, 1890-01-16
hallcwed In common by the people,
stood side by side together.
nRtfIDIG mr. tEE

DRUiDIC BELIEF.
One must know these facts tC
know these people, and TO under
stand tho deeply sacred traditional
association In their minds linking
their lives and religion ofthe present
To the Druidlc beliefs and practice,
and the heroic myths of the past
1t accounts not only for the sanctit,
with which all these relics are re
gardcd, but also for the cxtraordi
nary dcmonology with which the,
are invested and those weird and
semi-barbaric powers with which
they are accredited. II !,
a universal belief In tn,
department of Morbihan, among
the lowly, that one cures rhetl
matism by dragging himself
across, or through "A followed, Drul
die stone and invoking the good
offices OF st. Etinnc. Nothing
could more clearly illustrate than
this the blending of pagan and
Christian influence and belief. "A
bit Of stone chipped from these
Htkati ~
cure for headache with the Briton
peasantry. Tho "rocklng stones, -
or "stones of tho dwarfs,n furnish
tests of Innocence, as In Ireland and
and Cornwall, but In an exactly OPP
posite manner. In the latter coun'
tries one accused Of guilt may move
rocking stone by the Rcntlest
touch, II innocent. Here ones inno-
cencc Is alone certified 10 II the ap-
plication of his greatest strength
fails TO cause It's vibration. In n
number of districts In Brittany
there still exists the tradition Of
oldcn pagan summertime religious
ceremonies. also still preserved In
Cornwall. Each Saturday In June
the youths and lasslcs repair to n
pagan dolmen, vigorously excluding
all married folk, for long and vlgor-
ous dances about the ancient sep
,'lchral monument. The men are
provided with green wheat
ears I'm their hat-bands, the
mnidenN with flax blossoms
pinned TO their high, white
caps. On arriving mt the place those
Whose affections or troths have been
plighted lay their wrcpths of wheat
or flax upon the gray old stones. II
during the festivities their loves re-
main unchanged the offerings will
for weeks remain gicen and fresh I;
but If their affections be diverted
the whitening of the wreaths will
instantaneously follow. A ''rocking
stone" not n mile from this town
possesses powers of fnr more dread
full import, though l could not dis
cover reason for the injustice of their
applicability to women alone. IL is
called "The rock OF the betrayed
spouscs.n Ii Is consulted TO this day
by husbands who suspect their
wives of inadelity. The partner Of
u laithless wife finds himself unable
TO move 1t, and II will rock violently
IL she he Innocent.
DEMoNoLoGY, ETC.
These are but few instances
among scores could cite of breton
belief in the supernatural powers, in
common with a like or similar he
lief of the Irish and Cornwall peas
antry, inherently existing In these
pagan monuments. When we come
to the dcmonology, legendary lore
and treasured everyday supcrsti-
tions and portents, the affinity is
quite as marked and entertaining.
The generic term for all fairies and
elves of active vlclousness or genial
ity in Cornwall is 'pixy;" in Ire
land, "sidh, /" Anglicized into 'shee,"
as "far-shee." and ''bau-
shee,n man and woman of the
mountains or fairy mansions; in
Brittany, "Korrlgans," of which
there are many families, the prin-
cipal ones, representing respectively
good and evil spirits, being the
"rcuz" and the "korils." The pa
gan sepulchnl and Druidic monu-
ments as well rs Christian church,
yards are invariably the quarters of
all these little people; but for. some
inexplicablc reason the wild moors
strewn with doimens and pillar
stones are especially the domain of
powerful evil spirits. The "1'cuzr
issue from their abodes In
friendly beneflccnce to assuagc
all manner of ills at the hum
BILE Breton frcsldc. and to ex-
ert the kindlicst offices with the sod
den peasant In his interminable toll
In the fields, or to aid the fisherman
in his hazardous labos along the
coast, but the "kOrils,n
those malevolent imps of Breton
ARE ever on the alert to
annoy and distress. They dance
and perform the widest orgies
around dreary dolmen aud nj liar
stones from nlghtiall until day
break and all manner of evil viii
befall him who chances upon their
ground during these
hours. The least pen
atty he will suffer is to be
compelled to dance with such
fury that every bone in his body
seems breaking, until the crowing6f
the cock 81 the first streak of dawn;
ones who have bnaved
their powers have been whiskcd
the air never to rcappear In
form; drunken pipcrs, desc
cratirc their roadside haunts with
saucy .ondeauX and roulades when
from the village fetes,
have paid pcnance with their lives;
and these eliin enemies of mankind
are at the bottom of every manner
of mischief and misfortune befalllng
the humber classes of Brittany.
NO BANSIIEEs.
Breton folk have no sad and
"banshee," us have the
Irish, but what could he more
than the universal super
I'll ton that ON the eve of the fete
les Morts, In November, the souls
,f the departed are allowed to visit
heir loved ones upon earth and re-
the places they once occu-