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THE MYSTERIES OF ALL NATIONS:
RISE AND PROGRESS OF SUPERSTITION,
LAWS AGAINST AND TRIALS OF WITCHES,
ANCIENT AND MODERN DELUSIONS,
TOGETHER WITH
Strange Customs, Fables, and Tales
RELATING TO
MYTHOLOGY--DAYS AND WEEKS--MIRACLES--POETS AND SUPERSTITION--MONARCHS,
PRIESTS, AND PHILOSOPHERS--DRUIDS--DEMONOLOGY--MAGIC AND
ASTROLOGY--DIVINATION--SIGNS, OMENS, AND WARNINGS--AMULETS
AND CHARMS--TRIALS BY ORDEAL--CURSES AND EVIL WISHES--DREAMS
AND VISIONS--SUPERSTITION IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
BY JAMES GRANT.
LEITH: REID & SON, 35 SHORE.
EDINBURGH: W. PATERSON. LONDON: SIMPKIN, MARSHALL, AND CO.
[THE RIGHT OF TRANSLATION IS RESERVED.]
REID AND SON, PRINTERS, LEITH.
PREFACE.
In whatever light this work may be regarded by archaeologists and
general readers, the writer submits it to the public, chiefly as the
result of antiquarian research, and actual observation during a period
of nearly forty years. The writer does not attempt to define what
superstition is, either in its broadest or most literal sense; but, as
he desires the expression to be understood, it may be considered to
imply a fear of the Evil One and his emissaries, a trust in benign
spirits and saints, a faith in occult science, and a belief that a
conjunction of certain planets or other inanimate bodies is capable of
producing supernatural effects, either beneficial or prejudicial to
man. Superstition, generally so called, has run through a course of
ages from sire to son, leaving it still deeply rooted in the minds of
many of the present generation.
Not a few seeming repetitions in this work are not such in reality,
but are instances brought forward to mark the resemblance between the
opinions prevalent in past and present times, and to illustrate the
similarity of perverted views in various parts of the world.
The examples of superstition herein given are taken from an almost
unlimited number, yet the writer confesses to have omitted many
interesting particulars. In proof of this it may be stated, that while
the last sheet of these pages was being revised, an esteemed friend
wrote, saying: "I can quite corroborate what you say of Ireland; for
lately, on my way from Macroom to Glengariff, at a weird mountain
pass, the coach stopped to enable us to visit the hermitage of St.
Finbar. There, beside a lonely lake, I saw a number of devotees,
afflicted with various ailments, expecting to be healed through the
good offices of the departed saint."
In spite of a determination to omit unimportant matter and to be
concise, this volume has swelled out far beyond what was originally
intended. The more the subject of superstition is studied, the more
interesting it becomes. One judges of a nation's strength by its
victories, of its industry by its products, of its wealth by its mines
and cultivated fields, of its domestic condition by its diet and
dress, of its moral condition by its laws, of its religion and
intelligence by its literature; but before obtaining full knowledge of
a people's convictions, it is necessary to search into their
superstitions. In these are discovered the secrets of man's inner
life, and by these also have been forged strong fetters, which have
kept his soul in thraldom for ages.
If the author has succeeded in pointing out, that, notwithstanding the
progress of science and the advancement of civilisation and
Christianity, some of the darker shadows that have disfigured past
ages are still floating over a portion of our social horizon, he feels
his labour will not have been altogether in vain. Like many of the
ghosts alluded to in the following pages, that of superstition needs
only the continued light of day to shine upon it, in order to make it
vanish for ever.
_January 1880._
CONTENTS.
* * * * *
THE RISE AND PROGRESS OF SUPERSTITION.
CHAPTER I.
PAGE
Rise and Progress of Superstition--The Serpent--Cain's Departure
from the true Worship--Worship of the Sun, Moon, and Stars--Strange
Story of Abraham--The Gods of Antiquity--Ether, Air, Land, and
Water filled with living Souls--Guardian Angel--Cause of the
Flood--Magic--How the Jews deceived the Devil--A Witch not
permitted to live--Diviners, Enchanters, Consulters with familiar
Spirits, and Necromancers proved a Snare to Nations--Charms worn by
the Jews--Singular Customs and Belief--Prognostication--Allegorical
Emblems--Marriage Customs--Ceremonies at Death and Burials--Divination
among all Nations--Observers of Times--Opinion concerning the
Celestial Bodies--Power of Witches--Wizards--Necromancers' Power
to call up the Dead 1
CHAPTER II.
Men endowed with Prophetic Spirits--The Jews forbidden to consult
the Oracles of the Heathen--Schools of Prophets--Influence of
Music--The Prophetic Mantle--Way Revelations were made--Bath
Kol--Urim and Thummim--False Prophets Strangled or Stoned--Diabolical
Art--Moloch--Seething a Kid in its Mother's Milk--The Smooth
Stones mentioned by Isaiah--Sheep-head and Sheep-head Broth--Casting
Sins into the Sea--Fasting among the Pharisees--Dust of Heathen
Countries--The number 10--Angels that had the Care of Men--Predictions
by Hebrew Women--Punishment in the Grave 10
CHAPTER III.
Egypt steeped in Superstition--Power of Magicians--Obtaining
Visions--Demons--Departed Heroes--Gods and Demi-gods--Altars or
Living Stones--Sacred Animals--Isis searching for Osiris--Leeks and
Onions--Priests, Physicians, and Interpreters of Oracles--Sacrificing
Human Victims--Wax Figures--Magic--Teaching of the Egyptian
Priests--Transmigration 14
CHAPTER IV.
Babylon--The Chaldeans--Downfall of Babylon predicted--Worship of
the Medes and Persians--Sacred Fire--The Gaures--Births and Deaths
in Early Times--A Narrow Bridge--An Immense Tree--Creation of
Prophets--A Stone to which Abraham tied his Camel--Adam and Eve's
Trysting Place--Black Art--Ways of discovering whether a supposed
Criminal was Guilty or Innocent--Looking into Futurity--Canaanites,
Syrians, and Arabians--Strange Fables--Abraham breaking Heathen
Idols--Altars--Religion of the Carthagenians and Tyrians--Supremacy
of the Gods 20
CHAPTER V.
Greek Religion and Superstition--Jupiter regarded as the
President of the Law and Protector of Cities--Dreams and
Charms--Sacred Stones--Omens of Evil--Sacrificing the Hair--Flight
of Birds--Compassing the Altar to the Right--Love secured by
Magic--Marriage Ceremonies--Way of protecting a Child from Evil
Spirits--Divers Magical Ceremonies--Laws as to Dead Bodies--Fingers
and Toes of Dead Men worn as Charms--Preparing a Body for
Burial--Swine and Swine's Flesh--Drinking Toasts--Prophets consulted
before Armies marched to Battle--Certain Words avoided--Sneezing--Evil
Omens--Throwing a Person overboard to save a Ship 26
CHAPTER VI.
Roman Delusions and Customs--Tokens of Futurity--Drawing of Lots--Events
foretold by reading the first passage that turned up on opening a
Book--Lucky and Unlucky Stars--Fortune-tellers--Dreams--Omens
drawn from the Appearance of parts of Animals offered in
Sacrifice--Sibylline Books, Charms, and Incantations--Spirits
observers of Men's Actions--Unlucky Days--Dress of a Bride--Anointing
Door-posts and crossing the Threshold--Fire and Water--Bridal Feast
and Nuptial Songs--Funeral Rites--Souls of Unburied Persons--Customs
at a Deathbed, and Funeral Observances--Hobgoblins--Purifying
with Water and Fire--Appeasing the Manes--Dead Bodies used for
Magical purposes 34
CHAPTER VII.
Ethiopian Superstition--Heathen Indian Gods--Superstitious
Observances at Marriages--Disposal of Dead Bodies--Different
Degrees of Glory after Death--Reverence for the Cow--Detecting
Criminals--Addressing Oracles--Astronomy--Eclipse of the
Moon--Magic--John Gondalez 39
CHAPTER VIII.
Wizard and Man-tiger--Man-lion--Sacrificing Children--Offerings
to the Ganges--A Rajah offering himself as a Sacrifice--Various
Superstitious Ceremonies--King's Wives and Retainers going with
the Dead Monarch into another World--An eternal Succession of
Worlds--Apes supposed to have Human Souls--Worshipping Demons--Drinking
Blood--Prognosticating from the Cries of Beasts--Witchcraft and
Magic--Singular Opinions and Customs--Foretelling Future Events
at the New Moon--Discovering a False Swearer--Offerings to the
Sea and Winds--Superstition in China--Superstition in Japan 48
* * * * *
HEATHEN GODS AND GODDESSES.
CHAPTER IX.
Classification of Gods and Goddesses--Primeval Parent
Chaos--Creation--Influence of Ether--Celestial Fire--Birth and
Banishment of Cupid--Fate--Eternal Decrees--Throne of Jove--Fortune
and Happiness--Misfortune and Misery--Rewards and Punishments--First
Man and Woman--Pan the Emblem of all Things--Power of Heathen
Gods--Descriptions of Juno--Venus the Goddess of Love and
Beauty--Rustics turned into Frogs--Vulcan--AEolus--Momus the
Jester--The Carping God 59
CHAPTER X.
Satyrs described--Diana's Retirement--Pallas, the Goddess of
Shepherds--The vile Flora--Pomona deceived--Nymphs--River Gods
and Goddesses--Sirens--Witch Circe--Infernal Deities--Passage
to Tartarus--Palace of Pluto--Judges of Hell--Goddesses of
Destiny--Furies--Night, Death, and Sleep--Tartarian Regions--Delights
of the Elysian Fields--Festivals of Heathens--Sacrifices to
Deities--Things sacred to Gods 65
CHAPTER XI.
Achilles--Taking of Troy--Acrisius's Daughter--Danae and her
son Perseus--Ardea changed into a Bird--Pluto's Invisible
Helmet--Minerva's Buckler--Mercury's Wings--Medusa deprived of
Life--Sea Monster--A Gorgon's Head--Stheno and Euryale--Minerva's
Revenge--Serpents and Pegasus produced by Medusa's Blood--Tales by the
Daughters of Minyas--Punishment by Bacchus--The Search of Cadmus for
his sister Europa--Halcyon's Sorrow--Transmigration--Exploits of
Hercules--Love Potion--Hymen--Jason's Adventures--Power and Cruelty of
Medea--How a Favourable Wind was procured--Manner in which Orion came
into Existence--False Swearer punished--Palladium--Deeds of
Paris--Golden Apple--Marriage of Peleus and Thetis--Impiety of
Pentheus--Rhea and her Sons--Scylla turned into a Sea Monster 71
* * * * *
MYTHOLOGY OF GERMANY, GREAT BRITAIN, SCANDINAVIA, ETC.
CHAPTER XII.
Mythology of Germany, Great Britain, and Scandinavia--The world
Niflheim--The world Muspelheim--How Ymir was created--The cow
Aedhumla--Ymir's Offspring--Odin, the chief God--Valhalla--Queen
Frigga--How the Seas, Waters, Mountains, and Heavens were
made--Chariots and Horses in Heaven--Night and Day--Evil-disposed
Maidens--Creation of New Beings--Bridge between Midgard and
Asgard--Sacred Fountain--Roots of the ash Yggdrasil--Baldur's Dreams
and sad End--Loki, the Evil Spirit--Hel and her Brothers--Worship
of Scandinavian Gods--Norsemen and their Ancient Gods and
Goddesses--The Volsung Tale--Odin, Loki, and Haenir's Wanderings--The
Sword Gram--Sigurd's Exploits--What the Worshippers of Odin
believed--Frodi's Maidens and Quern--Gods of the Laplanders--Sale
of Winds--Lucky and Unlucky Days--Other Superstitions 85
* * * * *
NAMES OF DAYS, WHENCE DERIVED.
CHAPTER XIII.
The Calendar--Names of Days, whence derived--The Power of
Jupiter--Influence of Zeus--The God Indra--Origin of the term
"Hours"--Hours under Planetary Control--Coronation of a Persian
King--Evils transferred to the Turks and Kafirs--The Moon's
Controlling Power--Time reckoned by Moons--A Strange Story--Heathen
Gods--Thor's Palace--Thor's Power--Frigga's Abilities--Description of
Seater or Crodo 99
* * * * *
NAMES OF MONTHS, WHENCE DERIVED.
CHAPTER XIV.
Names of Months, whence derived--January--First of January,
how kept--New Year Gifts--February--Sacrifices for purging
Souls--Second of February--Virtue of Candles--Shrove Tuesday--Eating
Pancakes--Partaking of Brose--Choosing a Valentine--March--April
dedicated to Venus--First of May--May Poles and May Fires--Dispute between
Men and Gods--Superstitious Customs in Scotland--Superstitious Ceremonies
in England--June Marriages--July--August--September--October--Hallow-e'en
Ceremonies--December--Christmas Trees and Gifts--The Misletoe--Privileges
in Leap Year--Yule Log--Christmas Festivities 110
* * * * *
MIRACLES PERFORMED BY HOLY PERSONS, AND THE INFLUENCE OF SACRED
RELICS.
CHAPTER XV.
St. Peter, and Simon the Magician--Clement's Miracles and Death--St.
Agnes--A Miraculous Circumstance--St. Blase's Power--St. Agatha's Holy
Life--St. Patrick's Missionary Labours, and Expulsion of Reptiles from
Ireland--St. Germanus stilling the Raging of the Sea--St. David and
the Welsh Leeks--Stirrup Cup and Origin of "Pledging"--Elfrida's
Treachery and Remorse--St. Benedict's Power--St. Dunstan cured by an
Angel--The AEolian Harp--St. Columba's Prophecy concerning Iona--Sacred
Ducks of Ireland--St. Paul binding a Dragon--Saints and Frogs--Friars
and Jesuits--Father Mark proof against Fire--Virtue of Holy Water--St.
Noel's Imprecation--St. Boniface--Pope Silvester assisted by
Satan--Necromancing Popes--St. Januarius's Blood--St. Anthony's
Conflicts with the Devil--St. Anthony's Hog and Bees--A Tradition
concerning Melrose--St. Cuthbert--A Princess swallowed up by the
Earth--Monk Waldevus's inexhaustible Stores--Holy Relics--Rusticus
and his Hog 130
* * * * *
POETS AND SUPERSTITION.
CHAPTER XVI.
Prophetic Verse--The Bardi--Bards maintained by Noblemen--Queen
Elizabeth and the Bards--Effects of Prophetic Sayings and of
Pipe Music--Messages to another World--Voices of Deceased Friends
heard in the Gale--Human Forms in the Clouds--Evenings in the
Highlands--Michael Scott--Constant Work for Evil Spirits--Stemming the
Tweed--How the Eildon Hills were formed--Ropes of Sand--Scott and his
Magic Books buried at Melrose--Ossianic Poems--Stories by Bards 150
CHAPTER XVII.
Shakspeare--An Outline of his Composition--"The Tempest"--Miranda
beseeching Prospero to allay the Wild Waters--Ariel's Readiness
to serve his Master--The Witch Sycorax--Caliban's Evil Wish--Neptune
chased--"Midsummer Night's Dream"--Exploits of a Fairy--Doings of
Puck--Titania and her Attendants--Ghosts and
Spirits--Song--"Macbeth"--Weird Sisters--Macbeth's Doom--Witches'
Caldron--Macbeth admonished by Spirits--"Antony and
Cleopatra"--Dreadful Apparition--King's Death avenged 161
CHAPTER XVIII.
The Poet Gay--The "Spell"--Hobnelia--Lubberkin--Spells resorted
to--Valentine Day--Ladybird sent on a Message of Love--Virtue of
United Garters--Gipsies' Warnings--Knives sever Love--Story of
Boccaccio--Apparition of a Deceased Lover--Poems by Burns--"Address
to the Deil"--"Tam o' Shanter" 173
CHAPTER XIX.
Sir Walter Scott--His Belief in Superstition--How his Tales of Fiction
are composed--A Town-Clerk frightened by an Apparition--A Ghost that
did not understand Erse, but could communicate in Latin--Lovel and
Edie Ochiltree--Discovery of Hidden Treasure--"Rob Roy"--Fairies'
Caverns--Supposed Apparition in the Trossachs--Elfin People at the
Firth of Forth--A Minister taken away by Fairies--Dame Glendinning's
Tale--Lines from "Marmion"--A Fairy Knight--Mysterious Steed 187
CHAPTER XX.
Lord Byron taught Superstition--Byron and the Maid in Green--Bridge of
Balgonie--Byron's Fear to ride over it--His Belief in Unlucky Days and
Presentiments--Socrates's Demon--Monk Lewis's Monitor--Napoleon's
Warnings--A Sorrowful Tale--Byron's Fortune told by a Sibyl--Hebrew
Camyo--Abracadabra--Loch-na-Garr--Oscar of Alva--Byron's last
Instructions 197
CHAPTER XXI.
Tale by Hogg, the Ettrick Shepherd--Aikwood Castle--The
Witch Henbane--Imps demanding Work--Michael Scott--Curious
Sport--Dreadful Threat--Rats transformed into the form of
Men--Inventor of Gunpowder--Summoning Evil Spirits--Latin the
Language best understood by Satin and his Emissaries--Holy Signs
and Charms--Effects of a Friar's Blessing--Magic Lantern--Michael
Scott's Subscribed Conditions--Imps' Song--Dreadful Storm--Warlocks'
Hymn--Eildon Hill 210
CHAPTER XXII.
Allan Ramsay--"The Gentle Shepherd"--Bauldy the Clown--Mause the
reputed Witch--Praying Backwards--Sad Misfortunes--Supposed Power
of the Devil to raise the Wind and send Rain and Thunder--Sir
William disturbed--Symon's Announcement--Promise to gain a
Lassie's Heart--Witches' Tricks--Longfellow's "Golden Legend"--"Song
of Hiawatha" 218
* * * * *
MONARCHS, PRIESTS, PHILOSOPHERS, AND SUPERSTITION.
CHAPTER XXIII.
Superstition--Commencement of Monarchy in Scotland--King Fergus I.
crowned on the Fatal Stone of Destiny--Signs, Assistance of Spirits,
Magicians, and Fortune-tellers--Natholocus sends a Friend to consult
a Cunning Woman--Her Prediction--Constantine and Maxentius--A
Heavenly Cross--A Famous Standard--Queen Guanora's Grave--Fear of St.
Martin--The Church's Belief in Departed Saints--Relics venerated--King
bewitched by Witches of Forres--Evil Signs--Sea Monster in the
Don--Kenneth III. killed by an Infernal Machine--Virtue of
Precious Stones--Weird Sisters--Consulting a Pythoness--Predictions
by Druids--Domitian's Death foretold by Astrologers--Simon Magus--A
Platonic Philosopher--The Emperor Julian instructed in Magic 234
CHAPTER XXIV.
Louis XI. and the Astrologer--A King's Enchanted Cap--David I. and
the Mysterious Stag--Merlin the Magician--Prophecies concerning
Queen Elizabeth and Mary--Dragon Caverns--Predictions of Evil--Changing
a King's Love--The Holy Maid of Kent--Nobles put to Death for keeping
company with Sorcerers--James I. of England and the Witches--Tranent
Witches and Warlocks--Wise Wife of Keith--Two Hundred Witches
sailing in Sieves--Raising Storms--Witch and Warlock Convention at
Newhaven--Meeting of Witches at North Berwick--Witches tortured in
Holyrood--The Devil's Mark--Bothwell's Fortune told--Witches and their
Associates burned 242
CHAPTER XXV.
Cromwell in league with the Devil--Cromwell consulting
Astrologers--Memorable Days in the Life of Cromwell--Duke of
Hamilton warned of his Fate--Peden's Predictions--Traditions
concerning Peden--John Brown the Martyr--Linlithgow Loch
Swans--Hereford Children--Great Comet--Conjunction of Saturn
and Jupiter at Eventful Periods--Solomon's Power 254
* * * * *
THE DRUIDS.
CHAPTER XXVI.
Druids laid claim to Supernatural Power--Representations of the Sun
and Moon--Belief of Druids--Beltane Feasts--Arkite and Sabian
Superstition--Dancing to the Song of the Cuckoo--Initiation into
the Druidical Mysteries--The Goodmane's Land and the Guidman's
Fauld--Offerings to Demi-gods--Propitiating Beasts of Prey--Sacred
Cairns--Trees dedicated to Demons--Law forbidding Worship of the Sun,
Moon, Fire, Rivers, Wells, Stones, or Forest Trees--Extracts from
Kirk-Session Records--Land dedicated to Satan--Midsummer and Hallow
Fires forbidden--Yule-day--Order of the General Assembly as to
Druidical Customs--Old Customs ordered to be discontinued 262
CHAPTER XXVII.
Dr. Stuart on the Druids--Their Deities, etc.--Gauls descendants
of Dis--Funeral Rites--Slaves and Clients burned--What Pliny
says--Tallies used in making known the Will of Heaven--Walking
through the Fire--Wonder-working Eggs--Easter Eggs represent
Druidical Eggs--Origin of Druids--Wise Men of the East were
probably Druids--Island of Iona--Druidical Cairns--Stones of
Judgment--Misletoe regarded as a Charm--Rings worn as Preventatives
against Witchcraft--Stonehenge--Merlin the Magician--Stones brought
from Africa by Giants--Graves of British Lords 267
* * * * *
DEMONOLOGY.
CHAPTER XXVIII.
First Ideas of Demonology--Rabbinical Tradition--Adam's Marriage--The
Wicked Lilith--Egyptian Tradition--Arabian Worship of Genii--Christians'
Opinions of Demons--Forms assumed by Evil Spirits--Demoniacal King--Duty
of Inferior Demons--Task of Benign Spirits--Schools of Magic--Circassian
Opinions--Belief of Indians--Situation of Hell--Men's Actions
recorded--Rewards and Punishments--How to frighten Demons--Treatment
of the Sick--Attendant Angels--Worship of Gods--Foretelling Future
Events--Small-pox propagated by an Evil Genius--Souls of Deceased
Persons--Effect of Charms 273
CHAPTER XXIX.
Heathen Devotion in Ceylon--Superstitious Customs among the Schismatic
Greeks--Negro Belief in Fetishes--Charms--Magic taught by the
Priests--Dead Persons metamorphosed into Serpents--How the Gaures
disposed of their Dead--Souls Blessed or Damned--Orders of Genii in
Madagascar--Belief of the Caribbees--Brazilian Superstition--Peruvian
Tradition--American Indians--Demons in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth
Centuries--Satan in France--Manes, Anima, and Umbra among the Greeks
and Romans 279
CHAPTER XXX.
Visible Ghosts--Superstition on the Baltic Shores--A German
Legend--Demons in the West of Europe--Love, how plighted in
Orkney--The Monster Ymir--Origin of Fairies--The Duergar or
Dwarfs--Brownies in Ireland and the Highlands of Scotland--Nine
Classes of Evil Spirits--Vampires--Man's Double or Fetch--Churchyard
Ghosts--Souls of Suicides--Burial of Suicides and Murderers at Cross
Roads--Luther on Evil Spirits and Witches 284
CHAPTER XXXI.
Belief and Teaching of the Roman Catholic Church--Swedenborg's
Intercourse with Spirits--Marcus Brutus and his Evil Genius--Cassius
and Julius Caesar's Ghost at Philippi--Plutarch on Spectres--Socrates
on the same subject--Archbishop Bruno and the Spectre--A Haunted
House--Spectre at Sea--Ghost of a Murdered Man in New South Wales 291
CHAPTER XXXII.
Spiritualism Past and Present--Magic taught in Leipsic--Spirit of
Marshal Saxe--How Spirits were Invoked--Voices of Spirits--Mysterious
Death of a Magician--Unearthly Huntsman--Prediction and its
Fulfilment--An Estate lost at the Gaming Table--A Baron Shot--A
Marriage prevented by an Apparition--Consulting a Witch--Raising the
Spirit of a Murdered Man--A Murderer's Fate 297
CHAPTER XXXIII.
Antonio the Rich--Dreadful Announcement from a Volcano's Mouth--Three
Ghosts--Mozart apprehensive of Death--Mozart writing a Requiem for
himself--Messenger from another World--Mozart's Death--Ghost of a
Lady--A Haunted House--Iron Cage--Youth starved to Death--Frightful
Dreams and Dreadful Sights--Dog frightened by a Spirit--Disturbed
House--Duchess of Mazarin--Madame de Beauclair--Compact between the
Living and the Dead--A Lady's Death foretold by a Spirit 304
CHAPTER XXXIV.
Sir George Villiers' Ghost--Duke of Buckingham Murdered--Lord
Lyttelton and others profaning Christmas--A Troubled Mind--Apparition
of a Suicide--Neglected Warning--Ominous Hour--Lord Lyttelton found
Dead at the dreaded time--Death of an old Roman King--Alarming
Prodigies--Tales from the _Eddas_--A Scandinavian Warrior's Ghost--An
Icelandic Lady's Ghost--Fear of approaching Calamities--Association of
Ghosts--Apparitions of Drowned Men--Christians not disturbed by
Spectres--A Band of Demons--Priest exorcising Evil Spirits 312
CHAPTER XXXV.
A Mysterious Hunter--Man and Horse supposed to be
Devils--Flagellation--Tales of the Scotch Highlands--Croaking
Raven--Death of a suspected Witch--Resort of Witches and Evil
Spirits--Spirits hastening to a Church--Black Man with Eyes like
Fire--Horse breathing Smoke and Flame 318
CHAPTER XXXVI.
Churchmen subjected to the Onslaught of Demons--St. Maurus rebuking
Evil Spirits--St. Romualdus' Conflict with Satan--St. Frances--St.
Gregory--Monk in Purgatory--Institution of the Thirty Masses for the
Dead--An Excommunicated Gentleman--St. Benedict and the Blackbird's
Song--A Monk restored to Life--St. Benedict's Sister ascending to
Heaven--St. Francis' Dominion over Living Creatures and the
Elements--St. Catherine's Power--St. Stanislaus' Miracles--A Dead Man
giving Evidence--The Dead refusing a Renewal of Life--St. Philip
Nerius and Evil Spirits--Spirits ministering to St. Erasmus--St.
Norbert--Story relating to Henry I.--St. Margaret's Triumph--St.
Ignatius--St. Stephen--Satan's Hatred of St. Dominick--St. Donatus
endowing a Corpse with Speech--St. Cyriacus, St. Largus, and St.
Smaragdus, the Martyrs--St. Clare--St. Bernard's Power--St. Caesarius'
Wonder-working Crook--St. Giles and the Hind--St. Euphemia's Guardian
Angels--St. Francis' Spirit--St. Bridget--St. Denis' Spirit--St.
Teresa and the Angels--St. Hilarian--St. Martin--St. Catherine's Body
carried by Angels to Mount Sinai--St. Francis Xaverius' Belief in
Virtue of Bells--St. Nicholas--St. Ambrose--St. Lucy raising her Mother
from the Dead--St. Anastasia sustained by Bread from Heaven--St.
Thomas enduring Martyrdom in Life and after Death--Penance of
Henry II.--Barbarous Conduct of Henry VIII.--A Hungarian Legend 323
* * * * *
MAGIC AND ASTROLOGY.
CHAPTER XXXVII.
Magic a Study among the Learned--Plato and Pythagoras travelled to
learn the Art, and taught it--Speakers made Eloquent by Magical
Art--Virtue of Gems--How Jewels should be set--When they are to be
Graven--Cures effected by Hippocrates--Democritus on Magic--Many
Charms--Evil Spirits--Magicians sacrificing to the Planets--Magician's
Power to produce Monstrous Creatures--Egyptian Magicians--Magical
Circles--Throwing Old Shoes--Figures on Shoes--A Hangman's
Soul--Directions for raising Ghosts and Spirits 339
CHAPTER XXXVIII.
Josephus' Account of Astrology--Antediluvians acquainted with
Astrology--Astrology after the Flood--Magicians in various
Nations--Compact and Confederation with Spirits--Feats of
Magicians--A French Priest in compact with the Devil--Married
to Venus--Turning Leather into Gold--A Novice in Magic destroyed
by a Spirit--Principles of Magic--Lilly the Astrologer--Lilly
consulted by Royalists--Astrological Predictions 349
CHAPTER XXXIX.
Judicial Astrology--Reading the Heavens--Lucky and Unlucky
Days--Highland Superstitions--Climacterics--Astrologer and Charles
IX.--Influence of the Moon--Official Air-gazers--Sacrificing to
Planets--Dryden's Faith in Astrology--Dryden calculating the
Nativity of his Children 356
* * * * *
DIVINATION AND ORACLES.
CHAPTER XL.
Divination--Heathen Gods giving Signs--Sortes Pr[oe]nestinae--St.
Augustine's View of Divination--Sortes Sanctorum--Divination in the Greek
and Latin Churches--Declarations of the Divine Will--How St. Consortia
became a Nun--Hieroglyphic Texts--Divination among the Jews--Plutarch
on Oracles--Malthus' Belief in Oracles--A Missionary's Opinion--Sibylline
Oracles--Alectoromantia--Belomancy--Cleromancy--Napoleon's Belief
in Cleromancy 362
* * * * *
SIGNS, OMENS, AND WARNINGS.
CHAPTER XLI.
Crying in Youth--Image of Opis--Man born to Trouble--Bacon's Belief in
Presages--Dugdale's Foresight--Sir Thomas More's Power to judge of
Passing Events--Erasmus at the Tomb of Becket--Sir Walter Raleigh's
Predictions--What Tacitus foresaw--Solon's Predictions--Cicero's
Predictions--Knox's Predictions--Queen Mary and Darnley--Death of
Thomas Maitland and of Kirkaldy of Grange predicted--Regent Murray
warned against going to Linlithgow--The Human Body a medium for
discovering Future Events--Death Warnings--Appearance of Spirits 372
CHAPTER XLII.
Ornithomancy--Mohammed's Pigeons--Cock-crowing--Sacred Geese--Phenomenon
at Rome--Divination by means of a Sieve--Capnomancy--Catoptromancy--
Dactyliomancy--Cledonism--Onomancy--Names--Romans toasting their
Mistresses--How Success in War was ascertained--Loss of Ships'
Colours--Regimental Standards--Consecrated Banners--Battle of the
Standard--A Highland Superstition 380
CHAPTER XLIII.
Caution of our Ancestors--Magpies--Flight of Birds--Swarming of
Bees--Howling of Dogs--Lowing of Cattle--Crowing of Cocks--Stockings
wrong side out--Sign of a Letter coming--Sneezing of a Cat--Various
Signs and Omens--How to prevent Ill Luck--Reputed Witches--Print of a
Caldron, what it denoted--Unlucky to pass over a Balance--When not to
pare your Nails--Touching a Dead Body--Funeral Processions--Storks--How
to Sit--Marriages--A Prophetic Rhyme--Wedding Ring--Throwing Slippers,
Besoms, Salt, and Rice after Newly-married Persons--Charms for Bridegrooms
and Brides--Mothers and Children--Rules to be observed at Baptisms--How
to treat Young Children 387
CHAPTER XLIV.
Sweeping Floors--New Year and Christmas--"First-Foots"--Weather
Prognostications--How to secure Favourable Gales--Superstitious
Customs--Corpse of one guilty of _Felo-de-se_--Finding of Persons
who die unseen--Superstitious Belief of Russian Seamen--Ancient
Customs of Scotland--Friday an Unlucky Day for commencing an Important
Undertaking--Friday as a Marriage Day--Anecdote of a Ship called
"Friday"--Loss of the Ship "Amazon"--Sunday a Favourable Day for
commencing a Voyage--Lawyers and Clergymen, how looked upon by Sailors
at Sea--Rats deserting a Ship--Whistling to raise the Wind--Legend of
Vanderdecken or the Flying Dutchman--A Grandfather's Axe--Other Signs
and Warnings 393
* * * * *
AMULETS AND CHARMS.
CHAPTER XLV.
Amulets and Charms among the Chaldeans, Jews, and Persians--Amulets
among the Greeks and Romans--Ecclesiastics forbidden to wear
Amulets and Phylacteries--Pericles' Amulet--Lord Bacon's Opinion
of Charms--Effect of Music--Yawning and Laughing, Fear and
Shame--Diseases cured by Charms--Philosophers' Opinions of
Amulets--Mr. E. Chambers on Amulets--Poets on Enchantments--A
Dairymaid's Charm--A Charm sent by a Pope to an Emperor 401
CHAPTER XLVI.
Ear-rings buried by Jacob--Solomon's Belief in Spells--Reginald
Scot's Recipe for preserving Cattle--What Mr. Pennant says on
Charms--Images Powerful Charms--The Egyptians' Confidence in Amulets
and Charms--Evil Eye--Cold Iron--Holy Things used as Charms--Filing
of St. Peter's Keys--Lustral Water--Uses of Snow--Keys of a Consecrated
Building--Virtue of Consecrated Bread--Various Methods of securing
Love--Indian Charms--Cure for Corns--Simple Plan for getting rid of a
Troublesome Person--Curing the Hooping-cough, etc. 409
CHAPTER XLVII.
Horse Shoes used as Charms--Spitting on Money to secure Luck--Fortunate
Persons to deal with--Professor Playfair on Superstition--The
Lee Penny--Divers Charms--A Seer's Prescription--Grose on Sorcerers,
Magicians, and Witches--Irish Shamrock--Praying to Swords--Irish
Superstition--Smugglers and Brigands addicted to
Superstition--Superstition in the East--Arab Charms--Ladies'
Arts 415
CHAPTER XLVIII.
Earl of Derby's Death--A Queen Enchanted--Image of a young
King--Belgrave on Charms--Childebert's Device for detecting
Witches--Witch Burned--Witch Ointment--Men-Wolves--Church Authorities'
Instructions to Inquisitors--Killing by a Look or Wish--The King of
Sweden and his Witches--Witches' Help in War--Witches causing a
Plague--Cattle Poisoned--Various Charms--An Angel's Charm to Pope
Leo--Physicians' Faith in Charms--Inescation--Insemination--Egyptian
Laws--Curing the King's Evil 421
CHAPTER XLIX.
Precious Stones regarded as Objects of Virtue--Extravagance in
Jewellery accounted for--Abraham's Precious Stones--Altars called
Living Stones--Rod of Moses--Sacred Rings and Belts--The Month of
one's Nativity has connection with one or other of the Precious
Stones--Kings of England hallowing Rings--Ring preserved in
Westminster Abbey--Iona Relics--The Green Stone of Arran--A Crystal
kept as a Charm--A Conjuring Beryl--Prophetic Stones--The Coronation
Stone or Stone of Destiny 429
* * * * *
TRIALS BY ORDEAL.
CHAPTER L.
Trials by Ordeal resorted to in Ancient and Modern Times--Ordeal by
means of Hot Iron--Plunging the Arm into Boiling Water or Oil--Walking
Blindfold in Dangerous Places--Weighing a Witch--Extending the Arms
before a Cross--Swallowing Consecrated Bread--Ordeal among the
Hindoos--Touching a Dead Body--An Inquest, how conducted long
ago--Dead Henry's Wounds--Sir George M'Kenzie's Opinion of Trial
by Ordeal--Sir K. Digby on Trial by Ordeal 438
CHAPTER LI.
A Popular Story--Theatberge, wife of Lothaire--Forbes's Memoirs--Trial
by Wager of Battle--When Trial by Wager of Battle ceased--Trial by
Jury--Court of King's Bench deciding the Legality of Trial by
Battle--Sir Walter Scott's Illustrations of Superstition and Trial
by Battle in Olden Times 445
* * * * *
CURSES AND EVIL WISHES.
CHAPTER LII.
Curses, Excommunication, and Anathemas--Dirae, the Executioners of
Vengeance--Interment of Excommunicated Persons--Excommunication among
the Hebrews--Last Degree of Excommunication sometimes followed by
Banishment or Death--Form of Excommunication used by Ezra and
Nehemiah--The Greek Church annually excommunicates Roman
Catholics--The Druids resorted to Excommunication--Bishops
excommunicating Rats, Mice, Caterpillars, and other Insects and
Vermin--The Pope's Claim--Napoleon I. excommunicated--Victor Emmanuel
excommunicated--The Inquisition and its terrible Doings--The Pope's
Fearful Curse--Mr. Donald Cargill excommunicating the King and
Nobles--Indulgences, Pardons, and Penance 453
CHAPTER LIII.
St. Adelbert's Curse--Complexion of Blackamoors attributed to a Curse
of Noah--False Accusation, and its Results--Ancestors of the Whelphs
and Guelphs of Germany--An Interesting Legend--A Gipsy's Curse--A Cruel
Father and Husband--Morrar-na-Shean--Restoration of Three Daughters--A
Grateful Father--Ancestors of the Sinclairs of Caithness, and of the
noble family of Keith--The Curse of Moy--A Cruel Chieftain of Clan
Chattan--Swearing by the Hand of a Bride--Grant of Glenmorriston
waiting his Doom--Death of a Father and Lover--Maledictions and
Prediction--Lady leaping from a Lofty Tower--The Monroes of
Foulis--End of a Relentless Tyrant 462
* * * * *
DREAMS AND VISIONS OF THE NIGHT.
CHAPTER LIV.
The Gift or Art of interpreting Dreams--Official Interpreters of
Dreams--Sleep, how portrayed--Goddess of Dreams--Greeks soliciting the
Inspiration of Dreams--Xenophon on Sleep--Prophetic Power of the
Dying--AEsculapius's Discoveries in Dreams--Code of Menu--The
Soma-drink--Josephus as a Seer--Dreadful Proposal by Josephus--His
Fortunate Escape--An Eastern Conjuror--Reading a Sealed Letter--A
Sultan warned of his Death in a Dream--Alexander's Death foretold in a
Dream--Records of Dreams in Westminster Abbey--Lord Falkland's
Dream--Rev. John Brown's Opinions--Early Christian Faith in Visions
and Dreams--Death of a Friend foretold--The Devil's Sonata--Marriage
of Queen Mary--Fatality of the Stuart Family--Death of Henry IV. of
France 469
CHAPTER LV.
Dreaming Dictionaries--Dreaming of an Anchor--Sick
Persons--Raiment--Fruit--Funerals--Dreams sometimes to be read
contrariwise--Dreaming of Darkness--Jewellery--Losing and finding
Property--Fowls and Eggs--Flying--Bagpipes, Dancing, and
Banquets--Dreaming of Animals, Cakes, Corn, and Milk--Dreaming of
Carrying and of being Carried--Angels, Spirits, and Children--Clergymen
and Churches--A Broken Watch or Clock--Clouds--Falling--Flowers and
Fruit--Sailors' Dreams--Running Streams and Still Water--Ploughed
Ground and Green Fields--Presents--Glass, Hair, Fire, Cold, Tooth,
Kisses, and Knives--Leaping, Climbing, and Writing--Linen--The Sun,
Moon, and Stars, Rainbow, Snow, Thunder, and Lightning 475
* * * * *
LAWS AGAINST AND TRIALS OF WITCHES.
CHAPTER LVI.
Witchcraft treated with Severity--Cutting out the Tongue--Laws of
AEthelstane--Witchcraft in England--Royal Writers--Sir Edward Cole's
Opinion--Statute of Elizabeth against Sorcerers--Law of Mary Queen of
Scotland against Witches--Law against Witches abolished--Sir George
Mackenzie on Witchcraft--Extracts from Forbes's _Institute of the Law
of Scotland_--Sir Matthew Hale a Believer in Witchcraft--Trial of Rose
Cullender and Ann Duny--Punishment of Witches, by whom first
countenanced--Pope John's Bull--Bishop Jewell--Lord Bacon and the Law
against Witches--Fearful Slaughter of supposed Witches--_Malleus
Maleficarum_, or Hammer for Witches--The last Persons executed in
Scotland and England for Witchcraft--First German Printers condemned
to be burned as Sorcerers--Reginald Scot on the Fables of
Witchcraft--Mr. E. Chambers's Views of Witchcraft 482
CHAPTER LVII.
Witch-finders--Disasters ascribed to Witches--Witches' Familiars--John
Kinnaird--Patrick Watson and his Wife pricked--The Devil's
Sabbaths--Grandeur at Satan's Feasts--When Feasts ended--Transformation--A
Witch-finder sent from Scotland to Newcastle--Complaints against
Witches--Deception discovered--Trying Witches in Northumberland--Escape
of a Witch-finder from Justice--Zeal of the Clergy in Scotland in
condemning Witches--Witch burned within the Sea-mark--Extracts
from Kirk-session Records of Perth relative to Witchcraft--Witches
at Kirkcaldy--A Clerical Witch-finder 493
CHAPTER LVIII.
Hiring a Witch to detect a Witch--Clerical Witch-finders--Agnew,
the Sturdy Beggar--A Distressed Family--Minister's Remonstrance
and Advice--Fresh Afflictions--Prayer and Fasting--Spirits
Speaking--Minister's Reply--Application to the Synod for
Advice--Solemn Humiliation ordained by the Synod--Beggar suspected
and hanged for Blasphemy--Bargarran Witches--An Esquire's
Daughter bewitched--Physicians puzzled--Ministers' Visits
to Bargarran--Presbytery ordering Days of Humiliation--Recourse
to the Law--Catherine Campbell imprisoned--Girl's continued
Affliction--Representation to His Majesty's Privy Council--Commission
appointed to inquire into the case--Trial of Witches--Condemnation
and Execution 500
CHAPTER LIX.
Victims of Superstition--Lady Glammis--Her Trial for causing the
Death of her Husband and attempting to poison the King--Found
Guilty, and Burned--Lady Fowlis an intended Victim--Image of
the young Lady of Balnagowan--Elf Arrows--Consulting Egyptians--Hector
Munro's connection with Witches--Charge against Sir John Colquhoun
and Thomas Carlips for consulting Necromancers--Love Philters and
Enchanted Tokens--Bewitching Sir George Maxwell--Witch-marks
discovered before the Sheriff of Renfrewshire--Commission appointed
by the Privy Council to try Witches--Witches Burned--Intercourse
with Fairies--Another Witch Story 511
CHAPTER LX.
Edinburgh and Leith Witches--Black Catalogue--James VI. and the
Witches--Complaint to the Scottish Privy Council of Barbarous
Conduct--Relics of Superstition--Witch-finders in Edinburgh and
Leith--Royal Commission to Magistrates and Ministers to search
for and put Witches to Death--Wife of a Judge in Edinburgh meeting
a Witch's Fate--Repeal of the Laws against Witchcraft--Opposition
to Acts being Repealed--Judge of the Supreme Courts against a
Change of the Law--James Reid--Potter-row Witch--Alexander Hamilton,
the Warlock--The Devil and Hamilton burning a Provost's Mill--Bewitched
Man--A habit-and-repute Witch--Young Laird of Duddingston--Major
Weir and his Magical Staff--A Magical Distaff--Agnes Williamson,
a Haddingtonshire Witch--Elizabeth Bathgate of Eyemouth--Isabella
Young of Eastbarns burned at the Castlehill 519
CHAPTER LXI.
The Demon of Jedburgh--An Apparition--Witch shot in the form
of a Cat--Auldearne Witch--Sabbath Meetings with Satan--Farmer
Breadley--Disinterring Unbaptised Children--Singularly-constructed
Plough and Team--Attempt to shoot a Minister--Borrowstounness
Witches--A Pittenweem Witch--An Unearthly Horse--Merciful View
of a Witch's Case--A Perthshire Witch--Water of Ruthven Well--A
Changeling 524
CHAPTER LXII.
Witchcraft in Aberdeen--Dean of Guild rewarded for his Diligence in
burning Witches--Expense of burning Witches--The Marquis of Huntly's
Desire to punish Witches--Action of the Presbytery anent Witches--Man
under the Protection of the Fairy Queen--Strathdown Witches--Riding on
Brooms--Crossing the Spey in Riddles--Disappearance of Witches--Madge
M'Donald of Tomintoul--Witches' Pool--A Mountain Tale--Girl
controlling the Elements--Witch Burned--Caithness Witches--One of the
Evil Sisterhood--Investigation by the Sheriff--Margaret
Nin-Gilbert--Helen Andrew--Shetland Witches--An Orkney Lady--Mary
Lamont of Innerkip 529
CHAPTER LXIII.
Neither Police nor Medical Men much required in Olden
Times--Instrument of Torture--Torture declared Illegal--Berkly
Witch--Attempt on the Life of Edward II.--Master John of
Nottingham--Escape of Coventry Necromancers from Justice--Rutland
Family bewitched--A Pendle Witch--Strange Narrative--Essex
Witches--Witches of Northamptonshire--Bullet-proof Witch--Drawing
Blood above the Temples--Anne Bodenham foretelling how a Law Plea
would be decided--Strange Proceedings--Discovering Concealed
Poison--Performing Spirits--Ride to London through the Air--Impenitent
Witch 538
CHAPTER LXIV.
Paying Blackmail to Witches--Demon of Tedworth--A Persecuted Family
prayed for--Unaccountable Sounds and Sights--Drummer found guilty of
Sorcery--Raising Storms--A Wizard in Cromwell's Army--Aldermen's
Children bewitched--Man kissed to Death--Witch unable to say the
Lord's Prayer--A Taunton Witch--Bewitched Cattle--Mode of discovering
a Witch--Selling a Soul to the Devil--Witch Executed--A Song of the
Seventeenth Century 547
CHAPTER LXV.
Elizabeth Style's Confession--Signing a Covenant with Blood--Alice
Duke, Anne Bishop, and Mary Penny--Somerset Witches--Running backwards
round a Church--Compact with Satan--Accusation against Sarah
Morduck--A Judge's Opinion of Witchcraft--Supposed Sufferer from
Witchcraft prayed for in the Church, and a Subscription raised for
him--Falsely accusing a Woman of Witchcraft--Witch and Stolen
Plate--Charm for Sore Eyes--Flames issuing from a Bewitched Person's
Mouth--Tormenting a Witch--Jane Wenham's Witchcrafts and Trial--The
last Persons who suffered in England for Witchcraft--List of Persons
who suffered as Witches 552
CHAPTER LXVI.
Scotchmen and Englishmen in America--Superstition in the Back
Settlements--Witchcraft in New England--Rev. Cotton Mather's View
of Witchcraft--Judges and Witnesses overawed by Witches--Bewitched
Persons prayed for--Trial of Susan Martin--Absurd Evidence--Witchcraft
in Sweden--Commission of Inquiry--Day of Humiliation appointed
on account of Witchcraft--Threescore and Ten Witches in a
Village--Children engaged in Witchery put to Death--The Devil bound
with an Iron Chain--An Angel's Warning Voice--Witch assaulting
Ministers--Witches' Imps--Butter of Witches--Witches Punished--Horse
Burned 558
CHAPTER LXVII.
Superstition in France--Pope John XXII. celebrated in the History
of Sorcery and Magic--A Bishop skinned alive and torn by Horses
for Witchcraft--King Philippe and Superstition--Extracting Teeth
without Pain--Berne Witch--Sorcerers in Navarre--Demoniacal
Operations--Witches meeting their Deserts--Maria Renata's
Witchcrafts--Nuns possessed of Devils--Jeanne D'Arc--Credulity of
France and England--Fairies of Domremi--Charmed Tree--Sparkling
Spring--Jeanne's Heavenly Mission--Maid at the head of Troops--Her
Achievements--Siege of Orleans--Great Victories--Dauphin
Crowned--Heroine Betrayed--Charmed Sword--Jeanne's Surrender--King's
Ingratitude--Great Rejoicing at the Maid's Downfall--Attempt to
Escape--Trial and Condemnation--Maid Burned--A White Dove rising from
her Ashes 564
* * * * *
SUPERSTITION IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
CHAPTER LXVIII.
Generality of Superstition--The Church and Superstition--St.
Mourie--Various Modes of Superstition--Charms--Lucky and Unlucky
Times--Sailors' and Fishermen's Delusions--Weddings, Funerals,
and Baptisms--Spae-wives--May Dew--Holy-days--Kirk-session
Records--Fort-William Fisherman--Dipping in Fountains--Lochmanur--Holy
Well of Kilvullen--Well of Craiguck--Superstition in the
Highlands--Warlock Willox--Superstition in Dundee 572
CHAPTER LXIX.
Ghost at Sea--Ghosts in Edinburgh--Fear of Ghosts in
Glasgow--Fortune-telling--Choice of Lovers, how decided--Irish
Story--How a Ghost settled a Land Question--Prophecy respecting
the Argyll Family--Yetholm Gipsies--Curses--Superstition among
Fishermen--Superstition among Seamen--Providing for the Dead--A
Warning--Blood Stains--Hallow-e'en at Balmoral--Faith in Dreams,
etc. 583
CHAPTER LXX.
Lizzie M'Gill, the Fifeshire Spae-wife--Predicting a Storm--Servants
alarmed--Prediction fulfilled--Adam Donald, an Aberdeenshire
Prophet--His Predictions and Cures--His Marriage--The Wise Woman of
Kincardineshire--The Recruiting Sergeant--High-spirited Lady--Charmed
Ring and its Effects--Elopement and Marriage--An Enraged Father--Life
in America--Strong-minded Women 597
CHAPTER LXXI.
Superstition at Chelmsford--Woman Bewitched--Old Zadkiel--Incantation
in Somerset--Turning the Bible and Key--Woman assuming the form of a
Hare--Ruling the Stars--Superstition in London--How to preserve Children
from Disease--Dreams fulfilled--Virtue of Holly and Ivy--Legend
concerning the Tichborne Family--Romantic Divorce Case 608
CHAPTER LXXII.
Spiritualism--Spiritualism not a new Delusion--Phantoms at
a _Seance_--Juggling of a Medium--Unsuccessful Effort at a
Vulgar Deception--Spiritualists Exposed--A Medium's Deception
discovered--Foolish Exhibitions--Russian Peasants and their House
Spirits--Spirits' Care over Persons and Property--Death, Pestilence,
War, and other Evils foretold by Spirits--A Suggestion 622
CHAPTER LXXIII.
Superstition in Roman Catholic Countries--Miracle-working
Images, etc.--Image paying Homage to the Virgin Mary--Madonnas
at Trastevere--Miraculous Cures--Superstitious Ceremony at
Dieppe--Blessing the Neva--Superstitious Belief of Napoleon's
Mother--Trust in Amulets--Zulu Superstition--Witchcraft forbidden
by Great Britain--Eating Fetish--Superstition among the
Ashantees--Endeavour to prevent the Advance of the British
Army--Shah of Persia's Talismans--Indian Princes consulting
Fortune-tellers--Procuring Rain in India--Mysterious Lights on
the River St. Lawrence--The Queen of Hearts--Superstition in
America--Superstitious Artists--Hogarth's last Picture, "The
End of all Things" 629
THE RISE AND PROGRESS OF SUPERSTITION.
CHAPTER I.
Rise and Progress of Superstition--The Serpent--Cain's
Departure from the true Worship--Worship of the Sun,
Moon, and Stars--Strange Story of Abraham--The Gods of
Antiquity--Ether, Air, Land, and Water filled with
living Souls--Guardian Angel--Cause of the
Flood--Magic--How the Jews deceived the Devil--A Witch
not permitted to live--Diviners, Enchanters,
Consulters with familiar Spirits and Necromancers
proved a Snare to Nations--Charms worn by the
Jews--Singular Customs and
Belief--Prognostication--Allegorical Emblems--Marriage
Customs--Divers Ceremonies at Death and
Burials--Divination among all Nations--Observers of
Times--Opinion concerning the Celestial Bodies--Power
of Witches--Wizards--Necromancers' Power to call up
the Dead.
Superstition has prevailed in every generation and country in the
world. There are people who think that even Adam and Eve were tainted
with this hateful delusion, and that their offspring of the second
generation entertained opinions opposed to true religion. That man,
soon after the Creation, became acquainted with and yielded to the
doctrine of devils, scarcely admits of doubt. Those who conversed with
our first parents must have learned from them the circumstances
connected with the temptation, fall, and expulsion from the Garden of
Eden. It is not unreasonable, then, to suppose that the serpent was
looked upon at an early period as something more than an ordinary
earthly reptile. One can imagine Adam and Eve, when wandering in
perplexity and fear, after their first great sin, starting at the
sight of a serpent,--not being certain whether they beheld a reptile
of flesh merely, or looked upon their old enemy that had betrayed them
in their days of innocency. If they looked with suspicion on the
serpent, it is natural to suppose that their children would learn to
view this creeping animal as a creature endowed with supernatural
powers, by which it could bring about evil, and perhaps good.
Cain, there is reason to conclude, departed from the true worship of
the Most High before his offering was refused, and ere he dipped his
hands in his brother's blood. In Genesis iv. 26 there is an
implication that man had forsaken the right and holy religion prior to
the days of Seth. There is an opinion that men soon began to worship
the sun, moon, and stars, and that subsequently they paid homage to
objects which contributed to their preservation and to things that
might do them injury. The wandering Jew, Benjamin, one of the greatest
travellers in the East, gives an interesting account of solar worship
in early times. The posterity of Cush, he tells us, were addicted to
the contemplation of the stars, and worshipped the sun as a god. Their
towns were filled with altars dedicated to this orb. At early morn the
people rose, and ran out of the cities to await the rising sun, to
which on every altar there was a consecrated image, not in the
likeness of a man, but after the fashion of the solar orb, formed by
magic art. These artificial orbs, as soon as the sun rose, took fire,
and resounded with a great noise, to the joy of the deluded devotees.
Many Jewish doctors have condescended upon the precise time when man
began to commit idolatry, and they name Enos as the first
star-worshipper. Arabian divines tell a story of Abraham being brought
up in a dark cave, and at his first coming forth he was so much struck
with the appearance of the sun, moon, and stars, that he worshipped
them; and there are people who imagine that in the Book of Job they
discover evidence of the heavenly host being adored in the time of the
old patriarch of Uz.
Some suppose that all the gods of antiquity were Egyptian kings,
others that they were Thessalian princes, others that they were Jewish
patriarchs; while not a few are of opinion that they were kings of the
several countries where they were worshipped. It has been supposed
that Saturn represented Adam; Rhea, Eve; Jupiter, Cain; Prometheus,
Abel; Apollo, Lamech; Mercury, Jabal; Bacchus, Noah; and Phaeton,
Elias. Others imagine that Saturn came in place of Noah; Pluto, of
Sem; Neptune, of Japheth; Bacchus, of Nimrod; and Apollo, of Phut. A
third class of thinkers maintain that all the heathen gods centre in
Moses, and the goddesses in Zipporah his wife, or in Miriam his
sister. A fourth class hold that Saturn was Abraham; Rhea, Sarah;
Ceres, Keturah; Pallas, Hagar; Jupiter, Isaac; Juno, Rebecca; Pluto,
Ishmael; Typhon, Jacob; and Venus, Rachel. Such are examples of
imaginary resemblances between real and fictitious persons or gods
that never had any existence except in the minds of fanatical
romancers and a deluded people, whose faith was kept alive by
deception and artifice.
It was an early belief that ether, air, land, and water were full of
living spirits; and people believed, soon after man was created, that
the souls of just men, subsequent to death, had part of the universe
committed to them. This opinion being once established, assistance was
sought from the spirits of departed men and women, and efforts were
made in various ways to secure their favour. In course of time altars
were set up, temples consecrated, and sometimes victims offered to
obtain favour from spirits and false gods. Some rabbis affirmed that
the angel Raziel was Adam's master, and taught him the Cabbala; and
that Shem, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Elias, etc. had each
his guardian angel, who directed his thoughts and actions. Jewish
doctors assign to magic great antiquity; they assert that it was known
to those who lived before the Flood. There is a tradition that one of
the causes of the Flood was the intercourse men had with demons.
Though it has been stated by ancient historians that Abraham was given
to magic, and that he taught it to his children, Josephus (obviously
overlooking what had been written prior to his time, and forgetting
what Moses had seen performed by the Egyptian priests before Pharaoh)
thinks Solomon was the first who practised this art. The Jewish
historian gives credit to the "wisest man" for inventing and
transmitting to posterity certain incantations for the cure of
diseases, and for the expulsion of evil spirits from the bodies of
those possessed with such demons. According to Josephus, the expulsion
was brought about by the use of a certain root sealed up in a wrapper,
and held under the afflicted person's nose while the name of Solomon
and words prescribed by him were pronounced. The learned historian
does not seem to doubt the wonderful power of Solomon, but rather
advances statements corroborative of what he had heard, for he asserts
that he himself was an eye-witness to a like cure effected, by equally
mysterious means, on a person named Eleazar in presence of the Emperor
Vespasian. Descendants of Abraham believed that their great ancestor
wore round his neck a precious stone, the sight of which cured every
kind of disease.
Suppose we set aside these assertions as fables, we cannot deny that
the Jews were at an early period addicted to magical arts. This
propensity, there can be no doubt, whenever first manifested, was
increased through the Hebrews' intercourse with the inhabitants of
Egypt, Syria, and Chaldea.
Jews, who professed to work wonders by enchantments, gave directions
how to select and combine passages and proper names of Scripture that
would render supernatural beings visible, and bring about many
surprising results. The sacred word Jehovah, they said, when read with
points, multiplied by or added to a given number of letters, and
composed into certain words, produced miraculous effects. By that
sacred name and strange arrangements, their prophets, they thought,
performed miracles. The devil was supposed to have the power of
accusing mortal man at the great day of propitiation, so the Jews
endeavoured to appease him with presents. They believed that on that
day only he had the power to bring a charge against them, and
therefore, to deceive him, they had recourse to a singular stratagem.
In reading the accustomed portion of the law, they left out the
beginning and the end,--an omission which was expected to cause Satan
to overlook the important time. Those versed in magic could tell that
the five Hebrew letters of which the devil's name was composed
constituted the number 364, during which number of days he could not
accuse them; and in some way or other unknown to us, in addition to
the plan of mutilating the law, they kept his mouth shut year after
year.
We find from the Holy Scriptures, that a witch was not permitted to
live,--that there should not be found among the Hebrews any that used
divination, an enchanter, a charmer, a consulter with familiar
spirits, nor a necromancer, because the abominations of these
mischievous people proved a snare to the nations that were driven out
before the Israelites. Various opinions have been expressed regarding
the witch of Endor. Parties are not agreed as to whether she did or
did not bring up Samuel before Saul; but into their disputes it is
unnecessary for us to enter. All that we mean to draw from the
narrative is, that if the King of Israel had recourse to a witch in
his hour of perplexity, superstition must have been general in the
nation.
Religiously disposed Jews wore upon their arms and foreheads two
pieces of parchment containing the ten commandments. These charms, or
emblems of sanctity, or whatever they were called, were not allowed to
be worn by women or by men when they went to a funeral or approached a
dead body.
The Jews confessed their sins to their rabbis, and the penance or
punishment was commensurate with their guilt. It was not uncommon for
Jewish devotees to lash themselves, but the number of stripes did not
at any time exceed thirty-nine. During the flagellation the penitent
lay on the ground with his head to the north and his feet to the
south, and it would have been considered profane to look to the east
or west while the chastisement was being inflicted. A Jew would as
soon have eaten swine's flesh as look to the east or west while he was
in a bath. Offenders were sometimes cursed in addition to their other
punishments; hence, it is presumed, the more modern recourse to curses
or denunciations. A doomed or cursed individual was consigned to the
power of evil angels, and prayers were offered up that he might be
tormented in life with every disease, and afterwards cast into eternal
darkness.
At the commencement of the Jewish Sabbath, half an hour before sunset
on Friday, every Jew was bound to have his lamp lighted, though he
should beg the oil. The women were required to light the lamps in
memory of Eve, who by her disobedience extinguished the light of the
world. Every Hebrew was obliged to pare his nails on Friday, beginning
with the little finger of the left hand, and then going to the middle
finger, after which he returned to the fourth finger, and then to the
thumb and fore finger. In cutting the nails of the fingers of the
right hand, he began with the middle finger, then proceeded to the
thumb, and after that took the fore finger, the middle and fourth
fingers, in the order stated. The parings were either buried or
burned. The Hebrews believed that the sounding of a consecrated horn
drove away the devil.
A curious custom prevailed among them in early times. The father of a
family took a white cock, and each of his wives selected a hen, but
such of them as were expectant mothers took both a cock and a hen.
With these fowls they struck their heads twice, and at every blow the
head of the family said, "Let this cock stand in my room; he shall
die, but I shall live." Having said this, the neck of the fowl was
drawn and its throat cut; and either the dead fowl, or its value in
money, was given to the poor. In the evening previous to the feast of
expiation, a man wishing to pry into futurity carried a lighted candle
to the synagogue, and from particular appearances of the flame he
prognosticated whether good was to follow him and his, or whether he
and his family were to be overtaken by evil.
At their great feasts of tents or tabernacles (observed in memory of
their living in tents in the wilderness) the Israelites went from
their tents to the synagogue every day during the feast, bearing in
their right hands branches of palms, myrtle, and willows, and in their
left hands branches of citron. When they reached the synagogue, they
turned the branches first to the east, then to the south, next to the
west, and lastly to the north. These ceremonies were allegorical: the
palm was an emblem of hypocrisy, the myrtle pointed to good works, the
willow represented the wicked, and the citron the righteous. At
marriages, while the young persons present held torches in their hands
and sang the marriage song, the bride walked three times round the
bridegroom, and he in turn walked thrice round her. In some
countries--Germany and Holland, for instance--the guests threw
handfuls of corn at the young wedded pair, telling them to "increase
and multiply." The newly married people drank a little wine, and then
emptied the cup on the floor. At the wedding repast a roasted hen and
an egg were presented to the bride, who, after partaking of them,
distributed the remainder to the guests. The hen had reference to the
fruitfulness of the bride, and her delivery in childbirth.
The thumbs of a dead Jew were tied down close to the palms of his
hands, to preserve the deceased from the devil's clutches. While the
body was being washed, an egg was put into a glass of wine, and the
deceased's head anointed with the mixture. Those who were not
reconciled to the departed, before his death, kissed his great toe and
asked pardon, lest he should accuse them at the great tribunal before
the Most High. When the body was carried away for interment, a person,
who remained behind, threw a brick after it, as a sign that all sorrow
was past. The nearest friends or relations walked seven times round
the grave, after each of them had driven a nail into the coffin. Hence
the saying in our own time, when one signifies his willingness to do a
friend a favour or kindness, "I will drive a nail into your coffin."
When the body was put into the grave, every person present threw a
handful of earth in after it.
On important occasions the Hebrews, like Pagans, consulted diviners,
who had recourse to various ways of divination. In the days of Joseph
there was divination by cups, one particular manner of proceeding
being to observe how their wine sparkled when poured out. Casting or
drawing of lots was a favourite method of divination, not only among
the Jews, but among all nations. Mention is made of divination by
means of household gods or images in human shape, prepared by
astrologers under particular constellations, and made capable of the
heavenly influences. The rabbis, in making some of these images,
killed a man who was a first-born son, wrung off his head, seasoned it
with salt, spices, etc., and then put a gold plate, bearing the name
of an unclean spirit, under the head, which was fixed to a wall, and
had candles burning beside it. The images were consulted as oracles
concerning things accomplished but unknown, and regarding events in
the future.
Among the Jews there were observers of times who laid great stress on
certain seasons and critical moments, which they supposed depended on
particular positions of the heavenly bodies. A learned rabbi expressed
the opinion that the celestial bodies rewarded persons who put
confidence in them, and that consequently men acted wisely to
reverence the stars and implore their assistance. Guesses at
futurities were made from the falling of a crumb of bread out of one's
mouth or a staff from a man's hand, from a person sneezing, or the
breaking of a shoe-latchet.
The Hebrew witches were supposed to possess the power of doing
mischief to man and beast by their occult science, and of changing the
form of things. Witches used their wicked skill to allure maidens.
Through magical operations, a Jew endeavoured long ago to procure the
love of a Christian woman, but she was preserved from the power of his
craft by sealing herself with the sign of the cross. It was an ancient
way of enchantment, to bring, by the power of magic, various kinds of
beasts together into one place, which were designated as the "great
congregation" and the "little congregation." The great congregation
consisted of many of the larger animals, and the lesser was made up of
numerous smaller creatures, such as serpents, scorpions, and the like.
Wizards were famous fortune tellers; they pretended to be the
interpreters of all the most important occurrences of the world.
According to the Hebrew laws, the deceivers, and those who consulted
them, were liable to be stoned. Necromancers obtained a footing among
the Jews. Such wicked people were accustomed to fast, go to
burying-places, and there lie down, fall asleep, and pretend that the
dead appeared to them in dreams or otherwise, and told them what was
desired. They also pretended to call up the dead by means of certain
fumes and particular words. In cases where the spirits of dead men
were obstinate and refused to appear or answer when summoned in the
more simple form, recourse was had to the burning of portions of black
cats, or the still more cruel method of cutting up young boys and
virgins.
CHAPTER II.
Men endowed with Prophetic Spirits--The Jews forbidden
to consult the Oracles of the Heathen--Succession and
Schools of Prophets--Burial of Prophets--Influence of
Music--The Prophetic Mantle--Way through which
Revelations were made--Bath Kol--Urim and
Thummim--False Prophets Strangled or Stoned--How False
Prophets were discovered--Recourse to Diabolical
Art--Moloch--Seething a Kid in its Mother's Milk--The
Smooth Stones mentioned by Isaiah--Oil and Candles
supposed to possess peculiar Virtues--The Saint
entombed near the Barbary shore--Sheep-head and
Sheep-head Broth--Casting Sins into the Sea--Custom of
Fasting among the Pharisees--Dust of Heathen
Countries--The number 10--Angels that had the care of
Men--Souls of Dead Persons whispered with a feeble
Voice--Hebrew Women who predicted when one would
die--Punishment in the Grave by the Devil.
Every person who has read the Old Testament, knows that the Hebrews
had among them extraordinary men really endowed with prophetic
spirits. The Jews were forbidden to consult the oracles of the heathen
nations round about them, but they were permitted to consult their own
true prophets concerning that which was concealed from ordinary
persons. There was a constant succession of prophets, and there were
schools where young persons aspiring to the office of a seer were
instructed. Over each of these institutions a venerable prophet
presided. At first the scholars were not inspired, but received
prophecies from the mouth of their master or president. At Jerusalem
there was one of these schools within the second wall of the city. So
great respect was paid to the prophetic character, that none were
suffered to be buried in Jerusalem but kings, descendants of David,
and prophets. Though old prophets could not inspire their young
students, they improved their natural faculties, and taught them how
to subdue irregular emotions that hindered inspiration. That the minds
of the prophets might be the better disposed to receive the proper
impulses, instrumental music was used in their devotions; and it is
reported that at certain of their musical meetings the young men
became so elated, that they manifested poetical genius as well as a
prophetic spirit. When a young prophet gave unequivocal evidence of
being inspired, he was installed into office by having the prophetic
mantle (made of lamb's skin) thrown over his shoulders. Subsequent to
inauguration, a prophet wore hair-cloth next his skin, and had a
leather girdle round his loins.
The general way through which revelations were made to them was in
dreams and visions, or by immediate inspiration. Their dreams were
sometimes, indeed generally, sent for instruction or admonition; and
in the prophetic dreams a clear and distinct impression was left
through a real or imaginary communication with an apparition. At times
the prophets had overpowering visions when awake, during which mighty
revelations were made to them. When prophetic revelations ceased, the
Jews had recourse to Bath Kol, that is, the Daughter of Voice, or the
Daughter of a Voice, because it succeeded, they say, the Oracular
Voice delivered from the Mercy Seat when Urim and Thummim was
consulted.
The prophetic spirit being so common among the Hebrews, it became
necessary to adopt a method to prevent false prophets from deceiving
the people. To deter men from pretending they possessed a prophetic
spirit, a severe punishment for every such pretence was
appointed,--strangling or stoning to death. The manner of trying a
false prophet was this: the judgments threatened by a prophet, and the
good things predicted by him, were observed. If the judgments declared
were not fulfilled, it was not regarded as conclusive evidence against
him, because it might be that the punishments were for some wise
reason averted; but if the promised good did not come to pass, the
predictor was condemned as a deceiver and false prophet. If the words
of a prophet were fulfilled in one or more particulars, but not in
all, he was not deemed worthy of credence. When once one was
condemned as a false prophet, no interest was powerful enough to save
him from death.
The trial of prophets prescribed by the Mosaic law was intended to
prevent impostors pretending to be prophets, and to save the people
from being enticed by wicked deceivers into idolatry. In the time of
Moses there were many who had recourse to diabolical arts. The
oblation of children to Moloch being frequently mentioned, together
with other diabolical and divinatory arts, reasons appear for
supposing there was something magical in such superstitious rites, and
that thereby people consulted demons about things future or secret.
Moloch was the principal idol of the Ammonites, but other nations took
the same idol for their chief god; for it appears from Pagan records,
that the different nations were so very accommodating with their gods
that they lent them to one another. Moloch seems to have been the same
as Baal, both names signifying dominion, or more particularly the sun,
the prince of the heavenly bodies.
There can be no doubt but the passage in the Old Testament, "Thou
shalt not seethe a kid in his mother's milk," was a warning to the
Hebrews not to follow the example of the heathen in connection with
the payment by the latter of their first fruits. Dr. Cudworth, writing
on this subject, says that he learned from the comments of an ancient
Karaite upon the Pentateuch, that a superstitious rite prevailed among
the ancient idolators, of seething a kid in his mother's milk when
they had gathered in all their first fruits, and sprinkling the trees
and fields with the broth, after a magical manner, to make them more
fruitful in the following year. Spencer also observes that the Zabii
used this kind of magical broth to sprinkle their trees and gardens,
in hope of obtaining a plentiful crop.
The smooth stones mentioned by Isaiah, to which meat offerings were
offered and drink offerings poured out, were anointed stones in the
streets, on which passengers poured on them oil from phials; but what
advantages were to result from the custom we are not fully informed.
Oil and candles were believed by the ancients to possess peculiar
virtues. Oil was often burned in honour of the dead; and the
Algerines, when on the water, tied bundles of wax candles together,
and, with a pot of oil, threw them overboard as a present to the
saint, entombed near the Barbary shore, whom they regarded as their
protector. We believe few who partake of sheep-head or sheep-head
broth know that it is, or was, a custom with the Jews to serve up
sheep-head on New Year's Day at their chief entertainment, as a
mystical representation of the ram offered in sacrifice instead of
Isaac. When a family or company sat down to this repast, each person
took a piece of bread, and, dipping it in honey, said, "May this year
be sweet and fruitful." The Jews, to cast their sins into the depth of
the sea, sometimes went after dinner to the brink of a pond, if not
near the sea, and threw into the water a live fish, in the hope that
it would carry away all their iniquities, never more to be found.
It was customary among the Pharisees not only to fast twice a week (on
Monday and Thursday), but at periods of perplexity to fast thirteen
days consecutively. Sometimes, on account of such small trifles as
dreams, they would abstain from food; but severe drought, pestilence,
famine, war, and inundations were sure to make them fast until nature
was nearly exhausted. The Hebrews held certain views and followed
particular customs with respect to the dust of heathen countries. Dust
that came from Gentile lands was reckoned so defiling, that the Jewish
rulers would not permit vegetables to be brought from heathen
countries into the land of Israel, lest the detested particles should
be brought along with them. The number 10 was much noticed and used by
the Jews. The blessing of the bridegroom, which consisted of seven
blessings, was of no avail unless delivered in the presence of ten
persons. Angels, which were believed to have the care of men, were
supposed to ride unseen, on white horses, beside the objects of their
attention.
Among the Jews there was a popular notion that the spirits of dead
persons whispered in a feeble and peculiar way out of the dust; and it
was a common belief that the soul had no rest unless the body was
interred. There were women among the Hebrews who predicted how long
one would live, and pretended to know when he was to die. One of a
Jew's solemn prayers on the day of expiation was that he might be
delivered from the punishment of the devil in his grave,--a punishment
supposed to be inflicted by causing the soul to return to the body,
breaking the deceased's bones, and tormenting both soul and body for a
season. A similar form of prayer was used by the Mohammedans.
CHAPTER III.
Egypt steeped in Superstition--Power of Magicians--Way
of obtaining Visions--Demons--Deification of Departed
Heroes--Gods and Demi-gods--Altars or Living
Stones--Sacred Animals--Isis searching for
Osiris--Leeks and Onions--Priests were Physicians and
Interpreters of Oracles--Sacrificing Human
Victims--Wax Figures--Magic--Teaching of the Egyptian
Priests--Transmigration--Character of Men judged of
after Death.
Egypt was a country steeped in superstition. The people believed in
sorcery, magic, and enchantments; and there is the fullest evidence in
the sacred pages that the Egyptian magicians were able to perform
dexterous feats that were truly surprising. Astronomy was studied with
a view to success in astrology, as the latter was a science much
esteemed, and very lucrative. Public or state astrologers were
consulted in cases of emergencies. None dared to practise astrology,
magic, sorcery, or any of the various modes of divination unless
authorised by a master in the art, before whom he had "spread the
carpet" for prayer. To procure sublime visions, seers shut themselves
up for a long time, without food or water, in a dark place, and prayed
aloud until they fainted. While in a swoon, strange visions appeared
to them, and revelations made which sometimes filled the nation with
gladness, and at other times spread mourning over the country. In
advanced ages, as well as in early times, men believed there were a
multitude of subordinate spirits, as ministers, to execute the behests
of the supreme sovereign. To these spirits were committed the
superintendence of all the different parts of nature, and their bodies
were imagined to be composed of that particular element in which they
resided. Altars were built in the midst of groves, where the spirits
were supposed to assemble. Gratitude and admiration tended to the
deification of departed heroes and other eminent persons. This
probably gave rise to the belief of national and tutelar gods, as well
as the practice of worshipping gods through the medium of statues cut
into human form. At one time demi-gods gradually rose in the scale of
divinities until they occupied the places of the heavenly bodies.
Thus, following ancient hyperbole, a king, for his beneficence, was
called the sun, and a queen, for her beauty, was styled the moon. As
this adulation advanced into an established worship, the compliment
was reversed by calling planets or luminaries after heroes. And to
render the subject more reconcilable to reason, the Eastern priests
taught that the early founders of states and inventors of arts were
divine intelligences, clothed with human bodies. When celestial
divinities disappeared or were obscured from observation, men had
recourse to symbols of a temporary nature that produced fire. Altars
of stone were built and consecrated in the name of the divinity whom
it was intended to represent. Such altars were called animated or
living stones, from a belief that a portion of divine spirit resided
in them, and the prayers and praises offered up before them were
thought to be as acceptable as if addressed to the gods themselves.
That those altars or stones might be as near as possible to the
objects of worship represented, they were generally placed on the tops
of mountains, or, in flat countries like Egypt, on high structures,
the works of men's hands. Many have attributed the building of the
pyramids to the worship of gods; but whether that was the purpose to
which those majestic structures, that have puzzled learned men, were
devoted, we shall not venture to say. This, however, is certain that,
throughout the East, altars, statues, and pillars were erected for
superstitious purposes upon mountains and other high places.
Herodotus informs us that the ancient Egyptians were the first people
who gave names to their gods. Of Osiris, Isis, and the many other gods
and sacred animals that were worshipped in Egypt, we shall say little
at this part of our subject. The bull, it is well known, was one of
the most sacred animals. The priests affirmed that Apis was of divine
origin, the cow that produced him having been impregnated with holy
fire. Dogs, the Egyptians said, deserved homage because they guided
Isis when she searched for the body of Osiris. She, it may be
remembered, sought for the precious remains with true pertinacity till
she found them. To accomplish her purpose, she found it necessary to
transform herself into a swallow, to dry up the river Ph[oe]drus, and
to kill with her glances the eldest son of a king. Her tears were
supposed to cause the inundation of the Nile. At times she had the
head of a cow, which identified her with the cow of whom the sun was
born. The hawk was deified because one of these birds brought to the
priests of Thebes a book, tied round with a scarlet thread, containing
the rites and ceremonies to be observed in the worship of the gods.
The wolf was adored because Osiris arose in the shape of that animal
from the infernal regions, and assisted Isis and her son Horus to
battle against Typhon. The cat was revered as an emblem of the moon,
for its various spots, fruitfulness, and activity in the night. The
goat (which, by the by, is said to be absent from the earth and
present with Satan a part of every twenty-four hours of the day, and
can never be seen from sunrise to sunrise without being lost sight of
for a longer or shorter time) was honoured as the representation of
manhood in full vigour, and was worshipped, from gratitude to the
gods, for multiplying the people of the country. The crocodile was
also advanced to the dignity of a god. If one killed any of the sacred
animals designedly, he was put to death,--if involuntarily, his
punishment was referred to the priests; but if a man killed a hawk, a
cat, or an ibis, whether designedly or not, he died without mercy.
During a severe famine, when the Egyptians became cannibals, not one
of them was known to have tasted the sacred animals.
All revered animals were kept at great expense, and when they died
costly funerals took place. When the Apis died at Memphis, in the
reign of Ptolemy the son of Lagus, his funeral cost not less than
L13,000 sterling. When a cat died, the family it belonged to expressed
great grief, and prayed and fasted several days. In cases of fire,
more care was taken to preserve the feline animals than the most
valuable property in the house. Dead cats, which were almost
invariably embalmed, were sometimes carried from remote parts to be
interred in the city of Bubastis, and hawks and moles were buried with
great solemnity at Butos, even though they should have died in foreign
countries. Juvenal mentions that leeks and onions were objects of
worship, and others say that the lotus was also sacred in various
parts of the East. The priests were both physicians and interpreters
of oracles; they carefully observed the phenomena of nature, and
registered every uncommon occurrence. From such observations, they
calculated the results of other events of similar nature. Hence arose
the practice of divination, and afterwards that of dispensing oracles.
Oracles were erected in every part of Egypt. Even the sacred animals
had their several oracles. The Apis was consulted by observing into
which of his chambers he entered. By a certain principle understood,
the omen was regarded as foretelling good or evil.
The barbarous custom of sacrificing human victims was long in force in
Egypt, and prevailed down to the reign of Amasis, by whom it was
abolished. Not to give too severe a shock to the superstitious
feelings of the people, wax figures, representing human beings, were
permitted to be substituted for the living mortals. These customs
were, no doubt, what sorcerers and witches imitated at their midnight
feasts in after ages, and which led old women to imagine that, by
making wax images of those whom they intended to injure, and sticking
sharp instruments into them at one time, and at another time exposing
them to a scorching heat before a fire, they would wreak their
vengeance upon the individuals whom the figures represented. We have
it from more than one learned writer, that the cruel and gloomy
worship of Egypt arose from a belief that Typhon was labouring
incessantly to counteract the happiness of mankind. He was considered
to be greedy and voracious, and that it was necessary to glut his
altars with blood in order to appease his anger.
Magic was a science in which the Egyptians excelled. Its attainment
was esteemed the highest exertion of human intellect. Some imagined
that the invention of magic exceeded human invention, and they
pretended that the angel who fell in love with the antediluvian women
taught it, and that the principles thereof were preserved by Ham after
the Deluge, and that he communicated them to his son Mizraim; but
others ascribed the invention to Hermes. Without either admitting or
denying these assertions, we can have no hesitation in stating that
much of our superstition may be traced back to Egyptian religion and
customs, and that the singular belief of the Egyptians was general,
and long anterior to the time Jacob and his sons went down to that
country.
The Egyptian priests, taking advantage of the people's credulity,
taught that the sun, moon, and whole host of heaven were endowed with
intelligence, and exerted an influence over the destinies of men; and
they (the priests) pretended to work miracles, and obtain oracles and
omens. They also laid claim to the power of interpreting dreams.
The Egyptians believed that the souls of men went into other bodies at
death,--such as had been virtuous going into exalted bodies, but the
vicious passing into mean reptiles and other contemptible creatures.
After remaining in a state of punishment for a certain number of
years, they were supposed to pass into more exalted beings. Praise was
not bestowed indiscriminately upon every person who died, however
exalted his position. Characters were given by judges, after inquiry
into the life and conduct of the deceased. The judges sat on the
opposite side of a lake; and while they crossed the lake, he who sat
at the helm was called Charon, which gave rise to the fable among the
Greeks, that Charon conducted the souls of deceased persons into the
infernal regions.
CHAPTER IV.
Babylon--The Chaldeans were Priests, Philosophers,
Astronomers, Astrologers, and Soothsayers--Downfall of
Babylon predicted--Worship of the Medes and
Persians--Devils confined in an Egg--Sacred Fire--The
Gaures--Births and Deaths in Early Times--A narrow
Bridge--An immense Tree--Creation of Prophets--A Stone
to which Abraham tied his Camel--Adam and Eve's
Trysting Place--Black Art--Ways of discovering whether
a supposed Criminal was Guilty or Innocent--Looking
into Futurity--Canaanites, Syrians, and
Arabians--Strange Fables--Abraham breaking Heathen
Idols--Worship of the Egyptian Thorn--Altars--Religion
of the Carthagenians and Tyrians--Supremacy of the
Gods.
The great city of Babylon owed its origin to the ambition of the proud
people who built the tower of Babel. In course of time Babylon rose to
great grandeur, but superstition became so prevalent that it proved a
snare to the inhabitants. Like the heathen around, they worshipped
fire and images. The Babylonians pretended to great skill in
astrology, soothsaying, and magic. The Chaldeans, so called in a
strict sense, were a society of pretenders to learning, priests,
philosophers, astrologers, and soothsayers, who, it is said, dwelt in
a region by themselves, and the rest of the people were called
Babylonians. While Babylon was in its glory, prophets predicted that
dreadful judgments would befall it. And so it happened. On the very
night the destruction came, the king, alarmed by the mysterious
handwriting on the wall, consulted his magicians; and Daniel, who had
been made master of the magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans, and
soothsayers, made known the sad end of Belshazzar and his kingdom.
The Medes and Persians worshipped the sun, fire, water, the earth, the
winds, and deities without number. Human sacrifices, as in other
idolatrous countries, were offered by them, and they burned their
children in fiery furnaces appropriated to their idols. At first the
gods they worshipped were Arimanius, the god of evil, and Oromasdes,
the giver of all good. Plutarch says that Oromasdes created several
inferior gods or genii, and that Arimanius created many devils. The
former also created twenty-four devils, and enclosed them in an egg;
but the latter broke the egg, and by that means let out the demons,
and created a mixture of good and evil. The religion of the Persians
underwent a variety of revolutions. Temples were built for the worship
of fire, prior to which Magian priests kept the sacred fire burning on
mountain tops under considerable difficulties. They fed it with wood
stripped of the bark; they were prohibited from blowing the fire with
their breath or with bellows, lest it should be polluted. Had one done
either, he would have been punished with death. The Jews had the real
fire from heaven, and the Magi pretended to have received theirs from
the upper regions likewise.
The Gaures held that the earth was inhabited at first by two persons.
They had a tradition that Eve brought twins into the world every day,
and that for one thousand years death had no power over her seed. They
believed that a select company of angels were appointed guardians of
mankind, but that, notwithstanding this, evil increased: men grew
wicked and perverse in their ways, and therefore the deluge was sent
to sweep them away. The Gaures had their guardian angels for every
month and day throughout the year, and to them they devoted their
prayers. New Year's Day was a high day with them, and they had a great
many lucky and unlucky days.
The Persians hold that at the last judgment every man must pass along
a bridge no wider than a razor's edge; that the unbelievers and the
wicked will certainly in their passage fall into hell, there to be for
ever and ever tormented; but that the faithful shall be so guided and
supported that they shall pass the bridge swifter than a bird can fly
through the air, and enter into paradise, and seat themselves on the
banks of the river of delight, which, they say, is shaded by a tree
of such immense size, that if a man were to ride forty thousand years,
he would not pass the extent of one of its leaves. In Persia it was a
common belief that there were many prophets living between the days of
Adam and Mohammed, who were created before the world was made. Their
prophets, according to history, were possessed of the power of working
miracles; and charms and amulets were common in the country.
Pilgrims who went to Mecca invariably kissed a black stone, regarding
which there is a curious legend: Abraham, we are informed, tied his
camel to this stone when he went to sacrifice Ishmael, for the
Mohammedans represent Hagar as Abraham's lawful wife, and Ishmael his
heir. There is another tradition, that when Abraham was about to build
the Kaaba, held in great veneration, the stones marched thither of
themselves ready hewn and polished, and that the black stone, being
left out when the building was completed, demanded of Abraham why it
had not been used in the sacred structure. The prophet told the stone
not to be disappointed, for he would cause it to be more honoured than
any stone in the building, by commanding all the faithful to kiss it
as they went in procession. The faithful people were wont to meet at
the place which they supposed was Adam and Eve's trysting place after
the expulsion, for it is related in one of their legends that the
first man and woman wandered about the world, separately, hundreds of
years after the Fall.
The Persians were extremely addicted to the study and practice of the
black art and all magical incantations, supposing that by such
mysterious operations they could influence the elements and all the
products of nature. When any one was suspected to have died an
unnatural death, the surviving relatives consulted spirits, with the
view of discovering the cause of it. Sometimes the relatives alleged
that a spell had been cast on the spirits consulted, which prevented
their giving answers to interrogatories. In that case, magicians were
employed to remove the fascination. A suspected murderer was submitted
to a severe ordeal:--A particular liquid was poured upon the arm or
thigh of the unfortunate person; but before the fluid was used it was
boiled, while the supposed criminal's name was repeatedly mentioned.
The moment the liquid began to boil, they commenced to address their
imaginary spirits in the following terms: "Is the party on whom I pour
this water guilty or not? If he is, may it scald him and shrivel up
his skin." If the application of the boiling liquid did not injure the
suspected person he was declared innocent, but if it burned him he was
pronounced guilty. People anxious to know the result of approaching
warlike engagements put a vessel full of water, mixed with particular
ingredients, over a fire. As soon as the water commenced to boil they
performed magical incantations, which, as they imagined, irresistibly
attracted the titular genius of their enemies, and obliged the spirit
or god to plunge himself into it. In this painful situation they
confined him for a considerable time. When he had endured sufficient
penance to humble him, he was questioned relative to the success of
the war. The information sought was delivered, as the people thought,
through the appearance of the scum on the water. By turning a red-hot
pot upside down, attended with magical incantations, they imagined the
courage of their soldiers exposed to its heat could be raised.
Canaanites, Syrians, and Arabians were all superstitious, and given to
idolatry. These people had various idols, regarding which there are
strange fables. An idol worshipped by the Philistines and Syrians,
called Derceto, has an interesting history. Near Askelon there was a
deep lake, abounding with fish. Not far from the lake stood the temple
of this famous goddess, the mother of Semiramis, who had the face of a
woman, and the rest of her body resembling part of a fish, for which
the Syrians assigned the following reason:--Venus having conceived a
hatred against Derceto, caused her to fall in love with a young
Syrian, whom she subsequently murdered, and then threw herself into
the lake, where she was transformed into the shape of a fish with a
woman's face; for which reason the Syrians did not eat any fish, but
worshipped them as gods. There is a legend of Abraham, before he left
Ur of the Chaldeans, which exhibits the contempt he had of idols. It
is said he took an opportunity of breaking in pieces all the idols he
could reach, except Baal, and that he suspended about the neck of this
idol the axe with which he had performed the destruction. The people
coming to see what had been done, supposed that Baal was the author of
the mischief. Some say that Abraham accomplished the exploit in his
father's shop during his absence, and that Terah, returning home,
inquired how the work of destruction had taken place. Abraham told him
that the idols had quarrelled about an offering of flour that an old
woman had brought them, and that Baal had proved the strongest, and
broke all the rest to pieces.
The Arabians, Ishmael's offspring, were equally guilty of idolatry. So
far did they carry this sin, that they actually worshipped idols under
the shape of Egyptian thorns. In early times the thorns were adored in
the open fields, but subsequently altars and temples were erected for
their worship. The Arabians worshipped Assaf under the shape of a
calf; and they had a goddess named Beltha, supposed to be the Venus of
the Greeks. The Sabeans were the principal worshippers of this
goddess; and such was their devotion to her, that they regularly
presented to her a portion of their plunder.
The religion of the Carthaginians and Tyrians was horrid and
barbarous. Nothing of moment was undertaken without consulting the
gods, which was done in various ridiculous ways. Hercules was the god
in whom the people placed most confidence. He was invoked before they
went on any important expedition; and when their armies were
victorious, sacrifices were offered to him. One of the chief deities
that they worshipped was Urania, or the moon, to whom they appealed
when overtaken by calamities, such as drought, excessive rain,
destructive hail, thunder, and dangerous storms. Urania was the queen
of heaven mentioned in the Scriptures, to whom even the Jewish women
offered cakes, etc. Carthaginians, in worshipping Saturn, offered up
human sacrifices to him. Even princes and other great men were wont,
in times of distress, to sacrifice their most beloved children to this
deity. People who had not any children of their own, purchased infants
that they might offer them as victims to this idol, with the view of
inducing him to fulfil their desires. Diodorus relates that when
Agathocles was going to besiege Carthage, the people imputed all their
misfortunes to the anger of Saturn, because, that instead of offering
up to him children nobly born, he had been fraudulently put off with
the offspring of slaves and foreigners. To atone for past
shortcomings, two hundred children of the best families in Carthage
were sacrificed, and further, to obtain the god's favour, three
hundred adult citizens immolated themselves.
Nimrod, the great-grandson of Noah, was an idolator, as were also his
descendants. Nineveh was the seat of his empire. As the sun and moon
became early objects of worship among the Assyrians, so in later days
they adored the fire as their substitute,--a form of worship that was
common among the ancients in many lands. The Assyrians published
abroad that the gods of other nations could not stand before their
fire-gods. A competition took place. A vast number of idols were
brought from foreign nations, but as they were composed of wood, the
god Ur (or fire) consumed them. After many contests, an Egyptian
priest discovered a plan of destroying the reputation of this idol,
which had become the terror of alien people. He caused the hollow
figure of an image to be made of perforated earth, with the holes
stuffed with wax, and the large internal cavity filled with water. He
then challenged the god Ur to oppose his god Canopus,--a challenge
which was accepted by the Chaldean priests. No sooner did the heat
that was expected to devour the Egyptian idol begin to take effect,
than, the wax being melted, the water gushed out and extinguished the
fire. Before the Assyrian empire was joined to that of Babylon,
Nisroch was the god worshipped in Nineveh, and it was in the temple of
this idol that the great Sennacherib was murdered. This idol was in
the shape of a bird--a dove or an eagle--made, if we can believe the
Jewish rabbis, from a plank of Noah's ark. The people repented at the
preaching of Jonah, but it was not long before they relapsed into
their former idolatry and general wickedness.
CHAPTER V.
Greek Religion and Superstition--Whence the Greeks
derived their Religion--Jupiter regarded as the
President of the Law and Protector of
Cities--Entertainment of Strangers--Dreams and
Charms--Sacred Stones--Omens of Evil--Sacrificing the
Hair--Flight of Birds--Compassing the Altar to the
Right--Methods of discovering whether a Person was in
Love--Love secured by Magic--Marriage Ceremonies--Most
lucky time for Marriage--Way of protecting a Child
from Evil Spirits--Divers magical Ceremonies--Strange
Laws as to Dead Bodies--Fingers and Toes of Dead Men
worn as Charms to frighten away Ghosts--Preparing a
Body for Burial--Superstitious Customs--Swine and
Swine's Flesh--Drinking Toasts--How Strangers were
expected to behave in a Strange Land--Prophets
consulted before Armies marched to Battle--Certain
words avoided--Sneezing--Evil Omens--Throwing a Person
overboard to save a Ship.
Herodotus was of opinion that the Greeks derived their religion and
superstition from the Egyptians; Plutarch arrived at another
conclusion; while many maintained that Orpheus brought the mysteries
of religion into Greece. Whoever is right, this we know, that the
Greeks became so prone to worship ancient deities, and so anxious to
do homage to all the divinities, that they erected altars to unknown
gods, for fear they would fail in their duty to any power that could
assist them in time of need. Above all gods, Jupiter was held in the
highest esteem. He was regarded as the president of law and justice,
as the protector of cities, as governor and director of their
councils, and as chief of their societies. To him they ascribed
thunder, and supposed it was he who delivered them from the Persians,
and who assisted them to buy and sell to advantage. They erected
altars to him in the courts of their houses and before their gates.
Regarding him as the god of strangers, they received and entertained
visitors with great ceremony. As a sign of fidelity, the right hand of
fellowship was given to a stranger, to whom salt was presented, in
token that his person would be safe under the entertainer's roof. A
stranger's bottle was kept, and when a visitor arrived at the door the
head of the family and he joined feet together on the threshold. A cup
of wine was drunk to an unknown person before his name was asked. To
return respect to those in the house, the stranger did reverence to
the genius of the place, and saluted the ground with a kiss. When one
sojourned in a strange land, he was expected to conform to the
recognised customs thereof; and on taking his departure he not only
bade farewell to those with whom he had become acquainted, but took
leave of their deities. When an important agreement was entered into,
Jupiter was sacrificed to, and called to witness the covenant.
The Greeks purified themselves after frightful dreams; they wore
charmed rings to protect themselves from witchcraft; they were
accustomed to spit three times on seeing a madman; and they spat every
time the devil's name was mentioned in their hearing. Stones were
cast at every cat and weasel met by one when commencing a journey,
and the meeting of a bitch with whelps was carefully avoided. The
crowing of hens and the whistling of maidens were listened to with as
great fear as the hissing of a serpent.
If a rat or a mouse ate a hole in one's clothes, evil, it was thought,
was about to befall the luckless owner. The people had days of good
luck and of bad omen. They cut their hair, and sacrificed it to
rivers. They marked the flight of birds, particularly that of the owl.
On seeing this night bird flying overhead at the battle of Salamis,
the soldiers considered it a good sign, took courage, and won the
fight. When one was going round an altar, he took care to keep his
right hand towards it. People anointed sacred stones in token of
thankfulness, as Jacob poured oil on the stone he took for a pillow at
Bethel.
To know if one was in love, special notice was taken of his garland at
a feast, and from its appearance the wearer's feelings were supposed
to be known, though it might be thought there was no necessity for
such observation; for, according to an old proverb, "Love and the
cough can never be concealed."
If one could not secure a lady's affections in the usual way of
courting, he endeavoured to get something of hers into his possession
in order to bewitch her. Having received a glove, a ring, or any other
article, he operated on it in a magical way, and thus obtained his
desire. If a lady's girdle was properly tied into a true-lover's knot,
she could not resist loving him who performed the charming trick.
Another way of softening a woman's heart was by throwing a bitten
apple into her lap. If she received it and ate the fruit, her
affections were won. All the tokens and charms did not come from the
gentleman's side, for it was not unusual for a lady, when she wanted
to control a lover's affections, to send him charmed garlands, roses,
or bitten apples.
On the wedding day, a bride, on coming to the house of her husband,
found the doors hung with garlands made of herbs, flowers, and plants
consecrated to certain gods and goddesses, which possessed peculiar
virtues suitable for the occasion. Cakes were bestowed on the bride on
her marriage day; and there was a custom among the Greeks and Romans
of combing her hair with a spear which had belonged to a man that lost
his life in a fight, or with a weapon that had been used in killing a
man. If this was done, she was sure to have brave sons. As the bride
rose to leave her father's house, she was carried over the threshold;
and as she entered her husband's house, a practice similar to that
observed among other nations was followed,--throwing figs and other
fruit at her head, as an omen of fruitfulness. It was also the custom
for a servant, on first coming into his new home, to have palm
branches and various ornaments placed on his head, to secure
prosperity. As the bride was led into her chamber, there was a sieve
carried along with her, and a pestle hung at the door, implying that
afterwards she was to assist in the household duties. When the bride
and bridegroom were together in the house, they ate an apple between
them, to signify the pleasantness and harmony they were to enjoy in
after life. Recourse was had to augury, the day before the wedding, to
ascertain whether the married life was to be prosperous. Before the
bride retired for the night, she was bathed with water drawn from nine
different springs. The time of the year the Grecians deemed most lucky
for marriage was the first month of winter. This was contrary to the
views of the Persians, who considered spring the proper season for
entering into the matrimonial state. The Greeks thought it better to
get married in the first or second quarter of the moon rather than
when it was waning. General rules were at times departed from, for
occasionally astrologers were consulted as to the most auspicious day
and hour for the happy lovers being united.
Through magical influence, a husband could have been made to hate his
wife; but, to regain his affections, a spider caught in early morn was
confined in a box, protected by charms, prepared for its reception.
When a child came into the world, three men kept watch all night to
keep away evil spirits. One of those on guard was armed with an axe,
another with a pestle, and the third with a broom. Each protector kept
his implement swinging through the air, to prevent the approach of the
dreaded beings. As soon as a child was born it was washed in water or
wine, and wrapped in a cloth worn by the mother when she was a virgin.
In the cloth were wrought the image of the Gorgon and the snakes of
that monster's head, together with the likenesses of two dragons. When
the child was five days old, it was carried about the hearth to
introduce it to the Penates. Arrangements were then made for naming
the child. A feast was prepared, at which there were doves, thrushes,
coleworts, and toasted cheese, besides many other things. The feast
was kept up for seven days. The mother, in gratitude for her child,
sacrificed to Diana, and the father returned thanks to the nymphs for
giving him a fruitful wife.
If the little stranger died in infancy, it had only a cold funeral
without fire, or any burial service or mourning. Sons, as soon as they
were three years old, were registered in the tribe. A feast was then
prepared, called "the shearing feast," because at that time the
youngster's hair was cut, and consecrated to one of their gods.
The Athenians had a law, that if any one happened to discover a dead
body, whether of a friend or a stranger, he should cast earth on it
three times; and the Romans had a similar law. If a Greek omitted this
duty, he was bound to make satisfaction by sacrificing a sow-pig. But
some went farther, and insisted that whoever saw a dead body and did
not cast dust upon it, was both a law-breaker and an accursed person.
The people feared that the gods underground were angry if the dead
were left uncovered with their kindred dust. No greater imprecation
could have been cast at an enemy than that he might not be covered
with the earth. Hence it was that the ancients stood in great fear of
death on the ocean, for there their bodies could not be interred. When
one went to sea, it was not uncommon for him to tie a reward to his
body, that in case he should be drowned and his body found, the finder
would see it buried, and so become entitled to the treasure. Next to
the happiness of being assured that the body would be buried, was that
of being interred in one's own country, and not among strangers. When
a man died far from home, frequent solemn invocations were made for
his soul, which, it was thought, could hear and understand what was
said by friends even in distant lands. At the burial of one that was
slain in battle, his comrades marched three times round the burning
pile or grave, shaking their arms, and throwing swords, bridles,
belts, and other articles into the fire or grave after the body. When
a soldier fell fighting in the field, and his body could not be found,
he was honoured with the carriage of an empty bier, and funeral
ceremonies as if his remains were present.
If a man killed himself, the hand with which the deed was committed
was cut off, and buried in another place to that in which the other
part of the body was interred. If one man killed another in a
righteous cause, the slayer washed his hands and held up the weapon
that had been used towards the sun, with the blood on it, to show that
he feared not though the heavens as well as the earth knew what he had
done. The ancients were of opinion that if one were slain by a
relative, the blood could never be thoroughly wiped off the blade that
had cut down the individual. And for fear the Furies would avenge the
death of one killed by a relation, amulets and spells were provided to
prevent untoward events. The most powerful charms were supposed to be
parts of the slain individual. Therefore the fingers, toes, and other
extreme parts of the body were cut off and worn under the arm-pits, to
prevent the murdered person's ghost taking revenge for the unlawful
deed. In preparing a body for burial, the Greeks took a piece of money
and put it into the mouth, to give to the ferryman Charon. With the
money a small quantity of pudding or cheese was put in for Cerberus,
to propitiate him. As a corpse was being carried out to be interred,
the deceased was commended to the protection of the infernal gods. To
burn a body was considered more honourable than to lay it in the cold
grave, for the Greeks thought that the divine and purer part of man
was carried by fire to the abode of the gods above. This belief
induced fanatical persons, when tired of life below, to burn
themselves, that they might all the sooner take their flight to the
regions of bliss. If a high wind sprang up when a body was being
consumed by flames, it was regarded as a favourable omen. On the body
being consumed, the fire was extinguished with red wine.
After a funeral, the people fumigated the house with brimstone, and
cleansed themselves by passing over a fire. They then kept a feast, or
rather feasts, at which they sacrificed to Mercury, that he might
carry the soul of the deceased to the realms of happiness. At the same
time the ghosts of relations were sacrificed to. Those who petitioned
the gods had garlands about their necks, or green boughs in their
hands. The branches were either laurel or olive, because the former
signified triumph, and the latter peace and goodwill.
Swine and swine's flesh were held in high esteem by the Greeks and
Romans, for various reasons--one of which was that Jupiter was nursed
by a sow. It was the custom to drink healths or toasts, and the last
one before going to bed was to Mercury, that he might give sound sleep
and pleasant dreams. Great men would, on a high occasion, drink to a
favourite, and hand him the cup to keep. When a person drank to the
health of one he loved, he partook of part of the liquor, and poured
the remainder of the wine on the ground. Drinking cups in remote times
were made from bulls' horns. The Greeks consecrated their horses to
the sun, and before engaging in war they consulted their prophets and
diviners. In particular, they paid great attention to the utterances
of Egyptian priestesses kept by them. Then, similar to the manner of
the Jews, Persians, and others, the Greeks consecrated to the gods, in
the event of obtaining victory, portions of goods secured from the
vanquished; and even relations were offered in sacrifice to the gods
supposed to have given triumph to the victorious armies. A Greek
general did not think it lucky to march his forces before full moon,
or until the seventh day of the month. Sacrifices were offered to the
water when an army came to a river,--a custom observed by other
nations.
Certain words were never pronounced by the Greeks. For instance, they
carefully withheld their lips from uttering "prison;" and if they
happened to hear what they thought an unlucky speech, they replied,
"Let it return to thine own head." So far did they carry their
superstition, that if one heard an unfavourable expression when he was
about to drink, he would throw the liquor on the floor and call for
another cup. Sneezing was so superstitiously regarded, that it came to
be counted among the number of gods. It was deemed inauspicious if a
host sent his guests away from a feast without giving each of them a
piece of cake, or such like, to take home. The cracking of a table and
the spilling of wine or salt were regarded as evil omens. When a Greek
ship was in danger in a storm, one of the crew or a passenger was
chosen by lot, and thrown overboard, like Jonah, to appease the spirit
that ruled the winds and the waves.
CHAPTER VI.
Roman Delusions and Customs--Augury--Election to the
Magistracy; Omens relative thereto--Tokens of
Futurity--Dire Misfortunes followed the Contempt of
Augurs--Drawing of Lots--Events foretold by reading
the first passage that turned up on opening a
Book--Lucky and Unlucky Stars--Fortune
Tellers--Dreams--Omens drawn from Appearance of parts
of Animals offered in Sacrifice--Sibylline Books,
Charms, and Incantations--Spirits going about to
observe Men's Actions--Unlucky Days--Dress of a
Bride--Marriage Ceremonies--Anointing Door-posts with
the Fat of Swine or of Wolves, and crossing the
Threshold--Fire and Water--Bridal Feast and Nuptial
Songs--Funeral Rites--Souls of Unburied Persons--The
Expiring Breath--Customs at a Deathbed; the Cypress
exhibited at Houses in which were Dead Bodies and
Funeral Observances--Hobgoblins and Lares--Purifying
with Water and Fire--Ghosts partial to Beans,
etc.--Offerings made to appease the Manes--Persons
reported to be Dead--Dead Bodies used for Magical
purposes.
The old Roman delusions and customs were as extraordinary as those of
any nation with which history has made us acquainted. The augurs
pretended to foretell future events from the flight of birds and the
chirping and feeding of fowls, and also from other appearances.
"Augurium" and "auspicium" were generally used promiscuously.
Auspicium was properly the foretelling of future events from the
inspection of birds; augurium from any omen or prodigy whatever. The
augurs are supposed to have derived tokens of futurity chiefly from
five sources--appearances in the heavens (such as thunder or
lightning), from the singing or flight of birds, from the feeding of
fowls, from the movements of quadrupeds, and from uncommon accidents.
The birds which chiefly gave omens by sound were ravens, crows, owls,
and cocks,--and those by flight, eagles and vultures. Contempt of the
augurs, and neglect of their intimations, were said to be followed by
dire misfortunes. Omens coming from the left were generally supposed
by the Romans to be lucky. Thunder on the left was regarded as a good
sign, and so was the cawing of a crow on the same side; but it was
considered more fortunate to hear the croaking of a raven on the right
than on the left. The Romans, as the Greeks had done before them, took
omens from quadrupeds crossing their path or appearing in unaccustomed
places. The augurs taught the people how to draw conclusions from
sneezing, spilling salt, and other accidents, called dira.
Drawing of lots was frequently resorted to by the Romans wishing to
pry into futurity. The lots were dice, or articles resembling those
instruments of chance. They were thrown into an urn filled with water,
or cast as dice in the ordinary way. If there was any difficulty in
ascertaining the import of the dice throwing, the priests were
employed to interpret. Future events were frequently inquired into by
an inquisitive person cutting the branch of a tree into small pieces,
and distinguishing them by certain marks, and then scattering them at
random on a white cloth. The searcher after knowledge having prayed to
the gods, took up the slips three times, and interpreted according to
the marks. Future events were often inquired into by reading the first
line or passage which happened to turn up on opening a book, or by
observing the stars. It was supposed to be lucky to be born under a
certain star, and unlucky to come into the world under another.
Astrologers were consulted regarding one's natal hour. Fortune-tellers
and books of fate were consulted on the most trivial occasions; and
persons aspiring to the magistracy, after saying their prayers in the
open air, had recourse to augury with the view of ascertaining whether
the gods favoured their cause.
Great attention was paid by the Romans to dreams, and persons of
disordered minds were supposed to possess the faculty of presaging
future events. Omens of futurity were also drawn from the appearance
of the entrails of animals offered in sacrifice to the gods. The flame
and smoke from the altar were noticed, and so were the circumstances
attending the driving, felling, and bleeding of the victim. Sibylline
books were inspected by appointment of the senate at perilous times,
as they were supposed to contain the fate of the Roman Empire. There
was something mysterious about the origin of the sibylline books. It
is reported that a woman called Amalthaea, from a foreign country, came
to Tarquin the Proud to sell nine sibylline books. Upon Tarquin
refusing to give her the price asked, she went away and burned three
of them. Returning soon after, she sought the same price for the
remaining six. Still the price was refused, and she went away and
burned other three books. She again came to the king, and demanded the
same price for the three unconsumed volumes as she had asked for the
nine. Tarquin, who first regarded the woman as a senseless old
creature, became surprised at her strange behaviour, and inquired at
the augurs what he should do. They advised him to give the woman the
price she demanded. The woman delivered the books, and, after desiring
that they should be carefully kept, disappeared, and was never seen
again.
The use of charms and incantations originated in the worship of the
heathen gods. As people in this country believe that spirits, good and
bad, go about at night, so did the Romans suppose that their gods went
up and down the earth during the night to observe the actions of men.
The priests and others, when engaged in acts of piety or important
business, took care, when turning, to move to the right. Every Roman
avoided repeating words of bad omen. Certain days were reckoned
unfortunate for the celebration of marriages. The month of May was
thought an unlucky time for marriages being solemnized. The most
fortunate time for weddings taking place was in the middle of June.
The dress of a bride on her marriage day was a long white robe and her
face was covered with a veil, in token of her modesty; her hair was
divided with the point of a spear into six locks, and she was crowned
with flowers. No marriage was celebrated before recourse to auspices.
The nuptial ceremony was performed in the bride's father's house, or
in the residence of the nearest relation. In the evening the bride was
conducted to her husband's house, taken thither apparently by force
from the arms of her mother or other relative, in memory of the
violence used to the Sabine women. Three boys, whose parents were
alive, attended her; two of them supported her by the arms, while the
third walked before, bearing a flambeau of pine or thorn.
Maid-servants followed with a distaff and wool, intimating that she
was to spin as matrons formerly did. Many relations and friends
attended the nuptial procession. The young men repeated jests and made
sport as she passed along. The bride bound the door-posts of her new
home with woollen fillets, and anointed them with the fat of swine or
wolves, to prevent enchantments. She was lifted over the threshold, or
lightly leaped over it, as it was thought ominous to put her foot upon
it, because the threshold was sacred to Vesta, the goddess of virgins.
Both she and her husband touched fire and water, as all things were
supposed to be produced from these two elements. With the water their
feet were bathed. The husband gave a feast, and musicians attended and
sang the nuptial song. After supper the bride was conducted to her
bed-chamber by matrons who had been only once married, and laid on her
couch, which was covered with flowers; songs were then sung by young
women before the chamber door till midnight. Next day another
entertainment was given by the husband, when presents were sent to the
bride by her friends and relations; and she began her family duties by
performing sacred rites.
Great attention was paid to funeral ceremonies. Many people believed
that the souls of the unburied were not admitted into the abodes of
the dead before they had wandered about the Styx at least a hundred
years. If one happened to discover an unburied body and did not throw
earth on it, he was compelled to expiate his crime by sacrificing a
hog to Ceres. When persons were at the point of death, their nearest
relation present endeavoured to catch the expiring breath with their
mouth, as they believed the soul or living principle went out by the
mouth. The nearest relation among the Romans closed the eyes and mouth
of the deceased, after putting money into the mouth for the ferryman
who was to take the soul of the dead over the lake it had to cross. A
branch of cypress placed at the door where the deceased lay, indicated
that there was a dead body within. People were invited to public
funerals by a herald. Magistrates and priests were supposed to be
violated by seeing a corpse, and therefore the dead were generally
buried at night with torch-light. At funeral processions pipers and
other musicians attended, and women sang the funeral song or the
praises of the deceased to the sound of the flute. By the law of the
twelve tables, the number of flute players was restricted to ten. Next
followed actors and buffoons, who danced and sang, while one of them
imitated the deceased's words and actions when alive. Before the
corpse there were carried the images of the deceased and of his
ancestors. The ancients buried their dead at their own houses, whence
arose the fear of hobgoblins, and a belief in lares, supposed to be
the souls of the deceased.
When the body was laid in the tomb, the people present were sprinkled
three times with pure water by the priest, and when the friends
returned home they were again sprinkled. Beans, lettuces, bread, eggs,
etc. were laid in the tombs, in the belief that the ghosts would come
and eat them. Offerings were made to appease the manes. If a person,
falsely reported to have been dead, returned home, he did not enter
his house by the door, but went into it through the roof. Dead bodies
were often violated for magical purposes, by stripping them of
valuable articles, or cutting off fingers, toes, or arms. Wax images
of deceased persons were made, and, after a variety of ridiculous
ceremonies, burned on piles, from the tops of which eagles were let
loose to convey to heaven the souls set free from the body.
CHAPTER VII.
Ethiopian Superstition--Sacred Bread--Customs of
Ethiopian Monks--Heathen Indian Gods--Paraxacti and
her three Sons--Thirty thousand millions of Gods--Fate
of a Child written on its Forehead--Transmigration of
Souls--Seven Seas--Mountain of Gold--Adder of
monstrous size with a Hundred Heads--Vixnu--Dispute
between Bruma, Vixnu, and Rutrem--Curse pronounced
against the Thistle--Iranien the
Giant--Transformation--Morning Star--Vixnu's different
Forms--A King's Head kicked into the lowest
Abyss--Prediction by Soothsayers--A Tyrant's
Intentions frustrated--Vixnu's Guilt and Punishment;
his Marriages and supposed future
Appearance--Rutrem--A Son with Seven Heads--The Seven
Stars as Nurses--Parvardi's Loss of her Husband and
Birth of a Son--Rutrem's Revenge and its
Consequences--The Indians' Offering to the Sun--The
Ganges--The Giant Piamejuran--Superstitious
Observances at Marriages--Disposal of Dead
Bodies--Different degrees of Glory after
Death--Reverence for the Cow--Ways of detecting
Criminals--Addressing Oracles--Astronomy--Eclipse of
the Moon--Magic--John Gondalez.
In Ethiopia, superstition was general over the entire empire. The
Ethiopians used a sacred bread, called the corban. While this bread
was being made, the baker was obliged to repeat seven psalms. Upon
every loaf there were twelve impressions of the cross, and each cross
was within a square. Ethiopian monks slept on a mat spread on the
ground, and before lying down they stretched out their hands one
hundred and fifty times in the form of a cross. Baptism was understood
by the people of this empire to be a solemn ceremony that washed away
all impurities; but the rite was observed by nearly all the ancient
nations, in memory of the Deluge.
In an account of the empire of the Great Mogul, we find no end of
superstitious observances. Each heathen Indian tribe had a separate
god. Some tribes even worshipped boiled rice; after the same manner
the Egyptians paid homage to leeks. Indian writers say that, in the
beginning, a woman, whose name was Paraxacti (brought into existence
by the great Creator), had three sons,--the first named Bruma, who
came into life with five heads. He was endowed with the power of
creating all inferior beings. The name of the second was Vixnu,
appointed lord of providence and preserver of all things formed by
Bruma. The third was named Rutrem, whose function or inclination was
to destroy all things his other two brothers had made and preserved.
Rutrem, like his brother Bruma, had five heads. Bruma assumed the form
of a stag; and, to punish him for a serious crime he committed when in
that shape, his brothers and thirty thousand millions of gods punished
him by cutting off one of his heads.
According to the notions of Indian heathens, Bruma writes upon the
forehead of every child an account of all that shall happen to him in
the world. It is reported of Vixnu that he metamorphosed himself at
pleasure. He first took the form and nature of a fish, and the second
form assumed was that of a tortoise. The Indians believed there were
seven seas in the world,--one of milk, of so delicious a nature that
the gods ate butter made of it. One day, when the gods wanted to feast
on the butter according to custom, they brought to the shore of the
milk sea a high mountain of gold, which supported fourteen worlds that
composed the universe. The uppermost part of the mountain served for a
resting place, and over it was brought an adder of monstrous size,
having a hundred heads. The gods made use of this adder as a rope, in
order to get at the butter more easily; but while they were attempting
to procure the butter, the giants, who had a continual hatred against
the gods, drew the adder on the other side with so much violence that
it shook the whole universe, and sunk it so low, that Vixnu, in his
tortoise form, placed himself under it and supported it. Meanwhile the
hundred-headed adder, being unable any longer to endure the pain the
gods and giants inflicted on him, vomited poison upon the giants,
which killed many of them on the spot. Vixnu afterwards assumed the
form of a beautiful woman, and such of the giants as remained alive
fell in love with the fair being. In this guise, he amused the giants
till the gods had eaten all the butter.
In his third incarnation, Vixnu changed himself into the form of a
hog, in consequence of the following circumstance:--One day a contest
arose between the three gods, Bruma, Vixnu, and Rutrem, regarding the
extent of their power. Rutrem undertook to go and hide himself, and at
the same time promised to submit himself to him who should first
discover his head and feet; but if they could not find these parts,
then the baffled gods were to acknowledge him their superior. Bruma
and Vixnu having agreed to this proposal, Rutrem vanished, and hid his
head and feet in places a great distance from each other, where he
imagined they could not be found. Bruma, in the likeness of a swan,
commenced to search for the head, but, finding he could not obtain any
trace of it, he resolved to return home. Just, however, as he was
going to give up the search, he met the thistle flower, which came and
saluted him, and showed the place where Rutrem had hid his head.
Rutrem, exasperated, cursed the flower, and forbade it ever to enter
his presence. For this reason, his followers prevented thistles being
brought into their temples in any part of the East Indies.
For the purpose of finding the feet, Vixnu transformed himself into a
hog, and went from place to place digging into the earth, but without
success. For cogent reasons, Vixnu next assumed the form of a man and
lion at the same time. Rutrem, it appears, conceived a strong
friendship for one Iranien, a mighty giant, and granted him the
privilege that no one should kill him either by day or by night.
Instead of the giant proving grateful, he became proud and
overbearing, and even insisted on being worshipped as a god. To punish
the giant, Vixnu suddenly appeared before him in the form of a cloud,
and then, taking the monster shape of a being half-man half-lion,
resolved to take vengeance on the ungrateful wretch. In the evening,
when Iranien was standing at the threshold of his door, Vixnu sprang
at him, tore him to pieces, and drank his blood. But the blood
affected Vixnu so much that he became stupid. Vixnu's fifth
transformation was into a dwarf. At that time a cruel king's subjects
appealed to Vixnu to relieve them of their oppressor, and, to carry
out the people's desire, he, in the form of a dwarf, went to the city
where the tyrant kept court. The dwarf begged from the king a grant of
three feet of ground whereon to build himself a house. The tyrant was
about to comply with the request, when the morning star, which
attended the king in the character of secretary of state, suspected
there was treason in the case. It was common, when requests were
granted, for the king to take water into his mouth and pour some of it
into the hand of the suppliant, and therefore the secretary, by the
assistance of magic, slipped imperceptibly down the prince's throat,
in order to prevent the water being thrown out. The magic had not the
desired effect; for the king, finding something in his throat, forced
a sharp instrument into it, which put out one of the secretary's eyes,
and the water gushed out, ratifying the agreement. Vixnu changed
himself into a monster so large that the whole earth was not
sufficient to afford room for his feet. He then said to the king, "You
have given me three feet of earth, and yet the whole world can
scarcely contain one of my feet: where am I to place the other?" The
tyrant, seeing deserved wrath awaiting him, laid his head down before
Vixnu, who with one kick tossed it into the lowest abyss of hell. The
wretched king, finding himself condemned to such a place of torment,
begged pardon and mercy of Vixnu, but all the favour he received was
one day's respite every year, to enable him to take part at a
particular ceremony, to be observed in commemoration of his own
downfall and punishment.
Vixnu's sixth form was that of a white man. He subdued many tyrants,
and washed his hands in their blood. In this form he destroyed many
giants, and compelled all the apes in the country to attend him. The
last form Vixnu assumed was that of a black man, in which likeness his
cunning and success were not less marked than when he was disguised in
several of his former shapes. Here is another story told of
him:--There was a great tyrant named Campsen, a violent persecutor of
good men, who had a sister called Exudi. It happened that the
soothsayers, of whom there were many in the country, having consulted
the stars, told the king that Exudi would have eight children, and
that the youngest of them would kill him. This enraged the monarch so
much that he destroyed seven of her children as soon as they were
born. Notwithstanding the natural affliction of the princess, she
became pregnant for the eighth time, but, wonderful to relate, of no
less a personage than the god Vixnu, who, unknown to her, succeeded in
finding a place in her womb. Fearing the child would be conveyed
beyond his reach as soon as it was born, the king placed spies
everywhere to prevent the young prince's escape. The supposed father
of the child succeeded in carrying him away, and placing him under the
care of shepherds far up the mountains. Every effort was made by the
baffled monarch to discover the young prince, and at last he found
him. Desiring to be the executioner himself, he went and laid hold of
the child to murder him. Just as the hand was raised to inflict the
fatal blow, the prince vanished, and in his room appeared a little
girl, whom the tyrant also attempted to kill; but she too, after
mocking the king, disappeared uninjured. Vixnu grew from boyhood to
manhood, when he raised an army against Campsen, whom he defeated and
slew with his own hands, fulfilling the prediction of the soothsayers.
Vixnu married two wives, but, neither of them pleasing him, he
divorced them and espoused sixteen thousand shepherdesses. The people
imagined that he would appear some time or another in the form of a
horse, but thought that until that metamorphosis took place he would
wallow in a sea of milk, with his head supported by a beautiful snake.
We are informed that Rutrem, the third son of Paraxacti, was much
respected by the people, though, judging from the accounts transmitted
to us, the wonder is that he was not detested. He married Parvardi,
daughter of a king, whose dominion was in the mountains, with whom he
lived a thousand years; but his two brothers, Bruma and Vixnu, having
disapproved of the match, gathered together the thirty thousand
millions of gods, and went in search of him. Accordingly he was found
and dragged away from his wife, which caused him to wander up and down
the earth in search of forbidden pleasures. One day the earth gave him
a son with seven heads; but as a nurse could not be got to bring up
the child, the seven stars undertook the task. Parvardi, disconsolate
at the loss of her husband, went in search of him, but could not
discover his place of abode. In her lonely state, she begged the gods
would give her a son,--a request that was complied with, for a
man-child dropped out of the sweat of her forehead. In the meantime
Rutrem returned to his house, and, finding the child, became
exceedingly enraged. His anger, however, turned into love on being
informed of the miraculous manner in which he was born. The king of
the mountains made a feast, to which the gods were invited, but
Rutrem, his son-in-law, was not asked. This want of respect provoked
him so much that he went to the banquet, and, laying hold of one of
the gods, tore off a handful of hair from his head. From the hair a
giant of enormous size started up, whose head reached to the
firmament, and struck the sun with so great violence that all its
teeth were knocked out. For this reason, the Indians refused to offer
anything to the sun but what could be eaten without teeth. Not
satisfied with knocking out the teeth of the sun, he bruised the moon
so severely that the marks remain to the present day. He then killed
several of the guests, among whom was his step-son, created from the
sweat of his mother's forehead. Vinayaguien (that was the youth's
name) lost his head, and had it replaced with that of an elephant. In
the disfigured state into which he was turned, his father dispatched
him in search of a wife as beautiful as his mother,--a task that
proved endless, because there could not be found a woman equal in
beauty to his maternal parent.
Rutrem married the River Ganges, which was represented under the form
of a blooming woman. At that time there was a giant named Piamejuran,
who had for several years undergone a severe penance for having
offended Rutrem, but, becoming sensible of his offence, desired to be
absolved. The favour was granted him, with the privilege of reducing
to ashes everything he laid his hands upon. The power with which he
was endowed proved his death. One day he went to the Ganges to bathe,
and, lifting his hand to his forehead, it reduced him to dust.
At their marriages, the Indians were very superstitious, and paid
great regard to omens. The consent of the parents being obtained, and
a fortunate day appointed, the parties met with the relations, when
the bridegroom threw three handfuls of rice on the head of the bride,
and she cast an equal quantity at him. Part of the marriage ceremony
consisted of the fathers of both bridegroom and bride putting a piece
of money and a small quantity of water into the bride's hand. This
being done, the bridegroom hung a ribbon, with a coin attached to it,
round her neck.
As soon as a man died, his beard was shaved, his body washed, lime put
into his mouth, and women rubbed his face with rice. When the body was
burned, the deceased's ashes were thrown into the Ganges, for the
water of that river was supposed to have a virtuous and holy influence
on whatever it touched. The Brahmins believed that there were five
different degrees of glory after death. Bruma, with his wife
Sarassuadi, was in the fourth state attended by a large swan, on which
he rode abroad, this god being supposed to be exceedingly fond of
travelling. None but the most innocent were exalted to the fifth seat
of glory.
Cows' dung was spread over the floors of Indian temples; and such was
the people's reverence for the cow, that when sacrificing they poured
milk on their altars. Their priests pretended that their gods had
oracles, by which they could foretell future events. When several
persons were suspected of stealing anything, and the guilty one could
not be discovered by ordinary means, the priests wrote the names of
the suspected persons on different pieces of paper, and laid them down
before the altar, and invoked their oracle, after which they locked
the doors, so that no person could get in. When they returned and
found any paper removed, the person whose name was on it was declared
to be the criminal. On the priests addressing their oracles, they
became so excited that they remained for hours seemingly in great
agony. After recovering, they explained to the people the sayings of
the oracles. The Indians had tables of astronomy which they
consulted. When the moon was eclipsed, they believed she was fighting
with a black devil.
The Indians supposed that by means of magic a man could change himself
into the form of a lion or any other animal he chose. We have heard of
one John Gondalez, who changed himself into the shape of a lion, and
in that form was shot by a Spaniard. The day on which Gondalez was
fired at he was reported to be sick. A clergyman was called in to take
his confession. The pious man, in giving an account of what he saw and
heard, said, "I saw Gondalez's face and nose all bruised, and asked
him how he had received the injuries. He told me that he had fallen
from a tree and nearly killed himself. After this he accused the
Spaniard of shooting at him. The affair was inquired into by a Spanish
justice of the peace. My evidence was taken, and I told what Gondalez
had said to me regarding his fall. The Spaniard swore that he had shot
at a lion in a thick wood, where an Indian was not likely to be."
Gondalez was examined as to how he was not seen by the Spaniard when
he went to look for the lion; to which he replied that he ran away
lest the Spaniard should kill him. As Gondalez's dealings with the
devil were well known to all in the neighbourhood, it was held that he
had received his injuries when roaming as a four-footed beast; and
therefore the justice discharged the Spaniard.
CHAPTER VIII.
John Gomez the Wizard and Man-tiger--Lopez the
Man-lion--Vermilion Marks rendered the Devil
powerless--Sacrificing Children--Offerings to the
Ganges--A Rajah offering himself as a
Sacrifice--Preventatives against Disease--Various
Superstitious Ceremonies--Sacrificing to the Gods of
the Four Winds--How the Devil was kept away--King's
Wives and Retainers going with the Dead Monarch into
the other World--An eternal Succession of Worlds--Apes
supposed to have Human Souls--Worshipping
Demons--Drinking Blood--Prognosticating from the Cries
of Beasts--Witchcraft and Magic--Singular Opinions and
Customs--Watching Graves, and providing for the
Dead--Foretelling Future Events at the New
Moon--Method of discovering a False Swearer--Offerings
to the Sea and Winds--Superstition in China--Chinese
Genealogy and Worship--Opinion of their Gods and
Goddesses--Sacrifices--Beggars--Magical Arts--False
Worship--Comfort of the Dead provided
for--Superstition in
Japan--Fortune-telling--Idols--Gods and
Goddesses--Five Hundred Children hatched from
Eggs--Human Souls supposed to reside in Inferior
Animals--Beasts held in great esteem--Statues of
Witches and Magicians placed in Temples in
Japan--Charms sold by Priests--Value of
Charms--Fortunate and Unfortunate Days--A Fairy in the
likeness of a Fox--A valuable Charm.
The gentleman (a clergyman) who told the story of John Gondalez, gives
another tale equally interesting. John Gomez, the chief of an Indian
town, was nearly eighty years of age, and reputed to be possessed of
more than ordinary shrewdness. His advice was preferred to that of all
other chiefs. He seemed to be a very godly Indian, and very seldom
missed morning and evening prayers in the church. "He was suddenly
taken ill," proceeds the clergyman; "and one of his friends, fearing
that he might die without making confession, called me up at midnight,
desiring me to go presently to John Gomez to help him to die. I
therefore visited Gomez, who lay with his face muffled. He confessed,
wept, and showed a willingness to die. I comforted him, after which I
returned home to refresh myself. Scarcely had I crossed the threshold
of my house than I was called on to visit the sick man a second time,
and give him extreme unction. As I anointed him on his nose, lips,
hands, eyes, and feet, I perceived he was swollen black and blue. I
went home again, and after I had rested a little, an Indian called to
buy candles to offer up for the soul of John Gomez, who, he told me,
had departed. I went to the church, and found the grave being prepared
for the deceased. Two Spaniards, to whom I spoke, told me of a great
stir being made in the town concerning the death of Gomez. Amused at
the information received, I desired a full and particular account of
the whole circumstances. They told me that Gomez was the chief wizard
of the town--that he was often changed into a tiger, and in that form
walked about the mountains. Wondering at this statement, I went
straight to the prison, where, I was told, I might obtain information
on the subject. At the stronghold the officers communicated to me the
whole matter. There were witnesses, they said, who saw a lion and a
tiger fighting, and presently lost sight of them, but saw in their
places Gomez and a man named Lopez. Gomez returned home much bruised,
and on his deathbed declared to his friends that Lopez had killed him.
Lopez was therefore taken into custody, and put in irons. The crown
officers investigated the case with great care, and found that the
body of Gomez was all bruised and torn in various places. Lopez, upon
this, was taken to Guatemala, and there hanged, the evidence against
him, in the estimation of the judges and people, being conclusive that
he had fatally injured Gomez while the former was in the shape of a
tiger, and the latter in the likeness of a lion."
The inhabitants of Bisnagar, Deccan, and elsewhere believed that the
moment a priest marked any one on the forehead with vermilion, the
devil had no power over the person thus distinguished. At Samorin
there was a statue to which children were sacrificed. It was of brass,
and, when heated by a furnace underneath it, the children were thrown
into its mouth and consumed. Flowers were scattered upon the altars
during the sacrifices, and herbs, steeped in the blood of a cock,
perfumed the idol. The cock's throat was cut with a silver knife
dipped in the blood of a hen. At the conclusion of the barbarous
ceremony, the priest walked backwards from the altar to the middle of
the chapel, where he threw a handful of corn over his head.
The Ganges, as is well known, was, and still is, worshipped by a large
number of people. Vast numbers of pilgrims continually visit this
great river. Formerly, if not now, they bathed in it in a peculiar
fashion, holding short straws in their hands while they were
performing their ablutions. Gold and silver were often thrown into the
stream, in testimony of admiration.
At Quailacara a remarkable ceremony took place once every twelve
years. On the morning of the important day, the rajah, who was both
high priest and sovereign, offered himself a sacrifice to the gods. He
first delivered an oration, and then with a sharp instrument cut off
his nose, lips, and ears, and concluded the tragical event by cutting
his throat. Similar ceremonies were performed in the same district by
scores of deluded devotees, who bent their steps to the most
celebrated temples, where they cut off their flesh, piece by piece,
and then stabbed themselves to death. Their bodies were burned, and
the ashes sold by the priests at high sums, as preservatives against
disease. When the people came to bathe in the Ganges in the month of
May, they erected piles of cows' dung, on which were placed baskets of
rice, roots, and every description of vegetables. These were
surrounded with wood besmeared with butter, and set on fire. From the
appearance of the smoke and flame, those present pretended to discover
whether the harvest was to be abundant or otherwise. At seed-time the
priests took branches from trees, and walked in procession with them,
going three times round the temples. A hole was then dug in the
ground, and water from the Ganges poured into it. In this hole cows'
dung and the branches were put and set on fire, and from the
appearance of the flames the arch-priest was enabled to foretell what
was to happen during the year. When a person was dying, he was carried
to a river and dipped into it, that his soul and body might be
purified. Happy was the individual who could be conveyed to the
Ganges, because its waters were supposed to be possessed of virtues
that did not exist in other rivers. Sometimes the hands of the dying
person were tied to a cow's tail, and the invalid dragged through the
water. If the cow emitted urine upon the person, it was considered a
most salutary purification. If the fluid fell plentifully upon the
expiring man, his friends testified their joy by loud acclamation,
believing he was about to be numbered among the blessed. But when the
cow did not supply the purifying liquid, the relatives showed their
grief, for they thought their dying friend was going to a place of
punishment.
At Assam and elsewhere, when a person was sick, sacrifices were
offered to the god of the four winds. If the patient died, servants
were kept beating on instruments of copper to keep away evil spirits,
supposed to be hovering round the corpse. There was a belief that if
an evil spirit passed over a dead body, the soul would return to the
inanimate remains. At a funeral procession, men surrounded the coffin
with drawn scimitars, to drive the devil away and help to confine him
to his home of darkness. At a king's death, all his wives, ministers
of state, and retainers surrounded the grave, and poisoned themselves,
in order to accompany him into the other world. Horses, camels,
elephants, and hounds were also interred along with his majesty, to be
useful to him in the world of bliss.
In Pegu, the people believed in an eternal succession of worlds, and
imagined that, as soon as one would be burned, another would spring
out of its ashes. They thought that people devoured by crocodiles went
to a place of perpetual happiness. The people believed that asses had
human souls, and, reversing the theory of Darwin that human beings
were the offspring of inferior animals, thought they were formerly
men; but, to punish them for crimes they had been guilty of, the gods
transformed them into their present shape. White elephants were much
esteemed by the people. As the devil was worshipped, altars were
erected in honour of him, and sacrifices were daily offered to appease
his wrath and obtain his favour. Devout persons refused to taste food,
before throwing part of it behind them for the dogs or devils to eat;
for they imagined that every dog was possessed with evil spirits, if
the animal was not Satan himself. It sometimes happened that a man
left his house, swept clean and genteelly furnished, for the devil to
take possession of it for a whole month.
On entering into a solemn agreement, the natives of Siam drank each
other's blood. They attentively listened to the groans and cries of
wild beasts, and prognosticated from them, and believed in witchcraft.
They imagined, as spiritualists of the present time do, that answers
were received from deceased friends or relations. Natives of the
Philippine Islands had a notion that they could know, from seeing the
first objects that presented themselves to them in the morning,
whether they would be successful or unsuccessful in their undertakings
during the day. If one of them happened to tread upon an insect when
setting out on a journey, he would proceed no further. The islanders
of the Moluccas watched the graves of their deceased relations seven
nights, for fear the devil would steal the body away, and during that
time the bed of the deceased was made as if he were alive. Further,
victuals were prepared for him, lest he should return to earth and
require nourishment. Many of the people wore bracelets, and on the
appearance of the new moon a hen's neck was cut, and the bracelets
dipped into the blood. From the appearance of the ornaments after
being taken out, future events were brought to light. When the people
of Ceylon were called upon to make oath, they wrapped their right
hands in a cloth the previous night, and when they appeared in court,
a caldron, containing a mixture of cows' dung and water, kept boiling
over a strong fire, was in readiness for the deponents, subsequent to
removing the bandages, to immerse their hands therein. This being
done, their hands were again wrapped up until next day, when the
fingers were rubbed with a linen cloth. He whose skin peeled off
first, was declared to have spoken falsehoods; and he not only lost
his cause, but was compelled to pay a penalty to the king. At the
Maldive Islands, offerings were made to the sea when a voyage was
about to be undertaken. Sacrifices were also offered to the winds,
which was done by setting fire to a new boat, and consuming it to
ashes. But if one was too poor to offer a boat, he threw into the
ocean several cocks and hens; for it was the opinion that there was in
the water a god that ate such things as were offered in sacrifice. One
was warned not to spit against the wind when at sea. The ships and
other vessels belonging to the people of these islands were
consecrated to the gods of the sea and the winds.
Superstition in China was, and still is, both general and absurd in
the extreme. The Chinese profess to have an uninterrupted genealogy of
their kings for a period of twenty-four thousand years; but,
notwithstanding their pretensions to antiquity, learned men suppose
that these people are descendants of the Egyptians. On this difficult
question, however, we do not propose to enter, and therefore proceed
to notice a few of their ridiculous customs and notions. They have
been idolaters for ages, and pay divine honours to numerous
gods--particularly to Fo, who was deified and worshipped for more than
a thousand years before the Christian era. The Chinese say that Fo was
a king's son. As soon as the infant god was born, he could speak and
walk. When young, he had four philosophers to instruct him, and at the
age of thirty he began to work miracles. Report has it that he was
born eight thousand times, and that his soul had passed through the
bodies of many different animals. The doctrine of transmigration of
souls was part of the people's creed, and this doctrine is still
believed in by the people generally. Cang-y was the god of the lower
heavens, and had power over life and death. He had three spirits
constantly attending him, the first of whom sent rain to refresh and
nourish the earth; the second was the god of the sea, to whom all
their navigators made vows before going away with ships, and performed
them on their return home; and the third presided over births and war.
The great Chinese reformer, Confucius, was born four hundred and fifty
years before Christianity was preached. As soon as he was born, two
dragomans came to guard him against harm, and the stars bowed
themselves before him. He married a wife, but, finding that she
hindered him in his pursuit of knowledge, he put her away. He lived to
the age of seventy years, when he died of a broken heart at beholding
the evils around him. The highest honours were paid to him after
death.
Hogs were offered in sacrifice to the gods. Wine was poured on the
animals' ears, and if they shook their heads at this operation they
were deemed proper objects to be offered, but if they remained
motionless they were rejected.
On the 14th August of every year sacrifices were offered by the people
to their ancestors, and all who assisted them at the solemn ceremonies
were assured that they would receive particular favours from their
dead relatives. Vast numbers of beggars constantly went about the
country. If those mendicants were refused alms, they told the people
that their souls would pass into the bodies of rats, mice, snakes,
toads, and such other creatures as they knew the Chinese abhorred.
Those mendicants told fortunes, and, if report speaks true, could
raise the wind by striking the earth with a hammer of magical virtue.
A ship captain, on going to sea, might have a fair wind and a
prosperous voyage for a moderate sum. Divination was practised by
means of household gods, of which there were many in the empire.
Conjurers and fortune-tellers were by law forbidden to frequent the
houses of civil or military officers under the pretence of prophesying
impending national calamities or successes, but the prohibition was
not understood to prevent them telling fortunes and casting nativities
by the stars in the usual manner. Whenever signs of calamity were
observed in the heavens by the officers of the astronomical board, and
they failed to give faithful notice thereof; they were punished with
one hundred and twenty blows and two years' banishment. In later times
a law was passed against sorcerers and magicians, prohibiting them,
under pain of death, from employing spells and incantations,
calculated to agitate and influence the minds of the people. Killing
by magic was by statute placed among the most serious classes of
offences. Magicians who raised evil spirits by means of magical books
and dire imprecations, or who burned incense in honour of the images
of their worship when they assembled by night to instruct their
followers, were strangled.
It was enacted by the Chinese laws, that if any members of a private
family performed the ceremony of the adoration of heaven and of the
north star, and lighted the lamps of the sky and of that star, they
were guilty of profanation, and liable to be punished with eighty
blows. When a dead body was laid in the coffin, the mouth of the
deceased was filled with corn, rice, silver, and gold; and scissors,
tied up in purses, were put into the coffin, that the departed person
might cut his nails as often as he pleased.
There was a sect in Japan called Jammabugi, who studied magic chiefly
among the rocks and mountains. They procured a subsistence by
pretending to tell fortunes. They possessed an almost incredible
number of idols, one of which was Abbuto, noted for curing inveterate
diseases, and for procuring a favourable wind at sea. To secure a
quick passage, sailors and passengers were wont to throw money into
the ocean as an offering to this idol.
The Japanese had gods for almost everything. A most ridiculous account
is given of their goddess of riches. When a mortal, she had no
children by her husband, which caused her to supplicate the gods to
give her offspring. Her prayers were heard, and she produced five
hundred eggs. Being afraid that if the eggs were hatched they would
bring forth monsters, she packed them up in a box bearing a particular
mark, and threw them into a river. An old fisherman found the box,
and, seeing it full of eggs, carried it home to his wife. Not having a
sufficient number of hens to hatch so many eggs, she put them into an
oven, and, to the surprise of the aged couple, every egg produced a
child. The two old people succeeded in bringing up the strange progeny
to manhood, for they were all sons. They became robbers and beggars by
turn; and it happened, one day during their rambles, that they came to
their mother's house. From inquiries she made, it became clear that
the young ruffians were her own children. She kept them, and reared
them up to be virtuous and useful. She was afterwards taken up from
the earth to be among the gods, where she remains, attended by her
five hundred sons.
Apes and monkeys, as well as other creatures, were worshipped in
Japan. So great faith did the people of that country put in the
transmigration of souls, that they had hospitals for the reception of
animals in whose bodies souls were supposed to reside. In a wood near
Jeddo there were many sacred animals, daily fed by priests. These
animals, the priests said, were animated by the souls of the most
noble and illustrious heroes that ever lived. The people had such a
profound veneration for stags, that they were to be seen in every
street as numerous as the dogs in our country. If one killed a stag,
not only was he condemned to die, but the houses where the deed was
committed were razed to the ground. Dogs were held in great esteem.
The inhabitants of every street were obliged to support a fixed number
of them, they being quartered on the people like so many soldiers.
When a dog died, it was buried among human remains. A man who killed a
canine creature was punished with death. Fish were looked upon as
sacred. Near the capital was a river that was so plentifully stocked
with fish, that they thrust one another ashore, yet not one of them
was injured. The people believed that if they touched one of the finny
tribe, they would be smitten with leprosy, and it was considered an
unpardonable sin to eat any of them. A belief prevailed, that fish
possessed the souls of naval officers. Statues of witches, magicians,
and devils find places in the Japan temples.
Charms were sold by the priests, which were represented to possess the
virtue of curing diseases and driving away the devil. Money was
sometimes borrowed on security of charms, not to be repaid in this
world. A note was given, authorizing payment of the money in the land
of spirits; and when the holder of the document died, his relations
put it into his hand, believing that the debt would be duly paid to
the deceased. The Japanese thought certain days were more fortunate
than others. A table of their fortunate and unfortunate days was hung
up in the passage of every house, for the guidance of the family when
they went out. This table of days was prepared by a celebrated
astrologer of universal knowledge in all mysteries, whether relating
to the stars, dreams, or omens. Like other men of note in the East, he
was born in a miraculous manner. His father was a prince, and his
mother a fox. It appears that the lady fox being pursued by huntsmen,
ran to and obtained protection from his highness. The creature
discovered herself to be a fairy, and, throwing off her false
appearance, became a beautiful princess. The prince being enamoured
with her charms, married her, and had by her the celebrated astrologer
spoken of. When he grew up he invented a set of mysterious terms,
which he comprised within the compass of one verse, as a charm or
protection for such persons as were compelled to work on unlucky days;
and every one who repeated the verse reverently on the morning of an
unlucky day, was preserved from all the evils that would have
otherwise befallen him.
THE GODS AND GODDESSES OF HEATHEN NATIONS.
CHAPTER IX.
The Classification of Gods and Goddesses--Primeval
Parent Chaos--Creation--Influence of Ether--The Human
Race in danger of Perishing--Celestial Fire--Birth of
Cupid--Banishment of Cupid from the Blest
Abodes--Cupid's Armour--Fate--Eternal Decrees--Throne
of Jove--Fortune and Happiness--Misfortune and
Misery--Twofold Nature--Rewards and Punishments--First
Man and Woman--Pan the Emblem of all Things--Power of
Heathen Gods--Descriptions of Juno--Venus the Goddess
of Love and Beauty--Rustics turned into
Frogs--Vulcan--AEolus--Momus the Jester--The Carping
God's Fault-finding--Improper Position of the Bull's
Horns--Minerva as a House--Window in Man's Breast.
We do not intend to notice at great length the ancient opinions and
writings concerning the deities which heathen nations thought presided
over the world and the heavens, and influenced the affairs of the
spheres above and below; but as much of comparatively modern
superstition has been traced to mythology, generally so called, we
cannot pass without observation the history of the gods, nor avoid
giving such extracts therefrom as bear particularly on our subject,
"The Collected Mysteries of all Nations."
The gods and goddesses of heathen nations were classified as
follows:--1st, the celestial gods and goddesses; 2nd, the terrestrial
deities; 3rd, the marine and river gods and goddesses; 4th, the
infernal gods; 5th, the subordinate and miscellaneous deities; 6th,
the ascriptious gods, demigods, and heroes; and 7th, the modal
deities. Ancient writers speak thus:
"When the primeval parent Chaos, hoary with unnumbered ages, was first
moved by the breath of Erebus, she brought forth her enormous
first-born Hyle, and at the same portentous birth the amiable almighty
Eros, chief of the immortals. They had no sooner come to light than
they produced the terrible Titans."
Again we are informed that--"Ere the universe appeared; ere the sun
mounted on high, or the moon gave her pale light; ere the vales were
stretched out below, or the mountains reared their towering heads; ere
the winds began to blow, or the rivers to flow, or plants or trees had
sprung from the earth; while the heavens lay hid in the mighty mass,
and the stars were unknown, the various parts of which the wondrous
creation consists lay jumbled without form in the Abyss of Being."
There, it is said, they had lain for ever and ever if the breath of
the terrible Erebus, the spirit that dwelt in eternal darkness, had
not gone forth and put the mass into vital agitation.
From another source we learn that, first of all, Chaos existed; next
in order the broad Earth; and then Love appeared, the most beautiful
of all things. Of Chaos sprang Erebus and dusty Night, and of Erebus
and Night came Ether and smiling Day.
The Earth conceived by the influence of Ether, and brought forth man
and every description of animal. The human race was in danger of
perishing from the face of earth. Naked, needy, and ignorant, they
passed their dreary days, living in caves and lurking in woods like
wild beasts. They were alike destitute of laws and arts. Their food
consisted of herbs. Often were they compelled to fly before the
mountain tigers and bears of the forest, while they were nearly frozen
to death. Thus they lived in wretchedness until Prometheus came to
their relief. He called Pallas, the goddess of wisdom, to his aid. By
her assistance he mounted to heaven, where he secretly held the reed
he carried in his hand to the wheel of the sun's chariot. In this way
he obtained the celestial fire, and conveyed it to Earth, where he
presented it to man. Prometheus did not stop here: he instructed man
in arts and industry of almost every description.
There is an interesting account of Cupid. The goddess of beauty, we
are informed, brought forth a delicate infant, whom she gave to the
Graces to nurse. Unhappily, the child neither throve in person, nor
put forth feathers to cover the wings which he had. Under this
affliction, Cupid's mother and nurses had recourse to the most ancient
and infallible Themis, who gave this answer: That love came, for the
most part, single into the world, but that the child would not thrive
until his mother brought forth another son. Then the one would thrive
in virtue of the other; but if the one died, the other could not long
survive. Venus brought forth another son, Anteros. He no sooner came
into being, than his elder brother Cupid grew, and his wings were soon
fledged. So strong did the little urchin become, that he flew to
heaven. There he associated with the Muses, became intimate with
Mercury, kept company with Hymen, and grew in favour with every one
except the implacable Momus. Unfortunately, Cupid became insolent and
vain, behaving with arrogance to the superior powers. He made enmity
reign where peace and concord should have been found. Feuds raged
among the gods and goddesses on his account. To rid themselves of a
pest, the rulers of heaven called an assembly of the gods, to consider
how peace could be restored. Cupid was accused of being a public
incendiary, a disturber of good order; and the fomenter of discord
being found guilty, he was banished from the blest abodes; ordered to
be a retainer of Ceres and Bacchus on earth; and doomed to have his
wings stripped of their feathers, that he might not again infest the
confines of heaven.
Cupid is now armed with two bows, one of which he bends with the aid
of the Graces, to secure a happy smiling lot, and he with the other,
blind-folded, lets fly his arrows, to the confusion and misery of many
in life. Like his mother, he is constantly in want. He is eager,
ravenous, and wandering about bare-footed, without home or habitation,
sleeping before doors or by the wayside, under the open sky. But at
the same time he is ever forming designs upon all that is beautiful,
is forward, cunning, and fond of new tricks.
Fate mysteriously clings round this earth, the heavens, and the
creatures in the regions above and below. When Jupiter heard of the
death of his son Sarpedon, in great grief he called on Mercury to go
instantly to the Fates, and bring from them the strong box in which
the eternal decrees are laid up. Mercury went to the Fatal Sisters,
and delivered his message. The Sisters smiled, and told him that the
other end of the golden chain which secured the box with the
unalterable decrees was so fixed to the throne of Jove, that were it
to be unfastened, the master's seat itself might be shaken.
Jupiter holds in his hands the unerring balance of fate. Close to his
throne stand the two inexhaustible urns--the one filled with good
fortune and happiness, the other with misfortune and misery. Out of
these is mixed a dose of life to every mortal man; and as the draught
is, so are one's days embittered with disasters, or made pleasant with
serenity, ease, and prosperity. To every star is allotted a mind, and
all things have their fixed irrevocable laws. The human nature is
twofold; and man, who lives well on earth, returns after death to the
habitations of his congenial star, and there leads a blessed life;
but, failing in his duties, he is doomed to live a thousand years in
a degraded state. Sometimes a human soul is destined to animate a
wild beast, never to be relieved until it reattain the purest of its
first and best existence.
The Goths and Vandals entertained the opinion that the first man and
woman were made of an ash-tree. Odin, it is said, gave them breath,
Hener endowed them with reason, and Lodur injected blood into their
veins, and provided them with beautiful faces.
Pan has been represented as the emblem of all things, and among the
learned of early times he passed for the first and oldest of the
divinities. His person is composed of various and opposite parts--a
man and a goat. According to the most ancient Egyptians and Greeks, he
had neither father nor mother, but sprang of Demogorgon at the same
instant with the Fatal Sisters, the Parcae.
The power of the heathen gods and goddesses is reported as truly
wonderful. Apollo turned Daphne, whom he loved, into a laurel, and his
boy Hyacinth into a violet. Mars was the son of Jupiter and Juno, or,
according to Ovid, of Juno alone, who conceived him at the smell of a
flower shown her by the goddess Flora.
Juno is esteemed the goddess of kingdoms and riches. She is
represented as a majestic beautiful woman, riding in a golden chariot
drawn by peacocks, waving a sceptre in her hand, and wearing a crown
set about with roses and lilies, and encircled with fair Iris, or the
rainbow. She is also supposed to preside over matrimony and births,
and is the guardian angel of woman.
Venus is the goddess of love and beauty; she sprang from the foam of
the sea. As soon as she was born she was cast upon the island of
Cyprus, where she was educated, and afterwards being carried to
heaven, was married to Vulcan. Her image is fair and beautiful; she is
clothed with purple, glittering with diamonds. There are two Cupids on
her side, while around her are the Graces. Her chariot is of ivory,
drawn by swans, doves, or swallows.
Whilst Latona was wandering through the fields of Lycia, she desired
to drink from a spring at the bottom of a valley, but the country
rustics drove her away. In spite of her entreaties, they refused to
allow her to slake her thirst, whereupon, in wrath, she, cursing them,
said, "May ye always live in this water!" Immediately they were turned
into frogs, and leaped into the streams and pools, where they
continued to exist.
Vulcan, notwithstanding his noble descent, is obliged to follow the
trade of a blacksmith. On account of his deformity, he was cast down
from heaven into the isle of Lemnos. His leg was broken by the fall.
He erected a forge, where he makes thunderbolts for his father Jupiter
and armour for the other gods. His servants are called Cyclops,
because they have but one eye. Though Vulcan is unpleasant in the
sight of others, Venus thinks him the most beautiful of all the
divinities.
AEolus keeps the winds under his power in a cave in the AEolian Islands,
where he dwells. He can raise storms and hurricanes, and restrain
their rage at pleasure.
Momus is a jester, mocker, or mimic. His life is spent in idleness,
merely observing the sayings and doings of the gods, and then
censuring and deriding them. For instance, when Neptune was made a
bull, Minerva a house, and Vulcan a man, Momus was appointed to judge
as to whom the greatest skill was manifested in creation. The carping
god disapproved of all. He found fault with the bull for not having
his horns before his eyes in his forehead, that he might be enabled to
push the surer. He condemned the house, because it was fixed and could
not be carried away in case it was placed in a bad neighbourhood. But
the god, he said, who made man, was most imprudent because he did not
make a window in the human breast, that the thoughts might be seen.
CHAPTER X.
Satyrs described--Diana's Retirement--Pallas, the
Goddess of Shepherds and Pasture--The vile
Flora--Pomona deceived--Celestial Nymphs--Terrestrial
Nymphs--River Gods and Goddesses--Sirens--Witch
Circe--Infernal Deities--Passage to Tartarus--Palace
of Pluto--Judges of Hell--Goddesses of
Destiny--Furies--Night, Death, and Sleep: by whom
presided over--Names of Monsters condemned in the
place of Punishment--Tartarian Regions--Delights of
the Elysian Fields--Food and Drink of Pagan
Gods--Festivals of Heathens--Colour of
Gods--Sacrifices to Deities--Things sacred to Gods.
Satyrs are partly of human likeness and partly of bestial shape. They
have heads of human form, with horns and brutish ears; they have
crooked hands, rough hairy bodies, goats' legs and feet and tails. The
chief of these monsters is the god Pan, the inventor of the musical
pipe.
Diana, out of love to Chastity, avoids consort with men, retires into
the woods, and there diverts herself with hunting, whence she is
reckoned the goddess of the woods and the chase. Pallas is esteemed
the goddess of shepherds and pasture, and is the reputed inventress of
corn, and is thought by some to be Ceres or Vesta. Flora is the
goddess of flowers. By a vile trade, she accumulated a vast amount of
money, and made the people of Rome her heirs, who, in return, placed
her among the divinities.
Ferona and Pomona are two goddesses of trees and fruits. The latter
was advised by the god Vertumnus to enter the matrimonial state in the
guise of a hagged old woman; but without success, till he appeared to
her as a fair young man, and then she felt the power of love, and
yielded to his wishes. The Nymphs are a company of neat charming
virgins, living near the gardens of Pomona. They are of three
classes:--1st the Celestial Nymphs, called Genii, who guide the
spheres and dispense the influences of the stars to things on earth.
2nd, the Terrestrial Nymphs, as Dryades, who preside over the woods
and live in the oaks; and Hamadryades, who are born and die with the
oaks; the Oreades, who preside over the mountains; the Napaeae, who
preside over the groves and valleys; the Limnatides, who look after
the meadows and fields. 3rd, Marine Nymphs.
As the chief of the marine and river gods and goddesses, Neptune
stands at the head. He is represented with black hair and blue eyes,
arrayed in a mantle of azure, holding a trident in his right hand, and
embracing his queen with his left arm. He stands upright in his
chariot, drawn by sea horses, and is attended by nymphs. Proteus is
the son of Neptune, but some say he is the offspring of Oceanus and
Tethys. His business is to tend the sea-calves. He can turn himself
into any shape. Triton, the son and trumpeter of Neptune, is a man to
the middle and a dolphin below; he has two fore feet, like those of
horses, and is provided with two tails. Oceanus is the son of C[oe]lum
and Vesta, husband to Tethys, god of the sea, and father of the rivers
and springs. Nereus, also the son of Oceanus and Tethys, is father of
fifty daughters, called Nereides or Sea Nymphs. Palaemon and his mother
Ino, together with the fisherman Glaucus, are reckoned among the sea
deities. The Sirens resemble mermaids, having the faces of women, but
bodies of flying fish. They are reported to be excellent songsters,
that play on the Sicilian coasts, and tempt passengers on shore, where
they sing them asleep and kill them. Scylla and Charybdis are two
other sea monsters. Scylla is the daughter of Phorcys, and beloved by
Glaucus, whom therefore the witch Circe by her enchantments turned
into a rock, with dogs around her. Charybdis is a very ravenous woman,
who stole Hercules's oxen, for which crime Jupiter struck her dead
with a thunder-bolt, and then turned her into a gulf or whirlpool in
the Sicilian Sea. The Sea Nymphs are the Nereides already referred to.
The Naides or Naiades preside over fountains and springs; the
Potameides preside over rivers, and Limniades over lakes.
In noticing the Infernal Deities, we shall describe the dismal
regions, where wicked spirits dwell, and over which they are reported
to preside. The name commonly given to these regions is Hades or
Tartarus, understood to signify hell. The passage leading thereto is a
wide dark cave, through which one has to pass by a steep rocky descent
till he arrives at a gloomy grove and an unnavigable lake called
Avernus, from which such poisonous vapours rise as to kill birds
flying over it. Yet over this lake the souls of the dead must pass. To
assist them, an old decrepit, long-bearded fellow, the oft-heard of
Charon, attends with a ferry-boat to carry them to the other side, at
a fare not less than a halfpenny.
After this there are four rivers to be passed over--Acheron, whose
waters are very bitter; the Styx, a lake rather than a river, and so
sacred to the gods, that if any of them swore by it and broke his
oath, he was deprived of his godhead, and was prohibited from drinking
nectar for a hundred years; the river Cocytus, which flows out of Styx
with a lamentable groaning, resembling the painful sounds and
exclamations of the damned; the river Phlegethon, so called because it
swells with waves of fire and streams of flames.
The souls having passed these rivers, are conducted to the palace of
Pluto, king of the infernal regions, where the gate is guarded by
Cerberus, a dog with three heads, whose body is covered with snakes in
place of hair. This dog is the porter of hell.
Pluto initiated funeral obsequies for the dead: he sits on a throne
covered with darkness, holding a key in his hand, and crowned with
ebony. Beside him is his queen Proserpina, whom he stole from Ceres.
Minos, AEacus, and Rhadamanthus are judges in hell. The first two are
sons of Jupiter by Europa, and the last is his son by AEgina. These
are believed to judge the souls of the dead.
The Fates are named Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos, and are the
goddesses of destiny. They order and manage the fatal thread of life.
Clotho draws the thread, Lachesis turns the wheel, and Atropos cuts
the string asunder when spun to a due length.
The Furies, called sometimes Eumenides, Dirae, and Manes, are the
daughters of Nox and Acheron: their names are Alecto, Tisiphone, and
Megaera, and are known by the common name of Erinnys. They have faces
like women, their looks are full of terror, they hold lighted torches
in their hands, and snakes and serpents cling to their necks and
shoulders. Their office is to punish the crimes of wicked men, and to
torment and frighten them by following them with ghastly looks and
burning material.
Erebus and Nox preside over darkness and the night; Mors over death;
and Somnus is the god of sleep, who, by his servant Morpheus, sends
dreams to men while asleep.
Besides others, there are in the infernal regions the following
monsters:--The Centaurs, whose upper parts are human, but whose bodies
and legs are those of a horse. They were begotten of a cloud by Ixion.
Gorgon is a monster with three heads. The Harpies, born of Oceanus and
Terra, have the faces of virgins, and the bodies of birds with claws.
Their names are Ocypete, Aello, and Celeno. The Gorgons are Medusa,
Stheno, and Euryale, daughters of Phorcys and Cete. They have heads
covered with snakes instead of hair, which so terrifies beholders that
they immediately turn into stones. The Lamiae and Empusae have each only
one eye and one tooth. They have faces, necks, and breasts like women,
but their bodies are covered with scales, and they have the tails of
serpents. The Chim[oe]ra is a monster that vomits fire, and has the
head and breast of a lion, the belly of a goat, and the tail of a
dragon. The Sphinx, begotten of Typhon and Echidna, has the head and
face of a virgin, the wings of a bird, and the body of a dog. A riddle
she put forth being explained by [OE]dipus, so enraged her that she
threw herself from a rock and was killed.
The most famous of the condemned in the place of punishment are the
Giants; they are great in stature, and have horrible feet, like
dragons. They make war against the celestial gods, but never prevail,
and are struck down to hell by Jupiter's thunder-bolts and the arms of
the gods. The principal offenders are Typhon, AEgaeon, Al[oe]us, and
Tityus; and, to prevent them rising again, the Island of Sicily is
fixed on Typhon, and Mount AEtna on AEgaeon, and Tityus is doomed to have
a vulture always gnawing his liver, which grows afresh every month.
Phlegias fired Apollo's temple at Delphi, for which he was sentenced
to have a great stone hung over his head, ready every moment to fall
and crush him to pieces. Ixion, for an assault on Juno, was struck
down to hell, and tied to a wheel, which kept continually turning.
Sisyphus is a notorious robber, condemned to roll a stone up to the
top of a hill, which is made to roll down again immediately; and as he
has to begin and roll it up again as soon as it comes down, his labour
is perpetual. The Danaides are fifty virgins (sisters), who all but
one, by the command of their father Danaus, slew their husbands on
their wedding night. For this they were condemned to draw water out of
a deep well, to fill a tub whose bottom was full of holes like a
sieve. Tantalus invited the gods to a feast, and, to improve their
divinity, he killed, boiled, and served up Pelops on the table before
them to eat. They refused to partake of this horrid dish, and
condemned Tantalus to stand in water which he could not drink, and to
have meat placed before him which he could not taste, though suffering
the pangs of hunger and thirst--a punishment he was to endure for
ever.
In the Tartarian regions there is a place supposed to abound with all
kinds of pleasures and delights, called Elysium, because thither the
souls of good men are conveyed after being freed from the body. This
is the heathen paradise, consisting of pleasant plains, the most
verdant fields, the shadiest groves, and the finest and most temperate
air that can be found. After the souls of the pious have spent many
ages in these Elysian fields, they drink the water of the river Lethe,
which makes them forget all things past; and then they return to the
world and pass into new bodies.
The Pagan deities have ambrosia for their food, and nectar for their
drink, both of which have the property of giving immortality to those
who partake of them.
The festivals of the heathens were many, as almost every deity was
allowed sacred honours. In sacrificing, the animals offered to the
celestial deities were white, and those to the infernal gods were
black. To Jupiter a white ox was sacrificed; to Neptune, Mars, and
Apollo a bull, ram, and boar; to Ceres, milk, honey, and a sow-pig
were offered; to AEsculapius, goats and poultry; to the Lares, a cock;
to the Sun, a horse; to Juno, a she-lamb; to Venus, a dove; to Diana,
a crow; to Pan and Minerva, she-goats; and to the Fauns, kids.
The fir and vine were sacred to Bacchus, the cypress to Pluto, the
cedar to the Furies, the ash to Mars, the oak to Jove, the laurel to
Apollo, the myrtle to Venus, the olive to Minerva, the poplar to
Hercules, the pine to Cybele, and the rose to Venus.
CHAPTER XI.
Achilles's Mother--Prediction concerning the taking of
Troy--Bravery, Armour, Love, and Death of
Achilles--Acrisius's Daughter--Danae and her son
Perseus--Ardea changed into a Bird--Pluto's Invisible
Helmet--Minerva's Buckler--Mercury's Wings--Medusa
deprived of Life--Sea Monster--A Gorgon's Head and its
Virtues--Stheno and Euryale not subject to Old Age or
Death--Minerva's Revenge against Medusa--Serpents in
Africa and Pegasus produced by Medusa's Blood--Tales
by the Daughters of Minyas--Punishment by Bacchus--The
Search of Cadmus for his sister Europa--Halcyon's
Sorrow--Transmigration--Strength and Exploits of
Hercules--Love Potion--Hymen--Jason's
Adventures--Power and Cruelty of Medea--How a
Favourable Wind was procured--Manner in which Orion
came into Existence--False Swearer
punished--Palladium--The Life and Deeds of
Paris--Golden Apple--Marriage of Peleus and
Thetis--Impiety of Pentheus--Rhea and her Sons--Scylla
turned into a Sea Monster.
Achilles's mother being endowed with a prophetic spirit, knew that her
son would lose his life at Troy. She dipped him in the river Styx, by
which he was rendered invulnerable, except in the heel, by which he
was held during the operation. The seer Calchas announced that,
without Achilles, Troy could not be taken. His mother, to keep him
from danger, concealed him among King Lycomedes's daughters, disguised
as a girl; but being discovered by Ulysses, he joined his countrymen,
and sailed for the Trojan coast. After giving many proofs of his
bravery and military prowess, he quarrelled with Agamemnon,
commander-in-chief of the Grecian army, and in disgust withdrew from
the contest. During the absence of Achilles, the Trojans were
victorious; but his friend Patroclus, clad in his armour, having
rashly encountered Hector, fell by the hand of that hero. Achilles, to
revenge his death, resolved instantly to take the field. For this
purpose, Vulcan, at the request of Thetis, made her son a complete
suit of armour and weapons. With these celestial arms, many of the
Trojans were put to death. Achilles, falling in love with Polyxena, a
daughter of the Trojan king, whilst soliciting her hand in the temple
of Minerva, was wounded by her brother Paris in the heel, which caused
his death.
Acrisius, the son of Abas, king of Argos and Ocalea, being informed by
an oracle that he would be put to death by his daughter Danae's son,
confined her in a tower, to prevent her having children; but without
effect, for Jupiter, in a golden shower, entered the chamber of Danae,
and she became the mother of Perseus. She and her infant son were
then, by order of Acrisius, exposed to the sea in a slender bark,
which the wind drifted to Seriphus, where both were taken ashore by
some fishermen and carried to Polydectes, the king of the island. The
king conceived a violent attachment to the mother, but sought the
destruction of the son. Danae and her son left Seriphus and went to
Larissa. Danae built Ardea; and on its being burned, the inhabitants
said it was changed into a bird. Perseus, by the aid of Pluto's
invisible helmet, Minerva's buckler, and Mercury's wings (the
Talaria), and short dagger made of diamonds (called Herpe), deprived
Medusa, one of the Gorgons, of life, and carried off her head in
triumph. He killed the sea monster to which Andromeda was exposed, and
then married her. A memorable battle ensued at their nuptials.
Phineus, the uncle of Andromeda, who passionately loved her, entered
with a band of armed men, and attempted to carry her off by violence.
But Perseus made a brave resistance; and at last, finding himself on
the point of being overpowered, presented the Gorgon's head, which
instantly turned all his enemies to stone in the posture in which they
were then standing. Immediately after this he returned to Seriphus, in
time to protect his mother from the insult of Polydectes, to whom
Perseus showed the Gorgon's head, which converted him into stone also.
Medusa, it will be remembered, was the only one of the three Gorgons
who was mortal. Her sisters, Stheno and Euryale, were neither subject
to old age nor death. She greatly surpassed the other two in elegance
of figure and comeliness of face; but in nothing was her superiority
more remarkable than in the beauty of her locks. Minerva, provoked
either because her temple had been profaned, or because her personal
charms had been slighted by Medusa, who had preferred her own beauty
to that of the goddess, turned her fine hair, of which she boasted
greatly, into serpents, and gave to her eyes the power of converting
to stone all at whom she looked. The blood which fell from Medusa's
head when Perseus carried it over Africa in his flight, was supposed
to produce the numerous serpents which infest that country, and also
the winged horse Pegasus.
But to return to Acrisius. Let us see whether the prediction of the
Oracle, that foretold he would be put to death by his daughter's son,
was fulfilled. The fame of his grandson, after his remarkable
adventures, having reached the ears of Acrisius, he went to Larissa to
see him, at the time Teutamis was celebrating funereal games in honour
of his father. To this city Perseus had repaired with the view of
distinguishing himself among the combatants. Here he accidentally
killed, with a quoit, an old man, who was found to be his grandfather
Acrisius, and thus verified the oracular prediction.
Alcithoe and her sisters denied the divinity of Bacchus, and refused
to join in his worship. Whilst the Theban women were employed
celebrating the orgies of that god, the daughters of Minyas (for that
was their father's name) continued at their looms. To enliven their
hours of labour, one of them proposed that each in her turn should
relate some amusing tale, to which, the other sisters agreeing, she
with whom the idea originated was requested to begin. After hesitating
for some time which of her numerous collections would be most
agreeable--whether Babylonian Dercetis changed to a fish or her
daughter to a dove, or Naias, who by magic transformed young men to
fishes, or the tree the berries of which were formerly white, but
turned to purple by being stained with blood--she preferred the last
in consequence of its being little known. She then narrates the simple
but beautiful and affecting fable of Pyramus and Thisbe. Leuconoe
next, after mentioning the exposure of Mars and Venus, relates the
history of Leucothoe, with whom Apollo fell in love, and afterwards
turned into a rod of frankincense. To this she adds the fiction of
Clytie, whom the same god changed into a sunflower. Alcithoe being
then requested by her sisters to tell a story--despising as too common
the fables of Daphnis, a shepherd on Mount Ida, who, for violating his
marriage promise, was transformed to stone; of Scython, who changed
his sex; of Celemis, a nurse of Jupiter, converted to adamant; and of
the nymph Similax, and her lover Crocus, turned into flowers--prefers
the history of the fountain Salmacis, who conceived a violent
attachment for Hermaphroditus, the son of Mercury and Venus. These
sisters, having discontinued their narrating, remained still obstinate
in their contempt of Bacchus, who, in revenge, changed their
implements into vines and ivy, and themselves into bats.
Cadmus, a son of Agenor, king of Ph[oe]nicia, and Telephassa or
Agriope, was ordered by his father to go in search of his sister
Europa, whom Jupiter had carried away, and not to return unless he
found her. His search being unsuccessful, he is said to have consulted
the oracle of Apollo, by which he was commanded to build a city where
he saw a heifer standing on the grass, and call the country B[oe]otia.
Having found the heifer, he sent his men to a fountain for water,
which was at no great distance, that he might offer a sacrifice in
gratitude to the god. But the spring being sacred to Mars, a dragon
guarded it, which devoured all his men. By the art of Minerva, he
overcame the dragon, and sowed its teeth, which grew up armed men,
who, on his throwing a stone amongst them, began to fight, and all
were killed except five, who assisted him in building Thebes. Hence
Pentheus, in addressing the Thebans, calls them Anguigenae, serpent or
snake-descended. The ferocity of the petty tribes who inhabit that
part of Greece, and Cadmus's plan of subduing the natives by artfully
exciting them to fight against each other until the strength and
resources of the contending parties were quite exhausted,
satisfactorily explain the tale of the dragon, the armed men that
sprang from his teeth, and the stone which he threw among them. He
afterwards married Harmonia or Harmonie, the daughter of Mars and
Venus, by whom he had one son and four daughters. In advanced life,
oppressed with sorrow at the fate of his daughter Ino and her two
sons, he fled from Thebes to Illyricum, where he was changed into a
dragon.
Halcyone's husband, Ceyx, a king of Trachinia, was drowned while
attempting to cross to Claros to consult the Oracle. Disconsolate in
consequence of his departure, she incessantly implored the gods for
his safe return. Juno, moved by her constant prayers for her husband
after his death, and compassionating the violence of her sorrow,
entreated Somnus to send Morpheus, who, assuming the form and voice of
Ceyx, appeared in a dream, and informed her of his fate. Frantic with
grief, she ran to the beach, and, according to her dream, found the
body of Ceyx floating lifeless to the shore. The queen of Trachinia
was changed into a bird, in her attempt to reach by a bound the body
of her husband, which she no sooner touched than it underwent the same
transformation. Their mutual attachments remaining, they continue to
live together as birds, distinguished by the same tenderness and
affection which had marked their conjugal state when in the human
form.
Hercules was possessed of the greatest physical strength. He had a
great enemy in Hera, who, knowing that the child who should be born
that day was fated to rule over all the descendants of Perseus,
contrived to delay the birth of Hercules and hasten that of
Eurystheus. Eurystheus thus, by decree of fate, became chief of the
Perseidae. While yet in the cradle, Hercules showed his divine origin
by strangling two serpents sent by Hera to destroy him. In course of
time Eurystheus summoned Hercules to appear before him, and ordered
him to perform the labours which, by priority of birth, he was
empowered to impose on him. Hercules, unwilling to obey, went to
Delphi to consult the Oracle, and was informed that he must perform
ten labours imposed on him by Eurystheus, after which he should attain
to immortality. The first labour imposed on him was to destroy the
lion that haunted the forests of Nemea and Cleonae, and could not be
wounded by the arrows of a mortal. Hercules boldly attacked the lion
and strangled him. The second was to destroy the Learnaean hydra, which
he accomplished with the aid of Iolaus; but because he obtained
assistance in his work, Eurystheus refused to reckon it. Hercules's
third labour was to catch the hind of Diana, famous for its swiftness,
its golden horns, and brazen feet. The fourth was to bring alive to
Eurystheus a wild boar, which ravaged the neighbourhood of Erymanthus.
The fifth was to cleanse the stables of Augeas, king of Elis, where
three thousand oxen had been confined for many years; which task he
accomplished in one day, by turning the rivers Alpheus and Peneus
through the stables. For certain reasons this exploit was not counted.
His sixth was to destroy the carnivorous birds, with brazen wings,
beaks, and claws, which ravaged the country near the lake Stymphalis,
in Arcadia. The seventh was to bring alive to Peloponnesus a bull,
remarkable for its beauty and strength, which Poseidon had given to
Minos, king of Crete, in order that he might sacrifice it; which
Minos refusing to do, Poseidon made the bull mad, and it laid waste
the island. Hercules brought the bull on his shoulders to Eurystheus,
who set it at liberty. The eighth labour was to obtain the mares of
Diomedes, king of the Bistones, in Thrace, which fed upon human flesh.
The ninth was to bring the girdle of Hippolyta, queen of the Amazons.
The tenth was to kill the monster Geryon, and bring his herds to
Argos. These were all the labours originally imposed on Hercules; but
as Eurystheus acknowledged only eight of them, Hercules was commanded
to perform two more. The eleventh labour was to obtain the golden
apples from the garden of the Hesperides. Atlas, who knew where to
find the apples, brought them to Hercules, who meantime supported the
vault of heaven. The last labour was to bring from the infernal
regions the three-headed dog Cerberus. When Hercules brought the dog
to Eurystheus, the latter, pale with fright, ordered him to be set at
liberty, whereupon Cerberus immediately sank into the earth.
Hercules's servitude was now ended, but his great performances were
not. He fought with the centaurs and giants. When his period of
slavery had ended, he married Dejanira; with her he went to Trachinia.
At the river Evenus he encountered the centaur Nessus. Nessus, under
pretence of carrying Dejanira over, attempted to offer her violence,
which caused Hercules to slay him with a poisoned arrow. Nessus,
before expiring, instructed Dejanira how to prepare a love potion for
Hercules. He erected an altar to Zeus Kenaeos. In order to celebrate
the rite with due solemnity, he sent Lichas to Trachis for a white
garment. Dejanira, being jealous, anointed the robe with the philter
she had received from Nessus. Hercules put it on, and immediately the
poison penetrated his bones. Maddened by the pain, he seized Lichas by
the feet and flung him into the sea. He tore off the dress, but it
stuck to his flesh, which was thus torn from his bones. Dejanira,
being informed of what had taken place, destroyed herself. Hercules
repaired to Mount [OE]ta, where he erected a funeral pile, and,
ascending it, commanded that it should be set on fire. The pile was
suddenly surrounded by a dark cloud, in which, amid thunder and
lightning, he was carried up to heaven.
Hymen, the god of marriage, attended the celebration of marriage, and
the ancients believed the parties would be miserable during the
remainder of their lives unless he attended.
Jason was a famous hero of antiquity. No sooner had he finished his
education under the centaur Chiron, than he went boldly to Pelias, who
had banished him, and mounted the throne, and demanded the kingdom.
Pelias, for various reasons, durst not appeal to arms, but, to
accomplish the warlike youth's ruin, advised him to undertake an
expedition against AEetes, king of Colchis, who had murdered their
relation Phryxus, and, on his return, promised to resign to him the
crown. To this proposal Jason agreed, and undertook the voyage to
obtain the golden fleece, so celebrated in history under the name of
the Argonautic Expedition. After a series of wonderful adventures he
arrived at Colchis; and by the assistance of Medea, the king's
daughter, whom he promised to marry, he fulfilled the hard terms on
which he was to accomplish the object of his voyage. By her aid and
directions, he was enabled to tame the bulls with horns and feet of
brass, which breathed nothing but fire, and to plough with them a
certain field; to kill a huge serpent, from whose teeth sprang up
armed men; to destroy a dreadful dragon, which watched continually at
the foot of the tree on which the golden fleece was suspended; and
then to carry off the prize in the presence of all the Colchians, who
were equally confounded at his intrepidity and success. He returned to
Thessaly in great triumph, but his future life was rendered miserable
by his infidelity, and the barbarous mode of revenge adopted by
Medea, whom he married according to promise and carried to Greece.
After many years' happiness, it may be remembered, he most
iniquitously divorced her. But she severely revenged his ingratitude
by causing the death of his favourite Glauce, and the ruin of her
family. Not satisfied with these acts of cruelty, she put two of
Jason's sons to death before his eyes, and then fled through the air
in a chariot drawn by winged dragons. Having visited Corinth, she
settled at Athens. Other barbarous actions again forced her to have
recourse to her chariot. She returned to Colchis, where a
reconciliation took place between her and Jason.
When the princes of Greece had, in fulfilment of their oaths, taken up
arms to revenge the criminal conduct of Paris, Agamemnon, on account
of his military talents, and being the brother of Menelaus, was
appointed commander-in-chief of the combined forces. After the army
had assembled in the port of Aulis, Diana, provoked at his having
killed one of her favourite stags, prevented by contrary winds their
sailing for Troy. On consulting the Oracle, the Greeks were informed
that Iphigenia, daughter of Agamemnon, must be sacrificed to appease
the enraged goddess, otherwise they must remain in harbour. Struck
with horror at this awful response, Agamemnon sternly refused to give
up his daughter, and ordered the princes to return home with their
troops. But the winning eloquence of Ulysses and the urgent
remonstrances of the other chiefs at last prevailed, and paternal
affection yielded to military fame. Ulysses was then sent to Mycenae,
to carry the beautiful Iphigenia to bleed on the altar of Diana. The
innocent victim's blood procured a favourable wind to the Grecian
fleet.
Orion sprang from Jupiter and Mercury. These gods promised to Hyricus,
a B[oe]otian peasant, who had entertained them hospitably, whatever he
would ask. Having no child, his wife being dead, and he being bound
by promise not to marry again, requested a son. The gods then put
water into the hide of a bull, which Hyricus had offered to them in
sacrifice on discovering their divinity, and ordered him to bury it in
the earth for nine months. At the end of that time, taking it out, he
found a lively boy.
Palici, twin brothers, were sons of Jupiter and Thalia or AEtna, a
daughter of Vulcan, who during her pregnancy prayed to be saved from
the fury of Juno, by being concealed in the bowels of the earth. Her
request was granted, and Tellus at the proper time brought to light
the two boys. They were worshipped with great solemnity by the
Sicilians. Their temple stood near the lakes or springs, strongly
impregnated with sulphur, to which those who wished to put an end to
quarrels by oath used to repair. False swearers were punished there in
a miraculous manner, whilst the innocent escaped without injury. Some
suppose that the perjured persons were destroyed by secret fire, while
others think they were drowned.
Palladium was a statue of the goddess Pallas or Minerva, said to have
fallen from heaven, near the tent of the king of Troy, when he was
building the Citadel. An ancient oracle declared that, so long as the
Palladium remained within the walls, Troy could not be taken. On that
account it was kept with great care. The Greeks, aware of this
prediction, sent Diomedes and Ulysses to carry it away during the
night--a feat which they accomplished.
Paris was a son of Priam, king of Troy. His father ordered him to be
put to death at his birth, in consequence of his mother having dreamt
that she was delivered of a firebrand which reduced the city to ashes,
and the augurs interpreting the dream to portend that the child would
occasion the destruction of Troy. The persons appointed to despatch
the child, contented themselves with exposing him on Mount Ida, where
he was brought up by the shepherds. On account of his extraordinary
strength and courage in defending the flocks from ravenous beasts and
repelling the attacks of robbers, he was called Alexander. There he
passed the early part of his life, and, whilst engaged tending his
flock, gave judgment in the appeal of the three goddesses, Venus,
Juno, and Minerva, who contended for the golden apple. Each
endeavoured to bribe him: Juno promised him a kingdom, Minerva
military glory, and Venus the most beautiful woman in the world for
his wife. Upon the mind of the noble shepherd the promise made by
Venus produced the deepest impression, and he adjudged the golden
apple to her. The decision of Paris, which gave great offence to the
other two goddesses, provoked their wrath against the empire and
nation, and caused the Trojan War, and all the evils and calamities to
which that memorable struggle gave rise. His father subsequently
received him at court, and treated him as his son. After spending some
time in his native city among the Trojan princes, Paris set out for
the court of Menelaus, king of Sparta, with a view to carry off his
wife Helena, the most beautiful woman in the world, as the reward of
the judgment which he had pronounced in favour of Venus. The young
Trojan met with a most welcome reception at the Spartan court; but he
abused the laws of hospitality by prevailing on the queen to elope
with him. Though demanded back by all the princes who had sworn to
protect her, and threatened with the vengeance of the combined forces
of Greece, he persisted in refusing their request. His father, on
account of Ajax carrying off his sister Hesione, encouraged him in his
obstinacy and guilt. In consequence of this outrage, the Greeks
immediately commenced hostilities, which ended in the total
destruction of the city and kingdom of Troy.
To bring out more fully the story of the apple adjudged by Paris to
Venus, it is necessary to notice what happened at the marriage of
Peleus and Thetis. At the celebration of the nuptials, all the gods
and goddesses were present except the goddess of discord, who,
exasperated at not being invited, threw into the assembly a golden
apple with the inscription, "Detur Pulchriori." At first all the
female deities asserted their right to the apple; but subsequently it
was claimed by Juno, Minerva, and Venus only. These three agreed to
refer the matter to Jupiter. But the sovereign of Olympus, knowing
that it could not justly be given to Juno, and dreading the effects of
her anger were it awarded to either of the other goddesses, advised
them to plead their cause before Paris. The decision of Paris, and the
serious results thereof; are already known.
Pentheus foolishly refused to acknowledge the divinity of Bacchus. To
complete his impiety, the Theban king sent his servants to bring the
god in chains before him. Assuming the appearance of one of his
attendants, Bacchus allowed himself to be taken prisoner, and to be
carried into the presence of the king, to whom, under the character of
Ac[oe]tes, he related the transformation of the Tuscan sailors.
Despising the narrative, Pentheus ordered him to be put to death.
Loaded with fetters, the attendants of that prince shut him up in
prison, from which he miraculously escaped. Pentheus then went out to
see the Bacchanals, and to learn their mysteries; but, approaching too
near, he was torn in pieces.
Quirinus, son of Rhea Sylvia, sometimes called Ilia, a vestal virgin,
the daughter of Numitor, king of Alba Longa, was the twin brother of
Remus. This princess, to extenuate her guilt, and to give divinity to
her sons, declared that Mars, the god of war, was their father.
Amulius, who had dispossessed his brother Numitor, killed the sons of
the latter, and made Rhea a vestal, and, to secure the crown to
himself and his descendants, ordered his niece to be burnt alive, and
her infants thrown into the Tiber. The river at that time being
swollen above its banks, the persons appointed to dispose of the
children could not reach the main current. The cradle in which the
twins were exposed floated to a place of safety on dry ground; and the
infants were suckled by a wolf until found by Faustulus, the king's
shepherd, who carried them to his house, where they were brought up as
his own children. Their youthful years were spent in feeding cattle.
After they were grown up, Remus being taken prisoner by the servants
of Amulius, Faustulus, anxious to preserve the captive, disclosed to
Romulus the truth respecting their birth. He, with the assistance of a
few daring and resolute young men, killed Amulius, delivered his
brother, and restored their grandfather to the throne.
After this event, the two brothers formed a design of building a city
on the mountains where they had spent the early part of their life.
From its being unknown which of them was the elder, they had recourse
to augury to decide which of them should have the honour of founding
and governing the new city. To Remus six ravens appeared, and to
Romulus twelve. The former claimed the sovereignty from the priority
of his omen, and the latter from the greater number of the birds. Each
being saluted king by his own party, a battle ensued, in which Remus
was killed. Others say that he was killed by Romulus, because he had,
in contempt, leapt over the wall the latter was building when founding
the city of Rome. The measures which Romulus adopted to increase the
number of his subjects, the plans he formed for the regulations of the
city, and the laws he enacted, discovered a surprising degree of
political knowledge. His military talents were still more remarkable.
He conquered every nation which declared war against him. The Sabines
and Romans having for a considerable time fought with great ferocity,
and victory inclining to neither side, they coalesced, and Tatius, the
king, was appointed joint sovereign of Rome with Romulus. After the
death of Tatius, Romulus found himself sole master of the city. His
prosperity rendered him insolent and tyrannical. When reviewing his
army, the senators, taking advantage of a storm that suddenly arose,
tore him in pieces, and reported that he had been translated to
heaven. The Romans, believing the story, deemed Romulus worthy of
divine honours, and accordingly ranked him among their gods under the
name of Quirinus.
Scylla, a daughter of Phorcys, was turned by Circe into a sea-monster
of a most hideous form, either from jealousy, because she was a
greater favourite with Glaucus, or at the request of that deity.
According to some, she retained her original form and beauty down to
the waist; but others say she had six heads and as many throats, and
instead of hands had two claws. Her middle was compassed by dogs,
which never ceased barking. The lower part of her body terminated in a
large fish with a forked tail.
There was another Scylla, the daughter of Nisus, king of Megara, who
conceived a violent passion for Minos when he was besieging her
father's capital. To ensure the fall of the city, she cut off from her
father's head, whilst he slept, a hair of purple colour, on which his
good fortune depended, and presented it to her lover. Possessed of
this charm, Minos soon carried the place, but he punished the perfidy
of Scylla: she was thrown into the sea, and changed, according to one
account, into a fish, and, if we can believe another narrative, her
form became that of a bird.
MYTHOLOGY OF GERMANY, GREAT BRITAIN, SCANDINAVIA, ETC.
CHAPTER XII.
Mythology of Germany, Great Britain, and
Scandinavia--Scandinavian Gods, Giants, and Elves--The
world Niflheim--The world Muspelheim--How Ymir was
created--The cow Aedhumla--Ymir's Offspring--Odin, the
chief God--Odin's Seat and Ravens--Valhalla--Queen
Frigga--How the Seas, Waters, Mountains, and Heavens
were made--Chariots and Horses in Heaven--Night and
Day--What a Wolf is to do--Three beautiful but
evil-disposed Maidens--Creation of New Beings--Bridge
between Midgard and Asgard--Sacred Fountain--Roots of
the ash Yggdrasil--Baldur's Dreams and sad End--Loki,
the Evil Spirit--Hel and her Brothers--Ignorance of
Giants, and Cunning of Dwarfs--Worship of Scandinavian
Gods--Norsemen and their Ancient Gods and
Goddesses--The Volsung Tale--Odin, Loki, and Haenir's
Wanderings--The Sword Gram--Sigurd's Exploits--What
the Worshippers of Odin believed--Frodi's Maidens and
Quern--Thor, and Subordinate Gods of the
Laplanders--Belief and Worship of the
Laplanders--Drums as Implements of Superstition--Sale
of Winds--Power of Demons--Lucky and Unlucky
Days--Other Superstitions.
The mythology of Germany, Great Britain, Scandinavia, and the other
northern nations is as extraordinary as that of Greece and Rome. Every
race and nation under the heavens were at one time steeped in
superstition to such an extent as to make people, living in
enlightened ages, wonder that creatures endowed with reasoning powers
should ever have given themselves over to such vile delusions as some
of our forefathers seem to have done. The adventures of the
Scandinavian gods, giants, and elves were not behind those of the gods
and supernatural beings in the south and east. In the beginning of
time, we are informed, a world existed in the north called Niflheim,
in the centre of which was a well from which sprang twelve rivers. In
the south was another world, Muspelheim--a light, warm, radiant world,
the boundary of which was guarded by Surt with a flaming sword. From
Niflheim flowed cold streams called Elivaager, which, hardening into
ice, formed one icy layer upon the other, within the abyss of abysses
that faced the north. From the south there streamed forth the
sparkling heat of Muspelheim; and as the heat and cold met, the
melting ice-drops became possessed of life, and produced, through the
power of him who had sent forth heat, Ymir, the sire of the frost
giants. Ymir obtained his nourishment from four milky streams that
escaped from the udders of the cow Aedhumla--a creature formed from
the melting frost. From Ymir there came forth offspring while he
slept, viz. a man and woman, who emerged from under his left arm, and
sons from his feet. Thus was produced the race of the frost giants.
Meantime, as the cow Aedhumla licked the frost-covered stones, there
came forth the first day a man's hair, a head the second day, and a
man, complete in all his parts, the third day. This man, Buri, had a
son named Bor, who married Beltsa, one of the giant race, by whom he
had three sons, Odin, Vili, and Ve.
Odin became the chief god, and ruled heaven and earth, and was
omniscient. As ruler of heaven, his seat was Valaskjalf, from whence
he sent two black ravens, daily, to gather tidings of all that was
being done throughout the world. As god of war, he held his court in
Valhalla, whither brave warriors went after death to revel in the
tumultuous joys in which they took pleasure when on earth. Odin had
different names and characters, as many of the gods had. By drinking
from Mimir's fountain, he became the wisest of gods and men. He was
the greatest of sorcerers, and imparted a knowledge of his wondrous
art to his favourites. Frigga was his queen, and the mother of Baldur,
the Scandinavian Apollo; but he had other wives and favourites, and a
numerous progeny of sons and daughters. All over Scandinavian lands,
but particularly in Denmark, the people imagine that they hear his
voice in the storm.
The other two brothers were less famous, but they were gods, and
assisted Odin to slay Ymir, and carry his body into the middle of
Ginnungagap, and formed from it the earth and heavens. Of his blood
the brothers made all the seas and waters, taking the gore that flowed
from his body to form the impassable ocean which is supposed to
encircle the earth. Of his bones they made the mountains, using the
broken splinters and his teeth for the stones and pebbles. From his
skull they made the heavens, at each of the four corners of which was
stationed a dwarf, of whom we shall hear more by-and-bye. Of Ymir's
brains clouds were formed, of his hair plants and herbs, and of his
eyebrows a wall of defence was made against the giants round Midgard,
the central garden or place of abode of the sons of men. The work of
the celebrated brothers was not ended by these achievements; for they
took the sparks that were cast out of the world Muspelheim, and,
throwing them over the face of the heavens, produced the sun, moon,
stars, and fiery meteors, and so arranged them in their places and
courses, that days, months, and years followed. Allfader placed
chariots and horses in heaven, where Night rode round the earth with
her horse Hrimfaxi, from whose bit fell the rime-drops that every
morning bedewed the earth. After her course followed her son Day, with
his horse Skinfaxi, from whose shining mane light beamed. Mani
directed the course of the moon, and Sol drove the chariot of the sun.
They were followed by a wolf, which was of the giant race, and that
will in the end of time swallow, or assist to swallow, up the moon,
darken the sun's brightness, let loose the boisterous winds, and drink
the blood of every dying man.
Three beautiful but evil-disposed maidens arrived at Asgard from the
giants' world, Jotunheim, by whom confusion and ill-will were spread
over the world. Then the gods determined to create new beings to
people the universe. They gave human bodies and understanding to
dwarfs, who had been generated within the dead body of Ymir, and who
took up their abodes in the bowels of the earth, in rocks, in stones,
and in trees and flowers. Then Odin, with two companions, went forth
on an excursion to the earth, and created a man and woman; and from
this pair, whose abode was at Midgard, the human race sprang. A bridge
of various colours, known to men as the rainbow, connected Midgard
with Asgard, and over this the gods rode daily to a sacred fountain.
This fountain lay at one of the three roots of the ash Yggdrasil,
whose branches spread over the whole earth and reached above the
heavens. Under one of these roots was the abode of Hel, the goddess of
the dead, under another that of the frost giants, and under the third
was the dwelling of human beings.
Baldur dreamt evil dreams of threatened danger to his life. He related
them to the gods, who endeavoured to protect him from injury. Frigga
made fire, water, iron, and all metals, stones, earth, plants, beasts,
birds, serpents, poison, and all diseases, swear that they would not
hurt Baldur. Loki was displeased at this. He changed himself into the
form of an old woman, and, inquiring the cause of Baldur's
invulnerability, was told by Frigga that all things, animate and
inanimate, had sworn not to harm him, with the exception of one little
shrub, the misletoe. Loki, rejoicing at the information he had
received, procured this little shrub, and hastened with it to an
assembly of the gods, where he placed it in the hands of the blind
Hoder, the god of war, who cast it at Baldur, and pierced him to the
heart. Hermoder, the son of Odin, offered to proceed to Hel to release
Baldur; and Hel, on hearing the request made, consented to let him go,
on condition that all things would weep for Baldur. All men, all
living beings, and all things wept except the witch Thock, who refused
to mourn for the departed god. Baldur was therefore compelled to
remain in Hel, where he will be to the end of the world.
Loki was beautiful, and possessed of great knowledge and cunning. He
often brought the gods into trouble, from which, however, through his
craft he extricated them. Hence he was regarded as the Evil Spirit.
Sometimes he was called Asa-Loki, to distinguish him from
Utgarda-Loki, a king of the giants, whose kingdom lay at the uttermost
limits of the earth.
Hel, who dwelt under one of the three roots of the sacred ash
Yggdrasil, was the daughter of the wicked Loki. Hel, together with her
brother, the wolf Fenrir, and the serpent Jormundgand, was brought up
in the giants' home of Jotunheim, where she remained until, at the
request of the gods, Allfader sent for her and her brothers to destroy
them, as it was known that by their origin they would prove the
instruments of calamity. After casting the serpent that surrounded all
lands into the deep ocean, he hurled Hel into Niflheim, and gave her
authority over nine worlds, in which she was to assign places to all
who died of sickness and old age. Her abode was surrounded by a high
enclosure and massive gates. She was of fierce aspect, was inexorable,
and would set no one at liberty who had once entered her domain. Her
dish was hunger, her knife starvation, her servants slow-moving, her
bed sickness, and her curtains wide-spread misery.
With Ymir perished all the giants except Bergelmir. It was a popular
belief that, through the power of giants, mountains and islands were
raised, and that, by these monsters, mountains and rocks were hurled
from their original sites. Notwithstanding the huge bulk and the
number of heads and arms that many of the giants had, they were
supposed to be ignorant monsters, unable to cope with ordinary human
beings.
The Dwarfs, of whom an account is given in the _Eddas_, were cunning
and crafty elves, and skilled in magic. Some gave them a place between
men and giants. It was believed that the dwarfs appeared under the
forms of elves, brownies, and fairies. They used charms, and possessed
all the skill of witches. It was in their power to raise storms, kill
people by their diabolical art, fly away with children, and even with
grown-up persons, through the air, or imprison them in caverns within
the earth. They assisted men to discover the precious metals, of which
they (the dwarfs) were very fond. Occasionally they were seen through
an aperture of a hill, in their underground retreat, in palaces with
jasper columns, surrounded with vast treasures of gold and silver.
The Scandinavian gods were worshipped in spacious temples, or on stone
heaps or altars. These sacred places were always near a consecrated
grove or tree and a sacred fountain. Human sacrifices were not
uncommon at times of public calamities, such as war, disease, or
famine. Three great festivals were held every year, the first of which
was celebrated at the new year, in the Yule-month. On these occasions
offerings were made to Odin for success in war, and to Freyr for a
peaceful year. The chief victim was a hog, which was sacrificed to the
latter god, on account of swine having first instructed man to plough
the soil. Feasting and games occupied the whole month, therefore it
was called the Merry Month. Yule continues to be observed in several
places at the present time, and points to the custom of sun worship
and the adoration of the early gods of the north. The frumenty eaten
on Christmas eve or morning in England, and the sowans in Scotland,
seem to be imitations of the offerings paid to Hulda or Berchta, to
whom the people looked for new stores of grain. The second festival
was in mid-winter, and the third in spring, when Odin was chiefly
invoked for prosperity and victory.
The mythology of the Scandinavians and our ancestors was in many
respects similar. It was from the principal gods of the northern
nations that the names of the days of our week were taken, as will
appear under the observations we shall make on the Calendar. But in
addition to the chief gods there were inferior deities, who were
supposed to have been translated to heaven for their great deeds, and
whose greatest happiness consisted in drinking ale out of the skulls
of their enemies in the hall of Wodin. The Norsemen delight to recount
the exploits of their ancient gods and goddesses and celebrated
mythical persons. The Volsung Tale is often referred to with pleasure.
Volsung, a descendant of Odin, was taken from his mother's womb by a
surgical operation, after six years' bearing. In his hall grew an oak,
whose branches spread out in every direction. In that hall, when
Volsung's daughter was to be given away to Siggeir, king of Gothland,
in came an old guest with one eye. In his hand he held a sword, which
at one stroke he drove up to the hilt in the oak. "Let him," said he,
"of this company who can pull it out, bear it, and none shall say he
bore a better blade." Having said this, he disappeared, and was seen
no more. Many tried to possess himself of the sword, but none could
draw it from the oak, till Sigmund, the bravest of Volsung's sons,
laid his hand upon its hilt. At his touch, it freed itself from the
mighty oak; and the sword turned out to be the celebrated blade Gram,
of which every Norseman has heard. Sigmund was armed with this weapon
when he went out to battle against his brother-in-law, who quarrelled
with him about this very sword; for every one who knew its virtues was
anxious to become its possessor. All perished in the fight except
Sigmund, who was saved by his sister Signy. Sigmund, after taking
vengeance against his brother-in-law, took possession of the kingdom,
which was his by inheritance. When Sigmund was stricken in years, he
went out to fight against the sons of King Hunding. Just as he was
about to prove victorious, a one-eyed warrior, of more than mortal
might, rushed at him with spear in hand. At the outstretched spear
Sigmund struck with his hitherto trusty blade, when it snapped in two.
In the one-eyed warrior's features he discovered the giver of the
sword, who was no less famous a personage than Odin. Sigmund then knew
that his good fortune had departed from him, and he sank down on the
battle-field and died.
There is a legend of Odin, Loki, and Haenir in one of their many
wanderings coming to a river side, where they saw an otter with a
salmon in its mouth. Loki killed the otter with a stone. Then the AEsir
passed on, and came at night to Reidmar's house to seek shelter. They
showed the otter and salmon to him, on which he cried to his sons to
seize and bind them, for they had slain their brother, Otter. To make
compensation for what they had done, they agreed to pay any sum
Reidmar might name. Otter was flayed, and Reidmar commanded the AEsir
to fill the skin with gold, and cover it without that not a hair could
be seen. Odin sent Loki down to the dwellings of the black elves to
obtain the precious metal. The cunning god caught Andvari, the dwarf,
and compelled him to surrender all the gold he had accumulated. The
dwarf begged and prayed that he might be permitted to retain one ring,
for it was the source of all his wealth, as ring after ring dropped
from it. Loki was inexorable; not a penny-worth would he leave with
the dwarf. Seeing he could not retain the ring, the dwarf laid a
curse on it, and said it would prove a bane to every one into whose
possession it might pass. Reidmar having all the gold except the ring
laid at his feet, filled the skin with the yellow ore, and set it up
on end. Odin poured gold over it until it was covered up. Reidmar
carefully looked at the skin, and declared that he saw a grey hair,
and desired them to cover it also. Odin reluctantly drew out the ring,
which he would fain have kept for himself, and laid it over the grey
hair. Before the AEsir departed, Loki repeated the curse which Andvari
had laid upon the ring. The curse began to take effect. Regin, one of
Reidmar's sons, asked for a share of the gold, but his father refused
to give him any. This undutiful son and his brother Fafnir conspired
against their sire, slew him, and took possession of the gold. Fafnir
being the stronger brother, determined to keep the whole treasure to
himself; and not only that, but he threatened that unless Regin went
off he would share his father's fate. Regin fled for his life, and his
brother assumed the form of a dragon, in which shape he lay on the
Glistening Heath, coiled round his store of gold and precious things.
Sigurd requested Regin, who was the best of smiths, to forge him a
sword. Two were made, but both broke at the first stroke. The broken
pieces of Gram were then obtained, and out of them Regin forged a
blade that clave the anvil in the smithy, and cut a lock of wool borne
down to it by a stream. Armed with Gram, and mounted on Gran, his
steed, which Odin had instructed him to choose, Sigurd rode to the
Glistening Heath, dug a pit in the dragon's path, and slew him as he
passed over him on his way to drink at the river. Sigurd roasted the
heart of Fafnir; and while it was being cooked, he tried it with one
of his fingers to see if it were soft. The hot roast burned his
finger, which caused him to put it to his mouth. He tasted the
dragon's blood, and instantly he understood the songs of birds.
Sigurd slew Regin, ate the heart, rode on Gran to Fafnir's lair, took
the spoil, and escaped with it.
On and on he rode, till on a lone fell he saw a flame; and when he
reached it, it blazed all around a house. No horse but Gran could pass
through that flame, and no man but Sigurd could guide him in his fiery
path. Brynhildr, Atli's sister, who in consequence of giving victory
on the wrong side had the thorn of sleep thrust into her cloak by
Odin, lay in the house in a deep sleep. She was under a curse to
slumber there until a man bold enough to ride through the fire came to
liberate her, and win her for his bride. Dashing onward to where the
fair maiden lay, his first touch wakened her from the long sleep to
which the cruel god had consigned her. They swore with a mighty oath
to love each other, and she taught him runes and wisdom.
Sigurd's mission was not yet accomplished; so on he rode to King
Giuki's hall, king of Frankland, whose queen was Grimhildr, who had
two sons named Gunnar and Hogni, and a step-son called Guttorm, and
whose daughter was the lovely Gudrun. Sigurd, greatly attached to his
lovely bride at the lone fell, purposed going back for her; but
Grimhildr, who was skilled in the black arts, longed for the brave
Volsung for her own daughter, and therefore prepared for him the
philter of forgetfulness. He quaffed it off, forgot Brynhildr,
fraternised with Gunnar and Hogni, and married Gudrun. Giuki now
wanted a wife for Gunnar, and the brothers with their bosom friend set
out to woo. They chose Brynhildr, whom they found still sitting on the
fell, waiting for Sigurd to come back. She had made it known, that
whoever could pass that flame should have her for his wife; so, when
Gunnar and Hogni reached the spot, the former rode at the flame, but
his horse swerved from the fierce fire; then, by Grimhildr's magic
arts, Sigurd and Gunnar changed shapes and arms, and Sigurd mounted
Gran, and the noble steed carried him through the flame. Thus
Brynhildr was wooed and compelled to yield. That evening they were
united in wedlock; but when they retired to rest Sigurd unsheathed
Gram, and laid it between them. Next morning, when he arose, he took
the ring which Andvari had laid under a curse, and which was among
Fafnir's treasures, and gave it to Brynhildr as a gift, and she gave
him another ring in return. Then Sigurd returned to his companions in
his own shape; and Gunnar went and claimed Brynhildr as his bride, and
carried her home. No sooner was Gunnar wedded than the power of the
philter ceased to operate: he remembered all that had passed, and the
oath he had sworn to the fair Brynhildr. When she discovered that she
had been deceived, she engaged Gunnar to revenge her wrong. By charms
and prayers the two brothers set on Guttorm, their half-brother, to
take vengeance, and the hero was pierced through with a sword while he
lay in Gudrun's white arms. Though Sigurd turned and writhed in agony,
he had strength left to hurl Gram after the treacherous Guttorm as he
fled. The keen blade cut him asunder, and his head rolled out of the
room. Brynhildr's love returned; and when Sigurd, who expired of his
wound, was laid upon the pile, her heart broke. She in song predicted
woes that were to come, made them lay her side by side with Sigurd,
with Gram between them, and so went to Valhalla with her old lover.
Andvari's curse was thus fulfilled.
The worshippers of Odin believed that at certain times the gracious
powers showed themselves in bodily shape, passing through the land,
and bringing blessings with them. On other occasions the gods were
supposed to ride through the air on clouds and storms, and speaking in
awful voice as the tempest howled and the sea raged. They were also
supposed to be present in battle, fighting for votaries, and defeating
the wicked. The goddesses assisted women in times of peril; they
taught the maids to spin, and punished them if the wool remained long
on the spindles. It was supposed that Odin had a band of followers who
accompanied him in the whirlwind. The wanderings of the gods are
mentioned in the _Odyssey_, and the sanctity of the rites of
hospitality, and the dread of turning a wanderer from the door,
originated lest the stranger should be a disguised being of exalted
character. Goddesses as well as gods were supposed to wander up and
down among men, telling them what was to happen. Freyja, the goddess
of love and plenty, who presided over marriages, was one of these, and
the three moons, Urd, Verdandi, and Skuld, who determined the fate of
gods and men, were also among the number.
We are informed that in Frodi's house were two maidens of the old
giant race, whom he had bought as slaves, and he made them grind his
quern Grotti, out of which peace and gold were produced. He kept them
at the mill, not giving them any longer rest than the time the
cuckoo's note lasted. That quern turned out anything that the grinder
chose, though formerly it had ground nothing but peace and gold. The
maidens ground and ground without ceasing. As Frodi was deaf to their
cries for rest, they caused the quern to grind fire and war. While the
quern went on making these evils, Mysing, the sea rover, came at night
and slew Frodi and all his men, and carried away the hand-mill,
maidens and all. When at sea, the rover caused the maidens to grind
salt; and they performed their task until they ground as much as has
kept the sea salt ever since that time.
Thor was the chief god of the Laplanders. They had also subordinate
deities, one of which was Storjunkarr, their household god. Wirchu
Archa was a female deity worshipped by them. She was the goddess of
old women. These deities were represented under the figure of
unsculptured stones. Spirits, angels, and devils were worshipped by
those people. Souls of departed relations were also prayed to by the
more superstitious of the people. Magic was a famous art among them.
When sacrificing to Thor, they smeared the head of his image with the
victim's blood; and when they made an offering to Storjunkarr, a
thread was run through the right ear of the victim. When it was a
reindeer that was sacrificed, the horns, head, and other parts were
carried to a mountain devoted to Storjunkarr, and deposited there, the
animal's tail being tied to one of the horns, and a red thread to the
other.
The Laplanders used to sacrifice reindeers to the sun. In this
ceremony a white thread was put through the victim's right ear. In
sacrificing to the sun, willows were used, but in their other
sacrifices birch trees were employed. Many of their superstitions were
similar to those of the Greeks, Romans, and Tartars.
So much were the Laplanders given to superstition, that they
worshipped the first object that presented itself in the morning.
Every house and family had a deity. They had magical drums, which were
consulted in a particular manner on important occasions; and when they
engaged in battle, these drums were carried to the scene of action. In
consequence of their supposed virtue, writers have said that drums
were originally implements of superstition in our armies rather than
instruments of music. Brass and copper rings, together with a hammer,
were appended to a drum. A woman was not allowed to touch a sacred
drum, nor was she permitted to go over the same road that it was
carried, within three days of its removal.
Laplanders and Norwegians sold favourable winds to sailors and
travellers. A rope with three knots was given to the buyer, who, when
he wanted a gentle breeze, untied one of the knots; when he wished a
fresh strong wind, he undid another; and when he desired storms and
tempests, he unfastened the third. The first two descriptions of wind
were generally obtained for good purposes, but the third through
wicked motives. By the unloosing of the third knot, many a shipwreck
was caused to bring about the death of a hated individual, and for the
purpose of securing wreck cast ashore by the sea. Magicians could, the
moment they were born, control the winds that blew. In this way one
magician had power over the east wind, another of the south, a third
of the west, and a fourth of the north. Magical shafts, which went
through the air unseen, were thrown at enemies, and distempers were
caused by charms. Gans or demons were enticed by secret art to perform
acts of malice and deeds of revenge.
The Laplanders had their lucky and unlucky days. They thought it was
unlucky to meet a woman when they were going out to hunt. When a
Laplander died, the house was deserted by the family, because it was
supposed the soul of the deceased remained near the inanimate body.
When they buried their dead, they, like the ancient Danes, Saxons, and
others, deposited a hatchet, warlike implements, a steel, flint, and
tinder-box with each body, under the impression that they would be
useful to the deceased in another world. Their witches--and they had
many--who were born in winter, were supposed to be able to make that
season cold, or comparatively mild, as they pleased.
NAMES OF DAYS, WHENCE DERIVED.
CHAPTER XIII.
The Calendar--Names of Days, whence derived--Worship
of Plants--Nature-Worship--The Power of
Jupiter--Influence of Zeus--The god Indra--Origin of
the term "Hours"--Hours under Planetary
Control--Coronation of a Persian King--Evils
transferred to the Turks and Kafirs--The Moon's
Controlling Power--Time reckoned by Moons--A strange
Story--Discovery of Maize, Beans, and Tobacco--Sayings
of an Old Writer--Heathen Gods--Thor's Palace--Thor's
Power--Frigga's Abilities--Description of Seater or
Crodo.
The Fates have apparently decreed that the Pagan religion and
superstitions shall be kept in perpetual remembrance. If one examine
heraldry, he will find traces of heathen mythology and superstition;
if he look at the most famous of Great Britain's public buildings, he
will see emblems of the ridiculous; if he glance at the Calendar, he
will ascertain that months and days have been named after, or
mentioned in connection with, mythological beings or objects of
profane adoration; and if he read the pages of the greatest authors,
he will discover much that has assisted to keep alive the embers of
superstition. Passing over heraldry and ancient edifices, let us
inquire whence the names of months and days are derived, and how
certain seasons are observed.
The Saxons called the day D[oe]g; whence the term. It is thought they
obtained it from the Roman Dies, a Diis, the names of the Roman days
having been taken from the planets, which were called Dii, or gods.
In noticing the first day of the week, we need scarcely give the
reason for its being denominated "Sabbath," as every Jew and Christian
knows the reason why one day of the week is so called; but we shall,
in carrying out the line of our narrative, take leave to make a few
remarks as to the cause of that day being known as "Sunday." The
Romans called it Dies Solis, because it was dedicated to the worship
of the sun; and the Saxons gave it the name Sunnan-d[oe]g, or
Sun's-day, for a similar heathenish cause. Whether the Saxons received
their mythology from the Romans, or whether they had idols of their
own, is a matter of doubt. The Romans worshipped the planets by the
names of some of their favourite deities; and there is a resemblance
in the Latin characteristics to certain of those of the Saxons, though
they are in most instances different in their appellations. The names
of the days of the week have no doubt been continued from the Saxons,
whatever the origin may have been.
The luminous body which gives title to our first day of the week was
regarded by the ancient heathen with superstitious reverence, as it
was considered to be the superintending and governing power presiding
over nature.
The adoration, therefore, that was paid to the sun was the most
prevalent of all the errors of superstition. That this should have
been the case among people ignorant of the existence of the great
omnipotent Being, is not surprising; for how much more glorious were
the shining lights in the heavens, but more particularly the sun, than
the many objects worshipped by Pagans in our own and other lands!
Nature-worship was the foundation of all polytheistic religions; and
that the principal heathen deities were originally personifications of
the great luminary that gives light and heat to the earth, or of
certain influences thereof, admits of little doubt. The solar
character of numerous deities is clearly discernible. Jupiter had
power over the phenomena of the skies. The future was known to him;
the destinies of human beings were in his hands. Strange appearances
in the heavens, or wonderful events happening on the earth, were the
signs by which he made his pleasure or displeasure known. On special
occasions sacrifices were offered to Jupiter, and his favour implored.
Zeus's influence was like that of the sun; he had the rule of the
heavens and air, he directed the lightning, and guided the stars in
their courses, and controlled the seasons. Prophecy belonged to him,
and it was from this god Ph[oe]bus received oracular gifts. Indra was
a god of similar attributes; he was the great ruler of the firmament,
and the upholder of the heaven and earth, and the god who created the
dawn. He presided over the east, and was the god that sent rain and
wielded the thunder-bolts. Many sacrifices were offered to him, and
homage was also paid in numerous ways. Baal was originally the god of
the sun, and ruler of nature. Some suppose that Baal was the same god
as Moloch, to whom human sacrifices were offered, and whose worship
also consisted principally of purifications, mutilations, perpetual
virginity, and ordeals by fire. Bullocks, and even children, were
sacrificed to Baal.
The origin of the term "hour" has been supposed by some authors to be
derived from Hora, a surname given to the sun, the parent of time, and
called by the Egyptians Horus. Hours are occasionally distinguished by
the epithet of "planetary," from a supposition of the ancients that
the Sun, Venus, Mercury, the Moon, Saturn, Jupiter, and Mars
alternately presided over them. The first hour of the first day of the
week was under the control of the Sun, the second under that of Venus,
the third of Mercury, the fourth of the Moon, the fifth of Saturn, the
sixth of Jupiter, and the seventh of Mars. After such rotation, the
sun governed the eighth hour, Venus the ninth, and so on through the
whole twenty-four hours.
The sun, moon, and stars have been considered by the people of nearly
every nation on the face of the earth to affect the destiny of mortals
here below. A story of the proceedings at the coronation of a Persian
king is not without interest. The important ceremony of crowning could
not be performed before the lord of the astrologers--an officer of
great importance--declared the lucky moments that a happy
constellation pointed out the time for placing the crown on the
monarch's head. It was recorded that about ten o'clock at night the
chief of the astrologers and his companions, having been long
observing the position of the stars and conjunction of the planets,
returned to give notice to the prince and company that the fortunate
time for the coronation would be within twenty minutes. When the
twenty minutes were nearly expired, everything being in readiness, the
grand astrologer winked, and immediately the prince was made king.
For two years everything went well; but then the king's health began
to decline. Sometimes he lay whole weeks together, languishing in his
harem. In consequence of his majesty having indulged too freely in
stimulants, the court physician applied his secret arts to counteract
the effect of the baneful liquids, but without any good result; and
the astrologers began to whisper that the monarch would not recover.
They could not, they reported, find in his horoscope that he had more
than six years to live after the date of his coronation; and they
predicted that two of the years he had to survive would be spent in
perpetual misery. The queen-mother quarrelled with the physician,
asking him how it came to pass that her son was sick, and accused him
of treason or ignorance. The man of healing art defended his own
conduct, and blamed the stars or astrologers. He said that if the king
lay in a languishing condition and could not recover, it was because
the astrologers had failed to observe the happy hour, or the aspect of
a fortunate constellation at the time of the coronation. This view of
the case was taken by many at court, and even by some of the
astrologers themselves. One of those wise men made it plain to those
whom he addressed, that the moment fixed for the coronation was
inauspicious; and afterwards, by arguments, satisfied the queen-mother
and chief courtiers that the king's ill-health proceeded from his
coronation, which had been solemnized under unfortunate aspects. The
king, his wives, and others believed the physician, and therefore it
was in vain the unlucky astrologer maintained the correctness of his
calculations.
The question now arose, What was to be done to rectify the mistake
which had been committed? And at length it was resolved that the king
should change his name, and that a second coronation should take
place. Long deliberations took place before the second coronation was
fixed. The astrologers at length agreed that the happy hour would be
about the time of the year that the sun was under the influence of a
certain planet, which, according to account, was to be on Tuesday the
twentieth of March, about nine in the morning. The new ceremony had
the desired effect, for the king became well again.
No sooner had the king improved in health than another danger
threatened the nation. A great and remarkable comet appeared, which
filled the people's minds with terror. All the Persian astrologers
declared that the alarming sign signified wars, murders, seditions,
conflagrations, dangerous diseases, overturning of kingdoms and
states, and all kinds of calamities; but, by means unknown to us, they
transferred all these evils on the Turks, Kafirs, and Christians, and
so Persia escaped danger.
_Monday_ was dedicated by the Saxons to the adoration of the moon,
whence it was called Mon-day, Moon-day, and Monan-d[oe]g. The Romans,
as well as the Saxons, consecrated this day to the moon. They (the
Romans) called it _Dies Lunae, feria secunda_; and anciently, on the
first day of every lunar month, festivals were held in commemoration
of the benefits bestowed during the former moon, and in gratitude for
the return of that luminary. The worship that was paid to the moon as
a deity, originated from causes similar to that assigned to the sun.
In Europe all avowed sincere adoration of these orbs has ceased, but
traces of sun and moon worship having been once common still remain.
In several parts of England it is customary to bless the new moon,
while in Scotland people not only do the same, but in mock adoration
they bow to it at the same time.
Many superstitious beliefs remain as to the influence of the moon. It
is unlucky for one to have his hands empty when he first sees the new
moon, and it is regarded as a good sign if one has silver in his hand
the first time he sees it. It has, or is supposed to have, a great
effect on the weather and sea. One often hears it said in times of
stormy weather, "We will not have a change before the new moon." It
influences the affections of lovers to a very great extent. If a swain
is halting between two opinions, viz. whether he will propose to such
a lady, let him invite her to take a walk with him by moonlight, and
the chances are ten to one, that if they go out together, they will be
married. If one doubts this, he is advised to try it, and he will see
how warm the affections will become. If one is going to enter into an
important undertaking, he will be wise to do so when the moon is
filling. People who are married in one of the first two quarters of
the moon, are more happy than those who enter into the matrimonial
state when it is on the wane; and, taking a sudden bound from the
sublime to things that are common, we are compelled to say that not a
few consider the effects of the moon so great, that they would not
kill their pigs but when it was on the increase. Then every one has
heard of the effects the moon has on the human mind; whence the term
"lunacy." There are many tribes and nations that reckon time by moons,
and not by years, as we now do. This reminds us of a story which shows
the credulity of the savages of North America, and how they calculated
time. It is this:--
A Swedish minister was preaching a sermon one day to the savages, and
when he had finished, an Indian orator stood up to thank him for his
discourse, which had reference to our first parents eating the
forbidden fruit. "What you have told us," said the orator, "is very
good. It is indeed bad to eat apples; it is better to make them all
into cider. We are much obliged by your kindness in coming so far to
tell us those things which you have heard from your mothers. In
return, I will tell you some of those we have heard from ours. In the
beginning, our fathers had only the flesh of animals to subsist on;
and if they were unsuccessful in the hunt, they could get nothing to
eat. Two of our young hunters having killed a deer, made a fire in the
wood, to broil part of the flesh. When they were about to satisfy
their hunger, they beheld a beautiful woman descend from the clouds,
and seat herself near the young men. They said to each other, 'It is a
spirit that has smelt our broiled venison, and perhaps wishes to eat
of it: let us offer some to her.' They presented her with the tongue.
She was pleased with the taste of it, and said, 'Your kindness shall
be rewarded. Come,' said she, 'to this place after thirteen moons, and
you will find something that will be of great benefit in nourishing
you and your children to the latest generation.'
"The hunters, deeply impressed with what the fair one had said,
watched with something like impatience the appearance and
disappearance of moon after moon, till the thirteenth moon had come
and gone, and then they repaired to the spot where they were to
receive their reward. To their surprise, they found plants they did
not know, but which have been constantly cultivated ever since, to the
great advantage of man. Where the woman's right hand had rested, they
found maize; where her left hand had touched the ground, they
discovered beans; and where she had sat, tobacco grew luxuriantly."
We are accustomed to speak of the sun as "he," and of the moon as
"she," but in many other countries the former is considered to be
feminine, and the latter masculine. In Hindoo mythology the moon is a
male deity, and is represented as the son of the patriarch Atri, who
procreated him from his eyes; but by others it is said the moon arose
from the milk sea when it was churned by the gods to procure the
beverage of immortality. An old writer says that the sun supplies the
moon, when reduced by the draughts of the gods to a single ray; and in
the same proportion as the moon is exhausted by the celestials, it is
replenished by the sun, for the gods drink the nectar accumulated in
the moon during half the month; and from this being their food, they
are immortal. When the remaining portion of the moon consists but of a
fifteenth part, the Manes (infernal spirits, or inferior deities)
approach it in the afternoon, and drink the remaining portion of
nectar. And probably in this statement are to be found grounds for the
superstitious belief that the time when the moon is increasing is more
fortunate than when it is waning.
_Tuesday_ was so called from Tiwes-d[oe]g, which signifies the day of
Tiw, or Tiu, a name for the old Saxon war god Tyr. Other names were
given to it by the Romans and Germans. It was called by the Romans
_Dies Martis, feria tertia_, from its having been dedicated to Mars.
Wormius, Marshall, and Sommes endeavour to prove that the day took its
name from Thisa or Desa, the goddess of justice, the wife of Thor.
Taking the views of any of the authors who have written on the
subject, it is plain that the day was named in honour of some
mythological deity. Tyr did not belong entirely to the Northern
mythology, but was known to the Germans as Ziu or Zio, and to
Anglo-Saxons as Tiv.
Tyr, it will be remembered, was single-handed. When the gods prevailed
on the wolf Fenrir to allow himself to be bound with the bandage
Gleipner, Tyr put his right hand into the wolf's mouth, as a pledge
that he would be loosened. The gods refused to liberate the wolf,
which in revenge bit off Tyr's hand. He and his enemy, the monster dog
Garmr, met their death in the twilight battle of the gods.
The Roman divinity, Mars, was a war god, and seems to have been
originally an agricultural deity. To him propitiatory offerings were
presented, as the guardian of fields and flocks; but as the shepherds
who founded the city of Rome were of a warlike disposition, it is
easily understood how Mars became the god of war.
_Wednesday_ signifies Wodin's-day or Odin's-day. Wodin or Odin, as is
well known, was a great Northern god. He was believed to be the god of
war, who gave victory, and revived courage in the conflict. He was
also worshipped as the god of arts and artists; and to him magnificent
temples were built, and sacrifices offered. He adopted as his children
all those who were slain with swords in their hands; hence the
hardihood and brilliant examples of courage displayed by Northern
warriors. He had two black ravens, that flew forth daily to obtain
tidings of all that was being done throughout the world. His greatest
treasure consisted of his eight-footed steed Sleipner, his spear
Gungner, and his ring Draupner, by which he performed many strange
acts. Frigga was his queen, but he had other wives and favourites, and
a numerous family of sons and daughters. By drinking at Mimir's sacred
fountain, he became the wisest of gods and men. He is reputed to have
possessed every power of witchcraft, prophecy, and transformation; and
in the shape of a lion or other beast of prey, he, we are told,
destroyed whole armies.
_Thursday_ (Thors-d[oe]g) was dedicated to the adoration of Thor, the
bravest of the sons of Odin. Thor was the god of thunder; he had a
magnificent palace, which had five hundred and forty pillars, where he
received and made happy the warriors who had fallen in battle. By the
rolling of his chariot, thunder was produced. He had a smasher or
mauler, made by cunning dwarfs, which, after being thrown at an enemy,
had the property of returning to him. It was believed by the Pagans
that he possessed marvellous power and might, and that all people in
the world were subject to him. In the air he governed the winds and
clouds; and when displeased, he caused thunder, lightning, and
tempest, with excessive rain, hail, and bad weather. When pleased with
his worshippers, he gave them favourable weather, and caused corn and
fruit to grow abundantly, and kept away disease from man and beast.
The Laplanders represented Thor by the stump of a tree, rudely carved
to represent a man; and they supplied him with flint and steel, that
he might strike fire when he wanted it. Moreover, they placed a hammer
near him, which they supposed he would use with force against evil
spirits, for they thought he had sovereign authority over all the
mischievous and malevolent spirits that inhabited the air, mountains,
and lakes. High festivals were held in honour of this deity, as
noticed elsewhere, to supplicate for a propitious year, and at these
festivals every excess of extravagant and dissolute pleasure was not
only permitted, but was considered requisite.
_Friday_ derived its name from Frigga, the wife of Odin. She, as well
as her husband, possessed wonderful abilities, and, like Juno, was
held in the highest esteem and veneration for her power of procuring
easy access into the world, and bestowing every felicity connected
with the softer endearments of life. Frigga was thought to be the
mother of all the Pagan divinities of the Northern nations begotten by
Odin.
The Romans dedicated this day to Venus; whence its name, _Dies
Veneris, feria sexta_. That goddess having possessed many of the
attributes for which Frigga was celebrated, many authors have supposed
them originally to have meant the same divinity.
_Saturday_ has its name from Seater or Crodo, worshipped by the old
Saxons. He was lean, had long hair and a long beard. In his left hand
he held up a wheel, and in his right he carried a pail of water,
wherein were flowers and fruits. He stood on the sharp fins of the
perch, to signify that the Saxons, for serving him, should pass,
without harm, in dangerous and difficult places.
The seventh day of the week was dedicated by the Romans to Saturn, and
called, in honour of him, _Dies Saturni, feria septima_. Seater or
Crodo, and the Roman Saturn, have been considered by many to be the
same deity.
NAMES OF MONTHS, WHENCE DERIVED.
CHAPTER XIV.
Names of Months, whence derived--January--First of
January, how kept--Heathens and Christians--New Year
Gifts--February--Sacrifices for purging Souls--Second
of February, how kept--Virtue of Candles--Shrove
Tuesday--Eating Pancakes--Partaking of Brose--Choosing
a Valentine--March--Prognostications observed in this
Month--April dedicated to Venus--First of May--Roman
Floral Games--Queen of the May--May Poles and May
Fires--Dispute between Men and Gods--Superstitious
Customs in Scotland--Superstitious Ceremonies in
England--June regarded as the most favourable Month
for Fruitful
Marriages--July--August--September--October--Hallow-e'en
Ceremonies--November--All Hallows--Souls in
Purgatory--St. Leonard--St.
Britius--December--Christmas Trees and Gifts--The
Misletoe--Privileges in Leap Year--Yule Log--Christmas
Festivities.
January, it is generally admitted, derived that appellation from the
Latin _Januarius_, in honour of Janus, one of the heathen divinities.
Janus was supposed to preside over the gates of heaven. The Saxons
originally called this month Wolf-monat, and afterwards it was called
Aefter-Yule--After-Christmas. The first of January having been
observed by the heathens as a day of great rejoicing, and offering up
profane and superstitious sacrifices to Janus, the early Christians
observed it as a fast to avoid the appearance of doing honour to a
heathen deity. The Grecians, at the commencement of every year, held
festive meetings to celebrate the completion of the sun's annual
course. From that people the Romans borrowed the custom of observing
the first of January; and from the Romans our forefathers received it.
In giving New Year gifts, we follow the example of the ancients; and
to receive such tokens of goodwill, was then, as now, considered
propitious.
The name of February is taken from _Februa_, _Februta_, or
_Februalis_, names of Juno, who presided over the purification of
women; or, according to other authors, from _Februis expiatoriis_,
sacrifices for purging souls, there having been a feast on the second
day of this month, when sacrifices were offered to Pluto for the souls
of the dead. This day was kept by certain Christians as a solemn
festival, in memory of the humiliation of the Virgin Mary, who
submitted to the injunction of the law under which she lived. They
offered up thanksgiving on this day, and paraded about with flambeaux
and candles--proceedings which some thought were too close imitations
of the Pagan customs of _brenning_--in honour of Juno. There is in
this instance a resemblance to the Pagan superstition; and from the
burning of candles on the day we are referring to, they were, and are
yet, lighted on occasions of danger, to avert evil. Persons in this
country have been known to light candles, as a charm against thunder
and lightning; and lighted candles, when once charmed (which it is
supposed can be done), are considered by the ignorant at home and
abroad, to possess virtue sufficiently powerful to frighten away evil
spirits. Such candles are sometimes placed in the hands of persons
while in the agonies of death, to protect them from the evil one.
Shrove Tuesday, or Fasten's Eve, is a day observed in many lands. In
olden times, after the people had made confession at this season, they
were permitted to indulge in festive amusements, although not allowed
to partake of any repast beyond the usual substitutes for flesh; and
hence arose the custom of eating pancakes and fritters, and partaking
of brose, in Scotland, at this time. The brose was then made of
oatmeal and butter, with a ring in it. The bicker of brose being set
in the middle of a table, the unmarried members of the family, and
invited friends who had not entered the matrimonial state, seated
themselves around and partook of the repast. They took spoonful about
till the ring was found, and then it was put into a second dish of
brose, and again into a third, and he or she who found the ring twice
left the table, assured of being married before another Fasten's Eve.
At a later hour of the evening, pancakes, sometimes called "sauty
bannocks," were made, and through their magical virtues future
husbands and wives were discovered. A large cake or bannock was
prepared, in which a ring or other small article was put, and the
young person whose lot it was to secure the piece of cake or bannock
with the concealed article was looked upon as being as lucky as the
individual who picked the ring twice out of the brose. While all this
was going on, unbounded mirth prevailed, and before the company broke
up, dreaming cakes or bannocks were prepared, that every one might
take one and place it under his or her pillow. To make the cakes of
any avail, the baker had to remain mute when preparing them, and the
receivers had, immediately after obtaining them, to slip off quietly
to bed, when, if all the preliminaries had been duly observed, the
sleeper's future companion in life appeared in a vision or dream of
the night.
The practice of choosing a valentine on the 14th of February is well
known. The first person of the opposite sex who was seen by an
unmarried person on the morning of that day, was regarded as the
valentine for the year. Another way of finding out a valentine was to
cast into a receptacle small billets, with (if the consulters were
young women) bachelors' names on them, and then to draw them out
lottery-wise. The bachelor whose name appeared on a billet thus
extracted at random, became the valentine of the spinster to whose lot
it fell. In this way a bevy of young ladies ascertained, in a few
minutes, secrets they were most anxious should be disclosed. When the
gentlemen were anxious to discover their valentines, they proceeded in
the same way, taking care, however, that the ladies for whom they had
the greatest affection should be named on the billets. A lady's
valentine was her knight for the year, and not unfrequently he became
her husband. The amusements of Valentine's Day were very popular among
all classes in the fifteenth century. It was customary at one time for
both sexes to give each other presents, but the ladies, through
modesty, or some other cause best known to themselves, have ceased to
bestow gifts in their valentines. Many attempts have been made to
abolish the heathen custom of young men drawing the names of young
women, and _vice versa_, on this day, but without success.
March was called after Mars, the god of war; but the Anglo-Saxons knew
it as _Hraed-monat_, signifying rugged month, and _Hlyd-monat_,
meaning stormy month. Those who indulged in prognostications,
carefully observed the state of the weather in this month. Dry weather
at this time portended a plentiful season, while a rainy month
indicated scarcity of food.
The fourth month of the year, it is generally believed, derived its
name, April, in allusion to the buds then beginning to open; but the
old Anglo-Saxons called it _Eoster-monat_, in honour, some think, of
the goddess Easter. The Romans dedicated April to Venus, and
frequently called it _Mensis Veneris_ as well as _Aprilis_. The old
and general custom of sending people useless errands on the first of
April is so well known that we do not require to say anything more
about it, than that it is thought to have originated in the acts of
sending Christ backward and forward to various tribunals to secure His
condemnation.
On the first day of May the Romans offered sacrifices to Maia, the
mother of Mercury. Apollo was the tutelar deity of this month. This
day is observed with mirth, in imitation of the old Roman celebration
of the days when the goddess Flora was worshipped. The Roman floral
games began on the 28th April, and continued a few days. At one time
these celebrations were conducted with obscenity, but by degrees the
amusements became more moral. It was customary during the middle ages
for rich and poor to go out on May-day, with music and other signs of
joy and merriment, to gather flowers, and sip the dew before sunrise.
The people then decorated their houses with the flowers, conspicuous
amongst which was the hawthorn blossom. The most beautiful maid of the
district was chosen "Queen of the May," and crowned with flowers. So
general was the custom of observing May-day in the reign of Henry
VIII. that the Corporation of London went out a-Maying, and so did the
king and queen. In England, France, Germany, and elsewhere, every
village had its May-pole, till the May games were suppressed, or
rather discouraged, on the ground that they were remnants of heathen
superstition.
The Celts kindled their May-fires with much superstitious ceremony, a
custom which had its origin in the worship of Baal. The principal
festival of this worship was held in the beginning of May, but there
were similar ceremonies in November. On these occasions all the fires
in the district were extinguished, under the pain of death. Needfire
was then obtained by friction, and all the fires were rekindled from
what was regarded as the sacred flame. At times of public calamities
and distress, the practice of kindling needfire was resorted to. It
was supposed to counteract sorcery, and stay disease among cattle.
These superstitious operations remind one of the story of Prometheus.
The myth runs thus:--"During the reign of Zeus, men and gods, once
upon a time, were disputing with one another. With the view of
outwitting Zeus, Prometheus cut up a bull and divided it into two
parts, hiding the meat and the intestines in the skin, and putting an
inferior piece on the top, while he heaped the bones together and
covered them with fat. Zeus was asked to choose either of the lots,
and, suspecting that an attempt was made to deceive him, he selected
the good portion; but, enraged at the stratagem, he took his revenge
on the mortals by withholding from them the fire necessary for the
cooking of meat. Prometheus by his cunning art obtained fire in a
hollow staff, and brought it to them; and he took from man the gift of
foreseeing future events, but gave him the better gifts of hope and of
fire." Down to a recent date, people in the north of Scotland cut a
trench in the ground; they then kindled a fire and dressed a repast of
milk and eggs, something like a custard. This being done, they kneaded
a cake of oatmeal, and toasted it before the fire. The custard was
then eaten, and the cake was broken into pieces and thrown into a bag,
not, however, before one of the pieces was burned black. Every one of
the company in turn was blindfolded, and drew out a piece of the cake;
and he who drew out the burned piece was dedicated to Baal, in order
to render the year fruitful. The person supposed to be devoted was
then compelled to leap three times over the fire, as symbolical of the
sacrifices offered to this god in former ages.
In England there were Ram Feasts. At one of these a ram was roasted in
its skin, and after it was cooked a great scramble took place for
pieces thereof, it having been thought good fortune would attend those
who secured a portion. Men and women partook of the feast.
The name of June was given in reverence to Juno, and was called
_Sear-monat_ by the Anglo-Saxons. Mercury was regarded by the Romans
as the deity who presided over this month. June is considered in the
present age as the most favourable period of the year for marriages.
July was originally called _Quintilis_, or fifth month, in honour of
Julius Caesar; but the Anglo-Saxons came to know this month as
_Maed-monat_, or mead month, in consequence of it being the usual
season of the year for securing honey and making mead.
St. Swithin's Day (15th July) is observed in commemoration of this wet
or rainy saint. He was of Saxon descent, and distinguished for his
piety and learning. St. Swithin was buried in the churchyard of
Winchester, and the consecrated spot where his remains rest has been,
we are told, the scene of frequent miracles. In consequence of the
virtues flowing from his body, it was resolved to convey his remains
to the choir of the cathedral, but, on the day appointed for the
removal of his sacred dust, violent rain commenced, which continued
without ceasing for forty days. From this circumstance, it was
inferred that the intended removal of his remains was displeasing to
St. Swithin, and the intention was for a time abandoned. Subsequently
his body was transferred to another resting place, without the
elements or the saint manifesting any displeasure. It is unnecessary
to do more than recall to memory the wide-spread opinion, that if it
rain on St. Swithin's Day, forty days wet weather will follow. Absurd
as this superstition may appear, it has been believed in from the time
of his death, in 862.
St. Margaret, whose festival falls to be held on the 20th July, was
the daughter of an idolatrous priest at Antioch. She became a convert
to the Christian religion, from which she was sought to be seduced by
Olybius, a ruler in the East who sought her hand in marriage. She
refused to forsake the true religion, or to become his wife; and her
refusal was fatal to her. The cruel monster put her to the most
dreadful torments he could invent, and afterwards ordered her to be
beheaded, about the year 275. St. Margaret has been worshipped by the
Eastern and Western Churches, from her supposed power to assist
females in childbirth. It is related that Satan, in the form of a
dragon, swallowed her alive, but that she escaped unhurt from the
monster. Her girdle was long preserved in the abbey of St. Germain, in
Paris; and females were, it was generally believed, undoubtedly
relieved in their hour of suffering by the application of the sacred
relic.
August, formerly called _Sextilis_, was named August in honour of the
Emperor Augustus. And September still retains its original Roman
name--that of the seventh month, though now really the ninth month--in
consequence of the change made by commencing the year in January
instead of March; but the Anglo-Saxons knew it by the name of
_Gerst-monat_, or barley month, because their barley crop was usually
gathered in in this month.
October, known by the Saxons as _Wyn-monat_, or wine month, has long
been regarded with peculiar interest, owing to the many superstitious
customs observed in it. In Rome, a horse, called October, was
sacrificed to Mars in this month; and the Greeks and Romans held many
Bacchanalian festivals in it, at which the people had recourse to
magic and divination. In the days of our ancestors the Hallow-e'en
ceremonies were more generally followed than they are by the present
generation, but still in various places, particularly in the north of
Scotland, people observe them with mirth, mixed with superstitious
fear of fairies, ghosts, and other supernatural beings, supposed to be
then at large, performing good and evil deeds. At this season,
however, the most diabolical fiends are supposed to be chained in
their abodes of darkness, or at all events prevented from venting
their full wrath against the human race. The worst thing that Satan,
assisted by all his emissaries, can do on Hallow-e'en, is to allot to
one an ill-looking, decrepit, or sour partner in life, or send him or
her a great swarm of children; or perhaps do what is worse--prevent
any offspring being given to loving married couples. Unmarried men and
women are accustomed to meet at the house of a friend, to spend this
evening in searching into futurity. Various are the charms and modes
of divination they have recourse to. The first spell they try is
pulling kail-stocks in the dark with their eyes closed. There must be
no attempt to pick what is thought the best stocks, but each person
should pull up the first plant that comes to hand. After every one has
obtained a root, the company returns to the house to examine the
stocks. A long straight plant denotes that the holder thereof is to
get a fine-looking husband or wife, as the case may be; whereas one
who has unfortunately pulled a crooked, ill-shaped stock, may expect
that his or her conjugal companion will be deformed and uncouth. In
proportion to the quantity of earth adhering to the root, so will the
riches of the possessor be; and according to the sweet or sour taste
of the stem's centre, so will the temper or disposition of the
expected partner be. The ceremony of pulling and tasting being over,
the stocks are deposited above the door, and careful notice is taken
of the strangers who come in when they are there. Favourites are
invited in, but those whose presence is not desired are prevented, if
possible, from crossing the threshold.
Those in pursuit of pleasure and fortune next proceed to the
stack-yard, and pull each a stalk of oats, and, by counting the grains
upon the stem, the puller will ascertain the number of little branches
that will shoot forth from the family tree. It is peculiarly fortunate
if the top grain be found on the stalk.
If a young man or single woman go to the barn three times to winnow
corn, an apparition resembling the future spouse will appear before
the chaff is separated from the third sieveful of grain. The like
result may be expected if one go unperceived to the peat-stack and sow
a handful of hempseed, or travel three times round it. Another way of
revealing one's husband or wife, is this:--Go to a ford through which
a funeral has passed, dip the sleeve of the shirt or chemise, and the
wearer, on returning home and going to bed, after hanging the garment
before the bedroom fire, will see the apparition of his or her object
of affection turn the sleeve to dry the other side. To find the name
of one's future spouse, one has nothing more to do than to go on
Hallow-e'en to a barn or kiln, throw into it a clew of blue thread,
which the person begins to wind up into another clew, having of course
kept hold of one end of the thread. Before the winding operation is
completed, some one will take hold of the thread, and on the question
being asked, "Who holds?" an answer will be returned, in which will
appear the name of him or her the fates have destined to be the
inquirer's partner in life.
These modes described of lifting the veil that conceals the future are
easy, and the objects aimed at pleasant; but even Hallow-e'en has both
its lights and shadows; and one has something more to do than to
inquire into the affairs of affection and domestic bliss. From
curiosity or some other cause, a person may wish to know whether he or
any of his neighbours will be taken away by the cold hand of death
before another year. If he has such a wish, let him repair to a public
highway which branches off in three directions, and take his seat (a
three-legged stool is thought the best) in the centre of the road, a
little before twelve at night. Simultaneously with the nearest clock
striking that hour, he will hear proclaimed the names of those who are
to die in the parish before the next Hallow-e'en. The curious
individual should not omit to take with him a good many articles of
wearing apparel. If he hear pronounced the name of any one whose life
he does not desire to prolong, he will do well to retain his property;
but if the name of one dear to him is sounded, he may rescue the
person from early doom by casting away one of the articles. The life
of esteemed friends is precious in one's sight, but his own life is
generally dearer, and therefore the listener should take care not to
cast away every rag he has, lest his own name should be called after
he has parted with his last garment.
Another way of discovering one's future partner:--Let a person take up
a position before a mirror, eat an apple before it while combing his
or her hair, and now and again holding out the apple, as if offering
it to some one supposed to be standing on the right side. Before the
hair is properly arranged and the apple eaten, the person whose
presence is desired will appear in the attitude of accepting the
apple.
By the burning of nuts, it may be discovered whether lovers are to
prove true or false to each other. One nut is taken to represent the
gentleman, and another is named after the lady. Both nuts are laid in
the fire: if they consume quietly together, then it is learned that
fortune has appointed the lady and gentleman to spend their lives in
happy union; but if one of the nuts start away, or should they both
fly off in different directions, the individuals appealing to the
fates are to understand that they will never be united in wedlock.
November--gloomy November--was known as _Blot-monat_ (blood month) by
the Saxons, as it was the time when large numbers of sheep and cattle
were killed for sacrifices and for provisions.
The first day of November--All Saints or All Hallows--is a day of
general commemoration of all saints and martyrs in honour of whom no
particular days have been expressly assigned. The origin of this
festival is supposed to have been in 607, when Phocus, the emperor,
wresting the Pantheon from the heathens, gave the splendid edifice to
the Christians. Boniface IV. consecrated it to the Virgin Mary and all
the saints of both sexes. The Pagan dedication of it was to Cybele and
all the gods.
The second day of November is an important day in the eye of the
Church of Rome. On this day there are particular services in that
Church relative to the souls supposed to be in purgatory. Odilon,
abbot of Cluny, enjoined, in the ninth century, the ceremony of
praying for the dead. The practice became common after this, and the
next century a general festival was established, having for its object
the release of suffering souls. Persons dressed in black went round
the towns, ringing bells on the streets, every Sunday evening during
the month of November, calling upon the inhabitants to remember the
deceased suffering the expiatory flames of purgatory, and to join in
prayer for the repose of their souls. The practice is still continued
in some places, but an edict for its abolition was passed in the reign
of Elizabeth. Praying for the dead, and offering sacrifices at their
tombs, were early resorted to. Ovid ascribes the origin of the
ceremonies to AEneas; and Virgil favours this idea in his fifth book.
Certain saints declared that they heard the howlings of devils, as
they complained of the souls of men being taken away from them,
through the alms and prayers of holy people.
The Romans held a festival which lasted eleven days, during which
period they imagined that ghosts were not only relieved from
punishment, but were suffered to wander round their tombs. In the
Roman Catholic Church mass is performed for the repose of departed
souls; but it is requisite that those who desire to aid their deceased
friends should give substantial proof of sincerity. In the _Clavis
Calendaria_ we read, "When the Duke of Assuna was supplicated for
charity by a mendicant friar, he said, 'Put a pistole in this plate,
my lord, and you shall release that soul from purgatory, for which you
design it.' The duke complying, was assured his charity had been
effective. 'Say you so, holy man?' replied his grace; 'then I shall
take back my money for a future occasion, as you cannot, nor would
you, I am confident, if you were capable, again condemn the poor soul
to its former endurance.'"
Frederick the Great of Prussia, desirous of recovering the revenues of
one of his forests from a monastery, demanded of the prior by what
title it was held. To this question he received the prompt reply,
that the income had been given in consideration of the holy
brotherhood daily saying mass for the repose of the soul of one of his
Majesty's ancestors. "How much longer," said Frederick, "will that
holy work continue requisite?" "Sire," said the prior, whose
experience far surpassed that of the friar who had addressed the duke,
"it is not possible for me to speak of the precise time; but when it
shall have been effected, I shall instantly despatch a courier to
inform your Majesty."
The 6th November is sacred to St. Leonard. He was the friend of
captives and all others in distress. If monkish legends can be
credited, the mere mention of his name by one bound in fetters was
sufficient to break the chains wherewith he was secured, and cause the
prison doors to open, seemingly of their own accord, that the captive
might go free. St. Leonard died in the year 500.
On festive and holy days at this period of the year, people strewed
the graves of their relatives and the churchyards with evergreens.
Martinmas, now regarded in Scotland as the winter term-day, is
observed by Roman Catholics in honour of St. Martin, born in Pannonia
in or about the year 316, who is reported to have performed many
miracles. Formerly, St. Martin's Day was one of great festivity.
Sports were entered into at the market cross and village green, and
kept up till a late hour, when, by the ringing of a bell, the people
were warned to retire to their homes. It has been supposed that the
Martinmas feeing markets, for the engagement of agricultural and other
servants, originated at these sports. At those merry gatherings there
was invariably a large concourse of people, either taking part in or
witnessing the games; consequently the opportunity was taken advantage
of by masters requiring servants, and by servants seeking employment.
The 13th of November is St. Britius's Day. He was a pupil of St.
Martin, who prophesied that his youthful scholar would be subjected to
many severe afflictions, but that he would be appointed a bishop some
day. The latter part of the prediction was fulfilled in 399, by the
election of St. Britius to the see of Jaurs, on the death of his
master. The other part of St. Martin's prophecy also came to pass.
Grievous slanders were circulated concerning St. Britius; and among
other offences he was accused of being the father of a child by his
laundress. The people, enraged at the incontinence of their bishop,
threatened to put him to death; and they would have carried their
threat into execution, but for most extraordinary evidence coming from
the lips of a child only one month old. Holy St. Britius adjured the
infant, on the thirtieth day of its existence on earth, to tell who
was its father. Whether the infant revealed the name of its paternal
parent, we are not informed; but this we are told, that it clearly and
audibly testified that it had not sprung from the bishop's loins. This
miracle did not satisfy certain wicked people--they attributed the
strange occurrence to sorcery; and to give another test of his
innocence, St. Britius had recourse to the fiery ordeal. He, to show
that he was free from guilt, carried burning coals on his head to the
shrine of St. Martin, without the cap he wore being burned or a hair
of his head singed. This second miracle was also attributed to his
intimacy with Satan, and he was expelled from the city for seven
years. At the end of that time he was restored to his dignities, which
he enjoyed until his death, in the year 444.
St. Britius was among the first who submitted to a fiery ordeal, but
others had been subjected to this mode of trial before him. The first
appeal of this nature, we are informed, was that of Simplicius, a
bishop of distinction, in the fourth century. Having been married
before attaining his high ecclesiastical position, he was charged with
continuing to partake of matrimonial indulgences. To prove his
innocence, the bishop's wife not only held burning coals in her lap
without injury, but applied the coals to her breast without receiving
hurt. He, too, submitted to various forms of fiery ordeal, and came
out scatheless; and as their innocence was in this way manifested,
they were acquitted.
From the strange custom of ordeal by water originated the practice of
ducking witches, but to the witch either sinking or swimming proved
alike fatal. If she sank she was permitted to drown, and if she swam
it was regarded as a proof of guilt, and was therefore forced below
the water and drowned. Sometimes the ordeal was by hot water. The bare
legs and arms were immersed in boiling liquid, and if they sustained
no injury the accused was considered innocent.
Edmund, the king and martyr, to whose memory the 20th of November is
sacred, was the last titular of the East Angles. When the Danes first
landed in his district, in England, they defeated him, and when he
fell into their hands they scourged him, bound him to a tree, pierced
him with many arrows, and afterwards beheaded him. Before being
captured, Edmund offered to surrender himself to the Danes, provided
they would spare his subjects, and permit them to enjoy the privileges
of Christians; but the invaders refused to listen to the proposition,
hence the Church has regarded him as a martyr. His head was thrown
into a thicket, and lay there for twelve months, at the end of which
time the Christians found it in a perfect state, guarded by a wolf,
which held the precious caput between its paws. Probably it never
would have been seen, but for the departed saint being heard uttering
the words, "Here, here, here!" Fifty years after the head was
discovered, the body was found near the same spot. The remains of
Edmund were buried in a remote place in the year 903, but in 1010 they
were exhumed and translated to London. In 1012 this human dust was
removed to the place whence it was taken.
The Danish invasion and murder of Edmund are ascribed to Bearn, a
dissolute English nobleman. The story runs that Lodebrock, king of
Denmark, having been alone in a boat, was driven by a tempest from the
Danish coast to the Yare, in Suffolk. The inhabitants brought him to
Edmund, who treated him with so much mildness and consideration, that
his affections were alienated from his own country. Among other
pastimes, the Dane was in the habit of hawking with Bearn, the king's
huntsman, who at length murdered him. A favourite hound belonging to
Lodebrock never quitted the body of its murdered master, except when
compelled by hunger. This being noticed, and Bearn being found guilty
of the murder, he was sentenced to be put in Lodebrock's boat, without
food or instrument of navigation, and committed to the mercies of the
sea. By a strange providence, he was carried to the very place in
Denmark from which Lodebrock had been driven. The Danes, who knew the
boat, and who had heard of the murder, examined Bearn on the rack as
to his guilt. To avoid the just punishment of his crime, he affirmed
that Edmund was the author of the horrid deed. On hearing the false
declaration, wrung from Bearn by torture, Hinguar and Hubba, sons of
Lodebrock, to avenge their father's death, sailed for East Anglia,
where they killed Edmund.
St. Cecilia's Day is the 22d of November. She was a native of Rome,
and suffered martyrdom in consequence of her embracing the Christian
religion. Her story is a remarkable one. It is related that she made a
vow of chastity, but that nevertheless her parents compelled her to
marry a young nobleman named Valerianus, a heathen. On the evening of
their wedding day, Cecilia told her husband that he must not enter her
chamber, as she was nightly visited by an angel, who would destroy him
were he found in it. Surprised at the statement, but not alarmed, he
sought an interview with the spirit, but she told him that could not
be unless he first became a Christian. He consented to change his
religion, and he and his brother Tibertius were baptized. Shortly
afterwards the husband found his wife at prayers in her closet with an
angel, like a beautiful youth, clothed with brightness, by her side.
The angel informed Valerianus that he and his brother would soon be
beheaded, and that Cecilia would be thrown into a cauldron of boiling
water, and scalded to death. All the predictions were fulfilled.
Cecilia's martyrdom took place about the year 230, though some
authorities suppose it happened earlier.
The 30th November is the anniversary of St. Andrew, the patron saint
of Scotland. There is a wonderful legend regarding St. Andrew's Cross.
The cross, we are informed, appeared in heaven to Achaius, king of
Scots, and Hungus, king of the Picts, to encourage them to engage in
battle with Athelstane, king of England. Achaius and Hungus led on
their forces, and were victorious. In acknowledgment of this wonderful
manifestation, they vowed to bear St. Andrew's Cross for ever on their
ensigns and banners.
November was considered a good month for invalids being bled or
physicked, but every day was not considered equally lucky for applying
the lance or swallowing the draught. Almanacs were therefore sold,
with directions how to avoid the inauspicious times.
December, it is generally believed, was consecrated to Saturn; others,
however, think it was sacred to Vesta. In ancient times the Saxons
called it _Midwinter-monat_ and _Yule-monat_. This last-mentioned name
points to the far-back period and high festivals held this month by
the Northern nations in honour of the sun. The evergreens with which
houses are decked, and Christmas trees with their gifts, are relics of
the symbols by which our heathen ancestors exhibited their belief in
the power of the sun to deck the earth anew with green, and to laden
the trees with rich fruit. The misletoe, exhibited at Christmas and
the New Year in almost every house, is looked upon as a semi-sacred
thing, that possesses charms and confers privileges on people
possessed of it, or who may come under the support from which it is
suspended. In olden times the ancient Britons believed their gods were
in the oaks. When the misletoe berries were ripe, the Druids invited
the people to a great feast, and the oldest Druid, dressed in white,
climbed up the trees where the misletoe grew, and with a golden sickle
cut it down, while the other Druids sang and prayed. We have various
accounts of the misletoe, and of the strange superstitious proceedings
in gathering it. The misletoe is supposed to be the golden bough which
AEneas made use of, to introduce himself to the Elysian regions. It is
often worn about the neck of children, to prevent convulsions and pain
when getting their teeth.
New Year's gifts and Christmas boxes were given by friends to friends
in ancient times. Both the Greeks and Romans gave presents and
entertainments during their annual superstitious meetings. Masses and
prayers were offered for the safety of persons and ships, but more
particularly for vessels that went on long voyages. A box, devoted to
each ship, was kept by the priest, into which money might be dropped,
in order to give efficacy to the supplications of the Church; and
these boxes being opened at Christmas in each year, acquired the name
of Christmas boxes. In course of time all presents given at this
season of the year were familiarly called boxes. Poor people begged
box money to enable them to supply the priest's box, that they might
have the benefit of his prayers.
The old salutation of "a merry Christmas," like that of wishing "a
happy New Year," adverted to the hospitality of the rich, whose
spacious halls, crowded with tenants and neighbours, were scenes of
boundless hospitality. Boar's-head is sometimes served on Christmas
Day, to give expression of the abhorrence of Judaism. Plum-puddings
are emblematical of the offerings of the wise men; and mince-pies,
with their pieces of paste over them in the form of a hay rack,
commemorate the manger in which the Saviour was first laid. Dancing
and gambols have been among the Christmas amusements for a long series
of years.
The wassail bowl was the vessel out of which our Saxon ancestors took
such copious draughts, that legislative measures were adopted with the
view of enforcing temperance. Wassail not only refers to a certain
liquid preparation, but it is a term applied to drinking songs, which
in the cider-producing counties were sung on the eve of the Epiphany,
when libations were poured out to the apple-trees for a fruitful
season--a custom evidently followed in example of the heathen
sacrifices to Pomona, the goddess of fruit-trees and orchards.
Dunstan, to check the vicious habit of excessive indulgence in
intoxicating liquors, introduced the custom of marking or pegging
drinking-cups at certain places, to restrain the draught to a limited
quantity. But the contrivance, instead of being attended with good
effects, led to greater excess; for those who formerly strove to avoid
intoxication, were now, they thought, obliged to drink to the "pegs,"
it being understood that it was imperative to drain the vessel to the
pin.
From the use of peg or pin-cups or tankards, may be traced phrases yet
repeated. When a person is in a cheerful mood, he is said to be in a
merry pin. Speaking of bringing a man "down a peg," refers to a
regulation which deprived a troublesome fellow of his turn of
drinking. When a person is dull, he is described as being "a peg too
low." "Getting on peg by peg," means that a man is gradually emptying
his cup.
Anciently, confectionery was presented to the Fathers of Rome, made
up in the forms of crosses, infants, etc., to which has been ascribed
the origin of bakers presenting their customers with cakes, or, as
they are sometimes called, "Yule dough." It is supposed that the New
Year's ode composed by the Poet Laureate was originally regarded as a
Yule song or Wassail song. For such verses Christmas carols were
substituted, as being more appropriate for the season of the year,
observed with joy in honour of Christ's birth in Bethlehem.
MIRACLES PERFORMED BY SAINTS AND OTHER HOLY PERSONS, AND THE INFLUENCE
OF SACRED RELICS.
CHAPTER XV.
Introductory--St. Peter and Simon the
Magician--Clement's Miracles and Death--St. Agnes the
Innocent--A Miraculous Circumstance--St. Blase's Power
over Men and Beasts--St. Agatha's Holy Life, Tortures,
and Wonder-working Veil--St. Patrick's Missionary
Labours, and Expulsion of Reptiles from Ireland--St.
Germanus stilling the Raging of the Sea--St. David and
the Welsh Leeks--The Stirrup Cup, and Origin of
"Pledging"--Elfrida's Treachery and Remorse--St.
Benedict's Power over the Elements--St. Dunstan cured
by an Angel; his Encounter with Satan--The AEolian
Harp--St. Columba's Prophecy concerning Iona--The
Dream of Columba's Mother--Tragic Events--Prayer
answered--Sacred Ducks of Ireland--St. Paul binding a
Dragon--Saints and Frogs--Friars and Jesuits--Father
Mark proof against Fire--Virtue of Holy Water--St.
Noel's Imprecation--Men-wolves--Stories about
Bees--Strange Story about the Host--Blood-stained
Jews--Miracles--St. Boniface--Pope Silvester assisted
by Satan--Necromancing Popes--St. Januarius's
Blood--St. Anthony's Conflicts with the Devil--St.
Anthony's Hog and Bees--A Tradition concerning
Melrose--St. Cuthbert--Waves of Blood--Strange
Narrative--A Princess swallowed up by the Earth--Monk
Waldevus's inexhaustible Stores--Holy Relics--Rusticus
and his Hog.
In laying down rules for our own guidance in carrying on this work, we
resolved to make few allusions to the miracles and mysteries related
in the Old Testament. We also determined to avoid reference to
Christian rites, ceremonies, and performances, either in early or
later times, when that could be accomplished without materially
affecting the subject of superstition generally so called; but as an
important link would be left out were we to refrain from giving a few
examples of miracles wrought, or said to have been wrought, by holy
persons connected with Christian churches, we are under the necessity
(considering those persons have had numerous base imitators) of
departing to a certain extent from our original plans, and of devoting
this chapter to the "Miracles performed by Saints and other Holy
Persons" since the dawn of Christianity.
_St. Peter_, whom the Roman Catholics place at the head of the list of
bishops of Rome, did undoubtedly perform miracles; but tradition tells
us of so many strange circumstances concerning him, that at least a
few of the relations must be regarded as nothing better than romance.
We are informed that he went to Rome to oppose Simon, the celebrated
magician; that at their first interview, at which Nero was present,
the magician flew up into the air, but that the devil, who assisted
him up, let him fall from a great height to the ground, by which his
legs were broken. This tradition was long believed; and a reddish
stone, supposed to be blood-stained, was pointed out as the stone on
which Simon received his injuries.
We read that _Clement_, the third bishop of Rome, was banished by
Trajan beyond the Euxine Sea; that there he caused a fountain to
spring up miraculously for the benefit of Christians; and that he
converted the whole country to the true faith. These acts provoked the
Emperor so much that he ordered him to be thrown into the sea, with an
anchor fastened to his neck. On the anniversary of his death, the sea
ebbed to the place where he had been drowned, though three miles from
the shore; that on its retiring there appeared a most magnificent
temple of the finest marble, and in the temple a monument containing
the saint's body; that the sea continued thus to retire every year on
the same day, and did not return for a week, that worshippers might,
without apprehension of danger, perform their devotions in honour of
the holy martyr. In connection with these ceremonies, a most wonderful
circumstance occurred, even more strange than what has been related of
the temple. One year a mother left her young infant in the temple, and
on her return next year she found her child not only alive, but in
perfect health. Gregory of Tours and many others gave credit to this
story.
_St. Agnes_ was so great a favourite that her festivals were
celebrated with more than ordinary pomp. She was descended from a
Roman family of rank and opulence, and endowed by nature with great
personal beauty. She was beheaded at the early age of thirteen, in the
year 306. By the sentence of her judge, she was ordered to be treated
in a most shameful manner, but through a providential interposition
she was saved from the ignominy her persecutors intended for her.
After that event the Roman women worshipped her. The parents of St.
Agnes were blessed with a vision while praying at her tomb, in which
she appeared to them in white raiment, with a lamb standing by her
side, being the universally acknowledged emblem of innocence. On the
fast held on St. Agnes's Day, two of the whitest lambs that could be
procured were presented at her altar, and afterwards carefully reared
until they were shorn. Their wool was then hallowed, and converted
into white cloth for holy garments. Rural virgins were said to
practise singular rites, in keeping St. Agnes's Fast, for the purpose
of discovering their future husbands.
In the time of Liberius, a Roman of wealth and rank, named John,
having no children, resolved to make a gift of his whole substance to
the Holy Virgin. With the consent of his wife, the entire estate was
therefore conveyed to Mary, whom they thenceforth jointly entreated in
their prayers to let them know by some token in what manner she chose
to dispose of it. Their prayers were heard. On the night of the 4th
August, when the heat was great at Rome, there was a miraculous fall
of snow, which covered part of the Esquiline Mount. The same night
John and his wife were advised in their dreams to build a church on
the ground which they should find covered with snow. Next morning they
went to acquaint Pope Liberius with what had happened. Strange to say,
the Pope had had a similar dream. A grand procession of the whole
clergy, in which the Pope walked himself, attended by crowds of
people, went to the above-mentioned mount, and having discovered the
snow-covered spot, the Pope laid the foundation of a magnificent
church there, long known as Saint Mary in the Snow.
_St. Blase_, who suffered martyrdom by decapitation in the year 289,
after having been cruelly whipped and scourged, wrought numerous
miracles of an extraordinary nature. Shortly before his decease, he
prayed that whosoever sought his help in consequence of disease in the
throat, or any sickness, he might have the assistance desired. After
this, all who implored the aid of the saint were heard and healed. In
his lifetime he saved from death a devout widow's son, who, without
his assistance, would have been choked by a fish bone. Even the wild
beasts of the field were under the saint's control. A wolf that had
carried away a poor person's pig, was forced by the holy man to bring
back another animal of equal value. In honour of St. Blase, candles
were offered to him, which, through the very act of devotion, were
rendered holy, and became serviceable for all pious uses.
_St. Agatha_ performed many miracles. Quintianus, the governor of
Catania, smitten with her beauty and extraordinary accomplishments,
endeavoured to gain her affections, but was unsuccessful. Consequently
his love turned into inveterate hatred, which ended in the fair Agatha
being scourged and cast into a loathsome prison. The Pagan ruler
commanded her to sacrifice to heathen deities, but she adhered to her
Christian principles in spite of his wrath, which found vent in
burning her with hot irons and cutting off her breasts. To manifest
the displeasure of heaven, the walls of her prison were thrown down by
some unseen power, and two of the governor's servants were deprived of
life in a mysterious manner when torturing her. Her enemy had intended
other and more fearful cruelties, but, in answer to her earnest
prayers, death stepped in and relieved her from every trouble. In
Catania a church was built and dedicated to St. Agatha, and her sacred
veil, which she had often used to conceal her lovely features from the
lustful Quintianus, was placed in it, to protect that city from the
eruptions of Mount AEtna, and the earthquakes so frequent in Sicily.
This valuable relic was long preserved by those who believed in its
efficacy. It not only had power over the mountain and internal fires,
but it conveyed virtue to everything it touched, similar to that which
itself possessed. There were few Catanians who did not obtain, through
this veil, sovereign protections from evil.
_St. Patrick_, the apostle and father of the Hibernian Church, and
patron or tutelar saint of Ireland, was a Briton by birth, having been
born at Kilpatrick, near Dumbarton, in the year 377. When about
sixteen years of age he was taken prisoner and conveyed to Ireland,
where he was sold as a slave. Escaping from his master, he returned to
the place of his nativity. When in exile, he saw the evils arising
from Paganism, and resolved to do what he could to convert the Irish
Pagans to Christianity. In due time he entered into his missionary
labours with indefatigable zeal, and proved to be the blessed means of
converting the benighted Irish to the true faith. The miracles
attributed to him are numerous, the most noted of which is the
expulsion of reptiles from the Irish soil. It was he who made the
shamrock--the Irish national emblem--so famous.
_St. Germanus_, bishop of Auxerre, and _St. Lupus_, bishop of Troyes,
were sent to Britain by Celestine, the forty-second bishop of Rome, in
the year 429, to preach Christianity. The two missionaries, on their
way, passed through Paris; thence they pursued their journey to the
sea-side, and embarked. On the ocean a storm was raised by the devil,
when Germanus, who was asleep, awoke just as the vessel was on the
point of sinking, and having rebuked the sea and poured a few drops of
oil into it, the raging of the waves ceased. Germanus, after safely
landing in Britain, restored to sight a blind girl by the application
of certain relics he possessed.
_St. David_ was a learned, elegant, and zealous saint, reported to
have performed miracles. The Welsh regarded him as their tutelar
saint, and annually held festivals in his honour. In answer to the
saint's prayers in the year 640, the Britons, under King Cadwallader,
gained a complete victory over the Saxons. From a garden near the
battle-field, he caused leeks to be pulled and stuck in the caps of
the British warriors, to enable them to distinguish each other,
whereas the opposing parties, through want of a distinguishing badge,
mistook friends for foes, and cut one another to pieces. From this
circumstance sprang the custom of the Welsh wearing leeks in their
hats on St. David's Day. Tradition says that the birth of this saint
was predicted thirty years before the event took place; that a spirit
constantly attended him, to minister to his wants; that the waters of
Bath received their excellent qualities from his benediction; that he
healed the sick; and that he even restored the dead to life.
_Edward_, the martyr, was crowned King of the West Saxons, when a
youth, by Archbishop Dunstan, who had espoused his cause in opposition
to the wishes of Elfrida, his step-mother, who desired to secure the
throne for her own son Ethelred. Four years after his accession,
Edward was hunting one day in Dorsetshire, near Elfrida's castle, and
took the opportunity of paying her a visit, unattended by any of his
retinue. After what was thought an agreeable interview, he mounted his
horse to ride away, and when in the act of drinking the stirrup-cup, a
servant, instigated by Elfrida, stabbed him behind. The youthful
prince, finding himself wounded, put spurs to his steed, but, becoming
faint from loss of blood, fell from the saddle and was killed. The
foul deed struck the nation with so much dread, that subsequently
every man secured the protection of a staunch friend before he would
venture in public to drain the wassail-bowl. Hence arose the
expression of "pledging," when partaking of the cheerful glass.
Elfrida, seized with remorse, strove to atone for her guilt, but could
not get rid of the heavy load that constantly weighed her down. At
length she gave way to despair, her conscience causing her to imagine
that a monstrous fiend was always on the watch to drag her down to the
place of everlasting torment. When alone, in the still hours of the
night, she imagined she felt the infernal being's grasp, and, to
protect herself, she had recourse to charms.
_St. Benedict_ possessed the power of performing miracles. Not only
could he control the actions of man in a way that showed his
supernatural ability, but he also set the elements at defiance. In the
year 529, Benedict, with a few devotees selected from the many pious
men around him, went to Monte Casino, where idolatry prevailed, and
broke the images in Apollo's temple; they then founded a monastery
there, and instituted the order after the saint's name. The manner of
this Christian's death is not mentioned, but it is supposed to have
been easy and natural. When the Goths invaded Italy, they attempted to
burn him in his cell. Fiercely did the flames rage around him, but
they could not burn so much as a hair of his head. This preservation
still more enraged the heathen, who threw him into a close hot oven,
and kept him there till next day. To their surprise, when the oven
was opened, they found the saint safe--neither his body being scorched
nor his clothes singed.
_St. Dunstan_ was thought by the ignorant people to be in league with
infernal spirits. When a boy, disease brought him to the point of
death, but he was restored to health by medicine brought to him by a
spirit riding in a storm. Feeling himself well again, Dunstan repaired
to the church to return grateful thanks. Satan met him on the way,
surrounded him with numerous fierce-looking black dogs, and
endeavoured to defeat his pious intention. Nothing daunted, the holy
saint pursued his way, and, by the assistance of an angel that came to
his help, he defeated the devil and his black dogs. Dunstan found the
church door shut; and to save time, lest Satan should overtake them
before entering the sacred edifice, the angel carried him through the
roof to the proper place of devotion. At another time, while St.
Dunstan was working at his forge, the devil attempted to lead him into
evil paths. The evil spirit appeared, not in a hideous form, but as a
beautiful young lady, all smiles and endearments. Though the hook was
skilfully concealed, the deception did not succeed: the saint knew the
arch-fiend, and suddenly taking a pair of red-hot tongs from the fire,
seized the fiend's nose with them, whereby the nasal organ was
disfigured for ever. The AEolian harp is thought to have been invented
by St. Dunstan, and he is said to have been able to play upon that
instrument without touching a string thereof. At one time, in
consequence of the high esteem in which harps were held, every person
of rank was supposed to possess one of these instruments, and to be
able to perform on it. Slaves were prohibited from performing on this
sacred instrument. Creditors were prevented by law from seizing for
debt a gentleman's harp, though everything else he possessed might be
sold to discharge his obligations.
_St. Columba_ was the apostle of the Highlands and Western Islands of
Scotland, and founder of the famous cathedral of Iona, long regarded
as the mother church of the Picts. Concerning this building he wrote
the prophetic lines, which have been in part verified:
"O sacred dome of my beloved abode!
Whose walls now echo to the praise of God;
The time shall come when lauding monks shall cease,
And howling herds here occupy their place;
But better ages shall hereafter come,
And praise re-echo in this sacred dome."
Striking miracles were ascribed to him; his prophecies almost
invariably came to pass, and he had marvellous visions. Columba's
mother dreamed, one night before his birth, that a person of
superhuman mien and figure presented her with a veil of the most
beautiful texture; that in a short time the giver resumed possession
of his gift, and, raising it up, it flew through the heavens.
Gradually the veil extended itself on all sides, till it spread over
mountains and plains. Grieved at the loss of such a valuable article,
she expressed her sorrow; but he who had given and taken away,
comforted her with the assurance that it was an emblem of the child
soon to be born, who, he assured her, would prove a blessing to the
nation. One day, while the saint was a youth, a young girl, pursued by
a barbarian, came running to him for protection; but before he could
lift his slender arm to save her, the monster pierced her through with
a spear. One who witnessed the tragic deed exclaimed, "Ah! how long
will this atrocious crime remain unpunished?" To this question Columba
replied, "The soul of the murderer may yet be in hell as soon as that
of the murdered is in heaven." Scarcely had he uttered these words,
than the unhappy criminal fell a lifeless corpse. At another time the
saint observed a man falling from a considerable height, and beseeched
an angel to uphold him. The good man's prayer was heard: a heavenly
messenger, with a speed swifter than that of lightning, came to the
rescue, and the man escaped unhurt.
In olden times there were sixteen ducks that usually swam about a
certain lake in Ireland; but when any injury was done to the church or
clergy they flew away, and did not return until satisfaction was given
and reparation made for the wrong perpetrated. During the absence of
the ducks, the water of the lake, naturally clear, became corrupt and
smelt so badly that man and beast refused to taste it. If any person
injured one of those birds, condign punishment was sure to overtake
him. A kite having caught one of them, flew to a tree with it, but
immediately all the ravenous bird's members became so powerless that
it could not devour its prey. At another time a fox caught a second
bird of the flock, but he had better, we are told, have let it alone,
for next day the greedy animal was found dead near the lake, with the
innocent duck sticking in its throat.
_St. Paul_, bishop of Leon, was entreated by the inhabitants of a
seaport in Ireland to deliver them from a dragon that had killed many
people. The pious bishop assured them of help, provided they repented
and renounced their superstitions. They promised to do all he required
of them. An altar was prepared, whereon he said mass. Then he went out
and, with a loud voice, commanded the dragon to come before him.
Immediately it appeared with open mouth and rolling eyes, and cast
itself at the saint's feet. St. Paul cast a stole round its neck, and,
fixing his staff in the ground, bound the dangerous creature so that
it could not hurt any one after that time.
A holy saint, being disturbed one day by the croaking of a number of
frogs in a pool near the church, went and smote the waters with his
staff. Presently the frogs ceased their noise, and never croaked
again.
Once upon a time a rivalship existed between the Austin friars and the
Jesuits. The father-general of the Austin friars was dining with the
Jesuits, and, on the table-cloth being removed, he entered into a
formal discourse touching the superiority of the monastic order, and
charged the Jesuits with assuming the title of "Fratres," while they
held not the three vows which other monks were obliged to consider
sacred. The general was very eloquent and authoritative. On the
contrary, the superior of the Jesuits being unlearned, though shrewd
in many respects, preferred to see a miracle performed, to prove the
superiority of his order, rather than enter into a controversy. He
therefore proposed that one of his friars and an Austin friar should
show which of them would most readily obey his superior. The Austin
friar consented. The Jesuit then, turning to the holy friar Mark, who
was waiting on them, said, "Brother Mark, our companions are cold; I
command you, in virtue of the obedience you have sworn to me, to bring
instantly, in your hands, some burning coals from the kitchen fire,
that our friends may warm themselves over your hands." Father Mark
obeyed, and, to the astonishment of the Austin friars, brought on his
palms a supply of red burning coals, that whoever thought proper might
warm himself. The father-general, with the rest of his brethren, stood
amazed. He looked wistfully at one of his monks, as if he wished to
command him to perform a similar exploit; but the Austin monk, who
understood what was meant, said, "Reverend father, forbear; do not
command me. I am ready to fetch fire in a chafing dish, but not in my
bare hands." The triumph of the Jesuits was complete: the miracle was
noised about to their advantage. But the Austin friars could never
account for the miracle, nor could they imitate it.
A priest in Ireland, travelling in Ulster, was forced to pass a night
in a forest. He, and a boy who accompanied him, lighted a fire under
the branches of a tree. Scarcely had they seated themselves than a
wolf came near, and spoke as follows:--"Fear nothing; I am of a race
of men-wolves, from which every seven years, by force of an
imprecation made by St. Noel, two from among us, a male and a female,
are constrained to lay aside the outward shape of reasonable
creatures, and live in the form of wolves for seven years. At the end
of that period other two men-wolves are sent out, and the former two
return, if they survive the dangers of wolf-life. Not far from this
place, my wife, who is the female wolf, lies very unwell, and I
beseech you to go and comfort her." So the priest, ever ready to
perform a good act, went to see the sick wolf. She was in the hollow
of a tree, suffering great pain. He administered comfort to the
invalid, but possessed not the power of changing her into her natural
shape. The male wolf conducted the priest back to the fire, remained
on watch all night to keep the other wolves away, and in the morning
directed the priest how to go.
A French peasant, whose bees were dying of disease, was advised to go
to the communion, carry off the host, and blow it into one of his
hives. He did as recommended, but the result proved different to what
he expected. Some time afterwards he discovered that his bees were
dead. On examining the hive, he was amazed to find that the host put
among the honey-combs was turned into a beautiful infant--cold,
however, in the arms of death. Intending to bury the child's body in
the church, he was proceeding thither, when, on the way to the sacred
edifice, the infant vanished. This unhallowed use of the host brought
a curse on the neighbourhood. The people were so chastised by divers
calamities, that the country was depopulated, and became like a
wilderness.
Another peasant, having communicated on Easter Day, received the host
into his mouth; but instead of using it according to sacred rules, he
laid it among his bees, thinking that by doing so he would bring all
the bees in the neighbourhood, with their honey, to his hives. So far
did his project succeed; but the bees brought no fruit which the
wicked peasant could desire. They hummed melodious music, and built a
small wax church at the time the wicked wretch thought they should be
collecting honey for him. One day, walking near the hive into which he
had put the host, the bees came out, and stung him nearly to death.
Remorse seized him, and in bitter anguish he went to the priest to
confess his fault. As the case was an extraordinary one, the priest
consulted the bishop, who advised that the parishioners, headed by the
priest, should go in procession to the hives. On the people's arrival,
the bees testified their joy by their melodious humming. In the hive
into which the host had been put an altar of wax was found, and a
sacred relic lying thereon.
In 1399 a woman and her daughter engaged to procure consecrated hosts
for a band of wicked Jews, who intended to use them for unhallowed
purposes. The woman went to a church and stole three hosts when the
friars were at dinner. Having received the hosts, the Jews assembled
in a cellar, threw them contemptuously on a table, and stabbed them
with a dagger. Blood spurted out from the dagger holes, and covered
the faces of the impious men. The marks could not be washed away, so
that they, Cain-like, bore unmistakeable signs of guilt to the day of
their death. Blood also ran on the cellar floor, and could not by any
means be removed. The Jews being terrified, sent two men to bury the
hosts in a field. As the men passed a pious youth, named Paul, who had
charge of two oxen, the hosts flew up in the air, and became like
beautiful butterflies. At the sight of these, the oxen kneeled down on
the ground. Paul, on becoming acquainted with what had happened,
hastened to a magistrate to give information against the wicked
people. Instead of being believed, he was cast into prison as a base
fellow. In answer to his prayers, the prison gates opened of
themselves; so he went out, and again presented himself before the
judge. This time Paul's word was taken. The case was reported to the
bishop, who ordered the hosts to be collected for preservation.
Proceedings were taken against the Jews: they were burned, and their
goods confiscated. By order of the king, a church was built at the
place where the hosts appeared to Paul as butterflies. Many miracles
were afterwards wrought there. From that time to the year 1604 no
fewer than 382 were performed, the most notable ones being the raising
of thirty-six persons from the dead.
_St. Boniface_, the apostle of Germany, slept one night in a tent
pitched in an open plain. In the still dark hours a bright light
suddenly appeared, in which he saw St. Michael, who spoke words of
encouragement to him. After devotional services in the forenoon, he
ordered his steward to prepare dinner, but the servant told him he had
nothing in that barren place to set on the table. "What!" replied the
apostle, "has he that fed his people forty years in the wilderness
nothing to give his servant and his attendants?" Having said this, he
ordered the cloth to be spread on the table, and immediately a large
bird came flying with a fish, sufficient to feed the whole company for
a day.
Another good story is told of St. Boniface. When he was a child, he
observed a fox running away with a hen belonging to his mother. He
hastened to the church, and prayed that the hens and chickens, which
his mother fed in her back-yard to maintain herself and little family,
might be preserved. To his astonishment, on returning home, the fox
appeared before him with the hen, unhurt, in its mouth. Crouching like
a spaniel, the beast of prey laid the fowl at the child's feet, and
fell down dead.
Pope Silvester II. is reported to have reached the Papal chair by
Satan's assistance. In his youth Silvester was a monk, but he deserted
the monastery, and became a follower of the devil. He went to Spain in
search of magical instruction. Being introduced to a Saracen
philosopher skilful in magic, he became his disciple. But his stay
with the learned man was short; for seeing a valuable book of
necromancy belonging to his instructor, he stole it. Fleeing to a
place of safety, he studied the black art very closely. His
intercourse with Satan was frequent. Through the devil's assistance,
he became an archbishop, and subsequently a pope, upon condition that,
after his death, he would become the absolute property of the black
fiend. During his popedom he kept a brazen head, which he regularly
consulted concerning diabolical subjects. Desirous to know how long he
would reign, Silvester betook himself to the devil for information. In
answer to a question, the wicked spirit informed him that if he stayed
away from Jerusalem he would live to an old age. A few years after
this information, Silvester imprudently went to the Holy City, where
he was suddenly seized with fever. Before his senses left him he
repented, and confessed his familiarity with Satan. He desired that,
after death, his hands and tongue might be cut off, because with them
he had served the devil; that his mutilated body should be put into a
cart, with horses having no driver, and that wherever they halted,
after being started, his body should be buried there. All being done
as requested by the dying pope, the horses stopped when they came to
the church of Lateran, and there he was interred. Whatever became of
his soul, it is plain the devil did not let his body alone. Shortly
before the death of many popes who succeeded him, his bones were heard
to rattle, and his tomb was seen to sweat. By these signs people knew
when the dissolution of a pope was nigh. This narration may seem
strange to the present generation, but to people living in olden
times it was not considered very extraordinary. Report says that
eighteen popes, who succeeded one another, were necromancers.
Benedictus IX. was, through his wickedness and sorcery, called
Maledictus. He was killed, we are told, by the Devil in a wood. After
his death, a hermit met his body, in the form of a bear, with a mitre
on his head. The hermit, so the story goes, asked him how it happened
that he was metamorphosed. "Because," said he, "in my popedom I lived
without law, and now I wander like a beast."
_St. Januarius_, the patron saint of Naples, suffered martyrdom about
the end of the third century. When he was beheaded, a pious lady
secured a small quantity of his blood, which, report says, has been
preserved in a bottle ever since, without losing a grain of its
weight. The blood is usually congealed, but when brought near the
saint's carefully preserved head, it is miraculously liquified. The
experiment is, or at least was, made twice a year by the Neapolitans.
When there is an eruption of Mount Vesuvius, the saint's head is, or
was, carried in procession, in order to render the outbreak harmless.
_St. Anthony_ had serious conflicts with the Devil in bodily shape,
when victory was generally declared in favour of the good man. The
saint performed miracles, and was famed for curing the disease called
after his name. In youth he was a swine-herd, and afterwards became
the patron saint of swine-herds. To do him honour, the Romanists were
wont to keep a hog at the public expense, which was venerated, and
designated St. Anthony's hog. A picture or an image of the saint, hung
up in a house, kept away the plague from the dwelling. As the relics
of this saint were capable of curing St. Anthony's fire, so were those
of St. Lucia useful in removing toothache, and those of St. Apollonia
were infallible remedies in cases of hydrophobia.
The history of Melrose is made up in great part of romance and
superstitious traditions. Melrose, Malerose, or Mull-ross, signifying
a bare promontory, derived its name from a young princess, who was
obliged to fly from her home on an island of the Greek Archipelago, in
consequence of her too close intimacy with a lover to whom she was
sincerely attached. In her country a breach of the seventh commandment
by a young female was visited by death. As soon as her guilt became
known, she, to save her life, fled in search of an asylum, where she
might have time and opportunity to atone for her guilt. Certain good
priests whom she consulted, directed her to sail northwards to an
island called Hibernia; and, moreover, the priests offered to
accompany her wherever she went, for the good of her soul. They
accordingly set sail, and landed at a port on the north-east coast of
Scotland. She and her companions went inland, and settled down at
Melrose, on the banks of the Tweed, where she erected an abbey. St.
Cuthbert was an abbot at Melrose before he removed to Lindisfarne, now
called Holy Island, where he was appointed bishop of St. Peter's
Church at the latter place. He died at Holy Island in the year 687,
and was buried in a stone coffin there. Eleven years after the
interment he was taken out of the grave, when it was found that the
body was free from corruption.
Three years afterwards, Abbot Edred stealthily removed the body,
carrying it from town to town for seven years. Many of the inhabitants
of Holy Island, on learning that the saint's body was taken away, left
their property, and went south after it. In consequence of the
persecution then raging in England, the body, it was resolved, should
be conveyed to Ireland for its greater security. The bishop, abbot,
and others engaged in transporting the body, went on board a ship with
their sacred treasure, intending to cross the Channel. A storm was
encountered, three waves were turned into blood, and the ship was
driven ashore, and cast on its side. A volume, containing the
Evangelists' writings, in letters of gold and having its boards set
with precious stones, fell from the vessel into the sea, which caused
the saint to appear in a vision to one of the monks, and commanded him
to search the shore for the book. He searched and found it, and, to
his surprise, it appeared more beautiful than before, seeming to have
been polished with a heavenly hand. On attempting to remove the body
again, it became heavy and difficult to carry, which greatly perplexed
those bearing the burden; but their difficulty was of short duration,
for they perceived a bridle on a tree, and a red horse running toward
them, which, on its approach, offered to carry St. Cuthbert's body.
Accepting the proffered service, the body was put on the mysterious
animal's back, which carried it to Crake Minster. Thence it was
conveyed to Chester, where it remained a hundred and ten years. At the
termination of that time it was removed to Ripon, to be laid beside
the body of St. Wilfrid; but it was not destined to remain there more
than a few months. As war, which had devastated the country, had
ceased, St. Cuthbert's body was lifted with the intention of bringing
it back to Chester; but the bearers halting with it at Wardenlaw,
could not remove it again, as it seemed to be fastened to the ground.
This caused the monks to pray for three days, and instructions were
asked as to how the body was to be disposed of. Their prayers were
heard: it was revealed to Eadmer, one of the monks, that the body
should be taken to Durham, as its last resting-place. The
extraordinary heaviness of the remains was no longer felt; it was
removed thither, and deposited in the abbey in the year 997, where it
lies to the present day.
Another story of St. Cuthbert is related. He lived on the borders of
the Pictish territory, where many people went to him for instructions.
At this time the king's daughter was injured by a young man, whom the
princess spoke of as "the solitary young man who dwelleth hard by."
Greatly incensed, the king went to St. Cuthbert, thinking that he was
the guilty person, and accused him of committing the crime. For
unknown reasons, the princess stated, and persisted in saying, that
the holy man was the offender. Knowing his innocence, the saint prayed
that the work of iniquity should be laid open, and that by some token
it would be made known that the accusation was false. A sign was soon
given; for scarcely had the supplication been made than the earth on
which the princess stood suddenly opened with a hissing noise, and
swallowed her up. The king, struck with terror, and in great distress
at the loss of his daughter, implored the saint to restore the
princess. This petition the holy father granted, clogging it, however,
with the condition, that thenceforward no woman should resort to him.
From that time a woman was never seen approaching his place of
seclusion; and more than that, the restriction was extended to all the
Pictish churches dedicated to him.
In connection with the history of Melrose, there is a tale of a monk
named Waldevus, who increased the corn in the granaries belonging to
the monastery in the villages of Eildon and Gattonside, out of which
were fed, in a time of scarcity, four thousand poor people for three
months, without any diminution of the first quantity, until the fruits
of harvest were gathered, and then the store began to diminish
according to the quantities withdrawn from it. Waldevus's tomb was
opened twelve years after his death, which took place about the middle
of the twelfth century, when his body was found entire, and his
garments undecayed. In the year 1240 Waldevus's place of sepulchre was
again opened, but his remains were then decayed. Those who were
present carried away some of the small bones, leaving the rest of the
ashes to repose in peace. William, son of the Earl of Dunbar, was one
of the company present: he secured one of the saint's teeth, which
turned out to be a valuable prize, for by it many wonderful miracles
were performed.
Waldevus and his corn reminds us of Rusticus and his hog. Two
Christian pilgrims, we are informed, were travelling in Poland, when
they were hospitably entertained by Rusticus, then a Pagan peasant,
afterwards converted, and promoted to sovereignty. They arrived at his
residence when he was preparing to give an entertainment on the
occasion of the birth of a son. A hog was killed for the feast, to
which the wearied travellers were invited; and rumour has it, that
they did ample justice to the good things, particularly to the hog's
flesh, set before them. To show their gratitude, they resolved to work
a miracle for the everlasting benefit of their host and his family.
Half of the hog remained uneaten, and over it they prayed earnestly
that it might never be consumed, but become a constant source of
supply to the family. Their prayers were heard; and the swine's flesh
remained undiminished in weight, however freely slices were carved
from it for hungry mortals. Such was the effect produced on Rusticus's
mind by this miracle, that he forsook heathenism and became a
Christian.
HOW THE POETS HAVE FANNED THE FLAME OF SUPERSTITION.
CHAPTER XVI.
Prophetic Verse--Druids called Bardi--The Bardi as
Instructors--Virtue of Serpents' Eggs--Bards
maintained by Noblemen--Queen Elizabeth and the
Bards--Effects of Prophetic Sayings, and of Pipe
Music--Message, how conveyed to another World--Voices
of Deceased Friends heard in the Gale--Human Forms in
the Clouds--Evenings in the Highlands--Michael
Scott--Constant Work for Evil Spirits--Stemming the
Tweed--How the Eildon Hills were formed--Place of
Torment--Ropes of Sand--Scott and his Magic Books
buried at Melrose--Ossianic Poems--Stories by Bards.
Poets have done much to fan the flame of superstition. They have
indulged in prophetic verse, and handed down to posterity the strange
belief of our ancestors. Certain Druids, called Bardi, were well known
to be versed in astrology. They are supposed to have been the same, in
particular respects, among the Britons as the Sophi among the Greeks,
or the Magi among the Persians. Having been chosen from the best
families in the land, the Bardi were held in the highest esteem by the
common people; and the children of the chiefs were instructed by them.
Their practical verses were never written, but given to their pupils
_viva voce_, that they might assist in conveying them orally to the
people. The Bardi dealt in particular charms, such as serpents' eggs,
gathered in a particular way, and under certain phases of the moon.
These eggs were imagined to be effectual for the gaining of law-suits,
and for the securing of the good graces of princes. The Vates (another
class of Druids), if not the Bardi, sought for omens among the
entrails of victims offered in sacrifice.
The Bards, at various periods, possessed uncommon privileges, but
these were from time to time diminished or increased, according to the
caprice of those under whose government they lived. Almost every
nobleman of distinction maintained bards in his family, and treated
them with great consideration. Queen Elizabeth, however, acted
differently: she ordered bards and minstrels to be hanged as traitors,
as she believed they instigated rebellion by their songs. Bards
followed clans to the field, where they eulogized the chiefs, and sang
in extravagant verse the deeds of the favourite warriors. Before a
battle, they went from tribe to tribe, or from clan to clan, exhorting
and encouraging by prophetic sayings, in which success to friends was
foretold and the doom of enemies pronounced. In the tumult of fight,
when the bards' voices could not be heard, they were succeeded by
pipers, who with inspiring warlike strains kept alive the enthusiasm
the composers of verse had kindled. After the contest was sounded, the
bards were employed to honour the memory of the brave that had fallen
in battle, to celebrate the deeds of those who survived, and to excite
to future acts of heroism. The piper was called upon, in turn, to
sound mournful lamentations for the slain. In poetical language, the
people were told that the dead sympathized with the living left behind
to maintain the honour of their clans or country. Messages were given
to dying friends, that they might be delivered to the spirits of
relatives in another world. Highlanders imagined they heard, in the
passing gale, the voices of departed relatives, and in their solitude
they beheld the forms of their fathers in the bright clouds. In cases
of emergency, the spirit of the mountains gave friendly warnings,
which enabled cautioned ones to avoid dangers, that otherwise could
neither be foreseen nor prevented.
Traditional poetry is highly esteemed by the mountaineers. It is a
favourite pastime with the Highlanders, when seated round the evening
fire, to relate and listen to tales of witches, fairies, etc., and to
sing the soul-stirring songs of their native bards. Formerly, those
who could recount the deeds of Fingalian times were special
favourites. To such persons every door was open, and every table free.
Nothing but ignorance could lead inhabitants of towns to suppose that
Highlanders spend their winter months in gloomy solitude. Except where
poverty or sickness prevails, the winter evenings among the mountains
have something bewitching about them. The day's toil being over,
neighbours come in, and parents and children, masters and servants,
friends and relations, hold social intercourse in the same apartment,
where there blazes a hearty fire of peats and bog-fir. None of the
young women remain idle; for while the joke and merry laugh go round,
one knits, a second sews, a third spins, and a fourth handles a
distaff. Once the happy conversation has commenced, the wind may blow,
the tempest roar, without disturbing the friendly group. There may be
now less highly-gifted bards in the Highlands, romance and chivalry
may have yielded to other ideas and pursuits, but still much of the
same characteristic spirit remains: the love of ancient tradition and
song exists, and the superstitions of bygone ages are unforgotten.
Those who do not venerate their poets, and have respect to the early
history of their country, are a dull, besotted people.
Not unfrequently were poets and other men of genius regarded as
wizards or magicians. As an instance, we refer to the history of
Michael Scott, the celebrated philosopher and poet, who lived in the
thirteenth century. He was a native of Fife, and in early life became
versant in occult science. After studying in Scotland, he went to
Oxford and Paris, where he attained wonderful proficiency in
philology, mathematics, natural philosophy, and theology. He visited
other foreign countries--in particular, Norway, Germany, and Spain.
His fame spread over the whole of Europe. His knowledge of natural
magic procured for him the appellations of enchanter, magician,
wizard. His works recommended him to the favourable notice of
Frederick II. of Germany, by whom he was appointed his royal
astrologer. To Scott, it is reported, the heavens were as a great
book, wherein was written not only the history of nations, but of
individuals also. In the vaulted heavens, he declared, man might read
his own fortune. He predicted when, where, and how the Emperor
Frederick's death would take place. Scott returned to Scotland, when
he had the honour of knighthood conferred on him. He performed almost
innumerable miracles; and so thoroughly was he believed to be in
league with the Devil, that he was tried for sorcery, but through his
influence in high quarters, or his subtle arts, he escaped the fangs
of the law. Tradition says that upon a certain occasion, being
embarrassed by evil spirits, he undertook to find the wicked ones
constant employment. Not a few strange feats were gone through, which
Scott thought were impossible for Satan himself to perform.
Nevertheless, they were done. One day, the spirits demanded more work;
and the wizard ordered that a dam-head should be built across the
Tweed at Kelso, to prevent the flow of the river. Next morning the
work was found completed. More work was demanded; and this time Scott
requested that the Eildon Hill, which had only one cone, should be
divided into three parts. Away went the infernal spirits in great glee
to perform the task assigned them. On the sun rising the following
day, the hill had three cones, as are to be seen at the present time.
Back came the wicked beings to intimate that the task was
accomplished. This Sir Michael well knew meant a determination to have
more work, or to claim him in accordance with an agreement between
him and Satan. Scott remembered he had sold himself to his Satanic
Majesty, but did not forget that he was entitled to a respite so long
as he could procure diabolical work for Satan's favourite imps.
"What," Scott asked himself; "is next to be done? Am I to order the
world to be turned upside down, and perhaps perish in the ruins? or am
I to demand the evil spirits, which torment me night and day, to bring
down the sun, moon, and stars, and leave the universe in perpetual
darkness? No," replied he, mentally; "to do so, would be to make
myself more of a fiend than they that take pleasure in gathering
together into the place of torment those who have persistently
disobeyed the dictates of reason. Shall I then at once surrender
myself to the merciless tyrants, and thereby free the world from an
instrument of unrighteousness? Ah!" exclaimed Scott, "life is sweet,
and death bitter; let me prolong my days to the utmost limits allowed
to man." Exhausted, Sir Michael leaned back on the seat whereon he
sat. Long watching, deep study, and vexatious encounters with the evil
ones so exhausted him that he fell into a disturbed sleep. In his
dreams he beheld the place of torment with all its horrors. The fiery
lake looked more dismal than anything he had heard described, or what
he could have imagined. Within were many known faces; every one
endeavoured to excel the other in his endeavour to make the place what
it was intended to be--a place of torment. No one repented of his
wicked deeds or expected mercy. The gates of the unholy place were
thrown open, and in went the chief spirit that had so often communed
with Scott. Like a furnace door, the gate was closed after him. What
took place may be imagined. Again the red-hot gate turned on its
hinges, and out came Satan, with a thousand of his swiftest
messengers, to bring home Sir Michael, against whom a charge was
pending of breach of bargain. Horror-stricken, the sleeper started to
his feet, and to his great relief found none but his old familiar
spirits before him. "Work, more work," said the spirits. "Yes, work,
endless work," shouted Scott. "Go," said he, "and make the sea-sand
into ropes." With a gloomy countenance the fiends departed, never to
return to molest the enchanter. For aught that is known, says the
legend, the spirits may still be endeavouring to perform the
impossible task of making ropes out of sea-sand. All parties are not
agreed as to how Sir Michael Scott died, nor where he was interred,
but the general belief as to where his remains rest is, that he was
buried, together with his magic books, at Melrose Abbey.
Assuming that the poems asserted to be those of Ossian are authentic,
we see there was in his time a general belief that ghosts and spirits
floated through the air, that the dead revisited the earth, that the
destiny of man was under the control of supernatural beings, and that
the astonishing power of witches was real, and not imaginary. This is
abundantly proved (always assuming the authenticity of the Ossianic
poems) by the work before us, from which we take the following
quotations:--
"Fingal advanced his steps wide through the bosom of
night, to where the trees of Loda shook amid squally
winds.... I beheld the dark moon descending behind thy
resounding woods. On thy top dwells the misty Loda,
the house of the spirits of men. I saw a deer at
Crona's stream; a mossy bank he seemed through the
gloom, but soon he bounded away. A meteor played round
his branching horns; the awful faces of other times
looked from the clouds of Crona. These are the signs
of Fingal's death. The king of shields is fallen, and
Caracul prevails. 'Rise, Comala, from thy rock;
daughter of Sarno, rise in tears. The youth of thy
love is low; his ghost is on our hills.'...
"Autumn is dark on the mountains; grey mists rest on
the hills. The whirlwind is heard on the heath. Dark
rolls the river through the narrow plain. A tree
stands alone on the hill, and marks the slumbering
Connal. The leaves whirl round with the wind, and
strew the grave of the dead. At times are seen here
the ghosts of the departed, when the musing hunter
alone stalks over the heath....
"The deer of the mountain avoids the place, for he
beholds a dim ghost standing there. The mighty lie, O
Malvina! in the narrow plain of the rock.
"Often did I turn my ship, but the winds of the east
prevailed. Nor Clutha ever since I have seen, nor
Moina of the dark-brown hair. She fell in Balclutha,
for I have seen her ghost. I knew her as she came
through the dusky night, along the murmur of Lora: she
was like the new moon, seen through the gathered mist,
when the sky pours down its flaky snow, and the world
is silent and dark. 'Raise, ye bards,' said the mighty
Fingal, 'the praise of unhappy Moina. Call her ghost,
with your songs, to our hills, that she may rest with
the fair of Morven, the sunbeams of other days, the
delight of heroes of old.'...
"The night passed away in song; morning returned in
joy. The mountains showed their grey heads; the blue
face of ocean smiled. The white wave is seen tumbling
round the distant rock; a mist rose slowly from the
lake. It came in the figure of an aged man along the
silent plain. Its large limbs did not move in steps,
for a ghost supported it in mid air. It came towards
Selma's hall, and dissolved in a shower of blood.
"The king alone beheld the sight; he foresaw the death
of the people....
"'My spirit, Connal, is on my hills: my corse on the
sands of Erin. Thou shalt never talk with Crugal, nor
find his lone steps in the heath. I am light as the
blast of Cromla. I move like the shadow of mist!
Connal, son of Colgar, I see a cloud of death: it
hovers dark over the plains of Lena. The sons of green
Erin must fall. Remove from the field of ghosts.' Like
the darkened moon, he retired in the midst of the
whistling blast. 'Stay,' said the mighty Connal,
'stay, my dark-red friend. Lay by that beam of heaven,
son of the windy Cromla! What cave is thy lonely
house? What green-headed hill the place of thy repose?
Shall we not hear thee in the storm? in the noise of
the mountain stream? when the feeble sons of the wind
come forth, and, scarcely seen, pass over the
desert.'...
"'Sons of Cona!' Fingal cried aloud, 'stop the hand of
death. Mighty was he that is low; much is he mourned
in Sora! The stranger will come towards his hill, and
wonder why it is so silent. The king is fallen, O
stranger! The joy of his house is ceased. Listen to
the sound of his woods. Perhaps the ghost is murmuring
there! But he is far distant, on Morven, beneath the
sword of foreign foe.'
"Lorma sat in Aldo's hall. She sat at the light of a
flaming oak. The night came down, but he did not
return. The soul of Lorma is sad. 'What detained thee,
hunter of Cona? thou didst promise to return. Has the
deer been distant far? Do the dark winds sigh round
thee on the heath? I am in the land of strangers; who
is my friend but Aldo? Come from the sounding hills, O
my best beloved.'
"Her eyes are turned towards the gate. She listens to
the rustling blast. She thinks it is Aldo's tread. Joy
rises in her face! But storm returns again, like a
thin cloud on the moon.... His thin ghost appeared on a
rock, like a watery beam of feeble light, when the
moon rushes sudden from between two clouds, and the
midnight shower is on the field. She followed the
empty form over the heath. She knew that her hero
fell. I heard her approaching cries on the wind, like
the mournful voice of the breeze, when it sighs on the
grass of the cave!
"She came. She found her hero! Her voice was heard no
more. Silent she rolled her eyes. She was pale, and
wildly sad! Few her days on Cona. She sank into the
tomb. Fingal commanded his bards; they sang over the
death of Lorma. The daughters of Morven mourned her
for one day in the year, when the dark winds of autumn
returned."
In Ossianic times there were prophets and prophetesses, who were
consulted by the chiefs of armies and by the common people on
important occasions. Even a thousand years after the time of Ossian,
the bards uttered their prophetic sayings. We have the story of five
bards passing an October night in the house of a chief, who, like his
guests, was a poet, entertaining their hearers with poetic
descriptions of the night. The first bard delivered himself thus:
"Night is dull and dark. The clouds rest on the hills.
No star with green trembling beam; no moon looks from
the sky. I hear the blast in the wood, but I hear it
distant far. The stream of the valley murmurs, but its
murmur is sullen and sad. From the tree, at the grave
of the dead, the long-howling owl is heard. I see a
dim form on the plain! It is a ghost! it fades, it
flies. Some funeral shall pass this way: the meteor
marks the path. The distant dog is howling from the
hut of the hill. The stag lies on the mountain moss:
the hind is at his side. She hears the wind in his
branchy horns. She starts, but lies again. The roe is
in the cleft of the rock; the heath-cock's head is
beneath his wing. No beast nor bird is abroad, but the
owl and the howling fox. She on a leafless tree; he in
a cloud on the hill. Dark, panting, trembling, sad,
the traveller has lost his way. Through shrubs,
through thorns he goes, along the gurgling mill. He
fears the rock and the fen. He fears the ghost of
night. The old tree groans to the blast; the falling
branch resounds. The wind drives the weathered burs,
clung together, along the grass. It is the light tread
of a ghost! He trembles amidst the night. Dark,
dusky, howling night, cloudy, windy, and full of
ghosts! The dead are abroad! My friends, receive me
from the night."
The second bard says:
"The wind is up. The shower descends. The spirit of
the mountain shrieks. Woods fall from high. Windows
flap. The growing river roars. The traveller attempts
the ford. Hark! that shriek! He dies! The storm drives
the horse from the hill, the goat, the lowing cow.
They tremble as drives the shower, beside the
mouldering bank. The hunter starts from sleep, in his
lonely hut; he wakes, the fire decayed. His wet dogs
smoke around him. He fills the chinks with heath. Loud
roar two mountain streams, which meet beside his
booth. Sad on the side of the hill the wandering
shepherd sits. The tree resounds beside him. The
stream roars down the rock. He waits for the rising
moon to guide him to his home. Ghosts ride on the
storm to-night. Sweet is their voice between the
squalls of wind. Their songs are of other worlds. The
rain is past. The dry wind blows. Streams roar and
windows flap. Cold drops fall from the roof. I see the
starry sky. But the shower gathers again. The west is
gloomy and dark. Night is stormy and dismal. Receive
me, my friends, from night."
The third bard sings:
"The wind still sounds between the hills, and whistles
through the grass of the rock. The firs fall from
their place. The turfy hut is torn. The clouds
divided, fly over the sky, and show the burning stars.
The meteor, token of death, flies sparkling through
the gloom. It rests on the hill. I see the withered
form, the dark-browed rock, the fallen oak. Who is
that in his shroud beneath the tree by the stream? The
waves dark tumble on the lake, and lash its rocky
sides. A maid sits sad beside the rock, and eyes the
rolling stream. Her lover promised to come. She saw
his boat, when yet it was light, on the lake. Is this
his broken boat on the shore? Are these his groans on
the wind? Hark! the hail rattles around. The flaky
snow descends. The tops of the hills are white. The
stormy wind abates. Various is the night, and cold.
Receive me, my friends, from night."
The fourth bard takes up the theme thus:
"Night is calm and fair; blue, starry, settled is
night. The winds, with the clouds, are gone. They sink
behind the hill. The moon is up on the mountain. Trees
glister; streams shine on the rock. Bright rolls the
settled lake; bright the stream of the vale. I see the
trees overturned; the shocks of corn on the plain.
The wakeful hind rebuilds the shocks, and whistles on
the distant field. Calm, settled, fair is night! Who
comes from the place of the dead? That form with the
robe of snow; white arms with dark-brown hair! It is
the daughter of the chief of the people--she that
lately fell! Come, let us view thee, O maid! thou that
hast been the delight of heroes! The blast drives the
phantom away; white, without form, it ascends the
hill. The breeze drives the blue mist slowly over the
narrow vale. It rises on the hill, and joins its head
to heaven. Night is settled, calm, blue, starry,
bright with the moon. Receive me not, my friends, for
lovely is the night."
The fifth bard chants:
"Night is calm, but dreary. The moon is in a cloud in
the west. Slow moves that pale beam along the shaded
hill. The distant wave is heard. The torrent murmurs
on the rock. The cock is heard from the booth. More
than half the night is past. The housewife, groping in
the gloom, rekindles the settled fire. The hunter
thinks the day approaches, and calls his bounding
dogs. He ascends the hill, and whistles on his way. A
blast removes the clouds. He sees the starry plough of
the north. Much of the night is to pass. He nods by
the mossy rock. Hark! the whirlwind is in the woods! A
low murmur in the vale! It is the mighty army of the
dead returning from the air. The moon rests behind the
hill. The beam is still on the lofty rock. Long are
the shadows of the trees. Now it is dark all over.
Night is dreary, silent, and dark. Receive me, my
friends, from the night."
The chief replies:
"Let clouds rest on the hills, spirits fly, and
travellers fear. Let the winds of the woods arise, the
sounding storms descend. Roar streams, and windows
flap, and green-winged meteors fly! Let the pale moon,
from behind the hills, enclose her head in clouds!
Night is alike to me, blue, stormy, or gloomy the sky.
Night flies before the beam when it is poured on the
hill. The young day returns from his clouds, but we
return no more.... Raise the song, and strike the
harp; send round the shells of joy. Suspend a hundred
tapers on high. Maids and youths, begin to dance. Let
some grey bard be near me to tell the deeds of other
times, of kings renowned in our land, of chiefs we
behold no more. Thus let the night pass until morning
shall appear on our hills. Then let the bow be at
hand, the dogs, the youths of the chase. We shall
ascend the hill with day, and awake the deer."
From the foregoing, we obtain a glimpse of the superstitions and
customs of remote ages. Greek mythology is confessedly the creation
of poets; and to the bards of our own country we are indebted for some
of our strangest fictions. Fletcher of Saltoun must have been fully
aware of the poetic influence; for he expressed himself as willing to
let any one who pleased make the laws, if he were permitted to compose
the national ballads.
CHAPTER XVII.
Shakspeare--An Outline of his Composition--"The
Tempest"--Ship at Sea in a Storm--Miranda beseeching
Prospero to allay the Wild Waters--Ariel's Readiness
to serve his Master--The Witch Sycorax--Ariel kept in
a Cloven Pine twelve years--Caliban's Evil
Wish--Mischief by Ariel--Neptune chased--Charmed
Circle--Miracles--"Midsummer Night's Dream"--Exploits
of a Fairy--Doings of Puck--Charmed Flower--Titania
and her Attendants--Ghosts and
Spirits--Song--"Macbeth"--Weird Sisters--Hecate and
the Witches--Magic Arts--Macbeth's Doom--Witches'
Caldron--Macbeth admonished by Spirits--Eight Kings
and Banquo's Spirit--Noblemen warned by a
Spirit--"Antony and Cleopatra"--Dreadful
Apparition--King's Death avenged.
Shakspeare, the immortal English poet, born in the year 1564, has
assisted in no small degree to spread the knowledge of superstition.
So opportunely do his works come to support our statements, that we
are induced to give, in prose and verse, an outline of certain
portions of his compositions touching the many mysterious subjects on
which he wrote.
In the _Tempest_ there is a ship at sea in a storm, with thunder and
lightning. On board are the master, boatswain, mariners, Alonso,
Sebastian, Antonio, Ferdinand, Gonzalo, and others. The ship is
thought to be in danger; but Gonzalo tells his companions to take
comfort, for he thought the boatswain had no drowning mark upon him,
his complexion being perfectly gallows-like. "If," said Gonzalo, "he
be not born to be hanged, our case is miserable." The mariners thought
all was lost, and went to prayers.
Miranda beseeched Prospero, whom she addressed as father, to allay the
wild waters in their roar, and not suffer a brave vessel that had
noble creatures in her to sink. Prospero laid aside his magic garment;
and while Miranda slept, Ariel declared his readiness, at the request
of Prospero, to swim, to dive into the fire, to ride on the curled
clouds. In answer to Prospero's inquiry whether the spirit had
directed the tempest according to instructions, Ariel answered that he
had boarded the ship, joined Jove's lightnings, and made Neptune's
bold waves tremble. Ariel, who thought his services were most valuable
to his master, craved his liberty; for Ariel was a bound servant of
Prospero for a specified time. Prospero reminded the spirit that he
had freed him from torment; and asked if he remembered the witch
Sycorax, famed for her sorceries, and who had, by the aid of her most
potent ministers, put him (Ariel) into a cloven pine, within whose
rift he remained imprisoned for twelve years, tormented so greatly
that his groans made the wolves howl, and penetrated the breast of
every bear. Sycorax could not, proceeded Prospero, undo what she had
done; it was his art alone that made the pine gape and set him free.
Then he threatened the spirit that if he again murmured, he would send
an oak, and peg him in its knotty trunk till he had howled away twelve
winters. The spirit asked pardon, and declared his readiness to obey
Prospero's commands. Prospero promised that if he did so, he would
discharge him in two days. "Go," said Prospero, "make thyself like to
the nymph o' the sea; be subject to no sight but mine; invisible to
every eye-ball else. Go take this shape, and hither come in't: hence
with diligence." Miranda having been awakened, was invited by Prospero
to visit his slave Caliban, son of Sycorax, then dead. Ariel here came
before his master, who was pleased with his appearance.
On Prospero calling to Caliban, "Thou poisonous slave, got by the
Devil himself," to come forth, Caliban appeared and said, "As wicked
dew as e'er my mother brush'd with raven's feather from unwholesome
fen, drop on you both!" For this, replied Prospero, thou shalt be
tortured this night.
Alonso, Sebastian, Antonio, Gonzalo, Adrian, and Francisco escaped to
an island, which to them seemed to be a desert. Caliban found them;
and a conspiracy was entered into to kill Prospero and secure the
person of Miranda. Solemn and strange music was heard, and several
strange shapes appeared at a banquet. Thunder rolled, and lightning
flashed: Ariel, in the form of a harpy, clapped his wings upon the
table, and the banquet vanished. Prospero gave Ferdinand a rich
compensation to make amends for past austere punishments; and that
compensation was nothing less than the hand of Miranda. He recommended
them to be prudent before their nuptials, and told them that if they
disregarded his injunctions in this respect, they would have hate and
discord between them. Ariel, by an unseen power, induced Caliban and
others whom Prospero desired to have in his cell, to repair thither;
but before reaching it they were hunted by divers spirits in the shape
of hounds, that chased them to the lime groves, where they were
secured as prisoners.
Prospero, addressing the elves of hills, brooks, standing lakes, and
groves, those that on the sands with printless foot chased the ebbing
Neptune, the demi-puppets that by moonshine made the sour-green
ringlets which ewes would not bite, those whose pastime was to make
midnight mushrooms, reminded them that he had, among other mighty
deeds, by their aid, rifted. Jove's stout oak, plucked up the pine and
cedar, and roused sleepers in the grave. But this rough magic, he
informed them, he would abjure, after working his airy charms. This
being done, he would break his staff, bury it deep in the earth, and
drown his book. Ariel re-entered, and after him Alonso, Gonzalo,
Sebastian, Antonio, Adrian, and Francisco, and stood charmed within a
circle which Prospero had made.
Gonzalo exclaimed, "All torment, trouble, wonder, and amazement
inhabit here! Some heavenly power guide us out of this fearful
country!" Prospero made himself known to the king as the wronged Duke
of Milan. Pardon was sought, and the dukedom resigned. Alonso craved,
that if he were Prospero, he should give them particulars of his
preservation, and how he met them there, having, but three hours
before, been wrecked upon the shore, where he had lost his dear son
Ferdinand. A door was opened, and Ferdinand and Miranda were
discovered playing at chess. Sebastian declared this to be a most high
miracle. Ariel, who had been instructed by Prospero to go to the ship
and bring the master and boatswain to him, entered with these
worthies. In answer to the question, "What is the news?" the boatswain
answered, "The best news is, that we have safely found our king and
company; the next, our ship--which, but three glasses since, we gave
out split--is tight and yare, and bravely rigged, as when we first put
out to sea." The boatswain, in answer to another query how they came
thither? replied, if he were awake, he would strive to tell. He
remembered hearing strange noises--roaring, shrieking, howling,
jingling chains, and more diversity of sounds, all horrible; and when
they were wakened (for they had been asleep), they found themselves at
liberty. Prospero, pointing out Caliban, told his friends, "This
mis-shapen knave's mother was a witch; and one so strong that she
could control the moon, make flows and ebbs." Prospero invited the
king and his train to take rest in his cell, where he would tell the
story of his life, and in the morning bring them to their ship and
give them auspicious gales; then, addressing Ariel, he concluded,
"Chick, that is thy charge; to the elements, be free, and fare thee
well!"
In the _Midsummer Night's Dream_ Shakspeare brings forward a fairy at
a wood near Athens. The fairy, in answer to Puck's question whither it
wandered, replied that it went over hill, over dale, through bush,
through brier, over park, over pale, through flood, through fire. It
wandered everywhere, swifter than the moon's sphere; it served the
fairy queen to dew her orbs upon the green. Puck told the fairy that
the king would keep revels there that night, and advised that the
queen should not come within his sight; for Oberon was fell and wroth,
because she, as her attendant, had a lovely boy, a sweet changeling,
and that jealous Oberon would have the child to be a knight of his
train to trace the forests.
The fairy asked Puck if he was not the knavish spirit that frightened
the maidens of the villagery, that skimmed milk, and sometimes
laboured in the green, and bootless made the housewife churn, and
sometimes made the drink to bear no barm, and whether Puck did not
mislead night wanderers, and then laugh at their harm, and do the work
of hobgoblins? Puck acknowledged that the fairy spoke aright; said he
was the merry wanderer of the night, playing pranks, and making people
laugh. A smart angry discussion took place between Oberon and Titania
as to which of them was to have the little changeling boy. They parted
in rage, Oberon threatening to torment Titania. Oberon summoned Puck
to attend him, and bring the herb he once showed him, the juice of
which, laid on sleeping eyelids, made man or woman dote upon the next
creature seen. Having this herb's juice, Oberon would watch Titania
when she was asleep, and drop the liquor into her eyes, that when she
wakened she might pursue the first object she cast eyes on with the
soul of love, whether it should be lion, bear, wolf, or bull, or
meddling monkey, or busy ape. The delusion accomplished, he would give
her another herb to remove the charm, but not before she gave up the
boy.
Puck found the charmed flower; and while Oberon was to streak
Titania's eyes with some of the juice thereof, Puck was to anoint the
eyes of the disdainful youth with another quantity of it, that he
might be compelled to adore a sweet Athenian lady in love with him.
Puck was then dismissed with instructions to meet Oberon before the
first cock-crow. Titania, in another part of the wood, distributed her
attendants, some to kill cankers in the musk-rose buds, some to war
with bats for their leathern wings to make small elves' coats, and
some to keep back the clamorous owl that nightly hooted at the quaint
spirits. Having given her instructions, she fell asleep. This was
Oberon's opportunity--and one he did not neglect. He squeezed the
flower on Titania's eyelids, and disappeared.
Titania wakened with eyes fixed on Bottom, who, by Puck's art, had an
ass's head. Nevertheless, she thought him wise and beautiful. She
instructed her attendant fairies to be kind and courteous to the
gentleman, and to feed him with apricots, dewberries, purple grapes,
green figs, and mulberries. Then they were to steal the honey-bags
from bumble bees for his service, and to crop their waxen thighs, and
light them at the fiery glow-worm's eyes, to show her love to bed; and
further, to pluck the wings from butterflies, to fan the moonbeams
from his sleeping eyes. By Puck's mistake, the love juice was laid in
absence of the fair Athenian lady, and so the object desired was not
obtained. In consequence of this, much confusion and misunderstanding
followed. To prevent a fight, Oberon, whom Puck addressed as "king of
shadows," ordered the night to be overcast with drooping fog, that the
rivals might be led astray. Other instructions were given, which Puck
suggested should be done quickly, as in the distance shone Aurora's
harbinger, at whose approach ghosts, wandering here and there, trooped
home to churchyards. Damned spirits, he said, that had burial in
cross-ways and floods, had already gone to their wormy beds, lest day
should look on their shame. Oberon began to pity Titania, and,
touching her eyes with an herb, her love for the loathsome visage she
had admired for ever vanished.
The _Midsummer Night's Dream_ concludes with the following song, if we
except Puck's address:
"Now, until the break of day,
Through this house each fairy stray,
To the best bride-bed will we,
Which by us shall blessed be;
And the issue, there create,
Ever shall be fortunate.
So shall all the couples three
Ever true and loving be:
And the blots of nature's hand
Shall not in their issue stand;
Never mole, hare-lip, nor scar,
Nor mark prodigious such as are
Despised in nativity,
Shall upon their children be,--
With this field-dew consecrate,
Every fairy take his gait;
And each several chamber bless,
Through this palace with sweet peace:
E'er shall it in safety rest,
And the owner of it blest.
Trip away,
Make no stay;
Meet me all by break of day."
In gleaning from _Macbeth_, we shall pass over the weird sisters'
predictions as lightly as possible, without breaking the connecting
links, though we are greatly tempted to incorporate a considerable
part of this play into our collection of tales and traditions, seeing
that, in our opinion, none of Shakspeare's works bring out more
graphically the superstition of past ages than the poet's _Macbeth_.
The play is represented as beginning in an open place, where, in a
thunder-storm, three witches appeared and disappeared without doing
any important deed of darkness. They met again on a heath, in another
thunder-storm. One of them told the other hags that she had been away
killing swine. Another told tales of a sailor's wife who had gone to
Aleppo, and threatened to sail thither in a sieve. Macbeth and Banquo
discovered the witches and saluted them. Through the women's subtlety,
the fiend entered Macbeth's heart, and induced him to form the bloody
plans of removing all obstacles in the way of his obtaining the crown,
and handing it down to his descendants. First one victim, and then
another, fell under his treachery. He was sorely troubled: the ghost
of Banquo haunted him.
Hecate joined the witches on the heath, and upbraided them for trading
and trafficking with Macbeth without consulting her, the mistress of
their charms. Away the witches were sent, with instructions to meet at
the pit of Acheron in the morning. There Macbeth was to know his
destiny. Vessels and spells the hags were to provide, while Hecate was
to catch a vaporous drop that hung on the corner of the moon, before
it touched the ground. That drop, distilled by magic sleights, would
raise such sprites, that by the strength of their illusion would draw
Macbeth to confusion. Such, Hecate declared, would be his doom for
spurning fate, scorning death, and bearing his hopes above wisdom,
grace, and fear.
The three witches met in a dark cave, and, while the thunder rolled
without, they boiled a cauldron of hellish soup, the ingredients of
which may be gathered from the following lines:--
1 _Witch_. "Thrice the brindled cat hath mew'd.
2 _Witch_. Thrice; and once the hedge-pig whined.
3 _Witch_. Harper cries: 'Tis time, 'tis time.
1 _Witch_. Round about the cauldron go;
In the poison'd entrails throw.--
Toad, that under coldest stone,
Days and nights has thirty-one
Swelter'd venom sleeping got,
Boil thou first i' the charmed pot.
_All._ Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire, burn; and, cauldron, bubble.
2 _Witch_. Fillet of a fenny snake,
In the cauldron boil and bake;
Eye of newt, and toe of frog,
Wool of bat, and tongue of dog,
Adder's fork, and blind-worm's sting,
Lizard's leg, and owlet's wing,
For a charm of powerful trouble,
Like a hell-broth boil and bubble.
_All._ Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire, burn; and, cauldron, bubble.
3 _Witch_. Scale of dragon; tooth of wolf;
Witches' mummy; maw and gulf
Of the ravin'd salt-sea shark;
Root of hemlock, digg'd i' the dark;
Liver of blaspheming Jew;
Gall of goat; and slips of yew,
Silver'd in the moon's eclipse;
Nose of Turk, and Tartar's lips;
Finger of birth-strangled babe,
Ditch delivered by a drab,--
Make the gruel thick and slab:
Add thereto a tiger's chaudron,
For the ingredients of our cauldron.
_All._ Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire, burn; and, cauldron, bubble.
2 _Witch_. Cool it with a baboon's blood;
Then the charm is firm and good.
_Hecate._ O, well done! I commend your pains;
And every one shall share i' the gains.
And now about the cauldron sing,
Like elves and fairies in a ring,
Enchanting all that you put in.
SONG.
'Black spirits and white,
Red spirits and grey;
Mingle, mingle, mingle,
You that mingle may.'
2 _Witch_. By the pricking of my thumbs,
Something wicked this way comes:--
Open, locks, whoever knocks."
Macbeth appeared and demanded what the midnight hags were about. The
reply was, "A deed without a name." He entreated them, by that which
they professed, to answer him. One of the witches asked whether he
would rather have his answer from their mouths or from their masters'.
On Macbeth desiring to see the masters, witch No. 1 directed that the
blood of a sow that had eaten her nine farrow, and grease that had
been sweaten from the murderer's gibbet, should be thrown into the
flame. Accompanied by a clap of thunder, an armed head rose, and
admonished Macbeth to beware of Macduff. Another demon, more potent,
in the shape of a bloody child, rose and bade Macbeth be courageous;
to laugh to scorn the power of man, for none born of woman could harm
him. A second child, after the first had descended into the bowels of
the earth, told the king that he would not be vanquished till great
Birnam wood to high Dunsinane hill should come against him. The
monarch was admonished to ask no more, but he disregarded the warning.
"Why sinks that cauldron? and what noise is this?" he asked. Eight
kings, and Banquo following, appeared to Macbeth's vision. The whole
vision, if such it could be called, surprised him greatly; but no part
of it so much as the spirit of Banquo, whom he had cruelly put to
death with the intention of frustrating destiny, as revealed to him by
the weird sisters, when he first met them on the heath. Seeing the
king dejected, the witches, to cheer him, danced and sang for a time,
and then suddenly disappeared.
Before Macbeth had time to recover from his reverie, a messenger
arrived to inform him that Macduff, whom he dreaded, had fled to
England. So greatly was he exasperated by the tidings, that he
declared his intention of seizing Macduff's castle, giving to the
sword his wife, babes, and all his other relations of whatever degree.
This threat he partly carried into execution.
The day of vengeance was near. Macbeth, mad with fear and ambition,
strove to avert the evil brooding over him, but he could not succeed.
The fiat had gone forth: he was king, as the weird sisters had
foretold he would be, but all his bloody deeds, and the scheming of
his queen, unscrupulous like himself, could not change the decree.
Birnam wood seemed to come to Dunsinane, and Banquo's seed came in due
time to inherit the throne the fates had reserved for them.
In _King Henry the Sixth_ more light is thrown on the doings of evil
spirits. On a deep dark night, the time when owls cried, dogs howled,
spirits walked, and ghosts broke up their graves, a spirit rose, in
compliance with certain ceremonies for making demons appear.
Bolingbroke inquired of the evil one what would become of the king?
The reply was, "The duke yet lives that Henry shall depose. But him
outlive, and die a violent death." In answer to the question, "What
fate awaits the Duke of Suffolk?" came the reply, "By water shall he
die." The Duke of Somerset was advised by the spirit to shun castles.
Having thus delivered itself, the evil spirit descended to the burning
lake. Farther on in the piece we are told of a witch that was
condemned to be burned at Smithfield.
Passing from _Henry the Sixth_, we come to _Antony and Cleopatra_, and
proceed to glean a few sentences bearing on superstition.
Charmian, addressing Alexas in a flattering manner, asked where was
the soothsayer he praised so much. The soothsayer, who was immediately
forthcoming, told those who listened to him that he knew "things" from
nature's book of secrecy. A banquet was prepared, at which Charmian
asked the soothsayer to give him good luck. "I make not, but foresee,"
was the response. Charmian, Alexas, and their companions seek to hear
their fortunes told, but the soothsayer did not choose to reveal
anything important at that time.
We shall take leave of Shakspeare by noticing, in a few sentences, the
ghost of Hamlet's father.
Bernardo, Marcellus, and Horatio were met at a late hour to talk over
a dreadful apparition that had disturbed the two former on the
previous night, when they were startled by the same apparition--a
ghost making its appearance. They observed it resembled the king who
was dead. Horatio charged it to speak, but it stalked away without
deigning a reply. It reappeared, but suddenly vanished on hearing the
cock crow. How long elapsed we are not informed; but on a certain
night, just after the clock had struck twelve, Hamlet, Horatio, and
Marcellus were engaged in earnest conversation when they were alarmed.
The first entreats the ghost to say wherefore it visited them. It
beckoned to Hamlet to follow it; and he did so, despite those who were
with him, and saw the spirit as well as he did. The ghost's tongue was
unloosed, and thus it spake: "Lend thy serious hearing to what I shall
unfold: My hour is almost come, when I must render up myself to
sulphurous and tormenting flames. I am thy father's spirit; and, for
the day, confined to fast in fires, till the foul crimes, done in my
days of nature, are burnt and purged away. Were I not forbidden to
tell the secrets of my prison-house, I could a tale unfold that would
harrow up thy soul; freeze thy young blood; make thy eyes start; and
make thy locks part like quills upon the fretful porcupine: but this
eternal blazon must not be. If ever thou didst love thy father,
revenge his foul and most unnatural murder." "Murder!" exclaimed
Hamlet. "Murder," said the ghost, "most foul, as in the best it is."
"Reveal it," gasped Hamlet, "that I may with swift wings sweep to my
revenge." "Thou shouldst be duller than the fat weed that rots itself
on Lethe's wharf, wert thou not to stir in this," ejaculated the
spirit. The ghost continued: "It has been given out, that, when
sleeping in mine orchard, a serpent stung me to death; but know thou
that the serpent that did sting thy father now wears his crown....
Sleeping within my orchard, as my custom was in the afternoon, on my
secure hour thy uncle stole with cursed juice of hebenon in a vial,
and did pour the leprous distilment into mine ears, that curdled my
blood. Thus was I, by a brother's hand, despatched from crown and
queen; cut off in the blossoms of my sin, unprepared, disappointed,
and, without extreme unction, sent to my account with all my
imperfections on my head. O, horrible! most horrible! Let not the
royal bed be a couch for luxury and damned incest. Farewell; the
glow-worm shows the morning to be near, and begins to pale his
ineffectual fire: Adieu! Remember me." The king's death was avenged.
The treacherous queen, and he who murdered the monarch, drank a
poisoned cup, and thus received measure for measure.
CHAPTER XVIII.
The Poet Gay--The "Spell"--Hobnelia--Lubberkin going
to Town--A Maiden fine--Spells resorted to--Marking
the Ground, and turning three times round--Hempseed as
a Charm--Valentine Day--A Snail used in
Divination--Burning Nuts--Pea-cods as a
Spell--Ladybird sent on a Message of Love--Pippin
Parings--Virtue of United Garters--Love
Powder--Gipsies' Warnings--Knives sever Love--Story of
Boccaccio--Apparition of a Deceased Lover--Poems by
Burns--"Address to the Deil"--"Tam o' Shanter."
John Gay, the old English poet, writes in his _Spell_:
"Hobnelia, seated in a dreary vale,
In pensive mood rehearsed her piteous tale;
Her piteous tale the winds in sighs bemoan,
And pining Echo answers groan for groan.
I rue the day, a rueful day I trow,
The woeful day, a day indeed of woe!
When Lubberkin to town his cattle drove,
A maiden fine bedight he kept in love;
The maiden fine bedight his love retains,
And for the village he forsakes the plains.
Return, my Lubberkin, these ditties hear,
Spells will I try, and spells shall ease my care.
With my sharp heel I three times mark the ground,
And turn me thrice around, around, around.
When first the year I heard the cuckoo sing,
And call with welcome note the budding spring,
I straightway set a-running with such haste,
Deb'rah that won the smock scarce ran so fast;
Till, spent for lack of breath, quite weary grown,
Upon a rising bank I sat adown,
Then doff'd my shoe, and, by my troth, I swear,
Therein I spy'd this yellow frizzled hair,
As like to Lubberkin's in curle and hue,
As if upon his comely pate it grew.
With my sharp heel I three times mark the ground,
And turn me thrice around, around, around.
At eve last summer no sleep I sought,
But to the field a bag of hempseed brought,
I scattered round the seed on every side,
And three times in a trembling accent cry'd:
This hempseed with my virgin hand I sow,
Who shall my true love be, the crop shall mow.
I straight look'd back, and if my eyes speak true,
With his keen scythe behind me came the youth.
With my sharp heel I three times mark the ground,
And turn me thrice around, around, around.
Last Valentine, the day when birds of kind
Their paramours with mutual chirping find,
I early rose, just at the break of day,
Before the sun had chas'd the stars away;
Afield I went, amid the morning dew,
To milk my kine (for so should housewives do).
The first I spy'd, and the first swain we see,
In spite of fortune shall our true love be;
See, Lubberkin, each bird his partner take,
And canst thou then thy sweetheart dear forsake?
With my sharp heel I three times mark the ground,
And turn me thrice around, around, around.
Last May-day fair I searched to find a snail
That might my secret lover's name reveal;
Upon a gooseberry bush a snail I found,
For always snails nearest sweetest fruit abound.
I seiz'd the vermin, home I quickly sped,
And on the hearth the milk-white embers spread.
Slow crawl'd the snail, and, if I right can spell,
In the soft ashes mark'd a curious L:
O may this wonderous omen luck prove!
For L is found in Lubberkin and love.
With my sharp heel I three times mark the ground,
And turn me thrice around, around, around.
Two hazel nuts I threw into the flame,
And to each nut I gave a sweetheart's name,
This with the loudest bounce me sore amaz'd,
That in a flame of brightest colour blaz'd.
As blaz'd the nut, so may thy passion grow,
For 'twas thy nut that did so brightly glow.
With my sharp heel I three times mark the ground,
And turn me thrice around, around, around.
As pea-cods once I pluck'd, I chanc'd to see
One that was closely fill'd with three times three,
Which, when I crop't, I safely home convey'd,
And o'er the door the spell in secret laid,
My wheel I turn'd, and sung a ballad new,
While from the spindle I the fleeces drew;
The latch mov'd up, when who should first come in,
But in his proper person--Lubberkin.
I broke my yarn, surpris'd the sight to see,
Sure sign that he would break his word with me.
Eftsoons I joined it with my wonted slight,
So may his love again with mine unite.
With my sharp heel I three times mark the ground,
And turn me thrice around, around, around.
This lady-fly I take from off the grass,
Whose spotted back might scarlet red surpass.
Fly, lady-bird, north, south, or east, or west,
Fly where the man is found that I love best.
He leaves my hand; see, to the west he's flown,
To call my true love from the faithless town.
With my sharp heel I three times mark the ground,
And turn me thrice around, around, around.
I pare my pippin round and round again,
My shepherd's name to flourish on the plain,
I fling th' unbroken paring o'er my head,
Upon the grass a perfect L I read;
Yet on my heart a fairer L is seen
Than what the paring marks upon the green.
With my sharp heel I three times mark the ground,
And turn me thrice around, around, around.
This pippin shall another trial make,
See from the core two kernels brown I take;
This on my cheek for Lubberkin is worn,
And Boobyclod on t' other side is borne.
But Boobyclod soon drops upon the ground,
A certain token that his love's unsound,
While Lubberkin sticks firmly to the last;
O were his lips to mine but joined so fast!
With my sharp heel I three times mark the ground,
And turn me thrice around, around, around.
As Lubberkin once slept beneath a tree,
I twitch'd his dangling garter from his knee;
He wist not when the hempen string I drew.
Now mine I quickly doff of inkle blue;
Together fast I tye the garters twain,
And while I knit the knot, repeat the strain:
Three times a true-love's knot I tye secure,
Firm be the knot, firm may his love endure.
With my sharp heel I three times mark the ground,
And turn me thrice around, around, around.
As I was wont, I trudged last market day
To town with new-laid eggs preserved in hay.
I made my market long before 'twas night,
My purse grew heavy, and my basket light.
Straight to the 'pothecary's shop I went,
And in love powder all my money spent;
Behap what will, next Sunday, after prayers,
When to the ale-house Lubberkin repairs,
The golden charm into his mug I'll throw,
And soon the swain with fervent love shall glow.
With my sharp heel I three times mark the ground,
And turn me thrice around, around, around.
But hold: our Lightfoot barks and cocks his ears,
O'er yonder stile see Lubberkin appears.
He comes, he comes, Hobnelia's not bewray'd,
Nor shall she, crown'd with willow, die a maid.
He vows, he swears he'll give me a green gown;
O dear! I fall adown, adown, adown."
Gay also writes:
"Last Friday's eve, when, as the sun was set,
I, near yon stile, three sallow gipsies met,
Upon my hand they cast a poring look,
Bid me beware, and thrice their heads they shook;
They said that many crosses I must prove,
Some in my worldly gain, but most in love.
Next morn I missed three hens and our old cock,
And off the hedge two pinners and a smock.
I bore these losses with a Christian mind,
And no mishap could feel while thou wert kind;
But since, alas! I grew my Colin's scorn,
I've known no pleasure, night, or noon, or morn.
Help me, ye gipsies, bring him home again,
And to a constant lass give back her swain.
Have I not sat with thee full many a night,
When dying embers were our only light,
When every creature did in slumber lie,
Besides our cat, my Colin Clout, and I?
No troublous thoughts the cat or Colin move,
While I alone am kept awake by love.
Remember, Colin, when at last year's wake
I bought the costly present for thy sake:
Could thou spell o'er the posy on thy knife,
And with another change thy state of life?
If thou forget'st, I wot I can repeat,
My memory can tell the verse so sweet:
'As this is grav'd upon this knife of thine,
So is thy image on this heart of mine.'
But woe is me! such presents luckless prove,
For knives, they tell me, always sever love."
In the story of _Isabella_, by Boccaccio, there are touching incidents
of the apparition of a deceased lover appearing to his mistress. The
tale is thus rendered by Keats:
"It was a vision. In the drowsy gloom,
The dull of midnight, at her couch's foot
Lorenzo stood and wept: the forest tomb
Had marr'd his glossy hair, which once could shoot
Lustre into the sun, and put cold doom
Upon his lips, and taken the soft lute
From his lorn voice, and passt his loomed ears
Had made a miry channel for his tears.
Strange sound it was, when the pale shadow spoke;
For there was striving in its piteous tongue,
To speak as when on earth it was awake,
And Isabella on its music hung:
Languor there was in it, and tremulous shake,
As in a palsied Druid's harp unstrung;
And through it moaned a ghostly under-song,
Like hoarse night gusts sepulchral biers among.
Its eyes, though wild, were still all dewy bright
With love, and kept all phantom fear aloof
From the poor girl by magic of their bright,
The while it did unthread the horrid woof
Of the late darkened time--the murd'rous spite
Of pride and avarice--the dark pine roof
In the forest--and the sodden turfed dell,
When, without any word, from stabs it fell.
Saying moreover, 'Isabel, my sweet!
Red whortle-berries droop above my head,
And a large flint-stone weighs upon my feet,
Around me beeches and high chesnuts shed
Their leaves and prickly nuts; a sheep-fold bleat
Comes from beyond the river to my bed:
Go shed one tear upon my heather-bloom,
And it shall comfort me within the tomb.
'I am a shadow now, alas! alas!
Upon the skirts of human nature dwelling
Alone: I chaunt alone the holy mass,
While little sounds of life around me knelling,
And glossy bees at noon do fieldward pass,
And many a chapel bell the hour is telling,
Paining me through: these sounds grow strange to me,
And thou art distant in humanity.'"
Let us now see what Burns, the never-to-be-forgotten Scottish poet,
says in his _Address to the Deil_ and _Tam o' Shanter_. In his own
felicitous way he brings out the belief the ancient inhabitants had of
visible devils, water-kelpies, spunkies, witches, charms, spells, and
many other forms of superstition.
ADDRESS TO THE DEIL.
"O thou! whatever title suit thee,
Auld Hornie, Satan, Nick, or Clootie,
Wha in yon cavern grim an' sootie,
Closed under hatches,
Spairges about the brunstane cootie,
To scaud poor wretches.
Hear me, auld Hangie, for a wee,
An' let poor damned bodies be;
I'm sure sma' pleasure it can gie,
E'en to a deil,
To skelp and scaud poor dogs like me,
An' hear us squeel?
Great is thy pow'r, and great thy fame;
Far kend and noted is thy name:
An' tho' yon lowin' heugh's thy hame,
Thou travels far;
An' faith! thou's neither lag nor lame,
Nor blate nor scaur.
Whyles ranging like a roarin' lion
For prey, a' holes and corners tryin';
Whyles on the strong-winged tempest flyin',
Tirling the kirks;
Whyles, in the human bosom pryin',
Unseen thou lurks.
I've heard my reverend grannie say,
In lanely glens you like to stray;
Or where auld ruined castles grey
Nod to the moon,
Ye fright the nightly wand'rer's way,
Wi' eldritch croon.
When twilight did my grannie summon
To say her prayers, douce honest woman!
Aft yont the dyke she's heard you bummin'
Wi' eerie drone;
Or, rustlin', thro' the boortrees comin',
Wi' heavy groan.
Ae dreary, windy, winter night,
The stars shot down wi' sklentin' light,
Wi' you, mysel', I got a fright,
Ayont the lough;
Ye, like a rash-bush stood in sight,
Wi' waving sough.
The cudgel in my nieve did shake,
Each bristled hair stood like a stake,
When wi' an eldritch stour, quaick--quaick--
Amang the springs,
Awa ye squatter'd like a drake,
On whistling wings.
Let warlocks grim, and wither'd hags,
Tell how wi' you on ragweed nags,
They skim the muirs, and dizzy crags,
Wi' wicked speed;
And in kirk-yards renew their leagues
Owre howkit dead.
Thence countra wives, wi' toil an' pain,
May plunge an' plunge the kirn in vain;
For oh! the yellow treasure's ta'en
By witching skill;
An' dawtet, twal-pint Hawkie's gaen
As yell's the bill.
Then mystic knots mak great abuse,
On young guidman, fond, keen, and crouse,
When the best wark-lume i' the house,
By cantrip wit,
Is instant made no worth a louse,
Just at the bit.
When thaws dissolve the snawy hoord,
An' float the jinglin' icy-boord,
Then water-kelpies haunt the foord,
By your direction,
An' 'nighted trav'llers are allured
To their destruction.
An' aft your moss-traversing 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.
When masons' mystic word an' grip
In storms an' tempests raise you up,
Some cock or cat your rage maun stop,
Or, strange to tell,
The youngest brother ye wad whip
Aff straught to hell!
Lang syne, in Eden's bonnie yaird,
When youthfu' lovers first were pair'd,
An' a' the soul of love they shared,
The raptured hour,
Sweet on the fragrant flowery swaird
In shady bower!
Then you, ye auld, sneck-drawing dog!
Ye came to Paradise _incog._,
An' played on man a cursed brogue,
(Black be your fa'!)
An' gied the infant world a shog,
'Maist ruined a'.
D'ye mind that day, when in a bizz,
Wi' reekit duds and reestit gizz,
Ye did present your smoutie phiz
'Mang better folk,
An' sklented on the man of Uz
Your spitefu' joke?
An' how ye gat him in your thrall,
An' brak him out o' house an' hall,
While scabs and blotches did him gall
Wi' bitter claw,
An' lowsed his ill-tongued wicked scaw,
Was warst ava?
But a' your doings to rehearse,
Your wily snares an' fechtin' fierce,
Sin' that day Michael did you pierce,
Down to this time,
Wad ding a Lallan tongue, or Erse,
In prose or rhyme.
An' now, auld Cloots, I ken ye're thinkin'
A certain Bardie's rantin', drinkin',
Some luckless hour will send him linkin'
To your black pit;
But faith, he'll turn a corner, jinkin',
And cheat you yet.
But, fare ye weel, auld Nickie-ben!
O wad ye tak a thought and men'!
Ye aiblins might--I dinna ken--
Still hae a stake--
I'm wae to think upon yon den,
Even for your sake!"
TAM O' SHANTER.
"When chapman billies leave the street,
And drouthy neebors, neebors meet,
As market days are wearing late,
An' folk begin to tak the gate;
While we sit bousing at the nappy,
An' gettin' fou an' unco happy,
We think na on the lang Scots miles,
The mosses, waters, slaps, an' styles,
That lie between us and our hame,
Where sits our sulky sullen dame,
Gathering her brows like gathering storm,
Nursing her wrath to keep it warm.
This truth fand honest Tam o' Shanter,
As he frae Ayr ae night did canter;
(Auld Ayr, wham ne'er a toun surpasses,
For honest men and bonny lasses.)
O Tam! hadst thou but been sae wise,
As ta'en thy ain wife Kate's advice!
She tauld thee weel thou was a skellum,
A blethering, blustering, drunken blellum;
That frae November till October
Ae market-day thou was na sober;
That ilka melder, wi' the miller,
Thou sat as lang as thou had siller;
That ev'ry naig was ca'd a shoe on,
The smith and thee gat roaring fou on;
That at the L--d's house, even on Sunday,
Thou drank wi' Kirkton Jean till Monday.
She prophesy'd that, late or soon,
Thou would be found deep drown'd in Doon;
Or catch'd wi' warlocks in the mirk,
By Alloway's auld haunted kirk.
Ah, gentle dames! it gars me greet,
To think how mony counsels sweet,
How mony lengthen'd sage advices,
The husband frae the wife despises!
But to our tale: Ae market night
Tam had got planted unco right;
Fast by an ingle, bleezing finely,
Wi' reaming swats, that drank divinely:
And at his elbow, Souter Johnny,
His ancient, trusty, drouthy crony;
Tam lo'ed him like a vera brither;
They had been fou for weeks thegither.
The night drave on wi' sangs an' clatter;
And aye the ale was growing better:
The landlady and Tam grew gracious,
Wi' favours, secret, sweet, and precious;
The souter tauld his queerest stories;
The landlord's laugh was ready chorus:
The storm without might rair and rustle,
Tam did na mind the storm a whistle.
Care, mad to see a man sae happy,
E'en drown'd himself amang the nappy;
As bees flee hame wi' lades o' treasure,
The minutes wing'd their way wi' pleasure:
Kings may be blest, but Tam was glorious,
O'er a' the ills o' life victorious!
But pleasures are like poppies spread--
You seize the flow'r, its bloom is shed!
Or like the snow-fall in the river,
A moment white--then melts for ever;
Or like the borealis race,
That flit ere you can point their place;
Or like the rainbow's lovely form,
Evanishing amid the storm.--
Nae man can tether time nor tide:
The hour approaches Tam maun ride--
That hour, o' night's black arch the key-stane,
That dreary hour he mounts his beast in,
And sic a night he taks the road in,
As ne'er poor sinner was abroad in.
The wind blew as 'twad blawn its last;
The rattlin' showers rose on the blast:
The speedy gleams the darkness swallow'd;
Loud, deep, and lang the thunder bellow'd;
That night a child might understand
The deil had business on his hand.
Weel mounted on his grey mare, Meg--
A better never lifted leg--
Tam skelpit on through dub and mire,
Despising wind, and rain, and fire;
Whiles holding fast his guid blue bonnet;
Whiles crooning o'er some auld Scots sonnet;
Whiles glow'ring round wi' prudent cares,
Lest bogles catch him unawares;
Kirk-Alloway was drawing nigh,
Whare ghaists and houlets nightly cry.
By this time he was 'cross the foord,
Whare in the snaw the chapman smoor'd;
And past the birks and meikle stane,
Whare drucken Charlie brak's neck bane;
And thro' the whins, and by the cairn,
Whare hunters fand the murder'd bairn;
And near the thorn, aboon the well,
Whare Mungo's mither hang'd hersel.--
Before him Doon pours all his floods!
The doubling storm roars thro' the woods;
The lightnings flash from pole to pole;
Near and more near the thunders roll;
When glimmering thro' the groaning trees,
Kirk-Alloway seem'd in a bleeze;
Thro' ilka bore the beams were glancing,
And loud resounded mirth and dancing.
Inspiring bold John Barleycorn!
What dangers thou canst make us scorn!
Wi' tippenny we fear nae evil;
Wi' usquebae we'll face the devil.--
The swats sae ream'd in Tammie's noddle,
Fair play, he cared na deils a boddle.
But Maggie stood right sair astonish'd,
Till, by the heel and hand admonish'd,
She ventured forward on the light;
And, wow! Tam saw an unco sight!
Warlocks and witches in a dance;
Nae cotillon brent new frae France,
But hornpipes, jigs, strathspeys, and reels
Put life and mettle in their heels.
A winnock-bunker in the east,
There sat auld Nick in shape o' beast;
A towzie tyke, black, grim, and large,
To gie them music was his charge:
He screw'd his pipes and gart them skirl
Till roof and rafters a' did dirl.
Coffins stood round like open presses,
That shaw'd the dead in their last dresses;
And by some devilish cantrip sleight,
Each in its cauld hand held a light,
By which heroic Tam was able
To note upon the haly table,
A murderer's banes in gibbet airns;
Twa span-lang, wee unchristen'd bairns,
A thief, new cutted frae a rape,
Wi' his last gasp his gab did gape:
Five tomahawks, wi' blude red-rusted;
Five scimitars, wi' murder crusted;
A garter which a babe had strangled;
A knife a father's throat had mangled,
Whom his ain son o' life bereft,
The grey hairs yet stack to the heft
Wi' mair o' horrible and awfu'
Which ev'n to name wad be unlawfu'.
As Tammie glowr'd, amaz'd and curious,
The mirth and fun grew fast and furious:
The piper loud and louder blew,
The dancers quick and quicker flew;
They reel'd, they set, they cross'd, they cleekit
Till ilka carlin swat and reekit,
And coost her duddies to the wark
And linket at it in her sark!
Now Tam, O Tam! had they been queens
A' plump an' strapping, in their teens;
Their sarks, instead o' creeshie flannen,
Been snaw-white seventeen hunder linen!
Thir breeks o' mine, my only pair,
That ance were plush o' guid blue hair,
I wad hae gi'en them aff my hurdies,
For ae blink o' the bonnie burdies!
But wither'd beldames auld and droll,
Rigwoodie hags wad spean a foal,
Louping and flinging on a crummock,
I wonder didna turn thy stomach.
But Tam kenn'd what was what fu' brawlie,
There was a winsome wench and walie,
That night enlisted in the core,
(Lang after kenn'd on Carrick shore!
For monie a beast to dead she shot,
And perish'd monie a bonnie boat,
And shook baith meikle corn and bear,
And kept the country side in fear).
Her cutty sark o' Paisley harn,
That while a lassie she had worn,
In longitude though sorely scanty,
It was her best, and she was vauntie:
Ah! little kenn'd thy reverend grannie,
That sark she coft for her wee Nannie,
Wi' twa pund Scots ('twas a' her riches),
Wad ever graced a dance o' witches!
But here my muse her wing man cour:
Sic flights are far beyond her power:
To sing how Nannie lap and flang,
(A souple jade she was an' strang),
An' how Tam stood like ane bewitch'd,
An' thought his very een enrich'd:
Even Satan glowr'd and fidg'd fu' fain,
And hotch'd and blew wi' might and main:
Till first ae caper, syne anither,
Tam tint his reason a' thegither,
And roars out, 'Weel done, Cutty sark!'
And in an instant all was dark;
And scarcely had he Maggie rallied,
When out the hellish legion sallied.
As bees bizz out wi' angry fyke,
When plundering herds assail their byke;
As open pussie's mortal foes,
When, pop! she starts before their nose;
As eager runs the market crowd,
When 'Catch the thief!' resounds aloud,--
So Maggie runs, the witches follow,
Wi' monie an eldritch screetch and hollow.
Ah, Tam! Ah, Tam! thou'll get thy fairin'!
In hell they'll roast thee like a herrin'!
In vain thy Kate awaits thy comin'!
Kate soon will be a waefu' woman!
Now do thy speedy utmost, Meg,
And win the key-stane o' the brig;
There at them thou thy tail may toss,
A running stream they darena cross.
But ere the key-stane she could make,
The fient a tail she had to shake!
For Nannie, far before the rest,
Hard upon noble Maggie press'd,
And flew at Tam wi' furious ettle;
But little wist she Maggie's mettle--
Ae spring brought aff her master hale,
But left behind her ain grey tail:
The carlin caught her by the rump,
An' left poor Maggie scarce a stump.
Now, wha this tale o' truth shall read,
Ilk man and mother's son take heed:
Whene'er to drink you are inclined,
Or cutty sarks run in your mind,
Think ye may buy the joys o'er dear,
Remember Tam o' Shanter's mare."
CHAPTER XIX.
Sir Walter Scott, the "Great Unknown"--His belief in
Superstition--How his Tales of Fiction are composed--A
Town-Clerk frightened by an Apparition--A Ghost that
did not understand Erse, but could communicate in
Latin--Lovel and Edie Ochiltree--Discovery of Hidden
Treasure by Occult Science--"Rob Roy"--Fairies'
Caverns--Supposed Apparition in the Trossachs--Elfin
People at the Firth of Forth--A Minister taken away by
Fairies--Dame Glendinning's Tale--Lines from
"Marmion"--A Fairy Knight--Mysterious Steed.
Sir Walter Scott, the "Great Unknown," was sensibly affected by his
country's tales of witches, fairies, and ghosts. Whether the fear he
entertained proceeded from early impressions, or whether an awe
imperceptibly crept over him, through his frequent communings with old
people (when he was in more advanced life) who had no doubt of the
existence of witches and spirits, good and bad, visiting the earth,
and performing acts of benevolence or malevolence, according to the
inclination or caprice of the uncanny or unearthly agent, we cannot
say; but of one thing there can be no doubt, that even in years of
maturity he believed there were spirits that appeared to men, and
assisted them to perform actions they could not have done without
superhuman aid, and that by such beings future events were made known.
Were it not for the dash of superstition he threw here and there into
his tales, they would be comparatively of a commonplace description.
Like other writers of fiction, or authors whose writings rest on a
slender foundation of truth, Sir Walter Scott often brings forward a
witch, wizard, gipsy, fairy, ghost, and other spirits. A haunted
castle, a fortune-teller, and a good or evil genius are as
indispensable in a good story as a cruel parent, a rich uncle, and a
disappointed lover. None knew better than the great Scottish novelist
how to work on his readers' feelings; and hence his success.
Sir Walter tells, in the _Antiquary_, a story of Rab Tull, the
town-clerk, being in an old house searching for important documents,
but who was obliged to go to bed without finding them. The bodie had
got such a custom of tippling and tippling with his drunken cronies,
that he could not sleep without his punch, and as usual he took his
glass that evening. In the middle watches of night he had a fearful
wakening--he was never himself after it--and was stricken with the
dead palsy that very day four years. He thought he heard the bed
curtains move, and out he looked. Before him appeared an old gentleman
in a queer-fashioned dress. Rab, greatly frightened, asked the
apparition (for it was a spirit that stood before him) what it
wanted. The spirit answered in an unknown tongue. Rab replied in Erse,
but the spirit did not seem to understand this language. In his
strait, the clerk bethought him of two or three words of Latin he used
in making out the town's deeds; and no sooner had he tried the strange
object before him with these, than out came such a blatter of Latin,
that Rab Tull--who with all his pretensions was no great scholar--was
overwhelmed. It then made a sign to Rab to follow it. He followed
up-stairs and down-stairs to a tower in a corner of the house. There
the ghost pointed out a cabinet, and suddenly disappeared. In a drawer
of that repository the missing deed was found.
Lovel, after shooting M'Intyre in a duel, fled from justice, under the
guidance of old Edie Ochiltree. Exhausted by excitement and a long
walk through a thicket, they reached a cave with narrow entrance,
concealed by the boughs of an oak. Passing through the aperture, not
much larger than a fox-hole, they reached the interior. Lovel was led
to a narrow turnpike stair leading to a church above. In the evening
they reached a spot which commanded a full view of the chancel in
every direction. Ere long, Lovel was startled by the sound of human
voices. Two persons, with a dark lantern, entered the chancel. After
conversing together some time in whispers, Lovel recognised the voice
of Dousterswivel, pronouncing in a smothered tone, "Indeed, mine goot
sir, dere cannot be one finer hour nor season for dis great
purpose.... I will show you all de secrets dat art can show--ay, de
secret of de great Pymander." The other individual turned out to be
Sir Arthur Wardour, and their business evidently had reference to the
discovery of hidden treasure, by means of consulting the heavenly
bodies or some friendly spirit. Before Sir Arthur and Dousterswivel
left the ruins of St. Ruth, they found a casket containing gold and
silver coins. These two worthies, along with Mr. Oldenbuck, set out,
on another occasion to search for treasure at the ruins of St. Ruth.
Arrived at the scene of operations, the Antiquary addressed the adept
Dousterswivel: "Pray, Mr. Dousterswivel, shall we dig from east to
west, or from west to east? or will you assist us with your triangular
vial of May-dew, or with your divining-rod of witch-hazel?" This was
said tauntingly, yet nevertheless they proceeded to dig, in the hope
of finding treasure; and sure enough, a chest containing ingots of
silver to the value of a thousand pounds was discovered. Dousterswivel
claimed the credit of bringing about the discovery. Mr. Oldenbuck
refused to give him any credit, telling him that he came without
weapons, and did not use charms, lamen-sigel, talisman, spell-crystal,
pentacle, magic-mirror, nor geomantic figure. "Where," asked the
Antiquary, "be your periapts, and your abracadabras, man? your
May-fern, your vervain--
"Your toad, your crow, your dragon, and your panther,
Your sun, your moon, your firmament, your adrop,
Your Lato, Azoch, Zernich, Chibrit, Heautarit,
With all your broths, your menstrues, your materials,
Would burst a man to name?"
Dousterswivel, like all others who resort to enchantments, believing
in the existence of hobgoblins and divination, was not certain but his
own art had really contributed to the success of his party. Chagrined
at the treatment of Mr. Oldenbuck, and separated for a time from Sir
Arthur, he was glad to enter into conversation with Edie Ochiltree,
who witnessed the finding of the treasure with a keen eye to future
operations. Edie had surreptitiously obtained possession of the
treasure box-lid, and on it he and the conjurer were able to decipher,
"Search number one." The old beggar, who knew many of the traditions
of the country, told Dousterswivel that the remains of Malcolm the
Misticot were, along with a large amount of gold and silver, buried
somewhere at St. Ruth. Moreover, he recited the old prophecy:
"If Malcolm the Misticot's grave were fun',
The lands of Knockwinnock are lost and won."
They resolved to return to the ruins of St. Ruth at midnight to make
another search, not on account of Sir Arthur or Mr. Oldenbuck, but for
themselves. Neither gold nor silver were found; but those engaged in
the search got a fright, one supposing he saw evil spirits rising from
the earth's bowels, and the other that he was chased by a ghost on
horseback. A series of interesting incidents connected with adventure,
love, and crime follow. Dousterswivel was discovered to be an
impostor; certain persons engaged in a dark plot were cut off by
death, but the virtuous were rewarded.
Sir Walter Scott, in _Rob Roy_, makes mention of an eminence or mound
near the upland hills, whence the Forth springs, supposed by the
people in the neighbourhood to contain within its unseen caverns the
palaces of fairies; and in his Notes to _Rob Roy_ it is stated that
the lakes and precipices, amidst which the river Forth has its birth,
are still, according to popular tradition, haunted by elfin people. In
one note the reader is informed that the Rev. Robert Kirk, who died at
Aberfoyle in the year 1688, was supposed to have been taken away by
fairies. Mr. Kirk was walking near his manse on a _Dun Shie_, or fairy
mound, when he sank down apparently in a faint, and seemingly died.
The body was supposed to be buried, but shortly afterwards he appeared
in living form to a friend, to whom he told that he was not dead, but
in fairyland, whither he was carried at the time he fell down in a
swoon. The reverend captive gave directions how he might be rescued by
him; but the person who was appointed to perform the prescribed
ceremony failed to proceed as directed, and Mr. Kirk, who had been
twice seen after his supposed death, never appeared again.
* * * * *
As we are writing of Rob Roy's country, and of an incident connected
with the fate of a minister there, we suddenly break the thread of our
narrative, to introduce the particulars of a most extraordinary
circumstance connected with another clergyman in that quarter.
A few years ago, about 1870, a most respectable gentleman belonging to
Edinburgh, devoid of superstitious fear, told the writer: "In the
autumn I was enjoying the retirement and grandeur of the Trossachs and
surrounding district. The lake, the hill, the dale, and, above all,
the people, interested me. Often was I in the humble cot, and,
although a sojourner, I became acquainted with families in the more
exalted positions in society. Among others, I gained the friendship of
a venerable clergyman, whose charity and piety were known far and
near.
"While I had my residence in the Trossachs Hotel, the clergyman, I was
told, one day was dangerously ill. Next morning, before starting with
a few friends up Loch Katrine, I sent to inquire after the invalid's
health. The answer returned conveyed the impression that he was fast
sinking. We proceeded up the lake, and came back by the last boat for
the day. We took outside seats on the coach, and while turning a
corner of the road, about half-way between the lake and the hotel, I
and several other passengers (including the captain of the Loch
Katrine steamer and the driver) observed a gentleman passing us, whom
we all declared was the clergyman. Trusting our sight, we thought it
most extraordinary that a man, considered to be dying in the morning,
should be seen in the evening on the highway, far from home.
"The steamboat being unusually late of arriving at her destination,
the sun had gone down, and the shades of night were closing over us
before half our journey by coach could be accomplished, still it was
not so dark when the figure of the pious minister appeared but that
one might not only see the figure of a man, but observe his every
feature. The sight struck all, who recognised in the traveller the
invalid minister with amazement, and some with fear. On the coach
arriving at the hotel, a messenger was despatched to inquire after the
reverend gentleman's health. The answer received disclosed the
startling intelligence that the clergyman had expired shortly before
the time we saw his figure walking with slow step and sad countenance
towards Loch Katrine."
* * * * *
But we now return to Sir Walter Scott's works. Those who have read the
_Monastery_ (and who have not?) may recollect of Dame Glendinning
telling Tibb what she had seen on a Hallowe'en in her youth--which was
as follows:--
"Aweel, aweel, I had mair joes than ane, but I favoured nane o' them;
and sae, at Hallowe'en, Father Nicolas the cellarer--he was cellarer
before his father, Father Clement, that now is--was cracking his nuts
and drinking his brown beer with us, and as blithe as might be, and
they would have me try a cantrip to ken wha suld wed me; and the monk
said there was nae ill in it, and if there was, he would assoil me for
it. And awa' I went into the barn to winnow my three weights o'
naething--sair, sair, my mind misgave me for fear of wrang-doing and
wrang-suffering, baith; but I had aye a bauld spirit. I had not
winnowed the last weight clear out, and the moon was shining bright
upon the floor, when in stalked the presence of my dear Simon
Glendinning, that is now happy. I never saw him plainer in my life
than I did that moment; he held up an arrow as he passed me, and I
swarf'd awa' wi' fright. Muckle wark there was to bring me to mysel'
again, and sair they tried to make me believe it was a trick o' Father
Nicolas and Simon between them, and that the arrow was to signify
Cupid's shaft, as the Father called it; and mony a time Simon wad
threep it to me after I was married--gude man, he liked not it suld be
said that he was seen out o' the body!--But mark the end o' it, Tibb:
we were married, and the grey-goose wing was the death o' him, after
a'!"
The following lines appear in _Marmion_ in reference to a combat with
a goblin knight:--
"Soon as the midnight bell did ring,
Alone, and armed, forth rode the King
To that old camp's deserted round:
Sir Knight, you well might mark the mound,
Left hand the town,--the Pictish race
The trench, long since, in blood did trace;
The moor around is brown and bare,
The space within is green and fair.
The spot our village children know,
For there the earliest wild flowers grow;
But woe betide the wandering wight,
That treads its circle in the night!
The breadth across, a bowshot clear,
Gives ample space for full career;
Opposed to the four points of heaven,
By four deep gaps is entrance given.
The southernmost our monarch passed,
Halted, and blew a gallant blast;
And on the north, within the ring,
Appeared the form of England's king,
Who then a thousand leagues afar,
In Palestine waged holy war:
Yet arms like England's did he wield,
Alike the leopards in the shield,
Alike his Syrian courser's frame,
The rider's length of limb the same:
Long afterwards did Scotland know
Fell Edward was her deadliest foe.
The vision made our monarch start,
But soon he manned his noble heart,
And in the first career they ran,
The Elfin Knight fell horse and man;
Yet did a splinter of his lance
Through Alexander's visor glance,
And razed the skin--a puny wound.
The king, light leaping to the ground,
With naked blade his phantom foe
Compelled the future war to show.
Of Largs he saw the glorious plain,
Where still gigantic bones remain,
Memorial of the Danish war;
Himself he saw amid the field,
On high his brandished war-axe wield,
And strike proud Haco from his car,
While all around the shadowy kings,
Denmark's grim ravens cowered their wings.
'Tis said that, in that awful night,
Remoter visions met his sight,
Foreshowing future conquests far,
When our sons' sons wage northern war;
A royal city, tower and spire,
Reddened the midnight sky with fire;
And shouting crews her navy bore,
Triumphant, to the victor shore.
Such signs may learned clerks explain,
They pass the wit of simple swain.
The joyful king turned home again,
Headed his host and quelled the Dane;
But yearly, when returned the night
Of his strange combat with the sprite,
His wound must bleed and smart;
Lord Gifford then would gibing say,
'Bold as ye were, my liege, ye pay
The penance of your start.'
Long since, beneath Dunfermline's nave,
King Alexander fills his grave,
Our Lady give him rest!
Yet still the nightly spear and shield
The elfin warrior doth wield,
Upon the brown hill's breast;
And many a knight hath proved his chance
In the charmed ring to break a lance,
But have all foully sped;
Save two, as legends tell, and they
Were Wallace wight, and Gilbert Hay.--
Gentles, my tale is said."
One of Sir Walter Scott's poetic effusions has reference to a popular
story concerning a fairy knight:--
"Osbert, a bold and powerful baron, visited a noble family in the
vicinity of Wandlebury, in the bishopric of Ely. Among other stories
related in the social circle of his friends (who, according to custom,
amused each other by repeating ancient tales and traditions), he was
informed, that if any knight, unattended, entered an adjacent plain by
moonlight, and challenged an adversary to appear, he would be
immediately encountered by a spirit in the form of a knight. Osbert
resolved to make the experiment, and set out, attended by a single
squire, whom he ordered to remain without the limits of the plain,
which was surrounded by an ancient entrenchment. On repeating the
challenge, he was instantly assailed by an adversary, whom he quickly
unhorsed, and seized the reins of his steed. During this operation,
his ghostly opponent sprang up, and darting his spear like a javelin
at Osbert, wounded him in the thigh. Osbert returned in triumph with
the horse, which he committed to the care of his servants. The horse
was of a sable colour, as well as his whole accoutrements, and
apparently of great beauty and vigour. He remained with his keepers
till cock-crowing, when, with eyes flashing fire, he reared, spurned
the ground, and vanished. On disarming himself, Osbert perceived that
he was wounded, and that one of his steel boots was full of blood.
Gervase adds, that as long as he lived, the scar of his wound opened
afresh on the anniversary of the eve on which he encountered the
spirit."
CHAPTER XX.
Lord Byron taught Superstition by his Nurse and
others--Byron and the Maid in Green--The Maid's
Keepsake or Charm--Bridge of Balgonie--Byron's fear to
ride over it--His belief in Unlucky Days and
Presentiments--Socrates's Demon--Monk Lewis's
Monitor--Napoleon's Warnings--A Sorrowful Tale--A
Strange Story--Qualities of Mind descending from Sire
to Son--Byron's Fortune told by a Sybil--Hebrew
Camyo--Abracadabra--Loch-na-Garr--Oscar of
Alva--Byron's last Instructions.
Lord Byron, who was taught superstition by his nurse, became
acquainted with the peculiar belief of the Highlanders while, in early
life, he dwelt within sight of "dark Loch-na-Garr." When wandering
about Pannanich, the shepherds told him many strange legends, and the
old dames often enticed him into their huts to amuse him with fairy
tales and witch stories. It was thought by the old crones that the
wonderful boy had communings with more uncanny neighbours than these
simple-minded people, who no more doubted the existence of witches and
fairies than they doubted that the Dee flowed from the mountains to
the sea. If report spoke true, he was often heard in conversation with
intelligent beings, though to ordinary human eyes no other form but
that of his own was seen. After his fame was wide-spread, an old
woman, who lived in a little straw-thatched cottage by the roadside
near Balmoral, declared that she expected that he would enlighten the
world, for she had often seen him with those who could instruct him
and tell him of past and future events. One of those persons, she
said, was a little maid dressed in green, whose beautiful face,
flowing hair, and agile figure were faultless. Frequently was she seen
climbing steep precipices on which human foot was never known to rest,
and bring him flowers, and even the eagles' nests were not beyond her
reach. While the young and middle-aged would wonder who she was, the
aged shook their heads. Whoever the fair little maid was, one thing in
connection with her was exceedingly strange. Either Byron did not know
her relations and home, or, for reasons he kept to himself, he chose
to conceal them. Her merry laugh, clear as the sound of a silver bell,
or her sweet voice in song, was generally what indicated her approach.
At one time she would emerge from a thicket, and rise at another, like
a spectre from behind a rock. Her disappearance was equally
mysterious. At their last parting she gave him a keepsake or charm,
which he long wore, suspended by a ribbon, round his neck, and it was
not till he threw it aside that he became unfortunate and unhappy. We
cannot vouch for the truth of this story; but if Byron did not hold
intercourse with unearthly beings, he has, by his writings and speech,
left room for simple-minded people who have read his works and
history, to suppose that he did. His belief in presentiment was very
strong, as also visionary warnings of imminent danger or impending
calamities.
A school-fellow of Byron had a small pony, and one day they went to
the Don to bathe. When they came to the bridge of Balgownie, the young
poet remembered the old prophecy:
"Brig o' Balgownie! wight is thy wa',
Wi' a wife's ae son, an' a mare's ae foal,
Down shalt thou fa'."
He immediately stopped his companion, who was then riding, and asked
him if he recollected the prophecy, saying, that as they were both
only sons, and as the pony might be "a mare's ae foal," he would
rather ride over first, because he had only a mother to lament him
should the bridge fall, whereas he, his companion, had both a father
and mother to grieve for him if he perished. Byron, however, was not
the only one who put faith in such prophecies. Leslie says, "Persons
have been known to dismount when they came to the brig o' Balgownie,
and send their horses over before them."
Byron had a belief in unlucky days. He once refused to be introduced
to a lady because the day was Friday; and on this day of the week he
would not visit his friends. "Something," he said, "whispered to me at
my wedding that I was signing my death warrant. I am a great believer
in presentiments. Socrates's demon was no fiction; Monk Lewis had his
monitor, and Napoleon many warnings. At the last moment I would have
retreated if I could have done so."
The poet had a high opinion of Monk Lewis. Here are two stories told
by Byron:
"Whilst Lewis was residing at Mannheim, every night at the same hour,
he heard, or thought he heard, in his room, when he was lying in bed,
a crackling noise like that produced by parchment or thick paper. This
circumstance caused inquiry, when it was told him that the sounds were
attributable to the following cause:--The house in which he lived had
belonged to a widow who had an only son. In order to prevent him
marrying a poor but amiable girl to whom he was attached, he was sent
to sea. Years passed, and the mother heard no tidings of him nor of
the ship in which he had sailed. It was supposed the vessel had been
wrecked, and that all on board had perished. The reproaches of the
girl, the upbraidings of her own conscience, and the loss of her
child, crazed the old lady's mind. Her only pursuit was to turn over
the gazettes for news. Hope at length left her: she did not live long,
and continued her old occupation after death."
The other story runs thus:
"Two Florentine lovers, who had been attached to each other almost
from childhood, made a vow of eternal fidelity. Mina was the name of
the lady; her husband's I forget, but it is not material. They
parted. He had been some time absent with his regiment, when, as his
disconsolate lady was sitting alone in her chamber, she distinctly
heard the well-known sound of his footsteps, and, starting up, beheld
not her husband, but his spectre, with a deep ghastly wound across his
forehead. She swooned with horror. When she recovered, the ghost told
her that in future his visits should be announced by a passing bell,
and the words distinctly whispered, 'Mina, I am here!' Their
interviews became frequent, till the woman fancied herself as much in
love with the ghost as she had been with the man. But it was soon to
prove otherwise. One fatal night she went to a ball. She danced, and,
what was worse, her partner was a young Florentine, so much the
counterpart of her lover, that she became estranged from the ghost.
Whilst the young gallant conducted her in the waltz, and her ear drank
in the music of his voice and words, a passing bell tolled. She had
been accustomed to the sound till it hardly excited her attention,
and, now lost in the attractions of her fascinating partner, she
heard, but regarded it not. A second peal!--she listened not to its
warnings. A third time the bell, with its deep and iron tongue,
startled the assembled company, and silenced the music. Mina turned
her eyes from her partner, and saw, reflected in the mirror, a form, a
shadow, a spectre: it was her husband. He was standing between her and
the young Florentine, and whispered, in a solemn and melancholy tone,
the accustomed accents, 'Mina, I am here!' She instantly fell down
dead. The two ghosts walked out of the room arm in arm."
Byron believed that the quality of mind descended from sire to son,
and contended that any passion might be worn out of a family by
skilful culture. To his uncle, who was very superstitious, and fed
crickets, he ascribed his superstition; to another of his ancestors,
who died laughing, he ascribed his buoyant spirits. Two of his
relations had such an affection for each other, that they both died at
the same time. "There seems," he said, "to have been a flaw in my
escutcheon there, or that that loving couple have monopolised all the
connubial bliss of the family."
Byron's superstition was so great that it led him to have his fortune
told by a sybil. It was prophesied that his twenty-seventh and
thirty-seventh years would prove unlucky to him. Some people have
thought that the prophecy was fulfilled: he was married in his
twenty-seventh, and died in his thirty-seventh year.
He was convinced that the principal charms of the Scotch resembled
those of other nations. He was not ignorant of the supposed virtue of
the mountain ash as an antidote against witchcraft. Everything
pertaining to superstition was interesting to him. He had stored up in
his memory many curious anecdotes. On being told of a particular race
of men skilled in Cabala, who by a single gaze of their "evil eye"
could level an enemy to the earth and occasion instantaneous death,
and of parents who had handsome children hanging cameos round their
necks to protect them from the evil consequences of a wicked eye, his
Lordship said, "I remember reading somewhere that Serenus Samonicus,
preceptor to a young Gordian, recommended the Abracadabra or
Abrasadabra as a charm or amulet in curing agues, and preventing other
diseases."
A Hebrew Camyo, supposed to have been handed down from father to son
since the building of the first temple, has a similar effect. Lucky is
the circumcised Jew who has, in the time of need, the good fortune to
have the Hebrew charm applied to his leprously-inclined body; and
thrice fortunate is he, whoever he may be, that has it constantly at
his command, and can claim it as his family relic.
The word Abracadabra or Abrasadabra must be written on parchment, or
other suitable substance, in the manner below, omitting in every new
line the last letter of the former line, so that the whole may form a
kind of inverted cone:
A b r a c a d a b r a
A b r a c a d a b r
A b r a c a d a b
A b r a c a d a
A b r a c a d
A b r a c a
A b r a c
A b r a
A b r
A b
A
Byron looked as if he had added greatly to his stock of knowledge when
he learned that, which way soever the letters of the charms might be
taken, beginning from the lower point and ascending from the left to
the right, they make the same word.
To every one who has read _Loch-na-Garr_, it must be evident that
Byron believed, or wished it to appear that he believed, like the
Highlanders, that the voices of the dead were heard in the storm, that
the souls of departed heroes rode on the wind, and that the dark
clouds encircled the forms of chieftain sires that added lustre to
their country's glory. But the poet shall speak for himself:--
"Away, ye gay landscapes, ye gardens of roses!
In you let the minions of luxury rove;
Restore me the rocks where the snow-flake reposes,
Though still they are sacred to freedom and love:
Yet, Caledonia, beloved are thy mountains,
Round their white summits though elements war;
Though cataracts foam 'stead of smooth-flowing fountains,
I sigh for the valley of dark Loch-na-Garr.
Ah! there my young footsteps in infancy wander'd;
My cap was the bonnet, my cloak was the plaid:
On chieftains long perish'd my memory ponder'd,
As daily I strode through the pine-cover'd glade;
I sought not my home till the day's dying glory
Gave place to the rays of the bright polar star;
For fancy was cheer'd by traditional story,
Disclosed by the natives of dark Loch-na-Garr.
'Shades of the dead! have I not heard your voices
Rise on the night-rolling breath of the gale?'
Surely the soul of the hero rejoices,
And rides on the wind, o'er his own Highland vale.
Round Loch-na-Garr, while the stormy mist gathers,
Winter presides in his cold icy car:
Clouds there encircle the forms of my fathers;
They dwell in the tempests of dark Loch-na-Garr.
'Ill-starr'd, though brave, did no visions foreboding
Tell you that fate had forsaken your cause?'
Ah! were you destined to die at Culloden,
Victory crown'd not your fall with applause:
Still were you happy in death's earthy slumber,
You rest with your clans in the caves of Braemar;
The pibroch resounds to the piper's loud number,
Your deeds on the echoes of dark Loch-na-Garr.
Years have roll'd on, Loch-na-Garr, since I left you,
Years must elapse ere I tread you again:
Nature of verdure and flowers has bereft you,
Yet still are you dearer than Albion's plain.
England! thy beauties are tame and domestic
To one who has roved o'er the mountains afar:
O for the crags that are wild and majestic!
The steep frowning glories of dark Loch-na-Garr!"
In _Oscar of Alva_ will also be found something of popular
superstition. Passing over a part of the tale, Byron says:--
"From high Southannon's distant tower
Arrived a young and noble dame;
With Kenneth's lands to form her dower,
Glenalvon's blue-eyed daughter came.
And Oscar claimed the beauteous bride,
And Angus on his Oscar smiled;
It soothed the father's feudal pride
Thus to obtain Glenalvon's child.
Hark to the pibroch's pleasing note!
Hark to the swelling nuptial song!
In joyous strains the voices float,
And still the choral peal prolong.
* * * * *
But where is Oscar? Sure 'tis late:
Is this a bridegroom's ardent flame?
While thronging guests and ladies wait
Nor Oscar nor his brother came.
At length young Allan join'd the bride;
'Why comes not Oscar?' Angus said:
'Is he not here?' the youth replied;
'With me he roved not o'er the glade.'
* * * * *
'O search, ye chiefs! O search around!
Allan, with these through Alva fly;
Till Oscar, till my son is found,
Haste, haste, nor dare attempt reply.'
Three days, three sleepless nights, the chief
For Oscar searched each mountain cave
Then hope is lost: in boundless grief
His locks in grey torn ringlets wave.
* * * * *
Days rolled along: the orb of light
Again had run his destined race;
No Oscar bless'd his father's sight,
And sorrow left a fainter trace.
For youthful Allan still remain'd,
And now his father's only joy:
And Mora's heart was quickly gain'd,
For beauty crown'd the fair-hair'd boy.
She thought that Oscar low was laid,
And Allan's face was wondrous fair:
If Oscar lived, some other maid
Had claim'd his faithless bosom's care.
And Angus said, if one year more
In fruitless hope was pass'd away,
His fondest scruples should be o'er,
And he would name their nuptial day.
Slow roll'd the moons, but blest at last
Arrived the dearly destined morn;
The year of anxious trembling past,
What smiles the lovers' cheeks adorn!
Hark to the pibroch's pleasing note!
Hark to the swelling nuptial song!
In joyous strains the voices float,
And still the choral peal prolong.
Again the clan, in festive crowd,
Throng through the gate of Alva's hall;
The sounds of mirth re-echo loud,
And all their former joy recall.
But who is he whose darken'd brow
Glooms in the midst of general mirth?
Before his eyes' far fiercer glow
The blue flames curdle o'er the hearth.
Dark is the robe which wraps his form,
And tall his plume of gory red;
His voice is like the rising storm,
But light and trackless is his tread.
'Tis noon of night, the pledge goes round,
The bridegroom's health is deeply quaff'd;
With shouts the vaulted roofs resound,
And all combine to hail the draught.
Sudden the stranger chief arose,
And all the clamorous crowd are hush'd;
And Angus' cheek with wonder glows,
And Mora's tender bosom blush'd.
'Old man!' he cried, 'this pledge is done;
Thou saw'st was duly drunk by me:
It hail'd the nuptials of thy son:
Now will I claim, a pledge from thee.
While all around is mirth and joy,
To bless thy Allan's happy lot,
Say, had'st thou ne'er another boy?
Say, why should Oscar be forgot?'
'Alas!' the hapless sire replied,
The big tear starting as he spoke;
When Oscar left my hall, or died,
This aged heart was almost broke.
'Thrice has the earth revolved her course
Since Oscar's form has bless'd my sight;
And Allan is my last resource,
Since martial Oscar's death or flight.'
''Tis well,' replied the stranger stern,
And fiercely flashed his rolling eye;
'Thy Oscar's fate I fain would learn:
Perhaps the hero did not die.
'Perchance if those whom most he loved
Would call, thy Oscar might return;
Perchance the chief has only roved;
For him thy beltane yet may burn.
'Fill high the bowl the table round,
We will not claim the pledge by stealth;
With wine let every cup be crown'd:
Pledge me departed Oscar's health.'
'With all my soul,' old Angus said,
And fill'd his goblet to the brim;
'Here's to my boy! alive or dead,
I ne'er shall find a son like him.'
'Bravely, old man, this health hath sped;
But why does Allan trembling stand?
Come, drink remembrance of the dead,
And raise thy cup with firmer hand.'
The crimson glow of Allan's face
Was turn'd at once to ghastly hue;
The drops of death each other chase
Adown in agonizing dew.
Thrice did he raise the goblet high,
And thrice his lips refused to taste;
For thrice he caught the stranger's eye
On his with deadly fury placed.
'And is it thus a brother hails
A brother's fond remembrance here;
If thus affection's strength prevails,
What might we not expect from fear?'
Roused by the sneer, he raised the bowl,
'Would Oscar now could share our mirth!'
Internal fear appall'd his soul;
He said, and dash'd the cup to earth.
'Tis he! I hear my murderer's voice!'
Loud shrieks a darkly gleaming form;
'A murderer's voice!' the roof replies,
And deeply swells the bursting storm.
The tapers wink, the chieftains shrink,
The stranger's gone--amidst the crew
A form was seen in tartan green,
And tall the shade terrific grew.
His waist was bound with a broad belt round,
His plume of sable stream'd on high;
But his breast was bare, with the red wounds there
And fixed was the glare of his glassy eye.
And thrice he smiled, with his eye so wild,
On Angus bending low the knee:
And thrice he frown'd on a chief on the ground,
Whom shivering crowds with horror see.
The bolts loud roll from pole to pole,
The thunders through the welkin ring;
And the gleaming form, through the mist of the storm,
Was borne on high by the whirlwind's wing.
Cold was the feast, the revel ceased,
Who lies upon the stony floor?
Oblivion press'd old Angus' breast,
At length his life-pulse throbs once more.
Away! away! let the leech assay
To pour the light on Allan's eyes:
His sand is done--his race is run;
O! never more shall Allan rise:
But Oscar's breast is cold as clay,
His locks are lifted by the gale:
And Allan's barbed arrow lay
With him in dark Glentanar's vale.
And whence the dreadful stranger came,
Or who, no mortal wight can tell;
But no one doubts the form of flame,
For Alva's sons knew Oscar well.
Ambition nerved young Allan's hand,
Exulting demons wing'd his dart;
While Envy waved her burning brand,
And pour'd her venom round his heart.
Swift is the shaft from Allan's bow;
Whose streaming life-blood stains his side?
Dark Oscar's sable crest is low,
The dart has drunk his vital tide.
And Mora's eye could Allan move,
She bade his wounded pride rebel;
Alas! that eyes which beam'd with love
Should urge the soul to deeds of hell.
Lo! seest thou not a lonely tomb
Which rises o'er a warrior dead?
It glimmers through the twilight gloom:
O! that is Allan's nuptial bed.
Far, distant far, the noble grave
Which held his clan's great ashes stood;
And o'er his corse no banners wave,
For they were stain'd with kindred blood.
What minstrel grey, what hoary bard,
Shall Allan's deeds on harp-strings raise?
The song is glory's chief reward,
But who can strike a murderer's praise?
Unstrung, untouch'd the harp must stand,
No minstrel dare the theme awake;
Guilt would benumb his palsied hand,
His harp in shuddering chords would break.
No lyre of fame, no hallow'd verse,
Shall sound his glories high in air:
A dying father's bitter curse,
A brother's death-groan echoes there."
The incidents immediately preceding Byron's death show that, to his
last moments, he entertained what is generally regarded as
superstitious sentiments. He thought it possible for him to waken from
the sleep of death, and torment those he desired to punish. Perceiving
that he was seriously ill, he called his faithful attendant Fletcher,
and gave him several directions. The servant expressed a hope that he
(his master) would live many years. To this Byron replied, "No, it is
now nearly over;" and then added, "I must tell you all, without losing
a single moment. Now pay attention--You will be provided for--Oh, my
poor dear child, my dear Ada!--could I but see her--give her my
blessing--and my dear sister Augusta and her children--you will go to
Lady Byron, and say--tell her everything." Here his Lordship seemed to
be greatly affected; his voice failed him so much that it was
difficult to understand what he said. After remaining silent for a
short time, he raised his voice and said, "Fletcher: now if you do not
execute every order which I have given you, I will torment you
hereafter, if possible." These were nearly the last words he spoke,
having very soon afterwards fallen into an easy sleep, from which he
never awoke.
CHAPTER XXI.
Tale by Hogg, the Ettrick Shepherd--Aikwood
Castle--Black Pages in Livery--The Witch Henbane--Imps
demanding Work--Michael Scott--Curious Sport--Dreadful
Threat--Rats transformed into the form of
Men--Inventor of Gunpowder--Witches'
Operations--Summoning Evil Spirits to torture a
Man--Latin the Language best understood by Satan and
his Emissaries--Holy Signs and Charms--Two
Captives--Effects of a Friar's Blessing--Magic
Lantern--Man blown into the Air--Michael Scott's
Sealed and Subscribed Conditions--Imps' Song--Spirits
in the forms of Crows--Dreadful Storm--Warlocks'
Hymn--Eildon Hill.
Hogg, the Ettrick Shepherd, whose memory will long be remembered in
Scotland, particularly in the Border counties, introduces, in his
_Three Perils of Man_, a party of travellers approaching Aikwood
Castle, about nine miles from Melrose. The edifice scarcely seemed to
be the abode of man. "Is that now to be my residence, Yardbire?" said
the beautiful Delany. "Will you go away, and leave Elias and me in
that frightsome and desolate-looking mansion?" "Thou art in good
hands," said the friar. "But thou art perhaps going into a place of
danger, and evil things may await thee. Here, take thou this, and keep
it in thy bosom; and, by the blessing of the Holy Virgin, it will
shield thee from all malevolent spirits, all enchantments, and all
dangers of the wicked one." As he said this, he put into her hand a
small gilded copy of the four Evangelists, which she kissed and put
into her bosom. All the rest of the company saw the small volume, and
took it for a book of the black art. Close to the castle gate there
appeared three pages in black livery, although a moment before there
was no living creature there. They seemed to have risen out of the
ground. All at once the horses and mules on which the travellers rode
became restive; at this, the elves set up a shout, and skipped about
with the swiftness of lightning. Hearing the noise, the great master
asked his only attendant, Gourlay, "What is the meaning of the
uproar?" "It is only Prim, Prig, and Pricker making sport," replied
the servant.
As soon as the mighty master knew of the friar and his companions
being in the castle, he ordered them to be treated as spies. The old
witch Henbane, who acted as housekeeper, and the three pages, were
called into the presence of the wizard, to receive instructions from
him. First the imps threatened Gourlay, and then rushed on Michael
himself, as if they would tear him to pieces, and cried out with one
voice:
"Work, master, work; work we need;
Work for the living, or for the dead:
Since we are called, work we will have,
For the master, or for the slave.
Work, master, work. What work now?"
Michael Scott (no doubt the reader has by this time discovered that he
was the master of the castle), to keep the restless beings at work,
told them to give Gourlay three varieties of punishment, but no more.
They soon began their wicked pranks, first changing the seneschal from
one grotesque form to another. Quickly transforming him into a dog,
they chased him up and down and round about with a pan at its tail.
Next they made him assume the shape of a hare, while to all appearance
they became collie dogs. An exciting chase followed over hill and
dale, but the poor hare succeeded in eluding its pursuers, and
returned to the master, who, by one touch of his divining rod, changed
Gourlay into his own natural shape. As soon as the poor ill-used
servant recovered speech, he threatened to cut his throat, that he
might be freed from his severe bondage. Michael dared him to do such a
thing, as he had him wholly in his power, dead or alive. "Were you to
take away your life by a ghastly wound," said the wizard, "I would
even make one of these fiendish spirits enter into your body,
reanimate it, and cause you to go about with your gaping wound,
unclosed and unpurified, as when death entered thereat." "Cursed be
the day that I saw you, and ten times cursed the confession I made,
that has thus subjected me to your tyranny!" exclaimed Gourlay.
Michael again asked what living creatures were in the castle. The
servant replied, "I again repeat it, that there is no mortal thing in
the castle but the old witch, and perhaps two or three hundred rats."
"Call out those rats," said Michael; "marshal them up in the court,
and receive the visitors according to their demerits." At the same
time the master gave the servant a small piece of parchment, with red
characters traced on it, and told him to put it above the lock-hole of
the door. "It shall serve as a summons, and Prig, Prim, and Pricker
shall marshal your forces," continued the wizard. The citation was
effective: the running and screaming of rats were heard in every
corner of the castle, and forthwith a whole column of armed men
marched into the court, led by the three pages, and headed by the
seneschal in grey mantle and cap. In walked the strangers, and passed
between two ranks of men, or rather rats, the appearance of which
raised a suspicion that they were spirits or elves.
The friar, it should be noticed, was the great philosopher and chemist
who invented gunpowder, and made many other wonderful discoveries, for
which he was in danger of being burnt as a wizard and necromancer.
The friar, followed by his companions, found entrance to a room, where
they expected to meet the great enchanter Michael, but instead of him
they beheld an old woman, so busily engaged with something on the
fire, that she scarcely deigned to notice their entrance. She had a
wooden tube, with which she blew up the fire, and then spoke through
it, saying:
"Sotter, sotter, my wee pan,
To the spirit gin ye can;
When the scum turns blue,
And the blood bells through,
There's something aneath that will change the man."
The crone continued her orgies, one time blowing her fire, again
stirring the liquid in the caldron, and then making it run from the
end of a stick that she might note its gelidity. All her operations
were being gone through to call up certain familiar spirits whose
presence she desired.
In another apartment sat Michael Scott. He wore a turban of crimson
velvet, ornamented with mystic figures in gold, and on the front of it
was a dazzling star. His eyes were bright and piercing, resembling
those of a serpent. He was stout-made, and had a strong bushy beard,
turning grey. On beholding Charlie Scott (he alone entered the
wizard's _sanctum sanctorum_), the wizard stamped three times on the
floor, and in a moment Prim, Prig, and Pricker stood beside him.
"Work, master, work--what work now?" demanded they. "Take that burly
housebreaker, bind him, and put him to the test," were the
instructions they received. When the elves were about to seize
Charlie, he drew his sword, and thrust out right and left, but his
blade did nothing more than whistle through vacancy. In an instant he
was thrown down and bound with cords. The master and his familiars
then had a conversation in Latin (the language best understood by
Satan and his emissaries) concerning the prisoner's baptism. They
stripped him, and were about to begin a painful operation, when
Charlie, bound though he was, succeeded in crossing himself and
pronouncing a sacred name. That instant the pages started back
trembling, and their weapons fell from their hands. Another of the
company was thrown down and bound by the imps; but when they attempted
to seize the friar, they could not so much as touch his frock. The
fair Delany stood trembling behind the pious father; and on the fiends
feeling their want of power over him, they rushed at the young virgin.
But the moment they touched her garments, they retired in dismay. The
friar, remembering that the maid had the blessed Gospel concealed in
her bosom, concluded that in that precious book she found protection.
As to his own personal safety he had no fear, as he possessed a charm,
proof against Satan himself. "He drew his cross from below his
frock--that cross which had been consecrated at the shrine of Saint
Peter, bathed in holy water, and blessed with many blessings from the
mouths of ancient martyrs--had done wondrous miracles in the hands of
saints of former days--and lifting that reverently on high, he
pronounced the words from holy writ, against which no demon or false
spirit's power could prevail. In one moment the three imps fled
yelling from the apartment." At the same time the countenance of the
enchanter fell, and his whole body quaked. The friar then unloosed
those that were bound.
"Great and magnificent Master of Arts," said the friar, addressing
Michael Scott, "we are come to thee from the man that ruleth over the
borders of the land, and leadeth forth his troops to battle. He
sendeth unto thee greeting, and beseecheth to know of thee what shall
befall unto his people and to his house in the latter days. It is thy
counsel alone that he asketh, for thou art renowned for wisdom and
foresight to the farthest corners of the earth. The two nations are
engaged in a great and bloody contest, and high are the stakes for
which they play. The man who sent us entreateth of thee to disclose
unto thy servants who shall finally prevail, and whether it behoveth
him to join himself to the captain of his people. He hath moreover
sent unto thee, by our hand, these two beautiful captives, the one to
be thine handmaiden, and the other to be thy servant, and run at thy
bidding."
The wizard, highly flattered, listened with patience to the friar, and
answered that the request made would take many days to consider, as he
had to deal with those who were more capricious than the changing
seasons, and more perverse than opposing winds and tides. Reluctantly
the friar and his friends were prevailed on to remain at the goblin
castle, and how it fared with them we shall soon see.
Gourlay was summoned into the presence of Scott, who instructed him to
provide an entertainment for the strangers. In due time the steward
appeared with his rod of office in his hand, and with great ceremony
marshalled his guests upstairs to an apartment, where there was a
table covered with rich viands in great abundance. A few graceless
fellows in the company began to eat and drink before a blessing was
asked, and seemingly fared well. But with the holy friar it was
different. In conformity with a good old custom, he lifted up his
hands, closed his eyes, and, leaning forward, repeated his oft-said
stereotyped phrases. In his respectful attitude, he came in close
contact with what appeared to be a beautiful smoking sirloin of beef.
So near was he to it that he actually breathed upon it, and was nearly
overcome by its savoury flavour. Never had blessing a more baneful
effect on meat: when the friar opened his eyes the beef was
gone--there was nothing left but an insignificant thing resembling the
joint of a frog's leg, or that of a rat.
A contention arose between Michael Scott and the friar as to which of
them could perform the most wonderful feats; and when the former
discovered that he was in conversation with no less a personage than
the Primate of Douay, author of the book of arts, he was much pleased.
By means of a curious lantern, he made it appear that the mountain
Cape-Law was rent and divided into three parts. This was only an
optical delusion, but he in reality blew poor Gourlay into the air by
an explosion of gunpowder, the composition and power of which were
unknown to the wizard, or to any one except the friar. The master
could not bear the idea of being outdone by any one. He strode the
floor in gloomy indignation. "Look," he shouted, "at that mountain on
the east. It is known to you all--the great hill of Eildon. You know
and see that it is one round, smooth, and unbroken cone." He then gave
three knocks with his heel on the floor, and called the names of his
three pages, Prig, Prim, and Pricker. As at other times, these
infernal spirits were before him, exclaiming, "Work, master, work;
what work now?" "Look at that mountain yclept the hill of Eildon. Go
and twist me it into three." The imps looked with Satanic glare. "The
hill is granite," said one. "And five arrows' flight high," said
another. "And seventy round the base," said the first. "All the power
of earth and hell to boot are unmeet to the task," added the third. In
an imperious manner, the master declared the thing must be done. "I
know my conditions; they are sealed and subscribed, and I am not to be
disobeyed," continued he. The three pages began singing:
"Pick and spade
To our aid!
Flaught and flail,
Fire and hail:
Winds arise, and tempests brattle,
And, if you will, the thunders rattle.
Come away,
Elfin grey,
Much to do ere break of day!
Come with spade, and sieve, and shovel;
Come with roar, and rout, and revel;
Come with crow, and come with crane,
Strength of steed, and weight of wain.
Crash of rock, and roar of river,
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