Page:Notes and Queries - Series 9 - Volume 5.djvu/534

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NOTES AND QUERIES. [9 th s. v. JUNE so, im

Is he thinking of the gruesome witches'

caldron in 'Macbeth,' IV. i. 1

Pour in sow's blood, that hath eaten

Her nine farrow, grease that 's sweaten, &c.

Shelley alters the sense in the account of the ghastly wares of the Trodelhexe. Con- fusing lustig with luftig, he can make nothing of the line

Hier ist's so lustig, wie im Prater. Finally, an erudite German friend pointed out to me that Shelley makes a grave error in translating two lines in the 'Prolog im Himmel ' :

Wenn ich zu meinem Zweck gelange, Erlaubt ihr mir Triumph aus voller Brust.

The error lies in the italicized words : And if I lose, then 'tis your turn to crow, Enjoy your triumph then with a full breast.

FRANCIS P. MARCHANT. Brixton Hill.

The following passage, which occurs in Dr. Louis Robinson's ' Wild Traits in Tame Animals,' will interest your correspondents :

'* [The] independence and sang-froid of the goat have proved ot service to its masters on many occa- sions. It used to be the custom in almost all stables containing a number of valuable horses to keep a goat, which was allowed the free run of the building. The reason given was that in the case of tire, when terrified horses will sometimes refuse to leave the stables, and are therefore in great danger of perishing, such a goat will lead the way with the most perfect calmness, and, encouraged by this ex- ample, the bewildered horses will follow it and so escape destruction. I do not know personally of any instance where this has taken place, but the commonness of the custom asserts that it has pro- bably been justified by the experience. There seems to be something about a goat's imperturbable character which inspires confidence and respect in other animals. 1 have known butchers who have kept goats in order to entice victims into their slaughter yards. Usually as soon as an ox smells the taint of blood he becomes suspicious and refuses to go further, but if preceded by a goat he will follow quietly to the place of execution, in like manner, specially trained goats are constantly used on the ships which bring sheep from abroad. At the unloading places on the Thames these decoy goats become very clever at their business. They will proceed to each part of the ship where sheep are penned, and lead forth the huddled and frightened passengers with very little guidance from their masters, and they will proceed in this way in the most methodical manner until the whole ship is cleared." Pp. 185, 186.

ST. SWITHIN.

There is, I think, a general feeling amongst old-fashioned cattle -men in America that the goat is a preventive of disease. While farming in Virginia some years ago I lost a large number of cattle from the Texan cattle fever, and, after trying a number of remedies, was strongly advised to put half a dozen goats

amongst the herd. I did this, but though I lost fewer cattle that year, I am unable to say whether the goats had anything to do with it. I think, however, that it is a fact that these animals do eat certain herbs which would be very injurious to cattle, and they certainly are themselves impervious to diseases which prove fatal to sheep as well as cattle, for i have seen them apparently flourishing in pastures so infected with fever that all the cattle have died off them after only a few weeks' pasturing.

FREDERICK T. HIBGAME.

The goats were friends of the devil and the witches. In the Walpurgis Night scene in Goethe's 'Faust' some of the witches are mounted on goats. It is possible that goats are placed amongst other cattle because the witches will not hurt animals which are under the protection of their friends. Goats may keep diseases from farmyards for the same reason, since witches are thought to give diseases to animals. If the he-goat, that is hung up in order to ensure a favour- able wind, is alive, it may be that he is so hung up for the purpose of keeping off the witches, who have power over the winds, for they would not hurt the goat. That witches are supposed to have power of raising tempests is well known. The Lapland witches had a cord with three knots in it, whereby they raised the wind. To untie one knot raised a breeze, two a gale, and three a tempest. The cord is somewhat similar to the bag which ^Eolus gave to Ulysses. That witches had power over the winds may be seen in ' Macbeth ' and elsewhere.

As I am writing again, I make a remark which I should not have troubled you with otherwise. A word in my former letter on this subject is printed "Typhceus." I was negligent, and omitted the diseresis. Con- sequently, as might be expected, the two vowels were printed as a diphthong ; but I did not mean that they should be printed so. The right word is Typhoeus. The o is an omega. E. YARDLEY.

Most of the large dairy farmers in the south of England have a donkey or goat to graze with the herd. The practice is avowedly pursued with the view of checking the tendency of cows to drop their calves prematurely. As to the causa causans, I have never ascertained anything satisfactory.

STAFFORD FAMILY (9 th S. v. 316). The early writs of the Stafford family describe them as " barons." The writs of the Grey- stock family are the same. These are excep-