Bygone Beliefs Part 3

The folk-lore of the British Isles abounds with quaint beliefs and stories concerning birds. There is a charming Welsh legend concerning the _robin_, which the Rev. T. F. T. DYER quotes from _Notes and Queries_:--"Far, far away, is a land of woe, darkness, spirits of evil, and fire. Day by day does this little bird bear in his bill a drop of water to quench the flame. So near the burning stream does he fly, that his dear little feathers are SCORCHED; and hence he is named Brou-rhuddyn (Breast-burnt). To serve little children, the robin dares approach the infernal pit. No good child will hurt the devoted benefactor of man. The robin returns from the land of fire, and therefore he feels the cold of winter far more than his brother birds.

He shivers in the brumal blast; hungry, he chirps before your door."(2)

(2) T. F. THISELTON DYER, M.A.: _English Folk-Lore_ (1878), pp. 65 and 66.

Another legend accounts for the robin's red breast by supposing this bird to have tried to pluck a thorn from the crown encircling the brow of the crucified CHRIST, in order to alleviate His sufferings. No doubt it is on account of these legends that it is considered a crime, which will be punished with great misfortune, to kill a robin. In some places the same prohibition extends to the _wren_, which is popularly believed to be the wife of the robin. In other parts, however, the wren is (or at least was) cruelly hunted on certain days. In the Isle of Man the wren-hunt took place on Christmas Eve and St Stephen's Day, and is accounted for by a legend concerning an evil fairy who lured many men to destruction, but had to a.s.sume the form of a wren to escape punishment at the hands of an ingenious knight-errant.

For several centuries there was prevalent over the whole of civilised Europe a most extraordinary superst.i.tion concerning the small Arctic bird resembling, but not so large as, the common wild goose, known as the _barnacle_ or _bernicle goose_. MAX MUELLER(1) has suggested that this word was really derived from _Hibernicula_, the name thus referring to Ireland, where the birds were caught; but common opinion a.s.sociated the barnacle goose with the sh.e.l.l-fish known as the barnacle (which is found on timber exposed to the sea), supposing that the former was generated out of the latter. Thus in one old medical writer we find: "There are founde in the north parts of Scotland, and the Ilands adjacent, called Orchades (Orkney Islands), certain trees, whereon doe growe certaine sh.e.l.l fishes, of a white colour tending to russet; wherein are conteined little liuing creatures: which sh.e.l.ls in time of maturitie doe open, and out of them grow those little living things; which falling into the water, doe become foules, whom we call Barnakles... but the other that do fall vpon the land, perish and come to nothing: this much by the writings of others, and also from the mouths of the people of those parts...."(1b)

(1) See F. MAX MUELLER'S _Lectures on the Science of Language_ (1885), where a very full account of the tradition concerning the origin of the barnacle goose will be found.

(1b) JOHN GERARDE: _The Herball; or, Generall Historie of Plantes_ (1597). 1391.

The writer, however, who was a well-known surgeon and botanist of his day, adds that he had personally examined certain sh.e.l.l-fish from Lancashire, and on opening the sh.e.l.ls had observed within birds in various stages of development. No doubt he was deceived by some purely superficial resemblances--for example, the feet of the barnacle fish resemble somewhat the feathers of a bird. He gives an imaginative ill.u.s.tration of the barnacle fowl escaping from its sh.e.l.l, which is reproduced in fig. 12.

Turning now from superst.i.tions concerning actual birds to legends of those that are purely mythical, pa.s.sing reference must be made to the _roc_, a bird existing in Arabian legend, which we meet in the _Arabian Nights_, and which is chiefly remarkable for its size and strength.

The _phoenix_, perhaps, is of more interest. Of "that famous bird of Arabia," PLINY writes as follows, prefixing his description of it with the cautious remark, "I am not quite sure that its existence is not all a fable." "It is said that there is only one in existence in the whole world, and that that one has not been seen very often. We are told that this bird is of the size of an eagle, and has a brilliant golden plumage around the neck, while the rest of the body is of a purple colour; except the tail, which is azure, with long feathers intermingled of a roseate hue; the throat is adorned with a crest, and the head with a tuft of feathers. The first Roman who described this bird... was the senator Manilius.... He tells us that no person has ever seen this bird eat, that in Arabia it is looked upon as sacred to the sun, that it lives five hundred and forty years, that when it becomes old it builds a nest of ca.s.sia and sprigs of incense, which it fills with perfumes, and then lays its body down upon them to die; that from its bones and marrow there springs at first a sort of small worm, which in time changes into a little bird; that the first thing that it does is to perform the obsequies of its predecessor, and to carry the nest entire to the city of the Sun near Panchaia, and there deposit it upon the altar of that divinity.

"The same Manilius states also, that the revolution of the great year is completed with the life of this bird, and that then a new cycle comes round again with the same characteristics as the former one, in the seasons and the appearance of the stars. ... This bird was brought to Rome in the censorship of the Emperor Claudius... and was exposed to public view.... This fact is attested by the public Annals, but there is no one that doubts that it was a fict.i.tious phoenix only."(1)

(1) PLINY: _Natural History_, bk. x. chap. ii. (BOSTOCK and RILEY'S trans., vol. ii., 1855, PP. 479-481).

The description of the plumage, _etc_., of this bird applies fairly well, as CUVIER has pointed out,(2) to the golden pheasant, and a specimen of the latter may have been the "fict.i.tious phoenix"

referred to above. That this bird should have been credited with the extraordinary and wholly fabulous properties related by PLINY and others is not, however, easy to understand. The phoenix was frequently used to ill.u.s.trate the doctrine of the immortality of the soul (_e.g_. in CLEMENT'S _First Epistle to the Corinthians_), and it is not impossible that originally it was nothing more than a symbol of immortality which in time became to be believed in as a really existing bird. The fact, however, that there was supposed to be only one phoenix, and also that the length of each of its lives coincided with what the ancients termed a "great year," may indicate that the phoenix was a symbol of cosmological periodicity. On the other hand, some ancient writers (e_.g_. TACITUS, A.D. 55-120) explicitly refer to the phoenix as a symbol of the sun, and in the minds of the ancients the sun was closely connected with the idea of immortality. Certainly the accounts of the gorgeous colours of the plumage of the phoenix might well be descriptions of the rising sun. It appears, moreover, that the Egyptian hieroglyphic _benu_, {glyph}, which is a figure of a heron or crane (and thus akin to the phoenix), was employed to designate the rising sun.

(2) See CUVIER'S _The Animal Kingdom_, GRIFFITH'S trans., vol. viii.

(1829), p. 23.

There are some curious Jewish legends to account for the supposed immortality of the phoenix. According to one, it was the sole animal that refused to eat of the forbidden tree when tempted by EVE. According to another, its immortality was conferred on it by NOAH because of its considerate behaviour in the Ark, the phoenix not clamouring for food like the other animals.(1)

(1) The existence of such fables as these shows how grossly the real meanings of the Sacred Writings have been misunderstood.

There is a celebrated bird in Chinese tradition, the _Fung Hw.a.n.g_, which some sinologues identify with the phoenix of the West.(2) According to a commentator on the '_Rh Ya_, this "felicitous and perfect bird has a c.o.c.k's head, a snake's neck, a swallow's beak, a tortoise's back, is of five different colours and more than six feet high."

(2) Mr CHAS. GOULD, B.A., to whose book _Mythical Monsters_ (1886) I am very largely indebted for my account of this bird, and from which I have culled extracts from the Chinese, is not of this opinion. Certainly the fact that we read of Fung Hw.a.n.gs in the plural, whilst tradition a.s.serts that there is only one phoenix, seems to point to a difference in origin.

Another account (that in the _Lun Yu Tseh Shwai Shing_) tells us that "its head resembles heaven, its eye the sun, its back the moon, its wings the wind, its foot the ground, and its tail the woof."

Furthermore, "its mouth contains commands, its heart is conformable to regulations, its ear is thoroughly acute in hearing, its tongue utters sincerity, its colour is luminous, its comb resembles uprightness, its spur is sharp and curved, its voice is sonorous, and its belly is the treasure of literature." Like the dragon, tortoise, and unicorn, it was considered to be a spiritual creature; but, unlike the Western phoenix, more than one Fung Hw.a.n.g was, as I have pointed out, believed to exist.

The birds were not always to be seen, but, according to Chinese records, they made their appearance during the reigns of certain sovereigns. The Fung Hw.a.n.g is regarded by the Chinese as an omen of great happiness and prosperity, and its likeness is embroidered on the robes of empresses to ensure success. Probably, if the bird is not to be regarded as purely mythological and symbolic in origin, we have in the stories of it no more than exaggerated accounts of some species of pheasant. j.a.panese literature contains similar stories.

Of other fabulous bird-forms mention may be made of the _griffin_ and the _harpy_. The former was a creature half eagle, half lion, popularly supposed to be the progeny of the union of these two latter. It is described in the so-called _Voiage and Travaile of Sir_ JOHN MAUNDEVILLE in the following terms(1): "Sum men seyn, that thei ben the Body upward, as an Egle, and benethe as a Lyoun: and treuly thei seyn sothe, that thei ben of that schapp. But o Griffoun hathe the body more gret and is more strong thanne 8 Lyouns, of suche Lyouns as ben o this half; and more gret and strongere, than an 100 Egles, suche as we ben amonges us.

For o Griffoun there will bere, fleynge to his Nest, a gret Hors, or 2 Oxen zoked to gidere, as thei gon at the Plowghe. For he hathe his Talouns so longe and so large and grete, upon his Feet, as thoughe thei weren Hornes of grete Oxen or of Bugles or of Kyzn; so that men maken Cuppes of hem, to drynken of: and of hire Ribbes and of the Pennes of hire Wenges, men maken Bowes fulle strong, to schote with Arwes and Quarelle." The special characteristic of the griffin was its watchfulness, its chief function being thought to be that of guarding secret treasure. This characteristic, no doubt, accounts for its frequent use in heraldry as a supporter to the arms. It was sacred to APOLLO, the sun-G.o.d, whose chariot was, according to early sculptures, drawn by griffins. PLINY, who speaks of it as a bird having long ears and a hooked beak, regarded it as fabulous.

(1) _The Voiage and Travaile of Sir_ JOHN MAUNDEVILLE, _Kt. Which treateth of the Way to Hierusalem; and of Marvayles of Inde, with other Ilands and Countryes. Now Publish'd entire from an Original MS. in The Cotton Library_ (London, 1727), cap. xxvi. pp. 325 and 326.

"This work is mainly a compilation from the writings of William of Boldensele, Friar Odoric of Pordenone, Hetoum of Armenia, Vincent de Beauvais, and other geographers. It is probable that the name John de Mandeville should be regarded as a pseudonym concealing the ident.i.ty of Jean de Bourgogne, a physician at Liege, mentioned under the name of Joannes ad Barbam in the vulgate Latin version of the Travels." (Note in British Museum Catalogue). The work, which was first published in French during the latter part of the fourteenth century, achieved an immense popularity, the marvels that it relates being readily received by the credulous folk of that and many a succeeding day.

The harpies (_i.e_. s.n.a.t.c.hers) in Greek mythology are creatures like vultures as to their bodies, but with the faces of women, and armed with sharp claws.

"Of Monsters all, most Monstrous this; no greater Wrath G.o.d sends 'mongst Men; it comes from depth of pitchy h.e.l.l: And Virgin's Face, but Womb like Gulf unsatiate hath, Her Hands are griping Claws, her Colour pale and fell."(1)

(1) Quoted from VERGIL by JOHN GUILLIM in his _A Display of Heraldry_ (sixth edition, 1724), p. 271.

We meet with the harpies in the story of PHINEUS, a son of AGENOR, King of Thrace. At the bidding of his jealous wife, IDAEA, daughter of DARDa.n.u.s, PHINEUS put out the sight of his children by his former wife, CLEOPATRA, daughter of BOREAS. To punish this cruelty, the G.o.ds caused him to become blind, and the harpies were sent continually to hara.s.s and affright him, and to s.n.a.t.c.h away his food or defile it by their presence. They were afterwards driven away by his brothers-in-law, ZETES and CALAIS. It has been suggested that originally the harpies were nothing more than personifications of the swift storm-winds; and few of the old naturalists, credulous as they were, regarded them as real creatures, though this cannot be said of all. Some other fabulous bird-forms are to be met with in Greek and Arabian mythologies, _etc_., but they are not of any particular interest. And it is time for us to conclude our present excursion, and to seek for other byways.

V. THE POWDER OF SYMPATHY: A CURIOUS MEDICAL SUPERSt.i.tION

OUT of the superst.i.tions of the past the science of the present has gradually evolved. In the Middle Ages, what by courtesy we may term medical science was, as we have seen, little better than a heterogeneous collection of superst.i.tions, and although various reforms were inst.i.tuted with the pa.s.sing of time, superst.i.tion still continued for long to play a prominent part in medical practice.

One of the most curious of these old medical (or perhaps I should say surgical) superst.i.tions was that relating to the Powder of Sympathy, a remedy (?) chiefly remembered in connection with the name of Sir KENELM DIGBY (1603-1665), though he was probably not the first to employ it.

The Powder itself, which was used as a cure for wounds, was, in fact, nothing else than common vitriol,(1) though an improved and more elegant form (if one may so describe it) was composed of vitriol desiccated by the sun's rays, mixed with _gum tragacanth_. It was in the application of the Powder that the remedy was peculiar. It was not, as one might expect, applied to the wound itself, but any article that might have blood from the wound upon it was either sprinkled with the Powder or else placed in a basin of water in which the Powder had been dissolved, and maintained at a temperate heat. Meanwhile, the wound was kept clean and cool.

(1) Green vitriol, ferrous sulphate heptahydrate, a compound of iron, sulphur, and oxygen, crystallised with seven molecules of water, represented by the formula FeSO4<.>7H2O. On exposure to the air it loses water, and is gradually converted into basic ferric sulphate. For long, green vitriol was confused with blue vitriol, which generally occurs as an impurity in crude green vitriol. Blue vitriol is copper sulphate pentahydrate, CuSO4<.>5H2O.

Sir KENELM DIGBY appears to have delivered a discourse dealing with the famous Powder before a learned a.s.sembly at Montpellier in France; at least a work purporting to be a translation of such a discourse was published in 1658,(1) and further editions appeared in 1660 and 1664.

KENELM was a son of the Sir EVERARD DIGBY (1578-1606) who was executed for his share in the Gunpowder Plot. In spite of this fact, however, JAMES I. appears to have regarded him with favour. He was a man of romantic temperament, possessed of charming manners, considerable learning, and even greater credulity. His contemporaries seem to have differed in their opinions concerning him. EVELYN (1620-1706), the diarist, after inspecting his chemical laboratory, rather harshly speaks of him as "an errant mountebank". Elsewhere he well refers to him as "a teller of strange things"--this was on the occasion of DIGBY'S relating a story of a lady who had such an aversion to roses that one laid on her cheek produced a blister!

(1) _A late Discourse... by Sir_ KENELM DIGBY, _Kt.&c. Touching the Cure of Wounds by the Powder of Sympathy...rendered... out of French into English by_ R. WHITE, Gent. (1658). This is ent.i.tled the second edition, but appears to have been the first.

To return to the _Late Discourse_: after some preliminary remarks, Sir KENELM records a cure which he claims to have effected by means of the Powder. It appears that JAMES HOWELL (1594-1666, afterwards historiographer royal to CHARLES II.), had, in the attempt to separate two friends engaged in a duel, received two serious wounds in the hand.

To proceed in the writer's own words:--"It was my chance to be lodged hard by him; and four or five days after, as I was making myself ready, he (Mr Howell) came to my House, and prayed me to view his wounds; for I understand, said he, that you have extraordinary remedies upon such occasions, and my Surgeons apprehend some fear, that it may grow to a Gangrene, and so the hand must be cut off....

"I asked him then for any thing that had the blood upon it, so he presently sent for his Garter, wherewith his hand was first bound: and having called for a Bason of water, as if I would wash my hands; I took an handfull of Powder of Vitrol, which I had in my study, and presently dissolved it. As soon as the b.l.o.o.d.y garter was brought me, I put it within the Bason, observing in the interim what Mr _Howel_ did, who stood talking with a Gentleman in the corner of my Chamber, not regarding at all what I was doing: but he started suddenly, as if he had found some strange alteration in himself; I asked him what he ailed? I know not what ailes me, but I find that I feel no more pain, methinks that a pleasing kind of freshnesse, as it were a wet cold Napkin did spread over my hand, which hath taken away the inflammation that tormented me before; I replied, since that you feel already so good an effect of my medicament, I advise you to cast away all your Plaisters, onely keep the wound clean, and in a moderate temper 'twixt heat and cold. This was presently reported to the Duke of _Buckingham_, and a little after to the King (James I.), who were both very curious to know the issue of the businesse, which was, that after dinner I took the garter out of the water, and put it to dry before a great fire; it was scarce dry, but Mr _Howels_ servant came running (and told me), that his Master felt as much burning as ever he had done, if not more, for the heat was such, as if his hand were betwixt coales of fire: I answered, that although that had happened at present, yet he should find ease in a short time; for I knew the reason of this new accident, and I would provide accordingly, for his Master should be free from that inflammation, it may be, before he could possibly return unto him: but in case he found no ease, I wished him to come presently back again, if not he might forbear coming. Thereupon he went, and at the instant I did put again the garter into the water; thereupon he found his Master without any pain at all. To be brief, there was no sense of pain afterward: but within five or six dayes the wounds were cicatrized, and entirely healed."(1)