Collectanea. 3 1 7
(ragwort, Senecio) ; they dwell in the grassy mounds and in the sandhills. They cause the ignis fatuus, the St. Elmo's fire (which I am told has been frequently seen in the sandhills round Binghamstown), and the mirage, so often seen from the shore or from boats, sailing in ships in the air and landing from them. They cause wasting, disfigurement, epilepsv and disease in men and cattle, being very malicious, jealous and revengeful for real or imaginary insults or trespass. Men have got para- lysed and have wasted away after meeting a fairy blast. One man found and used a razor which was a fairy one and gave him a disfiguring skin disease. They carry off women after child- birth to nurse their young, or carry off human babes leaving their own instead ; but these beliefs are numerous and im- portant, and I reserve them for a separate section. Cattle are shot with stones and can only be cured by a " fairy dart " or ancient stone arrowhead. These objects are kept in numerous wrappings by every properly qualified " fairy doctor," who rub them on the sick beasts with appropriate charms or prayers, the latter kept as professional secrets. At Illaunaglas in the Mullet some sickness arose and a " fairy doctor " was called in. He declared that it arose from the resentment of the fairy folk, owing to the defilement of their playground by keeping a manure heap on the south side of one of the houses. It was removed, and soon afterwards the sickness, for very obvious reasons, disappeared. Similarly, dirty water should never be thrown out of a house between sunrise and sunset. I have met this belief everywhere in Connacht and Munster. On Inishark (Shark) it suffices to give the warning cry, " Take care of the water I " before throwing it out in the dark. Once it is said that this was omitted and a bitter cry was heard, a black lamb tottering in and dying on the next night. It was buried, but returned again till a priest laid it. The lamb's grave was opened and nothing was found in it.^
A strip of skin from an ass is a powerful protective against fairies, and is worn by women in childbirth. This is said to be because the ass stood beside the Blessed Virgin and screened her when our Lord was born. I do not know whether I should
^Ancient Lf,!^ettiis, vol. i. p. 1 50.
