THE DEAD-BELL. 317 



among the Scottish peasantry is what is called the 'dead-bell,' 

 explained by my friend James Hogg to be that tinkling in the 

 ears which the country people regard as the secret intelligence of 

 some friend's decease." He tells a story to the purpose in the 

 " Mountain Bard," p. 26 



" O lady, 'tis dark, an' I heard the dead-bell, 

 An' I darena gae younder for gowd nor fee." 



" By the dead-bell," says Hogg, " is meant a tinkling in the ears, 

 which our peasantry in the country regard as a secret intelligence 

 of some friend's decease. Thus this natural occurrence strikes 

 many with superstitious awe. This reminds me of a trifling 

 anecdote which I will relate as an instance. Our two servant girls 

 agreed to go an errand of their own one night after supper, to a con- 

 siderable distance, from which I strove to persuade them, but could 

 not prevail. So, after going to the apartment in which I slept, I 

 took a drinking-glass, and coming close to the back of the door, 

 made two or three sweeps round the lips of the glass with my 

 fingers, which caused a loud, shrill sound. I then overheard the 

 following dialogue : B. " Ah, mercy ! the dead-bell went through 

 my head just now with such a knell as I never heard." C. " I 

 heard it too." B. "Did you indeed 1 ? That is remarkable. I 

 never knew of two hearing it at the same time before." C. " "We 

 will not go to Midgehope to-night." B. " No ! I wouldn't go for 

 all the world ! I warrant it is my poor brother, "Wat ; who knows 

 what these wild Irishes may have done to him ? " Tinkling, how- 

 ever, which both Scott and Hogg use, is not the word. It is more 

 of a ringing, so clear and loud at times, that we once heard a little 

 girl say "there was a bell in her head." Our authorities above 

 confess that it is called the " dead-bell " amongst the peasantry, and 

 by bell they mean not a tinkling but a loud and very pronounced 

 sound, as if of solid metal striking hollow metal, and causing the 



