223), referring to Porta's _Natural Magic_ for the vulgar error that not
only in Scotland, but in the river Thames, "there is a kind of
shell-fish which get out of their shells and grow to be ducks, or
such-like birds," observes that this tradition is very ancient, Porta,
the author, having died in 1515. In _Hudibras_ is an allusion to those--
"Who from the most refin'd of saints,
As naturally grow miscreants,
As _barnacles_ turn Soland geese,
In th' islands of the Orcades."
The story (says Sir James) has its origin in the peculiar formation of
the little mollusc which inhabits the multivalve shell, the _Pentalasmi
Anatifera_, which by a fleshy peduncle attaches itself by one end to the
bottoms of ships or floating timber, whilst from the other there
protrudes a bunch of curling and fringe-like cirrhi, by the agitation of
which it attracts and collects its food. These cirrhi so much resemble
feathers, as to have suggested the leading idea of a bird's tail; and
hence the construction of the remainder of the fable, which is given
with grave minuteness in _The Herball, or General Historie of Plants_,
gathered by John Gerarde, Master in Chirurgie (London, 1597). After
quoting the account, Sir James adds, that Gerarde, who is doubtless
Butler's authority, says elsewhere, "that in the north parts of
Scotland, and the islands called Orcades, there are certain trees
whereon these tree geese and barnacles abound." The conversion of the
fish into a bird, however fabulous, would be scarcely more astounding
than the metamorphosis which it actually undergoes, the young of the
little animal having no feature to identify it with its final
development. In its early stage (see Carpenter's _Physiology_, i. 52) it
has a form not unlike that of the crab, "possessing eyes and powers of
free motion: but afterwards becoming fixed to one spot for the remainder
of its life, it loses its eyes, and forms a shell, which, though
composed of various pieces, has nothing in common with the jointed shell
of the crab." Mr. T. J. Buckton (_Notes and Queries_, vol. viii. p.
224) says that Drayton (1613), in his _Polyolbion_, p. iii., in
connexion with the river Dee, speaks of--
"Th' anatomised fish, and fowls from planchers sprung,"
to which a note is appended in Southey's edition (p. 609), that such
fowls were "_barnacles_, a bird breeding upon old ships." In the
_Entertaining Library_, "Habits of Birds," (pp. 363-379), the whole
story of this extraordinary ignorance of natural history is amply
developed. The barnacle-shells which I once saw in a sea-port attached
to a vessel just arrived from the Mediterranean had the brilliant
appearance at a distance of flowers in bloom. (See _Penny Cyclopædia_,
article "Cirripeda," vii. 206, reversing the woodcut). The foot of the
_Lepas Anatifera_ (Linn.), appeared to me like the stalk of a plant
growing from the ship's side. The shell had the semblance of a calyx,
and the flower consisted of the fingers (_tentacula_) of the shell-fish,
"of which twelve project in an elegant curve, and are used by it for
making prey of small fish." The very ancient error was to mistake the
foot of the shell-fish for the neck of a goose, the shell for its head,
and the _tentacula_ for a tuft of feathers. As to the body, _non est
inventus_. The Barnacle Goose is a well-known bird; and these shell-fish
bearing, as seen out of the water, resemblance to the goose's neck,
were ignorantly, and without investigation, confounded with geese
themselves. In France, the barnacle goose may be eaten on fast-days, by
virtue of this old belief in its fishy origin. From a passage in the
_Memoirs of Lady Fanshaw_, it appears that Sir Kenelm Digby, at the
table of the Governor of Calais, declared that barnacles, a bird in
Jersey, was first a shell-fish to appearance, and from that, sticking
upon old wood, became in time a goose! An advertisement of June, 1807,
sets forth that the "Wonderful curiosity called the Goose Tree, Barnacle
Tree, or Tree bearing geese, taken up at sea on the 12th January, 1807,
by Captain Bytheway, and was more than twenty men could raise out of the
water--may be seen at the Exhibition Rooms, Spring Gardens, from ten
o'clock in the morning till ten at night, every day. The Barnacles which
form the present exhibition possess a neck upwards of two feet in
length, resembling the windpipe of a chicken; each shell contains five
pieces, and notwithstanding the many thousands which hang to eight
inches of the tree, part of the fowl may be seen from each shell. Sir
Robert Moxay, in the _Wonders of Nature and Art_, speaking of this
singularly curious production, says, that in every shell he opened he
found a perfect sea-fowl[!], with a bill like that of a goose, feet like
those of water-fowl, and the feathers all plainly formed." (_Ibid._, p.
300.)
WARTS FROM WASHING IN EGG-WATER.
It is commonly held that washing the hands in water in which eggs have
been boiled will produce a plentiful crop of warts. Not long ago two
young and intelligent ladies stated that they had inadvertently washed
their hands and arms in egg-water, and in each case this had been
followed by large numbers of warts. This sequence they affirmed to be a
consequence, and the warts were shown as an ocular demonstration of the
unpleasant results of such lavation.
FORTUNE-TELLING.--WISE MEN AND CUNNING WOMEN, ETC.
There is scarcely a town of any magnitude in Lancashire, or in one or
two adjacent counties, which does not possess its local "fortune-teller"
or pretender to a knowledge of astrology, and to a power of predicting
the future events of life, under the talismanic name of "fortune," to a
large and credulous number of applicants. The fortune-teller of the
nineteenth century professes to be able to "cast nativities" and to
"rule the planets." If, as is not unfrequently the case, he be a medical
botanist, he gathers his herbs when the proper planet is "in the
ascendant." Some of these impostors also profess to "charge the crystal"
(_i.e._, to look into a globular or egg-shaped glass), and thereby to
solve the gravest questions respecting the future fortunes of those who
consult them. Nor is this by any means an unprofitable pursuit. The
writer is aware of several instances in which "casting nativities," &c.,
has proved a golden harvest to the professor. One individual gave up a
well-paid occupation in order that he might devote himself wholly to the
still more lucrative practice of astrology and fortune-telling. He not
only predicted future events by means of the stars, but he gave heads of
families advice as to the recovery of stolen property and the detection
of the thief; while impatient maidens he counselled how to bring shy or
dilatory lovers to the point. Another practitioner added to these
practices the construction of sun-dials, in which he was very
ingenious, and thereby amassed considerable property after a long and
successful career. Instances are very common that credulity is not
confined to the ignorant or uneducated classes. An intelligent and
well-meaning lady once very seriously cautioned the writer against
diving into the secrets of astrology, as, she said, that pursuit had
"turned the head" of one of her acquaintance. She not only had a firm
faith in the truth of all astrological predictions, but (from
apprehension engendered by this faith) she would not on any account
suffer any of these practitioners to predict her fortune, nor would she
on any account consult them. It seems that on one occasion she did
commit herself so far as to go to "a wise man," whom we will call Mr.
I., in company with Miss J., whose marriage with Mr. K. was then
somewhat doubtful; and she afterwards solemnly affirmed that the
astrologer told her all her fortune. She described him as first
carefully drawing the requisite diagram, showing the state of the
heavens at the hour of Miss J.'s birth; and after "charging his glass"
he declared that the marriage would take place within a few months;
"but," he added, "he was also very sorry to inform her that she would
die young." Both these events did really happen within a limited period;
and of course the lady's belief in the truth of astrological prediction
was very powerfully strengthened and confirmed. Some time after these
events, this identical Mr. I. was brought before the magistrates in
petty sessions, charged with obtaining money under false pretences; with
practising astrology, palmistry, &c., and he only narrowly escaped
imprisonment through some technical error in the charge or summons. It
was said that the charge was a vindictive one--hence there was great
rejoicing amongst his friends when it was dismissed; but the inspector
of police who had charge of the case did not hesitate to declare that
there were many persons then present who had paid Mr. I. money for his
predictions.
Another specimen of the fortune-teller we may notice from a rural
district. In the hamlet of Roe Green, in the township of Worsley, in a
humble cottage, a few years ago lived a man who held the position of
overseer or head of one class of workmen in the employ of the
Bridgewater Trust. In the language of the locality, "Owd Rollison
[Rawlinson] was a _gaffer_." But to this regular avocation he added the
profession of fortune-telling, and in the evenings many were the
applicants for a little knowledge of future events from the villages and
hamlets for miles around. His stock-in-trade consisted of various books
on astrology, &c., and of two magic glasses or crystals, one a small
globular mass of common white glass, with a short stem by which to hold
it; the other was about the size and shape of a large hen's egg, but
without any stem or handle. His whole apparatus was for some months in
the possession of the writer, and a list of his books may serve to show
the sort of literature held in esteem amongst this class of planet
rulers. 1. _The Three Books of Occult Philosophy_ of Henry Cornelius
Agrippa, translated by J. Freake (London, 1651, pp. 583).[85] 2. Lilly's
_Christian Astrology_, in three books (London, 1659, pp. 832). 3. John
Gadbury's _Thesaurus Astrologiæ_ (Westminster, 1674, pp. 272). 4. _The
Star_, by Ebn Shemaya (London, 1839, pp. 203). Zadkiel's _Grammar of
Astrology_ (London, 1849, pp. 178): in this volume were also bound up
"Tables for Calculating Nativities," by Zadkiel (London, 1850, pp. 64).
6. _A Plea for Urania_ (London, 1854, pp. 387).
One or two MS. books, apparently blank copy-books, which had been used
to draw diagrams, or, as the phrase goes, to "construct horoscopes," or
"erect schemes," or "cast nativities," showed that "Owd Rollison" had
dabbled a little in a sort of Astrology; but the rudeness of these
attempts betrayed him to be but a mere tyro in the "celestial science."
He had also a reputation for selling "charms" against the various ills
that flesh is heir to; amongst others, one to stop hæmorrhage. One
countryman told the writer that he remembered, when a boy, that his
uncle having a very severe hæmorrhage, so that he was believed to be
bleeding to death, this boy was told to run off as hard as he could to
Owd Rollison to get something to stop the bleeding. He soon received a
small piece of parchment containing sundry unintelligible characters
upon it, which was to be sewed up in a small bag and worn continually,
so that the bag should rest on the skin just over the heart. This was
done, the bleeding stopped, and the man recovered. Another person, who
had been a sort of confidant of the wise man, told the writer that at
one period Rawlinson went at regular intervals, and on stated days, to
Manchester, where at a quiet public-house he met other "wise men," and
they assembled in an upper chamber, with locked door, and sometimes
remained for hours in deliberation. Of the subject of such deliberations
the informant said he knew nothing, for he was never admitted; he had
the honour of remaining outside the door as watchman, guard, or
sentinel, to prevent any prying listeners from approaching. He
conjectured that what they were about was "magic and such like;" but
more he knew not. "Owd Rollison" kept his situation under the
Bridgewater Trust until his death, at a ripe old age; and though he left
several sons and a daughter, the mantle of his astrological or
fortune-telling wisdom does not seem to have fallen on any of them.
Much might be stated respecting the practice of the art of
fortune-telling by wandering gipsies, especially in that branch of it
termed palmistry--predicting the future from an examination of the
"lines" of the palm of the left hand, each of which, in the jargon of
palmists, has its own peculiar character and name, as the line of life,
of fortune, &c.; but as these wanderers are not indigenous to
Lancashire, but may be found in every county in England, it may suffice
thus to name them. Of the old women who tell fortunes by cards chiefly,
to silly women who are always wanting to know whether their future
husband is to be denoted by the King of Hearts (a true-loving swain) or
by the Monarch of Diamonds (as indicative of great wealth), it is enough
to say that they may be found by scores or hundreds in every town in
Lancashire.
MAGIC AND MAGICIANS.
Our forefathers had a strong faith in the power of magic, and even
divided the knowledge of it into two opposite kinds--viz., "white
magic," which was acquired from the communications of the archangels and
angels, or at least from some of the good spirits who were allowed to
aid human beings by their supernatural power in deeds of beneficence;
and black magic, or "the black art," also termed "necromancy," which was
derived from dealings with the devil, or at least from commerce with
his imps, or the evil spirits of wicked dead men. At one period the
terms magician and conjuror had the same meaning--one who conjured, by
magical power, spirits and demons to appear and do his bidding. Conjuror
has since become a name for a professor of _legerdemain_ or
sleight-of-hand.
EDWARD KELLY, THE SEER.
Edward Kelly, whose dealings in the Black Art, it is said, would fill a
volume, was born at Worcester, and had been an apothecary. We have
elsewhere noticed his doings as an alchemist. He was for a considerable
time the companion and associate of "Dr." John Dee, performing for him
the office of "Seer," by looking into the doctor's crystal or stone, a
faculty not possessed by Dee, who in consequence was obliged to have
recourse to Kelly for the revelations he has published respecting the
world of spirits. These curious transactions may be found in Casaubon's
work, entitled, _A True and Faithful Relation of what Passed for many
years between Dr. John Dee and some Spirits_--opening out another dark
page in the history of imposture and credulity. Dee says that he was
brought into unison with Kelly by the mediation of the angel Uriel.
Afterwards he found himself deceived by him, in his opinion that these
spirits which ministered unto him were messengers of the Deity. They had
had several quarrels before; but when Dee found Kelly degenerating into
the worst species of the magic art, for the purposes of avarice and
fraud, he broke off all connexion with him, and would never afterwards
be seen in his company. Kelly, being discountenanced by the doctor,
betook himself to the meanest practices of magic, in all which money and
the works of the devil appear to have been his chief aim. Many wicked
and abominable transactions are recorded of him.
In Lilly's Memoirs are the following passages relating to this
Seer:--"Kelly outwent the Doctor, viz., about the Elixir and the
Philosopher's Stone, which neither he nor his master attained by their
own labour and industry. It was in this manner that Kelly obtained it,
as I had it related from an ancient minister, who knew the certainty
thereof from an old English merchant, resident in Germany, at what time
both Kelly and Dee were there. Dee and Kelly, being on the confines of
the Emperor's dominions, in a city where resided many English merchants,
with whom they had much familiarity, there happened an old friar to come
to Dr. Dee's lodgings, knocking at the door. Dee peeped down stairs:
'Kelly,' says he, 'tell the old man I am not at home.' Kelly did so. The
friar said, 'I will take another time to wait upon him.' Some few days
after, he came again. Dee ordered Kelly, if it were the same person, to
deny him again. He did so; at which the friar was very angry. 'Tell thy
master I came to speak with him, and to do him good; because he is a
great scholar, and famous: but now tell him, he put forth a book, and
dedicated it to the Emperor. It is called _Monas Hieroglyphicas_. He
understands it not. I wrote it myself. I came to instruct him therein,
and in some other more profound things. Do thou, Kelly, come along with
me. I will make thee more famous than thy master Dee.' Kelly was very
apprehensive of what the friar delivered, and thereupon suddenly
retired from Dr. Dee, and wholly applied unto the friar, and of him
either had the Elixir ready made, or the perfect method of its
preparation and making. The poor friar lived a very short time after:
whether he died a natural death, or was otherwise poisoned or made away
by Kelly, the merchant who related this, did not certainly know." "It
was vulgarly reported that he [Kelly] had a compact with the devil,
which he out-lived, and was seized at midnight by infernal spirits, who
carried him off in sight of his family, at the instant he was meditating
a mischievous design against the minister of the parish, with whom he
was greatly at enmity."[86]
RAISING THE DEAD AT WALTON-LE-DALE.
In the reign of Queen Elizabeth and the year 1560, three judicial
astrologers met in Preston, for the purpose of raising a corpse by
incantations. They were Dr. Dee, Warden of Manchester, Edward Kelly, his
assistant, and "seer," and Paul Wareing, of Dove Cotes, near Clayton
Brook. Casaubon, in his "True and faithful Account of what passed for
many years between John Dee and some Spirits," (apparently quoting from
Weever's _Funeral Monuments_) states that "The aforesaid Master Edward
Kelly, a person well skilled in judicial astrology, with one Paul
Wareing (who acted with him in these incantations and all these
conjurations) and Dr. Dee, went to the churchyard of St. Leonard's, in
Walton-le-Dale, near Preston, and entered the burial ground exactly at
midnight, the moon shining brightly, for the purpose of raising the body
of a person who had been interred there, and who had during his life
hidden a quantity of money without disclosing the fact previous to his
death. Having had the grave pointed out to them on the preceding day,
they opened it, removed the coffin lid, and set to work by various
exorcisms, until the body became animated, by the spirit entering it
again. The body then rose out of the grave and stood upright before
them. It not only satisfied their wicked desires, it is said, but
delivered several strange predictions concerning persons in the
neighbourhood, which were literally and exactly fulfilled. Sibley, in
his _Occult Sciences_, relates a similar account of this transaction,
and also gives an engraving representing the scene, which took place at
the midnight hour in the church of Walton. Another account states that
Dr. Dee was engaged with Kelly in this enterprise, August 12th, 1560,
and that Paul Wareing, of Clayton Brook, was the other who gave
assistance in endeavouring to obtain an intercourse with familiar
spirits."--(_Whittle's Preston._)
AN EARL OF DERBY CHARGED WITH KEEPING A CONJUROR.
The loyal and munificent Edward (third) Earl of Derby, notwithstanding
his great services to Queen Elizabeth, and his long-proved loyalty, was
maligned and accused of traitorous intentions. The Earl of Huntingdon
wrote to Sir William Cecil, then the Queen's Secretary of State
(afterwards Lord Burghley, her Treasurer), a letter, communicating
suspicions of the Earl of Derby, which the writer asked should be burned
as soon as read, but which has been preserved (and printed) amongst Lord
Burghley's _State Papers_ (I. 603.) Modernising the spelling, the letter
runs thus:--
Sir,--I am bolder to write to you on weighty matters, than I dare be
to some others; the cause I leave to your consideration, and so to
you only I am bold to impart that I hear. The matter in short is
this:--Among the Papists of Lancashire, Cheshire, and the Cosynes
(?), great hope and expectation there is, that Derby will play as
foul a part this year as the two Earls did the last year. [See the
Rising in the North.] I hope better of him for my part, and for my
respects, both general and particular, I wish him to do better. I
know he hath hitherto been loyal, and even the last year, as you
know, gave good testimony of his fidelity, and of his own
disposition, I think, will do so still; but he may be drawn by evil
counsel, God knoweth to what. I fear he hath even at this time many
wicked counsellors, and some too near him. _There is one Browne, a
conjuror, in his house, kept secretly._ There is also one Uphalle,
who was a pirate, and had lately his pardon, that could tell
somewhat, as I hear, if you could get him. He that carried my Lord
Morley over, was also there within this se'ennight, kept secretly.
He with his whole family never raged so much against religion as
they do now, he never came to common prayer for this quarter or this
year, as I hear, neither doth any of the family, except five or six
persons. I dare not write what more I hear, because I cannot justify
and prove it; but this may suffice for you in time to look to it.
And surely, in my simple opinion, if you send some faithful and wise
spy, that would dissemble to come from D'Alva, and dissemble popery,
you might understand all; for if all be true that is said, there is
a very fond company in the house at this present. I doubt not but
you can and will use this matter better than I can advise you. Yet
let me wish you to take heed to which of your companions (though you
be now but five together) you utter this matter _ne fortè_ it be in
Lathom sooner than you would have it; for some of you have men about
you and friends attending on you, &c., that deal not always well. I
pray God save our Elizabeth and confound all her enemies; and thus I
take my leave, committing you to God his tuition.
Your assured poor friend,
H. HUNTYNGDON.
From Ashby, 24 Aug., 1570.
P.S.--Because none there should know of my letter, I would not send
it by my servant, but have desired Mr. Ad to deliver it to you in
secret. When you have read it, I pray you to burn it and forget the
name of the writer. I pray God I may not hear any more of your
coming to ----.
There seems to have been no substantial ground for suspecting the
loyalty of the Earl of Derby, which remained unshaken through another
ordeal, the conspiracy of the Duke of Norfolk to marry the Queen of
Scots, and place her on the English throne. But the Bishop of Ross gave
evidence, that in Mary's design, in 1571, to escape from Sheffield
Castle to the Continent, she was aided by several Lancashire gentlemen;
and adds, that she wrote a letter by a little priest of Rolleston's to
Sir Thomas Stanley. Sir Thomas Gerrard and Rolleston devised a cypher
for her; and they offered to convey her away, and willed the Bishop to
ask the Duke of Norfolk's opinion therein. The prelate further stated
that Hall told him that if the Queen [Mary] would get two men landed in
Lancashire, Sir Thomas Stanley, and Sir Edward Stanley, along with Sir
Thomas Gerrard, and Rolleston, would effect her escape to France or
Flanders, &c. Upon this evidence Sir Thomas Stanley, Sir Thomas Gerrard,
and Rolleston, were apprehended, and committed to the Tower as state
prisoners.[87]
FOOTNOTES:
[75] Allen's _History of Yorkshire_, vol. iii. pp. 421-425.
[76] _Gort_, narrow; _gor_, upper, Brit.; _gór_, blood, A.-S. _Gorple_
may mean the bloody pile, or the upper pile.
[77] From _Sceot-hull_, afterwards _Scout_ or _Shoot-hill_, and
_worth_--_i.e._, the farm or hamlet of the projecting ledge or hill.
[78] Dr. Borlase's argument is cumulative. He observes that rock basins
are always on the _top_, never on the _sides_ of the stones; that the
ancients sacrificed on rocks; that water was used by them for lustration
and purification; that snow, rain, or dew, was preferred by them to
running water; that it was not permitted to touch the earth; that the
Druids practised similar rites, and held rain or snow-water to be holy;
and they attributed a healing virtue to the gods inhabiting rocks; that
their priests stood upon rocks to wash, sprinkle, and drink, &c. All
these considerations, he conceives, favour his opinion that rock basins
were _used_, if not _formed_, by the Druids.
[79] See Watson's _History of Halifax_, pp. 27-36.
[80] Professor Hunt is of the same opinion. See his recent work on the
_Drolls of Cornwall_, vol. i. pp. 186-228.
[81] T. G. C., in _Notes and Queries_, vol. vii. p. 177.
[82] In his _History of Blackpool_, pp. 333-4.
[83] Speet, spit, or spittle, are names in Lancashire for a spade.
[84] L. B., in _Notes and Queries_, vol. viii. p. 613.--_Bibliographical
Notice of the Works of the Learned and Rev. Divine, John White, D.D.,
&c._ London, 1624; in _Chet. Soc. Books_, vol. xxxviii. p. 52.
[85] There is another curious volume, which professes to contain a
fourth book of Agrippa; but it is spurious. It includes five
treatises--viz., 1. Henry Cornelius Agrippa's Fourth Book on Occult
Philosophy and Geomancy; 2. The Magical Elements of Peter de Abano; 3.
The Astronomical Geomancy of Gerard Cremonensis; 4. Isagoge, or the
Nature of Spirits, by Geo. Victorius Villinganus, M.D.; and 5. Arbatel
of Magick. Translated into English by Robert Turner, Philomathées.
(London, 1665, 8vo, pp. 266.) Another version of this book appeared in
1783, 8vo. It would lead us too far to describe the strange contents of
this book, which contains long lists of the names of good and evil
spirits, and symbols representing their characters; also symbols of the
archangels and angels, their sigils, planets, signs, &c.
[86] See Roby's _Traditions of Lancashire_.
[87] (_Lord Burghley's Papers_, vol. ii., p. 771.) The death of Edward
Earl of Derby, "with whom (says Camden) the glory of hospitality hath in
a manner been laid asleep," took place on the 24th October, 1572.
MIRACLES, OR MIRACULOUS STORIES.
An age of credulity is naturally rich in miracles. Superstition is ever
prone to explain the mysterious, or to account for the questionable, by
hunting for some supernatural cause; and hence the popular love for and
strong faith in the miraculous. No church erected before the Reformation
but had its miraculous legend; no well or spring of a remote antiquity
but had its tradition, either connected with its origin or with its
marvellous and miraculous powers of healing. The miracle of a past age,
preserved to the present in the form of a legend, is equally entitled to
a place in our Folk-Lore.
MIRACLES BY A DEAD DUKE OF LANCASTER AND KING.
One of the Harleian Manuscripts (Cod. 423), found amongst the papers of
Fox the Martyrologist, and entitled "De Miraculis Beatissimi Militis Xpi
Henrici Vj." (Of the Miracles of the Most blessed Knight of Christ,
Henry VI.), consisting of about 150 closely written pages, contains an
account of a vast number of reputed miracles performed by this weak and
credulous monarch (who long hoped to pay his large debts by the aid of
two alchemists!) and of which the following specimens will doubtless
suffice for our readers:--How Richard Whytby, priest of St. Michael's,
was long ill of a fever, and at last miraculously cured by journeying to
the tomb of Henry VI. John, called Robynson, who had been blind ten
years, recovered his sight by visiting Henry's tomb. How Henry
Lancaster, afflicted in fever, was miraculously cured in three days by
the appearance of the blessed prince Henry VI. in the sky. How a girl
called Joan Knyght, who was nearly killed with a bone sticking in her
throat, and considered dead, on the bystanders invoking Henry VI.,
vomited the bone and was restored to health. If these superstitions
wanted a crowning absurdity, that is not wanting in the fact that Henry
VII. actually sent an embassy to Rome, to importune the newly-elected
Pope Julius II. to canonize Henry VI. as a saint! His holiness referred
the matter to certain cardinals, to take the verification of the
deceased monarch's holy acts and miracles; but these were not
sufficiently obvious to entitle him to the dignity of the calendar, and
the negotiation was abandoned in despair.[88]
Mr. Monckton Milnes, M.P. (now Lord Houghton), in an interesting letter
in _Notes and Queries_, I. 181, asks for information respecting this
popular "saint," to whom the Church, however, denied canonization. He
refers to Brady for an account of the miracle performed at the tomb of
Thomas Earl of Lancaster, and of the picture or image of the Earl
exhibited in St. Paul's, London, and the object of many offerings. Brady
cites the opinion of an ecclesiastic, who doubted the propriety of this
devotion being encouraged by the Church; the Earl, besides his political
offences, having been a notorious evil-liver. In June 1327, a "King's
letter" (of Edward III.) was given to Robert de Weryngton, authorizing
him and his agents to collect alms throughout the Kingdom for the
purpose of building a chapel on the hill where the Earl was beheaded;
and praying all prelates and authorities to give him aid and heed. This
sanction gave rise to imposture; and in the following December a
proclamation appeared, ordering the arrest and punishment of
unauthorized persons collecting money under this pretence and taking it
for their own use. The chapel was constructed, and officiated in till
the dissolution of the monasteries; the image in St. Paul's was always
regarded with especial affection, and the cognomen of "_Saint_ Thomas of
Lancaster" was generally accepted and understood. Five hundred years
after the execution of the Earl of Lancaster [in 1822], a large stone
coffin, massive and roughly hewn, was found in a field that belonged of
old to the Priory of Pomfret, but at least a quarter of a mile distant
from the hill where the chapel stood. Within was the skeleton of a
full-grown man, partially preserved; the skull lay between the thighs.
There is no record of the decapitation of any person at Pontefract of
sufficient dignity to have been interred in a manner showing so much
care for the preservation of the body, except the Earl of Lancaster. The
coffin may have been removed here at the time the opposite party forbade
its veneration, from motives of precaution for its safety.--R. M.
M.--[The Editor of _Notes and Queries_ adds, that "The Office of St.
Thomas of Lancaster," which begins "_Gaude, Thoma, ducum decus, lucerna
Lancastriæ_," is printed in the volume of "_Political Songs_" edited by
Mr. Wright for the Camden Society, from a royal MS. in the British
Museum, _MS. Reg. 12_. Another correspondent, we believe Mr. James
Thompson of Leicester, states that at the dissolution of the monasteries
in that town, several relics of St. Thomas (who was Earl of Leicester,
as well as of Lancaster) were exhibited; amongst others his felt hat,
which was considered a great remedy for the headache!]
A MIRACULOUS FOOTPRINT IN BRINDLE CHURCH.
Beneath the eastern gable of the chancel lies a huge stone coffin, with
a cavity for the head, but its history is unknown. In the wall just
above it is a small indentation, resembling the form of a foot, which,
according to tradition, was made by the high-heeled shoe of a Popish
disputant, who, in the ardour of debate, wished, if the doctrine he
advanced was not true, that his foot might sink into the stone, "upon
which the reforming stone instantly softened, and buried the papistical
foot;" much in the same way, no doubt, as the flag in Smithells Hall
received the print of the foot of George Marsh, the martyr.[89]
THE FOOTPRINT AT SMITHELLS OF GEORGE MARSH, THE MARTYR.
George Marsh, one of the three Lancashire martyrs in the reign of Queen
Mary, was the son of Mr. George Marsh, a yeoman of Dean, and was born
about 1575. He was educated at the Bolton Free Grammar School, and for a
time followed farming, and, marrying at twenty-five, settled there till
the death of his wife; when, placing his children with his father, he
became a student at Cambridge University, was ordained, and was
appointed curate of All-Hallows, Bread-street, London. He continued for
some time preaching the reformed doctrines, and zealously supporting the
Protestant faith, both in London and Lancashire; and while in his native
county, in March 1555, he learned that he had been sought after by the
servants of Mr. Barton of Smithells Hall, a magistrate; on which he went
thither voluntarily, and was examined before Mr. Barton. In a passage
near the door of the dining-room is a cavity in a flag, bearing some
resemblance to the print of a man's foot, and this cavity is said by
tradition to have been caused by the martyr stamping his foot to confirm
his testimony, and it is shown to this day as a miraculous memorial of
the holy man. The story goes, that "being provoked by the taunts and
persecutions of his examiners, he stamped with his foot upon a stone,
and, looking up to Heaven, appealed to God for the justness of his
cause; and prayed that there might remain in that place a constant
memorial of the wickedness and injustice of his enemies." It is said
that about the beginning of the eighteenth century this stone was
removed by two or three young men, of the family of Barton, then living
at the hall, during the absence of their parents; that they cast it into
the clough behind the hall; but all the inmates of the house were so
much disturbed that same night by alarming noises, that they could not
rest. Inquiry led to confession, the stone was replaced, and the noises
ceased. It is also stated that in 1732, a guest (John Butterworth, of
Manchester,) sleeping alone in the Green Chamber at Smithells Hall, saw
an apparition, in the dress of a minister with bands, and a book in his
hand. The ghost of Marsh (for so it was pronounced to be) disappeared
through the door-way, and on the owner of Smithells hearing the story,
he directed that divine service (long discontinued) should be resumed at
the hall chapel every Sunday. Such are some of the stories told about
Smithells Hall; and there is hardly an old hall in the country that has
not one or more such traditions floating about its neighbourhood. It is
as if ghostly visitants scorned to honour with their presence any house
below the dignity of a hall. In this case, it may be observed that
neither in Marsh's own account of what passed at Smithells, nor in Mr.
Whatton's Biographical notice of him in Baines's _History of
Lancashire_, is any mention made of the miraculous footprint. But in a
volume of four or five tracts printed at Bolton (no year stated) the
third tract is "The Life and Martyrdom of George Marshe," &c. "Also, the
particulars respecting the print of a foot on the flag shewn at
Smithills Hall, near Bolton;" which latter is signed "W. D.," and dated
"August 22, 1787." Amongst other discrepancies, it may be observed that
W. D. makes Marsh's interrogator "Sir Roger Barton;" while Marsh, a
native of the immediate neighbourhood invariably writes of him as "Mr.
Barton."
A LEGEND OF CARTMEL CHURCH.
Better than six hundred years ago (runs the story) some monks came over
to Lancashire from another country; and, finding all this part of the
kingdom covered with wood, they resolved to build a monastery in some
part of Cartmel Forest. In their rambles, they found a hill which
commanded a prospect so beautiful and extensive that they were quite
charmed with it. They marked out a piece of ground on the summit, and
were preparing to build the church, when a voice spoke to them out of
the air, saying "Not there, but in a valley, between two rivers, where
the one runs north, and the other south." Astonished at this strange
command, they marvelled where the valley could be, for they had never
seen a valley where two rivers ran in contrary directions. They set out
to seek this singular valley, and travelled throughout the North of
England, but in vain. Wearied with their fruitless search, they were
returning to the hill where they had heard the strange voice. In passing
through a valley covered with wood, they came to a small river, the
stream of which ran north. They waded through it, and shortly after
found another, the stream of which ran south. They placed the church
midway between the two streams, upon a little island, of hard ground, in
the midst of a morass; dedicating it to St. Mary. They also built a
small chapel on the hill where they had heard the voice, which they
dedicated to St. Bernard. The chapel has long since disappeared, but the
hill is still called Mount Bernard.[90]
THE PROPHET ELIAS, A LANCASHIRE FANATIC.
In 1562, a native of Manchester who called himself Elias, but whose real
name was Ellys, pretended to possess the spirit of prophecy. He went to
London, where he made some proselytes, uttering his "warning voice" in
the public places. James Pilkington, D.D., a native of Rivington, in
Lancashire, and an eminent Protestant divine, who was raised by Queen
Elizabeth in 1560 to the See of Durham, preached before the Queen at
Greenwich, against the supposed mission of this Manchester fanatic. The
Bishop of London, three days afterwards, ordered the northern prophet to
be put in the pillory in Cheapside. He was thence committed to
Bridewell, where he died in or about 1565.
FOOTNOTES:
[88] Baines's _Lancashire_.
[89] Baines's _Lancashire_.
[90] See _Lonsdale Magazine_, February, 1821.
OMENS AND PREDICATIONS.
An intense desire to know future events, besides being the great
encouragement of astrologers, sorcerers, and magicians, wise men,
cunning women, fortune-tellers, &c., has given rise to a large class of
small circumstances which are regarded as indicative of coming good or
bad luck, of good or evil fortune, to the observer or the person
experiencing their influence. Hence, nothing is more common than to hear
amongst uneducated and credulous people predications from the most
trivial occurrences of daily life. A winding-sheet in the candle,
spilling the salt, crossing knives, and various other trifles, are omens
of evil to thousands of lore-folk to this day. Should one of your
children fall sick when on a visit at a friend's house, it is held to be
sure to entail bad luck on that family for the rest of the year, if you
stay over New Year's-day. Persons have been known to travel sixty miles
with a sick child rather than run the risk. A flake of soot on the bars
of the grate is said to indicate the approach of a stranger; a bright
spark on the wick of a candle, or a long piece of stalk in the tea-cup,
betokens a similar event. When the fire burns briskly, some lover smirks
or is good-humoured. A cinder thrown out of the fire by a jet of gas
from burning coals, is looked upon as a coffin, if its hollow be long;
as a purse of gold, if the cavity be roundish. Crickets in a house are
said to indicate good fortune; but should they forsake the chimney
corner, it is a sure sign of coming misfortunes.
In the neighbourhood of Lancaster I know ladies who consider it "lucky"
to find _old iron_: a horse-shoe or rusty nail is carefully conveyed
home and hoarded up. It is also considered lucky if you see the _head_
of the first lamb in spring; to present his _tail_ is the certain
harbinger of misfortune. It is also said that if you have money in your
pocket the first time you hear the cuckoo, you will never be without all
the year.[91]
In Lancashire we still dislike the moaning or hooting of owls and the
croaking of ravens, as much as the Romans did of old. In a large class
of our population few would yet defy evil fate, by beginning a journey
or any important undertaking, or marrying, on a Friday; on which day
Lancashire, like other sailors, have a strong repugnance to beginning a
voyage. This day of the week is regarded as of evil augury, because it
was the day (Good Friday) when our Saviour's blood was shed. The
auguries of dreams are so numerous, that a large class of chap-books are
still to be found circulating in country places, from _Mother Shipton_
to _Napoleon's Book of Fate_. Few young women in the country, farmers'
daughters and servants, were without a favourite "Dream-Book." Again,
the farmer or cottager deems it necessary, in order to secure a crop of
onions, to sow the seed on St. Gregory's-day [March 12] named
"Gregory-gret-Onion," (_i.e._, Gregory the Great). Amongst the more
pardonable longings to raise the veil of futurity are those of village
maidens (and not a few of those in towns too, and of all ranks) to get a
peep at the figure of the husband whom the future has in store for her.
On All-Hallows' Eve she strews the ashes which are to take the form of
one or more letters of her lover's name; she throws hemp-seed over her
shoulder and timidly glances to see who follows her. On the fast of St.
Agnes she watches a small candle called a "pig-tail," to see the passing
image of her future husband. The up-turned tea-cup, for its leaves, or
the coffee-cup for its "grounds;" the pack of cards, with the desired
King of Hearts or Diamonds, the sputterings and spurtings of a
tallow-candle, all furnished to the omen-instructed damsel some sign by
which to read the future, and to arrive at a knowledge of her lot in
life, as to husband, children, fortune, &c. When leaving home to begin a
journey, or to commence any future enterprise, it is deemed an
important observance, necessary to insure good luck, to walk
"withershins" (_i.e._, as the weather or sun shines). In many country
places this is always observed by a bridal party when advancing to the
altar to have the marriage solemnized, and, of course, one particular
aisle of the church is the only fortunate or lucky one to proceed by.
Some, however, say that to walk "widdershins" is to take a direction
contrary to the course of the sun, _i.e._, from right to left.[92] Some
persons more credulous than humane, will shut up a poor cat in the oven,
to ensure their own good luck. Days have long been parcelled out between
lucky and unlucky, for any important undertaking, as a journey, taking a
partner in business or for life, buying land, or even for such trivial
matters as blood-letting, taking physic, cutting the hair, or paring
nails. Again, the moon's age is an important element in securing future
weal or woe. For the first year of an infant's life many mothers will
not have its hair or nails cut, and when the year is gone these
operations must be performed when the moon is so many days old, to
ensure good results. A tooth, as soon as it has been drawn, should be
sprinkled with salt, and thrown into the fire; if it be lost, no rest or
peace will be enjoyed till it is found again. The following are a few
omens drawn from observing peculiarities about animals:--
CATS.
1. If a cat tear at the cushions, carpets, &c., with its claws, it is
considered to be a sign of wind. Hence we say, "the cat is raising the
wind." 2. If a cat in washing its face draw its paw quite over its
forehead, it is a sign of fair weather. If not so, it betokens speedy
rain. 3. Allowing cats to sleep with you is considered very unhealthy.
They are said to "draw your health away." 4. Those who play much with
cats have never good health. A cat's hair is said to be indigestible,
and you will die if one get into your stomach. 5. It is counted unlucky
to allow cats to die in a house. Hence when they begin to be ill they
are usually drowned. A case of this kind occurred in Burnley a short
time ago. 6. If a kitten come to a house, it is counted a lucky omen.
DOGS.
1. Dogs are said to sit down and howl before the door when any one is
about to be sick, or die. A death is considered _certain_ if the dog
return as often as driven away. 2. Dogs are hence considered to be
somehow acquainted with the spirit world, "or else," as one said, "how
should they know when a person is going to die?" This is firmly
believed in about Mellor and Blackburn. In Burnley and neighbourhood
equally so at present. 3. The _life_ of a dog is sometimes said to be
_bound up_ with that of its master or mistress. When either _dies_ the
other cannot _live_. Is this a remnant of the old belief in the
transmigration of souls? 4. The whining of a favourite dog is considered
by many to betoken calamity to the family to which it belongs.
LAMBS.
It is very lucky for lambs to have their faces towards you when you
first see them in Spring. The omen is much more favourable when they are
looking towards the east.
BIRDS.
To kill or ill-use swallows, wrens, redbreasts, &c., is accounted
unfortunate; for these all frequent our houses for good. There is a
stanza common among us which declares that
"A Cock Robin and a Jenny Wren
Are God Almighty's cock and hen;
A Spink and a Sparrow
Are the Devil's bow and arrow."
Birds are supposed by some to be somehow cognizant of what is about to
happen. A _jackdaw_ is always an unwelcome visitor, if it alight on the
window-sill of a sick chamber. A _white dove_ is thought to be a
favourable omen; its presence betokens recovery to the person within, or
it is _an angel in that form_ ready to convey the soul of a dying person
to heaven. I once knew a Wesleyan Methodist who was of opinion that
"forgiveness of sins" was assured to her by a small bird, which flew
across her path when she had long been praying for a token of this kind.
When a _Canary-bird_ sings cheerfully, all is well with the family that
keeps it; when it becomes silent, and remains so, there is calamity in
store for that household. If you hear the _cuckoo_ shout towards the
east, for the first time in any year, and have gold, silver, and copper
coin in your pockets, you will never want money during that year.
SWALLOWS.
1. If swallows, or martins, begin to build their nests about a house or
barn, it is looked upon as predicating good luck to the occupier. "The
_more_ birds the _better_ luck." 2. On the contrary, when they forsake a
haunt, the occupiers become apprehensive of misfortune. Hence farmers
will always protect such birds, and often ill-use boys who may be
stoning them, or attempting to rob their nests.
MAGPIES.
There are, at least in Lancashire and Yorkshire, many curious
superstitions connected with this bird. Its appearance _singly_ is still
regarded in both these counties by many even of the educated
representatives of the last generation, as an evil omen, and some of the
customs supposed to break the charm are curious. One is simply to raise
the hat as in salutation, another to sign the cross on the breast, and
to make the same sign by crossing the thumbs. This last custom is
confined to Yorkshire, and I know one elderly gentleman who not only
crosses his thumbs, but spits over them when in that position, a
practice which was, he says, common in his youth. The superstition
applies only to a single magpie, according to the old nursery legend:--
"One for sorrow,
Two for mirth,
Three for a wedding,
And four for a birth."[93]
I met a person the other day who solemnly assured me that he had seen a
'pynot' as he came along the road; but he had made the figure of a cross
on the mire in the road, in order to avert the evil omen.[94]
In Lancashire they say:--
"One for anger,
Two for mirth,
Three for a wedding,
Four for a birth,
Five for rich,
Six for poor,
Seven for a witch:
I can tell you no more."[95]
But in Tim Bobbin it is expressly said that two magpies are indicative
of ill-fortune:--"I saigh two rott'n pynots, hong 'um, that wur a sign
of bad fashin; for I heerd my gronny say hoo'd as leef o' seen two Owd
Harries os two pynots."[96] "I shall catch none to-day," we heard a man
advanced in life, exclaim in a melancholy tone, who was angling in the
river Ribble. "Why?" we asked, "the day is not inauspicious." "No; but
do you not see that magpie?" In fact _pynots_, that is, magpies,
according to an old Lancashire superstition, are considered birds of
ill-omen. In spring it is considered by old-fashioned anglers unlucky to
see a single magpie; but two are a favourable auspice, because in cold
weather one bird only leaves the nest in search of food, the other
remaining to keep the eggs or the young ones warm; but when both are out
together, the weather is warm, mild, and favourable for fishing.[97]
DREAMS.
This might well form a great division of itself, in any work on
Folk-lore. Yet a little reflection will serve to show that it is only
one branch, though a very large one, of the general subject of "Omens."
Dreams are regarded by the superstitious simply for what they predicate
as about to happen; in other words, they are important to the credulous
only as _omens_ of coming events. Itinerant hawkers and small village
shops drive a considerable trade in "Dream Books," or "Books of Fate,"
which profess to interpret every dream and to explain every omen,
whether of good or evil import. Of the great variety and extent of
"Dream-Book literature" we cannot treat, for want of space. Hawkers and
small shops sell a vast quantity of penny dream-books in Lancashire. One
of the oldest specimens of these chap-books we have met with is a little
32mo. volume, entitled "_Mother Shipton's Legacy_, or a favourite
Fortune-book, in which is given a pleasing interpretation of dreams, and
a collection of prophetic verses, moral and entertaining." (York, 1797,
price 4_d._) Cap. I. treats of Lucky and Unlucky Days; II. of Moles on
the Person; III. Miscellaneous; IV. Dreams; and V. a Magical Table. A
few specimens of the dream portion may suffice:--To dream of joy denotes
grief; of fine clothes, poverty; of sweetmeats, a whipping; of flying,
falling down; of fire, anger; of serpents, private enemies; of money,
loss; of weeping, joy; of bathing, ease from pain; of kissing, strife;
of feasting, want; of many people, affliction; of singing, sorrow; of
changing abode, sudden news; of fishing, good luck; of death, marriage;
of finding money, bad luck; of gold, death; of embracing, death; of
being bald, misfortune; of a long nose, death; of growing fat, wealth;
of drinking water, good entertainment; of the sun rising, preferment; of
flashes of fire, sudden death; of being among tombs, riches by the death
of relations; of your teeth falling out, losses; of a lean ox, famine;
of a fine garden, much pleasure.
[_Moral._]
Though plain and palpable each subject seems,
Yet do not put your trust too much in dreams;
Events may happen, which in dreams you see,
And yet as often quite contrary be:
This learned hint observe, for Shipton's sake--
Dreams are but interludes which fancies make.
Many persons persuade themselves into the belief that events are
revealed to them in dreams. Those who can neither _see_ nor _hear_
spirits generally presume to have this faculty. _One_ dream is not taken
much notice of, but if the dream be repeated substantially _three_
times, the events of the dreams are supposed to be sure to come to pass.
Some _see_ all the circumstances as _realities_ in their dreams, others
only have dim recollections; they _hear_ all but do not _see_ the
persons. This agrees with the supposed _prophetical_ dreams of the
ancient Greeks and Romans. (_Homer_, _Virgil_, _Ovid_, &c.) Morning
dreams are more to be relied on than those of any other time. Those of
the morning twilight are most valued. Horrid dreams, or those in which
the dreamer feels very uneasy, are supposed to predict bad luck, or
misfortune to the family. "Dreams," they say, "always go by contraries."
There is a very general belief in dreams among the people of Lancashire.
The following are a few not hitherto noticed by the writer:--1. Dreaming
of _misfortune_ betokens _prosperity_.
"Content and happy may they be
Who dream of cold adversity;
To married man and married wife
It promises a happy life."
2. To dream of sickness betokens _marriage_ to young persons. 3.
Dreaming of being before an altar indicates sorrow and misfortune. 4. To
see angels is a sure sign of coming happiness. 5. When you dream of
being angry with any one, you may count that person amongst your best
friends. 6. To dream of catching fish is very unfortunate; every fish
you take betokens the death of some valued friend. 7. Dreaming about
balls, dances, &c., indicates coming good fortune. To the young we may
say:--
"Who dreams of being at a ball,
No cause have they for fear;
For soon they will united be
To those they hold most dear."
8. When persons dream of losing their hair, it is a sign of loss of
health, friends, or property. 9. If a person dream of losing _one_, or
_more_, of his teeth, it is a sign that he will lose _one_, or _more_,
lawsuits which he may happen to be engaged in. I knew a person who had a
case in our county court. The case was to come on on the Thursday; but
on Wednesday night he dreamt he had lost a tooth. On the case being
decided against him, he appealed to his dream as a sure indication of
his non-success. 10. Dreaming of bees is counted lucky, because they are
industrious.
"Happy the man who dreaming sees
The little humble busy bees
Fly humming round their hive."
If the bees sting you, it is a sign of bad luck, crosses and
difficulties. 11. Dreaming of marriage, brides, &c., is a sign of death,
or long sickness. 12. To dream of a candle burning _brightly_ betokens
health, prosperity; and _vice versâ_. 13. Dreaming of cats betokens
treachery; but if you kill the cat you will have revenge. 14. To dream
of seeing a _coffin_ is unlucky; but to dream of seeing a _corpse_
betokens a speedy marriage. 15. Dreaming of _death_ betokens long life
and happiness. 16. To dream that you are _dirty_ implies sickness for a
longer or shorter period. 17. If you dream of being _drowned_ you will
experience some loss. 18. To dream of _falling_ indicates loss. 19. To
dream of _flying_ implies that you will not succeed in accomplishing
high things. 20. If you dream of the water in a river being very _clear_
you will have good luck; if the water be _muddy_ you will have
misfortune. 21. When a widow dreams of seeing her husband, it is a sure
sign that she will soon have an eligible offer. 22. If you dream that
you are daubed with ink, you may be sure that some one is _writing_ evil
of you. 23. Dreaming of going on a journey indicates a change in your
circumstances. 24. To dream of flying kites, or playing with bunches of
keys, betokens prosperity and advancement in business. 25. To dream of
cutting yourself, or of being infested with lice, indicates misfortune
or disease. 26. It is very fortunate to dream of milk. 27. To dream of
being naked indicates shame and misfortune. 28. To dream of the nose
bleeding is a very sure sign of misfortune and loss. 29. Dreaming of
seeing the ocean in a calm state betokens steadiness of circumstances;
and _vice versâ_. 30. To dream of rats indicates difficulties; of snow,
prosperity and success; of a wedding, death; and of a widow, that your
husband, wife, or lover, will desert you.
All the preceding, and many more, are well-known to every Lancashire lad
and lass.
THE MOON.
Our farmers predict fair weather, or the reverse, according as the new
moon "lies on her back," or "stands upright." It is also very unlucky
for anyone to look at the new moon, for the first time, through the
window.
HÆVER OR HIVER.
A "quarter" of the heavens, or compass, or direction; "a lucky hæver" is
a fortunate or desirable direction. The origin of this word is somewhat
difficult of explanation; nor is it certain whether its proper etymon
has yet been ascertained. It is still in common use among some of the
farmers in East Lancashire, and was much more frequently used some
thirty or forty years ago. "What _hæver_ is the wind in this morning?"
was a common inquiry when any prediction respecting the weather for the
day was about to be hazarded. "I don't expect much rain," would probably
be the reply, "the wind is in a good _hæver_." There is generally most
rain in these parts of Lancashire when the wind blows from the south or
south-west; and hence if the wind came from the eastward continued rain
was not to be expected.
Most persons have a notion that the East is the most sacred point of the
compass. The Star of the Nativity was seen in the east; the chancel, or
most holy portion of a church is placed at the east; and the dead are
buried so as to rise with their faces towards the east on the morning of
the resurrection. These considerations have been applied to the _hæver_
from which the wind may blow; and hence the proverb occasionally met
with among those who live in the neighbourhood of Mellor and Ramsgreave,
near Blackburn, to the effect that "the East is a lucky _hæver_."
A writer who signs himself "F. C. H." in _Notes and Queries_, 3rd
series, vol. vii. p. 310, asks whether _hæver_ is not "a peculiar
pronunciation of ever, so that the above inquiry would be in plain
English, _whatever_ is the wind in this morning?" This derivation
appears both too fanciful and insufficient; for when we consider that
Lancashire formed part of the Danelagh, and was long a Danish kingdom,
and that its dialect contains a large admixture of Danish words; we are
naturally led to examine whether such a term may not be found in the
Danish language. On examination this proves to be the fact, for "Hive,"
(pronounced "heeve," as "high" is pronounced "hee,") is the verb "to
blow;" and hence "hiver" or "hæver," as applied to the place whence the
wind is blowing. This derivation appears to be both natural and
sufficient, since it fully accounts for the use of this peculiar term;
which, by the way, is not found in Halliwell's _Dictionary of Archaic
Words_, or in Wright's more recent work on the same subject.
DEASIL OR WIDERSINNIS.
These are Celtic names for going round by way of ensuring good fortune.
The former name is derived from the Gaelic _deas_ or _des_, the right
hand, and _Syl_, the sun, and denotes a motion from east to west, or
according to the apparent motion of the sun; and is a custom of high
antiquity in religious ceremonies. In the western isles fire was carried
in the right hand in this course, about the house, corn, cattle, &c.,
about women before they were churched, and children before they were
baptized. So the fishermen rowed the boat about first sun-wise to ensure
a lucky voyage. On the other hand, the Highland _Wider-sinnis_ (whence
the Lancashire _Wither-shins_) was from left to right or west to east,
or opposed to the course of the sun, a course used in magical
ceremonies, and said to be the mode of salutation given by witches and
warlocks to the devil.[98]--(See page 140 _suprâ_.)
OMENS OF WEATHER FOR NEW YEAR'S-DAY.
In a Saxon MS. we find that "If the Kalends, or first of January, fall
on the Lord's-day, then will the winter be good, pleasant and warm."[99]
Another Saxon MS. in the Cotton Library contains the omens to the
following effect:--"If the Kalends of January be on the moon's day
(Monday) then there will be a severe and confused winter, a good spring,
windy summer, and a rueful year, in which there will be much sickness.
If the Kalends fall on Tuesday, then the winter will be dreary and
severe, a windy heat and rainy summer, and many women will die; ships
will voyage in danger, and kings and princes will die. If on Wednesday,
there will be a hard winter and bad spring; but a good summer. The
fruits of the earth will be much beaten down, honey will be scarce, and
young men will die. If on Thursday, there will be a good winter, windy
spring, good summer, and abundance of the fruits of the earth, and the
plough will be over the earth; but sheep and children will die. If on
Friday, there will be a variable winter, good spring and summer, with
great abundance, and sheep's eyes will be tender in the year. If on
Saturday, there will be a snowy winter, blowing spring, and rainy
summer; earth fruits will labour, sheep perish, old men die, and other
men be sick; the eyes of many will be tender, and fires will be
prevalent in the course of the year. If the Kalends fall on Sunday,
there will be a good winter, windy spring, and dry summer; and a very
good year this year will be; sheep will increase, there will be much
honey, and plenty and peace will be upon the earth."[100]
DEATH TICK OR DEATH WATCH.
The death tick is not yet forgotten in the district around Burnley. Very
recently the insect has disturbed the imagination of a young lady, and
its ticks have led to more than one gloomy conjecture. It is a curious
circumstance that the _real_ death tick must only tick _three_ times on
each occasion.
FOOTNOTES:
[91] T. D., in _Notes and Queries_.
[92] See Halliwell's _Archaic Dictionary_, in voce.
[93] E. B., (Liverpool) in _Notes and Queries_, 3rd series, vol. ix. p.
187.
[94] T. T. W.
[95] Another version has the last four lines thus:--
"Five for a fiddle,
Six for a dance,
Seven for England,
Eight for France."
[96] J. O. Halliwell's _Nursery Rhymes_.
[97] _Pictorial History of Lancashire._
[98] Hampson's _Medii Ævi Kalend._, vol. I. 255.
[99] Hickes's _Thesaurus_, II. 194.
[100] _Bibl. Cott. MSS. Tiberius, A._ III., fol. 39 b., and 40.
SUPERSTITIONS, GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS.
There are great numbers of small superstitions, beliefs, and practices
which we must place under this general head. Before entering on these at
length, we may briefly notice the fact in many cases, the probability in
a still greater number, that the origin of superstitions still held to
the popular heart, is to be found in other countries and in remote
times. Indeed Folk-lore superstitions may be said to be the _débris_ of
ancient mythologies; it may be of Egypt or India, Greece or Rome,
Germany or Scandinavia. Many of the following superstitions have been
already glanced at or briefly referred to in the introductory chapter.
POPULAR SUPERSTITIONS.
Lancashire, like all other counties, has its own peculiar superstitions,
manners, and customs, which find no parallels in those of other
localities. It has also, no doubt, many local observances, current
opinions, old proverbs, and vulgar ditties, which are held and taken in
common with the inhabitants of a greater extent of country, and differ
merely in minor particulars,--the necessary result of imperfect oral
transmission. The following are a few of these local superstitions:--
1. If a person's hair, when thrown into the fire, burns brightly, it is
a sure sign that the individual will live long. The brighter the flame,
the longer life; and _vice versâ_.
2. A young person lightly stirs the fire with the poker to test the
humour of a lover. If the fire blaze brightly, the lover is
good-humoured; and _vice versâ_.
3. A crooked sixpence, or a copper coin with a hole through, is
accounted a _lucky_ coin.
4. Cutting or paring the nails of the hands or feet, on a Friday or
Sunday, is very unlucky.
5. If a person's _left_ ear burn, or feel hot, somebody is praising the
party; if the _right_ ear burn, then it is a sure sign that some one is
speaking evil of the person.
6. Children are frequently cautioned by their parents not to walk
_backwards_ when going an errand; it is a sure sign that they will be
unfortunate in their objects.
7. Belief in witchcraft is still strong in many of the rural districts.
Many believe that others have the power to bewitch cows, sheep, horses,
and even persons to whom the witch has an antipathy. One respectable
farmer assured me that his horse was bewitched into a stable through a
loophole twelve inches by three! The fact, he said, was beyond doubt,
for he had locked the stable-door himself when the horse was in the
field, and had kept the key in his pocket. Soon afterwards a party of
farmers went through the process known as "burning the witch out," or
"killing the witch" as some express it; the person suspected soon died,
and the neighbourhood became free from his evil doings.
8. A horse-shoe is still nailed behind many doors to counteract the
effects of witchcraft. A _hagstone_ with a hole through, tied to the key
of the stable-door, protects the horses, and, if hung up at the bed's
head, the farmer also.
9. A hot iron put into the cream during the process of churning, expels
the witch from the churn. Dough in preparation for the baker is
protected by being marked with the figure of a cross.
10. Warts are cured by being rubbed over with a black snail; but the
snail must afterwards be impaled upon a hawthorn. If a bag, containing
as many pebbles as a person has warts, be tossed over the _left_
shoulder, it will transfer the warts to whomsoever is unfortunate enough
to pick up the bag.
11. If black snails are seized by the horns and tossed over the _left_
shoulder, the process will ensure good luck to the person who performs
it.
12. Profuse bleeding is said to be instantly stopped by certain persons,
who pretend to possess the secret of a certain form of words or charm.
13. The power of bewitching, producing evil to persons by _wishing_ it,
&c., is supposed to be transmitted from one possessor to another when
one of the parties is about to die.
14. Cramp is effectually prevented by placing the shoes with the toes
just peeping from beneath the coverlet; or by tying the garter round the
_left_ leg, below the knee.
15. Charmed rings are worn by many for the cure of dyspepsia; and so
also are charmed belts for the cure of rheumatism.
16. A red-haired person is supposed to bring ill-luck, if he be the
first to enter a house on New Year's Day. Black-haired persons [are on
the contrary deemed so lucky that they] are rewarded with liquor or
small gratuities for "taking in the New Year" to the principal houses in
their respective neighbourhoods.
17. If any householder's fire does not burn _through_ the night of New
Year's Eve, it betokens bad luck through the ensuing year. If any one
allow another to take a live coal, or to light a candle, on that eve,
the bad luck extends to the grantor.[101]
Amongst other Lancashire popular superstitions are the following:--
That a man must never "go a courting" on a Friday. If an unlucky fellow
is caught with his lady-love on that day, he is followed home by a band
of musicians, playing on pokers, tongs, pan-lids, &c., unless he can rid
himself of his tormentors by giving them money for drink.
That whooping-cough will never be taken by any child that has ridden
upon a bear. The old bearward's profits arose in great part from the
money given by parents whose children had had a ride. The writer knows
of cases in which the charm is said to have been effectual.
That whooping-cough may be cured by tying a hairy caterpillar in a small
bag round the child's neck, and as the caterpillar dies the cough goes.
That Good Friday is the best day of all the year to begin weaning
children, which ought, if possible, to be put off till that day.
That May cats are unlucky, and will suck the breath of infants.
That crickets are lucky about a house, and will do no harm to those who
use them well; but that they eat holes in the worsted stockings of such
members of the family as kill them. I was assured of this on the
experience of a respectable farmer's family.
That ghosts or boggarts haunt certain neighbourhoods. There is scarcely
a dell in my vicinity where a running stream crosses a road by a small
bridge or stone plat, where such may not be seen. Wells, ponds, gates,
&c., have often this bad repute. I have heard of a calf with "eyes like
saucers," a woman without a head, a white greyhound, a column of white
foam like a large sugar loaf in the midst of a pond, or group of little
cats, &c., as the shape of the boggart; and sometimes it took that of a
lady, who jumped behind hapless passengers on horseback. It is supposed
that a Romish priest can lay them, and that it is best to cheat them to
consent to being laid "while hollies are green." Hollies being
evergreens, the ghosts can reappear no more.[102]
Mr. J. Eastwood, of Ecclesfield, adds to T. T. W.'s seventeen
superstitions the following six:--
1. If a cock near the door crows with his face towards it, it is a sure
prediction of the arrival of a stranger.
2. If the cat frisk about the house in an unusually lively manner, windy
or stormy weather is approaching.
3. If a dog howl under the window at night, a death will shortly happen
in the house.
4. If a _female_ be the first to enter a house on Christmas or New
Year's Day, she brings ill-luck to the house for the coming year.
5. For whooping-cough, pass the child nine times over the back and under
the belly of an ass. (This ceremony I once witnessed, but cannot vouch
for its having had the desired effect.)
6. For warts, rub them with a cinder, and this tied up in paper, and
dropped where four roads meet [_i.e._, where two roads cross] will
transfer the warts to whoever opens the parcel.[103]
BONES OF ST. LAWRENCE, AT CHORLEY.
In the parish church of Chorley, within the porch of the chancel, which
belongs to the Standish family of Duxbury, _four_ bones were shown,
apparently thigh bones, said to have belonged to Saint Lawrence, the
patron saint, which were brought over from Normandy by Sir Rowland
Standish, in 1442, along with the head of that saint, which skull has,
amongst the _Harl. MSS._,[104] a certificate of a vicar of Croston, to
which Chorley was then subject, preserved with the arms of the knight
(azure, 3 plates) rudely tricked:--"Be it known to all men that I,
Thomas Tarlton [or Talbot] vicar of the church of Croston, beareth
witness and certify, that Mr. James Standish, of Duxbury, hath delivered
a relique of St. Laurence's head unto the church of Chorley, the which
Sir Rowland of Standish, knight, brother of the said James, and Jane his
wife, brought out of Normandy, to the worship of God and St. Lawrence,
for the profit and avail of the said church; to the intent that the
foresaid Sir Rowland Standish, and Dame Jane his wife, with their
predecessors and successors, may be in the said church perpetually
prayed for. And in witness of the which to this my present writing I
have set my seal. Written at Croston aforesaid, the 2nd day of March, in
the year of our Lord God, 1442." [20 Hen. VI.][105] St. Lawrence's Day
is August 10. As his martyrdom was said to be roasting alive upon a
gridiron, it is not clear how his thigh bones should be preserved. But
when we find there are _four_ of them, the miraculous character of the
relics is at once exhibited.
THE DEAD MAN'S HAND.
At Bryn Hall, now demolished, once the seat of the Gerards, was a Roman
Catholic Chapel and a priest, who continued long after the family had
departed, having in his custody "The Dead Man's Hand," which is still
kept by the same or another priest, now residing at Garswood. Preserved
with great care, in a white silk bag, it is still resorted to by many
diseased persons, and wonderful cures are said to have been wrought by
this saintly relic. It is said to be the hand of Father Arrowsmith,--a
priest who is stated to have been put to death at Lancaster for his
religion, in the time of William III. The story goes, that when about to
suffer, he desired his spiritual attendant to cut off his right hand,
which should then have the power to work miraculous cures on those who
had faith to believe in its efficacy. Not many years ago, a female sick
of the small-pox had this dead hand lying in bed with her every night
for six weeks, in order to effect her recovery, which took place.[106] A
poor lad, living in Withy Grove, Manchester, afflicted with scrofulous
sores, was rubbed with it; and though it had been said he was
miraculously restored, on inquiry the assertion was found incorrect,
inasmuch as he died in about a fortnight after the operation.[107] Not
less devoid of truth is the tradition that Arrowsmith was hanged for
"witnessing a good confession."
Having been found guilty of a rape (says Mr. Roby), in all probability
this story of his martyrdom, and of the miraculous attestation to the
truth of the cause for which he suffered, were contrived for the purpose
of preventing the scandal that would have come upon the church through
the delinquency of an unworthy member. A subordinate tradition
accompanies that already related. It is said that one of the family of
the Kenyons attended as under-sheriff at the execution, and that he
refused the culprit some trifling favour at the gallows; whereupon
Arrowsmith denounced a curse upon him,--to wit, that whilst the family
could boast of an heir, so long they should never want a cripple; which
prediction was supposed by the credulous to have been literally
fulfilled.[108] Mr. Roby, professing to give the _fact_ upon which he
founded one of his tales, accuses the unfortunate priest of rape, and
states that he was executed for that crime in the reign of William III.
All this Mr. Roby gives as from himself, and mentions a curse pronounced
by Father Arrowsmith upon the under-sheriff who executed him, in the
reign of William III. Now Arrowsmith was hung, under sanction of an
atrocious law, for no other reason but because he had taken orders as a
Catholic priest, and had endeavoured to prevail upon others to be of his
own faith. For this offence, and for this offence alone, in 1628,--in
the reign not of William III., but of Charles I.,--he was tried at
Lancashire Assizes, and hanged, drawn, and quartered, in the same year
that Edmund Ashton, Esq., was sheriff. Mr. Roby must have seen what was
the real state of the case in the same history of Lancashire[109] as
that which he repeatedly quotes.[110]
The hand of Arrowsmith, having been cut off after his death, was brought
to Bryn Hall, where it was used by the superstitious to heal the sick,
sometimes by the touch, and at others by friction: faith, however, is
essential to success, and a lack of the necessary quality in the
patient, rather than any decrease in the healing emission from the
relic, is made to account for the disappointment which awaits the
superstitious votaries of this fanatical operation. The "dead man's
hand," or, as the Irish harvestmen are accustomed to call it, "the holy
hand," was removed from Bryn to Garswood, and subsequently to the
priest's house at Ashton, near Lancaster, where it remains in possession
of the priest, if the light and knowledge of the present age have not
consigned it to the earth.[111] A Roman Catholic publication, issued in
1737, signed by nineteen witnesses, seventeen of whom were Protestants
(the names being withheld, however, as it is alleged, for prudential
reasons), attest, that in 1736, a boy of twelve years, the son of Caryl
Hawarden, of Appleton-within-Widness, county of Lancaster, was cured of
what appeared to be a fatal malady by the application of Father
Arrowsmith's hand, which, according to the narrative, was effected in
the following manner:--The boy had been ill fifteen months, and was at
length deprived of the use of his limbs, with loss of his memory, and
impaired sight. In this condition, which the physicians had declared
hopeless, it was suggested to his parents, that as wonderful cures had
been effected by the hand of "the martyred saint," it was advisable to
try its effects upon their afflicted child. The "holy hand" was
accordingly procured from Bryn, packed in a box, and wrapped in linen.
Mrs. Hawarden having explained to the invalid her hopes and intentions,
applied the back part of the dead hand to his back, stroking it down
each side the backbone, and making the sign of the cross, which she
accompanied with a fervent prayer that Jesus Christ would aid it with
his blessing. Having twice repeated this operation, the patient, who had
before been utterly helpless, rose from his seat, and walked about the
house, to the surprise of seven persons who had witnessed the "miracle."
From that day the boy's pains left him, his memory was restored, and his
health became re-established! The witnesses add, that the boy, on being
afterwards interrogated, said that he _believed_ the hand would do him
good, and that upon its first touch he felt something give a short or
sudden motion from his back to the end of his toes![112]
Another account states that Father Edmund Arrowsmith, of the Society of
Jesus, was a native of Haydock, in the parish of Winwick, and was born
in 1585. In 1605 he entered the Roman Catholic College of Douay, where
he was educated, and in 1612 he was ordained priest. His father's name
was Robert Arrowsmith, and his mother, Margery, was a lady of the
ancient family of the Gerards. In 1613 Father Arrowsmith was sent upon
the English mission, and in 1628 (4th Charles I.) was apprehended and
brought to Lancaster on the charge of being a priest, contrary to the
laws of the realm. He was tried, sentenced to death, and executed on the
28th of August, 1628, his last words being "Bone Jesu!" He was
afterwards cut down, embowelled, and quartered. His head was set upon a
pole or stake amongst the pinnacles of Lancaster Castle, and his
quarters were hung upon four separate places of the same building. The
hand of the martyr, having been cut off after his death, was brought to
Bryn Hall [amongst his maternal relatives], where it was preserved as a
precious relic, and by the application of which numerous miraculous
cures are said to have been effected. "The holy hand" was removed from
Bryn to Garswood [in Ashton, a seat of the Gerards], and subsequently to
the priest's house at Ashton-in-Makerfield, where it still remains.[113]
While the relic remained at Garswood, it was under the care of the
Gerards' family-chaplain for the time being, and a fee was charged for
its application to all who were able to pay, and this money was bestowed
in charity on the needy or distressed. It is believed that no fee is now
charged. The late Sir John Gerard had no faith in its efficacy, and many
ludicrous anecdotes are current in the neighbourhood of pilgrims having
been rather roughly handled by some of his servants, who were as
incredulous as himself;--such as getting a good beating with a wooden
hand (used for stretching gloves), and other heavy weapons; so that the
patients rapidly retraced their steps, without having had the
application of the "holy hand." The applicants usually provide
themselves with a quantity of calico or flannel, which the priest of St.
Oswald's, Ashton, causes to come in contact with the "dead hand;" the
cloth is then applied to the part affected. Many instances are recorded
of persons coming upon crutches or with sticks, having been suddenly so
far restored as to be able to leave behind them these helps, as
memorials, and return home, walking and leaping; praising the priest for
his charity; the holy hand, for being the means of obtaining a cure; and
God for giving such power to the dead hand. Persons have been known to
come from Ireland, and other distant parts, to be cured. Some of these
return home with a large piece of the cloth which has been in contact
with the hand. This they tear into shreds, and dispose of them to the
credulous neighbours who have not the means of undertaking so long a
pilgrimage. About four years ago (writes our informant), I saw a poor
maniac being dragged along by two or three of her relatives, and howling
most piteously. I asked what they were going to do with her, when one of
them (apparently her mother) replied: "And sure enough, master, we're
taking her to the priest, to be rubbed with the holy hand, that the
devil may leave her." A short time afterwards I saw them returning, but
the rubbing had not been effectual. A policeman assisted to remove the
struggling maniac to a neighbouring house, till a conveyance could be
got to take her to Newton Bridge railway station.[114]
NINETEENTH CENTURY SUPERSTITION.
Will it be credited that thousands of people have, during the past week,
crowded a certain road in the village of Melling, near Ormskirk, to
inspect a sycamore tree, which has burst its bark, and the sap protrudes
in a shape resembling a man's head? Rumour spread abroad that it was the
re-appearance of Palmer, who "had come again, because he was buried
without a coffin!" Some inns in the neighbourhood of this singular tree
reaped a rich harvest.[115]
PENDLE FOREST SUPERSTITION.
Pendle Forest, in the neighbourhood of Burnley, has long been notorious
for its witches. [After referring to the cases of alleged witchcraft in
the beginning of the 17th century, the writer continues:] Two hundred
years have since passed away, and yet the old opinions survive; for it
is notorious that throughout the Forest the farmers still endeavour to
"Chase the evil spirits away by dint
Of sickle, horse-shoe, and hollow flint."
Clay or wax images, pierced through with pins and needles, are
occasionally met with in churchyards and gardens, where they have been
placed for the purpose of causing the death of the persons they
represent. Consumptive patients and paralytics are frequently said to be
bewitched; and the common Lancashire proverb, "Draw blood of a witch,
and she cannot harm you," has been many times practically verified upon
quarrelsome females within my own experience. In extreme cases the
"witch-killer" is resorted to, and implicit faith in his powers is not a
rare item in the popular creed. Such a person usually combines the
practice of Astrology with his other avocations. He casts nativities;
gives advice respecting stolen property; tells fortunes; and writes out
"charms" for the protection of those who may consult him.... Even the
wives of clergymen have been known to consult "wise men" on doubtful
matters respecting which they desired more satisfactory
information.--_T. T. W._
EAST LANCASHIRE SUPERSTITION.
Strong minds often are unable to escape the thraldom of tradition and
custom, with the help of liberal education and social intercourse. How
then are the solitary farmers on the skirts of moorland wastes, to free
themselves from hereditary superstition? The strength of such traditions
is often secret and unacknowledged. It nevertheless influences the life;
it lurks out of sight, ready to assert its power in any great crisis of
our being. It is a homage to the unseen and the unknown, in fearful
contradiction with the teaching of Christianity, for it creates, like
the religion of the Jezzidies, a ritual of propitiation to malignant
powers, instead of the prayer of faith to the All-merciful. The solitude
of the life in the moorland farm-houses does not, however, foster the
influence of superstitious madness, perhaps, so much as the wild, stormy
climate, which holds its blustering reign through six months of every
year, in this region of morass and fog, dark clough, and craggy chasm.
Night shuts in early. The sun has gone down through a portentous gulf of
clouds which have seemed to swallow up the day in a pit of darkness. The
great sycamores stagger in the blast which rushes from the distant sea.
The wind moans through the night like a troubled spirit, shakes the
house as though it demanded admittance from the storm, and rushes down
the huge chimney (built two centuries ago for the log fires, and large,
hot heap of wood ashes), driving down a cloud of smoke and soot, as
though by some wicked cantrip the witches careering in the storm would
scatter the embers and fire the building. The lone watcher by some sick
bed, shudders as the casements are battered by the tempest; or the bough
of some tree, or a branch of ivy, strikes the panes like the hand of
some unseen thing fumbling at the casement latch; or, awake from pain or
care, restless with fever or fatigue, or troubled with superstitious
horror, the lone shepherd waits for the day, as for a reprieve to
conscious guilt, and even trembles while he mutters some charm to
exorcise the evil that rides exulting on the storm. A year of ill-luck
comes. The ewes are barren; the cows drop their untimely calves, though
crooked sickles and lucky stones have been hung in the shippons. The
milk is "bynged," or will not churn, though a hot poker has been used to
spoil the witchery. The horses escape from the stable at night, though
there is a horse-shoe over the door, and the hinds say they were
carefully "heawsed an' fettled, and t'dooers o weel latched, bur
t'feeorin (fairies) han 'ticed 'em eawt o' t' leawphooles, an' flown wi'
em' o'er t'stone dykes, wi' o t'yates tynt (gates shut), an' clapp'd 'em
reet i' t' meadow, or t' corn, just wheer tey shudna be." As the year
advances, with such misadventures, apprehension grows. Is there some
evil eye on the house? Will the hay be spoiled in the field? Will the
oats ripen, or must they be cut green and given to the cattle? Or, if
they ripen, will the stormy autumn wrap its mantle of mist and rain so
closely about them, that they cannot be housed before they have
sprouted, or have spoiled? The cold, bitter damp benumbs the strength of
the feeble. Appetite and health fail; a fear creeps into the life. Fate
seems to have dragged the sufferer into a vault of gloom, to whisper
foreboding and inspire dread. These traditions of mischief wrought by
malignant men inheriting the wicked craft and vindictive spite of the
sorcerers, are uttered at the fireside, or if not so uttered, are
brooded upon by a disturbed fancy.[116]
SUPERSTITIOUS FEARS AND CRUELTIES.
John Webster, the great exposer of shams and denouncer of superstitions
in his day, and author of the "_Discovery of pretended Witchcraft_,"
speaking of a clear head and sound judgment as necessary to competent
witnesses, says:--"They ought to be of a sound judgment, and not of a
vitiated and distempered phantasy, nor of a melancholic constitution;
for these will take a bush to be a bugbear, and a black sheep to be a
demon; the noise of the wild swans flying high in the night, to be
spirits; or, as they call them here in the north, 'Gabriel Ratchets;'
the calling of a daker hen in the meadow, to be the Whistlers; the
howlings of the female fox in a gill or clough for the male, to be the
cry of fairies." The Gabriel Ratchets seem to be the same with the
German Rachtvogel or Rachtraven. The word and the superstition are still
known in Lancashire, though in a sense somewhat different; for the
Gabriel Ratchets are supposed to be something like litters of puppies
yelping in the air. Ratch is certainly a name for a dog in general (see
_Junius, in voce_). The whistlers are supposed to be the green or
whistling plovers, which fly very high in the night, uttering their
characteristic note. Speaking of the practices of witch-finders, Webster
says:--"By such wicked means and unchristian practices, divers innocent
persons have lost their lives; and these wicked rogues wanted not
greater persons (even of the ministry too) that did authorize and
encourage them in their diabolical courses. And the like in my time
happened here in Lancashire, where divers, both men and women, were
accused of supposed witchcraft, and were so unchristianly and inhumanly
handled, as to be stripped stark naked and laid upon tables and beds to
be searched for their supposed witch-marks; so barbarous and cruel acts
doth diabolical instigation, working upon ignorance and superstition,
produce."[117]
SUPERSTITIOUS BELIEFS IN MANCHESTER IN THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY.
At no period in the history of Manchester was there a greater
disposition to believe in witchcraft, demoniacal possession, and the
occult sciences, than at the close of the sixteenth century. The seer,
Edward Kelly, was ranging through the country, practising the black art.
Dr. Dee, the friend and associate of this impostor, had recently
obtained the appointment of warden of the Collegiate Church of
Manchester, by favour of his royal patroness, Queen Elizabeth, herself a
believer in his astrological calculations; and the fame of the strange
doings [the alleged demoniacal possession of seven persons] in the
family of Mr. Starkie, had spread far and wide. The new warden was
really a learned man, of the most inquisitive mind, addicted to chemical
pursuits, not wholly unconnected with those of alchemy, and not
altogether detached from the practice of necromancy and magic,
notwithstanding his positive asseverations to the contrary, in his
petition to King James. His life was full of vicissitudes; though
enjoying the patronage of princes, he was always involved in
embarrassments, and was at length obliged to relinquish his church
preferment at Manchester, owing to the differences that existed between
himself and his ecclesiastical brethren. It does not appear that during
his residence in Lancashire he encouraged the deceptions of the
exorcists. On the contrary he refused to become a party in the pretended
attempt to cast out devils at Cleworth, and he strongly rebuked Hartlay,
the conjuror, who was afterwards executed at Lancaster for his
disgraceful practices.
WELLS AND SPRINGS.
Water, everywhere a prime necessity of life, is pre-eminently so in the
hot and arid plains and stony deserts of Asia and Africa. We need not be
surprised, therefore, to find that in all the ancient Eastern cults and
mythologies, springs and wells were held in reverence, as holy and
sacred gifts to man from the Great Spirit of the universe. The great
Indo-European tide of migration, rolling ever westward, bore on its
bosom these graceful superstitions, which were eagerly adopted by the
old church of Christendom; and there is scarcely an ancient well of any
consequence in the United Kingdom which has not been solemnly dedicated
to some saint in the Roman Catholic calendar.
WELLS NEAR LIVERPOOL.--At Wavertree, near Liverpool, is a well bearing
the following inscription, "Qui non dat quod habet, dæmon infra videt:
1414" (Who giveth not what he hath, the devil below, seeth--or, if the
last word be not _videt_ but _ridet_--laughs). Tradition says that at
one period there was a cross above it, inscribed "Deus dedit, homo
bibit" (God gave it, man drinks it); and that all travellers gave alms
on drinking. If they omitted to do so, a devil who was chained at the
bottom of the well, laughed. A monastic building stood near, and the
occupants received the contributions.[118] A well at Everton, near
Liverpool, has the reputation of being haunted, a fratricide having been
committed there; but it is not mentioned in the local history of Syer,
which merely says,--"The water for this well is procured by direct
access to the liquid itself, through the medium of a few stone steps: it
is free to the public, and seldom dry." Being formerly in a lonely
situation, it was a haunt of pickpockets and other disorderly
characters. It is now built over, and in a few years the short
subterranean passage leading to the well will be forgotten.[119]
PEGGY'S WELL.--Peggy's Well is near the Ribble, in a field below Waddow
Hall, not far from Brunckerley stepping-stones, in attempting to cross
by which several lives have been lost, when the river was swollen by a
rapid rise, which even a day's rain will produce. These calamities, as
well as any other fatal accidents that occur in the neighbourhood, are
usually attributed to Peggy, the evil spirit of the well. There is a
mutilated stone figure by the well, which has been the subject of many
strange tales and apprehensions. It was placed there when turned out of
the house at Waddow, to allay the terrors of the domestics, who durst
not continue under the same roof with this mis-shapen figure. It was
then broken, either from accident or design, and the head, some time
ago, as is understood, was in one of the attic chambers at Waddow. Who
Peggy of the Well was, tradition doth not inform us.
The writer of the _Pictorial History of Lancashire_ states that going to
Waddow Hall he inquired after the headless stone statue known as "Peg o'
th' Well;" and a neat, intelligent young woman, one of the domestics,
showed him Peggy's head on the pantry table, and the trunk by a well in
an adjacent field. He gives the following as the substance of the
tradition:--The old religion had been supplanted in most parts of the
country, yet had left memorials of itself and its rites in no few
places, nor least in those which were in the vicinity of an old Catholic
family, or a monastic institution. Some such relic may Peggy have
originally been. The scrupulous proprietors of Waddow Hall regarded the
innocuous image with distrust and aversion; nor did they think
themselves otherwise than justified in ascribing to Peggy all the evils
and mischances that befel in the house. If a storm struck and damaged
the house, Peggy was the author of the damage. If the wind whistled or
moaned through the ill-fitting doors and casements, it was "Peggy at her
work," requiring to be appeased, else some sad accident was sure to
come. On one occasion Master Starkie--so was the host named--returned
home very late with a broken leg. He had been hunting that day, and,
report said, made too free with the ale afterwards. But, as usual, Peggy
bore the blame: for some dissatisfaction she had waylaid the master of
the house and caused his horse to fall. Even this was forgiven. A short
time afterwards a Puritan preacher was overtaken by a fresh in the
river, in attempting to cross over on the stepping-stones which lay just
above the Hall, the very stones on which poor King Henry (VI.) was
captured. Now, Mrs. Starkie had a great attachment to those preachers,
and had indeed sent for the one in question, for him to exorcise and
dispossess her youngest son, a boy of ten years of age, who was
grievously afflicted with a demon, or, as was suspected, tormented by
Peggy. "Why does he not come?" asked the lady, as she sat that night in
her best apparel, before a blazing fire and near a well-furnished table.
"The storm seems to get worse. Hark! heard ye no cry? Yes! there again.
Oh, if the dear man be in the river! Run all of ye to his rescue." In a
few minutes two trusty men-servants returned, panting under the huge
weight of the dripping parson. He told his tale. "'Tis Peg," she
suddenly exclaimed, "at her old tricks! This way, all!" She hurried from
the apartment, rushed into the garden, where Peggy stood quiet enough
near a spring, and with one blow of an axe, which she had seized in her
passage, severed Peggy's head from her body.
ST. HELEN'S WELL IN BRINDLE.--Dr. Kuerden in one of his MSS., describing
the parish of Brindle in Leyland, states that "Over against Swansey
House, a little towards the hill, standeth an ancient fabric, once the
manor-house of Brindle, where hath been a chapel belonging to the same;
and a little above it, a spring of very clear water, rushing straight
upwards into the midst of a fair fountain, walled square about in stone
and flagged in the bottom, very transparent to be seen, and a strong
stream issuing out of the same. This fountain is called St. Ellen's
Well, to which place the vulgar neighbouring people of the Red Letter
[_i.e._, Roman Catholics] do much resort with pretended devotion on each
year upon St. Ellins-day--[St. Helen's-day is either on May 21, August
18, or September 3, the two first being days of a queen, and the last of
an empress saint]--where and when, out of a foolish ceremony, they offer
or throw into the well, pins, which there being left, may be seen a long
time after by any visitor of the fountain."[120]
ST. HELEN'S WELL, NEAR SEFTON.--Mr. Hampson[121] notices the
superstition of casting pins or pebbles into wells, and observing the
circles formed thereby on the surface of the agitated water, and also
whether the water were troubled or preserved its clearness and
transparency; from which appearances they drew omens or inferences as to
future events. He adds: "I have frequently seen the bottom of St.
Helen's Well, near Sefton, Lancashire, almost covered with pins, which,
I suppose, must have been thrown in for the like purposes."
FOOTNOTES:
[101] T. T. W., in _Notes and Queries_, iii. 55.
[102] P. P., in _Notes and Queries_, iii. 516.
[103] _Notes and Queries_, iii. p. 516.
[104] Harl. MSS. Cod. 2042, fol. 239 a.
[105] Harl. MSS. Cod. 2042, fol. 239.
[106] Mr. Roby derived this statement from Thomas Barritt, the
antiquary, who in one of his MSS. writes--"I was in company with a woman
who had lain with a relation of hers sick of the small-pox. During all
the time they had this hand lying with them every night, on purpose to
effect a safe recovery of the afflicted person." Barritt does not say,
however, that the recovery took place.
[107] This story Mr. Roby derived from the same MSS. of Barritt, and
also the statement of the real crime for which Arrowsmith was executed,
and his alleged prophecy as to the Kenyons. Barritt says the dead hand
was brought to Manchester about the time of the troubles in 1745, to
cure a poor Papist lad, who came with Hill.
[108] See Roby's _Traditions of Lancashire_.
[109] Baines's _Lancashire_, vol. iii. p. 638.
[110] _Pictorial History of Lancashire._
[111] Mannex's _Hist. and Topog. of Lancashire_.
[112] Baines's _History of Lancashire_, vol. iii. pp. 638-9.
[113] Mannex's _History and Topography of Lancashire_.
[114] From a Correspondent.
[115] The _Tablet_, July 26, 1856.
[116] Scarsdale.
[117] Dr. Whitaker's _History of Whalley_.
[118] Mr. Baines, in his _History of Lancashire_ (vol. iii. p. 760),
says that in Wavertree is an ancient well with a rude, unintelligible
inscription, of the date of 1414, which is thus _charitably_ rendered by
the villagers:--
"He that hath, and won't bestow,
The Devil will reckon with him below."
Or,
"He who here does not bestow,
The Devil laughs at him below."
[119] "Agmond," in _Notes and Queries_, vol. vi. p. 305.
[120] Baines's _History of Lancashire_, vol. iii. p. 497.
[121] _Medii Ævi Kalendarium._
WITCHES AND WITCHCRAFT.
In the lore of these subjects no county in England is richer than
Lancashire. The subject is a large one, and may even be said to include
all the cases of demoniacal possession described in the earlier pages of
this volume, since all these alleged possessions were the result of
malice and (so-called) witchcraft. Indeed it is not easy to separate
these two superstitious beliefs in their practical operation; witchcraft
being the supposed cause, and demoniacal possession the imagined effect.
The reader will find much, bearing on both branches of the subject,
under both titles.
WITCHCRAFT IN THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY.
The first distinct charge of witchcraft in any way connected with this
county, is that of the wife of the good Duke Humphrey, Eleanor, Duchess
of Gloucester, the associate of Roger Bolingbroke, the priest and
necromancer, and Margery Jourdain, the witch of Eye. The Duke of
Gloucester, uncle and protector to the king, having become obnoxious to
the predominant party, they got up in 1441 a strange prosecution. The
Duchess of Gloucester, Eleanor, the daughter of Lord Cobham, a lady of
haughty carriage and ambitious mind, being attached to the prevailing
superstitions of the day, was accused of the crime of witchcraft "for
that she, by sorcery and enchantment, intended to destroy the king, to
the intent to advance and promote her husband to the crown."[122] It was
alleged against her and her associates, Sir Roger Bolingbroke, a priest,
and chaplain to the Duke, (who was addicted to astrology,) and Margery
Jourdain, the witch of Eye, that they had in their possession a wax
figure of the king, which they melted by a magical device before a slow
fire, with the intention of wasting away his force and vigour by
insensible degrees. The imbecile mind of Henry was sensibly affected by
this wicked invention; and the Duchess of Gloucester, on being brought
to trial (in St. Stephen's Chapel, before the Archbishop of Canterbury)
and found guilty of the design to destroy the king and his ministers by
the agency of witchcraft, was sentenced to do public penance in three
places within the city of London, and to suffer perpetual imprisonment.
Her confederates were condemned to death and executed, Margery Jourdain
being burnt to death in Smithfield. The duchess, after enduring the
ignominy of her public penance, rendered peculiarly severe by the
exalted state from which she had fallen, was banished to the Isle of
Man, where she was placed under the ward of Sir Thomas Stanley. On the
way to her place of exile, she was confined for some time, first in
Leeds Castle, and afterwards in the Castle of Liverpool;[123] the
earliest and the noblest witch on record within the county of Lancaster.
Another account states that amongst those arrested as accomplices of the
duchess were a priest and canon of St. Stephen's, Westminster, named
Southwell, and another priest named John Hum or Hume. Roger Bolingbroke,
the learned astronomer and astrologer (who died protesting his ignorance
of all evil intentions), was drawn and quartered at Tyburn; Southwell
died in prison before the time of execution; and John Hum received the
royal pardon. The worst thing proved against the duchess was that she
had sought for love-philters to secure the constancy of her
husband.[124] Shakspere, in the _Second Part of King Henry VI._, Act 1,