raised by a people
skilled in engineering, who used axes and chisels of iron; who shot
balista stones over 20 lbs. in weight; and whose daily food was the _bos
longifrons_. A people who made paved roads, and sunk artesian wells, and
used Roman beads and pins. The riddle of Burghead should not now be very
difficult to read." (_Notes on further Excavations at Burghead_, pp. 14
_sq_.). For a loan of Mr. Young's pamphlets I am indebted to the
kindness of Sheriff-Substitute David.

[686] Robert Cowie, M.A., M.D., _Shetland, Descriptive and Historical_
(Aberdeen, 1871), pp. 127 _sq._; _County Folk-lore_, vol. iii. _Orkney
and Shetland Islands_, collected by G.F. Black and edited by Northcote
W. Thomas (London, 1903), pp. 203 _sq._ A similar celebration, known as
Up-helly-a, takes place at Lerwick on the 29th of January, twenty-four
days after Old Christmas. See _The Scapegoat_, pp. 167-169. Perhaps the
popular festival of Up-helly-a has absorbed some of the features of the
Christmas Eve celebration.

[687] Thomas Hyde, _Historia Religionis veterum Persarum_ (Oxford,
1700), pp. 255-257.

[688] On the need-fire see Jacob Grimm, _Deutsche Mythologie_*[4] i. 501
_sqq._; J.W. Wolf, _Beitraege zur deutschen Mythologie_ (Goettingen and
Leipsic, 1852-1857), i. 116 _sq._, ii. 378 _sqq._; Adalbert Kuhn, _Die
Herabkunjt des Feuers und des Goettertranks_*[2] (Guetersloh, 1886), pp.
41 _sqq._; Walter K. Kelly, _Curiosities of Indo-European Tradition and
Folk-lore_ (London, 1863), pp. 48 _sqq._; W. Mannhardt, _Der Baumkultus
der Germanen und ihrer Nachbarstaemme_ (Berlin, 1875), pp. 518 _sqq._;
Charles Elton, _Origins of English History_ (London, 1882), pp. 293
_sqq._; Ulrich Jahn, _Die deutschen Opfergebraeuche bei Ackerbau und
Viehzucht_ (Breslau, 1884), pp. 26 _sqq._ Grimm would derive the name
_need-_fire (German, _niedfyr, nodfyr, nodfeur, nothfeur_) from _need_
(German, _noth_), "necessity," so that the phrase need-fire would mean
"a forced fire." This is the sense attached to it in Lindenbrog's
glossary on the capitularies, quoted by Grimm, _op. cit._ i. p. 502:
"_Eum ergo ignem_ nodfeur _et_ nodfyr, _quasi necessarium ignem vocant_"
C.L. Rochholz would connect _need_ with a verb _nieten_ "to churn," so
that need-fire would mean "churned fire." See C.L. Rochholz, _Deutscher
Glaube und Brauch_ (Berlin, 1867), ii. 149 _sq._ This interpretion is
confirmed by the name _ankenmilch bohren_, which is given to the
need-fire in some parts