which they put in the roofs of their houses as a safeguard
against fire and lightning.[369]

Sec. 3. _The Beltane Fires_

[The Beltane fires on the first of May in the Highlands of Scotland;
description of the Beltane fires by John Ramsay of Ochtertyre in the
eighteenth century.]

In the central Highlands of Scotland bonfires, known as the Beltane
fires, were formerly kindled with great ceremony on the first of May,
and the traces of human sacrifices at them were particularly clear and
unequivocal. The custom of lighting the bonfires lasted in various
places far into the eighteenth century, and the descriptions of the
ceremony by writers of that period present such a curious and
interesting picture of ancient heathendom surviving in our own country
that I will reproduce them in the words of their authors. The fullest of
the descriptions, so far as I know, is the one bequeathed to us by John
Ramsay, laird of Ochtertyre, near Crieff, the patron of Burns and the
friend of Sir Walter Scott. From his voluminous manuscripts, written in
the last quarter of the eighteenth century, a selection was published in
the latter part of the nineteenth century. The following account of
Beltane is extracted from a chapter dealing with Highland superstitions.
Ramsay says: "But the most considerable of the Druidical festivals is
that of Beltane, or May-day, which was lately observed in some parts of
the Highlands with extraordinary ceremonies. Of later years it is
chiefly attended to by young people, persons advanced in years
considering it as inconsistent with their gravity to give it any
countenance. Yet a number of circumstances relative to it may be
collected from tradition, or the conversation of very old people, who
witnessed this feast in their youth, when the ancient rites were better
observed.

[Need-fire.]

"This festival is called in Gaelic _Beal-tene_--i.e., the fire of
Bel.... Like the other public worship of the Druids, the Beltane feast
seems to have been performed on hills or eminences. They thought it
degrading to him whose temple is the universe, to suppose that he would
dwell in any house made with hands. Their sacrifices were therefore
offered in the open air, frequently upon the tops of hills, where they
were presented with the grandest views of nature, and were nearest the
seat of warmth and order. And, according to tradition, such was the
manner of celebrating this festival in the Highlands within the last