1887.] loo [Mooney. 



father of the young man and asked permission to try her skill. The doc- 

 tors objected, but the father said that as they had done their best to no 

 purpose, she could do no worse. Having obtained permission, she went 

 out and gathered a quantity of the herb known as uarac-a-loc',* which 

 she put into water and boiled to a poultice. This was in the middle of the 

 afternoon. She then put the poultice upon the swollen limb, and had the 

 young man tied down to the bed so that he could move neither hand nor 

 foot. In a few hours the poultice began to cause him such terrible agony 

 that, if he had not been so securely fastened down to the bed, the efiorts 

 of several men would be required to hold him. This continued for some 

 time, after which the suflerer fell into a sound sleep, which lasted all 

 night. When he woke up in the morning he called out to his father that 

 the poultice had come oft. On going to his bedside it was found that the 

 limb had resumed its natural size, which was the cause of the poultice 

 falling off. The young man was able to start home in a short time, and 

 was so overjoyed at his recovery that he walked the entire distance, 

 twelve miles. The cure created a sensation in the vicinity at the time. 

 The herb used is common in pastures and is eaten by cattle with great 

 relish. Its leaves are about an inch across at the base, and from six to ten 

 inches long, and are distinguished by having a semi-circle taken out from 

 one side, which is popularly known as greim a diab'ail,] " the devil's 

 bit." 



Corresponding Belief in Scotland. 



It is an established fact that the ancient connection of cognate nations 

 may be traced in their mythology, even though the people themselves 

 have been separated for ages. This is strikingly true of the Gaelic race of 

 Ireland and the Scottish Highlands. They are still one people, speaking 

 the same language, with but slight dialectic differences, although their for- 

 tunes have been widely separated for nearly fifteen centuries, while their 

 customs and beliefs are in a great measure identical. Compare the follow- 

 ing cures given by Rev. W. Gregor in an article on " The Healing Art in 

 the North of Scotland in the Olden Time," (in the Journal of the Anthro- 

 pological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, Vol. iii, 1874.) The coin- 

 cidence is the more striking as the article had not come to the notice of 

 the writer until the rest of the paper was in type, and consequently no 

 questions could be asked to draw out parallel customs : 



Hooj)mg Cough: "Let the first man seen riding on a white horse be 

 asked what is the cure. Whatever he says, is the cure. 



" Let the patient be passed three times below the belly of a piebald 

 horse. . 



"The milk of an ass was an eftectual remedy. * * * 



"The patient was held below the animal's head, so as to inhale its 



* Pronounced, iu Kerry, ouraJ:h-a liikh ; the word appears to be a compound, 

 t Pronounced, in Kerry, greem a jeeal. 



