385 HORSE-SHOES AND HORSE-SHOEING. 



cVentrer. lis rient en disant cela, mais ils ne le disent 

 pourtant pas tout-a-fait en riant ; car ils croyent qu il y a 

 la-dedans, on du moins qu il pent y avoir quelque vertu 

 secrete : et s'ils n'avoient pas cette opinion, ils ne s'amuse- 

 roient pas a clouer ce fer a leur porte.' 



And Guy, in his fable of the Old Woman and her 

 Cats, makes her complain that 



' crow'ds of boys 

 Worry me with eternal noise ; 

 Straws laid across my path retard, 

 The horse-shoes nail'd (each threshold guard).' 



It was considered a lucky omen to find a horse-shoe 

 on the road ; for one obtained in this way was far more 

 potent against the ill-natured old ladies than one procured 

 otherwise. Scott ' alludes to the virtues of the hoof- 

 armour in this respect, when he causes Summertrees to 

 rail Crosbie with, ' Your wife's a witch, man ; you should 

 nail a horse-shoe on your chamber-door.' 



Only a few years ago, when the wealthy banker, Coutts, 

 went to reside at Holly Lodge, two old horse-shoes were 

 fixed on the upper step of the marble flight of stairs. 



Specimens will be shown of two horse-shoes — one of 

 the 13th, the other of the 1 6th, century — which had been 

 fastened to the church door of Saint-Saturnin, in France. 



It used to be the custom in Devonshire and Cornwall, 



to nail to the great west doors of churches these old 



articles to keep off the malicious witches, one of whose 



special amusements it was 



' To untie the winds and make them fight 

 Against the churches.' 



* Red Gauntlet, chap. v. 



