and they
concluded that recourse should be had to proof by boiling
water. She was ordered to plunge her hand into a basin
of boiling water, and take out a ring put therein. In
place of complying, she availed herself of a privilege the
law allowed&mdash;to find a substitute. He whom she chose
produced the ring without injuring his hand, in spite of
the fire under the caldron being so intense that the water
boiled over.</p>

<p>In the trial or purgation by cold water, the accused,
after prayers and other ceremonies, was cast into deep
water, swaddled or tied in such a manner as to make it<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_446" id="Page_446">[Pg 446]</a></span>
impossible for him or her to swim. If the accused sank,
he or she was held criminal, and allowed to drown. If
the person floated, it was regarded as a proof of innocence,
and the lucky one was drawn out of the water to be set free.</p>

<p>Mr. Forbes, in his <i>Oriental Memoirs</i>, says that, among
the curious circumstances connected with his administration
of justice at Dheeborg, he was sometimes obliged to
determine causes by ordeal trial. In one instance a man
was accused of stealing a child wearing many jewels.
Circumstances were against him, on which he demanded
trial by ordeal. Mr. Forbes was at first averse to adopt
such a measure, but, at the request of the Hindoo arbitrators,
who sat on the carpet of justice, and especially at
the request of the child's parents, he consented. A vessel
full of boiling oil was brought into the durbar, and, after
a short ceremony by the Brahmins, the accused person,
without showing any anxiety, plunged his hand to the
bottom and took out a small silver coin. He did not
appear to have sustained any hurt, or to suffer the least
pain. The suspected person's innocence being thus established
in the eyes of the arbitrators and parents, he was
set free.</p>

<p>Another instance of trial by ordeal is mentioned by Mr.
Forbes. The coolies of a village in the northern part of
Guzerat were accused of having seized and imprisoned a
Bohra, and, of extorting a bond from him for 450 rupees.
The chief, a Khemaria coolie, named Wagajee, denied the
charge, and, for proof of his innocence and that of his
people, offered to submit to trial by any kind of ordeal.
The Bohra agreed to this mode of proof, and it was determined
that the coolie should immerse his hand in a vessel
of boiling oil. A large copper-pot full of oil was put on
a fire in the market place, and a pair of blacksmith's
bellows applied to blow the fire until the oil became very
hot. A rupee was then thrown into the pot. The accused,
when requested, came forward, stripped himself, said his<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_447" id="Page_447">[Pg 447]</a></span>
prayers, and protested his innocence. He resisted every
attempt to dissuade him from the trial. A crowd of
people, impressed with the awfulness of such an immediate
appeal to the deity, prayed devoutly that, if he were not
guilty, he might pass through the test unhurt. Wagajee
walked up to the boiling oil, dipped his hand into it, and
laid hold of the rupee. He then held up his hand, that
the spectators might satisfy themselves of his veracity.
His hand appeared as if it had been merely put into cold
oil. All parties were satisfied, and Wagajee was dismissed
with the present of a new turban.</p>

<p>Trial by ordeal was introduced into England by the
Saxons. Under the English laws, a prisoner might choose
whether he would be tried by ordeal or by jury. Trial
by ordeal was abolished in this country in the year 1218.</p>

<p>Trial by or wager of battle may be mentioned as a form
of superstition which remained as a legal way of deciding
criminal cases down to the time of George III.</p>

<p>In 1817 a young man, charged with murdering his
sweetheart in England, claimed the right to have his case
decided by wager of battle: the court admitted the claim,
but he whose right it was to accept the challenge refused
to fight, and so the accused escaped punishment. This led
to the law, which allowed trial by battle, being repealed
in 1819.</p>

<p>Before commencing the fight, the combatants were
compelled to swear that neither of them would resort to
sorcery or witchcraft. If the accused were slain, the judges
regarded the fatal deed as proof of his guilt. If overpowered,
but not killed, he was adjudged guilty, and
sentenced to be immediately executed. Women, priests,
infants, men sixty years of age, or lame or blind, had it
in their option to refuse wager of battle, and were entitled
to demand trial by jury.</p>

<p>An old author says: "If two neighbours dispute respecting
the boundaries of their possessions, let a piece of turf<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_448" id="Page_448">[Pg 448]</a></span>
of the contested land be dug up by the judge, and brought
by him into the court, and the two parties shall touch it
with the points of their swords, calling on the Most High
to witness their claims. After this let them combat, and
let victory prove who is right and who is wrong."</p>

<p>Sir Walter Scott gives a good illustration of the superstition
of olden times, and of trial by battle, in <i>Ivanhoe</i>.
We are told that after Ivanhoe was wounded at the
tournament, Rebecca, the Jewess, lost no time in causing
the patient to be removed to her father's dwelling, and
with her own hands bound up his wounds. The Jews,
both male and female, possessed and practised the medical
science; and the monarchs and powerful barons of the time,
says the novelist, frequently, when wounded or in sickness,
committed themselves as patients to the charge of an
experienced person among the despised people. A general
belief prevailed among Christians that the Jewish rabbins
were acquainted with the occult sciences, and particularly
with the cabalistical art. The rabbins did not disavow
such acquaintance with supernatural arts. Rebecca's
knowledge of the healing art had been acquired under an
aged Jewess, the daughter of a celebrated doctor. Miriam
fell a sacrifice to the fanaticism of the times, but her
secrets had survived in her apt pupil. The wounded
knight, as might be expected, recovered under the medical
treatment of Rebecca. For this she was accused of working
cures by words, sigils, and other cabalistical mysteries.</p>

<p>"Nay, reverend and brave knight," answered Isaac,
Rebecca's father, in reply to Beaumanoir, who brought
the charge against the Jewess, "but in chief measure by
a balsam of marvellous virtue;" and in reply to another
question, Isaac reluctantly told that Rebecca had obtained
her secret from Miriam, whom the Grand Master designated
a witch and enchantress, whose body had been
burned at a stake, and her ashes scattered to the four
winds. "The laws of England," exclaimed Beaumanoir,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_449" id="Page_449">[Pg 449]</a></span>
"permit and enjoin each judge to execute justice within
his own jurisdiction. The most petty baron may arrest,
try, and condemn a witch found within his own domain.... The
witch shall be taken out of the land, and
the wickedness thereof shall be forgiven. Prepare the
castle-hall for the trial of the sorceress."</p>

<p>Poor Rebecca was brought before the Grand Master,
charged with various crimes. "We have," said the Master,
"summoned to our presence a Jewish woman, by name
Rebecca, daughter of York&mdash;a woman infamous for
sortileges and for witcheries; whereby she hath maddened
the blood, and besotted the brain, not of a churl,
but of a knight&mdash;not of a secular knight, but of one
devoted to the service of the holy temple&mdash;not of a knight
champion, but of a preceptor.... By means of
charms and of spells, Satan had obtained dominion over
the knight, perchance because he cast his eyes too lightly
upon a damsel's beauty."</p>

<p>Witnesses being invited by the Grand Master, forward
came a once bedridden man, whom the prisoner had
restored to the perfect use of his limbs by a miraculous
balsam. Unwillingly he testified to Rebecca curing him,
giving him a pot of spicy smelling ointment, and supplying
him with money to pay his expenses to his father's
house, whither he wished to repair. Other witnesses deponed
that Rebecca muttered to herself in an unknown
tongue, that the songs she sang were peculiarly sweet,
that her garments were of a strange mystic form, and that
she had rings with cabalistic devices. A soldier testified
that he had seen her cure a wounded man in a mysterious
way. He said she made certain signs upon the wound,
and repeated words he understood not. The result, he
declared, was that the iron head of a cross-bow bolt disengaged
itself from the wound, the bleeding was staunched,
the wound closed, and the seemingly dying man was
within a quarter of an hour walking upon the ramparts.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_450" id="Page_450">[Pg 450]</a></span>
Another soldier deponed that he had seen Rebecca perch
herself upon a high turret, and there take the form of a
white swan, under which appearance she flitted three
times round the castle of Torquailstone. Again she settled
on the turret, and once more assumed her womanly form.
The evidence was considered more than enough to condemn
the unhappy Jewess; and in a solemn tone the
Grand Master demanded what she had to say against sentence
of condemnation being pronounced against her.
Rebecca knew the law; she maintained her innocence,
claimed the privilege of trial by combat, and offered to
appear by a champion.</p>

<p>Brian de Bois-Gilbert was appointed to do battle on
behalf of himself and the order of knights to which he belonged;
and the day came when the die would be cast
that was to decide the fate of Rebecca. At the castle of
Templestowe everything was prepared by the prosecutor
for the combat, but for poor Rebecca no champion appeared.
Near the lists was a pile of faggots so arranged
around a stake as to leave a space for the accused to enter
within the fatal circle, chained by fetters, in order to be
ready for the fiery punishment. At the hour appointed for
the champions to meet, the large bell of St. Michael tolled
mournfully, the drawbridge fell, the gates opened, and a
knight, bearing a great standard, sallied forth from the
castle, preceded by six trumpeters, and followed by the
knights preceptors, the Grand Master coming behind.
Then came Brian de Bois-Gilbert, armed <i>cap-&agrave;-pie</i>, accompanied
by two godfathers and many squires and pages.
After these followed a guard of warders, with the trembling
Jewess, stripped of all her ornaments, lest there should be
among them amulets, which Satan was supposed to bestow
upon his victims, to deprive them of the power of confession,
even when under torture. While the Grand Master took
his exalted seat, the unfortunate culprit was conducted to
the black chair, near the ready prepared pile. Everything<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_451" id="Page_451">[Pg 451]</a></span>
being arranged, a loud and long flourish of trumpets announced
that the proceedings of the court were to begin.
Brian de Bois-Gilbert stood ready for the combat, but a
champion was still wanting for the appellant. Lest Jew
or Pagan should charge the court with injustice, the Grand
Master declared his readiness to wait till the shadows were in
the west, to see if a champion would appear for the culprit.
But the general belief prevailed that no one would stand
up for her; and the craven knights whispered to each other,
when the day was far gone, that the time had come for
declaring the pledge of Rebecca forfeited. At this instant,
a knight, urging his horse forward, appeared on the plain
advancing towards the lists. A hundred voices exclaimed,
"A champion! a champion!" Yes, it was a champion,
the renowned Wilfred of Ivanhoe. "Rebecca," said he,
riding up to the black chair, "dost thou accept me for
thy champion?" The answer was in the affirmative.
Little time was now lost; the champions confronted each
other. Trumpets sounded, and the knights charged in
full career. The wearied horse of Ivanhoe, and its no less
exhausted rider, went down, as all had expected, before
the well-aimed lance and vigorous steed of the Templar.
This result all had foreseen; but although the spear of
Ivanhoe did but lightly touch the shield of Bois-Gilbert,
that combatant reeled in his saddle, lost his stirrups, and
fell in the lists. Ivanhoe, extricating himself from his fallen
horse, was soon on foot, hastening to mend his fortune by
the sword; but his antagonist rose not. Wilfred, placing
his foot on his opponent's breast, and the sword's point to
his throat, commanded him to yield, or die on the spot.
Bois-Gilbert returned no answer. The fallen knight was
unhelmed. His eyes were closed&mdash;he was dead, supposed
to have died a victim to the violence of his own passions.
When the first moments of surprise were over, the Grand
Master pronounced the maiden free and guiltless.</p>

<p>The conclusion of this story is touching in the extreme.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_452" id="Page_452">[Pg 452]</a></span>
Soon after this Ivanhoe and the Lady Ravena were
married. On the second morning after the nuptials,
Rebecca waited on the Lady of Ivanhoe, and presented her
with a small silver casket containing jewels of great value;
and leaving a message to her champion, who never ceased
to remember her, she hastened away to other lands, to
tend the sick, feed the hungry, and relieve the distressed.</p>



<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_453" id="Page_453">[Pg 453]</a></span></p>
<h2><a name="CURSES_AND_EVIL_WISHES" id="CURSES_AND_EVIL_WISHES"></a>CURSES AND EVIL WISHES.</h2>

<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<h2><a name="CHAPTER_LII" id="CHAPTER_LII"></a>CHAPTER LII.</h2>

<div class="blockquot"><p>Curses, Excommunication, and Anathemas&mdash;Dir&aelig;, the Executioners of
Vengeance&mdash;Curses and Anathemas not confined to the Vulgar&mdash;Excommunication
generally accompanied by Anathema&mdash;Excommunicated
Persons lost their Civil Rights&mdash;Heretics forfeited their Lives&mdash;Interment
of Excommunicated Persons&mdash;Excommunication among the
Hebrews&mdash;Different Degrees of Excommunication&mdash;Solemn Curses
pronounced against Impenitent Persons&mdash;Stone laid on an Accursed
Person's Coffin&mdash;Last Degree of Excommunication sometimes followed
by Banishment or Death&mdash;Form of Excommunication used by Ezra
and Nehemiah when they cursed the Samaritans&mdash;Death upon the
Cross, Sawing asunder, and other Punishments&mdash;Mode of Punishment
among the Romans, Greeks, and Persians&mdash;The Greek Church annually
excommunicated Roman Catholics&mdash;The Druids resorted to Excommunication&mdash;Whole
Families excommunicated with Horrible
Ceremonies and Dreadful Imprecations&mdash;Bishops excommunicating
Rats, Mice, Caterpillars, and other Insects and Vermin&mdash;The Pope's
Claim&mdash;Napoleon I. excommunicated&mdash;Victor Emmanuel excommunicated&mdash;Effects
of Excommunication&mdash;The Inquisition and its Terrible
Doings&mdash;The Pope's Fearful Curse&mdash;Mr. Donald Cargill excommunicating
the King and Nobles&mdash;Indulgences, Pardons, and Penance.</p></div>


<p>Curses, excommunication, and anathemas have often
been followed by sad consequences; but whether arising
directly or indirectly from the denunciations, we do not
say. Ancient nations had their goddesses Dir&aelig;, who were
supposed to be the executioners of vengeance. They
were called Furies on earth, and Eumenides in hell. These
goddesses were invoked with prayers and charms. Curses
and anathemas were not in former ages confined to the
vulgar classes of persons, such as in the present time.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_454" id="Page_454">[Pg 454]</a></span>
Imprecations were hurled out by the priest and prophet,
by the educated and uneducated, by professed Christian
laymen, by the heathen, by the wandering gipsies, and the
croaking crones.</p>

<p>Excommunication is generally accompanied by anathema,
or ecclesiastical curse, and punishment, whereby a heretic
is not only cut off from the society of the faithful, but is
consigned to Satan, that condign punishment may follow.
Sixty penalties have been reckoned as accruing upon excommunication.
Major excommunication separates or
cuts off the delinquent from all communion and fellowship
with society&mdash;disables him from defending his civil rights.
In more than one kingdom, a person who is not absolved
from his excommunication in a year's time is deemed a
heretic; and we know the punishment dealt out to such
persons. Even in our own country, before the time of
Charles II., a heretic forfeited his life, and generally
expiated his guilt at the stake.</p>

<p>By law, an excommunicated person was not allowed to
be interred according to the ordinary form and rites of
burial, but the body was flung into a pit, or covered with
a heap of stones called <i>imblocare corpus</i>. There was a
time when the people believed that the bodies of excommunicated
persons not absolved did not rot, but remained
entire for ages, a horrible spectacle to posterity.
This is attested by Matthew Paris and other writers. The
Greeks, till recently, entertained the same opinion.</p>

<p>In the Hebrew republic the punishment of excommunication
was devised by courts of justice, and inflicted by
public sentence upon the offenders. There were three
degrees of excommunication among the Jews: the first
was a casting out of the synagogue, and implied a separation
from all commerce and society, either with man or
woman, for the distance of four cubits; also from eating
or drinking with any one; from shaving, washing, or
the like, according to the pleasure of the judge and the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_455" id="Page_455">[Pg 455]</a></span>
seriousness of the offence. It was in force for thirty days,
unless there was repentance expressed and forgiven.</p>

<p>If the sinner remained impenitent longer than thirty
days, he was sentenced to more severe punishment, with
the addition of a solemn curse. This is supposed to be the
same as delivering over to Satan. The offence was published
in the synagogue, and, at the time of the publication
of the curse, candles were lighted, and when it was extended
they were extinguished, as a sign that the excommunicate
was deprived of the light of heaven. His
goods were confiscated; his male children were not permitted
to be circumcised. If he died without repentance,
a stone, according to judicial sentence, was cast upon his
coffin or bier, to show that he deserved to be stoned. He
was not mourned for with solemn lamentation, nor followed
to the grave, nor buried with common burial.</p>

<p>The last degree of excommunication was anathematising,
which was inflicted when the offender had often
refused to comply with the sentence of court, and was
followed by corporal punishment, and often with banishment
or death. Drusius gives a form of excommunication
which, the Jews say, was used by Ezra and Nehemiah
against the Samaritans, in this manner:&mdash;The whole congregation
was assembled in the Temple, and there were
brought three hundred priests, three hundred boys, three
hundred trumpets, and three hundred books of the law,
and the Levites, singing, cursed the Samaritans by all
forms of excommunication, particularly with the curse
of the superior house of judgment, and with the curse
of the inferior house of judgment. At the same time
it was commanded that no Israelite should partake of a
Samaritan's food. Hence arose the saying in reference
to the breaker of this commandment: "He who eats a
Samaritan's bread is as he who eats swine's flesh." Moreover,
it was decreed that the excommunicate should have
no part in the resurrection of the dead.</p>

<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_456" id="Page_456">[Pg 456]</a></span>There were other punishments introduced among the
Hebrews in later times of their government, which were
borrowed from other nations. These were principally,
death upon the cross, sawing asunder, condemnation to
fight with wild beasts, the wheel, drowning in the sea,
beating to death with cudgels, and boating. The first
and third punishments were properly Roman inflictions;
the second was likewise used by the Romans, but whether
it was originally taken from them is doubtful; the fourth
and sixth were Grecian penalties; the fifth was, in substance,
in use among the Hebrews, Greeks, and Romans,
but in the manner of drowning they differed, for the
Hebrews tied a mill-stone about the culprit's neck; the
last punishment was derived from the Persians, and is
thus described:&mdash;The condemned person was laid upon his
back in a boat, with his hands tied to the sides thereof;
another boat was put over him, covering all his body
except the head. In this posture the unhappy person
was fed with milk and honey till the worms ate his very
bowels, and thereby ended his days in extreme pain.</p>

<p>Every year the Greek Church, at Constantinople, pronounces
excommunication against the Roman Catholic
Church. Heathens as well as Christians resorted to
excommunication. The Druids made use of excommunication
against rebels, and interdicted the communication
of their mysteries to such as refused to submit to their
judgments.</p>

<p>In the Christian Church, excommunication has been
practised in all ages, and ecclesiastics have had continual
recourse to it as one of their spiritual weapons. Not only
have they excommunicated individuals, but whole families
and provinces have come under their law, with horrible
ceremonies and dreadful imprecations. Even kings have
not escaped the Church's maledictions. Fevret, writing
of excommunications in the Romish Church, says that
lighted torches were at times thrown on the ground, with<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_457" id="Page_457">[Pg 457]</a></span>
curses and anathemas, and then trampled out while bells
were rung. This is somewhat similar to part of the ceremony
of excommunication by bell, book, and candle, to
be afterwards more particularly described.</p>

<p>There are instances of bishops excommunicating caterpillars
and other insects; and Fevret gives instances of
excommunications going out against rats and mice. It
sometimes happened that popes and churches excommunicated
one another, each cutting off the other from the
communication of the faithful, and delivering over the
anathematised person or church to the devil. In 850
the synod of Pavia resolved that all who refused to submit
to the discipline of the Church should be anathematised,
and cut off from every Christian hope and consolation.</p>

<p>For fifteen centuries the Pope has claimed the power of
disposing of men's souls as seems best to him. Whom he
blesses, he says, are blessed; and whom he curses, he
would make us believe, are cursed. He arrogates to
himself the authority of holding the keys of heaven and
hell.</p>

<p>In 1809 the Pope excommunicated Napoleon I., and
in 1860 his Holiness excommunicated Victor Emmanuel,
king of Italy&mdash;sentences which implied spiritual condemnation,
and deprivation of earthly power. The subjects
of an excommunicated king were freed from allegiance to
their sovereign. It is supposed the Pope's power extends
so far that he may pronounce excommunication against
the dead, even to the debarring of deceased persons from
being cleansed from their sins in purgatory, and the consigning
of them to the place of eternal punishment.</p>

<p>Terror and amazement followed the footsteps of the
inquisitionists. They proceeded with the greatest secrecy
and silence. When a heretic was seized, the world abandoned
him; his nearest friends durst not say a word in
his defence. The heretical criminals were generally arrested
in the stillness of night, examined, tortured, and,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_458" id="Page_458">[Pg 458]</a></span>
unless they recanted, condemned and executed without
seeing or knowing who were their accusers. Usually
the accused persons were tortured until they condemned
themselves; and although witnesses were sometimes examined,
the form of procedure was a mockery of justice.</p>

<p>As a convincing proof of how dreadful the Romish
Church's anathemas are, we give the Pope's fearful curse,
taken from a form of excommunication copied from the
"Leger Book" of the church of Rochester, long in the
custody of the dean and chapter there:&mdash;</p>

<div class="blockquot"><p>"By the authority of God Almighty, the Father, Son, and Holy
Ghost, and of the holy canons, and of the undefiled Virgin Mary, the
mother and patroness of our Saviour, and of all the celestial virtues,
angels, archangels, thrones, dominions, powers, cherubims and seraphims,
and of the holy patriarchs, prophets, and of all the apostles and evangelists,
and of the holy innocents who in the sight of the Holy Lamb
are found worthy to sing the new song, of the holy martyrs and holy
confessors, and of the holy virgins, and of all the saints, and together
with all the holy and elect of God: we excommunicate and anathematise
him or them, malefactor or malefactors, and from the threshold of the
holy church of God Almighty we sequester them, that he or they may be
tormented, disposed and delivered over with Dathan and Abiram, with
those who say to the Lord God, Depart from us, we desire not Thy ways.
And as fire is quenched with water, so let the light of him or them be
put out for evermore, unless it shall repent him or them, and they make
satisfaction. Amen. May the Father who created man, curse him or
them. May the Son, who suffered for us, curse him or them. May the
Holy Ghost, who was given to us in baptism, curse him or them. May
the holy cross of Christ, for our salvation triumphing over his enemies,
ascend and curse him or them. May the eternal and holy Virgin Mary,
mother of God, curse him or them. May St. Michael, the advocate
of holy souls, curse him or them. May all the angels and archangels,
principalities and powers, and all the heavenly host, curse him or them.
May the laudable number of patriarchs and prophets curse him or them.
May St. John, the chief forerunner and baptist of Christ, curse him or
them. May St. Peter and St. Paul, and St. Andrew, and all other
Christ's apostles, together with the rest of his disciples and evangelists,
who by their preaching converted the universal world, curse him or them.
May the holy and wonderful company of martyrs and confessors, who by
their holy works are found pleasing to God Almighty, curse him or them.
May the holy choir of the holy virgins, who for the honour of Christ<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_459" id="Page_459">[Pg 459]</a></span>
have despised the things of this world, curse him or them. May all the
saints, who from the beginning of the world to everlasting ages are
found to be the beloved of God, curse him or them. May the heavens
and the earth, and all the holy things remaining thereon, curse him or
them. May he or they be cursed wherever he or they be, whether in
their house, or in their field, or in the highway, or in the path, or in
the wood, or in the water, or in the church. May he or they be cursed
in living, in dying, in eating, in drinking, in being hungry, in being
thirsty, in fasting, in sleeping, in slumbering, in waking, in walking,
in standing, in sitting, in lying, in working, in resting, in *&nbsp;*&nbsp;*&nbsp;* in
*&nbsp;*&nbsp;*&nbsp;* and in blood-letting. May he or they be cursed in all the
faculties of their body. May he or they be cursed inwardly and outwardly.
May he or they be cursed in the hair of his or their head.
May he or they be cursed in his or their brain. May he or they be
cursed in the top of his or their head, in their temples, in their foreheads,
in their ears, in their eyebrows, in their cheeks, in their jaw-bones,
in their nostrils, in their teeth or grinders, in their lips, in their throat,
in their shoulders, in their wrists, in their arms, in their hands, in their
fingers, in their breast, in their heart, and in the interior parts to the
very stomach, in their veins, in their groin, in their thighs, in their
genitals, in the hips, in the knees, in the legs, in the feet, in the joints,
and in the nails. May he or they be cursed in all their joints, from the
top of the head to the sole of the foot. May there not be any soundness
in him or them. May the Son of the Living God, with all the glory of
His Majesty, curse him or them; and may heaven, with all the powers
which move therein, rise against him or them, to damn him or them,
unless he or they shall repent, or that he or they shall make satisfaction.
Amen, Amen. So be it."</p></div>

<p>The superstition connected with excommunication was
not confined to the churches and nations already mentioned.
It extended to the Reformed Churches, and
indeed this form of superstition lingers among them
still. A most enthusiastic Reformer (the Rev. Donald
Cargill), eminent in his day for piety and learning, who
suffered martyrdom in 1681, scrupled not, a year before
his death, to excommunicate at Torwood, Stirlingshire,
several of the most notable and violent persecutors of the
time&mdash;the King, the Dukes of York, Monmouth, Lauderdale,
and Rothes, Sir George Mackenzie, and Sir Thomas
Dalzell. If Mr. Cargill did not curse others whom he<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_460" id="Page_460">[Pg 460]</a></span>
thought had done him and the cause of truth wrong, he
predicted that evil would befall them; and what he foretold
came to pass. He told James Irvine of Bonshaw,
who apprehended him shortly before his execution, that
his persecutor would not long escape a just judgment, not
far from the place the arrest was made. This prediction
was verified; for soon after Irvine had received 5000
merks as a reward for apprehending Mr. Cargill, he was
killed in a duel near Lanark. One John Nesbet mockingly
said one day to Mr. Cargill, "Will you not give us
a word?" The reverend divine looked on the man with
concern, while he said, "Wicked, poor man, mock not;
ere you die you shall desire one word, but shall not have
it." Soon after, this man was struck dumb, and died in
great terror. When Rothes, one of those whom Mr.
Cargill excommunicated, threatened him with torture
and a violent death, he said, "Forbear to threaten me;
for, die what death I may, your eyes shall not see it."
This prophecy also came to pass. Rothes died, as is well
known, a few hours before the condemned divine and his
fellow-martyrs suffered the last penalty of man's law&mdash;death
temporal.</p>

<p>One can easily imagine the terror into which a weak-minded
person would be cast by having the Pope's
dire curses pronounced against him, were it not known
that he who is authorised to fulminate the ecclesiastical
censure and bans, may, for a moderate pecuniary consideration,
or by a mortification of the flesh, or good works,
have the woes pronounced against him mitigated, if not
entirely removed. Indulgences have been purchasable
since the early centuries for this world, and for the remission
of suffering in purgatory as well. Those most
acquainted with the holy places in Rome are best able
to make known the facilities with which indulgences
are obtained. There is scarcely a church or a station,
a convent or a holy place, neither is there hardly a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_461" id="Page_461">[Pg 461]</a></span>
service or a ceremony, which has not its own peculiar
indulgences. Indulgences for hundreds of years may be
secured by the exercises of a single day. The holy stairs,
wherever they are situated, said to have belonged to the
palace of Pontius Pilate, consisting of twenty-eight steps,
possess peculiar virtue. Leo IV. conceded nine years'
indulgence for each step ascended by a devotee on his
bare knees. Thus, he who reaches the highest step
secures an indulgence of two hundred and fifty-two years,
whether he remains here, or finds himself in purgatory.
Whoever kisses a cross at one end of the Colosseum of
Rome, acquires an indulgence of one year and forty days;
and there is a wooden cross in the centre of the arena,
which secures an indulgence of two hundred days to every
one who kisses it.</p>

<p>Leo XII. conceded for ever an indulgence of forty years
and one thousand six hundred days, applicable also to
the dead, for every time a faithful believer visits, during
Lent, the churches where there are prescribed stations.
He also conceded a plenary indulgence to all who have
made such visits three times in three distinct days. For
the information of all good Catholics, a carefully prepared
index has been drawn up, showing the churches and
stations which should be visited, together with the most
effectual times of repairing thither. In conclusion, we
give the following examples, to illustrate the system of
procuring indulgences by pilgrimage to sacred places:&mdash;</p>

<div class="blockquot"><p>Thus a visit "on January 1 to a station at S. Marie, in Transtevere,
secures an indulgence of 30 years and 1200 days."</p>

<p>"On Ash Wednesday, to S. Tabina, an indulgence of 15 years and
600 days.</p>

<p>"On the following Thursday, to S. Georgio, in Velabro, an indulgence
of 10 years and 400 days.</p>

<p>"On the fourth Sunday in Lent, to S. Croce, an indulgence of 15
years and 600 days.</p>

<p>"On Palm Sunday, to S. Giovanni, in the Laterno, an indulgence of
25 years and 1000 days.</p>

<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_462" id="Page_462">[Pg 462]</a></span>"On holy Thursday, to S. Giovanni, a plenary indulgence.</p>

<p>"On holy Friday, to S. Croce, an indulgence of 30 years and 1200
days.</p>

<p>"On Easter Sunday, to S. Marie Maggiore, a plenary indulgence.</p>

<p>"On Easter Monday, to S. Pietro, in Vaticano, an indulgence of 30
years and 1200 days.</p>

<p>"On Thursday, Ascension-day, to S. Pietro, a plenary indulgence.</p>

<p>"On Wednesday, to Pietro Vaticano, an indulgence of 30 years and
1200 days."</p></div>



<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<h2><a name="CHAPTER_LIII" id="CHAPTER_LIII"></a>CHAPTER LIII.</h2>

<div class="blockquot"><p>St. Adelbert's Curse a Charm against Thieves&mdash;Complexion of Blackamoors
attributed to a Curse of Noah&mdash;False Accusation, and its
Results&mdash;Preservation of Children&mdash;A Joyful Mother&mdash;Ancestors of
the Whelphs and Guelphs of Germany&mdash;An Interesting Legend&mdash;A
Curse turned into a Blessing&mdash;A Gipsy's Curse&mdash;A Cruel Father and
Husband&mdash;Morrar-na-Shean's Despair&mdash;Bitter Grief&mdash;Restoration of
Three Daughters&mdash;A Grateful Father&mdash;Ancestors of the Sinclairs of
Caithness, and of the noble family of Keith&mdash;The Curse of Moy&mdash;A
Cruel Chieftain of Clan Chattan&mdash;A Lady's Dilemma&mdash;A Father yielding
up his Life&mdash;Swearing by the Hand of a Bride&mdash;Grant of Glenmorriston
waiting his Doom&mdash;Death of a Father and Lover&mdash;An
Imprisoned Maiden&mdash;Maledictions and Prediction&mdash;Lady leaping
from a Lofty Tower into a Lake beneath&mdash;The Monroes of Foulis&mdash;Foraying
Expedition&mdash;An Unreasonable Request&mdash;End of a Relentless
Tyrant&mdash;Prediction fulfilled.</p></div>


<p>St. Adelbert's curse was a charm against thieves. It
was full of cursing against dishonest persons, and prayers
that they might have their share with Dathan and
Abiram, whom the earth swallowed up, and have their
part with Judas. Thieves were to be cursed in their
houses, fields, and everywhere; they were to be denied
Christian burial; yea, the very ground in which they
rested was to be cursed. Their bodies, in all their separate
parts, and their children, were damned; and as Lucifer
was expelled out of heaven, and Adam and Eve driven
from Paradise, so they were sought to be expelled from<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_463" id="Page_463">[Pg 463]</a></span>
the light of day. The terrible curse was pronounced with
bell, book, and candle; and concluded with this fearful
denunciation: "And as the candle, which is thrown out
of my hand here, is put out, so let their works and their
souls be quenched in the stench of hell-fire, except they
restore that which they have stolen; and let every one
say, Amen."</p>

<p>Perhaps few are aware that the dark complexion of the
blackamoors is attributed to a curse of Noah; but as
that statement has been disputed, we shall pass it without
further notice.</p>

<p>Irmentrude, a German countess, accused a noble lady
of adultery because she had three children at one birth,
saying that she deserved to be tied up in a sack and
thrown into the sea. Next year the countess herself was
delivered of more sons at a birth than the lady had
brought forth. Touched with remorse for the hard saying
she had uttered against her neighbour, she concluded
it was a just punishment inflicted; but being anxious to
conceal the most extraordinary result, she sent a maid
to drown all the children except one&mdash;a son&mdash;to heir his
father's estate. Fate so determined that her husband, the
earl, met the young woman as she was going to consign
the young inoffensive infants to a watery grave. On
asking what was in her lap, she answered that she was
going to drown some whelps. The earl being a great
hunter, and consequently fond of dogs, demanded to see
the whelps, that he might judge whether they should be
destroyed. To his astonishment, he found children in
place of young dogs, all living, well-proportioned, and
beautiful, but small. From the maid he learned the
whole truth; whereupon he enjoined her to silence, and
caused the infants to be carried to one of his tenants to
be brought up. When they became of age, they were
sent for to his house, after being dressed like their brother,
who had been cared for by the mother. As soon as the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_464" id="Page_464">[Pg 464]</a></span>
countess cast her eyes on her offspring she knew them,
and wept in a state between shame and joy. From those
children descended the family of the Whelphs or Guelphs,
long renowned in Germany.</p>

<p>An interesting legend is current in the north of Scotland,
of a curse being turned into a blessing. It is said
that Lochmore Castle, in the parish of Halkirk and county
of Caithness, was built and inhabited by a person called
Morrar-na-Shean, which signifies, Lord of the Game or
Venison, because he was a great sportsman. He was very
anxious to have a son to inherit his estates, but his hopes
in this respect were blasted by the curse of a wandering
gipsy. It appears that the gipsy was one day near Lochmore
Castle, with a pretty little dark-haired swarthy-complexioned
boy, her son, when she encountered Morrar-na-Shean
in a towering passion&mdash;a state of mind in which he
was often to be found. He ordered her and her "beggar
bastard brat" to be off, or he would shoot them. The
woman, instead of running away with her child or imploring
mercy, knelt down and cursed him, and praying at
the same time that he might never have an heir to carry
down his name to posterity. However far the fortunes of
Morrar-na-Shean's family were affected by the gipsy's
curses and prayers, it is impossible to say; but this much
is true, he never had a son. His lady had a daughter, at
which he was greatly disappointed; she had a second
daughter, at which he exhibited marked signs of displeasure;
and in course of time a third daughter was born
to the churlish parent. Disappointed and enraged at not
having a son, he abused the mother and daughters to such
an extent that the unhappy lady, for the sake of peace, and
to save the lives of her children, sent them away privately,
to be brought up by friends. They grew up beautiful and
accomplished young ladies, while at the time their cruel
father thought they were dead. Morrar-na-Shean, after
the lapse of years, despaired of having any children to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_465" id="Page_465">[Pg 465]</a></span>
survive him, and therefore gave himself up to grief. In
bitterness of soul, he wished that he had now even one of
the little girls he spurned as if she were not his own flesh
and blood. His lady, finding his mind so much changed,
embraced a favourable opportunity of presenting him with
his three daughters. Immediately, on seeing them, he
was overcome by tender affection, evoked by the charms of
three blooming girls he was privileged to call daughters.
He lived to be grateful that fortune had so willed it that
his estates would not be in the possession of one child, but
would be claimed by three children whom he dearly loved.
The daughters were soon disposed of in marriage&mdash;the
eldest to a gentleman named Sinclair, an ancestor of the
well and favourably known Caithness-shire family of that
name; the second to a gentleman named Keith, whose
descendants have long borne an honourable name in Scotland;
and the third, to a nobleman, the scions of whose
house have carved out for themselves niches in the temple
of fame.</p>

<p>"The curse of Moy" was a fearfully realised one. On
the larger of two small islands at Loch Moy (a beautiful
lake, twelve miles from Inverness), may be seen the ruins
of an ancient castle. Centuries ago a noble edifice stood
where those decayed buildings are, occupied by a cruel
chieftain of Clan Chattan. He and his followers had an
encounter with another Highland chieftain and his retainers
from Glenmorriston, when the latter chief, his
fair daughter Margaret, and her lover Allan, the young
heir of Alvie, were taken prisoners, and carried to Castle
Moy. While the captured chieftain and Allan were
immured in the dungeon, Margaret was conveyed to a
feast in the hall, thence she was transferred to an apartment
in the tower, where the chief of Clan Chattan (who,
it should be remarked, was a rejected suitor of Margaret)
tried to induce her to become his bride. To all his
entreaties she turned a deaf ear, preferring to remain true<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_466" id="Page_466">[Pg 466]</a></span>
to her youthful Allan. She pleaded earnestly for her
father and lover's lives, and, after many entreaties and
tears, succeeded so far as to obtain a promise that only
one of them would die. She was permitted to make
choice of the one she wished liberated, but was warned
that by so doing she sealed the doom of the other
captive.</p>

<p>As might be expected, the lady sank fainting on the
floor, where she lay, more like one dead than alive, until
rude attendants, desirous to please their lord, raised her up
and hurried her into the presence of her father and lover,
for whose sakes she would have willingly laid down her
life if it could have saved theirs. With sobbing and tears,
she made known the resolution of the hard-hearted revengeful
monster, into whose power destiny had placed
them. While the broken-hearted Margaret's eyes were
now fixed on her lover's manly figure, and then on the
bowed form of her aged father, and before she could really
understand the full extent of responsibility that rested on
her, she was embraced by her father, who took her hand
and that of Allan, and joined them together, beseeching
them to live and remember him when he was no more.
He then made Allan swear by the hand of his bride that
he would avenge his death, and so leave no stain on their
honour or names. Girding himself up like a man of
courage, he sent this message to the tyrant chief: "The
Grant of Glenmorriston waits his doom."</p>

<p>Enraged at the turn of events, the chieftain, in violation
of his promise to the maiden, determined that Allan
should not survive to stand between him and the union
of Margaret. Sad forebodings filled her mind during the
succeeding night. Silent and alone she sat until break of
day, when she was aroused by the shrill pibroch, heavy
footsteps, and the clank of arms. A silent prayer went
up for the soul of her parent, who, she rightly judged,
was suffering the last pangs of death. How it was she<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_467" id="Page_467">[Pg 467]</a></span>
could not tell, but something whispered to her that Allan
too was passing into the land of spirits.</p>

<p>She had not long to wait, though the time seemed to
her like an age, before the chieftain of Moy appeared
before her, and commanded her to come forth to see the
youth of her choice. More dead than alive, she staggered
into the open air, to behold the lifeless forms of both her
father and Allan. In derision, the monster asked what
she thought now of her beardless boy, and said, "That is
the way I tame haughty maids." Again she was conveyed
to her lonely room in the castle tower to spend the
night in solitude, and again the daylight broke in through
the small window of her strongly-guarded prison. She
heeded not the sun, nor the singing of birds as they
warbled their matin songs&mdash;no, sorrow lay too heavy near
her heart. None can ever tell the grief she endured in
the dark watches of the lonely night, or when relief came;
but come it did. Nature took its own way of causing
the unhappy lady to forget her sadness of heart&mdash;reason
left its seat, and the orphaned Margaret, instead of grieving
over the past, was found singing as sweetly as if she were a
bride in a peaceful bower. Now and again the shrill clear
voice in song ceased, and then she talked (so the attendants
said) to the unseen spirits of those dear to her, whose
bodies were still suspended over the castle gate.</p>

<p>The fierce chieftain approached her again with overtures
of love, offering her his hand, titles, and estates. To
avoid his unholy embrace, she, without waiting to deign
a reply, sprang past him with an agility which appeared
superhuman, and rushed to the ramparts, that were skirted
by the blue waters beneath; then, turning round to the
chief of Clan Chattan, she uttered dreadful maledictions
against him, ending with the prediction that he would
die a bloody death, leaving neither wife nor child behind.
Having said this, she leaped from the giddy height into
the lake below, in whose waves she preferred to take<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_468" id="Page_468">[Pg 468]</a></span>
refuge rather than yield to the tyrant's solicitations. As
far as can be ascertained, the wicked Macintosh repented
not of his deeds, but continued to conduct himself in a
tyrannical manner to all weaker than himself. At last a
day of reckoning came&mdash;the day when Lady Margaret's
curse was to alight upon the head of the murderer of her
father and lover. In the summer of 1378, a short time
after these deeds of darkness happened, the Monroes of
Foulis were returning from a foraying expedition, and
asked permission from the chief of Clan Chattan to pass
through his country for half the booty they had with them.
Macintosh demanded the whole spoil; but, his unreasonable
request being refused, a sanguinary conflict ensued,
in which the Clan Chattan chief was slain. The victorious
Monroes then hastened to the castle of Moy, and put the
whole of the inmates to the sword. Thus perished a
relentless tyrant, leaving no fond wife to mourn his fate,
nor any offspring to carry his name down to posterity.
Thereby was fulfilled the prediction of Lady Margaret,
whose bones still rest at the bottom of Loch Moy.</p>



<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_469" id="Page_469">[Pg 469]</a></span></p>
<h2><a name="DREAMS_AND_VISIONS_OF_THE_NIGHT" id="DREAMS_AND_VISIONS_OF_THE_NIGHT"></a>DREAMS AND VISIONS OF THE NIGHT.</h2>

<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<h2><a name="CHAPTER_LIV" id="CHAPTER_LIV"></a>CHAPTER LIV.</h2>

<div class="blockquot"><p>The Gift or Art of interpreting Dreams&mdash;Official Interpreters of Dreams&mdash;Sleep,
how portrayed&mdash;Goddess of Dreams&mdash;Greeks soliciting the
Inspiration of Dreams&mdash;Xenophon on Sleep&mdash;Prophetic Power of the
Dying&mdash;&AElig;sculapius's Discoveries in Dreams&mdash;Code of Menu&mdash;The
Soma-drink&mdash;Josephus as a Seer&mdash;Dreadful Proposal by Josephus&mdash;His
Fortunate Escape&mdash;An Eastern Conjurer&mdash;Reading a Sealed
Letter&mdash;A Sultan warned of his Death in a Dream&mdash;Alexander's Death
foretold in a Dream&mdash;Records of Dreams in Westminster Abbey&mdash;Lord
Falkland's Dream&mdash;Rev. John Brown's Opinions&mdash;Early
Christian Faith in Visions and Dreams&mdash;Death of a Friend foretold&mdash;The
Devil's Sonata&mdash;Marriage of Queen Mary&mdash;Fatality of the Stuart
Family&mdash;Death of Henry IV. of France.</p></div>


<p>The gift or art of interpreting dreams originated, at least
so it is said, among the Chaldeans and Egyptians. From
them it spread to other nations; and in course of time
official or public interpreters of dreams were appointed.
The sacred pages supply instances of good and bad men
having glimpses of futurity through dreams; and profane
history makes us acquainted with innumerable cases of
curious revelations being made to men while they slept.</p>

<p>Among the ancients sleep was portrayed as a female
with black unfolded wings, having in her left hand a
white child, the image of sleep, and in her right hand a
black child, the image of death. An author has described
sleep as the "rest of the spirits, dreaming their tremulous
motion;" another writer speaks of sleep as "the
reality of another existence;" while a third says, "all
men, whilst awake, are in one common world, but that
each, when asleep, is in a world of his own." It is of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_470" id="Page_470">[Pg 470]</a></span>
dreams, however, we are writing, and therefore cannot
enter into the deep philosophy of sleep.</p>

<p>The Romans worshipped Brizo, the goddess of dreams,
and the Greeks were accustomed, in cases of great emergency,
to solicit the inspiration of dreams, by performing
religious rites, and lying on the reeking skins of oxen or
goats offered in sacrifice. Pliny and others attached great
importance to dreams. Xenophon remarks that in sleep
the souls of men appear to be more unfettered and divine
than when the eyes are not closed in slumber, and are
enabled to look into futurity. Another writer observes
that in sleep the soul holds converse with the Deity, and
perceives future events. Socrates, Cicero, and Arian express
belief in the prophetic powers occasionally manifested
by the dying. Posidonius relates the story of a
dying Rhodian predicting which out of six persons would
die first, second, etc.; and the prophecy was verified.
Hippocrates and Galen put faith in the prophetic character
of dreams. Origen tells us that &AElig;sculapius discovered
means of cure through dreams, probably brought
about by artificial means.</p>

<p>In the code of Menu there are passages showing various
modes of producing the ecstatic states, such as through
the influence of the sun and moon, by sacrifice, music,
liquids, and solid ingredients. The Soma-drink was taken
as a sacrament. In connection with human sacrifices, this
beverage was sometimes prepared with magical ceremonies
and incantations. It was supposed to be capable of producing
visions in sleep, when revelations were made of
what was passing in the inferior and superior worlds.</p>

<p>Josephus, like many other eminent men, possessed the
faculty of predicting future events. Josephus, having
fought with great courage against the Romans, refused to
surrender to them until after the capture of Jatapat, when
he began to reflect on the dreams he had had. In these,
both the misfortunes of the Jews and the triumph of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_471" id="Page_471">[Pg 471]</a></span>
Romans were revealed. When the determination of
Josephus to yield became known, his companions in misfortune
declared they would rather die than surrender. So
exasperated were they, that they proposed to immolate him,
and then destroy themselves. Their swords were drawn
to kill their leader, when he suggested that they should
terminate their lives by a reciprocal death&mdash;that the lot
should determine successively who should give and who
should receive death, until all were slain, and thus avoid
the reproach of having laid violent hands on themselves.
This suggestion was agreed to. The lots were drawn, and
all perished except Josephus and one of his companions.
Josephus predicted the good fortune of Vespasian and
Titus, and the short life of their predecessors.</p>

<p>In an Eastern tale we are informed of a conjurer who
had the reputation of possessing the faculty of reading the
contents of sealed letters. Being called into the presence
of his prince, he was asked whether he would undertake
to inform him of the contents of a despatch he had received
by a courier. "Yes," replied the conjuror, "to-morrow
morning." The despatch remained sealed in the prince's
possession until the following morning, when the conjuror
gave the correct contents of the despatch. In explanation,
the cunning man said, on going to bed, he excited
in himself a strong desire to read the letter, that he then
fell asleep, and in a dream he became acquainted with
the whole document.</p>

<p>We are told of an old Sultan who was warned of his
death in a dream. He thought he saw the great prophet
Mohammed snatching the Alcoran out of his hand and
taking his coat-of-arms from him by force, and striking
him down with so great violence that he could not rise. The
astrologers also foretold him that he would never see the
feast of Ramazan, because the star that presided at his
birth was much obscured in its conjunction with the planet
that was then predominant. They affirmed that he would<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_472" id="Page_472">[Pg 472]</a></span>
die soon. His dream, and the astrologers' predictions,
were not long of being verified. The Sultan's death was
accompanied with great ignominy.</p>

<p>From Aristotle we learn that the death of Alexander
was foretold in a dream; and so was that of C&aelig;sar. In
Westminster Abbey are singular records of the dreams of
Edward the Confessor, and of instances of faith in visions.</p>

<p>Lord Falkland's dream, the night before the battle of
Newbury, in which he was slain, in the year 1643, has
often been referred to by persons who believe in dreams.
James Montgomery, the poet, has in touching lines assisted
to keep the dream from being forgotten.</p>

<p>In more modern times, good men, whom we might
suppose to be free from the trammels of superstition, have
to some extent directed their course in life according to
the interpretation of their dreams. The Rev. John Brown,
author of the <i>Dictionary of the Holy Bible</i>, writing of
dreams, says: "It is like they often begin from some outward
sensation of the body, in which spirits, good and
bad, have no inconsiderable influence."</p>

<p>In visions and dreams the persecution of the early
Christians was made known to many believers. Other
important events were also predicted, and preceded by
strange phenomena. But for dreams, not a few celebrated
men who played important parts in national affairs would
have been entrapped, and turned aside from their purposes.</p>

<p>A gentleman holding a good position in society was
awakened by his wife one night, who told him she had
had a most unpleasant dream. She thought that a friend,
who was in the East India Company's service, had been
killed in a duel. She described the place where the
duel was fought, and where the dead body lay. Her
husband endeavoured to quiet her fears, and characterised
the dream as an absurdity, produced by a disturbed
imagination. A few months after, the melancholy news
reached this country that the Indian friend had fought a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_473" id="Page_473">[Pg 473]</a></span>
duel, been killed on the spot, and his body carried to a
shed such as the lady had seen in her dream.</p>

<p>Fastini, a celebrated musician, dreamed one night that
he had made a compact with the devil, who promised to
be at his service on all occasions. He imagined that he
presented the devil with his violin, in order to discover
what kind of a musician he was. To Fastini's great
astonishment, Satan, as he thought, played a solo of
singular beauty, which he executed with such superior
taste and precision, that it surpassed all the music he had
ever heard or conceived. Fastini awoke greatly excited,
and, taking his violin, composed a piece that excelled all
his other works. He called it the "Devil's Sonata."</p>

<p>Before the marriage of the young Queen of Scotland
with the Dauphin of France, many had strange dreams
and visions. Prodigious signs were also observed in her
native country. A comet shone for three months; rivers
dried up in winter, and in summer swelled so high that
cattle were carried away, and villages suddenly destroyed.
Whales of enormous size were cast ashore in the Firth of
Forth; hailstones as large as pigeons' eggs fell in various
parts, destroying the crops; and, still more strange and
alarming, a fiery dragon was seen flying low over the
earth, vomiting forth fire, which endangered houses and
farmyards.</p>

<p>The dire fatality that attended the Royal Stuarts did
not surprise those who attended to warnings through
dreams, signs, and omens. Few royal families were more
unhappy than the Stuarts. James I., after having been
eighteen years a prisoner in England, was, together with
his queen, assassinated by his subjects; James II. was, in
the twenty-ninth year of his age, killed while fighting
against England; James III. was imprisoned by his subjects,
and afterwards killed in battle by rebels; James IV.
perished in a battle which was lost; Mary Stuart was
driven from her throne, became a fugitive in Scotland,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_474" id="Page_474">[Pg 474]</a></span>
and, after languishing for years in prison, was condemned
by English judges and beheaded; James VI. of Scotland
and I. of England, her son, died at his palace at Theobalds,
not without strong suspicion of being poisoned; Charles I.
was betrayed by his own subjects, and, in terms of a
sentence by English judges, lost his life on the scaffold;
James VII. of Scotland and II. of England was driven
from his kingdoms, and, to fill the cup of bitterness to the
brim, the birth of his son, as legitimate heir, was disputed.
The misfortunes of Prince Charles are too well known to
require us to do anything more than refer to them. In
his attempt to regain the throne of his ancestors, he was
driven to such a strait that he was compelled, after many
of his supporters had been put to death, to escape for his
life under the guidance of a woman&mdash;Flora Macdonald,
renowned in history.</p>

<p>A few days before the death of Henry IV. of France,
his queen had two strange dreams. She thought all the
jewels in her crown were changed into pearls&mdash;a dream
that much disturbed her, as pearls were understood to
signify tears. On the following night she had another
dream which caused her greater uneasiness&mdash;that the king
was stabbed in one of his sides. The king, as well as the
queen, had presentiments that a sad calamity was about
to happen them. On the day before his Majesty was
killed he was very uneasy, and said something sat heavy
on his heart. Before entering the coach in which he was
assassinated, he took a tender farewell of the queen, kissing
her thrice, and pressing her close to his breast. For
a time he hesitated whether he would go out or not; but
all at once he resumed his wonted courage, forbade the
guards to follow him out of the Louvre, and drove away
in an open carriage. The fates were against his Majesty:
the fiat had gone forth, and that day the hand of a regicide
plunged a knife into the sovereign's body, exactly as the
queen had seen in her midnight vision.</p>



<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_475" id="Page_475">[Pg 475]</a></span></p>
<h2><a name="CHAPTER_LV" id="CHAPTER_LV"></a>CHAPTER LV.</h2>

<div class="blockquot"><p>Dreaming Dictionaries&mdash;Dreaming of an Anchor&mdash;Sick Persons' Dreams&mdash;Coloured
and Rich Raiment&mdash;Dreaming of Fruit&mdash;Funerals, Hearses,
Graves&mdash;Dreams sometimes to be read contrariwise&mdash;Seeing Candles
in the Visions of Night, what they foretell&mdash;Darkness and Gloom&mdash;Jewellery,
Gold, and Silver&mdash;Losing and finding Property&mdash;Dreaming
of Fowls and Eggs&mdash;Flying&mdash;Bagpipes, Dancing, and Banquets&mdash;Dogs,
Cocks, Cattle, Horses, and Sheep&mdash;Cakes, Corn, Milk, and
Cream&mdash;Dreams of Carrying and of being Carried&mdash;Being hurt by
Cats or by any description of Vermin&mdash;Angels, Spirits, and Children&mdash;Clergymen
and Churches&mdash;A Broken Watch or Clock&mdash;Clouds&mdash;Falling
from a High Place&mdash;Flowers and Fruit&mdash;Sailors' Dreams&mdash;Running
Streams and Still Water&mdash;Swimming&mdash;Ploughed Ground and Green
Fields&mdash;Presents&mdash;Glass&mdash;Dreaming of Hair&mdash;Fire, Cold, a Tooth,
Kisses, and Knives&mdash;Leaping, Climbing a Hill, and Writing&mdash;Clean
and Dirty Linen&mdash;The Sun, Moon, and Stars, Rainbow, Snow,
Thunder, and Lightning.</p></div>


<p>If dreaming dictionaries can be relied on, people may
discover by their thoughts in sleep when they are to be
prosperous or unlucky; when they are to have joy or
sorrow; when they are to be successful in love and war;
and when they may expect friends to guard them against
enemies. To dream of an anchor is good; it gives hope
of good fortune. If a sick person dream of white clothing,
he may look for protracted indisposition, if not death;
but black apparel denotes speedy recovery. It is not good
to dream of raiment of many colours. To dream of being
richly arrayed is good, but to see tattered clothing in the
visions of the night forebodes evil. It is good to dream
of good ripe fruit, but sour fruit signifies encounters with
bitter enemies. Sweet apples indicate faithfulness in a
sweetheart, whereas unripe cherries foretell vexation and
disappointment to lovers. Good figs are signs of prosperity.
Gooseberries indicate to husband or wife many
children. Grapes foretell to the spinster a cheerful<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_476" id="Page_476">[Pg 476]</a></span>
husband, and much happiness in all her life. Dreaming
of melons, mulberries, or nuts, gives promise of riches,
success in love, and harmony. It is also good to dream
of peaches, pears, raspberries, and strawberries; but if
oranges, plums, tamarinds, or walnuts are seen in the
visions of night, losses and crosses may be looked for.</p>

<p>To dream of a funeral denotes marriage, good fortune,
and happiness. If a maiden see a hearse in her sleep, she
may expect a rich husband. If a grave appear to one in
his dreams, sickness and disappointment may be expected,
unless the dreamer imagines he is rising out of it. In that
case, success may be looked for. On the other hand, to
dream of being married is anything but favourable. Such
a dream is indicative of approaching disappointments,
loss of property, and death. The force of this seeming
contradiction is to be explained by the acknowledged fact
that dreams are in many instances to be read contrariwise.
To dream of being burned is a sure sign of coming
danger. To see a candle extinguished foretells sickness;
but the appearance of a bright burning one betokens rejoicing.
To the unmarried, burning candles show speedy
marriage. Dreams of darkness foreshadow loss of property
and friends; but if the dreamer in his sleep emerge from
the gloom into light, he may expect that he will rise above
his difficulties, and become richer and happier. To dream
that a friend is dead betokens hasty news, but not of an
unpleasant nature. It is fortunate to dream of jewellery.
If a young lady see herself decked with chains of gold and
precious stones, she may be certain a suitable husband will
soon be hers. Precious stones give promise of many children
to the married. If pure gold be dreamed of, success
in business may be expected; but it is unlucky to dream
of silver. To dream of the latter metal denotes attacks
by bitter enemies and false friends. Small silver coins
indicate poverty, and large ones give warning of early
misery. It is more lucky to dream of receiving than of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_477" id="Page_477">[Pg 477]</a></span>
giving away money. If one dream of losing money, he
will undoubtedly meet with disappointment before he goes
much further in his journey of life. To dream of losing
a purse has the same meaning attached to it as the loss
of money has; and the finding of a purse may be read as
the picking up of cash. To dream of having a ring on
one's finger is good; but to dream of losing a ring is
unfavourable. If a married woman lose her marriage
ring, or dream that she has lost it, she may expect her
husband will die soon. If a betrothed maiden lose or
dream of losing her engagement ring, she may look for
her lover deserting her and marrying another.</p>

<p>Dreams of hens and chickens are warnings of coming
dangers. If one see in his or her dream an eagle soaring
high, prosperity and honour are near. To lovers this
bird is one of good omen, foretelling rich and good mates.
To dream of geese is also favourable; but the person who
sees in a vision an owl, had better prepare for sickness
and poverty, and look for attacks from enemies. A young
man who dreams of a peacock may be sure of getting a
beautiful wife; and a maid who fancies in her sleep that
this beautiful bird is coming towards her, may be certain
that the fates are to provide her with a rich good-looking
husband. To dream of swans denotes success to the
business man, lovers to the unmarried, and peace and
plenty to the married. If swallows are dreamt of, good
news may be expected from afar, and prosperity looked
for. To dream of selling eggs for gold is good, but
to dream of selling them for silver betokens indifferent
success in business, love, and war. To dream of buying
eggs indicates the gathering of great riches. If a dreamer
supposes that he is flying, he should prepare himself for a
long journey. This dream indicates to lovers a happy
termination to all their wishes, and to the married it
denotes abundance and many children.</p>

<p>To dream of bagpipes signifies contention and trouble.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_478" id="Page_478">[Pg 478]</a></span>
To dream of dancing or of being at a ball or banquet,
foretells preferment, joyful news; and, in particular, such
a dream foretells prosperity in love.</p>

<p>Barking dogs, crowing cocks, bellowing bulls, are
unlucky to dream of; but it indicates coming prosperity
and happiness to dream of faithful dogs, horses, cows, and
fleecy sheep. But look out for loss of goods if you see
shorn sheep, and make up your mind to encounter danger
if you suppose in your sleep that you are falling off a horse.</p>

<p>Cakes signify joy and plenty, corn in great store, riches
and contentment, but grain in small quantities denotes
scarcity. Milk or cream thrown or spilt on one's garments
is favourable. To dream of selling milk denotes
crosses in love; to dream of drinking milk betokens joyful
news; and to dream of milking kine shows success in love
to the faithful milk-maids. If a maid dream that she is
engaged in a dairy, she may be certain that her lover will
turn out to be an industrious, prudent husband. But if
the farmer dream that he is assisting in the dairy, he may
look out for bad crops, and disease among his cattle. If
one dream he is being carried, he may expect to require
early help of some kind or other. If he dream of carrying
another, he may depend upon it, that before many days
pass he will be called upon to give the loan of money,
sign a bill, or give away property that will not be returned.
If one dream of being hurt by a cat, or by any description
of vermin, he has good reason to fear he will be overcome
by enemies; but if he suppose in sleep that he drove away
or killed the creature, he will triumph over his foes. If
a squirrel be seen in a dream, the dreamer may rest
satisfied some one is endeavouring to injure his reputation;
and to a lover it is a warning of a busy and dangerous
rival. To dream of angels speaking to you is of good
signification; and to think that you see them flying above
your head intimates joy. To dream of the devil or of
evil spirits, denotes danger from secret and open enemies.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_479" id="Page_479">[Pg 479]</a></span>
If a lover dream of one of these evil beings, it indicates
the existence of a powerful rival.</p>

<p>If a poor person dream of children, he or she may expect
to become rich. If a childless spouse see in a dream
children running round the fireside, there is reason to fear
the little prattlers will never be there in reality. It is
unlucky to dream that a girl has a beard, or that a boy is
grey-headed. It is unlucky to dream of a minister, but
it is not an evil sign for one to suppose he is worshipping
in church. If you dream that a watch or clock falls or is
broken, be sure danger is near.</p>

<p>Black clouds, seen in dreams, presage evil; white clouds
denote prosperity; clouds drifting high in air indicate
that the dreamer is going to travel, or that long absent
friends are to return. To dream of red clouds foretells
contention and strife. To dream of fighting or quarrelling
should put one on his guard against the deceitfulness of
his own heart and the hatred of enemies. If the dreamer
suppose himself injured in a quarrel, he will be unable to
escape humiliation and shame. To dream of falling from
a high place betokens loss of substance and reputation.
To dream of withered lilies, damaged violets, and crosses,
betokens evil. It is not good for sick people to dream of
withered roses; parsley foreshadows death to the sick.
It is lucky to dream you see yourself gathering flowers
fresh in colour and sweet in perfume. To dream of
walking in a flower garden portends elevation in fortune
and success in love; and to dream of being in an orchard
where there is abundance of sweet and ripe fruit, gives
true promise of riches.</p>

<p>If a sailor dream of seeing a dolphin, he will be sure to
lose his lady-love; but if he dream that he is drowning,
he may expect good luck to attend him. It indicates
success in love and business for one to dream of catching
fish. To dream of a rapid stream, is a certain warning of
coming opposition in every business and undertaking. If<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_480" id="Page_480">[Pg 480]</a></span>
one in sleep see a clear sheet of water, good fortune will
certainly follow. This dream promises good alike to lovers
and men of business. It indicates a smooth passage for
one to dream of a calm bright sea; but disappointments
and trouble are foreshadowed when a stormy ocean appears
to the sleeper. Floating with the head under
water foretells great affliction, but swimming buoyantly
in clean water shows that the dreamer will rise above
difficulties. If a person in business dream of drinking
water, loss of goods may be expected; and if a lover dream
of tasting water, whether from the sluggish river or from
the clear gushing stream, he or she may look for grief and
loss of friends.</p>

<p>To dream of ploughed ground forebodes death of a near
relative, and to dream of green fields betokens happiness
and prosperity. If a person dream of receiving a present,
you may be sure fortune is about to show her favours in
a peculiarly marked manner. To dream of glass is a sign
of danger and the inconstancy of friends. The lady who
dreams of combing her hair, has reason to believe her
lover will prove true. If one's hair appear long in the
dreams of the night, friends full of affection will cling
round the dreamer; but if the hair be short and seem to
be falling off, it is unlucky. If one dream of seeing a
house on fire, he may be sure of receiving hasty news.</p>

<p>When one dreams of being cold or naked, he is threatened
with sickness and poverty. It is good to dream of
seeing the portraits of friends. One who dreams of losing
a tooth, may look for death among his friends. It is good
to dream of giving or receiving kisses&mdash;it denotes friendship,
good health, and earthly prosperity. If one dream
of knives or any other description of sharp weapons, he
may look for strife. Difficulties await every one who
dreams of leaping over a fence or of climbing a hill. It
is lucky to dream of writing or receiving letters. Clean
linen seen in sleep foretells gladness of heart and faithfulness<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_481" id="Page_481">[Pg 481]</a></span>
of friends; but dirty linen denotes disappointment
and distress. None could wish a better dream than that
in which is seen the clear sun, the rising moon, or the
bright stars, for each and all of these denote riches, joy,
good news, and constant friends; but it is ominous to
dream of a clouded sun, a waning moon, or a pale star.</p>

<p>The rainbow denotes early news of a pleasant nature:
probably requiring the dreamer to travel. If an unmarried
man dream of snow, he may depend upon it that he will
before long lead a bride to the hymeneal altar; and to a
young woman it promises an honourable husband and
great riches. To the business man, snow seen in a dream
foretells success in his undertakings. It is good to dream
of thunder and lightning, in whatever state one is placed.
He who dreams of these may expect good news from afar,
and increase of goods.</p>



<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_482" id="Page_482">[Pg 482]</a></span></p>
<h2><a name="LAWS_AGAINST_AND_TRIALS_OF_WITCHES" id="LAWS_AGAINST_AND_TRIALS_OF_WITCHES"></a>LAWS AGAINST AND TRIALS OF WITCHES.</h2>

<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<h2><a name="CHAPTER_LVI" id="CHAPTER_LVI"></a>CHAPTER LVI.</h2>

<div class="blockquot"><p>Witchcraft treated with great Severity&mdash;Cutting out the Tongue&mdash;Laws
of &AElig;thelstane&mdash;Witchcraft in England&mdash;Royal Writers&mdash;Sir Edward
Cole's Opinion&mdash;Statute of Elizabeth against Sorcerers&mdash;Law of Mary
Queen of Scotland against Witches&mdash;Law against Witches abolished&mdash;Sir
George Mackenzie on Witchcraft&mdash;William Forbes on the same&mdash;Extracts
from Forbes's <i>Institute of the Law of Scotland</i>&mdash;Sir Matthew
Hale a Believer in Witchcraft&mdash;Trial of Rose Cullender and Ann
Duny&mdash;General Belief in the Existence of Witches&mdash;Punishment of
Witches, by whom first countenanced&mdash;Pope John's Bull&mdash;Bishop
Jewell&mdash;Lord Bacon and the Law against Witches&mdash;Fearful Slaughter
of supposed Witches&mdash;<i>Malleus Maleficarum</i>, or Hammer for Witches&mdash;The
last Persons executed in Scotland and England for Witchcraft&mdash;First
German Printers condemned to be burned as Sorcerers&mdash;Reginald
Scot on the Fables of Witchcraft&mdash;Mr. E. Chambers's Views
on Witchcraft.</p></div>


<p>Witchcraft&mdash;the nature and theory of which will appear
as we proceed&mdash;was treated with great severity in early
times. In 840 a law was enacted in Scotland, making the
punishment of witchcraft no less than the cutting out of
the tongue; and, by the laws of &AElig;thelstane in 928, witchcraft
in England was made a capital crime. Witches were
punished in the reign of Edward III.; and it suited the
sanguinary temperament of Henry VIII., as well as the
pedantry of other royal writers, to give written descriptions
of this crime. Edicts were promulgated against
prophets, sorcerers, feeders of evil spirits, charmers, and
provokers of unlawful love. Sir Edward Cole thought it
would have been "a great defect in government to have
suffered such devilish abominations to pass with impunity."</p>

<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_483" id="Page_483">[Pg 483]</a></span>By a statute of Elizabeth, passed in 1562, against
sorcerers, it was ordained that for a first offence the punishment
was to be restricted to standing in the pillory;
for second and subsequent offences, severer inflictions were
to follow. Barrington estimates that in the two hundred
years during which the greatest severity against supposed
witches prevailed in England, thirty thousand judicial
murders were committed, under the guise of legal punishments
for such imaginary crimes.</p>

<p>A year later (1563) it was considered advisable by
Queen Mary of Scotland and her Parliament to pass an
Act, having for its object the punishment of persons guilty
of any of the crimes under consideration. The Act sets
forth:&mdash;</p>

<div class="blockquot"><p>"For-sa-meikle as the Queenis Majestie and the three Estaites of this
present parliament being informed of the heavie and abominable superstition
used be divers of the lieges of this realm, be using of witchcraft,
sorcerie, and necromancie, and credence given thereto in times by-gane,
against the laws of God: And for avoyding and away putting of all sik
vaine superstition in times to cum: It is statute and ordained by the
Queen's Majestie, and the three Estaites foresaid, that na maner of
person nor persons of quhat-sum-ever estaite, degree, or condition
they be of, take upon hand in onie times hereafter to use onie maner of
witch-craftes, sorcerie, or necromancie, nor give themselves furth to have
onie sik craft or knawledge thereof, their-throw abusand the people: Nor
that na persoun seik onie helpe, response, or consultation at onie sik
users or abusers foresaidis of witch-craftes, sorceries, or necromancie, under
the paine of death, alsweill to be execute against the user, abuser, as the
seiker of the response or consultation. And this to be put to execution
be the justice, schireffis, stewards, baillies, lords of regalities, and
royalties, their deputes, and uthers or ordinar judges competent within
this realme, with all rigour, having power to execute the samin."</p></div>

<p>James VI. of Scotland and I. of England decreed that
any one who should use, practise, or exercise any invocation,
or consult or covenant with, entertain or employ,
feed, or reward any evil or wicked spirit, to or for any
purpose, or take up any dead body, should, on being convicted
thereof, suffer death.</p>

<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_484" id="Page_484">[Pg 484]</a></span>The laws against witchcraft remained in force, and were
executed with severity, for a long time. During the continuance
of the Long Parliament alone, three thousand unhappy
persons were sacrificed because of their supposed
connection with witchcraft. But by the Act 9 George II.
cap. 5 it is ordained that no prosecution, suit, or proceeding
shall be commenced or carried on against any
person for witchcraft, sorcery, enchantment, or conjuration,
nor shall any one charge another with any such offence,
in any court whatever. But if any person shall pretend
to exercise or use any kind of witchcraft, sorcery,
enchantment, or conjuration, or undertake to tell fortunes;
or pretend, from his skill or knowledge in any occult or
crafty science, to discover where or in what manner any
goods supposed to have been stolen or lost may be found:
every person so offending, being convicted on indictment
or information, shall suffer imprisonment for a year, and
once in every quarter of the said year, in some market town
of the county, upon the market day there, stand openly in
the pillory for one hour, and also (if the court by which
such judgment shall be given shall think fit) be obliged to
give sureties for his good behaviour, in such sum, and for
such time, as the said court shall judge proper, according
to the circumstances of the offence, and in such case shall
be further imprisoned until such sureties shall be given.</p>

<p>Sir George M'Kenzie, the distinguished Scotch lawyer,
thought there was such a craft as witchcraft; and so did
William Forbes, a member of the Faculty of Advocates, a
professor of law in the University of Glasgow, and author
of several works of considerable merit. The following
extracts from Forbes's <i>Institute of the Law of Scotland</i> prove
to some extent what was the legal creed in Scotland last
century in regard to witches:&mdash;</p>

<div class="blockquot"><p>"Witchcraft is that black art whereby strange and wonderful things
are wrought by a power derived from the devil. It goes under several
names, taken from particular effects and ways of its operation: As those<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_485" id="Page_485">[Pg 485]</a></span>
of magic, because it is a knowledge of more than is lawful to be known;
divination, from a revealing of things past, present, or to come; enchantment,
from a working by charms or ceremonious rites; sorcery, from the
casting of lots to bring hidden things to light; necromancy, from the calling
up and consulting the devil, in form of some dead person; fascination,
from the hurting creatures by envious looks, and eye-biting, or by words, etc.
Those who practise this art are, in like manner, termed witches, magicians,
diviners, enchanters, sorcerers, necromancers, fascinaters. Which names,
given for different causes to the devil's disciples, are, for the most part, promiscuously
used to signify any person who, by covenant with Satan, and
his assistance, doth work strange things, because of the affinity of all their
operations, which have the same general foundation and tendency.</p>

<p>"An express covenant is entered into betwixt a witch and the devil
appearing in some visible shape, whereby the former renounces his God
and baptism, engaging to serve the devil, and do all the mischief he can,
as occasion offers, and leaves soul and body to his disposal after death.
The devil, on his part, articles with such proselytes concerning the shape
he is to appear to them in, and the services they are to expect from
him, upon the performance of certain charms or ceremonious rites. To
some he gives certain spirits or imps to correspond with, and serve them
as their familiars, known by them by some odd names, to which they
answer when called. These imps are said to be kept in pots or other
vessels that stink detestably. This league is made verbally if the party
cannot write; and such as can write sign a written covenant with their
blood. On the meaner proselytes the devil fixes, in some secret part of
their bodies, a mark, as his seal to know his own by, which is like a flea-bite
or blue spot, and sometimes resembles a little teat; and the part so
stamped doth ever after remain insensible, and doth not bleed, though
never so much nipped, or pricked, by thrusting a pin, awl, or bodkin
into it. But if the covenanter be one of the better rank, the devil only
draws blood of the party, or touches him or her in some part of the body,
without any visible mark remaining.</p>

<p>"A tacit covenant with Satan is understood to be entered into by
those who knowingly use the superstitious rites or ceremonies observed
by witches, or unlawful means to bring anything about which they know
to be ineffectual in themselves without the devil's concurrence.</p>

<p>"Witches used to be distinguished into good and bad witches. The
bad witch, commonly called the black witch, or binding witch, is one
who, by a league with the devil, is assisted by him to work mischief.
The good witch is he or she who useth diabolical means to do good&mdash;as
to heal persons, loose or undo enchantments, and to discover who are
bewitched, and by whom. But this term of a good witch is very improper,
for all who have commerce with Satan are certainly bad.</p>

<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_486" id="Page_486">[Pg 486]</a></span>"Some works of witches are really what they seem to be; others are
mere diabolical juggling, or a delusion of the eyes of spectators with
some strange sleight of Satan. (To which last I may refer their imaginary
passing through shut doors, and transforming themselves and others into
the shape of cats, dogs, hares, and other creatures.) Some of their actions
respect themselves, and their behaviour towards their infernal master;
such as their coming to appointed meetings called their Sabbaths, where
they pay homage to him, and are taught to act all manner of wickedness,
and give an account of their horrid past proceedings. Witches are
chiefly employed in plain mischief, by hurting persons or their goods, or
by bringing some actual evil or calamity upon them. But they sometimes
work mischief under a pretence or colour of doing good&mdash;as when they cure
diseases, loose enchantments, and discover other witches. All their designs
are brought about by charms, or ceremonious rites instituted by the devil,
which are in themselves of no efficacy, and serve only as signals and watchwords
to admonish Satan, as it were, when, where, and upon whom to
do mischief, or perform cures, according to his compact with the witches."</p>

<p>"Under necromancy," says Mr. Forbes, "are comprehended chiromancy,
predictions, and responses by the sieve and the shear, and all
other hellish arts of divination. It hath been sustained to bring in a
woman guilty of witchcraft, that she threatened to do some mischief to
a person who immediately or not long after suffered a grievous harm in
his body or goods, by sorcery or witchcraft, without any apparent or
natural cause, though the manner or enchantment used to work such
mischief was not particularly expressed, and the threat was only general,
and did not specify the ill turn to be done, in respect the means used by
witches are best known to themselves. Some relevant articles of witchcraft
are founded upon events having no necessary dependence on the
means used by the person accused: as that a man on whom a woman
had laid a grievous sickness by her sorcery was relieved thereof by her
taking him by the hand, and the moving of her lips; or that a woman
came several times into a house when the doors and windows were all fast
locked and shut at night, combed her hair the last night, and laid her hand
upon a nurse's breast, upon which a child then sucking her died within
half-an-hour&mdash;because injuries done by witches are not occasioned by any
inherent virtue or efficacy in the means used by them, but only by the
devil's influence; and that there is no natural cause for the mischief
done, is the reason of ascribing it to witchcraft. Where one is indicted
for being in league with the devil, and exercising acts of witchcraft, it
sufficeth to prove that the indictee was in confederacy with that evil
spirit, and did such things; but in the trial of one indicted for bewitching
any person, two things are to be proved, viz. that such a person is
bewitched, and that the indictee is the witch."</p>

<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_487" id="Page_487">[Pg 487]</a></span>Mr. Forbes says that symptoms of witchcraft are: "When learned and
skilful physicians find the patient's trouble doth not proceed from any
bodily distemper or natural causes; when he is exceedingly tormented at
the saying of prayers and graces, or reading of the Bible; when in his
fits he tells truly many things past and future, which in an ordinary way
he could not know; and when things are done with respect to him by
some invisible hand working in a manner that cannot be understood.
Other proofs are such as when one cannot shed tears, and cannot say the
Lord's Prayer. And other presumptions," he proceeds, "are inferred from
the drawing of blood of the suspected person, or the putting of something
under a threshold where he or she goes in, or under a stool where the
suspected person sits, or causes him or her to come into a room where
those afflicted with witchcraft are, and touch them; or trying if the
suspected person will sink or swim when put tied into the water; the
burning of cakes wherein are the afflicted persons' urine, or the burning
of clothes in which such persons lie."</p></div>

<p>The learned professor thought that witchcraft might be
proved by witnesses who have heard the accused person
invoking the devil for help, or seen the suspected party
entertaining a familiar spirit and feeding it in any form
or likeness, conjuring to raise storms, showing in a glass
or show-stone the faces of absent persons. His opinion
was that it was competent to receive as evidence the dying
testimonies of penitent witches concerning others informed
against by them, as proof of witchcraft was difficult to
obtain; and the more secret acts&mdash;meeting of witches in
the night-time to adore their infernal master, and hatch
their mischievous projects when other people are asleep,
or when they themselves are invisible&mdash;cannot be otherwise
proved than by such as are privy thereto.</p>

<p>Sir Matthew Hale, the astute lawyer and judge, was a
believer in witchcraft, and entertained views on this
subject similar to those of Mr. Forbes, as will appear from
the following particulars of the trial of Rose Cullender
and Ann Duny in 1664. These women were accused before
Sir Matthew Hale of various acts of witchcraft&mdash;such as
tormenting children by means of devilish devices, upsetting
carts, killing horses, breeding vermin, etc., through<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_488" id="Page_488">[Pg 488]</a></span>
diabolical means. At the trial, evidence was given by
Anne Durent, that William Durent, her son (one of the
children bewitched) had strange and sad fits, caused by
Duny giving the child suck. A wise man (Dr. Jacob)
advised her to hang up the child's blanket in the chimney
corner all day, and at night, when she went to put the
child to bed, if she found anything in the blanket, to throw
the thing, whether apparently animate or inanimate, into
the fire. The blanket was hung up and shaken according
to instructions, when, behold, a large toad fell on the
hearth-stone. The creature was thrown into the fire, and
exploded like a gun. Next day a friend of Duny's told
deponent that a certain old woman was severely burned.
On hearing this, deponent went to the old woman's house,
and found her grievously scorched. Duny (for it was
she who was in this sad condition) told the witness, that
because of the evil she did to her, she (Duny) would see
much evil befall the Durent family. Deponent further
stated that her daughter, Elizabeth Durent, about ten
years of age, was afflicted like her other child, and in
her fits complained of Ann Duny tormenting her. Duny
had (so said the witness) predicted that the child named
would not live long, and within three days the child died.
Deponent also testified that Duny had, while in a rage,
said that she (the witness) would yet be going with
crutches&mdash;a prophecy followed by deponent becoming so
lame in both her legs, that she could not walk without
being supported by sticks. "And, indeed," said she, exhibiting
a pair of crutches in the witness-box, "I could
not come into court without them."</p>

<p>After lengthened and curious evidence touching the
charges against the prisoners for bewitching the children,
named in the indictment, Dr. Brown, a gentleman of great
learning, expressed his opinion that the children were
bewitched. He said that in Denmark there had been a
great discovery of witches, who used the very same way<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_489" id="Page_489">[Pg 489]</a></span>
of afflicting people, viz. by conveying pins and nails into
them in a mysterious way. His opinion was that the
devil, in witchcraft, did work upon the bodies of men and
women, and afflict them with such distempers as their
bodies were most subject to.</p>

<p>John Sloan testified that, while bringing home three
carts of hay, one of the carts accidentally damaged the
window of Rose Cullender's house, and that she, in consequence
of this mishap, uttered violent threats against
him. The other two carts passed her house safely several
times that day, but the cart which damaged the window
was two or three times overturned. Once, when taking
the unlucky vehicle through a gate, it stuck fast, though
nothing could be seen that prevented it from being drawn
along easily. After great trouble, the cart was brought
home, but, there again, fresh difficulties had to be encountered:
the vehicle could not be taken to the place
where it was intended to be unloaded; and, what most
frightened the witness and those aiding him was, that
every one who approached the cart to render any assistance
on that eventful day, came away with his nose
bleeding.</p>

<p>Robert Sherringhame swore that Rose Cullender, taking
offence at him, threatened him and his horses with injury,
and in a short time many of his horses and cattle died.
Following these misfortunes, he became lame, and was so
tormented with lice that he could not get them removed
until he burned two suits of clothes.</p>

<p>Richard Spencer testified that he had heard Ann Duny
say that the devil would not let her rest until she took
her revenge upon Cornelius Sandswell.</p>

<p>The judge told the jury that they were to inquire, first,
whether the several acts of witchcraft mentioned in the
indictment had been committed; and, secondly, if they
had, it was for them to say whether the prisoners were the
guilty persons. The jurors, he said, could not doubt that<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_490" id="Page_490">[Pg 490]</a></span>
there were such creatures as witches; for history affirmed
it, and the wisdom of all nations had provided laws
against such persons. He prayed that the hearts of the
jury might be directed in the mighty thing they had
in hand; for to condemn the innocent and let the guilty
go free were alike an abomination. The jury brought in
a verdict of guilty. The judge then passed sentence of
death against the culprits, and they were executed.</p>

<p>A general belief in the existence of witches prevailed in
every country, and stringent measures were adopted for
their extirpation. If the punishment of witchcraft was
not at first countenanced by the Church, the clergy subsequently,
and for centuries, played a prominent part in
the detection and condemnation of the so-called witches.
Pope John stated in a bull of 1317 that several of his
courtiers and his physician had given themselves up to
superstition, and that their rings and mirrors contained
evil spirits. Pope Innocent VIII. issued a bull against
witchcraft in 1484. Thousands of innocent persons were
burned, and others killed by the tests applied to them.
Twenty-seven articles were issued in France in the fourteenth
century against sorcery, the use of images, and
the invocation of evil spirits. Many Templars were
burned in Paris for witchcraft in 1309.</p>

<p>Referring to witches and sorcerers, Bishop Jewell, when
preaching before his sovereign in 1598, said: "Witches
and sorcerers, within the last four years, are marvellously
increased within your Grace's realm. Your Grace's subjects
pine away, even unto the death; their colour fadeth&mdash;their
flesh rotteth&mdash;their speech is benumbed&mdash;their
senses are bereft. I pray they may never practise further
than upon your Majesty's subjects." Mr. Glanvil, chaplain
to Charles II., was of opinion that "the disbeliever in
witchcraft must believe the devil gratis;" and Wesley
said that "giving up witchcraft was, in fact, giving up
the Bible." The learned Lord Bacon, Lord Coke, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_491" id="Page_491">[Pg 491]</a></span>
twelve bishops had a voice in the legislation of the country
when the act of James I. of England against witchcraft
became law.</p>

<p>Five hundred witches were burned at Geneva during
three months of 1515. In the diocese of Como, one thousand
were burned within one year. Nine hundred were
burned in Lorraine in a period of fifteen years. Hundreds
perished at Wurzburg in a few years; and upwards of one
hundred thousand were executed in Germany, for which
country the <i>malleus maleficarum</i>, or hammer for witches
(drawn out by a clergyman and two inquisitors appointed
by Innocent VIII.), was principally intended. In Poland
and America, witches, or supposed witches, were also put
to death by fire and water. Persecutions against witches
raged with great fury in America in 1648-49. In New
England, in 1692, nine persons were hanged by the
Puritans for witchcraft. Under pressure, fifty persons
there confessed themselves to be witches. Italy, Spain,
and Portugal had their victims too. At one period the
execution of witches exceeded those in England, though
the number put to death in the latter country was truly
appalling. In 1646 two hundred persons were tried and
executed for witchcraft at the Sussex and Essex assizes.
The last persons put to death for witchcraft in England
were, some say, in 1664, while others assert the last victims
suffered in 1682. The latest instance of a witch being
executed in Scotland was in 1722, when the supposed
offender was burned at Loth, or Dornoch, Sutherlandshire,
by order of the sheriff of that county. In more recent
times than several of the dates to which we have referred,
discoveries, which might have been easily understood, gave
rise to the supposition that the actors were in compact
with the devil. On the first occasion of the German
printers carrying their books to France, the ingenious
inventors of printing were condemned to be burned alive as
sorcerers&mdash;a sentence that would have been executed had<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_492" id="Page_492">[Pg 492]</a></span>
those discoverers of a useful art not saved themselves by
flight.</p>

<p>Reginald Scot, taking an enlightened view of superstition,
says, "The fables of witchcraft have taken so
fast hold of and deep root in the heart of man, that few
endure the hand of correction without attributing the
chastisement to the influence of witches. Such superstitious
people," he says, "are persuaded that neither
hail nor snow, thunder nor lightning, rain nor tempestuous
winds, come from the higher powers, but are raised
by the power of witches and conjurors. If a clap of
thunder or a gale of wind be heard, the timid people ring
bells, cry out to burn the witches, or else they burn consecrated
things, hoping thereby to drive the devil out of
the air."</p>

<p>Mr. E. Chambers did not think the art of witchcraft
was carried on by or through intercourse with the devil
or spirits (though he did not dispute there were such
beings), but by or through philosophical means, altogether
different from the operations supposed necessary to enable
witches and wizards to perform actions not easily comprehended
by the uninitiated.</p>



<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_493" id="Page_493">[Pg 493]</a></span></p>
<h2><a name="CHAPTER_LVII" id="CHAPTER_LVII"></a>CHAPTER LVII.</h2>

<div class="blockquot"><p>Witch-finders&mdash;Disasters ascribed to Witches&mdash;Witch-marks&mdash;Witches
Familiars&mdash;Preparing a Witch for Judicial Examination&mdash;John Kinnaird&mdash;Patrick
Watson and his Wife pricked&mdash;Confession of Guilt&mdash;The
Devil's Sabbaths&mdash;Sumptuous Entertainments and Grandeur at
Satan's Feasts&mdash;Repulsive Acts there also&mdash;Feasts ended at Cock-crowing&mdash;Transformation&mdash;A
Woman weighing only Four Ounces&mdash;A
Witch-finder sent from Scotland to Newcastle at the request of the
Authorities&mdash;Complaints against Witches demanded&mdash;Deception discovered&mdash;Trying
Witches in Northumberland County&mdash;Escape of the
Witch-finder from Justice&mdash;Hopkins's Methods of detecting Witches&mdash;Zeal
of the Clergy in Scotland in condemning Witches&mdash;Witch
burned within the Sea-mark&mdash;Extracts from Kirk-session Records of
Perth relative to Witchcraft&mdash;Witches at Kirkcaldy&mdash;A Clerical
Witch-finder.</p></div>


<p>Every town and county had its witch-finder, whose duty it
was to detect and bring to trial all those tainted with witchcraft
or sorcery. Considering that almost every accident
which happened was attributed to sorcery, the duties of the
witch-finder were most important. According to his diligence
so was the safety of persons and property. Hail-storms,
destructive floods, dangerous fires, disease among
cattle, and domestic afflictions were all ascribed to witchcraft.
A mole or wart discovered on any part of an old
woman's body was thought to be a witch-mark. If a
suspected witch did not shed tears, it was presumptive
evidence of guilt; if she kept a black cat, it was taken
for a familiar; and all these circumstances together were
regarded as infallible signs of her evil nature. An expert
witch-finder knew all the wiles and arts of his profession.
To prepare the suspected witch for judicial examination,
a particular diet was sometimes given her, to counteract
the unguents she had anointed herself with, to make non-effective
the preparations of belladonna, aconite, parsley,
and other ingredients she had swallowed, and to render<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_494" id="Page_494">[Pg 494]</a></span>
of no effect the charmed cocks' combs and rams' kidneys
partaken of by her.</p>

<p>John Kinnaird, a witch-finder, some hundreds of years
past, brought many witches to justice in his time. In
1649 he pricked Patrick Watson, of West Fenton, and
Minie Haliburton his wife, and found the devil's mark on
the husband's back, and the same evil one's impress on
the wife's neck. Though the operator thrust his sharp
instrument deep into the spots, no pain was felt, nor
did blood flow. These results proved that the accused
husband and wife were in league with Satan; and Minie,
seeing it was useless to deny her guilt, admitted the crime.</p>

<p>Under judicial examination, witches have confessed to
having met the devil at his Sabbaths, the meetings always
taking place near a cross road, upon a dreary moor, or
beside a lake or stagnant pool, on Wednesday and Friday
nights. At the meetings children were presented, so they
said, to Satan. At these gatherings sorcerers were supplied
with exquisite meat and drink, served in vessels of gold
and silver; and at other times with cooked toads, unbaptised
children, and the flesh of malefactors cut down
from gibbets. Toads, having the rank of witches' familiars,
appeared at the meetings, dressed in gay attire, and wearing
small silver bells round their necks, or attached to
their feet. At cock-crow Satan disappeared under the
earth, and the witches flew through the air to their respective
homes. That witches could transform themselves
into hares, wolves, and other animals, nearly all
the accused women readily admitted.</p>

<p>In the year 1728 a witch-finder discovered that a stout
tall woman, suspected of sorcery, did not weigh more than
four ounces. This was enough to make out a case against
her; and not only against her, but against several confederates,
and they were all burned in terms of law.</p>

<p>On account of a petition presented by the inhabitants
of Newcastle to the authorities, in the year 1649,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_495" id="Page_495">[Pg 495]</a></span>
concerning the evil consequences of witchcraft, the magistrates
sent two of their officers to Scotland to secure the services
of a celebrated witch-finder, famous for detecting witches
by means of pricking them with sharp instruments. The
cunning man agreed to go with them to Newcastle to
try such suspected persons as might be brought to him,
at the rate of twenty shillings for every woman found
guilty. When the officers brought the witch-finder to
town, the magistrates sent their bellman through the streets
to invite the inhabitants who had complaints to make
against witches to make them without delay, that they
(the witches) might be tried by the person appointed.
Thirty women were brought to the town hall, and had
pins thrust into their flesh, and most of them were found
guilty. The witch-finder informed Lieutenant-Colonel
Hobson that he knew whether women were witches or no
by their looks. On a good-looking woman being brought
to the finder, the gallant colonel thought it was unnecessary
to try her, but the canny Scotchman knew
better, and therefore submitted her to his infallible test.
Having put a pin into her side, he marked her down
a witch of the devil. The colonel, not satisfied that
the woman was guilty, remonstrated, and then the witch-finder
confessed he was in error. The highly-favoured
damsel was therefore liberated; but as no champion appeared
for the poor old withered hags, they suffered the
pains of law.</p>

<p>Having rid Newcastle of witches, the witch-finder was
summoned to Northumberland county to try women
there for sixty shillings each. For some fault or crime
connected with the discharge of his official duties, he
was apprehended, and put under bond to appear at the
sessions to answer such charges as might be brought
against him. He escaped to Scotland, where he was made
prisoner, indicted, and condemned for villany, exercised
on the north side of the Tweed, in connection with<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_496" id="Page_496">[Pg 496]</a></span>
witch-finding. He confessed that he had been instrumental
in bringing to an untimely end above two hundred and
twenty women in England and Scotland.</p>

<p>Matthew Hopkins, who regularly went on circuit in
England to detect witches for a long period subsequent
to the year 1644, applied the usual tests, such as finding
witch-marks, thrusting sharp instruments into the bodies
of suspected persons, dragging them through deep water
while they were wrapped in sheets, with their great toes
and thumbs tied together, keeping his victims awake sometimes
as long as forty-eight hours to make them confess,
ascertaining whether they could repeat the Lord's Prayer,
or shed tears.</p>

<p>The clergy of Scotland lent themselves to witch-finding
with a zeal truly marvellous. They, in General Assembly,
passed five condemnatory acts against witchcraft between
the years 1640 and 1649. Kirk-sessions throughout the
land outvied each other in their efforts to bring suspected
witches to trial, and to counteract the dark deeds of Satan.</p>

<p>The Rev. John Scott, one of the Established Church
ministers of Perth from 1762 to 1806, author of the
<i>History of the Earls of Gowrie</i> and other works, left several
folio manuscript volumes of extracts from the kirk-session
records of Perth; and from these we make the following
abbreviated selections in support of what is here stated:&mdash;</p>

<div class="blockquot"><p>"On 16th April 1582 the kirk-session (which for some time was
designated the 'Assembly') ordained their box-master to give the
witch in the Tolbooth eight doits (eight twelfths of a penny sterling) in
the day."</p>

<p>"In November 1589 a day was assigned to certain honest neighbours
of Tirseppie to be present and to declare whether it was true that Guddal,
spouse to Richard Watson, was a witch, as John Watson alleged, or what
evil likelihood they saw in her. Walter Watson, John Watson, George
Scott, and James Scott, on being severally examined by the kirk-session,
declared that they never saw such things of her whereby they might suspect
her of witchcraft, but that she was an honest poor woman, who
wrought honestly for her living, without whose help her husband,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_497" id="Page_497">[Pg 497]</a></span>
Richard Watson, would have been dead, as he was an aged man. Therefore
the minister and elders ordained the act of slander to be put in
execution against John Watson, and Helen Watson his daughter."</p>

<p>"In November 1597 the kirk-session ordained the magistrates of
Perth to travel with his Majesty to obtain a commission to execute Janet
Robertson, sorceress, who had long been detained in ward."</p>

<p>"The kirk-session, on 30th May 1615, requested the bailies to ward
Marion Murdoch, complained upon for witchcraft, ay and until she was
tried thereanent."</p>

<p>"On the 4th day of May 1618, conform to citation, Isabella Garry,
servitrix, and Margaret Lamb, daughter-in-law to George Thompson, appeared
before the session, and were asked if they had been at the well
in the bank of Huntingtower the previous Sabbath, and if they drank
thereof, and if they had left anything at it. They answered that they
had been at it and drank thereof, and that each of them had left a pin
thereat. This was found to be a point of idolatry. Their case was continued
until some other young women, who were with them, should be
summoned to appear before the church court." [Though it does not
clearly appear what object the young women had in view in drinking
the Huntingtower well water, and putting pins therein, we presume
they simply did what maidens of the present time do, namely, go to a
spring supposed to possess peculiar charms (as the Ruthven or Huntingtower
well was believed to have), drink of its water, and each throw a
pin into the well, under the conviction that every one would get the
wish uppermost in her heart fulfilled&mdash;generally the securing of a
husband before the year was ended.]</p>

<p>"On the 3rd August 1619, Alexander Peebles, a burgess of Perth, appeared
before the session, and took exception to the doctrine delivered
by Mr. John Guthrie, minister, on the previous Sabbath afternoon; and
alleged that the minister had slandered him and his house by accusing
him of sorcery, and turning the riddle. The minister and session
certified in one voice that the doctrine was general, and necessarily
followed on the text from which Mr. Guthrie was preaching. Peebles
would have been censured had not Mr. Guthrie interceded for him.
Mr. Guthrie, however, brought upon himself further annoyance, in consequence
of accusing other members of his congregation of witchcraft
and sorcery. On the 13th of the next month Mr. Guthrie complained to
his session, of Thomas Young uttering speeches against him and his
ministry, and of refusing to discharge the civil duty of saluting him
when they met on the causeway. The members of session were highly
offended that any member of the church should have so far misregarded
his pastor and provoked him to ire, and therefore ordered him to be
cited to appear before them the following day. Conform to citation,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_498" id="Page_498">[Pg 498]</a></span>
Thomas Young appeared, who being accused of uttering speeches against
and misbehaving himself towards Mr. Guthrie, the delinquent boldly
answered that it was not the duty of the pastor to charge his people with
witchcraft, sorcery, and turning of the riddle. Witnesses were examined
against Thomas, who, before the court rose, confessed his error, and said
he was extremely sorry for offending his minister in word or deed. Mr.
Guthrie then admonished Thomas, and craved the magistrates (who were
present) and the session to inflict no punishment on the said Thomas, but
to pass over his offences&mdash;a request that was granted."</p>

<p>"On 10th May 1626 Bessie Wright was accused before the presbytery
of Perth of witchcraft, curing sick folks, and frequenting the town of
Perth after having been banished from the burgh, and forbidden to
exercise her healing art. The moderator and brethren ordained that she
should be prohibited from performing any cure, under pain of incarceration.
It was likewise ordained that the minister of Perth should make
intimation on the following Sabbath, that because the said Bessie was
under suspicion of witchcraft in curing diseased persons by unlawful
means, none would resort to her for advice, under pain of the kirk's
censures."</p>

<p>"Conform to citation, Robert Thomson, maltman, compeared before the
kirk-session on 30th December 1634, for causing a bairn of his to be
taken to the mill of Balhousie and put into the flappers thereof, when the
mill was going, to be charmed, which, it was alleged, was a lesson of
Satan. He answered that he knew not of the circumstance until the
child was brought home." [The offence being considered an odious one,
the session resolved to take the advice of the presbytery how to proceed,
but we are not informed how the matter terminated.]</p></div>

<p>Lilias Adie, a Fife witch, obtained power from Satan to
assist her and her friends, and to ruin her enemies. Like
many other witches, she regularly attended the witch
Sabbaths. How long she might have remained alive to
strike terror into the hearts of the Torryburn people, none
can tell, had not their worthy pastor, the Rev. Allan Logan,
come to the rescue. Mr. Logan, report says, knew as well
as any living man how to detect a witch. When "fencing"
the sacramental table, he would look around him with his
keen piercing eye, and call aloud, "You witch, begone
from the holy communion table." The searching look
and commanding voice made more than one woman retire
from among the worthy communicants. Mr. Logan was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_499" id="Page_499">[Pg 499]</a></span>
well supported by a zealous kirk-session. This being so,
Lilias Adie had little chance of escape. She and other
suspected witches were submitted to a series of examinations
and tests, which ended in her being burned within
the sea-mark on the Fife coast.</p>

<p>From the ancient records of the kirk-session of Kirkcaldy,
it seems that numerous reputed witches were
burned in that town in the seventeenth century. In the
year 1633 two witches were burned; the cost of their
execution, including the price of tar barrels, and tow for
tying the unfortunate beings at the stake, amounted to
&pound;2, 17s. 6d. Scots. One half of the sum was borne by
the kirk-session, and the other half by the town. In the
year 1649 a woman was burned on the estate of Burncastle,
and the cost of watching her thirty days and of
supplying fuel amounted to &pound;92, 14s. Scots, a goodly sum
in those days; but as &pound;27, found in the possession of the
reputed witch, was taken to assist in defraying the expenses
of her judicial murder, the burden did not fall
very heavy, after all, on the public.</p>



<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_500" id="Page_500">[Pg 500]</a></span></p>
<h2><a name="CHAPTER_LVIII" id="CHAPTER_LVIII"></a>CHAPTER LVIII.</h2>

<div class="blockquot"><p>Hiring a Witch to detect a Witch&mdash;Clerical Witch-finders&mdash;Agnew, the
sturdy Beggar&mdash;His Diabolical Doings&mdash;Missiles thrown by Unseen
Hands&mdash;Working Instruments destroyed&mdash;A Distressed Family&mdash;Minister's
Remonstrance and Advice&mdash;Fresh Afflictions&mdash;House set on
Fire&mdash;Prayer and Fasting resorted to&mdash;Meeting of Presbytery for
Prayer on account of the Evil Doings of Satan and his Wicked
Emissaries&mdash;Spirits Speaking&mdash;Minister's Reply&mdash;Fiend not put to
Silence by Prayer&mdash;Application to the Synod for Advice&mdash;Solemn
Humiliation ordained by the Synod&mdash;Annoyance continued&mdash;Beggar
suspected, and hanged for Blasphemy&mdash;Bargarran Witches&mdash;An
Esquire's Daughter bewitched&mdash;Physicians puzzled&mdash;Great Consternation
in the Country&mdash;Parish Minister praying for the Afflicted
Child&mdash;Other Ministers' Visits to Bargarran&mdash;Presbytery ordering
Days of Humiliation&mdash;Effect of Fasting and Prayer&mdash;Recourse to
the Law&mdash;Catherine Campbell imprisoned&mdash;Girl's continued Affliction&mdash;Representation
to His Majesty's Privy Council&mdash;Commission appointed
to inquire into the case&mdash;Proceedings of the Commission&mdash;Trial
of Witches&mdash;Specious Pleading&mdash;Condemnation and Execution.</p></div>


<p>In the middle of the seventeenth century the mania
against witches and warlocks became so prevalent, that
almost every individual was affected therewith. If a
child was sick, if a family became unfortunate, if cattle
died, if boats were upset or ships lost, or if accidents of
any description, even to the breaking of a plough, happened,
the evils were attributed to witches or warlocks.
If in any such misfortune the assistance of a professional
witch-finder could not be secured, one witch was hired to
detect the other witch, or more probably the gang of
witches, who had occasioned the mischief. Again, in the
event of the hired witch (it was seldom the professional
witch-finder, provided with his instruments of torture,
failed) not succeeding, the clergyman's assistance was
sought; and if the witches and devil proved too many
or strong for him, the presbytery, synod, and even the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_501" id="Page_501">[Pg 501]</a></span>
assembly, had to be appealed to. The following is a case
in point:&mdash;</p>

<p>In October 1654 Alexander Agnew, a sturdy beggar,
threatened hurt to Gilbert Campbell's household because
he did not receive so good an alms as he demanded.
The vagabond, by diabolical means, brought about a
variety of annoyances and losses that came nigh to ruin
the family. Gilbert Campbell was often hindered in
business, through his working instruments being destroyed
in a way he could not account for. In November, matters
became extremely dangerous. At that time the devil, we
are informed, came with new and extraordinary assaults,
by throwing stones in through the doors and windows and
chimney-head of this devil-besetted dwelling. Providentially
no one was injured in person. Next, chests and
trunks were opened, and the contents thrown about in all
directions. Working implements were secretly carried
away, and concealed in holes or other places where they
were not likely to be found. Wearing apparel, blankets,
sheets, curtains, and other soft goods were cut in pieces.
To so great a strait was the family reduced, that the members
thereof were compelled to leave their house. Nor was
this all: Campbell himself was forced to abandon his employment.</p>

<p>The minister, hearing that the house was shut up, remonstrated
against such a proceeding. He recommended
that the devil should be withstood to the face. Acting
on the good clergyman's advice, all the members of that
afflicted household returned. Fresh disturbances broke
out. The house was set on fire, and would have been
reduced to ashes had not willing neighbours extinguished
the flames. As the evil went on, prayer and fasting were
resorted to, apparently unmixed with faith, for again the
house was set on fire. The presbytery met at the house
for solemn devotion, but their prayers were as ineffectual
as those of the people who had conducted the religious<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_502" id="Page_502">[Pg 502]</a></span>
services on previous occasions. Indeed things became
worse. Not only were petty acts of mischief perpetrated,
but strange voices were heard, without it being known
whence they proceeded. The minister, accompanied by
gentlemen of good position, went again to the house to
pray with and for Mr. Campbell and his family. After
prayer, they all heard a voice speaking out of the ground,
asking if they desired to know anything of certain witches
who were named. Gilbert Campbell informed the company
that one of the witches mentioned was dead. The
devil then answered, "It is true she is dead, yet her
spirit is living in this world." The minister replied, "We
are not to receive any information from thee, Satan; thou
art but seeking to seduce this family."</p>

<p>All the people went again to pray, still the devil was
not put to silence; the foul fiend demanded a spade to
dig a grave, in which he might rest in peace. Advised by
the clergyman, Mr. Campbell answered, "Not so much as
a straw shall be given thee, though that would put thee
to rest." A loud noise was heard, and a naked hand and
an arm from the elbow were seen beating on the floor so
terribly that the house shook, during which the voice
called several times, "I will send my father among you."
Night being now far spent, all the strangers went home
except the minister, who stayed with the family to protect
them. Notwithstanding his presence, and many prayers,
the devil roared frightfully, his voice sounding like that
of a lion. The very food the family partook of was bewitched:
it did not supply them with nourishment, nor
satisfy their hunger, even for a moment.</p>

<p>Mr. Campbell resolved to apply to the synod for advice
as to whether he should remain in his house. When the
subject came before that reverend body, the fathers and
brethren thought fit to ordain a solemn humiliation to be
observed through all the synodic bounds, with the view
of turning away the affliction that distressed the poor<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_503" id="Page_503">[Pg 503]</a></span>
family. Notwithstanding everything that could be done,
the annoyance continued for a whole year. It was never
discovered who was the instigator of the mischief, although
strong suspicion rested on the sturdy beggar, who, we may
observe in conclusion, was hanged, some time afterwards,
for blasphemy.</p>

<p>Tales of the Bargarran witches are widely known in
Scotland. In their time they created no small stir and
alarm among laymen, in the church, and at the law courts.
In the year 1696, Christina Shaw, eleven years of age,
daughter of John Shaw, Esquire, of Bargarran, Renfrewshire,
gave offence to a servant maid named Catherine
Campbell, who wished the girl's soul might soon be in
the place of torment. It was feared the offended damsel
would seek revenge, and what followed convinced those
cognisant of the facts that their fears were well founded.</p>

<p>Soon after this the girl had severe fits and strange
visions; and, in a most unaccountable manner, she vomited
or put out of her mouth unclean hay, wild fowls' feathers,
gravel stones, nut-galls, candle-grease, egg-shells, and other
substances, which she nor any other person could tell
whence they had come. For a long time she was afflicted
in a most mysterious manner. Her parents were distressed,
and her physicians perplexed. Change of air did her good,
but as soon as she returned to Bargarran her trouble recommenced.
By-and-bye it became evident her affliction
did not proceed from ordinary infirmity, but from the diabolical
machinations of Satan and his emissaries&mdash;certain
well-known witches in the neighbourhood, one being the
offended Catherine Campbell. So convinced was the unfortunate
sufferer of her ills being caused by human
beings acting in a mysterious manner, that she frequently
exclaimed that Catherine Campbell and others, whom she
named, were cutting her sides and other parts of her body.</p>

<p>Great consternation prevailed in the country. The
parish minister, like a good pious pastor, prayed with and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_504" id="Page_504">[Pg 504]</a></span>
for the child. Clergymen from adjoining parishes visited
Bargarran, and witnessed Catherine Shaw's sufferings.
The presbytery appointed days of humiliation on account
of what left no doubt in the minds of divines that the girl
was bewitched. Fasting and prayer seemed to have an
alleviating tendency, yet they did not prevent the evil continuing
in a mitigated form. Recourse was therefore had to
the law. Mr. Shaw, the girl's father, applied to the sheriff-depute;
and that officer, in what he considered a proper
discharge of his duty, imprisoned Catherine Campbell.</p>

<p>This judicial proceeding had the effect of securing relief
for the afflicted girl for a time, but her enemies were not
all confined nor rendered harmless, for she declared she
heard now and again tormentors, whom she repeatedly
named, whispering among themselves that they were, by
desire of the devil, to carry her away. And it was
supposed she would have been conveyed away from her
friends, had not the minister prayed for her at the time
the witches were about to carry their diabolical intentions
into operation.</p>

<p>The lamentable case of the afflicted family being represented
to his Majesty's Privy Council, a commission was,
worthily and piously it is said, appointed to inquire
into the case. By warrant of this commission, certain
suspected persons were apprehended. Alexander Anderson,
represented as an ignorant irreligious fellow; Elizabeth
Anderson, his daughter; and Jean Fulton, grandmother
of the said Elizabeth Anderson, were secured. Elizabeth
Anderson, on being severely interrogated, declared she
had frequently seen the devil, in the likeness of a little
black man, in the company of her grandmother. She also
confessed that she herself had been at several meetings
with the devil and witches; and she declared her father
and a Highlandman in the neighbourhood, along with
others, were active agents in tormenting Christina Shaw.</p>

<p>A quorum of the commissioners met at Bargarran; and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_505" id="Page_505">[Pg 505]</a></span>
the persons accused by Elizabeth Anderson to have been
at the meetings with the devil, and to have been active
instruments of Christina Shaw's trouble&mdash;viz. Alexander
Anderson, Agnes Naismith, Margaret Fulton, James
Lindsay, John Lindsay, and Catherine Campbell&mdash;were
(except John Lindsay, not then in custody) confronted
with the afflicted damsel before Lord Blantyre and other
commissioners, together with ministers of the gospel and
non-clerical gentlemen of note, and charged by her as her
tormentors; and they (the persons in custody) having
severally touched her, she was at each of their touches
seized with grievous fits.</p>

<p>About this time Thomas Lindsay, a boy twelve years
of age, was apprehended on presumption of complicity in
witchcraft, he having said, before credible witnesses, that
the devil was his father, and that if he pleased he could
fly like a crow. Sometimes, he said, he could cause a
plough to stand, and the horses break the yoke, on his
pronouncing a few strange words and turning himself
withershinns. Though at first he denied his guilt, yet he
afterwards confessed he had a compact with the devil, and
that he had been at several meetings with Satan and
witches. His brother James, he said, was also present.
James Lindsay was therefore apprehended, and identified
by Christina Shaw as one of her tormentors. He too
confessed to be guilty of Satanic acts.</p>

<p>Next day Margaret Lang, and her daughter Martha
Semple, being accused by Christina Shaw of having been
also active in tormenting her, came of their own accord
to Bargarran House, and before they approached the girl
she said she was now bound up, and could not accuse
Margaret Lang to her face. Subsequently she named
Lang and her daughter as two of her tormentors.</p>

<p>The commissioners had several conferences, and in
their presence many suspected witches were shown to
the girl at Bargarran. At these conferences strange<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_506" id="Page_506">[Pg 506]</a></span>
things transpired, all tending to prove a most diabolical
plot to punish the girl for her insult to Catherine
Campbell. This was not all: the inquiry brought to
light various other acts of witchcraft, mischief, and even
murder, perpetrated by the devil and those in league with
him. In due course the suspected persons were arraigned
before the judges and jury; and able arguments, according
to the light of those times, were entered into. An
outline of the specious pleading of the advocate who conducted
the prosecution is given, as an example of the
manner in which convictions against suspected witches
were obtained two hundred years ago.</p>

<div class="blockquot"><p>"Good men of inquest," he said, "you having sitten above twenty hours
in overhearing the probation, we shall not detain you with summing up
in particular, but shall only suggest some things, whereof it is fit you
take special notice. 1st, The nature of your own power, and the management
thereof. 2dly, The object of this power which lies before you,
wherein you are to consider, in the first place, whether or not there has
been witchcraft in the malefices libelled? and, in the next case, whether
or not these panels are the witches?</p>

<p>"As to your power, it is certain that you are both judges and witnesses,
by the opinion of our lawyers and custom; therefore you are called out
of the neighbourhood, as presumed best to know the quality of the
panels, and the notoriety of their guilt or innocence....</p>

<p>"We are not to press you with the ordinary severity of threatening an
assize of error, in case you should absolve; but wholly leave you to the
conduct of God and your own conscience....</p>

<p>"As to the probation itself, you see that it is divided in three parts,
viz. the extraordinariness of the malefices; the probability of the concurring
adminicles; and the clearness of the positive probation.</p>

<p>"As to the first part, the malefices, or <i>corpora delicti</i>, are proven by
unexceptionable witnesses to have fallen out in such an odd and extraordinary
manner, that it points out some other causes than the ordinary
course of nature to have produced these effects.</p>

<p>"For clearing of this, particularly in relation to the torments of Bargarran's
daughter, you may consider not only the extraordinary things
that could not proceed from a natural disease, which lie proven before
you, but also several other matters of fact, which is notour, have been
seen by some of yourselves, and lie here in a journal of her sufferings;
every article whereof is attested by the subscriptions of persons of entire<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_507" id="Page_507">[Pg 507]</a></span>
credit, before the honourable commissioners appointed by his Majesty's
Privy Council, for making inquiry thereanent.</p>

<p>"This girl's throwing out of hairs, pins, and coals of greater heat than
that of her body or blood; as also so dry that they appeared not to have
come out of her stomach; nor had she any press of vomiting at the time;
that she declared the same to have been put into her mouth by her tormentors&mdash;is
deponed by Dr. Brisbane, in his opinion, not to proceed from
a natural cause....</p>

<p>"She told that her tormentors were giving her a glass of sack, an
orange peel, etc., and accordingly she was seen to move her lips, and to
have an orange peel betwixt her teeth, though there was no visible hand
that could have done it.</p>

<p>"She advertised beforehand that one of her tormentors was to be at
the door at a particular hour, and that another of them was in the
kitchen before any did tell her thereof; which accordingly fell out....</p>

<p>"When her glove fell down from her, at a time when several persons
were about her, it was lifted again by a hand invisible to them.</p>

<p>"She was not only transported through the hall and down stairs without
perceiving her feet to touch the ground, but also was hurried in a
flight up stairs; and when a minister endeavoured to retain her, he found
a sensible weight, besides her own strength, drawing her from him.</p>

<p>"She was most vehemently distorted upon attempting to tell, or even
write, the names of her tormentors....</p>

<p>"She foretold that her tormentors had concerted to throw her into a fit
(whereof they did premonish, of design to fright her to renounce her
baptism by the terror) at a certain hour, and had left one of their number
to execute it; according whereunto there was a woman with a red coat
seen under a tree in the orchard, and the torment was brought on at the
time appointed....</p>

<p>"She cried out at a time that her thigh was hurt; and one of the
company having searched her pocket, found a knife, but unfolded; however,
having folded up the same, and put it in a second time, she cries of
new; and, upon the second search, it (though secured by the spring) is
found open, to the great wonder of beholders; since they did watch that
no visible thing could have possibly opened it.</p>

<p>"She told of a charm under the bed; and accordingly it was found in
the shape of an egg, which melted away on being put in the fire....</p>

<p>"The story anent her telling that the commissioners, though at three
miles distance, had granted a warrant to the sheriff to apprehend one of
her tormentors; her telling so perfect an account of the sheriff and of Mr.
Guthrie, who was with him, while her eyes were tied and fast; her being
in excessive torments (as she foretold) till that person was apprehended,
and immediately thereupon, though at many miles distance, her telling<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_508" id="Page_508">[Pg 508]</a></span>
that her tormentors were now taken, betwixt twelve and one o'clock in
the morning; and the sheriff, when he returned, did declare the seizure to
have been made about that time&mdash;is so notour, and so well attested, that
we need only to put you in mind thereof.</p>

<p>"Her falling into fits upon the sight or touch of her tormentors, was
no effect of imagination; for she was fully hoodwinked with a cloak, so
as she saw nobody whatsoever; yet, upon the approach of her tormentor,
she immediately fell down as dead, whereas she remained no ways startled
upon the touch of any other: which experiments were tried for ascertaining
this means of discovery.</p>

<p>"Finally, she is naturally sagacious and observant, and discovered her
integrity in face of court.... She showed her firmness against the
temptations of becoming a witch; particularly against the last assault of
Satan; wherein he persuaded her at least to go to their meetings, and she
answered that she would not follow such a base fallen creature; and he
rejoining that she would go to hell, however, for her other sins; and she
answering that he was a liar from the beginning, and the blood of Jesus
would cleanse her from all iniquity: whereupon he disappeared, and she
perfectly recovered upon the Sabbath thereafter; was a happy end put to
this fearful tragedy of witchcraft, and confirms to conviction the reality
of it.</p>

<p>"As to the murdering of the children, and the minister libelled: you
may observe several extraordinary things appearing in them; particularly,
the witnesses depone, the minister to have been in excessive torments,
and of an unusual colour, to have been of sound judgment; and yet he
did tell of several women being about him, and that he heard the noise
of the door opening, when none else did hear it. The children were well
at night, and found dead in the morning, with a little blood on their
noses, and blaes at the roots of their ears; which were obvious symptoms
of strangling....</p>

<p>"The second part of the probation consists of several adminicles, proven
by unsuspected witnesses, which lead us to suspect those panels to be
witches, as so many lines drawn from a circumference to a centre, and as
an avenue to the positive probation thereafter adduced; and these either
strike at the whole panels in general, or some of them in particular....</p>

<p>"You see that none of them doth shed tears; nor were they ever discovered
to do it since their imprisonment, notwithstanding their frequent
howlings....</p>

<p>"In particular, you see how Katharine Campbell was provoked by this
girl's discovering her theft; whereupon she has brought in the rest of her
confederates to act the mischiefs; how Campbell did curse and imprecate
in a terrible manner; how she staid out of her bed at night, and was
frequently drowsy in the morning....</p>

<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_509" id="Page_509">[Pg 509]</a></span>"Margaret Lang, that great impostor, has been a great masterpiece of
the devil: she has confessed unnatural lust, which is known to some of
your number; she sat near the door where the charm of hair was found,
which the girl declared did keep up her tongue; and upon burning thereof,
it was loosed. The girl fell in fits upon her approach; she has notable
marks; particularly one, which the confessants declared she lately
received; and, by inspection, it appears to be recent. When she came
from her private conversation (no doubt with the devil) she raged as if
she had been possessed, and could not but declare that she expected a
violent death. She looked in the face of James Millar's child, and asked
her age, whereupon that child sickened the same night, and named
Margaret Lang on her death-bed. It appears she was ready to show to
Janet Laird a sight of her mother, who had been three years dead....</p>

<p>"Margaret Fulton was reputed a witch, has the mark of it, and
acknowledged, in presence of her husband, that she made use of a charm,
which appeared full of small stones and blood; that her husband had
brought her back from the fairies....</p>

<p>"As to the Lindsays, they all have the mark, and were all of a long
time reputed to be witches. John Lindsay, in Barlock, was accidentally
discovered by the girl's taking a fit upon his coming to the house. John
and James Lindsay were dilated by a confessing witch in anno 1687,
which confession is publicly read before you, and there was money given
to the sheriff-depute for delaying of the pursuit. James Lindsay
appeared to William Semple suddenly, and flew about like a fowl for an
opportunity to strike him....</p>

<p>"It is true, some of these indications may be in one, and others of
them in another, either from nature or accident, and yet that person not
be a witch; but it was never heard nor read that all these indications,
which are so many discoveries by providence, of a crime that might
otherwise remain in the dark, did ever concur in one and the same individual
person that was innocent....</p>

<p>"As to the third part of the probation, we remit the positive depositions
of the confessants, and against whom they do concur, wholly to
your own perusal or examination; only you would be pleased to notice,
1st, Something which do very much sustain the credibility of their
testimonies, arising from their examination in court. 2dly, We shall
explain to you the import of the word <i>Nota</i>, which is added to the interlocutor
of the judges admitting these last witnesses.</p>

<p>"First, Elizabeth Anderson is of sufficient age, being seventeen; but
so young and pointed, that her deposition appears not affected by melancholy:
she accused her father to his face, when he was a-dying in the
prison, as now there are two of her aunts in the panel, which certainly
must proceed from the strength of truth, since even Dives retained a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_510" id="Page_510">[Pg 510]</a></span>
natural affection to his relations; she went on foot to the meetings with
her father, except only that the devil transported them over the water
Clyde; which was easy to the prince of the air, who does far greater
things by his hurricanes....</p>

<p>"James Lindsay, it is true, is of less import; yet, by his weeping when
he came in, and was admonished of the greatness of his guilt, it appears
that he had a sense of it.... He does not file the panels all at random,
but tells what occurred to his senses.</p>

<p>"Janet and Margaret Rodgers are instances of a singular providence;
for they did confess, the same morning that the court did last sit, of their
own proper motive, their being neither ministers nor judges beside
them at the time....</p>

<p>"It is true, there are some few of the adminicles that are proven only
by one witness; but as to this you may consider, 1st, That a witness
deponing <i>de facto proprio</i>, is in law more credited than any other single
witness. And this is the present case as to some of the adminicles. 2dly,
The antecedent concomitant, and subsequent circumstances of fact, do
sustain the testimony and make the <i>semi-plenary</i> probation to become
full. But 3dly, The other adminicles, undoubtedly proven by concurring
witnesses, are <i>per se</i> sufficient; and therefore you saw us, at the desire of
the judges, forbear to call the far greatest part of our witnesses....</p>

<p>"We shall therefore leave you with this conclusion, that as you ought
to beware of condemning the innocent, and ought to incline to the safest
side; so, if these panels be proven legally guilty, then <i>quoad</i> bygones,
your eye ought not to spare them, nor ought you to suffer a witch to
live; and as to the future, you in doing otherwise would be accessory
to all the blasphemies, apostasies, murders, tortures, and seductions
whereof these enemies of heaven and earth shall thereafter be guilty,
when they have got out. So that the question seems simply to come
to this, Whether, upon your oath <i>de fideli</i>, you can swear that the panels,
notwithstanding of all that is proven against them, are not guilty of
witchcraft; in the determination whereof, we pray God may direct you
in the right course."</p></div>

<p>The jury, after being enclosed nearly six hours, found
the libel proven.</p>

<p>It only remains to be stated that the accused suffered
the extreme penalty of the law, not for crimes committed,
but on account of the superstition and ferocity of the
period.</p>



<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_511" id="Page_511">[Pg 511]</a></span></p>
<h2><a name="CHAPTER_LIX" id="CHAPTER_LIX"></a>CHAPTER LIX.</h2>

<div class="blockquot"><p>Victims of Superstition&mdash;History of Lady Glammis&mdash;Her Trial for
causing the Death of her Husband and attempting to poison the
King&mdash;Found Guilty, and Burned&mdash;Lady Fowlis an intended Victim&mdash;Hector
Munro tried for Sorcery&mdash;Making an Image of the young
Lady of Balnagowan&mdash;Elf Arrows&mdash;Consulting Egyptians&mdash;Trial
and Acquittal of Lady Fowlis&mdash;Her Accomplices not so Fortunate&mdash;Hector
Munro's connection with Witches&mdash;Charge against Sir John
Colquhoun and Thomas Carlips for consulting with Necromancers&mdash;Love
Philters and Enchanted Tokens&mdash;Eloping with a Sister-in-law&mdash;Bewitching
Sir George Maxwell&mdash;A Dumb Girl detecting Witches&mdash;Witch-marks
discovered before the Sheriff of Renfrewshire&mdash;Strange
Confessions&mdash;Commission appointed by the Privy Council to
try Witches&mdash;Witches ordered to be Burned&mdash;Alison Pearson's Intercourse
with Fairies&mdash;Another Witch Story.</p></div>


<p>After witchcraft became unpopular, persons of youth,
beauty, and rank, as well as people of old age, poverty,
and deformity, often fell victims to superstition. The
history of Lady Glammis is a painful one, exhibiting the
gross darkness and ferocity of her time. Being beautiful,
and in good position, her hand was sought by noblemen
whose name and fame did, in some respects, honour to
their country. As Lady Glammis could have only one husband
at a time, she was compelled to reject proposals made
to her by members of first-class families&mdash;a necessity that
was not looked at in its proper light; for her refusals, both
when she was a maid and widow, to enter into matrimonial
alliance with the heads of noble houses, raised formidable
enemies against her. Her influence at court was great;
but this did not save her from being accused of witchcraft.
The fair popular lady was tried in a criminal court for
procuring the death of her husband by intoxication, or
unholy drugging; for a design to poison the king; and for
notorious witchcraft. She was found guilty, and burned.</p>

<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_512" id="Page_512">[Pg 512]</a></span>Lady Fowlis was another intended noble victim. She
and her step-son, Hector Munro, were tried, in 1590,
for witchcraft, incantation, sorcery, and poisoning. The
charges against the lady were the diabolical acts of making
two images of clay, the one representing the young lady
of Balnagowan, and the other personating Robert Munro
(both of whom, it was alleged, stood in her way of advancement
in life), which figures two notorious witches
put up in a room, and shot at with elf arrows. As
these operations did not terminate the existence of the
intended victims, an attempt was made to poison them;
but for a time this also proved unsuccessful. At length
the young lady of Balnagowan tasted her sister-in-law's
infernal potion, whereby she contracted an incurable
disease. Disappointed at the draught not immediately
proving fatal, Lady Fowlis sent far and wide for gipsies
and witches, to consult with them as to what was best to
be done. More clay images were made, and shot at with
elf arrows. She was tried by a jury, composed chiefly of
the Fowlis dependants, who acquitted her.</p>

<p>Several of her witch accomplices were not so fortunate;
they suffered the extreme penalty of the law. It was
proved on trial, that Hector Munro had communed with
three witches, in 1588, for the recovery of his eldest brother,
Robert, who was dangerously ill. The witches "pollit the
hair of Robert Munro, and plet the naillis of his fingers
and taes;" but the charms were ineffectual, and Robert
died. Hector, the panel, was unwell, and pronounced by
women of skill to be incurable unless the chief man of his
blood, George Munro of Abisdale, Lady Catherine's eldest
son, should die for him. All things being ready, George
was sent for to see his sick friend. When he came, a
spell was applied, according to the directions of his foster-mother
and certain witches. A grave was made between
two manors, and at night the sick man was laid in the
grave, where he rested until one of the witches consulted<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_513" id="Page_513">[Pg 513]</a></span>
the devil as to what should be done next. The invalid was
covered over with turf, while another witch, with a young
boy in her hand, ran the breadth of nine rigs, coming
back to the grave and asking who was her choice? The
response came that Hector was to live and George to die
for him. The ceremony being gone through three times,
all the parties present, except the devil in bodily shape,
returned home. Hector, like his step-mother, escaped
punishment, though the evidence against him was lengthy
and weighty.</p>

<p>In 1633 Sir John Colquhoun of Luss, and Thomas Carlips,
a German servant in his employment, were charged
with consulting necromancers and sorcerers, and with
incest, contrary to the Act of Parliament 9 Queen Mary,
and of an Act of James VI. Colquhoun was married
to Lady Lilias Grahame, the Earl of Montrose's eldest
daughter. The Earl being dead, Lady Colquhoun brought
home Lady Catherine, her second sister (a beautiful young
woman), to reside with her and Sir John. Colquhoun, fascinated
with his sister-in-law's charms, made love to her,
but, meeting with no encouragement from the young lady,
he consulted with Carlips (a necromancer) and with several
witches and sorcerers as to the best way of making her return
his affection. They gave her philters and enchanted
love tokens, including a jewel of gold set with rubies and
diamonds. The enchanted jewel proved effectual: Lady
Catherine's scruples were overcome, and she and Sir John
eloped, making their way to London, whither they were
accompanied by Carlips. Sir John and Carlips, though
indicted, failed to answer the charge, and they were therefore
declared rebels, and "put to the horn."</p>

<p>A singular account is given of the bewitching of Sir
George Maxwell, who died in 1677. The story is founded
on information supplied by his son. It appears that Sir
George Maxwell, being in Glasgow on the 14th October
1676, was suddenly seized at night with a hot and fiery<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_514" id="Page_514">[Pg 514]</a></span>
disease. He hastened home, fearing the worst; and it
was well he did so, for he was long confined to bed of
a painful disorder, that would not yield to his skilful
physician's treatment. It happened about this time that
a young dumb girl, a stranger, appeared in Polloktown.
She came occasionally to Sir George's house, soliciting
assistance. Observing the gentleman's state, she seemed
much troubled, and, by signs, signified to his daughters
that a woman had pricked Sir George's sides. The girl
subsequently pointed out Janet Mathie as the person who
had done the mischief. As suggested by the girl, Mathie's
house was searched for a wax image, supposed to have
been used as an instrument to torture the unfortunate
gentleman. True enough, a wax image was found,
with two pins stuck in it. Mathie was therefore apprehended,
and committed to prison. In presence of the
Sheriff of Renfrewshire, she was searched for insensible
marks by competent inspectors, who found many devil's
marks.</p>

<p>Sir George recovered slightly, but on the 4th January
he became so poorly that his friends despaired of his life.
Meantime, again acting on the dumb girl's suggestion, the
house in which John Stewart (Janet Mathie's eldest son)
resided was searched, and a clay image, having three pins
stuck in it, lay in the bed where he slept. Stewart, and
one of his little sisters, aged fourteen years, were instantly
arrested. Being pressed to tell the truth, the girl apprehended
told that the image had been made by her brother,
Bessie Weir, Margery Craig, and Margaret Jackson, in
presence of a black man, whom she understood to be the
devil. Sir George, curiously enough, recovered after the
second discovery of an image, the same as he had done
at the finding of the former figure. John Stewart remained
obstinate until his body was searched for insensible
marks. These being discovered in great numbers, so
confounded the man that he admitted his compact with<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_515" id="Page_515">[Pg 515]</a></span>
Satan. In a judicial declaration he confessed his accomplices
were his sister and the other women named. On
further examination the girl admitted that she, as well
as her mother and brother, had a paction with Satan.</p>

<p>Lord Ross and the Earl of Dundonald granted a warrant
for the apprehension of Bessie Weir, Margaret Jackson,
and Margery Craig. Margaret Jackson, who had reached
the age of eighty years, like her accomplices, had many
devil's marks on her person. She confessed being accessory
to the making of images, with the intention of depriving
Sir George Maxwell of life.</p>

<p>On the 17th January a third image was found under
Janet Mathie's prison bed in Paisley, concerning which
the dumb girl had given information; but it appeared to
be the picture of a woman. The supposition seemed to be
that it represented a lady belonging to the Pollok family;
for against the whole household Mathie had taken an
inveterate grudge.</p>

<p>The Lords of His Majesty's Privy Council, being informed
of what had been done, granted a commission
to Sir Patrick Gauston of Gauston, James Brisbane of
Bishopton, Sir John Shaw, younger, of Greenock, John
Anderson, younger, of Dovehill, and John Preston, advocate,
with Lord George Ross as assessor, to try the
persons in custody. The Commission held its first court
in Paisley on 27th January 1677. Annabil Stewart, the
girl of fourteen years, when brought before the court
for the crime of witchcraft, stated that, in the previous
harvest, the devil, like a black man, came to her mother's
house and requested the declarant to give herself up to
him, under pretence that if she did so she would never
want. Enticed by her mother and Bessie Weir, she put
her hand to the crown of her head, and the other to the
sole of her foot, and swore that she yielded herself up to
his Satanic majesty. She declared that she had a spirit
that attended her, known to herself and the other witches<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_516" id="Page_516">[Pg 516]</a></span>
by the name of Enippa. Declared further, that all the
other witches had wicked spirits that assisted them in their
evil deeds. She told who were present when the several
images were made. One of the figures was put on a spit,
and turned before the fire. As it went round, each and
all of them kept repeating Sir George Maxwell, Sir George
Maxwell. One night, she said, she saw her brother John
Stewart with a black man with cloven feet.</p>

<p>In a second declaration John Stewart confessed that he,
Bessie Weir, Margaret Jackson, and Margery Craig had
a meeting with the devil on the night of 3rd January,
when he, at the request of Satan, renounced his baptism.
He was induced, he said, to do this, by the devil promising
that he should not want any pleasure, or fail to see revenge
on those who did him wrong. That evening, effigies of
clay were made for taking away the life of Sir George
Maxwell. John observed, when the devil was moulding
the image, that his hands were bluish, and that there were
handcuffs on his wrists.</p>

<p>Margaret Jackson, in her confession, admitted she was
present at the making of an effigy and of a picture
formed in Janet Mathie's house, and that they were
made as instruments for taking away Sir George Maxwell's
life. Admitted further, that, forty years before
her apprehension, she had given herself from the crown
of the head to the sole of the feet to the devil. These
declarations were subscribed by Robert Park, notary-public.</p>

<p>All the accused persons, except Annabil, were found
guilty, and ordered, together with effigies they had prepared
for Sir George's destruction, to be burned. Annabil
seriously admonished her mother to confess before she
suffered; but nothing, we are informed, would move
the obdurate and hardened old witch&mdash;so she perished,
denying her guilt.</p>

<p>In the case of Alison Pearson, who suffered for witchcraft<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_517" id="Page_517">[Pg 517]</a></span>
in Scotland in 1586, several strange revelations
were made. She had had a stroke of paralysis, which so
affected her that at times she suffered severely. She was
a reputed witch, averred to have done serious mischief to
her neighbours. For this reason, she was indicted for
holding communication with demons. She admitted
having intercourse with the Queen of Elfland and the
good neighbours. When she fell into a trance, which happened
often, she saw her cousin, William Sympsoune, of
Stirling (who had been conveyed away to the hills by the
fairies), from whom she received a salve that could cure
every disease; and from this ointment the Archbishop of
St. Andrews confessed he derived benefit. In an indictment
framed against her, it was set forth that she, being
in Grangemuir, lay down sick, and that there came a
man to her, clad in green, who said, if she would be
faithful to him, he would do her much good; but she,
being afraid, cried out, and he went away; that he appeared
to her another time, accompanied by many men
and women, making merry with good cheer and music;
that she was carried away by them; and that, when she
revealed anything, one of the folk chastised her so unmercifully
as to leave ugly marks and take away the power
from one of her sides. In her declaration she stated she
saw the good neighbours (fairies) making their salves,
with pans and fires, from herbs gathered under certain
planets, and on particular days before the sun rose.
Among other revelations, she stated that her cousin,
William Sympsoune, appeared to her in the shape of a
fairy, and bade her sign herself with the cross, to prevent
her being carried to Elfland; for it was dangerous to go
there, as one-tenth of the witches were annually conveyed
thence to the place of everlasting torment.</p>

<p>Another witch story. One night a gentleman in the
west, riding home, was suddenly stopped by an unseen
hand seizing his horse's bridle rein. Having a sword,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_518" id="Page_518">[Pg 518]</a></span>
he first struck at one side of his horse's head, and then at
the other. The animal, now unrestrained, galloped home,
when, on putting the horse into the stable, the gentleman
found a hand cut off at the wrist, hanging to the bridle
reins. Suspecting he had been waylaid by Janet Wood
(a reputed witch in the neighbourhood), he called on her
next day, and found her in bed. She complained of being
ill. After conversing with her for a short time, he rose to
take his leave, and held out his hand to shake hands with
her. She offered him her left hand; but he refused to
take it, saying it was unfriendly to use the left hand for
such a friendly purpose. After a good deal of hesitation,
she admitted that she had lost her right hand in an encounter
she had the previous night when out on witch
business. The gentleman produced the hand, and, on it
being compared with her stump, it fitted exactly. The
question then came to be, how the stroke took effect, for
no ordinary sword could have injured the witch; and it
turned out that it had been charmed by the owner's
grandmother, a sensible old woman.</p>



<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_519" id="Page_519">[Pg 519]</a></span></p>
<h2><a name="CHAPTER_LX" id="CHAPTER_LX"></a>CHAPTER LX.</h2>

<div class="blockquot"><p>Edinburgh and Leith Witches&mdash;Black Catalogue&mdash;Witches Burned
and Drowned&mdash;James VI. and the Witches&mdash;Complaint to the
Scottish Privy Council of Barbarous Conduct&mdash;Relics of Superstition&mdash;Images
found at Arthur Seat&mdash;Witch-finders in Edinburgh and
Leith&mdash;Royal Commission to Magistrates and Ministers to search
for and put Witches to Death&mdash;Wife of a Judge in Edinburgh
meeting a Witch's Fate&mdash;Repeal of the Laws against Witchcraft&mdash;Opposition
to Acts being Repealed&mdash;Judge of the Supreme Courts of
Scotland against a Change of the Law&mdash;Witches in Edinburgh and
Leith in the Sixteenth Century&mdash;James Reid&mdash;Agnes Finnie, the
Potter-row Witch&mdash;Alexander Hamilton, the Warlock&mdash;The Devil and
Hamilton burning a Provost's Mill&mdash;Janet Barker curing a Bewitched
Man&mdash;Margaret Hutchison, a habit-and-repute Witch&mdash;Young Laird
of Duddingston&mdash;Major Weir and his Magical Staff&mdash;A Magical
Distaff&mdash;Agnes Williamson, a Haddingtonshire Witch&mdash;Elizabeth
Bathgate of Eyemouth&mdash;Isabella Young of Eastbarns burned at the
Castlehill.</p></div>


<p>Against Edinburgh and Leith stands a black catalogue of
judicial murders of supposed witches and warlocks. At
the Cross, Gallow Lee, between Edinburgh and Leith, and
on the sands of the latter town, unknown numbers of unhappy
creatures, male and female, were executed in a
most barbarous manner, for the imaginary crime of witchcraft.
Nearly all the victims were first tortured to make
them confess, and afterwards some of them were worried,
and then burned; others were hanged at the Cross,
Gallow Lee; and not a few supposed witches were fastened
to a stake on South Leith sands, and allowed to
remain there until the tide terminated their miseries.</p>

<p>Of James VI., and the witches who persecuted him, we
have treated in chapter <a href="#CHAPTER_XXIV">XXIV</a>.; but it may be further
mentioned that in his time an unprecedented number of
reputed witches were put to death in Edinburgh. His<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_520" id="Page_520">[Pg 520]</a></span>
brutish judges displayed unwonted activity in bringing
men and women to an untimely end, because they
knew their zeal brought them into royal favour. A
time, however, came when the nation could no longer
suffer the barbarities of bygone periods to be continued.
Accordingly, in 1608 a complaint was made to the Scottish
Privy Council against persons in power for so torturing
the hapless women that they died amid smoke and flame,
blaspheming the Most High, and uttering imprecations
against their fellow-creatures.</p>

<p>In the Antiquarian Museum of Edinburgh are a few
relics of superstitious times. They consist of small figures,
representing human beings, which were found in the
crevice of a rock at Arthur Seat, and are, no doubt,
figures formed for magical purposes. In the Museum are
also to be seen implements of torture, to be more particularly
noticed in chapter <a href="#CHAPTER_LXIII">LXIII</a>. Edinburgh and Leith, like
every large town, had professional witch-finders. Royal
commissions were issued to magistrates and ministers of
the Church, giving them power to search for, torture, and
put to death, either by fire or water, every one guilty of
witchcraft. Rich and poor were suspected. Even nobles
were accused of witchcraft; and the wife of a senator of
the College of Justice, in Edinburgh, did not escape a
witch's fate. As indicative of the belief in witchcraft in
high quarters about the middle of last century, we find
that, when the Bill for the repeal of the Act against witches
was introduced into Parliament, in 1735, it was opposed
by persons from whom better sense might have been expected.
Notably among them is named a judge of our
Supreme Law Court in Scotland. Let us look back,
however, to years antecedent to 1735, and see how it
fared with witches in Edinburgh and elsewhere.</p>

<p>Near the latter end of the sixteenth century, Janet
Stewart, belonging to Edinburgh, Christian Levingstone,
Bessie Aitken, residing in Leith, and Christina Sadler<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_521" id="Page_521">[Pg 521]</a></span>
of Blackhouse, were noted witches, who did much mischief
to persons and property.</p>

<p>James Reid was instructed by the devil how to heal
infirm people by the application of silk-laces, south-running
water, and grease. He cured Sarah Borthwick by giving
her south-running water from the Schriff-breyis well, and
casting salt and wheat about her.</p>

<p>Agnes Finnie, an indweller in the Potter-row, Edinburgh,
was indicted before a judge and a jury, on twenty
articles of indictment, charging her with witchcraft and
sorcery. The libel set forth that she had been guilty of
laying on and taking off grievous sickness and diseases
from people. Under one count it was set forth that Finnie
having had a difference in June preceding with Christina
Dickson, the accused, in great wrath, uttered these words,
"The devil ride about the town with you and yours," and
that shortly thereafter the said Christina's daughter, in
her return from Dalkeith to Edinburgh, fell and broke her
leg, which was caused, if the libel was truly drawn up, by
the devilish threats and sorceries of the said Agnes Finnie.
By way of aggravation of her crimes, it was stated she
had confessed, at her first examination before the South-west
Kirk-session of Edinburgh, that she had been
commonly called a rank witch. She was convicted of
nearly all the charges brought against her, and suffered
accordingly.</p>

<p>Alexander Hamilton, a warlock, was indicted for sorcery.
He was enticed away by the devil (so the complainant
made it appear), in the likeness of a black man, to Kingstoun
Hills, East Lothian. In consideration of the poor
man renouncing his baptism, and promising to obey his
Satanic master, that grim contractor, on his part, engaged
that the accused should never want. The panel thereafter
often called Satan up by means of beating the ground
three times with a fir-stick; and he answered to the
summons, sometimes like a corbie, and sometimes like a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_522" id="Page_522">[Pg 522]</a></span>
cat or dog. By the devil's assistance, Hamilton injured
those who hurt him. In particular, he burned Provost
Cockburn's mill, full of corn, by pulling out three stalks
of corn from the Provost's stacks, and burning them at
Gairnetoune Hill. From the indictment it would appear
the devil instructed him how to prepare an ointment from
the oil of spikenard and heart's grease, to cure diseases.
A lady of rank having offended him, he and two witches,
in Salton Wood, raised the devil, who appearing, gave him
the "bottom of blue due," and bade him lay it at the lady's
door, and that the panel, having disposed of the "bottom
of blue due," as directed, the lady and her eldest daughter
died soon thereafter. All the charges being solemnly
admitted by the criminal, he was worried at a stake and
burned.</p>

<p>Janet Barker, a servant, confessed to the magistrates
and ministers of Edinburgh that she had cured a young
man who had been bewitched, by giving him a waistcoat
she had received from the devil; and by placing under a
door a black card which she had also obtained from Satan.</p>

<p>Margaret Hutchison was found guilty, in 1661, of being
habit-and-repute a witch&mdash;a supposed fact spoken to by
the young laird of Duddingston; and of putting a disease
on her servant maid, and thereafter removing it to a cat,
soon after found dead near the servant's bed.</p>

<p>Major Weir, who ended this life, or rather whose existence
was ended, in Edinburgh in the year 1670, was
an enchanter who performed many unaccountable actions
in his day. According to the statement of his sister, his
whole magical power proceeded from a staff he possessed.
The major's sister had at the same time a distaff which
often spun yarn for her without any one handling it. At
night she left the distaff empty, and in the morning it was
full.</p>

<p>In the year 1662 Agnes Williamson, residing at
Samuelston, Haddingtonshire, was indicted for witchcraft.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_523" id="Page_523">[Pg 523]</a></span>
She was charged, <i>inter alia</i>, with taking the strength out
of her neighbour's meal by her enchantments; with raising
a whirlwind, and thereby throwing her neighbour Carfrae
into the water, where he saw her and other witches swimming
about; with telling a neighbour that Carfrae would
lose five hundred merks, and, by her sorcery, setting fire to
his malt kiln; with renouncing her baptism, and taking
the new name of "Nannie Luckfoot." The jury brought
in a verdict of guilty as to her being habit-and-repute a
witch, but they acquitted her of all the other charges.</p>

<p>In the beginning of the seventeenth century Elizabeth
Bathgate, spouse of Alexander Pae, maltman in Eyemouth,
was prosecuted at the instance of the Lord Advocate for
sorcery. The charges exhibited against her were eighteen
in number, from which the following are selected:&mdash;</p>

<div class="blockquot"><p>"Causing the death of George Sprot's child by giving it an enchanted
egg. Throwing the said George Sprot into extreme poverty by her sorcery.
Making a horse sweat to death through the same means, and killing an
ox by dancing on the rigging of the byre in which the animal stood.
Using conjurations and running withershinns in the mill of Eyemouth.
Standing bare-legged in her 'sark-vallie-coat,' at twelve o'clock at night,
conferring with the devil, who was dressed in green clothes. Receiving
a horse shoe from the devil, and laying it in a secret part of the door,
that all her business in-doors might prosper. Casting away and sinking
George Huldie's ship with several persons therein."</p></div>

<p>After a long trial, she was acquitted.</p>

<p>In the year 1629 Isabella Young, spouse of George
Smith, portioner, Eastbarns, was indicted for witchcraft
and sorcery. There were many acts of witchcraft and
sorcery libelled against her, extending over a period of
many years. The Lords of Justiciary, before whom the
trial took place, found her guilty, and sentenced her to be
worried at a stake, and thereafter burned to ashes on the
Castle Hill.</p>



<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_524" id="Page_524">[Pg 524]</a></span></p>
<h2><a name="CHAPTER_LXI" id="CHAPTER_LXI"></a>CHAPTER LXI.</h2>

<div class="blockquot"><p>The Demon of Jedburgh&mdash;Recruiting Sergeant&mdash;Captain Douglas&mdash;An
Apparition&mdash;Witch Shot in the form of a Cat&mdash;Isobel Gowdie,
an Auldearne Witch&mdash;Sabbath Meetings with Satan&mdash;Poor Farmer
Breadley&mdash;Disinterring Unbaptised Children&mdash;Strange Mixture&mdash;Singularly-constructed
Plough&mdash;An equally singular Team&mdash;Attempt
to shoot a Minister&mdash;Bessie Hay's Attempt to slay Harie Forbes&mdash;The
Borrowstounness Witches&mdash;Their Trial and Sentence&mdash;A Pittenweem
Witch&mdash;An Unearthly Horse&mdash;Merciful View of a Witch's Case&mdash;A
Perthshire Witch&mdash;Water of Ruthven Well&mdash;A Changeling.</p></div>


<p>"The demon of Jedburgh" caused considerable annoyance
in 1752. In that year Captain Archibald Douglas
was on recruiting service in the town of Jedburgh. He
had a sergeant under him, who asked permission to
change his quarters, on account of the house in which he
resided being haunted by a spirit of frightful form. The
captain laughed at the inferior officer, and ordered him
to stay in the lodgings appointed him.</p>

<p>At their next meeting the sergeant declared he had
again seen an apparition, which threatened his life. Moved
by a dream and the sergeant's statements, Captain Douglas
resolved to inquire into the matters that so disturbed the
non-commissioned officer. The latter told his superior
that during the night a frightful spectre stood by his bed-side,
that it changed into the shape of a black cat, jumped
out at the window, and flew over the church steeple.
Moreover, the sergeant informed the captain that he had
learned the landlady was a witch, and the landlord possessed
the faculty of second sight.</p>

<p>At night Captain Douglas accompanied the sergeant,
and lay down beside him, leaving his sword and firearms
near them. At midnight the captain was wakened
by a noise, and, on looking up, observed a large black
cat flying through the window. Presently the captain<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_525" id="Page_525">[Pg 525]</a></span>
fired his pistol at the creature, and shot away one of its
ears. Next morning the commissioned officer stepped
into the kitchen to see what was going on there, when in
came the landlady, and swooned away in a pool of blood.
On removing her head-dress, he discovered a pistol-shot
wound on one side of her face, and observed that one of
her ears was gone. The officer swore he would bring her
before the magistrates to have her tried as a witch. She
and her husband entreated him to refrain from giving
information to the authorities, and he, like a generous
man, promised to keep silence, on the condition that they
would abandon their wicked ways.</p>

<p>Isobel Gowdie, one of the Auldearne witches, was
baptised by the devil, with whom she had many "Sabbath
meetings." She and other witches appropriated Farmer
Breadley's corn to themselves, and left him nothing but
weeds. To secure the grain, they at one time disinterred
an unbaptised infant, which, together with parings of their
nails, ears of corn, and colewort leaves, they chopped and
mixed together. At another time, to accomplish a similar
object, a plough, having a colter and sock of rams' horns,
was prepared, and a yoke of toads, instead of oxen, with
dog-grass traces, made to draw it twice round the farmer's
fields. The agricultural implement was held by the devil,
and John Young, a warlock, goaded the team, while a
band of witches followed, beseeching the ploughman to
do his work effectually.</p>

<p>An attempt was made by the gang of witches to which
Isobel Gowdie belonged, to shoot Harie Forbes, the
minister of Auldearne, with elf arrows, shaped by the
devil, and sharpened by his imps. Notwithstanding all
this, the arrows missed the mark. Charms and incantations
were next resorted to with the view of depriving
the parish of a good useful parson, who had been instrumental,
both in and out of the pulpit, in making Satan
tremble. The flesh and gall of a toad, a hare's liver,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_526" id="Page_526">[Pg 526]</a></span>
barley grains, nail parings, mashed in water, were put
into a bag. Bessie Hay, a celebrated witch, being intimate
with Mr. Forbes, went into his room to slay him
with the compound, but the good man was proof against
infernal acts, and so escaped injury.</p>

<p>Certain witches&mdash;Annaple Thomson, Margaret Pringle,
Margaret Hamiltown, relict of James Pollwart, William
Craw, Bessie Wicker, and Margaret Hamilton, relict of
Thomas Mitchell, sadly tormented Borrowstounness and
other parts of Linlithgowshire, in the seventeenth century.
Having entered into a paction with Satan, they did divers
acts of wickedness, for which they were tried before Commissioners
of Justiciary, specially appointed for the purpose
by the Lords of His Majesty's Council. The indictment
charged that:</p>

<div class="blockquot"><p>"Ye, and ilk ane of you, are indytted and accused, that where, notwithstanding,
be the law of God, particularly sett down in the 20 chapter
of Leviticus, and eighteen chap. of Dewtronomie, and be the lawes and
actes of parliament of this kingdome, and constant practiq thereof; particularlie
be 73 act, 9 parliament, Q. Marie, the cryme of witchcraft is
declared to be ane horreid, abominable, and capitall cryme, punishable
with the paines of death and confiscatiown of moveables; never the less
it is of veritie, that you have committed, and ar gwyltie of the said cryme
of witchcraft, in swa far ye have entered in pactiown with the devill,
the enemie of your salvatiown, and have renownced your baptizme, and
have given your selffes, both soulles and bodies, to the devill, and have
bein severall meetings with the devill, and wyth swndrie witches in
diverse places: and particularlie, ye the said Annaple Thomsone had a
metting with the devill the tyme of your weidowhood, before yow was
married to your last husband, in your cwming betwixt Linlithgow and
Borrowstownes, where the devill, in the lykness of ane black man, told
yow that yow wis ane poore puddled bodie, and had ane evill lyiff, and
difficultie to win throw the world; and promesed, iff ye wald followe him,
and go alongst with him, yow should never want, but have ane better
lyiff: and, abowt fyve wekes therefter, the devill appeired to yow when
yow wis goeing to the coal-hill abowt sevin o'clock in the morning.
Having renewed his former tentatiown, yow did condeschend thereto,
and declared yowrselff content to follow him, and becwm his servant:
and ye, and each persone of yow, wis at several mettings with the devill
in the linkes of Borrowstownes, and in the howss of yow Bessie Vickar,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_527" id="Page_527">[Pg 527]</a></span>
and ye did eatt and drink with the devill, and with ane another, and with
witches in hir howss in the night tyme; and the devill and the said
Wm. Craw browght the ale which ye drank, extending to abowt sevin
gallons, from the howss of Elizabeth Hamilton; and yow the said Annaple
had ane other metting abowt fyve wekes ago, when yow wis goeing to the
coal-hill of Grange, and he invitted yow to go alongest, and drink with
him in the Grange pannes. And yow the said Margaret Pringil have
bein ane witch thir many yeeres bygane; hath renownced yowr baptizme,
and becwm the devill's servant, and promised to follow him; and he tuik
you by the right hand, whereby it was, for eight days, grevowslie pained;
but having it twitched of new againe, it imediatelie becam haill. And
yow the said Margaret Hamiltown has bein the devill's servant these eight
or nyne yeeres bygane; and he appered and conversed with yow at the
toun-well at Borrowstownes, and several tymes in yowr awin howss, and
drank several choppens of ale with yow; and the devill gave yow ane
fyve merk piece of gold, whilk a lyttill efter becam ane sklaitt stane.
And yow the said Margaret Hamiltown, relict of James Pullwart, has bein
ane witch, and the devill's servant thertie yeeres since, hath renwncid
yowr baptizme, as said is. And ye, and ilk ane of yow, wis at ane
metting with the devill and wther witches at the croce of Murestaine,
above Kinneil, upon the threttin of October last, where yow all danced,
and the devill acted the pyiper, and where yow endeavored to have
destroyed Andrew Mitchell, sone to John Mitchell, elder in Dean of
Kinneil."</p></div>

<p>Then followed the order and warrant for burning the
witches named in the indictment, couched and signed as
follows:&mdash;</p>

<div class="blockquot"><p>"Forsameikle as Annabil Thomson widdow in Borrowstownes, Margaret
Prinkle relict of John Campbell ther, Margaret Hamiltown relict of James
Pollwart ther, William Craw indweller ther, Bessie Wicker relict of James
Pennie ther, and Margaret Hamiltown relict of Thomas Mitchell ther,
prisoners in the tolbuith of Borrowstownes, are found guiltie be ane
assyse, of the abominable cryme of witchcraft committed be them in
manner mentioned in their dittayes, and are decerned and adjudged be
us under subscryvers (commissioners of justiciary speciallie appoynted to
this effect) to be taken to the west end of Borrowstownes, the ordinar
place of execution ther, upon Tuesday the twentie-third day of December
current, betwixt two and four o'cloack in the efternoon, and there be
wirried at a steack till they be dead, and thereafter to have their bodies
burnt to ashes. These therefoir require and command the baylie principal
off the regalitie of Borrowstownes, and his deputts, to see the said sentence<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_528" id="Page_528">[Pg 528]</a></span>
and doom put to dew execution in all poynts, as yes will be answerable.
Given under our hands at Borrowstownes the nynteenth day of December
1679 years,</p>

<p class="right">
<span class="smcap">"W. Dundas.</span><br />
<span class="smcap">"Rich. Elphenstone.</span><br />
<span class="smcap">"Wa. Sandilands.</span><br />
<span class="smcap">"J. Cornwall.</span><br />
<span class="smcap">"J. Hamilton."</span><br />
</p></div>

<p>Beatrix Laing, a Pittenweem witch, became a most resentful
woman. Because a young lad refused to give her
a few nails, she, by means of putting burning coals and
water into a wooden vessel, cast a grievous sickness on
the young man, which made him swell prodigiously. For
this she was cast into prison, pricked, and kept without
sleep for five nights and days, to make her confess her
dealings in charms and witchcraft generally. After considerable
delay, a confession of guilt was extracted from
the woman. Among other things, she told of a big black
horse that had come to her with five packs of wool.
Beatrix gave the animal to her husband, but the good
man soon desired to get rid of the beast. It did not look
like any other horse he had ever seen; neither whip nor
stick would drive it away. Under the peculiar circumstances,
the poor man consulted his wife as to what was best
to be done. Long deliberation was uncalled for. "Go,"
said Beatrix, "cast his bridle on his neck, and you will
get rid of him." The docile and alarmed husband did as
instructed; and lo, the black horse flew off with a great
noise. Repeated attempts were made by the magistrates
of Pittenweem to induce the Privy Council to bring
Beatrix to trial. The Earl of Balcarres and Lord
Anstruther, members of the Council, looked on her as a
dreamer, and obtained her discharge after five months
incarceration. This act of clemency filled the Pittenweem
people with rage: they drove her from home and
habitation. Hungry and cold, she wandered about for
many days, till death ended her sufferings.</p>

<p>A Perthshire witch cured little children by various
charms. A cake made of meal obtained from nine several<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_529" id="Page_529">[Pg 529]</a></span>
women was an infallible medicine, when eaten by a little
sufferer; and a decoction of certain herbs, infused in
water from the well of Ruthven, carried by one going to
and returning from the spring, silently and alone, was an
invaluable preparation. A neighbour, named John Gow,
had a changeling left in his house in place of a beautiful
infant, belonging to him, stolen by the fairies. The sickly-looking
creature proved a source of great annoyance to
him and his spouse, but, thanks to a witch, it was got
rid of: a dose of her medicine administered to the disguised
fairy proved sufficient to despatch it to fairyland,
or to some other unknown place.</p>



<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<h2><a name="CHAPTER_LXII" id="CHAPTER_LXII"></a>CHAPTER LXII.</h2>

<div class="blockquot"><p>Witchcraft in Aberdeen&mdash;Dean of Guild rewarded for his Diligence in
burning Witches&mdash;Trial of Thomas Leyis for Witchcraft&mdash;Found
Guilty&mdash;Expense of burning Thomas Leyis&mdash;Expense of burning
Janet Wischert and Isobel Cocker&mdash;The Marquis of Huntly's Desire
to punish Witches&mdash;Action of the Presbytery anent Witches&mdash;Helen
Fraser&mdash;Man under the Protection of the Fairy Queen&mdash;Janet
Wischert causing a Man to melt away like a Candle&mdash;Ruining a Man
and his Wife&mdash;Margaret Clark's Power&mdash;Strathdown Witches&mdash;Merry
Wives&mdash;Transforming Besoms into the Likeness of Women&mdash;Riding
on Brooms&mdash;Crossing the Spey in Riddles&mdash;Disappearance of Witches&mdash;Madge
M'Donald of Tomintoul&mdash;Witches' Pool&mdash;A Mountain Tale&mdash;Girl
controlling the Elements&mdash;Witch Burned&mdash;Caithness Witches&mdash;Margaret
Olson, one of the Evil Sisterhood&mdash;Investigation by the
Sheriff&mdash;Margaret Nin-Gilbert&mdash;Helen Andrew&mdash;Shetland Witches&mdash;An
Orkney Lady&mdash;Mary Lamont of Innerkip.</p></div>


<p>Judging from the number of persons burned for alleged
supernatural acts in Aberdeen&mdash;sometimes as many as
twenty-three in a year&mdash;that city must have been a hotbed
of witches. To hunt down witches there, and to
bring them to the stake, met with general approval. Men
in public office, noble lords, ecclesiastics, and the common
people joined in the hunt, with results truly appalling.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_530" id="Page_530">[Pg 530]</a></span>
Under date 21st September 1597, the provost, bailies,
and council showed their appreciation of the diligence of
William Dunn in the discharge of his duties as dean of
guild; and "besides, of his extraordinary pains in the
burning of a great number of witches, and four pirates,
and bigging of the port on the brig of Dee."</p>

<div class="blockquot"><p>They "theirfor, in recompens of his extraordinarie panis, and in
satisfaction theirof (not to induce any preparative to deanes of guild to
crave a recompence heirafter), but to incurage ithers to travel also diligentlie
in the discharge of thair office, grantit and assignit to him the
sum of &pound;47, 3s. 4d. owin be him of the rest of his account of the unlawis
of the persons convict for slaying of black fische, and dischargit him
theirof be their presentis for ever."</p></div>

<p>Thomas Leyis, a stabler in Aberdeen, fell a victim to
the over-zeal of his fellow-citizens at this time, the chief
of whom was, no doubt, the indefatigable dean of guild.
Leyis appeared before the Court of Justiciary held in the
tolbooth of Aberdeen, to answer to the undermentioned
charges:&mdash;</p>

<div class="blockquot"><p>"Imprimis, upon Hallowein last bypast, at twelff houris at even or
thairby, thow, the said Thomas Leyis, accompaneit with umquhil Janett
Wischert, Isobel Coker, Isobel Monteithe, Kathren Mitchell, relict of
umquhil Charles Dun, litster, sorceraris and witches, with ane gryt
number of ither witches, cam to the mercat and fish cross of Aberdene,
under the conduct and gyding of the dewill, present with you all in
company, playing before you on his kynd of instruments. Ye all dansit
about baythe the said crosse and the meill mercate ane lang space of tym;
in the quhilk dewill's dans thow, the said Thomas, was foremost and led
the ring, and dang the said Kathren Mitchell, because she spoilt your
dans, and ran nocht sa fast about as the rest. Testifeit be the said
Kathren Mitchell, quha was present with thee at the tym foresaid, dansin
with the dewill.</p>

<p>"Secundus, the said Thomas Leyis is accusit as a common notorious
witche, in using of witchcraft and sorcerie these dyvers years bygane.</p>

<p>"The haill assis, in ane voce for the maist pairt (except thrie), convicts
and fyllis Thomas Leyis in the first poynt, that he was the ringleader of
the dans on Hallowein last night about the croce, and in either speciall
poynts, and as a notorious witche be oppen voce and common fame."
[Thomas was burned.]</p></div>

<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_531" id="Page_531">[Pg 531]</a></span>The following figures show the expenses incurred in
burning the said unfortunate man:</p>

<table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" width="50%" summary="Table of Expenses">
<tr>
<td style="padding-left: 2em; padding-right: 1em; vertical-align: bottom;"><p class="hang">"Item, for peattis, tar barrellis, fir, and coallis, to
burn the said Thomas, and to Jon Justice for
his fie in executing him</p></td>
<td class="tdr" style="padding-left: 1em;"><p>&pound;2&nbsp;&nbsp;13&nbsp;4"</p></td>
</tr>
</table>

<p class="center">EXPENSES OF BURNING JANET WISCHERT AND ISOBEL COCKER<br />
IN ABERDEEN:</p>

<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="50%" summary="Table of Expenses 2">
<tr>
<td style="padding-left: 2em; padding-right: 1em;"><p class="pht">"Item, for twenty loads of peattis to burn them</p></td>
<td class="tdr" style="padding-left: 1em;"><p class="pt">&pound;2&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;0&nbsp;&nbsp;0&nbsp;</p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="padding-left: 2em; padding-right: 1em;"><p class="pht">&nbsp;Item, for ane boll of coillis</p></td>
<td class="tdr" style="padding-left: 1em;"><p class="pt">&nbsp;&nbsp;1&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;4&nbsp;&nbsp;0&nbsp;</p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="padding-left: 2em; padding-right: 1em;"><p class="pht">&nbsp;Item, for four tar barrellis</p></td>
<td class="tdr" style="padding-left: 1em;"><p class="pt">&nbsp;&nbsp;1&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;6&nbsp;&nbsp;8&nbsp;</p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="padding-left: 2em; padding-right: 1em;"><p class="pht">&nbsp;Item, for fir and win barrellis</p></td>
<td class="tdr" style="padding-left: 1em;"><p class="pt">&nbsp;&nbsp;0&nbsp;16&nbsp;&nbsp;8&nbsp;</p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="padding-left: 2em; padding-right: 1em;"><p class="pht">&nbsp;Item, for a staik, and dressing of it</p></td>
<td class="tdr" style="padding-left: 1em;"><p class="pt">&nbsp;&nbsp;0&nbsp;16&nbsp;&nbsp;0&nbsp;</p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="padding-left: 2em; padding-right: 1em;"><p class="pht">&nbsp;Item, for four fadomes of towis</p></td>
<td class="tdr" style="padding-left: 1em;"><p class="pt">&nbsp;&nbsp;4&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;0&nbsp;&nbsp;0&nbsp;</p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="padding-left: 2em; padding-right: 1em;"><p class="pht">&nbsp;Item, for careing the peattis, coallis, and barrellis
to the hill</p></td>
<td class="tdr" style="padding-left: 1em;"><p class="pt">&nbsp;&nbsp;0&nbsp;13&nbsp;&nbsp;4&nbsp;</p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="padding-left: 2em; padding-right: 1em;"><p class="pht">&nbsp;Item, to Jon Justice for their execution</p></td>
<td class="tdr" style="padding-left: 1em;"><p class="pt">&nbsp;&nbsp;0&nbsp;13&nbsp;&nbsp;4"</p></td>
</tr>
</table>

<p>Another instance of the Aberdonian zeal for the punishment
of witches appears on 6th January 1603. A
minute of the presbytery says:</p>

<div class="blockquot"><p>"The quhilk day, anent the desyre of the Marques of Huntlie desyring
the presbyterie to tak tryell of the witches, and consultares with them,
and to send to his Lordship the delatioun, with the names of sic as were
maist meitt to pass upon the assyse and tryell of them. The presbyterie,
for obedience heirto, ordanit every minister within their precinct to tak
ane subtill and privie inquisition therein&mdash;viz. ilk minister, with tua of
his elderis that fearis God and are maist zealous of his glorie, at ilk particular
kirk respective, tak the aithes of the inhabitants within their
charge, quhat they know of witches and consultaris with them, and wreitt
their depositions, and return the same to the presbyterie, with the names
of sic as are metest to be assyssours to them, that the same may be sent
to the Marques with all hastie expedition, conform to the desyre of his
Lordship's lettre, and his Lordship may charge them."</p></div>

<p>Helen Fraser, an Aberdeen witch, caused Robert
Merchant, a married man, to fall in love with Isobel
Bruce, a widow&mdash;an unholy affection that continued to
the day Fraser was burned.</p>

<p>Andrew Man, an old Aberdonian, considered himself<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_532" id="Page_532">[Pg 532]</a></span>
under the protection of the fairy queen, who imparted to
him a knowledge of all things, and gave him the gift of
healing every disease except one&mdash;the "stand deid"&mdash;the
nature of which is unknown to us. By putting a patient
nine times through a hank of unwashed yarn, and a cat
as often through it in the opposite direction, he cast the
disease on the cat, and thereby cured the invalid.</p>

<p>Janet Wischert, the expense of whose execution has
been given, was a prominent witch in the north. She
caused a man to melt away like a burning candle; she
ruined a husband and his wife, by causing them to put
nine grains of wheat in the corners of their house; she
raised a wind, by putting a piece of live coal at two doors,
whereby she was enabled to winnow some corn for herself,
when none of her neighbours could winnow for want of
wind.</p>

<p>Margaret Clark had the power of transferring pains
from one person to another. She gave a valuable charm
to a widow in search of a second husband. It was to be
worn round her neck until she saw the man she loved
best. When she met him she was to rub her face with
the enchanted ornament, which would prove sufficient to
induce the loved one to return the affection. Of the
success of this scheme there is not sufficient proof; but
there can be no doubt that, by means of charms, she (Clark)
made a cruel husband leave off beating his wife. Clark
was accustomed to attend a convention of twenty thousand
witches, presided over by Satan, at Athole.</p>

<p>Strathdown, a wild romantic place in the north Highlands
of Scotland, has long been celebrated for its witches,
warlocks, ghosts, and fairies. An excellent story is told
of two witches in that strath, who performed extraordinary
feats through Satanic power.</p>

<p>An honest hard-working farmer there was constantly
in great poverty. His cattle died, his sheep were worried,
his ploughs broken, and his carts often overturned. Everything<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_533" id="Page_533">[Pg 533]</a></span>
he did proved unprofitable. His cows' milk was
bewitched; the cream would not turn into butter, the
hens laid few eggs, and the chickens never throve. These
misfortunes happened because he and his wife disregarded
the traditions of their native country. How could they
and theirs thrive? There was not an old horse-shoe nailed
to one of their doors; no rowan tree lay above either
door or window lintel; and the cattle were permitted to
feed on the hill-side, without red thread tied round their
tails. In short, the married couple lived as if no witches
nor evil beings were among the glens and mountains, and
as if they did not require to evoke the aid of the wise men
and women in their parish.</p>

<p>The farmer had two neighbours, by no means noted
for industry; still they throve. Their wives were comely
happy creatures, beloved by close companions and friends.
On one occasion, when the unfortunate farmer's wife was
complaining to the other two farmers' wives, they told her
that if she would take their advice she would become
prosperous like them. She consented to follow their
counsel. The first thing the witches did (for, as the
sequel will show, they were witches deeply learned in
Satan's wicked ways) was to impose on the novice a vow
of secrecy; then to direct her, when going to bed, to
take with her the besom, and, when her husband was
asleep, to rise and come to them, leaving the besom beside
him, and it would assume her appearance, so that he could
not miss her.</p>

<p>The poor man's wife, having done as directed, hurried
out to join her companions, whom she found ready to
start on a journey. They had torches to light them on
their way, brooms to ride on through the air, and riddles
to ferry them over the rapid running Spey; for they had
a meeting that night, on the north side of this river, with
kindred spirits and the ruler of darkness. Every one of
the three women bestrode a broom, and away they went<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_534" id="Page_534">[Pg 534]</a></span>
over mountain and glen. A few minutes brought them
to the Spey, where they alighted in safety. The experienced
witches at once launched their riddles to cross the water;
but the third woman hesitated to trust herself in the open
agricultural implement. Impatient at delay, her companions
urged her to follow them. Never did lover seem
more anxious to meet lover than those two witches were
to join the beings on the other side, engaged in mirth
and revelry. At the foot of a mountain near by (on the
top of which the ancient inhabitants of the north used to
worship the sun and fire) orgies were being carried on,
while the top seemed to be in flames. Sweet music
saluted the ear, and a savoury smell arose from a huge
table, on which were spread a thousand dishes. A tall
man with swarthy complexion, as if he had come from
a warm clime, stood to welcome all comers; and truly
there were many hastening to the revel. Women flew
as swiftly as if they were crows, and crossed the river
as readily in their riddles as if they were mermaids. The
novice became greatly alarmed, and crossed herself repeatedly.
Just as the wicked witches reached the middle
of the stream, she exclaimed, "Holy Mother, confound
them!" The words had scarcely escaped from her lips,
before the lights were extinguished and horrid yells of
despair sounded far and near.</p>

<p>Left alone in such a fearful place, the poor woman
began to think what she could do. Remembering her
distance from home, she felt at first inclined to bestride
a broom and fly back; but second thoughts brought
to mind the fate of her two unfortunate companions,
whom she believed were drowned. Resolved to walk,
or rather run, back to her abode before morning dawn,
she went forward over moorland wilds, staying not,
nor even looking behind, until she entered her own
house and barred the door. Husband and besom occupied
the bed as on the previous night. Removing the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_535" id="Page_535">[Pg 535]</a></span>
latter, she quietly took its place, but not to sleep; for
her nervous system had received a severe shock&mdash;indeed
so much so, that for more than a week she did not rise.</p>

<p>Meantime the two lost women were missed; and the
inhabitants far and near turned out to search for them.
Every effort to discover them, dead or alive, proved unsuccessful.</p>

<p>When ordinary efforts to find the women failed, the
disconsolate husbands sought the advice of Madge Macdonald,
the wise woman of Tomintoul. This important
person told the husbands there was a person not far away
who could tell about the women's disappearance, and that
if she did not speak out, she (Madge Macdonald) would
see what could be done. Madge commenced muttering to
herself, "East, west, south, north; east, west, south, north."
This she said several times, and then followed a long
pause. A new idea seemed to strike her; and she abruptly
asked the farmers if either or both missed any of their
besoms or riddles. They had not; but, search being made,
sure enough, each husband missed a besom and a riddle.
"So I thought," said Madge at their next interview; and
then added, "Look for your wives in the Spey." No time
was lost in following the woman's advice. A search was
made from the source of the Spey to the ocean, without any
trace of the bodies being obtained; but, most extraordinary,
the riddles were found near the "Witches' Pool," a deep
part of the river, known by this name to the present day.</p>

<p>A startling mountain tale is given of a girl who could
control the elements by means of magical power. The
story runs thus:&mdash;A little girl, walking with her father on
his land, heard him complain of drought and want of rain.
"Why, father," said the child, "I can make it rain or hail
when and where I list." He asked from whom she had
obtained such power. She replied, from her mother, who
had forbidden her to divulge the secret. In violation, however,
of a solemn promise, she said her mother had<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_536" id="Page_536">[Pg 536]</a></span>
committed her to a master that did everything she desired.
"Why, then," said her father, "make it rain, but only on
one field." So she went to a stream, threw up water in
her master's name, and presently it rained. Proceeding
further, she made it hail on another field, when no hail
fell elsewhere. Hereupon the father accused his wife of
witchcraft, caused her to be burned, and of new had his
child christened.</p>

<p>Witchcraft continued in all its phases in the first quarter
of the eighteenth century. In the year 1718 the Caithness
witches were particularly active. Margaret Olson, one of
the evil sisterhood, tormented William Montgomerie, a
mason at Scrabster, and his family. She became displeased
at him in consequence of his coming into possession of a
property from which she had been expelled. To work
out her evil design, she and certain associates transformed
themselves into the form of cats. One night there
appeared in Montgomerie's house no fewer than eight cats,
not mewing nor caterwauling, but speaking with human
voices. As this kind of annoyance could not be endured,
the mason boldly attacked them with a sword, and so
seriously cut one of the feline crew that it appeared to be
dead. Mangled, and seemingly lifeless, the carcass was
cast into the open air. Next morning it could not be
seen. A few nights afterwards the cats or fiends appeared
again in full force, less one, and attacked a servant-man as
he lay in bed. Montgomerie rushed to the rescue, thrust
a dirk through the body of one of the intruders, beat
it on the head with an axe, and threw the dead-like cat
out before the door, as he had done with its former companion.
Next day it could not be found. Rumour,
with its thousand tongues, spread the report that
Margaret Nin-Gilbert, a confederate of Olson, was one of
the cats which had been seemingly killed. Proof was
adduced that one of Margaret's neighbours saw her at her
own door drop one of her legs, black and putrefied.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_537" id="Page_537">[Pg 537]</a></span>
The Sheriff-depute of Caithness-shire ordered her to be
apprehended, and, when judicially interrogated, she confessed
being the devil's servant. She also admitted it
was she who, in the similitude of a cat, had been thrust
through with a dirk and smashed by William Montgomerie.
She did not attempt to deny that the neighbour who saw
her leg falling off spoke the truth. She delated four
women of evil repute, two of whom were Margaret Olson
and Helen Andrew, the latter being the witch cut with
a sword when appearing like a cat to Montgomerie. Poor
Helen's injuries proved fatal; for she died, when thrown
out, like a lifeless quadruped; and Nin-Gilbert soon
followed her companion in sin to the grave, her broken
gangrened leg having brought about her demise. Several
years afterwards (1722), as seen in page <a href="#Page_491">491</a>, or, as Sheriff
Barclay says, in 1727, the law was for the last time put
into execution against a reputed witch in Great Britain, viz.
in the county of Sutherland, a northern shire of Scotland.</p>

<p>Dunrossness had a witch in the middle of the seventeenth
century that plagued the Shetlanders. A boat's
crew having given her offence, she determined to procure
their untimely end. To accomplish her diabolical purpose,
she put a wooden cap into a tub of water, and then began
to sing (presumably to the devil), in order that a storm
might be raised, and the fishermen at sea drowned. As
she sang, the water in the tub became greatly troubled,
and ultimately it was so exceedingly agitated that the
cap turned upside down. As the cap toppled over she
exclaimed, "The turn's done." A few hours afterwards,
word reached Dunrossness that the fishermen against
whom she entertained the grudge were drowned.</p>

<p>In the beginning of the seventeenth century a cunning
woman in Shetland succeeded, through diabolical art, in
transferring a sore disease, which afflicted her husband, to
the body of a neighbour.</p>

<p>An old Orkney lady removed diseases by pulling mill-foil<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_538" id="Page_538">[Pg 538]</a></span>
in a particular way, repeating a few Latin words&mdash;sometimes
benedictions, but more frequently maledictions&mdash;and
performing certain mysterious operations at the
marches of two estates.</p>

<p>Mary Lamont, eighteen years of age, residing at
Innerkip in the year 1662, had power, like the girl
mentioned in page <a href="#Page_535">535</a>, to control the elements. She
could raise storms, and, if a tempest was desired in the
Clyde or at sea, she only required to throw small charmed
stones into the flowing tide. Then there were plenty of
ships lost and men drowned. She and her diabolical
companions not unfrequently made their power felt at
Campbeltown, now famous for its whisky, and at the Mull
of Kintyre, where many a sailor has perished on its dangerous
shore, amidst the raging of the sea and roaring of
the storm.</p>



<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<h2><a name="CHAPTER_LXIII" id="CHAPTER_LXIII"></a>CHAPTER LXIII.</h2>

<div class="blockquot"><p>Neither Police nor Medical Men much required in Olden Times&mdash;Instruments
of Torture&mdash;Torture declared Illegal&mdash;Case of John Felton&mdash;Berkly
Witch&mdash;Attempt on the Life of Edward II.&mdash;Master John of
Nottingham&mdash;Escape of Coventry Necromancers from Justice&mdash;Ursley
Kempe <i>alias</i> Gray&mdash;Annis Herd's Imps&mdash;Paying Blackmail to
Witches&mdash;The Rutland Family bewitched&mdash;Witchcraft of a Mother
and her two Daughters&mdash;A Pendle Witch&mdash;Strange Narrative&mdash;Essex
Witches&mdash;Witches of Northamptonshire&mdash;Bullet-proof Witch&mdash;Drawing
Blood above the Temples&mdash;Anne Bodenham foretelling how a Law-plea
would be decided&mdash;Strange Proceedings&mdash;Discovering Concealed
Poison&mdash;Performing Spirits&mdash;Ride to London through the Air&mdash;Anne
Bodenham dying Impenitent.</p></div>

<p>Our forefathers did not so much require a detective
police force nor medical men as we do. If thefts were
committed, or persons became sick, cunning men or
uncanny women were sent for. As rule, the offences<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_539" id="Page_539">[Pg 539]</a></span>
or diseases were traced to witches or other missionaries of
Satan. A suspected person received neither justice nor
mercy at the hands of judges and juries. Instruments of
torture were applied to wring out false self-accusations
against the unhappy individual under trial. Thumbkins,
or thumb-screws, were tightened on the hands; boots with
wedges were put on the feet; and the flesh was torn with
red-hot pincers. These and other instruments were used
to make persons speak; and again, when one spoke too
much, or said what became unpleasant, a gag secured
silence. In addition to the torture inflicted by such
articles as we have enumerated, suspected criminals were
not unfrequently put in the stocks and jugs, whipped at
a "cart tail," made to stand bare-headed and bare-footed
before the public, or exposed in sackcloth at a church
door or the market cross, to be gazed at, laughed at, and
sometimes to be pelted by onlookers, rendered cruel and
superstitious by their rulers and spiritual advisers.</p>

<p>All things have an end. Examinations by torture were
declared illegal in this country in 1628, yet, notwithstanding
such a declaration, examinations under torment
were resorted to in 1640. As an instance of the danger
of torturing a criminal, not to speak of its inhumanity,
we notice the case of John Felton, accused of assaulting
the Duke of Buckingham in the year last above mentioned.
On the Bishop of London proposing to put Felton on the
rack with the view of obtaining from him the names of
his associates, the criminal replied, "If it must be so, I
know not whom I may accuse in the extremity of pain&mdash;Bishop
Laud, or perhaps any lord at this board." But
we return to our proper subject.</p>

<p>An appalling story of an English witch comes down to
us from the ninth century. The Berkly witch was rich
and gay, living, to all appearance, a life of pleasure; but,
having sold herself to the devil, a sad day of reckoning
came at last. Before her death she called on the monks<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_540" id="Page_540">[Pg 540]</a></span>
and nuns of a monastery, to whom she confessed that
she had entered into a compact with Satan, who would,
after her death, snatch away body and soul, unless prevented
by means she explained. According to directions,
her body was sewed into a stag's skin, and placed in a
stone coffin, strongly secured with an iron chain. If the
holy men and women, she said, could prevent the devil
for three days from getting her, he could not after that
time injure either her body or spirit. Faithfully did
the monks and nuns watch over the witch's dead body,
protected as far as iron, stone, and lead could do. On the
first two nights minor demons kept up a loud howling.
On the third night the monastery swarmed with more
powerful demons, one of whom proved so strong and terrible
that he shook the sacred edifice to its foundation. In
spite of all the precautions taken, the big fiend burst into
the church, went straight to the witch's coffin, and commanded
her to follow him. With faltering tongue the
dead woman said she could not stir, as she was chained
down. A slight twist of his hand broke the chain into
two pieces. Slowly the corpse rose; and the devil dragged
his prey to the door, where stood a horse breathing fire.
Away went horse, devil, and witch down to the infernal
abode.</p>

<p>King Edward II. of England and two of his favourites
had an attempt made on their lives by persons who sought
the assistance of Master John of Nottingham, a famous
necromancer. John agreed, for a money consideration,
to assist them. He made wax images, representing his
Majesty and the other gentlemen intended for death. The
necromancer, his assistant, and twenty-seven Coventry
men were tried for the foul offence, but escaped punishment,
the evidence against them proving insufficient to
warrant a conviction.</p>

<p>Ursley Kempe <i>alias</i> Gray, an English witch, killed
many of her near neighbours. If her own statement could<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_541" id="Page_541">[Pg 541]</a></span>
be relied on, she possessed four imps. Two of them had
power to kill, but the other two could do no more than
punish men and beasts with lameness. Other witches in
the neighbourhood where Ursley lived controlled imps
that wrought mischief on all sides, until they became a
terror to the country.</p>

<p>Annis Herd had six little spirits like blackbirds, and
six resembling cows, though not larger than rats.</p>

<p>About the beginning of the seventeenth century a
grievous affliction befell the Earl and Countess of Rutland's
family. Their eldest son died; their second son was seized
with severe sickness; and their daughter, Lady Catherine,
suffered from a severe malady. Witchcraft lay at the
root of the whole matter. Johan Flower, a widow, and her
two daughters, Philip and Margaret, were the suspected
witches. They were brought before a magistrate. Philip
stated that the evils referred to had been brought on
the Earl's family by her mother and sister, because the
latter, a servant at the castle, had been dismissed.
Margaret, by desire of her mother, stole the eldest son's
right-hand glove and carried it home. The mother, who
had an imp or evil spirit like a cat, rubbed the glove on
the cat's back, ordering it to go and kill Lord Henry (the
eldest son); and it set off to perform the devilish work
assigned it. That the deed might be the more quickly
performed, Johan put the glove into boiling water, pricked
it with pins, and buried it. Lord Henry died.</p>

<p>A glove of Lord Francis (the second son) was operated
on in a similar manner; but, his life not being desired,
he sickened only. Lady Catherine's malady was caused
by a process similar to that which killed one of her
brothers and brought her other brother nigh death's door.
Philip admitted she had an imp like a white rat, which
made Thomas Simpson love her. Margaret had two
spirits, to whom she had sold herself, soul and body.
Johan's spirits told her she would neither be burned nor<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_542" id="Page_542">[Pg 542]</a></span>
hanged&mdash;a prediction verified; for she died from some
unknown cause on the way to prison. The two daughters
suffered the extreme penalty of the law.</p>

<p>Edmund Robinson, a boy about eleven years of age,
living at Pendle in 1632, told his friends remarkable
stories about witches. One day two greyhounds with
golden collars came to him, and, because they would not
chase a hare that happened to pass, he tied the dogs to
a bush, and began to beat them. While the work of
castigation proceeded, one of the hounds became like
the wife of a man named Dickenson, living in the neighbourhood,
and the other hound turned into the shape of a
little boy. The woman beseeched Robinson not to tell
she was a witch. Little Edmund imprudently said he
would not keep the secret, whereupon she transformed
the boy that had appeared as a greyhound into a white
horse. Dickenson's wife took Edmund, and mounted the
horse with him. Before they had ridden more than a
quarter of a mile they came to a new house, where threescore
persons were assembled at a splendid entertainment.
Ample supplies came down by six visitors pulling
as many ropes. By this operation smoking-hot joints,
lumps of butter, and milk in abundance fell into basins
placed under the ropes. Little Edmund ran away, but
before he reached his father's house a boy with cloven feet
attacked him most unmercifully, cutting his face and ears.
What the result would have been none can tell, had not
two horsemen come forward and rescued Edmund from
the evil spirit. The case being reported to Charles I., he
instructed one of his bishops to make special inquiry
into the matter. The bishop did not credit the boy's
statement, so the king ordered the liberation of several
women identified by the boy as having been concerned in
the witch proceedings at the new house.</p>

<p>At one time a band of Essex witches, numbering not less
than thirteen, killed people, cattle, and horses, caused sickness,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_543" id="Page_543">[Pg 543]</a></span>
destroyed milk, beer, and batches of bread by their
wicked arts, and sent their imps to burn dwelling houses,
barns, and corn.</p>

<p>The witches of Northamptonshire were famous in their
day and generation. Agnes Brown and Johan Vaughan
were grievously implicated. They, out of revenge against
Mrs. Belcher for insulting Johan, Agnes Brown's daughter,
griped and gnawed the lady's body, and put her mouth
awry. Mrs. Belcher's brother, Alexander, went to the
witches' house to draw their blood, and thereby counteract
their enchantments. He repeatedly struck at them, but
some unseen power warded off the blows. He returned
home without performing the task he undertook, and
without doing his sister any good. Naturally enough,
Agnes Brown and Johan were offended at the attempted
outrage; and they, by their witchcraft, laid the young
man on a bed of sickness. The witches were apprehended
and lodged in Northampton gaol. Hither did
Mrs. Belcher and her brother proceed, to draw blood of
the witches. They succeeded in performing the operation,
which we presume was done by cutting them above
the mouth; for if the blood is not spilled "above the
breath" in a case of this kind, the sanguinary deed is of
no avail. The afflicted man and woman found relief for
a short space of time. Scarcely, however, had they left
the prison than their pains returned with double torment.
That was not all. As they drove along in a coach, a man
and woman, riding on a black horse, suddenly appeared.
The sight was taken as an omen of mischief; and so it
happened; for the horses of Mrs. Belcher and her brother
fell down dead on the road.</p>

<p>Once upon a time, when the Earl of Essex and his army
were marching through Newbury, they saw a woman
crossing a river on a narrow plank, and otherwise conducting
herself, so as to make them conclude she was a witch.
The soldiers caught her, and, by desire of their captain,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_544" id="Page_544">[Pg 544]</a></span>
two of them shot at her. With loud laughter and derision,
she caught the bullets in her hands and threw them back.
One daring fellow went close to the woman and discharged
his carbine at her breast, but the bullet rebounded without
taking effect. Another soldier tried to cut her down
with his sword, but his arm lost its power. All efforts to
kill her proved abortive, until blood was drawn from above
the witch's temples, and then she fell by a pistol shot
under her ear.</p>

<p>Anne Bodenham, an English witch, told fortunes, kept
imps, and held intercourse with the devil. She could
raise storms, and kill and cure at pleasure. There was
a law-plea between Richard Goddard and Mr. Mason, his
son-in-law. Anne Styles went to inquire at Anne Bodenham
how the law-suit would be decided. Bodenham
made a circle on the floor with her staff, and then placed a
book, a green glass, and a pan of coals, within the circle.
Suddenly a high wind rose, which made the house shake;
and five puny devils resembling ragged boys entered the
circle, followed by Bodenham's dog and cat. Boys, dog,
and cat danced round the pan of coals. After deep thought,
the woman took up her book and read part of it, then
she threw white seeds to the spirits, which they picked
up. Dancing commenced again, and again the woman
Bodenham read her book. At last she went out at the
back door, followed by her sprites; and the wind, which
kept blowing a furious blast all the time, ceased. Alone
the witch returned, and told the messenger how the law-suit
would terminate.</p>

<p>At another time Anne Styles went, by order of Mrs.
Goddard, to learn from Bodenham where a quantity of
poison, concealed by the lady's two step-daughters, could
be found. The witch went through all the ceremonies formerly
performed, and the sprites acted their parts. One
of the boys, however, on this occasion turned into a
snake, and afterwards into a dog. Herbs that caused a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_545" id="Page_545">[Pg 545]</a></span>
noisome smell were burned, the book was again consulted,
and a glass produced, in which Styles saw Mrs. Goddard's
bed-chamber, and the poison concealed below a pillow.
To punish the young ladies for their diabolical intention,
Anne Bodenham sent Mrs. Goddard powdered leaves and
the parings of her finger nails, to operate injuriously on
their stomachs and brains. The witch offered to carry
Anne Styles through the air to London&mdash;an offer that was
not accepted. Bodenham often changed herself into the
form of a black cat of enormous size. The witch had a tame
toad that she constantly kept in a small bag, suspended
from her neck. She could say the Creed backwards as
well as forwards. She was condemned to death, and died
impenitent, refusing to listen to psalm-singing or prayers.</p>

<p>Glasgow, like other towns, did not lack witches and
warlocks, nor did it permit its burning faggots to be
extinguished. The fury against such members of society
may be judged of when it is known that repentance stools,
pillars, and jugs were made, and whips prepared for
ordinary church offenders&mdash;when it is known that scolding
women were stuck up in jugs and branks in the most
public places of Glasgow&mdash;when it is known that holy
men and women were burned alive there for adhering to
the principles of the Reformation&mdash;when it is known that
men and women were imprisoned and whipped every day
during the kirk-session's pleasure, for offences now considered
venial&mdash;when it is known that, for a breach of
the seventh commandment, some were carted through the
streets, whipped, and thereafter banished from the town;
that others, for a violation of the said commandment, were
fined and ordained to stand at the cross with "fast bands
of iron about their craigs, and papers on their foreheads,
bareheaded, and without cloaks or plaids;" and that
others again, for similar offences, were carted through
the town, and lowered by means of a pulley from the Glasgow
Bridge and ducked in the Clyde.</p>

<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_546" id="Page_546">[Pg 546]</a></span>In 1649 the session requested all who knew any acts
of witchcraft or sorcery against witches and warlocks in
Glasgow to intimate the same to the ministers and magistrates,
that the offenders might be proceeded against with
rigour. As a proof that "the work goes bonnily on" (as
Mr. David Dickson, professor of divinity, said on seeing
Sir Walter Rollock, Sir Philip Nisbet, and Ogilvie of
Inverquharty led to execution in 1645), we mention that,
so frequent were the prosecutions against witches and
warlocks in Glasgow, that the magistrates, in 1698, considered
it expedient to bargain with the jailor for the keep
of witches and warlocks imprisoned in the tolbooth by
order of the Lords Commissioners of Justiciary.</p>

<p>Paisley would appear to have been a western centre for
witches. In fact, if tradition and written history can be
relied on, Renfrew, with Paisley for its capital, suffered
more from witchcraft than almost any other county in
Scotland. Mr. D. Semple informs us that, so recently as
1697, six poor creatures were convicted of this crime
before the regality of Paisley, and were "worrit" and
burned to death on the Gallows Green. So audacious
were those in league with Satan, that they assailed men in
high position as well as those in low degree. John P&mdash;&mdash;
and others were indicted in 1692 for slandering, calumniating,
reproaching, and taking away the good name of
John Adams, late bailie of Paisley, and others; and for
drinking the devil's health. Being found guilty, they were
ordered "to go to the stair-foot of Bailie Adams, and confess
they scandalised; and if not, to be taken to the mercatt
cross of Paisley, with a paper on their breast, bearing these
words in great letters: 'We stand here for scandalising,'
etc. They all obeyed but Janet Fife, on whom the sentence
was executed." Mr. Hector, sheriff-clerk of Renfrewshire,
from whose work on the peculiar trials of his county we
are quoting, remarks, "If this wholesome treatment was
more carried out, we would have fewer long tongues."</p>



<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_547" id="Page_547">[Pg 547]</a></span></p>
<h2><a name="CHAPTER_LXIV" id="CHAPTER_LXIV"></a>CHAPTER LXIV.</h2>

<div class="blockquot"><p>Paying Blackmail to Witches&mdash;Breach of Contract with a Witch&mdash;Demon
of Tedworth&mdash;Mysterious Drum&mdash;A Persecuted Family prayed
for&mdash;Unaccountable Sounds and Sights&mdash;Satan's Audible Responses&mdash;Drummer
found guilty of Sorcery&mdash;Raising Storms&mdash;A Wizard in
Cromwell's Army&mdash;Florence Newton&mdash;Aldermen's Children bewitched
to Death&mdash;Man kissed to Death in Youghal Prison&mdash;Witch unable
to say the Lord's Prayer&mdash;Julian Cox, an old Taunton Witch&mdash;Woman
in shape of a Hare&mdash;Bewitched Cattle&mdash;Mode of discovering a Witch&mdash;Selling
a Soul to the Devil&mdash;Witch Executed&mdash;A Song of the
Seventeenth Century.</p></div>


<p>In the seventeenth century it was not uncommon for
people in England to secure themselves against witchcraft
after the manner Lowland Scotchmen protected themselves
from Highland robbers&mdash;by paying "blackmail." In
1612 John Davice, a Lancashire man, agreed to give a
dangerous witch, residing near him, a quantity of meal
annually, on condition that she would not bewitch him or
his. She adhered to her part of the contract, but Davice,
like a foolish fellow, ceased to implement his part of it.
The covenant being broken, he was no longer safe, and
she bewitched him to death.</p>

<p>Many have heard of the Demon of Tedworth, in
the county of Wilts, in the year 1661. Mr. John Mompesson,
of Tedworth, hearing a drum beaten one day, inquired
what it meant. The bailiff told him that the people had
for some days been troubled with an idle drummer, who
demanded money from them. On learning this, Mr.
Mompesson sent for the man, and, on his coming, commanded
him to lay aside his drum. At the same time
the gentleman directed the constable to carry the disturber
of the peace before a magistrate, in order to have him
punished. The fellow begged earnestly to have his drum,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_548" id="Page_548">[Pg 548]</a></span>
but it was not thought advisable to let him have it; therefore
it was kept in Mr. Mompesson's house.</p>

<p>About a month after the drummer's apprehension, Mr.
Mompesson's family were sadly annoyed by violent knocking
and drumming&mdash;at times apparently in the house, and
at other times seemingly on the house-top. This disturbance
continued for weeks without much change, but
then the annoyance became unbearable. An offensive
smell pervaded the house; boards danced through rooms
and passages by day; and at night, drumming was heard
for hours together in the apartment where the drum lay.</p>

<p>To administer comfort, if not to afford protection, to the
family, the minister and divers pious neighbours came to
the house to pray. The clergyman knelt down at a
bed-side, but soon rose again, to avoid being injured by
shoes and other missiles thrown at him. Singing was
sometimes heard, blue lights were seen, doors closed and
opened with a bang ten times in as many minutes, although
no one could be seen near them. During the time of a
more than ordinary alarm, when many people were
present, a gentleman said, "Satan, if the drummer set thee
to work, give three knocks, and no more." Three knocks
immediately followed. For further trial, the gentleman
said, "If the drummer has instructed thee, Satan, to
molest this innocent family, give five knocks, and no more,
to-night." Five knocks were given in response, which
were the last knockings heard before next day.</p>

<p>One morning Mr. Mompesson, seeing a quantity of wood
in a corner of the house, discharged a pistol at the sticks,
as he thought a person lay concealed under them. On
their being removed, no one could be seen, but a pool of
blood met the eye. For a whole year the family suffered
by the wicked arts of the vagabond drummer. For his
malicious doings he was tried at the Salisbury assizes.
On the evidence of the parish minister, and of other
intelligent witnesses, he was found guilty of sorcery, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_549" id="Page_549">[Pg 549]</a></span>
condemned to transportation. It is reported that, on the
voyage to the penal settlements, he alarmed the sailors
and endangered the ship, by raising storms which almost
engulphed the vessel. The drummer told a few confidential
companions that he had served in Cromwell's army
with another soldier, a well-known wizard, who instructed
him in the magical art.</p>

<p>Florence Newton was committed to Youghal prison
the same year (1661) for witchcraft. The mayor of
Youghal, in giving evidence against her, said there were
three aldermen, whose children had been bewitched to
death by the accused kissing the little ones. The indictment
also contain a charge against her for bewitching
David Jones to death, by kissing his hand through
the prison grating. It appears that Jones and Francis
Besely were watching Newton one night in the prison,
to see if she had any familiars resorting to her. David
Jones told the prisoner that he had heard she could not
say the Lord's Prayer, to which she replied that she
could. They found, however, that she could not repeat
it. David tried to instruct her; but, all he could do, she
would not utter the words, "Forgive us our trespasses."
Seemingly grateful for his assistance, she asked him to
come near her, that she might kiss his hand. He stretched
out his hand, and she kissed it through a window protected
with iron bars. Subsequently Jones told deponent
that ever since the old hag kissed his hand he felt ill.
At times he imagined she was pulling his arm. The
court found Newton guilty of witchcraft, and she fell a
victim to the popular superstition of her time.</p>

<p>Julian Cox, aged seventy years, was indicted at Taunton
summer assizes in the year 1663, before Judge Archer,
for witchcraft practised upon a young maid. The evidence
against her was divided into two heads: first, to prove
her habit and repute a witch; secondly, to prove her guilty
of the witchcraft mentioned in the indictment.</p>

<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_550" id="Page_550">[Pg 550]</a></span>The first witness, a huntsman, swore that, while out
with a pack of hounds to hunt a hare, not far from
Julian Cox's house, he started one. The dogs chased
the creature very close, so that it was fain to take shelter
in a bush. He ran to protect the hare from being torn;
and great was his surprise to find that, in place of a
quadruped, there lay Julian Cox, panting for want of
breath.</p>

<p>A farmer said she had caused his cattle to run mad.
Some of the animals killed themselves by striking their
heads against trees; and that nearly every one of his
herd died, either through their own violence, or by a
disease evidently brought on by witchcraft. To discover
the witch, he cut off the bewitched animals' ears and
burned them, an infallible process for bringing the offender
to light. While those animal organs were consuming in
the fire, Julian Cox came raging into the house, asserting
she was being abused without cause. He once saw her
flying through a window of her house in her own proper
likeness.</p>

<p>In her declaration before a justice of the peace, Cox
admitted that the devil often tempted her to be a witch.
One evening there came riding on broom-sticks three
persons&mdash;a witch, a wizard who had been hanged years
before, and a black man. The last-mentioned tempted
her to give him her soul; but, though he offered great
rewards, she did not yield&mdash;no, not for a moment.</p>

<p>Judge Archer told the jury he had heard a witch could
not repeat that petition in the Lord's Prayer, "Lead us
not into temptation;" and having this opportunity, he
would try whether any reliance could be placed in the
report. He then asked the prisoner whether she could
say the Lord's Prayer. She declared she could, and went
over it readily enough, except the part thereof just quoted.
Several chances were given her to complete the prayer,
but she could not finish it without mistakes. The jury<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_551" id="Page_551">[Pg 551]</a></span>
found her guilty of witchcraft, and she was executed a
few days afterwards without confessing her sins.</p>

<p>As an example of how the people's minds were filled
with superstition, even in their merry moments, we give
the following popular English song of the seventeenth
century, as sung by Robin Goodfellow to the fairies:</p>

<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">"Round about, little ones, quicke and nimble;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">In and out, wheele about, run, hope, and amble;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Joyne your hands louingly; well done, muisition:<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Mirth keepeth one in health like a physicion.<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Elues, vrchins, goblins all, and little fairyes<br /></span>
<span class="i0">That doe filch, blacke, and pinch maydes of the dairyes,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Make a ring in this grasse with your quick measures:<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Tom shall play and I'le sing for all your pleasures.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i4">Pinch and Patch, Gill and Grim,<br /></span>
<span class="i4">Gae you together;<br /></span>
<span class="i4">For you change your shapes<br /></span>
<span class="i4">Like to the weather:<br /></span>
<span class="i4">Sib and Tib, Licks and Lull,<br /></span>
<span class="i4">You all have trickes too:<br /></span>
<span class="i4">Little Tom Thumb that pipes,<br /></span>
<span class="i4">Shall goe betwixt you;<br /></span>
<span class="i4">Tom, tickle up thy pipes<br /></span>
<span class="i4">Till they be weary;<br /></span>
<span class="i4">I will laugh ho, ho, hoh,<br /></span>
<span class="i4">And make me merry.<br /></span>
<span class="i5">Make a ring on this grasse<br /></span>
<span class="i5">With your quicke measures:<br /></span>
<span class="i5">Tom shall play and I will sing<br /></span>
<span class="i5">For all your pleasures.<br /></span>
</div>

<div class="stanza">
<span class="i4">The moone shines faire and bright,<br /></span>
<span class="i4">And the owle hollows:<br /></span>
<span class="i4">Mortals now take their rests<br /></span>
<span class="i4">Upon their pillows:<br /></span>
<span class="i4">The bats around likewise,<br /></span>
<span class="i4">And the night rauen,<br /></span>
<span class="i4">Which doth use for to call<br /></span>
<span class="i4">Men to death's hauen.<br /></span>
<span class="i4">Now the mice peep abroad,<br /></span>
<span class="i4">And the cats take them;<br /></span><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_552" id="Page_552">[Pg 552]</a></span>
<span class="i4">Now doe young wenches sleepe,<br /></span>
<span class="i4">Till their dreams wake them.<br /></span>
<span class="i5">Make a ring on the grasse<br /></span>
<span class="i5">With your quicke measures:<br /></span>
<span class="i5">Tom shall play, I will sing,<br /></span>
<span class="i5">For all your pleasures."<br /></span>
</div>
</div>



<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<h2><a name="CHAPTER_LXV" id="CHAPTER_LXV"></a>CHAPTER LXV.</h2>

<div class="blockquot"><p>Elizabeth Style's Confession&mdash;Signing a Covenant with Blood&mdash;Alice
Duke, Anne Bishop, and Mary Penny&mdash;Somerset Witches&mdash;Witch Oil&mdash;Power
to injure Men and Cattle&mdash;Elizabeth Style sentenced to
Death&mdash;Running backwards round a Church&mdash;Compact with Satan&mdash;More
Mischief&mdash;Richard Hathaway's Accusation against Sarah Morduck&mdash;Women
hunted in the Streets by a Mob&mdash;A Judge's Opinion of
Witchcraft&mdash;Supposed Sufferer from Witchcraft prayed for in the
Church, and a Subscription raised for him&mdash;Richard Hathaway convicted
of falsely accusing a Woman of Witchcraft&mdash;Witch and Stolen
Plate&mdash;Man Bewitched&mdash;Charm for Sore Eyes&mdash;Young Woman Bewitched&mdash;Flames
issuing from a Bewitched Person's Mouth&mdash;Tormenting
a Witch&mdash;Jane Wenham's Witchcrafts and Trial&mdash;The last Persons
who suffered in England for Witchcraft&mdash;Long List of Persons who
suffered as Witches.</p></div>


<p>Elizabeth Style, of Stoke Trister, Somersetshire, was
accused, in the year 1664, by divers persons of witchcraft.
She confessed before Robert Hunt, Esquire, a justice of
the peace for the county, that the devil, ten years before
that time, had appeared to her as a handsome young man,
offered her money, said she would live gay, and have all
the pleasures of the world for twelve years, if she would
with her blood sign a document, binding herself to obey
his laws, and give her soul over to him. She agreed to
do as requested; whereupon he pricked the fourth finger
of her right hand, and with a few drops of blood that
issued from the wound she signed the engagement.</p>

<p>When she desired to do harm, Satan gave her power
according to their agreement. About a month before her<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_553" id="Page_553">[Pg 553]</a></span>
examination she desired him to torment Elizabeth Hall
by thrusting thorns into her flesh&mdash;a request he promised
to comply with. She declared that, not long before her
apprehension, she, Alice Duke, Anne Bishop, and Mary
Penny met the devil at night, in a common near Trister
Gate. Their meeting terminated with dancing and feasting.</p>

<p>Similar meetings subsequently took place. Before Style
and her companion witches started to midnight meetings,
they anointed their foreheads with an oil given them by a
spirit. They were then carried swiftly through the air.
Sometimes they were present at the meetings in body,
but more frequently in spirit only. The devil gave them
power to injure men and cattle, either by a touch or curse.
Style gave the names of many men and women in the
neighbourhood who attended the meetings. The meetings
being ended, the devil suddenly vanished or burnt
himself in flames, and the people went home, singing
"Merry we meet, merry we meet, and merry we part."</p>

<p>The poor miserable woman was tried before a jury of
her countrymen, and found guilty of witchcraft. Sentence
of death was passed on her, but she escaped punishment
by the hands of an ordinary executioner, for before the
day fixed for her execution she died in prison.</p>

<p>Alice Duke, a confederate of Elizabeth Style, being
brought before Mr. Hunt for examination on a charge of
witchcraft, stated that she and Anne Bishop went to
the churchyard at night, and stepped backward round
the church three times. In their first round they met
a man in black clothes, who returned with them. In
the second round they met a big black toad, which leapt
into deponent's apron. As they went round the third
time they met a rat, that vanished into air. Like many
more witches entering into a compact with Satan, she
could have her wishes and revenge. If she cursed any
person or thing with "a pox," evil happened the object
of her hatred.</p>

<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_554" id="Page_554">[Pg 554]</a></span>Witches were found in every part of Somerset in the
seventeenth century. Hundreds of them were brought
to trial; but as their reported doings, confessions, and
punishments were in all essential particulars the same as
those of Elizabeth Style and Alice Duke, they are unimportant
here.</p>

<p>Richard Hathaway appeared before Lord Chief Justice
Holt at the Guildford assizes in 1701, to support a charge
of witchcraft against Sarah Morduck. Hathaway frequently
vomited pins in great numbers, pieces of tin,
nails, and small stones. He foamed at the mouth, and
barked like a dog; sometimes he felt a burning sensation,
and not unfrequently lay as if dead. Being convinced
that Sarah Morduck caused his troubles, he scratched
her "above the breath," to draw blood from her. Subsequent
to this operation he recovered, and remained
well for six weeks. All his afflictions returned, and the
suspected witch was scratched a second time. To escape
her tormentors at Southwark, she went to London; but,
her fame preceding or following her, she was hunted in
the streets by an infuriated mob. Hathaway pursued the
unhappy woman to the great metropolis, and took her
before Sir Thomas Lane, a judge who regarded witchcraft
in a different light to that which the Lord Chief
Justice did. Sir Thomas ordered her to be stripped, to
ascertain whether she had any witch-marks; and Hathaway,
still suffering, scratched her for the third time.
Sarah Morduck was committed to prison as a dangerous
witch. Her supposed victim, Hathaway, became an
object of prayer in the churches, and subscriptions were
raised to defray his charges at the assizes. In July
Sarah Morduck was brought, as already stated, before
Lord Chief Justice Holt, but escaped with her life, for
no other reason than that the judge did not believe in
witchcraft. Hathaway's conduct being inquired into, he
was brought to trial, when it was ascertained that his<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_555" id="Page_555">[Pg 555]</a></span>
sayings about being bewitched were false. He was therefore
sentenced, by the same judge that had liberated Sarah
Morduck, to imprisonment for a year, and to stand in the
pillory three times as a cheat and liar.</p>

<p>Sending a witch to catch a witch or thief occasionally
had its beneficial results. On the communion service
having been stolen from a church, a wise man instructed
the church-wardens how to discover the thief. They did
as directed, and, true enough, the thief hastened to give
himself up to justice; and, what proved better, he restored
the stolen plate. One man having a child sorely afflicted
with boils, consulted a wizard. By direction of the cunning
man, a portion of the child's hair was cut off and
thrown into the fire. This had the effect of compelling
a witch to hasten to the house and confess that she had
in reality brought trouble on the child. The father
scratched the witch "above the breath," and the sufferer
recovered.</p>

<p>Jane Stretton, a young woman twenty years of age,
was bewitched in 1669, and consequently suffered much
by flax, hair, thread, and pins gathering in her throat.
Still more strange, red-hot flames issued from her mouth.
A wise man's wife was suspected of bringing about the
calamity. Various means were resorted to with the view
of establishing her guilt. Sympathising neighbours were
consulted, and one of them suggested a method that
proved effectual. Foam was collected from Jane's mouth
and chin, and thrown into the fire, as a charm to injure
her tormentor. We are assured the expedient succeeded
admirably. While the foam hissed in the flames, the witch,
compelled by the operation, came into the house to confess
that she alone had caused the young woman's distemper.</p>

<p>One of the last persons generally supposed to have
been condemned to death in England for witchcraft was
Jane Wenham, residing in Walkerne, a village in Hertford.
For years her neighbours suspected her to be a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_556" id="Page_556">[Pg 556]</a></span>
witch. In 1712 she was tried before one of the legal
tribunals, and condemned on evidence of a singular
nature. It appears that she went to Matthew Gibson,
a servant to John Chapman, and asked for a pennyworth
of straw. He refused to give her any, and she went away
muttering threats against him. Soon thereafter Gibson
became like an insane man, and ran three miles along the
highway, asking every one he met for a pennyworth of
straw. Then he gathered all the straws he could find by
the roadside and put them into his shirt, which he used
as a sack. Gibson's master met Jane, and called her a
witch. Offended at such an imputation, she brought Mr.
Chapman before Sir Herbert Chauncey, a magistrate, on
the charge of defaming her character. The magistrate
recommended the pursuer and defender to submit the
case to the Rev. Mr. Gardiner, that the dispute might be
settled quietly. To the parson they accordingly went;
and he awarded Jane one shilling of damages. The
decision did not please Jane; and out of revenge, it was
subsequently alleged, she bewitched the minister's servant-maid,
Anne Thorne. As soon as the suspected witch had
left the parsonage, the maid felt a giddiness in her head,
which impelled her to run away through fields and over
fences, notwithstanding her having a very sore knee. On
her way she met a little old woman, who asked her where
she was going. To this inquiry Anne replied, "I am going
to Cromer for sticks." The little woman said it seemed
unnecessary to go so far, and pointed out an oak-tree close
at hand where she could get them. The little woman
vanished like a spirit, and Anne returned home, in a partial
state of nudity, with a quantity of sticks wrapped in her
gown and apron. Mrs. Gardiner, who, like the minister,
her husband, believed in witchcraft, on hearing the girl's
tale, said she would burn the witch; and, suiting the
action to the words, threw the sticks into the fire. The
charm had the desired effect; for immediately Jane Wenham<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_557" id="Page_557">[Pg 557]</a></span>
came in, and made a false statement touching the
cause of her call. That did not, however, deceive the
people at the parsonage, who were convinced the burning
of the sticks had made her come, whether she would or
not. She was apprehended on suspicion, and put to the
test. The minister asked her to repeat the Lord's Prayer,
but she could not say it. This being regarded as presumptive
evidence of guilt, Wenham's persecutors brought
her to trial. Three clergymen and thirteen other witnesses
gave evidence in the case. Proof was adduced
that she had by witchcraft killed cattle, taken the power
from men's bodies, destroyed people's substance, turned
divers persons into a state of insanity, and by her curses
and evil eye had killed a child. Witnesses also swore
that she had on various occasions assumed the form of a
cat. The jury found Wenham guilty, and the judge condemned
her to death, but, like a humane Christian, he
applied and obtained a pardon for the culprit.</p>

<p>We now come to the last victims who suffered in
England for the alleged crime of witchcraft. One Mrs.
Hicks, and her little daughter nine years of age, were
executed on the scaffold at Huntingdon in 1716, for the
suppositious offences of raising storms and selling their
souls to the devil.</p>

<p>With the judicial murder of this unfortunate mother
and her innocent daughter we close a long list of tragedies
which disgraced England for hundreds of years&mdash;which
exhibits the ignorance and violence of past ages. Dr.
Sprenger estimates that nine million persons have been
burned or otherwise put to death as witches during the
Christian epoch. For such a dreadful waste of life
Catholics and Protestants were equally guilty. Any one
who raised his voice on behalf of the proscribed class,
ran the risk of himself being accused of sorcery, or at least
of heresy. At last, in 1563, J. Weier, a physician in
Germany, spoke boldly against the belief in witchcraft.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_558" id="Page_558">[Pg 558]</a></span>
Twenty years later, Reginald Scot, as already stated, wrote
and spoke, not against witches, but against the absurdity
of believing that such persons existed.</p>

<p>Happily, no longer can hysterical girls and malicious
individuals give false evidence in a court of law touching
the feigned crime of witchcraft; no longer can the witch-finder
exert his skill; no longer can judges and jury condemn
to the flames or scaffold suspected witches and
wizards; and no longer can an ignorant people listen to
the despairing cries&mdash;cries which neither evoked pity nor
secured mercy&mdash;of victims of superstition expiring amidst
blazing faggots. But yet superstition lingers amongst us,
as we shall show under the head "Superstition in the
Nineteenth Century."</p>



<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<h2><a name="CHAPTER_LXVI" id="CHAPTER_LXVI"></a>CHAPTER LXVI.</h2>

<div class="blockquot"><p>Scotchmen and Englishmen in America&mdash;Superstition in the Back
Settlements&mdash;Witchcraft in New England&mdash;Rev. Cotton Mather's
View of Witchcraft&mdash;Judges and Witnesses overawed by Witches&mdash;Men
and Beasts bewitched&mdash;Bewitched Persons prayed for&mdash;Preternatural
Diseases beyond Physicians' Skill&mdash;Trial of Susan
Martin&mdash;Absurd Evidence&mdash;Belief in the Existence of Witchcraft&mdash;Witchcraft
in Sweden&mdash;Commission of Inquiry appointed&mdash;The Devil's
Tyranny&mdash;Deluded Children&mdash;Day of Humiliation appointed on
account of Witchcraft&mdash;Threescore and Ten Witches in a Village&mdash;Children
engaged in Witchery put to Death&mdash;How Witches were
conveyed from place to place&mdash;Girl healed by the Devil&mdash;The Devil
bound with an Iron Chain&mdash;An Angel's Warning Voice&mdash;Angel
keeping Children from Wickedness&mdash;Witches on a Minister's Head&mdash;Witch
assaulting another Minister&mdash;Witches' Imps&mdash;Butter of
Witches&mdash;The Devil described&mdash;How Witches are punished&mdash;Horse
burned on account of being supposed to be an Agent of Satan.</p></div>


<p>When Scotchmen and Englishmen went out first to inhabit
America, they did not forget the superstitions of
their native land. A belief in charms, incantations, and
all kinds of witchcraft prevailed among the earlier settlers<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_559" id="Page_559">[Pg 559]</a></span>
of the United States and Canada. From sire to son, and
from mother to daughter, a belief in mysterious agencies
has come down to the existing inhabitants of the transatlantic
States. It may be that the inhabitants of large
cities in the West have forgotten the traditions of their
ancestors respecting things supernatural, but every observant
American traveller knows that the burning embers
of superstition have not expired in the back settlements of
that vast country. Trials of persons accused of witchcraft
were not unfrequent in New England in the seventeenth
century. The Rev. Cotton Mather has written an
account of proceedings connected with such cases, but
want of space prevents us following him at great length.
He says:</p>

<div class="blockquot"><p>We have now, with horror, seen the discovery of a great witchcraft.
An army of devils has broken in upon this place, which is the centre, and,
after a sort, the first-born of our English settlements; and the houses of
the good people there are filled with the doleful shrieks of their children
and servants tormented by invisible hands, with tortures altogether preternatural.
After the mischiefs there endeavoured, and since in part
conquered, the terrible plague of evil angels hath made its progress into
some other places, where other persons have in like manner been diabolically
handled.</p>

<p>"These, our poor afflicted neighbours, quickly, after they become infected
and infested with these demons, arrive to a capacity of discerning
those which they conceive the shapes of their troubles; and notwithstanding
the great and just suspicion that the demons might impose the
shape of innocent persons in their spectral exhibitions of the sufferers,
(which may perhaps prove no small part of the witch-plot in the issue),
yet many of the persons thus represented being examined, several of
them have been convicted of a very damnable witchcraft: yea, more
than one, twenty have confessed that they have signed unto a book
which the devil showed them, and engaged in his hellish design, of
bewitching and ruining our lands.</p>

<p>"We know not, at least I know not, how far the delusions of Satan
may be interwoven into some circumstances of the confessions; but one
would think all the rules of understanding human affairs are at an end,
if after so many most voluntary, harmonious confessions, made by intelligent
persons of all ages, in sundry towns, at several times, we must not
believe the main strokes wherein those confessions agree; especially when<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_560" id="Page_560">[Pg 560]</a></span>
we have a thousand preternatural things every day before our eyes,
wherein the confessors do acknowledge their concernment, and give
demonstration of their being so concerned. If the devils now can strike
the minds of men with any poisons of so fine a composition and operation
that scores of innocent people shall unite in the confessions of a crime
which we see actually committed, it is a thing prodigious, beyond the
wonders of the former ages, and it threatens not less than a sort of
dissolution upon the world.</p>

<p>"Now, by these confessions 'tis agreed that the devil has made a
dreadful knot of witches in the country, and by the help of witches has
dreadfully increased the knot; that these witches have driven a trade of
commissioning their confederate spirits to do all sorts of mischiefs to their
neighbours. Whereupon there have ensued such mischievous consequences
upon the bodies and estates of the neighbourhood as could not
otherwise be accounted for."</p></div>

<p>Human beings were not always the only victims of
superstition in olden times, for we have information of
dumb animals suffering on account of it being thought
they were active agents of Satan. The Inquisition in
Portugal in 1601, in its sanguinary infatuation, condemned
to the flames, for being possessed of the devil, a
horse belonging to an Englishman, who had taught it to
perform uncommonly clever tricks. And the poor animal
was publicly burned at Lisbon. Instances are also on
record of swine being burned, under the suspicion that
they, too, were helpers of the devil.</p>

<p>Through sorcery, Mr. Mather thought witnesses were
occasionally prevented from giving evidence in courts
of justice against witches, and even judges were sometimes
so overawed by the culprits' looks that they could
not discharge their duties with firmness. A witch could,
by a cast of her evil eye, strike people to the ground,
and by the same visual organ kill cattle. Men and
beasts were also bewitched into madness. To such an
extent, we are told, were people tormented by witches
in New England, that the Church appointed days of
prayer on behalf of afflicted persons. And so peculiar
were diseases, that the physicians declared their patients'<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_561" id="Page_561">[Pg 561]</a></span>
troubles were preternatural. That being so, a little
ingenuity, strengthened with spite, enabled the afflicted or
the afflicted's friends to trace the disorder to the malevolence
of a certain witch or witches.</p>

<p>In the trial of Susan Martin, in 1692, among other
absurdities of circumstantial evidence relied on, was that
her skirts were not draggled when out on a wet day,
while the clothes of other women travelling with her were
bespattered and clotted with mud.</p>

<p>Writers of no mean order, including clergymen, believed
in the existence of witches, ghosts, and goblins, and
boldly defended the proceedings in New England against
the victims put to death for their alleged diabolical deeds
through the agency of Satan.</p>

<p>Witchcraft spread alarm over Sweden in the seventeenth
century. The news of particular acts of witchcraft
coming to the king's ear, his Majesty appointed commissioners
to inquire into the matter. From a public register
of 1669 and 1670, we ascertain that the commission,
consisting of clergymen and laymen, were instructed to
visit Mobra and inquire into frightful proceedings there.
The commissioners met at the parson's house to hear
complaints. Both the minister and people of fashion
complained, with tears in their eyes, of the miserable
condition they were in, from the calamity of witchcraft.
They gave the commissioners strange instances of the
devil's tyranny among them&mdash;how, by the help of witches,
he had drawn hundreds of children to him; how he had
been seen going in visible shape through the country;
how he had wrought upon the poorer people, by presenting
them with meat and drink. The inhabitants begged
earnestly, yet in the most respectful manner,</p>

<div class="blockquot"><p>"The Lords Commissioners to root out this hellish crew, that rest
and quietness might be regained; and the rather, because the children
who used to be carried away in the district of Elfdale, since some
witches had been burnt there, remained unmolested."</p></div>

<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_562" id="Page_562">[Pg 562]</a></span>An elaborate report of the peculiar proceedings says:&mdash;</p>

<div class="blockquot"><p>"That day," <i>i.e.</i> the 13th of August, "the last humiliation-day instituted
by authority for removing of this judgment, the commissioners
went to church, where there appeared a considerable assembly.... Two
sermons were preached, in which the miserable case of those people,
that suffered themselves to be deluded by the devil, was laid open....</p>

<p>"Public worship being over, all the people of the town were called
together to the parson's house; nearly three thousand of them attended.</p>

<p>"Next day the commissioners met again, consulting how they might
withstand this dangerous flood. After long deliberation, they resolved
to execute such as the matter of fact could be proved upon. Examination
being made, there were discovered no less than threescore and ten witches
in the village. Three and twenty of whom, freely confessing their crimes,
were condemned to die. The rest pleading not guilty, were sent to
Fabluna, where most of them were afterwards executed.</p>

<p>"Fifteen children, who likewise confessed they were engaged in the
witchery, died as the rest; six and thirty youths, between nine and sixteen
years of age, who had been less guilty, were forced to run the
gauntlet; twenty more, who had no great inclination, yet had been seduced
to those hellish enterprises, because they were very young, were condemned
to be lashed with rods upon their hands for three Sundays together
at the church door; and the aforesaid six and thirty were also
doomed to be lashed this way once a week for a whole year together.
The number of the seduced children was about three hundred.</p>

<p>"Several of the witches were asked how they were able to carry so many
children with them; and they answered, that they came into the chamber
where the children lay, laid hold of them, and asked them whether they
would go to a feast with them? to which some answered yes, others no;
yet they were all forced to go. They only gave the children a shirt, a
coat, and a doublet, which was either red or blue, and so they did set
them upon a beast of the devil's providing, and then they rid away.</p>

<p>"The children confessed the same thing; and some added, that because
they had very fine clothes put upon them, they were very willing to go.</p>

<p>"A little girl of Elfdale confessed that, on naming the name of Jesus
as she was carried away, she fell suddenly upon the ground, and got a
great hole in her side, which the devil presently healed up again, and
away he carried her; and to this day the girl confessed she had exceeding
great pain in her side.</p>

<p>"The children said they had seen sometimes a very great devil like a
dragon, with fire round about him, and bound with an iron chain....</p>

<p>"Some of the children talked much of a white angel, which used to forbid
them to do what the devil bade them do, and told them that those
doings would not last long: what had been done was permitted because<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_563" id="Page_563">[Pg 563]</a></span>
of the wickedness of the people, and the carrying away of the children
should be made manifest. And they added, that this white angel would
place himself sometimes at the door betwixt the witches and the children;
and when they came to Blockula, their meeting-place, he pulled the
children back, but the witches went in.</p>

<p>"The minister of Elfdale declared that one night the witches were, to
his thinking, upon the crown of his head, and that from thence he had a
long continued pain of the head.</p>

<p>"One of the witches confessed that the devil had sent her to torment the
minister, and that she was ordered to use a nail and strike it into his
head, but it would not enter very deep and hence came the headache.</p>

<p>"The minister said also that one night he felt a pain as if he were torn
with an instrument, and when he wakened he heard somebody scratching
and scraping at the window, but could see nobody. And one of the
witches confessed that she was the person that did it, being sent by the
devil.</p>

<p>"The minister of Mobra declared also that one night one of the witches
came into his house, and did so violently take him by the throat that he
thought he should have been choked; and waking, he saw the person
that did it, but could not know her; and that for some weeks he was not
able to speak, or perform divine service.</p>

<p>"They confessed also that the devil gave them a beast about the bigness
and shape of a young cat, which they called a carrier; and that he gave
them a bird too, as big as a raven, but white. And these two creatures
they could send anywhere; and wherever they came, they took away all sorts
of victuals they could get&mdash;butter, cheese, milk, bacon, and all sorts
of seeds, whatever they found, and carried it to the witch. What the
bird brought, they kept for themselves; but what the carrier brought, they
reserved for the devil....</p>

<p>"They added, likewise, that these carriers filled themselves so full
sometimes that they were forced to spue by the way, which spueing was
found in gardens where colworts grew, and not far from the houses of
witches. It was of a yellow colour like gold, and was called butter of
witches.</p>

<p>"The Lords Commissioners were very earnest, and took great pains to
persuade the witches to show some of their tricks, but to no purpose; for
they unanimously said that, since they had confessed, they found that all
their witchcraft was gone, and that the devil appeared to them very
terrible, with claws on his hands and feet, and with horns on his head,
and a long tail behind, and showed them a pit burning with a hand put
out; but the devil did thrust the person down again with an iron fork,
and suggested to the witches, that if they continued in their confession,
he would deal with them in the same manner."</p></div>



<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_564" id="Page_564">[Pg 564]</a></span></p>
<h2><a name="CHAPTER_LXVII" id="CHAPTER_LXVII"></a>CHAPTER LXVII.</h2>

<div class="blockquot"><p>Superstition in France&mdash;Pope John XXII. celebrated in the History of
Sorcery and Magic&mdash;A Bishop skinned alive and torn by Horses for
Witchcraft&mdash;King Philippe and Superstition&mdash;Springs poisoned by
Lepers and Jews&mdash;Extracting Teeth without Pain&mdash;A Dentist
strangled by a Demon&mdash;Berne Witch&mdash;Charmed Ointment&mdash;Sorcerers
in Navarre&mdash;Demoniacal Operations&mdash;Voice in the Air&mdash;Witch Flying&mdash;Witches
meeting their Deserts&mdash;Maria Renata's Witchcrafts&mdash;Nuns
possessed of Devils&mdash;Promise of Life by Satan&mdash;End of Renata&mdash;Jeanne
D'Arc&mdash;Credulity of France and England&mdash;Fairies of
Domremi&mdash;Charmed Tree&mdash;Sparkling Spring&mdash;Mandrakes&mdash;Jacques
D'Arc and his Wife&mdash;Jeanne D'Arc in Childhood&mdash;Converse with
Spirits and Angels&mdash;France under Tyranny&mdash;Jeanne's Heavenly
Mission communicated to the Dauphin&mdash;Maid at the head of Troops&mdash;Her
Achievements&mdash;Siege of Orleans&mdash;Great Victories&mdash;Dauphin
Crowned&mdash;Jeanne's Desire to retire into Private Life&mdash;Opposition to
her Retirement&mdash;The Maid's Feats of Valour&mdash;Heroine Betrayed&mdash;Charmed
Sword&mdash;Jeanne's Surrender&mdash;King's Ingratitude&mdash;Great
Rejoicing at the Maid's Downfall&mdash;Attempt to Escape&mdash;Trial and
Condemnation&mdash;Maid Burned&mdash;A white Dove rising from her Ashes&mdash;Imitators&mdash;Unreliable
Reports.</p></div>


<p>France, like her neighbouring nations, entertained strong
opinions in regard to superstition; and so did the high
dignitaries of Rome. Pope John XXII. is celebrated in
the history of sorcery and magic. He believed that sorcery
had been resorted to to procure his untimely death, soon
after his accession to the Papacy, by the Bishop of
Chahors, the Pope's native place. The bishop being
brought before the College of Cardinals, was, after deposition
from his holy office, delivered to the secular
powers in Avignon to receive punishment. A cruel fate
awaited him; the unfortunate bishop being first skinned
alive, next torn by horses, and then burned. Pope John
continued to persecute persons suspected of sorcery, and
many an unhappy creature suffered at his suggestion.</p>

<p>In the spring of 1321 King Philippe summoned the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_565" id="Page_565">[Pg 565]</a></span>
States-General to meet at Poictiers, and proceeded in
person to Poitou to hold his court there. Soon after
the assembly of the Estates, information was given to the
king that the lepers, of whom there were many in the
place, had entered into a conspiracy to poison and bewitch
the springs throughout Aquitaine, in order to kill the
Christians, or reduce them to the same state of loathsome
disease as they themselves suffered. Some who were
arrested admitted, under torture, the accusation. The
king became so greatly alarmed that he fled from Poitou,
after giving orders to arrest and imprison all the lepers
in France. Multitudes of them were condemned and
burned; still the king thirsted for more blood. Jews
were also accused of aiding to poison and bewitch the
wells. At Chinon upwards of one hundred Jews suffered
the extreme penalty of the law for such groundless
crimes. After a show of trial, and trumped-up charges
equally false, many more Jews and lepers were put to
death in Paris.</p>

<p>Dentists will be surprised to learn that in bygone days
none but those acquainted with occult science were supposed
capable of extracting teeth without pain. In the
seventeenth century an astrologer in France, who sold
talismans and extracted teeth without pain, was strangled
in bed by a demon.</p>

<p>A woman, executed at Berne, stated she belonged to a
sect who had sworn eternal subjection to the devil, and
that she knew how to prepare a decoction which, when
swallowed by any one, would convert the novice into a
witch equal in knowledge and power to the older members
of her fraternity.</p>

<p>Here is a case exhibiting the power of charmed ointment.
In the year 1527 a band of one hundred and fifty sorcerers,
says Llorente, greatly disturbed Navarre. The sect held
"Sabbath" orgies, where demons were adored, and transformations
of witches and wizards took place, after anointing<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_566" id="Page_566">[Pg 566]</a></span>
themselves with a compound made from the grease
of reptiles. One witch, on condition of receiving a pardon,
agreed to show the demoniacal operations gone through at
the "Sabbath" meetings. Provided with a box of witch
ointment, she ascended a high tower, accompanied by a
commissioner of the royal council. In the sight of a vast
concourse of people, she applied the ointment to various
parts of her person. Having done this, she exclaimed in
a loud voice, "Are you there?" From the air a voice
answered, "Yes, I am here." The woman then descended
the tower to its centre, crawling down the outside of the
wall on her hands and feet. Suddenly she flew away,
and vanished out of sight beyond the horizon. Her one
hundred and forty-nine companions were brought to trial,
and met their deserts.</p>

<p>Maria Renata, sub-prioress of a convent at Unterzell,
proved to be a witch. She tormented the nuns at night,
and, to assist her in the black art, she kept a considerable
number of cats. General alarm prevailed; five of the
nuns became possessed of devils. Renata avowed to her
confessor that she was a witch, that she had often been
carried bodily to witch Sabbaths, and presented to the
prince of darkness. Her name appeared in a black book,
and she consented to be the devil's property. In return,
she received the promise of life for seventy years. After
trial by the civil judges, they condemned Renata to the
flames; but at the appointed time of execution, by way
of showing a little mercy, her head was struck off before
the flames kindled around her body. This tragedy took
place in the year 1749&mdash;strange to say, in the seventy-first
year of Renata's age.</p>

<p>We next give a more extraordinary story illustrative
of superstitious sentiments in France, viz. the world-wide
one of Jeanne D'Arc (sometimes called Johan of Arc, the
Maid of Orleans), who fell a victim to the credulity prevalent
in that country and in England. The small village<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_567" id="Page_567">[Pg 567]</a></span>
of Domremi is a retired spot, where popular superstitions
have been almost religiously preserved. Fairies were believed
to frequent the neighbourhood of Domremi. Near
to it stood a large ancient beech-tree, known as the
charmed tree of Bourlemont, supposed to be a favourite
haunt of elves. Beneath the spreading boughs gushed
a sparkling fountain, of which people drank to preserve
them from fevers. Witches went thither at night to dance
with the fairies. Young men and maidens also resorted to
the spot, to dance round the tree and fountain. Garlands
were made there, and presented as offerings to our lady of
Domremi. The priests of the village said mass once a
year over the fountain, to strengthen its healing qualities.
Under a hazel-tree, not far from the charmed tree, grew
mandrakes, one of which never failed to add wealth and
domestic happiness to any person who possessed it.</p>

<p>In the village lived a labouring man, named Jacques
D'Arc, who, with his wife, the villagers looked upon with
respect. They had several children, boys and girls. The
youngest daughter, named Jeanne, was born in the year
1410. At childhood she assumed a reserved and pensive
disposition, and often sought solitude within the village
church. Having but a limited education, the superstitions
of her time were implicitly believed in by her. In addition
to dancing round the charmed tree and fountain with
other young maidens, she often went there alone. She
grew up to be an attractive young woman, of peculiar
mind. Subject to fits or trances, she became prostrated
by them; and she had, according to her own account,
converse with angels and the spirits of dead saints.</p>

<p>At an early period of life Jeanne D'Arc received the
impression that providence intended her to achieve great
feats in behalf of her country. More than once she exclaimed,
"Nobody but me can recover the kingdom of
France!" At this time, it should be observed, France
groaned under the tyranny of contending factions; and so<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_568" id="Page_568">[Pg 568]</a></span>
low had the Dauphin sunk, that not a single place remained
in his power except Orleans; and even it the
English closely besieged. After various unsuccessful
attempts, the Maid obtained permission to communicate
her heavenly mission to the Dauphin. Assuming male
attire and warlike equipments, including a white banner,
she placed herself at the head of the French troops,
who, through her example, became inspired with new
enthusiasm. On the 29th April 1429 she threw herself,
with supplies of provisions, into Orleans. Soon after
arriving there she attacked Fort St. Loup, which she
carried, while wielding a sword that had lain more than
a century in a knight's tomb behind the altar of St.
Catherine at Fierbois. In an assault on the English, Jeanne
received a severe wound on the neck, from which a large
quantity of blood flowed; but she said it was not blood,
but glory, that streamed out. The siege of Orleans being
raised on 8th May, Jeanne D'Arc carried the news to the
Dauphin, and entreated him to come and be crowned at
Rheims, then in possession of the English. The siege of
Gergeau was next undertaken. Jeanne boldly went into
the ditch, standard in hand, at a part most vigorously
defended. The soldiers followed, and soon the town fell
by the courageous woman's hands. She next took possession
of Auxerre, Troyes, and Chalons, thus opening
for the Dauphin the road to Rheims. Thither he proceeded,
and on 17th July was crowned. Jeanne D'Arc
(or the Maid of Orleans, as she is now called) assisted at
the ceremony. The Maid having accomplished, so far, the
object of her mission, wished to return home; but, seeing
her presence inspired great confidence in the army, the
king, and others of influence, opposed her departure. She
therefore stuck to her post of military leader. She accompanied
the king to Crepi, Senlis, and Paris. In the
siege of Compeigne, in the year 1430, Jeanne made a sally,
at the head of a hundred men, over the bridge, and twice<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_569" id="Page_569">[Pg 569]</a></span>
repulsed the besiegers. The king's troops were surrounded,
yet, after performing feats of valour, the Maid disengaged
her company, who re-entered the town. The heroine remained
in the rear to facilitate the retreat, and, when she
wished to enter the town, the gates were shut. She again
charged her pursuers, but finding herself unsupported she
exclaimed, "I am betrayed!" It turned out as supposed:
the shutting of the gates while Jeanne remained exposed
to danger did not take place through accident. Jealousy
and treachery were at work: her pretended friends had
conspired to bring her bright career to a speedy end.
Many brave soldiers fell under the Maid's charmed
sword; but as one sword and a single hand could not mow
down a whole army, she surrendered to Lionel Vasture
of Vend&ocirc;me, who gave her up to John of Luxembourg.
The latter nobleman basely sold Jeanne to her enemies&mdash;the
English&mdash;for ten thousand livres; and, what appeared
most cruel, the king did not attempt to redeem the
heroine, to whom he and his kingdom owed much.</p>

<p>The ingratitude of Charles VII. has remained a blot on
his memory. Even those who refuse to admit that Jeanne
D'Arc possessed supernatural powers, regard his conduct
with abhorrence. On Jeanne being made prisoner, the
English rejoiced exceedingly. The Duke of Bedford
thought it proper to disgrace her, in order to reanimate
the courage of his countrymen. In Paris, the authorities,
to evince their joy at her downfall, ordered salvoes of
artillery to be fired. A <i>te deum</i> was sung in the church
of N&ocirc;tre Dame; and preachers returned thanks to the
Most High, for his mercy in bringing to an end the influence
of such a wicked sorceress.</p>

<p>Jeanne, in an effort to escape from a high tower (her
place of confinement), cast herself from its summit to the
ground, yet, strange to say, sustained little injury. To
guard against another attempt to gain liberty, iron chains
were put round her legs and body. A court of French<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_570" id="Page_570">[Pg 570]</a></span>
bishops met to try the Maid. The charge embraced
seventy articles of impeachment. Questions were asked
concerning politics; her belief in and intercourse with
fairies; her favourite spiritual visitants, St. Catherine and
St. Margaret; the devices of her banner; and the sacred
sword.</p>

<p>A formula of sentence, after fifteen separate examinations,
was read, declaring her guilty of apostacy, sorcery,
etc., and setting forth that, lest the culprit should corrupt
others, she should be cast out of the church, and delivered
to the temporal authorities, praying them to deal mildly
and humanely with her, and to rest satisfied with the death
of her body. Burning the body only, the ecclesiastics considered
mild treatment. Had they delivered their victim
to Satan, loaded with the fearful curses contained in the
greater excommunication, who can tell when her guilt
would be expiated? As the secular powers were merely
instruments of the ecclesiastical authorities, sentence of
death by burning against the Maid of Orleans soon became
an accomplished fact. Fastened to a stake, without much
delay, the flames consumed her fair form, at the age of
nineteen years. To the very last she believed in the
reality of her visions, and intercourse with the spirits of
departed saints. Her dying agonies were witnessed by a
pitying crowd, who separated to proclaim abroad, that at
the moment her breath went out a pure white dove rose
from the pile and soared up to heaven.</p>

<p>Subsequent to this heroine's death several women
emerged from obscurity, and feigned to be inspired in the
same way as Jeanne D'Arc had been. Two young maids
residing near Paris pretended that her mantle had fallen
on them. The clergy interfered. The young women
were apprehended, tried, and declared guilty of holding
communication with evil spirits. One of them recanted,
and thereby saved her life; the other remained firm, and
perished at the stake.</p>

<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_571" id="Page_571">[Pg 571]</a></span>After the real or unreal execution of Jeanne D'Arc, the
report became current that she was alive, and playing a
conspicuous part in society at a considerable distance from
the scene of her triumphs and degradation. Some would
have it that she escaped punishment through the interference
of her admirers; but the general belief remained,
that she really suffered in terms of her sentence. Another
report represents the Maid's persecutors as being overtaken
by more than ordinary misfortunes in their estate, in
addition to suffering the torments of accusing consciences.</p>



<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_572" id="Page_572">[Pg 572]</a></span></p>
<h2><a name="SUPERSTITION_IN_THE_NINETEENTH_CENTURY" id="SUPERSTITION_IN_THE_NINETEENTH_CENTURY"></a>SUPERSTITION IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.</h2>

<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<h2><a name="CHAPTER_LXVIII" id="CHAPTER_LXVIII"></a>CHAPTER LXVIII.</h2>

<div class="blockquot"><p>Generality of Superstition&mdash;The Church and Superstition&mdash;St. Mourie&mdash;People
forbidden to resort to the island Innis Maree&mdash;Various Modes
of Superstition&mdash;Charms&mdash;Lucky and Unlucky Times&mdash;A Tinker's
Curse and a Gipsy's Warning&mdash;Sailors' and Fishermen's Delusions&mdash;Spitting
on one's Loof&mdash;Weddings, Funerals, and Baptisms&mdash;Spae Wives&mdash;May
Dew&mdash;Holy-days&mdash;Kirk-session Records&mdash;Fort-William
Fisherman&mdash;Dipping in Fountains&mdash;Lochmanur&mdash;Holy Well of Kilvullen&mdash;Well
of Craiguck&mdash;Superstition in the Highlands&mdash;Warlock
Willox&mdash;Superstition in Dundee.</p></div>


<p>Notwithstanding the progress of religion, science, and
education generally so called, superstition prevails in this
and other countries to an extent scarcely credible, and
certainly not creditable to the leaders of public opinion.
In every town and country, in every village and hamlet,
yea, in every domestic circle, a belief in the supernatural
has a place. Although the time has gone by for the
burning of witches, and though the human mind is less
disturbed by the thoughts of ghosts and Satan in corporeal
shape than in past centuries, nevertheless man has not been
able to rise altogether above the notion that there are
such mortal creatures as witches and warlocks, and such
immortal visible visitants to our sublunary world as spirits
and the devil. Not only is there a general belief in the
existence of ghosts, but we have people asserting that they
possess the faculty of making spirits of the dead answer
them at pleasure. Learned men (men in high position)<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_573" id="Page_573">[Pg 573]</a></span>
have written lengthy arguments in favour of the spiritual
theory.</p>

<p>Signs and omens are observed, faith in miracles have
not died out, charms are not considered valueless, curses
and evil wishes make a large proportion of our population
tremble, dreams are believed in. Indeed nearly all, if not
all, the various aspects and phases of superstition of the
sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries are, to a
certain extent, believed in in the nineteenth century. We
make no mere random statement, but are stating facts
falling under our own notice and that of reliable witnesses.</p>

<p>Fear of the supernatural is confirmed by the dread one
has of passing a graveyard at night. Among the English,
Scotch, and Irish people the tales of their forefathers are
remembered. Who has forgotten his nursery tales? Who
does not remember the stories of aged friends as they sat
round the winter fire? We have somewhere read of our
nursery tales under eight heads. First, of a hero waging
successful war with monsters; (2nd), of a neglected
individual mysteriously raised into position, like "Cinderella;"
(3rd), of one thrown into a magic trance, like
the "Sleeping Beauty;" or (4th) of a person overpowered
by a monster, as in the case of "Little Red Riding Hood."
"Blue Beard," says the writer from whom we have
just quoted, is a specimen of a group of tales, in which
(5th) the hero or heroine is forbidden to do something,
but disobeys. "Beauty and the Beast" and "The White
Cat" are examples of a large group in which (6th) a
brilliant being is transformed, by means of a spell, into
the form of a lower animal. A number of stories, such
as "Fortunatus and his Companions," turn upon (7th)
the possession of magic implements or spells. The concluding
group consists (8th) of moral tales. But these
eight groups are far too few to supply examples of either
ancient or modern superstition. Hahn endeavoured to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_574" id="Page_574">[Pg 574]</a></span>
group the folk-tales of Europe under forty heads, and
Baring Gould has followed his example. In every corner
of Christendom some form of kelpie, sprite, troll, gnome,
imp, or demon has a place in the mind of the people,
much the same as in Pagan times.</p>

<p>Those who have turned their attention to arch&aelig;ology
are in a position to corroborate what is here advanced.
No doubt, modern superstition, in its various forms, is
the result of ancient delusion in regard to religion and
moral rectitude. To overlook or neglect the prescribed
formula in regard to blessing and cursing, was certain to
bring its own punishment. Superstition is believed in
by persons accounted neither irreligious nor desperately
profane. Church dignitaries, once foremost in the persecution
of reputed witches, found it necessary to change
their front. Everything bordering on witchcraft, devil
worship, or such like, met with ecclesiastical censure. Let
the inhabitants of Applecross say why they and their
forefathers sacrificed to St. Mourie, their patron saint, at
certain seasons; and let the Synod of Glenelg and the
Presbytery of Lochcarron say why they considered it
necessary to forbid the people resorting to the island
Innis Maree on 25th August. And let those reverend
bodies say whether certain stones are not consulted as to
future events&mdash;whether oblations are not left on hills&mdash;and
whether a species of adoration is not paid to wells.</p>

<p>Why is the mountain ash, or rowan tree, seen growing
in almost every garden, when not another tree adorns the
landscape or shelters the family dwelling? Why are the
caudal appendages of the cottar's cow and calf adorned
with red thread? and wherefore are horse-shoes nailed to
stable-doors, ships' masts, and buried under thresholds?
What parish or district has not its haunted house and
"white lady?" In what quarter do not the young fear
to pass ruined castles after sundown? And have we
not everywhere a confessed belief in lucky and unlucky<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_575" id="Page_575">[Pg 575]</a></span>
times and circumstances, and admitted presentiments of
evil?</p>

<p>The tinker's curse and the gipsy's warning are prophetically
regarded. In the north of Scotland there is a
class of lay preachers, or catechists, known as the "Men,"
who lay claim to prophetic talent; yea, there are among
them enthusiasts, who pretend they possess keys equal in
efficacy to those of St. Peter. At the seaside, among the
sailors and fishermen, strong indications of superstition are
observable. Buyers and sellers, especially cattle dealers
and hucksters, daily evince their adherence to the credulity
of their progenitors, by spitting on the first money received
by them in the morning, and preferring to deal first with
persons reputed to have good luck. Athletes (particularly
boxers and wrestlers) spit into their loofs before
commencing a combat, thinking that by so doing they
are more likely to prevail.</p>

<p>At wedding-parties, baptisms, and funerals we have
seen numerous forms of superstition displayed. First,
the bride's dress must consist of certain fabrics, while the
flowers with which her person is adorned must not include
hated sprigs, repellers of love, or such as attract evil spirits.
All know the custom, if not the value, of throwing slippers,
rice, etc. after a newly-wedded pair; and the ceremony
of breaking a cake over a bride's head as she first
enters her husband's house is not forgotten. Who has
not eaten the "child's cheese," and been forbidden to
depart from the infantile home before drinking the young
one's health, on every occasion the nursery was entered
before the christening. Maidens dream, as often as they
have the chance, on "children's cheese" and brides' cakes,
in order to obtain glimpses in their slumbers of future
love and matrimony.</p>

<p>Tea in abundance has been infused to supply the
necessary material for the spae-wife to read her cups.
Coins and jewellery, deposited with the fortune-teller to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_576" id="Page_576">[Pg 576]</a></span>
enable him or her to discover the fortune of the owners,
have too often failed to be restored to the lawful owners.
Servant-girls can tell how often they and their employers
have been plundered by fortune-tellers in the guise of
beggars and pedlars.</p>

<p>May-dew has not lost its virtue; the carrying of fire
round houses, fields, and boats are still supposed to drive
away witches and evil spirits; and diseases are supposed
to be capable of cure by means of charms.</p>

<p>Superstitious families are less terrified at thunder and
lightning than at the ticking of the death-watch (<i>anobium
tesselatum</i>), whose noise is supposed to prognosticate an
early death in the household. With little less fear are
the crowing of cocks, the lowing of cattle, and the howling
of dogs at night listened to. The passing of a sharp-edged
or pointed instrument from one lover to another
is continued to be looked upon with anything but favour,
as such articles, even pins, divide affection. If an angler
step over his fishing-rod, he will have indifferent piscatory
sport. It is a good sign for swallows to build their nests
at one's windows; but if a person destroy a swallow's nest,
or kill any of those birds of passage, he should prepare for
misfortunes. Unusually dark-coloured magpies flying
about a house, betokens grief to the inmates. When the
palm of one's hand itches, money may be looked for;
when the sole of the foot itches, prepare for a long
journey.</p>

<p>Of particular festive and holy-days we have more than
once taken notice, and pointed out how they were
observed. Well, we have Christmas, Hallow-e'en, Good
Friday, observed with something resembling the fashion
of olden times. The evergreens, kail-stocks, pan-cakes,
and buns have the same significations as they had in
generations past. To break a Good Friday bun between
two persons, is accepted as a pledge of friendship. Many
superstitious persons keep a Good Friday bun throughout<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_577" id="Page_577">[Pg 577]</a></span>
the year, to secure good fortune, prevent fires, and keep
disease away.</p>

<p>At a recent meeting of the British Arch&aelig;ological
Association, Mr. H. Syer Cuming, F.S.A., said it was
only a few years since he saw a woman drink a little
grated cross-bun in water, to cure a sore throat, and that,
at the time he was speaking, twenty stale cross-buns,
strung on a cord, were suspended as a festoon above the
door of an apartment at Brixton Hill, to scare away evil
spirits. Fortunately, those who adopt such precautions
do so now without fear of punishment. No doubt the
Church of Rome interdicts her adherents from eating flesh
on Fridays and other prescribed times, but the laws are
changed since the seventeenth century. An extract from
the kirk-session records of Dunfermline for 1640-89 will
show the ecclesiastical law of that period:&mdash;</p>

<div class="blockquot"><p>"21 December 1641.&mdash;That day John Smart, flesher, being convict
for selling a carkeis of beefe, and hav<sup>g</sup> pott on a rost at hes fire y<sup>e</sup> last
fasting day, is ordainit to pay 8 mks., qhlk. he payit. And William
Anderson in knockes for bring<sup>g</sup> a hamelading of y<sup>e</sup> s<sup>d</sup> carkeis of beefe
y<sup>e</sup> fast day, is ordainit to pay 30s., q<sup>r</sup> of he payit 24s."</p></div>

<p>Of the magical properties of May dew little is now
known, compared with the knowledge of former times.
Our grandmothers firmly believed that three applications
of it at the beginning of May preserved the complexion
in brilliant bloom for a year; consequently they were up
and out long before sunrise, to wash their faces in the
charmed moisture. There is still much value in the recipe,
which is, however, applicable to all the dewy-morning
months. It was not only on the brightness of the cheek
that May dew was believed to have a marvellous effect,
but many physical ailments were amenable to its virtues.
It is related that the people about Launceston say that a
child weak in the back may be cured by being drawn
through the wet grass thrice on the mornings of the 1st,
2nd, and 3rd of May. Swellings in the neck are similarly<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_578" id="Page_578">[Pg 578]</a></span>
cured; but the dew in such cases should, if the patient is
a man, be sought on the grave of the last young woman
buried, and if a woman, on that of the last young man
interred.</p>

<p>These May-day practices are not confined to England.
The medicinal and cosmetic properties of spring rain and
May dew appear to have been at one time universally
credited. In fact, water, in whatever shape&mdash;dew, rain,
river&mdash;when associated with spring, was invested with a
sort of divine enchantment in the popular mind. The
heavy dew which brightened and refreshed the young and
tender green of all growing things was holy and hallowing.
Running water shared in the same veneration.</p>

<p>In some parts of Russia, at the present day, the girls
go into the water up to the girdle on May-day, or, if the
streams be still frozen, they dance about a hole broken in
the ice, and sing a welcome to the "beautiful spring."
The sick are carried down to the banks of a river and
sprinkled with water, which has received a healing power
from the new season. Cattle are driven afield at early
dawn through the May dew, and the young people roll
about in it where it lies thickest.</p>

<p>Not many years ago a fisherman near Fort William
purchased a set of nets, to enable him to prosecute the
herring fishing. He toiled all night without catching any
fish. Dispirited, he returned home in the morning to his
anxious wife, who was expecting to receive a heavy haul.
On learning her husband had been so unfortunate while
their neighbours had been successful, she suspected the
nets were bewitched, and therefore procured consecrated
water wherewith to sprinkle them. The experiment
proved successful beyond expectation: every morning the
fisherman went to sea he returned with so many fish that
his circumstances were considerably improved.</p>

<p>Holy water is kept, in certain localities in the north, for
sprinkling on the sea to still the waves in case of a storm.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_579" id="Page_579">[Pg 579]</a></span>
Holy oil, we are assured, is equally efficacious. We have
seen a lady turning her chair three times round, to secure
luck at cards.</p>

<p>Dipping in a fountain or lake in Scotland for the
purpose of healing diseases, is a matter of frequent
occurrence. In the beginning of August (old style),
between midnight and early morning, may be seen the
impotent, the halt, and the lunatic immersing themselves,
or being immersed by their friends, in Lochmanur, Sutherlandshire,
in the full expectation that benefit to mind
and body will be secured by the operation. One who has
witnessed the strange scenes within the last ten years, <i>i.e.</i>
since 1870, gives the following graphic account of the
superstitious actions he beheld:&mdash;</p>

<div class="blockquot"><p>"The hour was between midnight and one o'clock in the morning, and
the scene was absurd beyond belief, though not without a touch of weird
interest, imparted by the darkness of the night and the superstitious faith
of the people. The lame, the old, and young were waiting for an immersion
in Lochmanur or Lochmonaire. About fifty persons were present near
one spot, and other parts of the loch were similarly occupied. About
twelve stripped and walked into the loch, performing their ablutions three
times. Those who were not able to act for themselves were assisted, some
of them being led willingly and others by force, for there were cases of
each kind. One young woman, strictly guarded, was an object of great
pity. She raved in a distressing manner, repeating religious phrases, some
of which were very earnest and pathetic. She prayed her guardians not
to immerse her, saying that it was not a communion occasion, and asking
if they could call this righteousness or faithfulness. No male, so far as I
could see, denuded himself for a plunge. These gatherings take place
twice a year, and are known far and near to such as put belief in the
spell. But the climax of absurdity is in paying the loch in sterling coin."</p></div>

<p>Another writer says he has seen even more than fifty
dipping in this loch in one night. A third eye-witness
never saw more than two or three of a night venturing
into the loch; but many more, he adds, were present to
see and be seen. And there are persons who have declared
they derived benefit from bathing in it. The late Rev.
D. Mackenzie, minister at Farr, who often denounces from<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_580" id="Page_580">[Pg 580]</a></span>
the pulpit the superstitious practice of dipping in the
loch, says, in his description of it in the <i>New Statistical
Account of Scotland</i>: "Numbers from Sutherland, Caithness,
Ross-shire, and even from Inverness and Orkney,
come to this far-famed loch."</p>

<p>The holy well of Kilvullen, on the Irish coast, is as
good as Lochmanur. Every year, in the month of August,
there are high festivals held there. The water has a
wonderful repute for healing qualities. It has worked
miraculous cures ever since the great saint of Kilvullen
flourished in the parish. The inhabitants have vague
though reverential notions of the date of St. Kilvullen's
existence. That he was of foreign extraction would appear
to be proven, some way or other, through a boulder lying
on the beach, on which, it is stated, the blessed Kilvullen
travelled here direct from Rome, with a commission from
the Pope to convert the Irish. To wriggle under a cavity
in this stone and come out on the other side, is an infallible
remedy for lumbago.</p>

<p>There is a mountain not far distant from Kilvullen
with a gap in it, supposed to have been made by a single
bite of the devil. There is scarcely an eminence in Ireland
out of which the demon has not devoured a bit. Travellers
are shown the devil's bites, the devil's gaps, and the devil's
punch-bowls, over nearly every part of the country.</p>

<p>Dr. Arthur Mitchell, while lecturing on Scottish superstition,
said: "The adoration of wells continues in certain
aspects to the present day, from John-o'-Groat's to the Mull
of Galloway. I visited a well at Craiguck, in the parish
of Avoch, Ross-shire, some years ago, and found numerous
offerings fastened to a tree beside it; and of at least a
dozen wells in Scotland the same thing is more or less
true. An anxious loving mother would bring a sick child
to such a well at early morning on the 1st May, bathe the
child, then cause the little one to drop an offering into the
well&mdash;usually a pebble, but sometimes a small coin. Then<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_581" id="Page_581">[Pg 581]</a></span>
a bit of the child's dress was attached to a bush or tree
growing on the side of the well. These visits were paid
in a spirit of earnestness and faith, and were kept more
or less secret. Some of the wells have names of Christian
saints attached to them; but I never knew of a case in
which the saint was in any way recognised or prayed to.
There is reason to believe these wells were the objects of
adoration before the country was christianised, and that
such adoration was a survival of the earlier practice to
which Seneca and Pliny referred."</p>

<p>However much the custom of seeking health by bathing
or dipping in lakes, or drinking from certain springs, may
be deplored, it is tolerable compared with the superstitious
belief that prevails, of epilepsy being cured by the affected
person drinking water out of a suicide's skull, or by tasting
or touching the blood of a murderer.</p>

<p>A gentleman, writing lately from Fort William, says:&mdash;"It
is a mistake to suppose that superstition is entirely
extinct in the Highlands, or that it is confined to old
women alone. It was only the other day a certain spinster
in Lochaber, who has reached the shady side of sixty,
owned a cow. Up to last week the cow was a model one
in every sense of the term, but last week it showed sure
signs of the effect of the 'evil eye.' The symptoms were
chiefly deficiency in quantity and quality of milk. A
consistory of old women was soon called, and, among a
host of other queer contrivances, they had recourse to
one&mdash;commendable chiefly for its simplicity, and also for
its complete success. It was no other than smearing the
brute all over with soot and salt! As this was done for
the purpose of spoiling the beauty of the beast, it may be
better guessed than described how completely it answered the
purpose."</p>

<p>Another gentleman, writing from Grantown, assures us
that "One night in 1878, two men, one of whom was blind,
entered the village of Grantown and inquired as to the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_582" id="Page_582">[Pg 582]</a></span>
nearest route to Tomintoul. They came from a parish
north of Inverness, and the object of their long journey
was to visit a representative of the family of the warlock
Willox, with a view to overturn some bad luck which had
beset the course in life of the younger of the two. The
attempt to dissuade them from proceeding further on their
foolish errand was fruitless. Their faces had been set on
the journey, and they were sternly resolved to accomplish
it at all hazards. They pressed on their way, the blind
man leaning on the arm of his companion, though night
was on the point of falling. The matter pressed heavily
on the younger, and it was in vain he tried to conceal his
thoughts, being either 'crazed with care or crossed in
hopeless love.'"</p>

<p>We have not learned how the travellers succeeded, but
this we know, that members of the Willox family have
been supposed for generations to profess knowledge of the
occult science. Those of the nineteenth century, to whom
the hidden secrets of their fathers have been imparted, eke
out a livelihood by cultivating a small patch of land in a
mountainous district, and vending nostrums for the cure
of diseases in man and beast, and selling charms to
counteract witchcraft. Persons have been known to
travel more than a hundred miles to consult a Willox.
That a wide-spread belief exists of this family's mystical
powers, is manifest from the number of people seeking
their advice. Further, the warlocks of untainted Willox
blood not only direct attention to the healing art and the
means of outwitting witches, but they aid in discovering
lost and stolen property.</p>

<p>In 1871 a little boy in Dundee was afflicted with a sore
upon his right leg. Medical skill proved of no avail, and
the parents began to fear the boy would be rendered
helpless for life. One day, however, an old Irish woman
saw the boy, and, on ascertaining the nature of his disease,
declared that she could by means of the "gold-touch" heal<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_583" id="Page_583">[Pg 583]</a></span>
the sore. She asked for and obtained the marriage ring
of the invalid's mother. With the ring the strange woman
rubbed three times round the sore. She performed the
same operation next day, and on the next again. On the
fourth day no mark of a sore could be discovered. No
doubt remained on the parents' and neighbours' minds
that the operator was a white witch, possessed of valuable
charms.</p>



<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<h2><a name="CHAPTER_LXIX" id="CHAPTER_LXIX"></a>CHAPTER LXIX.</h2>

<div class="blockquot"><p>Ghost at Sea&mdash;Tragical Event&mdash;Ghosts in Edinburgh&mdash;Fear of Ghosts
in Glasgow&mdash;Fortune-telling&mdash;Choice of Lovers, how decided&mdash;A
handsome Dowry&mdash;Old Irish Story&mdash;How a Ghost settled a Land
Question&mdash;A Highland Prophecy respecting the Argyll Family&mdash;Gipsies
and Superstition&mdash;Yetholm Gipsies&mdash;Episode in a Police
Court&mdash;Curses&mdash;Superstition among Fishermen&mdash;Superstition among
Seamen&mdash;Providing for the Dead&mdash;A Warning&mdash;Blood Stains&mdash;Various
Superstitions&mdash;Hallow-e'en at Balmoral&mdash;Faith in Dreams,
Signs, Omens, Predictions, and Warnings&mdash;Self-accusing Catalogue&mdash;Reflections
on the Memories of our Ancestors.</p></div>


<p>A strange story is told in connection with the report
of the murder at sea on board the barque "Pontiac," of
Liverpool, by Jean Moyatos, a Greek sailor, in custody in
Edinburgh a few years ago. We do not know whether
the particulars we are about to relate came out in the
investigation, but undoubtedly they had a strong bearing
on the case, and made it probable, that but for the
hallucination of one of the crew&mdash;not the Greek sailor&mdash;the
murder would not have taken place.</p>

<p>Five days after the "Pontiac" left Callao, Jean Moyatos
murdered one of his fellow-seamen, and stabbed another
in such a dangerous manner that his life was despaired
of. Two nights before the fatal occurrence the mate of
the "Pontiac" was standing near the man at the helm, no
other person being on the quarter-deck at the time, when<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_584" id="Page_584">[Pg 584]</a></span>
the latter in great terror called out, "What is that near
the cabin door?" The mate replied that he saw nothing,
and looked about to see if any one was near, but failed to
discover any person. The steersman then, much terrified,
said the figure he saw was that of a strange-looking man,
of ghostly appearance, and almost immediately afterwards
exclaimed, "There he is again, standing at the cabin
window!" The mate, though in view of the place referred
to, saw no figure near it, nor at any other part of the
quarter-deck, though he looked round and round. Next
day the report went from one to the other that a ghost
was on board, which filled some of the sailors with alarm,
while others made a jest of it. Next night a boy (a
stowaway) was so dreadfully alarmed in his bunk by
something he saw or felt (we do not know which), that
he cried out so loudly as to waken all the seamen in bed.
The boy was sure it was the ghost seen the previous night
that had frightened him; and others of more mature years
were inclined to think so too. Perhaps more than one-half
of those on board believed that something supernatural
was in the ship, and that some calamity would soon
happen. But there were two at least on board who did
not believe the ghost stories, and these were the man subsequently
murdered, and his companion who was stabbed.
The former joked with the boy about the ghost, and said
he would have his knife well sharpened and ready for the
ghost if it appeared the next night. He would give it a
stab and "chuck" it overboard. The latter joined in the
joke, saying he also would help "to do for the ghost;"
and others said they would have letters ready for the
ghost to carry to their friends in the other world. Jean
Moyatos overheard what was said as to stabbing and
throwing overboard; and in consequence of his imperfect
knowledge of the English language, and having previously
supposed there was a combination against him, thought
the threats were made against him, and therefore resolved<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_585" id="Page_585">[Pg 585]</a></span>
to protect himself. A few hours after the jesting we have
briefly explained took place, he stabbed the two men who
principally carried on the jest, with the fatal result known.
The murder, as might be expected, filled every one on
board with horror; and the terror of the sailors who believed
there was a ghost on board became overwhelming.
At night, whether in bed or on watch on deck, they had
great dread, it being heightened by reports that strange
noises were heard below. Not even at the end of the
voyage had the fear been overcome; for, after the ship
lay moored in the docks of Leith, two of the crew who
had agreed to sleep on board became so frightened, after
their companions were paid off, that they refused to remain
in the vessel at night.</p>

<p>Jean Moyatos, on being brought to trial before the High
Court of Justiciary, was found to be insane; and therefore
the Court ordered him to be confined in a lunatic asylum
during Her Majesty's pleasure.</p>

<p>A circumstance, freely spoken of within the past few
years, has given rise to a rumour that ghosts frequent the
neighbourhood of the Dean Cemetery, Edinburgh. The
story is, that about three o'clock one morning a private
watchman named Clark (employed to look after a block
of buildings at Bell's Mills, Water of Leith) and his friend
the constable on the beat, were surprised, in the midst of
a friendly talk, by a tall figure&mdash;which, at least to their
startled eyes, seemed to be in white&mdash;clearing a wall and
alighting on the ground close beside them. It darted
along the road towards the Dean Cemetery. As it ran,
the two men heard, or thought they heard, a clinking
sound like that made by a horse with a loose shoe. Too
much frightened to watch the movements of their visitor,
Clark and his companion took to their heels, nor thought
of halting until they were a considerable distance from
the locality. Clark refused to return to his post, and
some difficulty was even experienced in getting the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_586" id="Page_586">[Pg 586]</a></span>
constable to look upon the matter from a business point of
view.</p>

<p>Whether the same ghost or not we cannot tell, but not
long ago many in Edinburgh became startled at rumours
of a ghost being seen in various parts of Edinburgh.
On a Saturday night the movements of a ghost caused
great excitement in the Fountainbridge district, particularly
at Murdoch Terrace, Bainfield, where a large crowd
collected. On the ghost being observed, five men, armed
with bludgeons, pursued it till it reached the Dalry
Cemetery, where it jumped over the wall, and was not
seen again. Bodies of men formed themselves into a
detective force, to lie in wait at different places for the
apparition. It was gravely alleged that the ghost made
its appearance in varied attire&mdash;sometimes in black, sometimes
in white, and occasionally with the addition of
horns. One dark night a cabman, driving through the
Grange, and looking about him with great fear, and
trembling for the appearance of this irrepressible "Spring-heel
Jack," suddenly heard a loud noise over his head,
and the next instant something descended with such force
on his shoulders as to send his pipe flying over the
splashboard, and himself nearly after it.</p>

<p>The alarm excited in the weak-minded and ignorant
can scarcely be credited. We know of one case where a
cab-driver, who was ordered to go at an early hour in the
morning to a house in the suburbs to convey a lady and
gentleman from an evening party, positively refused to go,
through sheer terror of encountering "Jack," as the ghost
was named, preferring rather to risk losing his situation. It
is said that the girls employed in factories in the vicinity
of the Canal would not venture to their work till it was
fairly daylight, and even then they went in a body. Several
policemen asserted that they had seen the ghost. The
stories about the ghost created such an impression on the
minds of many young people residing within a wide<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_587" id="Page_587">[Pg 587]</a></span>
radius of the haunted district, that they would not venture
out after dark.</p>

<p>Glasgow, as recently as 1878, had its ghost also, or
supposed it had. The residents in the Northern District
of that city were thrown into a state of excitement, hardly
to be credited in enlightened times. One night it was
whispered that the school at the corner of Stirling Street
and Milton Street had become the abode of a horde of
warlocks, whose cantrips were equalled only by the antics
cut by their demoniacal ancestors in "Alloway's Auld
Haunted Kirk." It was seriously averred by dozens of
persons that they had actually witnessed the hobgoblins
in the enjoyment of their fiendish fun. In a brief space
of time the whole neighbourhood turned out to see the
terrible visitants that had come among them. Frequently
as many as from four to six thousand people&mdash;the large
majority of whom were children in groups of threes and
fours, clinging to each other's hands, and evidently in
mortal terror of being suddenly spirited away no one
knew where&mdash;assembled to catch a glimpse of the mysterious
cause of the commotion. To such a height did
the excitement grow, that one night the authorities
stationed no fewer than nine policemen round the school,
for the purpose of restoring order. On the following
night "the ghost," as it was now called, still uncaught,
and gliding as noiselessly and swiftly through the
deserted rooms as on the first night of its appearance,
frightening the souls and raising the hair of all who
believed in it, and the authorities, being suspicious of
mischief on the part of some one concealed on the premises,
sent two detectives into the attics of the building, for
the purpose of arresting the apparition should it stalk
in their direction and prove to be made of flesh and blood.
After waiting several hours the officers relinquished their
watching, and left the school to its ghostly occupant.
All sorts of theories were propounded to account for the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_588" id="Page_588">[Pg 588]</a></span>
unearthly sights that were witnessed through the windows
of the building, but it turned out that a very innocent
combination of circumstances had caused all the excitement.
It was believed that the reflection from a set of
mirrors in the house opposite, falling upon a series of
thickly-glazed maps hanging upon the school wall, had
produced the appearances which served to create so great
a sensation.</p>

<p>We have seen there was neither ghost nor goblin in the
city of St. Mungo, but we have also seen from the above
incident that time has not enabled us to cast off altogether
the fetters of superstition.</p>

<p>Cunning, duplicity, and falsehood are associated with
fortune-telling. An instance in exemplification is within
our recollection. Not far from the junction of the Gadie
and Urie with the Don, in Aberdeenshire, dwelt a rich
farmer. His only daughter possessed rare natural charms,
gifts, and graces. She could spin, sew, manage the dairy,
sing with a voice equal to that of the mavis or blackbird,
while her heart was as tender as that of any other sighing
maiden. Two lovers sought her hand&mdash;one rich, the other
poor. The poor man she declared to be her choice, but
the purse-proud father declared his firlot of silver money,
his twelve cows, and as many calves, his sheep and oxen,
intended as his daughter's dower, would never enrich a
pennyless man without houses and lands. So he said;
yet he changed his mind through the influence of a
fortune-teller, hired to tell what pleased her employers
best. In presence of father and mother the sibyl professed
to see, first, in her cup a splendid mansion, with
wealth in great store, cattle, and fields of waving corn,
then gradual decline of riches, until the young lady, her
husband, and six or eight children, were seen living in a
little hut in great poverty.</p>

<p>On hearing such an evil prophecy, the interpreter
desired to cast the cup again, to ascertain whether the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_589" id="Page_589">[Pg 589]</a></span>
Fates were resolved to adhere to their former announced
decree. Father and mother leaned back in their chairs,
giving utterance to disquieting thoughts. Through
various incantations the gods were propitiated. A second
cup disclosed a small beginning for the daughter and her
husband, but a grand ending. To prove which prediction
was the correct one, the fortune-teller had recourse to the
egg and lead tests&mdash;pouring the white of an egg and
boiling lead into water, and watching the fantastic figures
produced. Every fresh trial terminated in favour of the
poor wooer. Father and mother changed their minds;
the daughter almost leaped for joy; two fond hearts were
united, and the promised dower was not kept back. For
many years the young couple throve, and at last died, in
peace and possession of plenty, leaving an honourable
name, likely to descend to future generations.</p>

<p>The immediately preceding anecdote reminds us of an
old Irish story bearing on the land question, and showing
how agrarian difficulties were settled in ancient times,
without recourse to assassination.</p>

<p>One night in 1662, one Francis Taverner, while riding
home near Drumbridge, observed two horsemen pass him
silently. Not even the treading of the horses' feet could
be heard, and presently a third horseman appeared in the
likeness of James Haddock, formerly a farmer at Malone,
where he died five years previously. Mr. Taverner asked
the spectre rider number three (for in reality the three
riders were apparitions) why he appeared to him. To
this the ghost replied, that if he would ride his (the ghost's)
way he would inform him. Mr. Taverner refused to go
any other way than that which led to his own home.
Man and ghost parted company; but no sooner had they
done so than a dreadful storm arose, in the midst of which
hideous screeches rose above the gale. Mr. Taverner and
his horse were sensible of some evil influence being near
them; and they continued in a state of semi-stupor until<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_590" id="Page_590">[Pg 590]</a></span>
cock-crowing. Chanticleer's clarion notes seemed to
work a charm; for as they wakened the morn, all became
calm&mdash;placid as an inland lake unrippled by the
wind.</p>

<p>Next night an apparition in the likeness of James
Haddock appeared again to Mr. Taverner, and bade him
go to Eleanor Welsh, wife of one Davis, but formerly
the spouse of James Haddock, by whom she had an only
son, to whom Haddock had by will given a lease of
a farm, but of which the son was deprived by Davis.
"Tell her," said the ghost, "that it is the will of your
former husband that our son should be righted in the
lease." Through some infatuation, the man disregarded
the instructions of the apparition, and for his neglect he
was haunted and threatened by the apparition in several
forms.</p>

<p>So uneasy did Mr. Taverner feel, that he left his
mountain home and went to Belfast. Thither the ghost
followed him, and again threatened to tear him in pieces
unless he delivered the message. He therefore went
to Lord Chichester, owner of the farm, and with tears in
his eyes related the whole story. Dr. Lewis Downs, a
minister in Belfast, hearing the relation, at first questioned
the lawfulness of obeying a spirit, but, on mature consideration,
and having respect to the injured son's interest,
not only thought the message should be delivered, but
agreed to accompany Taverner to Davis's house to hear it
communicated.</p>

<p>Dr. Taylor, bishop of Down, Connor, and Dromore,
after strictly examining Taverner anent the whole matter,
expressed his belief in the realness of the apparition.
No doubt the medium of communication suffered much
mental torture, and great excitement prevailed in the
north of Ireland; but, however, to use a hackneyed
phrase, "All's well that ends well." The apparition's
mission to earth was fulfilled; for the young man's<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_591" id="Page_591">[Pg 591]</a></span>
wrongs were redressed, and he remained for many years
in secure possession of his father's lands.</p>

<p>An old Highland prophecy respecting the Argyll family
has been brought to mind by the marriage of the Marquis
of Lorn, heir apparent to the dukedom, with a princess
of England. It was foretold that all the glories of the
Campbell family would be renewed in the first chief who
in the colour of his locks approached nearest to that of
the great Jan Roy Cean (Red John the Great), Duke of
Argyll. Nature has performed her part in the person of
the noble Marquis, and fate is not likely to allow the
prophecy to remain unfulfilled.</p>

<p>Gipsies have always been associated with superstition.
In their tents, and elsewhere, the women belonging to that
class are professed fortune-tellers. We have heard them
in all parts of Scotland and England telling fortunes, and
seen people trembling at their curses, and witnessed others
highly elated at their blessings and favourable predictions.
In far-back times the leaders of the gipsies were chosen
as their chiefs in consequence of this acknowledged power
of divination and enchantment; they were therefore regarded
not as kings or princes, but as prophets or
magicians.</p>

<p>At Yetholm the gipsies have an idea that it is unlucky
to have unbaptized children in their houses. Women of
that village sell dreaming powders, by sleeping on which
for a certain number of nights the sleepers are privileged
to see their future partners in life.</p>

<p>As an instance in the belief of unholy prayers, we give
an episode in the Leith police court in 1878. A woman
named Allan was charged with assaulting a man because
he had ill-used one of her boys. She was a person of
wild passions, and upbraided the man with divers acts of
cruelty to her children. Bursting out into loud cursing,
she reminded the man that, eight years previously, she had,
in consequence of him kicking her orphan child, prayed that<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_592" id="Page_592">[Pg 592]</a></span>
neither he nor his wife should have children; "and you
know," she exclaimed, "my prayers have been answered!"
The woman professed to believe her unholy prayers had
hindered the subjects of her wrath from having offspring.
The man quailed under the termagant's piercing eye, and
trembled at the renewed curses.</p>

<p>At the same court, a few years ago, it transpired that
two women in the fishing village of Newhaven had a
quarrel, during which one of them cursed the other and
"salted her," <i>i.e.</i> threw salt at her. To cast salt with an
evil intent after one, is as unlucky, in the estimation of
fishermen and their wives, as it is to tell a fisherwoman
that a hare's foot is in her creel, or to mention "Brounger"
or the name of a four-footed beast at sea.</p>

<p>A few sceptical friends, not believing all they had heard
regarding the superstitious notions of fishermen, were
advised to put a young pig among some fishermen's lines
on board of a boat at Newhaven pier. The trick being
performed, and discovered before the boat put to sea, both
pig and lines were tossed overboard, to the spoiling of a
whole day's fishing.</p>

<p>A boat's crew recently left Newhaven pier for the oyster
dredging in the Firth of Forth. One of the crew, a young
lad, who had been at a circus in Edinburgh the previous
evening, happened, while giving an account of what he
had seen, to say "horse." No sooner had the hated word
been uttered, than his companions assailed him in a most
unmerciful manner. His disregard of the tradition of
his fathers put an end to the fishing, it not being considered
prudent by the men to prosecute their calling any
more that day. In these superstitions, fishermen are
following the examples of the ancients. It will be
remembered the names of the Furies, Kings, etc. were not
to be named, and that there were birds and beasts of ill
omen.</p>

<p>Fishermen have an aversion to go to sea in a boat<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_593" id="Page_593">[Pg 593]</a></span>
from which a man has been drowned, and they are
opposed to the breaking up of an old boat. This last-mentioned
superstition continues to prevail, and it accounts
for so many useless crafts being seen at fishing
towns unnecessarily occupying much valuable ground, as
in olden times, and as mentioned by us under "Signs,
Omens, and Warnings," at page <a href="#Page_399">399</a>. At the Tweed,
fishermen still (1879) have a belief in the power of fairies
to affect the fisheries. It is the custom not only to impregnate
nets with salt, but also to throw part of that
commodity into the water, to blind the mischievous elves,
who are said to prevent fish being caught. The salting
process was carried on at Coldstream very recently, with a
result highly satisfactory to the operators, if not to others.</p>

<p>A ship captain has informed us that, when a young
man, he incurred the displeasure of an old seaman, with
whom he sailed in one of the old trading smacks between
Leith and London. On refreshments being served out,
according to custom, one day, he (our informant) handed
a jug of beer to the old sailor through the steps of a
ladder. For this act the aged salt swore at him, and
called him an unlucky lubber, while at the same time he
dealt him a severe blow on the face.</p>

<p>Another captain of a vessel trading between Leith and
London has told us of a singular passage he had thirty
years ago. To oblige a friend, he agreed to convey a hare
to another friend in the English metropolis. A fair wind
carried the vessel past the Bass Rock, but then a storm
sprang up, which kept the ship tossing about for days
without reaching the English coast. An old sailor declared
their retarded progress was due to the hare being
on board. By consent of all the crew, the hare found a
place overboard, and then the wind became so favourable
that the ship made a quick run to the Thames.</p>

<p>A gentleman in Edinburgh told us recently he had frequently
seen burning candles beside a corpse at mid-day,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_594" id="Page_594">[Pg 594]</a></span>
while at the same time a small plate or saucer with salt
rested on the corpse's breast, and every one who looked
on the body had to put his hand on the inanimate brow.
He further told us he had seen a priest of the Roman
Catholic Church put a half-crown into the mouth of a
corpse at Portobello, to represent, we presume, the obolus
exacted by Charon for ferrying the shades of the buried
dead across the under-world rivers.</p>

<p>In Ireland, at a period not remote, an opinion prevailed
that the spirit of a dead person went about deceased's former
home for a month. During that length of time a fire was
always kept burning in the house, and a jug of water
stood in deceased's chamber, so that his spirit might refresh
itself. At the month's end a clergyman, by means
of prayer, put the spirit to rest.</p>

<p>Within the last decade (we think in 1872) a highly respectable
family in the county of Edinburgh was greatly
alarmed by a pheasant flying through their dining-room
window, killing itself on the spot, and breaking a large
pane of plate glass. To the family the event came as a
warning of early calamity. Next day a messenger announced
that a worthy doctor of divinity, a dear family
friend, had died the previous night.</p>

<p>We hear occasionally of the impossibility of wiping out
the traces of flagrant crimes. The blood of Rizzio, shed
on the floor of Holyrood Palace, in presence of Queen
Mary, has defied the rubbing of years to wipe it away.
There the blood stains remain a wonder to the thousands
who visit Scotland's royal palace. At a time almost
forgotten, a good man was hurled from a window of
Torwood Castle, not far from the field of Bannockburn.
His blood stained the grass on which the body fell, and
since that time the herbage there is mixed with red blades
of grass and red clover.</p>

<p>A Saturday's flitting is followed by a short sitting. No
one should take possession of a new house before throwing<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_595" id="Page_595">[Pg 595]</a></span>
coals and salt into it. No important undertaking should
be commenced on Friday or Saturday, nor yet at the
end of a year. "Berchta spoils flax found unspun the
last day of the year." A shooting star falling near a
house, foretells an early death in that dwelling.</p>

<p>Old flint arrow-heads are worn as charms, under the
belief that they were the points of elfin arrows. If a lady
be wise, she will not have two tea-spoons in her saucer at
the same time. If a young lady desire to know how
many sweethearts she has, let her pull her fingers, and the
number will be equal to the cracks heard. In fact we
have nearly as many signs, omens, charms, and freits as
our forefathers had. We have legendary lore concerning
the supernatural, we have mythological fables, forecasts,
fatalities, our spell-bound individuals, our fey persons,
and those who have had glamour cast into their eyes.
None of us are likely to forget the New Year, Christmas,
St. Valentine's Day, Beltane, Hallow-e'en, and many other
high days, which come to us, month after month, with their
peculiar rites and ceremonies. Even Queen Victoria,
with a desire to please, takes pleasure in observing Hallow-e'en
at her Highland residence.</p>

<p>In 1876 Hallow-e'en was celebrated at Balmoral Castle
with unusual ceremony, in presence of Her Majesty, the
Princess Beatrice, the ladies and gentlemen of the royal
household, and a large gathering of the tenantry and
servants on the estates of Balmoral and Invergeldie. The
leading features of the celebration were a torchlight procession,
the lighting of large bonfires, and the burning in
effigy of witches and warlocks. Upwards of 150 torchbearers
assembled at the castle as darkness set in, and
separated into two parties, one band proceeding to Invergeldie,
and the other remaining at Balmoral. The order
was given to light the torches at a quarter before six
o'clock, and shortly after that hour the Queen and
the Princess Beatrice drove to Invergeldie, followed by<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_596" id="Page_596">[Pg 596]</a></span>
the Balmoral party of torchbearers. The two parties
then united and returned in procession to the front of
Balmoral Castle, where all were grouped round a large
bonfire, which blazed and crackled merrily, the Queen's
pipers playing the while. Refreshments were then served
to all, and dancing was engaged in to the strains of the
bagpipes. When the fun was at its height, there suddenly
appeared from the rear of the castle a grotesque figure,
representing a witch, with a train of followers dressed like
sprites, who appeared terrified at the monster fire blazing,
and danced and gesticulated in all fashions; then followed
a warlock of demoniacal shape, who was succeeded
by another warlock drawing a car, on which was seated a
witch, surrounded by other figures in the guise of demons.
The unearthly visitors having marched several times
round the burning pile, the principal figure was taken
from the car and tossed into the flames amid weird shrieks
and howls, the burning of blue lights, and a display of
crackers and other fireworks. The health of her Majesty
the Queen was then pledged and drunk with Highland
honours by the assembled hundreds; the health of the
Princess Beatrice was also received with enthusiasm.
Dancing was then resumed, and was carried on till a late
hour at night. The scene was very picturesque, Lochnagar
and other mountains in the neighbourhood being
covered with snow. Although the wind blew piercingly
cold from the north, her Majesty and the Princess remained
a considerable time, viewing the sports with evident
interest.</p>

<p>As to giving up faith in dreams, signs, omens, predictions,
and warnings, some people would nearly as soon
give up their belief in the Bible. Then add to these a
belief in ghosts, and we have a catalogue before us so
self-accusing that we dare not cast serious reflections on
the memories of our ancestors.</p>



<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_597" id="Page_597">[Pg 597]</a></span></p>
<h2><a name="CHAPTER_LXX" id="CHAPTER_LXX"></a>CHAPTER LXX.</h2>

<div class="blockquot"><p>Lizzie M'Gill, the Fifeshire Spaewife&mdash;Fortune-telling&mdash;Predicting a
Storm at Sea&mdash;Servants alarmed thereby&mdash;Prediction Fulfilled&mdash;Adam
Donald, an Aberdeenshire Prophet&mdash;Adam supposed to have been a
Changeling&mdash;A Careless Mother&mdash;Adam as a Linguist&mdash;His Predictions
and Cures&mdash;His Marriage&mdash;Valuable Charm&mdash;The Wise Woman of
Kincardineshire&mdash;The Recruiting Sergeant&mdash;High-spirited Lady wooed
and won&mdash;Lucky Lightfoot, the Spaewife&mdash;Charmed Ring and its
Effects&mdash;Elopement and Marriage&mdash;An Enraged Father&mdash;Life in
America&mdash;Sergeant Campbell's Death&mdash;Second Marriage&mdash;Literary
Talents&mdash;Strong-minded Women.</p></div>


<p>In the spring of 1866, Eliza M'Gill, who resided near
a romantic church in the Presbytery of St. Andrews,
died at the advanced age of ninety-three years. For a
long period almost every one, far and near, knew her as a
spaewife of no ordinary knowledge. Lizzie (the name
usually given her) could scarcely be called an impostor,
for she appeared to have sincere faith in her profession.
Often she exclaimed with solemn fervency, "The gift I
hae is fae aboon, an' what He gies daurna be hidit." It
was common for coy damsels and staid matrons to wend
their way to Lizzie's cot about twilight, to have their
fortunes spaed. About ten years before her death, when
the prospects of the herring fishing were discouraging in
the extreme, a buxom young woman, belonging to
Pittenweem or St. Monance, repaired one evening to
Carnbee to consult Lizzie. The damsel went with a
heavy countenance, but she returned radiant with smiles,
for the wise woman had said, "That altho' it was to be an
awfu' puir draw, yet her folk was to hae a grand haul
next e'enin'." And, true to the old wife's prediction, the
crew in which she interested herself returned with a
splendid prize from the fishing ground, followed, of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_598" id="Page_598">[Pg 598]</a></span>
course, with an increase of fame to the prophetess. On
another occasion Lizzie was no less fortunate in the result
foretold. A fisher-wife in the former place had received
a sovereign from her husband, which, in the hurry of the
moment, she had placed on the bedside. Going shortly
afterwards to remove it, what was her consternation to
find that the gold piece was gone! The most diligent
search and inquiry were instituted after the lost treasure,
but all to no purpose. In the extremity of her distress
the poor woman thought of the "witch o' Carnbee," and,
adjusting her cap, was soon on her journey thither.
Lizzie's words fell on her troubled spirit like oil on the
stormy sea; for she was told that, in the course of a day or
two, the sovereign would be again in her possession. And
so it proved: on drawing her husband's sea boots from
under the bed, the coin fell from the toe of one of them.</p>

<p>On one occasion, a cheap trip by the steamer "Xantho"
from Anstruther to Leith being advertised, many of the
labouring classes, with their friends, arranged to visit
Leith and Edinburgh. Unfortunately, however, the trip
was to take place when the farmers of the district were
very busy with the sowing of the turnips, and when, of
course, their people were needed for that work. For the
purpose, it is said, of keeping the men at home, a rumour
circulated over the East Neuk, to the effect that the
steamer and all on board were to perish in a fearful gale.
The servants were so greatly alarmed by the prediction
of Lizzie (it was she who spread the report), that they
resolved to remain at home. The most remarkable feature
of the affair is, that on the day in question a violent gale
arose, which prevented the steamer returning to Anstruther
until next morning. The non-arrival of the boat, as may
be inferred, was the cause of the liveliest alarm to the
friends of those on board, and an old worthy was heard
to exclaim with respect to the prediction: "I dinna
believe in sic things mysel', but, some way or ither, they<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_599" id="Page_599">[Pg 599]</a></span>
aye come true." Lizzie's father and her whole family are
said to have been highly respectable. Her truant and
impulsive disposition led her, however, into conduct and
habits that deprived her of the respect and help of her
friends; and necessity at length appears to have constrained
her to act the part of a fortune-teller, which
she is known to have practised with success more than
half a century.</p>

<p>Adam Donald, the prophet of Bethelnie, a contemporary
of Lizzie M'Gill, stood high in Aberdeenshire as a seer.
From his peculiar appearance in early life, grave doubts
existed as to whether he was actually the offspring of his
reputed parents, or whether he had not been substituted
by the fairies for a lovely boy, the son of a worthy pair
who believed not in the existence of witches or fairies.</p>

<p>One day the mother went out, leaving the child well
in his cradle, and on returning, about an hour afterwards,
she found a cold, marble-like infant, that never
throve, never smiled, but, on the contrary, cried from
morning to night, and from night till morning. On
hearing of the changed infant, people flocked to witness
the sudden alteration which had taken place in Mr. and
Mrs. Donald's child. One knowing dame thought she
understood the whole matter. The fairies were the
wicked beings that had done all the mischief; and that
they were permitted to do so, arose entirely through the
parents' carelessness or ignorance. "Would it be believed,"
said the dame when speaking of the extraordinary
circumstance, "that the simple mother went out,
leaving her child alone, uncrossed, without a charm
about its person, and without a horse-shoe being nailed
on the threshold or behind the door, or a piece of rowan-tree
at the door or window or in the cradle?" The friend
to whom the reflections were made shook her head, while
she replied, "Ay, ay, unbelieving generation; they will
be burning the Bible some day soon."</p>

<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_600" id="Page_600">[Pg 600]</a></span>Adam grew up, and became a wonderful being. From
his ability to tell secrets past and future, and his power
to effect cures, he became known as the "prophet of
Bethelnie." Owing to a distorted state of body, he
could not engage in robust employment to obtain a
subsistence. He therefore, to amuse himself, read such
books as his parents' stinted means could afford. Though
it was supposed he could scarcely read English, he carefully
collected many curious books in French, Latin,
Greek, Italian, and Spanish. He often retired to an old
churchyard and church in ruins, near his residence, to
hold converse (so he said) with spirits of the dead, which
informed him of things unknown to ordinary men.</p>

<p>When property went amissing, the owner repaired to the
"prophet;" when cattle died, he named the witch who
had killed them; and when any one became sick, Adam
Donald supplied a remedy either by charms or herbs.
Every Sunday, for many years, people of all classes
crowded to consult him either as a necromancer or
physician. His fee seldom exceeded sixpence for each
consultation, yet he lived in comparative comfort.</p>

<p>When far advanced in life, miserable-looking object
though the "prophet" remained, he prevailed on one of
the handsomest girls of his neighbourhood to marry him.
This matrimonial alliance helped to strengthen the supposition
that Adam possessed more than human power.</p>

<p>The prophet of Bethelnie, although he had offspring,
went to his long home without instructing a successor in
the secret art he for many years followed with pecuniary
advantage. He saved his reputation by preserving silence.
If the following anecdote be true, there can be little doubt
that the prophet assisted to restore decaying nature by
the use of amulets or charms.</p>

<p>An old woman, whose eyes had become dim by reason
of years, purchased a charm from the prophet, which
Adam assured her would revive her sight to its former<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_601" id="Page_601">[Pg 601]</a></span>
clearness. On the charm&mdash;hieroglyphics traced on parchment&mdash;being
suspended from the neck, it proved effectual.
In a short time the old woman could thread a small
needle, and see to pick up a pin from the floor. A female
neighbour, with impaired sight, hearing of the cure,
begged the charm from the lucky owner, but she would
not part with it. All the favour the applicant could
obtain was permission to copy the hieroglyphics on
paper. The copy thus obtained and worn by the second
patient brightened up her eyes also. Adam's medicines
excited love, and his charms secured affection.</p>

<p>Fifty or sixty years ago Kincardineshire had its wise
women. At the time referred to, a recruiting sergeant
(whom we shall call Donald Campbell), equally devoted
to his sovereign and the fair sex, made a favourable
impression on the inhabitants of a small town fifteen or
twenty miles from Aberdeen. The parish minister, the
parochial teacher, and the doctor had something favourable
to say of the sergeant. Nurses and other servant-maids
could see nothing but the sergeant's red-coat; and
it was whispered that even the young ladies smiled on
him. Indeed that must have been so, for we are told
that every one welcomed the Highlander: even the little
children ran to meet him; and how heartily he did kiss
them, but whether for their own sakes or the love he
bore to their nurses, sisters, or aunts, none could tell.
This, however, is certain: he did not encourage the shoemaker's
sister, the tailor's daughter, nor the buxom widow
who presided at the little inn. His affections were concentrated
on a lady whom one could scarcely expect to
yield her heart to such a humble son of Mars. The fair
one was no less a personage than the daughter of Captain
B&mdash;&mdash; of U&mdash;&mdash;, a lady well known for miles around for
her courage and love of out-door sports. Few could
manage a high-spirited horse better than Rose Bloomer
(by this name we introduce the young lady to our readers),<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_602" id="Page_602">[Pg 602]</a></span>
or clear a fence with greater ease. And as for the
fishing-rod and fowling-piece, she could handle them as
dexterously as any disciple of Isaac Walton or of Nimrod
could desire. True, she was not what is generally termed
a beauty: her features, though not coarse, were scarcely
those a sculptor or a painter would desire to have before
him while completing his "Venus" for the next fine-art
exhibition. In her short stout figure and determined
look were indications of a strong-minded woman. Miss
Bloomer, having lost her mother in early life, and her
father being devoted to the chase, pedestrianism, and other
athletic sports congenial to most country gentlemen, the
young lady, his only child, had ample scope for indulging
her inclinations.</p>

<p>Sergeant Campbell greatly admired Miss Bloomer's
dexterity. Often did he watch her guidance of a high-mettled
steed, now urging it to its utmost speed, and
then reining in the impatient animal. The sergeant, we
have said, greatly admired Miss Bloomer's dexterity; but,
what is more, he resolved to secure her hand in marriage.
Plan after plan, laid with the view of obtaining an
introduction, failed. The lady frequently passed him
without deigning to cast her eyes on his red-coat. Why
should she? Was he not a poor soldier? and was she
not a match for the best young gentleman in the county?
These and like questions occurred to Campbell, and more
than once made him almost despair of securing the lady's
affections. Again and again his drooping spirits revived;
his pertinacity had no bounds. What could not be
secured, thought he, by ordinary means, might be obtained
by extraordinary measures.</p>

<p>Sergeant Campbell, learned in the superstitions of his
native land, believed them with a child-like faith. He
had heard of Lucky Lightfoot, the spaewife; and to her
he went for assistance. The old woman, on hearing the
sergeant's tale, requested him to leave with her a gold<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_603" id="Page_603">[Pg 603]</a></span>
ring he was wearing&mdash;a request he complied with. A few
days afterwards the woman returned the soldier his ring,
now charmed, with instructions to endeavour to get Miss
Bloomer to wear it, though but for a few minutes.</p>

<p>In her frequent rambles along the banks of a meandering
stream, the beauties of which Arthur Johnstone had
celebrated in Latin verse, and regarding which Thomas
the Rhymer had uttered prophecies, Campbell, unnoticed,
followed Miss Bloomer, in the hope that fortune would
favour him some day. She botanized, fished, and shot,
unheeding her secret admirer. One day, to his delight,
he observed her coming along a footpath, and resolved
to drop the ring, in the hope that she would pick it up.
Having left it in a conspicuous place, he retired into a
thicket to watch the result. The lady, seeing the ring,
took it up, examined it, and having no pocket or purse,
put it on one of her fingers, and, as fate would have
it, on the fourth finger of the left hand&mdash;the finger the
Greeks discovered, from anatomy, had a little highly
sensitive nerve going straight from it to the heart.
"Now," thought he, "she is mine. I shall follow her,
and ask whether she has found my ring;" but before he
could muster courage to carry his resolution into effect,
Miss Bloomer disappeared.</p>

<p>With the view of discovering the owner, she continued
to wear the ring. Unexpectedly, Fred and Georgina
Hopper, her cousins, while driving past, stopped to take
dinner, and to them she showed the ring. Fred, who
was an inveterate joker, made it the subject of several
jests, all of which Miss Bloomer bore with good humour;
but when Miss Hopper suggested that the ring might
belong to some mean person, and hinted that it was an
act of impropriety to wear it, the blood rushed to Miss
Bloomer's cheeks; and she clenched her little fist, but for
what purpose did not transpire.</p>

<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_604" id="Page_604">[Pg 604]</a></span>In the evening the cousins drove away, leaving Miss
Bloomer in anything but a pleasant mood. Evidently the
charm had commenced to take effect, or Miss Hopper's
remarks had disturbed the young lady's equanimity.</p>

<p>Still wearing the ring, Miss Bloomer retired to rest, or
rather to bed, for during the night she was restless, tossing
from side to side like one in delirium. One, two, three struck
on the old clock, and still sleep did not come to soothe
her disturbed brain. Whether in a sleeping or waking
state she could not tell, but a regiment of armed men,
with the recruiting sergeant at their head, seemed to pass
before her, while in the distance there appeared ships at
anchor in a large commodious bay. At four o'clock the
lady stood at her window admiring the beautiful scenery.
Retiring again to rest, she fell asleep, and did not waken
before her accustomed time of rising.</p>

<p>After breakfast Miss Bloomer went out, as usual, to
follow the bent of her mind. She had not gone far, before
Sergeant Campbell approached her in a most respectful
manner, and inquired if she had found a ring the previous
day. It was scarcely necessary for her to return an
answer, because there before him, on her ungloved hand,
the ring appeared. As she handed it to him, an indescribable
sensation ran through her whole frame. They
entered into conversation; and how long they walked and
chatted together, and what were the subjects of their
conversation, we shall not pause to mention: sufficient
to say that, before they parted, an early meeting was
arranged. In due time, and quickly after each other,
other meetings took place.</p>

<p>In course of time, old dames hinted that if the lady
continued to keep tryst in the romantic secluded spots
of her father's domains with such a fine-looking soldier
as Campbell, she would provoke the goddess supposed
to preside over love affairs, and most likely entitle herself
to a rush-ring only on her wedding-day, instead of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_605" id="Page_605">[Pg 605]</a></span>
customary gold one. But the evil prophetesses were
wrong for once. Seldom did a recruiting party forward
more stalwart soldiers to headquarters than Sergeant
Campbell and his subordinates did. Indeed he owed
much of his success to Miss Bloomer's exertions. She
proved a valuable assistant; for, through her persuasion,
a large number of young men on her father's estate were
induced to enlist, and leave the homes of their youth
for ever.</p>

<p>Happy days of single bliss cannot last for ever.
Before three short months had passed, Sergeant Campbell
and Miss Bloomer observed more than once the finger of
scorn pointed at them. Threats were made by the
parents of certain young men who had enlisted, to make
known the conduct of the young lady and her lover to
Captain Bloomer. What was to be done? Miss Bloomer's
reputation was at stake, and the sergeant's life endangered,
as will afterwards appear.</p>

<p>The betrothed pair (by this time Sergeant Campbell and
Miss Bloomer were engaged to be married) perceived the
necessity of acting promptly, and therefore they resolved
to elope. An obstacle, however, stood in the way of their
doing so immediately. If the sergeant abandoned his
station, he would be pursued, arrested, and dealt with as
a deserter. Miss Bloomer, equal to the occasion, resolved
to "buy him off."</p>

<p>The discharge from the army being obtained, and the
indispensable arrangements for a long journey completed,
the sergeant and his true love secretly departed for
Aberdeen, where they were united for better and worse&mdash;not
by a clergyman, but by a magistrate, before whom they
went and declared themselves to be husband and wife&mdash;a
ceremony as binding by the law of Scotland as if there
had been regular proclamation of banns, according to
custom, in the parish church, and they had been married by
an ordained minister. In place of a new marriage ring<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_606" id="Page_606">[Pg 606]</a></span>
being placed on the bride's finger by the gallant sergeant,
he, at her request, put on the charmed ring, the magical
power of which she confessed could not be resisted.</p>

<p>Having shown the effect of Lucky Lightfoot's subtle
art, we might take leave of the subject; but as the career
of Mrs. Campbell (Mr. Campbell did not survive long) is
peculiarly interesting, particularly in connection with a
class that has created no small stir on both sides of the
Atlantic, we shall pursue our narrative a little further.</p>

<p>The newly married couple, not considering themselves
safe from pursuit in the Granite City, posted south,
and reached the Clyde in less than twenty-four hours,
where they secured a passage on board a vessel bound
for America.</p>

<p>As soon as Captain Bloomer heard of his daughter's
elopement, his rage could not be restrained. Arming
himself with a brace of pistols, and mounting his fleetest
steed (and a valuable stud he had), he rode in pursuit,
stopping not before he reached Aberdeen. Not finding
the fugitives there, he hastened to Edinburgh, with the
twofold object of bringing back his daughter and shooting
her companion in flight. After diligent inquiry in the
city, he obtained what he considered reliable information
that they had proceeded in the direction of the Borders,
to be married at Gretna Green, a village celebrated as a
place where many distinguished and obscure persons have
been married by a blacksmith. As the reader already
knows, the offended father went in the wrong direction.</p>

<p>Months passed before the captain's equanimity became
restored; but time, the alleviator of sorrow and best
soother of a turbulent spirit, brought a favourable change.</p>

<p>Mr. and Mrs. Campbell arrived safe in America, the
land of their adoption, with little more means than
sufficient to provide for their immediate wants. After
love's first fever ended, calm reflection followed. Romance
disappeared before the stern realities of life. Friends<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_607" id="Page_607">[Pg 607]</a></span>
they had few, relations none, in the wild wide expanse of
America. Mrs. Campbell became home-sick: the scenes
of her father's mansion, and everything pleasant connected
with the estate, rose before her mind's eye. Above all,
she constantly thought of her father with more than half
regret at the rash act she had been guilty of. Then she did
what most young ladies would do under similar circumstances&mdash;wrote
to her father asking forgiveness. Before
Captain Bloomer received the letter, the last spark of
anger in his breast had given place to paternal anxiety.
Left alone without wife or child, gladly would he have
welcomed her home, had not prudential reasons rendered
it necessary to keep father and daughter separate. Her
letter gave great satisfaction; and he resolved to assist
her and her husband. Through an English friend, a
sufficient amount was remitted to America, to enable Mr.
Campbell to purchase an estate. The young couple settled
down comfortably in an improving locality, with every
prospect of comfort and happiness.</p>

<p>Before the fifth winter of Mr. and Mrs. Campbell's
married life had passed, Mr. Campbell died, leaving his
wife alone (they had no issue) in a far distant country.
Mrs. Campbell returned to Scotland, and took up her
residence in Edinburgh for a few years. Again a brave
defender of his country led the lady to the hymeneal altar.
The union proved an unhappy one: Mrs. Smith (this,
though a common name, is the cognomen by which she
will now be known) separated from her husband, and
sailed once more for America. Preferring town life to
solitude in the forest, Mrs. Smith settled down (if such
could be said of one possessed of bustling active habits
like hers) in the greatest city of the United States. To
augment an income rendered small through the misfortune
and death of her father, she became a journalist.
Her papers were favourably received, being pointed and
piquant. Her talents were chiefly directed to the support<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_608" id="Page_608">[Pg 608]</a></span>
of women's rights; and she became a leader of the class
of strong-minded women, still seeking to assert their
rights in politics, science, and art.</p>



<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<h2><a name="CHAPTER_LXXI" id="CHAPTER_LXXI"></a>CHAPTER LXXI.</h2>

<div class="blockquot"><p>Superstition at Chelmsford&mdash;Woman Bewitched&mdash;Fortune-telling Quack&mdash;Old
Zadkiel&mdash;Incantation in Somerset&mdash;Turning the Bible and Key&mdash;Woman
assuming the form of a Hare&mdash;Woman ruling the Stars&mdash;Young
Women Deceived&mdash;Superstition in London&mdash;Generality of
Superstition&mdash;A Prediction&mdash;How to preserve Children from Disease&mdash;Dreams
Fulfilled&mdash;Virtue of Holly and Ivy in Worcestershire and
Herefordshire&mdash;Legend concerning the Tichborne Family&mdash;Romantic
Divorce Case.</p></div>


<p>A case tried at Chelmsford, on the Home Circuit, in 1864,
affords a curious proof how much antique superstition
still lingers amongst the English peasantry. For twenty
years before 1863 there had been living in one of the Essex
villages an old man, deaf and dumb, who enjoyed the
reputation of a wizard or fortune-teller. He was eighty
years of age, and the singularities of his manner and
appearance contributed to the impression he made on the
rustic mind. The better sort of people treated the old
man with a kindness due rather to his calamities than to
his profession, while the more sceptical of the rabble who
did not fear him, seem to have amused themselves
occasionally at his expense.</p>

<p>Dummey had been at the village of Ridgewell, near
Hedingham, in the summer of 1863, where there was a
beer-house, the landlady of which was one Emma Smith.
The old magician wanted to sleep in the beer-house
instead of returning to his own hut, but Emma Smith
refused to give him leave. He gesticulated menacingly
in his own fashion with his stick, and went his way<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_609" id="Page_609">[Pg 609]</a></span>
angrily. Soon after this Emma became ill. The image
of Dummey rose before her mind, and she pronounced
herself "bewitched."</p>

<p>After long misery, she went forth to seek the old man,
found him at the "Swan," a public-house near his own
den, and tried to persuade him to return with her, that
his presence might break the spell which hung over her.
She repeatedly offered him three sovereigns as payment
for this service; but neither money nor words could move
him. Meanwhile the news spread that a woman who
had been bewitched by old Dummey was at the "Swan,"
and a crowd assembled and pulled the unlucky wizard
about, so that he fell once or twice on the ground. Smith
took an active part in the assault; and after the "Swan" was
closed, she was seen beating him and tearing his clothes.
Fear for herself&mdash;fear of his supernatural gifts&mdash;were both
merged in the stronger feeling of rage; and at last she,
assisted by one Stammers, a carpenter, pushed the old
man into a brook. He died at Halsted poorhouse from
the effects of the ill-usage. Emma Smith and Stammers
were sentenced to six months hard labour for their share
in this outrage&mdash;the judge excusing the leniency of the
punishment on the ground of the woman's state of mental
excitement, and of the man's having pulled Dummey out
of the water when the ducking seemed likely to produce
death.</p>

<p>Only a few years ago an example of superstition in
England came prominently before a public court of justice.
It appears that in the neighbourhood of South Molton,
North Devon, an old man aged eighty-six, living at
Westdown, near Barnstaple, was charged with "using
certain subtle craft, means, or device by palmistry and
otherwise, to deceive and impose on certain of her
Majesty's subjects." For some time a woman named
Elizabeth Saunders, then residing in an adjacent hamlet,
had been ill. Doctors' remedies failed, and her husband<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_610" id="Page_610">[Pg 610]</a></span>
sent for the old man named Harper, generally called the
"White Witch," but who called himself an herbalist. He
went to the house of the woman, and gave her four or
five iron rods in succession, with which she tapped a piece
of iron held by her in the other hand while in bed. At
the ends of the rods were the names of planets, such as
Jupiter and Mercury. He asked the age of the woman
and the hour she was born, saying he wanted to find out
under what planet she came into the world. He gave
her some bitters to take, but she died a few days afterwards.
The defence was that the rods and piece of metal
were a rude method of using electricity, by which means
the defendant had effected many cures; but no explanation
was given as to the meaning of the names of the planets.
It was stated that the "White Witch" charged the woman
25s. for his services. Several witnesses, called for the
defence, said they had been cured of complaints in the
legs and arms by the defendant's magic rods when nobody
else could cure them. The Bench sentenced him to a
month's imprisonment.</p>

<p>A case of witchcraft came recently to our knowledge
from Stonehouse. Ann Bond, a professed herbalist, stood
charged before a bench of justice with having obtained
&pound;1 by means of a subtle device. Mary Ann Pike said
her sister, Mrs. Summers, having a bad leg, had been
advised to let the prisoner see it. Bond, after looking at
the limb, declared that it was not an affliction by God.
She went away, and afterwards returned with some cards.
These she arranged, and, after looking at them, said her
sister was so ill-wished that her face would be drawn to
her toes, and that she would die at the age of thirty-seven.
Mrs. Summers asked the prisoner if she could do her any
good. Bond replied, "Yes; if you come at once under
my demand; my usual price is 25s., but I'll do it for
&pound;1." Deponent lent her sister a sovereign to give to
the woman. Bond turned up a bottle, and said to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_611" id="Page_611">[Pg 611]</a></span>
witness, "There is one dark woman, and a tall woman,
doing your sister injury; the circle was not laid intentionally
for her, but for her husband." The prisoner
was convicted and punished. She had formerly been
imprisoned for a similar offence.</p>

<p>In 1878, at a meeting of the guardians of the Coventry
Union, an inmate named Arnold, <i>alias</i> "Old Zadkiel," a
professor of astrology, was the subject of inquiry. A
letter had been addressed to him by a lady at Dorchester,
anxious to learn "what planet she was born under, and
the position of her future husband." She forwarded a
number of postage stamps. There was another letter from
a lady at Leamington, asking Arnold to keep an appointment
with her, to "read her destiny." The astrologer
formerly lived in Coventry, and carried on an extensive
trade until he was sent to Warwick gaol, which he left for
the workhouse. He was cautioned by the Board. "Old
Zadkiel," taking offence, left the workhouse, saying he
"should resume his astrology" and the "ruling of the
planets."</p>

<p>Not long ago a well-to-do farmer near Ilchester, in
Somerset, had the misfortune to have several of his cattle
taken away by disease. A veterinary surgeon who was
consulted, thought the remainder of the herd were in a fair
way of recovery; the farmer, however, insisted that he
and his cows had been "overlooked," and immediately
sought out a "wise woman" residing in an adjacent town.
Acting upon the advice of the old hag, the farmer returned
home, and encircled with a faggot the last bullock
that died, ignited the pile, and burnt the carcase, an
incantation being pronounced over the burning beast.
The remainder of the herd became well, and their recovery
was attributed by the farmer and his simple-minded
neighbours, not to the skill of the veterinary surgeon, but
to the success of the weird ceremonial prescribed by the
fortune-teller.</p>

<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_612" id="Page_612">[Pg 612]</a></span>A remarkable case of credulity came before Ludlow
police court, in January of this year (1879). Mary A.
Collier was summoned under the local bye-laws for using
abusive language to Elizabeth Oliver. Both parties, it
transpired, lived in Lower Gouldford; and a sheet having
been lost off a garden line, with a view to discover the
thief, the superstitious practice of "turning the key and
the Bible" was resorted to. Complainant said Collier
met her in the street, and said the Bible had been turned
down for Jones' yard, Martha Cad's yard, and Burnsnell's
yard, and when Mrs. Oliver's name was mentioned, "the
Bible fled out of their hands." The Bible was then turned
to see if the sheet was stolen during the day or night, and
Mrs. Collier then called her "a daring daylight thief." Mrs.
Collier informed the Court that "the key turned for Mrs.
Oliver and no one else, and the words in the Bible were for
her." Mrs. Oliver said the sheet had been found under
the snow. The Bench dismissed the case, and said such
gross superstition was more like a relic of the past, and
would not have believed that such a thing existed in this
advanced age.</p>

<p>In the village of East Knighton, Dorsetshire, in the year
above mentioned, a remarkable case reached the public
ears. In a cottage dwelt a woman named Kerley and her
daughter, a girl of about eighteen years, supposed to be
bewitched. It was positively stated that they had been
thrown out of the cottage into the street, although neither
window nor door was open, and heavy articles of furniture
were sent flying about in all directions.</p>

<p>An old woman called Burt was named as the cause of
all the mischief, and she was declared to have assumed
the form of a hare, to have been chased by the neighbours,
and then to have sat up and looked defiantly at them.
It is positively believed that until blood is drawn from
the witch the manifestations will not cease.</p>

<p>We must confess that superstition is stripped of its<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_613" id="Page_613">[Pg 613]</a></span>
romance by prosaic courts and stern judges. A case tried
at Newbury quarter-sessions is fresh in the memory of
many. Maria Giles, <i>alias</i> "The Ranter," well known as
the "Newbury Cunning Woman," was tried on the charge
of having obtained sums of money from two women living
at villages in a wild district in North Hants, by falsely
pretending she had the power to recover some goods they
had lost. The women travelled twelve miles to consult
the prisoner. She went through some absurd proceedings,
and pretended she saw in a glass the parties who
had taken the goods. Prisoner had practised witchcraft
for many years. She professed to rule the stars, and
said that if the nights were clear and fine she would be
able to recover the goods sooner. The jury returned a
verdict of guilty, and sentenced her to five years penal
servitude.</p>

<p>The proceedings of a professional fortune-teller formed
the subject of investigation by the mayor and other
magistrates of Newbury in 1871. A widow named
Maria Moss had been pretending to tell the fortune of
divers persons, particularly young women, whom she
had induced to go to her house. The principal witnesses
called were Alice Prior and Maria Low, two young
women, who proved that the prisoner had promised to
tell their fortunes. Her practice had been to produce a
pack of cards, which she placed upon the table, and told
each girl to cut them into three parts. In one case she
said she saw "London," and told Prior that she would
get a good situation there, and be married to a widower.
She represented to Low that she would also have an
excellent situation in London, and be married to a
gentleman with plenty of money. She induced the girls
to obtain goods from tradesmen in the town and bring
them to her house, and the girls also removed wearing
apparel from their own homes and deposited the same
with the prisoner, who promised to send the goods after<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_614" id="Page_614">[Pg 614]</a></span>
the girls had arrived in the metropolis. However, the
mother of Low discovered that clothes had been taken
away from her house, and the intended journey of the
girls was of course prevented. The Bench dealt with
the case under the Vagrant Act, and sentenced the
woman to fourteen days in Reading gaol.</p>

<p>In the beginning of 1879 a photographer named Henry,
of Cooper's Road, Old Kent Road, London, was charged
at the Southwark police court with obtaining money by
false pretences. The prisoner issued an advertisement,
offering for eighteen stamps to send to unmarried persons
photographs of their future wives or husbands, and for
twenty-four stamps a bottle of magnetic scent, or Spanish
love scent, which were described, the first as "so fascinating
in its effects as to make true love run smooth,"
and the other as "delicious, and captivating the senses,"
so that "no young lady or gentleman need pine in single
blessedness." Several witnesses stated that they had
answered these advertisements; and numbers of letters&mdash;some
from Australia, China, and other places abroad,
relating to them&mdash;were found at the defendant's house.
It appeared that he had been carrying on a very successful
fraud for some time. The magistrate sentenced the
prisoner, under the Vagrant Act, to three months hard
labour.</p>

<p>Four men were charged at the Marylebone police
court, London, in 1871, with telling fortunes. They
had a place in that district, in which the police found a
magic mirror, cards, nativities, planetary schemes, and all
the paraphernalia of fortune-telling imposition. On the
police going to the house, they found no fewer than thirty
or forty young women in a waiting-room, each having
paid a fee. A book was found in which were entries of
the dupes in each week, the numbers varying from
89 to 662. The prisoners were sentenced to three
months hard labour.</p>

<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_615" id="Page_615">[Pg 615]</a></span>Liverpool, Birmingham, Manchester, London, and
nearly all the other cities, towns, and country districts of
England continue to have their fortune-tellers and reputed
witches and ghosts. There are still many believers
in the prophecies of Mother Shipton, but none believe
more implicitly in her sayings than the labouring classes
of Somerset. Recently a report, put in circulation in
the neighbourhood of Ham Hill, made them think a great
catastrophe was about to occur in that particular locality.
Mother Shipton had predicted that Ham Hill, one of
the great stone quarries of Somerset and a prominent
feature in the landscape for many miles, would be
swallowed up on Good Friday. The collapse of this
immense hill was to ensue from a terrible earthquake, the
effect of which would be felt especially in that part of
Somersetshire. One result of this belief was that persons
left the neighbourhood temporarily in order to escape
the disaster. Other people removed their household
goods from shelves and cupboards, in order that they
might not be thrown down by the upheaval of the earth;
and in some cases, we are told, people delayed planting
and cultivating their gardens. The residents who believed
in the predicted event said that Yeovil would
also be visited at the same time by a great and disastrous
flood. One case was that of a man who delayed planting
his garden with potatoes because he believed there would
be a terrible frost, and that the River Thames would be
covered with ice. This he connected in some way with
the Ham Hill affair. Amongst the labouring classes considerable
alarm existed, and Good Friday was looked
forward to with no little amount of anxiety in that part
of Somerset.</p>

<p>Good Friday came and passed without any untoward
event. Yet that is not enough to dispel the faith in
Mother Shipton's prediction. She is not at fault. Some
blundering calculator made a mistake as to time, and the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_616" id="Page_616">[Pg 616]</a></span>
people of Somerset are yet to have their great catastrophe.</p>

<p>A curious superstitious custom is observed in the Isle
of Man. Mothers believe their children may be preserved
from disease by placing them in the hopper of a water
flour-mill while the wheel makes three revolutions. On
a Sunday not long since a number of children were
taken to the Grenaby mill, in the parish of Malew, three
miles from Castletown, in order to be subjected to the
"charm" we have mentioned. Two hoppers of the mill
were crammed full of children, and, as soon as they were
settled, the miller caused the wheel to revolve three times,
the parents of the children being present at the time.
In order to be efficacious, the ceremony must be gone
through at a time when the ministers of the district are
preaching in their pulpits. For this reason, about noon
on Sundays is generally the time chosen for the performance
of this curious rite.</p>

<p>At an inquest lately held in London on the body of a
woman aged eighty-two years, the evidence showed that
the woman's death resulted from injury to the head, caused
by a fall from her chair. One of the witnesses told the
coroner that he believed the time had come for the woman
to die. His reason for that opinion was, that she had
dreamed, a fortnight before her death, that she had a fall,
and cut open her head, and was likely to die in consequence.</p>

<p>An awful fulfilment of a dream took place at a calico-printing
establishment at Sunnyside. A clerk in the
work remarked to one of the machine printers that he
was glad to see him at his employment; the printer
asked his reason for his congratulations, when the clerk
observed that during the previous night he (the clerk)
had dreamed that he (the printer) had, while at his work,
dropped down dead. The printer replied, in a jocular
way, "You see you were mistaken, for I am alive yet."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_617" id="Page_617">[Pg 617]</a></span>
The printer being in his usual health and spirits, no
further notice was taken of the matter; but singularly,
at three o'clock in the afternoon of the same day, while
attending to his duties at his machine, he dropped down
dead without the least warning.</p>

<p>This year (1879) the Deal magistrates sentenced a man
named George Wylds to two months imprisonment for
refusing to proceed to sea in the barque "Umzinto," on a
voyage from London to Port Natal. The man told the
magistrate that he was satisfied with the ship, officers, and
food, but he had had a dream that the ship would be lost,
and would not go to sea in her for any amount of money.
Once before he had a dream that a vessel in which he was
sailing would be lost, and it was lost.</p>

<p>It is worth recording that in many parishes of Worcestershire
and Herefordshire the holly and ivy that have
adorned churches at Christmas-time are much esteemed
and cherished.</p>

<p>If a small branch of holly, with the berries upon it, is
taken home and hung up in the house, it is considered
sure to bring a lucky year. A little of this church ivy
given to sheep is considered likely to make them bring
forth two lambs a-piece. The evergreens that were hung
up in the house must, however, all be burned, except the
mistletoe bough, which should be kept throughout the
year; and it generally is in farmhouses, as, according to old
people, it prevented any bad effect from the evil eye, and
fiends and hobgoblins were scared away by it, as stated
in this verse of an old sagacious adviser:</p>

<div class="poem">
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">"On Candlemas eve kindle the fire, and then<br /></span>
<span class="i0">Before sunset let every leaf it bren;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">But the mistletoe must hang agen<br /></span>
<span class="i1">Till Christmas next return;<br /></span>
<span class="i0">This must be kept, wherewith to tend<br /></span>
<span class="i0">The Christmas bough, and house defend,<br /></span>
<span class="i0">For where it's safely kept, the fiend<br /></span>
<span class="i1">Can do no mischief there."<br /></span>
</div>
</div>

<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_618" id="Page_618">[Pg 618]</a></span>Some country churches in Worcestershire and Herefordshire
are still usually decked with sprigs of yew at
Easter, and boughs of fragrant fresh-leaved birch at
Whitsuntide; and a sprig of yew thus consecrated, when
taken and kept in the house, is deemed a preservative
from the influence or entrance of any malignant spirits.
In like manner, a branch of the birch is honoured by being
placed on or over the kneading-trough; for, thus
placed, it is considered to be a sure antidote against heavy
bread.</p>

<p>A celebrated case, in which the pursuer, newly returned
from Australia, sought to establish, in the Court of
Common Pleas (we think in 1871 or 1872), his claim
to the ancient baronetcy of Tichborne, recalls to mind a
legend current in the Tichborne family for many generations
relative to the "Tichborne Dole." The house of
Tichborne dates the possession of its right to the manor
of Tichborne, near Winchester, as far back as two centuries
before the Norman Conquest.</p>

<p>About the middle of the twelfth century the then head
of the family married Mabel, only daughter and heiress
of Sir Ralph de Lamerston, of Lamerston, in the Isle of
Wight, by which he acquired considerable estates in that
part of England, in addition to his own possessions in
Hampshire. After many years of wedded happiness,
during which the Lady Mabel became celebrated for her
kindness and care of the poor, and death approaching,
she besought her husband to grant her the means of
leaving behind her a charitable bequest, in the shape of
a <i>dole</i>, or measure of bread, to be distributed annually,
on the 25th of March (the Feast of the Annunciation of
the Blessed Virgin Mary), to all needy and indigent
people who should apply for it at the hall door. The
said bread was to be the produce of a certain piece of
ground containing an area of fifteen acres, and of known
value; but should the applicants be greater in number<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_619" id="Page_619">[Pg 619]</a></span>
than the measures produced, twopence in money was to
be given as the <i>dole</i>.</p>

<p>Lady Mabel's husband was induced to consent to his
wife's request, only on condition of her being able to
crawl or walk round the piece of ground demanded&mdash;a
condition of apparent impracticability, from the fact of
her having been bedridden for many years previous; and
this task was to be performed while a certain brand, or
billet of wood, was burning on the fire in the hall at
Tichborne. The dame, nothing daunted, ordered her
attendants to carry her to the place she had selected,
where, being set down, she seemed to receive a renovation
of strength, and, to the surprise of admiring onlookers,
she succeeded in crawling round several rich and goodly
acres within the required time. The field which was the
scene of Lady Mabel's extraordinary feat retains the
name of "Crawls" to the present day.</p>

<p>On the task being completed, the lady was re-conveyed
to her chamber, and, summoning the family to her bed-side,
she proceeded in a most solemn manner to deliver a
prophecy respecting the future inheritors of Tichborne&mdash;predicting
its prosperity as long as the annual <i>dole</i> existed,
and leaving her malediction on any of her descendants
who should discontinue or divert it, and declaring
that, when such event should happen, <i>the old house would
fall, the family would become extinct from the failure of
heirs-male</i>, and that&mdash;as a final warning of the approach of
their decay&mdash;a generation would appear of <i>seven sons</i>, followed
immediately by one with <i>seven daughters and no sons</i>.</p>

<p>The <i>dole</i> continued to be regularly given from the time
of Henry II. to 1799, when Sir Henry Tichborne discontinued
it. Then began the fulfilment of Lady Mabel's
prediction. In 1803, four years after the cessation of the
gift, a portion of the house fell, and the remainder was
pulled down. Sir Henry, the seventh baronet of the name
of Tichborne, who had abolished the <i>dole</i>, had <i>seven sons</i>.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_620" id="Page_620">[Pg 620]</a></span>
Sir Henry, the eighth baronet, and eldest of the seven
sons, married Anne, daughter of Sir Thomas Burke, Bart.,
of Marble Hill, and by her had <i>seven daughters</i>. Sir Henry
died leaving no sons.</p>

<p>In 1826 Sir Henry's second brother, Edward, who
eventually became the ninth baronet, having inherited
the extensive property of Miss Elizabeth Doughty of Snarford
Hall, was obliged, by the terms of her will, to drop
the name of Tichborne and assume that of Doughty, thus
fulfilling, in some measure, that part of Lady Mabel's
prediction which foretold that the name would become
extinct. Sir Edward Doughty married in 1827, and had
an only son, who died before he attained the age of six
years. Sir Edward's brother James, who eventually became
the tenth baronet, married, and had two sons&mdash;Roger
Charles, who was supposed to have been lost at sea
off the coast of South America in the spring of 1854 (the
claimant of the baronetcy from Australia called himself
the said Roger); and Alfred Joseph, the eleventh baronet,
whose son Henry&mdash;a posthumous child, born in 1866&mdash;is
now in possession of the title and estates.</p>

<p>When the only son of Mr. Edward Doughty (subsequently
the ninth baronet) died, the hitherto singular
fulfilment of Lady Mabel's prediction struck him so
forcibly that he besought his elder brother, Sir Henry
Joseph, to restore the ancient <i>dole</i>, which he agreed to
do; and it was again distributed, with certain restrictions,
in flour, confining it to the poor of the parish of Tichborne;
and in this manner it continues to be distributed to the
present day.</p>

<p>Whether the resumption of Lady Mabel's gift may
prove sufficient to ward off the fatal prediction, <i>time alone
will show</i>. The male race is supposed to depend upon
the life of a single heir in his minority.</p>

<p>This <i>cause celebre</i>, one of the most important disposed
of this century, not only ended, in the claimant's defeat,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_621" id="Page_621">[Pg 621]</a></span>
but in his conviction for perjury and attempted fraud&mdash;a
fraud which, if successful, would have secured him estates
worth between &pound;20,000 and &pound;30,000 a year.</p>

<p>A romantic divorce case came before the High Court of
Justice in England in 1876, in which the superstitious
element was strongly blended. The proprietor of an
extensive estate asked for a divorce from his wife,
belonging to the gipsy tribe. The petitioner became
interested in a family of gipsies, who were in the habit of
pitching their tents on his ground. He visited their
encampment, and became familiar with them. The
member of the company who most excited the petitioner's
attention was a daughter, by name Esmeralda, whose
charms ultimately captivated the petitioner, and they were
married in Norway in June 1874. The co-respondent,
stated to be an Oxford man, and who also interested
himself in the welfare of the gipsy race, seemed to have
made the acquaintance of the parties some time after the
marriage. The lady became enamoured of the Oxford
gentleman. She went with him to Bristol, and after
that the petitioner did not see his wife for some time.
The husband received a letter from his wife stating
that she was ready to be reconciled to him. They
accordingly came together, and his wife suggested to him
that they were both bewitched, and she stated that in
order to have such bewitchment removed she would go to
the Gussoree Gorge, a fabled deity in the Roman Camp,
who had the power to dispel the bewitchment and restore
the parties to their <i>status quo</i>. They did go to this famed
astrologer, Gussoree Gorge, who turned out to be none
other than the co-respondent, with whom Esmeralda was
afterwards found living as his wife in Edinburgh.</p>

<p>The petitioner, on being examined, said the respondent
complained of being bewitched, and went to Cardiff to
consult the wise men of the tribe. On another occasion
she went again to consult the Gussoree Gorge, or wise<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_622" id="Page_622">[Pg 622]</a></span>
man, and brought back two letters from the astrologer.
It occurred to witness that they were in the co-respondent's
handwriting. He, on receipt of another letter after his
wife left him again, went to Edinburgh, where he found
her. She threw herself on her knees and craved forgiveness.
He promised to forgive her. She asked to go home
at once, but there was a difficulty about the train. That
night they slept at Melrose, and in the morning she said
she had had a dream that her lover whom she had left in
Edinburgh had committed suicide. Witness agreed to
allow her to go to Edinburgh, it being understood she
should immediately return. She never did so, and witness
did not see her again until the 31st of January.</p>

<p>Here the romance and superstition end. The petitioner
became a wiser and sadder man. Esmeralda lived to
repent of her folly, and so did the Oxford man of learning.</p>



<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<h2><a name="CHAPTER_LXXII" id="CHAPTER_LXXII"></a>CHAPTER LXXII.</h2>

<div class="blockquot"><p>Spiritualism&mdash;Spiritualism not a new Delusion&mdash;Phantoms at a <i>Seance</i>&mdash;Juggling
of a Medium&mdash;Unsuccessful Effort at a Vulgar Deception&mdash;Spiritualists
exposed&mdash;A Medium's Deception discovered&mdash;Foolish
Exhibitions&mdash;Russian Peasants and their House Spirits&mdash;Spirits' Care
over Persons and Property&mdash;Death, Pestilence, War, and other Evils
foretold by Spirits&mdash;A Suggestion.</p></div>


<p>Much might be written concerning spiritualism (already
alluded to in these pages); but really the subject deserves
little attention, further than that it might be worth serious
consideration whether the class of persons who lay claim
to the power of raising the dead, and of being able to
command responses from spirits, should not be prosecuted
as rogues and cheats. Spiritualists cannot even pretend
they have discovered anything new. We have repeatedly,
particularly under the head "Laws against and Trials of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_623" id="Page_623">[Pg 623]</a></span>
Witches," shown that deceitful girls and old crones could
perform all the sleight-of-hand and delusions practised by
modern spiritualists.</p>

<p>Spiritualists have grossly imposed upon credulous
persons; and others, without much consideration, attend
<i>seance</i> after <i>seance</i>, for no other reason than that the
manifestations displayed by the tricksters have become
the grand arcana of fashion. The phantoms raised at a
<i>seance</i> are in proportion to the gloom surrounding the
audience. It cannot be doubted by men of penetration,
that spiritualism, in its birth and maturity, is associated
with sordidness and wickedness. At best, the spiritual
operations are childish, or at least they fall short of the
tricks of a Chinese juggler.</p>

<p>One gentleman, writing of the spiritualistic movement
in 1871, says:&mdash;</p>

<p>"A new movement on behalf of spiritualism has sprung
up in the metropolis, and Miss Kate Fox, Rochester,
United States, in whose family the phenomena were first
discovered, is now in England on a propagandist mission.
I was invited last night to meet Miss Fox, but owing to a
cold the lady was unable to come. A celebrated medium
was, however, present, as were some half-dozen ladies and
gentlemen well known in society&mdash;one of the latter being
a sergeant-at-law, and a judge accustomed to sift evidence
and determine the difference between truth and falsehood.
The <i>seance</i> was not, however, productive of anything very
strange. The only curious manifestation occurred with a
lath about two feet long and a quarter of an inch thick,
which most certainly rose off the table apparently of its
own accord, and at one time seemed disposed to walk
about the room, but didn't. Two glass ornaments, filled
with flowers, were also attracted towards each other, and
subsequently parted company though no hands were near
them. The great anticipated incident of the evening was,
however, a failure. A Morse writing telegraphic machine<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_624" id="Page_624">[Pg 624]</a></span>
had been prepared, and it was hoped that the lever would
be worked with spirit hands, but, after waiting two hours,
no indication was given of any movement, and the experiment
was abandoned in despair."</p>

<p>The well-known Walter Thornbury relates as follows
his experience at a spiritual <i>seance</i>:&mdash;</p>

<p>"I went up into a stuffy parlour and found about fourteen
people, hot, nervous, and evidently uncomfortable.
They were staring at some weird-looking pictures. On a
long table were several speaking-trumpets, formed of stiff
brown and gilt paper. Some of the visitors took up these,
talked hollowly through them, and laughed with uneasy
scepticism. There were two ladies, several young men
who looked like clerks, a bluff man from Liverpool, and a
dwarf. Presently Messrs. A. and C. (two coarse-looking
young men) entered, seated us round the table, and requested
us to join hands. The gas was then turned down,
and the <i>seance</i> began. A. was at the end of the table,
facing C. at the other. There was at first a good deal of
half-hysterical laughing and nervous talking, and shy or
bold voices from here and there in the dark. The bluff
Liverpool man objected to joining hands&mdash;he had been to
successful <i>seances</i>, where hands were not joined. Mr. A.
said that joining hands often improved 'the conditions.'
One did not know what was passing behind one, or what
was coming. So even the boldest of us 'held his breath
for a time.' All at once Mr. C., at the further end from
me, began to gurgle and groan like a person in an epileptic
fit. Some one cried, 'Turn up the gas.' It was done, and
we beheld the medium with his head twisted like a young
laocoon in the folds of a red tablecloth. He disentangled
himself with a disturbed, suffering air. The spirits were
upon us, though why they should stifle their interpreter
I could not quite see. The sceptics smiled sardonically.
I suspected the lady in nankeen colour next me, and the
dwarf and people immediately round both mediums. A<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_625" id="Page_625">[Pg 625]</a></span>
female voice tremulously suggested that singing might
'improve the conditions;' on which Mr. C. struck up
'Power of Love Enchanting' in maudlin spiritualistic
words. Things looked dull. All at once we were hailed
by one of the most tremendous gruff bass voices that ever
hailed a man-of-war. John King, the favourite spirit of
Mr. A., had appeared with a grumbling announcement of
his presence. 'Who is this John King?' inquired the
Liverpool man, who, if he was a confederate, acted
peculiarly well. 'He lived about three hundred years ago,'
said some one in the dark. 'Then he must have fought
with the Armada,' suggested the Liverpool representative.
Mr. A. leaped at the suggestion, and replied, 'It is supposed
he did.' On John King again growling that there
he was and what did they want, a sceptic opposite me
exclaimed in the true dramatic manner, 'Rest, rest, perturbed
spirit,' which so enraged John King (whom the
lady in buff next me whispered 'had been a notorious
pirate') that he bellowed in his ear, 'You seem very
fond of Shakspere.' A few minutes after there were
sounds of violent blows, and several sceptics were struck
on the head by John King's speaking-trumpet; a sofa
cushion was flung at me, and something else was thrown
at the gentleman from Liverpool. A sceptic who had
said that any ventriloquist could imitate a deep voice, got
rapped violently on the head, and John King bellowed at
the same time, 'Is that ventriloquism?' A man near
me said he thought he felt a cold breeze passing over his
hands, and a cold finger touch his. One thing I could
not help observing: this was, that the missiles hurled at
sceptics came in a slanting line from where Mr. A. sat. I
also noticed that a singular creaking of the medium's chair
usually preceded any utterances of John King. The lady
in nankeen now began, in a wheedling, coaxing voice, to
beg 'Kate' to appear. Kate is Mr. A.'s second 'familiar,'
and he described her to us as a short person with dark<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_626" id="Page_626">[Pg 626]</a></span>
ringlets, and wearing a blue robe fastened by a girdle&mdash;facts
which seemed to deeply interest the lady in nankeen.
Presently a little whiffling voice announced Kate, who,
however, only said something about 'Jenny Jones, of
Hampstead,' and then withdrew. To Kate Mr. A. assumed
a gallant, lover-like manner; to John King an air
of half-amused defiance. By-and-bye two stones were
thrown violently upon the table, but no one expressed
any audible alarm. Still the room was hot and stifling,
the darkness affected the coolest imagination, and straining
one's eyes and ears for spiritual manifestations produced
a not unnatural feeling of uneasiness in the mind.
Sometimes I fancied the table jerked or reared a little,
sometimes I thought I heard animals' feet pattering up
and down the table. It is on such workings of the imagination
that spiritualists, and especially the professional
mediums, trade. No more voices coming, Mr. A. proposed
our changing places to 'improve the conditions'&mdash;that is
to say, to re-pack the confederates, and still more isolate
the sceptics; but no result came. A grosser and more
unsuccessful effort at a vulgar deception I never saw; and
I only ask whether it is just to prosecute poor women for
getting a few shillings by telling servants' fortunes, and
leave professional spiritualists like Messrs. A. and C. unprosecuted?
If pretending to evoke the dead and predict
death for hire is not obtaining money under false
pretences, what is?"</p>

<p>For a short time the spiritualists created a considerable
sensation, but their prosperity did not long continue. Mr.
W. Irving Bishop, an American gentleman, who came to
Great Britain recommended by Dr. Carpenter and other
members of the Royal Society, exposed the phenomena
attributed to the influence of spirits, in the Windsor Hotel,
Edinburgh, in January 1879.</p>

<p>There was a distinguished company present, including
Principal Sir Alexander Grant, Lord Curriehill,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_627" id="Page_627">[Pg 627]</a></span>
Archbishop Strain, and a number of the University professors.
A committee of four gentlemen having been chosen to
watch the proceedings, Mr. Bishop gave an exposure of
the galvanometer test, accepted by a number of scientific
men in London as conclusive proof of the <i>bona fides</i> of
spirit manifestations. Mr. Bishop next gave an illustration
of the theory of "unconscious cerebration." Archbishop
Strain, having written on a slip of paper a number
of figures and the name of a deceased person, took in his
left hand the end of a long wire. Mr. Bishop, taking the
other, recited the numerals from 1 to 9, and stopped at
the figures in one of the papers. Afterwards he recited
the alphabet in the same manner, stopping at the letters
in the name on the same slip. The figures 6952 were
found to be those which had been written. The archbishop
stated before the paper was opened that he did not
himself remember the figures he had put down, and that
he had never mentioned what they were to any one. Mr.
Bishop explained that he detected the figures when
naming them, from the unconscious action of the archbishop's
mind on his nervous system as it affected the
wire. In the same way he informed the archbishop
correctly that the name of a deceased person written in
the enclosed piece of paper was Sir Walter Scott. Mr.
Bishop also furnished illustrations of the manner in
which sounds were produced from instruments of music,
and bells rung by persons tied with their hands and
legs to seats, and how, even in that situation, he could
put a ring upon a handkerchief placed round his neck&mdash;a
feat which had been considered impossible by one
fastened as he was, without the loosing of the knots of
the cords with which he was bound. His last exposure
was the Katie King mystery, the calling of 'material
spirits' from the other world, and exhibiting them
in the room. This performance puzzled the audience as
much as any of the others while it proceeded, and the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_628" id="Page_628">[Pg 628]</a></span>
explanation given of it was as amusing as it turned out
to be ingenious.</p>

<p>Another spiritualist exposure recently created a sensation
in "spiritualistic circles," by the detection of a
medium fraud in Portland, Maine, United States. Doctors
Gerrish and Greene, of Portland, were instrumental in
bringing about the issue. The medium in question was
a female, who, after hiding herself behind a screen in the
corner of her parlour, was enabled to send out "spirits"
for the inspection of her select audiences. Attired in the
ordinary way, she would allow her skirts to be pinned to
the floor; and while she was seated upon a stool, the lower
portion of the screen being some distance from the floor,
the audience were invited to satisfy themselves that the
medium did not move from her position. Dr. Greene, on
one occasion, while the so-called spirit was moving around,
asked it to shake hands. This request being granted, he
firmly grasped the hand, and found the spirit to be the
medium herself, who struggled in a very unbecoming
way to free herself. While Dr. Greene thus secured the
medium, Dr. Gerrish quickly drew the screen aside, and
discovered the apparel of the lady in a heap at the foot
of her stool, and still pinned to the floor. The trick was
then shown to consist in wearing under-garments, with
which she could emerge from her external apparel with
ease, and, to all outside appearance, without any disturbance.</p>

<p>To our mind, the most foolish of all foolish exhibitions
is that at which one has the presumption to stand before
an intelligent audience and declare his ability to call one
from the dead for his or their amusement. But if we can
by any great stretch of imagination suppose that Englishmen
and Americans have succeeded in opening up a
communication between them and spirits, they are still
far behind the Russian peasants, who have their house
spirits, who are of considerable use. These spirits take<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_629" id="Page_629">[Pg 629]</a></span>
persons, houses, cattle, and chattels of every description under
their care. They are heard wailing before a death. One
of them rouses the inmates of a house if fire or robbery be
threatened. Pestilence and war are foretold by such
spirits lamenting in the meadows. Here we have useful
spirits, worth having&mdash;not like our ones, capable of communicating
only by means of knocks and through showmen.
If spirits can do no more for living men than they
have done, they may remain away, and let the showman
medium return to honest labour, or be sent to seek knowledge
and truth within the walls of a prison or in a house
of correction.</p>



<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<h2><a name="CHAPTER_LXXIII" id="CHAPTER_LXXIII"></a>CHAPTER LXXIII.</h2>

<div class="blockquot"><p>Superstition in Roman Catholic Countries&mdash;Miracle-working Images,
Winking Madonnas and Apparitions&mdash;Image paying Homage to the
Virgin Mary&mdash;St. Dominic&mdash;Madonnas at Trastevere&mdash;Girl carrying
the Sacred Stigmata of the Passion&mdash;Miraculous Cures&mdash;The Virgin
Mary appearing to Children&mdash;Superstitious Ceremony at Dieppe&mdash;Blessing
the Neva&mdash;Lady offering up her Life to save the Pope&mdash;A
Legend&mdash;Superstitious Belief of Napoleon's Mother&mdash;Trust in Amulets&mdash;Zulu
Superstition&mdash;Witchcraft forbidden under Treaty of Peace
with Great Britain&mdash;Eating Fetish&mdash;Superstition among the Ashantees&mdash;Endeavour
to prevent the Advance of the British Army&mdash;Shah of
Persia's Talismans&mdash;Bathing Fair&mdash;Indian Princes consulting Fortune-tellers&mdash;The
Queen of Hearts&mdash;Procuring Rain in India&mdash;Superstition
in America&mdash;Mysterious Lights at St. Lawrence&mdash;Superstitious
Artists&mdash;Hogarth's last Picture, "The End of all Things."</p></div>


<p>In Roman Catholic countries superstition frequently culminates
in miracle-working images, winking madonnas,
and apparitions resembling the Virgin Mary. For not
a few delusions the priests and nuns are responsible.
We are not speaking without authority. The Very Rev.
Father A. Vincent Jandel, General of the Dominican
Order, addressed from Rome a circular letter in 1870 to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_630" id="Page_630">[Pg 630]</a></span>
all the provincials of his order, giving an account of what
he considered a wonderful occurrence that took place at
Soriano, in Calabria. There is at Soriano a celebrated
Sanctuary of St. Dominic, and in the church an ancient
image of that saint, life-size, carved in wood, held in
high veneration. On the 15th of September of that year,
which is its festa, another image of wood is carried
processionally with much pomp. Thirty persons, who had
remained after the conclusion of the solemnity to pray
before the ancient image, suddenly perceived it to move,
as if alive. It came forward, then retreated, and turned
towards the image of the Virgin of the Holy Rosary.
The cry of "St. Dominic! St. Dominic! A miracle! a
miracle!" burst from every lip. The wonderful news
sped like lightning through the town. Men and women
left their occupations to crowd to the sanctuary; and soon
no fewer than two thousand persons had witnessed the
strange movements, which continued for about an hour
and a half, amidst prayers, tears, and acclamations.</p>

<p>To the great joy of the monks of the Holy Trinity,
in 1871, two madonnas, in an obscure, out-of-the-way
church of St. Grisogono, in Trastevere, melted multitudes
to tears by the miraculous movements and expressions of
their eyes. The most remarkable in its exercises was an
oil painting in the interior of the church. To such a
height did the excitement reach amongst the crowd
privileged to witness it, that the friars judged it prudent
to bring its performances to a close by removing it from
the church, and shutting it up in a press in the convent.
The second madonna is a fresco in the open piazza as one
approaches the church and convent. It is a recent painting,
of life-size, with eyes lowered on the spectators
looking at it from below, in such a manner that the movements
of the pupils (if movements there be) should be very
sensible. The madonna is but one of three figures on
the fresco. On her right is John the Baptist in the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_631" id="Page_631">[Pg 631]</a></span>
dress of the monks of the establishment, and on the left
Pio Nono as Pontiff. This madonna began to move its
eyes as soon as its companion was locked up, and the
wonder lasted for many days.</p>

<p>In the same year (1871) the Rev. Father Ubald sent a
letter to a colleague, the following passages of which were
quoted in the <i>Bulletin Religieux</i> of Versailles:&mdash;"I arrive
from Belgium; this time I have seen Louise Lateau. I do
not know whether you ever heard of her, but at present the
name is in everybody's mouth in Belgium and Northern
France. Louise Lateau is a girl of 21, who carries the
sacred stigmata of the Passion, and every week on Friday
is in a state of profound ecstacy. Dr. Lefevre, professor
of medicine at the University of Louvain, has published
a medical examination, in which he says: 'The flow
of blood begins in the night (from Thursday to Friday
generally), between midnight and one o'clock.' It took
place for the first time on the 24th April 1868, by her
losing blood on the left side of her chest. On the Friday
following, hemorrhage was observed at the same place, and,
moreover, blood oozed out from the top or instep of the
foot. On the third Friday&mdash;viz. the 8th May&mdash;blood
came out at the left side and from the feet during the
night. Towards nine in the morning blood rushed out
copiously from both hands, back and palm. Finally, on
the 27th September, a percolation of blood also set in on
the forehead, as if the young girl had been crowned with
thorns. Since then the marvellous phenomenon never
missed a Friday, except once or twice. Doctors affirm
that Louise thus loses from five to ten ounces of blood
every Friday. In spite of this, and albeit she has not
taken food for the last six months, she has, I assure you,
quite ruddy cheeks (<i>teint vermeil</i>), and seems to enjoy
capital health (<i>sante florissant</i>)."</p>

<p>The correspondent of the Paris Ultramontane paper
<i>L'Univers</i> wrote from the Lourdes in 1876: "I have just<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_632" id="Page_632">[Pg 632]</a></span>
been witness of a marvel, of which I hasten to send you
an account. Several other miracles have taken place
within the last couple of days, but I have said nothing
about them, as they did not come under my own observation.
However, I can assure you of the accuracy of the
following statement:&mdash;Madeleine Lansereau, aged 33 years,
broke one of her legs about 19 years ago, and became lame,
her left leg being fearfully twisted. She came to Lourdes
with the pilgrimage from Picardy, and was radically cured
at the moment the Papal Nuncio sent to crown the Holy
Virgin was saying the paternoster in the mass he was
celebrating in the grotto. She told the crowd that,
having walked into the little pool, a lively internal
emotion took possession of her, and she cried out, 'I am
cured! I am cured!' Her companions wept with joy
and admiration at the miracle. When they asked her
what she had done for that great grace, her simple reply
was, 'I have prayed to St. Radogonde and St. Joseph, but
especially to the Holy Virgin, and now I am cured.' While
she was speaking, the Bishop of Poictiers came and said,
'Madeleine, thank the Holy Virgin fervently.'"</p>

<p>The Rev. Canon Tandy, D.D., writing from St. Paul's
Convent, Birmingham, in 1871, to a reverend brother,
informs him, in pious phraseology, that two nuns had been
suddenly cured of serious disorders of long standing by
drinking a bottle of water from Lourdes. In acknowledgment
of the favours shown by our Lady of Lourdes, the
<i>Te Deum</i> was recited.</p>

<p>A deaf and dumb girl from Blois was made whole at
Lourdes a few years ago by the Virgin Mary.</p>

<p>Not long since the Bishop of Laval wrote a pastoral
letter on the subject of the miraculous appearance of the
Virgin to four children in a village in Mayence, and was
so convinced of the reality of the fact that he decided to
erect a chapel in honour of Mary on the ground upon
which she had condescended to appear.</p>

<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_633" id="Page_633">[Pg 633]</a></span>Recently there might be seen emerging from a church
at Dieppe, on a Saturday morning, a religious procession,
headed by a person carrying a silver processional cross,
and accompanied by choristers singing penitential psalms,
proceeding to the eastern pier of the harbour to perform
a curious Roman Catholic ceremony. Taking up a
position beside the rolling water, the priests prayed for
the success of the fishing, then said a paternoster, while
the people knelt; then a priest, dipping a brush in holy
water (which was carried in a swinging silver vase),
sprinkled three times the salt water of the ocean with the
holy fluid, making the sign of the cross with the brush
at the words, <i>Seo sibera nos a malo</i>. Then came a collect of
repose for the souls of the dead whose bodies had not been
recovered from the depths of the sea; and, all being over,
the priests, with the choristers, people, and cross-bearers,
returned, chanting their psalms to the church, where the
high mass of the festival of St. Luke was celebrated.</p>

<p>This ceremony at Dieppe reminds one of the well-known
annual ceremony in Russia, of blessing the Neva in
presence of the Czar and other members of the Imperial
Family; but, as the performance has been described by
numerous writers, we shall not further refer to it.</p>

<p>The Marquis of Segur, a zealous Catholic, relates
that, in 1866, when the Pope was seriously ill, Mdlle.
Leautard, a lady of Marseilles, resolved to offer up her
life in place of his Holiness, and sought his permission
to do so. The Pope, after long silence, placed his hand
on her head, and said, "Go, my daughter, and do what
the Spirit of God has suggested to you." Next day, on
receiving the consecrated wafer, the lady fervently expressed
her desire to die, and was immediately seized
with a sharp pain, which carried her off three days afterwards.
The Pope, on hearing of her death, exclaimed,
"So soon accepted!" The Marquis believes this sacrifice
accounted for the Pope's prolonged life.</p>

<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_634" id="Page_634">[Pg 634]</a></span>A Hohenzollern legend was brought to mind in
Germany through a serious illness of the Emperor, who,
however, fortunately recovered, and continues to adorn
his exalted position. The legend runs thus:&mdash;</p>

<p>Many years ago there was a Hohenzollern Princess (a
widow with two children), who fell in love with a foreign
Prince&mdash;rich, handsome, and brave. She sent him a
proposition of marriage; but the Prince declined her
suit, explaining that "four eyes" stood between him and
acceptance. He referred to his parents, whose consent he
could not obtain. But the Princess understood him to
refer to the four eyes of her two children&mdash;to his unwillingness,
in fact, to become a stepfather. So she
suffocated the infant obstacles, and wrote to her lover
that the way was clear. He was stricken with horror at
the cruel deed, and died cursing her bloodthirsty rashness.
The Princess, in her turn, became overwhelmed
with remorse. After lingering a day or two in indescribable
anguish, she too died, and was buried under the old
castle at Berlin; but not to rest quietly in her unhappy
grave. At rare intervals she appears at midnight, clad in
white, gliding, ghost like, about the castle; and the apparition
always forebodes the death of some member of the
Hohenzollern family. The white lady has been seen, we
are assured, three times within about a year&mdash;once just
before the death of Prince Albrecht; again, to announce
the end of Prince Adalbert; and the last time while
Queen Elizabeth lay on her deathbed.</p>

<p>We have shown that the great Napoleon Bonaparte was
superstitious in the highest degree; and so was his mother
before him. Both believed in fate or destiny. She was
surrounded by luxury and pomp; but her solicitude about
her son, and the belief that his glory could not last,
rendered her miserable. The divorce of Josephine, the
retreat from Russia, the exile to Elba, the final overthrow
at Waterloo, and the banishment to St. Helena, were<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_635" id="Page_635">[Pg 635]</a></span>
heavy blows; but she was prepared for them. While the
sun of the Emperor's fortunes blazed in the zenith, she
shivered under the shadow of her fear; and her fear proved
prophetic. She witnessed the downfall of every one of
her children; but she bore her adversity with dignity
and resignation, and died in her eighty-seventh year.</p>

<p>Indeed not only were Napoleon and his mother superstitious,
but the whole Bonaparte family were believers
in fate. Napoleon III. says in his will, "With regard to
my son" (the late Prince Imperial, who perished at the
hands of Zulus), "let him keep, as a talisman, the seal
attached to my watch." True to the traditions of his
family, the young Prince put trust in amulets. When
the Prince's body was discovered (here we have a double
case of superstition), it lay stripped of all its clothing, but
there were left with the body a locket and a gold amulet,
admittedly the seal bequeathed to him by his Imperial
father, as the Zulus were afraid they were charms&mdash;articles
they stand in great dread of.</p>

<p>Thinking of Prince Napoleon's untimely death, brings
the Zulu character to remembrance. Among the Zulus a
belief prevails that kindly and angry spirits hover around
them&mdash;the former endeavouring to do them good; the latter
trying to do them harm. Zulus also believe in divine smoke,
witchcraft, and dreams. Whenever a charge of witchcraft
is made against any one, no mercy is shown him. Such
an accusation affords a pretext to a king or chief for
getting rid of an obnoxious person and acquiring his
substance. The Inyanga, like our witch-finder of old,
has no difficulty in bringing home guilt to the unfortunate
accused. A Zulu judge, before pronouncing sentence,
pretends that he consults the divine oracles of his
nation. When a Zulu sneezes he says, "I am blessed,
and the ancestral spirit is with me." So he praises the
family manes, and ends by asking blessings, such as cattle
and wives.</p>

<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_636" id="Page_636">[Pg 636]</a></span>In September 1879 official news came from Sir Garnet
Wolseley that King Cetewayo had been captured, that
the Zulu war had come to an end, and that the following
were among the terms of peace, signed by the chiefs of
Zululand: "I will not tolerate the employment of witch
doctors, or the practice known as smelling out, or any
practices of witchcraft."</p>

<p>Not unfrequently the representatives of Great Britain,
in concluding peace with heathen nations, have, as in the
case of the Zulus, to respect the superstitious notions of
the people they have to deal with, so as to make the
agreement more binding in the minds of the heathen contracting
parties.</p>

<p>On one occasion the Ashantees put up a fetish to stop
the advance of the British army. It consisted of a kid
transfixed through the throat and heart, and staked to
the ground; six cooking-pots, inverted, were stuck on
stakes round the kid, and, a few feet from it, another kid
was found buried: this, according to Ashantee custom,
had been buried alive. A similar fetish had been put up
at a river near Moinsey to stop the British troops. The
advancing army found almost every turn of the road to
Coomassie strewn with fetish documents. Near Fommanah
nearly every tree had a white rag fastened to it as
a charm. On the King hearing of the British victory, he
went to pour libation to the spirits of his ancestors, and
to ask their assistance against the enemies of his country.</p>

<p>The Shah of Persia has numerous talismans, exceeding
two hundred in number. We give details of four
of them. One is a gold star, supposed to have been
possessed by the legendary Rustem. It is called Merzoum,
and has the reputation of making conspirators immediately
confess. When the Shah's brother was accused
of treason some time since, the star was shown him, and,
terrified and overcome by remorse, he avowed his iniquities.
His confession was, of course, attributed to its<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_637" id="Page_637">[Pg 637]</a></span>
efficacy. He was banished. The next important talisman
is a cube of amber, which, we are told, fell from heaven in
Mohammed's time. It is supposed to render the Shah invulnerable,
and he wears it about his neck. Another is
a little box of gold, set in emeralds, and blessed by the
Prophet. It renders the Royal Family invisible as long
as they are celibates. Another is a diamond set in one
of the Shah's scimitars, which renders its possessor invincible;
and there is also a dagger with the same property,
but it is ordained that those who use it shall
perish by it. It is therefore carefully kept shut up in a
sandal-wood box, on which is engraved a verse of the
Koran.</p>

<p>As of old, superstition prevails all over India. Semi-religious
ceremonies are gone through in seasons of
drought, to procure rain. At other times means are taken
to propitiate the gods, to subdue enemies, and to secure
good fortune to individuals, households, and communities.
There are Indian princes who regularly consult
their fortune-tellers regarding public and private affairs.</p>

<p>A curious bathing fair was held at Ajudhia, in Oude, in
February 1878. When a peculiar conjunction of the
planets takes place (which occurs only once in eighty
years), the natives rush in crowds to the river, as they
believe that if they manage to bathe and go through certain
ceremonies in four minutes and a half, they will
obtain the remission of their own sins and those of
millions of their ancestors. On this occasion the rush to
the river turned out so great that numbers were trodden
under foot, and sixty-five persons lost their lives.</p>

<p>The mysterious lights in the Gulf of St. Lawrence,
which are believed by mariners to be warnings of great
tempests and shipwreck, were unusually brilliant in 1878.
It is said to be a fact, established by the experience of a
century, that when these lights blaze brightly in the
summer nights, the phenomena are invariably followed<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_638" id="Page_638">[Pg 638]</a></span>
by great storms. They give the appearance to spectators
on the shore of a ship on fire. The fire itself seems to
consist of blue and yellow flames, now dancing high
above the water, and then flickering, paling, and dying
out, only to spring up again with fresh brilliancy. If a
boat approaches, it flits away, moving further out, and is
pursued in vain. The lights are plainly visible from the
shore from midnight until two in the morning. They
appear to come from the sea shoreward, and at dawn
retire gradually, and are lost in the morning mist. Paradis,
the French pilot, who took charge of the British Fleet
under Admiral Sir Hovenden Walker when it sailed up
the St. Lawrence to seize Quebec in 1711, declared he
saw one of these lights before that armada was shattered
by a dreadful gale on the 22d of August. The light, he
said, danced before his vessel all the way up the gulf.
Every great wreck that has taken place there since Sir
Hovenden Walker's calamity has been preceded, if tradition
is to be believed, by these mysterious lights, and
they have thus warned the mariner of fatal storms.</p>

<p>In July last (1879) a woman, known as the Queen of
Hearts, who had attained the age of one hundred years,
and who had been known for three quarters of a century
as a fortune-teller, died in Vienna. Apparently gifted
with the faculty of prescience, intimately acquainted with
the shuffling of cards, deeply learned in the lore of the
prophetic lines traced by the graver of Fate upon human
hands and feet, this lady devoted her days to the unravelling
of the tangled secrets of the future, charging
those whose curiosity prompted them to pry into the
regions of the unknown, five ducats per revelation. As
many of the leading ladies of the Austrian aristocracy
were among her clients, and the accuracy of her forecasts
having earned for her a mighty reputation throughout
the realms of the Hapsburgs, she contrived to amass a
handsome fortune. "Herz-Dame" was a person of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_639" id="Page_639">[Pg 639]</a></span>
extraordinary acumen, and a physiognomist of the highest
order. Her sources of private information were numerous,
and her ramifications are believed to have permeated every
class of Austrian society.</p>

<p>A comparatively recent instance of superstition in
America is that of an old Indian woman being suspected
of witchcraft, and stoned to death in Pine Nut Valley,
Nevada; and in another part of the world, far separated
from America, a similar act of superstition was committed,
in which a human creature fell a victim to the
gross delusions of her neighbours. We refer to a case of
witch-burning in Russia. In October 1879 seventeen
peasants were tried for burning to death a supposed
witch, who resided near Nijni-Novgorod. Of the accused
persons, fourteen were acquitted, and three sentenced to
church penances&mdash;sentences which, if rigorously carried
out, will not be easily borne.</p>

<p>A Leipsic writer gives an account of a number of
superstitious artists, some of which are very curious.
Tietjens, for instance, believed that the person would
speedily die who shook hands with her over the threshold
at parting; Rachel thought she gained her greatest successes
immediately after she had met a funeral; Bellini
would not permit a new work to be brought out if on
the day announced he was first greeted by a man, and
"La Somnambula" was several times thus postponed;
Meyerbeer regularly washed his hands before beginning
an overture; and a noted <i>tragedienne</i> never plays unless
she has a white mouse in her bosom.</p>

<p>But these eccentricities can hardly compare with the
strange belief and doings of Hogarth, the celebrated
painter and engraver, particularly towards the close of
his long life. A few months before he was seized with
the malady which cut him off, he commenced his "End of
all Things." A few of his intimate friends looked upon
his picture as prophetic; and so he seemed to regard it<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_640" id="Page_640">[Pg 640]</a></span>
himself. The artist worked with diligence, seemingly
with an apprehension that he would not live to complete
the piece. Finish it, however, he did in a masterly style,
grouping everything that could denote the end of all
things. Prominent were a broken bottle, an old broom,
a bow unstrung, the butt-end of an old musket, a crown
tumbled in pieces, towers in ruins, the moon in her wane,
the map of the globe burning, Ph&oelig;bus and his horses
dead in the clouds, a vessel wrecked, Time with his hourglass
and scythe broken, a tobacco-pipe in his mouth, the
last puff of smoke going out; a play-book, with <i>Exeunt
Omnes</i> on one of the open pages; an empty purse, and a
statute of bankruptcy taken out against nature.</p>

<p>"So far so good," said Hogarth. "Nothing remains
but this,"&mdash;taking his pencil and dashing off the similitude
of a painter's palette broken. "<span class="smcap">Finis</span>!" exclaimed
the artist; "<i>the deed is done</i>&mdash;<span class="smcap">all is over</span>." Hogarth
never handled pencil again, and within a month of the
completion of this picture he was no more.</p>
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