115 



"The natives of Tiree preserve their yeast by an oaken wyth, 

 which they twist and put into it, and for future use keep it in 

 barley straw." — Martin. 



Page 43. 



Chrysanthemum leucanthemum — Ox eye daisy, called in 

 Gaelic ^^ Bremea?t brothach" Breinean or brainean also means 

 a king ; Welsh, brenhin. The word is now obsolete in the 

 Highlands. The plant was a remedy for the king's-evil. 



Page 44. 

 Achillea millefolium — Earr ihalmhainn. The yarrow, cut 

 by moonlight by a young woman, with a black-handled knife, 

 and certain mystic words, similar to the following, pro- 

 nounced — 



" Good-morrow, good-morrow, fair yarrow, 

 And thrice good-morrow to thee ; 

 Come, tell me before to-morrow, 

 Who my true love shall be." 



The yarrow is brought home, put into the right stocking, and 

 placed under the pillow, and the mystic dream is expected ; but 

 if she opens her lips after she has pulled the yarrow, the charm 

 is broken. Allusion is made to this superstition in a pretty song 

 quoted in the * Beauties of Highland Poetry,' p. 381, beginning — 



" Gu'n dh'eirich mi mocli, air madainn an de, 

 'S ghearr mi'n earr-thalmhainn, do bhri mo sgeil ; 

 An duil gu'm faicinn-sa riiin mo chleibh ; 

 Ochoin ! gu'm facas, 's a ciil rium fein." 

 I rose yesterday morning early, 

 And cut the yarrow according to my skill. 

 Expecting to see the beloved of my heart. 

 Alas ! 1 saw him — but his back was towards me. 



The superstitious customs described in Burns's ** Halloween " 

 were common among the Celtic races, and are more common on 

 the western side of Scotland, from Galloway to Argyle, in con- 

 sequence of that district having been occupied for centuries by 

 the Dalriade Gaels. 



Page 47. 



Fraxinus excelsior — Craobh yifinseann (the ash-tree) was a 

 most potent charm for cures of diseases of men and animals — 

 e.g.^ murrain in cattle, caused, it was supposed, by being stung 

 in the mouth, or by being bitten by the larva of some moth. 

 " Bore a hole in an ash-tree, and plug up the caterpillar in 

 it, the leaves of that ash are a sure specific for that disease." 



