Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 15, 1904.djvu/140

 122 Reviews.

Turning to general beliefs, we find that the rude stone monu- ments of the island are associated with the fairies, who are sup- posed to be a race of very little people, now extinct. The story (p. 222) of the wholesale suicide of the fairy race on the advent of the invading witches, sounds a little ben trovato, but there seems in fact to be a clear tradition that the " black art," in its full deve- lopment was an importation into the island from France. It is evidently a living superstition in Guernsey. We have the witches who are born witches, and those who become witches by voluntary compact with the Evil One ; we find the sorchekurs and (as usual) the desorchekurs who profess to vanquish them ; and further " many persons not usually considered wizards are looked upon with no favourable eye from their supposed possession of books relating to the black art, by the study of which they are thought to be able to control the elements," to discover secrets, &:c. These books are called A/bins, " le Grammaille " (or " k Grand- Mek" and " /^ Fetit-Mek,"  k grand Albert" and "/^ petit Albert'')^ names obviously derived from that of Albertus Magnus. Anecdotes of these books abound ; how the unskilful pupil of some wizard misused them, how some repentant wizard, or his heirs, tried to burn, bury, or drown them, and how they never- theless returned again to their own place, like the book of Michael Scott in the Last Mifistrel. One old man owed his reputation as a wizard to the fact that he not only possessed books, but was seen playing cards without a visible adversary, a warning to any solitary folklorist addicted to " patience " !

The local nicknames are interesting, in view of recent dis- cussions. We have learnt already {Folk-Lore, vol. xiii., p. 396), that the Jersey men are known as Jersey Crapauds. Here we read that when St. Patrick visited the Channel Islands he was rudely received and pelted in Jersey, but made welcome in Guernsey, so he took the toads and snakes from Guernsey and banished them to Jersey, which thus got a double share. Miss Carey gives evidence (p. 602) to show " what close connection there was between Guernsey and Jersey before the wars of the Commonwealth, when — the islands taking different sides — was established a feud which has never properly been healed." But if derogatory nicknames are any evidence, the feud must be accounted for otherwise; for all the/<:^/^r islands, and even all the