Page:Journal of American Folklore vol. 12.djvu/585

 Bibliographica I Notes. 237

on certain points of primitive belief, common in a measure to ancient Eu- rope, but which have survived more completely in an isolated country. Gaelic peasants, as the collector observes in his preface, are surrounded by a region of mystery, peopled with beings divided into good and bad, there being no intermediate class. These spiritual personages are continually passing and repassing, especially at night ; some of them are evil-disposed, and will work harm unless their influence is guarded against by certain rules or rites. Some individuals on this earth are supposed to be in com- munication with the " bad class " of the mystic world, and in this connec- tion red-haired people are especially suspected. In the dark it is neces- sary to accompany a friend who may be leaving the house as far as a running stream, which acts as a barrier to everything bad. A sick cow is supposed to have been " shot," and is treated by making the sign of the cross on her sides and nostrils, and by measuring with arm from elbow to finger-point, proceeding from tail to horns. If the cure is to succeed, the third measurement will be the shortest. If the remedy fails, it is necessary to give the animal to St. Martin ; such a cow so given is consecrated by a nick in the ear, and should be killed and eaten at a feast on the eve of the saint, it may be years afterwards. In the north of Ireland the usage is not so strict, and cows may be seen at fairs whose ears have repeatedly been incised and whose value is thereby lowered. Dead relatives are believed to spend their nights in their old home, and, since the presence of mortals would exclude the ghosts, for this purpose it is usual to retire before twelve, to tidy the hearth, and to arrange the stools in a semicircle for the guests. After midnight a traveller is in danger of being carried off by the " wee folk," among whom are taken to be the souls of the departed, and who at this hour may be encountered marching in procession with music. On St. Bridget's Eve it is customary to bring in St. Bridget's mantle, which is a rag previously placed in a bush outside the house. The formula is : " Go ye on your knees, and close ye your eyes, and -let Blessed Bridget in." Those within comply with the request, and on the third repetition cry out simultaneously, " Come in, come in, and welcome." A piece of the "mantle" is then bestowed on every one of the family, and must be kept twelve months for luck. The mashed potatoes, in which a hole has been made for the melted butter, are then eaten. The bush in this case may be presumed to be holy, seeing that tree worship survives in the honor paid to particular bushes looked on as sacred to sheeogs or fairies, and which no Irish peasant would destroy or injure. In one case such a " fairy bush " grew in the way of a wall to be built along the shore road in Spiddal, county Galway ; no inducements would move the workmen to re- move the bush, and it was finally left undisturbed, in a niche made for the purpose. The stones of certain cairns are also sacred to the "wee folk," as the fairies are called. The practice of sacrifice to fairies continues in force The first drops of a cow's milk must be dropped on the ground ; the smuggler gives the fairies the first and best part of his liquor, and failure in such present is sure to be followed by disaster, while in case of a proper offering he will be warned against the approach of the revenue officers.

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