GAELIC INCANTATION. 203 



From out thy blood and flesh, thy bones and marrow, 



And as Christ uplifted its proper foliage 



To the extremities of the branches on each tree-top, 



So may He uplift from off and out of thee 



Each (evil) eye, each frowning look, malice and envy 



From this day forth to the world's last day. Amen. 



" It is not always an easy task," writes our correspondent, " to 

 write from the dictation of partially deaf and toothless old women," 

 and we perfectly agree with him. " Ostail," in the first line of 

 the above spell, we take to be an insular form of Abstol, voc. 

 Abstoil or Abstail the Apostle par excellence, namely, Paul. Mr. 

 Carmichael appends the following elucidatory note : " This bra 

 or spell can be used for either man or beast, and is guaranteed to 

 effect a cure in any case ! In the case of a four-footed animal a 

 worsted thread is tied round the tail, and the bra or incantation 

 repeated. The " snathaile " (snathainn, a thread), as this charm is 

 called, undergoes much mysterious spitting, handling, and incanta- 

 tion by the woman from whom it is got. The rann or spell is 

 muttered over it at the time of " consecration." Usually two threads 

 (da shnathaile) are given, and if the first is not quite successful, 

 the second is sure to be effectual ! " 



