Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 24, 1913.djvu/269

 Correspondence. 247

Charon — Charos.

The following extract from the Montreal Daily S/ar, of August 20, 19 1 2, seems worthy of preservation in Folk-Lore:

" iVO CHARON HERE. He is All Very Good For the Jl'orld Be}ieath.

Amsterdam, August 21 \jic\. — Owing to a boycott on the steam- ship Charon by the dockers on Greek ports, the Royal Nether- lands Steamship Company has been compelled to change its \i.e. the ship's] name. The men refused to work the ship on account of its association with the mythological old gentleman, who plies the ferry across the river of the lower world."

The above statement is not quite correct as it stands. The person with whom the dockers would associate the ship's name would not be the ancient Charon, but rather his modern descen- dant, the death-demon Charos, for the facts about whom see Mr. Lawson's Modern Greek Folklore and Ancient Greek Religion. The occurrence is interesting, as showing not only the liveliness of the belief in this picturesque figure, but the survival of the ancient notions of omens connected with names and chance utterances (KA-//8di'£s), illustrated by the classical puns on the names Pentheus, Meleager, Helen, etc.

H. J. Rose.

Cursing Trees.

The custom of cursing or threatening trees with destruction if they fail to bear fruit is of some interest. In folk belief cursing is closely connected with blessing. To give one example, — among the Iranians: "For blessing and cursing one and the same word is used, dfirinami. The same peculiarity is to be observed in the old Hebrew word berik^ to give a blessing, and to curse." ^

^ M. Ilaug, Essays on the Sacred Language, Writings, and Religion of the Far sis, p. 175 n.