Again, I must push my method beyond that of Dr. Munro, by considering the
subject of Magic, in relation to perforated and other stones, whether
inscribed with designs, or uninscribed. Among the disputed objects are
many such stones, and it is legitimate for me to prove, not only that
they occur in many sites of ancient life, but that their magical uses are
still recognised, or were very recently recognised in the British Folk-
lore of to-day.
A superstition which has certainly endured to the nineteenth century may
obviously have existed among the Picts, or whoever they were, of the
crannog and broch period on Clyde. The only _a priori_ objection is the
absence of such objects among finds made on British soil, but our
discoveries cannot be exhaustive: time may reveal other examples, and
already we have a few examples, apart from the objects in dispute.