Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 8, 1897.djvu/116

92 the old man above mentioned is a native of South Staffordshire, his wife, who equally adheres to it, comes from the north of the county, where I must say I never heard of it. They are agricultural not industrial people; but I am inclined to think the idea about the Bible comes from the industrial population, among whom the daughter who advised it has married; for the rest of the family did not seem to be anxious on the point. The bride's Cheltenham acquaintance urged her to take a child with her to church for luck; and as she did not take the advice, I observed that two women took their own little daughters to see the ceremony, evidently to put matters straight!

An old woman living at Killiechonan on Loch Rannoch gave me the following particulars as to the cure of human beings or cattle "overlooked" by the Evil Eye. Draw water between sunset and sunrise from a stream crossing a public road which has been passed over by the living and the dead. Put a piece of silver in the water and pour it over the person or animal you desire to cure in the name of the Trinity. If the sickness has been caused by the Evil Eye the silver will stick to the bottom of the vessel. My informant said she had frequently used the charm herself, and that in her younger days some people possessed magic stones which were employed instead of the silver piece.

Cheshunt Park, Herts.

The wife of a Scottish clergyman in Berwickshire, writing on the 26th December, 1895, says: "To-morrow my husband will have to drive into the country four miles to marry a couple at 7.30 p.m. The last Friday of the year is a favourite day with the common people."