, 1890-01-16

night mass OF Christmas eve
these tortured spirits are free'
from antagonisms to fraterniz
with each other, or e
quench their burning thirs
ut wells aud streams, At thi
moment, all these wonderful treas
urcs lie unguardcd, and II the place
are approached with certain herb
entwlncd with cinquefoil, u chanc'
IL given mortals TO obtain the covet
ed wealth. The difficulty In secur
ing IL, however, has always been tn,
fear on tho part Of the peasants tina
pell-mell from their yearly diver
sions to sentinel their posts, ant
claim the treasureseacher's spiriti
ns their own.
Brittany, always rich In heroic
legends, IL especially 80 In those
ever delightful ones which wreath6
the memory Of Britain's "stainles'
king" Arthur of the Table Round
Though Cornwall lays claim To
Arthur's birthplace, and place OF
death at Camelford, Brlttany's ten
dcrest heritage Of legend and song Is
in the imperishable traditions of his
heroic exploits upon her soil.
There X n rock In Fin
isterc to which for seventeen
years he fastened his steed. On the
sands at Lannlon he slew the dra-
gon. At Mont st. Micheal dwelt
the terrible giant who fell by Ar
thurs arm. From the summit of
the Menez-Arrez mountains his
shadowy hosts Is seen to defile at
break OF day whenever war is i'm
pending;
''lIorsemcn all mounted on war-stceds
of gray, like the mist-wraithsi
Coursers that snort with the cold on the
height OF the mountains"
That shadowlcss isle of Avalon to
which he was conveyed after his
mortal hurt, IL held by Breton folk
to be little islot of the Cotes du
Nord. And among the peasantry
there IL an almost universal loving
belief In good Arthur's final return,
in fultllment of Merlin's prophe cy.
sUPERsTITIoUs BELIEFS.
Along down this line of Breton
wrath, mystery and portcnt come
countless troops of everyday super
stltions. Many books might be
filed with them. Here are n few
any one can gather In this quaint
land within II fortnight: Blight
will come upon all infants unless
blessings are bestowed before they
are fed. or II passers fail to call out,
'God bless youW to its mother.
Passing n sick person through
the split trunk of live
fir tree will remove disease.
To shoot raven will bring
down u curse, as King Arthur's
spirit went into the Breton raven.
The oxen at midnight of Christmas
eve may he found upon their knees
groaning In prayer. The souls OF
fisherman lost at sea, without grace,
"haii their names" along the coast
at each anniversary of loss of life.
To put wooden shoes on the wrong
feet IL certain presage of coming
temptation to commit great
crime. AS In Cornwall In
the departments of Morbihan
and Finlslere bullock calves are still
secretly burned to drive evil spirits
from the herds. Hundreds repair
annually to a men-an-tol, or holed
pagan stone near Carnac, to he
drawn through it for the cure of
rheumatism. II the flame In the
fireplace ever assumes the shape of q
coffin death will presently come to
that house. If one observes proper
conditions of dress and mind
and can place foot upon
the plant herbe dor, or selago,
the language of any animal will be-
come as clear to him as mans, The
old pagan custom of st. John's-eve
fires is universal in Brittany. Any
Breton girl who dances around
nine of these fires before midnight
will marry within the year. Cattle
driven through their enbers Will be
preserved from witch-evils. Any
one who will walk nine times
around the great mcn-an-tol, near
Lannoin, nine times at mid
night, may ever enjoy powers of the
evil one; and u woman may become
u witch by sacrificing the blood of n
black cat ut the same witching hour
on u 'stone of the betrayed spouses.h "
The howling of a dog with his head
towards the house; the Growing of
March roosters before midnight; the
sudden appearance OF swarms of
butterflies; or the losing by IA COW
Of her ctId, bodies death. The crops
of blackbiris hold The souls of thosc
exposed to purgatorial fires, and the
mngpic is the repository of the soul
of All evil-minded woman.
EDGAR l.. WAKEMAN.