(And that woman there, is she one of us?)
To which the following answer was returned:—
“Oh! Nennin! quer sa liette nous l’y ôte.”
(Oh! No! for her snood proves it.)
The “liette” was the riband or snood with which, in days gone by, the cap was fastened on the head, and was apparently a bit of finery quite beyond the reach of the poor who had assembled on this occasion, and only likely to be seen on the head-gear of a person in tolerably easy circumstances.[131]
[131] Partly from John de Garis, Esq., and partly from Mrs. Savidan.
Editor’s Note.—This story was also told to Miss Le Pelley by an old woman in St. Peter’s in 1896.
The Enchanted Horse.
A number of young men had met together one evening in search of amusement. One of the party proposed going to a place at some distance, where they were likely to fall in with others as fond of fun as themselves, but, not choosing to fatigue themselves with walking, they determined on using some of their neighbours’ horses. A good-looking white horse was grazing hard by in a meadow. One of the party approached, caught, and mounted him. Another got up behind, but still there seemed room for a third: at last, to shorten the story, the whole party, in number above a dozen, found accommodation on the horse’s back, but, no sooner were they all well seated, than he set off at full gallop, and, after carrying them through brambles and briers, over hedges and ditches, to a considerable distance, deposited them all in the most muddy marsh he could find, and disappeared, leaving them to find their way home at midnight, in the best way they could.[132]
[132] From Rachel Du Port.