214 THE HOME OF A NATURALIST. 



mining might be neglected. Hurrying home he went 

 and opened his trunk, took out a Bible, laid it near the 

 door, and left the key in the lock. Making sure that 

 no door or box was locked in the house (for that 

 angers the Trows, and they have power when a key is 

 turned), and exhorting the glide wives assembled not 

 to allow their patient to go past the fireplace, Jaimie 

 walked off, intending to visit a neighbour instead of 

 venturing near the plantiecrii again. But by that 

 time the Trows had got near, and found out that he 

 had guarded the way to their coveted treasure, so they 

 took all power from him as soon as he got a stone's 

 throw from his own door. At that place he had to 

 cross a stile, and when he had got one leg over the 

 stile he found he could get no farther. There he sat 

 without power to move ; and he sat for hours astride 

 the wall. By-and-by one of the giide wives came 

 out, and seeing Jaimie sitting like that she cried out, 

 " Jaimie ! giide be about de. What's do sitting 

 yonder for a' this time ? " As soon as she said " giide 

 be aboot de" the power to move came back, and 

 Jaimie went home to share in the blythe-feast. But 

 that very night a child of his took a crying. It cried 

 and cried for exactly eight days, then it lay as if 

 sleeping for eight days, and all folk said that it 

 appeared to be another child. Then Jaimie knew it 

 was a changeling, so he set the cradle outside the 

 house-door, beyond the shadow of the lintel, and the 

 changeling was no more. There was just an image 

 left lifeless in the cradle, and many a time poor Jaimie 



