,transcriber's ,notes ,obvious typographical errors have been silently corrected4 ,variations in hyphenation and accents have been standardised except in the ,gaelic passages1 but all other spelling and punctuation remains unchanged4 ,italics are represented thus italic1 bold thus bold and superscripts thus yen4 ,,evil ,,eye ,,in ,,the ,,western ,,highlands ,,by ,,the ,,same ,,author ,,the ,,games ,,and ,,diversions ,,of ,,argyleshire4 ,demy #hvo1 viii4-#bgj pp41 cloth1 uncut1 #ajs4 #f;d4 net4 ,this volume forms ,no4 #dg of the ,publications of the ,folk-,lore ,society4 ,,evil ,,eye ,,in ,,the ,,western ,,highlands ,,by ,r4 ,c4 ,,maclagan1 ,m4,d4 ,,author ,,of 8,,the ,,games ,,and ,,diversions ,,of ,,argyleshire0 ,,london ,,david ,,nutt1 #eg-ei ,,long ,,acre #aijb ,printed by ,,ballantyne1 ,,hanson ,,co4 ,at the ,ballantyne ,press ,,contents ,,page ,,introduction #a ,,evil ,,eye #aj ,,locality ,,of ,,belief #bj ,,social ,,position ,,of ,,believers #bb ,,description ,,of ,,possessors ,,of ,,evil ,,eye #bd ,,objection ,,to ,,meeting ,,an ,,evil ,,eye #bh ,,avoiding ,,suspicion ,,of ,,evil ,,eye #cb ,,action ,,of ,,evil ,,eye ,,independent ,,of ,,possessor #ce ,,evil ,,eye ,,takes ,,effect ,,even ,,on ,,things ,,not ,,seen #cg ,,moral ,,source ,,of ,,the ,,evil ,,eye #dj ,,things ,,that ,,specially ,,attract #dc ,,strangers ,,specially ,,liable ,,to ,,be ,,accused ,,of ,,the ,,possession ,,of ,,the ,,evil ,,eye #df ,,people ,,should ,,give ,,when ,,asked #dh ,,symptoms ,,in ,,animals ,,ascribed ,,to ,,effect ,,of ,,evil ,,eye #ea ,,benefit ,,to ,,the ,,owner ,,of ,,an ,,evil ,,eye #fh ,,disadvantage ,,to ,,the ,,owner ,,of ,,an ,,evil ,,eye #gj ,,consequence ,,of ,,direct ,,praise #gf ,a ,,look ,,does ,,it #hj ,,avoiding ,,the ,,look #hd ,,conversion ,,to ,,belief ,,in ,,evil ,,eye #hh ,,giving ,,away ,,milk ,,dangerous #hi ,,science ,,versus ,,eolas #ia ,,hurter ,,and ,,healer #ih ,,transmission ,,of ,,eolas #aja ,,forms ,,of ,,incantation #ajd ,,form ,,of ,,payment #ajh ,,the ,,necessity ,,of ,,faith #aab ,,preventing ,,evil ,,by ,,blessing #aad ,,preventing ,,by ,,dispraising #aag ,,preventing ,,by ,,rowan ,,and ,,juniper #aai ,,preventing ,,by ,,horse ,,nails ,,and ,,shoes #aba ,,preventing ,,by ,a ,,small ,,gift #abb ,a ,,preventative ,,by ,,burning ,,clothing #abe ,,prevention ,,by ,,spitting #abf ,,preventing ,,by ,,churning #abi ,,prevention ,,by ,,peculiarity ,,in ,,clothes #aca ,,tar ,,as ,,preventative #acb ,,nicking ,,the ,,ear #acd ,,urine ,,as ,,preventative #ace ,a ,,burnt ,,offering #adj ,,charms4 7,,string7 #ada ,,uisge ,a' ,,chronachaidh 7,,water ,,of ,,injury7 #aea ,,stones ,,and ,,water #afg ,,iron ,,and ,,water #agb ,,wood ,,and ,,water #age ,,salt ,,as ,,cure ,,and ,,preventative #agf ,,most ,,suitable ,,water #aha ,,taboo ,,when ,,in ,,possession ,,of ,,water #ahd ,,water1 ,,where ,,applied #aib ,,odd ,,cures #aie ,,honeysuckle ,,cure #aie ,,cat ,,cure #aif ,,rubbing ,,hair ,,the ,,wrong ,,way #aif ,,changing ,,the ,,fireplace #aig ,,the ,,power ,,of ,a ,,child',s ,,mutch #aig ,,whisky ,,cure #aih ,,lead ,,dropping #aih ,,an ,,eye ,,for ,,an ,,eye #bjj ,,showing ,,who ,,is ,,the ,,mischief ,,maker #bje ,,putting ,,elsewhere #bad ,,appendix #bai ,,index #bbe ,,evil ,,eye ,,introduction ,the ,evil ,eye is a superstition arising not from local circumstances1 or peculiarity of a great or small division of the human family1 but is a result of an original tendency of the human mind4 ,the natural irritation felt at the hostile look of a neighbour1 still more of an enemy1 is implanted in the breast of all1 however much they may be influenced by moral teaching4 ,when we add to this the feeling that some valued possession has attracted the coveteous desire of another1 the fear of loss is added to the irritation of mere anger4 ,to some such natural feeling we must ascribe the belief in an ,evil ,eye4 ,theories of an origin more restricted1 founded on the fear of loss or damage to particular possessions of individuals guaranteed them by the custom of law1 developed in the community of which they form part1 scarcely satisfy after inquiry4 ,where a subsistence can be easily procured the ,evil ,eye would be little regarded in connection with food1 but might naturally develop itself in connection with the relations of the sexes4 ,no doubt the latter1 the most interesting to individuals of all passions1 causes feelings of hostility between rivals universally1 but where the food supply is difficult to procure one would naturally expect that damage from the covetous desires of others1 where they seemed to affect the life-preserving store1 would become equally important4 ,in the following study of the belief of an ,evil ,eye among the ,gaelic-speaking peoples of ,scotland at the present day1 an attempt is made neither to disguise nor to improve upon what those in contact with believers have learned from their mouths4 ,the writer is a believer in the ,evil ,eye only in so far as it may be a term for the natural selfishness of the human being1 as a 8tender heart0 is a recognised way of speaking of a nature apt to sympathy4 ,selfishness1 natural to all of us1 is apt to find expression in our habits1 however much we may disguise it by religious or charitable profession4 ,were it a part of our nature to have for our neighbour the same affection that we have for ourselves1 no such superstition as that of the ,evil ,eye could have arisen4 ,but we are not made that way1 and so reformers1 in endeavouring to cure this sin1 as they consider it1 have preached and tried to practise such ordinances as 8,thou shalt not covet10 and 8,thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself40 ,truly hard sayings1 and in nine hundred and ninety-nine cases out of a thousand with difficulty getting beyond the status of a pious opinion4 ,not that that teaching has been without effect2 and we may hope that with the extension of communications and the progress gradually being made to that condition of things where 8,man to man the world o'er ,shall brithers be for a' that10 the bad e'e may some day in these isles be merely a study for folklorists as ,totemism is1 and as difficult to find as an auk's egg4 ,right or wrong1 the theory here advanced accounts1 satisfactorily1 as far as the writer can judge1 for the present-day widespread belief in ,scotland of the power for evil of the glance of the human eye4 ,as will be seen afterwards1 there are those who theorise on the bad heart influencing the eye1 the ill effect of the ,evil ,eye only arising from the glance of the covetous2 but this is probably the result of preconceived religious ideas1 and of the moral teaching to which its believers have been accustomed4 ,it is not to be wondered at2 it would be impossible indeed1 but that the teaching of ,christianity should have affected and given a direction to this ancient superstition4 ,thus we find it ,christianised to a marked degree1 its origin is conceived of as a breaking of the commandment 8,thou shalt not covet10 and its cures are mostly connected with a reference to the ,deity1 and to the ,trinity of the ,christian4 ,the magic thread with the three knots on it1 though heathen in its origin1 has surely some connection with the rosary1 the aspersion with water1 with baptism1 and the holy water of the ,roman ,church4 ,but it is not a superstition introduced with ,christianity1 it is as native as the heather of our hills1 or the sandstone rock of the ,coronation ,stone4 ,this statement might be safely enough advanced upon general principles1 but we are not without satisfactory literary evidence of what we advance4 ,in the ,ossianic 8,acallam na ,senorach0 7,the ,colloquy with the ,ancient ,men71 the second longest prose composition of the medival ,irish1 a collection 7probably made in the late twelfth or thirteenth century7 of separate stories united together in one framework1 we find the following as related in ,,mss4 of the fifteenth century and later4 ,the ,fiann are on a visit to the ,king of ,munster4 ,the son of the ,king of ,ulster marries the daughter of the ,king of ,munster4 8,the damsel bore him a famous and beautiful son named ,fer ,oc 7#8young man'71 and in all ,ireland there were scarcely one whose shape and vigour and spear-casting were as good as his40 ,on a subsequent visit1 the three battalions of the ,fiann are lost in admiration of the activity and skill of a young man who turns out to be this ,fer ,oc4 8,then was a hunt and a battue held by the three battalions of the ,fiann4 ,howbeit1 on that day1 owing to ,fer ,oc 7and his superior skill7 to none of the ,fiann it fell to get first blood of pig or deer4 ,now when they came home1 after finishing the hunt1 a sore lung-disease attacked ,fer ,oc1 through the 7evil7 eyes of the multitude and the envy of the great host1 and it killed him1 soulless1 at the end of nine days40 8,he was buried on yonder green-grassed hill10 says ,cailte1 8and the shining stone that he held when he was at games and diversion is that yonder rising out of his head40#a ,the ,gaelic here simply says 8tre tsuilib na sochaide0 7through the eyes of the multitude71 and it will be seen that modern reciters sometimes speak in exactly the same way of the 8eye0 unqualified1 but meaning the ,evil ,eye4 ,but there is more than this in the story2 it is a young man who suffers1 and the young are most easily affected4 ,it is a remarkable and handsome youth that suffers1 and what attracts the eye1 especially beauty1 is peculiarly liable to injury1 and the statement is made that it was the envious glance which affected the victim4 ,cormac's ,glossary 7an ,irish compilation begun in the tenth century1 and added to throughout the ,middle ,ages71 preserved in ,,mss4 of the commencement of the fifteenth century1 mentions the ,evil ,eye3-- ,milled 7spoiling1 hurting1 7b7 i4e4 mi shilledh1 a mislook1 i4e4 an evil eye74 ,millead i mi shillead i silled olc4 ,or as in another ,,ms4 ,milliud quasi mishilliud i drochshilliud4 ,to this ,o',clery adds 8no droch amharc10 while ,o',donovan's note at 7b7 is 8the evil eye10 8the injury done by the evil eye40#b #a ,irische ,texte4 ,stokes and ,windisch1 fourth series1 vol i4 pp4 #bcb1 #bcd1 #afa4 #b ,cormac's ,glossary1 translated by ,o',donovan1 edited by ,whitley ,stokes1 p4 #ajg2 and ,three ,irish ,glossaries1 by ,w4 ,s41 p4 #bh4 ,our business is with the so-called facts of the ,evil ,eye1 and whether or not in this case the philology of the compiler of the ,glossary is right1 there can be no sort of doubt of the allusion being to the present living belief in the ,evil ,eye4 ,apart from the doing of evil1 and causing sickness and death without immediate increase to the possessions of the witch1 the effect of the ,evil ,eye centres round the natural covetousness of the greedy person4 ,where the owner of an evil eye gets no benefit himself1 the effect ascribed is always to diminish what he might envy in the possession of another4 ,it is always the young and toradh of cattle 7milk and butter71 or the fruits of the labour of the owner that is lessened or destroyed4 ,whatever the philological root of this word toradh1 it must surely be allied with the irregular verb thoir 7give72 and though there seems at first sight no close relationship between personal beauty and a good churning1 yet both of them are highly prized gifts4 ,toradh means fruit produce2 thus ,cain's offering was the toradh of the earth4 ,the expression used in ,kintyre for the power of taking away produce is pisreag4 ,in ,arran the word applied to the curative measures is pisearachd4 ,piseach means increase2 thus in ,proverbs xviii4 #bj1 where it is said that a man shall be filled with the 8increase of his lips10 the ,gaelic word used is piseach1 and so it comes to mean progeny and good fortune4 ,piseach ort 7,good fortune be yours74 ,irish ,gaelic gives piseog 7witchcraft74 ,surely this is a secondary meaning from the idea of increase and good fortune being in certain cases brought about by charms and witchery4 ,and thus we have found pisearachd explained as the ,arran and ,kintyre equivalent for geasarachd1 of which all the evidence seems to favour its primary signification being connected with spells and charms4 ,another word which has been used to collectors for eolas 7science of its own magical sort7 is fiosachd1 which the dictionaries give as meaning 8foretelling10 8augury40 ,this seems to be a secondary and limited application of a term meaning possession of fios 7knowledge1 information74 ,the popular mixing up of legitimate curative measures1 such as come from the administration of drugs1 with what undoubtedly is considered illegitimate1 namely1 the use of charms and sorcery in general1 is of course as common as can be in the experience of those in contact with genuine savagery1 but it occurs also nearer home4 ,a native of ,arran tells how she remembers an old woman1 of whom the people were afraid because she was supposed to be a witch4 ,the groundwork of this accusation was that she was to be often seen gathering herbs1 and the reciter remembers when she herself was a girl1 that1 to use her own words1 it was 8the fright of her life0 to meet her in a lonely place1 or in the dark4 99 99 99 99 99 ,an inquiry such as this has to be conducted with care4 ,the believer is sensitive to ridicule1 and would take as a mortal offence being publicly gibbeted1 so as to cause animadversion from others1 even when he himself is convinced of the truth of his beliefs and sayings4 ,for this reason we must be excused giving the name and residence of the various reciters4 ,the information has to be drawn in general conversation and incidentally1 but every care has been taken to avoid recounting anything in which mala fides is suspected4 ,we consider in many cases things told by a daughter of her mother1 or a son of his father1 as equally reliable as if detailed by himself when we know they have been recited originally for information of the juniors4 ,undoubtedly the younger generation are in many cases more critical than their forefathers2 but we have no hesitation in maintaining that what will hereafter be set down allows of a fairly perfect appreciation of the belief of the great majority of the less educated class1 and of many much above that in the ,west ,highlands1 up to the introduction of the ,school ,board as a universal institution4 ,of course there always were doubters1 and the tricks played to take a rise out of a believer by an unbeliever may sometimes figure as accepted evidence of the bad effects of the ,evil ,eye1 when it was a trick played off merely for fun1 though in other cases deliberately intended to mislead4 ,tricks1 however1 will not carry us back to an original cause1 however much they may have helped the maintenance of the belief in superstitious minds4 ,these fail entirely in power of appreciation of the jocular1 when what is done is dangerous according to their ideas4 ,a strong believer in the ,evil ,eye1 and of course much afraid of it1 in the island of ,skye1 was one day out among the cows4 ,two of his neighbours passing1 one of them1 a bit of a wag1 said to his companion3 8,bheir mi da sgillinn duit ma theid thu agus do cheann a chuir fodh'n mhart sin agus glaodh 'nach mor an t-uth tha aig a bho0 78,i will give you twopence if you will go and put your head under that cow and cry1 ,hasn't the cow the big udder807 ,the fellow agreed1 and went and bent his head under the cow and shouted out at the top of his voice1 calling ,rory's attention to his supposititious admiration of the remarkable development of the cow in question4 ,the man tempted to make the remark was 8a little soft40 ,rory at once thinking of the ,evil ,eye1 seized his stick and rushed at him1 threatening to break his head if he would not at once bless the cow4 ,the suborned perpetrator of the joke1 it need scarcely be said1 at once took the method demanded to counteract his injudicious praise4 ,how many of us are1 not in the belief of the ,evil ,eye1 but in other beliefs1 just as touchy as our friend ,rory4 ,the stick may be good enough for a defence of superstition1 but ridicule is the proper method of attack4 ,a young intelligent lady was lately in a house in the village of ,golspie1 the occupant of which1 mourning over the dying of her fowls1 said she suspected it was the result of the ,evil ,eye of ,mrs4 ,x41 a neighbour4 ,the next day1 being in the same house1 another neighbour came in carrying a growing plant1 which she presented to the complainer1 saying3 8,mrs4 ,x4 told me that you had your eye on this1 and ever since it has done no good2 the leaves have been withering and falling off4 ,now6--there it is to you6 keep it40 ,the person superstitious enough to believe in the force of the ,evil ,eye may well be expected to have his superstitious faculty developed in other directions4 ,a child took ill1 and its parents believed it was the ,evil ,eye of a certain woman which had done the harm4 ,with the view of bringing her to confess her doings1 or in any case to punish her1 they procured a square of turf1 and having stuck a lot of pins in it1 they placed it on the fire4 ,this action1 one of the forms of the so-called corp creadha1 was intended to do personal injury to the suspected party4 ,there was no evidence of it having had any effect whatever4 ,,evil ,,eye ,after the long existence in this country of ,christianity1 while we talk composedly of the superstitions of the heathen and of other ,christian nations1 we are apt to forget our own1 or if we speak of them1 we look on them pityingly as peculiar to some individuals of whose opinion we reckon little4 ,in towns1 and among those who read many books1 the constant friction of man against man hinders the survival of a belief in such a thing as the ,evil ,eye1 now that a certain quantity of education is common property4 ,where the incidents of life are less crowded1 and individual experiences are rarer and at longer intervals1 that is1 in country districts and especially in the more mountainous and less closely populated1 the ,evil ,eye has yet in ,scotland many believers1 and consequently considerable influence4 ,such a remark as the following1 made to a minister1 is not so rare as one might suppose3 8,nae doot whatever ,mac had the ,evil ,eye1 that's certain4 ,i have known many cases when a calf1 or even a cow1 died the day after he looked at her40 ,another said of the same3 8,i was once in the dairy when he came in4 #8,you should not have let that bad man in1' said ,nancy ,mac,intyre to me4 #8,why8' said ,i4 #8,because he has an ,evil ,eye1' said she4 ,now1 ,i will not say that this was true1 but this ,i know1 that on that very day one of the cows bursted1 and died from eating clover4 ,what do ye say to that80 ,another sample is the following3 ,a farmer's son1 whose father had lost a horse1 was thus addressed by a neighbour1 8,you had a horse that was ill1 is it better80 8,oh no1 it is dead40 8,you are unfortunate this year4 ,isn't that four that have died on you80 8,yes1 but we know now what was wrong with them40 8,weel1 that's well2 ye'll know what to do should any more take ill4 ,what was wrong with them80 8,they were air-an-cronachadh0 7harmed74 8,such nonsense6 there is nothing of that now40 ,the lad did not agree with this1 said they knew who did it1 and the lad's interrogator's mother-in-law joined in the conversation1 agreeing as to the correctness of the diagnosis2 and the doubter rejoined1 8,well1 if you are all against me1 ,i may stop40 ,an ,argyllshire islander says3-- 8,tha buideachas uile air falbh anis agus is math gu bheil1 oir be ni olc a bha ann4 ,ach1 ma dh'fhalbh sin1 tha rud eile nach d'fhalbh fathast1 agus #8se sin cronachadh4 ,chunnaic m'i ann mo thigh fein mucuircean1 agus thainig ban-choimhearsnach a steach latha1 agus thubhairt i gum bu mhuc ciatach a bha'n sin4 #8,tha i gle mhath1' fhreagair mi fhein4 ,well1 chaidh am boireannach a mach1 agus cha robh i tiota air falbh1 nur a thug a mhuc an aon sgreach aisde agus air dol mun cuairt dith1 thuit i air an urlar4 ,le so1 thainig ,d4 #8ac ,a4 a stigh1 agus fheoraich e #8,co an t-aon mu dheireadh a chunnaic a mhuc8' ,dh' innis mi fhein dha1 gum be a leithid so #8a bhean4 #8,mata' ars esan1 #8s ise rinn an t-olc4 ,ach ma tha uillidh sam bi lar ruit1 cha chreid mi gum bi mise fada ga cuir ceirt4 ,fhuair mi dha uillidh nam piocach1 agus ghabh e a mhuc eadar a dha chois1 agus thaom e lan copa dheth na beul4 ,thug a mhuc reibhig1 agus shaoil mi fhein gu robh i air chuthach ach ann a' mionaid a dh'uine1 bha i ceirt gu leoir2 ,nis1 nach be sud an droch bhean80 78,witchcraft is all gone now1 and it is well it is1 for it was a bad thing4 ,but if that is gone1 there is another thing that has not gone yet1 and that is ,cronachadh4 ,i saw a breeding sow in my own house1 and one day a neighbour came in1 and she said that that was a splendid sow4 ,i answered that she was very good4 ,well1 the woman went out1 and she was no time away when the sow gave such a scream1 and going round about she fell on the floor4 ,with this ,d4 ,mac ,a4 came in1 and he asked who was the last person that had seen the sow4 ,i told him it was such and such a woman4 #8,well1' said he1 #8it was she that did the harm1 but if you have any oil beside you1 ,i believe ,i shall not be long putting her right4' ,i got saithe oil for him1 and he took the sow between his two legs1 and poured a cupful into her mouth4 ,she screamed1 and ,i thought she was mad1 but in a minute's time she was all right4 ,now1 wasn't that the bad woman807 ,a young fellow who had received a liberal education1 in fact1 a probationer of the ,church1 the son of a self-made man1 fairly well-to-do1 avowed his own belief in the ,evil ,eye4 ,he said in effect3 8,as sure as you and ,i are sitting here there is an ,evil ,eye in it4 ,i know that when ,i was in ,harris1 and our ,m4 an infant1 there was a certain woman who used to come in pretty often1 the sister-in-law of ,h41 you know1 and my wife1 who you know is not one to tell a lie or speak about these things1 told me that every time that woman came in she would be praising the child1 and the child was always unwell after it40 ,we thus see1 though we know that ministers of the ,church are by their profession kept in the dark on matters of which they would express unbelief1 yet that where a superstition is ingrained in a parishioner it is not concealed from the minister4 ,ministers may be misled by putting their own interpretation on the form in which the information comes to them4 ,a clergyman in one of the ,western ,islands said3 8,i have observed that there is still a strong belief in blighting from the ,evil ,eye among the people in the parish of ,k4 ,a respectable and intelligent man whom ,i visited often during a season of sickness1 once and again1 when talking about his illness1 made the remark #8fhuair mi cronachadh4' ,i always misunderstood what the man meant by cronachadh1 taking it in the sense of reproof1 and therefore thinking that what was meant was that the sufferer was placed under chastisement by a dispensation of ,providence4 ,at last1 however1 ,i learned from a third person that the sick man was strongly impressed with the belief that his illness was caused by some evil-intentioned person who had wished him ill40 ,this suggests witchcraft as much as or even more than the ,evil ,eye2 but the two things run into each other more or less4 ,we have already seen one ,gaelic reciter maintaining that witchcraft1 buidseachas1 did not now exist1 but the ,evil ,eye did4 ,compare that with this from a native of ,uist3-- 8,ma ta bha buidseashas ann4 ,chaidh mi fhein aon latha gu tigh coimhearsnaich airson coileach oig1 agus bha laogh aca ceangailte aig cul an doruis4 ,cha robh mi fada san tigh gus an d'thainig nighean a steach4 ',nuair a fhuair mise an t-eun1 dh'fhalbh mi1 agus cha robh mi ach beagan uine air falbh 'nuair a dh'fhas an laogh tinn4 ,chuir muinntir an tighe fios thun boireannach a bha 'n sin1 aig an robh sgil mu bhuidseachas1 mar bhiodh daoine 'g radh1 ga h-iarruidh a thighinn a dh'-amhairc an laogh4 ,thainig am boireannach1 ach ma thainig1 bha an laogh marbh mus d'thainig i4 ,co luath 's a dh'amhairc i air thubhairt i riutha air an spot gum b'e 'n 8suill0 a dh'aobhraich am bas4 ,agus air bharrachd air sin1 dh'innis i dhoibh co rinn an gonadh4 ,so mar thubhairt i4 8,nach robh dithist bhoireannaich agaibh an so am eigin an diugh80 ,agus 'nuair a fhreagair iad gun robh1 thubhairt ise4 8,bha h-aon diubh soilleir1 agus an te eile dorcha4 ,bha shawl glas air an te shoilleir1 agus b'bise a dh'oibrich am buidseachas40 8,nis bha sin gle fhior1 oir bha an nighean a thainig a steach nur bha mise san tigh soilleir1 agus bha shawl glas oirre cuideachd40 8,indeed1 witchery was in it4 ,i myself went one day to a neighbour's house for a young cock1 and they had a calf tied behind the door4 ,i was not long in the house till a girl came in4 ,when ,i got the bird ,i went away1 and ,i was only a short time away when the calf became unwell4 ,the people of the house sent word to a woman that was there1 who had skill of witchery1 as people would be saying1 asking her to come to look at the calf4 ,the woman came1 but if 7she7 came1 the calf was dead before she came4 ,as soon as she looked on it1 she said to them on the spot1 that it was the #8,eye' that caused the death4 ,and more than that1 she told them who had done the mischief 7wounding74 ,here is how she said3 #8,have you not had two women here sometime to-day8' and when they answered that there had been1 she said3 #8,one of them was fair and the other dark4 ,there was a grey shawl on the fair one1 and it was she that wrought the witchery4' ,now that was quite true1 for the girl that came in when ,i was in the house was fair1 and there was a grey shawl on her40 ,a woman of about sixty-five1 a reader of history and ,gaelic publications1 remembers when the belief in the ,evil ,eye was so common in ,islay1 that when any disease came among a person's cattle1 it gave rise at once to a strong suspicion that they had been air an cronachadh4 ,the disease was called 8dosgach40 ,when one would come with the news of disease or death among a neighbour's cattle1 the person to whom it was told would say1 8,mach an dosgach a so02 or1 8,mach a so an droch sgeul0 78,away the plague from here20 or1 8,away the evil news from here407 ,at the same time1 suiting the action to the words1 he would tear some piece off the clothes he had on at the time and throw it into the fire4 ,this was supposed to prevent the evil from coming his way4 ,indeed there are very many who still act on the belief expressed in the following1 by an old distillery workman1 uneducated1 but naturally shrewd1 though we would say credulous3 8,they will be saying to me that we have no mention of cronachadh in the ,bible1 and they will be putting it down my throat1 but ,i tell them that it is there4 ,both the ,evil ,eye and ,witchcraft were in it from the beginning1 and they will be in it till the end40 ,we may mention here that there is a very strong belief among many of the influence of the 8wish0 for good or evil4 8,b4 ,mc,l4 affirms that if she wishes ill to any person ill is sure to follow1 and if she wishes well good will come of it4 ,she maintained that a person1 lately dangerously ill1 owed her recovery to her good wishes40 ,a person has only to maintain this view1 and the superstitious will probably find reasons for believing that it is true4 ,this1 however1 opens the question of the guidhe 7imprecation or intercession1 as the case may be71 and there are not a few who are applied to to make guidhes of both sorts4 ,we must consider the meaning of the terms used4 ,in ,south ,argyllshire the common expression regarding a person or thing affected is that it is air a chronachadh1 or1 as another in ,northern ,argyll expressed it1 air a chronachen4 ,cron means a fault or defect1 and the verb used seems to be an expression of the opinion that something is wrong with the object1 the usual meaning of the word being best translated 8reproved10 or 8rebuked02 the speaker1 as it were1 finding some fault in the person or thing spoken to1 he sees that it is faulty1 and says so4 ,in the case of a person with an ,evil ,eye1 he actually causes defect to the object4 ,now the same would be true of black magic2 thus1 air a chronachadh is as apposite to a person affected by witchcraft as by the ,evil ,eye4 ,it is necessary therefore to distinguish1 when one hears of a case of cronachadh1 whether it is by mischievous intention or not2 and this is done sometimes by the reciter4 ,thus1 a person consulted to cure an animal affected1 when telling who it was that was to blame for the evil1 said3 8,well1 'se duine le ceann dubh a chronaich do bho leis an droch shuil0 78,well1 it is a man with a black head that has injured your cow1 with the ,evil ,eye074 ,in many districts this expression would merely convey the idea of rebuke 7,tyree1 ,lewis1 ,dornoch1 ,kiltearn74 ,in these places the expression usually is ,luidh droch shuil air 7,an evil eye rested on him74 ,in ,easter ,ross1 a person desirous of avoiding reflections would say3 8,cha'n eil mi cuir mo shuil ann0 78,i am not putting my eye in it074 ,even in ,arisaig in ,southern ,inverness-shire1 marching with ,argyllshire1 they use this expression only4 ,we have already given above1 from ,uist1 an instance in which the speaker simply called it 8the ,eye10 neither qualifying it as good or bad4 ,the rapidity of the action is sometimes expressed thus3--,a healer called in1 said in one case3 8,teum do bho1 a bhean10 equivalent to saying1 8,your cow is bitten or stung10 the word teum being also applied to something snatched4 ,the operation of the ,evil ,eye in ,uist is described by a parallel phrase1 air a ghonadh 7stabbed71 an expression which has been used in ,kintyre as synonymous with cronachadh1 though there it generally expresses pain felt either bodily or mentally4 ,an elderly woman1 a native of ,duthill1 ,inverness-shire1 while stating that there were 8plenty of people round about us here who have got the ,evil ,eye and hurt both cattle and people with it10 gave the following as the expressions used when mentioning it3-- ,thuit droch shuil air 7,an evil eye fell on him74 ,ghabh an droch shuil e 7,the evil eye took him74 ,laidh droch shuil air 7,an evil eye settled on him74 ,bhuail droch shuil e 7,an evil eye struck him74 ,in the part of ,ireland nearest to ,scotland at any rate1 and so far as the writer knows also in other places1 the expression used in ,english is 8blinked40 ,the readiest conclusion come to as to what is wrong with a sick cow is that 8she has been blinked40 ,blinked milk1 therefore1 is milk which yields no butter4 ,blinked beer1 beer which has become sour4 ,all these expressions1 then1 of the action of an suil dona1 the common expression in part of ,inverness-shire1 which1 seeing 8,donas0 is the ,devil1 we might translate the 8diabolical eye10 evidently point to the fact that a mere look will do the damage2 so the remark of the ,islay man1 8,ni an fheadhainn aig am bheil an t-suil so cron air beathach neo duine ged nach dean iad ach amhairc orra0 78,those who have this eye will do injury to beast or person1 though they do nothing but look on them071 expresses clearly what seems to have been the original notion conveyed in the expressions used4 ,a strange charm for the closure of the eye was expressed in ,arran by the following saying3 8,cronachadh air do shuil1 cac eun air muin sin0 78,ill on your eye1 birds' excrement on the back of that074 ,this was an old practice1 according to the reciter1 who is a woman of about eighty4 ,the account she gave was as follows3--,her father had bought some cattle at the market4 8,they were fine beasts1 and the servantman and ,i1 then a young girl1 were driving them home4 ,when we were passing ,king's ,cross a man stood and looked keenly at them4 ,the servantman did not like this1 and turning towards him said the words recited40 ,they were avowedly used to save the cattle from being hurt by the man's eye1 and as the old lady said1 8,whether that saved them or no ,i could not tell1 but in any case we reached home safely and no harm came to the cows40 ,the ,islay expression already quoted1 ,mach an dosgach1 contains within it the suggestion of evil coming to the unprotected1 ,dosgadh 7calamity1 misfortune71 etymologically having the signification1 without protection4#c ,subsequently we will find that no grown person need be unprotected if he will take a very small amount of trouble4 #c ,macbain1 8,etymological ,dictionary of the ,gaelic ,language48 ,another ,arran formula used in connection with the ,evil ,eye1 and said to be protective1 was mentioned in an account of a shepherd who lived in the island1 said to have an ,evil ,eye4 ,he could hurt cattle1 and also cure the effect of the ,evil ,eye of another4 ,the reciter said he was a queer fellow1 and remembers him at the first ,cattle ,show ever he 7reciter7 attended1 and being frightened by being addressed1 with other boys1 for being in his road3 8,mach a sin leibh4 ,cha'n ann airson an itheadh a tha iad0 78,out of that with you4 ,they are not for eating071 said the shepherd1 as he drove his cattle4 ,his mentioning eating recalled to the boys' minds his ,evil ,eye1 and the following formula to be repeated in cases of cronachadh4 8,ma dh'itheas iad thu1 gun sgeith iad thu1 agus gun garbh sgeith iad thu0 78,if they eat you1 may they vomit you1 and roughly vomit you074 ,this seems to be chaff from non-believers to believers1 possibly also the case with the formula above1 more than a thing really said with a belief in its curative power4 ,,locality ,,of ,,belief ,there is a considerable difference between some wandering folklorist happening on a superstitious survival in some ancient crone or secluded corner1 and in the general acceptation by many1 if not by a majority1 of some belief regarded by the more instructed as to be so classed4 ,the belief in the ,evil ,eye in the ,west of ,scotland comes decidedly under the latter category4 ,interrogatories show that it exists in ,caithness1 ,sutherland1 ,ross-shire1 ,inverness-shire1 ,elgin1 ,argyll1 ,perthshire1 in the ,lewis1 ,harris1 both ,uists1 ,barra1 ,skye1 ,tiree1 ,islay1 the ,isle of ,man1 ,arran1 and ,antrim in ,ireland4 ,a wide enough field this4 ,of course there are many unbelievers1 of all classes nearly1 though the less the education1 the more frequent the evidences of belief4 ,an attempt to state a proportion of believers as against unbelievers is quite out of the question4 ,one witness will tell you it was common enough in his youth1 or very common1 but in speaking of the present day1 reliable witnesses will say1 perhaps1 most usually 8pretty common10 or 8quite common10 not unfrequently1 however1 8very common10 or1 as one unbeliever said1 8you hear of them often enough40 ,a cautious man1 when you try to get exact information as to the potency of the belief1 will answer that it is 8strongly0 held by some1 and of this there can be no sort of doubt2 and it is much more common than most people think4 ,though we are treating of the ,highlands and ,islands1 it must not be supposed that the 8ill e'e0 is a ,highland speciality1 speaking of ,scotland alone1 of course4 ,it may with perfect sincerity be said1 with all due caution1 that it is 8pretty common0 among ,lowlanders also4 ,,social ,,position ,,of ,,believers ,the persons among whom this belief is most usual are undoubtedly to be found principally among the agricultural and fishing population1 though it is not unknown1 by any means1 even in such a town as ,oban1 where a reciter of ,evil ,eye incidents says 8it is pretty common40 ,when one speaks of a farmer in many parts of the ,low ,country1 one naturally thinks of well-educated men with comparatively large holdings1 and such men1 of course1 are to be met with in the ,highlands in appreciable numbers4 ,there is no evidence that these have faith in the ,evil ,eye2 but the smaller farmers1 doing their own work with assistance1 are often deeply imbued4 ,a native of ,kintyre says1 8,i know a respectable farmer who1 when anything goes wrong with his horses1 is quite in the habit of suspecting that it is injury by the ,evil ,eye1 and will send at once for a certain woman in the neighbourhood1 who is supposed to be able to cure in cases of cronachadh40 ,so lately as ,july #ahih1 in one of the islands a child was unwell4 ,the doctor was there and the minister was there1 but still the child was getting worse4 ,at length the parents concluded that it was a case of cronachadh1 and a man who practises as a professional in cases of that kind was sent for4 ,on arriving he confirmed them in their suspicion1 and told them that it was a woman with brown hair that had done the harm4 ,the reciter 7a minister's wife7 did not know what means he took to cure the child1 but whatever they were they were not successful4 ,the child died4 ,most of our beliefs are inherited1 and so it is1 perhaps1 no wonder if one comes upon a young man1 a probationer of the ,church who has gone through his curriculum of study1 and yet believes in the ,evil ,eye4 ,no evidence1 however1 is forthcoming of a licensed medical man having any belief in it4 ,it must be admitted that the greater part of the information is got from women1 and if believers were polled1 the majority would be found of the less stern sex4 ,from the small farmer downwards1 among all owners of stock1 and this includes chickens and the pig1 believers are frequent4 ,in some places there is but little secrecy as to those who have the ,evil ,eye1 or at least are supposed to have it4 ,we refrain from publishing the full names1 so that if by any chance those spoken of see this they may not be offended2 but this is a sample of a common style of remark3 8,tha1 tha1 tha droch shuil aig ,anna nic ,e4 ,nach robh ,mrs4 ,mac,t4 ag innseadh dhomh fhein nach bu mhor nach robh aon da clann marbh le droch shuil a' bhoirionnach sin uair4 ,bha e air a chronachadh leatha1 agus bhitheadh e marbh ach airson ,anna ,t40 78,yes1 yes1 ,ann ,mc,e4 has an ,evil ,eye4 ,was not ,mrs4 ,mac,t4 telling myself that one of her children was once nearly dead through the ,evil ,eye of that woman4 ,he was injured by her1 and would have been dead had it not been for ,ann ,t407 ,ann ,t4 was a practitioner of eolas4 ,,description ,,of ,,possessors ,,of ,,evil ,,eye ,anybody may have the ,evil ,eye1 but that certain people suggest the ,evil ,eye to others from their appearance must be admitted4 ,a minister1 himself a son of the manse1 who has had ,highland surroundings all his early life1 bears witness1 8,the possession was more frequently ascribed to females than to males1 and for the most part to elderly women40 ,another minister1 an older man than the former1 says of the ,evil ,eye3 8,they were chiefly women that were suspected1 and were generally much disliked in the communities40 ,these two reciters were as far apart as ,arran and ,ross-shire4 ,was the ,evil ,eye ascribed to them because they were disliked1 or were they disliked because they had the ,evil ,eye8 ,women do not improve in appearance with age1 nor men either1 for the matter of that1 and one of our reciters1 in describing a case of cronachadh1 said that the operator was 8a bad-looking woman at any rate1 and had a queer look40 ,in ,knapdale we hear of one who was 8a decent enough looking woman1 but there was this about her1 people always suspected her of having some evil power1 and nobody liked to refuse her if she asked anything40 ,another of the accused was 8strange in her dress1 and spoke in an imperious manner40 ,it is curious to note that1 having quoted all the descriptions of individuals we have1 the criticisms should all be levelled at women2 but it must not be supposed that men are at all exempt4 ,the writer was amused1 and not a little astonished1 to hear that an old gentleman1 a connection of his own1 a large farmer and not unknown beyond his own district1 certainly not a greedy man1 and a pleasant companion1 was among some as notorious for his ,evil ,eye as for his knowledge of his business4 ,he was a ,low ,country man by descent1 ignorant of ,gaelic1 and surrounded by ,gaelic-speaking ,highlanders1 some of whom however1 proprietors and taxmen1 were said to be as bad as himself4 ,the only diagnostic mark that has been mentioned1 physically demonstrating a possessor1 was got from an ,islay woman1 who said that she had always heard that a person whose eyes are of a different colour has the ,evil ,eye4 ,this seems explicable enough2 if one were a nice bright blue eye or a deep and gentle brown one1 and the other paler and less expressive1 their best friends might say that they had a 8bad eye40 ,all the parti-coloured eyes in ,scotland would not account for a tenth part of the results accredited to evil eyes4 ,small are the changes in the ideas of men in some respects1 even after long intervals4 ,in the old ,irish saga1 entitled the ,sack of ,da ,derga's ,hostel1 describing events which occurred1 according to the ,irish analysts1 either ,b4,c4 #ca1 or ,a4,d4 #dc3d 8,when they were there they saw a lone woman coming to the door of the hostel1 after sunset1 and seeking to be let in4 ,as long as a weaver's beam was each of her two shins1 and they were as dark as the back of a stag-beetle4 ,a greyish1 woolly mantle she wore4 ,her lower hair used to reach as far as her knee4 ,her lips were on one side of her head4 ,she came and put one of her shoulders against the door-post of the house1 casting the ,evil ,eye on the ,king and the youths who surrounded him in the hostel40#e #d ,translated by ,whitley ,stokes1 ,revue ,celtique1 vol4 xxii4 p4 #ab4 #e ,whitley ,stokes1 ,revue ,celtique1 xxii4 pp4 #eg-ei4 ,the existing redaction of within saga is certainly as old as the tenth century4 ,the ,gaelic word translated by ,stokes here 8casting the ,evil ,eye0 is in the original ,gaelic 8oc admilliud ind rig10 literally to this day 8hurting or spoiling the king10 cronachadh1 in fact4 ,it says nothing of incantations or magical observances1 and the translation given seems thoroughly justified4 ,the description of ,cailb1 ,samon1 ,sinand 7she was the possessor of many names71 of course imaginatively exaggerates her ugliness1 but her evil looks1 with her black fire-burned shins1 is just what one would expect to hear of an old woman credited with the ,evil ,eye nowadays1 though it is not now common to expose so much leg as to show the effect of toasting it at the fire4 ,one can easily fancy that the warriors of ,ireland would have no pleasure in encountering ,cailb4 ,a like objection is common in the present day in regard to persons with an ,evil ,eye4 ,a ,western ,islander says3 8,people would be blaming ,j4 ,b41 but there was one worse than her4 ,nobody who ever met ,m4 ,mc,a4 when on his way to fish1 would go on1 for it was believed that no fish would be got after meeting her40 ,the reciter himself and another man were on their way to fish when they met this woman4 ,the other suggested that there was no use going now1 for they would not get anything1 that was sure4 ,the reciter said that he grudged turning back1 although he believed his companion was right2 but not to waste time1 and to avoid the chance of other mischief1 they both returned home4 8,j4 ,mc,e4 was said to have the ,evil ,eye1 and no one liked to meet her if they were going on important business1 especially to fish2 some would even turn back if they met her40 ,,objection ,,to ,,meeting ,,an ,,evil ,,eye ,another informant1 speaking of a woman with an ,evil ,eye and who consequently was unlucky to meet1 said3 8,three fishermen met her1 and one of them proposed that they should turn back2 it was no use going on1 they would get nothing4 ,the others persisted and overruled him4 ,they were for a while unsuccessful1 and he who had proposed returning was very impatient1 and kept grumbling and saying they should have returned home4 ,they did catch a few at last40 ,speaking of those who were supposed to take the milk and butter from other people's cows1 an educated ,arran man said3 8,this class were looked upon as being unlucky to meet on the road1 and people tried to avoid them1 especially if they were going on any particular business40 ,one would suppose that it would be exceedingly unpleasant to have the reputation of an ,evil ,eye1 consequently it is resented1 but precautions are taken sometimes1 even before the accusation is made1 to hinder the report arising about individuals4 ,in one village1 where twice a week a number of fishermen pass1 the women and girls of the village try to keep out of sight of the men on their way to the fishing-ground1 lest1 if by chance a fisher should see one of them and he was unlucky immediately thereafter1 he would report to the rest his want of luck and whom he had met1 and she would be marked as one of the unlucky4 ,the reciter of this was an intelligent domestic servant1 twenty-four years old1 a reliable girl1 brought up by respectable grandparents4 ,a ,kintyre reciter1 an educated woman of about thirty1 informs us of a woman1 a believer in the ,evil ,eye1 living beside her father1 and who does not conceal the fact that she looks with some suspicion upon certain of her acquaintances should they come her way1 particularly should she be engaged in churning4 ,her neighbours1 knowing this1 are careful to avoid going to her house if she has a churning on hand4 ,suspected persons do not learn their own infirmity merely by being looked at askance4 ,a clergyman in one of the southern islands informs us3 8,it is said that in cases where injury has been done by the ,evil ,eye1 a remedy is to charge the suspected party firmly and distinctly to his 7or her7 face with having done it4 ,when a little boy1 a cow belonging to his grandmother had lately calved1 and a neighbour woman came one day and went to see the cow4 ,she was considered to be a respectable person1 even a good woman1 but was believed to possess the ,evil ,eye4 ,she was no time away when the cow became very unwell1 although there had been nothing wrong with her up till then4 ,there was considerable excitement1 and they were sure that the cow would die1 and just as sure it was the woman's ,evil ,eye that had injured her4 ,another woman was sent for1 supposed to be knowing in these matters1 and the case submitted to her4 ,she confirmed them in their suspicions1 and advised1 as the best remedy1 that she who had done the mischief should be confronted and plainly told to her face that they believed her to be to blame4 ,this was agreed to and carried out at once1 with the result1 as it was believed1 that whatever power she had obtained over the cow to hurt her was broken1 and in a very short time the cow was as well as she had ever been40 ,an ,arran woman tells us the same thing in some detail1 but she says the injury can only be repaired by the doer of the mischief taking upon himself the evil done to the other1 and illustrates it by the following story3--,a tramp who was supposed to have a bad eye1 and even suspected of witchcraft1 made a request to ,mrs4 ,mac---- which she refused4 ,the woman being angered1 left in a rage4 ,she was no time away when they noticed that there was something wrong with the child1 and when the husband came from his work his wife told him of the woman having been there1 and her belief that she had injured their child4 ,the man said the woman was still in the neighbourhood1 and he would bring her back4 ,he did so4 ,they then charged her to her face with having hurt the child1 and said she must now heal her4 ,the woman did not try to deny this1 but said3 8,tha e gle chruaidh gum feumainnsa an cron a rinn mi air an leanabh agaibh a ghabhail orm fein1 ach na'n d'thug sibhse bonn airgeid dhomhsa an ait' an olann a thug sibh dhomh1 cha do thachair so do'n leanabh0 78,it's very hard that ,i should require to take on myself the injury ,i have done your child1 but if you had given me a silver coin instead of the wool you gave me1 this had not happened to the child074 ,she had to cure the child1 however4 ,what had happened to it was that its mouth kept always open1 and it could not catch the breast4 ,the reciter did not say that the malady of the open mouth stuck to the woman1 but being somewhat notorious1 and a different incident being told of her by another reciter1 the latter remarked that 8she had an ungainly face1 and that if ever there was a witch in ,arran1 he thought that woman would pass for one40 ,,avoiding ,,suspicion ,,of ,,evil ,,eye ,people have not always the candour to accuse the suspected4 ,a lady engaged in teaching gives the following information3 8,you would hear of ,mrs4 ,mc,g48 ,she is making a great noise because1 as she says1 the milk is being taken from her cow1 and not long ago her horse and some other beast of hers died1 and she thinks it is because they were air an cronachadh by some person4 ,she blamed a girl that was keeping house with a neighbour1 and she went to the girl's sister and said to her to say to her sister not to be taking away the milk from her cow40 ,this was not supposed to be a case of witchcraft4 ,so far we have been dealing with women1 but it must not be supposed that such accusations are rarely made against men4 ,a small farmer1 ,alexander ----1 having got into difficulties1 lost his farm4 ,a neighbour1 better able to stock it1 entered into possession4 ,soon1 however1 a cow died1 and it was concluded that it was a case of cronachadh1 an opinion in which its owner agreed1 declaring3 8,well1 cho fad's bhios bo bheo agam1 cha dean mise rithist namhaid de ,alasdair0 78,well1 as long as ,i have a living cow ,i will not again make an enemy of ,alexander074 ,men are also as cautious to avoid suspicion as women4 ,recently a servant-girl in ,islay1 having the charge of attending to the feeding of a pig1 requested a man who had never been suspected of possessing a hurtful eye to look at the pig to see how it was thriving4 ,the man refused1 adding quite seriously that he did not like to look at a beast that way1 in case of any harm being done4 ,when she persisted that there could be no harm1 he replied that not long ago ,m4 ,mc,l4 had a litter of young pigs1 and a man came that way and was looking at them one evening1 and the next morning they were all dead4 ,the reasons ascribed for the action of some are doubtless influenced by the reciter's own beliefs4 ,thus1 it was often said of a gentleman farmer in ,rothiemurchus1 well known in the countryside1 that he would never praise any beast of his own1 and this was supposed to be owing to his belief that he himself had an ,evil ,eye4 ,it does not seem to have occurred to his neighbours that it was native modesty4 ,to show the hold that belief in an ,evil ,eye has on certain minds1 a native of ,ross-shire tells how he went to see a neighbour1 who asked his assistance in putting a ring in the nose of a pig to prevent it rooting4 8,there was another neighbour of his there too1 who had come forward when he saw us1 one ,w4 ,m41 an intelligent man1 and one that ,i would never have thought would give in to these superstitions2 but he was a man that believed in the ,evil ,eye1 although nobody suspected him of having it himself40 ,accidentally the pig's leg was broken4 ,it was understood to belong to the wife of the man who proposed to ring it1 who said3-- 8,man1 what will we say to the wife8 ,but come away in and see what she has got to say40 ,when we went in the wife asked us if we had got the ring in the pig1 and her man answered1 8,no1 and ,i am sorry to tell you the pig has broken her leg40 8,how did that happen80 she asked1 and her husband said1 out of pure fun1 8,oh1 ,i don't know1 unless ,w4 ,m4's eye has fallen upon her40 ,that was enough4 ,up ,w4 got in a wild rage1 and said he would not sit under such a suspicion1 and off he marched1 terribly offended4 ,at the time of writing a reciter1 a woman1 admits that at ,k4 in ,a4 a man is living whom his neighbours believe to have the ,evil ,eye1 and people not only do not like to meet him1 but go out of their way to avoid him when going on important matters4 ,it is told of him that a donkey belonging to a woman kicked his horse4 ,the donkey's owner expressed a hope that he would not come to know of it1 lest he should hurt her beast4 ,her fear was justified1 as it turned out1 for the man saw the donkey kick the horse1 and however he managed it1 people believed that he put cronachadh on the donkey1 for it turned ill and shortly died4 ,,action ,,of ,,evil ,,eye ,,independent ,,of ,,possessor ,it must be difficult1 one would think1 for any reasonably kindly-intentioned person to accept as proved that they had an ,evil ,eye4 ,but a distinction is made between possessing an ,evil ,eye and doing mischief with it4 ,a native of ,glen ,urquhart1 ,inverness-shire1 among others says that there it is understood a person may possess an ,evil ,eye and do mischief with it without intending it1 and without knowing that he has done it4 ,when a person knows that he has an ,evil ,eye1 and does mischief with it intentionally1 the ill-doing is usually supposed to be more or less connected with witchcraft4 ,many believe the injury from the ,evil ,eye is quite independent of the will of the possessor4 ,a farmer1 a believer1 said3 8,when we were in the old place more than thirty years ago1 there was a man living upon the hill who would often be helping the farmers round about when they were throng4 ,he had the ,evil ,eye2 but he could not help it4 ,he would be sorry for it himself2 many a one would be scolding him for hurting their beasts40 ,another says3 8,cronachadh is still in it1 and those that have got the ,evil ,eye cannot help it4 ,they sometimes do harm with their eye when they do not intend it1 and even when they do not know that they are doing it40 ,this seems a thoroughly rooted idea in ,islay1 and a ,tiree man informs us that there it is also thought that injury by an ,evil ,eye is involuntary on the part of the person who has such an eye1 and not necessarily malicious or intended4 ,this is also met with as a belief in ,arran1 and a reciter there tells of a minister in the ,parish of ,kilmory who had the ,evil ,eye in spite of himself1 and if he looked on his own cattle or horses they were sure to be ill after4 ,other cases are mentioned1 and one of our reciters told how a man1 while resident in the south of the island1 and fond of fine cattle1 in the place where he was well known and respected had never been suspected of the ,evil ,eye1 but removing to the ,whiting ,bay district1 where he was among strangers1 suspicion of the ,evil ,eye attached to him and remained with him to the day of his death4 ,in these two last cases1 in speculating upon the cause of the accusation1 it seems quite probable that the minister1 being occupied with his own special duties1 rarely regarded the state of his beasts1 and only took notice of them under exceptional circumstances1 and coincidence had connected his inspection of them and their illnesses4 ,the other evidently was an amateur with an eye to beauty in others' cattle1 and probably had unfortunately expressed approval before subsequent misfortune4 ,one notorious incident was undoubtedly enough to set the report going1 and all know the results of giving a lie half-an-hour's start4 ,,evil ,,eye ,,takes ,,effect ,,even ,,on ,,things ,,not ,,seen ,there is one simple way of keeping your property safe from the ,evil ,eye3 viz41 by not letting it be known that you have what may be affected4 ,a certain ,d4 ,mac,f41 who knew that his neighbour was crediting his ,evil ,eye with having spoiled a churning1 was standing in the back-yard when the woman who suspected him was milking her cow4 ,she1 having finished1 should have passed him with her milk to carry it in by the door1 but on seeing him she started1 and instead of coming forward1 passed the pitcher of milk in by a little window on the back wall of the house1 and then walked forward and went in at the door1 passing ,mac,f4 ,he concluded that her object was to keep the milk out of his sight lest he should hurt it4 ,mac,f4 disavows the possession of any power of the kind4 ,another reciter mentions that a certain ,calum ,ban1 having the name of the ,evil ,eye1 others kept things out of his sight for fear that he might hurt them4 ,the mere preventing the eye resting on the thing to be affected would1 however1 have been quite insufficient1 according to one reciter1 a native of ,bernera 7,harris74 ,she told of one1 recognised as possessing an ,evil ,eye1 that he was sure to covet everything in the possession of his neighbours1 and consequently 8those nearest ,r4 were very unfortunate40 ,his influence was understood to extend beyond what he actually saw1 and therefore even hearing about things was kept from him4 ,on one occasion the young daughter of ,r4's neighbour set eggs under two hens1 and being considered 8lucky10 having usually been successful1 she expected two good broods4 ,in the interval she mentioned what she had done in the hearing of ,r4's daughter4 ,when the time came not a single chicken appeared out of the two settings4 ,her mother then said she would put eggs below the hens1 but warned all in the house to be sure and not tell that they were there4 ,this was done1 the hens being kept carefully concealed1 and full and thriving broods were got4 ,an old man now dead1 a crofter who could read1 who was strongly superstitious1 telling his stories with great gusto1 and reliable1 is the authority for the following1 which shows how the superstitions of others were played on4 ,in the time when ploughs were made of wood of a home manufacture1 the farmer in ,octofad brought home a new one4 ,one day1 using the new plough1 coming round at the end of a furrow1 the plough was broken in two4 ,the man between the stilts and the man leading the horses threw the blame of the carelessness on one another4 ,at last the latter proposed that if the ploughman would leave to him to tell the old man 7the farmer7 how it happened1 and if he would not say a word at all in the matter1 he believed that he would be able to put it past 7a chuir seachad7 right enough4 ,the ploughman agreed4 ,they took the horses home1 and when the farmer made his appearance looking displeased 7coslas gu math crosda air71 the lad began his tale4 8,de ach am beist duine sin tha ann ,c4 aig am bheil an droch shuil4 ,thainig e an rathad far an robh sin a treabhadh1 agus on a bhios a shuil aige anns gach ni a chi e1 thoisich e air a bhi moladh nan each agus a chrann2 agus cha robh e tiota air falbh1 nuair a chaidh a' chrann ann an da leth40 78,what but that beast of a man that is in ,c41 who has the ,evil ,eye4 ,he came the way where we were ploughing1 and since he will have his eye in everything he sees1 he began praising the horses and the plough1 and he was no time gone when the plough went in two halves407 ,the lad's forecast was correct4 ,his master's eye lost its gloom1 and shaking his hand to them1 he said3 8,never mind1 never mind2 put in the horses1 and do not say a word about it to anybody in case he may do more harm4 ,if the horses are safe1 we will not be long in dressing the plough40 ,it is perfectly clear that an interesting instance of the influence of the ,evil ,eye was established here1 so far as the farmer was concerned1 and doubtless the belief in it generally owes not a little to equally fanciful stories4 ,,moral ,,source ,,of ,,the ,,evil ,,eye ,though the action of the ,evil ,eye is accepted as involuntary1 in the majority of cases1 this is not the accepted doctrine in all districts4 ,from ,ross-shire 7,strathpeffer7 a reciter says3-- 8,it is a power which they are in some cases supposed to exercise involuntarily1 but oftener intentionally and with mischievous design40 ,from somewhat the same locality1 ,dores 7near ,inverness71 a reciter 8thinks that the involuntary kind that is often met with in certain other parts of the ,highlands is not recognised1 but in every case in which injury arises from an ,evil ,eye1 it is to be referred to active covetousness and greed of gain at other people's expense40 ,but even in ,kintyre1 where the involuntary action is accepted1 a native tells us3 8,i believe in what people call the ,evil ,eye1 and ,i have known very many who believed in it just as much as ,i do2 not that every man has it1 for there are only some that ,i would be afraid of4 ,if ,i see a man that thinks highly of what belongs to himself1 and would not exchange it with any man1 that is the man ,i would like to have dealings with1 for although he might do injury to himself1 or to any living thing he might possess1 he would do no harm to another4 ,if ,i saw a man envying everything he saw1 and thinking what belonged to other people was better than what belonged to himself1 ,i would be afraid of that man1 and if ,i had cattle ,i would not like him to come among them1 for if he came ,i would be sure something would happen40 ,a ,mull woman said3 8,cronachadh is quite common4 ,it is done usually by a person that has an ,evil ,eye4 ,it is just an eye with great greed and envy40 ,an ,islay man says3 8,tha cronachadh ann4 ,se #8n droch cridhe tha dol thun na sul1 agus a' deanadh droch suil40 78,cronachadh exists4 ,it is the evil heart going to the eye and causing an ,evil ,eye407 ,the suggestion thus is that an ,evil ,eye is but the result of the natural man who has not rooted out of his nature what is forbidden in the ,tenth ,commandment1 and so a native of ,ross-shire 7,tarbat7 shows how strong the belief was that mischief might come 8through the ,evil ,eye or ill wish of another40 ,a certain aunt of his formed a strong dislike to him when he was a boy1 simply because it was known that his grandfather favoured him to the disadvantage of this aunt1 as she thought1 and he well remembered how anxious his mother was for a long time1 lest the aunt's known ill-will should cause some blight to come on him4 ,the following from ,islay shows that though the belief there that it is involuntary is strongly held1 those who have the power may exercise it deliberately4 8,there was a woman in ,islay who had a sow that had a litter of young pigs4 ,one morning a neighbour came to her1 and seeing the teapot at the fire1 asked if she would give her a drop of the tea4 ,this was given to her4 ,she then said1 #8,you have fine young pigs there4' #8,yes1 but they are all sold1' answered the other4 ,with that the visitor turned towards the door to go1 and said1 #8,well1 you sold a pig to me that died4' ,that was all that passed1 and she went her way2 but the following morning two of the pigs were dead1 and the owner was quite certain that the woman had done the mischief4 ,the reciter who gives the information is of the same opinion1 and he adds that it was an unkind thing to do on a poor woman40 ,the strength of the ,evil ,eye1 according to some1 is to be gauged by the following remark by an old man3 8,b'abhaist gu'm biodh e air a radh le sean daoine1 gun sgoilteadh an t-suil sanntach eadhon na creagan fein o cheile40 78,it used to be said by old people that the greedy eye would split asunder the very rocks407 ,another says cronachadh is just envy1 and it is said that envy will break the very stones4 ,a man who wishes to have everything for himself will do harm to whatever he sees4 ,,things ,,that ,,specially ,,attract ,a woman of twenty-eight1 whose information is quite reliable1 the daughter of a respectable man in one of the inner islands1 remembers when young people talked a great deal about these things1 and many were very much afraid of them4 8,the idea was that it was always the best and prettiest of beast or body that was most liable to be injured by a bad eye4 ,her youngest brother was awfully pretty when a child4 ,they used to have him dressed in a red frock and white pinny1 and with his fair skin1 fair curly hair1 and red cheeks1 he was the nicest-looking child in all the place4 ,many a time1 when my father would take him out1 the neighbours would be warning him to take good care lest some one might do the child harm1 and some would advise my father to go in and take the frock and pinny off him1 so that he might not draw one's attention so much40 ,from ,ross-shire we hear the same thing4 ,a native 8remembers when he was young1 people believed in the ,evil ,eye and were afraid of it40 ,it was supposed that pretty children were specially liable to be injured by it1 and it was a common device with some mothers1 in circumstances where there was any suspicion of danger1 to take care that at least some article of the child's dress would be at fault1 either in respect of neatness or cleanness1 or better still1 to have one of the child's stockings turned outside in when being worn4 ,these were supposed to form a protection to the child against injury4 ,the reciter remembers quite well a woman who in her own person and house was the pink of neatness1 but full of superstition1 and he cannot remember ever having seen her children without something untidy about them4 ,always a stocking or something else wrong on1 and this was done intentionally by their mother to keep away the ,evil ,eye4 ,a native of ,bernera 7,harris7 testified3 8,when a person appears well dressed and good-looking1 it is supposed that she is in danger of being affected by the ,evil ,eye4 ,a recommendation in such a case is to wear some article of clothing with the wrong side out1 as a preventative of harm40 ,an old man of eighty-seven1 uneducated1 but full of information1 somewhat difficult to understand from the loss of his teeth and the weakness of his voice1 telling his experiences in the most pathetic manner1 said3 8,bu nighean a' cheud duine cloinne bha riomh agam1 agus bha deigh mhor agam oirre4 ,ach de thachair1 ach latha bha #8n sin1 bha i amach aig taobh an tighe1 agus bha neach a' dol seachad aig an robh droch shuil1 agus chaidh an droch shuil anns an leanabh1 agus bha i air a chronachadh4 ,o'n am sin chaidh an creatur air a h-ais co mor gus aig a cheann mu dheireadh cha robh i air a cumail beo ach le beagan fion a bha air a chuir ann a beul le spain ti40 78,the first one of my family was a daughter4 ,she was a pretty child1 and ,i was very fond of her4 ,but what happened but a day that was there1 she was out at the side of the house and a person passed who had an ,evil ,eye1 and the ,evil ,eye went into the child and she was injured4 ,from that time the creature went back so much1 until at last she was only kept alive by a little wine put into her mouth with a teaspoon407 8,when people had occasion to go to farmer ,r4's house1 having children with them1 they contrived to put some attractive article of clothing on the children1 so that the gay clothes might divert his eye from the wearers and save them from injury40 ,a native of ,knockando 7,elgin7 says that there is an impression that the young1 either of man or beast1 are very liable to receive injury from an ,evil ,eye fastening upon them1 if that should be the first eye that sees them after their birth4 ,this belief makes people take great care often to secure that any one supposed to possess an ,evil ,eye will not be the first to see an infant immediately after birth1 or any other young animal4 ,using short texts separated from the context leads undoubtedly to misapprehensions on the part of the unlearned4 ,in ,isaiah xiii4 #ah1 he says of the ,medes1 alluding to physical injury alone1 8their eye shall not spare children40 ,that text has influenced not a few4 ,without any suspicion of the owner of a beast having the ,evil ,eye himself1 his desire to retain it is supposed to render it specially liable to the evil influence of any one possessed of the power4 ,a ,kinlochbervie man remembers well how very common1 in his youth1 was belief in the ,evil ,eye1 and vividly recalls the terror his mother had when any unknown vagrant came the way1 lest1 being possessed of an ,evil ,eye1 he might leave a blight on the house or anything belonging to it4 ,she would give almost anything they might ask so as to get them away in a good mood4 ,,strangers ,,specially ,,liable ,,to ,,be ,,accused ,,of ,,the ,,possession ,,of ,,the ,,evil ,,eye ,acquaintances might be divided into two classes4 ,the ,evil ,eyes and the ,non-,evil ,eyes4 ,precautions should be taken against the former1 and with them it was safe to class strangers4 ,the daughter of a tradesman1 a clever1 intelligent woman1 a farmer's wife1 whose husband's people and her own mother are very superstitious1 having moved from one district to another1 her new neighbours1 not long after she had came to live beside them1 lost a number of geese4 ,the owners made a great 8ado10 and the position they took up relative to our reciter1 the suspected one1 was3 8,faicibh fein an droch shuil tha aice4 ,cha deachaidh na geoidh air seachran riomh roimhe1 ach ghabh iad fuath #8nuair a' dh' amhairc ise orra40 78,see for yourself the ,evil ,eye she had2 the geese never before wandered1 but took fright when she looked at them407 ,the owners of these geese seem to have had a very lively faith in the ,evil ,eye4 ,the collector having mentioned the experience to another neighbour1 she said3 8,that's not so bad as ,i got4 ,i went to inquire for a friend if they would sell a goose4 ,they said they would not sell1 and there was no harm in that2 but shortly after all the geese flew away1 and if ,i did not catch it4 ,they were in a fearful rage1 blaming me for putting my ,evil ,eye in them4 ,another time their hens ceased laying1 and they blamed my eye for that also40 ,it is scarcely to be wondered at1 the jealous ascription of the ,evil ,eye to strangers1 though ,highland publications speak largely of the noble characteristics of ,highlanders at large1 and the writer is the last man to deny them credit due4 ,it must be confessed there is a large quantity of a #8parochial' feeling of jealousy in the ,highlands generally4 ,it is not necessary to go into the question whether this is or is not the modern aspect of previous district quarrels4 ,tramps trade upon this fear of strangers in other ,gaelic places than the ,scottish ,highlands4 ,a minister relates the following1 which came under his own observation in ,antrim4 ,a tramp was passing a house1 and he went and asked the housewife for a drink of milk4 ,she said she had no milk1 but the tramp was sure she had1 but did not want to part with it4 ,he said1 8,oh1 very well1 ,i'll take a drink of water1 and let what will happen to the cows40 ,this was enough2 she was sure that this was a challenge that he would have the milk in spite of her1 so she repented and gave him as good a drink of milk as he could wish for1 no doubt in this way escaping evil consequences4 ,,people ,,should ,,give ,,when ,,asked ,the danger of refusing a request is great1 not so much from the purely ,christian-charity point of view1 as from that of escaping the ,evil ,eye4 ,a native of ,knapdale1 a believer1 tells of a woman notorious in that neighbourhood4 ,she went to a farmer for a barrel of potatoes1 which he refused her4 ,no more was said1 but she had not long gone when the best horse he had fell down and could not rise4 ,it was foaming at the mouth4 ,a man skilled in counteracting the ,evil ,eye was consulted1 and declared that the horse had been injured by it4 ,having been informed by the farmer that he had refused to give a barrel of potatoes to the woman1 he said it was that that had done the harm4 ,his advice was a little peculiar1 not in that he recommended the sending the potatoes to the woman1 but that they should be sent on the injured horse1 with evidently a view to its cure4 ,the potatoes were got into a bag1 the bag lifted on the horse's back1 and away it went quite briskly1 and they were delivered at the woman's house1 and thereafter the horse was quite well4 ,drovers are not1 of course1 complete strangers in the districts in which they do business1 but as a class they are looked on with some suspicion4 ,thus we are told1 8,some drovers are possessed of the ,evil ,eye1 and in consequence it is reckoned foolish not to sell any animals to them if they appear anxious to have them40 ,the reciter's father had a good cow1 and some drovers coming about wanted to buy her4 ,his father refused to sell4 ,the drovers persisted1 but still met with a refusal4 ,at last the drovers left1 but shortly after the cow sickened1 died1 and nothing remained of her value to the owner but her skin4 ,a parallel case was mentioned as happening in ,islay4 8,i remember it was a few days before the market a man came the way and wanted to buy a beast from ,a4 ,mc,i4 ,the drover was very anxious to get it1 but they would not sell4 ,the drover left1 and before the sun went down that evening that beast was dead and buried4 ,the reciter of this1 a man of about fifty and a good workman1 living by himself1 is a piper1 and possibly the addition of the beast's hurried burial may be the result of a natural tendency to #8blow1' as they say4 ,anyhow1 the piper said that it was believed that it was the drover's eye that had killed the cow40 ,another reciter tells that a farmer in ,islay had two good horses which some dealers wished to buy4 ,the farmer would not sell either1 and the following day one of them died4 ,it was believed to be a case of ,evil ,eye4 ,the risk of refusing purchasers is not solely in the case of drovers4 8,many are of opinion that it is risky for a person to refuse to sell any animal he may have to any one who shows a great desire to purchase it2 some would sell at a sacrifice rather than run the risk4 ,a native of ,killean1 ,kintyre1 tells of a fine cow his father had1 and on which the family set a considerable value4 ,a man who had known something about the cow came all the way from ,campbeltown purposely to buy her1 but the owner declined to sell her4 8,if he did1 he hardly got any good of her thereafter1 for in a short time she became unwell1 and lingering for a time1 died4 ,the neighbours thought it was a real case of ,evil ,eye40 ,from the mainland of ,argyllshire a lady relates3 8,an uncle had a farm five miles from ,oban4 ,a neighbour on his way to attend a funeral1 thinking her uncle might drive along with him1 called4 ,as he was passing the cow-fold the calves were being let out to their mothers1 and one of the cows had a beautiful calf4 ,the neighbour fixed his eyes on them and kept looking at and admiring them4 ,he then asked her uncle if he would sell him the calf1 but the proprietor refused1 saying he did not intend to sell either cow or calf4 ,that very week the calf was dead1 and they never doubted but that it was the man's ,evil ,eye that had killed it40 ,a native of ,applecross in ,ross-shire told he had bought a fine horse1 but before the purchase another man had been looking at it and been very anxious to have it1 and praised it as a splendid beast4 ,it was not long in the reciter's possession until it had some complaint from which it died4 ,the people--the reciter does not himself say he shares the feeling--believe that it was killed by the ,evil ,eye1 for it had been known to everybody how anxious the disappointed man had been to get it1 and how highly he had spoken of it4 ,,symptoms ,,in ,,animals ,,ascribed ,,to ,,effect ,,of ,,evil ,,eye ,one naturally asks what are the symptoms which1 when present in animals1 have given rise to the supposition that they were affected by the ,evil ,eye4 ,a woman gives the following account of what happened to her mother4 ,she had been married very young1 and was sitting by the fire suckling her first child with her breasts bare4 ,the child had fallen asleep on her left arm4 8,my mother heard something behind her1 and when she turned her head1 there was a tall1 grey-haired1 ill-favoured-looking woman standing4 ,my mother got up hurriedly1 and having a great deal of milk1 the milk spouted from her right breast into the fire4 ,the cailleach gave an unpleasant laugh and said1 #8,the milk has gone along with the pee4' ,my mother answered pleasantly enough1 #8,oh no1 the milk and pee will be all right1' and gave the cailleach what she wanted4 ,she was a ,tiree cailleach1 and they were all looked upon as being bad ones4 ,the next time my mother was going to give her baby a drink she found she had not a drop of milk for him4 ,the baby was crying1 and when he would cry she would cry too1 and what was to be done8 ,this state of things lasted for a day1 and my father then went for assistance from a person supposed to be skilled40 ,the expression used by the ,tiree woman was understood by the reciter to mean the milk that should have nourished the child was to turn into water in the mother's system1 and be so discharged4 ,yawning has been ascribed to the effect of the ,evil ,eye4 ,an ,islay man said3 8,bha piuthair aig an te nach maireann agus bha i cho boidheach 'sa chunnaic sibh riomh4 ,aon uair thainig boireannach a stigh agus thoiseach i air a chaileag a mholadh gu ro mhor4 ,well1 cha robh a bhean sin ach gann air dol amach nur a thoiseach a chaileag air meunanaich1 agus cha robh fad gus an robh i cho dona agus gun robh iad a saoilsinn gum bitheadh i air falbh40 78,my late wife had a sister1 and she was as pretty as ever you saw4 ,once a woman came in and commenced praising the girl excessively4 ,well1 scarcely was that woman gone out of the house when the girl began to yawn1 and it was not long till she was so bad that they thought that she would be away 7die7407 ,in the case of a child which was quite quiet and looking well1 with the mother sitting nursing it1 a neighbouring woman1 who is not much liked in the place1 came in4 ,she sat a little while1 and was no time away until the child began to cry4 ,it cried long and bitterly1 and its mother got into a fearful state1 protesting of the other woman3 8,co fior's tha mi beo1 chronaich i mo phaisde0 78,as true as ,i am alive she injured my child074 ,it is interesting to note that in this case 8a little white powder0 prescribed by a qualified practitioner counteracted that ,evil ,eye4 ,another case in which a child was ill was told as follows3--,a woman went to inquire after a man who had just lost his wife in the ,low ,country1 and brought their child home to his relations4 ,she was told that the child was 8not but poorly40 8,what is the matter with him80 ,i asked4 ,my informant answered me1 that his mother had been sitting at the fire and the child in her bosom1 when two women came to ask for the child's father4 ,the child was quite well and brisk when they came in1 but before they went away he began to cry and groan4 8,he was quite sure10 he said1 8that one or other of them had injured the child1 but why they should do that he did not know1 for they both had families of their own40 ,this case was cured by an unlicensed practitioner4 ,the following is from a woman of her own experience in the case of her own son4 ,she told that his sister went out with him one day to a neighbour's house4 ,he was sitting in her lap1 when the neighbour's daughter called her mother's attention to the white beauty of the child's legs4 ,the mother agreed1 and something more was said praising the child1 and he then got a drink of milk4 ,well1 as soon as he took the milk1 he began as if he were singing1 8,do re do1 do re do40 ,this he continued to do for a good while1 and was very fretful4 ,this child was cured by a magic thread which stopped the 8humming40 ,cattle1 in popular belief1 are much more liable to damage from the ,evil ,eye than other animals1 judging from the greater number of instances related of it in their case4 8,two of ,m4 ,mc,n4's cattle died within a short time of each other1 and all the old people of the place persisted in saying they were injured by some ,evil ,eye40 ,a reciter told of her mother1 who had married the elder of two brothers occupying a farm in common1 getting the credit of the ,evil ,eye because1 shortly after her marriage1 the cattle on the farm 8began to die right away40 ,in the following case motive is given1 and if any overt act of a magical nature had been said to occur1 it would certainly have to be classified as witchcraft1 but seeing there is no such history1 it is one of those cases in which the action of an ,evil ,eye was evidently not supposed to be involuntary4 ,the heir to a tenant who had fallen into arrears1 having paid what was owing1 got possession from the superior4 ,meanwhile a woman had been living in the house4 ,she was warned to leave1 but paid no heed to the warning1 and it became necessary to turn her out by force4 ,she got shelter from a relative near by1 while the new tenant went to live in the house from which she had been ejected4 8,but if he did1 he soon suffered for it1 for he was not long there until he had lost nine of his cattle by death1 and he and every one else believed that they had been 8air an cronachadh0 by the woman from spite4 ,there are no symptoms recounted in these general losses4 ,more rarely than of cows1 we hear of stirks being affected4 ,this is rather an old story1 and the authority for this is the reciter's father1 who told it of his own father4 ,he was at market in ,stratherrick1 and refused to part1 after considerable bargaining1 with a stirk he had to a would-be buyer4 8,before the market-day closed1 down fell the stirk on the ground and nothing could make it get up40 ,in a quite recent case1 however1 a stirk1 said to be affected by the ,evil ,eye1 8was very ill2 its horns were quite cold1 and it could not eat anything4 ,the beast recovered40 ,by far most commonly1 evil from a 8bad eye0 comes to cows4 ,a reciter tells of an instance that occurred to himself1 where in a farm previously occupied1 his mother had a particularly good cow4 8,one day my sister was in a neighbour's house1 and she was telling the woman about the lot of milk this cow had4 ,the next day when my mother went out at the usual hour to milk the cow1 she had scarcely begun when this woman passed close to where she was milking4 ,well1 not a drop of milk could my mother get from that cow4 ,the cow became suddenly unwell and fell to the ground4 ,the skin came off her udder and not a bit of skin was on it after that4 ,there was not the least doubt but that it was the other woman that had injured her40 ,a native of ,skye1 in whose younger days the belief in the ,evil ,eye was very common there1 and who remembers seeing 8a general turn up0 in the township in which she was brought up1 caused by the alleged effect of one person's ,evil ,eye upon the cattle of the neighbours1 tells how her father had a fine ,ayrshire cow4 ,she was such a good milker that it was necessary to milk her three times every day4 8,all of a sudden her milk left her1 and they never could account for it1 except on the supposition of the action of an ,evil ,eye1 and in fact were quite sure that this was the case40 ,the reciter of the following says she remembers a ,sutherlandshire minister telling it to her mother4 ,he said that one time his cows were not giving the right milk4 ,the milk was more like water than milk1 and as for butter1 not a bit could he get1 no matter how well it might be churned4 ,the minister here1 on the advice of his housekeeper1 resorted to witchcraft for a cure4 ,another reciter says3 8,when my sister and myself were lumps of lasses we were down the road one day with a cow of my father's4 ,when we brought her home the milk was running from her1 and she lay down on the floor and she wouldn't rise4 ,when they tried to put her up she would make as if she would climb up the wall40 ,in fact1 as another reciter in ,rothiemurchus said3 8,it used to be a very common experience to have cows going off their milk1 and sometimes dying from the effects of a person possessed of an ,evil ,eye looking upon them1 and it is still believed that cases of this kind happen40 ,a cow that was 8kicking and would let nobody milk her10 being cured by one of the processes against the ,evil ,eye1 the cure was understood to certify the diagnosis4 ,mrs4 ,mc,n4 was milking her cow4 ,a woman passing at the time remarked1 looking at the cow the while1 8,that is a grand cow1 and she gives a great deal of milk40 8,yes1 she is a good cow10 replied the owner1 and the woman having passed on there was no more about it1 until a little while after the milking was done the cow lay down on the ground and began to roll in great pain4 ,there never was any doubt but that it was a case of injury by the ,evil ,eye4 ,the cow was cured by magic4 ,another cow 8grew to be unwell1 and she was rolling herself upon the ground40 ,she was so unwell that the schoolmaster1 who was a great friend of her owner's1 advised him to send for a man to flay her4 ,she recovered4 ,of course a recognised wizard may have the ,evil ,eye as much as a more innocent person4 ,the reciter of this1 a credulous man1 no doubt1 and uneducated1 with the gift of the gab and a good deal of natural shrewdness1 a distillery workman1 is detailing his own experience4 8,the cows were all tied in the byre1 and we were looking in the window and saw the ,buidseach ruadh 7the red wizard7 standing at the byre door4 ,the door was in two halves1 the upper half was open at the time1 the lower closed1 and he was leaning on it and gazing with all his might at one of the cows4 ,the kitchen was at the end of the byre1 and they always came straight down from the kitchen when they were going to milk4 ,the women just came down then1 and when they came to the cow that he had been looking at1 not a drop of milk could they get4 ,when they untied her to let her out she gave a loud bellow1 and running up by the kitchen door made for the fire and tried to go up by the chain through the roof of the house4 ,they had nothing for it but tie her up again1 and for some days they did not get a drop of milk from her1 and her skin became so loose on her it looked as if hardly sticking to her flesh at all4 ,when the day for churning came they found the butter was gone also40 ,a ,kintyre man recites the following of an authority consulted for the cure of the ,evil ,eye4 8,her cow1 put out for the first time after calving1 became wild and jumped against everything like to kill herself4 ,there was nothing for it but just to put her back into the house4 ,everybody was sure the beast had been air a cronachadh by some person's ,evil ,eye1 or bewitched by witchcraft4 ,when the woman to whom the cow belonged came to know of it she came up1 and going up to the cow1 gave her a clap or two on the back1 said something1 and in a minute or two the cow was as quiet as she had ever been40 ,a farmer of the name of ,m4 had the farm of ,b41 near ,campbeltown4 ,he had a favourite cow which he would not part with for anything4 ,some drovers wished to buy this cow1 but ,m4 refused1 and though the drovers persisted1 he would not part with her4 ,they went to the cow and began to soothe and fondle her4 ,when they left the cow began to go about in a circle1 and could not be got out of that circle4 ,at length the farmer was forced to kill her4 ,this was told by an educated and reliable gentleman1 without prejudice1 so to say1 to his belief or disbelief in the origin of the illness4 ,one is apt to smile at any one talking of an animal going up the chimney by the pot chain2 frightened animals do curious things4 ,the writer of this1 having opened the window in the parlour widely1 the door being shut to prevent it going into the house1 was trying to drive out a strange cat4 ,there was a lighted fire in the chimney1 but the cat1 without trying the window1 went up the chimney4 ,the fire being damped down and a dustpan put on the top of it1 the cat returned to civilisation1 and then disappeared through the window4 ,one other symptom comes from the ,black ,isle1 ,ross-shire4 ,h4 says that belief in the ,evil ,eye was very common in his native place1 and has a good hold still on people's minds4 ,it was said to do injury to beasts1 in many ways1 among others that they could be blinded by it4 ,his father had a striking case while living in the ,parish of ,redcastle4 ,one of his cows died of what was considered a natural trouble1 no ,evil ,eye influence being thought of4 ,he had a quey grazing on the farm of a friend on the opposite side of the ,beauly ,firth1 so he went for her and brought her home by ,kessock ,ferry1 where some people examined her and admired her4 ,she was a dun1 and a fine-looking animal4 ,having reached home the quey was tied in the byre1 apparently in good health4 ,they however soon noticed that she had a habit of standing back in her stall to the full extent of the tether rope1 and do what they would they could not get her to stand forward4 ,a woman with knowledge of ,evil ,eye cases was consulted4 ,after examining the beast in the byre by herself she told them the quey was blind1 because some one's eye had fallen on her4 ,she recommended the following procedure to cure the animal and find out who had done the injury4 ,she was to be let out and1 no one going before her or trying to turn her1 allowed to go where she liked4 ,if this were done she said the quey would1 of her own accord1 go to the house of the person who had made her blind1 and that she would go three times round the house bellowing1 and then come back to her own byre quite well with recovered sight4 ,this procedure was carried out4 ,she went straight for a neighbour's house1 went round it three times1 bellowed1 and came back quite well and seeing4 ,the reciter added1 8,now the woman that could do that and find out things of that kind must have had some power herself1 quite as much as the one whose eye had fallen upon the heifer40 ,the reciter of the above is an uneducated man1 and superstitious in other ways4 ,a believer1 a native of ,knapdale1 tells the following4 ,for a considerable time none of her cows had quey calves1 but at length she got one1 a nice beast1 of which she was particularly careful4 ,when it was first let out she went herself to watch it4 ,at that time she had a neighbour who had an ill-will to her1 although they were on speaking terms1 though without having much to do with each other4 ,while she was watching the calf this neighbour came out of her own house1 and putting her hands on each of her sides1 stood and gazed for a few seconds at the calf4 ,while she was staring at it the calf gave a #8loup1' rushed as if it were mad through the place1 and when1 with a deal of difficulty it had been caught and put into the byre1 it kept leaping straight up1 and seemed as if it could not rest4 ,the person consulted said he could do nothing in the case1 and that it was ill from the other woman looking at it4 ,subsequently she had two more quey calves of which she was very proud and pleased to have them1 and as they were grazing in a park near the road1 many people admired them4 ,one day the same objectionable neighbour went1 and placing her two arms on the dyke1 stared at the calves for some time4 8,i saw her with my own eyes and did not like it1 but said nothing40 ,not long after her daughter came in and said that the white calf was lying dead among the nettles4 8,on hearing this ,i trembled1 but spoke quite calmly and said1 #8,is it8'0 ,on examination1 sure enough the calf was dead1 and the other was ill also4 ,she consulted a skilled woman1 and the remaining calf got better4 ,this reciter added that since then she had lost beasts through the same person's ,evil ,eye1 and is in terror when she sees her coming about the house4 ,a woman who lived on ,loch ,awe-side1 who was believed to have the ,evil ,eye1 and whose father was also credited with it1 was exchanging brood hens with a neighbour4 ,she brought her own hen1 and was going to take away the one to be exchanged4 ,in the absence of the mistress1 the girl who was keeping the house was going to give the cow a drink1 and the woman accompanied her4 ,there was nothing wrong with the cow then1 but later in the day the cow's calf died1 and the cow herself began to take some kind of fits1 and though she lived for a while never got well4 ,when night came the hens were crowing1 and next morning two of them were found dead4 ,the hen that had been brought was put on the eggs1 but if she was1 it was not long that she remained on them4 ,she took to the hills and was never caught1 and all this was the consequence of the ,evil ,eye4 ,even more common than injury to cows and calves is the deterioration of milk4 ,mrs4 ,mc,l41 appealing to her husband for confirmation1 told how that in the winter-time she began to churn sometime after dark4 ,her husband helped her with it1 and they had just finished1 and she was going to stop and take off the butter1 when a young man came in4 ,when he went away she went back to her churn1 but not a bit of butter could she get4 ,to gather it she took another turn of churning1 but the milk only swelled and went over the churn mouth4 ,the butter was all gone4 ,it was this young man's ,evil ,eye4 ,another nearly similar case to the above1 and they could be considerably added to1 happened to the mother of the reciter1 who was churning1 and a woman1 supposed to possess an ,evil ,eye1 and also suspected of a measure of witchcraft1 coming in1 8the butter got scattered into a kind of grainy substance1 and do what she would the churner could not get it to gather again40 ,horses1 of course1 are liable to the malign influence of the ,evil ,eye4 ---- had a nice white horse which he used to lend on hire to the minister4 ,it was much admired1 and one day when it came home a neighbour1 who bore the owner no goodwill1 came forward and1 standing beside the horse1 said in ,gaelic1 8,you have got fine limbs20 he then walked away4 ,shortly afterwards the horse threw itself down on the ground and kicked as if in great pain4 ,it was at first supposed to be an attack of colic1 and the son walked it out a little1 but so soon as it entered the stable it fell down and was like to die4 ,a woman with skill being consulted1 cured the horse and confirmed their suspicion of it being a case of ,evil ,eye4 ,ministers' horses do not escape any more than those of laymen4 ,a ,mull woman related the following3--,the minister1 whose grave you may see there1 had a fine horse4 ,his man had it out ploughing1 and without previous illness or warning of any kind1 it fell down and could not plough another furrow4 ,the minister came to see it4 8,a mhinistear1 tha an t-each air a chronachadh4 ,feumaidh mi dhol airson eolas a chronachaidh40 8,eisd1 eisd1 cha dean thu sin4 ,tha fios agad nach eil mise a' creidsinn ann a leithid sin40 8,direach falbhaidh sibhse a steach1 agus managie mi fein an t-each40 78,minister1 the horse is air a cronachadh1 and ,i must go for eolas a chronachaidh40 8,hush1 hush1 you will not do that2 you know that ,i do not believe the like of that40 8,just you go in1 and ,i'll manage the horse myself407 ,we may finish the incident which tells how the minister did as was suggested1 and how1 as soon as he was out of sight1 off the lad set for what he considered skilled assistance4 ,having got it1 in less than three hours the horse was quite well and ploughing4 ,when the minister was again looking on1 the lad remarked on the rapid recovery from the process used1 but the minister was unconvinced4 8,cha'n eil mi dol a thoirt creideas da leithid sin idir40 ,thuirt an gille3 8,well1 tha mi fein #8s an t-each a' creidsinn ann40 78,i am not going to give credence to the like of that at all40 ,the lad replied3 8,well1 both ,i and the horse believe in it407 ,a like case4 8,you remember ,a4 ,b4 ,he had a braw mare2 everybody was praising her1 and there wasn't the likes of her to be seen about the place4 ,a man who was passing waited to look at her1 and praised her for being a splendid beast4 ,but if he did1 when she reached home she fell down and would neither rise nor eat40 ,mrs4 ,g4 said3 8,one of our horses1 a fine beast1 was going past the barn when all at once it fell on the ground4 ,they got it into the stable4 ,in a little time it could not move its body1 but was tossing its head from side to side and seemed to be in great pain4 ,it was striking its head on the ground so much that we thought it would kill itself40 ,a case in which the illness had lasted for some time before skilled advice was got1 is the following3 8,d4 ,d4's father-in-law had a horse unwell and not expected to recover4 ,it was lying in the stable quite stiff1 and had neither eaten nor drunk anything for some days40 ,a farmer who had two fine horses told the reciter to put the saddle on one of them and meet him on his way home from a visit he had to pay4 ,d4 ,mc,t41 as instructed1 saddled the better of the two horses and started to meet his father4 ,he was very careful1 leading the horse instead of riding it4 ,he met his father within three miles of home driving in a cart with a neighbour4 ,when they met1 his father said1 8,you have killed that beast4 ,why did you ride it so hard80 ,d4 told his father1 what was the fact1 that he had not ridden at all1 but walked all the way from home4 8,look at the horse10 said his father1 and the horse was pouring of sweat and trembling4 ,he turned home1 but could not keep up with the cart1 and only managed to make it crawl back with difficulty4 ,as soon as it was got into the stall1 it lay down and commenced kicking as if in great pain4 ,the horse was cured4 ,a man of whom we have already spoken as injuring animals with his ,evil ,eye unintentionally1 as a reciter tells us1 8was at this time threshing with my father4 ,they had no threshing-mill1 and did it all with flails4 ,one day my father had been out ploughing1 and had the best mare ever they had in the plough4 ,coming home1 he had to pass the barn to go to the stable1 and ,mc,a41 of the ,evil ,eye1 came to the door and looked after the mare4 ,that was enough2 before the mare reached the stable door she began to shake and tremble1 and it was with great difficulty they managed to get her into the stall4 ,they knew quite well what was the matter40 ,one other horse case4 ,the reciter says3 8,one ,sunday ,i was standing there on the little hill at ,c41 and ,i saw a man coming towards me from ,gartachara4 ,i knew the man and waited till he passed4 ,he went down to ,c4 ,i never thought of anything being wrong1 but when ,i turned down the way the man had come up1 what did ,i find but a beautiful brown horse ,i had at the time1 lying on his belly in the water where the horses used to take their drink4 ,he could not stand on his feet1 but ,i got help1 and we managed to get him into the kailyard1 where he lay groaning40 ,the horse recovered4 99 99 99 99 99 ,fowls are said to be affected4 ,a certain woman had been suspected of hindering the butter from coming at a churning4 ,the case was being reported to a collector1 when a bystander expressed doubts as to the existence of an ,evil ,eye4 ,the reciter then said that her own experience had proved the truth of the accusation in the case of this individual4 8,she was living for a year beside me1 and all that year1 although ,i had most beautiful hens1 they laid nothing but soft eggs4 ,they would be found in the mornings all scattered here and there on the floor4 ,indeed ,i thought they dropped more eggs than was natural4 ,it was only when talking about the hens to another neighbour that it was suggested to me that her ,evil ,eye was the cause4 ,then ,i knew that there would be no use keeping hens while that woman was beside me1 so ,i sold them all4 ,i got clear of her at the end of the year4 ,i never said anything to her about it1 for ,i was afraid40 ,the reciter of the following said that he was positively certain that the facts were as stated1 though it had not occurred to himself4 8,a certain man once called at a house1 and a beautiful brood of chickens were going about on the kitchen floor4 ,he was not right out when a stool fell on them and smothered every one of them4 ,from the kitchen he went to the byre1 and saw there a beautiful quey1 which he professed to admire very much4 ,he was not long gone when the quey became unwell40 ,the belief was firmly established that the chickens and the quey had been air an cronachadh4 ,a firm believer gives the following3--8,one time her mother had a brood of ducks1 and every time ,mrs4 ,mac4 came in she praised the ducks1 but meanwhile one after another was dying1 until at last only one remained4 ,one day this one was in the kitchen when ,mrs4 ,mac4 came in1 and she praised it as usual1 but when she was going away she tramped on it and killed it4 ,they were quite sure it was her ,evil ,eye that had been doing the mischief40 ,not only live fowls but even eggs may be injured4 ,b4 ,s41 a respectable girl1 a domestic servant1 able to read and write1 and quite reliable1 gives this as a sample4 ,she had bought some eggs1 and on bringing them home a neighbour woman was in the house and looked at the eggs4 ,she went away1 and afterwards some of the eggs were put on to boil4 ,although left on the fire for the usual time1 it was found they were not boiled enough1 and were returned to be further boiled4 ,one of them then cracked and sent the hot water in sparks in her face1 and the others were so broken that they were of no use4 ,the people in the house attributed the mishap to the woman who had been there when the eggs were brought in4 99 99 99 99 99 ,on considering the whole of these symptoms1 the principal thing that strikes one to be urged in excuse of the faith that is in the reciters is that what was wrong came on apparently suddenly1 in some cases after a visit from a person already suspected1 but as often as not it was the suddenness of the mishap which gave ground to the accusation of some probably entirely innocent passer-by4 ,unless faith in the ,evil ,eye were already present1 there seems hardly ground for any person with experience of cattle and their ailments to evolve a theory of the existence of any such latent power in the individuals accused4 ,so little critical people became1 that everything unexpected was referred to the ,evil ,eye4 ,as a ,kintyre man said1 8,if anything went wrong with the beef when the winter supply was cured1 it was attributed to the ,evil ,eye of some one or other40 ,,benefit ,,to ,,the ,,owner ,,of ,,an ,,evil ,,eye ,though in many cases involuntary1 it has been pointed out that some believe that individuals knowing or professing to know that they have an ,evil ,eye1 from sheer devilry1 exercise it to the injury of others1 though for no visible benefit to themselves4 ,a reliable and fairly educated woman1 whose father began life as a crofter and died what in that class of life is to be considered as a rich man1 a native of ,south ,uist1 relates3--,there was a woman near her father's house believed to have a very bad eye1 and to be able to do mischief with it4 ,her aunt was very careful as much as possible to keep out of this woman's sight1 and if she happened to come about at churning time her aunt would put the churn so that the woman would not see it4 ,she would not sell a pound of butter to her for any consideration4 ,the curious thing was that although that woman could take away the produce from other people's cows1 she seemed unable to make any profit of it for herself4 ,it was just her envious and malicious nature that made her take it 7the produce7 from other people1 although it was not going to benefit herself4 ,she was well known by all the people in the district1 and they all suspected her of the practice of witchcraft4 ,it was on account of this suspicion1 selling butter to her was objected to4 ,it is not necessary that the desire to possess something should be1 as it were1 illegitimate or unreasonable to cause damage4 ,thus ,m4 ,mac,l4 was relating how a neighbour's horse had died4 8,people say that it was blighted by the ,evil ,eye4 ,one of his sons had his eye in it1 for he expected to get it for himself1 but it took ill4 ,at first they thought it was going to get better1 for it was eating its food in the evening1 but on the following morning this son went out to the stable when he rose1 and found it lying down4 ,when it saw him it got up1 gave itself a shake1 and fell down dead40 ,there may be1 however1 indirect advantages from being credited by your neighbours with having an ,evil ,eye4 ,mrs4 ,mac,e41 a cottar1 lived on the farm of ,l4 in one of the inner isles4 ,she was believed to have had the ,evil ,eye very strongly1 and people would do almost anything rather than offend her1 so general was the impression that she could injure any person if she wished to do so4 ,the reciter served for some time on a farm that marched with hers1 and he says that when ,mrs4 ,mac,e4 came their way she could have almost whatever favour she chose to ask1 so much were they afraid of her ,evil ,eye4 ,he often heard his master remark that he would not incur her displeasure for almost any consideration1 in case she might do him injury4 ,,disadvantage ,,to ,,the ,,owner ,,of ,,an ,,evil ,,eye ,if in an indirect way1 as above pointed out1 some benefits may accrue to one credited with the ,evil ,eye1 it is also said that they may personally suffer serious loss4 ,an old ,islay woman who can read ,gaelic well1 intelligent and full of information1 says she knows for certain there are people who possess the ,evil ,eye4 ,she believes that it is not a matter of choice with them1 they cannot help it4 ,some even do harm to their own cattle4 ,r41 who was at one time in ,islay1 could not go into his own byre but one or other of the cattle would be ill after it4 ,this was so well known that a big dairymaid that he had engaged1 a north-country woman1 protested against his coming over the byre doorstep4 ,it was because he had such an envious eye that he did so much mischief4 ,another reciter tells us of the same farmer that they kept him in the house when his own cattle were being taken in from pasture1 in case by admiring them he might be the means of doing them an injury4 ,another man in the same island1 having got a first-prize animal1 said to the herd that he would go out to see it4 ,the herd1 fearing evil1 tried to dissuade him1 but he persisted in going4 ,shortly afterwards the animal died4 ,his neighbours used to hurry their cattle out of his sight when they saw him coming that way4 ,it was said he could not help it4 ,d4 ,c4 had the ,evil ,eye very powerfully4 ,on one occasion he went to examine some cattle he had newly bought1 and when he looked at them some of them fell down as if they would die4 ,the herd ran across the hill to a hamlet marching with ,d4 ,c4's farm and got a bottle of water from a skilled person4 ,when sprinkled on the cattle they at once recovered4 ,a man in ,bowmore went into his own byre one night when his cousin1 who lived with him1 was milking his cow4 ,he had a nice calf in the byre1 and he put his arms round its neck and began to praise it very much4 ,his cousin said to him it was not good to do that4 ,the next morning the calf was found dead1 an occurrence credited to his ,evil ,eye4 ,a native of ,mull avowed her firm belief in the ,evil ,eye1 especially quoting what her mother had told her of a large farmer where she had been brought up who owned a number of cattle1 and who had the ,evil ,eye4 8,every time that man went into his own byre the best of his cattle were sure to be unwell afterwards1 and they were often dying with him4 ,he could not help it4 ,at last he got a dairymaid who1 when she had become acquainted with his peculiarities1 would not allow him to go into the byre at all1 or near the cows4 ,she turned him back when she would see him coming40 ,exactly the same account of another farmer is given by a reciter in ,ross-shire in the parish of ,u----4 ,she knew him very well by sight1 having often seen him at markets1 and many times she had heard that he had the ,evil ,eye1 could not help it1 and often hurt his own cattle 8by thinking too highly of them40 ,this information was corroborated by another1 ,d4 ,mc,l41 who also knew the man by name and sight1 having served on a farm in the same district1 and he often heard of him hurting his own cattle4 ,of course the ,evil ,eye is as lively in ,ireland as on this side of ,st4 ,george's ,channel2 but the following experience of a native of county ,cork1 an educated1 reliable woman1 the wife of a member of the lower ranks of the ,civil ,service1 while staying in ,jura1 is interesting4 ,desiring a drink of water one day she called at a house1 the mistress of which met her at the door and invited her to come in to have a drink of milk4 ,when she went in she found a girl churning4 ,after sitting for a minute or two ,mrs4 ,m4 would have left1 but was urged to wait for a little to taste the new butter off the churn on a scone4 ,she sat a while1 and the girl continued at the churn1 evidently working as hard as she could1 perspiring1 and yet there were no signs of butter4 ,mrs4 ,m4 innocently remarked1 8,dear me1 ,i never thought churning was so difficult40 ,the woman and girl looked at each other1 but without speaking4 ,the girl continued churning1 until at last her mistress said1 8,you may put the churn past1 you will get no butter off it to-day40 ,shortly after ,mrs4 ,m4 left without having tasted the butter1 but beyond that thinking nothing of the circumstances4 ,about two months afterwards1 while walking in the same direction1 she called at the same house4 ,when going in she noticed the girl again at the churn1 but making a rush with it to the other end of the house4 ,mrs4 ,m4 observed1 8,oh6 ,mrs4 ,mac41 ,i hope ,i am not interfering with your work4 ,i see ,j4 going out of the way40 8,she is churning1 and is going away with the churn1 for the last time you were here she did not get one bit of butter off the churn40 8,i am sorry to hear that2 ,i am sure ,i did nothing to keep the butter from coming40 8,i do not know2 she got none at any rate1 that's all ,i can say40 ,of two women living beside each other in ,islay1 one was credited with the ,evil ,eye1 and supposed to take away the dairy produce from her neighbours4 ,one year her neighbour for a whole summer was unable to get a bit of butter from her churning4 ,her suspicion rested strongly on the other4 ,her account of it was as follows3 8,i tried everything4 ,they told me to put a horseshoe in the churn1 and ,i did that4 ,others told me to put salt in it1 and ,i did that1 but neither did any good4 ,i scrubbed and scrubbed the churn and the milk dishes1 but it was of no use4 ,the milk would only come up with a hissing sound4 ,i was even afraid to use the sour milk in baking scones1 for ,i was sure there was something not right about it4 ,the pig got fat that year1 for it was getting the most of the milk4 ,at last ,i consulted a neighbour1 and she told me just what ,i knew already1 that it was a bad woman beside me that was taking away the butter4 ,she advised me not to bother any more1 and to keep churning1 for the woman would stop her mischief by-and-by1 and then the butter would come back as it had gone4 ,i did as she told me1 and through time the butter came4 ,i was not speaking about it to any one1 for ,i did not want people to know ,i believed that she could do so much harm40 ,a well-educated small farmer's wife1 a woman of five-and-thirty1 knew a husband and wife who both possessed the ,evil ,eye4 ,they were quite aware themselves that they did1 and could not help it4 ,passing through a park where several colts were grazing1 one of which took their fancy1 they expressed their admiration of it4 ,that evening the colt took ill and never recovered4 ,one would think that a little consideration would have made it clear that with two in the same house equally unfortunate nothing they had could have succeeded with them1 and yet there was no account of this couple being in worse circumstances than their neighbours4 ,it certainly is a curious development1 the belief already alluded to of the injurious action of the ,evil ,eye of the farmer on his own stock4 8,w4 ,c4 was on intimate terms with a neighbouring farmer1 whom he visited frequently4 ,it was observed that if at any time he 7the farmer7 praised an animal1 something for certain happened to it afterwards4 ,on one occasion he talked admiringly of the poultry1 and shortly after all of them died40 ,another reciter said3 8,in our own time a farmer required to be kept from going among his own cattle1 lest by looking on them they should be injured40 ,these cases respectively were in ,islay and ,harris4 ,judging from personal experience of an old friend addicted to prophesying on his first appearance in the morning the sort of weather for the day1 the result being1 as we of a younger generation all believed1 almost invariably wrong1 it seems probable that these stories have arisen in connection with men who talked freely1 giving opinions based upon hurried observation4 ,where silence would have left no ground for animadversion the wordy man had his sayings remembered against him1 especially when he was wrong1 and the good beasts subsequently turned out failures1 as the fine days foretold were generally wet4 ,,consequence ,,of ,,direct ,,praise ,the mere expression of admiration should be avoided by those who wish to escape the accusation of the ,evil ,eye4 ,a youngish woman says1 8,you have seen my cousin ,j4's third boy4 ,he was the finest and nicest looking of all the children4 ,when six months old he was a very pretty child4 ,one day a woman came into the house2 the baby was on his mother's arm1 and the visitor began to praise the child1 and praised it very much4 ,she was hardly away when a man came1 and he began to praise the child as the woman had done4 ,after he went away like a shot the baby took ill4 ,they did not know what was the matter with him1 or what to do1 for he was growing worse4 ,he continued in that way for some days4 ,at last granny said she was sure he had been air a chronachadh1 and advised the mother to consult a woman who was supposed to have knowledge to cure such cases4 ,j4 was not willing to go at first1 but granny insisted that it would do no harm at any rate to go and speak to the woman4 ,she went1 but did not tell anybody at the time1 for of course they would be speaking about it4 ,as soon as she told the woman why she had come1 the woman told her that the child had been injured by the ,evil ,eye1 and she described exactly the man and woman who had done the harm1 although my cousin had not mentioned man or woman to her4 ,was it not wonderful how she knew the very ones that had done it80 ,she cured the child4 ,the above happened in one of the islands4 ,the following is from ,ross-shire 7,tarbat73 8,one of my sisters was blighted by a woman who lived beside them4 ,she was well known for her uncanny ways4 ,the way the thing happened was this3 ,the little girl was tied on an elder sister's back1 and they were sent out for a walk4 ,they had not gone far when the woman in question came forward1 and putting the shawl back from the child's face said1 #8,what a pretty little girl6 which of them is this8' ,when the children returned their mother found that the young one was very ill1 and on questioning the elder girl1 she said that they had met this woman and repeated what she had said4 ,mother at once suspected what was the matter1 sent for the woman1 and charged her with having hurt her child4 ,she protested that she had not done the child any injury1 but the elder girl spoke up and said1 #8,yes1 you looked at her and said she was pretty1 and did not bless her4' ,the woman admitted this1 and that if she had done any harm to the child she was sorry for it1 but it could be sorted if wrong had been done4 ,she operated a charm1 and the child was soon as brisk as ever40 ,a domestic servant relates that a woman who lived in ,kil ,c4 had a first-rate cow that was giving a large quantity of milk4 ,one evening when she was milking another woman came into the byre and began praising the cow1 and expressing her amazement at the quantity of milk she gave4 ,no more was thought of this1 till at next milking the cow did not give so much1 and continued to get worse4 ,it became evident that she had been injured by the person who had praised her so much4 ,a ,campbeltown man says1 8,i am sure ,i do not know about these things1 for ,i have never seen anything of it myself1 but ,i mind my neighbour over there1 ,d4 ,m41 saying to me one day not long ago1 that a woman was going past some time before that1 and she began to praise one of his cows1 saying what a grand udder she had and such fine teats4 ,no doubt the cow was good1 he said1 and a fine milker1 but after that day her milk went from her40 ,a married woman of about forty-five 8believes firmly in the existence of the ,evil ,eye10 and relates as a proof3 ,mrs4 ,mc,d41 a neighbour1 told her lately that she was churning4 ,the butter was actually on the churn when ,mrs4 ,b4 came in1 and looking into the churn began to praise the stuff1 and said how well off she was to be getting such beautiful butter4 ,she just stayed a minute or two and then went away4 ,after she was gone the butter scattered on the churn1 and do what she would she could not get it to gather again4 ,all she could get was froth1 and it continued that way with her for several churnings4 ,a girl of twenty-four1 a domestic servant1 a crofter's daughter with a good ,school ,board education1 said1 8,cronachadh is still in it4 ,my mother was churning not long ago at all1 and that woman ,mrs4 ,c4 came in1 and looking into the churn said1 #8,oh6 what a lot of butter6' ,well1 the butter went off1 and though my mother churned and churned she did not get a bit of that churning1 nor for a churning or two after that4 ,we believed that the butter had been taken away40 ,a woman who admits that she is a firm believer in the ,evil ,eye1 tells of the following case within her own knowledge4 ,two women were living beside each other1 and she knew them both personally4 ,each had a pig1 and they were striving whose pig should be fattest4 ,one of them had a cow1 the other had not4 ,the one that had the cow was giving her pig lots of milk4 ,it was growing fast and surpassing the other4 ,one day the neighbour came in1 and while they were looking at it and saying how well it was thriving1 she remarked1 8,cha'n iongantach a mhuc agadsa bhi cho math on is e sin an seorsa biadh tha thu toirt dith40 78,no wonder your pig is so good1 since that is the kind of food you are giving to her407 ,after a little while the woman left1 but was not long gone when the pig took ill1 and when it was apparently getting no better they sent to ,gortan-na-lag for one living there believed to have knowledge4 ,when he came and saw the pig he said they had been too late in sending for him1 and told them at once that it had been air a cronachadh1 and he showed them who had done the mischief4 ,a cailleach1 notorious as having the ,evil ,eye1 was calling in the house of an acquaintance of the reciter1 and when she was leaving she praised a fine hen that was in the yard4 ,it was one of her best hens1 and the woman praised it very much4 ,that very day what happened but this hen was taken in dead1 and the woman declared she could never get out of her mind that it had been a case of ,evil ,eye blight4 ,a ,,look ,,does ,,it ,the belief in an ,evil ,eye having arisen1 it is perfectly clear that a mere look1 quite unaccompanied by any other action1 would soon be considered a quite sufficient cause of the mischief such an eye would occasion4 ,a gamekeeper's wife1 a 8canty body10 as she is described1 told how some lads on a ,sunday1 who had watched a mare and foal grazing for some time1 were credited with damaging the foal1 because shortly after they left it lay kicking on the ground and would not suck4 ,a horse going up the main street of ,bowmore in ,islay was looked at by a man passing4 ,a few minutes after it fell and could not rise1 till a woman1 ,c4 ,mc,i41 came and did 8something to it40 ,the horse got all right1 and the woman consulted maintained that it was a case of ,evil ,eye4 ,a man now resident in ,glasgow was visiting some friends on a farm in one of the inner islands1 and a man riding past was observed looking rather attentively at the cows in a field beside the road4 ,he was supposed to have paid particular attention to a cow which1 shortly after he had passed1 was noticed to be unwell4 ,it was treated as a case of the ,evil ,eye1 and recovered4 ,these cases occurred with persons not notorious4 ,the following is one in which the woman who affected the cattle was generally believed to have the ,evil ,eye4 ,the reciter's father was driving four cows from the park one evening1 and when passing this woman's house she stood at the door looking at the cows4 ,in a moment off they went as hard as they could run4 ,one of them1 a handsome beast that had been bought from a farmer in ,gartbreac1 when they got them into the byre1 was tied to a heavy kitchen grate which was there1 but she ran out of the byre with the grate hanging to her neck1 and climbed up a peat stack nearly reaching the top of it4 ,from that day they never got any further good of that cow1 and were decidedly of opinion that she had been bewitched by the woman4 ,not the cattle alone but milk also is influenced by a mere look4 ,we give an instance in the words of the narrator3-- 8,bha 'n toradh air a thoirt uam fein an uiridh4 ,mhaistir sinn gus an robh ,raonull agus ,donull agus mi fein a ruith leis an fhallus ach ged a leanamaid air fathast cha 'n fhaigheamaid mir ime4 ',s an anns an t-sabhal bhios sinn a cruinneachadh a bhainne agus thainig duine 'n rathad latha aig nach eil bo da chuid fein agus dh'amhairc e air a bhainne 'san t-sabhal3 bha sinn a' deanadh dhe gum b'esan a rinn an cron4 ,bha na cairdean gam' chomhairleachadh gun a bhi leigeil le daoine bhi faicinn a'bhainne ach mi bhi cuimhnicheadh nach eil na h-uile duine cosmhuil rium fein4 ,well1 o'n am sin1 tha sinn a toirt fanear nach fhaigh neach sam bith cothrom air dol far am bheil am bainne agus tha sinn a faotainn a nis urrad ime's bu chor air na h-uile maistreadh40 78,the butter was taken from myself last year4 ,we churned until ,ronald and ,donald and myself were running with sweat1 but although we had continued at it till now we could not get a bit of butter4 ,it is in the barn that we gather the milk1 and a man who has not got a cow of his own came the way one day and he looked on the milk in the barn1 and we were making out that it was he who had done the harm4 ,the friends were advising me not to be allowing people to see the milk1 but that ,i should remember that every person is not like myself4 ,well1 from that time we are taking care that nobody will get an opportunity to go where the milk is1 and now we are getting as much butter as we ought to get on every churning407 ,the ,isle of ,man1 from a ,gaelic point of view1 may be considered as likely to be much the same as the islands of ,argyll1 and a lighthouse-keeper1 stationed there for some time1 tells us he heard a good deal about the ,evil ,eye1 and that belief in it is pretty common4 8,if a person is seen to look closely at a cow when passing her he is at once suspected1 and is likely to be requested by the owner of the beast to take certain steps to prevent injurious consequences40 ,as we have seen above1 the very natural consequence of this belief in a look doing injury leads to the hiding of things liable to harm4 ,a somewhat amusing story of the effects of a look is from ,arran4 8,one time ,m4 ,k4 and myself were at a meeting1 and there was an old bachelor there who kept looking at us all the time4 ,we noticed it1 but did not think much about it until after we went home1 but when we got home both of us began to yawn and rift1 and could not stop it4 ,we were quite sure that we had been hurt by the #8eye' of the old fellow4 ,m4 ,k4 made a drink of salt and water for us1 and we took it and that cured us40 ,eructation in ,arran seems to have a special connection with the ,evil ,eye and witchcraft4 ,another reciter remembers quite well a reputed witch going into her mother's house1 and not very long after she left her younger sister1 a child at the time1 became unwell4 ,her mother at once suspected that the fault lay with the woman who had left1 so she sent after her and brought her back4 ,the reputed witch 8mixed salt and water1 drank it herself1 rifted fearfully1 and in a little while the child got quite well40 ,the use of salt as a 8preservative0 is illustrated in the case of an ,arran woman who was a strong believer in and much afraid of the effects of the ,evil ,eye4 ,she had one cow1 and it gave her much discomfort when she saw the cow grazing near the roadside1 fearing that some passer-by might 8put his eye in her40 ,to keep the milk right1 if she gave any to be carried away1 or even 8to be drunk on the premises10 she invariably put salt in it1 and that sometimes to excess4 ,the reciter said1 8,for a while we were getting milk from her for a man staying with us who was seriously annoyed when the milk was more than ordinarily salt1 giving vent to his discontent saying1 #8,why the deuce does she not let us put saut in oor ain milk8'0 ,,avoiding ,,the ,,look ,the following recited by a ,mull woman is interesting as showing that smiths and ,druids1 or their modern representatives1 have still some affinity4 ,the reciter told how her mother's cow had taken suddenly ill as her brother ,sandy was starting for the smithy4 ,when he arrived there he mentioned the circumstance to the smith4 8#8,and did your mother no send any message to me8' said the smith4 ,sandy said1 #8,no1 she had sent no message4' #8,well1 ,i think your mother might ken that anything that ,i could do1 ,i would do for her1 and she might have sent for me4' ,my brother suggested that he had better come away down to see her1 so the smith came down and found my mother very vexed about the cow4 ,he said1 #8,the cow is bad enough1 but it might have been one of the family1 for the one that could do this could do the other thing just as well1 but we'll see what can be done4' ,having taken certain steps1 he advised her also not to allow any one to see the cow on any account1 for three would soon pass1 he said1 and if she would allow them in to see the cow1 the cow would be gone4 ,the three were strong1 and she would need to use all her strength to keep them out4 ,he told her that was all he could do just then1 but that she must send ,sandy over twice to him for a bottle4 ,when he went away she told the children not to tell any one where she was1 and she went to the byre to watch the cow4 ,having got tubs she filled them with stones and placed them against the byre door with spades and everything she could think of to keep the door from being opened4 ,she was not long there when a man passed with a horse and a dog4 ,he came to the kitchen door and asked the children where their mother was1 but they did not tell him4 ,he then came to the byre door1 lifted the sneck1 and when it did not yield tried to force it open with all his might1 saying1 #8,a ,cheit nic ,iain1 am bheil thu ann sud8' 7#8,kate1 ,john's daughter1 are you there8'7 ,my mother knew his voice as that of a near neighbour1 and answered3 #8,tha ,iain1 tha a' mhart gu bochd agus tha i na laidh cul an doruis 's cha 'n urrainn dhuit tighinn a steach4' 7#8,yes1 ,john1 the cow is unwell1 and she is lying behind the door and you cannot get in4'7 ,my mother had to tell the lie1 or he would force the door open4 ,the man went away1 and these were the three that the smith had said would come the way--the man and the horse and the dog4 ,and it was that man that had done the harm to the cow1 but it was found out in time and the cow got better1 but it was that very year my two brothers died1 and nobody knows whether he had anything to do with their death or no40 ,we include this under ,evil ,eye1 because there is no statement of any accusation of witchcraft against the 8man10 or for the matter of that 8of the horse or the dog40 ,in another case1 in which a certain ,george ,t41 by his devices1 cured a cow of which he had said it was 8bitten1 wounded0 7teum71 he asked if there had been a man with a black head praising the cow4 ,when he was told that they had no knowledge of such a thing1 8,well10 said he1 8it is a man with a black head that has injured your cow with the ,evil ,eye1 but be under no anxiety1 the cow is all right now40 ,he asked my mother if she had shown to any person the whole of the butter that came off the churn4 ,my mother said that she was not showing 7was not in the custom of showing7 the butter to any one4 8,that is right1 ,flora4 ,for all you have ever seen1 although you would not keep but as much as the size of an egg1 be sure that you do not let the whole of the butter be seen by anybody40 ,an ,islay farmer's daughter remembers a certain woman who was supposed to possess an ,evil ,eye1 and who paid them occasional visits4 ,so terrified were they lest she should interfere with their butter1 that whenever they saw her coming while they were churning1 they would throw a cloth over the churn and put it out of sight until the woman left4 ,from ,stratherrick1 ,ross-shire1 a reciter said1 8,when she heard so much talk about cattle being injured by the ,evil ,eye1 and the substance taken away1 she became afraid of this1 and especially when churning disliked anybody to come where the churn was1 so much so that she used to do the churning in an out-of-the-way corner of the house40 ,it is evidently not so easy to protect a horse or a cow from a glance of an ,evil ,eye1 but a lady tells how that1 visiting at a farmhouse1 she saw the old cook1 who had been long in the farmer's service1 running in great excitement to gather in a brood of young ducklings that were running about the yard4 ,being a frequent visitor and intimately acquainted with the cook1 she asked her what was wrong1 and why she was hurrying the ducklings at that hour of the day4 8,oh10 said the cook1 8,mr4 ,a4 is coming up the road1 and last time he was here ,i had a beautiful brood of ducklings1 and his eye took them and every one of them died1 so ,i am putting these out of sight in case he should look at them40 ,according to one authority the influence of an ,evil ,eye does not cease at once with the absence of the possessor4 8,w4 ,g4 lived for some time on a certain farm2 she was supposed to be possessed of the ,evil ,eye1 and on one occasion it was particularly noticed that certain animals she had praised died4 ,when removed from the farm1 the farmer met with a succession of misfortunes which were credited to ,w4 ,g40 ,,conversion ,,to ,,belief ,,in ,,evil ,,eye ,we have already seen a case1 in which a woman on her own showing demonstrates that it was the influence of others which caused her to believe in the power of the ,evil ,eye2 but conviction has in some cases been carried to the minds of men as a result of experience4 ,a man taking a valuable horse from the west coast of ,kintyre to ,tarbert was1 after leaving ,musadale1 offered a considerable sum for it4 ,he said he would not1 could not sell the beast1 and though the offer was raised to sixty pounds1 he still refused and went on his way4 ,before he reached ,tayinloan the horse fell dead on the road4 ,the owner of the horse1 considered to be a religious man1 after this incident could not be shaken in his belief in the ,evil ,eye4 ,in another case1 a woman having got from her mother a hen1 a first-rate layer1 an acquaintance came in and the conversation turned upon the excellence of the bird1 frankly acknowledged by the owner1 who added her own quota of praise4 ,the visitor was no time gone when the hen 8clapped her wings1 fell down1 and died40 ,mrs4 ,g4 declared that it has been her firm belief ever since that it was a case of cronachadh4 ,,giving ,,away ,,milk ,,dangerous ,all have heard of the belief in the power of witches to acquire for themselves1 among other things1 the milk and butter of their neighbours4 ,this apparently requires some deliberate act of magic1 8drawing the tether10 as they say in the north of ,ireland1 or even milking the pot chain1 as reported in the ,highlands4 ,in only one case1 as reported1 was this danger ascribed to the owner of an ,evil ,eye1 and the writer is still of opinion that his lady friend1 who said1 8,if an evil-disposed person who possesses an ,evil ,eye gets a little milk from another1 he or she will be able to operate through that to injure all the milk that remains1 and even the cows10 had not differentiated in her own mind the 8,evil ,eye0 from 8witchcraft40 ,we will repeat the incident4 ,a suspected woman1 living near1 one time asked her servant if she could get a little milk daily1 her own cow giving none at the time4 ,the servant girl told the lady that the woman was asking milk1 and then added1 8,i will not give it her40 ,her mistress said1 8,oh1 you may give it2 she needs it1 and you can spare it quite well40 ,the girl said it was not that1 but showed that she was afraid of the woman getting what she asked1 and thus taking their milk from them and perhaps injuring the cow4 ,her mistress said there was no fear of that1 and the girl yielded1 adding1 8,i know what ,i'll do40 ,what she did was to put pinches of salt and of sugar in the milk the woman was to get that evening1 and to take the first mouthful 7bolgam7 of it herself4 ,this1 according to prevalent ideas in the district1 would hinder the receiver of the milk having any power to do harm for the remainder of that season4 ,this performance seems a common precaution in cases where milk is given to suspected persons4 ,,science ,,versus ,,eolas ,it will be easily understood that to a believer in the ,evil ,eye mere modern science1 as met with in daily life1 in doctors1 and veterinary surgeons1 is of small account4 ,a well-educated lady1 a friend of the writer1 advised a neighbour whose cow was ill to send for the vet4 ,the answer was3 8,cha'n eil vet a chum feum sam bith1 oir 'san a tha bho air a cronachadh4 ',s e rud is fearr eolas fhaotainn air a son40 78,a vet is no use whatever1 because the cow is air a cronachadh2 the best thing is to get eolas for it470 ,in that case they didn't even send for the 8vet40 ,in the following instance a certain preliminary confidence seems to have been shown in medical men4 ,the reciter gives this as a very clear case of ,evil ,eye4 ,a child had fallen sick2 two doctors were attending it1 but it was getting worse4 ,the parents1 having done all that they could think of1 requested the aid of a woman who was known to deal with eolas a chronachaidh4 ,the woman went to see the child1 and what she did the reciter did not know1 but1 8sure enough1 she soon cured the child and told its parents that it had been air a cronachadh40 ,this may have been 8sure enough0 for those immediately interested1 others may be permitted to doubt4 ,in these cases common sense has generally the minister on its side4 ,in a case already quoted1 in which the mother's milk was supposed to have been turned into water in her system by the ,tiree woman1 her mother was sent for4 ,this old lady's granddaughter tells us1 8,when my grandmother came she suggested that a decent man who was living near them1 who was used to work with eolas where people or beasts had been air an cronachadh1 should be called in1 but she said they would need to go to him secretly1 for he had promised the minister that he would not make any more eolas4 ,my father and mother agreed1 but my mother requested my grandmother to go to the man1 because she did not know how to go about it4 ,my grandmother went and spoke to the man's wife first4 ,the wife said1 #8,i am sure he will do what he can for ,john 7the child's father71 but he has promised the minister that he would not make any more of that2 but come and speak to him yourself4' ,my grandmother spoke to the man1 who said that he had promised to the minister that he would not do any more of these things4 ,he could not go to her1 but she might come back to him again the following day4 ,this was a ,wednesday1 and there were only two days of the week on which he could make eolas--these were ,thursdays and ,sundays4 ,when she went back the following day1 he had not got his cure ready yet1 he said1 but would have it on ,sunday4 ,he told her that her daughter would not have so much milk as she had at first1 but would have enough to bring up the child4 ,on ,sunday he had the thing ready as he had promised1 and he made it twice for her afterwards4 ,that is1 he made it three times4 ,he correctly described the whole appearance of the woman who had taken the milk away1 although nobody had ever mentioned about the ,tiree cailleach to him4 ,my mother had plenty of milk after that40 ,we can scarcely wonder at the minister objecting to this magical practitioner when we consider the nature and the time of his performance4 ,an old ,islay man says that when he was a young man he was very intimate with a woman who had knowledge of the curing of toothache 7eolas deide74 ,she was a relative of his own1 and many a time she offered to teach him the words she used4 ,she could teach them to a male1 not to a female4 ,he was young at the time1 and did not like to learn them1 for some people were saying that it was a sort of witchcraft 7buideachas71 but it was not that1 for the words were all good words4 ,they were taught by the ,saviour1 who taught them first to ,his mother4 ,our reciter went on to say that this toothache cure is of no use1 and need not be tried1 in any case beyond a first or second attack4 ,it is hard to make it succeed even in the case of a second attack1 and beyond that it can have no effect whatever4 ,neither will it do in a case where the sufferer has his tooth taken out4 ,these latter confessions were doubtless memories of the instructions of the teacher4 ,our old friend did not repeat the formula1 but it has appeared elsewhere4#f ,the 8some0 who said that eolas was a sort of witchcraft seem undoubtedly to be right1 unless1 of course1 we admit that their action is based on a scientific understanding4 ,the ,evil ,eye itself is unconscious1 and therefore a natural phenomenon like measles or hay fever1 but its cure is a good deal like that employed for hay fever in many cases1 more empirical than scientific4 #f 8,gaelic ,incantations1 with ,translations10 ,w4 ,mackenzie1 p4 #ee et seq4 ,we are lucky in being able to give in his own words medical science as expounded by a ,gaelic-speaking tailor1 a simple-minded man of about seven-and-thirty1 a man who can read and can work1 but with no special affection for either4 ,he belongs to one of the inner islands3-- 8,tha ,eolas nathrach ann1 agus tha ,eolas deide ann4 ,tha ,eolas sul1 agus ,eolas greim1 agus ,eolas chronachaidh ann4 ,eolas gach ni1 'na aite fein4 ,ma lotar neach le nathair1 faigheadh e ,eolas nathrach3 agus 'nuair bhios an deide air duine faigheadh e ,eolas deide2 agus mar sin leis gach ni eile4 ,is aithne dhomh fhein da neo tri1 a fhuair leigheas airson lot nathrach4 ,tha na facail th' aca airson ,eolais greim air an toirt as an ,tiomnadh nuadh1 pios an so1 agus pios an sin2 agus iad sin air an sgriobhadh air paipear1 agus am paipear sin air fhuaigheal air an taobh a steach de chot' an duine air an robh an greim4 ,cuiridh so an greim air falbh4 ,b'aithne dhomh fhein duine a dh' fheuch so1 agus rinn e feum dha4 ,ach feumaidh duine bhi cinnteach gum bu na facail ceart aige4 ,agus tha na facail airson eolas deide air an cuir air paiper1 agus am paiper air fhuaigheal an taobh a stigh de aodach duin' air a cheart doigh4 ,ach ma tha na fiaclan air falbh1 cha dean e math sam bith1 ach ma tha iad slan fathast1 ni e feum1 agus cha tig an deide air ais tuille4 0,chuala mi iomadh uair na facail th' aca airson ,eolas sul2 ach bheir mi dhuibh na chrunas an t-iomlan--ni a thug ,mathair da ,mac gus olc a chumail air falbh1 bho'n bhainne agus bho'n chuinneag4 ,so na briatharan3-- #8',nuair a ni thu toiseachadh4 ,cuir dorlach math salainn ann4 ,cuir bun 'us barr an neonain ann4 ,cuir mionach roin1 'us gearr fheidh ann4 ,buain slat de'n chaoran a nall o aodann ,eallasaid4 ,snathain dearg le snuim teann ,air a chuir mu cheann a' chratachan4 ',s ged a thigeadh buidseach ,hendry4 ,cheannsaicheadh am balach i4' ,tha sibh a faicinn1 bha 'm buidseach ,hendry anns a ,bhioball4 ,b' ise' m buidseach bu laidire bha beo riomh2 ach nam faigheadh neach sambith na nithe sin uile1 agus an cuir gu feum1 cha b' urrainn dhise neo do bhuidseach sam bith eile a chron a dheanadh4 ,chunnaic mi fein an snathain dearg air clann1 gus olc a chumail bhuapa40 78,there is serpent knowledge 7serpent bite7 and toothache knowledge4 ,there is eye knowledge and stitch 7gripes7 knowledge and hurt knowledge 7by ,evil ,eye or ,witchcraft74 ,knowledge of each thing in its own place4 ,if any person is wounded by a serpent let him get serpent knowledge1 and when a man has toothache let him get toothache knowledge1 and so with every other thing4 ,i myself know two or three who got a cure for serpent bites4 ,the words they have for curing stitch 7gripes7 are taken from the ,new ,testament1 a bit here and a bit there1 and these written upon paper1 and that paper sewn in the inside of the coat of the person who had the stitch4 ,this will put the stitch away4 ,i knew a man that tried this1 and it was of use to him4 ,but one must be sure that he has got the right words4 ,and the words for toothache knowledge are put on paper1 and the paper sewn inside a person's clothes in the same manner4 ,but if the teeth are gone it will do no good1 but if they are still whole it will do good1 and the toothache will not return any more4 8,i have often heard the words they have for eye knowledge1 but ,i will give you what crowns the whole1 the thing a ,mother gave to her ,son to keep evil away from the milk and from the churn4 ,here are the words3-- #8,when you make a beginning ,put a good handful of salt in it4 ,put root and flower of the daisy in it4 ,put the entrails of a seal and a hare in it4 ,cut a wand of rowan over from the face of ,ellasaid4 ,a red thread with a tight knot ,put on the head of the churn staff4 ,and should the witch ,hendry 7of ,endor7 come4 ,the boy would conquer her4' 8,you see the witch ,hendry was in the ,bible4 ,she was the strongest witch that ever lived1 but if any person would get all these things and use them1 she1 or any other witch1 could not do him injury4 ,i have myself seen the red thread on children to keep evil from them407 ,the above is undoubtedly sheer witchcraft1 white witchcraft1 if you like4 ,it is not then surprising that the evidence is not in favour of these eolas professors being held in much social esteem4 ,a native of ,harris1 talking of one of them1 said3 8,notwithstanding the wide reputation the man had1 and the many who went to seek advice1 he was not held in high esteem1 and this part of his occupation was not admired although so many took advantage of his services40 ,the reciter himself spoke of him as bodach granda 7nasty old man74 ,a ,gaelic-speaking minister gave the following information4 ,it refers to ,arran4 ,he knew several old women who professed eolas a chronachaidh1 but he did not hold a high opinion of them4 ,one case1 however1 he remembers especially in this connection4 ,a lad was taken suddenly ill1 supposed to be a case of cronachadh4 ,an old woman1 who was respected in the district1 came to see him1 and going above him in the bed1 made motions with her hands over him and on her own person1 repeating an incantation of some length at the same time4 ,the lad recovered4 ,the reciter admits the fact1 but does not incline to accept the eolas performance as having caused the recovery4 ,a reciter in ,mull was telling before her mother of the operations of a cailleach of this sort1 when the mother added1 she herself had spoken with the woman1 she was a decent body1 and assured her that there was nothing whatever wrong in what she did for the cure of cattle when hurt by the ,evil ,eye4 ,the words used were good1 and she repeated them1 but she added that a great deal depended upon the person who applied for eolas1 and that1 unless such a person believed that a cure would be effectual1 there was little use in what she herself could do1 and no use at all in the contents of the bottle which she supplied4 ,it might just as well be thrown out on the roadside4 ,,hurter ,,and ,,healer ,a farmer's wife1 an old woman1 but smart and intelligent1 and showing no failure of memory1 expressed the following opinion3-- ,the power to do injury to beast or person1 and the power to cure such an injury appeared to have been given to different classes of people4 ,those who did injury were supposed to be malevolent1 and of course held in bad repute1 while the curers were looked upon as for the good of people and to be respected4 ,what the one did was called cronachadh1 and what the other did beannachadh 7blessing74 ,to another1 an ,islay lady1 the remark was made that cronachadh was a strange thing4 ,in answer she said3 8,yes1 but beannachadh was quite as strange40 8,what is that80 8,fiosrachadh or eolas40 7,knowledge the result of inquiry1 and knowledge apparently arrived at in any way1 say by revelation47 ,that is one side of the picture4 ,we see the other in the following3-- 8,there was a lad at service at one time with ,malcolm here beside us4 ,he was one of the ,t's4 ,he was in the habit of coming to this house1 and my father said to myself1 ,i should not have too much to do with him1 for that there was something bad in him4 ,it was maintained that his father had eolas1 and people would be going to him when a beast or person was unwell1 but those that have the one thing1 the knowledge of healing1 it is usual for them to have the other thing1 knowledge to cause injury also40 ,the reciter believed that this lad deliberately did them an injury1 and after recounting the particulars said1 8,my father advised us not to show any anger to the lad for fear he might do something worse to us1 if he were to know that we were angry4 #8,that is the way the like of these people have4 ,if they do harm to a person and he shows anger they will do him more harm4'0 ,a domestic servant1 speaking of an old woman that she knew very well1 said3 8,she was known as ,mairi ,siath 7,mary of sprains87 and was looked upon as one who had a great deal of secret power by which she could do both harm and good4 ,people were afraid to offend her1 and would give her almost anything she would ask rather than offend her40 ,the said ,mary1 having been consulted about unsuccessful churning1 8brought back the butter every bit that should have been on the churn from the time it had been taken away1 and there was so much that the mistress was afraid to use it in the house1 for she said it could not have come in a right way4 ,she gave it away1 and after that they always got butter on the churn40 ,there is no doubt that the girl who repeated this believed what she was telling as of her own knowledge4 ,the only explanation that occurs to one is that the milk1 having been for some reason poor for a time from bad feeding or some such thing1 the food having become better and richer1 the milk was thereby improved to such an extent as to give the appearance1 especially in comparison with the small yield before1 of a somewhat supernatural supply4 ,the same belief in the power of hurting and healing being united in one person has been already mentioned in connection with an ,arran shepherd on page #ai4 ,one other case as reported was that of an ,islay farmer who1 on one occasion riding along the road1 passed a man ploughing with a pair of horses4 ,shortly thereafter the horses lay down1 having become to all appearance unwell4 ,a messenger was immediately despatched after the farmer1 who1 hearing what had happened1 returned1 and at any rate got the credit of curing the animals4 ,,transmission ,,of ,,eolas ,it has already been mentioned how a woman who possessed a toothache cure was willing to impart the necessary formula 7incantation7 to a 8relative0 who was a male1 but could not do it to a female4 ,that case was in ,islay4 ,the following information from ,skye shows the belief that eolas is imparted in the same way and under like circumstances there4 ,this ,skye woman was believed to have the ,evil ,eye1 and to have the power of taking away the produce 7an toradh7 from other's cows4 ,when she was on her deathbed1 and when she came very near her end1 she said to those about her that she was anxious to see her husband4 ,he happened at that particular time to be out looking after something1 and they sent for him1 but all the time till he came in she kept crying for him1 and urging that she wished to see him4 ,when he came in she requested that all the others should withdraw1 and when they had done so she said to her husband to shut the door that there might be nobody there but themselves alone4 ,what took place between them there nobody ever knew1 but one thing people firmly believed1 that was that she gave the skill that she had to her husband1 for after that he could take away the toradh from other people's cows1 and did take it away too4 ,however1 authorities do not always agree as to changing the sex in the transmission of this magic4 ,a native of ,harris1 a woman of about forty1 has no ,english1 and can neither read nor write4 ,when asked as to her experiences1 and if she had ever seen a thread tied round a child's neck to preserve it from the effects of the ,evil ,eye1 she said3 8,i did see it2 wasn't there one on my own child8 and that was for ,a4 ,mc,e4#8s ,evil ,eye4 ,she has an ,evil ,eye 7,droch shuil71 and one day she came into the house and began to praise the child greatly4 ,she was only a short time gone when the child began to vomit4 #8,o ,kate1' said ,i to my sister1 #8my child is air a cronachadh with the ,evil ,eye of that woman4' #8,if that is all that is wrong1 we won't be long putting it right1' said ,kate1 and she took a red thread1 and when she had said the word1 she tied the string on the child's neck1 and there was no time till it was quite well40 ,she was asked whether ,kate had the words1 and she replied1 8,oh yes1 my mother had them and she taught them to ,kate40 ,the general trend of belief is that the hereditary transmission of eolas is from father to daughter1 and from mother to son4 ,a reciter said3 8,a woman still lives in the neighbourhood1 said to have obtained her eolas secret from her father4 ,she is often requisitioned1 and her skill to cure fully believed in40 ,another said3 8,you know ,a4 ,mc,e4 ,his mother had eolas a chronachaidh1 and he said that she left the secret with him before she died40 ,these were 8unprovoked0 statements of the reciters1 and in the latter case the interest of the story was in pointing out the method taken to determine whose ,evil ,eye had affected a sick horse4 ,the owner was told to watch the colour of the hair of the first woman that passed the house1 which would be the same as that of the person wanted4 ,the result was given in the following terms1 8,now she is blaming ,mrs4 ,mac,d40 ,in all these cases we see that the eolas was kept in the family1 or at least believed to be so4 ,the deathbed scene of the wife and husband may be a most uncharitable suggestion of heathenism1 but the recital was made in good faith4 ,the witch doctor sometimes apparently requires assistance4 ,a horse being taken ill while ploughing1 supposed to be hurt by the ,evil ,eye1 the farmer refused to have anything to do with these irregular practices4 ,the horse died4 ,not long after a second took ill1 and as the ploughman1 the reciter1 said1 8,we were all about it saying it could be cured40 ,at last the master said if there was any person who could do it they might try it1 it would do no harm at any rate4 ,there was a man there that had eolas1 and he took another man out with him1 and they made the eolas outside4 ,they did nothing to the horse1 but while they were out making the eolas the horse got up1 shook itself1 and was better at once4 ,in ,arran1 as elsewhere1 cronachadh seems to be regarded as hereditary4 ,one reciter said of a man at ,loch ,ranza that it did not matter what he would look at1 his look would cronach it4 ,a lad from another part of the island went to ask a daughter of this man to marry him1 and when the nearest neighbour heard of his courtship she became exceedingly angry1 and protested against any of that man's daughters being brought there 8to cronaich everything about the place40 ,,forms ,,of ,,incantation ,for specimens of these incantations the reader should refer to 8,gaelic ,incantations1 with ,translations10 ,w4 ,mackenzie1 ,inverness1 #ahie2 and to 8,carmina ,gadelica10 ,a4 ,carmichael1 ,edinburgh1 #aijj4 ,above we have already given one as recited1 but they are hard to get1 there being many reasons why the user is shy of repeating them4 ,one thing is certain1 that a complete performance of any of these rites requires the repetition of 8words10 as they say1 of some sort4 ,in far the majority of cases1 the words are what are called 8good0 words1 having a sanction of ,christianity about them1 being generally invocations of the ,trinity and of ,mary4 ,as a native of ,morven said1 describing a cure in which water is used at a certain stage1 8,the person making the eolas kept saying good words40 ,another woman from ,mull1 describing a cure done by herself1 said3 8,i remember a child ,i cured myself with good words that ,i have4 ,it was very ill1 and nearly gone when ,i took it and placed it in my bosom and cured it4 ,i said the words over it1 but after curing it ,i was very much exhausted until ,i got a cup of tea1 and then ,i felt myself getting better40 ,when requested to repeat the words1 she affirmed that they were all good words1 and that it was in the name of the ,trinity she did it2 but she went over the words in such a low voice1 and with so indistinct a pronunciation and so fast1 that the collector found it quite impossible to follow4 ,the writer was mentioning these circumstances to a lady visiting him who gave the following example1 which aptly illustrates how the performance of some ceremony can form a foundation for belief in their beneficial activity4 ,her sister's child of three weeks old was lying exceedingly ill and two medical men were in attendance1 one having been called in as a consultant4 ,they told my visitor themselves that the child could not live4 ,the family are ,scotch1 but this occurred in the neighbourhood of ,london4 ,the monthly nurse suggested and urged baptism4 ,the clergyman was sent for1 and while going through the ceremony the child1 who had been lying motionless1 made some slight movement4 ,within two days that child had recovered1 and is at the time of writing this as many years old as it was then weeks4 ,the consultant subsequently expressed his dissatisfaction with the infant for having belied his prognosis4 ,in a case from ,mull a servant1 having been sent for a means of cure to a woman supposed to have skill1 she found her in bed4 ,she sat up1 took the bottle containing water which had been sent for1 put the mouth of it to her own mouth1 and began to say some words over it4 ,the words were spoken in a low tone1 but so far as was recognised they were all 8good0 words4 ,in the case of a sick horse already quoted1 the man who saw it went at once for ,g4 ,t41 then herding in the neighbourhood4 ,the description of the interview is as follows3 8,when ,i reached him he said1 #8,peter1 you need not tell me your business here4' ,i said1 #8,no4' ,we went together to a little stream1 and he said that ,i might now tell him what had brought me4 ,when ,i told him1 he asked me if ,i had tobacco4 ,they do nothing without pay2 not money1 but tobacco and things like that4 ,i knew he would ask for it1 and ,i had it with me1 and when ,i gave it him he asked if ,i had a bottle4 ,i had a good notion of every turn he had1 and so had taken a bottle with me1 and when ,i gave it to him he turned his back to me and began lifting the water and saying the words4 ,there was not a bad word in all he said1 no1 no4 ,he said to me when he gave me the bottle and told me how to use it1 #8,your horse will be all right1 ,peter1 as soon as you use it4'0 ,his statement came true4 ,things are not1 however1 always reported as of such an innocent and ,christian character4 ,a collector happened to be present at a conversation between two believers in the ,evil ,eye4 ,one of them said1 8,those who are working at such as that1 applying eolas1 are not helped but by the #8bad one1' for if it were that they were doing good they would not need to be hiding themselves when they would be at it4 ,p4 ,mc,l41 a decent man1 said his cow was injured1 and sent for ,a4 ,t4 ,the cow was in a little hut1 and when ,a4 went in where the cow was ,p4 put his ear to a little window that was in the wall1 and he said1 that when he heard such language as ,a4 had1 he would never again send for her should every cow he would have be unwell4 ,she put her cap under her two knees--she was bare-headed and with her knees bare1 but kneeling on her cap apparently--and she prayed to the vile one4 7#8,ghuidh i ris an fhear mhosach4'7 ,b4 said1 #8,was that the time she said that my father's brother injured the cow8' ,that was the very time4 ,you were living beside ,p4 then40 ,,form ,,of ,,payment 8,the labourer is worthy of his hire40 ,a case has been already given where the reciter said that nothing was done without pay1 but not of money4 ,we must not generalise in that way4 ,a native of ,tiree says1 speaking of his experience in the cure of a horse of his father's1 8,all these eolas folk must get a piece of silver4 ,it may be a shilling or two shillings4 ,this they say makes the cure more certain1 and they cannot promise a cure without it4 ,the lad took with him a two-shilling piece and went to an eolas man who lived five miles away40 ,apparently the silver is given in the form of money as the most convenient medium1 though there is good reason for the supposition that the whiteness of silver makes it specially appropriate as a medium of remuneration4 ,the instance in which the child that was ill is described as if singing 8do re do10 the woman who cured it received from the father tea and sugar which he had taken with him when he went to consult her2 but she said to 8my man0 7it was the mother who recited the incident7 8that she was not wanting anything and would do it for us for nothing1 but that he would need to come back with white silver4 ,i sent him back with a sixpence to give her40 ,an innkeeper1 a well-read1 shrewd woman of about five-and-forty1 tells of a case with which she was well acquainted in which a near neighbour consulted an old man1 wanting him to bring back her butter4 8,she said that she would pay him if he would bring it back to her40 ,he said that he did not want payment1 but at the same time he could not bring it back unless he were paid in silver for doing so2 that being so1 he would require to take something from her1 as otherwise the cure would not be successful4 ,so she gave him the silver and soon had all the butter that she lost48 ,another reciter having been accustomed to do the churning in his father's house1 after his father's death1 his stepmother sent for him because she herself could not get any butter from the churn4 ,he did his best1 but was unsuccessful4 ,having had a horse cured by eolas1 he suggested that the same man should be consulted4 ,the man arrived1 and the case was explained1 the woman stating1 8,feuch gun toir sibh dhachaidh an toradh oir tha e air falbh40 78,try if you can bring back the due produce1 for it is gone407 8,i'll do that10 he said1 and he did it by his eolas2 there was plenty butter on the churn4 ,it cost the woman a crown1 but if it did1 that was better than that the butter should be lost4 ,a woman who prepared a bottle for a sick cow charged the man who consulted her 8two shillings for the bottle1 and when she took the money she poured a little water on it and spat on it40 ,she might1 one would think1 with advantage have changed the order of her proceedings4 ,a sick bull which the veterinary surgeon had given up was referred to an eolas woman1 the principal argument being that her assistance 8would only cost a shilling40 ,she ordered a bucket of water to be thrown over the animal1 and it recovered4 ,a ,mull woman tells how her grandmother when newly married1 after having reared calves1 could only get butter of such an ugly colour that nobody would eat it1 and it was used for greasing wool before carding4 ,she was asked by a neighbour for a bowl of butter one day1 and accused of greed for refusing it while she had eight cows4 ,she explained the position1 and was then advised to consult an old man1 the neighbour adding that she would be coming back in a fortnight1 when there would be plenty of butter to give her4 ,the results of the consultation were fairly successful1 though the eolas man explained that she would not for that year have so much butter as she should have1 but that she should consider herself lucky that her cattle had not died4 ,the reciter then said that her grandmother gave the man 8plenty for his trouble1 but did not grudge it40 ,when the old woman called on her way back she said1 8,well1 you can give me the butter now40 ,to which her friend replied1 8,yes1 ,i am thankful to you that ,i can40 ,and she gave her a good bowl of butter4 ,in the above case payment seems to have been in kind4 ,a native of ,ardnamurchan tells of a neighbour of her mother's who had a number of cows and lost the due product of the whole of them4 ,her mother's people were sitting down to dinner when a beggar woman came and asked1 8,an sibhse a' bhoirionnach a chaill an toradh80 78,are you the woman who has lost the milk and butter807 8,my mother was very fond of her neighbour1 and thinking she might find out on her behalf how the milk might be got back1 she answered that she was4 ,the beggar woman said1 #8,ma bheir sibh dhomh lan meise de mhin bheir mise air ais dhuibh e4' 7#8,if you will give me a 7wooden7 dishful of meal ,i will bring it back to you4'7 ,my mother said that she would give her all that was on the table if she would bring it back1 and then ran to the neighbour's house to tell what she had heard4 ,they returned together and told the beggar woman whose cows really had been ill40 ,they are said to have been cured4 ,here also the payment was promised in kind4 ,a native of ,harris tells us of an old man in ,stornoway much consulted1 who 8would undertake for so much money to bring milk and butter back40 ,an ,islay man gives us 8ni a chunnaic mise mi fein0 78a thing ,i saw my own self074 ,this was the cure of his father's cow4 ,a certain ,george ,t4 8came the way0 8b'e duine corr bha ann an ,deorsa so1 aig an robh moran sgil mu'n chronachaidh40 78,this ,george was a decent man1 he had much skill about cronachadh407 ,the cure is described1 and the reciter continued3 8,cha b'e duine bha' n an ,deorsa a ghabhadh rud sam bith3 'se sin cha ghabhadh e pris airson a sheirbhis ann a leithid so do ni40 78,george was not a man that would take anything for his service in such a thing as this407 8,and my mother said to him1 #8,will you take a cup of tea1 ,george8' #8,it is ,i that will1#8 he said1 for he had been about the cow a long time4 ,when they were taking the tea they were keeping an eye on the cow now and again4 ,she took a long time that she did not bend down her head1 but at last she gave a shake to herself1 and ,george said to my mother1 #8,your cow is right1 woman4' ,in a little while she gave the next shake1 and again the third shake1 and with that she was as well as she had ever been40 ,,the ,,necessity ,,of ,,faith ,a native of ,lewis who professed disbelief in the ,evil ,eye1 though she knew numbers who did believe1 was advised when her cow was ill to send for a skilled woman4 ,she refused4 ,a woman who was in the habit of assisting when they were busy1 being told she might do as she liked1 went to the eolas woman4 ,when our reciter1 ,mrs4 ,mc,n41 looked into the byre shortly afterwards she found the servant girl and the occasional assistant hiding a bottle4 8,i asked them what they had in the bottle4 ,the woman answered that she had just gone to ,k4 ,mc,i4 for eolas1 and that that was what was in the bottle4 ,they had put it in the cow's ears and over her back in the name of the ,trinity1 and the woman remarked that if it would not do good it would do no harm at any rate4 ,i told them again that ,i did not believe in it at all1 and as it turned out ,i did not need to believe it1 for the cow died not long after4 ,but if ,i did not believe the woman did1 and so did the person who had made the eolas1 and they maintained that it was because ,i did not believe in it that it failed to cure the cow1 for it is believed the success of eolas a chronachaidh in its attempts to cure depends much upon whether it is believed in or not40 ,compare this with the statement of another reciter1 who on hearing of a case of cure said1 8,when ,i was herding1 one of the cows was air a cronachadh1 but the people did not believe in eolas1 and if it had not been that some of the neighbours went to ,a4 ,t4 the cow was dead40 ,in another case in which the owner of the sick cow said that there was many a thing that might happen to a beast1 and that she did not believe that the cow had been hurt by the ,evil ,eye4 ,a friend persisted in her opinion that it was the ,evil ,eye1 and when the reciter's mother refused to send for eolas1 the woman went off herself and came back with a bottle which she sprinkled on the cow1 and in less than an hour the cow was eating as well as ever1 and before the water had been put on her she was groaning and would neither eat nor move4 ,the probability is1 of course1 that if no success had followed the application of the remedy1 want of faith on the part of the owner might have been urged as a reason for failure4 ,,preventing ,,evil ,,by ,,blessing ,a young man who could read and write1 the son of a decidedly superstitious father1 said if any one were praising another person's beast1 and danger was suspected1 because praising by one that has an ,evil ,eye is dangerous1 if the owners say 8,god bless it0 that would prevent any mischief happening4 ,a native of ,bernera 7,harris7 mentioned as among the ordinary precautions effective against the ,evil ,eye a person blessing himself4 ,while another mentioned the keeping of ripe rowans 7caorain dearg7 beside him1 or regularly blessing himself and his belongings1 as sufficient to prevent any injury coming to him from the ,evil ,eye or ,witchcraft4 ,this blessing seems to have been done in quite a formal way4 ,an old believer who can read ,gaelic remembers having seen cattle blessed for the purpose of keeping away evil1 and when she was young it was common in the district where she was brought up1 when neighbours visited one another1 for the visitor on entering the house to bless both the house and the people living in it4 ,in this connection she told the following story3 8,there was at one time living in the ,harris district of ,islay a gentleman trained in the knowledge of the #8,black ,art' 7,sgoil ,dhubh74 ,he visited the ,laird of ,balinaby and took from every cow on his estate its due produce 7toradh74 ,he and the ,laird passed this cow1 and the visitor remarked3 #8,you have a witch on the estate4' #8,no1' said the ,laird4 #8,oh yes1 there is no doubt of it4' #8,well1 if there is1 it is without my knowledge4' #8,to whom does that cow belong8' #8,to a widow that lives in the house over there4' #8,well1 she must be a witch1 for ,i can take the produce from every cow on the place except that one1 but ,i am beat with her4'0 ,balinaby called at the woman's house and asked her what she did to protect her cow4 8,i do nothing10 said the woman4 8,you must do something1 for ,i find that the toradh can be taken from every cow on the farm but yours40 8,well10 said she1 8,i am a ,god-fearing woman1 and am thankful to have the cow4 ,every morning ,i pray that she may be preserved1 and when ,i go to milk her ,i bless myself and the cow4 ,that is all ,i do40 ,this is evidently traditional1 and is quoted merely as an evidence of belief in the protection granted to those who audibly place themselves under the protection of the ,deity4 ,it is a curious fact that ,balinaby 7the ,abbot's ,town71 bulks very largely in the supernatural folklore of ,islay4 ,a native of ,tarbat1 ,ross-shire1 already quoted as telling of a child taken ill because the visitor had not blessed it1 details that visitor's action for the cure of the child1 when taxed with the dereliction1 as follows4 8,she asked a bowl from my mother and a silver coin1 which she got4 ,she put the coin in the bowl1 and going to the bedside where the child was lying1 sprinkled the water on the child's face1 and wet her lips and the palms of both her hands4 ,while doing this she blessed the child1 repeated some words over it1 and in a little while the bairn was quite well and as brisk as ever40 ,the materials used in this cure will be considered in more detail1 but the blessing was evidently an important part of it to repair a neglect in the first instance4 ,an old lady in ,arran remembers being told of an older generation who1 desiring not to injure their own or another's beast lest there should be evil in their eye unknown to themselves1 always took the precaution of blessing the animal before looking at it4 ,the words they used were 8,gum beannaicheadh ,dia am beathach0 78,that ,god may bless the beast071 or 8,gum beannaicheadh ,dia an ni air am bheil mo shuil ag amhairc40 78,may ,god bless the thing my eye is regarding407 ,,preventing ,,by ,,dispraising ,the expression of a blessing seems to be merely a preventative1 which of course is better than curative1 if we accept the general proverb4 ,another preventative1 when the expression of praise seems likely to be hurtful1 is to miscall the animal spoken of4 ,a man ploughing1 who thought very well of his horses1 said to his master on seeing another he knew approaching1 8,here comes ----1 and he will ruin both the horses if he can1 for he has the ,evil ,eye40 ,his master said1 8,i'll tell you what you will do1 and if you do it he can do the horses no harm4 ,when he begins to praise either or both just begin to run them down1 and be sure you say as much against them as he shall say for them40 ,he of the ,evil ,eye came up1 and commencing with 8,what a fine pair of horses you have10 went on to enumerate their good points4 ,the servant objected that they looked better than they were1 that their looks were the best of them1 and for every point in their favour the other mentioned1 the lad said something to counterbalance it4 ,the other began to show signs of impatience1 and went on his way not very well pleased with the way his opinions of the horses had been disputed4 8,well done1 you have saved the horses10 said his master4 8,did ,i do it right80 said the lad4 8,yes1 indeed1 you could not have said more than you have said40 ,a native of ,campbeltown is the authority for the following4 ,mrs4 ,m',f4 from ,knapdale resided in ,glasgow for some time after her marriage4 ,she was standing at the mouth of the close one day with her first child in her arms when a little woman whom she had never seen before1 and never saw again1 as far as she knows1 came across the street1 and looking at the child began to praise it for its beauty4 ,mrs4 ,m',f4 had not the presence of mind to praise it above what the other woman said1 nor to miscall it4 ,had she done either it would have prevented mischief4 ,as it was1 the child began to cry as soon as the little woman went away4 ,it continued crying for a day and a half1 and never was right afterwards4 ,the child died4 ,mrs4 ,m',f4 was quite certain it had been injured by the eye of the little woman4 ,,preventing ,,by ,,rowan ,,and ,,juniper ,every one knows of the value of the rowan tree as a preventative of witchcraft4 ,it is equally effective apparently against the ,evil ,eye4 ,it is scarcely worth while dilating on this1 but it would not do to neglect it4 ,a resident in the ,chanonry had a near neighbour terribly suspicious of interference with her cow4 ,she would never allow a cow away from her own ground until she had first tied a sprig of rowan to its tail4 ,a native of ,kintyre1 the opposite side of the country1 connects this observance with ,may ,eve1 on which occasion it was common to tie a sprig of rowan to the cattle's tails4 ,above we have mentioned rowan berries as equally efficacious with a blessing4 ,the rowan is tied to churns as well as to cows' tails4 ,another reciter mentions a case in which1 along with a bottle1 a professor of eolas 8went to the back of his house1 taking a thin slice of juniper wood 7iubhar beinne71 which he instructed was to be put between the wood of the churn and one of its hoops40 ,one cannot help speculating as to what may have caused the use of these plants4 ,we have a hint from the ,chanonry that the rowan tree was attached when the cow left her own ground4 ,now cows leave their owners' ground solely when sent to the bull4 ,in connection with the iubhar1 attention is called to the curious1 incomprehensible shinty formula in which the word iubhar occurs3-- ,ciod an caman8 7,what shinty-club87 ,caman iubhair 7,shinty-club of yew74 ,ciod an t-iubhar8 7,what yew87 ,iubhar athair 7,yew of air71 of which another reciter gave the slightly altered pronunciation1 iubhar athar 7father's yew74#g ,a native of the ,lewis says it was pretty common to protect cows from evil influences by the use of a charmed burrach 7cow fetter74 ,the burrach was made of different things1 and when a cow calved it was fixed on her hind legs4 ,the burrachs the writer has seen were made of hair1 possibly they may have made them upon occasion of some tough wood4 ,note that it was in calving that the charmed burrach was of advantage1 and thus the observances for the protection of the cattle are solely connected with their increase4 #g 8,games of ,argyle10 pp4 #cc1 #cd4 ,,preventing ,,by ,,horse ,,nails ,,and ,,shoes ,an ,arran reciter said3 8,i was one time staying with a friend here1 and ,i noticed that a horse nail was tied round the churn4 ,i mentioned nothing about it till one day when washing the churn ,i said1 #8,i suppose ,i may take this off1' but would she let me1 though she did not tell me why it had been put on1 but ,i soon found that out for myself40 ,another authority mentions not the nail but the whole shoe4 8,the produce of the churn may be effectually protected from the ,evil ,eye by nailing the shoe of a colt or of an ass to the bottom of the churn4 ,where this is done there are not on earth that can do it harm1 and many people always took care not to expose their churn without a shoe of either a colt or an ass nailed to it40 ,,preventing ,,by ,a ,,small ,,gift ,a well-informed woman1 an innkeeper1 said that in cases where a person possessed of the ,evil ,eye admired anything belonging to another1 no injury could follow if some little present were given to the suspected person on leaving4 ,another1 the daughter of a farmer1 an office-bearer in the ,church1 in the same island1 gave the same information1 but quoting an older authority4 ,beside her father's house was a woman who firmly believed in the ,evil ,eye1 and the power of preventing it by this gift4 ,the house commanded a view of the road1 so that1 for the most part1 an old woman suspected who lived in the neighbourhood could generally be seen approaching4 ,the woman1 to whom the latter was a special object of suspicion1 never failed to advise our reciter's people of the visitor's advent4 ,her advice was invariably given earnestly and in the same form3 8,a ghraidh thoir ni eigin dhi1 cha'n eil odds cho beag no cho suarach a bhios e1 ach thoir ni eigin dhi agus an sin cha'n urrainn i do chron a dheanamh40 78,dear1 give her something1 no odds how little or how trifling1 but give her something1 and then she cannot do you an injury407 ,in the case of churning the small present naturally takes the form of a drink of milk to be given to any one suspected of the ,evil ,eye1 and so a reciter said that one should always1 for safety's sake1 give a visitor a drink of milk1 and stated further that the beneficial effect was added to if the one who gives it first take a little of it herself before handing it to the stranger4 ,as an illustrative incident the reciter told how ,black ,colin of ,balinaby when out hunting happened to go to ,balimony at the milking time4 ,not one of them offered him a drink of milk1 8,ach coma leat0 7,but all the same7 the following morning when the girls went to milk the cows not a drop of milk could they get1 while the cows kept running and roaring as if they were mad4 ,at once the man of ,balimony1 concluding that the mischief had been done by ,black ,colin1 saddled a horse1 rode to ,balinaby and took all the milk from the ,balinaby cows1 transferring it to his own4 ,when ,colin saw this he wrote to ,balimony to this effect3 8,leig leamsa agus leigidh mise leatsa0 7equivalent to 8,let a be for let a be074 ,the reciter added that the milk was properly distributed thereafter1 and that the incident was one of ,black ,art4 ,to a student of the old ,bardic ,irish stories the continual mention of those who are recommended for their liberality to the poetic class simply shows how they used their office for their own advantage4 ,the tricks of the non-producers continue the same now as they were in the days of ,cairbre4 ,a poor ,bodach passed the house of the manager of a detached farm4 ,he asked if he could get a drink4 ,the manager's wife1 who was churning at the time1 left her churn and gave him a drink of water4 ,the ,bodach took his drink and went away1 the woman went back to her churn1 but let her churn ever so much not a bit of butter could she get4 ,the milk became merely froth1 and swelled up so that she filled all her spare dishes4 ,that churning was no good1 nor the next1 nor many succeeding ones1 till she was afraid to look at her churn4 ,so things were when who should appear but the same old man with the same request4 ,the manager himself being in1 translated the request liberally and gave him plenty both to eat and drink4 ,after resting a little the old man rose to go away1 and thanking them for their hospitality1 added1 8,if a poor man ask for a drink1 do not give him a drink of water40 ,the significant tone suggested to the manager to ask him for advice as to bringing back the butter1 offering him any reasonable reward and putting a piece of money into his hand4 ,this he said he would soon do1 and told him to tell his wife to clean her dishes and put a piece of money in the churn and churn the next day4 ,the story goes on to say that every scrap that had been lost was got back in one churning4 ,as the story is told the product of each churning must have been but a small matter1 but there can be little doubt that this1 if not a ,bardic praise of hospitality1 is a beggar's one1 and the story of course no better than an ursgeul4 ,the reciter added a comment of her own3 8,anns na laithean sin cha bhiodh daoine a beannachadh an cuid1 agus le sin bha e furasda gu leor an cronachadh40 78,in those days people were not in the habit of blessing their effects1 and so it was an easy matter to do them harm407 ,no doubt those were the days before the existence of a ,free ,church1 but it is doubtful if there was much less expression of blessings then than in the present4 ,a ,,preventative ,,by ,,burning ,,clothing ,allusion has already been made1 on an ,islay authority1 to the efficacy of burning a piece of the clothing to avert injury from any one bringing bad news 7page #ae74 ,a ,tiree reciter gives the same information a little more fully1 and says it protects against witchcraft or the ,evil ,eye4 8,if any woman comes into a house who is suspected1 those of the house should try to get a small piece of some article of her clothing1 without letting her know that they have got it1 and throw it on the fire2 that will prevent her from taking anything away with her or leave any mischief when she goes away4 ,if they cannot manage to get a bit of her own clothing1 a good plan is1 when she is leaving1 to burn a rag of some kind of cloth in the fire and throw it after her as she goes40 #a ,corinthians1 iii4 #ae4 8,if any man's work shall be burnt1 he shall suffer loss3 but he himself shall be saved2 yet so as by fire40 ,,prevention ,,by ,,spitting ,a native of ,ross-shire and a minister gives the following information4 ,when he was living in ,k4 a woman there had a child of about nine months old4 ,another woman came in1 and looking at the child on its mother's arm1 remarked1 8,tha balach boidheach priseil agad an sin40 78,you have a pretty1 dear boy there407 ,without more ado the mother turned the child's face to her and began to spit in it as hard as she could to prevent any bad effect from the other woman's ,evil ,eye4 ,the reciter said he has1 in several places1 heard of this being done with the view of preventing harm1 and he has often heard a person in the ,isle of ,skye say 8,fliuch do shuil0 78,wet your eye07 when any person praised any of his cattle4 ,the idea was that this would put away the chance of mischief4 ,a native of ,mull describes the practice as common there1 particularly as a preventative of injury to young children4 ,spit on your finger and rub an eye of the child to be protected with the moistened finger4 ,this was called fliuch an t-suil 7eye wet71 and was commonly practised and believed by many to be a sufficient protection4 ,a farmer's daughter1 whose people have been for generations in the same place in ,islay1 tells how she was scandalised by this practice4 8,we had a web of cloth to sew for the boys1 and the tailor we took in had the name of the ,evil ,eye4 ,one day he was sitting on the table sewing1 and my brother came into the kitchen to wash himself4 ,he was but a boy at the time1 and stripped to his waist4 ,c4 ,b4 began to say that his skin was very white1 and he was looking very well4 #8,fliuch do shuil1 's na cronaich mi1' ars ,h4 7#8,wet your eye1 and do not blight me1' said ,h47 #8,they will be saying1 that if a body will say that when any one who has an ,evil ,eye is praising them1 the ,evil ,eye can do them no injury4' ,well1 when ,h4 said that1 my mother did not know where she was standing1 she was so much ashamed4 ,you see the man had the name2 if it had not been for that she would not have cared much40 ,but the performance of the full ceremony is still in use1 and it is interesting to be able to give the personal experience of my energetic co-worker1 to whom ,i am under so much obligation4 8,a native of the ,long ,island was complimented by me 7,e4 ,m4 ,k47 recently on the style of her dress1 and the smart appearance it gave her1 when1 to my surprise and amusement1 stepping forward and wetting the point of her finger by putting it on her tongue1 she placed the finger on my right eye1 saying3 #8,fliuch do shuil eagal gum bi mi air mo ghonadh4' 7#8,wet your eye for fear that ,i may be wounded4'7 ,she did this very good-naturedly1 and explained that when one is the subject of what he may suspect to be envious praise1 either in respect of person or clothing1 he may protect himself from consequences that might result from the ,evil ,eye1 by performing this ceremony on the one who has done the praising40 ,it would appear that this practice is comparable with the quenching of a cinder in water--by wetting1 the fire of the eye may be supposed to be extinguished beneficially for the one on whom it might have an evil influence4 ,,preventing ,,by ,,churning ,it is specially difficult to distinguish between the ,evil ,eye and witchcraft in the case of loss of the due produce of cattle--butter1 cream1 c4 ,certain preventatives are good for both4 ,when any one is churning and a visitor enters to whom any suspicion is attached of the power of interfering with the butter1 any such power can be taken from her by getting her to do a spell of the churning4 ,a woman1 a strong believer in witchcraft and the ,evil ,eye1 invariably if she happens to go into a house where churning is going on1 takes the churn staff and gives a pull at the churn1 believing1 by this means1 that she frees herself from suspicion if the churning go wrong4 ,this woman1 though a professed believer in witchcraft and the ,evil ,eye1 neither professes practising it nor has ever been suspected by others4 ,an ,excise officer in ,islay kept some cattle4 ,the servant was churning1 but though there was an appearance of butter1 it could not be brought to anything4 ,the mistress of the house wondered what had come over the milk1 and a neighbour said that a woman who lived in the neighbourhood1 credited with the ,evil ,eye1 had been in1 and added1 the best plan was to send for her and get her to take a spell at the churn1 which would neutralise any bad influence she might have exerted4 ,acting on this advice1 the woman was sent for1 and on coming was requested to give a turn at the churn4 ,she did not seem to be very willing1 but no further remark being made1 she took the churn staff and churned for a while1 and the butter was got all right4 ,another woman who was present when this was told doubted it being in anybody's power to do harm in that way1 whereupon the reciter declared that she believed it to be quite true and had experienced it with the same woman1 and then detailed how she had caused the fowls to drop soft-shelled eggs1 already quoted4 ,a domestic servant1 speaking of this churning difficulty1 said that when she went into houses where they were churning they would not mind her4 8,many a time10 she added1 8they have asked me to give them help with the churn40 ,she apparently had not appreciated the reason of her assistance being asked4 ,the explanation suggested for this procedure is1 that if one does not want the churning to be successful they will not do anything to assist it2 and1 vice vers1 if they do give their help it is considered as evidence of their desire to bring it to a successful termination4 ,,prevention ,,by ,,peculiarity ,,in ,,clothes ,when speaking of the liability of nice-looking1 well-dressed children suffering injury1 the prevention by turning an article of clothing outside in was mentioned4 ,the authorities in these cases are from ,harris and from ,islay4 ,to show further the extent of this belief1 a ,ross-shire man says a thing he has often seen done for the prevention of evil influences was to turn a child's coat or other garment wrong side out1 because3 8,it is believed that a witch is rendered powerless in respect of any person who happens at the time when they might be injuriously affected to be wearing any article of clothing wrong side out40 ,another preventative in connection with clothing also comes from ,harris4 ,when a dress is put on for the first time a small burning peat or burning stick is waved over it1 inside and out1 and this is believed to be an efficient protection of the wearer from an attack by the ,evil ,eye4 ,this is evidently the purification by fire already alluded to4 ,attracting the ,evil ,eye by a piece of cloth also appears in the following from a farmer and office-bearer in the church1 a man of about seventy1 but an undoubted believer in what we may call superstitions4 ,where he was brought up a rag was put in a bruchag 7cranny7 of the wall at the head of every milk cow in the byre as a protection against the ,evil ,eye4 ,,tar ,,as ,,preventative ,the application of hot pitch to open wounds in ancient surgery is a well-known fact4 ,it may have acted as an antiseptic1 and like its congener tar applied for skin eruptions1 may have so got into popular use as a preventative of evil4 ,in the island of ,islay tar was well known as an application against the ,evil ,eye1 but its use seems to have been restricted to ,beltane night1 ,may ,eve4 ,one of our reciters1 a man now of about fifty1 when herding cattle as a boy remembers how all the time he was on the farm of ,c4 at a fixed hour on ,oidhche ,bhealtuinn he went to the byre with the farmer and his son4 ,they took with them a small pot of tar and a bit of stick1 little larger than an egg-spoon4 ,our reciter held the dish while the son took hold of the ears of each of the cattle in turn and the old man put a little tar into each ear with the stick4 ,if any words were spoken the boy did not hear them4 ,another old man1 a man of eighty1 can neither read nor write1 without any ,english1 adds to the putting it in the ears that it was also put on the noses of the cattle for the purpose of 8preventing injuries from the ,evil ,eye40 ,another1 a woman of about fifty-five1 says her father was regular in the habit of putting tar on the horns of his cows on ,may ,eve to protect the beasts from the ,evil ,eye4 ,a fourth reciter says he has often seen it put on the horns and ears1 and also rowan berries tied to the cows' tails on the same occasion1 and adds that this was usually accompanied with the repeating of some good words to protect the beasts from being hurt with the ,evil ,eye4 ,the germicide powers of tar products seem to have been further reaching1 and even more highly appreciated in those days than they are now4 ,,nicking ,,the ,,ear ,the ears1 we now see1 played a prominent part in the treatment of cronachadh1 and we learn on the authority of a minister how that in the case of a quey supposed to be affected by the ,evil ,eye1 the owner loosed it from its stall1 cut a slit in its ear1 repeating some incantation the while4 ,from a man of about fifty-five1 a joiner1 we have confirmation of this4 ,he remembers of a beast dying where he lived when he was a boy1 and of seeing the woman to whom the animal belonged and another cailleach sitting over the dead beast cutting a piece out of its ear4 ,they kept the piece they cut4 ,on asking why the women were handling the dead animal1 he was told that the piece cut from its ear would prevent an ,evil ,eye affecting the rest of the cattle4 ,weak or unhealthy eyes are in popular belief cured by piercing the ear 7and wearing earrings74 ,,urine ,,as ,,preventative ,the detergent1 and let us say with all gravity1 the cleansing power of stale urine1 is well known1 and it is hardly to be wondered at when we find this used to clear away1 as it were1 evil influences4 8,there was at one time a farmer in ,gruinart who used regularly to sprinkle his cows when putting them out with the contents of the chamber pot4 ,this was with the view of protecting them against witchcraft1 and ,i have done that myself40 ,our informant for this was a woman of about sixty4 ,this is supported by another reciter in ,islay1 who said it was done in the morning4 ,two other reciters tell that it was done in spring1 or the early part of summer1 when they were put out on the grass 8for the first time that season40 ,the sprinkling was done with a broom from the chamber pot as the cattle were passing out of the byre4 ,what was good for cows was also considered good for horses2 they also got their share of attention4 ,finally1 in this particular1 an intelligent crofter's wife who can read1 and is of about seventy years of age1 informs us that it was customary to collect the bedroom slops for a day or two before the birth of a child4 ,so soon as the child was born1 to prevent any mischief from cronachadh1 the house was sprinkled both outside and in4 ,she saw this done in her mother's house4 ,the remark that this sprinkling was done when the cattle were first turned out1 and of a statement that it was common among farmers to have the services of a man believed to have colas to notch the ears of cattle on ,may ,eve against witchcraft1 have to be taken together1 ,may ,day being supposed to be a specially active moment for the witch sisterhood4 ,two reciters mention this sprinkling with 8salt0 and 8urine0 in connection with each other4 ,that they were looked upon as having somewhat the same action there can be no doubt1 whatever analogy drawn between the two may have existed in the mind of the reciter4 ,one of the two reciters gave an instance which1 though undoubtedly unperceived by the narrator1 throws a sidelight upon the ideas connected with it4 ,the mother of our reciter consulted an eolas man for the bettering of defective churning4 ,he gave her a bottle1 directing her to hold it in her hand all the way on her journey home1 and on no account to let it touch the ground4 ,when she got home she was to sprinkle some of it on the cow and the outside of the churn1 and round about it4 ,on her way home she rested for a minute1 and forgetting about the instructions1 put down the bottle4 ,sprinkling the cow did no good1 and the scientist was again consulted4 8,leig thu leis fheum a chall10 ars ,s4 78,you allowed it to lose its usefulness10 said ,s47 8,rinn i gair bheag ag'radh gun do leig i sios e car mionaid40 78,she smiled1 saying that she had let it down for a minute407 8,chaill thu e mata40 78,you have lost it1 then407 ,now comes the incident mentioned on page #aai of his retiring to the back of the house and giving his consulter the slip of iubhar-beinne 7juniper71 the flavouring matter of gin1 the most diuretic of stimulants4 ,putting all this together1 it is not difficult to see why part at least of the magic fluid would lose its effect if it touched the ground1 the place it most naturally reaches1 if we accept ,burt's statement1 in ,highland houses1 and even in a recognised house of entertainment4 8,but ,i had like to have forgot a ,mischance that happened to me the next ,morning1 for rising early1 and getting out of my ,box pretty hastily1 ,i unluckily set my ,foot in the ,chamber-pot1 a ,hole in the ,ground by the ,bed-side1 which was made to serve for that ,use in case of ,occasion40#h ,when the next bottle reached the house and not the ground1 the effect was quite satisfactory4 ,the reciter of this openly professed belief in the whole story1 even to the recovery of the missing butter4 ,many will rise up in arms against my suggestion that the water to be used1 and which was used1 and which is called water1 was in many cases and in its origin urine4 ,in the ,clonmel witch-burning case in ,ireland in #ahie1 ,mrs4 ,cleary1 the victim1 had 8water0 thrown over her1 fetched by her cousin from an adjoining room4 ,this was brought three or four times1 and the process of sprinkling lasted at intervals over a period of ten or twenty minutes4 ,this water1 according to the ,cork ,examiner and other reports1 was called 8a certain noxious fluid40 ,according to accounts given by ,leitrim people1 the most effective way of disenchanting folk was to throw over them a concoction of strong urine and hens' excrement4 ,compare with this the ,arran man's charm against the ,evil ,eye mentioned on page #ah4i #h ,burt's 8,letters from the ,north of ,scotland10 vol4 ii4 p4 #fe4 #i ,see 8,folk-,lore10 vol4 vi4 p4 #cgh4 ,the general protective power of stale urine is curiously illustrated in the following from a ,mackay4 ,the reciter said when he was young it was a general custom throughout the ,reay country to have a tub of stale wash placed at the door cheek with a little stick always standing in it4 ,the stick was preferably1 if it could be got1 of blackthorn--sloe4 ,the object of this was that visitors might stir up the contents of the tub before going into the house1 a process intended to protect the house and its inmates from being injured by any bad luck or misfortune1 or evil of any kind1 that otherwise might accompany the visitor4 ,to comply with this condition was reckoned a sufficient passport for any caller1 and no matter who he was1 or on what business he had come1 he was expected to do the stirring before crossing the threshold4 ,the reciter said that he had done it himself regularly in his youth4 ,the conclusion arrived at that the water supplied in some cases1 and in any case what ought to be supplied by the practitioner of eolas1 was diluted urine1 seems to get important endorsation from the following on the authority of ,john ,kerr1 ,,lld41 late her ,majesty's ,inspector of ,schools3-- 8,a man had a child suffering from water in the head1 and carried him on his back in a blanket from ,lochcarron to ,lochbroom and back--over a hundred and twenty miles--to see a man who professed to cure such ailments4 ,he got a bottle of water1 a spoonful of which was to be given several times a day4 ,the doctor found the water absolutely putrid40#aj #aj 8,memories ,grave and ,gay10 ,john ,kerr1 ,,lld41 p4 #cbc4 ,dr4 ,kerr having this from a medical man1 one is inclined to fancy that the description of the dose is given in a method corresponding to an ordinary prescription2 spoonful doses remind one of the regular practitioner4 ,the diagnosis #8hydrocephalus' is the doctor's2 the man consulted was not a curer of water in the head1 but of the results of witchcraft or the ,evil ,eye4 ,this1 there can scarcely be any doubt of1 or that that also was the father's idea of the cause of the child's illness--it had been air a chronachadh4 ,here the important point is the putridity of the water4 ,if it had been pure water it might have been vapid enough1 but we may be certain that no licensed practitioner would have said that the fluid was absolutely putrid without sufficient cause4 ,the diagnosis is that its putridity was occasioned by containing a greater or less quantity of stale urine4 ,a ,,burnt ,,offering ,the following is vouched for by an intelligent and educated young lady resident in ,orkney1 though as it is from a non-,gaelic island it takes us to a different people from those we have been occupied with4 ,in one of the islands there a farmer was losing his cattle one after another4 ,the general opinion1 in which the farmer himself concurred1 was that the fatality arose from some person's ,evil ,eye having lighted on the stock4 ,it was also considered1 as the best means of putting an end to this1 to burn one of the remaining animals alive4 ,this was done1 and report has it that everything went well enough after that4 ,this case seems sufficiently notorious1 though no more exact information has been procured2 but the ,evil ,eye is strongly believed in in ,orkney1 and our informant herself knew a man who1 on finding things 8going back0 with him1 as they say1 confidently attributed his unprosperity to some one having put his ,evil ,eye in his effects4 ,many of his neighbours1 knowing the circumstances1 were of the same opinion as himself4 ,,charms4 7,,string7 8,no ,christian shall attach short strings to the neck of women or of animals1 even if you see this practised by churchmen1 and they should tell you that this custom is a pious one40 ,such was the pronouncement of ,st4 ,eloi of the ,abbey of ,luxeuil1 in the seventh century1 the successor of ,columban1 as reported by ,st4 ,ouen 7,audoenus7 in the 8,nos ,origines40#aa #aa ,les ,influences ,celtiques1 by ,charles ,roessler1 p4 #ei4 ,so far we seem to have seen that the damage done by the ,evil ,eye was a malign dispensation of ,providence1 for which the owner was only to blame to the same extent that one is to blame for a natural defect1 but the processes of cure being the result of science1 so to say1 eolas1 fios1 are in reality magic processes4 ,one of the most common of the preventive charms is something to be worn by the person to be protected1 and one reciter1 an elder in the church1 assures us that he knows a family every member of which wears such a charm suspended round the neck4 ,this must have been something of the nature of an ubag1 a thing which takes the form generally of what1 referring to ,american ,indians1 is spoken of as a 8medicine bag10 but which the ,dictionaries translate as a charm--an incantation4 ,a much more common protective is the sreang a chronachaidh1 or snathainn cronachaidh 7string or thread of hurting74 ,the form that this took differed considerably4 ,one reciter says it was made of different colours of yarn1 an incantation was said over it while being made1 and when finished it was tied round the child's neck4 ,she has often seen these in use1 and did not think that it mattered anything what colours were used1 provided that there were different colours in it4 ,another reciter says that the strings before being put on were soaked in something1 but does not mention if they were coloured1 while two others mention the fact1 of their personal knowledge1 that the threads they had seen worn were red4 ,in one of the last cases the thread had been put on to cure a child supposed to be already suffering4 ,in the other1 while the thread was used as a protection1 the reciter mentioned as a curative where something had gone wrong with the first child of a marriage1 especially if there was any suspicion of cronachadh1 that some article of clothing which had been worn by the mother on the first night of marriage1 was put round the child three times1 and 8,there are some10 said he1 8who take the precaution to do this as a preventative even where no injury is suspected as having already taken place40 ,one of our reciters quotes the following verse of a song as an authority for the efficacy of the red thread3-- 8,snathainn dearg1 is snuim air1 ,bi sud air ceann a' chrandachan2 ,ged thigeadh ,buidseach ,henderson1 ,cheannsaicheadh ,ailean e40 78,a red thread1 and a knot on it1 ,that will be on the top of the churn staff1 ,though ,henderson the witch should come1 ,allan would subdue him407 ,there can be no doubt that it is our old acquaintance the ,witch of ,endor who here again appears as ,henderson4 ,the following is the account given by a man suspected of the ,evil ,eye1 who watched secretly through a chink in the door the performance by a professor of eolas who was supposed to have inherited his skill from his deceased wife4 ,the ,evil ,eye doctor went direct to the churn1 which stood very much on the middle of the floor1 and walked round about it several times1 8six or seven10 says ,d4 ,mc,f4 ,then taking a ball of yarn from his pocket he wound it round about the churn-staff1 putting a good many turns on it4 ,this done1 he gave the staff two or three turns as hard as he could1 as if churning4 ,he then came out1 but in a short time returned1 and ,d41 securing his point of observation1 saw him take the yarn off the churn-staff and wind it round the churn itself4 ,again he gave a few turns at churning1 and finally left4 ,the reciter was uncertain whether or not any benefit accrued to that churning itself4 ,the following method in the case of a lad on the one hand1 and of a cow on the other1 demonstrates pretty fully the method of using the red yarn in ,harris4 ,the skilled woman1 having assured a sick lad that she knew what was wrong1 and that it could soon be put right1 having requested all present1 except of course the patient1 to leave the room1 procured a ball of three-ply yarn and wound it round the points of her thumb1 middle finger1 and ring finger of her left hand1 holding the thread between the thumb and mid-finger of the right hand4 ,having done this she took a small piece of burning stick and passed it three times through the circle formed by the thread on her fingers4 ,she then put a knot on the cord1 bringing it close to her mouth1 and repeating a lengthy incantation commencing1 8,ni mi an obair so0 78,i do this work071 in which were references to the 8eye40 ,the knot having been put on and the incantation finished she took the yarn off her finger1 and commencing at the crown of the head1 she rubbed him with it in a round and round way all over4 ,at this stage there was a knock at the door to which the performer replied3 8,you are there1 ,i know you10 and without opening the door1 put the knot into the fire1 saying1 8,an galar 's caslainnte chuirinn air mulach an teine40 78,the disease and the illness ,i would put on the top of the fire407 ,she repeated this three times1 and on the third occasion1 instead of putting the thread in the fire 7it would appear from this that she had made three knots1 and not one as the description would lead us to suppose7 she tied it round the lad's neck4 ,the thread is always tied1 said the reciter1 where it will not be seen1 but it must be on the skin4 ,some wear such a thread as a precaution against the ,evil ,eye4 ,it was explained that the knock at the door was done by the individual causing the illness4 ,the following is the information as to the conduct of the operation in the case of a cow1 and our reciter saw this herself4 ,the eolas operator first asked for yarn in which alum had been used in the dyeing4 ,our informant explained that it was necessary that any yarn to be used should have had alum applied to it1 and as alum is always used in dyeing red 7as a mordant71 red is very generally what is taken on such occasions4 ,having got the little ball of red yarn1 the thread was wound round the fingers as above described1 and here we learn categorically that the forefinger must not be allowed to touch the yarn throughout the performance4 ,there was no burning stick here used1 but having taken the yarn off her finger1 a knot was put on the thread1 the knot put to her lips1 and an incantation alluding to the eye muttered with it in that position4 ,this winding1 muttering1 and knot-tying was gone through altogether three times with equal care4 ,commencing then with one of the horns of the animal1 she rubbed the cow down with a circular motion all over till she came to the other horn1 and then tied the first knot on the cow's tail1 taking care to have it out of sight1 the three knots being tied one after the other to the under hairs of the cow's tail4 ,when the cow showed signs of improvement the first knot was taken off and burned with the words used above4 ,the same performance being carried through with the second knot1 but the third knot was allowed to remain on the cow's tail4 ,this woman refused to impart the incantation formula to any but a member of her own family1 and it is believed that the greater the admiration of the operator for the person affected the more effectual the cure4 ,a native of ,south ,uist said that while different methods were employed to cure the ,evil ,eye1 the most common1 so far as she could judge1 was the ,snaithnean 7thread74 ,this was so well known that when the ,evil ,eye was suspected in the case of an animal1 faigheamaid snaithnean dhi 7dha7 7get a thread to it71 and away they would go to an eolas person4 ,the snaithnean is simply a red woollen thread four or five inches long4 ,the giver of it says some good words over it1 hands it to the messenger with instructions to go straight home and tie the thread round the animal's tail till it recovers4 ,in more important cases the professor may deem it advisable to fasten the string on himself4 ,the reciter1 though not admitting belief in the charm as such1 has seen this done several times with good effect4 ,the above statement was thoroughly corroborated by another from the same locality1 who 8has often seen the red thread on beasts' tails40 ,she spoke of the injury as gonadh 7wounded74 ,an ,islay woman remembers as a girl1 in the case of a cow of her mother's1 where a string was put on the cow that was ill1 but as they were all turned out of the byre she does not know what else was done4 ,another reciter in the same island1 in the case of one of his own horses1 which was said to have been injured by the evil eyes of drovers1 had it cured by a woollen thread being tied round its tail4 ,before leaving the red thread1 a reciter in ,islay1 whose aunt lived next to a professor1 said that when this woman was consulted in cases of ,evil ,eye1 she took a bottle containing a red thread and water1 and for the purpose of discovering the cause of the animals' illness she closed her eyes and repeated an incantation4 ,this done she would open her eyes1 and the first living creature bearing any burden or weight1 that weight1 whatever it might be1 she maintained she saw pressing upon the animal4 ,a case in point is the following4 ,having gone through her performance when consulted about a sick cow1 on lifting up her eyes they rested on a man carrying a horse collar4 ,she told the owner of the cow that the spirit of that man with the collar was pressing on the animal1 and would continue so until the water which was in the bottle1 over which she had repeated the incantation1 was sprinkled on her4 ,if after that the cow shivered all over she would not get better1 but if she merely shook her ears she would be all right4 ,the people about1 the reciter added1 had great confidence in this woman's professions4 ,another reciter said that when a child was not thriving a red thread was tied round its neck and allowed to remain on night and day4 ,he has seen this where he knew both the child and its parents very intimately4 ,it must not1 however1 be supposed that red thread alone was used4 ,another ,argyllshire reciter has seen on ,hallowe'en different colours of worsted thread tied on cattle as a prophylactic4 ,the mother of the child1 in which the symptom of injury by the ,evil ,eye was its seeming to sing 8do re do10 gives the following account of the thread tied on it which cured it4 ,his father went to an eolas woman and told her his business4 ,she took some lint that she had ready to be put on the spindle and twisted a little bit into a thread4 ,it must always be green lint that is used for these threads4 ,she made a string that would go three times round his neck1 and getting the man's knife she wound the thread round the steel1 and handing it to him ordered him to hold it in his hand all the way home1 and not to open his hand or speak to anybody till he would reach home4 ,he was then to put the string three times round the child's neck1 and as he was getting better one string at a time was to be taken off and thrown into the fire4 ,this was all done as directed1 the 8humming0 stopped1 and the child got quite well4 ,a native of ,strontian gave the following as his own experience of the use of a green thread4 ,when a boy he had a 8fallen0 uvula1 and was sent to a woman who was said to be able to 8lift0 it4 ,she took him into a corner of the house and commenced manipulating the outside of his throat and below his chin1 speaking all the time as if to herself4 ,at all events he could not follow what she said1 though he heard the words ,sheumais1 ,eoin1 #8s ,pheadair 7,james'1 ,john's1 and ,peter's7 frequently4 ,having done this some time1 she tied a green thread about his neck and sent him away1 saying it would be all right4 ,mr4 ,mc,d4 added the remark that he had nothing to give the operator1 though it is essential that something pass from your hand into theirs4 ,a reason for this was given by a native of ,fort ,william1 that 8unless the curer got something for putting the trouble away the trouble would go on him- 7her7 self40 ,a curer of cases of ,evil ,eye in the neighbourhood of ,ballachulish1 though her method of treatment was not wholly known to the reciter1 part of it consisted in giving water and two threads 7three articles71 one black and one white4 ,the threads were to be twisted in a prescribed manner round the person or animal affected1 and if the threads showed any tendency to knot1 it was taken as a sure sign that it was a case of the ,evil ,eye1 i4e4 apparently if they formed eyes on the thread4 ,ligatures other than thread were used4 ,a native of ,easdale tells how his grandaunt used to tell him of a relative who lived with her father4 ,he was a farmer1 and losing his cattle1 and believing that they were being affected by the ,evil ,eye1 took his courage in both hands and marched off to consult ,campbell of ,skipness1 distinguished for his skill in such cases4 ,having told his errand1 ,campbell took him into the barn and1 excluding all light1 made the people--that is1 the ,evil ,eye people--pass before him1 and he recognised them quite well4 ,campbell then gave him a gisreag 7charm7 made of a straw rope1 and requested him to take it home with him and throw it into the fire as soon as he reached his destination4 ,this was to protect him against further injury4 ,the man burned the gisreag on reaching home1 and from that day his cattle throve quite well4 ,another reciter remembers that her brother having gone to consult a professor of eolas on account of serious losses to his stock1 while he was away a new horse1 bought to take the place of one that had died1 was taken ill between the plough chains4 ,well does she remember1 on her brother's return1 seeing him take the tether with which it had been tied1 and waving it three times over the horse1 it got up at once1 took the food offered it1 and was soon all right4 ,from ,tomintoul1 ,banffshire1 we hear of one who had a wide reputation for skill in these matters1 who was said to perform his charms by means of a bridle that was in his possession4 ,we have no further particulars1 but it is not impossible that the bridle was a rope one4 ,there has been mentioned the case of a young horse where the result of the ,evil ,eye was to make it pour of sweat and tremble4 ,having got it back into the stable1 a recognised practitioner of eolas was sent for4 ,among his questions was one whether the lad who was leading it had1 or had not1 met any one on the road4 ,he then asked for the halter which had been on the horse1 and it having been brought him he said one or two words which nobody present seemed able to catch1 after which1 waving the halter three times over the animal1 he said1 8,rise and eat40 ,at once the horse got on its feet1 began to eat1 and was cured4 ,mc,a41 the eolas man1 now said it was a case of cronachadh1 and offered to tell who had done it4 ,they assured him they did not wish to know4 ,but the reciter made the nave remark that 8he knew already1 for he knew who had met him on the road40 ,,uisge ,a' ,,chronachaidh 7,,water ,,of ,,injury7 ,we have already mentioned1 as one of the results of the ,evil ,eye1 a bad attack of yawning4 ,here is the account of the sufferer's cure in the words of the reciter4 8,chuir iad airson sean-mhathair ,sheumais ,ruaidh so agus nur a thainig ise rinn i eolas le beagan uisge agus facailean1 agus cha robh a chaileag tiota an deigh sin gus an robh i cho mhath 's bha i riamh4 ,dh'innis a bhean a leighis i ra mathair gur h-ann air a cronachadh a bha i40 78,they sent for this ,red ,james' grandmother1 and when she came she made science with a little water and words1 and it was but a short time till the girl was as well as ever she was4 ,the woman that cured her told her mother that she had been injured by cronachadh407 ,the water used here was what has been called in ,arran at any rate 8uisge a' chronachaidh40 ,one other account of this ,evil ,eye water we will give in the words of the reciter1 an old man speaking of his daughter38 #8,nuair a bha 'm bas ag'oibrich rithe thainig i dhachaidh an so agus bha e soilleir gum b'ann air a cronachadh a bha i4 ,nis chuala mi fhein daoine ag radh nam biodh neach air a chronachadh agus nam biodh bonn airgeid air a chuir ann am bowl uisge a bhiodh air a thoirt a tobar o'n taobh deas1 nan leanadh an t-airgiod ri grunnd a' bhowl1 nuair a dhoirte an t-uisge dheth1 gun cuireadh an t-uisge sin an cronachadh air falbh nam biodh e air a chrathadh air a' neach a bha fo'n chronachadh4 ,well1 chaidh mi fhein gu tobar a bha ris an taobh deas de'n tigh agam agus chuir mi bonn se sgillinn an an lan bowl-de'n uisge ach nuair a thaomadh an t-uisge dheth1 cha do lean am bonn ris a bhowl4 ,ach co dhiu chrath mi 'n t-uisge oirre ach ged a chrath cha d'rinn e feum sam bi1 's cha deachaidh i riomh ni b'fhearr4 ,ach bha daoine ag radh nan robh an t-airgiod air leantuinn ris a' bhowl gun deannadh an t-uisge an cronachadh a thoirt air falbh40 78,when death was working with her she came home here1 and it was clear that she had been blighted4 ,i myself heard people saying if any one were blighted and a coin put into a bowl of water1 which would be taken from a southern well1 if the money stuck to the bottom of the bowl when the water was poured off it1 that that water would put away the injury if it were sprinkled on the person harmed4 ,well1 ,i went myself to a well that was on the south side of my house1 and ,i put a sixpenny piece in a bowlful of the water1 but when the water was poured off the piece did not stick to the bowl2 but however1 ,i sprinkled the water on her1 but though ,i did sprinkle it it was of no use whatever1 and she never got any better4 ,but people were saying1 had the money stuck to the bowl the water would have caused the blight to be removed407 ,the methods of preparation of this water undoubtedly vary1 not merely because the reciters do not give the particulars1 but because the operators make differences4 ,a messenger being sent to a woman for eolas1 we are told 8she gave the one that went a bottle of water with directions that it was to be thrown on the cow40 ,another reciter said that a woman being brought to see a sick cow 7,d4 ,mac,c4's grandmother71 8when she came she took a cog with water and went in to where the cow was4 ,she was a decent woman1 and whatever she did to the cow she got better40 ,in another case the local practitioner1 when sent for1 walked round the cow three times1 and our reciter said1 she may have done something more1 but in any case she failed to do any good1 and the cow continued ill4 ,they then sent a messenger to another woman of the same sort1 but of greater repute1 and who lived at a greater distance4 ,this woman gave the messenger a bottle of something like water1 with instructions that it was to be sprinkled over the cow4 ,when the messenger returned home and the stuff in the bottle was sprinkled on the cow1 she got up1 shook herself1 began to show signs of recovery1 and in a short time was all right4 ,in another case the woman sent for1 8when she came said it was a case of injury by cronachadh1 and having repeated some words over the cow1 she sprinkled water she had prepared upon her with the result that the cow soon got well40 ,a male professor made up a bottle for a shepherd whose cow was ill1 and instructed him on reaching home to sprinkle 8all that was in the bottle0 on certain parts of the cow4 ,it is not advisable to take too literally statements which apparently are very exact2 8all the water0 in this case may simply mean the water that was in the bottle more or less in its totality4 ,or it may have been the instruction was so worded that if some of the water1 even a drop or two1 might be supposed not to have got on the cow that the charm would be ineffective4 ,the destination of the water for particular parts of the animal was undoubtedly a usual proviso4 ,so far the information might lead one to suppose that an incantation said over water was sufficient in the beliefs of the operators4 ,this is however not the case1 and there can be little doubt that to make the incantation effective the water should have been in contact with silver4 ,a native of ,harris said that he has heard of the 8water of silver0 as a cure for people and beasts affected by the ,evil ,eye1 and also as a preventative of such injury if apprehended4 ,in one instance which came under his own observation1 a respectable and intelligent woman1 to protect her cow and the milk and butter1 first time she went to milk the cow after calving1 put a half-crown piece in the bottom of the pail and drew the milk on to it4 ,a friend who accompanied her saw the whole performance4 ,a native of ,islay informed us that for curing eyes of those suffering from cronachadh you should put 8three bawbees in the water02 while a native of ,oban says that in all cases of cronachadh where water is used as a cure it must be poured on silver4 ,a clergyman living in ,skye recently heard of a case in the parish of ,kildonan where water in which silver had been immersed was sprinkled upon a cow which was unwell4 ,the further information in this case was that the woman in the district specially referred to was exceedingly superstitious1 and expressed her belief that she would become a bird after death4 ,she always repeated a rhyme when operating upon cattle4 ,she had died shortly before our reciter went to ,skye4 ,a school teacher1 a native of ,skye and carrying on her occupation in ,argyllshire1 confirms the strong belief in the ,evil ,eye in certain places4 ,a few years ago in ,d---- a young woman was driving her cow to pasture when the cow fell4 ,her owner turned towards a neighbour's daughter who had been looking at them passing and scolded her for the accident1 finishing by stating that the onlooker was 8mad40 ,the retort was that that affliction was hereditary with the cow's owner4 ,the interchange of compliments got the credit of curing the cow1 which arose and went its way4 ,the cure1 according to this reciter1 for any sudden sickness in cattle was to take a threepenny bit1 or any small silver1 and ask a blessing on it in the name of the ,father1 place it in a basin1 pour water on it1 and dash over the cow in the name of the ,father1 ,son1 and ,holy ,ghost4 ,in the following case the operation1 though carried out by ,gaelic-speaking ,highlanders1 was conducted in the ,lowlands4 ,a child was supposed to be the victim of cronachadh1 and the operator was the daughter of a woman who had practised eolas4 ,a fellow-servant of the operator was the reciter4 8,water was procured from a running stream1 it being necessary that the person bringing the water should have a piece of bread of some sort in his possession at the time4 ,a silver coin was put in the dish in which the water was1 and the operator waved the dish in a particular manner and then sprinkled some of the water on the child4 ,the remainder was then dashed against a large stone4 ,stress was laid on the necessity of this part of the performance1 it being essential that the stone was immovable4 ,a solid wall1 for instance the gable of a house1 was said to be equally efficient4#ab #ab ,if1 as the writer believes1 the original fluid was that mentioned in #a ,kings xiv4 #aj1 xvi4 #aa1 the deduction is that it should be that of a male1 not a female4 ,brought up in a ,presbyterian community1 the writer has little knowledge of the manuvres of traditional ,episcopacy or ,romanism1 but while speaking of this a friend1 whose niece was being baptized in a hurry1 gives the following information4 ,though the child was supposed to be dying1 the officiating clergyman had first to array himself in his official costume1 and then1 producing a small alabaster font1 prepared the water of baptism in that4 ,having performed the ceremony1 he turned to the infant's aunt and requested to be taken to the garden1 to which he himself carried the water and emptied it on the ground4 ,our informant1 herself a ,presbyterian1 was speaking of the matter afterwards to the certificated nurse4 ,she said the performance was not new to her1 and told how in a like case the clergyman1 not being provided with his own font1 and asking for a basin1 was given a nice ,svres bowl4 ,after the ceremony he also proceeded outside1 and not only emptied out the water1 but deliberately smashed the basin to prevent its subsequent use for any other purpose4 ,a variation in the ceremony occurred in the following case1 the operator being a ,lewis man4 ,he had a nice foal which had been a good deal admired1 and he was desirous of protecting it from the ,evil ,eye4 ,putting a silver coin in a dish he poured water on it4 ,he then poured off about half of the water1 apparently making a libation1 and the other half he sprinkled over the foal4 ,after this treatment he considered it would be difficult for any ,evil ,eye to injure it4 ,a native of ,bernera1 ,harris1 who can neither read nor write and has no ,english1 shortens the process4 8,tha rathad eile anns an gabh cronachadh bhi air a chuir air falbh4 ,nan gabhadh neach bonn airgeid ann a' laimh agus uisge dhoirteadh air an t-airgiod agus an sin a lamh fhliuch a shuathadh air aodan an leanabh4 ,dheanadh sin e40 78,there is another way in which cronachadh can be cured4 ,if one takes a piece of silver in his hand and pours water on the silver and then rubs his wet hand on the child's face4 ,that would do it407 ,in tracing the accounts we have received of this ,evil ,eye water we started with those which seemed to deal with plain water1 then with water in which one coin1 and that necessarily of silver1 had been placed1 and now we will consider those cases where more than one coin has been used4 ,the number seems always to be1 in this case1 limited to three4 ,a native of ,sutherlandshire1 now resident in the mainland of ,argyle1 remembers as a boy accompanying an old woman to a certain well near his native place for water to be used to cure a sick child1 believed to have been air a chronachadh4 ,the woman had a tin can with her into which she put a sixpence1 a threepenny bit1 and other coins1 said our informant1 all silver4 ,before setting out he was warned that he must not speak a word1 but forgetting himself he began to talk4 ,the woman instantly stopped him1 insisting that he must return home at once if he uttered another word4 ,he kept silence after that1 and when they returned with the water the woman whom he had accompanied sprinkled it on the sick child4 ,a native of ,lochaber gives the following as the result of his own observation there4 ,he saw different coins used1 but understood that1 at any rate1 there should be silver4 ,the description was given in connection with the use of the water as a diagnostic of cronachadh1 and was as follows3 ,the coins were put into an empty dish--a wooden one--and the water poured upon them was well water1 preferably from a spring4 ,the operator then tilted the dish over and observed whether the coin adhered to the bottom or fell away4 ,the reciter disclaimed accurate knowledge1 but said he believed if the coins adhered it was an indication of cronachadh1 but if they fell away the illness was from some 8natural0 cause4 ,a diagnostic point with this coin water1 over which however an incantation had been repeated1 the words of which had not been understood by the bystanders1 was made by a male practitioner of eolas who1 sprinkling the water on some sick cows they immediately began to bellow1 said that beyond doubt they had been afflicted by 8witchcraft40 ,he inquired if any milk from the cows had been supplied to others not on the farm1 and when told the name of a woman so supplied1 at once said that it was she who had done the mischief4 ,again repeating a word formula1 whether the same or not1 the reciter did not know1 he sprinkled the rest of the water on the cows1 and thereafter their milk was believed to have been quite normal4 ,a native of ,morven giving her account of the practice there1 and being a firm believer in the ,evil ,eye1 said that the water had to be taken from a well facing the south1 and the silver coin being in it1 the water had to be poured into a bottle from the original dish1 and the sticking of the coin to the bottom was a sign of the probable recovery of the animal for whom the water was intended4 ,above it was said that three coins seemed to be the essential number when more than one was used1 and we give here on the authority of a clergyman1 his report of information derived from the late ,mr4 ,stewart1 the minister of ,nether ,lochaber4 ,when a person is out of sorts and all overish1 as they say1 he is considered a proper subject for the silver water cure4 ,a female well advanced in life is usually the operator1 and she produces from her store a silver coin1 the larger the coin the better1 a crown piece for choice1 but if it is to be had1 a silver brooch with silver interlacements is even better4 ,getting a wooden bicker1 or earthenware bowl1 she goes to the nearest running water and fills her vessel from the stream to the depth that when she dips her middle finger straight down in it the water will be as high as the second joint of the finger4 ,having got the water she drops the coin or brooch into it1 and then makes as straight a course as she can towards the place where the one is upon whom the charm is to be wrought4 ,she must take great care that she does not spill a drop of the water by the way1 and this being accomplished1 the straighter the course followed the greater the omen of success4 ,the one to be cured is now made to lie on his back--chest and neck bare--while the woman stands over him with the bowl of silver water in her left hand4 ,having dipped the forefinger of her right hand in the water1 she makes the sign of the cross upon his forehead and in a low voice repeats an incantation4 ,during the incantation1 with her right hand she sprinkles the water on the patient seven times and as rapidly as possible4 ,there is then only enough water left to cover the coins2 this the patient is made to drink till the last drop1 the bowl being tilted over till the coin touches his lips4 ,the patient being now assured that he has been cured1 is made to rise and resume his usual occupations4 ,the words of the incantation as translated are3-- 8,trinity1 and might1 and mercy1 ,holy and most merciful to human suffering and sorrow3 ,ever ,blessed ,father1 loving ,son of ,mary1 and ,oh kindly ,spirit of health and healing4 ,expel the demon of despondency and fear out of this ,thy servant who believeth in ,thy word4 8,holy ,apostles1 twelve1 and ,mary mother1 and meek ,saint ,bridget1 and ,saint ,columba too1 exquisite singer of holy hymns1 good and wise1 intercede for him with intercession of efficacy and power4 ,let relief come now1 and health and peace4 8,let the evil that afflicted him be driven by the winds afar3 ,and let him arise in strength and hope and joy1 to magnify the goodness of the most ,high4 8,with water of silver1 from swiftly running stream ,i sprinkle ,thee4 ,arise and be well40 ,unfortunately our informant was unable to give us the ,gaelic words4 ,the ceremonies here1 probably having been performed in ,lochaber where the ,romish faith is still strong1 point them back to ,roman influences4 ,there is an accuracy of description and attention to detail suggestive of the literary man very rarely to be got from popular reciters4 ,we have however quoted our authority1 one well known throughout the ,highlands4 ,in the above there is no question of prognosticating1 and the choice of the heaviest silver coin or of a silver brooch1 which might be the size of a saucer1 militates entirely against the chance of its sticking1 even to the bottom of a wooden vessel4 ,we are able to give a quite unembellished account of the same process from the same district by a native4 8,i mind one time the best cow ,i ever had was air a' cronachadh4 ,i went for an old woman ,i knew who could cure beasts4 ,she was a decent woman1 and when she came she had water with her in a dish she had brought4 ,she put a shilling in the dish1 and then poured the water into another dish and turned that in which it had been upside down1 but the shilling stuck to the bottom and did not fall4 ,she struck the dish on the bottom three times with her hand1 but still the shilling held on1 and ,i had to pull it away with my fingers4 ,the woman said that was clear enough proof that the cow had been injured by somebody's #8eye1' and she went on to heal her4 ,she put the water on the cow's head and horns1 sprinkled some all over it1 and put some down its throat4 ,in a short time the cow was all right40 ,compare it with the following account by a native of the parish of ,urray1 in ,rosshire1 who has seen this 8silver cure0 as she calls it applied both to people and beasts4 ,she explained that it did not need a professional to do it1 any one can do it for another4 ,here1 then1 we see that the virtue lies in the silver itself apparently4 8,water must be taken in the name of the ,trinity from where the living and the dead pass4 ,when the water is brought home1 silver1 gold1 and copper are put in a dish and the water poured on their top4 ,usually coins are used1 but a gold ring or earring will do as well4 ,the person or beast that is to be healed should be made to drink a mouthful or two of the water1 and should be sprinkled all over with the rest of it4 ,that is all that is needed for the cure4 ,when one desires to find out if it is a case of hurt by the ,evil ,eye1 the dish in which the water and the coins were is carefully turned over till it is mouth downwards4 ,if the coins left in it stick to the bottom it is a sign that it was the ,evil ,eye that caused the trouble2 if they fall away the trouble was a natural one4 ,here we see a distinct reference to the ,trinity1 and we also notice that if we were to take that reciter's account of it all the three representatives1 apparently1 in order to settle the diagnosis would require to stick to the bottom of the dish4 ,but another reciter from the same county1 but from the parish of ,tarbert1 makes it clear that if the silver sticks the question is settled4 ,when the reciter's son was a baby she was living with her aunt1 and one day the child began to scream as if in great pain4 ,nothing tried seemed to give relief1 and her aunt1 suspecting ,evil ,eye1 took the reciter's marriage ring1 a sixpence1 and a penny1 and putting them into a dish1 poured water on them and then poured the water slowly off into another dish4 ,she then turned the dish upside down4 ,the ring and the penny came out1 but the sixpence stuck1 and although the bottom of the dish was struck with her hand outside1 the coin still remained4 ,this confirmed her aunt's suspicion4 ,she said1 8,see you that8 ,the child was hurt by some one envying it40 ,the reciter added1 8,he was a very pretty child at any rate40 ,the aunt gave the baby 7some of87 the water to drink1 and he soon got better4 ,a man and his wife1 natives of ,kinlochbervie in ,sutherlandshire1 separately interviewed1 agree as to the common belief there in the ,evil ,eye and cronachadh generally4 ,mr4 ,g4 himself when a boy1 being taken ill somewhat suddenly1 his mother1 suspecting that he had been air a chronachadh1 got water1 into which she put a gold1 a silver1 and a copper coin1 and sprinkled the water on his face4 ,mrs4 ,h4 said she has often seen it done both to cattle and people1 and that it was1 as well as a cure1 a preventative where no suspicion of evil had already occurred1 but only when it was dreaded1 as1 for example1 in the case of young persons of prepossessing appearance4 ,from ,back in ,lewis we have evidence to the same effect1 the belief in the ,evil ,eye being very common1 and the cure by sprinkling water off the three metals usually resorted to4 ,the reciter had seen it frequently done in the case of animals1 on one occasion to a child4 ,application was here made to an eolas woman4 ,she had water for the purpose brought from under where the living and the dead pass1 put the three coins in a dish1 poured the water on the metal1 and sprinkled the child with the water4 ,the belief in the ,evil ,eye no doubt is pagan1 though believed to be supported by ,christian dogma1 and seeing the importance attached to the rite of baptism in the name of the ,trinity1 it seems hardly to be wondered at that some equivalent ceremony should have been evolved for the cure of so mystic an influence as the ,evil ,eye4 ,the writer would1 he believes1 be the last person to insinuate anything derogatory to one ,church more than another2 but using all honest material1 the following statement must not be passed over4 ,a native of the north of ,ireland1 admitting the common belief in his own district in the ,evil ,eye1 there called1 as we have already stated1 8blinked10 informs us that the services of the priests are in demand in such cases1 and it is currently reported that priests do give bottles of fluid to be sprinkled on the animals affected1 with what is believed to be satisfactory result4 ,he added that there was a story told of a man damaging his cow by using another bottle containing vitriol instead of that given by the priest4 ,if such a thing did happen it was the man's fault1 and in no way affects the question under discussion4 ,in reciting their incantations the practitioners also vary4 ,the performance1 as described by an eye-witness1 in one case was that the woman consulted put something in a bottle1 put the bottle to her mouth1 spoke something into it1 and then threw what was in the bottle over the cow to be cured4 ,the result in this case was quite satisfactory1 almost immediate4 ,in an ,islay instance the woman consulted 8went down to the little river that was below the houses4 ,she had a wee dish with her1 and she went on her knees and said some of the good words that she had while she was lifting the water4 ,she took the water to where the mare was and said more of the words1 and sprinkled the water over the mare40 ,the result in this case was that the mare got better1 but was never so sound as she had been before1 and once she got out of the stable she never could be either forced or coaxed to enter it again1 do what they would1 and the attempt was frequently made4 ,it seems possible that the account given by one reciter of the preparation of uisge a chronachaidh1 in which he stated that the performer takes the water to be used into his or her mouth1 and from the mouth puts it into a bottle to be sprinkled from the bottle upon the person or beast to be cured1 may have been a conclusion formed from the incantation process being carried on over the mouth of the bottle4 ,the following account1 however1 by a ,mull woman of her own experience shows that spitting into the healing water has actually been practised4 ,the reciter's aunt1 suspecting that a cow which she had was suffering from cronachadh1 sent her to the eolas woman to tell her about the beast4 ,she found the professor in bed ill1 but after giving her message the woman sent her for water to be taken from under a bridge in the neighbourhood4 ,the living and the dead pass over this bridge1 and it was always from this place that healing water for cronachadh was taken4 ,while repeating the incantation she would now and again spit into the bottle1 which she gave our reciter to take to her aunt4 ,the water was sprinkled over the animal1 which recovered4 ,before considering water as a curative which had been in contact with other things than coin1 the importance attached to silver will be made more clear by the belief put in practice that a silver coin in the pail at milking time will prevent any one taking the butter away by witchcraft4 ,this was first noticed by a native of ,ayrshire1 and is practised in ,islay also4 ,an ,islay farmer and his wife being from home1 the niece in charge during their absence found the churning had gone wrong4 ,it was suggested to her to put a silver coin under the churn to counteract the action of any ,evil ,eye4 ,what the result was in that case could not be found out2 but recently a cow having calved1 to prevent any ill effect from the ,evil ,eye1 a silver coin was put in her first milk1 which was given to the cow herself to swallow1 as soon as drawn from her4 ,throughout the country at large the water prepared upon coin is undoubtedly generally known as 8silver water10 though we have shown that gold as well as copper--but gold more frequently--is associated with the silver4 ,it is interesting to notice that in one account from ,sutherlandshire the silver cure is described as being done with 8a gold ring1 and a silver coin put in a dish of water4 ,the best dish is a wooden one with wooden hoops and no nails or iron of any kind about it40 ,the silver coin should be 8a shilling for a man1 but if it is for a woman a sixpence will do40 ,from ,west ,ross-shire1 and from it alone1 has information reached us of the use of the title 8gold cure40 ,our informant says1 8,i went to see a child that was unwell1 and its mother told me that she believed that it had been hurt by the ,evil ,eye4 ,she said she was going to try the #8gold cure' for it1 but she had no gold of any description in the house1 and she asked me if ,i had any about me that ,i could lend her for the purpose4 ,i had none at the time1 so ,i could not oblige her1 but inquired of her how it was to be used4 ,she said she would put it in a dish of water and wash the child with the water40 ,,stones ,,and ,,water ,above it was indicated that the water was put in contact with other things besides coins4 ,in the case of the ,mull woman already quoted1 who had to use her butter from its unpleasant appearance for wool-greasing and such like1 the eolas man whom she consulted put things right by getting water 8and some kind of stones from a particular burn which he put in the water4 ,it was necessary10 said the reciter1 8that the stones should be taken from a particular burn40 ,she was unable to state what were the peculiar conditions which made that burn essential4 ,the collector1 who got this information in speaking to another woman in ,tobermory and who believed that cronachadh was quite common1 remembering the previous case1 and hoping to draw information1 suggested that certain stones were used for curing in ,evil ,eye cases4 8,yes10 said the reciter1 8but there is nothing so good as three pieces of silver1 three silver coins of any kind4 ,if the water is poured on three silver coins1 and the words said over either beast or body1 it will cure them40 ,the following is a fairly circumstantial account from the parish of ,clyne1 ,sutherlandshire1 of the performance with stones and silver of a strong believer4 ,she had a delicate daughter1 and believed if people1 especially strangers1 looked at the girl she was sure to be ill after it1 and often she would be so bad that she had to go to bed4 ,the mother then tried the following cure1 believed by many to be successful4 ,she took a basin and put a silver coin into it1 and went to a running stream near her house4 ,from the bottom of the stream she chose seven small stones1 which she put in the basin along with the coin1 then dipping the basin in the stream so that the water ran into it on the top of the silver and the stones till slightly more than half full4 ,she then went home1 gave her daughter a little of the water to drink1 and sprinkled a little of it on her4 ,she kept the remainder beside her1 and whenever there was any suspicion that an ,evil ,eye had again fallen upon her1 the same process was carried out4 ,unfortunately the cure failed1 the girl having died4 ,it is more than probable that the weakly girl1 imbued with her mother's superstition1 suffered when looked at by strangers1 or when she thought she was regarded with curiosity2 if she had merely been nervous she would probably have been cured4 ,a native of ,jura told how1 when living with her sister there1 one of the children becoming unwell an eolas woman was sent for1 who got some stones1 a darning needle1 water1 and other things1 and with these did something to the child1 but it did not recover4 ,our informant said they were strong in the belief that the child had been air a cronachadh4 ,another account of the use of the darning needle comes from ,ardrishaig4 ,our informant's grandmother had a cow grazing at the roadside1 and a woman1 suspected of having an ,evil ,eye1 passing1 said1 8,s mart bhriagh thu1 ge bi leis thu0 78,you are a bonnie cow1 to whomsoever you belong074 ,shortly after the cow was found 8lying rolled up in a lump40 8,my grandmother went with a luggie for water and put a darning needle1 silver1 and copper into the water4 ,she then poured some of the water down the cow's throat1 rubbed her horns with the water1 and sprinkled the rest all over her4 ,in a little the cow was all right40 ,the same reciter mentioned another case1 in which the operator was her mother4 ,a calf became ill1 and the owners were in doubts what to do with it4 8,my mother1 remembering my grandfather's cow1 put spring water in a luggie 7it must be spring water7 and a silver and a copper coin and a darning needle4 ,she forced some of the water down the calf's throat1 and sprinkled the rest over it4 ,the calf recovered1 and the farmer's wife was so pleased and said to my mother1 #8,well1 well1 ,mrs4 ,s41 ,i never saw the like of you1 you can do anything4'0 ,no detailed description was given of the stones used1 but as clach-na-sil1 the stone 7apple7 of the eye1 is common ,gaelic1 they were doubtless of a sort more or less representative of eyes4 ,from ,kintyre1 the following information in the words of the reciter gives us some indication4 8,they used tae hae a bunch o' sea-shore stanes wi' holes in them hanging up at the door tae keep awa#8 witches40 ,the collector had seen such stones in a house in ,kintyre1 but at the time did not know their purpose4 ,they were of the honeycombed sort that may be found on shores where there are quantities of shingle4 ,there were six or seven tied on a string hung above the inside of the inner door2 they were of different sizes1 guessed at from fourteen to sixteen ounces in weight4 ,from the island of ,lewis we have another indication4 ,there1 there is a considerable amount of superstition connected with what is called a' chlach nathrach 7the serpent's stone74 ,the reciter1 who had seen several of them1 said they were usually round with one hole through them1 though there may be two in some cases4 ,the popular account of the information given was as follows3 ,a number of serpents congregating at certain times form themselves into a knot and move round and round on the stone until a hole is worn4 ,they then pass and repass after each other through the hole1 leaving a coating of slime round the hole1 which by-and-by becomes hard4 ,it is this slime that gives to the stone the healing properties it is supposed to possess4 ,the principal use of the stone was as a cure for the ,evil ,eye4 ,water is poured on the stone1 and the person or beast affected is caused to drink the water1 or has it sprinkled on them2 sometimes the application is both external and internal4 ,these stones are much prized by their possessors1 who are very unwilling to part with them1 and would not even willingly show them1 or even acknowledge that they possessed them4 ,stories of the knot of serpents being seen are still told4 ,a very old man1 a labourer1 without ,english1 and who can neither read nor write1 gives the following account3-- 8,all the serpents in the country round about gather together to one place on one day every year1 where they have a day's play4 ,the play consists in rolling in a lump on a stone and running through a hole on the stone one after another4 ,one time ,georsa ,cailean's wife 7the wife of ,george1 the son of ,colin7 was going home to her father1 and when she was just beside a beautiful green spot near ,beinn ,tartbheil 7,islay71 she noticed that it was covered with serpents as thick as they could lie on the top of one another4 ,they had gathered there that year for their play4 ,she got a fright and ran1 but if she had gone among them she would have got the serpent's stone40 ,a strong endeavour was made to acquire one of these stones1 said to have been found in a serpent's den1 but negotiations came to nothing1 as the owners believing that it was good as a cure1 especially for serpents' bite1 refused to part with it4 ,it is not necessary here to discuss ,st4 ,fillan1 but it is a well-known fact that the three stones1 supposed to have been in his possession and kept in the meal mill at ,killin1 were supposed to impart healing efficacy to water in which they were steeped1 and which recently1 at any rate1 was given to diseased cattle as a curative4 ,the stones principally used then are stones with an eye or eyes in them--compare usual description of the hole in the top of a needle1 the eye of the needle4 ,the stones of ,st4 ,fillan seem the nearest symbolical equivalent we have to the protruded fingers of southern ,europe1 which again is nearly identical with the one-eyed ,fachan--the ,direach glinn ,eiti 7,straight of the downy glen87 of ,i4 ,f4 ,campbell1#ac and with which we may connect the protruded forefinger which was not to touch the yarn1 mentioned on page #ade4 #ac 8,west ,highland ,tales10 iv4 #cbf4 ,,iron ,,and ,,water ,an ,islay woman tells the following of her mother4 8,she was telling me how one time the butter went away from their milk1 and for a good while they could not get a bit of butter4 ,she was advised to go to that woman1 and she went4 ,when she told her that she could get no butter the woman took an iron and put it into the fire until it was red-hot2 she then took it out and put it into a stoup of water1 repeating some words at the same time4 ,some of this water was given to my mother to put into the churn1 and would you believe it1 the butter came back1 and not only that1 but with the very first churning there was a great quantity1 equal to all that had been lost since things had gone wrong40 ,the reciter was a woman of about five-and-thirty1 now a small farmer's wife1 and well educated for her station4 ,the iron in this case was heated1 but in another instance1 in which a horse belonging to the reciter's grandfather was supposed to be injured by the ,evil ,eye1 the eolas professor1 a woman1 having got water1 dipped a bunch of keys into it and then hung the keys round the horse's neck1 and sprinkled the water over the animal1 repeating words which the reciter could not catch4 ,the horse got well4 ,that for the cold iron1 and now for the heat4 8,nan tigeadh neach a steach gus an tigh againne #8nuair a bhitheamaid a' maistreadh dhe nach biodh m'athair ro chinnteach1 ghabhadh e eibhleag as an teine agus chuireadh e ann an soitheach uisg' e1 agus ghleidheadh sin an toradh40 78,if a person of whom my father would not be quite sure would come into our house when we would be churning1 he would take a live ember from the fire and put it in a dish of water1 and that would preserve the produce407 ,as a mere suggestion1 a guess for what it is worth1 knowing that the old process of preparing hot water by immersing heated stones in it was practised by ,highlanders1 we here may have the ordinary method of scalding the churn and dishes1 at one time common1 become a superstitious formula4 ,the power of iron as protective against witchcraft1 fairies1 and all supernatural powers is too widespread to need special consideration4 ,we must not however always conclude that when what is used as a means of cure is composed of iron that the iron is the principal matter4 ,a reciter near ,campbeltown gave the following information3-- 8,mattie ,lavarty used to be going about the country here makin' eolas4 ,i mind yince a coo belongin#8 tae yin ,neil ,r4 took ill before calfing1 an' they sent for ,mattie ,lavarty4 ,she worked aboot the coo wi' water1 an' said her paternoster or somethin' else o'er't an left a horseshoe in front o't4 ,but the next mornin' whan ,neil gaed intae the byre the calf was lyin' deed in the greep 7byre gutter74 ,that pit ,neil frae gaun near ,mattie or the like o' her ever after40 ,our business here is not with ,mattie's success or failure1 but with the subject matter used in her attempted cure4 ,the illness of the cow was probably a protracted labour1 and ,mattie put before it what was symbolical of a free passage for the expected calf4 ,it was no mere placing of something for luck1 but a use of the symbol of reproduction on an appropriate occasion4 ,,wood ,,and ,,water ,the reciter in this case was a native of ,tarbert1 ,kintyre4 ,believing his cow to be suffering from the ,evil ,eye1 he sent for a practitioner of eolas4 ,when she arrived1 the first thing she did was to procure various kinds of wood and 8different kinds of water40 ,she made circles with a stick1 repeating 8words0 the while4 ,this done1 she requested the owner to go out of the byre1 she remaining alone in it for a considerable time4 ,she put the water in which the wood had been steeped on the cow4 ,the animal recovered4 ,it seems reasonable to conclude that the iubhar beinne 7the juniper7 would be one of the woods used1 but no exact information was obtainable4 7,see page #aai7 ,,salt ,,as ,,cure ,,and ,,preventative ,salt is employed as a cure and preventative4 ,the following experience of a ,kintyre farmer's wife1 recited by herself1 gives considerable detail of the process carried out4 8,i mind yin o' oor ain coos was ill1 an' ,i sent for ,m4 ,mc,c41 that was a woman beside us that had eolas4 ,as shune as she seen the coo she said ,m4 ,mc,s4 was here4 ,that was a woman folk didna' like1 for they thocht she had a bad e'e4 ,says ,i3 #8,ay1 she was here4' #8,weel1 she did harm to the coo4' ,she gied to the march burn and lifted water oot o't in three pairts4 ,the first she lifted in the name o' the ,father1 the second in the name o' the ,son1 and the third in the name o' the ,holy ,ghost4 ,then she got salt and did the same wee hit4 ,she pit the first taitie intae the bottle in the name o' the ,faither1 the second in the name o' the ,son1 and the third in the name o' the ,holy ,ghost4 ,she then gied tae a corner o' the byre and prayed some prayer4 ,when that was finished she pit the water in the coo's ears and some on her back1 an' then said1 #8,she has plenty noo4' ,the coo shune got better4 ,peter1 ,paul1 and ,mary's names war in the prayer4 ,she offered to learn me that eolas1 but ,i didna want tae learn't40 ,from an ,islay reciter who saw the performance we have the operation described as follows4 ,she 7the professor7 first went on her knees and repeated words1 then put salt on a paper4 ,this salt she measured with a thimble painted blue in the inside4 ,she then put it into a cloth1 poured water through it into a bottle1 after which she repeated words over it and gave the bottle to the man who had come to consult her about the cow4 ,the salt seems sometimes to be used dry4 ,we have mentioned ,george ----1 described as a worthy man1 who was consulted to cure a cow so ill that the schoolmaster had already advised its owner to send for a man to flay it4 ,george required that it should be put in the byre1 and it had to be pulled in by main force with a rope round its horns4 ,this being accomplished1 he told the boys that they might go now and he would do the rest himself4 ,he then asked my mother if she had salt1 and when she replied that she had1 he ordered her to give him the full of her hand4 ,she gave him that1 and said if there was anything he would like to have one of the children would go for it4 ,but he answered1 8,this will do my business40 ,he went back to the bothan 7byre71 and he began to work the salt in the palm of his hand4 ,after a good while he came out and said to my mother1 8,your cow is dressed now1 ,flora40 ,they then went to take her out of the bothan1 but still she would not walk1 and they had to drag her out and leave her again on the green4 ,with this my father was after coming back1 and a man along with him1 to take the skin off the cow4 ,george advised her to let her alone1 for she would be all right yet4 ,the cow recovered4 ,the use of urine as a preventative has been considered already4 ,the following from an intelligent woman of about fifty1 a farmer's wife in ,kintyre1 a well-read woman who takes an interest in things which she admittedly does not believe in1 tells that when she was young1 in one farm in ,kintyre where she was in service1 her mistress was regularly in the habit of sprinkling urine 7house slops7 on every cow after calving1 and before she was allowed to go out1 the intention being to protect the cow from the effects of the ,evil ,eye4 ,in another farm1 however1 in ,kintyre1 at the same time and for the same purpose1 salt was sprinkled on every cow's back as soon as she had calved4 ,it was an encouraging sign if the cow licked off the salt1 which was specially sprinkled on either side of the rump4 ,it seems quite fair here to consider the salt as a more civilised representative of the other fluid1 though in fact the latter is of considerable value as a cleanser under certain circumstances4 ,another native of ,kintyre informs us that it was a common custom at farms when the cattle were being put out on the #ast of ,may for the mistress to stand and throw a handful of salt on each as they passed out of the byre4 ,she saw this done in a farm in the parish of ,campbeltown1 and was well aware of it being a common practice4 ,it was avowedly done against cronachadh4 ,the writer having no skill in churning1 has no knowledge what result would come from putting of salt in the churn1 but an ,arran woman is responsible for the statement that she had herself often seen salt put into a churn as a protection against any evil influence4 ,a careful observer in ,islay tells how that at one time their butter having left them and they had got none for some weeks1 they sent for a woman1 a professor in the neighbourhood4 ,when she came they had a churning ready to commence with1 but on examining it she advised that it should be thrown to the pigs1 and added that they must clean and scrub well all the dishes used for gathering the milk1 and that she would return on the next day they were ready for a churning4 ,that day having come1 the eolas woman returned1 and the first thing she did was to sprinkle a little salt on the bottom of the empty churn4 ,the milk was then poured in and the churning commenced1 with unexpectedly satisfactory results4 ,the practitioner here was an eolas woman of a very good sort1 and set about her operations in a manner well calculated to be successful4 ,on the farm1 however1 they regarded that butter with suspicion and sold it4 ,to judge from what we are told in the following as having occurred in the north of ,ireland1 so strong is the action of salt that it will put matters right with a bad churning1 even though it neither touch cream nor churn4 ,failing one day to get their butter properly1 the reciter's master sent for an old woman in the immediate neighbourhood4 ,when she came she just glanced at the churn1 and seeing at once what was wrong1 she said to the farmer1 8,if you like ,i will show you the one who has done the harm40 ,he assured her that he did not wish that1 but would be pleased if she could do anything with the churning4 ,without more ado1 so far as ,w4 could see1 she took a handful of salt1 which she threw into a pot boiling on the fire4 ,she then gave a turn or two at the churn1 and sure enough the butter came all right4 ,we have already mentioned the use of salt in connection with sugar as put in milk given to a woman suspected of influencing her source of supply1 and from which the dairymaid took the first mouthful as a sure preventative of evil1 not only for the quantity immediately given1 but also for any that would be supplied subsequently during the season4 ,one other instance of the use of salt we give on the authority of an ,arran man of about sixty-five years of age1 a shrewd business man1 but of whom the collector says that to judge from appearances he thinks his knowledge of the island and his family connection with it extends about as far back as the origin of the island itself4 ,he said his father was a great believer in the ,evil ,eye4 ,one day a neighbour1 walking with him while ploughing1 had spoken in praise of a brown horse that was in the plough4 ,his acquaintance had hardly left when the horse turned ill1 and lay down and kicked and groaned4 ,it was unyoked and taken home1 and the ,evil ,eye being suspected ,n4 ,r4's wife was sent for4 ,she came and got a mixture of salt1 soot1 and a lot of other things which she rubbed on the horse4 ,she felt it all over with her hand to find out the particular spot where the eye had struck4 ,whatever did it1 the horse recovered and was quite well afterwards4 ,the passing the hand over the animal to feel for material damage is peculiar4 ,this is a usual proceeding in cases of elf-shot1 but not of the ,evil ,eye2 however1 of course the woman was thoroughly entitled to make her own diagnosis in her own way4 ,,most ,,suitable ,,water ,in the course of the preceding1 various sources for water used to cure ,evil ,eye have been mentioned4 8,a certain well40 ,this may have been a holy well of some sort1 consecrated by traditional connection with some saint1 though after all it may have been chosen merely to fulfil the condition mentioned elsewhere that a spring is preferable4 ,a narrowing of the choice of springs from which water could be taken was shown in the case where one of our reciters told us that1 believing the water a bhiodh air a thoirt a tobar o'n taobh deas 7should be taken from a south well71 he proceeded to take it from a well south of his own house1 while another mentioned that the water required to be taken from a spring facing the south4 ,while roughly one-half of our reciters have expressed a preference for well or spring water1 the other half prefer running water4 ,one said 8it should come from a march burn10 and two mentioned 8that it should be from a running stream10 not mentioning any advantage to be derived from its dividing two properties4 ,one pointed out that a piece of bread must be in the possession of the taker4 ,in two other instances the information was given that it must be taken where the living and the dead pass4 ,the condition further annexed that it must be from under a bridge is probably merely an expression of the reciter's own for this same idea4 ,he would probably have considered stepping-stones1 or a commonly used ford which led to a burial-place1 as equally effective4 ,the specified qualifications really cover all the usual sources from which water can be drawn4 ,from a native of ,kintail1 we hear of a case which was considered the result of the ,evil ,eye1 though she spoke of the patient1 a boy1 having been 8injured by some spell40 ,he was quickly cured by the sprinkling of water from a 8certain well40 ,an ,islay reciter was very clear upon the necessity of choosing 8uisge fior0 7spring water74 ,from the same island1 in a case where a cow was said to be suffering from 8buidseachas0 7witchcraft71 which in this case seems to mean ,evil ,eye1 the water was taken in a small tub from the ,saligo ,river4 ,the cow recovered1 so if there is any doubt in any one's mind as to a proper source of supply1 he can always procure it in the river running from ,lochgorm to the west of ,islay4 ,another reciter said that water would be more efficacious if taken from a point where three parishes touched each other1 or failing that1 from a spot from which three parishes could be seen1 and that he knew of water being frequently taken from a spot which answered these conditions for healing purposes of the sort we are considering4 ,this is again an invocation of the ,trinity by suggestion4 ,a woman who herself practised eolas1 when asked whether it mattered what sort of water she used1 said 8,oh yes1 it must be water from a march over which the living and dead pass40 ,the use of this water need not apparently be accompanied by incantations and other formul4 ,a reliable informant mentioned a case which came under her own notice of a ,skye woman living at ,kenmore1 who1 having taken it into her head that a passing tramp had injured her child with the ,evil ,eye1 8hurriedly bundling up her child1 went with him to a little river near her house1 and washed the boy under the bridge which was on the main road there1 and the regular thoroughfare1 alike for ordinary passengers and funeral processions40 ,in fact1 a running water over which the living and the dead passed4 ,for dwellers in towns these instructions1 if carried out1 might mean considerable trouble1 but in one case at any rate1 in ,campbeltown1 ,kintyre1 a firm believer in the ,evil ,eye1 with a view to her own protection1 8used to stand over the water tap in her own kitchen and allow the water to run while she repeated some words over the running water40 ,the position of some wells undoubtedly makes them fashionable4 ,one of our informants who has lived at ,crianlarich says that within the last thirty years she has known people come considerable distances to take water from a well between the old ,priory and the ,kirkton burying-ground1 over which the 8living and the dead0 were wont to pass4 ,it was taken for the purpose of curing cattle injured by an ,evil ,eye4 ,a silver coin was generally in the vessel in which they carried away the water4 ,the efficacy of this cure was commonly1 if not universally1 believed in by the people of the place4 ,,taboo ,,when ,,in ,,possession ,,of ,,water ,in accordance with all the traditions of magical observance1 we must expect to find the use of this curative water made dependent upon the observance of certain rules laid down by the professor4 ,in one case already cited1 a young person going with an old woman to a well for water1 was ordered to keep silence1 even though he himself was not carrying the water2 and this was insisted upon rigidly4 ,this was in ,sutherland4 ,this insisting on silence is a very common taboo in other cases4 ,from an ,arran reciter1 in the case of an unmarried woman being sent for the pisearachd1 as it is there called1 the professor instructed her to go straight home1 no further particulars being mentioned4 ,this daughter of ,eve and ,adam sat down at the roadside and indulged her curiosity in examining what she had got from the eolas woman4 ,our reciter said1 8,after this1 of course1 it was of no use2 for anything these eolas people give for curing should never be opened till it is going to be used4 ,if it is opened before that1 it will lose its virtue40 ,at any rate in this case it did no good1 for the cow died4 ,anything approaching careful reasoning in folklore matters is not to be expected1 as in religion1 faith takes the first place1 and reason1 if admitted at all1 quite a back seat4 ,sometimes1 however1 things occur which tend to diminish superstitious faith and reassert the advantage of applied reason4 ,in ,arran1 a horse was supposed to be suffering from cronachadh4 ,the farmer sent a woman to get the advice of a professor1 ,w4 ,she had to take care of a young child at the time1 and probably it was not convenient for her to leave the child at home1 anyhow1 she took it with her in a shawl4 ,having told her errand to the eolas man1 he gave her a bottle with instructions how to use it4 ,on her way home1 constantly hitching up the child on her back1 the cork came out of the bottle1 and all that had been put in it was spilled4 ,when she found this was the case she was in a 8great stew0 and wondered what she should do4 ,she made up her mind that she would fill the bottle from the burn and say nothing of what had happened on reaching home if the horse did not get better2 if it did she could tell the truth4 ,she refilled her bottle1 retailed the eolas man's instructions1 the water was applied to the horse in accordance with these1 and recovered4 ,the woman now let out the secret1 which1 as may be supposed1 somewhat shook the confidence of the public in the powers of that individual professor of piscarachd4 ,we have to take these stories as we get them4 ,cross-questioning the reciter has various results1 from complete silence and a consequent drying-up of all information1 to an acquiescence in anything they think will satisfy their interrogators4 ,one is inclined to believe that in the following case a cracked bottle was deliberately given to the messenger so as to lead up to what happened4 ,our reciter said1 8,it was just last week ,i was speaking to ,r4 ,g4 about the man in ,r4 ,one of his cows was ill1 and a boy was sent to a man who cured cattle that had been air an cronachadh4 ,the boy got a bottle with instructions1 and was told1 8,i am not sure whether you will get back in time1 but if the bottle does not break on the way and you can reach home before the cow dies1 this will cure her40 ,the boy went as fast as he could1 but when almost home the bottle broke in halves1 and all that was in it was lost4 ,he turned back and went as quick as he could to the eolas man1 who told him3 8,i knew the bottle would break1 but ,i will make another that will not break1 only ,i'm afraid you will not be in time40 ,the boy hurried home to find the cow dead4 ,one would have supposed that any one not a fool would have looked upon this as a trick1 but the reciter1 a tradesman who can read and write1 really an intelligent man and shrewd in other matters1 added1 8,was it not wonderful that he knew the bottle would break80 ,the collector asked him what he supposed had caused it to break4 8,oh1 just the strength of the evil that was inside it4 ,one evil trying to beat another evil2 the man that gave the bottle1 you see1 was a strong wizard40 ,asked to explain his idea as expressed by the one evil trying to beat the other1 and was not the man who professed to cure as bad as the one who had done the harm1 he explained his position by saying3 8,well1 no1 it is right to do good and to beat the wicked one40 ,the spilling of the water1 and consequently the impossibility of recovering it from the ground1 would naturally put an end to any hope of cure from it1 but it would appear that even laying it down while in the bottle deprived it of its virtue1 as already pointed out4 8,when myself and my father10 said a reciter1 8were in service at ,e----1 ,i was the herd1 and one of the milch cows was attacked and not a drop of milk was left with her1 but there was nothing to be seen wrong4 ,we had a suspicion of what it was1 and ,i went up to a worthy1 clever man 7duine corr gasda7 that would be at work curing beasts that were air an cronachadh4 ,when ,i told him what was wrong he took a bottle from the corner1 while ,i sat by the fire4 ,it is not known what he said on the bottle1 but when giving it to me1 he said3 #8,air na chunnaic mi riomh gun am botal a leigeil ris a ghrunnd gus an ruiginn dhachaidh' 7#8,upon what ,i had ever seen not to let the bottle touch the ground until ,i would reach home'71 and upon reaching to put what was in the bottle in the cow's two ears1 and he said that this would make her that she would have plenty of milk that same night4 ,when ,i got home we did exactly as he had said1 and the creature had plenty milk after that40 ,the above occurred in ,islay1 but the same taboo was laid on the carriage of a like medicament in ,rothiemurchus4 ,the reciter said3 8,my mother was for a while that she could not get any butter4 ,whenever she would try to gather it1 it would run like sand4 ,at last her suspicions fell on a woman in the neighbourhood believed to have the ,evil ,eye4 ,my mother was advised to consult a woman supposed to have skill in these things1 then resident in the parish of ,rothiemurchus4 ,when she spoke of it to my father he did not object1 and said he would speak about it to the woman's husband1 both being at that time at work about the laird's house4 ,next day the woman's husband promised my father that he would tell his wife1 which he did1 and she made something4 ,i remember quite well being sent to the woman's house for the thing that was to cure the cow2 my sister was with me1 and the woman gave us a bottle1 and what was in it was just like clear water4 ,when giving it to us she cautioned us to be careful of it1 for it must not be allowed to touch the ground until it would reach the cow2 and ,i remember how very carefully we carried it home1 and how feared we were for it4 ,the cow was made to swallow it1 and whether it was that that did it1 ,i cannot tell1 but ,i know they believed it was4 ,in any case1 after that the butter came all right40 ,the reciter of this1 a woman aged about thirty-eight1 was a crofter's daughter1 fairly well educated and more than usually intelligent4 ,a very full account of the taboos to be observed by the carrier of an eolas cure comes from a reciter at ,whiting ,bay in ,arran4 ,two men1 each having but one horse1 were in the habit of doing their ploughing by uniting the pair in one team4 ,one day both horses took ill and the ,evil ,eye was diagnosed4 ,one of the owners sent for eolas and his horse began to recover2 the other man1 who at first expressed disbelief1 seeing his neighbour's horse improving while his own did not1 sent his niece1 on the 8sly10 to the same practitioner1 ,bean ,a41 for pisearachd4 ,it is the niece who gives us the information4 8,well1 ,i went1 and ,i told her my errand4 ,i had a shawl on my head4 ,when she heard my errand she went and put her hand up the lum and took something from there1 and then she went into a corner and took out three wee pokes as black as soot and took something out of them4 ,she was in the dark1 but ,i knew that there were stones in the pokes1 for ,i heard them rattling4 ,she then gave me a paper with something in it1 and told me that ,i was on no account to open the paper or let light or air into it till ,i would reach home4 ,as soon as ,i would reach ,i was to tell my uncle to put what was in the paper into a bottle of water1 and that he was to sprinkle the water over the horse1 repeating its name three times while sprinkling it4 ,he was then to pour a little into each of its ears1 and the rest1 if there should be any over1 he was to put in its food4 ,these were her directions1 and ,i went away with the paper2 but two people met me on the road and spoke to me4 ,i did not answer them properly1 for ,i was afraid1 but just said ,i #8iim1' keeping my mouth shut all the time4 ,i had a strong wish to see what was in the paper1 but was afraid if ,i would let in light or air it might be of no use4 ,i resisted the temptation till ,i was nearly home1 and then1 getting behind a dyke1 ,i put the shawl over my head in such a way that neither light nor air could get into the paper1 as ,i thought4 ,when ,i opened the paper what ,i saw were three wee black balls1 black as soot1 just like balls of soot4 ,i never let on at home that ,i had opened the paper1 and my uncle did all as he was ordered to do1 and after a while the horse began to get better4 ,i do not know whether it was the bottle that cured it1 but it took a good while before it came to be quite well4 ,people used to say that when a beast or body was air a' cronachadh it would take as long to complete the cure after the application of the eolas as had been between the injury and the application of the cure4 ,bean ,a4 assured my uncle afterwards that it was a person of the name of ,stewart that had done the harm1 and there were only three of that name in the place at that time4 ,suspicion fixed on one of them1 and by-and-by they began to cast it up to her4 ,she got angry and went to check my aunt for reporting a thing of the kind about her4 ,this was the first my aunt had heard of the cure1 for my uncle wanted to conceal it from her1 and she was very angry with him for having sent to the eolas woman40 ,in the above an express proviso was that while sprinkling the water over the horse its name was to be repeated three times4 ,the necessity for this was expressly laid down by a ,sutherlandshire reciter who said1 8,the person or beast to be cured is made to drink some of this 7silver water71 and is also sprinkled all over with some of it4 ,the sprinkling is done in the name of the ,trinity1 and the name of the person or beast being operated upon must also be mentioned4 ,this is all that is needed if it is a case of ,evil ,eye40 ,of course there is a certain amount of pure swindle in some of these performances4 ,a lad was sent some miles in ,islay for eolas for a sick cow4 ,he gave his account of the case to the man1 who then promised him a bottle4 ,having got the bottle and directions for its use1 the messenger put it in his pocket and took his way home4 ,before he had got quite half-way1 he fancied he heard a 8commotion0 in the bottle1 which was still in his pocket4 ,he then discovered that the bottle had burst 787 and what had been in it had all gone4 ,thinking this was not as it should be1 after standing for a minute or two wondering what he should do1 he made up his mind to go back and tell the scientist what had happened4 ,back he went1 made his report1 and the man said to him3 8,did they manage to do that to you8 ,i'll give you a bottle they cannot break40 ,he got another bottle ready1 waved his hands over it before giving it to the lad1 saying as he did so1 8,here1 they cannot break this one1 but the cow will not be saved40 ,he told the boy who had injured the cow4 ,they were the doers of the evil1 evidently supposed to be acting with intention to do injury2 so this case might be considered as one of witchcraft by those concerned in it4 ,,water1 ,,where ,,applied ,there has been already occasion to mention that the instruction given with the healing water was to make the animal swallow some of it1 but yet more frequently to sprinkle it on the beast4 ,the most usual locality1 however1 to which it is ordered to be applied is that of the ears4 ,a reciter's father-in-law had a sick horse which was supposed to have eaten or drunk nothing for some days4 ,a woman in the neighbourhood was consulted1 who1 when she came into the stable1 put some water 787 in the ear of the horse1 saying some words at the same time4 ,the horse1 which was lying down1 rose to its feet1 began to eat1 and recovered4 ,another reciter told of her own husband1 who got something in a bottle1 which he was ordered to put a portion of in the horse's ears1 and to sprinkle some all over its body4 ,as soon as he came home he did what he had been ordered1 the sick horse rose to its feet1 began to eat1 and completely recovered4 ,in another case the reciter's father had a grey horse which he described as not being uamhasach bochd 7frightfully bad71 but it would not eat4 ,to tempt the horse it was allowed in among their standing oats1 but it would not bend its head to eat a bite4 ,his father1 taking the advice of another1 went to ,j4 ,r4's grandmother and told her how the matter was4 ,she assured him she would not be long in giving him what was wanted2 she then gave him a bottle with the instruction1 8,a chuir a cheud da spuit dhe na bha 'sa bhotal1 aon anns gach cluais dhe 'n t-ainmhidh1 agus an corr a chrathadh sios air a mhuidh1 agus air a dhruim agus leigeil leis sruthadh sios air40 7,to put the first two spouts of what was in the bottle one in each ear of the horse1 and to sprinkle the remainder down on his mane and on his back1 and allow it to run down on him47 ,in this case also the horse gave himself a shake1 began to eat1 and recovered4 ,the same formula was applied to cattle4 ,a ,kintyre farmer had a sick cow1 and was advised to consult an eolas woman in the neighbourhood4 ,having no faith in that sort of thing1 it was some time before he consented1 but he did at last on the plea that it could do no harm4 ,the woman being sent for1 procured water and salt2 these she put into the cow's ear1 reciting some unintelligible form of words4 ,the cow seemed to brisk up at once1 and the result was so satisfactory that the owner's sister-in-law1 who was present at the performance and had previously taken up a position of unbelief1 said to him1 8,i think1 ,j41 there is something in it after all40 ,we have already given the particulars of how two beautiful quey calves were affected by the ,evil ,eye of a woman who stared at them over the field dyke4 ,one died1 but the other was cured by what appeared to be pure water which the owner was told to put in the ear of the sick calf4 ,when this was done it shook its head1 got on its feet1 and recovered4 ,these cases all get the credit of being recoveries4 ,but a ,dumbartonshire case was less successful4 ,when the reciter was in service one of the cows took ill1 and old ,j4 ,w41 who was always in the byres and well acquainted with cattle1 insisted that the beast was ill from the influence of some one aig am bheil droch shuil 7who had an ,evil ,eye74 ,nothing would satisfy him till a woman1 ,a4 ,t41 was sent for4 ,she did not find it convenient to come herself1 but sent a bottle with water in it1 instructing the messenger how to put it in the cow's ear4 ,the instructions were carefully carried out1 but the cow died4 ,any person who had been made to shudder by the inside of the ear being tickled1 would see at once how the animal was recalled to activity4 ,the following1 from a native of ,tiree1 shows either that he had forgotten the instruction given to put the water directly into the ears1 or the professor1 while still remembering the shaking of the head as sign of returning activity1 had contented himself with the simple sprinkling4 ,it was the reciter's cousin who went to the eolas man1 and who1 having 8made up a bottle10 told him to sprinkle it on the horse when he would reach home2 and if it would shake its ears when the stuff would go on it1 he said it would live1 but if not they need do no more1 for it would die4 ,our information was that the thing was done according to the directions given1 as soon as the horse felt the water it shook its ears1 and as the eolas man had said1 recovered4 ,,odd ,,cures ,there are some odd cures mentioned in individual cases4 ,,honeysuckle ,,cure ,from a good correspondent in the ,north of ,argyllshire comes the following account of a clerk in a factor's office4 ,he complained at times1 and certainly did not look very well1 but not much attention was paid to him1 as any illness he had did not seem serious4 8,a frail old woman came into his parents' house one evening as the lad returned to supper4 ,she looked at him keenly1 waited till he went out1 and then asked1 #8,what is he complaining of8' ,his mother was surprised1 but answered that he was feeling the confinement in his office a good deal1 but that there was not much wrong4 #8,you need not tell me that1' said the old woman1 #8,i can easily see there is something very real the matter with him4 ,some one has laid their ,evil ,eye upon him4 ,i'll tell you what you should do4 ,go to the woods1 get a good long bit of the iadh-shlait1 take it and twist it this way round his whole body1 repeating the following words1 and you will see your son hale and hearty soon4' ,the lad's mother did not believe in the cure and did not try it1 nor could she give the words recommended to be used40 ,the plant here is the honeysuckle1 the ,gaelic name given being used for it alone in the district4 ,dictionaries1 however1 say that it is also used for 8ivy10 which in those parts as elsewhere is called eitheann4 ,,cat ,,cure ,the reciter1 a probationer of the ,free ,church and well up in folklore matters1 when in ,harris1 of which he was a native1 heard of the following4 ,a man's cow was taken suddenly ill1 and the only conclusion they could come to was that it was a case of ,evil ,eye4 ,the owner of the cow1 acting on advice1 took a cat and rubbed it on the cow4 ,the cow recovered4 ,,rubbing ,,hair ,,the ,,wrong ,,way ,the reciter's grandfather was a ,stratherrick man 7,loch ,ness71 and when attending the market there1 was approached by another man to sell him a stirk4 ,there was a good deal of bargaining4 ,no agreement was come to1 the offerer leaving as if dissatisfied4 ,before the market closed the stirk fell to the ground and could not be got to rise4 ,f4's suspicions of course fell upon the rejected offerer4 ,an acquaintance who also was attending the market1 and was supposed to have eolas1 happened to come about1 and seeing ,f4 in distress reassured him3 8,cha'n eagal do'n bheachan a laochain40 78,no fears of the beast1 my lad407 ,he then drew the palm of his hand up the stirk's back against the hair1 repeating words which the reciter1 however1 had never heard4 ,the stirk got on its feet and was soon brisk and well4 ,,changing ,,the ,,fireplace 8,there was a man living in ,machri whose cattle and horses were dying1 and things generally going against him4 ,he knew quite well it was the ,evil ,eye1 so he consulted a buidseach4 ,the buidseach told him to change his fire to the other end of the house4 ,having done this his cattle recovered1 and he was prosperous ever after40 ,unfortunately this is the whole information available4 ,the cattle not improbably were housed beneath the same roof as himself2 but it would be of no benefit speculating as to the effect of changing the fireplace nearer to or farther from his stock4 ,all that can be said is that the change of position of the fireplace was credited with a change in the man's luck4 ,,the ,,power ,,of ,a ,,child',s ,,mutch ,whether the child in this case was suffering directly from the ,evil ,eye the reciter was not prepared to say4 ,in the neighbourhood of ,tayinloan1 ,kintyre1 there were several women who professed to be able to cure sicknesses arising from the ,evil ,eye4 ,one of these women was sent for in the case of a child thought to be dying4 ,when she arrived the household were gathered round the child1 thinking he was approaching immediate death4 ,when the woman looked at him she said nothing1 but asked for a child's mutch 7close cap71 and when it was given her she went outside1 repeated a charm over it1 and returning1 put the mutch on the child's head and said he would soon be well4 ,in a little while he kicked and stretched himself1 and it was not long till he was all right4 ,,whisky ,,cure ,in only one case have we heard of this universal solvent of misfortune being used as a cure for the ,evil ,eye4 ,the churning was unsuccessful2 the dairymaid was convinced that it was a case of ,evil ,eye1 and advised that a glass of whisky should be put in the churn4 ,the advice was not taken1 so we have still to learn the effects of whisky in like case4 ,this was in ,caithness-shire1 where belief in the ,evil ,eye is very common4 ,,lead ,,dropping ,we have already considered the reference of the diagnosis to the augury of a piece of silver sticking to the bottom of a dish4 ,all sorts of prognostications are got by pouring albumen of eggs into water as well as melted lead2 the latter was used in the following instance of what it disclosed as a case of ,evil ,eye4 ,the reciter was a well-educated sick-nurse1 of middle age and thoroughly reliable4 ,a girl had taken suddenly ill4 ,a young man in the neighbourhood was desirous of marrying her1 but the suitor was not acceptable1 and the girl took every opportunity of letting this be seen4 ,a neighbour1 supposed to have special skill and whose method of hanky-panky was the dropping of melted lead into water1 was consulted4 ,she went through her performance and showed the lead1 part of it at least1 in the form of a heart with a hole through it4 ,she explained to the sick girl1 8,look at that1 his eye is in you and you are far better to take him40 ,the match was made1 and the girl recovered her health4 ,the same woman1 going through the same performance with reference to a sick lad1 showed to his aunt and sister some of the lead in the form of a coffin1 and from that pronounced the case hopeless4 ,the lad shortly thereafter died4 ,in the case of the pierced heart1 there is no doubt1 the idea on the part of the reciter was that actual illness was brought on by the desirous eye of the young man1 not merely that the lad had an eye to her as a satisfactory partner4 ,,an ,,eye ,,for ,,an ,,eye ,we have pointed out that the belief in an ,evil ,eye is founded upon a literal acceptance apparently of the validity of the commandment 8,thou shalt not covet40 ,to the writer this seems the hardest of the ,decalogue4 ,it forbids thoughts which pass involuntarily through the mind4 ,a person to whom ,nature has given an ambitious and acquisitive disposition breaks this commandment necessarily1 however openhanded may be his practice4 ,with all reverence1 the commandment seems to be a pushing into the region of thought what has been forbidden in practice by the commandment 8,thou shalt not steal40 ,no doubt to covet means more than a simple liking to possess1 and it is the inordinate1 the excessive desire which is forbidden4 ,the theory of the ,evil ,eye as demonstrated in the beliefs of the ,west ,highlanders shown here may have sprung entirely1 and owe their origin to1 if not the tenth commandment of the ,decalogue1 an acceptance as valid of the instruction therein contained4 ,the acceptance of this commandment as binding1 demonstrates that there is a power for evil in thought alone4 ,the covetous man's eye is 8in it10 let him do as he likes4 ,this power is shown vividly by the belief so often expressed that admiration of one's own possessions will result in evil to them4 ,to counteract this deleterious result the possible sufferer has to be put under the protection of a higher ,power1 and so1 if the person coveting remembers1 a simple 8,god bless0 will ward off evil4 ,but the ,evil ,eye is not the sole property of the active-minded ,christian1 and even when it is so it is not necessarily a simple matter to suggest to him that he is breaking the tenth commandment2 in fact there may be a difference of opinion on the matter1 and it will not do to leave to the other's goodwill your security from loss and damage4 ,a curative ritual has been excogitated4 ,in these ceremonies the ,trinity is frequently made1 or1 let us say1 called on to take a part4 ,the curative water is prepared on three metals--gold1 silver1 and copper--the magic thread has three knots on it1 and sickness thus divided into three is destroyed1 say by burning two portions1 one in the name of the ,father1 the other of the ,son1 while that given over to the influence of the ,holy ,spirit1 which may be naturally supposed to counteract the covetous instinct1 remains attached to the sufferer in the third and unburned knot4 ,to show that this symbolism is carried out fairly consistently1 we would call attention here to the use of the three-knot charm in the procuring for sailors of a favouring breeze4 ,readers must take it on our authority that there are numberless accounts of the giving of a three-knotted thread for this purpose1 and the usual instructions for its use fully bear out our contention4 ,after starting one knot is to be unloosed1 and the breeze will be favouring and probably gentle4 ,to expedite matters the second knot may be untied1 and the result will be increase in the force of the favouring wind1 but on no account must the third knot be interfered with1 or the breeze will rise to a gale1 and none will be able to answer for the effect4 ,compare the above statement with what appears in the ,gospel of ,st4 ,john iii4 #h3 8,the wind bloweth where it listeth1 and thou hearest the sound thereof1 but canst not tell whence it cometh1 and whither it goeth3 so is every one that is born of the ,spirit40 ,add to this ,genesis i4 #b3 8,and the ,spirit of ,god moved upon the face of the waters40 ,this is not to be considered as a reasonable deduction from the texts quoted4 ,it merely shows that the authority may seem to give support to a connection being suggested as existing between the ,spirit of ,god1 and the ,holy ,spirit of the ,trinity1 and the uncertainty and force of the wind which is put under its governance4 ,but when we come to symbols and metaphors we open a wide field which need not be restricted by what is within the domain of the ,church4 ,the fact stares us in the face that the uisge a chronachaidh 7the water of 7against7 injury7 is more frequently prepared from one metal--silver--even than from three4 ,it is in fact frequently called ,silver ,water4 ,there can be here no traceable connection with a ,trinity4 ,the idea seems to be that the white metal represents an eye4 ,seeing that the principal medium of exchange among the people is silver1 as things go1 it is not very far fetched to make a silver coin stand for what is acknowledged to be hurtful from the point of view of covetousness1 seeing that ,st4 ,paul tells us1 #a ,timothy vi4 #aj1 that 8the love of money is the root of all evil40 ,having this in mind1 we can easily see how the adherence of a silver coin to the bottom of a wooden or other vessel comes to be relied on as settling the cause of an illness1 whether it be the ,evil ,eye or something else4 ,the round white coin staring at you1 as it were1 from the bottom of the cogue says 8,eye0 as distinctly as it is possible4 ,if it does not adhere no suggestion of an eye is made1 consequently the sickness in question arises from something else4 ,we do not hear of a copper1 and very rarely of a gold coin being used by itself4 ,we hear of gold being used in the form of the marriage ring1 but the symbolism here is the same as in the serpent stones and the honeycombed stones in ,kintyre1 it represents an eye by its form4 ,a reciter from the ,chanonry1 ,ross-shire1 says he has frequently seen women take the ring off their finger1 and hurriedly putting water on it in a dish1 dash the water over their children if they saw a person coming to call about whom they had any suspicion4 ,this was with a view to prevent cronachadh1 either witchcraft or the ,evil ,eye4 ,this connection with an eye explains also how the giving away of a darning needle means the giving away of one's luck4 ,this seems somewhat peculiar to the island of ,arran4 ,we give the following as a sample3-- ,an ,arran reciter said3 8,bettie many a time tells me of a woman they have beside them who never darns stockings or anything else4 ,one day this woman came in and asked ,bettie for a darning needle4 ,bettie suspected it was for no good end she wanted it and would have refused it1 but the woman having seen it went and took it with her4 ,for some time thereafter ,bettie was very unlucky4 ,things were going against her1 and one night she dreamed that somebody came to her and said1 #8,why did you give away your darning needle8 ,you have given away your luck with it4' ,when she got up in the morning she just went into the woman's house1 and seeing the darning needle stuck in a pincushion1 she went and took it with her40 ,bettie here had given away the magic eye of its owner1 which acted as a counter charm to the ,evil ,eyes of others4 ,the above is not the only power inherent in a darning needle in ,arran4 ,there1 stuck in the cap or bonnet1 it is as complete protection against the under-world as represented by fairies1 as elsewhere a knife is frequently quoted as being4 ,,showing ,,who ,,is ,,the ,,mischief ,,maker ,we are so easily content to waive aside these superstitions when they come in our way1 as if they were the unconsidered dreamings of the insane4 ,not one of them but has its origin1 generally no doubt in a misguided fancy1 but still based on something real enough to the mind of the believer1 even if it be a mind of childlike simplicity4 ,but when eolas men and women take on themselves to find out for the instruction of their clients to whom the ,evil ,eye damaging them belongs1 one begins to doubt but that there is more of the wisdom of the serpent than of the simplicity of the dove in this part of their performance4 ,we have already mentioned a case in which the eolas woman described to the reciter's cousin 8exactly0 the man and woman who had harmed her child1 though neither man nor woman had been mentioned to her1 and the reciter expressed wonder at the knowledge so displayed4 ,this spotting the doer is evidently a little more difficult of belief to many than the other notions they entertain about the ,evil ,eye4 ,thus1 a reciter says that one professor confirmed the owner's suspicions1 a fact openly admitted1 but added1 8,it was said that she told them whose eye had taken the milk away40 ,in another1 8,it was believed he could also tell who had done the mischief80 ,but in some cases the individual is straightforwardly given4 ,five reciters at least mentioned that1 and in one of these the reciter accepted the nomination as indubitable because they had met 8the very man she mentioned on the road40 ,there can be no doubt that some of these eolas people have deliberately offered to disclose the personality of the one doing the harm4 ,the owners of the sick animal have refused to have such information given them1 stating that they would be entirely content with a cure without knowing any ill of a neighbour4 ,refinement of feeling of this sort is foreign to many1 however1 and indeed it is to be excused in a thorough believer1 if for no other reason than the well-known principle that 8prevention is better than cure40 ,some of the indications are particularly vague4 8,he asked if a dark-haired man had been praising the cow1 and when they said that they didn't know1 #8,well1' said he1 #8it was a man with black hair 7ceann dubh7 that injured your cow1 with the ,evil ,eye6'0 ,in another case the identified doer1 as previously mentioned1 had brown hair4 ,in some cases1 though no names are mentioned1 it is quite clear that identification was intended4 ,thus1 in one of the cases cured by a cord1 the professor stated that the child had been injured by a mother and her daughter4 8,my man said that that was quite true1 but that they had no ill-will to us1 and why should they do that80 ,to that the woman said1 8,that it was likely that they did not know themselves that they were doing it40 ,in another thread-cured case1 the man operating said that it had been injured by drovers who wanted to buy the animal in question4 ,we may conclude that the eolas man knew that drovers had been in the neighbourhood4 ,similar cases have already been mentioned1 the particularity of the description pretty clearly demonstrating that the professor would have been more candid if1 instead of asking whether a dark and a fair woman with a blue shawl had been calling1 they had said there had been1 and that they were responsible4 ,but this describing the individual without naming him is evidently a trick of the trade4 ,a farmer's wife consulting an eolas man without at first the consent of the farmer1 the professor described to the couple the appearance of the man who had done the mischief4 ,we then learn that from the description they knew at once who the man was1 and also that he had been in the byre shortly before the cow had taken ill4 ,it was probably a safe enough decision to credit strange drovers with an injury of the sort1 their stay in the district being of course but a temporary one2 but one suspects local jealousy in the following case1 when a woman1 desirous of getting back her vanished butter1 was told that those doing the injury were not a musket-shot from her house4 ,this was in ,islay1 and some ,jura people staying in the neighbourhood1 it was concluded they were those pointed at4 ,a parallel appears in the case already mentioned1 where all ,tiree cailleachs are slumped as dangerous4 ,one suspects that in the following case an undesirable neighbour had been suggested4 ,there were three farmers side by side in the parish of ,kilbrandon4 ,the one in the centre was not nearly so successful as his neighbours4 ,the unfortunate farmer went to ,a---- to consult a certain eolas man4 ,by him he was told it was no wonder he was not getting on1 for he had on each side of him 8those who were doing him harm1 and until he would remove he would never get on40 ,taking the hint he looked about him1 removed to another farm1 and succeeded very well4 ,when in doubt1 the professor1 in some cases at any rate1 acquires by examination assurance of the presence of an individual to accuse4 ,having put the string on a sick cow and the cow being cured apparently1 8she 7the eolas woman7 came to the lassie that had been herding the cow and said to her3 #8,you saw a man among the cows to-day1 and you heard him saying that that cow was a good one4'0 ,the girl said1 8,yes40 ,the woman then said3 8,the man was ,j4 ,g410 and the girl again said1 8,yes40 ,the woman then told them that it was the said ,j4 ,g4 who had done the harm4 ,they all knew him quite well4 8,and now10 added ,mrs4 ,m4 in telling her story1 8if that woman had no knowledge1 how could she have known who had been among the cows on that day1 or who had done the mischief40 ,in some cases a description is given of a method of identification of the owner of the ,evil ,eye4 ,formerly we described how a woman consulted shut her eyes1 and opening them after an interval1 informed her interrogator that anything she saw of the nature of a burden was what was pressing on the sick animal4 ,in that instance it was said to be a horse collar4 ,probably in this case the woman satisfied herself of the gravity of the illness by comparing it with the relative weight of the burden4 ,in another case in which ,thursday and ,sunday were said to be the lucky days for the preparation of the uisge a chronachaidh1 and it took from ,wednesday to ,sunday to prepare the stuff1 the blame was at the end of that time laid to the charge of a stranger from ,tiree4 ,one can scarcely doubt that in that case the time was utilised to make inquiries4 ,in addition to these more crude methods there are indications of the dark-room business carried on in more civilised places almost to the present day4 ,there was a man who lived at ,balloch in the island of ,lewis much consulted1 and believed to be specially skilful in dealing with cases of the ,evil ,eye4 8,for a consideration he would produce the likeness of those who had done the harm1 showing it to the injured4 ,he would take them into a little room he had1 where he would show them the likeness of the owner of the ,evil ,eye40 ,another traditional method of identification was 8to make some one pass before the inquirer1 and the one who had done the harm would be of the same name40 ,we say traditional in this case1 because we have no information about smoke-raising1 crystal balls1 or anything of the kind1 and are therefore inclined to refer it back to the ,biblical account of ,saul's interview with ,samuel4 ,that the story of the magic mirror has found its way into the ,western ,highlands1 however1 is made clear by the following4 ,a lighthouse-keeper is our informant4 ,five men meeting his neighbour outside the lighthouse stopped him and informed him that having left their boat on the beach1 when they went back to it they found it had a hole1 and they wished to see in the looking-glass who had done the mischief4 ,when the lighthouse-keeper assured them that he had no such looking-glass1 and expressed astonishment that they would believe in such nonsense1 they seemed somewhat displeased4 ,in recounting this incident afterwards the light-keepers learned that an impression had gone abroad in the place that there was a particular mirror at the station that had the property of showing who those were that had taken part in cases of witchcraft4 ,it is easily comprehensible how the reflectors in a lighthouse might be spoken of as of peculiar efficacy1 with the usual 8,three ,crows0 result4 ,the difficulty of course is to distinguish between claims advanced of the possession of a power1 of which1 under the circumstances1 a demonstration cannot be demanded1 and the actual carrying out of some impressive hanky-panky4 ,the following is an illustration3-- ,a messenger being sent for a cure1 and having received it1 the scientist told him that if the cow had been his own she could make the shadow 7faileas7 of the one who had done the mischief to pass before him1 or1 if the woman who was the owner of the cow had come1 she could have done it for her4 ,one can scarcely be accused of a want of ,christian charity if he suggests that if the professor had had the owner before him he would not have claimed the powers he did4 ,in the story already related of ,campbell of ,skipness showing the injurious one in a carefully darkened barn1 the reciter1 also a ,campbell1 had all the appearance of believing in the story1 but as it was told of a relative of his great-grandfather's1 no one can say what are the accretions time has added to the facts of the case4 ,we have pointed out that even the ,church has been brought in contact with the ,evil ,eye scientist1 and the following information from a well-informed1 clever1 middle-aged lady1 the sister of a clergyman whose father took an interest in traditional ,gaelic matters1 as she does herself1 was heard from a ,sutherlandshire minister who recited it to her mother4 ,the milk of their cows being unsatisfactory1 the housekeeper asked leave to consult an eolas man4 ,the minister was very angry1 but the housekeeper stuck to her text and carried out her purpose1 telling the minister1 8,na gabhadh sibhse gnothuch sam bith leis1 agus chi mise de ni mi40 78,take you nothing to do with it1 and ,i'll see what ,i'll do407 ,she got the eolas man1 and he asked for a basin of the sort of watery stuff they were getting instead of milk4 ,when he got it he closed up every hole and crevice1 even stuffing up the key-hole4 ,then he put the milky water on the fire1 and when it was hot he took a knife and began to cut with it through the pot of milk4 ,while at this work a woman came to the door1 screamed1 and wanted to get in2 but he cried to her that he would give her plenty of it1 and he continued cutting away through the milk4 ,still she screamed and begged him to let her come in1 but he said he would not until she would promise to give up her wicked work and give the toradh back to the minister's cow1 all the time continuing cutting with the knife4 ,she answered she would promise everything he wanted1 for every cut of the knife was going through her heart4 ,the man then opened the door and took the pot off the fire1 and from that time the supply of milk1 both for quantity and quality1 was satisfactory4 ,in this case also1 though the authority is thoroughly respectable1 it is impossible to say what actually took place4 ,in fact it may be that our informant may have mistaken a traditional recitation as the experience of the reciter himself4 ,though told propos of the ,evil ,eye1 looking at the story in all its bearings1 it looks as if it had been1 if it happened at all1 a case of pull devil pull baker between two witches1 one of whom was supposed to be taking the minister's milk4 ,but your witch1 male or female1 still exists1 and his presence probably does not conduce to harmony in his neighbourhood4 ,two brothers lived beside the father of our reciter in ,j----4 ,they had a bit of land between them1 and their dwelling-houses stood end to end under one roof4 ,the wife of the one brother suspected the wife of the other of injuriously affecting her dairy products by the ,evil ,eye4 ,she persuaded her husband to take her part1 and he crossed to ,i---- to consult one having the reputation of witchcraft there4 ,the witch resolved to go in person to examine into the matter1 and he accompanied the man home1 where he assured the couple who considered themselves injured that he would bring the injurer crying to their door4 ,the suspected woman1 already much annoyed1 sent for the reciter's mother to come to her1 who found her sitting in tears4 ,the visitor encouraged her1 told her it was all nonsense and advised her not to be downcast1 and returned home4 ,shortly thereafter she had a visit from the woman complaining1 who told her with glee that the man consulted had put them on a plan for finding out who was injuring their milk4 ,the mutual friend received this information coldly1 and proceeded to point out that there were no grounds for suspecting any one outside her own house1 and advised her to go home1 well clean her dishes and keep her eye on her daughter1 assuring her that if she did that she would probably have satisfaction with her milk and cream4 ,the result was quite satisfactory1 as it turned out to be as suspected1 that the daughter helped herself in her mother's absence4 ,,putting ,,elsewhere ,the procedure of the eolas woman in ,bernera 7,harris71 given above1 burning two of the knots of the charmed string to carry off the disease1 stating as she put each knot in the fire1 8,the disease and the sickness ,i would put on the top of the fire10 it is evident that the evil was treated as something capable of being destroyed1 in that case by the action of fire4 ,the same idea appears in the following3-- ,the reciter remembered when misfortune came to their cattle4 ,one cow after another died1 and then a horse died1 and her brother1 a good deal older than herself1 saying he could stand it no longer1 went to consult an eolas man4 ,the latter professed to understand the case1 said it was an ,evil ,eye that had done the mischief1 and offered there and then to make the individual appear before him so that he would know who it was4 ,her brother refused to accept this offer1 and the proposition made to him then was that the illness should be transferred to the cattle of the wrong-doer4 ,this also met with disapproval1 and then it was proposed that the illness should be thrown in the sea4 ,the cure in this case was connected with waving the tether over the sick horse4 ,in another ,islay case where the dosgach was supposed to have come to the locality with a newlymarried wife of one of two brothers1 a reputed curer was consulted4 ,he made out that it was a case of buidseachas1 and he offered to put the dosgach on any of the consulters' neighbours' cattle4 ,this did not meet with the farmer's approval1 as he was unwilling that his neighbours should suffer1 so he declined to mention any name1 but recommended that the evil effect should be put in the sea4 ,one can scarcely doubt that1 there being cattle sickness in the district1 the chances were in favour of the cattle of any named person being affected1 so that even if the offer had been accepted and the farmer committed himself as desiring harm to his neighbour1 the eolas man's credit or discredit would have been maintained4 ,he must by this time have had a fair idea of the disposition of the man he was dealing with1 and probably expected that his offer next made to show him for half-a-crown the individual in fault would be refused4 ,it was so1 and the reciter gave the reason for this refusal1 viz4 that it would be an t-aibhisdear 7the adversary1 the devil71 who would appear in the likeness of a man4 ,this explains sufficiently the reason influencing those who refuse such offers1 even if one did see an appearance which was recognisable4 ,the evidence that the individual shown did it was unreliable4 ,the devil has been a deceiver from the beginning1 and if the vision was that of him masquerading1 doubtless for his own purposes1 he might be deceiving the inquirer4 ,the above story was told by the daughter of one of the two brothers concerned1 and she vouches for the truth of it1 having heard her father and uncle talk of it often and often4 ,she added a curious incident1 which seems to have had something to do with the diagnosis of the case4 ,the man consulted the 8,red ,witch10 as he was called1 and sent the farmer back 8for the twelve points of the sick cow40 ,it was explained that this meant the tips of the horns1 ears1 hoofs1 c4 ,these were examined1 and the opinion expressed that the cow could not be cured1 for the mischief had got too near her heart1 but it could be lifted from all the rest1 so that it would not trouble them any more4 ,she further explained that they were led to understand that it was two brothers who were doing the harm1 and we notice that it was two brothers who were consulting the witch doctor4 ,she said that the sickness was put into the sea4 ,from another case we get information of how this could be done4 8,a stirk of my father's was ill1 and we sent to a man for a cure4 ,he sent a bottle with instructions that part of it was to be sprinkled on the stirk1 and the rest thrown into the sea4 ,as soon as what was in the bottle went on the beast1 its horns got warm4 ,we threw the rest of the stuff into the sea as ordered1 and after that the stirk got quite well40 ,it has been pointed out already that there is no witchcraft necessary to the ,evil ,eye1 but that the processes for its cure undoubtedly are witchcraft4 ,the following will show the idea prevalent as to the powers of transferring illness4 ,the reciter1 an ,islay woman1 said3 8,there was a lad at service with ,malcolm here beside us4 ,he was one of the ,t4's4 ,he used to come our way1 and my father said to me not to have too much to do with him1 for there was something wrong about him 7hereditary witch power74 ,well1 while that lad was beside us every foal that we had died4 ,one day my father went towards the march between ourselves and ,malcolm4 ,it was pretty early1 and he noticed the dog sniffing between two little hillocks there4 ,he went over to see what the dog was at1 and what did he find but a foal's head buried under the ground4 ,it was the head of a foal of ,malcolm's that had died1 and the lad had buried it at our march to put the trouble upon us4 ,my father was terribly angry 7fuasach angrach71 for he would not do the like to another man4 ,he lifted the head and threw it into a drain1 where it would not do any harm and away from every man4 ,ach coma leibh 7but all the same71 the time of one of our mares was out1 and when she cast 7her foal71 what was there but two heads on the foal40 ,the reciter went on to say that that lad left ,malcolm and went to ,fair ,peter1 but ,peter got his burning with him1 for while he was with him the foals were dying on him1 ,besides the harm that was done to what belonged to his master1 he 7the lad7 got a piece of a dead calf and put it on a neighbour's land1 and with this that neighbour's calves 8began to go on him40 ,this story was told apparently with full belief1 and the only conclusion we can draw from it1 seems either that some cattle sickness prevailing in the neighbourhood was credited to the unfortunate lad1 or else that for some revengeful or other purpose of his own he had damaged the stock of his master4 ,we have another account of the same belief from a native of ,kilbrandon1 ,seil ,island1 where a belief in the ,evil ,eye was exceedingly common4 ,he said3 8,when a beast dies1 there being a suspicion that the death has been caused by such an ,eye1 the owner buries it stealthily1 not on his own ground1 but on the ground of some other person1 the idea being that if buried on his own ground the influence of the ,evil ,eye would be likely to remain1 and he might lose still more beasts1 but by burying the animal on the ground of another he transfers the evil from himself to the person on whose land it was buried40 ,the reciter knew of the following instance of this3-- ,a very superstitious family1 who believed in and were much afraid of witchcraft and the ,evil ,eye1 lost some of their beasts and were quite sure that the ,evil ,eye was the cause of death4 ,the head of the family1 watching a convenient opportunity1 went at night and buried them in the dunghill of another man who lived a distance of about two miles from him4 ,no one knew this at the time1 and it was only when putting out the manure they found the remains of the beasts and came to know that they had been buried there4 ,it would be unfair to encourage the belief that the professors of eolas always give themselves to spreading evil reports of neighbours4 ,one being called in where the butter supply was unsatisfactory1 after advising the use of earthenware dishes in preference to wooden ones for gathering the milk1 the dairymaid asked if she could tell her who had taken the toradh4 ,the answer was1 8,is not your name ,a480 ,on being answered that that was so1 the eolas woman said1 8,it may have been yourself40 ,,appendix ,an attempt has been made to give an honest account without literary varnish of the present-day influence of the belief in an ,evil ,eye in the ,gaelic-speaking districts of ,scotland4 ,it is difficult to be certain that nothing of moment has escaped observation4 ,the influence of ,bible texts1 no doubt used divorced from their contexts generally1 as well as the protective power of the ,divinity1 have been pointed out as influencing the superstitious4 ,one other instance we would give from the island of ,luing1 which has been handed in since the rest has been in type4 ,the reciter said3 8,i knew a real good woman who always1 when the first meal of the season was got from the mill1 sent a pitcherful of it here and there to the poor people round about4 ,but there were some to whom she would give none1 because she suspected them of having evil in their hearts1 and that if they got a pitcherful they could take all the strength out of what she kept for her house use4 ,you see1 ,hezekiah should not have shown the ,king of ,babylon all his treasures40 ,compare #b ,kings xx4 #ab-ai1 and ,isaiah xxxix4 ,evidently the idea was that the ,king of ,babylon was envious of ,hezekiah's possessions1 as the others might have been of the good lady's meal4 ,mention has been made of the belief that the ,evil ,eye could split the rocks themselves4 ,a traditional account of such an incident comes from the island of ,coll4 8,one time a man was carrying a quern 7hand corn-mill7 on his back in a poke1 and was met by a servant of ,st4 ,columba4 ,thinking the quern was a cheese1 he coveted it1 and when the man came to take it out of the bag he found it in two4 ,columba said of it1 #8,b'e farmad na suil a bhris a' chlach4'7#8,it was the envy of the eye that broke the stone4'70 ,the same story reached us at the same time from a ,breadalbane source4 ,a local laird who hurt his own cattle1 and whose dairymaid had to slam the byre door in his face1 met a girl on her way home from the shieling4 ,the girl had a quern 7muileann brath7 in a bag on her back4 ,when she passed the laird looked after her1 and supposing what she was carrying was a ceapag caise 7a small cheese71 he put his eye in it4 ,when the girl reached home the mill-stone was in halves1 his ,evil ,eye had broken it4 ,some verses describing the powers of a certain ,macandeoir1 give us a lesson in popular comparative philology3-- 8,a ,mhurach biorach lom na suil olc4 ,gonadh thu maigheach's a fhiadh4 ,gonadh thu 't-iasg a bhiodh 'san loch ,nuair a shealladh thu orra gu dlu4 ,latha caogda thu d shuil a bha olc1 ,cha bhiodh luathas 'nan cleith ',s bhiodh gach creutair dhiudh na'n corp4 ,a ,mhurach ,macandeoir ,gonadh thu ,para ,caimbeal ,gonadh thu' shleisdean #8sa chnamhan4 ',s d' fhag thu e bioradh fann40 78,oh ,murdoch1 piercing1 bare1 of the bad eye1 ,you would wound hare and the deer4 ,you would wound the fish that would be in the loch ,when you looked closely at them4 ,the day you cocked 7winked7 your wicked eye ,there would be no motion 7quick movement7 in their bosom ,and each creature of them a corpse4 ,murdoch ,macandeoir ,you would pierce ,para ,campbell1 ,you would pierce his thighs and his bones ,and you left him wounded1 weak407 ,the respected correspondent who sends this and the writer differed as to the word here translated 8wound40 ,the original spelling suggested that gonadh was the word1 and it corresponds with the other information received in like cases1 but the reciter explained1 and sticks to it1 that it means 8to covet40 ,now the word gionach means 8greedy0 8gluttonous10 and gonadh means 8wounding0 8bewitching10 thus1 gonadh ort is a form of imprecation4 ,the philologist will tell us they have nothing to do with each other1 and this may be admitted from his point of view1 but not from the popular one4 ,murdoch here immortalised was credited with the power of destroying the winter supply of beef1 even after the slaughter of the animal4 8,when ,i was a little lad1 my father and my uncle ,william bought a cow from him in winter4 ,it was customary to buy a fat cow1 kill it1 and divide it so as to have a cheap and good supply4 ,the beast was killed and hung in the barn4 ,the same day ,murdoch passed1 and they knew that on returning he would call to see how the animal bought from himself turned out after killing4 ,they were in a fix to prevent his seeing her without offending him1 and the plan they took was to close the barn1 locking the door and giving the key to some one who1 if inquiries were made1 would not tell where it was4 ,murdoch called1 asked if the cow was killed1 and said he wanted to see her4 ,they then proceeded to the barn1 but of course could not get in4 ,an apparent search was then made for the missing key1 which naturally they could not find4 ,murdoch was disappointed1 but asked if she had killed well4 ,they said she had1 and expressed regret that they could not let him see her4 ,so they prevented him laying his eye upon her after killing2 before that1 while she was his own1 of course his eye would not harm her40 ,the latter remark is not in accordance with the belief in other places4 ,a native of ,bute enables us to give another illustration of care taken to keep an ,evil ,eye from dead meat4 ,a woman of whom1 as our reciter said1 there could be no doubt she had a 8bad eye10 asked some fishers to take her along the coast in their boat4 ,not liking to refuse1 they agreed4 ,they had a fine catch of salmon with them at the time1 which she praised loudly as they lay in the net at her feet4 8,well1 for many a day after that we got no good from that net4 ,we might every bit as well look to the hills for fish as to it1 and were quite sure it was that woman that had taken its luck from it with her #8bad eye4' ,many a time after that we had to try to keep things out of her sight1 and it was not easy2 she would be up and out as early as ourselves1 no matter how early we would be4 ,i have seen us up at four in the morning1 and even at two1 trying to get the salmon boxed before she would get her eyes on them40 ,we must add one other protective formula from the neighbourhood of ,ardrishaig4 8,this10 said the reciter1 8is a good protection against injury by an ,evil ,eye4 ,i used it always with reference to the young chickens1 and found it kept them from being hurt by any greedy person40 ,the words are3 8,beannachd ,dhia air do shuil2 sop muin mu do chridhe40 78,the blessing of ,god on your eye2 a splash of urine about your heart407 ,the translation is given as received1 but a 8sop 0 is a 8wisp10 8a loose bundle10 8a cowardly fellow40 ,attention has been called on pages #aai and #acf to the iubhar1 and on #aga to the ,fachan4 ,compare the darning needle's use and its one eye to the following found among the ,wallons of ,belgium4 8,li bwegne1 le borgne4 ,cette singulire appellation s'explique par la ressemblance vague que le gland et ses levres presentent avec un il et ses paupires4 ,expression populaire3 sain-ni s'bwegne1 saigner son borgne1 c'est-a-dire ,greek3 pisser40#ad ,the same significance is applied to the same thing in the same way in ,arabic1 ,el aaouar 7,the one-eyed74#ae #ad 8,kruptadia10 viii4 p4 #bd4 #ae 8,the ,garden10 p4 #ach4 ,sheikh ,nefzaoui4 ,paris #ahhf4 ,this is 8a word to the wise0 which cannot here be considered further in detail1 but undoubtedly has much to do with the preventative of the ,evil ,eye mentioned1 and further explanation of much before alluded to will be evident to the one who can read between the lines when we mention that maistir is in ordinary ,gaelic urine1 and maistrich is a verb1 to churn1 to shake together4 ,one other hint4 ,a native of ,garmouth on ,spey said1 8,i have often heard people saying that one peacock feather given away to a person is unlucky to the one that gets it1 but that more than one is all right4 ,one time ,sandy took one to his landlady's little boy4 ,he noticed that the landlady looked displeased1 and it soon disappeared4 ,when he was telling me about it1 ,i said1 #8,why did you not take two to her8' ,he replied he would have done so1 but he did not want to yield to her freits 7superstitious fancies740 ,compare this with what immediately precedes it1 and notice that the offering of a single eye--a single feather--of the bird in question carried with it an evil influence4 ,a ,,chrioch ,le durachd do ,e4 ,m4 ,k4 mo leth-shuil's mo dha chluais6 ,,index ,acallam na ,senorach1 #c ,acquaintances1 divided into two classes1 #df ,admiration1 expressions of1 to be avoided1 #gf ,albumen1 #aih ,alum1 #add ,amhairc1 droch1 #e ,animal1 #aaj1 #adj1 #ade1 #adf1 #aej ,an t-olc1 #aa ,antiseptic1 #acb ,augury1 #aih ,bad e'e1 #b eye1 #be1 #cj1 #dc1 #ed1 #bjg1 #bjh ,one1 held by the1 #ajf ,bardic ,irish stories1 #abc ,bawbees1 #aed ,beannachadh1 #ih1 #aaf1 #abd1 #bjh ,dia1 #aaf ,beliefs1 #bc ,bhioball1 #ie ,bhuidseachas1 sgil mu1 #ac ,biblical account1 #bad ,bitten1 #he ,black ,art1 #aad1 #abc pokes1 #ahi thorn1 sloe1 #ach ,bless1 #gg1 #aae ,blessed1 #aae ,father1 #afj for the purpose of keeping away the ,evil ,eye1 #aad ,blessing seems merely preventative1 #aag ,blight1 #de1 #aeb by the ,evil ,eye1 #fi1 #gi ,blinked1 #de1 #afd ,bodach granda1 #if ,bonnet1 darning needle stuck in a1 #bjd ,bothan1 #aag ,bottle1 #aji1 #aac1 #acf1 #acg1 #adf1 #adg1 #aec1 #agg1 #aia1 #bba ,bridge1 #afe ,bruchag1 #aca ,buidseach1 #aig dh' oibrich am1 #ad ,henderson1 #adb ,hendry1 #ie ,buidseachas1 #aa1 #ac1 #ad1 #ahb1 #bbj ,burning stick1 #adc waved over it1 #aca ,burnt1 if any man's work shall be1 #abe ,burrach1 #aba ,butter not to be seen by anybody1 #hf ,cac eun1 #ah ,cailb1 ,samon1 ,sinand1 #bf ,cailleach1 #acd ,cairbre1 #abc ,caorain dearg1 #aad ,cap under her two knees1 #ajf 8,carmina ,gadelica10 #ajd ,cat cure1 #aif ,ceapag caise1 #bje ,chaoran1 slat de'n1 #ie ,charm1 #acg1 #adf1 #aec1 #aei1 #aig1 #aih ,charm1 operated a1 #gg ,charmed string1 #ba ,charms1 #f1 #adi ,chickens1 air an cronachadh1 #ff ,cholic1 #fb ,chratachan1 #ie ,christian dogma1 #afc ,chronachadh1 air a1 #bc1 #dd1 #fb1 #gf1 #ajb1 #aab1 #aea1 #aeg1 #afa injury by1 #aec ,churn1 #abc horse nail tied to the1 #aba nailing the shoe of a colt to the1 #aba scalding the1 #agc staff1 #acj1 #adc ,churning1 #bi1 #cg1 #eg1 #fe1 #ii1 #abb1 #abd1 #abi1 #aih spoiled by the ,evil ,eye1 #gb1 #gc1 #gh ,cinder1 #abh ,circle formed by the thread1 #adc ,circular motion1 #ade ,clach-na-sil1 #afi ,cloth thrown over the churn1 #hf ,clothing1 burning a piece of the1 #abe ,cluais1 #aic ,coat1 wrong side out1 #aca ,coins1 #aeg1 #aeh1 #afc or brooch1 #aei three1 seem to be the essential number1 #aei ,columba1 #afj1 #bje ,cook protects ducklings1 #hf ,cormac's ,glossary1 #e ,corp creadha1 #i ,covetous1 #bjj desire1 #a1 #b glance1 #c ,cow's head and horns1 #afa ,cron1 #ha meaning of1 #f1 #af1 #cj ,cronachadh1 #ab1 #ac1 #ae1 #bb1 #cd1 #hh1 #ig1 #ih1 #ajc1 #abd1 #ace1 #aed1 #afe1 #bjc air a1 #eg1 #ia air an1 #aa1 #ae1 #af1 #cb1 #ed1 #ib1 #ahf1 #ahg air do shuil1 #ah cases of1 #cb1 #aej cure in cases of1 #bb fhuair mi1 #ac is just envy1 #db is quite common1 #da1 #afg is still in it1 #ce1 #gh1 #gi ,crown piece1 #aei ,curative1 #aag1 #ahd ritual1 #bja water1 #bja ,cure1 #aha1 #bae view to its1 #dh ,cured by magic1 #ef thread1 #ec ,darning needle1 #afi1 #bjc ,decalogue1 #bjj ,deide1 #ib1 #ic1 #id ,deity1 #aae ,dh'itheas1 #ai ,diagnosis1 #aci1 #afb1 #ahj1 #aih ,dish struck on the bottom three times1 #afa ,divinity1 #bjd ,dosgach1 #ae1 #bai1 #bbj ,drawing the tether1 #hi ,droch sgeul1 #bc1 #ci1 #dd1 #df1 #ajb1 #aid ,drovers1 #aab looked on with suspicion1 #dh1 #di ,druids1 affinity to smiths1 #hd ,ear1 nicking the1 #acd ,eibhleag as an teine1 #abh1 #agc ,eolas1 #f1 #ia1 #ib1 #aeb1 #agf1 #ahh1 #ahi1 #aij a' chronachaidh1 #fb1 #ia1 #id applied for1 #ig deide1 #ic1 #id gach ni'n aite fein1 #id greim1 #id his father had1 #ih is from father to daughter1 #ajb made the1 #aab makin'1 #agc man1 #aaj1 #acf1 #aej1 #afg1 #ahd1 #ahf1 #aid1 #baj1 #bab1 #baf1 #bai nathrach1 #id performance1 #ig practitioner of1 #bc1 #adi professor of1 #adi1 #agb professors of1 #if sul1 #id was kept in the family1 #ajc woman1 #aji1 #aab1 #adg1 #afe1 #afh1 #ahd1 #baj1 #bac ,eructation connected with the ,evil ,eye and witchcraft1 #hc ,evil ,eye1 #a1 #e1 #aj1 #ac1 #af1 #aig1 #bjj1 #bjc1 #bje1 #bjg1 #baj1 #bai action of an1 #ee anybody may have the1 #bd avoiding suspicion of1 #cb belief in1 #a1 #ab1 #bj1 #de1 #hh1 #aed1 #afc belief that he himself had an1 #cc believed in1 #cc1 #dc1 #adj believer in the1 #h1 #abi1 #aeh case of the1 #ea1 #adh1 #aij cases of the1 #adf casting the1 #bf cattle more liable to damage from the1 #ec churning spoiled by the1 #fa1 #abd1 #abi counteracting the1 #dh1 #aca cows dying from effect1 of the1 #ef developed by relation of sexes1 #a different from witchcraft1 #hi difficulty of evolving a theory1 #fg distinction between possessing an1 and doing harm with it1 #ce doubts as to the existence of an1 #fe effects of the1 #g eggs injured by the1 #ff fowls affected by the1 #fa1 #fe1 #acj having the1 #de horses liable to be affected by the1 #fa hurt by the1 #hb1 #ig1 #aac1 #afa1 #aff indirect advantage to those credited with the1 #fi is involuntary1 #cf is not always involuntary1 #dj literary evidence of the1 #c locality of belief in the1 #bj modes of expressing the1 #ag no visible benefit to possessor1 #fh origin of1 #a1 #g or witchcraft1 #aad people who possess the1 may suffer loss1 #g possession of the1 ascribed to females oftener than to males1 #bd possessors of the1 disliked1 #bd possessors of the1 to be charged to their face1 #bi1 #cj possessors of the1 unlucky to meet1 #bf1 #bg1 #bh reputation of an1 #bh1 #abi scientists1 #baf serpent's stone1 a cure for the1 #agj stirks more rarely affected than cows by the1 #ed survival of belief in1 #aj1 #adj symptoms1 #ea their1 #aie to be referred to active covetousness1 #dj to cure the1 #ade to keep away the1 #dd1 #aca water1 #aeg women1 believers in the1 more than men1 #bc young more liable to the influence of the1 #de ,eye1 #d1 #ag1 #afa1 #bjc diabolical1 #ah envious1 #gj had struck1 #ahj has fallen upon her1 #cd my1 #dg put his1 in her1 #hc shall not spare1 #de ,facail1 #id airson eolas1 #id ceart1 #id ,fachan1 #aga ,farmad na sul1 #bje ,father1 ,son1 and ,holy ,ghost1 #aee ,fhear mhosach1 #ajg ,fiam1 #d ,fios1 #f1 #ada ,fios-achd1 #f ,fiosrachadh1 or eolas1 #ih ,foal1 #bbb ,folklorists1 #b ,formula1 #aja1 #ade1 #aeh1 #agc1 #aic1 #bjh ,galar's easlainnte1 #add ,garbh sgeith1 #ai ,gearr fheidh1 #id ,geas-arachd1 #f ,germicide the1 #acc ,ghonadh1 air a1 #ag mo1 #abg ,ghuidhe i ris an fhear mhosach1 #ajg ,gisreag1 #adi ,glance1 envious1 #e ,gold1 silver1 and copper1 #afc1 #bja cure1 #aff ring and silver coin1 #aff or earring1 #afa ,gonadh1 #adf1 #bdf ,green lint1 #adg ,greim1 #id ,ground1 must not touch the1 #acf1 #acg emptied it on the1 #aef ,harm1 #ii1 #bbb ,heifer1 #ei ,hendry1 witch1 #if ,holy ,ghost1 #agf ,honeysuckle1 #aie ,horse collar1 #adf1 #bac repeating its name three times1 #ahi shoe in the churn1 #gc front o't1 #agc to sprinkle the water over the1 #ahi ,humming1 #ec1 #adg a symptom of the ,evil ,eye1 #ec ,hurtful eye1 #cc ,hurting and healing1 united in one person1 #ii ,iadh-shlait1 #aie ,ill-will1 #fj ,incantation1 #fj1 #ig1 #acd1 #add1 #ade1 #adf1 #adg form of1 #ajd processes1 #afe repeats an1 #ei1 #afd ,injured1 #gf1 #hf by cronachadh1 #aea by ,evil ,eye1 #ef1 #ahc the cow1 #ajg ,injury1 protection against1 #dd1 #de1 #aad1 #abc ,iubhar1 #aai1 #abj ,ivy1 #aif ,juniper wood1 #aai1 #acf ,kicking1 #ef1 #hj ,knife1 #baf ,knowledge1 #ih of healing1 #ih the result of inquiry1 #ih to cause injury1 #ii ,laochain1 #aif ,laogh1 #ac1 #ad ,lint1 #adg ,lips1 #aei ,living and the dead were wont to pass1 #ahc ,look1 a foal hurt by a mere1 #hj a horse hurt by a mere1 #hj cows hurt by a mere1 #hj1 #ha ,look1 his would cronach it1 #ajc milk hurt by a mere1 #ha ,loup1 #fj ,lucky1 #ch ,magic eye1 #bjd fluid1 #acg mirror1 #aad thread1 #bja ,maistir1 #bji ,maistirich1 #bji ,malevolent1 #ih ,manure1 #bbc ,marriage ring1 a sixpence1 and a penny1 #afb ,medicine bag1 #ada ,meise de mhin1 #aaa ,melted lead1 #aih ,metal1 #bjb ,milk1 #ij a drink of1 given to any one suspected of the ,evil ,eye1 #abb1 #abc deterioration of1 #ij taking a mouthful of1 #ij ,miscall1 #aag ,mislook1 #e ,mordant1 #add ,motive1 #ed ,muin1 #bjh ,mulach an teine1 #add ,nathrach1 #id1 #agj leigheas airson lot1 #id ,neck1 #ada bare1 #aeg ,neonain1 ,bun 'us ,barr1 #id ,neutralise any bad influence1 #abi ,nicking the ear1 #acd ,nos ,origines1 #ada ,obair1 #add ,oidche ,bhealtuinn1 #acb ,olc1 #ie ,operator1 #ade1 #aee1 #aef1 #aei ,overt act1 #ed ,paid1 #aji ,pail1 half-crown piece in the1 #aed ,paper1 put salt on a1 #aag ,pay1 they do nothing without1 #ajf ,payment1 he did not want1 #aji ,pee1 the milk has gone along with the1 #eg ,perform his charms by means of a bridle1 #adi ,performance1 #ig1 #aii ,peter1 ,paul1 ,mary1 #agf ,piseach1 #f ,pisearachd1 #f1 #ahd1 #ahe1 #ahh ,piseog1 #f ,pisreag1 #f ,pokes1 three wee1 #ahh ,practice1 #bjj ,practitioner of eolas1 #bc1 #adi1 #aeh1 #agb qualified1 #eb unlicensed1 #ec ,practitioners vary1 #afd ,praised1 animals she had1 died1 #hg butter scattered by being1 #gh hen taken in dead by being1 #gi pig injured by being1 #gi ,preventative1 #aag1 #aca1 #acb1 #aed1 #afc charms1 #ada ,professional1 #bb ,professor1 #baj of eolas1 #if ,prognostications1 #aih ,protection of the ,deity1 #aae ,quern1 #bje ,quey1 #ei ,quey1 air a cronachadh1 #ff blind1 #ei calves1 #aic ,rag1 burn a1 #abe ,remedy1 #aac ,request1 #dh ,rhyme1 #aed ,rift1 #hb ,roin1 #id ,rowan1 #aah1 #aai1 #acc ,sack of ,da ,derga's ,hostel1 #be ,saint ,bridget1 #afj ,salainn1 dorlach1 #id ,salmon1 #bjg1 #bjh ,salt1 a preservative1 #hc and urine1 sprinkled with1 #acf used as a cure and preventative1 #agf ,sell1 risky to refuse to1 #di1 #hh ,serpent's stone1 #agj1 #aga1 #bjc ,seven small stones1 #afh ,sgeith1 #ai ,sgil mu'n chronachaidh1 #aaa ,sheirbhis1 pris airson a1 #aaa ,sheumais ,eoin's ,pheadair1 #adh ,ruaidh1 #aea ,shilling1 #aji1 #afa ,shuil1 an droch1 #af1 #bc bhuail an droch1 #af ,fluich do1 #abg ghabh an droch1 #ag mo1 #aaf thuit an droch1 #ag ,sign of the ,cross1 #aei that it was the ,evil ,eye1 #afb ,silver brooch1 #afj coin1 #cj1 #aae1 #aee1 #aef1 #aeh1 #afe1 #aff1 #bjc cure1 #afa gold and copper1 #afa piece1 #ajh ,silver1 white1 #ajh ,sixpence to give her1 #ajh ,skill1 #aja ,skilled1 #ea1 #fj1 #ga ,skin1 #add ,slime1 #agj ,smiths1 #hd ,snaithnean1 #ade ,snathainn cronachaidh1 #ada dearg1 #ie1 #adb ,snuim1 #ie1 #adb ,son of ,mary1 #afj ,sop1 #bjh ,sorcery1 #f ,spells1 #f ,spilling1 #ahf ,spirit of health and healing1 #afj ,spit1 #abf ,spitting into the healing water1 #afe ,spot from which three parishes could be seen1 #ahb ,sprinkle1 used regularly to1 #ace ,sprinkled1 #adg1 #aeb1 #aec1 #aee1 #aef1 #aeg1 #afa1 #afd1 #afh1 #aic ,sreang a' chronachaidh1 #ada ,stanes1 bunch o' sea-shore1 #afi ,stirk1 #bba ,stone1 water dashed against1 #aee ,stones1 and silver1 performance with1 #afg certain1 used for curing in ,evil ,eye cases1 #afg in the pokes1 #ahi taken from a particular burn1 #afg ,suil sanntach1 #db ,tar1 an ,islay application against the ,evil ,eye1 #acb ,t-aibhisdear1 #bbj ,tether1 waving it three times over the horse1 #adi ,teum1 #ag1 #he ,thread1 cure1 #baa different colours used1 #adg green1 #adh must always be green lint1 #adg red1 #ade1 #adf1 #adg three knots on the1 #ade1 #bja to be put three times round the child's neck1 #adg woollen1 #ade1 #adf ,threads1 two1 one black1 and one white1 #adh ,three articles1 #adh ,tiomnadh nuadh1 #id ,tobar1 ris an taobh deas1 #aeb o'n taobh deas1 #aha ,toothache1 curing of1 #ic ,toradh1 #baf1 #bbc bring back the1 #aji meaning of1 #e1 #f power of taking away1 #aja ,transmission of eolas1 #ajb ,tre tsuilib na sochaiae1 #d ,trinity1 #ajd1 #afa1 #ahb1 #aij1 #bja1 #bjb ,turf1 square of1 #i ,ubag1 #ada ,udder1 #gg ,uisge a' chronachaidh1 #afd1 #bjb1 #bad bonn airgeid air a chuir ann am bowl1 #aea dhoirteadh air an t-airgiod1 #aeg fior1 #ahb ,uncanny ways1 #gg ,urine as a preventative1 #afd1 #bji sprinkling1 #agh stale1 #ace1 #aci strong1 #ach ,usual proviso1 #aec ,uvula1 fallen1 #adh ,vet is no use1 #ia ,veterinary surgeon1 #aji ,vomit1 #ajb ,water1 #aac1 #abd1 #aeh1 #aei1 #aha1 #ahf absolutely putrid1 #ach and copper coin1 and a darning needle1 #afi and stones1 #afg and two threads1 #adh as a diagnostic of cronachadh1 #aeh bottle of1 #ga1 #aeb1 #aeh from a march over which the living and the dead pass1 #ahb from where the living and the dead pass1 #afa must be poured on silver1 #adh of silver1 #aed1 #afj poured on three silver coins1 #afg sprinkled on the child's face1 #aae ,whisky1 #aih ,wish1 #ae ,witch1 #f ,witch1 burning1 #acg cure1 #bba doctor1 #ajc1 #bba ,hendry1 #if of ,endor1 #if reputed1 #hc ,witchcraft1 #ee1 #abi1 #aeh1 #bae1 #bag1 #bba ,witchery1 #f1 #ad and the ,evil ,eye1 #abi1 #bbc protecting against1 #ace resorted to as a cure1 #ee white1 #if ,wizard1 a strong1 #ahf may have the ,evil ,eye1 #ef red1 #eg ,wooden bicker1 #aei ,word1 a1 must not be spoken1 #aeg ,words1 #ajd1 #ade1 #afd1 #agb good1 #ajd1 #ade1 #afd ,yarn1 ball of1 #adc different colours of1 #adb red1 #add three ply1 #adc ,yawn1 #hb ,yawning1 an effect of the ,evil ,eye1 #aea ,printed by ,,ballantyne1 ,,hanson ,,co4 ,edinburgh ,london