32 Proceedings of the Royal Physical Society. 



eagle ; under its roots lurks the serpent Nidhogr ; while be- 

 tween them the squirrel, ever running up and down, seeks to 

 sow dissension." 



In the Euthwell Stone (of which there is an admirable re- 

 presentation in the " N, Stat. Acct. of Dumfriesshire/' pp. 221, 

 227), the inscription round an Eagle at the to]p of the cross is 

 altogether effaced unfortunately; but from other evidence upon 

 the stone, it seems probable that this Runic scroll represented 

 in symbolical language, the struggle between good and evil, 

 which idea is further carried out by the later carvings on the 

 other sides of the monument, probably added about a.d. 680 

 by the early Christian Csedmon, representing the final triumph 

 of Christianity. 



It has also been suggested by writers that the widespread 

 custom of hunting the squirrel,* which was sacred to Donar, 

 the Lightning God, may be considered not only as the relic 

 of a sacrificial rite, but also as a mark of Christian hatred to 

 an animal believed to be dear to a heathen deity. 



Further evidence is found in the very similar Kunic stone 

 at Bewcastle.-J* There are two squirrels, very cleverly depicted 

 on the east side of the " Bewcastle Stone ; " but I doubt if 

 their simple inscription there, or on the Euthwell Stone, by 

 any means establishes the fact of their former existence in 

 these localities. At one time, no doubt, Cumberland was 

 more wooded than it is now. Eemains of a forest are visible 

 a little below high-tide mark, which, aS I am informed by Mr 

 Jackson, is composed of " oak, alder, birch, fir, wiUow, hazel, 

 and I think beech ; " but, he adds, " a time impossible to esti- 

 mate has elapsed since the forest flourished," as there has 

 been a complete change of level.j There is, however, the 

 tradition in Cumberland still as regards various districts, that 

 at one time the squirrel could pass from tree to tree for many 

 miles without descending to the ground, as will be found ex- 

 emplified by the old rhyme — 



* Simcock, " German Mythology." 



t See "A Memoir on the Koman Station and Runic Cross at Bewcastle," 

 by the Eev. John Maughan, p. 13. 1857. 



X In this connection read an interesting abstract of a paper read at the 

 annual meeting of the Cumberland and Westmoreland Antiq. Soc, given in 

 their Transactions, Part II. (1876-77), p. 68. 



