[1] The Pall Mall Gazette, of January, 1867, contained a paragraph announcing the success which had attended the labours of M. Lejean, who had been sent by the French government "on a journey of scientific exploration to India and the Persian Gulf." M. Lejean, in a letter from Abushehr (Bendershehr), reports to the French Minister of Public Instruction, discoveries "of so extraordinary a nature," that the writer in the Gazette "scarcely likes to repeat them without further confirmation." Amongst other matters, he says:—"They extend from the oldest times to the Alexandrine period, and from the Arians to Buddhism. He speaks of having discovered ante-Sanscrit idioms (langues paléo-ariennes) 'still spoken between Kashmir and Afghanistan by the mountain tribes,' and he undertakes to prove 'that these languages have a more direct connection with the European languages than Sanscrit.'" Should this prove correct, a careful analysis of this speech or tongue may throw much light, either confirmative or otherwise, on many of the more recondite questions discussed in this work.
[2] Baldwin, however, in his recent work, "Pre-historic Nations," contends that the Ph[oe]nicians, as well as the ancient Egyptians and others, were descended from the old Cushite Arabs, and were therefore "Hamitic" rather than "Semitic" in their origin.
[3] History of Preston and its Environs, p. 36.
[4] The Hindoo Trimürtti or Triad, namely, Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva, likewise represents the Creator, the Preserver, and the Destroyer.
[5] The falcon, as well as the eagle, was a "fire-bringer or lightning-bird."
[6] "Varuna and the demon Vitri both derive their names from var, vri, to cover, to enfold."
[7] Since the above was written, the Rev. G. W. Cox's "Mythology of the Aryan Nations" has been published. At page 78, vol. 2, speaking of the youth of Paris, the seducer of Helen, he says:—"In his early life he has the love of Oinônê, the child of the river-god Kebrên, and thus a being akin to the bright maidens who, like Athenê and Aphroditê, are born from the waters." In a note he adds "that this name Kebrên is probably the same as Severn, the intermediate forms leave little room for doubting."
[8] Since the above was written, I have seen, in Captain Speke's "Journal of the Discovery of the Source of the Nile," the map of Eastern Equatorial Africa, which accompanied a paper, published in the third volume of "Asiatic Researches, in 1801." Speke, referring to this paper, says:—"It was written by Lieutenant Wilford, from the 'Purans' of the ancient Hindus.... It is remarkable that the Hindus have christened the source of the Nile Amara, which is the name of a country at the north-east corner of the Victoria N'yanza. This, I think, shows clearly, that the ancient Hindus must have had some kind of communication with both the northern and southern ends of the Victoria N'yanza." I find on this map, on the west side of the inland sea styled "Lake of Amara or of the Gods," a range of hills named "Sitanta M^ts." They are in close contiguity to the "Soma Giri" or "Mountains of the Moon," and seem to be a lower or inferior branch of that range, bordering upon the waters of the great lake. This appears to be a further confirmation of the high probability which exists that some of the very ancient local nomenclature of Britain and Western Europe is of Eastern origin. Ptolemy speaks not only of a people inhabiting the district of which Lancashire forms a part, which he names the Setantii, but of a harbour on the coast, the Portus Setantiorum, which I and others have fixed at the Wyre. (See "History of Preston and its Environs." p. 36.)
[9] The second "Avatâra" of Vishnu was in the form of a tortoise, when Vishnu placed himself under the mountain Mandara, while the gods and demons churned the Milky Sea for ambrosia. This incarnation is called the Kurma. This churning appears to have produced other miraculous results. Amongst the "gifts" of the ocean on this auspicious occasion, two especially fell to the share of Vishnu himself, namely, a miraculous jewel, named Kaustubha, and S'rî, the goddess of Beauty and Prosperity. The Venus of the Greeks was said to have been produced from the foam of the sea, in the neighbourhood of the island Cythera, hence one of the numerous appellations of the goddess—Cytherea.
[10] The modern Welsh word aban signifies din, tumult, uproar.
[11] Du Chaillu, in his "Journey to Ashango-land," relates a story in which he suddenly struck a light with a lucifer match, to the astonishment of the benighted Africans, who regarded the feat as an additional proof of his being the "Oguisi" or "spirit" they had declared him to be.
[12] The Dundee Advertiser, Nov. 1869, contained the following
paragraph:—
HALLOWE'EN AT BALMORAL CASTLE.—This time-honoured festival was duly
celebrated at Balmoral Castle on Saturday evening, in a manner not soon
to be forgotten by those who took part in the enjoyments of the evening.
As the shades of evening were closing in upon the Strath, numbers of
torch-lights were observed approaching the Castle, both from the
cottages on the eastern portion of the estate and also those on the
west. The torches from the western side were probably the more numerous,
and as the different groups gathered together the effect was very fine.
Both parties met in front of the Castle, the torch-bearers numbering
nearly one hundred. Along with those bearing the torches were a great
many people belonging to the neighbourhood. Dancing was commenced by the
torch-bearers dancing a "Huachan" in fine style, to the lilting strains
of Mr. Ross, the Queen's piper. The effect was greatly heightened by the
display of bright lights of various colours from the top of the
staircase of the Tower. After dancing for some time, the torch-bearers
proceeded round the Castle in martial order, and as they were proceeding
down the granite staircase at the northwest corner of the Castle, the
procession presented a singularly beautiful and romantic appearance.
Having made the circuit of the Castle, the remainder of the torches were
thrown in a pile at the south-west corner, thus forming a large bonfire,
which was speedily augmented with other combustibles until it formed a
burning mass of huge proportions, round which dancing was spiritedly
carried on. Her Majesty witnessed the proceedings with apparent interest
for some time, and the company enjoyed themselves none the less heartily
on that account. Mr. Begg, distiller, Lochnagar, had also a splendid
bonfire on Cairnbeg, round which merry groups danced torch in hand.
[13] I have not met with a thoroughly satisfactory etymology of the word bonfire. It may mean good fire, that is sacred fire, or bone-fire, as the old writer suggests; but I am inclined to think boon fire is worth consideration, as the ceremonies and sacrifices were performed in order to extract a boon, a gift, or favour from the god Bel. Free service rendered by a tenant to his lord, as part of his tenure, was called boon work. Dr. Hibbert Ware records an old saying in the north of England to the effect that when a man has been working for nothing he has "been served like a boon-shearer."
[14] Since the above was written the following paragraph has appeared in
the newspapers:—
An Apology for Fire Worship.—Tuesday, the 21st March, 1866, being the
entrance of Sol into the zodiacal sign of the Ram, there was held at the
Persian Embassy, Avenue d'Autin, Paris, the festival of Nourous
Sultaniez, or New Year's Day of the Shah. His Excellency Hassan Ali Khan
presided over a large assemblage of distinguished guests, and informed
them in the course of the festivity that they were celebrating a
red-letter day as old as nineteen centuries before the birth of Christ,
first instituted by Djemchid, of the dynasty of Pischdadiens, who
originated the solar computation of years. His excellency proceeded to
recall the fire-worship of his country, which sprang from the primæval
idolatry having for object that great luminary. It was still to fire
that he fondly looked for the regeneration of Persia. Fire had changed
the face of Europe. With the steam engine, the railroad, the electric
spark, the screw or paddle ship, far more than in gunpowder or rifled
cannon, fire was the great benefactor that would bless one day the land
of his forefathers, who had instinctively worshipped that element in
secret anticipation of what was to come. The remarks of his excellency
were cordially received.
[15] Sir Bernard Burke says the legend asserts that the knight consulted a witch as to the best method of attacking the monster serpent or dragon, as this worm is sometimes styled. The witch duly instructed him, and he was victorious in the combat which followed. A condition, however, was attached, namely that the knight should follow up the achievement by slaying as a kind of sacrifice the first living thing he met. If he failed in this, "for nine generations the lords of Lambton would never die in their beds." It was intended that a dog should be placed so as to immediately attract the eye of the conqueror, but unfortunately the plot was accidentally marred, and the knight's father first confronted him. Lambton refused to fulfil the condition, under such circumstances. It is stated to be a fact that afterwards nine successive lords of Lambton died otherwise than in their beds.
[16] Mr. Haigh fixes Heorot, the site of the mead-hall, or banqueting home of Hrothgar, chief or king of the Scyldings, at Hartlepool. King Oswy, brother and successor of St. Oswald, consecrated his daughter Elfleda to the service of God as a nun, as an act of thanksgiving for his victory over the pagan Mercian King Penda, at Winwidfield, near Leeds (some say near Winwick, Lancashire.) Elfleda was placed in the monastery called Herut-ed (Hartlepool), which is believed to be the Heorot of the oldest Anglo-Saxon poem extant.
[17] Professor Owen (Palæontology, page 312) gives "slow-worms, serpents," as the English equivalent of Ophidia, the name of his eleventh order of the class Reptilia. Hence the confusion of traditionary worms, serpents, and dragons is not quite so absurd as modern non-scientific persons generally imagine. The Rev. G. W. Cox, referring to the Greek aspect of these mythic monsters, says:—"When the word Dragon, which is only another form of Dorkas, the clear-eyed gazelle, became the name for serpents, these mythical beings were necessarily transformed into snakes."
[18] Since the above was written, I have learned that, in some localities, light-haired men are preferred. This superstition may, therefore, perhaps, arise, as I have suggested, from prejudice of race, and equally apply to Teuton and Kelt, and, consequently, subject to local modification.
[19] The hawthorn, as will be shown in the following chapter, was invested with much superstitious reverence, and especially in connection with the spring festivals; and, singularly enough, Mr. John Ingram, in his delightful "Flora Symbolica," informs us that the hawthorn is, in "florigraphy," an emblem of Hope. This is, evidently, no accidental coincidence.
[20] This is an error. Bury is certainly famous for its simnels, but other towns in Lancashire, and elsewhere, both keep up the custom and boast of the quality of their confectionery.
[21] The harshness and general painfulness of life in old times must
have been much relieved by certain simple and affectionate customs which
modern people have learned to dispense with. Amongst these was a
practice of going to see parents, and especially the female one, on the
mid Sunday of Lent, taking for them some little present, such as a cake
or a trinket. A youth engaged in this amiable act of duty was said to go
a-mothering, and thence the day itself came to be called Mothering
Sunday. One can readily imagine how, after a stripling or maiden had
gone to service, or launched in independent housekeeping, the old bonds
of filial love would be brightened by this pleasant annual visit,
signalised, as custom demanded it should be, by the excitement attending
some novel and perhaps surprising gift. Herrick, in a canzonet addressed
to Dianeme, says:—
"I'll to thee a simnel bring,
'Gainst thou go a-mothering;
So that, when she blesses thee,
Half that blessing thou'lt give me."
He here obviously alludes to the sweet cakes which the young person
brought to the female parent as a gift; but it would appear that the
term "simnel" was in reality applicable to cakes which were in use all
through the time of Lent.... We learn from Ducange that it was usual in
early times to mark the simnels with a figure of Christ or of the Virgin
Mary, which would seem to show that they had a religious signification.
We know that the Anglo-Saxon, and indeed the German race in general,
were in the habit of eating consecrated cakes at their religious
festivals. Our hot cross-buns at Easter are only the cakes which the
pagan Saxons ate in honour of their goddess Eastre, and from which the
Christian clergy, who were unable to prevent people from eating, sought
to expel the paganism by marking them with the cross. It is curious that
the use of these cakes should have been preserved so long in this
locality, and still more curious are the tales which have arisen to
explain the meaning of the name, which had been long forgotten. Some
pretend that the father of Lambert Simnel, the well-known pretender in
the reign of Henry VII., was a baker, and the first maker of simnels,
and that in consequence of the celebrity he gained by the acts of his
son, the cakes have retained his name. There is another story current in
Shropshire, which is much more picturesque, and which we tell as nearly
as possible in the words in which it was related to us. Long ago there
lived an honest old couple, boasting the names of Simon and Nelly, but
their surnames are not known. It was their custom at Easter to gather
their children about them, and thus meet together once a year under the
old homestead. The fast season of Lent was just ending, but still they
had left some of the unleavened dough which had been from time to time
converted into bread during the forty days. Nelly was a careful woman,
and it grieved her to waste anything, so she suggested that they should
use the remains of the Lenten dough for the basis of a cake to regale
the assembled family. Simon readily agreed to the proposal, and further
reminded his partner that there were still some remains of their
Christmas plum-pudding hoarded up in the cupboard, and that this might
form the interior, and be an agreeable surprise to the young people when
they had made their way through the less tasty crust. So far, all things
went on harmoniously; but when the cake was made, a subject of violent
discord arose, Sim insisting that it should be boiled, while Nell no
less obstinately contended that it should be baked. The dispute ran from
words to blows, for Nell, not choosing to let her province in the
household be thus interfered with, jumped up, and threw the stool she
was sitting on at Sim, who on his part seized a besom, and applied it
with right good will to the head and shoulders of his spouse. She now
seized the broom, and the battle became so warm that it might have had a
very serious result, had not Nell proposed as a compromise that the cake
should be boiled first and afterwards baked. This Sim acceded to, for he
had no wish for further acquaintance with the heavy end of the broom.
Accordingly, the big pot was set on the fire, and the stool broken up
and thrown on to boil it, whilst the besom and broom furnished fuel for
the oven. Some eggs, which had been broken in the scuffle, were used to
coat the outside of the pudding when boiled, which gave it the shining
gloss it possesses as a cake. This new and remarkable production in the
art of confectionery became known by the name of the cake of Simon and
Nelly, but soon only the first half of each name was alone preserved and
joined together, and it has ever since been known as the cake of
Sim-Nel, or Simnel.—Chambers's Book of Days.
[22] Mr. Warburton is the author of several capital hunting and other songs, in the dialect of North Cheshire.
[23] A pig roasted whole, seasoned with spices, and basted with wine, was said to be "barbecued." The term is believed to have been imported from the West Indies.
[24] The Pendle witches, on leaving Malkin tower, mounted their familiar spirits, in the form of horses, and quickly vanished.
[25] Since the above was written, I have noticed, in Larwood and Hotten's "History of Signboards," a representation of a public-house "bush" copied from a MS. of the fourteenth century. The implement, in this instance, is evidently a common broom or besom. Hence it is not at all improbable that the Lancashire Benedicts but hang out the earliest known tavern or inn sign. The authors of the work referred to say: "The bush certainly must be counted amongst the most ancient and popular of signs. Traces of its use are not only found amongst Roman and other old world remains, but during the middle ages we have evidence of its display." Kelly says "the broom must originally have been supposed, like the sieve, to be used for some purpose or other in the economy of the upper regions." Perhaps in the brewing of the "heavenly soma," and hence its appropriateness as an emblem of "good liquor" of a terrestrial character.
[26] Sir Walter Scott thought bargaist to be the German bahrgeist, the spirit of the bier, alluding to its presence foretelling death. The word is variously written, barguest and boguest being amongst its forms. A very slight provincial change would make the latter boguerst, from whence, probably, the Lancashire boggart. The Cymric word bwg, which represents, according to Mr. Garnett, the modern bug, bugbear, and hobgoblin, has evidently intimate relation to the root of the word. This sprite is often confounded with others, and is subjected to much local variation.
[27] QUERY.—Has the Lancashire and Yorkshire word "lake," meaning "to play," anything in common with the modern word "larking," now so much in vogue?
[28] Jacob Grimm.
[29] QUERY:—May not the "marks of the comb" be, in reality, striæ resulting from glacial action?
[30] Since this was written, I have been told in a public company, in Manchester, by an intelligent man, that the squeaking of a pig did give the name to Winwick. My suggestion that the old name of the brook, the "Wynwede," with the common suffix "wick," a village, was sufficient to explain the etymology, was, of course, laughed at as a relatively very prosaic affair indeed.
[31] See the following chapter.
[32] Mr. Roby's version of the tradition states that a half-witted lad met Sir Ralph Ashton, when driving a cow towards the Knight's residence. The boy, who was unacquainted with his superior, in answer to questions, said his father was dead, and he was driving the cow to Sir Ralph's as the heriot due under the circumstance. He further asked if the stranger did not think that, on Sir Ralph's death, the devil, his master, would demand his soul as heriot. The question so astonished the Knight that he sent the cow back to the poor widow. Dr. Hibbert Ware mentions a similar tradition, but the Knight's name is not Ralph, but Robert Ashton.
[33] "This wheel reappears in the Gaelic story of the Widow and her Daughters, Campbell, ii. 265, and in Grimm's German tale of the Iron Stove. The treasure house of Ixîôn, which none may enter without being either destroyed like Hesioneus or betrayed by marks of gold or blood, reappears in a vast number of popular stories, and is the foundation of the story of Bluebeard."
[34] Since the above was written, I have cut from a newspaper the following astounding paragraph:—"A story is told of a large cave just discovered near St. Josephs, Mo., in which was a human skeleton, thirty-eight feet six inches long, with a head six feet in circumference. Where is Barnum?" I suspect, however, that even Barnum would fancy this story is a little "too good to be true." The mendacious Falstaff regretted that "the world was given to lying," and yet his mythical one hour's conflict (by Shrewsbury clock) with the valiant Hotspur, was a rational hoax in comparison to the above.
[35] At page 34, reference is made to the so-called "Druid temple at Bramham, near Harrowgate, Yorkshire." These huge rocks, locally termed "Bramham Crags," are not situated in either a parish, township, or hamlet of that name. Does the appellation Bramha-m throw any additional light on Mr. Timbs's suggestion? If it be merely an accidental coincidence, it is certainly a remarkable one, and deserves further consideration.
[36] Penny Cyclop., article Syntipas.—Syntipas is the "title of a collection of stories written in Greek, and bearing the name of Michael Andreopulos, but the collection is evidently translated from an Oriental work.... Many of the stories of Syntipas are found in an Arabic manuscript of the 'Arabian Nights,' in the British Museum. The whole style of the stories points evidently to an Indian origin. The same may be said of the collection named Pancha Tantra, the original of the Fables of Pilpay, and some other Indian stories."
[37] Sir John Lubbock, in his "Pre-historic Times," says,—"Nor will tradition supply the place of history. At best it is untrustworthy and short-lived. Thus in 1770 the New Zealanders had no recollection of Tasman's visit. Yet this took place in 1643, less than 130 years before, and must have been to them an event of the greatest possible importance and interest. In the same way the North American Indians soon lost all tradition of De Soto's expedition, although 'by its striking incidents it was so well suited to impress the Indian mind.'" This is no doubt true in relation to many matters which leave behind no religious or superstitious element. When this, however, is superadded, tradition becomes, as Dasent expresses it, remarkable for its toughness, or enduring vitality. Other authorities say, however, that on Cook's arrival, the tradition of Tasman's visit was preserved amongst the natives of the Tonga or Friendly Islands.
[38] This is denied, however, as we have already seen, by Mr. Baldwin, who traces the ancient Ethiopians, as well as the Egyptians and Ph[oe]nicians, from the Cushites of Arabia.
[39] In Chapter I. I have referred to the reported discovery by the French savan, M. Lejean, of a spoken language between Kashmir and Afghanistan containing older idioms than Sanscrit, and nearer in affinity to the cognate European tongues. At a recent meeting of the Philological Society, Professor Goldstücker mentioned, as a curious fact, that, in old Sanscrit musical manuscripts, the word laya occurs with the same meaning as in French and English. The word laya has not yet found its way into any Sanscrit glossary.
[40] How charmingly this is illustrated by the childish faith with which
we have all placed large whelk or other univalve shells to the ear, and,
after listening with wonder for a time at the musical murmurings there
heard, exclaimed that the tide was then flowing landward. Wordsworth
refers to this in the following beautiful lines:—
... I've seen
A curious child, who dwelt upon a tract
Of inland ground, applying to his ear
The convolutions of a smooth-lipped shell,
To which, in silence hush'd, his very soul
Listened intently; for murmuring from within
Were heard sonorous cadences, whereby,
To his belief, the monitor expressed
Mysterious union with its native sea.
[41] May not this Prithivi be the forerunner of the Greek Dêmetêr and the Roman Ceres, as well as of the harvest queen, or "kern-baby," and the "mell-doll" of the autumnal festivals of the North of England?
[42] How beautifully and how truly has Eliza Cook expressed this
sentiment, without any reference to, or even knowledge of, the
philologist's interpretation of the Grecian or Aryan myth, in one
stanza, in her poem entitled "A Thing of Beauty is a Joy for ever":—
Oh! "beautiful for ever" is the sheen
Of April's sun, that, with a bridegroom's smile,
Nestles in nature's breast of balmy green;
With larks to sing a marriage song, the while
The "bridal of the earth and sky" is seen
Before the priest that bars all greed and guile;
With blissful promise there shall soon be born
Fair offspring in red grapes and yellow corn.