n _Long Ago_:--"There was a woman
near Pladda, newly delivered, who was carried away, and on a certain
night her wraith stood before her husband telling him that the yearly
riding was at hand, and that she, with all the rout, should ride by his
house at such an hour, on such a night; that he must await her coming,
and throw over her her wedding gown, and so she should be rescued from
her tyrants. With that she vanished. And the time came, with the
jingling of bridles and the tramping of horses outside the cottage; but
this man, feeble-hearted, had summoned his neighbours to bear him
company, who held him, and would not suffer him to go out. So there
arose a bitter cry and a great clamour, and then all was still; but in
the morning, roof and wall were dashed with blood, and the sorrowful
wife was no more seen upon earth. This," says the writer, "is not a tale
from an old ballad, it is the narrative of what was told not fifty years
ago."

Immediately after birth, the newly-born child was bathed in salted
water, and made to taste of it three times. This, by some, was
considered a specific against the influence of the evil eye; but doctors
differ, and so among other people and in other localities different
specifics were employed. I quote the following from _Ross' Helenore_:--

"Gryte was the care and tut'ry that was ha'en,
Baith night and day about the bonny weeane:
The jizzen-bed, wi' rantry leaves was sain'd,
And sic like things as the auld grannies kend;
Jean's paps wi' saut and water washen clean,
Reed that her milk gat wrang, fan it was green;
Neist the first hippen to the green was flung,
And there at seelfu' words, baith said and sung:
A clear brunt coal wi' the het tangs was ta'en,
Frae out the ingle-mids fu' clear and clean,
And throu' the cosey-belly letten fa',
For fear the weeane should be ta'en awa'."

Before baptism the child was more liable to be influenced by the evil
eye than after that ceremony had been performed, consequently before
that rite had been administered the greatest precautions were taken, the
baby during this time being kept as much as possible in the room in
which it was born, and only when absolutely necessary, carried out of
it, and then under the careful guardianship of a relative, or of the
mid-wife, who was professionally skilled in all the requisites of
safety. Baptism was therefore administered as early as possible after
birth. Anot