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Article THE UNIVERSALITY OF SUPERSTITION. ← Page 18 of 20 →
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The Universality Of Superstition.
" dancing on ringlets to the Avhistling AA'ind . " George Smith ( the painter , of Chichester ) , refers . to them in the folloAving lines : — " Some say the screech-owl , at each midnight hour , Awakes the fairies in yon ancient tower : Their nightly dancing ring I always dread , Nor let my sheep within that circle tread ; AVhere round and round , all night in moonlight fan * , They dance to some strange music in the ah * . "
Drayton says , m allusion to the Fairies , — " They in then * courses make that round , In meadows and in marshes found , Of them so called the fairy ground . " The olcl pagan worship of Baal , and lighting fires in honour of the sun , has also , strange to say , found its Avay down to
modern times . The Irish light bonfires at the four great annual Druidical festivals ; and we learn from the Gentleman ' s Magazine for 1795 , that upon that held at the summer solstice , men , Avomen , and children actually passed through the flames , as a preservative process . In Scotland the same customs existed twenty years ago , at Peeblesunder the name of Bel-taneor
, , Baal-fire ; in Lanark , ancl also at a town in Perthshire , near Avhich Avere tAvo temples of upright stones , used in the ceremonial , the peculiar rights of xvhich very much resembled those used b y the Romans in Palilia . In the Isle of Skye midnight fires and dances are kept up in June . In many parts of the Highlands , in some AYelsh A'illages , and in the counties of
Corn-Avall , Devonshire , and Gloucester , bonfires are still made at midsummer , exhibiting in the attendant ceremonies something of deprecatory feeling , and doubtless are vestiges of Celtic sacrifice to the evil genius Arimanes . The Edinburgh Review for 1813 states that at Lodingen , in Nonvay , similar customs are perpetuated on the 24 th June .
In Hitchin's " History of Cornwall , " a very striking circumstance is recorded , AVMCII illustrates this subject . About 1800 , an ignorant farmer , after consulting -with some of Ms neighbours to prevent the recurrence of several severe losses of cattle , actuall y burned alive , by then * advice , the finest calf upon Ms farmas a good-Avill offering . In Arnot's "Edinburgh" of
, 1594 , we also fincl that the elders of the Scottish Church had used eA'ery exertion , Avithout effect , to stop a custom prevalent among the husbandmen , of leaving a portion of land uncropped and unfilled year after year . This was a peace offering , that the remainder mi ght prove fertile ; it Avas dedicated to Satan , ancl Avas termed the " gude man ' s . croft , " or landlord ' s acre .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Universality Of Superstition.
" dancing on ringlets to the Avhistling AA'ind . " George Smith ( the painter , of Chichester ) , refers . to them in the folloAving lines : — " Some say the screech-owl , at each midnight hour , Awakes the fairies in yon ancient tower : Their nightly dancing ring I always dread , Nor let my sheep within that circle tread ; AVhere round and round , all night in moonlight fan * , They dance to some strange music in the ah * . "
Drayton says , m allusion to the Fairies , — " They in then * courses make that round , In meadows and in marshes found , Of them so called the fairy ground . " The olcl pagan worship of Baal , and lighting fires in honour of the sun , has also , strange to say , found its Avay down to
modern times . The Irish light bonfires at the four great annual Druidical festivals ; and we learn from the Gentleman ' s Magazine for 1795 , that upon that held at the summer solstice , men , Avomen , and children actually passed through the flames , as a preservative process . In Scotland the same customs existed twenty years ago , at Peeblesunder the name of Bel-taneor
, , Baal-fire ; in Lanark , ancl also at a town in Perthshire , near Avhich Avere tAvo temples of upright stones , used in the ceremonial , the peculiar rights of xvhich very much resembled those used b y the Romans in Palilia . In the Isle of Skye midnight fires and dances are kept up in June . In many parts of the Highlands , in some AYelsh A'illages , and in the counties of
Corn-Avall , Devonshire , and Gloucester , bonfires are still made at midsummer , exhibiting in the attendant ceremonies something of deprecatory feeling , and doubtless are vestiges of Celtic sacrifice to the evil genius Arimanes . The Edinburgh Review for 1813 states that at Lodingen , in Nonvay , similar customs are perpetuated on the 24 th June .
In Hitchin's " History of Cornwall , " a very striking circumstance is recorded , AVMCII illustrates this subject . About 1800 , an ignorant farmer , after consulting -with some of Ms neighbours to prevent the recurrence of several severe losses of cattle , actuall y burned alive , by then * advice , the finest calf upon Ms farmas a good-Avill offering . In Arnot's "Edinburgh" of
, 1594 , we also fincl that the elders of the Scottish Church had used eA'ery exertion , Avithout effect , to stop a custom prevalent among the husbandmen , of leaving a portion of land uncropped and unfilled year after year . This was a peace offering , that the remainder mi ght prove fertile ; it Avas dedicated to Satan , ancl Avas termed the " gude man ' s . croft , " or landlord ' s acre .