[1] Cf. Finska Kranier jÄmte nÅgra natur och literatur-studier inom andra omrÅden af Finsk Antropologi Skildrade af Prof. G. Retzius, Stockholm, 1878, p. 121. A most valuable and interesting work which ought to be known to all students of anthropology. See also Du Chaillu's Land of the Midnight Sun, vol. ii. p. 277.

[2] Hereafter quoted as S. ja T.

[3] This valuable collection will hereafter be quoted as Friis.

[4] Villon Society. London, 1884; and hereafter quoted as Payne's Arabian Nights.

[5] Such a window as they had in old times: a hole with sliding door or shutter. Vide Retzius, p. 110.

[6] The bath-house is a separate building with a stove in the corner covered with large stones which become red hot and then water is thrown upon them which fills the house with steam. Round the sides are shelves where the bathers (both sexes) recline, and whip themselves with branches of birch on which the leaves have been left to die. Retzius, p. 119. Cf. also Land of the Midnight Sun, vol. ii. p. 207.

[7] A John Twardowski is said to have been a doctor of medicine in the university of Cracow, who, like Dr. Faust, signed a contract in his own blood with the devil. He is said to have been wont to perform his incantations on the mountains of Krzemionki, or on the tumulus of Krakus, the mythic founder of Cracow. The demon was to do all the magician bade him and to have no power over him until he met him at Rome, where he took good care not to go. Whether this gentleman is supposed to have ultimately become the lame fiend I know not. See Slavonic Folk-Lore, by Rev. W. S. Lach-Szyrma, in Folk-Lore Record, vol. iv. p. 62.

[8] A division of South Sweden washed by the Skaggerack and Kattegat.

[9] Cf. "Haastelewat Kuuset" (The Talking Pines), S. ja T. ii. p. 73, where the man is about to reveal to his wife, who has been plaguing him to tell her, why he laughed when he heard some birds twittering, and, as this means death, he puts on all his clothes and lays himself out on a bench. Just then the hens are let loose, and as they run about the floor of the chamber where the man is the cock struts about and says, "Cock, cocko, cock, cocko! See, I have fifty wives and govern them all; the master has only one and can't manage her, therefore the fool is going to die." The man heard that, got up and kept his secret. Animals' language must not be revealed. Cf. Benfey, Ein MÄrchen von der Thiersprachen in Orient und Occident. Naake's Slavonic Tales, Servian story of the Language of Animals, 71-99; and "Woman's Curiosity," p. 301, in the present volume.

[10] Old Deccan Days, "Rama and Luxman," p. 66.—Thorpe's Yule-Tide Stories, "Svend's Exploits," p. 343.—Grimm, "Faithful John," vol. i. p. 33, and Notes, p. 348.—"Secret-Keeping Little Boy," p. 233, in this volume.

[11] Near the bath-house (vide supra, p. 308) is the kiln to dry corn, a most important building in the Finnish farmstead. It is built of wood like the bath-house. On one side of the doorway is a stove (built of stones, see Land of the Midnight Sun, vol. ii. p. 274, where there are illustrations of somewhat similar stoves or ovens), that gives out a great heat and smoke, which fills the inside of the building, especially the upper part. This "ria" or kiln is used to dry the corn in. All Finnish rye is dried in this way. Retzius, p. 120.

[12] Ruobba, scurfy skull, or Gudnavirus, i.e. Ashiepattle.

[13] Cf. Dasent: "Boots and His Brothers," p. 382, where Boots finds an axe hewing away at a fir tree, and a spade digging and delving by itself, and by their means he got the princess and half the kingdom.

[14] Wagner's Asgard, p. 208. Roman intruders are called "the Roman dragon, the bane of Asgard." Wagner's Epics and Romances, "the Nibelung," p. 3; "the Dragonstone," p. 243. Henderson's Folk-Lore of the Northern Counties, p. 283.

[15] Professor Ebers says: "Red was the colour of Seth and Typhon. The Evil One is named the Red, as, for instance, in the papyrus of Ebers red-haired men were typhonic." See "Uarda," note on p. 58. Red-haired people are still in some parts looked on as unlucky to meet when going to sea, or as "first foot." See also Black's Folk-Medicine, pp. 111-113. According to a Magyar jingle:

[16] A finger song, common, with slight variations, in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark, and Swedish speaking people in Finland. Cf. Yorkshire—

See Halliwell's Nursery Rhymes, p. 206.

[17] It is interesting to note the finger-lore of the people, e.g. Gubernatis, vol. i. 166, says: "The little finger, although the smallest, is the most privileged of the five." It is the one that knows everything; in Piedmont, when the mothers wish to make the children believe that they are in communication with a mysterious spy, who sees everything that they do, they are accustomed to awe them by the words, "my little finger tells me everything." See also vol. ii. p. 151.

In Holderness, Yorkshire, it is a common superstition that if you pinch anyone's little finger when they are asleep, they will tell you their secrets; or, as some say, "if you can bear your little finger pinching you can keep a secret." If you see a white horse, spit over your little finger for luck. Schoolboys make their bargains irrevocable by spitting over their little fingers.[A] In Petalaks (a parish in East Bothnia, about twenty miles from Wasa) every one believes in a "bjero"[B] or "mjero," which is one respect resembles Sampo in Kalevala, insomuch as he brings good luck to his possessor. Sometimes he looks like a ball of yarn, but more often like a hare. The way he is manufactured is as follows:—A wafer spared from the Communion, some wool stolen from seven cow-houses on Maundy Thursday, and a drop of blood from the little finger of the left hand. During the performance the manufacturer must curse and swear without ceasing. The wool is to be spun on Easter morn when the sun dances; the thread to be wrapped round the wafer, and the whole put in the churn. Whilst churning, the spellmaker sings, "Milk and butter thou must bring to me; I shall burn in hell-fire for thee." After a time the "bjero" springs out, and asks, "What will you give me to eat?" "Raisins and almonds," is the reply. And all is complete. See Suomen Muinaismusto-yhtiÖn Aikakauskirja, ii.; Helsingissa, 1877, p. 133; Vidskepelser insamlade bland allmogan i Petalaks, 1874; Skrock och vidskepliga bruk hos svenska allmogen i Vasabygden. Af. Prof. Freudenthal, Helsingfors, 1883, p. 8; and Rink's Tales and Traditions of the Eskimo, p. 440.

[18] TegnÉr: Prologen till Gerda.

[19] See variants given in Henderson's Folk-Lore of the Northern Counties, pp. 258, 262.

Cf. Riddle set to three soldiers by the devil, and found out by the help of his grandmother. Grimm, vol. ii. pp. 152, 425. Also, Vernaleken, p. 206.

[20] A similar plant occurs in "The Merchant," in the Pentamerone.

[21] Taylor's Edition. London. 1848.

[22] Of the word "devil" one cannot do better than quote Mr. Ralston's words: "The demon rabble of 'popular tales' are merely the lubber fiends of heathen mythology, being endowed with supernatural might, but scantily provided with mental power; all of terrific manual clutch, but of weak intellectual grasp." Cf. CastrÉn, Finsk Mytologi, p. 163.

[23] A similar tale still exists in Holderness under the name of "The Glass Stairs."

[24] Morte d'Arthur, book I, cap. iii. tells how "in the greatest church in London, there was seen in the churchyard a great stone foursquare, and in the midst thereof was like an anvil of steel a foot on high, and therein stuck a fair sword naked by the point, and letters there were written in gold about the sword that said thus: whoso pulleth out this sword of this stone and anvil is rightwise king born of all England." Which sword was drawn out by Sir Arthur. Cf. book 2, cap. i. where a maiden comes girt with a sword, that no one could pull out but the poor knight Balin.

[25] This man-eating being was said to be something like a very big and mighty man, and was to be found in waste places. He was generally dressed in a white coat, with a silver belt round his waist, from which hung a silver-hafted knife, and a great many silver ornaments. He was exceedingly stupid, and the butt of Gudnavirucak. (Ashiepattle) They were probably nothing more than the old Vikings, and Stallo is thought to be derived from "Staalmanden," or men dressed in steel (Lapp, staale = steel).

[26] Cf. Grimm, "The Three Sons of Fortune," i. p. 291.

[27] I have heard similar stories amongst the peasants in Flanders.

[28] The magpie is an important bird in folk-belief, and Swedish peasants say you must not kill it lest it be a troll in disguise as in this story. If they build in a house it is a sign of luck; if in the fields and come to the house and laugh, woe be to the house.

[29] Cf. Amelia Ferrier, A Winter in Morocco, p. 172, et seq.

[30] It is curious that the Magyar word for a marriageable girl, "eladÓ leÁny," also means "a girl for sale."

[31] In old times in Finland, a "spokesman" used to go beforehand to the girl, in order to find out whether the young man was likely to be acceptable. Cf. Scheffer, The History of Lapland. London, 1751, p. 71; and Boner, Transylvania, p. 488.

[32] "Given the basket:" in Finland the same phrase is used. Cf. the English phrase, "to give the sack."

[33] Cf. Note to "Handsome Paul," p. 317, ante.

[34] In the Russian Church there are two distinct services, which are performed at the same time, the "betrothal" when rings are given and exchanged, and the "coronation." Lansdell, Through Siberia, vol. i. p. 168.

[35] Cf. Denton, Serbian Folk-Lore, p. 205.

[36] Cf. this with the Finnish "bride-dresser," who looked after the bride's toilette, even providing the necessary dresses if the girl did not possess them.

[37] See Scotch "feetwashing," Folk-Lore of North-East Scotland; Folk-Lore Society, p. 89. In Finland, before a wedding, the friends of the bridegroom-elect invite to a party, which is called the "bachelor's funeral," at which he is oftentimes carried on a sofa shoulder-high as a mock funeral.

[38] The royal Hungarian bodyguard wear leopard-skins clasped with silver buckles.

[39] I have heard of racing for ribbons, &c., at weddings in Yorkshire; and of young men racing home from the church to tell the good folk at home that the marriage was un fait accompli. Cf. Napier, Folk-Lore, p. 49, and Henderson, p. 37.

[40] A remain of the marriage by force. VÁmbÉry notes the existence of this amongst the Turkomans. The bride's door in Transylvania is often locked, and the bridegroom has to climb over; or sometimes he has to chase her, and catch her: Boner, p. 491. Cf. also Tissot, vol. i. p. 94; Scheffer, p. 75; Gilmour, Among the Mongols, p. 259; Napier, p. 50.

[41] For accounts of English wedding-feasts in the north, see Sykes' Local Records, Newcastle-on-Tyne, 1833, vol. i. pp. 194, 205, 209.

[42] The vizier's daughter is displayed in seven dresses in the story of "Noureddin Ali of Cairo, and his son Bedreddin Hassan": Payne's Arabian Nights, vol. i. pp. 192-194. And in old times the brides in Japan changed their dress three to five times during the ceremony: Mitford, Tales of Old Japan, p. 370.

[43] Cf. LappbÖnder, Skildringar SÄgner och sagor frÅn SÖdra Lappland. af. P. A. Lindholm, p. 89.

Fra Finmarken. Friis, ("Laila" in S.P.C.K. translation), cap. xi.

Dancing the crown off the bride in Finland. See "A Finnish wedding in the olden times." Notes and Queries, 6th s. x. p. 489.

They cut the long hair off the Saxon brides in Transylvania; and in Spain, when the bride goes to her bedroom, the young unmarried men unloose her garter.

Just as in our land old shoes are thrown after the bride when she leaves home, and never matter how they fall, or how young relatives batter the backs of bride and bridegroom with aged slippers, you must not look back: so they say in Holderness, at least. The sumptuary laws of Hamburg of 1291, enacted that the bridegroom should present his bride with a pair of shoes. According to Grimm, when the bride put the shoe on her foot it was a sign of her subjection. (Boner, Transylvania, p. 491). See old Jewish custom, Rath. iv. 7.

See also Napier, p. 53, where he refers to the Grecian custom of removing the bride's coronet and putting her to bed.

Henderson, Folk-Lore of Northern Counties, pp. 36, 37, 42.

Aubrey, Remains of Gentilisme, Folk-Lore Society, p. 173.

Gregor, Folk-Lore of North-East of Scotland, pp. 96, 100.

[44] From a paper read before the Hungarian Historical Society, by Baron BÉla RadvÁnszky, on Feb. 1st, 1883; Cf. A magyar csalÀdi Èlet a xv. es xvi. szÀzadban, by the same author.

Cf. Tissot, Unknown Hungary, vol. i. p. 227.

Boner, Transylvania, pp. 488-495.

Fagerlund, Anteckningar om Korpo och HoutskÄrs Socknar, Helsingfors, 1878, p. 42.

Lindholm, "Ett bondbrÖllop," p. 86; and "Ett lappbrÖllop," p. 91.

[45] Laulu Lapista.

[46] See also Swedish Songs in Du Chaillu, Land of the Midnight Sun, vol. ii. p. 424.

[47] Cf. another group of stories, where trouble comes from the advice of those at home, such as Dasent, "East o' the Sun, and West o' the Moon," p. 29; Afanassieff, vol. vii. No. 15, and "Cupid and Psyche," see also notes to "The Speaking Grapes, &c." in this collection.

[48] Cf. Rerum Moscoviticarum Commentarii by the Baron Sigismund von Herberstein. London, 1852. (Hakluyt Soc.) vol. ii. pp. 46 et seq.

[49] Untersuchungen zur ErlÄuterung der Ältesten Geschichte Russlands. St. Petersburg. 1806.

[50] Loc. cit.

[51] Cf. Hunfalvy PÁl, MagyarorszÁg EthnographiÁja. Budapest. 1876. chap. 41.

[52] Notes and Queries, 7th S. ii. pp. 110, 111.

[53] Cf. also, Folk-Lore Record. 1879, p. 121; Gesta Romanorum, "The Knight and the Necromancer;" Records of the Past, vol. i. p. 136. "Tablet V."; Rink, Tales and Traditions of the Eskimo, p. 302; and Leland, The Gipsies, p. 159, where we are told gipsies object to having their photographs taken unless you give them a shoe-string.

[54] Magyar NÉpmesÉinkrÖl in the Kisfaludy TÁrsasÁg Évlapjai. New Series iv. p. 146.

[55] A Worcestershire woman told the writer that she had a nephew born with a caul, and when he was at the point of death it became quite moist.

[56] The CsÁngÓs are Magyar settlers in Moldavia; they are now assisted to return to Hungary by the Government. This story is told of the feud between two races. There are others which strike off the characteristics of neighbouring races, such as the story of the angels, current in Hungary, which is as follows:—

When Adam and Eve fell, God sent Gabriel, the Magyar angel, to turn them out of the garden of Eden. Adam and his wife received him most courteously, and most hospitably offered him food and drink. Gabriel had a kind heart, and took pity on them. He was too proud to accept any hospitality from them, as he did not consider it quite the right thing. So he returned to the Deity, and begged that somebody else should be sent to evict the poor couple, as he had not the heart to do it. Whereupon Raphael, the Roumanian angel, was sent, who was received and treated by Adam and Eve in like manner. He, however, was not above a good dinner, and having finished, he informed the couple of the purpose of his coming. The two thereupon began to cry, which so mollified Raphael that he returned to his Master, and begged Him to send some one else, as he could not very well turn them out after having enjoyed their hospitality. So Michael, the German angel, was sent, and was treated as the others. He sat down to a sumptuous meal, and when the last morsel of food had disappeared, and the last drop of liquor was drained, he rose from the table, and, addressing the host and hostess said, "Now then, out you go!" and the poor couple, though they cried most pitifully and begged hard to be allowed to remain, were cruelly turned out of the garden of Eden. See Arany's collection.

[57] The mound was opened in 1870, and found to contain bones.

[58] As late as 1875, a farmer near Mariestad buried a cow alive, upon disease breaking out in his herd. See also Contemporary Review, Feb. 1878, "Field and Forest Myths," p. 528, "Within the last few years, at least one Russian peasant has been known to sacrifice a poor relation in hopes of staying an epidemic."

[59] I heard this story again the other day in South Lincolnshire.

[60] Remains of a Roman camp near Brocklesby.

[61] Vide A History of the County of Lincoln. By the author of The Histories of London, Yorkshire, Lambeth, &c. &c. London and Lincoln: John Saunders gent., 1834.