THE FOLK-LORE OF SCOTLAND.*

MODE RN tendencies are far from favourable to folk-lore.. Railways, telegraphs, and educational influences of many kinds are doing not a little to chase away the easy credulity and open imagina- tion which were at once the originators and the treasure-houses of popular superstition ; and it is, in its own way, significant that just at this time movements should have been so energeti- cally set on foot to collect, to record, and to preserve. A little later, and these would have been behind-hand. For it is in- evitable that when you fill the memory with facts, and the in- tellect is brought en rapport with nature as a great storehouse of unvarying laws, fancies, however pretty, and wild, and poetic, will vanish from it. As the crowing of the cock at dawn made the ghosts to vanish, so the glances of science will pursue the popular belief, and extinguish it. Research and superstition cannot exist together in the popular mind, though such bodies as the Free Church of Scotland may think to make them com- patible within its own borders. When people begin to be self- conscious, and to feel a kind of shame in acknowledging or in frankly retailing their old beliefs, as recognising something grotesque and unreal in them to the eyes of others, the beliefs themselves cannot long keep their hold ; and collectors, unless very discriminating, are apt to be outwitted, and to have a very modified and emasculated version foisted upon them. Some people may find a kind of comfort in what Mr. Napier tells them in his preface,—that though "among the better educated classes it may be said that much of the superstitions of former times have passed away, and that as education is extended they will more and more become eradicated ; yet at the present moment, in our rural districts especially, the old beliefs still linger in considerable force.- Even there, however, they are going, and going fast; the old women who seriously believed that the cow was bewitched when, in Burns's words, she went as "yell's the bull," are not now to be met with, and fairies hold revel only in poetry even in remote vales.

There is, therefore, the more cause for congratulation on the

* Foik-lore of the North-Bast 9f Scotland. By the Bey. Walter Gregor, M.A.

■ FoilCilore Society.

• Folk-lere: er,:Superatilieus Belief tie West of Scotland within this Century. By James Napier, F.B.S.E. London : Alexander Gardner.

establishment of an English Folk-lore Society, so that we are no longer without some kind of guarantee that critical intelli- gence will be brought to bear on the specimens of Old-world lore authoritatively presented to us. The two books we have now in hand are the product of the critical instinct seriously exercised by a keen sense of what the critical process may all too quickly destroy. There the bane and antidote are both before us, and both are due to the same tendency ; curiosity about the thoughts and habits of the past, and a determination to remain coldly critical, in spite of all temptations to enthu- siasm. Without the first, the collector of folk-lore could not command the material necessary for the foundation of his house ; without the latter, he would never know when to have done.

Were it not that by some wonderful affinity, some kind of Medea's alchemy, the folk-lore of one portion of the world is at many points sure to touch that of other parts, these two volumes might be condemned as too local and limited in their scope for such lengthened notice as we propose to give them. All roads were said to lead to Rome, and it would almost appear as though it were a necessity of the human intellect, however variously circumstanced, not only to invent in the same lines, but to produce what is in essentials identical, com- pelling natural objects in precisely the same as-pect to the service of the imagination. Let us take, for example, the superstition of the Evil-Eye, which occupies so large a space in these volumes. We find it in the far East as well as in the far West, among Romans as well as Red Indians, among islanders of the South Pacific as well as among the Celts of Scotland. And that the general form of the belief is found among races so far separated from each other is not so remark- able, as that the methods resorted to as charms against the evil should so closely resemble each other. Four of the things mainly used in this respect are the red berries of the rowan or mountain ash, beads of red coral, the touch of the spittle, and salt. We read that Bishop Heber, at the foot of the Himalayas, came upon a tree which reminded him of the rowan or moun- tain-ash. "I asked," he tells us, "if it did not bear any fruit.

They answered, ' No ; but it is a very noble tree, being called the imperial tree, for its excellent properties. It was useful as a preservative against magic. A sprig worn in the turban, or sus- pended over the bed, was a perfect security against all spells of the evil-eye, &c., insomuch that the most formidable wizard would not, if he could help it, approach its shade." The Bishop.

goes on to express his surprise that the superstitions which in European countries are attached to the rowan, should be in India connected with a tree of similar appearance. "Which nation," he writes, "has been the imitator, or from what common stock are all these common notions derived P" In Scotland, the berries of the rowan tree used to be hung up over the doors of the rooms. Could it be because of the simi- larity in the colour, that red coral beads came to be- used in the same manner as the rowan-berries ?

"The Romans," Mr. Napier tells us, "used to bang red coral round. the necks of their children, to save them from falling-sickness, sorcery, charms, and poison. In this country, coral beads were hung round the necks of babies, and are still used in country districts, to protect them from an evil eye. Coral bells are used at present. The practice was originated by the Roman Catholics, to frighten away evil spirits."

We find the following in Professor Conington's tranalation of the Satires of A. Persius Flacons :—

" Look here. A grandmother or a superstitious aunt has taken baby from his cradle, and is charming his forehead and his slavering lips against mischief by the joint action of her middle finger and her- purifying spittle ; for she knows right well how to check the-evil-eye. Then she dandles him in her arms, and packs off the pinched little hope of the family, so far as wishing can do it, to the domains of Licinus, or the palace of Creesus. May be be a catch for my lord and lady's daughter ! May the pretty ladies scramble for him May the ground he walks on turn to a rose-bed !' Rut I will never trust a nurse to pray for me or mine. Good Jupiter, be sure-to refuse her, though she may have put on white for the occasion."

This joint action of the nurse's middle finger and her purifying- spittle has, no doubt, much in common with certain forms of what was called in Scotland scoring aboon the breath, which we- find referred to in the following :—

" One effective method of meeting the curse of the evil-eye was by- scoring aboon the breath. In my case, as I was the vie..Litn,t scoring with a wet finger was sufficient ; but sometimes the sufferer was more roughly treated, scoring in this case being effected se as to- draw blood Spitting three times in the affected person's face, as well as turning a live coal in the fire, were also, in- some cases, considered as specifies."

Another very peculiar charm against the evil-eye was used in the North-east of Scotland as follows :—

"To turn off the evil-eye, and to preserve the child from the power of the fairies, a. small brooch, of the shape of a heart, was worn on one of the petticoats, usually behind. There were those who bad the reputation of having the power of showing to the parents or relatives the face of the one who had been guilty of casting ill upon the child. If ill had been cast upon the child, it was cured by taking its own first shirt, or the petticoat the mother wore before confine- ment, or the linen she wore at the time of delivery, and passing it through it three times, and then three times round the crook. If the child became cross and began to &wine, fears immediately arose that it might be a fairy changeling,' and the trial by fire was put into operation. The hearth was piled with peat, and when the fire was at its strength the suspected changeling was placed in front of it, and as near as possible not to be scorched, or it was suspended in a basket over the fire. If it was a changeling child,' it made its escape by the lUm [chimney], throwing back words of scorn as it disappeared."

Another very peculiar custom was the imperative necessity for burning all the cuttings of hair and nails, &c.—a relic, as may well be judged of a very ancient fire-worship, which certainly had no little to do with the fires of Beltane and Yule. We read:—

" It was not considered tacky to pare the nails of a child under one year old, and when the operation was performed, the mother was careful to collect every scrap of the cuttings and burn them. It was considered a great offence for any person, other than the mother or near relation, in whom every confidence could be placed, to cut a baby's nails ; if some forward, officious person should do this, and baby afterwards be taken ill, this would give rise to grave suspicions -of evil influence being at work. The same remarks apply to the cutting of a baby's hair. I have seen the door locked during hair- cutting, and the floor swept afterwards and the sweepings burned, lest perchance any hairs might remain, and be picked up by an enemy. Dr. Livingstone, in his book on the Zambesi, mentions the existence of a similar practice among some African tribes. They carefully collect and afterwards burn or bury the hair, lest any of it fall into ;the hands of a witch.' Mr. Munter mentions that the same practice is common amongst the Patagonians, and the practice extends to adults. He says that after bathing, which they do every morning, 4the men's hair is dressed by their wives, daughters, or sweethearts, who take the greatest care to burn the hairs that may be brushed ont, as they fully believe that spells may be wrought by evil-inten- tioned persons who can obtain a piece of their hair. From the same idea, after cutting their nails, the parings are carefully committed to the flames."

More remarkable still, perhaps, it is to find in Scotland, sur- viving in out-of-the-way country corners, even at this day, customs which distinctly trace themselves to the primitive prac- tice of marriage by capture. We do not refer to such common- place matters as the throwing of old shoes at the departing pair, newly-wedded, but to something much more suggestive. Mr. Gxegor gives the following as a custom in the north-east of Scotland, at one time a common accompaniment of wedlock where all the preliminaries had been duly arranged before- hand:—

" Two men, called the seas, were dispatched from the house of the bridegroom, to demand the bride. On making their appearance, a -volley of firearms met them. When they came up to the door of the bride's home, they asked,—` Does — bide here ? '= Aye, faht de ye wint wee ir ? '—` We wint ir for —' was the answer.—' Bit

ye winna get But we'll tack ir.'—' Will ye come in, an taste a moofu' o' a dram, till we see shoot it P'—And so the seas entered the house, and got possession of the bride. But parties arranged their departure from their respective homes in such a way as to arrive at church about the same time, the bride's party always having the pre- ference. The bride, supported by the two young men who had been .chosen by herself, walked at the head of her party, and when she set out she was on no account to look back. Such an action en- tailed disaster of the worst kind during the married life. The bride- groom, supported by two young maidens, wbAked at the head of his party. On leaving, a few old shoes and besoms or scrubbers were thrown after both bride and bridegroom."

Charms were in constant use, and in the oddest ways, and with the most peculiar results, if reporters are to be credited. Here is one :—

" Employment of certain charms to influence for good or evil pre- vailed in this century to a great extent. Some of these it is difficult to trace to their origin. About forty years ago, a certain married couple lived unhappily together. The wife did all she could to mako her husband comfortable, but still be abused her without cause. At length, after suffering much, she applied to a woman who professed to have power over the affections, and for this purpose prepared love-philters. The woman gave her a charm, which was to be sewn between the lining and cloth of her husband's vest without his knowledge. She carried these instructions out and with extraordinarily successful results, for while the husband wore this vest, he never gave her so much as an angry word."

We wish we could have found space to give some of the quaint rhymes Mr. Gregor has industriously collected, or to have quatecIfrom his chapter on" Fairies and Animals," in which last it will be seen how traces of animal-worship survive in the treatment of the cat. But we must be content to send curious readers to these volumes, wherein they will find much to gratify their curiosity, as well as to excite questioning. Both volumes are well arranged, and furnished with admirable indices, which add not a little to their value. We may regard these books as examples and forerunners of much that is to be done for locali- ties in the south, a work in which Mr. Thistelton Dyer and others are already laudably active.