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diff --git a/old/56034-8.txt b/old/56034-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index a5a2c2a..0000000 --- a/old/56034-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,8670 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Folklore of Scottish Lochs and Springs, by -James M. Mackinlay - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: Folklore of Scottish Lochs and Springs - -Author: James M. Mackinlay - -Release Date: November 22, 2017 [EBook #56034] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FOLKLORE OF SCOTTISH LOCHS *** - - - - -Produced by Jeroen Hellingman and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net/ for Project -Gutenberg (This file was produced from images generously -made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) - - - - - - - - - - FOLKLORE OF SCOTTISH LOCHS AND SPRINGS. - - BY - - JAMES M. MACKINLAY, M.A., F.S.A.Scot. - - GLASGOW: WILLIAM HODGE & Co. - 1893. - - - - - - - - -PREFATORY NOTE. - - -No work giving a comprehensive account of Well-worship in Scotland -has yet appeared. Mr. R. C. Hope's recent volume, "Holy Wells: Their -Legends and Traditions," discusses the subject in its relation to -England. In the following pages an attempt has been made to illustrate -the more outstanding facts associated with the cult north of the -Tweed. Various holy wells are referred to by name; but the list makes -no claim to be exhaustive. - - -J. M. M. - -4 Westbourne Gardens, -Glasgow, December, 1893. - - - - - - - - -CONTENTS. - - - CHAP. PAGE - - I. Worship of Water, 1 - II. How Water became Holy, 24 - III. Saints and Springs, 39 - IV. More Saints and Springs, 56 - V. Stone Blocks and Saints' Springs, 72 - VI. Healing and Holy Wells, 86 - VII. Water-Cures, 108 - VIII. Some Wonderful Wells, 128 - IX. Witness of Water, 140 - X. Water-Spirits, 155 - XI. More Water-Spirits, 171 - XII. Offerings at Lochs and Springs, 188 - XIII. Weather and Wells, 213 - XIV. Trees and Springs, 230 - XV. Charm-Stones in and out of Water, 241 - XVI. Pilgrimages to Wells, 263 - XVII. Sun-Worship and Well-Worship, 280 - XVIII. Wishing-Wells, 314 - XIX. Meaning of Marvels, 324 - - - - - - - - -Among the works consulted are the following, the titles being given -in alphabetical order:-- - - -A Description of the Western Islands of Scotland. By John MacCulloch, -M.D. 1819. - -A Description of the Western Islands. By M. Martin. Circa 1695. - -A Handbook of Weather Folklore. By the Rev. C. Swainson, M.A. - -A Historical Account of the belief in Witchcraft in Scotland. By -Charles Kirkpatrick Sharpe. - -A Journey through the Western Counties of Scotland. By Robert -Heron. 1799. - -Ancient Legends: Mystic Charms and Superstitions of Ireland. By -Lady Wilde. - -An Etymological Dictionary of the Scottish Language. By John Jamieson, -D.D. - -Annals of Dunfermline and Vicinity. By Ebenezer Henderson, LL.D. - -Antiquities and Scenery of the North of Scotland. By Rev. Charles -Cordiner. 1780. - -Archæological Sketches in Scotland: Districts of Kintyre and -Knapdale. By Captain T. P. White. - -A Tour in Scotland and Voyage to the Hebrides, MDCCLXXII. By Thomas -Pennant. - -A Tour in Scotland, MDCCLXIX. By Thomas Pennant. - -Britannia; or, A Chorographical Description of the Flourishing Kingdoms -of England, Scotland, and Ireland, and the Islands adjacent, from the -Earliest Antiquity. By William Camden. Translated from the edition -published by the Author in MDCVII. Enlarged by the latest discoveries -by Richard Gough. The second edition in four volumes. 1806. - -Celtic Heathendom. By Professor John Rhys. - -Celtic Scotland: A History of Ancient Alban. By William Forbes Skene. - -Churchlore Gleanings. By T. F. Thiselton Dyer. - -Daemonologie in Forme of a Dialogve. Written by the High and Mightie -Prince James, by the Grace of God King of England, Scotland, France, -and Ireland; Defender of the Faith. 1603. - -Descriptive Notices of some of the Ancient Parochial and Collegiate -Churches of Scotland. By T. S. Muir. - -Domestic Annals of Scotland from the Reformation to the Revolution. By -Robert Chambers, LL.D. - -Ecclesiological Notes on some of the Islands of Scotland. By -T. S. Muir. - -English Folklore. By the Rev. T. F. Thiselton Dyer, M.A. - -Essays in the Study of Folk Songs. By the Countess Evelyn -Martinengo-Cesaresco. - -Ethnology in Folklore. By G. L. Gomme. - -Folklore. - -Folklore Journal. - -Folklore of East Yorkshire. By John Nicholson. - -Folklore of Shakespeare. By Rev. T. F. Thiselton Dyer, M.A. Oxon. - -Folklore; or, Superstitious Beliefs in the West of Scotland within -this Century. By James Napier, F.R.S.E. - -Gairloch in North-west Ross-shire: Its Records, Traditions, -Inhabitants, and Natural History. By John H. Dixon. - -Historical and Statistical Account of Dunfermline. By Rev. Peter -Chalmers, A.M. - -Kalendars of Scottish Saints. By the late Alexander Penrose Forbes, -Bishop of Brechin. - -Letters from a Gentleman in the North of Scotland to his Friend in -London. Burt's Letters. 1754. - -List of Markets and Fairs now and formerly held in Scotland. By Sir -James David Marwick, LL.D. - -Memorabilia Domestica; or, Parish Life in the North of Scotland. By -the late Rev. Donald Sage, A.M., Minister of Resolis. - -New Statistical Account of Scotland. Circa 1845. - -Notes and Queries. - -Notes on the Folklore of the North-east of Scotland. By the Rev. Walter -Gregor. - -Notes on the Folklore of the Northern Counties of England and the -Borders. By William Henderson. - -Observations on Popular Antiquities, including the whole of -Mr. Bourne's Antiquitates Vulgares. By John Brand, A.M. - -Old Glasgow: The Place and the People. By Andrew MacGeorge. - -Old Scottish Customs, Local and General. By E. J. Guthrie. - -Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland. Edited by Francis H. Groome. - -Peasant Life in Sweden. By L. Lloyd. - -Popular Antiquities of Great Britain. By John Brand, M.A. - -Popular Romances of the West of England. By Robert Hunt, F.R.S. - -Popular Tales of the West Highlands. By J. F. Campbell. - -Pre-historic Annals of Scotland. By Daniel Wilson, LL.D. - -Pre-historic Man. By Daniel Wilson, LL.D. - -Primitive Culture. By Edward B. Tylor, D.C.L. - -Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. Old Series, -1851-1878; New Series, 1878-1891. - -Rambles in the Far North. By R. Menzies Fergusson. - -Scenes and Legends of the North of Scotland; or, The Traditional -History of Cromarty. By Hugh Miller. - -Scotland in Early Christian Times. By Joseph Anderson, LL.D. - -Scotland in Pagan Times: The Bronze and Iron Ages. By Joseph Anderson, -LL.D. - -Scotland in the Middle Ages. By Professor Cosmo Innes. - -Social Life in Scotland. By Charles Rogers, LL.D. - -Statistical Account of Scotland. By Sir John Sinclair. Circa 1798. - -The Antiquary. - -The Archæological Journal. Published under the direction of The Council -of the Royal Archæological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland. - -The Book of Days: A Miscellany of Popular Antiquities in connection -with the Calendar. Edited by R. Chambers. - -The Darker Superstitions of Scotland. By John Graham Dalyell. 1834. - -The Early Scottish Church: Ecclesiastical History of Scotland from -the First to the Twelfth Centuries. By the Rev. Thomas M'Lauchlan. - -The Every-Day Book. By William Hone. - -The Folklore of Plants. By T. F. Thiselton Dyer. - -The Gentleman's Magazine Library--Manners and Customs. Edited by -G. L. Gomme, F.S.A. - -The Gentleman's Magazine Library--Popular Superstitions. Edited by -G. L. Gomme, F.S.A. - -The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion. By J. G. Frazer, -M.A. - -The History of St. Cuthbert. By Charles, Archbishop of Glasgow. - -The History of St. Kilda. By the Rev. Kenneth Macaulay, minister of -Ardnamurchan. 1769. - -The Legendary Lore of the Holy Wells of England, including Rivers, -Lakes, Fountains, and Springs. By R. C. Hope, F.S.A. - -The Origin of Civilisation. By Sir J. Lubbock, Bart. - -The Past in the Present. By Arthur Mitchell, M.D., LL.D. - -The Popular Rhymes of Scotland. By Robert Chambers. 1826. - -The Popular Superstitions and Festive Amusements of the Highlanders -of Scotland. By William Grant Stewart. - -The Surnames and Placenames of the Isle of Man. By A. W. Moore, M.A. - -Traditions, Superstitions, and Folklore (chiefly Lancashire and the -North of England). By Charles Hardwick. - -Tree and Serpent Worship. By James Fergusson, D.C.L., F.R.S. - -'Twixt Ben Nevis and Glencoe: The Natural History, Legends, and -Folklore of the West Highlands. By the Rev. Alexander Stewart, LL.D. - -Unique Traditions, chiefly of the West and South of Scotland. By John -Gordon Barbour. - -Wayfaring in France. By E. H. Barker. - -Weather-lore: A Collection of Proverbs, Sayings, and Rules concerning -the Weather. By R. Inwards, F.R.A.S. - -Witch, Warlock, and Magician. By W. H. Davenport Adams. - - - - - - - - -FOLKLORE OF SCOTTISH LOCHS AND SPRINGS. - - -CHAPTER I. - -WORSHIP OF WATER. - - Archaic Nature-worship--Deification of Water Metaphors--Divination - by Water--Persistence of Paganism--Shony--Superstitions of Sailors - and Fishermen--Sea Serpent--Mer-folk--Sea Charms--Taking Animals - into the Sea--Rescuing from Drowning--Ancient Beliefs about - Rivers--Dead and Living Ford--Clay Image--Dunskey--Lakes--Dow - Loch--St. Vigeans--St. Tredwell's Loch--Wells of Spey - and Drachaldy--Survival of Well-worship--Disappearance of - Springs--St. Margaret's Well--Anthropomorphism of Springs--Celtic - Influence--Cream of the Well. - - -In glancing at the superstitions connected with Scottish lochs and -springs, we are called upon to scan a chapter of our social history -not yet closed. A somewhat scanty amount of information is available -to explain the origin and growth of such superstitions, but enough can -be had to connect them with archaic nature-worship. In the dark dawn -of our annals much confusion existed among our ancestors concerning -the outer world, which so strongly appealed to their senses. They -had very vague notions regarding the difference between what we now -call the Natural and the Supernatural. Indeed all nature was to them -supernatural. They looked on sun, moon, and star, on mountain and -forest, on river, lake, and sea as the abodes of divinities, or even -as divinities themselves. These divinities, they thought, could either -help or hurt man, and ought therefore to be propitiated. Hence sprang -certain customs which have survived to our own time. Men knocked at -the gate of Nature, but were not admitted within. From the unknown -recesses there came to them only tones of mystery. - -In ancient times water was deified even by such civilised nations as -the Greeks and Romans, and to-day it is revered as a god by untutored -savages. Sir John Lubbock, in his "Origin of Civilisation," shows, by -reference to the works of travellers, what a hold this cult still has -in regions where the natives have not yet risen above the polytheistic -stage of religious development. Dr. E. B. Tylor forcibly remarks, in -his "Primitive Culture," "What ethnography has to teach of that great -element of the religion of mankind, the worship of well and lake, brook -and river, is simply this--that what is poetry to us was philosophy -to early man; that to his mind water acted not by laws of force, but -by life and will; that the water-spirits of primæval mythology are -as souls which cause the water's rush and rest, its kindness and its -cruelty; that, lastly, man finds in the beings which, with such power, -can work him weal and woe, deities with a wider influence over his -life, deities to be feared and loved, to be prayed to and praised, -and propitiated with sacrificial gifts." - -In speaking of inanimate objects, we often ascribe life to them; -but our words are metaphors, and nothing more. At an earlier time -such phrases expressed real beliefs, and were not simply the outcome -of a poetic imagination. Keats, in one of his Sonnets, speaks of - - - "The moving waters at their priest-like task - Of pure ablution round Earth's human shore." - - -Here he gives us the poetical and not the actual interpretation of -a natural phenomenon. - -We may, if we choose, talk of the worship of water as a creed outworn, -but it is still with us, though under various disguises. Under the form -of rites of divination practised as an amusement by young persons, such -survivals often conceal their real origin. The history of superstition -teaches us with what persistence pagan beliefs hold their ground -in the midst of a Christian civilisation. Martin, who visited the -Western Islands at the close of the seventeenth century, found how -true this was in many details of daily life. A custom connected with -ancient sea-worship had been popular among the inhabitants of Lewis -till about thirty-years before his visit, but had been suppressed -by the Protestant clergy on account of its pagan character. This was -an annual sacrifice at Hallow-tide to a sea god called Shony. Martin -gives the following account of the ceremony:--"The inhabitants round -the island came to the church of St. Mulvay, having each man his -provision along with him; every family furnished a peck of malt, and -this was brewed into ale; one of their number was picked out to wade -into the sea up to the middle, and, carrying a cup of ale in his hand, -standing still in that posture, cried out with a loud voice, saying, -'Shony, I give you this cup of ale, hoping that you'll be so kind as -to send us plenty of sea-ware for enriching our ground the ensuing -year,' and so threw the cup of ale into the sea. This was performed -in the night-time." - -Sailors and fishermen still cherish superstitions of their own. Majesty -is not the only feature of the changeful ocean that strikes them. They -are keenly alive to its mystery and to the possibilities of life -within its depths. Strange creatures have their home there, the mighty -sea serpent and the less formidable mermen and mermaidens. Among -the Shetland islands mer-folk were recognised denizens of the sea, -and were known by the name of Sea-trows. - -These singular beings dwelt in the caves of ocean, and came up -to disport themselves on the shores of the islands. A favourite -haunt of theirs was the Ve Skerries, about seven miles north-west -of Papa-Stour. They usually rose through the water in the shape of -seals, and when they reached the beach they slipped off their skins -and appeared like ordinary mortals, the females being of exceeding -beauty. If the skins could be snatched away on these occasions, their -owners were powerless to escape into the sea again. Sometimes these -creatures were entangled in the nets of fishermen or were caught by -hooks. If they were shot when in seal form, a tempest arose as soon -as their blood was mingled with the water of the sea. A family living -within recent times was believed to be descended from a human father -and a mermaid mother, the man having captured his bride by stealing her -seal's skin. After some years spent on land this sea lady recovered -her skin, and at once returned to her native element. The members of -the family were said to have hands bearing some resemblance to the -forefeet of a seal. - -"Of all the old mythological existences of Scotland," remarks Hugh -Miller, in his "Scenes and Legends of the North of Scotland," "there -was none with whom the people of Cromarty were better acquainted than -with the mermaid. Thirty years have not yet gone by since she has -been seen by moonlight sitting on a stone in the sea, a little to the -east of the town; and scarcely a winter passed, forty years earlier, -in which she was not heard singing among the rocks or seen braiding -up her long yellow tresses on the shore." - -The magical power ascribed to the sea is shown in an Orcadian witch -charm used in the seventeenth century. The charm had to do with the -churning of butter. Whoever wished to take advantage of it watched on -the beach till nine waves rolled in. At the reflux of the last the -charmer took three handfuls of water from the sea and carried them -home in a pail. If this water was put into the churn there would be -a plentiful supply of butter. Sea water was also used for curative -purposes, the patient being dipped after sunset. This charm was thought -to savour strongly of the black art. Allusion has been made above to -the rising of a storm in connection with the wounding of a sea-trow -in Shetland. According to an Orcadian superstition, the sea began -to swell whenever anyone with a piece of iron about him stept upon a -certain rock at the Noup Head of Westray. Not till the offending metal -was thrown into the water did the sea become calm again. Wallace, -a minister at Kirkwall towards the end of the seventeenth century, -mentions this belief in his "Description of the Isles of Orkney," -and says that he offered a man a shilling to try the experiment, -but the offer was refused. It does not seem to have occurred to him -to make the experiment himself. - -Among the ancient Romans the bull was sacred to Neptune, the sea -god, and was sacrificed in his honour. In our own country we find a -suggestion of the same rite, though in a modified form, in the custom -prevailing at one time of leading animals into the sea on certain -festivals. In the parish of Clonmany in Ireland it was formerly -customary on St. Columba's Day, the ninth of June, to drive cattle -to the beach and swim them in the sea near to where the water from -the Saint's well flowed in. In Scotland horses seem at one time to -have undergone a similar treatment at Lammas-tide. Dalyell, in his -"Darker Superstitions of Scotland," mentions that "in July, 1647, -the kirk-session of St. Cuthbert's Church, Edinburgh, resolved on -intimating publicly 'that non goe to Leith on Lambmes-day, nor tak -their horses to be washed that day in the sea.'" - -A belief at one time existed that it was unlucky to rescue a drowning -man from the grasp of the sea. This superstition is referred to by -Sir Walter Scott in "The Pirate," in the scene where Bryce the pedlar -warns Mordaunt against saving a shipwrecked sailor. "Are you mad," -said the pedlar, "you that have lived sae lang in Zetland, to risk the -saving of a drowning man? Wot ye not, if you bring him to life again, -he will be sure to do you some capital injury?" We discover the key -to this strange superstition in the idea entertained by savages that -the person falling into the water becomes the prey of the monster -or demon inhabiting that element; and, as Dr. Tylor aptly remarks, -"to save a sinking man is to snatch a victim from the very clutches -of the water-spirit--a rash defiance of deity which would hardly -pass unavenged." - -Folklore thus brings us face to face with beliefs which owe their -origin to the primitive worship of the sea. It also allows us to catch -a glimpse of rivers, lakes, and springs as these were regarded by our -distant ancestors. When we remember that, according to a barbaric -notion, the current of a stream flows down along one bank and up -along the other, we need not be surprised that very crude fancies -concerning water at one time flourished in our land. - -Even to us, with nineteenth-century science within reach, how -mysterious a river seems, as, in the quiet gloaming or in the grey -dawn, it glides along beneath overhanging trees, and how full of -life it is when, swollen by rain, it rushes forward in a resistless -flood! How much more awe-inspiring it must have been to men ignorant -of the commonest laws of Nature! Well might its channel be regarded as -the home of a spirit eager to waylay and destroy the too-venturesome -passer-by. Rivers, however, were not always reckoned the enemies of -man, for experience showed that they were helpful, as well as hurtful, -to him. The Tiber, for instance, was regarded with reverence by the -ancient inhabitants of Rome. Who does not remember the scene in one -of Macaulay's Lays, where, after the bridge has been hewn down to -block the passage of Lars Porsena and his host, the valiant Horatius -exclaims-- - - - "O Tiber! father Tiber! - To whom the Romans pray; - A Roman's life, a Roman's arms, - Take thou in charge this day?" - - -Then with his harness on his back he plunges headlong into the flood, -and reaches the other side in safety. - -In Christian art pagan symbolism continued long to flourish. Proof -of this bearing on the present subject is to be found in a mosaic at -Ravenna, of the sixth century, representing the baptism of Christ. The -water flows from an inverted urn, held by a venerable figure typifying -the river god of the Jordan, with reeds growing beside his head, -and snakes coiling around it. - -In our own country healing virtue was attributed to water taken -from what was called a dead and living ford, i.e., a ford where the -dead were carried and the living walked across. The same belief was -entertained with regard to the water of a south-running stream. The -patient had to go to the spot and drink the water and wash himself in -it. Sometimes his shirt was taken by another, and, after being dipped -in the south-running stream, was brought back and put wet upon him. A -wet shirt was also used as a Hallowe'en charm to foretell its owner's -matrimonial future. The left sleeve of the shirt was to be dipped -in a river where "three lairds' lands met." It was then to be hung -up overnight before the fire. If certain rules were attended to, the -figure of the future spouse would appear and turn the sleeve in order -to dry the other side. In the Highlands the water of a stream was used -for purposes of sorcery till quite lately. When any one wished evil to -another he made a clay image of the person to be injured, and placed -it in a stream with the head of the image against the current. It was -believed that, as the clay was dissolved by the water, the health of -the person represented would decline. The spell, however, would be -broken if the image was discovered and removed from the stream. In -the counties of Sutherland and Ross the practice survived till within -the last few years. Near Dunskey, in the parish of Portpatrick, -Wigtownshire, is a stream which, at the end of last century, was much -resorted to by the credulous for its health-giving properties. Visits -were usually paid to it at the change of the moon. It was deemed -specially efficacious in the case of rickety children, whose malady was -then ascribed to witchcraft. The patients were washed in the stream, -and then taken to an adjoining cave, where they were dried. - -In modern poetry a river is frequently alluded to under the name of -its presiding spirit. Thus, in "Comus," Milton introduces Sabrina, -a gentle nymph, - - - "That with moist curb sways the smooth Severn stream," - - -and tells us that - - - "The shepherds at their festivals - Carol her goodness loud in rustic lays, - And throw sweet garland wreaths into her stream - Of pansies, pinks, and gaudy daffodils." - - -Lakes have always held an important place in legendary lore. Lord -Tennyson has made us familiar with the part played by the Lady of the -Lake in Arthurian romance. Readers of the Idylls will recollect it -was she who gave to the king the jewelled sword Excalibur, and who, -on the eve of his passing, received it again. The wounded Arthur thus -addresses Sir Bedivere:-- - - - "Thou rememberest how, - In those old days, one summer morn, an arm - Rose up from out the bosom of the lake - Clothed in white samite, mystic, wonderful, - Holding the sword--and how I row'd across - And took it, and have worn it, like a king." - - -Scottish lochs form a striking feature in the landscape, and must have -been still more fitted to arrest attention in ancient times when our -land was more densely wooded than it is now. Dr. Hugh Macmillan, -in his "Holidays on High Lands," alludes to the differences in -the appearance of our lochs. "There are moorland tarns," he says, -"sullen and motionless as lakes of the dead, lying deep in sunless -rifts, where the very ravens build no nests, and where no trace of -life or vegetation is seen--associated with many a wild tradition, -accidents of straying feet, the suicide of love, guilt, despair. And -there are lochs beautiful in themselves and gathering around them -a world of beauty; their shores fringed with the tasselled larch; -their shallows tesselated with the broad green leaves and alabaster -chalices of the water-lily, and their placid depths mirroring the -crimson gleam of the heather hills and the golden clouds overhead." - -Near the top of Mealfourvounie, in Inverness-shire, is a small lake -at one time believed to be unfathomable. How this notion arose it -is difficult to say, for when soundings were taken the depth was -found to be inconsiderable. In the parish of Penpont, Dumfriesshire, -about a mile to the south of Drumlanrig, is a small sheet of water -called the Dow, or Dhu Loch, i.e., Black Loch. Till towards the -end of last century the spot was much frequented for its healing -water. A personal visit was not essential. When a deputy was sent -he had to bring a portion of the invalid's clothing and throw it -over his left shoulder into the loch. He then took up some water in a -vessel which he carefully kept from touching the ground. After turning -himself round sun-ways he carried the water home. The charm would be -broken if he looked back or spoke to anyone by the way. Among the -people of the district it was a common saying, when anyone did not -respond to the greeting of a passer-by, that he had been at the Dow -Loch. Pilgrimages to the loch seem to have been specially popular -towards the close of the seventeenth century, for in the year 1695 -the Presbytery of Penpont consulted the Synod of Dumfries about the -superstitious practices then current. The Synod, in response to the -appeal, recommended the clergy of the district to denounce from their -pulpits such observances as heathenish in character. There were persons -still alive in the beginning of the present century who had seen the -offerings, left by the pilgrims, floating on the loch or lying on -its margin. To the passer-by, ignorant of the superstitious custom, -it might seem that a rather untidy family washing was in progress. - -The Church of St. Vigeans, in Forfarshire, is well known to -antiquaries in connection with its interesting sculptured stones. An -old tradition relates that the materials for the building were -carried by a water-kelpie, and that the foundations were laid on -large bars of iron. Underneath the structure was said to be a deep -lake. The tradition further relates that the kelpie prophesied that -an incumbent of the church would commit suicide, and that, on the -occasion of the first communion after, the church would sink into the -lake. At the beginning of the eighteenth century the minister of the -parish did commit suicide, and so strong was the superstition that -the sacramental rite was not observed till 1736. In connection with -the event several hundred people took up a position on a neighbouring -rising ground to watch what would happen. These spectators have passed -away, but the church remains. - -St. Tredwell's Loch in Papa-Westray, Orkney, was at one time very -famous, partly from its habit of turning red whenever anything -striking was about to happen to a member of the Royal Family, and -partly from its power to work cures. On a small headland on the east -of the loch are still to be seen the ruins of St. Tredwell's Chapel, -measuring twenty-nine feet by twenty-two, with walls fully four feet -in thickness. On the floor-level about thirty copper coins were found -some years ago, the majority of them being of the reign of Charles the -Second. At the door of the chapel there was at one time a large heap -of stones, made up of contributions from those who came to pay their -vows there. Mr. R. M. Fergusson, in his "Rambles in the Far North," -gives the following particulars about the loch:--"In olden times the -diseased and infirm people of the North Isles were wont to flock to -this place and get themselves cured by washing in its waters. Many -of them walked round the shore two or three times before entering the -loch itself to perfect by so doing the expected cure. When a person was -engaged in this perambulation nothing would induce him to utter a word, -for, if he spoke, the waters of this holy loch would lave his diseased -body in vain. After the necessary ablutions were performed they never -departed without leaving behind them some piece of cloth or bread as -a gift to the presiding genius of the place. In the beginning of the -eighteenth century popular belief in this water was as strong as ever." - -Superstitions had a vigorous life last century. Pennant, who made -his first tour in Scotland in 1769, mentions that the wells of Spey -and Drachalday, in Moray, were then much visited, coins and rags -being left at them as offerings. Nowadays holy wells are probably -far from the thoughts of persons living amid the stir and bustle -of city life, but in rural districts, where old customs linger, -they are not yet forgotten. In the country, amidst the sights and -sounds of nature, men are prone to cherish the beliefs and ways -of their forefathers. Practices born in days of darkness thus live -on into an era of greater enlightenment. "The adoration of wells," -remarks Sir Arthur Mitchell in his "Past in the Present," "may be -encountered in all parts of Scotland from John o' Groats to the -Mull of Galloway," and he adds, "I have seen at least a dozen wells -in Scotland which have not ceased to be worshipped." "Nowadays," he -continues, "the visitors are comparatively few, and those who go are -generally in earnest. They have a serious object which they desire -to attain. That object is usually the restoration to health of some -poor little child--some 'back-gane bairn.' Indeed the cure of sick -children is a special virtue of many of these wells. Anxious mothers -make long journeys to some well of fame, and early in the morning -of the 1st of May bathe the little invalid in its waters, then drop -an offering into them by the hands of the child--usually a pebble, -but sometimes a coin--and attach a bit of the child's dress to a bush -or tree growing by the side of the well. The rags we see fastened to -such bushes have often manifestly been torn from the dresses of young -children. Part of a bib or little pinafore tells the sad story of a -sorrowing mother and a suffering child, and makes the heart grieve -that nothing better than a visit to one of these wells had been found -to relieve the sorrow and remove the suffering." Mr. Campbell of Islay -bears witness to the same fact. In his "Tales of the West Highlands" -he says, "Holy healing wells are common all over the Highlands, -and people still leave offerings of pins and nails and bits of rag, -though few would confess it. There is a well in Islay where I myself -have, after drinking, deposited copper caps amongst a hoard of pins -and buttons and similar gear placed in chinks in the rocks and trees -at the edge of the 'Witches' well.'" - -A striking testimony to the persistence of faith in such wells -is borne by Mr. J. R. Walker in volume v. (new series) of the -"Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland," where he -describes an incident that he himself witnessed about ten years ago -on the outskirts of Edinburgh. Mr. Walker writes, "While walking in -the Queen's Park about sunset, I casually passed St. Anthony's Well, -and had my attention attracted by the number of people about it, -all simply quenching their thirst, some probably with a dim idea -that they would reap some benefit from the draught. Standing a little -apart, however, and evidently patiently waiting a favourable moment -to present itself for their purpose, was a group of four. Feeling -somewhat curious as to their intention I quietly kept myself in the -background, and by-and-by was rewarded. The crowd departed and the -group came forward, consisting of two old women, a younger woman -of about thirty, and a pale sickly-looking girl--a child three or -four years old. Producing cups from their pockets, the old women -dipped them in the pool, filled them, and drank the contents. A -full cup was then presented to the younger woman and another to -the child. Then one of the old women produced a long linen bandage, -dipped it in the water, wrung it, dipped it in again, and then wound -it round the child's head, covering the eyes, the youngest woman, -evidently the mother of the child, carefully observing the operation -and weeping gently all the time. The other old woman not engaged in -this work was carefully filling a clear glass bottle with the water, -evidently for future use. Then, after the principal operators had -looked at each other with an earnest and half solemn sort of look, -the party wended its way carefully down the hill." - -Agricultural improvements, particularly within the present century, -have done much to abolish the adoration of wells. In many cases ancient -springs have ceased to exist through draining operations. In the -parish of Urquhart, Elginshire, a priory was founded in 1125. Towards -the end of last century the site was converted into an arable -field. The name of Abbey Well, given to the spring whence the monks -drew water, long kept alive the memory of the priory; but in recent -times the well itself was filled up. St. Mary's Well, at Whitekirk, -in Haddingtonshire, has also ceased to be, its water having been -drained off. Near Drumakill, in Drymen parish, Dumbartonshire, there -was a famous spring dedicated to St. Vildrin. Close to it was a cross -two feet and a half in height, with the figure of the saint incised -on it. About thirty years ago, however, the relic was broken up and -used in the construction of a farmhouse, and not long after, the -well itself was drained into an adjoining stream. In the middle ages -the spring at Restalrig, near Edinburgh, dedicated to St. Margaret, -the wife of Malcolm Canmore, was a great attraction to pilgrims. The -history of the well is interesting. There is reason to believe that -it was originally sacred to the Holy Rood; and tradition connects it -with the fountain that gushed out at the spot where a certain hart -suddenly vanished from the sight of King David I. Mr. Walker, in the -volume of the "Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland" -already referred to, throws out the suggestion that the well may have -had its dedication changed in connection with the translation of Queen -Margaret's relics about 1251, on the occasion of her canonization. With -regard to the date of the structure forming the covering of the well, -Mr. Walker, as an architect, is qualified to give an opinion, and -from an examination of the mason marks on it he is inclined to think -that the building was erected about the same time as the west tower of -Holyrood Abbey Church, viz., about 1170. The late Sir Daniel Wilson, -in his "Memorials of Edinburgh in the Olden Time," gives the following -account of the structure, which, however, he by mistake describes -as octagonal instead of hexagonal:--"The building rises internally -to the height of about four and a half feet, of plain ashlar work, -with a stone ledge or seat running round seven of the sides, while the -eighth is occupied by a pointed arch which forms the entrance to the -well. From the centre of the water which fills the whole area of the -building, pure as in the days of the pious queen, a decorated pillar -rises to the same height as the walls, with grotesque gurgoils, from -which the water has originally been made to flow. Above this springs -a beautifully groined roof, presenting, with the ribs that rise from -corresponding corbels at each of the eight angles of the building, -a singularly rich effect when illuminated by the reflected light from -the water below. A few years since, this curious fountain stood by -the side of the ancient and little frequented cross-road leading -from the Abbeyhill to the village of Restalrig. A fine old elder -tree, with its knotted and furrowed branches, spread a luxuriant -covering over its grass-grown top, and a rustic little thatched -cottage stood in front of it, forming altogether a most attractive -object of antiquarian pilgrimage." The spot, however, was invaded by -the North British Railway Company, and a station was planted on the -site of the elder tree and the rustic cottage, the spring and its -Gothic covering being imbedded in the buildings. Some years later -the water disappeared, having found another channel. The structure -was taken down stone by stone and rebuilt above St. David's Spring, -on the north slope of Salisbury Crags, where it still stands. - -In cases like the above, man interfered with nature and caused the -disappearance of venerated springs. But it was not always so. In the -parish of Logierait, in Perthshire, there was a spring that took the -matter into its own hands, and withdrew from public view. This was -the spring called in Gaelic Fuaran Chad, i.e., Chad's Well. An annual -market used to be held close by in honour of the saint, on the 22nd -August. The spring was gratified and bubbled away merrily. The market, -however, was at length discontinued. In consequence Fuaran Chad took -offence, and sent in its resignation. In one instance, at least, the -belief in the efficacy of a spring survived the very existence of the -spring itself. This was so in the case of a healing well near Buckie, -in Banffshire, filled up some years ago by the tenant on whose farm -it was situated. So great was its fame that some women whose infants -were weakly went to the spot and cleared out the rubbish. Water again -filled the old basin, and there the infants were bathed. While being -carried home they fell asleep, and the result was in every way to -the satisfaction of the mothers. - -Certain characteristics of water specially recommended it as an object -of worship in primæval times. Its motion and force suggested that -it had life, and hence a soul. Men therefore imagined that by due -attention to certain rites it would prove a help to them in time of -need. What may be called the anthropomorphism of fountains has left -traces on popular superstitions. The interest taken by St. Tredwell's -Loch in the national events has been already alluded to, and other -examples will be noticed in future chapters. - -One point may be mentioned here, viz., the power possessed by wells -of removing to another place. St. Fillan's Spring, at Comrie, in -Perthshire, once took its rise on the top of the hill Dunfillan, -but tradition says that it quitted its old site for the present one, -at the foot of a rock, a quarter of a mile further south. In the -article on Comrie in the "Old Statistical Account of Scotland," -the well is described as "humbled indeed, but not forsaken." A -more striking instance of flitting is mentioned by Martin as having -occurred in the Hebrides. In his account of Islay, he says, "A mile -on the south-west side of the cave Uah Vearnag is the celebrated well -Toubir-in-Knahar, which, in the ancient language, is as much as to say, -'the well has sailed from one place to another'; for it is a received -tradition of the vulgar inhabitants of this isle, and the opposite isle -of Colonsay, that this well was first at Colonsay until an impudent -woman happened to wash her hands in it, and that immediately after, -the well, being thus abused, came in an instant to Islay, where it is -like to continue, and is ever since esteemed a catholicon for diseases -by the natives and adjacent islanders." Perhaps the instance that -puts the greatest strain on credulity is that of the spring dedicated -to St. Fergus on the hill of Knockfergan, in Banffshire. Tradition -reports that this spring came in a miraculous manner from Italy, -though how it travelled to its quiet retreat in Scotland we do not -know. There must have been some special attraction about the well, -for a market known as the Well-Market used to be held beside it every -year. On one occasion a fight took place about a cheese. In consequence -the market was transferred to the neighbouring village of Tomintoul, -where it continues to be held in August, under the same name. - -In his "Romances of the West of England," the late Mr. Robert Hunt -puts in a plea for the preservation of holy wells and other relics -of antiquity, though he allows "that it is a very common notion -amongst the peasantry that a just retribution overtakes those who -wilfully destroy monuments, such as stone circles, crosses, wells, -and the like," and he mentions the case of an old man who altered a -holy well at Boscaswell, in St. Just, and was drowned the following -day within sight of his house. Mr. Hunt is speaking of Cornish wells; -but the same is doubtless true of those north of the Tweed. Springs -that can fly through the air and go through certain other wonderful -performances can surely be trusted to look after themselves. - -In hot Eastern lands, fountains were held in special reverence. This -was to be expected, as their cooling waters were there doubly -welcome. In accounting for the presence of the cult in the temperate -zones of Europe, we do not need to trace it to the East as Lady -Wilde does in her "Ancient Legends of Ireland." "It could not have -originated," she says, "in a humid country ... where wells can be -found at every step, and sky and land are ever heavy and saturated -with moisture. It must have come from an Eastern people, wanderers in -a dry and thirsty land, where the discovery of a well seemed like the -interposition of an angel in man's behalf." In our own land there are -no districts where well-worship has held its ground so firmly as those -occupied by peoples of Celtic blood, such as Cornwall, Wales, Ireland, -the Isle of Man, and the Scottish Highlands. A curious instance of -the survival of water-worship among our Scottish peasantry was seen -in the custom of going at a very early hour on New-Year's morning -to get a pailful of water from a neighbouring spring. The maidens -of the farm had a friendly rivalry as to priority. Whoever secured -the first pailful was said to get the flower of the well, otherwise -known as the ream or cream of the well. On their way to the spring -the maidens commonly chanted the couplet-- - - - "The flower o' the well to our house gaes, - An' I'll the bonniest lad get." - - -This referred to the belief that to be first at the well was a good -omen of the maiden's matrimonial future. It is a far cry from archaic -water-worship to this New-Year's love charm, but we can traverse in -thought the road that lies between. - - - - - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -HOW WATER BECAME HOLY. - - Change from Paganism to Christianity--Columba--Spirits of - Fountains--Hurtful Wells--Stone Circles--Superstitions - regarding them--Standing Stones and Springs--Innis - Maree--Maelrubha--Influence of early Saints--Names of - Wells--Stone-coverings--Sacred Buildings and Springs--Privilege - of Sanctuary--Some Examples--Freedstoll--Preceptory of Torphichen - and St. John's Well--Cross of Macduff and Nine-wells. - - -We come next to ask how water became holy in the folklore sense of the -word. Fortunately we get a glimpse of springs at the very time when -they passed from pagan to Christian auspices. The change made certain -differences, but did not take away their miraculous powers. We get this -glimpse in the pages of Adamnan, St. Columba's biographer, who narrates -an incident in connection with the saint's missionary work among the -Picts in the latter half of the sixth century. Adamnan tells us of a -certain fountain "famous among the heathen people, which the foolish -men, having their senses blinded by the devil, worshipped as God. For -those, who drank of this fountain, or purposely washed their hands -or feet in it, were allowed by God to be struck by demoniacal art, -and went home either leprous or purblind, or at least suffering from -weakness or other kind of infirmity. By all these things the pagans -were seduced and paid divine honour to the fountain." Columba made use -of the popular belief in the interests of the new faith, and blessed -the fountain in the name of Christ in order to expel the demons. He -then took a draught of the water and washed his hands and feet in it, -to show that it could no longer do harm. According to Adamnan the -demons deserted the fountain, and many cures were afterwards wrought -by it. In Ireland more than a century earlier, St. Patrick visited -the fountain of Findmaige, called Slan. Offerings were wont to be -made to it, and it was worshipped as a god by the Magi of the district. - -It is difficult to determine exactly from what standpoint our pagan -ancestors regarded wells. The nature-spirits inhabiting them, styled -demons by Adamnan, were malignant in disposition, if we judge by the -case he mentions; but we must not therefore conclude that they were so -in every instance. Perhaps it is safe to infer that most of them were -considered favourable to man, or the reverse, according as they were -or were not propitiated by him. Even in modern times, some springs -have been regarded as hurtful. The well of St. Chad, at Lichfield, -for instance, causes ague to anyone drinking its water. Even its -connection with the saint has not removed its hurtful qualities. In -west Highland Folk-Tales allusion is made to poison wells, and such -are even yet regarded with a certain amount of fear. In the article on -the parish of Kilsyth in the "Old Statistical Account of Scotland," it -is stated that Kittyfrist Well, beside the road leading over the hill -to Stirling, was believed to be noxious. Successive wayfarers, when -tired and heated by their climb up hill, may have drunk injudiciously -of the cold water, and thus the superstition may have originated. - -Stone circles have given rise to much discussion. They are perhaps -best known by their popular name of Druidical temples. Whatever were -the other purposes served by them, there is hardly any doubt that -they were primarily associated with interments. Dr. Joseph Anderson -has pointed out that a certain archæological succession can be -traced. Thus we find first, burial cairns minus stones round them, -then cairns plus stones, and finally, stones minus cairns. At one -time there was a widely-spread belief that men could be transformed -into standing stones by the aid of magic. This power was attributed -to the Druids. There are also traditions of saints thus settling their -heathen opponents. When speaking of the island of Lewis, Martin says, -"Several other stones are to be seen here in remote places, and some -of them standing on one end. Some of the ignorant vulgar say that they -were men by enchantment turned into stones. Such monoliths are still -known to the Gaelic-speaking inhabitants of Lewis as Fir Chreig, i.e., -false men. We learn from the "New Statistical Account of Scotland" -that the two standing stones at West Skeld, in Shetland, were believed -by the islanders to have been originally wizards or giants. Close to -the roadside on Maughold Head, in the Isle of Man, stands an ancient -runic cross. A local tradition states that the cross was once an -old woman, who, when carrying a bundle of wool, cursed the wind for -hindering her on her journey, and was petrified in consequence. - -With superstitions thus clinging to standing-stones it is not to -be wondered that springs in their neighbourhood should have been -regarded with special reverence. In the "Old Statistical Account of -Scotland" allusion is made to Tobir-Chalaich, i.e., Old Wife's Well, -situated near a stone circle in the parish of Keith, Banffshire, -and to another well not far from a second circle in the same -parish. The latter spring ceased to be visited about the middle -of last century. Till then offerings were left at it by persons -seeking its aid. The writer of the article on the island of Barry, -Inverness-shire, in the same work, says, "Here, i.e., at Castle-Bay, -there are several Druidical temples. Near one of these is a well -which must have been once famous for its medicinal quality, as also -for curing and preventing the effects of fascination. It is called -Tobbar-nam-buadh or the Well of Virtues." Under the heading "Beltane," -in "Jamieson's Scottish Dictionary," the following occurs:--"A town -in Perthshire, on the borders of the Highlands, is called Tillie -(or Tullie) Beltane, i.e., the eminence or rising ground of the -fire of Baal. In the neighbourhood is a Druidical temple of eight -upright stones, where it is supposed the fire was kindled. At some -distance from this, is another temple of the same kind, but smaller, -and near it a well still held in great veneration. On Beltane morning, -superstitious people go to this well and drink of it, then they make -a procession round it, as I am informed, nine times; after this, they -in like manner go round the temple." Gallstack Well, at Drumlanrig, -in Dumfriesshire, is near a group of standing stones. From examples -like the above, we may infer that some mysterious connection was -supposed to exist between standing stones and their adjacent wells. In -the Tullie Beltane instance indeed, stones and well were associated -together in the same superstitious rite. - -A striking instance of Christianity borrowing from paganism is to be -seen in the reverence paid to the well of Innis Maree, in Loch Maree, -in Ross-shire. This well has been famous from an unknown past. It -is dedicated to St. Maelrubha, after whom both loch and island are -named. Maelrubha belonged to the monastery of Bangor, in Ireland. In -the year 673, at the age of thirty-one, he settled at Applecrossan, -now Applecross, in Ross-shire, and there founded a church as the -nucleus of a conventual establishment. Over this monastery he -presided for fifty-one years, and died a natural death in 722. A -legend, disregarding historical probabilities, relates that he was -slain by a band of pagan Norse rovers, and that his body was left in -the forest to be devoured by wild beasts. His grave is still pointed -out in Applecross churchyard, the spot being marked by a pillar slab -with an antique cross carved on it. For centuries after his death -he was regarded as the patron saint, not only of Applecross, but of -a wide district around. Pennant, who visited Innis Maree in 1772, -thus describes its appearance: "The shores are neat and gravelly; -the whole surface covered thickly with a beautiful grove of oak, -ash, willow, wicken, birch, fir, hazel, and enormous hollies. In the -midst is a circular dike of stones, with a regular narrow entrance, -the inner part has been used for ages as a burial-place, and is still -in use. I suspect the dyke to have been originally Druidical, and -that the ancient superstition of Paganism had been taken up by the -saint, as the readiest method of making a conquest over the minds of -the inhabitants. A stump of a tree is shown as an altar, probably the -memorial of one of stone; but the curiosity of the place is the well of -the saint; of power unspeakable in cases of lunacy." Whatever Pennant -meant by Druidical, there is reason to believe that the spot was the -scene of pre-Christian rites. In the popular imagination the outlines -of Maelrubha's character seem to have become mixed up with those of -the heathen divinity worshipped in the district. Two circumstances -point to this. Firstly, as Sir Arthur Mitchell remarks in the fourth -volume of the "Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland," -"The people of the place speak often of the God Mourie instead of -St. Mourie, which may have resulted from his having supplanted the -old god." Secondly, as the same writer shows, by reference to old -kirk session records, it was customary in the parish to sacrifice a -bull to St. Mourie. This was done on the saint's day, the 25th of -August. The practice was still in existence in the latter half of -the 17th century, and was then denounced as idolatrous. - -We thus see that the sacredness of springs can be traced back through -Christianity to paganism, though there is no doubt that in some -instances it took its rise from association with early saints. In -deciding the question of origin, however, care must be taken, -for, as already indicated, the reverence anciently paid to wells -led to their selection by the early missionaries. The holy wells -throughout the land keep alive their names. An excellent example -of a saint's influence on a particular district is met with in the -case of St. Angus, at Balquhidder, in Perthshire. In his "Notes in -Balquhidder" in the "Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of -Scotland," vol. ix. (new series), Mr. J. Mackintosh Gow remarks, -"Saint Angus, the patron saint of the district, is said to have come -to the glen from the eastward, and to have been so much struck with -its marvellous beauty that he blessed it. The remains of the stone -on which he sat to rest are still visible in the gable of one of the -farm buildings at Easter Auchleskine, and the turn of the road is -yet called 'Beannachadh Aonghais' (Angus's blessing). At this spot -it was the custom in the old days for people going westward to show -their respect for the saint by repeating, 'Beannaich Aonghais ann -san Aoraidh' (Bless Angus in the oratory or chapel), at the same -time reverently taking off their bonnets. The saint, going west, -had settled at a spot below the present kirk, and near to a stone -circle, the remains of which, and of the oratory, persons now living -remember to have seen." After alluding to another stone circle in a -haugh below the parish church manse, Mr. Gow mentions that this haugh -is the stance of the old market of Balquhidder, long a popular one -in the district. It was held on the saint's day in April and named -Feill-Aonghais, after him. In the immediate neighbourhood there is a -knoll called "Tom Aonghais," i.e., Angus's hillock. In the grounds of -Edinchip there is a curing well called in Gaelic, "Fuaran n'druibh -chasad," i.e., the Whooping-cough Well, beside the burn "Alt cean -dhroma." "It is formed of a water-worn pot hole in the limestone -rock which forms the bed of the burn, and is ten or twelve inches in -diameter at the top and six inches deep. There must be a spring running -into the hollow through a fissure, as no sooner is it emptied than -it immediately refills, and contains about two quarts of water. The -well can easily be distinguished by the large moss-covered boulder, -round and flat, like a crushed ball, and about seven feet in diameter, -which overshadows it, and a young ash tree of several stems growing -by its side." This well was famous for the cure of whooping-cough, -and children were brought to it till within recent years. The water -was given in a spoon made from the horn of a living cow. When the -patients could not visit the spring in person, a bottleful of the -healing liquid was taken to their homes, and there administered. The -district round the lower waters of Loch Awe, now comprising the united -parishes of Glenorchy and Inishail was held to be under the patronage -of Connan. There is a well at Dalmally dedicated to him. According -to a local tradition he dwelt beside the well and blessed its water. - -In addition to springs named after particular saints, there are some -bearing the general appellation of Saints' Wells or Holy Wells. There -are Holy Rood and Holy Wood Wells, also Holy Trinity and Chapel -Wells. There are likewise Priors', Monks', Cardinals', Bishops', -Priests', Abbots', and Friars' Wells. Various springs have names -pointing to no ecclesiastical connection whatever. To this class -belong those known as Virtue Wells, and those others named from the -various diseases to be cured by them. On the Rutherford estate, -in the parish of West Linton, Peeblesshire, there is a mineral -spring called Heaven-aqua Well. Considering the name, one might -form great expectations as to its virtues. There is much force in -the remarks of Dr. J. Hill Burton, in his "Book Hunter." He says, -"The unnoticeable smallness of many of these consecrated wells makes -their very reminiscence and still semi-sacred character all the more -remarkable. The stranger in Ireland, or the Highlands of Scotland, -hears rumours of a distinguished well, miles on miles off. He thinks -he will find an ancient edifice over it, or some other conspicuous -adjunct. Nothing of the kind. He has been lured all that distance, -over rock and bog, to see a tiny spring bubbling out of the rock, -such as he may see hundreds of in a tolerable walk any day. Yet, -if he search in old topographical authorities, he will find that the -little well has ever been an important feature of the district; that -century after century it has been unforgotten; and, with diligence he -may perhaps trace it to some incident in the life of the saint, dead -more than 1200 years ago, whose name it bears." There are a few wells -with a more or less ornamental stone covering, such as St. Margaret's -Well, in the Queen's Park, Edinburgh, and St. Michael's Well, at -Linlithgow. St. Ninian's Well, at Stirling, and also at Kilninian, -in Mull; St. Ashig's Well, in Skye; St. Peter's Well, at Houston, -in Renfrewshire; Holy Rood Well, at Stenton, in Haddingtonshire; -and the Well of Spa, at Aberdeen, also belong to this class. - -As already indicated, standing stones and the wells near them were -associated together in the same ritual act. A curious parallelism -can be traced between this practice and one connected with Christian -places of worship. Near the Butt of Lewis are the ruins of a chapel -anciently dedicated to St. Mulvay, and known in the district as -Teampull-mòr. The spot was till quite lately the scene of rites -connected with the cure of insanity. The patient was made to walk -seven times round the ruins, and was then sprinkled with water from -St. Ronan's Well hard by. In Orkney it was believed that invalids -would recover health by walking round the Cross-kirk of Wasbister -and the adjoining loch in silence before sunrise. In some instances -sacred sites were walked round without reference to wells, and, in -others, wells without reference to sacred sites. But when the two were -neighbours they were often included in the same ceremony. In the early -days when Christianity was preached, the structures of the new faith -were occasionally planted close to groups of standing stones, and it -may be assumed that in some instances, at least, the latter served to -supply materials for building the former. Even in our own day it is -not uncommon for Highlanders to speak of going to the clachan, i.e., -the stones, to indicate that they are going to church. The reverence -paid to the pagan sites was thus transferred to the Christian, and -any fountain in the vicinity received a large share of such reverence. - -In former times, both south and north of the Tweed, churches and -churchyards were regarded with special veneration as affording -an asylum to offenders against the law. In England the Right of -Sanctuary was held in great respect during Anglo-Saxon times, and -after the Norman Conquest laws were passed regulating the privileges -of such shelters. When a robber or murderer was pursued, he was free -from capture if he could reach the sacred precincts. But he had to -enter unarmed. His stay there was only temporary. After going through -certain formalities he was allowed to travel, cross in hand, to some -neighbouring seaport to quit his country for ever. In the reign of -Henry VIII., however, a statute was passed forbidding criminals thus -to leave their native land on the ground that they would disclose state -secrets, and teach archery to the enemies of the realm. In the north of -England, Durham and Beverley contained noted sanctuaries. In various -churches there was a stone seat called the Freedstoll or Stool of -Peace, on which the criminal, when seated, was absolutely safe. Such a -seat, dating from the Norman period, is still to be seen in the Priory -Church at Hexham, where the sanctuary was in great request by fugitives -from the debatable land between England and Scotland. The only other -Freedstoll still to be found in England is in Beverley Minster. The -Right of Sanctuary was formally abolished in England in the reign of -James I., but did not cease to be respected till much later. Such being -the regard in the middle ages for churches and their burying-grounds, -it is easy to understand why fountains in their immediate neighbourhood -were also reverenced. Several sanctuaries north of the Tweed were -specially famous. In his "Scotland in the Middle Ages," Professor -Cosmo Innes remarks, "Though all were equally sacred by the canon, -it would seem that the superior sanctity of some churches, from -the relics presented there, or the reverence of their patron saints, -afforded a surer asylum, and thus attracted fugitives to their shrines -rather than to the altars of common parish churches." The churches of -Stow, Innerleithen, and Tyningham were asylums at one time specially -favoured. The church on St. Charmaig's Island, in the Sound of -Jura--styled also Eilean Mòr or the Great Island--was formerly a noted -place of refuge among the Inner Hebrides. So much sanctity attached to -the church of Applecross that the privileged ground around it extended -six miles in every direction. In connection with his visit to Arran, -Martin thus describes what had once been a sanctuary in that island: -"There is an eminence of about a thousand paces in compass on the -sea-coast in Druim-cruey village, and it is fenced about with a stone -wall; of old it was a sanctuary, and whatever number of men or cattle -could get within it were secured from the assaults of their enemies, -the place being privileged by universal consent." The enclosure was -probably an ancient burying-ground. - -The Knights of St. John of Jerusalem, otherwise known as the Knights -of Rhodes, and also as the Hospitallers, received recognition in -Scotland as an Order about the middle of the twelfth century. They -had possessions in almost every county, but their chief seat was at -Torphichen, in Linlithgowshire, where the ruins of their preceptory -can still be seen. This preceptory formed the heart of the famous -sanctuary of Torphichen. In the graveyard stands a stone, resembling -an ordinary milestone with a Maltese cross carved on its top. All the -ground enclosed in a circle, having a radius of one mile from this -stone, formed a sanctuary for criminals and debtors. Other four stones -placed at the cardinal points showed the limits of the sanctuary on -their respective sides. At some distance to the east of the preceptory -is St. John's Well, "to which," the writer of the article in the -"New Statistical Account of Scotland" says, "the Knights of St. John -used to go in days of yore for a morning draught;" and he adds, -"whether its virtues were medicinal or of a more hallowed character -tradition can not exactly inform us, but still its waters are thought -to possess peculiar healing powers, if not still rarer qualities which -operate in various cases as a charm." Perhaps no Scottish sanctuary -has been more talked about than the one at Holyrood Abbey, intended -originally for law-breakers in general, but latterly for debtors -only. De Quincey found a temporary home within its precincts. Through -recent legislation, chiefly through the Debtors (Scotland) Act of -1880, the sanctuary has been rendered unnecessary, and its privileges, -though never formally abolished, have accordingly passed away. - -In a pass of the Ochils, near Newburgh, overlooking Strathearn, is a -block of freestone three and a half feet high, four and a half feet -long, and nearly four feet broad at the base. This formed the pedestal -of the celebrated cross of Macduff, and is all that remains of that -ancient monument. The shaft of the cross was destroyed at the time -of the Reformation, in the sixteenth century. In former days the spot -was held to be a privilege and liberty of girth. When anyone claiming -kinship to Macduff, Earl of Fife, within the ninth degree committed -slaughter in hot blood and took refuge at the cross, he could atone -for his crime by the payment of nine cows and a colpindach or year-old -cow. Those who could not make good their kinship were slain on the -spot. Certain ancient burial mounds, at one time to be seen in the -immediate neighbourhood, were popularly believed to be the graves -of those who thus met their death, and a local superstition asserted -that their shrieks could be heard by night. A fountain, known as the -Nine Wells, gushes out not far from the site of the cross, and in -it tradition says that the manslayer who was entitled to claim the -privilege of sanctuary washed his hands, thereby freeing himself from -the stain of blood. - - - - - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -SAINTS AND SPRINGS. - - Columba's Miracle--His Wells--Deer--Drostan's - Springs--His Relics--His Fairs--His Connection with - Caithness--Urquhart--Adamnan--His Wells--Tom Eunan--Feil - Columcille--Adamnan's Visit to Northumbria--His Church - Dedications--Kieran--His Cave--Campbeltown--Book of - the Gospels--Kieran's Church at Errigall-keroge--His - Wells--Bridget--Her Legend--Bridewell--Bridget's - Wells--Abernethy--Torranain--Ninian--His Influence--His - Cave--Candida Casa--Ninian and Martin--Ninian's - Springs--St. Martin's Well--Martinmas--Martin of Bullion's - Day--Bullion Well--Kentigern--Fergus--Arbores Sancti - Kentigerni--His Wells--Thanet Well--St. Enoch's Well--Cuthbert--His - Wells and Bath--His Career--Palladius--His Miracle--Paldy's - Well and Paldy's Fair--His Chapel--Ternan--His Wells--Church - of Arbuthnot--Brendan--Bute--Kilbrandon Sound--Well at - Barra--Boyndie and Cullen--Machar--His Cathedral and - Well--Tobar-Mhachar--Constantine--Govan--Kilchouslan - Church--St. Cowstan's Well--Serf--Area of his Influence. - - -The annals of hagiology are full of the connection between saints and -springs. On one occasion a child was brought to Columba for baptism, -but there was no water at hand for the performance of the rite. The -saint knelt in prayer opposite a neighbouring rock, and rising, -blessed the face of the rock. Water immediately gushed forth, and with -it the child was baptised. Adamnan, who tells the story, says that -the child was Lugucencalad, whose parents were from Artdaib-muirchol -(Ardnamurchan), where there is seen even to this day a well called by -the name of St. Columba. There are many wells in Scotland named after -him. As might be expected, one of these is in Iona. Almost all are -along the west coast and in the Hebrides. The name of Kirkcolm, in -Wigtownshire, signifies the Church of Columba. The parish contains -a fountain dedicated to him, known as Corswell or Crosswell, -from which the castle headland and lighthouse of Corsewall have -derived their name. A certain amount of sanctity still clings to the -fountain. Macaulay, in his "History of St. Kilda" published in 1764, -describes a spring there called by the inhabitants Toberi-Clerich, -the cleric in question being, according to him, Columba. "This well," -he says, "is below the village, ... and gushes out like a torrent -from the face of a rock. At every full tide the sea overflows it, -but how soon that ebbs away, nothing can be fresher or sweeter than -the water. It was natural enough for the St. Kildians to imagine -that so extraordinary a phenomenon must have been the effect of some -supernatural cause, and one of their teachers would have probably -assured them that Columba, the great saint of their island and -a mighty worker of miracles, had destroyed the influence which, -according to the established laws of nature, the sea should have had -on that water." This spring resembles one in the parish of Tain, in -Ross-shire, known as St. Mary's Well. The latter is covered several -hours each day by the sea, but when the tide retires its fresh, -sweet water gushes forth again. - -According to an old tradition, Drostan, a nephew of Columba, -accompanied the latter when on a journey from Iona to Deer in -Buchan, about the year 580, and was the first abbot of the monastery -established there. The name of the place, according to the "Book -of Deer," was derived from the tears (in Gaelic, der or deur, a -tear), shed by Drostan on the departure of his uncle. In reality, -the name comes from the Gaelic dair, signifying an oak. There are -five springs dedicated to Drostan. They are all in the east country, -between Edzell and New Aberdour. At the latter place his relics were -preserved, and miracles of healing were wrought at his tomb. The -spring near Invermark Castle is popularly known as Droustie's Well. A -market, called St. Drostan's Fair, is still held annually at Old -Deer in December. Insch, in Aberdeenshire, has also a St. Drostan's -Fair. Drostan was reverenced in Caithness, where he was tutelar saint -of the parishes of Halkirk and Canisbay. In "The Early Scottish Church" -the Rev. Dr. M'Lauchlan mentions that Urquhart in Inverness-shire, -was called Urchudain, Maith Dhrostan, i.e., St. Drostan's Urquhart. - -Adamnan, Columba's biographer, became abbot of Iona in 679, and -died there in 704. There are wells to him at Dull, in Perthshire, -and at Forglen in Banffshire. His name occurs in Scottish -topography, but shortened, and under various disguises. In the -form of St. Oyne he has a well in Rathen parish, Aberdeenshire, -where there is a mound--probably an ancient fortified site--also -called St. Oyne's. About six miles north-east of Kingussie, in -Inverness-shire, is the church of the quoad sacra parish of Inch, -on a knoll projecting into the loch of the same name. The knoll is -called Tom Eunan, i.e., the hill of Adamnan, to whom the church -was dedicated. Within the building is still to be seen a fine -specimen of the four-cornered bronze bell used in the early Celtic -church. According to a local tradition it was once carried off, but -kept calling out, "Tom Eunan! Tom Eunan!" till brought back to its -home. We find that Adamnan and Columba were associated together in -the district. An annual gathering, at one time held there in honour -of the latter, was named Feil Columcille, i.e., Columba's Fair, and -was much resorted to. Women usually appeared on the occasion in white -dresses in token of baptism. An old woman, who died in 1882, at the age -of ninety, was in the habit of showing the white dress worn by her in -her young days at the fair. It finally served her as a shroud. Adamnan -visited the Northumbrian court when Egfrid was king. His errand was -one of peace-making; for he went to procure the release of certain -Irish captives who had been made prisoners by Egfrid, During his stay -in Northumbria he became a convert to the Roman view as against the -Celtic in the two burning questions of that age, viz., the time for -holding Easter, and the nature of the tonsure. Though he did not get -his friends in Scotland to see eye to eye with him on these points, -he seems to have been generally popular north of the Tweed. Eight -churches at least were dedicated to him, mainly in the east country -between Forvie, in Aberdeenshire, and Dalmeny, in West Lothian. One of -these dedications was at Aboyne. Skeulan Well there contains Adamnan's -name in a corrupted form. - -Kieran, belonging like Columba to the sixth century, was also like -him from Ireland. He selected a cave some four miles from Campbeltown -as his dwelling-place, and there led the life of an ascetic. He -died in 543 in his thirty-fourth year. Pennant thus describes -the cave:--"It is in the form of a cross, with three fine Gothic -porticoes for entrances, ... had formerly a wall at the entrance, -a second about the middle, and a third far up, forming different -apartments. On the floor is the capital of a cross and a round basin -cut out of the rock, full of fine water, the beverage of the saint -in old times, and of sailors in the present, who often land to dress -their victuals beneath this shelter." This basin is more minutely -described by Captain T. P. White in his "Archæological Sketches in -Scotland." He says, "There is a small basin, nearly oval in shape, -neatly scooped out of a block, two feet long by one and a half wide, -which exactly underlies a drip of water from the roof of the cave. The -water supply is said never to have failed and always to keep the little -basin full. Tradition calls it the saint's font or holy well." Kieran -is commemorated in Kinloch-Kilkerran, the ancient name of the parish of -Campbeltown. The word means literally the head of the loch of Kieran's -cell. On one occasion Kieran dropped his book of the Gospels into a -lake. Sometime after it was recovered in an uninjured state through -the instrumentality of a cow. The cow went into the water to cool -itself, and brought out the volume attached to its hoof. Another bovine -association is connected with the building of St. Kieran's Church on a -hill at Errigall-keroge, in County Tyrone, Ireland. The saint had an ox -which, during the day, drew the materials for the building, and in the -evening was slaughtered to feed the workmen. The bones were thrown each -evening into a well at the foot of the hill, and, morning by morning, -the accommodating animal appeared ready for the day's work. The well -is still held to be miraculous. There is a spring dedicated to Kieran -at Drumlithie, in Glenbervie parish, Kincardineshire, and another -at Stonehaven, in the same county. There is one in Troqueer parish, -Kirkcudbrightshire, locally known as St. Jergon's or St. Querdon's -Well, these names being simply an altered form of Kieran. - -Bridget or Bride, an Irish saint, was popular in Scotland. She -received baptism from Patrick, and died in 525 after a life of great -sanctity. She was celebrated as a worker of miracles. She made a cow -supply an enormous quantity of milk to satisfy the wants of three -thirsty bishops who came to visit her. She also cured diseases. On one -occasion two men suffering from leprosy came to her to be healed. She -made the sign of the cross over water, and told them to wash in -it. One of the two did so and was instantly restored to health; but, -refusing to help the other, he at once became leprous again, while -his companion was as suddenly made whole. On another occasion she -used the sign of the cross to stay a company bent on the capture of -a maiden who had sought refuge in the saint's nunnery. Perhaps her -most wonderful miracle was the hanging of her gown on a sunbeam, -a somewhat unusual cloak-peg, and one that, from the nature of the -case, had not to be sought in a dark press. Her principal monastery -was at Kildare, so named after the oak (dair) under whose shade her -cell was built. Adjoining St. Bride's Churchyard in London is a spring -dedicated to the saint, and popularly styled Bride's Well. The palace -built in the immediate neighbourhood went by the name of Bridewell. It -was handed over by Edward VI. to the city of London as a workhouse -and place of correction. At a later date the name became associated -with other houses used for a similar purpose. "Hence it has arisen," -remarks Chambers in his "Book of Days," "that the pure and innocent -Bridget, the first of Irish nuns, is now inextricably connected in -our ordinary national parlance with a class of beings of the most -opposite description." There are fully a dozen wells in Scotland -bearing her name. These are chiefly to be found in the counties -of Wigtown, Dumfries, Peebles, Lanark, Renfrew, Dumbarton, Perth, -Fife, and Aberdeen. A monastery was founded in Bridget's honour at -Abernethy, in Perthshire, probably in the eighth century, and she -had churches on the mainland and among the Western Islands. A curious -superstition connected with Bridget has survived to the present time, -at least in one of these islands. It has to do with a certain magical -flower styled torranain, that must be plucked during the influx of the -tide, and is of virtue to protect cows from the evil eye, and to make -them give a plentiful supply of milk. The Rev. Dr. Stewart, in his -"'Twixt Ben Nevis and Glencoe," quotes the incantation associated -with it forwarded to him by a correspondent in Uist. The following -is one of the stanzas:-- - - - "Let me pluck thee, Torranain! - With all thy blessedness and all thy virtue. - The nine blessings came with the nine parts. - By the virtue of the Torranain. - The hand of St. Bride with me - I am now to pluck thee." - - -A saint who could give efficacy to a spell was quite the sort of -person to be entrusted with the custody of springs. - -Ninian, popularly called Ringan, devoted his life mainly to missionary -work among the Picts of Galloway, although he extended his influence as -far north as the Tay. He seems to have been honoured in Aberdeenshire, -if we may judge by a fresco, representing him, discovered about -thirty years ago in the pre-Reformation Church of Turriff, and -regard was had for him as far north as the Shetland Isles. Even the -Scot abroad did not forget him. Chalmers, in his "Caledonia," says -that, "in the church of the Carmelite Friars of Bruges in Flanders, -the Scottish nation founded an altar to St. Ninian, and endowed a -chaplain who officiated at it." A cave by the sea in the parish of -Glasserton, in Wigtownshire, was his favourite retreat. This cave was -explored about ten years ago, and several stones, marked with incised -crosses, were discovered. Ninian brought masons from France, and at -Whithorn built Candida Casa--the first stone church in Scotland. It -was in course of construction in the year 397. Ninian then heard of -the death of Martin of Tours, and to the latter the new church was -dedicated. These two saints are found side by side in the matter of -church dedications. Thus, Martin was patron of Ulbster, in Caithness: -not far off was a church to Ninian. Strathmartin, in Forfarshire, was -united in 1799 to the parish of Mains, the latter claiming Ninian as -its tutelar saint. Sinavey Spring, in Mains parish, near the site of -the ancient Castle of Fintry, is believed to represent St. Ninian's -name in a corrupted form. His springs are numerous, and have a wide -range from the counties of Wigtown and Kirkcudbright to those of Forfar -and Kincardine. There is a well to him near Dunnottar Castle, in the -last-mentioned county. In the island of Sanda, off the Kintyre coast, -is a spring named after him. It had a considerable local celebrity in -former times. St. Ninian's Well in Stirling is a familiar spot in the -district. There is a well sacred to Martin in the Aberdeenshire parish -of Cairnie. Martinmas (November 11th) came long ago into our land as -a church festival. It still remains with us as a familiar term-day. - -An incident in Martin's biography has a bearing on our subject, through -the connection between the name of the festival commemorating it and -certain of our place-names. In Scotland, the fourth of July used to -be known as Martin of Bullion's Day, in honour of the translation of -the saint's body to a shrine in the cathedral of Tours. There is some -uncertainty about the origin of the term Bullion, though, according -to the likeliest etymology, it is derived from the French bouiller, -to boil, in allusion to the heat of the weather at that time of the -year. There is an old proverb that if the deer rise up dry and lie down -dry on Martin of Bullion's Day, there will be a good gose-harvest, -i.e., an early and plentiful one. An annual fair was appointed to -be held at Selkirk and in Dyce parish, Aberdeenshire, in connection -with the festival. There are traces of both Martin and Bullion in -Scottish topography. In Perthshire there is the parish of St. Martin's, -containing the estate of St. Martin's Abbey. Some miles to the east -is Strathmartin in Forfarshire, already alluded to, and not far from -it in the same county we find Bullionfield in the parish of Liff and -Benvie. It is probable that these names are in some way connected -together. In Ecclesmachan parish in Linlithgowshire, there is, as far -as we know, no trace of Martin in any dedication of chapel or spring; -but Bullion is represented. There is a spring of this name issuing -from the trap rocks of the Tor Hill. It is a mineral well. The water -is slightly impregnated with sulphuretted hydrogen. In former times -it was much resorted to by health-seekers, but it is now neglected. - -Ninian consecrated a graveyard beside the Molendinar at Cathures, now -Glasgow. About a hundred years later Kentigern, otherwise Mungo, bishop -of the Strathclyde kingdom, brought to this cemetery from Carnock the -body of Fergus, an anchorite, on a cart drawn by two wild bulls. Over -the spot where Fergus was buried was built, at a later date, the crypt -of what was to have been the south transept of the cathedral, had that -portion of the structure ever been reared. The crypt is now popularly -called Blackadder's Aisle, though, as Dr. Andrew MacGeorge points -out in his "Old Glasgow," it ought to be called Fergus' Isle. It was -so named in a minute of the kirk-session in 1648, and an inscription -in long Gothic letters on a stone in the roof of the aisle tells the -same tale. Kentigern took up his abode on the banks of the Molendinar, -and gathered round him a company of monks, each dwelling in a separate -hut. In the twelfth century the spot was surrounded by a dense forest, -and in 1500 the "Arbores sancti Kentigerni" were landmarks in the -district. Kentigern's Well, now in the lower church of the cathedral, -must, from the very fact of its inclusion within the building, have -been deemed sacred before the cathedral was reared. Other examples of -wells within churches are on record, though not in Scotland. There is a -spring in St. Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin. The cathedrals of Carlisle, -Winchester, and Canterbury, and the minsters of York and Beverley, -as well as one of two English parish churches, either now have or -once had wells within their walls. The Rev. T. F. Thiselton Dyer -gives several examples in his "Church Lore Gleanings," and remarks, -"Such wells may have been of special service in Border churches, -which, like the cathedral of Carlisle, served as places of refuge -for the inhabitants in case of sudden alarm or foray." - -Besides his well in the cathedral, Kentigern had another dedicated to -him at Glasgow, close to Little St. Mungo's Church, in the immediate -neighbourhood of the trees already mentioned. There are fully a dozen -wells sacred to him north of the Tweed. As might be expected, these are -almost all to be found in the counties south of the Forth and Clyde, -and particularly in those to the west of that district. There is one -in Kincardineshire, at Kinneff, locally known as Kenty's Well. Under -the name of St. Mongah's Well there is a spring dedicated to him -in Yorkshire at Copgrove Park four miles from Boroughbridge. A -bath close by, supplied with water from this spring, was formerly -much frequented by invalids of all ages, who remained immersed for -a longer or shorter time in its intensely cold water. Other wells -to Kentigern are to be met with in the north of England. The parish -of Crossthwaite in Cumberland has its church dedicated to him. The -spot was the thwaite or clearing in the wood where he set up his -cross. Thanet Well, in Greystoke parish in the same county, is believed -to have derived its name from Tanew or Thenew, Kentigern's mother, -familiar to the citizens of Glasgow as St. Enoch. St. Enoch's Well, -close to St. Enoch's Square in that burgh, used to be a favourite -resort of health-seekers. It has now no existence. - -Cuthbert, besides a well at St. Boswell's, in Roxburghshire, had a bath -in Strath Tay, a rock-hewn hollow full of water where he periodically -passed several hours in devotion. This famous Northumbrian missionary -was born about 635, and spent his early boyhood as a shepherd on the -southern slopes of the Lammermoors. He lived for thirteen years as a -monk in the monastery of Old Melrose, situated two miles east from the -present Melrose on a piece of land almost surrounded by the Tweed. On -the death of Boisil, Cuthbert was appointed prior. He afterwards -became bishop of Lindisfarne. During his stay at Melrose he visited -the land of the Niduarian Picts, in other words the Picts of Galloway, -and left a record of his journey in the name of Kirkcudbright, i.e., -the Church of Cuthbert. Various other churches were dedicated to him -in the south of Scotland and in the north of England. A well-known -Edinburgh parish bears his name. He was honoured as far south as -Cornwall. St. Cuby's Well, locally called St. Kilby's, between Duloe -and Sandplace in that county is believed to have been dedicated to him. - -There is a good deal of uncertainty about the history of Palladius. He -is believed to have been a missionary from Rome to the Irish in the -fifth century, and to have suffered martyrdom for the faith. It is -recorded of him that on one occasion, by removing some turf in the -name of the Holy Spirit, he caused a spring to gush forth to supply -water for baptism. He is popularly associated with Kincardineshire, -though there is reason to believe that he had no personal connection -with the district. A spring in Fordoun parish is locally known as -Paldy's Well, and an annual market goes by the name of Paldy's or -Paddy's Fair. A chapel was dedicated to him there, and received his -relics, brought thither by his disciple Terrananus, whose name is -still preserved in Banchory-Ternan, and who seems to have belonged -to the district. Ternan has a well at Banchory-Devenick, and another -at Kirkton-of-Slains, in Buchan. The old church of Arbuthnot was -dedicated to him. It was for this church that the Missal, Psalter, -and Office of the Virgin, now in the possession of Viscount Arbuthnot, -were written and illuminated towards the end of the fifteenth century, -these being the only complete set of Service-Books of a Scottish -Church that have come down to us from pre-Reformation times. - -Brendan of Clonfert in Ireland, visited several of the Western Isles -during the first half of the sixth century, and various churches were -afterwards dedicated to him there. He is connected also with Bute. The -name Brandanes, applied to its inhabitants, came from him, and he bids -fair to be remembered in the name of Kilbrandon Sound, between Arran -and Kintyre. He was patron of a well in the island of Barra and was -tutelar saint of Boyndie and Cullen in Banffshire; but we are not -aware that any well at either of these places was called after him. - -A curious legend is related to account for the origin of the See -of Aberdeen. According to it Machar or Macarius, along with twelve -companions, received instructions from Columba to wander over Pictland, -and to build his cathedral-church where he found a river making a -bend like a bishop's staff. Such a bend was found in the Don at Old -Aberdeen. St. Machar's Cathedral, built beside it, keeps alive the -saint's memory. In the neighbouring grounds of Seton is St. Machar's -Well. Though now neglected, it was honoured in former times, and -its water was used at baptisms in the cathedral. Under the name of -Mocumma or Mochonna, Macarius appears as one of the followers of -Columba on his memorable voyage from Ireland to Iona. He is said to -have visited Pope Gregory the Great at Rome, and to have been for a -time bishop of Tours. In Strathdon, Aberdeenshire, is a well sacred -to him called Tobar-Mhachar, pronounced in the district Tobar-Vacher. - -Constantine, known also by his other names of Cowstan, Chouslan, -and Cutchou, was a prince of Cornwall in the sixth century, and was -acquainted with Columba and Kentigern. He relinquished his throne -and crossed over to Ireland, where he turned monk. At a later date -he came to the west of Scotland, and founded a monastery at Golvedir, -believed to be Govan, near Glasgow, and, according to Fordun, became -its abbot. Kilchouslan Church, on the north side of Campbeltown Bay, -Kintyre, was built in his honour. In its graveyard there is, or was -till quite lately, a round stone about the size of a grinding stone. In -the centre is a hole large enough to let the hand pass through. There -is a tradition that if a man and woman eloped, and were able to join -hands through this hole before being overtaken by their kinsfolk they -were free from further pursuit. In the spring of 1892 an interesting -find of old coins was made in the same graveyard. These consisted of -groats and half-groats, some of English and some of Scottish coinage, -the earliest belonging to the reign of Edward II. of England. According -to Martin, the well of St. Cowstan at Garrabost, in Lewis, was believed -never to boil any kind of meat, though its water was kept over the fire -for a whole day. This well is on a steep slope at the shore. Not far -off once stood St. Cowstan's Chapel, but its site is now under tillage. - -Serf or Servanus, who flourished during the latter half of the seventh -century, was connected with the district north of the Firth of Forth, -particularly with Culross, and the island named after him in Loch -Leven, where he founded a monastery. At Dysart, Serf had a cave, and -in it tradition says that he held a discussion with the devil. The -name of Dysart indeed, comes from this desertum or retreat. Serf -had a cell at Dunning, in Strathearn, where he died in the odour -of sanctity. He had also some link with the parish of Monzievaird, -where the church was dedicated to him, and where a small loch still -goes by the name of St. Serf's Water. There is a well sacred to him at -Alva. St. Shear's Well, at Dumbarton, retains his name in an altered -form. Early last century this spring was put to a practical purpose, -as arrangements were then made to lead its water across the Leven by -pipes to supply the burgh. - - - - - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - -MORE SAINTS AND SPRINGS. - - Ronan--Dow Well--Influence on Topography--Ronan's - Springs--Pol Ronan and Feill Ronan--Fergus--His Well in - Banffshire--Glamis--His Relics--His Wells at Montrose and - Wick--Helen--St. Helen's Kirk--Her Springs--Her connection - with Britain--Her Wells and Churches in England--Welsh - Traditions--St. Abb's Well--Ebba--Aidan--His Wells--Boisil--His - Springs--St. Boswell's Fair--Bathan--Abbey St. Bathan's--His Well - there--Boniface--His Well and Fair at Rosemarkie--Catherine - of Alexandria--Her Legend--Her Wells--Various other - Dedications--Lawrence--His Wells--St. Lawrence's Fair--His - Church Dedications--Laurencekirk--Margaret--Her connection with - Queensferry and Forfar--Her Wells at Edinburgh--Her Cave and - Spring at Dunfermline--Wells dedicated to various Characters in - Sacred Story. - - -In any notice of early saints Ronan must not be forgotten, especially -when we remember that perhaps no spring, thanks to Sir Walter Scott, -is so familiar to the general reader as St. Ronan's Well. It has -been commonly identified with the mineral well at Innerleithen, in -Peeblesshire for long held in much favour in cases of eye and skin -complaints, and also for the cure of dyspepsia. The spring is situated -a short distance above the town on the skirt of Lee Pen. The writer of -the article on Innerleithen parish in the "New Statistical Account of -Scotland" says that this spring "was formerly called the 'Dow-well' -from the circumstance that, long before the healing virtues of the -water were discovered, pigeons from the neighbouring country resorted -to it." The name, however, is more probably derived from the Gaelic -dhu or dubh, signifying black. This is all the more likely when we -remember that the ground around was wet and miry before the spring -was put into order, and the present pump-room built, in 1826. We -find marks of Ronan in Scottish topography. In Dumbartonshire is -Kilmaronock, meaning, literally, the Church of my little Ronan; -Kilmaronog near Loch Etive has the same signification. Dr. Skene -refers to these two dedications, and adds, "Ronan appears to have -carried his mission to the Isles. He has left his trace in Iona, -where one of the harbours is Port Ronan. The church, afterwards the -parish church, was dedicated to him, and is called Teampull Ronaig, -and its burying-ground, Cladh Ronan. Then we find him at Rona, in the -Sound of Skye, and another Rona, off the coast of Lewis; and, finally, -his death is recorded in 737 as Ronan, abbot of Cinngaradh or Kingarth, -in Bute." Ronan is patron of various springs. There is one sacred to -him near Kilmaronock, another in the Aberdeenshire parish of Strathdon, -and another, already referred to, beside Teampull Mòr, in the Butt -of Lewis. The parish of Strowan, now joined to that of Monzievaird, -has a well to the saint. This was to be expected, since the name of the -parish is merely an altered form of St. Rowan or Ronan. About a hundred -yards above the bridge of Strowan, there is a deep pool in the river -Earn, called Pol-Ronan, and a piece of ground hard by was formerly the -site of the yearly gathering known as Feill-Ronan or St. Ronan's Fair. - -The parish of St. Fergus, in Buchan, known till the year 1616 as -Langley, commemorates an Irish missionary of the eighth century, who -led a roving life, if we can believe the tradition, that he evangelised -Caithness, Buchan, Strathearn, and Forfarshire, as well as attended an -Ecclesiastical Council at Rome. The legend that his well in Kirkmichael -parish, Banffshire, was at one time in Italy may be connected with -his visit to Rome. Concerning this spring, the Rev. Dr. Gregor gives -the following particulars:--"Fergan Well is situated on the south-east -side of Knock-Fergan, a hill of considerable height on the west side -of the river Avon, opposite the manse of Kirkmichael. The first Sunday -of May and Easter Sunday were the principal Sundays for visiting it, -and many from the surrounding parishes, who were affected with skin -diseases or running sores, came to drink of its water, and to wash in -it. The hour of arrival was twelve o'clock at night, and the drinking -of the water and the washing of the diseased part took place before -or at sunrise. A quantity of the water was carried home for future -use. Pilgrimages were made up to the end of September, by which time -the healing virtues of the water had become less. Such after-visits -seem to have begun in later times." Fergus died at Glamis, and his -relics soon began to work cures. His head was carried off to the -monastery of Scone, and was so much esteemed in later times that, -by order of James IV., a silver case was made for it. His cave and -well are to be seen at Glamis. There is a spring dedicated to him -near Montrose, and there is another at Wick. - -Various other saintly personages have left traces of their names -in holy wells. Chalmers, in his "Caledonia," mentions that the -ancient church of Aldcamus, in Cockburnspath parish, Berwickshire, -was dedicated to Helen, mother of Constantine, and that its ruins were -known as St. Helen's Kirk. A portion of the building still stands. To -the north of it is a burying-ground; but, curiously enough, as Mr. Muir -points out in his "Ancient Churches of Scotland," the spot does not -appear ever to have been used for purposes of sepulture. We do not know -surely of any spring to Helen in the immediate neighbourhood, but there -is one at Darnick, near Melrose. Another is in Kirkpatrick-Fleming -parish, Dumfriesshire. Perhaps the best known is St. Helen's Well, -beside the highway from Maybole to Ayr, about two-and-a-half miles -from the former town. It was much resorted to on May Day for the -cure of sickly children. On Timothy Pont's map, of date 1654, there -is a "Helen's Loch" marked a little to the south-west of Camelon, -in Stirlingshire. Some writers have attempted to claim Helen as -a native of Britain, and Colchester and York have, for different -reasons, been fixed on as her birth-place. The circumstance that -Constantine was proclaimed Emperor at the latter town, on the -death there of his father, Constantius Chlorus, probably gave rise -to the tradition. Anyhow, Helen seems to have been held in high -honour in England. In an article in the "Archæological Journal" -for December, 1891, Mr. Edward Peacock mentions that there are at -least fifteen wells named after her south of the Tweed. He adds, -"there are many churches dedicated to the honour of St. Helen in -England, but they are very irregularly distributed. None seems to -occur in Cumberland, Westmoreland, or Essex. The rest of the English -shires, for which we have authentic information, give the following -results:--Devonshire, three; Durham, two; Kent, one; Lincolnshire, -twenty-eight; Northumberland, three; Nottinghamshire, fifteen; -Yorkshire, thirty-two." Helen's name occurs in Welsh legends; but, -as Mr. Peacock observes, "early history is so much distorted in them, -that, if we did not know of her from more authentic sources, we might -well believe Helen to have been a mere creation of the fervid Keltic -imagination." As far as is known there are neither wells nor church -dedications to her in the Principality. - -At Ayton, in Berwickshire, we find St. Abb's Well, recalling Abb or -Æbba, who, in the seventh century, presided over a monastery on the -headland still bearing her name, and in whose honour the priory at -Coldingham was founded by Edgar, son of Malcolm Canmore, some four -centuries and a half later. Her monastery on the headland was founded -by Aidan, who was sent from Iona to the North of England in response -to a request from King Oswald, of Bernicia, for a missionary to preach -Christianity to his pagan subjects. This was about the year 635. Aidan -made the island of Lindisfarne, off the coast of Northumberland, -his head-quarters. It is still known as Holy Island. Aidan has not -been forgotten in the matter of wells. There are four to him, viz., -at Menmuir and at Fearn, in Forfarshire; at Balmerino, in Fife; and -at Cambusnethan, in Lanarkshire. This last, called St. Iten's Well, -was noted for the cure of asthma and skin-disease. - -Boisil, abbot of the monastery of Old Melrose, about the middle of -the seventh century, still lives in the name of the Roxburghshire -village and parish of St. Boswell's. There is a spring in the parish -bearing the name of The Well-brae Wall. Boswell's own spring is -popularly styled the Hare-well. Not far from both is St. Boswell's -Burn, a tributary of the Tweed. The local fair held on July 18th, in -honour of the saint, used to be a notable one in the border counties, -and was frequented by large numbers of gipsies who set up booths for -the sale of their wares. - -Bathan, who flourished in the early seventh century, had to -do with Shetland, and with the region about the Whittadder, in -Berwickshire. Abbey St. Bathans, in the latter county, is named after -him. His well is on one of the haughs beside the river, not far from -the ruined nunnery. Its water is believed never to freeze. - -Boniface belonged to the same century. He is said to have preached -Christianity at Gowrie, in Pictavia, and afterwards at Rosemarkie, -in the Black Isle, where he died at the age of eighty, and was buried -in the church of St. Peter. A well and a fair at Rosemarkie still -keep alive his memory. - -The fame of Catherine of Alexandria travelled to Scotland at a -comparatively early period. This holy maiden was noted for her -learning. Indeed she was so wise that Maxentius the Emperor called -her a "second Plato." The Emperor's compliments, however, stopped -there, for he ordered her to be executed on account of her contempt -for paganism. The wheel, her usual attribute in art, was not the -instrument of her martyrdom, as it was miraculously destroyed. She -met her death by being beheaded, and, immediately thereafter, her -body was carried by angels to Mount Sinai. These and other legendary -incidents must have conduced to make the saint popular. St. Catherine's -Balm-well, at Liberton, Mid-Lothian, had a high reputation for -curing skin-disease. Martin speaks of a well to St. Catherine on -the south coast of Eigg, reckoned by the islanders a specific in all -kinds of disease. He gives the following account of its dedication -by Father Hugh, a priest, and of the respect paid to the spring in -consequence:--"He (the priest) obliged all the inhabitants to come to -this well, and then employed them to bring together a great heap of -stones at the head of the spring by way of penance. This being done, -he said Mass at the well, and then consecrated it; he gave each of the -inhabitants a piece of wax candle, which they lighted, and all of them -made the Dessil,--of going round the well sun-ways, the priest leading -them; and from that time it was accounted unlawful to boil any meat -with the water of this well." In the south-west of Scotland, Catherine -has, or had, three wells, viz., at Stoneykirk, at Low Drumore, and -at Old Luce, opposite the Abbey. In the north-east there are three, -viz., at Fyvie, Aberdeenshire; and in Alvah parish, Banffshire; and at -Banff itself. At Shotts, in Lanarkshire, the fountain by the roadside -immediately below the parish church is, or at least was, locally known -as Cat's or Kate's Well--a contraction of the Saint's name--reminding -one of the Kate Kennedy celebration at St. Andrews University, which -originated in connection with the gift of a bell by Bishop Kennedy in -honour of the saint. The ruins of Caibeal Cairine, i.e., Catherine's -Chapel, are in Southend parish, Kintyre, and two farms called North -and South Carine are in the immediate neighbourhood. Captain White, -when exploring the district, sought for St. Catherine's Well in the -adjoining glen, but failed to find it. A chapel to the saint once -stood in the quondam town of Kincardine in the Mearns. Its graveyard -alone remains. St. Catherine's Fair, held at Kincardine till the year -1612, was then transferred to the neighbouring Fettercairn. There -is perhaps no place-name more familiar to visitors to Inveraray -than St. Catherine's, on the opposite shore of Loch Fyne. It was in -St. Catherine's Aisle, within the parish church of Linlithgow, that -James IV. saw the mysterious apparition that warned him to beware of -Flodden. At Port-Erin, in the Isle of Man, is a spring close to the -beach, and on a stone beside it in old lettering, can be read the -piece of advice:-- - - - "St. Catherine's Well, - Keep me clean." - - -Lawrence is represented by various springs, viz., by one in -Kirkcudbrightshire, at Fairgirth; by one in Elginshire, at New Duffus; -and by two in Aberdeenshire, at Kinnord; and at Rayne, where a horse -market, called Lawrence Fair, is still held annually in August. Near -the Fairgirth spring stand the ivy-clad ruins of St. Lawrence's Chapel, -at one time surrounded by a graveyard. The parish of Slamannan, in -Stirlingshire, was anciently called St. Lawrence, its pre-Reformation -church having been dedicated to him. An excellent spring, not far -from the parish church, is known as St. Lawrence's Well. There is -reason to believe that all these dedications relate to Lawrence, -who, about the middle of the third century, suffered at Rome, by -being broiled over a slow fire, and in whose honour the Escurial in -Spain was built in the form of a gridiron--the supposed instrument -of his martyrdom. Laurencekirk, in Kincardineshire, anciently called -Conveth, received its name, not from the martyr, but from Lawrence, -archbishop of Canterbury, successor of Augustine, early in the seventh -century. He is said to have visited the Mearns. The church of Conveth -was named in his honour Laurencekirk. As far as we know, however, -there is no spring to him in the district. - -Margaret, queen and saint, wife of Malcolm Canmore, was a light -amid the darkness of the eleventh century. Indeed she was a light -to many later centuries. The secret of her beneficial influence -lay in her personal character, and she undoubtedly did much to -recommend civilisation to a barbarous age. At the same time it -must not be forgotten that through her English training she was -unable to appreciate either the speech or the special religious -institutions of her Scottish subjects, and that, accordingly, the -changes introduced by her were not all reforms. When sketching her -influence on the history of her time, the Rev. Dr. M'Lauchlan, in his -"Early Scottish Church," observes, "She was somewhat unwillingly -hindered from entering a monastery by her marriage with Malcolm, -and the latter repaid the obligation by unbounded devotion to her and -readiness to fall in with all her schemes. She was brought up in the -Anglo-Saxon Church, as that Church was moulded by Augustine and other -emissaries of Rome, and was in consequence naturally opposed to many -of the peculiarities of the Scottish Church, which was still without -diocesan bishops, and had many things in its forms of worship peculiar -to itself." Dunfermline was Malcolm's favourite place of residence, and -many were the journeys made by his wife between it and Edinburgh. The -names of North and South Queensferry, where she crossed the Forth, -tell of these royal expeditions. Malcolm and Margaret were associated -with the town of Forfar. Local topography has still its King's Muir, -and its Queen's Well to testify to the fact; and on the Inch of Forfar -Loch, where Margaret had a residence, an annual celebration was long -held in her honour. She had a spring at Edinburgh Castle, described as -"the fountain which rises near the corner of the King's Garden, on the -road leading to St. Cuthbert's Church." St. Margaret's Well--once at -Restalrig, now in the Queen's Park--has already been referred to. At -Dunfermline there is a spring in a cave where, according to tradition, -she spent many an hour in pious meditation. The cave is about seven -feet in height, fully eight in breadth, and varies in depth from -eight to eleven. "This cave," remarks the Rev. Peter Chalmers in his -"History of Dunfermline," "is situated at a short distance north from -the Tower Hill, and from the mound crossing the ravine on which part -of the town stands. There is at present a small spring well at the -bottom, the water of which rises at times and covers the whole lower -space; but anciently, it is to be presumed, there was none, or at -least it must have been covered, and prevented from overflowing the -floor, which would either have been formed of the rock or have been -paved." A considerable amount of rubbish accumulated in the cave, -but this was removed in 1877. "During the process of clearing out -the cave," remarks Dr. Henderson in his "Annals of Dunfermline," -"two stone seats or benches were discovered along the base of the -north and south sides, but there were no carvings or devices seen on -them. Near the back of the cave a small sunk well was found, but it -is now covered over with a stone flag." - -Several Scripture characters have wells named after -them. St. Matthew has springs at Kirkton, Dumfriesshire, and at -Roslin, Midlothian. St. Andrew's name is attached to wells at -Sandal, in Kintyre; at North Berwick, in East Lothian; at Shadar, -in Lewis; and at Selkirk--this last having been uncovered in 1892, -after remaining closed, it is believed, for fully three hundred -years. A spring at St. Andrews, called Holy Well, is understood to -have been dedicated either to Andrew or to Regulus. St. Paul has -springs at Fyvie and at Linlithgow; St. Philip is patron of one -in Yarrow parish, Selkirkshire; St. James has one at Garvock, in -Aberdeenshire; St. Thomas has three--at Lochmaben, Dumfriesshire; -at Crieff, in Perthshire; and near Stirling; and St. John has a -considerable number of springs. Some of these are to the Evangelist, -and some to the Baptist. It is often difficult to know to which of -the two the patronage of a given well should be ascribed. Of the four -chapels along the east wall of the lower church of Glasgow Cathedral, -the one next to St. Mungo's Well was dedicated in pre-Reformation -times to St. John the Evangelist. It would have been more appropriately -dedicated to the Baptist. St. John's Wells are to be found at Moffat, -in Dumfriesshire; at Logie Coldstone, in Aberdeenshire; near Fochabers, -in Elginshire; at Inverkeithing, Balmerino; and Falkland, in Fife; -at Kinnethmont, and in New Aberdour, in Aberdeenshire; at Marykirk, in -Kincardineshire; at Kirkton of Deskford, at Ordiquhill, and also near -the old church of Gamrie, in Banffshire; at Stranraer, in Wigtownshire; -at Dunrobin, in Sutherland; and elsewhere. There are more than a dozen -wells to St. Peter. These are to be found mainly in counties in the -south-west, and in the north-east. In the latter district there is -a well at Marnoch, in Banffshire, called Petrie's Well. - -St. Anne, the reputed mother of the Virgin, presided over wells at -Ladykirk, in Berwickshire; near the old church of St. Anne, in Dowally -parish, Perthshire; and at Glass, on the Deveron. The Virgin herself -was specially popular as the patroness of fountains. There are over -seventy dedicated to her under a variety of names, such as, St. Mary's -Well, Maria Well, &c. The town of Motherwell, in Lanarkshire, -was so called after a famous well to the Virgin. Tobermory, in -Mull--literally, Well of Mary--was originally a fountain. A village -was built beside it, in 1788, as a fishing centre for the British -Fisheries' Company. A curious legend about the now ivy-clad ruins of -the church of St. Mary in Auchindoir parish, Aberdeenshire, is thus -referred to by Mr. A. Jervise in the "Proceedings of the Society of -Antiquaries of Scotland," vol. viii. (old series):--"According to -tradition, it was originally proposed to rebuild the church at a place -called Kirkcairns (now Glencairns) to the south of Lumsden village, -and but for the warning voice of the Virgin, who appears to have been a -good judge both of locality and soil, the kirk would have been placed -in an obscure sterile district. Besides being in the neighbourhood -of good land, fine views of the upper part of Strathbogie and of the -surrounding hills are obtained from the present site.... St. Mary's -Well is about a hundred yards to the west." - -If Michael the Archangel did not fold his wings over any Scottish -wells, he at least gave name to several. There is a St. Michael's -Spring in Kirkmichael parish, Banffshire, and another at Dallas -in Elginshire. In both cases, the ancient church was dedicated to -him. Culsalmond, in Aberdeenshire, and Applegarth, in Dumfriesshire, -have, and Edinburgh once had, a St. Michael's Well. The best known is -probably the one at Linlithgow, with its quaint inscription--"Saint -Michael is kinde to straingers." Mr. J. R. Walker--to whose list -of Holy Wells in the "Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of -Scotland," vol. v. (new series), we have been indebted for various -useful hints--remarks, "The building covering this well dates only -from 1720.... It is conjectured that the statue was taken from the -Cross-well when restored about that date and placed here to represent -St. Michael, who is the patron saint of Linlithgow Church.... With the -exception of the statue, which is undoubtedly of much earlier date -than 1720, the structure shows the utter absence of architectural -knowledge--especially Gothic--characteristic of the last century -in Scotland. Michael was tutelar saint, not only of the church, but -also of the burgh of Linlithgow. In the town Arms he is represented -with outspread wings, standing on a serpent whose head he is piercing -with a spear. He was also the guardian of the burgh of Dumfries. At -Inverlussa, in North Knapdale parish, Argyllshire, may be seen -the ancient chapel and burying-ground of Kilmichael. A well in the -immediate neighbourhood is dedicated, not to the archangel, but to -some local ecclesiastic, whose name is now forgotten. In reference to -this spring, Captain White says, "Trickling out from under a rock, -is the Priest's Well (Tobar-ant-Sagairt), famous, like many another -spring of so-called holy water, for its miraculous healing virtues. I -believe the country people have by no means lost their faith in its -powers." The extent of the archangel's popularity in Scotland is shown -by his impress on topography. Among place-names we find at least -three Kilmichaels, and there are five parishes called Kirkmichael, -respectively in the counties of Dumfries, Ayr, Perth, Ross and -Cromarty, and Banff. A chapel is said to have been dedicated to him at -a very early date on the top of the Castle Rock at Edinburgh. Another -once stood in the demesne of Lovat, where was founded, about 1232, -a Priory for French monks, who were so struck with the beauty of the -spot that they called it Beau-lieu, now Beauly. Far west, in the outer -Hebrides, he had faithful votaries. On the island of Grimisay, close to -North Uist, a chapel styled Teampull Mhicheil was built in his honour -towards the close of the fourteenth century. It was the work of Amie, -otherwise Annie, wife of John of Isla, first Lord of the Isles, and -was used by her as an oratory when prevented by rough weather from -crossing the Minch to visit her friends in Lorne. That the archangel -should have had wells named after him is therefore not surprising. - - - - - - - - -CHAPTER V. - -STONE BLOCKS AND SAINTS' SPRINGS. - - Stone Beds and Chairs--Cave Life--Dwarfie Stone--Stone - Boats--Balthere--His Corpse--His Well and Cradle--Marnan--His - Influence on Topography--His Head--St. Marnan's - Chair and Well--Muchricha--Cathair Donan--St. Donan's - Well--Patrick--His Wells--St. Patrick's Vat--Quarry at - Portpatrick--Columbanus--Mark of his Hand--Kentigern's - Chair and Bed--His connection with Aberdeenshire--The Lady's - Bed--Thenew--Columba's Bed and Pillow--Holy Island--Traces - of Molio--St. Blane's Chapel--Kilmun--Inan--St. Innian's - Well--Tenant's Day--St. Inan's Chair and Springs--Kevin--Print - of Virgin's Knee--Traces of Columba at Keil--St. Cuthbert's - Stane--St. Madron's Bed--Mean-an-Tol--Morwenna--St. Fillan's - Chair--St. Fillan's Spring--Water for Sore Eyes--The Two - Fillans--Their Dedications--Queen Margaret's Seat--St. Bonnet's - Spring--The Fairies' Cradle--The Pot o' Pittenyoul--Church of - Invergowrie--Greystane--Cadger's Bridge--Wallace's Seat and Well. - - -Beds and Chairs of stone are connected with various early saints, -and as such relics are often associated with holy wells, some notice -of these may not be without interest. We have already seen that cave -life was rather popular among these early missionaries. Anything -of a rocky nature was therefore quite in line with their ascetic -ways. Hoy, one of the Orkney Islands, famous for its wild scenery, -and specially for the pillar of rock popularly styled The Old Man, -contains a curious monument of antiquity in the shape of a large -block of sandstone called The Dwarfie Stone, hollowed out long ago -by some unknown hand. The chamber, thus excavated, contains two beds -hewn out of the stone, one of them having a pillow of the same hard -material. On the floor of the chamber is a hearth where a fire had -evidently burned, and in the roof is a hole for the escape of the -smoke. Legend reports that a giant and his wife abode within; but the -hollow space was more probably the retreat of some hermit--perhaps, -of more than one, seeing there are two couches; though, possibly, -one of the supposed couches may have been a table and the other a -bed. Perhaps the anchorite had his spring whither he wandered daily -to slake his thirst; but, as far as we know, there is no tradition -regarding any holy well in the neighbourhood. - -Martin, in connection with his visit to Orkney, refers to a stone -in the chapel of Ladykirk, in South Ronaldshay, called St. Magnus's -Boat. The stone was four feet in length, and tapered away at both ends; -but its special feature was the print of two human feet on the upper -surface. A local tradition affirmed that when St. Magnus wanted on one -occasion to cross the Pentland Firth to Caithness he used this stone -as his boat, and that he afterwards carried it to Ladykirk. According -to another tradition, the stone served in pre-Reformation times for -the punishment of delinquents, who were obliged to stand barefooted -upon it by way of penance. There is a St. Magnus's Well, not in South -Ronaldshay, however, but at Birsay, in the mainland of Orkney. When -Conval crossed from Ireland to Scotland, in the seventh century, he, -too, made a block of stone do duty as a boat. It found a resting-place -beside the river Cart, near Renfrew, and was known as Currus Sancti -Convalli. By its means miraculous cures were wrought on man and -beast. A rock at the mouth of Aldham Bay, in Haddingtonshire, is known -as St. Baudron's Boat, and tradition says that he crossed on it from -the Bass, where he had a cell. This saint--called also Balthere and -Baldred--founded the monastery of Tyningham, and died early in the -seventh century. He must have been popular in the district, for, if we -can believe an old legend, the parishioners of the churches of Aldham, -Tyningham, and Prestonkirk tried to get possession of his relics. To -satisfy their demands his body was miraculously multiplied by three, -and each church was thus provided with one. Near Tantallon Castle is -St. Baldred's Well, and a fissure in the cliff at Whitberry, not far -from the mouth of the Tyne, is known as St. Baldred's Bed or Cradle. - -Marnan or Marnoch, besides giving name to the town of Kilmarnock, in -Ayrshire, and to the Island of Inchmarnoch, off Bute, is remembered in -the name of the Banffshire parish of Marnoch, where he laboured as a -missionary in the seventh century. His head was kept as a revered relic -in the church of Aberchirder, and solemn oaths were sworn by it. Use -was also made of it for therapeutic purposes. It was periodically -washed, and the water was given to the sick for the restoration of -their health. This was not an isolated case. Bede tells us, that after -Cuthbert's death, some of the water in which his body was washed, -was given to an epileptic boy along with some consecrated earth, -and brought about a cure. A stone, called St. Marnan's Chair, is, -or was till lately, to be seen at Aberchirder; and a spring, near -the parish manse, bears the saint's name. About a mile and a half -from the church of Aboyne, in Aberdeenshire, is St. Muchricha's Well, -and beside it is a stone marked with a cross. At one time, this stone -was removed. According to a local tradition, it was brought back by -Muchricha, the guardian of the well, who seemed unwilling to lose -sight of the lost property. In the parish of Kildonan, Sutherland, two -or three blocks of stone, placed in the form of a seat, went by the -name of Cathair Donan, i.e., Donan's Chair. In his cille or church, -Donan taught the truths of Christianity; and, seated in his cathair, -he administered justice to the people of the district. There is a -St. Donan's Well in Eigg, the island where the saint and his companion -clerics were murdered by the natives early in the seventh century. - -Patrick, the well-known missionary of Ireland, was reverenced also in -Scotland. There is a well dedicated to him in the parish of Muthill, -Perthshire, and close to it once stood a chapel, believed to have borne -his name. From the article on Muthill parish, in the "New Statistical -Account of Scotland," we learn that in former times the inhabitants -of the district held the saint's memory "in such veneration that, on -his day, neither the clap of the mill was heard nor the plough seen -to move in the furrow." There is a well dedicated to him in Dalziel -parish, Lanarkshire. About sixty yards from St. Patrick's temple, in -the island of Tyree, is a rock, with a hollow on the top, two feet -across and four feet deep, known to the islanders as St. Patrick's -Vat. At any rate it was so named at the end of last century. In a -quarry at Portpatrick, Wigtownshire, used in connection with the -harbour works, once flowed a spring dedicated to the saint. On the -rock below were formerly to be seen certain marks, said, by tradition, -to be the impression made by his knees and left hand. - -Columban or Columbanus, belonged, like Columba, to the sixth -century. Ireland was also his native land. When he left it he -travelled, not north like Columba, but south, and sought the sunny -lands of France and Italy. In the latter country he founded the -monastery of Bobbio among the Apennines. A writer in the "Antiquary" -for 1891 remarks, in connection with a recent visit to this monastery, -"I was taken to see a rock on the summit of a mountain called La -Spanna, near the cave to which the saint is said to have retired -for prayer and meditation. The impression of the saint's left hand -is still shown upon the face of this rock. The healing power of the -patron's hand is believed by the peasantry of the surrounding country -to linger still in the hollow marking, and many sufferers, climbing to -this spot, have found relief from laying their hand within its palm." - -In addition to his well beside the Molendinar, at Glasgow, Kentigern -had a chair and bed, both of stone. Concerning the latter, Bishop -Forbes, in his "Kalendars of Scottish Saints," says, "Kentigern's couch -was rather a sepulchre than a bed, and was of rock, with a stone for -a pillow, like Jacob. He rose in the night and sang psalms and hymns -till the second cock-crowing. Then he rushed into the cold stream, and -with eyes fixed on heaven he recited the whole psalter. Then, coming -out of the water he dried his limbs on a stone on the mountain called -Galath, and went forth for his day's work." Kentigern's work took him -beyond the limits of Strathclyde. He seems to have visited the uplands -of Aberdeenshire. The church of Glengairn, a parish now incorporated -with Tullich and Glenmuick, was probably founded by him. At any rate, -it was dedicated to him. A tradition of his untiring zeal survived -in Aberdeenshire down to the beginning of last century. According to -a proverb then current, systematic beneficence was said to be "like -St. Mungo's work, which was never done." The Isle of May, in the -Firth of Forth, has, on one of its rocky sides, a small cave called -The Lady's Bed, containing a pool in its floor. As Mr. Muir points -out in his "Ecclesiological Notes," it is traditionally associated -with Thenew, Kentigern's mother, "who," according to the legend, -"after being cast into the sea at Aberlady, was miraculously floated -to the May, and thence, in the same manner, to Culross, where she -was stranded and gave birth to the saint." Columba, when in Iona, -had a stone slab as a bed, and a block of stone as a pillow. Adamnan -mentions that, after the saint's death, this pillow stone was placed -as a monument over his grave. - -Guarding Lamlash Bay, where Haco gathered his shattered fleet after -the battle of Largs, in 1263, is Holy Island, known to the Norsemen -as Melansay. In this island is a cave, at one time inhabited by -the hermit Molio, and below it, near the beach, is his Holy Well, -for centuries reckoned efficacious in the cure of disease. A large -block of sandstone, flat on the top, with a series of recesses like -seats cut round its margin, constitutes the saint's chair and table -combined. Molio was educated in Bute by his uncle Blane, to whom the -now ruined St. Blane's Chapel was dedicated. He afterwards went to -Ireland, and was placed under Munna, who is still remembered in the -name of Kilmun, on Holy Loch, in the Firth of Clyde. - -Inan, probably the same as Finan, gave name to Inchinnan, in -Renfrewshire, though the ancient church of the parish was dedicated, -not to him, but to Conval. The church at Lamington, in Lanarkshire, -was dedicated to Inan. St. Innian's Well is in the parish. He is the -patron saint of Beith, in Ayrshire. The annual fair held there in -August is popularly called Tenant's Day--Tenant being a corruption of -St. Inan. St. Inan's Well and St. Inan's Chair keep his memory fresh -in the district. Some particulars about them are given by Mr. Robert -Love in the "Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland", -vol. xi.:--"This chair is in the rocky hill-face at the west end of -the Cuff hills, and from its elevated position a wide tract of country -from south to north is overlooked. At the base of the hill, and distant -from the chair some hundred yards, is a well called St. Inan's Well, -a double spring, which issues from the rock at two points close by each -other, and which is almost unapproachable in respect of its abundance -and purity. This chair is formed in part, possibly by nature, out of -the rock of the hill. Its back and two sides are closed in, while, -in front, to the west, it is open. The seat proper is above the -ground in front about two feet two inches, is two feet four inches -in breadth, and one foot four inches in depth backwards." Visitors -to the seven churches at Glendalough, in county Wicklow, Ireland, -are usually shown St. Kevin's Seat on a block of rock. As a proof of -its genuineness the mark made by the saint's leg and the impression -of his fingers are duly pointed out by the local guide. - -In Kirkmaiden parish, Wigtownshire, the print of the Virgin's knee -was at one time shown on a stone where she knelt in prayer. There was -a chapel dedicated to her in the neighbourhood. In Southend parish, -Kintyre, are the remains of St. Columba's Chapel, standing in the -ancient burying-ground of Keil. In his "Ecclesiological Notes" Mr. Muir -observes, "Under an overhanging rock, close by on the roadside, -is St. Columba's Well, and on the top of a hillock, overlooking the -west end of the burial ground there is a flat rock bearing on its -top the impress of two feet, made, it seems, by those of the saint -whilst he stood marking out and hallowing the spot on which his chapel -should rest." In Bromfield parish, Cumberland, is a piece of granite -rock called St. Cuthbert's Stane, and near it is a copious spring of -remarkably pure water. Brand, in his "Popular Antiquities," says that -"this spring, probably from its having been anciently dedicated to -the same St. Cuthbert, is called Helly Well, i.e., Haly or Holy Well." - -Mr. R. C. Hope, in his "Holy Wells," refers to a block of stone -near St. Madron's Spring, in Cornwall, locally known as St. Madron's -Bed. We are told that "on it impotent folk reclined when they came -to try the cold water cure." In the same parish is a pre-historic -relic in the form of a granite block with a hole in the centre of -it. It is known in Cornish as Mean-an-Tol, i.e., the Stone of the -Hole. Its name in English is The Creeping Stone. Sickly children were -at one time passed through the hole a certain number of times, in the -belief that a cure would follow. This superstitious custom recalls what -was at one time done beside St. Paul's Well, in the parish of Fyvie, -Aberdeenshire. Close to the well were the ruins of an old church. One -of its stones was supported on other two with a space below. It -went by the name of The Shargar Stone--shargar signifying a weakly -child. The stone, in this instance, got its name from the custom in -the district of mothers passing their ailing children through the -space below the stone, in the belief that whatever hindered their -growth would thereby be removed. Mr. Hope recounts a tradition -concerning Morwenstowe, in Devon, and its patron saint, Morwenna, -to the effect that when the parishioners wished to build a church, -Morwenna brought a large stone from the foot of the cliff to form -the font. Feeling fatigued by the climb she laid down the stone to -rest herself, and from the spot a spring gushed forth. - -On the top of green Dunfillan, in the parish of Comrie, is a rocky seat -known in the district as Fillan's Chair. Here, according to tradition, -the saint sat and gave his blessing to the country around. Towards -the end of last century, and doubtless even later, this chair was -associated with a superstitious remedy for rheumatism in the back. The -person to be cured sat in the chair, and then, lying on his back, was -dragged down the hill by the legs. The influence of the saint lingering -about the spot was believed to insure recovery. St. Fillan's Spring, -at the hill-foot, has already been referred to, in connection with its -mysterious change of site. It was much frequented at one time by old -and young, especially on 1st May and 1st August. The health seekers -walked or were carried thrice round the spring from east to west, -following the course of the sun. The next part of the ritual consisted -in the use of the water for drinking and washing, in throwing a white -stone on the saint's cairn, near the spring, and in leaving a rag as -an offering before departing. In 1791 not fewer than seventy persons -visited the spot at the dates mentioned. The writer of the article -on Comrie in the "Old Statistical Account of Scotland" supplies these -particulars, and adds, "At the foot of the hill there is a basin made -by the saint on the top of a large stone, which seldom wants water, -even in the greatest drought, and all who are distressed with sore eyes -must wash them three times with this water." Fillan, to whom Comrie -parish is thus so much indebted, flourished about the sixth century, -and must not be confounded with the other missionary of the same name, -who dwelt more than a century later, in the straths of the Fillan -and the Dochart, between Tyndrum and Killin. Concerning the former, -Dr. Skene writes in his "Celtic Scotland": "Fillan, called Anlobar or -'the leper,' whose day is 20th June, is said in the Irish calendar to -have been of Rath Erenn in Alban, or the fort of the Earn in Scotland, -and St. Fillans, at the east end of Loch Earn, takes its name from him; -while the church of Aberdour, on the northern shore of the Firth of -Forth, is also dedicated to him." The other Fillan had his Chapel -and Holy Pool halfway between Tyndrum and Crianlarich. He is also -connected with Fife. At Pittenweem, in that county, his cave is to be -seen, and in it is his holy well, supplied with water from crevices -in the rock. At the mill of Killin, in Perthshire, once stood a block -of stone, known as St. Fillan's Chair. Close to the spot flows the -Dochart, and some person or persons, whose muscles were stronger than -their antiquarian instincts, sought not unsuccessfully to throw the -relic into the river. The Renfrewshire parish of Killallan, united in -1760 to that of Houston, got its name from Fillan. Its ancient church, -now ruined, was dedicated to him. Near the ruins, are a stone with -a hollow in it and a spring, called respectively St. Fillan's Seat -and St. Fillan's Well. - -About two miles and a half to the south-east of Dunfermline, -is a block of stone, believed to be the last remnant of a group -of pre-historic Standing Stones. According to tradition, it was -used by Queen Margaret, as a seat where she rested, when on her -way to and from the ferry over the Forth. A farm in the immediate -neighbourhood is called St. Margaret's Stone Farm, after the block -in question. In his "Annals of Dunfermline" Dr. Henderson says, -"In 1856 this stone was removed to an adjacent site, by order of the -road surveyor, in order to widen the road which required no widening, -as no additional traffic was likely to ensue, but the reverse; it is -therefore much to be regretted that the old landmark was removed. It -is in contemplation to have the old stone replaced on its old site -(as nearly as possible) and made to rest, with secure fixings, on a -massive base or plinth stone." Not far from the town of Cromarty is -St. Bennet's Spring, beside the ruins of St. Bennet's Chapel. Close to -the spot once stood a stone trough, termed The Fairies' Cradle. Hugh -Miller, in his "Scenes and Legends of the North of Scotland," says -that this trough was "famous for virtues derived from the saint, like -those of the well. For, if a child was carried away by the fairies -and some mischievous imp left in its place, the parents had only to -lay the changeling in this trough, and, by some invisible process, -their child would be immediately restored to them. The Fairies' -Cradle came to a sudden end about the year 1745. It was then broken -to pieces by the parish minister, with the assistance of two of his -elders, that it might no longer serve the purposes of superstition." - -The following, from the Rev. Dr. Gregor's "Folklore of the North-East -of Scotland," has certainly nothing to do with a saint, but in other -respects, has a bearing on the subject in hand:--"The Pot o' Pittenyoul -is a small but romantic rock-pool in a little stream called the 'Burn -o' the Riggins,' which flows past the village of Newmills of Keith. On -the edge of the pool are some hollows worn away by the water and the -small stones and sand carried down by the stream. These hollows to a -lively imagination have the shape of a seat, and the story is, that -the devil, at some far-back time, sat down on the edge of the pool and -left his mark." Probably at an equally distant date, the devil made -his presence felt, further south, though in a different way. He had -great objections to a church built at Invergowrie, in Perthshire, and, -in order to knock it down, hurled a huge boulder across the Tay from -the opposite coast of Fife. We are not aware that the stone struck -the church. At any rate it can be seen in the grounds of Greystane, -a property to which, according to local tradition, it gave name. Sir -William Wallace, though never canonized, had certainly more of the -saint about him than the last-mentioned personage. We find various -traditions concerning him in the Upper Ward of Lanarkshire. His -connection with Lanark is well known. At Biggar, he is said, by -Blind Harry, to have defeated the English, who greatly outnumbered -his forces. This battle took place on Biggar Moss. A few days before -the fight, he entered the enemy's camp, disguised as a cadger or -pedlar, to discover the strength of the English army. Being pursued, -he turned on his assailants while crossing a bridge over Biggar -Water, a little to the west of the town. A foot-bridge there still -goes by the name of The Cadger's Bridge. A rock with a hollow in it, -lying to the north of Vizzyberry, is locally styled Wallace's Seat, -and a spring near the spot is still known as Wallace's Well. - - - - - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - -HEALING AND HOLY WELLS. - - Healing and Holy--Modern Health-resorts--King's - Ease--Poorhouse of Ayr--Muswell--St. Martin's Chapel--Alum - Wells--Petrifying Springs--Peterhead--Moss of Melshach--Well - of Spa--Chapel Wells at Kirkmaiden--Medan--St. Catherine's - Balm Well--The Sciennes--St. Bernard's Well--Non-mineral - Wells--Early Saints--Water for Discipline--For - Baptism--Burghead--Lough Shanan--Tobar-an-easbuig--Poetry and - Superstition--Heljabrün--Trinity Hospital and Well--St. Mungo's - Well--Fuaran n'Gruarach--Spring in Athole--Fiddler's Well--Water - as a Prophylactic. - - -Healing and holy have an etymological kinship. The one is commonly -associated with matters relating to the body, and the other with -those relating to the soul. If the body is healed, it is said to be -whole and its owner hale; and if the soul is healed, it is said to -be holy. All these words have one idea in common, and hence we need -not wonder that healing wells were, as a rule, reckoned holy wells, -and vice versa. When speaking of the virtues of such wells, Mrs. Stone, -in her "God's Acre," puts the point exactly, if somewhat quaintly, when -she says, "Before chemistry was born, when medical science was little -known, these medical virtues, so plainly and indisputably ostensible, -were attributed to the beneficence of the saint or angel to whom the -spring had been dedicated." Many still go to Moffat, Bridge-of-Allan, -and Strathpeffer to drink the waters, but probably, none of those -health-seekers now rely on magic for a cure. It was quite otherwise -in former times. Cures wrought at Lourdes are still believed, by many, -to be due to the blessing of the water by the Virgin Mary. - -Not far from the highway between Ayr and Prestwick once stood a -lazar-house called King's Ease or King's Case, known in the sixteenth -century as Kilcaiss. Its ruins were to be seen till well on in the -present century. According to tradition, the hospital was founded -for lepers by King Robert Bruce, who was himself afflicted with a -disease believed to be leprosy. This was done as a thank-offering, -for benefit received from the water of a neighbouring well. The spring -was doubtless sacred to some saint, probably to Ninian, to whom the -hospital was dedicated, and we can safely infer that the patron got -the credit of the cure. To maintain the lepers the king gifted various -lands to the hospital, among others, those of Robertlone, in Dundonald -parish, and of Sheles and Spital-Sheles, in Kyle Stewart. The right -of presentation to the hospital was vested in the family of Wallace -of Craigie. At a later date the lands belonging to the charity passed -into other hands. In the third volume of his "Caledonia," published -in 1824, Chalmers remarks, "The only revenue that remained to it was -the feu-duties payable from the lands granted in fee-firm, and these, -amounting to 64 bolls of meal and 8 marks Scots of money, with 16 -threaves of straw for thatching the hospital, are still paid. For more -than two centuries past the diminished revenue has been shared among -eight objects of charity in equal shares of 8 bolls of meal and 1 mark -Scots to each. The leprosy having long disappeared, the persons who are -now admitted to the benefit of this charity are such as labour under -diseases which are considered as incurable, or such as are in indigent -circumstances." In the time of Charles I., the persons enjoying the -benefit of the charity lived in huts or cottages in the vicinity of -the chapel. In 1787 the right of presentation was bought from the -Wallaces by the burgh of Ayr, and the poorhouse there is thus the -lineal descendant of King Robert's hospital. Mr. R. C. Hope, in his -"Holy Wells," alludes to the interesting fact that Bruce had a free -pass from the English king to visit Muswell, near London, close to the -site of the Alexandra Palace. This well, dedicated to St. Lazarus, at -one time belonged to the hospital order of St. John's, Clerkenwell, -and was resorted to in cases of leprosy. Bruce's foundation at -Ayr recalls another at Stony Middleton, in Derbyshire. The latter, -however, was a chapel, and not a hospital. Tradition says that a -crusader, belonging to the district, was cured of leprosy by means -of the mineral water there, and that in gratitude he built a chapel -and dedicated it to his patron saint, Martin. - -In glancing at the history of holy wells, it is not difficult -to understand why certain springs were endowed with mysterious -properties. When there were no chemists to analyse mineral springs, -anyone tasting the water would naturally enough think that there was -something strange about it, a notion that would not vanish with the -first draught. The wonder, too, would grow if the water was found -to put fresh vigour into wearied frames. Alum wells, like the one -in Carnwath parish, Lanarkshire, would, through their astringent -qualities, arrest attention. A well at Halkirk, Caithness, must have -been a cause of wonder, if we judge by the description given of it -in the "Old Statistical Account of Scotland," where we read, that -"on its surface lies always a thin beautiful kind of substance, that -varies like the plumage of the peacock displayed in all its glory to -the rays of the sun." - -The petrifying power of certain springs would also tend to bring them -into notice. There is a famous well of this kind near Tarras Water, -in Canonbie parish, Dumfriesshire. In Kirkmaiden parish, Wigtownshire, -is a dropping cave, known as Peter's Paps. In former times it was -resorted to by persons suffering from whooping-cough. The treatment -consisted in standing with upturned face below the drop, and allowing -it to fall into the open mouth. For more than two centuries and -a half, the mineral waters of Peterhead have been famous for both -internal and external use, though their fame is not now so great as -formerly. Towards the end of the seventeenth century, they were spoken -of as one of the six wonders of Buchan. The principal well is situated -to the south of the town, and is popularly called the Wine Well. Its -water is strongly impregnated with carbonic acid, muriate of iron, -muriate of lime, and muriate of soda. The chalybeate spring in the -Moss of Melshach, in Kennethmont parish, had at one time a considerable -local reputation for the cure of man and beast. Clothes of the former -and harness of the latter were left beside the well. Visits were -paid to it in the month of May. Another Aberdeenshire health-resort -formerly attracted many visitors, viz., Pannanich, near Ballater, with -its four chalybeate springs. These are said to have been accidentally -discovered, about the middle of last century, but were then probably -only rediscovered. They were at first found beneficial in the case of -scrofula, and were afterwards deemed infallible in all diseases. In his -"Antiquities and Scenery of the North of Scotland," Cordiner, under -date 1776, writes: "In coming down these hilly regions, stopped the -first night at 'Pananach-lodge:' an extensive building opposite to the -strange rocks and pass of Bolliter. There, a mineral well and baths, -whose virtues have been often experienced, are become much frequented -by the infirm. The lodge, containing a number of bed-chambers, -and a spacious public room, is fitted up for the accommodation of -those who come to take the benefit of the waters. Goat whey is also -there obtained in the greatest perfection." Almost a century later, -another visitor to the spot, viz., Queen Victoria, thus writes, -in her "More Leaves from the Journal of a Life in the Highlands": -"I had driven with Beatrice to Pannanich wells, where I had been -many years ago. Unfortunately, almost all the trees which covered -the hills have been cut down. We got out and tasted the water, which -is strongly impregnated with iron, and looked at the bath and at the -humble, but very clean, accommodation in the curious little old inn, -which used to be very much frequented." The Well of Spa, at Aberdeen, -was more famous in former times than it is now. There are two springs, -both of them chalybeate. The amount of iron in the water, however, -diminished very considerably more than fifty years ago--a change due to -certain digging operations in the neighbourhood. The present structure -connected with the well was renovated in 1851. It was built in 1670 -to replace an earlier one, repaired by George Jamieson, the artist, -but soon afterwards completely demolished by the overflowing of the -adjoining Denburn. The present building, according to Mr. A. Jervise, -in the fourth volume of the "Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries -of Scotland," "bears representations of the Scottish Thistle, the -Rose of England, and the Fleur-de-lis of France, surmounting this -inscription:-- - - - 'As heaven gives me - So give I thee.' - - -Below these words is a carving of the rising sun, and the following -altered quotation from Horace:-- - - - 'Hoc fonte derivata Salus - In patriam populumque fluat.' - - -"It appears," continues Mr. Jervise, "that the virtues of this Spa were -early known and appreciated, for in 1615 record says that there was -'a long wyde stone which conveyed the waters from the spring, with -the portraicture of six Apostles hewen upon either side thereof.' It -is described as having then been 'verie old and worne.'" - -An unusual kind of holy well, viz., one, in which salt water takes -the place of fresh, is to be found in the case of the Chapel Wells -in Kirkmaiden parish, Wigtownshire, half way between the bays of -Portankill and East Tarbet. About thirty yards to the north-west are -the ruins of St. Medan's Chapel, partly artificial and partly natural, -a cave forming the inner portion. In days gone by, the spot was much -frequented on the first Sunday of May (O.S.), called Co' Sunday, after -this cave or cove. Dr. Robert Trotter, who examined the chapel and -the wells in 1870, gives the results of the observations in the eighth -volume of the "Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland" -(new series). He says, "These wells--three natural cavities in a -mass of porphyritic trap--are within the tide mark, and are filled -by the sea at high water of ordinary tides. The largest is circular, -five feet in diameter at the top, and four feet at one side, shelving -down to five feet at the other, and is wider inside than at the top, -something like a kailpot in fact, and it is so close to the edge -of the rock that at one place its side is not two inches thick. The -other wells almost touch it, and are about one foot six inches wide -and deep respectively." Sickly children were brought to be bathed, -the time selected being just before sunrise. Dr. Trotter mentions -that children are still brought occasionally, sometimes from long -distances. The ceremony described to him by an eyewitness was as -follows:--"The child was stripped naked, and taken by the spaul--that -is, by one of the legs--and plunged headforemost into the big well till -completely submerged; it was then pulled out, and the part held on by -was dipped in the middle well, and then the whole body was finished -by washing the eyes in the smallest one, altogether very like the -Achilles and Styx business, only much more thorough. An offering was -then left in the old chapel, on a projecting stone inside the cave -behind the west door, and the cure was complete." - -Much uncertainty attaches to Medan or Medana, the tutelar saint of -the spot. One legend makes her a contemporary of Ninian. According to -another, she lived about one hundred years later. Dr. Skene thinks -she is probably the same as Monenna, otherwise Edana, who is said -to have founded churches in Galloway, and at Edinburgh, Stirling -and Longforgan. Kirkmaiden parish, at one time called Kirkmaiden in -Ryndis, is believed to be named after her, like the other parish known -as Kirkmaiden in Farnes, now united to the parish of Glasserton. An -incident in her history has a bearing on the present subject. According -to the Aberdeen Breviary, she fled from her home in Ireland to escape -from the importunities of a certain noble knight who sought to marry -her. Accompanied by two handmaidens, she crossed to Galloway and took -up her abode in the Rhinns. The knight followed her. When Medana saw -him she placed herself along with her maidens on a rock in the sea. By -a miracle, this rock became a boat, and she was conveyed over the water -to Farnes. Again the knight appeared. This time Medana sought refuge -among the branches of a tree, and, from this coign of vantage, asked -her lover what it was that made him pursue her so persistently. "Your -face and eyes," replied the knight. Thereupon Medana plucked out -her eyes and threw them down at the feet of her lover, who was so -filled with grief and penitence that he immediately departed. On the -spot where her eyes fell a spring of water gushed forth, and in it -Medana washed her face, doubtless thereby restoring her sight. There -is much to favour the view taken by Dr. Trotter: that "possibly the -well was the original institution; the cave a shelter or dwelling -for the genius who discovered the miraculous virtues of the water, -and his successors; and the chapel a later edition for the benefit of -the clergy, who supplanted the old religion by grafting Christianity -upon it, St. Medana being a still later institution." - -St. Catherine's Balm Well, at Liberton, near Edinburgh, -is still considered beneficial in the treatment of cutaneous -affections. The spring is situated on a small estate, called after -it, St. Catherine's. Peter Swave, who visited Scotland in 1535, -on a political mission, mentions that near Edinburgh there was a -spot in a monastery where oil flowed out of the ground. This was -his way of describing the Balm Well. Bitumenous particles, produced -by decomposition of coal in seams beneath, intermittently appear on -the surface of the water. This curious phenomenon must have attracted -attention at a very early period, and one can easily understand why the -well was in consequence regarded with superstitious reverence. When -speaking of this well, Brome, who visited Scotland about 1700, -observes, "It is of a marvellous nature, for as the coal whereof it -proceeds is very apt quickly to kindle into a flame, so is the oil -of a sudden operation to heal all scabs and tumours that trouble the -outward skin; and the head and hands are speedily healed by virtue -of this oil, which retains a very sweet smell." According to Boece, -the fountain sprang from a drop of oil, brought to Queen Margaret -of Scotland, from the tomb of St. Catherine on Mount Sinai. The same -writer mentions that Queen Margaret built a chapel to St. Catherine, -in the neighbourhood of the spring. In 1504 an offering was made by -James IV. in this chapel, described as "Sanct Kathrine's of the oly, -i.e., oily well." The later history of the spring is thus referred -to by Sir Daniel Wilson, in his "Memorials of Edinburgh in the Olden -Time": "When James VI. returned to Scotland, in 1617, he visited the -well, and commanded it to be enclosed with an ornamental building -with a flight of steps to afford ready access to the healing waters; -but this was demolished by the soldiers of Cromwell, and the well now -remains enclosed with plain stone-work, as it was partially repaired -at the Restoration." About three miles to the north of the well, -once stood the Convent of St. Catherine of Sienna--a religious -foundation which gave name to the part of Edinburgh still called -"The Sciennes." What Sir Daniel Wilson describes as "an unpicturesque -fragment of the ruins" served to the middle of the present century, -and perhaps, even later, as a sheep-fold for the flocks pasturing in -the adjoining meadow. Lord Cockburn, in his "Memorials of His Time," -mentions that in his boyhood, about 1785, "a large portion of the -building survived." Before the Reformation the nuns of this convent -walked annually in solemn procession to the Balm Well. The saints to -whom the convent and the spring were respectively dedicated were, of -course, not identical, though bearing the same name. The coincidence -of name, however, evidently led to these yearly visits. As it may be -taken for granted that the two Catherines were on friendly terms, the -pilgrimages doubtless proved a benefit to all who took part in them. At -any rate, it is safe to assume that the health of the pilgrims would be -the better, and not the worse, for their walk in the fresh country air. - -In the valley below the Dean Bridge, Edinburgh, close to the Water of -Leith, is the sulphur spring known as St. Bernard's Well--traditionally -connected with Bernard the Abbot of Clairvaux. In his "Journey -through Scotland," about 1793, Heron remarks: "The citizens of -Edinburgh repaired eagerly to distant watering-places, without -inquiring whether they might find medicinal water at home. But within -these few years, Lord Gardenstone became proprietor of St. Bernard's -Well. His lordship's philanthropy and public spirit suggested to him -the possibility of rendering its waters more useful to the public. He -has, at a very considerable expense, built a handsome Grecian edifice -over the spring, in which the waters are distributed by a proper -person, and at a very trifling price. His lordship's endeavours -have accomplished his purpose. The citizens of Edinburgh are now -persuaded that these waters are salutary in various cases; and have, -particularly, a singular tendency to give a good breakfasting appetite; -in consequence of which, old and young, males and females, have, -for these two or three last summers, crowded to pay their morning -respects to Hygeia in the chapel which Lord Gardenstone has erected -to her." The last allusion is to a statue of Hygeia placed within the -building on its erection, in 1789. The goddess of health, however, -eventually showed signs of decrepitude; and, about a hundred years -later, the original statue was replaced by one in marble through -the liberality of the late Mr. William Nelson, who also restored the -pump-room and made the surroundings more attractive. - -Coming next to consider the case of springs not possessing medicinal -qualities, in other words, such as have no taste save that of -clear and sparkling water, we find here, too, many a trace of -superstition. Springs of this kind were probably holy wells first, -and then healing wells. We have already seen that, in a large number -of instances, fountains became sacred through their connection with -early saints. It usually happened that the Christian missionary took up -his abode near some fountain, or river, whence he could get a supply -of water for his daily needs. In later times the well or stream was -endowed with miraculous properties. Water was also used for purposes -of bodily discipline. It was a practice among some of the early saints -to stand immersed in it while engaged in devotion. The colder the -water, the better was it for the purpose. Special significance, too, -was given to water through its connection with baptism, particularly -when the rite was administered to persons who had only recently -emerged from heathenism. - -At Burghead, in Elginshire, is an interesting rock-cut basin supplied -with water from a spring. Burghead is known to have been the site -of an early Christian church, and Dr. James Macdonald believes that -the basin in question was anciently used as a baptistery. All trace -of it, and well-nigh all memory of it, had vanished till the year -1809. Extensive alterations were then in progress at the harbour, and -a scarcity of water was felt by the workmen. A hazy tradition about -the existence of a well, where the ground sounded hollow when struck, -was revived. Digging operations were begun, and, at a depth of between -twenty and thirty feet below the surface, the basin was discovered. We -quote the following details from Dr. Macdonald's article on the subject -in the "Antiquary" for April, 1892:--"Descending into a hollow by a -flight of twenty well-worn steps, most of them also hewn out of the -solid rock, we come upon the reservoir. The dimensions of the basin or -piscina are as follow--greatest breadth of the four sides, ten feet -eight inches, eleven feet, ten feet ten inches, and ten feet seven -inches respectively; depth, four feet four inches. One part of the -smooth bottom had been dug up at the time of the excavations, either -because it had projected above the rest, as if for some one to stand -upon, or because it was thought that by doing so the capacity of the -well and perhaps the supply of the water would be increased. Between -the basin and the perpendicular sides of the reservoir a small ledge -of sandstone has been left about two feet six inches in breadth. These -sides measure sixteen feet three inches, sixteen feet seven inches, -sixteen feet nine inches, and seventeen feet respectively; and the -height from the ledge upwards is eleven feet nine inches. The angles, -both of the basin and its rock walls, are well rounded. In one corner -the sandstone has been left in the form of a semi-circular pedestal, -measuring two feet nine inches by one foot ten inches, and one foot -two inches in height; whilst in that diagonally opposite there is a -circular hole, five inches in diameter and one foot four inches in -depth. From the ledge, as you enter, two steps of irregular shape -and rude workmanship lead down into the basin. The sides of the -reservoir are fissured and rent by displacement of the strata; and -portions of the rock, that have given way from time to time, have -been replaced by modern masonry. The arched roof is also modern." An -Irish legend accounts for the origin of Lough-shanan, in County Clare, -by connecting it with the baptism of Senanus, from whom it derived -its name. "The saint, while still an infant, was miraculously gifted -with speech and told his mother to pluck three rushes in a valley near -her home. When this was done, a lake appeared, and in it Senanus was -baptised according to a form of words prescribed by himself." - -In the eighth volume of the "Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries -of Scotland" (new series), Sir Daniel Wilson gives an account of the -ancient burying-ground of Kilbride, some three miles from Oban. "I -had visited the venerable cemetery repeatedly," he tells us, "and -had carefully investigated its monuments, without heeding the sacred -fountain which wells up among the bracken and grass, about a dozen -yards from the gate of the churchyard, and flows in a stream down the -valley. Yet, on inquiry, I learned that it was familiarly known as -Tober-an-easbuig, i.e., The Bishop's Well or The Holy Well. Here, as -we may presume, the primitive missionary and servant of St. Bridget, -by whom Christianity was introduced into the wild district of Lorne, -baptised his first converts; and here, through many succeeding -generations, the neophytes were signed with the sign of the cross, -and taught the mystic significance of the holy rite." - -The thoughts suggested by the sight of a crystal spring are alluded to -by Mr. Hunt in his "Romances of the West of England," where he says, -"The tranquil beauty of the rising waters, whispering the softest -music, like the healthful breathing of a sleeping infant, sends a -feeling of happiness through the soul of the thoughtful observer, -and the inner man is purified by its influence, as the outer man is -cleansed by ablution." This is the poetic view; but the superstitious -view is not far to seek. - -In the "Home of a Naturalist," Mrs. Saxby thus recounts a Shetland -superstition of a gruesome kind:--"There is a fine spring well near -Watlie, called Heljabrün, and the legend of it is this: A wandering -packman (of the Claud Halcro class) was murdered and flung into -Heljabrün. Its water had always been known to possess healing power, -and, after becoming seasoned by the unfortunate pedlar's remains, -the virtue in the water became even more efficacious. People came -from far and near to procure the precious fluid. All who took it away -had to throw three stones or a piece of 'white money' into the well, -and the water never failed to cure disease." - -On Soutra Hill, the most westerly ridge of the Lammermoors, -once stood the hospital built by Malcolm IV., about 1164, for the -reception of wayfarers. It was dedicated to the Holy Trinity. Every -vestige of the building was removed between forty and fifty years -ago except a small aisle, appropriated in the seventeenth century by -the Pringles of Beatman's Acre as a burial vault. A short distance -below the site of the hospital is a spring of pure water, locally -known as Trinity Well. In former times it was much visited for -its healing virtues. A similar reputation was for long enjoyed by -St. Mungo's Well, on the west side of St. Mungo's Hill, in the parish -of Huntly, Aberdeenshire. In Fortingall parish, Perthshire, on the -hillside near the Old Castle of Garth, is a limpid spring called by -the natives Fuaran n' Gruarach, and also Fuaran n' Druibh Chasad, -signifying the Well of the Measles and the Well of the Whooping-Cough -respectively. Mr. James Mackintosh Gow describes the locality in an -article in the eighth volume of the "Proceedings of the Society of -Antiquaries of Scotland" (new series). He says, "It was famous in the -district for the cure of these infantile diseases, and nearly all I -spoke to on the subject had themselves been taken to the well, or had -taken their own children to drink the water; and when an epidemic -of the maladies occurred my informant remarked on the curious and -amusing spectacle the scene presented on a summer morning, when groups -of children, with their mothers, went up the hill in procession. The -last epidemic of whooping-cough occurred in 1882, when all the children -of the neighbourhood were taken to the well." Some forty yards higher -up the slope than the well, is an earth-fast boulder of mica schist, -having on one of its sides two natural cavities. The larger of these -holds about a quart and is usually filled with rain water. "It was the -custom," Mr. Gow tells us, "to carry the water from the well (perhaps -the well was at one time at the foot of the stone) and place it in -the cavity, and then give the patients as much as they could take, -the water being administered with a spoon made from the horn of a -living cow, called a beodhare or living horn; this, it appears, -being essential to effect a cure." On the farm of Balandonich, -in Athole, is a spring famous, till a comparatively recent period, -for the cure of various maladies. A story is told in the district of -a woman, unable to walk through rheumatism, having been brought in a -wheel-barrow from her home four miles away. She bathed her limbs in -the spring, and returned home on foot. - -Hugh Miller, in his "Scenes and Legends of the North of Scotland," -recounts a tradition concerning a certain spring near the town of -Cromarty known as Fiddler's Well, from the name of the young man -who discovered its virtues. The water gushes out from the side of -a bank covered with moss and daisies. The tradition, considerably -abbreviated, is as follows:--William Fiddler and a companion were -seized with consumption at the same time. The latter died not long -afterwards, and Fiddler, though wasted to a shadow, was able to follow -his friend's body to the grave. That night, in a dream, he heard the -voice of his dead companion, who told him to meet him at a certain spot -in the neighbourhood of the town. Thither he went, still in his dream, -and seated himself on a bank to await his coming. Then, remembering -that his friend was dead, he burst into tears. "At this moment a -large field-bee came humming from the west and began to fly round his -head.... It hummed ceaselessly round and round him, until at length -its murmurings seemed to be fashioned into words, articulated in the -voice of his deceased companion--'Dig, Willie, and drink!' it said, -'Dig, Willie, and drink!' He accordingly set himself to dig, and no -sooner had he torn a sod out of the bank than a spring of clear water -gushed from the hollow." Next day he took the bee's advice. He found -a spring, drank the water, and regained his health. Hugh Miller adds, -"its virtues are still celebrated, for though the water be only simple -water it must be drunk in the morning, and as it gushes from the bank; -and, with pure air, exercise, and early rising for its auxiliaries, -it continues to work cures." - -We need not multiply examples of non-mineral healing wells. Whatever -benefit may be derived from them cannot be ascribed to any specially -medicinal quality in their waters. The secret of their popularity is -to be sought for in the annals of medical folklore, and not in those -of scientific medicine. - -Certain springs got the credit of warding off disease. On the island -of Gigha, near the west coast of Kintyre, is a farm called Ardachad -or High Field. Tradition says that a plague once visited the island, -but that the people, belonging to the farm, escaped its ravages. This -immunity was ascribed to the good offices of a well, in an adjoining -field. The high situation of the farm and the presence of good water -would tend to prolong health, without the intervention of magic. The -Rev. Dr. Gregor, in his "Folklore of the North-East of Scotland," -alludes to St. Olaus' Well in Cruden parish, Aberdeenshire. Its -virtues are recorded in the couplet-- - - - "St. Olav's Well, low by the sea - Where peat nor plague shall never be." - - -On the top of the Touch Hills, in Stirlingshire, rises St. Corbet's -Spring. The belief formerly prevailed that whoever drank its water -before sunrise on the first Sunday of May would have life prolonged -for another year. As a consequence, crowds flocked to the spot early -on the day in question. In 1840 some old people were still living who, -in their younger days, had taken part in these annual pilgrimages. In -mediæval times, the belief prevailed that no one baptised with the -water of Trinity Gask Well, Perthshire, would be attacked by the -plague. When water for baptism was drawn from some holy well in the -neighbourhood, its use, in most instances, was doubtless due to a -belief in its prophylactic power. As already mentioned, baptisms in -St. Machar's Cathedral, Old Aberdeen, were at one time administered -in water taken from the saint's spring. Before the Reformation the -water used at the chapel of Airth, in Stirlingshire, is believed to -have been procured from a well, dedicated to the Virgin, near Abbeyton -Bridge. We do not know of any spring in Scotland with a reputation -for the prevention of hydrophobia. St. Maelrubha's Well, on Innis -Maree, is said to have lost its efficacy for a time through contact -with a mad dog. What happened, when a mad bull was plunged into the -Holy Pool at Strathfillan, will be alluded to later. In the village -of Les Saintes Maries, in the south of France, is an interesting -twelfth-century church with a well in the crypt. The water, when -drunk, is said to prevent any evil consequences from the bite of -a mad dog. Mr. E. H. Barker gives an account of this well in his -"Wayfaring in France." He says, "The curé told me that about thirty -people, who had been bitten by dogs said to be rabid, came annually -to drink the water; and, he added, 'not one of them has ever gone -mad.' M. Pasteur had become a formidable rival of the well." - - - - - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - -WATER-CURES. - - Trying different Springs--Curing all Diseases--Fivepennies Well - --Water and Dulse--Special Diseases--Toothache--Sore Eyes-- - Blindness--Headaches and Nervous Disorders--Deafness-- - Whooping-cough--Gout--Sores--Ague--Sterility--Epilepsy-- - Sacrifice of a Cock--St. Tegla's Well--Insanity--Severe Treatment - --Innis-Maree--Struthill--Teampull-Mòr--Hol y Pool--Fillan's - History and Relics--Persistence of Superstition. - - -Some people apply to different doctors in succession, in the hope that -new professional advice may bring the coveted boon of health. For the -same reason visits were paid to different consecrated wells. On the -principle that "far fowls have fair feathers," a more or less remote -spring was resorted to, in the hope that distance might lend special -enchantment to its water. Certain springs had the reputation of healing -every ailment. A spring of this kind is what Martin calls "a catholicon -for all diseases." He so styles various springs in the Western Isles, -and one in the Larger Cumbrae in the Firth of Clyde. Fivepennies Well, -in Eigg, had some curious properties. "The natives told me," he says, -"that it never fails to cure any person of their first disease, only -by drinking a quantity of it for the space of two or three days; -and that if a stranger lie at this well in the night-time, it will -procure a deformity in some part of his body, but has no such effect -on a native; and this, they say, hath been frequently experimented." A -noted fountain in the Orkney group was the well of Kildinguie in the -Island of Stronsay. It is situated not far from the beach. To reach -it one has to walk over a long stretch of sand. Its fame at one time -spread over the Scandinavian world, and even Denmark sent candidates -for its help. Besides drinking the water, health-seekers frequently -ate some of the dulse to be found on the shore. A local saying thus -testified to the advantages of the combined treatment: "The well of -Kildinguie and the dulse of Guiyidn can cure all maladies except black -death." In the Island of Skye is a spring called Tobar Tellibreck. The -natives, at one time, held that its water, along with a diet of dulse, -would serve for a considerable time instead of ordinary food. - -Other springs were resorted to for particular complaints. Toothache is -distressingly common, and commonly distressing; but, strange to say, -very few wells are specially identified with the ailment. Indeed, we -know of only three toothache wells in Scotland. One is in Strathspey, -and is known as Fuaran Fiountag, signifying the cool refreshing -spring. The second is in the parish of Kenmore, at the foot of Loch -Tay. The third is in Glentruim, in Inverness-shire. Another well at -Kenmore was resorted to for the cure of sore eyes. In the parish of -Glass, close to the river Deveron, is an ancient church dedicated to -St. Wallach. Some thirty yards below its burying-ground is a well, -now dry, except in very rainy weather. Its water had the power of -healing sore eyes. The water of St. John's Well, at Balmanno, in -the parish of Marykirk, Kincardineshire, was a sovereign remedy for -the same complaint. Beside the road close to the farmhouse of Wester -Auchleskine, at Balquhidder, in Perthshire, once stood a large boulder -containing a natural cavity. The water in this hollow was also noted -for the cure of sore eyes--the boulder being called in consequence -Clach-nan-Sul, i.e., the stone of the eyes. In 1878, by order of the -road trustees, the boulder was blasted, on the ground that it was a -source of danger to vehicles in the dark, and its fragments were used -as road metal. The Dow Well, at Innerleithen, was formerly much visited -for the restoration of weak sight. A well in Cornwall, dedicated to -St. Ludvan, miraculously quickened the sense of sight. In Ireland, -a spring at Gougou Barra, between Glengariff and Cork, is believed -by the peasantry to cure blindness. In 1849, Miss Bessie Gilbert, -a daughter of the late Bishop Gilbert of Chichester, who had lost -her sight when a child, visited the spring along with some of her -relatives. Curiosity, however, was her only motive. Her biographer -relates that "the guide besought Bessie in the most earnest and -pathetic manner to try the water, saying that he was sure it would -restore her sight, and entreating her brothers and sisters to urge -her to make use of it." - -Headaches and nervous disorders were cured by water from -Tobar-nim-buadh or the Well of Virtues in St. Kilda. Deafness was -also cured by it. At the entrance to Munlochy Bay, in the Black Isle -of Cromarty, is a cave known in the neighbourhood as Craig-a-Chow, -i.e., the Rock of Echo. Tradition says that in this cave a giant -once lived. If not the retreat of a giant, it was, at any rate, -of smugglers. What specially concerns us is that it contains a -dripping well, formerly much in request. Its water is particularly -cold. Like the St. Kilda spring, it was believed to remove deafness. Of -Whooping-cough Wells, a noted one was at Straid, in Muthill parish, -Perthshire. Invalids came to it from considerable distances. Early -in the present century a family travelled from Edinburgh to seek its -aid. The water was drunk immediately after sunset or before sunrise, -and a horn from a live ox had to convey it to the patient's lips. This -was not an uncommon practice. Perhaps it may have been due to some -vague notion, that life from the animal, whence the horn came, would -be handed on, via the spoon and the water, to the invalid. The Straid -horn was kept by a woman in the immediate neighbourhood, who acted -as a sort of priestess of the well. A well at the Burn of Oxhill, in -the parish of Rathven, Banffshire, had a local celebrity for the cure -of the same complaint. Sufferers from gout tried the efficacy of a -spring in Eckford parish, Roxburghshire, styled Holy Well or Priest's -Well. A spring in the churchyard of Logiepert parish, Forfarshire, -removed sores, and another in Martin's Den, in the same parish, -was reckoned anti-scorbutic. Another noted Forfarshire spring was in -Kirkden parish, with the reputation of curing swellings of the feet -and legs. Lochinbreck Loch, in Balmaghie parish, Kirkcudbrightshire, -was visited from time immemorial for the cure of ague. Indeed, there -was hardly a bodily ailment that could not be relieved by the water -of some consecrated spring. - -Springs were sometimes believed to cure female barrenness. Wives, -anxious to become mothers, formerly visited such wells as those of -St. Fillan at Comrie, and of St. Mary at Whitekirk, and in the Isle -of May. In this connection, Mr. J. R. Walker, in his article in the -"Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland," volume v. (new -series), observes, "Many of the wells dedicated to 'Our Lady,' i.e., -St. Mary (Virgin Mary) and to St. Brigid, the Mary of Ireland, were -famous for the cure of female sterility, which, in the days when a -man's power and influence in the land depended on the number of his -clan or tribe, was looked upon as a token of the divine displeasure, -and was viewed by the unfortunate spouses with anxious apprehension, -dread, doubt, jealousy, and pain. Prayer and supplication were -obviously the methods pursued by the devout for obtaining the coveted -gift of fertility, looked upon, by females especially, as the most -valuable of heavenly dispensations; and making pilgrimages to wells -under the patronage of the Mother of our Lord would naturally be one -of the most common expedients." - -Epilepsy, with its convulsions and cries, seldom fails to arrest -attention and call forth sympathy. In times less enlightened than -our own, the disease was regarded with awe as of supernatural origin; -and remedies, always curious and sometimes revolting, were tried in -order to bring relief. We may assume that the water of consecrated -springs was used for this purpose; but, as far as we know, no Scottish -fountain was systematically visited by epileptic patients. After -enumerating a variety of folk-cures for the disease in question, Sir -Arthur Mitchell, in an article on Highland Superstitions bearing on -Lunacy in the "Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland," -volume iv., remarks, "For the cure of the same disease, there is -still practised in the North of Scotland a formal sacrifice--not -an oblique but a literal and downright sacrifice--to a nameless but -secretly acknowledged power, whose propitiation is desired. On the -spot where the epileptic first falls a black cock is buried alive, -along with a lock of the patient's hair and some parings of his -nails. I have seen at least three epileptic idiots for whom this is -said to have been done." The same writer adds, "Dr. G----, of N----, -informs me that some time ago he was called on to visit a poor man -belonging to the fishing population who had suddenly died, and who had -been subject to epileptic seizures. His friends told the doctor that -at least they had the comfort of knowing that everything had been -done for him which could have been done. On asking what remedies -they had tried, he was told that, among other things, a cock had -been buried alive below his bed, and the spot was pointed out." This -sacrifice of a cock in Scotland is of special significance, for it -formed a distinctive feature of the ritual once in vogue in Wales -at the village of Llandegla, Denbighshire. St. Tegla's Well there, -was believed to possess peculiar virtue in curing epilepsy. Pennant -gives a minute account of the ceremony as practised in his days. The -following is a summary:--"About two hundred yards from the church -rises a small spring. The patient washes his limbs in the well, -makes an offering into it of fourpence, walks round it three times, -and thrice repeats the 'Lord's Prayer.' These ceremonies are never -begun till after sunset. If the afflicted be of the male sex, he makes -an offering of a cock; if of the fair sex, a hen. The fowl is carried -in a basket, first round the well, after that into the churchyard, -when the same orisons and the same circumambulations are performed -round the church. The votary then enters the church, gets under the -communion table, lies down with the Bible under his or her head, -is covered with the carpet or cloth, and rests there till break of -day, departing after offering sixpence, and leaving the fowl in the -church. If the bird dies, the cure is supposed to have been effected, -and the disease transferred to the devoted victim." As regards the -cock or hen, the ceremony in this case was quite as much a sacrifice -as in the Scottish example. St. Tegla merely took the place of the -pagan divinity who had been first in the field, and to whom offerings -had been made. In former times, sacrificing a living animal was -also resorted to occasionally to cure disease in cattle. An ox was -buried alive in a pit, and the pit having been filled with earth, -the other members of the herd were made to walk over the spot. In -1629, Isabel Young, spouse to George Smith, portioner of East Barnes, -Haddingtonshire, was tried for witchcraft. From her indictment we learn -that she was accused, inter alia, of having buried a "quick ox, with -a cat and a quantity of salt," in a pit as a sacrifice to the devil, -the truth being that a live ox had been so treated by her husband -as a charm to cure his cattle, which were diseased. A remarkable -circumstance bearing on this point is alluded to by Mr. A. W. Moore in -his "Surnames and Place-names of the Isle of Man," under the heading -of Cabbal-yn-Oural-Losht, i.e., Chapel of the Burnt Sacrifice. "This -name," he tells us, "records a circumstance which took place in the -nineteenth century, but which, it is to be hoped, was never customary -in the Isle of Man. A farmer, who had lost a number of his sheep and -cattle by murrain, burnt a calf as a propitiatory offering to the -Deity on this spot, where a chapel was afterwards built. Such facts -point to the same notion as that already indicated in connection with -St. Tegla's Well, viz., that disease is due to some malignant being, -whose favour is to be sought by the offering up of a living creature. - -In no department of medical science have methods of treatment changed -more within recent years than in that of insanity. Enlightened views on -the subject now prevail among the educated classes of society; and the -old notion that a maniac can be restored to mental health by treating -him like a criminal, or by administering a few shocks to his already -excited nerves, is fortunately a thing of the past. At least it no -longer holds sway in our lunatic asylums. In the minds of the ignorant -and credulous, however, the old leaven still works. Lady Wilde, in her -"Ancient Cures, Charms, and Usages of Ireland," alludes to a method -of treatment in fashion till lately among the peasantry there. When -anyone showed signs of insanity 'a witch-doctor' was called in. This -potent individual sprinkled holy water about the room and over the -patient; and after uttering certain incantations--understood by the -by-standers to be 'Latin prayers'--proceeded to beat him with a stout -cudgel. In the end the ravings of the lunatic ceased, or as it was put, -"the devil was driven out of him." In Cornwall, at St. Nun's Well, -the expulsive power of a new terror used to be tried. According to -Carew, the modus operandi was as follows:--"The water running from -St. Nun's Well fell into a square and enclosed walled plat, which might -be filled at what depth they listed. Upon this wall was the frantic -person put to stand, his back towards the pool, and from thence, -with a sudden blow in the breast, tumbled headlong into the pond; -where a strong fellow, provided for the nonce, took him and tossed -him up and down, alongst and athwart the water, till the patient, -by foregoing his strength, had somewhat forgot his fury. Then was -he conveyed to the church, and certain masses said over him, upon -which handling, if his right wits returned, St. Nun had the thanks; -but if there appeared small amendment, he was bowsened again and again, -while there remained in him any hope of life or recovery." North of the -Tweed the treatment was hardly less soothing. When a lunatic was being -rowed over to Innis Maree to drink the water of St. Maelrubha's Well -there, he was jerked out of the boat by the friends who accompanied -him. A rope had previously been tied round his waist, and by this he -was pulled back into the boat; but before he could gather together -his all-too-scattered wits, he was in the water again. As a rule this -was done, not once or twice, but repeatedly, and in the case of both -sexes. Such was the method up to a comparatively recent date. Pennant -thus describes what was done in 1772:--"The patient is brought into -the sacred island; is made to kneel before the altar, viz., the stump -of a tree--where his attendants leave an offering in money; he is -then brought to the well and sips some of the holy water; a second -offering is made; that done, he is thrice dipped in the lake; and -the same operation is repeated every day for some weeks." This towing -after a boat to cure insanity was not an isolated instance. Early in -the present century, the wife of a man living at Stromness in Orkney, -went mad through the incantations of another female believed to be -a witch. The man bethought him of the cure in question, and, out of -love for his afflicted wife, dragged her several times up and down -the harbour behind his boat. Mr. R. M. Fergusson, who mentions this -case in his "Rambles in the Far North," says that the woman "bobbed -about behind the boat like a cork, and remained as mad as ever." - -The well at Struthill, in Muthill parish, Perthshire, once had a -considerable reputation for the cure of insanity. It was customary to -tie patients at night to a stone near the spring, and recovery would -follow if they were found loose in the morning. An adjoining chapel was -ordered to be demolished in 1650 by the Presbytery of Auchterarder, -on the ground of its being the scene of certain superstitious rites, -but the spring continued to be visited till a much later date. At -Teampull-mòr in Lewis, in addition to walking round the ruins, and -being sprinkled with water from St. Ronan's Well, the insane person was -bound and left all night in the chapel on the site of the altar. If he -slept, he would recover; but if he remained awake, there was no hope of -a cure. In the Struthill and Teampull-mòr instances, as well as that -of Strathfillan mentioned below, the binding of the patient was an -essential part of the treatment; and in two at least of the cases the -loosening of the bonds was reckoned an omen of good. The mysterious -loosening of bonds used to be an article of common belief. Dalyell, -in his "Darker Superstitions of Scotland," remarks, "Animals were -sometimes liberated supernaturally. In the Isle of Enhallow, a horse -tied up at sunset would wander about through the night; and while the -kirk session took cognisance of a suspected witch who had exercised -her faculties on a cow, the animal, though firmly secured, was found -to be free, and in their vicinity when the investigation closed." - -The Holy Pool of St. Fillan was famous for the cure of various -diseases, but specially of insanity. It is referred to in "Marmion" as - - - "St. Fillan's blessed well - Whose springs can frenzied dreams dispel - And the craz'd brain restore." - - -It is not, however, a well, but a pool, in the river Fillan, about -two miles lower down than Tyndrum. To correctly estimate the reverence -paid to this sacred pool, we must glance at the influence, exerted by -Fillan on the district during his life-time, and afterwards by means -of his relics. The saint flourished in the early eighth century. He -was born in Ireland. His father was Ferodach, and his mother was -Kentigerna, daughter of a prince of Leinster. She afterwards came to -Scotland and led the life of a recluse, on Inch Cailleach, an island -in Loch Lomond. According to the Aberdeen Breviary, Fillan was born -with a stone in his mouth, and was at once thrown into a lake where -he was ministered to by angels for a year. He was then taken out and -baptised by Bishop Ybarus, and at a later date received the monastic -habit from Muna, otherwise called Mundus. Devoting himself to solitary -meditation he built a cell close to Muna's monastery. On one occasion, -a servant went to call him to supper, and looking through a chink in -the wall, saw the saint busy writing, his uplifted left hand throwing -light over the book in lieu of a candle. Whatever may be thought of -the incident, few will deny its picturesqueness. In competent hands -it might be made the subject of a striking picture. Fillan afterwards -went to Lochalsh, where he dedicated a church to his uncle Congan, -the founder of the monastery of Turriff, in Aberdeenshire. We next -find Fillan in the principal scene of his missionary work, viz., in -Glendochart, in that portion of the glen anciently called Siracht, -and now Strathfillan. This area formed a separate parish till 1617, -but was then united to the parish of Killin. Fillan arrived with seven -serving clerics, and tradition says that he built his church at a spot -miraculously pointed out to him. The neighbourhood was, and is full of -interest. "Glendochart," writes Mr. Charles Stewart in "An Gaidheal," -"is not celebrated for terrific mountain scenery like Glencoe or the -Coolins, but has a grandeur of a different character. Lofty mountains, -clothed, here in heather, there in green; cloudy shadows frequently -flitting across their sides, and serried ridges of multiplied lines -and forms of varied beauty, and along their sides strangely shaped -stones and boulders of rocks deposited by the ancient glaciers. Along -the strath there are stretches of water, its course broken occasionally -by lochs; sometimes wending its way slowly and solemnly through green -meadows, and anon rushing along as at the celebrated bridge of Dochart, -at Killin, with fire and fury." - -The same writer mentions that three spots, where Fillan was wont -to teach the natives of the Strath, are still pointed out, viz., -at the upper end of Glendochart, where the priory was afterwards -built, halfway down the glen at Dun-ribin, and at the lower end at -Cnoc-a-bheannachd, i.e., Hill of the Blessing, near Killin. Fillan -instructed the people in agriculture, and built mills for grinding -corn. Out of compliment to him, the mill at Killin was idle on -his festival, (Jan. 9th), as late as the middle of the present -century. Indeed there was a superstition in the district that it -would not be lucky to have it working on that day. Fillan also -instituted fairs for the sale and barter of local produce. His fair -is still held at Killin in January. The miraculous element in his -history did not end with his life. He seems to have died somewhere -about Lochearn, and his body was brought back to Glendochart, by way -of Glen Ogle. When the bearers reached the point where Glendochart -opens upwards and downwards, a dispute arose as to the destination of -their burden. Some wished the saint's body to be buried at Killin and -others at Strathfillan. Behold a marvel! When they could not agree, -they found that instead of one coffin there were two, and so each -party was satisfied. - -Robert Bruce's fight with the followers of Macdougall of Lorne took -place near St. Fillan's Church, at a spot, afterwards named Dalrigh or -the King's Field. On that occasion, an earnest prayer was addressed -to the saint of the district, and through his intercession victory -came to Bruce. So at least runs the legend. After his success at -Bannockburn, the King in gratitude founded St. Fillan's Priory, -in Strathfillan, and endowed it with the neighbouring lands of -Auchtertyre, and with the sheep-grazing of Bein-mhannach or the -Monk's Mountain, in Glenlyon. Indeed, if tradition speaks truth, -Bruce had a double reason to be grateful to Fillan, for the victory -at Bannockburn, was attributed to the presence in the Scottish camp, -of a relic of the saint, said to be an arm-bone set in silver. The -relic, however, as Dr. John Stuart shows, in the twelfth volume of the -"Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland," was probably -his Coig-gerach or pastoral staff, popularly, but erroneously called -his Quigrich. It is said to have been kept at Auchlyne, in a chapel -called Caipal-na-Faraichd, and when the chapel was burnt to have been -rescued by a person, either then, or afterwards, called Doire or Dewar, -whose descendants became its custodiers. The subsequent history of -the relic is curious. In 1782 it was at Killin in the keeping of -Malice Doire. In 1818 it was taken to Canada, where it remained for -some sixty years. Through the patriotic zeal of Sir Daniel Wilson it -was then sent back to Scotland, and now forms one of the treasures -in the National Museum of Antiquities, at Edinburgh. - -The sanctity of Fillan thus distilled like a fertilising dew over -the district of Glendochart. We need not, therefore, be surprised -that, in days darker than our own, a thriving crop of superstitions -was the result. It is certainly a striking testimony to the enduring -influence of the saint, that the pool, believed to have been blessed -by him, retained its fame till within the memory of persons still -living. Possibly the pool was reverenced even before his time. Towards -the end of last century, as many as two hundred persons were brought -annually to the spot. The time selected was usually the first day of -the quarter, (O.S.), and the immersion took place after sunset. The -patients, with a rope tied round their waist, were thrown from the -bank into the river. This was usually done thrice. According to -previous instructions, they picked up nine stones from the bottom -of the stream. After their dip they walked three times round three -cairns in the immediate neighbourhood, and at each turn added a stone -to the cairn. An English antiquary, who visited the spot in 1798, -writes, "If it is for any bodily pain, fractured limb or sore, that -they are bathing, they throw upon one of these cairns that part of -their clothing which covered the part affected; also, if they have at -home any beast that is diseased, they have only to bring some of the -meal which it feeds upon and make it into paste with these waters, -and afterwards give it to him to eat, which will prove an infallible -cure; but they must likewise throw upon the cairn the rope or halter -with which he was led. Consequently the cairns are covered with old -halters, gloves, shoes, bonnets, nightcaps, rags of all sorts, kilts, -petticoats, garters, and smocks. Sometimes they go as far as to throw -away their halfpence." - -After the ceremony at the cairns the patient was led to the ruins -of St. Fillan's Chapel, about half a mile away, and there tied to -a stone with a hollow in it, large enough to receive the body, the -unfortunate person being fastened down to a wooden framework. The -patient was then covered with hay, and left in this condition all -night. As at Struthill, if the bonds were found loose in the morning, -he or she would recover; but if not, the case was counted hopeless, -or at least doubtful. As the writer of the article on the parish, -in the "New Statistical Account of Scotland," shrewdly observes, -"The prospect of the ceremony, especially in a cold winter evening, -might be a good test for persons pretending insanity." At the time -when he wrote, viz., in 1843, the natives of the parish had ceased to -believe in the efficacy of the holy pool, but it was still visited by -invalids from a distance. It was usual, after the fastening process -already described, to place St. Fillan's bell on the head of the -patient by way of helping on the cure. This bell is quadrangular -in shape. Its size and appearance are thus described by Dr. Joseph -Anderson in his "Scotland in Early Christian Times": "It is an elegant -casting of bronze, stands twelve inches high and measures nine by -six inches wide at the mouth. The ends are flat, the sides bulging, -the top rounded. In the middle of the top is the loop-like handle, -terminating where it joins the bell in two dragonesque heads with open -mouths." The bell weighs eight pounds fourteen ounces. In the fifteenth -century the relic seems to have been held in special honour, for it -graced the coronation of James IV. in 1488. After the Reformation, it -was locked up for some time, to prevent its use for the superstitious -purpose alluded to above. But, as a rule, it lay on a tombstone in the -Priory graveyard, protected only by the reverence paid to it in the -district. There was a belief that, if carried off, it would return of -its own accord, ringing all the way. In 1798 this belief was put to a -severe test, for in that year the English antiquary, already quoted, -removed the relic. "In order," he says, "to ascertain the truth or -falsehood of the ridiculous story of St. Fillan's bell, I carried it -off with me, and mean to convey it, if possible, to England. An old -woman, who observed what I was about, asked me what I wanted with -the bell, and I told her that I had an unfortunate relation at home -out of his mind, and that I wanted to have him cured. 'Oh, but,' -says she, 'you must bring him here to be cured, or it will be of no -use.' Upon which I told her he was too ill to be moved, and off I -galloped with the bell back to Tyndrum Inn." The bell was taken to -England. About seventy years later, its whereabouts was discovered, -and it was sent back to Scotland. Like the crozier of the same saint, -it is now in the Antiquarian Museum at Edinburgh. - -If we may believe a local tradition, the Holy Pool lost its -miraculous virtue in the following manner, though, after what the -English antiquary mentioned about its water being mixed with meal, -and given to diseased cattle, we see no reason why it should have -been so particular. A farmer who had a mad bull thought that, if the -sacred water could heal human ills, it would be efficacious also in -the case of the lower animals. So he plunged his infuriated beast into -the stream. What was the effect on the bull we do not know: but since -then the virtue has departed from the water. Except for a pleasure -dip on a hot summer's day, no one need now apply at the Holy Pool. - -The unbroken reputation of such health resorts, for centuries, -is certainly remarkable. Strathfillan kept up its fame for over a -thousand years. At Gheel, in Belgium, for fully twelve hundred years, -successive generations of lunatics sought relief at St. Dympna's -Well. We must not be too hard on the ages before our own; for, -though in some respects dark, in other respects they had a good deal -of light. Nevertheless, severe things might be said about them. From -a present-day point of view, it might be argued that those, who took -their insane friends to get cured in the manner described, required, -like the patients themselves, a little rearrangement of their wits. - - - - - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - -SOME WONDERFUL WELLS. - - Wells Wonderful as to Origin--Tre Fontane--Springs where - Saints were Beheaded--St. Alban's Spring--Covenanter's - Spring--St. Vynning's Spring--Scottish and English - Hagiology--Springs from Graves--Cuthbert--Milburga--Mysterious - Lakes--Hell-Hole at Tunstall--King Henry's Well-- Bringing Sea to - Morpeth--Plymouth Water-supply--Fitz's Well--Good Appetite--Dogs' - Well--Singular Springs in Lewis and Barray--Well in the - Wall--Toubir-ni-Lechkin--Power of Wells over Lower Animals--Black - Mere--Well at Gillsland--Intermittent Springs--Powbate - Well--St. Ludvan's Well--St. Keyne's Well. - - -The epithet wonderful may fitly be applied to whatever springs -are endowed by popular credulity with mysterious properties. Those -already considered have been mainly associated with the removal or -prevention of disease. It is now proposed to glance at certain other -characteristics. - -Some springs are wonderful as to their origin. Who does not know the -legend connected with Tre Fontane, in the vicinity of Rome, where water -bubbled up at the three places touched by St. Paul's severed head? We -do not recollect any Scottish instance of a well coming into being in -this way; but in England we have St. Osyth's Well in Essex, where that -saint was beheaded by the Danes, and in Wales, St. Winifred's Well in -Flintshire. Concerning the latter, Chambers, in his "Book of Days," -thus writes:--"Winifred was a noble British maiden of the seventh -century; a certain Prince Cradocus fell in love with her, and, finding -his rough advances repulsed, cut off the lady's head. Immediately -after doing this, the prince was struck dead, and the earth, opening, -swallowed up his body. Meanwhile, Winifred's head rolled down the -hill; where it stopped, a spring gushed forth--the blood from the head -colouring the pebbles over which it flowed, and rendering fragrant -the moss growing around." Sweden has its St. Eric's Spring at Upsala, -marking the place where Eric, the king, was beheaded about the middle -of the twelfth century. St. Oswald's Well at Winwick, in Lancashire, -is said to indicate the spot where that famous Northumbrian king -received his death-wound when fighting against Penda, the pagan ruler -of Mercia. On a hill in Hertfordshire, a fountain arose to quench -the thirst of Alban, England's proto-martyr, who suffered there -about 300 A.D. According to a Kincardineshire tradition, a spring in -Dunnottar Castle miraculously appeared for behoof of the Covenanters, -who were confined there in 1685. In Holywood parish, Dumfriesshire, -(so called from its oak forest, sacred even in pre-Christian times), -a fountain sprang up at the intercession of Vynning, the patron of -a well at Kilwinning, in Ayrshire. In Scottish hagiology, fountains -usually gush forth to supply water for baptism. In English legends -they spring up as a tribute to spots where the corpses of saintly -persons have rested. Thus, water issued from the graves of Ethelbert at -Marden, in Herefordshire, and of Withburga at East Dereham, in Norfolk, -and also from that of Frideswide at Oxford. St. Frideswide's Fair at -the last-mentioned place was a noted holiday in the middle ages. It -lasted a week, and, during its continuance, the keys of the city were -in the keeping of the prior, having been handed over by the mayor, who -ceased for the time to be responsible for the peace of the burgh. At -Trondhjem, in Norway, a spring arose to mark the spot where King Olaf -was buried, about the middle of the eleventh century. - -Cuthbert was greatly honoured by the gushing forth of springs, both -during his lifetime and after his death. While at Lindisfarne, he was -seized with a desire for still greater retirement, and accordingly -withdrew to Farne Island, one of the Fern group, two miles distant -from Bamborough, and six from Lindisfarne. This island was then -haunted by evil spirits; but these he drove away, as Guthlac did -from the marshes of Crowland, in Lincolnshire. Cuthbert set about -building a cell in Farne Island, and, with the help of angels, the -work was satisfactorily completed. Unfortunately, there was no fresh -water to be had; but the want was soon supplied. In response to the -saint's prayers, a spring arose in the floor of his cell. Bede says, -"This water, by a most remarkable quality, never overflowed its first -limits, so as to flood the floor, nor yet ever failed, however much -of it might be taken out; so that it never exceeded or fell short -of the daily wants of him who used it for his sustenance." The -miracle did not end here. When Eistan of Norway was ravaging the -coast of Northumberland in the twelfth century, he landed on Farne -Island and destroyed the property of the hermits, whose retreat it -then was. The spring, unwilling to give help to the robber bands, -dried up. Thirst, accordingly, compelled them to quit the island. No -sooner had they left than the spring reappeared and gladdened the spot -once more. After Cuthbert's death, his body was carried from place to -place for safety. In his "History of St. Cuthbert," Archbishop Eyre -remarks, "There is a legendary tradition, that when the bearers of -St. Cuthbert's body journeyed northwards from Yorkshire and came to -Butterby, near Croxdale, they set down the coffin on the right bank -before crossing the river, and immediately a saline spring burst out -upon the spot. After fording the river they again rested the coffin, -and a spring of chalybeate water rose up where they had laid down the -body. A third time the weary travellers, struggling up the rugged pass, -were compelled to lay their precious burden on the ground, and a sweet -stream of water gushed out of the rock to refresh them." Prior to this, -Cuthbert's relics had rested a while at Melrose. Tradition says that, -on resuming their wanderings, they floated down the Tweed in a stone -coffin as far as Tillmouth, on the English Border. The fragments of -a sarcophagus, said to be the coffin in question, are still to be -seen there beside the ruins of St. Cuthbert's Chapel. This incident -is thus referred to in "Marmion":-- - - - "Seven years Saint Cuthbert's corpse they bore. - They rested them in fair Melrose: - But though, alive, he loved it well, - Not there his reliques might repose; - For, wondrous tale to tell! - In his stone coffin forth he rides - (A ponderous bark for river tides), - Yet light as gossamer it glides, - Downward to Tillmouth cell." - - -A Shropshire legend narrates that, on one occasion, Milburga, who is -still remembered in the name of Stoke St. Milborough, was riding in -all haste to escape from certain enemies. She fell at length exhausted -from her horse; but, at her command, the animal struck a stone with -his hoof, and water gushed out for her refreshment. In a neighbouring -field some men were sowing grain, and the saint prophesied that in -the evening they would gather the ripe corn. She instructed them to -tell her enemies, on their arrival, that she had passed when the crop -was being sown. The miracle duly happened, and Milburga's foes were -disconcerted in consequence. Shropshire and Yorkshire have strange -traditions about the sudden appearance of lakes, sometimes overwhelming -human dwellings. In the latter case, the tops of houses are said to be -visible through the water. Additional picturesqueness is occasionally -given, by the introduction into the story of vanished bells, sending -forth from the depths their soft cadences. At Tunstall, in Norfolk, -a boggy piece of ground, locally known as Hell-Hole, is marked by -frequently rising bubbles. The devil once carried off the bells of -the church, and, when pursued, plunged into the marsh. The bubbles are -due to the bells sinking lower and lower into the abyss. Such beliefs -about lakes form an interesting supplement to Scottish superstitions. - -When Henry VI. was in hiding in Bolton Hall, in Yorkshire, he wished -to have a bath in the hot summer weather. His host, anxious to supply -what was lacking to the comfort of the royal fugitive, used a hazel -twig in his garden, in the hope of discovering water. The indications -being favourable, a well was dug, and the king was enabled to cool -himself to his heart's content. The spring still bears the king's -name. Michael Scott, who was born in Fife in the thirteenth century, -and was regarded by his contemporaries as a dabbler in the black art, -had a pupil in the north of England who undertook a marvellous feat, -viz., to bring the sea up the Wansbeck river to Morpeth. Certain -incantations were gone through, and the magician started from the -coast, followed by the tide. All went well till within about five -miles from the town, when he became alarmed by the roaring of the -water, and looked back. So the spell was broken, and Morpeth remained -inland. This recalls the story accounting for the introduction of -a good water-supply into Plymouth. When there was a scarcity in -the sixteenth century, Sir Francis Drake, the naval hero, rode up -to Dartmoor, and uttered some magical words over a spring there. He -immediately turned his horse and galloped back to the town, followed -by a copious stream. - -Certain wells could put in a good claim to the title of wonderful -on the ground of the effects they were able to produce. If a spring -could act as a sign-post to guide the wayfarer, who had strayed -from his path, it might surely be classed among marvels! This is -what a certain well on Dartmoor, in Devonshire, could do, at least -in the sixteenth century. A man of the name of Fitz and his wife, -when crossing the moor in the year 1568, lost their way. They lighted -on the well in question, drank its water, and found the lost track -without the least difficulty. In gratitude, Fitz afterwards raised -a memorial of stone over the well "for the benefit of all pixy-led -travellers." In Germany, before a meal, the ceremony of wishing -one's friend a good appetite is still kept up. Such a salutation must -have been unnecessary in the Island of Harris, at least in Martin's -time, for he tells us of a spring, then lately discovered, that -could produce an appetite whenever wanted. "The natives," he says, -"find by experience that it is very effectual for restoring lost -appetite; all that drink of it become very soon hungry though they -have eat plentifully but an hour before." A small quantity of its -water might with advantage be added to the contents of the "loving -cup" at the Lord Mayor's banquets, and on other festive occasions -both in, and out of the Metropolis. Martin speaks of another marvel -in Harris. "A large cave in the face of a hill hath," he says, "two -wells in it, one of which is excluded from dogs, for they say that -if a dog do but taste of the water, the well presently dryeth up; -and for this reason, all such as have occasion to lodge there take -care to tie their dogs that they may not have access to the water. The -other well is called the Dogs' Well, and is only drunk by them." The -student of folklore cannot fail to find Martin a congenial companion, -as he records a variety of quaint Hebridean customs that might have -been passed over in silence by a more matter-of-fact writer. When -in the Island of Lewis, he was told of a fountain at Loch Carloway -"that never whitened linen," though the experiment had been often -tried. In connection with his visit to Barray, he says, "The natives -told me there is a well in the village Tangstill, the water of which, -being boiled, grows thick like puddle. There is another well, not far -from Tangstill, which, the inhabitants say, in a fertile year, throws -up many grains of barley in July and August. And they say that the -well of Kilbar throws up embryos of cockles, but I could not discern -any in the rivulet, the air being at that time foggy." This reminds -one of the Well in the Wall in Checkly parish, Staffordshire, said -to throw out small bones like those of chickens and sparrows all the -year round except in the months of July and August. Toubir-ni-Lechkin, -in Jura, rising on a hill near Tarbert, was a noted fountain. Martin -mentions that its water was counted "lighter by one half" than any -other water in the island, and that a great quantity of it might be -drunk at one time without causing inconvenience. He further says, -"The river Nissa receives all the water that issues from this well, -and this is the reason they give why salmons here are in goodness -and taste far above those of any other river whatever." - -The power of some wells over the lower animals was remarkable. A -spring at Harpham, in the East Riding of Yorkshire, dedicated to -St. John of Beverley, was believed to subdue the fiercest animal. A -raging bull, when brought to it, became as gentle as a lamb. A spring -of this kind would indeed be a great boon in the country to timid, -town-bred tourists when crossing fields where there are cattle. To the -margin of such a spring they could retreat and there feel safe. Black -Mere, at Morridge, near Leek, in Staffordshire, was credited with the -power of frightening away animals. Cattle would not drink its water, -and birds would not fly over it. A mermaid was believed to dwell -in its depths. A reminiscence of this belief is to be found in the -name of "The Mermaid," a wayside inn in the neighbourhood frequented -by sportsmen. Some wells keep a sharp look-out on the use made of -their water. A certain spring at Gilsland, in Cumberland, wished -to dispense its favours freely, i.e., without making the public pay -for them. The proprietor of the ground, however, resolved to turn, -what he counted, an honest penny, and built a house over the spring -for the sale of the water. The fountain, much aggrieved at this, -forthwith dried up. The house, not being required, was taken down, -and the benevolent water once more made its appearance. - -Intermittent springs have been observed from an early date, and strange -notions have been formed about them. They are usually associated -in their ebbing and flowing with some particular river. In some -instances such a connection can be only imaginary, notably in the -case of the Keldgate Springs at Cottingham, in Yorkshire, thought -to be influenced by the river Derwent twenty miles away. An ebbing -and flowing well at the foot of Giggleswick Scar, near Settle, in -the same county, was represented by Michael Drayton under the poetic -guise of a nymph flying from the pursuit of an unwelcome lover. Gough, -in his edition of Camden's "Britannia," of date 1806, has the following -about a spring near Paisley:--"Bishop Gibson says that in the lands of -Newyards, near Paisley, is a spring which ebbs and flows with the tide -though far above any ground to which the tide comes. Mr. Crawford, -in his 'History of the Shire of Renfrew,' applies this to a spring -in the lands of Woodside, which is three miles from the Clyde, and -half-a-mile from Paisley bridge, and the ground much higher than the -river." The name of Dozmare Lake, in Cornwall, signifies in Cornish a -drop of the sea, the lake having been so called from a belief that it -was tidal. The absurdity of the belief is proved by the fact that the -sheet of water is eight hundred and ninety feet above the sea. The -lake is said to be unfathomable, and has for a haunting spirit a -giant who is doomed to empty it by means of a limpet shell. - -A singular superstition is, or was till quite lately, cherished in -Peeblesshire, that Powbate Well, close to Eddlestone, completely fills -with its water the high hill on whose top it is situated. Chambers, -in his "Popular Rhymes of Scotland," gives the following particulars -about the spring:--"The mouth, called Powbate E'e, is covered over -by a grate to prevent the sheep from falling into it; and it is -supposed that, if a willow wand is thrown in, it will be found some -time after, peeled at the water-laugh, a small lake at the base of -the hill supposed to communicate with Powbate. Of course the hill -is expected to break some day like a bottle and do a great deal of -mischief. A prophecy, said to be by Thomas the Rhymer, and bearing -evident marks of his style, is cited to support the supposition: - - - 'Powbate, an ye break, - Tak' the Moorfoot in yere gate; - Moorfoot and Mauldslie, - Huntlycote, a' three, - Five kirks and an Abbacie!'" - - -In explanation of this prophecy Chambers remarks: "Moorfoot, Mauldslie, -and Huntlycote are farm-towns in the immediate neighbourhood of -the hill. The kirks are understood to have been those of Temple, -Carrington, Borthwick, Cockpen, and Dalkeith; and the abbacy was that -of Newbottle, the destruction of which, however, has been anticipated -by another enemy." - -The Scottish imagination, in attributing wonderful properties to -springs, has not gone the length of ascribing to any the power -possessed by St. Ludvan's Well in Cornwall. This fountain has been -already referred to as the giver of increased sight. But it had the -still more marvellous power of preventing any one baptised with its -water from being hanged by a hempen rope. Nor have we heard of any -spring north of the Tweed that could be a match for another Cornish -well, viz., that of St. Keyne, familiar to readers of Southey. Whoever, -after marriage, first drank of its water would be the ruler of the -house. On one occasion a bridegroom hurried to make sure of this -right, but was chagrined to find that he had been anticipated: his -bride had taken a bottleful of the water with her to church. - - - - - - - - -CHAPTER IX. - -WITNESS OF WATER. - - Recovery from Illness--Hydromancy--Mirror--Juno's Pool--Prediction - and Cure--Methods of Augury--Portents of Death--Water like - Blood--Springs and National Annals--Heritable Jurisdictions--Water - and Witchcraft--Devil's Mark--Water Ordeal--Abbey of Scone--Elgin - Orderpot--Witch's Stone--Repeal of Penal Statutes--Witchcraft in - the North--Insanity--Wild Murdoch. - - -"Am I likely to recover?" is a question on many a patient's lips. "Ask -your doctor;" and if the case looks serious, "Have a consultation" -is the answer nowadays. Formerly, the answer was "Go to a consecrated -well," or "Get some one else to go in your stead, and you will get -a reply." There is no reason to believe that every sacred spring was -credited with this power; but many undoubtedly were. Hydromancy has -been a favourite mode of divination. "The conscious water" could -predict the future, and questions connected with health were laid -before it for its decision. The Greeks dipped a mirror into a well, -and foretold health or sickness from the appearance of the watery -lines on its surface. A pool in Laconia, sacred to Juno, revealed -approaching good or evil fortune respectively, by the sinking or -floating of wheaten cakes thrown into it, and auguries were also -drawn from the movements of stones when dropt into it. Springs, -therefore, deserved the respect shown to them by the confiding -public. Indeed they not only told of recovery; they supplied the -medicine required to ensure it, and were thus doctors and druggists -combined. Sometimes the omen was unpropitious. In many cases the -prophecy would work out its own fulfilment. There was a well in the -Island of Lewis that caused either instant death or recovery to the -patient who tested its virtues: but a speedy fulfilment like this was -exceptional. St. Andrew's Well at Shadar, in Lewis, was much esteemed -for its power of augury. A tub, containing some of its water, was -taken to the house of the patient, and a small wooden dish was placed -on the surface of the water. If this dish turned sunways, it showed -that the patient would recover; but if in an opposite direction, -that he would die. In reference to this instance, Mr. Gomme, in his -"Ethnology in Folklore," observes, "I am inclined to connect this with -the vessel or cauldron so frequently occurring in Celtic tradition, -and which Mr. Nutt has marked as 'a part of the gear of the oldest -Celtic divinities' perhaps of divinities older than the Celts." On -one occasion two parishioners of Fodderty, in Ross-shire, consulted -Tobar-na-domhnuich in that parish in behalf of a sick friend. When -they placed their pitcher on the surface of the water, the vessel -moved round from south to west, as in the last instance, and they -hastened back to their friend with the good news. This was in the -year 1832. About the same time, a woman brought her sick child to -be bathed in the well, but was surprised and not a little terrified -to see a strange creature, with glaring eyes, leap into it as she -approached. Love for her child made her brave. Overcoming her fear, -she dislodged the creature, and bathed the little invalid. In the end, -however, she must have regarded the appearance of the creature as a -bad omen, for the child did not recover. The usual way of consulting -the spring in question was to draw water from it before sunrise, -and to convey the water to the invalid's house. The patient was then -immersed in it, and if it remained clear the circumstance pointed to -recovery; but if it assumed a brownish colour, the illness would end -in death. In former times a shirt was thrown into St. Oswald's Well, -in Yorkshire, by way of augury. The floating of the shirt foretold -returning health. The sinking foretold death. When a portion of an -invalid's clothing was flung into the Dow Loch, in Dumfriesshire, the -same rule held good. As may be noticed, the augury in these two cases -was the reverse of that in the case of Juno's pool above alluded to. - -There were other ways in which wells acted the prophet. If a certain -worm in a spring on the top of a particular hill in Strathdon was -found alive, the patient would recover. A well at Ardnacloich in Appin -contained a dead worm, if the patient's illness would prove fatal; -but a living one, if otherwise. The Virgin's Well, near the ancient -church of Kilmorie on the shores of Loch Ryan in Wigtownshire, had -an ingenious way of predicting the future. If the patient, on whose -account the water was sought, would recover, the fountain flowed -freely; but if the malady would end in death, the water refused to -gush forth. Montluck Well, in the grounds of Logan in the same county, -got the credit of acting on a similar principle. When speaking of this -spring, Symson says, "it is in the midst of a little bog to which -several persons have recourse to fetch water for such as are sick, -asserting (whether it be truth or falsehood I shall not determine) -that if the sick person shall recover, the water shall so bubble and -mount up when the messenger dips in his vessel, that he will hardly get -out dry shod by reason of the overflowing of the well; but if the sick -person be not to recover, there shall not be any such overflowing in -the least." We find a belief in the south-west of England corresponding -to this in the south-west of Scotland. Gulval Well, in Fosses Moor -there, was resorted to by persons anxious to know the fate of absent -friends. If the person inquired about was dead, the water remained -perfectly still; if sick, it bubbled, though in a muddy fashion; but -if well, it sent out a sparkling gush. Mr. Hunt mentions the case of -a woman, who, with her babe in her arm, consulted the spring about -her absent husband, under the guidance of an aged female who acted -as the guardian of the well. "Obeying the old woman's directions, -she knelt on the mat of bright green grass which grew around, and, -leaning over the well so as to see her face in the water, she repeated -after her instructor: - - - 'Water, water, tell me truly, - Is the man I love truly - On the earth, or under the sod, - Sick or well,--in the name of God?' - - -Some minutes passed in perfect silence, and anxiety was rapidly -turning cheeks and lips pale, when the colour rapidly returned. There -was a gush of clear water from below, bubble rapidly followed bubble -sparkling brightly in the morning sunshine. Full of joy, the young -mother rose from her knees, kissed her child, and exclaimed, 'I am -happy now!'" At Barenton in Brittany is a spring still believed in by -the peasantry. A pin is dropt into the well, and if good fortune is -in store, the water sends up bubbles; but if not, it remains quite -still. The quantity of water in St. Maelrubha's Well on Innis-Maree -varied from time to time. When a patient was brought for treatment -and there was a scanty supply, the omen was considered unfavourable; -but when the water was abundant, the saint was deemed propitious, -and the hope of recovery was consequently great. - -The fly at St. Michael's Well in Banffshire was looked upon as a -prophet. In the "Old Statistical Account of Scotland" we read, that, -"if the sober matron wished to know the issue of her husband's ailment, -or the love-sick nymph that of her languishing swain, they visited -the Well of St. Michael. Every movement of the sympathetic fly was -regarded in silent awe; and as he appeared cheerful or dejected, the -anxious votaries drew their presages." At Little Conan in Cornwall is -a spring, sacred to Our Lady of Nants. It was at one time resorted to -on Palm Sunday by persons anxious to know whether they would outlive -the year. A cross, made of palm, was thrown into the water. If it -floated, the thrower would survive the twelvemonth; but if it sank, -he would die within that time. Maidens used to visit Madron Well -in the same county on May morning to forecast their matrimonial -fate. They took two pieces of straw, about an inch in length, and -placing them crosswise fastened them together with a pin. The cross -was then thrown into the spring. The rising bubbles were carefully -counted, for they corresponded in number with the years that would -elapse before the arrival of the wedding-day. - -Portents of death were sometimes furnished by lochs and springs. At -Harpham in Yorkshire there is a tradition that a drummer lad in the -fourteenth century was accidentally drowned in a certain spring by a -St. Quintin--Lord of the Manor. Ever afterwards the sound of a drum -was heard in the well on the evening before the death of one of the -St. Quintin family. Camden, in his "Britannia," tells of a sheet of -water in Cheshire called Blackmere Lake, lying in the district where -the Brereton family had lands, and records the local belief that, -just before any heir of that house died, trunks of trees were seen -floating on its surface. Water occasionally gave warning by turning -red like blood. A certain fountain, near the Elbe, in Germany, -was at one time believed to do this, in view of an approaching -war. St. Tredwell's Loch, in Papa-Westray, Orkney, has already been -referred to, in connection with its habit of turning red, whenever -anything remarkable was about to happen to a member of the Royal -Family. When the Earl of Derwentwater was beheaded, in 1716, the -news spread that the stream flowing past his estate of Dilston Hall -in Northumberland ran with blood. The same was said of the river at -Bothel, in the parish of Topenhow, in Cumberland, on the occasion of -the execution of Charles I., in 1649. There was at one time a well in -Canterbury Cathedral. After the assassination of Thomas à Becket the -sweepings of his blood and brains from the floor were thrown into it, -and more than once afterwards the water turned red and effected various -miraculous cures. Lady Wilde, in her "Ancient Legends of Ireland," -narrates how one of the holy wells of Erin lost its efficacy for -curing purposes through having been touched by a murderer. The priest -of the district took some of its water and breathed on it thrice in -the name of the Trinity, when, lo! a mysterious change came over it, -and it appeared red like blood! The murderer was captured and handed -over to justice, and the well once more began to work cures. - -Some springs seemed anxious to be behind the scenes (though before -the event) in connection with various incidents in British annals. A -spring at Warlingham, in Surrey, rises before any great event in our -country's history. At any rate it did so before three great events in -the seventeenth century, viz., the Restoration, the Plague, and the -Revolution. The famous Drumming Well at Oundle, in Northamptonshire, -was also specially active in the seventeenth century. By making -a sound like the beating of a drum, it announced the approach of a -Scottish army, and gave warning of the death of Charles II. In the same -century a pool in North Tawton parish, Devonshire, even though dry in -summer, became full of water at the driest season before the death -of a prince, and remained so till the event happened. Two centuries -earlier a certain well at Langley Park, in Kent, had a singular way -of foretelling the future. In view of a battle it became dry, though -rain fell heavily. If there was to be no fighting, it appeared full -of water, even during the greatest drought. A spring at Kilbarry, in -the island of Barra, Outer Hebrides, served the same purpose, but its -mode of augury was different. In this case, as Dalyell records in his -"Darker Superstitions," drops of blood appeared in prospect of war; but -little bits of peat, if peace was to remain unbroken. Walcott mentions, -in his "Scoti-Monasticon," that there was at Kilwinning, in Ayrshire, -"a sacred fountain which flowed in 1184, and at other times, before -a war or trouble, with blood instead of water for eight successive -days and nights." When Marvel-sike Spring, near Brampton Bridge, in -Northamptonshire, overflowed its customary limits, people used to -interpret its conduct as signifying approaching dearth, the death -of some great person, or some national disturbance. In these days, -when so keen an interest is taken in the proceedings of Parliament, -it is a pity that there is no spring in our land capable of announcing -the probable date of a dissolution. Such a spring would relieve the -public mind from much uncertainty, and would benefit the trade and -commerce of the country. - -Heritable jurisdictions were abolished in Scotland soon after the -Stuart rising of 1745. This privilege, enjoyed till then by many -landowners north of the Tweed, was popularly known as the "right of -pit and gallows," the pit being for the drowning of women and the -gallows for the hanging of men. In 1679, a certain woman, Janet -Grant by name, was convicted of theft in the baronial court of -Sir Robert Gordon of Gordonstone, held at Drainie, in Elginshire, -and was sentenced to be drowned in Spynie Loch. In this and other -similar cases water was used as a means of execution. In the case of -witchcraft it was called in as a witness in the trial. The criminal -proceedings for the detection and punishment of so-called witches form -a painfully dark chapter in Scottish history. As Mr. W. H. Davenport -Adams pointedly puts it, in his "Witch, Warlock, and Magician," "The -common people for a time might have been divided into two classes, -'witches and witchfinders.'" The same writer observes, "Among the -people of Scotland, a more serious-minded and imaginative race -than the English, the superstition of witchcraft was deeply rooted -at an early period. Its development was encouraged not only by the -idiosyncracies of the national character, but also by the nature of -the country and the climate in which they lived. The lofty mountains, -with their misty summits and shadowy ravines, their deep obscure glens, -were the fitting homes of the wildest fancies, the eeriest legends, -and the storm--crashing through the forests, and the surf beating on -the rocky shore, suggested to the ear of the peasant or fisherman the -voices of unseen creatures--of the dread spirits of the waters and -the air." A favourite method of discovering whether an accused person -was guilty or not, was that technically known as pricking. It was -confidently believed that every witch had the "devil's mark" somewhere -on her person. The existence of this mark could be determined: for if a -pin was thrust into the flesh with the result that neither blood came, -nor pain was felt, the spot so punctured was the mark in question. This -showed, without doubt, that the accused was guilty of the heinous -crime laid to her charge. Charles Kirkpatrick Sharpe, in his "History -of Witchcraft in Scotland," gives instances of the finding of the -"devil's mark." He mentions the case of Janet Barker, a servant in -Edinburgh, who acknowledged that she possessed this particular mark -between her shoulders. A pin was stuck into the spot and remained -there for an hour without her being aware of its presence. Such, at -least, was the way of stating the case in 1643. With this simple test -at command it is not easy to understand why water should have been -required to give evidence. But so it was. Among various nations the -water-ordeal has been in fashion. It was specially popular in Scotland -a couple of centuries ago. Part of the bay at St. Andrews is still -styled the Witches' Lake, recalling by its name the crude notions and -cruel practices of our ancestors. A pool in the Carron, near Dunnottar -Church in Kincardineshire, at one time served a similar purpose. - -As we have seen, the sinking or the floating of an object thrown into -water in cases of sickness told of death or recovery. In like manner -innocence or guilt could be determined in the case of persons accused -of sorcery. If the person sank, she was innocent; but guilty, if she -floated. King James VI.--a great authority on the subject--explains -why this was so. In his "Daemonologie," he says, "As in a secret -murther, if the dead carcase be at any time thereafter handled by the -murtherer, it will gush out of blood, as if the blood were raging to -the Heaven for revenge of the murtherer (God having appointed that -secret supernatural sign for trial of that secret unnatural crime), -so that it appears that God hath appointed (for a supernatural sign -of the monstrous impiety of witches) that the water shall refuse to -receive them in her bosom that have shaken off them the sacred water -of baptism and wilfully refused the benefit thereof." The Abbey of -Scone, in Perthshire, founded by Alexander I., in 1114, received from -him a charter confirming the right of using the water-ordeal for the -detection of witchcraft. The place of trial was a small island in the -Tay, half-way between the abbey and the bridge of Perth. According -to the practices, common at such trials, the accused was thrown into -the water, wrapped up in a sheet, and having the thumbs and the great -toes fastened together. The chances of life were certainly not great -under the circumstances, for, if the poor creature floated, she had -soon to exchange water for fire. The stake was her goal. If she sank, -the likelihood was that she would be drowned. Bundled up in the manner -described, she was scarcely in a position to rescue herself; and the -bystanders were in no humour to give a helping hand. Close to the town -of Elgin was once a witch-pool, known as the Order Pot, so called from -its having been the place of ordeal. Through time it was filled up, -mainly with rubbish from the ruins of the cathedral, in fulfilment, -it was believed, of the prophecy of Thomas the Rhymer that - - - "The Order Pot and Lossie grey - Shall sweep the Chanonry kirk away." - - -In the seventeenth century a woman who was accused of having brought -disease on a certain man through her sorceries was thrown into the -pool. She sank, and the crowd, who had collected to witness the trial, -exclaimed, "To Satan's kingdom she hath gone." The incident is of -interest since the view of her case, then taken, was contrary to the -one usually held, as explained above. Perhaps the people standing by -thought that the devil was so eager to get his own, that he would -not lose the chance of securing his victim at once. Elginshire has -another memorial of the black art in the form of The Witch's Stone at -Forres. It consists of a boulder about a yard in diameter and probably -marks the spot where unhappy females convicted of witchcraft were -executed. About the year 1790 some one wished to turn the stone to -good account for building purposes and broke it into three pieces. The -breaker, however, was compelled to put it together again, and the iron -then used to clasp it is still in position. Legend accounts for the -breakage in a less prosaic way. When the boulder was being carried -by a witch through the air in her apron, the apron-string broke, -and, as a result, the stone was broken too. The spot was formerly -reckoned ill-omened. It would be too much to say that belief in the -black art has vanished from the Highlands; though, fortunately for -the good sense of our age, as well as for those who live in it, -witch pools are not now in requisition. Pennant bears witness to -the fact that belief in witchcraft ceased in Perthshire soon after -the repeal, in 1736, of the penal statutes against witches. In more -northern districts it continued a vital part of the popular creed -till much later. The Rev. Donald Sage mentions, in his "Memorabilia -Domestica," that the Rev. Mr. Fraser, minister of Killearnan in -Ross-shire, about 1750, was much troubled with somnolency even in -the pulpit. He was in consequence thought to be bewitched--a notion -that he himself shared. Two women were fixed on, as the cause of his -unnatural slumbers. It was believed that they had made a clay image -representing the minister and had stuck pins into it. Certain pains -felt by him were ascribed to this cause. Had it not been for the Act -of 1736, it would doubtless have fared ill with the supposed witches. - -Witches, however, were not alone in their power of floating. According -to a popular belief in the north-west Highlands, insane people -cannot sink in water. Sir Arthur Mitchell, in the "Proceedings of the -Society of Antiquaries of Scotland," volume iv., refers to the case -of a certain madman--Wild Murdoch by name--concerning whom strange -stories were told. He was born on the small island of Melista, near -the coast of Lewis, used only for occasional habitation in connection -with the pasturing of cattle. Anyone born in the island is believed to -become insane. The superstition about not sinking was certainly put -to a severe test in Wild Murdoch's case. "It is said," remarks Sir -Arthur, "that his friends used to tie a rope round his body, make it -fast to the stern of the boat, and then pull out to sea, taking the -wretched man in tow. The story goes that he was so buoyant that he -could not sink; 'that they tried to press him down into the water;' -that he could swim with a stone fastened to him; that when carried to -the rocky holms of Melista or Greinan, round which the open Atlantic -surges, and left there alone, he took to the water and swam ashore." - - - - - - - - -CHAPTER X. - -WATER-SPIRITS. - - Influence of Scenery--Science and Superstition--Loch-nan-Spoiradan - --Lochan-nan-Deaan--Lochan-Wan and its Sacrifice--Jenny Greenteeth - --Poetry and Superstition--Tweed and Till--Dee and Don-- - Folk-practices for Finding a Drowned Body--Deeside Tradition-- - Salt used by Tweed Fishers for Good Luck--Guardian-Spirit of - Conan--Peg Powler--Water-kelpies--Nikr--Halliwell Boggle--Robin - Round Cap--Round Hole, near Flamborough--Aberdeenshire Kelpy - Legends--Some Sutherland Kelpies--Story about an Islay Kelpy-- - Mermaids in the North. - - -"One of the great charms of Highland landscape is the gleam of -still water that so often gives the element of repose in a scene of -broken cliff and tumbled crag, of noisy cascade and driving cloud. No -casual tourist can fail to notice what a wonderful variety of lakes -he meets with in the course of any traverse he may take across the -country. Among the higher mountains there is the little tarn nestling -in a dark sunless corry, and half-encircled with grim snow-rifted -crags. In the glen, there is the occasional broadening of the river -into a lake that narrows again to let the stream rush down a rocky -ravine. In the wider strath there is the broad still expanse of water, -with its fringe of wood and its tree-covered islets. In the gneiss -region of the North-West, there is the little lochan lying in its -basin of bare rock and surrounded with scores of others all equally -treeless and desolate." So writes Professor Sir A. Geikie in his -"Scenery of Scotland." His point of view is that of a scientific -observer, keenly alive to all the varied phenomena of nature. But amid -the scenes described lived men and women who looked at the outer world -through the refracting medium of superstition. They saw the landscape, -but they saw also what their own imagination supplied. In Strathspey, -is a sheet of water bearing the Gaelic name of Loch-nan-Spoiradan or -the Lake of Spirits. What shape these spirits assumed we do not know, -but there was no mistake about the form of the spirit who guarded -Lochan-nan-Deaan, close to the old military road between Corgarff -and Tomintoul. The appearance of this spirit may be gathered from the -Rev. Dr. Gregor's remarks in an article on "Guardian Spirits of Wells -and Lochs" in "Folklore" for March, 1892. After describing the loch, -he says, "It was believed to be bottomless, and to be the abode of a -water-spirit that delighted in human sacrifice. Notwithstanding this -blood-thirsty spirit, the men of Strathdon and Corgarff resolved to -try to draw the water from the loch, in hope of finding the remains -of those that had perished in it. On a fixed day a number of them -met with spades and picks to cut a way for the outflow of the water -through the road. When all were ready to begin work, a terrific yell -came from the loch, and there arose from its waters a diminutive -creature in shape of a man with a red cap on his head. The men fled -in terror, leaving their picks and spades behind them. The spirit -seized them and threw them into the loch. Then, with a gesture of -defiance at the fleeing men, and a roar that shook the hills, he -plunged into the loch and disappeared amidst the water that boiled -and heaved as red as blood." Near the boundary, between the shires -of Aberdeen and Banff, is a small sheet of water called Lochan-wan, -i.e., Lamb's Loch. The district around is now a deer forest, but at -one time it was used for grazing sheep. The tenants around had the -privilege of pasturing a certain number of sheep. Dr. Gregor says, -"Each one that sent sheep to this common had to offer in sacrifice, -to the spirit of the loch, the first lamb of his flock dropped on the -common. The omission of this sacrifice brought disaster; for unless -the sacrifice was made, half of his flock would be drowned before -the end of the grazing season." As in the case of Lochan-nan-Deaan, -an attempt was made to break the spell by draining the loch, but this -attempt, though less tragic in its result, was equally unavailing. On -three successive days a channel was made for the outflow of the water, -but each night the work was undone. A watch was set, and at midnight -of the third day hundreds of small black creatures were seen to rise -from the lake, each with a spade in his hand. They set about filling -up the trench and finished their work in a few minutes. Mr. Charles -Hardwick, in "Traditions, Superstitions, and Folklore," published -in 1872, tells of a folk-belief, prevalent in the North of England, -particularly in Lancashire. "I remember well," he says, "when very -young, being cautioned against approaching to the side of stagnant -pools of water partially covered with vegetation. At the time, I -firmly believed that if I disobeyed this instruction a certain water -'boggart,' named Jenny Greenteeth, would drag me beneath her verdant -screen and subject me to other tortures besides death by drowning." - -Poetry and superstition regard external nature from the same -standpoint, in as much as both think of it as animate. But there is -a difference. The one endows nature with human qualities, and knows -that it does so through the imagination; the other does the same, -and believes that there is no imagination in the matter. The work of -the former is well expressed by Dr. E. B. Tylor, when he observes, -"In all that water does, the poet's fancy can discern its personality -of life. It gives fish to the fisher and crops to the husbandman, it -swells in fury and lays waste the land, it grips the bather with chill -and cramp and holds with inexorable grasp its drowning victim." That -rivers were monsters hungering, or perhaps, one should say, thirsting, -for human victims is a fact borne witness to by poetry as well as -by superstition. An example of this occurs in the following popular -rhyme connected with the Scottish Border:-- - - - "Tweed said to Till, - 'What gars ye rin sae still'? - Till said to Tweed, - 'Though ye rin wi' speed, - An' I rin slaw, - Yet whare ye droon ae man, - I droon twa.'" - - -Some Aberdeenshire lines have the same theme:-- - - - "Bloodthirsty Dee - Each year needs three; - But bonny Don, - She needs none." - - -According to folklore, there is no doubt that rivers are -"uncanny." Beneath their rippling surface dwells a being who keeps -a lookout for the unwary traveller and seeks to draw him into the -dark depths. A belief in such a being is not always explicitly -avowed. But there are certain folk-practices undoubtedly implying -it. When anyone is drowned in a river, the natural way to find the -body is to drag the stream in the neighbourhood of the accident. But -superstition has recourse to another method. A loaf of bread, with or -without quicksilver in it, is placed on the surface of the water and -allowed to drift with the current. The place where the loaf becomes -stationary marks the spot where the body lies concealed. According -to another method, a boat is rowed up and down the stream, and a drum -is beat all the time. When the boat passes over the resting place of -the body the drum will cease to sound. This was done in Derbyshire -no longer ago than 1882, in order to find the corpse of a young woman -who had fallen into the Derwent. In such practices there is a virtual -recognition of a water-spirit who can, by certain rites, be compelled -to give up his prey, or at any rate to disclose the whereabouts of the -victim. A Deeside tradition supplies a good illustration of this. A -man called Farquharson-na-Cat, i.e., Farquharson of the Wand, so -named from his trade of basketmaking, had on one occasion to cross the -river just above the famous linn. It was night. He lost his footing, -was swept down into the linn, and there drowned. Search was made for -his body, but in vain. His wife, taking her husband's plaid, knelt -down on the river's brink, and prayed to the water-spirit to give -her back her dead. She then threw the plaid into the stream. Next -morning her husband's corpse, with the plaid wrapped round it, was -found lying on the edge of the pool. Till quite lately, fishing -on the Tweed was believed to be influenced by the fairies of the -river. Salt was thrown into the water, and sprinkled on the nets to -insure a plentiful catch of fish. This was really the offering of a -sacrifice to the river-spirits. - -Frequently the guardian of the flood appeared in distinctly human -shape. An excellent example of this is to be found in Hugh Miller's -"My Schools and Schoolmasters," where a picturesque description is -given of the spirit haunting the Conan. Hugh Miller was an expert -swimmer, and delighted to bathe in the pools of that Ross-shire -stream. "Its goblin or water-wraith," he tells us, "used to appear -as a tall woman dressed in green, but distinguished chiefly by her -withered, meagre countenance, ever distorted by a malignant scowl. I -knew all the various fords, always dangerous ones, where of old she -used to start, it was said, out of the river before the terrified -traveller to point at him as in derision with her skinny finger, -or to beckon him invitingly on; and I was shown the very tree to -which a poor Highlander had clung when, in crossing the river by -night, he was seized by the goblin, and from which, despite of his -utmost exertions, though assisted by a young lad, his companion, he -was dragged into the middle of the current, where he perished. And -when in swimming at sunset over some dark pool, where the eye failed -to mark, or the foot to sound, the distant bottom, the twig of some -sunken bush or tree has struck against me as I passed, I have felt, -with sudden start, as if touched by the cold, bloodless fingers of -the goblin." At Pierse Bridge, in Durham, the water-spirit of the Tees -went by the name of Peg Powler, and there were stories in the district, -of naughty children having been dragged by her into the river. - -In the Highlands and Lowlands alike, the spirit inhabiting rivers -and lakes was commonly known as the water-kelpy. A south country -ballad says:-- - - - "The side was steep, the bottom deep - Frae bank to bank the water pouring; - And the bonnie lass did quake for fear, - She heard the water-kelpie roaring." - - -Who does not remember Burns's lines in his "Address to the Deil"?-- - - - "When thowes dissolve the snawy hoord, - An' float the jinglin' icy-boord, - Then water-kelpies haunt the foord - By your direction; - An' 'nighted travellers are allur'd - To their destruction. - - An' aft your moss-traversin' spunkies - Decoy the wight that late and drunk is: - The bleezin', curst, mischievous monkeys - Delude his eyes. - Till in some miry slough he sunk is, - Ne'er mair to rise." - - -The kelpy corresponded in attributes with the Icelandic Nikr; -whence has come our term Old Nick, popularly applied to the devil. A -well-known picture by Sir Noel Paton has familiarised the story of -"Nickar, the soulless," who is there represented as a creature with -frog-like feet, but with a certain human look about him, crouching -among sedge by the side of water, and playing his ghittern--an -instrument resembling a guitar. He appears, however, more melancholy -and less mischievous than the other members of his fraternity. A kelpy -that idled away his time with music and made no attempt to drown -anybody, was quite an exceptional being. In Sweden, where Nikr was -regarded with awe, ferry-men at specially dangerous parts of rivers -warned those who were crossing in their boat not even to mention his -name, lest some mishap should follow. In his "Saxons in England," -Mr. J. M. Kemble thus refers to other manifestations of the same -creature:--"The beautiful Nix or Nixie who allures the young fisher -or hunter to seek her embraces in the wave which brings his death; -the Neck who seizes upon and drowns the maidens who sport upon his -banks; the river-spirit who still yearly, in some parts of Germany, -demands tribute of human life, are all forms of the ancient Nicor." The -same writer continues:--"More pleasing is the Swedish Stromkarl, -who, from the jewelled bed of his river, watches with delight the -children gambol in the adjoining meadows, and singing sweetly to them -in the evening, detaches from his hoary hair the sweet blossoms of -the water-lily, which he wafts over the surface to their hands." In -his "Folklore of East Yorkshire," Mr. J. B. Nicholson alludes to a -haunted pool between Bewholme and Atwick, at the foot of the hill -on which Atwick Church stands. This pool is shaded by willows, -and is believed to be haunted by a spirit known in the district -as the Halliwell Boggle. In connection with Robin Round Cap Well, -in the same district, Mr. Nicholson tells a story--found also in -the south of Scotland--of a certain house-spirit or brownie, who -proved so troublesome to the farmer whom he served that his master -resolved to remove to other quarters. The furniture was accordingly -put in carts and a start was made for the new home. On the way, a -friend accosted the farmer and asked if he was flitting. Before he -could reply, a voice came from the churn--"Ay, we're flitting!" and, -behold, there sat Robin Round Cap. The farmer, seeing that he could -not thus rid himself of the spirit, returned to his old home; but, -afterwards, he succeeded in charming the brownie into a well, where he -still remains. The same writer relates a superstition about a certain -round hole near Flamborough where a girl once committed suicide. "It -is believed," he says, "that anyone bold enough to run nine times -round this place will see Jenny's spirit come out, dressed in white; -but no one has yet been bold enough to venture more than eight times, -for then Jenny's spirit called out:-- - - - 'Ah'll tee on my bonnet - An' put on me shoe, - An' if thoo's nut off - Ah'll seean catch thoo!' - - -A farmer, some years ago, galloped round it on horseback, and Jenny -did come out, to the great terror of the farmer, who put spurs to his -horse and galloped off as fast as he could, the spirit after him. Just -on entering the village, the spirit, for some reason unknown, declined -to proceed further, but bit a piece clean out of the horse's flank, -and the old mare had a white patch there to her dying day." - -In the "Folklore Journal" for 1889, Dr. Gregor relates some kelpy -legends collected by him in Aberdeenshire. On one occasion a man had -to cross the Don by the bridge of Luib, Corgarff, to get to his wife -who was then very ill. When he reached the river, he found that the -bridge--a wooden one--had been swept away by a flood. He despaired -of reaching the other bank, when a tall man suddenly appeared and -offered to carry him across. The man was at first doubtful, but ere -long accepted the proffered help. When they reached the middle of -the river, the kelpy, who had hitherto shown himself so obliging, -sought to plunge his burden beneath the water. A struggle ensued. The -man finally found a foothold, and, disengaging himself from the -kelpy, scrambled in all haste up the bank. His would-be destroyer, -disappointed of his victim, hurled a boulder after him. This boulder -came to be known as the Kelpy's Stane. Passers-by threw a stone -beside it till eventually a heap was formed, locally styled the -Kelpy's Cairn. A Braemar kelpy stole a sackful of meal from a mill -to give it to a woman for whom he had taken a fancy. As the thief was -disappearing, the miller caught sight of him and threw a fairy-whorl -at his retreating figure. The whorl broke his leg, and the kelpy fell -into the mill-race and was drowned. Such was the fate of the last kelpy -seen in Braemar. Sutherland, too, abounded in water-spirits. They -used to cross the mouth of the Dornoch Firth in cockle-shells, -but, getting tired of this mode of transit, they resolved to build -a bridge. It was a magnificent structure, the piers being headed -with pure gold. A countryman, happening to pass, saw the bridge, -and invoked a blessing on the workmen and their work. Immediately, -the workmen vanished, and their work sank beneath the waves. Where it -spanned the Firth there is now a sandbar dangerous to mariners. Miss -Dempster, who recounts this legend in the "Folklore Journal" for 1888, -supplies further information about the superstition of the district. A -banshee, adorned with gold ornaments and wearing a silk dress, was -seen hurrying down a hill near the river Shin, and finally plunging -into one of its deep pools. These banshees were commonly web-footed, -and seemed addicted to finery, if we may judge from the instance just -given, and from another mentioned by Mr. Campbell in his "Tales of -the West Highlands." He there speaks of one who frequented a stream -about four miles from Skibo Castle in Dornoch parish. The miller's wife -saw her. "She was sitting on a stone, quiet, and beautifully dressed -in a green silk dress, the sleeves of which were curiously puffed -from the wrists to the shoulder. Her long hair was yellow like ripe -corn, but on nearer view she had no nose." Miss Dempster narrates -the following incident connected with the water-spirit haunting -another Sutherland river:--"One, William Munro, and the grandfather -of the person from whom we have this story, were one night leading -half-a-dozen pack-horses across a ford in the Oikel, on their way to -a mill. When they neared the river bank a horrid scream from the water -struck their ears. 'It is the Vaicgh,' cried the lad, who was leading -the first horse, and, picking up some stones, he sent a shower of them -into the deep pool at his feet. She must have been repeatedly hit, -as she emitted a series of the most piercing shrieks. 'I am afraid,' -said Monro, 'that you have not done that right, and that she will play -us an ugly trick at the ford.' 'Never mind, we will take more stones,' -he answered, arming himself with a few. But the kelpy had had enough -of stones for one night." - -Off the Rhinns of Islay is a small island formerly used for grazing -cattle. A strong tide sweeps past the island, making the crossing -of the Sound dangerous. A story, related by Mr. Campbell, tells -that on a certain boisterous night a woman was left in charge of a -large herd of cattle on the island. She was sitting in her cabin, -when all at once she heard strange noises outside, and, looking up, -saw a pair of large eyes gazing in at her through the window. The door -opened, and a strange creature strode in. He was tall and hairy, with -a livid covering on his face instead of skin. He advanced towards the -woman and asked her name. She replied in Gaelic, "Mise mi Fhin"--"Me -myself." He then seized her. In her terror she threw a ladleful of -boiling water on the intruder. Yelling with pain he bounded out of the -hut. These unearthly voices asked what was the matter, and who had hurt -him? "Mise mi Fhin"--"Me myself," replied the creature. The answer was -received with a shout of laughter from his mysterious companions. The -woman rushed out of the hut, and dislodging one of the cows lay down -on the spot, at the same time making a magical circle round her on -the ground. All night she heard terrible sounds mingling with the -roaring of the wind. In the morning the supernatural manifestations -disappeared, and she felt herself safe. It had not fared, however, -so well with the cow, for, when found, it was dead. - -In Chapter I. reference was made to mermen and mermaids, and little -requires to be added in the present connection. In the south of -Scotland the very names of these sea-spirits have a far-off sound -about them. No one beside the Firths of Forth and Clyde expects -nowadays to catch sight of such strange forms sitting on rocks, -or playing among the breakers; but among our Northern Isles it is -otherwise. Every now and again (at long intervals, perhaps) the -mysterious mermaid makes her appearance, and gives new life to an -old superstition. About three years since, one was seen at Deerness -in Orkney. She reappeared last year, and was then noticed by some -lobstermen who were working their creels. She had a small black head, -white body, and long arms. Somewhat later, a creature, believed to -be this mermaid, was shot not far from the shore, but the body was -not captured. In June of the present year another mermaid was seen by -the Deerness people. At Birsay, recently, a farmer's wife was down at -the sea-shore, and observed a strange creature among the rocks. She -went back for her husband, and the two returned quite in time to -get a good view of the interesting stranger. The woman spoke of the -mermaid as "a good-looking person"; while her husband described her -as "having a covering of brown hair." Curiosity seems to have been -uppermost in the minds of the couple, for they tried to capture the -creature. In the interests of folklore, if not of science, she managed -to escape, and was quickly lost to sight beneath the waves. Perhaps, -as the gurgling waters closed over her, she may have uttered an au -revoir, or whatever corresponds to that phrase in the language of the -sea. The following story about a mermaid, told by Mr. J. H. Dixon in -his "Gairloch," published in 1886, is fully credited in the district -where the incident occurred:--"Roderick Mackenzie, the elderly and -much respected boat-builder at Port Henderson, when a young man, went -one day to a rocky part of the shore there. Whilst gathering bait he -suddenly spied a mermaid asleep among the rocks. Rorie 'went for' -that mermaid, and succeeded in seizing her by the hair. The poor -creature in great embarrassment cried out that if Rorie would let go -she would grant him whatever boon he might ask. He requested a pledge -that no one should ever be drowned from any boat he might build. On -his releasing her the mermaid promised that this should be so. The -promise has been kept throughout Rorie's long business career--his -boats still defy the stormy winds and waves." Mr. Dixon adds, "I am -the happy possessor of an admirable example of Rorie's craft. The -most ingenious framer of trade advertisements might well take a hint -from this veracious anecdote." - - - - - - - - -CHAPTER XI. - -MORE WATER-SPIRITS. - - Water-horses and Water-bulls--Highland Superstition--Spiritual - Water-demon and Material Water-monster--Water-bulls of Loch - Llundavrà and Loch Achtriachtan--Water-horses of Loch Treig--Kelpy - of Loch Ness--Water-horse Bridles--Pontage Pool--Kelpy's - Footprint--MacCulloch and Sir Walter Scott--Recent Example of - Belief in Water-monster--Tarroo-Ushtey in the Isle of Man--Other - Water-spirits--Dragon--Black-dog--Fly--Fish--De mons--Origin - of Well-worship. - - -So far we have been dealing with water-spirits more or less human in -form. Another class consists of those with the shape and attributes -of horses and bulls. The members of this class are connected specially -with Highland districts. Lonely lochs were their favourite haunts. In -treeless regions, a belief in such creatures would naturally arise. Any -ordinary animal in such an environment would appear of a larger size -than usual, and the eye of the beholder would transmit the error to his -imagination, thereby still further magnifying the creature's bulk. In -some instances, the notion might arise even when there was no animal -on the scene. A piece of rock, or some other physical feature of the -landscape would be enough to excite superstitious fancies. Mr. Campbell -remarks, "In Sutherland and elsewhere, many believe that they have seen -these fancied animals. I have been told of English sportsmen who went -in pursuit of them, so circumstantial were the accounts of those who -believed they had seen them. The witnesses are so numerous, and their -testimony agrees so well, that there must be some old deeply-rooted -Celtic belief which clothes every object with the dreaded form of -the Each Uisge, i.e., Water-horse." When waves appeared on a lake, -and there seemed no wind to account for them, superstitious people -readily grasped at the idea that the phenomenon was due to the action -of some mysterious water-spirit. As Dr. Tylor points out, there seems -to have been a confusion "between the 'spiritual water-demon' and the -'material water-monster.'" Any creature found in or near the water -would naturally be reckoned its guardian spirit. - -The Rev. Dr. Stewart gives the following particulars about water-horses -and water-bulls in his "'Twixt Ben Nevis and Glencoe." They are -thought of "as, upon the whole, of the same shape and form as the -more kindly quadrupeds after whom they have been named, but larger, -fiercer, and with an amount of 'devilment' and cunning about them, -of which the latter, fortunately, manifest no trace. They are always -fat and sleek, and so full of strength and spirit and life that the -neighing of the one and the bellowing of the other frequently awake -the mountain echoes to their inmost recesses for miles and miles -around.... Calves and foals are the result of occasional intercourse -between these animals and their more civilised domestic congeners, -such calves bearing unmistakable proofs of their mixed descent in the -unusual size and pendulousness of their ears and the wide aquatic -spread of their jet black hoofs; the foals, in their clean limbs, -large flashing eyes, red distended nostrils, and fiery spirit. The -initiated still pretend to point out cattle with more or less of this -questionable blood in them, in almost every drove of pure Highland -cows and heifers you like to bring under their notice." The lochs -of Llundavrà and Achtriachtan, in Glencoe, were at one time famous -for their water-bulls; and Loch Treig for its water-horses, believed -to be the fiercest specimens of that breed in the world. If anyone -suggested to a Lochaber or Rannoch Highlander that the cleverest -horse-tamer could "clap a saddle on one of the demon-steeds of Loch -Treig, as he issues in the grey dawn, snorting, from his crystal-paved -sub-lacustral stalls, he would answer, with a look of mingled horror -and awe, 'Impossible!' The water-horse would tear him into a thousand -pieces with his teeth and trample and pound him into pulp with his -jet-black, iron-hard, though unshod hoofs!" - -A noted demon-steed once inhabited Loch Ness, and was a cause of -terror to the inhabitants of the neighbourhood. Like other kelpies, -he was in the habit of browsing along the roadside, all bridled and -saddled, as if waiting for some one to mount him. When any unwary -traveller did so, the kelpy took to his heels, and presently plunged -into deep water with his victim on his back. Mr. W. G. Stewart, in -his "Highland Superstitions and Amusements," tells a story to show -that the kelpy in question did not always have things his own way. A -Highlander of the name of MacGrigor resolved to throw himself in the -way of the water-horse in the hope of getting the better of him. The -meeting took place in the solitary pass of Slochd-Muichd, between -Strathspey and Inverness. The kelpy looked as innocent as usual, and -was considerably startled when MacGrigor, sword in hand, struck him -a blow on the nose. The weapon cut through the bridle, and the bit, -falling to the ground, was instantly picked up by MacGrigor. This was -the turning point of the encounter. The kelpy was powerless without -his bit, and requested to have it restored. Though a horse, the kelpy -had the power of human speech, and conversed, doubtless in excellent -Gaelic, with his victor, using various arguments to bring about the -restoration of his lost property. Finding that these were unavailing, -he prophesied that MacGrigor would never enter his house with the -bit in his possession, and when they arrived at the door he planted -himself in front of it to block the entrance. The Highlander, however, -outwitted the kelpy, for, going round to the back of his house, he -called his wife and flung the bit to her through a window. Returning -to the kelpy, he told him where the bit was, and assured him that he -would never get it back again. As there was a rowan cross above the -door the demon-steed could not enter the house, and presently departed -uttering certain exclamations not intended for benedictions. Those who -doubt the truthfulness of the narrative may have their doubts lessened -when they learn that this was not the only case of a water-horse's -bit becoming the property of a human being. The Rev. Dr. Stewart -narrates an anecdote bearing on this. A drover, whose home was in -Nether Lochaber, was returning from a market at Pitlochry by way of -the Moor of Rannoch. Night came on; but, as the moon was bright, he -continued his journey without difficulty. On reaching Lochanna Cuile, -he sat down to refresh himself with bread, cheese, and milk. While -partaking of this temperate repast he caught sight of something -glittering on the ground, and, picking it up, he found it to be a -horse's bridle. Next morning he was astonished to find that the bit -and buckles were of pure silver and the reins of soft and beautifully -speckled leather. He was still more surprised to find that the bit when -touched was unbearably hot. A wise woman from a neighbouring glen was -called in to solve the mystery. She at once recognised the article to -be a water-horse's bridle, and accounted for the high temperature of -the bit on the ground that the silver still retained the heat that it -possessed when in a molten state below ground. The reins, she said, -were made of the skin of a certain poisonous serpent that inhabited -pools frequented by water-horses. According to her directions, the -bridle was hung on a cromag or crook of rowan wood. Its presence -brought a blessing to the house, and the drover prospered in all -his undertakings. When he died, having no children of his own, he -bequeathed the magical bridle to his grandnephew, who prospered in -his turn. - -A pool in the North Esk, in Forfarshire, called the Ponage or Pontage -Pool, was at one time the home of a water-horse. This creature -was captured by means of a magical bridle, and kept in captivity -for some time. While a prisoner he was employed to carry stones to -Morphie, where a castle was then being built. One day the bridle -was incautiously removed, and the creature vanished, but not before -he exclaimed-- - - - "Sair back an' sair banes, - Carryin' the Laird o' Morphie's stanes; - The Laird o' Morphie canna thrive - As lang's the kelpy is alive." - - -His attempted verse-making seems to have gratified the kelpy, for -when he afterwards showed himself in the pool he was frequently heard -repeating the rhyme. The fate of the castle was disastrous. At a later -date it was entirely demolished, and its site now alone remains. Some -six miles from the Kirkton of Glenelg, in Inverness-shire, is -the small sheet of water known in the district as John MacInnes' -Loch. It was so called from a crofter of that name who was drowned -there. The circumstances are thus narrated by Mr. J. Calder Ross in -"Scottish Notes and Queries" for February, 1893: "John MacInnes found -the labour of his farm sadly burdensome. In the midst of his sighing -an unknown being appeared to him and promised a horse to him under -certain conditions. These conditions John undertook to fulfil. One day, -accordingly, he found a fine horse grazing in one of his fields. He -happened to be ploughing at the time, and at once he yoked the animal -to the plough along with another horse. The stranger worked splendidly, -and he determined to keep it, though he well knew that it was far -from canny. Every night when he stabled it he spread some earth from -a mole's hill over it as a charm; according to another version he -merely blessed the animal. One night he forgot his usual precautions: -perhaps he was beginning to feel safe. The horse noticed the omission, -and seizing poor John in his teeth, galloped off with him. The two -disappeared in the loch." - -Water-horses were not always malignant in disposition. On one occasion -an Aberdeenshire farmer went with his own horse to a mill to fetch -home some sacks of meal. He left the horse at the door of the mill -and went in to bring out the sacks. The beast, finding itself free, -started for home. When the farmer reappeared and found the creature -gone he was much disconcerted, and uttered the wish that he might -get any kind of horse to carry his sacks even though it were a -water-kelpy. To his surprise, a water-horse immediately appeared! It -quietly allowed itself to be loaded with the meal, and accompanied -the farmer to his home. On reaching the house he tied the horse to an -old harrow till he should get the sacks taken into the house. When -he returned to stable the animal that had done him the good turn, -horse and harrow were away, and he heard the beast plunging not far -off in a deep pool in the Don. If anyone refuses to believe in the -existence of water-horses, let him go to the parish of Fearn, in -Forfarshire, and there, near the ruined castle of Vayne, he will see -on a sandstone rock the print of a kelpy's foot. Noran Water flows -below the castle, and the mysterious creature had doubtless its home -in one of its pools. In Shetland, such kelpies were known as Nuggles, -and showed themselves under the form of Shetland ponies. - -MacCulloch, the author of "A Description of the Western Islands of -Scotland," found the belief in the water-bull a living faith among -the people, notably among the dwellers beside Loch Rannoch and Loch -Awe. He tells of a farmer who employed his sons to search a certain -stream for one of these creatures, while the farmer himself carried a -gun loaded with sixpences to be discharged when the monster appeared, -silver alone having any effect on such beasts. The same writer, -when speaking of the grandeur of the scenery about Loch Coruisk, -remarks:--"It is not surprising that Coruisk should be considered by -the natives as the haunt of the water-goblin or of spirits still more -dreadful. A seaman, and a bold one, whom, on one occasion, I had left -in charge of the boat, became so much terrified at finding himself -alone that he ran off to join his comrades, leaving it moored to the -rock, though in danger of being destroyed by the surge. I afterwards -overheard much discussion on the courage of the Southron in making -the circuit of the valley unattended. Not returning till it was -nearly dark, it was concluded that he had fallen into the fangs of -the kelpy." MacCulloch's "Description" consists of a series of letters -to Sir Walter Scott. Sir Walter himself has an interesting reference -to the same superstition in his "Journal," under date November 23rd, -1827. After enumerating the company at a certain dinner party at -which he had been present, he continues: "Clanronald told us, as an -instance of Highland credulity, that a set of his kinsmen--Borradale -and others--believing that the fabulous 'water-cow' inhabited a small -lake near his house, resolved to drag the monster into day. With this -view they bivouacked by the side of the lake in which they placed, -by way of night-bait, two small anchors such as belong to boats, -each baited with the carcase of a dog slain for the purpose. They -expected the 'water-cow' would gorge on this bait, and were prepared -to drag her ashore the next morning, when, to their confusion of face, -the baits were found untouched. It is something too late in the day -for setting baits for water-cows." If such conduct seemed wonderful -in 1827, what would the author of "Waverley" have thought had he known -that more than half-a-century later, people in the Highlands retained a -thorough-going belief in such monsters? No longer ago than 1884 rumours -were current in Ross-shire that a water-cow was seen in or near a loch -on the Greenstone Point, in Gairloch parish. Mr. J. H. Dixon, in his -"Gairloch," states that about 1840 a water-cow was believed to inhabit -Loch-na-Beiste, in the same parish, and that a serious attempt was then -made to destroy the creature. The proprietor tried to drain the loch, -which, except at one point, is little more than a fathom in depth; -but when his efforts failed he threw a quantity of quicklime into the -water to poison the monster. It is reasonable to hold that the trout -were the only sufferers. The creature in question was described by -two men who saw it as in appearance like "a good sized boat with the -keel turned up." Belief in the existence of water-cows prevailed in -the south as well as in the north of Scotland. In the Yarrow district -there was one inhabiting St. Mary's Loch. Concerning this water-cow, -Hogg, the Ettrick Shepherd, writes: "A farmer in Bowerhope once got -a breed of her, which he kept for many years until they multiplied -exceedingly; and he never had any cattle throve so well, until once, -on some outrage or disrespect on the farmer's part towards them, -the old dam came out of the lake one pleasant March evening and gave -such a roar that all the surrounding hills shook again, upon which her -progeny, nineteen in number, followed her all quietly into the loch, -and were never more seen." - -In the Isle of Man the water-bull was, and perhaps still is believed -in by the peasantry. It is called in Manx, tarroo-ushtey. There is -much force in Mr. Campbell's conclusion that the old Celts reverenced -a destroying water-god, to whom the horse was sacred, or who assumed -the form of a horse. A similar notion may have originated the belief -in the water-bull. - -Other creatures, besides those already mentioned, acted in the capacity -of water spirits. In Strathmartin, in Forfarshire, is a spring styled -the Nine Maidens' Well. These maidens were the daughters of a certain -Donewalde or Donald in the eighth century, and led, along with their -father, a saintly life in the glen of Ogilvy in the same county. Their -spring at Strathmartin must have been well looked after, for it had -as its guardian, no less formidable a creature than a dragon. We do -not know whether there was any St. George in the vicinity to dispute -possession with the monster. In Kildonan parish, Sutherland, a stagnant -pool of water, some ten yards long by three broad, was regarded by -the inhabitants with superstitious dread. According to tradition, -a pot of gold lay hidden below; but no one could reach the treasure -as it was guarded by a large black dog with two heads. The Rev. Donald -Sage, when noticing this superstition in his "Memorabilia Domestica," -remarks, "It is said that a tenant once had attempted to drain the -loch and had succeeded, so that the water was all carried off. The only -remuneration the unfortunate agriculturist received was to be aroused -from his midnight slumbers by a visit from the black dog, which set -up such a hideous howl as made the hills reverberate and the poor -man almost die with fright. Furthermore, with this diabolical music, -he was regularly serenaded at the midnight hour till he had filled up -the drain, and the loch had resumed its former dimensions." We do not -know whether any later attempt was made to abolish the stagnant pool; -but at any rate a dread of the black dog kept it from being again -drained till well on in the present century. Sutherland, however, -cannot claim a monopoly in the matter of a guardian spirit in the -shape of a dog. Concerning Hound's Pool in Dean Combe parish, Devon, -the tradition is that it is haunted by a hound doomed to keep guard -till the pool can be emptied by a nutshell with a hole in it. Readers -of "Peveril of the Peak" can hardly fail to remember the Moddey -Dhoo--the black demon-dog--that roamed through Peel Castle, in the -Isle of Man. St. Michael's Well in Kirkmichael parish, Banffshire, -had for its guardian spirit a much smaller animal than any of the -above. It showed itself in the form of a fly that kept skimming over -the surface of the water. This fly was believed to be immortal. Towards -the end of last century the spring lost its reputation for its cures, -and the guardian spirit shared in its neglect. The writer of the -article on the parish, in the "Old Statistical Account of Scotland," -mentions having met an old man who greatly deplored the degeneracy of -the times. A glowing picture is given of this old man's desires. "If -the infirmities of years and the distance of his residence did -not prevent him, he would still pay his devotional visits to the -well of St. Michael. He would clear the bed of its ooze, opening a -passage for the streamlet, plant the borders with fragrant flowers, -and once more, as in the days of youth, enjoy the pleasure of seeing -the guardian fly skim in sportive circles over the bubbling waves, -and with its little proboscis imbibe the panacean dews." - -Consecrated fish have been reverenced, from of old, in East and -West alike. In Syria, at the present day, such fish are preserved -in fountains; and anciently certain pools in the stream, flowing -past Ascalon, were the abodes of fish sacred to Derketo, the -Phoenician Venus, who had a temple there. In our own land the same -cult prevailed. A curious Cornish legend tells how St. Neot had his -well stocked with fish by an angel. These fish were always two in -number. Day by day, the saint had one for dinner, and its place was -miraculously supplied to keep up the proper number. One day he fell -sick, and his servant, contrary to all ascetic precedent, cooked both -and set them before his master. The saint was horrified, and had both -the fish--cooked though they were--put back into the spring. He sought -forgiveness for the rash act, and lo! the fish became alive once more; -and as a further sign that the sacrilege was condoned, St. Neot, on -eating his usual daily portion, was at once restored to health. In -Scotland there were various springs containing consecrated fish. Loch -Siant, in the Isle of Skye, described by MacCulloch as "the haunt -of the gentler spirits of air and water," abounded in trout; but, -as Martin informs us, neither the natives nor strangers ever dared -to kill any of them on account of the esteem in which the water was -held. This superstition seems to have been specially cherished in the -island, for Martin further says, "I saw a little well in Kilbride, -in the south of Skie, with one Trout only in it; the natives are very -tender of it, and though they often chance to catch it in their wooden -pales, they are very careful to preserve it from being destroyed; it -has been there for many years." In a well near the church of Kilmore, -in Lorne, were two fishes held in much respect in the seventeenth -century, and called by the people of the district, Easg Seant, i.e., -holie fishes. From Dalyell's "Darker Superstitions of Scotland" we -learn that, like those belonging to St. Neot, they were always two -in number: they never varied in size: in colour they were black, -and according to the testimony of the most aged persons their hue -never altered. In Tober Kieran, near Kells, County Meath, Ireland, -were two miraculous trout which never changed their appearance. A -Strathdon legend, narrated by the Rev. Dr. Gregor, thus accounts -for the appearance of fish in Tobar Vachar, i.e., St. Machar's Well, -at Corgarff, a spring formerly held in high honour on account of its -cures:--"Once there was a famine in the district, and not a few were -dying of hunger. The priest's house stood not far from the well. One -day, during the famine, his housekeeper came to him and told him that -their stock of food was exhausted, and that there was no more to be -got in the district. The priest left the house, went to the well, -and cried to St. Machar for help. On his return he told the servant -to go to the well the next morning at sunrise, walk three times round -it, in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, without looking -into it, and draw from it a draught of water for him. She carried out -the request. On stooping down to draw the water, she saw three fine -salmon swimming in the well. They were caught, and served the two -as food, till supply came to the famine-stricken district from other -quarters." According to a Herefordshire tradition, a fish with a golden -chain round it was caught in the river Dore, and was afterwards kept in -the spring whence the river flows. At Peterchurch, in that county, is a -sculptured stone bearing a rude representation of the fish in question. - -Sometimes the guardian spirit of a loch or well was thought of in -the vaguest possible way. In that case the genius loci had neither -name nor shape of any kind, the leaving of an offering being the -only recognition of his existence. Occasionally the presiding -spirit was pictured in the popular imagination in the guise of a -demon, commonly with a hazy personality. Callow Pit, in Norfolk, -was believed to contain a treasure-chest guarded by such a being. On -one occasion an attempt to raise the chest was made, and was on the -verge of being successful, when one of the treasure-hunters defied -the devil to get his own again. Suddenly the chest was snatched down -into the pit, and the ring, attached to the lid, alone remained -to tell its tale. This ring was afterwards fixed to the door of -Southwood Church. At Wavertree, in Lancashire, once stood a monastery -and beside it was a well. When pilgrims arrived, the occupants of -the monastery received their alms. If nothing was given, a demon, -chained to the bottom of the well, was said to laugh. This notion -was either originated or perpetuated by a fifteenth century Latin -inscription to this effect, "Qui non dat quad habet. Daemon infra -ridet." When wells were dedicated to Christian saints, the latter -were usually considered the guardians of the sacred water. This was -natural enough. If, for instance, St. Michael was supposed to watch -over a spring, why should not his aid have been sought in connection -with any wished-for cure? It is interesting, however, to note that -this was not so in every instance. In many cases the favourite, -because favourable time for visiting a sacred spring, was not the -festival of the saint to whom it was dedicated, but, as we shall see -hereafter, a day quite distinct from such festival. Petitions, too, -were frequently addressed not to the saint of the well, but to some -being with a character possessing fewer Christian attributes. All this -points to the fact that the origin of well-worship is to be sought, -not in the legends of mediæval Christianity, but in the crude fancies -of an earlier paganism. - - - - - - - - -CHAPTER XII. - -OFFERINGS AT LOCHS AND SPRINGS. - - Votive Offerings--Gifts usually of Small Value--Toubir-nim-buadh - --Rumbling Well--Heath--Rags--St. Wallach's Bath--Pins at St. - Wallach's Well--Luckiness of Things Crooked--Pins Rising in Wells - --Tobar-na-Glas-a-Coille--Lix Well--Pebbles--Coins--St. Jergon's - Well--Silver Wells--Brass Well--Well at Avoch Castle--Introduction - of Loch Katrine Water into Glasgow--Some Glasgow Springs--St. - Thenew's Well--St. Winifred's Well--Dr. Patrick Anderson--Offerings - in France--Gifts in Consecrated Buildings--Philosophy of Votive - Offerings--Infection in Folklore--Safety of Offerings--Transference - of Disease--Results of Theft of Offerings--Pennies in Holy Loch-- - Money in Clach-nan-Sul--Well-Dressing--Not Found in Scotland-- - Festival at Tissington--Roman and English Fontinalia--Royal Oak-Day - at Endon. - - -Offerings at lochs and springs have been incidentally mentioned more -than once, but the subject is one deserving separate treatment. Wells -were not merely so much water, with stones and turf round them, and -lochs, sheets of water, encompassed by moorland or forest. They were, -as we have seen, the haunts of spirits, propitious if remembered, but -resentful if neglected. Hence no one thought it proper to come to them -empty-handed. The principle was, no gift, no cure. Classical literature -contains allusions to such votive offerings. Numa sacrificed a sheep -to a fountain, and Horace promised to offer to his sweet Bandusian -spring a kid not without flowers. Near Toulouse, in France, was a -sacred lake, into whose water the neighbouring tribes anciently threw -offerings of gold and silver. In our own country, the gifts were, as -a rule, of small intrinsic value. When speaking of Toubir-nim-buadh, -in St. Kilda, Macaulay says:--"Near the fountain stood an altar -on which the distressed votaries laid down their oblations. Before -they could touch the sacred water with any prospect of success, it -was their constant practice to address the genius of the place with -supplication and prayer. No one approached him with empty hands. But -the devotees were abundantly frugal. The offerings, presented by them, -were the poorest acknowledgments that could be made to a superior -being, from whom they had either hopes or fears. Shells and pebbles, -rags of linen, or stuffs worn out, pins, needles, or rusty nails, -were generally all the tribute that was paid; and sometimes, though -rarely enough, copper coins of the smallest value." The appearance -of this well is thus described by the author of "Ecclesiological -Notes":--"A low square-shaped massy stone building with a stone roof, -covers the spring, which, after forming a pool in the floor of the -cell, runs down the russet slope like a thread of silver to join the -stream in the valley." - -The offerings, made by the St. Kildians, were indeed much the same as -those commonly made in other parts of the country. We get a glimpse -of what was done in the south of Scotland from Symson, who, in his -quaint "Description of Galloway," remarks:--"In this parish of Bootle, -about a mile from the kirk, towards the north, is a well called the -Rumbling Well, frequented by a multitude of sick people for all sorts -of diseases the first Sunday of May; lying there the Saturday night, -and then drinking of it early in the morning. There is also another -well, about a quarter of a mile distant from the former, towards the -east. This well is made use of by the country people when their cattle -are troubled with a disease called by them the Connoch. This water they -carry in vessels to many parts and wash their beasts with it, and give -it them to drink. It is, too, remembered that at both the wells they -leave behind them something by way of a thank-offering. At the first, -they leave either money or clothes; at the second, they leave the bands -and shackles wherewith beasts are usually bound." The objects, commonly -left on the cairns beside the Holy Pool in Strathfillan, have already -been enumerated. In addition, bunches of heath, tied with worsted, -were occasionally left. The Cheese Well, on Minchmoor, in Peeblesshire, -was so called from the pieces of cheese thrown into it by passers-by -as offerings to the fairies. Around a certain spring near Newcastle, in -Northumberland, the bushes were so covered with shreds of clothing that -the spring went by the name of the Rag Well. At St. Oswald's Well, near -the foot of Roseberry Topping, in Yorkshire, the pieces of cloth were -so numerous that, as a spectator once remarked, they "might have made -a fair ream in a paper-mill." A contributor to "Notes and Queries," -in 1876, observes:--"The custom of hanging shreds of rags on trees as -votive offerings still obtains in Ireland. I remember as a child to -have been surreptitiously taken by an Irish nurse to St. John's Well, -Aghada, County Cork, on the vigil of the saint's day, to be cured -of whooping-cough by drinking three times of the water of the holy -well. I shall never forget the strange spectacle of men and women, -creeping on their knees in voluntary devotion, or in obedience to -enjoined penance, so many times round the well, which was protected by -a grey stone hood, and had a few white thorn trees growing near it, -on the spines of which fluttered innumerable shreds of frieze and -vary-coloured rags, the votive offerings of devotees and patients." - -In the Isle of Man, also, the custom of hanging up rags was at -one time much in vogue. In Malew parish there is Chibber-Undin, -signifying the Foundation Well, so called from the foundations -of a now almost obliterated chapel hard by. The ritual practised -at the well is thus described by Mr. A. W. Moore in his "Surnames -and Place-names of the Isle of Man":--"The patients who came to it, -took a mouthful of water, retaining it in their mouths till they had -twice walked round the well. They then took a piece of cloth from a -garment which they had worn, wetted it from the water from the well, -and hung it on the hawthorn tree which grew there. When the cloth -had rotted away the cure was supposed to be effected." Evidence from -Wales to the same effect is furnished by Professor Rhys in "Folklore" -for September, 1892. He there gives the following information, lately -sent to him by a friend, about a Glamorganshire holy well situated -between Coychurch and Bredgled:--"It is the custom," he writes, -"for people suffering from any malady to dip a rag in the water, -and bathe the affected part. The rag is then placed on a tree close -to the well. When I passed it, about three years ago, there were -hundreds of these shreds covering the tree, and some had evidently -been placed there very recently." Professor Rhys also refers to other -Glamorganshire springs where rags are to be seen hanging on trees. - -Scottish examples of the same superstition are numerous. At -Montblairie, in Banffshire, pieces of linen and woollen stuffs -were hung on the boughs beside a consecrated well, and farthings and -bodles were thrown into the spring itself. The bushes around a well at -Houston, in Renfrewshire, were at one time the recipients of many a -rag. Hugh Miller, who took so keen an interest in all such relics of -superstition, has not failed to notice the custom as practised near -his native town of Cromarty. In his "Scenes and Legends of the North -of Scotland," he says:--"It is not yet twenty years since a thorn -bush, which formed a little canopy over the spring of St. Bennet, -used to be covered anew every season with little pieces of rag, left -on it as offerings to the saint by sick people who came to drink -of the water." St. Wallach's Bath, in Strathdeveron, was a popular -health-resort till the beginning of the present century. Non-thriving -children were brought to it annually in large numbers. No longer -ago than 1874 an invalid from the seaside sought its aid. The bath--a -cavity in the rock fully a yard in depth--is close to the river, and is -supplied with water from a scanty spring, several yards higher up the -slope. The supply trickles over the edge of the bath into the river, -some four feet below. A bib or other part of the child's clothing was -hung on a neighbouring tree or thrown into the bath. Sometimes when the -Deveron was in flood, it submerged the bath, and swept these offerings -down to the sea. As previously mentioned, St. Wallach's Well, hard by, -was much resorted to for the cure of sore eyes. Pins were the usual -offerings. They were left in a hole in a stone beside the well. May -was the favourite season for visiting the spring, and by the end of -the month the hole was often full of pins. This was the case down to -a comparatively recent date. - -Offerings, such as pins, were often thrown into the well itself instead -of being left beside its margin. Near Wooler, in Northumberland, -on the southern slopes of the Cheviots, is a spring locally -styled the Pin Well. A fairy was believed to make it her home, and -maidens, as they passed, dropped in a crooked pin to gain her good -graces. Crooked pins were rather popular, anything so bent--e.g., -a crooked sixpence--being deemed lucky. In the case of more than -one English spring the notion prevailed that, when a pin was thrown -in, the votary would see the pins already there rise to meet the -newcomer. But faith was essential. Otherwise the mysterious vision -would be withheld. We do not know that a corresponding belief prevailed -north of the Tweed. Between the glens of Corgarff and Glengairn in -Aberdeenshire, is the spring known as Tobar-na-Glas-a-Coille or The -Well in the Grey Wood. A pin or other piece of metal had to be dropped -into it by anyone taking a draught of its water. Whoever neglected this -duty, and at any time afterwards again drew water from the spring, -was doomed to die of thirst. Some of these votive pins were found at -the bottom of the well, no longer ago than the autumn of 1891. - -Probably very few travellers by the Callander and Oban railway are -aware of the existence of an interesting, but now neglected holy -well, only a few yards distant from the line. It is situated at the -entrance of rugged Glen Ogle, and from the spot a fine view can be had -of Ben Lawers, Ben More, and Ben Loy. The well is on Wester Lix farm, -and is locally known as the Lix Well. The spring rises in one of the -many hillocks in the neighbourhood. The top of the hillock had been -levelled. Round the spring is built a wall of stone and turf, about -two feet in height, and shaped like a horse-shoe, the opening being -to the east. The distance across the enclosed space is about fourteen -feet. In the centre is the well, in the form of a parallelogram, two -feet by one and a half, with a long drain leading from it through -the opening of the horse-shoe. This drain was at one time covered -with flagstones. Four shapely lintels of micaceous schist enclose -the well. The spot used to be frequented at the beginning of May, -the wall already referred to forming a convenient resting-place -for visitors. Quartz pebbles were the favourite offerings on these -occasions. Immediately behind the well, quite a small cairn of them can -still be seen. Pebbles were among the cheapest possible offerings, the -only cost being the trouble of picking them up. Coins were rather more -expensive; but, as they were commonly of small value, the outlay was -trifling even in their case. The more fervent the zeal of the votary, -the greater would doubtless be the length he or she would go in the -matter of expense. In the parish of Culsalmond, in Aberdeenshire, -a gold coin of James I. of Scotland was found associated with an -ancient healing-well. Such liberality, however, was rare. After -describing St. Maelrubha's Well on Innis Maree in the "Proceedings -of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland," volume iv., Sir Arthur -Mitchell observes, "Near it stands an oak tree, which is studded with -nails. To each of these was originally attached a piece of the clothing -of some patient who had visited the spot. There are hundreds of nails, -and one has still fastened to it a faded ribbon. Two bone buttons and -two buckles we also found nailed to the tree. Countless pennies and -halfpennies are driven edge-ways into the wood--over many the bark -is closing, over many it has already closed." Within recent years, -another visitor from the south examined one of the coins stuck into -the tree. It was ostensibly silver, but proved on examination to -be counterfeit. The pilgrim, who left it as an offering, evidently -thought that the saint could be easily imposed upon. - -As in the case of the pins, the coins, given as offerings were, as -a rule, thrown into the spring itself. As an example, we may cite -the case of St. Jergon's or St. Querdon's Well in Troqueer parish, -Kirkcudbrightshire. In an article in the "Transactions of the Dumfries -and Galloway Natural History Society" for 1870, Mr. Patrick Dudgeon -remarks, "Taking advantage of the very dry summer of last year when -the spring was unusually low, I had the well thoroughly cleaned out -and put in order, it having been almost obliterated by cattle being -allowed to use it as a watering-place. Several hundreds of coins were -found at the bottom--almost all being of the smallest description -of copper coin, dating from the time of Elizabeth to that of George -III.... None were of any particular interest or value; the greatest -number are Scottish, and belong to the time of James VI., Charles -I., and Charles II. The circumstance that no coins were found of -an older date than the reign of Elizabeth is not at all conclusive -that offerings of a similar nature had not been made at much earlier -periods. It will be observed that the oldest coins are the thinnest, -and that, although many are as thin as a sheet of writing paper, the -legend on them is perfectly distinct and legible; this, of course, -would not have been the case had the thinning process been owing to -wear and tear. When first taken out, they were perfectly bright--as -new copper--and had all the appearance of having been subjected -to the action of an acid. Something in the water has acted very -slowly as a solvent on the metal, and, acting quite equally over -the whole surface, has reduced the coins to their present state: -it is, therefore, reasonable to conclude that, owing to the solvent -properties of the water, any coins thrown into the well anterior to the -date of those found may have been completely dissolved." Mr. Dudgeon -mentions having been told by old people in the neighbourhood, that they -remembered the time, when rags and ribbons were hung on the bushes -around the well. It is a remarkable circumstance that even since the -cleaning out of the spring above referred to, coins have been thrown -into it. A recent examination of the spot brought these to light, -and showed the persistence of this curious phase of well-worship. - -What would be styled "a collection in silver" in modern ecclesiastical -language was sometimes regarded with special favour. The name -of the Silver Wells in different parts of the country can thus -be accounted for. There is a Siller Well in Walston parish, -Lanarkshire. Arbroath, in Forfarshire; Alvah, in Banffshire; and -Fraserburgh, in Aberdeenshire, have each their Silver Well. At Turriff, -in the last-mentioned county, there is a farm on the estate of Gask -called Silver Wells after a local spring. At Trelevean, in Cornwall, -is a spring known as the Brass Well. Its name, however, is derived not -from the nature of the offerings left there, but from the colour of the -scum on its surface. Close to the ruins of Avoch Castle, in the Black -Isle, is a well hollowed out of the conglomerate rock. Tradition says, -that the treasures of the castle were thrown into it about the middle -of the seventeenth century. This was done, not by way of offering a -gift to the presiding spirit of the water, but to prevent the valuables -from falling into the hands of Cromwell's troops. A diamond ring was -dropped, not very long ago, into St. Molio's Well, on Holy Island, -near Lamlash. It fell into the water by accident, and, after remaining -in it for some time, was found and restored to its owner. - -The present ample water-supply of Glasgow from Loch Katrine was -introduced in 1859. For about fifty years before that date, the city -looked mainly to the Clyde for the supply of its daily needs. Still -earlier, it depended entirely on its wells. In 1736 these are believed -to have numbered about thirty in all. Among the best known were the -Deanside or Meadow Well, Bogle's Well, Barrasyett Well near the foot -of Saltmarket, the Priest's or Minister's Well and Lady Well beside -the Molendinar, the Arns Well in the Green--so-called from the alders -on its brink, and St. Thenew's Well, near what is now St. Enoch's -Square. Not far from the well was a chapel dedicated to St. Thenew, -with a graveyard round it. Some remains of the chapel were to be -seen in 1736, when M'Ure wrote his history of the city. Dr. Andrew -MacGeorge, in his "Old Glasgow," when describing St. Thenew's Well, -remarks, "It was shaded by an old tree which drooped over the well, -and which remained till the end of the last century. On this tree, -the devotees, who frequented the well, were accustomed to nail, as -thank-offerings, small bits of tin-iron--probably manufactured for that -purpose by a craftsman in the neighbourhood--representing the parts -of the body supposed to have been cured by the virtues of the sacred -spring, such as eyes, hands, feet, ears, and others." Dr. MacGeorge -further mentions that the well was cleaned out about a hundred years -ago. On that occasion there were "picked out from among the debris at -the bottom several of these old votive offerings which had dropped into -it from the tree, the stump of which was at that time still standing." - -Horace tells of a shipwrecked sailor, hanging up his garments, as -a thank-offering in the temple of the divinity who delivered him -from the angry sea. In like manner, Pennant describes what he saw -at St. Winifred's Well, in North Wales. "All infirmities," he says, -"incident to the human body, met with relief; the votive crutches, -the barrows and other proofs of cures, to this moment remain as -evidence pendent over the well." In his "Spring of Kinghorn Craig," -published in Edinburgh in 1618, Dr. Patrick Anderson has some curious -remarks on the subject of votive offerings. He speaks of wells as -being "all tapestried about with old rags, as certaine signes and -sacraments wherewith they arle the well with ane arls-pennie of -their health." He continues, "So suttle is that false knave making -them believe that it is only the virtue of the water, and no thing -else. Such people cannot say with David, 'The Lord is my helper,' -but the Devill." What can still be seen on the other side of the -English Channel is thus described by the Rev. C. N. Barham, in an -article on Ragged Relics, in "The Antiquary" for January, 1893:--"At -Wierre Effroy, in France, where the water of St. Godeleine's Well is -esteemed efficacious for ague, rheumatism, gout, and all affections -of the limbs, a heterogeneous collection of crutches, bandages, -coils of rags, and other rejected adjuncts of medical treatment, is -to be seen hanging upon the surrounding shrubs. They are intended -as thank-offerings and testimonies of restoration. Other springs, -famous for curing ophthalmia, abound in the same district, and here -too, bandages, shades, guards, and rags innumerable are exhibited." - -The leaving of offerings at wells finds a parallel in the practice, -at one time common, of depositing gifts in consecrated buildings. The -chapel of St. Tears, in the parish of Wick, Caithness, used to be -visited on Childermas (December 28th) by devotees, who left in it -pieces of bread and cheese as offerings to the souls of the Holy -Innocents slain by Herod. This was done till about the beginning of -the present century. Till even a later date it was customary for -the inhabitants of Mirelandorn to go to the Kirk of Moss, in the -same parish, on Christmas before sunrise. They took bread and cheese -as offerings, and placed them along with a silver coin on a certain -stone. The Kirk of Moss was dedicated to Duthac, patron saint of Tain; -and the gifts were doubtless destined for him. On Eilean Mòr is a -chapel said to have been built by Charmaig, the tutelar saint of the -island. In a recess in this building is a stone coffin, anciently used -for the interment of priests. The following statement occurs in the -"Old Statistical Account of Scotland":--"The coffin, also, for ages -back, has served the saint as a treasury; and this, perhaps, might be -the purpose for which it was originally intended. Till of late, not -a stranger set foot on the island who did not conciliate his favour -by dropping a small coin into a chink between its cover and side." - -When we examine the motives prompting to the practice under review, -we can discover the working of a principle, vaguely grasped perhaps, -but sufficiently understood to serve as a guide to action. This crude -philosophy was two-fold. On the one hand, the gift left at a loch -or spring was what has been facetiously styled a "retaining fee." It -secured the goodwill of the genius loci, and thereby guaranteed to a -certain extent the fulfilment of the suppliant's desire. This desire, -as we have seen, was commonly the removal of a definite disease. On -the other hand, the disease to be removed was in some mysterious way -identified with the offering. The latter was the symbol, or rather -the embodiment of the former, and, accordingly, to leave the gift was -to leave the ailment--the patient being thus freed from both. The -corollary to this was, that whoever removed the offering took away -also the disease represented by it. According to a well-established -law of medical science, infection is transferred from one person -to another by clothing, or indeed by whatever comes into contact -with the morbid particles from the patient's body. But infection -in folklore is something different from this. Disease of any kind, -whether usually reckoned infectious or not, passed via the offering to -the person lifting it. Hence such gifts had a charmed existence, and -were as safe as if under the sweep of the "Ancient Monuments Protection -Act." The Rev. Dr. Gregor thus expresses the feeling on this point, -as it prevailed till lately in the north-east of Scotland:--"No one -would have been foolhardy enough to have even touched what had been -left, far less to have carried it off. A child, or one who did not -know, was most carefully instructed why such things were left in and -around the well, and strict charge was laid not to touch or carry -any of them off. Whoever carried off one of such relics contracted -the disease of the one who left it." - -The notion that disease can be transferred lies at the root of various -folk-cures. Dalyell, in his "Darker Superstitions," remarks, "It is -said that, in the Highlands, a cat is washed in the water which has -served for the ablution of an invalid, as if the disease absorbed from -one living creature could be received by another, instead of being let -free." In some parts of the Highlands, a common cure for an ailing cow -was to make the animal swallow a live trout, so that the disease might -pass from the one creature to the other. This was done not long ago, -at a farm near Golspie, in Sutherland. In Norfolk, as a remedy for -whooping-cough, a spider was caught, tied up in a piece of muslin, -and pinned over the mantelpiece. The cough disappeared when the spider -died. In Gloucestershire, ague was cured in the following way:--A -living snail was worn in a bag round the neck for nine days. The -snail was then thrown upon the fire when it was believed to shake as -if with ague, and the patient recovered. Many more illustrations of -this principle might be given, but the above are sufficient to show -how it was applied. - -Symson records an instance in Galloway of swift vengeance following -the theft of certain votive offerings. He says, "Hereabout, i.e., -near Larg, in Minnigaff parish, is a well called the Gout Well of -Larg, of which they tell this story--how that a piper stole away -the offering left at this well, but when he was drinking of ale, -which he intended to pay with the money he had taken away, the gout, -as they say, seized on him, of which he could not be cured, but at -that well, having first restored to it the money he had formerly taken -away." Accident, rather than disease, sometimes resulted from such -sacrilegious acts. The offerings were the property of the guardian -spirit who was quick to resent their removal and to punish the doer of -the deed. In the district of Ardnamurchan is a cave, associated with -Columba, who there baptised some freebooters. The water used for the -purpose lay in a hollow of the rock, and, in after times, votive gifts -were left beside it. On one occasion, a young man stole some of these, -but he did not remain long unpunished, for before reaching home he fell -and broke his leg. Tobar-fuar-Mòrie, i.e., The big cold Well, situated -at the foot of a steep hill in the parish of Corgarff, Aberdeenshire, -consists of three springs about a yard distant from each other. Each -spring formerly cured a separate disease--one, blindness; the other, -deafness; and the third, lameness. The guardian spirit of the springs -lived under a large stone called the kettle stone, because below it -was a kettle where she stored her votive offerings. She was somewhat -exacting in her demands, for no cure could be expected unless gold -was presented. These particulars were obtained in the district by -the Rev. Dr. Gregor, who records them in "Folklore" for March, 1892, -and adds, "If one tried to rob the spirit, death by some terrible -accident soon followed. My informant, more than fifty years ago, -when a lad, resolved to remove the kettle stone from its position, -and so become possessor of the spirit's gold. He accordingly set out -with a few companions all provided with picks and spades, to displace -the stone. After a good deal of hard labour the stone was moved from -its site, but no kettle full of gold was found. An old woman met the -lads on their way to their homes, and when she learnt what they had -been doing, she assured them they would all die within a few weeks, -and that a terrible death would befall the ring-leader." - -That the guardians of springs look well after their possessions in the -new world, as well as in the old, is proved by the following quotation -from Sir J. Lubbock's "Origin of Civilisation":--"In North Mexico," -he says, "Lieutenant Whipple found a sacred spring which, from time -immemorial 'had been held sacred to the rain-god.' No animal may drink -of its waters. It must be annually cleansed with ancient vases, which, -having been transmitted from generation to generation by the caciques, -are then placed upon the walls, never to be removed. The frog, the -tortoise, and the rattlesnake represented upon them, are sacred to -Montezuma, the patron of the place, who would consume by lightning -any sacrilegious hand that should dare to take the relics away." With -the growth of enlightenment men's minds rose above such delusions. Had -it not been so, the Holy Wells in our land would still have presented -the appearance of rag fairs, or served as museums for old coins. Holy -Loch, in Dunnet, Caithness, used to be much resorted to as a place of -healing. The invalids walked or were carried round the lake and threw -a penny into the water. Some of these pennies have been picked up from -time to time by persons who have outgrown the old superstition. The -hollow in the Clach-nan-Sul at Balquhidder, already referred to, -contained small coins placed there by those who sought a cure for -their sore eyes. Mr. J. Mackintosh Gow was told by some one in the -district, that "people, when going to church, having forgotten their -small change, used in passing to put their hands in the well and find -a coin." Mr. Gow's informant mentioned that he had done so himself. - -In the ceremony known as "well-dressing" or "well-flowering," -the offerings took the form of blossoms and green boughs. For -different reasons Scotland has not been abreast of England in floral -matters. Only in the latter country did the practice take root, and -even there only within a somewhat limited area. We must seek for its -home in Derbyshire and the adjacent counties. At some places it has -died out, while at others it still survives, and forms the excuse for a -pleasant holiday. At Bonchurch, Isle of Wight, indeed, St. Boniface's -Well was decorated with wreaths of flowers on the saint's day; but -this was an exceptional instance so far south. Within comparatively -recent years well-flowering has, at one or two places, been either -instituted, as at Belper, in Derbyshire, in 1838, or revived, as -at St. Alkmund's Well in Derby, in 1870. The clergy and choir of -St. Alkmund's Church celebrate the day by meeting at the church and -walking in procession to the well. Writing in the seventeenth century, -Aubrey says, "In Cheshire, when they went in perambulation, they did -bless the springs, i.e., they did read the Gospel at them, and did -believe the water was the better." At Droitwich, in Worcestershire, -a salt spring, dedicated to St. Richard, used to be annually adorned -with flowers. - -A correspondent of the "Gentleman's Magazine" of 1794 remarks, "In -the village of Tissington, in the county of Derby, a place remarkable -for fine springs of water, it has been a custom, time immemorial, -on every Holy Thursday, to decorate the wells with boughs of trees, -garlands of tulips, and other flowers, placed in various fancied -devices, and, after prayers for the day at the church, for the -parson and singers to pray and sing psalms at the wells." In Hone's -"Every Day Book," under date 1826, are the following remarks by a -correspondent:--"Tissington 'well-dressing' is a festivity which not -only claims a high antiquity, but is one of the few country fêtes which -are kept up with anything like the ancient spirit. It is one which is -heartily loved and earnestly anticipated; one which draws the hearts -of those who were brought up there, but whom fortune has cast into -distant places, homewards with an irresistible charm. I have not had -the pleasure of witnessing it, but I have had that of seeing the joy -which sparkled in the eyes of the Tissingtonians as they talked of -its approach and of their projected attendance." The festival is still -held in honour at Tissington, and elaborate preparations continue to -be made for its celebration. Flowers are arranged in patterns to form -mottoes and texts of Scripture, and also devices, such as crosses, -crowns, and triangles, while green boughs are added to complete the -picture. A correspondent of "Notes and Queries" thus describes the -decorations on Ascension Day in 1887: "The name of 'well-dressing' -scarcely gives a proper idea of these beautiful structures. They are -rather fountains or cascades, the water descending from above, and -not rising as in a well. Their height varies from ten to twelve feet, -and the original stone frontage is on this day hidden by a wooden -erection in the form of an arch or some other elegant design. Over -these planks a layer of plaster of Paris is spread, and whilst it is -wet, flowers without leaves are stuck in it, forming a most beautiful -mosaic pattern. On one the large yellow field ranunculus was arranged -in letters, and so a verse of Scripture or of a hymn was recalled to -the spectator's mind. On another a white dove was sculptured in the -plaster and set in a ground-work of the humble violet. The daisy, -which our poet Chaucer would gaze upon for hours together, formed a -diaper-work of red and white; the pale yellow primrose was set off by -the rich red of the 'ribes.' Nor were the coral berries of the holly, -mountain ash, and yew forgotten; they are carefully gathered and -stored in the winter to be ready for the May Day fête. It is scarcely -possible to describe the vivid colouring and beautiful effect of these -favourites of nature arranged in wreaths and garlands and devices -of every hue. And then the pure sparkling water, which pours down -from the midst of them on to the rustic moss-grown stones beneath, -completes the enchantment, and makes this feast of the 'well-flowering' -one of the most beautiful of all the old customs that are left in -Merrie England." Well-flowering also prevails at Buxton, and is a -source of interest to the many visitors to that airy health resort. - -Such floral devices do not now rank as votive gifts. They are merely -decorations. The custom may have originated in the Roman Fontinalia. At -any rate it had at one time a corresponding object. The Fontinalia -formed an annual flower-festival in honour of the nymphs inhabiting -springs. Joyous bands visited the fountains, crowned them with boughs, -and threw nosegays into their sparkling water. The parallelism -between the Roman and the English Fontinalia is too well marked -to be overlooked. In Derbyshire and Staffordshire the ceremony of -well-dressing is usually observed on Ascension Day. In more than one -instance the festival has attracted to itself various old English -sports commonly associated with May Day. Among these may be mentioned -May-pole and Morris-dancing and crowning the May-queen. - -At Endon, in Staffordshire, the festival is celebrated on Royal Oak -Day (May 29th), or on the following day if the 29th is a Sunday. The -following account--somewhat abbreviated--is from the "Staffordshire -Evening Post" of 31st May, 1892, and gives some interesting particulars -about the festival: "The secluded village of Endon yesterday celebrated -the well-dressing feast. This institution, dear to the heart of every -loyal inhabitant, holds foremost rank in the local calends, for it is -not a holiday of ordinary frivolous significance, but a thanksgiving -festival. The proceeds, which generally amount to some hundreds of -pounds, are divided between the poor of the parish and the parochial -schools. There are two wells at Endon. One is very old and almost dry, -and has long since fallen into disuse. The other alone supplies the -village with water. From a very early hour in the morning the whole -village was astir, and those people who were gifted with taste and -a delicate touch busied themselves in bedecking the wells for the -coming ceremony. As the day advanced, crowds of visitors poured in -from all parts of the potteries; and towards evening the village green -probably held no fewer than two thousand people. The proceedings, -which were under the personal guidance of the vicar, commenced a -little before two o'clock. A procession of about a hundred and twenty -Sunday-school children was formed at the new well, with the Brownedge -village brass band at its head. The children carried little flags, -which they vigorously waved in excess of glee. The band struck up -bravely, and the procession marched in good order up the hill to -the old parish church, where a solemn service was conducted. The -villagers attended in overwhelming numbers, and completely thronged the -building. There was a fully surpliced choir, whose singing, coupled -with the music of the organ, greatly added to the impressiveness of -the service. Hymns and psalms, selected by the vicar as applicable to -a thanksgiving service for water, were sung by the congregation in -spirited style. At the conclusion of the service the procession was -reformed, the band leading the way back to the new well. Upon arrival, -the clergy and choir, who had retained their surplices, walked slowly -round the well, singing 'Rock of Ages' and 'A living stream as crystal -clear.' Both wells were very beautifully decorated; but the new well -was a masterpiece of elaborated art. A large wooden framework had been -erected in front of the well, and upon this a smooth surface of soft -clay had been laid. The clay was thickly studded with many thousands -of flower heads in great variety of kind and hue, and in pictorial as -well as geometrical arrangement. There were two very pretty figures of -peacocks in daisies, bluebells, and dahlias, and a resplendent motto, -'O, ye wells! bless ye the Lord!' (from the Benedicite) garnished the -summit. The old well was almost deserted, although its decorations -were well worthy of inspection. Its motto, 'Give me this water' -(from the fourth chapter of St. John) was very finely traced, and -its centre figures--two white doves and a crown--were sufficiently -striking. May-pole dances, including the crowning of the May-queen, -occupied the greater part of the afternoon. In the evening the -band played for dancing, and there was a repetition of the May-pole -dances. After dusk there was a display of fireworks." - -Though, as already stated, well-dressing was unknown north of the -Tweed, any account of votive offerings would be incomplete without -a reference to the picturesque ceremony. - - - - - - - - -CHAPTER XIII. - -WEATHER AND WELLS. - - Importance of Weather--Its Place in Folklore--Raising the - Wind--Witches and Wind-charms--Blue-stone in Fladda--Well in - Gigha--Tobernacoragh--Routing-well--Water Cross--Stone in British - Columbia--Other Rain-charms--Survivals in Folk-customs--Sympathetic - Magic--Dulyn--Barenton--Tobar Faolan--St. Fumac's Image at - Botriphnie--Molly Grime. - - -In all ages much attention has been given to the weather, with special -reference to its bearings on human well-being. As Mr. R. Inwards truly -observes, in his "Weather-lore," "From the earliest times hunters, -shepherds, sailors, and tillers of the earth have from sheer necessity -been led to study the teachings of the winds, the waves, the clouds, -and a hundred other objects from which the signs of coming changes in -the state of the air might be foretold. The weather-wise amongst these -primitive people would be naturally the most prosperous, and others -would soon acquire the coveted foresight by a closer observance of the -same objects from which their successful rivals guessed the proper time -to provide against a storm, or reckoned on the prospects of the coming -crops." Hence, naturally enough, the weather has an important place in -folklore. Various prognostications concerning it have been drawn from -sun and moon, from animals and flowers; while certain meteorological -phenomena have, in their turn, been regarded as prophetic of mundane -events. Thus, in the astrological treatise entitled "The Knowledge -of Things Unknown," we read that "Thunder in January signifieth the -same year great winds, plentiful of corn and cattle peradventure; -in February, many rich men shall die in great sickness; in March, -great winds, plenty of corn, and debate amongst people; in April, be -fruitful and merry with the death of wicked men;" and so on through the -other months of the year. One can easily understand why thunder should -be counted peculiarly ominous. The effects produced on the mind by its -mysterious noise, and on the nerves by the electricity in the air, are -apt to lead superstitious people to expect strange events. Particular -notice was taken of the weather on certain ecclesiastical festivals, -and omens were drawn from its condition. Thus, from "The Husbandman's -Practice," we learn that "The wise and cunning masters in astrology -have found that man may see and mark the weather of the holy Christmas -night, how the whole year after shall be in his making and doing, and -they shall speak on this wise. When on the Christmas night and evening -it is very fair and clear weather, and is without wind and without -rain, then it is a token that this year will be plenty of wine and -fruit. But if the contrariwise, foul weather and windy, so shall it -be very scant of wine and fruit. But if the wind arise at the rising -of the sun, then it betokeneth great dearth among beasts and cattle -this year. But if the wind arise at the going down of the same, then -it signifieth death to come among kings and other great lords." We do -not suppose that anyone nowadays attends to such Yule-tide auguries, -but there are not wanting those who have a lingering belief in the -power of Candlemas and St. Swithin's Day to foretell the sort of -weather to be expected in the immediate future. - -Witches were believed to be able to raise the wind at their -pleasure. In a confession made at Auldearn in Nairnshire, in the -year 1662, certain women, accused of sorcery, said, "When we raise -the wind we take a rag of cloth and wet it in water, and we take a -beetle and knock the rag on a stone, and we say thrice over-- - - - 'I knock this rag upon this stane, - To raise the wind in the devil's name. - It shall not lie until I please again!'" - - -When the wind was to be allayed the rag was dried. About 1670 an -attempt was made to drain some two thousand acres of land belonging -to the estate of Dun in Forfarshire. The Dronner's, i.e., Drainer's -Dyke--remains of which are still to be seen behind the Montrose -Infirmary--was built in connection with the scheme. But the work -was destroyed by a terrible storm, caused, it was believed, by a -certain Meggie Cowie--the last to be burned for witchcraft in the -district. About eighty years before, a notable witch-trial in the -time of James VI. had to do with the raising of a storm. A certain -woman, Agnes Sampson, residing in Haddingtonshire, confessed that she -belonged to a company of two hundred witches, and that they were all -in the habit of sailing along the coast in sieves to meet the devil -at the kirk of North Berwick. After one of these interviews the woman -took a cat and christened it, and, after fixing to it parts of a dead -man's body, threw the creature into the sea in presence of the other -witches. The king, who was then returning from Denmark with his bride, -was delayed by contrary winds, and such a tempest arose in the Firth -of Forth that a vessel, containing valuable gifts for the queen on her -arrival, sank between Burntisland and Leith. The Rev. T. F. Thiselton -Dyer makes the suggestion in his "Folklore of Shakespeare," that it -was probably to these contrary winds that the author of "Macbeth" -alludes when he makes the witch say-- - - - "Though his bark cannot be lost, - Yet it shall be tempest-tost." - - -Even down to the end of last century, and probably later, some -well-educated people believed that the devil had the power of raising -the wind. The phrase, the prince of the power of the air, applied -to him in Scripture, was interpreted in a literal way. "The Diary of -the Rev. John Mill," minister in Shetland from 1740 till 1803, bears -witness to such a belief. In his introduction to the work, the editor, -Mr. Gilbert Goudie, tells us: "He (Mill) was often heard talking aloud -with his (to others) unseen foe; but those who heard him declared -that he spoke in an unknown tongue, presumably Hebrew. After one of -these encounters the worthy man was heard muttering, 'Well, let him -do his worst; the wind aye in my face will not hurt me.' This was in -response to a threat of the devil, that wherever he (Mill) went, he -(Satan) should be a-blowing 'wind in his teeth,' in consequence of -which Mill was unable ever after to get passage out of Shetland." On -the 5th of November, 1605, a terrible storm swept over the north of -Scotland and destroyed part of the cathedral at Dornoch. As is well -known, the day in question was selected by Guy Fawkes for blowing up -the Houses of Parliament. In his "Cathedral of Caithness, at Dornoch," -Mr. Hugh F. Campbell tells us: "When the news of the gunpowder plot -reached the north, the co-incidence of time at once impressed the -imagination of a superstitious age. The storm was invested with an -element of the marvellous." Mr. Campbell then quotes the following -curious passage from Sir Robert Gordon, specially referring to Satan's -connection with the tempest:--"The same verie night that this execrable -plott should have been put in execution all the inner stone pillars of -the north syd of the body of the cathedral church at Dornogh--lacking -the rooff before--were blowen from the verie roots and foundation -quyt and clein over the outer walls of the church: such as hath sein -the same. These great winds did even then prognosticate and forshew -some great treason to be at hand; and as the divell was busie then -to trouble the ayre, so wes he bussie by these hiss fyrebrands to -trouble the estate of Great Britane." - -The notion that storms, especially when accompanied by thunder -and lightning, were the work of evil spirits, came out prominently -during the middle ages in connection with bells. The ringing of bells -was believed to drive away the demons, and so allay the tempest. A -singular superstition concerning the causation of storms was brought -to light in Hungary during the autumn of 1892 in connection with -the fear of cholera. At Kidzaes a patient died of what was thought -to be that disease, and a post mortem examination was ordered by -the local authorities. Strenuous opposition, however, was offered -by the villagers on the ground that the act would cause such a -hail-storm as would destroy their crops. Feeling ran so high that -a riot was imminent, and the project had to be abandoned. Eric, the -Swedish king, could control the winds through his enchantments. By -turning his cap he was able to bring a breeze from whatever quarter -he wished. Mr. G. L. Gomme, in his "Ethnology in Folklore," remarks, -"At Kempoch Point, in the Firth of Clyde, is a columnar rock called -the Kempoch Stane, from whence a saint was wont to dispense favourable -winds to those who paid for them, and unfavourable to those who did -not put confidence in his powers--a tradition which seems to have been -carried on by the Innerkip witches who were tried in 1662, and some -portions of which still linger among the sailors of Greenock." The -stone in question consists of a block of grey mica schist six feet in -height and two in diameter. It is locally known as Granny Kempoch. In -former times sailors and fishermen sought to ensure good fortune on -the sea by walking seven times round the stone. While making their -rounds they carried in their hand a basket of sand, and at the same -time uttered an eerie chant. Newly-married couples used also to walk -round the stone by way of luck. - -At the beginning of the present century a certain woman, Bessie Miller -by name, lived in Stromness, in Orkney, and eked out her livelihood by -selling winds to mariners. Her usual charge was sixpence. For this sum, -as Sir W. Scott tells us, "she boiled her kettle, and gave the barque -advantage of her prayers, for she disclaimed all unlawful arts. The -wind, thus petitioned for, was sure to arrive, though sometimes the -mariners had to wait some time for it." Her house was on the brow -of the steep hill above the town, "and for exposure might have been -the abode of Eolus himself." At the time of Sir Walter's visit to -Stromness, Bessie Miller was nearly a hundred years old, and appeared -"withered and dried up like a mummy." We make her acquaintance in -the "Pirate," under the name of Norna of the Fitful Head. In his -"Rambles in the Far North," Mr. R. M. Fergusson tells of another -wind-compelling personage, named Mammie Scott, who also belonged to -Stromness, and practised her arts there, till within a comparatively -recent date. "Many wonderful tales are told of her power and influence -over the weather. Her fame was widely spread as that of Bessie. A -captain called upon Mammie one day to solicit a fair wind. He was -bound for Stornoway, and received from the reputed witch a scarlet -thread upon which were three knots. His instructions were, that if -sufficient wind did not arrive, one of the knots was to be untied; -if that proved insufficient, another knot was to be untied; but he was -on no account to unloose the third knot, else disaster would overtake -his vessel. The mariner set out upon his voyage, and, the wind being -light, untied the first knot. This brought a stronger breeze, but -still not sufficient to satisfy him. The second knot was let down, and -away the vessel sped across the waters, round Cape Wrath. In a short -time the entrance to Stornoway harbour was reached, when it came into -the captain's head to untie the third knot in order to see what might -occur. He was too near the end of his voyage to suffer any damage now; -and so he felt emboldened to make the experiment. No sooner was the -last knot set free than a perfect hurricane set in from a contrary -direction, which drove the vessel right back to Hoy Sound, from which -she had set out, where he had ample time to repent of his folly." - -Within the last half-century there lived in Stonehaven an old -woman, who was regarded with considerable awe by the sea-faring -population. Before a voyage it was usual to propitiate her by the -gift of a bag of coals. On one occasion, two brothers, owners of a -coasting smack, after setting sail, had to return to port through -stress of weather, the storm being due, it was believed, to the -fact that one of the brothers had omitted to secure the woman's good -offices in the usual way. The brother who was captain of the smack -seems to have been a firm believer in wind-charms, for it is related -of him that during a more than usually high wind he was in the habit -of throwing up his cap into the air with the exclamation, "She maun -hae something." She, in this case, was the wind, and not the witch: -and the cap was meant as a gift to propitiate the storm. Dr. Charles -Rogers, in his "Social Life in Scotland," tells us that "the seamen -of Shetland, in tempestuous weather, throw a piece of money into the -window of a ruinous chapel dedicated to St. Ronald in the belief that -the saint will allay the vehemence of the storm." According to the -same writer, "Shetland boatmen still purchase favourable winds from -elderly women, who pretend to rule or to modify the storms." "There are -now in Lerwick," Dr. Rogers continues, "several old women who in this -fashion earn a subsistence. Many of the survivors of the great storm -of the 20th of July, 1881--so fatal on northern coasts--assert that -their preservation was due to warnings which they received through -a supernatural agency." - -Human skulls have their folklore. The lifting of them from their usual -resting-places has, in popular belief, been connected with certain -mysterious occurrences. According to a story told by Mr. Wirt Sikes, -in his "British Goblins," a man who removed a skull from a church -to prove to his companions that he was free from superstition was -overtaken by a terrible whirlwind, the result, it was thought, of his -rash act. In some Highland districts it used to be reckoned unlucky -to allow a corpse to remain unburied. If from any cause, human bones -came to the surface, care was taken to lay them below ground again, -as otherwise disastrous storms would ensue. - -We have a good example of the association of wind-charms with water -in the case of a certain magical stone referred to by Martin as -existing in his day in the island of Fladda, near Skye. There was a -chapel to St. Columba on the island, and on the altar lay the stone -in question. The stone was round, of a blue colour, and was always -moist. "It is an ordinary custom," Martin relates, "when any of -the fishermen are detained in the isle by contrary winds, to wash -the blue stone with water all round, expecting thereby to procure -a favourable wind, which, the credulous tenant, living in the isle, -says never fails, especially if a stranger wash the stone." The power -of the Fladda stone was equalled by a certain well in Gigha, though in -the latter instance a dweller in the island, rather than a stranger, -had power over it. When a foreign boat was wind-bound on the island, -the master of the craft was in the habit of giving some money to -one of the natives, to procure a favourable breeze. This was done in -the following way. A few feet above the well was a heap of stones, -forming a cover to the spring. These were carefully removed, and the -well was cleared out with a wooden dish or clam-shell. The water was -then thrown several times towards the point, from which the needed -wind should blow. Certain words of incantation were used, each time -the water was thrown. After the ceremony, the stones were replaced, -as the district would otherwise have been swept by a hurricane. Pennant -mentions, in connection with his visit to Gigha, that the superstition -had then died out. In this he was in error, for the well continued to -be occasionally consulted to a later date. Even within recent years, -the memory of the practice lingered in the island; but there seemed -some doubt, as to the exact nature of the required ritual. Captain -T. P. White was told by a shepherd, belonging to the island, that, -if a stone was taken out of the well, a storm would arise and prevent -any person crossing over, nor would it abate till the stone was taken -back to the well. - -From the evidence of an Irish example, we find that springs could -allay a storm, as well as produce a favourable breeze. The island -of Innismurray, off the coast of Sligo, has a sacred well called -Tobernacoragh. When a tempest was raging, the natives believed that -by draining the water of this well into the sea, the wrath of the -elements could be calmed. Mr. Gomme, in his "Ethnology in Folklore," -when commenting on the instance, remarks, "In this case the connection -between well-worship and the worship of a rain-god is certain, for -it may be surmised that if the emptying of the well allayed a storm, -some complementary action was practised at one time or other in order -to produce rain, and in districts more subject to a want of rain -than this Atlantic island, that ceremony would be accentuated at the -expense of the storm-allaying ceremony at Innismurray." The Routing -Well, at Monktown, in Inveresk parish, Mid-Lothian, was believed to -give notice of an approaching storm by uttering sounds resembling the -moaning of the wind. As a matter of fact, the noises came from certain -disused coal-workings in the immediate neighbourhood, and were due -to the high wind blowing through them. The sounds thus accompanied -and did not precede the storm. - -To procure rain, recourse was had to various superstitious -practices. Martin tells of a stone, five feet high, in the form of -a cross, opposite St. Mary's Church, in North Uist. "The natives," -he says, "call it the 'Water Cross,' for the ancient inhabitants -had a custom of erecting this sort of cross to procure rain, and -when they had got enough, they laid it flat on the ground, but this -custom is now disused." Among the mountains of British Columbia, is -a certain stone held in much honour by the Indians, for they believe -that it will produce rain when struck. Rain-making is an important -occupation among uncivilised races, and strange rites are sometimes -practised to bring about the desired result. By some savages, human -hair is burned for this end. Mr. J. G. Frazer, in "The Golden Bough," -has some interesting remarks on rain-production. After enumerating -certain rain-charms among heathen nations, he remarks, "Another way of -constraining the rain-god is to disturb him in his haunts. This seems -the reason why rain is supposed to be the consequence of troubling -a sacred spring. The Dards believed that if a cowskin or anything -impure is placed in certain springs storms will follow. Gervasius -mentions a spring, into which, if a stone or a stick were thrown, -rain would at once issue from it and drench the thrower. There was -a fountain in Munster such that if it were touched or even looked -at by a human being it would at once flood the whole province with -rain." Curious survivals of ancient rain-charms are to be found in -modern folk-customs. Thus, in connection with the rejoicings of the -harvest-home in England, when the last load of grain was being carried -on the gaily decorated hock-cart to the farm-yard, it was customary -to throw water on those taking part in the ceremony. This apparently -meaningless frolic was in reality a rain-charm. A Cornish custom, -at one time popular at Padstow on the first of May, can be explained -on the same principle. A hobby-horse was taken to the Traitor's Pool, -a quarter of a mile from the town. The head was dipped in the pool, -and water was sprinkled on the bystanders. - -Such charms depend for their efficacy on what is called "sympathetic -magic." Mimic rain is produced on the earth, in the hope that the same -liquid will be constrained to descend from the heavens, to bring fresh -fertility to the fields. Professor Rhys, in his "Celtic Heathendom," -traces the connection between modern rain-charms and the rites of -ancient paganism. He there quotes the following particulars regarding -Dulyn, in North Wales, from a description of the place published in -1805:--"There lies in Snowdon Mountain a lake called Dulyn, in a -dismal dingle surrounded by high and dangerous rocks; the lake is -exceedingly black, and its fish are loathsome, having large heads -and small bodies. No wild swan or duck or any kind of bird has ever -been seen to light on it, as is their wont on every other Snowdonian -lake. In this same lake there is a row of stepping stones extending -into it; and if any one steps on the stones and throws water so as to -wet the furthest stone of the series, which is called the Red Altar, -it is but a chance that you do not get rain before night, even when -it is hot weather." The spot was, probably in pre-Christian times, -the scene of sacrifices to some local deity. Judging from the dismal -character of the neighbourhood, we may safely infer that fear entered -largely into the worship paid there to the genius loci. The Fountain -of Barenton, in Brittany, was specially celebrated in connection -with rain-making. During the early middle ages, the peasantry of -the neighbourhood resorted to it in days of drought. According to a -time-honoured custom, they took some water from the fountain and threw -it on a slab hard by; rain was the result. Professor Rhys reminds -us that this fountain "still retains its pluvial importance; for, -in seasons of drought, the inhabitants of the surrounding parishes, -we are told go to it in procession, headed by their five great banners -and their priests ringing bells and chanting psalms. On arriving, -the rector of the canton dips the foot of the cross in the water, -and it is sure to rain within a week's time." The Barenton instance is -specially interesting, for part of the ceremony recalls what happened -in connection with a certain Scottish spring, viz., Tobar Faolan at -Struan, in Athole. This spring, as the name implies, was dedicated -to Fillan. In his "Holiday Notes in Athole," in the "Proceedings of -the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland," volume xii. (new series), -Mr. J. Mackintosh Gow says, "It is nearly one hundred yards west -from the church, at the foot of the bank, and close to the river -Garry. It is overgrown with grass and weeds, but the water is as clear -and cool as it may have been in the days of the saint. There is no -tradition of its having been a curing or healing well, except that -in pre-Reformation days, when a drought prevailed and rain was much -wanted, an image of the saint, which was kept in the church, used to be -taken in procession to the well, and, in order that rain might come, -the feet of the image were placed in the water; and this, of course, -was generally supposed to have the desired effect." At Botriphnie, -in Banffshire, six miles from Keith, the wooden image of St. Fumac -used to be solemnly washed in his well on the third of May. We may -conclude that the ceremony was intended as a rain-charm. It must have -been successful, on at least one occasion, for the river Isla became -flooded through the abundance of rain. Indeed, the flooding was so -great that the saint's image was swept away by the rushing water. The -image was finally stranded at Banff, where it was burned as a relic -of superstition by order of the parish minister about the beginning -of the present century. In Glentham Church, Lincolnshire, is a tomb, -with a figure locally called "Molly Grime." From "Old English Customs -and Charities," we learn that, till 1832, the figure was washed every -Good Friday with water from Newell Well by seven old maids of Glentham, -who each received a shilling, "in consequence of an old bequest -connected with some property in that district." Perhaps its testator -was not free from a belief in the efficacy of rain-charms. Otherwise, -the ceremony seems meaningless. If the keeping clean of the figure -was the only object, the seven old maids should not have limited -their duties to an annual pilgrimage from the well to the church. - - - - - - - - -CHAPTER XIV. - -TREES AND SPRINGS. - - Tree-worship--Ygdrasil--Personality of Plants--Tree-ancestors-- - "Wassailing"--Relics of Tree-worship--Connla's Well--Cutting down - Trees Unlucky--Spring at Monzie--Marriage Well--Pear-Tree Well - --Some Miraculous Trees--External Soul--Its Connection with - Trees, &c.--Arms of Glasgow. - - -Trees were at one time worshipped as well as fountains. Ygdrasil, -the world-tree of Scandinavian mythology, had three roots, -and underneath each, was a fountain of wonderful virtues. This -represents the connection between tree and well in the domain of -mythology. But the same superstition was connected with ordinary -trees and wells. Glancing back over the history of civilisation, -we reach a period, when vegetation was endowed with personality. As -plants manifested the phenomena of life and death like man and the -lower animals, they had a similar kind of existence attributed to -them. Among some savages to-day, the fragrance of a flower is thought -to be its soul. As there was thus no hard and fast line between man -and the vegetable kingdom, the one could be derived from the other; -in other words, men could have trees as their ancestors. Curious -survivals of such a belief lie both revealed and concealed in the -language of to-day. Though we are far separated from such a phase -of archaic religion, we speak of the branches of a family. At one -time such an expression represented a literal fact, and not a mere -metaphor. In like manner, we call a son, who resembles his father, -"a chip of the old block." But how few when using the phrase are alive -to its real force! Mr. Keary, in his "Outlines of Primitive Belief," -observes, "Even when the literal notion of the descent from a tree -had been lost sight of, the close connection between the prosperity -of the tribe and the life of its fetish was often strictly held. The -village tree of the German races was originally a tribal tree with -whose existence the life of the village was involved." - -The picturesque ceremony known as the "Wassailing of Apple-trees," -kept up till lately in Devon and Cornwall, carries our thoughts back -to the time when tree-worship was a thriving cult in our land. It was -celebrated on the evening before Epiphany (January 6th). The farmer, -accompanied by his labourers, carried a pail of cider with roasted -apples in it into the orchard. The pail was placed on the ground, -and each one of the company took from it a cupful of the liquid. They -then stood before the trees and repeated the following lines:-- - - - "Health to thee, good apple tree, - Well to bear pocket-fulls, hat-fulls, - Peck-fulls, bushel bag-fulls." - - -Part of the contents of the cup was then drunk, and the remainder was -thrown at the tree amid shouts from the by-standers. Relics of the -same cult can be traced in the superstitious regard for such trees as -the rowan, the elder, &c., and in the decoration of the May-pole and -the Christmas Tree. According to an ancient Irish legend, a certain -spring in Erin, called Connla's Well, had growing over it nine mystical -hazel trees. Year by year these trees produced their flowers and -fruit simultaneously. The nuts were of a brilliant crimson colour and -contained in some mysterious way the knowledge of all that was best -in poetry and art. Professor O'Curry, in his "Lectures on the Manners -and Customs of the Ancient Irish," refers to this legend, and says, -"No sooner were the beautiful nuts produced on the trees than they -always dropped into the well, raising by their fall a succession of -shining red bubbles. Now, during this time the water was always full of -salmon, and no sooner did the bubbles appear than these salmon darted -to the surface and ate the nuts, after which they made their way to -the river. The eating of the nuts produced brilliant crimson spots on -the bellies of these salmon, and to catch and eat these salmon became -an object of more than mere gastronomic interest among those who were -anxious to become distinguished in the arts and in literature without -being at the pains and delay of long study, for the fish was supposed -to have become filled with the knowledge which was contained in the -nuts, which, it was believed, would be transferred in full to those -who had the good fortune to catch and eat them." - -In many cases it was counted unlucky to cut down trees, since the -spirits, inhabiting them, would resent the injury. In the sixteenth -century the parishioners of Clynnog, in Caernarvonshire, refrained -from destroying the trees growing in the grounds of St. Beyno. Even -though he was their patron saint, he was quite ready to harm anybody -who took liberties with his grove. Loch Siant Well, in Skye, was -noted for its power to cure headaches, stitches, and other ailments, -and was much frequented in consequence. Martin says, "There is a -small coppice near to the well, and there is none of the natives dare -venture to cut the least branch of it for fear of some signal judgment -to follow upon it." Martin also tells us that the same reverence -was for long paid to the peat on the island of Lingay. This island, -he says, "is singular in respect of all the lands of Uist, and the -other islands that surround it, for they are all composed of sand, -and this, on the contrary, is altogether moss covered with heath, -affording five peats in depth, and is very serviceable and useful, -furnishing the island Borera, &c., with plenty of good fuel. This -island was held as consecrated for several ages, insomuch that the -natives would not then presume to cut any fuel in it." - -When trees beside wells had rags hung on them as offerings, -they would naturally be reverenced, as the living altars for the -reception of the gifts. But even when not used for this purpose, -they were sometimes thought to have a mysterious connection with -the springs they overshadowed. In the parish of Monzie, Perthshire, -is a mineral well held in much esteem till about the year 1770. At -that time two trees, till then the guardians of the spring, fell, -and with their fall its virtue departed. On the right bank of the -Clyde, about three-quarters of a mile from Carmyle village, is the -once sylvan district of Kenmuir. There, at the foot of a bank, is a -spring locally known as "The Marriage Well," the name being derived, -it is said, from two curiously united trees beside its margin. These -trees were recently cut down. In former times, it was customary for -marriage parties, the day after their wedding, to visit the spring, -and there pledge the bride and bridegroom in draughts of its sparkling -water. On the banks of the Kelvin, close to the Glasgow Botanic -Gardens, once flowed a spring styled the Pear-Tree, Pea-Tree, or -Three-Tree Well, the last name being probably the original one. In -former times it was a recognised trysting-place for lovers. A tragic -story is told in connection with it by Mr. James Napier in his "Notes -and Reminiscences of Partick." A maiden, named Catherine Clark, -arranged to meet her lover there by night, - - - "nor did she ever dream - But that he was what he did ever seem." - - -She never returned to her home. "A few days after," remarks Mr. Napier, -"her body was found buried near a large tree which stood within a -few yards of the Pea-Tree Well. This tree was afterwards known as -'Catherine Clark's Tree,' and remained for many years an object -of interest to the visitors to this far-famed well, and many a -sympathising lover carved his name in rude letters on its bark. But -the tree was also an object of terror to those who had to pass it in -dark and lonely nights, and many tales were told of people who had -seen a young female form dressed in white, and stained with blood, -standing at the tree foot." The tree was removed many years ago. The -spring too is gone, the recent extension of the Caledonian Railway -to Maryhill having forced it to quit the field. - -Near the moat of Listerling, in county Kilkenny, Ireland, is a -holy well dedicated to St. Mullen, who is said to have lived for -a while in its neighbourhood. A fine hawthorn, overshadowing it, -grew--if we can believe a local legend--from the staff of the saint, -which he there stuck into the ground. This reminds one of the famous -Glastonbury Thorn, produced from the staff of Joseph of Arimathea, -who fixed it in the ground one Christmas Day. The staff took root at -once, put forth branches, and next day was covered with milk-white -blossoms. St. Servanus's staff, too, had a miraculous ending. He threw -it across the Firth of Forth, and when it fell on the Fife coast, -it took root and became an apple-tree. A group of thorn-bushes, near -Aghaboe, in Queen's County, Ireland, was dedicated to St. Canice. The -spring, overshadowed by them, was much resorted to for the purposes -of devotion. At Rearymore, in the same county, some hawthorns, -growing beside St. Finyan's spring, were, and doubtless still are, -religiously preserved by the natives. In the Isle of Man is Chibber -Unjin, signifying The Well of the Ash. Beside it grew an ash tree, -formerly decorated with votive offerings. - -What has been called the external soul has an important place in -folklore, and forms the theme of many folk-tales. Primitive man does -not think of the soul as spiritual, but as material--as something -that can be seen and felt. It can take different shapes. It can leave -the body during sleep, and wander about in the guise of an animal, -such as a mouse. Considerable space is devoted to this problem in -Mr. J. G. Frazer's "Golden Bough." Mr. Frazer there remarks, "There -may be circumstances in which, if the life or soul remains in the man, -it stands a greater chance of sustaining injury than if it were stowed -away in some safe and secret place. Accordingly, in such circumstances, -primitive man takes his soul out of his body and deposits it for -security in some safe place, intending to replace it in his body when -the danger is past; or, if he should discover some place of absolute -security, he may be content to leave his soul there permanently. The -advantage of this is, that so long as the soul remains unharmed in the -place where he has deposited it, the man himself is immortal; nothing -can kill his body, since his life is not in it." Sometimes the soul is -believed to be stowed away in a tree, injury to the latter involving -disaster to the former. The custom of planting trees, and calling -them after certain persons may nowadays have nothing to do with this -notion; but, undoubtedly, a real connection was at one time believed -to exist between the partners in the transaction. A certain oak, -with mistletoe growing on it, was mysteriously associated with the -family of Hay. The superstition is explained in the following lines:-- - - - "While the mistletoe bats on Errol's oak - And that oak stands fast, - The Hays shall flourish, and their good grey hawk - Shall not flinch before the blast. - - But when the root of the oak decays - And the mistletoe dwines on its withered breast, - The grass shall grow on the Earl's hearthstone, - And the corbies craw in the falcon's nest." - - -At Finlarig Castle, near Killin, in Perthshire, are several trees, -believed to be linked with the lives of certain individuals, connected -by family ties with the ruined fortress. Aubrey gives an example -of this superstition, as it existed in England in the seventeenth -century. He says, "I cannot omit taking notice of the great misfortune -in the family of the Earl of Winchelsea, who, at Eastwell, in Kent, -felled down a most curious grove of oaks near his own noble seat, and -gave the first blow with his own hands. Shortly after, the countess -died in her bed suddenly, and his eldest son, the Lord Maidstone, -was killed at sea by a cannon bullet." In the grounds of Dalhousie -Castle, about two miles from Dalkeith, on the edge of a fine spring -is the famous Edgewell Oak. Sir Walter Scott, in his "Journal," under -date May 13th, 1829, writes, "Went with the girls to dine at Dalhousie -Castle, where we were very kindly received. I saw the Edgewell Tree, -too fatal, says Allan Ramsay, to the family from which he was himself -descended." According to a belief in the district, a branch fell from -this tree, before the death of a member of the family. The original oak -fell early in last century, but a new one sprang from the old root. An -editorial note to the above entry in the "Journal" gives the following -information:--"The tree is still flourishing (1889), and the belief in -its sympathy with the family is not yet extinct, as an old forester, -on seeing a branch fall from it on a quiet still day in July, 1874, -exclaimed, 'The laird's deed, noo!' and, accordingly, news came soon -after that Fox Maule, eleventh Earl of Dalhousie, had died." - -The external soul was sometimes associated with objects other than -living trees. Dr. Charles Rogers tells us that "a pear, supposed -to have been enchanted by Hugh Gifford, Lord of Yester, a notable -magician in the reign of Alexander III., is preserved in the family -of Brown of Colston, as heirs of Gifford's estate." The prosperity -of the family is believed to be linked with the preservation of the -pear. Even an inanimate object would serve the purpose. The glass -drinking-cup, known as the "Luck of Edenhall," is connected with -the fortunes of the Musgrave family, and great care is taken to -preserve it from injury. Tradition says that a company of fairies -were making merry beside a spring near the mansion-house, but that, -being frightened by some intruder, they vanished, leaving the cup in -question, while one of them exclaimed:-- - - - "If this cup should break or fall, - Farewell the luck of Edenhall." - - -Some living object, however, either vegetable or animal, was the -usual repository of the external soul. A familiar folk-tale tells of a -giant whose heart was in a swan, and who could not be killed while the -swan lived. Hunting was a favourite occupation among the inhabitants -of the Western Isles; but on the mountain Finchra, in Rum, no deer -was killed by any member of the Lachlan family, as it was believed -that the life of that family was in some way linked with the life of -these animals. A curious superstition is mentioned by Camden in his -"Britannia." In a pond near the Abbey of St. Maurice, in Burgundy, -were put as many fish as there were monks. When any monk was taken -ill, one of the fish was seen to float half-dead on the surface of -the pond. If the fish died the monk died too, the death of the former -giving warning of the fate of the latter. In this case the external -soul was thought of as stowed away in a fish. As is well known, -the Arms of the City of Glasgow are a bell, a tree, a fish with -a ring in its mouth, and a bird. The popular explanation of these -emblems connects them with certain miracles, wrought by Kentigern, -the patron saint of the burgh. May we not hold that an explanation -of their symbolism is to be sought in a principle, that formed an -article in the beliefs of men, long before Kentigern was born, as well -as during his time and since? The bell, it is true, had, doubtless, an -ecclesiastical association; but the other three symbols point, perhaps, -to some superstitious notion like the above. In various folk-tales, -as well as in Christian art, the soul is sometimes typified by a -bird. As we have just seen, it has been associated with trees and -fish. We are entitled therefore to ask whether the three symbols -may not express one and the same idea under different forms. It is, -of course, open to anyone to say that there were fish in the river, -on whose banks Kentigern took up his abode, and quite a forest with -birds singing in it around his cell, and that no further explanation -of the symbolism need be sought. All these, it is true, existed -within the saint's environment, but may they not have been regarded -as types of the soul under the guise of objects familiar to all, and -afterwards grouped together in the burgh Arms? On this hypothesis, -the symbols have survived the belief that gave them birth, and serve -to connect the practical life of to-day, with the vague visions and -crude conjectures of the past. - - - - - - - - -CHAPTER XV. - -CHARM-STONES IN AND OUT OF WATER. - - Stone-worship--Mysterious Properties of Stones--Symbolism of Gems - --Gnostics--Abraxas Gems--Gems in Sarcophagi--Life-stones--Use of - Amulets in Scotland--Yellow Stone in Mull--Baul Muluy--Black - Stones of Iona--Stone as Medicine--Declan's Stone--Curing-stones - still used for Cattle--Mary, Queen of Scots--Amulet at Abbotsford - --Highland Reticence--Aberfeldy Curing-stone--Lapis Ceranius and - Lapis Hecticus--Bernera--St. Ronan's Altar--Blue Stone in Fladda - --Baul Muluy again--Columba's White Stone--Loch Manaar--Well near - Loch Torridon--Stones besides Springs--Healing-stones at Killin-- - Their connection with Fillan--Mornish--Altars and Crosses--Iona-- - Clach-a-brath--Cross at Kilberry--Lunar Stone in Harris-- - Perforated Stones--Ivory--Barbeck's Bone--Adder-beads--Sprinkling - Cattle--Elf-bolts--Clach-na-Bratach--Clach Dearg--Lee Penny-- - Lockerbie Penny--Black Penny. - - -We have already seen that in early times water was an object -of worship. Stones also were reverenced as the embodiments of -nature-deities. "In Western Europe during the middle ages," remarks -Sir J. Lubbock in his "Origin of Civilisation," "we meet with -several denunciations of stone-worship, proving its deep hold on -the people. Thus the worship of stones was condemned by Theodoric, -Archbishop of Canterbury, in the seventh century, and is among the -acts of heathenism forbidden by King Edgar in the tenth, and by Cnut -in the eleventh century." Even as late as the seventeenth century, -the Presbytery of Dingwall sought to suppress, among other practices -of heathen origin, that of rendering reverence to stones, the stones -in question having been consulted as to future events. It is not -surprising therefore that stones had certain mysterious properties -ascribed to them. In all ages precious stones have been deservedly -admired for their beauty, but, in addition, they have frequently -been esteemed for their occult qualities. "In my youth," Mr. James -Napier tells us, in his "Folklore in the West of Scotland," "there -was a belief in the virtue of precious stones, which added a value to -them beyond their real value as ornaments.... Each stone had its own -symbolic meaning and its own peculiar influence for imparting good and -protecting from evil and from sickness its fortunate possessor." By the -ancient Jews, the topaz and the amethyst were believed to guard their -wearers respectively against poison and drunkenness; while the diamond -was prized as a protection against Satanic influence. Concerning the -last-mentioned gem, Sir John Mandeville, writing about 1356, says, -"It makes a man stronger and firmer against his enemies, heals him -that is lunatic, and those whom the fiend pursues and torments." By -certain sects of the Gnostics, precious stones were much thought of as -talismans. Among the sect founded by Basilides of Egypt, the famous -Abraxas gems were used as tokens by the initiated. The Gnostics also -placed gems inscribed with mystic mottoes in sarcophagi, to remind the -dead of certain prayers that were thought likely to aid them in the -other world. In Scandinavia, warriors were in the habit of carrying -about with them amulets called life-stones or victory-stones. These -strengthened the hand of the wearer in fight. In our own country, -the use of amulets was not uncommon. A flat oval-shaped pebble, -measuring two and a half inches in greatest diameter, was presented -in 1864 to the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. It had been worn -as a charm by a Forfarshire farmer, who died in 1854 at the age -of eighty-four. When in use, it had been kept in a small bag and -suspended by a red string round the wearer's neck. - -Even when stones were not used as amulets, they were sometimes held -in superstitious regard. When in Mull, Martin was told of a yellow -stone, lying at the bottom of a certain spring in the island, its -peculiarity being that it did not get hot, though kept over the fire -for a whole day. The same writer alludes to a certain stone in Arran, -called Baul Muluy, i.e., "Molingus, his Stone Globe." It was green -in colour, and was about the size of a goose's egg. The stone was -used by the islanders, when great oaths had to be sworn. It was also -employed to disperse an enemy. When thrown among the front ranks, the -opposing army would retreat in confusion. In this way the Macdonalds -were said to have gained many a victory. When not in use, the Baul -Muluy was carefully kept wrapped up in cloth. Among oath-stones, -the black stones of Iona were specially famous. These were situated -to the west of St. Martin's Cross, and were called black, not from -their colour--for they were grey--but from the effects of perjury -in the event of a false oath being sworn by them. Macdonald, Lord -of the Isles, knelt on them, and, with uplifted hands, swore that he -would never recall the rights granted by him to his vassals. Such a -hold had these oath-stones taken on the popular imagination, that -when anyone expressed himself certain about a particular thing, -he gave weight to his affirmation, by saying that he was prepared -to "swear upon the black stones." Bishop Pocoke mentions that the -inhabitants of Iona "were in the habit of breaking off pieces from a -certain stone lying in the church," to be used "as medicine for man -or beast in most disorders, and especially the flux." - -Charm-stones were sometimes associated with early saints. The following -particulars about St. Declan's Stone are given by Sir Arthur Mitchell -in the tenth volume of the "Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries -of Scotland":--"We are told in the life of St. Declan that a small -stone was sent to him from Heaven while he was saying Mass in a church -in Italy. It came through the window and rested on the altar. It was -called Duivhin Deaglain or Duivh-mhion Deaglain, i.e., 'Declan's Black -Relic.' It performed many miracles during his life, being famous for -curing sore eyes, headaches, &c.; and is said to have been found in -his grave sometime, I think, during last century. Its size is two and -a-fourth by one and three-fourth inches, and on one side there is a -Latin cross, incised and looped at the top. At the bottom of the stem -of this cross there is another small Latin cross. On the other side -of the stone there is a circle, one and a-fourth inch in diameter, -and six holes or pits." Curing stones are still used occasionally -in connection with the diseases of cattle, particularly in Highland -districts; but they have ceased to do duty in the treatment of human -ailments. Mary Queen of Scots seems to have been a firm believer in -their efficacy. In a letter to her brother-in-law, Henry the Third -of France, written on the eve of her execution, the Queen says, -"She ventures to send him two rare stones, valuable for the health, -which she hopes will be good, with a happy and long life, asking -him to receive them as the gift of his very affectionate sister-in -law, who is at the point of death, and in token of true love towards -him." In a case of curiosities at Abbotsford, there is an amulet that -belonged to Sir Walter Scott's mother. It somewhat resembles crocodile -skin in colour, and has a setting of silver. The amulet was believed -to prevent children from being bewitched. - -It is nowadays difficult to ascertain the whereabouts of curing-stones -in the Highlands, owing to the reticence of those who still have faith -in their virtues. Till lately there was one in the neighbourhood -of Aberfeldy that had been in use, it is believed, for about three -hundred years. In shape, the charm somewhat resembled a human heart, -and consisted of a water-worn pebble fully three inches in greatest -length. When required for the cure of cattle, it was rubbed over the -affected part or was dipped in water, the water being then given to -the animal to drink. Recently the family who owned it became extinct, -and the charm passed into other hands. Martin gives some curious -information with regard to the employment of charm-stones, among -the inhabitants of the Western Isles. After describing a certain -kind of stone, called lapis ceranius, found in the island of Skye, -he remarks, "These stones are by the natives called 'Cramp-stones,' -because (as they say) they cure the cramp in cows by washing the part -affected with water in which this stone had been steeped for some -hours." He mentions also, that in the same island, the stone called -lapis hecticus was deemed efficacious in curing consumption and other -diseases. It was made red-hot, and then cooled in milk or water, -the liquid being drunk by the patient. On Bernera, the islanders -frequently rub their breasts with a particular stone, by way of -prevention, and say it is a good preservative for health. Martin adds, -"This is all the medicine they use: Providence is very favourable -to them in granting them a good state of health, since they have no -physician among them." In connection with his visit to the island of -Rona, the same writer observes, "There is a chapel here dedicated to -St. Ronan, fenced with a stone wall round; and they take care to keep -it neat and clean, and sweep it every day. There is an altar in it, -on which there lies a big plank of wood, about ten feet in length; -every foot has a hole in it, and in every hole a stone, to which the -natives ascribe several virtues: one of them is singular, as they -say, for promoting speedy delivery to a woman in travail." The blue -stone in Fladda, already referred to in connection with wind-charms, -did duty as an oath-stone, and likewise as a curing-stone, its special -function being to remove stitches in the side. The Baul Muluy in Arran, -alluded to above, also cured stitches in the side. When the patient -would not recover, the stone withdrew from the bed of its own accord. - -A certain white stone, taken by Columba from the river Ness, near -what is now the town of Inverness, had the singular power of becoming -invisible, when the illness of the person requiring it would prove -fatal. The selection of this stone was made in connection with the -saint's visit to the court of Brude, king of the Picts, about the -year 563. Adamnan, who tells the story, thus describes an interview -between Columba and Brochan (the king's chief Druid or Magus), -concerning the liberation of a female slave belonging to the latter: -"The venerable man, from motives of humanity, besought Brochan the -Druid to liberate a certain Irish female captive, a request which -Brochan harshly and obstinately refused to grant. The saint then spoke -to him as follows:--'Know, O Brochan, know, that if you refuse to -set this captive free, as I advise you, you shall die before I return -from this province.' Having said this in presence of Brude the king, -he departed from the royal palace, and proceeded to the river Nesa, -from which he took a white pebble, and, showing it to his companions, -said to them:--'Behold this white pebble, by which God will effect -the cure of many diseases.' Having thus spoken, he added, 'Brochan is -punished grievously at this moment, for an angel sent from heaven, -striking him severely, has broken in pieces the glass cup which he -held in his hands, and from which he was in the act of drinking, -and he himself is left half-dead.'" Messengers were sent by the -king to announce the illness of Brochan, and to ask Columba to cure -him. Adamnan continues:--"Having heard these words of the messengers, -Saint Columba sent two of his companions to the king with the pebble -which he had blessed, and said to them:--'If Brochan shall first -promise to free his captive, immerse this little stone in water, -and let him drink from it; but if he refuse to liberate her, he will -that instant die.' The two persons sent by the saint proceeded to -the palace, and announced the words of the holy man to the king and -to Brochan, an announcement which filled them with such fear that he -immediately liberated the captive and delivered her to the saint's -messengers. The stone was then immersed in water, and, in a wonderful -manner and contrary to the laws of nature, it floated on the water -like a nut or an apple, nor could it be submerged. Brochan drank from -the stone as it floated on the water, and instantly recovered his -perfect health and soundness of body." The wonderful pebble was kept -by King Brude among his treasures. On the day of the king's death, -it remained true to itself, for, when its aid was sought, it could -nowhere be found. - -According to a tradition current in Sutherland, Loch Manaar in -Strathnaver was connected with another white pebble, endowed -with miraculous properties. The tradition, as narrated by -the Rev. Dr. Gregor in the "Folklore Journal" for 1888, is as -follows:--"Once upon a time, in Strathnaver, there lived a woman who -was both poor and old. She was able to do many wonderful things by -the power of a white stone which she possessed, and which had come to -her by inheritance. One of the Gordons of Strathnaver having a thing -to do, wished to have both her white stone and the power of it. When -he saw that she would not lend it, or give it up, he determined to -seize her, and to drown her in a loch. The man and the woman struggled -there for a long time, till he took up a heavy stone with which to -kill her. She plunged into the lake, throwing her magic stone before -her and crying, 'May it do good to all created things save a Gordon -of Strathnaver!' He stoned her to death in the water, she crying, -'Manaar! Manaar!' (Shame! Shame!). And the loch is called the Loch of -Shame to this day." The loch had a more than local fame, for invalids -resorted to it from Orkney in the north and Inverness in the south: -its water was deemed specially efficacious on the first Monday of -February, May, August, and November, (O. S.). The second and third -of these dates were the most popular. The patient was kept bound and -half-starved for about a day previous, and immediately after sunset -on the appointed day, he was taken into the middle of the loch and -there dipped. His wet clothes were then exchanged for dry ones, and -his friends took him home in the full expectation of a cure. Belief -in the loch's powers was acknowledged till recently, and is probably -still secretly cherished in the district. - -In a graveyard beside Loch Torridon, in Ross-shire, is a spring, -formerly believed to work cures. From time immemorial three stones -have been whirling in the well, and it was usual to carry one of -these in a bucket of water to the invalid who simply touched the -stone. When put back into the well, the stone began to move round and -round as before. On one occasion a woman sought to cure her sick goat -in the usual way, but the pebble evidently did not care to minister -to any creature lower than man, for when replaced in the well, it -lay motionless at the bottom ever afterwards. A certain Katherine -Craigie, who was burned as a witch in Orkney in 1643, used pebbles -in connection with the magical cures wrought by her. Her method, -as described by Dr. Rogers in his "Social Life in Scotland," was as -follows:--"Into water wherewith she washed the patient she placed -three small stones; these, being removed from the vessel, were placed -on three corners of the patient's house from morning till night, -when they were deposited at the principal entrance. Next morning -the stones were cast into water with which the sick person was -anointed. The process was repeated every day till a cure was effected." - -At some wells, what the water lacked in the matter of efficacy was -supplied by certain stones lying by their margins. These stones, -in virtue of a real or fancied resemblance to parts of the human -body--such as the eye or arm--were applied to the members corresponding -to them in shape, in the expectation that this would conduce to a -cure. At Killin, in Perthshire, there are several stones dedicated -to Fillan, at one time much used in the way described. These are, -however, not beside a spring, but in the mill referred to in a previous -chapter. They lie in a niche in the inner wall, and have been there -from an unknown past. Whenever a new mill was built to replace the old -one, a niche was made in the wall for their reception. They are some -seven or eight in number. The largest of them weighs eight lbs. ten -oz. Special interest attaches to at least two of them, on account of -certain markings on one side, consisting of shallow rounded hollows -somewhat resembling the cup-marks which have proved such a puzzle -to archæologists. There is reason to believe that the stones in -question were at one time used in connection with milling operations, -the hollows being merely the sockets where the spindle of the upper -millstone revolved. On the saint's day (the ninth of January), it was -customary till not very long ago, for the villagers to assemble at the -mill, and place a layer of straw below the stones. This custom has a -particular interest, for we find a counterpart to it in Scandinavia, -both instances being clearly survivals of stone-worship. "In certain -mountain districts of Norway," Dr. Tylor tells us in his "Primitive -Culture," "up to the end of the last century, the peasants used to -preserve round stones, washed them every Thursday evening (which -seems to show that they represented Thor), smeared them with butter -before the fire, laid them on the seat of honour on fresh straw, and -at certain times of the year steeped them in ale, that they might bring -luck and comfort to the house." The ritual here is more elaborate than -in the case of the Killin stones; but the instances are parallel as -regards the use of straw. Fully a couple of miles from Killin, below -Mornish, close to Loch Tay, is the lonely nettle-covered graveyard -of Cladh Davi, and on a tombstone in its enclosure lie two roundish -stones, believed to belong to the same series as those in the mill, and -marked with similar hollows. These stones were thought to cure pectoral -inflammation, the hollows being filled with water, and applied to the -breasts. The Rev. Dr. Hugh MacMillan, after describing the stones -in the volume of the "Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of -Scotland" for 1883-84, mentions that "not long since, a woman, who -was thus afflicted, came a considerable distance, from the head of -Glen Lochay, to make use of this remedy." - -Charm-stones were sometimes kept on the altars of ancient churches, -as in the case of St. Ronan's Chapel, and the church in Iona already -referred to. At other times they were associated with crosses. Sir -Arthur Mitchell tells of an Irish curing-stone in shape like a -dumb-bell, preserved in Killaghtee parish, County Donegal. "There is," -he says, "a fragment of a stone cross on the top of a small cairn. In -a cleft or hollow of this cross is kept a famous healing stone, in -whose virtues there is still a belief. It is frequently removed to -houses in which sickness exists, but it is invariably brought back, -and those living near the cross can always tell where it is to be -found, if it has been so removed." Pennant, in connection with his -visit to Iona, speaks of certain stones lying in the pedestal of -a cross to the north-west of St. Oran's Chapel. "Numbers who visit -this island," he remarks, "think it incumbent on them to turn each -of these thrice round, according to the course of the sun. They -are called Clach-a-brath--for it is thought that the brath, or -'end of the world,' will not arrive till the stone on which they -stand is worn through." Pennant thought that these stones were the -successors of "three noble globes of white marble," which, according -to Sacheverel, at one time lay in three stone basins, and were turned -round in the manner described, but were afterwards thrown into the -sea by the order of the ecclesiastical authorities. MacCulloch says -that, in his day, the superstition connected with the Clach-a-brath -had died out in Iona. We do not think that this was likely. Anyhow -he mentions that "the boys of the village still supply a stone for -every visitor to turn round on its bed; and thus, in the wearing of -this typical globe, to contribute his share to the final dissolution -of all things." MacCulloch alludes to the same superstition as then -existing on one of the Garveloch Isles. Sometimes hollows were made -on the pedestals of crosses, not for the reception of stone-balls, -but to supply occupation to persons undergoing penance. A sculptured -cross at Kilberry, in Argyllshire, has a cavity of this kind in its -pedestal. In connection with his visit to Kilberry, Captain White -was told that "one of the prescribed acts of penance in connection -with many of the ancient Irish crosses required the individual under -discipline, while kneeling before the cross, to scoop out a cavity -in the pedestal, pestle-and-mortar fashion; and that such cavities, -where now to be seen, show in this way, varying stages of the process." - -One of the wonders of Harris, when Martin visited the island, was -a lunar stone lying in a hole in a rock. Like the tides, it felt -the moon's influence, for it advanced and retired according to the -increase or decrease of that luminary. Perforated stones were formerly -much esteemed as amulets. If a stone, with a hole in it, was tied to -the key of a stable-door, it would prevent the witches from stealing -the horses. Pre-historic relics of this kind were much used to ward -off malign influences from cattle, or to cure diseases caused by the -fairies. Ure, in his "History of Rutherglen and Kilbride," refers to a -ring of black schistus found in a cairn in the parish of Inchinnan. It -was believed to work wonderful cures. About a hundred years ago, a -flat reddish stone, having notches and with two holes bored through it, -was presented to the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. It came from -Islay, and had been used there as a charm. It belonged to the Stone -Age, and had, doubtless, served its first possessor as a personal -ornament. Ivory had magical properties attributed to it. The famous -"Barbeck's Bone"--once the property of the Campbells of Barbeck, -in Craignish parish, Argyllshire, and now in the National Museum of -Antiquities--is a piece of ivory seven inches long, four broad, and -half an inch thick. At one time it had a great reputation in the West -Highlands for the cure of insanity. It was counted so valuable that, -when it was lent, a deposit of one hundred pounds sterling had to -be made. - -The antiquarian objects, popularly called adder-beads, serpent -stones, or druidical beads, were frequently used for the cure of -cattle. The beads were dipped in water, and the liquid was then -given to the animals to drink. These relics of a long-forgotten past -have been found from time to time in ancient places of sepulture, -and as they usually occur singly, it has been conjectured that they -were placed there as amulets. "Many of them," remarks Sir Daniel -Wilson in his "Pre-historic Annals," "are exceedingly beautiful, -and are characterised by considerable ingenuity in the variations of -style. Among those in the Scottish Museum there is one of red glass -spotted with white; another of dark brown glass streaked with yellow; -others of pale green and blue glass, plain and ribbed; and two of -curiously figured patterns, wrought with various colours interwoven -on their surface." A fine specimen of this species of amulet was -discovered in a grave mound at Eddertoun, in Ross-shire, during the -progress of the railway operations in 1864. The Rev. Dr. Joass, who -interested himself in the antiquarian discoveries then made, thus -describes the find:--"The glass, of which this bead was composed, -was of a dark blue colour, and but partially transparent. It was -ornamented by three volutes, which sufficed to surround it. These -were traced in a yellow pigment (or enamel) as hard as the glass -and seeming to sink slightly below the surface into the body of the -bead, as could be seen where this was flattened, as if by grinding -at the opposite ends of its orifice." These adder-beads seem to have -been common in the seventeenth century. Edward Llwyd, who visited -Scotland in 1699, saw fifty different forms of them between Wales and -the Scottish Highlands. Crystal balls, he tells us, were frequently -put into a tub of water on May Day, the contents of the tub being -sprinkled over cattle to keep them from being bewitched. - -Flint arrow-heads--the weapons of early times--became the amulets of a -later age. In folklore they are known as elf-bolts. Popular credulity -imagined that they were used by the fairies for the destruction of -cattle. When an animal was attacked by some sudden and mysterious -disease, it was believed to be "elf-shot" even though no wound could -be seen on its body. To cure the cow, the usual method was to make it -drink some water in which an elf-bolt had been dipped, on the principle -of taking a hair of the dog that bit you. Elf-arrows were at one time -thought to be serviceable to man also. The custom was not unknown of -sewing one of them in some part of the dress as a charm against the -influence of the evil eye. Occasionally one still sees them doing -duty as brooches, and in that form, if not now prized as amulets, -they are esteemed as ornaments. - -Sir J. Y. Simpson, in his "Archæological Essays," gives some -interesting particulars about two ancient charm-stones, the -property of two Highland families for many generations. Of these, -the Clach-na-Bratach, or Stone of the Standard, belongs to the head -of the Clan Donnachie. It is described as "a transparent, globular -mass of rock crystal of the size of a small apple. Its surface has -been artificially polished." The stone was picked up by the then -chief of the clan shortly before the battle of Bannockburn. It was -found in a clod of earth adhering to the standard when drawn out of -the ground, and on account of its brilliancy the chief foretold a -victory. In later times it was used to predict the fortunes of the -clan. We are told that before the battle of Sheriffmuir, in 1715, -which proved so disastrous to the cause of the Stuarts, as well as -to that of Clan Donnachie, the Clach-na-Bratach was found to have a -flaw, not seen till then. When wanted to impart curative virtue to -water, the Clach-na-Bratach was dipped in it thrice by the hand of -the chief. The other charm-stone alluded to is the Clach Dearg, or -Stone of Ardvoirlich. It resembles the Clach-na-Bratach in appearance, -though it is somewhat smaller in size. It differs from it, moreover, -in being surrounded by four silver bands of eastern workmanship. The -charm has belonged to the family of Ardvoirlich from an unknown past, -but there is no tradition as to its early history. As a healing agent -it has had more than a local fame. When its help was sought certain -rules had to be attended to. The person coming to Ardvoirlich was -required to draw the water himself, and bring it into the house in the -vessel in which the charm was to be dipped. A bottle of this water was -then carried to the invalid's home. If the bearer called at any house -by the way, it was requisite that the bottle should be left outside, -otherwise the water would lose its power. - -In the mansion-house of Lee, some three miles north of Lanark, is kept -the Lee Penny, an amulet of even greater fame than the Clach-na-Bratach -or the Clach Dearg. This charm--the prototype of Sir Walter Scott's -"Talisman"--is a semi-transparent gem of a dark red colour. It is set -in a silver coin, believed to be a groat of Edward the Fourth. In shape -it rudely resembles a heart. This circumstance doubtless strengthened -the original belief in its magical powers, if, indeed, it did not give -rise to it. The tradition is, that Sir Simon Lockhart, an ancestor of -the present owner of the estate, left Scotland along with Sir James -Douglas, in the year 1330, to convey the heart of Robert Bruce to the -Holy Land. Douglas was killed in Spain in a battle with the Moors, and -Sir Simon returned to Scotland, bringing the heart with him. He had -various adventures in connection with this mission. One of these was -the capture of a Saracen prince, who, however, obtained his freedom -for a large sum. While the money was being counted out the amulet -in question accidentally fell into the heap of coin, and was claimed -as part of the ransom. Previous to its appearance in Scotland it had -been much esteemed as a cure for hemorrhage and fever. After it was -brought to our shores its fame increased rather than waned. During -the reign of Charles the First it was taken to Newcastle-on-Tyne to -stay a pestilence raging there, a bond for six thousand pounds being -given as a guarantee of its safe return. The amulet did its work so -well, that to ensure its retention in the town the bond would have -been willingly forfeited. It was reckoned of use in the treatment of -almost any ailment, but specially in cases of hydrophobia. A cure -effected by it at the beginning of last century is on record. Lady -Baird of Saughton Hall, near Edinburgh, showed what were believed to -be symptoms of rabies from the bite of a dog. At her request the Lee -Penny was sent to Saughton Hall. She drank and bathed in water in which -it had been dipped, and restoration was the result. The amulet was -also used for the cure of cattle, and when every other remedy failed -recourse was had to the wonder-working gem. When it was employed -for therapeutic purposes, the following was the modus operandi:--It -was drawn once round the vessel containing the water to be rendered -medicinal, and was then plunged thrice into the liquid; but no words -of incantation were used. For this reason the Reformed Church, when -seeking to abolish certain practices of heathen origin, sanctioned -the continued use of the Lee Penny as a charm. A complaint was made -against the Laird of Lee "anent the superstitious using of ane stane -set in silver for the curing of diseased cattell." The complaint came -before the Assembly which met in Glasgow; but the case was dismissed -on the ground that the rite was performed "wtout using onie words -such as charmers and sorcerers use in their unlawfull practices; and -considering that in nature there are mony things seen to work strange -effects, q.r. of no human wit can give a reason." Nevertheless the -Laird of Lee was admonished "in the useing of the said stane to tak -heed that it be used hereafter w.t. the least scandal that possiblie -may be." Belief in the efficacy of the amulet continued to hold its -ground in the neighbourhood of Lee till towards the middle of the -present century. In 1839 phials of water which had felt its magical -touch were to be seen hanging up in byres to protect the cattle from -evil influences. Some fifteen years earlier a Yorkshire farmer carried -away water from Lee to cure some of his cattle which had been bitten -by a mad dog. Attached to the amulet is a small silver chain which -facilitated its use when its services were required. The charm is -kept in a gold box, presented by the Empress Maria Theresa. - -Another south-country amulet, not, however, so famous as the Lee Penny, -is the piece of silver, known as the Lockerbie Penny. It was, and still -is, we suppose, used to cure madness in cattle. In his "Folklore of -the Northern Counties," Mr. Henderson gives the following particulars -about the charm:--"It is put in a cleft stick and a well is stirred -round with it, after which the water is bottled off and given to any -animal so affected. A few years ago, in a Northumbrian farm, a dog bit -an ass, and the ass bit a cow; the penny was sent for, and a deposit -of fifty pounds sterling actually left till it was restored. The dog -was shot, the cuddy died, but the cow was saved through the miraculous -virtue of the charm." After the death of the farmer who borrowed the -Penny, several bottles of water were found stowed away in a cupboard -labelled "Lockerbie Water." Mr. Henderson also mentions another Border -amulet, known as the Black Penny, for long the property of a family at -Hume-byers. It is larger than an ordinary penny, and is believed to -be a Roman coin or medal. When brought into use it should be dipped -in a well, the water of which runs towards the south. Mr. Henderson -adds:--"Popular belief still upholds the virtue of this remedy; but, -alas! it is lost to the world. A friend of mine informs me that half -a generation back the Hume-byers Penny was borrowed by some persons -residing in the neighbourhood of Morpeth and never returned." - - - - - - - - -CHAPTER XVI. - -PILGRIMAGES TO WELLS. - - Modern and Ancient Pilgrimages--Benefits from Pilgrimages-- - Cuthbert's Shrine at Durham--Cross of Crail--Pilgrims' Well and - St. Martha's Hospital at Aberdour--Ninian's Shrine at Whithorn - and the Holy Wells of Wigtownshire--Kentigern's Shrine and - Spring at Glasgow--Chapel and Well of Grace--Whitekirk--Isle of - May--Witness of Archæology--Marmion--Early Attempts in England - to regulate Pilgrimages to Wells--Attempts in Scotland after - Reformation--Enactments by Church and State--Instances of Visits - to Wells--Changed Point of View--Craigie Well--Downy Well--Sugar - and Water Sunday in Cumberland--Sacred Dramas at Wells-- - Festivities--St. Margaret's Well at Wereham--What happened in - Ireland--Patrons--Shell-mound--Selling Water--Fairs at Springs - --Some Examples--Secrecy of Visits to Wells. - - -Nowadays people put Murray or Black, or some similar volume, into their -portmanteau, and set off by rail on what they call a pilgrimage. In -this case the term is a synonym for sight-seeing, usually accomplished -under fairly comfortable conditions. In ancient times pilgrimages were, -as a rule, serious matters with a serious aim. Shakespeare says, in -"Two Gentlemen of Verona":-- - - - "A true devoted pilgrim is not weary - To measure kingdoms with his feeble steps." - - -The object of such journeys was to benefit either soul or body, or -both. The doing of penance, or the fulfilling of a vow, sent devotees -to certain sacred spots, sometimes in distant lands, sometimes within -our own four seas. Cuthbert's shrine at Durham, where the saint's body -was finally deposited in 1070, after its nearly two hundred years' -wanderings, was a noted resort of pilgrims in the middle ages, and -many cures were wrought at it. Archbishop Eyre, on the authority of -Reginald of Durham, tells of a certain man of noble birth, belonging -to the south of England, who could not find relief for his leprosy. He -was told to light three candles, and to dedicate them respectively -to St. Edmund, St. Etheldrith, and St. Cuthbert, and to visit the -shrine of the saint whose candle first burned out. The candles were -lighted, and the omen indicated the last-mentioned saint. Accordingly, -he travelled to the north country, and, after various religious -exercises, drew near the shrine of Cuthbert, and was cured. The shrine -in question was known even as far off as Norway. On one occasion, -at least, viz., in 1172, its miraculous aid was sought by an invalid -from that country. A young man of Bergen, who was blind, deaf, -and dumb, had sought relief at Scandinavian shrines for six years, -but in vain. The bishop suggested that he should try the virtue -of an English shrine, and recommended that lots should be cast, -to determine whether it was to be that of St. Edmund, St. Thomas, -or St. Cuthbert. The lot fell to St. Cuthbert. The young man passed -through Scotland to Durham, and returned home cured. The miracle, -doubtless, still further increased the sanctity of the saint's tomb. - -The Cross of Crail, in Fife, had the power of working wonderful -cures; and many were the pilgrims who flocked to it. Aberdour, in the -same county, had more than a local fame. The name of The Pilgrims' -Well there tells its own tale. This well is now filled up, but for -centuries it attracted crowds of pilgrims. In the fifteenth century -the spot was so popular that about 1475, at the suggestion of Sir John -Scott, vicar of Aberdour, the Earl of Morton granted a piece of land -for the erection of an hospital to accommodate the pilgrims. This -hospital was named after St. Martha. It is not certain to whom the -Pilgrims' Well was dedicated; but Fillan was probably its patron, -as the Rev. Wm. Ross conjectures, in an article on the subject in -the third volume of the "Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries -of Scotland." The church of Aberdour was dedicated to the saint in -question; and the well was near the old churchyard. - -Ninian's shrine at Whithorn was the scene of various miracles during -the middle ages. In 1425 James the First granted a safe-conduct to all -strangers, coming to Scotland to visit it; and James the Fourth made a -pilgrimage to it once a year, and sometimes oftener. "It is likely," -remarks the Rev. Daniel Conway in an article on consecrated springs -in the south-west of Scotland, "that the spots in Wigtownshire, where -Holy Wells were, marked the route pursued by pilgrims bent on doing -homage to the relics of St. Ninian at Whithorn." Whithorn was not -the only shrine visited by James the Fourth. He went repeatedly on -pilgrimage to St. Andrews, Dunfermline, and Tain, and left offerings -at the shrines of their respective saints. When on pilgrimage the king -was usually accompanied by a large retinue, including a company of -minstrels. He liked to have his dogs and hawks with him too, to have -a little hunting by the way. - -St. Kentigern's Well, in the so-called crypt of Glasgow Cathedral, -has already been mentioned. In the immediate neighbourhood is the -spot believed to mark the last resting place of the saint. Till the -Reformation his shrine attracted crowds of pilgrims. On special -occasions his relics were displayed, including his bones, his -hair shirt, and his scourge, and a red liquor that flowed from his -tomb. These, along with other relics belonging to the cathedral, were -taken to France by Archbishop Beaton in 1560. In the ancient parish -of Dundurcus, Elginshire, not far from the river Spey, once stood the -Chapel of Grace, and close to it was a well of the same name. The place -was a favourite resort of pilgrims. Lady Aboyne went to it once a year, -a distance of over thirty miles, and walked the last two miles of the -way on her bare feet. In 1638 an attempt was made to put a stop to -the pilgrimages, by destroying what then remained of the chapel. The -attempt, however, seems to have been fruitless, for in 1775, Shaw, the -historian of Moray, mentions that to it "multitudes from the western -isles do still resort, and nothing short of violence can restrain their -superstition." In 1435, when Æneas Silvius (afterwards Pope Pius the -Second) was sailing from the low countries to Scotland on a political -mission, he was twice overtaken by a storm, and was in such danger -that he vowed to make a pilgrimage, should he escape drowning. At -length he reached the Haddingtonshire coast in safety, and, to fulfil -his vow, set off barefoot, over ice-covered ground, to Whitekirk, -ten miles away, where there were a chapel and well, dedicated to the -Virgin. The journey left its mark on the pilgrim, for we are told -that he had aches in his joints ever afterwards. St. Adrian's Chapel, -in the Isle of May, in the Firth of Forth, had a great reputation -before the Reformation. The island has still its Pilgrims' Haven, -and its Pilgrims' Well close by. - -Archæology bears witness to the popularity of pilgrimages in former -times. Between Moxley Nunnery, in Yorkshire, and St. John's Well, -about a mile away, are the remains of a causeway, laid down for -the convenience of devotees. At Stenton, in Haddingtonshire, near -the road leading to Dunbar, is the well of the Holy Rood, covered -by a small circular building with a conical roof. The well is now -filled up. Its former importance is indicated by the fact that the -pathway between it and the old church, some two hundred yards off, -had a stone pavement, implying considerable traffic to and from the -spring. In the quiet Banffshire parish of Inveraven, is a spring, -at Chapelton of Kilmaichlie, near the site of an ancient chapel. The -spring is now almost forgotten, but its casing of stone shows that, -at one time, it was an object of interest in the neighbourhood. - -The author of "Marmion," when describing the arrival, at Lindisfarne, -of the bark containing St. Hilda's holy maids from Whitby, has the -following picturesque lines:-- - - - "The tide did now its flood-mark gain, - And girdled in the saint's domain: - For, with the flow and ebb, its style - Varies from continent to isle; - Dry-shod, o'er sands, twice every day, - The pilgrims to the shrine find way; - Twice, every day, the waves efface - Of staves and sandalled feet the trace." - - -Towards the end of the same poem, in connection with the Lady -Clare's quest of water for the dying Marmion, we find the following -reference:-- - - - "Where shall she turn?--behold her mark - A little fountain cell, - Where water, clear as diamond-spark, - In a stone basin fell! - Above, some half-worn letters say, - 'Drink . weary . pilgrim . drink . and . pray . - For . the . kind . soul . of . Sybil . Grey . - Who . built . this . cross . and . well.'" - - -In England, during the middle ages, there were various attempts -to regulate the custom of making pilgrimages to wells. A canon of -King Edgar, of date 963, prohibited the superstitious resorting to -fountains, and in 1102, one of the canons of St. Anselm permitted -only such wells to be visited as were approved of by the bishop. In -Scotland, vigorous efforts were made, after the Reformation, to -abolish the practice. Both Church and State combined to bring about -this result. In an Act of Parliament, of date 1581, allusion is made -to the "pervers inclination of mannis ingyne to superstitioun through -which the dregges of idolatrie yit remanis in divers pairtis of the -realme be useing of pilgrimage to sum chappellis, wellis, croces, and -sic other monumentis of idolatrie, as also be observing of the festual -dayis of the santes sumtyme namit their patronis in setting forth of -bain fyres, singing of caroles within and about kirkes at certane -seasones of the yeir." In 1629 the practice was sternly forbidden -by an edict from the Privy Council. In connection with this edict, -Dalyell remarks, "It seems not to have been enough that congregations -were interdicted from the pulpit preceding the wonted period of resort, -or that individuals, humbled on their knees, in public acknowledgment -of their offence, were rebuked or fined for disobedience. Now, it -was declared that, for the purpose of restraining the superstitious -resort, 'in pilgrimages to chappellis and wellis, which is so -frequent and common in this kingdome, to the great offence of God, -scandall of the kirk, and disgrace of his Majesteis government; -that commissioners cause diligent search at all such pairts and -places where this idolatrous superstitioun is used, and to take and -apprehend all suche persons of whatsomever rank and qualitie whom -they sall deprehend going in pilgrimage to chappellis and wellis, -or whome they sall know thameselffes to be guiltie of that cryme, -and to commit thame to waird, until measures should be adopted for -their trial and punishment.'" Prior to the date of the above edict the -Privy Council had not been idle, crowds of people were in the habit -of making a pilgrimage on May Day to Christ's Well, in Menteith, -where they performed certain superstitious rites. Accordingly, in -1624, a Commission was issued to a number of gentlemen belonging -to the district instructing them to station themselves beside the -well, to apprehend the pilgrims and to remove them to the Castle of -Doune. Even such measures did not cause the practice to cease. - -In 1628 several persons were accused before the kirk-session of Falkirk -of going in pilgrimage to the well in question, and being found guilty, -were ordered to appear in church three appointed Sundays, clad in the -garb of penitents. The same year the following warning was issued by -the aforesaid kirk-session:--"It is statute and ordained that if any -person or persons be found superstitiously and idolatrously, after -this, to have passed in pilgrimage to Christ's Well, on the Sundays of -May to seek their health, they shall repent in sacco and linen three -several Sabbaths, and pay twenty lib. (Scots) toties quoties for ilk -fault; and if they cannot pay it the baillies shall be recommended -to put them in ward, and to be fed on bread and water for aught days." - -Scottish ecclesiastical records, indeed, bear ample testimony to the -zeal displayed by the Church in putting a stop to such visits. In his -"Domestic Annals of Scotland," Chambers gives the following picture -of what was done by the kirk-session of Perth. The example shows the -lines usually followed in connection with such prosecutions:--"At -Huntingtower there was a well, the water of which was believed to -have sanative qualities when used under certain circumstances. In May, -1618, two women of humble rank were before the kirk-session of Perth, -'who, being asked if they were at the well in the bank of Huntingtower -the last Sabbath, if they drank thereof, and what they left at it, -answered, that they drank thereof, and that each of them left a prin -(pin) thereat, which was found to be a point of idolatrie in putting -the well in God's room.' They were each fined six shillings, and -compelled to make public avowal of their repentance." In the parish -of Nigg, Kincardineshire, is St. Fittack's or St. Fiacre's Well, -situated close to the sea. It is within easy reach of Aberdeen across -the Dee. Many a visit was paid to it by the inhabitants of that burgh, -from motives of superstition. The Aberdeen kirk-session, however, did -its duty in the matter, and repeatedly forbade such visits. In 1630, -"Margrat Davidson, spous to Andro Adam, was adjudget in ane unlaw of -fyve poundis to be payed to the collector for directing hir nowriss -with hir bairne to Sanct Fiackres Well, and weshing the bairne tharin -for recovirie of hir health; and the said Margrat and hir nowriss -were ordainit to acknowledge thair offence before the Session for -thair fault, and for leaveing ane offering in the well." The saint, -to whom the well was dedicated, is believed to have migrated from -Scotland to France early in the seventh century, and to have been -held in much esteem there. From Butler's "Lives of the Saints" we -get the curious information that "the name fiacre was first given -to hackney coaches, because hired carriages were first made use -of for the convenience of pilgrims who went from Paris to visit -the shrine of this saint." A well at Airth, in Stirlingshire, was -for long a centre of attraction. What was done there may be learned -from some entries in the local kirk-session records quoted in Hone's -"Every-Day Book":--"Feb. 3, 1757. Session convenit. Compeared Bessie -Thomson, who declairit schoe went to the well at Airth, and that -schoe left money thairat and after the can was fillat with water, -they keepit it from touching the ground till they cam hom." "February -24th.--Compeired Robert Fuird, who declared he went to the well of -Airth and spoke nothing als he went, and that Margrat Walker went -with him, and schoe said ye belief about the well, and left money and -ane napkin at the well, and all was done at her injunction." "March -21.--Compeired Robert Ffuird who declairit yat Margrat Walker went to -ye well of Airth to fetch water to Robert Cowie, and when schoe com -thair schoe laid down money in God's name, and ane napkin in Robert -Cowie's name." The session ordered the delinquents to be admonished. - -Years went on, and modes of thought gradually changed. Church and -State alike began to respect the liberty of the subject. Though visits -continued to be paid to holy wells, they ceased to be reckoned as -offences. People might still resort to the spots, so familiar to -their ancestors, and so much revered by them; but they no longer -found themselves shut up in prison, or made to do penance before the -whole congregation. Old customs continued to hold sway, though less -stress was laid on the superstitions, lying behind them. Thus it -came to pass, that pilgrimages to holy wells became more and more -an excuse for mirthful meetings among friends. This was specially -true of Craigie Well, in the parish of Avoch, in the Black Isle of -Cromarty. The time for visiting the spring was early in the morning -of the first Sunday in May. The well was situated near Munlochy Bay, -a few yards above high-water-mark, and gets its name from the crags -around. A correspondent of Chambers's "Book of Days" thus describes -what he saw and heard:--"I arrived about an hour before sunrise, but -long before, crowds of lads and lasses from all quarters were fast -pouring in. Some, indeed, were there at daybreak who had journeyed -more than seven miles. Before the sun made his appearance, the whole -scene looked more like a fair than anything else. Acquaintances -shook hands in true Highland style, brother met brother, and sister -met sister, while laughter and all kinds of country news and gossip -were so freely indulged in, that a person could hardly hear what -he himself said." Amid all the stir and bustle the spring itself -was not neglected, for everyone took care to have a drink. Some used -dishes, while others, on hands and knees, sucked up the water with the -mouth. These latter were now and again ducked over head and ears by -their acquaintances, who much enjoyed the frolic. No one went away -without leaving a thread, or patch of cloth on a large briar bush -near the spring. Besides St. Fittack's Well, there is another in -Nigg parish called Downy Well. It used to be resorted to in May, by -persons who drank the water, and then crossed by a narrow neck of land, -called The Brig of a'e Hair, to Downy Hill--a green headland in the -sea--where they amused themselves by carving their names in the turf. - -Brand, in his "Popular Antiquities," gives the following particulars -about a custom that still prevailed in Cumberland, when he wrote -about forty years ago:--"In some parts of the North of England it -has been a custom from time immemorial for the lads and lasses of -the neighbouring villages to collect together at springs or rivers, -on some Sunday in May, to drink sugar and water, where the lasses gave -the treat: this is called "Sugar and Water Sunday." They afterwards -adjourn to the public-house, and the lads return the compliment in -cakes, ale, punch, &c. A vast concourse of both sexes assemble for -the above purpose at the Giant's Cave, near Eden Hall in Cumberland, -on the third Sunday in May." - -We do not know whether sacred dramas were ever performed beside -Scottish springs; but Stow informs us that the parish clerks of London -made an annual pilgrimage to Clark's Well, near the Metropolis, -"to play some large history of Holy Scripture." He also mentions -that a Miracle Play, lasting eight days, was performed at Skinner's -Well in the time of Henry the Fourth. South of the Tweed, springs -were often the scenes of festivity. Thus, to take only one example, -we find that pilgrims to St. Margaret's Well, at Wereham in Norfolk, -were in the habit, in pre-Reformation days, of regaling themselves with -cakes and ale, and indulging in music and dancing. What occurred in -Ireland down to the beginning of the present century may be gathered -from a passage in Mason's "Statistical Account of Ireland" reprinted -in the "Folklore Journal" for 1888. After referring to religious -assemblies at Holy Wells the writer remarks:--"At these places are -always erected booths or tents as in Fairs for selling whisky, beer, -and ale, at which pipers and fiddlers do not fail to attend, and the -remainder of the day and night (after their religious performances -are over and the priest withdrawn) is spent in singing, dancing, and -drinking to excess.... Such places are frequently chosen for scenes of -pitched battles, fought with cudgels by parties not only of parishes -but of counties, set in formal array against each other to revenge -some real or supposed injury." In Roman Catholic districts of Ireland, -what are called patrons, i.e., gatherings in honour of the patron -saints of the place, are still popular. From an article on "Connemara -Folklore," by G. H. Kinahan, in the "Folklore Journal" for 1884, we -learn that a consecrated spring at Cashla Bay has, beside it, a large -conical mound of sea-shells. These are the remains of the shell-fish -forming the food of the pilgrims during the continuance of the patron, -and cooked by them on the top of the mound. Last century, in Ireland, -the custom of carrying the water of famous wells to distant parts, and -there selling it, was not unknown. A correspondent of the "Gentleman's -Magazine" mentions that about 1750 this was done in connection with a -miraculous spring near Sligo; and that, some years earlier, the water -of Lough Finn was sold in the district, where he lived, at sixpence, -eightpence, and tenpence per quart, according to the different success -of sale the carriers had on the road. A thatched cottage stood close -to the site of St. Margaret's Well at Restalrig, and was inhabited -by a man who carried the water of the spring to Leith for sale. - -Mr. William Andrews, in his "Old Time Punishments," tells of booths -having been set up beside a Lincolnshire gibbet in 1814, to supply -provisions for the crowds who came to see a murderer hanging in -chains there. Less gruesome were the fairs at one time held in the -neighbourhood of springs, though even they had certain unpleasant -concomitants, which led in the end to their discontinuance. In -the united parish of Dunkeld and Dowally is Sancta Crux Well, at -Crueshill. Till towards the middle of the present century, it was such -a popular resort, that tents were set up and refreshments sold to -the pilgrims. Alcohol was so freely partaken of that drunken brawls -often ensued, and right-minded people felt that the gathering would -be more honoured in the breach than in the observance. St. Fillan's -Fair, at Struan, took place on the first Friday after New Year's -Day (O.S.). It was held on a spot close to the church, and not far -from St. Fillan's Well. It is now discontinued, but its stance is -still known as Croft-an-taggart, i.e., The Priest's Croft. The Well -Market, now held at Tomintoul, in Kirkmichael parish, Banffshire, but -formerly beside Fergan Well, has already been referred to. Writing -in April, 1892, a correspondent, who has resided in the parish for -nearly half-a-century, mentions the following particulars concerning -the spring:--"The healing virtue of its water is still believed in, -especially on the first Sunday of May, when parties still gather and -watch the arrival of Sunday morning with special care, many of them -remaining there the whole night and part of the Sabbath. Whoever first -washes in the water or drinks of it is cured of any disease or sore -with which they may be troubled." Our correspondent adds:--"The annual -market of the district was held at Fergan Well, and the foundations of -the tents or booths where goods were sold are still visible: and very -probably there was a kind of mountain dew partaken of stronger than -the water that now flows from Fergan Well." We shall have something -more to say about fairs in the next chapter. - -Though modern enlightenment has not entirely abolished the practice -of resorting to consecrated springs, it has, as a rule, produced a -desire for secrecy on the part of the pilgrims. When superstitious -motives are absent, and springs are visited merely from curiosity -or love of frolic, there is no sense of shame, and hence no need for -concealment. But when the pilgrims regard the practice as a magical -rite, they usually prefer to keep the rest of the world in the dark -as to their doings. Sir Arthur Mitchell truly remarks in his "Past in -the Present"--"It is well enough understood that the business is not -a Christian one, and that the engaging in it is not a thing which it -would be easy to justify. There is a consciousness that it has not been -gone about as an empty, meaningless ceremony, but that it has involved -an acknowledgment of a supernatural power controlling human affairs -and influenced by certain rites and offerings--a power different -from that which is acknowledged by Christians. Hence it happens that -there is a difficulty in getting people to confess to these visits, -and, of course, a greater difficulty still in getting them to speak, -freely and frankly, about the feelings and beliefs which led to them." - - - - - - - - -CHAPTER XVII. - -SUN-WORSHIP AND WELL-WORSHIP. - - Fairs--Their Connection with Holy Days--Nature-festivals--Modes - of Marking Time--Ecclesiastical Year and Natural Year--Christmas - --Fire-festivals--Hallow E'en and Mid-summer Fires--Beltane--Its - Connection with Sun-worship--Sun-charms--Carrying Fire--Clavie at - Burghead--Fiery-circle--Traces of Sun-worship in Folk-customs-- - In Architecture--Turning Sunways--Widdershins--When Wells were - Visited--May--Influence of Pagan Rites--Folklore of May Day-- - Sundays in May--Sunday Wells--Sunday, why Chosen--Lammas--Festival - of St. Peter ad Vincula--Gule of August--Sun and Well-worship-- - Time of Day for Using Wells--Fonts of the Cross--Walking Sunways - round Wells--Doing the Reverse--Witch's Well--South-running Water. - - -In his "Scottish Markets and Fairs" Sir J. D. Marwick -observes:--"Simple home needs, such as plain food and clothing, -articles of husbandry, and other indispensable appliances of life gave -rise to markets held at frequent fixed times, at suitable centres. But -as society grew and artificial needs sprung up, these could only be -met by trade; and trade on anything beyond a very limited scale was -only then practicable at fairs. Wherever large numbers of persons -were drawn together, at fixed times, for purposes of business or -religion or pleasure, an inducement was offered to the merchant or -pedlar, as well as to the craftsman, to attend, and to provide by -the diversity and quality of his wares for the requirements of the -persons there congregated." In the last chapter allusion was made -to such gatherings in connection with springs. We shall now look at -the dates when they were held, in order to trace their connection -with nature-festivals. Fairs, as distinguished from markets, were of -comparatively rare occurrence at any given place. In the majority of -instances, they can be traced back to some gathering held in connection -with what were originally holy days, and afterwards holidays. Such -holy days commemorated a local saint, the fame of whose sanctity -was confined to more or less narrow limits, or one whom Christendom -at large delighted to honour; or, again, a leading event in sacred -or legendary history deemed worthy of a place in the ecclesiastical -year. A few dates when fairs are, or were held at various Scottish -centres may be selected from Sir J. Marwick's list. At Abercorn -they were held on Michaelmas and St. Serf's Day; at Aberdeen, -on Whitsunday, Holy Trinity, Michaelmas, and St. Nicholas's Day; -at Charlestown of Aboyne, on Candlemas, Michaelmas, and Hallowmas; -at Annan, on Ascension-day and Michaelmas; at Ayr, on Mid-summer and -Michaelmas; at Biggar, on Candlemas and Mid-summer; at Clackmannan, -on St. Bartholomew's Day; at Cromdale, on St. Luke's Day, St. Peter's -Day, Michaelmas, and St. George's Day; at Culross, on St. Serf's Day, -Martinmas, and St. Matthew's Day; at Dalmellington, on Fastern's -E'en and Hallow E'en; at Dalmeny, on St. John the Baptist's Day and -St. Luke's Day; at Doune, on Martinmas, Yule, Candlemas, Whitsunday, -Lammas, and Michaelmas; at Dumbarton, on Patrickmas, Mid-summer, and -Lammas; at Fraserburgh, on St. John the Baptist's Day and Michaelmas; -at Fyvie, on Fastern's Eve, St. Peter's Day, and St. Magdalene's Day; -at Hamilton, on St. Lawrence's Day and Martinmas; at Inveraray, on -Michaelmas and St. Brandane's Day; at Stranraer, on St. Barnabas' Day -and Lammas. Among the fairs at Auchinblae were Pasch Market in April, -and one called May Day to be held on the 22nd of that month. This -series might be indefinitely enlarged; but as it stands it shows that -the leading nature-festivals, such as Yule, Easter, Whitsuntide, -Mid-summer, Michaelmas, and Hallowmas have a prominent place among -the dates selected. An examination of Sir J. Marwick's list further -shows that the dates of fairs were often fixed, not with reference -to any particular holy day, but to some day of a particular month, -such as the second Tuesday, or the third Thursday. Many of these -occur in May. In ancient documents--in Acts of Parliaments, for -instance--dates were commonly fixed by a reference to holy days. In -Presbyterian Scotland such a method of marking time is not now in -fashion, though some relics of the practice survive. We are still -familiar with Whitsunday and Martinmas as term-days, but how few now -ever think of them as ecclesiastical festivals! - -The meaning of customs associated with the various holy days -has come to be duly recognised by the student of ecclesiastical -antiquities. While the Christian year was being evolved in -the course of centuries, certain festivals were introduced, -as one might say, arbitrarily, i.e., without being linked to any -pre-Christian usages. From the point of view of Church celebrations, -they have not the same significance as those others that received, -as their heritage, certain rights in vogue before the spread of -Christianity. In other words, the leading pagan festivals had a new -meaning put into them, and, when adopted by the Church, were exalted -to a position of honour. In virtue of this, the ecclesiastical year -was correlated to the natural year, with its varying seasons and its -archaic festivals. There is no doubt that in early times the Church -sought to win nations from paganism by admitting as many of the old -customs as were deemed harmless. We have seen how this was effected in -the case of fountains, as shown by Columba's exorcism of the demons -inhabiting springs. The same principle prevailed all round. The old -Saturnalia of the Romans, for instance, became the rejoicings of -Christmas. To the distinctively Christian aspects of the festival we -do not, of course, allude, but to the customs still in vogue at the -Yule season; and these are nothing more than a revised edition of the -old pagan rites. Among other Aryan peoples the winter solstice was -also commemorated by similar merry-makings. Church festivals, such -as Candlemas, Easter, St. John's Day, St. Peter's Day, Michaelmas, -Hallowmas, Christmas, &c., absorbed many distinctive features of the -old pagan fire-festivals, held in connection with the changes of the -seasons. The kindling of fires out of doors, on special occasions, -is familiar to all of us. They may be called modern folk-customs; but -their origin is ancient enough to give them special significance. Even -to the present time, twinkling spots of light may be seen along the -shores of Loch Tay on Hallow E'en, though the mid-summer fires do not -now blaze on our Scottish hills, as they continue to do in Scandinavia -and elsewhere. Among the Bavarian Highlands these mid-summer fires are -popularly known as Sonnenwendfeuer, i.e., solstice-fires. That they -are so called and not St. John's fires (though lighted in connection -with his festival) is significant. In Brittany a belief prevailed -that if a girl danced nine times round one of the St. John's fires -before midnight she would be married within the year. - -The most important fire-festival in Scotland was that of Beltane -at the beginning of May. It was celebrated generally throughout our -land. To the south of the Forth several sites are known to have been -specially associated with Beltane fires. In Lanarkshire two such -sites were, the hills of Tinto and Dechmont. Tinto, indeed, means -the hill of fire. It was used for beacon-fires as well as for those -connected with nature-festivals, and was well adapted for the purpose, -being 2335 feet above the sea, and 1655 feet above the Clyde at its -base. Though not nearly so high, Dechmont hill commands a splendid view -over the neighbouring country. Early in the present century a quantity -of charcoal was discovered near its summit hidden beneath a stratum -of fine loam. The country people around expressed no surprise at the -discovery, as they were familiar with the tradition that the spot had -been used for the kindling of Beltane fires. In Peeblesshire, too, -the Beltane festival long held its ground. In the fifteenth century -the town of Peebles was the scene of joyous May Day gatherings. From -far and near, holiday-makers, dressed in their best, came together -to join in the Beltane amusements. Who has not heard of the poem, -"Peblis to the Play," attributed to King James the First? The play -consisted of a round of rural festivities--archery and horse-racing -being the chief recreations. Pennant gives a minute account of Beltane -rites as practised about 1772. "On the first of May the herdsmen -of every village hold their Bel-tein, a rural sacrifice. They cut a -square trench on the ground, leaving the turf in the middle; on that -they make a fire of wood, on which they dress a large caudle of eggs, -butter, oat-meal, and milk, and bring, besides the ingredients of -the caudle, plenty of beer and whisky; for each of the company must -contribute something. The rites begin with spilling some of the caudle -on the ground by way of libation; on that, every one takes a cake of -oatmeal, upon which are raised nine square knobs, each dedicated to -some particular being, the supposed preserver of their flocks and -herds, or to some particular animal, the real destroyer of them; -each person then turns his face to the fire, breaks off a knob, -and flinging it over his shoulders, says, 'This I give to thee, -preserve thou my horses; this to thee, preserve thou my sheep'; and -so on. After that they use the same ceremony to the noxious animals, -'This I give to thee, O fox! spare thou my lambs; this to thee, O -hooded crow! this to thee, O eagle!' When the ceremony is over they -dine on the caudle; and after the feast is finished, what is left is -hid by two persons deputed for that purpose; but on the next Sunday -they reassemble and finish the reliques of the first entertainment." - -An examination of the dates when fire-festivals were held shows that -they had a distinct connection with the sun's annual cycle. When -several leading Church festivals fell to be observed about the same -time of the year, they had often some features in common. Thus the -pagan mid-summer festival had as its lineal successor, not only -St. John's Day (24th June), but St. Vitus's Day and St. Peter's Day, -respectively the fifteenth and the twenty-ninth of the same month. The -kindling of fires was a feature of all three. Mediæval fire-festivals -were thus the gleanings of rites derived from archaic sun-worship. - -The question arises, what connection was there between the custom and -the cult? Mr. J. G. Frazer, in his "Golden Bough," has collected a -variety of facts which go to show that the lighting of these fires -was primarily intended to ensure the shining of the sun in the -heavens. Mr. Frazer thus sums up the evidence: "The best general -explanation of these European fire-festivals seems to be the one -given by Mannhardt, namely, that they are sun-charms or magical -ceremonies intended to ensure a proper supply of sunshine for men, -animals, and plants. Savages resort to charms for making sunshine, -and we need not wonder that primitive man in Europe has done the -same. Indeed, considering the cold and cloudy climate of Europe -during a considerable part of the year, it is natural that sun-charms -should have played a much more prominent part among the superstitious -practices of European peoples than among those of savages who live -nearer the equator. This view of the festivals in question is supported -by various considerations drawn partly from the rites themselves, -partly from the influence which they are believed to exert upon the -weather and on vegetation." After alluding to certain sun-charms, -Mr. Frazer continues, "In these the magic force is supposed to take -effect through mimicry or sympathy; by imitating the desired result -you actually produce it; by counterfeiting the sun's progress through -the heavens you really help the luminary to pursue his celestial -journey with punctuality and despatch.... The influence which these -bonfires are supposed to exert on the weather and on vegetation goes -to show that they are sun-charms, since the effects ascribed to them -are identical with those of sunshine. Thus, in Sweden, the warmth or -cold of the coming season is inferred from the direction in which the -flames of the bonfire are blown; if they blow to the south it will -be warm, if to the north, cold. No doubt at present the direction of -the flames is regarded merely as an augury of the weather, not as a -mode of influencing it. But we may be pretty sure that this is one -of the cases in which magic has dwindled into divination." Hence a -good supply of light and heat is not only foretold, but guaranteed. - -The view that these fires were reckoned mock-suns is confirmed by -the custom, at one time common, of carrying lighted brands round -the fields to ensure their fertility. Blazing torches were thus -carried in Pennant's time in the middle of June. Martin refers to -the carrying of fire in the Hebrides. "There was an antient custom -in the Island of Lewis to make a fiery circle about the houses, corn, -cattle, &c., belonging to each particular family. An instance of this -round was performed in the village Shadir, in Lewis, about sixteen -years ago (i.e., circa 1680), but it proved fatal to the practiser, -called MacCallum; for, after he had carefully performed this round, -that very night following he and his family were sadly surprised, -and all his houses, corn, cattle, &c., were consumed with fire. This -superstitious custom is quite abolished now, for there has not been -above this one instance of it in forty years past." Till a later -date in Lewis, fire continued to be carried round children before -they were baptised, and round mothers before they were churched, -to prevent evil spirits from doing harm. - -Burghead, in Elginshire, is still the scene of an annual fire-festival, -celebrated on the last day of the year (O.S.). It is locally known as -the burning of the clavie. On the afternoon of the day in question, -careful preparations are made for the ceremony. A tar barrel is sawn -across, and of it the clavie is made. A pole of firwood is stuck -through the barrel, and held in its place by a large nail driven in by -a stone, no hammer being used. The clavie is then filled with tar and -pieces of wood. After dark these combustibles are kindled, according to -ancient practice, by a burning peat from a neighbouring cottage. The -clavie is then lifted by one of the men and carried through the -village amid the applause of the inhabitants. Notwithstanding the -risk from the burning tar, the possession of the clavie, while on its -pilgrimage, is eagerly coveted. In former times, a stumble on the -part of the bearer was counted unlucky for himself personally, and -for the village as a whole. After being borne about for some time, the -still blazing clavie is placed on an adjacent mound called the Doorie, -where a stone column was built some years ago for its accommodation. A -hole in the top of the column receives the pole. There the clavie is -allowed to burn for about half-an-hour, when it is thrown down the -slope of the mound. The burning fragments are eagerly snatched up -and carried away by the spectators. These fragments were formerly -kept as charms to ensure good fortune to their possessors. In the -seventeenth and eighteenth centuries the Church discountenanced the -burning of the clavie as idolatrous and sinful, and certain penalties -were threatened against all who took part in it. The antiquity of -the custom may be inferred from the fact, that two hundred years -ago it was called old. At that time lights were carried round the -boats in the harbour, and certain other ceremonies were performed, -all pointing to a pagan origin. Formerly the custom was in vogue, -not only at Burghead, but at most of the fishing villages along the -Morayshire coast. The object in every case was the same, viz., the -blessing of the boats to ensure a good fishing season. - -A singular survival of sun-worship is to be found in the use of a fiery -circle as a curative agent. In the volume of the "Proceedings of the -Society of Antiquaries of Scotland" for 1889-90, the Rev. Dr. Stewart -of Nether Lochaber recounts a recent instance of its use in the -Highlands. A dwining child, a year and a half old, was pronounced by a -"wise woman" of the district to be suffering from the effects of an -"evil eye." The rite, called in Gaelic, Beannachd-na-Cuairte, i.e., -"Blessing of the Circle," was accordingly resorted to. A straw rope was -wound round the greater part of an iron hoop, and, oil being applied, -the whole was set on fire. The hoop was then held vertically, and -through the blazing circle the child was passed and repassed eighteen -times to correspond to the months of its life. The blazing hoop was -then extinguished in a neighbouring burn. The result was in every -way to the satisfaction of the child's relatives. In the same article -Dr. Stewart gives an account, sent to him by a friend, of a similar -superstition common in Wigtownshire till about half-a-century ago. In -this case, the healing influence came through the channel of the iron -tire of a new cart wheel. After fire had been applied to it to make -it fit the wheel, the tire was passed over the head of the patient, -who was thus placed in the middle of a glowing circle. - -So much for the traces of sun-worship in rites connected with -fire. There are traces of it also in certain folk-customs, at one -time common, and not yet extinct. Highlanders were formerly in the -habit of taking off their bonnets to the rising sun. Akin to this is -the feeling underlying the Venetian expedition to the Lido, annually -repeated in July, when thousands cross to that island at dawn, and -utter a loud shout when the sun rises above the horizon. In cases -where sun-worship is a national cult we naturally expect it to -have a marked influence on the sacred customs and architecture of -its votaries. One example will suffice. In his "Pre-historic Man," -Sir Daniel Wilson thus describes the great annual festival of the -Peruvians, held at the summer solstice:--"For three days previous, -a general fast prevailed; the fire on the great altar of the sun went -out, and in all the dwellings of the land no hearth was kindled. As -the dawn of the fourth day approached, the Inca, surrounded by his -nobles, who came from all parts of the country to join in the solemn -celebration, assembled in the great square of the capital to greet -the rising sun. The temple of the national deity presented its eastern -portal to the earliest rays, emblazoned with his golden image, thickly -set with precious stones, and as the first beams of the morning were -reflected back from this magnificent emblem of the god of day, songs -of triumph mingled with the jubilant shout of his worshippers. Then, -after various rites of adoration, preparations were made for rekindling -the sacred fire. The rays of the sun, collected into a focus by a -concave mirror of polished metal, were made to inflame a heap of -dried cotton; and a llama was sacrificed as a burnt offering to the -sun." Even after sun-worship has ceased to be a national cult, we -find it continuing to regulate the position of buildings, devoted to -a totally different worship. In this way what is commonly styled the -"orientation" of Christian churches can be accounted for. Indeed, -so much had the sun to do with churches, that when one was built in -honour of a particular saint, it was made to face the point of the -horizon, where the sun rose on the festival of the saint in question. - -In our own land much stress used to be laid on the necessity of -turning according to the course of the sun, i.e., from left to -right. To do so tended to bring prosperity to whatever was being -undertaken at the time. Martin often refers to such a turn under the -title of Dessil, a word of Gaelic origin, in connection with which, -it is interesting to note that in Gaelic Deas signifies both south -and to the right. Martin mentions certain stones, round which the -inhabitants of the Western Isles made what he calls "a religious -turn." In the island of Eigg, he tells us:--"There is a heap of stones -called Martin Dessil, i.e., a place consecrated to the saint of that -name, about which the natives oblige themselves to make a tour round -sunways." It was also customary when anyone wished well to another -to walk round him thrice sunways. The following are some of Martin's -own experiences in the matter of the Dessil:--"Some are very careful, -when they set out to sea, that the boat be first rowed about sunways; -and if this be neglected they are afraid their voyage may prove -unfortunate. I had this ceremony paid me (when in the island of Ila) -by a poor woman after I had given her an alms. I desired her to let -alone that compliment, for I did not care for it; but she insisted to -make these three ordinary turns, and pray'd that God and MacCharmaig, -the patron saint of that island, might bless and prosper me in all my -designs and affairs. I attempted twice to go from Ila to Collonsay, -and at both times they row'd about the boat sunways, tho' I forbid -them to do it; and by a contrary wind the boat and those in it were -forced back. I took boat again a third time from Jura to Collonsay, -and at the same time forbid them to row about their boat, which -they obey'd, and then we landed safely at Collonsay without any ill -adventure, which some of the crew did not believe possible for want of -the round." This superstition lingered long after Martin's time, and -probably still directs the course of many a fishing-boat when being -put to sea. In connection with events of moment--such as baptisms, -bridals, and burials--the necessity for turning sunways was felt to -be specially binding; but even in matters of no particular importance -the rule was held to apply. If movement sunways was lucky, movement -in a contrary direction was the reverse. Such a movement was, and -still is, known as Widdershins or Withershins, the Shetland form being -Witherwise. To go Widdershins was to go against the sun, and was hence -regarded as a violation of the established order of things. In his -"Darker Superstitions" Dalyell remarks:--"The moving widderschynnes, -as if withdrawing from the deified orb of day, inferred a guilty -retreat, and was associated with the premeditated evil of sorcery." - -We have thus glanced at the relations of springs to fairs, of fairs -to Church festivals, of Church festivals to nature festivals, and of -these to sun-worship. We shall now gather together the threads of the -argument, and indicate some of the chief points of connection between -well-worship and sun-worship. To do this, we must inquire when springs -were mainly visited. When a well was under the patronage of a saint, -the festival day of that saint was in some cases the day selected. It -would be natural to regard this as the rule. But, as a matter of fact, -pilgrimages were commonly made on days other than the festival of the -patron saint. As may be remembered, the Holy Pool in Strathfillan -was mainly resorted to on the first day of the quarter (O.S.); -and St. Fillan's Spring at Comrie on 1st May and 1st August. As may -be also remembered, the waters of Loch Manaar, in Sutherland, were -thought to possess special virtue on the first Monday of February, -May, August, and November (O.S.), the second and third of these -dates being specially popular. What the practice was at Mochrum Loch, -in Wigtownshire, is clear from Symson's account in his "Description -of Galloway." "This loch," he says, "is very famous in many writers, -who report that it never freezeth in the greatest frosts.... "Whether -it had any virtue of old I know not, but sure I am it hath it not -now. However, I deny not but the water thereof may be medicinal, -having received several credible informations that several persons, -both old and young, have been cured of continued diseases by washing -therein. Yet still I cannot approve of their washing three times -therein, which they say they must do, neither the frequenting there -of the first Sunday of February, May, August, and November, although -many foolish people affirm that, not only the water of this loch, -but also many other springs and wells, have more virtue on those days -than any other." Close to the Welltrees meadow in Sanquhar parish, -once flowed a spring dedicated to St. Bridget. In his history of the -parish, Mr. James Brown tells us that, according to the testimony -of the old people, it was customary for the maidens of Sanquhar to -resort on May Day to St. Bride's Well, where each presented nine -smooth white stones as an offering to the saint. Till about the -beginning of the present century, a well at Sigget, in Aberdeenshire, -was regularly visited on Pasch Sunday, and the usual offerings were -left by the pilgrims. There is, or was a belief at Chapel-en-le-Frith, -in Derbyshire, that on Easter Eve a mermaid appears in a certain pool; -and at Rostherne, in Cheshire, that another mermaid comes out of the -lake there on Easter Day and rings a bell. Mr. Moore mentions that in -the Isle of Man Ascension Day and the first Sunday of August were the -principal days for visiting consecrated springs. As previously stated, -part of the May Day rites at Tullie-Beltane, in Perthshire, consisted -in drinking water from a spring, and in walking nine times round -it. St. Anthony's Well, near Edinburgh, is not yet forgotten on May -Day by people who like to keep up old customs. There is no doubt that -of all the months of the year May was the one, when Scottish springs -were most visited. The same rule held elsewhere. In his "Romances -of the West of England," Mr. Hunt has the following:--"The practice -of bathing rickety children on the first three Wednesdays in May is -still far from uncommon in the outlying districts of Cornwall. The -parents will walk many miles for the purpose of dipping the little -sufferers in some well from which the healing virtue has not entirely -departed. Among these holy wells, Cubert is far famed. To this well the -peasantry still resort, firm in the faith that there, at this special -season, some mysterious virtue is communicated to its waters. On these -occasions, only a few years since, the crowd assembled was so large -that it assumed the character of a fair." A spring at Glastonbury, -in Somerset, on account of a miraculous cure, believed to have been -wrought by its water, became specially popular about the middle of -last century. In 1751, as many as ten thousand persons are said to -have visited it during the month of May. - -The popularity of May did not depend on the better weather following -the bleakness of winter and spring. At least, if it did so, it was -only in a subordinate degree. To find the main reason, we have to -look to the continued influence of ancient pagan rites. As we have -seen, May in Scotland was ushered in by the Beltane Festival. We have -also seen that its manifestly heathen customs survived till a late -period in the midst of a Christian civilisation. On the hypothesis -of a pagan origin alone, can certain May Day customs and beliefs be -satisfactorily explained. Some Beltane rites still survive in the -Highlands, though fires are no longer kindled. In the neighbourhood of -Kingussie, Inverness-shire, bannocks and hard-boiled eggs continue to -be rolled down the hills on the first of May (O.S.). Till quite lately, -these bannocks were used for purposes of divination. They were marked -on one side with a cross--the sign of life; and on the other with a -circle--the sign of death. Each bannock was rolled down thrice, and -its owner's fate was decided by the sign that was on the upper surface -oftenest when the bannock rested at the foot of the hill. The time was -counted specially suited for love-charms. On May Day, in the north of -England, a gold ring was dropped into a syllabub composed of various -ingredients. Whoever got hold of the ring with a ladle would be the -first among the company to be married. The prophetic powers of May -Day are still believed in, in some parts of the north of Ireland. If -a maiden places a certain plant below her pillow overnight, she will -have a vision of her coming husband. - -On May Day, the supernatural world was revealed, and witches and -other uncanny creatures were abroad. In connection with his visit -to Scotland, Pennant says:--"In some parts of the country is a rural -sacrifice, different from that before mentioned. A cross is cut on some -sticks, which is dipped in pottage, and the Thursday before Easter one -of each placed over the sheep-cot, the stable, or the cow-house. On -the first of May they are carried to the hill, where the rites are -celebrated, all decked with wild flowers, and after the feast is over, -replaced over the spots they were taken from." The cross in this case, -was, doubtless, made from the wood of the rowan or mountain ash. In -the Isle of Man, it was customary, at one time, to gather primroses on -May Eve, and strew them before the door of every house to keep away -witches. Aubrey tells us:--"'Tis commonly said in Germany that the -witches do meet in the night before the first day of May upon an high -mountain called the Blocksberg, where they, together with the devils, -do dance and feast, and the common people do, the night before the -said day, fetch a certain thorn and stick it at their house door, -believing the witches can then do them no harm." In our own country, -too, hawthorn branches were formerly used on May Day as a charm against -witches. The hawthorn had likewise another mystic property attributed -to it. The dew on its branches on the first of May had the power of -giving beauty to the maiden who washed her face with it. May-dew from -the grass was equally efficacious, except when gathered from within a -fairy ring, as the fairies would in that case counteract the influence -of the charm. A curative power was also ascribed to May-dew. Till -quite lately there was a belief in some parts of England that a -weakly child would be made strong by being drawn over dewy grass on -the morning in question. To effect a complete cure, the treatment had -to be repeated on the two following mornings. Dew from the grave of -the last person buried in the parish churchyard was counted specially -remedial if applied to the affected part before sunrise on May-morning. - -The May-sun also got the credit of working cures. In his "Nether -Lochaber" the Rev. Dr. Stewart tells us that "it was an article of -belief in the hygiene code of the old highlanders that the invalid -suffering under any form of internal ailment, upon whom the sun of -May once fairly shed its light, was pretty sure of a renewed lease -of life until at least the next autumnal equinox." The old English -custom, known as "going a-Maying," when old and young flocked into -the woods early on May-morning to gather flowers and green boughs, -was handed on from a time when the worship of trees was an article -of religious faith. - -Another old custom in England, viz., the blowing of horns at an early -hour on the first of May, had probably its origin in pre-Christian -times. It still survives in Oxfordshire and Cornwall. From Hone's -"Every-Day Book" we learn that till the third decade of the present -century, and doubtless later, the poorer classes in Edinburgh poured -forth at daybreak from street and lane to assemble on Arthur's Seat to -see the sun rise on May-morning. Bagpipes and other musical instruments -enlivened the scene, nor were refreshments forgotten. About six o'clock -a crowd of citizens of the wealthier class made their appearance, while -the majority of the first-comers returned to the town. At nine o'clock -the hill was practically deserted. Two centuries earlier an attempt -was made by the kirk-session of Perth to put a stop to an annual -gathering on May Day at a cave in the face of Kinnoul hill adjoining -the town. This cave was called the Dragon Hole, and was the scene of -ancient rites of a superstitious nature. Other illustrations might -be selected from the Folklore of May Day, but those given above show -that the season was held in much superstitious regard. Accordingly, -we need not be surprised that well-worship took its place among the -rites of May Day, and of May Month also, since the whole of May was -deemed a charmed time. - -The Sundays of May--particularly the first--were very frequently -chosen for visits to consecrated springs. The Chapel Wells in -Kirkmaiden parish have already been referred to in connection with -Co' Sunday. The White Loch of Merton, and St. Anthony's Spring at -Maybole, and others that might be named were principally resorted -to on the first Sunday of May. Indeed, wells occasionally got -their name from the fact of their being visited on Sundays. Thus -Tobordmony, near Cushendall, in County Antrim, signifies in Irish -the Sunday Well. There is a farm in Athole called Pit-alt-donich or -Balandonich. The name is derived by Mr. J. Mackintosh Gow from the -Gaelic Pit-alt-didon-ich, and is interpreted by him as meaning "the -hamlet of the Sunday burn." There is a spring on the farm, formerly -much frequented on the first Sunday of May (O.S.). In the Isle of -Man is a spring called Chibber Lansh, consisting of three pools. In -former times it had a considerable reputation for the cure of sore -eyes; but it was thought to exert its power on Sundays alone. Pilgrims -frequently spent Saturday night beside springs in order to begin the -required ritual on the following morning. The question why Sunday was -specially selected is one of interest. Its choice may have been due -in part to the fact, mentioned by Dalyell, that, in ruder society, -the precise course of time requires some specific mark, and in part, -to the notion underlying the popular saying, "the better the day, -the better the deed." But there was undoubtedly another factor in the -selection of the day. We have seen that the chief Church festivals -borrowed certain rites from other festivals earlier in the field. In -like manner, Sunday was the heir of usages quite unconnected with it -in origin; or, to change the metaphor, it was a magnet attracting to -itself various stray particles of paganism that remained after the -break up of the old Nature-worship. Students of English history in -the seventeenth century cannot fail to remember, how strenuously the -Puritans sought to put down Sunday amusements, and how even the edicts -of James the First and Charles the First permitted only certain games -to be played on Sunday, certain others being declared inconsistent -with the aim of that Christian festival. - -Bourne, in his "Popular Antiquities," published in 1725, remarks:--"In -the southern parts of this nation the most of country villages are -wont to observe some Sunday in a more particular manner than the -other common Sundays of the year, viz., the Sunday after the Day of -Dedication, i.e., the Sunday after the Day of the Saint to whom their -church was dedicated. Then the inhabitants deck themselves in their -gaudiest clothes, and have open doors and splendid entertainments for -the reception and treating of their relations and friends who visit -them on that occasion from each neighbouring town. The morning is -spent for the most part at church, the remaining part of the day in -eating and drinking, and so is also a day or two afterwards, together -with all sorts of rural pastimes and exercises, such as dancing on the -green, wrestling, cudgelling, &c. Agreeable to this, we are told that -formerly, on the Sunday after the Encoenia, or Feast of the Dedication -of the Church, it was usual for a great number of the inhabitants of -the village, both grown and young, to meet together at break of day, -and to cry, 'Holy Wakes, Holy Wakes,' and after Matens go to feasting -and sporting, which they continued for two or three days." - -Quoting from the "Presbyterie Buik of Aberdein, 19th June, 1607, -in M.S." Dalyell observes:--"In the North of Scotland, young men -conducted themselves 'pro phanelie on the Sabboathes in drinking, -playing at futteball, dancing, and passing fra paroche to paroche--and -sum passes to St. Phitallis Well to the offence of God and ewill of -mony.'" In connection with this, a remark from Dr. J. A. Hessey's -Bampton Lecture on Sunday may be quoted. When comparing it with the -Holy days instituted in mediæval times, he says, the former perhaps -"was even worse observed than the other days, for in spite of the -Church, men had a vague impression that it was one of specially -allowed intermission of ordinary employments. This they interpreted -to mean of more special permission of dissipation than the other -days noted in the kalendar." After describing the island of Valay, -near North Uist, where there were Chapels to St. Ulton and St. Mary, -Martin says, "Below the Chapel there is a flat thin stone call'd -Brownie's Stone upon which the antient inhabitants offer'd a cow's milk -every Sunday." That this offering of milk, though made on Sundays, -was a pagan and not a Christian rite, can hardly be disputed. At -some places, e.g., at Glasgow, Crail, and Seton, Sunday was at -one time the weekly market day, but by an Act of James the Sixth, -in 1579, the holding of markets on Sunday was prohibited throughout -the realm. The Sundays in May were certainly the most popular for -visits to springs, but these occurring about the time of the other -leading nature-festivals were also in fashion. Sun-worship, as we have -seen, was the back-ground of all such festivals. We need not wonder, -therefore, that consecrated springs were frequented on a day whose -very name suggested a reminiscence of a solar pagan cult. - -We have discussed Beltane, let us now look at one other leading -nature-festival, viz., Lammas, on the first day of August, to discover -what light it throws on our subject. The Church dedicated the opening -day of August to St. Peter ad Vincula. A curious mediæval legend -arose to connect this dedication with another name for the festival, -viz., the Gule of August. At the heart of this legend was the Latin -word Gula, signifying the throat. The daughter of Quirinus, a Roman -tribune, had some disease of the throat which was miraculously cured -through kissing St. Peter's chains, and so the day of the chains was -designated the Gule of August. As a matter of fact, the word is derived -from the Cymric Gwyl, a feast or holiday, and we have confirmation -of the etymology in the circumstance, that in Celtic lands the time -was devoted to games, and other recreations. In Ireland a celebrated -fair, called Lugnasadh, was held at Tailtin (now Teltown), in Meath, -for several days before and after the first of August, and there -was another at Cruachan, now Rath Croghan, in Roscommon. A third was -held at Carman, now Wexford. Its celebration was deemed so important -that, as Professor Rhys tells us, in his "Celtic Heathendom," "among -the blessings promised to the men of Leinster from holding it were, -plenty of corn, fruit, and milk, abundance of fish in their lakes and -rivers, domestic prosperity, and immunity from the yoke of any other -province. On the other hand, the evils to follow from the neglect of -this institution were to be failure and early greyness on them and -their kings." In legendary accounts of Carman, the place has certain -funereal associations. "If we go into the story of the fair of Carman," -Professor Rhys observes, "we are left in no doubt as to the character -of the mythic beings whose power had been brought to an end at the -time dedicated to that fair; they may be said to have represented -the blighting chills and fogs that assert their baneful influence -on the farmer's crops. To overcome these and other hurtful forces of -the same kind, the prolonged presence of the sun-god was essential, -in order to bring the corn to maturity." - -That the Gule of August was a Nature-festival may be further inferred -from the fact that among many Anglo-Saxon peoples it was called -Hlâf-mæsse, i.e., Loaf-mass, eventually shortened into Lammas. Our -English ancestors offered on that day bread made from the early grain, -as the first-fruits of the harvest. In Scotland, the Lammas rites -were handed down from an unknown past and survived till the middle -of last century. They were closely connected with country life, and -were taken part in, mainly by those who had to do with the tending of -cattle. The herds of Mid-Lothian held Lammas in special favour. For -some weeks prior to that date they busied themselves in building what -were called Lammas towers, composed of stones and sods. These towers -were about seven or eight feet high, sometimes more. On the day of -the festival they were surmounted by a flag formed of a table-napkin -decked with ribbons. During the building of the towers attempts were -sometimes made by rival parties to throw them down, and accordingly -they had to be kept constantly watched. On Lenie hill and Clermiston -hill two such towers used to be built, about two miles apart, but -within sight of each other. These were the respective trysting-places -of herds belonging to different portions of Cramond and Corstorphine -parishes. On Lammas morning the herds met at their respective towers, -and, after a breakfast of bread and cheese, marched to meet each other, -blowing horns, and having a piper at their head. Colours were carried -aloft by each party, and the demand to lower them was the signal for -a contest, which sometimes ended in rather a curious manner. Games -for small prizes closed the day's proceedings. - -At one time temporary structures formed of sods and sticks, and -known as Lammas houses, were built in South Wales in connection -with the festival. Inside these a fire was kindled for the -roasting of apples. Anyone, by paying a penny, could enter and -have an apple. Professor Rhys speaks of other Lammas rites in the -Principality. "Gwyl Awst," he observes, "is now a day for fairs -in certain parts of Wales, and it is remembered, in central and -southern Cardiganshire, as one on which the shepherds used, till -comparatively lately, to have a sort of pic-nic on the hills. One -farmer's wife would lend a big kettle for making in it a plentiful -supply of good soup or broth, while, according to another account, -everybody present had to put his share of fuel on the fire with his -own hands. But, in Brecknockshire, the first of August seems to have -given way sometime before Catholicism had lost its sway in Wales, -to the first holiday or feast in August; that is to say, the first -Sunday in that month. For then crowds of people, early in the morning, -make their way up the mountains called the Beacons, both from the -side of Caermarthenshire and Glamorgan; their destination used to be -the neighbourhood of the Little Van Lake, out of whose waters they -expected, in the course of the day, to see the Lady of the Lake make -her momentary appearance." Professor Rhys bears further witness to -the connection of Lammas rites with our present subject when he says, -"A similar shifting from the first of August to the first Sunday -in that month, has, I imagine, taken place in the Isle of Man. For, -though the solstice used to be, in consequence probably of Scandinavian -influence, the day of institutional significance in the Manx summer, -inquiries I have made in different parts of the island, go to show -that middle-aged people, now living, remember that, when they were -children, their parents used to ascend the mountains very early on -the first Sunday in August (O.S.), and that in some districts at -least they were wont to bring home bottles full of water from wells -noted for their healing virtues." Another proof that the ceremonies -of Lammas-tide had some link with those of archaic Water-worship -is to be found in the circumstance mentioned by Dalyell, that, -"in Ireland the inhabitants held it an inviolable custom to drive -their cattle into some pool or river on the first Sunday of August -as essential to the life of the animals during the year." This was -regularly done till towards the end of the seventeenth century. It -may be remembered that in Scotland, during the same century, horses -were washed in the sea at Lammas, doubtless with the same end in view. - -We shall now glance at some traces of Sun-worship in the rites of -Well-worship. In countries where the worship of the sun had an -acknowledged place in the popular religion, the temples to that -luminary were found associated with fountains. In his "Holy Land and -the Bible," the Rev. J. Cunningham Geikie remarks, "The old name -of Bethshemish, which means the house of the sun, is now changed -to Ain Thenis--the fountain of the sun--living water being found -in the valley below. Both point to the Philistine Sun-worship, -and both names are fitting, for every sun-house or temple needed, -like all other ancient sanctuaries, a fountain near it to supply -water for ablutions and libations." When evidence of this kind fails -us, we have another kind within reach, viz., that derived from the -employment of fire to symbolise the sun on the principle already -explained. At St. Bede's Well, near Jarrow, in Durham, it used to -be customary to kindle a bonfire on Mid-summer Eve. In connection -with the same festival a bonfire was lighted at Toddel-Well, near -Kirkhampton in Cumberland, and the lads and lasses, who were present, -were in the habit of leaping through the flames. In a cave at Wemyss, -in Fife, is a well, to which young people at one time carried blazing -torches on the first Monday of January (O.S.). The time of day when -consecrated springs were made use of has a bearing on the point under -review. The water was thought to have a peculiar efficacy either just -after sunset or just before sunrise. The moment when the sun was first -seen above the horizon was also reckoned particularly favourable. To -the same class of superstitions belongs the Scandinavian belief, -referred to by Mr. Lloyd in his "Peasant Life in Sweden," that the -water of certain sacred springs, known as Fonts of the Cross, was -turned into wine at sunrise. - -The survival of rites of archaic Sun-worship in the practice of making -a turn sun-ways has been already referred to. - -In conclusion, we shall glance at the bearings of the practice on -the question of Well-worship. To make a visit to a spring effectual, -when a cure was wanted, the invalid had to pace round it from left -to right, in recognition of the fact that the sun moved in the same -direction. The sun, being the source of vitality, why should not an -imitation of its daily motion tend to produce the same result? When -speaking of Loch Siant Well, in Skye, Martin says:--"Several of the -common people oblige themselves by a vow to come to this well, and make -the ordinary tour about it call'd Dessil. They move thrice round the -well, proceeding sunways from east to west, and so on. This is done -after drinking of the water. Sometimes it was done elsewhere before -drinking of the water." The importance of this motion comes clearly -into view in the case of St. Andrew's Well, at Shadar, in Lewis, -referred to in a previous chapter. When the wooden dish, floating -on the surface of the water, turned round sun-ways, the omen was a -sign that the patient concerned would recover, but a turning in the -opposite direction foreboded ill." In reference to Chapel Uny Well, -in Cornwall, Mr. Hunt says:--"On the first three Wednesdays in May, -children suffering from mesenteric diseases are dipped three times in -this well, against the sun, and dragged three times around the well on -the grass in the same direction." Mr. Lloyd tells us that, in Sweden, -a remedy for whooping-cough is to drink water, "that drops from a -mill-wheel, which revolves ansols, that is, in a contrary direction to -the course of the sun." These two examples, however, are exceptions -to the rule. They may, perhaps, be explained on the principle that -what is in itself evil, because contrary to nature, brings good when -converted into a charm. To walk round a well widdershins was to commit -an act of sorcery. Mr. J. G. Barbour, in his "Unique Traditions of the -West and South of Scotland," recounts the trial and fate of a lonely -old woman, who lived in the Kirkcudbrightshire parish of Irongray, -early in the seventeenth century. She was accused of witchcraft, -and, when convicted of the crime, met her death by being rolled down -hill inside a blazing tar barrel. Various were the charges brought -against her, one of them being that, at certain hours she walked -round the spring near her cottage wuddershins. Mr. Barbour adds, -"The well, from which she drew the water for her domestic use, and -where the young rustic belles washed their faces, still retains the -name of the Witch's Well." Faith in the benefit of turning sun-ways -and faith in the efficacy of south-running water belong to the same -class of superstitions. Both have a direct reference to the sun's -course. The water of a stream flowing to meet the sun, when its -mid-day beams are casting their sweet influences upon the earth, -must absorb and retain a power to bless and heal. So, at least, -men thought, nor were they slow to take advantage of the virtue that -mingled with the water. Bodily ailments were cured by washing in it, -and it was used as one of the many remedies to remove the evil effects -of witchcraft. In this, as in the other rites previously alluded to, -we see the influence of a cult that did not pass away, when the sun -ceased to be worshipped as a divinity. In other words, Well-worship -cannot be adequately understood if we leave out of account archaic -Sun-worship, and its modern survivals. - - - - - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII. - -WISHING-WELLS. - - Fulfilment of Wishes by Divination--Love Charms--Hallow - E'en Rites, &c.--Wishing Tree--Wishing Holes--St. Govan's - Chapel and Well--Walsingham Wells--Wishing Stone in St. John's - Well--Healing Wells and Wishing Wells--St. David's Well--Bride's - Well--Marriage--Special Times for Wishing--St. Warna and - Wrecks--Wishing Well at West Kilbride--St. Anthony's Spring. - - -To bring about the accomplishment of a cherished desire by means of -certain rites has been a favourite mode of divination. By this method -it was thought that destiny could be coerced, and the wish made the -father of its own fulfilment. The means were various; but, underlying -them all, was the notion that the doing of something, in the present, -guaranteed the happening of something in the future. A mere wish was -not sufficient. A particular spot, hallowed by old associations, had -to be visited, and a time-honoured ceremony observed. But the ritual -might be of the simplest. It was perchance to some rustic gate that -the village maiden stole in the gathering gloaming, and there, with -beating heart, breathed the wish that was to bring a new happiness -into her life. Love charms, indeed, form an important group of wishing -superstitions. To this class belong Hallow E'en rites, such as eating -an apple before a mirror, and sowing hemp seed. These rites gave the -maiden a vision of her destined husband. In the one case, she saw his -face in the glass, and in the other, she saw him in the attitude of -pulling hemp. The dumb-cake divination, on the Eves of St. Mark and -St. John, also belongs to the same class of charms. Not more than -three must take part in the mystical ceremony. Concerning the cake, -an English rule says:-- - - - "Two make it, - Two bake it, - Two break it, - - -and the third must put it under each of their pillows, but not a -word must be spoken all the time." Fasting on St. Agnes's Eve was -requisite on the part of any maiden, who sought on that festival to -have a vision of her bridegroom to be. According to an old Galloway -custom, a maiden pulled a handful of grass when she first saw the -new moon. While she pulled she repeated the rhyme-- - - - "New moon, new moon, tell me if you can, - Gif I have a hair like the hair o' my gudeman." - - -The grass was then taken into the house, and carefully examined. If a -hair was found amongst the grass, it would correspond in colour with -the hair of the coming husband. In connection with all such charms, -it is certainly true what an old song says that "love hath eyes." - -Her Majesty the Queen visited Innis Maree in September, 1877. When -describing her visit, Mr. Dixon, in his "Gairloch," says:--"She fixed -her offering in the wishing tree, a pleasantry which most visitors to -the island repeat, it being common report that a wish silently formed, -when any metal article is attached to the tree, will certainly be -realised. It is said that if anyone removes any offering that has -been fixed on the tree, some misfortune, probably the taking fire -of the house of the desecrator, is sure to follow." On a hill near -Abbotsbury, in Dorset, stands St. Catherine's Chapel. In its south -doorway are wishing holes. The knee is placed in one of the holes, and -the hands in the two above; and in this posture the visitor performs -the wishing ceremony. Half-way down the cliff near Stackpole Head, -in Pembrokeshire, is an ancient structure of rude masonry styled -St. Govan's Chapel, at one time the retreat of some recluse. Professor -Cosmo Innes, in the third volume of the "Proceedings of the Society -of Antiquaries of Scotland," gives an account of a visit to the spot, -and adds:--"The curious part of St. Govan's abode is his bed, or rather -his coffin, for it is a vertical interstice between two immense slabs -of rock, into which a body of common size can be forced with some -difficulty, the prisoner remaining upright. The rock is polished -by the number of visitors fitting themselves into the saint's bed -of penance, and the natives make you feel in the inner surface the -indentures caused by the ribs of the saint!" The polishing is mainly -due to the fact that the space has for long been used for wishing -purposes. Those who desire to test the efficacy of the spell must turn -themselves round within the hollow and think of nothing else during -the process, except what they are wishing for--a rather difficult test -under the circumstances! Close to the chapel is St. Govan's Well, under -a covering of stone-work. The spring had formerly a great reputation -as a health resort. Beside the remains of the once splendid monastic -buildings at Walsingham, in Norfolk, are wishing wells consisting of -two small circular basins of stone. In pre-Reformation times they were -much resorted to for the cure of disease. Being close to St. Mary's -Chapel, they were appropriately dedicated to the Virgin, to whom the -gift of healing was ascribed. Since then they have been popular as -wishing wells. The necessary ritual is thus described by Brand in -his "Popular Antiquities":--"The votary, with a due qualification -of faith and pious awe, must apply the right knee, bare, to a stone -placed for that purpose between the wells. He must then plunge to -the wrist each hand, bare also, into the water of the wells which are -near enough to admit of this immersion. A wish must then be formed, -but not uttered with the lips, either at the time or afterwards, even -in confidential communication to the dearest friend. The hands are -then to be withdrawn, and as much of the water as can be contained -in the hollow of each is to be swallowed. Formerly the object of -desire was most probably expressed in a prayer to the Virgin. It is -now only a silent wish, which will certainly be accomplished within -twelve months, if the efficacy of the solemn rite be not frustrated -by the incredulity or some other fault of the votary." - -Pennant tells of a cistern connected with St. John's Well, near -Moxley Nunnery, at one time much used for bathing. Near these, and -below the surface of the water, was a piece of rock called the Wishing -Stone. Anyone who kissed this stone with firm belief in the efficacy -of the charm would have his desire granted. In this case the power of -securing the fulfilment of wishes went hand in hand with the power -of curing diseases. Generally speaking, however, as in the case of -Walsingham just mentioned, the former power supersedes the latter. In -other words, healing wells are transformed into wishing wells. When -such is the case, they are, as far as folklore is concerned, in -the last stage of their history. In the wood, clothing the steep -hill of Weem, in Perthshire, is St. David's Well, said to be named -after a former laird who turned hermit. The spring has a considerable -local fame, and many have been the wishes silently breathed over its -water. Part of an ancient stone cross lies at its margin, and on it -the visitor kneels while framing his or her wish. Visitors to wishing -wells commonly drop into the water a coin, pin, or pebble, thus keeping -up, usually without being aware of the fact, the custom of offering -a gift to the genius loci. The Rev. Dr. Gregor thus describes what -was dropped into the Bride's Well, in the neighbourhood of Corgarff, -Aberdeenshire:--"This well was at one time the favourite resort of -all brides for miles around. On the evening before the marriage, -the bride, accompanied by her maidens, went 'atween the sun an' the -sky' to it. The maidens bathed her feet and the upper part of her -body with water drawn from it. This bathing ensured a family. The -bride put into the well a few crumbs of bread and cheese, to keep -her children from ever being in want." - -Desires of any kind may be cherished at wishing-wells, but there -is no doubt that matters matrimonial usually give direction to the -thoughts. According to a Yorkshire belief, whoever drops five white -pebbles into the Ouse, near the county town, when the minster clock -strikes one on May morning, will see on the surface of the water -whatever he or she wishes. Near Dale Abbey, in Derbyshire, is a certain -holy well. To get full advantage of its help, one has to go between -the hours of twelve and three on Good Friday, drink the water thrice, -and wish. There is no doubt about the meaning of the following lines -from the Bard of Dimbovitza, a collection of Roumanian Folk-Songs:-- - - - "There, where on Sundays I go alone, - To the old, old well with the milk-white stone, - Where by the fence, in a nook forgot, - Rises a Spring in the daisied grass, - That makes whoso drinks of it love--alas! - My heart's best belovèd, he drinks it not." - - -In Sir Walter Scott's "Pirate" one of the characters expresses the -wish that providence would soon send a wreck to gladden the hearts -of the Shetlanders. At the other extremity of Britain, viz., in the -Scilly Isles, the same hope was at one time cherished. St. Warna, -who had to do with wrecks, was the patron saint of St. Agnes, one -of the islands of the group. She had her holy well, and there the -natives anciently dropped in a crooked pin and invoked the saint to -send them a rich wreck. - -It would be useless to attempt to give a list of Scottish -wishing-wells; but the following may be mentioned. There is one in -West Kilbride parish, Ayrshire, close to a cave at Hunterston. There -is another at Ardmore, in Dumbartonshire. At Rait, in Perthshire, -is St. Peter's Wishing-well. In the united parishes of Kilcalmonell -and Kilberry, in Argyllshire, is the ancient ecclesiastical site of -Kilanaish. "Near the burial-ground," Captain White tells us, "is its -holy well, where it is proper to wish the usual three wishes, which, -on my last visit to the place, our party, including one lady, devoutly -did." The same writer gives the following particulars about another -Argyllshire spring:--"Near the Abbey of Saddell, Kintyre, is a fine -spring of the class known throughout Scotland as Wishing-wells, which -has always borne the name of Holy-well. It had the usual virtues and -wishing powers ascribed to it. A pretty little pillar with cross cut -upon it which has been mistaken for one of ancient date is scooped out -into a small basin to catch the drip of the water. It was erected by a -Bishop Brown, when residing at Saddell, in the beginning of the present -century, to replace another one that had formerly stood there. Beside -it, flows a stream called Alt-nam-Manach (the Monk's Burn), and this, -with the spring, no doubt formed the water supply of the monastery." - -St. Anthony's Well, beside St. Anthony's ruined Chapel, near Edinburgh, -is probably the best known of Scottish wishing-wells. Its sanative -virtues have already been alluded to, but it is nowadays more noted -for its power of securing the fulfilment of wishes than the recovery -of health. A pleasant picture of the romantic spot is given by Sir -Daniel Wilson in his "Memorials of Edinburgh in the Olden Time":--"The -ancient Hermitage and Chapel of St. Anthony, underneath the overhanging -crags of Arthur's Seat, are believed to have formed a dependency of -the preceptory at Leith, and to have been placed there, to catch the -seaman's eye as he entered the Firth, or departed on some long and -perilous voyage; when his vows and offerings would be most freely made -to the patron saint, and the hermit who ministered at his altar. No -record, however, now remains to add to the tradition of its dedication -to St. Anthony; but the silver stream, celebrated in the plaintive -old song, 'O waly, waly up yon bank,' still wells clearly forth -at the foot of the rock, filling the little basin of St. Anthony's -Well, and rippling pleasantly through the long grass into the lower -valley." The song in question gives expression to the grief of Lady -Barbara Erskine, wife of James, Marquis of Douglas, in the time of -Charles II., in connection with her desertion by her husband-- - - - 1. "O waly, waly up the bank - And waly, waly down the brae, - And waly, waly yon burnside, - Where I and my love wont to gae! - I lean'd my back unto an aik, - I thoucht it was a trusty tree; - But first it bow'd, and syne it brak: - Sae my true love did lichtly me. - - 2. O waly, waly, but love be bonnie - A little time while it is new; - But when it's auld, it waxes cauld, - And fades away like morning dew. - O wherefore should I busk my heid, - Or wherefore should I kame my hair? - For my true love has me forsook, - And says he'll never love me mair. - - 3. Now Arthur's Seat shall be my bed, - The sheets shall ne'er be pressed by me. - St. Anton's Well shall be my drink - Since my true love has forsaken me. - Martinmas wind, when wilt thou blaw, - And shake the green leaves aff the tree? - O gentle death! when wilt thou come? - For of my life I am wearie! - - 4. 'Tis not the frost that freezes fell - Nor blawing snaw's inclemencie; - 'Tis not sic cauld that makes me cry, - But my love's heart's grown cauld to me. - When we came in by Glasgow toun - We were a comely sicht to see; - My love was clad in the black velvet, - And I mysel in cramasie. - - 5. But had I wist, before I kissed, - That love had been sae ill to win, - I'd lock'd my heart in a case of gold, - And pinn'd it wi' a siller pin. - O! oh! if my young babe were born, - And set upon the nurse's knee. - And I mysel were dead and gane, - And the green grass growing over me!" - - -Fortunately, the associations of St. Anthony's Well have not all been -so sad as the above. Many a hopeful moment has been passed beside its -margin. A little girl from Aberdeenshire, when on a visit to friends -in Edinburgh, made trial of the sacred spring. She was cautioned not to -tell anyone what her wish was, else the charm would have no effect. On -her return home, however, her eagerness to know whether the wish had, -in the meantime, been fulfilled, quite overcame her ability to keep the -secret. Her first words were, "Has the pony come?" St. Anthony must -have been in good humour with the child, for he provided the pony, -thus evidently condoning the breach of silence in deference to her -youth. Surely there must be something in wishing-wells, after all, -besides water. - - - - - - - - -CHAPTER XIX. - -MEANING OF MARVELS. - - Mystery of a Spring--Marvel and Magic--Misinterpretation of - Natural Phenomena--Healing Power of Springs--Peterhead--Poetry and - Superstition--MacCulloch--Mistake about a Tree--Strange Appearances - of Nature--Spring at Kintail--Disappearance of Spring near - Perth--Saints and Storms--St. Milburga--Water like Blood--Origin - of Belief in Guardian Spirits--Why Gifts were Offered--Weather - Charms--Coincidences--Prophecy of Water--Philosophy of Wishing - Wells--Worship of Trees and Springs--Charm-Stones--Continued - Reverence for Holy Wells--Conclusion. - - -Mr. J. M. Barrie is a true interpreter of the youthful mind when he -says, in the "Little Minister," "Children like to peer into wells -to see what the world is like at the other side." Grown-up people -are also alive to the mystery of a spring. "Look into its depth," -observes Mr. E. H. Barker in his "Wayfaring in France," "until the -eye, getting reconciled to the darkness, catches the gleam of the -still water far below the ferns that hang from the gaping places in -the mossy wall, and you will find yourself spellbound by the great -enchantress, Nature, while understanding nothing of the mysterious -influence." In days of less enlightenment "the weight of all this -unintelligible world" was even more felt than now, and the minds -of men were ever on the outlook for the marvellous. What is to us -a source of not unpleasing mystery was then a cause of dread. We -marvel and make poetry. Our far-off ancestors trembled and sought -refuge in magical rites. We still speak of the charms of nature, -but the phrase has to us an altered meaning. When we remember how -little science there was at one time, we need not be surprised that -the phenomena of the outer world were misinterpreted, and hence gave -rise to fallacies. This was markedly so in the case of springs. While -quenching thirst--a natural function to perform--they became endowed -with virtues of an exceptional character, and were esteemed as the -givers of health. Even amid the darkness of those distant days we -can detect a glimmering of light, for such ideas were not wholly -false. Erroneous ideas seldom are. Springs have indeed a health-giving -power. Whether or not we accept the full-blown doctrines of modern -hydropathy, we must allow that cold water is an excellent tonic. As an -acute writer has remarked, "Cold braces the nerves and muscles, and, -by strengthening the glands, promotes secretion and circulation, the -two grand ministers of health." Allusion has been made to the mineral -waters of Peterhead. The secret of their power is well described by -Cordiner in his "Antiquities and Scenery of the North of Scotland," -where he says:--"A mineral well in the summer months gives great -gaiety to the place; its salutary virtues have been long, I believe, -justly celebrated. The salt-water baths adjoining are much frequented -in nervous disorders: their effect in strengthening the constitution -is often surprising. Owing to the open peninsulated situation, the air -of this place is esteemed peculiarly pure and healthful; even the fogs -rising from the sea are thought to be medicinal; the town is therefore -much enlivened by the concourse of company who frequent it on these -accounts. Without derogating anything from the merits of the baths and -mineral, one may reasonably conclude that the custom of walking several -hours before breakfast, and meeting the morning breezes from the sea -along these cool and refreshing shores, the probability of meeting -with choice of companions as an inducement to these early rambles, -the perpetual cheerfulness indulged by society entirely disengaged -from business and care, and their various inventions to chase away -languor, probably contribute no less to the health of the company -than the peculiar virtues of the healing spring." - -Truth can commonly be found underlying superstition. The power, -possessed by certain aspects of external nature to soothe the troubles -of the mind, is one of the commonplaces of modern poetry. This thought, -when rendered into folklore, becomes the idea that certain spots -are "places of safety from supernatural visitants." Such was the -belief connected with Our Lady's Well, at Threshfield, near Linton, -in Craven, Yorkshire. Whoever took refuge there was free from the -power of magical spells. When sailing among the sea-lochs of Lewis, -MacCulloch had an experience which he thus describes in his "Western -Islands":--"On one occasion the water was like a mirror, but black -as jet, from its depth and from the shadow of the high cliffs which -overhung it. The tide, flowing with the rapidity of a torrent, glided -past without a ripple to indicate its movement, while the sail aloft -was filled by a breeze that did not reach the surface. There was a -death-like silence while the boat shot along under the dark rocks like -an arrow; to a poetical imagination it might have appeared under a -supernatural influence: like the bark of Dante, angel-borne." If such -were the reflections of an educated man like MacCulloch, what must -have been the thoughts of our ignorant forefathers when confronted -by the ever-recurring marvels of the outer world! Nature is still -misinterpreted by credulous people through a lack of knowledge of her -laws. A good example of this, bearing, not, however, on water, but on -tree-worship, is given by Dr. J. Fergusson, in his "Tree and Serpent -Worship." A god was said to have appeared in a certain date-palm -in a village a few miles from Tessore, and the tree was promptly -adorned by the Brahmins with garlands and offerings. Dr. Fergusson -observes:--"On my inquiring how the god manifested his presence, -I was informed that, soon after the sun rose in the morning, the -tree raised its head to welcome him, and bowed it down again when he -departed. As this was a miracle easily tested, I returned at noon and -found it was so. After a little study and investigation, the mystery -did not seem difficult of explanation. The tree had originally grown -across the principal pathway through the village, but at last hung -so low that, in order to enable people to pass under it, it had been -turned aside and fastened parallel to the road. In the operation the -bundle of fibres which composed the root had become twisted like the -strands of a rope. When the morning sun struck on the upper surface -of them, they contracted in drying, and hence a tendency to untwist, -which raised the head of the tree. With the evening dews they relaxed, -and the head of the tree declined." - -In the chapter on "Some Wonderful Wells," we glanced at the mysterious -origin of certain springs. In ancient times, no less than in the -present, strange sights must have been witnessed. We have not a -monopoly of thunderstorms, earthquakes, landslips, or deluges of -rain. The same phenomena prevailed in early times. The difference is, -that we have science to keep them in their proper place. During the -heavy rains of January 1892, a spring near the house of Rurach, at -Kintail, in Ross-shire, suddenly burst its bounds and became a raging -torrent. Usually the surplus water from the spring flowed away in the -form of a trickling stream, but on the occasion in question it rushed -on with such force and volume that it scooped out a channel twenty -feet deep and forty feet broad. The event not unnaturally caused a -good deal of wonder in the neighbourhood. Had it happened several -centuries earlier, some malignant water-spirit would doubtless have -been reckoned the active agent. During the operations connected -with the formation of the railway tunnel through Moncrieff Hill, -close to Perth, the water of a certain spring in the neighbourhood -suddenly failed. It happened that a clergyman, whose manse stood not -far from the spring, sent, when in the extremity of illness, for a -draught of its water. It was his last draught. He died immediately -after; and at the same time, the spring dried up. The coincidence did -not pass without remark in the district, but whether or not it gave -rise to a superstition we do not know. In the dark ages it certainly -would have done so. In the annals of hagiology, the early saints were -associated in a special way with water. They had, for instance, the -power of allaying storms. St. Nicholas, the patron saint of sailors, -exercised this power more than once. Adamnan records the same miracle -in connection with Columba, abbot of Iona; and Cainneck, abbot of -Aghaboe. According to a Shropshire legend, Milburga, when followed by -a certain prince, was saved from her unwelcome pursuer by the river -Corve rising in flood after she had crossed. - -The superstition that water, under certain circumstances, assumed -the hue of blood, as in the case of St. Tredwell's Loch in Orkney, -&c., claims special attention. We call this belief a superstition, -inasmuch as a special miracle was thought to be involved in the matter; -but we nowadays know, that such appearances show themselves without -any miracle at all, except the constant miracle without which there -would be no natural law. Modern bacteriology has proved the existence -of a certain microscopic plant, technically styled Hæmatococcus -Pluvialis and popularly known in Germany as Blutalge. In "Notes and -Queries" for 12th March, 1892, Dr. G. H. F. Nuttall of Baltimore, -observes:--"In Central Europe it has been found in pools formed -by the rain in rocky hollows and stone troughs, &c. Hæmatococcus -often becomes intimately mixed with the pollen of conifers and -minute particles of plants which are known to be carried hundreds of -miles by occasional currents of air. The rain drops in the heavens -condense about such minute particles, and in falling, carry them -down to the earth's surface, where, under proper conditions, these -little plants multiply with enormous rapidity." Dr. Nuttall adds, -"Besides the Hæmatococcus Pluvialis, we have a Bacterium which -has often deceived people into the belief that they were dealing -with bona-fide blood. This Bacterium is easily cultivated in the -laboratory. It is one of the so-called chromogenic or colour-producing -Bacteria, and bears the name Bacillus Prodigiosus, on account of its -exceedingly rapid growth. This very minute plant has undoubtedly been -the cause of terror among superstitious people. The organism will only -produce its colour in the presence of oxygen, and, as a consequence, -red spots appear only on the surface of the moist nutrient medium on -which it may fall." Undoubtedly some such explanation would account -for certain red spots, alluded to by Mr. Hunt, which appeared from -time to time on the stones in the churchyard of the Cornish parish -of St. Denis. According to the belief of the district, the spots were -marks of blood, and their appearance foretold the occurrence of some -untoward event in English history. - -We have spoken of the guardian spirits of lochs and springs. That such -spirits should have been thought to exist is not surprising. Since -water is one of the necessaries of life for man and beast, animals -had to frequent pools and rivers. What more natural than that, in -days of ignorance, these animals should have been regarded as in some -mysterious way connected with the spots they frequented. In the same -way, fish darting about in the water would be considered its indwelling -spirits. It may not seem to us at all needful, that lochs and springs -should have guardian spirits at all. But man, in a certain stage of -development, thinks of nature, organic and inorganic alike, as having -a life akin to his own, with powers superior to his own. From a belief -in guardian spirits, to a belief in the necessity of offering gifts -to them is an easy transition. A present is sometimes an expression -of good-will, sometimes of a desire to obtain benefits to the -giver. Offerings at lochs and springs were undoubtedly of the latter -class, and were intended either to avert evil or to procure good. - -In ancient times in India, when a dragon presided over a spring, the -people of the district were in the habit of invoking his aid, when -they wanted rain or fine weather. Certain ceremonies were necessary to -procure the boon. "The chief characteristic of the serpents throughout -the East in all ages," remarks Dr. Fergusson, "seems to have been -their power over the wind and the rain, which they exert for either -good or evil as their disposition prompts." As we have seen, certain -wells in our own land could control the weather. This was so, even -when the guardian spirit of the spring assumed no definite shape. The -rites required to obtain the desired object were nothing less than an -acknowledgment of the spirit's existence. The origin of the connection -between weather and wells can only be guessed at. It appears that -the splashing of a spring when an object was thrown into it, or the -sprinkling of the water over the neighbouring ground, was thought -to cause rain, through what may be called a dramatic representation -of a shower. Why this should have been so, cannot be determined -with certainty. Probably accidental acts of the kind described were -followed, in some instances, by a fall of rain, and the belief may -have sprung up that between the two there existed the relation of cause -and effect. There was thus a confusion between what logicians call the -post hoc and the propter hoc. The same explanation may perhaps account -for the belief that a favourable breeze could be obtained, as in the -case of the Gigha Well, by the performance of certain definite rites. - -Few circumstances in life have more power to arrest attention -than coincidences. Two events occur about the same time, and we -exclaim, "What a singular coincidence!" that is, if we are not of -a superstitious temperament. If we are, we talk mysteriously about -omens and such like direful topics. To some minds, an omen has a -peculiar fascination. It lifts them above the level of their ordinary -daily life. The postman rings the bell, and letters are handed in. A -message boy is seen at the door, and a parcel is delivered. These, -and many more such, are incidents of frequent occurrence. They are -reckoned commonplace. We know all about them. But let anything unusual -happen, anything that stirs the sense of awe within us, we, at least -some of us, instantly conclude that there is magic in the matter. An -unprepossessing old woman takes a look at a child when passing. The -child ceases to thrive. There are whispers about "the evil eye." Yes, -there is no doubt about it. The child must have been bewitched. Is -it not probable that the prophetic power ascribed to wells may be -accounted for on this principle? Certain appearances were observed, -and certain events followed. Water gushed freely from a spring, when -drawn for the use of an invalid. The invalid recovered. Of course -he did, for the omen was favourable. As in private, so in public -matters. Pools of water were observed to have something peculiar about -them. Some crisis in the history of our nation soon succeeded. What -sensible person could fail to discern a connection between the two -sets of circumstances? So men, even some wise ones, have argued. - -Wishing-wells, from their very nature, have a special claim on -popular credulity. When a desire is eagerly cherished, we leave no -stone unturned to bring about its fulfilment. There is something, be -it what it may, that we eagerly covet. How are we to get it? In the -stir and pressure of our day's work, we do not see any avenue leading -to the fulfilment of our wish. In the quiet morning or evening, when -the birds are singing overhead, we go alone to some woodland well, -and there, by the margin, gather our thoughts together. One particular -thought lies close to our heart, and on it we fix our attention. In -the still moments, while we listen to the bubbling spring, our mind -lights on a clew, and our thoughts follow it into the future. We -brace ourselves up for following it in reality. We see how our design -may be accomplished. We take the road that has been revealed to our -inward eye, and finally reach the goal of our desire. How does this -come about? We may have stooped over the spring, and with certain -accompanying rites, have breathed our wish. We return to our daily -work with the desire still lying close to our heart. Days, or weeks, -or months pass, and at last, behold, what we were so anxious for, -is ours! The charm has been successful. Of course it has. But what -of the impulse towards definite action that came to us, when we -were free from the touch of our ordinary troubles, and quiet-voiced -Nature was our teacher and our own soul our prophet? At any rate, -we went to the wishing well, and the boon we sought we can now call -our own. The question remains, are all desires granted, either through -visits to wishing-wells or in any other way? The experiences of life -give a definite answer in the negative. How then are believers in -the power of wishing-wells to account for such failures? The rites -were duly attended to, yet there was no result. Why was the charm -not effectual? Any sincere answer to the question ought to be an -acknowledgment of ignorance. - -In thus attempting to explain the philosophy of wishing-wells, we -do not imply that the subjective element is the secret of success -in every case. We are merely pointing out that it may be so in some -cases. In other cases, according to the principle mentioned above, -an explanation will be supplied by the theory of coincidences. When -trees and springs were alike reckoned divinities, it was natural -enough to conclude, that any tree, overshadowing a spring, was somehow -mysteriously connected with it. Belief in such mysterious relations -continued, as we have seen, even after tree-worship ceased as a -popular cult. Certain superstitions, still in vogue in the west, -are undoubtedly relics of tree-worship. In India and some other -Eastern lands, the cult still nourishes vigorously. A writer in the -"Cornhill Magazine" for November, 1872, remarks:--"The contrast between -the acknowledged hatred of trees as a rule by the Bygas (an important -tribe in Central India), and their deep veneration for certain others -in particular, is very curious. I have seen the hillsides swept clear -of forests for miles, with but here and there a solitary tree left -standing. These remain now the objects of the deepest veneration; -so far from being injured, they are carefully preserved, and receive -offerings of food, clothes, and flowers, from the passing Bygas, -who firmly believe that tree to be the home of a spirit." - -We need not linger over the consideration of charm-stones in their -connection with wells. In some instances, like that of the Lee Penny, -they gave efficacy to water as a healing agent; but in others, -as in the case of the Loch Torridon Spring, water gave efficacy to -them. Indeed, they acted and reacted on each other in such a way that, -in some instances, it is difficult to determine whether the talisman -brought healing virtue to the water, or vice versa. To find the -solution of the problem, we should have to carry our thoughts back -to the remote days when stones and wells had a life of their own, -and were thus qualified to act independently. - -One can understand why holy wells retained their popularity. Even -though they did not always effect a cure, people continued to believe -in them and to seek their aid. Consecrated springs might throw cold -water (metaphorically) on many a cherished hope; but, for all that, -they remained, as of old, objects of reverence. The secret of their -power lay in their appeal to the imagination. Understanding might -say, it is absurd to expect that my ailment can be removed in this -way; but imagination protested that there are more things in heaven -and earth than are dreamed of in my philosophy. The rites to be gone -through--the choice of the fitting season, the keeping of silence, the -leaving of a gift--all conduced to throw a halo of romance around the -practice. There was thus an appeal to the unknown and mysterious, that -gave to well-worship a strange charm. It stirred up any latent poetry -in a man's nature, and linked him to something beyond himself. Springs -have a double charm. They are interesting for their own sake, and for -the sake of the folklore that has gathered round them. They are "like -roses, beautiful in themselves, that add to their own perfection the -exquisite loveliness of a mossy dell." In conclusion, take away what is -distinctively mediæval in well-worship, and paganism is left. We find -this paganism entering like a wedge into the substance of a Christian -civilisation. It may have changed its colour, but it is paganism -notwithstanding. Well-worship has a definite value as a survival. It -serves to unite our own age of science with one in the far past, when -laws of nature, as we understand them, were unknown. As a cult it has -forsaken the busy haunts of men, but lingers still in quiet places, -especially among the mountains. Superstitions die hard. The epitaph -of this one has still to be written. Those who are waiting for its -last breath need not be surprised if they have to wait yet a while. - - - - - - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Folklore of Scottish Lochs and Springs, by -James M. 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