512 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



[No, 61. 



Margaret's Flood. — Heavy rain is expected 

 about the time of St Margaret's day (July 20tb). 

 It is called " Margaret's flood." 



" Widdenombe folks are picking their geese, 

 Faster, faster, faster." 



A saying among the parishes of the south coast 

 during a snowstorm. ' Widdecombe' is " Widde- 

 combe in the Dartmoors." 



" Quiet sow, quiet mow." 

 A saying with reference to land or lease held on 

 lives. If the seed is sown without notice of the 

 death of the life, the corn may be reaped, although 

 the death took place before the sowing. 



Sees. — 



" If they swarm in May, 



They're worth a pound next day. 

 If they swarm in July, 

 They're not worth a fly." 



Bees must never be bought. It is best to give 

 a sack of wheat for a hive. 



Dinniek is the Devonshire name of a small bird, 

 said to follow and feed the cuckoo. 



A cat will not remain in a house with an un- 

 buried corpse ; and rooks will leave the place until 

 after the funeral, if the rookery be near the house. 



It is proper to make a low bow whenever a 

 single magpie is seen. 



It is not considered safe to plant a bed of lilies 

 of the valley ; the person doing so will probably 

 die in the course of the next twelve months. 



Where the rainbow rests, is a crock of gold. 



A cork under the pillow is a certain cure for 

 cramp. 



Seven different herbs must be used for making 

 a herb poultice. 



" The editor remembers a feinale relation of a former 

 vicar of St. Erth, who, instructed by a dream, prepared 

 decoctions of various herbs, and repairing to the Land's 

 End, poured them into the sea, with certain incanta- 

 tions, with the expectation of seeing the Lionesse rise 

 immediately out of the water having all its inhabitants 

 alive, notwithstanding their long immersion." — Davies 

 Gilbert's Cornwall, vol. iii. p. 310. 



If the fire blazes up brightly when the crock is 

 hung up, it is a sign there is a stranger coming. 



Cure for Thrush. — Take the child to a running 

 stream, draw astraw through its mouth, and repeat 



the verse, " Out of the mouth of babes and suck- 

 lings," &c. 



A creature of enormous size, called a "bull frog," 

 is believed to live under the foundation stojies of 

 old houses, hedges, &c. I remember having heard 

 it spoken of with great awe. 



Hen and Chickens. — In a parish adjoining Dart- 

 moor is a green fairy ring of considerable size, 

 within which a bl.nck hen and chickens are occa- 

 sionally seen at nightfall. 



The vicar of a certain Devonshire parish was a 

 distinguished student of the black art, and pos- 

 sessed a large collection of mysterious boots and 

 manuscripts. During his absence at church, one 

 of his servants visited his study, and finding alarge 

 volume open on the desk, imprudently liegan to 

 read it aloud. He had scarcely read half a page 

 when the sky became dark, and a great wind shook 

 the house violently ; still he read on ; and in the 

 midst of the storm the door flew open, and a black 

 hen and chickens came into tbe room. They were 

 of the ordinary size when they first appeared, but 

 gradually became larger and larger, until the hen 

 was of tlie bigness of a good sized ox. At this 

 point the vicar suddenly closed his discourse, and 

 dismissed his congregation, saying he was wanted 

 at home, and hoped he might arrive there in time. 

 AVhen he entered the chamber the hen was already 

 touching the ceiling. But lie threw down a bag 

 of rice, which stood ready in the corner ; and 

 whilst the hen and chickens were busily picking 

 up the grains, he had time to reverse the spell. — 

 (Ceridwer takes the form of a hen in the Hanes 

 Tuliesin.) I believe a hen and chickens is some- 

 times found on the bosses of early church roofs. 

 A sow and pigs certainly are. A black sow and 

 pigs haunt maiiy cross roads in Devonshire. 



The Dewerstone is a lofty mass of rock rising 

 above the bed of the Plym, on the southern edge 

 of Dartmoor. During a deep snow, the traces of 

 a naked human foot and of a cloven hoof were 

 found ascending to the highest point. The valley 

 below is haunted by a black headless dog. -Query, 

 is it Dewerstone, Tiwes-tun, or Tiwes-stan ? — 

 (Kemble's Saxons, vol. i. p. 35 1 .) 



The great Cromlech at Drewsteignton is said to 

 have been erected by three spinsters (meaning 

 spinners) ; another legend says by thi-ee young 

 Juen. The first is tlie more usual saying. The 

 Cromlech is generally called " The Spinster's 

 Rock." Rowe {Dartmoor, p. 09.) suggests that 

 the three spinsters were the V.TJkyrien, or perhaps 

 the Fates. He is no doubt right. 



Rock and stone legends abound. A gi-eat quoit 

 on the top of Heltor is said to have been thrown 



