Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 20, 1909.djvu/268

228 amulets against fairies. Being anxious to obtain specimens of these amulets, I wrote a letter to the curé of the town in question, sending him a small sum and asking him to procure for me a few of the objects (which, as I was writing to a curé, I described as used for superstitious purposes), and to put the balance in his "poor fund." In reply to my request I received a long and remarkable letter, which I regret to say cannot be given verbatim, as it is, (I hope only temporarily), mislaid, but which an abstract made on its receipt shows to be a very indignant repudiation of my suggestion of superstition, informing me that the crosses were not examples of the amulets or charms I was seeking, but that they were symbols of the Redemption placed in the ground by God, to be found and used by His people for their protection.

The second letter was the only result of a number of letters of enquiry, enclosing stamps for reply, which I sent with a view of ascertaining whether certain old-world appliances still existed in a locality in the West of Ireland. The one enquiry answered was addressed to the parish priest of a certain town, and explained what I wanted, offering to pay the expenses of obtaining the objects and to contribute also to the "poor box." The reply was as follows:

I would strongly advise you to consult your friends, and see some good doctor. If you follow his advice, all may yet be well with you.

Yours, etc., ——."

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