image of the Virgin from the spot selected
by herself. Such attempts have been made
not unfrequently in those parts, and the
statue has either become so heavy as to
make its transport impossible, or has
returned unaided to its chosen home. Notre
Dame de Néas even found her way back
in spite of the precaution which was taken
of blindfolding her for the journey!

The church at Lourdes was built by the
aid of charitable contributions without
further supernatural intervention; but the
masons who erected the chapel of Héas,
also in the diocese of Tarbes, were nourished
by certain mysterious goats which appeared
daily to be milked for their support. But
one morning the workmen, tired of this
infantine diet, agreed to kill one of the
kids which followed their mothers. The
animals suspected the plot, and prudently
disappeared, to return no more. Animals
of various kinds naturally play a
conspicuous part in the fancies and
traditions of the Pyrenean shepherds: especially
the goat and the bear. The latter issues
from his winter retreat on Candlemas Day,
to judge of his prospects for the spring. If
the weather be fine, he returns weeping
to his den, for he knows that the winter
will last forty days longer, unless it rains
or snows on that day. Nine steps on a
bear's back is said to preserve a child from
epilepsy and mumps.

The multiplicity of charms of various
kinds almost rivals those of the ages of
faith. A toad hung up and left to die in
a stable, preserves the horses from the evil
eye; certain pointed stones called Peyres de
pigotes, or small-pox stones, tied round the
neck, are a defence against infectious
diseases. In the valley of Argélès, the
poorest peasant contrives to procure a
mighty log of wood on Christmas Eve; this
is lighted, and to it he offers a portion of
the bread, wine, &c., of which his poor
supper on that night is composed.
Hawthorn and laurel secure the wearer against
thunder; the inhabitants of Biarritz make
wreaths of these plants at dawn on St.
John's Day; they then rush to the sea,
plunge in after a prayer, and are safe,
during the ensuing twelvemonth, from the
temptations of evil spirits. The belief in
fairies and spirits is common. There is
the friendly sprite, who tends the fire,
folds the linen, and redes up the house in
the absence of its owner. Le Follet is a
tricksy imp, who lives among the
mountains, and specially delights in teasing
horses: which are sometimes found on
stormy mornings, with manes marvellously
plaited, and in a state of great agitation from
his visits. As to fairies, they are still visible
to the unsophisticated Pyreneans, and they
sit at the entrance of their grottos,
combing their golden hair, much as they used
to do in our own old nursery days. He who
tries to reach them, perishes; should he
find favour in their eyes, he disappears for
ever from this world. If, however, a mortal
release a fairy from a spell, she sometimes
lends him her magic wand, with which he
can obtain whatever he desires. In the
Barège valley the fairies inhabit the
interior of the Pic de Bergons, and flax
placed at the foot of their abode is instantly
spun into the finest thread. In the valley
of Barousse they go from house to house
on New Year's night, carrying happiness
in their right hands, and sorrow in their
left, under the form of two children, the
one crowned with flowers, the other weeping.
To propitiate them a repast is spread
in a room with open doors and windows,
and on the morrow the master of the house
distributes the food among his family and
servants, with good wishes for the New
Year. Occasionally, however, tricks may
be played upon female fairies with
impunity, as when one was caught in a pair
of trousers, left in a garden for the purpose.

A reputation for witchcraft is both
profitable and dangerous in those parts. A
witch who died quietly at Argélès in 1865,
had lived surrounded with benefits and
advantages conferred on her by those who
feared her power; but in 1850, a poor old
woman, named Jeanne Bedouret, was thrown
alive into a heated oven at Pujo, near
Vic-Bigorre, and died under the torture.

Like all superstitious people, the
inhabitants of the Pyrenees account, by
legendary stories, for natural sights and
sounds. The man in the moon was banished
to his place of distant exile, for Sabbath-
breaking; he sinned in February; he has
borne the name of that month ever since.
He still bears upon his shoulder, the fagot
that he gathered on the sacred day. He is
condemned to labour without repose, until
the end of the world, when he will have
expiated his transgression and will regain
his liberty and name. When the shepherd
leading home his flock hears the shiver of
leaves in the wind; when mysterious
woodland sounds startle him; when the
mountain echoes awake from rock to rock; he
trembles, for he knows that Bassa Jaon
(Basque for the wild lord) is near. Bassa
Jaon is of enormous size; he has a human