Chapter III: Witches (19)

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_Page 202._ In the Finnish story, Alderblock turns himself into an ermine. See _S. ja T._ 2, "Leppäpölkky," a story which is very much like the Magyar in this part. Ralston, _Russian Folk-Tales_, "Ivan Popyalof," p. 69. Also _ib._ pp. 71 and 72. In the Finnish tale (_S. ja T._ i.) "Weljiänsä-etsijät Tyttö"--a little dog prevents the girl from bathing in water which would transform her. Cf. Pedroso, _Portuguese Folk-Tales_, "Pedro and the Prince," p. 26. _Gubernatis_, i. p. 191.

_Page 203._ Ambrose sticks to the axle as the people did to the lamb, p. 14, _ante_. Cf. Story of Loki and the Eagle.

_Page 204._ The witch in the lower world reminds us of the Egyptian Legend of Ishtar, _Records of the Past_, vol. i. p. 144.

_Page 205._ The folk-tale-teller was ever fond of having a sly rap at the clergy. Cf. Lapp tale, where the priest wants to marry the goveiter girl himself, because she has a costly silver girdle; _Friis_, "Goveiter-Pige." Also Ralston, _Russian Folk Tales_, p. 27.

_Page 205._ Worming secrets out of witch, &c. by flattery. Cf. _S. ja T._ ii. "Antti Puuhaara," and _Friis_, "Stallo og Lappebrødrene Sodno."

_Ib._ Concealed Life. Cf. _Friis_, "Jætten, som havde skjult sit Liv i et Hønseaeg," and "Jætten og Veslegutten," where the giant has hid his life in the middle of a cow's heart. Rink, _Eskimo Tales_, "The girl who fled to the Inlanders," p. 220. _Old Deccan Days_, "Punchkin," p. 13. Stokes, _Indian Tales_. "Brave Hírálálbásá," p. 58; "The Demon and the King's Son," p. 187, and note, p. 261. Dasent, _Tales from the Norse_, "The giant who had no heart in his body," p. 75.

_Sagas from the Far East_, "Child Intellect," p. 133. Steere, _Swahili Tales_, "Story of the Washerwoman's Donkey," p. 5. Ralston, _Russian Folk Tales_. "Koschei the Deathless," p. 103, and pp. 113--115. Mr. Ralston also gives _Asbjörnsen_, "New Series," No. 70, p. 39. Haltrich, _Deutsche Volksmärchen ausdem Sachsenlande in Siebenbürgen_, p. 188. Wenzig, _Westabauischer Märchenschatz_, No. 37, p. 190. _Hahn_, No. 26, i. 187, and ii. pp. 215, 294--5, _Vuk Karajich_, No. 8. Cf. _Records of the Past_, vol. ii. "Tale of the Two Brothers," p. 149. Geldart, _Greek Folk-Tales_, "The little Brother who saved his Sister from the Dragon," p. 56. _Pentamerone_, "The Dragon." Campbell, "Tales of the Western Highlands," vol. i. p. 81. _Grimm_, vol. ii. p. 564. Denton, _Serbian Folk-Lore_. "Bash-chalek," p. 172. Payne, _Arabian Nights_, vol. i. p. 118, and vol. vii. p. 91. Engel, _Musical Myths_, vol. i. p. 201. _Folk-Lore Journal_, 1884, "The Philosophy of Punchkin." Tylor, _Primitive Culture_, pp. 152, 153. _Gubernatis_, vol. i. pp. 131, 140, 269, and 412. Thorpe, _Yule-Tide Stories_. "The Man without a Heart." Black, _Folk-Medecine_, p. 32. _Gesta Romanorum_, "The Knight and the Necromancer." Castren, _Ethnologische Vorlesungen über die Altaischen Völker_, p. 174. _Page 206._ A wonderful chest in the Finnish story, "Awaimetoin Wakka" (_S. ja T._ i.) opens as the golden apple in the Magyar tale, and out of it comes castle, servants, &c. See also Prince Mirkó, p. 74, _ante_.

THE WIDOWER AND HIS DAUGHTER. Erdélyi iii. 7.

There are some wild variants of this tale to be found amongst the Finnish Folk-Tales. See "Ihmeelinen Koiwu," the wonderful birch, "Kummallinen Tammi," the marvellous oak, and "Kolmet Sisärykset," the three sisters. _S. ja T._ i. pp. 59-77, also "Awannolla kehrääjät," the spinner beside the ice-hole, and "Sisärpuolet," the half-sisters. _S. ja T._ ii. pp. 161-172. Winther, _Danske Folkeeventyr_, "Den onde Skemoder," Asbjörnsen og Moe, _Norske Folkeeventyr_, "Manddattern og Kjärringdattern." _Deutsches Märchenbuch von L. Bechstein_, "Die Goldmaria und Pechmaria." Kuhn und Schwartz, _Norddeutsche Sagen_, "Das Mädchen im Paradis." Hyltén-Cavallius, _Svenska Folksagor_. "De twå Skrinen," Geldart, _Folk Lore of Modern Greece_. "Little Saddleslut" and the "Goat Girl," _Sagas from the Far East_, p. 180. Ralston's _Russian Folk Tales_, "The Dead Mother," and p. 260, where a Serbian variant is quoted, which apparently bears a strong resemblance to some of the Finnish. Denton's _Serbian Folk-Lore_, "Papalluga." Vernaleken, _In the Land of Marvels_, "The Blackbird," and p. 84. _Pentamerone_, "La Gatta Cenerentola."

_Gubernatis_, vol. i., pp. 31, 182, 195, 208, 241, 291, 293. Thorpe's _Yule-tide Stories_. "The Little Gold Shoe" and "The Girl clad in Mouseskin." _Grimm_, vol. 1, "Cinderella," "Allerleirauh," and notes, pp. 364, 416, 420. _Household Stories from the Land of Hofer_. "Klein-Else." _Folk-Lore Record_ 1878. "Some Italian Folk-Lore," p. 188: _ib._ 1880. "The Icelandic story of Cinderella." _Portuguese Folk-Tales_, F. L. S. pp. 68 and 97: _Folk-Lore Record_ 1884; Folk Tales of the Malagasy, p. 74, _ib._ Chilian Popular Tales, "Maria the Cinder Maiden." _Tasks imposed_, p. 208; see _ante_, p. 398. The gold rose stuck into the gate-post (p. 211) occurs in one of the Finnish variants.

_Page 214_. The gipsy woman incident. Cf. _ante_, p. 386.

_Page 215_. The "feather picking" refers to gatherings of country girls held during the winter, to dress feathers collected during the year for bedding.

_Ib_. The golden duck incident is an exceedingly common one. Cf. _Old Deccan Days_, pp. 85 and 223. _Portuguese Folk-Tales_: F.L.S. p. 12. Stokes' _Indian Tales_, p. 284.

THE WISHES. Erdélyi iii. 11.

Cf. _Payne_, vol. v. "The man who saw the night of power." _Caballero's_ Fairy Tales, "The three wishes." _Grimm_, "The poor man and the rich man," and notes; and a fragment in _Notes and Queries_. Finnish Folk-Lore, 6th S. viii., p. 201, also _Lewins_ "A fly on the wheel," p. 81, where a Hindustani variant is given.

THE TWO ORPHANS. Erdélyi iii. 9.

In a Finnish Tale, "Weljiänsä-etsijät Tyttö," _S. ja T_. i. p. 119, the girl who seeks her brothers, the girl is warned by a faithful dog, from going near or touching water which a witch wishes her to do, and which entails misery on her; as also in another, "Leppapölky," where the witch tempts the heroes in like manner. Cf. Geldart's _Folk-Lore of Modern Greece_. "Starbright and Birdie," p. 33. _Grimm_, "Brother and Sister." _Gubernatis_, vol. i., pp. 175, 354, and 390.

_P. 221_. The cutting off of the lock of hair reminds us of the widespread superstitions connected with hair, or any other part of a person. Cf. _ante_ pp. 332 and 374. _Archaeology_, "The Physicians of Myddfai," p. 113. I have also often heard the following in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. That you must not give a lock of hair to anyone, or else you will quarrel with that person; that you must not keep the hair of a dead person unless it is "made up," or you will have ill-luck; and that all hair cuttings and nail parings ought to be saved and placed in the coffin, so that the person may "enter heaven perfect!" A baby's hair and nails must not be cut until it is a year old, or else it will be a thief. Hair must not be cut when the moon is waning. It is also said that ague can be cured by hanging a lock of hair on a willow tree.[74]

_Page 223._ The witch wishes to get rid of the deer, in the same way that the gipsy does the golden duck, _ante_ p. 215. Cf. Stokes's _Indian Fairy Tales:_ "The Pomegranate King," p. 10; "Phúlmati Ráni," p. 4; "The Jackal and the Kite," p. 22; "The Bél-Princess," p. 144; and Notes, pp. 245-253. _Gubernatis_, vol. i., p. 412, and vol. ii., p. 31.

_Page 223._ In the Lapp Story, "Pigen fra Havet," _Friis_, No. 8,[75] a child is brought down to the sea-shore to bring mother back; and in the Finnish story, "Ihmeelinen Koiwu," The wonderful Birch, the child's cry brings mother back, just as the little deer's lament in this tale reaches the sister's ears at the bottom of the well.

In this Finnish tale the mother replies, and says to the reindeer, which are feeding near:

"Reindeer! Reindeer! feeding in the swamp,
Come and take care of your child!
Come and see the child you have borne!
For the witch's daughter has neither food nor drink,
And cannot quiet its cries."

See also _Finnish_, "Maid who rose out of the sea."

_Grimm_, "The lambkin and the little fish," and notes.

_Pentamerone_, "The two cakes." Theal, _Kaffir Folk-Lore_, "The story of Tangalimlibo," p. 61.

_Page 223._ Creatures inside others.

Cf. Theal, _Kaffir Folk-Lore_, "The story of the cannibal mother," p. 142; "The story of the glutton," p. 175; "The great chief of the animals," p. 177; and the Finnish story, "Seppo Ilmarisen Kosinta" (Smith Ilmarinen's courtship), where the smith, after being swallowed by Untamoinen, cuts his way out.

Stokes's _Indian Fairy Tales_, "Loving Lailí," p. 76.

THE WONDERFUL FROG. Erdélyi, iii. 15.

My friend, Prof. Aug. Gittée, has kindly forwarded me a Flemish variant, "Van het Meisje dat met een Puits trouwde." "The tale of a girl who married a frog." See _Volskunde Tijdschrift voor Nederlandsche Folklore_, 1888, p. 48. Cf. _Grimm_. "The Frog King" and notes. Stokes, _Indian Folk Tales_, p. xvi. and "The Monkey Prince." _Gubernatis_. "The Frog." Max Müller, _Chips from a German Workshop_, vol. ii. p. 249. Cox. _Mythology of the Aryan Nations_. "Frog." Halliwell. _Nursery Rhymes and Tales_. "The maiden and the frog."[76] Dasent. _Tales from the Norse_. "Bushy Bride."

THE DEVIL AND THE RED CAP. Erdélyi, iii. 19.

Cf. Ralston, _Russian Folk-Tales_, "The Soldier and the Vampire," p. 314. Vernaleken. _In the Land of Marvels._ "How a Shepherd became rich."

JACK DREADNOUGHT. Erdélyi, iii. 16.

Cf. _Grimm_, "The Story of the youth who went to learn what fear was," and notes: _ib._ "The King's son who feared nothing," and notes. _Household Stories from the Land of Hofer._ "Fearless Johnny." _Afanassieff_, v. 46.

_Page 232._ The secret treasures guarded by ghosts, &c. is a world-wide tradition. Cf. Hofberg, _Svenska Folksägner_. "Skatten i Säbybäcken," Where a carriage full of gold and silver is said to be sunk mid-stream, over which a weird light flickers. Many attempts, we are told, have been made to rescue it, but each time some one has spoken, or else the bull-calves--which are not to have a single black hair on them, and were to be fed for three years on unskimmed milk--were not strong enough; and so the attempts have ever failed. See also, in the same work "Skattgräfvarna," where the searchers were frightened away by the Demon guardians of the hidden store. In Lincolnshire I have heard of a field where, tradition says, countless barrels of beer, and a fender and fireirons of silver, are buried, and in my own parish I have collected three similar tales told of places here, and the other day a Negro from South Carolina told me another. Cf. Hardwick, _Traditions, Superstitions, and Folk-Lore_ (chiefly Lancashire and the north of England), pp. 41, 46, 195, and 252. Cf. Baring Gould. _Curious Myths_. "The Divining Rod."[77]

THE SECRET-KEEPING LITTLE BOY AND HIS LITTLE SWORD. Erdélyi, iii. 8.

Cf. _Grimm_, vol. i., "Faithful John" and note. See _ante_, p. 350.

With regard to the sword growing in the garden, Cf. the Hunnish superstition mentioned by Priscus. "He (Attila) believes also that there will be before long some noteable increase of his power; and that the gods have signified this by revealing to him the sword of Mars, a sacred relic much venerated by the Huns, for many years hidden from their eyes, but quite lately re-discovered by the trail of the blood of an ox which had wounded its hoof against it, as it stuck upright in the long grass." _Italy and her defenders_, by T. Hodgkin, vol. ii. p. 92. No doubt Priscus makes use of the name of Mars to designate the Hunnish deity in the same way as Tacitus when he speaks of the Teutonic god of war. A naked sabre, fixed hilt downwards in the earth, was worshipped by the Alani. Cf. p. 33 of the above-mentioned work.

_Payne_, vol. vi. "Jouder and his brothers," pp. 129, 152, 164.

See also, Geldart, _Folk-Lore of Modern Greece_, "The Scab Pate." Payne, _Tales from the Arabic_, vol. i., "The story of the King who knew the quintessence of things."

"The Three Dreams," p. 117, in this collection, and notes, p. 375.

_Page 236._ The execution. The last ceremony with a condemned man when he is pinioned is to read once more his sentence to him. This is done by the sheriff, and concludes with "Hangman, do your duty!" After the execution is over, the military present are commanded to prayer; the helmet is taken off, the musket taken in the left hand and grounded, and every soldier kneels on his left knee, and remains so for a few minutes till order is given "From prayer."

In olden times the sheriff, after he read the sentence, broke his judicial staff in twain, and threw the pieces at the culprit's feet: hence the Hungarian saying, "to break the staff near anyone," is equivalent to pronouncing sentence: _e.g._, "I have done this, but don't break a staff over my action," _i.e._, do not condemn my action.

_Page 238._ "Immuring alive." Cf. Roumanian legend "Manuli," and notes in this collection, p. 376.

_Page 243._ In the Finnish tale, "Alderblock," there is a sword, which cuts the enemy into fragments.

SHEPHERD PAUL. Erdélyi, iii. 17.

Cf. Finnish stories, "Lappäpölkky," _S. ja T._ 2; where Alderblock has five companions who assist him in his labours; also "Mikko Metsolainen" and "Mikko Mieheläinen," _S. ja T._ i.; stories very much like the Magyar one. Also, "Maan, meren kulkija laiwa." In a Lapp story we find companions helping the hero. _Friis_. "Ruobba, Jaetten og Fanden."

_Grimm._ "How six men got on in the world," and notes; "The six servants," and notes; "Strong Hans," and notes.

Müllenhoff, _Märchen und Lieder der Hertzogenthümer Schleswig Holstein und Lauenberg_, "Rinroth." Molbech, _Udwalgte Eventyr_, "De fer Tienere." Cavallius och Stefens, _Svenska Folksagor_, "De begge Fosterbröderne," and "Halftrollet eller de Tre Swärden."

Bechstein. _Deutsches Märchenbuch_. "Der Hafenhüter."

Denton. _Serbian Folk-Lore_. "Sir Peppercorn."

_Patrañas._ "The ill-tempered Princess." "A tale of fourteen men," a Flemish tale; see _Magazin für die Literatur des Auslandes_, 1844. Caballero, _Spanish Tales_, "Lucifer's ear." Geldart, _Folk-Lore of Modern Greece_, "The Golden Casket" and "Little John, the widow's son." _Pentamerone_, "The Flea" and "The Booby."

_Folk-Lore Record_, 1881, p. 142. "The story of Mamma-na-Bura," a Portuguese tale: _ib._ 1883, p. 254, "Folk-Lore of Yucatan."

_Page 246._ The latter portion of the tale is to be met with in many tales, _e.g._, "Awannolla Kehräajät," where the girl goes through a hole in the ice, and finds a beautiful world there.

Dasent. _Tales from the Norse._ "The two step-sisters," p. 129; "Shortshanks," p. 166; and "The Big Bird Dan," p. 449.

Vernaleken. _In the Land of Marvels._ "The Taylor and the Hunter," "The Accursed Garden," and "The Three Princesses."

Denton. _Serbian Folk-Lore._ "The wonderful Kiosk."

_Patrañas_, "Simple Johnny and the spell-bound Princesses." _Grimm_, "The Elves," and notes. _Sagas from the Far East_, "How the Schimnu-Khan was slain." Ralston, _Russian Folk-Tales_, "The Norka," and variants there given on p. 80.

Geldart, _Folk-Lore of Modern Greece,_ "The Prince and the Fairy." Steere, _Shahili Tales_, "Hasseebu Kareem ed Deen," p. 337.

_Arabian Nights._ "Ahmed and Pari-Banou," and numerous other examples of underground palaces, where distressed princesses lie awaiting deliverance.

_Gubernatis_, vol. i. pp. 25, 129, 193, 194; vol. 187, &c.

Rink. _Tales of Traditions of the Esquimaux._ "The woman who got connected with the Ingersuit or under-world people." There are numerous stories about the under-world and its people in Lapp stories, _e.g._, _Friis_, "Cacce-haldek eller Havfolk," where a boy rows to the under-world. (_Notes and Queries_, 7th s. v. p. 381; cf. _ib._ 7th s. v. p. 501.) "Bæivekongens Datter," "Goveiter." There is also a tribe of underground people called Kadnihak, who are said to dress in red clothes, and have long flaxen hair reaching to their waists. Some people are said to have learned their songs, which are called "Kadniha-Vuolee." Cf. Baring Gould, _Curious Myths of the Middle Ages_, "St. Patrick's Purgatory." _Deutsche Märchen und Sagen_, Gesammelt und mit Anmerkungen herausgegeben von J. W. Wolff, "Der Kühne Sergeant." _Polnische Volksagen_, Aus dem Polnischen des K. W. Woycicki von F. Levestam, "Die drei Brüder."

See also, Friis, _Lappisk Mythologi._ "Under jordiske Guder."

_Page 248._ The Lapp tales say that the Stallos used to wear an iron shirt. See _Friis_, No. 26. Læstadius believes them to have been old Vikings.

THE PELICAN. Erdélyi, iii. 6.

Pelicans may occasionally be seen in the South of Hungary, but upon the whole the bird is unknown to the common people. The story-teller represents it as a little bird that sings most beautifully.

The hypercritical reader may be shocked at another natural historical blunder, viz., when the whale is described as "the king of fishes." But then we must remember that our own Sir Walter Scott speaks of the phoca as a fish in the last sentence of chapter xxxvii. of _The Antiquary_.

The Emperor Joseph II.'s edict expelling the Jesuits is still valid, we believe, but is not enforced. The Order has one or two houses in the country, and nobody disturbs them.

In a Finnish tale one half of a castle weeps while the other half laughs. Cf. also another Finnish story "The Golden Bird," where a king's son goes in search of a splendid bird which his father longs for. The hero is assisted by a wolf, which, amongst many other strange things, by rolling three times on the ground on its back, becomes a shop full of precious goods.[78] After many trials, chiefly due to the perfidy of his brothers, the hero, by the assistance of the wolf, wins the golden bird and a lovely princess. The golden bird will not sing till the youngest prince appears, just as in the present tale.

_Page 251._ "The old Beggar." This incident is common in folk-tales.

_Page 252._ "Dragon's milk," a favourite compound of mighty power in the magic formulæ of Finnish and Magyar folk-medicine.

_Page 255._ "Owls' feathers." _Vide_ p. 398, _ante_, and _Notes and Queries_, 6th S. X. p. 401.

_Page 256._ "Traced triangle," _ante_, p. 370.

_Page 257._ "Pleiades." Stars and their lore is one of the most interesting branches of Folk-Lore. Space forbids more than passing allusion to it here. In a note sent by Mr. Haliburton, he points out the important part this group of stars plays in the history of Primitive Man. There appears to be a mass of primitive traditions amongst savages, as to a primæval paradise with its Tree of Life and Knowledge being situated in the Pleiades. See also legends current amongst the Polynesians, Kiowas of the Prairies, the Abipones of the Pampas, Dyaks, &c. We may also compare the Cabeiric brethren in Phoenician tradition.

In the seventh star, say the Finns, is the sign of the slave; the ancient Finns having regulated their rising by the seven stars. A Finnish friend, Mr. K. Krohn, says he has obtained some forty old Finnish star names from an old woman, and hopes, by comparison of the same with the Arabic names, to obtain valuable results.

See also _Sagas from the East_, p. 53, and _Gubernatis_, vol. i., p. 228. Cox, _Mythology of the Aryan Nations_, "Pleiades."

_Page 258._ Just as the hero here goes to seek in an unknown land for what he needs, so does the hero in the Finnish tale, "Antti Puuhaara"; _S. ja T._ 2, go to Pohjola. (Darkness, _i.e._ the Northern Part). Cf. also Dasent's _Tales from the Norse_ "Rich Peter the Pedlar," p. 236. Vernaleken, _In the Land of Marvels_, "For one Kreuzer a hundred." _Pentamerone_, "The Seven Doves," &c. and pp. 107 and 371 in this work.

_Page 259._ The threshold is a most interesting object in the lore and tales of the people. In Finland it is regarded as unlucky if a clergyman steps on the threshold when he comes to preach at a church. A Finnish friend told me of one of his relations going to preach at a church a few years ago, he being a candidate for the vacant living, and that the people most anxiously watched if he stepped on the threshold as he came in. Had he done so, I fear a sermon never so eloquent would have counted but little against so dire an omen.[79] In the Lapp tales the same idea appears, see _Friis_, "Ulta-Pigen," the lad returning from a visit to his wife's parents (who are fairy folk) is ordered to step quickly over the threshold, and so saves his life. In the same story we read that a nail driven into the threshold will prevent a fairy wife from running away.

Ralston, _Russian Folk-Tales_, "The Fiend." Here Marusia gets entangled with the evil one, and death comes into her family; in terror she asks her granny what she is to do, and is told, "Go quickly to the priest and ask him this favour--that if you die your body shall not be taken out of the house through the doorway, but that the ground shall be dug away from under the threshold, and that you shall be dragged out through that opening." Rink, _Eskimo Tales_, "The Angakok from Kakortok," p. 391. Napier, _Folk-Lore from West Scotland_, p. 46, where, in the description of marriage ceremonies, we read "The threshold of the house was disenchanted by charms, and by anointing it with certain unctuous perfumes, but as it was considered unlucky for the new-made wife to tread upon the threshold on first entering her house, she was lifted over it and seated upon a piece of wood, a symbol of domestic industry."

Cf. 1 Samuel, v. 5, "Therefore neither the priests, nor any that come into Dagon's house, _tread on the threshold_ of Dagon in Ashdod unto this day." Priests and dervishes in India still leap over the threshold of their temples, as they are considered too sacred to be trodden upon.[80]

_Page 261._ "The Organ Playing." Cf. a similar incident in the Finnish story of the Golden Bird.

_Page 262._ In the Finnish "Alder Block," the hero's father and mother have their age at once reduced by one-half, when the lovely Catherine embraces them. In the romance of Ogier le Danois sweet singing banishes all care and sorrow. "Et quand Morgue approcha du dit chasteau, les Faes vindrent au devant dogier, chantant les plus melodieusement quon scauroit jamais ouir, si entra dedans la salle pour se deduire totallement," and so time is destroyed. "Tant de joyeulx passetemps lui faisoient les dames Faees, quil nest creature en ce monde quil le sceust imaginer se penser, car les ouir si doulcement chanter il lui sembloit proprement quil fut en Paradis, si passoit temps de jour en jour, de sepmaine en sepmaine, tellement que ung an ne lui duroit par ung mois."

THE GIRL WITH THE GOLDEN HAIR.

This story, with the four that follows, viz., "The Lover's Ghost," "Snake Skin," "The Fairies' Well," and "The Crow's Nest," are Palócz Folk-Tales, _vide Palócz Folk-Poetry_, by Julius Pap, Sarospatak, 1865.

The hatchet-stick (in Magyar "fokos") mentioned in the tale is an ordinary walking-stick with an axe-shaped brass or steel implement at the end. It is nothing else than the old Scandinavian "paalstaf," the "palstave" or "winged celt" of English antiquaries. It forms part of the national costume of the Magyars, and was carried by nearly everybody before 1867.

The ceremony of exchanging handkerchiefs alluded to in the tale requires some explanation, and we avail ourselves of this opportunity to give a few details of the marriage customs among the Palócz people as related by Pap.

On the first morning in May the lad erects a May-pole outside of the window of his lady-love, the higher the pole the more it pleases the girl, because the length is understood to be in direct proportion to the intensity of her lover's passion. On Whitsunday a pilgrimage to the Holy Well adjoining the monastery at the village of Verebély is arranged, and here the girl buys a nosegay made of artificial flowers for her lover, in return for the maypole, which nosegay is worn by the lad until next May-Day, or until the wedding. In the meantime the lover visits the girl secretly once or twice at the house of her parents under the cover of night, and later on introduces himself to her parents. If he be well received he sends some friends to ask for the girl's hand, who state their request generally in very flowery language. If the lad's proposal be accepted, the ceremony of exchanging handkerchiefs takes place soon after, the lovers presenting handkerchiefs to one another in which they wrap apples or nuts. From this moment they are considered to be engaged.

The wedding is generally held after the vintage. On the day before the wedding a man, whom we shall call the master of ceremonies, perambulates the village and invites the guests to the festival. On the day itself the guests congregate at a place appointed by the M.C., and the whole company start in procession, headed by a band, to the house of the bride. They all stop outside the gate, and only the bridegroom's best man enters the house and invites the bride to start. The girl then, accompanied by her relations and bridesmaids, and a married woman, whom we shall call the Mistress of the Bedchamber, leaves the house and joins the procession, and they all proceed straight to the church. After church the young woman returns with the whole procession to her own house, and a light breakfast is served, at the end of which all the people adjourn to the bridegroom's house, leaving however the bride behind, until after lengthy coaxing, begging, and some elaborate ceremonies, she consents to go, and is led in triumph to her husband's house, where she is received by the father-in-law at the gate, who nearly overwhelms her with kind words, flattery, and congratulations, and holding her hand leads her into the house and introduces her to his wife, children, and relations. The rejoicing has now reached its climax, and the wedding banquet is at once commenced, to which each invited guest contributes a share according to his or her means.

During the banquet the bridegroom's best man waits at table, and ushers in the various courses reciting a verse for each _plat_, setting forth in most flowery language the various good points of the dish.

After supper the bridegroom's best man takes three lighted candles into his left hand and escorts the bride into her bedchamber, where he removes the "párta,"[81] and confides her to the care of the Mistress of the Bedchamber. The best man lifts the párta high up in the air at the end of his palstave, and invites the company to bid for it, and then recites the so-called slumber-verses, which are attentively listened to by everyone present.

Next morning two married women from among the bride's friends arrive "to wake the bride," who awaits them sitting in a corner. The two females place the cap worn by married women only, on her head, and present the young couple with cakes and a mixture of spirit and honey.

In the meantime another procession has arrived from the bride's house with the wedding presents, and the people inquire of the Master of the Ceremonies whether he has not seen a "pretty little golden lamb that strayed from home and must have come here." The Master of the Ceremonies replies in the affirmative, but before producing the "lamb" requires a description of the stray one, and then produces some very old person bent with age and her face covered with wrinkles, and wants to know whether this is the lamb they seek for; of course they reply in the negative, and add that the missing one is young and pretty. The bride is then produced and shakes hands all round and receives presents from all present.

In some places the wedding lasts on and off a whole week, and sometimes ends with another ceremony of "searching for the lamb," similar to the one just described.

Such complicated wedding ceremonies are to be found all over Hungary, and in order to facilitate matters, the rules and verses for the occasion are printed and sold at all country fairs, the title-page generally representing the Master of the Ceremonies and the bridegroom's best man in their full festive attire.[82]

Cf. Finnish, "Kulta-orit, Kulta-nuotta, wasta ja pilli." "The golden Stallion, golden Drag-net, broom and flute." _S. ja T._ i. and "Meresta nousija Neito," "The Sea Maid." Dasent, _Tales from the Norse_, "Bushy Bride," p. 374.

Payne, _Arabian Nights_, vii. pp. 70, 114, and ix. p. 23.

Payne, _Arabic Tales_, iii. p. 61.

_Grimm_, "The White Bride and the Black one."

In the Lapp Story "Bondesønnen, Kongesønnen og Solens Søster." _Friis_. It is the tail feather of a golden hen, that causes all the troubles. The beautiful girl, who is the Sun's sister, shone like a star, and whenever she entered a house it became as light as the brightest day, even if before it had been pitch dark. The whole tale is a most interesting one; the Sun's sister's sister, "Evening Red," being stolen by giants, who are turned into stone by looking at the Sun's sister, "Dawn." Cf. Princess Labám in "The Rájá's Son," Stokes's _Indian Fairy Tales_, p. 158. Also, pp. 43, 50, 54, 69, and 93.

_Grimm_, "The Devil with the three golden hairs," and notes. _Dublin Magazine_, 1868, Fireside Lore of Italy, "Corvetto." _Folk-Lore Record_, 1880. Danish Popular Tales, p. 217. "Mons Tro." Naaké, _Slavonic Fairy Tales_, "Golden Hair," from the Bohemian.[83] _Old Deccan Days_, "Brase Seventee Bai," p. 35; Panch-Phul Ranee, p. 141.

Haltrich, _Siebenbuergische Märchen_, pp. 61 and 171.

Mr. Ralston, in his notes in Stokes also gives the following examples of shining and glorious beings. _Indian Antiquary_, vol. iv. p. 54; _ib._ Jan. 1875, p. 10.

Schott, _Wallachische Märchen_, p. 125.

_Mabinogion_, vol. ii. p. 310; and Thorpe, _Northern Mythology_, vol. i. p. 47. Cf. Mailath, _Magyarische Sagen_, "Die Brüder," and "Die Gaben." Cavallius and Stephens, _Svenska Folksagor_, No. 7.

_Records of the Past_, vol. ii. "Tales of the two Brothers," a fragrant lock is found in the water, which is said to belong to the daughter of the Sun God.

_Page 273._ In the Lapp story of the Sun's Sister the King will not allow the lad to marry his bride until he has done certain tasks. So also in the Finnish stories of the Golden Bird and the Golden Stallion.

_Page 273._ In the Finnish Tale "Totuus ja walte," the King's daughter is cured by being washed with dew. See also Notes to Fairy Elizabeth and the Fairies' Well in this collection.

THE LOVER'S GHOST.

As pointed by Lad. Arany, the plot of this tale is, with the exception of the happy ending, essentially the same as in Bürger's beautiful poem, "Leonore," in which the bridegroom's ghost repeats three times the question--

"Graut Liebchen auch? Der Mond scheint hell!
Hurrah! Die Todten reiten schnell!
Graut Liebchen auch vor Todten?"

to which the girl each time replies--

"Ach! lass sie ruh'n, die Todten."

Arany mentions a Dutch and a Norwegian version of the same tale. Cf. _Grimm_, vol. iii. p. 75.

It cannot be supposed that the good Palócz folk have read Bürger, either in the original or in translation. They only read two kinds of literature, the prayer-book and politics. Pap relates an incident that is characteristic. He had to superintend some farm-work; and, in order to while away the time, was reading a book, which made an old Palócz remark that he would go straight to heaven if he read his prayer-book all day, as he did.

Cf. The old ballad quoted in Old Ballad Lore. _Folk-Lore Record_, 1879, pp. 111, 112.

_Page 279._ The charm given by the witch is one of the innumerable superstitions of a like class. Vide _Magyar Folk-Tales. Notes and Queries_, 6th s. ix. pp. 501 and 502.

_Finska Fornminnesforëningens Tidskrift_ v. p. 106, "Folkströ och plägseder i Mellersta Österbotten," and _Notes and Queries_, 6th s. x. p. 404, and _ib._ 6th s. xi. p. 22.

Cf. "The churchyard mould," in McGregor, _Folk-Lore of the North-East of Scotland_, p. 216.

_Page 280._ The ghostly horsemen recalls a strange story an old woman (nearly 80) told me some time ago, and which it is averred happened in Lincolnshire. One fine frosty night, as the Winterton carrier was going along the road, he met a pale man on horseback, who said, "It's a hard winter, and there's going to be a hard time: twenty years' disease amongst vegetables, twenty years' disease amongst cattle, and twenty years' disease amongst men, and this will happen as surely as you have a dead man in your cart." The carrier angrily declared that there was no dead man in his cart. "But there is," said the horseman. Then the carrier went and looked, and found that a man he had taken up to give a ride was dead. Turning round he found the horseman had disappeared. The potato disease, cattle disease, and cholera followed, said the old dame. This pale horseman is said to have ridden through the county, and I have heard of him at various places.

SNAKE SKIN.

In the Finnish Story, "Haastelewat Kuuset," the talking Pines, _S. ja T._ 2: a hunter is rewarded for helping a snake. See notes to "Woman's Curiosity," in this collection.

_Pentamerone_, "The Serpent."

_Folk-Lore Record_, 1883. "The good Serpent," a Chilian tale.

The king in this tale is angry at his daughter marrying such a husband, just as he is in the Finnish "Hüri Morsiamena," where the bride is a mouse.

Cf. _Grimm_, "The three Feathers;" "The poor Miller's Boy and the Cat;" and notes thereto.

Kahn und Schwartz, _Norddentsche Sagen_, "Das weisze Kätschen."

Asbjörnsen og Moe, _Norske Folke eventyr_, "Dukken i Græsset."

Hyltén-Cavallius och Stephens, _Svenska Folksagor_, "Den förtrollade goodan," and "Den förtrollade fästemön."

_Contes des fées par Mdme d'Aulnoy_, "La chatte blanche."

_Polnische Sagen und Märchen des K. Woycicki._ "Die Kröte."

Cf. also an interesting article by Mr. Ralston, on "Beauty and the Beast." _Nineteenth Century._ December, 1878.

THE FAIRIES' WELL.

The chief points in this tale have already been noted in others. We may, however, note the following: The Devil in Stephen the Murderer, p. 7, in this collection, at once appears, when summoned, as in this tale.

_Page 290._ With regard to the _menu_ of the devil, cf.

"Here lies the carcass of a curséd sinner
Doomed to be roasted for the devil's dinner."
Poems of Robert Wilde. Strahan, 1870.

_Page 296._ There is a hunt for the father of a child in the Lapp. "Jætten, Katten og Gutten." _Friis_. Cf. Payne, _Arabian Nights_, vii. p. 227.

_Page 297._ Hot Bath, see p. 276, in this collection; and _Afanassieff_, v. 23.

THE CROW'S NEST.

The following version is still known to old nurses in Holderness, where I collected it. It is called "Orange and Lemon": "There were once a mother and a father who had two daughters, Orange and Lemon. The mother liked Lemon best, and the father Orange. The mother used to make Orange do all the dirty work, as soon as the father had turned his back. One day she sent her to fetch the milk, and said, 'If you break the pitcher I'll kill you.' As Orange returned she fell down and broke the pitcher, and so when she came home she hid herself in the passage. When the mother came out she saw the broken pitcher and the girl, and took her into the house, when the girl cried 'Oh, mother! Oh, mother! Don't kill me!'

The mother said, 'Close the shutters in.'