Part 8

If St. Patrick had nothing to do with the live snakes--and I suppose he had not--there must be something very strange in the air or soil of Ireland. It is more remarkable still when we consider that if snakes which live in the British Isles will die on their arrival in Ireland, and many of them, it is said, before they ever touch the Irish soil, and that science so far has not discovered any means to overcome it. It is also said that if pure Irish earth was scattered in a garden snakes would become scarce.

_St. Stephen's Day._--As everybody knows, this day falls on the 26th of December. A peculiar custom connected with this day still lingers in those parts. Men dressed in straw or like women, wearing masks with face blackened, carrying flags, a bush with a wren fastened to it, and having a fife and drum band playing about them, parade the streets. They dance and make merriment and are always followed by a big crowd. One of the company carries a white hobbyhorse, which is an imitation of a horse made of wood and covered with white calico. Under the hobbyhorse the party are supposed to have one of their best dancers. The under jaw of the hobbyhorse is to work with a string so that it cracks in time with his step and also the steps of all the dancers. This part of the program is not easily done and therefore is often neglected. After dancing a little, they change the performance and the hobbyhorse, carrying a ladle in its mouth, is sent around to collect contributions while a purser enters the horse beating every person with bladders tied onto the end of a stick.

It appears these sports originated at the Feast of Fools in the Christian churches and monasteries of other countries from whom we borrowed them. St. Stephen's Day was specially set aside for deacons and other orders of the clergy who were not able to enjoy Christmas owing to the extra religious labors cast upon them.

Coupled with this came the mistletoe, and, to act in the plays, laymen, too, were admitted. Whenever it was necessary to raise funds for the repair of some church, dances were performed in the churchyard on Sundays. The surplus of the funds, after paying for the repair of the church, went to the support of the poor. In the course of ages abuses set in and now the performers have the proceeds themselves.

_Sunburst of Erin._--In pagan days most of the Irish people looked towards the east for the rising sun and adored it. The most ancient flag of our country known was, I believe, a sky-blue field with a sunburst. In a field belonging to Mr. P. Lynch is a large stone bearing an ancient sunburst emblem upon it. (For Ogham's inscribed stones, see History County Kerry.)

_Toothache Cure._--The cure given by some old women for toothache was to have the sufferer in person enter a churchyard burial ground, find a dead man's finger or coffin nail and place it in his mouth, pressing the tooth several times into it. This practice was long ago abandoned.

_Witches (Witch Hare)._--When I was a little boy I found a few old women possessed of a horrid superstitious belief to the effect that an old witch (a woman) could change herself into a hare, and as such would go about lises, forts and like haunted places and therefrom enter fields and milk cows dry.[17]

FOOTNOTES:

[12] In old Mexico a large wooden cross marks the spot where murders have taken place. On my way over the mountains and grand canyons between Beristan (Carman) and Tepexico. In the State of Pueblo, I saw houses very often having two and three crosses near them, and also that the gable ends of their houses were crowned with one or more crosses. Having heard a good deal of talk about the bandits and murders of that part of the country through which I was passing, I asked if all those crosses which I saw represented murders only. I was informed by the Indians, and Mexicans themselves, that it was for a long time the custom to erect crosses where sudden deaths occurred from other causes, such as suicides, man or woman devoured by a wild beast, or the like, as well as in cases of murder and manslaughter. Furthermore, they told me (through an Italian as interpreter) that the crosses upon so many Indian houses were an exhibition of their attachment to the cross of Christ. I found Pueblo a strong Catholic State, and the crosses are put standing, as near as circumstances will permit, to where the murdered man expired, and if possible in view of persons passing by as an appeal to the traveler to pray for the soul of the person or persons who fell there.

Amongst other curious customs practiced by those queer people the following were impressed on my memory: That Mexico City has funeral street cars, which I have not seen in any other part of the world. To understand my point more clearly, the electric street cars running on rails with an electric car as a hearse, pick up the dead bodies and carry them to the graveyard or cemetery. Here the coffin is unlocked and the corpse must be examined and clearly identified to the complete satisfaction of the caretaker, after which the coffin is again locked and the corpse buried in a grave or tomb leased for seven years. At the end of seven years or thereabouts, out of the tomb or grave the remains must go unless the lease is renewed or the grave bought forever at an enormous sum of about $400.

As I had not sufficient command of the Spanish language to enable me to put the question direct to the natives and obtain information from their lips without the assistance of an interpreter, the figures set down for me as the prices of a grave are so much at variance, as well as the form of procedure in evicting a dead man from his grave in Mexico, that I leave that part of the matter to abler authorities.

In connection with the wakes of their dead, in our camps I noticed that they did drink a milk-like liquid called "pulgue," extracted from the mague or century plant. It has the taste, color and appearance of milk, but it is so intoxicating that if a person should drink any large quantity of it he would become so drunk and helpless that a stranger would believe he was dead and would never wake again. At the few wakes that came under my notice, the Mexicans were very orderly and showed every mark of respect to the dead. I believe there were no pipes or tobacco at those wakes, or if there were any they escaped my notice. At San Francisco, California, the Chinese put food on their burial plots for their dead, but the "hoboes" visiting that city steal the food and eat it as often as they can get at it.

[13] Dancing masters between 1775 and 1780 were paid sixpence (twelve cents) a quarter with meals for teaching dancing to a whole family. However, a dancing master's quarter was much less than three months.

[14] The custom of hanging bells to horses, cattle, sheep and goats is very common in the Republic of Old Mexico, also in the States of Nevada and California in the United States. Without those bells goats, sheep and cattle could not be located amongst the thick brush.

[15] Whisky is the water of death to every person. The saloonkeeper, or publican, who gives drink to a child or young girl under the age of 21 years is the devil's best agent on earth.

[16] It is strange that the whole of the great Northwestern States of America, by the vote of the people, made their States completely dry, and that without compensation to the saloonkeeper, yet our people, amongst whom it has such a ruinous effect, cannot hold a Christian patron day without traffic in intoxicating liquors. In the United States a minor dare not enter a saloon, and a saloonkeeper is debarred from entering almost all lodges--even many Christian churches have refused to accept their money; yet in our parts a publican will be elected a district and county councillor before most other persons in the neighborhood.

[17] On one occasion on a very fine summer's morning in a lis about a mile away from the village, I happened to see a hare eating grass, and I tried to chase it, but as the hare was too swift for me and I had nothing better than pebbles to throw at it, of course it escaped at ease. In great haste I returned to the village and took with me a young shepherd dog which belonged to one of the neighbors and which was in the habit of following me. However, when I reached the lis there was no trace of my hare to be found and I felt very disappointed, especially when the dog would not go and find him for me. I came home and there I asked them to assist me to hunt for the hare, but they only laughed at me and told me that long ago the hare was gone to the mountain, and to catch a hare I should have a greyhound instead of a shepherd puppy. After nightfall I wandered into one of the neighbor's houses and joined other boys who were listening to some fairy tales. Here I was cross-examined as to the cause of my excitement and had to account for the nature of the mischief I was engaged in that I wanted the dog so early in the morning. I told them about my experience with the hare in the lis, but, while the whole house enjoyed my hunt, there was one in the company who took a more serious view of it. I was told that in all probability it was no hare but a witch, and if I escaped from injury I ought to consider myself lucky.

Next a hot argument arose between two as to the location of a lis where it was alleged an old witch changed herself into a hare and while running from the hounds towards an old cabin, just in the act of leaping through a very narrow window opening into the cabin, she was bitten and disappeared. The cabin was surrounded by the hounds and hunters and two went in to hunt her out, and although they searched every corner of the cabin, from the thatch to the floor, all they could find in the house was an old woman sitting on a mat of straw. Believing that this old woman must have killed the hare, they compelled her to stand up and found a lot of blood. The farmer called upon the witch and warned her never again to milk his cows or her life would be ended.

In England, thirty thousand persons were hanged for being witches and the Puritan fathers of New England, amongst many other wicked deeds of theirs connected with witchcraft, executed a woman for being a fox. I fail to understand how any people guilty of shedding so much innocent blood, which our Pilgrim fathers used as divine perfume in witchcraft, cases of which Boston and Salem furnish such an example, could be found to possess a pure religion.

TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE

Italic text is denoted by _underscores_.

Bold text is denoted by =equal signs=.

Obvious typographical errors and punctuation errors have been corrected after careful comparison with other occurrences within the text and consultation of external sources.

Except for those changes noted below, all misspellings in the text, and inconsistent or archaic usage, have been retained. For example; hand-bell, hand bell; Cat-Brack, Cat Brack; battons.

TOC. 'Changlings' replaced by 'Changelings'. TOC. 'Sein Fein' replaced by 'Sinn Fein'. Pg 16. 'kidnaping' replaced by 'kidnapping'. Pg 19. Missing anchor for Footnote [2] inserted. Pg 19. 'Atholone' replaced by 'Athlone'. Pg 25. 'Lady Chattam' replaced by 'Lady Chatham'. Pg 32. 'Castlegregory' replaced by 'Castle Gregory' for consistency. (the current spelling today however is Castlegregory). Pg 33. 'bagles' replaced by 'beagles' (twice). Pg 36. 'left it fall' replaced by 'let it fall'. Pg 39. Missing anchor for Footnote [6] inserted. Pg 43. 'surpressing' replaced by 'suppressing'. Pg 46. 'Lord Baconsfield' replaced by 'Lord Beaconsfield'. Pg 49. 'Sein Fein' replaced by 'Sinn Fein' (twice). Pg 50. A Postscript note starting with 'P. S.' was in the original text on Pg 51 as a Footnote without an anchor. This has been moved to the relevant paragraph on Pg 50 as a Sidenote. Pg 52. 'arrested the leaders' replaced by 'arrest the leaders'. Pg 54 Footnote [9]. 'Welch' replaced by 'Welsh'. Pg 54. 'Sir Rodger Casement' replaced by 'Sir Roger Casement'. Pg 55. 'Skellings,' replaced by 'Skelligs,'. Pg 56. 'Lional, Duke of Clearance' replaced by 'Lionel, Duke of Clarence'. Pg 57. 'Castle-Gregory' and 'Castlegregory' replaced by 'Castle Gregory' for consistency. Pg 59. "Pehalm's Letters" replaced by "Pelham's Letters". Pg 60. 'Four verses' replaced by 'Three verses'. Pg 60. 'Spencer' replaced by 'Spenser'. Pg 60. 'as the met' replaced by 'as they met'. Pg 62. 'Atlone' replaced by 'Athlone'. Pg 64. The section on 'Fenianism' was inserted here by the printer. The section heading 'Fenianism' on Pg 29 refers the reader to this inserted section on Pg 64. Pg 73. 'Mrs. Eddy Baker' replaced by 'Mrs. Baker Eddy'. Pg 77. There are two anchors for the same Footnote [12] on this page. Pg 82. 'Changlings' replaced by 'Changelings'. Pg 82. 'Teer-naoge' replaced by 'Teer-Na-Oge'. Pg 89. ' Pilgrims' replaced by '--Pilgrims'. Pg 91. 'sieze him' replaced by 'seize him'. Pg 98. ' Old' replaced by '--Old'. Pg 99. 'execeptions' replaced by 'exceptions'.

End of Project Gutenberg's Irish Historical Allusions, by Patrick Foley