{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_56034/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_56034","id":"gutenberg_56034","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/56034","summary":null,"tags":["Category: History - Other","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Category: Religion/Spirituality","Holy wells","Lakes -- Scotland -- Folklore","Springs -- Scotland -- Folklore"],"text":"FOLKLORE OF SCOTTISH LOCHS AND SPRINGS.\n\n                                   BY\n\n                 JAMES M. MACKINLAY, M.A., F.S.A.Scot.\n\n                      GLASGOW: WILLIAM HODGE & Co.\n                                 1893.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nPREFATORY NOTE.\n\n\nNo work giving a comprehensive account of Well-worship in Scotland\nhas yet appeared. Mr. R. C. Hope's recent volume, \"Holy Wells: Their\nLegends and Traditions,\" discusses the subject in its relation to\nEngland. In the following pages an attempt has been made to illustrate\nthe more outstanding facts associated with the cult north of the\nTweed. Various holy wells are referred to by name; but the list makes\nno claim to be exhaustive.\n\n\nJ. M. M.\n\n4 Westbourne Gardens,\nGlasgow, December, 1893.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS.\n\n\n     CHAP.                                        PAGE\n\n        I. Worship of Water,                         1\n       II. How Water became Holy,                   24\n      III. Saints and Springs,                      39\n       IV. More Saints and Springs,                 56\n        V. Stone Blocks and Saints' Springs,        72\n       VI. Healing and Holy Wells,                  86\n      VII. Water-Cures,                            108\n     VIII. Some Wonderful Wells,                   128\n       IX. Witness of Water,                       140\n        X. Water-Spirits,                          155\n       XI. More Water-Spirits,                     171\n      XII. Offerings at Lochs and Springs,         188\n     XIII. Weather and Wells,                      213\n      XIV. Trees and Springs,                      230\n       XV. Charm-Stones in and out of Water,       241\n      XVI. Pilgrimages to Wells,                   263\n     XVII. Sun-Worship and Well-Worship,           280\n    XVIII. Wishing-Wells,                          314\n      XIX. Meaning of Marvels,                     324\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAmong the works consulted are the following, the titles being given\nin alphabetical order:--\n\n\nA Description of the Western Islands of Scotland. By John MacCulloch,\nM.D. 1819.\n\nA Description of the Western Islands. By M. Martin. Circa 1695.\n\nA Handbook of Weather Folklore. By the Rev. C. Swainson, M.A.\n\nA Historical Account of the belief in Witchcraft in Scotland. By\nCharles Kirkpatrick Sharpe.\n\nA Journey through the Western Counties of Scotland. By Robert\nHeron. 1799.\n\nAncient Legends: Mystic Charms and Superstitions of Ireland. By\nLady Wilde.\n\nAn Etymological Dictionary of the Scottish Language. By John Jamieson,\nD.D.\n\nAnnals of Dunfermline and Vicinity. By Ebenezer Henderson, LL.D.\n\nAntiquities and Scenery of the North of Scotland. By Rev. Charles\nCordiner. 1780.\n\nArch\u00e6ological Sketches in Scotland: Districts of Kintyre and\nKnapdale. By Captain T. P. White.\n\nA Tour in Scotland and Voyage to the Hebrides, MDCCLXXII. By Thomas\nPennant.\n\nA Tour in Scotland, MDCCLXIX. By Thomas Pennant.\n\nBritannia; or, A Chorographical Description of the Flourishing Kingdoms\nof England, Scotland, and Ireland, and the Islands adjacent, from the\nEarliest Antiquity. By William Camden. Translated from the edition\npublished by the Author in MDCVII. Enlarged by the latest discoveries\nby Richard Gough. The second edition in four volumes. 1806.\n\nCeltic Heathendom. By Professor John Rhys.\n\nCeltic Scotland: A History of Ancient Alban. By William Forbes Skene.\n\nChurchlore Gleanings. By T. F. Thiselton Dyer.\n\nDaemonologie in Forme of a Dialogve. Written by the High and Mightie\nPrince James, by the Grace of God King of England, Scotland, France,\nand Ireland; Defender of the Faith. 1603.\n\nDescriptive Notices of some of the Ancient Parochial and Collegiate\nChurches of Scotland. By T. S. Muir.\n\nDomestic Annals of Scotland from the Reformation to the Revolution. By\nRobert Chambers, LL.D.\n\nEcclesiological Notes on some of the Islands of Scotland. By\nT. S. Muir.\n\nEnglish Folklore. By the Rev. T. F. Thiselton Dyer, M.A.\n\nEssays in the Study of Folk Songs. By the Countess Evelyn\nMartinengo-Cesaresco.\n\nEthnology in Folklore. By G. L. Gomme.\n\nFolklore.\n\nFolklore Journal.\n\nFolklore of East Yorkshire. By John Nicholson.\n\nFolklore of Shakespeare. By Rev. T. F. Thiselton Dyer, M.A. Oxon.\n\nFolklore; or, Superstitious Beliefs in the West of Scotland within\nthis Century. By James Napier, F.R.S.E.\n\nGairloch in North-west Ross-shire: Its Records, Traditions,\nInhabitants, and Natural History. By John H. Dixon.\n\nHistorical and Statistical Account of Dunfermline. By Rev. Peter\nChalmers, A.M.\n\nKalendars of Scottish Saints. By the late Alexander Penrose Forbes,\nBishop of Brechin.\n\nLetters from a Gentleman in the North of Scotland to his Friend in\nLondon. Burt's Letters. 1754.\n\nList of Markets and Fairs now and formerly held in Scotland. By Sir\nJames David Marwick, LL.D.\n\nMemorabilia Domestica; or, Parish Life in the North of Scotland. By\nthe late Rev. Donald Sage, A.M., Minister of Resolis.\n\nNew Statistical Account of Scotland. Circa 1845.\n\nNotes and Queries.\n\nNotes on the Folklore of the North-east of Scotland. By the Rev. Walter\nGregor.\n\nNotes on the Folklore of the Northern Counties of England and the\nBorders. By William Henderson.\n\nObservations on Popular Antiquities, including the whole of\nMr. Bourne's Antiquitates Vulgares. By John Brand, A.M.\n\nOld Glasgow: The Place and the People. By Andrew MacGeorge.\n\nOld Scottish Customs, Local and General. By E. J. Guthrie.\n\nOrdnance Gazetteer of Scotland. Edited by Francis H. Groome.\n\nPeasant Life in Sweden. By L. Lloyd.\n\nPopular Antiquities of Great Britain. By John Brand, M.A.\n\nPopular Romances of the West of England. By Robert Hunt, F.R.S.\n\nPopular Tales of the West Highlands. By J. F. Campbell.\n\nPre-historic Annals of Scotland. By Daniel Wilson, LL.D.\n\nPre-historic Man. By Daniel Wilson, LL.D.\n\nPrimitive Culture. By Edward B. Tylor, D.C.L.\n\nProceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. Old Series,\n1851-1878; New Series, 1878-1891.\n\nRambles in the Far North. By R. Menzies Fergusson.\n\nScenes and Legends of the North of Scotland; or, The Traditional\nHistory of Cromarty. By Hugh Miller.\n\nScotland in Early Christian Times. By Joseph Anderson, LL.D.\n\nScotland in Pagan Times: The Bronze and Iron Ages. By Joseph Anderson,\nLL.D.\n\nScotland in the Middle Ages. By Professor Cosmo Innes.\n\nSocial Life in Scotland. By Charles Rogers, LL.D.\n\nStatistical Account of Scotland. By Sir John Sinclair. Circa 1798.\n\nThe Antiquary.\n\nThe Arch\u00e6ological Journal. Published under the direction of The Council\nof the Royal Arch\u00e6ological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland.\n\nThe Book of Days: A Miscellany of Popular Antiquities in connection\nwith the Calendar. Edited by R. Chambers.\n\nThe Darker Superstitions of Scotland. By John Graham Dalyell. 1834.\n\nThe Early Scottish Church: Ecclesiastical History of Scotland from\nthe First to the Twelfth Centuries. By the Rev. Thomas M'Lauchlan.\n\nThe Every-Day Book. By William Hone.\n\nThe Folklore of Plants. By T. F. Thiselton Dyer.\n\nThe Gentleman's Magazine Library--Manners and Customs. Edited by\nG. L. Gomme, F.S.A.\n\nThe Gentleman's Magazine Library--Popular Superstitions. Edited by\nG. L. Gomme, F.S.A.\n\nThe Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion. By J. G. Frazer,\nM.A.\n\nThe History of St. Cuthbert. By Charles, Archbishop of Glasgow.\n\nThe History of St. Kilda. By the Rev. Kenneth Macaulay, minister of\nArdnamurchan. 1769.\n\nThe Legendary Lore of the Holy Wells of England, including Rivers,\nLakes, Fountains, and Springs. By R. C. Hope, F.S.A.\n\nThe Origin of Civilisation. By Sir J. Lubbock, Bart.\n\nThe Past in the Present. By Arthur Mitchell, M.D., LL.D.\n\nThe Popular Rhymes of Scotland. By Robert Chambers. 1826.\n\nThe Popular Superstitions and Festive Amusements of the Highlanders\nof Scotland. By William Grant Stewart.\n\nThe Surnames and Placenames of the Isle of Man. By A. W. Moore, M.A.\n\nTraditions, Superstitions, and Folklore (chiefly Lancashire and the\nNorth of England). By Charles Hardwick.\n\nTree and Serpent Worship. By James Fergusson, D.C.L., F.R.S.\n\n'Twixt Ben Nevis and Glencoe: The Natural History, Legends, and\nFolklore of the West Highlands. By the Rev. Alexander Stewart, LL.D.\n\nUnique Traditions, chiefly of the West and South of Scotland. By John\nGordon Barbour.\n\nWayfaring in France. By E. H. Barker.\n\nWeather-lore: A Collection of Proverbs, Sayings, and Rules concerning\nthe Weather. By R. Inwards, F.R.A.S.\n\nWitch, Warlock, and Magician. By W. H. Davenport Adams.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nFOLKLORE OF SCOTTISH LOCHS AND SPRINGS.\n\n\nCHAPTER I.\n\nWORSHIP OF WATER.\n\n    Archaic Nature-worship--Deification of Water Metaphors--Divination\n    by Water--Persistence of Paganism--Shony--Superstitions of Sailors\n    and Fishermen--Sea Serpent--Mer-folk--Sea Charms--Taking Animals\n    into the Sea--Rescuing from Drowning--Ancient Beliefs about\n    Rivers--Dead and Living Ford--Clay Image--Dunskey--Lakes--Dow\n    Loch--St. Vigeans--St. Tredwell's Loch--Wells of Spey\n    and Drachaldy--Survival of Well-worship--Disappearance of\n    Springs--St. Margaret's Well--Anthropomorphism of Springs--Celtic\n    Influence--Cream of the Well.\n\n\nIn glancing at the superstitions connected with Scottish lochs and\nsprings, we are called upon to scan a chapter of our social history\nnot yet closed. A somewhat scanty amount of information is available\nto explain the origin and growth of such superstitions, but enough can\nbe had to connect them with archaic nature-worship. In the dark dawn\nof our annals much confusion existed among our ancestors concerning\nthe outer world, which so strongly appealed to their senses. They\nhad very vague notions regarding the difference between what we now\ncall the Natural and the Supernatural. Indeed all nature was to them\nsupernatural. They looked on sun, moon, and star, on mountain and\nforest, on river, lake, and sea as the abodes of divinities, or even\nas divinities themselves. These divinities, they thought, could either\nhelp or hurt man, and ought therefore to be propitiated. Hence sprang\ncertain customs which have survived to our own time. Men knocked at\nthe gate of Nature, but were not admitted within. From the unknown\nrecesses there came to them only tones of mystery.\n\nIn ancient times water was deified even by such civilised nations as\nthe Greeks and Romans, and to-day it is revered as a god by untutored\nsavages. Sir John Lubbock, in his \"Origin of Civilisation,\" shows, by\nreference to the works of travellers, what a hold this cult still has\nin regions where the natives have not yet risen above the polytheistic\nstage of religious development. Dr. E. B. Tylor forcibly remarks, in\nhis \"Primitive Culture,\" \"What ethnography has to teach of that great\nelement of the religion of mankind, the worship of well and lake, brook\nand river, is simply this--that what is poetry to us was philosophy\nto early man; that to his mind water acted not by laws of force, but\nby life and will; that the water-spirits of prim\u00e6val mythology are\nas souls which cause the water's rush and rest, its kindness and its\ncruelty; that, lastly, man finds in the beings which, with such power,\ncan work him weal and woe, deities with a wider influence over his\nlife, deities to be feared and loved, to be prayed to and praised,\nand propitiated with sacrificial gifts.\"\n\nIn speaking of inanimate objects, we often ascribe life to them;\nbut our words are metaphors, and nothing more. At an earlier time\nsuch phrases expressed real beliefs, and were not simply the outcome\nof a poetic imagination. Keats, in one of his Sonnets, speaks of\n\n\n       \"The moving waters at their priest-like task\n        Of pure ablution round Earth's human shore.\"\n\n\nHere he gives us the poetical and not the actual interpretation of\na natural phenomenon.\n\nWe may, if we choose, talk of the worship of water as a creed outworn,\nbut it is still with us, though under various disguises. Under the form\nof rites of divination practised as an amusement by young persons, such\nsurvivals often conceal their real origin. The history of superstition\nteaches us with what persistence pagan beliefs hold their ground\nin the midst of a Christian civilisation. Martin, who visited the\nWestern Islands at the close of the seventeenth century, found how\ntrue this was in many details of daily life. A custom connected with\nancient sea-worship had been popular among the inhabitants of Lewis\ntill about thirty-years before his visit, but had been suppressed\nby the Protestant clergy on account of its pagan character. This was\nan annual sacrifice at Hallow-tide to a sea god called Shony. Martin\ngives the following account of the ceremony:--\"The inhabitants round\nthe island came to the church of St. Mulvay, having each man his\nprovision along with him; every family furnished a peck of malt, and\nthis was brewed into ale; one of their number was picked out to wade\ninto the sea up to the middle, and, carrying a cup of ale in his hand,\nstanding still in that posture, cried out with a loud voice, saying,\n'Shony, I give you this cup of ale, hoping that you'll be so kind as\nto send us plenty of sea-ware for enriching our ground the ensuing\nyear,' and so threw the cup of ale into the sea. This was performed\nin the night-time.\"\n\nSailors and fishermen still cherish superstitions of their own. Majesty\nis not the only feature of the changeful ocean that strikes them. They\nare keenly alive to its mystery and to the possibilities of life\nwithin its depths. Strange creatures have their home there, the mighty\nsea serpent and the less formidable mermen and mermaidens. Among\nthe Shetland islands mer-folk were recognised denizens of the sea,\nand were known by the name of Sea-trows.\n\nThese singular beings dwelt in the caves of ocean, and came up\nto disport themselves on the shores of the islands. A favourite\nhaunt of theirs was the Ve Skerries, about seven miles north-west\nof Papa-Stour. They usually rose through the water in the shape of\nseals, and when they reached the beach they slipped off their skins\nand appeared like ordinary mortals, the females being of exceeding\nbeauty. If the skins could be snatched away on these occasions, their\nowners were powerless to escape into the sea again. Sometimes these\ncreatures were entangled in the nets of fishermen or were caught by\nhooks. If they were shot when in seal form, a tempest arose as soon\nas their blood was mingled with the water of the sea. A family living\nwithin recent times was believed to be descended from a human father\nand a mermaid mother, the man having captured his bride by stealing her\nseal's skin. After some years spent on land this sea lady recovered\nher skin, and at once returned to her native element. The members of\nthe family were said to have hands bearing some resemblance to the\nforefeet of a seal.\n\n\"Of all the old mythological existences of Scotland,\" remarks Hugh\nMiller, in his \"Scenes and Legends of the North of Scotland,\" \"there\nwas none with whom the people of Cromarty were better acquainted than\nwith the mermaid. Thirty years have not yet gone by since she has\nbeen seen by moonlight sitting on a stone in the sea, a little to the\neast of the town; and scarcely a winter passed, forty years earlier,\nin which she was not heard singing among the rocks or seen braiding\nup her long yellow tresses on the shore.\"\n\nThe magical power ascribed to the sea is shown in an Orcadian witch\ncharm used in the seventeenth century. The charm had to do with the\nchurning of butter. Whoever wished to take advantage of it watched on\nthe beach till nine waves rolled in. At the reflux of the last the\ncharmer took three handfuls of water from the sea and carried them\nhome in a pail. If this water was put into the churn there would be\na plentiful supply of butter. Sea water was also used for curative\npurposes, the patient being dipped after sunset. This charm was thought\nto savour strongly of the black art. Allusion has been made above to\nthe rising of a storm in connection with the wounding of a sea-trow\nin Shetland. According to an Orcadian superstition, the sea began\nto swell whenever anyone with a piece of iron about him stept upon a\ncertain rock at the Noup Head of Westray. Not till the offending metal\nwas thrown into the water did the sea become calm again. Wallace,\na minister at Kirkwall towards the end of the seventeenth century,\nmentions this belief in his \"Description of the Isles of Orkney,\"\nand says that he offered a man a shilling to try the experiment,\nbut the offer was refused. It does not seem to have occurred to him\nto make the experiment himself.\n\nAmong the ancient Romans the bull was sacred to Neptune, the sea\ngod, and was sacrificed in his honour. In our own country we find a\nsuggestion of the same rite, though in a modified form, in the custom\nprevailing at one time of leading animals into the sea on certain\nfestivals. In the parish of Clonmany in Ireland it was formerly\ncustomary on St. Columba's Day, the ninth of June, to drive cattle\nto the beach and swim them in the sea near to where the water from\nthe Saint's well flowed in. In Scotland horses seem at one time to\nhave undergone a similar treatment at Lammas-tide. Dalyell, in his\n\"Darker Superstitions of Scotland,\" mentions that \"in July, 1647,\nthe kirk-session of St. Cuthbert's Church, Edinburgh, resolved on\nintimating publicly 'that non goe to Leith on Lambmes-day, nor tak\ntheir horses to be washed that day in the sea.'\"\n\nA belief at one time existed that it was unlucky to rescue a drowning\nman from the grasp of the sea. This superstition is referred to by\nSir Walter Scott in \"The Pirate,\" in the scene where Bryce the pedlar\nwarns Mordaunt against saving a shipwrecked sailor. \"Are you mad,\"\nsaid the pedlar, \"you that have lived sae lang in Zetland, to risk the\nsaving of a drowning man? Wot ye not, if you bring him to life again,\nhe will be sure to do you some capital injury?\" We discover the key\nto this strange superstition in the idea entertained by savages that\nthe person falling into the water becomes the prey of the monster\nor demon inhabiting that element; and, as Dr. Tylor aptly remarks,\n\"to save a sinking man is to snatch a victim from the very clutches\nof the water-spirit--a rash defiance of deity which would hardly\npass unavenged.\"\n\nFolklore thus brings us face to face with beliefs which owe their\norigin to the primitive worship of the sea. It also allows us to catch\na glimpse of rivers, lakes, and springs as these were regarded by our\ndistant ancestors. When we remember that, according to a barbaric\nnotion, the current of a stream flows down along one bank and up\nalong the other, we need not be surprised that very crude fancies\nconcerning water at one time flourished in our land.\n\nEven to us, with nineteenth-century science within reach, how\nmysterious a river seems, as, in the quiet gloaming or in the grey\ndawn, it glides along beneath overhanging trees, and how full of\nlife it is when, swollen by rain, it rushes forward in a resistless\nflood! How much more awe-inspiring it must have been to men ignorant\nof the commonest laws of Nature! Well might its channel be regarded as\nthe home of a spirit eager to waylay and destroy the too-venturesome\npasser-by. Rivers, however, were not always reckoned the enemies of\nman, for experience showed that they were helpful, as well as hurtful,\nto him. The Tiber, for instance, was regarded with reverence by the\nancient inhabitants of Rome. Who does not remember the scene in one\nof Macaulay's Lays, where, after the bridge has been hewn down to\nblock the passage of Lars Porsena and his host, the valiant Horatius\nexclaims--\n\n\n       \"O Tiber! father Tiber!\n          To whom the Romans pray;\n        A Roman's life, a Roman's arms,\n          Take thou in charge this day?\"\n\n\nThen with his harness on his back he plunges headlong into the flood,\nand reaches the other side in safety.\n\nIn Christian art pagan symbolism continued long to flourish. Proof\nof this bearing on the present subject is to be found in a mosaic at\nRavenna, of the sixth century, representing the baptism of Christ. The\nwater flows from an inverted urn, held by a venerable figure typifying\nthe river god of the Jordan, with reeds growing beside his head,\nand snakes coiling around it.\n\nIn our own country healing virtue was attributed to water taken\nfrom what was called a dead and living ford, i.e., a ford where the\ndead were carried and the living walked across. The same belief was\nentertained with regard to the water of a south-running stream. The\npatient had to go to the spot and drink the water and wash himself in\nit. Sometimes his shirt was taken by another, and, after being dipped\nin the south-running stream, was brought back and put wet upon him. A\nwet shirt was also used as a Hallowe'en charm to foretell its owner's\nmatrimonial future. The left sleeve of the shirt was to be dipped\nin a river where \"three lairds' lands met.\" It was then to be hung\nup overnight before the fire. If certain rules were attended to, the\nfigure of the future spouse would appear and turn the sleeve in order\nto dry the other side. In the Highlands the water of a stream was used\nfor purposes of sorcery till quite lately. When any one wished evil to\nanother he made a clay image of the person to be injured, and placed\nit in a stream with the head of the image against the current. It was\nbelieved that, as the clay was dissolved by the water, the health of\nthe person represented would decline. The spell, however, would be\nbroken if the image was discovered and removed from the stream. In\nthe counties of Sutherland and Ross the practice survived till within\nthe last few years. Near Dunskey, in the parish of Portpatrick,\nWigtownshire, is a stream which, at the end of last century, was much\nresorted to by the credulous for its health-giving properties. Visits\nwere usually paid to it at the change of the moon. It was deemed\nspecially efficacious in the case of rickety children, whose malady was\nthen ascribed to witchcraft. The patients were washed in the stream,\nand then taken to an adjoining cave, where they were dried.\n\nIn modern poetry a river is frequently alluded to under the name of\nits presiding spirit. Thus, in \"Comus,\" Milton introduces Sabrina,\na gentle nymph,\n\n\n        \"That with moist curb sways the smooth Severn stream,\"\n\n\nand tells us that\n\n\n                   \"The shepherds at their festivals\n        Carol her goodness loud in rustic lays,\n        And throw sweet garland wreaths into her stream\n        Of pansies, pinks, and gaudy daffodils.\"\n\n\nLakes have always held an important place in legendary lore. Lord\nTennyson has made us familiar with the part played by the Lady of the\nLake in Arthurian romance. Readers of the Idylls will recollect it\nwas she who gave to the king the jewelled sword Excalibur, and who,\non the eve of his passing, received it again. The wounded Arthur thus\naddresses Sir Bedivere:--\n\n\n                   \"Thou rememberest how,\n        In those old days, one summer morn, an arm\n        Rose up from out the bosom of the lake\n        Clothed in white samite, mystic, wonderful,\n        Holding the sword--and how I row'd across\n        And took it, and have worn it, like a king.\"\n\n\nScottish lochs form a striking feature in the landscape, and must have\nbeen still more fitted to arrest attention in ancient times when our\nland was more densely wooded than it is now. Dr. Hugh Macmillan,\nin his \"Holidays on High Lands,\" alludes to the differences in\nthe appearance of our lochs. \"There are moorland tarns,\" he says,\n\"sullen and motionless as lakes of the dead, lying deep in sunless\nrifts, where the very ravens build no nests, and where no trace of\nlife or vegetation is seen--associated with many a wild tradition,\naccidents of straying feet, the suicide of love, guilt, despair. And\nthere are lochs beautiful in themselves and gathering around them\na world of beauty; their shores fringed with the tasselled larch;\ntheir shallows tesselated with the broad green leaves and alabaster\nchalices of the water-lily, and their placid depths mirroring the\ncrimson gleam of the heather hills and the golden clouds overhead.\"\n\nNear the top of Mealfourvounie, in Inverness-shire, is a small lake\nat one time believed to be unfathomable. How this notion arose it\nis difficult to say, for when soundings were taken the depth was\nfound to be inconsiderable. In the parish of Penpont, Dumfriesshire,\nabout a mile to the south of Drumlanrig, is a small sheet of water\ncalled the Dow, or Dhu Loch, i.e., Black Loch. Till towards the\nend of last century the spot was much frequented for its healing\nwater. A personal visit was not essential. When a deputy was sent\nhe had to bring a portion of the invalid's clothing and throw it\nover his left shoulder into the loch. He then took up some water in a\nvessel which he carefully kept from touching the ground. After turning\nhimself round sun-ways he carried the water home. The charm would be\nbroken if he looked back or spoke to anyone by the way. Among the\npeople of the district it was a common saying, when anyone did not\nrespond to the greeting of a passer-by, that he had been at the Dow\nLoch. Pilgrimages to the loch seem to have been specially popular\ntowards the close of the seventeenth century, for in the year 1695\nthe Presbytery of Penpont consulted the Synod of Dumfries about the\nsuperstitious practices then current. The Synod, in response to the\nappeal, recommended the clergy of the district to denounce from their\npulpits such observances as heathenish in character. There were persons\nstill alive in the beginning of the present century who had seen the\nofferings, left by the pilgrims, floating on the loch or lying on\nits margin. To the passer-by, ignorant of the superstitious custom,\nit might seem that a rather untidy family washing was in progress.\n\nThe Church of St. Vigeans, in Forfarshire, is well known to\nantiquaries in connection with its interesting sculptured stones. An\nold tradition relates that the materials for the building were\ncarried by a water-kelpie, and that the foundations were laid on\nlarge bars of iron. Underneath the structure was said to be a deep\nlake. The tradition further relates that the kelpie prophesied that\nan incumbent of the church would commit suicide, and that, on the\noccasion of the first communion after, the church would sink into the\nlake. At the beginning of the eighteenth century the minister of the\nparish did commit suicide, and so strong was the superstition that\nthe sacramental rite was not observed till 1736. In connection with\nthe event several hundred people took up a position on a neighbouring\nrising ground to watch what would happen. These spectators have passed\naway, but the church remains.\n\nSt. Tredwell's Loch in Papa-Westray, Orkney, was at one time very\nfamous, partly from its habit of turning red whenever anything\nstriking was about to happen to a member of the Royal Family, and\npartly from its power to work cures. On a small headland on the east\nof the loch are still to be seen the ruins of St. Tredwell's Chapel,\nmeasuring twenty-nine feet by twenty-two, with walls fully four feet\nin thickness. On the floor-level about thirty copper coins were found\nsome years ago, the majority of them being of the reign of Charles the\nSecond. At the door of the chapel there was at one time a large heap\nof stones, made up of contributions from those who came to pay their\nvows there. Mr. R. M. Fergusson, in his \"Rambles in the Far North,\"\ngives the following particulars about the loch:--\"In olden times the\ndiseased and infirm people of the North Isles were wont to flock to\nthis place and get themselves cured by washing in its waters. Many\nof them walked round the shore two or three times before entering the\nloch itself to perfect by so doing the expected cure. When a person was\nengaged in this perambulation nothing would induce him to utter a word,\nfor, if he spoke, the waters of this holy loch would lave his diseased\nbody in vain. After the necessary ablutions were performed they never\ndeparted without leaving behind them some piece of cloth or bread as\na gift to the presiding genius of the place. In the beginning of the\neighteenth century popular belief in this water was as strong as ever.\"\n\nSuperstitions had a vigorous life last century. Pennant, who made\nhis first tour in Scotland in 1769, mentions that the wells of Spey\nand Drachalday, in Moray, were then much visited, coins and rags\nbeing left at them as offerings. Nowadays holy wells are probably\nfar from the thoughts of persons living amid the stir and bustle\nof city life, but in rural districts, where old customs linger,\nthey are not yet forgotten. In the country, amidst the sights and\nsounds of nature, men are prone to cherish the beliefs and ways\nof their forefathers. Practices born in days of darkness thus live\non into an era of greater enlightenment. \"The adoration of wells,\"\nremarks Sir Arthur Mitchell in his \"Past in the Present,\" \"may be\nencountered in all parts of Scotland from John o' Groats to the\nMull of Galloway,\" and he adds, \"I have seen at least a dozen wells\nin Scotland which have not ceased to be worshipped.\" \"Nowadays,\" he\ncontinues, \"the visitors are comparatively few, and those who go are\ngenerally in earnest. They have a serious object which they desire\nto attain. That object is usually the restoration to health of some\npoor little child--some 'back-gane bairn.' Indeed the cure of sick\nchildren is a special virtue of many of these wells. Anxious mothers\nmake long journeys to some well of fame, and early in the morning\nof the 1st of May bathe the little invalid in its waters, then drop\nan offering into them by the hands of the child--usually a pebble,\nbut sometimes a coin--and attach a bit of the child's dress to a bush\nor tree growing by the side of the well. The rags we see fastened to\nsuch bushes have often manifestly been torn from the dresses of young\nchildren. Part of a bib or little pinafore tells the sad story of a\nsorrowing mother and a suffering child, and makes the heart grieve\nthat nothing better than a visit to one of these wells had been found\nto relieve the sorrow and remove the suffering.\" Mr. Campbell of Islay\nbears witness to the same fact. In his \"Tales of the West Highlands\"\nhe says, \"Holy healing wells are common all over the Highlands,\nand people still leave offerings of pins and nails and bits of rag,\nthough few would confess it. There is a well in Islay where I myself\nhave, after drinking, deposited copper caps amongst a hoard of pins\nand buttons and similar gear placed in chinks in the rocks and trees\nat the edge of the 'Witches' well.'\"\n\nA striking testimony to the persistence of faith in such wells\nis borne by Mr. J. R. Walker in volume v. (new series) of the\n\"Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland,\" where he\ndescribes an incident that he himself witnessed about ten years ago\non the outskirts of Edinburgh. Mr. Walker writes, \"While walking in\nthe Queen's Park about sunset, I casually passed St. Anthony's Well,\nand had my attention attracted by the number of people about it,\nall simply quenching their thirst, some probably with a dim idea\nthat they would reap some benefit from the draught. Standing a little\napart, however, and evidently patiently waiting a favourable moment\nto present itself for their purpose, was a group of four. Feeling\nsomewhat curious as to their intention I quietly kept myself in the\nbackground, and by-and-by was rewarded. The crowd departed and the\ngroup came forward, consisting of two old women, a younger woman\nof about thirty, and a pale sickly-looking girl--a child three or\nfour years old. Producing cups from their pockets, the old women\ndipped them in the pool, filled them, and drank the contents. A\nfull cup was then presented to the younger woman and another to\nthe child. Then one of the old women produced a long linen bandage,\ndipped it in the water, wrung it, dipped it in again, and then wound\nit round the child's head, covering the eyes, the youngest woman,\nevidently the mother of the child, carefully observing the operation\nand weeping gently all the time. The other old woman not engaged in\nthis work was carefully filling a clear glass bottle with the water,\nevidently for future use. Then, after the principal operators had\nlooked at each other with an earnest and half solemn sort of look,\nthe party wended its way carefully down the hill.\"\n\nAgricultural improvements, particularly within the present century,\nhave done much to abolish the adoration of wells. In many cases ancient\nsprings have ceased to exist through draining operations. In the\nparish of Urquhart, Elginshire, a priory was founded in 1125. Towards\nthe end of last century the site was converted into an arable\nfield. The name of Abbey Well, given to the spring whence the monks\ndrew water, long kept alive the memory of the priory; but in recent\ntimes the well itself was filled up. St. Mary's Well, at Whitekirk,\nin Haddingtonshire, has also ceased to be, its water having been\ndrained off. Near Drumakill, in Drymen parish, Dumbartonshire, there\nwas a famous spring dedicated to St. Vildrin. Close to it was a cross\ntwo feet and a half in height, with the figure of the saint incised\non it. About thirty years ago, however, the relic was broken up and\nused in the construction of a farmhouse, and not long after, the\nwell itself was drained into an adjoining stream. In the middle ages\nthe spring at Restalrig, near Edinburgh, dedicated to St. Margaret,\nthe wife of Malcolm Canmore, was a great attraction to pilgrims. The\nhistory of the well is interesting. There is reason to believe that\nit was originally sacred to the Holy Rood; and tradition connects it\nwith the fountain that gushed out at the spot where a certain hart\nsuddenly vanished from the sight of King David I. Mr. Walker, in the\nvolume of the \"Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland\"\nalready referred to, throws out the suggestion that the well may have\nhad its dedication changed in connection with the translation of Queen\nMargaret's relics about 1251, on the occasion of her canonization. With\nregard to the date of the structure forming the covering of the well,\nMr. Walker, as an architect, is qualified to give an opinion, and\nfrom an examination of the mason marks on it he is inclined to think\nthat the building was erected about the same time as the west tower of\nHolyrood Abbey Church, viz., about 1170. The late Sir Daniel Wilson,\nin his \"Memorials of Edinburgh in the Olden Time,\" gives the following\naccount of the structure, which, however, he by mistake describes\nas octagonal instead of hexagonal:--\"The building rises internally\nto the height of about four and a half feet, of plain ashlar work,\nwith a stone ledge or seat running round seven of the sides, while the\neighth is occupied by a pointed arch which forms the entrance to the\nwell. From the centre of the water which fills the whole area of the\nbuilding, pure as in the days of the pious queen, a decorated pillar\nrises to the same height as the walls, with grotesque gurgoils, from\nwhich the water has originally been made to flow. Above this springs\na beautifully groined roof, presenting, with the ribs that rise from\ncorresponding corbels at each of the eight angles of the building,\na singularly rich effect when illuminated by the reflected light from\nthe water below. A few years since, this curious fountain stood by\nthe side of the ancient and little frequented cross-road leading\nfrom the Abbeyhill to the village of Restalrig. A fine old elder\ntree, with its knotted and furrowed branches, spread a luxuriant\ncovering over its grass-grown top, and a rustic little thatched\ncottage stood in front of it, forming altogether a most attractive\nobject of antiquarian pilgrimage.\" The spot, however, was invaded by\nthe North British Railway Company, and a station was planted on the\nsite of the elder tree and the rustic cottage, the spring and its\nGothic covering being imbedded in the buildings. Some years later\nthe water disappeared, having found another channel. The structure\nwas taken down stone by stone and rebuilt above St. David's Spring,\non the north slope of Salisbury Crags, where it still stands.\n\nIn cases like the above, man interfered with nature and caused the\ndisappearance of venerated springs. But it was not always so. In the\nparish of Logierait, in Perthshire, there was a spring that took the\nmatter into its own hands, and withdrew from public view. This was\nthe spring called in Gaelic Fuaran Chad, i.e., Chad's Well. An annual\nmarket used to be held close by in honour of the saint, on the 22nd\nAugust. The spring was gratified and bubbled away merrily. The market,\nhowever, was at length discontinued. In consequence Fuaran Chad took\noffence, and sent in its resignation. In one instance, at least, the\nbelief in the efficacy of a spring survived the very existence of the\nspring itself. This was so in the case of a healing well near Buckie,\nin Banffshire, filled up some years ago by the tenant on whose farm\nit was situated. So great was its fame that some women whose infants\nwere weakly went to the spot and cleared out the rubbish. Water again\nfilled the old basin, and there the infants were bathed. While being\ncarried home they fell asleep, and the result was in every way to\nthe satisfaction of the mothers.\n\nCertain characteristics of water specially recommended it as an object\nof worship in prim\u00e6val times. Its motion and force suggested that\nit had life, and hence a soul. Men therefore imagined that by due\nattention to certain rites it would prove a help to them in time of\nneed. What may be called the anthropomorphism of fountains has left\ntraces on popular superstitions. The interest taken by St. Tredwell's\nLoch in the national events has been already alluded to, and other\nexamples will be noticed in future chapters.\n\nOne point may be mentioned here, viz., the power possessed by wells\nof removing to another place. St. Fillan's Spring, at Comrie, in\nPerthshire, once took its rise on the top of the hill Dunfillan,\nbut tradition says that it quitted its old site for the present one,\nat the foot of a rock, a quarter of a mile further south. In the\narticle on Comrie in the \"Old Statistical Account of Scotland,\"\nthe well is described as \"humbled indeed, but not forsaken.\" A\nmore striking instance of flitting is mentioned by Martin as having\noccurred in the Hebrides. In his account of Islay, he says, \"A mile\non the south-west side of the cave Uah Vearnag is the celebrated well\nToubir-in-Knahar, which, in the ancient language, is as much as to say,\n'the well has sailed from one place to another'; for it is a received\ntradition of the vulgar inhabitants of this isle, and the opposite isle\nof Colonsay, that this well was first at Colonsay until an impudent\nwoman happened to wash her hands in it, and that immediately after,\nthe well, being thus abused, came in an instant to Islay, where it is\nlike to continue, and is ever since esteemed a catholicon for diseases\nby the natives and adjacent islanders.\" Perhaps the instance that\nputs the greatest strain on credulity is that of the spring dedicated\nto St. Fergus on the hill of Knockfergan, in Banffshire. Tradition\nreports that this spring came in a miraculous manner from Italy,\nthough how it travelled to its quiet retreat in Scotland we do not\nknow. There must have been some special attraction about the well,\nfor a market known as the Well-Market used to be held beside it every\nyear. On one occasion a fight took place about a cheese. In consequence\nthe market was transferred to the neighbouring village of Tomintoul,\nwhere it continues to be held in August, under the same name.\n\nIn his \"Romances of the West of England,\" the late Mr. Robert Hunt\nputs in a plea for the preservation of holy wells and other relics\nof antiquity, though he allows \"that it is a very common notion\namongst the peasantry that a just retribution overtakes those who\nwilfully destroy monuments, such as stone circles, crosses, wells,\nand the like,\" and he mentions the case of an old man who altered a\nholy well at Boscaswell, in St. Just, and was drowned the following\nday within sight of his house. Mr. Hunt is speaking of Cornish wells;\nbut the same is doubtless true of those north of the Tweed. Springs\nthat can fly through the air and go through certain other wonderful\nperformances can surely be trusted to look after themselves.\n\nIn hot Eastern lands, fountains were held in special reverence. This\nwas to be expected, as their cooling waters were there doubly\nwelcome. In accounting for the presence of the cult in the temperate\nzones of Europe, we do not need to trace it to the East as Lady\nWilde does in her \"Ancient Legends of Ireland.\" \"It could not have\noriginated,\" she says, \"in a humid country ... where wells can be\nfound at every step, and sky and land are ever heavy and saturated\nwith moisture. It must have come from an Eastern people, wanderers in\na dry and thirsty land, where the discovery of a well seemed like the\ninterposition of an angel in man's behalf.\" In our own land there are\nno districts where well-worship has held its ground so firmly as those\noccupied by peoples of Celtic blood, such as Cornwall, Wales, Ireland,\nthe Isle of Man, and the Scottish Highlands. A curious instance of\nthe survival of water-worship among our Scottish peasantry was seen\nin the custom of going at a very early hour on New-Year's morning\nto get a pailful of water from a neighbouring spring. The maidens\nof the farm had a friendly rivalry as to priority. Whoever secured\nthe first pailful was said to get the flower of the well, otherwise\nknown as the ream or cream of the well. On their way to the spring\nthe maidens commonly chanted the couplet--\n\n\n        \"The flower o' the well to our house gaes,\n          An' I'll the bonniest lad get.\"\n\n\nThis referred to the belief that to be first at the well was a good\nomen of the maiden's matrimonial future. It is a far cry from archaic\nwater-worship to this New-Year's love charm, but we can traverse in\nthought the road that lies between.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER II.\n\nHOW WATER BECAME HOLY.\n\n    Change from Paganism to Christianity--Columba--Spirits of\n    Fountains--Hurtful Wells--Stone Circles--Superstitions\n    regarding them--Standing Stones and Springs--Innis\n    Maree--Maelrubha--Influence of early Saints--Names of\n    Wells--Stone-coverings--Sacred Buildings and Springs--Privilege\n    of Sanctuary--Some Examples--Freedstoll--Preceptory of Torphichen\n    and St. John's Well--Cross of Macduff and Nine-wells.\n\n\nWe come next to ask how water became holy in the folklore sense of the\nword. Fortunately we get a glimpse of springs at the very time when\nthey passed from pagan to Christian auspices. The change made certain\ndifferences, but did not take away their miraculous powers. We get this\nglimpse in the pages of Adamnan, St. Columba's biographer, who narrates\nan incident in connection with the saint's missionary work among the\nPicts in the latter half of the sixth century. Adamnan tells us of a\ncertain fountain \"famous among the heathen people, which the foolish\nmen, having their senses blinded by the devil, worshipped as God. For\nthose, who drank of this fountain, or purposely washed their hands\nor feet in it, were allowed by God to be struck by demoniacal art,\nand went home either leprous or purblind, or at least suffering from\nweakness or other kind of infirmity. By all these things the pagans\nwere seduced and paid divine honour to the fountain.\" Columba made use\nof the popular belief in the interests of the new faith, and blessed\nthe fountain in the name of Christ in order to expel the demons. He\nthen took a draught of the water and washed his hands and feet in it,\nto show that it could no longer do harm. According to Adamnan the\ndemons deserted the fountain, and many cures were afterwards wrought\nby it. In Ireland more than a century earlier, St. Patrick visited\nthe fountain of Findmaige, called Slan. Offerings were wont to be\nmade to it, and it was worshipped as a god by the Magi of the district.\n\nIt is difficult to determine exactly from what standpoint our pagan\nancestors regarded wells. The nature-spirits inhabiting them, styled\ndemons by Adamnan, were malignant in disposition, if we judge by the\ncase he mentions; but we must not therefore conclude that they were so\nin every instance. Perhaps it is safe to infer that most of them were\nconsidered favourable to man, or the reverse, according as they were\nor were not propitiated by him. Even in modern times, some springs\nhave been regarded as hurtful. The well of St. Chad, at Lichfield,\nfor instance, causes ague to anyone drinking its water. Even its\nconnection with the saint has not removed its hurtful qualities. In\nwest Highland Folk-Tales allusion is made to poison wells, and such\nare even yet regarded with a certain amount of fear. In the article on\nthe parish of Kilsyth in the \"Old Statistical Account of Scotland,\" it\nis stated that Kittyfrist Well, beside the road leading over the hill\nto Stirling, was believed to be noxious. Successive wayfarers, when\ntired and heated by their climb up hill, may have drunk injudiciously\nof the cold water, and thus the superstition may have originated.\n\nStone circles have given rise to much discussion. They are perhaps\nbest known by their popular name of Druidical temples. Whatever were\nthe other purposes served by them, there is hardly any doubt that\nthey were primarily associated with interments. Dr. Joseph Anderson\nhas pointed out that a certain arch\u00e6ological succession can be\ntraced. Thus we find first, burial cairns minus stones round them,\nthen cairns plus stones, and finally, stones minus cairns. At one\ntime there was a widely-spread belief that men could be transformed\ninto standing stones by the aid of magic. This power was attributed\nto the Druids. There are also traditions of saints thus settling their\nheathen opponents. When speaking of the island of Lewis, Martin says,\n\"Several other stones are to be seen here in remote places, and some\nof them standing on one end. Some of the ignorant vulgar say that they\nwere men by enchantment turned into stones. Such monoliths are still\nknown to the Gaelic-speaking inhabitants of Lewis as Fir Chreig, i.e.,\nfalse men. We learn from the \"New Statistical Account of Scotland\"\nthat the two standing stones at West Skeld, in Shetland, were believed\nby the islanders to have been originally wizards or giants. Close to\nthe roadside on Maughold Head, in the Isle of Man, stands an ancient\nrunic cross. A local tradition states that the cross was once an\nold woman, who, when carrying a bundle of wool, cursed the wind for\nhindering her on her journey, and was petrified in consequence.\n\nWith superstitions thus clinging to standing-stones it is not to\nbe wondered that springs in their neighbourhood should have been\nregarded with special reverence. In the \"Old Statistical Account of\nScotland\" allusion is made to Tobir-Chalaich, i.e., Old Wife's Well,\nsituated near a stone circle in the parish of Keith, Banffshire,\nand to another well not far from a second circle in the same\nparish. The latter spring ceased to be visited about the middle\nof last century. Till then offerings were left at it by persons\nseeking its aid. The writer of the article on the island of Barry,\nInverness-shire, in the same work, says, \"Here, i.e., at Castle-Bay,\nthere are several Druidical temples. Near one of these is a well\nwhich must have been once famous for its medicinal quality, as also\nfor curing and preventing the effects of fascination. It is called\nTobbar-nam-buadh or the Well of Virtues.\" Under the heading \"Beltane,\"\nin \"Jamieson's Scottish Dictionary,\" the following occurs:--\"A town\nin Perthshire, on the borders of the Highlands, is called Tillie\n(or Tullie) Beltane, i.e., the eminence or rising ground of the\nfire of Baal. In the neighbourhood is a Druidical temple of eight\nupright stones, where it is supposed the fire was kindled. At some\ndistance from this, is another temple of the same kind, but smaller,\nand near it a well still held in great veneration. On Beltane morning,\nsuperstitious people go to this well and drink of it, then they make\na procession round it, as I am informed, nine times; after this, they\nin like manner go round the temple.\" Gallstack Well, at Drumlanrig,\nin Dumfriesshire, is near a group of standing stones. From examples\nlike the above, we may infer that some mysterious connection was\nsupposed to exist between standing stones and their adjacent wells. In\nthe Tullie Beltane instance indeed, stones and well were associated\ntogether in the same superstitious rite.\n\nA striking instance of Christianity borrowing from paganism is to be\nseen in the reverence paid to the well of Innis Maree, in Loch Maree,\nin Ross-shire. This well has been famous from an unknown past. It\nis dedicated to St. Maelrubha, after whom both loch and island are\nnamed. Maelrubha belonged to the monastery of Bangor, in Ireland. In\nthe year 673, at the age of thirty-one, he settled at Applecrossan,\nnow Applecross, in Ross-shire, and there founded a church as the\nnucleus of a conventual establishment. Over this monastery he\npresided for fifty-one years, and died a natural death in 722. A\nlegend, disregarding historical probabilities, relates that he was\nslain by a band of pagan Norse rovers, and that his body was left in\nthe forest to be devoured by wild beasts. His grave is still pointed\nout in Applecross churchyard, the spot being marked by a pillar slab\nwith an antique cross carved on it. For centuries after his death\nhe was regarded as the patron saint, not only of Applecross, but of\na wide district around. Pennant, who visited Innis Maree in 1772,\nthus describes its appearance: \"The shores are neat and gravelly;\nthe whole surface covered thickly with a beautiful grove of oak,\nash, willow, wicken, birch, fir, hazel, and enormous hollies. In the\nmidst is a circular dike of stones, with a regular narrow entrance,\nthe inner part has been used for ages as a burial-place, and is still\nin use. I suspect the dyke to have been originally Druidical, and\nthat the ancient superstition of Paganism had been taken up by the\nsaint, as the readiest method of making a conquest over the minds of\nthe inhabitants. A stump of a tree is shown as an altar, probably the\nmemorial of one of stone; but the curiosity of the place is the well of\nthe saint; of power unspeakable in cases of lunacy.\" Whatever Pennant\nmeant by Druidical, there is reason to believe that the spot was the\nscene of pre-Christian rites. In the popular imagination the outlines\nof Maelrubha's character seem to have become mixed up with those of\nthe heathen divinity worshipped in the district. Two circumstances\npoint to this. Firstly, as Sir Arthur Mitchell remarks in the fourth\nvolume of the \"Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland,\"\n\"The people of the place speak often of the God Mourie instead of\nSt. Mourie, which may have resulted from his having supplanted the\nold god.\" Secondly, as the same writer shows, by reference to old\nkirk session records, it was customary in the parish to sacrifice a\nbull to St. Mourie. This was done on the saint's day, the 25th of\nAugust. The practice was still in existence in the latter half of\nthe 17th century, and was then denounced as idolatrous.\n\nWe thus see that the sacredness of springs can be traced back through\nChristianity to paganism, though there is no doubt that in some\ninstances it took its rise from association with early saints. In\ndeciding the question of origin, however, care must be taken,\nfor, as already indicated, the reverence anciently paid to wells\nled to their selection by the early missionaries. The holy wells\nthroughout the land keep alive their names. An excellent example\nof a saint's influence on a particular district is met with in the\ncase of St. Angus, at Balquhidder, in Perthshire. In his \"Notes in\nBalquhidder\" in the \"Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of\nScotland,\" vol. ix. (new series), Mr. J. Mackintosh Gow remarks,\n\"Saint Angus, the patron saint of the district, is said to have come\nto the glen from the eastward, and to have been so much struck with\nits marvellous beauty that he blessed it. The remains of the stone\non which he sat to rest are still visible in the gable of one of the\nfarm buildings at Easter Auchleskine, and the turn of the road is\nyet called 'Beannachadh Aonghais' (Angus's blessing). At this spot\nit was the custom in the old days for people going westward to show\ntheir respect for the saint by repeating, 'Beannaich Aonghais ann\nsan Aoraidh' (Bless Angus in the oratory or chapel), at the same\ntime reverently taking off their bonnets. The saint, going west,\nhad settled at a spot below the present kirk, and near to a stone\ncircle, the remains of which, and of the oratory, persons now living\nremember to have seen.\" After alluding to another stone circle in a\nhaugh below the parish church manse, Mr. Gow mentions that this haugh\nis the stance of the old market of Balquhidder, long a popular one\nin the district. It was held on the saint's day in April and named\nFeill-Aonghais, after him. In the immediate neighbourhood there is a\nknoll called \"Tom Aonghais,\" i.e., Angus's hillock. In the grounds of\nEdinchip there is a curing well called in Gaelic, \"Fuaran n'druibh\nchasad,\" i.e., the Whooping-cough Well, beside the burn \"Alt cean\ndhroma.\" \"It is formed of a water-worn pot hole in the limestone\nrock which forms the bed of the burn, and is ten or twelve inches in\ndiameter at the top and six inches deep. There must be a spring running\ninto the hollow through a fissure, as no sooner is it emptied than\nit immediately refills, and contains about two quarts of water. The\nwell can easily be distinguished by the large moss-covered boulder,\nround and flat, like a crushed ball, and about seven feet in diameter,\nwhich overshadows it, and a young ash tree of several stems growing\nby its side.\" This well was famous for the cure of whooping-cough,\nand children were brought to it till within recent years. The water\nwas given in a spoon made from the horn of a living cow. When the\npatients could not visit the spring in person, a bottleful of the\nhealing liquid was taken to their homes, and there administered. The\ndistrict round the lower waters of Loch Awe, now comprising the united\nparishes of Glenorchy and Inishail was held to be under the patronage\nof Connan. There is a well at Dalmally dedicated to him. According\nto a local tradition he dwelt beside the well and blessed its water.\n\nIn addition to springs named after particular saints, there are some\nbearing the general appellation of Saints' Wells or Holy Wells. There\nare Holy Rood and Holy Wood Wells, also Holy Trinity and Chapel\nWells. There are likewise Priors', Monks', Cardinals', Bishops',\nPriests', Abbots', and Friars' Wells. Various springs have names\npointing to no ecclesiastical connection whatever. To this class\nbelong those known as Virtue Wells, and those others named from the\nvarious diseases to be cured by them. On the Rutherford estate,\nin the parish of West Linton, Peeblesshire, there is a mineral\nspring called Heaven-aqua Well. Considering the name, one might\nform great expectations as to its virtues. There is much force in\nthe remarks of Dr. J. Hill Burton, in his \"Book Hunter.\" He says,\n\"The unnoticeable smallness of many of these consecrated wells makes\ntheir very reminiscence and still semi-sacred character all the more\nremarkable. The stranger in Ireland, or the Highlands of Scotland,\nhears rumours of a distinguished well, miles on miles off. He thinks\nhe will find an ancient edifice over it, or some other conspicuous\nadjunct. Nothing of the kind. He has been lured all that distance,\nover rock and bog, to see a tiny spring bubbling out of the rock,\nsuch as he may see hundreds of in a tolerable walk any day. Yet,\nif he search in old topographical authorities, he will find that the\nlittle well has ever been an important feature of the district; that\ncentury after century it has been unforgotten; and, with diligence he\nmay perhaps trace it to some incident in the life of the saint, dead\nmore than 1200 years ago, whose name it bears.\" There are a few wells\nwith a more or less ornamental stone covering, such as St. Margaret's\nWell, in the Queen's Park, Edinburgh, and St. Michael's Well, at\nLinlithgow. St. Ninian's Well, at Stirling, and also at Kilninian,\nin Mull; St. Ashig's Well, in Skye; St. Peter's Well, at Houston,\nin Renfrewshire; Holy Rood Well, at Stenton, in Haddingtonshire;\nand the Well of Spa, at Aberdeen, also belong to this class.\n\nAs already indicated, standing stones and the wells near them were\nassociated together in the same ritual act. A curious parallelism\ncan be traced between this practice and one connected with Christian\nplaces of worship. Near the Butt of Lewis are the ruins of a chapel\nanciently dedicated to St. Mulvay, and known in the district as\nTeampull-m\u00f2r. The spot was till quite lately the scene of rites\nconnected with the cure of insanity. The patient was made to walk\nseven times round the ruins, and was then sprinkled with water from\nSt. Ronan's Well hard by. In Orkney it was believed that invalids\nwould recover health by walking round the Cross-kirk of Wasbister\nand the adjoining loch in silence before sunrise. In some instances\nsacred sites were walked round without reference to wells, and, in\nothers, wells without reference to sacred sites. But when the two were\nneighbours they were often included in the same ceremony. In the early\ndays when Christianity was preached, the structures of the new faith\nwere occasionally planted close to groups of standing stones, and it\nmay be assumed that in some instances, at least, the latter served to\nsupply materials for building the former. Even in our own day it is\nnot uncommon for Highlanders to speak of going to the clachan, i.e.,\nthe stones, to indicate that they are going to church. The reverence\npaid to the pagan sites was thus transferred to the Christian, and\nany fountain in the vicinity received a large share of such reverence.\n\nIn former times, both south and north of the Tweed, churches and\nchurchyards were regarded with special veneration as affording\nan asylum to offenders against the law. In England the Right of\nSanctuary was held in great respect during Anglo-Saxon times, and\nafter the Norman Conquest laws were passed regulating the privileges\nof such shelters. When a robber or murderer was pursued, he was free\nfrom capture if he could reach the sacred precincts. But he had to\nenter unarmed. His stay there was only temporary. After going through\ncertain formalities he was allowed to travel, cross in hand, to some\nneighbouring seaport to quit his country for ever. In the reign of\nHenry VIII., however, a statute was passed forbidding criminals thus\nto leave their native land on the ground that they would disclose state\nsecrets, and teach archery to the enemies of the realm. In the north of\nEngland, Durham and Beverley contained noted sanctuaries. In various\nchurches there was a stone seat called the Freedstoll or Stool of\nPeace, on which the criminal, when seated, was absolutely safe. Such a\nseat, dating from the Norman period, is still to be seen in the Priory\nChurch at Hexham, where the sanctuary was in great request by fugitives\nfrom the debatable land between England and Scotland. The only other\nFreedstoll still to be found in England is in Beverley Minster. The\nRight of Sanctuary was formally abolished in England in the reign of\nJames I., but did not cease to be respected till much later. Such being\nthe regard in the middle ages for churches and their burying-grounds,\nit is easy to understand why fountains in their immediate neighbourhood\nwere also reverenced. Several sanctuaries north of the Tweed were\nspecially famous. In his \"Scotland in the Middle Ages,\" Professor\nCosmo Innes remarks, \"Though all were equally sacred by the canon,\nit would seem that the superior sanctity of some churches, from\nthe relics presented there, or the reverence of their patron saints,\nafforded a surer asylum, and thus attracted fugitives to their shrines\nrather than to the altars of common parish churches.\" The churches of\nStow, Innerleithen, and Tyningham were asylums at one time specially\nfavoured. The church on St. Charmaig's Island, in the Sound of\nJura--styled also Eilean M\u00f2r or the Great Island--was formerly a noted\nplace of refuge among the Inner Hebrides. So much sanctity attached to\nthe church of Applecross that the privileged ground around it extended\nsix miles in every direction. In connection with his visit to Arran,\nMartin thus describes what had once been a sanctuary in that island:\n\"There is an eminence of about a thousand paces in compass on the\nsea-coast in Druim-cruey village, and it is fenced about with a stone\nwall; of old it was a sanctuary, and whatever number of men or cattle\ncould get within it were secured from the assaults of their enemies,\nthe place being privileged by universal consent.\" The enclosure was\nprobably an ancient burying-ground.\n\nThe Knights of St. John of Jerusalem, otherwise known as the Knights\nof Rhodes, and also as the Hospitallers, received recognition in\nScotland as an Order about the middle of the twelfth century. They\nhad possessions in almost every county, but their chief seat was at\nTorphichen, in Linlithgowshire, where the ruins of their preceptory\ncan still be seen. This preceptory formed the heart of the famous\nsanctuary of Torphichen. In the graveyard stands a stone, resembling\nan ordinary milestone with a Maltese cross carved on its top. All the\nground enclosed in a circle, having a radius of one mile from this\nstone, formed a sanctuary for criminals and debtors. Other four stones\nplaced at the cardinal points showed the limits of the sanctuary on\ntheir respective sides. At some distance to the east of the preceptory\nis St. John's Well, \"to which,\" the writer of the article in the\n\"New Statistical Account of Scotland\" says, \"the Knights of St. John\nused to go in days of yore for a morning draught;\" and he adds,\n\"whether its virtues were medicinal or of a more hallowed character\ntradition can not exactly inform us, but still its waters are thought\nto possess peculiar healing powers, if not still rarer qualities which\noperate in various cases as a charm.\" Perhaps no Scottish sanctuary\nhas been more talked about than the one at Holyrood Abbey, intended\noriginally for law-breakers in general, but latterly for debtors\nonly. De Quincey found a temporary home within its precincts. Through\nrecent legislation, chiefly through the Debtors (Scotland) Act of\n1880, the sanctuary has been rendered unnecessary, and its privileges,\nthough never formally abolished, have accordingly passed away.\n\nIn a pass of the Ochils, near Newburgh, overlooking Strathearn, is a\nblock of freestone three and a half feet high, four and a half feet\nlong, and nearly four feet broad at the base. This formed the pedestal\nof the celebrated cross of Macduff, and is all that remains of that\nancient monument. The shaft of the cross was destroyed at the time\nof the Reformation, in the sixteenth century. In former days the spot\nwas held to be a privilege and liberty of girth. When anyone claiming\nkinship to Macduff, Earl of Fife, within the ninth degree committed\nslaughter in hot blood and took refuge at the cross, he could atone\nfor his crime by the payment of nine cows and a colpindach or year-old\ncow. Those who could not make good their kinship were slain on the\nspot. Certain ancient burial mounds, at one time to be seen in the\nimmediate neighbourhood, were popularly believed to be the graves\nof those who thus met their death, and a local superstition asserted\nthat their shrieks could be heard by night. A fountain, known as the\nNine Wells, gushes out not far from the site of the cross, and in\nit tradition says that the manslayer who was entitled to claim the\nprivilege of sanctuary washed his hands, thereby freeing himself from\nthe stain of blood.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER III.\n\nSAINTS AND SPRINGS.\n\n    Columba's Miracle--His Wells--Deer--Drostan's\n    Springs--His Relics--His Fairs--His Connection with\n    Caithness--Urquhart--Adamnan--His Wells--Tom Eunan--Feil\n    Columcille--Adamnan's Visit to Northumbria--His Church\n    Dedications--Kieran--His Cave--Campbeltown--Book of\n    the Gospels--Kieran's Church at Errigall-keroge--His\n    Wells--Bridget--Her Legend--Bridewell--Bridget's\n    Wells--Abernethy--Torranain--Ninian--His Influence--His\n    Cave--Candida Casa--Ninian and Martin--Ninian's\n    Springs--St. Martin's Well--Martinmas--Martin of Bullion's\n    Day--Bullion Well--Kentigern--Fergus--Arbores Sancti\n    Kentigerni--His Wells--Thanet Well--St. Enoch's Well--Cuthbert--His\n    Wells and Bath--His Career--Palladius--His Miracle--Paldy's\n    Well and Paldy's Fair--His Chapel--Ternan--His Wells--Church\n    of Arbuthnot--Brendan--Bute--Kilbrandon Sound--Well at\n    Barra--Boyndie and Cullen--Machar--His Cathedral and\n    Well--Tobar-Mhachar--Constantine--Govan--Kilchouslan\n    Church--St. Cowstan's Well--Serf--Area of his Influence.\n\n\nThe annals of hagiology are full of the connection between saints and\nsprings. On one occasion a child was brought to Columba for baptism,\nbut there was no water at hand for the performance of the rite. The\nsaint knelt in prayer opposite a neighbouring rock, and rising,\nblessed the face of the rock. Water immediately gushed forth, and with\nit the child was baptised. Adamnan, who tells the story, says that\nthe child was Lugucencalad, whose parents were from Artdaib-muirchol\n(Ardnamurchan), where there is seen even to this day a well called by\nthe name of St. Columba. There are many wells in Scotland named after\nhim. As might be expected, one of these is in Iona. Almost all are\nalong the west coast and in the Hebrides. The name of Kirkcolm, in\nWigtownshire, signifies the Church of Columba. The parish contains\na fountain dedicated to him, known as Corswell or Crosswell,\nfrom which the castle headland and lighthouse of Corsewall have\nderived their name. A certain amount of sanctity still clings to the\nfountain. Macaulay, in his \"History of St. Kilda\" published in 1764,\ndescribes a spring there called by the inhabitants Toberi-Clerich,\nthe cleric in question being, according to him, Columba. \"This well,\"\nhe says, \"is below the village, ... and gushes out like a torrent\nfrom the face of a rock. At every full tide the sea overflows it,\nbut how soon that ebbs away, nothing can be fresher or sweeter than\nthe water. It was natural enough for the St. Kildians to imagine\nthat so extraordinary a phenomenon must have been the effect of some\nsupernatural cause, and one of their teachers would have probably\nassured them that Columba, the great saint of their island and\na mighty worker of miracles, had destroyed the influence which,\naccording to the established laws of nature, the sea should have had\non that water.\" This spring resembles one in the parish of Tain, in\nRoss-shire, known as St. Mary's Well. The latter is covered several\nhours each day by the sea, but when the tide retires its fresh,\nsweet water gushes forth again.\n\nAccording to an old tradition, Drostan, a nephew of Columba,\naccompanied the latter when on a journey from Iona to Deer in\nBuchan, about the year 580, and was the first abbot of the monastery\nestablished there. The name of the place, according to the \"Book\nof Deer,\" was derived from the tears (in Gaelic, der or deur, a\ntear), shed by Drostan on the departure of his uncle. In reality,\nthe name comes from the Gaelic dair, signifying an oak. There are\nfive springs dedicated to Drostan. They are all in the east country,\nbetween Edzell and New Aberdour. At the latter place his relics were\npreserved, and miracles of healing were wrought at his tomb. The\nspring near Invermark Castle is popularly known as Droustie's Well. A\nmarket, called St. Drostan's Fair, is still held annually at Old\nDeer in December. Insch, in Aberdeenshire, has also a St. Drostan's\nFair. Drostan was reverenced in Caithness, where he was tutelar saint\nof the parishes of Halkirk and Canisbay. In \"The Early Scottish Church\"\nthe Rev. Dr. M'Lauchlan mentions that Urquhart in Inverness-shire,\nwas called Urchudain, Maith Dhrostan, i.e., St. Drostan's Urquhart.\n\nAdamnan, Columba's biographer, became abbot of Iona in 679, and\ndied there in 704. There are wells to him at Dull, in Perthshire,\nand at Forglen in Banffshire. His name occurs in Scottish\ntopography, but shortened, and under various disguises. In the\nform of St. Oyne he has a well in Rathen parish, Aberdeenshire,\nwhere there is a mound--probably an ancient fortified site--also\ncalled St. Oyne's. About six miles north-east of Kingussie, in\nInverness-shire, is the church of the quoad sacra parish of Inch,\non a knoll projecting into the loch of the same name. The knoll is\ncalled Tom Eunan, i.e., the hill of Adamnan, to whom the church\nwas dedicated. Within the building is still to be seen a fine\nspecimen of the four-cornered bronze bell used in the early Celtic\nchurch. According to a local tradition it was once carried off, but\nkept calling out, \"Tom Eunan! Tom Eunan!\" till brought back to its\nhome. We find that Adamnan and Columba were associated together in\nthe district. An annual gathering, at one time held there in honour\nof the latter, was named Feil Columcille, i.e., Columba's Fair, and\nwas much resorted to. Women usually appeared on the occasion in white\ndresses in token of baptism. An old woman, who died in 1882, at the age\nof ninety, was in the habit of showing the white dress worn by her in\nher young days at the fair. It finally served her as a shroud. Adamnan\nvisited the Northumbrian court when Egfrid was king. His errand was\none of peace-making; for he went to procure the release of certain\nIrish captives who had been made prisoners by Egfrid, During his stay\nin Northumbria he became a convert to the Roman view as against the\nCeltic in the two burning questions of that age, viz., the time for\nholding Easter, and the nature of the tonsure. Though he did not get\nhis friends in Scotland to see eye to eye with him on these points,\nhe seems to have been generally popular north of the Tweed. Eight\nchurches at least were dedicated to him, mainly in the east country\nbetween Forvie, in Aberdeenshire, and Dalmeny, in West Lothian. One of\nthese dedications was at Aboyne. Skeulan Well there contains Adamnan's\nname in a corrupted form.\n\nKieran, belonging like Columba to the sixth century, was also like\nhim from Ireland. He selected a cave some four miles from Campbeltown\nas his dwelling-place, and there led the life of an ascetic. He\ndied in 543 in his thirty-fourth year. Pennant thus describes\nthe cave:--\"It is in the form of a cross, with three fine Gothic\nporticoes for entrances, ... had formerly a wall at the entrance,\na second about the middle, and a third far up, forming different\napartments. On the floor is the capital of a cross and a round basin\ncut out of the rock, full of fine water, the beverage of the saint\nin old times, and of sailors in the present, who often land to dress\ntheir victuals beneath this shelter.\" This basin is more minutely\ndescribed by Captain T. P. White in his \"Arch\u00e6ological Sketches in\nScotland.\" He says, \"There is a small basin, nearly oval in shape,\nneatly scooped out of a block, two feet long by one and a half wide,\nwhich exactly underlies a drip of water from the roof of the cave. The\nwater supply is said never to have failed and always to keep the little\nbasin full. Tradition calls it the saint's font or holy well.\" Kieran\nis commemorated in Kinloch-Kilkerran, the ancient name of the parish of\nCampbeltown. The word means literally the head of the loch of Kieran's\ncell. On one occasion Kieran dropped his book of the Gospels into a\nlake. Sometime after it was recovered in an uninjured state through\nthe instrumentality of a cow. The cow went into the water to cool\nitself, and brought out the volume attached to its hoof. Another bovine\nassociation is connected with the building of St. Kieran's Church on a\nhill at Errigall-keroge, in County Tyrone, Ireland. The saint had an ox\nwhich, during the day, drew the materials for the building, and in the\nevening was slaughtered to feed the workmen. The bones were thrown each\nevening into a well at the foot of the hill, and, morning by morning,\nthe accommodating animal appeared ready for the day's work. The well\nis still held to be miraculous. There is a spring dedicated to Kieran\nat Drumlithie, in Glenbervie parish, Kincardineshire, and another\nat Stonehaven, in the same county. There is one in Troqueer parish,\nKirkcudbrightshire, locally known as St. Jergon's or St. Querdon's\nWell, these names being simply an altered form of Kieran.\n\nBridget or Bride, an Irish saint, was popular in Scotland. She\nreceived baptism from Patrick, and died in 525 after a life of great\nsanctity. She was celebrated as a worker of miracles. She made a cow\nsupply an enormous quantity of milk to satisfy the wants of three\nthirsty bishops who came to visit her. She also cured diseases. On one\noccasion two men suffering from leprosy came to her to be healed. She\nmade the sign of the cross over water, and told them to wash in\nit. One of the two did so and was instantly restored to health; but,\nrefusing to help the other, he at once became leprous again, while\nhis companion was as suddenly made whole. On another occasion she\nused the sign of the cross to stay a company bent on the capture of\na maiden who had sought refuge in the saint's nunnery. Perhaps her\nmost wonderful miracle was the hanging of her gown on a sunbeam,\na somewhat unusual cloak-peg, and one that, from the nature of the\ncase, had not to be sought in a dark press. Her principal monastery\nwas at Kildare, so named after the oak (dair) under whose shade her\ncell was built. Adjoining St. Bride's Churchyard in London is a spring\ndedicated to the saint, and popularly styled Bride's Well. The palace\nbuilt in the immediate neighbourhood went by the name of Bridewell. It\nwas handed over by Edward VI. to the city of London as a workhouse\nand place of correction. At a later date the name became associated\nwith other houses used for a similar purpose. \"Hence it has arisen,\"\nremarks Chambers in his \"Book of Days,\" \"that the pure and innocent\nBridget, the first of Irish nuns, is now inextricably connected in\nour ordinary national parlance with a class of beings of the most\nopposite description.\" There are fully a dozen wells in Scotland\nbearing her name. These are chiefly to be found in the counties\nof Wigtown, Dumfries, Peebles, Lanark, Renfrew, Dumbarton, Perth,\nFife, and Aberdeen. A monastery was founded in Bridget's honour at\nAbernethy, in Perthshire, probably in the eighth century, and she\nhad churches on the mainland and among the Western Islands. A curious\nsuperstition connected with Bridget has survived to the present time,\nat least in one of these islands. It has to do with a certain magical\nflower styled torranain, that must be plucked during the influx of the\ntide, and is of virtue to protect cows from the evil eye, and to make\nthem give a plentiful supply of milk. The Rev. Dr. Stewart, in his\n\"'Twixt Ben Nevis and Glencoe,\" quotes the incantation associated\nwith it forwarded to him by a correspondent in Uist. The following\nis one of the stanzas:--\n\n\n              \"Let me pluck thee, Torranain!\n        With all thy blessedness and all thy virtue.\n        The nine blessings came with the nine parts.\n              By the virtue of the Torranain.\n              The hand of St. Bride with me\n                I am now to pluck thee.\"\n\n\nA saint who could give efficacy to a spell was quite the sort of\nperson to be entrusted with the custody of springs.\n\nNinian, popularly called Ringan, devoted his life mainly to missionary\nwork among the Picts of Galloway, although he extended his influence as\nfar north as the Tay. He seems to have been honoured in Aberdeenshire,\nif we may judge by a fresco, representing him, discovered about\nthirty years ago in the pre-Reformation Church of Turriff, and\nregard was had for him as far north as the Shetland Isles. Even the\nScot abroad did not forget him. Chalmers, in his \"Caledonia,\" says\nthat, \"in the church of the Carmelite Friars of Bruges in Flanders,\nthe Scottish nation founded an altar to St. Ninian, and endowed a\nchaplain who officiated at it.\" A cave by the sea in the parish of\nGlasserton, in Wigtownshire, was his favourite retreat. This cave was\nexplored about ten years ago, and several stones, marked with incised\ncrosses, were discovered. Ninian brought masons from France, and at\nWhithorn built Candida Casa--the first stone church in Scotland. It\nwas in course of construction in the year 397. Ninian then heard of\nthe death of Martin of Tours, and to the latter the new church was\ndedicated. These two saints are found side by side in the matter of\nchurch dedications. Thus, Martin was patron of Ulbster, in Caithness:\nnot far off was a church to Ninian. Strathmartin, in Forfarshire, was\nunited in 1799 to the parish of Mains, the latter claiming Ninian as\nits tutelar saint. Sinavey Spring, in Mains parish, near the site of\nthe ancient Castle of Fintry, is believed to represent St. Ninian's\nname in a corrupted form. His springs are numerous, and have a wide\nrange from the counties of Wigtown and Kirkcudbright to those of Forfar\nand Kincardine. There is a well to him near Dunnottar Castle, in the\nlast-mentioned county. In the island of Sanda, off the Kintyre coast,\nis a spring named after him. It had a considerable local celebrity in\nformer times. St. Ninian's Well in Stirling is a familiar spot in the\ndistrict. There is a well sacred to Martin in the Aberdeenshire parish\nof Cairnie. Martinmas (November 11th) came long ago into our land as\na church festival. It still remains with us as a familiar term-day.\n\nAn incident in Martin's biography has a bearing on our subject, through\nthe connection between the name of the festival commemorating it and\ncertain of our place-names. In Scotland, the fourth of July used to\nbe known as Martin of Bullion's Day, in honour of the translation of\nthe saint's body to a shrine in the cathedral of Tours. There is some\nuncertainty about the origin of the term Bullion, though, according\nto the likeliest etymology, it is derived from the French bouiller,\nto boil, in allusion to the heat of the weather at that time of the\nyear. There is an old proverb that if the deer rise up dry and lie down\ndry on Martin of Bullion's Day, there will be a good gose-harvest,\ni.e., an early and plentiful one. An annual fair was appointed to\nbe held at Selkirk and in Dyce parish, Aberdeenshire, in connection\nwith the festival. There are traces of both Martin and Bullion in\nScottish topography. In Perthshire there is the parish of St. Martin's,\ncontaining the estate of St. Martin's Abbey. Some miles to the east\nis Strathmartin in Forfarshire, already alluded to, and not far from\nit in the same county we find Bullionfield in the parish of Liff and\nBenvie. It is probable that these names are in some way connected\ntogether. In Ecclesmachan parish in Linlithgowshire, there is, as far\nas we know, no trace of Martin in any dedication of chapel or spring;\nbut Bullion is represented. There is a spring of this name issuing\nfrom the trap rocks of the Tor Hill. It is a mineral well. The water\nis slightly impregnated with sulphuretted hydrogen. In former times\nit was much resorted to by health-seekers, but it is now neglected.\n\nNinian consecrated a graveyard beside the Molendinar at Cathures, now\nGlasgow. About a hundred years later Kentigern, otherwise Mungo, bishop\nof the Strathclyde kingdom, brought to this cemetery from Carnock the\nbody of Fergus, an anchorite, on a cart drawn by two wild bulls. Over\nthe spot where Fergus was buried was built, at a later date, the crypt\nof what was to have been the south transept of the cathedral, had that\nportion of the structure ever been reared. The crypt is now popularly\ncalled Blackadder's Aisle, though, as Dr. Andrew MacGeorge points\nout in his \"Old Glasgow,\" it ought to be called Fergus' Isle. It was\nso named in a minute of the kirk-session in 1648, and an inscription\nin long Gothic letters on a stone in the roof of the aisle tells the\nsame tale. Kentigern took up his abode on the banks of the Molendinar,\nand gathered round him a company of monks, each dwelling in a separate\nhut. In the twelfth century the spot was surrounded by a dense forest,\nand in 1500 the \"Arbores sancti Kentigerni\" were landmarks in the\ndistrict. Kentigern's Well, now in the lower church of the cathedral,\nmust, from the very fact of its inclusion within the building, have\nbeen deemed sacred before the cathedral was reared. Other examples of\nwells within churches are on record, though not in Scotland. There is a\nspring in St. Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin. The cathedrals of Carlisle,\nWinchester, and Canterbury, and the minsters of York and Beverley,\nas well as one of two English parish churches, either now have or\nonce had wells within their walls. The Rev. T. F. Thiselton Dyer\ngives several examples in his \"Church Lore Gleanings,\" and remarks,\n\"Such wells may have been of special service in Border churches,\nwhich, like the cathedral of Carlisle, served as places of refuge\nfor the inhabitants in case of sudden alarm or foray.\"\n\nBesides his well in the cathedral, Kentigern had another dedicated to\nhim at Glasgow, close to Little St. Mungo's Church, in the immediate\nneighbourhood of the trees already mentioned. There are fully a dozen\nwells sacred to him north of the Tweed. As might be expected, these are\nalmost all to be found in the counties south of the Forth and Clyde,\nand particularly in those to the west of that district. There is one\nin Kincardineshire, at Kinneff, locally known as Kenty's Well. Under\nthe name of St. Mongah's Well there is a spring dedicated to him\nin Yorkshire at Copgrove Park four miles from Boroughbridge. A\nbath close by, supplied with water from this spring, was formerly\nmuch frequented by invalids of all ages, who remained immersed for\na longer or shorter time in its intensely cold water. Other wells\nto Kentigern are to be met with in the north of England. The parish\nof Crossthwaite in Cumberland has its church dedicated to him. The\nspot was the thwaite or clearing in the wood where he set up his\ncross. Thanet Well, in Greystoke parish in the same county, is believed\nto have derived its name from Tanew or Thenew, Kentigern's mother,\nfamiliar to the citizens of Glasgow as St. Enoch. St. Enoch's Well,\nclose to St. Enoch's Square in that burgh, used to be a favourite\nresort of health-seekers. It has now no existence.\n\nCuthbert, besides a well at St. Boswell's, in Roxburghshire, had a bath\nin Strath Tay, a rock-hewn hollow full of water where he periodically\npassed several hours in devotion. This famous Northumbrian missionary\nwas born about 635, and spent his early boyhood as a shepherd on the\nsouthern slopes of the Lammermoors. He lived for thirteen years as a\nmonk in the monastery of Old Melrose, situated two miles east from the\npresent Melrose on a piece of land almost surrounded by the Tweed. On\nthe death of Boisil, Cuthbert was appointed prior. He afterwards\nbecame bishop of Lindisfarne. During his stay at Melrose he visited\nthe land of the Niduarian Picts, in other words the Picts of Galloway,\nand left a record of his journey in the name of Kirkcudbright, i.e.,\nthe Church of Cuthbert. Various other churches were dedicated to him\nin the south of Scotland and in the north of England. A well-known\nEdinburgh parish bears his name. He was honoured as far south as\nCornwall. St. Cuby's Well, locally called St. Kilby's, between Duloe\nand Sandplace in that county is believed to have been dedicated to him.\n\nThere is a good deal of uncertainty about the history of Palladius. He\nis believed to have been a missionary from Rome to the Irish in the\nfifth century, and to have suffered martyrdom for the faith. It is\nrecorded of him that on one occasion, by removing some turf in the\nname of the Holy Spirit, he caused a spring to gush forth to supply\nwater for baptism. He is popularly associated with Kincardineshire,\nthough there is reason to believe that he had no personal connection\nwith the district. A spring in Fordoun parish is locally known as\nPaldy's Well, and an annual market goes by the name of Paldy's or\nPaddy's Fair. A chapel was dedicated to him there, and received his\nrelics, brought thither by his disciple Terrananus, whose name is\nstill preserved in Banchory-Ternan, and who seems to have belonged\nto the district. Ternan has a well at Banchory-Devenick, and another\nat Kirkton-of-Slains, in Buchan. The old church of Arbuthnot was\ndedicated to him. It was for this church that the Missal, Psalter,\nand Office of the Virgin, now in the possession of Viscount Arbuthnot,\nwere written and illuminated towards the end of the fifteenth century,\nthese being the only complete set of Service-Books of a Scottish\nChurch that have come down to us from pre-Reformation times.\n\nBrendan of Clonfert in Ireland, visited several of the Western Isles\nduring the first half of the sixth century, and various churches were\nafterwards dedicated to him there. He is connected also with Bute. The\nname Brandanes, applied to its inhabitants, came from him, and he bids\nfair to be remembered in the name of Kilbrandon Sound, between Arran\nand Kintyre. He was patron of a well in the island of Barra and was\ntutelar saint of Boyndie and Cullen in Banffshire; but we are not\naware that any well at either of these places was called after him.\n\nA curious legend is related to account for the origin of the See\nof Aberdeen. According to it Machar or Macarius, along with twelve\ncompanions, received instructions from Columba to wander over Pictland,\nand to build his cathedral-church where he found a river making a\nbend like a bishop's staff. Such a bend was found in the Don at Old\nAberdeen. St. Machar's Cathedral, built beside it, keeps alive the\nsaint's memory. In the neighbouring grounds of Seton is St. Machar's\nWell. Though now neglected, it was honoured in former times, and\nits water was used at baptisms in the cathedral. Under the name of\nMocumma or Mochonna, Macarius appears as one of the followers of\nColumba on his memorable voyage from Ireland to Iona. He is said to\nhave visited Pope Gregory the Great at Rome, and to have been for a\ntime bishop of Tours. In Strathdon, Aberdeenshire, is a well sacred\nto him called Tobar-Mhachar, pronounced in the district Tobar-Vacher.\n\nConstantine, known also by his other names of Cowstan, Chouslan,\nand Cutchou, was a prince of Cornwall in the sixth century, and was\nacquainted with Columba and Kentigern. He relinquished his throne\nand crossed over to Ireland, where he turned monk. At a later date\nhe came to the west of Scotland, and founded a monastery at Golvedir,\nbelieved to be Govan, near Glasgow, and, according to Fordun, became\nits abbot. Kilchouslan Church, on the north side of Campbeltown Bay,\nKintyre, was built in his honour. In its graveyard there is, or was\ntill quite lately, a round stone about the size of a grinding stone. In\nthe centre is a hole large enough to let the hand pass through. There\nis a tradition that if a man and woman eloped, and were able to join\nhands through this hole before being overtaken by their kinsfolk they\nwere free from further pursuit. In the spring of 1892 an interesting\nfind of old coins was made in the same graveyard. These consisted of\ngroats and half-groats, some of English and some of Scottish coinage,\nthe earliest belonging to the reign of Edward II. of England. According\nto Martin, the well of St. Cowstan at Garrabost, in Lewis, was believed\nnever to boil any kind of meat, though its water was kept over the fire\nfor a whole day. This well is on a steep slope at the shore. Not far\noff once stood St. Cowstan's Chapel, but its site is now under tillage.\n\nSerf or Servanus, who flourished during the latter half of the seventh\ncentury, was connected with the district north of the Firth of Forth,\nparticularly with Culross, and the island named after him in Loch\nLeven, where he founded a monastery. At Dysart, Serf had a cave, and\nin it tradition says that he held a discussion with the devil. The\nname of Dysart indeed, comes from this desertum or retreat. Serf\nhad a cell at Dunning, in Strathearn, where he died in the odour\nof sanctity. He had also some link with the parish of Monzievaird,\nwhere the church was dedicated to him, and where a small loch still\ngoes by the name of St. Serf's Water. There is a well sacred to him at\nAlva. St. Shear's Well, at Dumbarton, retains his name in an altered\nform. Early last century this spring was put to a practical purpose,\nas arrangements were then made to lead its water across the Leven by\npipes to supply the burgh.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IV.\n\nMORE SAINTS AND SPRINGS.\n\n    Ronan--Dow Well--Influence on Topography--Ronan's\n    Springs--Pol Ronan and Feill Ronan--Fergus--His Well in\n    Banffshire--Glamis--His Relics--His Wells at Montrose and\n    Wick--Helen--St. Helen's Kirk--Her Springs--Her connection\n    with Britain--Her Wells and Churches in England--Welsh\n    Traditions--St. Abb's Well--Ebba--Aidan--His Wells--Boisil--His\n    Springs--St. Boswell's Fair--Bathan--Abbey St. Bathan's--His Well\n    there--Boniface--His Well and Fair at Rosemarkie--Catherine\n    of Alexandria--Her Legend--Her Wells--Various other\n    Dedications--Lawrence--His Wells--St. Lawrence's Fair--His\n    Church Dedications--Laurencekirk--Margaret--Her connection with\n    Queensferry and Forfar--Her Wells at Edinburgh--Her Cave and\n    Spring at Dunfermline--Wells dedicated to various Characters in\n    Sacred Story.\n\n\nIn any notice of early saints Ronan must not be forgotten, especially\nwhen we remember that perhaps no spring, thanks to Sir Walter Scott,\nis so familiar to the general reader as St. Ronan's Well. It has\nbeen commonly identified with the mineral well at Innerleithen, in\nPeeblesshire for long held in much favour in cases of eye and skin\ncomplaints, and also for the cure of dyspepsia. The spring is situated\na short distance above the town on the skirt of Lee Pen. The writer of\nthe article on Innerleithen parish in the \"New Statistical Account of\nScotland\" says that this spring \"was formerly called the 'Dow-well'\nfrom the circumstance that, long before the healing virtues of the\nwater were discovered, pigeons from the neighbouring country resorted\nto it.\" The name, however, is more probably derived from the Gaelic\ndhu or dubh, signifying black. This is all the more likely when we\nremember that the ground around was wet and miry before the spring\nwas put into order, and the present pump-room built, in 1826. We\nfind marks of Ronan in Scottish topography. In Dumbartonshire is\nKilmaronock, meaning, literally, the Church of my little Ronan;\nKilmaronog near Loch Etive has the same signification. Dr. Skene\nrefers to these two dedications, and adds, \"Ronan appears to have\ncarried his mission to the Isles. He has left his trace in Iona,\nwhere one of the harbours is Port Ronan. The church, afterwards the\nparish church, was dedicated to him, and is called Teampull Ronaig,\nand its burying-ground, Cladh Ronan. Then we find him at Rona, in the\nSound of Skye, and another Rona, off the coast of Lewis; and, finally,\nhis death is recorded in 737 as Ronan, abbot of Cinngaradh or Kingarth,\nin Bute.\" Ronan is patron of various springs. There is one sacred to\nhim near Kilmaronock, another in the Aberdeenshire parish of Strathdon,\nand another, already referred to, beside Teampull M\u00f2r, in the Butt\nof Lewis. The parish of Strowan, now joined to that of Monzievaird,\nhas a well to the saint. This was to be expected, since the name of the\nparish is merely an altered form of St. Rowan or Ronan. About a hundred\nyards above the bridge of Strowan, there is a deep pool in the river\nEarn, called Pol-Ronan, and a piece of ground hard by was formerly the\nsite of the yearly gathering known as Feill-Ronan or St. Ronan's Fair.\n\nThe parish of St. Fergus, in Buchan, known till the year 1616 as\nLangley, commemorates an Irish missionary of the eighth century, who\nled a roving life, if we can believe the tradition, that he evangelised\nCaithness, Buchan, Strathearn, and Forfarshire, as well as attended an\nEcclesiastical Council at Rome. The legend that his well in Kirkmichael\nparish, Banffshire, was at one time in Italy may be connected with\nhis visit to Rome. Concerning this spring, the Rev. Dr. Gregor gives\nthe following particulars:--\"Fergan Well is situated on the south-east\nside of Knock-Fergan, a hill of considerable height on the west side\nof the river Avon, opposite the manse of Kirkmichael. The first Sunday\nof May and Easter Sunday were the principal Sundays for visiting it,\nand many from the surrounding parishes, who were affected with skin\ndiseases or running sores, came to drink of its water, and to wash in\nit. The hour of arrival was twelve o'clock at night, and the drinking\nof the water and the washing of the diseased part took place before\nor at sunrise. A quantity of the water was carried home for future\nuse. Pilgrimages were made up to the end of September, by which time\nthe healing virtues of the water had become less. Such after-visits\nseem to have begun in later times.\" Fergus died at Glamis, and his\nrelics soon began to work cures. His head was carried off to the\nmonastery of Scone, and was so much esteemed in later times that,\nby order of James IV., a silver case was made for it. His cave and\nwell are to be seen at Glamis. There is a spring dedicated to him\nnear Montrose, and there is another at Wick.\n\nVarious other saintly personages have left traces of their names\nin holy wells. Chalmers, in his \"Caledonia,\" mentions that the\nancient church of Aldcamus, in Cockburnspath parish, Berwickshire,\nwas dedicated to Helen, mother of Constantine, and that its ruins were\nknown as St. Helen's Kirk. A portion of the building still stands. To\nthe north of it is a burying-ground; but, curiously enough, as Mr. Muir\npoints out in his \"Ancient Churches of Scotland,\" the spot does not\nappear ever to have been used for purposes of sepulture. We do not know\nsurely of any spring to Helen in the immediate neighbourhood, but there\nis one at Darnick, near Melrose. Another is in Kirkpatrick-Fleming\nparish, Dumfriesshire. Perhaps the best known is St. Helen's Well,\nbeside the highway from Maybole to Ayr, about two-and-a-half miles\nfrom the former town. It was much resorted to on May Day for the\ncure of sickly children. On Timothy Pont's map, of date 1654, there\nis a \"Helen's Loch\" marked a little to the south-west of Camelon,\nin Stirlingshire. Some writers have attempted to claim Helen as\na native of Britain, and Colchester and York have, for different\nreasons, been fixed on as her birth-place. The circumstance that\nConstantine was proclaimed Emperor at the latter town, on the\ndeath there of his father, Constantius Chlorus, probably gave rise\nto the tradition. Anyhow, Helen seems to have been held in high\nhonour in England. In an article in the \"Arch\u00e6ological Journal\"\nfor December, 1891, Mr. Edward Peacock mentions that there are at\nleast fifteen wells named after her south of the Tweed. He adds,\n\"there are many churches dedicated to the honour of St. Helen in\nEngland, but they are very irregularly distributed. None seems to\noccur in Cumberland, Westmoreland, or Essex. The rest of the English\nshires, for which we have authentic information, give the following\nresults:--Devonshire, three; Durham, two; Kent, one; Lincolnshire,\ntwenty-eight; Northumberland, three; Nottinghamshire, fifteen;\nYorkshire, thirty-two.\" Helen's name occurs in Welsh legends; but,\nas Mr. Peacock observes, \"early history is so much distorted in them,\nthat, if we did not know of her from more authentic sources, we might\nwell believe Helen to have been a mere creation of the fervid Keltic\nimagination.\" As far as is known there are neither wells nor church\ndedications to her in the Principality.\n\nAt Ayton, in Berwickshire, we find St. Abb's Well, recalling Abb or\n\u00c6bba, who, in the seventh century, presided over a monastery on the\nheadland still bearing her name, and in whose honour the priory at\nColdingham was founded by Edgar, son of Malcolm Canmore, some four\ncenturies and a half later. Her monastery on the headland was founded\nby Aidan, who was sent from Iona to the North of England in response\nto a request from King Oswald, of Bernicia, for a missionary to preach\nChristianity to his pagan subjects. This was about the year 635. Aidan\nmade the island of Lindisfarne, off the coast of Northumberland,\nhis head-quarters. It is still known as Holy Island. Aidan has not\nbeen forgotten in the matter of wells. There are four to him, viz.,\nat Menmuir and at Fearn, in Forfarshire; at Balmerino, in Fife; and\nat Cambusnethan, in Lanarkshire. This last, called St. Iten's Well,\nwas noted for the cure of asthma and skin-disease.\n\nBoisil, abbot of the monastery of Old Melrose, about the middle of\nthe seventh century, still lives in the name of the Roxburghshire\nvillage and parish of St. Boswell's. There is a spring in the parish\nbearing the name of The Well-brae Wall. Boswell's own spring is\npopularly styled the Hare-well. Not far from both is St. Boswell's\nBurn, a tributary of the Tweed. The local fair held on July 18th, in\nhonour of the saint, used to be a notable one in the border counties,\nand was frequented by large numbers of gipsies who set up booths for\nthe sale of their wares.\n\nBathan, who flourished in the early seventh century, had to\ndo with Shetland, and with the region about the Whittadder, in\nBerwickshire. Abbey St. Bathans, in the latter county, is named after\nhim. His well is on one of the haughs beside the river, not far from\nthe ruined nunnery. Its water is believed never to freeze.\n\nBoniface belonged to the same century. He is said to have preached\nChristianity at Gowrie, in Pictavia, and afterwards at Rosemarkie,\nin the Black Isle, where he died at the age of eighty, and was buried\nin the church of St. Peter. A well and a fair at Rosemarkie still\nkeep alive his memory.\n\nThe fame of Catherine of Alexandria travelled to Scotland at a\ncomparatively early period. This holy maiden was noted for her\nlearning. Indeed she was so wise that Maxentius the Emperor called\nher a \"second Plato.\" The Emperor's compliments, however, stopped\nthere, for he ordered her to be executed on account of her contempt\nfor paganism. The wheel, her usual attribute in art, was not the\ninstrument of her martyrdom, as it was miraculously destroyed. She\nmet her death by being beheaded, and, immediately thereafter, her\nbody was carried by angels to Mount Sinai. These and other legendary\nincidents must have conduced to make the saint popular. St. Catherine's\nBalm-well, at Liberton, Mid-Lothian, had a high reputation for\ncuring skin-disease. Martin speaks of a well to St. Catherine on\nthe south coast of Eigg, reckoned by the islanders a specific in all\nkinds of disease. He gives the following account of its dedication\nby Father Hugh, a priest, and of the respect paid to the spring in\nconsequence:--\"He (the priest) obliged all the inhabitants to come to\nthis well, and then employed them to bring together a great heap of\nstones at the head of the spring by way of penance. This being done,\nhe said Mass at the well, and then consecrated it; he gave each of the\ninhabitants a piece of wax candle, which they lighted, and all of them\nmade the Dessil,--of going round the well sun-ways, the priest leading\nthem; and from that time it was accounted unlawful to boil any meat\nwith the water of this well.\" In the south-west of Scotland, Catherine\nhas, or had, three wells, viz., at Stoneykirk, at Low Drumore, and\nat Old Luce, opposite the Abbey. In the north-east there are three,\nviz., at Fyvie, Aberdeenshire; and in Alvah parish, Banffshire; and at\nBanff itself. At Shotts, in Lanarkshire, the fountain by the roadside\nimmediately below the parish church is, or at least was, locally known\nas Cat's or Kate's Well--a contraction of the Saint's name--reminding\none of the Kate Kennedy celebration at St. Andrews University, which\noriginated in connection with the gift of a bell by Bishop Kennedy in\nhonour of the saint. The ruins of Caibeal Cairine, i.e., Catherine's\nChapel, are in Southend parish, Kintyre, and two farms called North\nand South Carine are in the immediate neighbourhood. Captain White,\nwhen exploring the district, sought for St. Catherine's Well in the\nadjoining glen, but failed to find it. A chapel to the saint once\nstood in the quondam town of Kincardine in the Mearns. Its graveyard\nalone remains. St. Catherine's Fair, held at Kincardine till the year\n1612, was then transferred to the neighbouring Fettercairn. There\nis perhaps no place-name more familiar to visitors to Inveraray\nthan St. Catherine's, on the opposite shore of Loch Fyne. It was in\nSt. Catherine's Aisle, within the parish church of Linlithgow, that\nJames IV. saw the mysterious apparition that warned him to beware of\nFlodden. At Port-Erin, in the Isle of Man, is a spring close to the\nbeach, and on a stone beside it in old lettering, can be read the\npiece of advice:--\n\n\n                    \"St. Catherine's Well,\n                      Keep me clean.\"\n\n\nLawrence is represented by various springs, viz., by one in\nKirkcudbrightshire, at Fairgirth; by one in Elginshire, at New Duffus;\nand by two in Aberdeenshire, at Kinnord; and at Rayne, where a horse\nmarket, called Lawrence Fair, is still held annually in August. Near\nthe Fairgirth spring stand the ivy-clad ruins of St. Lawrence's Chapel,\nat one time surrounded by a graveyard. The parish of Slamannan, in\nStirlingshire, was anciently called St. Lawrence, its pre-Reformation\nchurch having been dedicated to him. An excellent spring, not far\nfrom the parish church, is known as St. Lawrence's Well. There is\nreason to believe that all these dedications relate to Lawrence,\nwho, about the middle of the third century, suffered at Rome, by\nbeing broiled over a slow fire, and in whose honour the Escurial in\nSpain was built in the form of a gridiron--the supposed instrument\nof his martyrdom. Laurencekirk, in Kincardineshire, anciently called\nConveth, received its name, not from the martyr, but from Lawrence,\narchbishop of Canterbury, successor of Augustine, early in the seventh\ncentury. He is said to have visited the Mearns. The church of Conveth\nwas named in his honour Laurencekirk. As far as we know, however,\nthere is no spring to him in the district.\n\nMargaret, queen and saint, wife of Malcolm Canmore, was a light\namid the darkness of the eleventh century. Indeed she was a light\nto many later centuries. The secret of her beneficial influence\nlay in her personal character, and she undoubtedly did much to\nrecommend civilisation to a barbarous age. At the same time it\nmust not be forgotten that through her English training she was\nunable to appreciate either the speech or the special religious\ninstitutions of her Scottish subjects, and that, accordingly, the\nchanges introduced by her were not all reforms. When sketching her\ninfluence on the history of her time, the Rev. Dr. M'Lauchlan, in his\n\"Early Scottish Church,\" observes, \"She was somewhat unwillingly\nhindered from entering a monastery by her marriage with Malcolm,\nand the latter repaid the obligation by unbounded devotion to her and\nreadiness to fall in with all her schemes. She was brought up in the\nAnglo-Saxon Church, as that Church was moulded by Augustine and other\nemissaries of Rome, and was in consequence naturally opposed to many\nof the peculiarities of the Scottish Church, which was still without\ndiocesan bishops, and had many things in its forms of worship peculiar\nto itself.\" Dunfermline was Malcolm's favourite place of residence, and\nmany were the journeys made by his wife between it and Edinburgh. The\nnames of North and South Queensferry, where she crossed the Forth,\ntell of these royal expeditions. Malcolm and Margaret were associated\nwith the town of Forfar. Local topography has still its King's Muir,\nand its Queen's Well to testify to the fact; and on the Inch of Forfar\nLoch, where Margaret had a residence, an annual celebration was long\nheld in her honour. She had a spring at Edinburgh Castle, described as\n\"the fountain which rises near the corner of the King's Garden, on the\nroad leading to St. Cuthbert's Church.\" St. Margaret's Well--once at\nRestalrig, now in the Queen's Park--has already been referred to. At\nDunfermline there is a spring in a cave where, according to tradition,\nshe spent many an hour in pious meditation. The cave is about seven\nfeet in height, fully eight in breadth, and varies in depth from\neight to eleven. \"This cave,\" remarks the Rev. Peter Chalmers in his\n\"History of Dunfermline,\" \"is situated at a short distance north from\nthe Tower Hill, and from the mound crossing the ravine on which part\nof the town stands. There is at present a small spring well at the\nbottom, the water of which rises at times and covers the whole lower\nspace; but anciently, it is to be presumed, there was none, or at\nleast it must have been covered, and prevented from overflowing the\nfloor, which would either have been formed of the rock or have been\npaved.\" A considerable amount of rubbish accumulated in the cave,\nbut this was removed in 1877. \"During the process of clearing out\nthe cave,\" remarks Dr. Henderson in his \"Annals of Dunfermline,\"\n\"two stone seats or benches were discovered along the base of the\nnorth and south sides, but there were no carvings or devices seen on\nthem. Near the back of the cave a small sunk well was found, but it\nis now covered over with a stone flag.\"\n\nSeveral Scripture characters have wells named after\nthem. St. Matthew has springs at Kirkton, Dumfriesshire, and at\nRoslin, Midlothian. St. Andrew's name is attached to wells at\nSandal, in Kintyre; at North Berwick, in East Lothian; at Shadar,\nin Lewis; and at Selkirk--this last having been uncovered in 1892,\nafter remaining closed, it is believed, for fully three hundred\nyears. A spring at St. Andrews, called Holy Well, is understood to\nhave been dedicated either to Andrew or to Regulus. St. Paul has\nsprings at Fyvie and at Linlithgow; St. Philip is patron of one\nin Yarrow parish, Selkirkshire; St. James has one at Garvock, in\nAberdeenshire; St. Thomas has three--at Lochmaben, Dumfriesshire;\nat Crieff, in Perthshire; and near Stirling; and St. John has a\nconsiderable number of springs. Some of these are to the Evangelist,\nand some to the Baptist. It is often difficult to know to which of\nthe two the patronage of a given well should be ascribed. Of the four\nchapels along the east wall of the lower church of Glasgow Cathedral,\nthe one next to St. Mungo's Well was dedicated in pre-Reformation\ntimes to St. John the Evangelist. It would have been more appropriately\ndedicated to the Baptist. St. John's Wells are to be found at Moffat,\nin Dumfriesshire; at Logie Coldstone, in Aberdeenshire; near Fochabers,\nin Elginshire; at Inverkeithing, Balmerino; and Falkland, in Fife;\nat Kinnethmont, and in New Aberdour, in Aberdeenshire; at Marykirk, in\nKincardineshire; at Kirkton of Deskford, at Ordiquhill, and also near\nthe old church of Gamrie, in Banffshire; at Stranraer, in Wigtownshire;\nat Dunrobin, in Sutherland; and elsewhere. There are more than a dozen\nwells to St. Peter. These are to be found mainly in counties in the\nsouth-west, and in the north-east. In the latter district there is\na well at Marnoch, in Banffshire, called Petrie's Well.\n\nSt. Anne, the reputed mother of the Virgin, presided over wells at\nLadykirk, in Berwickshire; near the old church of St. Anne, in Dowally\nparish, Perthshire; and at Glass, on the Deveron. The Virgin herself\nwas specially popular as the patroness of fountains. There are over\nseventy dedicated to her under a variety of names, such as, St. Mary's\nWell, Maria Well, &c. The town of Motherwell, in Lanarkshire,\nwas so called after a famous well to the Virgin. Tobermory, in\nMull--literally, Well of Mary--was originally a fountain. A village\nwas built beside it, in 1788, as a fishing centre for the British\nFisheries' Company. A curious legend about the now ivy-clad ruins of\nthe church of St. Mary in Auchindoir parish, Aberdeenshire, is thus\nreferred to by Mr. A. Jervise in the \"Proceedings of the Society of\nAntiquaries of Scotland,\" vol. viii. (old series):--\"According to\ntradition, it was originally proposed to rebuild the church at a place\ncalled Kirkcairns (now Glencairns) to the south of Lumsden village,\nand but for the warning voice of the Virgin, who appears to have been a\ngood judge both of locality and soil, the kirk would have been placed\nin an obscure sterile district. Besides being in the neighbourhood\nof good land, fine views of the upper part of Strathbogie and of the\nsurrounding hills are obtained from the present site.... St. Mary's\nWell is about a hundred yards to the west.\"\n\nIf Michael the Archangel did not fold his wings over any Scottish\nwells, he at least gave name to several. There is a St. Michael's\nSpring in Kirkmichael parish, Banffshire, and another at Dallas\nin Elginshire. In both cases, the ancient church was dedicated to\nhim. Culsalmond, in Aberdeenshire, and Applegarth, in Dumfriesshire,\nhave, and Edinburgh once had, a St. Michael's Well. The best known is\nprobably the one at Linlithgow, with its quaint inscription--\"Saint\nMichael is kinde to straingers.\" Mr. J. R. Walker--to whose list\nof Holy Wells in the \"Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of\nScotland,\" vol. v. (new series), we have been indebted for various\nuseful hints--remarks, \"The building covering this well dates only\nfrom 1720.... It is conjectured that the statue was taken from the\nCross-well when restored about that date and placed here to represent\nSt. Michael, who is the patron saint of Linlithgow Church.... With the\nexception of the statue, which is undoubtedly of much earlier date\nthan 1720, the structure shows the utter absence of architectural\nknowledge--especially Gothic--characteristic of the last century\nin Scotland. Michael was tutelar saint, not only of the church, but\nalso of the burgh of Linlithgow. In the town Arms he is represented\nwith outspread wings, standing on a serpent whose head he is piercing\nwith a spear. He was also the guardian of the burgh of Dumfries. At\nInverlussa, in North Knapdale parish, Argyllshire, may be seen\nthe ancient chapel and burying-ground of Kilmichael. A well in the\nimmediate neighbourhood is dedicated, not to the archangel, but to\nsome local ecclesiastic, whose name is now forgotten. In reference to\nthis spring, Captain White says, \"Trickling out from under a rock,\nis the Priest's Well (Tobar-ant-Sagairt), famous, like many another\nspring of so-called holy water, for its miraculous healing virtues. I\nbelieve the country people have by no means lost their faith in its\npowers.\" The extent of the archangel's popularity in Scotland is shown\nby his impress on topography. Among place-names we find at least\nthree Kilmichaels, and there are five parishes called Kirkmichael,\nrespectively in the counties of Dumfries, Ayr, Perth, Ross and\nCromarty, and Banff. A chapel is said to have been dedicated to him at\na very early date on the top of the Castle Rock at Edinburgh. Another\nonce stood in the demesne of Lovat, where was founded, about 1232,\na Priory for French monks, who were so struck with the beauty of the\nspot that they called it Beau-lieu, now Beauly. Far west, in the outer\nHebrides, he had faithful votaries. On the island of Grimisay, close to\nNorth Uist, a chapel styled Teampull Mhicheil was built in his honour\ntowards the close of the fourteenth century. It was the work of Amie,\notherwise Annie, wife of John of Isla, first Lord of the Isles, and\nwas used by her as an oratory when prevented by rough weather from\ncrossing the Minch to visit her friends in Lorne. That the archangel\nshould have had wells named after him is therefore not surprising.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER V.\n\nSTONE BLOCKS AND SAINTS' SPRINGS.\n\n    Stone Beds and Chairs--Cave Life--Dwarfie Stone--Stone\n    Boats--Balthere--His Corpse--His Well and Cradle--Marnan--His\n    Influence on Topography--His Head--St. Marnan's\n    Chair and Well--Muchricha--Cathair Donan--St. Donan's\n    Well--Patrick--His Wells--St. Patrick's Vat--Quarry at\n    Portpatrick--Columbanus--Mark of his Hand--Kentigern's\n    Chair and Bed--His connection with Aberdeenshire--The Lady's\n    Bed--Thenew--Columba's Bed and Pillow--Holy Island--Traces\n    of Molio--St. Blane's Chapel--Kilmun--Inan--St. Innian's\n    Well--Tenant's Day--St. Inan's Chair and Springs--Kevin--Print\n    of Virgin's Knee--Traces of Columba at Keil--St. Cuthbert's\n    Stane--St. Madron's Bed--Mean-an-Tol--Morwenna--St. Fillan's\n    Chair--St. Fillan's Spring--Water for Sore Eyes--The Two\n    Fillans--Their Dedications--Queen Margaret's Seat--St. Bonnet's\n    Spring--The Fairies' Cradle--The Pot o' Pittenyoul--Church of\n    Invergowrie--Greystane--Cadger's Bridge--Wallace's Seat and Well.\n\n\nBeds and Chairs of stone are connected with various early saints,\nand as such relics are often associated with holy wells, some notice\nof these may not be without interest. We have already seen that cave\nlife was rather popular among these early missionaries. Anything\nof a rocky nature was therefore quite in line with their ascetic\nways. Hoy, one of the Orkney Islands, famous for its wild scenery,\nand specially for the pillar of rock popularly styled The Old Man,\ncontains a curious monument of antiquity in the shape of a large\nblock of sandstone called The Dwarfie Stone, hollowed out long ago\nby some unknown hand. The chamber, thus excavated, contains two beds\nhewn out of the stone, one of them having a pillow of the same hard\nmaterial. On the floor of the chamber is a hearth where a fire had\nevidently burned, and in the roof is a hole for the escape of the\nsmoke. Legend reports that a giant and his wife abode within; but the\nhollow space was more probably the retreat of some hermit--perhaps,\nof more than one, seeing there are two couches; though, possibly,\none of the supposed couches may have been a table and the other a\nbed. Perhaps the anchorite had his spring whither he wandered daily\nto slake his thirst; but, as far as we know, there is no tradition\nregarding any holy well in the neighbourhood.\n\nMartin, in connection with his visit to Orkney, refers to a stone\nin the chapel of Ladykirk, in South Ronaldshay, called St. Magnus's\nBoat. The stone was four feet in length, and tapered away at both ends;\nbut its special feature was the print of two human feet on the upper\nsurface. A local tradition affirmed that when St. Magnus wanted on one\noccasion to cross the Pentland Firth to Caithness he used this stone\nas his boat, and that he afterwards carried it to Ladykirk. According\nto another tradition, the stone served in pre-Reformation times for\nthe punishment of delinquents, who were obliged to stand barefooted\nupon it by way of penance. There is a St. Magnus's Well, not in South\nRonaldshay, however, but at Birsay, in the mainland of Orkney. When\nConval crossed from Ireland to Scotland, in the seventh century, he,\ntoo, made a block of stone do duty as a boat. It found a resting-place\nbeside the river Cart, near Renfrew, and was known as Currus Sancti\nConvalli. By its means miraculous cures were wrought on man and\nbeast. A rock at the mouth of Aldham Bay, in Haddingtonshire, is known\nas St. Baudron's Boat, and tradition says that he crossed on it from\nthe Bass, where he had a cell. This saint--called also Balthere and\nBaldred--founded the monastery of Tyningham, and died early in the\nseventh century. He must have been popular in the district, for, if we\ncan believe an old legend, the parishioners of the churches of Aldham,\nTyningham, and Prestonkirk tried to get possession of his relics. To\nsatisfy their demands his body was miraculously multiplied by three,\nand each church was thus provided with one. Near Tantallon Castle is\nSt. Baldred's Well, and a fissure in the cliff at Whitberry, not far\nfrom the mouth of the Tyne, is known as St. Baldred's Bed or Cradle.\n\nMarnan or Marnoch, besides giving name to the town of Kilmarnock, in\nAyrshire, and to the Island of Inchmarnoch, off Bute, is remembered in\nthe name of the Banffshire parish of Marnoch, where he laboured as a\nmissionary in the seventh century. His head was kept as a revered relic\nin the church of Aberchirder, and solemn oaths were sworn by it. Use\nwas also made of it for therapeutic purposes. It was periodically\nwashed, and the water was given to the sick for the restoration of\ntheir health. This was not an isolated case. Bede tells us, that after\nCuthbert's death, some of the water in which his body was washed,\nwas given to an epileptic boy along with some consecrated earth,\nand brought about a cure. A stone, called St. Marnan's Chair, is,\nor was till lately, to be seen at Aberchirder; and a spring, near\nthe parish manse, bears the saint's name. About a mile and a half\nfrom the church of Aboyne, in Aberdeenshire, is St. Muchricha's Well,\nand beside it is a stone marked with a cross. At one time, this stone\nwas removed. According to a local tradition, it was brought back by\nMuchricha, the guardian of the well, who seemed unwilling to lose\nsight of the lost property. In the parish of Kildonan, Sutherland, two\nor three blocks of stone, placed in the form of a seat, went by the\nname of Cathair Donan, i.e., Donan's Chair. In his cille or church,\nDonan taught the truths of Christianity; and, seated in his cathair,\nhe administered justice to the people of the district. There is a\nSt. Donan's Well in Eigg, the island where the saint and his companion\nclerics were murdered by the natives early in the seventh century.\n\nPatrick, the well-known missionary of Ireland, was reverenced also in\nScotland. There is a well dedicated to him in the parish of Muthill,\nPerthshire, and close to it once stood a chapel, believed to have borne\nhis name. From the article on Muthill parish, in the \"New Statistical\nAccount of Scotland,\" we learn that in former times the inhabitants\nof the district held the saint's memory \"in such veneration that, on\nhis day, neither the clap of the mill was heard nor the plough seen\nto move in the furrow.\" There is a well dedicated to him in Dalziel\nparish, Lanarkshire. About sixty yards from St. Patrick's temple, in\nthe island of Tyree, is a rock, with a hollow on the top, two feet\nacross and four feet deep, known to the islanders as St. Patrick's\nVat. At any rate it was so named at the end of last century. In a\nquarry at Portpatrick, Wigtownshire, used in connection with the\nharbour works, once flowed a spring dedicated to the saint. On the\nrock below were formerly to be seen certain marks, said, by tradition,\nto be the impression made by his knees and left hand.\n\nColumban or Columbanus, belonged, like Columba, to the sixth\ncentury. Ireland was also his native land. When he left it he\ntravelled, not north like Columba, but south, and sought the sunny\nlands of France and Italy. In the latter country he founded the\nmonastery of Bobbio among the Apennines. A writer in the \"Antiquary\"\nfor 1891 remarks, in connection with a recent visit to this monastery,\n\"I was taken to see a rock on the summit of a mountain called La\nSpanna, near the cave to which the saint is said to have retired\nfor prayer and meditation. The impression of the saint's left hand\nis still shown upon the face of this rock. The healing power of the\npatron's hand is believed by the peasantry of the surrounding country\nto linger still in the hollow marking, and many sufferers, climbing to\nthis spot, have found relief from laying their hand within its palm.\"\n\nIn addition to his well beside the Molendinar, at Glasgow, Kentigern\nhad a chair and bed, both of stone. Concerning the latter, Bishop\nForbes, in his \"Kalendars of Scottish Saints,\" says, \"Kentigern's couch\nwas rather a sepulchre than a bed, and was of rock, with a stone for\na pillow, like Jacob. He rose in the night and sang psalms and hymns\ntill the second cock-crowing. Then he rushed into the cold stream, and\nwith eyes fixed on heaven he recited the whole psalter. Then, coming\nout of the water he dried his limbs on a stone on the mountain called\nGalath, and went forth for his day's work.\" Kentigern's work took him\nbeyond the limits of Strathclyde. He seems to have visited the uplands\nof Aberdeenshire. The church of Glengairn, a parish now incorporated\nwith Tullich and Glenmuick, was probably founded by him. At any rate,\nit was dedicated to him. A tradition of his untiring zeal survived\nin Aberdeenshire down to the beginning of last century. According to\na proverb then current, systematic beneficence was said to be \"like\nSt. Mungo's work, which was never done.\" The Isle of May, in the\nFirth of Forth, has, on one of its rocky sides, a small cave called\nThe Lady's Bed, containing a pool in its floor. As Mr. Muir points\nout in his \"Ecclesiological Notes,\" it is traditionally associated\nwith Thenew, Kentigern's mother, \"who,\" according to the legend,\n\"after being cast into the sea at Aberlady, was miraculously floated\nto the May, and thence, in the same manner, to Culross, where she\nwas stranded and gave birth to the saint.\" Columba, when in Iona,\nhad a stone slab as a bed, and a block of stone as a pillow. Adamnan\nmentions that, after the saint's death, this pillow stone was placed\nas a monument over his grave.\n\nGuarding Lamlash Bay, where Haco gathered his shattered fleet after\nthe battle of Largs, in 1263, is Holy Island, known to the Norsemen\nas Melansay. In this island is a cave, at one time inhabited by\nthe hermit Molio, and below it, near the beach, is his Holy Well,\nfor centuries reckoned efficacious in the cure of disease. A large\nblock of sandstone, flat on the top, with a series of recesses like\nseats cut round its margin, constitutes the saint's chair and table\ncombined. Molio was educated in Bute by his uncle Blane, to whom the\nnow ruined St. Blane's Chapel was dedicated. He afterwards went to\nIreland, and was placed under Munna, who is still remembered in the\nname of Kilmun, on Holy Loch, in the Firth of Clyde.\n\nInan, probably the same as Finan, gave name to Inchinnan, in\nRenfrewshire, though the ancient church of the parish was dedicated,\nnot to him, but to Conval. The church at Lamington, in Lanarkshire,\nwas dedicated to Inan. St. Innian's Well is in the parish. He is the\npatron saint of Beith, in Ayrshire. The annual fair held there in\nAugust is popularly called Tenant's Day--Tenant being a corruption of\nSt. Inan. St. Inan's Well and St. Inan's Chair keep his memory fresh\nin the district. Some particulars about them are given by Mr. Robert\nLove in the \"Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland\",\nvol. xi.:--\"This chair is in the rocky hill-face at the west end of\nthe Cuff hills, and from its elevated position a wide tract of country\nfrom south to north is overlooked. At the base of the hill, and distant\nfrom the chair some hundred yards, is a well called St. Inan's Well,\na double spring, which issues from the rock at two points close by each\nother, and which is almost unapproachable in respect of its abundance\nand purity. This chair is formed in part, possibly by nature, out of\nthe rock of the hill. Its back and two sides are closed in, while,\nin front, to the west, it is open. The seat proper is above the\nground in front about two feet two inches, is two feet four inches\nin breadth, and one foot four inches in depth backwards.\" Visitors\nto the seven churches at Glendalough, in county Wicklow, Ireland,\nare usually shown St. Kevin's Seat on a block of rock. As a proof of\nits genuineness the mark made by the saint's leg and the impression\nof his fingers are duly pointed out by the local guide.\n\nIn Kirkmaiden parish, Wigtownshire, the print of the Virgin's knee\nwas at one time shown on a stone where she knelt in prayer. There was\na chapel dedicated to her in the neighbourhood. In Southend parish,\nKintyre, are the remains of St. Columba's Chapel, standing in the\nancient burying-ground of Keil. In his \"Ecclesiological Notes\" Mr. Muir\nobserves, \"Under an overhanging rock, close by on the roadside,\nis St. Columba's Well, and on the top of a hillock, overlooking the\nwest end of the burial ground there is a flat rock bearing on its\ntop the impress of two feet, made, it seems, by those of the saint\nwhilst he stood marking out and hallowing the spot on which his chapel\nshould rest.\" In Bromfield parish, Cumberland, is a piece of granite\nrock called St. Cuthbert's Stane, and near it is a copious spring of\nremarkably pure water. Brand, in his \"Popular Antiquities,\" says that\n\"this spring, probably from its having been anciently dedicated to\nthe same St. Cuthbert, is called Helly Well, i.e., Haly or Holy Well.\"\n\nMr. R. C. Hope, in his \"Holy Wells,\" refers to a block of stone\nnear St. Madron's Spring, in Cornwall, locally known as St. Madron's\nBed. We are told that \"on it impotent folk reclined when they came\nto try the cold water cure.\" In the same parish is a pre-historic\nrelic in the form of a granite block with a hole in the centre of\nit. It is known in Cornish as Mean-an-Tol, i.e., the Stone of the\nHole. Its name in English is The Creeping Stone. Sickly children were\nat one time passed through the hole a certain number of times, in the\nbelief that a cure would follow. This superstitious custom recalls what\nwas at one time done beside St. Paul's Well, in the parish of Fyvie,\nAberdeenshire. Close to the well were the ruins of an old church. One\nof its stones was supported on other two with a space below. It\nwent by the name of The Shargar Stone--shargar signifying a weakly\nchild. The stone, in this instance, got its name from the custom in\nthe district of mothers passing their ailing children through the\nspace below the stone, in the belief that whatever hindered their\ngrowth would thereby be removed. Mr. Hope recounts a tradition\nconcerning Morwenstowe, in Devon, and its patron saint, Morwenna,\nto the effect that when the parishioners wished to build a church,\nMorwenna brought a large stone from the foot of the cliff to form\nthe font. Feeling fatigued by the climb she laid down the stone to\nrest herself, and from the spot a spring gushed forth.\n\nOn the top of green Dunfillan, in the parish of Comrie, is a rocky seat\nknown in the district as Fillan's Chair. Here, according to tradition,\nthe saint sat and gave his blessing to the country around. Towards\nthe end of last century, and doubtless even later, this chair was\nassociated with a superstitious remedy for rheumatism in the back. The\nperson to be cured sat in the chair, and then, lying on his back, was\ndragged down the hill by the legs. The influence of the saint lingering\nabout the spot was believed to insure recovery. St. Fillan's Spring,\nat the hill-foot, has already been referred to, in connection with its\nmysterious change of site. It was much frequented at one time by old\nand young, especially on 1st May and 1st August. The health seekers\nwalked or were carried thrice round the spring from east to west,\nfollowing the course of the sun. The next part of the ritual consisted\nin the use of the water for drinking and washing, in throwing a white\nstone on the saint's cairn, near the spring, and in leaving a rag as\nan offering before departing. In 1791 not fewer than seventy persons\nvisited the spot at the dates mentioned. The writer of the article\non Comrie in the \"Old Statistical Account of Scotland\" supplies these\nparticulars, and adds, \"At the foot of the hill there is a basin made\nby the saint on the top of a large stone, which seldom wants water,\neven in the greatest drought, and all who are distressed with sore eyes\nmust wash them three times with this water.\" Fillan, to whom Comrie\nparish is thus so much indebted, flourished about the sixth century,\nand must not be confounded with the other missionary of the same name,\nwho dwelt more than a century later, in the straths of the Fillan\nand the Dochart, between Tyndrum and Killin. Concerning the former,\nDr. Skene writes in his \"Celtic Scotland\": \"Fillan, called Anlobar or\n'the leper,' whose day is 20th June, is said in the Irish calendar to\nhave been of Rath Erenn in Alban, or the fort of the Earn in Scotland,\nand St. Fillans, at the east end of Loch Earn, takes its name from him;\nwhile the church of Aberdour, on the northern shore of the Firth of\nForth, is also dedicated to him.\" The other Fillan had his Chapel\nand Holy Pool halfway between Tyndrum and Crianlarich. He is also\nconnected with Fife. At Pittenweem, in that county, his cave is to be\nseen, and in it is his holy well, supplied with water from crevices\nin the rock. At the mill of Killin, in Perthshire, once stood a block\nof stone, known as St. Fillan's Chair. Close to the spot flows the\nDochart, and some person or persons, whose muscles were stronger than\ntheir antiquarian instincts, sought not unsuccessfully to throw the\nrelic into the river. The Renfrewshire parish of Killallan, united in\n1760 to that of Houston, got its name from Fillan. Its ancient church,\nnow ruined, was dedicated to him. Near the ruins, are a stone with\na hollow in it and a spring, called respectively St. Fillan's Seat\nand St. Fillan's Well.\n\nAbout two miles and a half to the south-east of Dunfermline,\nis a block of stone, believed to be the last remnant of a group\nof pre-historic Standing Stones. According to tradition, it was\nused by Queen Margaret, as a seat where she rested, when on her\nway to and from the ferry over the Forth. A farm in the immediate\nneighbourhood is called St. Margaret's Stone Farm, after the block\nin question. In his \"Annals of Dunfermline\" Dr. Henderson says,\n\"In 1856 this stone was removed to an adjacent site, by order of the\nroad surveyor, in order to widen the road which required no widening,\nas no additional traffic was likely to ensue, but the reverse; it is\ntherefore much to be regretted that the old landmark was removed. It\nis in contemplation to have the old stone replaced on its old site\n(as nearly as possible) and made to rest, with secure fixings, on a\nmassive base or plinth stone.\" Not far from the town of Cromarty is\nSt. Bennet's Spring, beside the ruins of St. Bennet's Chapel. Close to\nthe spot once stood a stone trough, termed The Fairies' Cradle. Hugh\nMiller, in his \"Scenes and Legends of the North of Scotland,\" says\nthat this trough was \"famous for virtues derived from the saint, like\nthose of the well. For, if a child was carried away by the fairies\nand some mischievous imp left in its place, the parents had only to\nlay the changeling in this trough, and, by some invisible process,\ntheir child would be immediately restored to them. The Fairies'\nCradle came to a sudden end about the year 1745. It was then broken\nto pieces by the parish minister, with the assistance of two of his\nelders, that it might no longer serve the purposes of superstition.\"\n\nThe following, from the Rev. Dr. Gregor's \"Folklore of the North-East\nof Scotland,\" has certainly nothing to do with a saint, but in other\nrespects, has a bearing on the subject in hand:--\"The Pot o' Pittenyoul\nis a small but romantic rock-pool in a little stream called the 'Burn\no' the Riggins,' which flows past the village of Newmills of Keith. On\nthe edge of the pool are some hollows worn away by the water and the\nsmall stones and sand carried down by the stream. These hollows to a\nlively imagination have the shape of a seat, and the story is, that\nthe devil, at some far-back time, sat down on the edge of the pool and\nleft his mark.\" Probably at an equally distant date, the devil made\nhis presence felt, further south, though in a different way. He had\ngreat objections to a church built at Invergowrie, in Perthshire, and,\nin order to knock it down, hurled a huge boulder across the Tay from\nthe opposite coast of Fife. We are not aware that the stone struck\nthe church. At any rate it can be seen in the grounds of Greystane,\na property to which, according to local tradition, it gave name. Sir\nWilliam Wallace, though never canonized, had certainly more of the\nsaint about him than the last-mentioned personage. We find various\ntraditions concerning him in the Upper Ward of Lanarkshire. His\nconnection with Lanark is well known. At Biggar, he is said, by\nBlind Harry, to have defeated the English, who greatly outnumbered\nhis forces. This battle took place on Biggar Moss. A few days before\nthe fight, he entered the enemy's camp, disguised as a cadger or\npedlar, to discover the strength of the English army. Being pursued,\nhe turned on his assailants while crossing a bridge over Biggar\nWater, a little to the west of the town. A foot-bridge there still\ngoes by the name of The Cadger's Bridge. A rock with a hollow in it,\nlying to the north of Vizzyberry, is locally styled Wallace's Seat,\nand a spring near the spot is still known as Wallace's Well.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VI.\n\nHEALING AND HOLY WELLS.\n\n    Healing and Holy--Modern Health-resorts--King's\n    Ease--Poorhouse of Ayr--Muswell--St. Martin's Chapel--Alum\n    Wells--Petrifying Springs--Peterhead--Moss of Melshach--Well\n    of Spa--Chapel Wells at Kirkmaiden--Medan--St. Catherine's\n    Balm Well--The Sciennes--St. Bernard's Well--Non-mineral\n    Wells--Early Saints--Water for Discipline--For\n    Baptism--Burghead--Lough Shanan--Tobar-an-easbuig--Poetry and\n    Superstition--Heljabr\u00fcn--Trinity Hospital and Well--St. Mungo's\n    Well--Fuaran n'Gruarach--Spring in Athole--Fiddler's Well--Water\n    as a Prophylactic.\n\n\nHealing and holy have an etymological kinship. The one is commonly\nassociated with matters relating to the body, and the other with\nthose relating to the soul. If the body is healed, it is said to be\nwhole and its owner hale; and if the soul is healed, it is said to\nbe holy. All these words have one idea in common, and hence we need\nnot wonder that healing wells were, as a rule, reckoned holy wells,\nand vice versa. When speaking of the virtues of such wells, Mrs. Stone,\nin her \"God's Acre,\" puts the point exactly, if somewhat quaintly, when\nshe says, \"Before chemistry was born, when medical science was little\nknown, these medical virtues, so plainly and indisputably ostensible,\nwere attributed to the beneficence of the saint or angel to whom the\nspring had been dedicated.\" Many still go to Moffat, Bridge-of-Allan,\nand Strathpeffer to drink the waters, but probably, none of those\nhealth-seekers now rely on magic for a cure. It was quite otherwise\nin former times. Cures wrought at Lourdes are still believed, by many,\nto be due to the blessing of the water by the Virgin Mary.\n\nNot far from the highway between Ayr and Prestwick once stood a\nlazar-house called King's Ease or King's Case, known in the sixteenth\ncentury as Kilcaiss. Its ruins were to be seen till well on in the\npresent century. According to tradition, the hospital was founded\nfor lepers by King Robert Bruce, who was himself afflicted with a\ndisease believed to be leprosy. This was done as a thank-offering,\nfor benefit received from the water of a neighbouring well. The spring\nwas doubtless sacred to some saint, probably to Ninian, to whom the\nhospital was dedicated, and we can safely infer that the patron got\nthe credit of the cure. To maintain the lepers the king gifted various\nlands to the hospital, among others, those of Robertlone, in Dundonald\nparish, and of Sheles and Spital-Sheles, in Kyle Stewart. The right\nof presentation to the hospital was vested in the family of Wallace\nof Craigie. At a later date the lands belonging to the charity passed\ninto other hands. In the third volume of his \"Caledonia,\" published\nin 1824, Chalmers remarks, \"The only revenue that remained to it was\nthe feu-duties payable from the lands granted in fee-firm, and these,\namounting to 64 bolls of meal and 8 marks Scots of money, with 16\nthreaves of straw for thatching the hospital, are still paid. For more\nthan two centuries past the diminished revenue has been shared among\neight objects of charity in equal shares of 8 bolls of meal and 1 mark\nScots to each. The leprosy having long disappeared, the persons who are\nnow admitted to the benefit of this charity are such as labour under\ndiseases which are considered as incurable, or such as are in indigent\ncircumstances.\" In the time of Charles I., the persons enjoying the\nbenefit of the charity lived in huts or cottages in the vicinity of\nthe chapel. In 1787 the right of presentation was bought from the\nWallaces by the burgh of Ayr, and the poorhouse there is thus the\nlineal descendant of King Robert's hospital. Mr. R. C. Hope, in his\n\"Holy Wells,\" alludes to the interesting fact that Bruce had a free\npass from the English king to visit Muswell, near London, close to the\nsite of the Alexandra Palace. This well, dedicated to St. Lazarus, at\none time belonged to the hospital order of St. John's, Clerkenwell,\nand was resorted to in cases of leprosy. Bruce's foundation at\nAyr recalls another at Stony Middleton, in Derbyshire. The latter,\nhowever, was a chapel, and not a hospital. Tradition says that a\ncrusader, belonging to the district, was cured of leprosy by means\nof the mineral water there, and that in gratitude he built a chapel\nand dedicated it to his patron saint, Martin.\n\nIn glancing at the history of holy wells, it is not difficult\nto understand why certain springs were endowed with mysterious\nproperties. When there were no chemists to analyse mineral springs,\nanyone tasting the water would naturally enough think that there was\nsomething strange about it, a notion that would not vanish with the\nfirst draught. The wonder, too, would grow if the water was found\nto put fresh vigour into wearied frames. Alum wells, like the one\nin Carnwath parish, Lanarkshire, would, through their astringent\nqualities, arrest attention. A well at Halkirk, Caithness, must have\nbeen a cause of wonder, if we judge by the description given of it\nin the \"Old Statistical Account of Scotland,\" where we read, that\n\"on its surface lies always a thin beautiful kind of substance, that\nvaries like the plumage of the peacock displayed in all its glory to\nthe rays of the sun.\"\n\nThe petrifying power of certain springs would also tend to bring them\ninto notice. There is a famous well of this kind near Tarras Water,\nin Canonbie parish, Dumfriesshire. In Kirkmaiden parish, Wigtownshire,\nis a dropping cave, known as Peter's Paps. In former times it was\nresorted to by persons suffering from whooping-cough. The treatment\nconsisted in standing with upturned face below the drop, and allowing\nit to fall into the open mouth. For more than two centuries and\na half, the mineral waters of Peterhead have been famous for both\ninternal and external use, though their fame is not now so great as\nformerly. Towards the end of the seventeenth century, they were spoken\nof as one of the six wonders of Buchan. The principal well is situated\nto the south of the town, and is popularly called the Wine Well. Its\nwater is strongly impregnated with carbonic acid, muriate of iron,\nmuriate of lime, and muriate of soda. The chalybeate spring in the\nMoss of Melshach, in Kennethmont parish, had at one time a considerable\nlocal reputation for the cure of man and beast. Clothes of the former\nand harness of the latter were left beside the well. Visits were\npaid to it in the month of May. Another Aberdeenshire health-resort\nformerly attracted many visitors, viz., Pannanich, near Ballater, with\nits four chalybeate springs. These are said to have been accidentally\ndiscovered, about the middle of last century, but were then probably\nonly rediscovered. They were at first found beneficial in the case of\nscrofula, and were afterwards deemed infallible in all diseases. In his\n\"Antiquities and Scenery of the North of Scotland,\" Cordiner, under\ndate 1776, writes: \"In coming down these hilly regions, stopped the\nfirst night at 'Pananach-lodge:' an extensive building opposite to the\nstrange rocks and pass of Bolliter. There, a mineral well and baths,\nwhose virtues have been often experienced, are become much frequented\nby the infirm. The lodge, containing a number of bed-chambers,\nand a spacious public room, is fitted up for the accommodation of\nthose who come to take the benefit of the waters. Goat whey is also\nthere obtained in the greatest perfection.\" Almost a century later,\nanother visitor to the spot, viz., Queen Victoria, thus writes,\nin her \"More Leaves from the Journal of a Life in the Highlands\":\n\"I had driven with Beatrice to Pannanich wells, where I had been\nmany years ago. Unfortunately, almost all the trees which covered\nthe hills have been cut down. We got out and tasted the water, which\nis strongly impregnated with iron, and looked at the bath and at the\nhumble, but very clean, accommodation in the curious little old inn,\nwhich used to be very much frequented.\" The Well of Spa, at Aberdeen,\nwas more famous in former times than it is now. There are two springs,\nboth of them chalybeate. The amount of iron in the water, however,\ndiminished very considerably more than fifty years ago--a change due to\ncertain digging operations in the neighbourhood. The present structure\nconnected with the well was renovated in 1851. It was built in 1670\nto replace an earlier one, repaired by George Jamieson, the artist,\nbut soon afterwards completely demolished by the overflowing of the\nadjoining Denburn. The present building, according to Mr. A. Jervise,\nin the fourth volume of the \"Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries\nof Scotland,\" \"bears representations of the Scottish Thistle, the\nRose of England, and the Fleur-de-lis of France, surmounting this\ninscription:--\n\n\n       'As heaven gives me\n        So give I thee.'\n\n\nBelow these words is a carving of the rising sun, and the following\naltered quotation from Horace:--\n\n\n       'Hoc fonte derivata Salus\n        In patriam populumque fluat.'\n\n\n\"It appears,\" continues Mr. Jervise, \"that the virtues of this Spa were\nearly known and appreciated, for in 1615 record says that there was\n'a long wyde stone which conveyed the waters from the spring, with\nthe portraicture of six Apostles hewen upon either side thereof.' It\nis described as having then been 'verie old and worne.'\"\n\nAn unusual kind of holy well, viz., one, in which salt water takes\nthe place of fresh, is to be found in the case of the Chapel Wells\nin Kirkmaiden parish, Wigtownshire, half way between the bays of\nPortankill and East Tarbet. About thirty yards to the north-west are\nthe ruins of St. Medan's Chapel, partly artificial and partly natural,\na cave forming the inner portion. In days gone by, the spot was much\nfrequented on the first Sunday of May (O.S.), called Co' Sunday, after\nthis cave or cove. Dr. Robert Trotter, who examined the chapel and\nthe wells in 1870, gives the results of the observations in the eighth\nvolume of the \"Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland\"\n(new series). He says, \"These wells--three natural cavities in a\nmass of porphyritic trap--are within the tide mark, and are filled\nby the sea at high water of ordinary tides. The largest is circular,\nfive feet in diameter at the top, and four feet at one side, shelving\ndown to five feet at the other, and is wider inside than at the top,\nsomething like a kailpot in fact, and it is so close to the edge\nof the rock that at one place its side is not two inches thick. The\nother wells almost touch it, and are about one foot six inches wide\nand deep respectively.\" Sickly children were brought to be bathed,\nthe time selected being just before sunrise. Dr. Trotter mentions\nthat children are still brought occasionally, sometimes from long\ndistances. The ceremony described to him by an eyewitness was as\nfollows:--\"The child was stripped naked, and taken by the spaul--that\nis, by one of the legs--and plunged headforemost into the big well till\ncompletely submerged; it was then pulled out, and the part held on by\nwas dipped in the middle well, and then the whole body was finished\nby washing the eyes in the smallest one, altogether very like the\nAchilles and Styx business, only much more thorough. An offering was\nthen left in the old chapel, on a projecting stone inside the cave\nbehind the west door, and the cure was complete.\"\n\nMuch uncertainty attaches to Medan or Medana, the tutelar saint of\nthe spot. One legend makes her a contemporary of Ninian. According to\nanother, she lived about one hundred years later. Dr. Skene thinks\nshe is probably the same as Monenna, otherwise Edana, who is said\nto have founded churches in Galloway, and at Edinburgh, Stirling\nand Longforgan. Kirkmaiden parish, at one time called Kirkmaiden in\nRyndis, is believed to be named after her, like the other parish known\nas Kirkmaiden in Farnes, now united to the parish of Glasserton. An\nincident in her history has a bearing on the present subject. According\nto the Aberdeen Breviary, she fled from her home in Ireland to escape\nfrom the importunities of a certain noble knight who sought to marry\nher. Accompanied by two handmaidens, she crossed to Galloway and took\nup her abode in the Rhinns. The knight followed her. When Medana saw\nhim she placed herself along with her maidens on a rock in the sea. By\na miracle, this rock became a boat, and she was conveyed over the water\nto Farnes. Again the knight appeared. This time Medana sought refuge\namong the branches of a tree, and, from this coign of vantage, asked\nher lover what it was that made him pursue her so persistently. \"Your\nface and eyes,\" replied the knight. Thereupon Medana plucked out\nher eyes and threw them down at the feet of her lover, who was so\nfilled with grief and penitence that he immediately departed. On the\nspot where her eyes fell a spring of water gushed forth, and in it\nMedana washed her face, doubtless thereby restoring her sight. There\nis much to favour the view taken by Dr. Trotter: that \"possibly the\nwell was the original institution; the cave a shelter or dwelling\nfor the genius who discovered the miraculous virtues of the water,\nand his successors; and the chapel a later edition for the benefit of\nthe clergy, who supplanted the old religion by grafting Christianity\nupon it, St. Medana being a still later institution.\"\n\nSt. Catherine's Balm Well, at Liberton, near Edinburgh,\nis still considered beneficial in the treatment of cutaneous\naffections. The spring is situated on a small estate, called after\nit, St. Catherine's. Peter Swave, who visited Scotland in 1535,\non a political mission, mentions that near Edinburgh there was a\nspot in a monastery where oil flowed out of the ground. This was\nhis way of describing the Balm Well. Bitumenous particles, produced\nby decomposition of coal in seams beneath, intermittently appear on\nthe surface of the water. This curious phenomenon must have attracted\nattention at a very early period, and one can easily understand why the\nwell was in consequence regarded with superstitious reverence. When\nspeaking of this well, Brome, who visited Scotland about 1700,\nobserves, \"It is of a marvellous nature, for as the coal whereof it\nproceeds is very apt quickly to kindle into a flame, so is the oil\nof a sudden operation to heal all scabs and tumours that trouble the\noutward skin; and the head and hands are speedily healed by virtue\nof this oil, which retains a very sweet smell.\" According to Boece,\nthe fountain sprang from a drop of oil, brought to Queen Margaret\nof Scotland, from the tomb of St. Catherine on Mount Sinai. The same\nwriter mentions that Queen Margaret built a chapel to St. Catherine,\nin the neighbourhood of the spring. In 1504 an offering was made by\nJames IV. in this chapel, described as \"Sanct Kathrine's of the oly,\ni.e., oily well.\" The later history of the spring is thus referred\nto by Sir Daniel Wilson, in his \"Memorials of Edinburgh in the Olden\nTime\": \"When James VI. returned to Scotland, in 1617, he visited the\nwell, and commanded it to be enclosed with an ornamental building\nwith a flight of steps to afford ready access to the healing waters;\nbut this was demolished by the soldiers of Cromwell, and the well now\nremains enclosed with plain stone-work, as it was partially repaired\nat the Restoration.\" About three miles to the north of the well,\nonce stood the Convent of St. Catherine of Sienna--a religious\nfoundation which gave name to the part of Edinburgh still called\n\"The Sciennes.\" What Sir Daniel Wilson describes as \"an unpicturesque\nfragment of the ruins\" served to the middle of the present century,\nand perhaps, even later, as a sheep-fold for the flocks pasturing in\nthe adjoining meadow. Lord Cockburn, in his \"Memorials of His Time,\"\nmentions that in his boyhood, about 1785, \"a large portion of the\nbuilding survived.\" Before the Reformation the nuns of this convent\nwalked annually in solemn procession to the Balm Well. The saints to\nwhom the convent and the spring were respectively dedicated were, of\ncourse, not identical, though bearing the same name. The coincidence\nof name, however, evidently led to these yearly visits. As it may be\ntaken for granted that the two Catherines were on friendly terms, the\npilgrimages doubtless proved a benefit to all who took part in them. At\nany rate, it is safe to assume that the health of the pilgrims would be\nthe better, and not the worse, for their walk in the fresh country air.\n\nIn the valley below the Dean Bridge, Edinburgh, close to the Water of\nLeith, is the sulphur spring known as St. Bernard's Well--traditionally\nconnected with Bernard the Abbot of Clairvaux. In his \"Journey\nthrough Scotland,\" about 1793, Heron remarks: \"The citizens of\nEdinburgh repaired eagerly to distant watering-places, without\ninquiring whether they might find medicinal water at home. But within\nthese few years, Lord Gardenstone became proprietor of St. Bernard's\nWell. His lordship's philanthropy and public spirit suggested to him\nthe possibility of rendering its waters more useful to the public. He\nhas, at a very considerable expense, built a handsome Grecian edifice\nover the spring, in which the waters are distributed by a proper\nperson, and at a very trifling price. His lordship's endeavours\nhave accomplished his purpose. The citizens of Edinburgh are now\npersuaded that these waters are salutary in various cases; and have,\nparticularly, a singular tendency to give a good breakfasting appetite;\nin consequence of which, old and young, males and females, have,\nfor these two or three last summers, crowded to pay their morning\nrespects to Hygeia in the chapel which Lord Gardenstone has erected\nto her.\" The last allusion is to a statue of Hygeia placed within the\nbuilding on its erection, in 1789. The goddess of health, however,\neventually showed signs of decrepitude; and, about a hundred years\nlater, the original statue was replaced by one in marble through\nthe liberality of the late Mr. William Nelson, who also restored the\npump-room and made the surroundings more attractive.\n\nComing next to consider the case of springs not possessing medicinal\nqualities, in other words, such as have no taste save that of\nclear and sparkling water, we find here, too, many a trace of\nsuperstition. Springs of this kind were probably holy wells first,\nand then healing wells. We have already seen that, in a large number\nof instances, fountains became sacred through their connection with\nearly saints. It usually happened that the Christian missionary took up\nhis abode near some fountain, or river, whence he could get a supply\nof water for his daily needs. In later times the well or stream was\nendowed with miraculous properties. Water was also used for purposes\nof bodily discipline. It was a practice among some of the early saints\nto stand immersed in it while engaged in devotion. The colder the\nwater, the better was it for the purpose. Special significance, too,\nwas given to water through its connection with baptism, particularly\nwhen the rite was administered to persons who had only recently\nemerged from heathenism.\n\nAt Burghead, in Elginshire, is an interesting rock-cut basin supplied\nwith water from a spring. Burghead is known to have been the site\nof an early Christian church, and Dr. James Macdonald believes that\nthe basin in question was anciently used as a baptistery. All trace\nof it, and well-nigh all memory of it, had vanished till the year\n1809. Extensive alterations were then in progress at the harbour, and\na scarcity of water was felt by the workmen. A hazy tradition about\nthe existence of a well, where the ground sounded hollow when struck,\nwas revived. Digging operations were begun, and, at a depth of between\ntwenty and thirty feet below the surface, the basin was discovered. We\nquote the following details from Dr. Macdonald's article on the subject\nin the \"Antiquary\" for April, 1892:--\"Descending into a hollow by a\nflight of twenty well-worn steps, most of them also hewn out of the\nsolid rock, we come upon the reservoir. The dimensions of the basin or\npiscina are as follow--greatest breadth of the four sides, ten feet\neight inches, eleven feet, ten feet ten inches, and ten feet seven\ninches respectively; depth, four feet four inches. One part of the\nsmooth bottom had been dug up at the time of the excavations, either\nbecause it had projected above the rest, as if for some one to stand\nupon, or because it was thought that by doing so the capacity of the\nwell and perhaps the supply of the water would be increased. Between\nthe basin and the perpendicular sides of the reservoir a small ledge\nof sandstone has been left about two feet six inches in breadth. These\nsides measure sixteen feet three inches, sixteen feet seven inches,\nsixteen feet nine inches, and seventeen feet respectively; and the\nheight from the ledge upwards is eleven feet nine inches. The angles,\nboth of the basin and its rock walls, are well rounded. In one corner\nthe sandstone has been left in the form of a semi-circular pedestal,\nmeasuring two feet nine inches by one foot ten inches, and one foot\ntwo inches in height; whilst in that diagonally opposite there is a\ncircular hole, five inches in diameter and one foot four inches in\ndepth. From the ledge, as you enter, two steps of irregular shape\nand rude workmanship lead down into the basin. The sides of the\nreservoir are fissured and rent by displacement of the strata; and\nportions of the rock, that have given way from time to time, have\nbeen replaced by modern masonry. The arched roof is also modern.\" An\nIrish legend accounts for the origin of Lough-shanan, in County Clare,\nby connecting it with the baptism of Senanus, from whom it derived\nits name. \"The saint, while still an infant, was miraculously gifted\nwith speech and told his mother to pluck three rushes in a valley near\nher home. When this was done, a lake appeared, and in it Senanus was\nbaptised according to a form of words prescribed by himself.\"\n\nIn the eighth volume of the \"Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries\nof Scotland\" (new series), Sir Daniel Wilson gives an account of the\nancient burying-ground of Kilbride, some three miles from Oban. \"I\nhad visited the venerable cemetery repeatedly,\" he tells us, \"and\nhad carefully investigated its monuments, without heeding the sacred\nfountain which wells up among the bracken and grass, about a dozen\nyards from the gate of the churchyard, and flows in a stream down the\nvalley. Yet, on inquiry, I learned that it was familiarly known as\nTober-an-easbuig, i.e., The Bishop's Well or The Holy Well. Here, as\nwe may presume, the primitive missionary and servant of St. Bridget,\nby whom Christianity was introduced into the wild district of Lorne,\nbaptised his first converts; and here, through many succeeding\ngenerations, the neophytes were signed with the sign of the cross,\nand taught the mystic significance of the holy rite.\"\n\nThe thoughts suggested by the sight of a crystal spring are alluded to\nby Mr. Hunt in his \"Romances of the West of England,\" where he says,\n\"The tranquil beauty of the rising waters, whispering the softest\nmusic, like the healthful breathing of a sleeping infant, sends a\nfeeling of happiness through the soul of the thoughtful observer,\nand the inner man is purified by its influence, as the outer man is\ncleansed by ablution.\" This is the poetic view; but the superstitious\nview is not far to seek.\n\nIn the \"Home of a Naturalist,\" Mrs. Saxby thus recounts a Shetland\nsuperstition of a gruesome kind:--\"There is a fine spring well near\nWatlie, called Heljabr\u00fcn, and the legend of it is this: A wandering\npackman (of the Claud Halcro class) was murdered and flung into\nHeljabr\u00fcn. Its water had always been known to possess healing power,\nand, after becoming seasoned by the unfortunate pedlar's remains,\nthe virtue in the water became even more efficacious. People came\nfrom far and near to procure the precious fluid. All who took it away\nhad to throw three stones or a piece of 'white money' into the well,\nand the water never failed to cure disease.\"\n\nOn Soutra Hill, the most westerly ridge of the Lammermoors,\nonce stood the hospital built by Malcolm IV., about 1164, for the\nreception of wayfarers. It was dedicated to the Holy Trinity. Every\nvestige of the building was removed between forty and fifty years\nago except a small aisle, appropriated in the seventeenth century by\nthe Pringles of Beatman's Acre as a burial vault. A short distance\nbelow the site of the hospital is a spring of pure water, locally\nknown as Trinity Well. In former times it was much visited for\nits healing virtues. A similar reputation was for long enjoyed by\nSt. Mungo's Well, on the west side of St. Mungo's Hill, in the parish\nof Huntly, Aberdeenshire. In Fortingall parish, Perthshire, on the\nhillside near the Old Castle of Garth, is a limpid spring called by\nthe natives Fuaran n' Gruarach, and also Fuaran n' Druibh Chasad,\nsignifying the Well of the Measles and the Well of the Whooping-Cough\nrespectively. Mr. James Mackintosh Gow describes the locality in an\narticle in the eighth volume of the \"Proceedings of the Society of\nAntiquaries of Scotland\" (new series). He says, \"It was famous in the\ndistrict for the cure of these infantile diseases, and nearly all I\nspoke to on the subject had themselves been taken to the well, or had\ntaken their own children to drink the water; and when an epidemic\nof the maladies occurred my informant remarked on the curious and\namusing spectacle the scene presented on a summer morning, when groups\nof children, with their mothers, went up the hill in procession. The\nlast epidemic of whooping-cough occurred in 1882, when all the children\nof the neighbourhood were taken to the well.\" Some forty yards higher\nup the slope than the well, is an earth-fast boulder of mica schist,\nhaving on one of its sides two natural cavities. The larger of these\nholds about a quart and is usually filled with rain water. \"It was the\ncustom,\" Mr. Gow tells us, \"to carry the water from the well (perhaps\nthe well was at one time at the foot of the stone) and place it in\nthe cavity, and then give the patients as much as they could take,\nthe water being administered with a spoon made from the horn of a\nliving cow, called a beodhare or living horn; this, it appears,\nbeing essential to effect a cure.\" On the farm of Balandonich,\nin Athole, is a spring famous, till a comparatively recent period,\nfor the cure of various maladies. A story is told in the district of\na woman, unable to walk through rheumatism, having been brought in a\nwheel-barrow from her home four miles away. She bathed her limbs in\nthe spring, and returned home on foot.\n\nHugh Miller, in his \"Scenes and Legends of the North of Scotland,\"\nrecounts a tradition concerning a certain spring near the town of\nCromarty known as Fiddler's Well, from the name of the young man\nwho discovered its virtues. The water gushes out from the side of\na bank covered with moss and daisies. The tradition, considerably\nabbreviated, is as follows:--William Fiddler and a companion were\nseized with consumption at the same time. The latter died not long\nafterwards, and Fiddler, though wasted to a shadow, was able to follow\nhis friend's body to the grave. That night, in a dream, he heard the\nvoice of his dead companion, who told him to meet him at a certain spot\nin the neighbourhood of the town. Thither he went, still in his dream,\nand seated himself on a bank to await his coming. Then, remembering\nthat his friend was dead, he burst into tears. \"At this moment a\nlarge field-bee came humming from the west and began to fly round his\nhead.... It hummed ceaselessly round and round him, until at length\nits murmurings seemed to be fashioned into words, articulated in the\nvoice of his deceased companion--'Dig, Willie, and drink!' it said,\n'Dig, Willie, and drink!' He accordingly set himself to dig, and no\nsooner had he torn a sod out of the bank than a spring of clear water\ngushed from the hollow.\" Next day he took the bee's advice. He found\na spring, drank the water, and regained his health. Hugh Miller adds,\n\"its virtues are still celebrated, for though the water be only simple\nwater it must be drunk in the morning, and as it gushes from the bank;\nand, with pure air, exercise, and early rising for its auxiliaries,\nit continues to work cures.\"\n\nWe need not multiply examples of non-mineral healing wells. Whatever\nbenefit may be derived from them cannot be ascribed to any specially\nmedicinal quality in their waters. The secret of their popularity is\nto be sought for in the annals of medical folklore, and not in those\nof scientific medicine.\n\nCertain springs got the credit of warding off disease. On the island\nof Gigha, near the west coast of Kintyre, is a farm called Ardachad\nor High Field. Tradition says that a plague once visited the island,\nbut that the people, belonging to the farm, escaped its ravages. This\nimmunity was ascribed to the good offices of a well, in an adjoining\nfield. The high situation of the farm and the presence of good water\nwould tend to prolong health, without the intervention of magic. The\nRev. Dr. Gregor, in his \"Folklore of the North-East of Scotland,\"\nalludes to St. Olaus' Well in Cruden parish, Aberdeenshire. Its\nvirtues are recorded in the couplet--\n\n\n       \"St. Olav's Well, low by the sea\n        Where peat nor plague shall never be.\"\n\n\nOn the top of the Touch Hills, in Stirlingshire, rises St. Corbet's\nSpring. The belief formerly prevailed that whoever drank its water\nbefore sunrise on the first Sunday of May would have life prolonged\nfor another year. As a consequence, crowds flocked to the spot early\non the day in question. In 1840 some old people were still living who,\nin their younger days, had taken part in these annual pilgrimages. In\nmedi\u00e6val times, the belief prevailed that no one baptised with the\nwater of Trinity Gask Well, Perthshire, would be attacked by the\nplague. When water for baptism was drawn from some holy well in the\nneighbourhood, its use, in most instances, was doubtless due to a\nbelief in its prophylactic power. As already mentioned, baptisms in\nSt. Machar's Cathedral, Old Aberdeen, were at one time administered\nin water taken from the saint's spring. Before the Reformation the\nwater used at the chapel of Airth, in Stirlingshire, is believed to\nhave been procured from a well, dedicated to the Virgin, near Abbeyton\nBridge. We do not know of any spring in Scotland with a reputation\nfor the prevention of hydrophobia. St. Maelrubha's Well, on Innis\nMaree, is said to have lost its efficacy for a time through contact\nwith a mad dog. What happened, when a mad bull was plunged into the\nHoly Pool at Strathfillan, will be alluded to later. In the village\nof Les Saintes Maries, in the south of France, is an interesting\ntwelfth-century church with a well in the crypt. The water, when\ndrunk, is said to prevent any evil consequences from the bite of\na mad dog. Mr. E. H. Barker gives an account of this well in his\n\"Wayfaring in France.\" He says, \"The cur\u00e9 told me that about thirty\npeople, who had been bitten by dogs said to be rabid, came annually\nto drink the water; and, he added, 'not one of them has ever gone\nmad.' M. Pasteur had become a formidable rival of the well.\"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VII.\n\nWATER-CURES.\n\n    Trying different Springs--Curing all Diseases--Fivepennies Well\n    --Water and Dulse--Special Diseases--Toothache--Sore Eyes--\n    Blindness--Headaches and Nervous Disorders--Deafness--\n    Whooping-cough--Gout--Sores--Ague--Sterility--Epilepsy--\n    Sacrifice of a Cock--St. Tegla's Well--Insanity--Severe Treatment\n    --Innis-Maree--Struthill--Teampull-M\u00f2r--Hol y Pool--Fillan's\n    History and Relics--Persistence of Superstition.\n\n\nSome people apply to different doctors in succession, in the hope that\nnew professional advice may bring the coveted boon of health. For the\nsame reason visits were paid to different consecrated wells. On the\nprinciple that \"far fowls have fair feathers,\" a more or less remote\nspring was resorted to, in the hope that distance might lend special\nenchantment to its water. Certain springs had the reputation of healing\nevery ailment. A spring of this kind is what Martin calls \"a catholicon\nfor all diseases.\" He so styles various springs in the Western Isles,\nand one in the Larger Cumbrae in the Firth of Clyde. Fivepennies Well,\nin Eigg, had some curious properties. \"The natives told me,\" he says,\n\"that it never fails to cure any person of their first disease, only\nby drinking a quantity of it for the space of two or three days;\nand that if a stranger lie at this well in the night-time, it will\nprocure a deformity in some part of his body, but has no such effect\non a native; and this, they say, hath been frequently experimented.\" A\nnoted fountain in the Orkney group was the well of Kildinguie in the\nIsland of Stronsay. It is situated not far from the beach. To reach\nit one has to walk over a long stretch of sand. Its fame at one time\nspread over the Scandinavian world, and even Denmark sent candidates\nfor its help. Besides drinking the water, health-seekers frequently\nate some of the dulse to be found on the shore. A local saying thus\ntestified to the advantages of the combined treatment: \"The well of\nKildinguie and the dulse of Guiyidn can cure all maladies except black\ndeath.\" In the Island of Skye is a spring called Tobar Tellibreck. The\nnatives, at one time, held that its water, along with a diet of dulse,\nwould serve for a considerable time instead of ordinary food.\n\nOther springs were resorted to for particular complaints. Toothache is\ndistressingly common, and commonly distressing; but, strange to say,\nvery few wells are specially identified with the ailment. Indeed, we\nknow of only three toothache wells in Scotland. One is in Strathspey,\nand is known as Fuaran Fiountag, signifying the cool refreshing\nspring. The second is in the parish of Kenmore, at the foot of Loch\nTay. The third is in Glentruim, in Inverness-shire. Another well at\nKenmore was resorted to for the cure of sore eyes. In the parish of\nGlass, close to the river Deveron, is an ancient church dedicated to\nSt. Wallach. Some thirty yards below its burying-ground is a well,\nnow dry, except in very rainy weather. Its water had the power of\nhealing sore eyes. The water of St. John's Well, at Balmanno, in\nthe parish of Marykirk, Kincardineshire, was a sovereign remedy for\nthe same complaint. Beside the road close to the farmhouse of Wester\nAuchleskine, at Balquhidder, in Perthshire, once stood a large boulder\ncontaining a natural cavity. The water in this hollow was also noted\nfor the cure of sore eyes--the boulder being called in consequence\nClach-nan-Sul, i.e., the stone of the eyes. In 1878, by order of the\nroad trustees, the boulder was blasted, on the ground that it was a\nsource of danger to vehicles in the dark, and its fragments were used\nas road metal. The Dow Well, at Innerleithen, was formerly much visited\nfor the restoration of weak sight. A well in Cornwall, dedicated to\nSt. Ludvan, miraculously quickened the sense of sight. In Ireland,\na spring at Gougou Barra, between Glengariff and Cork, is believed\nby the peasantry to cure blindness. In 1849, Miss Bessie Gilbert,\na daughter of the late Bishop Gilbert of Chichester, who had lost\nher sight when a child, visited the spring along with some of her\nrelatives. Curiosity, however, was her only motive. Her biographer\nrelates that \"the guide besought Bessie in the most earnest and\npathetic manner to try the water, saying that he was sure it would\nrestore her sight, and entreating her brothers and sisters to urge\nher to make use of it.\"\n\nHeadaches and nervous disorders were cured by water from\nTobar-nim-buadh or the Well of Virtues in St. Kilda. Deafness was\nalso cured by it. At the entrance to Munlochy Bay, in the Black Isle\nof Cromarty, is a cave known in the neighbourhood as Craig-a-Chow,\ni.e., the Rock of Echo. Tradition says that in this cave a giant\nonce lived. If not the retreat of a giant, it was, at any rate,\nof smugglers. What specially concerns us is that it contains a\ndripping well, formerly much in request. Its water is particularly\ncold. Like the St. Kilda spring, it was believed to remove deafness. Of\nWhooping-cough Wells, a noted one was at Straid, in Muthill parish,\nPerthshire. Invalids came to it from considerable distances. Early\nin the present century a family travelled from Edinburgh to seek its\naid. The water was drunk immediately after sunset or before sunrise,\nand a horn from a live ox had to convey it to the patient's lips. This\nwas not an uncommon practice. Perhaps it may have been due to some\nvague notion, that life from the animal, whence the horn came, would\nbe handed on, via the spoon and the water, to the invalid. The Straid\nhorn was kept by a woman in the immediate neighbourhood, who acted\nas a sort of priestess of the well. A well at the Burn of Oxhill, in\nthe parish of Rathven, Banffshire, had a local celebrity for the cure\nof the same complaint. Sufferers from gout tried the efficacy of a\nspring in Eckford parish, Roxburghshire, styled Holy Well or Priest's\nWell. A spring in the churchyard of Logiepert parish, Forfarshire,\nremoved sores, and another in Martin's Den, in the same parish,\nwas reckoned anti-scorbutic. Another noted Forfarshire spring was in\nKirkden parish, with the reputation of curing swellings of the feet\nand legs. Lochinbreck Loch, in Balmaghie parish, Kirkcudbrightshire,\nwas visited from time immemorial for the cure of ague. Indeed, there\nwas hardly a bodily ailment that could not be relieved by the water\nof some consecrated spring.\n\nSprings were sometimes believed to cure female barrenness. Wives,\nanxious to become mothers, formerly visited such wells as those of\nSt. Fillan at Comrie, and of St. Mary at Whitekirk, and in the Isle\nof May. In this connection, Mr. J. R. Walker, in his article in the\n\"Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland,\" volume v. (new\nseries), observes, \"Many of the wells dedicated to 'Our Lady,' i.e.,\nSt. Mary (Virgin Mary) and to St. Brigid, the Mary of Ireland, were\nfamous for the cure of female sterility, which, in the days when a\nman's power and influence in the land depended on the number of his\nclan or tribe, was looked upon as a token of the divine displeasure,\nand was viewed by the unfortunate spouses with anxious apprehension,\ndread, doubt, jealousy, and pain. Prayer and supplication were\nobviously the methods pursued by the devout for obtaining the coveted\ngift of fertility, looked upon, by females especially, as the most\nvaluable of heavenly dispensations; and making pilgrimages to wells\nunder the patronage of the Mother of our Lord would naturally be one\nof the most common expedients.\"\n\nEpilepsy, with its convulsions and cries, seldom fails to arrest\nattention and call forth sympathy. In times less enlightened than\nour own, the disease was regarded with awe as of supernatural origin;\nand remedies, always curious and sometimes revolting, were tried in\norder to bring relief. We may assume that the water of consecrated\nsprings was used for this purpose; but, as far as we know, no Scottish\nfountain was systematically visited by epileptic patients. After\nenumerating a variety of folk-cures for the disease in question, Sir\nArthur Mitchell, in an article on Highland Superstitions bearing on\nLunacy in the \"Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland,\"\nvolume iv., remarks, \"For the cure of the same disease, there is\nstill practised in the North of Scotland a formal sacrifice--not\nan oblique but a literal and downright sacrifice--to a nameless but\nsecretly acknowledged power, whose propitiation is desired. On the\nspot where the epileptic first falls a black cock is buried alive,\nalong with a lock of the patient's hair and some parings of his\nnails. I have seen at least three epileptic idiots for whom this is\nsaid to have been done.\" The same writer adds, \"Dr. G----, of N----,\ninforms me that some time ago he was called on to visit a poor man\nbelonging to the fishing population who had suddenly died, and who had\nbeen subject to epileptic seizures. His friends told the doctor that\nat least they had the comfort of knowing that everything had been\ndone for him which could have been done. On asking what remedies\nthey had tried, he was told that, among other things, a cock had\nbeen buried alive below his bed, and the spot was pointed out.\" This\nsacrifice of a cock in Scotland is of special significance, for it\nformed a distinctive feature of the ritual once in vogue in Wales\nat the village of Llandegla, Denbighshire. St. Tegla's Well there,\nwas believed to possess peculiar virtue in curing epilepsy. Pennant\ngives a minute account of the ceremony as practised in his days. The\nfollowing is a summary:--\"About two hundred yards from the church\nrises a small spring. The patient washes his limbs in the well,\nmakes an offering into it of fourpence, walks round it three times,\nand thrice repeats the 'Lord's Prayer.' These ceremonies are never\nbegun till after sunset. If the afflicted be of the male sex, he makes\nan offering of a cock; if of the fair sex, a hen. The fowl is carried\nin a basket, first round the well, after that into the churchyard,\nwhen the same orisons and the same circumambulations are performed\nround the church. The votary then enters the church, gets under the\ncommunion table, lies down with the Bible under his or her head,\nis covered with the carpet or cloth, and rests there till break of\nday, departing after offering sixpence, and leaving the fowl in the\nchurch. If the bird dies, the cure is supposed to have been effected,\nand the disease transferred to the devoted victim.\" As regards the\ncock or hen, the ceremony in this case was quite as much a sacrifice\nas in the Scottish example. St. Tegla merely took the place of the\npagan divinity who had been first in the field, and to whom offerings\nhad been made. In former times, sacrificing a living animal was\nalso resorted to occasionally to cure disease in cattle. An ox was\nburied alive in a pit, and the pit having been filled with earth,\nthe other members of the herd were made to walk over the spot. In\n1629, Isabel Young, spouse to George Smith, portioner of East Barnes,\nHaddingtonshire, was tried for witchcraft. From her indictment we learn\nthat she was accused, inter alia, of having buried a \"quick ox, with\na cat and a quantity of salt,\" in a pit as a sacrifice to the devil,\nthe truth being that a live ox had been so treated by her husband\nas a charm to cure his cattle, which were diseased. A remarkable\ncircumstance bearing on this point is alluded to by Mr. A. W. Moore in\nhis \"Surnames and Place-names of the Isle of Man,\" under the heading\nof Cabbal-yn-Oural-Losht, i.e., Chapel of the Burnt Sacrifice. \"This\nname,\" he tells us, \"records a circumstance which took place in the\nnineteenth century, but which, it is to be hoped, was never customary\nin the Isle of Man. A farmer, who had lost a number of his sheep and\ncattle by murrain, burnt a calf as a propitiatory offering to the\nDeity on this spot, where a chapel was afterwards built. Such facts\npoint to the same notion as that already indicated in connection with\nSt. Tegla's Well, viz., that disease is due to some malignant being,\nwhose favour is to be sought by the offering up of a living creature.\n\nIn no department of medical science have methods of treatment changed\nmore within recent years than in that of insanity. Enlightened views on\nthe subject now prevail among the educated classes of society; and the\nold notion that a maniac can be restored to mental health by treating\nhim like a criminal, or by administering a few shocks to his already\nexcited nerves, is fortunately a thing of the past. At least it no\nlonger holds sway in our lunatic asylums. In the minds of the ignorant\nand credulous, however, the old leaven still works. Lady Wilde, in her\n\"Ancient Cures, Charms, and Usages of Ireland,\" alludes to a method\nof treatment in fashion till lately among the peasantry there. When\nanyone showed signs of insanity 'a witch-doctor' was called in. This\npotent individual sprinkled holy water about the room and over the\npatient; and after uttering certain incantations--understood by the\nby-standers to be 'Latin prayers'--proceeded to beat him with a stout\ncudgel. In the end the ravings of the lunatic ceased, or as it was put,\n\"the devil was driven out of him.\" In Cornwall, at St. Nun's Well,\nthe expulsive power of a new terror used to be tried. According to\nCarew, the modus operandi was as follows:--\"The water running from\nSt. Nun's Well fell into a square and enclosed walled plat, which might\nbe filled at what depth they listed. Upon this wall was the frantic\nperson put to stand, his back towards the pool, and from thence,\nwith a sudden blow in the breast, tumbled headlong into the pond;\nwhere a strong fellow, provided for the nonce, took him and tossed\nhim up and down, alongst and athwart the water, till the patient,\nby foregoing his strength, had somewhat forgot his fury. Then was\nhe conveyed to the church, and certain masses said over him, upon\nwhich handling, if his right wits returned, St. Nun had the thanks;\nbut if there appeared small amendment, he was bowsened again and again,\nwhile there remained in him any hope of life or recovery.\" North of the\nTweed the treatment was hardly less soothing. When a lunatic was being\nrowed over to Innis Maree to drink the water of St. Maelrubha's Well\nthere, he was jerked out of the boat by the friends who accompanied\nhim. A rope had previously been tied round his waist, and by this he\nwas pulled back into the boat; but before he could gather together\nhis all-too-scattered wits, he was in the water again. As a rule this\nwas done, not once or twice, but repeatedly, and in the case of both\nsexes. Such was the method up to a comparatively recent date. Pennant\nthus describes what was done in 1772:--\"The patient is brought into\nthe sacred island; is made to kneel before the altar, viz., the stump\nof a tree--where his attendants leave an offering in money; he is\nthen brought to the well and sips some of the holy water; a second\noffering is made; that done, he is thrice dipped in the lake; and\nthe same operation is repeated every day for some weeks.\" This towing\nafter a boat to cure insanity was not an isolated instance. Early in\nthe present century, the wife of a man living at Stromness in Orkney,\nwent mad through the incantations of another female believed to be\na witch. The man bethought him of the cure in question, and, out of\nlove for his afflicted wife, dragged her several times up and down\nthe harbour behind his boat. Mr. R. M. Fergusson, who mentions this\ncase in his \"Rambles in the Far North,\" says that the woman \"bobbed\nabout behind the boat like a cork, and remained as mad as ever.\"\n\nThe well at Struthill, in Muthill parish, Perthshire, once had a\nconsiderable reputation for the cure of insanity. It was customary to\ntie patients at night to a stone near the spring, and recovery would\nfollow if they were found loose in the morning. An adjoining chapel was\nordered to be demolished in 1650 by the Presbytery of Auchterarder,\non the ground of its being the scene of certain superstitious rites,\nbut the spring continued to be visited till a much later date. At\nTeampull-m\u00f2r in Lewis, in addition to walking round the ruins, and\nbeing sprinkled with water from St. Ronan's Well, the insane person was\nbound and left all night in the chapel on the site of the altar. If he\nslept, he would recover; but if he remained awake, there was no hope of\na cure. In the Struthill and Teampull-m\u00f2r instances, as well as that\nof Strathfillan mentioned below, the binding of the patient was an\nessential part of the treatment; and in two at least of the cases the\nloosening of the bonds was reckoned an omen of good. The mysterious\nloosening of bonds used to be an article of common belief. Dalyell,\nin his \"Darker Superstitions of Scotland,\" remarks, \"Animals were\nsometimes liberated supernaturally. In the Isle of Enhallow, a horse\ntied up at sunset would wander about through the night; and while the\nkirk session took cognisance of a suspected witch who had exercised\nher faculties on a cow, the animal, though firmly secured, was found\nto be free, and in their vicinity when the investigation closed.\"\n\nThe Holy Pool of St. Fillan was famous for the cure of various\ndiseases, but specially of insanity. It is referred to in \"Marmion\" as\n\n\n              \"St. Fillan's blessed well\n        Whose springs can frenzied dreams dispel\n        And the craz'd brain restore.\"\n\n\nIt is not, however, a well, but a pool, in the river Fillan, about\ntwo miles lower down than Tyndrum. To correctly estimate the reverence\npaid to this sacred pool, we must glance at the influence, exerted by\nFillan on the district during his life-time, and afterwards by means\nof his relics. The saint flourished in the early eighth century. He\nwas born in Ireland. His father was Ferodach, and his mother was\nKentigerna, daughter of a prince of Leinster. She afterwards came to\nScotland and led the life of a recluse, on Inch Cailleach, an island\nin Loch Lomond. According to the Aberdeen Breviary, Fillan was born\nwith a stone in his mouth, and was at once thrown into a lake where\nhe was ministered to by angels for a year. He was then taken out and\nbaptised by Bishop Ybarus, and at a later date received the monastic\nhabit from Muna, otherwise called Mundus. Devoting himself to solitary\nmeditation he built a cell close to Muna's monastery. On one occasion,\na servant went to call him to supper, and looking through a chink in\nthe wall, saw the saint busy writing, his uplifted left hand throwing\nlight over the book in lieu of a candle. Whatever may be thought of\nthe incident, few will deny its picturesqueness. In competent hands\nit might be made the subject of a striking picture. Fillan afterwards\nwent to Lochalsh, where he dedicated a church to his uncle Congan,\nthe founder of the monastery of Turriff, in Aberdeenshire. We next\nfind Fillan in the principal scene of his missionary work, viz., in\nGlendochart, in that portion of the glen anciently called Siracht,\nand now Strathfillan. This area formed a separate parish till 1617,\nbut was then united to the parish of Killin. Fillan arrived with seven\nserving clerics, and tradition says that he built his church at a spot\nmiraculously pointed out to him. The neighbourhood was, and is full of\ninterest. \"Glendochart,\" writes Mr. Charles Stewart in \"An Gaidheal,\"\n\"is not celebrated for terrific mountain scenery like Glencoe or the\nCoolins, but has a grandeur of a different character. Lofty mountains,\nclothed, here in heather, there in green; cloudy shadows frequently\nflitting across their sides, and serried ridges of multiplied lines\nand forms of varied beauty, and along their sides strangely shaped\nstones and boulders of rocks deposited by the ancient glaciers. Along\nthe strath there are stretches of water, its course broken occasionally\nby lochs; sometimes wending its way slowly and solemnly through green\nmeadows, and anon rushing along as at the celebrated bridge of Dochart,\nat Killin, with fire and fury.\"\n\nThe same writer mentions that three spots, where Fillan was wont\nto teach the natives of the Strath, are still pointed out, viz.,\nat the upper end of Glendochart, where the priory was afterwards\nbuilt, halfway down the glen at Dun-ribin, and at the lower end at\nCnoc-a-bheannachd, i.e., Hill of the Blessing, near Killin. Fillan\ninstructed the people in agriculture, and built mills for grinding\ncorn. Out of compliment to him, the mill at Killin was idle on\nhis festival, (Jan. 9th), as late as the middle of the present\ncentury. Indeed there was a superstition in the district that it\nwould not be lucky to have it working on that day. Fillan also\ninstituted fairs for the sale and barter of local produce. His fair\nis still held at Killin in January. The miraculous element in his\nhistory did not end with his life. He seems to have died somewhere\nabout Lochearn, and his body was brought back to Glendochart, by way\nof Glen Ogle. When the bearers reached the point where Glendochart\nopens upwards and downwards, a dispute arose as to the destination of\ntheir burden. Some wished the saint's body to be buried at Killin and\nothers at Strathfillan. Behold a marvel! When they could not agree,\nthey found that instead of one coffin there were two, and so each\nparty was satisfied.\n\nRobert Bruce's fight with the followers of Macdougall of Lorne took\nplace near St. Fillan's Church, at a spot, afterwards named Dalrigh or\nthe King's Field. On that occasion, an earnest prayer was addressed\nto the saint of the district, and through his intercession victory\ncame to Bruce. So at least runs the legend. After his success at\nBannockburn, the King in gratitude founded St. Fillan's Priory,\nin Strathfillan, and endowed it with the neighbouring lands of\nAuchtertyre, and with the sheep-grazing of Bein-mhannach or the\nMonk's Mountain, in Glenlyon. Indeed, if tradition speaks truth,\nBruce had a double reason to be grateful to Fillan, for the victory\nat Bannockburn, was attributed to the presence in the Scottish camp,\nof a relic of the saint, said to be an arm-bone set in silver. The\nrelic, however, as Dr. John Stuart shows, in the twelfth volume of the\n\"Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland,\" was probably\nhis Coig-gerach or pastoral staff, popularly, but erroneously called\nhis Quigrich. It is said to have been kept at Auchlyne, in a chapel\ncalled Caipal-na-Faraichd, and when the chapel was burnt to have been\nrescued by a person, either then, or afterwards, called Doire or Dewar,\nwhose descendants became its custodiers. The subsequent history of\nthe relic is curious. In 1782 it was at Killin in the keeping of\nMalice Doire. In 1818 it was taken to Canada, where it remained for\nsome sixty years. Through the patriotic zeal of Sir Daniel Wilson it\nwas then sent back to Scotland, and now forms one of the treasures\nin the National Museum of Antiquities, at Edinburgh.\n\nThe sanctity of Fillan thus distilled like a fertilising dew over\nthe district of Glendochart. We need not, therefore, be surprised\nthat, in days darker than our own, a thriving crop of superstitions\nwas the result. It is certainly a striking testimony to the enduring\ninfluence of the saint, that the pool, believed to have been blessed\nby him, retained its fame till within the memory of persons still\nliving. Possibly the pool was reverenced even before his time. Towards\nthe end of last century, as many as two hundred persons were brought\nannually to the spot. The time selected was usually the first day of\nthe quarter, (O.S.), and the immersion took place after sunset. The\npatients, with a rope tied round their waist, were thrown from the\nbank into the river. This was usually done thrice. According to\nprevious instructions, they picked up nine stones from the bottom\nof the stream. After their dip they walked three times round three\ncairns in the immediate neighbourhood, and at each turn added a stone\nto the cairn. An English antiquary, who visited the spot in 1798,\nwrites, \"If it is for any bodily pain, fractured limb or sore, that\nthey are bathing, they throw upon one of these cairns that part of\ntheir clothing which covered the part affected; also, if they have at\nhome any beast that is diseased, they have only to bring some of the\nmeal which it feeds upon and make it into paste with these waters,\nand afterwards give it to him to eat, which will prove an infallible\ncure; but they must likewise throw upon the cairn the rope or halter\nwith which he was led. Consequently the cairns are covered with old\nhalters, gloves, shoes, bonnets, nightcaps, rags of all sorts, kilts,\npetticoats, garters, and smocks. Sometimes they go as far as to throw\naway their halfpence.\"\n\nAfter the ceremony at the cairns the patient was led to the ruins\nof St. Fillan's Chapel, about half a mile away, and there tied to\na stone with a hollow in it, large enough to receive the body, the\nunfortunate person being fastened down to a wooden framework. The\npatient was then covered with hay, and left in this condition all\nnight. As at Struthill, if the bonds were found loose in the morning,\nhe or she would recover; but if not, the case was counted hopeless,\nor at least doubtful. As the writer of the article on the parish,\nin the \"New Statistical Account of Scotland,\" shrewdly observes,\n\"The prospect of the ceremony, especially in a cold winter evening,\nmight be a good test for persons pretending insanity.\" At the time\nwhen he wrote, viz., in 1843, the natives of the parish had ceased to\nbelieve in the efficacy of the holy pool, but it was still visited by\ninvalids from a distance. It was usual, after the fastening process\nalready described, to place St. Fillan's bell on the head of the\npatient by way of helping on the cure. This bell is quadrangular\nin shape. Its size and appearance are thus described by Dr. Joseph\nAnderson in his \"Scotland in Early Christian Times\": \"It is an elegant\ncasting of bronze, stands twelve inches high and measures nine by\nsix inches wide at the mouth. The ends are flat, the sides bulging,\nthe top rounded. In the middle of the top is the loop-like handle,\nterminating where it joins the bell in two dragonesque heads with open\nmouths.\" The bell weighs eight pounds fourteen ounces. In the fifteenth\ncentury the relic seems to have been held in special honour, for it\ngraced the coronation of James IV. in 1488. After the Reformation, it\nwas locked up for some time, to prevent its use for the superstitious\npurpose alluded to above. But, as a rule, it lay on a tombstone in the\nPriory graveyard, protected only by the reverence paid to it in the\ndistrict. There was a belief that, if carried off, it would return of\nits own accord, ringing all the way. In 1798 this belief was put to a\nsevere test, for in that year the English antiquary, already quoted,\nremoved the relic. \"In order,\" he says, \"to ascertain the truth or\nfalsehood of the ridiculous story of St. Fillan's bell, I carried it\noff with me, and mean to convey it, if possible, to England. An old\nwoman, who observed what I was about, asked me what I wanted with\nthe bell, and I told her that I had an unfortunate relation at home\nout of his mind, and that I wanted to have him cured. 'Oh, but,'\nsays she, 'you must bring him here to be cured, or it will be of no\nuse.' Upon which I told her he was too ill to be moved, and off I\ngalloped with the bell back to Tyndrum Inn.\" The bell was taken to\nEngland. About seventy years later, its whereabouts was discovered,\nand it was sent back to Scotland. Like the crozier of the same saint,\nit is now in the Antiquarian Museum at Edinburgh.\n\nIf we may believe a local tradition, the Holy Pool lost its\nmiraculous virtue in the following manner, though, after what the\nEnglish antiquary mentioned about its water being mixed with meal,\nand given to diseased cattle, we see no reason why it should have\nbeen so particular. A farmer who had a mad bull thought that, if the\nsacred water could heal human ills, it would be efficacious also in\nthe case of the lower animals. So he plunged his infuriated beast into\nthe stream. What was the effect on the bull we do not know: but since\nthen the virtue has departed from the water. Except for a pleasure\ndip on a hot summer's day, no one need now apply at the Holy Pool.\n\nThe unbroken reputation of such health resorts, for centuries,\nis certainly remarkable. Strathfillan kept up its fame for over a\nthousand years. At Gheel, in Belgium, for fully twelve hundred years,\nsuccessive generations of lunatics sought relief at St. Dympna's\nWell. We must not be too hard on the ages before our own; for,\nthough in some respects dark, in other respects they had a good deal\nof light. Nevertheless, severe things might be said about them. From\na present-day point of view, it might be argued that those, who took\ntheir insane friends to get cured in the manner described, required,\nlike the patients themselves, a little rearrangement of their wits.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VIII.\n\nSOME WONDERFUL WELLS.\n\n    Wells Wonderful as to Origin--Tre Fontane--Springs where\n    Saints were Beheaded--St. Alban's Spring--Covenanter's\n    Spring--St. Vynning's Spring--Scottish and English\n    Hagiology--Springs from Graves--Cuthbert--Milburga--Mysterious\n    Lakes--Hell-Hole at Tunstall--King Henry's Well-- Bringing Sea to\n    Morpeth--Plymouth Water-supply--Fitz's Well--Good Appetite--Dogs'\n    Well--Singular Springs in Lewis and Barray--Well in the\n    Wall--Toubir-ni-Lechkin--Power of Wells over Lower Animals--Black\n    Mere--Well at Gillsland--Intermittent Springs--Powbate\n    Well--St. Ludvan's Well--St. Keyne's Well.\n\n\nThe epithet wonderful may fitly be applied to whatever springs\nare endowed by popular credulity with mysterious properties. Those\nalready considered have been mainly associated with the removal or\nprevention of disease. It is now proposed to glance at certain other\ncharacteristics.\n\nSome springs are wonderful as to their origin. Who does not know the\nlegend connected with Tre Fontane, in the vicinity of Rome, where water\nbubbled up at the three places touched by St. Paul's severed head? We\ndo not recollect any Scottish instance of a well coming into being in\nthis way; but in England we have St. Osyth's Well in Essex, where that\nsaint was beheaded by the Danes, and in Wales, St. Winifred's Well in\nFlintshire. Concerning the latter, Chambers, in his \"Book of Days,\"\nthus writes:--\"Winifred was a noble British maiden of the seventh\ncentury; a certain Prince Cradocus fell in love with her, and, finding\nhis rough advances repulsed, cut off the lady's head. Immediately\nafter doing this, the prince was struck dead, and the earth, opening,\nswallowed up his body. Meanwhile, Winifred's head rolled down the\nhill; where it stopped, a spring gushed forth--the blood from the head\ncolouring the pebbles over which it flowed, and rendering fragrant\nthe moss growing around.\" Sweden has its St. Eric's Spring at Upsala,\nmarking the place where Eric, the king, was beheaded about the middle\nof the twelfth century. St. Oswald's Well at Winwick, in Lancashire,\nis said to indicate the spot where that famous Northumbrian king\nreceived his death-wound when fighting against Penda, the pagan ruler\nof Mercia. On a hill in Hertfordshire, a fountain arose to quench\nthe thirst of Alban, England's proto-martyr, who suffered there\nabout 300 A.D. According to a Kincardineshire tradition, a spring in\nDunnottar Castle miraculously appeared for behoof of the Covenanters,\nwho were confined there in 1685. In Holywood parish, Dumfriesshire,\n(so called from its oak forest, sacred even in pre-Christian times),\na fountain sprang up at the intercession of Vynning, the patron of\na well at Kilwinning, in Ayrshire. In Scottish hagiology, fountains\nusually gush forth to supply water for baptism. In English legends\nthey spring up as a tribute to spots where the corpses of saintly\npersons have rested. Thus, water issued from the graves of Ethelbert at\nMarden, in Herefordshire, and of Withburga at East Dereham, in Norfolk,\nand also from that of Frideswide at Oxford. St. Frideswide's Fair at\nthe last-mentioned place was a noted holiday in the middle ages. It\nlasted a week, and, during its continuance, the keys of the city were\nin the keeping of the prior, having been handed over by the mayor, who\nceased for the time to be responsible for the peace of the burgh. At\nTrondhjem, in Norway, a spring arose to mark the spot where King Olaf\nwas buried, about the middle of the eleventh century.\n\nCuthbert was greatly honoured by the gushing forth of springs, both\nduring his lifetime and after his death. While at Lindisfarne, he was\nseized with a desire for still greater retirement, and accordingly\nwithdrew to Farne Island, one of the Fern group, two miles distant\nfrom Bamborough, and six from Lindisfarne. This island was then\nhaunted by evil spirits; but these he drove away, as Guthlac did\nfrom the marshes of Crowland, in Lincolnshire. Cuthbert set about\nbuilding a cell in Farne Island, and, with the help of angels, the\nwork was satisfactorily completed. Unfortunately, there was no fresh\nwater to be had; but the want was soon supplied. In response to the\nsaint's prayers, a spring arose in the floor of his cell. Bede says,\n\"This water, by a most remarkable quality, never overflowed its first\nlimits, so as to flood the floor, nor yet ever failed, however much\nof it might be taken out; so that it never exceeded or fell short\nof the daily wants of him who used it for his sustenance.\" The\nmiracle did not end here. When Eistan of Norway was ravaging the\ncoast of Northumberland in the twelfth century, he landed on Farne\nIsland and destroyed the property of the hermits, whose retreat it\nthen was. The spring, unwilling to give help to the robber bands,\ndried up. Thirst, accordingly, compelled them to quit the island. No\nsooner had they left than the spring reappeared and gladdened the spot\nonce more. After Cuthbert's death, his body was carried from place to\nplace for safety. In his \"History of St. Cuthbert,\" Archbishop Eyre\nremarks, \"There is a legendary tradition, that when the bearers of\nSt. Cuthbert's body journeyed northwards from Yorkshire and came to\nButterby, near Croxdale, they set down the coffin on the right bank\nbefore crossing the river, and immediately a saline spring burst out\nupon the spot. After fording the river they again rested the coffin,\nand a spring of chalybeate water rose up where they had laid down the\nbody. A third time the weary travellers, struggling up the rugged pass,\nwere compelled to lay their precious burden on the ground, and a sweet\nstream of water gushed out of the rock to refresh them.\" Prior to this,\nCuthbert's relics had rested a while at Melrose. Tradition says that,\non resuming their wanderings, they floated down the Tweed in a stone\ncoffin as far as Tillmouth, on the English Border. The fragments of\na sarcophagus, said to be the coffin in question, are still to be\nseen there beside the ruins of St. Cuthbert's Chapel. This incident\nis thus referred to in \"Marmion\":--\n\n\n        \"Seven years Saint Cuthbert's corpse they bore.\n          They rested them in fair Melrose:\n            But though, alive, he loved it well,\n          Not there his reliques might repose;\n            For, wondrous tale to tell!\n          In his stone coffin forth he rides\n          (A ponderous bark for river tides),\n          Yet light as gossamer it glides,\n            Downward to Tillmouth cell.\"\n\n\nA Shropshire legend narrates that, on one occasion, Milburga, who is\nstill remembered in the name of Stoke St. Milborough, was riding in\nall haste to escape from certain enemies. She fell at length exhausted\nfrom her horse; but, at her command, the animal struck a stone with\nhis hoof, and water gushed out for her refreshment. In a neighbouring\nfield some men were sowing grain, and the saint prophesied that in\nthe evening they would gather the ripe corn. She instructed them to\ntell her enemies, on their arrival, that she had passed when the crop\nwas being sown. The miracle duly happened, and Milburga's foes were\ndisconcerted in consequence. Shropshire and Yorkshire have strange\ntraditions about the sudden appearance of lakes, sometimes overwhelming\nhuman dwellings. In the latter case, the tops of houses are said to be\nvisible through the water. Additional picturesqueness is occasionally\ngiven, by the introduction into the story of vanished bells, sending\nforth from the depths their soft cadences. At Tunstall, in Norfolk,\na boggy piece of ground, locally known as Hell-Hole, is marked by\nfrequently rising bubbles. The devil once carried off the bells of\nthe church, and, when pursued, plunged into the marsh. The bubbles are\ndue to the bells sinking lower and lower into the abyss. Such beliefs\nabout lakes form an interesting supplement to Scottish superstitions.\n\nWhen Henry VI. was in hiding in Bolton Hall, in Yorkshire, he wished\nto have a bath in the hot summer weather. His host, anxious to supply\nwhat was lacking to the comfort of the royal fugitive, used a hazel\ntwig in his garden, in the hope of discovering water. The indications\nbeing favourable, a well was dug, and the king was enabled to cool\nhimself to his heart's content. The spring still bears the king's\nname. Michael Scott, who was born in Fife in the thirteenth century,\nand was regarded by his contemporaries as a dabbler in the black art,\nhad a pupil in the north of England who undertook a marvellous feat,\nviz., to bring the sea up the Wansbeck river to Morpeth. Certain\nincantations were gone through, and the magician started from the\ncoast, followed by the tide. All went well till within about five\nmiles from the town, when he became alarmed by the roaring of the\nwater, and looked back. So the spell was broken, and Morpeth remained\ninland. This recalls the story accounting for the introduction of\na good water-supply into Plymouth. When there was a scarcity in\nthe sixteenth century, Sir Francis Drake, the naval hero, rode up\nto Dartmoor, and uttered some magical words over a spring there. He\nimmediately turned his horse and galloped back to the town, followed\nby a copious stream.\n\nCertain wells could put in a good claim to the title of wonderful\non the ground of the effects they were able to produce. If a spring\ncould act as a sign-post to guide the wayfarer, who had strayed\nfrom his path, it might surely be classed among marvels! This is\nwhat a certain well on Dartmoor, in Devonshire, could do, at least\nin the sixteenth century. A man of the name of Fitz and his wife,\nwhen crossing the moor in the year 1568, lost their way. They lighted\non the well in question, drank its water, and found the lost track\nwithout the least difficulty. In gratitude, Fitz afterwards raised\na memorial of stone over the well \"for the benefit of all pixy-led\ntravellers.\" In Germany, before a meal, the ceremony of wishing\none's friend a good appetite is still kept up. Such a salutation must\nhave been unnecessary in the Island of Harris, at least in Martin's\ntime, for he tells us of a spring, then lately discovered, that\ncould produce an appetite whenever wanted. \"The natives,\" he says,\n\"find by experience that it is very effectual for restoring lost\nappetite; all that drink of it become very soon hungry though they\nhave eat plentifully but an hour before.\" A small quantity of its\nwater might with advantage be added to the contents of the \"loving\ncup\" at the Lord Mayor's banquets, and on other festive occasions\nboth in, and out of the Metropolis. Martin speaks of another marvel\nin Harris. \"A large cave in the face of a hill hath,\" he says, \"two\nwells in it, one of which is excluded from dogs, for they say that\nif a dog do but taste of the water, the well presently dryeth up;\nand for this reason, all such as have occasion to lodge there take\ncare to tie their dogs that they may not have access to the water. The\nother well is called the Dogs' Well, and is only drunk by them.\" The\nstudent of folklore cannot fail to find Martin a congenial companion,\nas he records a variety of quaint Hebridean customs that might have\nbeen passed over in silence by a more matter-of-fact writer. When\nin the Island of Lewis, he was told of a fountain at Loch Carloway\n\"that never whitened linen,\" though the experiment had been often\ntried. In connection with his visit to Barray, he says, \"The natives\ntold me there is a well in the village Tangstill, the water of which,\nbeing boiled, grows thick like puddle. There is another well, not far\nfrom Tangstill, which, the inhabitants say, in a fertile year, throws\nup many grains of barley in July and August. And they say that the\nwell of Kilbar throws up embryos of cockles, but I could not discern\nany in the rivulet, the air being at that time foggy.\" This reminds\none of the Well in the Wall in Checkly parish, Staffordshire, said\nto throw out small bones like those of chickens and sparrows all the\nyear round except in the months of July and August. Toubir-ni-Lechkin,\nin Jura, rising on a hill near Tarbert, was a noted fountain. Martin\nmentions that its water was counted \"lighter by one half\" than any\nother water in the island, and that a great quantity of it might be\ndrunk at one time without causing inconvenience. He further says,\n\"The river Nissa receives all the water that issues from this well,\nand this is the reason they give why salmons here are in goodness\nand taste far above those of any other river whatever.\"\n\nThe power of some wells over the lower animals was remarkable. A\nspring at Harpham, in the East Riding of Yorkshire, dedicated to\nSt. John of Beverley, was believed to subdue the fiercest animal. A\nraging bull, when brought to it, became as gentle as a lamb. A spring\nof this kind would indeed be a great boon in the country to timid,\ntown-bred tourists when crossing fields where there are cattle. To the\nmargin of such a spring they could retreat and there feel safe. Black\nMere, at Morridge, near Leek, in Staffordshire, was credited with the\npower of frightening away animals. Cattle would not drink its water,\nand birds would not fly over it. A mermaid was believed to dwell\nin its depths. A reminiscence of this belief is to be found in the\nname of \"The Mermaid,\" a wayside inn in the neighbourhood frequented\nby sportsmen. Some wells keep a sharp look-out on the use made of\ntheir water. A certain spring at Gilsland, in Cumberland, wished\nto dispense its favours freely, i.e., without making the public pay\nfor them. The proprietor of the ground, however, resolved to turn,\nwhat he counted, an honest penny, and built a house over the spring\nfor the sale of the water. The fountain, much aggrieved at this,\nforthwith dried up. The house, not being required, was taken down,\nand the benevolent water once more made its appearance.\n\nIntermittent springs have been observed from an early date, and strange\nnotions have been formed about them. They are usually associated\nin their ebbing and flowing with some particular river. In some\ninstances such a connection can be only imaginary, notably in the\ncase of the Keldgate Springs at Cottingham, in Yorkshire, thought\nto be influenced by the river Derwent twenty miles away. An ebbing\nand flowing well at the foot of Giggleswick Scar, near Settle, in\nthe same county, was represented by Michael Drayton under the poetic\nguise of a nymph flying from the pursuit of an unwelcome lover. Gough,\nin his edition of Camden's \"Britannia,\" of date 1806, has the following\nabout a spring near Paisley:--\"Bishop Gibson says that in the lands of\nNewyards, near Paisley, is a spring which ebbs and flows with the tide\nthough far above any ground to which the tide comes. Mr. Crawford,\nin his 'History of the Shire of Renfrew,' applies this to a spring\nin the lands of Woodside, which is three miles from the Clyde, and\nhalf-a-mile from Paisley bridge, and the ground much higher than the\nriver.\" The name of Dozmare Lake, in Cornwall, signifies in Cornish a\ndrop of the sea, the lake having been so called from a belief that it\nwas tidal. The absurdity of the belief is proved by the fact that the\nsheet of water is eight hundred and ninety feet above the sea. The\nlake is said to be unfathomable, and has for a haunting spirit a\ngiant who is doomed to empty it by means of a limpet shell.\n\nA singular superstition is, or was till quite lately, cherished in\nPeeblesshire, that Powbate Well, close to Eddlestone, completely fills\nwith its water the high hill on whose top it is situated. Chambers,\nin his \"Popular Rhymes of Scotland,\" gives the following particulars\nabout the spring:--\"The mouth, called Powbate E'e, is covered over\nby a grate to prevent the sheep from falling into it; and it is\nsupposed that, if a willow wand is thrown in, it will be found some\ntime after, peeled at the water-laugh, a small lake at the base of\nthe hill supposed to communicate with Powbate. Of course the hill\nis expected to break some day like a bottle and do a great deal of\nmischief. A prophecy, said to be by Thomas the Rhymer, and bearing\nevident marks of his style, is cited to support the supposition:\n\n\n           'Powbate, an ye break,\n            Tak' the Moorfoot in yere gate;\n            Moorfoot and Mauldslie,\n            Huntlycote, a' three,\n            Five kirks and an Abbacie!'\"\n\n\nIn explanation of this prophecy Chambers remarks: \"Moorfoot, Mauldslie,\nand Huntlycote are farm-towns in the immediate neighbourhood of\nthe hill. The kirks are understood to have been those of Temple,\nCarrington, Borthwick, Cockpen, and Dalkeith; and the abbacy was that\nof Newbottle, the destruction of which, however, has been anticipated\nby another enemy.\"\n\nThe Scottish imagination, in attributing wonderful properties to\nsprings, has not gone the length of ascribing to any the power\npossessed by St. Ludvan's Well in Cornwall. This fountain has been\nalready referred to as the giver of increased sight. But it had the\nstill more marvellous power of preventing any one baptised with its\nwater from being hanged by a hempen rope. Nor have we heard of any\nspring north of the Tweed that could be a match for another Cornish\nwell, viz., that of St. Keyne, familiar to readers of Southey. Whoever,\nafter marriage, first drank of its water would be the ruler of the\nhouse. On one occasion a bridegroom hurried to make sure of this\nright, but was chagrined to find that he had been anticipated: his\nbride had taken a bottleful of the water with her to church.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IX.\n\nWITNESS OF WATER.\n\n    Recovery from Illness--Hydromancy--Mirror--Juno's Pool--Prediction\n    and Cure--Methods of Augury--Portents of Death--Water like\n    Blood--Springs and National Annals--Heritable Jurisdictions--Water\n    and Witchcraft--Devil's Mark--Water Ordeal--Abbey of Scone--Elgin\n    Orderpot--Witch's Stone--Repeal of Penal Statutes--Witchcraft in\n    the North--Insanity--Wild Murdoch.\n\n\n\"Am I likely to recover?\" is a question on many a patient's lips. \"Ask\nyour doctor;\" and if the case looks serious, \"Have a consultation\"\nis the answer nowadays. Formerly, the answer was \"Go to a consecrated\nwell,\" or \"Get some one else to go in your stead, and you will get\na reply.\" There is no reason to believe that every sacred spring was\ncredited with this power; but many undoubtedly were. Hydromancy has\nbeen a favourite mode of divination. \"The conscious water\" could\npredict the future, and questions connected with health were laid\nbefore it for its decision. The Greeks dipped a mirror into a well,\nand foretold health or sickness from the appearance of the watery\nlines on its surface. A pool in Laconia, sacred to Juno, revealed\napproaching good or evil fortune respectively, by the sinking or\nfloating of wheaten cakes thrown into it, and auguries were also\ndrawn from the movements of stones when dropt into it. Springs,\ntherefore, deserved the respect shown to them by the confiding\npublic. Indeed they not only told of recovery; they supplied the\nmedicine required to ensure it, and were thus doctors and druggists\ncombined. Sometimes the omen was unpropitious. In many cases the\nprophecy would work out its own fulfilment. There was a well in the\nIsland of Lewis that caused either instant death or recovery to the\npatient who tested its virtues: but a speedy fulfilment like this was\nexceptional. St. Andrew's Well at Shadar, in Lewis, was much esteemed\nfor its power of augury. A tub, containing some of its water, was\ntaken to the house of the patient, and a small wooden dish was placed\non the surface of the water. If this dish turned sunways, it showed\nthat the patient would recover; but if in an opposite direction,\nthat he would die. In reference to this instance, Mr. Gomme, in his\n\"Ethnology in Folklore,\" observes, \"I am inclined to connect this with\nthe vessel or cauldron so frequently occurring in Celtic tradition,\nand which Mr. Nutt has marked as 'a part of the gear of the oldest\nCeltic divinities' perhaps of divinities older than the Celts.\" On\none occasion two parishioners of Fodderty, in Ross-shire, consulted\nTobar-na-domhnuich in that parish in behalf of a sick friend. When\nthey placed their pitcher on the surface of the water, the vessel\nmoved round from south to west, as in the last instance, and they\nhastened back to their friend with the good news. This was in the\nyear 1832. About the same time, a woman brought her sick child to\nbe bathed in the well, but was surprised and not a little terrified\nto see a strange creature, with glaring eyes, leap into it as she\napproached. Love for her child made her brave. Overcoming her fear,\nshe dislodged the creature, and bathed the little invalid. In the end,\nhowever, she must have regarded the appearance of the creature as a\nbad omen, for the child did not recover. The usual way of consulting\nthe spring in question was to draw water from it before sunrise,\nand to convey the water to the invalid's house. The patient was then\nimmersed in it, and if it remained clear the circumstance pointed to\nrecovery; but if it assumed a brownish colour, the illness would end\nin death. In former times a shirt was thrown into St. Oswald's Well,\nin Yorkshire, by way of augury. The floating of the shirt foretold\nreturning health. The sinking foretold death. When a portion of an\ninvalid's clothing was flung into the Dow Loch, in Dumfriesshire, the\nsame rule held good. As may be noticed, the augury in these two cases\nwas the reverse of that in the case of Juno's pool above alluded to.\n\nThere were other ways in which wells acted the prophet. If a certain\nworm in a spring on the top of a particular hill in Strathdon was\nfound alive, the patient would recover. A well at Ardnacloich in Appin\ncontained a dead worm, if the patient's illness would prove fatal;\nbut a living one, if otherwise. The Virgin's Well, near the ancient\nchurch of Kilmorie on the shores of Loch Ryan in Wigtownshire, had\nan ingenious way of predicting the future. If the patient, on whose\naccount the water was sought, would recover, the fountain flowed\nfreely; but if the malady would end in death, the water refused to\ngush forth. Montluck Well, in the grounds of Logan in the same county,\ngot the credit of acting on a similar principle. When speaking of this\nspring, Symson says, \"it is in the midst of a little bog to which\nseveral persons have recourse to fetch water for such as are sick,\nasserting (whether it be truth or falsehood I shall not determine)\nthat if the sick person shall recover, the water shall so bubble and\nmount up when the messenger dips in his vessel, that he will hardly get\nout dry shod by reason of the overflowing of the well; but if the sick\nperson be not to recover, there shall not be any such overflowing in\nthe least.\" We find a belief in the south-west of England corresponding\nto this in the south-west of Scotland. Gulval Well, in Fosses Moor\nthere, was resorted to by persons anxious to know the fate of absent\nfriends. If the person inquired about was dead, the water remained\nperfectly still; if sick, it bubbled, though in a muddy fashion; but\nif well, it sent out a sparkling gush. Mr. Hunt mentions the case of\na woman, who, with her babe in her arm, consulted the spring about\nher absent husband, under the guidance of an aged female who acted\nas the guardian of the well. \"Obeying the old woman's directions,\nshe knelt on the mat of bright green grass which grew around, and,\nleaning over the well so as to see her face in the water, she repeated\nafter her instructor:\n\n\n           'Water, water, tell me truly,\n            Is the man I love truly\n            On the earth, or under the sod,\n            Sick or well,--in the name of God?'\n\n\nSome minutes passed in perfect silence, and anxiety was rapidly\nturning cheeks and lips pale, when the colour rapidly returned. There\nwas a gush of clear water from below, bubble rapidly followed bubble\nsparkling brightly in the morning sunshine. Full of joy, the young\nmother rose from her knees, kissed her child, and exclaimed, 'I am\nhappy now!'\" At Barenton in Brittany is a spring still believed in by\nthe peasantry. A pin is dropt into the well, and if good fortune is\nin store, the water sends up bubbles; but if not, it remains quite\nstill. The quantity of water in St. Maelrubha's Well on Innis-Maree\nvaried from time to time. When a patient was brought for treatment\nand there was a scanty supply, the omen was considered unfavourable;\nbut when the water was abundant, the saint was deemed propitious,\nand the hope of recovery was consequently great.\n\nThe fly at St. Michael's Well in Banffshire was looked upon as a\nprophet. In the \"Old Statistical Account of Scotland\" we read, that,\n\"if the sober matron wished to know the issue of her husband's ailment,\nor the love-sick nymph that of her languishing swain, they visited\nthe Well of St. Michael. Every movement of the sympathetic fly was\nregarded in silent awe; and as he appeared cheerful or dejected, the\nanxious votaries drew their presages.\" At Little Conan in Cornwall is\na spring, sacred to Our Lady of Nants. It was at one time resorted to\non Palm Sunday by persons anxious to know whether they would outlive\nthe year. A cross, made of palm, was thrown into the water. If it\nfloated, the thrower would survive the twelvemonth; but if it sank,\nhe would die within that time. Maidens used to visit Madron Well\nin the same county on May morning to forecast their matrimonial\nfate. They took two pieces of straw, about an inch in length, and\nplacing them crosswise fastened them together with a pin. The cross\nwas then thrown into the spring. The rising bubbles were carefully\ncounted, for they corresponded in number with the years that would\nelapse before the arrival of the wedding-day.\n\nPortents of death were sometimes furnished by lochs and springs. At\nHarpham in Yorkshire there is a tradition that a drummer lad in the\nfourteenth century was accidentally drowned in a certain spring by a\nSt. Quintin--Lord of the Manor. Ever afterwards the sound of a drum\nwas heard in the well on the evening before the death of one of the\nSt. Quintin family. Camden, in his \"Britannia,\" tells of a sheet of\nwater in Cheshire called Blackmere Lake, lying in the district where\nthe Brereton family had lands, and records the local belief that,\njust before any heir of that house died, trunks of trees were seen\nfloating on its surface. Water occasionally gave warning by turning\nred like blood. A certain fountain, near the Elbe, in Germany,\nwas at one time believed to do this, in view of an approaching\nwar. St. Tredwell's Loch, in Papa-Westray, Orkney, has already been\nreferred to, in connection with its habit of turning red, whenever\nanything remarkable was about to happen to a member of the Royal\nFamily. When the Earl of Derwentwater was beheaded, in 1716, the\nnews spread that the stream flowing past his estate of Dilston Hall\nin Northumberland ran with blood. The same was said of the river at\nBothel, in the parish of Topenhow, in Cumberland, on the occasion of\nthe execution of Charles I., in 1649. There was at one time a well in\nCanterbury Cathedral. After the assassination of Thomas \u00e0 Becket the\nsweepings of his blood and brains from the floor were thrown into it,\nand more than once afterwards the water turned red and effected various\nmiraculous cures. Lady Wilde, in her \"Ancient Legends of Ireland,\"\nnarrates how one of the holy wells of Erin lost its efficacy for\ncuring purposes through having been touched by a murderer. The priest\nof the district took some of its water and breathed on it thrice in\nthe name of the Trinity, when, lo! a mysterious change came over it,\nand it appeared red like blood! The murderer was captured and handed\nover to justice, and the well once more began to work cures.\n\nSome springs seemed anxious to be behind the scenes (though before\nthe event) in connection with various incidents in British annals. A\nspring at Warlingham, in Surrey, rises before any great event in our\ncountry's history. At any rate it did so before three great events in\nthe seventeenth century, viz., the Restoration, the Plague, and the\nRevolution. The famous Drumming Well at Oundle, in Northamptonshire,\nwas also specially active in the seventeenth century. By making\na sound like the beating of a drum, it announced the approach of a\nScottish army, and gave warning of the death of Charles II. In the same\ncentury a pool in North Tawton parish, Devonshire, even though dry in\nsummer, became full of water at the driest season before the death\nof a prince, and remained so till the event happened. Two centuries\nearlier a certain well at Langley Park, in Kent, had a singular way\nof foretelling the future. In view of a battle it became dry, though\nrain fell heavily. If there was to be no fighting, it appeared full\nof water, even during the greatest drought. A spring at Kilbarry, in\nthe island of Barra, Outer Hebrides, served the same purpose, but its\nmode of augury was different. In this case, as Dalyell records in his\n\"Darker Superstitions,\" drops of blood appeared in prospect of war; but\nlittle bits of peat, if peace was to remain unbroken. Walcott mentions,\nin his \"Scoti-Monasticon,\" that there was at Kilwinning, in Ayrshire,\n\"a sacred fountain which flowed in 1184, and at other times, before\na war or trouble, with blood instead of water for eight successive\ndays and nights.\" When Marvel-sike Spring, near Brampton Bridge, in\nNorthamptonshire, overflowed its customary limits, people used to\ninterpret its conduct as signifying approaching dearth, the death\nof some great person, or some national disturbance. In these days,\nwhen so keen an interest is taken in the proceedings of Parliament,\nit is a pity that there is no spring in our land capable of announcing\nthe probable date of a dissolution. Such a spring would relieve the\npublic mind from much uncertainty, and would benefit the trade and\ncommerce of the country.\n\nHeritable jurisdictions were abolished in Scotland soon after the\nStuart rising of 1745. This privilege, enjoyed till then by many\nlandowners north of the Tweed, was popularly known as the \"right of\npit and gallows,\" the pit being for the drowning of women and the\ngallows for the hanging of men. In 1679, a certain woman, Janet\nGrant by name, was convicted of theft in the baronial court of\nSir Robert Gordon of Gordonstone, held at Drainie, in Elginshire,\nand was sentenced to be drowned in Spynie Loch. In this and other\nsimilar cases water was used as a means of execution. In the case of\nwitchcraft it was called in as a witness in the trial. The criminal\nproceedings for the detection and punishment of so-called witches form\na painfully dark chapter in Scottish history. As Mr. W. H. Davenport\nAdams pointedly puts it, in his \"Witch, Warlock, and Magician,\" \"The\ncommon people for a time might have been divided into two classes,\n'witches and witchfinders.'\" The same writer observes, \"Among the\npeople of Scotland, a more serious-minded and imaginative race\nthan the English, the superstition of witchcraft was deeply rooted\nat an early period. Its development was encouraged not only by the\nidiosyncracies of the national character, but also by the nature of\nthe country and the climate in which they lived. The lofty mountains,\nwith their misty summits and shadowy ravines, their deep obscure glens,\nwere the fitting homes of the wildest fancies, the eeriest legends,\nand the storm--crashing through the forests, and the surf beating on\nthe rocky shore, suggested to the ear of the peasant or fisherman the\nvoices of unseen creatures--of the dread spirits of the waters and\nthe air.\" A favourite method of discovering whether an accused person\nwas guilty or not, was that technically known as pricking. It was\nconfidently believed that every witch had the \"devil's mark\" somewhere\non her person. The existence of this mark could be determined: for if a\npin was thrust into the flesh with the result that neither blood came,\nnor pain was felt, the spot so punctured was the mark in question. This\nshowed, without doubt, that the accused was guilty of the heinous\ncrime laid to her charge. Charles Kirkpatrick Sharpe, in his \"History\nof Witchcraft in Scotland,\" gives instances of the finding of the\n\"devil's mark.\" He mentions the case of Janet Barker, a servant in\nEdinburgh, who acknowledged that she possessed this particular mark\nbetween her shoulders. A pin was stuck into the spot and remained\nthere for an hour without her being aware of its presence. Such, at\nleast, was the way of stating the case in 1643. With this simple test\nat command it is not easy to understand why water should have been\nrequired to give evidence. But so it was. Among various nations the\nwater-ordeal has been in fashion. It was specially popular in Scotland\na couple of centuries ago. Part of the bay at St. Andrews is still\nstyled the Witches' Lake, recalling by its name the crude notions and\ncruel practices of our ancestors. A pool in the Carron, near Dunnottar\nChurch in Kincardineshire, at one time served a similar purpose.\n\nAs we have seen, the sinking or the floating of an object thrown into\nwater in cases of sickness told of death or recovery. In like manner\ninnocence or guilt could be determined in the case of persons accused\nof sorcery. If the person sank, she was innocent; but guilty, if she\nfloated. King James VI.--a great authority on the subject--explains\nwhy this was so. In his \"Daemonologie,\" he says, \"As in a secret\nmurther, if the dead carcase be at any time thereafter handled by the\nmurtherer, it will gush out of blood, as if the blood were raging to\nthe Heaven for revenge of the murtherer (God having appointed that\nsecret supernatural sign for trial of that secret unnatural crime),\nso that it appears that God hath appointed (for a supernatural sign\nof the monstrous impiety of witches) that the water shall refuse to\nreceive them in her bosom that have shaken off them the sacred water\nof baptism and wilfully refused the benefit thereof.\" The Abbey of\nScone, in Perthshire, founded by Alexander I., in 1114, received from\nhim a charter confirming the right of using the water-ordeal for the\ndetection of witchcraft. The place of trial was a small island in the\nTay, half-way between the abbey and the bridge of Perth. According\nto the practices, common at such trials, the accused was thrown into\nthe water, wrapped up in a sheet, and having the thumbs and the great\ntoes fastened together. The chances of life were certainly not great\nunder the circumstances, for, if the poor creature floated, she had\nsoon to exchange water for fire. The stake was her goal. If she sank,\nthe likelihood was that she would be drowned. Bundled up in the manner\ndescribed, she was scarcely in a position to rescue herself; and the\nbystanders were in no humour to give a helping hand. Close to the town\nof Elgin was once a witch-pool, known as the Order Pot, so called from\nits having been the place of ordeal. Through time it was filled up,\nmainly with rubbish from the ruins of the cathedral, in fulfilment,\nit was believed, of the prophecy of Thomas the Rhymer that\n\n\n           \"The Order Pot and Lossie grey\n            Shall sweep the Chanonry kirk away.\"\n\n\nIn the seventeenth century a woman who was accused of having brought\ndisease on a certain man through her sorceries was thrown into the\npool. She sank, and the crowd, who had collected to witness the trial,\nexclaimed, \"To Satan's kingdom she hath gone.\" The incident is of\ninterest since the view of her case, then taken, was contrary to the\none usually held, as explained above. Perhaps the people standing by\nthought that the devil was so eager to get his own, that he would\nnot lose the chance of securing his victim at once. Elginshire has\nanother memorial of the black art in the form of The Witch's Stone at\nForres. It consists of a boulder about a yard in diameter and probably\nmarks the spot where unhappy females convicted of witchcraft were\nexecuted. About the year 1790 some one wished to turn the stone to\ngood account for building purposes and broke it into three pieces. The\nbreaker, however, was compelled to put it together again, and the iron\nthen used to clasp it is still in position. Legend accounts for the\nbreakage in a less prosaic way. When the boulder was being carried\nby a witch through the air in her apron, the apron-string broke,\nand, as a result, the stone was broken too. The spot was formerly\nreckoned ill-omened. It would be too much to say that belief in the\nblack art has vanished from the Highlands; though, fortunately for\nthe good sense of our age, as well as for those who live in it,\nwitch pools are not now in requisition. Pennant bears witness to\nthe fact that belief in witchcraft ceased in Perthshire soon after\nthe repeal, in 1736, of the penal statutes against witches. In more\nnorthern districts it continued a vital part of the popular creed\ntill much later. The Rev. Donald Sage mentions, in his \"Memorabilia\nDomestica,\" that the Rev. Mr. Fraser, minister of Killearnan in\nRoss-shire, about 1750, was much troubled with somnolency even in\nthe pulpit. He was in consequence thought to be bewitched--a notion\nthat he himself shared. Two women were fixed on, as the cause of his\nunnatural slumbers. It was believed that they had made a clay image\nrepresenting the minister and had stuck pins into it. Certain pains\nfelt by him were ascribed to this cause. Had it not been for the Act\nof 1736, it would doubtless have fared ill with the supposed witches.\n\nWitches, however, were not alone in their power of floating. According\nto a popular belief in the north-west Highlands, insane people\ncannot sink in water. Sir Arthur Mitchell, in the \"Proceedings of the\nSociety of Antiquaries of Scotland,\" volume iv., refers to the case\nof a certain madman--Wild Murdoch by name--concerning whom strange\nstories were told. He was born on the small island of Melista, near\nthe coast of Lewis, used only for occasional habitation in connection\nwith the pasturing of cattle. Anyone born in the island is believed to\nbecome insane. The superstition about not sinking was certainly put\nto a severe test in Wild Murdoch's case. \"It is said,\" remarks Sir\nArthur, \"that his friends used to tie a rope round his body, make it\nfast to the stern of the boat, and then pull out to sea, taking the\nwretched man in tow. The story goes that he was so buoyant that he\ncould not sink; 'that they tried to press him down into the water;'\nthat he could swim with a stone fastened to him; that when carried to\nthe rocky holms of Melista or Greinan, round which the open Atlantic\nsurges, and left there alone, he took to the water and swam ashore.\"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER X.\n\nWATER-SPIRITS.\n\n    Influence of Scenery--Science and Superstition--Loch-nan-Spoiradan\n    --Lochan-nan-Deaan--Lochan-Wan and its Sacrifice--Jenny Greenteeth\n    --Poetry and Superstition--Tweed and Till--Dee and Don--\n    Folk-practices for Finding a Drowned Body--Deeside Tradition--\n    Salt used by Tweed Fishers for Good Luck--Guardian-Spirit of\n    Conan--Peg Powler--Water-kelpies--Nikr--Halliwell Boggle--Robin\n    Round Cap--Round Hole, near Flamborough--Aberdeenshire Kelpy\n    Legends--Some Sutherland Kelpies--Story about an Islay Kelpy--\n    Mermaids in the North.\n\n\n\"One of the great charms of Highland landscape is the gleam of\nstill water that so often gives the element of repose in a scene of\nbroken cliff and tumbled crag, of noisy cascade and driving cloud. No\ncasual tourist can fail to notice what a wonderful variety of lakes\nhe meets with in the course of any traverse he may take across the\ncountry. Among the higher mountains there is the little tarn nestling\nin a dark sunless corry, and half-encircled with grim snow-rifted\ncrags. In the glen, there is the occasional broadening of the river\ninto a lake that narrows again to let the stream rush down a rocky\nravine. In the wider strath there is the broad still expanse of water,\nwith its fringe of wood and its tree-covered islets. In the gneiss\nregion of the North-West, there is the little lochan lying in its\nbasin of bare rock and surrounded with scores of others all equally\ntreeless and desolate.\" So writes Professor Sir A. Geikie in his\n\"Scenery of Scotland.\" His point of view is that of a scientific\nobserver, keenly alive to all the varied phenomena of nature. But amid\nthe scenes described lived men and women who looked at the outer world\nthrough the refracting medium of superstition. They saw the landscape,\nbut they saw also what their own imagination supplied. In Strathspey,\nis a sheet of water bearing the Gaelic name of Loch-nan-Spoiradan or\nthe Lake of Spirits. What shape these spirits assumed we do not know,\nbut there was no mistake about the form of the spirit who guarded\nLochan-nan-Deaan, close to the old military road between Corgarff\nand Tomintoul. The appearance of this spirit may be gathered from the\nRev. Dr. Gregor's remarks in an article on \"Guardian Spirits of Wells\nand Lochs\" in \"Folklore\" for March, 1892. After describing the loch,\nhe says, \"It was believed to be bottomless, and to be the abode of a\nwater-spirit that delighted in human sacrifice. Notwithstanding this\nblood-thirsty spirit, the men of Strathdon and Corgarff resolved to\ntry to draw the water from the loch, in hope of finding the remains\nof those that had perished in it. On a fixed day a number of them\nmet with spades and picks to cut a way for the outflow of the water\nthrough the road. When all were ready to begin work, a terrific yell\ncame from the loch, and there arose from its waters a diminutive\ncreature in shape of a man with a red cap on his head. The men fled\nin terror, leaving their picks and spades behind them. The spirit\nseized them and threw them into the loch. Then, with a gesture of\ndefiance at the fleeing men, and a roar that shook the hills, he\nplunged into the loch and disappeared amidst the water that boiled\nand heaved as red as blood.\" Near the boundary, between the shires\nof Aberdeen and Banff, is a small sheet of water called Lochan-wan,\ni.e., Lamb's Loch. The district around is now a deer forest, but at\none time it was used for grazing sheep. The tenants around had the\nprivilege of pasturing a certain number of sheep. Dr. Gregor says,\n\"Each one that sent sheep to this common had to offer in sacrifice,\nto the spirit of the loch, the first lamb of his flock dropped on the\ncommon. The omission of this sacrifice brought disaster; for unless\nthe sacrifice was made, half of his flock would be drowned before\nthe end of the grazing season.\" As in the case of Lochan-nan-Deaan,\nan attempt was made to break the spell by draining the loch, but this\nattempt, though less tragic in its result, was equally unavailing. On\nthree successive days a channel was made for the outflow of the water,\nbut each night the work was undone. A watch was set, and at midnight\nof the third day hundreds of small black creatures were seen to rise\nfrom the lake, each with a spade in his hand. They set about filling\nup the trench and finished their work in a few minutes. Mr. Charles\nHardwick, in \"Traditions, Superstitions, and Folklore,\" published\nin 1872, tells of a folk-belief, prevalent in the North of England,\nparticularly in Lancashire. \"I remember well,\" he says, \"when very\nyoung, being cautioned against approaching to the side of stagnant\npools of water partially covered with vegetation. At the time, I\nfirmly believed that if I disobeyed this instruction a certain water\n'boggart,' named Jenny Greenteeth, would drag me beneath her verdant\nscreen and subject me to other tortures besides death by drowning.\"\n\nPoetry and superstition regard external nature from the same\nstandpoint, in as much as both think of it as animate. But there is\na difference. The one endows nature with human qualities, and knows\nthat it does so through the imagination; the other does the same,\nand believes that there is no imagination in the matter. The work of\nthe former is well expressed by Dr. E. B. Tylor, when he observes,\n\"In all that water does, the poet's fancy can discern its personality\nof life. It gives fish to the fisher and crops to the husbandman, it\nswells in fury and lays waste the land, it grips the bather with chill\nand cramp and holds with inexorable grasp its drowning victim.\" That\nrivers were monsters hungering, or perhaps, one should say, thirsting,\nfor human victims is a fact borne witness to by poetry as well as\nby superstition. An example of this occurs in the following popular\nrhyme connected with the Scottish Border:--\n\n\n           \"Tweed said to Till,\n           'What gars ye rin sae still'?\n            Till said to Tweed,\n           'Though ye rin wi' speed,\n            An' I rin slaw,\n            Yet whare ye droon ae man,\n            I droon twa.'\"\n\n\nSome Aberdeenshire lines have the same theme:--\n\n\n           \"Bloodthirsty Dee\n            Each year needs three;\n            But bonny Don,\n            She needs none.\"\n\n\nAccording to folklore, there is no doubt that rivers are\n\"uncanny.\" Beneath their rippling surface dwells a being who keeps\na lookout for the unwary traveller and seeks to draw him into the\ndark depths. A belief in such a being is not always explicitly\navowed. But there are certain folk-practices undoubtedly implying\nit. When anyone is drowned in a river, the natural way to find the\nbody is to drag the stream in the neighbourhood of the accident. But\nsuperstition has recourse to another method. A loaf of bread, with or\nwithout quicksilver in it, is placed on the surface of the water and\nallowed to drift with the current. The place where the loaf becomes\nstationary marks the spot where the body lies concealed. According\nto another method, a boat is rowed up and down the stream, and a drum\nis beat all the time. When the boat passes over the resting place of\nthe body the drum will cease to sound. This was done in Derbyshire\nno longer ago than 1882, in order to find the corpse of a young woman\nwho had fallen into the Derwent. In such practices there is a virtual\nrecognition of a water-spirit who can, by certain rites, be compelled\nto give up his prey, or at any rate to disclose the whereabouts of the\nvictim. A Deeside tradition supplies a good illustration of this. A\nman called Farquharson-na-Cat, i.e., Farquharson of the Wand, so\nnamed from his trade of basketmaking, had on one occasion to cross the\nriver just above the famous linn. It was night. He lost his footing,\nwas swept down into the linn, and there drowned. Search was made for\nhis body, but in vain. His wife, taking her husband's plaid, knelt\ndown on the river's brink, and prayed to the water-spirit to give\nher back her dead. She then threw the plaid into the stream. Next\nmorning her husband's corpse, with the plaid wrapped round it, was\nfound lying on the edge of the pool. Till quite lately, fishing\non the Tweed was believed to be influenced by the fairies of the\nriver. Salt was thrown into the water, and sprinkled on the nets to\ninsure a plentiful catch of fish. This was really the offering of a\nsacrifice to the river-spirits.\n\nFrequently the guardian of the flood appeared in distinctly human\nshape. An excellent example of this is to be found in Hugh Miller's\n\"My Schools and Schoolmasters,\" where a picturesque description is\ngiven of the spirit haunting the Conan. Hugh Miller was an expert\nswimmer, and delighted to bathe in the pools of that Ross-shire\nstream. \"Its goblin or water-wraith,\" he tells us, \"used to appear\nas a tall woman dressed in green, but distinguished chiefly by her\nwithered, meagre countenance, ever distorted by a malignant scowl. I\nknew all the various fords, always dangerous ones, where of old she\nused to start, it was said, out of the river before the terrified\ntraveller to point at him as in derision with her skinny finger,\nor to beckon him invitingly on; and I was shown the very tree to\nwhich a poor Highlander had clung when, in crossing the river by\nnight, he was seized by the goblin, and from which, despite of his\nutmost exertions, though assisted by a young lad, his companion, he\nwas dragged into the middle of the current, where he perished. And\nwhen in swimming at sunset over some dark pool, where the eye failed\nto mark, or the foot to sound, the distant bottom, the twig of some\nsunken bush or tree has struck against me as I passed, I have felt,\nwith sudden start, as if touched by the cold, bloodless fingers of\nthe goblin.\" At Pierse Bridge, in Durham, the water-spirit of the Tees\nwent by the name of Peg Powler, and there were stories in the district,\nof naughty children having been dragged by her into the river.\n\nIn the Highlands and Lowlands alike, the spirit inhabiting rivers\nand lakes was commonly known as the water-kelpy. A south country\nballad says:--\n\n\n       \"The side was steep, the bottom deep\n        Frae bank to bank the water pouring;\n        And the bonnie lass did quake for fear,\n        She heard the water-kelpie roaring.\"\n\n\nWho does not remember Burns's lines in his \"Address to the Deil\"?--\n\n\n       \"When thowes dissolve the snawy hoord,\n        An' float the jinglin' icy-boord,\n        Then water-kelpies haunt the foord\n                   By your direction;\n        An' 'nighted travellers are allur'd\n                   To their destruction.\n\n        An' aft your moss-traversin' spunkies\n        Decoy the wight that late and drunk is:\n        The bleezin', curst, mischievous monkeys\n                   Delude his eyes.\n        Till in some miry slough he sunk is,\n                   Ne'er mair to rise.\"\n\n\nThe kelpy corresponded in attributes with the Icelandic Nikr;\nwhence has come our term Old Nick, popularly applied to the devil. A\nwell-known picture by Sir Noel Paton has familiarised the story of\n\"Nickar, the soulless,\" who is there represented as a creature with\nfrog-like feet, but with a certain human look about him, crouching\namong sedge by the side of water, and playing his ghittern--an\ninstrument resembling a guitar. He appears, however, more melancholy\nand less mischievous than the other members of his fraternity. A kelpy\nthat idled away his time with music and made no attempt to drown\nanybody, was quite an exceptional being. In Sweden, where Nikr was\nregarded with awe, ferry-men at specially dangerous parts of rivers\nwarned those who were crossing in their boat not even to mention his\nname, lest some mishap should follow. In his \"Saxons in England,\"\nMr. J. M. Kemble thus refers to other manifestations of the same\ncreature:--\"The beautiful Nix or Nixie who allures the young fisher\nor hunter to seek her embraces in the wave which brings his death;\nthe Neck who seizes upon and drowns the maidens who sport upon his\nbanks; the river-spirit who still yearly, in some parts of Germany,\ndemands tribute of human life, are all forms of the ancient Nicor.\" The\nsame writer continues:--\"More pleasing is the Swedish Stromkarl,\nwho, from the jewelled bed of his river, watches with delight the\nchildren gambol in the adjoining meadows, and singing sweetly to them\nin the evening, detaches from his hoary hair the sweet blossoms of\nthe water-lily, which he wafts over the surface to their hands.\" In\nhis \"Folklore of East Yorkshire,\" Mr. J. B. Nicholson alludes to a\nhaunted pool between Bewholme and Atwick, at the foot of the hill\non which Atwick Church stands. This pool is shaded by willows,\nand is believed to be haunted by a spirit known in the district\nas the Halliwell Boggle. In connection with Robin Round Cap Well,\nin the same district, Mr. Nicholson tells a story--found also in\nthe south of Scotland--of a certain house-spirit or brownie, who\nproved so troublesome to the farmer whom he served that his master\nresolved to remove to other quarters. The furniture was accordingly\nput in carts and a start was made for the new home. On the way, a\nfriend accosted the farmer and asked if he was flitting. Before he\ncould reply, a voice came from the churn--\"Ay, we're flitting!\" and,\nbehold, there sat Robin Round Cap. The farmer, seeing that he could\nnot thus rid himself of the spirit, returned to his old home; but,\nafterwards, he succeeded in charming the brownie into a well, where he\nstill remains. The same writer relates a superstition about a certain\nround hole near Flamborough where a girl once committed suicide. \"It\nis believed,\" he says, \"that anyone bold enough to run nine times\nround this place will see Jenny's spirit come out, dressed in white;\nbut no one has yet been bold enough to venture more than eight times,\nfor then Jenny's spirit called out:--\n\n\n               'Ah'll tee on my bonnet\n                  An' put on me shoe,\n                An' if thoo's nut off\n                  Ah'll seean catch thoo!'\n\n\nA farmer, some years ago, galloped round it on horseback, and Jenny\ndid come out, to the great terror of the farmer, who put spurs to his\nhorse and galloped off as fast as he could, the spirit after him. Just\non entering the village, the spirit, for some reason unknown, declined\nto proceed further, but bit a piece clean out of the horse's flank,\nand the old mare had a white patch there to her dying day.\"\n\nIn the \"Folklore Journal\" for 1889, Dr. Gregor relates some kelpy\nlegends collected by him in Aberdeenshire. On one occasion a man had\nto cross the Don by the bridge of Luib, Corgarff, to get to his wife\nwho was then very ill. When he reached the river, he found that the\nbridge--a wooden one--had been swept away by a flood. He despaired\nof reaching the other bank, when a tall man suddenly appeared and\noffered to carry him across. The man was at first doubtful, but ere\nlong accepted the proffered help. When they reached the middle of\nthe river, the kelpy, who had hitherto shown himself so obliging,\nsought to plunge his burden beneath the water. A struggle ensued. The\nman finally found a foothold, and, disengaging himself from the\nkelpy, scrambled in all haste up the bank. His would-be destroyer,\ndisappointed of his victim, hurled a boulder after him. This boulder\ncame to be known as the Kelpy's Stane. Passers-by threw a stone\nbeside it till eventually a heap was formed, locally styled the\nKelpy's Cairn. A Braemar kelpy stole a sackful of meal from a mill\nto give it to a woman for whom he had taken a fancy. As the thief was\ndisappearing, the miller caught sight of him and threw a fairy-whorl\nat his retreating figure. The whorl broke his leg, and the kelpy fell\ninto the mill-race and was drowned. Such was the fate of the last kelpy\nseen in Braemar. Sutherland, too, abounded in water-spirits. They\nused to cross the mouth of the Dornoch Firth in cockle-shells,\nbut, getting tired of this mode of transit, they resolved to build\na bridge. It was a magnificent structure, the piers being headed\nwith pure gold. A countryman, happening to pass, saw the bridge,\nand invoked a blessing on the workmen and their work. Immediately,\nthe workmen vanished, and their work sank beneath the waves. Where it\nspanned the Firth there is now a sandbar dangerous to mariners. Miss\nDempster, who recounts this legend in the \"Folklore Journal\" for 1888,\nsupplies further information about the superstition of the district. A\nbanshee, adorned with gold ornaments and wearing a silk dress, was\nseen hurrying down a hill near the river Shin, and finally plunging\ninto one of its deep pools. These banshees were commonly web-footed,\nand seemed addicted to finery, if we may judge from the instance just\ngiven, and from another mentioned by Mr. Campbell in his \"Tales of\nthe West Highlands.\" He there speaks of one who frequented a stream\nabout four miles from Skibo Castle in Dornoch parish. The miller's wife\nsaw her. \"She was sitting on a stone, quiet, and beautifully dressed\nin a green silk dress, the sleeves of which were curiously puffed\nfrom the wrists to the shoulder. Her long hair was yellow like ripe\ncorn, but on nearer view she had no nose.\" Miss Dempster narrates\nthe following incident connected with the water-spirit haunting\nanother Sutherland river:--\"One, William Munro, and the grandfather\nof the person from whom we have this story, were one night leading\nhalf-a-dozen pack-horses across a ford in the Oikel, on their way to\na mill. When they neared the river bank a horrid scream from the water\nstruck their ears. 'It is the Vaicgh,' cried the lad, who was leading\nthe first horse, and, picking up some stones, he sent a shower of them\ninto the deep pool at his feet. She must have been repeatedly hit,\nas she emitted a series of the most piercing shrieks. 'I am afraid,'\nsaid Monro, 'that you have not done that right, and that she will play\nus an ugly trick at the ford.' 'Never mind, we will take more stones,'\nhe answered, arming himself with a few. But the kelpy had had enough\nof stones for one night.\"\n\nOff the Rhinns of Islay is a small island formerly used for grazing\ncattle. A strong tide sweeps past the island, making the crossing\nof the Sound dangerous. A story, related by Mr. Campbell, tells\nthat on a certain boisterous night a woman was left in charge of a\nlarge herd of cattle on the island. She was sitting in her cabin,\nwhen all at once she heard strange noises outside, and, looking up,\nsaw a pair of large eyes gazing in at her through the window. The door\nopened, and a strange creature strode in. He was tall and hairy, with\na livid covering on his face instead of skin. He advanced towards the\nwoman and asked her name. She replied in Gaelic, \"Mise mi Fhin\"--\"Me\nmyself.\" He then seized her. In her terror she threw a ladleful of\nboiling water on the intruder. Yelling with pain he bounded out of the\nhut. These unearthly voices asked what was the matter, and who had hurt\nhim? \"Mise mi Fhin\"--\"Me myself,\" replied the creature. The answer was\nreceived with a shout of laughter from his mysterious companions. The\nwoman rushed out of the hut, and dislodging one of the cows lay down\non the spot, at the same time making a magical circle round her on\nthe ground. All night she heard terrible sounds mingling with the\nroaring of the wind. In the morning the supernatural manifestations\ndisappeared, and she felt herself safe. It had not fared, however,\nso well with the cow, for, when found, it was dead.\n\nIn Chapter I. reference was made to mermen and mermaids, and little\nrequires to be added in the present connection. In the south of\nScotland the very names of these sea-spirits have a far-off sound\nabout them. No one beside the Firths of Forth and Clyde expects\nnowadays to catch sight of such strange forms sitting on rocks,\nor playing among the breakers; but among our Northern Isles it is\notherwise. Every now and again (at long intervals, perhaps) the\nmysterious mermaid makes her appearance, and gives new life to an\nold superstition. About three years since, one was seen at Deerness\nin Orkney. She reappeared last year, and was then noticed by some\nlobstermen who were working their creels. She had a small black head,\nwhite body, and long arms. Somewhat later, a creature, believed to\nbe this mermaid, was shot not far from the shore, but the body was\nnot captured. In June of the present year another mermaid was seen by\nthe Deerness people. At Birsay, recently, a farmer's wife was down at\nthe sea-shore, and observed a strange creature among the rocks. She\nwent back for her husband, and the two returned quite in time to\nget a good view of the interesting stranger. The woman spoke of the\nmermaid as \"a good-looking person\"; while her husband described her\nas \"having a covering of brown hair.\" Curiosity seems to have been\nuppermost in the minds of the couple, for they tried to capture the\ncreature. In the interests of folklore, if not of science, she managed\nto escape, and was quickly lost to sight beneath the waves. Perhaps,\nas the gurgling waters closed over her, she may have uttered an au\nrevoir, or whatever corresponds to that phrase in the language of the\nsea. The following story about a mermaid, told by Mr. J. H. Dixon in\nhis \"Gairloch,\" published in 1886, is fully credited in the district\nwhere the incident occurred:--\"Roderick Mackenzie, the elderly and\nmuch respected boat-builder at Port Henderson, when a young man, went\none day to a rocky part of the shore there. Whilst gathering bait he\nsuddenly spied a mermaid asleep among the rocks. Rorie 'went for'\nthat mermaid, and succeeded in seizing her by the hair. The poor\ncreature in great embarrassment cried out that if Rorie would let go\nshe would grant him whatever boon he might ask. He requested a pledge\nthat no one should ever be drowned from any boat he might build. On\nhis releasing her the mermaid promised that this should be so. The\npromise has been kept throughout Rorie's long business career--his\nboats still defy the stormy winds and waves.\" Mr. Dixon adds, \"I am\nthe happy possessor of an admirable example of Rorie's craft. The\nmost ingenious framer of trade advertisements might well take a hint\nfrom this veracious anecdote.\"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XI.\n\nMORE WATER-SPIRITS.\n\n    Water-horses and Water-bulls--Highland Superstition--Spiritual\n    Water-demon and Material Water-monster--Water-bulls of Loch\n    Llundavr\u00e0 and Loch Achtriachtan--Water-horses of Loch Treig--Kelpy\n    of Loch Ness--Water-horse Bridles--Pontage Pool--Kelpy's\n    Footprint--MacCulloch and Sir Walter Scott--Recent Example of\n    Belief in Water-monster--Tarroo-Ushtey in the Isle of Man--Other\n    Water-spirits--Dragon--Black-dog--Fly--Fish--De mons--Origin\n    of Well-worship.\n\n\nSo far we have been dealing with water-spirits more or less human in\nform. Another class consists of those with the shape and attributes\nof horses and bulls. The members of this class are connected specially\nwith Highland districts. Lonely lochs were their favourite haunts. In\ntreeless regions, a belief in such creatures would naturally arise. Any\nordinary animal in such an environment would appear of a larger size\nthan usual, and the eye of the beholder would transmit the error to his\nimagination, thereby still further magnifying the creature's bulk. In\nsome instances, the notion might arise even when there was no animal\non the scene. A piece of rock, or some other physical feature of the\nlandscape would be enough to excite superstitious fancies. Mr. Campbell\nremarks, \"In Sutherland and elsewhere, many believe that they have seen\nthese fancied animals. I have been told of English sportsmen who went\nin pursuit of them, so circumstantial were the accounts of those who\nbelieved they had seen them. The witnesses are so numerous, and their\ntestimony agrees so well, that there must be some old deeply-rooted\nCeltic belief which clothes every object with the dreaded form of\nthe Each Uisge, i.e., Water-horse.\" When waves appeared on a lake,\nand there seemed no wind to account for them, superstitious people\nreadily grasped at the idea that the phenomenon was due to the action\nof some mysterious water-spirit. As Dr. Tylor points out, there seems\nto have been a confusion \"between the 'spiritual water-demon' and the\n'material water-monster.'\" Any creature found in or near the water\nwould naturally be reckoned its guardian spirit.\n\nThe Rev. Dr. Stewart gives the following particulars about water-horses\nand water-bulls in his \"'Twixt Ben Nevis and Glencoe.\" They are\nthought of \"as, upon the whole, of the same shape and form as the\nmore kindly quadrupeds after whom they have been named, but larger,\nfiercer, and with an amount of 'devilment' and cunning about them,\nof which the latter, fortunately, manifest no trace. They are always\nfat and sleek, and so full of strength and spirit and life that the\nneighing of the one and the bellowing of the other frequently awake\nthe mountain echoes to their inmost recesses for miles and miles\naround.... Calves and foals are the result of occasional intercourse\nbetween these animals and their more civilised domestic congeners,\nsuch calves bearing unmistakable proofs of their mixed descent in the\nunusual size and pendulousness of their ears and the wide aquatic\nspread of their jet black hoofs; the foals, in their clean limbs,\nlarge flashing eyes, red distended nostrils, and fiery spirit. The\ninitiated still pretend to point out cattle with more or less of this\nquestionable blood in them, in almost every drove of pure Highland\ncows and heifers you like to bring under their notice.\" The lochs\nof Llundavr\u00e0 and Achtriachtan, in Glencoe, were at one time famous\nfor their water-bulls; and Loch Treig for its water-horses, believed\nto be the fiercest specimens of that breed in the world. If anyone\nsuggested to a Lochaber or Rannoch Highlander that the cleverest\nhorse-tamer could \"clap a saddle on one of the demon-steeds of Loch\nTreig, as he issues in the grey dawn, snorting, from his crystal-paved\nsub-lacustral stalls, he would answer, with a look of mingled horror\nand awe, 'Impossible!' The water-horse would tear him into a thousand\npieces with his teeth and trample and pound him into pulp with his\njet-black, iron-hard, though unshod hoofs!\"\n\nA noted demon-steed once inhabited Loch Ness, and was a cause of\nterror to the inhabitants of the neighbourhood. Like other kelpies,\nhe was in the habit of browsing along the roadside, all bridled and\nsaddled, as if waiting for some one to mount him. When any unwary\ntraveller did so, the kelpy took to his heels, and presently plunged\ninto deep water with his victim on his back. Mr. W. G. Stewart, in\nhis \"Highland Superstitions and Amusements,\" tells a story to show\nthat the kelpy in question did not always have things his own way. A\nHighlander of the name of MacGrigor resolved to throw himself in the\nway of the water-horse in the hope of getting the better of him. The\nmeeting took place in the solitary pass of Slochd-Muichd, between\nStrathspey and Inverness. The kelpy looked as innocent as usual, and\nwas considerably startled when MacGrigor, sword in hand, struck him\na blow on the nose. The weapon cut through the bridle, and the bit,\nfalling to the ground, was instantly picked up by MacGrigor. This was\nthe turning point of the encounter. The kelpy was powerless without\nhis bit, and requested to have it restored. Though a horse, the kelpy\nhad the power of human speech, and conversed, doubtless in excellent\nGaelic, with his victor, using various arguments to bring about the\nrestoration of his lost property. Finding that these were unavailing,\nhe prophesied that MacGrigor would never enter his house with the\nbit in his possession, and when they arrived at the door he planted\nhimself in front of it to block the entrance. The Highlander, however,\noutwitted the kelpy, for, going round to the back of his house, he\ncalled his wife and flung the bit to her through a window. Returning\nto the kelpy, he told him where the bit was, and assured him that he\nwould never get it back again. As there was a rowan cross above the\ndoor the demon-steed could not enter the house, and presently departed\nuttering certain exclamations not intended for benedictions. Those who\ndoubt the truthfulness of the narrative may have their doubts lessened\nwhen they learn that this was not the only case of a water-horse's\nbit becoming the property of a human being. The Rev. Dr. Stewart\nnarrates an anecdote bearing on this. A drover, whose home was in\nNether Lochaber, was returning from a market at Pitlochry by way of\nthe Moor of Rannoch. Night came on; but, as the moon was bright, he\ncontinued his journey without difficulty. On reaching Lochanna Cuile,\nhe sat down to refresh himself with bread, cheese, and milk. While\npartaking of this temperate repast he caught sight of something\nglittering on the ground, and, picking it up, he found it to be a\nhorse's bridle. Next morning he was astonished to find that the bit\nand buckles were of pure silver and the reins of soft and beautifully\nspeckled leather. He was still more surprised to find that the bit when\ntouched was unbearably hot. A wise woman from a neighbouring glen was\ncalled in to solve the mystery. She at once recognised the article to\nbe a water-horse's bridle, and accounted for the high temperature of\nthe bit on the ground that the silver still retained the heat that it\npossessed when in a molten state below ground. The reins, she said,\nwere made of the skin of a certain poisonous serpent that inhabited\npools frequented by water-horses. According to her directions, the\nbridle was hung on a cromag or crook of rowan wood. Its presence\nbrought a blessing to the house, and the drover prospered in all\nhis undertakings. When he died, having no children of his own, he\nbequeathed the magical bridle to his grandnephew, who prospered in\nhis turn.\n\nA pool in the North Esk, in Forfarshire, called the Ponage or Pontage\nPool, was at one time the home of a water-horse. This creature\nwas captured by means of a magical bridle, and kept in captivity\nfor some time. While a prisoner he was employed to carry stones to\nMorphie, where a castle was then being built. One day the bridle\nwas incautiously removed, and the creature vanished, but not before\nhe exclaimed--\n\n\n       \"Sair back an' sair banes,\n        Carryin' the Laird o' Morphie's stanes;\n        The Laird o' Morphie canna thrive\n        As lang's the kelpy is alive.\"\n\n\nHis attempted verse-making seems to have gratified the kelpy, for\nwhen he afterwards showed himself in the pool he was frequently heard\nrepeating the rhyme. The fate of the castle was disastrous. At a later\ndate it was entirely demolished, and its site now alone remains. Some\nsix miles from the Kirkton of Glenelg, in Inverness-shire, is\nthe small sheet of water known in the district as John MacInnes'\nLoch. It was so called from a crofter of that name who was drowned\nthere. The circumstances are thus narrated by Mr. J. Calder Ross in\n\"Scottish Notes and Queries\" for February, 1893: \"John MacInnes found\nthe labour of his farm sadly burdensome. In the midst of his sighing\nan unknown being appeared to him and promised a horse to him under\ncertain conditions. These conditions John undertook to fulfil. One day,\naccordingly, he found a fine horse grazing in one of his fields. He\nhappened to be ploughing at the time, and at once he yoked the animal\nto the plough along with another horse. The stranger worked splendidly,\nand he determined to keep it, though he well knew that it was far\nfrom canny. Every night when he stabled it he spread some earth from\na mole's hill over it as a charm; according to another version he\nmerely blessed the animal. One night he forgot his usual precautions:\nperhaps he was beginning to feel safe. The horse noticed the omission,\nand seizing poor John in his teeth, galloped off with him. The two\ndisappeared in the loch.\"\n\nWater-horses were not always malignant in disposition. On one occasion\nan Aberdeenshire farmer went with his own horse to a mill to fetch\nhome some sacks of meal. He left the horse at the door of the mill\nand went in to bring out the sacks. The beast, finding itself free,\nstarted for home. When the farmer reappeared and found the creature\ngone he was much disconcerted, and uttered the wish that he might\nget any kind of horse to carry his sacks even though it were a\nwater-kelpy. To his surprise, a water-horse immediately appeared! It\nquietly allowed itself to be loaded with the meal, and accompanied\nthe farmer to his home. On reaching the house he tied the horse to an\nold harrow till he should get the sacks taken into the house. When\nhe returned to stable the animal that had done him the good turn,\nhorse and harrow were away, and he heard the beast plunging not far\noff in a deep pool in the Don. If anyone refuses to believe in the\nexistence of water-horses, let him go to the parish of Fearn, in\nForfarshire, and there, near the ruined castle of Vayne, he will see\non a sandstone rock the print of a kelpy's foot. Noran Water flows\nbelow the castle, and the mysterious creature had doubtless its home\nin one of its pools. In Shetland, such kelpies were known as Nuggles,\nand showed themselves under the form of Shetland ponies.\n\nMacCulloch, the author of \"A Description of the Western Islands of\nScotland,\" found the belief in the water-bull a living faith among\nthe people, notably among the dwellers beside Loch Rannoch and Loch\nAwe. He tells of a farmer who employed his sons to search a certain\nstream for one of these creatures, while the farmer himself carried a\ngun loaded with sixpences to be discharged when the monster appeared,\nsilver alone having any effect on such beasts. The same writer,\nwhen speaking of the grandeur of the scenery about Loch Coruisk,\nremarks:--\"It is not surprising that Coruisk should be considered by\nthe natives as the haunt of the water-goblin or of spirits still more\ndreadful. A seaman, and a bold one, whom, on one occasion, I had left\nin charge of the boat, became so much terrified at finding himself\nalone that he ran off to join his comrades, leaving it moored to the\nrock, though in danger of being destroyed by the surge. I afterwards\noverheard much discussion on the courage of the Southron in making\nthe circuit of the valley unattended. Not returning till it was\nnearly dark, it was concluded that he had fallen into the fangs of\nthe kelpy.\" MacCulloch's \"Description\" consists of a series of letters\nto Sir Walter Scott. Sir Walter himself has an interesting reference\nto the same superstition in his \"Journal,\" under date November 23rd,\n1827. After enumerating the company at a certain dinner party at\nwhich he had been present, he continues: \"Clanronald told us, as an\ninstance of Highland credulity, that a set of his kinsmen--Borradale\nand others--believing that the fabulous 'water-cow' inhabited a small\nlake near his house, resolved to drag the monster into day. With this\nview they bivouacked by the side of the lake in which they placed,\nby way of night-bait, two small anchors such as belong to boats,\neach baited with the carcase of a dog slain for the purpose. They\nexpected the 'water-cow' would gorge on this bait, and were prepared\nto drag her ashore the next morning, when, to their confusion of face,\nthe baits were found untouched. It is something too late in the day\nfor setting baits for water-cows.\" If such conduct seemed wonderful\nin 1827, what would the author of \"Waverley\" have thought had he known\nthat more than half-a-century later, people in the Highlands retained a\nthorough-going belief in such monsters? No longer ago than 1884 rumours\nwere current in Ross-shire that a water-cow was seen in or near a loch\non the Greenstone Point, in Gairloch parish. Mr. J. H. Dixon, in his\n\"Gairloch,\" states that about 1840 a water-cow was believed to inhabit\nLoch-na-Beiste, in the same parish, and that a serious attempt was then\nmade to destroy the creature. The proprietor tried to drain the loch,\nwhich, except at one point, is little more than a fathom in depth;\nbut when his efforts failed he threw a quantity of quicklime into the\nwater to poison the monster. It is reasonable to hold that the trout\nwere the only sufferers. The creature in question was described by\ntwo men who saw it as in appearance like \"a good sized boat with the\nkeel turned up.\" Belief in the existence of water-cows prevailed in\nthe south as well as in the north of Scotland. In the Yarrow district\nthere was one inhabiting St. Mary's Loch. Concerning this water-cow,\nHogg, the Ettrick Shepherd, writes: \"A farmer in Bowerhope once got\na breed of her, which he kept for many years until they multiplied\nexceedingly; and he never had any cattle throve so well, until once,\non some outrage or disrespect on the farmer's part towards them,\nthe old dam came out of the lake one pleasant March evening and gave\nsuch a roar that all the surrounding hills shook again, upon which her\nprogeny, nineteen in number, followed her all quietly into the loch,\nand were never more seen.\"\n\nIn the Isle of Man the water-bull was, and perhaps still is believed\nin by the peasantry. It is called in Manx, tarroo-ushtey. There is\nmuch force in Mr. Campbell's conclusion that the old Celts reverenced\na destroying water-god, to whom the horse was sacred, or who assumed\nthe form of a horse. A similar notion may have originated the belief\nin the water-bull.\n\nOther creatures, besides those already mentioned, acted in the capacity\nof water spirits. In Strathmartin, in Forfarshire, is a spring styled\nthe Nine Maidens' Well. These maidens were the daughters of a certain\nDonewalde or Donald in the eighth century, and led, along with their\nfather, a saintly life in the glen of Ogilvy in the same county. Their\nspring at Strathmartin must have been well looked after, for it had\nas its guardian, no less formidable a creature than a dragon. We do\nnot know whether there was any St. George in the vicinity to dispute\npossession with the monster. In Kildonan parish, Sutherland, a stagnant\npool of water, some ten yards long by three broad, was regarded by\nthe inhabitants with superstitious dread. According to tradition,\na pot of gold lay hidden below; but no one could reach the treasure\nas it was guarded by a large black dog with two heads. The Rev. Donald\nSage, when noticing this superstition in his \"Memorabilia Domestica,\"\nremarks, \"It is said that a tenant once had attempted to drain the\nloch and had succeeded, so that the water was all carried off. The only\nremuneration the unfortunate agriculturist received was to be aroused\nfrom his midnight slumbers by a visit from the black dog, which set\nup such a hideous howl as made the hills reverberate and the poor\nman almost die with fright. Furthermore, with this diabolical music,\nhe was regularly serenaded at the midnight hour till he had filled up\nthe drain, and the loch had resumed its former dimensions.\" We do not\nknow whether any later attempt was made to abolish the stagnant pool;\nbut at any rate a dread of the black dog kept it from being again\ndrained till well on in the present century. Sutherland, however,\ncannot claim a monopoly in the matter of a guardian spirit in the\nshape of a dog. Concerning Hound's Pool in Dean Combe parish, Devon,\nthe tradition is that it is haunted by a hound doomed to keep guard\ntill the pool can be emptied by a nutshell with a hole in it. Readers\nof \"Peveril of the Peak\" can hardly fail to remember the Moddey\nDhoo--the black demon-dog--that roamed through Peel Castle, in the\nIsle of Man. St. Michael's Well in Kirkmichael parish, Banffshire,\nhad for its guardian spirit a much smaller animal than any of the\nabove. It showed itself in the form of a fly that kept skimming over\nthe surface of the water. This fly was believed to be immortal. Towards\nthe end of last century the spring lost its reputation for its cures,\nand the guardian spirit shared in its neglect. The writer of the\narticle on the parish, in the \"Old Statistical Account of Scotland,\"\nmentions having met an old man who greatly deplored the degeneracy of\nthe times. A glowing picture is given of this old man's desires. \"If\nthe infirmities of years and the distance of his residence did\nnot prevent him, he would still pay his devotional visits to the\nwell of St. Michael. He would clear the bed of its ooze, opening a\npassage for the streamlet, plant the borders with fragrant flowers,\nand once more, as in the days of youth, enjoy the pleasure of seeing\nthe guardian fly skim in sportive circles over the bubbling waves,\nand with its little proboscis imbibe the panacean dews.\"\n\nConsecrated fish have been reverenced, from of old, in East and\nWest alike. In Syria, at the present day, such fish are preserved\nin fountains; and anciently certain pools in the stream, flowing\npast Ascalon, were the abodes of fish sacred to Derketo, the\nPhoenician Venus, who had a temple there. In our own land the same\ncult prevailed. A curious Cornish legend tells how St. Neot had his\nwell stocked with fish by an angel. These fish were always two in\nnumber. Day by day, the saint had one for dinner, and its place was\nmiraculously supplied to keep up the proper number. One day he fell\nsick, and his servant, contrary to all ascetic precedent, cooked both\nand set them before his master. The saint was horrified, and had both\nthe fish--cooked though they were--put back into the spring. He sought\nforgiveness for the rash act, and lo! the fish became alive once more;\nand as a further sign that the sacrilege was condoned, St. Neot, on\neating his usual daily portion, was at once restored to health. In\nScotland there were various springs containing consecrated fish. Loch\nSiant, in the Isle of Skye, described by MacCulloch as \"the haunt\nof the gentler spirits of air and water,\" abounded in trout; but,\nas Martin informs us, neither the natives nor strangers ever dared\nto kill any of them on account of the esteem in which the water was\nheld. This superstition seems to have been specially cherished in the\nisland, for Martin further says, \"I saw a little well in Kilbride,\nin the south of Skie, with one Trout only in it; the natives are very\ntender of it, and though they often chance to catch it in their wooden\npales, they are very careful to preserve it from being destroyed; it\nhas been there for many years.\" In a well near the church of Kilmore,\nin Lorne, were two fishes held in much respect in the seventeenth\ncentury, and called by the people of the district, Easg Seant, i.e.,\nholie fishes. From Dalyell's \"Darker Superstitions of Scotland\" we\nlearn that, like those belonging to St. Neot, they were always two\nin number: they never varied in size: in colour they were black,\nand according to the testimony of the most aged persons their hue\nnever altered. In Tober Kieran, near Kells, County Meath, Ireland,\nwere two miraculous trout which never changed their appearance. A\nStrathdon legend, narrated by the Rev. Dr. Gregor, thus accounts\nfor the appearance of fish in Tobar Vachar, i.e., St. Machar's Well,\nat Corgarff, a spring formerly held in high honour on account of its\ncures:--\"Once there was a famine in the district, and not a few were\ndying of hunger. The priest's house stood not far from the well. One\nday, during the famine, his housekeeper came to him and told him that\ntheir stock of food was exhausted, and that there was no more to be\ngot in the district. The priest left the house, went to the well,\nand cried to St. Machar for help. On his return he told the servant\nto go to the well the next morning at sunrise, walk three times round\nit, in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, without looking\ninto it, and draw from it a draught of water for him. She carried out\nthe request. On stooping down to draw the water, she saw three fine\nsalmon swimming in the well. They were caught, and served the two\nas food, till supply came to the famine-stricken district from other\nquarters.\" According to a Herefordshire tradition, a fish with a golden\nchain round it was caught in the river Dore, and was afterwards kept in\nthe spring whence the river flows. At Peterchurch, in that county, is a\nsculptured stone bearing a rude representation of the fish in question.\n\nSometimes the guardian spirit of a loch or well was thought of in\nthe vaguest possible way. In that case the genius loci had neither\nname nor shape of any kind, the leaving of an offering being the\nonly recognition of his existence. Occasionally the presiding\nspirit was pictured in the popular imagination in the guise of a\ndemon, commonly with a hazy personality. Callow Pit, in Norfolk,\nwas believed to contain a treasure-chest guarded by such a being. On\none occasion an attempt to raise the chest was made, and was on the\nverge of being successful, when one of the treasure-hunters defied\nthe devil to get his own again. Suddenly the chest was snatched down\ninto the pit, and the ring, attached to the lid, alone remained\nto tell its tale. This ring was afterwards fixed to the door of\nSouthwood Church. At Wavertree, in Lancashire, once stood a monastery\nand beside it was a well. When pilgrims arrived, the occupants of\nthe monastery received their alms. If nothing was given, a demon,\nchained to the bottom of the well, was said to laugh. This notion\nwas either originated or perpetuated by a fifteenth century Latin\ninscription to this effect, \"Qui non dat quad habet. Daemon infra\nridet.\" When wells were dedicated to Christian saints, the latter\nwere usually considered the guardians of the sacred water. This was\nnatural enough. If, for instance, St. Michael was supposed to watch\nover a spring, why should not his aid have been sought in connection\nwith any wished-for cure? It is interesting, however, to note that\nthis was not so in every instance. In many cases the favourite,\nbecause favourable time for visiting a sacred spring, was not the\nfestival of the saint to whom it was dedicated, but, as we shall see\nhereafter, a day quite distinct from such festival. Petitions, too,\nwere frequently addressed not to the saint of the well, but to some\nbeing with a character possessing fewer Christian attributes. All this\npoints to the fact that the origin of well-worship is to be sought,\nnot in the legends of medi\u00e6val Christianity, but in the crude fancies\nof an earlier paganism.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XII.\n\nOFFERINGS AT LOCHS AND SPRINGS.\n\n    Votive Offerings--Gifts usually of Small Value--Toubir-nim-buadh\n    --Rumbling Well--Heath--Rags--St. Wallach's Bath--Pins at St.\n    Wallach's Well--Luckiness of Things Crooked--Pins Rising in Wells\n    --Tobar-na-Glas-a-Coille--Lix Well--Pebbles--Coins--St. Jergon's\n    Well--Silver Wells--Brass Well--Well at Avoch Castle--Introduction\n    of Loch Katrine Water into Glasgow--Some Glasgow Springs--St.\n    Thenew's Well--St. Winifred's Well--Dr. Patrick Anderson--Offerings\n    in France--Gifts in Consecrated Buildings--Philosophy of Votive\n    Offerings--Infection in Folklore--Safety of Offerings--Transference\n    of Disease--Results of Theft of Offerings--Pennies in Holy Loch--\n    Money in Clach-nan-Sul--Well-Dressing--Not Found in Scotland--\n    Festival at Tissington--Roman and English Fontinalia--Royal Oak-Day\n    at Endon.\n\n\nOfferings at lochs and springs have been incidentally mentioned more\nthan once, but the subject is one deserving separate treatment. Wells\nwere not merely so much water, with stones and turf round them, and\nlochs, sheets of water, encompassed by moorland or forest. They were,\nas we have seen, the haunts of spirits, propitious if remembered, but\nresentful if neglected. Hence no one thought it proper to come to them\nempty-handed. The principle was, no gift, no cure. Classical literature\ncontains allusions to such votive offerings. Numa sacrificed a sheep\nto a fountain, and Horace promised to offer to his sweet Bandusian\nspring a kid not without flowers. Near Toulouse, in France, was a\nsacred lake, into whose water the neighbouring tribes anciently threw\nofferings of gold and silver. In our own country, the gifts were, as\na rule, of small intrinsic value. When speaking of Toubir-nim-buadh,\nin St. Kilda, Macaulay says:--\"Near the fountain stood an altar\non which the distressed votaries laid down their oblations. Before\nthey could touch the sacred water with any prospect of success, it\nwas their constant practice to address the genius of the place with\nsupplication and prayer. No one approached him with empty hands. But\nthe devotees were abundantly frugal. The offerings, presented by them,\nwere the poorest acknowledgments that could be made to a superior\nbeing, from whom they had either hopes or fears. Shells and pebbles,\nrags of linen, or stuffs worn out, pins, needles, or rusty nails,\nwere generally all the tribute that was paid; and sometimes, though\nrarely enough, copper coins of the smallest value.\" The appearance\nof this well is thus described by the author of \"Ecclesiological\nNotes\":--\"A low square-shaped massy stone building with a stone roof,\ncovers the spring, which, after forming a pool in the floor of the\ncell, runs down the russet slope like a thread of silver to join the\nstream in the valley.\"\n\nThe offerings, made by the St. Kildians, were indeed much the same as\nthose commonly made in other parts of the country. We get a glimpse\nof what was done in the south of Scotland from Symson, who, in his\nquaint \"Description of Galloway,\" remarks:--\"In this parish of Bootle,\nabout a mile from the kirk, towards the north, is a well called the\nRumbling Well, frequented by a multitude of sick people for all sorts\nof diseases the first Sunday of May; lying there the Saturday night,\nand then drinking of it early in the morning. There is also another\nwell, about a quarter of a mile distant from the former, towards the\neast. This well is made use of by the country people when their cattle\nare troubled with a disease called by them the Connoch. This water they\ncarry in vessels to many parts and wash their beasts with it, and give\nit them to drink. It is, too, remembered that at both the wells they\nleave behind them something by way of a thank-offering. At the first,\nthey leave either money or clothes; at the second, they leave the bands\nand shackles wherewith beasts are usually bound.\" The objects, commonly\nleft on the cairns beside the Holy Pool in Strathfillan, have already\nbeen enumerated. In addition, bunches of heath, tied with worsted,\nwere occasionally left. The Cheese Well, on Minchmoor, in Peeblesshire,\nwas so called from the pieces of cheese thrown into it by passers-by\nas offerings to the fairies. Around a certain spring near Newcastle, in\nNorthumberland, the bushes were so covered with shreds of clothing that\nthe spring went by the name of the Rag Well. At St. Oswald's Well, near\nthe foot of Roseberry Topping, in Yorkshire, the pieces of cloth were\nso numerous that, as a spectator once remarked, they \"might have made\na fair ream in a paper-mill.\" A contributor to \"Notes and Queries,\"\nin 1876, observes:--\"The custom of hanging shreds of rags on trees as\nvotive offerings still obtains in Ireland. I remember as a child to\nhave been surreptitiously taken by an Irish nurse to St. John's Well,\nAghada, County Cork, on the vigil of the saint's day, to be cured\nof whooping-cough by drinking three times of the water of the holy\nwell. I shall never forget the strange spectacle of men and women,\ncreeping on their knees in voluntary devotion, or in obedience to\nenjoined penance, so many times round the well, which was protected by\na grey stone hood, and had a few white thorn trees growing near it,\non the spines of which fluttered innumerable shreds of frieze and\nvary-coloured rags, the votive offerings of devotees and patients.\"\n\nIn the Isle of Man, also, the custom of hanging up rags was at\none time much in vogue. In Malew parish there is Chibber-Undin,\nsignifying the Foundation Well, so called from the foundations\nof a now almost obliterated chapel hard by. The ritual practised\nat the well is thus described by Mr. A. W. Moore in his \"Surnames\nand Place-names of the Isle of Man\":--\"The patients who came to it,\ntook a mouthful of water, retaining it in their mouths till they had\ntwice walked round the well. They then took a piece of cloth from a\ngarment which they had worn, wetted it from the water from the well,\nand hung it on the hawthorn tree which grew there. When the cloth\nhad rotted away the cure was supposed to be effected.\" Evidence from\nWales to the same effect is furnished by Professor Rhys in \"Folklore\"\nfor September, 1892. He there gives the following information, lately\nsent to him by a friend, about a Glamorganshire holy well situated\nbetween Coychurch and Bredgled:--\"It is the custom,\" he writes,\n\"for people suffering from any malady to dip a rag in the water,\nand bathe the affected part. The rag is then placed on a tree close\nto the well. When I passed it, about three years ago, there were\nhundreds of these shreds covering the tree, and some had evidently\nbeen placed there very recently.\" Professor Rhys also refers to other\nGlamorganshire springs where rags are to be seen hanging on trees.\n\nScottish examples of the same superstition are numerous. At\nMontblairie, in Banffshire, pieces of linen and woollen stuffs\nwere hung on the boughs beside a consecrated well, and farthings and\nbodles were thrown into the spring itself. The bushes around a well at\nHouston, in Renfrewshire, were at one time the recipients of many a\nrag. Hugh Miller, who took so keen an interest in all such relics of\nsuperstition, has not failed to notice the custom as practised near\nhis native town of Cromarty. In his \"Scenes and Legends of the North\nof Scotland,\" he says:--\"It is not yet twenty years since a thorn\nbush, which formed a little canopy over the spring of St. Bennet,\nused to be covered anew every season with little pieces of rag, left\non it as offerings to the saint by sick people who came to drink\nof the water.\" St. Wallach's Bath, in Strathdeveron, was a popular\nhealth-resort till the beginning of the present century. Non-thriving\nchildren were brought to it annually in large numbers. No longer\nago than 1874 an invalid from the seaside sought its aid. The bath--a\ncavity in the rock fully a yard in depth--is close to the river, and is\nsupplied with water from a scanty spring, several yards higher up the\nslope. The supply trickles over the edge of the bath into the river,\nsome four feet below. A bib or other part of the child's clothing was\nhung on a neighbouring tree or thrown into the bath. Sometimes when the\nDeveron was in flood, it submerged the bath, and swept these offerings\ndown to the sea. As previously mentioned, St. Wallach's Well, hard by,\nwas much resorted to for the cure of sore eyes. Pins were the usual\nofferings. They were left in a hole in a stone beside the well. May\nwas the favourite season for visiting the spring, and by the end of\nthe month the hole was often full of pins. This was the case down to\na comparatively recent date.\n\nOfferings, such as pins, were often thrown into the well itself instead\nof being left beside its margin. Near Wooler, in Northumberland,\non the southern slopes of the Cheviots, is a spring locally\nstyled the Pin Well. A fairy was believed to make it her home, and\nmaidens, as they passed, dropped in a crooked pin to gain her good\ngraces. Crooked pins were rather popular, anything so bent--e.g.,\na crooked sixpence--being deemed lucky. In the case of more than\none English spring the notion prevailed that, when a pin was thrown\nin, the votary would see the pins already there rise to meet the\nnewcomer. But faith was essential. Otherwise the mysterious vision\nwould be withheld. We do not know that a corresponding belief prevailed\nnorth of the Tweed. Between the glens of Corgarff and Glengairn in\nAberdeenshire, is the spring known as Tobar-na-Glas-a-Coille or The\nWell in the Grey Wood. A pin or other piece of metal had to be dropped\ninto it by anyone taking a draught of its water. Whoever neglected this\nduty, and at any time afterwards again drew water from the spring,\nwas doomed to die of thirst. Some of these votive pins were found at\nthe bottom of the well, no longer ago than the autumn of 1891.\n\nProbably very few travellers by the Callander and Oban railway are\naware of the existence of an interesting, but now neglected holy\nwell, only a few yards distant from the line. It is situated at the\nentrance of rugged Glen Ogle, and from the spot a fine view can be had\nof Ben Lawers, Ben More, and Ben Loy. The well is on Wester Lix farm,\nand is locally known as the Lix Well. The spring rises in one of the\nmany hillocks in the neighbourhood. The top of the hillock had been\nlevelled. Round the spring is built a wall of stone and turf, about\ntwo feet in height, and shaped like a horse-shoe, the opening being\nto the east. The distance across the enclosed space is about fourteen\nfeet. In the centre is the well, in the form of a parallelogram, two\nfeet by one and a half, with a long drain leading from it through\nthe opening of the horse-shoe. This drain was at one time covered\nwith flagstones. Four shapely lintels of micaceous schist enclose\nthe well. The spot used to be frequented at the beginning of May,\nthe wall already referred to forming a convenient resting-place\nfor visitors. Quartz pebbles were the favourite offerings on these\noccasions. Immediately behind the well, quite a small cairn of them can\nstill be seen. Pebbles were among the cheapest possible offerings, the\nonly cost being the trouble of picking them up. Coins were rather more\nexpensive; but, as they were commonly of small value, the outlay was\ntrifling even in their case. The more fervent the zeal of the votary,\nthe greater would doubtless be the length he or she would go in the\nmatter of expense. In the parish of Culsalmond, in Aberdeenshire,\na gold coin of James I. of Scotland was found associated with an\nancient healing-well. Such liberality, however, was rare. After\ndescribing St. Maelrubha's Well on Innis Maree in the \"Proceedings\nof the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland,\" volume iv., Sir Arthur\nMitchell observes, \"Near it stands an oak tree, which is studded with\nnails. To each of these was originally attached a piece of the clothing\nof some patient who had visited the spot. There are hundreds of nails,\nand one has still fastened to it a faded ribbon. Two bone buttons and\ntwo buckles we also found nailed to the tree. Countless pennies and\nhalfpennies are driven edge-ways into the wood--over many the bark\nis closing, over many it has already closed.\" Within recent years,\nanother visitor from the south examined one of the coins stuck into\nthe tree. It was ostensibly silver, but proved on examination to\nbe counterfeit. The pilgrim, who left it as an offering, evidently\nthought that the saint could be easily imposed upon.\n\nAs in the case of the pins, the coins, given as offerings were, as\na rule, thrown into the spring itself. As an example, we may cite\nthe case of St. Jergon's or St. Querdon's Well in Troqueer parish,\nKirkcudbrightshire. In an article in the \"Transactions of the Dumfries\nand Galloway Natural History Society\" for 1870, Mr. Patrick Dudgeon\nremarks, \"Taking advantage of the very dry summer of last year when\nthe spring was unusually low, I had the well thoroughly cleaned out\nand put in order, it having been almost obliterated by cattle being\nallowed to use it as a watering-place. Several hundreds of coins were\nfound at the bottom--almost all being of the smallest description\nof copper coin, dating from the time of Elizabeth to that of George\nIII.... None were of any particular interest or value; the greatest\nnumber are Scottish, and belong to the time of James VI., Charles\nI., and Charles II. The circumstance that no coins were found of\nan older date than the reign of Elizabeth is not at all conclusive\nthat offerings of a similar nature had not been made at much earlier\nperiods. It will be observed that the oldest coins are the thinnest,\nand that, although many are as thin as a sheet of writing paper, the\nlegend on them is perfectly distinct and legible; this, of course,\nwould not have been the case had the thinning process been owing to\nwear and tear. When first taken out, they were perfectly bright--as\nnew copper--and had all the appearance of having been subjected\nto the action of an acid. Something in the water has acted very\nslowly as a solvent on the metal, and, acting quite equally over\nthe whole surface, has reduced the coins to their present state:\nit is, therefore, reasonable to conclude that, owing to the solvent\nproperties of the water, any coins thrown into the well anterior to the\ndate of those found may have been completely dissolved.\" Mr. Dudgeon\nmentions having been told by old people in the neighbourhood, that they\nremembered the time, when rags and ribbons were hung on the bushes\naround the well. It is a remarkable circumstance that even since the\ncleaning out of the spring above referred to, coins have been thrown\ninto it. A recent examination of the spot brought these to light,\nand showed the persistence of this curious phase of well-worship.\n\nWhat would be styled \"a collection in silver\" in modern ecclesiastical\nlanguage was sometimes regarded with special favour. The name\nof the Silver Wells in different parts of the country can thus\nbe accounted for. There is a Siller Well in Walston parish,\nLanarkshire. Arbroath, in Forfarshire; Alvah, in Banffshire; and\nFraserburgh, in Aberdeenshire, have each their Silver Well. At Turriff,\nin the last-mentioned county, there is a farm on the estate of Gask\ncalled Silver Wells after a local spring. At Trelevean, in Cornwall,\nis a spring known as the Brass Well. Its name, however, is derived not\nfrom the nature of the offerings left there, but from the colour of the\nscum on its surface. Close to the ruins of Avoch Castle, in the Black\nIsle, is a well hollowed out of the conglomerate rock. Tradition says,\nthat the treasures of the castle were thrown into it about the middle\nof the seventeenth century. This was done, not by way of offering a\ngift to the presiding spirit of the water, but to prevent the valuables\nfrom falling into the hands of Cromwell's troops. A diamond ring was\ndropped, not very long ago, into St. Molio's Well, on Holy Island,\nnear Lamlash. It fell into the water by accident, and, after remaining\nin it for some time, was found and restored to its owner.\n\nThe present ample water-supply of Glasgow from Loch Katrine was\nintroduced in 1859. For about fifty years before that date, the city\nlooked mainly to the Clyde for the supply of its daily needs. Still\nearlier, it depended entirely on its wells. In 1736 these are believed\nto have numbered about thirty in all. Among the best known were the\nDeanside or Meadow Well, Bogle's Well, Barrasyett Well near the foot\nof Saltmarket, the Priest's or Minister's Well and Lady Well beside\nthe Molendinar, the Arns Well in the Green--so-called from the alders\non its brink, and St. Thenew's Well, near what is now St. Enoch's\nSquare. Not far from the well was a chapel dedicated to St. Thenew,\nwith a graveyard round it. Some remains of the chapel were to be\nseen in 1736, when M'Ure wrote his history of the city. Dr. Andrew\nMacGeorge, in his \"Old Glasgow,\" when describing St. Thenew's Well,\nremarks, \"It was shaded by an old tree which drooped over the well,\nand which remained till the end of the last century. On this tree,\nthe devotees, who frequented the well, were accustomed to nail, as\nthank-offerings, small bits of tin-iron--probably manufactured for that\npurpose by a craftsman in the neighbourhood--representing the parts\nof the body supposed to have been cured by the virtues of the sacred\nspring, such as eyes, hands, feet, ears, and others.\" Dr. MacGeorge\nfurther mentions that the well was cleaned out about a hundred years\nago. On that occasion there were \"picked out from among the debris at\nthe bottom several of these old votive offerings which had dropped into\nit from the tree, the stump of which was at that time still standing.\"\n\nHorace tells of a shipwrecked sailor, hanging up his garments, as\na thank-offering in the temple of the divinity who delivered him\nfrom the angry sea. In like manner, Pennant describes what he saw\nat St. Winifred's Well, in North Wales. \"All infirmities,\" he says,\n\"incident to the human body, met with relief; the votive crutches,\nthe barrows and other proofs of cures, to this moment remain as\nevidence pendent over the well.\" In his \"Spring of Kinghorn Craig,\"\npublished in Edinburgh in 1618, Dr. Patrick Anderson has some curious\nremarks on the subject of votive offerings. He speaks of wells as\nbeing \"all tapestried about with old rags, as certaine signes and\nsacraments wherewith they arle the well with ane arls-pennie of\ntheir health.\" He continues, \"So suttle is that false knave making\nthem believe that it is only the virtue of the water, and no thing\nelse. Such people cannot say with David, 'The Lord is my helper,'\nbut the Devill.\" What can still be seen on the other side of the\nEnglish Channel is thus described by the Rev. C. N. Barham, in an\narticle on Ragged Relics, in \"The Antiquary\" for January, 1893:--\"At\nWierre Effroy, in France, where the water of St. Godeleine's Well is\nesteemed efficacious for ague, rheumatism, gout, and all affections\nof the limbs, a heterogeneous collection of crutches, bandages,\ncoils of rags, and other rejected adjuncts of medical treatment, is\nto be seen hanging upon the surrounding shrubs. They are intended\nas thank-offerings and testimonies of restoration. Other springs,\nfamous for curing ophthalmia, abound in the same district, and here\ntoo, bandages, shades, guards, and rags innumerable are exhibited.\"\n\nThe leaving of offerings at wells finds a parallel in the practice,\nat one time common, of depositing gifts in consecrated buildings. The\nchapel of St. Tears, in the parish of Wick, Caithness, used to be\nvisited on Childermas (December 28th) by devotees, who left in it\npieces of bread and cheese as offerings to the souls of the Holy\nInnocents slain by Herod. This was done till about the beginning of\nthe present century. Till even a later date it was customary for\nthe inhabitants of Mirelandorn to go to the Kirk of Moss, in the\nsame parish, on Christmas before sunrise. They took bread and cheese\nas offerings, and placed them along with a silver coin on a certain\nstone. The Kirk of Moss was dedicated to Duthac, patron saint of Tain;\nand the gifts were doubtless destined for him. On Eilean M\u00f2r is a\nchapel said to have been built by Charmaig, the tutelar saint of the\nisland. In a recess in this building is a stone coffin, anciently used\nfor the interment of priests. The following statement occurs in the\n\"Old Statistical Account of Scotland\":--\"The coffin, also, for ages\nback, has served the saint as a treasury; and this, perhaps, might be\nthe purpose for which it was originally intended. Till of late, not\na stranger set foot on the island who did not conciliate his favour\nby dropping a small coin into a chink between its cover and side.\"\n\nWhen we examine the motives prompting to the practice under review,\nwe can discover the working of a principle, vaguely grasped perhaps,\nbut sufficiently understood to serve as a guide to action. This crude\nphilosophy was two-fold. On the one hand, the gift left at a loch\nor spring was what has been facetiously styled a \"retaining fee.\" It\nsecured the goodwill of the genius loci, and thereby guaranteed to a\ncertain extent the fulfilment of the suppliant's desire. This desire,\nas we have seen, was commonly the removal of a definite disease. On\nthe other hand, the disease to be removed was in some mysterious way\nidentified with the offering. The latter was the symbol, or rather\nthe embodiment of the former, and, accordingly, to leave the gift was\nto leave the ailment--the patient being thus freed from both. The\ncorollary to this was, that whoever removed the offering took away\nalso the disease represented by it. According to a well-established\nlaw of medical science, infection is transferred from one person\nto another by clothing, or indeed by whatever comes into contact\nwith the morbid particles from the patient's body. But infection\nin folklore is something different from this. Disease of any kind,\nwhether usually reckoned infectious or not, passed via the offering to\nthe person lifting it. Hence such gifts had a charmed existence, and\nwere as safe as if under the sweep of the \"Ancient Monuments Protection\nAct.\" The Rev. Dr. Gregor thus expresses the feeling on this point,\nas it prevailed till lately in the north-east of Scotland:--\"No one\nwould have been foolhardy enough to have even touched what had been\nleft, far less to have carried it off. A child, or one who did not\nknow, was most carefully instructed why such things were left in and\naround the well, and strict charge was laid not to touch or carry\nany of them off. Whoever carried off one of such relics contracted\nthe disease of the one who left it.\"\n\nThe notion that disease can be transferred lies at the root of various\nfolk-cures. Dalyell, in his \"Darker Superstitions,\" remarks, \"It is\nsaid that, in the Highlands, a cat is washed in the water which has\nserved for the ablution of an invalid, as if the disease absorbed from\none living creature could be received by another, instead of being let\nfree.\" In some parts of the Highlands, a common cure for an ailing cow\nwas to make the animal swallow a live trout, so that the disease might\npass from the one creature to the other. This was done not long ago,\nat a farm near Golspie, in Sutherland. In Norfolk, as a remedy for\nwhooping-cough, a spider was caught, tied up in a piece of muslin,\nand pinned over the mantelpiece. The cough disappeared when the spider\ndied. In Gloucestershire, ague was cured in the following way:--A\nliving snail was worn in a bag round the neck for nine days. The\nsnail was then thrown upon the fire when it was believed to shake as\nif with ague, and the patient recovered. Many more illustrations of\nthis principle might be given, but the above are sufficient to show\nhow it was applied.\n\nSymson records an instance in Galloway of swift vengeance following\nthe theft of certain votive offerings. He says, \"Hereabout, i.e.,\nnear Larg, in Minnigaff parish, is a well called the Gout Well of\nLarg, of which they tell this story--how that a piper stole away\nthe offering left at this well, but when he was drinking of ale,\nwhich he intended to pay with the money he had taken away, the gout,\nas they say, seized on him, of which he could not be cured, but at\nthat well, having first restored to it the money he had formerly taken\naway.\" Accident, rather than disease, sometimes resulted from such\nsacrilegious acts. The offerings were the property of the guardian\nspirit who was quick to resent their removal and to punish the doer of\nthe deed. In the district of Ardnamurchan is a cave, associated with\nColumba, who there baptised some freebooters. The water used for the\npurpose lay in a hollow of the rock, and, in after times, votive gifts\nwere left beside it. On one occasion, a young man stole some of these,\nbut he did not remain long unpunished, for before reaching home he fell\nand broke his leg. Tobar-fuar-M\u00f2rie, i.e., The big cold Well, situated\nat the foot of a steep hill in the parish of Corgarff, Aberdeenshire,\nconsists of three springs about a yard distant from each other. Each\nspring formerly cured a separate disease--one, blindness; the other,\ndeafness; and the third, lameness. The guardian spirit of the springs\nlived under a large stone called the kettle stone, because below it\nwas a kettle where she stored her votive offerings. She was somewhat\nexacting in her demands, for no cure could be expected unless gold\nwas presented. These particulars were obtained in the district by\nthe Rev. Dr. Gregor, who records them in \"Folklore\" for March, 1892,\nand adds, \"If one tried to rob the spirit, death by some terrible\naccident soon followed. My informant, more than fifty years ago,\nwhen a lad, resolved to remove the kettle stone from its position,\nand so become possessor of the spirit's gold. He accordingly set out\nwith a few companions all provided with picks and spades, to displace\nthe stone. After a good deal of hard labour the stone was moved from\nits site, but no kettle full of gold was found. An old woman met the\nlads on their way to their homes, and when she learnt what they had\nbeen doing, she assured them they would all die within a few weeks,\nand that a terrible death would befall the ring-leader.\"\n\nThat the guardians of springs look well after their possessions in the\nnew world, as well as in the old, is proved by the following quotation\nfrom Sir J. Lubbock's \"Origin of Civilisation\":--\"In North Mexico,\"\nhe says, \"Lieutenant Whipple found a sacred spring which, from time\nimmemorial 'had been held sacred to the rain-god.' No animal may drink\nof its waters. It must be annually cleansed with ancient vases, which,\nhaving been transmitted from generation to generation by the caciques,\nare then placed upon the walls, never to be removed. The frog, the\ntortoise, and the rattlesnake represented upon them, are sacred to\nMontezuma, the patron of the place, who would consume by lightning\nany sacrilegious hand that should dare to take the relics away.\" With\nthe growth of enlightenment men's minds rose above such delusions. Had\nit not been so, the Holy Wells in our land would still have presented\nthe appearance of rag fairs, or served as museums for old coins. Holy\nLoch, in Dunnet, Caithness, used to be much resorted to as a place of\nhealing. The invalids walked or were carried round the lake and threw\na penny into the water. Some of these pennies have been picked up from\ntime to time by persons who have outgrown the old superstition. The\nhollow in the Clach-nan-Sul at Balquhidder, already referred to,\ncontained small coins placed there by those who sought a cure for\ntheir sore eyes. Mr. J. Mackintosh Gow was told by some one in the\ndistrict, that \"people, when going to church, having forgotten their\nsmall change, used in passing to put their hands in the well and find\na coin.\" Mr. Gow's informant mentioned that he had done so himself.\n\nIn the ceremony known as \"well-dressing\" or \"well-flowering,\"\nthe offerings took the form of blossoms and green boughs. For\ndifferent reasons Scotland has not been abreast of England in floral\nmatters. Only in the latter country did the practice take root, and\neven there only within a somewhat limited area. We must seek for its\nhome in Derbyshire and the adjacent counties. At some places it has\ndied out, while at others it still survives, and forms the excuse for a\npleasant holiday. At Bonchurch, Isle of Wight, indeed, St. Boniface's\nWell was decorated with wreaths of flowers on the saint's day; but\nthis was an exceptional instance so far south. Within comparatively\nrecent years well-flowering has, at one or two places, been either\ninstituted, as at Belper, in Derbyshire, in 1838, or revived, as\nat St. Alkmund's Well in Derby, in 1870. The clergy and choir of\nSt. Alkmund's Church celebrate the day by meeting at the church and\nwalking in procession to the well. Writing in the seventeenth century,\nAubrey says, \"In Cheshire, when they went in perambulation, they did\nbless the springs, i.e., they did read the Gospel at them, and did\nbelieve the water was the better.\" At Droitwich, in Worcestershire,\na salt spring, dedicated to St. Richard, used to be annually adorned\nwith flowers.\n\nA correspondent of the \"Gentleman's Magazine\" of 1794 remarks, \"In\nthe village of Tissington, in the county of Derby, a place remarkable\nfor fine springs of water, it has been a custom, time immemorial,\non every Holy Thursday, to decorate the wells with boughs of trees,\ngarlands of tulips, and other flowers, placed in various fancied\ndevices, and, after prayers for the day at the church, for the\nparson and singers to pray and sing psalms at the wells.\" In Hone's\n\"Every Day Book,\" under date 1826, are the following remarks by a\ncorrespondent:--\"Tissington 'well-dressing' is a festivity which not\nonly claims a high antiquity, but is one of the few country f\u00eates which\nare kept up with anything like the ancient spirit. It is one which is\nheartily loved and earnestly anticipated; one which draws the hearts\nof those who were brought up there, but whom fortune has cast into\ndistant places, homewards with an irresistible charm. I have not had\nthe pleasure of witnessing it, but I have had that of seeing the joy\nwhich sparkled in the eyes of the Tissingtonians as they talked of\nits approach and of their projected attendance.\" The festival is still\nheld in honour at Tissington, and elaborate preparations continue to\nbe made for its celebration. Flowers are arranged in patterns to form\nmottoes and texts of Scripture, and also devices, such as crosses,\ncrowns, and triangles, while green boughs are added to complete the\npicture. A correspondent of \"Notes and Queries\" thus describes the\ndecorations on Ascension Day in 1887: \"The name of 'well-dressing'\nscarcely gives a proper idea of these beautiful structures. They are\nrather fountains or cascades, the water descending from above, and\nnot rising as in a well. Their height varies from ten to twelve feet,\nand the original stone frontage is on this day hidden by a wooden\nerection in the form of an arch or some other elegant design. Over\nthese planks a layer of plaster of Paris is spread, and whilst it is\nwet, flowers without leaves are stuck in it, forming a most beautiful\nmosaic pattern. On one the large yellow field ranunculus was arranged\nin letters, and so a verse of Scripture or of a hymn was recalled to\nthe spectator's mind. On another a white dove was sculptured in the\nplaster and set in a ground-work of the humble violet. The daisy,\nwhich our poet Chaucer would gaze upon for hours together, formed a\ndiaper-work of red and white; the pale yellow primrose was set off by\nthe rich red of the 'ribes.' Nor were the coral berries of the holly,\nmountain ash, and yew forgotten; they are carefully gathered and\nstored in the winter to be ready for the May Day f\u00eate. It is scarcely\npossible to describe the vivid colouring and beautiful effect of these\nfavourites of nature arranged in wreaths and garlands and devices\nof every hue. And then the pure sparkling water, which pours down\nfrom the midst of them on to the rustic moss-grown stones beneath,\ncompletes the enchantment, and makes this feast of the 'well-flowering'\none of the most beautiful of all the old customs that are left in\nMerrie England.\" Well-flowering also prevails at Buxton, and is a\nsource of interest to the many visitors to that airy health resort.\n\nSuch floral devices do not now rank as votive gifts. They are merely\ndecorations. The custom may have originated in the Roman Fontinalia. At\nany rate it had at one time a corresponding object. The Fontinalia\nformed an annual flower-festival in honour of the nymphs inhabiting\nsprings. Joyous bands visited the fountains, crowned them with boughs,\nand threw nosegays into their sparkling water. The parallelism\nbetween the Roman and the English Fontinalia is too well marked\nto be overlooked. In Derbyshire and Staffordshire the ceremony of\nwell-dressing is usually observed on Ascension Day. In more than one\ninstance the festival has attracted to itself various old English\nsports commonly associated with May Day. Among these may be mentioned\nMay-pole and Morris-dancing and crowning the May-queen.\n\nAt Endon, in Staffordshire, the festival is celebrated on Royal Oak\nDay (May 29th), or on the following day if the 29th is a Sunday. The\nfollowing account--somewhat abbreviated--is from the \"Staffordshire\nEvening Post\" of 31st May, 1892, and gives some interesting particulars\nabout the festival: \"The secluded village of Endon yesterday celebrated\nthe well-dressing feast. This institution, dear to the heart of every\nloyal inhabitant, holds foremost rank in the local calends, for it is\nnot a holiday of ordinary frivolous significance, but a thanksgiving\nfestival. The proceeds, which generally amount to some hundreds of\npounds, are divided between the poor of the parish and the parochial\nschools. There are two wells at Endon. One is very old and almost dry,\nand has long since fallen into disuse. The other alone supplies the\nvillage with water. From a very early hour in the morning the whole\nvillage was astir, and those people who were gifted with taste and\na delicate touch busied themselves in bedecking the wells for the\ncoming ceremony. As the day advanced, crowds of visitors poured in\nfrom all parts of the potteries; and towards evening the village green\nprobably held no fewer than two thousand people. The proceedings,\nwhich were under the personal guidance of the vicar, commenced a\nlittle before two o'clock. A procession of about a hundred and twenty\nSunday-school children was formed at the new well, with the Brownedge\nvillage brass band at its head. The children carried little flags,\nwhich they vigorously waved in excess of glee. The band struck up\nbravely, and the procession marched in good order up the hill to\nthe old parish church, where a solemn service was conducted. The\nvillagers attended in overwhelming numbers, and completely thronged the\nbuilding. There was a fully surpliced choir, whose singing, coupled\nwith the music of the organ, greatly added to the impressiveness of\nthe service. Hymns and psalms, selected by the vicar as applicable to\na thanksgiving service for water, were sung by the congregation in\nspirited style. At the conclusion of the service the procession was\nreformed, the band leading the way back to the new well. Upon arrival,\nthe clergy and choir, who had retained their surplices, walked slowly\nround the well, singing 'Rock of Ages' and 'A living stream as crystal\nclear.' Both wells were very beautifully decorated; but the new well\nwas a masterpiece of elaborated art. A large wooden framework had been\nerected in front of the well, and upon this a smooth surface of soft\nclay had been laid. The clay was thickly studded with many thousands\nof flower heads in great variety of kind and hue, and in pictorial as\nwell as geometrical arrangement. There were two very pretty figures of\npeacocks in daisies, bluebells, and dahlias, and a resplendent motto,\n'O, ye wells! bless ye the Lord!' (from the Benedicite) garnished the\nsummit. The old well was almost deserted, although its decorations\nwere well worthy of inspection. Its motto, 'Give me this water'\n(from the fourth chapter of St. John) was very finely traced, and\nits centre figures--two white doves and a crown--were sufficiently\nstriking. May-pole dances, including the crowning of the May-queen,\noccupied the greater part of the afternoon. In the evening the\nband played for dancing, and there was a repetition of the May-pole\ndances. After dusk there was a display of fireworks.\"\n\nThough, as already stated, well-dressing was unknown north of the\nTweed, any account of votive offerings would be incomplete without\na reference to the picturesque ceremony.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIII.\n\nWEATHER AND WELLS.\n\n    Importance of Weather--Its Place in Folklore--Raising the\n    Wind--Witches and Wind-charms--Blue-stone in Fladda--Well in\n    Gigha--Tobernacoragh--Routing-well--Water Cross--Stone in British\n    Columbia--Other Rain-charms--Survivals in Folk-customs--Sympathetic\n    Magic--Dulyn--Barenton--Tobar Faolan--St. Fumac's Image at\n    Botriphnie--Molly Grime.\n\n\nIn all ages much attention has been given to the weather, with special\nreference to its bearings on human well-being. As Mr. R. Inwards truly\nobserves, in his \"Weather-lore,\" \"From the earliest times hunters,\nshepherds, sailors, and tillers of the earth have from sheer necessity\nbeen led to study the teachings of the winds, the waves, the clouds,\nand a hundred other objects from which the signs of coming changes in\nthe state of the air might be foretold. The weather-wise amongst these\nprimitive people would be naturally the most prosperous, and others\nwould soon acquire the coveted foresight by a closer observance of the\nsame objects from which their successful rivals guessed the proper time\nto provide against a storm, or reckoned on the prospects of the coming\ncrops.\" Hence, naturally enough, the weather has an important place in\nfolklore. Various prognostications concerning it have been drawn from\nsun and moon, from animals and flowers; while certain meteorological\nphenomena have, in their turn, been regarded as prophetic of mundane\nevents. Thus, in the astrological treatise entitled \"The Knowledge\nof Things Unknown,\" we read that \"Thunder in January signifieth the\nsame year great winds, plentiful of corn and cattle peradventure;\nin February, many rich men shall die in great sickness; in March,\ngreat winds, plenty of corn, and debate amongst people; in April, be\nfruitful and merry with the death of wicked men;\" and so on through the\nother months of the year. One can easily understand why thunder should\nbe counted peculiarly ominous. The effects produced on the mind by its\nmysterious noise, and on the nerves by the electricity in the air, are\napt to lead superstitious people to expect strange events. Particular\nnotice was taken of the weather on certain ecclesiastical festivals,\nand omens were drawn from its condition. Thus, from \"The Husbandman's\nPractice,\" we learn that \"The wise and cunning masters in astrology\nhave found that man may see and mark the weather of the holy Christmas\nnight, how the whole year after shall be in his making and doing, and\nthey shall speak on this wise. When on the Christmas night and evening\nit is very fair and clear weather, and is without wind and without\nrain, then it is a token that this year will be plenty of wine and\nfruit. But if the contrariwise, foul weather and windy, so shall it\nbe very scant of wine and fruit. But if the wind arise at the rising\nof the sun, then it betokeneth great dearth among beasts and cattle\nthis year. But if the wind arise at the going down of the same, then\nit signifieth death to come among kings and other great lords.\" We do\nnot suppose that anyone nowadays attends to such Yule-tide auguries,\nbut there are not wanting those who have a lingering belief in the\npower of Candlemas and St. Swithin's Day to foretell the sort of\nweather to be expected in the immediate future.\n\nWitches were believed to be able to raise the wind at their\npleasure. In a confession made at Auldearn in Nairnshire, in the\nyear 1662, certain women, accused of sorcery, said, \"When we raise\nthe wind we take a rag of cloth and wet it in water, and we take a\nbeetle and knock the rag on a stone, and we say thrice over--\n\n\n       'I knock this rag upon this stane,\n        To raise the wind in the devil's name.\n        It shall not lie until I please again!'\"\n\n\nWhen the wind was to be allayed the rag was dried. About 1670 an\nattempt was made to drain some two thousand acres of land belonging\nto the estate of Dun in Forfarshire. The Dronner's, i.e., Drainer's\nDyke--remains of which are still to be seen behind the Montrose\nInfirmary--was built in connection with the scheme. But the work\nwas destroyed by a terrible storm, caused, it was believed, by a\ncertain Meggie Cowie--the last to be burned for witchcraft in the\ndistrict. About eighty years before, a notable witch-trial in the\ntime of James VI. had to do with the raising of a storm. A certain\nwoman, Agnes Sampson, residing in Haddingtonshire, confessed that she\nbelonged to a company of two hundred witches, and that they were all\nin the habit of sailing along the coast in sieves to meet the devil\nat the kirk of North Berwick. After one of these interviews the woman\ntook a cat and christened it, and, after fixing to it parts of a dead\nman's body, threw the creature into the sea in presence of the other\nwitches. The king, who was then returning from Denmark with his bride,\nwas delayed by contrary winds, and such a tempest arose in the Firth\nof Forth that a vessel, containing valuable gifts for the queen on her\narrival, sank between Burntisland and Leith. The Rev. T. F. Thiselton\nDyer makes the suggestion in his \"Folklore of Shakespeare,\" that it\nwas probably to these contrary winds that the author of \"Macbeth\"\nalludes when he makes the witch say--\n\n\n       \"Though his bark cannot be lost,\n        Yet it shall be tempest-tost.\"\n\n\nEven down to the end of last century, and probably later, some\nwell-educated people believed that the devil had the power of raising\nthe wind. The phrase, the prince of the power of the air, applied\nto him in Scripture, was interpreted in a literal way. \"The Diary of\nthe Rev. John Mill,\" minister in Shetland from 1740 till 1803, bears\nwitness to such a belief. In his introduction to the work, the editor,\nMr. Gilbert Goudie, tells us: \"He (Mill) was often heard talking aloud\nwith his (to others) unseen foe; but those who heard him declared\nthat he spoke in an unknown tongue, presumably Hebrew. After one of\nthese encounters the worthy man was heard muttering, 'Well, let him\ndo his worst; the wind aye in my face will not hurt me.' This was in\nresponse to a threat of the devil, that wherever he (Mill) went, he\n(Satan) should be a-blowing 'wind in his teeth,' in consequence of\nwhich Mill was unable ever after to get passage out of Shetland.\" On\nthe 5th of November, 1605, a terrible storm swept over the north of\nScotland and destroyed part of the cathedral at Dornoch. As is well\nknown, the day in question was selected by Guy Fawkes for blowing up\nthe Houses of Parliament. In his \"Cathedral of Caithness, at Dornoch,\"\nMr. Hugh F. Campbell tells us: \"When the news of the gunpowder plot\nreached the north, the co-incidence of time at once impressed the\nimagination of a superstitious age. The storm was invested with an\nelement of the marvellous.\" Mr. Campbell then quotes the following\ncurious passage from Sir Robert Gordon, specially referring to Satan's\nconnection with the tempest:--\"The same verie night that this execrable\nplott should have been put in execution all the inner stone pillars of\nthe north syd of the body of the cathedral church at Dornogh--lacking\nthe rooff before--were blowen from the verie roots and foundation\nquyt and clein over the outer walls of the church: such as hath sein\nthe same. These great winds did even then prognosticate and forshew\nsome great treason to be at hand; and as the divell was busie then\nto trouble the ayre, so wes he bussie by these hiss fyrebrands to\ntrouble the estate of Great Britane.\"\n\nThe notion that storms, especially when accompanied by thunder\nand lightning, were the work of evil spirits, came out prominently\nduring the middle ages in connection with bells. The ringing of bells\nwas believed to drive away the demons, and so allay the tempest. A\nsingular superstition concerning the causation of storms was brought\nto light in Hungary during the autumn of 1892 in connection with\nthe fear of cholera. At Kidzaes a patient died of what was thought\nto be that disease, and a post mortem examination was ordered by\nthe local authorities. Strenuous opposition, however, was offered\nby the villagers on the ground that the act would cause such a\nhail-storm as would destroy their crops. Feeling ran so high that\na riot was imminent, and the project had to be abandoned. Eric, the\nSwedish king, could control the winds through his enchantments. By\nturning his cap he was able to bring a breeze from whatever quarter\nhe wished. Mr. G. L. Gomme, in his \"Ethnology in Folklore,\" remarks,\n\"At Kempoch Point, in the Firth of Clyde, is a columnar rock called\nthe Kempoch Stane, from whence a saint was wont to dispense favourable\nwinds to those who paid for them, and unfavourable to those who did\nnot put confidence in his powers--a tradition which seems to have been\ncarried on by the Innerkip witches who were tried in 1662, and some\nportions of which still linger among the sailors of Greenock.\" The\nstone in question consists of a block of grey mica schist six feet in\nheight and two in diameter. It is locally known as Granny Kempoch. In\nformer times sailors and fishermen sought to ensure good fortune on\nthe sea by walking seven times round the stone. While making their\nrounds they carried in their hand a basket of sand, and at the same\ntime uttered an eerie chant. Newly-married couples used also to walk\nround the stone by way of luck.\n\nAt the beginning of the present century a certain woman, Bessie Miller\nby name, lived in Stromness, in Orkney, and eked out her livelihood by\nselling winds to mariners. Her usual charge was sixpence. For this sum,\nas Sir W. Scott tells us, \"she boiled her kettle, and gave the barque\nadvantage of her prayers, for she disclaimed all unlawful arts. The\nwind, thus petitioned for, was sure to arrive, though sometimes the\nmariners had to wait some time for it.\" Her house was on the brow\nof the steep hill above the town, \"and for exposure might have been\nthe abode of Eolus himself.\" At the time of Sir Walter's visit to\nStromness, Bessie Miller was nearly a hundred years old, and appeared\n\"withered and dried up like a mummy.\" We make her acquaintance in\nthe \"Pirate,\" under the name of Norna of the Fitful Head. In his\n\"Rambles in the Far North,\" Mr. R. M. Fergusson tells of another\nwind-compelling personage, named Mammie Scott, who also belonged to\nStromness, and practised her arts there, till within a comparatively\nrecent date. \"Many wonderful tales are told of her power and influence\nover the weather. Her fame was widely spread as that of Bessie. A\ncaptain called upon Mammie one day to solicit a fair wind. He was\nbound for Stornoway, and received from the reputed witch a scarlet\nthread upon which were three knots. His instructions were, that if\nsufficient wind did not arrive, one of the knots was to be untied;\nif that proved insufficient, another knot was to be untied; but he was\non no account to unloose the third knot, else disaster would overtake\nhis vessel. The mariner set out upon his voyage, and, the wind being\nlight, untied the first knot. This brought a stronger breeze, but\nstill not sufficient to satisfy him. The second knot was let down, and\naway the vessel sped across the waters, round Cape Wrath. In a short\ntime the entrance to Stornoway harbour was reached, when it came into\nthe captain's head to untie the third knot in order to see what might\noccur. He was too near the end of his voyage to suffer any damage now;\nand so he felt emboldened to make the experiment. No sooner was the\nlast knot set free than a perfect hurricane set in from a contrary\ndirection, which drove the vessel right back to Hoy Sound, from which\nshe had set out, where he had ample time to repent of his folly.\"\n\nWithin the last half-century there lived in Stonehaven an old\nwoman, who was regarded with considerable awe by the sea-faring\npopulation. Before a voyage it was usual to propitiate her by the\ngift of a bag of coals. On one occasion, two brothers, owners of a\ncoasting smack, after setting sail, had to return to port through\nstress of weather, the storm being due, it was believed, to the\nfact that one of the brothers had omitted to secure the woman's good\noffices in the usual way. The brother who was captain of the smack\nseems to have been a firm believer in wind-charms, for it is related\nof him that during a more than usually high wind he was in the habit\nof throwing up his cap into the air with the exclamation, \"She maun\nhae something.\" She, in this case, was the wind, and not the witch:\nand the cap was meant as a gift to propitiate the storm. Dr. Charles\nRogers, in his \"Social Life in Scotland,\" tells us that \"the seamen\nof Shetland, in tempestuous weather, throw a piece of money into the\nwindow of a ruinous chapel dedicated to St. Ronald in the belief that\nthe saint will allay the vehemence of the storm.\" According to the\nsame writer, \"Shetland boatmen still purchase favourable winds from\nelderly women, who pretend to rule or to modify the storms.\" \"There are\nnow in Lerwick,\" Dr. Rogers continues, \"several old women who in this\nfashion earn a subsistence. Many of the survivors of the great storm\nof the 20th of July, 1881--so fatal on northern coasts--assert that\ntheir preservation was due to warnings which they received through\na supernatural agency.\"\n\nHuman skulls have their folklore. The lifting of them from their usual\nresting-places has, in popular belief, been connected with certain\nmysterious occurrences. According to a story told by Mr. Wirt Sikes,\nin his \"British Goblins,\" a man who removed a skull from a church\nto prove to his companions that he was free from superstition was\novertaken by a terrible whirlwind, the result, it was thought, of his\nrash act. In some Highland districts it used to be reckoned unlucky\nto allow a corpse to remain unburied. If from any cause, human bones\ncame to the surface, care was taken to lay them below ground again,\nas otherwise disastrous storms would ensue.\n\nWe have a good example of the association of wind-charms with water\nin the case of a certain magical stone referred to by Martin as\nexisting in his day in the island of Fladda, near Skye. There was a\nchapel to St. Columba on the island, and on the altar lay the stone\nin question. The stone was round, of a blue colour, and was always\nmoist. \"It is an ordinary custom,\" Martin relates, \"when any of\nthe fishermen are detained in the isle by contrary winds, to wash\nthe blue stone with water all round, expecting thereby to procure\na favourable wind, which, the credulous tenant, living in the isle,\nsays never fails, especially if a stranger wash the stone.\" The power\nof the Fladda stone was equalled by a certain well in Gigha, though in\nthe latter instance a dweller in the island, rather than a stranger,\nhad power over it. When a foreign boat was wind-bound on the island,\nthe master of the craft was in the habit of giving some money to\none of the natives, to procure a favourable breeze. This was done in\nthe following way. A few feet above the well was a heap of stones,\nforming a cover to the spring. These were carefully removed, and the\nwell was cleared out with a wooden dish or clam-shell. The water was\nthen thrown several times towards the point, from which the needed\nwind should blow. Certain words of incantation were used, each time\nthe water was thrown. After the ceremony, the stones were replaced,\nas the district would otherwise have been swept by a hurricane. Pennant\nmentions, in connection with his visit to Gigha, that the superstition\nhad then died out. In this he was in error, for the well continued to\nbe occasionally consulted to a later date. Even within recent years,\nthe memory of the practice lingered in the island; but there seemed\nsome doubt, as to the exact nature of the required ritual. Captain\nT. P. White was told by a shepherd, belonging to the island, that,\nif a stone was taken out of the well, a storm would arise and prevent\nany person crossing over, nor would it abate till the stone was taken\nback to the well.\n\nFrom the evidence of an Irish example, we find that springs could\nallay a storm, as well as produce a favourable breeze. The island\nof Innismurray, off the coast of Sligo, has a sacred well called\nTobernacoragh. When a tempest was raging, the natives believed that\nby draining the water of this well into the sea, the wrath of the\nelements could be calmed. Mr. Gomme, in his \"Ethnology in Folklore,\"\nwhen commenting on the instance, remarks, \"In this case the connection\nbetween well-worship and the worship of a rain-god is certain, for\nit may be surmised that if the emptying of the well allayed a storm,\nsome complementary action was practised at one time or other in order\nto produce rain, and in districts more subject to a want of rain\nthan this Atlantic island, that ceremony would be accentuated at the\nexpense of the storm-allaying ceremony at Innismurray.\" The Routing\nWell, at Monktown, in Inveresk parish, Mid-Lothian, was believed to\ngive notice of an approaching storm by uttering sounds resembling the\nmoaning of the wind. As a matter of fact, the noises came from certain\ndisused coal-workings in the immediate neighbourhood, and were due\nto the high wind blowing through them. The sounds thus accompanied\nand did not precede the storm.\n\nTo procure rain, recourse was had to various superstitious\npractices. Martin tells of a stone, five feet high, in the form of\na cross, opposite St. Mary's Church, in North Uist. \"The natives,\"\nhe says, \"call it the 'Water Cross,' for the ancient inhabitants\nhad a custom of erecting this sort of cross to procure rain, and\nwhen they had got enough, they laid it flat on the ground, but this\ncustom is now disused.\" Among the mountains of British Columbia, is\na certain stone held in much honour by the Indians, for they believe\nthat it will produce rain when struck. Rain-making is an important\noccupation among uncivilised races, and strange rites are sometimes\npractised to bring about the desired result. By some savages, human\nhair is burned for this end. Mr. J. G. Frazer, in \"The Golden Bough,\"\nhas some interesting remarks on rain-production. After enumerating\ncertain rain-charms among heathen nations, he remarks, \"Another way of\nconstraining the rain-god is to disturb him in his haunts. This seems\nthe reason why rain is supposed to be the consequence of troubling\na sacred spring. The Dards believed that if a cowskin or anything\nimpure is placed in certain springs storms will follow. Gervasius\nmentions a spring, into which, if a stone or a stick were thrown,\nrain would at once issue from it and drench the thrower. There was\na fountain in Munster such that if it were touched or even looked\nat by a human being it would at once flood the whole province with\nrain.\" Curious survivals of ancient rain-charms are to be found in\nmodern folk-customs. Thus, in connection with the rejoicings of the\nharvest-home in England, when the last load of grain was being carried\non the gaily decorated hock-cart to the farm-yard, it was customary\nto throw water on those taking part in the ceremony. This apparently\nmeaningless frolic was in reality a rain-charm. A Cornish custom,\nat one time popular at Padstow on the first of May, can be explained\non the same principle. A hobby-horse was taken to the Traitor's Pool,\na quarter of a mile from the town. The head was dipped in the pool,\nand water was sprinkled on the bystanders.\n\nSuch charms depend for their efficacy on what is called \"sympathetic\nmagic.\" Mimic rain is produced on the earth, in the hope that the same\nliquid will be constrained to descend from the heavens, to bring fresh\nfertility to the fields. Professor Rhys, in his \"Celtic Heathendom,\"\ntraces the connection between modern rain-charms and the rites of\nancient paganism. He there quotes the following particulars regarding\nDulyn, in North Wales, from a description of the place published in\n1805:--\"There lies in Snowdon Mountain a lake called Dulyn, in a\ndismal dingle surrounded by high and dangerous rocks; the lake is\nexceedingly black, and its fish are loathsome, having large heads\nand small bodies. No wild swan or duck or any kind of bird has ever\nbeen seen to light on it, as is their wont on every other Snowdonian\nlake. In this same lake there is a row of stepping stones extending\ninto it; and if any one steps on the stones and throws water so as to\nwet the furthest stone of the series, which is called the Red Altar,\nit is but a chance that you do not get rain before night, even when\nit is hot weather.\" The spot was, probably in pre-Christian times,\nthe scene of sacrifices to some local deity. Judging from the dismal\ncharacter of the neighbourhood, we may safely infer that fear entered\nlargely into the worship paid there to the genius loci. The Fountain\nof Barenton, in Brittany, was specially celebrated in connection\nwith rain-making. During the early middle ages, the peasantry of\nthe neighbourhood resorted to it in days of drought. According to a\ntime-honoured custom, they took some water from the fountain and threw\nit on a slab hard by; rain was the result. Professor Rhys reminds\nus that this fountain \"still retains its pluvial importance; for,\nin seasons of drought, the inhabitants of the surrounding parishes,\nwe are told go to it in procession, headed by their five great banners\nand their priests ringing bells and chanting psalms. On arriving,\nthe rector of the canton dips the foot of the cross in the water,\nand it is sure to rain within a week's time.\" The Barenton instance is\nspecially interesting, for part of the ceremony recalls what happened\nin connection with a certain Scottish spring, viz., Tobar Faolan at\nStruan, in Athole. This spring, as the name implies, was dedicated\nto Fillan. In his \"Holiday Notes in Athole,\" in the \"Proceedings of\nthe Society of Antiquaries of Scotland,\" volume xii. (new series),\nMr. J. Mackintosh Gow says, \"It is nearly one hundred yards west\nfrom the church, at the foot of the bank, and close to the river\nGarry. It is overgrown with grass and weeds, but the water is as clear\nand cool as it may have been in the days of the saint. There is no\ntradition of its having been a curing or healing well, except that\nin pre-Reformation days, when a drought prevailed and rain was much\nwanted, an image of the saint, which was kept in the church, used to be\ntaken in procession to the well, and, in order that rain might come,\nthe feet of the image were placed in the water; and this, of course,\nwas generally supposed to have the desired effect.\" At Botriphnie,\nin Banffshire, six miles from Keith, the wooden image of St. Fumac\nused to be solemnly washed in his well on the third of May. We may\nconclude that the ceremony was intended as a rain-charm. It must have\nbeen successful, on at least one occasion, for the river Isla became\nflooded through the abundance of rain. Indeed, the flooding was so\ngreat that the saint's image was swept away by the rushing water. The\nimage was finally stranded at Banff, where it was burned as a relic\nof superstition by order of the parish minister about the beginning\nof the present century. In Glentham Church, Lincolnshire, is a tomb,\nwith a figure locally called \"Molly Grime.\" From \"Old English Customs\nand Charities,\" we learn that, till 1832, the figure was washed every\nGood Friday with water from Newell Well by seven old maids of Glentham,\nwho each received a shilling, \"in consequence of an old bequest\nconnected with some property in that district.\" Perhaps its testator\nwas not free from a belief in the efficacy of rain-charms. Otherwise,\nthe ceremony seems meaningless. If the keeping clean of the figure\nwas the only object, the seven old maids should not have limited\ntheir duties to an annual pilgrimage from the well to the church.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIV.\n\nTREES AND SPRINGS.\n\n    Tree-worship--Ygdrasil--Personality of Plants--Tree-ancestors--\n    \"Wassailing\"--Relics of Tree-worship--Connla's Well--Cutting down\n    Trees Unlucky--Spring at Monzie--Marriage Well--Pear-Tree Well\n    --Some Miraculous Trees--External Soul--Its Connection with\n    Trees, &c.--Arms of Glasgow.\n\n\nTrees were at one time worshipped as well as fountains. Ygdrasil,\nthe world-tree of Scandinavian mythology, had three roots,\nand underneath each, was a fountain of wonderful virtues. This\nrepresents the connection between tree and well in the domain of\nmythology. But the same superstition was connected with ordinary\ntrees and wells. Glancing back over the history of civilisation,\nwe reach a period, when vegetation was endowed with personality. As\nplants manifested the phenomena of life and death like man and the\nlower animals, they had a similar kind of existence attributed to\nthem. Among some savages to-day, the fragrance of a flower is thought\nto be its soul. As there was thus no hard and fast line between man\nand the vegetable kingdom, the one could be derived from the other;\nin other words, men could have trees as their ancestors. Curious\nsurvivals of such a belief lie both revealed and concealed in the\nlanguage of to-day. Though we are far separated from such a phase\nof archaic religion, we speak of the branches of a family. At one\ntime such an expression represented a literal fact, and not a mere\nmetaphor. In like manner, we call a son, who resembles his father,\n\"a chip of the old block.\" But how few when using the phrase are alive\nto its real force! Mr. Keary, in his \"Outlines of Primitive Belief,\"\nobserves, \"Even when the literal notion of the descent from a tree\nhad been lost sight of, the close connection between the prosperity\nof the tribe and the life of its fetish was often strictly held. The\nvillage tree of the German races was originally a tribal tree with\nwhose existence the life of the village was involved.\"\n\nThe picturesque ceremony known as the \"Wassailing of Apple-trees,\"\nkept up till lately in Devon and Cornwall, carries our thoughts back\nto the time when tree-worship was a thriving cult in our land. It was\ncelebrated on the evening before Epiphany (January 6th). The farmer,\naccompanied by his labourers, carried a pail of cider with roasted\napples in it into the orchard. The pail was placed on the ground,\nand each one of the company took from it a cupful of the liquid. They\nthen stood before the trees and repeated the following lines:--\n\n\n       \"Health to thee, good apple tree,\n        Well to bear pocket-fulls, hat-fulls,\n        Peck-fulls, bushel bag-fulls.\"\n\n\nPart of the contents of the cup was then drunk, and the remainder was\nthrown at the tree amid shouts from the by-standers. Relics of the\nsame cult can be traced in the superstitious regard for such trees as\nthe rowan, the elder, &c., and in the decoration of the May-pole and\nthe Christmas Tree. According to an ancient Irish legend, a certain\nspring in Erin, called Connla's Well, had growing over it nine mystical\nhazel trees. Year by year these trees produced their flowers and\nfruit simultaneously. The nuts were of a brilliant crimson colour and\ncontained in some mysterious way the knowledge of all that was best\nin poetry and art. Professor O'Curry, in his \"Lectures on the Manners\nand Customs of the Ancient Irish,\" refers to this legend, and says,\n\"No sooner were the beautiful nuts produced on the trees than they\nalways dropped into the well, raising by their fall a succession of\nshining red bubbles. Now, during this time the water was always full of\nsalmon, and no sooner did the bubbles appear than these salmon darted\nto the surface and ate the nuts, after which they made their way to\nthe river. The eating of the nuts produced brilliant crimson spots on\nthe bellies of these salmon, and to catch and eat these salmon became\nan object of more than mere gastronomic interest among those who were\nanxious to become distinguished in the arts and in literature without\nbeing at the pains and delay of long study, for the fish was supposed\nto have become filled with the knowledge which was contained in the\nnuts, which, it was believed, would be transferred in full to those\nwho had the good fortune to catch and eat them.\"\n\nIn many cases it was counted unlucky to cut down trees, since the\nspirits, inhabiting them, would resent the injury. In the sixteenth\ncentury the parishioners of Clynnog, in Caernarvonshire, refrained\nfrom destroying the trees growing in the grounds of St. Beyno. Even\nthough he was their patron saint, he was quite ready to harm anybody\nwho took liberties with his grove. Loch Siant Well, in Skye, was\nnoted for its power to cure headaches, stitches, and other ailments,\nand was much frequented in consequence. Martin says, \"There is a\nsmall coppice near to the well, and there is none of the natives dare\nventure to cut the least branch of it for fear of some signal judgment\nto follow upon it.\" Martin also tells us that the same reverence\nwas for long paid to the peat on the island of Lingay. This island,\nhe says, \"is singular in respect of all the lands of Uist, and the\nother islands that surround it, for they are all composed of sand,\nand this, on the contrary, is altogether moss covered with heath,\naffording five peats in depth, and is very serviceable and useful,\nfurnishing the island Borera, &c., with plenty of good fuel. This\nisland was held as consecrated for several ages, insomuch that the\nnatives would not then presume to cut any fuel in it.\"\n\nWhen trees beside wells had rags hung on them as offerings,\nthey would naturally be reverenced, as the living altars for the\nreception of the gifts. But even when not used for this purpose,\nthey were sometimes thought to have a mysterious connection with\nthe springs they overshadowed. In the parish of Monzie, Perthshire,\nis a mineral well held in much esteem till about the year 1770. At\nthat time two trees, till then the guardians of the spring, fell,\nand with their fall its virtue departed. On the right bank of the\nClyde, about three-quarters of a mile from Carmyle village, is the\nonce sylvan district of Kenmuir. There, at the foot of a bank, is a\nspring locally known as \"The Marriage Well,\" the name being derived,\nit is said, from two curiously united trees beside its margin. These\ntrees were recently cut down. In former times, it was customary for\nmarriage parties, the day after their wedding, to visit the spring,\nand there pledge the bride and bridegroom in draughts of its sparkling\nwater. On the banks of the Kelvin, close to the Glasgow Botanic\nGardens, once flowed a spring styled the Pear-Tree, Pea-Tree, or\nThree-Tree Well, the last name being probably the original one. In\nformer times it was a recognised trysting-place for lovers. A tragic\nstory is told in connection with it by Mr. James Napier in his \"Notes\nand Reminiscences of Partick.\" A maiden, named Catherine Clark,\narranged to meet her lover there by night,\n\n\n                      \"nor did she ever dream\n        But that he was what he did ever seem.\"\n\n\nShe never returned to her home. \"A few days after,\" remarks Mr. Napier,\n\"her body was found buried near a large tree which stood within a\nfew yards of the Pea-Tree Well. This tree was afterwards known as\n'Catherine Clark's Tree,' and remained for many years an object\nof interest to the visitors to this far-famed well, and many a\nsympathising lover carved his name in rude letters on its bark. But\nthe tree was also an object of terror to those who had to pass it in\ndark and lonely nights, and many tales were told of people who had\nseen a young female form dressed in white, and stained with blood,\nstanding at the tree foot.\" The tree was removed many years ago. The\nspring too is gone, the recent extension of the Caledonian Railway\nto Maryhill having forced it to quit the field.\n\nNear the moat of Listerling, in county Kilkenny, Ireland, is a\nholy well dedicated to St. Mullen, who is said to have lived for\na while in its neighbourhood. A fine hawthorn, overshadowing it,\ngrew--if we can believe a local legend--from the staff of the saint,\nwhich he there stuck into the ground. This reminds one of the famous\nGlastonbury Thorn, produced from the staff of Joseph of Arimathea,\nwho fixed it in the ground one Christmas Day. The staff took root at\nonce, put forth branches, and next day was covered with milk-white\nblossoms. St. Servanus's staff, too, had a miraculous ending. He threw\nit across the Firth of Forth, and when it fell on the Fife coast,\nit took root and became an apple-tree. A group of thorn-bushes, near\nAghaboe, in Queen's County, Ireland, was dedicated to St. Canice. The\nspring, overshadowed by them, was much resorted to for the purposes\nof devotion. At Rearymore, in the same county, some hawthorns,\ngrowing beside St. Finyan's spring, were, and doubtless still are,\nreligiously preserved by the natives. In the Isle of Man is Chibber\nUnjin, signifying The Well of the Ash. Beside it grew an ash tree,\nformerly decorated with votive offerings.\n\nWhat has been called the external soul has an important place in\nfolklore, and forms the theme of many folk-tales. Primitive man does\nnot think of the soul as spiritual, but as material--as something\nthat can be seen and felt. It can take different shapes. It can leave\nthe body during sleep, and wander about in the guise of an animal,\nsuch as a mouse. Considerable space is devoted to this problem in\nMr. J. G. Frazer's \"Golden Bough.\" Mr. Frazer there remarks, \"There\nmay be circumstances in which, if the life or soul remains in the man,\nit stands a greater chance of sustaining injury than if it were stowed\naway in some safe and secret place. Accordingly, in such circumstances,\nprimitive man takes his soul out of his body and deposits it for\nsecurity in some safe place, intending to replace it in his body when\nthe danger is past; or, if he should discover some place of absolute\nsecurity, he may be content to leave his soul there permanently. The\nadvantage of this is, that so long as the soul remains unharmed in the\nplace where he has deposited it, the man himself is immortal; nothing\ncan kill his body, since his life is not in it.\" Sometimes the soul is\nbelieved to be stowed away in a tree, injury to the latter involving\ndisaster to the former. The custom of planting trees, and calling\nthem after certain persons may nowadays have nothing to do with this\nnotion; but, undoubtedly, a real connection was at one time believed\nto exist between the partners in the transaction. A certain oak,\nwith mistletoe growing on it, was mysteriously associated with the\nfamily of Hay. The superstition is explained in the following lines:--\n\n\n       \"While the mistletoe bats on Errol's oak\n          And that oak stands fast,\n        The Hays shall flourish, and their good grey hawk\n          Shall not flinch before the blast.\n\n        But when the root of the oak decays\n          And the mistletoe dwines on its withered breast,\n        The grass shall grow on the Earl's hearthstone,\n          And the corbies craw in the falcon's nest.\"\n\n\nAt Finlarig Castle, near Killin, in Perthshire, are several trees,\nbelieved to be linked with the lives of certain individuals, connected\nby family ties with the ruined fortress. Aubrey gives an example\nof this superstition, as it existed in England in the seventeenth\ncentury. He says, \"I cannot omit taking notice of the great misfortune\nin the family of the Earl of Winchelsea, who, at Eastwell, in Kent,\nfelled down a most curious grove of oaks near his own noble seat, and\ngave the first blow with his own hands. Shortly after, the countess\ndied in her bed suddenly, and his eldest son, the Lord Maidstone,\nwas killed at sea by a cannon bullet.\" In the grounds of Dalhousie\nCastle, about two miles from Dalkeith, on the edge of a fine spring\nis the famous Edgewell Oak. Sir Walter Scott, in his \"Journal,\" under\ndate May 13th, 1829, writes, \"Went with the girls to dine at Dalhousie\nCastle, where we were very kindly received. I saw the Edgewell Tree,\ntoo fatal, says Allan Ramsay, to the family from which he was himself\ndescended.\" According to a belief in the district, a branch fell from\nthis tree, before the death of a member of the family. The original oak\nfell early in last century, but a new one sprang from the old root. An\neditorial note to the above entry in the \"Journal\" gives the following\ninformation:--\"The tree is still flourishing (1889), and the belief in\nits sympathy with the family is not yet extinct, as an old forester,\non seeing a branch fall from it on a quiet still day in July, 1874,\nexclaimed, 'The laird's deed, noo!' and, accordingly, news came soon\nafter that Fox Maule, eleventh Earl of Dalhousie, had died.\"\n\nThe external soul was sometimes associated with objects other than\nliving trees. Dr. Charles Rogers tells us that \"a pear, supposed\nto have been enchanted by Hugh Gifford, Lord of Yester, a notable\nmagician in the reign of Alexander III., is preserved in the family\nof Brown of Colston, as heirs of Gifford's estate.\" The prosperity\nof the family is believed to be linked with the preservation of the\npear. Even an inanimate object would serve the purpose. The glass\ndrinking-cup, known as the \"Luck of Edenhall,\" is connected with\nthe fortunes of the Musgrave family, and great care is taken to\npreserve it from injury. Tradition says that a company of fairies\nwere making merry beside a spring near the mansion-house, but that,\nbeing frightened by some intruder, they vanished, leaving the cup in\nquestion, while one of them exclaimed:--\n\n\n           \"If this cup should break or fall,\n            Farewell the luck of Edenhall.\"\n\n\nSome living object, however, either vegetable or animal, was the\nusual repository of the external soul. A familiar folk-tale tells of a\ngiant whose heart was in a swan, and who could not be killed while the\nswan lived. Hunting was a favourite occupation among the inhabitants\nof the Western Isles; but on the mountain Finchra, in Rum, no deer\nwas killed by any member of the Lachlan family, as it was believed\nthat the life of that family was in some way linked with the life of\nthese animals. A curious superstition is mentioned by Camden in his\n\"Britannia.\" In a pond near the Abbey of St. Maurice, in Burgundy,\nwere put as many fish as there were monks. When any monk was taken\nill, one of the fish was seen to float half-dead on the surface of\nthe pond. If the fish died the monk died too, the death of the former\ngiving warning of the fate of the latter. In this case the external\nsoul was thought of as stowed away in a fish. As is well known,\nthe Arms of the City of Glasgow are a bell, a tree, a fish with\na ring in its mouth, and a bird. The popular explanation of these\nemblems connects them with certain miracles, wrought by Kentigern,\nthe patron saint of the burgh. May we not hold that an explanation\nof their symbolism is to be sought in a principle, that formed an\narticle in the beliefs of men, long before Kentigern was born, as well\nas during his time and since? The bell, it is true, had, doubtless, an\necclesiastical association; but the other three symbols point, perhaps,\nto some superstitious notion like the above. In various folk-tales,\nas well as in Christian art, the soul is sometimes typified by a\nbird. As we have just seen, it has been associated with trees and\nfish. We are entitled therefore to ask whether the three symbols\nmay not express one and the same idea under different forms. It is,\nof course, open to anyone to say that there were fish in the river,\non whose banks Kentigern took up his abode, and quite a forest with\nbirds singing in it around his cell, and that no further explanation\nof the symbolism need be sought. All these, it is true, existed\nwithin the saint's environment, but may they not have been regarded\nas types of the soul under the guise of objects familiar to all, and\nafterwards grouped together in the burgh Arms? On this hypothesis,\nthe symbols have survived the belief that gave them birth, and serve\nto connect the practical life of to-day, with the vague visions and\ncrude conjectures of the past.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XV.\n\nCHARM-STONES IN AND OUT OF WATER.\n\n    Stone-worship--Mysterious Properties of Stones--Symbolism of Gems\n    --Gnostics--Abraxas Gems--Gems in Sarcophagi--Life-stones--Use of\n    Amulets in Scotland--Yellow Stone in Mull--Baul Muluy--Black\n    Stones of Iona--Stone as Medicine--Declan's Stone--Curing-stones\n    still used for Cattle--Mary, Queen of Scots--Amulet at Abbotsford\n    --Highland Reticence--Aberfeldy Curing-stone--Lapis Ceranius and\n    Lapis Hecticus--Bernera--St. Ronan's Altar--Blue Stone in Fladda\n    --Baul Muluy again--Columba's White Stone--Loch Manaar--Well near\n    Loch Torridon--Stones besides Springs--Healing-stones at Killin--\n    Their connection with Fillan--Mornish--Altars and Crosses--Iona--\n    Clach-a-brath--Cross at Kilberry--Lunar Stone in Harris--\n    Perforated Stones--Ivory--Barbeck's Bone--Adder-beads--Sprinkling\n    Cattle--Elf-bolts--Clach-na-Bratach--Clach Dearg--Lee Penny--\n    Lockerbie Penny--Black Penny.\n\n\nWe have already seen that in early times water was an object\nof worship. Stones also were reverenced as the embodiments of\nnature-deities. \"In Western Europe during the middle ages,\" remarks\nSir J. Lubbock in his \"Origin of Civilisation,\" \"we meet with\nseveral denunciations of stone-worship, proving its deep hold on\nthe people. Thus the worship of stones was condemned by Theodoric,\nArchbishop of Canterbury, in the seventh century, and is among the\nacts of heathenism forbidden by King Edgar in the tenth, and by Cnut\nin the eleventh century.\" Even as late as the seventeenth century,\nthe Presbytery of Dingwall sought to suppress, among other practices\nof heathen origin, that of rendering reverence to stones, the stones\nin question having been consulted as to future events. It is not\nsurprising therefore that stones had certain mysterious properties\nascribed to them. In all ages precious stones have been deservedly\nadmired for their beauty, but, in addition, they have frequently\nbeen esteemed for their occult qualities. \"In my youth,\" Mr. James\nNapier tells us, in his \"Folklore in the West of Scotland,\" \"there\nwas a belief in the virtue of precious stones, which added a value to\nthem beyond their real value as ornaments.... Each stone had its own\nsymbolic meaning and its own peculiar influence for imparting good and\nprotecting from evil and from sickness its fortunate possessor.\" By the\nancient Jews, the topaz and the amethyst were believed to guard their\nwearers respectively against poison and drunkenness; while the diamond\nwas prized as a protection against Satanic influence. Concerning the\nlast-mentioned gem, Sir John Mandeville, writing about 1356, says,\n\"It makes a man stronger and firmer against his enemies, heals him\nthat is lunatic, and those whom the fiend pursues and torments.\" By\ncertain sects of the Gnostics, precious stones were much thought of as\ntalismans. Among the sect founded by Basilides of Egypt, the famous\nAbraxas gems were used as tokens by the initiated. The Gnostics also\nplaced gems inscribed with mystic mottoes in sarcophagi, to remind the\ndead of certain prayers that were thought likely to aid them in the\nother world. In Scandinavia, warriors were in the habit of carrying\nabout with them amulets called life-stones or victory-stones. These\nstrengthened the hand of the wearer in fight. In our own country,\nthe use of amulets was not uncommon. A flat oval-shaped pebble,\nmeasuring two and a half inches in greatest diameter, was presented\nin 1864 to the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. It had been worn\nas a charm by a Forfarshire farmer, who died in 1854 at the age\nof eighty-four. When in use, it had been kept in a small bag and\nsuspended by a red string round the wearer's neck.\n\nEven when stones were not used as amulets, they were sometimes held\nin superstitious regard. When in Mull, Martin was told of a yellow\nstone, lying at the bottom of a certain spring in the island, its\npeculiarity being that it did not get hot, though kept over the fire\nfor a whole day. The same writer alludes to a certain stone in Arran,\ncalled Baul Muluy, i.e., \"Molingus, his Stone Globe.\" It was green\nin colour, and was about the size of a goose's egg. The stone was\nused by the islanders, when great oaths had to be sworn. It was also\nemployed to disperse an enemy. When thrown among the front ranks, the\nopposing army would retreat in confusion. In this way the Macdonalds\nwere said to have gained many a victory. When not in use, the Baul\nMuluy was carefully kept wrapped up in cloth. Among oath-stones,\nthe black stones of Iona were specially famous. These were situated\nto the west of St. Martin's Cross, and were called black, not from\ntheir colour--for they were grey--but from the effects of perjury\nin the event of a false oath being sworn by them. Macdonald, Lord\nof the Isles, knelt on them, and, with uplifted hands, swore that he\nwould never recall the rights granted by him to his vassals. Such a\nhold had these oath-stones taken on the popular imagination, that\nwhen anyone expressed himself certain about a particular thing,\nhe gave weight to his affirmation, by saying that he was prepared\nto \"swear upon the black stones.\" Bishop Pocoke mentions that the\ninhabitants of Iona \"were in the habit of breaking off pieces from a\ncertain stone lying in the church,\" to be used \"as medicine for man\nor beast in most disorders, and especially the flux.\"\n\nCharm-stones were sometimes associated with early saints. The following\nparticulars about St. Declan's Stone are given by Sir Arthur Mitchell\nin the tenth volume of the \"Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries\nof Scotland\":--\"We are told in the life of St. Declan that a small\nstone was sent to him from Heaven while he was saying Mass in a church\nin Italy. It came through the window and rested on the altar. It was\ncalled Duivhin Deaglain or Duivh-mhion Deaglain, i.e., 'Declan's Black\nRelic.' It performed many miracles during his life, being famous for\ncuring sore eyes, headaches, &c.; and is said to have been found in\nhis grave sometime, I think, during last century. Its size is two and\na-fourth by one and three-fourth inches, and on one side there is a\nLatin cross, incised and looped at the top. At the bottom of the stem\nof this cross there is another small Latin cross. On the other side\nof the stone there is a circle, one and a-fourth inch in diameter,\nand six holes or pits.\" Curing stones are still used occasionally\nin connection with the diseases of cattle, particularly in Highland\ndistricts; but they have ceased to do duty in the treatment of human\nailments. Mary Queen of Scots seems to have been a firm believer in\ntheir efficacy. In a letter to her brother-in-law, Henry the Third\nof France, written on the eve of her execution, the Queen says,\n\"She ventures to send him two rare stones, valuable for the health,\nwhich she hopes will be good, with a happy and long life, asking\nhim to receive them as the gift of his very affectionate sister-in\nlaw, who is at the point of death, and in token of true love towards\nhim.\" In a case of curiosities at Abbotsford, there is an amulet that\nbelonged to Sir Walter Scott's mother. It somewhat resembles crocodile\nskin in colour, and has a setting of silver. The amulet was believed\nto prevent children from being bewitched.\n\nIt is nowadays difficult to ascertain the whereabouts of curing-stones\nin the Highlands, owing to the reticence of those who still have faith\nin their virtues. Till lately there was one in the neighbourhood\nof Aberfeldy that had been in use, it is believed, for about three\nhundred years. In shape, the charm somewhat resembled a human heart,\nand consisted of a water-worn pebble fully three inches in greatest\nlength. When required for the cure of cattle, it was rubbed over the\naffected part or was dipped in water, the water being then given to\nthe animal to drink. Recently the family who owned it became extinct,\nand the charm passed into other hands. Martin gives some curious\ninformation with regard to the employment of charm-stones, among\nthe inhabitants of the Western Isles. After describing a certain\nkind of stone, called lapis ceranius, found in the island of Skye,\nhe remarks, \"These stones are by the natives called 'Cramp-stones,'\nbecause (as they say) they cure the cramp in cows by washing the part\naffected with water in which this stone had been steeped for some\nhours.\" He mentions also, that in the same island, the stone called\nlapis hecticus was deemed efficacious in curing consumption and other\ndiseases. It was made red-hot, and then cooled in milk or water,\nthe liquid being drunk by the patient. On Bernera, the islanders\nfrequently rub their breasts with a particular stone, by way of\nprevention, and say it is a good preservative for health. Martin adds,\n\"This is all the medicine they use: Providence is very favourable\nto them in granting them a good state of health, since they have no\nphysician among them.\" In connection with his visit to the island of\nRona, the same writer observes, \"There is a chapel here dedicated to\nSt. Ronan, fenced with a stone wall round; and they take care to keep\nit neat and clean, and sweep it every day. There is an altar in it,\non which there lies a big plank of wood, about ten feet in length;\nevery foot has a hole in it, and in every hole a stone, to which the\nnatives ascribe several virtues: one of them is singular, as they\nsay, for promoting speedy delivery to a woman in travail.\" The blue\nstone in Fladda, already referred to in connection with wind-charms,\ndid duty as an oath-stone, and likewise as a curing-stone, its special\nfunction being to remove stitches in the side. The Baul Muluy in Arran,\nalluded to above, also cured stitches in the side. When the patient\nwould not recover, the stone withdrew from the bed of its own accord.\n\nA certain white stone, taken by Columba from the river Ness, near\nwhat is now the town of Inverness, had the singular power of becoming\ninvisible, when the illness of the person requiring it would prove\nfatal. The selection of this stone was made in connection with the\nsaint's visit to the court of Brude, king of the Picts, about the\nyear 563. Adamnan, who tells the story, thus describes an interview\nbetween Columba and Brochan (the king's chief Druid or Magus),\nconcerning the liberation of a female slave belonging to the latter:\n\"The venerable man, from motives of humanity, besought Brochan the\nDruid to liberate a certain Irish female captive, a request which\nBrochan harshly and obstinately refused to grant. The saint then spoke\nto him as follows:--'Know, O Brochan, know, that if you refuse to\nset this captive free, as I advise you, you shall die before I return\nfrom this province.' Having said this in presence of Brude the king,\nhe departed from the royal palace, and proceeded to the river Nesa,\nfrom which he took a white pebble, and, showing it to his companions,\nsaid to them:--'Behold this white pebble, by which God will effect\nthe cure of many diseases.' Having thus spoken, he added, 'Brochan is\npunished grievously at this moment, for an angel sent from heaven,\nstriking him severely, has broken in pieces the glass cup which he\nheld in his hands, and from which he was in the act of drinking,\nand he himself is left half-dead.'\" Messengers were sent by the\nking to announce the illness of Brochan, and to ask Columba to cure\nhim. Adamnan continues:--\"Having heard these words of the messengers,\nSaint Columba sent two of his companions to the king with the pebble\nwhich he had blessed, and said to them:--'If Brochan shall first\npromise to free his captive, immerse this little stone in water,\nand let him drink from it; but if he refuse to liberate her, he will\nthat instant die.' The two persons sent by the saint proceeded to\nthe palace, and announced the words of the holy man to the king and\nto Brochan, an announcement which filled them with such fear that he\nimmediately liberated the captive and delivered her to the saint's\nmessengers. The stone was then immersed in water, and, in a wonderful\nmanner and contrary to the laws of nature, it floated on the water\nlike a nut or an apple, nor could it be submerged. Brochan drank from\nthe stone as it floated on the water, and instantly recovered his\nperfect health and soundness of body.\" The wonderful pebble was kept\nby King Brude among his treasures. On the day of the king's death,\nit remained true to itself, for, when its aid was sought, it could\nnowhere be found.\n\nAccording to a tradition current in Sutherland, Loch Manaar in\nStrathnaver was connected with another white pebble, endowed\nwith miraculous properties. The tradition, as narrated by\nthe Rev. Dr. Gregor in the \"Folklore Journal\" for 1888, is as\nfollows:--\"Once upon a time, in Strathnaver, there lived a woman who\nwas both poor and old. She was able to do many wonderful things by\nthe power of a white stone which she possessed, and which had come to\nher by inheritance. One of the Gordons of Strathnaver having a thing\nto do, wished to have both her white stone and the power of it. When\nhe saw that she would not lend it, or give it up, he determined to\nseize her, and to drown her in a loch. The man and the woman struggled\nthere for a long time, till he took up a heavy stone with which to\nkill her. She plunged into the lake, throwing her magic stone before\nher and crying, 'May it do good to all created things save a Gordon\nof Strathnaver!' He stoned her to death in the water, she crying,\n'Manaar! Manaar!' (Shame! Shame!). And the loch is called the Loch of\nShame to this day.\" The loch had a more than local fame, for invalids\nresorted to it from Orkney in the north and Inverness in the south:\nits water was deemed specially efficacious on the first Monday of\nFebruary, May, August, and November, (O. S.). The second and third\nof these dates were the most popular. The patient was kept bound and\nhalf-starved for about a day previous, and immediately after sunset\non the appointed day, he was taken into the middle of the loch and\nthere dipped. His wet clothes were then exchanged for dry ones, and\nhis friends took him home in the full expectation of a cure. Belief\nin the loch's powers was acknowledged till recently, and is probably\nstill secretly cherished in the district.\n\nIn a graveyard beside Loch Torridon, in Ross-shire, is a spring,\nformerly believed to work cures. From time immemorial three stones\nhave been whirling in the well, and it was usual to carry one of\nthese in a bucket of water to the invalid who simply touched the\nstone. When put back into the well, the stone began to move round and\nround as before. On one occasion a woman sought to cure her sick goat\nin the usual way, but the pebble evidently did not care to minister\nto any creature lower than man, for when replaced in the well, it\nlay motionless at the bottom ever afterwards. A certain Katherine\nCraigie, who was burned as a witch in Orkney in 1643, used pebbles\nin connection with the magical cures wrought by her. Her method,\nas described by Dr. Rogers in his \"Social Life in Scotland,\" was as\nfollows:--\"Into water wherewith she washed the patient she placed\nthree small stones; these, being removed from the vessel, were placed\non three corners of the patient's house from morning till night,\nwhen they were deposited at the principal entrance. Next morning\nthe stones were cast into water with which the sick person was\nanointed. The process was repeated every day till a cure was effected.\"\n\nAt some wells, what the water lacked in the matter of efficacy was\nsupplied by certain stones lying by their margins. These stones,\nin virtue of a real or fancied resemblance to parts of the human\nbody--such as the eye or arm--were applied to the members corresponding\nto them in shape, in the expectation that this would conduce to a\ncure. At Killin, in Perthshire, there are several stones dedicated\nto Fillan, at one time much used in the way described. These are,\nhowever, not beside a spring, but in the mill referred to in a previous\nchapter. They lie in a niche in the inner wall, and have been there\nfrom an unknown past. Whenever a new mill was built to replace the old\none, a niche was made in the wall for their reception. They are some\nseven or eight in number. The largest of them weighs eight lbs. ten\noz. Special interest attaches to at least two of them, on account of\ncertain markings on one side, consisting of shallow rounded hollows\nsomewhat resembling the cup-marks which have proved such a puzzle\nto arch\u00e6ologists. There is reason to believe that the stones in\nquestion were at one time used in connection with milling operations,\nthe hollows being merely the sockets where the spindle of the upper\nmillstone revolved. On the saint's day (the ninth of January), it was\ncustomary till not very long ago, for the villagers to assemble at the\nmill, and place a layer of straw below the stones. This custom has a\nparticular interest, for we find a counterpart to it in Scandinavia,\nboth instances being clearly survivals of stone-worship. \"In certain\nmountain districts of Norway,\" Dr. Tylor tells us in his \"Primitive\nCulture,\" \"up to the end of the last century, the peasants used to\npreserve round stones, washed them every Thursday evening (which\nseems to show that they represented Thor), smeared them with butter\nbefore the fire, laid them on the seat of honour on fresh straw, and\nat certain times of the year steeped them in ale, that they might bring\nluck and comfort to the house.\" The ritual here is more elaborate than\nin the case of the Killin stones; but the instances are parallel as\nregards the use of straw. Fully a couple of miles from Killin, below\nMornish, close to Loch Tay, is the lonely nettle-covered graveyard\nof Cladh Davi, and on a tombstone in its enclosure lie two roundish\nstones, believed to belong to the same series as those in the mill, and\nmarked with similar hollows. These stones were thought to cure pectoral\ninflammation, the hollows being filled with water, and applied to the\nbreasts. The Rev. Dr. Hugh MacMillan, after describing the stones\nin the volume of the \"Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of\nScotland\" for 1883-84, mentions that \"not long since, a woman, who\nwas thus afflicted, came a considerable distance, from the head of\nGlen Lochay, to make use of this remedy.\"\n\nCharm-stones were sometimes kept on the altars of ancient churches,\nas in the case of St. Ronan's Chapel, and the church in Iona already\nreferred to. At other times they were associated with crosses. Sir\nArthur Mitchell tells of an Irish curing-stone in shape like a\ndumb-bell, preserved in Killaghtee parish, County Donegal. \"There is,\"\nhe says, \"a fragment of a stone cross on the top of a small cairn. In\na cleft or hollow of this cross is kept a famous healing stone, in\nwhose virtues there is still a belief. It is frequently removed to\nhouses in which sickness exists, but it is invariably brought back,\nand those living near the cross can always tell where it is to be\nfound, if it has been so removed.\" Pennant, in connection with his\nvisit to Iona, speaks of certain stones lying in the pedestal of\na cross to the north-west of St. Oran's Chapel. \"Numbers who visit\nthis island,\" he remarks, \"think it incumbent on them to turn each\nof these thrice round, according to the course of the sun. They\nare called Clach-a-brath--for it is thought that the brath, or\n'end of the world,' will not arrive till the stone on which they\nstand is worn through.\" Pennant thought that these stones were the\nsuccessors of \"three noble globes of white marble,\" which, according\nto Sacheverel, at one time lay in three stone basins, and were turned\nround in the manner described, but were afterwards thrown into the\nsea by the order of the ecclesiastical authorities. MacCulloch says\nthat, in his day, the superstition connected with the Clach-a-brath\nhad died out in Iona. We do not think that this was likely. Anyhow\nhe mentions that \"the boys of the village still supply a stone for\nevery visitor to turn round on its bed; and thus, in the wearing of\nthis typical globe, to contribute his share to the final dissolution\nof all things.\" MacCulloch alludes to the same superstition as then\nexisting on one of the Garveloch Isles. Sometimes hollows were made\non the pedestals of crosses, not for the reception of stone-balls,\nbut to supply occupation to persons undergoing penance. A sculptured\ncross at Kilberry, in Argyllshire, has a cavity of this kind in its\npedestal. In connection with his visit to Kilberry, Captain White\nwas told that \"one of the prescribed acts of penance in connection\nwith many of the ancient Irish crosses required the individual under\ndiscipline, while kneeling before the cross, to scoop out a cavity\nin the pedestal, pestle-and-mortar fashion; and that such cavities,\nwhere now to be seen, show in this way, varying stages of the process.\"\n\nOne of the wonders of Harris, when Martin visited the island, was\na lunar stone lying in a hole in a rock. Like the tides, it felt\nthe moon's influence, for it advanced and retired according to the\nincrease or decrease of that luminary. Perforated stones were formerly\nmuch esteemed as amulets. If a stone, with a hole in it, was tied to\nthe key of a stable-door, it would prevent the witches from stealing\nthe horses. Pre-historic relics of this kind were much used to ward\noff malign influences from cattle, or to cure diseases caused by the\nfairies. Ure, in his \"History of Rutherglen and Kilbride,\" refers to a\nring of black schistus found in a cairn in the parish of Inchinnan. It\nwas believed to work wonderful cures. About a hundred years ago, a\nflat reddish stone, having notches and with two holes bored through it,\nwas presented to the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. It came from\nIslay, and had been used there as a charm. It belonged to the Stone\nAge, and had, doubtless, served its first possessor as a personal\nornament. Ivory had magical properties attributed to it. The famous\n\"Barbeck's Bone\"--once the property of the Campbells of Barbeck,\nin Craignish parish, Argyllshire, and now in the National Museum of\nAntiquities--is a piece of ivory seven inches long, four broad, and\nhalf an inch thick. At one time it had a great reputation in the West\nHighlands for the cure of insanity. It was counted so valuable that,\nwhen it was lent, a deposit of one hundred pounds sterling had to\nbe made.\n\nThe antiquarian objects, popularly called adder-beads, serpent\nstones, or druidical beads, were frequently used for the cure of\ncattle. The beads were dipped in water, and the liquid was then\ngiven to the animals to drink. These relics of a long-forgotten past\nhave been found from time to time in ancient places of sepulture,\nand as they usually occur singly, it has been conjectured that they\nwere placed there as amulets. \"Many of them,\" remarks Sir Daniel\nWilson in his \"Pre-historic Annals,\" \"are exceedingly beautiful,\nand are characterised by considerable ingenuity in the variations of\nstyle. Among those in the Scottish Museum there is one of red glass\nspotted with white; another of dark brown glass streaked with yellow;\nothers of pale green and blue glass, plain and ribbed; and two of\ncuriously figured patterns, wrought with various colours interwoven\non their surface.\" A fine specimen of this species of amulet was\ndiscovered in a grave mound at Eddertoun, in Ross-shire, during the\nprogress of the railway operations in 1864. The Rev. Dr. Joass, who\ninterested himself in the antiquarian discoveries then made, thus\ndescribes the find:--\"The glass, of which this bead was composed,\nwas of a dark blue colour, and but partially transparent. It was\nornamented by three volutes, which sufficed to surround it. These\nwere traced in a yellow pigment (or enamel) as hard as the glass\nand seeming to sink slightly below the surface into the body of the\nbead, as could be seen where this was flattened, as if by grinding\nat the opposite ends of its orifice.\" These adder-beads seem to have\nbeen common in the seventeenth century. Edward Llwyd, who visited\nScotland in 1699, saw fifty different forms of them between Wales and\nthe Scottish Highlands. Crystal balls, he tells us, were frequently\nput into a tub of water on May Day, the contents of the tub being\nsprinkled over cattle to keep them from being bewitched.\n\nFlint arrow-heads--the weapons of early times--became the amulets of a\nlater age. In folklore they are known as elf-bolts. Popular credulity\nimagined that they were used by the fairies for the destruction of\ncattle. When an animal was attacked by some sudden and mysterious\ndisease, it was believed to be \"elf-shot\" even though no wound could\nbe seen on its body. To cure the cow, the usual method was to make it\ndrink some water in which an elf-bolt had been dipped, on the principle\nof taking a hair of the dog that bit you. Elf-arrows were at one time\nthought to be serviceable to man also. The custom was not unknown of\nsewing one of them in some part of the dress as a charm against the\ninfluence of the evil eye. Occasionally one still sees them doing\nduty as brooches, and in that form, if not now prized as amulets,\nthey are esteemed as ornaments.\n\nSir J. Y. Simpson, in his \"Arch\u00e6ological Essays,\" gives some\ninteresting particulars about two ancient charm-stones, the\nproperty of two Highland families for many generations. Of these,\nthe Clach-na-Bratach, or Stone of the Standard, belongs to the head\nof the Clan Donnachie. It is described as \"a transparent, globular\nmass of rock crystal of the size of a small apple. Its surface has\nbeen artificially polished.\" The stone was picked up by the then\nchief of the clan shortly before the battle of Bannockburn. It was\nfound in a clod of earth adhering to the standard when drawn out of\nthe ground, and on account of its brilliancy the chief foretold a\nvictory. In later times it was used to predict the fortunes of the\nclan. We are told that before the battle of Sheriffmuir, in 1715,\nwhich proved so disastrous to the cause of the Stuarts, as well as\nto that of Clan Donnachie, the Clach-na-Bratach was found to have a\nflaw, not seen till then. When wanted to impart curative virtue to\nwater, the Clach-na-Bratach was dipped in it thrice by the hand of\nthe chief. The other charm-stone alluded to is the Clach Dearg, or\nStone of Ardvoirlich. It resembles the Clach-na-Bratach in appearance,\nthough it is somewhat smaller in size. It differs from it, moreover,\nin being surrounded by four silver bands of eastern workmanship. The\ncharm has belonged to the family of Ardvoirlich from an unknown past,\nbut there is no tradition as to its early history. As a healing agent\nit has had more than a local fame. When its help was sought certain\nrules had to be attended to. The person coming to Ardvoirlich was\nrequired to draw the water himself, and bring it into the house in the\nvessel in which the charm was to be dipped. A bottle of this water was\nthen carried to the invalid's home. If the bearer called at any house\nby the way, it was requisite that the bottle should be left outside,\notherwise the water would lose its power.\n\nIn the mansion-house of Lee, some three miles north of Lanark, is kept\nthe Lee Penny, an amulet of even greater fame than the Clach-na-Bratach\nor the Clach Dearg. This charm--the prototype of Sir Walter Scott's\n\"Talisman\"--is a semi-transparent gem of a dark red colour. It is set\nin a silver coin, believed to be a groat of Edward the Fourth. In shape\nit rudely resembles a heart. This circumstance doubtless strengthened\nthe original belief in its magical powers, if, indeed, it did not give\nrise to it. The tradition is, that Sir Simon Lockhart, an ancestor of\nthe present owner of the estate, left Scotland along with Sir James\nDouglas, in the year 1330, to convey the heart of Robert Bruce to the\nHoly Land. Douglas was killed in Spain in a battle with the Moors, and\nSir Simon returned to Scotland, bringing the heart with him. He had\nvarious adventures in connection with this mission. One of these was\nthe capture of a Saracen prince, who, however, obtained his freedom\nfor a large sum. While the money was being counted out the amulet\nin question accidentally fell into the heap of coin, and was claimed\nas part of the ransom. Previous to its appearance in Scotland it had\nbeen much esteemed as a cure for hemorrhage and fever. After it was\nbrought to our shores its fame increased rather than waned. During\nthe reign of Charles the First it was taken to Newcastle-on-Tyne to\nstay a pestilence raging there, a bond for six thousand pounds being\ngiven as a guarantee of its safe return. The amulet did its work so\nwell, that to ensure its retention in the town the bond would have\nbeen willingly forfeited. It was reckoned of use in the treatment of\nalmost any ailment, but specially in cases of hydrophobia. A cure\neffected by it at the beginning of last century is on record. Lady\nBaird of Saughton Hall, near Edinburgh, showed what were believed to\nbe symptoms of rabies from the bite of a dog. At her request the Lee\nPenny was sent to Saughton Hall. She drank and bathed in water in which\nit had been dipped, and restoration was the result. The amulet was\nalso used for the cure of cattle, and when every other remedy failed\nrecourse was had to the wonder-working gem. When it was employed\nfor therapeutic purposes, the following was the modus operandi:--It\nwas drawn once round the vessel containing the water to be rendered\nmedicinal, and was then plunged thrice into the liquid; but no words\nof incantation were used. For this reason the Reformed Church, when\nseeking to abolish certain practices of heathen origin, sanctioned\nthe continued use of the Lee Penny as a charm. A complaint was made\nagainst the Laird of Lee \"anent the superstitious using of ane stane\nset in silver for the curing of diseased cattell.\" The complaint came\nbefore the Assembly which met in Glasgow; but the case was dismissed\non the ground that the rite was performed \"wtout using onie words\nsuch as charmers and sorcerers use in their unlawfull practices; and\nconsidering that in nature there are mony things seen to work strange\neffects, q.r. of no human wit can give a reason.\" Nevertheless the\nLaird of Lee was admonished \"in the useing of the said stane to tak\nheed that it be used hereafter w.t. the least scandal that possiblie\nmay be.\" Belief in the efficacy of the amulet continued to hold its\nground in the neighbourhood of Lee till towards the middle of the\npresent century. In 1839 phials of water which had felt its magical\ntouch were to be seen hanging up in byres to protect the cattle from\nevil influences. Some fifteen years earlier a Yorkshire farmer carried\naway water from Lee to cure some of his cattle which had been bitten\nby a mad dog. Attached to the amulet is a small silver chain which\nfacilitated its use when its services were required. The charm is\nkept in a gold box, presented by the Empress Maria Theresa.\n\nAnother south-country amulet, not, however, so famous as the Lee Penny,\nis the piece of silver, known as the Lockerbie Penny. It was, and still\nis, we suppose, used to cure madness in cattle. In his \"Folklore of\nthe Northern Counties,\" Mr. Henderson gives the following particulars\nabout the charm:--\"It is put in a cleft stick and a well is stirred\nround with it, after which the water is bottled off and given to any\nanimal so affected. A few years ago, in a Northumbrian farm, a dog bit\nan ass, and the ass bit a cow; the penny was sent for, and a deposit\nof fifty pounds sterling actually left till it was restored. The dog\nwas shot, the cuddy died, but the cow was saved through the miraculous\nvirtue of the charm.\" After the death of the farmer who borrowed the\nPenny, several bottles of water were found stowed away in a cupboard\nlabelled \"Lockerbie Water.\" Mr. Henderson also mentions another Border\namulet, known as the Black Penny, for long the property of a family at\nHume-byers. It is larger than an ordinary penny, and is believed to\nbe a Roman coin or medal. When brought into use it should be dipped\nin a well, the water of which runs towards the south. Mr. Henderson\nadds:--\"Popular belief still upholds the virtue of this remedy; but,\nalas! it is lost to the world. A friend of mine informs me that half\na generation back the Hume-byers Penny was borrowed by some persons\nresiding in the neighbourhood of Morpeth and never returned.\"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVI.\n\nPILGRIMAGES TO WELLS.\n\n    Modern and Ancient Pilgrimages--Benefits from Pilgrimages--\n    Cuthbert's Shrine at Durham--Cross of Crail--Pilgrims' Well and\n    St. Martha's Hospital at Aberdour--Ninian's Shrine at Whithorn\n    and the Holy Wells of Wigtownshire--Kentigern's Shrine and\n    Spring at Glasgow--Chapel and Well of Grace--Whitekirk--Isle of\n    May--Witness of Arch\u00e6ology--Marmion--Early Attempts in England\n    to regulate Pilgrimages to Wells--Attempts in Scotland after\n    Reformation--Enactments by Church and State--Instances of Visits\n    to Wells--Changed Point of View--Craigie Well--Downy Well--Sugar\n    and Water Sunday in Cumberland--Sacred Dramas at Wells--\n    Festivities--St. Margaret's Well at Wereham--What happened in\n    Ireland--Patrons--Shell-mound--Selling Water--Fairs at Springs\n    --Some Examples--Secrecy of Visits to Wells.\n\n\nNowadays people put Murray or Black, or some similar volume, into their\nportmanteau, and set off by rail on what they call a pilgrimage. In\nthis case the term is a synonym for sight-seeing, usually accomplished\nunder fairly comfortable conditions. In ancient times pilgrimages were,\nas a rule, serious matters with a serious aim. Shakespeare says, in\n\"Two Gentlemen of Verona\":--\n\n\n       \"A true devoted pilgrim is not weary\n        To measure kingdoms with his feeble steps.\"\n\n\nThe object of such journeys was to benefit either soul or body, or\nboth. The doing of penance, or the fulfilling of a vow, sent devotees\nto certain sacred spots, sometimes in distant lands, sometimes within\nour own four seas. Cuthbert's shrine at Durham, where the saint's body\nwas finally deposited in 1070, after its nearly two hundred years'\nwanderings, was a noted resort of pilgrims in the middle ages, and\nmany cures were wrought at it. Archbishop Eyre, on the authority of\nReginald of Durham, tells of a certain man of noble birth, belonging\nto the south of England, who could not find relief for his leprosy. He\nwas told to light three candles, and to dedicate them respectively\nto St. Edmund, St. Etheldrith, and St. Cuthbert, and to visit the\nshrine of the saint whose candle first burned out. The candles were\nlighted, and the omen indicated the last-mentioned saint. Accordingly,\nhe travelled to the north country, and, after various religious\nexercises, drew near the shrine of Cuthbert, and was cured. The shrine\nin question was known even as far off as Norway. On one occasion,\nat least, viz., in 1172, its miraculous aid was sought by an invalid\nfrom that country. A young man of Bergen, who was blind, deaf,\nand dumb, had sought relief at Scandinavian shrines for six years,\nbut in vain. The bishop suggested that he should try the virtue\nof an English shrine, and recommended that lots should be cast,\nto determine whether it was to be that of St. Edmund, St. Thomas,\nor St. Cuthbert. The lot fell to St. Cuthbert. The young man passed\nthrough Scotland to Durham, and returned home cured. The miracle,\ndoubtless, still further increased the sanctity of the saint's tomb.\n\nThe Cross of Crail, in Fife, had the power of working wonderful\ncures; and many were the pilgrims who flocked to it. Aberdour, in the\nsame county, had more than a local fame. The name of The Pilgrims'\nWell there tells its own tale. This well is now filled up, but for\ncenturies it attracted crowds of pilgrims. In the fifteenth century\nthe spot was so popular that about 1475, at the suggestion of Sir John\nScott, vicar of Aberdour, the Earl of Morton granted a piece of land\nfor the erection of an hospital to accommodate the pilgrims. This\nhospital was named after St. Martha. It is not certain to whom the\nPilgrims' Well was dedicated; but Fillan was probably its patron,\nas the Rev. Wm. Ross conjectures, in an article on the subject in\nthe third volume of the \"Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries\nof Scotland.\" The church of Aberdour was dedicated to the saint in\nquestion; and the well was near the old churchyard.\n\nNinian's shrine at Whithorn was the scene of various miracles during\nthe middle ages. In 1425 James the First granted a safe-conduct to all\nstrangers, coming to Scotland to visit it; and James the Fourth made a\npilgrimage to it once a year, and sometimes oftener. \"It is likely,\"\nremarks the Rev. Daniel Conway in an article on consecrated springs\nin the south-west of Scotland, \"that the spots in Wigtownshire, where\nHoly Wells were, marked the route pursued by pilgrims bent on doing\nhomage to the relics of St. Ninian at Whithorn.\" Whithorn was not\nthe only shrine visited by James the Fourth. He went repeatedly on\npilgrimage to St. Andrews, Dunfermline, and Tain, and left offerings\nat the shrines of their respective saints. When on pilgrimage the king\nwas usually accompanied by a large retinue, including a company of\nminstrels. He liked to have his dogs and hawks with him too, to have\na little hunting by the way.\n\nSt. Kentigern's Well, in the so-called crypt of Glasgow Cathedral,\nhas already been mentioned. In the immediate neighbourhood is the\nspot believed to mark the last resting place of the saint. Till the\nReformation his shrine attracted crowds of pilgrims. On special\noccasions his relics were displayed, including his bones, his\nhair shirt, and his scourge, and a red liquor that flowed from his\ntomb. These, along with other relics belonging to the cathedral, were\ntaken to France by Archbishop Beaton in 1560. In the ancient parish\nof Dundurcus, Elginshire, not far from the river Spey, once stood the\nChapel of Grace, and close to it was a well of the same name. The place\nwas a favourite resort of pilgrims. Lady Aboyne went to it once a year,\na distance of over thirty miles, and walked the last two miles of the\nway on her bare feet. In 1638 an attempt was made to put a stop to\nthe pilgrimages, by destroying what then remained of the chapel. The\nattempt, however, seems to have been fruitless, for in 1775, Shaw, the\nhistorian of Moray, mentions that to it \"multitudes from the western\nisles do still resort, and nothing short of violence can restrain their\nsuperstition.\" In 1435, when \u00c6neas Silvius (afterwards Pope Pius the\nSecond) was sailing from the low countries to Scotland on a political\nmission, he was twice overtaken by a storm, and was in such danger\nthat he vowed to make a pilgrimage, should he escape drowning. At\nlength he reached the Haddingtonshire coast in safety, and, to fulfil\nhis vow, set off barefoot, over ice-covered ground, to Whitekirk,\nten miles away, where there were a chapel and well, dedicated to the\nVirgin. The journey left its mark on the pilgrim, for we are told\nthat he had aches in his joints ever afterwards. St. Adrian's Chapel,\nin the Isle of May, in the Firth of Forth, had a great reputation\nbefore the Reformation. The island has still its Pilgrims' Haven,\nand its Pilgrims' Well close by.\n\nArch\u00e6ology bears witness to the popularity of pilgrimages in former\ntimes. Between Moxley Nunnery, in Yorkshire, and St. John's Well,\nabout a mile away, are the remains of a causeway, laid down for\nthe convenience of devotees. At Stenton, in Haddingtonshire, near\nthe road leading to Dunbar, is the well of the Holy Rood, covered\nby a small circular building with a conical roof. The well is now\nfilled up. Its former importance is indicated by the fact that the\npathway between it and the old church, some two hundred yards off,\nhad a stone pavement, implying considerable traffic to and from the\nspring. In the quiet Banffshire parish of Inveraven, is a spring,\nat Chapelton of Kilmaichlie, near the site of an ancient chapel. The\nspring is now almost forgotten, but its casing of stone shows that,\nat one time, it was an object of interest in the neighbourhood.\n\nThe author of \"Marmion,\" when describing the arrival, at Lindisfarne,\nof the bark containing St. Hilda's holy maids from Whitby, has the\nfollowing picturesque lines:--\n\n\n       \"The tide did now its flood-mark gain,\n        And girdled in the saint's domain:\n        For, with the flow and ebb, its style\n        Varies from continent to isle;\n        Dry-shod, o'er sands, twice every day,\n        The pilgrims to the shrine find way;\n        Twice, every day, the waves efface\n        Of staves and sandalled feet the trace.\"\n\n\nTowards the end of the same poem, in connection with the Lady\nClare's quest of water for the dying Marmion, we find the following\nreference:--\n\n\n       \"Where shall she turn?--behold her mark\n          A little fountain cell,\n        Where water, clear as diamond-spark,\n          In a stone basin fell!\n        Above, some half-worn letters say,\n          'Drink . weary . pilgrim . drink . and . pray .\n        For . the . kind . soul . of . Sybil . Grey .\n          Who . built . this . cross . and . well.'\"\n\n\nIn England, during the middle ages, there were various attempts\nto regulate the custom of making pilgrimages to wells. A canon of\nKing Edgar, of date 963, prohibited the superstitious resorting to\nfountains, and in 1102, one of the canons of St. Anselm permitted\nonly such wells to be visited as were approved of by the bishop. In\nScotland, vigorous efforts were made, after the Reformation, to\nabolish the practice. Both Church and State combined to bring about\nthis result. In an Act of Parliament, of date 1581, allusion is made\nto the \"pervers inclination of mannis ingyne to superstitioun through\nwhich the dregges of idolatrie yit remanis in divers pairtis of the\nrealme be useing of pilgrimage to sum chappellis, wellis, croces, and\nsic other monumentis of idolatrie, as also be observing of the festual\ndayis of the santes sumtyme namit their patronis in setting forth of\nbain fyres, singing of caroles within and about kirkes at certane\nseasones of the yeir.\" In 1629 the practice was sternly forbidden\nby an edict from the Privy Council. In connection with this edict,\nDalyell remarks, \"It seems not to have been enough that congregations\nwere interdicted from the pulpit preceding the wonted period of resort,\nor that individuals, humbled on their knees, in public acknowledgment\nof their offence, were rebuked or fined for disobedience. Now, it\nwas declared that, for the purpose of restraining the superstitious\nresort, 'in pilgrimages to chappellis and wellis, which is so\nfrequent and common in this kingdome, to the great offence of God,\nscandall of the kirk, and disgrace of his Majesteis government;\nthat commissioners cause diligent search at all such pairts and\nplaces where this idolatrous superstitioun is used, and to take and\napprehend all suche persons of whatsomever rank and qualitie whom\nthey sall deprehend going in pilgrimage to chappellis and wellis,\nor whome they sall know thameselffes to be guiltie of that cryme,\nand to commit thame to waird, until measures should be adopted for\ntheir trial and punishment.'\" Prior to the date of the above edict the\nPrivy Council had not been idle, crowds of people were in the habit\nof making a pilgrimage on May Day to Christ's Well, in Menteith,\nwhere they performed certain superstitious rites. Accordingly, in\n1624, a Commission was issued to a number of gentlemen belonging\nto the district instructing them to station themselves beside the\nwell, to apprehend the pilgrims and to remove them to the Castle of\nDoune. Even such measures did not cause the practice to cease.\n\nIn 1628 several persons were accused before the kirk-session of Falkirk\nof going in pilgrimage to the well in question, and being found guilty,\nwere ordered to appear in church three appointed Sundays, clad in the\ngarb of penitents. The same year the following warning was issued by\nthe aforesaid kirk-session:--\"It is statute and ordained that if any\nperson or persons be found superstitiously and idolatrously, after\nthis, to have passed in pilgrimage to Christ's Well, on the Sundays of\nMay to seek their health, they shall repent in sacco and linen three\nseveral Sabbaths, and pay twenty lib. (Scots) toties quoties for ilk\nfault; and if they cannot pay it the baillies shall be recommended\nto put them in ward, and to be fed on bread and water for aught days.\"\n\nScottish ecclesiastical records, indeed, bear ample testimony to the\nzeal displayed by the Church in putting a stop to such visits. In his\n\"Domestic Annals of Scotland,\" Chambers gives the following picture\nof what was done by the kirk-session of Perth. The example shows the\nlines usually followed in connection with such prosecutions:--\"At\nHuntingtower there was a well, the water of which was believed to\nhave sanative qualities when used under certain circumstances. In May,\n1618, two women of humble rank were before the kirk-session of Perth,\n'who, being asked if they were at the well in the bank of Huntingtower\nthe last Sabbath, if they drank thereof, and what they left at it,\nanswered, that they drank thereof, and that each of them left a prin\n(pin) thereat, which was found to be a point of idolatrie in putting\nthe well in God's room.' They were each fined six shillings, and\ncompelled to make public avowal of their repentance.\" In the parish\nof Nigg, Kincardineshire, is St. Fittack's or St. Fiacre's Well,\nsituated close to the sea. It is within easy reach of Aberdeen across\nthe Dee. Many a visit was paid to it by the inhabitants of that burgh,\nfrom motives of superstition. The Aberdeen kirk-session, however, did\nits duty in the matter, and repeatedly forbade such visits. In 1630,\n\"Margrat Davidson, spous to Andro Adam, was adjudget in ane unlaw of\nfyve poundis to be payed to the collector for directing hir nowriss\nwith hir bairne to Sanct Fiackres Well, and weshing the bairne tharin\nfor recovirie of hir health; and the said Margrat and hir nowriss\nwere ordainit to acknowledge thair offence before the Session for\nthair fault, and for leaveing ane offering in the well.\" The saint,\nto whom the well was dedicated, is believed to have migrated from\nScotland to France early in the seventh century, and to have been\nheld in much esteem there. From Butler's \"Lives of the Saints\" we\nget the curious information that \"the name fiacre was first given\nto hackney coaches, because hired carriages were first made use\nof for the convenience of pilgrims who went from Paris to visit\nthe shrine of this saint.\" A well at Airth, in Stirlingshire, was\nfor long a centre of attraction. What was done there may be learned\nfrom some entries in the local kirk-session records quoted in Hone's\n\"Every-Day Book\":--\"Feb. 3, 1757. Session convenit. Compeared Bessie\nThomson, who declairit schoe went to the well at Airth, and that\nschoe left money thairat and after the can was fillat with water,\nthey keepit it from touching the ground till they cam hom.\" \"February\n24th.--Compeired Robert Fuird, who declared he went to the well of\nAirth and spoke nothing als he went, and that Margrat Walker went\nwith him, and schoe said ye belief about the well, and left money and\nane napkin at the well, and all was done at her injunction.\" \"March\n21.--Compeired Robert Ffuird who declairit yat Margrat Walker went to\nye well of Airth to fetch water to Robert Cowie, and when schoe com\nthair schoe laid down money in God's name, and ane napkin in Robert\nCowie's name.\" The session ordered the delinquents to be admonished.\n\nYears went on, and modes of thought gradually changed. Church and\nState alike began to respect the liberty of the subject. Though visits\ncontinued to be paid to holy wells, they ceased to be reckoned as\noffences. People might still resort to the spots, so familiar to\ntheir ancestors, and so much revered by them; but they no longer\nfound themselves shut up in prison, or made to do penance before the\nwhole congregation. Old customs continued to hold sway, though less\nstress was laid on the superstitions, lying behind them. Thus it\ncame to pass, that pilgrimages to holy wells became more and more\nan excuse for mirthful meetings among friends. This was specially\ntrue of Craigie Well, in the parish of Avoch, in the Black Isle of\nCromarty. The time for visiting the spring was early in the morning\nof the first Sunday in May. The well was situated near Munlochy Bay,\na few yards above high-water-mark, and gets its name from the crags\naround. A correspondent of Chambers's \"Book of Days\" thus describes\nwhat he saw and heard:--\"I arrived about an hour before sunrise, but\nlong before, crowds of lads and lasses from all quarters were fast\npouring in. Some, indeed, were there at daybreak who had journeyed\nmore than seven miles. Before the sun made his appearance, the whole\nscene looked more like a fair than anything else. Acquaintances\nshook hands in true Highland style, brother met brother, and sister\nmet sister, while laughter and all kinds of country news and gossip\nwere so freely indulged in, that a person could hardly hear what\nhe himself said.\" Amid all the stir and bustle the spring itself\nwas not neglected, for everyone took care to have a drink. Some used\ndishes, while others, on hands and knees, sucked up the water with the\nmouth. These latter were now and again ducked over head and ears by\ntheir acquaintances, who much enjoyed the frolic. No one went away\nwithout leaving a thread, or patch of cloth on a large briar bush\nnear the spring. Besides St. Fittack's Well, there is another in\nNigg parish called Downy Well. It used to be resorted to in May, by\npersons who drank the water, and then crossed by a narrow neck of land,\ncalled The Brig of a'e Hair, to Downy Hill--a green headland in the\nsea--where they amused themselves by carving their names in the turf.\n\nBrand, in his \"Popular Antiquities,\" gives the following particulars\nabout a custom that still prevailed in Cumberland, when he wrote\nabout forty years ago:--\"In some parts of the North of England it\nhas been a custom from time immemorial for the lads and lasses of\nthe neighbouring villages to collect together at springs or rivers,\non some Sunday in May, to drink sugar and water, where the lasses gave\nthe treat: this is called \"Sugar and Water Sunday.\" They afterwards\nadjourn to the public-house, and the lads return the compliment in\ncakes, ale, punch, &c. A vast concourse of both sexes assemble for\nthe above purpose at the Giant's Cave, near Eden Hall in Cumberland,\non the third Sunday in May.\"\n\nWe do not know whether sacred dramas were ever performed beside\nScottish springs; but Stow informs us that the parish clerks of London\nmade an annual pilgrimage to Clark's Well, near the Metropolis,\n\"to play some large history of Holy Scripture.\" He also mentions\nthat a Miracle Play, lasting eight days, was performed at Skinner's\nWell in the time of Henry the Fourth. South of the Tweed, springs\nwere often the scenes of festivity. Thus, to take only one example,\nwe find that pilgrims to St. Margaret's Well, at Wereham in Norfolk,\nwere in the habit, in pre-Reformation days, of regaling themselves with\ncakes and ale, and indulging in music and dancing. What occurred in\nIreland down to the beginning of the present century may be gathered\nfrom a passage in Mason's \"Statistical Account of Ireland\" reprinted\nin the \"Folklore Journal\" for 1888. After referring to religious\nassemblies at Holy Wells the writer remarks:--\"At these places are\nalways erected booths or tents as in Fairs for selling whisky, beer,\nand ale, at which pipers and fiddlers do not fail to attend, and the\nremainder of the day and night (after their religious performances\nare over and the priest withdrawn) is spent in singing, dancing, and\ndrinking to excess.... Such places are frequently chosen for scenes of\npitched battles, fought with cudgels by parties not only of parishes\nbut of counties, set in formal array against each other to revenge\nsome real or supposed injury.\" In Roman Catholic districts of Ireland,\nwhat are called patrons, i.e., gatherings in honour of the patron\nsaints of the place, are still popular. From an article on \"Connemara\nFolklore,\" by G. H. Kinahan, in the \"Folklore Journal\" for 1884, we\nlearn that a consecrated spring at Cashla Bay has, beside it, a large\nconical mound of sea-shells. These are the remains of the shell-fish\nforming the food of the pilgrims during the continuance of the patron,\nand cooked by them on the top of the mound. Last century, in Ireland,\nthe custom of carrying the water of famous wells to distant parts, and\nthere selling it, was not unknown. A correspondent of the \"Gentleman's\nMagazine\" mentions that about 1750 this was done in connection with a\nmiraculous spring near Sligo; and that, some years earlier, the water\nof Lough Finn was sold in the district, where he lived, at sixpence,\neightpence, and tenpence per quart, according to the different success\nof sale the carriers had on the road. A thatched cottage stood close\nto the site of St. Margaret's Well at Restalrig, and was inhabited\nby a man who carried the water of the spring to Leith for sale.\n\nMr. William Andrews, in his \"Old Time Punishments,\" tells of booths\nhaving been set up beside a Lincolnshire gibbet in 1814, to supply\nprovisions for the crowds who came to see a murderer hanging in\nchains there. Less gruesome were the fairs at one time held in the\nneighbourhood of springs, though even they had certain unpleasant\nconcomitants, which led in the end to their discontinuance. In\nthe united parish of Dunkeld and Dowally is Sancta Crux Well, at\nCrueshill. Till towards the middle of the present century, it was such\na popular resort, that tents were set up and refreshments sold to\nthe pilgrims. Alcohol was so freely partaken of that drunken brawls\noften ensued, and right-minded people felt that the gathering would\nbe more honoured in the breach than in the observance. St. Fillan's\nFair, at Struan, took place on the first Friday after New Year's\nDay (O.S.). It was held on a spot close to the church, and not far\nfrom St. Fillan's Well. It is now discontinued, but its stance is\nstill known as Croft-an-taggart, i.e., The Priest's Croft. The Well\nMarket, now held at Tomintoul, in Kirkmichael parish, Banffshire, but\nformerly beside Fergan Well, has already been referred to. Writing\nin April, 1892, a correspondent, who has resided in the parish for\nnearly half-a-century, mentions the following particulars concerning\nthe spring:--\"The healing virtue of its water is still believed in,\nespecially on the first Sunday of May, when parties still gather and\nwatch the arrival of Sunday morning with special care, many of them\nremaining there the whole night and part of the Sabbath. Whoever first\nwashes in the water or drinks of it is cured of any disease or sore\nwith which they may be troubled.\" Our correspondent adds:--\"The annual\nmarket of the district was held at Fergan Well, and the foundations of\nthe tents or booths where goods were sold are still visible: and very\nprobably there was a kind of mountain dew partaken of stronger than\nthe water that now flows from Fergan Well.\" We shall have something\nmore to say about fairs in the next chapter.\n\nThough modern enlightenment has not entirely abolished the practice\nof resorting to consecrated springs, it has, as a rule, produced a\ndesire for secrecy on the part of the pilgrims. When superstitious\nmotives are absent, and springs are visited merely from curiosity\nor love of frolic, there is no sense of shame, and hence no need for\nconcealment. But when the pilgrims regard the practice as a magical\nrite, they usually prefer to keep the rest of the world in the dark\nas to their doings. Sir Arthur Mitchell truly remarks in his \"Past in\nthe Present\"--\"It is well enough understood that the business is not\na Christian one, and that the engaging in it is not a thing which it\nwould be easy to justify. There is a consciousness that it has not been\ngone about as an empty, meaningless ceremony, but that it has involved\nan acknowledgment of a supernatural power controlling human affairs\nand influenced by certain rites and offerings--a power different\nfrom that which is acknowledged by Christians. Hence it happens that\nthere is a difficulty in getting people to confess to these visits,\nand, of course, a greater difficulty still in getting them to speak,\nfreely and frankly, about the feelings and beliefs which led to them.\"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVII.\n\nSUN-WORSHIP AND WELL-WORSHIP.\n\n    Fairs--Their Connection with Holy Days--Nature-festivals--Modes\n    of Marking Time--Ecclesiastical Year and Natural Year--Christmas\n    --Fire-festivals--Hallow E'en and Mid-summer Fires--Beltane--Its\n    Connection with Sun-worship--Sun-charms--Carrying Fire--Clavie at\n    Burghead--Fiery-circle--Traces of Sun-worship in Folk-customs--\n    In Architecture--Turning Sunways--Widdershins--When Wells were\n    Visited--May--Influence of Pagan Rites--Folklore of May Day--\n    Sundays in May--Sunday Wells--Sunday, why Chosen--Lammas--Festival\n    of St. Peter ad Vincula--Gule of August--Sun and Well-worship--\n    Time of Day for Using Wells--Fonts of the Cross--Walking Sunways\n    round Wells--Doing the Reverse--Witch's Well--South-running Water.\n\n\nIn his \"Scottish Markets and Fairs\" Sir J. D. Marwick\nobserves:--\"Simple home needs, such as plain food and clothing,\narticles of husbandry, and other indispensable appliances of life gave\nrise to markets held at frequent fixed times, at suitable centres. But\nas society grew and artificial needs sprung up, these could only be\nmet by trade; and trade on anything beyond a very limited scale was\nonly then practicable at fairs. Wherever large numbers of persons\nwere drawn together, at fixed times, for purposes of business or\nreligion or pleasure, an inducement was offered to the merchant or\npedlar, as well as to the craftsman, to attend, and to provide by\nthe diversity and quality of his wares for the requirements of the\npersons there congregated.\" In the last chapter allusion was made\nto such gatherings in connection with springs. We shall now look at\nthe dates when they were held, in order to trace their connection\nwith nature-festivals. Fairs, as distinguished from markets, were of\ncomparatively rare occurrence at any given place. In the majority of\ninstances, they can be traced back to some gathering held in connection\nwith what were originally holy days, and afterwards holidays. Such\nholy days commemorated a local saint, the fame of whose sanctity\nwas confined to more or less narrow limits, or one whom Christendom\nat large delighted to honour; or, again, a leading event in sacred\nor legendary history deemed worthy of a place in the ecclesiastical\nyear. A few dates when fairs are, or were held at various Scottish\ncentres may be selected from Sir J. Marwick's list. At Abercorn\nthey were held on Michaelmas and St. Serf's Day; at Aberdeen,\non Whitsunday, Holy Trinity, Michaelmas, and St. Nicholas's Day;\nat Charlestown of Aboyne, on Candlemas, Michaelmas, and Hallowmas;\nat Annan, on Ascension-day and Michaelmas; at Ayr, on Mid-summer and\nMichaelmas; at Biggar, on Candlemas and Mid-summer; at Clackmannan,\non St. Bartholomew's Day; at Cromdale, on St. Luke's Day, St. Peter's\nDay, Michaelmas, and St. George's Day; at Culross, on St. Serf's Day,\nMartinmas, and St. Matthew's Day; at Dalmellington, on Fastern's\nE'en and Hallow E'en; at Dalmeny, on St. John the Baptist's Day and\nSt. Luke's Day; at Doune, on Martinmas, Yule, Candlemas, Whitsunday,\nLammas, and Michaelmas; at Dumbarton, on Patrickmas, Mid-summer, and\nLammas; at Fraserburgh, on St. John the Baptist's Day and Michaelmas;\nat Fyvie, on Fastern's Eve, St. Peter's Day, and St. Magdalene's Day;\nat Hamilton, on St. Lawrence's Day and Martinmas; at Inveraray, on\nMichaelmas and St. Brandane's Day; at Stranraer, on St. Barnabas' Day\nand Lammas. Among the fairs at Auchinblae were Pasch Market in April,\nand one called May Day to be held on the 22nd of that month. This\nseries might be indefinitely enlarged; but as it stands it shows that\nthe leading nature-festivals, such as Yule, Easter, Whitsuntide,\nMid-summer, Michaelmas, and Hallowmas have a prominent place among\nthe dates selected. An examination of Sir J. Marwick's list further\nshows that the dates of fairs were often fixed, not with reference\nto any particular holy day, but to some day of a particular month,\nsuch as the second Tuesday, or the third Thursday. Many of these\noccur in May. In ancient documents--in Acts of Parliaments, for\ninstance--dates were commonly fixed by a reference to holy days. In\nPresbyterian Scotland such a method of marking time is not now in\nfashion, though some relics of the practice survive. We are still\nfamiliar with Whitsunday and Martinmas as term-days, but how few now\never think of them as ecclesiastical festivals!\n\nThe meaning of customs associated with the various holy days\nhas come to be duly recognised by the student of ecclesiastical\nantiquities. While the Christian year was being evolved in\nthe course of centuries, certain festivals were introduced,\nas one might say, arbitrarily, i.e., without being linked to any\npre-Christian usages. From the point of view of Church celebrations,\nthey have not the same significance as those others that received,\nas their heritage, certain rights in vogue before the spread of\nChristianity. In other words, the leading pagan festivals had a new\nmeaning put into them, and, when adopted by the Church, were exalted\nto a position of honour. In virtue of this, the ecclesiastical year\nwas correlated to the natural year, with its varying seasons and its\narchaic festivals. There is no doubt that in early times the Church\nsought to win nations from paganism by admitting as many of the old\ncustoms as were deemed harmless. We have seen how this was effected in\nthe case of fountains, as shown by Columba's exorcism of the demons\ninhabiting springs. The same principle prevailed all round. The old\nSaturnalia of the Romans, for instance, became the rejoicings of\nChristmas. To the distinctively Christian aspects of the festival we\ndo not, of course, allude, but to the customs still in vogue at the\nYule season; and these are nothing more than a revised edition of the\nold pagan rites. Among other Aryan peoples the winter solstice was\nalso commemorated by similar merry-makings. Church festivals, such\nas Candlemas, Easter, St. John's Day, St. Peter's Day, Michaelmas,\nHallowmas, Christmas, &c., absorbed many distinctive features of the\nold pagan fire-festivals, held in connection with the changes of the\nseasons. The kindling of fires out of doors, on special occasions,\nis familiar to all of us. They may be called modern folk-customs; but\ntheir origin is ancient enough to give them special significance. Even\nto the present time, twinkling spots of light may be seen along the\nshores of Loch Tay on Hallow E'en, though the mid-summer fires do not\nnow blaze on our Scottish hills, as they continue to do in Scandinavia\nand elsewhere. Among the Bavarian Highlands these mid-summer fires are\npopularly known as Sonnenwendfeuer, i.e., solstice-fires. That they\nare so called and not St. John's fires (though lighted in connection\nwith his festival) is significant. In Brittany a belief prevailed\nthat if a girl danced nine times round one of the St. John's fires\nbefore midnight she would be married within the year.\n\nThe most important fire-festival in Scotland was that of Beltane\nat the beginning of May. It was celebrated generally throughout our\nland. To the south of the Forth several sites are known to have been\nspecially associated with Beltane fires. In Lanarkshire two such\nsites were, the hills of Tinto and Dechmont. Tinto, indeed, means\nthe hill of fire. It was used for beacon-fires as well as for those\nconnected with nature-festivals, and was well adapted for the purpose,\nbeing 2335 feet above the sea, and 1655 feet above the Clyde at its\nbase. Though not nearly so high, Dechmont hill commands a splendid view\nover the neighbouring country. Early in the present century a quantity\nof charcoal was discovered near its summit hidden beneath a stratum\nof fine loam. The country people around expressed no surprise at the\ndiscovery, as they were familiar with the tradition that the spot had\nbeen used for the kindling of Beltane fires. In Peeblesshire, too,\nthe Beltane festival long held its ground. In the fifteenth century\nthe town of Peebles was the scene of joyous May Day gatherings. From\nfar and near, holiday-makers, dressed in their best, came together\nto join in the Beltane amusements. Who has not heard of the poem,\n\"Peblis to the Play,\" attributed to King James the First? The play\nconsisted of a round of rural festivities--archery and horse-racing\nbeing the chief recreations. Pennant gives a minute account of Beltane\nrites as practised about 1772. \"On the first of May the herdsmen\nof every village hold their Bel-tein, a rural sacrifice. They cut a\nsquare trench on the ground, leaving the turf in the middle; on that\nthey make a fire of wood, on which they dress a large caudle of eggs,\nbutter, oat-meal, and milk, and bring, besides the ingredients of\nthe caudle, plenty of beer and whisky; for each of the company must\ncontribute something. The rites begin with spilling some of the caudle\non the ground by way of libation; on that, every one takes a cake of\noatmeal, upon which are raised nine square knobs, each dedicated to\nsome particular being, the supposed preserver of their flocks and\nherds, or to some particular animal, the real destroyer of them;\neach person then turns his face to the fire, breaks off a knob,\nand flinging it over his shoulders, says, 'This I give to thee,\npreserve thou my horses; this to thee, preserve thou my sheep'; and\nso on. After that they use the same ceremony to the noxious animals,\n'This I give to thee, O fox! spare thou my lambs; this to thee, O\nhooded crow! this to thee, O eagle!' When the ceremony is over they\ndine on the caudle; and after the feast is finished, what is left is\nhid by two persons deputed for that purpose; but on the next Sunday\nthey reassemble and finish the reliques of the first entertainment.\"\n\nAn examination of the dates when fire-festivals were held shows that\nthey had a distinct connection with the sun's annual cycle. When\nseveral leading Church festivals fell to be observed about the same\ntime of the year, they had often some features in common. Thus the\npagan mid-summer festival had as its lineal successor, not only\nSt. John's Day (24th June), but St. Vitus's Day and St. Peter's Day,\nrespectively the fifteenth and the twenty-ninth of the same month. The\nkindling of fires was a feature of all three. Medi\u00e6val fire-festivals\nwere thus the gleanings of rites derived from archaic sun-worship.\n\nThe question arises, what connection was there between the custom and\nthe cult? Mr. J. G. Frazer, in his \"Golden Bough,\" has collected a\nvariety of facts which go to show that the lighting of these fires\nwas primarily intended to ensure the shining of the sun in the\nheavens. Mr. Frazer thus sums up the evidence: \"The best general\nexplanation of these European fire-festivals seems to be the one\ngiven by Mannhardt, namely, that they are sun-charms or magical\nceremonies intended to ensure a proper supply of sunshine for men,\nanimals, and plants. Savages resort to charms for making sunshine,\nand we need not wonder that primitive man in Europe has done the\nsame. Indeed, considering the cold and cloudy climate of Europe\nduring a considerable part of the year, it is natural that sun-charms\nshould have played a much more prominent part among the superstitious\npractices of European peoples than among those of savages who live\nnearer the equator. This view of the festivals in question is supported\nby various considerations drawn partly from the rites themselves,\npartly from the influence which they are believed to exert upon the\nweather and on vegetation.\" After alluding to certain sun-charms,\nMr. Frazer continues, \"In these the magic force is supposed to take\neffect through mimicry or sympathy; by imitating the desired result\nyou actually produce it; by counterfeiting the sun's progress through\nthe heavens you really help the luminary to pursue his celestial\njourney with punctuality and despatch.... The influence which these\nbonfires are supposed to exert on the weather and on vegetation goes\nto show that they are sun-charms, since the effects ascribed to them\nare identical with those of sunshine. Thus, in Sweden, the warmth or\ncold of the coming season is inferred from the direction in which the\nflames of the bonfire are blown; if they blow to the south it will\nbe warm, if to the north, cold. No doubt at present the direction of\nthe flames is regarded merely as an augury of the weather, not as a\nmode of influencing it. But we may be pretty sure that this is one\nof the cases in which magic has dwindled into divination.\" Hence a\ngood supply of light and heat is not only foretold, but guaranteed.\n\nThe view that these fires were reckoned mock-suns is confirmed by\nthe custom, at one time common, of carrying lighted brands round\nthe fields to ensure their fertility. Blazing torches were thus\ncarried in Pennant's time in the middle of June. Martin refers to\nthe carrying of fire in the Hebrides. \"There was an antient custom\nin the Island of Lewis to make a fiery circle about the houses, corn,\ncattle, &c., belonging to each particular family. An instance of this\nround was performed in the village Shadir, in Lewis, about sixteen\nyears ago (i.e., circa 1680), but it proved fatal to the practiser,\ncalled MacCallum; for, after he had carefully performed this round,\nthat very night following he and his family were sadly surprised,\nand all his houses, corn, cattle, &c., were consumed with fire. This\nsuperstitious custom is quite abolished now, for there has not been\nabove this one instance of it in forty years past.\" Till a later\ndate in Lewis, fire continued to be carried round children before\nthey were baptised, and round mothers before they were churched,\nto prevent evil spirits from doing harm.\n\nBurghead, in Elginshire, is still the scene of an annual fire-festival,\ncelebrated on the last day of the year (O.S.). It is locally known as\nthe burning of the clavie. On the afternoon of the day in question,\ncareful preparations are made for the ceremony. A tar barrel is sawn\nacross, and of it the clavie is made. A pole of firwood is stuck\nthrough the barrel, and held in its place by a large nail driven in by\na stone, no hammer being used. The clavie is then filled with tar and\npieces of wood. After dark these combustibles are kindled, according to\nancient practice, by a burning peat from a neighbouring cottage. The\nclavie is then lifted by one of the men and carried through the\nvillage amid the applause of the inhabitants. Notwithstanding the\nrisk from the burning tar, the possession of the clavie, while on its\npilgrimage, is eagerly coveted. In former times, a stumble on the\npart of the bearer was counted unlucky for himself personally, and\nfor the village as a whole. After being borne about for some time, the\nstill blazing clavie is placed on an adjacent mound called the Doorie,\nwhere a stone column was built some years ago for its accommodation. A\nhole in the top of the column receives the pole. There the clavie is\nallowed to burn for about half-an-hour, when it is thrown down the\nslope of the mound. The burning fragments are eagerly snatched up\nand carried away by the spectators. These fragments were formerly\nkept as charms to ensure good fortune to their possessors. In the\nseventeenth and eighteenth centuries the Church discountenanced the\nburning of the clavie as idolatrous and sinful, and certain penalties\nwere threatened against all who took part in it. The antiquity of\nthe custom may be inferred from the fact, that two hundred years\nago it was called old. At that time lights were carried round the\nboats in the harbour, and certain other ceremonies were performed,\nall pointing to a pagan origin. Formerly the custom was in vogue,\nnot only at Burghead, but at most of the fishing villages along the\nMorayshire coast. The object in every case was the same, viz., the\nblessing of the boats to ensure a good fishing season.\n\nA singular survival of sun-worship is to be found in the use of a fiery\ncircle as a curative agent. In the volume of the \"Proceedings of the\nSociety of Antiquaries of Scotland\" for 1889-90, the Rev. Dr. Stewart\nof Nether Lochaber recounts a recent instance of its use in the\nHighlands. A dwining child, a year and a half old, was pronounced by a\n\"wise woman\" of the district to be suffering from the effects of an\n\"evil eye.\" The rite, called in Gaelic, Beannachd-na-Cuairte, i.e.,\n\"Blessing of the Circle,\" was accordingly resorted to. A straw rope was\nwound round the greater part of an iron hoop, and, oil being applied,\nthe whole was set on fire. The hoop was then held vertically, and\nthrough the blazing circle the child was passed and repassed eighteen\ntimes to correspond to the months of its life. The blazing hoop was\nthen extinguished in a neighbouring burn. The result was in every\nway to the satisfaction of the child's relatives. In the same article\nDr. Stewart gives an account, sent to him by a friend, of a similar\nsuperstition common in Wigtownshire till about half-a-century ago. In\nthis case, the healing influence came through the channel of the iron\ntire of a new cart wheel. After fire had been applied to it to make\nit fit the wheel, the tire was passed over the head of the patient,\nwho was thus placed in the middle of a glowing circle.\n\nSo much for the traces of sun-worship in rites connected with\nfire. There are traces of it also in certain folk-customs, at one\ntime common, and not yet extinct. Highlanders were formerly in the\nhabit of taking off their bonnets to the rising sun. Akin to this is\nthe feeling underlying the Venetian expedition to the Lido, annually\nrepeated in July, when thousands cross to that island at dawn, and\nutter a loud shout when the sun rises above the horizon. In cases\nwhere sun-worship is a national cult we naturally expect it to\nhave a marked influence on the sacred customs and architecture of\nits votaries. One example will suffice. In his \"Pre-historic Man,\"\nSir Daniel Wilson thus describes the great annual festival of the\nPeruvians, held at the summer solstice:--\"For three days previous,\na general fast prevailed; the fire on the great altar of the sun went\nout, and in all the dwellings of the land no hearth was kindled. As\nthe dawn of the fourth day approached, the Inca, surrounded by his\nnobles, who came from all parts of the country to join in the solemn\ncelebration, assembled in the great square of the capital to greet\nthe rising sun. The temple of the national deity presented its eastern\nportal to the earliest rays, emblazoned with his golden image, thickly\nset with precious stones, and as the first beams of the morning were\nreflected back from this magnificent emblem of the god of day, songs\nof triumph mingled with the jubilant shout of his worshippers. Then,\nafter various rites of adoration, preparations were made for rekindling\nthe sacred fire. The rays of the sun, collected into a focus by a\nconcave mirror of polished metal, were made to inflame a heap of\ndried cotton; and a llama was sacrificed as a burnt offering to the\nsun.\" Even after sun-worship has ceased to be a national cult, we\nfind it continuing to regulate the position of buildings, devoted to\na totally different worship. In this way what is commonly styled the\n\"orientation\" of Christian churches can be accounted for. Indeed,\nso much had the sun to do with churches, that when one was built in\nhonour of a particular saint, it was made to face the point of the\nhorizon, where the sun rose on the festival of the saint in question.\n\nIn our own land much stress used to be laid on the necessity of\nturning according to the course of the sun, i.e., from left to\nright. To do so tended to bring prosperity to whatever was being\nundertaken at the time. Martin often refers to such a turn under the\ntitle of Dessil, a word of Gaelic origin, in connection with which,\nit is interesting to note that in Gaelic Deas signifies both south\nand to the right. Martin mentions certain stones, round which the\ninhabitants of the Western Isles made what he calls \"a religious\nturn.\" In the island of Eigg, he tells us:--\"There is a heap of stones\ncalled Martin Dessil, i.e., a place consecrated to the saint of that\nname, about which the natives oblige themselves to make a tour round\nsunways.\" It was also customary when anyone wished well to another\nto walk round him thrice sunways. The following are some of Martin's\nown experiences in the matter of the Dessil:--\"Some are very careful,\nwhen they set out to sea, that the boat be first rowed about sunways;\nand if this be neglected they are afraid their voyage may prove\nunfortunate. I had this ceremony paid me (when in the island of Ila)\nby a poor woman after I had given her an alms. I desired her to let\nalone that compliment, for I did not care for it; but she insisted to\nmake these three ordinary turns, and pray'd that God and MacCharmaig,\nthe patron saint of that island, might bless and prosper me in all my\ndesigns and affairs. I attempted twice to go from Ila to Collonsay,\nand at both times they row'd about the boat sunways, tho' I forbid\nthem to do it; and by a contrary wind the boat and those in it were\nforced back. I took boat again a third time from Jura to Collonsay,\nand at the same time forbid them to row about their boat, which\nthey obey'd, and then we landed safely at Collonsay without any ill\nadventure, which some of the crew did not believe possible for want of\nthe round.\" This superstition lingered long after Martin's time, and\nprobably still directs the course of many a fishing-boat when being\nput to sea. In connection with events of moment--such as baptisms,\nbridals, and burials--the necessity for turning sunways was felt to\nbe specially binding; but even in matters of no particular importance\nthe rule was held to apply. If movement sunways was lucky, movement\nin a contrary direction was the reverse. Such a movement was, and\nstill is, known as Widdershins or Withershins, the Shetland form being\nWitherwise. To go Widdershins was to go against the sun, and was hence\nregarded as a violation of the established order of things. In his\n\"Darker Superstitions\" Dalyell remarks:--\"The moving widderschynnes,\nas if withdrawing from the deified orb of day, inferred a guilty\nretreat, and was associated with the premeditated evil of sorcery.\"\n\nWe have thus glanced at the relations of springs to fairs, of fairs\nto Church festivals, of Church festivals to nature festivals, and of\nthese to sun-worship. We shall now gather together the threads of the\nargument, and indicate some of the chief points of connection between\nwell-worship and sun-worship. To do this, we must inquire when springs\nwere mainly visited. When a well was under the patronage of a saint,\nthe festival day of that saint was in some cases the day selected. It\nwould be natural to regard this as the rule. But, as a matter of fact,\npilgrimages were commonly made on days other than the festival of the\npatron saint. As may be remembered, the Holy Pool in Strathfillan\nwas mainly resorted to on the first day of the quarter (O.S.);\nand St. Fillan's Spring at Comrie on 1st May and 1st August. As may\nbe also remembered, the waters of Loch Manaar, in Sutherland, were\nthought to possess special virtue on the first Monday of February,\nMay, August, and November (O.S.), the second and third of these\ndates being specially popular. What the practice was at Mochrum Loch,\nin Wigtownshire, is clear from Symson's account in his \"Description\nof Galloway.\" \"This loch,\" he says, \"is very famous in many writers,\nwho report that it never freezeth in the greatest frosts.... \"Whether\nit had any virtue of old I know not, but sure I am it hath it not\nnow. However, I deny not but the water thereof may be medicinal,\nhaving received several credible informations that several persons,\nboth old and young, have been cured of continued diseases by washing\ntherein. Yet still I cannot approve of their washing three times\ntherein, which they say they must do, neither the frequenting there\nof the first Sunday of February, May, August, and November, although\nmany foolish people affirm that, not only the water of this loch,\nbut also many other springs and wells, have more virtue on those days\nthan any other.\" Close to the Welltrees meadow in Sanquhar parish,\nonce flowed a spring dedicated to St. Bridget. In his history of the\nparish, Mr. James Brown tells us that, according to the testimony\nof the old people, it was customary for the maidens of Sanquhar to\nresort on May Day to St. Bride's Well, where each presented nine\nsmooth white stones as an offering to the saint. Till about the\nbeginning of the present century, a well at Sigget, in Aberdeenshire,\nwas regularly visited on Pasch Sunday, and the usual offerings were\nleft by the pilgrims. There is, or was a belief at Chapel-en-le-Frith,\nin Derbyshire, that on Easter Eve a mermaid appears in a certain pool;\nand at Rostherne, in Cheshire, that another mermaid comes out of the\nlake there on Easter Day and rings a bell. Mr. Moore mentions that in\nthe Isle of Man Ascension Day and the first Sunday of August were the\nprincipal days for visiting consecrated springs. As previously stated,\npart of the May Day rites at Tullie-Beltane, in Perthshire, consisted\nin drinking water from a spring, and in walking nine times round\nit. St. Anthony's Well, near Edinburgh, is not yet forgotten on May\nDay by people who like to keep up old customs. There is no doubt that\nof all the months of the year May was the one, when Scottish springs\nwere most visited. The same rule held elsewhere. In his \"Romances\nof the West of England,\" Mr. Hunt has the following:--\"The practice\nof bathing rickety children on the first three Wednesdays in May is\nstill far from uncommon in the outlying districts of Cornwall. The\nparents will walk many miles for the purpose of dipping the little\nsufferers in some well from which the healing virtue has not entirely\ndeparted. Among these holy wells, Cubert is far famed. To this well the\npeasantry still resort, firm in the faith that there, at this special\nseason, some mysterious virtue is communicated to its waters. On these\noccasions, only a few years since, the crowd assembled was so large\nthat it assumed the character of a fair.\" A spring at Glastonbury,\nin Somerset, on account of a miraculous cure, believed to have been\nwrought by its water, became specially popular about the middle of\nlast century. In 1751, as many as ten thousand persons are said to\nhave visited it during the month of May.\n\nThe popularity of May did not depend on the better weather following\nthe bleakness of winter and spring. At least, if it did so, it was\nonly in a subordinate degree. To find the main reason, we have to\nlook to the continued influence of ancient pagan rites. As we have\nseen, May in Scotland was ushered in by the Beltane Festival. We have\nalso seen that its manifestly heathen customs survived till a late\nperiod in the midst of a Christian civilisation. On the hypothesis\nof a pagan origin alone, can certain May Day customs and beliefs be\nsatisfactorily explained. Some Beltane rites still survive in the\nHighlands, though fires are no longer kindled. In the neighbourhood of\nKingussie, Inverness-shire, bannocks and hard-boiled eggs continue to\nbe rolled down the hills on the first of May (O.S.). Till quite lately,\nthese bannocks were used for purposes of divination. They were marked\non one side with a cross--the sign of life; and on the other with a\ncircle--the sign of death. Each bannock was rolled down thrice, and\nits owner's fate was decided by the sign that was on the upper surface\noftenest when the bannock rested at the foot of the hill. The time was\ncounted specially suited for love-charms. On May Day, in the north of\nEngland, a gold ring was dropped into a syllabub composed of various\ningredients. Whoever got hold of the ring with a ladle would be the\nfirst among the company to be married. The prophetic powers of May\nDay are still believed in, in some parts of the north of Ireland. If\na maiden places a certain plant below her pillow overnight, she will\nhave a vision of her coming husband.\n\nOn May Day, the supernatural world was revealed, and witches and\nother uncanny creatures were abroad. In connection with his visit\nto Scotland, Pennant says:--\"In some parts of the country is a rural\nsacrifice, different from that before mentioned. A cross is cut on some\nsticks, which is dipped in pottage, and the Thursday before Easter one\nof each placed over the sheep-cot, the stable, or the cow-house. On\nthe first of May they are carried to the hill, where the rites are\ncelebrated, all decked with wild flowers, and after the feast is over,\nreplaced over the spots they were taken from.\" The cross in this case,\nwas, doubtless, made from the wood of the rowan or mountain ash. In\nthe Isle of Man, it was customary, at one time, to gather primroses on\nMay Eve, and strew them before the door of every house to keep away\nwitches. Aubrey tells us:--\"'Tis commonly said in Germany that the\nwitches do meet in the night before the first day of May upon an high\nmountain called the Blocksberg, where they, together with the devils,\ndo dance and feast, and the common people do, the night before the\nsaid day, fetch a certain thorn and stick it at their house door,\nbelieving the witches can then do them no harm.\" In our own country,\ntoo, hawthorn branches were formerly used on May Day as a charm against\nwitches. The hawthorn had likewise another mystic property attributed\nto it. The dew on its branches on the first of May had the power of\ngiving beauty to the maiden who washed her face with it. May-dew from\nthe grass was equally efficacious, except when gathered from within a\nfairy ring, as the fairies would in that case counteract the influence\nof the charm. A curative power was also ascribed to May-dew. Till\nquite lately there was a belief in some parts of England that a\nweakly child would be made strong by being drawn over dewy grass on\nthe morning in question. To effect a complete cure, the treatment had\nto be repeated on the two following mornings. Dew from the grave of\nthe last person buried in the parish churchyard was counted specially\nremedial if applied to the affected part before sunrise on May-morning.\n\nThe May-sun also got the credit of working cures. In his \"Nether\nLochaber\" the Rev. Dr. Stewart tells us that \"it was an article of\nbelief in the hygiene code of the old highlanders that the invalid\nsuffering under any form of internal ailment, upon whom the sun of\nMay once fairly shed its light, was pretty sure of a renewed lease\nof life until at least the next autumnal equinox.\" The old English\ncustom, known as \"going a-Maying,\" when old and young flocked into\nthe woods early on May-morning to gather flowers and green boughs,\nwas handed on from a time when the worship of trees was an article\nof religious faith.\n\nAnother old custom in England, viz., the blowing of horns at an early\nhour on the first of May, had probably its origin in pre-Christian\ntimes. It still survives in Oxfordshire and Cornwall. From Hone's\n\"Every-Day Book\" we learn that till the third decade of the present\ncentury, and doubtless later, the poorer classes in Edinburgh poured\nforth at daybreak from street and lane to assemble on Arthur's Seat to\nsee the sun rise on May-morning. Bagpipes and other musical instruments\nenlivened the scene, nor were refreshments forgotten. About six o'clock\na crowd of citizens of the wealthier class made their appearance, while\nthe majority of the first-comers returned to the town. At nine o'clock\nthe hill was practically deserted. Two centuries earlier an attempt\nwas made by the kirk-session of Perth to put a stop to an annual\ngathering on May Day at a cave in the face of Kinnoul hill adjoining\nthe town. This cave was called the Dragon Hole, and was the scene of\nancient rites of a superstitious nature. Other illustrations might\nbe selected from the Folklore of May Day, but those given above show\nthat the season was held in much superstitious regard. Accordingly,\nwe need not be surprised that well-worship took its place among the\nrites of May Day, and of May Month also, since the whole of May was\ndeemed a charmed time.\n\nThe Sundays of May--particularly the first--were very frequently\nchosen for visits to consecrated springs. The Chapel Wells in\nKirkmaiden parish have already been referred to in connection with\nCo' Sunday. The White Loch of Merton, and St. Anthony's Spring at\nMaybole, and others that might be named were principally resorted\nto on the first Sunday of May. Indeed, wells occasionally got\ntheir name from the fact of their being visited on Sundays. Thus\nTobordmony, near Cushendall, in County Antrim, signifies in Irish\nthe Sunday Well. There is a farm in Athole called Pit-alt-donich or\nBalandonich. The name is derived by Mr. J. Mackintosh Gow from the\nGaelic Pit-alt-didon-ich, and is interpreted by him as meaning \"the\nhamlet of the Sunday burn.\" There is a spring on the farm, formerly\nmuch frequented on the first Sunday of May (O.S.). In the Isle of\nMan is a spring called Chibber Lansh, consisting of three pools. In\nformer times it had a considerable reputation for the cure of sore\neyes; but it was thought to exert its power on Sundays alone. Pilgrims\nfrequently spent Saturday night beside springs in order to begin the\nrequired ritual on the following morning. The question why Sunday was\nspecially selected is one of interest. Its choice may have been due\nin part to the fact, mentioned by Dalyell, that, in ruder society,\nthe precise course of time requires some specific mark, and in part,\nto the notion underlying the popular saying, \"the better the day,\nthe better the deed.\" But there was undoubtedly another factor in the\nselection of the day. We have seen that the chief Church festivals\nborrowed certain rites from other festivals earlier in the field. In\nlike manner, Sunday was the heir of usages quite unconnected with it\nin origin; or, to change the metaphor, it was a magnet attracting to\nitself various stray particles of paganism that remained after the\nbreak up of the old Nature-worship. Students of English history in\nthe seventeenth century cannot fail to remember, how strenuously the\nPuritans sought to put down Sunday amusements, and how even the edicts\nof James the First and Charles the First permitted only certain games\nto be played on Sunday, certain others being declared inconsistent\nwith the aim of that Christian festival.\n\nBourne, in his \"Popular Antiquities,\" published in 1725, remarks:--\"In\nthe southern parts of this nation the most of country villages are\nwont to observe some Sunday in a more particular manner than the\nother common Sundays of the year, viz., the Sunday after the Day of\nDedication, i.e., the Sunday after the Day of the Saint to whom their\nchurch was dedicated. Then the inhabitants deck themselves in their\ngaudiest clothes, and have open doors and splendid entertainments for\nthe reception and treating of their relations and friends who visit\nthem on that occasion from each neighbouring town. The morning is\nspent for the most part at church, the remaining part of the day in\neating and drinking, and so is also a day or two afterwards, together\nwith all sorts of rural pastimes and exercises, such as dancing on the\ngreen, wrestling, cudgelling, &c. Agreeable to this, we are told that\nformerly, on the Sunday after the Encoenia, or Feast of the Dedication\nof the Church, it was usual for a great number of the inhabitants of\nthe village, both grown and young, to meet together at break of day,\nand to cry, 'Holy Wakes, Holy Wakes,' and after Matens go to feasting\nand sporting, which they continued for two or three days.\"\n\nQuoting from the \"Presbyterie Buik of Aberdein, 19th June, 1607,\nin M.S.\" Dalyell observes:--\"In the North of Scotland, young men\nconducted themselves 'pro phanelie on the Sabboathes in drinking,\nplaying at futteball, dancing, and passing fra paroche to paroche--and\nsum passes to St. Phitallis Well to the offence of God and ewill of\nmony.'\" In connection with this, a remark from Dr. J. A. Hessey's\nBampton Lecture on Sunday may be quoted. When comparing it with the\nHoly days instituted in medi\u00e6val times, he says, the former perhaps\n\"was even worse observed than the other days, for in spite of the\nChurch, men had a vague impression that it was one of specially\nallowed intermission of ordinary employments. This they interpreted\nto mean of more special permission of dissipation than the other\ndays noted in the kalendar.\" After describing the island of Valay,\nnear North Uist, where there were Chapels to St. Ulton and St. Mary,\nMartin says, \"Below the Chapel there is a flat thin stone call'd\nBrownie's Stone upon which the antient inhabitants offer'd a cow's milk\nevery Sunday.\" That this offering of milk, though made on Sundays,\nwas a pagan and not a Christian rite, can hardly be disputed. At\nsome places, e.g., at Glasgow, Crail, and Seton, Sunday was at\none time the weekly market day, but by an Act of James the Sixth,\nin 1579, the holding of markets on Sunday was prohibited throughout\nthe realm. The Sundays in May were certainly the most popular for\nvisits to springs, but these occurring about the time of the other\nleading nature-festivals were also in fashion. Sun-worship, as we have\nseen, was the back-ground of all such festivals. We need not wonder,\ntherefore, that consecrated springs were frequented on a day whose\nvery name suggested a reminiscence of a solar pagan cult.\n\nWe have discussed Beltane, let us now look at one other leading\nnature-festival, viz., Lammas, on the first day of August, to discover\nwhat light it throws on our subject. The Church dedicated the opening\nday of August to St. Peter ad Vincula. A curious medi\u00e6val legend\narose to connect this dedication with another name for the festival,\nviz., the Gule of August. At the heart of this legend was the Latin\nword Gula, signifying the throat. The daughter of Quirinus, a Roman\ntribune, had some disease of the throat which was miraculously cured\nthrough kissing St. Peter's chains, and so the day of the chains was\ndesignated the Gule of August. As a matter of fact, the word is derived\nfrom the Cymric Gwyl, a feast or holiday, and we have confirmation\nof the etymology in the circumstance, that in Celtic lands the time\nwas devoted to games, and other recreations. In Ireland a celebrated\nfair, called Lugnasadh, was held at Tailtin (now Teltown), in Meath,\nfor several days before and after the first of August, and there\nwas another at Cruachan, now Rath Croghan, in Roscommon. A third was\nheld at Carman, now Wexford. Its celebration was deemed so important\nthat, as Professor Rhys tells us, in his \"Celtic Heathendom,\" \"among\nthe blessings promised to the men of Leinster from holding it were,\nplenty of corn, fruit, and milk, abundance of fish in their lakes and\nrivers, domestic prosperity, and immunity from the yoke of any other\nprovince. On the other hand, the evils to follow from the neglect of\nthis institution were to be failure and early greyness on them and\ntheir kings.\" In legendary accounts of Carman, the place has certain\nfunereal associations. \"If we go into the story of the fair of Carman,\"\nProfessor Rhys observes, \"we are left in no doubt as to the character\nof the mythic beings whose power had been brought to an end at the\ntime dedicated to that fair; they may be said to have represented\nthe blighting chills and fogs that assert their baneful influence\non the farmer's crops. To overcome these and other hurtful forces of\nthe same kind, the prolonged presence of the sun-god was essential,\nin order to bring the corn to maturity.\"\n\nThat the Gule of August was a Nature-festival may be further inferred\nfrom the fact that among many Anglo-Saxon peoples it was called\nHl\u00e2f-m\u00e6sse, i.e., Loaf-mass, eventually shortened into Lammas. Our\nEnglish ancestors offered on that day bread made from the early grain,\nas the first-fruits of the harvest. In Scotland, the Lammas rites\nwere handed down from an unknown past and survived till the middle\nof last century. They were closely connected with country life, and\nwere taken part in, mainly by those who had to do with the tending of\ncattle. The herds of Mid-Lothian held Lammas in special favour. For\nsome weeks prior to that date they busied themselves in building what\nwere called Lammas towers, composed of stones and sods. These towers\nwere about seven or eight feet high, sometimes more. On the day of\nthe festival they were surmounted by a flag formed of a table-napkin\ndecked with ribbons. During the building of the towers attempts were\nsometimes made by rival parties to throw them down, and accordingly\nthey had to be kept constantly watched. On Lenie hill and Clermiston\nhill two such towers used to be built, about two miles apart, but\nwithin sight of each other. These were the respective trysting-places\nof herds belonging to different portions of Cramond and Corstorphine\nparishes. On Lammas morning the herds met at their respective towers,\nand, after a breakfast of bread and cheese, marched to meet each other,\nblowing horns, and having a piper at their head. Colours were carried\naloft by each party, and the demand to lower them was the signal for\na contest, which sometimes ended in rather a curious manner. Games\nfor small prizes closed the day's proceedings.\n\nAt one time temporary structures formed of sods and sticks, and\nknown as Lammas houses, were built in South Wales in connection\nwith the festival. Inside these a fire was kindled for the\nroasting of apples. Anyone, by paying a penny, could enter and\nhave an apple. Professor Rhys speaks of other Lammas rites in the\nPrincipality. \"Gwyl Awst,\" he observes, \"is now a day for fairs\nin certain parts of Wales, and it is remembered, in central and\nsouthern Cardiganshire, as one on which the shepherds used, till\ncomparatively lately, to have a sort of pic-nic on the hills. One\nfarmer's wife would lend a big kettle for making in it a plentiful\nsupply of good soup or broth, while, according to another account,\neverybody present had to put his share of fuel on the fire with his\nown hands. But, in Brecknockshire, the first of August seems to have\ngiven way sometime before Catholicism had lost its sway in Wales,\nto the first holiday or feast in August; that is to say, the first\nSunday in that month. For then crowds of people, early in the morning,\nmake their way up the mountains called the Beacons, both from the\nside of Caermarthenshire and Glamorgan; their destination used to be\nthe neighbourhood of the Little Van Lake, out of whose waters they\nexpected, in the course of the day, to see the Lady of the Lake make\nher momentary appearance.\" Professor Rhys bears further witness to\nthe connection of Lammas rites with our present subject when he says,\n\"A similar shifting from the first of August to the first Sunday\nin that month, has, I imagine, taken place in the Isle of Man. For,\nthough the solstice used to be, in consequence probably of Scandinavian\ninfluence, the day of institutional significance in the Manx summer,\ninquiries I have made in different parts of the island, go to show\nthat middle-aged people, now living, remember that, when they were\nchildren, their parents used to ascend the mountains very early on\nthe first Sunday in August (O.S.), and that in some districts at\nleast they were wont to bring home bottles full of water from wells\nnoted for their healing virtues.\" Another proof that the ceremonies\nof Lammas-tide had some link with those of archaic Water-worship\nis to be found in the circumstance mentioned by Dalyell, that,\n\"in Ireland the inhabitants held it an inviolable custom to drive\ntheir cattle into some pool or river on the first Sunday of August\nas essential to the life of the animals during the year.\" This was\nregularly done till towards the end of the seventeenth century. It\nmay be remembered that in Scotland, during the same century, horses\nwere washed in the sea at Lammas, doubtless with the same end in view.\n\nWe shall now glance at some traces of Sun-worship in the rites of\nWell-worship. In countries where the worship of the sun had an\nacknowledged place in the popular religion, the temples to that\nluminary were found associated with fountains. In his \"Holy Land and\nthe Bible,\" the Rev. J. Cunningham Geikie remarks, \"The old name\nof Bethshemish, which means the house of the sun, is now changed\nto Ain Thenis--the fountain of the sun--living water being found\nin the valley below. Both point to the Philistine Sun-worship,\nand both names are fitting, for every sun-house or temple needed,\nlike all other ancient sanctuaries, a fountain near it to supply\nwater for ablutions and libations.\" When evidence of this kind fails\nus, we have another kind within reach, viz., that derived from the\nemployment of fire to symbolise the sun on the principle already\nexplained. At St. Bede's Well, near Jarrow, in Durham, it used to\nbe customary to kindle a bonfire on Mid-summer Eve. In connection\nwith the same festival a bonfire was lighted at Toddel-Well, near\nKirkhampton in Cumberland, and the lads and lasses, who were present,\nwere in the habit of leaping through the flames. In a cave at Wemyss,\nin Fife, is a well, to which young people at one time carried blazing\ntorches on the first Monday of January (O.S.). The time of day when\nconsecrated springs were made use of has a bearing on the point under\nreview. The water was thought to have a peculiar efficacy either just\nafter sunset or just before sunrise. The moment when the sun was first\nseen above the horizon was also reckoned particularly favourable. To\nthe same class of superstitions belongs the Scandinavian belief,\nreferred to by Mr. Lloyd in his \"Peasant Life in Sweden,\" that the\nwater of certain sacred springs, known as Fonts of the Cross, was\nturned into wine at sunrise.\n\nThe survival of rites of archaic Sun-worship in the practice of making\na turn sun-ways has been already referred to.\n\nIn conclusion, we shall glance at the bearings of the practice on\nthe question of Well-worship. To make a visit to a spring effectual,\nwhen a cure was wanted, the invalid had to pace round it from left\nto right, in recognition of the fact that the sun moved in the same\ndirection. The sun, being the source of vitality, why should not an\nimitation of its daily motion tend to produce the same result? When\nspeaking of Loch Siant Well, in Skye, Martin says:--\"Several of the\ncommon people oblige themselves by a vow to come to this well, and make\nthe ordinary tour about it call'd Dessil. They move thrice round the\nwell, proceeding sunways from east to west, and so on. This is done\nafter drinking of the water. Sometimes it was done elsewhere before\ndrinking of the water.\" The importance of this motion comes clearly\ninto view in the case of St. Andrew's Well, at Shadar, in Lewis,\nreferred to in a previous chapter. When the wooden dish, floating\non the surface of the water, turned round sun-ways, the omen was a\nsign that the patient concerned would recover, but a turning in the\nopposite direction foreboded ill.\" In reference to Chapel Uny Well,\nin Cornwall, Mr. Hunt says:--\"On the first three Wednesdays in May,\nchildren suffering from mesenteric diseases are dipped three times in\nthis well, against the sun, and dragged three times around the well on\nthe grass in the same direction.\" Mr. Lloyd tells us that, in Sweden,\na remedy for whooping-cough is to drink water, \"that drops from a\nmill-wheel, which revolves ansols, that is, in a contrary direction to\nthe course of the sun.\" These two examples, however, are exceptions\nto the rule. They may, perhaps, be explained on the principle that\nwhat is in itself evil, because contrary to nature, brings good when\nconverted into a charm. To walk round a well widdershins was to commit\nan act of sorcery. Mr. J. G. Barbour, in his \"Unique Traditions of the\nWest and South of Scotland,\" recounts the trial and fate of a lonely\nold woman, who lived in the Kirkcudbrightshire parish of Irongray,\nearly in the seventeenth century. She was accused of witchcraft,\nand, when convicted of the crime, met her death by being rolled down\nhill inside a blazing tar barrel. Various were the charges brought\nagainst her, one of them being that, at certain hours she walked\nround the spring near her cottage wuddershins. Mr. Barbour adds,\n\"The well, from which she drew the water for her domestic use, and\nwhere the young rustic belles washed their faces, still retains the\nname of the Witch's Well.\" Faith in the benefit of turning sun-ways\nand faith in the efficacy of south-running water belong to the same\nclass of superstitions. Both have a direct reference to the sun's\ncourse. The water of a stream flowing to meet the sun, when its\nmid-day beams are casting their sweet influences upon the earth,\nmust absorb and retain a power to bless and heal. So, at least,\nmen thought, nor were they slow to take advantage of the virtue that\nmingled with the water. Bodily ailments were cured by washing in it,\nand it was used as one of the many remedies to remove the evil effects\nof witchcraft. In this, as in the other rites previously alluded to,\nwe see the influence of a cult that did not pass away, when the sun\nceased to be worshipped as a divinity. In other words, Well-worship\ncannot be adequately understood if we leave out of account archaic\nSun-worship, and its modern survivals.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVIII.\n\nWISHING-WELLS.\n\n    Fulfilment of Wishes by Divination--Love Charms--Hallow\n    E'en Rites, &c.--Wishing Tree--Wishing Holes--St. Govan's\n    Chapel and Well--Walsingham Wells--Wishing Stone in St. John's\n    Well--Healing Wells and Wishing Wells--St. David's Well--Bride's\n    Well--Marriage--Special Times for Wishing--St. Warna and\n    Wrecks--Wishing Well at West Kilbride--St. Anthony's Spring.\n\n\nTo bring about the accomplishment of a cherished desire by means of\ncertain rites has been a favourite mode of divination. By this method\nit was thought that destiny could be coerced, and the wish made the\nfather of its own fulfilment. The means were various; but, underlying\nthem all, was the notion that the doing of something, in the present,\nguaranteed the happening of something in the future. A mere wish was\nnot sufficient. A particular spot, hallowed by old associations, had\nto be visited, and a time-honoured ceremony observed. But the ritual\nmight be of the simplest. It was perchance to some rustic gate that\nthe village maiden stole in the gathering gloaming, and there, with\nbeating heart, breathed the wish that was to bring a new happiness\ninto her life. Love charms, indeed, form an important group of wishing\nsuperstitions. To this class belong Hallow E'en rites, such as eating\nan apple before a mirror, and sowing hemp seed. These rites gave the\nmaiden a vision of her destined husband. In the one case, she saw his\nface in the glass, and in the other, she saw him in the attitude of\npulling hemp. The dumb-cake divination, on the Eves of St. Mark and\nSt. John, also belongs to the same class of charms. Not more than\nthree must take part in the mystical ceremony. Concerning the cake,\nan English rule says:--\n\n\n                       \"Two make it,\n                        Two bake it,\n                        Two break it,\n\n\nand the third must put it under each of their pillows, but not a\nword must be spoken all the time.\" Fasting on St. Agnes's Eve was\nrequisite on the part of any maiden, who sought on that festival to\nhave a vision of her bridegroom to be. According to an old Galloway\ncustom, a maiden pulled a handful of grass when she first saw the\nnew moon. While she pulled she repeated the rhyme--\n\n\n       \"New moon, new moon, tell me if you can,\n        Gif I have a hair like the hair o' my gudeman.\"\n\n\nThe grass was then taken into the house, and carefully examined. If a\nhair was found amongst the grass, it would correspond in colour with\nthe hair of the coming husband. In connection with all such charms,\nit is certainly true what an old song says that \"love hath eyes.\"\n\nHer Majesty the Queen visited Innis Maree in September, 1877. When\ndescribing her visit, Mr. Dixon, in his \"Gairloch,\" says:--\"She fixed\nher offering in the wishing tree, a pleasantry which most visitors to\nthe island repeat, it being common report that a wish silently formed,\nwhen any metal article is attached to the tree, will certainly be\nrealised. It is said that if anyone removes any offering that has\nbeen fixed on the tree, some misfortune, probably the taking fire\nof the house of the desecrator, is sure to follow.\" On a hill near\nAbbotsbury, in Dorset, stands St. Catherine's Chapel. In its south\ndoorway are wishing holes. The knee is placed in one of the holes, and\nthe hands in the two above; and in this posture the visitor performs\nthe wishing ceremony. Half-way down the cliff near Stackpole Head,\nin Pembrokeshire, is an ancient structure of rude masonry styled\nSt. Govan's Chapel, at one time the retreat of some recluse. Professor\nCosmo Innes, in the third volume of the \"Proceedings of the Society\nof Antiquaries of Scotland,\" gives an account of a visit to the spot,\nand adds:--\"The curious part of St. Govan's abode is his bed, or rather\nhis coffin, for it is a vertical interstice between two immense slabs\nof rock, into which a body of common size can be forced with some\ndifficulty, the prisoner remaining upright. The rock is polished\nby the number of visitors fitting themselves into the saint's bed\nof penance, and the natives make you feel in the inner surface the\nindentures caused by the ribs of the saint!\" The polishing is mainly\ndue to the fact that the space has for long been used for wishing\npurposes. Those who desire to test the efficacy of the spell must turn\nthemselves round within the hollow and think of nothing else during\nthe process, except what they are wishing for--a rather difficult test\nunder the circumstances! Close to the chapel is St. Govan's Well, under\na covering of stone-work. The spring had formerly a great reputation\nas a health resort. Beside the remains of the once splendid monastic\nbuildings at Walsingham, in Norfolk, are wishing wells consisting of\ntwo small circular basins of stone. In pre-Reformation times they were\nmuch resorted to for the cure of disease. Being close to St. Mary's\nChapel, they were appropriately dedicated to the Virgin, to whom the\ngift of healing was ascribed. Since then they have been popular as\nwishing wells. The necessary ritual is thus described by Brand in\nhis \"Popular Antiquities\":--\"The votary, with a due qualification\nof faith and pious awe, must apply the right knee, bare, to a stone\nplaced for that purpose between the wells. He must then plunge to\nthe wrist each hand, bare also, into the water of the wells which are\nnear enough to admit of this immersion. A wish must then be formed,\nbut not uttered with the lips, either at the time or afterwards, even\nin confidential communication to the dearest friend. The hands are\nthen to be withdrawn, and as much of the water as can be contained\nin the hollow of each is to be swallowed. Formerly the object of\ndesire was most probably expressed in a prayer to the Virgin. It is\nnow only a silent wish, which will certainly be accomplished within\ntwelve months, if the efficacy of the solemn rite be not frustrated\nby the incredulity or some other fault of the votary.\"\n\nPennant tells of a cistern connected with St. John's Well, near\nMoxley Nunnery, at one time much used for bathing. Near these, and\nbelow the surface of the water, was a piece of rock called the Wishing\nStone. Anyone who kissed this stone with firm belief in the efficacy\nof the charm would have his desire granted. In this case the power of\nsecuring the fulfilment of wishes went hand in hand with the power\nof curing diseases. Generally speaking, however, as in the case of\nWalsingham just mentioned, the former power supersedes the latter. In\nother words, healing wells are transformed into wishing wells. When\nsuch is the case, they are, as far as folklore is concerned, in\nthe last stage of their history. In the wood, clothing the steep\nhill of Weem, in Perthshire, is St. David's Well, said to be named\nafter a former laird who turned hermit. The spring has a considerable\nlocal fame, and many have been the wishes silently breathed over its\nwater. Part of an ancient stone cross lies at its margin, and on it\nthe visitor kneels while framing his or her wish. Visitors to wishing\nwells commonly drop into the water a coin, pin, or pebble, thus keeping\nup, usually without being aware of the fact, the custom of offering\na gift to the genius loci. The Rev. Dr. Gregor thus describes what\nwas dropped into the Bride's Well, in the neighbourhood of Corgarff,\nAberdeenshire:--\"This well was at one time the favourite resort of\nall brides for miles around. On the evening before the marriage,\nthe bride, accompanied by her maidens, went 'atween the sun an' the\nsky' to it. The maidens bathed her feet and the upper part of her\nbody with water drawn from it. This bathing ensured a family. The\nbride put into the well a few crumbs of bread and cheese, to keep\nher children from ever being in want.\"\n\nDesires of any kind may be cherished at wishing-wells, but there\nis no doubt that matters matrimonial usually give direction to the\nthoughts. According to a Yorkshire belief, whoever drops five white\npebbles into the Ouse, near the county town, when the minster clock\nstrikes one on May morning, will see on the surface of the water\nwhatever he or she wishes. Near Dale Abbey, in Derbyshire, is a certain\nholy well. To get full advantage of its help, one has to go between\nthe hours of twelve and three on Good Friday, drink the water thrice,\nand wish. There is no doubt about the meaning of the following lines\nfrom the Bard of Dimbovitza, a collection of Roumanian Folk-Songs:--\n\n\n       \"There, where on Sundays I go alone,\n        To the old, old well with the milk-white stone,\n        Where by the fence, in a nook forgot,\n        Rises a Spring in the daisied grass,\n        That makes whoso drinks of it love--alas!\n        My heart's best belov\u00e8d, he drinks it not.\"\n\n\nIn Sir Walter Scott's \"Pirate\" one of the characters expresses the\nwish that providence would soon send a wreck to gladden the hearts\nof the Shetlanders. At the other extremity of Britain, viz., in the\nScilly Isles, the same hope was at one time cherished. St. Warna,\nwho had to do with wrecks, was the patron saint of St. Agnes, one\nof the islands of the group. She had her holy well, and there the\nnatives anciently dropped in a crooked pin and invoked the saint to\nsend them a rich wreck.\n\nIt would be useless to attempt to give a list of Scottish\nwishing-wells; but the following may be mentioned. There is one in\nWest Kilbride parish, Ayrshire, close to a cave at Hunterston. There\nis another at Ardmore, in Dumbartonshire. At Rait, in Perthshire,\nis St. Peter's Wishing-well. In the united parishes of Kilcalmonell\nand Kilberry, in Argyllshire, is the ancient ecclesiastical site of\nKilanaish. \"Near the burial-ground,\" Captain White tells us, \"is its\nholy well, where it is proper to wish the usual three wishes, which,\non my last visit to the place, our party, including one lady, devoutly\ndid.\" The same writer gives the following particulars about another\nArgyllshire spring:--\"Near the Abbey of Saddell, Kintyre, is a fine\nspring of the class known throughout Scotland as Wishing-wells, which\nhas always borne the name of Holy-well. It had the usual virtues and\nwishing powers ascribed to it. A pretty little pillar with cross cut\nupon it which has been mistaken for one of ancient date is scooped out\ninto a small basin to catch the drip of the water. It was erected by a\nBishop Brown, when residing at Saddell, in the beginning of the present\ncentury, to replace another one that had formerly stood there. Beside\nit, flows a stream called Alt-nam-Manach (the Monk's Burn), and this,\nwith the spring, no doubt formed the water supply of the monastery.\"\n\nSt. Anthony's Well, beside St. Anthony's ruined Chapel, near Edinburgh,\nis probably the best known of Scottish wishing-wells. Its sanative\nvirtues have already been alluded to, but it is nowadays more noted\nfor its power of securing the fulfilment of wishes than the recovery\nof health. A pleasant picture of the romantic spot is given by Sir\nDaniel Wilson in his \"Memorials of Edinburgh in the Olden Time\":--\"The\nancient Hermitage and Chapel of St. Anthony, underneath the overhanging\ncrags of Arthur's Seat, are believed to have formed a dependency of\nthe preceptory at Leith, and to have been placed there, to catch the\nseaman's eye as he entered the Firth, or departed on some long and\nperilous voyage; when his vows and offerings would be most freely made\nto the patron saint, and the hermit who ministered at his altar. No\nrecord, however, now remains to add to the tradition of its dedication\nto St. Anthony; but the silver stream, celebrated in the plaintive\nold song, 'O waly, waly up yon bank,' still wells clearly forth\nat the foot of the rock, filling the little basin of St. Anthony's\nWell, and rippling pleasantly through the long grass into the lower\nvalley.\" The song in question gives expression to the grief of Lady\nBarbara Erskine, wife of James, Marquis of Douglas, in the time of\nCharles II., in connection with her desertion by her husband--\n\n\n        1.   \"O waly, waly up the bank\n                And waly, waly down the brae,\n              And waly, waly yon burnside,\n                Where I and my love wont to gae!\n              I lean'd my back unto an aik,\n                I thoucht it was a trusty tree;\n              But first it bow'd, and syne it brak:\n                Sae my true love did lichtly me.\n\n        2.    O waly, waly, but love be bonnie\n                A little time while it is new;\n              But when it's auld, it waxes cauld,\n                And fades away like morning dew.\n              O wherefore should I busk my heid,\n                Or wherefore should I kame my hair?\n              For my true love has me forsook,\n                And says he'll never love me mair.\n\n        3.    Now Arthur's Seat shall be my bed,\n                The sheets shall ne'er be pressed by me.\n              St. Anton's Well shall be my drink\n                Since my true love has forsaken me.\n              Martinmas wind, when wilt thou blaw,\n                And shake the green leaves aff the tree?\n              O gentle death! when wilt thou come?\n                For of my life I am wearie!\n\n        4.    'Tis not the frost that freezes fell\n                Nor blawing snaw's inclemencie;\n              'Tis not sic cauld that makes me cry,\n                But my love's heart's grown cauld to me.\n              When we came in by Glasgow toun\n                We were a comely sicht to see;\n              My love was clad in the black velvet,\n                And I mysel in cramasie.\n\n        5.    But had I wist, before I kissed,\n                That love had been sae ill to win,\n              I'd lock'd my heart in a case of gold,\n                And pinn'd it wi' a siller pin.\n              O! oh! if my young babe were born,\n                And set upon the nurse's knee.\n              And I mysel were dead and gane,\n                And the green grass growing over me!\"\n\n\nFortunately, the associations of St. Anthony's Well have not all been\nso sad as the above. Many a hopeful moment has been passed beside its\nmargin. A little girl from Aberdeenshire, when on a visit to friends\nin Edinburgh, made trial of the sacred spring. She was cautioned not to\ntell anyone what her wish was, else the charm would have no effect. On\nher return home, however, her eagerness to know whether the wish had,\nin the meantime, been fulfilled, quite overcame her ability to keep the\nsecret. Her first words were, \"Has the pony come?\" St. Anthony must\nhave been in good humour with the child, for he provided the pony,\nthus evidently condoning the breach of silence in deference to her\nyouth. Surely there must be something in wishing-wells, after all,\nbesides water.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIX.\n\nMEANING OF MARVELS.\n\n    Mystery of a Spring--Marvel and Magic--Misinterpretation of\n    Natural Phenomena--Healing Power of Springs--Peterhead--Poetry and\n    Superstition--MacCulloch--Mistake about a Tree--Strange Appearances\n    of Nature--Spring at Kintail--Disappearance of Spring near\n    Perth--Saints and Storms--St. Milburga--Water like Blood--Origin\n    of Belief in Guardian Spirits--Why Gifts were Offered--Weather\n    Charms--Coincidences--Prophecy of Water--Philosophy of Wishing\n    Wells--Worship of Trees and Springs--Charm-Stones--Continued\n    Reverence for Holy Wells--Conclusion.\n\n\nMr. J. M. Barrie is a true interpreter of the youthful mind when he\nsays, in the \"Little Minister,\" \"Children like to peer into wells\nto see what the world is like at the other side.\" Grown-up people\nare also alive to the mystery of a spring. \"Look into its depth,\"\nobserves Mr. E. H. Barker in his \"Wayfaring in France,\" \"until the\neye, getting reconciled to the darkness, catches the gleam of the\nstill water far below the ferns that hang from the gaping places in\nthe mossy wall, and you will find yourself spellbound by the great\nenchantress, Nature, while understanding nothing of the mysterious\ninfluence.\" In days of less enlightenment \"the weight of all this\nunintelligible world\" was even more felt than now, and the minds\nof men were ever on the outlook for the marvellous. What is to us\na source of not unpleasing mystery was then a cause of dread. We\nmarvel and make poetry. Our far-off ancestors trembled and sought\nrefuge in magical rites. We still speak of the charms of nature,\nbut the phrase has to us an altered meaning. When we remember how\nlittle science there was at one time, we need not be surprised that\nthe phenomena of the outer world were misinterpreted, and hence gave\nrise to fallacies. This was markedly so in the case of springs. While\nquenching thirst--a natural function to perform--they became endowed\nwith virtues of an exceptional character, and were esteemed as the\ngivers of health. Even amid the darkness of those distant days we\ncan detect a glimmering of light, for such ideas were not wholly\nfalse. Erroneous ideas seldom are. Springs have indeed a health-giving\npower. Whether or not we accept the full-blown doctrines of modern\nhydropathy, we must allow that cold water is an excellent tonic. As an\nacute writer has remarked, \"Cold braces the nerves and muscles, and,\nby strengthening the glands, promotes secretion and circulation, the\ntwo grand ministers of health.\" Allusion has been made to the mineral\nwaters of Peterhead. The secret of their power is well described by\nCordiner in his \"Antiquities and Scenery of the North of Scotland,\"\nwhere he says:--\"A mineral well in the summer months gives great\ngaiety to the place; its salutary virtues have been long, I believe,\njustly celebrated. The salt-water baths adjoining are much frequented\nin nervous disorders: their effect in strengthening the constitution\nis often surprising. Owing to the open peninsulated situation, the air\nof this place is esteemed peculiarly pure and healthful; even the fogs\nrising from the sea are thought to be medicinal; the town is therefore\nmuch enlivened by the concourse of company who frequent it on these\naccounts. Without derogating anything from the merits of the baths and\nmineral, one may reasonably conclude that the custom of walking several\nhours before breakfast, and meeting the morning breezes from the sea\nalong these cool and refreshing shores, the probability of meeting\nwith choice of companions as an inducement to these early rambles,\nthe perpetual cheerfulness indulged by society entirely disengaged\nfrom business and care, and their various inventions to chase away\nlanguor, probably contribute no less to the health of the company\nthan the peculiar virtues of the healing spring.\"\n\nTruth can commonly be found underlying superstition. The power,\npossessed by certain aspects of external nature to soothe the troubles\nof the mind, is one of the commonplaces of modern poetry. This thought,\nwhen rendered into folklore, becomes the idea that certain spots\nare \"places of safety from supernatural visitants.\" Such was the\nbelief connected with Our Lady's Well, at Threshfield, near Linton,\nin Craven, Yorkshire. Whoever took refuge there was free from the\npower of magical spells. When sailing among the sea-lochs of Lewis,\nMacCulloch had an experience which he thus describes in his \"Western\nIslands\":--\"On one occasion the water was like a mirror, but black\nas jet, from its depth and from the shadow of the high cliffs which\noverhung it. The tide, flowing with the rapidity of a torrent, glided\npast without a ripple to indicate its movement, while the sail aloft\nwas filled by a breeze that did not reach the surface. There was a\ndeath-like silence while the boat shot along under the dark rocks like\nan arrow; to a poetical imagination it might have appeared under a\nsupernatural influence: like the bark of Dante, angel-borne.\" If such\nwere the reflections of an educated man like MacCulloch, what must\nhave been the thoughts of our ignorant forefathers when confronted\nby the ever-recurring marvels of the outer world! Nature is still\nmisinterpreted by credulous people through a lack of knowledge of her\nlaws. A good example of this, bearing, not, however, on water, but on\ntree-worship, is given by Dr. J. Fergusson, in his \"Tree and Serpent\nWorship.\" A god was said to have appeared in a certain date-palm\nin a village a few miles from Tessore, and the tree was promptly\nadorned by the Brahmins with garlands and offerings. Dr. Fergusson\nobserves:--\"On my inquiring how the god manifested his presence,\nI was informed that, soon after the sun rose in the morning, the\ntree raised its head to welcome him, and bowed it down again when he\ndeparted. As this was a miracle easily tested, I returned at noon and\nfound it was so. After a little study and investigation, the mystery\ndid not seem difficult of explanation. The tree had originally grown\nacross the principal pathway through the village, but at last hung\nso low that, in order to enable people to pass under it, it had been\nturned aside and fastened parallel to the road. In the operation the\nbundle of fibres which composed the root had become twisted like the\nstrands of a rope. When the morning sun struck on the upper surface\nof them, they contracted in drying, and hence a tendency to untwist,\nwhich raised the head of the tree. With the evening dews they relaxed,\nand the head of the tree declined.\"\n\nIn the chapter on \"Some Wonderful Wells,\" we glanced at the mysterious\norigin of certain springs. In ancient times, no less than in the\npresent, strange sights must have been witnessed. We have not a\nmonopoly of thunderstorms, earthquakes, landslips, or deluges of\nrain. The same phenomena prevailed in early times. The difference is,\nthat we have science to keep them in their proper place. During the\nheavy rains of January 1892, a spring near the house of Rurach, at\nKintail, in Ross-shire, suddenly burst its bounds and became a raging\ntorrent. Usually the surplus water from the spring flowed away in the\nform of a trickling stream, but on the occasion in question it rushed\non with such force and volume that it scooped out a channel twenty\nfeet deep and forty feet broad. The event not unnaturally caused a\ngood deal of wonder in the neighbourhood. Had it happened several\ncenturies earlier, some malignant water-spirit would doubtless have\nbeen reckoned the active agent. During the operations connected\nwith the formation of the railway tunnel through Moncrieff Hill,\nclose to Perth, the water of a certain spring in the neighbourhood\nsuddenly failed. It happened that a clergyman, whose manse stood not\nfar from the spring, sent, when in the extremity of illness, for a\ndraught of its water. It was his last draught. He died immediately\nafter; and at the same time, the spring dried up. The coincidence did\nnot pass without remark in the district, but whether or not it gave\nrise to a superstition we do not know. In the dark ages it certainly\nwould have done so. In the annals of hagiology, the early saints were\nassociated in a special way with water. They had, for instance, the\npower of allaying storms. St. Nicholas, the patron saint of sailors,\nexercised this power more than once. Adamnan records the same miracle\nin connection with Columba, abbot of Iona; and Cainneck, abbot of\nAghaboe. According to a Shropshire legend, Milburga, when followed by\na certain prince, was saved from her unwelcome pursuer by the river\nCorve rising in flood after she had crossed.\n\nThe superstition that water, under certain circumstances, assumed\nthe hue of blood, as in the case of St. Tredwell's Loch in Orkney,\n&c., claims special attention. We call this belief a superstition,\ninasmuch as a special miracle was thought to be involved in the matter;\nbut we nowadays know, that such appearances show themselves without\nany miracle at all, except the constant miracle without which there\nwould be no natural law. Modern bacteriology has proved the existence\nof a certain microscopic plant, technically styled H\u00e6matococcus\nPluvialis and popularly known in Germany as Blutalge. In \"Notes and\nQueries\" for 12th March, 1892, Dr. G. H. F. Nuttall of Baltimore,\nobserves:--\"In Central Europe it has been found in pools formed\nby the rain in rocky hollows and stone troughs, &c. H\u00e6matococcus\noften becomes intimately mixed with the pollen of conifers and\nminute particles of plants which are known to be carried hundreds of\nmiles by occasional currents of air. The rain drops in the heavens\ncondense about such minute particles, and in falling, carry them\ndown to the earth's surface, where, under proper conditions, these\nlittle plants multiply with enormous rapidity.\" Dr. Nuttall adds,\n\"Besides the H\u00e6matococcus Pluvialis, we have a Bacterium which\nhas often deceived people into the belief that they were dealing\nwith bona-fide blood. This Bacterium is easily cultivated in the\nlaboratory. It is one of the so-called chromogenic or colour-producing\nBacteria, and bears the name Bacillus Prodigiosus, on account of its\nexceedingly rapid growth. This very minute plant has undoubtedly been\nthe cause of terror among superstitious people. The organism will only\nproduce its colour in the presence of oxygen, and, as a consequence,\nred spots appear only on the surface of the moist nutrient medium on\nwhich it may fall.\" Undoubtedly some such explanation would account\nfor certain red spots, alluded to by Mr. Hunt, which appeared from\ntime to time on the stones in the churchyard of the Cornish parish\nof St. Denis. According to the belief of the district, the spots were\nmarks of blood, and their appearance foretold the occurrence of some\nuntoward event in English history.\n\nWe have spoken of the guardian spirits of lochs and springs. That such\nspirits should have been thought to exist is not surprising. Since\nwater is one of the necessaries of life for man and beast, animals\nhad to frequent pools and rivers. What more natural than that, in\ndays of ignorance, these animals should have been regarded as in some\nmysterious way connected with the spots they frequented. In the same\nway, fish darting about in the water would be considered its indwelling\nspirits. It may not seem to us at all needful, that lochs and springs\nshould have guardian spirits at all. But man, in a certain stage of\ndevelopment, thinks of nature, organic and inorganic alike, as having\na life akin to his own, with powers superior to his own. From a belief\nin guardian spirits, to a belief in the necessity of offering gifts\nto them is an easy transition. A present is sometimes an expression\nof good-will, sometimes of a desire to obtain benefits to the\ngiver. Offerings at lochs and springs were undoubtedly of the latter\nclass, and were intended either to avert evil or to procure good.\n\nIn ancient times in India, when a dragon presided over a spring, the\npeople of the district were in the habit of invoking his aid, when\nthey wanted rain or fine weather. Certain ceremonies were necessary to\nprocure the boon. \"The chief characteristic of the serpents throughout\nthe East in all ages,\" remarks Dr. Fergusson, \"seems to have been\ntheir power over the wind and the rain, which they exert for either\ngood or evil as their disposition prompts.\" As we have seen, certain\nwells in our own land could control the weather. This was so, even\nwhen the guardian spirit of the spring assumed no definite shape. The\nrites required to obtain the desired object were nothing less than an\nacknowledgment of the spirit's existence. The origin of the connection\nbetween weather and wells can only be guessed at. It appears that\nthe splashing of a spring when an object was thrown into it, or the\nsprinkling of the water over the neighbouring ground, was thought\nto cause rain, through what may be called a dramatic representation\nof a shower. Why this should have been so, cannot be determined\nwith certainty. Probably accidental acts of the kind described were\nfollowed, in some instances, by a fall of rain, and the belief may\nhave sprung up that between the two there existed the relation of cause\nand effect. There was thus a confusion between what logicians call the\npost hoc and the propter hoc. The same explanation may perhaps account\nfor the belief that a favourable breeze could be obtained, as in the\ncase of the Gigha Well, by the performance of certain definite rites.\n\nFew circumstances in life have more power to arrest attention\nthan coincidences. Two events occur about the same time, and we\nexclaim, \"What a singular coincidence!\" that is, if we are not of\na superstitious temperament. If we are, we talk mysteriously about\nomens and such like direful topics. To some minds, an omen has a\npeculiar fascination. It lifts them above the level of their ordinary\ndaily life. The postman rings the bell, and letters are handed in. A\nmessage boy is seen at the door, and a parcel is delivered. These,\nand many more such, are incidents of frequent occurrence. They are\nreckoned commonplace. We know all about them. But let anything unusual\nhappen, anything that stirs the sense of awe within us, we, at least\nsome of us, instantly conclude that there is magic in the matter. An\nunprepossessing old woman takes a look at a child when passing. The\nchild ceases to thrive. There are whispers about \"the evil eye.\" Yes,\nthere is no doubt about it. The child must have been bewitched. Is\nit not probable that the prophetic power ascribed to wells may be\naccounted for on this principle? Certain appearances were observed,\nand certain events followed. Water gushed freely from a spring, when\ndrawn for the use of an invalid. The invalid recovered. Of course\nhe did, for the omen was favourable. As in private, so in public\nmatters. Pools of water were observed to have something peculiar about\nthem. Some crisis in the history of our nation soon succeeded. What\nsensible person could fail to discern a connection between the two\nsets of circumstances? So men, even some wise ones, have argued.\n\nWishing-wells, from their very nature, have a special claim on\npopular credulity. When a desire is eagerly cherished, we leave no\nstone unturned to bring about its fulfilment. There is something, be\nit what it may, that we eagerly covet. How are we to get it? In the\nstir and pressure of our day's work, we do not see any avenue leading\nto the fulfilment of our wish. In the quiet morning or evening, when\nthe birds are singing overhead, we go alone to some woodland well,\nand there, by the margin, gather our thoughts together. One particular\nthought lies close to our heart, and on it we fix our attention. In\nthe still moments, while we listen to the bubbling spring, our mind\nlights on a clew, and our thoughts follow it into the future. We\nbrace ourselves up for following it in reality. We see how our design\nmay be accomplished. We take the road that has been revealed to our\ninward eye, and finally reach the goal of our desire. How does this\ncome about? We may have stooped over the spring, and with certain\naccompanying rites, have breathed our wish. We return to our daily\nwork with the desire still lying close to our heart. Days, or weeks,\nor months pass, and at last, behold, what we were so anxious for,\nis ours! The charm has been successful. Of course it has. But what\nof the impulse towards definite action that came to us, when we\nwere free from the touch of our ordinary troubles, and quiet-voiced\nNature was our teacher and our own soul our prophet? At any rate,\nwe went to the wishing well, and the boon we sought we can now call\nour own. The question remains, are all desires granted, either through\nvisits to wishing-wells or in any other way? The experiences of life\ngive a definite answer in the negative. How then are believers in\nthe power of wishing-wells to account for such failures? The rites\nwere duly attended to, yet there was no result. Why was the charm\nnot effectual? Any sincere answer to the question ought to be an\nacknowledgment of ignorance.\n\nIn thus attempting to explain the philosophy of wishing-wells, we\ndo not imply that the subjective element is the secret of success\nin every case. We are merely pointing out that it may be so in some\ncases. In other cases, according to the principle mentioned above,\nan explanation will be supplied by the theory of coincidences. When\ntrees and springs were alike reckoned divinities, it was natural\nenough to conclude, that any tree, overshadowing a spring, was somehow\nmysteriously connected with it. Belief in such mysterious relations\ncontinued, as we have seen, even after tree-worship ceased as a\npopular cult. Certain superstitions, still in vogue in the west,\nare undoubtedly relics of tree-worship. In India and some other\nEastern lands, the cult still nourishes vigorously. A writer in the\n\"Cornhill Magazine\" for November, 1872, remarks:--\"The contrast between\nthe acknowledged hatred of trees as a rule by the Bygas (an important\ntribe in Central India), and their deep veneration for certain others\nin particular, is very curious. I have seen the hillsides swept clear\nof forests for miles, with but here and there a solitary tree left\nstanding. These remain now the objects of the deepest veneration;\nso far from being injured, they are carefully preserved, and receive\nofferings of food, clothes, and flowers, from the passing Bygas,\nwho firmly believe that tree to be the home of a spirit.\"\n\nWe need not linger over the consideration of charm-stones in their\nconnection with wells. In some instances, like that of the Lee Penny,\nthey gave efficacy to water as a healing agent; but in others,\nas in the case of the Loch Torridon Spring, water gave efficacy to\nthem. Indeed, they acted and reacted on each other in such a way that,\nin some instances, it is difficult to determine whether the talisman\nbrought healing virtue to the water, or vice versa. To find the\nsolution of the problem, we should have to carry our thoughts back\nto the remote days when stones and wells had a life of their own,\nand were thus qualified to act independently.\n\nOne can understand why holy wells retained their popularity. Even\nthough they did not always effect a cure, people continued to believe\nin them and to seek their aid. Consecrated springs might throw cold\nwater (metaphorically) on many a cherished hope; but, for all that,\nthey remained, as of old, objects of reverence. The secret of their\npower lay in their appeal to the imagination. Understanding might\nsay, it is absurd to expect that my ailment can be removed in this\nway; but imagination protested that there are more things in heaven\nand earth than are dreamed of in my philosophy. The rites to be gone\nthrough--the choice of the fitting season, the keeping of silence, the\nleaving of a gift--all conduced to throw a halo of romance around the\npractice. There was thus an appeal to the unknown and mysterious, that\ngave to well-worship a strange charm. It stirred up any latent poetry\nin a man's nature, and linked him to something beyond himself. Springs\nhave a double charm. They are interesting for their own sake, and for\nthe sake of the folklore that has gathered round them. They are \"like\nroses, beautiful in themselves, that add to their own perfection the\nexquisite loveliness of a mossy dell.\" In conclusion, take away what is\ndistinctively medi\u00e6val in well-worship, and paganism is left. We find\nthis paganism entering like a wedge into the substance of a Christian\ncivilisation. It may have changed its colour, but it is paganism\nnotwithstanding. Well-worship has a definite value as a survival. It\nserves to unite our own age of science with one in the far past, when\nlaws of nature, as we understand them, were unknown. As a cult it has\nforsaken the busy haunts of men, but lingers still in quiet places,\nespecially among the mountains. Superstitions die hard. The epitaph\nof this one has still to be written. Those who are waiting for its\nlast breath need not be surprised if they have to wait yet a while.","title":"Folklore of Scottish Lochs and Springs","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":85130}