Household Tales, with other Traditional Remains. By Sidney Oldall Addy,
M.A. (David Nutt.)—The counties of York, Lincoln, Derby, and Nottingham, were laid under contribution for these tales, and Derbyshire, as may be imagined, supplies the greater number of them, Calver and Norton, two villages, seeming to be very rich in folk-lore remains. It is difficult for us to realise the extent to which the superstition of witchcraft swayed the sturdy common-sense of the English peasantry, but four-fifths of these tales have witchcraft for their motive. Many of them betray a decided Norse origin, though tradition has borne them along the stream of time in such a shapeless fashion that nothing but absurdities are left. A few of the tales, indeed, are striking, and one or two of them are exceedingly humorous and pithy. Be it observed that the Irishman appears in some tales, and generally as the author of a bull of some sort. The long rigmarole of omens and superstitions is perhaps the most astonishing thing in the whole book. One wonders, indeed, if the North-country peasant ever got through a day without incurring the doom of death ! We are much obliged to Mr. Addy, who has presented us with a most interesting and valuable series of folk-tales and remains.
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