FOLK-LORE REMINISCENCES. 57 



such as I could refer to before an audience such as I am 

 addressing. These must for the present at any rate remain 

 recorded in my rough notebook. 



The first story I propose to relate will give you an idea of 

 the psychological condition of mind of, those who imagine 

 themselves subject to spells. 



One H , a dairyman who resided at Bishop's Down, had a 

 turn of very bad luck, and he was persuaded that he had 

 been bewitched by someone who had an evil eye upon him. 

 His pigs would not fatten properly and some had died, and 

 when he put the curd of the cheese into the vats and applied 

 the pressure of the press it oozed out over the heads of the 

 vats. He became so depressed under this supposed spell 

 that he made an appointment at Yeovil with one Gulliver, 

 a Somersetshire man, who had a great reputation for undoing 

 spells. The appointment was kept on a market day at a 

 certain inn, but as the inn itself was so crowded Gulliver took 

 H up into the hay loft over the stable, the dim light of 

 which no doubt added to the mystery of the situation. Here 

 H had to tell Gulliver of all his troubles, and when Gulliver 

 had duly pondered the tale of woe, all he said was " Now 

 I can tell 'ee who has bewitched yer, what shall I do we' 'en ? " 

 H , thirsting for vengeance for all the trouble caused by the 

 evil eye of his enemy, answered " Put out both his eyes." 

 Gulliver suggested that that would be a bit hard on the man, 

 " Won't one be enough ? " H relented somewhat and 

 assented to be satisfied with one eye. Gulliver then said 

 " Now I'll tell 'ee who he be," and pointing his finger at H 

 said, " You be the man." You be zo anxious about yer stock 

 that yer overlooks what yer ought for to do and does what 

 yer ought not to do. Yer overheats yer curds and that 

 makes 'em too zoft, zo that when yer puts it into the press 

 it spews out. Yer gets up in the mornin' and runs out in the 

 dark to veed yer pigs and don't do it properly. Now yer 

 must be more quiet like and careful. Have a cup o' taa 

 and zomethen to ate when yer gets up and don't go out we' 

 an empty stomach." 



