Land and Sea 



Witches of course abound, and it will be very 

 bad luck for you if you come across them on 

 the hills, whither they repair to meet their 

 master, the devil. They will naturally turn 

 themselves into beasts of the field, or fowls of 

 the air, and you won't know anything about 

 them ; but they will be very angry with you 

 for disturbing them, and you will suffer for it. 

 It is a good plan if you have reason to believe 

 that you are in the presence of a witch to open 

 a pair of scissors wide to the form of a cross. 

 As long as you keep them like that you will be 

 all right, but it must be confessed that it is 

 sometimes inconvenient. And you must be on 

 your guard against vampires in human form. 

 They are always on the look-out to suck your 

 blood from your little finger. And of course 

 the evil eye has to be continually thought of. 

 Charms are very useful against it, and a sprig 

 of rosemary— the herb of Our Lady — has great 

 virtues. If you keep a pig — and if you are a 

 Madeira peasant of course you do — very elabo- 

 rate precautions have to be taken to preserve 

 him from malign influences. It is always 

 advisable to have a bunch of rosemary laid on 

 the stye, and a bottle containing water — holy 



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