Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 13, 1902.djvu/63

 More Folklore front the Hebrides. 51

he had not the gift, whereupon the host invited a second guest, adjuring him by the Evil One. " Hand me the shoulder blade," said Thomas, son of Duncan. " There then, you devil, take it," said the host ; whereupon he received the bone and uttered the oracle. "You have got my wether boiled for the peat-workers, you thief," said he, " and the rest of it that you did not boil is in your grain- kiln; and this turn would have gone well with thee, like more of the kind, if you had not conjured me by the devil."

Divination by dreams is of course common in the Hebrides as elsewhere, and a certain amount of importance is attached to them, but less than to waking visions, whether spontaneous or empirical.

A dream seen on the night of Sunday means nothing unless realised before mid-day on Monday.

A priest seen in a dream is, in Eriskay, the sign of a storm ; in Uist, of sin.

To dream of a bull is a sign that a person is to get assistance from a proprietor or a landlord. It is to be hoped that under the influence of the Congested Districts Board the islanders may often dream about bulls.

To dream of water streaming down the inside wall of a house, or of a person dressed in grey, or of yourself on a fresh-water lake, or of a wedding-feast, or of a girl-baby, or being under an upturned boat, or the cock crowing when it is dark, are signs of death. Seeing the sea near you is a sign of weeping. Losing the heel off a boot, or losing a tooth, or seeing a girl-baby, are signs of losing support ; while seeing new boots, or a boy-baby, are signs of support coming. Laughter is a sign of sorrow ; a funeral, of a wedding ; a red dress, of anger ; a sheep, of something holy ; a flock of sheep, of angels about one. A fish, a seal, or a priest, is a warning of bad weather; sea-water means strength — a good sign ; fresh water, illness — a bad sign ; eggs or chickens, of irritating small talk ; iron means strength ; silver, sin, (possibly associated with Judas) : fire,

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