Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 5, 1894.djvu/118

 110  strikingly alike. But also the appearance of the saint has an analogy to that of the Waterman. The long grey beard is an attribute of the saint. We generally see Nix the Waterman also represented with a long beard." I think it unnecessary to dwell on the superficial character of the analogy just quoted. All Eastern saints, if aged, are represented with beards, and the Byzantine images of St. Nicolas belonging to the fifth century of course represent him with a beard, but generally a short round one. In this case why should St. Nicolas more than any other saint make us think of the Waterman?

The other argument brought forward by Mr, Zingerle is not of more value. "The souls of the drowned are kept by Nix in pots. When we remember," continues Mr. Zingerle, "that souls were generally represented in the shape of children, we find that the pots of the Waterman have an analogy to St. Nicolas' tub, containing three children."

The picture of St. Nicolas standing near a large tub, with three youths in it, has its origin in the legend of a miracle, in which St. Nicolas raised from the dead three young men, who were killed and robbed by an innkeeper in Myra. Their bodies were cut to pieces and thrown into a tub. St. Nicolas prayed over the tub, and the youths came to life again. This story is found in almost all countries in the Middle Ages. It is undoubtedly of Greek origin, and taken from the saint's life.

It lies at the root of the saint's fame as a friend of

ihn als Wassergott bezeichnen ist zweifelhaft, doch wiirde sich daraus noch besser erklaren, warum der h. Nicolaus auf einem Schimmel geritten kommt und als Patron der Schiffer gilt."