Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 11, 1900.djvu/228

 2i6 Miscellanea.

one night when the beans were very Hvely he struck a hght quickly. Instantly they were all in their proper places. T he house is now pulled down.

Another story tells one how to keep these malevolent women at a distance, though not asserting that their power is equally staved off. But the witch in this particular case was an old woman, suspected of witchcraft, chiefly because she bought old bones and bits of iron. The old iron she used to sell to a former blacksmith in our neighbouring village (whose grandson told the tale). Friendly advisers warned the blacksmith that he ought not to have such an uncanny visitor so often about, nor so many dealings with her. "How was he to stop her?" he asked. He was told to notice where she set her foot within the forge, and after her departure to drive a nail in her track. This he did, and afterwards when she was passing she would call to him, but never crossed his threshold. One day he drew out the nail, and ever after that she came inside the forge as much as she had done before.

It is difficult to know if, and how far, people still believe in witchcraft proper. Most people agree that witches and pixies used formerly to flourish, and if then, why not now ? But belief in their existence at the present day is very shadowy. One view was put before me that Heaven would not permit one human creature to harm another " of like flesh and blood " by evil spells. But this was contradicted by another opinion, that Heaven had nothing to do with it : spells were the work of the Evil One. One woman thinks that increased education ought to, or does, produce more witchcraft than there was in former days, because if so much harm could be done by ignorant folk and their " books," now that the knowledge of most folk is increased their power to harm will be increased also.

Folk-medicine. — Village herbalists still exist and their advice is sought ; but perhaps their knowledge is not so deep as was that of their fathers, for though their counsel is still respected, they themselves do not seem to be revered to the extent that their predecessors were. Many women have family recipes and make ointments of their own.

Bear's foot, a plant with five (?) finger-like leaves, is good, but one finger is bad and must be torn off and thrown away. Angelica has wonderful virtues. Fox-glove, or, as it is here called, cow-flop,