1887.] ^^* [Mooney. 



although the belief is said to exist among some Californian tribes. It may 

 be that the idea is too subtle and intangible for the mind of a savage. 



The general prevalence of this belief would seem to indicate that there 

 must be some good reason for its existence, and this reason is doubtless to 

 be found in the wonderful properties of the eye itself. We all know how 

 much of attraction, repulsion, love or hate, may be expressed by a glance, 

 and how intensified is this power of expression in certain individuals. 

 There is unquestionably some innate, inexplicable power in the human 

 eye, although more apparent in some persons than in others, and we can 

 readily understand how the people of Ireland believe that every individual 

 possesses this faculty at some period in his existence, and that it is some- 

 times hereditary, like other physical and mental characteristics. The 

 influence of the human eye over the inferior animals is well known, and 

 much has been written concerning the fascinating powers of the serpent, 

 although in the latter case modern biology has shown thattheresult is due 

 not so much to the eye of the serpent as to the paralyzing effect of fear 

 upon his victim. 



Droc's'uil, the "bad eye,"* is the name given to the evil ej'e in the 

 Gaelic-speaking districts of Ireland, while it is known as the bad eye in 

 the east, and the ill eye in the north. The act of fascination is called 

 deanad' droc'-s'iiilj, "making a bad eye," or overlooking. Those who 

 possess this blighting power are generally unaware of its presence in 

 themselves, and the evil consequences of its influence are not usually the 

 result of any malevolent desire upon their part. The evil ej^e, either in 

 man or woman, is generally due to some omission or irregularity in the 

 ceremony of baptism. Should any word of the prescribed formula be 

 forgotten, or should the sponsor fail to give the surname of the child as 

 well as the name about to be conferred upon it, the infant will, in spite 

 of itself, come into possession of this dreaded power. The idea under- 

 lying this belief may be that, as the child is born in a state of original sin, 

 it is under the influence of the evil spirit until sanctified by baptism, and 

 that if the ceremony be improperly performed, a part of this influence 

 still remains and manifests itself in the evil eye. In some instances the 

 droc'-s-uil is hereditary, and there are even cases where it exists among 

 all the relatives of the same surname. A notable example of this occurs 

 in the western part of the County Clare, where all the members of a 

 family named Mearnan are known to possess an evil eye, even to the re- 

 mote degrees of kinship. Xotwithstanding this, they are much esteemed 

 for their upright character, as it is well understood that this mysterious 

 power is not subject to their own control. This family is referred to, but 

 not named, in Hall's Ireland (III, page 2.50), a book published about forty 

 years ago. The stories given further on concerning the Mearnans were 

 obtained, with others, from natives of the County Clare, who were well 



* Pronounced, dhn'ikh-uil. 

 tPronounced, jeenoo dhrukh-uil. 



