, was lured
into a lake by the sight of some maidens bathing; and it is said that it
is unsafe for sensitive people to venture near the banks of some of the
Irish lakes in the evening, lest they should be lured into the water by
the singing of the water-nymphs. In this connection, we may refer to the
oft-quoted passage from the notes to Heywood's _Hierarchies of the
Blessed Angels_ (1635): "In Finland there is a castle, which is called
the New Rock, moated about with a river of unsounded depth, the water
black, and the fish therein very distasteful to the palate. In this are
spectres often seen, which foreshow either the death of the Governor, or
of some prime officer belonging to the place; and most often it
appeareth in the shape of a harper, sweetly singing and dallying and
playing under the water."--See Southey's _Donica_.]

SECTION VIII

_STORIES OF THE DEVIL AND OF BLACK MAGIC._

Stories relating to the Devil are very frequent in Esthonian literature,
and notwithstanding the universal notion that you sell yourself to him
by giving him three drops of your blood, or by signing a compact with
your blood, yet many stories of this class are evidently pre-Christian.
He is generally represented as a buffoon, and easily outwitted. Further
particulars respecting him will be found in the Introduction. The
stories incidentally referred to in this section of our work are mostly
related by Jannsen.

As regards sorcery, the Esthonians appear to have regarded the Finns,
and the Finns the Lapps, as proficient in magic, each people attributing
most skill to those living north of themselves. However, it should be
mentioned that there is a ballad in the Finnish _Kanteletar_ in which
the sun and moon are represented as stolen by German and Esthonian
sorcerers. In the _Kalevala_ they are stolen by Louhi, the witch-queen
of Lapland.

The first story of this series, "The Son of the Thunder-God," represents
this demigod as actually selling his soul to the Devil, and tricking the
Devil out of it. The Thunder-God is here called Paristaja, and also Vana
Kou; but in other tales he is usually called Pikne, and is no doubt
identical with the Perkunas of the Lithuanians. In this story the Devil
is called Kurat, the Evil One; and also Vanapois (the Old Boy), as in
other tales.

The primitive manner in which the undutiful son tickles the nose of his
august father is amusing. Vana (old) seems to be a term of respect
applied to gods