Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 7, 1896.djvu/334

306 opened for the operation. Dr. Mead contributed an interesting paper to the Proceedings of the Somersetshire Archæological and Natural History Society for 1892 (pp. 362 seqq.) on the superstition, from which I add the following account of the manner in which the rite is performed in the neighbourhood of Bishop's Lydear :

"First of all a ground ash-tree must be selected—a maiden ash—a tree which had grown up without ever having been topped or cut. The tree must be sufficiently large to allow the child to be passed through a longitudinal fissure, formed by partly clearing the stem and holding open the sides of the tree by suitably-applied wedges. A ligature applied to the upper end of the split would prevent its going too far. The ceremony must take place in the early morning, at the time of the rising of the sun, the preparations necessary being made in the dawn. The child must be first stripped naked and passed from east to west through the fissure, 'between the barks,' as a commonly used expression has it. A virgin must introduce the child, and a boy take him out on the other side. He should be passed feet first. I need not add that cure was assured to the patient, but under certain conditions following. Immediately after the ceremony the wedges were to be removed from the tree, when the natural elasticity of the ash would cause the sides to spring together. Further accurate adjustments must be made by the aid of bark bands and a plastering of mud or clay on the exterior. Then, if the tree grew together and flourished, as it usually did, only having been split longitudinally, cure would follow; if not, the case would remain unaltered. No prayers or incantations were indicated, and, as far as the mystery was imparted to them, any person might act as director of the ceremony."

May I venture finally to refer to The Legend of Perseus, vol. ii. p. 146, where further references will be found and a short discussion of the meaning of the rite?

As Mr. Gomme informs me that he believes the following interesting extract from the late Sir John Drummond Hay's