424 
rently, by the remains of -animals—and 
fossils composed of the decayed relics 
of both.. It seems certain, however, 
that vegetables preceded animals. A 
seed of moss, lodging in the crevice of 
the bare and barren rock, is nourished 
by the atmosphere, and by the moisture 
afforded by the rain and the dew. It 
comes to perfection, and sheds its seeds 
in the mouldering remains of its own 
substance, Its offspring do the same— 
till a crust of vegetable mould is formed, 
sufficiently deep for the support of grass, 
and other vegetables of similar growth. 
The same process going forward, shrubs, 
and, lastly, the largest trees, may find a 
firm support on the once-barren rocks, 
and brave the fury of the tempest. 
But I must conclude: yet, not with- 
out reminding the reader of one of the 
most curious facts connected with the 
principles of the Vegetable Kingdom :— 
Tallude to the Sexual System of Lin- 
nzus, which I have always considered 
as an interesting proof of the connecting 
link between plants and animals, inde~ 
pendently of the approximating simila- 
rities which exist in the internal organi- 
zation and mechanism of both. R. 
js a 
DanisH Trapitionsand SurERsTITIONS. 
(Continued from p. 297.) 
The Cavline of Roukkeborg. 
EAR Skielskoy, in the hillock, 
over which the highway goes, lives 
a witch, who, from the name of the hil- 
lock, is commonly called the Cavline of 
Rvukkeborg. Many stories are told of 
her alluring young maidens, and, by 
force of her charms, taking away from 
them all desire to return to their frater- 
nal roofs. She once seduced the mi- 
nister’s daughter of Boeslund to live 
with her. But one Sunday afternoon, 
the girl entered the church, and laid her 
offering upon the altar; as ‘the visit was 
very often repeated, the priest, who had 
in vain endeavoured to persuade his 
daughter to remain with him, caused 
the doors to be locked one day when 
she. was in church, in order to prevent 
her from departing, but she immediately 
vanished from the eyes of all, and was 
thenceforth never seen. This same 
Cayline of Rvukkeborg carries on an 
adulterous intercourse with Elf Knud 
of Ramsebierg, who comes riding to 
her, every, night on his. berry-brown 
steed. As. he gallops through the fields, 
the grass isscorched by his horse’s feet, 
and where; the hoof of that steed has- 
once been, nothing will ever grow. 
Danish Traditions and Superstitions. 
The Brownies.* 
There is scarcely a house in Denmark 
where things thrive, and go.on in a 
proper manner, that has not a browny: 
to take care of it. Lucky is the ser~ 
vant-girl and the stable-boy to whom 
the browny is favourable, for then they 
can go early to bed, and yet be assured 
that every thing will be ready for them 
the next morning. It draws water Say 
sweeps the kitchen-floor for the girl, 
and cleans the horses in the stable for 
the boy ; but he is, nevertheless, an ut- 
ter accredited enemy to all noise and 
disorder. 
He generally goes dressed in gray 
clothes, and wears a red painted hat ; 
but just before Michaelmas day he puts 
on a round hairy cap, like the peasants. 
In the church there is likewise a 
browny, which keeps things in order, 
and punishes any one that may be inat- 
tentive during service: this browny is 
called the kirkerim. 
We are told of a browny, who re- 
sided in a house in Jutland, that he, 
every night, when the maid-servant was 
gone to bed, went into the kitchen in 
order to take his broth, which was ac- 
customed to be left for him on the 
dresser in a woeden bowl. But one 
night, when he tasted his broth, he was 
exceedingly angry, for he thought that 
the maid had forgotten to put salt into 
it: he got up in a fury, went into the 
cow-house, and strangled, with his bony 
hands, the best cow. But as»he was 
very thirsty, he thought he would go 
back and drink up the remainder; but 
when he had tasted’a little more of it, 
he discovered that there was salt in it, 
but that it had sunk to the bottom of 
the bowl. He was now very much 
grieved that he had wronged the girl, 
and, in order to repair his fault, he 
went again into the stalls and placed a 
box full of money by the side of the 
dead cow: and when the people found 
it they were enriched at once. 
But it is no easy matter to get rid of 
a browny at your pleasure. A man, 
who dwelt in a house where the browny. 
ruled things with a very high hand,’ de- 
termined to oust the place and to leave 
him there alone. When the best part 
of his furniture was removed, the man 
returned to fetch away the last load, 
which mostly consisted of old boxes, 
__ empty: 
* Thus haye I translated the Norwegian 
Word “ Ness.”? The brownie is a kind of 
household demon, still very common in ye 
western counties of Scotland. ~~ 
