Correspondence. 433
Les ames en peine, legende de I'Auvergne (Cantal), recueillie par Antoinette Bon. {Revue des Traditions populaires^ t. III. p. 581-587).
Pour les langues autres que le frangais, I'italien, I'espagnol, le portugais, le roumain, I'anglais et I'allemand, il y aura a donner le titre en la langue originate, et ensuite la traduction en frangais.
Adresser les conwmnicatio7is et les demandes de reftseignement a M. Paul Sebillot, secretaire general de la Societe des Traditions popidaires, 80, Boulevard St-Marcel, Paris.
The Water of Life.
I have been travelling about a good deal this year, and hence only saw Colonel Temple's paper on the " Folklore in the Legends of the Panjab," which appeared in the December number oi Folk- Lore (1899), a day or two ago.
I would ask leave to refer to one passage which is illustrated by the beliefs of Eastern Hindostan. On p. 419, Colonel Temple says " ambrosia or amrita not only turns up as the beverage of the gods, but also when pure as holy water, in a most remarkable passage in a Hindu story, where it is regarded as the blood of the Almighty :
' The Almighty had mercy : the All-powerful considered them : Cutting his finger he drew forth the water of life.'"
I venture to think that it is hardly true that aturita is here regarded as the blood of the Almighty. All that I think is meant is that He drew the water of life from its natural receptacle — the finger. There is no thought of blood in the matter at all. In Eastern Hindostan it is the universal belief that the water of life actually exists in everyone's little finger, and if he only knew how to do the trick he would be able to put it, so to speak, on tap. Bihari folklore is full of references to this. Over and over again
VOL. XL 2 F
