»*9*-93-] 545 



The fourth meeting was held on February 21st, the President 

 in the chair, when two papers were read. The first was by Mr. 

 Francis Joseph Bigger, junior secretary, his subject being 

 " Local Folk-Lore." 



Mr. Bigger said that he did not intend to bring before the 

 Club any lengthened paper on this subject, nor to occupy their 

 time, save for a few minutes only. His remarks would be short 

 and simple, and would be entirely culled from his own recollec- 

 tion, being a chronicle of mythical fairy stories learned at his 

 mother's knee — none had been adapted from books nor derived 

 from any outside source. He had adopted this course to show 

 in a slight manner what valuable services might be rendered to 

 the study of ethnology by many of our members simply 

 recording the primitive fancies which float about the winter 

 hearth, or circle round the family table. This is the sort ot 

 material our Ethnographical Committee is anxious to have 

 recorded ; and we as a Society should strive to carry out their 

 aims as far as possible. It was his good fortune to have a 

 mother who had still a lingering fancy for the " good people " 

 — to whom good luck and bad luck were expressions that meant 

 something definite ; who was always pleased to see the curious 

 fairy circle (made by that strange fungus growth we have all 

 observed). A fairy thorn would not be injured by her for any- 

 thing, for had she not heard of the calamities that befell those 

 who interfered with them ? In passing, he might remark that 

 he had always found the belief in the supernatural to be much 

 more common in County Down than in County Antrim, for in 

 the latter county the hard-headed Scotchmen are much more 

 unbelieving and incredulous — in fact, he knew a sturdy cattle- 

 dealer in the parish of Templepatrick who, but a few years ago, 

 had no belief whatever in the sanctity of an old fort upon his 

 farm, and even scouted the idea that on midsummer nights the 

 fairies held mad revelry around its charmed circle. This 

 matter-of-fact Presbyterian even discovered that the soil of the 

 fort would make excellent top-dressing for his land, and forth- 

 with he commenced to utilise the haunt of the " denee shee " : 



