Mooney.] lOU [April 15, 



time her brother, who well knew the reason of it, told her that it washer 

 fault, in not having blessed the child when she spoke of it. The mother 

 would not believe it, and insisted as strongly that the brother was respon- 

 sible for the accident. When the boy grew up he was obliged to wear 

 trousers instead of knee breeches to conceal the deformity caused in this 

 manner. This woman one day met a young man going to church, and 

 carrying his shoes in his hand, as the road was muddy. She made some 

 complimentary remark about his feet, and when the young man got home 

 from church they were turned inward, and he was unable to stand upon 

 them. The woman was sent for and compelled, very unwillingly, to 

 bless his feet and spit upon them, but as she was going out of the door 

 she turned round and said, "May it never thrive with you." The young 

 man recovered the use of his feet, but there was always a twist in them 

 afterward. In tliis climate a tramj) of several miles barefoot over a muddy 

 road, together with kneeling or standing for two liours in a cramped posi- 

 tion on the cold floor of a church, might have resulted in rheumatism. 



One of the Mearnans was so well aware of this blighting influence in 

 himself, that on entering a house to pay a visit he would always spit upon 

 and bless each member of the family before sitting down. 



A number of men, including two carters with their horses, were one 

 day at work in the County Cavan, when one of the party happened to 

 say something in praise of the animals. On quitting work for the day the 

 horses were found to be sick, and soon lay down and were unable to rise. 

 Several remedies were tried without avail, until some one told the owner 

 of one of the horses that the man who had praised them in the morning 

 had an evil eye, and advised him to get him to spit upon them. He said 

 he could not do that, as that man had a grudge against him. His friend 

 then told him to get a piece of the maji's clothing and burn it near the 

 horses. That night the carter secretly cut a piece from the coat of the 

 man who was responsible for the trouble, and going out to the horses he 

 get fire to the rag and held it first near the head of his own animal and 

 then near the other. In the morning his horse was well and the one 

 belonging to the other carter was dead. The virtue was gone from the 

 cloth before it reached the second horse. As the one who related the inci- 

 dent said, it was, "Man, save yourself." In this instance the knife used 

 belonged also to the owner of the coat, but this had no effect upon the 

 result. 



The Blessed Wells. 



In addition to the practitioners of various kinds, the people have great 

 recourse to the numerous "blessed wells" throughout the country. The 

 religious veneration for healing wells is older than history, and is found, 

 not only in Ireland, but throughout Europe and Southern Asia. It is fre- 

 quently referred to in the Bible, the most notable instance being that of 

 the pool of Bethesda. There seems to be nothing of the kind among our 

 Indians, who, although they regard certain localities with peculiar rever- 



