110 Amber and Jet in Ancient Burials. 



from evil, and it sped the departed on their long journey. 

 Decoration, therefore, was not the sole reason for its selec- 

 tion.'^ Elton tells us in his Origins of History that the sup- 

 position that Amber beads were credited with occult virtues 

 is strengthened by folk-lore. Such beads were probably 

 believed to render the wearer proof against witchcraft and to 

 preserve him from the influence of the evil eye. There is a 

 superstition about the lammer beads of Tweedside which 

 have been found in ancient barrows there. They were worn 

 as charms for the cure of weak eyes. and sprained limbs, and 

 handed down as heirlooms from one family to another. 



" Black luggie lammer bead, 

 Rowan tree red-thread, 

 Put the witches to their speed. "8 



In the North of Scotland an amber bead is commonly 

 used to remove a chaff from the eye of man or beast. The 

 reason is that Amber sometimes contains insects, and 

 attracts small particles if it is rubbed, and that the human 

 eye that is troubled by an insect or particle flying into it 

 finds relief by dropping a tear.^ 



In olden time a present of Amber beads was given to a 

 bride by her mother. The Macdonalds of Glencoe owned 

 four Amber beads as a cure for blindness. A perforated 

 stone having the appearance of Amber semi-transparent, red 

 on the surface and water-worn, was in 1874 used in Lewis 

 as curative for man and beast when serpent-bitten, and sent 

 to villagers for miles round for that purpose. Quite lately 

 there has been published in Dano-Norwegian an article, the 

 title of which translated into English is " Yellow Amber, 

 what it is, and where it is found. "^^^ It contains some in- 

 teresting facts about the use of Amber in Norway. After 

 mentioning the finding of Amber in Egyptian and Assyrian 

 graves, the writer says that " the Baltic peoples sent their 



■^ Byways of Archceology, by Walter Johnson, p. 391. 



8 Wilson's Scottish Archaeology, p. 304. - . 



9 Black's "Scottish Amulets," Proc. Scot. Ant. Scotland, 1898. 



10 Aller's Familie Journal, signed V. F., June, 1914. 



