{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_52834/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_52834","id":"gutenberg_52834","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/52834","summary":null,"tags":["Category: History - Other","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Folklore -- Guernsey"],"text":"Produced by MWS and the Online Distributed Proofreading\nTeam at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from\nimages generously made available by The Internet Archive)\n\n\n\n\n\nThe listed errata have been corrected (although the list is by no\nmeans comprehensive), as have obvious typos. However, the original\ntext contained inconsistencies in hyphenation, accents and sometimes\nspelling--these have been retained.\n\nMuch of the text of this book is in old French or the Guernsey French\ndialect, and may not conform to the expectations of a modern reader of\nthe language.\n\nNormal text within italic passages is denoted ~like this~.\n\nThe Preface refers to \u201cthree sizes of type\u201d distinguishing the main text,\nnotes by the author and notes by the editor. This cannot be easily\nreproduced in the text version, but has been in the HTML. The author\u2019s\nnotes are footnotes. The editor\u2019s notes--some footnotes, some not--always\nhave \u201cEDITOR\u2019S NOTE\u201d prefixed.\n\n\n\n\nGUERNSEY FOLK-LORE.\n\n[Illustration: SIR EDGAR MACCULLOCH\n\nIN HIS ROBES AS BAILIFF OF GUERNSEY.]\n\n\n\n\n                          GUERNSEY FOLK-LORE\n\n                            A COLLECTION OF\n\n               _POPULAR SUPERSTITIONS, LEGENDARY TALES,\n          PECULIAR CUSTOMS, PROVERBS, WEATHER SAYINGS, ETC.,\n                    OF THE PEOPLE OF THAT ISLAND_.\n\n                         FROM MSS. BY THE LATE\n                SIR EDGAR MACCULLOCH, KNT., F.S.A., &c.\n                        _Bailiff of Guernsey_.\n\n                       EDITED BY EDITH F. CAREY.\n\n       _ILLUSTRATED BY NUMEROUS PHOTOGRAPHS OF OLD PRINTS, ETC._\n\n                                LONDON:\n                ELLIOT STOCK, 62, PATERNOSTER ROW, E.C.\n                  GUERNSEY: F. CLARKE, STATES ARCADE.\n                                 1903.\n\n    \u201cIN WINTER\u2019S TEDIOUS NIGHTS SIT BY THE FIRE\n    WITH GOOD OLD FOLKS, AND LET THEM TELL THEE TALES\n    OF WOEFUL AGES LONG AGO BETID.\u201d--K. RICHARD II., ACT V., SC. 1.\n\n    \u201cLA LEGENDE, LE MYTHE, LA FABLE, SONT, COMME LA CONCENTRATION\n    DE LA VIE NATIONALE, COMME DES RESERVOIRS PROFONDS OU DORMENT\n    LE SANG ET LES LARMES DES PEUPLES.\u201d--BAUDELAIRE.\n\n\n\n\nAUTHOR\u2019S PREFACE.\n\n\nOf late years the ancient superstitions of the people, their legendary\ntales, their proverbial sayings, and, in fine, all that is designated\nby the comprehensive term of \u201cFolk-Lore,\u201d have attracted much and\ndeserved attention. Puerile as are many of these subjects, they\nbecome interesting when a comparison is instituted amongst them as\nthey exist in various countries. It is then seen how wide is their\nspread--how, for example, the same incident in a fairy tale, modified\naccording to the manners and customs of the people by whom it is\nrelated, extends from the remotest east to the westernmost confines\nof Europe, and is even found occasionally to re-appear among the wild\ntribes of the American Continent, and the isolated inhabitants of\nPolynesia. The ethnologist may find in this an argument for the common\norigin of all nations, and their gradual spread from one central\npoint,--the philosopher and psychologist may speculate on the wonderful\nconstruction of the human mind, and, throwing aside the idea of the\nunity of the race, may attribute the similarities of tradition to an\ninnate set of ideas, which find their expression in certain definite\nforms,--while the historian and antiquary may sometimes discover\nin these popular traditions, a confirmation or explanation of some\ndoubtful point. Lastly, he whose sole object is amusement, and whose\ntaste is not entirely vitiated by the exaggerated and exciting fiction\nof modern times, will turn with pleasure to the simple tales which have\namused his childhood, and which are ever fresh and ever new.\n\nMuch of this ancient lore has already perished, and much is every\nday disappearing before the influence of the printing press, and the\nconsequent extension of education. This would scarcely be regretted,\nif, at the same time, the degrading superstitions with which much\nof these old traditions are mixed up could disappear with them, but\nunfortunately we find by experience that this is not the case, and that\nthese popular delusions only disappear in one form to re-appear in\nanother, equally, if not more, dangerous.\n\nA desire to preserve, before they were entirely forgotten, some of the\ntraditional stories, and other matters connected with the folk-lore of\nmy native island, induced me to attempt to collect and record them,\nbut I have found the task, though pleasant, by no means easy. The last\nfifty years has made an immense difference here as elsewhere. The\ninflux of a stranger population, and with it the growth and spread of\nthe English tongue, has changed, or modified considerably, the manners\nand ideas of the people, more particularly in the town. Old customs\nare forgotten by the rising generation, what amused their fathers\nand mothers possesses little or no interest for their children, and\ngradually even the recollection of these matters dies away. There are\ngood grounds for supposing that, although the belief in witchcraft\nattained its greatest development in the century which succeeded the\nReformation, and was as much the creed of the clergy as of the laity,\nother popular superstitions were looked upon with disfavour, and\nespecially all those customs which were in any way, even remotely,\nconnected with the observances of the ancient form of religion.\nThe rapid spread of dissent among the middle and lower classes of\nsociety within the last half century has certainly not had the effect\nof diminishing popular credulity with respect to the existence of\nsorcerers and their supernatural powers, but, by discouraging the\namusements in which the young naturally delight, and in which the\nelders took part, it has broken one of the links which connected the\npresent with the past.\n\nDoubtless did one know where to look for it much might still be gleaned\namong the peasantry, but all who have attempted to make collections\nof popular lore know how difficult it is to make this class of people\nopen themselves. They fear ridicule, and cannot conceive what interest\none can have in seeking for information on subjects which--whatever\nmay be their own private opinion--they have been taught to speak of as\nfoolishness.\n\nSome of the stories in the following compilation were related to me by\nan old and valued servant of the family, Rachel du Port, others were\nkindly communicated to me by ladies[1] and others, who had derived\ntheir information from similar sources, and whose names I have appended\nto them, and much is the result of my own research and observation. The\nsubject matter of the following pages, having been collected at various\ntimes, and written down as it came to hand, is not arranged as it ought\nto be, and there are necessarily some repetitions. Whether, after all,\nthe work is worthy of the time that has been spent on it, the reader\nmust decide for himself. Suffice it to say that as far as regards\nmyself it has afforded an occupation and amusement.\n\nEDGAR MACCULLOCH.\n\n_Guernsey, February, 1864._\n\n[1] The legends collected by Miss Lane (Mrs. Lane Clarke) were\nsubsequently published by her in the charming little book called\n_Folk-Lore of Guernsey and Sark_, of which two Editions have been\nprinted.\n\n\n\n\nEDITOR\u2019S PREFACE.\n\n\nSir Edgar MacCulloch at his death, which occurred July 31st, 1896,\nbequeathed his manuscript collection of Guernsey Folk-Lore to the Royal\nCourt of Guernsey, of which he had been for so many years Member and\nPresident.\n\nThis collection was subsequently handed over to me by Sir T. Godfrey\nCarey, then Bailiff, and the other Members of the Court, to transcribe\nfor publication: it was contained in three manuscript books, closely\nwritten on both sides of the pages, and interspersed with innumerable\nscraps of paper, containing notes, additions and corrections; as Sir\nEdgar himself says in his preface, the items were written down as\ncollected, local customs, fairy tales, witch stories, one after the\nother, with no attempt at classification. In literally transcribing\nthem I have endeavoured to place them under their different headings,\nas recommended by the English Folk-Lore Society, and have inserted the\nnotes in their proper places; and I am responsible for the choice of\nthe quotations heading the various chapters. In every other particular\nI have copied the manuscript word for word as I received it. It took me\nover three years to transcribe, and was placed by the Royal Court in\nthe printer\u2019s hands in February, 1900.\n\nIt will be noticed that three sizes of type have been used throughout\nthe book; Sir Edgar MacCulloch\u2019s subject matter has been printed in the\nlargest, the Author\u2019s notes to his own text being in the medium, while\nthe notes printed in the smallest type contain additional legends and\nsuperstitions, which have been told me, or collected for me, by and\nfrom the country people, and which I have added, thereby making the\ncollection more complete. Also, at the end of the book, is an appendix\ncontaining a few of the legends collected by myself, which were too\nlong to insert as notes, and a small collection of old Guernsey songs,\nwhich I have written down from the lips of the older inhabitants, and\nwhich, in one of the last conversations I had with Sir Edgar MacCulloch\non the subject, he strongly recommended should be included in any\ncollection of Guernsey Folk-Lore that should ever be published.\n\nI was well aware of the difficulties of the task which I undertook,\nand how unworthy I, a mere novice, was to edit the work of so eminent\nan antiquary as the late Sir Edgar MacCulloch; but it was represented\nto me that I was one of the very few who took any interest in the\nfast vanishing traditions of the island, that I understood the local\ndialect, and that I had had many conversations and much assistance from\nSir Edgar MacCulloch during his lifetime on the subject; and, more\nespecially, that if I did not do it no one else would undertake it, and\nthus the result of Sir Edgar\u2019s labours would be lost to the island.\nThis, I trust may be my excuse for assuming so great a responsibility.\nI feel I should never have accomplished it without the unfailing\nassistance and kindness of H. A. Giffard, Esq., the present Bailiff of\nGuernsey, and John de Garis, Esq., Jurat of the Royal Court, members\nof the Folk-Lore Committee, who have, in the midst of their own hard\nwork, gone through all the proofs in the most untiring manner, and have\nhelped me in every possible way.\n\nThe illustrations are from photographs, collected by myself, of old\npictures and views illustrating the Guernsey of which Sir Edgar\nMacCulloch wrote, and which is now so sadly changed, and it will be\nnoticed that in various instances where Sir Edgar writes of \u201cwooded\nvalleys and cornfields, etc.,\u201d in 1864, now (1903) there are nothing\nbut quarries or greenhouses.\n\nI am very grateful to Mr. Grigg, of High Street, for allowing me to use\nthe photographs, taken by his grandson, Mr. William Guerin, of original\npictures of Guernsey in his possession; also to Mr. Edgar Dupuy, of the\nArcade, and Mr. Singleton, photographer, for the use of photographs\ndone by them of Guernsey scenery.\n\nI cannot conclude without thanking the many friends who have helped me\nby collecting folk-lore and songs, especially I must mention my cousin,\nthe late Miss Ernestine Le Pelley, who gathered many traditions for\nme from the west coast of the island, and who, alas! never lived to\nsee the book, in which she took so great an interest, in print. The\nlate Miss Anne Chepmell, who died in 1899, also gave me most valuable\nassistance, and so have also Mrs. Le Patourel, Mrs. Charles Marquand,\nMrs. Mollet, Miss Margaret Mauger, Mrs. Sidney Tostevin, and many\nothers in St. Martin\u2019s parish, who have racked their brains to remember\nfor me \u201cch\u00fb que j\u2019ai ou\u00ef dire \u00e0 ma gran\u2019m\u00e8re.\u201d\n\nEDITH F. CAREY.\n\n_Le Vallon, Guernsey, April, 1903._\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS.\n\n\n    CHAPTER                                                         PAGE\n\n                                PART I.\n\n            TIMES AND SEASONS, FESTIVALS AND MERRYMAKINGS.\n\n       I. FESTIVAL CUSTOMS                                            19\n\n      II. LOCAL CUSTOMS, CHEVAUCH\u00c9E DE ST. MICHEL, ETC.               59\n\n                               PART II.\n\n                  SUPERSTITIOUS BELIEF AND PRACTICE.\n\n     III. PREHISTORIC MONUMENTS AND THE SUPERSTITIONS CONNECTED\n          WITH THEM.                                                 109\n\n      IV. NATURAL OBJECTS AND THE SUPERSTITIONS CONNECTED WITH\n          THEM.                                                      137\n\n       V. CHAPELS AND HOLY WELLS.                                    165\n\n      VI. FAIRIES.                                                   198\n\n     VII. DEMONS AND GOBLINS.                                        226\n\n    VIII. THE DEVIL.                                                 257\n\n      IX. GHOSTS AND PROPHETIC WARNINGS.                             275\n\n       X. WITCHES AND WITCHCRAFT.                                    289\n\n      XI. CHARMS, SPELLS, AND INCANTATIONS.                          387\n\n     XII. FOLK MEDICINE AND LEECH CRAFT.                             422\n\n    XIII. STORY TELLING.                                             427\n\n     XIV. HISTORICAL REMINISCENCES.                                  441\n\n      XV. NURSERY SONGS AND CHILDREN\u2019S GAMES.                        484\n\n     XVI. SUPERSTITIONS GENERALLY.                                   501\n\n    XVII. PROVERBS AND WEATHER LORE.                                 509\n\n          EDITOR\u2019S APPENDIX. OLD GUERNSEY SONGS AND BALLADS, ETC.    549\n\n\n\n\nLIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.\n\n\n                                                  _Photo. by_      _Page_\n\n    Sir Edgar MacCulloch, in his Robes as Bailiff\n       of Guernsey.                               T. A. GRUT.          1\n\n    Ruins of an Old Guernsey House,\n       Les Caretiers, St. Sampson\u2019s.              E. DUPUY.           26\n\n    \u201cLa Grande Querrue.\u201d _From an old photo by\n       T. B. Hutton._                             E. DUPUY.           41\n\n    Maison du Neuf Chemin, St. Saviour\u2019s.         E. DUPUY.           57\n\n    Parish Church of St. Peter Port, shewing\n       houses now demolished. _From sketch by\n       P. Le Li\u00e8vre, now in possession of\n       Mr. Grigg._                                W. GUERIN.          70\n\n    Vraicing off Hougue-\u00e0-la-Perre.                                   79\n\n    Parish Church of St. Peter Port, A.D. 1846.\n       _From original by Bentham, in possession\n       of Mr. Grigg._                             W. GUERIN.          88\n\n    \u201cL\u2019Autel des Vardes\u201d at L\u2019Ancresse.           E. DUPUY.          111\n\n    Looking up Smith Street, 1870. _From\n       original by L. Michael, in possession of\n       Mr. Grigg._                                W. GUERIN.         116\n\n    Creux des F\u00e2\u00efes.                              SINGLETON.         136\n\n    \u201cTas de Pois,\u201d showing Le Petit Bonhomme\n       Andrelot, or Andriou.                      SINGLETON.         144\n\n    Stone bearing the Devil\u2019s Claw at Jerbourg.   E. DUPUY.          156\n\n    Wishing Wells at Mont Blicq, Forest.          E. DUPUY.          164\n\n    Wishing Well, Les Fontaines, Castel.          E. DUPUY.          189\n\n    Another view of Creux des F\u00e2\u00efes, near Cobo.   SINGLETON.         205\n\n    Looking down Smith Street, 1870. _From\n       picture by L. Michael, in possession of\n       Mr. Grigg._                                W. GUERIN.         224\n\n    Old House, Ville au Roi.                      E. DUPUY.          238\n\n    Houses in Church Square, 1825. _From sketch\n       by P. Le Li\u00e8vre, in possession of Mr.\n       Grigg._                                    W. GUERIN.         244\n\n    \u201cLe Coin de la Biche,\u201d St. Martin\u2019s.          E. DUPUY.          254\n\n    Looking up Fountain Street, 1825. _From\n       original bought by Mr. Grigg, in the\n       Canichers, at Mr. Dobr\u00e9e\u2019s sale._          W. GUERIN.         262\n\n    Looking down Berthelot Street, 1880. _From\n       original by L. Michael, in possession of\n       Mr. Grigg._                                W. GUERIN.         271\n\n    Cow Lane. _From drawing lent by Colonel J. H.\n       Carteret Carey._                           E. DUPUY.          278\n\n    Harbour, showing entrance to Cow Lane.\n       _From old picture._                                           287\n\n    North Arm, Old Harbour, showing back of\n       Pollet. _From photograph by Capt. Amet_,\n       (Cir. 1850).                                                  294\n\n    Town Harbour (site of the Albert Statue).\n       _From a drawing by P. Naftel._             E. DUPUY.          303\n\n    Royal Court House, 1880. _From picture by\n       L. Michael, in possession of Mr. Grigg._   W. GUERIN.         311\n\n    High Street, 1850. _Drawn partly from sketch,\n       and partly photographed by the late\n       A. C. Andros, Esq._                                           319\n\n    Castle Cornet, 1660. _From an old picture._   W. GUERIN.         327\n\n    Old Harbour. (Cir. 1852).                     Captain AMET.      335\n\n    Stone supposed to represent the Ancient\n       Priory at Lihou. _Drawn by J. J.\n       Carey, Esq._                                                  342\n\n    Mill Pond at the Vrangue.                     E. DUPUY.          359\n\n    Old Mill House at the Vrangue, early 19th\n       century. _From old pencil drawing._        E. DUPUY.          367\n\n    Victor Hugo\u2019s \u201cHaunted House\u201d at Pleinmont.   E. DUPUY.          375\n\n    Old Market Place and States Arcade. _From\n       old photo by T. B. Hutton._                E. DUPUY.          383\n\n    Old Mill Buildings in the Talbot Valley.      E. DUPUY.          391\n\n    Old House at Cobo.                            E. DUPUY.          393\n\n    Old Manor House, Anneville.                   E. DUPUY.          407\n\n    Oratory Window in Ruined Chapel at Anneville. E. DUPUY.          415\n\n    St. Peter Port Harbour, 1852, shewing Old\n       North Pier. _From negative._               Captain AMET.      423\n\n    Old Farm House at St. Saviour\u2019s. _From pencil\n       drawing early in 19th century._            E. DUPUY.          431\n\n    Old Mill, Talbot Valley.                      E. DUPUY.          439\n\n    Ivy Castle.                                   T. B. HUTTON.      447\n\n    Houses facing west door of Town Church,\n       demolished while building the New\n       Market. _From picture by L. Michael, in\n       possession of Mr. Grigg._                  W. GUERIN.         455\n\n    Old Cottage, Fermain.                         E. DUPUY.          463\n\n    Old Mill, Talbot Valley.                      E. DUPUY.          471\n\n    Water Lane, Couture. _Copied from old\n       photograph._                               E. DUPUY.          479\n\n    Hautgard, St. Peter\u2019s, shewing \u201cPelotins\u201d.    E. DUPUY.          487\n\n    Old Guernsey Farm House.                                         495\n\n    Top of Smith Street, shewing portion of the\n       old Town House (on the left) of the de\n       Sausmarez family. _From old negative by\n       Dr. J. Mansell._                           E. DUPUY.          503\n\n    Building south arm of Town Harbour,\n       connecting Castle Cornet with Island.                         511\n\n    Old Guernsey House. _From a pencil drawing\n       of 1803._                                  E. DUPUY.          527\n\n    Old Gibbet in Herm.                           E. DUPUY.          546\n\n    Haunted Lane near Jerbourg.                   E. DUPUY.          587\n\nThe Arms of Guernsey, illustrated on the cover, are from a sketch by\nSir Edgar MacCulloch himself, drawn many years ago, and then described\nby him as from the most ancient seal of the island to be found among\nthe records at the Greffe.\n\n\n\n\nERRATA.\n\n\n    Page 21.         For \u201cFautrat\u201d read \u201cFautrart.\u201d\n\n      \u201d  21.         For \u201centrenir\u201d read \u201centretenir.\u201d\n\n      \u201d  34 (_n_).   For \u201ca\u201d read \u201cla.\u201d\n\n      \u201d  62.         For \u201cogygiau\u201d read \u201cogygian.\u201d\n\n      \u201d  63.         For \u201cOno Maeritus\u201d read \u201cOnomacritus.\u201d\n\n      \u201d  75-6 (_n_). For \u201csavoir\u201d read \u201cs\u00e7auoir.\u201d\n\n      \u201d  90.         For \u201cex-communication\u201d read \u201cexcommunication.\u201d\n\n      \u201d  90.         With reference to the note on p. 90 the Editor was\n                     then unaware of the Bull, dated Feb. 13, 1499,\n                     whereby Pope Alexander VI. transferred the Churches\n                     of the Channel Islands from the See of Coutances to\n                     that of Winchester.\n\n      \u201d 114.         Add \u201cLes Tas de Pois d\u2019Amont, showing,\u201d etc.\n\n      \u201d 164.         For \u201cWishing Well at Fontaine Blicq, St. Andrew\u2019s.\u201d\n                     read \u201cLes Fontaines de Mont Blicq, Forest.\u201d\n\n      \u201d 177 (_n_).   For \u201c1303\u201d read \u201c1393.\u201d\n\n      \u201d 311.         Insert the words \u201cin 1880.\u201d\n\n      \u201d 484.         For \u201cTamer\u201d read \u201cTamar.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nPart I.\n\nTimes and Seasons, Festivals and Merry-makings.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER I.\n\nFestival Customs.\n\n    \u201cMany precious rites\n    And customs of our rural ancestry\n    Are gone, or stealing from us.\u201d\n\n                       --_Wordsworth._\n\n\nThe observance of particular days and seasons, and of certain customs\nconnected with them, has been in all countries more or less mixed\nup with religion. Many of these customs have, it is well known,\ndescended to us from pagan times. The Church, unable altogether to\neradicate them, has, in some cases, tacitly sanctioned, in others\nincorporated them into her own system. At the Reformation some of\nthese observances were thought to savour too strongly of their pagan\norigin, or to be too nearly allied to papal superstitions. Accordingly\nwe find that in a country like Scotland, where reformation amounted\nto a total subversion of all the forms which had hitherto subsisted,\neven such a festival as Christmas was proscribed, and of course with\nit have fallen all the joyous observances which characterize that\nseason in England. In Guernsey, from the reign of Queen Elizabeth\nto the Restoration of Charles II., the Presbyterian form of Church\ngovernment reigned supreme, and the ministers seem to have set their\nfaces strongly against anything which in their estimation could be\nlooked upon as superstitious. In the reformed churches of Geneva and\nFrance, whose discipline the islands had adopted, all Saints\u2019 days\nhad been abolished, and, although the greater festivals of Christmas\nand Whitsuntide were retained, there were those in the insular\ncongregations who would gladly have seen these also discarded. Dr.\nPeter Heylin, who visited the islands in 1629, tells us how \u201cthe\nMinisters were much heartened in their inconformity by the practice\nof De La Place, who, stomaching his disappointment in the loss of\nthe Deanery of Jersey, abandoned his native country, and retired to\nGuernsey, where he breathed nothing but confusion to the English\nLiturgy, the person of the new Dean (David Bandinel), and the change\nof government. Whereas there was a lecture weekly every Thursday in\nthe Church of St. Peter\u2019s-on-the-Sea, when once the feast of Christ\u2019s\nNativity fell upon that day, he rather chose to disappoint the hearers,\nand put off the sermon, than that the least honour should reflect on\nthat ancient festival.\u201d\n\nWe find that in the year 1622 the Clergy of the Island complained to\nthe Royal Court of the practice that existed in the rural parishes of\npeople going about on the Eve of St. John and on the last day of the\nyear begging from house to house--a custom, which, in their opinion,\nsavoured much of the old leaven of Popery, and which, under the guise\nof charity, introduced and nourished superstition among their flocks;\nwhereupon an ordinance was framed and promulgated, forbidding the\npractice under the penalty of a fine or whipping.\n\n    \u201cLes Chefs Plaids Cappitaux d\u2019appr\u00e9s le jour St. Michell tenus\n    le Lundy dernier jour du mois de Septembre, l\u2019an 1622, par\n    Amice de Carteret, Esq., Bailly, pr\u00e9sents \u00e0 ce les Sieurs\n    Pierre Careye, Thomas Beauvoir, Thomas de l\u2019Isle, Thomas\n    Andros, Eleazar Le Marchant, Jean Bonamy, Jean Fautrart, Jean\n    Blondel, et Jacques Guille, Jurez.\n\n    \u201cSur la remonstrance de Messieurs les Ministres de ceste isle,\n    que la vueille du jour St. Jean et celle du jour de l\u2019an se\n    fait une geuzerie ordinaire par les paroisses des champs en\n    ceste isle; laquelle se resent grandement du viel levain de\n    la Papault\u00e9, au moyen de quoy, soubs ombre de charit\u00e9, la\n    superstition est introduite et nourye parmy nous, au grand\n    destourbier du service de Dieu et manifeste scandalle des gens\n    de bien; desirants iceux Ministres qu\u2019il pleust \u00e0 la Cour y\n    apporter remede par les voyes les plus convenables--A sur ce\n    Est\u00e9 par expr\u00e8s deffendu \u00e0 toutes personnes qu\u2019ils n\u2019ayent\n    en aulcun des susdits jours \u00e0 geuzer, ny demander par voye\n    d\u2019aumosne aulcune chose, de peur d\u2019entretenir la susdite\n    superstition, \u00e0 peine de soixante sous tournois d\u2019amende sur\n    les personnes capables de payer la dite amende, et s\u2019ils\n    n\u2019ont moyen de payer, et qu\u2019ils soyent d\u2019aage, d\u2019estre punis\n    corporellement \u00e0 discretion de Justice; et quant aux personnes\n    qui ne seront point d\u2019aage, d\u2019estre fouett\u00e9s publicquement en\n    l\u2019escolle de leur paroisse.\u201d\n\nA little later, begging at Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials was\nprohibited on like grounds, and about the same time sumptuary laws\nwere passed controlling the expenses on these occasions, and limiting\nthe guests that might be invited to persons in the nearest degrees of\nconsanguinity. Dancing and singing were also forbidden, and any persons\nconvicted of these heinous crimes were to perform public penance in\ntheir parish church, barefooted and bareheaded, enveloped in a sheet,\nand holding a lighted torch in their hand.\n\nIt is not therefore to be wondered at if many observances and customs,\ninnocent in themselves, came to be forgotten, and this would be more\nespecially the case with such as were connected with the festivals of\nthe Church. Still some few observances and superstitions have survived,\nand of these we will now endeavour to give the best account we can.\nWe would, however, previously remark that the Guernsey people are an\neminently holiday-loving race, and that, notwithstanding their long\nsubjection to Presbyterian rule, and the ascetic spirit of modern\ndissent, the love of amusement is still strong in them. Christmas Day\nand the day following, the first two days of the year, the Monday and\nTuesday at Easter and Whitsuntide, Midsummer Day and the day after, are\nall seasons when there is an almost total cessation of work, and all\ngive themselves up to gaiety--and the household must be poor indeed\nwhere a cake is not made on these occasions.\n\nBut before launching into a description of their ceremonies, festivals,\nand superstitions, perhaps it might prove of interest if we here\nattempt to give a slight description of the dress of our island\nforefathers at different periods, during the last three hundred years,\ndrawn from various sources.\n\nWe will begin by an extract from a letter written by Mr. George\nM\u00e9tivier, that eminent antiquary, historian, and philologist, to the\n_Star_ of June 20th, 1831:--\n\n\nA Guernseyman Three Centuries Ago.\n\n    \u201cKnows\u2019t me not by my clothes?\n            No, nor thy tailor.\u201d\n\n                   --_Shakespeare._\n\n\u201cSuppose we conjure up a Guernseyman in his winter dress--a specimen\nof the outer man, such as it appeared on high-days and holidays\n\u2018sighing like a furnace to its mistress\u2019 eye-brow\u2019 in the reign of\nthe most puissant King Henry VIII., and under the long dynasty of the\nfive Westons--(James Guille, the son-in-law of one of them, was then\nBailiff). It is probable that the insular gentleman, in the highest\nsense of that important word, copied the dress of his English and\nNorman friends, as well as their manner, whether in good or evil.\n\n\u201cSimilitude excludes peculiarity: we have therefore nothing to do with\nMonsieur le Gouverneur, or Monsieur le Baillif, or the most refined\nin wardrobe matters of his learned assessors. It is certain, however,\nthat the generality of our ancestors--\u2018l\u2019honn\u00eate\u2019 and sometimes \u2018le\nprudhomme\u2019--derived the materials and cut of their raiment from St.\nMalo\u2019s--whence their very houses were occasionally imported--ready\nbuilt. We are indebted to a writer of the Elizabethan era for the\nsource of the following portrait.\n\n\u201c_Le cada\u00fb_,[2] the chief article of a Guernseyman\u2019s winter costume,\nexactly resembled, both in name and form, the primitive Irish mantle.\nGenerally composed of wool, or of a kind of shag-rug, bordered with\nfur, it descended in ample folds till it reached the heels. A surface\nof such extraordinary dimensions might have exposed the wearer to some\ninconvenience in stormy weather: but our fathers, no novices in the\nart of cloak-wearing, knew how to furl and unfurl this magnificent\nwrapper, and suit its folds and plaits to all changes of the season.\nIn the first Charles\u2019 reign, the Jersey farmers, who still \u2018bartered\nthe surplusage of their corn with the Spanish merchants at St. Malo\u2019s,\u2019\nwere far better acquainted with that long-robed nation than we can\nnow pretend to be. To the _cada\u00fb_ was attached a _carapouce_[3]--an\nenormous hood. If made of serge or good cloth, it was still a\n_carapouce_; if the material was coarse--such as friars wore through\nhumility, or mariners and fishermen from motives of economy--the\n_carapouce_ degenerated into a _couaille_. The sea-farer\u2019s top-coat\naffords an instance, not yet quite obsolete, of this island\u2019s former\npartiality for Armorican tailors, dresses, and names--a Tardif and a\nDorey will show you their _grigo_.[4]\n\n\u201cThe residence of mind--for our ancestor, this \u2018fine fleur de Norman,\u2019\nprobably had one--was not forgotten. Muffled up in a voluminous hood,\nlike that of a Spanish _frayle_, it was further protected by the\nnative wig--\u2018la perruque naturelle\u2019--and kept warm by a bonnet, part\nof the _cada\u00fb_ uniform, yclept _la barrette_. The original _biread_--a\nlay mitre, not then peculiar to Ireland--was a conical cap, somewhat\nresembling the foraging military bonnet.\u2026\n\n\u201cHis Grace, or Holiness--we are a bad hand at title dealing--the Right\nReverend Primate of Normandy, having once preached a most godlie\nand comfortable sermon against long bushy perriwigs, descended from\nhis pulpit in the Cathedral of Rouen, scissors in hand, then doing\nmerciless execution therewith on King Henry I. and all the princely\nand noble heads committed to his charge, exhorted them to perpetrate a\ncrime for which that traitor deserved to lose his own.\u201d\n\n    \u2018The people vary too,\n    Just as their princes do.\u2019\n\nSo sings Nat Wanley, who was no nightingale; but even when the eighth\nHarry, and the whole nation, aping him, shore their beautiful locks,\nin spite of many a fond wife, what luxuriant male tresses continued to\nflourish in the Norman Isles! Our friend of the _Star_ may remember the\ntime when the dangling chevelure of our village beaux and \u2018Soudards\nde Milice,\u2019 though confined with whipcord on working days, was\nregularly let loose in honour of Sunday and other grand festivals.\nIt is true that burly wife-killing Tudor did interfere. Ah, woe is\nme! He requireth from his Normans as well as from his Irish lieges\n\u2018conformitie in order and apparel with them that be civill people\u2019\n(A.D. 1537). At least, the alteration took place in both places exactly\nat the same period; for the censorious terms of this statute were\nneither applicable nor applied to our ancestors. Indeed, from the size\nand structure of here and there a yeoman\u2019s house, richly overlaid with\nthe golden moss of antiquity, it would seem that the dwellings of our\npeasantry were very different from the mud-built[5] and chimneyless\ncottages of old England. (Such as Jean Lestocq\u2019s house in la Vingtaine\ndes Charit\u00e9s, C\u00e2tel--the traditional residence of an individual\nmentioned in a spirited ballad of the year 1371).\n\n[Illustration: Ruins of an Old Guernsey House, Les Caretiers, St.\nSampson\u2019s.]\n\n\u201cBe this as it may, \u2018Though the language of such as dwell in these\nIsles was French, the wearing of their haire long, and their attire was\n_all after the Irish guise_ till the reigne of King Henrie the VIII.\u2019\nThese are the words of Ralph Holinshed, who quotes Leland.\u201d\n\nThe following description of the dress of the people of Sark in 1673,\nis taken from a letter in the Harleian MSS.; it is quoted in full\nin the \u201cHistorical Sketch of the Island of Sark,\u201d in the _Guernsey\nMagazine_ for 1874:--\n\n\u201cSure I am the genius of the people cannot but be docile, since they\nare naturally of a courteous affable temper, and the least tainted\nwith pride that ever I saw any of their nation; that apish variety of\nfantastic fashions, wherewith Paris is justly accused to infect all\nEurope, has here no footing, where every one retains the same garb\ntheir ancestors wore in the days of Hugh Capet and King Pippin; so that\nI can give small encouragement to any of the Knights of the Thimble to\ntransport themselves hither, where cucumbers are like to be more plenty\nthan in the back-side of St. Clement\u2019s; each man religiously preserving\nhis vast blue trunk-breeches, and a coat almost like a Dutch frau\u2019s\nvest, or one of your waterman\u2019s liveries. Nor are the women behindhand\nwith them in their hospital-gowns of the same colour, wooden sandals,\nwhite stockings and red petticoats, so mean they are scarce worth\ntaking up. Both sexes on festivals wear large ruffs, and the women,\ninstead of hats or hoods, truss up their hair, the more genteel sort in\na kind of cabbage net; those of meaner fortunes in a piece of linen;\nperhaps an old dish-clout turned out of service; or the fag-end of a\ntable-cloth, that had escaped the persecution of washing ever since the\nReformation; this they, tying on the top, make it shew like a Turkish\nturban, but that part of it hangs down their backs like a veil.\u201d\n\nIn Jersey the \u201cfantastic fashions\u201d of Paris seem to have penetrated\nat an early date, for on the 22nd of September, 1636, a sumptuary law\nwas passed, forbidding anyone, male or female, to put on garments\n\u201cau-dessus de sa condition;\u201d and also forbidding women to ornament\ntheir bonnets with lace costing more than \u201cquinze sols\u201d (a \u201csol\u201d was\nworth about a franc) a yard, or to put on silken hoods, the wear of\nwhich was reserved for ladies of quality. A short time after this\nordinance was passed, a Madame Lempri\u00e8re, wife of the Seigneur de\nRosel, noticed in church, one Sunday, a peasant woman wearing the most\nmagnificent lace in her bonnet. She waited for her after church, tore\nit off before the whole congregation, covering her with abuse the\nwhile; and her friends stood round and applauded her action!\n\nThe most picturesque of our island costumes must have been that of the\nAlderney women in the last century as described by Mrs. Lane-Clarke in\nher \u201cGuide to Alderney.\u201d \u201cA scarlet cloth petticoat and jacket, a large\nruff round their necks, fastened under the chin by a black ribbon, or\ngold hook, and a round linen cap, stiffened so much as to be taken off\nor put on as a man\u2019s hat. On one occasion, when the island was menaced\nby a French man-of-war, the Governor ordered out all the women in\ntheir scarlet dresses, and, disposing them skilfully upon the heights,\neffectually deceived the enemy with the appearance of his forces.\u201d\n\nAt about this period the dress of the old Guernsey farmer was \u201ca large\ncocked hat, and thin \u2018queue \u00e0 la fran\u00e7aise,\u2019 a long blue coat with\nbrass buttons, flowered waistcoat and jean trousers. Of course this was\nonly for Sundays and festivals. The women wore the black silk plaited\nGuernsey bonnet, accompanied by a close mob cap underneath, with a\nnarrow muslin border; plain on the forehead and temples, but plaited\nfrom the ears to the chin. A petticoat of black stuff, thickly quilted,\nthe gown--of an old fashion chintz pattern--open in front, and tucked\ninto the pocket holes of the petticoat; the boddice open in front to\nthe waist, with a coloured or starched muslin handkerchief in lieu of\na habit-shirt; tight sleeves terminating just below the elbow; blue\nworsted stockings, with black velvet shoes and buckles.\u201d\n\nThis description is taken from an old guide book of 1841. The dress was\nrapidly becoming obsolete then, and has now, like almost every other\nrelic of the past, completely disappeared.\n\nWe will now return to the account of our local feasts and festivals.\n\nBeginning with the commencement of the ecclesiastical year--the holy\nseason of Advent--the first day that claims our attention is that\ndedicated to Saint Thomas, not because of any public observance\nconnected with it, but on account of its being supposed to be a time\nwhen the secrets of futurity may be inquired into.\n\nUnder the head of \u201cLove Spells\u201d we shall describe the superstitious\npractices to which, it is said, some young women still resort, in order\nto ascertain their future destiny.\n\nIt is not improbable that some of these observances have been kept\nalive by the constant communication that has always existed in times\nof peace between the islands and continental Normandy, not a few\nyoung people of both sexes coming over from the mainland to seek for\nemployment as farm servants.\n\n[2] A covering or defence. (Celtic.)\n\n[3] _Carabouss bras._ (Breton).\n\n[4] A wrapper (Celtic). These terms are still used in the country.\n\n[5] At least wattle-built and plastered with mud, if not mud-built\naltogether. Holinshed exclaims against the _innovation_ of chimneys,\nand regrets that \u201cwillow-built houses\u201d are no longer fashionable.\n\n\nLa Longue Veille.\n\n    \u201cMeanwhile the village rouses up the fire;\n    While well attested, and as well believ\u2019d,\n    Heard solemn, goes the goblin story round;\n    Till superstitious horror creeps o\u2019er all.\u201d\n\n                                  --_Thompson._\n\nIn former days the most lucrative occupation of the people was that of\nknitting woollen goods for the English and French markets. This branch\nof industry was of great importance--in fact, after the decay of the\nfisheries, which followed the discovery of Newfoundland, it constituted\nthe staple trade of the island, and the memory of the manufacture still\nsubsists in the name of \u201cGuernsey jackets\u201d and \u201cJerseys,\u201d given to\nthe close-fitting knitted frocks worn by sailors. So highly were the\nGuernsey woollen goods esteemed that they were considered a fitting\npresent for Royalty, and in 1556 Queen Mary[6] did not disdain to\nreceive from Sir Leonard Chamberlain, Governor of the Island, four\nwaistcoats, four pair of sleeves, and four pair of hose of \u201cGarnsey\nmaking.\u201d[7] In the accounts of the Royal Scotch wardrobe for the year\n1578, mention is made of woollen hose and gloves of Garnsey.[8] In\n1586, the keeper of Queen Elizabeth\u2019s wardrobe paid the high price of\ntwenty shillings for one pair of knitted hose \u201c_de factur\u00e2 Garnescie_.\u201d\nIt is true that these are described as having the upper part and the\nclocks of silk. (\u201cAccounts of the Keeper of the Gt. Wardrobe, Elizabeth\nXXVIII. to XXIX., A.D. 1586\u201d). And finally the unfortunate Mary Stuart\nwore at her execution a pair of white Guernsey hose.\n\nThe sheep kept in those days in the island were few in quantity, of\nan inferior breed, described by old writers as having four or more\nhorns, producing coarse scanty wool, far from sufficient to furnish the\nsupply of raw material required to meet the demand of the manufactured\narticle. It was necessary therefore to have recourse to England, but\nthe restrictive laws of that day prohibited the exportation of wool,\nand it was only by special Acts of Parliament that a certain quantity,\nstrictly limited, was allowed annually to leave the kingdom for the use\nof the islands. The Governor who could succeed by his representations\nin getting this quantity increased was sure to win the lasting\ngratitude of the people.\n\nMen and women of all ages engaged in this manufacture, and time was so\nstrictly economised that the farmer\u2019s wife, riding into market with\nher well stored paniers, knitted as the old horse jogged on through\nthe narrow roads, and the fisherman, after having set his lines, and\nanchored his boat to wait for the turn of the tide, occupied the\nleisure hour in fashioning a pair of stockings, or a frock.\n\nIn the long winter evenings neighbours were in the habit of meeting at\neach other\u2019s houses in turn, and while the matrons took their places on\nthe \u201clit de fouaille,\u201d and the elderly men occupied the stools set in\nthe deeper recess of the chimney, the young men and maidens gathered\ntogether on the floor, and by the dim light of the \u201ccr\u00e2sset,\u201d[9]\nplied their knitting, sang their songs, and told their stories--the\nsongs and tales that appear later on in this collection. Our thrifty\nancestors too were well imbued with the wisdom of the old saw that bids\none \u201ctake care of the pence,\u201d and the saving of fuel and oil, which\nwas affected by working in company under the same roof, entered for\nsomething in their calculations. These assemblies were called \u201cveilles\u201d\nor \u201cveillies,\u201d and were well adapted to keep up a pleasant neighbourly\nfeeling.\n\nThe wares thus made were brought into town for sale on the Saturday,\nbut there was one day in the year when a special market or fair for\nthese goods was held, and that was the day before Christmas. The night\nprevious to that--the 23rd December--was employed in preparing and\npacking up the articles, and, being the termination of their labours\nfor the year, was made an opportunity for a feast. Masters were in the\nhabit of regaling their servants--merchants treated those with whom\nthey had dealings--and neighbours clubbed together to supply the means\nof spending a joyous night. It may be that the restraint imposed by the\nPuritan Clergy--de la Marche, La Place, and others--on all convivial\nmeetings connected in any way with religious observances, caused this\noccasion for rejoicing--which could not by any possibility be branded\nwith the imputation of superstition--to be more highly appreciated than\nit would otherwise have been, and to replace in some degree the usual\nfestivities of the season.\n\nAlthough the manufacture of woollen goods as a staple article of\ntrade has come to an end, and the social \u201cveilles\u201d are no longer kept\nup, \u201cla longue veille,\u201d or the evening of the 23rd of December, is\nstill observed as an occasion for family gatherings in many Guernsey\nhouseholds, though there is perhaps not one person in twenty who\ncan tell the origin of the custom. Mulled wine, highly spiced and\nsweetened, and always drunk out of coffee cups, with mild cheese and a\npeculiar sort of biscuit--called emphatically \u201cGuernsey biscuit\u201d--is\nconsidered quite indispensable on this evening, and indeed on all\noccasions of family rejoicing; while on every afternoon of the 23rd\nof December the old country people were met riding home from town\nwith their panniers full of provisions for the night. The next day,\nChristmas Eve, is called the \u201csurveille,\u201d and the town on that evening\nis flocked with pleasure-seekers, buying and eating chestnuts and\noranges.\n\n[6] I am indebted to Mr. Bury Palliser, the accomplished author of \u201cA\nHistory of Lace,\u201d for these interesting particulars concerning the\nancient staple manufacture of these islands.\n\n[7] New Year gifts to Queen Mary (Tudor), 1556. Sir Leonard\nChamberlain, \u201c4 waistcoats, 4 paire of slevys, and 4 paire of hoosen of\nGarnsey making.\u201d\n\n[8] _Scotch Royal Wardrobe_: Three pair of wolwin hois of worsetis of\nGarnsey. Six paire of gloves of the same.\n\n[9] EDITOR\u2019S NOTE.--The Guernsey \u201ccr\u00e2sset\u201d was very unlike the English\n\u201ccresset,\u201d which was in the form of an iron lantern, filled with\ninflammable materials. Ours was suspended from a hook or a cord along\nwhich it was pulled to the required point, and was rounded at one end\nand pointed at the other, and filled with oil. It is derived from the\nFr. \u201ccreuset\u201d from Latin _crux_ a cross, because anciently crucibles\nand all vessels for melting metals were marked with a cross.\n\n\nChristmas and New Year.\n\n    \u201cEvery season\n    Shall have its suited pastime; even winter,\n    In its deep noon, when mountains piled with snow\n    And choked up valleys from our mansion, bar\n    All entrance, and nor guest nor traveller\n    Sounds at our gate; the empty hall forsaken,\n    In some warm chamber, by the crackling fire,\n    We\u2019ll hold our little, snug, domestic court,\n    Plying our work with song and tale between.\u201d\n\n                             --_Joanna Baillie._\n\nFrom St. Thomas\u2019 Day to New Year\u2019s Eve is considered to be a season\nwhen the powers of darkness are more than usually active, and it is\nsupposed to be dangerous to be out after dark.[10] Men returning home\non these nights have been led astray by the \u201cfaeu Bellengier\u201d or Will\no\u2019 the wisp, and when they believed themselves to be close to their\nown doors have found themselves, they knew not how, in quite another\npart of the island. Others have been driven almost crazy by finding\nthemselves followed or preceded by large black dogs, which no threats\ncould scare away and on which no blows could take effect. Some find\ntheir path beset by white rabbits that go hopping along just under\ntheir feet.\n\nIt is generally believed that just at midnight on Christmas Eve all the\ncattle kneel and adore the newborn Saviour.[11] The considerate farmer\nwill take care to place an extra quantity of litter in the stall when\nhe shuts up his beasts for the night, but none would venture to wait\nand see the event. Such prying curiosity is too dangerous, for it is\nrelated how, on one occasion, a man who professed to disbelieve the\nfact remained watching till the witching hour. What he saw was never\nknown, for, as he was leaving the stable, the door slammed violently,\nand he fell dead on the threshold.\n\nIt is also said that, on the same night, and at the same hour, all\nwater turns to wine. A woman, prompted by curiosity, determined to\nverify the truth of this allegation. Just at midnight, she proceeded\nto draw a bucket of water from the well, when she heard a voice\naddressing her in the following words:--\n\n    \u201cToute l\u2019eau se tourne en vin,\n    Et tu es proche de ta fin.\u201d\n\nShe fell down struck with a mortal disease, and before the end of the\nyear was a corpse.[12]\n\nNotwithstanding the supernatural terrors of this night, groups of young\nmen and women from all parts of the country flock into town after their\nday\u2019s work is done, and assemble in crowds in the market place, where\nthey regale on oranges and roasted chestnuts. The public-houses profit\ngreatly by their presence; rendered valiant by their potations, and\nfeeling security in numbers, they return home at a late hour, singing\nin chorus some interminable ditty, which, if goblins have any ear for\nmusic, must certainly have the effect of driving them far away.\n\nBy those in easy circumstances Christmas Day is now celebrated much\nas it is in England. The houses are decorated with holly and other\nevergreens--the same substantial fare loads the hospitable board,\npresents of meat or geese are sent to poor dependants, and families who\nare dispersed re-assemble at the same table. It is still customary for\nthe poorer classes among the peasantry, who at any other season of the\nyear would be ashamed to beg, to go about from door to door some days\nbefore Christmas, asking for alms under the name of \u201cNoel,\u201d in order to\nbe able to add something to their scanty fare; and before grates and\nsea-coal became so common it was usual to reserve a large log of wood\nto be burned on the hearth at Christmas. This was called \u201cle tronquet\nde Noel\u201d and is evidently the same as the Yule log of the North of\nEngland.\n\nIn the neighbouring island of Alderney, one of the favourite diversions\nin the merry meetings at this festive season was the assuming of\nvarious disguises. Porphyrius, a native of Tyre, and a disciple of\nLonginus in the year 223 speaks of the \u201cFeast of Mithras, or the Sun,\nwhere men were in the habit of disguising themselves as all sorts of\nanimals--lions, lionesses, crows;\u201d and St. Sampson, on his second visit\nto Jersey, gave gilded medals to the children on condition that they\nstayed away from these f\u00eates; so says Mr. M\u00e9tivier in one of his early\nletters to the _Gazette_.\n\nOn the last night of the year it was customary (and the practice has\nnot altogether fallen into desuetude) for boys to dress up a grotesque\nfigure, which they called \u201cLe vieux bout de l\u2019an,\u201d and after parading\nit through the streets by torch-light with the mock ceremonial of a\nfuneral procession, to end by burying it on the beach, or in some other\nretired spot, or to make a bonfire and burn it.[13]\n\n\u201cHow often has it been my melancholy duty to attend, sometimes as chief\nmourner (or mummer), the funeral of old _Bout de l\u2019An_! A log of wood,\nwrapt up in sable cloth, was his usual representative, when, with great\nand even classical solemnity, just as the clock struck twelve, the\njuvenile procession set itself in motion, every member thereof carrying\na lantern scooped out of a turnip, or made of oiled paper.\u2026 Ere the\nlaw-suit between old and new style was for ever settled, the annual\nlog--Andrew Bonamy is mine authority--underwent the Pagan ceremony of\nincineration at the Gallet-Heaume.\u201d--(Mr. M\u00e9tivier in the _Star_, March\n14th, 1831.)\n\nThis is probably one of the superstitious practices against which the\nordinance of the Royal Court in 1622 was directed. At the same time,\nchildren were wont to go about from house to house to beg for a New\nYear\u2019s gift, under the name of \u201chirvi\u00e8res\u201d or \u201coguinane.\u201d In so doing\nthey chanted the following rude rhyme:--\n\n    Oguin\u00e2ni! Oguin\u00e2no!\n    Ouvre ta pouque, et pis la recllios.[14]\n\nIn Scotland _Hogmanay_ is the universal popular name for the last day\nof the year. \u201cIt is a day of high festival among young and old--but\nparticularly the young.\u2026 It is still customary, in retired and\nprimitive towns, for the children of the poorer class of people to get\nthemselves on that morning swaddled in a great sheet, doubled up in\nfront, so as to form a vast pocket, and then to go along the streets\nin little bands, calling at the doors of the wealthier classes for an\nexpected dole of wheaten bread. This is called their Hogmanay.\u201d[15]\n\nThe first day of the year is with all classes in Guernsey the one\nmost strictly observed as a holiday, and, in all but the religious\nobservance, is more thought of than even Christmas Day. Presents\nare given to friends, servants and children; the heads of families\ngather around them those who have left the paternal roof; more distant\nrelatives exchange visits; young people call at the houses of their\naged kinsfolk to wish them many happy returns of the season, and,\nin many cases, to receive the gifts that are awaiting them; and\nreceptions--now become almost official in their character--are held by\nthe Lieutenant-Governor, the Bailiff, and the Dean. Cake and wine are\noffered to visitors, and the day ends in most households with a feast\nin proportion with their means and rank in society. All the morning\nthe roads and streets are crowded with groups of persons hurrying from\nhouse to house, hands are warmly shaken, kind words are spoken, many\na little coolness or misunderstanding is forgotten, and even breaches\nof long standing are healed, when neighbours join in eating the many\ncakes for which Guernsey is famous, and which are considered suitable\nfor the occasion. The favourite undoubtedly is \u201cg\u00e2che \u00e0 corinthes,\u201d\nanglic\u00e9 \u201ccurrant cake,\u201d also a kind of soft bread-cake, known by the\nname of \u201cgalette;\u201d and on Christmas Day a sort of milk-cake, called\n\u201cg\u00e2che d\u00e9tremp\u00e9e\u201d is baked early in the morning, so as to appear hot\nat the breakfast table; and so completely is this repast looked upon\nin the light of a family feast, that parents living in the country\nsend presents of these cakes to their children who have taken service\nin town. A younger brother will leave the paternal roof long before\ndaybreak to carry to his sister, at her master\u2019s house, the cake which\nthe affectionate mother has risen in the middle of the night to bake\nfor her absent child.\n\n[10] EDITOR\u2019S NOTE.--In _Contes Populaires, Pr\u00e9jug\u00e9s, Patois,\nProverbes, etc., de l\u2019arrondissement de Bayeux_, par M. Pluquet;\nseconde \u00e9dition, 1834, it is said: \u201cDuring the eight days before\nChristmas (Les Avents de No\u00ebl) apparitions are most frequent, and\nsorcerers have most power.\u201d\n\n[11] EDITOR\u2019S NOTE.--This belief also prevails in Normandy, for M.\nDu Bois says:--\u201cLes paysans sont persuad\u00e9s que, la veille de No\u00ebl,\n\u00e0 l\u2019heure du sacrement de la messe de minuit, tous les bestiaux, et\nsurtout les b\u0153ufs et les vaches, mettent un genou en terre pour rendre\nhommage \u00e0 J\u00e9sus naissant. Il serait imprudent, disent-ils, de chercher\n\u00e0 s\u2019assurer de ce fait par soi-m\u00eame; on courrait le risque d\u2019\u00eatre\nbattu.\u201d--_Recherches sur la Normandie_, Du Bois, 1843, p. 343. And in\nthe centre of France and Berry:--\u201cOn assure qu\u2019au moment o\u00f9 le pr\u00eatre\n\u00e9l\u00e8ve l\u2019hostie, pendant la messe de minuit, tous les animaux de la\nparoisse s\u2019agenouillent et prient devant leurs cr\u00e8ches.\u201d--_Croyances et\nL\u00e9gendes du Centre de la France_, par Laisnel de la Salle, Tome 1er, p.\n17.\n\n[12] EDITOR\u2019S NOTE.--In Sark the superstition is that the water in the\nstreams and wells turns into blood at midnight on Christmas Eve, and\nthey also tell you that if you go and look you die within the year. One\nSark man said that he was determined to go to the well and draw water\nat midnight, come what might. So on Christmas Eve he sallied forth to\nreach the well in his back yard; as he crossed the threshold he tripped\nand hit his head against the lintel of the door, and was picked up\nunconscious the next morning. Most people would have taken this as a\nwarning and desisted, but he was obstinate, and the following Christmas\nEve he left the house at midnight as before, but as he approached the\nwell he heard a voice saying:--\n\n    \u201cQui veut voir\n    Veut sa mort.\u201d\n\nThen at last he was frightened, and rushed back into the house, and\nnever again did he attempt to pry into forbidden mysteries.--From Mrs.\nLe Messurier, of Sark.\n\n[13] EDITOR\u2019S NOTE.--Hence the country people\u2019s term for the effigy of\nGuy Fawkes on the 5th of November \u201cle vieux bout de l\u2019an.\u201d\n\n[14]\n\n    \u201cOguin\u00e2ni! Oguin\u00e2no!\n    Ope thy purse, and shut it then.\u201d\n\nThere has been much discussion as to the derivation of \u201coguin\u00e2ne,\u201d\nfrom which the Scottish \u201chogmanay\u201d also comes. Mr. M\u00e9tivier, in his\ndictionary, says that it means the annual present of a master to his\nservants, of a seigneur to his vassals, of a father to his children,\nand derives it from \u201c_agenhine feoh_\u201d or \u201c_hogenehyne fee_\u201d the present\nmade, or money given, to those who belong to you--a word composed of\n\u201cagen\u201d one\u2019s own--as the English _own_, and \u201chind\u201d servant, one of the\nfamily. And he laughs at the theory propounded by various French and\nEnglish folklorists that it is derived from the rites of the Druids,\nand comes from their ancient cry \u201cAu guy l\u2019an neuf\u201d--\u201cthe mistletoe\n(gui) of the New Year\u201d--New Year\u2019s Day being the day the pagans went\ninto the forests to seek the mistletoe on the oaks. (See _Notes and\nQueries_. Series III. Vol. IV. p. 486.) In the _Star_ of March 14th,\n1831, Mr. M\u00e9tivier tells us that \u201cas late as the reign of Louis XIV.\nit was usual for the populace round Morlaix to chant a variety of\nbacchanalian songs on the last eve of the year, and the chorus or\n_refrain_ of every stanza was precisely what I should never have\nfancied it to be--our\n\n    \u2018Oghin an eit! Oghin an eit!\u2019\n\nI am informed by a worthy monk that the good news announced by these\nmystical words had nothing to do with the religion of Christ, and that,\nbeing interpreted, they only tell us that \u2018the wheat is upspringing--le\nbled germe.\u2019 _Eit_ and _od_ originally implied not wheat only, but\nevery sort of grain and seed. Thus it appears that what at first sight\ndefied all rational conjecture--the \u2018oguin\u00e2ni, oguin\u00e2no,\u2019 cry of\nour small gentry, once formed the immemorial chorus of an Armorican\nhymn--the pure heathen liturgical relic of some Gaulish festival.\nThe primitive ditty was full of allusions to the increase of light,\nthe revival of vegetable nature, and other seasonable topics. The\nnoisy little heralds of this pleasing intelligence received for their\nreward an \u2018oguin\u00e2ne,\u2019 or, as it is now called, \u2018leurs hirvi\u00e8res\u2019--an\n_hibernum donum_ or _winter_ gift. It is true that a few half-learned\nlexicographers talk of the mistletoe and \u2018Au Guy l\u2019An Neuf;\u2019 but the\nFrench savans were systematic haters of France\u2019s aboriginal languages,\nand the minor Latin poet who invented this nonsensical interpretation\nof a word whose etymon he was too lazy to dig for in its native mine\nhas hardly been dead two centuries.\u201d\n\n[15] EDITOR\u2019S NOTE.--The old people of St. Martin\u2019s parish still (1896)\ntalk of having in their youth gone to the neighbours\u2019 houses on New\nYear\u2019s Eve singing the following rhyme:--\n\n    _\u201cBon jour, Monsieur! Bon jour, Madame!_\n    _Je n\u2019vous ai pas vu acou\u00e2re ~(encore)~ chut ~(cette)~ an._\n    _Et je vous souhaite une bou\u00e2ne ann\u00e9e,_\n    _Et mes irvi\u00e8res s\u2019i\u2019vous plliet.\u201d_\n\nAnd a little bowl or bag of pennies was always at hand for gratuities.\n\n\nLa Grand\u2019 Querrue.\n\n    \u201cAnd at the farm on the lochside of Rannock, in parlour and kitchen,\n    Hark! there is music--yea, flowing of music, of milk, and of whiskey;\n    Dancing and drinking, the young and the old, the spectators and actors,\n    Never not actors the young, and the old not always spectators:\n    Lo, I see piping and dancing!\u201d\n\n                     --_\u201cThe Bothie of Tober-na-Vuolich,\u201d by A. H. Clough._\n\n[Illustration: La Grand\u2019 Querrue.]\n\nThe parsnip seems to have been cultivated at a very early period in\nGuernsey, the soil appearing to be particularly well suited to the\ngrowth of this valuable root. We have proof that tithe of them was\npaid in times long anterior to the Reformation, although not claimed\nin the present day. In order to secure a good crop, it is necessary\nthat the ground should be deeply trenched, and this operation, which\ntakes place at the beginning of the year, and entails a great amount\nof labour, is, nevertheless, looked forward to with pleasure, as it\ngives rise to social meetings. The trenching of the soil was formerly,\nand is still occasionally, effected by the spade alone. This was done\nby farm labourers and hired men with a peculiar spade called \u201cUne\nb\u00eaque de Guernesi.\u201d Made by the country blacksmiths of the island, the\nhandle was of wood, generally ash, and so was the upper portion of the\nblade, which was heart-shaped, the tip of the blade being of steel.\nIt was a very slow operation, four perches a day being the utmost one\nman could accomplish, so that it had to begin very early in the year,\n\u201cwhilst eating the bread baked at Christmas,\u201d as the old farmers said.\nBut about a hundred years ago the \u201cgrand\u2019 querrue\u201d or big plough was\nintroduced at Les Fontaines, in the Castel parish, the house of the\nLenfesteys. This is preceded by one of the ordinary size to trace the\nfurrow. The large plough, being an expensive instrument and one that\nis only wanted occasionally, is often the joint property of several\nneighbours, who unite together to assist each other in working it.\nEach brings his quota of labourers, and as many as twenty-two animals\nhave been sometimes seen harnessed to the same plough, to wit, six\nbullocks and sixteen horses. Every man who is fortunate enough to be\nthe possessor of a beast deems himself bound in honour to produce it\non these occasions. The plough is generally guided by the owner of the\nfield, and a furrow is made about twelve inches deep by about eighteen\nto twenty-four inches wide. As the labour is social, all work with good\nwill and emulation, and the scene is one of great animation. Of course\nthe assistance given is gratuitous, or, to speak more correctly, is\nto be returned in kind when required. The farmer, however, who avails\nhimself of the labour of his neighbours, is expected to feed them.\nThe consequence is that the \u201cgrand\u2019 querrue\u201d is made the occasion of\na rural feast. The cider, for which the island is famous, circulates\nfreely throughout the day, and the prettiest girls are selected as\ncup-bearers. Work begins about seven o\u2019clock in the morning; about ten\no\u2019clock a sort of luncheon called \u201cmi-matin\u201d is provided; this consists\nof bread and butter, with cheese, fried cod fish, and strong tea or\ncoffee. At noon the cattle are unharnessed and put to feed, and then\ncomes the dinner of cabbage-soup, a large boiled ham or \u201cp\u00e2lette,\u201d\na breast-piece of pork, and perhaps a round of beef. At two o\u2019clock\nwork is resumed, with a stoppage at four for a \u201cmi-relev\u00e9e\u201d of tea and\ncurrant cake, and occasional intervals for \u201cune petite goutte;\u201d for it\nis well known that \u201ci\u2019faut prendre une petite goutte pour arrousa\u00ef,\nou bien j\u2019n\u2019airons p\u00e2s d\u2019p\u00e2nais,\u201d--\u201cone must take a sip to moisten the\nfield, or there will be no parsnips.\u201d The day closes with a substantial\nsupper, more beef, more ham, enormous plum-puddings, baked, not boiled,\nin the old ovens, (\u201cgrosses houichepotes\u201d) with plenty of cider.\n\nTo this feast it is customary to invite the members of the respective\nfamilies who have not taken part in the labours of the day, and the\nricher farmers send presents of pudding to their poorer neighbours who\nare not invited to share in the work. Friends and relations who reside\nat a distance, or in town, also join the gathering, and the best part\nof the night is spent in singing, dancing, story-telling, blind man\u2019s\nbuff, or the ancient roundelay of \u201cmon beau laurier.\u201d[16]\n\n[16] EDITOR\u2019S NOTE.--One curious custom at the supper or \u201cd\u00e9frique\u201d was\nthat the men had their meal first, and not till they had finished did\nthe women sit down to have theirs.\n\n\nShrove Tuesday.\n\nShrove Tuesday is observed in the usual way, by a general frying\nand eating of pancakes, and the custom must be old, and one of the\nsuperstitious practices which the zeal of the Presbyterian clergy\nfailed in eradicating; for, had it been re-introduced from England, it\nis not likely that it would have become so universal, or have taken so\nstrong a hold on the minds of the people.\n\n\nThe First Sunday in Lent.\n\nIn the neighbouring island of Alderney, the first Sunday in Lent is\nknown as \u201cLe Dimanche des Brandons\u201d--a name by which it is designated\nin old calendars, and which it still bears in some parts of France.[17]\nAccording to the late Mr. John Ozanne (de la Salerie), a native of\nAlderney, it was also known as \u201cle jour des vitres,\u201d this last word\nhaving, as he said, in the dialect of Alderney, the meaning of _masks_.\nThis gives rise to the supposition that in days gone by masking formed\npart of the entertainment. On this day the young people made bonfires\nand danced round them, especially at \u201cLa Pointe de Clanque.\u201d This dance\nwas supposed to have had a bacchanalian origin, but was practised up\nto fifty years ago; they revolved round these bonfires, and leapt\nover them, and then, lighting wisps of straw, returned to the town by\nthe fields, throwing about these torches, to the great danger of the\nthatched roofs.\n\n[17] EDITOR\u2019S NOTES.--That these customs were also kept up in Guernsey\nis evident from the following extract from the manuscript note book of\nMonsieur Elie Brevint, who died in the island of Sark in 1674, aged\n87. He says:--\u201cLe premier Dimanche de Caresme s\u2019appelle le jour des\nBrandons; \u00e0 St. Martin de Guernez\u00e9 les jeunes hommes par esbat portent\nau soir du dit jour brandons de glie, etc.\u201d\n\nIn _Les Archives de Normandie_, 1824, p. 164, there is the following\nnotice of \u201cLe Jour des Brandons,\u201d which shows that this custom also\nprevailed in various parts of France. \u201c\u00c0 Saint Vaast et \u00e0 Reville,\nla veille de l\u2019Epiphanie, des centaines d\u2019enfants et m\u00eame d\u2019hommes,\nparcourrent les campagnes munis de brandons allum\u00e9s. Ils crient,\n\u2018Taupes et mulots, sortez de mon clos, ou je vous mets le feu sur le\ndos.\u2019 Ou dans quelques autres parties de la Normandie on chante ces\nvers-ci:\n\n    Bon jour les rois\n    Jusqu\u2019a douze mois\n    Douz\u2019 mois pass\u00e9s\n    Rois, revenez!\n    Charge, pommier!\n    A chaq\u2019 petite branchette\n    Tout plein ma grand\u2019 pochette,\n    Taupes, mulots,\n    Sortez du clos,\n    Ou j\u2019 vous brul\u2019rai la barbe et l\u2019s os!\n\nLe lendemain au soir on allume un nouveau feu qu\u2019on app\u00e8le une\nBourgul\u00e9e, et l\u2019on renouvelle le m\u00eame chant, qui commence encore par\n\u2018Adieu les Rois,\u2019 etc. Dans la Commune de Cr\u00e9ance, une grande partie de\nla population passe presque toute la nuit du premier Dimanche de Car\u00eame\n\u00e0 faire la m\u00eame sommation aux taupes et aux mulots.\u2026 Le Dimanche des\nBrandons est une date commune et naturelle des actes du moyen age.\u201d\n\nThe \u201cDimanche des Brandons\u201d was also kept up in the centre of France\nwith very much the same ceremonies. See _Croyances et L\u00e9gendes du\ncentre de la France_, Laisnel de la Salle. Tome 1er. Page 35.\n\n\u201cAt Dijon, in Burgundy, it is the custom upon the first Sunday in Lent\nto make large fires in the streets, whence it is called \u201cFirebrand\nSunday.\u201d This practice originated in the processions formerly made\non that day by the peasants with lighted torches of straw, to drive\naway, as they called it, the bad air from the earth.\u201d--From _Nori\nBourguinons_, p. 148. Quoted in Brand\u2019s _Observations on Popular\nAntiquities_, p. 57.\n\n\nGood Friday.\n\nOn the morning of Good Friday it is the custom of the young people who\nlive near the sea shore to make parties to go down to the beach to\ncollect limpets. When a sufficient quantity of these shell fish has\nbeen taken, a flat stone or rock of sufficient size is selected, and,\nafter being carefully swept and divested of all extraneous matter, the\nlimpets are arranged on it with their shells uppermost. A head of dry\nfurze or other brushwood is then placed over them and set on fire,\nand the limpets are left covered with the hot embers until they are\nsupposed to be sufficiently cooked. Bread-cakes, fresh baked--if hot\nfrom the oven so much the better--with an ample supply of the rich\nbutter for which the island is so famous, and a few bottles of cider\nor beer, have been provided beforehand by the members composing the\npic-nic, and the limpets, now done to a turn, are eaten as a relish to\nthe simple meal, with a better appetite, and more real pleasure than\nprobably a far more elaborate feast would afford.[18]\n\nHot cross buns on Good Friday were unknown in Guernsey at the\ncommencement of the present century.\n\n[18] EDITOR\u2019S NOTE.--\u201cIn Sark, on Good Friday it is the custom for boys\nto go and sail small boats on the ponds or pools by the sea-shore; and\nthese boats are made a good while beforehand, or treasured up of long\nstanding; this custom they never fail to keep up. Numbers of these same\nboys also go in the afternoon to the Eperquerie drill-ground, to play\na game which they call rounders. It is played with a ball and a stick,\nand somewhat resembles cricket.\u201d--From _A Descriptive Sketch of the\nIsland of Sark_, by the Rev. J. L. V. Cachemaille (for many years Vicar\nof the island), published in Clarke\u2019s _Guernsey Magazine_, October,\n1875.\n\n\nEaster.\n\nThere do not appear to be any particular customs connected with Easter,\nbut some old people can still remember that in their youth the children\nin some parts of the country used to go about from door to door\nbegging for eggs.[19] This was called \u201cdemander la mouissole,\u201d and was\nevidently derived from the practice, so common in all parts of Europe,\nof giving presents of eggs at this season. _Mouissole_ is derived from\nthe old Norman word _mouisson_, which means \u201ca bird.\u201d\n\n[19] EDITOR\u2019S NOTE.--In the country the dinner on Easter Sunday used\nalways to consist of fried eggs and bacon. As an old woman said, \u201cit\nwas the only day we ever tasted an egg.\u201d If they could not get fowls\u2019\neggs, they even got wild birds\u2019 eggs, and fried and ate them!\n\n\u201cIn the North of England boys beg on Easter Eve eggs to play with, and\nbeggars ask for them to eat.\u201d--_De Ludis Orientalibus_, by Hyde, 1694.\np. 237.\n\n\u201cThe custom of eating a gammon of bacon at Easter, which is kept up\nin many parts of England, was founded on this, _viz._, to shew their\nabhorrence to Judaism at that solemn commemoration of our Lord\u2019s\nResurrection.\u201d--From _Aubrey_, 1679.\n\n\nThe First of April.\n\nThe first of April is not forgotten by children, who amuse themselves\non this day by attaching long shreds of paper or bits of rag by means\nof crooked pins to the clothes of passers-by,[20] and then crying out\nas loud as they can bawl, \u201cLa Co\u00fbe! La Co\u00fbe!\u201d or \u201cLa Folle Agn\u00e8s.\u201d No\none knows the reason of the latter exclamation.\n\n[20] EDITOR\u2019S NOTE.--In _Lancashire Folk-Lore_ p. 225, it says, \u201cOn\nMid-Lent or \u2018Bragot\u2019 Sunday it is a custom for boys to hook a piece of\ncoloured cloth to the women\u2019s gowns, and a similar custom prevails in\nPortugal at carnival times.\u201d\n\n\nSundays in May.\n\nOn the first Sunday in May the young men and women of the lower orders\narise at daybreak and sally forth into the country in groups, returning\nhome with large nosegays generally pilfered from the open gardens that\nadorn the neat cottages of the peasantry.[21]\n\nThere is reason to believe that this custom was introduced from\nEngland, but in Alderney it appears to have been a very ancient\npractice to keep the first of May as a holiday. Garlands of flowers\nwere suspended across the street, under which the young people danced,\nand the day was generally wound-up by a sort of pic-nic supper\nor tea-drinking, to which each family contributed its quota. The\nintroduction of late years of a large stranger population into that\nisland, in consequence of the extensive fortifications and harbour\nworks undertaken by Government, has completely changed the primitive\ncharacter of the place, and has put an end to this picturesque custom.\n\n[21] EDITOR\u2019S NOTE.--\u201cBourne (\u2018_Antiquit. Vulg._\u2019 chap, xxv.) tells us\nthat in his time, in the villages in the North of England, the juvenile\npart of both sexes were wont to rise a little after midnight on the\nfirst of May, and walk to some neighbouring wood, accompanied with\nmusic and the blowing of horns, where they broke down branches from the\ntrees and adorned them with nosegays and crowns of flowers. This done,\nthey returned homewards with their booty about the time of sunrise, and\nmade their doors and windows triumph in the flowery spoil.\u201d (Quoted in\n_Brand\u2019s Popular Antiquities_, p. 121).\n\n\nWhitsuntide.\n\n    \u201cAnd let us do it with no show of fear;\n    No, with no more than if we heard that England\n    Were busied with a Whitsun morris-dance.\u201d\n\n                                     --_Shakspeare._\n\nWhit Monday, Midsummer Day, and the day on which Her Majesty\u2019s birth is\ncelebrated, are all kept as holidays, and have long been appropriated\nto the mustering and exercising of the Militia.\n\nThis institution differs in many respects from what goes by the same\nname in England, and is more in the nature of the \u201cGarde Nationale\u201d of\nFrance. It is of great antiquity, for we find among the Patent Rolls\nof Edward III., one dated May, 1337, appointing Thomas de Ferrers\nGovernor of the Islands, and giving him directions to enrol all the\nable-bodied inhabitants, to supply them with fitting arms, and to\nplace proper officers over them, in order that they might be able to\nresist the invasions of the allies of the Scotch, with whom England\nwas then at war, and who had recently made some descents on Sark, and\non the coasts of the larger islands. The service is gratuitous and\ncompulsory, for, by the common law, all male inhabitants, from the ages\nof sixteen to sixty, are liable to be called out, unless prevented\nby illness, or able to claim exemption on some other legal ground.\nNevertheless, with the generality of the people, especially with those\nof the rural parishes, the service is decidedly popular. An afternoon\nof ball-practice, or a general review by the Lieutenant-Governor, is\nlooked forward to with pleasure, and the latter occasion is one which\naffords a treat to all classes of the community. At an early hour the\nroads are crowded with merry groups, dressed in their best, hastening\nto the spot where the review is to take place. The country damsels are\nproud of seeing their lovers set off by their military attire, and when\nthe men are dismissed it is amusing to see the careful wife or the\nattentive sweetheart produce from the depth of her pocket, or from a\nhand-basket, a light cap, or wide-awake, to replace the heavy shako,\nwhile the young sons and brothers, not yet old enough to be enrolled,\ndispute who shall have the honour of bearing the weighty musket. The\nreview is generally over by noon, and those who are industrious may\nreturn to their work. Most of the men, however, particularly the\nunmarried ones, prefer making a thorough holiday of it, and for the\nrest of the afternoon the streets of the town are filled with groups of\nmerry-makers; the public houses ply a brisk trade, and the evening is\noften far advanced before the joyous groups think of returning to their\nown homes.\n\n\nMidsummer.\n\n    \u201cAt eve last Midsummer no sleep I sought.\u201d\n\n                          --_Gay\u2019s Pastorals._\n\nThe custom of making bonfires on the hilltops at Midsummer was formerly\nso general among all the Celtic nations that it is highly probable that\nit must have existed also in these islands, the aboriginal inhabitants\nof which belonged undoubtedly to the Celtic race. In Scotland and in\nIreland these fires are called Beltein, or Baltein; they are lighted\nalso on May Day, and are supposed to be a relic of the worship formerly\npaid to the sun, under the name of Bel, or Baal. Throughout Brittany,\nand in some of the neighbouring parts of Normandy, \u201cles feux de la St.\nJean\u201d are still lighted on all the hills. In some parts of Wales and\nCornwall the custom is still kept up. That some observances connected\nwith this season still existed in this island in the early part of\nthe 17th Century is certain, from the fact of the Royal Court having\npromulgated an ordinance in 1622 prohibiting begging on St. John\u2019s Eve,\n\u201cas tending to keep alive superstition,\u201d but what these observances\nwere, is now entirely forgotten. It has been asserted that in days gone\nby \u201cla Rocque Balan,\u201d a remarkable and picturesque mass of granite on\nthe plain of L\u2019Ancresse, used to be resorted to at Midsummer, and that\nthe youths and maidens danced together on its summit, where bonfires\nused to be lit. The burden of an old song--\n\n    \u201cJ\u2019irons tous \u00e0 la Saint Jean\n    Dansa\u00efr sus la Rocque Balan,\u201d\n\nis quoted as confirmatory of this assertion. Some suppose that \u201cBalan\u201d\nhas the same derivation as \u201cBeltein;\u201d others say that there was once\na logan, or rocking stone, \u201cune pierre qui balan\u00e7ait,\u201d on the apex of\nthe rock; but there is also a tradition that the former Priors of St.\nMichel du Valle caused the merchandise of their tenants and vassals\nto be weighed, and that the rock derived its appellation from the\n\u201cbalances\u201d used for this purpose.\n\nThe most probable and matter of fact solution of the difficulty is\nthat, like many other localities, it took its designation from the\nperson to whom it once belonged, the name \u201cBalan\u201d being that of a\nfamily, now extinct, which at one time inhabited this parish.\n\nEvery cottage and farmhouse in the island is furnished with what is\ncalled a \u201clit de fou\u00e2ille\u201d or \u201cjonqui\u00e8re\u201d--now called the \u201cgreen\nbed\u201d--a sort of rustic divan generally placed in a recess between\nthe hearth and a window. This, raised about eighteen inches from the\nground, is thickly strewn with dried fern, or pea-haulm, and forms the\nusual seat of the females of the family, when engaged in knitting or\nsewing, and a very comfortable couch on which the men can repose after\nthe labours of the day. But at Midsummer, after the fresh fern has\nbeen cut, the taverns and cottages vie with each other in decorating\nthese seats. A canopy is raised over them, and the whole, floor and\nall, is thickly carpeted with fresh cut fern, and ornamented with the\nmost brilliant and showy flowers that can be procured, not scattered\nat hap-hazard, but arranged in formal, and often far from inelegant\npatterns.[22] The love of flowers is almost a passion with every class\nof the inhabitants, and displays itself in the variety to be found at\nall seasons in every garden, and the taste with which they are employed\nin decorations.\n\nIt is difficult to say what gave rise to this custom of adorning the\n\u201cjonqui\u00e8re,\u201d but it is doubtless one of great antiquity.[23] Old people\nsay that in former days it was customary to elect a girl from among the\ninhabitants of the district, and seat her in state beneath the floral\ncanopy, where under the name[24] of \u201cLa M\u00f4me\u201d she received in silence\nthe homage of the assembled guests.[25] Perhaps the whole is a remnant\nof the old May games transferred to this season--perhaps it is an\nobservance connected with the ceremonies with which in many countries,\nand especially among the Celtic nations, the sun was greeted on his\narrival at the summer solstice, and in which branches of trees and\nbunches of flowers were used to decorate the houses.\n\n[22] EDITOR\u2019S NOTE.--An old country woman described to me a \u201cLit\nde Fouaille\u201d she had seen as a child. She described it as being a\nfour-post bed, both mattress and ceiling being one mass of flowers most\ningeniously twined together. Each post was garlanded with flowers, and\nflower curtains hung from the top, woven together, she could not tell\nhow. In the middle sat the girl--silent.\n\n[23] See _Folk-Lore Journal_, Vol. I, Pp. 297 and 301.\n\n[24] Mr. M\u00e9tivier writes under the heading of \u201cLit de Fouaille.\u201d--\u201cQue\nde gens instruits, peu vers\u00e9s dans l\u2019\u00e9tude de notre Calendrier\nChamp\u00eatre, se sont imagin\u00e9s que le lit de feuilles et de fleurs du\nsolstice d\u2019\u00e9t\u00e9--f\u00eate aussi ancienne que l\u2019homme lui-m\u00eame, n\u2019\u00e9tait\nqu\u2019un lit vert--une jonqui\u00e8re! L\u2019apoth\u00e9ose de la beaut\u00e9 sur un trone\nde roses et de lys se retrouvait autrefois dans tous les climats, o\u00f9\nle soleil favorisait la culture de ces tr\u00e9sors de Flore. Presque de\nnos jours, chaque canton de l\u2019\u00eele \u00e9lisait une tante ou cousine. Vou\u00e9e\nau silence--\u2018La M\u00f4me;\u2019 et cette bonne parente recevait de toute la\ncompagnie l\u2019hommage d\u2019un baiser--c\u2019est une allusion au silence de\nl\u2019astre du jour et \u00e0 la naissance d\u2019Harpocrate, le doigt sur la bouche,\nau milieu d\u2019un carreau de vives fleurs.\u201d\n\n[25] EDITOR\u2019S NOTES. By the courtesy of Mr. J. Linwood Pitts I am able\nto insert the following note, showing the gradual decadence of the old\ncustom.\n\n\u201cSome sixty or seventy years ago, a Mr. and Mrs. Le Ma\u00eetre kept\na public-house at Le Cognon, near St. Sampson\u2019s. At the summer\nvraicking time, they used to deck the green bed with elaborate floral\ndecorations--a veritable \u201cLleit de feuilles.\u201d A plate was placed in the\ncentre of the bed to receive contributions. The young people used to go\nthere and dance in the evenings after vraicking, Mr. Le Ma\u00eetre playing\nthe fiddle for the dancers. Mrs. Robin (now seventy-three years old)\ndanced there as a girl.\u201d\n\nStow in his \u201cSurvey\u201d tells us \u201cthat on the vigil of St. John Baptist\nevery man\u2019s door being shadowed with green birch, long fennel, St.\nJohn\u2019s wort, orpin, white lilies, and such like, garnished upon with\ngarlands of beautiful flowers, had also lamps of glass.\u2026\u201d\n\nIn Brand\u2019s _Popular Antiquities of Great Britain_, Vol. I. p. 190, it\nis said:--\u201cHutchinson mentions another custom used on this day; it\nis to dress out stools with a cushion of flowers. A layer of clay is\nplaced on the stool, and therein is stuck with great regularity, an\narrangement of all kinds of flowers, so close as to form a beautiful\ncushion. These are exhibited at the doors of houses in the villages,\nand at the ends of streets and cross lanes of larger towns, where the\nattendants beg money from passengers to enable them to have an evening\nfeast and dancing.\u201d He adds \u201cThis custom is evidently derived from\nthe Ludi Compitalii of the Romans; this appellation is taken from the\nCompita or Cross Lanes, where they were instituted and celebrated\nby the multitude assembled before the building of Rome. It was the\nFeast of Lares, or Household Gods, who presided as well over houses\nas streets. This mode of adorning the seat or couch of the Lares was\nbeautiful, and the idea of reposing them on aromatic flowers, and beds\nof roses, was excellent.\u201d\n\n\nMidsummer Day in Sark.\n\nIn Sark, Midsummer Day is the great holiday of the year, when every\nyouth who is fortunate enough to be the possessor of a horse, or who\ncan borrow one for the occasion, makes use of it. Bedecking both\nhimself and his steed with bunches of flowers, he goes to seek his\nfavourite damsel, who generally sports a new bonnet in honour of the\nfestival, and they often ride about in couples on the horses\u2019 backs.\nThey then amuse themselves in racing up and down the roads, and even\nventure sometimes to cross at a gallop the dangerous pass of the\nCoup\u00e9e--a narrow ledge of rock with a precipice on either side,--which\nconnects the peninsula of Little Sark with the main island. In the\nevening they assemble to drink tea, eat currant cake, and dance. This\ncustom is known by the name of \u201cLes Chevauch\u00e9es.\u201d[26]\n\n[26] EDITOR\u2019S NOTE.--Many charms and spells were also resorted to on\nthe eve and on the day of \u201cLa Saint Jean,\u201d which will be inserted\nunder their proper heading. Another habit of the young men and girls\non Midsummer Day was to go out to the Grand Pont at St. Sampson\u2019s, and\nthere have a supper composed of fried ham and eggs and pancakes, and\ncra\u00fbbacka\u00fbs or crayfish, the latter placed on the table in the pan, and\neveryone helping themselves with their own fork. The custom was for the\ngirls to be dressed entirely in white, while the men wore white duck\nor jean trousers, swallow-tailed coats, fancy waistcoats, and shoes\nadorned with large white bows. The proceedings finished with songs and\ndances.\n\n\nMidsummer Day in Jersey.\n\nIn Jersey, the fishermen who inhabit the parish of St. John have a\ncustom of circumnavigating at Midsummer a certain rock, called \u201cLe\nCheval Guillaume,\u201d that lies off their coast, and in the same parish,\nas well as in some other parts of the island, a very singular practice\nhas long prevailed. It is thus described in Plees\u2019 Account of the\nIsland of Jersey. \u201cAt Midsummer Eve, a number of persons meet together,\nand procure a large brass boiler; this is partly filled with water, and\nsometimes metallic utensils of different kinds are thrown in. The rim\nis then encircled with a strong species of rush, to which strings of\nthe same substance are attached. When these strings are sufficiently\nmoistened, the persons assembled take hold of them, and, drawing them\nquickly through their hands, a tremendous vibration is excited in the\nboiler, and a most barbarous, uncouth, and melancholy sound produced.\nTo render this grating concert still more dissonant, others blow with\ncows\u2019 horns and conches. This singular species of amusement continues\nfor several hours: it is termed \u2018faire braire les po\u00ebles.\u2019\u201d The same\ncustom prevailed in Normandy, from whence it doubtless made its way\ninto Jersey. In the former province it is now on the decline. Being\nobserved on St. John\u2019s Eve, it would appear to have a reference to\nsome Christian festival in honour of that saint; or it may relate\nto Midsummer Day. Large numbers of the middling and lower classes\nin Jersey are in the habit of coming to Guernsey for the Midsummer\nholidays, and the natives of the latter island often choose this season\nfor visiting their friends and relations in Jersey. In the _Athen\u00e6um_,\nSeptember 20th, 1890, it says: \u201cIt may not be generally known that in\nthe island of Jersey on St. John\u2019s Eve the older inhabitants used to\nlight fires under large iron pots full of water, in which they placed\nsilver articles--as spoons, mugs, etc.,--and then knocked the silver\nagainst the iron, with the idea of scaring away all evil spirits.\nThere are now railroads in Jersey, and these old-world practices have\nprobably disappeared.\u201d\n\nThe day after Midsummer used always to be the day of the fair, held in\nthe Fair-field at the C\u00e2tel. It was crowded from the early morning by\nthe entire population of the island, and the hedges round the field,\nand even the sides of the roads in the vicinity, were filled with\nFrench women, selling strawberries, and eggs dyed red with cochineal,\nand who drove a roaring trade.\n\n\nAugust.\n\nOn the Sundays in August it was customary, a few years ago, for large\ncrowds from all parts of the island to assemble in the afternoon on\nthe causeway at St. Sampson\u2019s called \u201cLe Grand Pont.\u201d The favourite\nmode of proceeding thither was on horseback, but the only object that\nthe visitors seemed to have in view was that of seeing and being seen.\nIt is difficult to ascertain exactly what gave rise to this custom,\nor indeed whether it is of ancient date. It is certain, however, that\nthe improvement of the roads at the commencement of the present\ncentury, and the works carried on at the same time for the recovery of\na large portion of land from the sea, in this neighbourhood, concurred\nin attracting a considerable number of persons to the spot. If the\ncustom existed previously it must have been one of old standing, and\nmay perhaps be traced to a church wake or feast held in honour of St.\nSampson, who is said to have been among the first who preached the\ngospel in the island, and whose name the neighbouring church bears. The\ncalendar commemorates this saint on the 28th of July, and the practice\nof meeting together on the Sunday following the anniversary of a saint,\nin the vicinity of the church or chapel dedicated to him, is universal\nthroughout Brittany, where these assemblies are known by the name of\n\u201cpardons.\u201d In some parts of Normandy, too, the custom is observed, and\nthe meetings are known as \u201cAssembl\u00e9es.\u201d If not held on, or near, the\nactual anniversary of the saint, they are often fixed for some Sunday\nin August, when, the harvest being over, the peasants have more leisure\ntime for amusements.\n\nEDITOR\u2019S NOTE.--\u201cIn the southern parts of this nation,\u201d says Bourne,\n\u201cmost country villages are wont to observe some Sunday in a more\nparticular manner than the rest, _i.e._, the Sunday after the day of\ndedication, or day of the saint to whom their church was dedicated.\u201d\n_Antiq. Vulg._, chap. xxx.\n\n[Illustration: Maison du Neuf Chemin.]\n\n\nSeptember.\n\nOn the Sundays in September it was the custom, at any rate in the early\npart of this century, to ride out to the \u201cMaison du Neuf Chemin,\u201d at\nSt. Saviour\u2019s, which was kept by a man called Alexandre. There they\nwould eat pancakes, apples and pears, and not come home till dusk. This\nis the \u201cMess Alissandre\u201d to whom M\u00e9tivier alludes in \u201cLa Chanson des\nAlexandriens,\u201d \u201cRimes Guernesiaises,\u201d 1831, p. 52.\n\n    _\u201cVoulo\u00fcs passair dans l\u2019pu bel endret d\u2019l\u2019\u00eele_\n    _Une a\u2019 r\u2019levaie sans paine et sans chagrin!_\n    _Tournai m\u00e9 l\u2019dos \u00e8s sales pavais d\u2019la ville,_\n    _Et galoppai sie l\u2019vieil houme du Neuf-Ch\u2019min, etc.\u201d_\n\n[TRANSLATION].\n\n    \u201cDo you wish to go to the most beautiful neighbourhood of the island\n    One afternoon without difficulty or trouble?\n    Turn your back on the dirty pavements of the town,\n    And gallop out to the old man of the New Path.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER II.\n\nLocal Customs--Civic, Aquatic, Ceremonial.\n\n    \u201cOrdain them laws, part such as appertain\n    To civil justice, part religious rites.\u201d\n\n                                   --_Milton._\n\n\nLa Chevanch\u00e9e de St. Michel.\n\n    \u201cMy parks, my walks, my manors that I had,\n    Ev\u2019n now forsake me; and of all my lands\n    Is nothing left me.\u201d\n\n                     --_Shakspeare_, Henry VI.\n\nBefore giving an account of this curious old custom, now abolished, but\nwhich seems to have been instituted originally with a view to keeping\nthe highways throughout the island in a due state of repair, it may\nbe as well to say something of the feudal system, as it existed, and\nindeed, greatly modified of course, still exists in Guernsey. Though,\nfrom the loss in the course of many centuries of the original charters,\nwe are left in the dark on many points, and can only guess at the\norigin of some of the many small manors--or as they are locally termed,\n\u201cfiefs\u201d--into which the island is divided.\n\nIt is known that previous to the Conquest of England by Duke\nWilliam,[27] N\u00e9el de St. Sauveur, Vicomte of Le Cotentin, was patron\nof six of the ten parish churches in Guernsey--those of St. Samson,\nSt. Pierre Port, St. Martin de la Bellouse, La Trinit\u00e9 de la For\u00eat,\nNotre Dame de Torteval, and St. Andr\u00e9; and it is probable that he was\nlord paramount of all the land contained in these parishes. He was\none of those barons who conspired against William, and having been\ndefeated by him in the Battle of Val des Dunes, all his possessions\nwere confiscated. On his submission he was again received into favour,\nand his continental possessions restored, but such does not seem to\nhave been the case with what he held in Guernsey; for the patronage of\nthe churches mentioned above was given by William, a year before the\nConquest of England, to the great Abbey of Marmoutier near Tours; and\nfrom that time we hear nothing more of the Viscounts of St. Sauveur in\nGuernsey.\n\nThe other four parishes, St. Michel du Valle, Notre Dame du Castel, St.\nSauveur, and St. Pierre du Bois, were in the patronage of the Abbey of\nMont St. Michel, and the lands in the greater part of these parishes\nwere held in nearly equal proportions between that famous Monastery and\nthe Earls of Chester--those held by the Abbey being known as \u201cLe Fief\nSt. Michel,\u201d and those belonging to the Earl being called \u201cLe Fief le\nComte.\u201d A local tradition says that it was Duke Robert, the father of\nWilliam the Conqueror, who first bestowed these lands on the Abbey,\nand on the ancestors of the Earls, but of this there may be some doubt.\n\nThese lands were held direct from the Sovereign, to whom these lords\nwere bound to do homage, but in process of time they came to be\nsub-fieffed by their possessors--that is, divided into smaller manors,\nwhich, instead of owing direct allegiance to the Crown, depended on\ntheir own lords, to whom they had certain services to render, and dues\nto pay, and in whose Courts they were bound to make an appearance\nthrice in the year. These Courts had jurisdiction in civil matters,\nin causes arising between the tenants on their respective fiefs, and\nhad their seals, by which all written documents emanating from them\nwere authenticated, the seals of the Court of the Priory of St. Michel\nrepresenting the Archangel trampling Satan under foot, and that of the\nFief le Comte, St. George, near whose ruined chapel the Court still\nholds its sittings. As there was always an appeal from the decision of\nthese Courts to the supreme tribunal of the island, the Royal Court,\nthey gradually ceased to be held, except for the purpose of collecting\nthe seignorial dues, and, by an Order of Her Majesty in Council, the\nCourt of the Fief St. Michel was abolished, the life interest of the\nseneschal, vavassors, prev\u00f4ts, bordiers, and other officers of the\nCourt being preserved.\n\nOne of the duties of the Court of St. Michel was to see that the\nKing\u2019s highway (le chemin du Roi), and certain embankments against\nthe encroachments of the sea were kept in proper order and in due\nreparation; and in order to insure this they were bound to make an\ninspection once in three years.\n\nWe will now go back and consider the origin of the Fief St. Michel.\nAmong the many fiefs in Guernsey, held in chief from the Crown,\none of the most ancient and important is certainly that of St.\nMichel-du-Valle, extending over the greater part of the northern and\nwestern shores of the island. According to a tradition generally\naccepted by the historians of the island, and which is in part\ncorroborated by documentary evidence, preserved in the \u201ccartulaires\u201d\nof the famous Abbey of Mont St. Michel in Normandy, and in the\nRecord Office in England, certain monks who had been expelled from\nthat monastery for their irregularities, or had left voluntarily in\nconsequence of reforms in the community which they disapproved of,\ncame over to Guernsey about the year 966 and established themselves in\na part of the island called Le Clos du Valle, which at that period,\nand until the beginning of the present century, was cut off from the\nmainland by an arm of the sea, and could only be reached by a way\nacross the sands when the tide had receded. The monks are said to have\nbrought the whole of the western part of the island into cultivation,\nand to have led such a pious life, and effected such a reform in the\nmanners of the inhabitants, that Guernsey acquired the appellation of\n\u201cl\u2019\u00eele sainte.\u201d[28][29]\n\nIt is also said that Robert I., Duke of Normandy, father of William the\nConqueror, called by some Le Magnifique and by others Le Diable, having\nbeen driven by stress of weather to take refuge in Guernsey, when on\nhis way to England with a fleet to assist the Saxon Princes Alfred and\nEdward in their resistance to the Danish invader Canute, was received\nand hospitably entertained by the monks, and in return confirmed them\nin the possession of the lands they had been the means of reclaiming,\nat the same time constituting the community a priory in dependance on\nthe great monastery from which they had originally come; a connexion,\nwhich although frequently interrupted during the long wars between\nEngland and France for the possession of Normandy, existed until the\nsuppression of alien priories in England by Henry V.\n\nLike all other fiefs the priory had its own Feudal Court, by means of\nwhich it collected its rents and dues, and which had jurisdiction in\ncivil matters between all its tenants, subject, however, to an appeal\nto the higher authority of the Royal Court of the island.\n\nThe Court of St. Michel-du-Valle consisted of a seneschal and eleven\nvavassors, who, in virtue of their office and in consideration of their\nservices, held certain lands on the fief. The officers of the Court\nwere a greffier or registrar, four prev\u00f4ts, who had duties analogous to\nthose of a sheriff, six bordiers, who had certain services to perform\nin collecting dues and attending the meetings of the Court, and, though\nlast, not least, an officer styled porte-lance--of whom more hereafter.\nThe principal duties of the Court seem to have consisted in legalizing\nsales of real property, in which tenants on the fief were interested,\nand settling disputes concerning the same arising among them. But there\nappear to have been attempts made from time to time to encroach on the\nprerogatives of the Royal Court, and various ordinances of the latter\nare in existence restraining the seneschal and vavassors from doing\ncertain acts, and even fining them for having gone beyond their powers.\nThere was one function, however, of the Court of St. Michael which it\nseems to have exercised without dispute from time immemorial, but which\nit is impossible to account for--the inspection and keeping in order\nof the King\u2019s highway throughout the island, and of certain of the\nworks for preventing the encroachments of the sea. Possibly it may have\noriginated in marking out the bounds of the Fief St. Michel and its\ndependencies only, and with this keeping in order the sea defences.[30]\nOnce in three years, the seneschal and vavassors of the Court were\nbound to perform this duty, which, judging from their later records,\nthey appear to have considered rather onerous, as we find several Acts\nof the Court dispensing with the ceremony, the reason given being\ngenerally the interruption it caused in agricultural labours, and the\nloss occasioned thereby, at a time when farmers were far from being in\nthe prosperous condition in which they are at present.\n\nAnother very substantial reason was the expense, which had to be\ndefrayed out of the Crown revenue. According to some of our historians,\nwho, however, give no evidence in support of their assertion, this\ninspection of the roads, commonly known as \u201cLa Chevauch\u00e9e\u201d from the\nfact of the principal performers being mounted on horseback, was\noriginally annual, and was instituted with a view to having the roads\nput in order preparatory to the grand religious procession of the\nHost on Corpus Christi Day, but this origin of the ceremony seems\nhardly probable, as it is well known that the procession in question\nis strictly limited in Roman Catholic countries to parishes, and is\nconducted by the parochial clergy. It is difficult to understand how\nit came to pass that a subaltern Court, such as was that of the Fief\nSt. Michel, came to be allowed to exercise a quasi jurisdiction over\nlands which had never been subject to it, but as it was impossible for\nthe Court to proceed to every part of their domain without occasionally\ntrespassing over other manors, what was originally allowed by courtesy\ncame to be looked upon at last as a right. A somewhat similar means\nof assuring the keeping in due repair of the high roads existed, and\nprobably in a modified form still exists, in the sister island of\nJersey, where it is conducted by the vicomte, assisted by two or more\njurats of the Royal Court, and the officer, called the \u201cporte-lance,\u201d\nwho exercises the same functions as the official bearing the same\ndesignation in the \u201cCour St. Michel.\u201d It is known in Jersey as \u201cLa\nHarelle.\u201d\n\nBut it is time to come to a description of how this ancient ceremony\nwas conducted in Guernsey. As has been said before, it ought to have\ntaken place every third year, at which time the Court of St. Michael\nused to meet in the spring to settle preliminaries in fixing the day\non which the ceremony was to take place, regulating the costume to be\nworn by the \u201c_pions_\u201d or footmen in attendance on the Court, and other\nmatters. The month of June was usually chosen, and on the day appointed\nthe Court assembled, with all the officers who were to take part in\nthe procession, at the small Court House adjoining the remains of the\nancient monastic buildings still dignified with the name of \u201cL\u2019Abbaye,\u201d\nalthough the establishment had been for centuries no more than a priory\ndependent on the famous monastery of Mont St. Michel in Normandy.\n\nThe following are translations of a few of the Acts and Regulations of\nthe Court of St. Michael:--[31]\n\n31 March, 1768. Seneschal nominated by the Governor.\n\n24 May, 1768. The Chevauch\u00e9e being due to take place on the following\n8th of June, the Court has ruled the dress of the pions. A black cap\n(calotte) with a red ribbon at the back. A ruffled shirt, with black\nribbon wristbands, and a black ribbon round the neck. Black breeches\nwith red ribbons tied round the knee. White stockings; and red rosettes\non their wands. N.B.--This Act does not seem to have been put in force.\n\n27th April, 1813.--The Chevauch\u00e9e of His Majesty is appointed to take\nplace on Wednesday, the 9th of the following June, for the reparation\nof the quays and roads of the King, and it is ordered that it shall\nbe published throughout the parishes of this island, and cried in the\nMarket Place, so that no one can plead ignorance.\n\nThe 27th of May, 1813.--Before Thomas Falla, Esq., Seneschal of the\nCourt and Jurisdiction of the Fief St. Michel, present, Messieurs James\nOzanne, Nicholas Le Patourel, James Falla, Pierre Falla, Jean Mahy,\nRichard Ozanne, Nicholas Moullin, Daniel Moullin, and Jean Le Pettevin\n(called Le Roux), vavassors of the said Court. The Court being to-day\nassembled to regulate the order to be pursued on Wednesday, the 9th of\nJune proximo,--the day appointed by the Court for the Chevauch\u00e9e of His\nMajesty to pass--has ordered that all the pions be dressed uniformly\nas follows, to wit: Black caps with a red ribbon behind. White shirts,\nwith white cravats or neckerchiefs. Circular white waistcoats, with a\nred ribbon border. Long white breeches, tied with red ribbon round the\nknee. White stockings, and red rosettes on their wands.\n\nAnd Messieurs les prev\u00f4ts of the Court are ordered to warn all those\nwho are obliged to assist at the said Chevauch\u00e9e to find themselves\nwith their swords, their pions, and their horses, the aforesaid 9th\nof June at seven o\u2019clock in the morning at the Court of St. Michael,\naccording to ancient custom, in default of appearance to be subject\nto such penalties as it shall please the Court to award him. And also\nshall Monsieur Le Gouverneur be duly warned, and Thomas Falla, Esq.,\nseneschal, and Messrs. Jean Mahy and Nicholas Moullin, vavassors, are\nnominated by the Court to form a committee so as to take the necessary\nmeasures to regulate the conformity of the said act concerning the\ndress of the pions.\n\n(Signed) JEAN OZANNE, Greffier.\n\nOn the above day, conformably to the said Act, all the pions, dressed\nin the afore-mentioned costume, met at seven o\u2019clock in the morning\nat the Court of St. Michael, and there also were found the King\u2019s\nofficers, vavassors, who had to serve there as esquires. The King\u2019s\nofficers and the seneschal each had two pions on either side of his\nbridle rein, the vavassors were only entitled to one.\n\nThey began with a short inspection and a good breakfast on the\nemplacement east of the Yale Church. After breakfast, the members of\nthe cort\u00e8ge, with their swords at their sides, got on their horses\nopposite the said Court of St. Michael, where the greffier of the\nsaid Court said the customary prayer, and the seneschal read the\nproclamation, and then they started in the following order:--\n\nThe Sheriff of the Vale and his pion.\n\nThe Sheriff of the King and his two pions.\n\nThe Sheriff of the Grand Mo\u00fbtier and his pion.\n\nThe Sheriff of the Petit Mo\u00fbtier and his pion.\n\nThe Sheriff of Rozel and his pion.\n\nThe King\u2019s Sergeant and his two pions.\n\nThe King\u2019s Greffier and his two pions.\n\nThe King\u2019s Comptroller and his two pions.\n\nThe King\u2019s Procureur and his two pions.\n\nThe King\u2019s Receiver and his two pions.\n\nThe Lance-Bearer and his two pions.\n\nThe Greffier of the Court St. Michel and his two pions.\n\nThe Seneschal of the Court St. Michel and his two pions.\n\nThe eleven vavassors of the Court St. Michel, and one pion each.\n\nWhilst they are on their march, the five sheriffs carry by turns a\nwhite wand in the following order:--\n\nThe Sheriff of the Vale, from the Vale Church to the end of Grand Pont.\n\nThe King\u2019s Sheriff, from the end of Grand Pont, as far as the Forest.\n\nThe Sheriff of Grand Mo\u00fbtier, from the Forest to the King\u2019s Mills.\n\nThe Sheriff of Petit Mo\u00fbtier, from the King\u2019s Mills to the Douit des\nLandes in the Market Place, and the Sheriff of Rozel from the last\nmentioned place to the Vale.\n\nDuring the procession the lance bearer carried a wand of eleven and\na quarter feet long, and any obstacle this wand encountered, stones\nof walls, branches of trees, etc., had to be cleared away, and the\nproprietor of the obstacle was fined thirty sous, which went towards\nthe expenses of the dinner. From time immemorial the privilege of the\npions,--who were chosen for their good looks--was that of kissing every\nwoman they met, whether gentle or simple, their only restriction being\nthat only one pion was allowed to kiss the same lady, she had not to\nrun the gauntlet of the gang. This privilege of course was invariably\nexercised!\n\nAt the entry of the Braye du Valle the seneschal freed the pions from\ntheir attendance on the bridle reins, and gave them authority to\nembrace any woman they might encounter, recommending good behaviour and\nthe rejoining of their cavaliers at the Hougue-\u00e0-la-Perre.\n\n[Illustration: Parish Church of St. Peter Port.\n\nShowing houses demolished to make room for present New Market.]\n\nThe Chevauch\u00e9e then went to Sohier, les Landes, la rue du Marais, la\nGrande Rue, la Mare Sansonnet, les Bordages, la Ronde Chemin\u00e9e, and\nles Morets. Arriving at the Hougue-\u00e0-la-Perre the pions regained their\nrespective stations on the side of their officers, leading the horses,\nand there, at ten o\u2019clock, they were met by His Excellency Sir John\nDoyle, the Lieutenant-Governor and his staff, the horses of which were\nall decorated with blue ribbons, except those of the said Governor and\nof his family, who, out of compliment, carried red ribbons, matching\nthose of the Chevauch\u00e9e. The Bailiff, with his party and John Guille,\nEsq., also joined them at this spot, uniformly dressed in blue jackets,\nwhite trousers, and leghorn hats.\n\nThe whole cavalcade then moved on, the Governor and suite at the rear,\npreceded by the band of the town regiment, dressed as rustics, in long\nwhite jackets and large hats with their brims turned down, and followed\nby six dragoons to bring up the rear. Having passed between eleven and\ntwelve o\u2019clock through Glatney, Pollet, Carrefour, and High-street,\nthey came to the Town Church, where they made the tour around a large\nround table which had been placed near the westerly door of the said\nchurch, which table was covered with a white cloth and supplied with\nbiscuits, cheese, and wine, which had been provided by one of the\n\u201csous-prev\u00f4ts,\u201d and the Sheriff and the King\u2019s Sergeant, on foot,\noffered each cavalier who passed the door food and drink.\n\nDuring this interval the band played serenades and marches.\n\nAt noon they proceeded through Berthelot-street to the College\nfields, and, passing through the Grange, they reached the Grav\u00e9e;\nhere His Excellency took his leave. The cavalcade passed on by St.\nMartin\u2019s road to the ancient manor of Ville-au-Roi, one of the oldest\nhabitations in the island. The entrance was tastefully decorated with\narches of flowers and a crown in the centre, with flags flying, and,\non one of the arches, \u201cVive la Chevauch\u00e9e.\u201d Here, according to old\nmanorial custom, the party was gratuitously regaled with milk. The\nprocession then moved on by Les C\u00e2ches to Jerbourg, with the exception\nof the pions, who proceeded to the village of the Forest, and there\nwaited the return of the Court. Here they danced and amused themselves\nas before, and being rejoined by the cavalcade at the Bourg they moved\non by Les Brulliots, and passing Torteval Church arrived at a house\ncalled the Ch\u00e2teau des Pezeries at Pleinmont, where a marquee was\nerected, and cold meats and wine were prepared for the gentlemen. The\npions were seated on the grass in a circle which had been hollowed\nfor them, in the shape of a round table,[32] and they also had their\nrepast. Here the procession halted till four o\u2019clock, and by this\ntime were joined by many carriages, filled with ladies and gentlemen,\nwho, with a numerous party of all ranks, moved on by Rocquaine, Roque\nPoisson, below the Rouvets, Perelle, where a particular stone lies,\nwhich they are obliged to go round according to an old custom, from\nthere by the Saint Saviour\u2019s Road to the Grands Moulins or King\u2019s\nMills. On their arrival there they were rejoined by the pions, the\nmill was put in motion, and the miller came out with a plate in each\nhand, one containing flour of wheat, and the other of barley, which had\nbeen ground that instant by the mill. The miller then placed himself\non a large stone, and the procession moved round him; this custom has\nprevailed from time immemorial. The procession then continued by St.\nGeorge, La Haye du Puits, Saumarez, Le Camp du Roy, Les Salines, to\nthe Clos du Valle, to the aforesaid Court of St. Michael, where they\narrived about seven o\u2019clock, and where they were again joined by the\nLieutenant-Governor, the Bailiff, and some of the principal residents.\nThe Court having been dismissed they all partook of a sumptuous dinner,\nat which Mr. Seneschal Falla presided. The pions were also handsomely\nentertained.\n\nThe last Chevauch\u00e9e took place in Guernsey on the 31st of May, 1837,\nbut the description of the procession we have given refers to the one\nin 1825, and is taken from Jacob\u2019s _Annals_, and the _Chronique des\nIsles_, by Syvret.\n\nThe oldest known Act of the Court of St. Michael is the following,\ndated the 14th of October, 1204:--\n\n\u201cLes Chefs Plaids Capitaux de la Saint Michel tenus \u00e0 Sainte Anne\nen la Paroisse du Sarazin,[33] par Nicolle de Beauvoir Bailly, \u00e0 ce\npr\u00e9sens Jean Le Feyvre, Jean Philippes, Martin de Garris, Jean Maingy,\nJean Le Gros, Jemmes le Marchand, Pierre de la Lande, Robert de la\nSalle, Colin Henry, Jurez de la Cour de nostre Souverain Seigneur le\nRoy d\u2019Angleterre en l\u2019Isle de Guernereye. Le quatorzi\u00e8me jour du moys\nd\u2019Octobre, l\u2019an MCCIV. Sur la Remonstrance qui nous a est\u00e9 faicte de la\npart des Fr\u00e8res Jean Agenor, Prieur, en la Paroisse de l\u2019Archange de\nSaint Michel du Valle et ses aliez Pierre de Beauvoir, Pierre Martin,\nJean Effart, Jean Jehan, Pierre Nicolle, Pierre du Prey, Jean Agenor,\nMichel le Pelley, Jean Cappelle et autres Marchands et Manans, tant en\nla Paroisse du Valle que de Saint Sampson, qu\u2019ils \u00e9stoyent grandement\nempeschez et endomagez concernant le desbordement de la mer, laquelle\nauroit coup\u00e9 le Douvre et passage commode entre les dittes Paroisses,\nentendu qu\u2019il estoit impossible non seulement de faire Procession, mais\naussi d\u2019aller traficquer les uns avec les autres aux Landes du Sarazin,\ns\u2019il ne nous pleust leur permettre et accorder de faire maintenir\nun certain Pont passant du Valle \u00e0 Saint Sampson, estant propre et\npassable de toutes Mar\u00e9es, de Charues, et Charettes, de pied et de\nCheval, et \u00e0 qui il appartiendra de la maintenir en temps advenir.\nParquoy ne voulant refuser la Raisonnable remonstrance des avants dits,\net pour le bien public, nous leur avons appoint\u00e9 Veue sur les Limites\nles plus c\u00e9l\u00e8bres des dittes Paroisses, dans le jour Saint Barthelemi\nprochain, et advertiront le commun de s\u2019y trouver, pour ouir ce que par\nnous sera ordonn\u00e9 touchant la ditte edification.\u201d\n\nAnother copy, which differs from the preceding in the names of the\nJurats, finishes by these words, \u201cdonn\u00e9 par copie des roles, sign\u00e9\npar Colin de la Lande, clerq.\u201d According to this copy the names of\nthe Jurats are \u201cJean Le Gros, James Le Marchant, Pierre de la Lande,\nRobert de la Salle, Colin Henry, Raoul Emery, Gaultier Blondel, Guillet\nLe Febvre.\u201d It is noticeable that the first four names of the copy\nfirst cited are not among these, and that the last three on this list\nare not in the Act which we have transcribed.[34] At the end of the\nsecond copy we find the following notice: \u201cN.B.--Mr. Thomas Le Ma\u00eetre,\nPrevost de St. Sauveur \u00e0 Jersey en a l\u2019original.\u201d\n\nOriginally the vavassors[35] of the Court of St. Michael were twelve in\nnumber, similar to the Jurats of the Royal Court, but if you ask why\nthe number for the last two hundred years has been reduced to eleven,\nthe answer is--\u201cthat the devil carried away Vivien.\u201d All that is known\nabout Jean Vivien is that he was a vavassor of this Court, and that, in\na fit of despair, he drowned himself, early in the seventeenth century.\nUp to about the middle of the present century three letters \u201cI. V. V.\u201d\ncut by himself on the broken fragment of rock from which he leapt into\nthe gulf, still existed at the end of a footpath, not far from the\n\u201cFosse au Courlis\u201d--Curlew\u2019s ditch or grave--a spot haunted by witches.\n\nSince then no Christian has dared to replace the suicide Jean Vivien,\nand, when making the calculation of the symbolic vavassorial stones,\nhis pebble is always omitted. There are but eleven instead of twelve.\n\n[27] \u201cThere were two Nigels (Neel or Niel), Viscounts of Cotentin,\nand proprietors of St. Sauveur le Vicomte. I have reference to those\ntwo charters, the perusal of which exalts conjectures into genuine\n_facts_. It is highly gratifying to possess, at last, extracts from the\nauthentic charters of Robert I. and William II. granted to St. Michel\nand St. Martin of Tours.\u201d--Extract from MS. letter from George M\u00e9tivier\nto Sir Edgar MacCulloch, Nov. 1846.\n\n[28] According to Mr. M\u00e9tivier Guernsey was called \u201cHoly Island\u201d in\nthe days of a learned Greek called \u201cSylla,\u201d the friend of Plutarch\u2019s\ngrandfather, and he says that it was the custom for persons to go from\nthe \u201cogygian\u201d (Gallic or Breton) Islands, to Delos every century,\nwhich means every thirty years. The voyagers also visited the temple\nof Dodona; and on their return from Delos \u201cthe sacred navigators\nwere conducted by the winds to the Isle of Saturn or Sacred Island\n(Guernsey), which was peopled entirely by themselves and their\npredecessors; for although they were by their laws permitted to return\nafter having served Saturn thirty years, which was the century of\nthe Druids, yet they frequently preferred remaining in the tranquil\nretirement of this island to returning to their birth-places.\u201d\nDemetrius, also, says: \u201cAmong the islands which lie adjacent to\nBritain, some are desert, known by the name of the Isles of Heroes.\u2026\nI embarked in the suite of the Emperor, who was about to visit the\nnearest of them. We found thereon but few inhabitants, and these were\naccounted _sacred and inviolable_.\u201d Mr. M\u00e9tivier goes on to say later\n\u201cOnomacritus, an author who flourished five hundred years B.C., in one\nof his poems speaks of a vessel that conveyed the ashes of the dead\nbetween England and Spain, and a celebrated Greek author of undoubted\nveracity, Procopius, who wrote about 547 A.D., states that the \u201cBreton\nfishermen of an island subject to the French, were exempt from all\ntribute, because they conveyed the dead into a neighbouring island.\u201d\nThe Breton French fishermen came from Jersey, \u201cLa Porte Sainte,\u201d and\nterminated their funeral voyage at Guernsey, \u201cl\u2019Ile Bienheureuse.\u201d\nThe ashes of the dead were deposited in our _croutes_ and sacred\nenclosures, within the tombs composed of _five_ horizontal stones,\nwhich number indicated the resting places of knightly heroes, or noble\nGauls.\u201d--M\u00e9tivier in the _Monthly Selection_, 1825, pp. 327 and 452.\n\n[29] EDITOR\u2019S NOTE.--M. de Gerville denies the truth of this tradition.\nSee _Documents In\u00e9dits du Moyen Age, relatifs aux Iles du Cotentin_, p.\n16.\n\n[30] See _Gentleman\u2019s Magazine Library_, Social Manners and Customs. P.\n51, Beating of Bounds at Grimsby.\n\n[31] EDITOR\u2019S NOTE.--On the 27th April, 1533. The Court of St. Michel\ndu Valle ordered that the King\u2019s Serjeant should \u201ccry in the Market\nPlace for three Saturdays that the Chevauch\u00e9e would take place in the\nfollowing month of May.\u201d--_Fief Le Comte MSS._ copied by Colonel J. H.\nC. Carey.\n\n[32] As being of the same race and language as Wace, Walter Map and\nChrestien de Troyes, who were the first to collect and write of the\nArthurian legends,--or, as they are generally spoken of by French\nwriters \u201c_Les Epop\u00e9es de la Table Ronde_,\u201d--it might reasonably be\nexpected that some traces of these old \u201cromans\u201d that must have so\ninfluenced our forefathers should linger among us. This \u201cround table\u201d\nso carefully hollowed out for the pions may be a relic of \u201cLa Table\nRonde,\u201d of which Wace writes--\n\n    \u201cFist Artus la Roonde Table\n    Dont Bretons dient mainte fable.\u201d\n\nHe goes on to say that Arthur instituted this Round Table in times of\npeace, for his feudal retainers, so that none might consider himself\nsuperior to his fellow knights and squires, for at such a table all\nmust be equal.\n\n[33] Now called the C\u00e2tel, and the Church of the said Parish is\ntraditionally built on the Castle formerly inhabited by \u201cLe Grand\nSarazin,\u201d and it was there or thereabouts that the Royal Court used to\nsit.\n\n[34] EDITOR\u2019S NOTE.--I will here add a copy of the old orders issued by\nthe Cour de St. Michel in 1663, and copied from those issued in 1439.\nIt is taken word for word from a manuscript lent me by Colonel J. H.\nCarteret Carey, except that in places I have written in full words\nwhich are abbreviated in the original MSS., such as \u201cpar\u201d for \u201cP,\u201d\n\u201cPrevost\u201d for \u201cpuost,\u201d \u201cpr\u00e9sent\u201d for \u201cpnt,\u201d \u201cque\u201d for \u201cq,\u201d \u201ccomme\u201d for\n\u201ccoe,\u201d \u201cparties\u201d for \u201cpties,\u201d \u201cJour\u201d for \u201cJor,\u201d etc., etc.:--\n\nA Tous Ceux quy ces presentes lettres verront ou orront--Denis Le\nMarchant, Senechal de la Cour de la prieuret\u00e9 de St. Michel du Val en\nl\u2019Isle de Guernesey--Salut--comme ainsy soit que Martin Sauvary, comme\nprocureur et attourn\u00e9 des vavasseurs, Sergeans, bordiers, et autres\nofficiers, de la dite Cour acteurs d\u2019une partie eussent fait semondre\net convenir pardevant nous en ladite Cour John phylippe recepveur pour\nlors de la dite Isle de Guernesey et de ladite prieuret\u00e9 du Valle pour\ntr\u00e8s hault et tr\u00e8s puissant prince Mon Seigneur Le Duc de Glocester,\nSeigneur des Isles, et possesseur adonques de toutes les rentes et\nrevenues quelconques appartenants a la dite prieuret\u00e9 en ladite\nIsle, deffenseur d\u2019autre partie--Lequel attourn\u00e9 que dit est eust\ndeclar\u00e9 et demand\u00e9 adonques a l\u2019avant dit deffenseur comment iceluy\ndeffenseur recepveur comme dit est deubt bailler trouuer et deliurer\nles debuoirs et deuteys appartenants es dits Officiers de la dite\nCour. C\u2019est a s\u00e7auoir de temps en temps et toutefois et quantes qu\u2019il\nleur appartient de droit et de raison. S\u00e7auoir est les 3 disners par\nchacun a chascun des plaids Cappitaulx de ladite cour. C\u2019est a s\u00e7auoir\n\u00e0 la feste St. Michel, \u00e0 Noel, et \u00e0 pasques. Item leurs disners toutes\nfois et quantes que par le dit recepveur seront requis et contraints\nd\u2019aller reuisiter les Keys de la Coste de la mer et le cours des eaux\net que eux en feroient leur debvoir comment de droit et de raison\nil appartient \u00e0 leurs offices. Item--toutes fois et quantes que les\ndits vavasseurs, leurs valets, et seruans et les autres Sergeants et\nofficiers a qu\u2019il appartient iroient en chevauch\u00e9e pour reuisiter\nen ladite Isle leurs debvoirs semblablement--C\u2019est a s\u00e7auoir quant\neux se sont represent\u00e9s deuant la porte de la dite prieuret\u00e9 et eux\ndoiuent monter a cheval eux doivent auoir du pain et du vin abondamment\net honestement seruis--Item pareillement eux doivent estre seruis\net administrer de pain et de vin par la main du prevost de mon dit\nseigneur deuant la porte de l\u2019eglise de St. pierre port lequel preuost\ndoit estre pr\u00e9sent a la dite chevauch\u00e9e; et doit estre illeques une\nronde table mise fournie et garnie bien et honnestement de doublier,\npain et vin es coustages de mon dit Seigneur. Item quant eux seront\narriv\u00e9s es portes de pleinmont eux doiueut auoir du pair et a boire\net quant eux seront retournez a la dite prieuret\u00e9 et eux auront ainsi\nfait leurs debvoir eux doivent avoir a disner bien et honnestement\ntous ensemble es despens et coustages de mon dit Seigneur. Lequel\nseruice iceux officiers confessoient estre tenus de droit et de raison\nde trois ans en trois ans par la dignit\u00e9 de leurs offices. Item leurs\ndisners semblablement toutes fois et quant qu\u2019eux taxent les amendes\nde la dite cour. Item aussi a Noel et a Pasques quant eux rendent et\npayent les francs tenans (?) C\u2019est a s\u00e7auoir les chapons a Noel et les\noeufs a pasques. Lesquelles choses et chacune d\u2019icelles en la forme\net mani\u00e8re comme dessus est dit et desclar\u00e9. Le dit attourn\u00e9 au nom\nque dit est, proposoit adonques contre le dit recepveur, deffenseur\ncomme dessus est dit; et qu\u2019a jceux officiers appartenoit de droit\net d\u2019antienne coustume a raison et dignitez de leurs offices et cela\njceluy attourn\u00e9 offroit a prouver a suffire contre le dit deffenseur\net jceluy recepueur deffenseur comme dit est es auant dites parties,\npropos et callenges dust fait negacion; et le dit attourn\u00e9 dust prins\net offert a prouver \u00e0 suffire contre le dit deffenseur es quelles\nparties nous assignames certain jour es premiers plaids de la dite Cour\nc\u2019est a s\u00e7avoir au dit attourn\u00e9 a faire sa preuve et audit deffenseur a\nla soustenir. Sachent tous que le Jour du Jeudy neufi\u00e8me jour du mois\nde Juillet l\u2019an de grace mille, quatre cents et trente-neuf, en la dite\ncour par-devant nous comme dit est les dites parties furent presentes\net personellemeut compareutes, et leurs raisons recit\u00e9es et allegu\u00e9es\ntant de l\u2019une partie que de l\u2019autre. Le dit attourn\u00e9 prouva et informa\nbien et raisonnablement toute son jntention et propos estre bons et\nvrays en forme et mani\u00e8re comme dessus est dit, et desclare par le\nreport d\u2019un bon et loyal serment douze preud\u2019hommes de la dite paroisse\nde St. Michel du Valle, Jures et Sermentez de nostre ofice sur Saintes\neuangilles de dire et raporter uerit\u00e9 et loyault\u00e9 sur les cas, Item\nen outre et dabondant qu\u2019au Seigneur de ladite prieuret\u00e9 appartient a\nfaire curer et netoyer le fonds du douit du grand maresq appartenant a\nla dite prieuret\u00e9, estant a la dite paroisse et en cas qu\u2019aucune ordure\nsoit terre ou pierre cherroit dedans jceluy douit qu\u2019il doit estre\nnetoy\u00e9 et cur\u00e9 es coustages de ceux a quj la faute seroit trouu\u00e9 apr\u00e8s\nlequel raport de serment fait et raport\u00e9 a la forme et mani\u00e8re comme\ndessus est dit nous condanmes (sic) (? confirmames) toutes et chacunes\nles choses dessus dites et desclarez enfin et par perpetuit\u00e9 d\u2019heritage\nen sa temps aduenir. En tesmoing desquelles choses nous avons a ces\npresentes lettres mis et appendu le seell de nos Armes l\u2019an et le Jour\nde susdit--Les parties a ce presentes.\n\nCollationn\u00e9 \u00e0 l\u2019original par nous soussignez Senechal et Vavasseurs de\nla dite cour de St. Michel le vingt et uni\u00e8me Jour du mois de May l\u2019an\nMille, six cents soixante et huit.\n\n  JEAN PERCHARD, Seneschal.\n  PHILIPPIN PAINT.\n  JEAN LE HURAY.\n  WILLIAM LE FAYVRE.\n  P. LE MARCHANT.\n  JAMES FALLA.\n  THOMAS DE JERSEY.\n  HELLIER DE JERS\u00c9.\n  PIERRE LA PERE.\n  JEAN DE GARIS.\n  JEAN FALLA.\n  JEAMES LIHOU.\n\n[Illustration: Sceau du Fief St. Michel du Valle.]\n\n_Contre Sceau_ Initiales du dit Seneschal.\n\n[35] EDITOR\u2019S NOTE.--The titles of the eleven vavasseurs are:--(1)\nGervaise--(2) Capelle--(3) Soulaire--(4) Maresq--(5) Grent Maison--(6)\nGaris--(7) B\u00e9hon--(8) Agenor--(9) Piquemie--(10) Le Moye--(11) Hou\u00ebt.\nThe titles of the sergeants:--(1) Gaillot--(2) Bordier Paisson--(3) de\nla Lande--(4) Roques des Roques--(5) Bourg--(6) l\u2019Ange. The titles of\nthe bordiers:--(1) B\u00e9querel--(2) Rebour--(3) Renost--(4) Ricard--(5)\nNant--(6) Salmon--(7) Infart--(8) Scarabie.\n\n\n\u201cBriser La Hanse.\u201d\n\nThis was a curious civic ceremony which was abolished in the early part\nof this century. In each of our parishes there are a certain number of\nfunctionaries called douzeniers, because the corps in question consists\nof twelve (douze) members, except in St. Peter Port, where there are\ntwenty, and at St. Michel du Valle, where there are sixteen. When one\nof these officers was elected, he had to give a feast, to which the\nelectors carried an enormous bouquet of flowers \u201c\u00e0 deux hanses\u201d--with\ntwo handles. The dinner finished and the cloth removed, each man filled\nhis glass, and the abdicating douzenier (le douzenier _d\u00e9hans\u00e9_) broke\none of these handles, previously dipping the bouquet into his glass,\nand drinking the health of the douzenier _hans\u00e9_. Then the bouquet went\nround from hand to hand, each man, while moistening it with the spirit\nthat bubbled in his glass, adding his toast to the newly elected or\n_hans\u00e9_ douzenier.\n\n\nLocal Customs--Aquatic.\n\n    \u201cHeureux peuple des champs, vos travaux sont des f\u00eates.\u201d\n\n                                            --_St. Lambert._\n\n\nVraicing.\n\nThe months of June, July, and August, form one of the principal seasons\nfor the collection of the seaweed with which the rocky shores of\nGuernsey abound, and which, from time immemorial, has proved a most\nvaluable resource to the farmer, not only as affording an excellent\nmanure for the land, but also, in the case of the poorer cottagers and\nfishermen who inhabit the coast, an unfailing supply of fuel. Many\nindeed of these gain almost their entire livelihood by collecting\nthe \u201cvraic\u201d as it is locally termed, which they sell to their richer\nneighbours for dressing the land, or which, after drying on the shore,\nthey stack for their winter firing. The ashes, which are carefully\npreserved, always command a ready market, being considered one of\nthe best manures that can be applied to the land in preparing it for\ncertain crops. The qualities of seaweed in general as a fertilizer are\nso highly appreciated that it has given rise to the agricultural adage\n\u201c_point de vraic, point de hautgard_\u201d--no sea-weed, no stack yard. It\nhas been remarked that dry seasons are unfavourable to the growth of\nsea-weed, and that rain is almost as essential to its development as it\nis to that of the grass of the field--a singular fact, when we remember\nthat the marine plant has always a supply of moisture.\n\n[Illustration: Vraicing.]\n\nSea-weed is distinguished into two kinds \u201c_vraic venant_\u201d--drift weed,\nand \u201c_vraic sci\u00e9_\u201d--cut weed. The former is that which, like the\nleaves and branches of a tree, are severed from the place of growth by\nnatural decay, or by the violence of storms, and is thrown up by the\naction of the waves on the shore. The latter is that which is detached\nfrom the rocks by the hand of man, generally with the aid of a small\nsickle. The collecting of sea-weed, whether drift or cut, is subject to\nstringent regulations, framed with a view both of preventing dangerous\nquarrels among those engaged in the occupation, and also of ensuring a\nregular supply of so precious a commodity by allowing sufficient time\nfor its growth. In Guernsey the Royal Court has always legislated on\nthe subject, but on the coasts of Normandy and Brittany it appears to\nhave been the province of the Church to regulate the matter, and the\nharvesting of the sea-weed never began until the parish priest had\nsolemnly blessed the undertaking.\n\nDriftweed may be collected at all seasons, but only between sunrise\nand sunset. It is found left on the beach by the retiring tide, or\nis dragged on shore by means of long rakes from amidst the breakers\nthat roll in during, or after, heavy gales. This is hard work, and\nnot unattended with danger. The men are frequently up to their waists\nin the water, and the shelving pebbly beach affords but an insecure\nfooting. The rakes are often wrenched out of the men\u2019s hands by the\nviolence of the waves, and hurled back among them, inflicting severe\nbruises and sometimes even broken limbs. The collecting of the cut\nweed or \u201c_vraic sci\u00e9_\u201d is quite another thing. Although entailing a\ngreat deal of labour, it is looked upon, especially in summer, as a\nsort of holiday. There are two seasons during which it is lawful to\ncut: the first begins with the first spring-tide after Candlemas, and\nlasts about five weeks, during the whole of which time every person\nis allowed to collect as much as he wants for manuring his lands. The\nsecond cutting, which is chiefly for fuel, commences about Midsummer\nand lasts until the middle of August. Immemorial usage, strengthened\nby legal enactment, has consecrated the first eight days of cutting at\nthis season to the poor. During this time none but those who are too\npoor to possess a horse or cart are allowed the privilege of gathering\nthe vraic, which, when cut, they must bring to high water mark on\ntheir backs. After this concession to the less fortunate brethren, the\nharvest is thrown open to all. Then it is that the country people,\nuniting in parties consisting frequently of two or three neighbouring\nfamilies, resort to the beach with their carts, to watch the ebbing\ntide, and secure a favourable spot for their operations. All who can\nbe spared from the necessary routine work of the farm attend on these\noccasions. The younger people adorn their hats with wreaths of flowers,\nthe horses\u2019 heads are decked with nosegays, and even the yoke of the\npatient ox is not without its floral honours. Once arrived on the\nsea-shore, not a moment is lost, for time and tide wait for no man,\nand first come, first served. The sickle is plied vigorously, and\nsmall heaps of the precious weed are collected and marked with a flat\npebble, on which the name or initials of the proprietor are chalked.\nThe men wade across the \u201ccols\u201d or natural causeways leading to the\noutlying rocks, and, when the tide begins to flow, hastily load the\ncarts, or the ample panniers with which the horses are provided, and\nhurry off to deposit their hard-earned store above high-water mark. In\nthe meantime the younger members of the party range along the beach,\nturning over the stones in search of that esteemed mollusc the \u201cormer\u201d\nor sea-ear (_Haliotis tuberculata_) which, when well cooked--a secret\nonly known to a native of the isles--is really a delicious morsel. Not\nunfrequently crabs of various kinds are turned out of their hiding\nplaces, and hurry off, holding up their formidable pincers in defiance\nand defence, but are soon adroitly transferred to the \u201c_behotte_\u201d--a\nsmall basket, narrow mouthed and flattened on one side, which hangs\nby a belt from the shoulder of the youth or maiden. Here and there\na larger mass of rock is with difficulty raised, and a goodly sized\nconger-eel, disturbed from his snug retreat, glides away like a snake\nand endeavours to hide himself in the grass-like \u201c_plize_\u201d (_Zostera\nMarina_). A blow on the head stuns him, and he goes to join the\ncaptive ormers and crabs. Perhaps one of those hideous monsters of the\ndeep, the cuttle fish, is dislodged. His long tentacles, armed with\ninnumerable suckers, which attach themselves strongly to anything they\ntouch, his parrot-like bill and large projecting eyes, staring with a\nfixed gaze, are calculated to inspire alarm, but the trenchant sickle\nmakes short work of him, and his scattered limbs remain on the spot to\nform a meal for the crabs.\n\nThe laugh and the jest are to be heard on all sides--even the brute\ncreation seem to enjoy the change. The horses, generally quiet, scamper\nover the sands and rocks, neighing joyously to one another; the farm\ndogs are busy hunting the small crabs that everywhere abound, or\nrushing into the water after the stones thrown by the children. A\nmore animated scene can nowhere be witnessed, and, when lighted up by\na bright summer sun, none more worthy of being studied by the artist.\nThe rich colouring of the rocks, the lustrous bronzed tints of the\nmoist sea-weed, the delicate hues of the transparent water as it lies\nunruffled in the small pools left by the retiring wave, the groups of\noxen and horses with their shining summer coats, and the merry faces of\nthe peasantry, form a picture which no true lover of nature can ever\nforget. But the tide is rising, and drives the busy crowd before it.\nBefore, however, they leave the strand, the younger men choose their\nfavourite lasses, and lead them, already thoroughly drenched, to meet\nthe advancing wave. Hand-in-hand they venture in; the confiding girl\nis enticed onwards, and suddenly finds herself immersed over head and\nears in the water. Some, more coy, feign to fly, sure to be overtaken\nand share the same fate. The whole scene is vividly portrayed by Mr.\nM\u00e9tivier in his poem of the \u201cSea Weeders\u201d written in 1812.\n\nAt last, all re-assemble on the grassy sward that lines the shore,\nand join their respective parties. The careful housewife has baked\nbeforehand a plentiful supply of \u201cg\u00e2che\u201d and biscuits; the rich\ngolden-coloured butter has been kept from the market, much to the\nannoyance of the thrifty matron in town, who finds the price enhanced\nin consequence; the small barrel of cider is broached, and all make a\nhearty meal. The remaining hours of daylight are employed in carting\naway the vraic or spreading it out on the downs to dry, and, when\nnight has set in, many assemble again at some neighbouring tavern and\nend the day with song and dance. The old fashioned \u201c_chifournie_\u201d or\nhurdy-gurdy--the _rote_ of medi\u00e6val times--has given way to the modern\nfiddle, but the songs are still those that delighted their ancestors.\nMost, if not all of them, have been originally derived from France,\nwhere it is far from improbable that they are now forgotten except in\nsome remote country villages, but it is curious to find that they are\nstill sung by the Canadian boatmen, and \u201cBelle Rose, au Rosier Blanc\u201d\nand \u201cA la Claire Fontaine\u201d are as familiar to the American descendants\nof the Normans as they are to the Guernsey peasant.\n\n\nOrmering.\n\nAnother favourite amusement of the young people in the country,\nbesides the merry-making which accompanies and follows the collection\nof sea-weed in summer, is the forming of parties to take the ormer, a\nshell-fish which abounds at low water at the spring-tides in spring\nand autumn. The ormer is the _Haliotis tuberculata_ of naturalists,\nand derives its name from its resemblance in shape to an ear--_auris\nmarina_--\u201coreille de mer.\u201d The shell, which was formerly thrown away,\nis now carefully collected and exported, as it enters largely into the\njapanned ware manufactured at Birmingham and elsewhere, the lustre of\nthe interior of the shell surpassing in brilliancy and variety of tints\nthat of the best mother-of-pearl. It is not, however, for the sake of\nthe shell that this mollusc is sought, but for the fish itself, which,\nafter being well beaten to make it tender, and cooked in brown sauce,\nforms a favourite dish. Like the limpet, the ormer adheres strongly to\nthe rock, from which it requires some degree of strength to detach it,\nbut it seems to possess considerable powers of locomotion, and appears\nto come up from the deep water at certain seasons of the year, probably\nfor the purpose of depositing its ova. It is a curious instance of the\nlocal distribution of animal life that, although the ormer is known in\nthe Mediterranean, and is found all along the western shores of Spain\nand France, and in great quantities on the coasts of Brittany, it has\nnever been discovered much to the eastward of Cherbourg, nor on the\nEnglish side of the Channel.\n\nThe localities in which the ormer abounds are the rocky bays, of which\nthere are so many around our coast, and there it is found at the proper\nseasons adhering to the under surface of the loose boulders. It is no\ntrifling work to turn over these stones, but the searcher often returns\nhome laden with several hundred ormers, and not infrequently he has\nalso added a crab or a conger to his store.\n\n\nSand-Eeling.\n\nThe catching of the sand-eel, or \u201c_lanchon_\u201d as it is locally termed,\ntakes place on nights when the moon is at her full, and at low water:\nit is pursued more as a recreation than as a source of profit. Parties\nof young men and women unite and resort to some sandy bay or creek as\nthe tide is ebbing, armed with blunted sickles, two-pronged forks, or\nany instrument with which the sand can be easily stirred. The fish,\non being disturbed, rise to the surface of the sand with a leap. They\nare very agile in their movements, but their bright silvery sides,\nglittering in the moon-beams, betray them to their active pursuers, and\nbefore they have time to burrow again in the sand they are caught with\nthe hand and transferred to the basket. It is more easy to imagine than\ndescribe the fun and merriment to which this sport gives rise; how in\nthe eagerness of the pursuit, a false step will place the incautious\nmaiden up to the waist in a pool of water, and subject her to the good\nnatured laughter of her merry companions; how an apparently accidental\npush from behind will cause a youth, who is stooping down to gather\nup the fish, to measure his whole length on the wet sand; or how a\nmalicious step will splash one or more of the party from top to toe. To\nthe lovers of the picturesque the localities in which this sport takes\nplace add not a little to the charm of the scene. The broad sands of\nVazon Bay, those of La Saline and other creeks on the western shores\nof the island, hemmed in on all sides by reefs of rock, and, above\nall, that most lovely spot called Le Petit Port, which lies at the\nfoot of the precipitous cliffs of Jerbourg, seen in the full light of\nthe harvest moon, leave impressions on the mind that are not easily\nforgotten.\n\nAlthough the coasts of the island abound in fish of various sorts,\nsea-fishing, as an amusement, is very little resorted to. The reason\nof this is no doubt to be found in the strong tides and currents and\ndangerous rocks which surround us on every side, and which render\nit imprudent to venture out to sea unless under the guidance of an\nexperienced pilot. Of late years, however, the extension of the harbour\nworks into deep water has brought the fish within reach without the\nrisk of hazarding one\u2019s life by venturing on the fickle sea, and\nthe \u201ccontemplative man\u2019s amusement\u201d is becoming daily more and more\npopular. Crowds of men and boys may be seen in all sorts of weather\nand at all hours of the day angling from the pier heads, and not\ninfrequently making very fair catches.\n\nAlthough prawns and shrimps are tolerably plentiful, there are but\nfew who take the trouble of catching them for the market, but the\npursuit of these delicate crustaceans is a favourite amusement, and\nis occasionally indulged in by persons of all ranks, the shores of\nHerm and Jethou, and the bays of the Pezerie and Rocquaine being the\nbest spots at low tide for the sport. Inglis, in his work on the\nChannel Islands, remarks \u201cthat so various are tastes in the matter of\nrecreation, that he has seen individuals who found as much pleasure in\nwading for half-a-day, knee-deep among rocks, to make capture of some\nhandfuls of shrimps, as has ever been afforded to others in the pursuit\nof the deer or the fox.\u201d\n\n[Illustration: The Parish Church of S. Peter Port. A.D. 1846.]\n\n\nLocal Customs--Ceremonial.\n\n    \u201cWhat art thou, thou idle ceremony?\n    What kind of god art thou, that suffer\u2019st more\n    Of mortal grief than do thy worshippers!\n    Art thou aught else but place, degree, and form?\u201d\n\n                                     --_Shakespeare._\n\nAlthough the doctrines of the Reformation were introduced into Guernsey\nin the reign of Edward VI., and perhaps earlier, and the Liturgy put\nforth by authority in the reign of that monarch was translated into\nFrench and used in the churches,[36] it was not until the reign of\nElizabeth that the island became wholly Protestant.\n\nUp to this time the Channel Islands had formed part of the Diocese\nof Coutances in Normandy,[37] an arrangement which led to much\ninconvenience in times of war between France and England. Queen\nElizabeth put an end to this connection in the year 1568,[38] and\nattached the islands to the See of Winchester; but it was not until the\nRestoration of Charles II. that the change took full effect, and that\nthe islands were brought entirely within the discipline of the Church\nof England by authority of the Bill of Uniformity.\n\nIt is well known that it was part of Queen Elizabeth\u2019s policy to\nfavour the Huguenot party in France; and that in times of persecution\nthe followers of the Reformed faith always met with an hospitable\nreception in England. The Channel Islands, lying so close to the coast\nof France, and speaking the same language as was used in continental\nNormandy, were naturally chosen as places of refuge in times of\npersecution by the French Protestants, many of whom--and among them\nseveral ministers--resorted thither until more settled times enabled\nthem to return to their own homes. The old Roman Catholic rectors of\nthe parishes in Guernsey, who, apparently, had given a sort of half\nadhesion to the intermediate order of things, and had been allowed to\nretain possession of a portion, at least, of the emoluments of their\nbenefices, seem to have disappeared altogether shortly after the\nexcommunication of the Queen by Pope Pius V. in 1570.\n\nThe Governor of Guernsey, Sir Thomas Leighton, who favoured the views\nof the Puritan party in the Church, filled up the vacant pulpits with\nFrench refugee ministers, and probably it would have been difficult\nat that time to find any others.[39] The same course seems to have\nbeen followed in Jersey. These ministers very naturally preferred\ntheir own form of conducting divine worship to that of the Anglican\nChurch, and, on the representation of the Governors of both the\nislands, permission was given by the Queen for the use of the Genevan\nform in the churches of the towns of St. Peter Port in Guernsey, and\nof St. Helier in Jersey. This permission was renewed by King James\nI. on his accession to the throne; and the natural consequence was,\nthat not only the Presbyterian form of worship soon spread into every\nparish in the islands, but that the Presbyterian discipline and\nChurch government were firmly established, and the authority of the\nBishop of Winchester totally ignored. To this discipline the people\nof Guernsey clung with great pertinacity, and the attempts during the\nGreat Rebellion of the Brownists and other fanatical sects to introduce\ntheir peculiar doctrines, met with little or no favour. It was not\nwithout some opposition that Episcopacy was brought in, most of the\nministers refusing to conform to the new order of things, and giving\nup their livings in consequence.[40] The people had nothing to say in\nthe matter: they were bound by the Act of Uniformity, but, in deference\nto their feelings and prejudices, certain practices were allowed to be\nretained, and certain others dispensed with.\n\nNo great objection could be made to a set form of prayer, for something\nof the kind was in use in the French Reformed Church; but the Litany\nof the Church of England seems to have given great offence--probably\nfrom its close resemblance to some of those used in the Romish\nChurch--insomuch that many persons at first abstained altogether\nfrom attending the morning service; and, although in the present\nday no objection exists to this, or any other part of the Liturgy,\nit is, perhaps, owing to habits then contracted, and handed down\nfrom generation to generation, that so many, especially in the rural\nparishes, absent themselves from church in the forenoon. The use of the\nsign of the cross in baptism, in deference to the strong prejudices\nof the people, who seem to have looked upon it as the Mark of the\nBeast, was not at first insisted upon, but, in order to counteract\nthis feeling, the thirtieth Canon \u201cOn the lawful use of the Cross in\nBaptism,\u201d was inserted at the end of the Baptismal Service in the\nFrench translation of the Book of Common Prayer printed for use in the\nislands, and there is every reason to believe that the objection to\nthis practice soon died out.\n\nProbably, kneeling at the Holy Communion was received with little\nfavour, for we find that the first introduction of this practice on\nthe 12th of October, 1662, was thought worthy of a note in a journal\nkept by a parish clerk and schoolmaster of that day--Pierre Le Roy--who\nwisely abstained from any comment on the event. To this day appliances\nfor kneeling are rare in many pews, and at the beginning of the\nnineteenth century most of the congregation remained seated during the\nsinging of the metrical psalms, as is the practice in the Presbyterian\nchurches in Scotland and on the Continent.\n\nBaptismal fonts are of recent introduction, the order to put them up in\nall the parish churches having been given by the Bishop of Winchester\n(Dr. C. R. Sumner) on the occasion of his primary visitation to this\nportion of his diocese in September, 1829, he being the first Prelate\nof that See who had deigned to inspect the state of the churches in\nthe islands since the time that they were placed under the care of an\nAnglican Bishop by Queen Elizabeth. Before fonts were provided, the\nrite of baptism was administered at the altar, the minister, standing\nwithin the rail, receiving the water at the proper moment from the\nclerk, who poured it into his hand from a silver ewer.\n\nIn the absence of periodical visits from a Bishop, the rite of\nconfirmation had, of course, become a dead letter. It was administered\nin 1818, for the first time since the Reformation, by Dr. Fisher,\nBishop of Salisbury, who had been deputed to consecrate two\nnewly-erected churches by the then Bishop of Winchester, who was too\nold and infirm to undertake the duty himself. Before that time--and\nindeed for some considerable time later--it was customary to give\nnotice from the pulpit, previously to the quarterly celebration of the\nHoly Communion, that young persons desirous of communicating for the\nfirst time should attend in the vestry on a certain day. This notice\nwas, of course, given in the parish churches in French--the language of\nthe great majority of the people of that time--and the word used for\n\u201cvestry,\u201d and which we have so translated, was \u201cConsistoire.\u201d No doubt,\nunder the Presbyterian discipline, the examination of catechumens took\nplace before the Consistory, composed of the minister and elders of the\nchurch.\n\nTill a comparatively recent period the Holy Communion was only\nadministered quarterly, and at the great festivals of Christmas,\nEaster, Whitsuntide and Michaelmas. A preparatory sermon was generally\npreached at an evening service held on the day before the communion,\nand on this occasion a metrical version of the Decalogue was usually\nsung instead of a psalm or hymn. This was a practice borrowed from the\nFrench Reformed Church, as was also that of singing the 100th Psalm\nwhile the non-communicants were leaving the church, some portions of\nthe 103rd Psalm while the communion was being administered, and, just\nbefore the final benediction, the Song of Simeon, \u201cNunc Dimittis.\u201d\n\nMen and women communicated separately, the men first and the women\nafterwards,--a relic doubtless of the time when they were kept apart in\nthe church. No one thought of leaving the rails until all who knelt at\nthe same time had communicated, when the officiating minister dismissed\nthem with these words:--\n\n    \u201cAllez en paix; vivez en paix,\n    Et que le Dieu de Paix vous b\u00e9nisse.\u201d\n\nOr\n\n    \u201cQue le Dieu de Paix soit avec vous.\u201d\n\nThey then retired to make room for others. In parishes where weekly\ncollections were made at the church door for the relief of the poor,\nit was customary for the minister to say immediately after the final\nbenediction:\n\n    \u201cAllez en paix; vivez en paix;\n    Et en sortant de ce temple souvenez vous des pauvres.\u201d\n\nAll these peculiar customs, which had been handed down from\nPresbyterian times, are rapidly disappearing. In the days when the\ncelebration of the Lord\u2019s Supper was confined to stated days, it was\nthe custom in some of the country parishes to deck out the churches for\nthe occasion with branches of evergreens, as at Christmas. Also, on the\nday of the communion it was considered irregular to appear in coloured\nclothes. Black was universally worn, and many old people, both in town\nand country, but especially in the country, keep to the old custom.\n\nThe practice of publishing the banns of marriage immediately after the\nrecital of the Nicene Creed, and not after the Second Lesson, as is\ndone in England, has been retained in Guernsey; the Act of Parliament\nof George II., which was supposed to change the custom of the church\nin this respect, and to do away with the express injunctions in the\nrubric, not including the Channel Islands in its provisions. In the\ncountry parishes, where the cemeteries are in the immediate vicinity\nof the churches, it is now--though it was not so in former days--the\ncustom to carry the corpse into the church for the reading of the\nappointed Psalms and Lesson; but in Town, where the burial-grounds\nare, for the most part, at some considerable distance from the sacred\nbuilding, this part of the service was, till of late years, entirely\ndispensed with. It is customary, however, for the Clergy, sometimes to\nthe number of three or four, to attend at the house of the deceased, if\ninvited so to do, and to head the procession to the church or cemetery.\nA pious custom existed formerly--which, one is sorry to say, has of\nlate years fallen almost entirely into disuse--no man ever commenced a\nnew work, or even began the usual routine work of the season, without\nmaking use of these words \u201cAu nom de Dieu soit!\u201d Wills and many other\nlegal documents, the books in which the Acts of the Royal Court and\nof the States of the island are registered, as well as those used by\nmerchants and tradesmen in their business, all commenced with this\nformula. In many cases it evidently took the place of the sign of the\ncross. All sittings of the Royal Court and of the States of the island,\nas well as the meetings of parishioners in the Vestry, and of the\nparochial councils known as Douzaines, are opened by the recitation of\nthe Lord\u2019s Prayer, and closed by the Apostolic Benediction.\n\n[36] EDITOR\u2019S NOTE.--_Comet_, June 29th, 1889.--\u201cAt the sale of Lord\nCrawford\u2019s effects, held in London last week, Messrs. Sotheby sold to\nMessrs. Ellis, of Bond Street, a Prayer Book, translated into French\nfor the special use of Channel Islanders. The book dates as far back\nas 1553, and was sold for the price of \u00a370. The following is a full\ndescription of the book taken from the catalogue:--678--Liturgy,\nLivre des Pri\u00e8res communes de l\u2019administration des sacremens et\nautres c\u00e9r\u00e9monies en l\u2019Eglise de l\u2019Angleterre. Traduit en Francoys\npar Francoys Philippe, serviteur de Monsieur le Grand Chancelier\nd\u2019Angleterre. (Fine copy in blue morocco extra gilt edges by W.\nPratt, excessively rare). Sm. 4to. (Paris). De l\u2019imprimerie de Thomas\nGaultier, Imprimeur du Roy en la langue Fran\u00e7aise, pour les Iles de\nSa Majest\u00e9--1553. The following is the collation of this extremely\nrare edition, purchased in the Tenison sale for \u00a339. (4) ff. Title,\nContents, Epistle to Bp. of Ely. Sig: AI-IV+ (4) ff. Preface des\nC\u00e9r\u00e9monies en sign. B.1.IV+ (14) ff. Table & Kalendar, Proper Psalms\nand Lessons. Acte pour Uniformit\u00e9. 4. (184) ff. Texte. The translation\nwas made from the second book of King Edward VI. for the use of the\nInhabitants of the Channel Islands.\u201d\n\n[37] Boniface IX. being Pope, Clement VII. Anti-Pope in France, and the\nBishop of Coutances taking his side, the Bishop of Nantes was appointed\nby Boniface administrator of the See of Coutances, and the King of\nEngland, Richard II., addressed a letter to the Governors, Bailiffs,\nJurats, and other inhabitants of Jersey and Guernsey, ordering them to\nobey the Bishop of Nantes in all spiritual matters. Rymer. Vol. VIII.\np. 131.\n\n[38] EDITOR\u2019S NOTE.--It was the excommunication of Queen Elizabeth\nby the Pope that led to the transference of the Channel Islands from\nthe Diocese of Coutances to that of Winchester. Canon MacColl in his\n\u201cReformation Settlement\u201d notes as an extraordinary fact that the\nBishop of Coutances so far disapproved of that excommunication as\nto have offered, on condition that his jurisdiction was allowed, to\ngive institution to those clergy whom the Queen might nominate from\nthe English Universities. In fact, up to the date of the bull of\nexcommunication, the islands remained under the jurisdiction of the\nBishop of Coutances, who permitted the use of the reformed Prayer Book,\nand ruled, apparently without a protest, over a portion of his diocese,\nin which the claim to supremacy on the part of the Pope was denied.\n\n[39] EDITOR\u2019S NOTE.--Mr. Matthieu Le Li\u00e8vre gives a slightly different\nversion. He says:--\u201cParmi ceux qui avaient quitt\u00e9 Guernesey pour\n\u00e9chapper au coups de la r\u00e9action catholique, se trouvait Guillaume\nBeauvoir, membre de l\u2019une des familles qui ont jou\u00e9 un grand r\u00f4le\ndans l\u2019histoire de l\u2019\u00eele, et qui occupa lui-m\u00eame, pendant neuf ans\n(1572-1581), la dignit\u00e9 de bailli, la premi\u00e8re magistrature du\npays.\u2026 Il s\u2019\u00e9loigna donc et se refugia avec sa femme \u00e0 Gen\u00e8ve, o\u00f9 il\ns\u00e9journa quelque temps et se fit avantageusement conna\u00eetre de Calvin\net de ses coll\u00e8gues. Rentr\u00e9 dans son \u00eele natale apr\u00e8s la mort de la\nreine Marie, il fut frapp\u00e9 de la n\u00e9cessit\u00e9 d\u2019appeler au plus t\u00f4t un\nhomme de t\u00eate et de pi\u00e9t\u00e9 pour relever les affaires de la R\u00e9forme \u00e0\nGuernesey. Il \u00e9crivit donc aux pasteurs de Gen\u00e8ve, et \u00e0 Calvin en\nparticulier, pour leur demander un ministre. La Compagnie des Pasteurs\ns\u2019en occupa et envoya \u00e0 la jeune Eglise de Guernesey le ministre\nNicolas Baudoin, porteur de deux lettres de recommandation address\u00e9es\n\u00e0 Guillaume Beauvoir, et sign\u00e9es, l\u2019une Charles Despeville (l\u2019un des\npseudonymes de Calvin) et l\u2019autre Raymond Chauvet, l\u2019un des Pasteurs\nde Gen\u00e8ve.\u201d--_Histoire du M\u00e9thodisme dans les Iles de la Manche_, par\nMatthieu Le Li\u00e8vre, D.D., pp. 38-39.\n\n[40] EDITOR\u2019S NOTE.--Pierre Le Roy\u2019s Diary, 24th Sept., 1662. \u201cIl\nest arriv\u00e9 dans cette ile une compagnie de cent soldats avec un\nmajor, un capitaine, et des officiers, \u00e0 cause de quelque opposition\n\u00e0 l\u2019Acte d\u2019Uniformit\u00e9. Les ministres n\u2019ont pas voulu s\u2019y soumettre\net ont abandonn\u00e9 leurs cures, savoir M. Le Marchant, du Valle et de\nSaint-Samson; M. Perchard, de Saint Pierre-du-Bois; M. Morehead, de\nSaint-Sauveur; M. de la Marche, du C\u00e2tel, et M. H\u00e9rivel, de la For\u00eat\net de Torteval.\u201d John de Sausmarez, formerly Rector of St. Martin\u2019s\nparish, was made Dean in 1662, and he and one of his colleagues,\nPierre de Jersey, were the first to establish the new ritual. Thomas\nLe Marchant, who was virtually the head of the Presbyterian party,\nand as such was especially hated by Dean de Sausmarez, was shut up\nfirst in Castle Cornet in 1663, and in 1665 in the Tower of London,\ntill September, 1667, when he was liberated, \u201cayant donn\u00e9 caution de\nmille livres sterling qu\u2019il ne pr\u00e9sumera pas en aucun temps d\u2019aller\ndans l\u2019\u00eele de Guernesey \u00e0 moins qu\u2019il n\u2019ait pour le faire une license\nsp\u00e9ciale de Sa Majest\u00e9, et qu\u2019il se comportera \u00e0 l\u2019avenir comme un\nrespectueux et loyal sujet,\u201d etc. He had married Olympe Roland, and\nhis son El\u00e9azar was later Lieutenant Bailiff of Guernsey.--See also\n_Histoire du Methodisme dans les Isles de la Manche_, par Matthieu Le\nLi\u00e8vre, 1885, p. 112.\n\n\nBirth and Baptism.\n\nOn the birth of a child notice is usually sent to the nearest\nrelations, and as soon as the mother is sufficiently recovered she\nreceives the visits and congratulations of her friends. It is customary\nto offer cake and wine to the visitors on these occasions. The wine\nmust on no account be refused, but the health of the child must be\nduly drunk, and the glass drained, for it is considered extremely\nunlucky to leave a drop behind. The christening feast still retains the\nancient name of \u201c_Les Aubailles_\u201d from the white garment or alb--in\nFrench \u201caube\u201d--with which, in the early church, the recipients of\nbaptism were solemnly invested. It is customary for the sponsors to\nmake a present to the child, which usually takes the form of silver\nspoons, or a drinking cup. Before the re-establishment of Episcopacy\nat the Restoration there appears to have been only one sponsor of each\nsex. Of course the rubric which orders that every boy shall have two\ngodfathers, and every girl two godmothers, is now complied with, but\nthe second is invariably styled by the people the \u201clittle\u201d godfather or\ngodmother, and is often a child or very young person evidently only put\nin to comply with the requirements of the church.\n\nThe excess of feasting at baptisms and churchings as well as at\nmarriages and funerals seems to have reached to such an extent in\nthe early part of the seventeenth century as to call for repressive\nmeasures on the part of the legislature, at that time deeply imbued\nwith a puritanical spirit, and sumptuary laws of a very stringent\nnature were promulgated restricting the invitations on these occasions\nto the nearest relations, and prohibiting entirely all dancing, and\neven almsgiving.\n\nAfter baptism the child is sent round to its nearest relatives, and the\nold women say that a present of some sort, preferably an egg, should be\nplaced in the infant\u2019s hands, while visitors to the child are always\nexpected to put some money in the infant\u2019s hand for luck, and as a\ntoken that it shall never want, the value of the gift being of little\nmoment.\n\nIt is thought very unlucky to measure or weigh a child, such a\nproceeding being sure to stop its growth; and it is also supposed to be\nvery unlucky to cover up a baby\u2019s face when taking it to the church to\nbe christened, until the ceremony is over.\n\nIt is considered peculiarly unlucky for three children to be presented\nat the font at the same time for baptism, as it is firmly believed that\none of the three is sure to die within the year.[41]--_Communicated by\nthe Rev. C. D. P. Robinson, Rector of St. Martin\u2019s._\n\n[41] EDITOR\u2019S NOTE.--This superstition still continues, and was told me\nin 1896 by Mrs. Le Patourel and others. The doomed baby is supposed to\nbe the one christened _second_, or the middle one, and you still hear\nwomen say when their child has been christened with two others, \u201cOh,\nbut mine was an _end_ one.\u201d\n\n\nBetrothals and Weddings.\n\n    \u201cAs I have seene upon a Bridall day,\n    Full many maids clad in their best array,\n    In honour of the Bride come with their Flaskets\n    Fill\u2019d full with flowers: others in wicker baskets\n    Bring forth from the Marsh rushes, to o\u2019erspread\n    The ground whereon to Church the lovers tread;\n    Whilst that the quaintest youth of all the Plaine\n    Ushers their way with many a piping straine.\u201d\n\n           --_Brown\u2019s \u201cPastorals,\u201d written before 1614._\n\nFrom the reign of Elizabeth to the Restoration of Charles II., the\nPresbyterian form of church government, with its rigorous discipline,\nprevailed in the Island, and the betrothal--\u201cfian\u00e7ailles\u201d[42] of\npersons intending to take upon themselves the holy state of matrimony\nwas a solemn act, performed in the presence of the ministers and elders\nof the church, and which by an ordinance of the Royal Court of the year\n1572, was to be followed by marriage within six months at the latest.\nThe legislature of that day evidently disapproved of long engagements.\nThe promise was usually confirmed by a gift on the part of the\nbridegroom of some article of value, which was to be held by the bride\nas an earnest for the performance of the contract, and returned in case\nthe match was broken off by mutual consent. Traces of this custom are\nstill to be observed in the formal announcement of the engagement to\nrelations, and in the visits paid to them by the young couple in order\nto introduce each other reciprocally to those with whom they are to be\nhereafter more closely connected, as well as in the importance attached\nto the presents, locally termed \u201cgages\u201d[43] (pledges) given by the\nyoung man to his affianced bride.\n\nA round of entertainments usually succeeds the announcement of the\nintended marriage, at which in former days mulled wine used to be \u201cde\nrigueur,\u201d as indeed it was at all family merry makings and occasions of\nrejoicings.\n\nAmong the trading, agricultural, and labouring classes each party is\nexpected to bring his or her portion of the articles necessary to set\nup housekeeping. The man, for example, provides the bedstead, the\nwoman, the bed and the household linen, and very often the crockery\nand furniture. All, however, is looked upon as belonging to the\nwife, and is frequently secured to her by a regular contract entered\ninto before marriage, so that in case of the husband getting into\npecuniary difficulties, his creditors cannot lay claim to the household\nfurniture. The handsomely carved oaken chests, or large leather-covered\nboxes studded with brass nails, which were formerly to be seen in\nalmost all the old country houses, were used to contain the stock of\nlinen, and appear to have been in early days almost the only piece of\nornamental furniture of which the house could boast. This used to be\nbrought to the bridegroom\u2019s residence, with the rest of the articles\nprovided by the bride, a day or two before the wedding, and with a\ncertain degree of form, the bridegroom, or his best man, conducting\nthe cart which contained them,[44] and the nearest unmarried female\nrelative of the bride carrying the looking-glass or some other valued\nor brittle article. A similar custom still exists in Normandy and\nBrittany. It is considered highly unlucky for a bride to take any other\nway in going to the church to be married than that which she follows\nwhen going thither for her usual devotions. Flowers and rushes are\ninvariably strewn in the path of the bride and bridegroom as they leave\nthe church, and before the door of their future habitation.[45]\n\nOn the first or second Sunday after their wedding the newly-married\npair appear in church attended by the best man and the bridesmaid,\nand it is a point of etiquette for the bride and bridegroom to read\nand sing out of the same book, however many books there may be in the\npew. Among well-to-do people a series of parties in honour of the\nyoung couple ensue, which in the dialect of the country are called\n\u201c_reneuchons_,\u201d \u201c_neuches_\u201d being the local pronunciation of the French\nword \u201cnoces.\u201d\n\nIt appears from an ordinance of the Royal Court of 1625, when the\npuritanical spirit, which had come in with the Genevan discipline,\nwas at its height, that the poor at that time were in the habit of\nsoliciting alms at weddings, baptisms, and burials. This practice,\nas tending to keep up superstition and as dishonouring to God, was\nexpressly forbidden by the legislation under pain of corporal\npunishment to the beggar, and a fine to the giver of alms.[46]\n\n[42] \u201cThe custom of _flouncing_ is said to be peculiar to Guernsey.\nIt is an entertainment given by the parents of a young couple when\nthey are engaged, and the match has received approval. The girl\nis introduced to her husband\u2019s family and friends by her future\nfather-in-law, and the man similarly by hers; after this they must keep\naloof from all flirtation, however lengthy the courtship may prove. The\nbelief is that if either party break faith the other side can lay claim\nto a moiety of his or her effects.\u201d--From Brand\u2019s _Popular Antiquities\nof Great Britain_. Vol. II., p. 56.\n\n[43] EDITOR\u2019S NOTE.--Usually consisting of half-a-dozen or a dozen\n(according to the bridegroom\u2019s means) silver spoons, and a pair of\nsugar tongs, marked with the initials of bride and the customary \u201cbague\nde fian\u00e7ailles.\u201d\n\n[44] EDITOR\u2019S NOTE.--Besides this it was customary amongst farmers for\nthe parents of a bride to give her a cow, and the animal in this case\nfollowed the cart.--_From Mr. J. de Garis, Rouvets, St. Saviour\u2019s,\n1901._\n\n[45] EDITOR\u2019S NOTE.--Les \u201cgllajeurs\u201d--the wild marsh iris--was always\none of the favourite flowers for strewing in front of the bride, and\nall the water-lanes and marshes were ransacked for it. The wedding\nfestivities generally lasted for two or three days. The house on the\nwedding day was decorated with wreaths and crowns of flowers, and, as\nusual, the festivities began with dinner, for which the usual fare was\nroast beef, roast mutton, a ham, plum pudding, and, of course, \u201cg\u00e2che\n\u00e0 cor\u00eenthe,\u201d washed down with cider. Then came games, songs, etc.,\ntill tea time, and then the tables would be cleared for dancing, while\nmulled wine, cheese, and Guernsey biscuits would be handed round at\nintervals. All the relations, friends, and neighbours of course partook\nof these festivities. A few songs were sung, \u201cJean, gros Jean,\u201d being\na \u201csine qu\u00e2 non\u201d in the country parishes, and then the mulled wine was\nhanded round in cups, especially at midnight, as the clock struck. The\ncorrect formula before beginning to drink was\n\n    \u201cCher petit P\u00e8pinot\n    Quand je te v\u00e8\n    Tu parais bien\n    Si je te b\u00e8, j\u2019m\u2019en sentirai\n    Et si je te laisse j\u2019m\u2019en repentirai,\n    Faut donc bien mieux b\u00e8re, et m\u2019en sentir\n    Que de te laisser, et m\u2019n repentir!\n    A votre sant\u00e2\u00ef la coumpagnie!\u201d\n\nVery frequently at weddings people who knew what this formula led to\nput hanging beams from the \u201c_p\u00f4utre_,\u201d or central rafter for the men\nto hold on to! \u201c\u00c0 mon beau laurier qui danse\u201d was of course always\ndanced at the weddings, \u201cma coumm\u00e8re, et quand je danse\u201d was another\nvery favourite dance, the steps going to each syllable when sung, and\nthey also danced \u201cPoussette,\u201d which entirely consisted of the different\ninflections of the word \u201cPoussette,\u201d \u201cPou-set-te,\u201d alternately chanted\nsmoothly or jerkily. This feasting and dancing was kept up till five or\nsix the next morning, and very often for the next night as well, while\non the third day all the old people and non-dancers were asked in to\nfinish up the feast in peace.--_From Mrs. Mollet, Mrs. Marquand, and\nMrs. Le Patourel._\n\nThere are certain gifts from a man to his fianc\u00e9e which are supposed\nto be most unlucky to accept, as by so doing it would mean that the\nwedding would probably never take place. They are a watch and chain,\na brooch, and a Bible, and if he should present her with a knife or a\npair of scissors the only way to avert the ill-luck is to pay a penny\nfor them. Should a girl upset a chair before the wedding her marriage\nwill be delayed for a year. If a girl wishes to dream of the man she\nis to marry she must take some of the wedding cake on the day of\nthe wedding, pass it through a married woman\u2019s wedding ring, or, if\npossible, the bride\u2019s, (a widow\u2019s is of no avail) and put it under her\npillow, and dream on it for five consecutive nights, and the _last_\ndream will come true.--_From Fanny Ingrouille._\n\nA correspondent sent the following query in 1857 to \u201c_Notes and\nQueries_\u201d:--\u201cA month or two back a family, on leaving one of the\nChannel Islands, presented to a gardener (it is uncertain whether an\ninhabitant of the island or no) some pet doves, the conveyance of them\nto England being likely to prove troublesome. A few days afterwards the\nman brought them back, stating that _he was engaged to be married_,\nand the possession of the birds might be (as he had been informed) an\nobstacle to the course of true love remaining smooth.\u201d This was put in\nthe shape of a query, but no answer appeared. Doves and wild pigeons in\nGuernsey are supposed to be most unlucky birds to have in a house, so\nprobably the gardener had been told that they would bring ill-luck on\nhis future \u201cm\u00e9nage\u201d if he accepted them. The country people carry their\ndistrust of them so far that they say that their wings, worn in a hat,\nbring misfortune, and they are among the birds whose feathers in the\npillows of the dying prolong the death agony.\n\n\u201cCHEVAUCHERIE D\u2019ANE.\u201d\n\nIf after marriage a couple do not agree well together, they are\nadmonished by their neighbours by what, in England, is called \u201crough\nmusic.\u201d In M\u00e9tivier\u2019s Dictionary he describes two young people,\nboy and girl, back to back on a donkey, representing the guilty\nhusband and wife. They were followed by all the idlers of the\ndistrict singing a scurrilous rhyme, and surrounding the house of the\noffending pair, where the song and its accompaniments were kept up all\nnight.--_M\u00e9tivier\u2019s Dictionary, p. 23._\n\nNowadays putting the man and woman back to back on the donkey seems\nto be discontinued, but in St. Peter\u2019s-in-the-Wood, Miss Le Pelley, a\nresident in the parish, writes \u201cIf the young men of this parish find\nout that a man has beaten his wife they form two parties on opposite\nsides of his house, at about a distance of one hundred yards from it,\nand blow conch shells, first one and then the other in answer. They\nkeep this noise up for a long time so that the married couple may feel\nashamed of themselves. I have not heard them just lately (1896), but\none year it was very frequent, and such a nuisance.\u201d--See in Brand\u2019s\n_Antiquities_, Vol. 2, p. 129, the articles on \u201cRiding the Stang\u201d in\nYorkshire, said also to be known in Scandinavia.\n\n[46] It is not unusual in the country parishes for the young men of\nthe neighbourhood to assemble around the house in the evening and to\nfire off their militia muskets or fowling pieces in honour of the\nwedding, in return for which they are regaled with a cup of wine to\ndrink the health of the newly-married pair. If the marriage is between\npersons connected with the shipping interest all the vessels in port\nmake a point of displaying their flags, and a few bottles of wine are\ndistributed in return among the crews. Marriages among the country\npeople are frequently celebrated on a Sunday, immediately before the\nmorning service. If it is the intention of the newly-married couple to\nattend the service they make it a point to leave the Church and return\nafter a short interval, as an idea prevails that if they remained in\nthe Church until the prayers of the day have been begun the marriage\nwould be illegal.--_From Rev. J. Giraud, Rector of Saint Saviour\u2019s._\n\n\nDeaths and Funerals.\n\nAs soon as a death occurs in a family a servant or friend is\nimmediately sent round to announce the sad event to all the nearest\nrelatives of the deceased, and the omission of this formality is looked\nupon as a great slight, and a legitimate cause of offence. If any\nperson enter a house where a corpse is lying it is considered a mark of\ngreat disrespect not to offer a sight of it, and it is thought equally\ndisrespectful on the part of the visitor if the offer is declined, as\nthe refusal is supposed to bring ill-luck on the house. When the day\nis fixed for the funeral a messenger is sent to invite the friends\nand relatives to attend, and in times gone by if those to be invited\nresided at any distance it was considered proper that this messenger\nshould be mounted on a black horse. Formerly the funeral feast was\nuniversal, of late years it is seldom heard of except in some of the\nold country families of the middle classes, among whom ancient customs\ngenerally abide longer than among the classes immediately above or\nbelow them.\n\nThe lid of the coffin is not screwed down until all the guests are\nassembled, and the person whose business it is to see to it, comes into\nthe room where they are met, and invites them to take a last look.\nHearses are almost unknown, even in cases where the distance from the\nhouse to the cemetery is considerable. The coffin is almost invariably\nborne on the shoulders by hired bearers, but in former days it was only\npersons of a certain standing in society who were considered entitled\nto this honour; the poor were carried by their friends, three on each\nside, bearing the coffin slung between them. Care was always taken that\nthe corpse was carried to the church by the way the deceased was in the\nhabit of taking during his lifetime.[47]\n\nThe custom of females attending funerals, which was formerly universal,\nhas disappeared entirely from the town, but in the country it is still\noccasionally observed, the mourners being attired in long black cloaks\nwith hoods that almost conceal the face. The funeral feast, when there\nis one, takes place when the cort\u00e8ge returns to the house of mourning.\nA chair is placed at the table where the deceased was wont to sit,\nand a knife, fork, plate, etc., laid before it as if he were still\npresent.[48] Tea and coffee, wine, cider, and spirits, cakes, bread and\ncheese, and more especially a ham, are provided for the occasion. The\nlast-named viand was, in bygone days, almost considered indispensable,\nand where they kept pigs,--and almost everyone then kept pigs--every\nyear, when the pig was killed, a ham was put away \u201cin case of a\nfuneral\u201d and was not touched till the next pig was killed and another\nham was put in readiness; and from thence it comes that \u201cm\u00e0ngier la\ntchesse \u00e0 quiqu\u2019un\u201d--\u201cto eat a person\u2019s ham\u201d--is proverbially used in\nthe sense of attending his funeral. The first glass of wine is drunk in\nsilence to the memory of the departed, whose good qualities are then\ndilated upon, but the conversation soon becomes general, and it not\nunfrequently happens that more liquor is imbibed than is altogether\ngood for the guests. In fact the mourners had generally to be conveyed\nhome in carts.[49]\n\nFrom ancient wills it seems that money was sometimes left for the\npurpose of clothing a certain number of poor, and from the ordinances\nof the Royal Court prohibiting begging at funerals, or even the\nvoluntary giving of alms on these occasions, it is not improbable that\nthe custom of distributing doles was, at one time, almost general.\nThere is no trace of it in the present day.\n\nTill within the last few years it was almost an universal custom, even\namong the dissenters, for the members of a household in which a death\nhad occurred, to attend their parish church in a body on the first or\nsecond Sunday after the funeral, and the custom is still kept up to\na certain extent. If they are regular frequenters of the church they\noccupy their usual seats, if not, they are placed, if possible, in some\nconspicuous part of the building, where they remain seated during the\nentire service, not rising even during those portions of the service\nin which standing is prescribed by the rubric. This is called \u201ctaking\nmourning,\u201d in French \u201cprendre le deuil.\u201d Widows remain seated in church\nduring the whole of the first year of their widowhood.\n\n[47] EDITOR\u2019S NOTE.--Mr. Allen told me (1896) that attending a short\ntime ago at a funeral in the Mount Durand, the corpse was to be carried\nto Trinity Church, to which of course the shortest route was _down_ the\nhill, but the widow of the deceased remonstrated so vigorously, saying\nthat she could not allow anything so unlucky to happen to her husband,\nas that he should start for his funeral _down hill_, that, in deference\nto her wishes they went _up_ the hill and round by Queen\u2019s-road.\n\n[48] At funeral feasts it was an ancient custom in Iceland to leave\nthe place of the dead man vacant.--See Gould\u2019s \u201c_Curiosities of Olden\nTimes_,\u201d p. 84.\n\n[49] EDITOR\u2019S NOTES.--Unless the forehead of the corpse is touched\nafter death the ghost will walk. When you go into a house of mourning\nand are shown the corpse you should always lay your hand on its\nforehead.--_From Fanny Ingrouille, of the Forest Parish._\n\nThe same idea prevails in Guernsey which we meet with in Yorkshire\nand many of the Eastern Counties of England that, having your pillow\nstuffed with pigeons\u2019, doves\u2019, or any _wild_ bird\u2019s feathers will cause\nyou to \u201cdie hard.\u201d--See _Notes and Queries_, 1st Series, Vol. IV.\n\nIt is also said that it is unlucky to keep doves in a house, but if\nthey are kept in a cage and anyone dies in the house, unless a crape\nbow is placed on the top of the cage they will die too.\n\nThe country people also believe that no one ever dies when the tide is\n_rising_. Frequently when talking of a death they will say, \u201cthe tide\nturned, and took off poor ---- with it.\u201d--_From Fanny Ingrouille and\nmany others._\n\n\n\n\nPart II.\n\nSuperstitious Belief and Practice.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER III.\n\nPrehistoric Monuments; and their Superstitions.\n\n    \u201cOf brownyis and of bogillus full is this buke.\u201d\n\n                                  --_Gawin Douglas._\n\n    \u201cD\u2019un pass\u00e9 sans m\u00e9moire, incertaines reliques\n    Myst\u00e8res d\u2019un vieux monde en myst\u00e8res \u00e9crits.\u201d\n\n                                    --_Lamartine._\n\n    \u201cAmong those rocks and stones, methinks I see\n    More than the heedless impress that belongs\n    To lonely Nature\u2019s casual work! They bear\n    A semblance strange of Power intelligent,\n    And of design not wholly worn away.\u201d\n\n                  --_Wordsworth_, _The Excursion_.\n\n\nThe island of Guernsey still contains many of those rude and ponderous\nerections commonly known by the name of Cromlechs, or Druids altars.\nThe upright pillar of stone or rude obelisk, known to antiquaries by\nthe Celtic name of Menhir also exists among us. Many of these ancient\nmonuments have no doubt disappeared with the clearing of the land and\nthe enormous amount of quarrying, and many have doubtless been broken\nup into building materials, or converted into fences and gateposts.\nBut the names of estates and fields still point out where they once\nexisted. Thus we find more than one spot with the appelation of\n\u201cPouquelaye.\u201d[50] \u201cLongue Rocque,\u201d or \u201cLongue Pierre,\u201d and the names\nof \u201cLes Camps Dolents,\u201d \u201cLes Rocquettes,\u201d and \u201cLes Tuz\u00e9s\u201d indicate the\nsites of monuments which have long since disappeared.\n\nThe researches carried on with so much care and intelligence by Mr.\nLukis have clearly proved that the Cromlechs were sepulchral; perhaps\nthe burial places of whole tribes, or at least of the families of the\nchieftains. This does not preclude the popular notion of their having\nbeen altars, for it is well known that many pagan nations were in the\nhabit of offering sacrifices on the tombs of their dead.\n\nThe following is a list of the principal Druidical structures, etc.,\nwhich we can identify, with an account of the traditional beliefs\nattached to them of their origin, etc.:--\n\nThe large Cromlech at L\u2019Ancresse called \u201cL\u2019Autel des Vardes.\u201d\n\nThe smaller Cromlech in the centre of L\u2019Ancresse, with a portion of\nanother similar structure to the east of it.\n\nA small portion of a Cromlech at La Mare \u00e8s Mauves, on the eastern base\nof the Vardes, almost in front of the target belonging to the Royal\nGuernsey Militia.\n\n[Illustration: \u201cL\u2019Autel des Vardes\u201d at L\u2019Ancresse.]\n\n\u201cLa Roque Balan.\u201d\n\n\u201cLa Roque qui Sonne\u201d (destroyed).\n\n\u201cLe Tombeau du Grand Sarrazin,\u201d in the district called Fortc\u00e0mp\n(destroyed).\n\n\u201cL\u2019Autel de D\u00e9hus,\u201d near above.\n\nSmall Cromlech at \u201cLa Vieille Hougue\u201d (destroyed).\n\n\u201cLe Tr\u00e9pied\u201d or the \u201cCatioroc.\u201d\n\n\u201cMenhir\u201d or \u201cLongue Pierre\u201d at Richmond.\n\n\u201cCreux \u00e8s F\u00e9es\u201d[51] in the parish of St. Pierre-du-Bois.\n\n\u201cLa Longue Roque\u201d or \u201cPalette \u00e8s F\u00e9es\u201d at the Paysans.\n\n\u201cLa Roque des F\u00e9es\u201d (destroyed).\n\n\u201cLe Gibet des F\u00e9es\u201d (destroyed).\n\n\u201cLa Chaire de St. Bonit\u201d (destroyed).\n\nIn the Island of Herm there are six or eight mutilated remains of\nCromlechs. In Lihou, none are left. In Sark, none are left.\n\nIt will be seen that the druidical stones are believed to be the\nfavourite haunt of the fairy folk, who live in the ant hills which are\nfrequently to be found in their vicinity, and who would not fail to\npunish the audacious mortal who might venture to remove them.\n\n[50] The name of \u201cPouquelaie\u201d given in various districts of Normandy,\nand in the Anglo-Norman Isles to megalithic monuments appears to be\ncomposed of two Celtic words, of which the latter, the Breton _lee-h_\nor _l\u00eah_ means a flat stone. The former of these words--_pouque_, some\netymologists say is derived from a Celtic word meaning, _To kiss_, or\n_adore_--and thus \u201cPouquelaie\u201d--_the stone we adore_; but many others\nthink with equal probability that _Pouque_ is derived from the same\nroot from whence we get _Puck_, the mad sprite Shakespeare has so well\ndescribed in his \u201cMidsummer\u2019s Night\u2019s Dream.\u201d The _pixies_, or Cornish\nand Devonshire fairies, and the _Phooka_, or goblin of the Irish, are\nevidently of the same family.\n\n[51] EDITOR\u2019S NOTES.--In _Traditions et Superstitions de la Haute\nBretagne_, M. Paul Sebillot, says:--\u201cEn g\u00e9n\u00e9ral les dolmens sont\nappel\u00e9s _grottes aux f\u00e9es_, ou _roches aux f\u00e9es_; c\u2019est en quelque\nsorte une d\u00e9sigation g\u00e9n\u00e9rique (p. 5). Les noms font allusion \u00e0 des\nf\u00e9es, aux lutins, parfois aux saints ou au diable. Comme on le verra\ndans les d\u00e9positions qui suivent, c\u2019est \u00e0 ces m\u00eames personnages que les\npaysans attribuent l\u2019\u00e9rection des M\u00e9galithes (p. 8.), etc.\u201d\n\nIn _Croyances et L\u00e9gendes du Centre de la France_, par Laisnel de la\nSalle, he says, Tome I., page 100:--\u201cLes f\u00e9es se plaisent surtout \u00e0\nerrer parmi les nombreux monuments druidiques \u2026 ou se dressent encore\nles vieux autels, l\u00e0 sont toujours pr\u00e9sentes les vieilles divinit\u00e9s.\u201d\n\n\n\u201cL\u2019AUTEL DES VARDES\u201d AT L\u2019ANCRESSE.\n\nThis consists of five enormous blocks of granite, laid horizontally on\nperpendicular piles, as large as their enormous covering. Around it,\nthe remains of a circle of stones, of which the radius is thirty-three\nfeet, and the centre of which coincides with the tomb. Mr. M\u00e9tivier\nsays in his \u201cSouvenirs Historiques de Guernesey\u201d that this \u201cCercle de\nla Plaine,\u201d in Norse _Land Kretz_, on this exposed elevation, could not\nfail to attract the attention of the Franks, Saxons, and Normans, and\nthus gave its name to the surrounding district.\n\nIn it were found bones, stone hatchets, hammers, skulls, limpet shells,\netc., etc.\n\nIt is perhaps to this latter fact that we must attribute the idea which\nis entertained by the peasantry that hidden treasures, when discovered\nby a mortal, are transformed in appearance by the demon who guards them\ninto worthless shells.\n\n\n\u201cLA ROQUE BALAN.\u201d\n\n\u201cLa Roque Balan\u201d was situated at the Mielles, in the Vale parish.\nIt is supposed by some to have taken its name from Baal, Belenus,\n(the Sun God), the Apollo of the Gauls, whom the Thuriens, a Grecian\ncolony, called _Ballen_, \u201cLord and King,\u201d and to whom they dedicated\na temple at Ba\u00efeux. The custom of lighting fires in honour of Bel or\nBaal continued in Scotland and Ireland almost to the beginning of this\ncentury. In Guernsey, at Midsummer, on the Eve of St. John\u2019s Day, June\n24th, the people used to go to this rock and there dance on its summit,\nwhich Mr. M\u00e9tivier describes in 1825 as being quite flat. The refrain\nof an old ballad proved this:\n\n    _\u201cJ\u2019iron tous \u00e0 la St. Jean_\n    _Dansa\u00efr \u00e0 la Roque Balan.\u201d_\n\nSome people conjecture this rock to be the base of a balancing, or\nLogan stone, and others again that it was the site where Dom Mathurin,\nPrior of St. Michel, weighed in the _balances_ the commodities of his\ntenants. But the most probable supposition is that it was named after\nthe _Ballen_ family, former residents of this neighbourhood.\n\nNear this rock stood\n\n\n\u201cLA ROQUE QUI SONNE.\u201d\n\nThis was the name given by the peasantry to a large stone which\nformerly stood on the borders of L\u2019Ancresse, in the Vale parish. There\nis no doubt that it formed part of a Cromlech, and it is said that when\nstruck it emitted a clear ringing sound. It was looked upon in the\nneighbourhood as something supernatural, and great was the astonishment\nand consternation of the good people of the Clos du Valle, when Mr.\nHocart, of Belval, the proprietor of the field in which it stood,\nannounced his intention of breaking it up in order to make doorposts\nand lintels for the new house he was on the point of building. In\nvain did the neighbours represent that stone was not scarce in the\nVale, and that there was no necessity for destroying an object of so\nmuch curiosity. No arguments could prevail with him, not even the\npredictions of certain grey-headed men, the oracles of the parish, who\nassured him that misfortune was sure to follow his sacrilegious act. He\nwas one of those obstinate men, who, the more they are spoken to, the\nless will they listen to reason, and finally the stone-cutters were set\nto work on the stone.\n\nBut now a circumstance occurred which would have moved any man less\ndetermined than Hocart from his purpose. Every stroke of the hammer\non the stone was heard as distinctly at the Church of St. Michel du\nValle, distant nearly a mile, as if the quarrymen were at work in the\nvery churchyard itself![52] Orders were nevertheless given to the men\nto continue their work. The stone was cut into building materials, and\nthe new house was rapidly approaching completion without accident or\nstoppage. Hocart laughed at the predictions of the old men, who had\nforetold all sorts of disasters.\n\nAt last the day arrived when the carpenters were to quit the house. Two\nservant maids,--or, as others have it, a servant man and a maid,--were\nsent at an early hour to assist in cleaning and putting things to\nrights for the reception of the family, but at eight o\u2019clock in the\nmorning a fire broke out in the house, and its progress was so rapid\nthat the poor servants had not time to save themselves, but perished in\nthe flames. Before noon the house was one heap of smoking ruins, but it\ncould never be discovered how the fire had originated.\n\nHocart\u2019s misfortunes, however, were not at an end. Some part of the\nrock had been cut into paving stones for the English market, and the\nrefuse broken up into small fragments for making and repairing roads.\nIn the course of the year the one and the other were embarked for\nEngland on board of two vessels in which Hocart had an interest as\nshareholder, but, strange to say, both vessels perished at sea.\n\nHocart himself went to reside in Alderney, but was scarcely settled\nthere when a fire broke out and destroyed his new dwelling.\n\n[Illustration: Smith Street, A.D. 1870.]\n\nHe then determined on returning to Guernsey, but when close to land a\nportion of the rigging of the vessel on board which he sailed, fell on\nhis head, fractured his skull, and he died immediately.[53]\n\nThere is another instance given of the ill luck which waits on those\nwho interfere with the Cromlech and disturb the repose of the mighty\ndead[54] in the \u201cLegend of La Haye du Puits,\u201d which is drawn from an\nancient chronicle and published in versified form by \u201cM. A. C.,\u201d with\nextracts from Mrs. White\u2019s notes. The legend runs thus:--\n\nIn the reign of Henry II. of England Geoffrey of Anjou raised a\nrebellion against him in Normandy. Not wishing to be a rebel, Sir\nRichard of La Haye du Puits, a noble Norman knight, fled from thence\nto Guernsey, and landed in Saints\u2019 Bay. He settled in Guernsey and\nproceeded to build himself a house, which he named after his Norman\nmansion \u201cLa Haye du Puits.\u201d Unfortunately for himself, in so doing\nhe destroyed an old Cromlech. All the inhabitants told him that he\nwould in consequence become cursed, and a settled gloom descended upon\nhim. Nothing could cheer him; he felt he was a doomed man. At last he\nthought that perhaps by resigning the house and dedicating it to God he\nmight avert his fate. So he gave it to the Church, and turned it into\na nunnery, making it a condition that the abbess and nuns should daily\npray that the curse might be removed from him.\n\nHe then set sail from Rocquaine Bay, for France, the rebellion being\nover, and his wife, Matilda, awaiting him in their old home. But on\nhis way his ship was captured by Moorish pirates, and he was taken\nas prisoner to Barbary. When there, his handsome presence made so\nmuch impression on the governor\u2019s wife that she entreated he might be\nallowed to guard the tower where she resided with her maidens.\n\nWhat was his astonishment when one of them looked out, and, recognising\na fellow countryman, called out and told him that she was Ad\u00e8le,\ndaughter of his old friend and neighbour, Ranulph. She also had been\ntaken prisoner by these pirates, by whom her father had been killed;\nshe implored him to effect her escape. She handed him her jewels, and\nwith these he bribed their jailers, and he, she, and her nurse Alice,\nall managed to escape to France. He took her to the Norman \u201cHaye du\nPuits,\u201d and there, according to the old chronicle, he found his wife,\nMatilda, and all \u201cin a right prosperous and flourishing condition.\u201d\nFrom there Ad\u00e8le married a Hugh d\u2019Estaile, a young Norman knight, high\nin the favour of King Henry.\n\nBut the spirits of the Cromlech were not yet appeased. Sir Richard\ncould not shake off the brooding care and haunting night-mares which\nalways oppressed him, though he tried to propitiate heaven by building\ntwo churches in Normandy, \u201cSt. Marie du Parc,\u201d and \u201cSt. Michel du\nBosq,\u201d \u201cfor the deliverance of his soul,\u201d but it was of no avail, and\nhe died, a wretched and broken-down man. Even the nuns in the Convent\nof the Haye du Puits were so harassed and distressed, that finally\nthey decided to leave it; it is said that one unquiet nun haunts the\nhouse to this day. Since then it has passed through many hands, but\ntradition says that for many years it never brought good fortune to its\npossessors.\n\n[52] I have heard that the strokes of the hammer were heard in the town\nwhen La Roque qui Sonne was broken up. A spot was shewn me some years\nsince as the site where this stone stood. I cannot exactly define the\nspot, but know it was to the east of the Vale Parochial School.--_From\nJohn de Garis, Esq., of Les Rouvets._\n\n[53] From the late Mr. Thomas Hocart, of Marshfield, nephew of the\nHocart to whom these events occurred.\n\n[54] EDITOR\u2019S NOTE.--In _Traditions et Superstitions de la Haute\nBretagne_, Vol. I., p. 32, M. Sebillot says: \u201cEn beaucoup d\u2019endroits,\non pense qu\u2019il est dangereux de d\u00e9truire les pierres druidiques,\nparceque les esprits qui les ont construits ne manqueraient pas de se\nvenger.\u201d See also \u201cAm\u00e9lie Rosquet, p. 186 of _La Normandie Romanesque_.\u201d\n\n\n\u201cLE TOMBEAU DU GRAND SARRAZIN.\u201d\n\nIn the district called Le Tort C\u00e0mp, near Paradis, was one of the\nprincipal Cromlechs at the Vale, now quarried away, called \u201cL\u2019Autel,\u201d\nor \u201cLe Tombeau du Grand Sarrazin.\u201d Who \u201cLe Grand Sarrazin\u201d was, it\nis now impossible to say. He is also called Le Grand Geffroi, and\nhis castle--from whence the name \u201cLe Castel\u201d--stood where the Church\nof Ste. Marie-du-Castel now stands. He must have been one of those\npiratical sea kings, who, under the various appellations of Angles,\nSaxons, Danes, and Northmen or Normans, issued from the countries\nbordering on the North Sea and the Baltic, and invaded the more\nfavoured regions of Britain and Gaul. The name \u201cGeffroy,\u201d (_Gudfrid_,\nor \u201cla paix de Dieu\u201d) seems to confirm this tradition. As to the term\n\u201cSarrazin\u201d--Saracen, although originally given to the Mahometans\nwho invaded the southern countries of Europe, it came to be applied\nindifferently to all marauding bands; and Wace, the poet and historian,\na native of Jersey, who lived and wrote in the reign of Henry II., in\nspeaking of the descent of the Northmen on these islands, calls them\nexpressly \u201cLa Gent Sarrazine.\u201d Among the many Geoffreys of the North\nwhom history celebrates, there is one, a son of King Regnar, who may be\nthe one celebrated in our local traditions. Charles the Bald yielded to\nhim \u201ca county on the Sequanic shore.\u201d\n\nAt that time the coast of Gaul was divided into three sea-borders,\nnamely, the Flemish, the Aquitanian, and the Sequanic, called\n\u201cSequanicum littus\u201d by Paul Warnefrid, who places one of these islands\nnear it.\n\nThat his castle stood at one time on the site of the present church, is\nconfirmed by the discoveries which have frequently been made in digging\ngraves, of considerable masses of solid masonry, which appear to be the\nfoundations of former outworks of the fortress. It is even possible\nthat some portions of the walls of the church may be the remains of the\nearlier building. There are also in the neighbourhood \u201cLe Fief Geffroi\u201d\nand \u201cLe Camp Geffroi.\u201d[55]\n\n[55] EDITOR\u2019S NOTE.--Referring to \u201cLe Grand Sarrazin,\u201d Dupont says\nin his _Histoire du Cotentin et ses Iles_, Vol I., p. 140-41:--\u201cLe\npersonnage ainsi d\u00e9sign\u00e9 ne peut \u00eatre que l\u2019un de ces avanturiers\nNorses qui furent souvent confondus avec les Sarrazins. Wace lui-m\u00eame\nappelle les envahisseurs des \u00eeles les \u201c_gent Sarrazine_.\u201d Le \u201cGrand\nGeffroi\u201d \u00e9tait, selon toute vrai semblance le c\u00e9l\u00e8bre Jarl _Godefrid_\nou _Godefroy_ fils d\u2019H\u00e9riald. Son p\u00e8re, apr\u00e8s avoir d\u00e9truit l\u2019eglise\ndu Mont Saint Michel fut assassin\u00e9 par les comtes francs, et pour le\nvenger, il se jeta sur la Frise et sur la Neustrie. Apr\u00e8s trois ans de\nravage il se fit, en 850, conc\u00e9der par Charles-le-Chauve une certaine\n\u00e9tendue de terre, que le savant danois Suhne conjecture avoir \u00e9t\u00e9\nsitu\u00e9e dans n\u00f4tre province. L\u2019histoire g\u00e9n\u00e9rale, on le voit, confirme\ndonc singuli\u00e8rement la tradition conserv\u00e9e \u00e0 Guernesey, en lui donnant\nune date pr\u00e9cise; et cette tradition elle-m\u00eame rend \u00e0 peu pr\u00e8s certain\nle fait fort int\u00e9ressant, et si souvent obscur, d\u2019un \u00e9tablissement\npermament des Normands en Neustrie, plus d\u2019un demi-si\u00e8cle avant sa\nprise en possession par Rolle; elle prouve, enfin, le r\u00f4le important\nque les \u00eeles du Contentin remplirent durant ces \u00e9poques calamiteuses.\u201d\n\n\n\u201cL\u2019AUTEL DE D\u00c9HUS.\u201d\n\nQuite close to where \u201cLe Tombeau du Grand Sarrazin\u201d was situated,\nclose to the Pointe au Norman, in the environs of Paradis,[56] in the\nVale parish, and bordering on the Hougues d\u2019Enfer, is the Pouquel\u00eah de\nD\u00e9hus. This spot, as well as some fields in the Castel parish called\n\u201cLes D\u00e9husets\u201d or \u201cLes Tuzets,\u201d are supposed to be favourite resorts of\nthe fairies.\n\nM. de Villemarque, in his _Barzas-Breiz_, the work so well known to\nfolk-lorists, tells us that the Bretons gave the imps or goblins,\nwhom they call pigmies, amongst others the name of \u201cDuz,\u201d diminutive\n\u201cDuzik,\u201d a name they bore in the time of St. Augustine; and he also\nsays that they, like fairies, inhabit Dolmens. Mr. M\u00e9tivier explains\nthe name \u201cD\u00e9hus\u201d or \u201cDhuss\u201d as the \u201cGod of the Dead, and of Riches,\u201d\nthe _Dis_ of the Gauls in the time of C\u00e6sar, _Th\u00e9os_ in Greek, _Deus_\nin Latin--le Dus, or le Duc. He says \u201cOur _Dehussets_ are nothing but\n_Dhus i gou_, spirits of the dead and goblins of the deep.\u201d\n\nThe exterior circle measures sixty feet in diameter, by forty in\nlength, and the direction is from east to west. The enormous block\nof granite which serves as a roof to the western chamber is the most\nstriking part of it. At the extremity of this chamber is a cell, the\nouter compartment eleven feet in length by nine in width. The adjoining\none is of the same length. On the northern side a singular appendix in\nthe form of a side chamber joins the two smaller rooms just described.\nThere has also been discovered a fifth cell, the roof of which was\nformed of granite resting on three or four pillars, at the corner of\nthe northern chamber. But the most interesting discovery of all was\nthat of two kneeling skeletons, side by side, but placed in opposite\npositions, that is to say, one looking towards the north, the other\ntowards the south. Besides these, bones of persons of both sexes and\nall ages, a stone hatchet, some pottery and limpet shells, were also\nfound inside this place of sepulchre. It was long supposed to be\nhaunted by fairies, imps, and ghosts, perhaps the same spirits who,\nin the haunted field of \u201cLes Tuz\u00e9s,\u201d are reported to have removed the\nfoundations of the intended Parish Church of the Castel to its present\nsite. There is also a \u201cLe D\u00e9huzel\u201d in the neighbourhood of the Celtic\nremains near L\u2019Er\u00e9e.\n\n[56] EDITOR\u2019S NOTE.--Pr\u00e8s de Louvign\u00e9-du-D\u00e9sert, est un groupe de dix\n\u00e0 douze blocs gigantiques de granite. On a aussi donn\u00e9 le nom de \u201cRue\nde _Paradis_, du _Purgatoire_, et de _l\u2019Enfer_\u201d aux intervalles \u00e9troits\nqui s\u00e9parent ces \u00e9normes blocs.--_Traditions de la Haute Bretagne_, par\nPaul Sebillot, T. I., p. 34.\n\n\n\u201cLE TR\u00c9PIED, OR THE CATIOROC.\u201d\n\nThis Cromlech is on a rocky promontory, south-west of Perelle Bay,\nin the beautiful parish of St. Saviour\u2019s. The derivation of its name,\n\u201cCastiau-Roc\u201d--as it is properly--is from the \u201c_Castelh Carreg_\u201d\n\u201cCastle Rock\u201d of the Gauls. As one approaches it one is struck by the\nvestiges of Cromlechs with their circles, and bits of \u201cLongues Roques.\u201d\nIn olden days, before so much of the surroundings were quarried away,\nthis must have been only one among many other conspicuous objects down\nthere. The names \u201cLa Roque Fendue,\u201d \u201cLa Roque au Tonnerre,\u201d \u201cPlateau\n\u00e8s Roques,\u201d \u201cLa Pi\u00e8che des Grandes Roques du Castiau-Roc,\u201d which are\nmentioned in various \u201cLivres de Perquages,\u201d are all that remain of\nthese ancient remains. Much to be regretted is the disappearance of the\n\u201cPortes du Castiau-Roc,\u201d which might perhaps have helped us to define\nwith some exactitude where this problematic castle once stood, and\nperhaps identify it with the fortified mounts of the Celts and Irish.\nIt is noted in our island annals for being the midnight haunt of our\nwitches and wizards. In the trials for witchcraft held under Amias de\nCarteret in the beginning of the seventeenth century, it was there that\nhis trembling victims confessed to having come and danced on Friday\nnights, in honour of the gigantic cat or goat with black fur, called\n\u201cBaal-B\u00e9rith\u201d or \u201cBarberi,\u201d nowadays \u201cLucifer.\u201d Near this rock was the\n\u201cChapel of the Holy Virgin\u201d on Lihou Island, now in ruins, and it is\nsaid that the witches even defied the influence of \u201cthe Star of the\nSea,\u201d shouting in chorus while they danced,\n\n    _\u201cQu\u00e9, hou, hou,_\n    _Marie Lihou.\u201d_\n\nThis monument is like the \u201cTables en Tr\u00e9pied,\u201d and analogous to the\n\u201cLh\u00each y Drybedh\u201d of the county of Pembroke, in Wales. There were\naltars in this form and of this description in almost every canton of\nthe island. One, near the Chapel of St. George, is quite destroyed, and\nthere are now no traces left of another between the Haye-du-Puits, and\nthe Villocq. In the environs of the Castiau-Roc bones and arms have\nbeen found.[57]\n\n\n\u201cLE CREUX ES FA\u00cfES.\u201d\n\nThis Cromlech is situated on the Houmet Nicolle at the point of L\u2019Er\u00e9e,\n(so called from the branch of the sea, _Eir\u00e9_, which separates it from\nthe islet of Notre Dame de Lihou). This island, which once had upon it\na chapel and a priory dedicated to \u201cNotre Dame de la Roche,\u201d was always\nconsidered so sacred a spot that even to-day the fishermen salute it in\npassing.\n\nThis Creux is a Dolmen of the nature of those which are called in\nFrance \u201call\u00e9es couvertes,\u201d perfectly well preserved, and partly covered\nwith earth. The researches which have been made in these ancient\nmonuments of antiquity prove them to have been places of sepulchre.\nThis one consists of a chamber seven feet high, and covered with a roof\nof two blocks of granite, each fifteen feet long and ten broad. The\nentrance faces east, and is only two feet eight inches wide, but soon\nenlarges, and the interior is almost uniformly eleven feet wide.\n\nThis is, as its name would lead one to suppose, a favourite haunt of\nthe fairies, or perhaps, to speak more correctly, their usual dwelling\nplace.\n\nIt is related that a man who happened to be lying on the grass near\nit, heard a voice within calling out: \u201c_La pa\u00eflle, la pa\u00eflle, le fouar\nest ca\u00fbd_.\u201d (The shovel,[58] the oven is hot). To which the answer was\nimmediately returned: \u201c_Bon! J\u2019airon de la g\u00e2che bient\u00f4t_.\u201d (Good! We\nshall have some cake presently.)\n\nAnother version from Mrs. Savidan is that some men were ploughing in\na field belonging to Mr. Le Cheminant, just below the Cromlech, when\nthe voice was heard saying \u201c_La paille_,\u201d _etc._ One of them answered,\n\u201c_Bon! J\u2019airon de la g\u00e2che_,\u201d and almost immediately afterwards a cake,\nquite hot, fell into one of the furrows. One of the men immediately\nran forward and seized it, exclaiming that he would have a piece to\ntake home to his wife, but on stooping to take it up he received such a\nbuffet on the head as stretched him at full length on the ground. It is\nfrom here that the fairies issue on the night of the full moon to dance\non Mont Saint till daybreak.[59]\n\n[57] See _Arch\u00e6ological Journal_, Vol. I., p. 202, for an engraving of\nthis Castiau-Roc.\n\n[58] EDITOR\u2019S NOTE.--\u201cLa pa\u00eflle \u00e0 four, is, in the country, usually a\nwooden shovel with a long handle. It is used for putting things in the\noven when hot, and taking them out when baked.\u201d\n\n[59] EDITOR\u2019S NOTE.--This is still believed, for in 1896, when my aunt,\nMrs. Curtis, bought some land on Mont Saint, and built a house there,\nthe country people told her that it was very unlucky to go there and\ndisturb the fairy people in the spot where they dance.\n\nMy cousin, Miss Le Pelley, writes in 1896 from St. Pierre-du-Bois,\nsaying \u201cThe people still believe the Creux des F\u00e9es and \u2018Le Trepied\u2019 to\nhave been the fairies\u2019 houses, and as proof one woman told me that when\nthey dug down they found all kinds of pots and pans and china things.\u201d\n\n\n\u201cLA LONGUE ROQUE\u201d OR \u201cPALETTE ES FA\u00cfES.\u201d\n\nIn a field in the parish of St. Pierre-du-Bois, on the way to L\u2019Er\u00e9e\nand in the neighbourhood of the secluded valley of St. Brioc and the\nwoody nook in which the ancient chapel dedicated to that Saint once\nstood, stands one of those Celtic monuments, many of which are still\nto be seen in Brittany and Cornwall, and which are known in those\ncountries by the name of \u201cMenhir.\u201d This word in the Breton tongue, and\nin its cognate dialect the ancient language of Cornwall, signifies\n\u201clong stone.\u201d The name which similar monuments bear in Normandy and\nBrittany in this island is \u201clongue pierre\u201d or \u201clongue roque,\u201d a literal\ntranslation of the Celtic name. There must have been at one time many\n\u201clongues roques\u201d in Guernsey. Another still stands in a field near the\nroad at Richmond. There was in 1581 \u201cla pi\u00e8che de la longue pierre, la\npierre s\u00e9ante dedans,\u201d--a part of the Fief \u00e8s Cherfs, at the Castel.\nThere was also \u201cla Roque S\u00e9ante dans le courtil de la Hougue au Comte,\u201d\nand the \u201cRoque-\u00e0-B\u0153uf dans le Courtil au Sucq du chemin de l\u2019\u00e9glise,\u201d\nnear St. George, but these latter have long since disappeared, though a\nhouse near the field still bears the name.\n\nAntiquaries are very much divided in opinion as to the original\ndestination of these singular masses of rock; it is not wonderful that\nthey should prove a puzzle and a source of wonder to the unlettered\npeasantry. How were such immense blocks placed upright, and for what\npurpose? The agency of supernatural beings is an easy answer to the\nquestion, and some such cause is usually assigned for their origin by\nthe tradition of the country. Sometimes they are the work of fairies,\nsometimes of giants and magicians, and sometimes they are said to be\nmortals changed into stone by an offended deity for some sacrilegious\nact, or heroes petrified as a lasting testimony of their exploits.\n\nThe Menhir at St. Peter\u2019s-in-the-Wood stands in a field at Les\nPaysans, so called from the name of the extinct family who once\npossessed it. It is over ten feet in height, and about three feet\nwide, and the people\u2019s name for it, \u201cPalette \u00e8s fa\u00efes\u201d--the fairies\u2019\nbattledore,--describes it exactly. Tradition says that in former days\na man who was returning homewards at a very late hour of the night,\nor who had risen before the lark to visit his nets in Rocquaine Bay,\nwas astonished at meeting a woman of very diminutive stature coming up\nthe hill from the sea-shore. She was knitting, while carrying in her\napron something with as much care and tenderness as if it had been a\nclutch of eggs, or a newly-born babe. The man\u2019s curiosity was excited,\nand he determined to watch the little woman. He therefore concealed\nhimself behind a hedge and followed her movements. At last the woman\nstopped, and great was the astonishment of the countryman when he saw\nher produce a mass of stone of at least fifteen feet in length, and\nstick it upright in the midst of the field, with as much ease as if she\nwere merely sticking a pin into a pincushion. He then comprehended that\nthe unknown female could be no other than a denizen of fairy-land, but\nwhat could be her object in erecting such a monument? The people are at\na loss in finding an answer to this question. Some say the stone was\nplaced there by the fairies to serve them as a mark when they played at\nball.[60]\n\nThere is another story told to account for \u201cLa Palette \u00e8s Fa\u00efes.\u201d It\nis well known that Rocquaine and its environs was the abode _par\nexcellence_ of the fairy folk, and in the valley of St. Brioc two of\nthese fairies once lived. Whether they were father and son, or what\nother relationship existed between them, is not known, but among the\nhuman inhabitants of the valley they went by the names of Le Grand\nColin and Le Petit Colin. They were fond of sports, and occasionally\namused themselves with a game of ball on the open and tolerably level\nfields of Les Paysans. On one occasion they had placed their boundary\nmarks, and had played some rounds, when Le Grand Colin struck the ball\nwith such force that it bounded off quite out of sight. Le Petit Colin,\nwhose turn it was to play, called out to his companion, with some\ndegree of ill-humour, that the ball had disappeared beyond the bounds,\non which Le Grand Colin struck his bat with force into the ground, and\nsaid he would play no more. The bat still remains in the centre of the\nfield, and the ball--an enormous spherical boulder--is pointed out on\nthe sea-shore near Les Pezeries, fully a mile and a half off.[61]\n\n[60] From Miss Lane, afterwards Mrs. Lane-Clarke.\n\nEDITOR\u2019S NOTE.--See in _Traditions et Superstitions de la Haute\nBretagne_ par Paul Sebillot, Tome I., p. 10 and 11, etc.:--\u201cLes Roches\naux F\u00e9es qui sont vers Saint-Didier et Marpir\u00e9 (Ille-et-Vilaine) ont\n\u00e9t\u00e9 elev\u00e9es par les F\u00e9es; elles prenaient les plus grosses pierres du\npays et les apportaient dans leurs tabliers.\u2026 Pr\u00e8s du bois du Rocher\nen Pleudihan, sur la route de Dinan \u00e0 Dol, est un dolmen que les\nf\u00e9es, disent les gens du pays, ont apport\u00e9 dant leurs \u2018devanti\u00e8res\u2019\n(tabliers).\u201d\n\n[61] From William Le Poidevin.\n\nEDITOR\u2019S NOTES.--These two traditions are still told by the country\npeople in 1896.\n\n\n\u201cLA ROQUE DES FA\u00cfES.\u201d\n\nA little beyond the village called \u201cLe Bourg de la For\u00eat\u201d there stood\nformerly an upright stone, which was known by the name of \u201cLa Roque des\nFa\u00efes,\u201d--the fairies\u2019 stone. It was unfortunately destroyed when the\nroad was improved. The people in the neighbourhood were rather shy of\npassing it at night, as it was believed that the place was haunted, and\nthat fairies held their nightly revels there. Like other stones of a\nsimilar nature it was said to have been placed there by the elves to\nserve as a goal or mark in their games of ball or bowls; and, according\nto some accounts, the \u201cLongue Roque\u201d at \u201cLes Paysans\u201d in the adjoining\nparish of St. Pierre-du-Bois was the other boundary. It is not at all\nunlikely that these stones may really have served for such a purpose\nin days of yore, if not for the fairy-folk, at least for mortals. What\nis more probable than that the peasantry of the islands should have\nhad the same games as existed until lately in Cornwall under the name\nof \u201churling,\u201d and in Brittany under the name of \u201cLa Soule,\u201d as well as\nelsewhere, in which the young men of the neighbouring districts met\nat certain seasons on the confines of their respective parishes, and\ncontended which should first bear a ball to a spot previously fixed on\nas the goal in each?\n\nIt is said that the spot where the stone in question stood was\noriginally fixed on as the site of the Parish Church of the Forest; but\nthat, after all the materials had been got together for the purpose of\nlaying the foundations of the sacred edifice they were removed in the\nshort space of one night by the fairies to the place where the church\nnow stands, the little people thus resenting the intrusion on their\ndomain.[62]\n\n[62] From Mrs. Richard Murton, born Caroline Le Tullier.\n\n\n\u201cLE GIBET DES FA\u00cfES.\u201d\n\nA Celtic monument of the kind commonly known to antiquaries by the\nname of \u201ctrilethon\u201d is said to have existed formerly on the Common\nat L\u2019Ancresse, near La Hougue Patris. It is described by old people\nwho remember to have seen it in their youth as consisting of three\nupright stones or props, supporting a fourth, overhanging the others.\nIt was known by the name of \u201cLe Gibet des F\u00e2\u00efes.\u201d Near it was a\nfountain called \u201cLa Fontaine des F\u00e2\u00efes,\u201d the water of which, although\nnot plentiful, was never known to fail entirely, even in the very\ndriest seasons; it is said to have been below the surface in a kind\nof artificial cave formed by huge blocks of stone, and entered by two\nopenings on different sides. The proprietor of the land many years ago\nbroke up the stones for building purposes and converted the fountain\ninto a well.[63]\n\n[63] EDITOR\u2019S NOTE. STONE ON LA MOYE ESTATE.\n\nThey are still firmly convinced in the Vale parish of the sanctity of\nDruidical stones, and various stones, which are not generally regarded\nas being Druidical remains, were pointed out to me by Miss Falla,\n(whose ancestors for hundreds of years have been landed proprietors\nat the Vale), as being sacred, and, she added, that her father and\ngrandfathers would have considered it sacrilege to touch them.\n\nSuch are the large upright stones in the field Le Courtil-\u00e8s-Arbres,\nimmediately opposite the house called Sohier, which is owned by Miss\nFalla, who said that her uncle, at one time, wished to quarry in that\nfield, but was deterred by his neighbours, who pointed out to him\nthe folly and impiety of meddling with \u201cles pierres saintes.\u201d Beyond\nthe Ville-\u00e8s-Pies is a field containing large stones; it has been\nextensively quarried, but the stones have been religiously preserved,\nand are seen on an isolated hillock in the field, their height being\nintensified by the deep quarries round them.\n\nThe cottage which is built on the remains of St. Magloire\u2019s Chapel, is\nsupposed to be built on its own old foundation stone, as the workmen\nwhen building the cottage, thought it would be sacrilege to interfere\nwith it.\n\nThere is a field called La Houmi\u00e8re, opposite an estate called La Moye,\nwhich also belonged to the Fallas for many generations, and is now in\nthe possession of Miss Falla\u2019s brother. In this field is one solitary\nupright stone, and to this stone a most extraordinary superstition is\nattached. It is a grass field and is grown in hay, but for generations\nthe mowers have always been forbidden to cut the hay _round_ and _past_\nthe stone till all the other hay has been cut and carted, for if they\ndo, however fine the weather may previously have been, it invariably\nbrings on a storm of wind and rain! So, taught by experience, it has\nalways been the rule, and still continues, that, though the outer edge\nof the field may be cut, the stone itself and its \u201centourage\u201d are not\nto be touched till the very last, for fear of bringing on the rain in\nthe middle of the hay making.--(_From Miss Falla_).\n\n\nOLD FIGURES IN THE CHURCHYARDS OF ST. MARTIN\u2019S AND THE CASTEL.\n\nIn the course of some works recently (1878) undertaken for reseating\nthe Parish Church of Ste. Marie-du-Castel, two discoveries were made,\nwhich are of great interest. One is a sort of oven or furnace, which\nwas found below the surface of the floor of the church, and immediately\nunder the apex of the westernmost arch, between the nave and the south\naisle. It lies north and south, extending into the nave; but what\nappears to have been the mouth does not reach southward beyond the\narch, no part of it being in the south aisle. If this aisle is really\na more recent addition to the original building, the mouth of the\nfurnace may have been at one time in an outer wall. The whole length\nis eight feet, the width two feet three inches, and the depth three\nfeet six inches. The sides are roughly masoned and the northern end\nslightly rounded. A length of about three feet at the south end is\narched over with stones, which have evidently been subjected to great\nheat. This part is immediately under the arch between the nave and\nthe south aisle. The remaining five feet of the excavation retain no\ntraces whatever of an arch, and are situated entirely in the nave.\nThe floor of the excavation is of hard compact gravel, covered with\nashes, among which were several pieces of charcoal and a few small\nfragments of brass, perhaps bell-metal. The northern end seems to have\nbeen used as a sort of ossuary, into which the bones dug up in making\nfresh interments in the church were thrown pell-mell, the remains of no\nless than nine skulls, mingled with other osseous remains, having been\nfound here. These bore no marks of fire, from which we may conclude\nthat the place had ceased to be used as an oven or furnace when they\nwere deposited there. I had forgotten to mention that at the south\nend of the excavation was found a tile of about one and a-half inches\nin thickness, twelve inches in length, and nine inches in width, with\na notch in it for the fingers, such as we see in the sliding lid of\na box. A few fragments of moulded tiles were found mingled with the\nearth, which the architect believed to be Roman. With the exception of\na few coins, no other Roman remains have ever been found in Guernsey.\nThe nave of the church and the westernmost bay of the aisle had, in\nolden days, been walled off from the rest of the building, and served\nas a sort of vestibule and place where the cannons and other military\nstores belonging to the Militia or trained bands of the parish were\nkept. Perhaps the furnace may have been used for casting balls, of\nwhich one at least has been found in the building. Some think it may\nhave been used for the casting of a bell, but the bells at present in\nthe tower throw no light on the subject, having been re-cast in England\nabout the beginning of the nineteenth century. There is no appearance\nof any chimney or flue leading from the furnace ever having existed,\nand the reason of its position within the church, and the use to which\nit was put, must, we fear, ever remain an enigma.\n\nAfter this long digression we will go on to the other discovery made at\nthe same time; which presents another puzzle equally unsolved.\n\nJust within the chancel, at about an equal distance from the north\nand south walls, about a foot below the surface, was found a mass of\ngranite, lying east and west, and turned over on its left side. It has\nall the appearance of a natural boulder somewhat fashioned by art, and\ncannot be described better than by saying that it is in shape like a\nmummy case, the back being rounded and slightly curved and the front\nnearly flat, with the exception of the upper portion of the figure,\nwhich indicates that it was intended to represent a female. The total\nlength is six feet six inches, the width across the shoulders two feet\nthree inches, and the portion corresponding with the head one foot\nthree inches from the top of the forehead to the shoulders. It tapers\nslightly towards the foot. On each side of the head, extending from\nthe forehead to the breast, are two ridges raised above the surface of\nthe stone, which may have been intended to represent either a veil or\ntresses of hair. There are no traces of any features remaining, but\nwhat should be the face bears evident marks of having been subjected to\nthe action of a hammer or chisel, as also does the right breast.\n\nThe stone is altogether too rude and mis-shapen to warrant the\nsupposition that it can have been intended to cover a grave, although\nits place in the chancel, and its lying with its head to the west,\nmay appear to favour this idea; but what renders the discovery of\nthis stone more interesting and gives rise to conjecture, is the fact\nthat in the churchyard of St. Martin-de-la-Beilleuse another stone of\nabout the same size, precisely similar in outline, but in a far better\nstate of preservation, exists in the form of a gatepost. In this last\nthe features, very coarsely sculptured, and only slightly raised on a\nflat surface, are distinctly visible; a row of small knobs, intended\neither for curls or a chaplet encircles the forehead, and a sort of\ndrapery in regular folds radiates from the chin to the shoulders and\nbreasts, which are uncovered, leaving no doubt that in this case, as\nin the stone found in the Church of Ste. Marie-du-Castel, a female\nfigure was intended to be represented. A confused idea exists among\nthe parishioners of St. Martin\u2019s that the stone in their churchyard\nwas once an idol; and it is not many years ago that a puritanical\nchurchwarden was with difficulty dissuaded from having it broken up,\nlest it should once more become an object of adoration. In fact the\nstone was broken in half by his orders, and had to be cemented together\nagain.\n\nThe Church of St. Martin\u2019s is called St. Martin-de-la-Bellouse or\nBeilleuse, a name which an adjoining property bears to this day. The\nmeaning of this word \u201cBellouse\u201d or \u201cBeilleuse\u201d is unknown; but if,\nas some have asserted, the early inhabitants of the British Isles\nworshipped a deity of the name of Bel, it is not impossible that there\nmay have been some female divinity, with a name derived from the same\nsource.\n\nIt is certainly somewhat remarkable that two stones, so very similar\nin character, should exist in connection with two churches in the same\nisland, and that one of them should have been found in so singular a\nposition. One is tempted to believe that both churches may have been\nbuilt on spots which had previously been set apart as places of heathen\nworship, and that in the case of Ste. Marie-du-Castel the idol had been\ndefaced and buried in the earth to put a stop to the adoration paid to\nit.\n\nIt is well known that up to the end of the seventeenth century the\ninhabitants of a district in the Department du Morbihan, in Brittany,\nadored with superstitious and obscene rites a rude stone image commonly\nknown as \u201cLa V\u00e9nus de Quinipilly,\u201d and which was certainly not a\nChristian image. May not the stones here described have served also as\nobjects of worship? The substitution of the Blessed Virgin for a female\ndivinity is what one may reasonably suppose to have taken place, and\nthe continuance of superstitious practices in connection with the idol\nmay have led to its defacement and concealment below the floor of the\nsacred edifice.[64]\n\n[64] The Antiquarian Society. Proceedings 1879.\n\nEDITOR\u2019S NOTES.\n\nThis old figure is still regarded with peculiar affection by the people\nof St. Martin\u2019s. \u201c_La Gran\u2019m\u00e8re du Chimqui\u00e8re_,\u201d--\u201cthe Grandmother of\nthe Churchyard,\u201d--they call it, though I have heard one or two very old\npeople call it \u201cSt. Martin,\u201d evidently regardless of sex, regarding it\nas the patron saint of the parish.\n\nUndoubtedly superstitious reverence used to be paid to it to\nwithin comparatively recent times, which probably accounts for the\nchurchwarden wishing to have it removed. An old Miss Fallaize, aged\neighty, told me that when she was a child the \u201cold people\u201d had told\nher that it was \u201clucky\u201d to place a little offering of fruit, flowers,\nor even to spill a little drop of spirits in front of it, for it was\nholy--\u201cc\u2019\u00e9tait une pierre sainte\u201d as she expressed it; and an old man\nnamed Tourtel, well over eighty, said that when he was a boy it was\nfeared--\u201con la craignait\u201d much more than they do now.\n\nThere is a stone face, very much the same type as that of this figure,\nover the door of a house at the Villette. It is a house in the district\ncalled \u201cLa Marette,\u201d and belongs to some old Miss Olliviers. They can\noffer no explanation to account for its presence, but said that the\nhouse was covered with creepers, and it was only when some myrtle which\ncovered it was blown down in a gale that it was discovered by their\nfather to be there. Of course it may have belonged to some other old\nidol which was broken up, and afterwards used for building purposes,\nbut no tradition lingers to account for it in any way.\n\nThe earliest account of the Guernsey Cromlechs was contributed to\n_Arch\u00e6ologia_, Vol. XVIII, p. 254, by Joshua Gosselin, Esq., as\nfollows:--\n\n    \u201cAN ACCOUNT OF SOME DRUIDICAL REMAINS IN THE ISLAND OF\n    GUERNSEY, BY JOSHUA GOSSELIN, ESQ., IN A LETTER ADDRESSED TO\n    THE RIGHT HON. SIR JOSEPH BANKS, BART., K.B., P.R.S., F.S.A.\n\n                                     \u201cGuernsey, November 9th, 1811.\n\n    \u201cMY DEAR SIR,--A small temporary redoubt was constructed some\n    few years back, on a height near the shore, on the left of\n    L\u2019Ancresse Bay, three miles from the town in this island. The\n    ground on which this redoubt stood, being composed of a sandy\n    turf, was by degrees levelled by the wind, and the edges of\n    some stones were thereby discovered, which, upon inspection, I\n    immediately knew to belong to a Cromlech or Druidical Temple.\n    I send you a drawing of this Temple (plate 18) as it appeared\n    after the sand, which had covered it to the depth of three or\n    four feet, was removed.\u2026 The largest of the stones weighs about\n    twenty tons. They are supported by stones of the same kind, the\n    highest being about six and a-half feet above the ground. The\n    temple slopes from west to east; the length of it is thirty-two\n    feet, and the greatest width between the supporting stones\n    is twelve feet. The soldiers, who were employed in clearing\n    away the sand, have assured me that there was a stone which\n    closed the entrance into the temple, that some steps led down\n    into it, and that there was a pavement of small pebbles, but\n    I cannot vouch for the truth of these particulars. When I saw\n    the Cromlech there was certainly no vestige of any steps or\n    pavement. There was, however, a quantity of human and different\n    animal bones found in it, likewise some broken pieces of coarse\n    earthen vessels, together with some limpets, such as are on\n    the rocks in the bay, a few cockle shells and land snails.\n    These last might have been blown into it by the wind, when it\n    filled with sand, as there are plenty of them on the adjoining\n    common. Some of the fragments of vessels seem to have been\n    blackened with fire, and bear the appearance of antiquity; a\n    vessel of reddish clay was found whole, which held somewhat\n    more than a quart, and was of the shape of a common tea cup. A\n    flat circular bone of some fish, of the shape of a disk, and\n    about nine inches in diameter, was discovered, together with\n    an old fishhook, the former of which was given by the soldiers\n    to Sir John Doyle. I was only able to procure for myself some\n    of the fragments of broken ware. About eighteen feet distance\n    from the foot of the temple there are remains of a circle of\n    stones which probably surrounded it; they are placed about a\n    foot above the ground, and in general about two feet distant\n    from each other. At about forty-two feet from the temple there\n    appears to have been another circle of stones of a larger size\n    than those of the inner circle, but there are very few of\n    them remaining. As this temple stands upon the top of a hill,\n    it is the intention of some gentlemen in the island to have so\n    much of the sand on each side of it removed, as may render it\n    visible to all the surrounding country.\n\n    \u201cWe have three more such temples in this island, but not so\n    complete, nor so large, as the one I have just described. One\n    of these is situated near Paradis, at the Clos of the Vale, and\n    is called \u2018La Pierre du D\u00e9hus.\u2019 It stands on a rising ground,\n    and slopes towards the east-north-east. The stones are of a\n    grey granite. The supporting, or upright stones, are two and\n    a-half feet above the ground in the inside, and could not be\n    more, as the bottom is rocky; they form a parallelogram in the\n    inside of twelve feet broad.\n\n    \u201cAnother of these temples is seen at the Catioroc, at St.\n    Saviour\u2019s, and the third is situated between L\u2019Ancresse Bay and\n    the Valle Church, and is partly concealed by furze.\n\n    \u201cSome years ago I discovered a very large Logan or rocking\n    stone, or a rock at the opposite side of L\u2019Ancresse Bay, which\n    could easily be rocked by a child; but within these three\n    years it has been entirely destroyed, and no vestige of it\n    now remains. An ancient manuscript says that this island was\n    originally inhabited by fishermen, who were Pagans, and used\n    to place large stones one upon another, near the sea shore,\n    on which they performed their sacrifices. The stones of this\n    kind, which are now extant, are certainly all situated near\n    the sea shore, and this circumstance so far corroborates the\n    information given in the manuscript.\n\n        \u201cI have the honour to be, Dear Sir,\n\n            \u201cYour obliged and very humble servant,\n\n                                               \u201cJOSHUA GOSSELIN.\u201d\n\nThis article is illustrated by plates drawn by the author, viz.,\n\u201cTemple of L\u2019Ancresse in the Valle Parish, Guernsey,\u201d \u201cPlan of the\nsurface of the Temple at L\u2019Ancresse,\u201d \u201cViews of the Temple\u201d called \u201cLa\nPierre du D\u00e9hus,\u201d from the W.S.W. and the E.N.E. \u201cPlan of the surface\nof D\u00e9hus,\u201d North and South Views of the \u201cTemple at the Catioroc,\u201d\nand \u201cThe Temple among the Furze between L\u2019Ancresse Bay and the Valle\nChurch.\u201d\n\n[Illustration: Creux des F\u00e2\u00efes.]\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IV.\n\nNatural Objects and their Superstitions.\n\n    \u201cYon old grey stone, protected from the ray\n    Of noontide suns.\u2026\n    And thou, grey stone, the pensive likeness keep\n    Of a dark chamber where the mighty sleep:\n    Far more than fancy to the influence bends\n    When solitary nature condescends\n    To mimic time\u2019s forlorn humanities.\u201d\n\n                                     --_Wordsworth._\n\n    \u201cThis is the fairy land: oh spight of spights\n    We talk with goblins, owls, and elvish sprites.\u201d\n\n                                    --_Shakespeare._\n\n\nThere are many spots in Guernsey connected with stories and legends\nbesides the Druidical remains. The caverns of the Creux des F\u00e9es and\nCreux Mahi\u00e9; the various curiously shaped rocks, formed by the hand of\nNature, or by the wearing action of the waves; the marks of footprints,\nwhether human or diabolical, on various stones; and above all the\nsacred fountains, which are still regarded as medicinal, have given\nrise to many a tradition, which, though they lose much of their charm\nfrom being translated from the quaint Guernsey French in which they are\noriginally related, we will here endeavour to render.\n\n\nLE CREUX DES F\u00c9ES.\n\nBetween the bays of Vazon and Cobo is found the peninsula of Houmet,\nand here is situated the \u201cCreux des F\u00e9es.\u201d It is a small cavern,\nworn away by the action of the sea. The granite surrounding its mouth\nabounds in particles of mica, which glitter in the sun like streaks\nof gold. It can only be approached at low tide, and necessitates much\nscrambling over the rocks which are heaped round the mouth of the\ngrotto. It is said that by a hole not larger than the mouth of an\noven, you gain access to a spacious hall, hollowed out of the rock,\nthat in the middle of this hall is a stone table on which are dishes,\nplates, drinking cups, and everything necessary for a large feast, all\nin stone, and all used by the fairies, but no one has had the courage\nto penetrate inside and test the truth of this assertion. It is also\nbelieved that beyond it there is a subterranean passage which leads\nto the bottom of St. Saviour\u2019s Church, which is distant more than two\nmiles. This tradition of a subterranean passage leading to a church at\na considerable distance is told of other caverns in Guernsey. Of the\nCreux Mahi\u00e9, where there is also said to be a passage leading to St.\nSaviour\u2019s Church, of a large cave in Moulin Huet Bay, which is supposed\nto lead to a passage going straight to St. Martin\u2019s Church, and one at\nSaints\u2019 Bay, also supposed to lead to St. Saviour\u2019s Church.\n\nEDITOR\u2019S NOTE.--\u201cLe groupe le plus important de demeures de f\u00e9es que\nj\u2019aie rencontr\u00e9 est celui des Houles (l\u2019anglais _hole_, caverne,\ngrotte).\u201d \u2026 \u201cElles se prolongent sous terre si loin, que personne,\ndit-on, n\u2019est all\u00e9 jusqu\u2019au fond \u2026 parfois on les appelle Chambres\ndes f\u00e9es. Il y en a o\u00f9 l\u2019on voit, dit-on, des tables de pierre sur\nlesquelles elles mangeaient, leurs si\u00e8ges, et les berceaux en pierre de\nleurs enfants.\u201d--_Traditions et Superstitions de la Haute Bretagne_, p.\n84.\n\n\nLE CREUX MAHI\u00c9.\n\nThe whole of the southern coast of Guernsey, from Jerbourg, or St.\nMartin\u2019s Point, to Pleinmont in the parish of Torteval, is extremely\nprecipitous, but abounding in picturesque beauties of no common\ncharacter. Bold headlands, with outlying granite rocks rising like\npyramids and obelisks from the clear blue sea, alternating with caves\nand bays to which access is gained through deep glens and ravines,\nsome richly wooded, some hemmed in on both sides by rugged hills,\nbut through all of which a tiny rill of the purest water trickles,\nkeeping up a perpetual verdure--slopes covered in early spring with\nthe golden blossoms of the gorse, in summer with the purple bells of\nthe heather, and in autumn with the rich brown fronds of the withering\nbracken--cliffs mantled in parts with luxuriant ivy, in other with many\ncoloured lichens, and out of every crevice of which the thrift, the\ncampion, and other flowers that delight in the vicinity of the sea,\nburst in wild profusion--all combine to form pictures which the artist\nand the lover of nature are never tired of studying.\n\nThe constant action of the waves for unnumbered centuries has worn out\nmany caverns in these cliffs, the most considerable of which is that\nknown by the name of \u201cLe Creux Mahi\u00e9,\u201d or as some old writers wrote it\n\u201cMahio,\u201d and it undoubtedly took its name, so says Mr. M\u00e9tivier, from\nits ancient proprietor, the king of the infernal regions.\n\n    \u201cThe Prince of darkness is a gentleman;\n    Modo he\u2019s called and _Mahu_.\u201d\n\n               --_King Lear._ Act 3, Sc. 4.\n\nThe Hindoos have the same name in their _Maha-D\u00eava_, a giant of the\nfamily of the dives or demons.[65] In the province of Mayo, there is a\nSorcerer or Druid, the Priest of _Mayo_, who lives in a cavern, and is\ncalled \u201cthe King of the Waters.\u201d\n\nIt is also sometimes called \u201cLe Creux Robilliard,\u201d from a family of\nthat name on whose property it was situated. It lies in the parish of\nTorteval, and is reached by a narrow pathway, winding down the almost\nprecipitous side of a steep cliff, into a small creek worn out by the\nsea between the headlands. The cave itself, there can be no doubt,\nmust have been formed by the waves wearing away gradually a vein of\ndecomposed rock, softer than that which forms the sides and roof. At\nsome remote period a large portion of the rock which forms the roof of\nthe cavern has given way, and has partially blocked up the entrance,\nleaving only a long low fissure through which access can be had to\nthe interior, and forming a sort of platform of solid stone, which\neffectually cuts off any further encroachment on the part of the sea. A\nsteep descent over broken fragments of rock leads down to the floor of\nthe cave, which appears to be nearly on a level with the beach at the\nfoot of the platform. A glimmering light from the entrance enables one\nto see that the rock arches overhead in a sort of dome, and a bundle of\ndry furze or other brushwood, set on fire, lights it up sufficiently\nto bring out all the details. It is a weird sight; as the flickering\nflames illumine one by one the various masses of rock that are piled up\nto the roof at the extremity of the cavern, and disclose the entrances\nto two or three smaller caves. These are, in reality, of no great\ndepth, but they are sufficiently mysterious to have given rise to more\nthan one report concerning them, and there are but few of the peasantry\nwho would be bold enough to attempt to explore their recesses. It is\nfirmly believed by them that there is a passage extending all the way\nunder ground as far as the Church of St. Saviour\u2019s, about a mile\ndistant as the crow flies; and it is also affirmed that there is an\nentrance through a small hole to an extensive apartment, in the midst\nof which stands a stone table, on which are set out dishes, plates,\ndrinking vessels, and other requisites for a well-served feast, all of\nthe same solid material.[66]\n\nThere are obscure traditions of the cavern having been at some early\nperiod the resort of men who lived by stealing their neighbours\u2019\nsheep, and plundering their hen-roosts, but these traditions cannot be\ntraced to anything more definite than what is commonly alleged of all\nsuch places, neither are the tales told of its having been the resort\nof smugglers more to be relied on. The difficulty of access to it,\neither by sea or land, makes it very improbable that it should have\nbeen used for this purpose; besides, in former days, Guernsey was a\nperfectly free port, nothing that entered was subject to any duty that\nit would have been profitable to evade, and before the establishment\nof a branch of the English Custom House, all exports could be made\nwithout the troublesome formalities of clearance and declaration now\nrequired. Of late years the smuggling of spirits into the island in\norder to avoid payment of the local dues in aid of the public revenue,\nhas been carried on to rather a large extent; but this has taken place\non more accessible parts of the coast. Possibly, however, tobacco made\nup in illegal packages, which would subject it to seizure if found\nwaterborne, may occasionally have been deposited here for a time, until\nit could be carried off secretly to the French vessels passing the\nisland in their coasting voyages between Normandy and Brittany.\n\nIn a letter dated May, 1665, to one of his friends in Guernsey, from\nthe Rev. John de Sausmarez, who, on the restoration of Charles II., was\nappointed Dean of the Island, and subsequently Canon of Windsor, he\nalludes to \u201cLe proph\u00e8te du Creux Robilliard.\u201d Who this prophet was does\nnot appear, but there is every reason to believe that the allusion is\nto the Rev. Thomas Picot, Minister of the then united parishes of the\nForest and Torteval, in the latter of which the Creux Mahi\u00e9--_alias_\nRobilliard, is situated; for in the Assembly of Divines held at\nWestminster in 1644, articles were exhibited against this clergyman for\ntroubling the Church discipline established in the island, preaching\nAnabaptist doctrines, and prophesying that in 1655 there should be\na perfect reformation, men should do miracles, etc. This conjecture\nreceives some slight confirmation from the fact that it is still\nremembered in the Forest parish that a Minister of the name of Picot\nwas fond of retiring to caves on the sea-shore for meditation, and one\nof these caves in particular, that well known one in Petit Bot bay\nwith a double entrance, is still known by the name of \u201cLe Parloir de\nMonsieur Picot.\u201d\n\n[65] _Recherches Asiatiques_, Tome I., Traduit de l\u2019Anglais.\n\n[66] This last piece of information was furnished by Caroline le\nTullier, of the Parish of the Forest, wife of Richard Murton.\n\n\nRocks and Stones.\n\n\n\u201cLE PETIT BONHOMME ANDRELOT, OU ANDRIOU.\u201d\n\n    \u201cScreams round the Arch-druid\u2019s brow the seamew--white\n    As Menai\u2019s foam.\u201d\n\n                                             --_Wordsworth._\n\nOne of the earliest forms of idolatry is undoubtedly that which was\npaid to rude stone pillars. These, whether erected for the purpose of\nmarking the last resting place of some renowned patriarch or warrior,\nor set up with the design of indicating a spot specially appropriated\nto religious rites, or perhaps, simply as a boundary or landmark,\ncame to be regarded, at first, as sacred, and in process of time,\nas a symbol of the Deity himself. Gradually any elevated rock, and\nespecially if it presented a striking and unusual appearance, was\nlooked upon with veneration. We find that this was particularly the\ncase in the north of Europe, and that the hardy mariners who navigate\nthe tempestuous seas of Scandinavia, are, even now, in the habit of\npaying a sort of superstitious respect to the lofty \u201cstacks,\u201d as the\nisolated masses of rock are called, which form the extremity of many\nof the headlands, and that, in passing, they salute them, and throw\nold clothes, or a little food, or a drop of spirits, into the sea, as\na sort of propitiatory offering. It is strange to find that the same\ncustom still exists in Guernsey, notwithstanding that a thousand years\nor more have elapsed since the Northmen first invaded these shores.\n\n[Illustration: \u201cLe Petit Bonhomme Andrelot, ou Andriou.\u201d]\n\nEveryone who has visited Guernsey must know the lovely bay of Moulin\nHuet,[67] and the remarkable group of rocks, which stretches out into\nthe sea at its eastern extremity beyond the point of Jerbourg. These\nrocks are called \u201cLes Tas de Pois d\u2019Amont,\u201d or \u201cThe Pea-Stacks of the\nEast.\u201d There being a chain of rocks off Pleinmont which are called the\n\u201cTas de Pois d\u2019Aval\u201d--the westerly Pea-Stacks--\u201cAmont\u201d (meaning \u201cen\nhaut\u201d) is the Guernsey word for _east_, _aval_ meaning \u201cen bas,\u201d their\nword for _west_.[68]\n\nEach rock composing the Tas de Pois d\u2019Amont has its own special name.\nThey are \u201cLe Petit Aiguillon,\u201d \u201cLe Gros Aiguillon,\u201d \u201cL\u2019Aiguillon\nd\u2019Andrelot,\u201d ou \u201cdu Petit Bon-Homme.\u201d\n\nThe united and increasing action of the winds and waves has worn the\nhard granite rock into the most fantastic forms, and from certain\npoints of view it is not difficult to invest some of these masses of\nstone with a fancied resemblance to the human form. One of them in\nparticular, when seen at a certain distance, has all the appearance of\nan aged man enveloped in the gown and cowl of a monk.\n\nSo singular a freak of nature has not escaped the attention of the\npeasantry, and the rock in question is pointed out by the name of \u201cLe\nPetit Bon-Homme Andriou.\u201d The children in the neighbourhood have a\nrhymed saying:\n\n    _\u201cAndriou, tape tout,\u201d_\n\nwhich may be translated\n\n    \u201cAndriou, watch all,\u201d or \u201cover all,\u201d\n\nand the fishermen and pilots who frequent these parts of the coast show\ntheir respect by taking off their hats when passing the point, and are\ncareful to insist on the observance being complied with by any stranger\nwho may chance to be in their company. Formerly it was not unusual with\nthem, before setting sail, to offer a biscuit or a libation of wine or\ncider to \u201cLe Bon Homme,\u201d and, if an old garment past use chanced to be\nin the boat, this was also cast into the sea.[69]\n\nThere are other rocks on the coast which the fishermen are in the\nhabit of saluting without being able to give any reason why they do\nso; and it is not impossible that the honour paid to the little island\nof Lihou,[70] on the western coast of Guernsey, by the small craft,\nin lowering their topmasts while passing, may have originated in the\nsame superstition, although it is generally supposed that they do it\nout of reverence to the Blessed Virgin, the ruins of whose Chapel and\nPriory are still to be seen on the isle. The circumnavigation of a\ncertain rock by the fishermen of the parish of St. John, in Jersey, on\nMidsummer Day, may, perhaps, be traceable to the same source.\n\n[67] EDITOR\u2019S NOTE.--\u201cMoulin Luet,\u201d according to Mr. M\u00e9tivier--\u201cVier\nPort\u201d--still in the mouths of the old country people.\n\n[68] (Par la m\u00eame raison que le vent d\u2019ouest est le vent d\u2019_aval_, le\nvent qui vient de la partie la plus haute, la plus montueuse de France,\nest le vent d\u2019_amont_.--_M\u00e9tivier\u2019s Dictionary_, page 36).\n\n[69] EDITOR\u2019S NOTES.\n\nThere are several legends still repeated by the country people about\n\u201cLe Petit Bon Homme Andriou.\u201d\n\nOne is that he was a man searching for hidden treasure among the\nrocks of the Tas de Pois and that the guardian spirit of the treasure\nappeared and turned him into stone for his sacrilege.--_Collected by\nMr. J. Linwood Pitts, of the Guille-All\u00e8s Library._\n\nAnother is that he was an old Arch-Druid, the last of the Druids to\nhold out against Christianity. Miserable at his brethren\u2019s apostacy\nfrom the faith of their fathers, he went to live in a cave at the end\nof Jerbourg Point. His favourite occupation was standing on the rocks\nof the Tas de Pois and gazing out to sea, for he was passionately\nfond of the sea and sailors. One day, during a violent gale, he saw a\nship in great distress out at sea, so he prayed to his gods to stop\nthe storm and save the ship. They took no notice of his prayers, the\nstorm still raged, and the ship was driven nearer and nearer to the\ndangerous rocks on which he stood. Then, in desperation, he prayed to\nthe God of the Christians, and vowed that if only the ship were saved\nhe would turn Christian and dedicate a Chapel to the Blessed Virgin.\nAs he prayed, the gale ceased, and the ship made its way safely to the\nharbour. And Andrillot, after being baptised as a Christian, dedicated\na Chapel; some say it is the one of which the ruins on Lihou Island\ncan still be seen, which is dedicated to \u201cNotre Dame de la Roche;\u201d\nothers say it was the Chapel, long since destroyed, which was on the\nFief Blanchelande in St. Martin\u2019s parish, and which is believed to have\nstood where the parish school now stands.\n\nBe that as it may, that little figure standing, looking out to sea,\npetrified there that he may yet bring good luck and fine weather to his\nbeloved sailors, is still looked upon by them with fond reverence, and\nthey still throw him in passing their drop of spirits, or doff their\nflag, for luck.--_From Mr. Isaac Le Patourel and others._\n\n\u201cL\u2019Bouan Homme Andriou,\u201d as correctly printed in Gray\u2019s map. This is\na _petrified Druid_, or rather Arch-Druid,--An _An Drio_--the Primate\nof the Unelli, and now the guardian of Moulin Huet and Saints\u2019 Bays,\nGuernsey; for, according to Rowland, our ancestors called that mighty\nPrelate thus, and Toland in his _Celtic Religion_, p. 60, says \u201cThe\npresent ignorant vulgar believes that these enchanters the Druids were\nat least themselves enchanted by the still greater enchanter Patrick\nand his disciples, who miraculously confined them _to the places that\nbear their names_. And let me not be thought over minutious should I\nnotice the peculiar propriety of the epithet applied by rural tradition\nto this _most reverend_ rock of ours--\u201cLe Bouan Homme,\u201d--\u201cbon homme\u201d\nin France, and \u201cgood man\u201d in England, still denoting a Priest two\ncenturies ago, particularly a priest of the old r\u00e9gime.\u201d--_From Mr.\nM\u00e9tivier._\n\n\u201cLA BELLE LIZABEAU.\u201d\n\nAnother instance of a traditionally petrified human being is a rock off\nthe Creux Mahi\u00e9, standing straight out into the water. It is called\n\u201cLa Belle Lizabeau,\u201d and a little rock at the foot of it is called\n\u201cLa Petite Lizabeau.\u201d It is said that \u201cLizabeau\u201d was a beautiful girl\nof Torteval, who was turned out of the house with her baby by her\ninfuriated father. Mad with despair she rushed to the cliffs and leapt\ninto the sea with her baby in her arms, and she and her child were\nturned into the rocks which now stand there.--_From Dan Mauger, an old\nfisherman of St. Martin\u2019s Parish._\n\n[70] Dr. Heylyn says in his _Survey of the Estate of Guernzey and\nJarsey_, published 1656, p. 298:--\u201cThe least of these isles, but yet of\nmost note, is the little islet called _Lehu_, situate on the north side\nof the eastern corner, and neer unto those scattered rocks, which are\ncalled _Les Hanwaux_ appertaining once unto the Dean, but now unto the\nGovernour. Famous for a little Oratory or Chantery there once erected\nto the honour of the Virgin _Mary_, who, by the people in those times\nwas much sued to by the name of our Lady of _Lehu_. A place long since\ndemolished in the ruine of it. \u201c_Sed jam periere ruin\u00e6_,\u201d but now the\nruines of it are scarce visible, there being almost nothing left of\nit but the steeple, which serveth only as a sea-marke, and to which,\nas any of that party sail along they strike their topsail. \u201c_Tantum\nreligio potuit suadere._\u201d Such a religious opinion have they harboured\nof the place, that, though the Saint be gone, the wals shall yet still\nbe honoured.\u201d\n\n\n\u201cLA ROQUE MANGI.\u201d\n\nLa Roque M\u00e0ngi was a natural granite formation having a very artificial\naspect. It stood on one of those sandy downs which extend along the\nnorth-west coast between \u201cLe Grand Havre\u201d and \u201cLes Grand\u2019 Rocques,\u201d and\nconsisted of a slender upright mass of rock of from eight to ten feet\nin height, surmounted by a large stone, projecting about half a foot on\nevery side, resting on the narrowest part of the supporting stone, and\nlooking at a little distance like a petrified giant. It was destroyed\nby the proprietor of the land about the middle of the present century\nin the hopes of finding below it a profitable quarry of granite, in\nwhich, however, he was disappointed.\n\nOf this rock a curious legend was related by the neighbouring peasants.\nIt was said that the Devil, having quarrelled one day with his wife,\ntied her by the hair of her head to the upright stone, and that, in\nher frantic efforts to disengage herself by running round and round,\nshe wore away the solid granite to the narrow neck which supported the\nsuperincumbent head.[71]\n\nThe origin of the name seems doubtful, some tracing it to a family\nof the name of Maingy, who possessed land in the parish in which the\nrock was situated. Others, with more probability, attributing it to\nthe \u201ceaten\u201d--\u201cmang\u00e9\u201d--(in the local dialect \u201cm\u00e0ngi\u201d) appearance of the\nstones, where the upper one or head joined the supporting upright.\n\n[71] From one of the Le Poidevins, of Pleinheaume.\n\n\n\u201cLA CHAIRE DE ST. BONIT.\u201d\n\nThis was also called \u201cLa Chaire au Pr\u00eatre,\u201d and was situated in the\ndistrict of the Hamelins, a little to the north of the property known\nas St. Clair. It was a very regularly formed natural obelisk of about\neight to ten feet in height, rising from the summit of one of those\nhillocks, or \u201chougues\u201d as they are locally called, which, before the\ngreat granite industry took its rise, abounded in St. Sampson\u2019s and\nthe Vale parishes, and along the whole western coast. At the foot of\nthe upright rock was a large flat stone, giving the whole mass the\nappearance of a gigantic chair or pulpit. Seven stone hatchets have\nbeen unearthed in its vicinity. It was evidently used by the Druids as\none of their sacred chairs, in which their Pontiffs sat to instruct the\npeople. It is probable that towards the end of the seventh century,\nSt. Bonit, Bishop of Auvergne, who was known to have been a great\ntraveller, visited the land previously converted by St. Samson, St.\nMagloire, St. Paterne, and St. Marcouf, and sat and preached to the\npeople in this erst-while Druid\u2019s throne, which henceforth bore his\nname.\n\n\n\u201cLA ROCQUE OU LE COQ CHANTE.\u201d\n\nThis very singular name is given to a picturesque mass of rock\nwhich forms the termination of a hill in the parish of Ste. Marie\ndu Castel, and abuts on the road leading from the village of Les\nGrands Moulins--better known as The King\u2019s Mills--to Le Mont Saint.\nMr. M\u00e9tivier gives as his explanation of this name that all this\nregion--from the Mont-au-Nouvel (now called Delancey Hill) to the\nCastiau Roc--was the centre of the Druids and their observances. \u201cThe\nEagle,\u201d \u201cThe Cock,\u201d \u201cThe Partridge,\u201d \u201cThe Curlew,\u201d were the names\nof various degrees in Theology[72] among the Druids and among the\nwestern sun worshippers. This \u201cCoq\u201d was the Prophet, the \u201cMagician,\u201d\nof the Canton. The Arch-Magician of the King of Babylon was Nergal or\n\u201cLe Coq.\u201d It is said to be a very favourite haunt of the fairies and\nwitches, and it is commonly reported that an immense treasure lies\nconcealed within it. In olden days it was the fashion to walk round\nit, stamping at the same time, the soil resounded under their feet,\nthey heard, or thought they heard, the monotonous sound of a bell,\ntolling a far-away knell, and hence the belief of a subterranean fairy\ncavern and hoards of concealed treasure.[73]\n\n[72] Christophor: Muyheus apud. Baheum, in Centur. de Script. Brit.\n\n[73] From Rachel Duport.\n\nEDITOR\u2019S NOTE.--In _Traditions et Superstitions de la Haute Bretagne_,\nTome I., p. 38, M. Paul Sebillot says:--\u201cPresque tous les monuments\npr\u00e9historiques passent pour renfermer des tr\u00e9sors, il en est de m\u00eame\ndes gros blocs erratiques qui se trouvent dans les champs ou sur les\nlandes.\u201d\n\n\nINSCRIBED STONE.\n\nOld people say that there was formerly a very large stone in St.\nAndrew\u2019s parish on which was engraven an inscription in ancient\ncharacters. Some men who passed it every day in going to their work at\nlast succeeded in deciphering it, and read as follows:--\n\n    _\u201cCelui qui me tournera_\n    _Son temps point ne perdra.\u201d_\n\n    (To him who turns me up, I say,\n    His labour won\u2019t be thrown away).\n\nThis inscription roused their curiosity, and they determined on making\na strong effort to raise the stone, fully persuaded that it concealed\nan enormous treasure. They procured crowbars and levers, and, at last,\nwith much labour and great loss of time, succeeded in lifting it, but\nwho can describe their disappointment when they found nought but the\nfollowing words, legibly engraved on the other side:--\n\n    _\u201cTourner je voulais_\n    _Car lass\u00e9e j\u2019\u00e9tais.\u201d_\n\n    (Tired of lying on one side\n    To get turned over long I\u2019ve tried).[74]\n\n[74] A similar story is told in Scotland. See MacTaggart\u2019s _Gallavidian\nEncyclop\u00e6dia_, under the article \u201cLettered Craigs.\u201d\n\nSee also _M\u00e9lusine_, Vol. II., p. 357. Roby\u2019s _Traditions of\nLancashire_, Vol. I., p. 252, and the same story in _Notes and\nQueries_, 1st Series. II. 332.\n\n\nFOOTPRINTS ON STONE.\n\nA little inland, about halfway between the points of land which are the\nnorthern and southern extremities of the picturesque bay of Rocquaine,\nthere is a rocky hillock known generally by the name of \u201cLe C\u00e2tillon,\u201d\nprobably from some small castle or fortification which may have existed\nthere in former days. Old people say that the true name of the hill is\n\u201cLa Hougue \u00e8s Brinches,\u201d from the broom which once grew there in large\nquantities. At the foot of this hillock, on the northern side, there\nis a flat stone imbedded in the earth, and on it are the marks of two\nfeet, pointing in opposite directions, as if two persons coming, one\nfrom the north, and the other from the south, had met on this spot and\nleft the impress of their footprints on the stone. Of course a story\nis not wanting to account for these marks. It is said that the Lady of\nLihou and the Lady of St. Brioc (or some say the Abbess of La Haye du\nPuits) had a dispute as to the limits of their territorial possessions,\nand that, in order to settle the question, they agreed to leave their\nrespective abodes at a certain hour before breakfast, and walk straight\nforward until they met. The spot where the meeting took place was to\nbe henceforth considered as the boundary, and to avoid any further\ndisputes a lasting memorial was to be placed on the spot.\n\nIf the country people are asked who these \u201cLadies\u201d were, they can\ngive no further information about them, but they evidently consider\nthem to have belonged to the fairy-folk, who have left behind them so\nmany traces of their former occupation of the island. Antiquaries are\ndisposed to look upon the stone as having been placed there to mark\nthe boundary line between the Priories of Notre Dame de Lihou and St.\nBrioc.\n\nAnother story of this rock is that at Pleinmont lived a hermit who was\nmuch respected by all the island, and many people came to visit him in\nhis cell, which he never left, except to administer the Holy Sacrament\nto the dying. He used to be seen kneeling for hours at the foot of a\ncross upon the cliff; but one night a fisherman, anchored in Rocquaine\nBay, saw by the moon\u2019s light this hermit cross the sands and meet a\ntiny shrouded figure which came from the direction of Lihou. They met\non this rock, and stood talking there for some time, and then each\nreturned the way he came, and in the morning, when the fisherman came\nto examine the place, he found the print of two feet. He could not make\nhimself believed when he told the story, until it was discovered that\nthe hermit had disappeared, never to be seen again.[75]\n\nIn the year 1829 a large quantity of coins, amounting, it is said, to\nnearly seven hundred in number, were dug up at no very great distance\nfrom this stone. The greater part were silver pennies, but there were\na few copper pieces among them; they were of the reigns of Edward II.\nof England, and Philip IV. of France. The discovery of this treasure\ninduced some men who lived in the neighbourhood to seek for more, and,\nunder the firm persuasion that the most likely spot to find it was\nunder the stone itself, they resolved on braving the danger which is\nsupposed to be incurred by removing stones which have been placed by\nthe fairies, and devoted a whole morning to clearing away the ground\naround it with a view to lifting it. They had, with great labour,\nsucceeded in loosening the stone just as the sun in its zenith marked\nthe hour of noon, an hour when all good workmen cease from their toil\nto eat their frugal mid-day repast, and to enjoy their siesta under the\nshelter of a hedge. They felt sure of success, and probably dreamt of\nthe uses to which they would put their treasure, but, alas, for their\nhopes. When they returned to their work at one o\u2019clock, they found the\nstone as firmly fixed as ever, and resisting their utmost efforts to\nremove it. They were more convinced than ever that immense riches lie\nburied in this spot, but that it is useless to seek for them, and none\nsince that time have been bold enough to renew the attempt.[76]\n\n[75] From Miss Lane.\n\n[76] From Jean Le Lacheur, of Rocquaine.\n\n\n\u201cLE PIED DU B\u0152UF.\u201d\n\nIn the Vale parish there is a large tract of uncultivated land\ncommonly known by the name of L\u2019Ancresse Common. It is said to owe\nits name of L\u2019Ancresse--the anchoring place--to the circumstance of\nthe neighbouring bay having afforded a refuge to Robert the First,\nDuke of Normandy, and his fleet, when in danger of perishing in a\nviolent tempest. Our learned antiquary, Mr. George M\u00e9tivier, is rather\ndisposed to derive the name from the Celtic \u201cLancreis,\u201d \u201cthe place\nof the circle,\u201d so many Druidical remains being still to be found on\nthe common as to render it highly probable that one of those circular\nenclosures, formed of upright stones, in which the Druids are supposed\nto have held their sacred assemblies, formerly existed here. Along the\nsea-coast are many eminences, known locally by the name of \u201chougues.\u201d\nTheir height is not great, but they form picturesque objects in the\nlandscape. Here and there large masses of grey granite covered with\nlichens rise in irregular forms above the green sward, gay in spring\nwith the bright flowers of the furze and bluebell, and redolent with\nthe sweet perfume of the wild thyme and chamomile. In some of these\nrocks may be traced those curious excavations known by the name of rock\nbasins, which antiquaries have considered as artificial, but which\ngeologists are ready to prove to be the work of nature.\n\nOf late years many of these hougues have been quarried for the sake\nof the stone, which is preferred in London to all others for paving\npurposes, and if the demand should continue many of these hills will\nbe entirely levelled, and with them will disappear some of the most\ncharacteristic features in the scenery of that part of the island.\nWhile writing (1853), La Hougue Patris is advertised for sale, and\nstress is laid in the advertisement on the excellent quality of the\nstone which it contains. This hougue is situated on the north eastern\nextremity of L\u2019Ancresse Bay, and is remarkable from the circumstance\nthat a portion of the rock, where it appears above ground, bears marks\nprecisely similar to those which would be left by the hoof of an ox\non wet clay. So remarkable an appearance has of course attracted the\nattention of the neighbouring peasants, who call the rock which bears\nthe impression \u201cLe Pied du B\u0153uf.\u201d Some old people relate that the\nDevil, after having been driven from the other parts of the island by a\nSaint whose name is now forgotten, made a last stand on this spot, but\nthat, after a long and desperate conflict, his Satanic Majesty was at\nlast constrained to take flight. In leaping, he left the marks of his\nhoofs imprinted on the stone. He directed his flight towards Alderney,\nbut on his way thither alighted on the Brayes rocks, where, it is said,\nsimilar marks of cloven feet are to be seen. Whether he got beyond\nAlderney, or settled down quietly in that island, is a point on which\nthe narrators of the tradition are by no means agreed.\n\nDid we not know that a family of the name of Patris was formerly\nnumerous in the Vale parish,[77] and that there is every probability\nthat the Hougue derived its name from some member of that family, to\nwhom, in ancient days, it may have belonged; we might be tempted to\nsuppose that the valiant Saint who forced the demon to fly was no other\nthan the renowned St. Patrick himself, especially as, according to some\naccounts, the Saint was a native of a village in the neighbourhood of\nthe town of St Maloes, within eight or ten hours of this island.\n\nIt is true that, with all the self-conceit of the nineteenth century,\nwe are apt to suppose that before the establishment of packets and\nsteamers, communication between the opposite coasts of the Channel was\ndifficult and infrequent, but we have only to open the lives of the\nBritish and Irish Saints to see with what ease and rapidity these holy\nmen effected the voyage, with no other conveyance than a stone trough,\na bundle of sea-weed, or perchance a cloak spread out on the boisterous\nwaves.\n\n[77] EDITOR\u2019S NOTE.--The Patris were also a family of note in the\nparish of St. Martin\u2019s in the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth\ncenturies; a \u201cVille \u00e8s Patrys\u201d was among the numerous subdivisions of\nthis parish. Much of their lands passed into the hands of the Bonamy\nfamily through the marriage of Marguerite Patris, daughter of Pierrot\nPatris, of Les Landes and St. Martin\u2019s, to Pierre Bonamy, father of\nJohn Bonamy, King\u2019s Procureur in 1495, builder of the old Bonamy house\nof Les C\u00e2ches, and translator of the \u201cExtente\u201d from Latin into French\nin 1498.\n\n[Illustration: \u201cThe Devil\u2019s Claw\u201d at Jerbourg.]\n\n\n\u201cTHE DEVIL\u2019S CLAW\u201d AT JERBOURG.\n\nAs the inhabitants of Guernsey may be presumed to be acquainted with\nthe Chronicles of their own Duchy of Normandy, it is not improbable\nthat the following legendary tale, related of Duke Richard, surnamed\nSans-Peur, may be known to some of them.\n\nThe _Chronique de Normandie_, printed at Rouen in 1576, gives it in\nwords of which the following is a close translation. (Fol. 4. Sur\nl\u2019an 797). \u201cOnce upon a time, as Duke Richard was riding from one of\nhis Castles to a Manor, where a very beautiful lady was residing, the\nDevil attacked him, and Richard fought with and vanquished him. After\nthis adventure the Devil disguised himself as a beautiful maiden,\nrichly adorned,[78] and appeared to him in a boat at Granville, where\nRichard then was. Richard entered into the boat to converse with and\ncontemplate the beauty of this lady, and the Devil carried away the\nsaid Duke Richard to a rock in the sea in the island of Guernsey, where\nhe was found.\u201d\n\nHe is supposed to have anchored at La Petite Porte and leapt up the\ncliff and landed on the stone near Doyle\u2019s Column at Jerbourg, where\nthe print of his claw is still to be seen. As you go along the road\nfrom the town to Doyle\u2019s Column you see a large white piece of quartz\nwith a deep black splash right across it. It is on the right hand side\nof the road, just as it begins to rise towards Doyle\u2019s Column, at the\nhead of the second vallum, or dyke, going down towards La Petite\nPorte. This stone was also the termination of the bounds at Jerbourg\nbeaten by the Chevauch\u00e9e de St. Michel.\n\n[78] \u201cCeux qui effleurent tout au galop ne sauront point que, chez\nles Rabbins, _Lilith_, spectre nocturne, est \u2018une diablesse\u2019 sous la\nforme de cette \u2018damoiselle richement aorn\u00e9e,\u2019 qui ne fit les yeux doux\n\u00e0 notre bon duc Richard, qu\u2019afin de traiter ce nouvel Ixion comme la\nreine des Dieux avait trait\u00e9 le premier.\u201d--_Georges M\u00e9tivier._\n\n\n\u201cLE PONT DU DIABLE.\u201d\n\nIn former days that tract of land lying between St. Sampson\u2019s Harbour\nand the Vale Church, and known by the name of \u201cLe Braye du Valle,\u201d was\nan arm of the sea, which at high water separated that part of the Vale\nparish called \u201cLe Clos du Valle\u201d from the rest of the island. At the\nbeginning of the present century, Sir John Doyle, then Lieut.-Governor\nof the island, seeing the inconvenience that might arise from the want\nof a ready communication with the mainland, in the event of an invading\nenemy effecting or attempting a landing in L\u2019Ancresse Bay, caused the\ndyke near the Vale Church to be built. The land recovered from the sea\nbecame of course the property of the Crown, and was subsequently sold\nto private individuals, the purchase money being given up by Government\nto be employed towards defraying the expenses of constructing new roads\nthroughout the island.\n\nWhere fishes once swam, and where the husbandman once gathered sea-weed\nfor the manuring of his land, droves of cattle now graze, and fields\nof corn wave.[79] From the very earliest times, the want of an easy\ncommunication between the neighbouring parishes must have been felt,\nand attempts had been made to remedy the inconvenience by the erection\nof rude bridges. It would be strange, if the Devil, whose skill in\nthe construction of bridges in every part of Europe has certainly\nentitled him to the honourable appellation of Pontifex Maximus, had\nnot had a hand in building one of the three principal passages across\nthe Braye du Valle. Accordingly we find that the dyke at St. Sampson\u2019s\nHarbour, known by the name of \u201cLe Grand Pont,\u201d is also called \u201cLe Pont\ndu Diable,\u201d and old people affirm that it has been handed down as a\ntradition from their forefathers, that shortly after the building of\nthe Vale Castle, the Devil threw up this embankment, in order to enable\nhim to cross over to that fortress with ease and safety.\n\nPerhaps the bridge may have been built by order of Robert the First,\nDuke of Normandy, father of William the Conqueror, sometimes called\n\u201cRobert le Magnifique,\u201d but quite as well known by the less honourable\ncognomen of \u201cRobert le Diable,\u201d and, if in the absence of documentary\nevidence, any reliance is to be placed in the tradition hitherto\ngenerally received that the Vale Castle, if not originally built, was\nat least considerably improved and strengthened by this Prince, it is\ncertainly not going too far to suppose that the bridge may owe its name\nto him, and not to his Satanic Majesty.\n\nOne observance connected with this bridge is worth mentioning. From\ntime immemorial persons from all parts of the island have been in\nthe habit of assembling here on the afternoons of the Sundays in the\nmonth of August. No reason is assigned for this custom, but as Saint\nSampson is looked upon as the first Apostle of Christianity in this\nisland, and as the church which bears his name is said to have been the\nfirst Christian temple erected in the island, and is, in consequence,\nconsidered in some respects as the mother church, may not this assembly\nbe the remains of a church-wake, observed in ancient times on the\nSunday following the feast of St. Sampson, that is to say, the 28th of\nJuly.\n\nSimilar meetings are common in Normandy and Brittany, where they are\ncalled \u201cassemblies\u201d and \u201cpardons.\u201d\n\nThe two other principal passages across the Braye du Valle were the\nbridges called \u201cLe Pont Colliche\u201d and \u201cLe Pont St. Michel.\u201d They\nconsisted of rude slabs of stone resting on huge blocks of rock, and\nwere dangerous, both from the sea-weed which attached itself to them,\nand rendered them exceedingly slippery, and also from the rapidity with\nwhich the tide, when rising, flowed in, for both of them were covered\nat high water. Many and sad were the accidents which had happened\nto incautious and belated passengers, and it is not wonderful that\nsuperstition believed these spots to be haunted by the ghosts of those\nwho had perished in attempting the crossing. The \u201cPont St. Michel,\u201d\nsituated near the Vale Church, where the embankment now is, was held\nin especial dread. At night the \u201cfeu bellenger\u201d or will-o\u2019-the-wisp,\nwas to be seen dancing on the sands, and gliding under the bridge, and\neven at mid-day, when the sun was shining brightly, unearthly cries of\ndistress would be occasionally heard proceeding from that direction,\nthough no living being could be discovered, by whom they could possibly\nbe uttered.\n\nAn old woman, still alive, whose youth was spent in that neighbourhood,\nhas assured me that she has repeatedly heard the cries.\n\n\u201cLe Pont Colliche\u201d was situated about midway between the two others,\na little to the eastward of the road which now traverses the Braye.\nAccording to tradition, there was once a time when the opening at\nthe \u201cBougue du Valle\u201d--the channel between the Grand Havre and the\nBraye--was so small that a faggot, weighted with stone, would have\nsufficed to stop it.\n\nAt that time the passage between the islands of Herm and Guernsey was\nso narrow that a plank laid down at low water enabled the Rector of\nSt. Sampson\u2019s to cross over when his duty called him to perform divine\nservice in the Chapel of St. Tugual. Great quantities of the common\ncockle (_cardium edule_), locally known by the name of \u201ccocques du\nBraye,\u201d used to be gathered on the sands at low water. It is said,\nhowever, that even before the enclosure of the Braye they had begun to\ndisappear, and their increasing scarcity was attributed to the impiety\nof an old woman, who, unmindful of the sacred duty of keeping the\nsabbath holy, was in the habit of searching for these cockles on that\nday. A similar story is told to account for the rarity of a particular\nkind of periwinkle (_trochus crassus_) known here by the name of\n\u201cCocquelin Brehaut.\u201d\n\nA stone, which has evidently served as the socket or base of a cross,\nand which is said to have come from the Pont Colliche, is still\npreserved at Les Grandes Capelles.\n\n[79] EDITOR\u2019S NOTE.--Of course this was written long before the days of\ngreenhouses and the tomato-growing industry.\n\n\n\u201cTHE LOVERS\u2019 LEAP.\u201d\n\n    \u201cAh me! for aught that ever I could read,\n    Could ever hear by tale, or history,\n    The course of true love never did run smooth.\u201d\n\nThe promontory of Pleinmont forms the south-western extremity of\nthe island of Guernsey, and, to the admirer of the wild and rugged\nbeauties of cliff and rock scenery, affords an ever-varying treat.\nLofty precipices, in which the sea-birds and hawks nestle--huge\nmasses of granite piled into fantastic forms--covered with grey and\norange-coloured lichens, and gay with the flowers of the thrift and\nother sea-side plants, large rocks detached from the main-land and\ntenanted by long rows of the sun-loving cormorant, the ever-restless\nocean, now smiling and rippling under a summer sky, now lashed into\nfury by the wintry blast, all combine to add to the charms of this\ndistrict.\n\nMany accordingly are the parties which frequent this spot during\nthe summer, and it is probable that some of those who have visited\nthis place may remember a small promontory almost detached from the\nmainland, and forming the westernmost point of the island. To the\nsouthward of this promontory there is a sort of ravine, extending from\nthe table-land of Pleinmont to the edge of the cliff, where a small\nbreastwork of earth and stones has been erected. The reason why this\nspot, which is by no means the most dangerous along the coast, has been\nthus protected, is not very apparent. The existence of a small spring\nof water in the ravine, which keeps up a constant verdure and tempts\nthe cattle turned out to pick up a scanty living on the common to the\nplace, suggests a probable solution of the question; but the tradition\nof the peasantry assigns a far more romantic reason for the erection of\nthe parapet than the mere safety of a few stray heifers.\n\nThey say that in days long past, the son of a farmer in the\nneighbourhood formed an attachment for the daughter of a family with\nwhom his own was at variance. His affection was returned by the maiden,\nand the wishes of the lovers might, in the end, have triumphed over\nthe opposition of the parents, had not the hand of the girl been\npromised by her friends to one of the richest men in the parish. In\nvain did the unhappy maiden urge the cruelty of forcing her into a\nmarriage which her heart abhorred. In vain did her lover employ every\nmeans in his power to break off the hated contract. Their prayers and\nrepresentations were treated with scorn, and the preparations for the\nmarriage were proceeded with. The eve of the day appointed for the\nsolemn espousal--a ceremony which in ancient times preceded and was\ndistinct from that of marriage--had arrived. The lovers met by stealth\non the cliffs at Pleinmont, and, driven to despair, mounted together on\na horse, which they urged into a gallop, and, directing him down the\nravine, they fell over the precipice and perished in the waves below.\nTo commemorate the event, and to prevent the recurrence of a similar\ncatastrophe, the barrier was erected.[80]\n\n[80] From Miss Rachel Mauger.\n\n[Illustration: \u201cLes Fontaines de Mont Blicq, Forest.\u201d]\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER V.\n\nHoly Chapels and Holy Wells.\n\n    \u201cThereby a crystal stream did gently play,\n    Which from a sacred fount welled forth alway.\u201d\n\n                                      --_Spenser._\n\n    \u201cFor to that holy wood is consecrate,\n    A virtuous well about whose flowery banks\n    The nimble-footed fairies dance their rounds\n    By the pale moonshine, dipping often times\n    Their stolen children, so to make them free\n    From dying flesh and dull mortality.\u201d\n\n            --_Fletcher\u2019s \u201cFaithful Shepherdess.\u201d_\n\n\nThough not strictly speaking \u201cFolk-Lore,\u201d the ancient priories and\nchapels of Guernsey are so closely connected with the holy wells that\nit may be as well here to give some details concerning them. It appears\nthat these chapels must have been of more than one kind. Some were\nendowed, and had a priest permanently attached to them with probably a\ncertain cure of souls. Others were most likely wayside oratories, where\ndivine service was only performed occasionally by the rector of the\nparish, or someone acting under him, on certain anniversaries. Some may\nhave been connected with religious guilds or fraternities.\n\nTo begin with those churches and chapels known to have been endowed,\nand which were probably--at least after the suppression of alien\npriories--under the patronage of the Crown.\n\nA Commission was appointed in the reign of Henry VIII. for the purpose\nof ascertaining the value of all livings within the kingdom, with a\nview to the duty called first-fruits, owing on the appointment of every\necclesiastic to a benefice, being henceforth paid to the Crown. From\nthis document we learn that besides the ten parochial churches there\nwere four other benefices--the vicarage of Lihou worth five pounds\nsterling, that of St. Brioc worth twelve shillings, the chaplaincy of\nSt. George worth sixty shillings, and that of \u201cOur Lady Mares,\u201d no\ndoubt Notre Dame des Marais, worth three pounds.\n\nThe first of these four, Lihou, was originally a priory dependent on\nthe Priory of St. Michel-du-Valle, which was of itself a dependency of\nthe great Abbey of Mont St. Michel in Normandy. The Prior of Lihou had\nprobably pastoral care of the district comprised in the Fief Lihou,\nextending along the coast called Perelle,[81] from L\u2019Er\u00e9e to Rocquaine\nCastle, where the district of St. Brioc begins. It also comprised\ncertain possessions in the Castel parish and elsewhere, and its feudal\ncourt was held near the western porch of the Castel Church, a little\nnorthward of the path leading to it, where are still to be seen three\nflat stones, which mark the spot.\n\nSt. Brioc was situated in the valley leading from Torteval Church to\nRocquaine. There is reason to suppose that it had a certain district\nallotted to it, but its limits are not now known.\n\nSt. George was only a chaplaincy, intimately connected with the Fief Le\nComte, the court of which formerly assembled in the chapel, and still\nmeets in its immediate vicinity. The earliest notice we have of this\nchapel is contained in the Bull of Pope Adrian IV., dated 1155. In the\nyear following Dom Robert de Thorigny--or, as he is sometimes called,\n\u201cDu Mont\u201d--abbot of the famous monastery of Mont St. Michel, visited\nthis island, and found one Guillaume Gavin established at St. George as\nchaplain: he was anxious to retire from the world, and, at his request,\nthe abbot admitted him into his community as a monk, and appointed\nGodefroy Vivier to succeed him as chaplain at St. George. After some\ntime Vivier followed the example of his predecessor, and took the frock\nat Mont Saint Michel, having previously made over certain lands which\nhe possessed in the neighbourhood of St. George to the abbey which\nafforded him shelter.\n\nIn 1408 the chaplain was Dom Toulley, who obtained an order from the\nRoyal Court prohibiting any one from trespassing on the road leading to\nthe chapel, it being reserved exclusively for persons attending divine\nservice, or sick people visiting the fountain, the small coin left as\nan offering at the well being doubtless a perquisite belonging to the\nchaplain.\n\nThis chapel was originally endowed with some lands or rents, probably\nwith the territory still known as Le Fief de la Chapelle, which is one\nof the many dependencies of the Fief Le Comte.\n\nAfter the Reformation St. George became in some way the property of\nthe de Jersey family,[82] and by the marriage of Marie de Jersey,\nan heiress, to Jacques Guille, which took place about the middle of\nthe seventeenth century, it passed into the possession of the latter\nfamily, by whom it is still held. This Marie de Jersey made a gift of\nthe chapel to the inhabitants of the Castel in about 1675 to serve as\na school house. A more convenient building was erected in 1736 on the\nsite of an old mill, and endowed with nine quarters of wheat rente by\nMarie de Sausmarez, widow of Mr. William Le Marchant, and the chapel\nceased to be used as a school house. Bickerings as to rights of way\nacross the estate, under the pretence that there was a thoroughfare\nleading to a public building, ensued, even after the removal of the\nschool; so finally Mr. Guille ordered the chapel to be demolished, and\nonly a few ruins are now left.\n\nThe Chapel of \u201cOur Lady Mares\u201d--Notre Dame des Marais--is thus\nmentioned in the Extente of Edward III., \u201cNostre Sire le Roy n\u2019a rien\ndes vacations des eglises et chapelles, fors la Chapelle de Nostre Dame\ndes Maresqs qui vaut XXX lbts en laquelle iceluy Roy doit pr\u00e9senter en\ntems de la vacation, et l\u2019Evesque de Coutance en a l\u2019institution.\u201d The\nchaplain then in possession, 1331, was Robert de Hadis.[83]\n\nThe other churches and chapels were not at this time in the gift of\nthe Crown, but belonged to alien monasteries, Marmoutiers, Mont St.\nMichel, and Blanchelande. The chapel itself was, there is very little\ndoubt, situated within the precincts of Le Ch\u00e2teau des Marais, now\nbetter known as Ivy Castle, and the Livres de Perchage of the Town\nparish of the time of Elizabeth and James I. mention certain fields in\nthe vicinity as belonging to it.\n\nThe Hospice and Chapel of St. Julien was situated at the bottom of the\nTruchot, in the district called Le Bosq, close to the sea-shore. There\nare many \u201cSt. Julians\u201d in the calendar, one of them being considered\nthe special patron of travellers. In the title of his Legende MS.\nBodleian, 1596, fol. 4, he is called \u201cSt. Julian the Gode herberjoue.\u201d\nIt ends thus:--\n\n    \u201cTherefore, yet to this day, thei that over lond wende\n    Thei biddeth Saint Julian anon that gode herborw he hem sende.\u201d\n\nChaucer had the familiar attribute of St. Julian before him when he\ndescribed his \u201cFrancklyn\u201d or country gentleman:--\n\n    \u201cAn householder, and that a grete, was he:\n    Saint Julian he was in his own contr\u00e9.\u201d\n\nThe rock on which travellers to the island used to land, now the\nfoundation of the harbour, was \u201cLa Roche St. Julien,\u201d and probably\nthe hospital, being situated near a landing place, was intended\nas a refuge for travellers, and therefore dedicated to him. This\nchapel was founded in the year 1361, the thirty-fifth of the reign of\nEdward III., at the time when Sir John Maltravers was Governor of the\nislands. The founder was a certain Petrus de St. Petro, or Pierre de\nSt. Peye, as we find it written in French. Permission was granted him\nby the Crown to found the said hospital or alms house for a master,\nbrethren and sisters, in a certain spot near _Bowes_ (Le Bosq,--this\nword was evidently Bou\u00e9s, Bois, a wood, with which the word Bou\u00ebt is\nalso identical), in the parish of St. Peter Port, and to endow it with\ntwenty verg\u00e9es of land and eighty quarters of wheat rent, out of which\ncertain dues were to be paid to the King. \u201cLa Petite \u00c9cole,\u201d or parish\nschool, which has from time immemorial been situated in this vicinity,\nwas originally connected with St. Julian. It is generally believed\nthat the school was founded in 1513 by Thomas Le Marchant and Jannette\nThelry, his wife.\n\nAt the Reformation the chapel and hospital were suppressed, and its\nrevenues and possessions seized by the Crown. The parishioners of\nSt. Peter Port complained to the Royal Commissioners of 1607 of the\nalienation of this property, which they looked upon as belonging to the\nparish, but their complaint was not attended to. In the early part of\nthe century there were the remains of an old house, in a late debased\nGothic style of the fifteenth century, standing at the bottom of Bosq\nLane, which used to be looked upon as the remains of a conventual\nbuilding. The house in question was a residence of a branch of the de\nBeauvoir family, whose arms were carved in stone over the principal\nentrance. The stones forming this entrance were preserved, and are now\nin the ruins of the Chapel of St. George.\n\nWith the exception of the Franciscan Friary, there is no proof of any\nconventual establishments in the island, though tradition points to La\nHaye-du-Puits as being the site of an old convent. Doubtless in early\ntimes, and before the English had lost Normandy, the great monasteries\nwhich held lands in Guernsey may have had priories here. Mont St.\nMichel we know had the Priory of St. Michel du Valle, and there is some\nreason to believe that Blanchelande also had some establishment of\nthe kind in the island. How the Abbeys of Marmoutier, La Rue Frairie,\nCroix St. Lenfroy and Caen, all of which had possessions in the island,\nmanaged them, we have no means of knowing, though it was most likely by\nthe machinery of a feudal court.\n\nWe will now speak of the Priories of St. Michel du Valle and Notre Dame\nde Lihou.\n\nA tradition, which may be traced up to the time of Edward II., says\nthat certain monks, driven from Mont St. Michel for their dissolute\nlives, settled in the Vale parish and founded an abbey about the year\n968 A.D. The same authority informs us that they reformed their lives\nand became famous for their sanctity, and that when Robert, Duke of\nNormandy, visited the island in the year 1032, having been driven here\nby stress of weather while on his way to England with a fleet to the\nhelp of his nephew, Edward the Confessor, he confirmed them in the\npossession of the lands they had acquired. The same tradition also says\nthat in the year 1061 certain pirates attacked and pillaged the island,\nand that their leader \u201cLe Grand Geoffroy,\u201d or \u201cLe Grand Sarasin,\u201d had\nhis stronghold on the site of what is now the Castel Church. Complaint\nhaving been made to Duke William, he sent over Samson d\u2019Anneville, who\nsucceeded, with the aid of the monks, in driving them out. For this\nservice they were rewarded by the Duke with a grant of one half of the\nisland, comprising, besides the Vale, what are now the parishes of the\nCastel, St. Saviour\u2019s, and St. Peter\u2019s-in-the-Wood. This grant they\ndivided between them, and the monks, in right of their priory, held\nthat portion of the lands which is still known as Le Fief St. Michel.\nThe rest is now comprised for the most part in the Fiefs Le Comte and\nAnneville and their dependencies. To the south-east of the Vale Church\nis an old farm house which still bears the name of L\u2019Abbaye, and which,\nwithout doubt, occupies the site of the original priory. Even at the\npresent day, it is easy to trace part of the walls of the earlier\nedifice, which, however, was in a ruinous state as early as the reign\nof Henry IV., for we find Sir John de Lisle, Governor of Guernsey,\nwriting to the Privy Council about the year 1406 for permission to\nuse the timber of the building for the repairs of Castle Cornet, and\nalleging in his letter that the priory had fallen into decay, and\ngiving as a reason for his request that in consequence of the war it\nwas impossible to procure timber either from Normandy or Brittany.\n\nThe names of a few priors have survived. It is not quite clear whether\na certain Robert, whose name appears as witness to the deed by which\nRobert, Abbot of Mont St. Michel, during a visit which he made to the\nisland in 1156, appointed Guillaume Gavin, monk, to the chaplaincy\nof St. George, was Prior of the Vale or not. He is styled in the\ndeed Priest and Dean of the Vale (de Walo). In 1249 Henry, Canon of\nBlanchelande, was collated to the Vale Church by special dispensation.\nAbout 1307 Johannes de Porta was prior (probably a Du Port, a family\nof considerable antiquity in the island, and of good standing). In\n1312 Guillaume Le Feivre filled the office. In 1323 Renauld Pastey was\nPrior of the Vale, and had a lawsuit with the inhabitants of that and\nother parishes concerning tithes. In 1331 there was another dispute\nconcerning tithes, which was referred to the arbitration of two monks,\nGuillaume Le Feivre and Jourdain Poingdestre, who had both formerly\nbeen priors. In the year 1335 Andreas de Porta, 1364-68, Geoffrey de\nCarteret, and in 1365 Denis Le Marchant, clerk, was appointed seneschal\nof the Court of St. Michel.\n\nAccording to the ballad known as \u201cLa Descente des Arragousais,\u201d\n\u201cBr\u00e9gard\u201d[84] was the monk in charge of the priory in 1372, and by his\nintrigues the Vale Castle fell into the hands of the enemy, which was\nevidently a legend current at the time. Guillaume Paul, alias R\u00e8gne, in\n1478, is the last prior of whom we have found mention.\n\nThe Priory of Lihou, as has been already said, was a dependency of\nSt. Michel-du-Valle. The ruins of the church and other buildings are\nstill to be seen. The former was entire at a time long subsequent to\nthe Reformation, and is said to have been destroyed at the command of\none of our Governors to prevent the possibility of its serving as an\nentrenchment in case of an enemy landing on the islet. It appears to\nhave replaced a still more ancient building, as many pieces of Caen\nstone, with well-executed Norman mouldings, are built into the walls.\nProbably the first building had been destroyed in some of the many\ninroads to which the island was subjected during the reign of Edward\nIII.\n\nAn incumbent of Lihou, with the title of prior, existed until the time\nof the Reformation.\n\nNow to come to the remaining chapels. The Extente of Edward III. speaks\nof the King\u2019s Chaplain, John de Caretier, who received a salary out of\nthe revenues of the island, and was bound to say mass daily for the\nKing, and for the souls of his ancestors either in the chapel of Castle\nCornet or in the chapel of His Majesty\u2019s manor of La Grange. It is\nnot exactly known where this manor was situated, but as the estate of\nthe late John Carey, Esq., has always borne this name--the Grange--it\nis reasonable to suppose that it was thereabouts. The more so, as\nRichard II. founded the Convent of Cordeliers or Francisian friars on\nthe ground now belonging to Elizabeth College, probably then comprised\nin the Grange estate. It must be said, however, that there are also\nreasons for supposing that the King\u2019s Grange may have been situated\nelsewhere, probably in the vicinity of the Tour Gand, a fortress which\ndefended the approaches of the town from the north, and this opinion\nderives some support from the fact that the Plaiderie, or Court House,\nis known to have existed in ancient times in this locality, and that in\nthe middle ages a chapel was considered an almost essential adjunct to\na Court of Justice.\n\nTo return to the Convent of the Cordeliers, it is known that the site\nof their church, called in Acts of Court \u201cLa Chapelle des Fr\u00e8res,\u201d is\nsaid to have stood opposite to the entrance of Le Cimeti\u00e8re des Fr\u00e8res,\nwhich was the burial ground belonging to this church, and, together\nwith the site of the church, a considerable portion of land appears\nto have been alienated from the college, probably by the arbitrary\nact of some Governor of the island. The church consisted of a chancel\nand nave, the latter, on the building being given for the use of the\ncollege, serving as a school-room, and the former being occupied by the\nmaster. After its alienation the burial ground fell into the hands of\nan individual of the name of Blanche, who turned it into an orchard,\nbut, a plague having broken out in 1629, the Court made an order that\nall who died of that disorder should be buried there, since which time\nit has served for a cemetery for the Town parish. How the burial ground\nattached to the Town Church came to acquire the name of \u201cCimeti\u00e8re des\nS\u0153urs\u201d cannot now be known, as there can be no doubt that from time\nimmemorial it was no other than the parochial cemetery. There is no\ndocument known to exist which points to any conventual establishment\nfor females in the island, though there are traditions to that effect.\nThere was, however, among many other fraternities, a \u201cconfr\u00e8rie de\nfr\u00e8res et s\u0153urs\u201d connected in some measure with this cemetery, and\nwhich may have given it the name. At the Reformation the land and rents\ndue to this fraternity were seized by the Crown, and the list of them\nis still preserved among the records at the Greffe, with the following\nheading--\u201cConfessions de rentes dues aux fr\u00e8res et s\u0153urs de la\nconfrerye et fraternit\u00e9 de la charit\u00e9, fondeye pour la dilyvrance des\names de purgatoyre, par les dis frayres et s\u0153urs, constytu\u00e9e, establye\net ordonn\u00e9e, en la Chapelle de Sepulcre estante dedans le cymetyere de\nSt. Pierre Port,\u201d &c., &c.\n\nThis proves the existence of a chapel in the churchyard, but whether\nit was the building known by the name of \u201cLe Belfroi,\u201d and which was\ndemolished in 1787, cannot now be ascertained. \u201cBelfroi\u201d is the name\ngiven in the medi\u00e6val ages to a Town Hall. The edifice known by that\nname in St. Peter Port belonged to the Town, and was used latterly as\na store-house for militia requisites. It is described as having been\nbuilt of stone, vaulted, and divided into two apartments, an upper\nand a lower, the latterly partly underground. Probably the lower part\nof the building was used as a charnel house, in which the bones of\nthe dead, after they had lain long enough in the ground to become\nquite dry, were piled up; for, among the duties to be performed by\nthe officiating priest, we find that they were required to chant a\n\u201crecorderis\u201d over the bones of the dead. Such charnel houses are\nstill very common in Brittany, and many country places throughout the\ncontinent.\n\nOf the other chapels which existed in the Town parish the memory even\nhas perished. The estate known as Ste. Catherine may possibly have\nderived its name from a chapel dedicated to that virgin martyr, but all\nthat is known is that there was a fraternity or religious association\nunder the patronage of this saint, which was endowed with wheat rents.\nSome of the rents seized by the Crown, and afterwards made over to\nElizabeth College, were due to the \u201cFrerie de Ste. Catherine,\u201d and\npossibly this body possessed its own chapel. The site of the Chapel of\nSt. Jacques is well known, and traces of the foundations were still to\nbe seen till comparatively lately. It was situated in a field on the\nMon Plaisir estate, on the right hand side of the lane which leads from\nthe Rue Rozel to the back of the Rocquettes, at the head of a little\nvalley, just where the roadway is at the lowest. The orchard to the\neast of this spot, on the opposite side of the lane, is still known by\nthe name of Le Cimeti\u00e8re, and human bones are still occasionally met\nwith in digging. It had some land attached to it by way of endowment,\nwhich was sold by the Royal Commissioners in the reign of Queen\nElizabeth, as we learn from the Livre de Perchage, temp. Elizabeth, in\nwhich it is called \u201cLa Chapelle de _l\u2019ydolle_, St. Jacques,\u201d and that\nThomas Effard was in possession of land that had belonged to it. From\nthe same document we learn that there was also a chapel called \u201cLa\nChapelle de Lorette,\u201d which, there is reason to suppose, may have been\nin the vicinity of Candie.\n\nThere was also a private chapel, of which we should have known\nabsolutely nothing but for an old contract, still extant, of the early\ndate of 1383, by which Perrot and Jannequin Le Marchant[85] sell a\npiece of ground for building purposes to Renolvet Denys. One of the\nconditions attached to the sale is that no edifice shall be erected on\nthe land thus sold, which can in any manner take away from the view,\nor deprive the chapel of the manor and hall of the vendors, of light.\nThe property in question was, without doubt, that to the south of the\narch, leading to Manor Le Marchant and Lefebvre Street, and it is\ncurious that the contract mentions the existence of a vaulted gateway\nleading to the manor, at that early period permission being given to\nthe purchaser of this ground to build over this arch. An archway still\nexists in the locality, and continues to bear the name of \u201cLa Porte,\u201d\nas it did nearly five hundred years ago.\n\nNow, to come to the only chapel that still exists--Ste. Apolline.\nThere is no reason for supposing it to be of such great antiquity as\nis generally believed. The vault is pointed, and it is well known that\nthe pointed arch did not make its appearance in architecture until the\nlatter part of the twelfth century--say about 1160--whereas all our\nparishes are named in documents anterior to 1066. From the Cartulary\nof Mont Saint Michel we learn that in the year 1054 William Pichenoht,\nmoved by compunction for the many and great sins he had committed, and\ndesirous of turning monk, gave, with the consent of Duke William of\nNormandy, his lands of La Perrelle with all their appurtenances to the\nabbey. These lands were, no doubt, leased out afterwards by the monks\nto various individuals, the abbey retaining the \u201cSeigneurie\u201d over the\nwhole.\n\nIn October, 1392, a certain Nicholas Henry, of La Perrelle, obtained\nthe consent of the Abbot and monks of Mont St. Michel, as Lords of\nthe Manor, to the endowment of a chapel which he had lately erected\non his estate, subject, however to the sanction of the Sovereign as\nlord paramount. This permission was granted by Richard II. in July,\n1394. The charter which is preserved among the island records at\nthe Greffe authorises Nicholas Henry to endow the Chapel of _Sainte\nMarie de la Perrelle_ for the purpose of maintaining a chaplain\nwho was to celebrate a daily mass for ever, for the safety of the\nsaid Nicholas Henry[86] and his wife Philippa, for their souls after\nthey should have departed this life, and for the souls of all their\nancestors, benefactors, and Christian people generally. Beside the\nthree verg\u00e9es of land, which are described as being bounded on the\nwest by the property of Guillaume Blondel, and on the east by that\nof Thomas Dumaresq, both of which families are still landowners in\nthe district, Nicholas Henry also gave to the chapel an annual wheat\nrent of four quarters due on a piece of ground adjoining. The chapel\nonce established, other gifts were made from time to time by pious\nindividuals who took part in the daily service. In 1485, Johan de\nLisle, son of Colas, and Nicholas de Lisle, son of Pierre, acknowledged\nin the presence of the Bailiff and Jurats that they owed jointly the\nyearly rent of a hen to the Chaplain of Notre Dame de la Perrelle; and\nthe latter acknowledged, moreover, to the annual payment of one bushel\nof wheat. On March 2nd, 1492, Henry Le Tellier, of St. Saviour\u2019s, also\nacknowledged that he owed two bushels of wheat rent to Sire Thomas\nHenry, who is also mentioned as Chaplain of St. Brioc, in 1477, and\nas Rector of the Castel, in 1478. He was also styled in an earlier\ndeed, \u201cDom\u201d Thomas, so was probably also a Benedictine monk, and it\nis not unlikely that he was grandson of the original founder of this\nchapel. Its identity with the building still existing is proved by\nan Act of the Royal Court \u201cen Plaids d\u2019H\u00e9ritage\u201d of June 6th, 1452,\nin which the chapel is spoken of as \u201cLa Chapelle de Notre Dame de la\nPerrelle, appelleye la _Chapelle Sainte Appolyne_.\u201d It was then in the\npossession of Colin Henry, son of Jacques, and grandson of Nicholas,\nwho is described as the founder of the chapel. Forty years later it\nchanged hands, and was in the possession of the Guille family, perhaps\nby inheritance, for in April, 1496, Nicholas Guille, son of Nicholas,\nof St. Peter Port, sold the advowson of the chaplaincy to Edmond de\nChesney, Seigneur of Anneville, in whose family it probably remained\nuntil they[87] sold their possessions to the Fouaschin family, from\nwhom they came by inheritance into the family of Andros.[88]\n\nWe do not know how the name of Ste. Apolline came to be associated\nfirst with that of the Blessed Virgin, and then to have superseded\nit altogether. Possibly because there were already no less than five\nplaces of worship in the island under the invocation of Our Lady--the\nChurches of the Castel, Torteval,[89] and Lihou, and the Chapels of\nPulias and _Le Ch\u00e2teau des Marais_, commonly known as Ivy Castle. Saint\nApollonia, or in French, Ste. Apolline, is said to have been a virgin\nof Alexandria, who was burned as a Christian martyr in the year 249.\n\nThe chapel is twenty-seven feet long by thirteen feet nine inches wide,\nand is built of rough unhewn stone, except the heads of the doorways,\nthe jambs of the windows, and the corner stones of the edifice, which\nappear to have been coarsely wrought. The vault is in solid masonry of\nsmall stones cemented with a strong mortar, and if it was ever slated\nor tiled all traces of the covering have long since disappeared. The\ninterior is stuccoed, and was originally adorned with mural paintings,\nof which some slight traces are yet to be seen. Figures of angels,\nand part of a group which seem to have been intended to represent the\nnativity of our Saviour, are still to be made out. There are three\nsmall narrow square headed windows, which may or may not once have been\nglazed--one in the east gable immediately above where the altar must\nhave stood, and the other two in the north and south walls, near the\neast end of the building. There is no opening whatever in the western\ngable, which was surmounted originally by a bell-cote, of which the\nbase only now remains. The hole through which the bell rope passed is\nstill to be seen in the interior. To the south of the chapel is a very\nancient and substantially built farm-house, which is traditionally said\nto have been the residence of the officiating priest. It is quite as\nprobable that it was the manor house of the founder, Nicholas Henry.\nIn it were preserved the iron clapper of a bell, which is said to have\nbelonged to the chapel, and some wrought stones, which probably formed\nthe supports of the altar slab. A small silver burette, one of a pair,\nsuch as are used in the Roman Catholic Church to contain the wine and\nthe water employed in the celebration of the mass, by tradition came\noriginally from this chapel, it bearing the inscription \u201cSancte Paule\nora pro nobis,\u201d and on the lid is the letter A, denoting that it was\nthe vessel intended to contain the water. It was in the possession\nof the ancient family of Guille, whose representative gave it to the\nParish Church of St. Peter Port in memory of his father.\n\nIn the neighbourhood of Perrelle Bay there is a rock, standing at\nsome little distance from the shore, never covered by the tide, and\napproachable when the tide is out, called \u201cLa Chapelle Dom Hue.\u201d The\nappearance of the natural causeway, or, as it is locally termed \u201ccol\u201d\nor \u201cpont,\u201d which leads to it, would induce one to believe that at some\nremote period it must have been a narrow neck of low land stretching\nout into the sea, which divided the bays of L\u2019Er\u00e9e and La Perrelle,\nand which has been gradually carried away by the constant action of\nthe waves, leaving only the little hillock we now see. Probably, in\nancient times, a small oratory, perhaps a hermitage, had been erected\non this spot by a pious founder, \u201cDom\u201d Hue, who, from his title, must\nhave been a Benedictine monk, and, in all likelihood, a member of\nthe Abbey of Mont Saint Michel, which was in possession of lands in\nthis neighbourhood. There is still a small manor in the parish of St.\nSaviour\u2019s which bears the name of \u201cLes Domaines Dom Hue,\u201d and which\nwe may reasonably suppose belonged originally to the same person, and\npossibly formed the endowment of the chapel.\n\nThe next chapel of which anything definite is known is \u201cNotre Dame\nde Pulias,\u201d otherwise \u201cLa Chapelle de l\u2019Epine.\u201d The ground on which\nit stood lies on the sea-shore, to the northward of the promontory\nof Noirmont, and, though separated from the rest of the parish by an\nintervening strip of land belonging to the Vale, forms in reality part\nof St. Sampson\u2019s. The Vale parish consists of two distinct portions,\nthe larger of which, called \u201cLe Clos,\u201d was, until the beginning of the\npresent century, entirely divided from the rest of the island by an\narm of the sea, which extended from St. Sampson\u2019s Harbour to the Grand\nHavre near the Vale Church, and which was only passable at low water.\nThe inhabitants of that part of the parish attached to the mainland\nof Guernsey, and which is called \u201cLa Vingtaine de l\u2019Epine,\u201d were thus\ncut off at times from all access to their parish church, and appear to\nhave made use of this building, as a chapel of ease. It stood close to\n\u201cLa Mare de Pulias,\u201d and in this neighbourhood a bit of wall is still\nshown, which is said to have formed part of the chapel. It is probable\nthat it was under the patronage of the Seigneurs of Anneville, for the\nearliest notice found of this chapel is in an \u201cextente\u201d of this fief,\ndated 1405, in which it is stated that the common lands, extending\nalong the shore between \u201cLa Chapelle de Notre Dame de Pulayes\u201d and the\nrivulet of St. Brioc at Rocquaine, belong in moieties to the Abbot of\nSt. Michel and the Lord of Anneville. This chapel had an endowment,\nfor we find by the report of the Royal Commissioners of 1607 that the\nparishioners of the Vale and St. Sampson\u2019s petitioned that it might be\nrestored to them, complaining--\n\n\u201cThat whereas their predecessors, the inhabitants of the Vingtaine of\nthe Epine, had in former times built a chapel, with a churchyard, for\ndivine service, by reason of the sea, which doth oftentimes hinder them\nfrom going to their parish church of the Valle; and that since that\ntime His Majesty\u2019s Commissioners having considered how necessary that\nchapel was for them, it hath pleased the late Queen Elizabeth to grant\nunto them yearly ten or twelve quarters of wheat, for the maintenance\nboth of the said chapel, and also of a schoolmaster to instruct their\nchildren; notwithstanding all which the said chapel, together with the\nchurchyard, hath been utterly ruinated and the trees beaten down, and\nthe grounds and rents belonging thereunto taken away, to the great\ngrief and prejudice of the said parishioners, and therefore they humbly\ndesire that the said chapel be built again by them that have thus\nruinated it, and the rents belonging thereunto, for so necessary a use,\nbe restored unto them again, with the tithes and rights concerning it.\u201d\n\nThe answer and decision of the Commissioners was not satisfactory.\nThey owned there was probably a chapel of ease on that spot, and they\ngo on to state that, having examined some aged people who dwelt near\nthe place, as well as the Lieutenant-Governor and other officers, they\nfind that ten or twelve quarters of wheat had been given either towards\nthe maintenance of the chapel or of a schoolmaster, and that some had\nheard divine service said there about the beginning of the reign of\nElizabeth and long before, but they can find no evidence to prove\nthat it was founded or built for a chapel of ease, the complainants\naccounting for the absence of documentary evidence in support of their\nclaim by alleging that the Governor had taken it away with him. The\nCommissioners go on to say that on further examinations they have had\nthere was a certain Popish superstitious service used therein, and that\nwheat rents had been given by certain inhabitants for the saying of a\nmorrow mass upon Sundays, and for such like superstitious uses, and\nthat about forty years previously, the chapel, with all appertaining\nto it, had been seized for the use of the Queen. The conclusion they\narrived at was that the seizure was legal, and should be maintained.\n\nAt the north-east extremity of the Clos-du-Valle, near the estate\ncalled Paradis, and a little way beyond the cromlech called D\u00e9hus or\nThus, stood La Chapelle de Saint Mali\u00e8re or Magloire, an early apostle\nof the island.\n\nAll traces of this chapel have long since disappeared, but its site\nis still pointed out as being that of a little thatch-covered cottage\non the side of the hill.[90] The old farmhouse close by, called \u201cSt.\nMagloire,\u201d is said to have been the residence of the priest attached to\nits service.\n\nIt is mentioned as early as the year 1155 in a Bull of Pope Adrian IV.\n(Breakspear), together with other churches and chapels in Guernsey,\nas being the property and in the patronage of Mont Saint Michel. The\nonly other notice we have of this chapel is the tradition recorded by\nsome of our historians that, at the time of the Reformation, the plate,\nornaments, vestments, and records, belonging to the churches in this\nisland, were secretly buried here by the Roman Catholic clergy, with\na view to their removal to Normandy when a fitting opportunity should\noffer, but that one John Le Pelley, a schoolmaster, having by some\nmeans got information of the circumstances, dug them up some few years\nlater, and sold them to some Normans of Coutances, who conveyed them\naway.\n\nSaint Magloire was the nephew and pupil of Saint Samson, and was born\nin the middle of the sixth century. He succeeded his uncle, Samson, as\nBishop of Dol, but after a few years resigned his charge and retreated\nto Sark, where he founded a sort of monastery or missionary college,\nand where he died. His remains were translated in the ninth century to\nL\u00e9hon, near Dinan, and afterwards to Paris, where they were deposited\nin the church which still bears the name of the saint.\n\nTwo localities in the immediate neighbourhood of St. Mali\u00e8re bear the\nsingular names of \u201c_Paradis_\u201d and \u201c_Enfer_.\u201d Tradition is entirely\nsilent as to the origin of these names, but it is possible that they\nmay have been in some way connected with the chapel, and with some of\nthe superstitious usages so common among the nations of Celtic origin.\n\nThe Chapel of St. Clair was named after the first Bishop of Nantes,\nwho lived in the third century. This chapel stood on the hill a little\nto the eastward of the farmhouse in Saint Sampson\u2019s parish which still\nbears the name. In clearing the ground for quarries of late years many\nhuman bones and a few gravestones have been discovered there.\n\nIt was situated on the \u201cFranc-Fief Gallicien,\u201d the tenants of which\nenjoy to this day an exemption from certain feudal duties, which is\nsaid to have been granted to their forefathers by King Edward IV. in\nacknowledgment of the services rendered by them as mariners in bringing\nhim to this island from Exmouth, when, as Earl of March, he escaped\nwith the famous Earl of Warwick, and their followers from England,\nafter a victory gained by Henry VII. over the Yorkist party in October,\n1459.\n\nThe Chapel of St. Germain was in the Castel parish, and its holy\nwell, which is still regarded by some as no less efficacious than the\nfountain of St. George, was situated to the northward of that chapel.\nAll traces of the building have long since disappeared, and all that\nwe know of it is that in the Extents of Queen Elizabeth and James I.\na rent payable to the Crown is described as \u201cdue on a piece of ground\nsituated near the Chapel of St. Germain.\u201d\n\nThere is also said to have been a Chapel of Ste. Anne, near the King\u2019s\nMills, more correctly designated as Les Grands Moulins. St. Anne also\nhad her sacred fountain. The names of \u201cSte. H\u00e9l\u00e8ne,\u201d at St. Andrew\u2019s,\nand La Madeleine, St. Pierre-du-Bois, may also have been derived from\nreligious buildings, but of these nothing but the names now remain.\n\nIn St. Martin\u2019s parish there was a chapel attached to the Priory of\nBlanchelande, and another, Saint Jean de la Houguette, which very\nprobably was erected on the site now occupied by the parish school.[91]\n\nIn the Extente of the Fief Anneville it is said that the lord has his\n\u201cChapelles.\u201d It is probable that all the feudal lords who held the\nlands direct from the Crown had the same right of chapel. Such at least\nseems to have been the case in Jersey, where some still exist, and\nin the Clos-du-Valle, situated in the Vale parish, is a field called\n\u201cLa Chapelle du Sud,\u201d west of a field called \u201cLe Galle,\u201d on the Crown\nlands. Here was probably the site of a now forgotten chapel.\n\nClosely connected with the chapels and churches are the holy wells.\nEven in pagan times, before the introduction of Christianity, it is\nwell known that a sort of worship was paid to the nymphs or deities who\nwere supposed to haunt these fountains, and to whose interference were\nattributed the cures effected by the use of these waters. When a purer\nfaith was preached, and it was found impossible to wean the minds of\nthe people entirely away from a belief in the supernatural qualities\nof these springs, the early missionaries--whether wisely or not it is\ndifficult to say--sought to direct the attention of their converts into\na new channel, and bestowed the name of some saint on these hallowed\nspots, who thenceforth was supposed to stand in the place of the\nancient local deity or genius of the well.\n\n[81] In the _D\u00e9dicace des Eglises_, \u201cNotre Dame de Lihou\u201d is called\nNotre Dame de la _Roche_. Now the word Perelle is a diminutive of\nPierre, and we know that in our dialect \u201cpierre\u201d and \u201crocque\u201d are used\nindiscriminately, and have the same meaning.\n\n[82] EDITOR\u2019S NOTE.--The Fief St. George was bought from the Royal\nCommissioners by Thomas Fouaschin, Seigneur d\u2019Anneville, in 1563,\nlet to Pierre Massey 25th June, 1616, and bought 18th May, 1629, by\nNicholas de Jersey, son of Michel, from George Fouaschin, Seigneur\nd\u2019Anneville, son of Thomas. Nicholas de Jersey\u2019s only child Marie\nmarried Jacques Guille, 2nd May, 1638, and so brought St. George into\nthe Guille family.\n\n[83] EDITOR\u2019S NOTES.\n\nMay 10th, 1292.--\u201cConfirmation of a charter which the King has\ninspected, whereby Henry III. granted in frank almoin to the Chaplain\nof the Chapel of St. Mary, Orgoil Castle, Gerneseye, the 10th of a rent\ncalled Chaumpard in the island of Gerneseye.\u201d\n\nDec. 26th, 1328.--\u201cGrant to John de Etton, King\u2019s Clerk, of the Chapel\nof St. Mary of the Marsh, in the island of Gerneseye.\u201d\n\nAncient Petition No. 13289.--\u201cTo our Lord the King and to his Council\nshows Ralph the Chaplain of one of his Chapels called the Chapel des\nMareis in the Island of Gerneseye, that whereas the King has given\nin alms all the 10th sheaf of his champartz in the said isle to this\nChaplain to sing every day a mass for the King and his ancestors and\nheirs. Now since last August the attourneys of the King have disseized\nhim of the tithes of two carues of land, viz. of the Carue of the\nCorbines and Suardes and also of the tithes of a place whereof he was\nnever disseized. He prays to be restored thereto, as otherwise he would\nhave nothing to live upon, as his whole rent is only worth \u00a37, and\nscarcely half that.\u201d\n\n(Endorsed) \u201cGo to Otto (de Grandison) and pray for a writ to enquire\nif the tithes, etc., belong to the Chapel, and if they do, then let\nthem be restored.\u201d (No date--but Otho de Grandison was Governor of the\nIslands 1303-29.)\n\nMay 10th, 1382.--\u201cAppointment of Peter Gyon, serjeant-at-arms, and\nHenry de Rither, supplying the places in Gerneseye of Hugh de Calvyle,\ngovernor of the (Channel) Islands, to enquire touching the cessation,\nthrough the negligence of the Chaplains, of divine service and works of\ncharity in the Chapel of Marreys in that Island, and touching the sale\nand removal of its chalices, books, vestments, and other ornaments, and\nto certify into Chancery. (Vacated because enrolled on the French Roll\nof this year).\u201d\n\n[84] EDITOR\u2019S NOTE.--The Br\u00e9gards or Br\u00e9gearts were a very old family\nin the Vale and St. Sampson\u2019s parishes. Early in the sixteenth century\none branch of this family bought land at \u201cVauvert,\u201d St. Peter Port,\nand became known as \u201cBr\u00e9geart, or Briart, alias Vauvert,\u201d and finally\nsimply as \u201cVauvert.\u201d A curious instance of change of surname.\n\n[85] EDITOR\u2019S NOTE.--Peter and Jannequin Le Marchant were sons of Denis\nLe Marchant, Jurat and Lieutenant-Bailiff of Guernsey, and Jenette\nde Chesney, youngest daughter of Sir William de Chesney and Joan de\nGorges. The chapel is alluded to in their father\u2019s \u201cBille de Partage,\u201d\ndated 3rd June, 1393.\n\n[86] EDITOR\u2019S NOTES.--The following is a short pedigree of the\ndescendants of Nicholas Henry, derived principally from MSS. at\nSausmarez Manor:--\n\n                              NICHOLAS HENRY = PHILIPPA \u2026\n                           Founded Chapel of |\n                            La Perelle, 1394.|\n           +---------------------------------+\n           |                                 |\n  Jaques Henry = Thomasse.\u2026          Edmond Henry = Perotyne de Saint Peyr,\n   En vie 1423.|                   Jur\u00e9 Justicier | fille de Pierre de\n               |                                  | Saint Peyr, Jur\u00e9\n               |                                  | Justicier, et Jenette\n               |                                  | Blondel.\n               |                                  |\n       +-------+------------------+------.....+   +------+-----------+\n       |                          |           |          |           |\n     Nicholas = Marguerite \u2026  Colenette   Sire Thomas   Nicholas   Edmond\n      Henry   |                   =         Henry,       Henry     Henry=\n    En vie    |              Nicholas de   Chaplain    \u201cfils aisn\u00e9\u201d   |\n     1480.    |              Sausmarez.    of St.        1440.        |\n   \u201cEt luy    |              Seigneur de   Apolline,                  |\n  appartenoit |              Sausmarez.     1492.                     |\n  la maison   |                                                       |\n  de la Rue   |                                                       |\n  Berthelot.\u201d |                                                       |\n      +-------+------------------------+                     +--------+\n      |                                |                     |\n  Fran\u00e7ois = Collette de la Court,  Guillaume Henry,    Nicholas Henry,\n   Henry   | fille John de la       \u201cde la Rue         \u201cLes enfants du dit\n           | Court et Alichette      Berthelot\u201d         Nicholas moururent\n           | Cartier.                O. S. P.           sans Hoirs, et les\n           |                                            enfants du susdit\n     +-------------------------------+                  Nicholas Henry,\n     |                               |                  fils Jaques eurent\n  Perotine Henry,                Catherine Henry,       leur succession.\u201d\n     =                               =\n  Hellier Gosselin,              Jean Effard, fils\n  Baillif de Guernesey,          Nicholas.\n  1549-62.\n\n[87] EDITOR\u2019S NOTE.--Nicholas Fouaschin, son of Thomas, and Jurat of\nthe Royal Court, bought the Manors of Le Comte and Anneville from Sir\nRobert Willoughby, February 16th, 1509. Sir Robert, afterwards Lord\nBroke, inherited these Manors from his grandmother, Anne de Chesney,\ndaughter and co-heiress of Sir Edmund de Chesney and Alice Stafford.\n\n[88] EDITOR\u2019S NOTE.--Through the marriage on October 13th, 1660, of\nCharles Andros to Alice Fashion, only child of Thomas Fashion, Seigneur\nof Anneville.\n\n[89] See note on page 197.\n\n[90] EDITOR\u2019S NOTE.--Tradition in that part of the island says (so I\nwas told in 1896 by the woman living in the old farmhouse called St.\nMagloire) that in building this cottage they came upon the old corner\nstone of the original chapel. Thinking it was sacrilegious to move it,\nand would entail ill-luck on them and their children, they left it in\nits place, and there it still remains.\n\n[91] See note on page 197.\n\n\nHoly Wells.\n\nHoly wells still exist in many parts of the island, and are resorted\nto for various purposes, but principally for the cure of erysipelas,\nrheumatism and glandular swellings, and inflammation or weakness of the\neyes. These maladies are all called by the country people \u201cMal de la\nFontaine.\u201d\n\n[Illustration: \u201cWishing Well, Les Fontaines, Castel.\u201d]\n\nWhether the water will prove efficacious as a remedy is ascertained by\nnoticing the effect produced on applying it. If it evaporates rapidly,\npassing off in steam, or runs off the swelling like little drops of\nquicksilver, it is of the right sort, and the sufferer may hope for\na speedy cure. Still, there are certain ceremonies to be observed,\nwithout which it is useless to make the attempt.\n\nIt must be applied before the patient has broken his fast for nine\nconsecutive mornings, and must be dropped on to the affected place with\nthe fingers, and not put on with a sponge or rag. It must be taken\nfresh from the well every day at daybreak. The person who draws it\nmust on no account speak to anyone either on his way to, or from the\nfountain, and must be particularly careful not to spill a single drop\nfrom the pitcher. It is customary to leave a small coin on the edge\nof the well, which was doubtless intended originally as an offering\nto the saint who was supposed to have the spring under his especial\nprotection, and whose name it bore. These wells are said also to be\nused for purposes of divination. The maiden who is desirous of knowing\nwho her future husband is to be, must visit the fountain for nine\nconsecutive mornings fasting and in silence. On the last day when she\nlooks into the clear basin of the well, she will see the face of him\nshe is fated to wed reflected in the water. Should her destiny be to\ndie unmarried, it is believed that a grinning skull will appear instead\nof the wished-for face.\n\nThe well most in repute is that of St. George, in the parish of\nSte. Marie du Castel, but St. Germain and Ste. Anne, at no great\ndistance, have their votaries, and there are also the \u201cFontaine de\nSt. Clair,\u201d near St. Andrew\u2019s Church, the fountain of Gounebec in the\nvalley of that name near the Moulin de Haut, two in the parish of the\nForest,--that known by the name of \u201cLa Fontaine St. Martin,\u201d which\nrises on the cliffs to the westward of the point of La Corbi\u00e8re, and\nthe other at a point between Le Gron and La Planque, where the three\nparishes of the Forest, St. Saviour\u2019s, and St. Andrew\u2019s meet. The\n\u201cFontaine de Lesset,\u201d at St. Saviour\u2019s, is also renowned. In the parish\nof St. Peter Port the fountain of Le Vau Laurent was famous for the\ncure of sore eyes, and the water of another on the side of the hill\nbelow Les C\u00f4tils, known formerly as \u201cLa Fontaine des Corbins,\u201d was\nsupposed to be efficacious in cases of consumption if taken inwardly.\n\u201cLa Fontaine Fleurie,\u201d near Havelet, and another in the marshes near\nthe ruined stronghold of \u201cLe Ch\u00e2teau des Marais,\u201d commonly known as the\nIvy Castle, are also resorted to. The fountains of St. Pierre and Notre\nDame are mentioned in early ordinances of the Royal Court. The former\nis known to have been situated near the Town Church, at a spot called\nLe Pont Orchon, in the street which still bears the name of \u201cLa Rue de\nla Fontaine.\u201d The latter was apparently at the foot of the Mont Gibet,\nat the upper end of what is now the Market Place. The erection of pumps\nover most of these springs has deprived them of their ancient prestige,\nand has effectually removed any curative properties which they may\nformerly have possessed. Although every spring was not efficacious in\nall cases, to insure a cure it was necessary to use the water of a\nparticular well, and, in order to choose it to consult certain persons\nwho are knowing in these matters, and who, by an inspection of the part\naffected are able to tell what particular spring should be resorted\nto.[92]\n\n[92] EDITOR\u2019S NOTES.\n\nThere are two wells or rather fountains, for it is imperative that\nthey should be fed by a stream of running water, in St. Martin\u2019s; one,\ncalled \u201cLa Fontaine des Navets,\u201d is on the right hand side of the cliff\nabove Saints\u2019 Bay; it is best approached from the Icart road, by the\nturning to the left down a little lane, opposite Mr. Moon\u2019s cottage.\nThis lane runs just behind Mrs. Martin\u2019s pic-nic house. There are two\nwells in this lane, but the second, the most southerly, is the sacred\none.\n\nThe other fountain was called \u201cLa Fontaine de la Beilleuse,\u201d and was\nsituated just east of the church, below the farmhouse, belonging to Mr.\nTardif. That again, was a double fountain, of which the southern was\nthe wishing well, but it has now unfortunately been done away with,\nwhile the upper one has been converted into a drinking trough for\ncattle. Both these fountains cured the red swellings known as \u201cMal de\nla Fontaine.\u201d When I asked why these should be efficacious, and not any\nother, I was told that it was because they looked east, and were fed by\nsprings running towards the east.--_From Mrs. Le Patourel, Mrs. Mauger,\netc._\n\nSee M. Sebillot\u2019s _Traditions et Superstitions de la Haute Bretagne_,\nT. I., p. 45:--\u201cAu moment o\u00f9 le Christianisme s\u2019introduisit en Gaul,\nle culte des pierres, des arbres et des fontaines y \u00e9tait florissant.\nDe l\u2019an 452, date du deuxi\u00e8me concile d\u2019Arles, \u00e0 l\u2019an 658, concile\nde Nantes, nombre d\u2019assembl\u00e9es ecclesiastiques s\u2019occup\u00e8rent de la\nquestion.\u201d\n\nSee also _Notions Historiques sur les C\u00f4tes-du-Nord_, par Havasque,\nT. I., p. 17:--\u201cDe l\u2019usage que les druides faisaient de l\u2019eau des\ndiff\u00e9rentes sources est venue le culte que les Bretons ont si longtemps\nrendu aux fontaines.\u2026 Lors de l\u2019\u00e9tablissement du Christianisme, les\npr\u00eatres les consacr\u00e8rent \u00e0 Dieu, sous l\u2019invocation de la Vierge ou de\nquelque Saint, afin que les hommes grossiers, frapp\u00e9s par ces effigies,\ns\u2019acoutumassent insensiblement \u00e0 rendre \u00e0 Dieu et \u00e0 ses Saints\nl\u2019hommage qu\u2019ils adressaient auparavant aux fontaines elles-m\u00eames.\nTelle est l\u2019origine des niches pratiqu\u00e9es dans la ma\u00e7onnerie de presque\ntoutes les fontaines, niches dans lesquelles on a plac\u00e9 la statue du\nsaint qui donne son nom \u00e0 la source. C\u2019est pour parvenir au m\u00eame but\nque le clerg\u00e9 fit \u00e9riger \u00e0 la m\u00e8me \u00e9poque des chapelles dans les lieux\nconsacr\u00e9s \u00e0 la religion ou au culte.\u201d\n\n\nLE POULAIN DE SAINT GEORGE.\n\nWe have already mentioned the well of St. George as being supreme in\nits sanctity; indeed we may almost say that its reputation is such that\nit throws all others into the shade. It stands near the ruined chapel\nof the same name.\n\nA place of such antiquity and reputed sanctity might naturally be\nexpected to have its legends, though many doubtless have disappeared,\nbut a firm faith still exists in the miraculous properties of the water\nof the well, and the old people still say that on tempestuous nights,\nespecially during thunder and lightning, the form of a horse, darting\nflames of fire from its eyes and nostrils, may be seen galloping\nthrice, and thrice only, round the ruined precincts of the chapel.\n\nSome accounts of the spectral appearance speak only of a horse\u2019s head\nenveloped in flames, without the accompaniment of a body.[93]\n\nThe territory of St. George was also formerly known by the name of \u201cSt.\nGr\u00e9goire,\u201d and, though Nicholas Breakspear, Pope Adrian IV., numbers\n\u201cLa Chapelle de St. George\u201d among the possessions of St. Michel in\nhis Bull of 1155, Robert de Thorigni calls it \u201cSt. Gr\u00e9goire\u201d in 1156,\nbut in many places the St. George of the legends seems to have been\nconfused with the \u201cEgr\u00e9goires,\u201d the watcher, \u201cl\u2019ange qui veille,\u201d of\nthe old world. It is, according to mythology, \u201cl\u2019Egr\u00e9goire\u201d who mounts\nthe white horse that leads to victory, which apparition, in the moment\nof danger, has roused so many Catholic armies from despair.\n\nThe fountain was so much resorted to for divers superstitions formerly,\nthat in 1408 an Act was passed by the Royal Court, at the request\nof Dom Toulley, Pr\u00eatre de St. George, under the Bailiff Gervais de\nClermont, that the pathway to the fountain was only open to the\nfaithful on their way to divine service, or to the sick who came to be\nhealed.\n\nWe may add that an adjoining field bears the name of \u201cLe Tr\u00e9pied,\u201d\na name which is to be found in other localities in the island, and\nwhich indicates that a prim\u00e6val stone monument, of the nature of those\ncommonly called Druid\u2019s altars, may have at one time stood there.\nThese, as has already been shown, have always had the reputation of\nbeing the haunt of fairies, and sometimes of spirits of a less innocent\nnature.\n\n[93] From G. M\u00e9tivier, Esq.\n\n\u201cOur Lady and St. George were often partners in worship; and the\nlatter\u2019s holy wells are famous in old legends:--\u2018And the Kynge (of\nLybie) did to make a chyrche there of our Lady and of Saynte George.\nIn the whyche yet sourdet a fountayn of lyving water whyche heled the\nseke peple y^{t} drinken thereof.\u2019\u201d--_Caxton\u2019s Edition of the Golden\nLegend_, fol. cxi.\n\nEDITOR\u2019S NOTE.--See _Croyances et L\u00e9gendes du Centre de la France_, by\nLaisnal de la Salle, Tome I., p. 324.\n\n\nA LEGEND OF ST. GEORGE\u2019S WELL.\n\nSt. Patrick and St. George, in the days when there were \u201csaints errant\u201d\nas well as \u201cknights errant,\u201d both happened to come to Guernsey, and\nmet on this spot. St. Patrick had just arrived from Jersey, where\nthe inhabitants had pelted him with stones and treated him with such\nsystematic rudeness that the saint, furious, came on to Guernsey, and\nthere he was welcomed with effusion. Meeting St. George, they began\nto quarrel as to whom the island should in future belong. However,\nbeing saints, they decided that it would be more consistent with their\nprofession each to give some special boon to the island, and then go\ntheir ways. So St. Patrick filled his wallet with all the noxious\nthings to be found,--toads, snakes, etc.,--and went back to Jersey and\nthere emptied it, freeing Guernsey for ever from all things poisonous,\nwhile giving to Jersey a double share. St. George smote the tiny\nstream at his feet, \u201cthe waters to be for the healing of diseases, and\na blessing to whoever shall own this spot. He shall never lack for\nbread, nor shall he ever be childless whilst this well be preserved\nuntainted.\u201d Now, many, many years ago, the Guilles, who still own St.\nGeorge, inherited it from the De Jerseys, and it so happened that the\nlord of the estate had an only son who was naturally very dear to him.\nAn old friend of the family brought him a canary bird as a pet, and,\nas one had never before been seen in Guernsey, it was very precious.\nOne day it flew away from its cage, the door being accidentally left\nopen, and was pursued hotly by the child. It made for the well, and\napparently flew in, for the child was bending forward, an act which\nwould inevitably have caused him to fall in, when he was arrested by\nthe neighing of a horse behind him. He looked round and saw the fiery\nhead of St. George\u2019s charger disappearing among the trees. That look\nsaved him, and the bird was seen perched on the cross above the well,\nsinging loudly. Presently it flew back to its little master, who had\nbeen saved by St. George from a watery grave, and a picture of the\nboy with his canary bird is still to be seen among the Guille family\nportraits.[94]\n\n[94] From Miss Lane, afterwards Mrs. Lane Clarke.\n\n\nMAIDENS AT ST. GEORGE\u2019S WELL.\n\nThere is a curious property attached to this well, that is that if a\nmaiden visits it, fasting and in silence, on nine successive mornings,\ncarefully depositing a piece of silver in the niche as an offering to\nthe saint, she is assured of matrimony within nine times nine weeks,\nand, by looking into the well with an earnest desire to behold the\nimage of the intended husband, his face will appear mirrored in the\nwater. And, in former times, when the man was identified, the girl\ngave his name to the priest, who then summoned him before St. George,\nand, as destined for each other by Heaven, they were solemnly united.\nThere is still a tradition extant of one of the neighbouring girls of\nthe parish, being forbidden by her father to marry the man on whom her\nheart was set, on the ground of his poverty, declaring that, having\nseen his face in the well, he was evidently destined for her by Heaven,\nand that she would claim him as her fate before the priest. On this her\nfather, fearing the exposure and public censure, gave his consent to\nthe marriage.[95]\n\nThere is also a legend told by Mr. M\u00e9tivier of a country girl stealing\nout one summer night in the year 1798, to meet her lover near the well,\nflying home terrified, having seen a troop of bare skeletons grouped\nround the well, and gazing into the troubled waters.\n\nConnected with the Chapel of St. George was a cemetery, which boasted\nof many relics, famous for their miracles.\n\nAt one time this cemetery was said to be haunted by a beautiful young\ngirl. Every night wailing and crying was heard, and a figure was seen,\nmuch mangled, walking about. The cries were supposed to proceed from\nthe tomb of a girl who had disappeared from her home one night in a\nmost mysterious manner, and whose mangled corpse was picked up a few\ndays later near the Hanois rocks, so battered and bruised that it was\nevidently not a case of suicide. However, in course of time, a grave\nbeing opened near hers, some bones were thrown up, and, being handled\nby an old man who in days gone by had been the murdered girl\u2019s lover,\na stream of blood oozed out of the dry bone! and with awful shrieks he\nowned to having been her murderer, and was executed soon afterwards at\nthe \u201cChamp du Gibet\u201d at St. Andrew\u2019s.\n\n[95] From Miss Lane, afterwards Mrs. Lane Clarke.\n\nEDITOR\u2019S NOTES.\n\nWith reference to the statement on page 181 that Torteval Church is\nunder the invocation of Our Lady. In \u201c_A Survey of the Estate of\nGuernzey and Jarzey_ by Peter Heylyn,--1656,\u201d p. 320, he says:--\u201cthat\n(church) which is here called Tortevall (is dedicated) as some suppose\nunto St. Philip, others will have it to St. Martha.\u201d\n\nOn page 187 it is said that a chapel probably existed on the site of\nSt. Martin\u2019s Parish School. In Elie Brevint\u2019s MSS. written in the early\npart of the 17th Century he says:--\u201cLes Havillands de St. Martin ont\ndonn\u00e9 la chappelle pour servir d\u2019eschole, et de la terre aupr\u00e8s deux\nfois autant que la verd de Serk, comme dit Thomas Robert.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VI.\n\nFairies.\n\n    \u201cCome, frolick youth, and follow me\n    My frantique boy, and I\u2019ll show thee\n    The country of the Fayries.\u201d\n\n         --_Drayton\u2019s \u201cMuses Elizium, 1630.\u201d_\n\n    \u201cO l\u2019heureux temps que celui de ces fables,\n    Des bon d\u00e9mons, des esprits familiers,\n    Des forfadets, aux mortels secourables!\n    On \u00e9coutait tous ces faits admirables\n    Dans son ch\u00e2teau, pr\u00e8s d\u2019un large foyer:\n    Le p\u00e8re et l\u2019oncle, et la m\u00e8re et la fille,\n    Et les voisins, et toute la famille,\n    Ouvraient l\u2019oreille \u00e0 Monsieur l\u2019aumonier,\n    Qui leur ferait des contes de sorcier.\n    On a banni les d\u00e9mons et les f\u00e9es;\n    Sous la raison les gr\u00e2ces \u00e9touff\u00e9es,\n    Livrent nos c\u0153urs \u00e0 l\u2019insipidit\u00e9;\n    Le raisonner tristement s\u2019accr\u00e9dite;\n    On court h\u00e9las! apr\u00e8s la v\u00e9rit\u00e9,\n    Ah! croyez-moi, l\u2019erreur a son m\u00e9rite.\u201d\n\n                                  --_Voltaire._\n\n                               \u201cFairy elves\n    Whose midnight frolics by a forest side\n    Or fountain, some belated peasant sees.\u201d\n\n                                 --_Milton._\n\n\nPOPULAR NOTIONS ABOUT FAIRIES.\n\nIt is not very easy to ascertain precisely what the popular idea of a\nfairy is. The belief in them seems to have died out, or, perhaps, to\nspeak more correctly, they are no longer looked upon as beings that\nhave any existence in the present day. That such a race did once\nexist, that they possessed supernatural powers, that they sometimes\nentered into communication with mankind, is still believed, but all\nthat is related of them is told as events that happened long before\nthe memory of man, and it is curious to see how a known historical\nfact--the invasion of the island by Yvon de Galles in the fourteenth\ncentury,--has, in the lapse of ages, assumed the form of a myth, and\nhow his Spanish troops have been converted into denizens of fairyland.\nPerhaps, as has been suggested by some writers who have made popular\nantiquities their peculiar study, all fairy mythology may be referred\nto a confused tradition of a prim\u00e6val race of men, who were gradually\ndriven out by the encroachments of more advanced civilization.\nAccording to this theory the inferior race retired before their\nconquerors into the most remote parts of the woods and hills, where\nthey constructed for themselves rude dwellings, partly underground and\ncovered with turf, such as may still be found in Lapland and Finland,\nor made use of the natural fissures in the rocks for their habitations,\nthus giving rise to the idea that fairies and dwarfs inhabit hills\nand the innermost recesses of the mountains. In the superior cunning\nwhich an oppressed race frequently possesses may have originated the\nopinion generally entertained of the great intelligence of the fairy\npeople--and, as it is not to be supposed that a constant warfare was\ngoing on between the races, it is far from improbable that some of the\nstories which turn on the kindly intercourse of fairies with mortals,\nmay have arisen in the recollection of neighbourly acts. The popular\nbelief that flint arrow-heads are their work--the names given in these\nislands--\u201c_rouets des fa\u00efkiaux_,\u201d or fairies\u2019 spindles, to a sort of\nsmall perforated disc or flattened bead of stone which is occasionally\ndug up, and \u201c_pipes des fa\u00efkiaux_\u201d to the tiny pipes which date from\nthe first introduction of tobacco,--their connection in the minds of\nthe peasantry with the remains commonly called druidical, and, indeed,\nwith any antiquity for which they cannot readily account, are all more\nor less confirmatory of the theory above alluded to. Some years ago a\ngrave, walled up on the inside with stones, and containing a skeleton\nand the remains of some arms, was discovered on a hillside near L\u2019Er\u00e9e.\nThe country people without hesitation pronounced it to be \u201c_Le Tomb\u00e9 du\nRouai des F\u00e2\u00efes_.\u201d\n\nOne well-preserved cromlech in the same neighbourhood is called\n\u201cLe Creux des F\u00e2\u00efes\u201d and the local name of cromlechs, in general\n\u201cpouquel\u00e2ie,\u201d may have some reference to that famous fairy Puck, or\nRobin Goodfellow, the west country Pixie, or Pisky, and the mischievous\nIrish goblin Phooka.\n\nAccording to the best accounts the fairies are a very small people,\nand always extremely well dressed. The inhabitants of Sark attribute\nto them the peculiarity of carrying their heads under their arms. They\nare fond of sporting among the green branches of the trees, and on\nthe borders of running streams. They are supposed to live underground\nin ant hills, and to have a particular affection for upright stones,\naround which they assemble, or which they use as marks in some of their\ngames, and the removal of which they are apt to resent by causing\ninjury to the persons or property of those who are bold enough to brave\ntheir displeasure in this respect. Some are domestic, living invisibly\nabout the hearth-stone or oven, but willing to make themselves useful\nby finishing the work which the housewife had not been able to complete\nduring the day. They expected, however, as a reward for their kind\noffices that a bowl of milk porridge should be set on the floor for\nthem when the family retired to rest. On one occasion a fairy was heard\ncomplaining that the porridge was too hot and scalded her. The sensible\nadvice was given--to wait until it cooled.\n\nThe few stories about fairies that I have been able to collect are\ngiven in these pages, and are very much the same as those related\nin other countries. Of the more elaborate fairy tale--that which\nrecounts the adventures of a life-time, and in which a supernatural\nbeing--commonly called a fairy, but who has little or nothing in common\nwith the fays who dance on the green sward by the light of the moon--is\nthe directing influence either for good or bad,--I have been able to\ndiscover only the very slightest trace.\n\nThat such tales did once exist, and that they were related by nurses\nto amuse their young charges, is, I think, sufficiently proved by\nallusions sometimes made to Chendrouine, as our old acquaintance\nCendrillon or Cinderella is called, and by the fact that a friend of\nmine remembers an old servant telling him the story of \u201cPel de Cat,\u201d\nevidently the same as the English story of \u201cCat-skin,\u201d which however\nappears in the French collections of fairy tales by the name of \u201cPeau\nd\u2019Ane.\u201d All that my friend could recall to mind were the words in which\nthe heroine of the tale is welcomed into a house where she seeks for\nshelter, and which have a rhythmical cadence that smacks strongly of\nantiquity:--\n\n    _\u201cEntre, paure Pel-de-Cat, m\u00e0nge, et b\u00e9s, et s\u00e9que t\u00e9.\u201d_\n\n    (Enter, poor Cat-skin, eat, drink, and dry yourself).[96]\n\nBut the best informed among the peasantry do not hesitate in expressing\ntheir belief that the fairies were a race who lived long before\nthe ancestors of the present occupants of the land had effected a\nsettlement in the island; that the cromlechs were erected by them for\ndwelling places, and that the remains of pottery which have been from\ntime to time discovered in these prim\u00e6val structures plainly prove\ntheir derivation.\n\nThat the fairy race possessed supernatural strength and knowledge\nthere can be no doubt, or how could they have moved such enormous\nblocks of stone? Whether their strength and extraordinary science was a\ngift from Heaven, or whether they acquired these endowments by having\nentered into a league with the powers of darkness, is a very doubtful\nand disputed question. Some say they were a highly religious people,\nand that they possessed the gift of working miracles. Others shake\ntheir heads and say that their knowledge, though perhaps greater, was\nof the same nature as that possessed in later times by wizards and\nwitches, who, as everybody knows, derive their power from the wicked\none.[97]\n\nSome fifty or sixty years since, it was still firmly believed in the\ncountry that the fairies assisted the industrious, and that, if a\nstocking or other piece of knitting was placed at night on the hearth\nor at the mouth of the oven with a bowl of pap, in the morning the work\nwould be found completed and the pap eaten. Should idleness, however,\nhave prompted the knitter to seek the assistance of the invisible\npeople, not only did the work remain undone and the pap uneaten, but\nthe insult put upon them was severely revenged by blows inflicted on\nthe offending parties during their sleep.[98]\n\nIt is asserted by some old people in the neighbourhood of L\u2019Er\u00e9e that,\nin days gone by, if a bowl of milk porridge was taken in the evening to\nthe \u201cCreux des F\u00e2\u00efes,\u201d and left there with a piece of knitting that it\nwas desired to have speedily finished, and a fitting supply of worsted\nand knitting needles, the bowl would be found next morning emptied of\nits contents, and the work completed in a superior manner.[99]\n\n[96] EDITOR\u2019S NOTES.--(In St. Martin\u2019s there still lingers a version\nof the English Tom Thumb, the \u201cThaumlin\u201d or \u201cLittle Thumb\u201d of the\nNortherners, who was a dwarf of Scandinavian descent. I was told the\nfollowing story in 1896, but the old woman who told me owned that she\nhad forgotten many of the details.)\n\n\u201cLE GRAND BIMERLUE.\u201d\n\nOnce upon a time a woman had a very tiny little son, who was always\ncalled P\u2019tit Jean. He was so small that she was continually losing\nhim. One day he strayed into a field, and was terrified at seeing a\nlarge bull rushing towards him, having broken loose from his leash.\nHoping for shelter, he ran and hid under a cabbage leaf, but in vain,\nfor the bull ate up the cabbage leaf, and swallowed \u201cP\u2019tit Jean\u201d as\nwell. Soon his mother was heard calling \u201c_P\u2019tit Jean! P\u2019tit Jean! je\ntr\u00e0che mon P\u2019tit Jean_.\u201d (\u201cP\u2019tit Jean! P\u2019tit Jean! I am looking for\nmy P\u2019tit Jean,\u201d) so, as well as he could, he answered \u201c_Je suis dans\nle ventre du Grand Bimerlue_.\u201d (\u201cI am in the stomach of the \u2018Grand\nBimerlue.\u2019\u201d) Astonished and frightened at hearing these unusual sounds\ncoming from the bull, the woman rushed in and implored her husband to\nkill \u201cLe Grand Bimerlue,\u201d as she was sure he must be bewitched. This\nwas accordingly done, and they cut up the carcase for eating, but the\nentrails were thrown into the nearest ditch. An old woman was passing\nby and saw them lying there, so picked them up and put them in her\nbasket, saying--\n\n\u201c_Y en a des biaux boudins pour mon diner._\u201d\n\n(\u201cHere are some fine black puddings for my dinner.\u201d)\n\nAll the time the boy was calling--\n\n    _\u201cTrot, trot le vier,_\n    _Trot, trot la vieille,_\n    _Je suis dans l\u2019ventre_\n    _Du Grand Bimerlue.\u201d_\n\n    \u201c(Trot, trot old man,\n    Trot, trot old woman,\n    I am in the stomach\n    Of the Grand Bimerlue).\u201d\n\nHearing these sounds issuing from her basket she hurried home and cut\nopen the stomach of the bull, from whence emerged \u201cP\u2019tit Jean\u201d none the\nworse for his adventure. He ran home to his mother, who had begun to\nthink that she would never see him again.--_From Mrs. Charles Marquand._\n\n[97] From Mrs. Savidan.\n\n[98] From Miss E. Chepmell, of St. Sampson\u2019s.\n\n[99] From Mrs. Murton.\n\n\nTHE INVASION OF GUERNSEY BY THE FAIRIES.\n\n    \u201cWelcome lady! to the cell,\n    Where the blameless Pixies dwell,\n    But thou sweet nymph! proclaimed our faery queen\n    With what obeisance meet\n    Thy presence shall we greet.\u201d\n\n                                        --_Coleridge._\n\n    \u201cIn olde dayes of the King Artour\n    Of which that Bretons speken gret honour,\n    All was this lond fulfilled of faerie;\n    The Elf-quene, with hire joly compagnie,\n    Danced ful oft in many a grene mede,\n    This was the old opinion as I rede;\n    I speke of many hundred yeres ago;\n    But now can no man see non elves mo.\u201d\n\n            --_Chaucer\u2019s \u201cCanterbury Tales.\u201d_\n\nAt a very remote period there lived in the neighbourhood of Vazon a\ngirl of extraordinary beauty. One morning, as was her usual custom,\nshe left her cottage at an early hour to attend to her cows, when, on\nentering the meadow, she was astonished to find asleep on the grass,\nunder the shelter of a hedge, a young man of very small stature, but\nfinely proportioned, and remarkably handsome. He was habited in a rich\nsuit of grass-green, and by his side lay his bow and arrows. Wondering\nwho the stranger could be, and fascinated by his beauty and splendid\nappearance, the maiden stood in silent admiration, until he awoke\nand addressed her. Her person and manners seem to have had as much\ninfluence on the youth as his appearance had produced on the damsel. He\ninformed her that he was a fairy from England, and made her an offer\nof his hand. She immediately consented to unite her destiny with his,\nand followed him to the sea-shore, where a barque was waiting, which\nconveyed the happy pair to fairyland.\n\n[Illustration: \u201cCreux des F\u00e2\u00efes.\u201d]\n\nTime passed on, and the disappearance of the maiden was almost\nforgotten, when, one morning, a man who was going down to Vazon Bay\nat day-break was surprised to see a numerous host of diminutive men\nissuing, like a flock of bees, from the Creux des F\u00e2\u00efes, and lurking\namong the reeds and rushes of Le Grand Marais. He inquired who they\nwere, and what had induced them to visit the Holy Isle. One, who\nappeared their leader, answered for all, and told the affrighted man,\nthat, charmed with the beauty and grace of the damsel that one of their\ncompanions had brought from the island, they were determined also to\npossess wives from the same country. They then deputed him to be the\nbearer of a message to the men of Guernsey, summoning them to give up\ntheir wives and daughters, and threatening them with their heaviest\ndispleasure in case of a refusal. Such an exorbitant demand was, of\ncourse, with one accord refused, and the Guernseymen prepared to defend\ntheir families and drive the bold invaders from their shores. But,\nalas! what can poor mortals avail against supernatural beings! The\nfairies drove them eastward with great carnage. The last stand was made\nnear Le Mont Arrivel, but, wearied and dispirited, they fell an easy\nprey to their merciless enemies, who put every soul to the sword. Their\nblood flowed down to the shore, and tinged the sea to a considerable\ndistance, and the road where this massacre took place still retains\nthe memory of the deed, and is known to this day by the name of La\nRouge Rue. Two men only of St. Andrew\u2019s parish are reported to have\nescaped by hiding in an oven. The fairies then entered into quiet\npossession of the families and domains of the slain; the widows began\nto be reconciled to their new masters, the maidens were pleased with\ntheir fairy lovers, and the island once more grew prosperous. But this\nhappy state of things could not last for ever. The immutable laws of\nfairyland will not allow their subjects to sojourn among mortals more\nthan a certain number of years, and at last the dwellers in Sarnia were\nobliged to bid adieu to the shady valleys, the sunny hills, and flowery\nplains, which they had delighted to rove amongst and which their skill\nand industry had materially improved. With heavy hearts they bade adieu\nto the scene of their fondest recollections, and re-imbarked. But,\nsince then, no Guernsey witch has ever needed a broomstick for her\nnocturnal journeys, having inherited wings from her fairy ancestors,\nand the old people endeavour to account for the small stature of many\nfamilies by relating how the fairies once mingled their race with that\nof mortals.[100]\n\n[100] Communicated by Miss Lane, to whom the story was related by an\nold woman of the Castel parish.\n\n\nTHE FAIRIES AND THE NURSE.\n\nThe fairies sometimes avail themselves of the services of mankind, and\nin return are willing to assist and reward them as far as lies in their\npower, but woe to the unhappy mortal who chances to offend them!--for\nthey are as pitiless as they are powerful.\n\nIt is said that one night a woman, who lived in the neighbourhood of\nHoumet and who gained her livelihood by nursing and attending on the\nsick, heard herself called from without. She immediately arose, and,\nlooking out, saw a man who was totally unknown to her standing at the\ndoor. He accosted her, and, telling her that he required her services\nfor a sick child, bade her follow him. She obeyed, and he led the way\nto the mouth of the little cavern at Houmet, called Le Creux des F\u00e9es.\nShe felt alarmed, but, having proceeded too far to retreat, resolved\nto put a bold front on the matter, and followed her mysterious guide.\nAs they advanced, she was astonished to find that the cave put on a\ntotally different appearance--the damp rugged walls became smooth, and\na bright light disclosed the entrance of a magnificent dwelling.\n\nThe poor woman soon comprehended that she had penetrated into\nfairyland, but, relying on the good intentions of her conductor, she\nfollowed him into an apartment where a child was lying ill in a cradle,\nwhom she was desired to attend to and nurse. She entered on her new\nduties with alacrity, and was plentifully supplied by the fairies with\nevery necessary and even luxury. One day, however, as she was fondling\nthe infant, some of its spittle chanced to touch her eyes. Immediately\neverything around her put on a different aspect--the brilliant\napartment once more became a dismal cavern, and squalor and misery\nreplaced the semblance of riches and abundance. She was too prudent,\nhowever, to impart to any of the fairy people the discovery she had\nmade, and, the health of the child being quite restored, solicited\nher dismissal, which was granted her with many thanks, and a handsome\ncompensation for her trouble.\n\nThe Saturday following her return to the light of day, she went into\ntown to make her weekly purchases of provisions and other necessaries,\nand, stepping into a shop in the Haut Pav\u00e9, was astonished to see one\nof her acquaintances of the Creux des F\u00e2\u00efes busily employed in filling\na basket with the various commodities exposed for sale, but evidently\nunseen by all in the shop but herself. No longer at a loss to know\nwhence the abundance in the fairies\u2019 cavern proceeded, and, indignant\nat the roguery practised on the unsuspecting shopkeeper, she addressed\nthe pilferer and said \u201cAh, wicked one! I see thee!\u201d\n\n\u201cYou see me--do you?\u201d answered the fairy. \u201cAnd how--pray?\u201d\n\n\u201cWith my eyes to be sure,\u201d replied the woman, off her guard.\n\n\u201cWell then,\u201d replied he, \u201cI will easily put a stop to any future prying\ninto our affairs on your part.\u201d\n\nAnd, saying this, he spat in her eyes, and she instantly became stone\nblind![101]\n\n[101] From Miss Lane, as related in the Castel parish.\n\nThere is another version of the preceding, called\n\n\nTHE FAIRIES AND THE MIDWIFE.\n\nLate one night an old woman was called up by a man with whom she was\nunacquainted, and requested to follow as quickly as possible, as his\nwife was in labour and required her immediate assistance. She obeyed,\nand was led by her guide into a miserable hovel, where everything\nappeared wretched, the few articles of furniture falling to pieces,\nand the household vessels of the coarsest ware, and scarcely one\nwhole. Shortly after her arrival, her patient was safely delivered of\na child. When she was about to make use of some water which stood in\na pail, to wash the child with, and had already dipped her hand into\nit, she was earnestly requested not to meddle with that water, but to\nuse some which stood in a jug close by. She chanced, however, to lift\nher hand, still wet, to her face, and a drop of the water got into one\nof her eyes. Immediately she saw everything under a different aspect;\nthe house appeared rich and magnificently furnished, and the broken\nearthenware turned into vessels of gold and silver.\n\nShe was, however, too prudent to express her surprise, and, when her\nservices were no longer required, left the place.\n\nSome time afterwards she met the man in town and accosted him. \u201cWhat,\u201d\nsaid he, \u201cYou see me! How is this?\u201d Taken unawares, she mentioned what\nshe had done in the cottage, and which of her eyes was endowed with the\nfaculty of beholding him: he immediately spat in it, and destroyed her\nsight for ever.[102]\n\n[102] From Miss E. Chepmell.\n\nSee Sir Walter Scott\u2019s _Lady of the Lake_. Note M:--Many of the German\npopular tales collected by the Brothers Grimm turn on the circumstance\nof a midwife being called to assist an Undine, or Fairy.\n\nSee also Keightley\u2019s _Fairy Mythology_, Vol. 2, p. 182. _Notes and\nQueries_, 2nd Series, IX. 259.\n\nMrs. Bray\u2019s _Traditions of Devonshire_.\n\nEDITOR\u2019S NOTES.--In _Traditions et Superstitions de La Haute Bretagne_,\nby Sebillot, almost the same story is told, Tome 1., p. 109. See also\nTome 2., p. 89. \u201cUn jour, une sage-femme alla accoucher une f\u00e9e; elle\noublia de se laver la main, et se toucha un \u0153il; ainsi depuis ce temps\nelle reconnaissait les d\u00e9guisements des f\u00e9es. Un jour que le mari de\nla f\u00e9e \u00e9tait \u00e0 voler du grain, elle le vit et cria \u2018au voleur.\u2019 Il lui\ndemanda de quel \u0153il elle le voyait, et aussit\u00f4t qu\u2019il le sut, il le lui\narracha.\u201d\n\n\nTHE BROKEN KETTLE.\n\nTwo men were at work in a field near L\u2019Er\u00e9e, when suddenly their\nplough stopped, nor would their united strength, joined to that of\nthe oxen, succeed in moving it. As they looked about them, wondering\nwhat could be the reason of this stoppage, they observed in one of the\nneighbouring furrows an iron kettle, such as was formerly used for\nbaking bread and cake on the hearth. On approaching it they noticed\nthat it contained a bit which had been broken out of the side, and a\ncouple of nails. On stooping to lift it, they heard a voice desiring\nthem to get it mended, and when done to replace it on the same spot\nwhere they had found it. They complied with the request, went to the\nnearest smith, and on their return to the field with the kettle, which\nthey replaced as directed, continued their work, the plough moving as\nreadily as before. They had completed several furrows when a second\ntime the plough remained stationary. On this occasion they observed a\nbundle neatly tied up lying near them, and, on opening it, found it to\ncontain a newly-baked cake, quite warm, and a bottle of cider. At the\nsame time they were again addressed by their invisible friend, who bade\nthem eat and drink without fear, thanked them for the readiness with\nwhich they had attended to his wishes, and assured them that a kind\naction never goes without its reward.[103]\n\n[103] From Miss Lane.\n\nSee _Notes and Queries_, 2nd Series, Vol. IX., 259.\n\n\nFAIRY NEIGHBOURS.\n\nThe fairies are reported to have regarded some households with\nparticular favour, and to have lived on very neighbourly terms with\nthem, borrowing or lending as occasion might require.\n\nThe families of De Garis and Dumont are among those who are said to\nhave been in their good graces, and it was to a De Garis the following\nincident happened.\n\nTo the south of the Church of St. Pierre du Bois there lies a little\ndell, through which runs a small stream of water known by the singular\nname of \u201cLe Dou\u00eft d\u2019Isra\u00ebl.\u201d This valley is said to have been in\nformer days a favourite resort of the fairy folk, and tradition\naffirms that a very kindly feeling existed between them and the\nmortal inhabitants of the land. A cottage is still pointed out, not\nfar from the estate called \u201cLe Colombier,\u201d which is said to have been\nthe abode of a countryman and his wife with whom the fairies were in\nconstant communication. Frequently, at night, the elves would come and\nrequest the loan of a cart until the morning, and their request was\nalways complied with willingly, for it was always accompanied with the\nfollowing promise:--\n\n                _\u201cGaris, Garis,_\n    _Pr\u00eate m\u00e9 ten qu\u00e9riot,_\n    _Pour que j\u2019allons \u00e0 St. Malo,_\n    _Queurre des roques et des galots,_\n    _Rindelles, roulettes, ou roulons,_\n    _S\u2019il en m\u00e0nque j\u2019en mettrons.\u201d_\n\n                (\u201cGaris, Garis,\n    Lend your cart now, I pray,\n    To go to Saint Malo,\n    To fetch stones away.\n    Should tires for the wheels\n    Or any thing lack,\n    We\u2019ll make it all right\n    Before we come back.\u201d)\n\nPermission to take the cart was never refused, for it was always\nreturned in perfect order, and, if any injury was done to the\nmetal-work during the nocturnal journey, it was found the next day\ncarefully repaired with pure silver. But what use was made of it is\nunknown. Some pretend that a sound of wheels was sometimes heard in\nthe dead of night rolling over the cliffs at Pleinmont, where no horse\ncould have found a footing.[104]\n\n[104] From John de Garis, Esq., and Mrs. Savidan.\n\n\n\u201cLE PETIT COLIN.\u201d\n\nFairies have sometimes been known to enter into the service of mankind,\nbut by what motives they were actuated in so doing is not clear. A\ncertain \u201cMess\u201d[105] Dumaresq, of \u201cLes Grands Moulins,\u201d once engaged as\na farm servant a boy who offered himself. No one knew whence he came,\nnor did he appear to have any relations. He was extremely lively,\nactive, and attentive to his duties, but so small that he acquired and\nwas known by no other name than that of \u201cP\u2019tit Colin.\u201d One morning\nas Dumaresq was returning from St. Saviour\u2019s, he was astonished, on\npassing the haunted hill known as \u201cLa Roque o\u00f9 le Coq Chante,\u201d to hear\nhimself called by name. He stopped his horse and looked round, but\ncould see no one. Thinking that his imagination must have deceived him,\nhe began to move on, but was again arrested by the voice. A second time\nhe stopped and looked round, but with no more success than the first.\nBeginning to feel alarmed, he pushed his horse forward, but was a third\ntime stopped by the voice. He now summoned up all his courage and\nasked who it was that called, and what was required of him. The voice\nimmediately answered,--\n\n\u201cGo home directly and tell P\u2019tit Colin that Grand Colin is dead.\u201d\n\nWondering what could be the meaning of this, he made the best of his\nway home, and, on his arrival, sent for Le Petit Colin, to whom he\ncommunicated what had befallen him. The boy replied, \u201cWhat! Is Le\nGrand Colin dead? Then I must leave you,\u201d and immediately turned round\nto depart.\n\n\u201cStop,\u201d said Mess Dumaresq, \u201cI must pay you your wages.\u201d\n\n\u201cWages!\u201d said Colin, with a laugh, \u201cI am far richer now than you.\nGoodbye.\u201d\n\nSaying this he left the room and was never afterwards seen or heard of.\n\nThis story is still related by Dumaresq\u2019s descendants.[106]\n\n[105] \u201cMess\u201d is the Guernsey colloquial for \u201cMonsieur,\u201d as applied to\none of the farmer class.\n\n[106] From Miss Lane and John de Garis, Esq.\n\nMr. M\u00e9tivier also gives a version of this in an article in one of the\nFrench papers, and some notes as to the origin of the legend.\n\nCe fut \u00e0 son retour de St. Pierre-Port, o\u00f9 il avait un tant soit peu\ntrop lev\u00e9 le coude, un Samedi, qu\u2019au moment o\u00f9 il passait \u201cLa Roche au\nCoq,\u201d vers minuit, un de nos terriens entendit ces paroles:\n\n\u201cJean Dumaresq! Va dire au P\u2019tit Colin que l\u2019Gr\u00e0nd Colin est mort!\u201d\n\nOr ce Colin, en haut-tudesque _Cole-wire_, est un _troll_ ou _guenon_,\nun gobelin, qui, sous la forme de singe, ou de chat, \u00e9tait pers\u00e9cut\u00e9\npar un ma\u00eetre r\u00e9barbatif. Dans la l\u00e9gende norse, le fermier se nomme\nPlatt; et lorsqu\u2019il revient chez lui, ayant pris, sinon du vin, de la\ncervoise, il dit \u00e0 sa m\u00e9nag\u00e8re: \u201c\u00c9coute ce qui m\u2019est arriv\u00e9 ce soir!\nComme je passais Brand Hoy, la Hougue-aux-Balais, la voix d\u2019un troll\nm\u2019a cri\u00e9 ces mots:\n\n    \u201c\u00c9coute, Platt!\n    Dis \u00e0 ton chat\n    \u2018Que le vieux Sure-M\u00fbre,\n    (Rou\u00e2ne et grond),\n    Est mort!\u2019\u201d\n\nAussit\u00f4t, notre chat fait une cabriole, et se dressant sur ses pieds de\nderri\u00e8re, crie \u00e0 son tour: \u201cEn ce cas-l\u00e0, il faut que je d\u00e9campe.\u201d\u201d\n\nSee _Lay of the Last Minstrel_, Note S, and a paper on Popular\nSuperstitions, etc., in the _Saturday Magazine_, Vol 10. p. 44. In\nBrand\u2019s _Antiquities_, Vol. 3. p. 44, the following similar story is\ncommunicated by T. Quiller Couch, as relating to a Cornish pixy. \u201cA\nfarmer, who formerly lived on an estate in this neighbourhood, called\nLangreek, was returning one evening from a distant part of the farm,\nand, in crossing a field, saw, to his surprise, sitting on a stone in\nthe middle of it, a miserable looking creature, human in appearance,\nthough dwarfish in size, and apparently starving with cold and hunger.\nPitying its condition, and perhaps aware that it was of elfish origin,\nand that good luck would amply repay him for his kind treatment of\nit, he took it home, placed it by the warm hearth on a stool, fed it\nwith milk, and shewed it great kindness. Though at first lumpish and\nonly half sensible, the poor bantling soon revived, and, though it\nnever spoke, became lively and playful, and a general favourite in the\nfamily. After the lapse of three or four days, whilst it was at play,\na shrill voice in the farm-yard or \u2018town place\u2019 was heard to call\nthree times \u2018Colman Gray!\u2019 at which the little fellow sprang up, and,\ngaining voice, cried--\u2018Ho! Ho! Ho! My daddy is come!\u2019 flew through the\nkey hole, and was never afterwards heard of. A field on the estate is\ncalled \u201cColman Gray\u201d to this day.\u201d\n\n\nTHE FAIRY BAKERS.\n\nLe Grand Colin and Le Petit Colin, whose names have already been\nmentioned in connection with La Longue Roque and La Roque o\u00f9 le Coq\nChante, appear to have belonged to that race of household spirits who\nused to take up their abode on or near the hearth, and who, although\nrarely making themselves visible to the human inhabitants of the house,\nwere willing, so long as no attempt was made to pry into their secrets,\nto render occasional acts of kindness to those under whose roof they\ndwelt, especially if they were honest and industrious.\n\nA man and his wife occupied a small cottage at St. Brioc. The man\ngained his living as many along the western coasts of the island do.\nWhen the weather was favourable he went out fishing. After gales of\nwind he was up with the first dawn of day to secure his share of the\nsea-weed which the waves had cast up on the shore, or perchance a spar\nor cordage detached from some unfortunate ship that had gone down in\nthe storm. At other times he cultivated his own small plot of ground,\nor hired himself out as a day labourer to some of the neighbouring\nfarmers who were in want of assistance. In short he was never idle.\n\nThey lived in a typical old Guernsey country farm-house, with old\nwalls of grey granite, a thatched roof, small diamond-paned windows,\nand arched doorways, with its half-door or \u201checq.\u201d Inside they are all\nbuilt much on the same pattern. The front door opens into an entrance\nhall, on one side of which is the \u201cliving\u201d room of the house,--parlour\nand kitchen in one,--with a huge chimney, sometimes adorned with quaint\nold carvings, as at \u201cLes Fontaines,\u201d in the Castel parish, a low hearth\nstone, a smouldering vraic fire, and \u201ctrepied.\u201d Still inside its\nenclosure are stone seats, a large bread oven built in the thickness of\nthe wall, and a hook whereon to hang the \u201ccr\u00e2set\u201d lamp.\n\nA rack hangs from the low oak ceiling, diversified by its huge centre\nbeam or \u201cpo\u00fbtre.\u201d On this is kept the bacon, and the grease for the\n\u201csoupe \u00e0 la graisse,\u201d or \u201cde cab\u00f4che.\u201d A \u201cjonqui\u00e8re,\u201d which is an\noblong wooden frame about three feet from the ground, is placed in a\ncorner near the fire and if possible near a window, and is used as a\nsofa by the family. Formerly it was stuffed with rushes, whence its\nname. Peastraw or dried fern, covered with green baize, now take their\nplace, and it is frequently called the \u201cgreen bed.\u201d A long table and\nforms, with an eight-day clock by Naftel, Lenfestey, or Blondel, and an\nold carved chest, which contained the bride\u2019s dower of linen in bygone\ntimes, is the ordinary furniture of the rooms, whose principal ornament\nconsists of some of the beautiful china brought by sailor sons from\nthe far East or Holland. The floors boast for carpet nothing but earth\ncovered with clean sand, daily renewed.\n\nOn the other side of the passage is the best bedroom, with its four\nposter, and some still have on their mantel-pieces the old tinder\nboxes, with their flint and steel, and separate compartments for the\nburnt rag or tinder. Beyond are the winding stone steps, built in\na curve beyond the straight wall of the house, and above are more\nbedrooms, or, in smaller houses, simply a \u201cch\u2019nas\u201d or loft.\n\nHis wife also was never idle. She was one of the shrewd, industrious,\nand frugal race, who were content with a diet of bacon and cabbage,\nbarley-bread and cider, and who are, alas, disappearing fast. Night\nafter night, when her husband had returned home, and, tired out with\nthe fatigues of the day, had gone to rest and was sound asleep, she\nwould sit up till a late hour on the \u201cjonqui\u00e8re\u201d and ply her spinning\nwheel by the dim light of the \u201ccr\u00e2set.\u201d\n\nWhile thus occupied, she, one night, heard a knock at the door, and\na voice enquiring whether the oven was hot, and whether a batch of\ndough might be baked in it. A voice from within then enquired who it\nwas that stood without, and, on the answer being given that it was Le\nPetit Colin, permission was immediately granted, and the door opened to\nadmit him. She then heard the noise of the dough being placed in the\noven, and a conversation between the two, by which she learned that the\ninmate of the house was called Le Grand Colin. After the usual time the\nbread was drawn, and the mysterious visitor departed, leaving behind\nhim, on the table, a nicely baked cake, with an intimation that it was\nin return for the use of the oven.\n\nThis was repeated frequently and at regular intervals, and the woman\nat last mentioned the circumstance to her husband. The fairer sex is\nfrequently accused of an inclination to pry into secrets and taunted\nwith the evils which too often result from inordinate curiosity, but in\nthis instance it was the husband who was to blame. He was seized with\na violent desire to penetrate the mystery, notwithstanding the earnest\nentreaties of his wife--who had a shrewd suspicion of the real state of\nthe case--that he should leave well alone. His will prevailed, and it\nwas settled that on the night when the invisible baker was expected,\nthe husband should take his wife\u2019s place on the \u201cjonqui\u00e8re,\u201d disguised\nin her clothes, and that she should go to bed. Knowing that her husband\ncould not spin, the careful housewife thought it prudent not to put\nthe usual supply of flax or wool on the distaff, lest the good man, in\nturning the wheel, should spoil it. He had not been long at his post\nand pretending to spin, when the expected visitor came. He could see\nnothing, but he heard one of the two say to the other:--\n\n    _\u201cFile, filiocque,_\n    _Rien en brocque,_\n    _Barbe \u00e0 c\u00e9 ser_\n    _Pas l\u2019autre ser.\u201d_\n\n    (\u201cThere\u2019s flax on the distaff,\n    But nothing is spun;\n    To night there\u2019s a beard,\n    T\u2019other night there was none.\u201d)\n\nUpon which both were heard to quit the house as if in anger, and were\nnever again known to revisit it.[107]\n\n[107] From William Le Poidevin, confirmed by Mrs. Savidan.\n\nEDITOR\u2019S NOTES.\n\nCompare in Am\u00e9lie Bosquet\u2019s book _La Normandie Romanesque et\nMerveilleuse_, p. 130-131, _Le Lutin ou le F\u00e9 Amoureux_ and Webster\u2019s\n_Basque Legends_, p. 55-56.\n\nPaul S\u00e9billot also gives a somewhat similar story, in _Traditions et\nSuperstitions de La Haute Bretagne_, Tome 1., p. 116-117. \u201cIl y avait\n\u00e0 la Ville-Dou\u00e9lan, en la paroisse du Gouray, une bonne femme qui tous\nles soirs mettait son souper \u00e0 chauffer dans le foyer; mais pendant\nqu\u2019elle \u00e9tait occup\u00e9e \u00e0 filer, les f\u00e9es descendaient par la chemin\u00e9e\net mangeaient son souper. Elle s\u2019en plaignit \u00e0 son mari, qui \u00e9tait\njournalier et ne rentrait que pour se coucher. Il lui dit de le laisser\nun soir tout seul \u00e0 la maison. Il s\u2019habilla en femme et prit une\nquenouille comme une fileuse, mais il ne filait point. Quand les f\u00e9es\narriv\u00e8rent, elles s\u2019arr\u00eat\u00e8rent surprises dans le foyer et dirent, \u2018Vous\nne filez ni ne volez, vous n\u2019\u00eates pas la bonne femme des autres soirs.\u2019\nL\u2019homme ne r\u00e9pondit rien; mais il prit une trique et se mit \u00e0 frapper\nsur les f\u00e9es, qui, depuis ce temps-l\u00e0, ne revinrent plus jamais.\u201d\n\n\nTHE CHANGELING.\n\nIn times long past a young couple occupied a cottage in the\nneighbourhood of L\u2019Er\u00e9e. They were in the second year of their\nmarriage, and little more than a fortnight had elapsed since the wife\nhad presented her husband with his first-born son. The happy father,\nwho, like most of the inhabitants of the coast, filled up the time in\nwhich he was not otherwise occupied, in collecting sea-weed or fishing,\nreturned one morning from the beach with a basketful of limpets. There\nare various ways of cooking this shell-fish, which, from the earliest\ntimes, appears to have formed a considerable article of food among the\npoorer inhabitants of the sea-shore, and one of the ways of dressing\nthem is by placing them on the hot embers, where they are soon baked or\nfried in their own cup-shaped shells. Cooked in this manner they form\nan appetizing relish to the \u201cdor\u00e2\u00efe,\u201d or slice of bread-and-butter,\nwhich forms the ordinary mid-day meal of the labouring man.\n\nA good fire of furze and sea-weed was flaming on the hearth when the\nman entered his cottage, and, having raked the hot embers together, he\nproceeded to arrange the limpets on the ashes, and then left them to\ncook while he went out to finish digging a piece of ground. The wife in\nthe meanwhile was occupied in some domestic work, but casting a look\nfrom time to time on her new-born babe, which was sleeping quietly in\nits cradle. Suddenly she was startled by hearing an unknown voice,\nwhich seemed to proceed from the child. She turned quickly round, and\nwas much surprised to see the infant sitting up, and looking with the\ngreatest interest at the fire-place, and to hear it exclaim in tones of\nastonishment:--\n\n    _\u201cJe n\u2019sis de chut an, ni d\u2019antan,_\n    _Ni du temps du Rouey Jehan,_\n    _Mais de tous mes jours, et de tous mes ans,_\n    _Je n\u2019ai vu autant de pots bouaillants.\u201d_\n\n    (\u201cI\u2019m not of this year, nor the year before,\n    Nor yet of the time of King John of yore,\n    But in all my days and years, I ween,\n    So many pots boiling I never have seen.\u201d)\n\nShe had heard old wives tell how the fairies sometimes took advantage\nof the absence of the mother or nurse, to steal away a sleeping child,\nand to substitute one of their own bantlings in its place, and how the\nonly way to cause them to make restitution was to throw the changeling\non the hearth, when the fairy mother, unable to withstand the piteous\ncries of her offspring, was sure to appear, and bring back the stolen\ninfant with her.\n\nShe lost no time therefore in catching up the fairy imp, who, knowing\nthe fate that awaited him, set up a fearful yell. Immediately, the\nfairy mother, without stopping to lift the latch, leaped over the\n\u201checq\u201d or half-door, and, restoring to the trembling housewife her babe\nuninjured, snatched up her own squalling brat, and departed by the same\nway she had come.[108]\n\n[108] From Mrs. Savidan. (Also see Page 225).\n\n\nBUILDING OF THE CASTEL CHURCH.\n\nThe parish of Notre Dame du Castel, or, as it is now the fashion\nto call it, St. Mary de Castro, is the largest in the island, but\nthe church is situated at one extremity of the parish, close on the\nbounds of St. Andrew\u2019s, to the great inconvenience of many of the\nparishioners. It is true that in former days they had some relief in\nthe Chapels of Ste. Anne, St. George, and St. Germain, but chapels are\nnot parish churches, and many, while trudging through the miry roads in\nwinter, or toiling up the dusty hill in summer, when some of the great\nfestivals required them to present themselves at the mother church,\nhave inquired how it came to pass that so inconvenient a site had been\nchosen. The old people, depositaries of the ancient traditions of the\nplace, will answer that originally the foundations were laid in a\nfield called \u201cLes Tuz\u00e9s,\u201d but this was haunted ground, and a favourite\nresort of the fairies, and that, these little ladies, unwilling to\nyield up their rights without a struggle, in the course of a single\nnight transported all the tools, stones, etc., in their cambric aprons,\nto the spot where the Church of St. Mary now stands. Thrice did this\nhappen before the builders gave up their intention of erecting the\nsacred edifice on the site first chosen.[109]\n\n[109] From Rachel Duport.\n\nSimilar stories are told of the Forest Church, of St. Martin\u2019s and the\nVale Churches, of St. Brelade\u2019s in Jersey, and many others.\n\nSee Chambers\u2019 _Popular Rhymes of Scotland_, p. 335, and _Notes and\nQueries_, 2nd Series, IV., 144.\n\n\nTHE GUERNSEY LILY.\n\nThere is another story told of the fairy man who first came to Guernsey\nand carried away the beautiful Michelle de Garis[110] to be his wife.\nThough, vanquished by his courtliness and grace, she was persuaded to\nfly with him back to fairy land, she could not quite forget the father,\nmother, and brothers, whom she had left behind her in their cottage\ndown by Vazon Bay. So she begged him to let her leave them some slight\ntoken by which to remember her. He thought for a few moments, and then\ngave her a bulb, which he told her to plant in the sand above the bay.\nHe then whispered to the mother where to go to find a souvenir of her\nmissing daughter, and, when she went, weeping, to the search, she found\nthis bulb, burst into flower, a strange odourless beautiful blossom,\ndecked with fairy gold, and without a soul--for what is the scent but\nthe soul of a flower--a fit emblem of a denizen of fairyland. From\nthat time the flower has been carefully cultivated in this island, the\n\u201cAmaryllis Sarniensis,\u201d as it is called, nor will it flourish, however\ngreat the care, in any of the other islands; it pines and degenerates\nwhen removed from the soil where it was first planted by the elfin\nlover.[111]\n\n[110] In those days Guernsey girls were not called Lavinia, Maud,\nGladys, and all the ridiculous names with which modern parents\ndisfigure the old Norman surnames, but they were called Michelle,\nPeronelle,--the diminutive feminine of Pierre, equivalent to the\nEnglish form Petronilla,--Renouvette, (feminine of Ranulf or Ralph),\nOriane, Carterette, Jaqueline, Colette or Colinette, and many other\nsoft graceful old French names.\n\n[111] From Miss Lane.\n\nEDITOR\u2019S NOTES.\n\n\u201cLE GIBET DES FA\u00cfES.\u201d\n\nThis fairy-story is not included by Sir Edgar MacCulloch, but was\ncommunicated to me by the late Miss Annie Chepmell, who most kindly\nlent me her own manuscript book, in which she wrote down the legends\nshe had herself collected among the country people. I give it in her\nown words.\n\n\u201cFor a long time the fairies alone had possession of L\u2019Ancresse, the\ncromlechs, hougues, and caves. But evil men rose up, and ambition and\nthe lust of knowledge led them to cross the sea, and there to learn\nthe mighty art of magic. They returned and quickly spread the sin of\nwitchcraft in the island, so quickly that the harmless fairies had no\ntime to accustom themselves to the miseries which were caused thereby,\nand which they had no power to remedy. Their hearts fairly broke to\nsee their happy haunts invaded by witches and wizards, their fairy\nrings trampled down by the heavy feet of \u2018sorci\u00e8res,\u2019 and scorched by\nthe hoofs of their demon partners every Friday night; and their human\nfriends and pet animals pining beneath charms and spells. Unable to\nbear these sorrows, the poor fairies met on their beloved L\u2019Ancresse,\nand finding, after much consultation, that they could do nothing\nagainst the disturbers of their happiness, they sadly resolved to get\nrid of their past by drinking of the fountain of forgetfulness. There\nis, or rather was,--for the ruthless quarries have much diminished its\nsize--a huge pile of rocks rising from the sea at the eastern extremity\nof L\u2019Ancresse Bay. At the very top of this granite castle rises a\nlittle fountain, cool in the hottest summer, unfrozen in the keenest\nfrost. Its waters have the properties of Lethe--those who drink of\nthem forgetting the past. In a sad procession the fairy tribe moved\nacross the bay, and, after having scaled the steep rocks, clustered\nround the fountain which was to give them the bliss of unconsciousness.\nBut for them the fountain had no virtue; they drank, and still the\npast came back, with all its joys and sorrows. In despair at finding\neven oblivion denied to them, they hastily determined to get rid of\nlife itself. Rushing down the rocks they hurried across the Common\nto where stood three tall upright stones, with a third resting upon\nthem--a monument of far-off Druid times--and there they hung themselves\nwith blades of grass. So ended the kindly race in Guernsey, the fairy\nfountain and the upright stones their only monuments.\u201d\n\n\u201cThere are still a few lingering remnants of fairy lore to be found\namong the old country people. Old Miss Fallaize, aged eighty, remembers\nhow, in her youth, eatables and drinkables were left outside the door\nwith any unfinished work, and how in the morning the food was gone--but\nshe could not quite remember whether the work was done. But old Mr.\nTourtel, over eighty, who was brought up as a boy at an old house at\nthe Mont Durand, now pulled down, said that it was well known that the\nfairies lived in a \u2018v\u00f4te\u2019 (a Guernsey word for the French \u2018voute,\u2019 a\nvaulted cave), above La Petite Porte. They were a little people, but\nvery strong, and would mend your cart wheels or spokes for you if you\nwould put out some food for them.\u201d\n\nAlso the woman living in the house called \u201cSt. Magloire\u201d opposite the\nsite of his old chapel, said she supposed \u201cMonsieur Magloire\u201d was the\nfirst _man_ who came to these islands, and when I asked her who were\nliving here when he came, she said \u201cOh, \u2018little people,\u2019 who lived in\nthe cromlechs.\u201d\n\n\nMermaids.\n\n    \u201cI\u2019ll drown more sailors than the mermaid shall.\u201d\n\n                                     --_Shakespeare._\n\n                        \u201cThou rememb\u2019rest\n    Since once I sat upon a promontory,\n    And heard a mermaid on a dolphin\u2019s back,\n    Uttering such dulcet and harmonious breath,\n    That the rude sea grew civil at her song.\u201d\n\n                              --_Shakespeare._\n\nA belief in the existence of mermaids is not quite extinct, although no\ntales relating to them appear to have been preserved among the people.\nAn old man, living in the parish of the Forest, of the name of Matthieu\nTostevin, whose word might be implicitly relied on, affirmed to Mr.\nDenys Corbet, the master of the parochial school, that on one occasion,\nbeing on the cliffs over-looking Petit-B\u00f4t Bay, he saw a company of six\nmermaids, or, as he termed them \u201c_seir\u00eanes_,\u201d disporting themselves on\nthe sands below. He described them as usually depicted, half woman,\nhalf fish. He hastened down to the beach as fast as he could, to get a\nnearer sight of them, but, on his approaching them, they took to the\nsea, and were immediately out of sight.\n\n[Illustration: \u201cLooking down Smith Street, 1870.\u201d]\n\nIt was doubtless a flock of seals which he saw, for, although these\nanimals are no longer found in numbers on our coasts, a stray one is\noccasionally, though very rarely, to be seen. They are known to exist\non the opposite shores of Brittany and Normandy, and the few specimens\nthat have been taken in our seas are of the same variety as those found\non the French coast. It is not improbable that they may have been more\ncommon in former days; and it is possible that \u201cLe Creux du Chien,\u201d a\nlarge cavern at the foot of the cliffs to the eastward of Petit-B\u00f4t\nBay, may have been so named from being the resort of one of these\namphibians.[112]\n\n[112] From Mr. Denys Corbet.\n\nEDITOR\u2019S NOTE.--In Sark as well as in Guernsey they still believe in\nsirens, and an old man there, who had been a fisherman in his youth,\ntold me of these women who used to sit on the rocks and sing before a\nstorm. In Sark they are considered young and beautiful, but Guernsey\nfishermen talk of _old_ women who sit on the rocks and sing, and the\nships are brought closer to the rocks by the curiosity of those on\nboard to hear this mysterious music, and then the storm comes, and the\nships go to pieces on the rocks, and the sirens,--whether young or\nold,--carry down the sailors to the bottom of the sea, and eat them. So\nthe tradition goes.\n\nReferring to the legend of the Changeling, as related on pages 219-220,\nPaul S\u00e9billot also tells a story very similar to this. Tome I. p.\n118-119.\n\nUn jour une femme dit \u00e0 sa voisine,--\u201cMa pauvre comm\u00e8re, je crains que\nmon gars a \u00e9t\u00e9 chang\u00e9 par les Margots \u2026 j\u2019voudrais bien savoir c\u2019qui\nfaut faire.\u201d\n\n\u201c \u2026 Vous prendrez d\u2019s \u0153ufs; vous leur casserez le petit bout, et puis\nd\u2019cela vous mettrez des petits brochiaux d\u2019bois dedans; vous allumerez\nun bon feu; vous les mettrez autour, debout; et vous m\u00e8nerez le petit\nfaitiau \u00e0 se chauffer aussi.\u201d\n\nLa femme fit tout cela, et quand le petit faiteau vit les \u0153ufs bouillir\net les petits bois sauter dedans, il s\u2019\u00e9cria:\n\n    \u201cVoil\u00e0 que j\u2019ai bient\u00f4t cent ans;\n    Mais jamais de ma vie durant\n    Je n\u2019ai vu tant de p\u2019tits pots bouillants.\u201d\n\nLa femme vit tout de suite que son enfant avait \u00e9t\u00e9 chang\u00e9 \u2026 et elle\ns\u2019\u00e9cria:\n\n--\u201cVilain petit sorcier, je vas te tuer!\u201d\n\nMais la f\u00e9e qui \u00e9tait dans le grenier lui cria--\n\n    \u201cN\u2019tue pas le mien, j\u2019ne tuerai l\u2019tien;\n    N\u2019tien pas l\u2019mien, j\u2019te ren\u2019rai l\u2019tien.\u201d\n\nSee also Am\u00e9lie Bosquet, p. 116, etc.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VII.\n\nDemons and Goblins.\n\n    \u201cNow I remember those old woman\u2019s words\n    Who in my youth would tell me winter\u2019s tales,\n    And speak of sprites and ghosts that glide by night\n    About the place where treasure hath been hid.\u201d\n\n                              _Marlow\u2019s \u201cJew of Venice.\u201d_\n\n    \u201cWill-a-wisp misleads night-faring clowns,\n    O\u2019er hills and sinking bogs.\u201d\n\n                            \u201cLet night-dogs tear me,\n    And goblins ride me in my sleep to jelly,\n    Ere I forsake my sphere.\u201d\n\n             --_Thierry and Theodoret. Act 1. Sc. 1._\n\n\nLE FAEU B\u00c9LENGIER.\n\nThat singular meteor, known by the English as Jack o\u2019Lantern or \u201cWill\no\u2019 the Wisp,\u201d by the French as \u201cFeu Follet,\u201d and by the Bretons as\n\u201cJan gant y tan\u201d (John with the fingers or gloves of fire), bears\nin Guernsey the appellation of _Le Faeu B\u00e9lengier_--the fire of\nB\u00e9lenger. According to Mr. M\u00e9tivier \u201cB\u00e9lenger\u201d is merely a slight\nvariation of the name \u201cVolunde\u201d or \u201cVelint\u201d--Wayland, or Weyland\nSmith, the blacksmith of the Scandinavian gods. B\u00e9lenger was married\nto a Valkyrie, daughter of the Fates, so runs the old Norse legend.\nHe was, for the sake of some treasures belonging to him, or under his\nguardianship, carried away by a certain king as prisoner to an island,\nwhere the tyrant cut the sinews of his feet so as to prevent his\nrunning away, and then set him to work. Too clever, however, not to be\nable to compass his revenge, B\u00e9lenger managed to kill the two sons of\nthe despot, and fashioned their bones into vessels for the royal table.\nAnd then, having maltreated the princess, daughter of his quondam\nmaster, he flew away through the air, and the name B\u00e9lenger has become\nidentified in popular mythology with any especially clever worker in\nmetals. In English popular tradition the name of B\u00e9lenger becomes\ncontracted into Velint, or Wayland Smith, and, according to Sir Walter\nScott, \u201cthis Wayland was condemned to wander, night after night, from\ncromlech to cromlech, and belated travellers imagined that they then\nbeheld the fire from his forge issuing from marshes and heaths.\u201d The\nnatives of Iceland, descended from our own paternal ancestors of the\ntenth century, say still of a clever craftsman that he is a \u201cB\u00e9lengier\u201d\nin iron.\n\nIn Guernsey they say it is a spirit in pain, condemned to wander,\nand which seeks to deliver itself from torment by suicide.[113] Its\npresence is also supposed to indicate in very many cases the existence\nof hidden treasures, and many a countryman is known to have made a\nfruitless journey over bog and morass in the hope of locating the\nflickering flame. It is also firmly believed by all the country people\nthat if a knife is fixed by the handle to a tree, or stuck in the earth\nwith the point upwards, the spirit or demon that guides the flame will\nattack and fight with it, and that proofs of the encounter will be\nfound next morning in the drops of blood found on the blade.[114]\n\n[113] See M\u00e9tivier\u2019s Dictionary,--Art: B\u00e9lengier.\n\n[114] From Rachel Du Port, and others.\n\nYorkshire Folk-Lore--_Notes and Queries_, 4th Series, I; 193. \u201cIf\never you are pursued by a Will-o\u2019-the-Wisp, the best thing to do is\nto put a steel knife into the ground, with the handle upwards. The\nWill-o\u2019-the-Wisp will run round this until the knife is burnt up, and\nyou will thus have the means of escaping.\u201d\n\nEDITOR\u2019S NOTES.\n\n\u201cTout le monde conna\u00eet ces exhalaisons de gaz inflammable qui brillent\nquelquefois dans les endroits mar\u00e9cageux et qui effraient tant les\nenfants et les vieilles. Ces feux sont appel\u00e9s dans nos campagnes La\nFourlore, le feu follet, ou le feu errant. Ce sont des \u00e2mes damn\u00e9es;\net, suivant quelques personnes, ces \u00e2mes sont celles de pr\u00eatres\ncriminels ou libertins. Elles cherchent \u00e0 \u00e9blouir les voyageurs, \u00e0\nles entrainer dans les pr\u00e9cipices, et \u00e0 les jeter dans l\u2019eau. Quand\nle feu follet, esprit d\u2019ailleurs fort jovial, est venu \u00e0 bout de son\nentreprise il quitte sa victime avec de grands \u00e9clats de rire, et il\ndisparait.\u201d _Recherches sur la Normandie_, par Du Bois, 1845, p. 310.\n\nSee also, Fouquet _L\u00e9gendes du Morbihan_, p. 140. _Le Meu_--_Revue\nCelt_, p. 230. A. Bosquet, pp. 135-143.\n\n\nHIDDEN TREASURES.\n\nAs we have already stated \u201cLe Faeu B\u00e9lengier\u201d is supposed to indicate\nthe existence of hidden treasure, and it is well known that when\ntreasures have been hidden for any considerable time the evil spirit\nacquires a property in them, and does all in his power to prevent their\nfalling into the possession of mortals. Nevertheless the meteor-like\nform which the B\u00e9lengier assumes, frequently betrays their place of\nconcealment as it plays about the spot, and if a person have sufficient\ncourage and perseverance he may become the possessor. The wiles,\nhowever, of the demon, and his efforts to retain his own, frequently\nprove successful, as the following narratives will testify. It appears,\nhowever, that the guardian spirit has no power to remove the treasure,\nunless the adventure have first been attempted by a mortal.\n\nA country-woman had often observed flames of fire issuing from and\nhovering round the earth within the threshold of her house, and,\nknowing well what they indicated, one day, when all the other\ninmates of the dwelling were in the fields busied in getting in the\nharvest, she determined on searching for the treasure. She procured a\npick-axe, closed and barred all the doors to secure herself against\ninterruptions, and proceeded to work. She had not dug long, before a\nviolent thunderstorm arose. Though alarmed, she continued her task,\nbut the rain, which now began to fall in torrents, drove the field\nlabourers to seek shelter in the house. By this time the woman had\nstruck on a brazen pan, which, she had no doubt, covered the treasure,\nand was in no hurry to open to the men who were clamouring at the door\nfor admission. She was at last obliged to yield to their entreaties,\nand, turning her back on the hole she had dug, unbarred the door. Her\ndismay was great, when, on looking back on her work, she saw the pan\nturned up, and the whole treasure abstracted. The demon had seized this\nopportunity to take possession of his own.\n\nA man had reason to believe, from the flames which he had seen hovering\nabout a certain spot, that a treasure was hidden there. Accordingly,\none night, he took his spade and lantern and dug till he came to a\nlarge jar, which contained what appeared to him to be shells.[115]\nSuspecting that this might be a stratagem of the evil spirit to deter\nhim from obtaining possession of the treasure, he carefully gathered\nup the whole, and took it home with him. On examining the parcel the\nnext morning, he found he had judged rightly, for the apparent shells\nof the preceding night had now resumed their original form of gold and\nsilver coin.\n\nAnother man was less fortunate, for, finding nothing but what he\nconceived to be shells, he hesitated about removing them, and was\neffectually deterred by the appearance of an immense animal, resembling\na black conger-eel with fiery eyes, coiled up in the hole which he had\ndug.[116]\n\n[115] It is perhaps to the fact that limpet shells are found in the\ncromlechs, which are always supposed to be the repository of hidden\ntreasure, that the idea that buried gold, when discovered by mortals,\nis transformed by its guardian spirit into worthless shells, is\nentertained by the peasantry.\n\n[116] From Rachel Du Port.\n\n\u201c4 Oct. 1586. Proc\u00e9dures contre Edmond Billot, Richard Le Petevin,\nNicollas Le Petevin, et Jean Moullin, pour avoir \u00e9t\u00e9 de nuit fouyr \u00e0\nSte. Anne, \u00e0 St. George, et \u00e0 St. Germain pour chercher des tr\u00e9sors\nqu\u2019un nomm\u00e9 Baston, des parties de Normandie, leur avoit dit y \u00eatre\nd\u00e9pos\u00e9s,--savoir: trois \u00e0 St. George, un dans la muraille, un autre\nenterr\u00e9 dans la chapelle, et un troisi\u00e8me d\u00e9hors, un \u00e0 Ste. Anne, et un\n\u00e0 St. Germain au milieu du champ.\u201d--_Proceedings of the Royal Court._\n\nEDITOR\u2019S NOTE.--See _Traditions et Superstitions de La Haute Bretagne_.\nTome I., p. 39 etc. \u201cOn m\u2019a cont\u00e9 \u00e0 Dinan que lorsque les chercheurs de\ntr\u00e9sors eurent creus\u00e9 \u00e0 la base du Monolithe, il sortit de la terre des\nflammes qui les forc\u00e8rent \u00e0 interrompre leur travail. On assure qu\u2019\u00e0\ndiff\u00e9rentes \u00e9poques on a fait des fouilles sous un meulier de la for\u00eat\nde Brotonne, dit \u2018La Pierre aux Houneux\u2019 pour y d\u00e9couvrir un tr\u00e9sor;\nmais \u00e0 chaque fois d\u2019effrayantes apparitions les firent discontinuer.\u2026\nDes ouvriers qui avaient tent\u00e9 d\u2019enlever le tr\u00e9sor de N\u00e9aufle se virent\nentour\u00e9s de flammes.\u201d A. Bosquet, p. 159-186.\n\n\n\u201cTHE VAROU.\u201d\n\nThe \u201cVarou,\u201d now almost entirely forgotten, seems to have belonged\nto the family of nocturnal goblins. He is allied to the \u201cLoup-Garou\u201d\nof the French, and the \u201cWere-Wolf\u201d of the English, if, indeed, he is\nnot absolutely identical with them. He is believed to be endowed with\na marvellous appetite, and it is still proverbially said of a great\neater \u201cIl mange comme un varou.\u201d[117]\n\n\u201cAller en varouverie\u201d was an expression used in former times in\nspeaking of those persons who met together in unfrequented places for\nthe purposes of debauchery or other illicit practices. Among the Acts\nof the Consistory of the parish of St. Martin\u2019s, in the time when the\nisland was still under the Presbyterian discipline, is to be found a\ncensure on certain individuals who had been heard to say one night that\nthe time was propitious \u201cpour aller en varouverie sous l\u2019\u00e9pine.\u201d\n\n_Varou_ was originally from the Breton _Varw_--\u201cthe dead\u201d--and was\nidentified with the \u201cHeroes\u201d or beatified warriors, who were, by Homer\nand Hesiod, supposed to be in attendance on Saturn. Guernsey, in the\ndays of Demetrius, was known by the name of the Isle of Heroes, or of\nDemons, and Saturn was said to be confined there in a \u201cgolden rock,\u201d\nbound by \u201cgolden chains.\u201d\n\nThere is the \u201cCreux des Varous,\u201d which extends, according to tradition,\nfrom Houmet to L\u2019Er\u00e9e, and is a subterranean cavern formed of rock\nsprinkled with an abundance of yellow mica, which sparkles like gold;\na plot of ground near the cromlech at L\u2019Er\u00e9e, known as \u201cLe Creux des\nF\u00e9es,\u201d still bears the name of \u201cLe Camp du Varou;\u201d and an estate in the\nparish of St. Saviour\u2019s is called \u201cLe Mont-Varou.\u201d Old people remember\nthat it used to be said in their youth that \u201cLe Char des Varous\u201d was\nto be heard rolling over the cliffs and rocks on silver-tyred wheels,\nbetween Houmet and the Castle of Albecq, before the death of any of the\ngreat ones of the earth; and how this supernatural warning was sure to\nbe followed almost immediately by violent storms and tempests.[118]\n\n[117] \u201cLa veille de la f\u00eate de No\u00ebl, \u00e0 nuit close, dans un lieu\npr\u00e9scrit par le consentement de la communaut\u00e9 en Prusse, en Livonie,\net en Lithuanie, l\u2019affluence des hommes chang\u00e9s en loups est telle que\nles ravages perp\u00e9tr\u00e9s cette nuit-l\u00e0 contre les bergers et les troupeaux\nsont beaucoup plus graves que ceux des v\u00e9ritables loups. S\u2019insinuant\ndans les caves, ils y grenouillent et vous sablent plusieurs tonneaux\nde bi\u00e8re ou d\u2019hydromel. Ils s\u2019amusent alors \u00e0 entasser les futailles\nvides au beau milieu du cellier. Le bon pr\u00e9lat ajoute, que de tr\u00e8s\ngrands seigneurs ne d\u00e9daignent pas de s\u2019agriger \u00e0 cette confr\u00e8rie\nmaudite. C\u2019est un des anciens adeptes qui initie l\u2019aspirant _varou_ ou\n_garou_ dans une ample tasse de cervoise.\u201d _M\u0153urs des Peuples du Nord_,\npar Olaus Magnus, Vol. VI., p. 46.\n\n[118] Mostly from Mr. George M\u00e9tivier.\n\n\nHERODIAS.\n\nThe 10th of January, in Roman days, was dedicated to the _Fera Dea_, or\ncruel goddess, of which _Hero Dias_ is a literal Celtic interpretation\nhere. She is the queen of the witches, and although Satan himself is\nthe commander-in-chief of the witches, he has a mate who participates\nin his authority, and leads the dance when his votaries meet to\ncelebrate their midnight orgies at Catioroc or Rocquaine. This is no\nless a personage than the dissolute and revengeful woman by whose evil\ncounsel the holy precursor of our Saviour was put to death by Herod. To\nher, more particularly, is attributed the rising of sudden storms, and\nespecially of those which take the form of a whirlwind. It sometimes\nhappens that during the warm and sultry days of harvest a gust of\nwind will suddenly arise, and, whirling round the field, catch up and\ndisperse the ears of corn which the reaper has laid in due order for\nthe binder of the sheaves. The countryman doubts not but that this is\ncaused by Herodias shaking her petticoats in dancing--\u201c_Ch\u2019est la fille\nd\u2019H\u00e9rode qui ch\u00e2que ses c\u00f4tillons_,\u201d--and he loses no time in hurling\nhis reaping hook in the direction she appears to be moving. It is said\nthat this has generally the effect of stopping the progress of the\nwhirlwind.\n\nThese sudden gusts are locally known by the name of \u201c_h\u00e9rogui\u00e2zes_,\u201d\nand, although there is so easy a means of dispersing them as that\nindicated above, the man who would venture to throw his sickle or knife\nat them must be endowed with no small degree of courage.[119]\n\n[119] From Mr. George M\u00e9tivier.\n\nFather Martin, the oracle of Gaulish divinity, has lavished floods\nof ink on Herodias. According to him she is the genius of the\nwhirlwind--the \u201cmid-day,\u201d as well as a mid-night, demon. Here she\ncontinues to \u201cride on the whirlwind,\u201d and \u201cdirect the storm.\u201d Instead\nof driving her away with holy water, as our Catholic neighbours do,\n_we_ fling a sickle at \u201cLa Vieille\u201d with pious indignation, whenever\nthe eddying straws announce her arrival in the harvest-field.\n\nNear \u201cLe Ras de Fontenay,\u201d so infamous for its shipwrecks, the little\nisland of Sain, off Finist\u00e8re, was dedicated to He\u2019ro Dias. There she\npresided over the oracle of \u201cSena,\u201d the Hag. Her priestesses were\nnine shrivelled hags, and their island derived its appellation from\nthe hag, their mistress. None but mariners, suitors for a bagful of\nfavourable wind, were admissible to the presence of these ladies, who\nspent their time \u201csur le rocher d\u00e9sert, l\u2019effroi de la nature,\u201d in a\nvery edifying manner--brewing storms, manufacturing hail, lightning,\nthunder, and so forth, and changing themselves into a variety of brutal\nforms--(Pomponius Mela).\n\nThat there is a two-headed serpent which caresses Dame H\u00e9rodias on a\nbas-relief of the temple of Mont-Morillon in Poitou, may be remembered\n_en passant_.\n\nEDITOR\u2019S NOTES.\n\nAccording to the old Latin \u201cRomaunt de Renard,\u201d Herodias loved John\nthe Baptist. The jealous King caused him to be beheaded. His head, by\nher order, was carried to her, and she wished to kiss it, but the head\nturned away, and blew with so much violence that Herodias was blown\ninto the air. Since then, St. John, faithful to his antipathy, has made\nher travel for ever in the deserts of the sky, and become the genius of\nthe storm.\n\nSome confound her with \u201cHabunde,\u201d who may have been a white lady, or\none of those \u201cgenii\u201d whom the Celts call \u201cdusi.\u201d _Chronique de Philippe\nMousk\u00e9s_, Tome II. Introduction p. 139.\n\nSome also think that Herodias will, if anyone dances at harvest time,\nbring shipwreck and disasters at sea.--_From Mr. Isaac Le Patourel._\n\n\n\u201cLE BARBOUE.\u201d[120]\n\nThis was a demon used by old Guernsey nurses to frighten their infant\ncharges. \u201c_Le Barboue t\u2019attrappera_\u201d was quite threat enough to make\nthe naughtiest child repent of his misdeeds. According to Mr. M\u00e9tivier\n(See Dictionary, p. 51. _Barboue_), this name \u201cBarboue\u201d is a corruption\nof _bared meleu_, the spectre which personifies the plague among the\nCymri. According to the legends, \u201cBarbaou Herv\u00e9\u201d was the wolf who\naccompanied St. Herv\u00e9, a sainted hermit of the country of L\u00e9on, 560. He\nwas evidently related to the French \u201cLoup-Garou.\u201d\n\n[120] May not this be a corruption of _Barbe Bleue_--the Blue Beard who\nhas frightened so many children both in France and England?\n\n\nSPECTRAL APPEARANCES.\n\nMany places have the reputation of being haunted by phantoms which make\ntheir appearance at the dead of night, not always in a human form,\nas the spirits of the departed are wont to do when they revisit \u201cthe\nglimpses of the moon,\u201d but in the more fearful shapes of beasts and\nnondescript monsters. \u201cLa B\u00eate de la Tour,\u201d \u201cLe Cheval de St. George,\u201d\nwhich has already been spoken of in connection with the well, and \u201cLe\nChien B\u00f4du,\u201d are among these.\n\nThe \u201cdevises,\u201d or boundary stones, which served in olden times to mark\nthe limits of some of the principal \u201cfiefs\u201d or manors, but which have\nnow disappeared, leaving only a name to the locality, appear to have\nbeen the particular resort of these spectres; and it is not improbable\nthat the superstition may have arisen from the custom, of which traces\nare to be found in many nations, of sacrificing a victim and burying it\nwhere the stone of demarcation was to be set up. It was not, however,\nthese places only which became the haunt of spectres; other spots came\nin also for their share of these nocturnal and frightful visitors. A\nlonely dwelling, especially if uninhabited, a dark lane far from any\nfriendly cottage, cromlechs, or spots where these mysterious erections\nonce stood--all these either had, or were likely to acquire, an evil\nreputation in this respect, and more especially if tradition pointed to\nany deed of horror, such as murder or suicide, connected with the place\nor its neighbourhood.\n\nThe headless dog which haunts the Ville-au-Roi, and which will be\nspoken of in the legend attached to that ancient domain, is an instance\nof these spectres. The best known of them is \u201cTchi-c\u00f4,\u201d or the \u201cB\u00eate\nde la Tour,\u201d--but there are also \u201cLa B\u00eate de la Devise de Sausmarez \u00e0\nSaint Martin,\u201d which is a black dog supposed to haunt the avenue by\nSausmarez Manor.[121]\n\n[121] EDITOR\u2019S NOTE.--Then there is the \u201cRue de la B\u00eate\u201d at St.\nAndrew\u2019s, on the borders of the Fief Rohais. Near this lane there was\nformerly a prison, so that it is probably full of associations of\ncrime and malefactors. There is also a \u201cRue de la B\u00eate\u201d near L\u2019Er\u00e9e,\nbetween \u201cClaire Mare\u201d and the Rouvets, where, to this day, people will\nnot go alone after dark, and they still tell the story (so wrote Miss\nLe Pelley, who lived in that neighbourhood), of a man, a M. Vaucourt,\nwho, driving down that lane in the dark, the \u201cB\u00eate\u201d got up into the\ncart, which so scared the unfortunate man that he died the next day.\nThere was also a black dog which haunted the Forest Road, clanking its\nchains. The father of one old woman who told the story, saw and was\nfollowed by this beast one night when walking home from St. Martin\u2019s to\nhis house near the Forest Church. He was so frightened that he took to\nhis bed and died of the shock very shortly afterwards. There is also\n\u201cLa B\u00eate de la Rue Mase,\u201d on the western limits of the Town parish, the\n\u201cCoin de la Biche,\u201d at St. Martin\u2019s, between Saints\u2019 and La Villette,\nand in the cross lane running from the \u201cCarrefour David\u201d to the\n\u201cProfonds Camps,\u201d past the house now called \u201cSt. Hilda,\u201d a small white\nhare was supposed to be seen on stormy nights, accompanied by \u201cLe Faeu\nB\u00e9lengier.\u201d\n\n\n\u201cTCHI-CO, LA B\u00caTE DE LA TOUR.\u201d\n\nThere is no doubt that in early times the town of St. Peter Port was\nencircled by walls, and fortified--indeed there is an order of Edward\nIII. in 1350, authorising the levy of a duty on merchandise for this\npurpose. Certain spots, called \u201cles barri\u00e8res,\u201d mark where the gates\nwere situated, and, although all remains of the walls have long since\ndisappeared, it is not difficult to trace the course they must have\ntaken. At the northern extremity of the original town, the name of \u201cLa\nTour Gand\u201d indicates a fortress of some sort. The southern extremity\nwas protected by a work called \u201cLa Tour Beauregard,\u201d of sufficient\nimportance to be named, together with Castle Cornet, in the warrants or\ncommissions issued by the monarch to those who were intrusted with the\ndefence of the island.\n\nThis fortress stood near the top of Cornet Street, on the brow of\nthe hill which overlooks the Bordage and Fountain Street, where now\nstands St. Barnabas\u2019 Church. Tradition points to a spot at the foot of\nthe hill, as the place where the execution of heretics and witches,\nby burning, used to take place, and connects with these sad events\na spectral appearance which, even within the present century, was\nbelieved to haunt the purlieus of the old tower.\n\nDuring the long nights of winter, and especially about Christmastide,\nthe inhabitants of Tower-hill, the Bordage, Fountain Street, and Cornet\nStreet used to be roused from their midnight slumbers by hearing\nunearthly howlings and the clanking of heavy chains, dragged over the\nrough pavement.\n\nThose who could summon up courage enough to rise from their beds and\npeep out of window, declared that they saw the form of a huge uncouth\nanimal with large flaming saucer eyes, and somewhat like a bear, or\nhuge calf. This spectre was known as \u201cTch\u00ee-co, La B\u00eate de la Tour.\u201d\n\nEDITOR\u2019S NOTES.\n\nSee Pluquet in _Contes Populaires de Bayeux_, p. 16, for an account of\na phantom in the shape of a great dog that wanders about the streets of\nBayeux in the winter nights gnawing bones and dragging chains, called\n\u201cLe Rongeur d\u2019Os.\u201d\n\nSee also Sir Walter Scott\u2019s note in _Peveril of the Peak_, Vol. II.,\nChap. I., on the spectral hound or \u201cMauthe Doog\u201d--a large black\nspaniel, which used to haunt Peel Castle in the Isle of Man.\n\nThere is also in Laisnel de la Salle\u2019s book _Croyances et L\u00e9gendes du\nCentre de la France_, Tome I. p. 181, a long story of \u201cLe Loup Bron,\u201d\nwhich in many respects resembles that of our \u201cB\u00eate de la Tour.\u201d\n\nIn Sark \u201cthey have another superstitious belief, that of the _Tchico_,\nor old dog, the dog of the dead, the black or white beast. Several\naffirm having seen it, and met it walking about the roads. This dog\naffects certain localities, and makes its regular rounds, but often it\nis invisible.\u201d From _Descriptive Sketch of the Island of Sark_, by the\nRev. J. L. V. Cachemaille, published in Clarke\u2019s _Guernsey Magazine_,\nVol. III., October. 1875.\n\nIn Brand\u2019s _Antiquities_, Vol. III., p. 330, he identifies the English\n\u201cBarguest,\u201d or \u201cGreat Dog Fiend,\u201d with the Norman \u201cRongeur d\u2019Os,\u201d and\nthe \u201cBoggart\u201d of Lancashire, great dog-spirits, which prowl about in\nthe night-time, dragging heavy chains behind them.\n\n\n\u201cLE CHIEN B\u00d4DU.\u201d\n\nThis black dog was said to infest the Clos du Valle, and was probably a\nresident of the Ville B\u00f4du, which was at one time the slaughter-house\nof the Benedictine monks of St. Michel du Valle. To see him was taken\nas a sure sign of approaching death. According to Mr. M\u00e9tivier, he\nderived his name from \u201cthe German Bohdu, and Gaulish Bodu, which mean\nthe _Abyss_, and the mythological dog of Hades is our \u2018Chien B\u00f4du.\u2019\u201d\n\nEDITOR\u2019S NOTE.--In _Croyances et L\u00e9gendes du Centre de la France_\nLaisnel de la Salle has a chapter (Tome I. pp. 168-175), on \u201cLa Chasse\na _B\u00f4det_,\u201d which he describes as \u201cune chasse nocturne qui traverse les\nairs avec des hurlements, des mieulements et des abois epouvantables,\nauxquels se m\u00ealent des cris de menace et des accents d\u2019angoisse,\u201d and\nhe identifies (p. 172), \u201cB\u00f4det\u201d with the German _Woden_, who is the\nsame as the Scandinavian Odin, Gwyon of the Gauls, the Egyptian Thot,\nHermes of the Greeks, and Mercury of the Latins, who filled, in the\nTeutonic Mythology, the r\u00f4le of \u201cConductor of Souls.\u201d\n\n\nLEGEND OF THE VILLE AU ROI.\n\nAlthough this story is known to everyone, and is to be found in all the\nlocal histories and guide books, no collection of Guernsey folk-lore\ncan be considered perfect without it. It is just one of those stories\nthat are calculated to make a profound impression on the popular mind,\nas showing the special interposition of Providence in preserving a poor\nand innocent man from the effects of a false accusation, and in causing\nthe nefarious designs of a rich and unprincipled oppressor to fall back\nwith just retribution on his own head.\n\n[Illustration: \u201cOld Manor, Ville au Roi.\u201d]\n\nWhether the story be founded on an occurrence which did actually take\nplace in this island, whether it originated elsewhere, or whether\nit be a pure invention, it is now impossible to determine.[122] The\nname of the principal personage in the tale--Gaultier de la Salle--is\nto be found at the head of the lists of Bailiffs of Guernsey, with\nthe date 1284, but no written evidence has yet been adduced to prove\nthat anyone of the name ever held that office. There is, however,\nproof of a certain kind that a person bearing this name did exist at\nsome period of the fourteenth century, for, in a manuscript list of\nBailiffs, which appears to have been compiled about the year 1650,\nthe writer, who seems careful not to place any on record for whom he\ncannot produce documentary evidence, appends this note to the name of\nJohn Le Marchant, Bailiff from 1359 to 1383:--\u201cJ\u2019en ay lettre de 1370\nconcernant la veuve Gaultier de la Salle.\u201d\n\nThat no document is known to exist in which this name appears is no\nproof that Gaultier de la Salle did not hold the office. Previously\nto the reign of Edward I. it appears to have been the custom for the\nWarder or Governor of the island to appoint an officer with the title\nof Bailiff, who combined the functions of Lieutenant-Governor, chief\nmagistrate, and Receiver of the Crown Revenues, and who was generally\nchanged annually. The names of many of these dignitaries have been\npreserved, but there are still several blanks to be filled up, and it\nis not impossible that the name of Gaultier de la Salle may some day or\nother be found as holding this important charge, although probably at a\nlater date than that usually assigned to him--1284.\n\nThe estate of the Ville-au-Roi is said to have borne originally the\nname of \u201cLa Petite Ville.\u201d[123] It has now dwindled down to a few\nfields, but was doubtless at one period of far greater extent and\nimportance than at the present time. The house, which may probably\nbe assigned to the fifteenth century, is now much diminished in size\nfrom what it was, even a few years since, but it still presents an\ninteresting specimen of the architecture of former days. It consisted,\nwhen perfect, of a building, forming two sides of a square, with\na tower in the angle, where may yet be seen the holes for arrows.\nIt contained a well-wrought newel staircase in stone, leading to a\nlarge room, which appears to have been the principal apartment in the\nhouse, if we may judge from the careful workmanship bestowed on the\nhandsomely carved granite chimney piece, the traces of stone mullions\nin the windows, and the ornamental open timber roof, now hidden by a\nlow ceiling. A wall of unusual thickness divides this portion of the\nbuilding into two parts; and a few steps from the head of the staircase\nof which we have spoken, lead to the remains of another newel resting\non this wall, which evidently formed part of a turret rising above the\nridge of the roof, and which could have served no purpose but that of\nornament, or perhaps a lookout over the neighbouring country. There\nare some detached farm buildings, and traces of a wall surrounding the\nhomestead, intended probably to form an inclosure into which the cattle\nmight be driven at night. The remains of an arched gateway at the end\nof the avenue, leading from the main road, and connecting the western\ngable of the dwelling house with an out-building, are still to be\ndiscerned. This was exactly opposite the principal door of the mansion,\nwhich is of good proportions, with a well-executed circular headway in\ngranite, over which is a square recess in the masonry which doubtless\nonce contained the armorial device of the original proprietor. There\nis reason to believe this was a member of the De Beauvoir family,\nonce very numerous and influential in the island but now extinct,\nfor it was well known that the family was formerly in possession of\nthis estate, and the existence of their arms--a chevron between three\ncinq-foils--carved in granite on the mantelpiece of the principal\nroom, is almost sufficient proof of one of the name having been the\noriginal builder of the house.[124] The estate afterwards passed into\nthe possession of the De la Marche family--also extinct. From them it\ndescended to a family of the name of Le Poidevin. These last falling\ninto pecuniary difficulties, the property by the legal process called\n\u201csaisie\u201d came into the hands of the present (1859) proprietor, Thomas\nLe Retilley, Esq., Jurat of the Royal Court.\n\nWhilst the recently-abolished manorial Court of the Priory of St.\nMichel du Valle still existed, there was a curious servitude attached\nto this estate. When this Court made its periodical procession through\nthe island to inspect the King\u2019s highway and see that it was kept in\ndue repair, the proprietor of the Ville-au-Roi was expected to furnish\na cup of milk to everyone legally entitled to a place in the cort\u00e8ge,\nand the procession made a halt at the gate to demand the accustomed\nrefreshment, which was willingly afforded, although immemorial usage\nalone could be pleaded for the exaction.\n\nIt is now time to come to the legend itself. In the earliest records\nwhich the human race possesses--the Holy Scriptures--we read that\ndisputes arose about wells and the right of drawing water from them.\nWhere water is scarce, as it is in some parts of the East, this can\nreadily be understood, but why should any disagreement occur in\nplaces where this indispensable element abounds? The answer is simply\nthis. The well is for the most part the property of one person, and\nsituated on his ground, and those who claim a right to the use of it,\nmust necessarily pass over their neighbour\u2019s land to get at it. It is\nclear that this right may be exercised in such a manner as to become\nvexatious and troublesome.\n\nGaultier de la Salle had a poor neighbour of the name of Massy, who\nwas the proprietor of a small field containing little more than a\nverg\u00e9e of land at the back of the Bailiff\u2019s house, but with this land\nhe possessed also the right,--no doubt by virtue of some ancient\nand binding contract--of drawing water from a well on De la Salle\u2019s\nproperty. Often had the Bailiff offered to buy off this right,--to give\na fair and even liberal price for the piece of ground to which the\nprivilege was attached. Massy was obstinate. His answer to every offer\nwas that of Naboth to Ahab--\u201cThe Lord forbid it me that I should give\nthe inheritance of my fathers to thee.\u201d\n\nAnnoyed at Massy\u2019s pertinacious refusal to accede to his wishes,\nGaultier de la Salle formed the horrible design of taking away his\nlife, but how was this to be done without causing suspicion? Open\nviolence, even in those days, was not to be thought of. Secret\nassassination might be discovered. At last the acute mind of the\nunworthy Bailiff hit on an expedient which appeared to him perfectly\nsafe. It was to make the forms of the law subservient to his wicked\ndesigns, and, under the guise of a judicial proceeding, to cause the\nruin and death of the unfortunate Massy. Theft was then, and for too\nmany centuries after, punished with death. If he could succeed in\nfixing an accusation of this kind on the innocent Massy, he flattered\nhimself that there would be no difficulty in obtaining a conviction,\nand then would follow the utmost penalty of the law, and the consequent\nforfeiture of the felon\u2019s lands and goods to the King, from whom he\nhoped to get a grant or sale of the field. To carry out his nefarious\nintention, he hid two of his own silver cups in a cornstack, and\nadroitly contrived to cause a suspicion of having stolen them to rest\non his too-obstinate neighbour. Circumstantial evidence, skilfully\ncombined, was not wanting on the day of trial, and, notwithstanding his\nvehement protestations of innocence, poor Massy was found guilty and\ncondemned to death. The day fixed for the execution arrived, and the\nBailiff proceeded to the Court House with the intention of witnessing\nthe death of the unfortunate victim of his own false accusation.\nBut \u201cthe wicked man diggeth a pit and falleth into the midst of it\nhimself.\u201d Before leaving home, he gave orders to some of his workmen\nto take down a certain stack of corn, and house it in the barn. He had\nbarely taken his seat in Court, where the magistrates had assembled for\nthe purpose, as was then the custom, of attending the culprit to the\nplace of execution, and seeing their sentence duly carried out, when a\nmessenger, almost breathless, rushed in and exclaimed--\n\n\u201cThe cups are found.\u201d\n\n[Illustration: \u201cHouses in Church Square, 1825.\u201d]\n\n\u201cFool!\u201d cried the Bailiff. \u201cDid I not tell thee not to touch _that_\nrick. I knew----.\u201d Here he stopped short in confusion, perceiving that\nhe had already said enough to raise the suspicions of those who had\nheard him.\n\nThe Jurats immediately gave orders to stay the execution. The matter\nwas submitted to a searching investigation, and resulted in a full\nexposure of the Bailiff\u2019s nefarious plot. Thereupon Gaultier de la\nSalle was sentenced to suffer the same punishment that he had intended\nfor the innocent Massy, and his estate was declared to be confiscated\nto the King, since which time it has borne the appellation of \u201cLa\nVille-au-Roi.\u201d It is said that he was hanged at a spot in the parish\nof St. Andrew\u2019s, where, until the last century, executions[125]\nusually took place, and that, on his way to the gibbet, he stopped and\nreceived the Holy Sacrament at the foot of a cross, which, though long\ndestroyed, has given its name to the locality \u201cLa Croix au Baillif.\u201d\nAn old lane bounding the land of the Ville-au-Roi on the north, and\nwhich was closed in the early part of last century, when the present\nhigh road was cut, bore the singular name of \u201cLa Rue de l\u2019Ombre\nde la Mort.\u201d It had naturally an evil reputation as the resort of\nphantoms and hobgoblins, and even in the present day it is with fear\nand trembling that the belated peasant in returning from town passes\nthe avenue of aged elms that leads up to the ruined mansion of the\niniquitous judge.\n\nMany will tell you how, at the witching hour of night, they have seen\na huge, headless black dog rush out and brush past them, and how those\nwho have been bold enough to strike at the phantom might as well have\nbeaten the air, for their cudgel met with no resistance from anything\ncorporeal. No one doubts that it is the unquiet spirit of Gaultier de\nla Salle, doomed to wander till the great day of judgment around the\nfield for the sake of which he was led into such deadly sin, happy\neven if so dreadful a penance could expiate his guilt.\n\n[122] See note on page 245.\n\n[123] EDITOR\u2019S NOTE.--To this day one of the fields on the adjoining\nestate of \u201cLe Mont Durant,\u201d belonging to Colonel de Gu\u00e9rin, bears the\nname of \u201cPetite Ville.\u201d\n\n[124] EDITOR\u2019S NOTES.--There is documentary evidence proving that in\nthe early part of the fifteenth century the \u201cVille au Roi\u201d estate\nbelonged to John Thiault, Jurat of the Royal Court. He died, leaving\nthree daughters, of whom the eldest married Perrin Careye, and thus\nbrought these lands into the Carey family, where they remained until\nthe year 1570, when Collette Careye, great, great grand-daughter of\nPerrin Careye, married Guillaume De Beauvoir, and received the Ville au\nRoi estate as her share of her father\u2019s property. The property did not\nremain long in the possession of the De Beauvoir family, as we find,\nSeptember 24, 1636, \u201cMonsieur Jean de la Marche, ministre,\u201d its owner,\n\u201c\u00e0 cause d\u2019Ester De Beauvoir, sa femme, fille de Collette Careye.\u201d\n\nThe Reverend John de la Marche, Rector of St. Andrew\u2019s and subsequently\nof the Town parish, married Esther, daughter of William de Beauvoir and\nCollette Careye, January 24th, 1616.\n\n[125] The field at St. Andrew\u2019s where the executions took place was\ncalled \u201cLes Gal\u00e8res,\u201d and near it is a lane leading to a water-mill,\ncalled \u201cMoulin de L\u2019\u00c9chelle,\u201d because the miller had, for his tenure,\nto provide the ladder for the executions.\n\nThere is a small piece of land, just off the road which passes the\nMonnaie, and leads from the Bailiff\u2019s Cross Road to the Ecluse Corbin,\nwhich is known as \u201cLe Friquet du Gibet.\u201d\n\nEDITOR\u2019S NOTE.\n\nIn the Record Office exists (Assize Roll No. 1165, 17 Edward II.,\n1323), a petition of \u201cCecilia, who was wife of Walter de la Sale,\u201d for\nrestitution of lands and rentes bought in their name and in that of\ntheir children, in the parishes of St. Peter Port and St. Andrew\u2019s;\n\u201cand that these tenements,--on account of the death of the said Walter,\nwho was judicially executed last criminal assizes, now three years\npast, before Peter Le Marchant, then Bailiff of the Island,--had been\nseized by the King.\u2026 Upon the inquisition of 12 men of the parish of\nSt. Peter Port, and 12 men of the parish of St. Andrew\u2019s, who depose\nupon their oath, that the aforesaid Walter was condemned before Peter\nLe Marchant, Bailiff of the aforesaid Island, for the murder of Ranulph\nVautier[126], three years ago. An inquisition was made, and on account\nof the said murder, the said lands were seized into the King\u2019s hands,\nand for this cause, and no other, are still detained.\u2026 A day given to\nthe said Cecilia for the hearing of her case at Jersey, on which day\nthe aforesaid Cecilia came, and it is determined that the King removes\nhis hand (_i.e._, restores the land), and that from henceforth she has\npossession.\u201d\n\nThe British Museum contains a document, (Add: Ch: 19809) which gives\nfurther particulars of \u201cla peticion Cecile qui fut fame Gaultier de la\nSalle,\u201d she claiming the lands, etc., as having been bought with her\nmoney \u201cet disante que l\u2019avant dit son mari vint en lylle desus dicte\nsans nul bien fors son corps.\u201d From this document it appears that\nCecilia and her husband built the house, presumably that now known\nas \u201cLa Ville-au-Roi,\u201d for she claims \u201cune meson s\u00e9ante en la ville\nde Saint Pierre Port, de laquelle la place fut fiefeye de Jourdan et\nde Johan des Maons \u2026 et que du mariage de la dicte Cecile ovecques\nautres biens pourchaciez par yceluy mariage, fistent la dicte meson.\u201d \u2026\nSigned at St. Peter Port, 10th of October, 1323, before Geoffrey de la\n[Hou]gue Guillaume Karupel, Richart Toullay, Guion Nicolle, Renouf de\nVic, Henri de la [Mule][127], Guillaume le Genne, Johan Fale, Ranulph\nleMoigne, de Saint Pierre Port, and Radulph de Beaucamp, Jurats of the\nKing\u2019s Court.\n\nThe Assize Roll of 32 Edward I (1304), mentions the murder of Brother\nJohn del Espin, of the Priory of Lyhou, by Ranulph Vautier and\nGuillaume Lenginour, who, after having taken refuge in the Church\nof St. Sampson, and abjured the Islands, were pardoned by the King.\nGuillaume L\u2019Enginour seems to have been subsequently Gaultier de la\nSalle\u2019s accomplice in the murder of Ranulph Gautier, for the \u201cLettres\nCloses\u201d of 1321, mention the restoration of lands to \u201cGuillaume\nL\u2019Enginour demeurant accus\u00e9 de la mort de Ranulphe Gautier, tu\u00e9 dit on\ncriminellement, et du vol d\u2019un anneau d\u2019argent au m\u00eame Ranulphe, et\nd\u2019un florin d\u2019or \u00e0 John de Souslemont, Chapelain\u201d; he being willing to\nstand his trial when called upon.\n\nAmong the \u201cAncient Petitions\u201d No. 4345 contains a request from John\ndu Vivier, Thomas d\u2019Estefeld, and Philip de Vincheles of Guernsey and\nJersey, \u201cfor protection from the friends of Gaultier de la Salle, his\nwife, his son, and his relations, who threaten them because he was\nhanged for the murder of Renouf Gautier, murdered in the Castle of\nGuernsey, by his acquaintances and others who abjured (the Islands),\nfor this deed, such as Master William le Enginour, John Justice, and\nChristian Hert\u201d.\u2026\n\nThe Calendars of Patent Rolls for the years 1313-14, contain mentions\nof \u201cProtections\u201d for \u201cWalter de la Salle, clerk\u201d to \u201cthe islands\nof Gerneseye and Jereseye,\u201d and in the Assize Roll of 1319, he is\ndescribed as \u201cMinister\u201d of Otho de Grandison, then Governor of the\nIslands.\n\nA Ranulph Gautier was one time bailiff to Otho de Grandison, so the\nfeud between the two may have been of long standing. Gaultier de la\nSalle was probably a member of one of the many Anglo-Norman families\nthen connected with the Channel Islands. His wife Cecilia was evidently\na Guernseywoman, and part of their land in St. Andrew\u2019s parish was\ninherited from Havise, his wife\u2019s mother. There is reason to believe\nthat he was the son of a Robert de la Salle, and Agnes his wife, who\nwere landowners in England in the early part of the 14th Century; his\nson, Nicholas, was King\u2019s Receiver to Edward III., in 1372-3.\n\nIt is not possible to absolutely locate the lands held by Gaultier de\nla Salle, but in a British Museum MS. (Clarence Hopper) is quoted a\ndocument, then in the Chapter House, Westminster, shewing that part\nof the \u201cEschaet\u201d of \u201cGalter de Sale\u201d was the \u201cClos au Botiller,\u201d\nwhich particular \u201cClos\u201d has been identified as part of the territory\nnow known as Le Vauqui\u00e9dor, and in the petition of Cecilia, widow of\nGaultier, she mentions lands bought from \u201cGuillaume et Richard le\nHubie.\u201d Both the Hubits Lanes and the Vauqui\u00e9dor estate adjoin that of\nthe Ville-au-Roi, the traditionary seat of Gaultier de la Salle.\n\n_From documents kindly lent me by Lord de Saumarez, Colonel J. H. C.\nCarey and Colonel de Gu\u00e9rin._\n\n[126] He seems to have been called \u201cVautier\u201d or \u201cGautier\u201d\nindiscriminately.\n\n[127] Letters illegible, but have been supplied from the \u201cSecond Report\nof Commissioners (Guernsey)\u201d, p. 303, viz., Names of Officials 5 Ed.\nIII.\n\n\nTHE SPECTRE OF LES GRENTMAISONS.\n\nAt no great distance from the thriving village of St. Sampson\u2019s, which,\nthanks to its commodious harbour, the neighbouring granite quarries,\nand an extensive trade in stone carried on there, bids fair to become a\ntown, stands what was formerly the mansion of a considerable branch of\nthe Le Marchant family,[128] one of the most ancient and influential in\nthe Channel Archipelago. It is known as \u201cLes Grentmaisons,\u201d the name of\na family that has been extinct for some centuries, but which possessed\nlands in this part of the island. The house is situated on the high\nroad leading from St. Sampson\u2019s to the town of St. Peter Port, and,\nalthough surrounded at the present time on all sides, was, at the\nbeginning of the present century, far removed from any dwelling--none\nindeed being then in sight but those of the town, distant at least two\nmiles.\n\nAt that time the proprietor, who possessed a very handsome dwelling in\nSt. Peter Port, only inhabited the house of the Grentmaisons during the\nsummer months; and in the winter it was closed and left under the care\nof a servant, who lived in one of the dependencies. How it had come\nto acquire the evil reputation of being haunted, or how long it was\nsupposed to have been so, no one could tell, but that it was the resort\nof troubled spirits no one could doubt. Fearful noises were heard, and\nlights that could not be accounted for were seen in its deserted rooms\nduring the long winter nights; and belated wayfarers were affrighted\nby the apparition of a horrible beast, with large glaring eyes, and\nlong shaggy hair trailing down to the ground, which took its nightly\nrambles round the ancient walls, and seemed to guard the house from\nintrusion.[129]\n\n[128] EDITOR\u2019S NOTE.--It was bought by the Reverend Thomas Le Marchant,\nRector of St. Sampson\u2019s parish, August the sixth, 1655.\n\n[129] From Mr. Denys Corbet.\n\n\n\u201cLA B\u00caTE DE LA PENDUE.\u201d\n\nThe western coast of Guernsey, abounding in sunken reefs stretching\nfar out to sea, and exposed to the full force of the Atlantic waves,\nwas, before the establishment of a lighthouse on the Hanois rocks, most\ndangerous to shipping coming up Channel, and many a gallant vessel,\nwith all its crew, has struck on some hidden danger and gone down in\ndeep water, leaving no traces but what the waves might throw up some\ndays afterwards on the shore, in the form of detached portions of the\nwreck and cargo, or the dead bodies of the hapless mariners.\n\nThe inhabitants of this inhospitable coast are a rugged race of hardy\nfishermen, for the most part experienced pilots, who know every rock\nfor miles round, not one of which is without its distinguishing name.\nAs might be expected, they are close observers of the weather, and of\nevery sign that may indicate a coming storm. Those in the neighbourhood\nof L\u2019\u00c9r\u00e9e and Rocquaine declare that they are warned of an approaching\ntempest by a peculiar bright light which appears some time before in\nthe south-west, and also by a loud roaring, like that of a large animal\nin great pain, which appears to proceed from a rock known by the name\nof \u201cLa Pendue.\u201d They do not attempt to account for this noise, but\nspeak of it as \u201cLa B\u00eate de la Pendue.\u201d[130]\n\n[130] From Mrs. Savidan and Mrs. Sarre.\n\nAccording to Mr. M\u00e9tivier there is also, in the neighbourhood of Lihou,\na rock called \u201cSanbule,\u201d a very dangerous place for ships, and sailors\nsay that underneath this rock can be plainly heard the bellowing of a\nbull. It is conjectured that the \u201cbule\u201d in the name of this cliff is\nfrom the English \u201cbull\u201d or the Swedish \u201cbulla,\u201d and _san_, from the\nFrench _saint_, and that it points to some now-forgotten legend about a\nholy bull.--See Clarke\u2019s _Guernsey Magazine_, September, 1880.\n\n\nTHE DOLE OF LOAVES AT LE LAURIER.\n\nIn the parish of St. Pierre-du-Bois, there is a house and estate known\nby the name of Le Laurier, where loaves are distributed to the poor\non Christmas Eve and on Good Friday. Nothing certain is known of the\norigin of this dole, the title-deeds of the property merely containing\nthe following item in the enumeration of the ground-rents due on\nit:--\u201c_Aux Pauvres de la ditte Paroisse de Saint Pierre-du-Bois,\nun quartier de froment de rente, \u00e0 \u00eatre distribu\u00e9 en pain aux dits\npauvres, \u00e0 deux diverses fois; savoir, deux boisseaux, partie du\ndit quartier \u00e0 Noel, et les deux autres boisseaux \u00e0 P\u00e2ques, comme\nd\u2019anciennet\u00e9_.\u201d\n\nTradition assigns two very different reasons for the institution of\nthis charity, one of which is highly probable. It is that, at some\nremote period of which all memory is now lost, the house took fire, and\nthe proprietor made a vow that if the fire could be extinguished he\nwould charge his estate with an annual rent, to be given to the poor\nin bread. His prayer was answered, the fire yielding to the efforts of\nthose who were attempting to put it out, as if by miracle, and the dole\nwas instituted in conformity with the vow.\n\nThe other tradition, which, as it falls into the domain of the\nsupernatural is, of course, a greater favourite with the people, is\nto the following effect. In times past, long before the memory of the\noldest inhabitants of the parish, the house, for some undefined reason,\nbut connected, it is surmised, with some unknown crime of a former\nproprietor, was haunted from Christmas Eve to Easter by a hideous\nspectre in the form of a black beast like a calf, but as large as an\nox. On Christmas Eve the inmates of the house were in the habit of\nleaving the front and back doors open, and at midnight precisely the\nspectre would pass through.\n\nAt last, however, the proprietor of the estate bethought himself of\ncalling in the aid of the clergy, in hopes that by their powerful\nhelp the visits of this unwelcome guest might be put an end to. Their\nprayers and exorcisms soon prevailed in quieting the phantom, and, by\ntheir advice, the annual distribution of the loaves to the poor was\ninstituted.\n\nIt is related, however, that on one occasion the owner of the house,\ninstigated by his wife, an avaricious, grasping creature, who would\nsooner have seen all the poor in the parish die of hunger than bestow\na crust on them, withheld the accustomed dole. He paid dear for it,\nfor the house was once more visited by the spectre, which this time\nmade its appearance in the form of a gigantic black sow, accompanied\nby a numerous litter of pigs, all grunting and clamouring for food, as\nif they had not eaten for a week. The master of the house was fain to\npurchase peace by restoring to the poor their rights, but it is said\nthat to her dying day his wife never recovered from the impression this\nsupernatural visit made upon her.\n\nThere is a tradition also that at one time a report having been spread\nabroad that the accustomed alms would no longer be distributed, the\npoor, who were in the habit of receiving it, assembled at night before\nthe house, formed themselves into a procession, and marched through,\nentering by the front door, and passing out at the back. The mistress\nof the house was watching their proceedings from behind the door, and\nwas seen by one of the poor women, who addressed her companion, walking\nby her side, in these words:--\n\n    _\u201cEt chette-chin, est-alle des n\u00f4tes?\u201d_\n\n    (And that woman there, is she one of us?)\n\nTo which the following answer was returned:--\n\n    _\u201cOh! Nennin! quer sa liette nous l\u2019y \u00f4te.\u201d_\n\n    (Oh! No! for her snood proves it.)\n\nThe \u201cliette\u201d was the riband or snood with which, in days gone by, the\ncap was fastened on the head, and was apparently a bit of finery quite\nbeyond the reach of the poor who had assembled on this occasion, and\nonly likely to be seen on the head-gear of a person in tolerably easy\ncircumstances.[131]\n\n[131] Partly from John de Garis, Esq., and partly from Mrs. Savidan.\n\nEDITOR\u2019S NOTE.--This story was also told to Miss Le Pelley by an old\nwoman in St. Peter\u2019s in 1896.\n\n\nTHE ENCHANTED HORSE.\n\nA number of young men had met together one evening in search of\namusement. One of the party proposed going to a place at some\ndistance, where they were likely to fall in with others as fond of\nfun as themselves, but, not choosing to fatigue themselves with\nwalking, they determined on using some of their neighbours\u2019 horses. A\ngood-looking white horse was grazing hard by in a meadow. One of the\nparty approached, caught, and mounted him. Another got up behind, but\nstill there seemed room for a third: at last, to shorten the story,\nthe whole party, in number above a dozen, found accommodation on the\nhorse\u2019s back, but, no sooner were they all well seated, than he set off\nat full gallop, and, after carrying them through brambles and briers,\nover hedges and ditches, to a considerable distance, deposited them all\nin the most muddy marsh he could find, and disappeared, leaving them to\nfind their way home at midnight, in the best way they could.[132]\n\n[132] From Rachel Du Port.\n\nSee Keightley\u2019s _Fairy Mythology_, Vol. II., p. 294. _La Normandie\nRomanesque_, p. 128. _Folk-Lore Journal_, Vol. I., p. 292.\n\nEDITOR\u2019S NOTES.\n\nIn _Notions Historiques sur les C\u00f4tes-du-Nord_, by M. Habasque, there\nis mentioned a goblin called _Mourioche_, and it is said \u201cMourioche\nqui rev\u00eat toutes les formes; Mourioche, la monture du diable, qui vole\navec la rapidit\u00e9 de l\u2019\u00e9clair, qui pars\u00e9ment des points lumineux, et\n_qui s\u2019allonge tant que l\u2019on veut, assez du moins pour porter quatre\npersonnes_.\n\n\u201cCinq jeunes filles partirent un soir pour aller chercher un des\nchevaux de la ferme qui \u00e9tait dans la prairie. L\u2019une d\u2019elles monta\nsur le dos de la b\u00eate; puis une seconde; alors le cheval s\u2019allongea,\net il y eut place pour la troisi\u00e8me, et les cinq filles finirent par\ns\u2019asseoir sur son dos qui s\u2019allongeait \u00e0 mesure. La monture des filles\nse mit en marche, et quand elle fut arriv\u00e9e au milieu du ruisseau, elle\ndisparut comme si elle s\u2019\u00e9tait \u00e9vanouie en fum\u00e9e, et laissa les filles\ntomber dans l\u2019eau. Le vrai cheval \u00e9tait d\u00e9j\u00e0 rendu \u00e0 la porte de son\n\u00e9curie.\u201d--_Traditions et Superstitions de La Haute Bretagne_, Tome II.,\np. 66.\n\n\nTHE SPECTRAL CORT\u00c8GE.\n\nOne of the most interesting old mansions in Guernsey is that of La\nHaye du Puits, in the parish of Le Castel, with its tower rising above\nthe roof, its handsome \u201cporte coch\u00e8re\u201d and its pepper box turrets.\nIt has the appearance of having been built early in the sixteenth\ncentury, and it is known to have been, in the reign of Henry VIII., the\nresidence of a family of considerable local antiquity and importance,\nof the name of Henry, who had also property in Salisbury, where they\nwere known by the anglicised form of their patronymic, Harris. It\npassed from their possession into that of the Le Marchant family, to\none of whom it still belongs, in the reign of James II.[133] It is\njust one of those sort of places that one might expect to find some\nlegendary tale or old superstition attached to; but we are not aware\nthat either La Haye du Puits, or the neighbouring estate of St. George,\nclaims any special property in the spectral appearance, which, from\ntime to time, is seen at Le Mont au Deval--a steep ascent over which\nthe high road between the two properties passes. Persons travelling at\nnight along this road, which in some parts is thickly overshadowed with\ntrees, have occasionally met with a funeral procession, preceded, as\nis customary in Guernsey, by a clergyman and his attendant clerk, and\ncomposed of the usual carriers, pall bearers, mourners, and attendant\nfriends. The cort\u00e8ge takes its mournful way in perfect silence--and\nwell it may--for, of the many persons who compose it, not one is the\nbearer of a head!\n\n[Illustration: \u201cLe Coin de la Biche,\u201d St. Martin\u2019s.]\n\nThere are those, it is said, who affirm to having met it, but it\nis looked upon as of evil augury. The death of some one in the\nneighbourhood, or of some member of the family of the person who has\nthe misfortune to fall in with it, is believed to follow close upon the\nappearance of the headless company.[134]\n\n[133] EDITOR\u2019S NOTE.--It was bought by Joshua Le Marchant from the\nheirs of Pierre Henry, June 3rd, 1674.\n\n[134] From Mr. Denys Corbet.\n\nEDITOR\u2019S NOTE.--In Mr. Paul Sebillot\u2019s _Traditions et Superstitions\nde la Haute Bretagne_, Tome I., p. 270, we meet with nearly the same\nsuperstition. \u201cUn jour un homme de la Ru\u00e8e \u00e9tait \u00e0 dire ses pri\u00e8res.\nIl vit un enterrement qui passait \u00e0 quelque distance de lui; un homme\nportait la croix, puis venait la chasse, les pr\u00eatres et des hommes.\nHuit jours apr\u00e8s, un homme qui \u00e9tait n\u00e9 \u00e0 la Ru\u00e8e mourut, et son\nenterrement eut lieu comme celui que l\u2019homme avait vu.\u201d\n\n\nEDITOR\u2019S NOTES. \u201cLE COIN DE LA BICHE.\u201d\n\nThere is a lane leading from the post-box at the \u201cCarrefour David,\u201d\non the Saints\u2019 Bay Road to \u201cLa Marette,\u201d at the Villette, which was\nformerly supposed to be haunted by a spectre in the form of an enormous\nnanny-goat.\n\nAs you go along the lane to the Villette, you will see on your right\nhand side a triangular corner overgrown with weeds and brambles, and,\nalthough between two fields, not included in either. This corner is\nknown as \u201cLe Coin de la Biche\u201d--the Corner of the Nanny Goat.\n\nTradition marks it as one of the proposed sites for St. Martin\u2019s\nChurch, but, they say, when the building was commenced, materials,\ntools, etc., were moved by unknown hands, in the course of the night,\nto La Beilleuse, its present site, and all attempts to build it there\nhad to be abandoned. Ever since then this corner has borne a bad\nreputation, and none of the neighbouring proprietors will include it in\ntheir fields for fear of ill-luck.\n\nOne evening, towards the close of the last century, Mr. Mauger, of\nthe Villette, and some other men, were returning home from vraiking\nat Saints\u2019 Bay. In those days, the road leading to the bay was a\nwater-lane with a very narrow footway and a deep rocky channel, down\nwhich the water rushed to the sea. High hedges were on either side,\nbordered with trees, so that it was a laborious journey for carts to\ngo up and down. When the present road was made, the trees were cut\ndown, and the earth from the hedges used to fill up the waterway.\nAccordingly, this cart had harnessed to it three oxen and two horses,\nbut even then progress was slow, and it was getting late as they turned\ninto the lane. As they did so, one man said to the other:--\n\n\u201c_Creyous que nous verrons la biche?_\u201d\n\n(\u201cDo you think we shall see the goat?\u201d)\n\n\u201c_Si nous la veyons alle nous f\u2019ra p\u00e0s d\u2019m\u00e0._\u201d\n\n(\u201cIf we see her, she can do us no harm!\u201d)\n\nwas the reply. Almost as he spoke out came a great hairy grey\nnanny-goat from her corner, and rested her forelegs against the back\nof the cart. The oxen tugged, the horses pulled, lashed on by the\nterrified men, who were longing to get out of the lane. But nothing\ncould move the cart while the great beast stood there with her paws\non the cart and looked at them. So they finally had to unharness the\ncattle, and lead them on to the Villette, and leave the cart with all\nthe vraic in it in the lane.\n\nNext morning they brought one ox and one horse, who, \u201cLa Biche\u201d being\ngone, easily pulled the cart home, this part of the country being on\nlevel ground.\n\nAnother night, Mr. Mauger, of Saints\u2019, wanting to go and see his\nbrother at the Villette, took the short cut, which is a tiny lane\nnext to a little shop at the top of the Icart-road, and which comes\nout nearly opposite \u201cLe Coin de la Biche.\u201d He was carrying a torch of\n\u201cgllic\u201d (glui[135]--thick straw and resin), and felt that, thus armed,\nnothing could attack him. As he turned into the lane, he heard the\nclank of a chain, and, looking down, he saw a large brown beast about\nthe size of a small calf, with enormous red eyes, which it kept fixed\non him, walking by his side. He hurried on, and tried by walking in\nthe middle of the lane not to give it room to pass (the lane is barely\nthree feet wide), but it was always there, on the footpath, keeping\nstep with him. When he turned into the broader lane, where its own\nspecial \u201ccorner\u201d is, it turned away, and he hurried on to the Villette.\nDetermined not to give in to his cowardice, he came home the same\nway, and there where it had left him was the beast waiting for him.\nIt walked with him, on his other hand this time, still keeping to the\nfootpath, till he got into the Icart-road, where it disappeared.\n\nThese stories were told me in 1896 by Mrs. Le Patourel, of St.\nMartin\u2019s, who was a Miss Mauger, of Saints\u2019, and she was told them by\na relative of hers who was a daughter of the Mr. Mauger to whom these\nincidents happened. She declared that they were absolutely true.\n\nOur coachman, whose father lived in the neighbourhood at \u201cLes Pages,\u201d\njust above Petit B\u00f4t, told me that his father would never let him go\nalong that lane after dark, and would never go himself, for fear of \u201cLa\nBiche,\u201d and many other inhabitants of St. Martin\u2019s tell the same story.\n\nAnother old man, belonging to one of the most respectable families\nin the parish, and who had himself been churchwarden for eleven\nyears, told me that in his youth he lived in the neighbourhood of the\nVillette, and one evening his sister, then a strong young girl of\nsixteen, rushed in saying she had seen \u201cLa Biche.\u201d The shock was so\ngreat that she took to her bed and died shortly afterwards.\n\n[135] These torches of \u201cglui\u201d were called \u201cdes Brandons.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VIII.\n\nThe Devil.\n\n    \u201cThe Prince of Darkness is a gentleman.\u201d\n\n                            --_Shakespeare._\n\n                          \u201cTis a history\n    Handed from ages down; a nurse\u2019s tale,\n    Which children open-eyed and mouth\u2019d devour,\n    And thus, as garrulous ignorance relates,\n    We learn it, and believe.\u201d\n\n\nVarious allusions to his Satanic Majesty have already appeared in these\npages. He has left his footprints on various rocks; he carried away\nbodily Jean Vivian, Vavasseur de St. Michel; he fought with St. Patrick\nat the Hougue Patris; and he enticed Duke Richard in the form of a\nbeautiful woman. He is of course head of the fraternity of wizards and\nwitches, and many references to him occur in all the legends dealing\nwith witchcraft, but there are a few stories dealing with him \u201cin\npropri\u00e2 person\u00e2,\u201d and these are collected in the following chapter.\n\nIt may be as well to state that his usual manifestation is believed\nto be in the form of a huge black cat. He takes this shape apparently\nwhen he wishes to pass incognito. Black cats in general are looked upon\nwith a suspicious eye, but if seen in the house of anyone supposed to\nbe addicted to magical arts, there is no doubt of their being imps of\nSatan.\n\n\nSATAN OUTWITTED.\n\nIt was Midsummer Day, the sun was shining brightly, and the country\npeople were hastening in their holiday apparel to the spot where the\nmilitia were ordered to muster for a review, when an unfortunate\ncountry girl was ordered by her master to weed a large field of\nparsnips. He promised her that when her task was accomplished she\nshould be allowed the rest of the day to amuse herself; but she soon\ndiscovered that this promise meant nothing, for that her utmost\nexertions would not suffice to finish the allotted work before the\nevening should close in. She commenced her task with a heavy heart,\nand often lifted her head as she heard the joyous laugh of the groups\nof lads and lasses as they passed along the high road on their way to\nthe place of rendezvous. One party followed another, and as they became\nless frequent, the poor girl lost patience. Her hopes of taking any\nshare in the amusements of the day were nearly at an end. At last she\ngave utterance to her thoughts, and wished aloud for assistance, were\nit even from the Devil himself.\n\nScarcely had she expressed this unhallowed wish, when she thought she\nheard a slight noise behind her, and, on looking round, saw a gentleman\ndressed entirely in black, who in the kindest manner immediately\naddressed her and enquired why she looked so sad, and how it was she\nwas not merry-making with her companions.\n\n\u201cAlas!\u201d she answered, \u201cI must weed the whole of this field before I am\nreleased.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh,\u201d said he, \u201cis that all? Only promise me the first knot you tie\nto-morrow morning and I will get your task performed.\u201d\n\nThe girl easily agreed to these terms, and the gentleman departed.\n\nShe resumed her work, but was astonished to perceive that invisible\nhands were employed in every part of the field, tearing up the weeds\nand gathering them in bundles. In a very short time the ground was\nclear, and she went to announce it to her master, who, astonished\nat the rapidity with which she had executed his orders, gave her\npermission to spend the rest of the day in amusement.\n\nShe went accordingly to the review, and from thence to the \u201cSon,\u201d[136]\nwhere she danced the greater part of the evening. As night came on,\nhowever, she began to reflect on the adventures of the morning, and to\nconsider that the assistance which she had accepted was most probably\nnot of a very holy nature, and that something more might be meant\nby the promise which she had made than the mere words implied. She\nreturned home and retired to her bed, but was unable to compose herself\nto sleep. The more she thought of what she had done the more uneasy did\nshe feel.\n\nAt last, in her perplexity, she resolved to rise immediately and seek\nadvice from the Rector of the parish. The worthy clergyman was much\nalarmed at this open attack made by Satan on one of his flock, but bade\nher fear nothing, but put her trust in Heaven, go home, and spend the\nremainder of the night in prayer and repentance, and as soon as morning\ndawned, before she fastened a single knot, to go to the barn, taking\nher Bible with her, and, praying without ceasing, there bind up a\nsheaf of barley straw.\n\nThe girl did as she was advised, and scarcely had she knotted the wisp\nof straw, when the gentleman in black stood at her side. His looks and\nvoice were no longer so mild and prepossessing as they had been the\nday before, and the poor maiden, no longer doubting as to the infernal\ncharacter of the stranger, was near fainting from fright. She was soon\nreassured, however, when she saw the good minister enter the barn, who,\nin God\u2019s name, bade Satan avaunt. The Devil was not proof against this\nsolemn adjuration, but disappeared with a loud noise, and the poor\ngirl, full of gratitude for her miraculous escape, made a solemn vow\nto avoid for the future all those places of resort and merry-makings,\nby which Satan endeavours to tempt the unwary into sin, and to live\ncontentedly thenceforward in that station of life which Providence had\nallotted to her.[137]\n\n[136] The old name for the village dances, generally held in some\ntavern to the sound of that obsolete instrument, the \u201cchifournie.\u201d\n\n[137] From Miss Louisa Lane.\n\nIn the tales of this nature related in Lower Brittany, the soul that is\nsold to the evil one is always rescued by the advice or intercession of\na holy hermit or priest, see Luzel\u2019s _Veillies Bretonnes_, p. 132.\n\n\u201cQuand le diable para\u00eet, il est g\u00e9n\u00e9ralement v\u00eatu de couleur sombre, et\nsouvent il ressemblerait exactement \u00e0 une \u201cmani\u00e8re de monsieur\u201d ou \u00e0\nun gros fermier, si on ne regardait ses pieds, dont l\u2019un au moins est\nd\u00e9form\u00e9 et semblable \u00e0 un sabot de cheval. Parfois aussi il a des gants\nde cuir ou des griffes pointues. On lui pr\u00eate aussi un habillement\ntout rouge, et le cheval qu\u2019il monte est tout noir.\u201d--_Traditions et\nSuperstitions de la Haute Bretagne_, Tome I., p. 179.\n\n\nSATAN AND THE SCHOOLMASTER.\n\nIt is good to possess knowledge, but, like all other possessions,\nthe benefit to be derived from it depends on the uses to which it\nis applied, and there is no doubt that it exposes the possessor to\ntemptations which the more ignorant and simple-minded escape--to say\nnothing of the envy and calumny which often follow the man who by his\nsuperior acquirements, rises above the vulgar herd.\n\nIn the past century, the parish of St. Michel du Valle was fortunate in\nhaving secured the services of a man of more than ordinary attainments\nas its schoolmaster. Pallot was no common character, and his studious\nand retiring habits were but little appreciated by the surrounding\nfarmers. They wondered at his superior knowledge, but could not\nunderstand his shutting himself up in his schoolroom after the labours\nof the day were over. In their opinion it would have been far more wise\nand natural for him to follow the example of his scholars, and throw\naside his books until the next day. It was known that his studies were\noften prolonged far into the night, and, little by little, it came to\nbe whispered about that these studies were of a nature that could not\nbear the light of day, and, in short, that the schoolmaster was in\nleague with the powers of darkness. Pallot felt hurt at the imputation,\nbut at the same time somewhat flattered at the deference paid him by\nhis ignorant neighbours.\n\n\u201cKnowledge puffeth up,\u201d and of all pride the pride of intellect is the\nmost dangerous, and exposes the man who gives way to it to the greatest\ntemptation. Satan knows well how to make use of the opportunities which\nare afforded him to extend his empire and work the ruin of souls. The\nschoolmaster--one whose influence over the youth of the parish was\nso great--was a prize worth securing, and the great enemy of mankind\nlaid siege to him in due form. His approaches were made with skill,\nbut with little or no success. At last he determined on a desperate\nexpedient--that of a personal interview. The conference lasted for some\nhours, the most tempting offers were made, but Pallot, now thoroughly\non his guard, was firm, and had grace to resist. He had too much regard\nfor his soul to yield in anything to the enemy, and Satan, out of\npatience, rushed out of the schoolroom, carrying off with him the gate\nof the inclosure, which was found next morning on a large hawthorn bush\non the summit of the Hougue Juas.\n\n[Illustration: \u201cLooking up Fountain Street, 1825.\u201d]\n\nThe thorn, which was previously green and flourishing, was blasted as\nif struck by lightning, and, although not killed, never recovered its\nformer beauty, but retained for ever afterwards the same scathed and\nwithered look.[138]\n\n[138] From Miss Harriet Chepmell.\n\n\nANOTHER VERSION OF \u201cSATAN AND THE SCHOOLMASTER.\u201d\n\nIt is related that in days long past there lived in the vicinity of the\nRoque Balan, at L\u2019Ancresse, a man of very superior acquirements. It is\ntrue that he was commonly suspected of knowing more than was altogether\nlawful, but as he ostensibly gained his living by instructing the youth\nof the parish, and as there was no doubt that his scholars profited by\nhis teaching, the neighbouring farmers made no hesitation in sending\ntheir sons to him. Among his pupils was one lad of whom he was justly\nproud, for a prying curiosity and love of acquiring knowledge, joined\nto a retentive memory and a sharp intellect, had made the boy, in the\nopinion of many, almost a match for his master. Curiosity and a love of\nacquiring knowledge may be good in themselves, but they can be carried\ntoo far, and this proved to be the case with the young scholar.\n\nHe had noticed some old-looking tomes which his preceptor kept always\ncarefully locked up in an old carved oak chest, and had long felt\nmost anxious to pry into their contents. The clearest hints he could\ngive, and even the openly-expressed wish to be allowed to peruse the\nhidden volumes, met with no response on the part of his teacher. He\ndetermined to watch his opportunity, and to get a sight, by hook or\nby crook, of the contents of the mysterious books, and one day, when\nthe master had been called away suddenly to make the will of a dying\nman, and had inadvertently left his keys behind him, the youth seized\non them, and, as soon as his back was turned, proceeded to examine the\ncontents of the chest. He lifted one of the ponderous tomes, opened it\nat hazard, and commenced to read out aloud the first passage which met\nhis eye. Unfortunately this proved to be the spell by which the Prince\nof Darkness can be summoned to this upper world to do the bidding of\nhis votaries. Great was the terror of the indiscreet youngster when\na sudden violent storm arose, which went on increasing in intensity,\nand Satan in person appeared before him and demanded what he wanted of\nhim. The unfortunate boy knew not what answer to make, nor what task\nto impose on the demon to get rid of him at least for a time, until\nthe return of the master. Pallot, who was already at some distance\nfrom home, hastened back, and entered the house just at the moment\nwhen Satan, tired of waiting and enraged at having been unnecessarily\ncalled up, had seized on the inquisitive scholar and was on the point\nof flying off with him. The master, at a glance, perceived how matters\nstood, and, uttering a hasty spell, arrested the demon in his course.\nHe then proceeded to set him a task, promising him that if he succeeded\nin accomplishing it before sunset he should be at liberty to carry off\nhis prey.\n\nThe Devil made some difficulty in acceding to these terms, but the\nschoolmaster, determined, if possible, to save his unfortunate pupil,\nwas firm, and not to be influenced either by the threats or cajoleries\nof the arch-fiend. He caught up a peck-measure containing peas, and\nscattered them on the floor, handing at the same time a three-pronged\npitch-fork to the Devil, and ordering him with that instrument to throw\nthe peas over the door-hatch into the court-yard.\n\nSatan took the fork and set to work with right good will, but soon\nfound that it was labour in vain. Not one pea could he raise from the\nfloor. The sun was fast sinking below the horizon. As the last portion\nof its orb disappeared beneath the western wave, the enraged and\ndisappointed demon wrenched the door-hatch off its hinges and cast it\nfar away in the direction of Les Landes. There it was found the next\nmorning on a thorn-bush, which had been green and flourishing the day\nbefore, but which, since that time, is blasted and flattened almost to\nthe level of the ground, though it still lives and is pointed out as a\nproof of the truth of this history.[139]\n\n[139] From Sieur Henry Bisson.\n\nThis incident is found in a Breton legend, as told by Dr. Alfred\nFouquet in his work _L\u00e9gendes, Contes, et Chansons Populaires du\nMorbihan_, apropos of the first occupant of the lands on which the\nCh\u00e2teau de Herlean was afterwards built. Satan undertook to be the\nservant of a peasant as long as work could be found for him to do.\nHe accomplished the most difficult tasks with the greatest ease. At\nlast the peasant emptied a sack of millet into the court-yard and\nordered Satan to pitch it up to him in the granary with a hay-fork. He\nacknowledged his inability and was ignominiously dismissed.\n\nA somewhat similar story is also told in _Notes and Queries_. The Vicar\nof a certain Devonshire parish was a diligent student of the black art,\nand possessed a large collection of mysterious books and MSS. During\nhis absence at church, one of his servants entered his study, and,\nfinding a large volume open on the desk, imprudently began to read it\naloud. He had scarcely read half a page when the sky became dark and\na great wind shook the house violently. Still he read on, and in the\nmidst of the storm the doors flew open and a black hen and chickens\ncame into the room. They were of the ordinary size when they first\nappeared, but gradually became larger and larger, until the hen was of\nthe bigness of a good-size ox. At this point, the Vicar (in the church)\nsuddenly closed his discourse and dismissed his congregation, saying\nhe was wanted at home and hoped he might arrive there in time. When he\nentered the chamber, the hen was already touching the ceiling. But he\nthrew down a bag of rice which stood ready in the corner, and, whilst\nthe hen and chickens were busily picking up the grains, the Vicar had\ntime to reverse the spell.\n\nEDITOR\u2019S NOTE.--This story is still believed. It was told me by Miss\nFalla in 1896.\n\n\nTHE DEVIL AND THE TAILOR.\n\nThe race of journeymen tailors and shoemakers, hired by the day to\nmake up, at the houses of their employers, the materials that have\nbeen provided beforehand, or to patch and mend the clothes and shoes\nrequiring repairs, is not yet quite extinct in the rural districts of\nGuernsey; although the facility of access to the town of St. Peter\nPort, afforded by the excellent roads which intersect the island in all\ndirections, and the superior make and fashion of the articles supplied\nby the tradesmen in town,--to say nothing of the ready-made clothing so\ngenerally used in the present day--have had the effect of considerably\ndiminishing the number of men who gain their living in this way.\nAlthough we have no knowledge that the journeyman tailor was ever the\nimportant character here that he is in Brittany and even in Normandy,\nwhere he is sometimes employed in the delicate office of negotiating\nmarriages between the families of distant hamlets, and where he is\noften the sole means of circulating the news of the outer world, or\ncarrying the gossiping tales of one village to another, yet even here\nhis presence for a day or two in a house is looked forward to with\npleasure as a break in the monotony of the daily family routine; and if\nhe should chance to be what the French call \u201cun farceur,\u201d or teller of\ngood stories, he is doubly welcome.\n\nIt must be acknowledged that, as a rule, this class of men are not\nsupposed to be very particular as to the exact truth of the stories\nthey put in circulation, and that some of them would be better members\nof society, if, on quitting their work, they were to go straight home,\nwithout thinking it a part of their duty to turn into every house where\ndrink is sold, that they may chance to fall in with on their way.\n\nThe hero of the following adventure, if fame does not belie him, is one\nof this sort, and, although he affirms the truth of the story, there is\nno corroborative evidence that it is anything more than the dream of a\ndrunken man.\n\nIt appeared in a letter from a correspondent to the _Gazette de\nGuernesey_ of the 22nd December, 1873, and is translated literally,\nomitting only the writer\u2019s sensible remarks on the folly and simplicity\nof those who could give credence to such an invention, and on the\nsuperstition which, in spite of education, is still so prevalent among\nthe lower orders. There is no doubt that the story was widely spread\nand believed in the country, and that the tailor, when questioned about\nit, asserts it to be true.\n\nHe is an inhabitant of the parish of Torteval, and a Guernseyman born\nand bred, although bearing a name which shews that his family came\noriginally from another country. One evening, as he was returning from\nhis work, a certain tailor, who shall be nameless, and who bears but an\nindifferent character, met with an adventure which was far from being\nagreeable. A man, dressed entirely in black, of a sinister aspect, and\nmounted on a black horse, met him on his way. This strange looking\nindividual stopped the tailor, and the following conversation took\nplace:\n\n\u201cHallo, you\u2019re a tailor, aren\u2019t you?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, sir, at your service,\u201d answered the tailor, somewhat alarmed.\n\n\u201cThen I wish you to make me a pair of trousers, which I will come and\nfetch at your house to-morrow at noon.\u201d And, so saying, the stranger\nwent on his way.\n\n\u201cBut, sir,\u201d cried the tailor, running after him, \u201cYou\u2019ve forgotten to\nlet me take your measure.\u201d\n\n\u201cBah! what does that matter?\u201d\n\n\u201cBut, sir, I shall never be able to fit you if I\u2019ve not got your\nmeasure.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell then, take it,\u201d said the gentleman in black, dismounting from his\nhorse. \u201cThere!\u201d\n\nBut imagine the poor tailor\u2019s dismay! There were no legs to be seen. Do\nwhat he would, it was impossible to take a proper measure for trousers\nunder such circumstances. A horrible suspicion flashed through his\nmind.\n\n\u201cIt must be the Devil,\u201d thought he to himself. \u201cHow shall I get rid of\nhim?\u201d\n\nAlarmed, horrified, trembling in all his limbs, feeling his legs giving\nway under him, our poor tailor only got out of the scrape by stammering\nout these few words--\n\n\u201cWell, sir, your trousers shall be ready to-morrow at noon.\u201d\n\n\u201cLook to yourself if they are not ready. I shall come and fetch them\nat your house,\u201d answered the dark-visaged and black-coated individual,\nleaping on his horse and going on his way.\n\nSeized with uncontrollable fear, it is said that the tailor went\nstraight to the Rector of his parish, and told him the whole of his\nadventure. The good parson advised him to make the trousers, and\npromised him that he would not fail to be with him the next day to be\nwitness to the delivery of them. Accordingly, the next day, at the hour\nappointed, and, but a few minutes after the arrival of the clergyman,\nwho was beforehand with him, the Devil knocked at the tailor\u2019s door to\nclaim the trousers; and the hero of our tale, in delivering them, heard\nhis Satanic Majesty utter these words--\n\n\u201cIf a man of God had not been present in this house, I would have\ncarried you off also.\u201d\n\n\nRECENT APPEARANCE OF THE DEVIL.\n\nWhatever may be the spread of rationalism in other places, a belief\nin the personality of Satan still holds its ground firmly in the\nminds of our peasantry. How can it be otherwise when there are those\nwho, within the last two or three years, have had the rare chance of\nseeing him \u201cin propri\u00e2 person\u00e2;\u201d and this in a locality which, one\nmight suppose, would be about the very last that he would be inclined\nto honour with his presence? The neighbourhood of L\u2019Er\u00e9e, it is true,\nhas never borne a very high character. Everyone knows that from time\nimmemorial the hill of Catiauroc and the beach of Rocquaine have been\nthe favourite resort of witches and warlocks, and that their infernal\nmaster holds his court there every Friday night, and, seated in state\non the cromlech which is called \u201cLe Tr\u00e9pied,\u201d receives the homage of\nhis deluded votaries. But who could suppose that he would leave this\ntime-honoured haunt to become the inmate of a Methodist Chapel? Such,\nhowever, if we can attach any credit to the statements of the fishermen\nand others who inhabit this coast, is undoubtedly the case.\n\n[Illustration: \u201cLooking down Berthelot Street, 1880.\u201d]\n\nWithin the last few years the Wesleyans have erected several small\nchapels in various parts of the island, and, among others, one near\na place called \u201cLes Adams.\u201d Shortly after the chapel was finished it\nbegan to be whispered about that lights were seen in it at hours of\nthe night when it was well known that no one was likely to be there.\nThe light is described by some who had seen it from a distance as if\nilluminating the whole of the interior, but some fishermen who were\nbold enough to draw near and look in at the windows could see nothing\nbut a small subdued flame in one corner, which seemed to sink downwards\ninto the earth. A gentleman of strict veracity, formerly residing\nabout a mile from the spot, declared that he had frequently seen the\nmysterious light. He described it as being of a pale blue colour, and\nwas convinced that it did not proceed from either candle or lamp. He\nhad seen it from various points, from the rising ground inland, to the\neast of the chapel, and from the low lands lying along the sea-shore\nto the west. It seemed to occupy a particular spot in the building,\nfor the light appeared brightest through one of the windows, and\nfainter through all the others. He had observed it on many occasions\nimmediately after dusk, and at hours when it was most unlikely that\nany person would be in the chapel for any improper purpose. On drawing\nnear, the light always disappeared. The state of the weather or of\nthe moon seemed to make no difference in it. Curiosity, thus excited,\nhad to be appeased, and, at last, some of the fishermen ventured to\napproach the chapel and peep in at the windows. What they saw they\ndescribed as \u201cLe Dain,\u201d the name by which his Satanic Majesty is\ndesignated when it is thought proper to avoid the more offensive\nappellation of \u201cLe Guyablle.\u201d Sparks of fire issued from his mouth and\nnostrils, the traditional horns and tail seem to have been discerned,\nbut the cloven feet were hidden by long boots covering the knees, and\nwhich, according to some accounts, were red.\n\nHis occupation was as difficult to be accounted for as his presence\nin so unusual a place. It was that of dancing and leaping with all\nhis might and main! Whether the fishermen really saw anything which\ntheir fears magnified into a vision of the wicked one, or whether, for\nreasons of their own, they wished to impose upon the credulity of their\nneighbours, it is impossible to say. One thing is certain, and that\nis that persons of the highest respectability, living in that part of\nthe country, vouch for the fact of the lights having frequently been\nseen in the chapel at hours of the night when it ought not to have been\noccupied. It does not seem to have occurred to them that many of the\nmariners on this part of the coast are employed at times in carrying\noff packages of tobacco to the English and French boats engaged in\nsmuggling, and that, as a temporary dep\u00f4t may be sometimes required\nfor these goods, the chapel may have been selected for the purpose, in\npreference to a dwelling house or other private property, the owner of\nwhich, in case of detection, might be subjected to much inconvenience.\nBut the neighbouring peasants have their own method of explaining these\nsupernatural appearances.\n\nSome say that they are a judgment on the original founders of the\nchapel, who, as it is believed and reported, after having collected\nample subscriptions towards the building, pretended that the funds\nwere insufficient, and defrauded the workmen whom they had employed\nof their just dues. Others say that the original proprietor of the\nland on which the chapel is built, was importuned by his wife to make\na free gift of the site, but, being strongly averse to dissent in all\nforms, could never be brought by her to consent to the alienation;\nbut that immediately on the death of the old man, the widow, who,\nafter a youth spent in frivolity and pleasure, had turned wonderfully\npious in her declining years, took measures to make over the ground to\nthe dissenters, and, not content with this, squandered on them large\nsums of money which ought rightly to have been reserved for her late\nhusband\u2019s children by a former marriage. The spirit of the departed\ncould not brook such disregard of his wishes, and such disrespect for\nhis memory, and manifests his displeasure by haunting the spot of\nwhich his children ought never to have been deprived.\n\nEDITOR\u2019S NOTE.--When in Sark in 1896 I was told by one of the old\nSark men, how a Sark fisherman defeated the Devil. This fisherman was\nsupposed to be given to witchcraft, and one day he succeeded in raising\nthe Devil, when Satan appeared and asked him what commands he had for\nhim. The fisherman had nothing to say. Finally he said, \u201cYou must\ncarry me where I tell you.\u201d They were then on the far end of Little\nSark. So the Devil consented, but on the understanding that when they\nreached their destination, the man, in his turn, should do what Satan\ncommanded. So the man mounted on Satan\u2019s back, and first was carried\nacross the Coup\u00e9e. \u201c_Allez plus loin_,\u201d (Go farther) said the man. Then\nthey went on to the Carrefour, near where the Bel Air Hotel now is.\n\u201c_Allez plus loin_,\u201d said the man when Satan stopped for a rest. Then\nthey reached the Port du Moulin, where the fisherman\u2019s cottage stood.\n\u201c_Au nom du Grand Dieu--Arr\u00eatez!_\u201d (In God\u2019s name--Stop!) At that the\nDevil had to put him down and fly away shrieking, \u201cfor,\u201d as the old man\nconcluded his story, \u201che is powerless when God\u2019s name is said.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IX.\n\nProphetic Warnings and Ghosts.\n\n    \u201cNow there spreaden a rumour that everich night\n    The rooms ihaunted been by many a Sprite,\n    The Miller avoucheth, and all thereabout\n    That they full oft hearen the Hellish Rout,\n    Some faine they hear the gingling of Chains,\n    And some hath heard the Psautries straines,\n    At midnight some the headless Horse i meet,\n    And some espien a Corse in a white Sheet;\n    And other things, Faye, Elfin and Elfe,\n    And shapes that Fear createn to itself.\u201d\n\n                                           --_Gay._\n\n    \u201cEt chacun croit fort ais\u00e9ment ce qu\u2019il craint.\u201d\n\n                                    --_La Fontaine._\n\n    \u201cNow I remember those old women\u2019s words\n    Who in my youth would tell me winter\u2019s tales\n    And speak of sprites and ghosts that glide by night\n    About the place where treasure hath been hid.\u201d\n\n                           --_Marlowe\u2019s \u201cJew of Venice.\u201d_\n\n\nProphetic Warnings.\n\n                      \u201cThese true shadows.\u2026\n    Forerunning thus their bodies, may approve\n    That all things to be done, as here we live,\n    Are done before all times in th\u2019other life.\u201d\n\n                                    --_Chapman._\n\nIt is a very common belief that events, particularly those of a\nmelancholy nature, are foreshadowed. Unusual noises in or about a\nhouse, such as cannot easily be accounted for, the howling of a dog,\nthe crowing of cocks at unaccustomed hours, the hooting of owls, and\nmany other things are looked upon as warnings of evil to come, or, as\nthey are locally termed, \u201c_avertissements_.\u201d This term is also applied\nto a sort of second-sight, in which a person fancies he sees an image\nof himself, or, to make use of a Scotch word, his own \u201cwraith.\u201d This\nillusion, arising no doubt from a derangement of the optic nerve\nconsequent on the weakness produced by ill-health, is considered a sure\nforerunner of death. Two instances of this, both occurring towards the\nend of the last century, have come to my knowledge. In the one case,\na young gentleman, slowly dying of decline, was seated near a window,\nwhich commanded a view of the avenue leading to the country house\nin which he resided. Suddenly he saw a figure, which he recognised\nas his own, standing at the corner of a pathway which led into a\ncherry-orchard, a favourite resort of his when in health. His sister\nwas every moment expected to return home from a ride, and, fearing\nthat her horse might take fright at the apparition, he immediately\ndispatched a servant to meet her, and cause her to return to the house\nby another way. He died not many hours afterwards.\n\nIn the other instance, a young lady, who was known to be very fragile\nand delicate, was spending the day at her brother\u2019s country-house. It\nwas summer, and the room in which she was seated with the other members\nof the family looked out on a parterre gay with flowers. Suddenly she\ninterrupted the conversation which was going on, by exclaiming:--\n\n\u201cHow singular! I see myself yonder in the garden gathering flowers.\u201d\n\nHer friends tried to laugh her out of her fancy, but neither ridicule\nnor reason prevailed. She persisted in saying that she had seen her own\nlikeness in the garden. She grew rapidly worse, and before the autumn\nwas over she passed away.\n\nIt occasionally happens that both fruit and blossoms are to be seen at\nthe same time on apple and pear trees. When this occurs it is believed\nto be a sure presage that a death will follow in the family of the\nproprietor of the tree within the year.[140]\n\nGreat faith is also put in dreams by our country people, as the\nfollowing stories will show. They make use of many charms and spells to\ninvoke certain dreams, and those will be told in a future chapter, but\nthe following show the belief that exists in the truth of dreams.\n\nDuring the late war with France many privateers were fitted out. A\nman dreamt that if a vessel were sent out to a certain latitude and\nlongitude, that on a certain day it would meet with a rich prize and\ntake it. He realised all his property, bought a ship, equipped and\nmanned it, and sent it out to cruise, in full faith that his dream\nwould come to pass. Time rolled on, and the ship did not appear. The\nman\u2019s friends and neighbours began to jeer at him, but he still felt\nconfident that all would turn out as he had dreamt. His faith was at\nlast rewarded, for one day, when all but he had given up any hope of\nseeing the vessel again, two vessels were seen in the offing. As they\ndrew near one was recognised as the missing ship, and the other was\nsoon made out, by its rig, to be a foreigner. They came safely into St.\nPeter Port, and it was then found that the latter was a Spaniard, with\na very rich cargo. It turned out that the capture had been made in the\nvery place and at the very time that had been dreamt of.\n\n[Illustration: \u201cCow Lane.\u201d]\n\nA country gentleman had occasion to make some alterations in the level\nof a road in the neighbourhood of his house. He employed two men in\nthe work, a father and son. The materials for the work were to be\ntaken from a gravel pit on the estate, and the work was progressing\nfavourably, when, one morning, the gentleman, on coming down to\nbreakfast, said to his wife that he had had an unpleasant dream, and\nfeared that some accident would happen to the workmen before the day\nwas out. He went out shortly afterwards and cautioned the men, as he\nhad done previously, to be very careful in digging out the materials\nthey were in want of from the overhanging banks of the gravel pit. They\nmade light of his admonition, and he left them. Towards noon the elder\nof the two workmen left the place to go home to dinner, leaving his son\nbehind. On his return, about an hour later, he found that the bank had\ngiven way and buried his son in the rubbish. When, after a considerable\ntime, he was dug out, he was found to be quite dead.\n\n[140] From Mr. Thomas Lenfestey and Mr. George Allez.\n\nSee _Notes and Queries_, VI. Series, IV., 55.\n\n\nGhosts.\n\n    \u201cThat the dead are seen no more, I will not undertake to\n    maintain against the concurrent and unvaried testimony of\n    all ages and of all nations. There is no people, rude or\n    unlearned, among whom apparitions of the dead are not related\n    and believed. This opinion, which prevails as far as human\n    nature is diffused, could become universal only by its truth.\n    Those who never heard of another, would not have agreed in a\n    tale which nothing but experience can make credible. That it is\n    doubted by single cavillers can very little weaken the general\n    evidence, and some who deny it with their tongues confess it\n    with their fears.\u201d--_Dr. Samuel Johnson._\n\nThe belief that the spirits of the dead are, under certain\ncircumstances, permitted to revisit the places which they were in the\nhabit of frequenting, and the persons with whom they were acquainted\nwhile in the body, has too strong a hold on the human mind not to\nbe still an article of popular faith in this island; but the doings\nof these disembodied spirits do not differ sensibly from what is\nattributed to them in other European countries.\n\nThe ghost of the murdered man still haunts the spot where he was foully\ndeprived of life, crying for vengeance on his assassin. The murderer\u2019s\nform is seen at the foot of the gibbet where he expiated his crime.\nThe shade of the suicide lingers about the spot where he committed\nhis rash act. The spirit of the tender mother is seen bending over\nthe cradles of her darling children, smoothing their tangled locks,\nwashing their begrimed faces, and lamenting over the neglected state\nin which they are allowed to remain by a careless or unkind step-dame.\nThe acquirer of ill-gotten wealth wanders about, vainly endeavouring\nto make restitution. And the ghosts of the shipwrecked mariners who\nhave perished in the waves, roam along the fatal shore, and, with loud\nwailings, claim a resting place for their remains in their mother-earth.\n\nSome also say that the departing spirit occasionally takes the form of\na bird, and, from a story told us, it would seem that it also sometimes\nputs on the form of a mouse.\n\nAn elderly woman who lived alone in a house in the neighbourhood of\nSte. H\u00e9l\u00e8ne was found one morning dead at the bottom of a flight of\nstairs. From the evidence at the inquest it appeared that she had\nentrusted the latch key of the front door to a workman, who was to\ncome early to the house next morning to do some small job in the way\nof plastering. It was supposed that before retiring to rest, at her\nusual hour between nine and ten, she had intended to go to the door to\nsee whether the door was properly latched, and that, in descending the\nstairs, she had slipped, and, falling forward, had broken her neck.\n\nShe had a first cousin, within a week or two of the same age as\nherself, with whom she had been brought up, and between whom and\nherself great affection had always existed. About the time that the\naccident must have happened, this cousin was sitting with his wife, by\nwhom the story was related to me, warming themselves before the fire,\npreviously to getting into bed. They were speaking of the old woman,\nand the husband remarked that he had not seen her for some days, and\nhoped she was well, and then immediately made the remark that he had\nseen a mouse run across the room, coming from the door towards them.\nHis eyesight was very defective, and his wife endeavoured to persuade\nhim that it was impossible that he could have seen anything of the\nkind, and that, moreover, she had never seen a mouse in that room.\n\nThey went to bed and nothing more was thought about it until the next\nmorning, when the wife, passing the house where the old woman lived,\nsaw a crowd of neighbours assembled round the door, and found that the\ndead body of her husband\u2019s cousin had just been discovered lying at the\nfoot of the stairs.\n\nThe accident in all probability had occurred at the very time she\nand her husband were speaking of the deceased, and when the old man\ndeclared he saw the mouse. She was fully convinced that the spirit of\nthe old woman had come in that shape to take a last look and farewell\nof her kinsman.[141]\n\n[141] Related to me by Mrs. Andrew Thorn, wife of the old man.\n\n\u201cIn many Teutonic myths, we find that the soul leaves the body in the\nshape of a mouse.\u201d--_Folk-Lore Journal_, Vol. II., Part VII., p. 208.\n\n\nTHE ROBBER OF THE POOR BOX.\n\nIt is not many years since, that in making some alterations in the\nparsonage of St. Michel du Valle, the workmen found under the flooring\nof one of the rooms a few small coins. They remembered that in the last\ncentury, a French priest, who had renounced his own religion, had been\nappointed curate of the parish by a non-resident Rector after having\nbeen duly licensed by the Bishop of Winchester; that, after leading a\nmost irregular life to the great scandal of the parishioners, he had\none day disappeared suddenly, and that after his departure the poor\nbox in the church was found to have been broken open and robbed of its\ncontents. It was not long before it was rumoured abroad that mysterious\nnoises were heard in the dead of the night in the parsonage, as of\nsomeone walking through the rooms and dropping money as he went. No one\ndoubted that the sacrilegious robber had left this mortal life, and\nthat his ghost was doomed to revisit the scene of his iniquity, vainly\nendeavouring to make restitution to the widows and orphans, and to the\naged and infirm pensioners of the church, of the money of which he had\nso unfeelingly deprived them.\n\nThe workmen were fully convinced that the coins which they had found\nwere part of those which had been so sacrilegiously abstracted. They\ndared not retain them for their own use, but brought them to the Rector\nwith a request that they might be given to the poor.[142]\n\n[142] From Mrs. Thomas Bell, wife of the Rector of the Vale parish.\n\n\nBURIAL OF THE DROWNED.\n\nIn all ages and among all nations the burial of the dead has been\nlooked upon as a sacred duty; and the belief is not yet extinct that\nuntil the body is consigned to the earth the spirit is doomed to wander\nabout, seeking rest and finding none.\n\nGreat therefore is the guilt of him who, having found a corpse,\nneglects to provide for its sepulture. \u201c_Les morts recllament la terre,\net ch\u2019est le\u00fb derouait._\u201d (The dead claim the earth, and it is their\nright).\n\nA man who had gone down at low water to visit his nets, found a\ndead body stretched out on the sands. It was not that of any of his\nneighbours. A violent storm had raged a day or two previously, and\nthere could be no doubt that some unfortunate vessel had gone down in\nthe gale, and that the body before him was that of one of the crew.\nIt was handsomely dressed, the clothes being of velvet, richly laced\nwith gold. The avarice of the fisherman was excited, and his first\nthought was to search the pockets. A purse, containing what to a poor\nman was a considerable sum, was found, and, content with his morning\u2019s\nwork, the man hastened home, leaving the body to be carried away by\nthe next tide. Great was his astonishment and affright, on entering\nhis cottage, to see the dead man seated by the fireside, and looking\nsternly and reproachfully at him. His wife, to whom the phantom was not\nvisible, perceived his trouble, and, pressed by her, he confessed what\nhe had done. She upbraided him with his inhuman conduct, and, kneeling\ndown with him, prayed the Almighty to forgive him his sin. They then\nhastened down to the beach, drew the corpse to shore, and buried it in\na neighbouring field. On their return home the ghost of the drowned man\nhad disappeared and was never more seen.[143]\n\n[143] From Mrs. Savidan.\n\nEDITOR\u2019S NOTE.--An old fisherman named Mansell told Major Macleane, my\ninformant, that it is most unlucky to keep a suit of clothes belonging\nto a drowned man, whether they have been washed ashore, or by whatever\nmeans they have entered your possession; for his spirit is sure to come\nback and reanimate his clothes and haunt you. The clothes should always\nbe burnt or buried immediately.\n\n\n\u201cLA GRAND\u2019 GARCE.\u201d\n\n\u201c_Qu\u2019est qu\u2019tu \u2019as? Non dirait qu\u2019tu \u2019as veu la grand\u2019 garce._\u201d (\u201cWhat\nis the matter with you? One would suppose you had seen the great girl.\u201d)\n\nSuch were the words with which a gentleman (Mr. Peter Le Pelley,\nSeigneur of Sark), in the last century greeted his sister-in-law, (Miss\nFrances Carey, daughter of Mr. John Carey), who had come to spend a few\ndays with him at his manorial residence in Sark, on her appearance at\nthe breakfast table the morning after her arrival. He meant to banter\nher on her anxious and haggard look, which she attributed to a restless\nnight and headache, occasioned in all probability by crossing the water\non the previous day.\n\nIn reality, although she did not like to acknowledge it at the time,\nher rest had been disturbed. Having previously locked her door, as was\nher habit, she had fallen asleep almost as soon as she laid her head on\nthe pillow, but was awakened suddenly,--about midnight, as far as she\ncould judge,--by someone drawing aside the curtains at the foot of her\nbed. She started up, and saw plainly an elderly lady standing there.\nShe fell back fainting, and when she recovered her senses the figure\nhad disappeared.\n\nIt was probably nothing more than a very vivid nightmare, and was\nfollowed by no results beyond the effects of the fright which a\nfew days sufficed to remove, but she never again revisited Sark.\nThe question, however, is one which is not unfrequently addressed\nto a person who has an anxious or startled look, and refers to the\napparition of a tall maiden, which is supposed to presage the death of\nthe person who sees it, or that of some near connection.[144]\n\n[144] From Rachel du Port, who was formerly a servant of Mr. John\nCarey, and heard it from Miss Fanny Carey herself.\n\nEDITOR\u2019S NOTES.\n\nMy cousin, Miss E. Le Pelley, whose great-uncle Peter was Seigneur of\nSark, and whose old servant Caroline is still alive and in the service\nof the Le Pelley family, sends me the following confirmation of the\nabove, which she wrote down from the lips of old Caroline herself.\nCaroline, as a girl, had one day been teased by some of her fellow\nservants on the Seigneurie farm, who told her that they would come in\nand awake her during the night. So she, to prevent such disturbance,\nlocked her door. In the middle of the night she awoke and saw a lady\nstanding at the foot of her bed. She was so frightened that she shut\nher eyes, but twice curiosity prevailed and she opened them again,\nand saw the lady gliding away. She had on a crossover shawl, and a\nbeautifully gauffred white cap. Caroline was just going to look again,\nwhen she felt something heavy fall on her feet \u201cwith a great thump,\u201d\nwhich so frightened her that she put her head under the clothes, and\ndid not uncover it until the morning, though she could not sleep again.\nThe lady is supposed to be a Miss de Carteret, sister of one of the\noriginal Seigneurs of Sark. She had unaccountably disappeared from that\nroom, which was the last spot in which she had been seen.\n\nOld Caroline went on to say that many others besides herself had\nseen the ghost. Fifty years previously, an old woman living at Havre\nGosselin had been terrified by it. The cook, who was fellow-servant\nwith Caroline, had seen it three times.\n\nHenri, an old man-servant, had also often seen it. But the curious\nthing about the ghost is that it only appears in the room if the door\nis _locked_.\n\nCaroline was very anxious to tell her mistress, Mrs. Le Pelley, what\nshe had seen, but the other servants dissuaded her, and told her that\nshe had brought it all on herself by locking her door, which she never\nagain dared to do.\n\n\u201cNow,\u201d said Caroline, \u201cif only someone had said to her \u2018In the name of\nthe Great God what tortures you?\u2019 the poor lady would have unburdened\nher soul, and her spirit could have found rest, but no one had the wit\nor the courage to do it.\u201d\n\nAs Caroline always ends up her story:--\u201c_Oh mon Dou donc, que j\u2019tai\neffr\u00e2\u00efe!_\u201d (Oh my goodness, how frightened I was!).--_From Miss E. Le\nPelley._\n\nOld Mrs. Le Messurier, who used frequently to go in and \u201chelp\u201d at the\nSeigneurie when the Le Pelleys were there, told me that she was there\nin February, 1839, the time that Peter Le Pelley was drowned, and the\nnight before \u201cLa Grande Garce\u201d was seen walking through the passages,\nand the tapping of her high heels was heard through the house, while\nsome said she was wringing her hands. Knowing that her appearance in\nthis manner was a sure presage of misfortune, the servants all begged\nMr. Le Pelley next day not to set sail for Guernsey, especially as\nthere was a strong south wind blowing, but he would go, and the boat\nwas swamped off the Pointe du Nez, and all perished.--_From Mrs. Le\nMessurier, of Sark._\n\nMr. de Garis, of the Rouvets, told me that he had an old servant who\ncame from Sark, who told him of a lady who appeared at the Seigneurie,\nif the bedroom door was locked.\n\nIn 1565 Queen Elizabeth \u201cconferred on Helier de Carteret and his heirs\nfor ever, in reward of the many services received by herself and her\nroyal ancestors from this family, the aforesaid island of Sark, to be\nheld _in capite_, as a fief haubert, on the payment of an annual rent\nof fifty shillings.\u201d Sir Charles de Carteret, Seigneur of St. Ouen,\nand of Sark, being heavily in debt, made a provision in his will for\nthe settling of his debts by ordering that at his death the Seigneurie\nof Sark should be sold. This will bears the date of 1713. During his\nlifetime he obtained a patent from Queen Anne authorising the above\nsale. And in 1730 it was bought by Dame Susan Le Gros, widow of Mr.\nNicholas Le Pelley. Her son Nicholas inherited it, and it remained in\nthe Le Pelleys\u2019 possession until 1852, when, owing to heavy losses\nincurred in the working of the silver mines in Little Sark, they sold\nit to Mrs. T. G. Collings, and it is now in the possession of the\nCollings family.\n\n\n\u201cLA FLLIEUR DE JAON.\u201d\n\nThere is an English saying that \u201cwhen the gorse is out of bloom,\nkissing is out of fashion.\u201d This is expanded in Guernsey into the\nfollowing tales.\n\nA man, who had been long suffering from a lingering illness, was\nat last lying on his death-bed. His wife was unremitting in her\nattentions, and profuse in her expressions of sorrow at the thoughts\nof losing him. He did not doubt her affection for him, but ventured\nto hint at the probability of her looking out for a second husband\nbefore the first year of her widowhood should be expired. She warmly\nrepudiated the bare possibility of such a thought entering her mind,\nand was ready to make a vow that she would never again enter into the\nmarried state.\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said the man mildly, \u201cI ask no more than that you should\npromise me not to wed again while any blossom can be found on the\nfurze.\u201d\n\n[Illustration: \u201cHarbour, showing entrance to Cow Lane.\u201d]\n\nShe gladly made promise. The man died, but it is affirmed that the\ndisconsolate widow, at the end of twelve months, had discovered by\nclose observation, and to her great disappointment, that she had made\na rash promise, and that there was not a day in the whole year when\nflowers might not be found on the prickly gorse.\n\n\nEDITOR\u2019S NOTE.\n\nOther Editor\u2019s notes on this subject will be found in Appendix A.\n\nIn the Castel parish they tell another story based on the same proverb.\nHere is a house called Les Mourains, in that parish, belonging to\nthe Ozannes. In the middle of the last century, a Mr. Ozanne married\na young wife, who died after having given birth to two sons. On her\ndeath-bed she made her husband promise that he would never marry,\n\u201c_lorsqu\u2019il y avait des fllieurs sur l\u2019 jan_.\u201d He promised, but after\nher death he married again.\n\nBut the poor spirit had not found rest. The nurse, while she dressed\nand undressed the children, frequently saw her late mistress watching\nher. The other servants, when in the evenings they stood at the back\ndoor talking to their friends and acquaintances, heard the rustling of\nher silk dress along the passages.\n\nAnd she so habitually haunted the drawing room that for years it had\nto be kept locked up, and finally the Rector of the parish had to be\nsent for, to lay the ghost, which he did, and it was boarded up in a\ncupboard. The place may be conjectured, for in the drawing room there\nis still a part boarded up, and at times strange noises are heard, as\nof a spirit ill at rest.[145]\n\n[145] From Miss E. Le Pelley.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER X.\n\nWitchcraft.\n\n    \u201cHad learned the art that none may name\n    In Padua far beyond the sea.\u201d\n\n                \u201cTam saw an unco sight!\n    Warlocks and witches in a dance;\n    Nae cotillon brent new frae France,\n    But horn pipes, gigs, strathspeys, and reels,\n    Put life and mettle in their heels:\n    \u2026 There sat auld Nick, in shape o\u2019 beast;\n    A towzie tyke, black, grim, and large,\n    To gie them music was his charge.\u201d\n\n                        --_Tam O\u2019Shanter_, Burns.\n\n    \u201cWise judges have prescribed that men may not rashly\n    believe the confessions of witches, nor the evidence\n    against them. For the witches themselves are imaginative,\n    and people are credulous, and ready to impute accidents to\n    witchcraft.\u201d--_Bacon._\n\n\nThe belief in witchcraft dates from so very remote a period, it is so\nuniversally spread throughout all the various races that compose the\nhuman family, that it is not to be wondered at if it still retains its\nhold among the ignorant and semi-educated, especially when we find,\neven in the present day, that persons, who ought by their superior\ninstruction, and by the position they hold in society, to be above\nsuch superstitions, are nevertheless, firm believers in judicial\nastrology, fortune telling, spiritualism, and other similar delusions.\nAlthough it is now but very seldom that public rumour goes so far\nas to point out any particular individual as a proficient in this\nforbidden art, the persuasion that sorcery does still exist, is by no\nmeans extinct. A sudden and unusual malady, either in man or beast, a\nstrange and unlooked-for accident, the failure of crops from blight\nor insects,--all these, and many more evils, are attributed by the\nignorant to supernatural causes; and, it is probable, will continue\nto be so as long as there are those who find it their interest to\nencourage this superstitious belief. For there are individuals,\ncommonly called \u201cd\u00e9sorceleurs\u201d or \u201cwhite-witches,\u201d who pretend to be\nable to declare whether a person is bewitched or not, and to have it\nin their power, by charms and incantations, to counteract the evil\ninfluence. Of course this is not to be done for nothing; and cases of\nthis kind, where large sums of money have been extorted from ignorant\ndupes, have, even of late years, formed the subject of judicial\ninvestigation. It is useless to attempt to reason with the lower orders\non this subject. They have an answer ready which, in their minds at\nleast, is a conclusive reply to all doubts that may be suggested:--\n\n\u201cWitches and witchcraft are frequently spoken of in the Holy\nScriptures; who, then, but an unbeliever, can doubt that such things\nare?\u201d\n\nGuernsey did not escape the epidemic delusion which spread over the\nwhole of Europe in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Here, as\nelsewhere, a terror seized upon the people, and no man thought himself\nsecure from the machinations of the agents of Satan. The records of\nthe Royal Court of the island contain far too many condemnations of\nunfortunate men and women to the stake for sorcery; and the evidence\non which the sentences against them were based, as well as their own\nconfessions, extorted under the infliction of torture, and taken down\nin writing at the time, are still extant. The unhappy individuals were\nof various ages and conditions, but, judging from the statements of\ntheir accusers, and the evidence brought against them, they appear\nto have been in most, if not all cases, persons of irregular life,\nsubsisting by begging and pilfering, vindictive towards those who\noffended them, and clever in taking advantage of, and working on, the\nfears and preconceived notions of their dupes.\n\nThey were accused of causing storms to arise, in which the unfortunate\nfisherman who had refused them a share of his catch, either lost\nhis boat, his gear, or his life; or was so tempest-tossed as to be\nin danger of losing his wits. Women and children were, by their\ninfernal influence, afflicted with sudden and strange maladies. Oxen,\nhorses, calves, sheep, and swine died unexpectedly, the cows calved\nprematurely, and either gave no milk, or else blood in lieu of it.\nButter would not come, or became rancid even while it was being made,\nand curds dissolved and turned to whey.\n\nMaggots of unusual appearance, black at both extremities, appeared in\nprodigious quantities in the beds, and even under the women\u2019s caps, and\nlice were in such numbers that they could be swept away with a broom.\n\nThe water in the fountains--usually so bright and limpid--became turbid\nand unfit for use, and full of tadpoles and disgusting insects. Frogs\nand black beasts (\u201c_des b\u00eates noires_\u201d), whatever they may have been,\nsat by the bedside of those who were under a spell; but all these evils\ndisappear as suddenly as they have come, either on the sufferer weakly\nyielding to the demands of the supposed sorcerer, or having courage\nenough to threaten to denounce him to the judicial authorities.\n\nIt is not to be wondered at that the pretended wizards and witches\nshould have shrunk from a judicial investigation at a time when all\nbelieved firmly in their supernatural powers, and when the examination\ninto the alleged facts was carried on in a manner so different from\nthe procedure of the present day, hearsay evidence of the vaguest\ndescription being admitted as proof, and when that failed, torture\nbeing resorted to in order to extort a confession.\n\nFrom the evidence given, and the confessions of the sorcerers\nthemselves, it appears that the means employed by them to effect their\nnefarious designs were various; but two in particular are mentioned.\n\nA peculiar black powder, furnished them by their master, the Devil,\nwhich, being cast on man or beast, was the cause of serious and unusual\nmaladies; and certain enchanted articles, introduced furtively into the\nbeds or pillows of those on whom they wished to practise their evil\narts.\n\nThese charms are variously described by the witnesses as consisting of\nseeds of different kinds, of which mildewed or blighted beans seem to\nhave been the most common, and of feathers, knotted together with ends\nof thread or silk twist, and sometimes made into the shape of a small\nimage.\n\nWhen the beds or pillows were opened to search for these articles, it\nsometimes happened that an animal was seen to leave the bed, which,\nafter taking various forms, as that of a black cat, a cock, a rat, a\nmouse, or a stoat, succeeded in evading all attempts to catch it, and\nescaped in a mysterious manner.\n\nIsabell Le Moigne, one of the witches, declared in her confession\nthat this was none other than Satan himself. If these charms were\nthrown into the fire, they produced a most noisome smell, but, in some\ninstances, the immediate cure of the sufferer was the result. If the\nperson under the influence of witchcraft was uncertain on whom he ought\nto fix the guilt of bewitching him, there was an infallible method for\ndiscovering the culprit.\n\nThe house-key was to be placed on the hearth-stone, and the fire heaped\naround it. As it became hot, the wizard or witch, apparently suffering\ngreat agony, would come to the door, and endeavour to force an entrance\ninto the house, offering at the same time to put an end to the spell\nunder which the inmates were bound.\n\nAnother means of finding out the guilty party was to roast the\nheart of some animal--some said that of a black sheep was the most\nefficacious--with certain prescribed rites and incantations, or to\nboil it with certain herbs known to the white witch or \u201cd\u00e9sorceleur,\u201d\nwho, of course, could not be expected to give his valuable advice and\nservices for nothing.\n\nAccording to the confessions of the unfortunate victims of the\nsuperstition and credulity of their times, to which allusion has been\nmade above, the doings of Satan with them were just such as we read of\nin the accounts of prosecutions for witchcraft in other countries. A\ndesire to be revenged on some persons who had given them offence seems\nto have been the first motive.\n\n[Illustration: \u201cNorth Arm, Old Harbour, showing back of Pollet.\u201d]\n\nThe Devil then appeared to them in the shape of a black dog, cat, or\nother animal, sometimes under one likeness, sometimes under another;\noffered his services, invited them to attend the \u201cSabbath,\u201d which\nwas generally held in some weird, out-of-the-way locality; furnished\nthem with a certain ointment, which was to be rubbed on the back and\nstomach; after doing which, they found themselves carried through the\nair, with extraordinary velocity, to the appointed place of meeting,\nwhere they found other wizards and witches, and a number of imps in the\nshape of dogs, cats, and hares. They were unable to recognise the other\nsorcerers on account of their all appearing blackened and disfigured,\nbut they knew who they were by their answering to their names when the\nroll was called over by Satan before entering on the business of the\nnight.\n\nThey commenced by adoring their infernal master in a manner which it\nis not necessary to describe minutely. They then danced back to back,\nafter which they were regaled with bread and wine, which Satan poured\nout of silver or pewter flagons into goblets of the same metals. They\nall agreed in describing the wine as being inferior to that usually\ndrunk; and they asserted that salt was never seen at these feasts.\nThe Devil, before dismissing the assembly, gave them a certain black\npowder, of which we have spoken before.\n\nThe favourite form assumed by Satan on these occasions seems to have\nbeen that of a large black dog, standing upright on his hind legs, but\nhe sometimes appeared in the shape of a he-goat.\n\nIsabell Le Moigne described him as a black dog of large size, with\nlong erect horns, and hands like those of a man. Deeds were done\nat the Sabbath which will not bear being spoken of; but there are\ncircumstances which lead one to suppose that the poor deluded wretches\nof women may, in some cases, have been deceived by designing men, who\nenticed them from their houses at night, and, under assumed disguises,\nabused their credulity.\n\nAll sorcerers were marked by Satan in some part or other of the body,\nand the mark thus made was insensible to pain, and bloodless.\n\nOne of the witches asserted that the Devil, before her enlistment into\nhis service, required of her the gift of some living animal, and that\nshe presented him with a young fowl. The next night at the Sabbath,\nwhither she was conveyed through the air after having duly anointed her\nbody with the ointment given her by the Devil, she was made to renounce\nthe Holy Trinity, and to promise obedience to her infernal master.\nIt appeared also from the confessions that if the servants of Satan\nrefused to do his behests, they are beaten and otherwise maltreated by\nhim.\n\nIt is clear from the evidence given in many of the trials for\nwitchcraft that the accused, in a majority of cases, were persons\nwho trafficked on the ignorance and credulity of the people, and who\nencouraged the idea of their being possessed of supernatural powers so\nlong as they found it profitable to do so.\n\nEven in the present day there are people who are afraid to refuse to\ngive alms to a beggar, lest an evil eye should be cast upon them;\nand who can say how many deaths of cattle and pigs, attributed to\nwitchcraft, may not have been caused by poison adroitly administered\nout of revenge for a supposed injury?\n\nIn their nocturnal flights through the air to their appointed place\nof meeting with the Demon, witches were said to utter loud cries;\nand persons may, perhaps, still be found ready to affirm that in\ntempestuous nights, when the wind was howling round their dwellings,\nthey have been able to distinguish above all the tumult of the\nelements, the unearthly cry of \u201c_Har-h\u00e8ri[146]! qu\u00e9-hou-hou! Sabbat!\nSabbat._\u201d This cry is attributed to the \u201c_gens du hocq_\u201d or \u201c_gens du\nVendredi_,\u201d as they are called by those whose prudence deters them\nfrom speaking of \u201csorciers\u201d and \u201csorci\u00e8res,\u201d lest the use of such\noffensive epithets should give umbrage. It is believed, too, that in\ntheir assemblies on Friday nights on the hill of Cati\u00f4roc, around the\ncromlech called \u201cLe Trepied,\u201d or on the sands of Rocquaine Bay, they\ndance to a roundelay, the burden of which is \u201c_Qu\u00e9-hou-hou! Marie\nLihou!_\u201d Some suppose that these words are uttered in defiance of the\nBlessed Virgin Mary, in whose honour the church and priory were erected\nand dedicated by the name of Notre Dame, Ste. Marie de Lihou. They are\nnow a heap of shapeless ruins, but the place must have been looked upon\nas one of peculiar sanctity, for even down to the present day French\ncoasting vessels passing by salute it by lowering their topmast. It is\nnot then to be wondered at if the infernal sisterhood--one of whose\nchief amusements, as is well known, is the raising of storms in which\nmany a proud vessel goes down--should take a particular delight in\ninsulting the \u201cStar of the Sea,\u201d the kind and ever-watchful guardian\nof the poor mariner.\n\nWizards and witches are supposed to have the power of navigating on the\nsea in egg-shells, and on the blade-bones of animals. It is to prevent\nthis improper use of them that the spoon is always thrust through the\negg-shell after eating its contents, and that a hole is made through\nthe blade-bone before throwing it away.\n\nIt is believed that witches have the power of assuming the shape of\nvarious animals, and many stories turn on the exercise of this supposed\nfaculty. The favourite forms with them appear to be those of cats,\nhares, and \u201ccahouettes\u201d[147] or red-legged choughs. It is not easy\nto conjecture how this beautiful and harmless bird got into such bad\ncompany; perhaps its predilection for the wild and unfrequented cliffs\nand headlands, where the witches are supposed to hold their unholy\nmeetings, may have gained it the reputation of being in alliance with\nthem.\n\nIn Guernsey, as elsewhere, a horseshoe, nailed on the lintel, door,\nor threshold, or on the mast or any other part of a ship or boat, is\nsupposed to be a sure preservative against witchcraft, and, although\na black cat is one of the most frequent disguises assumed by Satan\u2019s\nimps and servants, the household in which a cat without a single white\nhair is domesticated, is thought to be highly favoured, as none of the\ninfernal gang will venture to molest it. As some persons are fully\npersuaded that every black cat, however tame and well-behaved it may\nappear to be, is in reality in league with the Prince of Darkness, it\nmay be that any interference on the part of others of the fraternity is\ncontrary to the rules established among them, and resented accordingly,\nthe old saying that \u201ctwo of a trade cannot agree,\u201d holding good in this\ncase.\n\nAllusion has been made to those who have an interest in encouraging\na belief in witchcraft, and there is no doubt that persons who, for\nsome reason or other, enjoy the unenviable reputation of dabbling\nin this forbidden art, now that they have no longer the fear of the\nstake and faggot before their eyes, and have only the minor terrors\nof a Police Court to dread, are not altogether unwilling to brave the\nlatter danger if, by working on the credulity of the ignorant and\nsuperstitious, they can extort money, or even command a certain amount\nof consideration as the possessors of supernatural powers.\n\nFew would venture in the present day to acknowledge openly that they\ncould injure their neighbours by the exercise of unholy arts; but many\nmay be found who pretend to a secret knowledge which may be used for\nbeneficent purposes.\n\nThe difference, however, between a true witch--the servant of\nSatan--and what is commonly called \u201ca white witch,\u201d has never been\nclearly defined. The latter is known in Guernsey by the name of\n\u201cd\u00e9sorceleresse\u201d or \u201cd\u00e9sorceleur,\u201d for the art is quite as frequently,\nif not more frequently, exercised by men than by women. The persons\nwho practise it pretend to be able to declare whether man or beast\nis suffering from the effects of witchcraft, to discover who it is\nthat has cast the spell, and, by means of spells and incantations, to\ncounteract the evil influence. It is clear, however, that one who is\nin possession of such powers must himself have a very intimate and\nprofound knowledge of the arts he is fighting against, and that, if\noffended, he may perhaps be tempted to practise them. The \u201cd\u00e9sorceleur\u201d\nthus is as much feared as trusted, and as, of course, he cannot be\nexpected to give his valuable services for nothing, the profession\nis often found to be very remunerative, large sums of money, besides\npresents in kind, being sometimes extorted from the superstition and\nfears of the credulous dupes.\n\nThere is no doubt, however, that some of these pretenders have some\nskill in the cure of the diseases to which cattle are liable, and\neven that some of the minor ailments to which the human race are\nsubject, are occasionally relieved by them, especially those--and among\nignorant, uneducated people they are not few--which arise out of a\ndisordered imagination. The habits of close observation which those\nof his profession acquire must needs give the \u201cd\u00e9sorceleur\u201d a great\ninsight into character; his cunning will soon teach him how to work\non the fears and credulity of those who come to consult him, and his\nexperience will guide him into the best way of exercising his knowledge.\n\nHow far the so-called white-witches are believers in their own\nsupernatural powers is an open question. It may be that, in making use\nof certain forms or practices which they have learned from others, they\nmay be fully persuaded in their own minds of their efficacy, it may be\nthat in some cases they are labouring under a sort of hallucination.\n\nA noted bone-setter, who, it is said, was occasionally resorted to when\nman or beast was supposed to be under evil influence, or when it was\nsought to discover the perpetration of a theft, used to account for\nhis pretended knowledge of the anatomy of the human body by asserting\nsolemnly that this knowledge had been revealed to him in a vision from\nHeaven, and he had repeated this story so often that it was evident to\nhis hearers that he had come at last to believe fully in the truth of\nwhat he said.\n\nThe rustic bone-setter is not necessarily a \u201cd\u00e9sorceleur,\u201d although,\nas in the instance just noticed, the two professions may be combined;\nbut he is skilled in the cure of those somewhat mysterious ailments\nknown as \u201cune veine tr\u00e9saillie,\u201d which seems to be a sprain or strain,\nand \u201cles c\u00f4ta\u00efs bas,\u201d which may be defined as that sort of dyspeptic\naffection which the lower orders call a \u201csinking of the stomach\u201d or\n\u201call-overness.\u201d This ailment is supposed popularly to be caused by the\nribs slipping out of their place, and is cured by manipulation and\npushing them gradually back into their proper position. The efficacy\nof friction properly applied in reducing a sprain is well known, and\naccounts for the frequent success of the bone-setter in the treatment\nof \u201cveines tr\u00e9saillies.\u201d\n\nSome of these practitioners--old women as well as men--pretend to\nhave the gift of causing warts to disappear by counting them, and\nasking certain questions of the persons applying to them for relief.\nThe principal information they seem to wish to arrive at is the age\nof the person; and this known, they predict that the warts are likely\nto disappear within a certain time. As these unsightly excrescences\naffect more particularly young persons, and as it is known that they\nfrequently disappear naturally at that age when youth is passing into\nmanhood, it is not unlikely that this fact may have been observed, and\nthe knowledge of it turned to account. It is believed that those who\npossess the secret may impart it to one, and to one only; but they must\nreceive neither fee nor reward for so doing; for if they do, or if they\ntell it to more than one, they lose their power of curing. They must\nnot receive money for their services, but if a cure is effected they\nare at liberty to take a present.\n\n[Illustration: \u201cTown Harbour, from an old picture.\u201d]\n\nAs might be expected, fortune-telling forms no small part of the\nwhite-witch\u2019s profession, although all do not practise it, and some\nconfine themselves to this particular branch alone. Cards seem to be\nnow the principal means used for prying into the secrets of futurity,\nbut other appliances have been used, and may, perhaps, still be used by\nsome, such as the detection of a thief by means of a Bible and key.\n\nA sort of rhabdomancy, or divination by small rods, shuffled together\nwith certain ceremonies and charms, and then thrown on the ground, was\nused by a sort of half-demented creature called Collas Rouss\u00e9, about\nthe end of the last century.\n\nHe is said to have had a good deal of shrewdness, to have been very\nquick at repartee, and to have had great facility in expressing himself\nin rhymed sentences. He appears to have believed that he was really\nin possession of supernatural knowledge, and as his assumption of\nextraordinary powers gained credence with the vulgar, he found it an\neasy task to make a profit of their credulity. It is reported of him\nthat when brought to justice for some gross act of imposition, he had\nthe audacity to threaten his judges with the effects of his vengeance.\nHis threats, however, did not deter the magistrates from sentencing him\nto exposure in the cage on a market day, with his divining apparatus\nby his side. He bore his punishment bravely, and entertained the\nmultitude who crowded to see him with rhyming remarks. Another species\nof rhabdomancy is the use of the divining rod, the efficacy of which is\nfully believed in, not only for the discovery of springs of water, but\nalso for the revealing of the spot where treasure has been concealed;\nand, if the stories that are told are all to be depended upon, there is\nevidence sufficient to stagger the sturdiest unbeliever.\n\nA country gentleman, now dead, whom nobody who knew him took for a\nconjurer, was particularly renowned for his skill in this art. Not only\ncould he tell by means of the rod where a spring of water was to be\nfound, and to what depth it would be necessary to dig before coming to\nit, but he could also discover in what part of a field or house money\nor plate had been hidden. In order, however, to perform this last feat,\nit is necessary that the rod should be previously touched with metal\nof the same kind as that to be sought for. It is only in the hands of\nsome few favoured individuals that the rod works, and even then it\ndoes so in various degrees; with some, being violently agitated, with\nothers, moving slowly, and sometimes imperceptibly. The art of holding\nthe forked stick may be taught to anyone, but unless a natural aptitude\nexists, the rod remains inert in the grasp of the holder.\n\nA portion of the confessions of some of the unfortunate victims who\nsuffered at the stake in 1617, translated from the records preserved\nin the Register Office of the Royal Court of Guernsey, will be given\nas a specimen of the absurdities to which credence could be given in a\nsuperstitious age.[148]\n\nIt must not, however, be forgotten that the island did not stand alone\nin this belief. No part of Europe seems to have escaped the absurd\ndread of witchcraft, which, like a pestilence, spread from one nation\nto another, and from which even the most learned of the age, men of\nprofound thought, did not escape. One curious fact may be noticed; the\npractices imputed to the accused, who were for the most part of the\nlowest and most ignorant classes of society, and to which in numberless\ninstances they confessed, appear to have been nearly identical in all\ncountries. The inference is that they must have been handed down from a\nvery remote period, and that they were in use among the pretenders to\nmagical arts and supernatural powers among our pagan ancestors; just\nas in the present day we find similar ideas and practices existing\namong savage tribes, and in semi-civilised countries where the light of\nChristianity has not yet penetrated. It is well known how difficult it\nis to wean a people from their primitive belief, and how prone they are\nto cling to it in secret. Is it not possible that some secret society\nmay have existed for ages after the spread of the Gospel in which\nheathen practices may have been perpetuated?\n\n[146] _K\u00e9_, _Gu\u00e9_ or _Ti\u00e9_ and _Hou_ are epithets applied to the Deity\nin the Bas Breton. MS. Note by Mr. George M\u00e9tivier.\n\n\u201c_Sabot-Daim_--a witch hornpipe.\u201d (Idem.)\n\n[147] Mr. M\u00e9tivier, in his _Dictionnaire Franco-Normand_, has a long\narticle on \u201ccahouettes.\u201d He says:--\n\n\u201cThey play, in neo-latin mythology, a very interesting part, even\nto-day some traces of which are to be found. Wizards and witches,\naccording to the councils, disguised themselves formerly as \u2018cahouets\u2019\nand \u2018cahouettes.\u2019 Rapha\u00ebl, Archbishop of Nicosie, capital of the island\nof Cyprus, in the year 1251, excommunicated all the \u2018cahouets\u2019 and\nthe \u2018cahouettes\u2019 as well as those who supported and encouraged games\nof chance.--(_Constitutions_, _ch._ 15). And the Council of N\u00eemes,\nthirty years after, treats in the same manner witches and sooth sayers,\n\u2018coavets\u2019 and \u2018coavettes.\u2019\n\n\u201cIn the hierarchy of Mithras, that type of the rising sun which\nbewitched the Gauls, the deacon, or minister was entitled \u2018corneille\u2019\nor _rook_; and on the first day of the year, according to Porphyry, the\ninitiates disguised themselves severally as beasts and birds.\u201d\n\nMr. M\u00e9tivier ends by citing two authorities on ancient traditions\nconcerning these birds.\n\n\u201cLe corbeau est consacr\u00e9 \u00e0 Apollon, et il est son ministre (_famulus_),\nvoil\u00e0 pourquoi il poss\u00e8de la facult\u00e9 de pr\u00e9dire.\u201d _G\u00e9rard Jean Voss_,\n_liv._ 3, _sur l\u2019Idol\u00e2trie_.\n\n\u201cJe crois que ces c\u00e9r\u00e9monies se c\u00e9l\u00e9braient pr\u00e8s de Coptos, ville dont\nle nom \u00e9tait si fameux, et d\u2019o\u00f9 vient l\u2019Egypte. Dans les environs de\ncette cit\u00e9, on voyait deux corbeaux, c\u2019\u00e9taient les seuls.\u2026 Et il y\navait l\u00e0 l\u2019image d\u2019Apollon, auquel les corbeaux \u00e9taient consacr\u00e9s.\u201d\n\n\u201cLa corneille est le symbole de l\u2019amour conjugal.\u201d _Nicolas Caussin,\nJ\u00e9suite, natif de Troyes_, _Notes sur Horapollo_. _Paris_, 1618, p. 165.\n\n[148] EDITOR\u2019S NOTE.--These are also given in full, in French, with an\nEnglish translation, by Mr. J. Linwood Pitts, F.S.A., (Normandy), in\nhis _Witchcraft and Devil-Lore in the Channel Islands, etc._, 1886.\n\n\nTrials for Witchcraft, and Confessions of Witches.\n\nEDITOR\u2019S NOTE.--The documents which follow are translated from\nthe Records of the Royal Court preserved at the Greffe. Sir Edgar\nMacCulloch had copied out the depositions of the witnesses on loose\nsheets of paper, evidently meaning to incorporate them into his book.\nThe \u201cConfession of the Witches\u201d in his MS. follows his essay on\nWitchcraft.\n\n\n15TH MAY, 1581.\n\nKatherine Eustace and her daughter were accused by common consent of\npractising the art of witchcraft in the island.\n\nThe wife of Collas Cousin deposed that having refused to give milk to\nthe accused, saying that there were poorer people to whom she would\nrather give, her cow then gave blood instead of milk.\n\nJohan Le Roux deposed that having been seized with great pains in his\nknee, he believed himself to be bewitched by Katherine Eustace, so his\nwife went to the latter and threatened to denounce her to the Royal\nCourt; after that he got better.\n\n\n28TH OCTOBER, 1581.\n\nRobert Asheley, found dead in the garden behind St. Peter Port\nparsonage, suspected of having committed suicide by shooting himself\nwith an arquebus. This having been proved according to the law, the\nCourt, after hearing the speech made by Her Majesty\u2019s Procureur, found\nthat the said Robert Asheley shall be carried to some unfrequented spot\nand there buried, a heap of stones being placed on his body,[149] and\nthus he shall be deprived of burial in the spot where Christian remains\nare placed; and that all his goods shall be confiscate to Her Majesty\nthe Queen.\n\n[149] EDITOR\u2019S NOTE.--See in \u201cHamlet,\u201d where the priest refuses\nChristian burial to Ophelia as a suicide, and commands:--\u201cShards,\nflints, and pebbles should be thrown upon her.\u201d\n\nIt has been conjectured that these heaps of stones were placed upon\ngraves, more especially of criminals and suicides, to keep the spirit\nin the earth, and prevent the ghost from walking. Hence the modern\ngravestone.\n\n\n25TH FEBRUARY, 1583.\n\nCollas de la Rue is accused of using the arts of witchcraft, and of\ngrievously vexing and tormenting divers subjects of Her Majesty.\n\nMatthieu Cauchez deposed that his wife being in a pining languorous\ncondition, having heard that Collas de la Rue was a wizard, and knowing\nthat he frequently visited his house, he asked him if he could help\nhis wife. Collas replied:--\n\n\u201cAs to her she is an \u2018in pace\u2019 (sic), she will not live much longer.\u201d\n\nDe la Rue came to the place where his wife lay ill, and caused the bed\nto be reversed, putting the bolster at the foot; she died three hours\nafterwards.\n\nJames Blanche affirmed that having failed in a promise he had made\nto De la Rue, the latter swore he should repent. His wife soon\nafterwards became swollen all over, in which state she remained for\nsome considerable time. He finally went to De la Rue, and consulted him\nas to how to cure his wife, and he gave him a decoction of herbs to be\nused as a drink, by which his wife was cured.\n\nThomas Behot deposed that on returning from fishing, he refused to give\nsome fish to the son of Collas De la Rue. The son said he was a \u201cfalse\nvillain,\u201d and complained to his father, who on that said, \u201c_Tais-toy,\nil n\u2019en peschera plus gu\u00e8res_.\u201d (\u201cBe quiet, he will not catch many\nmore.\u201d) That same day he was taken ill, and became so swollen that he\ncould not rest between his sheets--(en ses draps). After having been\nill for a long time, his wife unsewed his mattress and found therein\nseveral sorts of grains, such as broom, \u201calisandre\u201d \u201cnocillons\u201d or\n\u201cnerillons de f\u00e8ves,\u201d (black beans?), the treadles of sheep, pieces\nof laurel, rags with feathers stuck into them,[150] and several other\nthings. His wife threw it all into the fire, and such an awful smell\narose from the flames that they were obliged to leave the room, and\nimmediately his swelling disappeared. The same day he was taken with\nsuch violent pains that he thought his last hour was come. Whereupon\nhis wife put the key of their front door in the fire, and, as soon as\nit began to get red hot, Collas de la Rue, who had not been invited,\nand who had not put foot inside their house for six years, arrived\nthere before sunrise, and said that he would undertake to cure him,\nbut that it would be a lengthy operation, that he would have to refer\nto a book that he had at home, by which he had cured several people,\nMatthieu Cauchez among others, and that also he (the witness) would be\ncured. So Collas made him some poultices of herbs, but they did not\ncure him. With great difficulty he dragged himself to St. Martin\u2019s\nChurch (au temple de St. Martin), where De la Rue said to him:--\n\n\u201cI am glad to see you here, and yet not entirely glad, for you are not\nyet cured.\u201d\n\nWhen the deponent replied that he soon hoped to be on the sea again, De\nla Rue replied:\n\n\u201cDo not go, for you will not return without great danger.\u201d (\u201cN\u2019y vas\npas, car \u00e0 grand\u2019 peine en reviendras tu.\u201d)\n\nHowever, he persisted in going, and encountered such bad weather that\nhe and all the crew were nearly drowned. And returning very ill, and\nhis malady continuing, his wife again unsewed his mattress and there\nfound an image made of a bone-like substance and apparently all gnawed,\n(d\u2019une mani\u00e8re d\u2019os tout rong\u00e9) which he took to the magistrates, and\nafterwards got better.\n\nCollas De la Rue also told him that Collas Rouget had gone to Normandy\nto seek a cure. Had he only consulted him first, he need not have gone\nso far to be cured. In conclusion he said that on his conscience he\nbelieved and affirmed the said De la Rue to be a wizard.\n\nRichard de Vauriouf deposed that having had several differences with\nCollas De la Rue on the subject of his cattle, which had caused him\nannoyance, De la Rue said to him:\n\n\u201cYou are very strong and active, but before long you will not be thus,\nand you will be humbled after another manner.\u201d (\u201cTu es bien robuste et\nfort, mais avant qu\u2019il soit gu\u00e8res ce ne sera pas ainsy, et tu seras\nautrement abaiss\u00e9.\u201d)\n\nVery soon afterwards the said Vauriouf was taken ill, and so was one of\nhis daughters, and he was weak and languishing for more than a month.\n\nPierre Tardif, who had had some law-suits with Collas De la Rue,\ndeposed that thereupon his daughter was taken ill, and her mattress\nbeing searched they found several \u2026 (here and in various places the\nrecord is torn) \u2026 of several kinds, and being \u2026 made principally of a\ncoloured silken thread and of \u2026 of broom, of beans cut up, two of them\nbeing black \u2026 a pin stuck in a piece of rag and \u2026 After having taken\nadvice he (Tardif) had thrashed De la Rue \u2026 after having given him two\nknock-down blows, his daughter was all right again. After which she was\nagain taken ill, so he searched for De la Rue, and, having found him,\nhe again thrashed him, this time drawing blood, and shortly after that\nhis daughter was cured. In conclusion he also deposed upon oath his\nbelief that De la Rue was a wizard.\n\n[Illustration: \u201cRoyal Court House in 1880.\u201d]\n\n\u2026 deposed as to having heard Collas De la Rue say that he had means to\nsilence those who spoke ill of him (\u201cqu\u2019il avait des moyens de faire\ntaire ceux qui parloient mal de luy.\u201d)\n\n(The record is here again torn, and the trial apparently did not\nconclude, but in 1585 the proceedings against Collas De la Rue were\nrecommenced and many of the same witnesses appeared).\n\n[150] EDITOR\u2019S NOTE.--In a letter called \u201cVoudouism in Virginia,\u201d\nquoted by Mr. Moncure D. Conway in his book on _Demonology and\nDevil-Lore_, Vol. I., p. 69., the following similar superstition is\nnoticed. \u201cIf an ignorant negro is smitten with a disease which he\ncannot comprehend, he often imagines himself the victim of witchcraft,\nand, having no faith in \u2018white folks\u2019 physic\u2019 for such ailments,\nmust apply to one of these quacks. A physician residing near this\ncity (Richmond), was invited by such a one to witness his mode of\nprocedure with a dropsical patient for whom the physician in question\nhad occasionally charitably prescribed. On the coverlet of the bed on\nwhich the sick man lay, was spread a quantity of bones, feathers and\nother trash. The charlatan went through with a series of so-called\nconjurations, burned feathers, hair, and tiny fragments of wood\nin a charcoal furnace, and mumbled gibberish past the physician\u2019s\ncomprehension. He then proceeded to rip open the pillows and bolsters,\nand took from them some queer conglomerations of feathers. These he\nsaid had caused all the trouble. Sprinkling a whitish powder over them\nhe burnt them in his furnace. A black offensive smoke was produced, and\nhe announced triumphantly that the evil influence was destroyed and\nthat the patient would surely get well. He died not many days later,\nbelieving, in common with all his friends and relatives, that the\nconjurations of the \u2018trick doctor\u2019 had failed to save him only because\nresorted to too late.\u201d\n\n\nTHE TRIAL OF COLLAS DE LA RUE RESUMED.\n\n17TH DECEMBER, 1585.\n\nCollas Hugues appeared in person and showed his child to us in the\nCourt. This said child cannot talk except at random and with an\nimpediment in its speech that none can cure; and he declares his\nconviction that his said child is \u201cdetained\u201d (detenu) by some wizard,\nand he will take his oath that it is Collas De la Rue who \u201cdetains\u201d\nhim, inasmuch that the latter threatened him that he would afflict\nhim through his most precious treasure (du plus cher joyau qu\u2019il peut\navoir). On this declaration, Her Majesty\u2019s Procureur testified to us\nthat the said De la Rue had formerly been imprisoned for sorcery, and\nnow, that though he had not always been proved guilty, yet that to all\noutward appearance he had practised the art of witchcraft, and so much\nso, that new complaints being made against him, he had demanded the\narrest and the confiscation of the goods of the said De la Rue, which\nwas granted.\n\nOn the 25th of December an investigation was ordered.\n\n\nDECEMBER, 1585.\n\nJames Blanche affirms that on a certain day, having promised to go\nfor a day\u2019s work to the aforesaid De la Rue, and not having done so,\nthat he was heard to say to one of his people, that he, Blanche,\nshould repent, and that soon afterwards his wife was seized with an\nillness which lasted for nearly a year. So that, finding the said De\nla Rue near \u201cLa Croix Guerin,\u201d[151] he asked him if he could give him\nsomething to cure his wife. Then the said De la Rue took an apple,\nwhich he broke into six parts, of which he retained one, and gave the\nremaining five pieces to the said Blanche to carry back to his wife,\nforbidding him at the same time to eat a mouthful. Notwithstanding,\nwhen he quitted De la Rue, he ate the said apple, and at that moment\nthe said De la Rue appeared before him, he having not yet reached his\nown house, and taxed him with having eaten the forbidden apple, and the\nsame day his wife was cured. He, Blanche, says that this is a man given\nto threats, and is much suspected and generally denounced as being a\nwizard, and he has even heard that people have called him \u201csorcier\u201d to\nhis face and he has not resented it.\n\n[151] EDITOR\u2019S NOTE.--The old name for the cross roads at St. Martin\u2019s,\nnear where the village Post Office now stands.\n\n\nDECEMBER, 1585.\n\nJehennet des Perques deposed that at divers times the said Collas De\nla Rue went to the fishermen and foretold to them when they should\nhave fine weather and when they should have storms.\u2026 He was commonly\nreported to be a wizard. He also deposed that on a certain day, he\nbeing at the house of Collas Henry, where the said De la Rue had\nquarrelled with the wife of Collas de Bertran, who had called him\n\u201csorcier\u201d (wizard), he threatened her that she should repent, and that\nthe said Mrs. de Bertran fell in descending the stairs (cheut aval les\ndegrez) and bruised herself from head to foot.\n\nSeveral witnesses depose that Collas De la Rue is a man much given\nto threats, that various persons have fallen ill after having been\nthreatened by him, and that he cured them at his will.\n\nHe was sent back to prison.\n\nIt appears that Collas De la Rue was executed, for, in a lawsuit\nagainst Denis de Garis for concealing a treasure that he had found in\nhis house, it is said that the aforesaid treasure was found on the day\nof Collas De la Rue\u2019s execution, that is to say the 25th of March,\n1585-6.\n\n\n24TH NOVEMBER, 1602.\n\nMarie Roland is accused of sorcery.\n\nJohn Sohier witnesses that the aforesaid Marie, having been with him\none day at the house of the Henry\u2019s, together with Joan Henry, whose\nchild lay ill, she confessed to having bewitched the child, and on\nbeing asked in what manner, said that she had put its clothes one night\nby the stream (aupr\u00e8s du douit) and that she and her master the Devil\nthen entered into the house of the said Henry by the chimney, and found\nthe said child by the hearth, and with a splinter she pricked the\nchild, and it was bewitched for three months.\n\n\n10TH APRIL, 1613.\n\nAn inquest on the suspicions of witchcraft against Olivier Omont,\nCecile Vaultier, his wife, and Guillemine Omont, their daughter.\n\nJacques Bailleul deposed that having refused alms to Olivier Omont\nhis son was taken with a pain in his ear which lasted twenty-four\nhours, that the doctor said that he could not understand it (qu\u2019il n\u2019y\nconnaissait rien), that he believes that Olivier is a wizard.\n\nGuillemine Le Pastourell affirms that Omont came begging from her, and\nshe said that he was stronger than her and that he could gain his bread\nif necessary without begging, that the next day she was taken ill, that\nshe remained ill for three weeks, that Omont, having come again, gave\nher some bread, and after that she recovered. During her illness all\nher cattle died. She believed it was from some spell cast by the said\nOmont.\n\nMarie Sohier witnesses that the day after the death of her husband\nOlivier Omont came to her house demanding bread. She replied that\nhaving numerous children to feed she could not spare him any, that\nhe went away grumbling. At that very moment her daughter Marguerite,\naged six years, was taken ill, and when they gave her some bread she\nthrew it away and ate cinders by the handful. That her daughter Marie,\none year old, was taken ill one hour after the departure of Omont,\nand she had remained ill for two years. That having met Omont at the\nMont Durand she threatened to throw a stone at him, and called him\n\u201csorcier,\u201d that on returning home she gave a lump of white bread to her\nchild, who ate it all, and since then is quite well. She believes that\nthe said Omont was the cause of the sickness of her children.\n\nPhilippin Le Goubey witnesses that Olivier Omont having begged for\ncider from his wife, she refused him, and was instantly afflicted with\ngrievous pains; that he entreated the said Omont several times to come\ninto his house to see his wife, but that he always refused; that one\nday he forced him to enter, and he put one foot in the house and the\nother out, and then he fled; that rushing after him he threatened to\ndenounce him to justice if he would not cure his wife; that then he\nsaid that she would be well again in a fortnight, but that he could not\ncure her at that moment; that he forced him to return to the house,\nand that, when there, he threatened to keep him there until he was\ndelivered up to justice; that at that very moment his wife was cured of\nthe worst of her pains; that having shortly afterwards come into the\ntown to make a notification of these things, he found that the said\nOmont had already taken a boat and fled from the country.\n\nPierre Simon, of Torteval, being at the Hougue Antan,[152] met\nOlivier Omont lying with his face against the ground. He tried to\nawake him, shook him, and heard a buzzing (un bourdonnement) but saw\nnothing. Feeling rather frightened he left him and went on towards the\nButtes[153] of Torteval, and then came back to the place where he had\nleft him. Omont suddenly awoke, having his mouth full of mud, and his\nface all disfigured (d\u00e9figur\u00e9). Omont having been questioned replied\nthat he had fallen from the cliff, and that Pierre Nant had seen him\nfall.\n\nSeveral people witnessed that having refused alms to Omont and to his\nwife, their cattle fell ill and died, their cows gave blood instead of\nmilk, or gave nothing at all, their sows and their cows miscarried, and\nmisfortunes happened to their wives.\n\n[152] This is a hill at Torteval, on which, says Mr. M\u00e9tivier, our\nancestors used to light signal fires near the \u201cHougue H\u00e9rault,\u201d where\nthe northern King _Herolt_ made his signals. He says the name is\nderived from the Breton _An Tat_, \u201cthe old Father,\u201d a name for the God\nof the Gauls; in Swedish it is _Anda_, the spirit, or _Onda_, the evil\none. See Notes in _Rimes Guernesiaises_.\n\n[153] These were the mounds of earth where they practised with the\ncross-bow before the introduction of muskets. The \u201cButtes\u201d still exist\nin some parishes.\n\n\n29TH JUNE, 1613.\n\nThomas Mancell witnessed that his wife having refused alms to Omont,\ntheir cow fell ill, and they were obliged to kill it. Jean Hamon, who\nflayed the cow, cut it at the shoulder, and \u201cthere issued a black beast\nas large as a little \u2018cabot\u2019 (a small fish). Its throat was such that\none could easily insert the tip of one\u2019s little finger, and it had two\nlittle wings\u201d (\u201cen sortit une beste noire, grosse comme un petit cabot,\ndans la gueule duquell on aurait bien mis le bout du petit doigt et\navait deulx petites ailes.\u201d)\n\nJean Le Feyvre, of the Mielles,[154] witnesseth that one morning he\nfound C\u00e9cile, wife of Omont, near the Chapelle de l\u2019Epine, where she\nwas searching, he could not tell for what, and where she remained for a\nlong while without his being able to perceive that she found anything,\nand she did not perceive that he was watching her; and he having asked\nher shortly afterwards whether it was she that he had observed at such\nan hour near the chapel, she denied it, and that afterwards he asked\nher again whether it was she who was in that neighbourhood, and she\nreplied in the affirmative, and then he started fine rumours, (ung beau\nbruit) saying that she was dancing on the thorn which grows in the\naforesaid neighbourhood.\n\n[154] _Mielles_, in Normandy, Brittany, and the Channel Islands, means\nthe \u201cwaste lands on the sea-shore.\u201d In the Vale parish alone there\nwere two estates called \u201cLes Mielles.\u201d See M\u00e9tivier\u2019s _Dictionary_,\n_Mielles_.\n\n\n29TH MAY, 1613.\n\nThomasse, wife of Collas Troussey, deposes that one night, her husband\nbeing on guard at the Castle, she was awakened by a frightful noise,\nlike cats squalling, and she dared not cry out on account of Olivier\nOmont, who was sleeping in the same corridor as herself, though the\nmiauling of the cats still continued. When her husband was returned\nfrom his patrol, she dared ask Omont if he had not heard the cats, to\nwhich he replied Yes, but there was nothing for her to be afraid of,\nthat they would do her no harm. That another night, her husband being\nalso there, she had heard Omont call \u201cCats! cats!\u201d and on asking him if\nhe had cats in his wallet (en son bisac,) he replied \u201cNo,\u201d and that the\nnoise seemed beneath where she lay, but that he was afraid that they\nwould eat the fish that was on the table.\n\nOlivier Omont, his wife and daughter, were all banished from the island.\n\n\n30TH JUNE, 1613.\n\nAn enquiry was held on Laurence L\u2019Eustace, wife of Thomas Le Comte,\nsuspected of being a witch.\n\nJean Hallouvris witnesses that for four years he has driven his cart.\nAs the wheels passed close to Laurence she dropped several strings and\ntwists of rushes (quelques colliers et nattes de pavie)[155] that she\nwas carrying, at which she was very angry. Two days afterwards, one\nof his bullocks set off running as if it were mad, and then fell down\nstone dead, and the other bullock died the next day.\n\n[Illustration: \u201cHigh Street, 1850.\u201d\n\nSketched from an Old Picture by the late Mr. A. C. Andros.]\n\nPierre Machon deposes that he has heard Laurence swear \u201cBy God\u2019s ten\nfingers\u201d (\u201cPar les dix doigts de Dieu\u201d), and with oaths and blasphemies\ncall devils to her assistance.\n\nChristine, wife of Pierre Jehan, says that her first husband, Collas\nHenry, having had a quarrel with Laurence Le Comte, one of their\nchildren, aged two years, was taken with an illness which lasted for\ntwelve months. When the attack first came on, he jumped high into\nthe air, that, before being taken ill he walked very well, but that\nafterwards, all that year he crawled on his hands and knees. That,\nhaving had a quarrel with the said Laurence, and having put some curds\nto cool, (des caillebottes \u00e0 refroidir), she found them the next day\njust like bits of rag (que de la m\u00eaque), and that on the following\nMonday the child was seized with terror, and cried out that someone was\npulling his nose. That, as soon as she went to Laurence\u2019s house, the\nchild got better, but, on her return, fell ill again, and finally died.\n\nLaurence L\u2019Eustache, wife of Thomas Le Comte, was also banished from\nthe island.\n\nOn the 17th of May, 1617, began the trial of Collette du Mont, widow\nof Jean Becquet, Marie, her daughter, wife of Pierre Massy, and Isebel\nBecquet, wife of Jean Le Moygne.\n\nJames Gallienne witnesses that one day, having quarrelled with Jean Le\nMoigne, husband of the aforesaid Isebell, the said Le Moigne said to\nhim:--\n\n\u201cYou are always seeking to pick quarrels with me, and you say that my\nwife is a witch, but before six months are over you will be very glad\nto come and implore me to help you;\u201d that immediately his wife fell\ninto a lingering illness, and, doubting not but that it was the effect\nof a spell, opened all the mattresses and found all kinds of filth and\nbits of feather, which he has showed to several people; and in some\nquite new pillows which he had at home he found a large quantity of\nworms. He says that about six years ago, one of his children being\nill, he was putting a pillow under his head, found it hard, and, on\nunripping it, found it full of dirt. While they unsewed it they heard a\nflapping noise as of the wings of a cock, and the said child declared\nthat he saw this cock; that, having shut all the doors, they tried to\nfind what it really was, and that, having hunted and ransacked the\nhouse, they saw first a rat, then a weasel, which slipped through the\nholes of the pavement (sortit par les pertius de la dalle). And at\nthe end of two or three days he was asked why he had beaten the said\nIsebell Becquet. He replied that he had not touched her, and soon\nafter that he was advised to try whether she was a witch, by putting\nthe key of his front door (de son grand huis) in the fire, which he\ndid. When the said key had been nearly two days in the fire the said\nwoman arrived at his house, without asking whether he were at home, and\nbegged of him seven to nine (sept \u00e0 neuf) things which he refused her,\nshe wishing at all hazards to come in further (entrer plus outre) to\nsee the sick child, which he would not allow.\n\nItem. Deposeth that his wife having rebuked the said Isebell because\nher children annoyed those of the said Gallienne, she went away very\nvexed, and the next day one of his oxen broke its neck, his mare\nmiscarried, and his wife was taken ill.\n\nItem; that the children of the said Isebell said one day to the\nchildren of the said Gallienne, that if their mother was ill it\nwas because she had spoken rudely; that some time afterwards, Mrs.\nGallienne being in bed in her room, the door being shut and simply a\nsky-light (une luquerne _sic_, lucarne) open, she felt something like a\ncat, which, little by little, crept on her chest as she lay on her bed.\nHaving shaken it to the ground, she heard one or two growls, on which,\nastonished, she began to threaten it that if it was a wizard or a witch\nshe would cut it to pieces (que le couperoit en pi\u00e8ces), it returned by\nthe said sky-light.\n\nThomas Sohier said that Jean Jehan having summoned him to come and\nmake his will, he complained that the said Isebell was killing him for\nhaving refused to make a jacket for her son. That some little time\nafterwards James Gallienne, having a sick daughter, caused her bed to\nbe unripped, out of which came a sort of animal like a rat (une mani\u00e8re\nde b\u00eate comme un rat), which hid itself in some wood and was hunted\nfor throughout the house; that on the following day, having met the\nsaid Isebell, he noticed her face all torn (d\u00e9chir\u00e9 _sic_). On asking\nher the cause she said it was from \u201cdu mal d\u2019Espagne,\u201d (cantharides,\nthe Spanish fly used for making blisters); that on that he asked\nJames Gallienne if he had not beaten her, who replied in the negative;\nthat, being the other day at the house of the said Gallienne, giving\nevidence to this, his wife fell down as if dead, and on returning to\nconsciousness, said that she was bewitched.\n\nItem. Testifies that in the bed of the aforesaid daughter (of\nGallienne), were found twenty-one or twenty-two spells (sorcerons).[156]\n\nMany other depositions told the same story. Oxen and calves died, cows\nand mares miscarried, sheep fell dead, children and women were taken\nill, no cream was found on the milk, curds would not \u201cmake,\u201d cows dried\nup, or only gave blood. Worms were bred in the beds, or even under\nthe women\u2019s caps. They were black at both ends, or sometimes had two\nheads. Frogs and black beasts (des b\u00eates noires) haunted the paths of\nthe bewitched persons. Fountains were full of insects, black pimples\nappeared all over the bodies of the afflicted persons, and lice, in\nsuch abundance that they had to use a broom to sweep them away. On the\nwitch being threatened the sick person recovered.\n\nThe trial was resumed on the 6th June, 1617.\n\nMarie, wife of James Gallienne \u2026 deposed \u2026 Item; that for nearly ten\nyears her eldest daughter Rachel had been bewitched; that, having\nunsewed her mattress, by which was some straw,[157] something was seen\nlurking in the said straw, and Jean Le Gallez, being present, said that\nit looked to him like a black cat, and sometimes like a cock, and then\nlike a mouse, and then like a rat, that it--whatever it was--hid in\nsome wood which was in the house, which was immediately rummaged and\nmoved, but no one knew how to capture it (ne s\u00e7urent tant faire que\nde le prendre). That her husband saw it like a cock, and her daughter\nlike a mouse; that on opening the mattress they found within it many\nspells (force sorcerons) and also beans with which were mingled black\ngrains as if mildewed,[158] which beans or grains having been put in\na porringer (une \u00e9cuelle) in the presence of various women who were\nthere, it dissolved in their presence, and they did not know what\nbecame of it (cela fondit en leur presence et ne s\u00e7urent que devint.)\nThat the said Isabell, having come to the house at the end of two or\nthree days, and asking for seven or nine sorts of things, and trying\nto force an entrance into the place where the child was lying ill, all\nwhich things were refused her by her husband, so she then went away,\nand her face was all cut; and went to her husband and said that she\nwould not stay while Isebell Becquet was there, and she believes that\nshe is a witch.\n\nOn the 4th of July, 1617, these three women, Collette Dumont, widow of\nJean Becquet, Marie, her daughter, wife of Pierre Massy, and Isebell\nBecquet, wife of Jean le Moigne, were convicted by the Royal Court\nof Guernsey of having practised the damnable art of sorcery, and of\nhaving thereby caused the death of many persons, destroyed and injured\nmuch cattle, and done many other evil deeds. They were condemned to be\ntied to a stake, strangled, and burnt until their bodies were totally\nconsumed; and their ashes to be scattered abroad. The sentence added\nthat, previous to execution, they were to be put to the torture[159] in\norder to force them to declare the names of their accomplices.\n\nFirst, the said Collette, immediately after the said sentence had\nbeen rendered, and before leaving the Court, freely acknowledged\nthat she was a witch, but would not particularise the crimes which\nshe had committed; whereupon she was conducted with the others to\nthe torture-house, and, being put to the question, confessed that\nthe Devil, when she was still young, appeared to her in the form of\na cat,[160] in the parish of Torteval, it being yet day, as she was\nreturning from tending her cattle; that he prevailed upon her by\ninviting her to revenge herself on one of her neighbours with whom\nshe was on bad terms in consequence of some injury done to her by his\ncattle; that on subsequent occasions, when she had quarrelled with\nanyone, he again appeared to her in the same form, and sometimes in\nthat of a dog, inducing her to revenge herself against those with\nwhom she was displeased, and persuading her to cause the death of men\nand beasts; that the Devil having come to invite her to the Sabbath,\ncalled her, without its being perceived by others, and gave her a\ncertain black ointment,[161] with which, having stripped, she rubbed\nher body nearly all over, and, having dressed herself again and gone\nout of doors, she was immediately carried through the air with great\nvelocity to the place where the Sabbath was held, which was sometimes\nnear the Torteval parish churchyard, and sometimes on the sea-shore\nnear Rocquaine Castle; that, being arrived there, she met frequently\nas many as fifteen or sixteen wizards and witches, with devils, who\nwere there in the form of dogs, cats, and hares; that she could not\nrecognise the wizards and witches, because they were all blackened\nand disfigured, although she heard the Devil evoke them by name, and\nremembers among others, the wives Calais and Hardy. She confesses also\nthat at the opening of the Sabbath, the Devil, in making the evocation,\nbegan sometimes by her name; that her daughter Marie, wife of Massy, at\npresent under condemnation for the same crime, is a witch, and that she\nhas taken her twice to the Sabbath with her. She does not know where\nthe Devil has marked her. She says that at the Sabbath they adored\nthe Devil, who stood upon his hind legs \u2026 in the form of a dog, that\nafterwards they danced back to back, and after having danced they drank\nwine, but of what colour she does not know, which the Devil poured out\nof a flagon into a silver or pewter goblet; but that the wine did not\nseem so good as that which is usually drunk, that they also ate white\nbread, which the Devil presented to them, but that she has never seen\nany salt[162] at the Sabbath.\n\n[Illustration: \u201cCastle Cornet, 1660.\u201d]\n\nShe confesses that the Devil had charged her to call in on her way for\nIsebell Le Moigne, when she went to the Sabbath, and that she has done\nso several times; that on leaving the Sabbath the Devil invited her to\nperpetrate many evils, and that, for this purpose he gave her certain\nblack powders, which he ordered her to throw on such persons and beasts\nas she pleased; and that with this powder she did much evil, which\nshe cannot now call to mind, but she remembers that she threw some\nover Mr. Dolbel, the minister of the parish, and by this means was the\ncause of his death. With the same powder she bewitched the wife of Jean\nMangu\u00e8s, but denies that her death was caused by it. She says that she\ntouched the side, and threw some of this powder on the wife,[163] since\ndeceased, of Mr. Perchard, who succeeded Mr. Dolbel as minister of the\nparish, thereby causing her death and that of her unborn babe. She\ncannot say what offence the deceased had given her. She says that on\nthe refusal of Collas Tostevin\u2019s wife to give her some milk, she caused\nher cow to run dry by throwing some of the powder over it, but that\nshe cured the cow afterwards by giving it bran mixed with grass, which\nthe Devil had given her, to eat.\n\nThe confession of her daughter Marie, wife of Pierre Massy, is much\nto the same effect, with this exception, that she seems to have been\nin the habit of meeting the Devil in the form of a dog, and that he\nchanged her into an animal of the same species at the time of their\ninterviews.\n\nThe third of these unfortunate wretches, Isebell, wife of Jean Le\nMoigne, enters, in her confession, into some additional details.\n\nIt was in the semblance of a hare, and in broad daylight, that the\nDevil appeared to her for the first time, and incited her to avenge\nherself on her sister-in-law, La Girarde, with whom she had quarrelled.\nAt first she resisted the tempter, but he appeared to her a second\ntime, again in the road next her house, and on this occasion left with\nher a packet of black powder, which she kept. A third time the demon\nappeared, in the same form, urging her, if she would not give herself\nto him, to make him a present of some living animal, whereupon she gave\nhim a chicken, and he appointed her to meet him the next day before\nsunrise at the Sabbath, promising to send someone to guide her there.\nAccordingly old Collette Dumont came that night to her house, and gave\nher some black ointment, with which she rubbed herself. She was then\ncarried over hedges and ditches to the place of meeting near Rocquaine\nCastle. She was received and welcomed by the Devil in the form of a\ndog, with long erect horns (avec de grandes cornes dress\u00e9es en hautt),\nand hands like those of a man. He caused her to go down on her knees\nand renounce the Almighty in these words: \u201cI deny God the Father,\nGod the Son, and God the Holy Ghost.\u201d (\u201cJe renie Dieu le P\u00e8re, Dieu\nle Fils, et Dieu le Saint Esprit\u201d). After this, she was made to adore\nthe Devil and invoke him in these terms: \u201cOur great Master, help us!\u201d\n(\u201cNostre grand Maistre, aide nous!\u201d) and also to enter into an express\ncovenant to adhere to his service. At the conclusion of this ceremony,\nthe same acts of license, dancing and drinking (again bread and wine in\nmockery of the Holy Sacrament), took place as are described by Collette\nDumont, widow Becquet, in her confession. On this occasion Isebell\nLe Moigne entered into a pact with Satan for one month only; but\nsubsequently the agreement was extended to three years. She stated that\nSatan treated Collette Dumont with marked respect, always evoking her\nname first, styling her \u201cMadame, la vieille Becquette,\u201d and giving her\na place by his side. She also said that one night, when she was at the\nSabbath, the Devil marked her on the thigh. The mark thus made having\nbeen examined by women appointed for that purpose, they certified\nthat they had thrust pins deep into it, and that Isebell felt no pain\ntherefrom, nor did any blood follow when the pins were withdrawn.\n\nAccording to her account, the Devil appeared occasionally in the form\nof a he-goat, and when they took leave of him, they all had to kiss\nhim, that he inquired of them when they would return, and exhorted\nthem to adhere to him and do all the evil in their power. He then took\nthem all by the hand and they departed in different directions. She\nasserted also that it was the Devil who had been seen in the forms of\na rat and a stoat in the house of James Gallienne, whose child she\nhad bewitched; that she was in the neighbourhood of the house at the\ntime; and that the Devil, having resumed the form of a man, came to her\nand beat her severely about the head and face, which ill-treatment she\nattributed to her having refused to go with him to Gallienne\u2019s house.\nShe said that she never went to the Sabbath except when her husband was\ngone out to sea for the night, fishing.\n\nThe depositions of the witnesses, taken down very minutely in the three\ncases above cited and in many others of a similar nature, have been\npreserved, and throw a good deal of light on the popular ideas of the\nday in respect to sorcerers and their doings.\n\n[155] EDITOR\u2019S NOTE.--Pavie used to be grown in ponds arranged for the\npurpose, and was used for making pack-saddles, horse-collars, mats,\netc. It is a reed.--_From John de Garis, Esq._\n\n[156] EDITOR\u2019S NOTE.--(See footnote to p. 308). Some had a goat\u2019s hair\nintwined, others a flaxen thread.\n\nMr. J. Linwood Pitts, in his pamphlet on _Witchcraft in the Channel\nIslands_, points out, page 6, \u201cthat the natural tendency of wool and\nfeathers to felt and clog together, has been distorted, by widely\ndifferent peoples, into an outward and visible sign that occult and\nmalignant influences were at work.\u201d\n\n[157] EDITOR\u2019S NOTE.--\u201cIl y avoit de _l\u2019etrain_\u201d--a Guernsey-French\nword--from the old French _estra\u00een_, _estraine_, lat. strannu.--See\nM\u00e9tivier\u2019s _Dictionary_ \u201cEtrain.\u201d\n\n[158] EDITOR\u2019S NOTE.--\u201cDes graines noires comme de la neisle\u201d (an old\nFrench word _n\u00eale_, from Latin _Nigella_.)--M\u00e9tivier\u2019s _Dictionary_\n\u201c_N\u00e9le_.\u201d\n\n[159] EDITOR\u2019S NOTE.--The manner in which torture was administered in\nGuernsey is thus described by Warburton, herald and antiquary, _temp._\nCharles II., in his _Treatise on the History, Laws and Customs of the\nIsland of Guernsey_, 1682, page 126.\n\n\u201cBy the law approved (_Terrien_, Lib. XII, Cap. 37), torture is to be\nused, though not upon slight presumption, yet where the presumptive\nproof is strong, and much more when the proof is positive, and there\nwants only the confession of the party accused. Yet this practice\nof torturing does not appear to have been used in the Island for\nsome ages, except in the case of witches, when it was too frequently\napplied, near a century since. The custom then was, when any person was\nsupposed guilty of sorcery or witchcraft, they carried them to a place\nin the town called _La Tour Beauregard_, and there, tying their hands\nbehind them by the two thumbs, drew them to a certain height, with an\nengine made for that purpose, by which means sometimes their shoulders\nwere turned round, and sometimes their thumbs torn off; but this fancy\nof witches has for some years been laid aside.\u201d\n\n[160] EDITOR\u2019S NOTE.--Mary Osgood, one of the \u201cSalem Witches\u201d tried\nin 1692, confessed that \u201cwhen in a melancholy condition she saw the\nappearance of a cat at the end of the house, which cat proved to be the\nDevil himself.\u201d See _Demonology and Devil-Lore_, Vol. II., p. 315.\n\n[161] The Witches\u2019 Sabbath being a travesty of all Christian holy rites\nand ceremonies, the \u201cblack ointment\u201d evidently represented the chrism.\n\n[162] EDITOR\u2019S NOTE.--\u201cIt is an example of the completeness and\nconsistency with which a theory may organise its myth, that the fatal\ndemons are generally represented as abhorring salt,--the preserving\nagent against decay.\u2026 The Devil, as heir of death-demons, appears\nin all European folk-lore as a hater of salt.\u201d _Demonology and\nDevil-Lore_, by Moncure Conway, Vol. I., p. 288.\n\n[163] EDITOR\u2019S NOTE.--Susanne de Quetteville, daughter of Jehannet\nde Quetteville and his wife Colliche de Sausmarez, was born in 1586,\nmarried the Rev. Jean Perchard in 1611, and died in 1612.\n\n\nWIZARDS AND WITCHES.\n\nThere are some families in Guernsey whose members have the reputation\nof being sorcerers from their birth. These individuals require no\ninitiation into the diabolic mysteries of the \u201cSabbat,\u201d Satan claiming\nthem as his own from the very cradle. They are, however, furnished\nby him with a familiar, generally in the shape of a fly, so that the\nphrase \u201c_avoir une mouque_\u201d is well understood as meaning that the\nperson of whom it is said is one of the infernal fraternity. Indeed,\nin talking of persons who are addicted to magical arts, it is reckoned\nhighly imprudent to speak of them as \u201c_sorciers_\u201d or \u201c_sorci\u00e8res_,\u201d or\nto call them by the now almost-forgotten name of \u201cQu\u00e9raud.\u201d[164] By\nso doing you give offence, and, what is of still more consequence,\nyou put it in their power to injure you. It is, however, quite safe to\nspeak of them as \u201c_gens du Vendredi_,\u201d[165] or \u201c_gens du hoc_.\u201d[166]\n\nSatan does not always wait for their death to claim their souls as his\nown, but sometimes carries them off bodily; and a former schoolmaster\nof the Vale, who, from his eccentricities, had acquired the reputation\nof being a wizard, having disappeared mysteriously, and having never\nbeen seen again, is commonly believed, to this day, to have been\nspirited away.\n\nThose who are born sorcerers have the faculty of transporting\nthemselves at will wherever they please, but those who seek admission\ninto the fraternity, and are initiated into the diabolical rites, are\nfurnished by their infernal master with a certain ointment with which\nthey anoint every part of their bodies before undertaking their aerial\njourneys. They are also supposed to be able to introduce themselves at\nnight through the chinks and crevices of the buildings into the sheds\nin which the cattle are housed, for the purpose of milking the cows,\nnot only thus depriving the owner of his property, but also worrying\nand alarming the poor animals, whose altered looks in the morning shew\nthe ill-treatment to which they have been subjected. An old horse-shoe\nnailed on the door or lintel, or a naturally pierced flintstone pebble\nattached to the key of the stable door, are both considered efficacious\nin warding off these attacks--but an infallible method of driving off\nthe witches is to suspend wreaths of the bramble from the rafters.\nWitches and wizards travelling, not on land, but through the air,\nfinding these unexpected obstacles in their way, get scratched.[167]\n\nAfter having rubbed themselves over with this ointment they are then\ninstructed to pronounce without intermission the words \u201c_Roule, roule,\npar dessus ronces et buissons_.\u201d (\u201cRoll, roll, above brambles and\nbrakes\u201d).\n\nThis was discovered in the following manner:--A prying valet, who\nlived in the service of a gentleman who was a wizard, of which fact\nhe was nevertheless ignorant, was one day amusing himself by peeping\nthrough the key-hole of his master\u2019s bed chamber. He observed his\nmaster make use of the ointment, and heard distinctly the words which\nhe pronounced, immediately after which he became invisible. Wishing\nto try the effect of the unguent on his own person, he entered the\nroom, and went through the process of anointment, but when he came to\npronounce the magic formula, he made use of the word \u201cdessous\u201d instead\nof \u201cdessus\u201d (\u201cunder\u201d instead of \u201cover.\u201d) Perhaps he was an Englishman,\nto whom the French \u201cu\u201d was an insurmountable difficulty. Be this as it\nmay, he had reason to repent bitterly of his indiscreet curiosity, for,\nno sooner were the words out of his mouth, than he felt himself lifted\nup, and carried at a fearful rate through furze brakes and bramble\nhedges, while at the same time he had the mortification to see his\nmaster gliding along through the air, several feet above the bushes,\nand laughing heartily at his misfortunes. At last, dreadfully scratched\nand torn, and more dead than alive, he arrived at the spot where the\ninfernal troops had their rendezvous, but was too much frightened to\nnotice what took place there, only too happy to escape without being\nforced, against his will, to enrol himself among them. His curiosity,\nhowever, was effectually cured, and he vowed nevermore to pry into his\nmaster\u2019s secrets.[168]\n\n[Illustration: \u201cOld Harbour.\u201d]\n\nThe following is another instance of the use of this infernal ointment.\nIt is related that a lady of St. Pierre-du-Bois was astonished at\nthe long time her husband remained in his private apartment, and\nher curiosity at last induced her to watch him. Accordingly she\none day concealed herself in the room. Her husband came in shortly\nafterwards, and, after stripping off all his clothes, proceeded to\nanoint himself from head to foot with a certain ointment, after which\nhe repeated the words \u201c_va et vient_\u201d (\u201cgo and come\u201d), and immediately\ndisappeared. Anxious to know whither he was gone, she went through the\nsame ceremony, and no sooner had she repeated the mysterious words\nthan she found herself on the summit of Pleinmont, in the midst of a\nlarge concourse of people. A table was set out, covered with a variety\nof viands of which some present invited her courteously to partake.\nPreviously, however, to touching anything, she, like a good Christian,\nrepeated aloud the words \u201c_Au nom de Dieu soit, Amen_,\u201d (\u201cIn the name\nof God, Amen\u201d). No sooner had the sacred name passed her lips than\nshe found herself alone. All had disappeared, and the only signs\nwhich remained of any living beings having been on the spot besides\nherself were recent marks of cloven feet indented on the sward in every\ndirection.\n\n[164] Mr. M\u00e9tivier derives this word \u201cqu\u00e9raud,\u201d meaning enchanter,\nor \u201cma\u00eetre sorcier,\u201d from the old French _charay_, _caral_, meaning\nmagical type or letter. \u201cIn dog Latin _Caraco_ was the writer or\nengraver of occult characters, and in the old French version of \u201cLe\nRoman du Lancelot du Lac\u201d it says that \u201cMorgain, la seur au Roi Artur,\nsceut des enchantements et des _caraulx_ plus que nulle femme.\u201d\u201d\n\n[165] Friday nights being always the nights appointed for the \u201cSabbat.\u201d\n\n[166] Mr. M\u00e9tivier translates this word _Hoc_ as the great feast given\nby the enemy of mankind to his familiars, the wizards and witches.\nLike most of the words and customs connected with witchcraft it had\noriginally a sacred meaning, for he says that the Hebrew word in the\nseventh verse of the second Psalm, translated \u201cthe decree\u201d is \u201cthe\nHoc,\u201d and means:--The law imposed by a King on his subjects from which\nthere is no appeal.\n\n[167] From George Allez, Esq.\n\n[168] From Miss Elizabeth Chepmell.\n\nEDITOR\u2019S NOTES.\n\nA very similar story is told in M. Paul Sebillot\u2019s _Traditions et\nSuperstitions de la Haute Bretagne_, Tome I., p. 277.\n\n\u201cUne femme avait deux enfants, quand elle les avait couch\u00e9s, elle\nsortait, et ils ne la revoyaient que de matin. Un des enfants, qui\ncommen\u00e7ait \u00e0 \u00eatre grand, fit mine de s\u2019endormir, il vit sa m\u00e8re aller\nsous le lit, se mettre toute nue, et se frotter d\u2019onguent, puis dire,\navant de partir:\n\n\u201cPar sur haies et b\u00fbchons (buissons) Faut que je trouve les autres o\u00f9\nqu\u2019ils sont.\u201d Le gars, d\u00e8s que sa m\u00e8re fut partir, se frotta aussi avec\nl\u2019onguent et dit:--\u201cPar en travers haies et b\u00fbchons. Faut que je trouve\nles autres o\u00f9 qu\u2019ils sont.\u201d Mais, comme il s\u2019\u00e9tait tromp\u00e9 en r\u00e9p\u00e9tant\nce qu\u2019il avait ou\u00ef dire, il passa _\u00e0 travers_ les ronces et les haies,\net arriva tout sanglant au rendezvous des sorciers. Il les trouva qui\ndansaient, et qui chantaient, et sa m\u00e8re \u00e9tait avec eux.\u201d\n\n\nTHE AERIAL JOURNEY.\n\nThere is a story told of two men who were neighbours and inhabitants\nof the parish of St. Saviour\u2019s, that their occupation--that of\nquarrymen--took them frequently to the Vale parish, where the finest\nqualities of granite are to be procured. The distance they had to\ntraverse before arriving at their destination was considerable, and the\nroad in some places, rather lonely.\n\nLeonard Sarre, who was of a companionable nature, thought that the\ntediousness of the way would be considerably lessened by having\nsomeone to talk to, even if it were only his fellow workman, Matthew\nTostevin, whose taciturnity and reserve were proverbial. Often, when\nsetting off in the early morning to go to his work, he would, as he\npassed Tostevin\u2019s door, look in and offer his company. The answer was\ninvariably the same:--\n\n\u201cGo on, I shall be there as soon as you, though I shall not leave home\nfor an hour to come.\u201d\n\nWhen Sarre arrived at the quarry where they worked he was frequently\nastounded at finding Tostevin already there. The way which Sarre took\nwas the very shortest and most direct. He was confident that Tostevin\ncould not pass without his perceiving him, and any other road would\nentail at least half-an-hour\u2019s extra walking to accomplish. There was\nevidently a mystery, and Leonard was resolved to fathom it.\n\nAt last, in answer to his repeated enquiries, Matthew told him that he\nwas willing to let him into the secret. He bade him place his foot on\none of his, clasp him tightly round the waist, shut his eyes closely,\nand, above all, on no account whatever, to utter a word.\n\nLeonard Sarre did as he was directed, and immediately felt himself\nlifted into the air and carried along at a fearful rate. In his fright\nhe forgot the injunctions that had been given him, opened his eyes,\nand, finding himself far above the earth, cried out in terror \u201c_O, mon\nDieu!_\u201d The holy name dissolved the unhallowed spell, at least so far\nas poor Leonard was concerned. He fell; fortunately it was into one\nof the most boggy spots of La Grand\u2019 Mare, so he escaped with a few\nscratches and bruises, a thorough ducking, and a tremendous fright.\nWhat became of Matthew Tostevin is not known.\n\nIt was not until many years had rolled over his head that Leonard Sarre\nventured to relate his perilous adventure, and then Tostevin had long\nbeen dead.[169]\n\n[169] From John De Garis, Esq.\n\n\nTHE COUNTRYWOMAN AND THE WITCH.\n\nThe barren and rugged hill of Catiauroc, situated near the sea-shore\nin the parish of St. Saviour\u2019s, is the noted and favourite haunt of\nwizards and witches. Once every week on the Friday night they resort\nthither, and grand assemblies, at which their infernal master presides\nin person, are held at other seasons, particularly on St. Thomas\u2019, or\nthe longest night, and on the eve of Christmas.\n\nThough the power of sorcerers in doing harm is very great, yet they\nthemselves are subject to all the accidents and infirmities of life,\nnor can their supernatural skill extricate them from any difficulty\nthey may chance to get into.\n\nA countrywoman left her cottage one morning at daybreak to look after\nher cows. In passing through a furze brake that led to the meadow she\nthought she perceived, by the yet imperfect light, what appeared to\nher a bundle of clothes thrown on the top of a hedge. On approaching\nnearer she was astonished to recognise a lady from the town, whose\ndress was so entangled in the brambles that it was impossible for her\nto extricate herself, or to descend from her elevated situation, and\nwho was so exhausted that she had scarcely sufficient strength left to\nbeg for assistance. It immediately occurred to her, that the lady in\nher a\u00ebrial journey to the Catiauroc that night had kept too close to\nthe earth, and thus had been caught by the bushes, but, remembering\nthat there are some persons with whom it is better to be friends than\nenemies, she immediately drew near and assisted the lady to descend, at\nthe same time expressing her surprise at seeing her in such a singular\nposition, and begging her to walk into her cottage and rest herself.\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d said the lady, thanking her, \u201cI must now make the best of my way\nhome. Mention to no living creature what you have seen this day, and\nall will go well with you, but bitterly will you repent your folly if\nyou disobey this injunction.\u201d\n\nShe then left the countrywoman. It is not easy for a man to keep a\nsecret from his wife, but it is almost impossible for a woman to\nconceal anything from her husband.\n\nThe secret weighed on the poor woman\u2019s heart and rendered her\nmiserable, till at last she flattered herself she had discovered an\nexpedient by which she might ease her mind without disobeying the\ncommands put upon her. She therefore one morning desired her husband to\nfollow her into the garden and stand at some little distance from her.\nShe then addressed herself to a tree, and related to this inanimate\nobject what she had seen, but the secret of course reached, as was\nintended, the ears of her husband. The subterfuge availed her nothing;\nbefore the close of day she was struck with deafness, and never, to her\ndying day, did she recover her hearing.\n\nThe old woman of the Castel, who related this story to Miss Lane, said\nthat the woman was her great-aunt, and remembered having seen her when\nvery young.\n\nStories very similar in their general features to the preceding are far\nfrom uncommon in the country, and in all the sorceress is represented\nas a lady of rank.\n\nA countryman met a lady entangled in the brambles on the top of a\nhedge. He disengaged her, and was promised that as long as he kept the\nsecret he should find every morning, under a stone which she pointed\nout to him, a piece of money.[170]\n\n\nMAGIC BOOKS.\n\n    \u201cO Faustus, lay that damn\u00e8d book aside\n    And gaze not on it, lest it tempt thy soul,\n    And heap God\u2019s heavy wrath upon thy head!\n    Read, read the Scriptures:--that is blasphemy.\u201d\n\n         --_Tragical History of Doctor Faustus_, by Christopher Marlowe.\n\nMany persons, although not absolutely considered as wizards, are looked\nupon with no favourable eye from their supposed possession of books\nrelating to the black art, by the study of which they are thought to\nbe able to control the elements, to produce strange effects either for\ngood or bad on the bodies of man and beast, to discover hidden secrets,\ntreasure, etc.\n\nThese books are generally known by the name of _Albins_, probably\nderived from that famous professor of magic, Albertus Magnus, many of\nwhose formulas for raising the Devil, etc., they are said to contain.\n\nThey are also called \u201c_Le Grammaille_\u201d or \u201c_Grand-M\u00eale_,\u201d[171] and a\ndistinction is made between the _Grand-M\u00eale_ and the _Petit-M\u00eale_.\n\nAmong the effects which the possessors of these books are said to be\nable to produce is that of causing persons to walk in their sleep, and\nto direct their steps towards any point to which the dabbler in magic\nmay wish them to go, but in order to accomplish this, it is necessary\nthat he should have previously drawn blood from the person on whom\nhe intends to practise his unlawful art. So small a quantity however\nas that produced by the scratch of a pin is amply sufficient for the\npurpose.\n\nThese books are said to be indestructible. If thrown on the fire they\nremain unconsumed, if sunk in the sea, or buried in the earth, they\nwill be found again the next day in the cupboard or chest from whence\nthey were taken.[172]\n\n[170] From Miss E. Chepmell.\n\n[171] Mr. M\u00e9tivier in his dictionary translates _Grand-M\u00eale_ as\n_Grimoire_, or the book by which sorcerers pretend to raise the\ndead, being derived from the old Norse word _gr\u00eema_, a spectre, a\nwitch, a word which is, he says, also the origin of \u201c_grimace_.\u201d\nThe _Grand-M\u00eale_ of the Guernsey folk was literally the _big book_,\njust as the _Petit-M\u00eale_ was the little book, _M\u00eale_ being nothing\nbut a survival of the Gothic _Meli_--a writing, discourse, or song.\nAlso _Ma\u2019l_, with the Norsemen, as _Veda_ with the Hindoos, and as\n_Scripture_ with us, was simply the collective name of all the holy\nbooks.\n\n[172] From Elizabeth Matthieu.\n\nEDITOR\u2019S NOTES.\n\nNowadays the people, in speaking of the \u201cbad books\u201d as they frequently\nterm them, call them the \u201c_Grand Albert_\u201d and the \u201c_Petit Albert_,\u201d\nthe former being undoubtedly derived from \u201cAlbertus Magnus.\u201d The\n\u201cPetit Albert\u201d is an abridgment of the larger book, and is supposed to\nbe comparatively harmless, and, with proper precautions, some say it\nmay even be used by good Christians. The country people to this day\nbelieve these books to be imperishable, and many is the tale they tell\nof how they will neither drown, nor burn, and how in particular, one\nold wizard\u2019s books at Saints\u2019 Bay had to be buried, and part of the\nfuneral service read over them, to keep them from reappearing on their\naccustomed shelf.\n\nOur old nurse, Margaret Mauger, has often told me the story of the\nbooks belonging to an extremely clever old gentleman who owned an\nestate in the country. At his death, when his daughters came to divide\nhis large library, they were horrified to find many \u201cwitch books\u201d and\natheistical books included in it. These they set aside to be burnt,\nand also a great many harmless but dull histories, biographies, and\nsermons, which they did not wish to keep, and made one huge bonfire.\nBut (and it was one of the daughters who vouched for the truth of\nthis story) the good books would not burn with the bad books! A\nfrightful smell arose, and thick columns of black smoke, but none were\nconsumed, and they all had to be re-sorted, and made into two separate\npiles,--the sheep and the goats--and then they all burnt readily\nenough.--_From Margaret Mauger._\n\n\u201cIn Denmark and some neighbouring countries it is believed that a\nstrange and formidable book exists, by means of which you can raise\nor lay the Devil--called the _Book of Cyprianus_. The owner of it\ncan neither sell, bury or burn it, and if he cannot get rid of it\nbefore his death he becomes the prey of the fiend.\u201d--_Demonology and\nDevil-Lore_, by Moncure Conway, Vol. 2., p. 282.\n\n\nTHE PRIOR OF LIHOU.\n\nThe small islet of Lihou lies on the western coast of Guernsey, from\nwhich it is separated by an arm of the sea. An ancient causeway, which\nis uncovered at half-tide, affords an easy access to the main-land, but\nit is dangerous to attempt the passage when the tide is flowing, for\nthe coast is so flat that the water rises with great rapidity, and many\naccidents have occurred. A church, the ruins of which are still to be\nseen, existed here until the Reformation. It was dedicated to Notre\nDame de la Roche, and was served by a prior, who was appointed by the\nPrior of St. Michel du Valle, a dependency of the great Abbey of Mont\nSt. Michel-au-peril-de-la-Mer, in the Bay of Avranches. The isle is\nto this day looked upon with such veneration by the Norman and Breton\nsailors employed in the coasting trade, that they never pass it without\nsaluting, by lowering their topmasts, and there is reason to believe\nthat it was a favourite resort of pilgrims. A house belonging to a\nfamily of the name of Lenfestey, and situated at Les Adams, is said to\nhave been, in former days, the residence of the priest who officiated\nat Lihou. A free-stone let into one of the exterior walls has a rough\ndelineation of a church incised on it, which is said to represent the\nPriory Church of Lihou as it formerly existed.[173]\n\n[Illustration: Stone supposed to represent the ancient Priory at\nLihou.]\n\nA few years ago the remains of a skeleton were discovered in sinking\na well on the property, to which a certain number of houses in the\nneighbourhood have a right of resorting for water. Many persons who\nhave gone to draw water at night have heard groans, thrice repeated, as\nif from a person expiring, and these have generally been followed by\nthe death of some near relation of the hearer. Three days after Mrs.\nSavidan heard the groans, a boat, in which were two of her relations\nnamed Le Cras, was capsized in a storm and both perished.[174]\n\nNotwithstanding the sanctity of the place, however, the old proverb of\n\u201cThe nearer the church, the farther from God,\u201d might at one time have\nbeen applied to it, for it is related of one of the priors that he was\naddicted to the black art. Neither the fear of God, nor the censures of\nthe church, could wean him from the fascinating study of magic, and the\n_Grand-M\u00eale_ was far oftener in his hands than the Bible or breviary.\nBut wizards, it is well known, have often been the victims of their own\nart, and so it chanced with the profane Prior of Lihou.\n\nOne morning, taking advantage of the receding tide, he crossed over to\nGuernsey to seek an interview with another adept in necromancy, the\npriest of the neighbouring Chapel of Ste. Apolline. He was accompanied\nby his servant, to whom he had entrusted a ponderous tome, containing\nthe formulas by which he performed his incantations, and to whom he had\ngiven strict orders on no account to open the volume or read a word\nwhich it contained.\n\nThe visit over, the prior prepared to return to his convent, and\nwalked along leisurely, knowing as it was then spring tide that two\nor three hours must elapse before the returning waves could bar the\npassage to the islet. The servant lingered behind, and when he arrived\non the beach found his master already half way over. His curiosity\nhad been vividly excited by the repeated injunctions of his master\nthat he should abstain carefully from opening the book. He began to\nthink that it must contain something very wonderful, and that, as but\nfew minutes must elapse before their arrival at the convent, when the\nmysterious volume would, without doubt, be instantly demanded by the\nprior, if he did not seize this opportunity of acquainting himself\nwith its contents, no other occasion might ever present itself. He\nyielded to the temptation, opened the book, and began to read. The\nprior by this time had arrived at about the middle of the causeway, and\nwas astonished to find the tide rising rapidly and threatening to cut\noff his further progress, either backwards or forwards. He felt that\nsome unnatural agency was at work, and, guessing how matters stood,\nlooked back to the shore which he had just left, and saw his faithless\nservant comfortably seated on a heap of dried sea-weed, with the fatal\nvolume spread open on his knees. He was reading aloud, and the prior\ncaught enough of the words to know that his attendant had hit upon the\nspell which causes the tides to rise out of their usual course, and,\nmoreover, that he was reading most leisurely.\n\nIn great fright he called out to the man to read on quickly to the end,\nas he knew that then the waves would stop and return to their proper\nlimits. The servant was too much absorbed in his reading to pay any\nattention to the directions given him, and the waves had by this time\nreached above the prior\u2019s waist. In mortal agony he called out for the\nsecond time:--\n\n\u201cIf thou canst not read forwards, read backwards!\u201d\n\nThe roaring waves this time effectually drowned his voice. The servant\nread on, but long before he had arrived at the end of the incantation,\nthe sea had covered the profane priest, and the demon whom the magic\nlines had evoked carried off his prey.[175]\n\n[173] EDITOR\u2019S NOTE.--Mr. S. Carey Curtis, who is an architect, has\nmade some very interesting plans of the ruins of Lihou Priory, and\nhas shown their correspondence with the architecture of the building\ndepicted on this stone. I will quote his exact words:--\n\n\u201cThere is built into the wall of a house, on the Paysans Road, a\nsculptured stone, which corresponds so exactly with what might have\nbeen the Chapel of Lihou that I have, on the plan, restored the chapel\non those lines. All the principal features work in exactly, the tower,\nthe windows, the roof, etc.,--all except the door, of which there is\npositively no trace; but possibly, in view of the various coats of\npaint on the stone, it is merely a fancy of one of the many artists\nwho have retouched it. Of the ruins which remain there is sufficient\nto show what its measurements once were. Of the tower, about twelve\nfeet is still standing, a large portion of the north wall, and several\nsmaller pieces; these all show that it consisted of a nave about\nthirty-four by twenty-three feet inside measurement, and a choir or\nsanctuary about thirty-four by twenty feet. There is enough of the\nnorth wall still standing to shew where the spring of the vaulting\nbegan, and thus, approximately, the height of the walls and roof. The\ncorner of the chancel arch pier is a Caen stone, with a plain beading\non it; there is also trace of a porphyry column on the south side of\nthe sanctuary, and under the site of the altar is a paving of Malachite\ngreen and buff tiles, some of which still remain; they measure six and\na quarter inches square and were laid alternately.\u201d\n\nThe lettering has been explained as standing for \u201cH \u2026 Dominus Lihou\nMel,\u201d \u201cH \u2026 priest of Lihou Mel, (as Lihou was called in ancient times)\nin 1114.\u201d\n\n[174] From Mrs. Savidan.\n\n[175] From Dr. Lukis, to whom the story was told by an old woman at\nl\u2019Er\u00e9e.\n\nEDITOR\u2019S NOTES.\n\nA somewhat similar story was told me in 1896 by Mrs. Le Patourel, who\nhad heard it from her mother-in-law. A schoolmaster, either at St.\nPierre-du-Bois or at Torteval, was given to witchcraft, and owned one\nof these \u201cbad books.\u201d He took it one day to his school and, by an\noversight, left it on his desk. It was a lovely day, and, impatient to\nbe out, he omitted to lock it up, and hurried home to get his dinner.\nWhilst in the middle of eating it, quite suddenly a terrific storm\ncame on, such thunder and lightning as had never before been seen in\nthe country, and was most unaccountable in such a hitherto lovely\nweather. It seemed to be at its worst just over the school. Terrified,\nremembering the book he had left there, he rushed back and there he\nfound one of the boys reading this book out loud. He snatched the book\nfrom his hand, and asked him to show him where he had begun, and where\nhe had read to, and then began at once to read _backwards_ from where\nthe boy had left off. As he read, the storm began to lull, and when\nhe reached the place where the boy had begun to read, the storm had\nstopped as suddenly as it begun. (This is possibly another version of\nthe story of \u201cSatan and the Schoolmaster,\u201d related in the chapter on\nthe Devil.)\n\nMrs. Le Patourel also knew a man who had once owned a \u201c_Grand Albert_\u201d\nand used it, and, repenting, tried to burn it, but it is well known\nthat if you have once used one of these books you can never rid\nyourself of it, try as you will. He heated his oven red hot, and put\nthe book within it. Two minutes afterwards he looked up and saw the\nbook, unsinged even, in its old place on the dresser. My cousin Miss\nLe Pelley sends me a story told her by an old servant Judy Ozanne, how\nsome very religious people, going into a house found a \u201c_Grand Albert_\u201d\non the po\u00fbtre (the centre beam) in the kitchen, so they threw it into\nthe fire, but in vain, for \u201cit went back to its old place and stayed\nthere!\u201d\n\n\nA WIZARD ON THE WEST COAST.\n\nWe all know how dangerous it is to possess books which treat of the\narts of magic and sorcery, or to tamper in any way with these forbidden\npractices.\n\nIt came to the ears of a former rector of St. Pierre-du-Bois or\nTorteval, that one of his parishioners, of the name of Sarre, not\nonly owned such books, but was in the habit of reading and studying\nthem. Indeed, if there was any truth in public rumour, many of Sarre\u2019s\nneighbours had been sufferers from the improper use he made of the\nknowledge thus unlawfully acquired. The good rector thought it his\nduty to remonstrate with his parishioner, and to point out to him\nthe sinfulness of his conduct, and the danger he was incurring of\nforfeiting both body and soul to the Prince of Darkness; but all his\ngood advice was, for a long time, treated with contempt. At last,\nwhat the rector\u2019s charitable remonstrances had been unable to effect\nwas brought about by Sarre\u2019s own fears. The presence of a large black\ncat, which followed him wherever he went, and was with him night and\nday, began to alarm him. It was useless to attempt to drive the beast\naway; it cared neither for threats nor blows. In short Sarre began to\nbe seriously alarmed lest his assiduous study of the forbidden volumes\nshould, at last, have brought, if not Satan, at least one of his\nfamiliars, to dog his steps continually, and to watch an opportunity of\nseizing on his prey.\n\nUnder these circumstances he thought it most prudent to get rid of the\nbooks, and, with this intent, went one night to the extreme verge of\nlow-water mark at spring-tides, dug a hole in the sand, and buried the\naccursed volumes. The rising tide soon covered the spot, and Sarre\nreturned home with his mind at ease. His feeling of security was not\ndestined to be of long duration, for, on entering his door, he was met\nby the black cat, who, erecting his tail, and rubbing himself against\nhis master\u2019s legs, manifested his joy at seeing him again. The next\nobject that his eyes rested on were the books he had just buried,\ncarefully placed on their accustomed shelf, and as dry as if they had\nnever left it. A profound melancholy seized him; he ceased to occupy\nhimself in his usual avocations, and wandered about the cliffs and\nsea-shore in a disconsolate state, till, at last, he disappeared. Those\nwho were charitably disposed, surmised that, in his despair, he had\nthrown himself over one of the lofty precipices of Pleinmont into the\nsea, but there were not wanting others who suggested that the master,\ninto whose service he had entered, had at last claimed his own, and\ncarried him off bodily.[176]\n\n[176] From Mrs. W. T. Collings, wife of the late Seigneur of Sark.\n\n\nTHE WIZARD\u2019S DEATH.\n\nA certain man of the name of Robin, who lived near Les Capelles, in\nthe parish of St. Sampson\u2019s, had risen from being a day labourer to be\nthe possessor of what, in Guernsey, passes for a considerable landed\nestate. Riches are sure to create envy, and more particularly is this\nthe case when a man has been prosperous in the world and has arrived\nat a rank and station to which he was not born. The poor hate him\nbecause he has acquired a title to consideration, which his origin, as\nhumble as their own, can never confer. The rich pretend to despise him\nbecause he is wanting in the accidental circumstance of birth. All\nconcur in attributing his success in life to luck, to want of honesty,\nto anything but intelligence, industry, and good conduct. It will\nnot, therefore, be thought surprising if calumny was busy at work to\nblacken the character of one, who, like Robin, had been so fortunate in\nhis undertakings. He was openly spoken of by his neighbours as being\naddicted to sorcery.\n\nIt was well known that he possessed the art of taming the most\nrefractory bulls, and it therefore followed as a matter of course that\nhe had also the power of bewitching other cattle. Sometimes, when a\ncow was sick, and all the usual nostrums of the village farrier had\nfailed in effecting a cure, recourse was had, as a last resort, to\nRobin, who was generally successful. What conclusion was more natural,\nthan that he, who could so easily remove a malady, had also the power\nof inflicting it? Besides, it was whispered about by some of those\nwho contrive to be well informed of all that passes, even in the\nmost secret recesses of their neighbours\u2019 houses, that Robin would\nsit for hours together, shut up in his private room, with a pack of\ncards before him, with which he appeared to be playing some game. No\nadversary was seen, but what game can be played by one man alone?\nIt was clear to the most obtuse that another was present, although\ninvisible to mortal eye, and who could this be but the great enemy of\nhuman souls?\n\nAt last old age came on; Robin became more and more infirm, and was at\nlast confined to his bed. During his illness his attendants were much\nannoyed by the continual creaking and cracking of an ancient oaken\npress, which stood in the corner of the room, and which he would not\nallow them on any account to open or meddle with. Of course they all\nthought that this chest contained untold gold, for he was known to be\nextremely avaricious--in fact he was one of those \u201cwho would cut a\ndouble[177] in two\u201d as the saying is. He was frightfully hard on all\nhis workmen, exacting every moment of their time. So far did he carry\nthis, that it is said he only allowed them five minutes to take their\nnoon-day meal, which, according to the universal custom at that time,\nwas furnished by the employer, and eaten at his table. It was commonly\nbelieved that one source of his wealth was the discovery of a buried\ntreasure in one of his fields. There was a well on his property which\nwas intermittent, at times overflowing, and at others not having above\nan inch or so of water in it. It was supposed to conceal a treasure,\nand a man was sent down to examine it, but no sooner had he begun to\nbale out the water than it returned with such violence that he was\nobliged to be drawn up to avoid drowning. When Robin was dying, his son\nurged him to give something to the poor, but his constant answer was:--\n\n\u201c_Je n\u2019en counis pou\u00efnt_.\u201d (\u201cI do not know any.\u201d)\n\nHis last hour was, however, rapidly approaching, and he desired\nthe press to be opened, and certain books which it contained to be\nthrown on the hearth where a large fire was blazing. His orders were\nobeyed, but, to the great astonishment of the servants and attendants,\ninstead of being consumed in the flames, the books extinguished the\nfire![178] Fresh faggots were, by the orders of the dying man, heaped\non the hearth, and kindled, and, at last, the mysterious books, if not\nconsumed, at least disappeared. The press had ceased to creak from the\nmoment the books were taken out of it, and shortly afterwards Robin\nbreathed his last.\n\nA storm of unusual violence was raging at the time, but the most\nsingular circumstance remains yet to be told. A crow of unusual size\nwas seen to hover over the house, and finally alighted on the roof,\nand, it is said, that on the day of the funeral, as the corpse was\nleaving the house, it flew down and perched on the coffin. In vain did\nthe bearers endeavour to drive it off; it held its ground, and even\nwhen the body was lowered into the grave it would not quit the station\nwhich it had chosen, but suffered itself to be covered with the mould\nby the sexton.[179]\n\n[177] A _double_ is the smallest copper coin in Guernsey currency,\nvalue one-eighth of a penny.\n\n[178] EDITOR\u2019S NOTE.--In _Traditions et Superstitions de la Haute\nBretagne_, Tome I., p. 304, M. Sebillot tells the story of a priest,\nwho, at the request of a penitent \u201csorcier,\u201d tries to burn _Le Petit\nAlbert_:--\u201cIl le mit dans le foyer pour le br\u00fbler; mais le livre\nsautait dans le feu comme s\u2019il avait voulu en sortir. Le pr\u00eatre le\nrepoussait dans les flammes avec sa canne, et il br\u00fbla longtemps sans\nse consumer.\u201d\n\n[179] From Miss Elizabeth Chepmell, Nancy Bichard, and Rachel Duport.\n\nEDITOR\u2019S NOTE.\n\n\u201cIn German Switzerland, a crow perching on the roof of a house where\na corpse lies, is a sure sign that the dead is damned.\u201d Swainson\u2019s\n_Folk-Lore_, p. 84.\n\n\u201cIn Germany ravens are believed to hold the souls of the damned,\nsometimes to be the evil one himself.\u201d Idem., p. 90. \u201cThe raven was\nindeed, from of old endowed with the holy awfulness of the Christian\ndove in the Norse mythology. Odin was believed to have given this bird\nthe colour of the night, that it might the better spy out the deeds of\ndarkness.\u201d _Demonology and Devil-Lore_, by Conway, Vol. 2., p. 368.\n\n\nTHE WITCH OF CAUBO.[180]\n\nAmong the many bays with which the sea-coast of Guernsey is indented,\nfew have a wilder aspect than that of Ca\u00fbbo; not that it is surrounded\nwith bold cliffs and precipices, like those of the southern coast,\nfor, on the contrary, the sea is only prevented from inundating\nthe neighbouring land by the banks of sand and shingle which the\never-restless waves have thrown up, or by the sea walls which the\nindustry of man has raised to form a barrier against them.\n\nIts charm consists in the wildness of its scenery[181]--the rugged\npromontory of \u201cLa Roque du Guet,\u201d surmounted by an old watch-house and\nbattery to the south; the point of land known as \u201cLes Grandes Roques,\u201d\nwith its outlying reefs, the scene of many a wreck, to the north; the\nchain of rocks stretching right across the bay to the westward, and\nseeming to bar all access to the land. All this, whether seen when,\nwith a westerly wind, the heavy waves are sweeping in with resistless\nforce from the broad Atlantic, or when, on a calm summer\u2019s day, the\nsun\u2019s rays \u201clike light dissolved in star-showers\u201d pour down on the\nbrilliantly blue water, from which the innumerable jagged peaks arise,\nfrom any of which one might expect to \u201chave sight of Proteus rising\nfrom the sea, or hear old Triton blow his wreath\u00e8d horn.\u201d The shores\nare alternately picturesque and rugged, or else smiling valleys of\ngreen fields overhung with trees, and with a few old thatched houses in\nthe background, and, until lately, were inhabited almost exclusively\nby a race of poor hardy fishermen, to whom every passage through the\nintricate and rugged rocks of the bay are well known, but who are by no\nmeans exempt from the superstitions that seem to attach particularly\nto a sea-faring life.\n\nOf late some extensive quarries have been opened in the hills that lie\neastward of the bay, from one of which the dark granite steps leading\nto the western entrance of St. Paul\u2019s Cathedral were hewn. The quarries\nhave brought other labourers to reside in the neighbourhood, and it\nis from a brother of one of these--a Cornishman--that the following\nparticulars have been obtained.\n\nThe quarryman now in question, when he first determined on seeking work\nat Ca\u00fbbo, had much difficulty in finding a cottage to suit him; but,\nat last, tempted by the low rent asked for one, which had remained\nuntenanted for a long time, he made up his mind to take it. Other\nlabourers had lived formerly in the house, but generally, after a short\nresidence, they had left it as soon as they could find a decent excuse,\nwithout assigning any definite reason. The quarryman had not been\nlong settled in his new habitation when he and his family began to be\nalarmed by strange and unaccountable noises, particularly at night. He\nspoke to some of the neighbours on the subject, and, at last, with some\ndifficulty--for it was evident that there was a great unwillingness\nto speak on the subject,--he ascertained that the house had the\nreputation of being bewitched, and that an old woman living in the\nimmediate vicinity was commonly reported to be the cause of the nightly\ndisturbances. Some of the previous tenants went so far as to say that\non stormy nights, when the wind was blowing a full gale from the\nsouth-west, and all were gathered round the hearth, lamenting the sad\ncondition of the poor mariners and fishermen out at sea, and praying\nfor the safety of the shipping exposed to the pitiless blast, they\nhad seen the old sorceress come down the chimney in a cloud of smoke\nand soot, pass through their midst, and vanish through the key-hole,\ncausing all the doors in the cottage to slam, and leaving a villainous\nsmell behind her. Other tales, no less veracious, are told of her.\n\nA woman, scrupulously clean in her person and attire, against whom\nthe witch had a previous grudge, chanced to make use of some not very\ncomplimentary expressions in speaking of her, and instantaneously her\nclothes were covered with vermin of the most loathsome description. A\nneighbour, who had offended her, was never able, either by fair means\nor foul, to get his cattle past the witch\u2019s dwelling, but was obliged\nto take another and much longer way in leading them to and from their\npasturage, to the grievous loss of his time and temper.\n\nTwo strong horses, harnessed to the empty cart of another man with whom\nthe sorceress had lately had a quarrel, though urged by word and whip,\nwere unable to move it an inch forward. It was well known to all that\nit was by means of books of magic that she was enabled to perform these\nand still greater marvels; and her brothers, good respectable men, who\nwere aware of her evil deeds and ashamed of the disgrace her conduct\nbrought on the family, finding that all their remonstrances were in\nvain, and that they could not persuade her to abandon her evil courses,\nhad attempted to destroy the books, and so deprive her, in some degree,\nof her power of doing mischief.\n\nOn one occasion, during her absence from home, they got possession\nof the unhallowed volumes, and, lighting a large fire on the hearth,\nplaced them in the midst of the flames, and heaped up fuel around them,\nuntil, to all appearance, they were reduced to a heap of ashes.\n\nThey were rejoicing in the success of their undertaking, but, alas,\ntheir joy was of short duration. They soon found that all their labour\nhad been in vain, and that they had consumed their fuel to no purpose;\nfor, chancing to cast their eyes on the top of an old chest of drawers\nwhich stood in one corner of the room, where the books, when not\nactually in use, were always to be found, what was their dismay to\nsee them lying there uninjured and looking as if they had never been\ntouched. Fire, it was clear, had no power over them. So they determined\nto try what effect the other elements, earth and water, might have.\nIt chanced to be one of the lowest spring-tides in the year, so they\ncarried the books down to dead low-water mark, dug a deep hole in the\nsand, placed the books in it, and watched until the flowing tide had\ncovered the spot with three or four feet of water.\n\nThey then returned home, and on entering the cottage naturally turned\ntheir eyes towards the usual resting-place of the books. There they\nwere, without a vestige of sand on them, and as dry as bones. After\nthese two attempts they gave up all hopes of ever getting rid of the\nunholy tomes; indeed it is well known that there is but one method of\ndestroying such books; it is by burying them with their owner when\ndeath shall have delivered the world from his or her presence.\n\nIt is fortunate that there are men and women who have the gift of\ncounteracting the spells of wizards and witches; and it so chances\nthat not many doors from the house where the witch of Ca\u00fbbo dwelt\nthere resided an old man whose knowledge enabled him to frustrate her\nevil designs, and whose services were readily given to those who may\nrequire them. These things are said to have happened as lately as\nthe year 1874, and are a proof that, in some quarters at least, and\nnotwithstanding the boasted enlightenment of the nineteenth century,\nfaith in witchcraft is as rife as ever. Can it, however, be wondered\nat, if ignorant peasants should believe in what they think they have\nScriptural warrant for considering an article of faith, when learned\nmen and educated women are found ready to give in to all the delusions\nof spiritualism.\n\n[180] Ca\u00fbbo = \u201cSic Armorici Coet-Bo = La Baie du Bois, Sinus\nSylvestris, il y a une Coet Bo sur la c\u00f4te du Bretagne.\u201d MS. note by\nMr. M\u00e9tivier.\n\n[181] EDITOR\u2019S NOTE.--It must be remembered that none of Sir Edgar\u2019s\nMSS. are dated later than 1874, and therefore that none of the\ngreenhouses, suburban villas, and workmen\u2019s cottages which have so\nspoilt our island scenery were then built.\n\n\nTHE WITCH OF THE VILLE-\u00c8S-PIES.[182]\n\nThere lived in the last century at La Ville-\u00e8s-Pies, in that part of\nthe parish of St. Michel-du-Valle known as \u201cLe Clos,\u201d an old lady,\nwhose maiden name it is not necessary to recall any more than that\nof the really worthy man who had the misfortune to be joined with\nher in the bonds of wedlock. Suffice it to say that both belonged\nto respectable families. It was notorious, however, to all the\nneighbourhood that she was addicted to the execrable practice of\nwitchcraft; indeed she made no mystery of it, for she was proud of the\nfear she inspired, and clever enough to turn it to her own advantage;\nknowing well that the time was past when the suspicion alone of being\nan adept in the black art was sufficient to condemn a person to the\nstake.\n\nThe place whither she was said to be in the habit of resorting to meet\nher infernal master, and to dance and revel at night with others, who,\nlike herself, had entered into a league with the Prince of Darkness,\nwas that group of rocks and islets near Herm, known by the name of \u201cLes\nHoumets d\u2019Amont.\u201d[183]\n\nOn these occasions she was in the habit of attiring herself in her very\nbest array, and a pair of silver slippers formed a principal part of\nher adornment. How she came, in her nocturnal flight, to drop one of\nthem, is not known, but it was picked up on one of these rocks by a\nfisherman, recognised as her property, and honestly returned to her.\nPerhaps the finder did not like to run the risk of appropriating the\nprecious metal to his own use.\n\nIt is said that, not content with serving Satan herself, she laid a\nspell on her children as soon as they were presented to her after their\nbirth, and so consecrated them for ever to the service of her infernal\nmaster.\n\nThe husband, a good pious man, by some means discovered this, and, when\nhis wife was on the point of being delivered of her last child, a son,\nhe begged the midwife in attendance to be careful, as soon as the child\nmade its appearance, and before the unnatural mother could set eyes on\nit, to sign it with the holy sign of the cross. This precaution saved\nthe infant. The unholy mother\u2019s spell had no power over him, and, as he\ngrew up, he was enabled, by God\u2019s grace, and by the pious teaching of\nhis father, to withstand all the temptations which were laid in his way\nby his brothers and sisters, who depicted to him in glowing terms the\namusements they indulged in, when, in the form of hares, they frolicked\non moonlight nights around the mill which stands on the hill around the\nVille-\u00e8s-Pies.[184]\n\n[182] A MS. note by Mr. M\u00e9tivier explains this name by saying that this\nwas an old residence of Friars, robed in black and white, and hence\nknown as \u201cLes Fr\u00e8res Pies,\u201d--the Magpie Friars.\n\n[183] \u201c_Houmet_, from the Swedish _holm_, is a peninsula, or a grazing\nground down near the water.\u201d--_M\u00e9tivier\u2019s Dictionary._\n\n[184] From Mr. Thomas Hocart Henry.\n\n\nTHE SICK PRINCESS AND THE WIZARDS.\n\nIn ancient days, (in what reign is not mentioned), when the island was\nas yet but thinly peopled, and considerable tracts of country were\ndestitute of habitations, a peasant and his wife, who had been passing\nthe day in town, were overtaken on their way home by a violent storm of\nwind, rain, and thunder. They pressed forward, hoping to reach their\ncottage before night should set in, but, the storm increasing, they\nwere fain to seek shelter in an old ruin that stood by the roadside.\n\nScarcely had they entered, before they heard on all sides of the\nbuilding the cries of \u201cK\u00e9-hou-hou,\u201d which are uttered by the sorcerers\nwhen on their nocturnal flights. They then remembered that it was\nFriday, the day on which the powers of darkness have the most power,\nand that all the wizards and witches of the island were reported to\nhold their weekly meetings in that place. It was too late to think of\nretreating, but they were not yet discovered, and there were still\nhopes of their escaping detection. Fear quickened their invention.\nLooking round they saw an oven, into which they both crept, and the\nwoman, by spreading her black petticoat over the entrance, effectually\nconcealed them. They had scarcely time to do this, before a tumultuous\ncrowd of wizards entered the building. They conversed with great\ndelight on all the mischief they had caused, and appeared to derive\nmuch pleasure from the misfortunes which afflicted mankind.\n\nOne of them mentioned the illness of the King of England\u2019s only\ndaughter, which the most eminent of physicians of the realm had been\nunable to cure, or even to discover the cause of. \u201cNeither will they,\u201d\nsaid one, who appeared to be the chief, with an infernal laugh, \u201cfor I\nalone know the cause and the remedy.\u201d\n\nThey pressed him to tell, but for a long time he refused. At last,\nwearied out by their entreaties, he said--\u201cA hair, which this Princess\nhas accidentally swallowed, has twined itself round her heart, and,\nunless speedily removed, must cause her death. There is but one means\nof cure--a piece of skin of pork with some of the bristles attached to\nit, must be well secured by a string. Let the Princess swallow this,\nand the hair will become entangled in the bristles, and may thus be\ndrawn up.\u201d\n\nShortly afterwards the meeting broke up, without a suspicion that their\nconversation had been overheard, and as soon as the day dawned, the\ncountryman and his wife returned to town and made known their adventure\nto the authorities. A boat immediately set sail for England, with\na messenger bound for the King, and the advice of the wizard being\nfollowed, the Princess was soon restored to health. A considerable sum\nof money was sent over as a present to the man and woman by whose means\nthe discovery had been made, with which they were enabled to buy a farm\nand stock it.\n\n[Illustration: \u201cMill Pond at the Vrangue.\u201d]\n\nThe manner in which they had acquired their riches soon became known,\nand, tempted by the hopes of gain, a man concealed himself in the oven\nof the ruined house near the Catioroc one Friday night. He had not long\nlain there before the wizards entered, but before a word was uttered\nthey made a strict search through the house, and soon discovered the\ntrembling man, whom they obliged to take the oaths of allegiance\nto their infernal master, to the eternal ruin both of his soul and\nbody.[185]\n\n[185] From Miss E. Chepmell.\n\nSee an incident somewhat similar in Chambers\u2019 _Popular Rhymes of\nScotland_, in the tale of Sir James Ramsay, of Bamff.\n\nSee also Suzet\u2019s _Veill\u00e9es Bretonnes, Comte de Cocherard et Turquin_,\np. 258, and _Folk-Lore Record_, Vol. III., part 1., p. 40.\n\nEDITOR\u2019S NOTE.--This story is also told in _Folk-Lore of Guernsey and\nSark_, by Louisa Lane-Clarke (2nd Edition, 1890, p. 24). She makes\ncertain alterations in the narrative and her version of the cure for\nthe Princess is:--\u201cIf they cut a small square of bacon from just _over\nthe heart_, tied it to a silken thread, and made the Princess swallow\nit, then jerked it up again, the hair would stick to it, and come away\nfrom _her heart_, and she would recover.\u201d\n\nOn the 16th May, 1900, the late Mrs. Murray-Aynsley read a paper on\n\u201cGuernsey Folk-Lore,\u201d to the Folk-Lore Society of England, and she also\nquoted this story, evidently taken from Mrs. Lane-Clarke\u2019s version,\nonly told in slightly different words.\n\n\nA WITCH IN DISGUISE.\n\nSorcerers have the power of taking the forms of different animals, but\nwhen thus disguised cannot be wounded but by silver.\n\nA Mr. Le Marchant, \u201cdes grent mesons,\u201d had often fired at a white\nrabbit which frequented his warren, but without success. One day,\nhowever, beginning to suspect how the case really stood, he detached\nhis silver sleeve button from his wrist-band, loaded his gun with it,\ntook a steady aim, and fired.\n\nThe rabbit immediately disappeared behind the hedge. He ran up, and,\nhearing some person groaning as if in great pain on the other side,\nlooked over and recognised a neighbour of his, a lady of the Vale, who\nwas lying with her leg broken and bleeding profusely from a fresh wound.\n\n\nCOLLAS ROUSS\u00c9.[186]\n\n_Une histouaire du bouan vier temps._\n\nUn bouan houme et sa femme avaient autefais une p\u2019tite ferme \u00e8s\nenvirons du Vazon; Collas Rouss\u00e9 et sa femme, Nency Guille, \u00e9taient des\ngens tranquilles, qui faisaient d\u2019 leux m\u00fbx pour elva\u00efr leu famille,\nmais i\u2019 l\u2019taient r\u2019 noma\u00ef pour changier leux forme \u00e0 volonta\u00ef.\n\nUne belle s\u00e9ra\u00efe d\u2019\u00e9ta\u00ef nou vit un biau li\u00e8vre dans l\u2019 gardin du\nProbyt\u00e8re qui dansait autouar d\u2019une vaque qu\u2019 \u00e9tait la fiquie.\n\nLa vaque se mins a r\u2019 garda\u00efr le li\u00e8vre qui toute suite se b\u00fbti su ses\nd\u0153ux pattes de derriere faisant des pernagues coum si voulait invita\u00efr\nla vaque \u00e0 dansa\u00efr d\u2019auve li. Les gens n\u2019 savaient pas qui en craire ou\nqu\u2019est que vela qui voulait dire. Ls\u2019 uns disaient que ch\u2019\u00e9tait Collas\nRouss\u00e9 ou sa femme, d\u2019autres pensaient q\u2019nou f\u2019rait m\u00fbx de l\u2019 tira\u00ef,\nd\u2019autres enfin disaient que l\u2019lait d\u2019l\u00e0 vaque s\u2019rait gata\u00ef et q\u2019la\nvaque jamais n\u2019vaudrait sa tuache.\n\nLe lecteur, Pierre Simon, qui s\u2019trouvait la par \u00e9canche, s\u2019en fut tout\ndoucement pres du li\u00e8vre, l\u2019attrapi et s\u2019mis \u00e0 l\u2019frotta\u00ef \u00e0 r\u2019brousse\npel, les uns li criaient d\u2019li teurtre le c\u00f4, l\u2019 s\u2019autres d\u2019li rompre\nles gambes, \u201cet pis nou verrait bien vite si chen \u2019tait pouint Collas\nRouss\u00e9 ou sa femme.\u201d L\u2019s \u2019uns disaient qu\u2019ils avaient v\u0153u le li\u00e8vre\nv\u2019nir dret du Vazon, mais qu\u2019il avait ieux la malice, de prendre un\nch\u2019min detourna\u00ef, d\u2019autres vaisins \u00e9taient d\u2019avis de prendre le prumier\nlait d\u2019la vaque et de l\u2019 mettre \u00e0 bouidre su une bouane fouaie d\u2019vrec\net q\u2019nou verrait bientot Collas Rouss\u00e9 et sa vieille v\u2019nir d\u2019manda\u00ef\nune goutte de lait bouailli; c\u2019h\u2019tait l\u00e0 la vraie mani\u00e8re d\u2019les\ndecouvrir. Pierre Simon fut bien bllama\u00ef de toute la contraie pour\nav\u00e9 laissi la b\u00eate \u00e9cappa\u00ef, mais i disait pour raison qu\u2019les li\u00e8vres\n\u00e9taient sujets \u00e0 des maux d\u2019 t\u00eates coum d\u2019autres personnes et que\nch\u2019tait pour chunna qu\u2019il l\u2019avait frotta\u00ef. Il a\u00efmait la soupe de li\u00e8vre\ncoum d\u2019autres, mais que ch\u2019n\u00e9rait pas \u00e9ta\u00ef bien d\u2019sa part de prendre\navantage d\u2019la paure b\u00eate.\n\nLe bouan vier M\u00eassier en p\u00e2lant d\u2019 l\u2019affaire disait: \u201cJe n\u2019 voudrais\npas dire du m\u00e0\u2019 d\u2019 personne, seit keriature ou cheva\u2019, mais j\u2019ai mes\npensa\u00efes au sujet de Collas Rouss\u00e9 et sa femme, l\u2019annaie passaie coum\nj\u2019allais r\u2019mua\u00efr nos b\u00eates de bouan matin qu\u2019est que j\u2019vis sinon daeux\nbiaux li\u00e8vres a r\u00f4guer ma raie-grasse. J\u2019fis du bruit, et i s\u2019en furent\ncouarant d\u2019vier le Vazon, et un matin j\u2019m\u00e9cryi \u201cTu devrais en aver\nhonte Collas.\u201d\n\nEh bien, chu jour l\u00e0 is\u2019en furent derriere le prinseux, trav\u2019sirent le\nbelle, et, j\u2019n\u2019ments pouint, j\u2019 cr\u00e9 qui passirent par d\u2019sous l\u2019us. Mais\nterjous, que j\u2019aie tort ou raison, ni Collas ni sa femme n\u2019out peux me\nr\u2019garda\u00efr en fache d\u2019pis chu jour-l\u00e0.\n\nJamais n\u2019ou ne me fra craire que g\u2019nia point bien de qu\u00e9 que nous\nn\u2019serait expliquer. J\u2019en ai ou\u00ef d\u2019bien des sortes d\u2019pis m\u2019en j\u00e2ne\ntemps. Jai souvent ou\u00ef la raeue du prinseux tourna\u00ef a mignet que\ng\u2019niavait fils d\u2019\u00e2me par dehors; j\u2019ai vaeux not\u2019 cat aquand i\u2019 ventait\ngros assis l\u2019 dos tourna\u00ef au faeu, guettant l\u2019us et la f\u2019n\u00eatre coum si\ns\u2019attendait \u00e0 v\u00e9er quiq\u2019un entra\u00efr, et parfais i poussait de dr\u00f4les\nde cris, j\u2019vous en reponds, et not t\u2019chen s\u2019maucha\u00ef derriere ma caire\nquand j\u2019disais mes peri\u00e8res, parfais i\u2019 braq\u2019tait dans s\u2019en dormir\ncoum s\u2019il\u2019 tait a s\u2019battre d\u2019auve d\u2019autres t\u2019chens; o\u2019ch\u2019est m\u2019n avis\nque des c\u00e2ts et des t\u2019chens v\u00e9s l\u2019s affaires d\u2019une autre mani\u00e8re que\nnous, et j\u2019cr\u00e9 que ch\u2019est grand piti que tous cheux qui s\u2019dementent de\nchangier de forme n\u2019aient affaire \u00e0 yeux.\u201d\n\nUN LURON.\n\n_A story of the good old times._\n\nAn honest man and his wife had formerly a little farm in the\nneighbourhood of Vazon; Collas Roussel and his wife, Nancy Guille, were\nquiet people, who did their best to bring up their family properly, but\nthey were noted for being able to change their forms at will.\n\nOne fine summer\u2019s evening people saw a fine hare in the rectory garden,\nwhich was dancing round a cow which was tethered there.\n\nThe cow began to look at the hare, who at once rose up on his hind\nlegs, gambolling as if he wished to invite the cow to dance with him.\nThe people did not know what to think or what it could all mean. Some\nsaid that it was either Collas Roussel or his wife, others thought\nit would be better to fire at it, and the others finally said that\nthe cow\u2019s milk would be spoilt and that she would never be worth\nslaughtering.\n\nThe clerk, Pierre Simon, who was there by chance, crept quietly near\nthe hare, caught it, and began to rub up its fur the wrong way. Some\ncried out to him to wring its neck, others to break its legs, \u201cand then\nwe will see very quickly whether it is Collas Roussel or his wife or\nno.\u201d Some said that they had seen the hare come straight from Vazon,\nbut that it had had the artfulness to take a circuitous route. Other\nneighbours advised that the first milk the cow should give after this\nshould be taken, and put to boil on a good vraic fire, and that one\nwould soon see Collas Roussel and his old woman come and ask for a\ncup of boiled milk. That was the best way of finding them out. Pierre\nSimon was much blamed by all the country side for having allowed the\nbeast to escape, but he said, as an excuse, that hares were subject\nto headaches as much as other people and it was for that that he had\nrubbed it. He liked hare soup as well as anyone, but that it would not\nhave been right of him to take advantage of the poor beast.\n\nThe good old herdsman in talking over the affair said: \u201cI would not\nspeak ill of anyone, be it creature, man, or horse, but I have my own\nideas on the subject of Collas Roussel and his wife. Last year as I was\nmoving our cattle early in the morning, what should I see but two fine\nhares nibbling my rye grass. I made a noise, and they ran off towards\nVazon, and one morning I cried out \u201cYou should be ashamed of yourself,\nCollas.\u201d\n\nWell, on that day they went behind the cider press, crossed the\ncourt-yard, and, I am not lying, I believe that they passed under the\ndoor. But ever since, whether I am wrong or right, neither Collas or\nhis wife, have been able to look me in the face.\n\nNever will you make me believe that there are not many things that are\nnot explained to us. I have heard of all sorts since my young days.\nI have often heard the wheel of the cider press turn at midnight,\nwhen there was not a soul about. I have seen our cat when it blew\nhard, sitting with his back turned to the fire, watching the door and\nthe window as if it expected to see some one enter, and sometimes it\nuttered curious cries, I assure you, and our dog would hide himself\nbehind my chair when I said my prayers. Sometimes he barked in his\nsleep, as if he were fighting with other dogs. Oh, it is my opinion\nthat cats and dogs see things in a different way to what we do, and I\nthink it is a great pity that all those who deny that people can change\ntheir forms, cannot refer to them.\u201d\n\nA TRIFLER.\n\n[186] The above Guernsey story of animal transformations I found cut\nout and placed with Sir Edgar MacCulloch\u2019s MSS. in its Guernsey-French\nform. I think it better to give both the Guernsey-French and its\nEnglish translation, the former being the language in which all these\nold stories are handed down to us.\n\n\nTHE MILLER AND THE DUCK.\n\nA miller, one day passing by his mill-pond at the Vrangue, was\nattracted by the noise and struggles of a very beautiful duck. He\nsoon perceived that something was wrong, and that, unless the bird\nwas speedily relieved, it must perish. He accordingly, with some\ndifficulty, succeeded in extricating the duck from the water, and took\nit into the mill, where, after wiping it dry, and endeavouring to\narrange its ruffled feathers, he deposited it in a place of safety and\nleft it. Returning shortly afterwards, he was astonished to find its\nplace supplied by a very beautiful and richly-dressed lady, who thanked\nhim for his humanity, and assured him, but for his assistance, she must\ninevitably have been drowned, promising him at the same time, that as\nlong as he kept the adventure secret, he should, whenever he was in\nwant, find a sum of money deposited on his mill stone.[187]\n\n[187] From Miss E. Chepmell.\n\nThe transformation of princesses into ducks by magical arts is a very\ncommon incident in the fairy tales of Norway and Sweden and Denmark.\nSee Thorpe\u2019s _Yule-tide Stories_.\n\n\nMAHY DE LA CATTE.\n\nAn old sea captain, of the name of Mahy, who for many years had\nnavigated a cutter between Guernsey and England, had, at last, by\nindustry and perseverance, amassed a sufficient competency to enable\nhim to give up his arduous and dangerous profession, and pass the\nremainder of his days in peace on shore. At least, so he hoped, but,\nalas! the expectation of happiness, which poor mortals indulge in,\nis often doomed to be disappointed, and often by apparently trivial\ncauses. Who could have guessed that a cat would have embittered the\nremaining days of the old sailor? Yet so it was. The mischievous\ntricks of this imp of Satan rendered his life almost unbearable; not a\nmoment\u2019s rest could he enjoy in his own house. In vain did he attempt\nto drive the troublesome brute away. If ejected by the door, she\nreturned immediately by the window, or down the chimney. It was useless\nto attempt to catch her; she never slept, and her activity was so great\nthat she escaped every blow aimed at her. One day, as he was sitting by\nhis fireside, the tricks of the cat became unsupportable; if he dozed\noff for a moment, his wig was twitched off his head; if he laid down\nhis pipe, puss was watching her opportunity to give a sly pat and knock\nit off the table; the moment his glass of grog left his hand, it was\nsure to be upset. At last his patience being quite exhausted, he seized\nthe poker and gave chase, but with as little effect as ever. Puss\ncontrived to elude him, and managed so well that blows, aimed at her,\nfell on the furniture and crockery. After leading him several times\nround the room, she escaped into the passage, and seated herself on the\n\u201checq\u201d or half door, which was formerly to be found in almost every\nhouse. Mahy seized a gun that was lying on the bacon-rack, and aimed at\nthe cat, exclaiming at the same time, \u201cNow I have you!\u201d The cat paused,\nturned round, and, in a voice which domestic jars and curtain lectures\nmade by far too familiar to him, said, very quietly and distinctly,\n\u201cPas _acou\u00e2re_.\u201d (\u201cNot yet.\u201d)\n\n[Illustration: \u201cOld Mill House at La Vrangue, at the beginning of the\nNineteenth Century.\u201d]\n\nHe then, for the first time, remembered that he had never seen puss and\nhis wife at one and the same moment, and the unpleasant truth flashed\nacross his mind that his good woman was one of those who frequent the\nweekly entertainments given by his Satanic Majesty on Friday nights at\nCatioroc, Pleinmont, le Cimeti\u00e8re de Torteval, and elsewhere.\n\nSoon afterwards, Mrs. Mahy\u2019s identity was revealed in another manner.\nIt is well known to housekeepers who retain the good old custom of\nhaving their linen washed and ironed at home, that an amount of\ngossip, scarcely to be credited, goes on on these occasions. The women\nemployed, moving as they do from house to house, pick up all the news\nthat has arisen during the week, and, meeting every day with fresh\ncompanions, retail what they have heard, and gather new information\nin return, from every direction. Of course the characters of the\nneighbours, and even of their employers, are not spared, and for\nthis latter reason, perhaps, it is that a certain degree of mystery\nfrequently pervades these conversations, and that listeners and\neavesdroppers are discouraged. A sort of freemasonry prevails, and it\nis only by a rare accident that the scandal and gossip retailed at the\nwashing tub or ironing board find their way to the parlour. Great,\ntherefore, was the astonishment of the discreet and prudent workwomen,\nwhose avocations took them to the houses in the neighbourhood of Madame\nMahy\u2019s dwelling, to find that their most confidential communications\nwere repeated, and could in most cases be traced to that good lady.\nThey had never detected her listening; they felt convinced that none\namong them could be so treacherous as to betray their secrets. They\ndetermined to keep a sharp look-out, and at last the mystery was\nsolved. A young ironer, of more keen observation than her companions,\nhad remarked that, in whatever house they worked, the same old tabby\ncat was to be seen seated before the fire, and apparently dreaming away\nher existence. Her suspicions were aroused. She watched puss closely,\nand was convinced at last that, even when apparently dozing, pussy was\nlistening attentively to what was going on. She was not long in forming\na plan to prove whether her conjectures were correct. She took up a\nflat iron from the hearth, and, under the pretence of cleaning and\ncooling it on the mat, approached the unsuspecting cat and suddenly\napplied it to her nose. Puss jumped up and suddenly disappeared with a\nyell, which, as the conclave of gossips declared, resembled far more\nthe cry of a woman in pain than the miauling of a cat. Next day it was\nrumoured abroad that poor Madame Mahy, while sitting before her fire,\nhad been overtaken with sleep, and falling forward had burnt her face\nseverely on the bars of the grate! \u201cYou know,\u201d said the old woman who\nrelated the story, \u201cthat Capt. Mahy never passed for a conjuror. He\nought however to have had more wit than to tell these stories to his\nfriends over a glass of grog, for, although he did not say that he had\nrecognised his wife\u2019s voice, or that he did not believe that she had\ndozed over the fire, they had already made the remark that Mrs. Mahy\nand the cat had never been seen together, and were not long in drawing\ntheir conclusions and publishing them to the world. The story soon\nfound its way to those hot-beds of gossip, the public bake-houses, and\nfrom thence over all the town.\u201d[188]\n\n[188] From Miss Martineau, to whom the story was related by Mrs.\nJonathan Bichard, of L\u2019Ancresse, and also from Rachel Du Port.\n\n\nEDITOR\u2019S NOTE. TWO WITCHES AND TWO CATS.\n\nIn the Vale parish, very many years ago, lived a father and daughter,\nNico and Denise Roberts. Denise was an extremely pretty girl, and\nPierre Henry, the richest man in the parish, wanted to marry her.\nThere were two old maiden ladies who were neighbours of the Roberts\u2019,\nand were excessively jealous of all the attention and admiration\nDenise received. They both considered that they were still young and\nfascinating, and one was considered to have designs on old Roberts, and\nthe other on Pierre Henry himself.\n\nThey both had the reputation of being witches by all the neighbours,\nprincipally because they were never seen without two black cats, and\nthey even used to go so far as to take these two cats with them, when,\nin the evenings, as was their frequent custom, they would take their\nknitting and go and sit for hours in the Roberts\u2019 kitchen. Denise\nused to implore her father not to encourage \u201c_ces daeux vieilles\nsorilles_,\u201d[189] knowing well that they were trying to poison his mind\nagainst Pierre Henry, but he paid no attention to his daughter, as they\namused him by telling him all the gossip and scandal of the place, and\nhe used to sit and let them whisper to him on one side of the hearth,\nwhile Pierre and Denise sat on the other; but all the time the two\nlatter were talking, they were annoyed by the cats brought in by old\nMargot and Olympe Le Moine, and this went on evening after evening.\nIf Pierre tried to move his chair nearer to hers, one of the cats\nwould climb up and manage to thrust its claws in his leg. If he bent\nforward to whisper to her, the other cat would jump on her shoulder,\nand prevent Denise from attending to what he was saying. After some\ntime he grew convinced that all this could not be accidental, so, one\nevening, just as the largest of the two cats had perched itself on\nDenise\u2019s shoulder at the most inopportune moment, he whispered in its\near \u201c_Margot, tu qu\u00e9rr\u00e2s_\u201d (\u201cMargot, you will tumble down.\u201d) At that\nmoment, Margot Le Moine, who was sitting at the other end of the room,\nfell off her chair in a dead faint, and the cat gave a yell and darted\nup the chimney. This finally convinced old Roberts as to the true\ncharacter of his friends, and he swore that never again should these\ntwo \u201c_qu\u00e9raudes_\u201d darken his doors, and, soon after, Denise Roberts and\nPierre Henry were married.[190]\n\n[189] M\u00e9tivier translates _sorille_ as a term of reproach, derived\nprobably from the Bas-Breton _sorelh_, wizard, _sorelh\u00e9s_, witch.\n\n[190] From Mrs. Charles Marquand, who had heard it from Denise Roberts\u2019\nfirst cousin.\n\n\nTHE TRANSFORMED WIZARD.\n\nIt is one of the greatest characteristics of wizards and witches that\nthey have the power of assuming any form they please.\n\nA man, who kept a large number of cows, observed that they were\ngradually pining away, that they failed to give the usual quantity of\nmilk, and that no care that he could bestow on them availed aught in\nimproving their condition. One or two of them had already died, and he\nfeared that all the others would soon follow their example. The summer\nhad set in, and at that season the cows are left out all night in the\nfield, but when in the early morning the farmer went to look after\nthem, he generally found them thoroughly exhausted, and looking as if\nthey had been hard driven all night.\n\nAt last he began to suspect that the poor animals were under the\ninfluence of some spell, and he determined to watch, in order to\ndiscover, if possible, what means were used to bring the cows into\nthe condition in which he found them. It seems rather a singular\ncircumstance that wizards and witches, with all their cleverness, do\nnot appear to be able at times to see things which are passing under\ntheir very eyes. Perhaps their eagerness to do mischief blinds them to\nthe danger of discovery. At all events, the farmer, who had concealed\nhimself, as soon as the daylight had well departed, in a cattle shed\nthat stood in one corner of the field, remained undisturbed, with his\neyes intently fixed on the cows, who were lying down, quietly chewing\nthe cud.\n\nAbout midnight his attention was attracted by a large black dog, which\njumped over the hedge separating his field from that of a neighbour\nwith whom he had lately had a quarrel. The dog approached the cows,\nstood up on his hind legs, and began to dance before them, cutting such\ncapers and somersaults as the farmer had never seen before. No sooner\nhad the cows seen the dog than they also stood upright, and imitated\nall his movements. The farmer crept stealthily out of the field, went\nhome, loaded his gun with a silver coin, which he cut into slugs,--for\nit is a well known fact that no baser metal than silver will wound a\nsorcerer,--returned to the field, where he found the dance still going\non as fast and furious as ever, and fired at the dog, which ran off\nhowling, and limping on three legs.\n\nThe next day his neighbour was seen with his arm in a sling, and it was\ngiven out that, in returning from the town the previous evening, he had\nfallen accidentally over a heap of stones, and so broken it. The farmer\nhad his own ideas, but wisely kept them to himself. His neighbour\nhad had a lesson; he found that he had to deal with a resolute man;\nthe cows were allowed to remain unmolested, and soon recovered their\npristine health and strength. This is said to have occurred in\nJersey.[191]\n\n[191] From Reuben Wilkins.\n\n\nLA DAME AU VOILE.\n\nSome years have now elapsed since a family had reason to suppose that\nrecourse had been had to magic arts in order to injure them. Their\nhealth declined, their cattle fell sick and died, their crops failed,\nand everything went wrong with them. It was but too plain that they\nwere bewitched, and no chance remained of any amelioration of their\ncondition unless they could discover the author of their misfortunes.\nThey therefore determined, by the advice of a friend skilled in white\nwitchcraft, to perform a charm for the purpose of obliging the wizard\nor witch to show himself. This charm is popularly called \u201c_Une\nbou\u00efture_\u201d or \u201cboiling,\u201d and consists in setting certain ingredients\nto seethe in a large cauldron. The pot, duly filled, was accordingly\nplaced on the hearth with all the prescribed ceremonial.\n\nNo sooner did it begin to simmer than six mice entered the room,\nwalking in procession, two and two, and all deeply veiled. As soon,\nhowever, as the pot boiled, the mice disappeared, and in their place\nstood a lady whom they all knew full well.\n\nHer name we have not been able to discover, our informant being\nevidently unwilling to compromise herself by mentioning it, but she was\nwell known to the market women by the name of \u201cLa Dame au Voile,\u201d and\nbold would have been the farmer\u2019s wife who would have refused to let\nher have her wares at her own price.\n\nAnother version of the story says that the mice were caught and carried\nto the office of \u201cLe Procureur du Roi,\u201d and that in the presence of\nthis legal personage they resumed their own shapes, and appeared as\nthree ladies and three women of the lower orders.[192]\n\n[192] From Miss Martineau, to whom the story was related by an old\nservant.\n\n\nCASE OF A MAN WHO WAS BEWITCHED.\n\nA man of the name of Collenette, living in the Castel parish, had sold\na lot of furze to another countryman, who was one of the drummers of\nthe North Regiment of Militia, but did not receive payment for it at\nthe time of striking the bargain. Some days afterwards, Collenette, on\nhis way to his work, was met by a neighbour to whom he owed a small sum\nof money, who put him in mind of his debt. He excused himself for the\ntime, promising to pay as soon as ever he should receive his money for\nthe furze he had sold. He then proceeded to his work, which was that of\na quarryman, but the very first blow he struck the stone caused him to\nstart back in affright, for he distinctly heard a voice proceeding from\nthe rock, which said to him:--\n\n\u201cThou hast told such an one that I did not pay thee for the furze. Thou\nshalt suffer for this to the last day of thy life, but that day is\nstill distant.\u201d\n\nHe looked about to see if any one was concealed near, from whom the\nvoice could proceed, but saw no one. He then returned to his work, but\nevery minute the same words rang in his ears. At noon he ate his meal,\nwhich he had brought to the field with him, and then, as labourers\ndo, lay down on the grass to sleep. No sooner had he closed his eyes\nthan he was roused by the beating of a great drum close to his ears.\nHe started up, but could see nothing, and whenever he lay down the\ndrumming re-commenced.\n\nThis state of things continued, and the poor man, worn out by fatigue\nand fright, fell into a lingering illness.\n\nIf by chance he fell asleep, he was soon awakened by a sensation\nwhich he described as being as though a calf passed over his body,\nimmediately after which he seemed to be violently lifted from his\nbed and thrown on the floor. It is even asserted that articles of\nfurniture, which were in the same room with him, were thrown about\nwithout any visible agency.\n\n[Illustration: Victor Hugo\u2019s \u201cHaunted House\u201d at Pleinmont.]\n\nHis friends and neighbours kindly visited him, and endeavoured to\ndivert his mind from dwelling on his misfortunes, but all to no avail.\nWhether in company or alone, he was equally tormented. At last, one\nnight, he escaped the vigilance of his friends, and the next morning\nwas found on the sea-shore, entangled in the mooring ropes of a fishing\nboat, and drowned in two or three inches of water.[193]\n\n[193] From Rachel Du Port.\n\n\nJEAN FALLA AND THE WITCHES.\n\nNowhere is the life of a fisherman to be envied. In summer, when the\nsea is calm, the days long, and the nights comparatively warm, it may\nbe endurable. The amateur may find pleasure in sailing over a sunny\nsea, and the excitement of drawing in the lines or nets laden with fish\nmay prove a sufficient compensation for many minor hardships; but the\nman whose means of subsistence depend on his precarious gains, who must\nbrave the perils of the waves at all seasons, at all hours, and in all\nweathers, is to be pitied.\n\nThe coasts of Guernsey abound in fish of all sorts, and the earliest\nauthentic records of the island prove that for many centuries the\nfisheries have been of great importance, and one of the main sources of\nwealth to the inhabitants.\n\nConsidering the great number of boats kept, the dangerous nature of the\ncoast, the numerous rocks, the intricate currents and strong tides, it\nis wonderful that so few accidents occur. The fishermen are skilful\nnavigators, and have full confidence in themselves; they fear not the\nusual dangers of a sailor\u2019s life, but they dread the supernatural\ninfluences that may be brought to bear against them.\n\nThey--or even some member of their family--may have, perhaps quite\nunconsciously, offended some old crone who has it in her power to\ninjure them in various ways. By her evil arts she may cause their\nlines to become inextricably entangled in the sea-weed, or to come up\nladen with dog-fish, blue sharks, and such-like worthless fish. Happy\nindeed may the poor fisherman consider himself if the old woman\u2019s spite\nconfines itself to such trifling annoyances, for has she not also the\npower to raise storms? Is it not on record how Collette Salmon, wife of\nCollas Du Port, caused the loss of a boat and the death of the whole\ncrew, merely because one of them asked her more than she thought was\nright for three miserable dog-fish? Is it not well known how, when that\nnoted witch, Marie Mouton, was banished from the island for her evil\ndoings, the cutter that landed her at Southampton encountered a most\nterrific gale on its return? And how the captain and crew were ready\nto depose upon oath that during the height of the storm they had seen\nMarie, sometimes perched on the top of the mast, and at other times\nastride on the jib-boom, tearing the sails to shreds and tatters? Who\ncould be incredulous enough to resist such testimony as this? Certainly\nnot Jean Falla. He was a bold fisherman. Every rock and shallow from\nthe Hanois to the Amfroques were thoroughly well known to him. By night\nor day could he steer his way through their most intricate passes. He\nwas not aware of having any enemy, but witches are easily provoked to\nanger, and unwittingly he may have offended one of the sisterhood.\nIf he had done so, he had cause to repent his involuntary fault, and\nto his dying day he never forgot the fright he had to undergo in\nconsequence.\n\nHe had left his moorings in the Bay of Les P\u00e9queries early in the\nmorning. A more beautiful day had never risen on Guernsey. The sun\nshone, a light breeze just ruffled the surface of the sea, the tide\nserved, fish were plentiful on the coast, and everything promised an\nabundant catch. He sailed out alone, reached the fishing ground, took\nhis marks carefully, cast out his lines, and then anchored to await\nthe turn of the tide when the fish begin to bite. It was not long\nbefore the gentle rocking of the boat and the warmth of the atmosphere\nbegan to make him feel drowsy, and, knowing that an hour or two must\nstill elapse before he was likely to catch anything, he yielded to the\ninfluence, and was soon sound asleep.\n\nHow long his sleep lasted he was never able to say, but the impression\non his mind was that scarce a quarter of an hour had elapsed before\nhe was awakened by one of the most terrific storms that he had ever\nexperienced. The boat was rolling fearfully, and rapidly filling with\nwater. To hoist a sail, to slip the cable, and to turn the boat\u2019s\nhead in the direction of the land was his next endeavour, but at this\ncritical moment his courage almost failed him. In the howlings of\nthe storm he heard a peal of unearthly laughter above his head, and,\nlooking up, was horrorstruck at discerning, in the fast flying scud,\nthe form of an old woman perfectly well known to him, who appeared\nquite at home in her elevated situation. She was accompanied by many\nothers who were strangers to him, but she was the leader of the party,\nand it was evident that his fright and embarrassment were the cause of\ntheir uproarious merriment. Who she was, he could never be prevailed\nupon to say, and, no doubt, in this he acted wisely.\n\nThe wind fortunately favoured him. He made for the land, reached his\nmoorings in safety, ran his boat up high and dry on the beach, and\nleaped ashore. A fresh peal of laughter from his a\u00ebrial tormentors\nspurred him on.\n\nHis house was at no great distance from the shore, but the way to it\nby the road was circuitous. He took, therefore, a short cut across the\nfields, passed over one or two hedges without accident, jumped over\nanother and alighted astride on the back of a cow that was quietly\nchewing the cud on the other side, regardless of the turmoil of the\nelements. The poor beast, roused so suddenly from her repose, started\nup and rushed madly across the field, carrying her terrified load with\nher. The middle of the field was crossed by one of those deep cuttings\nwhich are made for draining the marshy lands of that district, and the\ncow, brought suddenly to a stand, precipitated the unfortunate Jean\nFalla head over heels into the muddy ditch.\n\nAgain the unearthly laughter resounded. A less resolute man than Jean\nwould have lost all presence of mind, but he remembered that he was\nwithin a few perches of his own house. He scrambled out as well as he\ncould, reached his cottage door, which was fortunately open, entered,\nclosed the door behind him, and fell exhausted on the floor. Another\nprolonged peal of laughter dying away in the distance was heard\noutside, but Jean, once under his own roof, felt himself safe.\n\nIt was some time, however, before he recovered from his fright, and,\nwhatever his real feelings towards them may have been, he was observed\nfrom that time forward to treat all old women with marked deference and\nrespect.[194]\n\n[194] From my father, to whom the main incidents were related by Sieur\nJean Falla himself.\n\n\nTHE BLADEBONE.\n\nEvery careful and prudent person, before throwing away either the\nbladebone of an animal, or an empty egg-shell, makes a hole in it, and\nthe reason assigned for this practice is to prevent an improper use\nbeing made of either by witches; for it is firmly believed that they\nhave the power of employing both the one and the other as vessels to\nconvey them across the seas. No matter how tempestuous the weather\nmay be, how high the billows may be rolling, the magic bark makes its\nway against wind and tide, with more speed and greater certainty than\nthe best appointed steamer that was ever launched. Those who avail\nthemselves of these means of conveyance seem to possess the power of\nmaking their vessel assume the appearance of a handsome well-rigged\nship. It is related that in days long past, a respectable inhabitant\nof the neighbourhood of La Perelle Bay, went out with the early dawn,\nafter a stormy night, to collect the sea-weed which the waves might\nhave cast on the shore, or to pick up perchance, some fragments of\nwreckage, which are not unfrequently stranded on that dangerous coast\nafter a heavy gale from the westward.\n\nHe was surprised to see, in the yet uncertain light of the morning,\na large ship in the offing bearing down upon the land. He watched it\nattentively, expecting every moment to see it strike on one of the\nmany sunken rocks that render the navigation of our seas so difficult\nand perilous. To his astonishment the ship, as it neared the shore,\nappeared to diminish rapidly in size. He was alarmed, but curiosity\ngot the better of fright, and he stood his ground manfully. The vessel\nat last stranded close to the spot where he was standing, and, by this\ntime, it was reduced to the dimensions of one of those toy boats, with\nwhich the children amuse themselves in the pools left on the beach by\nthe receding tide.\n\nA man of dwarfish stature stepped on shore, and the countryman then\nperceived that the mysterious vessel had assumed the form of the\nbladebone of a sheep, enveloped in a mass of tangled sea-weed. Nothing\ndaunted, he addressed the mysterious stranger, and asked him whence he\ncame? What was his name? Whither was he going? The stranger either was,\nor pretended to be, ignorant of the language in which he was addressed,\nbut to the last question answered: \u201cJe vais cheminant\u201d--(\u201cI am going\ntravelling\u201d).\n\nHe is said, however, to have remained in the island, to have built\nhimself a house on a spot called \u201cCasquet,\u201d[195] in the neighbourhood\nof the place where he landed, and to have become the progenitor of a\nfamily which bears the name of \u201cLe Cheminant,\u201d and of which many of the\nmembers were famous for their skill as smiths.\n\nIt is not unlikely that in this tale we have the remains--strangely\naltered by passing through the mouths of many successive\ngenerations--of some one of the numerous legendary stories of the\nearly British saints, who, according to some of the hagiographers,\nwere in the habit of navigating from Brittany to Cornwall, and from\nWales to Ireland, on their mantles, in stone troughs, or on bundles of\nsea-weed.[196]\n\n[195] According to M\u00e9tivier\u2019s _Dictionary_--\u201cCasquet\u201d--(from the Latin\n_Casicare_) means \u201cOver-fall Rock,\u201d and is the same as the _Casus\nRupes_ of Hearne and Leland.\n\nEDITOR\u2019S NOTE.--The name of the house is \u201cLa Perelle,\u201d \u201cCasquet\u201d is\na nick-name. After the erection of a lighthouse on \u201cCasquet\u201d or \u201cLes\nCasquets,\u201d the fishermen keeping their boats in Perelle Bay, nick-named\nthe house \u201cLe P\u2019tit Casquet,\u201d because the inhabitants were in the habit\nof sitting up late, and consequently there was light to be seen in the\nhouse when they returned from sea late in the evening.--_From John de\nGaris, Esq._\n\n[196] From George M\u00e9tivier, Esq., and Mrs. Savidan.\n\nSee in Thorpe\u2019s _Northern Mythology_, Vol. I., p. 179, how Oller\ncrosses the sea on a bone.\n\n\nA WITCH\u2019S FORESIGHT.\n\nIt is generally believed that those who practise unlawful acts, however\nclever they may be, are generally quite unable to foresee what is\nlikely to happen to themselves. That this is not invariably the case\nthe following story will show.\n\nA woman, who had the reputation of being a sorceress, contrived to\nlive in comparative ease and comfort by begging from door to door,\nfew venturing to send her away without an alms for fear of incurring\nher displeasure, and bringing down some misfortune on themselves or\ntheir households. She presented herself one morning at the house of\na farmer in easy circumstances, whose wife was one not likely to be\nimposed upon, and not by any means remarkable for liberality towards\nthe poor. The witch\u2019s well-contrived tale of distress failed to make\nan impression on the hard heart of the farmer\u2019s wife, and the beggar\nwas dismissed without even a kind word: indeed, it is even said that\nthe odious epithet \u201c_Ca\u00efmande_\u201d[197] was applied to her. On turning\nher back on the inhospitable door, she was heard to mutter between her\nteeth, \u201cYou shall repent of this.\u201d\n\n[Illustration: Old Market Place and States Arcade.]\n\nIt was a fine morning in spring, and a hen that had hatched an early\nbrood of chickens, had brought them out into the sun, and was clucking\nover her callow brood, and scratching the earth in search of seeds and\ninsects for them. The farmer\u2019s wife was looking on with complacency,\nand already calculating in her mind what the brood was likely to\nfetch in the market. The proverb tells us that we must not reckon our\nchickens before they are hatched. It seems that it is not wise to\nreckon on them even after they are hatched. And this the farmer\u2019s wife\nfound to her cost; for, scarcely was the witch out of the farm-yard,\nbefore one of the chickens fell on its side, gave a kick or two, and\ndied. Its example was soon followed by all its brothers and sisters,\nand, last of all, the bereaved mother also departed this life. The\nfarmer\u2019s wife was at no loss to whose evil agency to impute this\nuntoward event, and hastened at once to consult an old neighbour, a\nwise woman, who had the reputation of knowing how these unholy spells\nwere to be counteracted, and what means were to be adopted to prevent\nthe sorceress from doing any further mischief. She was advised to\nlose no time in returning home; to extract carefully the hearts of all\nthe chickens, as well as that of the hen; to stick new pins or nails\ninto them, and to roast or fry them over a brisk fire, when, she was\nassured, that not only would the witch be made to suffer unheard of\nagonies, but that all power would be taken from her to do any further\nmischief.\n\nThe farmer\u2019s wife hastened home to follow the instructions given her\nby the wise woman, but found, to her dismay, that the sorceress had\nprofited by her short absence from home to re-visit the farmyard and\nthat she had carefully removed every heart from the carcases.[198]\n\n[197] M\u00e9tivier derives this word--meaning \u201cbeggar\u201d--from the old\nFrench word \u201c_guermenter_\u201d to complain. The old Bas-Breton word was\n\u201c_c\u2019harm_\u201d--to utter cries.\n\n[198] From Charlotte Du Port.\n\n\nFORTUNE TELLING.\n\nPersons who have the temerity to wish to pry into the secrets of\nfuturity are frequently punished for their curiosity by the exact\nfulfilment of the prediction, although it may appear to be such as\ncould by no possibility come to pass. The following story may be taken\nas an instance.\n\nA young man applied to a woman, who pretended to be able to foresee\nevents, to tell him what was likely to happen to him hereafter. She\nforetold that he had not long to live, but that he should be hanged,\ndrowned, and burnt. Not knowing how it was possible that all these\nevils should come upon him, he made light of the prophecy, but the\nevent proved the truth of the soothsayer\u2019s prediction. One night,\nhaving allowed his fire to go out, and having no means at hand to\nrekindle it, he ran across the fields to the nearest habitation to\nbeg a light. On his return, in jumping over a ditch, his foot caught\nin some brambles, and he fell head foremost into the water, his legs\nat the same time became so entangled in the bushes that he remained\nsuspended, and the torch which he held in his hand setting fire to his\nclothes, he perished, as the fortune-teller had predicted, by hanging,\ndrowning, and burning.[199]\n\n[199] From Rachel Du Port.\n\n\nEDITOR\u2019S NOTE.\n\nOther Editor\u2019s Notes on this subject will be found in Appendix B.\n\nCompare \u201cDamasc, Seigneur d\u2019Asni\u00e8res, excommuni\u00e9 par Hugues de\nSaint-Calais, Ev\u00eaque de Mans (A.D. 1136-1144). Damasc, averti qu\u2019il\np\u00e9rirait par le feu et par l\u2019eau, ne fit qu\u2019en rire; mais un jour,\ntraversant en bateau la Sarthe pendant un orage, il fut foudroy\u00e9 et\nnoy\u00e9.\u201d--La Suze.--_Magazin Pittoresque_, 34me ann\u00e9e, p. 312.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XI.\n\nCharms, Spells, and Incantations.\n\n    \u201cThis, gathered in the planetary hour,\n    With noxious weeds, and spell\u2019d with words of power,\n    Dire stepdames in the magic bowl infuse.\u201d\n\n                                              --_Dryden._\n\n    \u201cBegin, begin; the mystic spell prepare.\u201d\n\n                                  --_Milton._\n\n\nAs long as the popular belief in witchcraft exists--and with all the\nboasted light and civilisation of the nineteenth century it still\nholds its ground--there will be found those who imagine that the evil\ninfluence of the sorcerer may be averted by a counteracting spell, or\nby certain practices, such as carrying an amulet about one\u2019s person,\nnailing a horse-shoe to the door of a house or the mast of a ship, etc.\n\nWith the ignorant and unlearned it is often useless to reason: they\ncannot understand nice distinctions, and if their faith be shaken or\ndestroyed on one point, who can tell where the current of unbelief will\nstop? That there are persons who, by their illicit arts, can cause\nsickness to man or beast is firmly credited, but as there is no evil\nwithout a remedy, it is equally an article of popular belief that there\nare also those who are in possession of the necessary knowledge and\npower to counteract the evil designs and practices of the sorcerer.\n\nAs may readily be supposed these last are cunning and unprincipled\nwretches, who trade on the folly and superstition of their ignorant\nneighbours, and who, doubtless, are often the cause of the malady of\nthe unfortunate cow or pig, which they are afterwards called in to\nadvise about. Various charms and ceremonies are resorted to on these\noccasions, whereof the most potent appears to be that known as \u201c_la\nbou\u00efture_,\u201d which consists in setting a number of ingredients to\nseethe together in a cauldron, of which the principal is the heart of\nsome animal stuck full of pins. It is not easy to arrive at a correct\nknowledge of what is done, for great secrecy is generally observed, and\nthe actors in these superstitious follies are afraid to divulge what\ntakes place. The object of the charm seems to be either to avert the\nevil, or to discover the author of it. In the latter case, it often\nleads to serious misunderstandings between neighbours. There are,\nhowever, certain charms of a more innocent character, which can be\nresorted to without the intervention of a cunning man.\n\nShortly after the Rev. Thomas Brock took possession of the Rectory of\nSt. Pierre-du-Bois, about the beginning of the nineteenth century, he\nwas returning home one night from town, where he had been detained\nuntil a late hour. It was midnight when he reached the parsonage, and\nin the imperfect light he thought that he saw a number of persons\nassembled near the church porch. Astonished at so unusual a sight, and\nwondering what could possibly be the cause of such an assembly at that\nhour, he tied up his horse to the gate, and stepped over the stile into\nthe churchyard. On drawing near he was witness to an extraordinary\nceremony. Several of his parishioners, among whom he recognised many\nof the better sort, were walking in orderly procession round the\nchurch, and touching every angle as they passed. He addressed them and\ninquired what they were doing, but not a single word could he get in\nanswer to his questions. Perfect silence was preserved until they came\nto the church-porch, where they all knelt down and recited the Lord\u2019s\nPrayer. This was repeated more than once, and at last they left the\nplace without satisfying the legitimate curiosity of their pastor.\nDetermined to fathom the mystery, he called the next day on some of the\nprincipal actors in the ceremony, and then learnt, not without some\ndifficulty, that it was intended to remove a spell that was supposed\nto be hanging over the son or daughter of one of the parties, and that\na single word spoken by any of the persons engaged in the solemn rite,\nwould have effectually broken the charm.\n\nIn reference to this charm it may here be mentioned that an old\nservant of the Rev. W. Chepmell, Rector of St. Sampson\u2019s and the Vale,\nwas suffering from an ulcer in the leg. To cure it she went round\nthe church, stopping at each of the angles, and repeating a certain\nprayer. The Rev. H. Le M. Chepmell, D.D., who was a child at the time,\nremembers the circumstance, but does not know what the prayer was that\nwas used on the occasion.\n\nThe forms which follow, and which, for the benefit of those who\nare unacquainted with French, have been translated as closely as\npossible, were found in a book of memoranda, household and farming\naccounts, recipes for medicines, etc., which once belonged to Sieur\nJean Lenfestey, des Adams, in the parish of St. Pierre-du-Bois. It\nwas written about the end of the last, and beginning of the present,\ncentury. The mystical words used in some of the spells have been given\njust as they were found in the manuscript. They appear to be a curious\njumble of Hebrew, Greek, and Latin, very much disfigured by having\npassed through the hands of ignorant, unlettered transcribers, or,\nperhaps, by having been transmitted orally from one to another, and,\nat last, taken down from dictation. It is quite impossible to say how\nlong these spells and charms have been in use among the peasantry,\nwhether they have been handed down by tradition from times before the\nReformation, or whether--which is far more probable--they have been\nintroduced in comparatively recent times by some of the farm-labourers,\nwho, in times of peace, come to the island from the neighbouring coasts\nof Normandy and Brittany in search of work. It is only on the latter\nsupposition that the invocation of St. Blaize and St. Nicodemus, the\nsaying of a Mass, and the reciting of _Paters_ and _Ave-Marias_ can\nbe accounted for, the indigenous population having been so thoroughly\nreformed as to have lost all recollection of these matters.\n\n\nTO REMOVE ANY KIND OF SPELL, AND CAUSE THE PERSON WHO HAS CAST IT TO\nAPPEAR.\n\nChoose one of the animals whose death has been caused, taking care that\nthere is no sign of life remaining in it: take out its heart, and place\nit in a clean plate: then take nine thorns of \u201cnoble \u00e9pine\u201d[200] and\nproceed as follows:--\n\n[Illustration: The \u201cGroignet.\u201d]\n\nPierce one of the thorns into the heart, saying:--\n\n_Adibaga, Sabaoth, Adonay, contra, ratout prisons preront fini unixio\nparacle gasum_.\n\nTake two thorns and pierce them in, saying:--_Qui susum mediotos agres\ngravoil valax_.\n\nTake two more, and in placing them say:--_Laula zazai valoi sator\nsaluxu paracle gassum_.\n\nTake two more, and say in placing them:--_Mortuis cum fice suni et per\nflagelationem domini nostri Jesu Christi_.\n\nThen place the last two thorns with these words:--_Avir sunt devant\nnous paracle tui strator verbonum ossisum fidando_.\n\nThen continue saying:--\u201cI call on him or her who has caused the Missal\nAbel to be fabricated: cease from thine evil deed; come, nevertheless,\nby sea or by land, wherever thou art; show thyself to us without delay\nand without fail.\u201d\n\n(Note: that if thorns of the \u201cnoble \u00e9pine\u201d are not to be procured, one\nmay have recourse to new nails).\n\nThe heart, being pierced with thorns, as directed, must be put into a\nsmall bag and hung in the chimney. The next day it must be taken out\nof the bag and put upon a plate; then pull out the first thorn, and\nplace it in another part of the heart, pronouncing the same words as\nwere said at first; then take out the two next thorns with the fitting\nwords, and so on with the others in due order, replacing them as we\nhave directed, and being careful never to stick a thorn again into the\nsame hole. This is to be done on nine consecutive days; nevertheless,\nif you wish not to give any respite to the malefactor, you may compress\nthe nine days into one, observing the order above prescribed. At\nthe last operation, after having pierced in the thorns or nails with\nthe fitting words, you must make a large fire, place the heart on a\ngridiron, and put it to roast on the live embers. The malefactor will\nbe obliged to appear and to beg for mercy; and if it be out of his\npower to appear within the time you appoint, his death will ensue.\n\n[200] Probably a corruption of \u201caube-\u00e9pine.\u201d\n\n\nANOTHER METHOD.\n\nKill a pigeon; open it and pluck out its heart. Stick new pins all\nround the heart. Put water to boil in a small pot, and when it is\nboiling throw the heart in it. You must have ready a green turf\nto serve as a cover to the pot, and must put it on with the earth\ndownwards.\n\nThe pot must boil for an hour. Be careful to keep up a good fire of\nwood or charcoal, and at the end of the hour throw the heart into the\nburning embers. See that all the doors, windows, and other openings of\nthe house are closed. The sorcerer will come and call and knock at the\ndoor, demanding to speak with you; but you must not open to him until\nyou have made him promise to do what you wish.\n\n\nANOTHER MEANS OF CAUSING A SORCERER TO SHEW HIMSELF.\n\nTake the tails of two fresh-water eels, with the inner bark of an ash\ntree, that which is next the wood. Buy twenty-six new needles, and put\nall to burn together with flower of sulphur.\n\nIf you wish to see the sorcerer by daylight you must take the roots of\nsmall and large sage, with the pith of the elder and daffodil bulbs.\nPut the whole to boil together in vinegar, and make your arrangements\nso that it shall boil a quarter of an hour before noon. As soon as the\nfirst bubbles begin to rise the sorcerer will make his appearance. In\nthis experiment you must leave the door open. It is done simply with\nthe view of knowing the malefactor.\n\n\nTO AVERT ALL SORTS OF SPELLS AND ENCHANTMENTS.\n\nTake a sheep\u2019s heart, pierce nails into it, and hang it in the chimney,\nsaying:--_Rostin, Clasta Auvara, Chasta, Custodia, Duranee_. These\nwords must be said over the heart every day, and eight days will not\nhave elapsed before the sorcerer who has cast the spell will come and\nbeg you to remove the heart, complaining that he feels great pain\ninternally. You can then ask him to remove the spell, and he will\nrequest you to give him some animal to which he may transfer it. You\nmay grant what he asks, otherwise he will burst asunder.\n\n\nA PRESERVATIVE AGAINST SPELLS, TO BE HUNG ROUND THE NECK.\n\nTake nine bits of green broom, and two sprigs of the same, which\nyou must tie together in the form of a cross (\u00d7); nine morsels of\nelder, nine leaves of betony, nine of agrimony, a little bay salt,\nsal-ammoniac, new wax, barley, leaven, camphor and quick-silver. The\nquick-silver must be inclosed in cobbler\u2019s wax. Put the whole into\na new linen cloth which has never been used, and sew it well up so\nthat nothing may fall out. Hang this round your neck. It is a sure\npreservative against the power of witches.\n\n\nTO WIN AT PLAY\n\nOn St. John\u2019s Eve gather fern before noon. Make a bracelet of it in the\nform of these letters--H U T Y.\n\n\nTO MAKE PEACE BETWEEN MEN WHO ARE FIGHTING.\n\nWrite on the circumference of an apple the letters H A O N and throw it\ninto the midst of the combatants.\n\n\nTO STOP BLEEDING.\n\nTouching the part affected, say:--_Place + + + Consummatum + + +\nResurrexit_.\n\n\nTO CURE A BURN.\n\nRepeat these words thrice over the burn, breathing thereon each time:--\n\n    _\u201cFeu de Dieu, perds ta chaleur,_\n    _Comme Judas perdit sa couleur,_\n    _Quand il trahit notre Seigneur,_\n    _Au jardin des oliviers.\u201d_[201]\n\n[201] EDITOR\u2019S NOTE.--Another form is as follows.--\n\n    Brulure, brulure, mollis ta chaleur,\n    Comme Judas perdit sa couleur\n    En trahissant notre Seigneur.\n\n--_From John de Garis, Esq._\n\n\nTO STOP A FIRE THAT IS BURNING A HOUSE.\n\nMake three crosses on the mantel-piece with a live coal, and say:--\u201c_In\nte Domine speravi, non confundar in \u00e6ternum_.\u201d\n\n\nTO CAUSE A PERSON TO LOVE YOU.\n\nTake four-leaved clover and place it on a consecrated stone; then say\na Mass over it, put it into a nosegay, and make the person smell it,\nsaying at the same time \u201c_Gabriel illa sunt_.\u201d\n\n\nANOTHER MEANS.\n\nOn St. John\u2019s Eve gather clecampane (alli\u00e8ne de campana), dry it in an\noven, reduce it to powder with ambergris, and wear it next your heart\nfor nine days. Then endeavour to get the person whose love you wish to\nobtain, to swallow a portion of it, and the effect is sure to follow.\n\n\nTO PREVENT A SPORTSMAN FROM KILLING ANY GAME.\n\nSay:--\u201c_Si ergo me qu\u00e6ritis, sinite hos abire_.\u201d\n\n\nTO CURE A HORSE THAT HAS THE VIVES OR THE GRIPES.[202]\n\nSay:--\u201cOur help is in the name of the Lord, who made the Heavens and\nthe Earth. In the name of God, Amen! St. Nicodemus, who tookest down\nour Lord Jesus Christ from the cross, deign by the permission of God to\ncure this horse (name the colour), belonging to (name the owner), of\nthe vives or gripes (as the case may be).\u201d\n\nThen let all who are present say the Lord\u2019s Prayer nine times.\n\n[202] This charm must have been long current in Guernsey, for the\ninvocation with which it commences is a strictly Presbyterian form,\nbeing the sentence with which the services of the Reformed French\nChurch invariably began.\n\nThe mention of \u201c_Paters_\u201d and \u201c_Aves_,\u201d and the invocation of St. Eloy\nin the second charm, points clearly to a Romish origin, and render it\nvery doubtful whether the charm could ever have been resorted to in\nGuernsey within the last two or three hundred years. St. Nicodemus\nmight still be recognised, but St. Eloy has long been entirely\nforgotten, and probably not one in a thousand of our peasantry has the\nslightest idea of what is meant by the words \u201c_Pater_\u201d and \u201c_Ave_.\u201d\n\n\nANOTHER FORM.\n\n\u201cHorse (name the colour), belonging to (name the owner), if thou hast\nthe vives, or the red gripes, or any other of thirty-six maladies, in\ncase thou be suffering from them: May God cure thee and the blessed\nSaint Eloy! In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy\nGhost, Amen!\u201d\n\nThen say five \u201c_Paters_\u201d and five \u201c_Aves_\u201d on your knees.\n\n\nTO REMOVE A FISH BONE FROM THE THROAT.\n\nSay:--\u201cBlaise, martyr for Jesus Christ, command thee to come up or go\ndown.\u201d\n\n\nTO PREVENT A DOG FROM BARKING OR BITING.\n\nSay three times, while looking at the dog:--\u201cBare--Barbare! May\nthy tail hang down! May St. Peter\u2019s key close thy jaws until\nto-morrow!\u201d[203]\n\n[203] EDITOR\u2019S NOTE.--Many of these charms are to be found almost word\nfor word in _Croyances et L\u00e9gendes du Centre de la France_, by Laisnel\nde la Salle, Vol. I., p. 291-330., etc.\n\n\nQUICK-SILVER A PROTECTION AGAINST WITCHCRAFT.\n\nA belief in the efficacy of quick-silver in counteracting the evil eye,\nand averting the injurious effects of spells, is very universal among\nthe lower orders; and there are many persons who will never venture\nbeyond their threshold without having in their pocket, or hung round\ntheir neck, a small portion of this metal.\n\nA fisherman, who for some time had been unsuccessful in his fishing,\nimagined that a spell had been cast upon him. No man was better\nacquainted with the marks by which the fishermen recognise the spots\nwhere the finny tribe are to be found in most abundance. None was\nbetter acquainted with the intricate tides and currents which render\nthe rocky coasts of the island such a puzzle to navigators, or knew\nbetter when to take advantage of them to secure a plentiful catch of\nfish. His tackle was good, he used the best and most tempting bait, and\nyet, under the most propitious circumstances, with the most favourable\nconditions of tide, wind, and weather, day after day passed and he took\nnext to nothing. Winter was coming on, and a longer continuance of\nbad weather than is usual at that season, combined with the worthless\nquality of the fish caught when he did venture out between the\ngales,--in short, a continued run of ill-luck,--confirmed him in the\nidea that he was bewitched.\n\nHe confided his fears to an old man of his own profession, who had the\nreputation of knowing more than his neighbours, and particularly of\nbeing able to give advice in such cases as this, where there was reason\nto suppose that some unlawful influence was at work.\n\nThe old man listened to his tale, confirmed him in the idea that some\nevil-disposed person, in league with Satan, had cast an evil eye on\nhim, and ended by counselling him always to carry quick-silver about\nwith him. With this precaution he told him that he might defy the\nspells of all the wizards and witches that ever met on a Friday night\nat Cati\u00f4roc to pay their homage to Old Nick.\n\nThe fisherman took the old man\u2019s advice, and procured a small vial\ncontaining mercury, which he placed carefully in the purse in which he\ncarried his money, when he was fortunate enough to have any.\n\nStrange to say, from that moment his luck turned, and, a succession of\ngood hauls rewarding his industry, the fisherman soon found himself in\npossession of what, to him, was a goodly sum of money, and in which\nnot a few gold pieces were included. These were, of course, carefully\ndeposited in the purse containing the precious amulet, to which he\nattributed his good luck and his deliverance from the spell, which, he\nno longer doubted, had been cast upon him.\n\n[Illustration: Old House at Cobo.]\n\nAlas! his confidence in the charm was destined to be, for a time,\nrudely broken. One night, in man\u0153uvring his boat, an accidental blow\nfrom some of the gear shattered the bottle containing the quick-silver.\nWhat was his dismay the next morning, on opening his purse, to perceive\nthat all his gold was turned into silver, and that the silver coins\nbore the appearance of vile lead! He was in despair, concluding\nvery naturally that he had fallen into the power of some prince of\nmagicians, and that henceforth he was a ruined man. He again consulted\nhis old friend, whose experience this time proved of more practical\nuse than his former advice. The wise man soon saw what had caused\nthe apparent change in the coin, and recommended him to go without\ndelay to a silversmith, who soon removed the quick-silver with which\nthe precious pieces were coated, and restored them to their pristine\nbrightness.[204]\n\n[204] From Mr. John Le Cheminant.\n\n\nTHE CURE OF WARTS, ETC.\n\nThere are certain old men and women who, without pretending to any\nsupernatural knowledge, are nevertheless supposed to possess the power\nof causing those unsightly excrescences (warts) to disappear, merely\nby looking at, and counting, them. Some mystery, however, is attached\nto the operation. They may not impart their secret, neither may they\nreceive money for their services, although there is no reason why they\nshould refuse any other present that may be offered. There is no doubt\nthat the hands of growing boys and girls are more often disfigured\nby these excrescences than those of adults, and that, at a certain\nage, they are apt to disappear almost suddenly. Perhaps this has\nbeen noticed by the persons who pretend to the art of removing warts,\nand that they do not undertake the cure unless they perceive certain\nindications of their being likely to disappear before long by the mere\nagency of natural causes. Nevertheless, the cases in which a cure has\nbeen effected after all the usual surgical remedies have been resorted\nto in vain, are quite sufficiently numerous to justify a belief in the\nminds of the vulgar of a possession of this extraordinary gift.\n\nThe operation, whatever it may be, is designated by the word\n\u201c_d\u00e9compter_,\u201d which may be translated \u201cto uncount,\u201d or \u201cto count\nbackwards.\u201d\n\nThe process by which a wen, or glandular swelling, known in our local\ndialect as \u201c_un veuble_,\u201d is to be removed, is expressed by the same\nterm, but in this there is no mystery which requires concealment. The\ncharm is well known, and may be used by anyone. It is as follows.\nThe person who undertakes the cure must begin by making the sign of\nthe cross on the part affected, and must then repeat the following\nformula:--\u201c_Pour d\u00e9compter un veuble_.\u201d[205] \u201c_Saint Jean avait un\nveuble qui coulait \u00e0 neuf pertins. De neuf ils vinrent \u00e0 huit; de huit\nils vinrent \u00e0 sept; de sept ils vinrent \u00e0 six; de six ils vinrent \u00e0\ncinq; de cinq ils vinrent \u00e0 quatre; de quatre ils vinrent \u00e0 trois; de\ntrois ils vinrent \u00e0 deux; de deux ils vinrent \u00e0 un; d\u2019un il vint \u00e0\nrien, et ainsi Saint Jean perdit son veuble._\u201d\n\nThe second day the operator must begin at \u201ceight,\u201d the day after at\n\u201cseven,\u201d and so on until the whole nine are counted off, when, if a\ncure is not effected, it must be set down to some neglect or want of\nfaith in one or the other of the parties concerned, for no one can\nventure to doubt the efficacy of the spell.\n\nIt will, doubtless, have struck the reader that in this, as well as\nin other charms, the number nine plays a conspicuous part. This may\npossibly be connected in some way with the practice of the Church of\nRome, which, on certain special occasions, orders solemn prayers and\nceremonies for nine consecutive days.\n\nIn most farm-houses there were formerly to be found one or more old\noak-chests, sometimes very richly and quaintly carved. In some places\nwhere they had been taken care of, they were in excellent preservation,\nbut, in the majority of cases, they had given way to those more modern\narticles of furniture--chests of drawers and wardrobes--less elegant,\nperhaps, but more fashionable, and decidedly more convenient. Now there\nare few or none to be met with, the revival of the taste for rich and\nelaborate carving having led to a demand for these ancient specimens\nof the skill of our forefathers to be remodelled into sideboards,\ncabinets, and other similar articles of furniture. When these old\ncoffers had ceased to be thought worthy of a place in the bettermost\nrooms of the house, they were frequently to be found in the stables\nor outhouses, serving as cornbins, or receptacles for all sorts of\nrubbish. Still they were sometimes remembered, for old people would\ntell of their efficacy in curing erysipelas, or, as it is locally\ntermed, \u201c_le faeu sauvage_.\u201d The chests chosen for this purpose were\nthose ornamented with Scriptural subjects or figures of Apostles and\nSaints, and the cure was supposed to be effected by opening and\nshutting the lid of the coffer nine times, so as to fan the face of the\npatient.\n\nOne of the many mysterious ills to which poor human nature is subject,\nis known as \u201c_la maladie de la n\u00e8re poule_.\u201d This is to be removed by\nprocuring a perfectly black hen, and swinging her round the head of the\nsufferer three times.\n\nTo cure an equally undefined affection known as \u201c_le mal volant_\u201d the\npatient must also take a black hen, and, holding her in both hands,\nmust rub that part of the body in which the pain is felt. The hen used\nin this incantation must be bought; if a gift, the charm would fail of\nits effect. After having been used it must not be kept or put to death,\nbut given away. The classical reader will not require to be reminded\nthat cocks were sacrificed to \u00c6sculapius.\n\n[205] From Mrs. Dalgairns and Rachel Duport.\n\n\nCELTS.\n\nThese interesting relics of the aboriginal inhabitants of the island\nare called by the country people \u201c_fou\u00efdres_,\u201d _i.e._ thunderbolts. It\nis firmly believed that the house which has the happiness to possess\none of them will neither be struck by lightning nor consumed by fire.\n\nIt is believed that animals that are sick can be cured by giving them\nwater to drink in which a celt has been dipped.\n\n\nANOTHER COUNTER-CHARM FOR WITCHCRAFT.\n\nWhen a person has reason to believe that either himself or any of his\nbelongings is under the influence of a spell, he should procure the\nheart of an animal--that of a black sheep is supposed to be the most\nefficacious,--and, having stuck it over thickly in every part with new\npins or nails, put it down to roast before a strong fire. Care must,\nhowever, have been taken previously to close up all means of entry into\nthe house, even to stuffing up the key-hole. The heart no sooner begins\nto feel the influence of the fire than doleful cries are heard from\nwithout, which increase more and more as the roasting goes on. Loud\nknocks are next heard at the door, and urgent appeals for admission are\nmade, so urgent that few have the heart to withstand them. No sooner,\nhowever, is the door opened than all the clamour ceases. No one is\nseen outside, and, on looking at the heart, it is found to be burnt\nto a cinder. The charm has failed, and those who tried it remain as\nmuch under the influence of the sorcerer as ever, with the additional\ncertainty of having offended their enemy without a chance of pardon or\npity on his part, nay, they know that they have only exposed themselves\nto greater persecution in revenge for the pain they have made him\nsuffer; for it is universally believed that the wizards or witches are\nirresistibly attracted to the place where this counter-spell is being\nperformed; and that, while it lasts, the tortures of the damned are\nsuffered by them. What would occur if the spell were persevered in and\nthe door kept closed is not generally known, but it is thought that as\nthe heart dried up before the flames, the sorcerer would wither away,\nand that, with the last drop of moisture, his wicked soul would depart\nto the place of everlasting torment.[206]\n\n[206] From Charlotte Du Port.\n\n\nTHE SEIGNEUR OF ST. GEORGE AND THE D\u00c9SORCELLEUR.\n\nIt is related that towards the end of the eighteenth century a number\nof country people were assembled in a farm-house in the parish of\nSte. Marie-du-Castel, for the purpose of putting into practice the\ncounter-spell described in the preceding paragraph, or one of a similar\nnature; for it is believed that the same end may be attained by\nsetting a cauldron on the hearth, and boiling the heart with certain\nherbs, gathered with some peculiar precautions, and known only to the\n\u201c_d\u00e9sorcelleurs_,\u201d as the white-witches who generally conduct these\nceremonies are called in the local dialect. The doors of the house, as\nis required in these cases, had been carefully closed and fastened,\nand the charm was, to all appearance, progressing favourably, when a\nknock was heard at the door. No one answered, for fear of breaking\nthe spell, but all remained in breathless and awe-stricken silence,\nbelieving firmly that their incantation was working favourably and in\naccordance with their wishes. The visitor on the outside, who could\nplainly see that the house was not untenanted, grew impatient at not\nbeing admitted, and called out with a loud and authoritative voice,\nto know why an entrance was refused him. The voice was that of a\ngentleman residing in the neighbourhood, the Seigneur de St. George, a\nmagistrate universally respected for his integrity, and beloved for his\nbenevolence. The inmates of the dwelling durst no longer keep him out;\nthe door was at last unbolted, but, as the common belief is that the\nfirst person who applies for admission after the spell has begun is the\nsorcerer, the assembled peasants were at their wits\u2019 end to account for\nhis presence.\n\nThe gentleman was not long in perceiving how matters stood. He lectured\nthe assembly soundly on their folly and superstition, and, recognising\namong them the \u201c_d\u00e9sorcelleur_,\u201d whom he well knew to be a designing\nknave, making his profit out of the credulity of his neighbours, he\ndrove him out of the house with some well-applied stripes from a\ndog-whip he chanced to have in his hand.\n\nIt is not known whether the Seigneur de St. George succeeded in\nconvincing any of his neighbours of the folly of believing in\nwitchcraft; it is rather thought, on the contrary, that from that day\nforward they considered him wiser than need be![207]\n\n[207] From W. P. M\u00e9tivier, Esq.\n\n\nLove Spells.\n\n    \u201cA love-potion works more by the strength of charm than\n    nature.\u201d--Collier, _On Popularity_.\n\nUnder the head of Holy Wells mention has already been made of a means\nresorted to by maidens to ascertain who their future husbands are to\nbe, but this is not the only manner by which this most interesting\ninformation is to be obtained.\n\nSt. Thomas\u2019 Night, La Longue Veille, Christmas Eve, and the last night\nof the year, are all seasons in which it is supposed that the powers of\nthe air, devils, witches, fairies, and goblins, are abroad and active,\nand accordingly, these days, like Hallowe\u2019en in Scotland, are chosen\nfor the performance of spells by which some of the secrets of futurity\nmay be discovered.\n\n[Illustration: Old Manor House, Anneville.]\n\nSome of these charms must be performed alone--others are social, but\nall require strict silence. As to the social spells, it is easy to\nconceive that when a number of girls are met together to try their\nfortunes, the charm is frequently broken, either by the fears of the\nsuperstitious, or the laughter of the incredulous. We will begin with\nthe solitary spells. On St. Thomas\u2019 Night the girl who is desirous\nof knowing whom she is to marry, must take a golden pippin, and,\nwhen about retiring to rest, must pass two pins crossways through\nit, and lay it under her pillow. Some say that the pippin should be\nwrapped up in the stocking taken from the left leg--others that this\nstocking should be taken off last and thrown over the left shoulder.\nWhich is right, we have no means of ascertaining, but doubtless the\nefficacy of the spell depends on following the correct formula. It is\nthen necessary to get into bed backwards, and repeat the following\nincantation thrice:--\n\n    _\u201cSaint Thomas, Saint Thomas,_\n    _Le plus court, le plus bas,_\n    _Fais moi voir en m\u2019endormant_\n    _Celui qui sera mon amant,_\n    _Et le pays, et la contr\u00e9e._\n    _O\u00f9 il fait sa demeur\u00e9e,_\n    _Et le m\u00e9tier qu\u2019il sait faire_\n    _Devant moi qu\u2019il vienne faire._\n    _Qu\u2019il soit beau ou qu\u2019il soit laid_\n    _Tel qu\u2019il sera je l\u2019aimerai._\n    _Saint Thomas, fait moi la gr\u00e2ce_\n    _Que je le voie, que je l\u2019embrasse.\u201d_\n                      _\u201cAinsi soit il.\u201d_\n\nNot another word must be spoken, and, if the rite has been duly\nperformed, the desired knowledge will be communicated in a dream. There\nare different versions of the words to be repeated. One of them avoids\na direct invocation of the Saint, and begins thus:--\n\n    _\u201cLe jour Saint Thomas,_\n    _Le plus court, le plus bas,_\n    _Je prie Dieu incessamment_\n    _De me faire voir en dormant_\n    _Celui qui doit \u00eatre mon amant, etc.\u201d_[208]\n\nAnother charm consists in placing two fronds of agrimony, each bearing\nnine leaflets, crosswise under the pillow, and securing them by means\nof two new pins, also crossed. The future husband is sure to appear in\na dream.[209]\n\nThe name of the future husband may be discovered by writing the letters\nof the alphabet on a piece of paper, cutting them apart, and, when\ngetting into bed, just after extinguishing the light, throwing them\ninto a basin or bucket of water. Next morning the bits of paper which\nfloat with the written side uppermost indicate the name. This charm is\nefficacious on Midsummer Eve.[210]\n\nThe trade of the husband that is to be may be guessed at by throwing\nthe white of a raw egg into a glass of water, and exposing it to\nthe rays of the noonday sun at Christmas or Midsummer. The egg in\ncoagulating assumes curious and fantastic forms, and these are\ninterpreted to denote the trade or profession of him whom the girl who\ntries the charm is destined to marry. A sort of divination to the same\neffect is also practised by pouring molten lead into water.\n\nA spell which requires to be performed in society is as follows. On\nany of the solemn nights about Christmastide, when spells are supposed\nto be efficaciously used, a number of girls meet together and make a\nchaplet in perfect silence, by stringing grains of allspice and berries\nof holly alternately, placing, at intervals of twelve, an acorn, of\nwhich there must be as many as there are persons in the company.\n\nThis chaplet is twined round a log of wood, which is then placed on the\nblazing hearth, and, as the last acorn is being consumed, each of the\nyoung women sees the form of her future husband pass between her and\nthe fire.[211]\n\nAnother social spell consists in making a cake, to which each person in\nthe company contributes a portion of flour, salt, and water, together\nwith a hair from her own head, or parings from the nails. When the cake\nis kneaded--an operation in which all must take a part--it is placed on\nthe hearth to bake. A table is then set out in the middle of the room,\nand covered with a clean cloth. As many plates are laid out as there\nare persons present, and as many seats placed round the table, each\ngirl designating her own. The cake, when thoroughly baked, is placed\non the board, and the girls watch in solemn silence until the hour of\nmidnight, when, exactly as the clock strikes twelve, the appearances\nof the future husbands are seen to enter, and seat themselves in the\nchairs prepared for them; each girl, however, seeing only her own\nhusband that is to be, those of her companions remaining invisible to\nher. Should anyone of the party be destined to die unmarried, instead\nof the appearance of a man, she sees a coffin. The spell is broken,\nshould a single word be uttered from the moment when the ingredients\nfor the cake are first produced, until the whole of the ceremony is\ncompleted.[212]\n\nThe charmed cake may also be used by a person alone, in which case the\nmanner of proceeding is as follows. The cake, which should be composed\nof equal quantities of flour, salt, and soot, must be made and baked\nin secret and in silence. On retiring to rest it must be divided into\ntwo equal portions, one of which must be eaten by the person who tries\nthe charm, but no water or other liquid is to be drunk with it. The\nother half is to be wrapped up in the garter taken from the left leg,\nand placed under the pillow. At midnight the form of the future husband\nwill stand at the bedside and be seen by his intended bride.[213]\n\n[208] See _Notes and Queries_, IV. Series. Vol. VIII., p. 506.\n_Derbyshire Folk-Lore._\n\nOn St. Thomas\u2019 Eve there used to be a custom among girls to procure a\nlarge red onion, into which, after peeling, they would stick nine pins,\nand say:--\n\n    \u201cGood St. Thomas, do me right,\n    Send me my true love this night,\n    In his clothes and his array,\n    Which he weareth every day.\u201d\n\nEight pins were stuck round one in the centre, to which was given the\nname of the swain--the \u201ctrue love.\u201d\n\nThe onion was placed under the pillow on going to bed, and they would\ndream of the desired person.\n\n[209] From Miss Lane.\n\n[210] From Miss Lane.\n\n[211] From Miss Lane.\n\n[212] From the late Miss Sophy Brock and Rachel Du Port.\n\n[213] From Miss Lane.\n\n\nTHE CONSEQUENCES OF A LOVE SPELL.\n\nIt must not be supposed that these love charms can always be tried\nwith impunity. Like all other forms of divination they are sinful, and\ninstances are on record in which punishment has followed the unhallowed\nattempt to pry into the secrets of futurity so wisely hidden from our\nmortal ken. It would seem that not merely the wraith or similitude of\nthe destined husband can be made to show itself, but that, by some\nunexplained and mysterious agency, the actual presence in the body can\nbe completed, at whatever distance the man may at that moment be. To\nthe unfortunate individual who is made the victim of these practices\nthe whole appears the effect of a frightful dream, attended with much\nsuffering. It is related that an officer, thus forced to show himself,\nleft behind him a sword, which was found by the young woman after his\ndeparture, and carefully hidden away. In process of time he came to the\nisland, saw the girl, fell in love with her, and was married. For many\nyears they lived happily together, until, one day, in turning out the\ncontents of an old coffer, he found at the bottom of it the identical\nsword which had disappeared from his possession in so unaccountable\nand mysterious a manner. The memory of the frightful dream in which he\nhad endured so much flashed across his mind. In a frenzy of passion he\nsought his wife, and, upbraiding her with having been to him the cause\nof dreadful suffering, and of having put him in peril of his life by\nher magical practices, plunged the sword into her breast.[214]\n\n[214] From Rachel Du Port.\n\nSee _Les Veill\u00e9es Allemandes_, by Grimm. _La Veille de St. Andr\u00e9_, Vol.\nI., p. 201.\n\n\nWITCHES AND THE WHITE-THORN.\n\nThere appear to be some superstitious notions with regard to the\nconnection of witchcraft with the white-thorn. Witches are suspected\nof meeting at night under its shade. An old man of very eccentric\nhabits not many years since still inhabited the ruined manor house of\nAnneville, once the residence of the ancient family of de Chesney, sold\nin 1509 to Nicholas Fashin, and subsequently passing by inheritance\ninto the Andros family, in whose possession it still remains.\n\nHe passed with his neighbours for a wizard, although he only professed\nto be a \u201c_d\u00e9sorcelleur_\u201d or white-witch, and was said to have been in\nthe habit of taking those who applied to him to be unbewitched to a\nvery old thorn-bush, which had grown up within the walls of an ancient\nsquare tower adjoining the house, and there, before sunrise, making\nthem go through certain evolutions which were supposed to counteract\nthe spells which had been cast upon them.[215]\n\nThe hawthorn, or at least such specimens of the tree as are\nremarkable for their age, their size, or their gnarled branches,\nseems to be associated in the minds of our peasantry with magic and\nmagical practices. The wizards and witches, when, in their nocturnal\nexcursions they take the form of hares, rabbits, cats, or other\nanimals, assemble under the shadow, or in the vicinity of some ancient\nthorn, and amuse themselves with skipping round it in the moonlight.\nThe \u201c_d\u00e9sorcelleur_\u201d who pretends to the power of counteracting the\nspells of witches, and freeing the unfortunate victims of their art\nfrom their evil influence, resorts with the sufferer to some noted\nthorn-bush, and there goes through the ceremonies and incantations\nwhich are to free the sufferer. A large and very old tree, on the\nestate of a gentleman in the parish of St. Saviour\u2019s, was, in days\ngone by, constantly resorted to at night for the purpose of cutting\nfrom it small portions of the wood to be carried about the person as a\nsafeguard against witchcraft. It is essential to the efficacy of this\ncharm that the part of the branch cut off should be that from which\nthree spurs issue.[216]\n\nWilliam Le Poidevin was told by his grandmother that the\n\u201cblanche-\u00e9pine\u201d is \u201cle roi des bois;\u201d the wood must not be employed for\ncommon uses. A boat or ship, into the construction of which it entered,\nwould infallibly be lost or come to grief.[217]\n\n[215] From the present proprietor of Anneville.\n\n[216] From George Allez, Esq., who calls the tree he speaks of\n\u201caube-\u00e9pine,\u201d but declares it was not a hawthorn. May it not be a\nmountain ash or rowan tree?\n\n[217] Among the Blakeway MSS. in the Bodleian Library I found noticed\nthese superstitious cures for whooping-cough.\n\n\u201cNear to Button Oak, in the Forest of Bewdley, grows a thorn in the\nform of an arch, one end in the county of Salop, the other in Stafford.\nThis is visited by numbers in order to make their children pass under\nit for the cure of the whooping-cough.\u201d--_Notes and Queries_, IV.\nSeries, III. 216.\n\n\nDIVINING ROD.\n\nThe following extract from a work published in London in 1815, but\nwhich is now very rarely to be met with, gives so good an account of\nthe manner in which springs of water are believed in these islands to\nbe discovered by means of the divining rod, that we have no hesitation\nin copying it at length.\n\nThe work bears the following title: \u201cGeneral View of the Agriculture\nand Present State of the Islands of Normandy subject to the Crown\nof Great Britain, drawn up for the consideration of the Board of\nAgriculture and Internal Improvement,\u201d by Thomas Quayle, Esq.\n\n[Illustration: Oratory Window, Anneville.]\n\nThe passage in question will be found at p. 31. _Baguette\nDivinatoire._--\u201cThe opinion still prevails in Jersey, of a power,\npossessed by certain individuals, of discovering by means of a rod\nof hazel or of some few trees, in what spot springs of water may be\nfound. A respectable farmer in the parish of St. Sauveur is persuaded\nthat he is endowed with this faculty, of which he says he discovered\nhimself to be possessed in consequence of observing and imitating the\nceremonies employed for a similar purpose by an emigrant priest. The\nfarmer, on repeating these himself, found them equally efficacious, and\nafterwards received from the priest instructions for his exercise of\nthe water-finding art.\n\n\u201cHe first removes from his person every particle of metal. A slender\nrod of hazel, terminating in two twigs, the whole about ten inches in\nlength, is taken into both hands, one holding each twig. The forked\npoint of the rod, and palms of the hands, as closed, are turned\nupwards. The operator then walks forward, with his eye directed on\nthe forked end of the rod. When he approaches a spot where a spring\nis concealed, the elevated point of the rod begins to wave and bend\ndownwards; at the spot itself it becomes inverted.\n\n\u201cOn the 28th of August, 1812, these ceremonies were practised in\nthe presence of three gentlemen, then and still unconvinced of the\nexistence of any such power. The farmer had, at their request, civilly\nleft his harvest, and repeated his practice for their satisfaction.\nHe first held the rod over his own well, where it did not bend, in\nconsequence, as he asserted, of the spring not being perennial. He\nthen slowly walked forward with the rod of hazel held in his hands; at\na particular spot, near his own dwelling, the forked end of the rod\nbegan to be agitated and droop downward; at length, as he proceeded,\nit became nearly or quite inverted. He then marked the spot, walked\naway, and, setting off in another direction, returned toward the same\nspot. When he arrived near it, the end of the rod again began to droop,\nand, at the spot, was, as before, inverted. When he was proceeding, the\npersons present carefully watched his hands, but could not discern any\nmotion in either, or any other visible means by which the rod could be\naffected. One of them took the rod into his own hands, and, repeating\nthe same practice over the same ground, the rod did not bend.\n\n\u201cWhether under the designated spot a spring exists or not was not\nexamined; probably there may, quite apart from any virtue in the\n_Baguette divinatoire_.\n\n\u201cOn several occasions the farmer has been requested to seek for water,\nand it has not only been found, but nearly at the depth which he\nindicated. He is a man of good character, of simple manners, obliging\nand communicative. Being in easy circumstances, he exercises his art\nwithout reward. The priest had communicated some rules, to enable him\nto judge of the exact distance of the water from the surface. These, he\nobserves, proved fallacious, and the only guide he has for judging of\nthe depth of the water, is his observation of the distance between the\nspot at which the forked end of the rod begins to be agitated, and that\nat which, when he arrives, the rod becomes wholly inverted.\u201d\n\nIt will be observed that Quayle does not assert that he himself saw\nthe farmer practise his art, but merely that it had been witnessed\nby three gentlemen in 1812. The copy of Quayle\u2019s work, however, from\nwhich the extract was made, contains a very interesting marginal note\nin pencil, in the handwriting of a former owner of the book, Peter Le\nPelley, Esq., Seigneur of Sark, who was, unfortunately, drowned by\nthe capsizing of a boat in which he was crossing from that island to\nGuernsey in March, 1839. He says:--\n\n\u201cI have seen it practised by Mr. Moullin, of _Le Ponchez_, at Sark\nand Brechou; and at Brechou the forked stick became so inverted that\nit split at the fork. He did it in my presence on gold, silver, and\nwater, and the rod inverted over them. He first rubbed his hands with\nthe substance to be sought for, and, if water, dipped his hands in it,\nand held his two thumbs on the extremity of the forks. That there is a\nvirtue in the using of the _Baguette divinatoire_ is incontestable, the\nreason I deem unknown. May not electricity or magnetism be concerned in\nit? It turned in the hands of some Sarkmen who previously were ignorant\nof possessing that power. _Ergo_ it is independent of the will.\n\n\u201cOn Mr. Moullin\u2019s indication, who told me I should find water at twenty\nto twenty-two feet at Brechou, I had a well dug. The men blasted all\nthe way through the solid rock without finding any water, and at\nnineteen to twenty feet, on making a hole with a jumper, the water\nsprang up and filled the well. Mr. Moullin found a ring that had been\nlost by means of the _Baguette divinatoire_.\u201d\n\nBrechou, mentioned in this note, is a small islet or dependency of\nSark, more generally known by the name of l\u2019Ile des Marchants, a\nname it derived from some former proprietors, members of the ancient\nGuernsey family of Le Marchant; and for those who are unacquainted with\nthe art of quarrying, it may not be amiss to explain that a \u201cjumper\u201d is\nan iron tool with which holes are bored in the rock for the purpose of\nblasting it with gunpowder, and so facilitating its removal piecemeal.\n\nThe writer of the present compilation had an opportunity of witnessing\nexperiments with the divining rod, when attending, in September, 1875,\nat Guingamp, in Brittany, a meeting of the \u201cAssociation Bretonne,\u201d\na combination of the Agricultural and Arch\u00e6ological Societies of\nthat Province. The place where the experiments were made was a piece\nof grass-land at the head of a small valley, and the course of an\nunderground stream seemed to be traced by the deflections of the rod,\nuntil it pointed almost perpendicularly downwards over a certain spot\nin the garden of a neighbouring _ch\u00e2teau_, where, we were told, there\nwas no doubt a strong spring would be found at no great distance\nfrom the surface, which, taking into consideration the nature of the\nlocality, seemed highly probable. It is certain that in the hands of\nsome who had never seen the experiment performed before, and who at\nfirst professed incredulity, the rod appeared ready to twist itself\nout of their grasp as soon as they drew near to the place where water\nwas supposed to be, while with others, who were disposed to believe\nonly the evidence of what they witnessed with their own eyes, the\nmysterious twig remained perfectly still. No attempt at deceit could be\ndetected. The persons who made the experiment were gentlemen, and men\nof education, although, as Bretons, not perhaps quite free from that\ntinge of superstitious feeling which is so characteristic of all Celtic\nnations. The writer is bound to add that, neither in his own hands,\nnor in those of his companion and fellow countryman, was the slightest\neffect produced, although they were carefully instructed how to hold\nthe rod, and they went over the very same ground where, in the hands of\nothers, the rod had been visibly affected.\n\nIt is not irrelevant to add that in Cornwall, and other mining\ncountries, the divining rod is said to be used for the purpose of\ndiscovering and tracing veins of metalliferous ore.\n\n\nBEES PUT IN MOURNING.\n\nFew insects besides the bee and the silk-worm have been pressed into\nthe service of man--at least in such a manner as to be looked upon as\ndomesticated--and of these the bee, from its superior intelligence, and\nthe striking fact of its living in community, with the semblance of\na well-organised government, has, from the earliest times, attracted\nthe attention and excited the interest of mankind. It is asserted by\nthose who keep these useful insects, as well as by naturalists who have\nmade them their especial study, that they recognise their masters and\nthe members of their families, and that these may approach them with\nimpunity when a stranger would run great risk of being stung. If this\nis really the case, it is not difficult to conceive how, among a people\nrude and ignorant, and yet observant of the phenomena of nature, the\nbee should come to be regarded with particular respect. It is probably\nfrom a feeling of this kind that the custom arose of informing the\nbees when a death occurs in a family. The correct way of performing the\nceremony is this. One of the household must take the door-key, and,\nproceeding to the hives, knock with it, and give notice to the bees in\na whisper of the sad event which has just taken place, affixing, at the\nsame time, a small shred of black crape or other stuff to each of the\nhives. If this formality is omitted, it is believed that the bees will\ndie, or forsake the place. The same custom exists in other countries,\nbut in Guernsey it is also thought proper to give them notice of\nweddings, and to deck the hives with white streamers.\n\nA swarm of bees ought not to be sold for money, if you wish it to\nprosper. It should be given or exchanged for something of equal value.\nA money price is, however, sometimes agreed for, but in this case the\nsum must not be paid in any baser metal than gold. In following a swarm\nof bees, besides beating on pots and pans to make them settle, it is\ncustomary to call out to them \u201c_Align\u2019ous, mes p\u2019tits, align\u2019ous_.\u201d[218]\n\n[218] From J. de Garis, Esq., J. L. Mansell, Esq., and others.\n\n\nEDITOR\u2019S NOTE.\n\nVarious Editor\u2019s Notes on the subject of Charms and Spells will be\nfound in Appendix C.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XII.\n\nFolk Medicine and Leech Craft.\n\n                    \u201cA certain shepherd lad,\n    Of small regard to see to, yet well skill\u2019d\n    In every virtuous plant and healing herb,\n    That spreads her verdant leaf to th\u2019 morning ray.\u201d\n\n                                            --_Comus._\n\n\nIn days gone by, before the invention of Morrison\u2019s pills, Holloway\u2019s\nointment, and other infallible remedies, no farm was without its plot\nof medicinal herbs, skilful combinations of which--secrets handed down\nfrom one old wife or village doctor to another--were supposed to be\ncapable of curing all the ills to which poor suffering humanity is\nheir, to say nothing of the various diseases affecting horses, oxen,\nswine, and other domestic animals.\n\nNine varieties of herbs was the number usually cultivated, a number\nwhich, like three and seven, is generally supposed to have some occult\nand mystic virtues. As to the herbs themselves it is not easy at the\npresent day, when old traditions are rapidly passing away, to obtain a\ncorrect list of them, but the following is as correct as we can make\nit.\n\n[Illustration: St. Peter Port Harbour, 1852, showing the Old North\nPier.]\n\n_La Poumilli\u00e8re_, or Helleborus viridis. M\u00e9tivier, in his Dictionary,\npage 401, says of this plant that it was originally held in great\nveneration by the Greeks and Romans. He also says that it was used in\ncases of consumption in cattle by our local veterinary doctors. They\npierced the dewlap or the ear of the affected animal, and inserted in\nthe hole one of the small roots of this plant. This induced an abundant\nsuppuration, which sometimes proved beneficial.\n\n_La Cassidone_, or French lavender. Boiste, in his dictionary, says\nthat its flowers and leaves promote salivation. There is a proverb to\nthe effect that:\n\n    _\u201cL\u2019hyssope tout ma\u2019 d\u00e9veloppe_\n    _La cassidoune tout ma\u2019 d\u00e9trone.\u201d_\n\n_Le Rosmarin_, or rosemary. It is considered unlucky not to have a\nplant of rosemary in one\u2019s garden, but it is a plant that should\nnever be _bought_, but grown for you, and presented by a friend and\nwell-wisher.\n\n_La Petite Sauche_, or small-leaved sage.\n\n_Le Gr\u00e0nd Consoul_, or comfrey. Of this the root is the part used.\n\n_La Rue._ Rue, which was supposed to have a potent effect on the eyes,\nand bestow second sight.\n\n_L\u2019Alli\u00e8ne_, or wormwood.\n\n_La Marjolaine_, or marjoram, and\n\n_La Campana_, or vervain, the \u201choly herb\u201d of the Druids.\n\nThis list by no means exhausts the plants possessed of healing powers.\n\nGeorge M\u00e9tivier, in his _Souvenirs Historiques_, chapter IV. and\nII., speaks of a sacred briar, called \u201cpied-de-chat,\u201d worn as a\nwaist-belt as an infallible talisman against witchcraft. When a man\nwas afflicted with boils, he had to pass, fasting and in silence, for\nnine consecutive mornings, under an arch of this same briar. The green\nsprigs of broom, however, are believed to be equally efficacious in\naverting the evil influence of spells.\n\nIn planting a bed of the smaller herbs, to render them thoroughly\nefficacious they should be planted under a volley of minor oaths, such\nas \u201cgoderabetin\u201d or \u201cgodzamin.\u201d It is not expedient that the oaths\nshould be too blood curdling.\n\nGeorge M\u00e9tivier alludes to this, and says he himself knew old gardeners\nwho made a constant practice of this prehistoric method, and quotes\nPliny, Vol. X., p. 77: \u201cHe was enjoined to sow (basil) with curses and\noaths, and then, so that it should succeed, to beat the ground.\u201d\n\nEDITOR\u2019S NOTE.--\u201cMAL DE POULE.\u201d--In St. Martin\u2019s parish lived an old\nwoman who had an infallible cure for sick headaches. The patient was\nput to bed, and a live chicken, with its beak stuffed with parsley,\nenveloped in a cloth, was tied on his head. She then muttered a prayer\nover it, and tied it again, still more firmly, round the patient\u2019s\nforehead. As the chicken died the headache ceased.--_From Miss Thoume._\n\n\nKING\u2019S EVIL.\n\nThat the belief in touching for King\u2019s Evil prevailed in the island is\nevident from the following extracts.\n\n\u201cExtraits des Comptes des Diacres de l\u2019Eglise de la Ville, contenus\ndans un Livre en la possession du Procureur des Pauvres de cette\nparoisse, endoss\u00e9 \u2018Aux Pauvres de la Ville.\u2019\u201d\n\n\u201cLe Vendredy, 24 Aout, 1677, l\u2019on a trouv\u00e9 dans le tronq la somme\nde deux cents vingt livres tournois en or, argent, sols marquez, et\ndoubles. Item, vingt et quatre livres tournois, qui ont \u00e9t\u00e9 donn\u00e9es\n\u00e0 la veuve de Nicolas Corbel pour son enfant, qui est incomod\u00e9 des\necrou\u00eblles, et qui s\u2019en va \u00e0 Londres pour estre touch\u00e9 de sa Ma^{t\u00e9}.\u201d\n\n\u201cLe 26 Aout, 1678, a \u00e9t\u00e9 tir\u00e9 hors du tronq la so\u0360e de trente livres\ntournois, qui ont \u00e9t\u00e9 delivr\u00e9s \u00e0 Caterine de Garis, fem\u0360e de Jean\nHairon, pour aller en Angleterre y faire toucher par Sa Majest\u00e9 une\nfillette qui est afflig\u00e9e des ecrou\u00eblles. La d_{te} so\u0360e luy ayant \u00e9t\u00e9\nallo\u00fc\u00e9e par consentement des officiers de l\u2019Eglise.\u201d\n\n\u201cLe 26^{me} de Mars, 1688, par ordre de Messrs. les Collecteurs des\nPauvres de la Ville, j\u2019ay balay a Anne, fem\u0360e de Pierre De Lahee, 12\nlivres tournois pour luy aider \u00e0 aller faire toucher son enfant du Mal\ndu Roy, et est des deniers des Pauvres.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIII.\n\nStory Telling.\n\n    \u201cIn winter tedious nights sit by the fire,\n    With good old folks, and let them tell thee tales.\u201d\n\n                                   --_King Richard II._\n\n\nWhen, in former days, neighbours were in the habit of meeting\ntogether on such occasions as \u201c_la grande querrue_,\u201d \u201c_la longue\nveille_,\u201d or the more ordinary \u201c_veill\u00e9es_,\u201d--at which the women of\nthe neighbourhood, young and old, used to assemble in turn at each\nother\u2019s houses, and ply their knitting needles by the light of a single\nlamp and the warmth of a single hearth, thereby economising oil and\nfuel,--it was customary to break the monotony of the conversation\nby calling on each of the company in turn to relate some tale or\nanecdote. Most of these are simple enough, but in the mouth of a\nskillful story-teller are still capable of exciting a laugh among the\nunsophisticated audiences to whom they are addressed.\n\nA favourite class of stories were those in which the inhabitants of the\nsister islands of Jersey, Alderney, and Sark, were held up to ridicule,\nand the following tales, trifling and absurd as they are, may suffice\nto give some idea of this sort of narrative.\n\n\nHOW THE MEN OF ALDERNEY SOWED, AND WHAT CAME OF IT.\n\nOnce upon a time, before the lighthouse on the dangerous reef of the\nCasquet rocks was erected, a vessel was wrecked on Alderney. Such\noccurrences in those days were not uncommon, but so cut off from\nintercourse with the rest of the world were the inhabitants of the\nisland, that they were, for the most part, totally ignorant of the\nnature and value of the goods which the waves so frequently cast up on\ntheir inhospitable shores, and it is related that when a Dutch East\nIndiaman, laden with cinnamon, was wrecked on the coast, the people\nrejoiced in the seasonable supply of fuel that was afforded them, and\nemployed the precious bundles of aromatic bark in heating their ovens.\n\nOn the occasion, however, to which our present story refers, among\nthe articles saved from the wreck there was a barrel, which, on being\nopened, was found to contain a number of small packages carefully done\nup in paper. Some of these were opened and proved to be needles of\nvarious sizes, but the oldest inhabitant had never seen anything of the\nsort, and many were the speculations as to what they could possibly be.\nA general meeting of the islanders was called to deliberate, and many\nconjectures were hazarded. At last the opinion of an old grey-headed\nman prevailed. He expressed it to be his firm conviction that the\nstrange commodity could be nothing else but the seed of some new kind\nof herb or useful root, and that the best thing to be done was to make\nchoice of one of the most fertile spots on the Blaies, and to proceed\nforthwith to plough and sow.\n\nHis advice was received with acclamation, and immediately acted upon,\nbut alas for their hopes! Spring came, and nothing but an unusually\nfine crop of weeds--always too common--appeared on the carefully-tilled\nland.[219]\n\n[219] \u201cSemer des Aiguilles.\u201d See _Proverbes du Pays de B\u00e9arn_, page 17.\n\n\u201cSemia Agulhes--Semer des Aiguilles. Se donner une peine inutile, faire\nun travail qui ne produira rien. En B\u00e9arn, comme dans la Gascogne,\n(Blad\u00e9, Prov.) on attribuait aux habitants de quelques villages le fait\nd\u2019avoir sem\u00e9 des aiguilles, dans l\u2019espoir qu\u2019elles multiplieraient\ncomme du bl\u00e9.\u201d\n\n\nHOW THE JERSEYMEN ATTEMPTED TO CARRY OFF GUERNSEY.\n\nIt is not easy to understand why it should be so, but it is\nnevertheless a fact that the inhabitants of Jersey, although conceiving\nthemselves a far superior race, have always looked with eyes of envy\nand jealousy on the smaller and less pretentious island of Guernsey.\nPerhaps the greater commercial prosperity which the possession of a\ngood roadstead and port conferred on the latter at a time when Jersey\ncould boast of neither, and the advantages arising in consequence from\na freer intercourse with strangers, in days when these islands were\nalmost cut off from the rest of the world, may have contributed to\nproduce and keep alive these feelings. Certain it is that the Jerseymen\nhave at all times had the reputation of being always ready, when an\nopportunity presented itself, to play a bad turn to their neighbours of\nGuernsey.\n\nIt is said that three audacious mariners, who had come over from the\nlarger island with a cargo of agricultural produce, after disposing of\ntheir wares to good advantage, and having indulged perhaps a little\ntoo freely in the excellent cider of the place, conceived the bold\ndesign of carrying away the island with them and joining it on to\nJersey! Could they succeed in effecting the annexation, what credit\nwould they not gain for themselves! What advantages would not accrue to\ntheir native isle!\n\nTheir hated rivals--for so, as true Jerseymen, they looked on the quiet\nindustrious inhabitants of Guernsey--would be obliged to acknowledge\ntheir superiority, and submit quietly to the supremacy of the larger\nisle.\n\nThey were not long in putting their project into execution. Ma\u00eetre\nPh\u2019lip, the captain of the boat, gave directions to his cousin Pierre\nto make fast a hawser to one of the needle-like rocks that stand out so\nboldly from the extremity of St. Martin\u2019s Point. The order was obeyed,\nthe wind was fair, all sails were hoisted and they steered towards\nJersey, singing out in full chorus:--\n\n    _\u201cHale, Pierre! Hale, Jean!_\n    _Guernsi s\u2019en vient!\u201d_\n\nThey made sure that Guernsey could not resist the tug, and that the\nmorning light would find it stranded in St. Ouen\u2019s Bay. But they had\nmiscalculated the strength of the hawser. It snapped short, and the\nsudden jerk sent them all sprawling to the bottom of the boat, too much\nbruised and discomfited to think of renewing their bold attempt.[220]\n\n[220] See _Melusine_, p. 321. Note (i).\n\n[Illustration: Old Farm House at St. Saviour\u2019s.\n\nFrom a Pencil Drawing, early in the Nineteenth Century.]\n\n\nTHE JERSEY GALLOWS.\n\nIn Guernsey it is told as a joke against their neighbours the\nJerseymen, that when there was a question of rebuilding the gallows,\nhitherto a wooden structure, but falling to pieces from rottenness, the\nProcureur de la Reine recommended that the uprights should be of stone,\nas more desirable, and strengthened his argument by saying, \u201cIt will\nlast for ever, and serve for us and for our children.\u201d\n\n\nProverbial Stories.\n\nThe terse form of an aphorism is not only one in which the proverbial\nphilosophy of a people may be expressed. The idea is frequently\nexpanded into a short tale or fable, and in this shape is often alluded\nto and understood, although perhaps the story or anecdote is unknown or\nforgotten.\n\nTo give an example. The meaning of the words \u201cA Cat\u2019s Paw\u201d is perfectly\ncomprehended by many, who possibly have never heard or read of the\nfable of \u201cThe Cat, the Monkey, and the Chestnuts.\u201d\n\nA few of these stories, as they are related in Guernsey, are given\nbelow.\n\n\nLA D\u00c9LAISSANCE.\n\nAlthough scarcely a year passes without some fact coming to light which\nshows the folly and imprudence of the proceedings, it is by no means\nuncommon for old people to make over by a legal instrument, called\n\u201c_Contrat de D\u00e9laissance_,\u201d the whole of their property to a child or\nother relative, on condition of being maintained for the rest of their\ndays in a manner befitting their station in life. They have generally\ncause to repent the deed, for, even if kindly treated, there is a\nfeeling of dependence, and a want of liberty of action, which cannot\nfail to be irksome to one who has hitherto been his own master, and\nfree to act in any way he pleased.\n\nIt is related that a man who had given over his estate, and all that he\npossessed, to an only son, ordered, after a time, a strong coffer, with\na secure lock, to be made. The son indulged him in the fancy, wondering\nwhat he could want the box for, but hoping perhaps that he might have\nkept back some hoard of money or other valuables he wished to secure.\nThe old man kept his own secret. Not a soul but himself knew what the\nbox contained. At last he died. The son hastened to open the coffer,\nhoping to find a treasure. What was his astonishment and disappointment\nat finding only a large mallet, such as is used for driving in the\nstakes to which the cattle are tethered. A writing attached to it\nexplained the old man\u2019s meaning. The person who related the story had\nforgotten the exact words, but it was a rude rhyme, beginning thus:--\n\n\u201c_Ce maillot--ou un plus gros s\u2019il le faut_.\u201d[221]\n\nThe substance of the whole was that the mallet would be advantageously\nemployed in knocking out the brains of the man who was fool enough to\ndispossess himself, during his lifetime, of the control of his own\nproperty.[222]\n\nThe following legend, from the supplement to the _Illustrated News_,\nFebruary 7th, 1874, seems to have a common origin with the preceding.\n\nJehan Connaxa was one of the merchant princes of Antwerp, who is\nsupposed to have lived in the fifteenth century. His only children\nwere two daughters, whom he had married to young noblemen. Not content\nwith the handsome dowries he had given them on their marriage, and\ntoo impatient to wait for the time when all his vast wealth would\nbecome theirs by inheritance, they persuaded him to make it over to\nthem during his life-time. For a short period he was treated with due\nconsideration, but it was not long before he began to find that his\npresence in the houses of his sons-in-law was irksome to them and their\nwives; and at last he was plainly told that he must not expect any\nlonger to find a home with them. Under these circumstances he hired a\nsmall residence, and turned over in his mind how he could manage so as\nto recover the position in his daughters\u2019 houses which he had formerly\noccupied. At last he hit on this expedient. He invited his sons-in-law\nand their wives to dine with him on a certain day, and, when he was\nquite sure they would come, he went to an old friend, a rich merchant,\nand borrowed from him the sum of one thousand crowns for twenty-four\nhours, telling him to keep the transaction a profound secret, but to\nsend a servant to his house the next day at a certain hour to fetch it\nback. Accordingly, the next day, when his daughters and their husbands\nwere seated at his table, a message came that his friend had sent for\nthe sum of money he had promised. He pretended to be displeased at\nbeing interrupted in the midst of his meal, but left the table, went\ninto an adjoining apartment, and returned with a sack of money, from\nwhich he counted out the full sum of a thousand crowns, and delivered\nit to the messenger. The astonishment of his guests, who were not\naware of how the money had come into his possession, was extreme,\nand, believing him to be still the owner of unbounded wealth, his\nsons-in-law insisted on his taking up his abode with them alternately\nfor the rest of his days. Each vied with the other in showing him every\nattention, hoping thus to secure the greater share of the inheritance.\nHe always brought with him a heavy strong box with three locks, which\nwas supposed to contain untold wealth. At last, the time when he was\nto quit this world arrived, and on his death-bed he sent for his two\nsons-in-law and the Prior of a neighbouring Convent of Jacobins, and\ndelivered to them the three keys of the box, which, he said, contained\nhis will, but with strict injunctions that it was not to be opened till\nforty days after his funeral had elapsed. Wishing, however, as he said,\nto do good while he was yet alive, he begged his sons-in-law to advance\na large sum for immediate distribution among the poor, and also to pay\nanother large sum to the Prior to secure the prayers of the Church for\nhis soul. This was done willingly, in anticipation of the expected rich\ninheritance, and the old man was sumptuously buried. At the expiration\nof the forty days the box was opened with due formality, and was found\nto contain a heap of old iron, lead, and stones, on the top of which\nwas a large cudgel, with a parchment rolled round it, on which was\nwritten the will in these terms:--\u201c_Ego Johannes Connaxa tale condo\ntestamentum, at qui sui cur\u00e2 relict\u00e2, alterius curam susceperit,\nmactetur h\u00e2c clav\u00e2_.\u201d\n\n[221] From Rachel Du Port.\n\n[222]\n\n    \u201cHe that gives away all\n    Before he is dead,\n    Let \u2019em take this hatchet\n    And knock him on ye head.\u201d\n\n_Notes and Queries_, IV. Series, Vol. III., pp. 526 and 589. Vol. IV.,\np. 213. See _Gentleman\u2019s Magazine Library_. Popular Superstitions. _The\nHoly Maul_, p. 181. Compare representation of a hammer or pickaxe,\nsculptured on threshold of west door of Vale Church.\n\n\nLE RAT\u00c9.\n\nWhen the means of education were not so good or so plentiful in\nGuernsey as they are in the present day, it was customary, with the\nbetter class of farmers, to send their sons to school in England for\na year or two, in order that they might acquire, together with a more\ncorrect knowledge of the English tongue, such acquaintance with the\nways of the world as might fit them to enter upon the active duties\nof life on their return home. This object, we may suppose, was to a\ncertain extent gained, but, like the monkey who had seen the world,\nmany of these youths returned to their native isle with an inflated\nidea of their own consequence, and affecting to despise and ignore all\nthat had been familiar to them from their earliest childhood.\n\nIt is said of one of these young men, that, after a residence of\nno long duration in England, he pretended, on his return, to have\ncompletely forgotten the names of some of the most common farming\nimplements, and, indeed, to have almost lost the use of his mother\ntongue. His father was in despair, for it was evident that if the boy\ncould not converse with the labourers, he would be of little or no\nassistance in directing the farming operations. A lucky accident set\nthe father\u2019s mind at rest on this score. His son, in passing through\nthe farmyard, put his foot on a rake that was lying on the ground,\npartly hidden by some straw. The handle flew up and hit him a smart\nblow on the forehead, upon which, forgetting his pretended ignorance,\nhe exclaimed, in good Guernsey-French, \u201c_Au Guyablle seit le r\u00e2t\u00e9_,\u201d\n(\u201cDevil take the rake.\u201d) His father, who was standing by, congratulated\nhim on the miraculous recovery of his memory, and begged him henceforth\nnot to forget \u201c_sen r\u00e2t\u00e9_.\u201d The proverbial saying \u201c_Il n\u2019a pas\nroubllia\u00ef sen r\u00e2t\u00e9_,\u201d (\u201cHe has not forgotten his rake,\u201d) is still\napplied to a person who remembers what he learned in his youth.[223]\n\n[223] See a story precisely similar in its incidents in that curious\ncollection MacTaggart\u2019s _Scottish Gallovidian Encyclop\u00e6dia_, under the\nword \u201cClaut.\u201d The story must be an ancient one, to be told in places\nso far apart as Galloway and Guernsey, and speaking totally different\nlanguages.\n\n\nLE COTILLON DE RACH\u00c9 CATEL.\n\nThe evils that may result from being over particular, and the wisdom of\nletting well alone, are exemplified by the story of Rachel C\u00e2tel and\nher petticoat. This respectable matron or spinster--for tradition gives\nus no clue to her state in life--was engaged in fashioning a petticoat.\nShe cut it out, and found it somewhat too long. She cut again, and now\nit was too short. When, therefore, a thing has been spoilt by too much\ncare or meddling, old people will shake their heads and say:--\u201c_Ch\u2019est\ncoum le cotillon de R\u00e2ch\u00e9 C\u00e2tel. A\u2019 le copit et il \u00e9tait trop long. A\u2019\nle copit derechef, et il \u00e9tait trop court._\u201d\n\n\nTHE CAT AND THE FOX. A FABLE.\n\nOne day a cat and a fox were travelling together and chatting of one\nthing and another as they jogged on their way.\n\nAt last says the cat to the fox:\n\n\u201cYou are always talking of your cleverness. How many cunning devices\nhave you to escape from your numerous enemies?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh!\u201d answered the fox, \u201c_j\u2019en ai une pouquie_, (I carry a whole sack\nfull,) but you, Mistress Puss, pray tell me, how many have you?\u201d\n\n\u201cAlas,\u201d replied the cat, \u201cI can boast but of one.\u201d\n\nShortly after this conversation they saw a large fierce-looking dog\nadvancing towards them. It was but the affair of a minute for puss to\nclimb into the nearest tree and hide herself among the branches, while\nReynard took refuge in the entrance of a drain that was close at hand.\n\nUnluckily the drain narrowed so suddenly that his body only was\nconcealed, and his long bushy tail was left exposed. The dog seized on\nthis, and caused poor Reynard to cry out pitifully for help. Puss, from\nher safe retreat among the branches, looked down, and called out to her\nunfortunate companion:\n\n\u201cNow\u2019s the time to make use of your many devices, _d\u00e9lie donc ta\npouque_!\u201d (\u201cWhy don\u2019t you untie your sack?\u201d)[224]\n\n[224] From John Rougier, Esq.\n\nSee also _Revue des Traditions Populaires_, Vol. I., p. 201.\n\n\nTHE FARM SERVANT AND THE WEEDS.\n\nThe Guernsey workman is industrious and thrifty, working hard when\nit is on his own account, but apt to be slow and disinclined to do\nmore work than what is absolutely necessary to save his credit, when\nemployed by others. There is a certain amount of calculation in this.\nIdleness or laziness are not the only motives. He knows that so long as\nthe job in hand lasts, he will be paid his day\u2019s wages, and therefore\nhe is not in a hurry to get it finished. His calculations go even a\nlittle beyond this; for a master workman to whom an indifferent person\nmade the remark that the work he was executing was not of a quality\nto last many years, made the ingenuous reply, \u201cDo you suppose I would\nwillingly take the bread out of my children\u2019s mouths?\u201d implying that if\nthe work were done in too substantial or durable a manner, there would\nbe nothing left for those who were to come after him to gain their\nliving by.\n\n[Illustration: Old Mill, Talbots.]\n\nA good story is told among the country people, of a farm labourer,\nwho, when put to clear out the weeds from a field, was observed always\nto leave some of the most thriving standing. One day his master\nremonstrated with him, and got for answer, \u201cWeeds are bread.\u201d No reply\nwas made at the moment, but when meal-time came, and the soup was\nserved out, a bowl full of weeds was handed to the workman with the\nremark:--\u201cSince weeds are bread, eat that, for you get no more to-day.\u201d\nIt is said that the lesson was understood, and that for the future\nthe farm servant performed his allotted task in a more conscientious\nway.[225]\n\n[225] From George Allez, Esq.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIV.\n\nHistorical Reminiscences.\n\n    \u201cAntiquities, or remnants of history, are, as was said,\n    _tanquam tabula naufragii_, when industrious persons, by\n    an exact and scrupulous diligence and observation, out of\n    monuments, names, words, proverbs, traditions, private records\n    and evidences, fragments of stories, passages of books that\n    concern not story, and the like, do save and recover somewhat\n    from the deluge of time.\u201d--Bacon\u2019s _Advancement of Learning_.\n\n\nCADWALLA AND BRIAN.\n\nAlthough the following story is entirely forgotten in Guernsey, and\nindeed may possibly never have been popularly known in the island, it\nis entitled, from its legendary and romantic character, to a place in\nthis collection. It is related by Geoffrey of Monmouth in his British\nHistory, Book XII. Ch. 4.\n\nIt is necessary to premise that Edwin, the first of the Anglo-Saxon\nKings who embraced Christianity, having quarrelled with Cadwalla,\nSovereign of North Wales, attacked and defeated him at Widdington,\nnear Morpeth. Edwin pursued Cadwalla into Wales, and chased him into\nIreland. These events happened about the year 630 A.D. The story itself\nshall be told in the words employed by Geoffrey in his account of\nCadwalla\u2019s exile, as we find them translated in Bohn\u2019s \u201cAntiquarian\nLibrary.\u201d\n\n\u201cCadwalla, not knowing what course to take, was almost in despair of\never returning. At last it came into his head to go to Salomon, King\nof the Armorican Britons, and desire his assistance and advice, to\nenable him to return to his kingdom. And so, as he was steering towards\nArmorica, a strong tempest rose on a sudden, which dispersed the ships\nof his companions, and in a short time left no two of them together.\nThe pilot of the King\u2019s ship was seized immediately with so great a\nfear, that, quitting the stern, he left the vessel to the disposal of\nfortune, so that all night it was tossed up and down in great danger\nby the raging waves. The next morning they arrived at a certain island\ncalled _Garnareia_,[226] where, with great difficulty, they got ashore.\nCadwalla was forthwith seized with such grief for the loss of his\ncompanions, that, for three days and nights together, he refused to\neat, but lay sick upon his bed. The fourth day he was taken with a very\ngreat longing for some venison, and, causing Brian (his nephew) to be\ncalled, made him acquainted with it. Whereupon Brian took his bow and\nquiver, and went through the island, that if he could light on any\nwild beast, he might make booty of it. And when he had walked over the\nwhole island without finding what he was in quest of, he was extremely\nconcerned that he could not gratify his master\u2019s desire, and was afraid\nhis sickness would prove mortal if his longing were not satisfied. He,\ntherefore, fell upon a new device, and cut a piece of flesh out of his\nown thigh, which he roasted upon a spit, and carried to the King for\nvenison. The King, thinking it to be real venison, began to eat of\nit to his great refreshment, admiring the sweetness of it, which he\nfancied exceeded any flesh he had ever tasted before. At last, when\nhe had fully satisfied his appetite, he became more cheerful, and in\nthree days was perfectly well again. Then, the wind standing fair, he\ngot ready his ship, and, hoisting sails, they pursued their voyage\nand arrived at the city Kidaleta (St. Malo). From thence they went to\nKing Salomon, by whom they were received kindly and with all suitable\nrespect; and, as soon as he had learned the occasion of their coming,\nhe made them a promise of assistance.\u201d\n\nThe chronicler subsequently relates how Brian killed the second-sighted\nmagician of Edwin. Cadwalla returned to Britain, and, with the aid of\nthe Saxon Penda, King of Mercia, conquered and killed Edwin. He was\nafterwards triumphant in fourteen great battles and sixty skirmishes\nwith the Angles, but finally perished, with the flower of his army, in\nbattle with Oswald, ruler of the Saxon kingdom of Bernicia.\n\n[226] As some readers may be unable to detect \u201cGuernsey\u201d in\n\u201c_Garnareia_,\u201d it may be as well to state that \u201c_Ghernerhuia_,\u201d\n\u201c_Gerneria_,\u201d \u201c_Guernnerui_,\u201d and \u201c_Gernereye_,\u201d are all names given\nto the island in ancient documents. The last indeed is found on the\nancient seal of the bailiwick.\n\n\nDUKE RICHARD OF NORMANDY AND THE DEMON.\n\nAs the inhabitants of Guernsey may be presumed to be better acquainted\nwith the chronicles of their own Duchy of Normandy than with those of\nthe ancient Britons, it is not improbable that the following legendary\ntale, related of Duke Richard, surnamed \u201cSans Peur,\u201d may be known to\nsome of them. The _Chronique de Normandie_, printed at Rouen in 1576,\ngives it in words of which the following is a close translation:--\n\n\u201cOnce upon a time, as Duke Richard was riding from one of his castles\nto a manor, where a very beautiful lady was residing, the Devil\nattacked him, and Richard fought with, and vanquished him. After this\nadventure, the Devil disguised himself as a beautiful maiden richly\nadorned, and appeared to him in a boat at Granville, where Richard then\nwas. Richard entered into the boat to converse with, and contemplate\nthe beauty of, this lady, and the Devil carried away the said Duke\nRichard to a rock in the sea in the island of Guernsey, where he was\nfound.\u201d\n\nPerhaps the marks of cloven feet, which have been found deeply\nimprinted in the granite[227] in more than one spot in the island, may\nbe attributed to this visit.\n\n[227] The stone at Jerbourg, which is said to bear the mark left by the\nDevil\u2019s claw, stands in a hedge on the right hand side of the road,\nwhere the rise towards Doyle\u2019s column begins. It is a large mass of\nwhite quartz, and has the black mark of the Devil\u2019s claw imprinted on\nit.--_From J. Richardson Tardif, Esq._\n\n\nARCHBISHOP MAUGER.\n\nIf the two legendary tales, which we have just related, are unknown to\nthe present generation, it is not so with the well-authenticated fact\nof the temporary residence in Guernsey of that turbulent ecclesiastic,\nMauger, Archbishop of Rouen, uncle of William the Conqueror.\n\nAll the Norman chroniclers agree in telling us that, although the\nPope had granted a dispensation, this audacious prelate ventured to\nexcommunicate his Sovereign for having contracted a marriage with\nMatilda, daughter of the Count of Flanders, an alliance within the\ndegrees of affinity prohibited by the Church. Mauger\u2019s insolence did\nnot remain unpunished. The Pope sent a Legate to Normandy, the bishops\nof the province were assembled, and his treason to his Sovereign, and\ncontempt of the Papal authority, were punished by his deposition from\nhis archiepiscopal throne, and banishment to the island of Guernsey.\nSome historians assign, as a further reason for his disgrace, the\nimmorality of his life, and his prodigal expenditure, which led him,\nnot only to waste the revenues of the Church, but even to sell the\nconsecrated vessels, and the ornaments of the sanctuary.\n\nTradition points out the spot in the neighbourhood of that romantic\nlittle creek, known by the anglicised name of Saints\u2019 Bay, but which,\nin ancient documents, is called \u201c_La Contr\u00e9e de Seing_,\u201d where the\ndeposed prelate lived during his enforced sojourn in Guernsey. Here,\nit is said, he became acquainted with a noble damsel named _Gille_,\nby whom he had several children, one of whom, Michael de Bayeux,\naccompanied Bohemond of Austria to Palestine, and distinguished himself\ngreatly.\n\nCommon report accused Mauger of being addicted to magical arts, and of\nhaving intercourse with a familiar spirit called \u201c_Thoret_,\u201d a name\nwhich brings to mind the thunderer _Thor_, one of the principal deities\nof his Scandinavian ancestors. By means of this imp, it was believed,\nhe had the faculty of predicting future events.\n\nHaving embarked one day, with the design of reaching the coast of\nNormandy, and having arrived at St. Vaast, he addressed the master of\nthe ship in these words:--\u201cI know for certain that one of us two will\nthis day be drowned; let us land.\u201d The master paid no attention to what\nwas said, but continued his course. It was summer, the weather was\nextremely hot, and the Archbishop was attired in very loose raiment.\nThe vessel struck, Mauger endeavoured to leave the ship, but, becoming\nentangled in his garments, fell into the sea, and was drowned before\nany assistance could be given. When the tide retired, search was made\nfor the body, and it was found wedged in between two rocks, in an\nupright position. The sailors carried it to Cherbourg, where it was\nburied.\n\nIt is possible that the prelate might have been entirely forgotten\nin the place of his exile, had it not been that a very numerous\nfamily, bearing his name, still exists in the island, and claims to\nbe descended from him. No name indeed is more common in the parish\nof St. Martin de la Belleuse, and especially in the neighbourhood of\nSaint, than that of Mauger. An authentic document, the \u201cExtent\u201d of\nEdward III., proves that a family of this name held land in this parish\nin 1331.[228] All who bear the name, even in the humblest ranks of\nsociety, have heard of the Archbishop, and pride themselves in their\nsupposed descent from him. Nor is this belief confined to Guernsey, for\nin Jersey also, where a branch of the family has long existed, the same\nidea prevails.\n\n[Illustration: Ivy Castle.]\n\nThere is also extant an imperfect pedigree of the house of Mauger,\nof Jobourg, near Cape La Hague, in Normandy, which connects them\nwith the insular family, but endeavours to get rid of the stigma of\nillegitimacy, which would attach to the progeny of an ecclesiastic, by\nthe invention of an imaginary brother, who accompanied Mauger in his\nbanishment, and from whom, and not from the Archbishop, they pretend\nto deduce their descent. The family of Guille, long established in\nthe island of Guernsey, and in the parish of St. Martin\u2019s, claims the\nquestionable honour of having produced the fair Gille, whose charms\ncaptivated the unscrupulous prelate.\n\nThere is one fact, however, of which the family of Mauger, of Guernsey,\nhas just cause to be proud, and that is the daring and successful\nexploit of one of them in the service of the descendant of their\nancient Dukes. An extract from a manuscript register of the Cathedral\nof Coutances, said to be preserved in the British Museum, tells us how,\non Midsummer Night, in the year of grace 1419, Jacques Mauger arrived\nfrom Guernsey with his men, at the port of Agon, at the entrance of\nthe river, and took by escalade the fortress of Mont Martin, near\nCoutances, and how Henry V., King of England, then in possession of\nthe greater part of Normandy, rewarded the gallant act by a gift of\nthe Seigneurie of Bosques, and the permission to bear henceforth on\nhis shield the cross of the blessed knight of St. George, in a field\nargent, with his own paternal arms, two chevrons sable, in the first\nand fourth quarters, and, in the second and third the arms of Bosques,\na lion rampant, also sable.\n\nIt may not be uninteresting to some to know that the Hampshire and\nIsle of Wight family of Major were originally Maugers from one of the\nChannel Islands, and that Richard Cromwell, son of the Protector,\nmarried one of them.\n\nIt may be as well to give here a copy of the pedigree of Mauger, of\nJobourg, in Normandy.\n\n\u201cExtrait de la G\u00e9n\u00e9alogie de la Famille du Mauger \u00e0 Jobourg en\nNormandie au Cap La Hague.\n\n\u201cLe Duc de Normandie, nomm\u00e9 Guillaume le Conqu\u00e9rant, \u00e9leva son cousin\nd\u2019Evreux, nomm\u00e9 Mauger, \u00e0 l\u2019Archev\u00each\u00e9 de Rouen en la troisi\u00e8me\nann\u00e9e de son r\u00e8gne en Normandie. Le Seigneur Archev\u00eaque, menant une\nvie non conforme \u00e0 sa dignit\u00e9, attira sur lui la haine du Duc, son\nbienfaiteur, qui le fit rel\u00e9guer a l\u2019\u00eele de Greneseye; il prit terre\nen ce lieu avec son fr\u00e8re Gautier Mauger, sur la c\u00f4te et paroisse de\nSt. Martin, et apr\u00e8s avoir pass\u00e9 quelques ann\u00e9es en ce lieu il p\u00e9ri\nau ras de Bartleur, apr\u00e8s avoir pr\u00e9dit sa mort. Son fr\u00e8re Gautier eut\nplusieurs fils naturels, dont deux nomm\u00e9s L\u00e9opold et Th\u00e9odore: L\u00e9opold\n\u00e9pousa Pauline de Carteret, fille et seule h\u00e9riti\u00e8re de Samuel de\nCarteret, Ecuyer, Seigneur du Castel, et Th\u00e9odore ne maria point, et\nlaissa deux fils et une fille naturels, l\u2019un nomm\u00e9 Paul, l\u2019autre nomm\u00e9\nRodolphe, et la fille nomm\u00e9e Cl\u00e9otilde. Les deux fils furent mari\u00e9s;\nl\u2019un \u00e9pousa Sandirez Lampeirier ou Lampereur de Jersey, et Rodolphe\n\u00e9pousa Marie Careye de Greneseye. Paul eut plusieurs fils, dont deux\nnomm\u00e9 Alexandre et Gautier, comme son premier p\u00e8re, lequel fut chass\u00e9\nde l\u2019\u00eele de Jersey, avec deux des fils de Rodolphe qu\u2019il avait eus de\nMarie Careye; les autres enfans sortis de Rodolphe furent \u00e0 Greneseye,\ndemeurant sur l\u2019h\u00e9ritage de leur m\u00e8re en l\u2019ann\u00e9e 1399. Gautier fit\nplusieurs acqu\u00eats \u00e0 Jobourg \u00e0 la Hague, o\u00f9 il \u00e9tablit sa demeure, apr\u00e8s\navoir quitt\u00e9 Jersey, et fut mari\u00e9 \u00e0 une des filles de Pierre de Mary,\nSeigneur de Jobourg, en l\u2019ann\u00e9e 1418. Gautier engendra Toussaint et\nJacques, le dernier repassa \u00e0 Greneseye pour prendre possession d\u2019un\nh\u00e9ritage par succession, et Toussaint resta \u00e0 Jobourg; de Toussaint\nnaquit Fabien; de Fabien naquit Chaille; et Chaille engendra Pierre; de\nPierre Chaille, qui vivoit encore en 1570; \u00e0 l\u2019egard de L\u00e9opold, qui\navait epous\u00e9 Pauline de Carteret, nous n\u2019avons point, pour le present,\nde connaissance de sa g\u00e9n\u00e9alogie.\n\n\u201cLes Armoiries des Mauger (descendant de Guillaume le Conqu\u00e9rant, Duc\nde Normandie) sont une ancre et des roses au dessus du dit ancre. Tir\u00e9\nde la Heraudrie, et approuv\u00e9 du dit Duc.\u201d[229]\n\n[228] EDITOR\u2019S NOTE.--And at the Assizes held in Guernsey in 1319, a\n\u201cRauf Mauger\u201d appears among the landowners of St. Martin\u2019s parish.\nThe same name--\u201cRauf Mauger\u201d--appears in the Extent of 1331; \u201cRichard\nMauger\u201d in a Perchage of Blanchelande, (undated, but made before 1364).\nIn 1364 another \u201cRauf Mauger\u201d appears among the Jurymen of St. Martin\u2019s\nsummoned to adjudicate on the rights of the Abbot of Blanchelande; and\na Richard Mauger, of St. Martin\u2019s parish, is mentioned in the \u201cBille de\nPartage\u201d of Denis Le Marchant in 1393.\n\n[229] EDITOR\u2019S NOTE.--The obvious inaccuracy of this pedigree can be\njudged by only nine generations being given to supply the interval\nof 515 years, 1055-1570. Thirty-three and a quarter years are\ngenerally allowed for a generation, so that to give any appearance of\nprobability, at least sixteen generations would have to be accounted\nfor.\n\n\nTHE BALLAD OF IVON DE GALLES.\n\nBefore the invention of printing, oral tradition was almost the\nonly way in which the people--generally ignorant of writing or\nreading--could transmit the recollection of facts and circumstances\nwhich they deemed worthy of being remembered; and it was soon\ndiscovered that versification afforded a very strong aid to memory.\nHence arose that species of metrical tale which we call a ballad.\nThese ballads, passing from mouth to mouth, soon became corrupted.\nWhole verses were sometimes omitted, by which the thread of the story\nwas lost or rendered obscure, and others were supplied by borrowing\nfrom the work of another bard, or by the invention of the reciter.\nNevertheless, in the historical ballads, facts and details were often\npreserved which had escaped the notice of the more regular chroniclers.\n\nWhether, in former days, Guernsey could boast of any number of these\nmetrical histories, it is now impossible to say. Unless we include\nin this category, a sort of \u201ccomplainte,\u201d written in 1552 by the\nRoman Catholic priests, whom the progress of the doctrines of the\nReformation had driven out of their cures, the ballad of \u201c_Ivon de\nGalles, ou la descente des Aragousais_,\u201d is the only one which has come\ndown to us.[230] Many copies of it have been preserved, differing but\nslightly from each other in the main, although there are one or two\nverbal differences of some importance. Most of the copies conclude with\nthe twentieth verse, but some have a second part, consisting of six\nstanzas, and purporting to give an account of Ivon\u2019s adventures after\nhe left Guernsey, and the subsequent melancholy fate of himself and his\nfleet. As this account is quite different from what has come down to\nus in history, it is probably the work of some later bard, who wished\nto make the story more complete than he found it, and by a sort of\npoetical justice to punish Ivon and his followers for the evil they had\ninflicted on the island.\n\nThe ballad agrees in the main with the account of the invasion as given\nby Froissart and Holinshed. The adventures in the second part probably\nrelate to some other of the numerous descents on the island during\nthe reign of Edward III., perhaps to that by Bahuchet, a French naval\ncommander, about the year 1338. This Bahuchet landed in England, and\ncommitted great atrocities at Portsmouth and Southampton, for which,\nwhen he was taken prisoner in the great engagement off Sluys, in 1340,\nEdward ordered him to be hanged at the main-yard.\n\nFrom Froissart\u2019s _Chronicles_ we learn that Ivon, or as he calls him,\nYvain de Galles, was the son of a Prince of Wales whom Edward III. had\nput to death, and whose possessions he had seized upon. Ivon, thus\ndisinherited, took refuge in France, where he entered into the service\nof the King, Charles V., and was by him entrusted with the command\nof ships and three thousand men. It appears from another part of the\nChronicle, that Henry of Trastamara, King of Castille and Aragon, had\nsupplied his ally, Charles, with a large fleet, well armed and manned,\nand it is probable that the galleys which Ivon commanded formed part of\nthis fleet. If so, the name of \u201cAragousais,\u201d or men of Aragon, given in\nthe ballad to the invading force, is accounted for. With these troops\nhe sailed from Harfleur and reached Guernsey.\n\nAymon, or Edmund, Rose, esquire of honour to the King of England, and\nGovernor of the island, advanced to meet him with all the force he\ncould muster,--about eight hundred men. The battle was long and hotly\ncontested, but ended in the discomfiture of the insular force, with\nthe loss of four hundred of their men, and in the retreat of Aymon\nRose into Castle Cornet, to which Ivon laid siege. Several assaults\nwere made on the Castle, but, as it was strongly fortified and well\nprovisioned, they were not attended with success. How long the siege\nlasted we are not informed, but the French King, requiring the services\nof Ivon elsewhere, and believing Castle Cornet to be impregnable, sent\norders for the siege to be raised. A few years afterwards, Ivon lost\nhis life by the dagger of an assassin of his own nation, a Welshman of\nthe name of Lambe, apparently at the instigation of Richard II.\n\nAccording to the ballad, Ivon landed his troops early on a Tuesday\nmorning in Vazon Bay. A countryman, who had risen early to look after\nhis sheep, perceived the invaders and gave the alarm, upon which all\nthe inhabitants assembled and endeavoured to repel them, but without\nsuccess. A stand was at last made on the hill above the town of St.\nPeter Port, and a sanguinary engagement took place, in which five\nhundred and one of both sides were killed.\n\nTradition points to a spot near Elizabeth College as the scene of\nthis encounter, and the locality to this day bears the name of \u201c_La\nBataille_.\u201d\n\nA deep lane, which formerly passed to the eastward of the strangers\u2019\nburial ground, but which has been long filled up and enclosed within\nthe walls of the cemetery, was said to owe its name of \u201c_La Ruette\nMeurtri\u00e8re_\u201d to the same event.\n\nTowards the evening, eighty English merchants,--probably the crews\nof some trading vessels--arrived, and lent their assistance to the\nislanders. By means of this reinforcement the enemy was prevented from\npenetrating into the town, but they reached the shore, and, the tide\nbeing low, crossed over to Castle Cornet, and attacked it.\n\nMost of the copies of the ballad say that they took the Castle, \u201c_par\nforce prindrent le Chasteau_,\u201d but one, which has been preserved in\nthe registers of the parish of St. Saviour, where it is inserted\nabout the year 1638, has these words--\u201c_Il vouloient prendre le\nChasteau_,\u201d--which seem to agree better with the other statements in\nthe ballad that Ivon\u2019s ships came round the island by the southward,\nthat they received some damage from the peasantry at La Corbi\u00e8re, and\nthat they re-embarked their troops at Bec de la Ch\u00e8vre, now known by\nthe name of the Terres point, after which Ivon ordered them to make\nsail for St. Sampson\u2019s Harbour.\n\nHere they landed. Negotiations were entered on with Br\u00e9gart, the Prior\nor Commissary of St. Michel du Valle, a dependency of the famous Abbey\nof Mont St. Michel in Normandy, and Ivon laid siege to the Vale Castle,\nwhither Aymon Rose, the Governor of the island, whom we hear of for the\nfirst time, had retreated and entrenched himself.\n\nSummoned by Ivon to surrender, he refused, but agreed to sanction an\narrangement which Br\u00e9gart had made with the people, and which seems\nto have had for object to buy off the invaders by payment of a sum of\nmoney.\n\nThe ballad assigns this as the origin of the charge on land called\n\u201cchampart,\u201d but it is certain that this species of tithe existed long\nbefore this time.\n\nMost of the copies end here, but some have a second part, of which we\nhave already spoken, and which was probably written at a later period.\n\nIt is difficult to account for the discrepancy between the local\naccount and that of Froissart and others as to the name of the Castle\ninto which the Governor, Aymon Rose, retired, unless by the supposition\nthat the historians knew Castle Cornet by name as a fortress deemed\nimpregnable, and assumed, without further inquiry, that it must be the\none in which the Governor entrenched himself.\n\n[Illustration: Houses formerly facing West Door of Town Church.]\n\nAn event of so much importance was well calculated to make a lasting\nimpression on the people. And to this day \u201c_Les Aragousais_\u201d are\nspoken of, and various traditions relating to them are repeated. It is\nsingular, however, to find that with the lapse of time they have come\nto be looked upon as a supernatural race--in fact, to be confounded\nwith the fairies. The form which this traditional remembrance of them\nhas taken will be found on page 204, and tends in some degree to\nconfirm the idea entertained by some writers on fairy mythology that\nmany of the tales related of those fantastic beings may be accounted\nfor by the theory that they refer to an earlier race of men, gradually\ndriven out by tribes more advanced in civilisation.\n\nThe places called \u201c_La Bataille_[231]\u201d and \u201c_La Ruette Meurtri\u00e8re_\u201d\nhave already been mentioned as the spots where the great battle took\nplace. The \u201c_Rouge Rue_,\u201d leading down the hill to the westward of St.\nJohn\u2019s Church, is said to derive its name from the blood spilt on this\noccasion. If this really be the origin of the name, we may suppose\nthat the islanders, retreating towards the Vale Castle, or perhaps the\nCh\u00e2teau des Marais, were overtaken there, and that a second engagement\ntook place. But there is reason to believe that the tradition relates\nto another locality in quite a different direction, which in times gone\nby bore also the name of \u201c_La Rouge Rue_,\u201d but which has long ceased\nto be so called. We speak of the upper part of Hauteville, sloping\nsouthwards towards the valley of Havelet. According to the late Miss\nLauga, who died at the advanced age of eighty-five, her mother, who had\ninherited from her ancestors property in this neighbourhood, always\nspoke of it as \u201c_La Rouge Rue_,\u201d and said that a sanguinary battle\nhad been fought in ancient days on this spot. And, indeed, this name\nappears in the old contracts and title-deeds, by which property in\nthe neighbourhood is held. The consequence of its having ceased to be\nknown popularly by its ancient appellation would naturally be that\nthe traditionary tale of the name being derived from the blood spilt\nthere would be transferred to another and better known locality, which\nchanced--perhaps simply from the colour of the soil--to bear the same\nname.\n\nFirearms were of such recent invention that it is scarcely to be\nsupposed that any had as yet found their way to Guernsey. If, however,\nany faith can be placed in tradition, their use and construction were\nnot totally unknown in the island, for it is said that the trunk of a\ntree was hollowed out and bound round with iron hoops, but that when\nthis deadly weapon was loaded, no one could be found bold enough to\nfire it, until a child, ignorant of the risk he was incurring, was\ninduced, by the promise of a cake, to perform the dangerous feat.\n\nIt is also said that the women of the island contributed all their\near-rings and other jewels to buy off the invaders; and it was very\ngenerally believed that a peculiar breed of small but strong and\nspirited horses--now unfortunately extinct--was derived from those that\nhad escaped during the battle, and so had remained in the island after\nthe Spaniards left.\n\nThe tradition, which confounds Ivon\u2019s forces with the fairies, relates\nhow all the islanders were killed, except a man and a boy of St.\nAndrew\u2019s parish, who concealed themselves in an oven, over the mouth of\nwhich a woman spread her black petticoat, and so escaped; and how the\nconquerors, who are described as a very diminutive race, married the\nwidows and maidens, and so re-peopled the island. The small stature\nand dark complexion of some families are occasionally appealed to as\nproofs of this origin.\n\nPerhaps this tradition may be an indistinct recollection of a far\nearlier invasion and possession of the island by some of the piratical\nhordes from the North, that began to infest the coasts of the Channel\nas early as the beginning of the fifth century. These were not unlikely\nto have subjugated the men of the island, and to have taken forcible\npossession of their wives, and any tradition of the event might very\nnaturally be transferred from one invasion to another, and come finally\nto be fixed on the last and best known.\n\nThe ballad, of which an English translation is attempted, has\nevidently suffered much from the defective memory of reciters, and\nthe carelessness of transcribers, so that some of the stanzas appear\nto be almost hopelessly corrupt. The main incidents of the story\nare, however, tolerably well defined. It seems to have been composed\noriginally in French, and not in the Norman dialect used in the island.\nThe stanzas consist of the unusual number of seven lines, of which\nthe first and third rhyme together, and the second, fourth, fifth and\nsixth--the seventh rhyming occasionally with the first and third,\nbut more frequently standing alone. In some verses assonances take\nthe place of more perfect rhymes, which may be adduced as a proof of\nthe antiquity of the ballad. Perhaps it would not be impossible, by\ncomparing the various copies, choosing the readings which appear least\ncorrupt, altering here and there the position of a line in the stanza,\nor the arrangement of the words that compose it, or even sometimes\nchanging a word where the exigencies of the rhyme seem to require it,\nto produce a copy that would offend less against the rules of prosody;\nbut this is a process which would require great care, and which respect\nfor antiquity forbids us to attempt.\n\nWe must take the ballad, with all its faults and imperfections, as we\nfind it.\n\nEVAN OF WALES, OR THE INVASION OF GUERNSEY IN 1372.\n\n_Part the First._\n\n    I.\n\n    Draw near and listen, great and small,\n      Of high and low degree,\n    And hear what chance did once befall\n      This island fair and free\n        From warlike men, a chosen band,\n        Who roamed about from land to land,\n      Ploughing the briny sea.\n\n    II.\n\n    Evan of Wales, a valiant knight,\n      Who served the King of France,\n    In Saragossa\u2019s city bright\n      Hired many a stalwart lance:\n        One Tuesday morn at break of day,\n        To land these troops in Vazon Bay,\n      He bade his ships advance.\n\n    III.\n\n    At early dawn from quiet sleep\n      John Letoc rose that day,\n    To tend his little flock of sheep\n      He took his lonely way,\n        When lo! upon the Vazon sands\n        He saw, drawn up in warlike bands\n      The foe in fierce array.\n\n    IV.\n\n    A horse he met upon his way\n      Trotting along the road,\n    Strayed from the camp--without delay\n      The charger he bestrode,\n        And soon from house to house the alarm\n        He gave, crying out \u201cto arms, quick, arm!\u201d\n      Through all the isle he rode.\n\n    V.\n\n    \u201cTo arms, to arms, my merry men all,\n      To arms, for we must fight,\n    Hazard your lives, both great and small,\n      And put the foe to flight;\n        Hasten towards the Vazon Bay\n        Hasten our cruel foes to slay,\n      Or we shall die this night.\u201d\n\n    VI.\n\n    Evan of Wales, that vent\u2019rous knight,\n      Led the foe through the land,\n    But pressing forward in the fight,\n      Upon a foreign strand,\n        He won a garter gay, I ween,\n        \u2019Twas neither silk nor velvet sheen,\n      Though crimson was the band.\n\n    VII.\n\n    For near the mill at La Carri\u00e8re,\n      With halbert keen and bright,\n    Young Richard Simon, void of fear,\n      Attacked the stranger knight.\n        And gashed full sore his brawny thigh,\n        Then smote his right hand lifted high,\n      To check the daring wight.\n\n    VIII.\n\n    Above Saint Peter Port \u2019tis said,\n      The conflict they renewed,\n    Of friends and foes five hundred dead\n      The grassy plain bestrewed:\n        Our ladies wept most bitterly,\n        Oh! \u2019twas a dismal sight to see\n      Their cheeks with tears bestrewed.\n\n    IX.\n\n    Thoumin le Lorreur was in truth\n      Our leader in the fray,\n    But brave Ralph Holland, noble youth,\n      He bore the palm away;\n        Yet was he doomed his death to meet,\n        The cruel foes smit off his feet,\n      He died that dismal day.\n\n    X.\n\n    Hard blows are dealt on every side,\n      The blood bedews the plain,\n    The footmen leap, the horsemen ride,\n      O\u2019er mountains of the slain.\n        A deadly weapon, strongly bent,\n        Against the foes its missiles sent,\n      And wrought them death and pain.\n\n    XI.\n\n    But eighty English merchants brave,\n      Arrived at Vesper-tide,\n    They rushed on shore the isle to save,\n      And fought on our side:\n        Our foes fatigued, began to yield,\n        And leaving soon the well-fought field,\n      To Heaven for mercy cried.\n\n    XII.\n\n    To\u2019ards Galrion they bend their course,\n      And range along the bay,\n    In hopes to make by fraud or force\n      Into the town their way,\n        But now the gallant Englishmen\n        Return, and on our foes again\n      Their prowess they display.\n\n    XIII.\n\n    But rallying soon, th\u2019adventurous band\n      Cornet\u2019s strong towers attack,\n    With ebbing tides, across the sand,\n      They find an easy track,\n        The beach is strewed with heaps of dead,\n        The briny sea with blood is red,\n      Again they are driven back.\n\n    XIV.\n\n    Many are killed, and wounded sore;\n      Meanwhile the hostile fleet,\n    Coasting along the southern shore\n      A warm reception meet\n        From peasants bold at La Corbi\u00e8re;\n        At Bec d\u2019la Ch\u00e8vre the land they near,\n      And aid their friends\u2019 retreat.\n\n    XV.\n\n    But Evan\u2019s troops were mad with rage,\n      Like lions balked of food,\n    Swear that their wrath they will assuage\n      In floods of English blood;\n        Then suddenly their course they steer\n        Towards Saint Sampson\u2019s port, and there\n      They land in angry mood.\n\n    [Illustration: Old Cottage, Fermain.]\n\n    XVI.\n\n    Saint Michael\u2019s Abbey soon they seek,\n      Friar Br\u00e9gard there had sway,\n    Who, full of fear, with prayers meek\n      Meets them upon their way;\n        With presents rich and ample store\n        Of gold, and promises of more\n      Their fury to allay.\n\n    XVII.\n\n    To Eleanor, that lady fair,\n      Sir Evan\u2019s beauteous bride,\n    The crafty monk gave jewels rare\n      To win her to his side.\n        At Granville, in the pleasant land\n        Of France, Sir Evan sought her hand,\n      Nor was his suit denied.\n\n    XVIII.\n\n    Near the Archangel\u2019s Castle then,\n      Upon a rising ground,\n    Sir Evan camped--our countrymen\n      Sure refuge there had found.\n        Br\u00e9gard, in hopes to increase his store,\n        Advances to the Castle door\n      And bade a parley sound.\n\n    XIX.\n\n    He counselled them to yield forthwith,\n      But brave Sir Edmund Rose\n    Declared he\u2019d sooner meet his death\n      Than bend to foreign foes,\n        But to the Abbot should they yield\n        A double tithe on every field,\n      He would it not oppose.\n\n    XX.\n\n    The Abbot to Sir Evan went,\n      And soon a bargain closed;\n    The simple peasants gave assent\n      To all the monk proposed,\n        And bound their lands a sheaf to pay,\n        Beyond the tithes, and thus, they say,\n      The Champart was imposed.\n\n    _Part the Second._\n\n    I.\n\n    With spoils and presents not a few\n      Sir Evan sailed once more\n    Tow\u2019rds le Conquet, his ships with new\n      Supplies of food to store;\n        Before Belleisle (so goes the tale)\n        They burnt a fleet of thirty sail,\n      The crews being gone on shore.\n\n    II.\n\n    The south wind rose, and on the coasts\n      Of Brittany they passed,\n    An English fleet to stop their boasts\n      Appeared in sight at last:\n        Full sixty men a footing found\n        On board Sir Evan\u2019s bark, and bound\n      His crew in fetters fast.\n\n    III.\n\n    Sir Evan to the mast they tied,\n      And then before his face\n    Insult his young and beauteous bride\n      And load her with disgrace;\n        They take him to Southampton town\n        And on his head, in guise of crown,\n      A red-hot morion place.\n\n    IV.\n\n    They dragged his men out one by one,\n      And hung them up in chains,\n    And now not one of all the crew\n      Save Eleanor remains.\n        A beggar\u2019s scrip her only store,\n        She roams about from door to door,\n      And scarce a living gains.\n\n    V.\n\n    How fared the rest of Evan\u2019s fleet?\n      Methinks I hear you say,\n    When raging winds for ever beat\n      The strongest towers decay;\n        To bend these ships before the breeze,\n        And sinking \u2019neath the briny seas,\n      In vain for mercy pray.\n\n    VI.\n\n    Our holy island\u2019s shores at last,\n      One Tuesday morn they reach;\n    But on the Hanois rocks are cast,\n      And soon on Rocquaine\u2019s beach\n        The waves their lifeless corpses threw,\n        That vengeance still will guilt pursue,\n      Their dismal fate may teach.\n\n[230] EDITOR\u2019S NOTE.--I have also met with an account of the\ndestruction of the Tower of Castle Cornet by lightning in 1672, in some\nold MSS. dated 1719, where the visitation is ascribed to the sins of\nthe people!\n\n[231] EDITOR\u2019S NOTE.--On the slope of the hill rising to the south of\nPerelle Bay there is also a spot called \u201cLa Bataille,\u201d and about a\nquarter of a mile further inland another spot called \u201cL\u2019Assaut.\u201d This\nprobably refers to some other conflict.--_From J. de Garis, Esq._\n\n\nTHE RECAPTURE OF SARK.\n\nAt the beginning of the present century, when little more was known of\nthe Norman Islands than their names, it might have been necessary, in\nspeaking of Sark, to describe where it is situated. Guernsey, Jersey,\nAlderney, Sark, and Man, were always associated together in Acts of\nParliament and in school books for teaching children geography; and\nwhile there were many who believed the five to form but one group,\nthere were many others who would have been very much puzzled to\npoint out on the map the precise situation of any one of them. Now,\nthanks to the incessant intercourse with England by means of steam,\nand the attractions the islands present as resorts for tourists and\nexcursionists, they are as well known as most watering places on the\nEnglish coast.\n\nSark, though the smallest of the group, is by many considered the most\nbeautiful of the Channel Islands, and, certainly in point of rock and\ncliff scenery, combined with the ever-varying effects of sea and sky,\nthere are few lines of coast, of the same extent, that can compare with\nit. So precipitous are the shores on all sides, that there are very few\nspots where a landing can be effected, and in former days it would not\nhave been difficult to repel an invader, merely by rolling down stones\nfrom the heights.\n\nOf the history of Sark but little is known. St. Maglorius, a Briton\nfrom South Wales, who succeeded his kinsman, St. Samson, Bishop of Dol,\nabout the year 565, in that see, gave up a few years afterwards his\npastoral charge to his successor, St. Budoc, and retired to end his\ndays in meditation and prayer in Sark, where he established a convent\nand college for training young men as missionaries to the neighbouring\nnations. As a priory, dependent probably on some one or other of the\nlarge monasteries in Normandy, this convent was still in existence\nin the reign of Edward III., but the wars between this monarch and\nthe French king, seem to have been the cause of the monks withdrawing\nthemselves entirely from the island about the year 1349. After the\ndeparture of the monks, Sark appears to have become the resort of\npirates, who did so much injury to the trade of the Channel, that,\nin 1356, a vessel belonging to the port of Rye was fitted out by the\nmerchants of that town and of Winchelsea to endeavour to expel this\nband of marauders. This they succeeded in doing, and are said to have\neffected an entry into the island by means of a stratagem, which Sir\nWalter Raleigh, sometime Governor of Jersey, where he may be supposed\nto have gained his information, relates as having occurred in the reign\nof Queen Mary, and attributes to the crew of a Flemish ship.\n\nWe copy Sir Walter Raleigh\u2019s account of the re-taking of Sark, from\nhis _History of the World_, Part I., Book IV., chapter XI., p. 18, but\nmust premise by saying that he is incorrect in stating that Sark had\nbeen surprised by the French in the reign of Queen Mary. It was in the\nyear 1549, during the reign of her brother Edward VI., that the French,\nbeing at war with England, and finding the island uninhabited, landed\nfour hundred men and took possession of it. The anonymous author of\n_Les Chroniques de Jersey_, written apparently in the reign of Queen\nElizabeth, in noticing the recapture of Sark by Flemings, says nothing\nof the stratagem, but simply that, guided by some Guernseymen, they\nlanded at night and overpowered the French garrison, which, at that\ntime, was very much reduced in numbers.\n\n\u201cThe Island of _Sark_, joining to _Guernzey_, and of that Government,\nwas in Queen _Mary\u2019s_ time surprized by the _French_, and could never\nhave been recovered again by strong hand, having Cattle and Corn\nenough upon the Place to feed so many Men as will serve to defend it,\nand being every way so inaccessible that it might be held against the\n_Great Turk_. Yet by the industry of a Gentleman of the _Netherlands_,\nit was in this Sort regained. He anchored in the Road with one Ship,\nand, pretending the Death of his Merchant, besought the _French_ that\nthey might bury their Merchant in hallowed Ground, and in the Chapel\nof that Isle; offering a Present to the _French_ of such Commodities\nas they had aboard. Whereto (with Condition that they should not come\nashore with any Weapon, not so much as with a Knife), the _French_\nyielded. Then did the _Flemings_ put a Coffin into their Boat, not\nfilled with a Dead Carcass, but with Swords, Targets and Harquebuzes.\nThe _French_ received them at their Landing, and, searching every one\nof them so narrowly as they could not hide a Penknife, gave them leave\nto draw their Coffin up the Rocks with great difficulty. Some part\nof the _French_ took the _Flemish_ Boat, and rowed aboard their Ship\nto fetch the Commodities promised, and what else they pleased, but,\nbeing entered, they were taken and bound. The _Flemings_ on the Land,\nwhen they had carried their Coffin into the Chapel, shut the Door\nto them, and, taking their Weapons out of the Coffin, set upon the\n_French_. They run to the Cliff, and cry to their Companions aboard the\n_Fleming_ to come to their Succour. But, finding the Boat charged with\n_Flemings_, yielded themselves and the Place.\u201d\n\nFalle, the historian of Jersey, in citing this anecdote says:--\u201cI\nhave seen Memoirs which confirm the taking of this Island by such a\nStratagem; but the other Circumstances of Time and Persons do not agree\nwith the foregoing Story.\u201d\n\nHe then quotes, in a footnote, a passage from a MS. chronicle in Latin,\nwhich appears to have been in the possession of the de Carteret family,\nSeigneurs of St. Ouen, in Jersey, giving an account of the recapture of\nSark by a vessel from Rye, by means of the stratagem related above, but\nhe does not assign any date to the transaction.\n\nIt would be rash to assert that no such event ever occurred in the\nhistory of Sark, but it is curious to note that similar stories\nare told of Harold Hardr\u00e1da, a Scandinavian adventurer who was in\nthe service of the Byzantine Emperors, and of the famous sea-king,\nHastings. The former fell dangerously ill while besieging a town in\nSicily. His men requested permission to bury him with due solemnity,\nand, on bringing the coffin to the gates of the town, were received\nby the clergy. No sooner, however, were they within the gates than\nthey set down the coffin across the entrance, drew their swords, made\nthemselves masters of the place, and massacred all the male inhabitants.\n\nHastings, about the year 857, entered the Mediterranean with a large\nfleet, appeared before the ancient Etruscan city of Luna, professed to\nbe desirous of becoming a Christian, and was baptised by the Bishop.\nAfter a time he pretended to be dangerously ill, and gave out that he\nwould leave the rich booty he had amassed to the Church, if, in the\nevent of his death, the Bishop would allow him to be interred in one of\nthe churches of the city. This was conceded, and, shortly afterwards,\nhis followers appeared, bearing a coffin, which they pretended\ncontained his dead body. No sooner had they entered the church and set\nit down, than Hastings started up, sword in hand, and slew the Bishop.\nHis followers drew their swords, and, in the confusion, soon made\nthemselves masters of the city.\n\n[Illustration: Old Mill, Talbot.]\n\nThese particulars are taken from Bohn\u2019s editions of Mallet\u2019s _Northern\nAntiquities_, pages 169 and 170. Perhaps the earliest known germ of\nthis story is to be found in the famous Trojan horse; but it is curious\nto note that a tale, similar in all its incidents to that related of\nSark, is told as having happened in the reign of William and Mary\nat Lundy, a small isle in the Bristol Channel. It will be found in\n_Murray\u2019s Handbook for Travellers in Devon and Cornwall_; and as the\ndate assigned to it is long subsequent to the publication of Sir Walter\nRaleigh\u2019s _History_, the natural conclusion is that the incidents in\nthe alleged taking of Lundy, have been borrowed from those of the\nrecapture of Sark, as narrated by Sir Walter. In confirmation of this\nview of the case we would draw attention to the circumstance that the\n\u201cGentleman of the Netherlands,\u201d with his crew of Flemings, of the\nearlier narrative, becomes in the later edition of this story \u201cA ship\nof war under Dutch colours.\u201d\n\nWith these preliminary remarks, we proceed to copy the account of the\nsurprise of Lundy:--\n\n\u201cThe principal event in the history of Lundy is its capture by a party\nof Frenchmen, in the reign of William and Mary. A ship of war, under\nDutch colours, brought up in the roadstead, and sent ashore for some\nmilk, pretending that the captain was sick. The islanders supplied\nthe milk for several days, when at length the crew informed them that\ntheir captain was dead, and asked permission to bury him in consecrated\nground. This was immediately granted, and the inhabitants assisted in\ncarrying the coffin to the grave. It appeared to them rather heavy,\nbut they never for a moment suspected the nature of its contents.\nThe Frenchmen then requested the islanders to leave the church, as\nit was the custom of their country that foreigners should absent\nthemselves during a part of the ceremony, but informed them that they\nshould be admitted to see the body interred. They were not, however,\ndetained long in suspense; the doors were suddenly flung open, and the\nFrenchmen, armed from the pretended receptacle of the dead, rushed,\nwith triumphant shouts, upon the astonished inhabitants, and made them\nprisoners. They then quietly proceeded to desolate the island. They\nhamstrung the horses and bullocks, threw the sheep and goats over\nthe cliffs, and stripped the inhabitants even of their clothes. When\nsatisfied with plunder and mischief, they left the poor islanders in a\ncondition most truly disconsolate.\u201d\n\nNo reference to any authority for the story is given, and it is\ndifficult to conceive that such an unprovoked and barbarous outrage,\nleading to no useful end--for Lundy could be of little or no use to\neither in time of war--could have been perpetrated so lately as the\nreign of William III.; but in the case of Lundy, as well as in that of\nSark, the date assigned to the event is extremely vague, some asserting\nthat it happened in the time of the great rebellion, others that it is\nto be found related by one of the old chroniclers who wrote the history\nof that long period of civil strife known as the Wars of the Roses.\n\n\nTHE ALARM OF PULIAS.\n\nA time of war between England and France would naturally cause great\nanxiety and excitement in all the Channel Islands. Situated as they\nare, so near to the French coast that buildings of any size may be\ndiscerned in clear weather by the naked eye, and coveted by that nation\never since the time when King John, having lost Normandy, the islands,\nfirm in their allegiance to the Duke, followed the fortunes of England,\nthey were peculiarly exposed to a hostile attack.\n\nEngland, fully aware of the importance of these islands, and knowing\nwell what a command of the Channel the possession of them gives, has\nalways been careful to have them well fortified and garrisoned in\ntime of war, and to keep a fleet cruising in their waters. The local\nmilitia--a body of men which may be more correctly termed trained\nbands, for, by the ancient constitution of the islands, every male\ncapable of bearing arms _must_ be trained to the use of them, and is\nrequired to serve his country from the age sixteen to sixty--forms\na subsidiary force, frequently and carefully drilled. In times when\ndanger was to be apprehended, watch houses were erected on all the\nhills and promontories round the coast, where a vigilant lookout was\nkept up night and day; and near each of these was placed a large stack\nof dried furze, which might be set on fire at a moment\u2019s warning, and\nwhich would convey the intelligence of approaching danger to all parts\nof the island. The keeping of these guards was confided to the militia,\nor, to speak more precisely, to householders, who were told off by the\nconstables of their respective parishes for this duty. Every house, in\nits turn, had to furnish a man, and even females living alone were not\nexempt, but were expected to find a substitute. These substitutes,\nbeing well paid for their trouble, were, of course, not difficult to\nbe met with; but as they were for the most part idle fellows, and as\nthey were enrolled under their employers\u2019 names, these last sometimes\nfound themselves in an awkward predicament. It is said that two maiden\nladies, householders, of most unblemished reputation, and belonging to\ntwo of the most aristocratic families in Guernsey, were reported one\nmorning as having been drunk and disorderly on guard the previous night!\n\nDuring the last wars between England and France there does not appear\nto have been, except on one occasion, any very serious alarm in\nGuernsey; but every now and then the sight of ships of war off Cape La\nHague, in the neighbourhood of Cherbourg, gave rise to some uneasiness,\nand put the island on the alert. It is no wonder if some amount of fear\nwas felt by the inhabitants on these occasions, when we remember the\npanic that Bonaparte\u2019s threatened invasion in flat-bottomed boats from\nBoulogne, occasioned in England.\n\nIt was during the American war, in the early part of the year 1781,\nshortly after the attempt made on Jersey by the French adventurer, de\nRullecour, so gallantly repelled by a small body of the regular forces\nand the militia of that island, under the command of Major Pierson, who\nwas killed fighting bravely at the head of his troops, that a drunken\nfrolic of three thoughtless youths threw the whole island of Guernsey\ninto a state of consternation, and was the unfortunate cause of the\ndeath of several sick persons.\n\nOn the night of Sunday, the 4th of March, these men, officers in one\nof the militia regiments, after attending a muster of the force, which,\nin those days, generally took place on the Sunday, had finished the\nday by dining together, and were returning from the Castel parish to\ntheir homes in the Vale and St. Sampson\u2019s. Their way was along the\nsea-coast, at that time not nearly so thickly inhabited as at present,\nand, on arriving at an almost solitary house, situated near the marsh\nof Pulias, just at the foot of the hill of Noirmont, on which a watch\nand a beacon, ready to be fired, were always in readiness, the fancy\ntook them to knock at the door of the cottage, and to represent\nthemselves as part of a French force, consisting of over ten thousand\nmen, who had just effected a landing. They demanded that a guide should\nbe furnished them forthwith to shew them the most direct road to the\ntown, and to the residence of the Governor, promising that he should\nbe amply rewarded for his trouble. It so chanced that the only inmates\nof the house were an old man and his wife. With admirable presence of\nmind, the man replied that it was out of his power to serve them as\nguide, as he had the misfortune to be stone blind, but that if they\nwent a few hundred yards further in a direction which he pointed out to\nthem, they would find another habitation, where, no doubt, the guide\nthey were in search of would be forthcoming. They took their departure,\ngoing in the direction indicated to them, and, no sooner were their\nbacks turned, than the old woman opened a window in the rear of the\nhouse, and made her way across the fields, over hedges and ditches, and\nthrough the thick furze that covers the hill, to the signal station\non the summit of Noirmont. She told her story to the men on watch,\nand it was not many minutes before the beacon was in flames, and the\nsignal taken up by all the others round the coast. A swift messenger\nwas sent into town with the unwelcome news. Before long, the alarm had\nspread into every part of the island. The troops in garrison were soon\nunder arms, the militia regiments mustered at their respective places\nof meeting, and scouts were sent out to search for the enemy, and to\nfind out where they had taken up their position. With the return of\ndaylight, the reconnoitring parties came back to headquarters, bringing\nthe reassuring intelligence that not a sign of an enemy was to be seen\non any part of the coast. It was then evident that the whole community\nhad been made the victim of a heartless hoax. A strict enquiry was set\non foot to discover the authors of it, but, though suspicion pointed\nstrongly in the direction of the real culprits, nothing definite could\nbe brought home to any one in particular; but the surmise was converted\ninto certainty by the sudden departure from the island of the suspected\nparties, who did not venture to return to their homes till many years\nafterwards, when the affair was well-nigh forgotten, and when there was\nno longer any danger of their being called to account for their mad\nfreak. A bitter feeling was, however, engendered in the minds of the\npeople, which found vent in satirical songs, some verses of which are\nstill remembered.\n\n\nJEAN BRETON, THE PILOT.\n\nFrom the earliest times of which we have any authentic record, the\npeople of Guernsey appear to have been a seafaring race. Perhaps they\ninherit their disposition for maritime pursuits from their remote\nancestors, those hardy Scandinavian adventurers, who, there can be no\ndoubt, found these islands a very convenient resort in their early\npiratical incursions, and probably had settled in them long before\nthey took possession of that fertile province of France, now known\nas Normandy, the land of the Northmen. But, however this may be, the\ninhabitants of these islands could scarcely be other than mariners,\nsurrounded as they are by a sea abounding in an endless variety of\nfish, and especially when we take into consideration the small extent\nof land in them available for agricultural purposes compared with\nthe teeming population which,--exclusive of that of the town, which\nhas increased considerably since the beginning of the nineteenth\ncentury--appears from authentic documents to have been quite as dense\nin the rural districts in the early part of the fourteenth century as\nit is in the present day.[232]\n\nTheir situation gave the islands importance in a strategical point\nof view, and was favourable also to the development of commerce,\npossessing moreover, as they did, the extraordinary privilege of\nneutrality in times of war between England and France.\n\n[Illustration: Water Lane, Couture.]\n\nAfter the forfeiture of Normandy by King John, it was long before the\ninhabitants of that Province acquiesced cordially in their change of\nmasters; and the district known as _Le Cotentin_, to which the islands\nnaturally appertained, was last to give up their allegiance to their\nancient Dukes. Indeed, it can scarcely be said to have been lost\nentirely to England, until the final expulsion of our kings from all\ntheir continental possessions in the reign of Henry VI. During the\nlong wars between the two nations, the possession of these islands\nwas of the utmost importance to England, commanding as they did so\nlong a line of the French coast. Guernsey alone at that time possessed\na tolerably secure haven, the early existence of which is proved by\na charter of William the Conqueror, dated prior to his invasion of\nEngland, in which St. Peter Port is mentioned. Edward I. allowed of\ncertain dues on merchandise being levied for the improvement of this\nharbour, and that an active trade was carried on between Guernsey and\nthe English possessions in Acquitaine is undoubted. No wonder then that\nwe find the names of Guernsey ships in the lists of those chartered\nfor the conveyance of troops to France in time of war. But what,\nperhaps, more than anything else contributed to form a race of hardy\nand courageous seamen were the important fisheries, which, before the\ndiscovery of America and the banks of Newfoundland, gave employment\nto an immense amount of men, in catching, salting, and drying for\nexportation, the fish which abound in the neighbourhood of the islands.\nThe dangerous nature of the coast, and the surrounding seas, is owing\nto sunken rocks, strong currents and tides, which vary from day to\nday. It requires a life-long apprenticeship to become well acquainted\nwith all the hidden and open perils which threaten a seaman\u2019s life.\nNo wonder then if some of our fishermen, brought up to the sea from\ntheir earliest youth, become experienced and fearless pilots, knowing\nevery reef, every set of the tide, and able to reckon to a nicety,\nhow long the current will run in one direction, and when it may be\nexpected to take a different course. In making their calculations they\nare very much guided by the bearings of certain marks on land, such as\nchurches, windmills, or other conspicuous buildings, and the following\nanecdote, related of one of our pilots, Jean Breton, is well worthy of\nbeing remembered, not more for the skill he displayed under very trying\ncircumstances, than for the significant and touching answer he gave\nwhen questioned whether he was sure of his marks.\n\nIn the year 1794, Captain Sir James Saumarez was at Plymouth, in\ncommand of H.M.S. _Crescent_ and a squadron consisting of two other\nfrigates, the _Druid_ and the _Eurydice_, and two or three armed\nluggers and cutters. He received orders to sail for Guernsey and\nJersey, to ascertain, if possible, the enemy\u2019s force in Cancale Bay and\nSt. Malo. On the 7th of June he left Plymouth, having, a day or two\nbefore, accidentally met Jean Breton, whom he knew. He asked him what\nhe was doing there. \u201cI am waiting, Sir, for a passage to Guernsey,\u201d\nwas the reply. Sir James, whose active benevolence always prompted\nhim to do a kind action when it was in his power, offered to take\nhim across, and his kindness to his poor fellow-countryman was amply\nrepaid in the sequel. The day after their departure from Plymouth,\nwhen about twelve leagues to the N.N.W. of Guernsey, and with a fresh\nN.E. breeze, the English ships fell in at dawn with a French squadron\nof considerably greater force. The superiority of the enemy being much\ntoo great to be opposed with any chance of success, it became the\nimperative duty of the English commander to effect, if possible, the\nescape of his ships. Observing that his own ships, the _Crescent_\nand the _Druid_, had the advantage in sailing, and fearing that the\n_Eurydice_, which was a bad sailer, would fall into the enemy\u2019s hands,\nhe shortened sail, and, having ordered the _Eurydice_, by signal, to\npush for Guernsey, he continued, by occasionally showing a disposition\nto engage, to amuse the enemy and lead him off until the _Eurydice_ was\nsafe. He now tacked, and, in order to save the _Druid_, closed with\nthe enemy, passing along their line. The capture of the _Crescent_ now\nseemed inevitable, but the _Druid_ and the _Eurydice_ escaped in the\nmeanwhile, and arrived safely in Guernsey Roads, the smaller craft\nreturning to Plymouth.\n\nBut Sir James had, for his own preservation, a scheme, to effect which\nrequired great courage, consummate skill in the management of his ship,\nand an intimate knowledge of the intricate passages through the reefs\nwhich render navigation, on that part of the coast in particular, so\nvery dangerous. The providential presence of Jean Breton on board\nenabled him to put this scheme into execution with an almost certainty\nof success. Sir James knew that if there was a man in Guernsey\nthoroughly acquainted with every danger that besets that iron-bound\nshore, Jean Breton was that man; and, making a feint to run his ship on\nthe rocks to avoid being captured by the enemy, but trusting implicitly\nin his pilot\u2019s skill, he ordered him to steer through a narrow channel,\na feat which had never before been attempted by a vessel of that size.\nThe result of this man\u0153uvre was watched with the utmost anxiety from\nthe shore, and remarks were made by the lookers-on that Jean Breton\nalone, of all the pilots in Guernsey, would venture on such a perilous\nfeat, little suspecting that it was indeed he, to whom, under God,\nwas to be attributed the safety of the ship and her gallant crew. The\nfrigate was soon brought to in a secure anchorage under shelter of the\nfire of the batteries on shore, and the French, mortified at being\nbaulked of a prize of which they had made quite sure, had to retire\nfrom the contest.\n\nThe scene of this daring adventure was to the westward of the island,\noff the bays known as Le Vazon and Ca\u00fbbo, on the shore of the former of\nwhich Jean Breton\u2019s cottage was situated, and full in view of Sir James\nSaumarez\u2019s own manorial residence, a position truly remarkable, for on\none side was a prospect of death or a French prison, on the other side\nhome with all its joys! When in the most perilous part of the Channel,\nSir James asked the pilot whether he was sure of his marks? \u201cQuite\nsure,\u201d was Jean Breton\u2019s reply, \u201cfor there is your house and yonder is\nmy own!\u201d\n\n[232] EDITOR\u2019S NOTE.--This was true years ago when Sir Edgar MacCulloch\nwrote the above, but it has ceased to be true now.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XV.\n\nNursery Rhymes and Children\u2019s Games.\n\n    \u201cGather up all the traditions, and even the nursery\n    songs; no one can tell of what value they may prove to an\n    antiquary.\u201d--Southey, in a letter to Mrs. Bray, quoted in her\n    _Borders of the Tamar and the Tavy_.\n\n[Some of these I have found lying loose among Sir Edgar MacCulloch\u2019s\nMSS. I have put them together, and added to them a few I have collected\namong the old country people.--ED.]\n\n\nCHILDREN\u2019S GAME.\n\nA number of children seat themselves in a circle on the ground, as near\nto each other as possible, and one of the party is chosen to stand in\nthe centre of the ring. Those who are seated keep their hands in their\nlaps with their fists closed, and endeavour to pass a pebble or other\nsmall object from one to the other, without its being perceived by the\nchild who is in the middle. While the game is going on they recite the\nfollowing rhyme:--\n\n    \u201cMon toussebelet va demandant,\n    Ma fausse vieille va qu\u00e9rant,\n    Sur lequel prends tu, bon enfant?\u201d[233]\n\nThe child in the centre of the circle is in the meantime on the look\nout to discover into whose hands the pebble is passing, and, if he can\nsucceed in arresting it in the possession of any one of the players, he\ntakes his place in the ring, and the one in whose hands the pebble was\ncaught, replaces him in the centre.\n\n_From Rachel du Port._\n\n[233] EDITOR\u2019S NOTE.--All Guernsey nursery rhymes, etc., are naturally\neither in old French or Guernsey French, dating as they do from the\ntimes when no other language was spoken in the island.\n\n\nCHILDREN\u2019S GAME.\n\nA child stands in the middle and says:\n\n    \u201cJ\u2019ai tant d\u2019\u00e9nfants \u00e0 marier.\u201d\n\nChorus from children standing round:\n\n    \u201cAh! Ah! Ah!\u201d\n\nThe child again says:\n\n    \u201cAh! je ne sais qu\u2019en faire.\u201d\n\nOne of the children then says:\n\n    \u201cMaman, maman, que voulez vous?\u201d\n\nThe first child replies:\n\n    \u201cEntrez dans la danse, faites la r\u00e9v\u00e9rence,\n    Chantez, dansez, et embrassez celui que vous aimerez.\u201d\n\nThis is repeated till all the children are brought inside the circle,\nthen the \u201cmother\u201d says.\n\n    \u201cTous mes enfants sont mari\u00e9s,\n    Je n\u2019en ai plus un seul rest\u00e9.\u201d\n\nThen the first child says to the \u201cmother\u201d:\n\n    \u201cEntrez dans la danse, faites la r\u00e9v\u00e9rence,\n    Chantez, dansez, et embrassez celui que vous aimerez.\u201d\n\n_From Mrs. Jehan._\n\n\nCHILDREN\u2019S \u201cCOUNTING-OUT\u201d RHYME.\n\nThe child in the centre says the first couplet and then \u201ccounts out\u201d:\n\n    \u201cUn loup passant par le d\u00e9sert,\n    La queue lev\u00e9e, le bec en l\u2019air,\n    Un, deux, trois,\n    Vers le bois,\n    Quatre, cinq, six,\n    Vers le buis,\n    Sept, huit, neuf,\n    Vers le b\u0153uf,\n    Dix, onze, douze,\n    Dans la bouze.\u201d\n\n\nANOTHER.\n\n    \u201cUn \u201ci\u201d un \u201cl,\u201d ma tante Michelle,\n    Des roques, des choux, des figues nouvelles,\n    Ne passez pas par mon jardin,\n    Ne cueillez pas mon rosmarin,\n    Crim! Cram! Crue,! Elys\u00e9e,! Henri! Va \u2019t\u2019en!\u201d\n\nSometimes the last three ejaculations are omitted.--_From Mrs. W. P.\nCollings._\n\n\nANOTHER.\n\n    \u201cA la grand\u2019 rue\n    Les \u00e9toiles y sont suspendues;\n    Du vin blanc, et du vin noir,\n    On le met \u00e0 baptizer,\n    Sur le dos de la cuiller.\n    La cuiller se passe,\n    L\u2019enfant tr\u00e9passe,\n    Ainsi, par ci\n    Mon c\u0153ur me dit\n    Ceci, cel\u00e0,\n    Hors d\u2019ici\n    Hors de l\u00e0!\u201d\n\n--_From Miss Harriet de Sausmarez, aged ninety. Used by children in her\nyouth._\n\n\nOTHERS.\n\n    \u201cL\u2019un de la lune\n    Deaux, des ch\u2019vaux\n    Tr\u00e8s des peis,\n    Qu\u00e2tre d\u2019la grappe\n    Chinq, des chelins,\n    Six du riz.\n    Sept du lait,\n    Huit, de la g\u00e2che cuite,\n    Neuf, du b\u0153uf,\n    Dix, pain bis,\n    Onze de la congre,\n    Douze de la bouze.\u201d\n\n--_From Mrs. W. Ozanne._\n\n[Illustration: Hautgard, St. Peter\u2019s, showing Pilotins.]\n\n    \u201cHickory, Airy, Ory, Anne,\n    Biddy, boddy, over San,\n    P\u00e8re, P\u00e8re, Vierge et M\u00e8re,[234]\n    Pit, Pout, out, one!\u201d\n\n--_From Miss Annie Chepmell._\n\n\nANOTHER VERSION.\n\n    \u201cEckary, airy, ory Anne,\n    I believe in ury San,\n    P\u00e8re, p\u00e8re, what\u2019s your m\u00e8re,\n    Pit, pout, out, one!\u201d\n\n--_From Mrs. Mollet, La Villette._\n\n\nANOTHER.\n\n    \u201cOnery, Twoery, Dickery, Davy,\n    Arabo, Crackery, Jennery, Lavy,\n    Wishcome, Dandy, Merrycome, Time,\n    Humberry, Bumberry, Twenty-nine.\u201d\n\n--_From Mrs. Durand, sen._\n\n[234] Or sometimes \u201cBirds of the Air.\u201d\n\nThese words sound like a burlesque of Roman Catholicism, especially of\nthe words of administration of the Mass.\n\n\nNurses\u2019 Rhymes.\n\n\nNAMES OF THE FINGERS.\n\nThe nurse takes the child\u2019s hand, and beginning with the thumb says:\n\u201c_Gros det_,\u201d \u201c_Arridet_,\u201d (for the index finger.)\n\n[M\u00e9tivier, in his Dictionnaire Franco-Normand, says it comes from an\nobsolete word, \u201c_arrer_\u201d or \u201c_arrher_,\u201d meaning to promise, to ratify,\nto buy; and quotes the \u201cSpeculum Saxonum II., 15, I.\u201d \u201cCelui qui\ncommence une cause devant le juge pour laquelle il est tenu de donner\ncaution \u2026 du doigt.\u201d]\n\n\u201c_Longuedon_,\u201d or \u201c_mousqueton_,\u201d the middle finger, \u201c_Jean des\nSc\u00e9as_,\u201d the ring finger, or the finger which wears the signet.\nM\u00e9tivier (page 443 of Dictionnaire Franco-Normand) gives as evidence\nof the signet being worn on this finger, Macrobius VII., 13, p.\n722. Edit. de Lyon, 1560. \u201cDis-moi pourquoi on s\u2019est d\u00e9termin\u00e9, par\nun assentiment universel, \u00e0 porter l\u2019anneau au doigt qui avoisine le\npetit, qu\u2019on a nomm\u00e9 aussi le doigt m\u00e9dical: et cela presque toujours \u00e0\ncelui de la main gauche? Voici la r\u00e9ponse de Disarius. \u2018Ayant consult\u00e9\nles livres des anatomistes, j\u2019en ai d\u00e9couvert la vraie cause. Ils\nm\u2019ont appris qu\u2019un nerf passe du c\u0153ur au doigt de la main gauche, qui\navoisine le petit, et que c\u2019est l\u00e0, envelopp\u00e9 par les autres nerfs de\nce doigt, qu\u2019il termine sa course. Voil\u00e0 pourquoi les anciens se sont\navis\u00e9s de ceindre ce doigt d\u2019un anneau, et, si j\u2019ose m\u2019exprimer ainsi,\nd\u2019une couronne.\u2019\u201d\n\n\u201c_P\u2019tit Coutel\u00e0s_,\u201d the little finger.\n\nThe nurse puts the child on her knee and sings:--\n\n    \u201cSur les paires[235] et sur les poumes[236]\n    Et sur le petit chevalot\n    Qui va--le pas, le pas, le pas,\n    Le trot, le trot, le trot,\n    Le galop! le galop! le galop!\u201d\n\nThe nurse pretends to shoe the baby\u2019s feet and sings:--\n\n    \u201cFerre, ferre la pouliche,\n    Pour alla\u00efr v\u00e9e ma nourriche,\n    Ferre, ferre le poula\u00efn,\n    Pour alla\u00efr v\u00e9e mon parrain;\n    Ferre, ferre le cheval,\n    Pour alla\u00efr \u00e0 Torteval.\u201d\n\nAnother version of this rhyme is given in M\u00e9tivier\u2019s _Dictionary_. Vide\n_Pouliche_, namely:--\n\n    \u201cFerre, ferre men poula\u00efn\n    Pour alla\u00efr \u00e0 Sa\u00efnt-Germa\u00efn![237]\n    Ferre, ferre ma pouliche\n    Pour alla\u00efr c\u00ees ma nourriche.\u201d\n\n[235] Poires.\n\n[236] Pommes.\n\n[237] Saint-Germain was a fountain with medicinal properties in the\nCastel parish.\n\n\nNURSES\u2019 RHYMES.\n\nThe nurse tickles the baby\u2019s hands, and says:--\n\n    \u201cL\u2019alouette, l\u2019alouette a fait son nid\n    Dans la main de mon petit,\n    Et a passa\u00ef par ichin.\u201d (Here she tickles the baby\u2019s palm).\n\nThen beginning with the thumb, she says:--\n\n    \u201cCh\u2019tinchin l\u2019a tua\u00efe,\n    Ch\u2019tinchin l\u2019a pluma\u00efe,\n    Ch\u2019tinchin l\u2019a r\u00f4tie,\n    Ch\u2019tinchin l\u2019a mangie,\n    Et le poure p\u2019tit querouin,\n    Qui a \u00e9tai au fouar et au moulin,\n    N\u2019en a pas ie\u00fc un poure p\u2019tit brin.\u201d\n\n(There are several slightly different versions of this rhyme.)\n\nNurses, while playing with a child\u2019s face, say:--\n\n    \u201cMenton fourchi\u201d (pinch the chin).\n    \u201cBouche d\u2019Argent\u201d (touch the lips).\n    \u201cNez de Cancan\u201d (touch the nose).\n    \u201cJoue rotie, joue fricass\u00e9e\u201d (touch the cheeks).\n    \u201cP\u2019tit \u0153illot, gros \u0153illot\u201d (touch the eyes).\n    \u201cCraque Martel\u201d (tap the forehead).\n\n--_From Mrs. Kinnersly._\n\n    \u201cEn r\u2019venant de St. Martin\n    J\u2019 rencontri men p\u2019tit lapin,\n    Il sautit dans ma grand\u2019 chambre\n    Et mangit toutes mes almandes;\n    Il sautit dans ma p\u2019tite chambre\n    Et mangit toutes mes noix;\n    Il sautit dans men chillier\n    Et mangit toutes mes cuillers;\n    Il sautit dans men gardin\n    Et mangit men rosmarin;\n    Il sautit dans mon galet\u00e2s\n    Et mangit tous mes r\u00e2ts;\n    Il sautit sur ma maison\n    Et mangit mon p\u2019tit gar\u00e7on.\u201d\n\n--_From Mrs. David, the old nurse in the service of Mr. Gosselin,\nat Springfield._\n\n    \u201cL\u2019alouette, l\u2019alouette, qui vole en haut,\n    Prie Gyu pour qu\u2019il faiche caud,\n    Pour ses poures p\u2019tits aloutiaux,\n    Qui n\u2019ont ni manches ni mantiaux\n    Ni alumettes ni coutiaux\n    Pour copa\u00efr les gros morciaux.\u201d\n\n    \u201cTire-lire-li, ma cauche \u00e9trille,\n    Tire-lire-li, ramenda\u00efs la,\n    Tire-lire-li, j\u2019 n\u2019ai pas d\u2019aiguille,\n    Tire-lire-li, acata\u00efs n\u2019en,\n\n    Tire-lire-li, j\u2019 n\u2019ai point d\u2019argent,\n    Tire-lire-li, emprunta\u00efs n\u2019en\n    Tire-lire-li, j\u2019 n\u2019ai point d\u2019 cr\u00e9dit,\n    Tire-lire-li, allou\u2019s-en.\u201d\n\n    \u201cCorb\u00ecn, Corb\u00ecn, ta maison brule,\n    Va-t-en cueure ton pain et ton burre,\n    J\u2019ai la cllai dans ma paoute,\n    Jamais tu n\u2019 la verras d\u2019autre.\u201d\n\n--_From Louise Martel, of the Vale._\n\n    \u201cColin, Colimachon, montre m\u00e8 tes c\u00f4nes,\n    Ou je te tuerai!\u201d\n\n--_From Louise Martel._\n\nM\u00e9tivier in his _Dictionnaire_ gives this version:--\n\n    \u201cLima\u00e7on, b\u00f4ne-b\u00f4ne\n    Montre-moi tes c\u00f4nes!\u201d\n\nANOTHER VERSION.\n\n    \u201cColi, Colimachon, mourte m\u00e8 tes c\u00f4nes,\n    Et je te dirai o\u00f9 est ton p\u00e8re et ta m\u00e8re.\n    Ils sont l\u00e0 bas, en haut du pr\u00e9,\n    A mangier d\u2019la g\u00e2che cuite et b\u00e8re du lait!\u201d\n\n--_From Mrs. Mollet._\n\n    \u201cRouge bounet, veur-tu du lait?\n    Nennin, ma m\u00e8re, il est trop fred,\n    Rouge bounet, veur-tu d\u2019la cra\u00efme?\n    Oui, ma m\u00e8re, caer je l\u2019a\u00efme.\u201d\n\n--_From Mrs. Mollet._\n\n    \u201cCoquedicot, j\u2019ai mal au det,\n    Coquedicot, qu\u2019est qui-t-la-fait?\n    Coquedicot, ch\u2019tait men valet,\n    Coquedicot, o\u00f9 est qu\u2019il est,\n    Coquedicot, il est \u00e0 traire,\n    Coquedicot, dans qu\u2019est qu\u2019il trait?\n    Coquedicot, dans son bounet,\n    Coquedicot, dans qu\u2019est qu\u2019il coule?\n    Coquedicot, dans sa grand goule,\n    Coquedicot, dans qu\u2019est qu\u2019il ribotte?\n    Coquedicot, dans sa grand botte?\n    [238]Coquedicot, dans qu\u2019est qu\u2019il fait le burre?\n    Coquedicot, dans son grand verre!\u201d\n\nIn summer a species of small black beetle, known by the local name of\n\u201c_pan-pan_,\u201d is found very commonly in the hedges. Children are in the\nhabit of laying these beetles on their backs, in the palms of their\nhands, spitting upon them, and then repeating the following words:--\n\n    \u201cPan-Pan,\n    Mourte m\u00e9 ten sang,\n    Et je te dounerai du vin bllanc.\u201d\n\nThe insect thus tortured emits a drop or two of a blood-red secretion,\nwhich is, of course, what the child is looking for.\n\nCompare \u201cLes feux de la St. Jean en Berry,\u201d in _Revue des Traditions\nPopulaires_, Vol. I., p. 171. \u201cIl existe une petite scarab\u00e9e d\u2019un\nnoir bleu qu\u2019on nomme \u2018_petite b\u00eate St. Jean_.\u2019 Quand on le prend, il\nrend par les mandibules (la bouche) un liquide rouge\u00e2tre; les enfants\nexcitent cette s\u00e9cretion en mettant de la salive sur l\u2019insecte, et en\ndisant:--\n\n    \u2018Petite b\u00eate Saint-Jean,\n    Donne-moi du vin rouge,\n    Et je te donnerai du vin blanc.\u2019\u201d\n\n[238] These two lines were omitted in the version known by Mr. de\nGaris, of the Rouvets.\n\nSee _Notes and Queries_, Vol. I., Series I, January 26th, 1850.\n\n\nWHEN IT SNOWS.\n\n    \u201cLes Fran\u00e7ais qui plument leurs ouaies\n    Craquent leux puches et les font qu\u00e9e.\u201d\n\n    --See Chambers\u2019 _Popular Rhymes of Scotland_.\n\n    \u201cThe men o\u2019 the East\n    Are pyking their geese\n    And sending their feathers here away, here away!\u201d\n\n    \u201cMargoton, mon amie,} bis.\n    Margoton, mon c\u0153ur, }\n    Il te faudra du r\u00f4ti,\n    Pour et pour, et pour et pour,\n    Pour te mettre en appetit.\u201d\n\n    \u201cPatty Patoche, vendit la caboche\n    Dans le marchi, pour des sous merquis.\u201d\n\n    Je fus par les c\u00e0mps\n    Ma roulette roul\u00e0nt.\n    J\u2019 rencontris Tchisette\n    Qui m\u2019 print ma roulette.\n    J\u2019 li dis \u201cTchisette,\n    Rends-m\u00e9 ma roulette.\u201d\n    A\u2019 me r\u00e9pounit\n    \u201cJe ne t\u2019la rendrai poiut\n    Si tu n\u2019me doune une cro\u00fbte de lait.\u201d\n\n    Je fus \u00e0 ma m\u00e8re\n    J\u2019 li dis \u201cMa m\u00e8re,\n    Doune m\u00e9 une cro\u00fbte de lait.\u201d\n    A\u2019 me r\u00e9pounit\n    \u201cJe ne t\u2019la dounerai poiut\n    Si tu n\u2019 me doune une cllavette.\u201d\n    Je fus \u00e0 mon p\u00e8re\n    J\u2019 li dis, \u201cMon p\u00e8re,\n    Doune m\u00e9 une cllavette.\u201d\n    I\u2019 me r\u00e9pounit\n    \u201cJe ne t\u2019 le dounerai poiut\n    Si tu n\u2019me doune un\u2019 tchesse de viau.\u201d\n    Je fus au viau\n    J\u2019 li dit \u201cViau,\n    Doune me un\u2019 tchesse.\u201d\n    I\u2019 me r\u00e9pounit\n    \u201cJe ne t\u2019 le dounerai poiut\n    Si tu ne me doune du lait de la v\u00e2que.\u201d\n    Je fus \u00e0 la v\u00e2que\n    J\u2019 li dit \u201cV\u00e2que,\n    Doune m\u00e9 du lait.\u201d\n    A\u2019 me r\u00e9pounit\n    \u201cJe ne t\u2019en dounerai poiut\n    Si tu ne me doune de l\u2019herbe de pr\u00e9.\u201d\n    Je m\u2019en fus au pr\u00e9\n    J\u2019 li dis \u201cPr\u00e9,\n    Doune m\u00e9 de l\u2019herbe.\u201d\n    I\u2019 me r\u00e9pounit\n    \u201cJe ne t\u2019 la dounerai poiut\n    Si tu ne me doune une tranche de faux.\u201d\n    Je fus au faux\n    J\u2019 li dis \u201cFaux,\n    Doune m\u00e9 de la tranche.\u201d\n    I\u2019 me r\u00e9pounit\n    \u201cJe ne t\u2019 la dounerai poiut\n    Si tu ne me doune de la graisse de porc.\u201d\n    Je fus au porc\n    J\u2019 li dis \u201cPorc,\n    Doune m\u00e9 de la graisse.\u201d\n    I\u2019 me r\u00e9pounit\n    \u201cJe ne t\u2019 la dounerai poiut\n    Si tu ne me doune un glliand de qu\u00eane.\u201d\n    Je m\u2019en fus au qu\u00eane\n    J\u2019 li dis \u201cQu\u00eane,\n    Doune m\u00e9 un glliand.\u201d\n    I\u2019 me r\u00e9pounit\n    \u201cJe ne t\u2019 le dounerai poiut\n    Si tu ne me doune du vent de ma\u00efr.\u201d\n    Je fus \u00e0 la ma\u00efr\n    J\u2019 li dis \u201cMa\u00efr,\n    Doune m\u00e9 du vent.\u201d\n\n    La ma\u00efr ventait--J\u2019\u00e9venti men qu\u00eane\n    Men qu\u00eane glliandait--Je glliandi men porc\n    Men porc graissait--Je graissi men faux\n    Men faux tranchait--Je tranchi men pr\u00e9\n    Men pr\u00e9 herbait--Je herbi ma v\u00e2que\n    Ma v\u00e2que laitait--J\u2019allaiti mon viau\n    Men viau tchessait--Je tchessi men p\u00e8re\n    Men pa\u00efre cllavettait--Je cllavetti ma m\u00e8re\n    Ma ma\u00efre cr\u00f4tait--Je cr\u00f4ti Tchisette\n    Par chunna j\u2019eus ma roulette.\n\nThis, the local version of \u201cThe House that Jack Built,\u201d is widely\nknown. Slightly different versions exist in the different parishes, but\nthe above is as complete as I can make it.--_From Mrs. Mollet, Mrs.\nC. Marquand, Mrs. Le Patourel, and from a version collected in St.\nPeter-in-the-Wood, by Miss Le Pelley._\n\n    \u201cHaptalon[239] de la Vieille Nanon\n    Qui ribotait son cotillon.\u201d\n\n[239] \u201cHaptalon\u201d is the Guernsey equivalent of \u201cHobgoblin.\u201d\n\n[Illustration: Old Guernsey Farm House.]\n\n\nCradle Songs.\n\n    \u201cDindon, Bolilin,\n    Quatre \u00e9fants dans le bain de Madame.\n    Le petit, qui cri le bouille,\n    Dindon, bolilin!\u201d\n\n    \u201cChausseaton, ber\u00e7eaton,\n    Ma grand\u2019m\u00e8re est au pa\u00efsson,\n    Si al\u2019en prend j\u2019en a\u00efron\n    Tout sera plein \u00e0 la maison!\n    Si non, j\u2019 nous en passerons!\u201d\n\n    \u201cTon p\u00e8re[240] a dit qui fallait dormir (bis).\n    Lo, lo, lo, le petit\n    Puisque ton p\u00e8re a dit.\u201d (bis).\n\n    \u201cMakieu\n    Dors tu?\n    Nennin, ma m\u00e8re, quer je prie Gyu,\n    Quaille pri\u00e8re dis-tu?\n    \u201cNot\u2019 P\u00e8re\u201d et \u201cJe cr\u00e9 en Gyu.\u201d\u201d\n\n    \u201cTrop paresseuse, pourquoi te reva\u00efr?\n    Reveillez-vous joyeuse, et venez dansa\u00efr.\u201d\n\nANOTHER VERSION.\n\n    \u201cCrolloton, berchotton,\n    Ma grand\u2019-m\u00e8re est au pa\u00efsson\n    S\u2019 al\u2019en a j\u2019en airon\n    S\u2019 a n\u2019en a poiut, j\u2019 nous en passerons.\u201d\n\n    --_From John de Garis, Esq., of the Rouvets._\n\n[240] EDITOR\u2019S NOTE.--This rhyme is repeated, bringing in \u201cm\u00e8re,\u201d\n\u201concle,\u201d \u201ctante,\u201d etc., till all the relations have been named.\n\n\nDancing Rhymes.\n\n\nMON BEAU LAURIER.\n\nIt was formerly customary on holidays for the youth of both sexes to\nassemble in some tavern or private house to amuse themselves with\ndancing to the enlivening strains of the fiddle or _rote_, called in\nthe local dialect the \u201c_chifournie_.\u201d These assemblies were termed\n\u201c_sons_,\u201d and were generally attended also by some of the older\nportions of the community, whose presence was a guarantee for the\norderly conduct of the meeting. Things are now much changed. The\npresence of a large garrison during the wars that arose out of the\nfirst French Revolution, and the influx of a mixed population since the\npeace, altered the character of these assemblies in town. They came to\nbe regarded with disfavour; parents discouraged their children from\nattending them; the prejudice against them extended to the country\nparishes, and the puritanical feeling that grew up with the rapid\nspread of dissent among the labouring classes was entirely opposed to\nany species of amusement. Whether the cause of morality has gained much\nby this over strictness is questionable.\n\nThe dances at these meetings were of a very primitive character,\nconsisting almost entirely of a species of jig, by two performers, or\nin joining hands and moving round at a quick pace in a circle. When\na musician was not to be procured, recourse was had to the united\nvoices of the dancers, and an ancient roundelay or \u201c_ronde_,\u201d no doubt\noriginally imported from France, where such dances are still common\namong the peasantry, helped to carry on the amusement of the evening.\nIt is still danced occasionally by young people and children, and, as\nthe sole remaining specimen of this kind of diversion, deserves to be\nrecorded.\n\nThe performers, who must consist of an equal number of either sex\nplaced alternately, join hands in a circle. They then dance round,\nsinging in chorus:--\n\n    \u201cSaluez, Messieurs et Dames,\n    Ah! mon beau lau-ri-er!\u201d (bis)\n\nOne of the girls is then selected and placed in the middle of the\ncircle, and the rest of the party continue to dance round her singing:--\n\n    \u201cAh! la belle, entrez en danse!\n    Ah! mon beau lau-ri-er!\u201d (bis)\n\nThe next verse is:--\n\n    \u201cFaites nous la r\u00e9v\u00e9rence,\n    Ah! mon beau lau-ri-er!\u201d (bis)\n\nOn this the damsel curtseys round to the company, who go on singing:--\n\n    \u201cFaites le pot \u00e0 deux anses,\n    Ah! mon beau lau-ri-er!\u201d (bis)\n\nThe dancer must now set her arms a-kimbo, and so figure away in the\ncentre of the ring until the strain changes to:--\n\n    \u201cJambe, enjambe en ma pr\u00e9sence,\n    Ah! mon beau lau-ri-er!\u201d (bis)\n\nThis figure generally causes much merriment, for the performer is\nexpected to clasp both arms round one uplifted knee, and hop about on\nthe other foot, the result of which is not unfrequently a fall. Then\nfollows:--\n\n    \u201cPrenez cil qui vous ressemble,\n    Ah! mon beau lau-ri-er!\u201d (bis)\n\nThe maiden now makes selection of a partner among the youths, and both\njoin hands in the middle of the circle, while the following words are\nsung to a different tune and measure:--\n\n    \u201cEntr\u2019embrassez-vous par le jeu d\u2019amourette,\n    Entr\u2019embrassez-vous par le jeu d\u2019amour.\u201d\n\nA tender embrace follows, and then the assistants sing:--\n\n    \u201cEntr\u2019embrassez-vous par le jeu d\u2019amourette,\n    Entr\u2019embrassez-vous par le jeu d\u2019amour.\u201d\n\nA kiss is now claimed from the compliant damsel, after which is sung:--\n\n    \u201cEntrequittez-vous par le jeu d\u2019amourette,\n    Entrequittez-vous par le jeu d\u2019amour.\u201d\n\nThe girl now leaves the young man in the midst of the circle and\nreturns to her original place, when the dance recommences with such\nverbal alterations as the change of the principal performers renders\nnecessary.\n\nThe old-fashioned cushion dance, which delighted the romps of the Court\nof the merry-monarch, Charles II., is not altogether forgotten on these\noccasions.\n\nThere are several other dancing rhymes and snatches of dancing times in\nexistence--such as the one quoted by M\u00e9tivier in his _Dictionnaire_,\npage 148:--\n\n    \u201cMa coumm\u00e8re, aqu\u00e0nd je danse, men cotillon fait-i bien?\n    Ah! vraiment oui, ma coumm\u00e8re, i va bien m\u00fbx que le mien.\n    I va de ci, i va de l\u00e0;\n    I va fort bien, ma coumm\u00e8re,\n    I va fort bien coumme i va.\u201d\n\nAnother version is:--\n\n    \u201cMa coumm\u00e8re, aqu\u00e0nd je danse, men cotillon fait-i bien?\n    Ah! vraiment oui, ma coumm\u00e8re, i va bien m\u00fbx que le mien.\n    I va d\u2019ici, I va de l\u00e0, men cotillon,\n    Vole, vole, vole, men cotillon vol\u2019ra.\u201d\n\nOne dance consisted of a sort of see-saw in different corners of the\nroom, the couple repeating:--\n\n    \u201cDansez donc, ou ne dansez pas,\n    Faites le donc, ou ne le faites pas,\n    La-la-la.\u201d (bis).\n\nDance and repeat!\n\n\nSark Games.\n\nEDITOR\u2019S NOTE.--In a _Descriptive Account of the Island of Sark_,\npublished in Clarke\u2019s _Guernsey Magazine_ for September and October,\n1875, the Rev. J. L. V. Cachemaille wrote:--\u201cThe public games and\namusements of the Sarkese are few, and of a simple kind; and it is only\nchildren or young people who take part in them now-a-days. Formerly\nthey used to have a favourite amusement, consisting of six or eight\nmen, or big boys, who placed themselves in a line, one behind the\nother, and held each other firmly round the waist, while two outsiders\nmade every effort to pull them apart one after another, till one only\nremained. This game they called \u2018_Uprooting the Gorse_,\u2019 and the last\nman represented the largest or principal root. Children still keep\nup this game, but not very universally, nor is it often played. It\nwas one of the chief amusements of the \u2018_Veilles_.\u2019\u201d Mr. Cachemaille\nalso wrote:--\u201cA person, either young or old, disguised himself in a\nmanner to frighten people. At the end of a stick he carried the head\nof a horse or donkey, and this he placed on his own head, having first\nenveloped himself in a sheet. By means of cords, he made the jaws of\nthis head to open and shut with a noise, then he ran after one or the\nother, endeavouring to bite them with the teeth of those horrible jaws;\nwhereupon everybody ran away as fast as they could, and there was a\ngeneral turmoil, the people either screaming with fright, or else\nlaughing at the joke. This head made the round of all the \u201c_Veilles_,\u201d\nfollowed by a crowd of people, and, until quite latterly, one of these\nheads was still to be seen in one of the principal farm houses.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVI.\n\nSuperstitions Generally.\n\n    \u201cEven a single hair casts a shadow.\u201d\n\n                       --_Lord Verulam._\n\nEDITOR\u2019S NOTE.--In this chapter are collected all the loose and\nunclassified bits of Folk-Lore scattered among Sir Edgar MacCulloch\u2019s\nmanuscripts.\n\n\nThe widely-diffused idea that the spirits of the dead sometimes return\nin the form of birds, is not altogether obsolete in these islands.\n\nA widow, whose husband had been drowned at sea, asked the Seigneur of\nSark whether a robin that was constantly flying round her cottage and\nalighting on her window-sill, might not possibly be the soul of the\ndeparted.[241]\n\nThe robin is a bird specially reverenced in Guernsey, as the\nwidely-accepted belief is that it was the robin who first brought fire\nto the island. In bringing it across the water he burned his breast,\nand this is the reason why, to this day, the breast of the robin is\ntinged with red. \u201cMy mother,\u201d said the old woman who told me this,\n\u201chad a great veneration for this little bird, which had been so great\na benefactor to those who came before us, for who can live without\nfire.\u201d[242]\n\n_Soucique._ This is the name given in Guernsey to the marigold, and\nalso to the fire-crested or golden-crested wren, the word being\nderived from the Latin \u201csolsequium.\u201d It is probably the same as the\n\u201cheliotropium.\u201d The shape and colour of the flower, resembling the\ndisc of the sun surrounded with rays, and the fact of the flower\nopening at sunrise and closing at sunset, would naturally cause it to\nbe associated with that luminary, and considered sacred to Apollo. It\nis not quite so easy to account for the same name being given to the\nfire-crested and golden-crested wren, but we know that the wren plays a\nconsiderable part in the mythology of the Aryan nations, and is one of\nthose birds which is believed to have brought fire from heaven for the\nuse of man.[243] The story of its outwitting the eagle, in the contest\nfor the sovereignty among birds, and getting nearer the sun by perching\non its back, may have gained for it a name, which, as we have seen,\nsignifies \u201ca follower of the sun.\u201d\n\n[Illustration: Portion of the Old Town House (on the left) of the de\nSausmarez Family, situated where St. Paul\u2019s Chapel now stands.]\n\nThe willow-wren is known among us as \u201c_Le Ribet_,\u201d from _Ri_ (roi), and\n\u201c_bet_,\u201d the form known in the province of Bearn of \u201cbel.\u201d Vallancey\nsays:--\u201cThe Druids represented this as the king of birds, hence the\nname of this bird in all the European languages. Latin, _Regulus_;\nFrench, _Roitelet_; Welsh, _Bren_ (or \u201cking\u201d); Teutonic, _Konig Vogel_;\nDutch, _Konije_, _etc._\u201d\n\nA magpie crossing one\u2019s way is of evil augury, portending vexation, or\ntrouble of some kind. Crows cawing much in the neighbourhood of a house\nis also a sign of impending trouble.[244]\n\nWhen the cuckoo is heard for the first time in the year one ought to\nrun a few steps forward in order to ensure being light for the rest of\nthe year. If you have money in your pocket, and turn it, or shake it,\nit will ensure good luck, and you will not want money throughout the\nrest of the year.[245]\n\n\u201cMoney should be turned in the pocket when the cuckoo is heard for the\nfirst time.\u201d\n\nAn old woman, living at the Vale used to say:--_\u201cEn Guernesi nous a\ncoutume de dire en oyant le coucou pour la premi\u00e8re fais:--\u2018Si tu ne\ncuers pas tu seras lourd toute l\u2019ann\u00e2ie.\u2019 Nous remue \u00e9tout l\u2019argent\nqu\u2019nous peut aver dans les paoutes, en les secouant--et il y a des gens\nqui se mettent \u00e0 genoua\u00efx. La premi\u00e8re fais que nous-\u00f4t le coucou il\nfaut mettre une grosse roque sus sa t\u00eate, arro\u00fcta\u00efr \u00e0 courre, et nou\nsera l\u00e9gier toute l\u2019ann\u00e2ie._\u201d\n\n[241] See _Indo-European Folk-Lore_.\n\n[242] From Rachel Du Port.\n\nEDITOR\u2019S NOTES.\n\n\u201cAnother version of this story is: The robin redbreast brought fire to\nthe Island, and by so doing burnt his breast, as he had been carrying\na lighted torch in his beak. When he arrived with his breast-feathers\nburnt and raw and red, all the other birds were so sorry for him that\nthey each gave him a feather, except the owl, who would not, so that is\nwhy he no longer dares show his face by day.\u201d--_Told me in 1896 by the\nlate Miss Annie Chepmell, who had heard it from an old servant._\n\n\u201cQuand la rouge-gorge alla chercher l\u2019 feu, ses plumes furent toutes\nbrul\u00e9es, alors les oiseaux en eurent piti\u00e9 et ils r\u00e9solurent de lui\ndonner chacun une plume pour la r\u00e9habiller. Seul le chat-huant,\noiseau orgueilleux et peu compatissant, refusa. C\u2019est pour cela que,\nlorsqu\u2019il se montre au jour, tous les petits oiseaux crient apr\u00e8s lui,\net la rouge-gorge en particulier, qui, par son cri, lui reproche son\norgeuil.\u201d--_Traditions et Superstitions de la Haute Bretagne_, Tome\nII., p. 201.\n\n[243] One country tradition says that the wren brought water to\nGuernsey.\n\n[244] From J. R. Tardif, Esq.\n\n[245] See \u201cFolk-Lore of the North of England,\u201d in the _Monthly Packet_,\nFebruary, 1862.\n\n\nCUCKOO RHYMES.\n\n    _\u201cEn Avril_\n    _Le coucou crie_\n    _S\u2019il est vif.\u201d_\n\n    _\u201cLe coucou_\n    _S\u2019en va en Ao\u00fbt_\n    _La barbe d\u2019orge_\n    _Li pique la gorge.\u201d_\n\n    _\u201cCoucou-Varou_\n    _Bave[246] partout.\u201d_\n\n(See _Notes and Queries_, 4th Series, Vol. III., 1869.)\n\nIt is thought lucky to shake one\u2019s pockets and run a few steps, the\nfirst time one hears the cuckoo sing. The following lines are also\nrepeated by some, and the number of times the cuckoo utters his note is\ntaken as an answer to the question.\n\n    _\u201cCoucou, cou-cou, dis m\u00e9_\n    _Combien d\u2019ans je vivrai.\u201d_[247]\n\nI remember when I was a child, my aunt, Miss de Sausmarez, making me\nremark how chickens, when they drink, lift up their heads at every sip,\nand telling me that they did so to thank God.[248]\n\nThe bone of the cuttle fish, which is found at times thrown up on the\nbeach, is called in Guernsey \u201c_P\u00e9pie_.\u201d It is supposed to possess the\nquality of healing the \u201cpip\u201d in chickens, also known as \u201cla p\u00e9pie.\u201d\n\nA stye in the eye is called in Guernsey \u201c_un laurier_,\u201d and is to\nbe cured by bathing the eye with an infusion of laurel leaves or\n\u201clauriers.\u201d\n\nIf a fisherman, on setting out, sees a humble bee flying in the same\ndirection as he is going, he considers it a good omen, and that he is\nsure of a plentiful catch. If, however, the insect meets him, it is\nquite the reverse. The ill-luck, however, may be averted by spitting\nthrice over the left shoulder. Omens of good or bad luck are also\nderived from sea-birds. All depends on whether a gull or a cormorant\nis seen first, as, if a cormorant, no fish is to be expected that day.\nAll fishermen also know how unlucky it is to count one\u2019s fish until the\ncatch has been landed, as, however freely they may be biting, counting\nthem would inevitably stop all sport for the day.[249]\n\nIf a pair of bellows is put on a table, some great misfortune is sure\nto happen in the household.[250]\n\nRichard Ferguson, fisherman, of the Salerie, tells me that there is\na great objection against taking currant cake with them when they go\na-fishing, it is sure to bring bad luck.\n\n[246] _Bave_--The cuckoo spittle.\n\n[247] See Thorpe\u2019s _Northern Mythology_, and Chambers\u2019 _Popular\nRhymes_, p. 193.\n\n[248] See _English Folk-Lore_, p. 95.\n\n[249] From the late Colonel de Vic Tupper.\n\n[250] From J. R. Tardif, Esq.\n\n\nEDITOR\u2019S NOTE.\n\nThe following scraps of Folk-Lore I have gathered from old people in\nSt. Martin\u2019s parish, in the years 1897-99.\n\nTHE MAN IN THE MOON.\n\n\u201c_J\u2019ai ou\u00ef dire \u00e0 ma gran\u2019m\u00e8re i\u2019y a be\u2019t\u00f4t chinquante ans qu\u2019l\u2019bouan\nhomme que nou veit dans la lune enlevit un fagot de bouais le Dimanche,\net pour chut fait le Bon Gyu le condamnit \u00e0 s\u2019en allair dans la lune\njusqu\u2019au Jour du Jugement. V\u2019la l\u2019histouaire de chut poure M\u00e2bet que\nnon vait si souvent perqui l\u00e0-haut._\u201d--_From Mrs. Le Patourel._\n\nA robin flying to the window or in the house is a sign of death. Crows\nflocking together and cawing over the house are most unlucky. To go\nout and meet three crows or three magpies means good luck, all other\nnumbers mean misfortune.\n\nNone should ever cut their finger nails on either a Sunday or a Friday\nif they wish to prosper. A baby\u2019s first nails should never be cut, but\nbitten.\n\nOn being given a present of scissors or a knife, a double[251] should\nalways be given in exchange. Parsley should never be taken as a gift,\nbut it is very lucky to steal some (!).\n\nNo berried plants such as ivy, etc., should be brought into the house\nbefore Christmas, and it is especially unlucky if, when they are\nbrought in, they are allowed to touch the mantel shelf. May should\n_never_ be brought into a house, and many people, especially in\nAlderney, consider that to bring in furze or gorse means to introduce\nsorrow.\n\nShould an unmarried woman go in and out of a house through a window\nwhich is not destined as a means of entrance or exit, she will never\nmarry.\n\nAn umbrella should never be opened in a house, or placed upon a table,\nquarrelling and strife are sure to follow.\n\nIt is supposed to be very unlucky when going out of the house, if the\nfirst person you meet is a woman. Never pass her if you can avoid it,\nbut stand still and let her pass you.\n\nTo keep witches from entering a stable and molesting the cattle a piece\nof naturally pierced flint-stone should be tied to the key of the\nstable door. On going down to a beach it is considered lucky to pick up\na small stone and bring it away with you. Never give away money with a\nhole in it.\n\nIf you think you are bewitched or that any one has a spite against you,\nthrow a lump of salt on the fire, and as it burns blue the spite will\nevaporate.\n\nFanny Ingrouille, of the Forest parish, from whom the foregoing was\nobtained, also repeated the following formula, which apparently was a\nprogramme for the week of a Guernsey country girl.\n\n    _\u201cAu matin--Pierre Martin_\n    _Au ser--Jean Mauger_[252]\n    _Lundi, Mardi--F\u00eates_\n    _Mercredi--M\u00e0 \u00e0 ta t\u00eate_\n    _Jeudi, Vendredi--Fort trav\u00e2s_\n    _Samedi--A la ville_\n    _Dimanche--V\u00e9e les filles.\u201d_\n\n[251] The smallest local coin, value one-eighth of a penny.\n\n[252] \u201c_Martin_\u201d and \u201c_Mauger_\u201d are two of the most widely spread of\nthe country names.\n\n\nGUERNSEY LOCAL NICK-NAMES.\n\nALDERNEY = V\u00e2ques (Cows).\n\nSARK = Corbins (Crows).\n\nJERSEY = Crapauds (Toads).\n\nGUERNSEY = Anes (Donkeys).\n\n\nGUERNSEY PARISH NICK-NAMES.\n\nST. PIERRE PORT = Les Cllichards (See M\u00e9tivier\u2019s _Dictionnaire_, p.\n134.)\n\nST. SAMSON = Ra\u00efnes (Frogs.)\n\nLE VALLE = Ann\u2019tons (Cockchafers.)\n\nLE CATEL = Le C\u00e2telain est un \u00e2ne-pur-sang.\n\nST. SAUVEUR = Fouarmillons (Ant lions.)\n\nST. PIERRE-DU-BOIS = Equerbots (Beetles).\n\nTORTEVAL = Anes \u00e0 pid de ch\u2019v\u00e2 (Asses with horses\u2019 feet.)\n\nLA FOR\u00caT = Bourdons (Drones.)\n\nST. MARTIN = Dravants (Large Ray-fish.)\n\nST. ANDR\u00c9 = Cra\u00efnchons (siftings) \u201cCe qui reste dans le crible.\u201d[253]\n\n[253] _Criblure_, M\u00e9tivier, p. 152.--\u201cIn sifting corn the _cra\u00efnchons_\nare the light and defective grains and husks that gather in the\n_middle_ of the sieve, as it is worked with a circular motion. St.\nAndrew\u2019s is the _middle_ parish of the island.\u201d--_From Mr. Linwood\nPitts and \u201cBad\u2019la goule.\u201d_\n\n\nEDITOR\u2019S NOTE.\n\nThe following is a rhyme describing the girls of each parish, given me\nby the late Mr. Isaac Le Patourel, of St. Martin\u2019s.\n\nLES FILLES DES DIX PAROISSES.\n\n    _\u201cCe sont les filles de la Ville_\n    _Elles sont des jolies Belles!_\n    _Ce sont les filles de Saint Samson_\n    _Elles sont bonnes pour le lanchon!_[254]\n    _Ce sont les filles du Valle_\n    _Elles sont pr\u00eates pour faire du mal!_\n    _Ce sont les filles du C\u00e2t\u00e9_\n    _Elles sont pr\u00eates pour la gaiet\u00e9!_\n    _Ce sont les filles de Saint Sauveur,_\n    _Elles sont toutes de bouane humeur!_\n    _Ce sont les filles de Saint Pierre_\n    _Ah! qu\u2019elles sont terjours \u00e0 braire!_[255]\n    _Ce sont les filles de Tortev\u00e2_\n    _Elles ont vraiment les pids de ch\u2019v\u00e2!_\n    _Ce sont les filles de la For\u00eat_\n    _Dame! ch\u2019est qu\u2019elles sont bien laides!_\n    _Ce sont les filles de St. Martin_\n    _Elles sont niais comme des lapins!_\n    _Ce sont les filles de Saint Andr\u00e9_\n    _Elles seront toutes des delaiss\u00e9es!\u201d_\n\n[254] Lanchon = Sand-eels.\n\n[255] A braire = To weep.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVII.\n\nProverbs, Weather Sayings, etc.\n\n    \u201cThey serve to be interlaced in continued speech. They serve to\n    be recited upon occasion of themselves. They serve, if you take\n    out the kernel of them, and make them your own.\u201d--_Lord Verulam._\n\n\nNo nation is without its proverbs; but while in many cases these pithy\nsayings are the same in all languages, and merely literal translations\nfrom one dialect to another, in other instances the idea only is\npresent, and the words in which the proverb is expressed have little\nor nothing in common, as, for example, the English saying:--\u201cA bird in\nthe hand is worth two in the bush,\u201d appears in French in the far less\npicturesque form of \u201c_un \u2018tiens\u2019 vaut mieut que deux \u2018tu l\u2019auras\u2019_.\u201d\nSometimes, from the peculiar circumstances of the people using it, a\nproverb takes a local tinge, and, in so doing, may change considerably\nfrom its original wording, while continuing at the same time to convey\na similar lesson. Thus the pastoral saying:--\u201cTo lose one\u2019s _sheep_\nfor a penn\u2019orth of tar,\u201d becomes, very naturally, among a nautical\npopulation, \u201cto lose one\u2019s _ship_, etc.\u201d\n\nSome few proverbs are so thoroughly local as to appear to have\noriginated in the place where they are used.\n\nGuernsey is not rich in proverbs properly so called; but, as might be\nexpected among an agricultural and maritime people, weather-sayings\nare not uncommon. Many of these could no doubt be traced to the\nmother-country, Normandy, but some few may be indigenous, and the\nresult of local observation.\n\nWe will give specimens of each class of these proverbial expressions,\nwith such remarks as may be necessary to explain them as far as they\ncan be explained; and, although many of them might be put into modern\nFrench, we have preferred retaining the old Norman dialect still\npreserved as the language of all the rural parts of the island.\n\n\nProverbs.\n\n_Nou (on) ne va pas au j\u00e0n (\u00e0jonc) sans ses g\u00e0nts._--No one goes to cut\nfurze without gloves. If you would undertake an arduous matter, be well\nprepared for it.\n\n_Ch\u2019est la coue (queue) qui est la pi\u00e8re (pire) \u00e0 \u00e9corchier\n(\u00e9corcher)._--It is the tail that is the hardest to flay. It is often\nmore difficult to bring an affair to a successful end than to begin it.\n\n_Qui sent m\u00e0njue (d\u00e9mangeaison) se gratte._--He who itches scratches\nhimself. Nearly equivalent to the English saying, \u201cThe cap fits.\u201d\n\n_Quand le bouiss\u00e9 (boisseau) est pllein, i\u2019 jette._--When the\nbushel-measure is full it runs over. The last straw breaks the camel\u2019s\nback.\n\n[Illustration: Building the south arm of the Town Harbour, connecting\nCastle Cornet with the Island.]\n\n_N\u00e9cessita\u00ef fait la vieille trotta\u00efr._--Need will make an old woman\ntrot.\n\n_Au broue (brouille, embarras) est le gan (gain, profit)._--No exact\nequivalent is to be found for this proverb, but it means that profit,\nin some way or other, may be made where there is much doing. The\nEnglish saying \u201cNo pains, no gains,\u201d comes near it.\n\n_P\u00fbs (plus) de broue que de trav\u00e2s (travail)._--More bustle than work.\nMuch cry and little wool.\n\n_Mettre daeux guerbes (deux gerbes) en un llian (lien)._--To bind up\ntwo sheaves with one wisp. To kill two birds with one stone.\n\n_Biauta\u00ef (beaut\u00e9) sans bounta\u00ef (bont\u00e9), ne vaut pas vin\n\u00e9vanta\u00ef._--Beauty, without goodness, is not worth stale wine.\n\n_L\u2019amour h\u00e2le (tire) p\u00fbs (plus) que chent (cent) b\u0153ufs._--Love draws\nmore than a hundred oxen.\n\n_A p\u2019tit pourche (pourceau) grosse p\u00e2nais._--The little pig gets the\nbig parsnip. The youngest child is the most petted.\n\n_Qui paie s\u2019acquitte; qui s\u2019acquitte s\u2019enrichit._--He who pays his way\nkeeps out of debt; he who keeps out of debt gets rich. No comment is\nneeded on this thoroughly practical proverb.\n\n_Si nou (on) lli dounne \u00f9n peis (pois) i\u2019 prend une fa\u00efve._--If you\ngive him a pea, he\u2019ll take a bean. Give him an inch, he\u2019ll take an ell.\n\n_Ch\u2019n\u2019est pas \u00f4ve (avec) du vinaigre que nous (on) attr\u00e2pe des mouques\n(mouches)._--Flies are not caught with vinegar. Nothing is to be gained\nby roughness.\n\n_Qui peut vola\u00efr (voler) \u00f9n \u0153uf, peut vola\u00efr \u00f9n b\u0153uf._--He who would\nsteal an egg would steal an ox. Be honest in the smallest matters.\n\n_F\u2019rine du guiablle (diable) s\u2019en va en bran (son)._--The devil\u2019s flour\nturns to bran. Ill-gotten wealth never prospers.\n\n_Ch\u00e0ngement d\u2019herbage est bouan (bon) pour les j\u00e2nes viaux (jeunes\nveaux)._--Change of pasture is good for young calves. Variety is\nnecessary for the young. \u201cHome-keeping youth have ever homely wits.\u201d\n\n_I\u2019 ne faut pas faire le cott\u00ecn (cabane, cr\u00eache) d\u2019v\u00e0nt que le viau\nseit na\u00ef._ (Avant que le veau ne soit n\u00e9).--One must not make the crib\nbefore the calf is born. Do not count your chickens before they are\nhatched.\n\n_S\u2019il ne l\u2019a en breuf, il l\u2019aira (l\u2019aura) en soupe._--If he does not\nget it in broth, he\u2019ll get it in soup. If he cannot obtain his end by\none means, he will by another.\n\n_Apprins au ber (berceau), dure jusqu\u2019au ver._--What is learnt in the\ncradle goes with one to the grave--literally \u201cto the worm.\u201d\n\n_La b\u00eate d\u2019un poure (pauvre) houme (homme) mourrait p\u00fbs-\u00e0-caoup (plus\nt\u00f4t) que li (lui)._--He would die more opportunely than a poor man\u2019s\nbeast, is said of a person whose death would not leave much cause for\nregret.\n\n_Les p\u2019tits tchiens (chiens) out de longues coues (queux)._--Is the\nequivalent of the French proverb, \u201cdans les petites bo\u00eetes les bons\nonguents;\u201d precious ointments are in small boxes.\n\n_Ch\u2019est une querrue \u00e0 tchiens (charrue \u00e0 chiens)._--It is a plough\ndrawn by dogs, is said of any affair which is badly conducted--where\nthose who ought to work in concert are pulling different ways, like two\ndogs on a leash.\n\n_Un mouisson (oiseau) \u00e0 la main vaut m\u00fbx que daeux qui volent._--A bird\nin the hand is worth two on the wing.\n\n_Il n\u2019y a fagot qui n\u2019trouve sen lli\u00e0n (lien)._--There is no faggot but\nwhat at last finds a band. Every Jack has his Jill; every dog has his\nday.\n\n_I\u2019 n\u2019y a fagot qui n\u2019vaut sa lliache (liasse)._--There is no faggot so\nbad as not to be worth a band.\n\n_Qui mange la cra\u00efme ne rend pas du burre (beurre)._--He who eats his\ncream makes no butter. You cannot eat your cake and have it.\n\n_I\u2019 ne vaut pas gr\u00e0nd burre (beurre)._--He or it is not worth much\nbutter; meaning, such an one is not worth much, the matter is not worth\ngoing to any expense about; an allusion to a worthless fish on which\nthe butter used in cooking it is so much thrown away.\n\n_Ecoute-paret (paroi) jamais n\u2019ot dret (n\u2019ouit droit)._--An\neavesdropper never hears good.\n\n_I\u2019 n\u2019y a rien ita\u00ef (tel) que s\u00e9 (soi) sa qu\u2019minse (chemise) lava\u00efr\n(laver)._--There is nothing like washing your own shirt. If you wish a\nthing well done, do it yourself. It is also used in the sense of \u201cWash\nyour dirty linen at home.\u201d\n\n_Nou (on) ne tr\u00e2che (cherche) pas de la gra\u00efsse dans le nic (nid) d\u2019\u00f9n\ntchien (chien)._--No one thinks of looking for fat in a dog\u2019s kennel.\nLook not for qualities where they are not likely to be found, as\ngenerosity in a miser, or honesty in a thief.\n\n_Si \u00f9n cat (chat) s\u2019amord (s\u2019adonne) au lard, nou ne sairait (saurait)\nl\u2019en d\u2019s\u2019amordre._--If a cat takes a liking for bacon you can\u2019t break\nher of it. It is difficult to get rid of bad habits.\n\n_P\u2019tit \u00e0 p\u2019tit l\u2019ouais\u00e9 (oiseau) fait sen nic (nid)._--Little by little\nthe bird builds her nest. Rome was not built in a day.\n\n_Tout ne\u00fb g\u2019n\u00eat (neuf balai) n\u00e9quie (nettoie) net._--A new broom sweeps\nclean.\n\n_I\u2019 n\u2019y a ita\u00efls (tels) que les f\u00e9ni\u00eans (fain\u00e9ants) quand i\u2019 s\u2019y\nmettent._--There are none like idlers when they once set to work.\n\n_Ch\u2019est cauches (bas, chausses) grises, et grises cauches._--This is\nthe equivalent of the French proverb \u201cC\u2019est bonnet blanc, et blanc\nbonnet,\u201d and the English, \u201cSix of one, and half-a-dozen of the other.\u201d\n\n_Ch\u2019n\u2019est pas les ciens (ceux) qui labourent le p\u00fbs pr\u00e8s du fossa\u00ef (de\nla haie) qui sont les p\u00fbs riches._--It is not they who plough nearest\nthe hedge who are the richest. Economy may be carried too far.\n\n_I\u2019 s\u2019y entend coume \u00e0 rama\u00efr (ramer) des chaoux (choux)._--He\nunderstands as much about it as about putting pea-sticks to cabbages.\nThe meaning conveyed being: he knows nothing at all about it.\n\n_Tout chu (ce) qui vient de flot se retournera d\u2019\u00e8be._--All that\ncomes with the flood will return with the ebb. Riches too rapidly\nacquired, or ill-gotten, will disappear as quickly as they came--nearly\nequivalent to the French proverb \u201cCe qui vient de la fl\u00fbte s\u2019en va par\nle tambour.\u201d\n\n_Si l\u2019houme a\u00efme autre m\u00fbx que s\u00e9 (mieux que soi) au moul\u00ecn i\u2019 mourra\nde set (soif)._--If a man loves others more than himself, he will die\nof thirst even were he in a mill. The mill spoken of in this selfish\nproverb, which is equivalent to \u201cLook after number one,\u201d is, of course,\na water-mill.\n\n_Biauture (beau-temps, beaut\u00e9) d\u2019hiver; santa\u00ef (sant\u00e9) de vieil homme;\nparole de gentilhomme; ne t\u2019y fie, homme!_--A fine day in winter, the\nhealth of an old man, the word of a nobleman; trust to none of these,\nO man! The marked distinction of \u201cnoble\u201d and \u201cr\u00f4turier,\u201d if such ever\nexisted in Guernsey, died out many centuries ago; and this proverb has\nall the appearance of an importation from Normandy, or some other part\nof France, where the peasantry were oppressed by the feudal system. The\nword \u201cbiauture\u201d does not belong to the Guernsey dialect, and when the\nsaying is quoted in the present, it is generally with reference to the\ntwo first clauses.\n\n_Un tchien (chien) vaut bien p\u2019tit qui ne vaut pas \u00f9n caoup de sufflet\n(coup de sifflet)._--A dog that is not worth whistling for is not worth\nmuch.\n\n_Les grands diseurs sont de p\u2019tits faiseurs._--Great talkers are little\ndoers.\n\n_O\u00f9 \u2019est qu\u2019il y a du crottin, il y a du lap\u00ecn._--Where you see their\ndroppings, you may expect to find rabbits. Used both literally and\nmetaphorically. There is no smoke without fire.\n\n_Il y a terjo\u00fbs (toujours) un \u00e9pi qui m\u00e0nque \u00e0 la guerbe\n(gerbe)._--There is always a spike of corn lacking in the sheaf.\nNothing is ever perfect.\n\n_I\u2019 n\u2019y a bouais (bois) dont non (on) n\u2019fait buche._--There is no wood\nbut what will serve for firing, meaning that everything can be put to\nsome use or other; but the latter half of the proverb is sometimes\nvaried to \u201c_dont i\u2019 n\u2019 fait buche_,\u201d and it is then equivalent to the\nEnglish saying \u201cAll is fish that comes to his net.\u201d\n\n_Va o\u00f9 tu peux, meurs o\u00f9 tu deis (dois)._--Go where you can, die where\nyou must. Dispose of your life as you please, death is inevitable.\n\n_Il est niais coume Dadais qui se couachait (couchait) dans l\u2019iaue\n(eau) d\u2019paeur (peur) d\u2019\u00eatre mouailli (mouill\u00e9)._--He is as foolish as\nDadais who lay down in the water to avoid getting wet in a shower.\n\n_Il est niais coume Dadais qui t\u00e2te l\u2019iaue pour v\u00e9e (voir) s\u2019a bouit\n(bout)._--He is as stupid as Dadais who puts his hand into the water to\nfeel if it is boiling.\n\n_Il est p\u00fbs (plus) niais que Dadais qui se fouittait de\ncr\u00eapes._[256]--He is more simple than Dadais who flogged himself with\npancakes. The word \u201cDadais\u201d is used in the sense of simpleton. In the\nthree sayings that we have just quoted \u201cDadais\u201d bears a strong family\nresemblance to the \u201cSimple Simons\u201d and \u201cSilly Billies\u201d of English\nnursery tales.\n\n_Ch\u2019tait du temps du Rouai (Roi) Jehan. Ch\u2019\u00e9tait du temps des\nScots._--Are used in speaking of events which took place beyond the\nmemory of man. It is easy to understand how the reign of King John\ncame to form an epoch in the history of Guernsey; for it was then that\nthe connexion with the mother-country, Normandy, was severed, and the\nislands, until then part and parcel of that Duchy, became attached to\nthe Crown of England, and have so continued ever since. But it is not\nso easy to say when or how the latter saying originated. It may refer\nto an invasion of the island by David Bruce, about the tenth year of\nEdward III., (A.D. 1336); when great atrocities appear to have been\ncommitted on the inhabitants; but some old people seem to think--and\nprobably with reason--that the \u201cScots\u201d were a Scotch regiment sent here\nin the early part of last century on a fear of hostilities breaking out\nbetween England and France. It is right, however, to notice that in the\nGuernsey dialect \u201c_Ecossais_\u201d and not \u201c_Scots_\u201d is used to designate\nScotchmen.\n\n_I\u2019 m\u00e0nge coum\u2019 un varou._--He eats like an ogre, is the exact English\nequivalent of this saying; but there are few who use the saying who\ncould say what is meant by \u201c_un varou_.\u201d It is, undoubtedly, the same\nas the French \u201cloup-garou\u201d in English--a were-wolf; and may have\nreference to the old superstition of men and women being turned into\nwolves.\n\n_I\u2019 s\u2019en est alla\u00ef (all\u00e9) les pids (pieds) d\u2019v\u00e0nt._--He has gone feet\nforemost. He has been carried to his grave.\n\n_Il a \u00e9ta\u00ef enterra\u00ef la t\u00eate \u00e8s tchiens (aux chiens) dehors._--Is used\nin the same sense as \u201cbeing buried like a dog.\u201d\n\n_Il a t\u00eate et bounet (bonnet)._--He has a head, yea, and a cap, is said\nof an opinionated man.\n\n_I\u2019 n\u2019en reste ni tchiesse (cuisse) ni a\u00efle._--There neither remains\nleg nor wing. All is lost, nothing remains.\n\n_I\u2019 quient (tient) d\u2019la chouque (souche)._--He\u2019s a chip of the old\nblock.\n\n_I\u2019 fait rille (raie) de gras._--He is making a streak of fat, is said\nof a man who is prospering in his affairs, in allusion to a pig that is\nbeing fattened.\n\n_I\u2019 peut m\u00e0nger sa g\u00e2che (galette) dor\u00e2\u00efe (beurr\u00e9e) des daeux bords\n(des deux c\u00f4t\u00e9s)._--He can eat his cake buttered on both sides. He is\nrich enough not to be obliged to spare himself any indulgence.\n\n_I\u2019 m\u00e0nge sa dor\u00e2ie (tranche de pain beurr\u00e9) grajie (gratt\u00e9e)._--He\nspares the butter on his bread, either from poverty or from avarice. It\nis \u201cbread and scrape.\u201d\n\n_I\u2019 prend les cauches (chausses, bas,) pour les s\u00f4lers (souliers)._--He\nmistakes the stockings for the shoes. He is a blunderer who does not\nknow one thing from another.\n\n_Il a paeux (peur) des p\u2019tits s\u00f4lers (souliers)._--He is afraid of\nthe little shoes, is said of a man who is unwilling to enter into\nthe estate of matrimony for fear of the additional expenses that it\nwill entail--shoes for the children being a considerable item in the\ndisbursements of a poor family.\n\n_I\u2019 n\u2019en prend ni compte ni taille._--He takes no account nor tally. He\nlets matters take their course.\n\n_V\u2019l\u00e0 une fi\u00e8re perruque \u00e0 d\u00e9bouqu\u00e8r (d\u00e9m\u00ealer)._--There\u2019s a fine wig to\ncomb out! Is said of an affair which is almost hopelessly involved.\n\n_Il a fait pertus (pertuis, trou) sous l\u2019iaue (eau)._--He has made\na hole in the water. He has disappeared furtively. Compare with the\nFrench saying \u201cIl a fait un trou \u00e0 la lune.\u201d\n\n_I\u2019 v\u00eat (voit) sept lieues dans la brune._--He sees seven leagues\nthrough the fog, is said derisively of a man who boasts of being more\nclearsighted than his neighbours.\n\n_Il est monta\u00ef (mont\u00e9) sur ses pontificaux._--He is in his pontificals,\nis equivalent to the English saying \u201cHe is riding the high\nhorse,\u201d--asserting his dignity when there is no need to do so.\n\n_Ch\u2019est le bou\u00e2ine (borgne) qui m\u00e8ne l\u2019aveuglle._--The one-eyed man is\nleading the blind man.\n\n_Nou (on) ne sa\u00eft pouit (point) o\u00f9 il puche (puise)._--One knows not\nwhat well he draws from, is said of a man who manages to get on without\nany very visible means of existence.\n\n_Trop de cuisiniers g\u00e2tent la soupe._--Too many cooks spoil the broth.\n\n_I\u2019 n\u2019y a pas de rue s\u00e0ns but._--There is no road but has an ending.\nEquivalent to \u201cIt is a long lane that has no turning.\u201d\n\n_S\u2019il y avait un d\u00e9marieur, il airait (aurait) p\u00fbs (plus) \u00e0 faire que\ntous les marieurs._--If there were an \u201cun-marryer\u201d he would have more\nwork to do than all the \u201cmarryers.\u201d\n\n_Ce n\u2019est pas tout que les chaous, faut de la gra\u00eesse \u00e0 les\ncuire._--Cabbages alone are not sufficient, one must have grease to\ncook them with. Generally applied to \u201c_parvenus_,\u201d who have money but\nno manners.\n\n_Nou\u2019 n\u2019engraisse pouit les p\u2019tits cochons d\u2019iau fine._--Little pigs\nare not fattened by pure water.\n\n_Vieille pie a plus d\u2019un pertus \u00e0 son nic (nid)._--An old magpie has\nmore than one hole in her nest. Said of a man who is skilful at evasion.\n\n_T\u2019as acouare les jaunes talons._--You have still got yellow heels, is\nsaid to youngsters who are too presuming in giving their opinion in the\npresence of their elders. Compare the French \u201cblanc-bec\u201d and \u201cb\u00e9jaune.\u201d\n\n_Ch\u2019est la verme\u00efne (vermine) qui m\u00e0nge (mange) l\u2019t\u00e2s (le tas)._--It\nis the vermin that eats up the stack. Said of a father who has a large\nfamily of children drawing upon him and eating up all his savings.\n\n[256] EDITOR\u2019S NOTE.--The version I have heard of this proverb is: \u201cIl\nest niais coume Dadais qui se fouittait de cr\u00eapes et tout-le-temps\nmourait de faim.\u201d\n\n\nPopular Sayings.\n\nThere are certain popular sayings which contain a comparison, and\nwhich, although in a strict sense they cannot be called proverbs,\nmay yet be classed with them. Some of these contain words which have\nbecome obsolete, or, at least, antiquated. \u201c_Vier (vieux) comme su\u00e9e_\u201d\nequivalent to \u201cAs old as the hills,\u201d may be quoted as an example,\nfor not only is the word \u201c_su\u00e9e_\u201d obsolete, but its very meaning is\nforgotten and unknown. Mr. George M\u00e9tivier, a learned philologist,\nauthor of the _Dictionnaire Franco-Normand, ou Recueil des Mots\nparticuliers au Dialecte de Guernesey_, is inclined to refer it to\nthe old French _su\u00e9e_ signifying _sueur_, sweat, used in the sense of\nlabour. The conjecture is ingenious, but not quite satisfactory.\n\n_I\u2019 s\u2019est mania\u00ef (mani\u00e9) coume un albroche._--He has conducted himself\nlike a boor. Roquefort in his \u201c_Glossaire de la Langue Romane_\u201d\nexplains the word _Allobroge_ as \u201cun homme grossier, un rustre, etc.,\u201d\nand gives _Adlobrius_, _Allobrox_, as the Latin forms. According\nto Ducange, these words signify a citizen or native of Gaul. The\nAllobroges, however, in the time of the Roman Empire, were the tribes\ninhabiting Savoy and Piedmont.\n\n_I\u2019 b\u00e9t (boit) coume \u00f9n alputre._--Is used in the sense of \u201cHe drinks\nlike a fish,\u201d but why the _alputre_,--rockling, or sea-loach,--should\nbe singled out among fishes for bibulous propensities, it is impossible\nto guess.\n\n_I\u2019 plleut coume cis (chez) Pierre de Garis._--Is used in the sense\nof \u201craining cats and dogs.\u201d A certain Pierre de Garis, a merchant of\nBayonne, in the time when Aquitaine was governed by English Princes,\nwas appointed to the responsible office of Bailiff of Guernsey, about\nthe year 1325.[257] In all probability he derived his name from a\nsmall town called _Garis_, about half-way between Bayonne and St.\nJean-de-Luz. He became the founder of a family of importance, not only\nin Guernsey, but also in the neighbouring island of Jersey, and of\nwhich there are still numerous descendants. It is not very likely that\nthe saying dates so far back as the fourteenth century, although it\nhas no doubt a very respectable antiquity. We can only conjecture that\nit must have derived its origin from some well-known Pierre de Garis\nof indolent or miserly habits, who allowed the roof of his dwelling to\nfall into decay and let in the rain, and so became a by-word with his\nneighbours.\n\n_Ill\u2019 y en a assa\u00ef (assez) pour tous les Tostevins._--There is\nenough for all the Tostevins--is said when there is an abundance of\nanything--enough and to spare. The name is extremely common in the\nwestern parishes of Guernsey, especially in St. Pierre-du-Bois and\nTorteval, where many of those who bear it are stone-masons who walk\nevery day into town--a distance of five or six miles--to their work.\nPerhaps the good appetite they acquire in so long a walk may have had\nsomething to do in originating the saying.\n\n_Jaune coume q\u2019zette._--As yellow as a daffodil, is equivalent to the\nEnglish saying \u201cAs yellow as crow\u2019s foot.\u201d It is sometimes varied to\n\u201c_jaune coume du murlu_,\u201d this last word being the local name of the\ncorn-marigold and the ox-eye daisy.\n\n_Vert coume ache._--As green as smallage--a herb closely allied to\ncelery and parsley, and, like them, intensely green--is used where we\nshould say in English \u201cAs green as grass.\u201d\n\n_Chi\u00e8r (cher) coume paivre (poivre)._--As dear as pepper, is a\ncomparison which must have originated when this useful condiment,\nnow within the reach of the poorest, was a luxury brought from far\nand obtainable only by the rich. Quit-rents payable in pepper were\nnot unknown in the middle-ages; and in the Extente, or account of\nthe revenues and obligations of the Crown in Guernsey, drawn up in\nthe fifth year of the reign of King Edward III., A.D. 1331, there\nis an item of a quarter of a pound of pepper to be paid annually\nat Michaelmas, by a tenant of lands situated in the parish of St.\nMartin\u2019s. The money payment for which this rent was commuted at that\ntime was twelve deniers tournois, which would make the value of a pound\nfour sols tournois, no inconsiderable sum in those days.\n\n_I\u2019 ch\u00e0nte coume \u00f9n orateur._--He sings like an orator. A loud voice\nis certainly desirable in one who attempts to _speak_ in public. Our\ncountrymen seem to consider it equally necessary and admirable in a\n_singer_.\n\n_Orguillaeux (orgueilleux) coume \u00f9n pou\u00e2is (pou) s\u00fbs v\u2019louss\n(velours)._--As proud as that insect which Shakespeare calls \u201ca\nfamiliar beast to man\u201d may be supposed to feel when it finds itself on\nvelvet.\n\n_Ca\u00fbd (chaud) coume bra\u00efze._--As hot as embers, needs no explanation.\n\n_Ch\u2019est coume un bourdon dans une canne._--It is like a humble bee in a\ncan--is said of a droning monotonous style of preaching or speaking.\n\n_Ch\u2019est coume les pri\u00e8res de Jacques Ozanne qui n\u2019ont pas de fin._--It\nis like James Ozanne\u2019s prayers which never come to an end. This is said\nof any matter which is prolonged to an unreasonable extent; but nothing\nseems now to be known of the individual whose lengthy supplications\ngave rise to the saying.\n\n_T\u2019es coume Jean Le Tocq._--You are like Jean Le Tocq. This is\naddressed to a man who is seen abroad at an earlier hour than usual,\nand contains an allusion to two lines in the old Guernsey ballad of the\ninvasion of the island by Evan of Wales in 1373, where it is said:--\n\n    _\u201cJean Le Tocq sy se leva_\n    _Plus matin qu\u2019a l\u2019accoutum\u00e9e.\u201d_\n\nIndeed this last line is generally added.\n\n_Il a la conscience de la jument Rabey qui mangit s\u2019en poul\u00e2in._--He\nhas the conscience of Rabey\u2019s mare, who ate her foal. Said of an\nutterly hard-hearted and unscrupulous man. The Rabeys are a well-known\ncountry family, and it is possible that this proverb refers to some\ndomestic tragedy, the details of which have long been forgotten.\n\n_Avoir le corset de Ma\u00eetre George._--To wear the corset of Ma\u00eetre\nGeorge. An allusion is here meant to a certain George F\u00e9nien. The\nF\u00e9niens were a family who owned property in Fountain Street, and seem\nto have become extinct towards the middle of the eighteenth century.\nThis expression is applied to an indolent man, so that the \u201cMa\u00eetre\nGeorge F\u00e9nien\u201d[258] here alluded to must have lived up to his name,\nF\u00e9nien--Fain\u00e9ant--a sluggard. We have seen in some of the preceding\nproverbs and sayings, allusions to individuals and families. Here are\ntwo or three more of the same kind:--\n\n_I\u2019 fait de sen Qu\u00e9ripel._--Is untranslatable literally, but may be\nrendered \u201che acts like a Qu\u00e9ripel.\u201d and is said of a man whose vanity\nleads him to give himself airs, and take too much upon himself. The\nname existed in Guernsey as early as the fourteenth century, at which\ntime it was written _Carupel_, but there is not the slightest clue when\nor how the saying originated. It may possibly be a corruption of some\nproverbial expression current in Normandy.\n\n_Il est dans les Arabies de Mons. Roland._--\u201cHe has got into Mr.\nRoland\u2019s Arabias,\u201d is a remark made when a preacher, a public speaker,\nor any one who sets up for a talker, has got beyond his depth, and is\ndiscoursing on a subject which he does not understand. The Rolands, now\nextinct, are believed to have been a Huguenot family that took refuge\nin Guernsey in the sixteenth century.[259] The Mons^{r}. Roland who\nfigures in the saying is supposed to have been a schoolmaster.[260]\n\n[Illustration: Old Guernsey House.]\n\n_Ch\u2019est prendre de Pierre Chyvret pour douna\u00efr \u00e0 Monsieur Careye._--\u201cIt\nis taking from Pierre Chyvret to give to Mr. Carey,\u201d is used in the\nsense of \u201csending coals to Newcastle,\u201d or \u201ctaking from the poor to\ngive to the rich;\u201d but who the particular individuals were whose names\nfigure in this saying it is impossible to say. In the reign of Queen\nElizabeth a Mr. Nicholas Careye was farmer of most, if not all, the\nmills in Guernsey situated on the Crown domain, he being then Her\nMajesty\u2019s Receiver. At a time when all persons residing on a manor\nwere obliged to bring their corn to be ground at their Lord\u2019s mill,\nunder severe penalties, such a monopoly in the mills as Mr. Carey\npossessed, must have tended to make him a very wealthy man.[261] It\nis not unlikely that he, or one of his immediate descendants, who\nenjoyed the same privilege, may have been the person whose name became\nproverbial for riches. The name of Peter Chyvret occurs in another\nsaying too coarse to be quoted, but which suggests the idea that he\nmay have been an idiot, and, if so, probably living on charity. It\nis, however, worth noting that a certain Peter Chyvret was, about the\nbeginning of the present century, in possession of property situated\nin the neighbourhood of one of the mills of which we have spoken. He\nis reported to have been one of those eccentric characters of whom it\nis difficult to say whether they have all their mental faculties--a\nmixture, in fact, of shrewdness and simplicity. As he was by no means\nin indigent circumstances it is scarcely probable that he can be the\nsame man alluded to in this saying.\n\n_Tenir \u00e0 p\u00ecnche-bele\u00efne._--Means to hold lightly, without a firm grasp.\nIt is used in the following proverbial saying:--\n\n    _\u201cA p\u00ecnche-bele\u00efne--s\u00fb la haute \u00e9peine,_\n    _Si je m\u2019d\u00e9roque--je n\u2019en dirai mot.\u201d_\n\n--Which may be freely translated:--\u201cHolding on too lightly, if I fall\nfrom the tree I shall say nothing about it.\u201d If I suffer from my own\nnegligence I must not complain.\n\n[257] EDITOR\u2019S NOTE. The following short pedigree of the first members\nof the de Garis family in the island may prove interesting:--It is\nextracted from the proceedings of the law suit re the Fief Handois in\n1497. See Additional MSS. British Museum, 30, 188.\n\n        +---------------------------------------------+\n        |                                             |\n   \u2026 DE GARIS = \u2026                     PIERRE DE GARIS = LUCENTIA DE DINNO,\n  Eldest son, |                       of Bayonne,     | of Normandy.\n  of Gascony. |                       Gascony Bailiff |\n              |                       and             |\n              |                       Lieut.-Governor |\n              |                       of Guernsey,    |\n              |                       Seigneur of     |\n              |                       Fief Handois,   |\n              |                       Jersey. Died    |\n              |                       before A.D.     |\n              |                       1323.           |\n           +--+-------------------+          +--...---+--------...-----+\n           |                      |          |        |                |\n  Denis le = Bonita de   Biscaya  = Renaud  Pierre  John  = Alianor William\n  Marchant | Garis       de Garis | Tanquis  de      de   | de         de\n           | daughter    daughter | of      Garis.  Garis | Chesney  Garis.\n           | and co-     and co-  | Jersey.       Seigneur| daughter\n           | heiress.    heiress  |                of Fief| of Sir Wm.\n           | Died before          |               Handois,| Chesney,\n           | 1323, and her        |               Jersey. | and Joan\n           | husband Denis        |               Jurat   | de Gorges.\n           | married              |               of R.C. | She married\n           | secondly             |               Jersey, | second\n           | Peronelle            |               in 1355.| Geoffrey\n           | le Moigne.          _|_                      | Walsh.\n     +-----+                                    +---------+\n     |                                          |\n  John Le Marchant = \u2026                    Edmund de Garis\n  Jurat R.C. 1350. |                      Seigneur of Fief Handois.\n  Bailiff of       |                      Jurat R.C. Jersey.\n  Guernsey 1359-83.|                      O.S.P. Ante 1497.\n                   +--------+\n                            |\n                   Denis le Marchant =  Jeanette de Chesney,\n                    Jurat R. C. and  |  youngest daughter\n                     Lieut.-Bailiff. |  of Sir William de\n                                     |  Chesney and\n                                     |  Joan de Gorges.\n                                     |\n                            LE MARCHANT FAMILY.\n\nIn the \u201cExtente\u201d of 1331, Pierre and John de Garis held land in the\nparishes of St. Peter Port, St. Andrew\u2019s, St. Peter\u2019s-in-the-Wood,\nand St. Sampson\u2019s. In the \u201cCalendars of Patent Rolls\u201d for the years\n1328-36, we find Nicholaa, Abbess of the Holy Trinity, Caen, nominating\nPeter and William de Garis her Attorneys in the Channel Islands, and in\n1332 a Commission was given to Robert de Norton, William de la Rue, and\nPeter de Garis to survey the King\u2019s Castles and Mills in the islands of\nJersey and Guernsey which are reported to be greatly in need of repair,\nand to certify by whose default, and by whom they fell into decay. In\n1380, a William de Garis, described as being \u201cde l\u2019isle de Guerneseye,\u201d\nsold to \u201cSire Pierre Payn\u201d the Manor of Malorey in St. Laurent, Jersey,\nto which parish the Fief Handois also belonged.\n\n[258] EDITOR\u2019S NOTE.--A \u201cGeorge Fenien\u201d was in existence at the end of\nthe sixteenth century, and his daughter Collette Fenien, was married to\nWilliam Brock, ancestor of the Brocks of Guernsey. William Brock died\nin 1582.\n\n[259] EDITOR\u2019S NOTE.--In the \u201cPlacita Coron\u00e6\u201d held in the reign of\nEdward III., William, son of Robert Roland, held land in the Vale\nparish. In a deed of 23rd of August, 1517, dealing with land in St.\nSampson\u2019s parish, south of the \u201cGrand Pont\u201d the \u201c_Rue Roland_\u201d is\nmentioned; in 1569, there was living in St. Sampson\u2019s parish a Richard\nRoland and Collenette Le Retylley, his wife, and (2nd November, 1569)\nThomas Roland and Jeanne Blondel, his wife, bought a house in St. Peter\nPort from Jean Le Mont\u00e9s; so the probabilities are that the Rolands, if\nthey migrated from France, did so before the Huguenot persecutions, and\nhad been domiciled in Guernsey long anterior to the sixteenth century.\n\n[260] EDITOR\u2019S NOTE.--Or he may have been the \u201cMonsieur Jean\nRoland,\u201d son of Thomas and Elizabeth Bailleul, who was Rector of S.\nPierre-du-Bois, and imprisoned in the Tower of London in 1665, for his\nrefusal to submit to the Act of Uniformity.\n\n[261] EDITOR\u2019S NOTE.--It was this Monsieur Careye, who in September,\n1563, bought the Fief Blanchelande from Her Majesty\u2019s Commissioners; he\nmarried Collette de la Marche and was buried 15th of July, 1593.\n\n\nProverbial Sayings.\n\nWe now come to a class of proverbial sayings which might almost claim\nan exclusive right to the title of \u201cFolk-Lore,\u201d--those relating to the\nweather and other natural phenomena; and which, being the result of\nlong experience on the part of the people, are religiously believed in\nby them. Many of these sayings are common, in spirit if not in form,\nto the greater part of Europe; some of them are confined to certain\ndistricts; and, although a few may have a superstitious aspect, such as\nthose which profess to predict what events will happen in the course of\nthe year from an observation of the weather on a particular holy day,\nyet some of them may be worthy the notice of meteorologists, who have\ndiscovered that, in many cases, the probable character of the weather\nin a particular month may be guessed at by that which prevailed at an\nearlier season.\n\n_Janvier a daeux bouniaux (deux bonnets), F\u00e9vrier en a treis\n(trois)._--January wears two caps, February wears three. As a rule\nFebruary is the coldest month in the year. In a curious old MS. of the\nsixteenth century, containing memoranda of household accounts, copies\nof wills, and various entries of more or less interest, written between\nthe years 1505 and 1569 by various members of a family of the name\nof Girard, landed proprietors in the parish of Ste. Marie-du-Castel\nin Guernsey, we find the following weather prognostications for St.\nVincent\u2019s Day (January 22nd), and the Feast of the Conversion of St.\nPaul, (January 25th).\n\n    _\u201cPrens garde au jour St. Vincent_\n    _Car sy se jour tu vois et sent_\n    _Que le soleil soiet cler et biau_\n    _Nous \u00e9rons du vin plus que d\u2019eau.\u201d_\n\n    _\u201cSy le jour St. Paul le convers_\n    _Se trouve byaucob descouvert,_\n    _L\u2019on aura pour celle sayson_\n    _Du bled et du foyn \u00e0 foyson;_\n    _Et sy se jour fait vant sur terre;_\n    _Ce nous synyfye guerre;_\n    _S\u2019yl pleut ou n\u00e8ge, sans fallir,_\n    _Le chier tans nous doet asalir;_\n    _Sy de nyelle faict, brumes ou brouillars,_\n    _Selon le dyt de nos vyellars,_\n    _Mortalitey nous est ouverte.\u201d_\n\nSimilar sayings are to be found in Latin, English, German, Italian, and\nother languages.\n\nFebruary, as every one knows, is the shortest month in the year;\nbut few know why. This is how it is accounted for by old people in\nGuernsey:--\u201c_F\u00e9vrier dit \u00e0 Janvier:--\u2018Si j\u2019\u00e9tais \u00e0 votre pi\u00e8che\n(place) je f\u2019rais gela\u00efr (geler) les pots sus le faeu (feu) et les\np\u2019tits \u00e9f\u00e0ns (enfants) aux seins de leurs m\u00e8res\u2019--et pour son \u00ecmpudence\ni\u2019 fut raccourchi (raccourci) de daeux jours, et Janvier fut aloigni\n(along\u00e9).\u2018_\u201d February said to January:--If I were in your place I would\ncause the pots to freeze on the fire, and babes at their mothers\u2019\nbreasts, and for his insolence he was shortened of two days, and\nJanuary was lengthened.\n\nThe most intense cold in the year generally sets in with February; and\nthis saying reminds me of what is told in Scotland, and in many parts\nof the north of England, of the _borrowing days_, the three last days\nof March (See Brand\u2019s _Popular Antiquities_, Bohn\u2019s edition, Vol. II.,\np. 41-44). It appears, however, according to this authority, that in\nthe Highlands of Scotland the _borrowing days_ are the three first days\nof February, reckoned according to the old style, that is, the days\nbetween the eleventh and the fifteenth.\n\nFebruary 2nd, Candlemas Day. Fine weather on this day is supposed to\nprognosticate a return of cold. The following lines were communicated\nby a country gentleman, but they have not quite the same antique ring\nas those relating to St. Paul\u2019s and St. Vincent\u2019s Days, and may,\npossibly, be a more recent importation from France.\n\n    _\u201cSelon les anciens se dit:_\n    _Si le soleil clairement luit_\n    _A\u2019 la Chandeleur vous verrez_\n    _Qu\u2019 encore un hiver vous aurez.\u201d_\n\n_Qu\u00e0nd Mars durerait chent \u00e0ns l\u2019hiver durerait aut\u00e0nt._--If March were\nto last for a hundred years, winter would last as long.\n\n_Mars qui entre coume \u00f9n agn\u00e9 (agneau) sortira coume \u00f9n touar\u00e9\n(taureau)._--The Guernsey form of this saying substitutes a bull in the\nplace of a lion.\n\n_Mars a envia\u00ef (envoy\u00e9) sa vieille trachier (chercher) des b\u00fbquettes\n(buchettes)._--When, after a spell of comparatively mild weather, March\ncomes with blustering winds, breaking off the small dry branches from\nthe trees, the country people say that he has sent out his old wife to\nlook for sticks; and predict that, as he is laying in a store of fuel,\nthe cold is likely to last.\n\n_P\u00e2ques Martine--guerre, peste, ou famine._--Easter happening in March,\nforebodes war, pestilence, or famine.\n\n_A Nou\u00e9 \u00e0 ses perrons, \u00e0 P\u00e2ques \u00e0 ses tisons._--If at Christmas you can\nsit at your doorstep, at Easter you will be glad to sit by your fire.\n\n_Avril le doux--qu\u00e0nd il s\u2019y met le pi\u00e8re de tous._--Or, as the\nNorman antiquary, Pluquet, gives it:--\u201c_Quand il se f\u00e2che, le pire de\ntous_.\u201d--When the weather is bad in April, it is the worst of all the\nmonths.\n\n_En Avril, ne quitte pas \u00f9n fil._--In April leave not off a stitch of\nclothing--a piece of advice which is well warranted by the sudden and\nextreme changes in the temperature in this month. On the other side,\nthis advice holds good a month later--\u201cTill May be out cast not a\nclout.\u201d\n\n_Caud (chaud) Mai, gras chimequi\u00e8re (cimeti\u00e8re), fred (froid) Mai,\ngranges plla\u00efnes (pleines)._--A warm May, a fat churchyard, a cold May,\nfat granaries.\n\n_A\u2019 la mi\u00e9 Ao\u00fbt, l\u2019hiver noue._--About mid-August there is usually a\nmarked change in the weather, gales of wind and heavy rain generally\noccurring at this season, and any long continuance of settled fine\nweather, is scarcely to be hoped for. This has led to the remark that\nwinter \u201c_sets_\u201d at this time; as the blossoms in Spring set for fruit.\n\n_A\u2019 la mi-S\u2019tembre, les jours et les nits s\u2019entre ressemblent._--In the\nmiddle of September, days and nights are alike.\n\n_Six s\u2019ma\u00efnes avant Nou\u00e9, et six s\u2019ma\u00efnes apr\u00e8s, les nits sont les p\u00fbs\nlongues, et les jours les p\u00fbs freds._--Six weeks before Christmas and\nsix weeks after, the nights are the longest and the days the coldest.\nThis saying is scarcely correct in Guernsey, as very cold weather about\nthe end or the beginning of the year is rather the exception than the\nrule in this climate.\n\n_Si le soleil liet \u00e0 m\u00e9jeur, le jour de Nou\u00e9, il y aura bien des faeux\nl\u2019anna\u00efe ensuivant._--If the sun shines at noon on Christmas Day, there\nwill be many fires lighted in the ensuing year.\n\n_Aube gela\u00efe est bi\u00e9t\u00f4t lava\u00efe._--Hoar-frost is soon washed away, or,\nas another weather proverb says:--\u201c_Apr\u00e8s treis aubes gela\u00efes vient la\npllie._\u201d--After three hoar-frosts comes rain, a saying which experience\namply bears out.\n\n_Vent d\u2019amont qui veur dura\u00efr, au s\u00e9r va se reposa\u00efr._--An east wind\nthat intends to last, goes to rest in the evening.\n\n_Vent d\u2019amont \u00f4ve (avec) pllie, ne vaut pas un fllie (patelle)._--An\neast wind with rain is not worth a limpet.\n\n_Quand i\u2019 plleut \u00f4ve vent d\u2019amont, ch\u2019est merveille si tout ne\nfond._--Rain from the east is rare; but when it does occur it is so\nheavy and continuous as to give rise to the saying that it is a wonder\nthat everything does not melt.\n\n_Cherne (cerne) \u00e0 la lune, le vent, la pllie, ou la brune._--When\nthere\u2019s a circle round the moon, wind, rain, or fog, will follow soon.\n\n_Cherne de llien (loin), tourmente de pr\u00e8s; cherne de pr\u00e8s, tourmente\nde llien._--If the halo round the moon is large and at a distance, it\ndenotes that a storm is at hand, if, on the contrary, it is small and\nnear the moon, the storm will not arrive for some time.\n\n_Cherne \u00e0 la lune, jamais n\u2019a fait amena\u00efr m\u00e2t d\u2019hune._--A circle round\nthe moon has never caused top-mast to be struck. It is difficult to\nreconcile this saying with the preceding, unless by supposing that\nsailors are so convinced that a circle round the moon portends bad\nweather that they are careful to shorten sail before the gale comes on.\n\n_Cherne au soleil i\u2019 ne fera pas demain bel._--A solar halo means bad\nweather to-morrow.\n\n    _Si le soleil est rouage (rouge) au s\u00e8r (soir),_\n    _Ch\u2019est pour biau temps aver (avoir),_\n    _S\u2019il est rouage au matin,_\n    _Ch\u2019est la mare au chemin._\n\nIf the sun sets red, it is a sign of fine weather, but when he rises\nred, you may expect to see pools of water on the road.\n\n_Rouage ser, gris matin, ch\u2019est la jouaie (joie) du p\u00e9lerin._--A red\nevening and a grey morning are the pilgrim\u2019s joy, but this saying is\nsometimes varied to:--\n\n_Rouage s\u00e8r, bllanc matin, ch\u2019est la journa\u00efe du p\u00e9lerin._--A red\nevening and a white morning is the day for the pilgrim.\n\n_En Avril, le coucou crie, s\u2019il est en vie._--In April, the cuckoo\nsings, if he is alive. The cuckoo generally arrives in Guernsey about\nthe 15th of April.\n\n    _Le cou-cou s\u2019en va en Ao\u00fbt,_\n    _L\u2019\u00e9pi d\u2019orge li pique la gorge._\n\n    _The cuckoo departs in August,_\n    _The barley-spike pricks his throat._\n\n\nAgricultural Sayings.\n\nIt is not easy to draw a clear line between those sayings which have\nreference to the weather, and those which relate to agricultural\npursuits and experience; but the following appear to fall more\nnaturally under the latter head:--\n\n    _Qu\u00e0nd i\u2019 plleut \u00f4ve vent d\u2019aval,_\n    _Nourrit l\u2019houme et sen cheval;_\n    _Qu\u00e0nd i\u2019 plleut \u00f4ve vent d\u2019amont,_\n    _Ch\u2019est merveille si tout ne fond._\n\nWhen it rains with a westerly wind it feeds man and beast; but when it\nrains with an east wind, it is a marvel if everything does not melt.\n\n    _L\u2019arc d\u2019alliance du soir, bel \u00e0 voir,_\n    _L\u2019arc d\u2019alliance du matin, fait la mare \u00e0 chemin._\n\nRainbow in the evening, fair to see; rainbow in the morning, there will\nbe pools on the roads.\n\n_Si tu vois le soleil le jour de la Chandeleur, sauve le foin, car tu\nen auras besoin._--If you see the sun on Candlemas Day, save your hay\nfor you will want it.\n\n_A\u2019 la Painteco\u00fbte, les groua\u00efsiaux se go\u00fbtent._--Green gooseberries\nare in perfection at Whitsuntide.\n\n_De la St. Michel \u00e0 Nou\u00e9 (Noel) une pllante ne sait pas chu (ce) que\nnou (on) li fait._--From Michaelmas to Christmas a plant does not know\nwhat you do to it.\n\n_De la Toussaint \u00e0 Nou\u00e9 un arbre ne sait pas chu que non li\nfait._--From All Saints\u2019 Day to Christmas a tree knows not what is\ndone to it. The autumnal quarter is supposed to be the best for\ntransplanting trees or shrubs, as at that time the vigorous growth that\nhad been going on in spring and summer has ceased, and there is less\ndanger of their suffering from the change.\n\n_Nou\u00e9 n\u2019est pas Nou\u00e9 s\u00e0ns p\u00e2crolle (paquerette primev\u00e8re)._--Christmas\nis not Christmas unless there be primroses.\n\n_Nou\u00e9 est p\u00fbt\u00f4t Nou\u00e9, sans p\u00e2crolle, que sans agn\u00e9 (agneau)._--A\nChristmas without primroses is more rare than a Christmas without\nlambs. Another version is:--\n\n_Nou ne vit jamais Nou\u00e9, sans p\u00e2crolle ou p\u2019tit agn\u00e9._--This saying, as\nwell as the preceding, seems to refer particularly to the occurrence\nof that harbinger of spring, the primrose, at this season. With the\nexception occasionally of a few very cold days about the beginning\nof November, the weather in Guernsey up to Christmas, and frequently\nfar into January, is remarkably mild; vegetation is scarcely checked,\nand many summer flowers continue to bloom freely up to this time. It\nis a well-known fact that the primrose, like many other plants and\nmost bulbs, has its period of repose during the hot and dry weather\nof summer, the flowering ceasing about the end of May, and the leaves\nwithering away. In the autumn there is a fresh growth of leaves, and\nthe flower buds, which had been already formed towards the end of\nspring, but had been prevented by the drought from expanding, are\nready to burst into bloom with the mild days that generally usher in\nChristmas, the earliest blossoms being invariably found on the north\nsides of the hedges, where the latest flowers of the preceding summer\nlingered, the plants with a south aspect having exhausted their bloom\nin the hot weather.\n\n    _A flleur de Mars--ni pouque (poche) ni sac;_\n    _A flleur d\u2019Avril--pouque et baril;_\n    _A flleur de Mai--barrique et toun\u00e9 (tonneau)._\n\n    Blossom in March requires neither bag nor sack;\n    Blossom in April fills bag and barrel;\n    Blossom in May fills hogshead and tun.\n\nThis saying refers to the apple crop, and the quantity of cider that\nmay be expected, judging from the month in which the trees come into\nbloom.\n\n    _S\u00e8me tes concombres en Mars,_\n    _Tu n\u2019 airas qu\u2019 faire de pouque ni de sac;_\n    _S\u00e8me-les en Avril, tu en airas \u00f9n petit;_\n    _M\u00e9, j\u2019 les semerai en Mai;_\n    _Et j\u2019en airai p\u00fbs que t\u00e9 (toi)._\n\nSow your cucumbers in March, you will want neither bag nor sack; sow\nthem in April, you will have a few; I will sow mine in May, and I shall\nhave more than you.\n\n_Pouit (point) de vraic, pouit de haugard._--No seaweed, no corn ricks.\nThe sea-weed, _vraic_ or _varech_, which grows in such abundance on\nall the rocks round the islands, is of the utmost importance to the\nfarmer. It is almost the only dressing used for the land, stable manure\nbeing scarce and expensive. Hence the saying quoted above; for without\nsufficient manure the crops are sure to fall short. The _haugard_,\nor, more correctly, _haut gard_, (high yard) is the enclosure near a\nhomestead on which the ricks are erected.\n\n_D\u00e9bet (d\u00e9gel) de pllie, ne vaut pas une fllie (patille); d\u00e9bet de sec,\nvaut demi-fumaeure (fumier)._--A thaw with rain is not worth a limpet;\na thaw with dry weather is worth half a load of manure.\n\n_Un essaim en Mai--vaut une vaque (vache) \u00e0 lait._--A swarm of bees in\nMay is worth a milch cow.\n\n_O\u00f9 est qu\u2019ll y a un cardon (chardon) ch\u2019est du pain; o\u00f9 est qu\u2019ill y a\ndu laitron, ch\u2019est la faim._--Where thistles grow there will be bread,\nwhere the sow-thistle grows it is famine. The latter is mostly found in\nvery poor land.\n\n_Il vaut m\u00fbx pour \u00f9n houme d\u2019aver un percheux (paresseux) dans son\nm\u00e9nage qu\u2019un fr\u00eane sur s\u2019n h\u00earitage._--It is better for a man to have a\nlazy fellow in his service than an ash-tree on his estate. The shade of\nthe ash is believed to be destructive of all vegetation over which it\nextends; and it is this belief that has in all probability given rise\nto this saying. This proverb sometimes takes the following form:--\n\n    _B\u00e2tard dans sen lignage_\n    _Vaut m\u00fbx qu\u2019un fr\u00e8ne sur s\u2019n h\u00e9ritage._\n\n\nPiscatory and Maritime Sayings.\n\nThe following sayings may be termed piscatory and maritime.\n\n_A qu\u00e0nd le b\u0153uf est las, le bar est gras._--When the ox is weary, that\nis, when ploughing has come to an end for the season, the bass is in\ngood condition. This fish is decidedly best in summer.\n\n_A qu\u00e0nd l\u2019orge \u00e9picotte, le vrac est bouan sous la roque._--When the\nbarley comes into ear, the wrasse or rock-fish, is at its best.\n\n_L\u2019\u00e2ne de Balaam a p\u00e2la\u00ef (parl\u00e9) j\u2019airon du macr\u00e9\n(maquereau)._--Balaam\u2019s ass has spoken, we shall soon have mackerel.\nThe mackerel, it is almost needless to say, is a migratory fish,\narriving on our coasts in the spring, and remaining with us till late\nin the summer. Formerly the reading of the First Lesson at Evensong on\nthe first Sunday after Easter, in which the story of Balaam and his ass\nis told, was considered a sure indication that the welcome shoals would\nsoon make their appearance. The Cornish fishermen have the same saying.\n\nOld fishermen pay great attention to the direction of the wind at\nsunset on old Michaelmas Day (10th October), for they firmly believe\nthat from whatever point it blows at that time, the prevailing winds\nfor two-thirds of the ensuing twelve months will be from that quarter.\n\n    _Gr\u00e0nd ma\u00efr (mer) ou morte iaue (eau),_\n    _La lune au sud, il est basse iaue._\n\nWhether it be spring tides or neap tides, when the moon is due south it\nwill be low water.\n\nEDITOR\u2019S NOTE.--Another version: \u201cVive iaue ou morte iaue, La lune au\nsud, il est basse iaue.\u201d--_From John de Garis, Esq._\n\n\nVarious Sayings.\n\nA few sayings omitted may find a place here:--\n\n_Alle ira s\u00fb le coquet de l\u2019Eglise ramenda\u00efr (racommoder) les\nbraies (culottes) des viers gar\u00e7ons._--She will get a seat on the\nweather-cock of the church and mend old bachelor\u2019s breeches, is said of\nold maids, and is equivalent to the English saying, \u201cShe will lead apes\nin hell.\u201d\n\n_Ch\u2019est une autre p\u00e2re (paire) de cauches (bas, chausses)._--That\u2019s\nanother pair of stockings, is used in the sense of \u201cThat\u2019s quite\nanother affair.\u201d\n\n_A qu\u00e0nd les filles suffllent (sifflent) le guiablle (diable)\ns\u2019\u00e9huque._--When girls whistle the devil laughs outright. Whistling\nis not generally reckoned among feminine accomplishments, and by many\nwould certainly be considered as a symptom of what, in the present day,\nis termed \u201cfastness\u201d in the fair sex.\n\nAccording to the Northamptonshire proverb:--\n\n    \u201cA whistling woman and crowing hen,\n    Are neither fit for God nor men.\u201d\n\nIn Normandy they say:--\u201cUne poule qui chante le coquet, et une fille\nqui siffle, portent malheur dans la maison.\u201d[262]\n\nAnd in Cornwall:--\u201cA whistling woman and a crowing hen, are the two\nunluckiest things under the sun.\u201d\n\n_Trachier (chercher) la Ville par Torteval._--To seek for the Town by\nway of Torteval, is said of one who goes a round-about way to work.\nThe rural parish of Torteval, situated at the south-west corner of\nGuernsey, is, of all the parishes in the island, the one furthest\nremoved from the town of St. Peter Port. Compare the French \u201cChercher\nmidi \u00e0 quatorze heures.\u201d\n\n_Il \u00f4t (ouit, entend) fin coume une iragne (araign\u00e9e)._--His sense of\nhearing is as quick as that of a spider. Whether the abrupt retreat\nof the common wall-spider into the inner recesses of its web, at the\napproach of anything that alarms it, is to be attributed to the sense\nof hearing, sight, or feeling, would be difficult to determine. The\nfact, however, has been noticed, and has given rise to this saying.\n\n    _Entre le bec et le morc\u00e9,_\n    _Ill y a souvent du destorbier._\n\n    T\u2019wixt cup and lip--there\u2019s many a slip.\n\n    _Qui \u00e9pouse Jerriais ou Jerriaise,_\n    _Jamais ne vivra \u00e0 s\u2019n aise._\n\nIn all countries and in all ages jealousies and dislikes have existed\nbetween neighbouring communities. The inhabitants in Guernsey and\nJersey are not exempt from these feelings, which find vent in\nmalicious tales told of each other. The saying quoted above is common\nin Guernsey; probably its counterpart exists in Jersey, substituting\n\u201cGuernesiais\u201d for \u201cJerriais.\u201d It by no means follows, however, that\nthe want of comfort in these mixed marriages may not be quite as\nattributable to the one side as the other.\n\n_Il y a terjo\u00fbs quiqu\u2019\u00f9n qui a sa qu\u2019minse \u00e0 sequier._--There is always\nsome one wanting to dry his shirt. The weather never suits everybody\u2019s\nwants.\n\n_I\u2019 n\u2019a que vie d\u2019al\u00e0ngoura\u00ef (languissant)._--Equal to the English\nsaying \u201cA creaking door hangs longest.\u201d\n\n_Si un houme n\u2019a pas le sens de p\u00e2la\u00efr (parler) il est bien s\u00e2ge s\u2019il a\nle sens de se taire._--A man who has not the sense to speak is still a\nwise man if he has the sense to hold his tongue.\n\n_I\u2019 faut sav\u00e8r ou\u00efr, v\u00e9er, et se taire._--One should know how to hear,\nsee, and be silent.\n\n_La s\u2019ma\u00efne qui vient._--is the equivalent of the English \u201cTo-morrow\ncome-never.\u201d\n\n_Chu qu\u2019 nou n\u2019a jamais veu, et jamais ne verra, Ch\u2019est le nic\nd\u2019une souaris dans l\u2019oreille d\u2019un cat._--In the _Folk-Lore Record_,\nVol. III., Part I., p. 76, we find the Breton equivalent of this\nsaying:--\u201cOne thing you have never seen, a mouse\u2019s nest in a cat\u2019s\near.\u201d We are not told, however, whether the proverb is found in the\nFrench patois of Upper Brittany, or in the Celtic dialect still spoken\nin Lower Brittany--la Bretagne bretonnante.\n\n_I\u2019 va d\u2019v\u00e0nt ses b\u00eates_, or _I\u2019s\u2019met d\u2019v\u00e0nt ses b\u00eates_.--He is going\nbefore his team, is said of a prodigal, one who is out-running his\nincome.\n\n_Ch\u2019est une pouquie (poch\u00e9e) de puches (puces)_ or _de souaris_.--Is a\nsackful of fleas, or of mice, is said of a person who is very lively\nand always on the move.\n\n_Il n\u2019est si bouane (bonne) b\u00eate qui n\u2019ait quiqu\u2019 (quelque)\nohi._--There is no beast so good but that it has some fault or vice. It\nis worthy of notice that the word \u201c_ohi_\u201d is gone entirely out of use\nexcept in this proverb.\n\n_I\u2019 vit d\u2019amour et de belles chansons--coum\u2019 les alouettes de roques\n(pierres, cailloux)._--The first part of this saying--He lives on love\nand fine songs--is frequently used alone, but it is often capped by the\nconcluding words, \u201cAs larks do on stones,\u201d meaning that something more\nnourishing is needed to keep body and soul together.\n\n\u201c_Un mouisson (oisseau) dans la main vaut m\u00fbx que daeux qui volent._\u201d\n\u201c_Un mouisson \u00e0 la main en vaut daeux sur la branque (branche.)_\u201d \u201c_Un\npourch\u00e9 (pourceau) dans sen parc en vaut daeux d\u2019 par les rues._\u201d\nAll these are equivalent to the English proverb: \u201cA bird in the hand\nis worth two in the bush,\u201d but the last must have originated in days\nlong gone by, when swine were allowed to roam at their will about the\nstreets.\n\n_I\u2019 n\u2019 y a pas de cousins \u00e0 Terre-Neuve._--There are no cousins at\nNewfoundland. This somewhat selfish proverb, indicating that where\none\u2019s own interest is at stake the ties of consanguinity go for little,\nalthough occasionally heard in Guernsey, originated most probably\neither in Jersey or St. Malo, both which ports are largely engaged in\nthe cod fisheries on the banks of Newfoundland. Jersey, indeed, owes\nher commercial prosperity almost entirely to this branch of industry,\nto which, it is said, the attention of the inhabitants was directed by\nSir Walter Raleigh during the time that he held the office of Governor\nof the island. During the Middle Ages the fisheries in the Channel\nIslands were very productive, and a source of considerable revenue to\nthe Crown, but the discovery of Newfoundland, and the superior quality\nof the codfish caught on its shores, drove the salted conger and\nmackerel of the island out of the market.\n\n_Le cul d\u2019un sac et la langue d\u2019une femme gagnent terjo\u00fbs._--In former\ndays, when horses were more employed in carrying loads than they are at\nthe present time when carts are in universal use, it was observed that\na sack thrown across the back of a horse had a tendency to slip down\ngradually in the direction opposite to its mouth. This explains the\nfirst part of the proverb; the second part is equivalent to the saying\nthat a woman will always have the last word and gain her end at last.\n\n_Nou veit bien p\u00fbs de me\u00efnes de g\u00e2che crue que de biaux musiaux._--One\nsees many more pasty, doughy looking faces than pretty ones. Said in\nvery cold weather.\n\n_Ch\u2019n\u2019est que faeu et fll\u00e2mme._--It is nothing but fire and flame, said\nof a boaster, and also of a passionate man, whose temper quickly rises,\nand as quickly dies down.\n\n_P\u00eale-m\u00eale gabouar\u00e9._--Pell-mell, as merry-makers tumble out of\na village inn. This word \u201cgabouar\u00e9,\u201d derived from the Bas Breton\n\u201c_gaborel_,\u201d is only found in this phrase.\n\n_Il est coume le pourch\u00e9 du negre, petit et vier._--He is small and\nold, like the negro\u2019s pig.\n\n_Cope le c\u00f4_, _i.e._, \u201ccoupe le cou,\u201d is a common asseveration among\nchildren. They pronounce the words, drawing their right hand at the\nsame time towards their throat, as if cutting it, and the action is\nmeant to imply that they wish their throats may be cut if they do not\ntell the truth, or perform what they have promised.\n\n_Vaque (vache) d\u2019un bouan \u00e9gr\u00f9n (croissance)._--A cow that does credit\nto her food, and that feeds close. _Etre d\u2019un bouan \u00e9gr\u00f9n_--is also\nsaid of children who look fat and healthy.\n\nIn conclusion, we will give a story which is often told in the country,\nas a warning to those who are apt to laugh at fools. A half-witted\nfellow, who had gone to the mill with his corn, was asked by the\nmiller, who wanted to laugh at him:--\u201cJohn, people say that you are a\nfool and know nothing. Now, tell me what you know and what you don\u2019t\nknow?\u201d \u201cWell!\u201d answered John, \u201cI know this, that millers have fine\nhorses.\u201d \u201cThat\u2019s what you know,\u201d said the miller. \u201cNow tell me what you\ndon\u2019t know.\u201d \u201cI don\u2019t know on whose corn they are fattened,\u201d said John.\n\n--_From Denys Corbet._\n\n[262] EDITOR\u2019S NOTE.--In _Traditions et Superstitions de la Haute\nBretagne_, Tome II., p. 29., are various sayings to the same effect,\nsuch as:--\n\n    \u201cFille siffler,\n    Poule chanter,\n    Et coq qui pond,\n    Trois diables dans la maison.\u201d\n\n[Illustration: Gibbet from which pirates were suspended in the Island\nof Herm, now in possession of H.S.H. Prince Bl\u00fccher von Wahlstatt, who\nkindly allowed it to be photographed for reproduction in this book.]\n\n\nEDITOR\u2019S NOTES.\n\nThe following are a few local proverbs and sayings which I have met\nwith at different times, and which I do not find included in Sir Edgar\nMacCulloch\u2019s collection.\n\n_Il est si avare, il ne dounera pouit daeux p\u2019tits \u0153ufs pour un\ngros._--He is such a miser that he would not give two little eggs for\none big one.\n\n_Coume St. Paterne, tu feras p\u00e2lir le Diable._--Like St. Paterne, you\nwould turn the Devil pale, said of a man whom nothing will daunt. St.\nPaterne was one of our local saints, who was specially noted for the\nconversion of the inhabitants of the Forest of Scissy--the submerged\nforest which lies off our western coasts. He was induced to do so by a\npious Seigneur of the Forest, and began his work there by going into\na cavern where the idolaters were celebrating a great feast presided\nover by the Devil himself. Armed only with his pilgrim\u2019s staff he\nrouted them all, Satan included. He was specially beloved by birds, who\nfollowed him wherever he went. He was made Bishop of Avranches, and\ndied in the year A.D. 495.\n\n_La s\u2019ma\u00efne de treis (trois) Jeudis ou il n\u2019 y a pas de Vendredi._--The\nweek of three Thursdays and no Friday. This is used when talking of an\nevent which will never come off. Then they say \u201cCa, se fera, etc.\u201d\n\n_Haut coumme un b\u00e9guin._--As high as a beacon. The Guernsey \u201cb\u00e9guins\u201d\nwere tall stacks of furze placed on prominent points so that they could\nbe lit in case of an alarm.\n\n_Ecoute-paret (paroi) jamais n\u2019ot dret._--He who listens through\npartitions never hears correctly.\n\n_Faire pertus (trou) sous l\u2019iaue._--To make a hole in the water, said\nof a man who is ruining himself.\n\n_I\u2019 vaut m\u00fbx pilla\u00efr (plier) qu\u2019 rompre._--It is better to bend than\nbreak.\n\n_Il ne faut pas querua\u00efr trop pr\u00e8s des fossa\u00efs._--One should not plough\ntoo close to the hedges. Said of people who have no tact and say the\nwrong things at the wrong times--\u201cDancing on the edge of precipices.\u201d\n\n_Maujeu au na\u00efx, signe d\u2019\u00eatre guerva\u00ef, ou ba\u00eesi d\u2019un fou._--Tickling in\nthe nose shows that you will either be worried or kissed by a fool!\n\n_Daeux petites pa\u00fbreta\u00efs en font une grande._--Two small paupers make\none big one; said when two impecunious people marry each other.\n\n\nWEATHER PROVERBS, ETC.\n\n    _Qu\u00e0nd tu veis la fieille (feuille) \u00e0 l\u2019orme_\n    _Prends ta pouque et s\u00e8me ton orge._\n\n    When you see the leaf on the elm\n    Take thy bag and sow thy barley.\n\n    _Quand il fait biau, prend ton manteau,_\n    _Quand il pleut fais coume tu veus._\n\n    When it is fine take your cloak,\n    When it rains do as you like.\n\n    _Vent perdu, se trouve au sud._\n\n    A lost wind is found in the south.\n\n(This is a Sark proverb, and was found by the Rev. G. E. Lee in the\nRev. Elie Brevint\u2019s MSS).\n\n    _Hardi des h\u00e2gues sus l\u2019s \u00e9pines_\n    _D\u2019un rude hiver ch\u2019est le signe._\n\n    Many hips and haws on the trees,\n    Is the sign of a severe winter.\n\n    _Le dix de Mai des sardes au Gaufricher._\n\nOn the 10th of May, sardans (a kind of fish) are to be found at Le\nGaufricher--a rock north of Fermain.\n\n    _La ma\u00efr qui roule au Tas de Peis_\n    _Ch\u2019est coumme nous verrait de l\u2019iaue qu\u00e9e._\n\nThe sea that rolls at the Tas de Pois (the rocks at the end of St.\nMartin\u2019s Point) look to the beholder like falling rain.\n\n    _\u201cLa lune levante_\n    _La ma\u00efr battante.\u201d_\n\n    At moon rise\n    It is high tide.\n\n    _\u201cFin nord et epais sud_\n    _Ne s\u2019entrefont jamais d\u2019abus_\n    _Fin sud et epais nord,_\n    _Ne sont jamais d\u2019accord.\u201d_\n\nA fine north and a lowering south, have no occasion to quarrel, but\na fine south and lowering north, will never agree.--_The two last\n\u201cdictons\u201d are from John de Garis, Esq._\n\n\n\n\nPart III.\n\nEditor\u2019s Appendix.\n\n    \u201cDear Countrymen, whate\u2019er is left to us\n    Of ancient heritage--\n    Of manners, speech, of humours, polity,\n    The limited horizon of our stage--\n    Of love, hope, fear,\n    All this I fain would fix upon the page:\n    That so the coming age,\n    Lost in the Empire\u2019s mass,\n    Yet haply longing for their fathers, here\n    May see, as in a glass,\n    What they held dear--\n    May say, \u201c\u2019Twas thus and thus\n    They lived;\u201d and as the time-flood onward rolls,\n    Secure an anchor for their Celtic souls.\u201d\n\n    (Preface to _The Doctor and other Poems_, by the Rev. T. E. Brown).\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVIII.\n\nGuernsey Songs and Ballads.\n\n    \u201cWill no one tell me what she sings?\n    Perhaps the plaintive numbers flow\n    For old, unhappy, far-off things,\n    And battles long ago.\u201d\n\n                          --_Wordsworth._\n\n    \u201cF\u00e8re les lais, por remembrance.\u201d\n\n                 --_Marie of France._\n\n\nI have added this chapter to Sir Edgar MacCulloch\u2019s book, as I thought\nit a good opportunity of preserving a few of the old ballads and songs\nwhich, for generations, amused and interested our forefathers, and\nwhich now, alas, are all too surely going or gone from among us,--swept\naway by the irrepressible tide of vulgarity and so-called \u201cProgress,\u201d\nby which everything of ours that was beautiful, picturesque, or\nindividual, has been destroyed. As descendants of the Celtic trouv\u00e8res,\nmenestriers, and jongleurs, as well as of the Norse Skalds, the bards\nfrom whose early songs and chants, the literature of Europe has sprung,\nwe, Normans, should specially treasure the old poems which have been\nhanded down for so many successive generations, and which, in the rapid\nextinction of the old language in which Wace, Taillefer, Walter Map,\nand Chrestien de Troyes sang, are doomed to oblivion.\n\nIn most places the old ballads can be divided into two classes--the\nReligious and the Secular. The first of these classes, except in the\nform of the metrical version of the Psalms by Ronsard, does not seem to\nhave existed over here. I can find no trace of any No\u00ebls, or of any\nEaster songs. The Secular songs may be divided into the Historical and\nthe Social.\n\nThe Historical deserve precedence. The _Ballade des Aragousais_ of\nwhich a translation has already been given, and of which I append the\noriginal, is by far the oldest and most interesting. Then comes a\nballad descriptive of the Destruction of the Spanish Armada in 1588,\nwhich I found in a manuscript book compiled by a Job Mauger in 1722.\nIn it he has copied the _Dedicace des Eglises_, and such poems which\napparently were current in his day, and which he deemed worthy of\npreservation. Of his collection this is the most distinctive, and I\nhave included it in this chapter, although it is evidently defective\nin parts, as these old ballads, handed down orally from generation to\ngeneration, are so apt to be. The _Complaint of the dispossessed Roman\nCatholic Clergy_, written in March, 1552, and copied into the Registers\nof St. Saviour\u2019s parish in 1696 by Henry Blondel, is already in print,\nbeing included in Gustave Dupont\u2019s _Histoire du Cotentin et de ses\nIles_, Tome III., p. 311-313.\n\nJob Mauger\u2019s MSS. also comprise a long and monotonous ballad of twenty\nverses describing the destruction by lightning of the Tower of Castle\nCornet in 1688, and various poems, conspicuous more by the loyalty\nof their sentiments than by the merits of their versification, on\ncontemporary events in England, such as--\u201cLa mort du Roy Guillaume\nIII.,\u201d written in 1702; \u201cCantique Spirituel \u00e0 la m\u00e9moire de la Royne\nMarie IIme., et sur l\u2019oiseau qu\u2019on voit sur son Mausol\u00e9e;\u201d \u201cSur la\nmort de son Altesse Royale Guillaume, Duc de Glocestre, deced\u00e9 au\nCh\u00e2teau de Windsor le 30me Juillet, 1700;\u201d and \u201cVive le Roy George,\u201d\nwritten in 1721. He also copies a \u201cChanson Nouvelle de l\u2019Esclavage de\nBarbarie,\u201d doggerel verses \u201ccompos\u00e9e par dix pauvres hommes, esclaves\nen Barbarie, o\u00f9 ils sont,\u201d viz.: \u201cEdouard Falla, Edouard Mauger,\nPhelipe le Marquand, Richard Viel, et ses camarades, Pierre le Gros et\nJean Aspuine,\u201d written in the reign of William III.\n\nIn the year 1736 the bells of the church of S. Peter Port, being no\nlonger fit for service, were taken down for the purpose of being melted\nand re-cast. This circumstance gave rise to a piece of poetry composed\nby the Rev. Elie Dufresne, Rector of the Town parish, of which many\nmanuscript copies are in existence.\n\nBut by far the most popular and widely known of all our local ballads\nis \u201cLes vers de Catherine Deslandes,\u201d by an unknown author, descriptive\nof the trial and execution for infanticide, of an unhappy woman called\nCatherine Deslandes in 1748. These verses have been repeatedly copied\nand printed, and are to be found in almost every old farm-house.\n\nThe Secular ballads were undoubtedly all, or nearly all, importations\nfrom the mainland. Of these I have made a selection, and have striven\nto record those which do not appear to have been already printed,\nor which, like \u201cLa Claire Fontaine,\u201d vary considerably from the\ncontinental models. Thus \u201cMalbrouck,\u201d which is one of the most widely\nknown of all our old ballads, appears in every French \u201cRecueil de\nChansons,\u201d and the verses of \u201cLe Juif Errant\u201d and \u201cGenevi\u00e8ve de\nBrabant\u201d of which copies are also found in all our old farm houses,\nhave also been repeatedly printed on the Continent, so are not included\nhere.\n\n\nYVON DE GALLES.\n\n\u201cSurprise de l\u2019Ile de Guernesey l\u2019an 1370, sous le R\u00e8gne d\u2019Edouard\nIII., Roy d\u2019Angleterre, et de Charles V., Roy de France.\u201d\n\nNOTE.\n\nThis poem is copied from a version compiled by Mr. M\u00e9tivier, and said\nby him to be the revised text of seven mutilated manuscript copies. I\nhave also included most of his notes.\n\n    \u201cOr, grands et petits entendez\n    Lai[263] d\u2019allure,[264] fort\u2019ment rim\u00e9e,[265]\n    Sur nombre de gent ramass\u00e9e,\n    Qui va sillant[266] la mer sal\u00e9e,\n    Du Roy de France la mesgn\u00e9e,[267]\n    Par Yvon de Galles guid\u00e9e,\n    Si mauvaisement mis \u00e0 mort.[268]\n\n    Par un Mardy s\u2019est compar\u00e9e\n    La gendarmerie et l\u2019arm\u00e9e,\n    Faite de grands Aragousais[269]\n    Gens enrag\u00e9s \u00e0 l\u2019abord\u00e9e.\n    Dans le Vazon fut address\u00e9e\n    Cette pilleuse[270] marin\u00e9e\n    Pensant nous mettre tous \u00e0 mort.\n\n    Un Jean L\u2019Estocq si se leva,\n    Plus matin qu\u2019\u00e0 l\u2019acco\u00fbtum\u00e9e;\n    Et \u00e0 sa bergerie alla,\n    Sur l\u2019ajournant[271] \u00e0 la brun\u00e9e.\n    Telle compagnie a trouv\u00e9e\n    Sur le grand Marais arr\u00eat\u00e9e,\n    Ce qui grandement l\u2019\u00e9tonna.\n\n    Vit un cheval sur son chemin,\n    Faisant marche de haquen\u00e9e,[272]\n    Qui, pour vray, \u00e9toit un guildin,[273]\n    Qui lors \u00e9chappoit de l\u2019arm\u00e9e.\n    Toute l\u2019isle en a chevauch\u00e9e,\n    Criant \u00e0 la d\u00e9sesp\u00e9r\u00e9e,\n    Sus! aux armes, en un moment!\u201d\n\n    \u201cEt vous trouvez sur les Vazons![274]\n    L\u2019arm\u00e9e est dessus arr\u00eat\u00e9e;\n    Diligentez-vous, bons gar\u00e7ons,\n    Ou toute la terre est g\u00e2t\u00e9e!\n    Mettez tout au fil de l\u2019\u00e9p\u00e9e,\n    Hasardez-vous, \u00e0 bonne heur\u00e9e,\n    Ou vous mourrez gri\u00e8ve mort!\u201d\n\n    Yvon de Galles, vrai guerrier,\n    \u00c9tait conducteur de la guerre,\n    Homme grand\u2019ment adventurier,\n    Dessus une terre \u00e9trangi\u00e8re,\n    Ne se donnant garde en arri\u00e8re,\n    Il re\u00e7ut la rouge jarr\u2019ti\u00e8re\n    Qui n\u2019\u00e9toit ni soye, ni velours.\n\n    C\u2019est qu\u2019il fut frapp\u00e9 d\u2019un gar\u00e7on\n    D\u2019une alebarde[275] meurtri\u00e8re,\n    Il se nommoit Richard Simon\n    Sur le moulin, en la Carri\u00e8re,\n    Tant qu\u2019il eut la cuisse hach\u00e9e\n    Aussi la main dextre tranch\u00e9e\n    Par ce glorieux compagnon.\n\n    Sur le mont de St. Pierre Port\n    Fut la dure guerre livr\u00e9e;\n    Cinq cents et un fur\u2019 mis \u00e0 mort,\n    Tant de l\u2019isle[276] que de l\u2019arm\u00e9e,[277]\n    C\u2019\u00e9toit piti\u00e9, cette journ\u00e9e\n    D\u2019ou\u00efr les pleurs de l\u2019assembl\u00e9e\n    Des dames de St. Pierre Port.\n\n    Thoumin le Lorreur,[278] tout le jor\n    Fut, de vrai, notre capitaine;\n    Rouf Hollande[279] fut le plus fort,\n    Il eut l\u2019honneur de la quintaine,[280]\n    Sa vie, h\u00e9las! fut hasard\u00e9e,\n    Car, sa jambe \u00e9tant fracass\u00e9e,\n    Force lui fut de souffrir mort.\n\n    Frappant \u00e0 travers et \u00e0 tors,\n    Le sang courait dans les vall\u00e9es,\n    On marchait dessus les corps morts\n    Qui ch\u00e9aient[281] au fil des \u00e9p\u00e9es.\n    Une meurtri\u00e8re[282] fut lanc\u00e9e,\n    Qui, \u00e0 grand\u2019 force d\u00e9band\u00e9e,\n    Aux Aragousais fit grand tort.\n\n    Quatre-vingt bons marchands anglais\n    Arriv\u00e8rent sur l\u2019avespr\u00e9e;[283]\n    A notre secours accouraient,\n    Mais l\u2019arm\u00e9e \u00e9tant fort lass\u00e9e,\n    Leva le si\u00e8ge, tout de voir,[284]\n    Ne sachant quel rem\u00e8de avoir,\n    Sinon crier \u00e0 Dieu mercy.\n\n    Furent contraints de s\u2019enfuir\n    Prenant leur chemin gaburon,[285]\n    Par les Bordages sont all\u00e9s,\n    Pour passer dedans ils se rue\u2019;\n    Mais les Anglais sans retenue,\n    Remplissent de corps morts la rue,\n    Sur cette troupe de bedots.[286]\n\n    Par force espreindrent les ch\u00e2tiaus,[287]\n    La mer \u00e9tant fort retir\u00e9e,\n    On les tuait \u00e0 grands monceaux,\n    Taillant tout au fil de l\u2019\u00e9p\u00e9e;\n    La mer \u00e9toit ensanglant\u00e9e\n    De cette troupe ainsi navr\u00e9e,\n    De lez la chair et les corps morts.\n\n    Ces navires et ces bateaux\n    Ceignirent l\u2019isle par derri\u00e8re;\n    Bons paysans leur firent grands tosts,[288]\n    Vers le ch\u00e2teau de la Corbi\u00e8re,[289]\n    Vindrent par le Bec-\u00e0-la-Chi\u00e8vre,[290]\n    Pour \u00e0 l\u2019arm\u00e9e faire est\u00e8re,[291]\n    Avec le reste des lourdauds.\n\n    Rembarqu\u00e8rent leurs matelots,[292]\n    Puis soudain mirent \u00e0 la v\u00e8le,\n    Tous marris comme lionceaux\n    D\u2019avoir perdu telle bredelle.[293]\n    Le g\u00e9n\u00e9ral[294] fort ce repelle,[295]\n    Commandant de remettre \u00e0 terre\n    Dans le havre de St. Samson.\n\n    \u00c0 l\u2019Abb\u00e9 St. Michel s\u2019en vont,\n    Dont Brecard \u00e9toit commissaire;\n    Il les re\u00e7ut, \u00e0 grand c\u0153ur-jouaie\n    Donnant pr\u00e9sents et fort grand ch\u00e8re\n    Donnant or \u00e0 la gente am\u00e9e,[296]\n    Qui \u00e9tait dame dans l\u2019arm\u00e9e\n    Nomm\u00e9e Princesse Alinor.\n\n    Car Yvon l\u2019avoit \u00e9pous\u00e9e\n    En France au pays de Gravelle,\n    Dont il fut riche \u00e0 grands monceis[297]\n    Des biens de la grand\u2019 mari\u00e9e.\n    L\u2019abb\u00e9 fit grand joie \u00e0 l\u2019arm\u00e9e\n    D\u2019or et d\u2019argent et de monnoye\n    Qu\u2019il leur donna bien largement.\n\n    Yvon, l\u2019ennemy, s\u2019en alla\n    Sur une montagne voisine\n    Du pauvre Ch\u00e2teau St. Michel,\n    L\u00e0 o\u00f9 Yvon faisait ses mines.[298]\n    Fr\u00e8re Brecart,[299] par courtoisie\n    S\u2019adresse au ch\u00e2teau par envie\n    De faire cr\u00f4itre ses tr\u00e9sors.\n\n    Mais Aymon[300] Rose, retranch\u00e9\n    Au puissant Chasteau de l\u2019Archange\n    Dit qu\u2019il serait avant tranch\u00e9.\n    Que de se rendre \u00e0 gent estrange;\n    Mais si ses gens se veulent rendre\n    A Brecart, pour leur terre vendre,\n    Par compos,[301] il estoit d\u2019accord.\n\n    Le pauvre peuple se rendit\n    A cet Abb\u00e9 pour leur grand perte\n    Qu\u2019il avoit pour eux accord\u00e9\n    Aux ennemis par ses finesses\n    Dont assoujettirent leurs terres\n    La plupart \u00e0 payer deux gerbes\n    Nommez aujourd\u2019hui les champarts.[302]\n\n    Quand Yvon fut bien soudoy\u00e9\n    S\u2019est rembarqu\u00e9 dans ses navires\n    Dans le Coquet s\u2019en est all\u00e9\n    Se refournir de nouveaux vivres,\n    En passant par devant Belle Isle\n    Mit le feu dans trente navires\n    N\u2019ayant que les gar\u00e7ons \u00e0 bord.\n\n    Le vent du sud \u00e9tant venu\n    Sillant la c\u00f4te de Bretagne\n    Un navire Anglois est venu\n    Dont ils eurrent bien de la hoigne[303]\n    Saillit soixante hommes ensemble\n    \u00c0 bord Yvon, sans plus attendre\n    Qui les li\u00e8rent tous \u00e0 bord.\n\n    Puis viol\u00e8rent Alinor,\n    En la pr\u00e9sence de son homme\n    Lui \u00e9tant li\u00e9 au grand m\u00e2t\n    Les amen\u00e8rent \u00e0 Hantonne[304]\n    Yvon \u00e9tant un mauvais homme\n    Eut sur sa t\u00eate une couronne\n    Savoir ung mourion tout chaud.\n\n    Puis pendirent toutes ces gens\n    Portez \u00e0 chartez[305] couple \u00e0 couple\n    Et Alinor eut un pr\u00e9sent\n    Pour gueuser une belle poche\n    Et avec peines et travaux\n    Cherchant son pain de porte en porte\n    Apr\u00e8s plaisir eurent grands maux.\n\n    Les dix-neuf autres vaisseaux\n    Voulez-vous ou\u00efyr leur destin\u00e9e\n    Ils se dissout de grands ch\u00e2teaux\n    De tourments bien agitt\u00e9e\n    Or voil\u00e0 donc leur destin\u00e9e\n    C\u2019est qu\u2019ils burent la mer sal\u00e9e\n    Brisant dessus les Hanouets.\n\n    Au matin coume des porceaux\n    Estoient au plein cette journ\u00e9e\n    O\u00f9 ils avaient fait leurs grands maux\n    En Guernesey la bienheureuse\n    Ils estoient l\u00e0 en grands monceaux\n    Dessus les sablons de Rocquaine\n    Apr\u00e8s plaisir eurent grands maux.\n\nFIN.\n\n[263] _Lai_--Chant, m\u00e9lodie, complainte.\n\n[264] _Allure_--pas continu, mesur\u00e9.\n\n[265] _Fort\u2019ment rim\u00e9e_--dont la rime est riche, roulante.\n\n[266] _Sillant_ v. fr.: fendant, coupant.\n\n[267] _Mesgn\u00e9e_--guern\u2019 _m\u00e9gnie_,--maisonn\u00e9e, troupe.\n\n[268] _Mis \u00e0 mort_--assassin\u00e9 par le tra\u00eetre gallois John Lambe,\nsoudoy\u00e9 par Richard II.\n\n[269] _Aragousais_--Chez les Gascons, nos compatriotes alors,\n_Aragous_, espagnol. L\u2019Aragon \u00e9tait le royaume principal.\n\n[270] _Pilleuse_--pirates.\n\n[271] _Ajournant_--v. fr. ajornant, faire _jor_ ou jour.\n\n[272] _Haquen\u00e9e_--cheval qui va l\u2019amble, hobin.\n\n[273] _Guildin_--Anglais _gelding_.\n\n[274] Les Vazons--Marais, tourbi\u00e8res, aujourd\u2019hui Vazon. Il y avait le\nVazon d\u2019Albecq et le Vazon du Marais.\n\n[275] _Alebarde_--sans aspiration, comme l\u2019Ital: _alabarda_.\n\n[276] _L\u2019isle_--les habitants de l\u2019\u00eele.\n\n[277] _L\u2019arm\u00e9e_--la flotte \u00e9trang\u00e8re.\n\n[278] _Le Lorreur_--surnom d\u2019une famille c\u00e2telaine dont les traces se\nretrouvent au commencement du dix-septi\u00e8me si\u00e8cle. _Le lourreur_ \u00e9tait\nun joueur de cornemuse, Normand _lourre_, Danois _luur_. C\u2019est tout un\nalors pour nous autres Anglais, que _Thoumin le Lorreur_, et \u201cTommy the\nPiper.\u201d\n\nThe first mention of a \u201cLe Lorreur\u201d in the Channel Islands I have\nfound, occurs in the Calendar of Patent Rolls for 1316, where Philip\nL\u2019Evesque, Bailiff of Jersey, witnesses (June 25th, 1311) a demise by\nMacie Le Lorreur, clerk, to Richard le Fessu, his brother, Viscount\nof Jersie, of the escheat of Pierres du Mouster, for twelve cabots\nof wheat rent yearly, for three virgates of land in the parish of\nGrouville. The Richard le Fessu mentioned above was also known as\nRichard _de Jersey_, he married Elizabeth de Burgo, described as the\nKing\u2019s kinswoman, and in 1317 the King gave, as a grant for life, to\n\u201cJohn de Jereseye\u201d his son, the Viscounty of Jersey, which his father\nhad held during his life-time.\n\n[279] _Rouf Hollande_--On August 26th 1338, a warrant was issued\nagainst a _Richard de Holand_, who had absconded with \u00a340 delivered to\nJohn Godefelawe of Southampton, by John de Harleston, for payment of\nthe wages of the garrison of Jersey. (Calendar of Patent Rolls).\n\n[280] _Quintaine_--esp\u00e8ce de tournoi.\n\n[281] _Ch\u00e9aient_--tombaient guern: et norm: queyaient.\n\n[282] _Meurtri\u00e8re_--Catapulte, machine qui lan\u00e7ait des pierres et des\ndards.\n\n[283] _Avespr\u00e9es_--Commencement du soir.\n\n[284] _Voir_--Vrai.\n\n[285] _Gaburon_--Ce serait p\u00eale-m\u00eale, a la mani\u00e8re de goujats, des\nmanants. Telle serait, osons le croire, l\u2019origine du guernesiais\n\u201c_p\u00eale-m\u00eale gabouaret_.\u201d\n\n[286] _Bedots_--\u00e9trangers, trompeurs. L\u2019acceptation fran\u00e7aise de\n_bedos_, selon Roquefort, \u00e9tait autrefois \u201cforain.\u201d\n\n[287] _Espreindrent_--serr\u00e8rent, assaillirent. Selon les annales du\ntemps, le ch\u00e2teau ne fut pas pris.\n\n[288] _Tosts_, pour _tostes_, soufflets, \u201cgood thrashings.\u201d\n\n[289] _La Corbi\u00e8re_--The point underneath \u201cVillage de Putron,\u201d just\nnorth of Fermain Point, is called \u201cLa Corbi\u00e8re,\u201d but this line probably\nrefers to the Vale Castle, in the parish of St. Michel de l\u2019Archange du\nValle.\n\n[290] _Bec-\u00e0-la chi\u00e8vre_--Just underneath Fort George, the southern\nboundary of Petit Fort Bay.\n\n[291] _Est\u00e8re_--passage.\n\n[292] _Matelots_--camarades, guern: _matnots_, mot franc-tudesque. Ici\nce n\u2019est pas un marinier exclusivement, c\u2019est un _mess-mate_.\n\n[293] _Bredelle_--morceau.\n\n[294] _G\u00e9n\u00e9ral_--l\u2019Amiral, celui qui commande la g\u00e9n\u00e9rale, angl:\n_flag-ship_.\n\n[295] _Repelle_--rejette, oppose.\n\n[296] _Gente am\u00e9e_--gentille amie.\n\n[297] _Monceis_--monceaux.\n\n[298] _Mines_--Semblant de vouloir assaillir le Ch\u00e2teau (de N\u00e9el de St.\nSauveur, aujourd\u2019hui Ch\u00e2teau des Marais ou Ivy Castle).\n\n[299] _Brecart_--The Brecarts, Bregearts, or Briards, were a\ncomparatively influential family in the parishes of the Vale and St.\nSampson\u2019s up to the sixteenth century; they then bought land in the\ntown, in the district of Vauvert, and became known as \u201cBr\u00e9gart alias\nVauvert,\u201d and finally as \u201cVauvert,\u201d _pur et simple_, they seem to have\nbecome extinct in the eighteenth century.\n\n[300] _Aymon Rose_--\u201cEdmund de Ros ou Rous\u201d \u00e9tait d\u2019origine Normande.\n\n\u201cIt appears that Edmund Rose, who defended Castle Cornet on this\noccasion was only Lieut.-Governor, as, in the previous year, Walter\nHuwet appears as governor of all the islands. There is a letter from\nthe King to Edmund Rose, dated the 14th of August, 1372, as Constable\nof the Castle of Gorey in Jersey; so that within two months after Yvon\nhad raised this siege of Castle Cornet, he, Edmund Rose, must have\nbeen sent to that of Gorey.\u201d--(_Some Remarks on the Constitution of\nGuernsey_, by T. F. de H., p. 119.)\n\n_Champarts_--The \u201cCamparts\u201d--or the eleventh part of the grain grown\nupon the land of the fief, is described by Warburton thus:--\u201cThe first\ndukes of Normandy granted several parcels of land in the island, to\nsuch as had served them in their wars, and granted likewise a very\nconsiderable part to some religious houses. These, whether soldiers or\nchurchmen, not being themselves skilled in agriculture, let out these\nlands to tenants under them, reserving such rents and services as they\nthought most convenient; such was the \u201cCampart,\u201d and such were the\n\u201cchef-rentes,\u201d and these have been in use ever since Richard I., duke\nof Normandy, and possibly they may yet be of more ancient date.\u2026 In the\nClos du Valle, out of extraordinary respect for the Abbot who resided\namong them, they paid both the _tenth_ and the _eleventh_ sheaf, both\nas _tithe_ and _campart_.\u201d Camparts were owed on many fiefs, if not on\nall. Many owners of land have redeemed them. Others have _affranchis_\ntheir land, which is done by Act of Court, on proof that the land has\nbeen under grass for forty years, and lasts as long as the land is\ntilled yearly.\n\n[301] _Compos_--Composition.\n\n[302] Here Mr. M\u00e9tivier\u2019s version ends, the remainder is from an old\nGuernsey Almanac dated 1828.\n\n[303] _Hoigne_--Haine.\n\n[304] _Hantonne_--Southampton.\n\n[305] _A chartez_--En charrettes.\n\n\nL\u2019ARM\u00c9E D\u2019ESPAGNE, DEFAITTE EN L\u2019AN 1588.\n\n    Puissant Roy d\u2019Espagne,\n    Combien riche tu es\n    Pour l\u2019entreprise vaine\n    Que tu fis sur les Anglois,\n    Ton entreprise vaine,\n    Fut bient\u00f4t rebrouss\u00e9e.[306]\n\n    Vindrent sur l\u2019Angleterre,\n    Au beau mois de Juillet,\n    Pour voir la bienheureuse\n    Ma Dame Elizabeth,\n    Mais ce fut \u00e0 leur honte\n    Que sentir grand reveil.\n\n    La grande Arm\u00e9e Angloise\n    Commence a s\u2019appr\u00eater,\n    Tous leurs soldats embarqu\u00e9s\n    La poudre et les bullets,\n    C\u2019est pour jo\u00fcer au quille[307]\n    Avec les Portugu\u00e9es.\n\n    Qui eust vue l\u2019arm\u00e9e,\n    D\u2019Elizabeth s\u2019en va\n    De voir les grands bigots[308]\n    Et fl\u00e2qu\u00e9es[309] sur leurs m\u00e2ts\n    Des tambours et trompettes\n    Appr\u00eat\u00e9s au combat.\n\n    La puissante avans garde\n    A l\u2019ancre n\u2019\u00e9toit pas\n    Comme fut \u201cLa Revanche\u201d\n    La vaisseau de Dras[310]\n    Qui sortoit de Plymouth,\n    Sillant sur sa plumas.[311]\n\n    Tous les plus grands navires\n    Qui furent haut et bas\n    De toute l\u2019Angleterre\n    Vindrent vers l\u2019Amiral\n    Luy supplier la gr\u00e2ce\n    D\u2019aller sur les guayhards (_sic_).\n\n    L\u2019Amiral d\u2019Angleterre[312]\n    Leur r\u00e9pond d\u2019un voix quas[313]\n    Enfans, donnez vous garde\n    Ne vous hasardez pas,\n    Car l\u2019arm\u00e9e est puissante\n    Et nos vaisseaux sont trop ras.[314]\n\n    Ces gens de grand courage,\n    Disoient \u00e0 l\u2019Amiral\n    Seigneur, gardez la terre,\n    Nous allons avec Dras[315]\n    Nous aurons la vengeance\n    De l\u2019arm\u00e9e des Pillards.\n\n    La \u201cRevanche\u201d d\u2019Angleterre\n    Sous ses voiles s\u2019en va,\n    Chargeans ses coulverines\n    Et tirans ses coutelas,\n    Au grand tyran s\u2019entra\u00eene\n    Et luy couppa ses mats.\n\n    Quand le Duc de Mydine,\n    Sit ses grands arbres bas,\n    Dit \u00e0 sa compagnie\n    Enfans--ne tirez pas,\n    Mais rondez les navires,\n    Ou vous mourrez tous plats.[316]\n\n    Sept navires de guerre,\n    Li\u00e8rent au grand \u201cArc\u201d\n    Abordent cette vermine\n    Sur le \u201cSatanas\u201d\n    Pour porter pillage\n    Avec le Seigneur Dras.\n\n    Un noble gentil homme\n    Grand Seigneur des Estats\n    S\u2019en va rompant les coffres\n    Et bahuts[317] hauts et bas,\n    O\u00f9 il trouva des lettres\n    D\u2019un fort merveilleux cas.[318]\n\n    Le grand Dauphin de Naples[319]\n    De \u00e7a ne ryoit pas,\n    Le Flamen se presente\n    Sur un de ses boulevards\n    De cette nef horrible,[320]\n    Du grand \u201cSt. Matthias.\u201d\n\n    S\u2019informe par enqu\u00eate\n    Des gens d\u2019armes en bas\n    Touchant une lettre\n    Quy portoit de grand mal\n    En contre l\u2019Angleterre\n    Et tout le sang Royal.\n\n    Le peuple luy d\u00e9claroit\n    Seigneur ne f\u00e2chez pas\n    Que l\u2019adresse de \u00e7a\n    C\u2019est au Prince Farn\u00e9se[321]\n    De par le Roy d\u2019Espagne\n    Qui de \u00e7a chargera.\n\n    Demande au grand de Naples\n    Ce qu\u2019il disoit de cela\n    Encontre sa ma\u00eetresse\n    Quoi penser en tel cas.\n    En disant deux ou trois paroles,\n    Le grand Prince le tua.\n\n    Puis luy fendit le ventre,\n    Jusqu\u2019\u00e0 l\u2019estomac,\n    Son pauvre c\u0153ur luy tira\n    Qui soudain luy trancha\n    Devant la compagnie\n    Qui beaucoup soupira.\n\n    Lors l\u2019Amiral d\u2019Espagne\n    Soudain apparreilla\n    Avec sa compagnie\n    A vau la mer s\u2019en va\n    Mettant basse enseigne\n    Par grand deuil s\u2019en va.\n\n    Sortant vers Irlande\n    Sous tout leur appareil\n    Sur la haute mi-\u00e9t\u00e9[322]\n    Le vent leur prend su-est\n    Qui les mis sur la terre\n    D\u2019Irlande et y reste.\n\n    Les prudens Irlandois\n    A leurs secours venoient\n    En plaignant leurs mis\u00e8res\n    Aux maisons les portaient\n    Faisant au grands d\u2019Espagne\n    Plus qu\u2019ils ne m\u00e9ritoient.\n\n    Le g\u00e9n\u00e9ral d\u2019Espagne\n    Ses mourtres fits dresser,\n    Appeller ses gens d\u2019armes\n    Et tous ses centeniers,\n    Fit en grand\u2019 diligence\n    Sa grande troupe marcher.\n\n    Au peuple d\u2019Irlande,\n    Rendit tous ses bienfaits,\n    Mit par toute la terre\n    Gens d\u2019armes en harnois,[323]\n    Tuant homme et femme\n    Sans merci ni d\u00e9lai.\n\n    Tous les Irlandois s\u2019adressoient\n    Au Comte de Tyrone\n    Qui tenoit pour la Reine\n    Contre la nation,\n    Luy priant donner aide\n    Contre les Castillons.\n\n    Le Comte met en ordre\n    Ses princes et barons,\n    Tous au fil de l\u2019\u00e9p\u00e9e[324]\n    Leur ordonner la fronde,[325]\n    La douleur redoubl\u00e9e\n    Qui les d\u00e9confit tous.\n\n    Lors voil\u00e0 la ruine\n    Des meurtriers Espagnols\n    Qui faisoient tant de mines\n    Dans de bien grands flibots,[326]\n    Pensant prendre Angleterre\n    Comme de fols idiots.\n\n    \u00c0 Dieu soit la louange\n    Qui de son bras tout fort,\n    De tous leurs grands vaisseaux\n    De nous pris la revanche\n    Nous pensant d\u00e9truire\n    Et d\u00e9membrer nos corps.\n\n    Les braves gens d\u2019Espagne\n    Partant de leurs maisons\n    Pensant en Angleterre\n    Sarcler[327] tous les chardons,\n    Mais leurs gens et leurs moufles[328]\n    N\u2019\u00e9toient pas assez bons.\n\n    Quand on va par les villes\n    Pour vendre les moutons,\n    Chacun se donne \u00e0 croire\n    Que les viandes vaudront\n    Mais c\u2019est bien le contraire\n    La plupart en donneront.[329]\n\nFIN.\n\n[306] _Rebrousser_--Retourner sur ses pas.\n\n[307] _Quille_--\u201cC\u2019est un mor\u00e7eaux de bois tourn\u00e9, plus gros par le bas\nque par le haut, dont on se sert pour jouer.\u201d\n\nThe English captains were playing bowls when the Spanish ships were\nannounced as being in sight.\n\n[308] _Bigots_--Terme de Marine. C\u2019est une petite pi\u00e8ce de bois perc\u00e9e\nde deux ou trois trous, par o\u00f9 l\u2019on passe le b\u00e2tard pour la composition\nde racage.\n\n[309] _Flagner_--Jetter.\n\n[310] Sir Francis Drake commanded the ship _Revenge_ during the fight\nwith the Armada.\n\n[311] _Plumas_--Plumage.\n\n[312] _L\u2019Amiral d\u2019Angleterre_--Lord Howard of Effingham.\n\n[313] Quas--Bris\u00e9.\n\n[314]_Ras_--Terme de Mer. C\u2019est un b\u00e2timent qui n\u2019a ni pont, ni tillac,\nni couverture.\n\n[315] _Dras_--Drake. Motley, in his _History of the Netherlands_,\nVol. II., pp. 498-9, says: There were many quarrels among the English\nadmirals at this period, and much jealousy of Drake.\n\n[316] _Duc de Mydine_--The Duke of Medina-Sidonia, leader of the\nSpanish Armada, who, when the great hulk Satana and a galleon of\nPortugal were attacked by the _Triumph_ and some other vessels, on the\nflag-ship, (the _St. Martin_) tried to repel Lord Howard on the _Ark\nRoyal_ and other men-of-war, and thence arose the hottest conflict of\nthe day. He had previously, when Don Pedro de Valdez, commander of the\nAndelusian squadron,--having got his foremast carried away close to the\ndeck,--lay crippled and helpless, calmly fired a gun to collect his\nscattered ships, and abandoned Valdez to his fate.\u2026 The next day Valdez\nsurrendered to the _Revenge_.--Motley\u2019s _Netherlands_, Vol. II., pp.\n456-7.\n\n[317] _Bahut_--Coffre couvert de cuir orn\u00e9 de petits clous.\n\n[318] _Cas_--Terme de Pratique, Mati\u00e8re, Crime.\n\n[319] _Le Grand Dauphin, etc._--Don Diego de Pimental, nephew of the\nViceroy of Sicily, and uncle to the Viceroy of Naples, was captured in\nhis ship the _St. Matthew_, by Admiral Van der Does, of the Holland\nfleet.--_Motley_, Vol. II., p. 473.\n\n[320] _Nef_--Navire.\n\n[321] Alexander, Prince Farn\u00e8se, and Duke of Parma, was commandant\nof the Spanish Army, and was waiting in Flanders for an opportunity\nof co-operating with the Spanish fleet. He was suspected of having a\nsecret treaty with Queen Elizabeth, (_Motley_, Vol. II., p. 273-4),\nbut these verses are so very obscure, it is impossible to identify the\nincidents to which they allude. It may be that they, as well as the\nlast verse of this poem are interpolations from some other ballad,\nwhich has got confused with this one.\n\n[322] _Mi-\u00e9t\u00e9_--le milieu de l\u2019\u00e9t\u00e9.\n\n[323] _Harnois_.--signifie l\u2019habillement d\u2019un homme d\u2019armes.\n\n[324] _Fil de l\u2019ep\u00e9e_--est en usage depuis long temps. Ronsard a dit\nparlant de Henri III., \u2026 \u201cdevant le _fil_ de son ep\u00e9e.\u201d\n\n[325] _Fronder_--Attaquer quelque chose.\n\n[326] _Flibot_--Terme de marine. C\u2019est un mo\u00efen vaisseau qui est arm\u00e9\nen course.\n\n[327] _Sarcler_--Terme de Laboureur. Couper les m\u00e9chantes herbes avec\nle sarcloir.\n\n[328] _Moufles_--Garnie de poulies de cuivre, de boulons, et de\ncordages pour monter les pi\u00e8ces d\u2019artillerie \u00e0 l\u2019elesoir.\n\n[329] That this poem is very defective, and therefore obscure,\nis obvious, but I thought even this mutilated fragment was worth\npreserving. Many of the statements made in it are not borne out by\nhistory, though they probably formed part of the gossip of that day,\nand had filtered over to the Islands from sailors who had themselves\nhad a share in some of the events narrated. This last verse seems to\nhave no connection with the rest of the poem, but I have copied it as\nJob Mauger wrote it, nearly two centuries ago.\n\n\nSecular Poems.\n\n\nBELLE ROSE AU ROSIER BLANC.\n\n    J\u2019ai cueilli la belle rose\n    Qui pendait au rosier blanc,\n            Belle Rose\n    Belle Rose au rosier blanc!\n\n    Je la cueillis feuille \u00e0 feuille\n    Et la mis dans mon tablier blanc\n            Belle Rose\n    Belle Rose au rosier blanc.\n\n    Je l\u2019ai port\u00e9e chez mon p\u00e8re\n    Entre Paris et Rouen\n            Belle Rose\n    Belle Rose au rosier blanc.\n\n    Las!--je n\u2019ai trouv\u00e9 personne\n    Que le rossignol chantant\n            Belle Rose\n    Belle Rose au rosier blanc.\n\n    Qui me dit dans son langage\n    Mariez vous \u00e0 quinze ans\n            Belle Rose\n    Belle Rose au rosier blanc!\n\n    H\u00e9las comment me mar\u00eerai-je?\n    Moi qui suis baisse[330] pour un an,\n            Belle Rose,\n    Belle Rose au rosier blanc!\n\n    Combien gagnez vous, la belle?\n    Combien gagnez vous par an?\n            Belle Rose\n    Belle Rose au rosier blanc!\n\n    Je gagne bien cent pistoles\n    Cent pistoles en argent blanc\n            Belle Rose\n    Belle Rose au rosier blanc.\n\n    Venez avec moi, ma belle,\n    Vous en aurez bien autant\n            Belle Rose\n    Belle Rose au rosier blanc.\n\n    Je ne vais avec personne\n    Si l\u2019on ne m\u2019\u00e9pouse avant\n            Belle Rose\n    Belle Rose au rosier blanc.\n\n    Si l\u2019on ne me m\u00e8ne \u00e0 l\u2019\u00e9glise\n    Par devant tous mes parents\n            Belle Rose\n    Belle Rose au rosier blanc![331]\n\n[330] Baisse--servant girl.\n\n[331] There are many versions of this song to be found among the\ncountry people, I have compared this with five or six others, and it\nis, I think, the most generally received.\n\n\n\u00c0 LA CLAIRE FONTAINE.\n\n    \u00c0 la claire fontaine\n    Dondaine, ma dondaine\n    Les mains me suis lav\u00e9\n    Dondaine ma lou-lou-la\n    Les mains me suis lav\u00e9,\n    Dondaine m\u2019a dond\u00e9.\n\n    A la feuille d\u2019un ch\u00eane\n    Dondaine, ma dondaine\n    Je les ai essuy\u00e9es\n    Dondaine ma lou-lou-la\n    Je les ai essuy\u00e9es\n    Dondaine m\u2019a dond\u00e9.\n\n    \u00c0 la plus haute branche\n    Dondaine, ma dondaine\n    Un rossignol chantait\n    Dondaine ma lou-lou-la\n    Un rossignol chantait\n    Dondaine m\u2019a dond\u00e9.\n\n    Chante, rossignol, chante\n    Dondaine, ma dondaine,\n    Toi qui as le c\u0153ur gai\n    Dondaine ma lou-lou-la\n    Toi qui as le c\u0153ur gai\n    Dondaine m\u2019a dond\u00e9.\n\n    Le mien n\u2019est pas de m\u00e8me\n    Dondaine, ma dondaine,\n    Il est bien afflig\u00e9\n    Dondaine ma lou-lou-la\n    Il est bien afflig\u00e9\n    Dondaine m\u2019a dond\u00e9.\n\n    Pierre, mon ami Pierre,\n    Dondaine, ma dondaine,\n    \u00c0 la guerre est all\u00e9\n    Dondaine ma lou-lou-la\n    A la guerre est all\u00e9\n    Dondaine m\u2019a dond\u00e9.\n\n    Pour un bouton de rose\n    Dondaine, ma dondaine\n    Que je lui refusai\n    Dondaine ma lou-lou-la\n    Que je lui refusai\n    Dondaine m\u2019a dond\u00e9.\n\n    Je voudrais que la rose\n    Dondaine, ma dondaine\n    Fut encore au rosier\n    Dondaine ma lou-lou-la\n    Fut encore au rosier\n    Dondaine m\u2019a dond\u00e9.\n\n    Et que mon ami Pierre\n    Dondaine, ma dondaine\n    Fut ici \u00e0 m\u2019aimer\n    Dondaine ma lou-lou-la\n    Fut ici \u00e0 m\u2019aimer\n    Dondaine m\u2019a, dond\u00e9.\n\n\nQUI VEUT OU\u00cfR.\n\n    Qui veut ou\u00efr, qui veut savoir } bis.\n    Comment les maris aiment?      }\n    Ils aiment si brutalement\n    Ils sont de si brutales gens,\n    Qu\u2019on les entend toujours disant\n    (Parl\u00e9) \u201cAh Madame allez gardez\n    Le m\u00e9nage et les enfants!\u201d\n            Fal-la-la.\n\n    Qui veut ou\u00efr, qui veut savoir } bis.\n    Comment les filles aiment?     }\n    Elles aiment si discr\u00e8tement\n    Elles sont de si discr\u00e8tes gens,\n    Qu\u2019on les entend toujours disant\n    (Parl\u00e9) \u201cAh Monsieur ne parlez pas si haut\n    Car Maman nous entendra.\u201d\n            Fal-la-la.\n\n    Qui veut ou\u00efr, qui veut savoir } bis.\n    Comment les veuves aiment?     }\n    Elles aiment si sensiblement\n    Elles sont de si sensibles gens,\n    Qu\u2019on les entend toujours disant\n    (Parl\u00e9) \u201cAh! le beau jeune homme!\n    Comme il ressemble \u00e0 feu mon mari.\u201d\n            Fal-la-la.\n\n    Qui veut ou\u00efr, qui veut savoir } bis.\n    Comment les soldats aiment?    }\n    Ils aiment si cavali\u00e8rement\n    Ils sont de si cavaliers gens\n    Qu\u2019on les entend toujours disant\n    (Parl\u00e9) \u201cAh! Madame m\u2019aimez vous?\n    Ne m\u2019aimez vous pas? dictes moi,\n    Car il me faut rejoindre mon r\u00e9giment.\u201d\n            Fal-la-la.\n\n    Qui veut ou\u00efr, qui veut savoir } bis.\n    Comment les Fran\u00e7ais aiment?   }\n    Ils aiment si frivolement\n    Ils sont de si frivoles gens,\n    Qu\u2019on les entend toujours disant\n    (Parl\u00e9) \u201cAh! Madame depuis que je vous ai vue\n    Je ne songe qu\u2019a vous!\u201d\n            Fal-la-la.\n\n    Qui veut ou\u00efr, qui veut savoir } bis.\n    Comment les Anglais aiment?    }\n    Ils aiment si stupidement\n    Ils sont si stupides gens\n    Qu\u2019on les entend toujours disant\n    (Parl\u00e9) \u201cTant\u00f4t la chasse, tant\u00f4t la\n    Gazette, tant\u00f4t l\u2019amour!\u201d\n            Fal-la-la.\n\n    Qui veut ou\u00efr, qui veut savoir  } bis.\n    Comment les Guernesiais aiment? }\n    Ils aiment si prudemment,\n    Ils sont de si prudents gens\n    Qu\u2019on les entends toujours disant\n    (Parl\u00e9) \u201cMademoiselle a-t\u2019elle de l\u2019argent!\u201d\n            Fal-la-la.\n\nI have to thank Mr. J. T. R. de Havilland, of Havilland Hall, for\nkindly supplying me with a copy of this song.\n\n\nMARGUERITE S\u2019EST ASSISE.\n\n    Marguerite s\u2019est assise--Tra-la-la.\n    \u00c0 l\u2019ombre d\u2019un rocher\n    \u00c0 son plaisir \u00e9coute--Tra-la-la\n    Les mariniers chanter,\n        Tra-la-la. Tra-la-la.\n\n    Elle fit un\u2019 rencontre--Tra-la-la\n    De trente matelots\n    Le plus jeune des trente--Tra-la-la.\n    Il se mit \u00e0 chanter.\n        Tra-la-la. Tra-la-la.\n\n    Qu\u2019avez vous la belle--Tra-la-la.\n    Qu\u2019avez vous a pleurer?\n    Je pleure mon anneau d\u2019or--Tra-la-la.\n    Qui dans la mer est tomb\u00e9\n        Tra-la-la. Tra-la-la.\n\n    Que donnerez-vous la belle--Tra-la-la\n    \u00c0 qui le p\u00eacherait?\n    Un baiser sur la bouche--Tra-la-la.\n    Ou deux s\u2019il fallait\n        Tra-la-la. Tra-la-la.\n\n    Le galant se d\u00e9pouille--Tra-la-la.\n    Dans la mer a plong\u00e9\n    La premi\u00e8re fois qu\u2019il plonge--Tra-la-la\n    Il n\u2019en a rien apport\u00e9\n        Tra-la-la. Tra-la-la.\n\n    La seconde fois qu\u2019il plonge--Tra-la-la\n    Les cloches vont ric-tin-t\u00e9\n    La troisi\u00e8me fois qu\u2019il plonge--Tra-la-la.\n    Le galant s\u2019est noy\u00e9!\n        Tra-la-la. Tra-la-la.\n\n    Nous l\u2019ferons enterrer--Tra-la-la\n    Et puis dessus sa tombe\n    Un rosmarin planter--Tra-la-la.\n    Sur ce pauvre jeune homme!\n        Tra-la-la. Tra-la-la.\n\n    Nous dirons \u00e0 sa m\u00e8re--Tra-la-la\n    Qu\u2019il s\u2019est embarqu\u00e9\n    Sur un vaisseau de guerre--Tra-la-la.\n    Qui de loin est all\u00e9!\n        Tra-la-la. Tra-la-la.\n\n\nLA MEUNI\u00c8RE.\n\n    Je vais \u00e9pouser la Meuni\u00e8re\n    Dont on voit le moulin l\u00e0 bas\n    Mais j\u2019aime une pauvre berg\u00e8re\n    Comprenez-vous mon embarras,\n    Ma Fanchette est si jolie\n    Mais la Meuni\u00e8re a du bien\n    S\u2019il faut faire une folie\n    Que cela ne soit pas pour rien.\n    Bah! j\u2019\u00e9pouserai la Meuni\u00e8re\n    Qui me fait toujours les yeux doux\n    En me disant \u201cBeau petit Pierre\n    Mais quand donc nous marierons nous?\u201d\n\n    Un instant--n\u2019allons pas si vite,\n    Suis je bien certain d\u2019\u00eatre heureux\n    Avec la femme du moulin\n    Dont je ne suis pas amoureux?\n    Il s\u2019agit de mariage\n    C\u2019est h\u00e9las! pour plus d\u2019un jour,\n    Oui! mais pour vivre en m\u00e9nage\n    C\u2019est bien maigre de l\u2019amour!\n    Bah! j\u2019\u00e9pouserai la Meuni\u00e8re\n    Qui me fait toujours les yeux doux\n    En me disant \u201cBeau petit Pierre\n    Mais quand donc nous marierons nous?\u201d\n\n    Cependant mon c\u0153ur s\u2019inqui\u00e8te\n    Et me dit que c\u2019est mal \u00e0 moi\n    De trahir la pauvre Fanchette\n    \u00c0 qui j\u2019avais donn\u00e9 ma foi\n    Elle est si tendre et si bonne\n    Comme son c\u0153ur va souffrir.\n    H\u00e9las! si je l\u2019abandonne\n    Elle est capable d\u2019en mourir\n    Ma foi! tant pis pour la Meuni\u00e8re,\n    Je ne serai pas son \u00e9poux\n    Qu\u2019elle dise \u201cBeau petit Pierre!\n    Petit Pierre n\u2019est pas pour vous?\u201d\n\n\nLE GLANEUR.\n\n    Sur nos grands bl\u00e8s d\u00e9j\u00e0 le soleil brille\n    Quels lourds \u00e9pis--en f\u00fbt il de pareils!\n    Va! travaillons, vite, en main la faucille\n    Mais suivrez vous, suivrez vous mes conseils.\n\n    CHORUS:\n\n    Enfant, de chaque gerbe\n    Que m\u00fbrit le Seigneur\n    Laissez tomber dans l\u2019herbe\n    Quelques \u00e9pis pour le gl\u00e2neur\n    Pensez au pauvre gl\u00e2neur               } bis\n    Faites le bien--vous porterez bonheur. }\n\n    Notre ministre dit que le bien qu\u2019on donne\n    Est le meilleur qu\u2019on pense r\u00e9colter\n    Il d\u00e9pose lorsqu\u2019il disait aux hommes.\n    Donner aux pauvres, \u00e0 Dieu n\u2019est que pr\u00eater.\n            Chorus.--Enfant, etc.\n\n    Aux pauvres i\u00e7i le peu qu\u2019on abandonne\n    Dieu pour beaucoup ailleurs le comptera\n    Des grains donn\u00e9s, la moisson sera bonne\n    Pour nous au Ciel, Dieu les centuplera.\n            Chorus.--Enfant, etc.\n\n\nLES TROIS TAMBOURS.\n\n    Trois jeunes tambours, revenant de la guerre,\n    Le plus jeune des trois avait un bouquet de roses\n        Au ron-ron-ron-te-tan-plan.\n\n    La fille du roi \u00e9tant par sa fen\u00eatre\n    \u201cAh! jeune tambour, veux tu me donner tes roses?\u201d\n        Au ron-ron-ron-te-tan-plan.\n\n    \u201cMes roses sont pour mon mariage\n    La fille du roi, veux tu \u00eatre ma femme?\u201d\n        Au ron-ron-ron-te-tan-plan.\n\n    \u201cV\u00e0 jeune tambour, demander \u00e0 mon p\u00e8re\u201d\n    \u201cSire le Roi, veux tu me donner ta fille?\u201d\n        Au ron-ron-ron-te-tan-plan.\n\n    \u201cAh! jeune tambour dis moi qu\u2019est tes richesses?\u201d\n    \u201cMes richesses sont mes caisses[332] et mes balletes,[333]\u201d\n        Au ron-ron-ron-te-tan-plan.\n\n    \u201cV\u00e0! jeune tambour, demain je te ferai pendre\u201d\n    \u201cSix cent mille canons dans ce cas vont me d\u00e9fendre\u201d\n        Au ron-ron-ron-te-tan plan.\n\n    \u201cAh! jeune tambour, dis moi qui est ton p\u00e8re?\u201d\n    \u201cMon p\u00e8re il est le roi--le roi d\u2019Angleterre!\u201d\n        Au ron-ron-ron-te-tan-plan.\n\n    \u201cAh! jeune tambour, voudrais tu bien ma fille?\u201d\n    \u201cAh! je m\u2019en moque de vous et de votre fille,\n    Dans mon pays y\u2019 en a de bien plus gentilles.\u201d\n        Au ron-ron-ron-te-tan-plan.\n\n\nSI J\u2019AVAIS LE CHAPEAU.\n\n    Si j\u2019avais le chapeau\n    Que ma mie m\u2019avait donn\u00e9\n    Mon chapeau est bel et beau\n\n                CHORUS:\n            Adieu ma mignonne\n            Adieu donc mes amours\n\n    Si j\u2019avais la casaque[334]\n    Que ma mie m\u2019avait donn\u00e9\n    Ma casaque est zic et zac\n    Mon chapeau est bel et beau.\n            Chorus.--Adieu, etc.\n\n    Si j\u2019avais le corselet\n    Que ma mie m\u2019avait donn\u00e9\n    Mon corselet est fort bien fait\n    Ma casaque est zic et zac,\n    Mon chapeau est bel et beau\n            Chorus.--Adieu, etc.\n\n    Si j\u2019avais la cravate\n    Que ma mie m\u2019avait donn\u00e9e\n    Ma cravate est ric et rac\n    Mon corselet est fort bien fait\n    Ma casaque est zic et zac\n    Mon chapeau est bel et beau.\n            Chorus.--Adieu, etc.\n\n    Si j\u2019avais la culotte\n    Que ma mie m\u2019avait donn\u00e9e\n    Mes culottes d\u00e9botes[335] et botes,\n    Ma cravate est ric et rac,\n    Mon corselet est fort bien fait\n    Ma casaque est zic et zac,\n    Mon chapeau est bel et beau.\n            Chorus.--Adieu, etc.\n\n    Si j\u2019avais les blancs bas\n    Que ma mie m\u2019avait donn\u00e9s\n    Mes blancs bas sont de damas,\n    Mes culottes d\u00e9botes et botes,\n    Ma cravate est ric et rac\n    Mon corselet est fort bien fait,\n    Ma casaque est zic et zac,\n    Mon chapeau est bel est beau.\n            Chorus.--Adieu, etc.\n\n    Si j\u2019avais les souliers\n    Que ma mie m\u2019avait donn\u00e9s\n    Mes souliers sont de cuir doux,\n    Mes blancs bas sont de damas,\n    Mes culottes d\u00e9botes et botes,\n    Ma cravate est ric et rac,\n    Mon corselet est fort bien fait,\n    Ma casaque est zic et zac,\n    Et mon chapeau est bel et beau.\n            Chorus.--Adieu, etc.\n\n[332] _Caisses_--Coffres.\n\n[333] _Ballettes_--Petites Valises.\n\n[334] _Casaque_--\u201cHabillement qui est plus large qu\u2019un juste-au-corps\net qui se porte sur les \u00e9paules en forme de manteau.\u201d--_Richelet._\n\n[335] _D\u00e9botes_--Tirer les botes de quelqu\u2019un.\n\n\nVENEZ PEUPLES FID\u00c8LES.\n\n    Venez peuple fid\u00e8le pour entendre chanter\n    Un jeune militaire qui revient de la guerre,\n    Qui revient de la guerre, muni de son cong\u00e9\n    En entrant dans son isle sa s\u0153ur l\u2019a rencontr\u00e9.\n\n    La s\u0153ur avec tendresse, de la joie qu\u2019elle avait\n    Vint embrasser son fr\u00e8re, et lui donner des baisers\n    Le fr\u00e8re avec tendresse dit \u00e0 sa ch\u00e8re s\u0153ur\n    Ne m\u2019y fais pas conna\u00eetre, garde cela dans ton c\u0153ur.\n\n    Et le jeun\u2019 militaire tout de suite est all\u00e9.\n    Chercher son p\u00e8re et m\u00e8re, en gardant son secret,\n    Bonjour Monsieur et Dame aurez vous chambre \u00e0 louer\n    A un jeune militaire de la guerre retourn\u00e9.\n\n    Ah oui! notre bon jeune homme, nous avons logement,\n    Sur le lit de notre fils, nous te ferons coucher\n    Les affaires de la guerre, tu nous raconteras\n    Le soir \u00e0 la table, apr\u00e8s avoir soup\u00e9.\n\n    Il donne \u00e0 la dame son argent \u00e0 garder,\n    Tenez ma tr\u00e8s-ch\u00e8re dame, gardez moi cet argent,\n    C\u2019est pour soulager les peines de mes parents,\n    Et la m\u00e9chante femme de l\u00e0 s\u2019en est all\u00e9e.\n\n    Trouver son mari, lui dire, \u201cC\u2019est une fortune\n    Faut le tuer de suite, nous aurons son argent.\u201d\n    Les deux m\u00e9chants arm\u00e9s des gros couteaux\n    Ont train\u00e9 dans la cave son corps tout sanglant.\n\n    Le lendemain matin la pauvre fille arrive,\n    Ah! bon jour p\u00e8re et m\u00e8re, je voudrais bien parler\n    A ce beau jeune militaire,\n    Que je vous ai amen\u00e9.\n\n    La m\u00e9chante m\u00e8re, lui r\u00e9pond hardiment,\n    Mais que dis tu ma fille? Est ce de nos parents?\n    Ah! oui, ma tr\u00e8s ch\u00e8re m\u00e8re, c\u2019est mon fr\u00e8re arriv\u00e9,\n    Il revint de la guerre, mon c\u0153ur en est content.\n\n    La cruelle m\u00e8re, si t\u00f4t elle \u00e9cria\n    J\u2019ai \u00e9gorg\u00e9 ton fr\u00e8re, h\u00e9las! n\u2019en parle pas.\n    Mais la fille tout de suite les f\u00eet \u00eatre emmen\u00e9s\n    Devant les justiciers, h\u00e9las! pour \u00eatre jug\u00e9s.\n\n    Les justiciers s\u2019empressent de juger le proc\u00e8s\n    Et les condamnent, tous les deux d\u2019\u00eatre brul\u00e9s\n    Oh vous p\u00e8res et m\u00e8res oyez ces malheurs\n    Que les biens de ce monde ne vous tiennent point au c\u0153urs.\n\n    Par la barbarie et l\u2019ambition d\u2019argent,\n    Ces deux dans les flammes passent leurs derniers moments.[336]\n\n[336] This legend, which is found with slight variations in the\nFolk-Lore of almost every European nation, seems to be deeply impressed\non the older St. Martinais, in fact some say that the two rocks between\nMoulin Huet and Saints\u2019 Bays, which look like two kneeling figures, are\nthe petrified forms of the man and the woman, condemned there to kneel\nand expiate their crime till the end of the world.\n\n\nJEAN, GROS JEAN.\n\n    Jean, gros Jean, marie sa fille,\n    Grosse et grasse et bien habile,\n    A un marchand de sabots,\n    Radinguette et radingot\n\n            CHORUS:\n        A un marchand de sabots\n        Radinguette et radingot.\n\n    Pour d\u00eener ils eurent des peis\n    Entre quatre ils n\u2019eurent que treis\n    Ah! d\u00e9vinez si c\u2019est trop\n    Radinguette et radingot.\n        Chorus.--A un, etc.\n\n    Pour souper ils eurent des prunes\n    Entre quatre ils n\u2019en eurent qu\u2019une\n    Et la quervaie d\u2019un escargot\n    Radinguette et radingot.\n        Chorus.--A un, etc.\n\n    Ils firent faire une couachette\n    De deux secs buts de b\u00fbchette\n    Et l\u2019oreiller d\u2019un fagot\n    Radinguette et radingot\n        Chorus.--A un, etc.\n\n    Ils firent faire des courtines\n    Creyant que c\u2019\u00e9tait mousseline\n    Mais c\u2019\u00e9tait Calaminco\n    Radinguette et radingot.\n        Chorus.--A un, etc.[337]\n\nI have concluded this chapter of Guernsey songs with this one, though\nit is of an entirely different style and class to any of the others,\nbut the tune to which it is set, is said to be the national air of\nGuernsey.\n\nWhen the Duke of Gloucester landed here on the 18th of September, 1817,\nthis song, as the Guernsey National Air was struck up by the band which\ncame to meet him; the militiamen, knowing the song, all burst out\nlaughing, much to the astonishment of the Duke and his suite!\n\n[Illustration: Jean, gros Jean, ma-rie sa fille, Grosse et grasse et\nbien ha-bile, \u00c0 un marchand de sa-bots,\n\nRadinguette et ra-din-got; \u00c0 un marchand de sa-bots, Ra-dinguette et\nra-din-got.]\n\n[337] From Mrs. Kinnersly, to whom I am also indebted for the music.\n\n\nThe Clameur de Haro.\n\n    It has been suggested that the Clameur de Haro should be\n    included among the civic customs peculiar to the Channel\n    Islands. (See p.p. 59-77), so, as Sir Edgar MacCulloch had not\n    mentioned it in his MSS. I have ventured to include a short\n    description of it in the Appendix.\n\nThe \u201cClameur de Haro,\u201d abolished in Normandy, A.D., 1583, is, perhaps,\nthe most ancient and curious legal survival in the Channel Islands.\n\nShould a Channel Islander consider his estate to be injured, or his\nrights to be infringed, by the action of another, in the presence of\ntwo witnesses he kneels on the ground and says:--\n\n\u201cHaro! Haro! Haro! \u00e0 l\u2019aide mon Prince! on me fait tort!\u201d and he then\nrepeats the Lord\u2019s Prayer in French.\n\nThis formula, which is tantamount to an injunction to stay proceedings,\ncauses all obnoxious practices to be suspended until the case has\nbeen tried in Court, when the party who is found to be in the wrong\nis condemned to a fine and a \u201cRegard de Ch\u00e2teau,\u201d which, in former\ntimes, meant a night\u2019s imprisonment. All \u201cClameurs,\u201d according to an\nordonnance of October 1st, 1599, have to be registered at the Greffe\nwithin twenty-four hours, on penalty of being \u201cconvict en sa clameur,\u201d\nand, should no proceedings be taken within a year of the clameur, it is\nconsidered to have lapsed.\n\nAn order of Queen Elizabeth relative to Guernsey, given at Richmond,\nOctober 9th, 1580, decides that \u201cyt shall not be lawfull to appeale in\nanie cause criminell, or of correction, nor from the execution of anie\norder taken in their Courte of Chief Pleas, nor in cries of Haro.\u201d[338]\n\nOne of the most important occasions on which this prerogative was used\nhappened in the year 1850, when it was in contemplation to demolish\nthe ancient fortifications of Castle Cornet, but the late Mr. Martin\nF. Tupper, who was then on a visit to Guernsey, had recourse to this\nform of appeal, and saved the oldest parts of the fortress from\ndemolition. An extraordinary instance of a \u201cClameur\u201d took place in\nthe Church of Sark on the 14th of December, 1755. A great dispute had\narisen between Dame Elizabeth Etienne, widow of Mr. Daniel Le Pelley,\nSeigneur of Sark, and the ecclesiastical authorities of Guernsey, as\nto in whose gift was the living of the Church of Sark. She appointed\na Mr. Jean F\u00e9vot to the Church, and when Mr. Pierre Levrier, who had\nbeen appointed by the Dean of Guernsey to this post, arrived in Sark\nto perform the service, he found Mr. F\u00e9vot in the pulpit. He then and\nthere, in the words of various scandalized eye-witnesses, \u201cinterjetta\nune Clameur de Haro, environ les deux heures d\u2019apr\u00e8s-midi, dans le tems\nqu\u2019il avoit commenc\u00e9 \u00e0 lire le service Divin.\u201d[339] This of course led\nto many disputes, and for over a year Dame Le Pelley locked up the\nChurch of Sark, and allowed no one to enter it. Finally, after much\nlitigation, and threats of major excommunication from the Guernsey\nEcclesiastical Court, the Bishop of Winchester intervened, Pierre\nLevrier was forcibly ejected from the island, and, in 1757, Mr. Cayeux\nDeschamps was given the living.\n\nFour cases of \u201cClameurs\u201d were registered between the years 1880-90, and\nan instance occurred as recently as 1902.\n\nThere has been much controversy as to the origin of the word \u201cHaro.\u201d\nTerrien, (_Cout\u00fbme de Normandie_, Edition 1684, p. 104), ascribes it\nto Rollo, Duke of Normandy, Ha-Ro, and says \u201cLa seule prononciation\nde son nom, m\u00eame apr\u00e8s tant de si\u00e8cles a cette vertu, qu\u2019elle engage\nceux contre lesquels on s\u2019en sert \u00e0 cesser leurs entreprises et atenter\nrien au-de-l\u00e0.\u201d Laurence Carey, in his essay on the Laws and Customs\nof the Island, and all the other old writers say likewise, but modern\nphilologists, such as Le H\u00e9richer and George M\u00e9tivier have disputed\nthis theory, and have resolved the word \u201cHaro\u201d into a \u201ccri de charge,\u201d\nwhich has survived as such in the English \u201cHurrah.\u201d Froissart employs\nit frequently as the sound of combat: \u201cLe _Haro_ commen\u00e7a \u00e0 monter,\u201d\nand, in the description of the battle of Bouvines, won from the Germans\nand English in 1214, by Guillaume Guiart, who died in 1306 we find:--\n\n    \u201cLa vois de nuls n\u2019i est o\u00efe\n    Fors des heraux qui _harou_ crient,\n    Et par le champ se crucefient\n    _Harou_, dient-ils, quel mortaille!\n    Quelle occision! quelle bataille!\u201d[340]\n\n[338] _Livres des Jugements, etc._, Vol. II., p. 16, (transcribed from\nBritish Museum, Lansdowne MSS., No. 155, fol. 426).\n\n[339] From Colonel Ernest Le Pelley\u2019s MSS.\n\n[340] See _Dictionnaire Franco-Normand_, by G. M\u00e9tivier, p. 280.\n\n\n\n\nAPPENDIX A. Ghosts.\n\n    Referred to on page 288.\n\n\nTHE GHOST OF MR. BLONDEL.\n\nAt \u201cLes Mourains\u201d we have seen that the ghost was \u201claid\u201d by the means\nof the clergy of the parish, (see page 288) and it is evident by the\nfollowing stories that the laying of spirits frequently formed part of\nthe duties of the clergy in Guernsey in the last century.\n\nThe house Colonel Le Pelley now inhabits at St. Peter-in-the-Wood,\nwas formerly owned by an old Mr. Blondel, who, on his death bed,\ngave instructions to Mr. Thomas Brock (then Rector of the parish and\ngrandfather of the present Rector, Mr. H. Walter Brock), to toll the\nbig bell to announce his decease.\n\nThis was not done, but Mr. Blondel\u2019s spirit determined to show that\npromises to the dying were not to be trifled with! All the parish of\nSt. Pierre-du-Bois were ready to affirm that the ghost was to be seen\nclimbing up the Church tower; and in the Rectory kitchen the china on\nthe dresser would make a clattering noise and finally be swept by the\nunseen hands on to the floor.\n\nLife at the Rectory became so unendurable under these circumstances\nthat Mr. Brock finally decided to \u201clay\u201d the ghost, and confine it to\nits own house. So he went to \u201cProspect Place,\u201d as the house is now\ncalled, with twelve others of the local clergy. They shut every door\nand window, and blocked up every crevice, key-hole, etc., through\nwhich the spirit might pass. They then prayed in every room, after\nwhich having driven the spirit out of each room in succession, they\nlocked it up in a cupboard, with either the key of the Church door or\na specially-made silver key (Miss Le Pelley could not find out which,\nsome say one, and some another), but the ghost has not troubled the\nBrock family since.\n\nThe old servants now living in the house firmly believe that the ghost\nstill inhabits the cupboard, and affirm that its groans can still be\nheard.[341]\n\n[341] From Miss E. Le Pelley.\n\n\nTHE OLD HOUSE AT ST. GEORGE.\n\nJudith Ozanne, an old woman, who is servant at the Le Pelleys\u2019, tells\nthe following story.\n\nHer uncle, an old Mr. Ozanne, remembered the last Mr. Guille who\ninhabited the original \u201cSt. George,\u201d the old house which has been\nreplaced by the modern building which is now known as \u201cSt. George.\u201d\n\nThis Mr. Guille left instructions that the old house was never to be\npulled down, as a spirit had been shut up in one of the cupboards; but\nhis son found the old house quite unsuitable for his bride to live in,\nso he pulled it down, and built the present house, and the consequence\nwas that the poor homeless spirit was forced to wander about the\ngarden. Judith\u2019s uncle saw him often on moonlight nights, wandering\namong the trees around the pond.\n\nAll the family saw him too, and decided that something had to be done.\nSo they had a \u201cconjuration\u201d as they call a laying of the spirit, and\ntried to induce it to enter an underground cellar, and shut it down by\nmeans of a trap door.\n\nBut Mr. Ozanne would never say whether or no they were successful.\nJudith Ozanne finishes the story by saying, \u201cAnd I should like to know\nwhat would happen to Mr. Blondel\u2019s spirit if this house were burnt\ndown?\u201d[342]\n\nMany of the old Guernsey \u201chaunted houses\u201d had their ghosts locked up\nin cupboards. Mrs. Le Poidevin, who in her youth had been an \u201cironer,\u201d\nand had gone round from house to house ironing after the weekly washing\nat home had taken place, related that the famous haunted house at\nthe Tour Beauregard was also in possession of a ghost locked up in\na cupboard, a cupboard whose doors, in spite of many efforts, would\nnot open, and from which the most fearful groans and dismal wailings\nwere heard to arise. Mrs. Le Poidevin also used to go as ironer to\nthe old house at the top of Smith Street, now pulled down, belonging,\nto the de Jersey family. In this house also was a ghost locked up in\na cupboard, and Mrs. de Jersey, a very strong minded old lady,--in\ndefiance of superstition--insisted on having this cupboard door forced\nopen, and the ghost escaped! After that the house was rendered almost\nuninhabitable by the frightful noises that were heard all over it. No\none could get any sleep, and not a servant could be found to stay in\nthe house. So finally Mrs. de Jersey decided to have the clergy called\nin, and one of the maids described to Mrs. Le Poidevin the ceremonies\nthat ensued.\n\nShe said that every outer door was locked, all the crevices between the\nwindow sashes were wedged up, and every keyhole was plugged up. Then\nthe minister of St. James\u2019 and some of the other clergy prayed in every\nroom, and she thought they read something about \u201ccasting out devils.\u201d\nFinally the ghost was locked up with the key of the Church door.[343]\n\n[342] From Miss E. Le Pelley.\n\n[343] From Mrs. Le Poidevin.\n\nIn Moncure Conway\u2019s book on _Demonology and Devil-Lore_, Vol. I., p.\n102, he says:--\u201cThe key has a holy sense in various religions.\u201d I have\nnot been able to find out the exact formula used by the clergy, but in\nthe Sarum Office, and also in the first Prayer Book of Edward VI., an\nexorcism is given to be used at the Baptism of Infants, in which the\nevil spirit is addressed as follows:--\u201cTherefore, thou accursed spirit,\nremember thy sentence, remember thy judgment, remember the day to be\nat hand, wherein thou shalt burn in fire everlasting, prepared for\nthee and thy angels,\u201d etc. This was founded on the ancient exorcisms,\nand was only left out in the revision of 1552, in deference to the\ncriticisms of Bucer.\n\n\nTHE GHOSTS OF LA PETITE PORTE.\n\nLa Petite Porte is the sandy bay immediately underneath Jerbourg.\nTradition derives its name \u201cthe little door\u201d from an incident which\nis said to have occurred in 1338. In those days the French had made\none of their periodical inroads on the island, and were in possession\nof its principal fortresses. Eighty-seven men of St. Martin\u2019s parish,\nheaded by l\u2019honorable \u201cCapitaine Jean de la Marche,\u201d[344] attempted\nto dislodge them, but were defeated at Mare-Madoc, in the Hubits, and\nfled down to La Petite Porte, where they embarked for Jersey, and\nfounded a colony at St. Ouen\u2019s. An old Jersey manuscript goes on to\nsay that Charles II., during his sojourn in Jersey, was so touched by\nthe recital of the bravery and fidelity of these men, that he granted\nto the \u201cSouth\u201d Regiment of Militia, the old \u201cRegiment Bleu,\u201d a special\n\u201caiguillette d\u2019argent.\u201d Later authorities disprove this, on the grounds\nthat there were not, at this epoch, either regiments or uniforms, and\nthat the \u201croyal blue facings and silver lace\u201d quoted as \u201cbeing borne at\npresent by the South Regiment of Militia\u201d did not exist two centuries\nago!\n\nBut among the old country people, to the present day, the bay known\nas \u201cMoulin Huet\u201d is invariably called \u201cVier Port\u201d (old harbour), and\nif one mentions \u201cMoulin Huet _Bay_\u201d they will tell you that the name\n\u201cMoulin Huet\u201d only applies to the old mill, (now destroyed, and the\nsite turned into a picnic house), and that it was \u201cLes Anglais\u201d who\ntransferred the name of the mill to the bay just below, so that \u201cLa\nPetite Porte,\u201d being just the other side of the bay, might easily have\nbeen originally \u201cPetit Port\u201d--(Little Harbour.)\n\nBounded by the \u201cTas de Pois,\u201d the most magnificent rocks in the Channel\nIslands, it is noted for its beauty, and, from its long expanse of\nsand, is the best place for sand-eeling. But about the beginning of\nlast century no sand-eelers dared approach this spot by night. Screams,\nshrieks, and groans were heard there, night after night, and finally\nit was shunned after dark by the whole island. There was no difficulty\nin the people\u2019s minds in accounting for these sounds. Two such awful\ntragedies were connected with this bay and its environs that it was an\n\u201cembarras de richesse\u201d to decide which of the ghosts of the two men who\nhad been murdered in this vicinity it could be!\n\nThe first of these stories has already been published in a little\nbook, now out of print, called _Anglo-Norman Legends_ or _Tales of the\nChannel Islands_, N.D., under the title of \u201cJohn Andrew Gordier,\u201d and\nhas also been taken as the foundation of \u201cRachel Mauger, a Guernsey\nTragedy,\u201d published some years ago in Clarke\u2019s _Guernsey Magazine_,\nwhere also, in the number for May, 1883, the same story is given in a\ncondensed form, as taken from a newspaper cutting, and is preceded by\nthe following note, signed \u201cJ. Y.\n\n\u201cThe following striking narrative, relating to the origin of a drama\ncelebrated in its day (the tragedy of \u201cJulia\u201d), became known to the\nwriter through an old newspaper cutting preserved in a family scrap\nbook. The newspaper of which we speak must be at least fifty years old\n(in 1883), and it related events which were then long past.\u201d\n\nA book called _The Locket_, by Mrs. Alfred Marks is based on the same\ntradition.\n\nThough these events must have happened nearly two hundred years ago,\nthere are still some recollections of them lingering in the minds of\nthe very old people, who preface them by saying \u201c_J\u2019ai ou\u00ef dire \u00e0 ma\ngran\u2019m\u00e8re!_\u201d\n\nThe story runs thus:--About the end of the seventeenth century there\nwas an extremely beautiful girl, living at the Varclin, in St. Martin\u2019s\nparish, called Rachel Mauger. The Maugers were of a good old Guernsey\nfamily, and were, in those days, extremely well-to-do. She was\nengaged to John Andrew Gordier, a native of Jersey, though of French\nextraction. One day he sent her word that he was going to sail over\nfrom Jersey to see her, and intended landing at La Petite Porte, which\nwas the nearest place to her house. She started to go to meet him.\nBut he never appeared, and she had to return home, fearing that some\naccident had happened to him. What really had happened was this: There\nwas a wealthy merchant, in St. Peter Port, named Gaillard, who had\nlong wished to marry Rachel; he had formerly been her father\u2019s clerk,\nso they had been much thrown together, but she did not reciprocate his\naffection.\n\nThe day Mr. Gordier sailed over to Guernsey, Gaillard was down in the\nbay of La Petite Porte, having previously been refused admission to\nthe Mauger\u2019s house, on the ground that Mr. Gordier was expected, and\nthey were all busy preparing for his reception. Brooding over his\nwrongs, he looked up, and saw his rival just on the point of landing.\nMad with jealousy he waited behind the rocks till he saw him preparing\nto ascend the winding path which leads to the top of the cliff, then he\nrushed out, and stabbed him twice in the back with the knife he always\ncarried, and, doubling him up, thrust the body into a cave close by\nwith a particularly small entrance. The cave is still pointed out, and\nis on the western side of the bay, just below the path, leading from La\nPetite Porte to Moulin Huet. Before leaving the body, Gaillard searched\nit, and abstracted a peculiarly-shaped locket from one of the pockets,\nwhich Gordier was bringing as a present to his _fianc\u00e9e_.\n\nOf course the disappearance of Gordier led to a search, and his body\nbeing finally discovered in this cave by some boys, his murder was\nmade manifest. His mother finally resolved to come over and visit\nher intended daughter-in-law, whom she found in a most depressed and\nexcitable condition, and evidently dying of a broken heart. United to\nthe shock of her lover\u2019s death, she had been exposed to the incessant\npersecution of her relations, who were determined that she should marry\nGaillard, and had insisted that she should accept the locket that he\nhad stolen from Gordier\u2019s corpse, and, with a refinement of malice, had\npressed on her. So unstrung was the unfortunate Rachel that she did\nnothing but sink into one fainting fit after another on seeing Mrs.\nGordier, and when the latter, struck with horror on seeing this jewel\non her watch-chain, asked her how she had come into possession of a\nlocket which had, she knew, been made specially for her in Jersey by\nher son\u2019s orders, the unhappy girl turned deadly pale, and, murmuring\nthe word \u201cclerc,\u201d fell in a dead faint to the ground. The final shock,\nand sudden conviction that they had been harbouring her lover\u2019s\nmurderer, being too much for her in her enfeebled condition, she died\nin a few moments.\n\nMrs. Gordier misinterpreted the poor girl\u2019s grief, and, thinking it\nproceeded from a guilty conscience, intimated that it evidently shewed\nthat Rachel was an accomplice in the murder. Naturally the Maugers\nwere most indignant at such an unworthy aspersion on their daughter,\nand, after a violent scene, asked her to prove her statements. She\nreplied that the jewel their daughter was then wearing was one which\nwas purchased by her son before leaving Jersey, and she proved the\nfact by touching a secret spring and shewing his portrait concealed in\nthe locket. The Maugers, knowing that Gaillard had been the donor of\nthis jewel, and connecting \u201cclerc,\u201d the last word Rachel\u2019s lips had\nuttered, with him, as being her father\u2019s clerk, immediately sent for\nhim. On being confronted with the jewel, and asked to explain how it\ncame into his possession, he replied that he had purchased it from a\nJew, named Levi, who had for years paid periodical visits to the island\nas a pedlar. So Levi was then considered to be undoubtedly guilty, and\nwas taken into custody, but then, remorse, the fear of public shame,\nand also the conviction that, Rachel being dead nothing made life worth\nliving, so wrought on the miserable Gaillard, that the morning of the\nday on which Levi was to be brought before the Royal Court, he was\nfound dead, stabbed by his own hand.\n\nA letter was found on the table in his room confessing his guilt and\nreading thus: \u201cNone but those who have experienced the furious impulse\nof ungovernable love will pardon the crime which I have committed,\nin order to obtain the incomparable object by whom my passions were\ninflamed. But, Thou, O Father of Mercies! who implanted in my soul\nthese strong desires, wilt forgive one rash attempt to accomplish my\ndetermined purpose, in opposition, as it should seem, to thy Almighty\nProvidence.\u201d[345]\n\n[344] \u201cL\u2019honorable Jean de la Marche, du bas, Commandant-en-Chef de\nla paroisse de St. Martin, voyant l\u2019isle de Guernesey r\u00e9volt\u00e9e contre\nson Roi, et servant de pr\u00e9f\u00e9rence sous les drapeaux Fran\u00e7ais; ce\nvaillant homme, dis-je, \u00e9mu par un esprit vraiment loyal, et second\u00e9\npar l\u2019honorable Messire Pierre de Sausmarez, James Guille, Jean de\nBlanchelande, Pierre Bonamy, Thomas Vauriouf, et Thomas Etibaut, qui\nall\u00e8rent partout chercher des secours, et t\u00e2chant de d\u00e9truire tous\nles factieux, et anim\u00e9s d\u2019un d\u00e9sir d\u2019assister \u00e0 leur bienfaiteur\npour reprendre le Ch\u00e2teau Cornet, assist\u00e9s par les braves habitants\nde la petite C\u00e9sar\u00e9e; la paroisse de St. Martin leva et envoya\nquatre-vingt-sept hommes, qui se joignirent aux dites honorables\npersonnes, sous le commandement du dit noble Jean de la Marche, du bas;\nce nombre \u00e9tait autant que la paroisse de St. Martin p\u00fbt en fournir\ndans ce temps l\u00e0. Ayant \u00e9t\u00e9 attaqu\u00e9s au Mont Madau (dit les Hubits) ils\nfirent retraite et s\u2019embarqu\u00e8rent \u00e0 la petite Porte (qui porte ce nom\n\u00e0 cause de cette aventure) sur de fr\u00e8les barques, parmi les rochers,\net arriv\u00e8rent enfin \u00e0 Jersey, et se joignirent sous le commandement de\nMessire Renaud de Carteret, Grand Gouverneur des Iles, et se battirent\nvailleusement sous les drapeaux de sa Majest\u00e9, apr\u00e8s avoir \u00e9chapp\u00e9 \u00e0\nla fureur d\u2019une mer orageuse. St. Martin \u00e9tait la seule paroisse de\ncette isle de Guernesey, qui se garda sous l\u2019ob\u00e9issance du Roi, pour\nlesquels bons services, il plut \u00e0 sa Majest\u00e9 Charles II., leur accorder\n\u00e0 leur requ\u00eate le galon d\u2019argent comme le plus noble. C\u2019est alors que\nplusieurs habitants de St. Martin donn\u00e8rent leurs services pour leurs\nvies au susdit Renaud de Carteret, Gouverneur-en-Chef, et con\u00e7urent un\ntel m\u00e9pris pour leurs pays qu\u2019ils habit\u00e8rent Jersey. Lisez pour cela le\ndiscours que Charles II. donna au Parlement \u00e0 son retour, et l\u2019estime\net l\u2019\u00e9loge qu\u2019il fait de ces h\u00e9ros.\u201d--_From an old document entitled\n\u201cTouchant La Pres\u00e9ance d\u2019Honneur chaleng\u00e9e, par Guernes\u00e9.\u201d_\n\n[345] From Mrs. Le Patourel, Mr. Tourtel, and from my father, who had\nheard it from his father, and collated with the printed versions of the\nstory.\n\n\nLE SEIGNEUR DE DAM\u00c8QUE.\n\nThis second story is not at all well known, except among some of the\nvery old people at St. Martin\u2019s. I will not mention the names of the\nmurderers, as descendants of the family still survive, and are among\nthe most respected of the country people.\n\nAt the end of the eighteenth century many French noblemen fled over\nhere, to escape the terrors of the French revolution. Among them was\na Seigneur de Dam\u00e8que. (I have no idea whether or not whether this is\nthe correct spelling of his name, but it represents the pronunciation\nof the people). He came out to St. Martin\u2019s parish, and took a house at\nLe Hurel, just above Le Vallon. He was very proud and reserved, made no\nfriends, and was always seen going for long solitary walks, or pacing\ndown \u201cLes Olivettes,\u201d (the old name for what is now known as \u201cthe water\nlane\u201d) or underneath \u201cLes Rochers,\u201d the cliffs on which the Manor House\nof Blanchelande now stands, and resting by the \u201cdou\u00eft\u201d where the pond\nat Le Vallon now is, but which, in those days, was public property.\n\nHe was always very richly dressed, and was supposed to have hidden\nhoards of wealth, as well as to carry large sums of money on his\nperson. There were two or three brothers who lived together in a house\nnear Le Varclin, who, tempted by his supposed riches, and thinking\nthat his isolation would prevent his disappearance being noticed or\nenquiries being made, decided on following him on one of his solitary\nrambles and on murdering him. These brothers had always borne a bad\nreputation; they gambled and drank, and were the \u201cvauriens\u201d of an\notherwise respectable family.\n\nSo, one evening, they followed him, as, passing above La Petite Porte,\nhe entered into the narrow lane, overgrown with trees and thorn bushes,\nwhich leads to Jerbourg Point. There they closed upon him, and, being\ntwo or three to one, murdered him, and, after having robbed the body of\nhis watch, rings, etc., buried the corpse under some of the heaps of\nstones which lie on the waste lands at the top of the cliff.\n\nSome wonder was caused at Le Hurel when he failed to appear, but the\nrumour was started that he had been seen sailing away in a little\nfishing boat he used to hire for the season, from Bec du Nez, and which\nthe murderers had had the forethought to scuttle and sink. The country\npeople thought he had returned to his native land, and all interest in\nthe matter dropped.\n\n[Illustration: Haunted Lane near Jerbourg.]\n\nBut there was one man to whom M. de Dam\u00e8que\u2019s disappearance meant\nmuch. In Paris he had left a dear friend, a Dr. Le Harrier. These two\nmen wrote to each other regularly, and when M. de Dam\u00e8que\u2019s letters\nsuddenly ceased, letters came to Le Hurel from this doctor, asking for\nexplanations--letters which were never answered. Among M. de Dam\u00e8que\u2019s\njewellery was a beautiful and most uncommon watch, with either his\ncoronet and monogram or his coronet and arms displayed on the case.\nOne day, some years after his disappearance, Dr. Le Harrier, walking\nthrough the streets of Paris, saw this unmistakable watch hanging in\na jeweller\u2019s shop. He went in and asked the man how it had got into\nhis possession, and the man told him it had been brought by some men\nfrom Guernsey, who had been trying to sell it in England, Holland, and\nBelgium, and finally had left it with him to dispose of. Dr. Le Harrier\nbought the watch, and, taking the men\u2019s address, started at once for\nGuernsey. When he arrived he made enquiries, and, finding that these\nmen bore a bad reputation, took some constables with him and went to\nthe house. There they found them sodden with drink, and, haunted by\nfear and remorse when they saw the watch, they sank down on their knees\nand confessed everything, and were led off then and there to prison.\n\nThe next thing to be done was to disinter the bones of the murdered\nman and give them Christian burial. Heavily handcuffed the brothers\nwere taken to the spot, accompanied by various members of the clergy, a\ndoctor, who had to certify that every bone was there, (this is a point\nmuch dwelt upon by every teller of the story), Dr. Le Harrier, and all\nthe people of St. Martin\u2019s. Then the bones, being found, were placed in\na coffin, and reverently buried in St. Martin\u2019s churchyard.\n\nAfter the last spadeful of earth had been put in the grave, and while\nhandcuffed prisoners and all the bystanders were still present, an old\nSt. Martin\u2019s man, named Pierre Jehan, got up and made the following\nspeech, which I have written down word for word as the people still\ntell it.\n\n_\u201cAutrefois quand on enterrait des d\u00e9pouilles mortelles on y envoyait\ndes rameaux et des bouquets de fleurs. Aujourd\u2019hui on ne voit rien de\ntout \u00e7a.\u201d_\n\n_\u201cAutrefois on aurait donn\u00e9 un quartier de froment en fonds d\u2019h\u00e9ritage\npour porter le nom de ----. Aujourd\u2019hui on en donnera quatre pour ne le\npas porter.\u201d_\n\n(\u201cFormerly when burying a corpse one sent branches of trees and\nbouquets of flowers. To-day there is nothing of that.\u201d\n\n\u201cFormerly one would have given a quarter of wheat rent to bear the name\nof ----. To-day one would give four not to bear it.\u201d)\n\nThe shock and the shame were such that the brothers were seized by what\nthe people call \u201ca stroke,\u201d and to the relief of their relations died\nin prison before being brought for trial.\n\nThat the ghosts of these two murdered men should revisit the scenes\nof the crime was only to be expected, but finally, when La Petite\nPorte was shut to sand-eelers by reason of \u201c_ces cris terribles_,\u201d\nsome of the neighbours and fishermen began to wonder whether nothing\ncould be done to lay these unquiet spirits and free the bay from its\nsupernatural visitants.\n\nThere was a man called Pierre Thoume, who lived at Les Blanches,\nmost popular in the parish, being ready to go everywhere and join in\neverything, though he was emphatically a \u201cbon Chr\u00e9tien.\u201d He was a\ndistant relative of the murderers of M. de Dam\u00e8que, and, having heard\nthese noises at various times, it was borne in upon him that perhaps if\nhe could find out what the ghost wanted, he could fulfil its wishes,\nand so let it rest in peace. He even prayed for guidance, and more\nand more he felt it to be his duty to go and meet the ghost face to\nface. At first some other men said they would join him, but when the\nappointed night came their spirits failed them, and no one arrived at\nthe rendezvous. Undaunted, and armed only with his Bible, Mr. Thoume\nsallied forth alone at midnight. I think it is difficult to realise\nwhat moral and physical courage it must have involved to go forth\nalone to encounter the supernatural, fully persuaded of its unearthly\ncharacter.\n\nEarly in the morning he returned to his home, looking very white, and\nwith a curiously set expression on his face. His wife and daughters,\nwho had waited up for him, rushed at him to know what had happened, but\nhe said, \u201cYou must never ask me what has happened, what I have seen,\nwhat I have done. I have sworn to keep it a secret, and as a secret\nit will die with me, but this I can tell you, you may go to La Petite\nPorte at any hour of the day or night, and never again shall any ghost\nhaunt it, or noise or scream be heard.\u201d And to this day the noises have\nutterly ceased.\n\nPierre Thoume kept his vow, though his family, friends, and neighbours,\nimplored him time after time, even on his death bed, to tell them what\nhe had seen. His invariable reply was, \u201cI have given my word, and I\nwill not break it.\u201d[346]\n\n[346] From Mrs. Rowswell, Mr. Thoume\u2019s daughter, Mrs. Le Patourel,\nMrs. Charles Marquand, Margaret Mauger, Mr. Tourtel, and many others,\ninhabitants of St. Martin\u2019s parish.\n\n\nLES C\u00c2CHES.\n\nThere are two houses called Les C\u00e2ches in St. Martin\u2019s parish,\nsituated one behind the other in the district so called, between the\nblacksmith\u2019s forge at St. Martin\u2019s and the Forest Road. Tradition says\nthat they all formed part of one property, which extended as far as\nSt. Martin\u2019s Church, and was a nunnery, the nuns having a private lane\nof their own by which they could go to the church without the fear of\nmeeting any men _en route_. There is a pond situated to the left of a\nlong avenue which now leads to the front door of one of the houses,\nand for years it was believed that on a certain night of the year,\na woman\u2019s figure, dressed in grey, is seen walking up and down the\navenue, weeping and wringing her hands, and then rushing to the pond.\nThe story the people tell to account for this appearance is, that one\nof the nuns was discovered at the dead of night trying to drown her\nchild and herself in the pond. They were rescued, but only for a worse\nfate, for the unfortunate woman and child were bricked up in a cupboard\nwhich is now situated in one of the outhouses, but is supposed to have\nbeen the old refectory. The people also tell in confirmation of this\nstory that the night the ghost is seen this cupboard door flies open of\nitself though it is quite impossible to force it open at any other time.\n\nIt is possible that if this was an ecclesiastical establishment, it was\none of those alien priories of which Sir Edgar MacCulloch says:--\n\n\u201cAfter the loss of Normandy the inconvenience of having so many\nvaluable possessions in the hands of the enemy, led to the suppression\nof these priories, and in these islands, whenever there was war between\nEngland and France, alien ecclesiastics were compelled to leave.\u201d\n\nSo probably the old conventual buildings, if there were any, were\nallowed to fall into ruins, and the land passed into the hands of the\nPatrys, and thence, through the marriage of Marguerite Patrys and\nPierre Bonamy, into the possession of the Bonamys, who owned it for\nmany centuries. There is an old document which tells the story of how\nthe Bonamys first came to Guernsey.\n\n\u201cOn their return from the Holy Land, whither they had accompanied the\nKing of France, two brothers were driven by a violent storm, and thrown\ninto a little bay, where their bark went to pieces. In gratitude for\ntheir preservation they made a vow to remain where Providence had\nplaced them. One, a priest, founded a church, and the other married and\nfounded the Bonamy family.\u201d In 1495, John Bonamy, son of Pierre and\nMarguerite Patrys, was \u201cProcureur du Roi\u201d in Guernsey, and his old MS.\nmemorandum book still survives, in which he describes a pilgrimage to\nRome he made in 1504, through France and Italy.\n\nThe following extracts relative to building Les C\u00e2ches have been\ndeciphered from the old crabbed manuscript by Colonel J. H. Carteret\nCarey:--\n\n_1468.--M^{o} des gans quy mont aydy a caryer la pere \u2026 et des grant\nroquez \u2026 de le Cluse Luet--premez Gylome robert j jo^{r} &c._\n\n_1498.--M^{o} que je marchande de Colas Fyquet po^{r} ma meson, le\nbut deverz le nort \u2026 par la some de viij escus.\u2026 Il comencest le\nxviij^{eme} jo^{r} du moys de Maye--le Mardyt._\n\n_1504.--M^{o} que Gylome le Corvar et Colin Savage comancer acovyr ma\ngrange landeman du jo_{r} Saint Appolyne. Acevest le jo^{r} Saint Aubin\nlan vc quatre,_ which may be translated:--\n\n(1468.--Memo of the people who helped me to quarry the stone \u2026 and\nthe big rocks \u2026 of \u201cl\u2019Ecluse Luet\u201d [the Ecluse was the mill-dam in\nconnection with the old watermill which gave its name to Moulin Huet\nBay. It was situated in the hollow at the bottom of the water-lane of\n\u201cLes Olivettes,\u201d just above the old Mill House] first William Robert,\none day, &c.)\n\n(1498.--Memo. That I bargain with Colas Fyquet about my house, the end\n(to be) towards the north \u2026 for the sum of eight escus. They began the\n18th of May--on Tuesday.)\n\n(1504.--Memo. That William Le Corvar (&) Colin Savage, began to cover\nmy barn the day following the day of Saint Appolyne [Feb. 9,] finished\nthe day of St. Aubin [March 1,] 1504.)\n\nIn the parish of St. Martin\u2019s they still tell a story of the old days\nwhen the Bonamys yet occupied Les C\u00e2ches.\n\nYears and years ago, there was an old Helier Bonamy,[347] who lived\nat the C\u00e2ches. He was one of the richest men in Guernsey, and kept,\nas well as cows and horses, a large flock of sheep, there being much\ndemand for wool in those days on account of the quantity of jerseys,\nstockings, &c., knitted over here. One night he and his daughter went\nto a ball in the town. Tradition even goes so far as to say that Miss\nBonamy was dressed in white brocade. Before starting, Helier Bonamy\nsummoned his herdsmen, and told them to keep a sharp look out after\nhis sheep, for that there were many lawless men about. Helier and his\ndaughter[348] walked home that night earlier than was expected.\n\nAs they turned into the avenue, between high hedges and forest trees,\nthey heard the bleatings of sheep in pain. \u201c_\u00c9coute donc, ce sont\nmes berbis_\u201d (Listen, those are my sheep), said Helier, and drew his\ndaughter under the hedge to listen. Peeping through the bushes they saw\nhis herdsman and farm labourers calling each other by name, drinking,\ntalking and laughing, and, while cutting the throats of the defenceless\nsheep, chanting in chorus:--\n\n    _\u201cRasons! rasons! les berbis_\n    _Du grand Bonamy,_\n    _S\u2019il \u00e9tait ichin d\u2019v\u00e0nt,_\n    _Nou l\u2019i en fera\u00eft autant!\u201d_\n\n    (Shear! shear! the sheep,\n    Of the great Bonamy,\n    Were he here before us,\n    We would do as much to him).\n\nThey crept up the avenue unobserved to the house, for Helier was afraid\nto confront all these men who had evidently been drinking heavily,\nalone and unarmed. The next day his herdsman came to him with a long\nface, and said that robbers had broken into the sheepfold in the night\nand killed all the sheep, and brought up the other men as witnesses.\nMr. Bonamy said nothing, except that he would like all these men to\naccompany him down to the Court to there testify to the robbery. This\nthey did, and when they got there and told their story, Mr. Bonamy and\nhis daughter then turned round and denounced them. They were taken into\ncustody, and hanged shortly afterwards at St. Andrew\u2019s.[349]\n\nThere are several stories illustrating the re-appearance of people\nwhose dying wishes had been disregarded by their survivors, and also of\npeople wishing to tell their heirs where their treasure had been hid.\n\nAt the King\u2019s Mills, a Mrs. Marquand died, and left instructions with\nher husband that her clothes were to be given to her sister Judith.\nAfter her death the widower did not do it, so every night her ghost\ncame and knocked at her husband\u2019s door. One night she rapped so loudly\nthat all the neighbours opened their windows, and heard her say:--\n\n\u201c_Jean, combien de temps que tu me feras donc souffrir, donne donc mes\nhardes \u00e0 ma s\u0153ur Judi_.\u201d\n\n(John, how much longer wilt thou make me suffer, give then my clothes\nto my sister Judy).\n\nHe gave the clothes the next day, and the spirit returned no more.[350]\n\nAlmost the same story is told of a Mrs. Guille, who gave orders that\nafter her death a certain amount of clothes were to be bought and\nyearly distributed amongst the poor. This her husband neglected to\ncomply with, so Mrs. Guille visited him one night, and told him that\nshe would do so every night until the clothes were given. Mr. Guille\nhurriedly bought and distributed the clothes, and continued to do so\nyearly until he died.[351]\n\nMiss Le Pelley also contributes the following ghost stories which are\ntold at St. Pierre-du-Bois:--\n\n\u201cAbout the beginning of the century a man went to Gasp\u00e9 (which the\nnarrator said was Newfoundland, but is really on the mainland). While\nthere, his father died suddenly, and the son came back to Guernsey to\nwork the farm. One night his father appeared to him and told him that\nhe would find \u201c_une petite houlette_\u201d (a little mug) on the barn wall,\nwith something of value in it. Next morning the son went to look, and\nfound a mug full of five franc pieces.\u201d\n\n\u201cA widow in Little Sark had sold her sheep advantageously and hidden\nthe money in the \u201c_po\u00fbtre_\u201d (the large central rafter which runs along\nthe ceiling of the kitchen). Quite suddenly she died. Whenever her son\nwalked about in Little Sark he met his mother, which made him feel very\nfrightened, so one day he made his brother come with him, and together\nthey met her, and plucked up courage enough to say:--\u2018In the name of\nthe Great God what ails you,\u2019 so then, having been spoken to first, she\ncould tell them where her hoard of treasure was, and then disappeared,\nand was never seen again.\u201d\n\nThe whole country-side is full of shreds of ghost stories and beliefs;\nmany of these were probably due to, and encouraged by, the smugglers of\nolden days.\n\nFor instance a funeral procession was supposed to issue from an old\nlane south of Le Hurel--now blocked up--and no St. Martin\u2019s man or\nwoman would dare pass the place at night. But smugglers, creeping\nalong between the overhanging hedges, with kegs and bundles on their\nshoulders, would have had just the same effect, especially to people\nwho would have been far too frightened at an unexpected nocturnal\nappearance to stop and investigate the matter.\n\nAt the corner between Les Maindonneaux and the Hermitage, a tall figure\nwas said to appear, and hover round the spot. When the road was widened\nand the wall round the Hermitage was built, a stone coffin was found\nfull of very large bones. These bones were taken to the churchyard, and\nthe burial service read over them, and since then no ghost has been\nseen.\n\nThen, a little further on, around the pond of Sausmarez Manor, was seen\nan old man, dressed in a long grey coat, and a grey felt plumed hat.\nThis is supposed by the people to be old Mr. Matthew de Sausmarez--\u201cLe\nGrand Matthieu\u201d as he is called,--but why he is supposed to return is\nunknown.\n\nEven now-a-days, in quite modern most unghostly-looking houses, you\nhear tales of little old women, former inhabitants, being seen. In\nanother house, where a suicide is known to have occurred, soft finger\nknocks are heard against the walls of one of the rooms, as of some\none shut up in the room and seeking release; the door is opened, and\nnothing is to be seen. And in St. Martin\u2019s the ghost of a woman, who\nonly died a few years ago, is said to haunt the garden of the house\nin which she lived. Her daughter saw the appearance and was picked up\nin a dead faint from fright, but then the woman was supposed by all\nthe neighbours to have been a witch, and, of course, as they say, the\nspirit of \u201cune sorci\u00e8re\u201d could not rest quiet in consecrated ground.\n\nI will close this chapter on ghosts with a story which is firmly\nbelieved and told by many of the country people. For obvious reasons I\nsuppress all names.\n\nAt the beginning of the nineteenth century, a very rich widower had a\nhouse in Smith Street. His first wife had left many small children,\nto whom in her lifetime she had been devoted, and spent many hours of\nher day in the nursery. The widower, after a short interval, married\nagain, a young, pretty, and frivolous girl, who utterly neglected\nher step-children. Then the spirit of his first wife came back for a\nshort time every morning, and washed and dressed them, the curtains of\ntheir beds were found pushed back in the mornings, and her silk dress\nwas heard rustling up the stairs, and the children used to say \u201cMamma\ndressed us.\u201d[352]\n\nA man residing on the north-west coast had a brother who was drowned\nwhilst out fishing. This man, wishing to do his best for his brother\u2019s\nfamily, was sore perplexed some years afterwards, as the family ran\ngreat risk of losing their property, owing to the absence of a title\ndeed which he knew to have existed, but which unfortunately had not\nbeen registered.\n\nOne day, when out fishing, he was greatly surprised to see his\nbrother\u2019s boat coming full sail close to him and just rounding to, with\nhis brother at the tiller, and exclaimed:--\u201cLa! te v\u2019lo et ta femme\nqu\u2019est r\u2019maria\u00efe!\u201d (Lo! there you are and your wife married again!)\nThe answer he received was:--\u201cLe papier que tu trache est dans un ta\u00ef\nendret sus la poutre,\u201d (the paper you are looking for is in such a\nroom, on the beam). Immediately everything disappeared.\n\nArrived ashore, he searched in the place indicated and found the\nmissing document.[353]\n\n[347] On referring to the Bonamy pedigree, the only Helier Bonamy who\nappears to have owned Les C\u00e2ches, is a \u201cHellier, fils Pierre.\u201d Peter\nBonamy being a Jurat in 1548. Helier does not seem to have borne the\nbest of reputations, for Nicholas Bermis writes of him to Bishop Horn:\n\u201cGuernsey, December 13, 1575. He is a disorderly character, notorious\nfor impiety and obstinacy.\u2026 Finally publicly excommunicated from the\ncommune of the Church of God and of His Saints and given over to Satan\nuntil he should repent.\u201d--_Zurich Letters_, Vol. II., p. 224.\n\n[348] Even into the nineteenth century the old ladies would tell\nyou how they walked home, lit by a three-candled lantern from \u201cthe\nAssemblys\u201d and how the last dance was always given to the favourite\npartner, so that he might have the privilege of accompanying them.\n\n[349] From Miss C. Tardif, who was told the story by her grandmother.\n\n[350] Collected by Miss E. Le Pelley.\n\n[351] Collected by Miss E. Le Pelley.\n\n[352] From Mrs. Le Patourel, and also told to Miss Le Pelley by an old\nwoman at St. Pierre-du-Bois.\n\n[353] From John de Garis, Esq., of the Rouv\u00eats, whose father was told\nthe story by the man himself.\n\n\n\n\nAPPENDIX B. Witchcraft.\n\n    Referred to on page 386.\n\n\nMARIE PIPET.\n\nThere are many stories still told and firmly believed by the country\npeople, of Marie Pipet, who was a noted \u201csorci\u00e8re\u201c of the early part of\nthe nineteenth century. She came of a race of witches and wizards, thus\ndescribed in Redstone\u2019s _Guernsey and Jersey Guide_, by Louisa Lane\nClarke, (Second Edition, 1844), p. 86.\n\n\u201cOn the road past St. Andrew\u2019s Church, one of the lanes to the right\nleads to the village called \u201cLe Hurel,\u201d[354] a collection of mere\nhuts; rude, dirty looking cottages, but remarkable from the people who\ntenant it. They are a kind of half gipsy, half beggar race, bearing\nthe name of Pipet; and kept totally distinct from every other family,\nbecause no person would intermarry with them upon any consideration.\nTheir appearance and features are quite unlike the rest of the Guernsey\npeasantry, who are extremely good-looking, clean, and active; whereas\nthose Pipets may be found basking in the sun, with anything but a\nprepossessing exterior. The country people consider them as wizards and\nwitches, and, at certain times of the year, about Christmas, when they\nare privileged to go round and beg for their _No\u00ebl_, or \u201c_irvi\u00e8res_\u201d\n(New Year\u2019s gifts), no one likes to send them away empty handed\nfor fear of the consequences to themselves, their cattle, or their\nchildren.\u201d Even to this day the country people have a great dread of\n\u201cLes Pipiaux.\u201d[355]\n\nMy father\u2019s old nurse, Margaret Mauger, told me that the cook at old\nMr. Fred Mansell\u2019s, of the Vauxbelets, (about the year 1850), was a\ngreat friend of hers, and told her that one day Marie Pipet came into\nthe Vauxbelets kitchen, and demanded some favour which was refused.\n\u201c_Tu t\u2019en repentiras_,\u201d she said, and went out of the door and sat on\nthe adjoining hedge to await developments. Meanwhile the sirloin which\nwas being cooked for Mr. Mansell\u2019s dinner refused to be cooked! For\nhours she turned it round and round on the jack in front of the fire.\nThe heat had apparently no effect on it, and it was as raw as when she\nfirst put it there. Finally, in despair, the cook went to her master,\nand told him what had happened. So he sent for Marie Pipet, and told\nher if she did not disenchant his dinner she would spend the night in\ngaol, (he was a Jurat of the Royal Court). With a curtsey she replied\nthat if he would go into his kitchen he would find his sirloin ready\nfor eating, and, at that moment, the cook declared, it suddenly turned\nbrown!\n\nThere are many stories told of Marie Pipet in St. Pierre-du-Bois. One\nold woman, Judith Ozanne, told Miss Le Pelley that Marie Pipet, \u201cla\nsorci\u00e8re,\u201d once asked her grandmother, old Mrs. Ozanne, for some milk.\nThis was refused her, so she prevented the cows from eating, and they\nwere all pining away. So then her grandfather took his pitchfork, and,\ngoing straight to the witch, compelled her, under the fear of corporal\npunishment, to undo the spell.\n\nJudith Ozanne also tells the following story of Marie Pipet, which she\naffirms is true. One day Marie took her corn to the Grands Moulins (the\nKing\u2019s Mills) to be ground. The two young men who were in charge of\nthe mill said \u201cOh dear no, they were not going to grind her corn,\u201d and\nso she returned home, but the mill-stones turned round and round and\nround so quickly that no corn would grind, and nothing would stop them,\nso they had to call back Marie Pipet and promise to grind her corn for\nher, and, as soon as her corn was put in, the millstones worked as\nusual.\n\nMr. M\u00e9tivier gives a story of Marie Pipet which was current in his day,\nin his _Souvenirs Historiques de Guernesey_.\n\n\u201cThe incomparable Marie, so dreaded by the millers of the King\u2019s Mills,\nbecause she often amused herself by unhinging our mills, rests in peace\non the good side (au bon c\u00f4t\u00e9) of the Castel churchyard.[356] It is\nfirmly believed, and frequently told, how she, and other members of\nher family, could metamorphose themselves as \u201ccahouettes\u201d--red-legged\nchoughs. One day, in the form of one of these birds, she was discovered\nin a cow stable, and run through the thigh by the proprietor of the\nstable, with his pitchfork. The bird managed to escape, but the woman\nMarie Pipet was obliged to keep her bed for six months with a terrible\nand mysterious wound in her leg, by which of course the metamorphosis\nwas proved.\u201d[357]\n\nPossibly a bird of such evil omen, having red legs, accounts for the\nfact that to this day our country people tell you that all witches who\ngo to dance at the Catioroc wear red stockings.[358]\n\nAll witches are supposed to be endowed with the faculty of keeping the\nperson they have bewitched walking--walking, for hours perhaps, in a\ncircle, to which they cannot find a clue.\n\nMarie Pipet, one day being offended with a man, made him walk backwards\nand forwards one whole night between the Vauxbelets and St. Andrew\u2019s\nChurch.[359]\n\n[354] _Hure_, _Hurel_, and _Huret_, all frequently met with\nas place-names in Guernsey, mean \u201crocky ground.\u201d--M\u00e9tivier\u2019s\n_Dictionnaire_.\n\n[355] The Guernsey people have a way of making plurals of many words\nending in \u201cet\u201d or \u201cert\u201d or \u201cel,\u201d by substituting \u201ciaux,\u201d as:--Pipets =\nPipiaux, Robert (a very common surname) Robiaux, Coquerel = Coqueriaux,\nbouvet, bouviaux, touffet, touffiaux.\n\n[356] In Guernsey the south side of our churchyard was \u201cle bon c\u00f4t\u00e9.\u201d\nThe north side, (according to the old Norse mythology, where hell and\nits attendant demons were situated in the _north_) was reserved for\ncriminals, suicides, etc.\n\n[357] The \u201cCahouettes\u201d or red-legged choughs, have always, according\nto Mr. M\u00e9tivier (see his _Dictionnaire_, art. \u201cCahouettes\u201d), played a\nprominent r\u00f4le in the N\u00e9o-Latin mythology. According to the Council\nof Nismes, 1281, witches and wizards metamorphosed themselves into\n\u201cCahouets\u201d and \u201cCahouettes.\u201d Rapha\u00ebl, Archbishop of Nicosia, capital of\nthe island, excommunicated all _cahouets_ and _cahouettes_, as well as\nall who maintained and encourage games of chance.\n\n[358] From Margaret Mauger, who also said that in her youth if one met\nan old woman in the town wearing red stockings, it was always said\n\u201c_V\u2019l\u00e0 une des sorci\u00e8res du Catioroc!_\u201d In Holbein\u2019s _Crucifixion_,\n1477, now at Augsberg, a devil which carries off the soul of the\nimpenitent thief has the head of an ape, bat-wings, and _flaming red\nlegs_.\n\n[359] From Margaret Mauger.\n\n\nTHE WIZARD OF SARK.\n\nAbout the end of the eighteenth century there lived in Sark a very\nnotorious wizard called Pierre de Carteret. An old Sark woman called\nBetsy Hamon, now Mrs. de Garis, has given Miss Le Pelley, whose servant\nshe is, the following particulars concerning him:--\n\nPierre de Carteret, called \u201cle vieux diable,\u201d lived in Sark. He always\nworked at night, and when the fishermen passed by his house at night\nthey heard him talking to the little devils who worked for him. They\ncould not understand, for it was the devil\u2019s language they talked. He\nbuilt a boat in a barn in one morning, and the Sark people were amazed\nto see it launched in the Creux harbour. This was Black Art, for the\nboat was too large to go out of the door, and also his house was not\nquite close to the sea.\n\nHe was very rich, partly owing to his having no expenses, as he had no\nworkmen to pay, everything being done for him by these little devils,\nand partly from his first wife, whom he courted in France. Pierre went\nover to France alone, in a small open boat. The girl he married, who\nwas herself a lady, thought he was of gentle blood. After he married\nher he was most cruel, and spoilt all her furniture. For instance, her\nparlour was mirrored from ceiling to floor, and he brought her horses\nup into the room, and the poor things became excited when they saw\nother horses, and kicked the looking-glasses and broke all the other\nfurniture. This wife died of a broken heart, and for his second wife\nPierre married a Sark girl, little more than a child.\n\nIf Pierre wanted his hedges repaired he simply gave the order to\nhis little helpers, and the next morning they were done. Pierre\u2019s\ndaughter--\u201cla petite Betsy\u201d--used to feed the cow at night in the\nchurchyard, and she was seen returning home at daybreak with the cow,\nlooking thoroughly well fed. Consequently nobody would buy butter or\nmilk from him.\n\nWhen Pierre had nothing else to give his workers to do they used to\nforge money, and their hammers could be heard by the passers by.[360]\n\nOld Mrs. Le Messurier, in Sark, also confirmed a great many of these\ndetails in 1896. She said he, Pierre de Carteret, was well known to\nbe a famous sorcerer. He had pictures of the Devil on his walls, and\nlittle images of Satan were found in his house after his death, and\npromptly burnt by the incomers. He could build a boat, alter a loft, or\nbuild a wall in a single night, because he had \u201cdes esprits malins\u201d to\nhelp him. He was an excessively bad man and used to smuggle ball and\nammunition to France, to help the French against the English in the\nwar. The English found him out and came over with bayonets to take him,\nbut he hid down his well, and could not be found.\n\nOut at St. Pierre-du-Bois they still tell the tale of a Frenchman, who\nwas a \u201csorcier,\u201d and in league with the Devil.\n\nOne day he entered a farm kitchen, where he found all the young people\nplaying a game, in which they used a number of doubles, placed in a jam\npot, for counters.\n\nHe said \u201cI can turn all those doubles into mice.\u201d\n\nThey did not believe him, so he took the pot, shook it, and turned it\nupside down on the table. Then he turned to one of the girls standing\nby and said \u201cNow, take up that pot.\u201d She did so, and numbers of mice\nran out of it, all over the table, with their tails cocked up!\n\nOf the same man another story is told. One morning he wanted some of\nhis neighbours to play cards with him, but they said they could not\nspare the time, for they must weed their parsnips.\n\nHe replied--\u201cIf you will come, your parsnips shall be weeded by dinner\ntime.\u201d\n\nSo they played, but one man looked up, and saw through the window\nnumbers and numbers of little demons weeding very quickly, and by\nmid-day the work was done.[361]\n\nMr. J. Linwood Pitts has also collected two stories bearing on the\nsubject of the transformation of witches, both of which were related to\nhim in perfect good faith by reliable witnesses.\n\nMany years ago a Guernsey gentleman went over to Sark. While sitting\non the cliffs above the Havre Gosselin he noticed a flock of birds,\nprincipally wild duck, circling round and round. He fired off his\nmusket, but did not succeed in hitting any of them, or even, much to\nhis astonishment, in frightening them away.\n\nHe thought there must be something mysterious about them, as wild duck\nare generally such shy birds, so he consulted a noted wizard, who told\nhim that if he loaded his musket with a piece of silver having a cross\non it it would take effect on any transformed witch. So he went over\nto Sark again with this silver bullet, and on returning to the Havre\nGosselin again saw the birds. He picked out one, which seemed the\nfinest of the flock, and apparently their leader. On firing at it he\nsucceeded in winging it, though it disappeared, and he thought it had\nescaped.\n\nThat evening, on the return boat to Guernsey, a girl on board, who\nused to pay almost daily visits to Sark, and about whom there were\nmany mysterious reports, appeared with a bad wound in her hand, about\nwhich she would vouchsafe no explanation, but looking very white and\nfrightened. The man identified her in his own mind as the mysterious\nbird, but did not speak about the affair till long after.\n\n[360] From Miss Le Pelley, who wrote it down word for word as it was\nsaid.\n\n[361] Collected by Miss Le Pelley.\n\n\nTHE WITCH OF ALDERNEY.\n\nA very respectable Alderney man used to tell old Mr. Barbenson,\nWesleyan minister, about a noted Alderney witch.\n\nHe declared that one night, passing by her cottage, he looked in, and\nsaw a blue flame blazing up, and the witch dancing in the middle of it,\nsurrounded by little devils, also dancing.\n\n\u201cBut how do you know that they were devils?\u201d Mr. Barbenson\nasked:--\u201cBecause they were just like the pictures of Apollyon in my old\n_Pilgrim\u2019s Progress_\u201d was the reply. Another day, he said that, coming\nhome from milking, he saw two large black birds revolving over his\nhead. They both sank, almost at his feet, behind a small furze bush.\nSuddenly this woman rose up from behind the same bush, and ran away.\nHe said the bush was made too small to hide the woman, and that it was\nquite impossible that she could have been concealed there. The man\nvouched for the truth of these stories.\n\nMr. Pitts has also kindly allowed me to include the following extract\nfrom an old MS. which was communicated to him by Mr. E. P. Le Feuvre, a\ngentleman of Jersey extraction, residing in London, and connected with\nsome of our Guernsey families.\n\nHe also gave me the details of a remarkable local witch story, which\nhe had found in a curious old MS. in the library of Dr. Witham, of\nGordon Square, London. This MS., which is in two volumes folio, is\nentitled \u2018_Icones Sacr\u00e6 Gallican\u00e6 et Anglican\u00e6_,\u2019 and contains seventy\nbiographies of ministers and clergymen. Among them is a sketch of the\nlife of the Rev. Daniel Fautrat, of Guernsey, who was minister of the\nC\u00e2tel parish; then of Torteval; and who afterwards, in 1633 (in the\nreign of Charles I.), succeeded Mr. de la Marche, at St. Peter-Port.\nThis MS. is by a John Quick (born 1636--died 1706). There were two\nFautrats, Helier and Daniel, father and son, and the biographer\nsomewhat confuses them.[362] This story of the witch--who was burnt\nalive in the Bordage during Daniel Fautrat\u2019s ministry at the Town\nChurch--is a very curious one, and is a decided acquisition to the\nwitch-lore of the island. It is as follows:--\n\nTHE WITCH AND THE RAVEN.\n\n\u201cAfter Monsieur [Daniel] Ffautrat had spent some years at Torteval and\nSt. Andrew\u2019s [Guernsey] he was, upon the death of Monsr. de la Marche,\ncalled to succeed him in ye Pastorall charge of St. Peters Port, [in\n1634, in the reign of Charles I.] which is ye Towne of this Island, a\nfair Markett Towne and priviledged with ye Sessions of ye whole Island,\nwhere all caisses Civill and Criminall are finally tryed and determined\nin ye Playderoye,[363] by ye Bayliffe and Jurates.\n\n\u201cDuring his ministry in this Towne, and about ye year 1640 [Charles\nI.] there happened a most remarkable event. Divines do say that it is\na very rare thing for witches under Gospell Light to repent; and some\nhave given this reason of their assertion--because they have committed\nthat unpardonable sin against ye Holy Ghost. I cannot tell, but that\nthis following story seems to confirm it.\n\n\u201cThere was a certain woman of this Island, above four-score years\nof age, who had been imprisoned, indicted and found guilty upon\nfull evidence, of that abominable sin of witchcraft, and for it was\ncondemned to death. She gave out confidently that she should not dye.\nHowever, she is carried from prison to ye appointed place of Execution\nto be burnt alive.\n\n\u201cAll the way, as she was going thither, a great Black Raven was seen\nhovering, and heard croaking after a dolefull manner over her head,\ntill she came to ye stake. And now, while they be fastening ye chain,\nshe begs of one of the Bystanders to give her a clew of thread, which\nhaving received, she fastens one end of it to her girdle, and taking\nye other end, she flings it with her hand up into ye aire. The Raven,\nstooping down, catcheth at it with his Beak, and, mounting, carrys with\nhim ye old witch from ye bottom of ye vale up into ye air. A young man\nof that Island, seeing her flying, being on ye top of ye hill, flings\nhis Halbard so exactly betwixt her and ye raven, that it cuts ye thread\nasunder, and ye old witch is taken by him, but with many fearfull\nimprecations upon him, she vomityng out whole cartloads of curses\nagainst him.\n\n\u201cHowever, she is once again carryed down to ye stake, and there\naccordingly executed, being burnt to ashes. But this poor officious\nwardour, whose name was Gosslin--ye holy wise providence of God so\npermitting it--felt a short time after, ye bitter consequences of her\nrage and dying curses; for he grew sick of an incurable disease, lying\nunder most exquisite torments, of which he could never be relieved by\nany means or medicines, till having languished some years he was at\nlast released from his sufferings by death.\u201d\n\n\u201cA girl was very ill, and the doctor did not know what was the matter\nwith her, and, though he tried many remedies, none succeeded. One day a\nfriend from the Vale, their native parish, called, and told the girl\u2019s\nmother privately that the girl was bewitched, and that it was Mrs. ----\nwho had done it, but that he could, with certain herbs, boiled in a\nparticular manner, cause the witch to die, and then the girl would be\nwell. The herbs were boiled, and a few days afterwards the witch died.\nDuring the funeral the girl jumped joyfully out of bed, quite well.\nThis occurred within the last twenty years.\u201d\n\n\u201cOne day, two boys, well on in their teens were chaffing an old witch,\nwhen suddenly she got very angry, threw dust in the air, and gabbled\nsome words very quickly. The boys went home and found they were covered\nwith vermin. They were near neighbours. One of the boys was so angry\nthat he took his gun and went to the old witch and said, \u201cNow, take\naway the vermin, or I shoot you,\u201d and he levelled his gun at her.\nThey parleyed a little, but the boy was so determined that the witch\nsuddenly took fright, threw dust in the air, repeated some words, and\nthe vermin disappeared. The other boy was covered for three days.\u201d[364]\n\nThe following story illustrating the widespread belief in these special\npowers of witches and wizards was told me by Mrs. Le Patourel, of St.\nMartin\u2019s, who was told the story by the heroine, and who vouched for\nits authenticity.\n\nMrs. Le Patourel\u2019s mother-in-law was a Miss Mauger, of Saints, very\nhandsome and very well-to-do. In fact, she and her sister went to\nschool in England, which was considered very grand in those days. On\nher return from school she, her sister, and a friend, all went together\nto one of the country dances then frequently held in the various\nparishes. They all \u201cheld their heads very high,\u201d dressed very well, and\nwould only dance with those whom they considered the \u201cbest\u201d partners.\nThey were dressed on this occasion in silk dresses with large white\nlace collars and ruffles. At the beginning of the dance, as they were\nall sitting in a row together, some man came up and asked each of them\nin turn to dance, but they all considered him unworthy of the honour,\nand each refused to dance with him. As the last refused he turned on\nhis heel muttering that they would repent their rudeness. A minute or\ntwo later one of the girls leaned forward and cried to her sister, \u201cOh,\nMarie, what have you got there?\u201d and pointed to an insect crawling\non her lace. Covered with confusion the girl killed it, only to see\nswarms more crawling after it. The other two girls then discovered to\ntheir horror that they were likewise covered with swarms of vermin, and\ncovered with shame and confusion they all had hurriedly to leave the\ndance. For three days they all remained in this condition, and then the\nvermin disappeared as suddenly as they came.\n\n\u201cThe shame of it I can never forget,\u201d Mrs. Le Patourel says was the way\nher informant always ended the story. \u201cBut,\u201d said Mrs. Le Patourel,\n\u201cthat is nothing to what people can do who use the bad books.\u201d[365]\n\nShe thinks it is the French people who have brought these evil arts to\nGuernsey, and in proof of her theory told me this story which happened\nto one of her own friends, \u201cwho has told it to me many a time.\u201d\n\nA Guernsey farmer living in St. Saviour\u2019s parish had a French\nmanservant, who slept on the premises. Suspicion being aroused by his\nhaggard looks he was watched, and seen to leave the house every night\nand not come back till the morning. When asked where he had been and\nwhat he had been doing he returned evasive answers. So one night his\nmaster determined to follow him. He tracked him across some fields till\nhe reached the Catioroc, and there he saw him lie down in the middle of\na field, and then, in a few moments, a clear, bluish flame, like the\nflame of a candle, was seen issuing out of his mouth, and wandering\noff like a will-o\u2019-the-wisp across the fields. When the astonished\nfarmer went up to the body he found it lying rigid and lifeless, and\nno amount of shaking or calling could make any impression on it. After\nsome time the flame was seen returning, and settled on the man\u2019s mouth,\nand there disappeared, and shortly after the man sat up, looking dazed\nand tired, and absolutely declined to answer any of the questions with\nwhich his master greeted him.\n\nOn pp. 305 to 351 (ante) are given various trials for witchcraft, which\ntook place in Guernsey during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries,\nbut Sir Edgar MacCulloch has not included the following, which I have\nfound cited in an old MS. book compiled by Eleazar Le Marchant and\nPierre Careye between the years 1728 and 1743.\n\n\u201cLe 26me Juillet 1594, pardevant Louis de Vick, baillif, et Messrs.\nNicholas Martin, sen., Guillaume de Beauvoir, Andr\u00e9 Henry, Jean Andros,\nJean de Sausmarez, Pierre de Beauvoir, Pierre Careye, William le\nMarchant, Nicholas Martin, jun., and Fran\u00e7ois Allez, jurez.\n\n\u201cMarie Martin, alias Salmon, fille Osmond, deubment atteinte et\nconvaincue d\u2019avoir us\u00e9 d\u2019Art de Sorcelerie, dont elle a empoisonn\u00e9,\ntourment\u00e9 et fait mourir jouxte sa propre et volontaire confession,\nAnne Careye[366], fem\u0360e de John de Vick, la fem\u0360e de Pierre Vodin,\nl\u2019enfant de son oncle, Thomas Breton, l\u2019enfant de John Briart, et deux\nenfants \u00e0 Collas Nouell, et plusieurs bestes et autres maux, par elle\ncommis par le dit art de Sorcelerie, comme apparoist par les proc\u00e9dures\net enquestes sur ce pass\u00e9es. Est ajug\u00e9e d\u2019\u00eatre aujourd\u2019huy brul\u00e9e\ntant que son corps soit reduit en cendres, et ses biens, meubles, et\nh\u00e9ritages confisqu\u00e9es \u00e0 la Majest\u00e9 de la Royne, et est com\u0360and\u00e9 aux\nofficiers de sa Majest\u00e9 de voir la ditte execution \u00eatre faitte, ainsi\nqu\u2019ils en voudront r\u00e9pondre: et est apr\u00e8s avoir en sur ceu l\u2019advis et\nopinion de Henri de Beauvoir et John Effart, jurez.\u201d\n\nThere are many other instances, which, did space permit, I could\nmention, of belief in witches and wizards, extending even down to\nthe present day. Animals dying from no visible cause, bread turned\nsour and uneatable, wounds mysteriously inflicted and incurable by\nphysicians, but at once healed by crossing running water, a woman sent\nmad by smelling a harmless-looking bouquet of flowers, and so on. Many\ninvolving the names of persons still living. For underneath the veneer\nof civilisation and education found in the island are the same old\nbeliefs and superstitions, as deeply cherished and ingrained as they\nwere in the days of Queen Elizabeth--\u201cPlus \u00e7a change, plus c\u2019est la\nm\u00eame chose.\u201d\n\nIn conclusion, I will give a few extracts respecting witchcraft from\nElie Brevint\u2019s note book. Elie Brevint was born in 1586, became\nminister of Sark in 1612, and died in 1674.\n\n\u201cQuelques uns tesmoignent avoir veu une nu\u00e9e se lever d\u2019Erm, et de l\u00e0\ns\u2019en aller sur le dongeon du Chasteau Cornet, o\u00f9 un certain Maugier\ndepuis brusl\u00e9 pour sortil\u00e9ges estoit lors prisonnier, et ladite nu\u00e9e\ns\u2019estre dissip\u00e9e et esvanouie sur le dit Chasteau, et que les bateaux\npescheurs sur lesquels elle avoit pass\u00e9 avoyent cuide renvers\u00e9s.\u2026\u201d\n\n\u201cHistoire d\u2019un juge, qui ne croyoit point qu\u2019il y eust de sorciers; il\nadvint qu\u2019il luy mourut soudain plusieurs vaches et brebis. Pourtant\ndepuis cette perte, laquelle il imputoit \u00e0 belles personnes, il fist\nrigoureuse justice de sorciers.\u2026\u201d\n\n\u201cOn dit que quelqu\u2019un va \u00e0 la graine de Feug\u00e8re[367] quand par un\nlivre de magie, ou par quelque autre voye il a communication avec le\nDiable, qui luy baille des poudres pour attenter et commettre diverses\nmeschancet\u00e9s, comme ouvrir serrures, violer femme et fille, &c., et\nfaut bailler \u00e0 ce m\u0360re pour ces drogues une beste vive, comme chien ou\nchat, autrement il poursuit N. pour le faire mourir.\u201d\n\n[362] The following is an abbreviated pedigree of the Fautrat family,\nshowing what close connections there were between the leading families\nin Guernsey and Jersey before the wars of the Commonwealth, when--the\nislands taking different sides--was established a feud which has never\nproperly been healed.\n\n                      PIERRE FAUTRAT  = \u2026 LE VAVASSEUR\n                     Took the oath of |\n                    allegiance to the |\n                    King of England   |\n                    in Jersey the 19th|\n                    of October, 1545. |\n                   +------------------+\n                   |\n             Cardin Fautrat = Jenette Coquerel\n                 Settled in | Daughter and heiress\n                 Guernsey.  | of Thomas Coquerel of\n                            | Guernsey and Jersey, and of\n                            | Jeanne de Vic, daughter\n                            | of Laurence de Vic\n                            | of Guernsey.\n             +--------------+--------+--+--+--+-----------+\n             |                       |  |  |  |           |\n           Jean = Bertranne Estur  Other Children.    Hellier =(1) Marthe\n     Jurat and  | Daughter of                       Rector of | Baudouin\n  Lieut.-Bailiff| Nicholas Estur                 St. Martin\u2019s | Daughter\n   of the Royal | widow of                            Jersey. | and heiress\n       Court of | Andr\u00e9 Monamy.                 Married first | of the Rev.\n      Guernsey. |                              May 6th, 1576, | Nicolas\n     Married in |                                   secondly  | Baudouin\n   April, 1592. |                               October 23rd, | first\n    Buried Feb. |                               1623. Died in | Protestant\n     7th, 1644. |                                       1652. | Rector of\n   +------------+-------+--------------------------+--+--+    | St. Peter\n   |                    |                          |  |  |    | Port, and\n  Jean =(1) Marie de  Cardin = Elizabeth Careye     Other     | of Marie\n       | Beauvoir.    Settled| Daughter of        Children    | daughter\n       \u0245              in     | Nicholas,                      | and heiress\n       |(2) Elizabeth London.| Seigneur of                    | of the Rev.\n       | Fondan              | Blanchelande                   | Guillaume\n       | daughter and        | and Marthe                     | Maurice,\n       | heiress of          | De Soulemont.                  | Seigneur\n       | Matthew             |                                | de la\n       | Fondan,          Elizabeth Fautrat                   | Ripaudi\u00e8re\n       | Seigneur de           =                              | and first\n       | Handois,          Thomas Simon                       | Protestant\n       | Jersey, and of    the celebrated                     | Rector of\n       | Elizabeth         engraver and                       | St.\n       | Le Marchant.      medallist temp.                    | Helier\u2019s,\n       +---+------------+  Charles I. & II.                   | Jersey.\n           |            |                                     |(2) Susanne\n         Anne      Elizabeth                                  | Romeril,\n           =            =                                     | widow of\n        William    Guillaume                                  | the Rev.\n      Le Marchant  De Beauvoir,                               | Jean Pinel.\n   de l\u2019Hyvreuse.  du Hommet.     +---------------------------+----+--+--+\n           |                      |                                |  |  |\n         Issue.     O. S. P.    Daniel =(1) Elizabeth Martin        Other\n                             Rector of | Daughter and heiress     Children.\n                           Torteval in | of Nicholas Martin of\n                         1613, and St. | the Bosq and Marie\n                         Peter Port in | Hamelin.\n                         1634. Married |(2) Marie Germain\n                   first, 2nd October, | widow of Pierre Careye.\n                     1612, secondly in |\n                   1636. Died in 1652. |\n                                    +--+--+--+\n                                    |  |  |  |\n                                      Issue.\n\n[363] The Court House used to be situated in the Plaiderie before the\npresent Court House was built.\n\n\u201cAbout two centuries ago, public justice was administered in a\nbuilding, which, like those still used in many country towns in\nEngland, was both Corn Market and Court House, which by a special\nordinance was to be cleared by noon that the Market might commence; and\nafter that a Court House was erected near Pollet Street, near a place\ncalled from the circumstance \u201cLa Plaiderie.\u201d This, however, was soon\nfound too small and inconvenient, and the present building was erected\nin 1799, at the expense of about \u00a37000, paid by the States, and further\nimproved in 1822.\u201d--Redstone\u2019s _Guernsey and Jersey Guide_, 2nd Edition\n1844, p. 13.\n\n[364] Collected by Miss E. Le Pelley in 1896.\n\n[365] \u201cI have heard of too many instances of this power of giving\nvermin being exercised to admit of doubt. The surprising part is the\nremoval. I have not heard of a case for more than thirty years.\u201d--_Note\nby John de Garis, Esq., of Les Rouv\u00eats._\n\n[366] John de Vick, King\u2019s Procureur, son of Richard, married first,\nthe 15th of March, 1579, Anne Careye, daughter of Nicholas Careye,\nSeigneur of Blanchelande, and Collette de la Marche. I do not know\nthe date of her death, but he married, secondly, December 15th, 1594,\nElizabeth Pageot, and their son, Sir Henry de Vic, Knight, Baronet,\nand Chancellor of the Garter, was one of the most distinguished\nGuernseymen in our history. He was buried in Westminster Abbey the 24th\nof November, 1672.\n\n[367] Graine de Feug\u00e8re (foug\u00e8re) = Fern seed.\n\n\n\n\nAPPENDIX C. Charms and Spells.\n\n    Referred to on page 421.\n\n\nA very old lady remembers, when a child, seeing some small bits of\nstick, shaped like slate-pencils, which old women wore sewn up in their\nstays as charms against witchcraft, on the hom\u0153opathic principle, for\nthey called them \u201c_Des Bouais de Helier Mouton_,\u201d Helier Mouton being\nhimself a noted sorcerer.\n\nWhen I mentioned this to Sir Edgar he told me that a hundred years ago\na man named Colin Haussin was put in the stocks for witchcraft and\nusing \u201c_des petits bouais_.\u201d\n\nThe following charms, etc., were collected for me in 1896-7, as still\ncurrent in the parish of St. Pierre-du-Bois, by Miss E. Le Pelley.\n\n\nST. THOMAS\u2019 DAY.\n\nIf a girl wishes to know whom she will marry, on the eve of St. Thomas\u2019\nDay she puts her shoes in the form of a T under her bed, and says, in\ngetting in:--\n\n    _\u201cSaint Thomas, Saint Thomas,_\n    _Le plus court, le plus bas,_\n    _Fais moi voir en m\u2019endormant_\n    _Celui qui sera mon amant,_\n    _Et le pays, et la contr\u00e9e._\n    _O\u00f9 il fait sa demeur\u00e9e,_\n    _Et le m\u00e9tier qu\u2019il sait faire._\n    _Devant moi qu\u2019il vienne faire._\n    _Qu\u2019il soit beau ou qu\u2019il soit laid_\n    _Tel qu\u2019il sera je l\u2019aimerai._\n    _Saint Thomas, fait moi la gr\u00e2ce_\n    _Que je le voie, que je l\u2019embrasse.\u201d_\n                       _\u201cAinsi soit il.\u201d_\n\n\nMIDSUMMER EVE.\n\nA girl makes a dumb cake and puts it on a gridiron over the fire, and\nwatches it in silence between twelve and one o\u2019clock at night, during\nwhich time the girl\u2019s future husband arrives and turns the cake. The\nnarrator tried this, and when the cake was cooked on one side she heard\nsomeone walking clumsily upstairs. She was so frightened that she threw\nthe cake away and got into her mother\u2019s bed and held tight on to her!\nYears afterwards she married and often recognised her husband\u2019s step\nas the one she heard that Midsummer Eve. She very much repented having\ndone it, for she said it gives the poor man so much suffering being\nunder the charm.\n\nAnother charm for Midsummer Eve is this:--If a girl wishes to know the\nprofession of her future husband she must melt some lead in an iron\nspoon between twelve and one o\u2019clock at night, and pour it in a tumbler\nof cold water, and then watch the shapes it takes, such as a sword\nwould denote that he would be a soldier, an anchor a sailor, etc., etc.\nShould she wish to know whether she is to be married or not, she must\nkill two pigeons, take out their hearts and roast them on skewers, also\nbetween twelve and one o\u2019clock. If she is to be married she will see\nher intended, if she is not to be, some men will bring in a coffin.\nThere must be perfect silence the whole time. It once happened that, as\na girl was doing it, a coffin appeared. She screamed aloud, and the men\ncame up to her and began to put her in the coffin. But fortunately for\nher she fainted, and was quiet, and the men with the coffin could go\naway as they came.\n\nAnother charm against witchcraft is \u201c_vif argent_\u201d or quicksilver, but\ncamphor, white salt, or heather, are all good. The charm must be put\nin a small cotton or linen bag, two inches long by one and a half inch\nwide, and attached by a ribbon round the neck, so that the charm rests\nabove the heart. Red salt is used by witches in their incantations.\n\nThe following written charm was lent me to copy by Mr. Guille, one\nof the founders of the Guille-All\u00e8s Library. It is in the form of a\nletter, and he told me, when he was a boy, a copy existed in almost all\nthe old Guernsey farm houses.[368] I have transcribed it verbatim, with\nall its faults of spelling, punctuation, etc.\n\nL\u2019ETTRE MIRACULEUSE.\n\n\u201cTrouv\u00e9 depuis peut par un Etudians au pied d\u2019un Crusifix Miraculeux de\nla Ville d\u2019Arrase Ecritte en Lettres d\u2019Or de la propre main de notre\nSauveur et Redempteur Jesus Christ.\n\nJESUS--MARIE.\n\nLes Dimanches vous ne ferez aucune \u0153uvre n\u2019y travail sur peine d\u2019\u00eatre\nmaudits de Moy. Vous yrez \u00e0 l\u2019Eglise et priez Dieu qu\u2019il vous fasse\nMisericorde et qu\u2019il vous pardonne vos p\u00each\u00e9s. Je vous ai donn\u00e9 six\njours de la semaine pour travaille, et au septi\u00e8me me servir et vous\nReposer ayant entendu le Service divin. Vous ferez la charit\u00e9 et vous\ndonnerez de vos biens aux pauvres et vos champs seront fertille et\nvous serez remplis de Benediction. Au contraire si vous ne croyez \u00e0\nla presente l\u2019Ettre Malediction viendra sur vous et sur vos Enfants,\net vos Bestiaux seront maudits, je vous envoierez Guerre, Peste, et\nFamine et Douleur, et l\u2019Angoisse de C\u0153ur, et pour Marque de ma juste\ncol\u00e8re et dure Vengeance vous voirez signes prodigieux dans les Astres\net Elements avec grands tremblements de Terre. Vous jeunerez cinq\nVendredis en l\u2019honneur des Cinq Plaies qui iai souffert pour vous\nsauver sur l\u2019Arbre de la Croix. Vous donnerez cette l\u2019Ettre sans aucun\ninter\u00eat que celuy de ma Gloire. Ceux qui murmuront sur cette L\u2019Ettre\nseront aussy maudits et confis; qui la tiendra dans la maison sans la\npublier sera aussy maudits au Jour Terrible Epouvantable du Jugement.\nMais s\u2019y vous gardez mes comandements et pareillement ceux de ma Sainte\nEglise faisant une veritable penitence vous aurez la Vie Eternelle.\nCeluy qui la lira ou publiera ycelle est \u00e9crite de Ma Sacr\u00e9 Main et\ndictes de Ma Sacr\u00e9e Bouche. S\u2019il a com\u0360is autant de P\u00each\u00e9s qu\u2019il y a de\nJours en l\u2019an ils luy seront Pardonn\u00e9s \u00e9tant veritablement constrit,\nse confaisant, et satisfaisant au prochain. Sy on luy a fait tort. Sy\nvous ne croyez Pieusement en Ycelle Lettre je vous envoirez des Bestes\nMonstreuses qui d\u00e8voreront vous et votres Enfants. Bienheureux sera\nceluy qui prendra une copie de cette L\u2019Ettre, qui la portera sur Soi,\nqui la lira, ou fera lire ou la gardera en sa Maison. Jamais aucun Feu\nMalin, on autre feu ni foudre ne la touchera. Et toutes Feme enceinte\nqui sur Elle qui la lira ou fera lire en Bonne intention etant en\nTravail d\u2019Enfans sera incontinent heureusement d\u00e9livr\u00e9. Gardez mes\ncomandements et ceux de Ma Sainte \u00c9glise Catolique, et vous serez bien\nheureux.\n\nAvec Aprobation et Permission de Superieur de la Ville d\u2019Arrase.\n\nNous Vicaire Generale certifions avoir lut la presente Copie et nous\nn\u2019avons rien vus qu\u2019il ne soit Utile et Capable de faire r\u00e9ussir le\nP\u00eacheur dans la Voie du Salut.\u201d\n\n\u201c\u00c0 NICHOLAS GUILLE.\u201d\n\nI will conclude by giving an instance of \u201cFolk Medicine\u201d which was sent\nme the other day by one of the most prominent of our local physicians.\n\n\u201cAs you are interested in Guernsey Folk-Lore I send you the following:--\n\nA patient of mine at St. Pierre-du-Bois suffered from an affection of\nthe brain which has led to total loss of sight. It was supposed by the\nwise people around her that she was suffering from \u201cMal Volant,\u201d so a\nblack fowl was waved three times round her head on three successive\ndays, to the accompaniment of a prayer (? incantation). On the ninth\nday the fowl ought to have died and the woman recovered.--As this did\nnot happen they concluded that their diagnosis was wrong!\n\nE. LAURIE ROBINSON\n\nMelrose, Guernsey, December 11th, 1902.\u201d\n\n[368] In reading this proof Mr. de Garis notes that in his young days\nhe had sometimes heard of a \u201cLettre d\u2019Or\u201d but had never seen the\ncontents.\n\n\n\n\nIndex.\n\n\nThe sign (_a_) signifies that the reference may be found in the\nEditor\u2019s Appendix; (_n_) that it refers to an Editor\u2019s Footnote.\n\n    Adams Chapel, 270\n\n    Aerial Journey, 336\n\n    Agricultural Sayings, 535\n\n    Air, National, of Guernsey (_a_), 575\n\n    A la Claire Fontaine (_a_), 565\n\n    Alarm of Pulias, 473\n\n    Albert, Grand et Petit (_n_), 341-345\n\n    Alderney, How the Men Sowed and what came of it, 428;\n      Witch of (_n_), 601\n\n    Alien Priories, 165\n\n    Andriou, 143\n\n    Ane, Chevaucherie d\u2019 (_n_), 102\n\n    Animal Transformation, 361\n\n    Anne, Ste., 187\n\n    Appendix (_a_), 547\n\n    Apolline, Ste., 178, 181\n\n    April, First of, 47\n\n    Aquatic Customs, 59\n\n    Archbishop Mauger, 444\n\n    Arm\u00e9e d\u2019Espagne (_a_), 558\n\n    August, 55\n\n    Autel de Dehus, 120;\n      des Vardes, 112\n\n\n    Bakers, Fairy, 214\n\n    Baguette Divinatoire, 416\n\n    Ballad of Ivon de Galles, 450, 551 (_a_)\n\n    Baptism and Birth, 97\n\n    Barboue, 233\n\n    Barking, to prevent a Dog, 397\n\n    Bees put in mourning, 420\n\n    Belengier, Faeu, 226\n\n    Belfroi, 176\n\n    Belle Lizabeau (_n_), 147;\n      Rose au Rosier Blanc (_a_), 563\n\n    Beilleuse, Fontaine de la (_n_), 192\n\n    B\u00eate, Rue de la, 235;\n      de la Tour, 235;\n      de la Pendue, 248\n\n    Betrothals and Weddings, 99\n\n    Biche, Coin de la (_n_), 255\n\n    Birth and Baptism, 97\n\n    Bimerlue, Grand (_n_), 202\n\n    Biting, to prevent a Dog, 397\n\n    Bladebone, 380\n\n    Blanchelande, 187\n\n    Bleeding, to stop, 395\n\n    B\u00f4det, Chasse \u00e0, 237\n\n    B\u0153uf, Pied de, 153\n\n    Books, Magic, 340-350\n\n    Bonamy Family (_n_), 155, (_a_) 590\n\n    Bonhomme Andrelot, 143\n\n    Breton, Jean, 477\n\n    Brian and Cadwalla, 441\n\n    Brioc, St., 151, 166\n\n    Briser la Hanse, 77\n\n    Broken Kettle, 210\n\n    Building of the Castel Church, 220\n\n    Burial of the Drowned, 283\n\n    Burn, to cure a, 395\n\n\n    Caches, Les (_n_), 589\n\n    Cadwalla and Brian, 441\n\n    Careye, Mons. Nicholas, 526, 528\n\n    Casquet, 381\n\n    Castel Church, Building of, 220;\n      Old Figure at, 129\n\n    Cat, Pel de, 201\n\n    Cat and the Fox, 437\n\n    Catel, Cotillon de Rach\u00e9, 437\n\n    Catherine, Ste., 176\n\n    Catte, Mahy de la, 367\n\n    Catillon, 151\n\n    Catiorioc, (Trepied), 121\n\n    Ca\u00fbbo, Witch of, 350\n\n    Celts, 403\n\n    Ceremonial Customs, 59\n\n    Chaire de St. Bonit, 148\n\n    Changeling, 219, 225\n\n    Chapel or Chapelle.\n      Adams, 270;\n      Ste. Apolline, 178;\n      Dom Hue, 182;\n      Epine, 183;\n      Fr\u00e8res, 175;\n      Lorette, 177;\n      On the site of St. Martin\u2019s Parish School (_n_), 197;\n      Lihou, 151, 166, 171, 173, 343;\n      Pulias, 181;\n      St. Clair, 186;\n      St. Germain, 187;\n      St. Jean de la Houguette, 187;\n      St. Mali\u00e8re or St. Magloire, 185;\n      Sepulcre, 176;\n      Ydolle de St. Jacques, 177\n\n    Charms, Spells, and Incantations, 387\n\n    Chasse \u00e0 B\u00f4det, 237\n\n    Chevaucherie d\u2019Ane (_n_), 102\n\n    Chevauch\u00e9e de St. Michel, 59\n\n    Chien, Creux du, 225;\n      B\u00f4du, 237\n\n    Children\u2019s Games, 484\n\n    Chimqui\u00e8re, Gran\u2019m\u00e8re du (_n_), 134\n\n    Christmas and New Year, 33\n\n    Cimeti\u00e8res des Fr\u00e8res et des S\u0153urs, 175\n\n    Civic Customs, 59\n\n    Clair, St., 186\n\n    Clameur de Haro (_a_), 576\n\n    Claw, Devil\u2019s, 157\n\n    Coin de la Biche (_n_), 255\n\n    Colin, Grand et Petit, 214\n\n    Colliche, Pont, 160\n\n    Consequences of a Love Spell, 412\n\n    Convent of Cordeliers, 174\n\n    Cotillon de Rach\u00e9 Catel, 437\n\n    Coq Chante, Roque o\u00f9 le, 149\n\n    Counter Charm for Witchcraft, 403\n\n    \u201cCounting Out\u201d Rhymes, 485\n\n    Countrywoman and the Witch, 338\n\n    Cradle Songs, 494\n\n    Creux, du chien, 225;\n      des F\u00e2\u00efes, 123;\n      des F\u00e9es, 137;\n      Mahi\u00e9, 138\n\n    Cromlechs, 110\n\n    Cromlech at L\u2019Ancresse (_n_), 134\n\n    Customs, Aquatic, 58;\n      Civic, 59, 89;\n      Ceremonial, 89-106;\n      Festival, 19-58\n\n    Cuckoo Rhymes, 504\n\n    Cure of Burns, 395;\n      Erysipelas, 402;\n      Vives or Gripes in a Horse, 396;\n      Warts and Wens, 400\n\n\n    Dame au Voile, 372\n\n    Dame, Notre, de Lihou, 171;\n      de Marais, 166;\n      de la Perrelle, 179\n\n    Dam\u00e8que, Seigneur de (_a_), 585\n\n    Dancing Rhymes, 496\n\n    Deaths and Funerals, 103\n\n    De Garis Pedigree (_n_), 522\n\n    D\u00e9hus, Autel de, 120\n\n    D\u00e9laissance, 432\n\n    De la Rue, Collas, 312\n\n    Demons and Goblins, 226\n\n    Demon and Duke Richard, 443\n\n    D\u00e9sorceleur, D\u00e9sorcelleresse, 300\n\n    Devil, The, 148, 154, 157, 159, 257;\n      Recent Appearance of, 269;\n      and the Tailor, 266\n\n    Devil\u2019s Claw, 157\n\n    Diable, Pont du, 158\n\n    Divining Rod, 414\n\n    Dix Paroisses, Filles des (_n_), 508\n\n    Dog, to prevent from Barking or Biting, 397\n\n    Dole of Loaves at Le Laurier, 249\n\n    Dom Hue, 182\n\n    Drowned, Burial of the, 283\n\n    Duck and the Miller, 365\n\n    Duke Richard and the Demon, 443\n\n\n    Easter, 46\n\n    Echelle, 245\n\n    Editor\u2019s Appendix (_a_), 546\n\n    Eeling, Sand, 85\n\n    Enchanted Horse, 252\n\n    Enchantments, to avert, 394\n\n    Epine, Chapelle de l\u2019, 183\n\n    Erysipelas, Cure of, 402\n\n    Espagne, Arm\u00e9e d\u2019 (_a_), 558\n\n\n    Family, Bonamy (_n_), 155, (_a_) 590;\n      de Garis (_n_), 522;\n      Fautrart (_n_), 602;\n      Henry (_n_), 179\n\n    Faeu Belengier, 226\n\n    F\u00e2\u00efes, Palette \u00e8s, 124;\n      Creux des, 137;\n      Tomb\u00e9 du Rouai des, 200\n\n    Fairy Bakers, 214;\n      Neighbours, 211\n\n    Fairies, 123-129, 198-225;\n      and the Midwife, 209;\n      and the Nurse, 207;\n      Invasion of Guernsey by the, 204\n\n    Falla, Jean, and the Witches, 376\n\n    Farm Servant and the Weeds, 438\n\n    Fautrart Family (_n_), 602\n\n    Festival Customs, 19\n\n    Filles des Dix Paroisses (_n_), 508\n\n    Figures, Old, at St. Martin\u2019s and the Castel, 129\n\n    Fingers, Names of, 488\n\n    Fire, to stop a, 395\n\n    First of April, 47;\n      Sunday in Lent, 44\n\n    Fishbone in the Throat, to Remove, 397\n\n    Flleur de Jaon, 286\n\n    Flouncing, 99\n\n    Folk Medicine and Leech Craft, 422\n\n    Fontaine de la Beilleuse (_n_), 192;\n      A la Claire (_a_), 565;\n      des Corbins, 191;\n      Fleurie, 191;\n      Gounebec, 191;\n      Lesset, 191;\n      Mal de la, 190;\n      des Navets (_n_), 192;\n      St. George, 190, 193, 197;\n      St. Germain, 187;\n      St. Martin, 191;\n      Vaulaurent, 191\n\n    Footprints on Stone, 151\n\n    Fortune Telling, 385\n\n    Fouaille, Lit de, 51\n\n    Fox and the Cat, 437\n\n    Fr\u00e8res, Cimeti\u00e8re and Chapelle des, 175;\n      Pies, 355\n\n    Friday, Good, 45\n\n    Friquet du Gibet, 245\n\n    Funerals and Deaths, 103\n\n\n    Galles, Yvon de, 450, 551 (_a_)\n\n    Game, to prevent a Sportsman killing, 396\n\n    Gal\u00e8res, 245\n\n    Gallows, Jersey, 430\n\n    Games, Children\u2019s, 484\n\n    Garce, Grand\u2019, 284\n\n    Gaultier de la Salle (_a_), 237-247\n\n    George, St., 166, 192, 194, 197\n\n    Germain, St., 187\n\n    Ghosts, 275, 281;\n      of La Petite Porte (_a_), 581\n\n    Ghost of Mr. Blondel (_a_), 578\n\n    Gibet, des F\u00e2\u00efes, 128, (_n_), 222;\n      Friquet du, 245\n\n    Glaneur (_a_), 570\n\n    Goblins and Demons, 226\n\n    Good Friday, 45\n\n    Grand Albert (_n_), 341-345;\n      Bimerlue (_n_), 202;\n      Colin, 214;\n      Sarrazin, 119\n\n    Grand\u2019 Garce, 284;\n      Querrue, 40\n\n    Gran\u2019m\u00e8re du Chimqui\u00e8re (_n_), 134\n\n    Grentmaisons, Spectre of, 247\n\n    Gripes in a Horse, to cure, 396\n\n    Guernseyman Three Centuries Ago, 23\n\n    Guernsey National Air (_a_), 575;\n      Songs and Ballads (_a_), 549;\n      Lily, 221\n\n\n    Hanse, Briser la, 77\n\n    Haro, Clameur de (_a_), 576\n\n    H\u00e9l\u00e8ne, Ste., 187\n\n    Henry Pedigree (_n_), 179\n\n    Herodias, 232\n\n    Hidden Treasures, 228\n\n    Historical Reminiscences, 441\n\n    Hoc, 332\n\n    Holy Chapels, 165;\n      Island, 62;\n      Wells, 188\n\n    Horse, Enchanted, 252;\n      with vives or gripes, to cure, 396\n\n    How the Jerseymen attempted to carry off Guernsey, 429\n\n    How the men of Alderney sowed, and what came of it, 428\n\n\n    Incantations, 387\n\n    Inscribed Stone, 151\n\n    Invasion of Guernsey by the Fairies (_n_), 204\n\n\n    Jacques, St., 176\n\n    Jaon, Flleur de, 286\n\n    Jean Breton, 477\n\n    Jean Falla and the Witches, 376\n\n    Jean, Gros Jean (_a_), 574\n\n    Jean, St., 187\n\n    Jersey Gallows, 430\n\n    Jerseymen\u2019s Attempt to carry off Guernsey, 429\n\n    Jonqui\u00e8re, 51\n\n    Journey, Aerial, 336\n\n    Julien, St., 169\n\n\n    Kettle, Broken, 210\n\n    King\u2019s Evil, 425\n\n\n    La Moye Estate, Stone on (_n_), 121\n\n    L\u2019Ancresse, Cromlech at (_n_), 134\n\n    Laurier, Dole of Loaves at Le, 249;\n      Mon Beau, 496\n\n    Legend of St. George\u2019s Well, 194;\n      of the Ville au Roi, 237\n\n    Leech Craft, 422\n\n    Le Marchant Family (_n_), 522\n\n    Le Tocq, Jean, 459, 525, 552\n\n    Lent, First Sunday in, 44\n\n    L\u2019Ettre Miraculeuse (_a_), 610\n\n    Lihou, Chapel of, 146, 166;\n      Notre Dame de, 171-173;\n      Priory at, 342;\n      Lady of, 151\n\n    Lily, Guernsey, 221\n\n    Lit de Fou\u00e2ille, 51\n\n    Lizabeau, Belle (_n_), 147\n\n    Loaves, Dole of, at Le Laurier, 249\n\n    Local Customs, Aquatic, Civic, 59-89;\n      Ceremonial, 89-106;\n      Festival, 19-58\n\n    Local Nick-Names, 506-7\n\n    Longue Roque, 124;\n      Veille, 30\n\n    Lorette, Chapelle de la, 177\n\n    Lorreur, Le (_a_), 553\n\n    Lovers\u2019 Leap, 161\n\n    Love Spells, 406;\n      Consequences of, 412\n\n    Love, to cause a Person to, 395\n\n\n    Madeleine, La, 187\n\n    Magic Books, 340-350\n\n    Magloire, St., 185\n\n    Mahi\u00e9, Creux, 138\n\n    Mahy de la Catte, 367\n\n    Martin, St., 129\n\n    Maidens at St. George\u2019s Well, 195\n\n    Mangi, Roque, 147\n\n    Man in the Moon (_n_), 506;\n      who was Bewitched, 373\n\n    Marguerite s\u2019est assise (_a_), 568\n\n    Marais, Notre Dame des, 166\n\n    Mares, Our Lady, 166\n\n    Marie Pipet (_a_), 596\n\n    Marie, Ste., 179\n\n    Maritime Sayings, 538\n\n    Mauger, Archbishop, 444\n\n    Medicine, Folk, 422\n\n    Mermaids, 223\n\n    Meuni\u00e8re (_a_), 569\n\n    Michel, St., 59, 160\n\n    Midsummer, 50;\n      in Jersey, 54;\n      in Sark, 53;\n      Eve (_a_), 609\n\n    Midwife and the Fairies, 209\n\n    Miller and the Duck, 365\n\n    Miraculeuse, L\u2019Ettre (_a_), 610\n\n    Mon Beau Laurier, 496\n\n    Moon, Man in the (_n_), 506\n\n    Moulin de l\u2019Echelle, 245\n\n    Mourains, 288\n\n    Mourioche (_n_), 252\n\n    Moye Estate, Stone on La (_n_), 129\n\n\n    Names of the Fingers, 488\n\n    National Air of Guernsey (_a_), 575\n\n    Natural Objects and their Superstitions, 137\n\n    Neighbours, Fairy, 211\n\n    New Year and Christmas, 93\n\n    Nick-Names, 506-7\n\n    Navets, Fontaine des (_n_), 192\n\n    Notre Dame de Lihou, 171;\n      des Marais, 166;\n      de la Perrelle, 179;\n      de la Roche (_n_), 147\n\n    Nursery Rhymes and Children\u2019s Games, 484\n\n    Nurse and the Fairies, 207\n\n\n    Old Figures in the Churchyards of St. Martin\u2019s and the Castel, 129\n\n    Old House at St. George (_a_), 580\n\n    Ormering, 84\n\n    Our Lady Mares, 166\n\n\n    Palette \u00e8s F\u00e2\u00efes, 124\n\n    Parish Nick-Names, 507\n\n    Paroisses, Filles des Dix (_n_), 508\n\n    Patris Family (_n_), 155, 590\n\n    Peace, to make, 395\n\n    Pedigrees, De Garis (_n_), 522;\n      Fautrat (_n_), 602;\n      Henry (_n_), 179\n\n    Pel de Cat, 201\n\n    Pendue, B\u00eate de la, 248\n\n    Perrelle, Notre Dame de la, 179\n\n    Petit Albert (_n_), 341, 315;\n      Bonhomme Andrelot, 143;\n      Colin, 213\n\n    Pied de B\u0153uf, 153\n\n    Pies, Fr\u00e8res, 355\n\n    Pipet, Marie (_a_), 596\n\n    Piscatory and Maritime Sayings, 538\n\n    Play, to win at, 395\n\n    Poems, Secular (_n_), 563\n\n    Pont Colliche, 160;\n      du Diable, 158;\n      St. Michel, 160\n\n    Poor Box, Robber of the, 282\n\n    Popular Notions about Fairies, 198;\n      Sayings, 521\n\n    Poulain de St. George, 192\n\n    Pouquelaie, 110\n\n    Prehistoric Monuments and their Superstitions, 109\n\n    Preservative against Spells, 394\n\n    Prior, Priory, alien, 165;\n      of Lihou, 341, 343;\n      of St. Michel du Valle, 171\n\n    Prophetic Warnings and Ghosts, 275\n\n    Proverbial stories, 432;\n      Sayings, 529\n\n    Proverbs, Weather Sayings, etc., 509\n\n    Pulias, 181;\n      Alarm of, 473\n\n\n    Querrue, Grand\u2019, 40\n\n    Quick-Silver a Protection against Witchcraft, 397\n\n    Qui Veut Ou\u00efr (_a_), 566\n\n\n    Rach\u00e9 Catel, Cotillon de, 437\n\n    Rat\u00e9, Le, 436\n\n    Raven and the Witch (_a_) 602\n\n    Recapture of Sark, 466\n\n    Recent Appearance of the Devil, 269\n\n    Reminiscences, Historical, 441\n\n    Rhymes, \u201cCounting Out,\u201d 485;\n      Nursery, 484;\n      Dancing, 496;\n      Cuckoo, 504\n\n    Richard, Duke, and the Demon, 443\n\n    Robber of the Poor Box, 282\n\n    Roche, Notre Dame de la (_n_), 147\n\n    Rocks and Stones, 143\n\n    Rod, Divining, 414\n\n    Roland, Mons., 526\n\n    Roque, Balan, 113;\n      Longue, 124;\n      des F\u00e2\u00efes, 127;\n      o\u00f9 le Coq Chante, 149, 214;\n      qui Sonne, 114;\n      M\u00e0ngi, 147;\n\n    Rouai des F\u00e2\u00efes, Tombeau du, 200\n\n    Rouss\u00e9, Collas, 361\n\n    Rue de la B\u00eate (_n_), 235\n\n\n    Sabbath (Witches\u2019), 295\n\n    Salle, Gaultier de la (_n_), 246\n\n    Sanbule, 249\n\n    Sand Eeling, 85\n\n    Saint, or Sainte.--Anne, 187;\n      Appolline, 179;\n      Bonit, Chaire de, 148;\n      Brioc, Chapel of, 166;\n      Lady of, 151;\n      Catherine, 176;\n      Clair, 186;\n      George, Chapel of, 166;\n      Well of, 194;\n      Poulain de, 192;\n      Germain, 187;\n      H\u00e9l\u00e8ne, 187;\n      Jacques, Chapel of, 176;\n      Julien, Hospice and Chapel of, 169;\n      Jean de la Houguette, 187;\n      Marie de la Perrelle, 179;\n      Michel, Chevauch\u00e9e de, 59;\n      Pont, 160;\n      Mali\u00e8re or Magloire, 185;\n      Martin\u2019s Churchyard, Old Figure of, 129;\n      Thomas\u2019 Day (_n_), 608\n\n    Sark, Recapture of, 466;\n      Fisherman and the Devil (_n_), 274;\n      Games, 500;\n      Wizard of (_a_), 598\n\n    Sarrazin, Tombeau du Grand, 119;\n      Ch\u00e2teau du Grand, 118\n\n    Satan, Outwitted, 258;\n      and the Schoolmaster, 260-263.\n\n    Sayings, Agricultural, 535;\n      Piscatory and Maritime, 538;\n      Popular, 521;\n      Proverbial, 529;\n      Various, 539;\n      Weather, 509\n\n    Secular Poems (_n_), 563\n\n    Seigneur de Dam\u00e8que (_n_), 585;\n      of St. George and the D\u00e9sorcelleur, 405\n\n    September, 56\n\n    Sepulcre, Chapelle du, 176\n\n    Shrove Tuesday, 43\n\n    Sick Princess and the Wizard, 357\n\n    Si j\u2019avais le Chapeau (_a_), 571\n\n    S\u0153urs, Cimeti\u00e8re des, 175\n\n    Songs, Cradle, 494, and Ballads (_a_), 549\n\n    Sorcerers, 287-393\n\n    Spectre of Les Grentmaisons, 247\n\n    Spectral Appearances, 234;\n      Cort\u00e8ge, 252\n\n    Spells, 387, 390, 394, 406, 412\n\n    Stone on La Moye Estate (_n_), 129;\n      Footprints on, 151;\n      Inscribed, 150\n\n    Stones and Rocks, 143\n\n    Story Telling, 427\n\n    Sundays, in Lent, 44;\n      in May, 47\n\n    Superstitions, Natural Objects, 137;\n      Prehistoric Monuments, 109;\n      Generally, 501\n\n    Superstitious Belief and Practice, 107\n\n\n    Tambours, Trois (_a_), 570\n\n    Tchi-co, la B\u00eate de la Tour, 235\n\n    Throat, to remove a Fishbone from, 397\n\n    Thomas, St. (_n_), 409\n\n    Tombeau du Grand Sarrazin, 119\n\n    Tomb\u00e9 du Rouai des F\u00e2\u00efes, 200\n\n    Torteval Church, 197\n\n    Torture, 325\n\n    Tour, B\u00eate de la, 235\n\n    To Cure a Burn, 395;\n      Stop Bleeding, 395;\n      Make Peace, 395;\n      Stop a Fire, 395;\n      Cause a Person to Love You, 395;\n      Cause a Sorcerer to show himself, 393;\n      Win at Play, 395;\n      Avert Spells and Enchantments, 394;\n      Remove a Spell, 390;\n      Prevent a Dog from Barking or Biting, 397;\n      Remove a Fish Bone from the Throat, 397;\n      Cure a Horse that has Vives or Gripes, 396;\n      Prevent a Sportsman from killing Game, 396\n\n    Transformation of Animals, 361\n\n    Transformed Wizard, 370\n\n    Treasures, Hidden, 228\n\n    Trepied, or the Catioroc, 121\n\n    Trials for Witchcraft, and Confessions of Witches, 306, 606 (_a_)\n\n    Trois Tambours (_a_), 570\n\n    Tuesday, Shrove, 43\n\n    Two Witches and two Cats (_a_), 370\n\n\n    Various Sayings, 539\n\n    Varou, 231\n\n    Veille, Longue, 30\n\n    Venez, Peuple Fid\u00e8le (_a_), 573\n\n    Ville au Roi, 237;\n      \u00e8s Pies, 355\n\n    Vives in a Horse, to cure, 396\n\n    Voile, Dame au, 372\n\n    Vraicing, 78\n\n\n    Warnings and Ghosts, 275\n\n    Warts, Cure of, 400\n\n    Weather Proverbs (_n_), 545;\n      Sayings, 509\n\n    Weddings and Betrothals, 99\n\n    Weeds and the Farm Servant, 438\n\n    Wells, Holy, and Chapels, 165\n\n    Wens, Cure of, 400\n\n    Witch and the Raven (_n_), 602;\n      of Alderney (_n_), 601;\n      in Disguise, 360;\n      of the Ville-\u00e8s-Pies, 355;\n      of Ca\u00fbbo, 350;\n      Foresight, 382;\n      and the White Thorn, 413;\n      Sabbath, 295;\n      and two Cats (_a_), 370\n\n    Witchcraft, 289;\n      Counter charm for, 403;\n      Quicksilver, a Protection against, 397;\n      Sabbath, 295, (_a_) 596\n\n    When it Snows, 492\n\n    White Witch, 300\n\n    Whitsuntide, 48\n\n    Win at Play, to, 395\n\n    Wizards and Witches, 331;\n      Death, 347;\n      on the West Coast, 346;\n      Transformed, 370;\n      and the Sick Princess, 357;\n      of Sark (_a_), 598\n\n\n    Yvon de Galles, 450, 551 (_a_)\n\n    Ydolle de St. Jacques, 177\n\nPRINTED IN GUERNSEY, BY FREDERICK CLARKE, STATES ARCADE.","title":"Guernsey Folk Lore: a collection of popular superstitions, legendary tales, peculiar customs, proverbs, weather sayings, etc., of the people of that island","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":170724}