Vide p. 171.
"When an eclipse of the moon takes place, they attribute it to the moon's going into their houses, and peeping into every nook and corner, in search of skins and eatables, and on such occasions accordingly, they conceal all they can, and make as much noise as possible, in order to frighten away their unbidden guest."--Narrative of an Expedition to the East Coast of Greenland: Capt. W. A. Graah, of the Danish Roy. Navy. London, 1837, p. 124.
Lord Iddesleigh on the Moon.
Vide p. 189.
Speaking at a political meeting in Aberdeen, on the 22nd of September, 1885, the Earl of Iddesleigh approved the superannuated notion of lunar influence, and likened the leading opponents of his party to the old and new moon. "What signs of bad weather are there which sometimes you notice when storms are coming on? It always seems to me that the worst sign of bad weather is when you see what is called the new moon with the old moon in its arms. I have no doubt that many of you Aberdeen men have read the fine old ballad of Sir Patrick Spens, who was drowned some twenty or thirty miles off the coast of Aberdeen. In that ballad he was cautioned not to go to sea, because his faithful and weatherwise attendant had noticed the new moon with the old moon in its lap. I think myself that that is a very dangerous sign, and when I see Mr. Chamberlain, the new moon, with Mr. Gladstone, the old one, in his arms, I think it is time to look out for squally weather."--The Standard, London, Sept. 23rd, 1885.
The Scottish ballad of Sir Patrick Spens, which is given in the collections of Thomas Percy, Sir Walter Scott, William Motherwell, and others, is supposed by Scott to refer to a voyage that may really have taken place for the purpose of bringing back the Maid of Norway, Margaret, daughter of Alexander III., to her own kingdom of Scotland. Finlay regards it as of more modern date. Chambers suspects Lady Wardlaw of the authorship. While William Allingham counsels his readers to cease troubling themselves with the historical connection of this and all other ballads, and to enjoy rather than investigate. Coleridge calls Sir Patrick Spens a "grand old ballad."
Greeting the New Moon in Fiji.
Vide p. 212.
"There is, I find, in Colo ('the devil's country' as it is called), in the mountainous interior of Viti Levu, the largest island of Fiji, a very curious method of greeting the new moon, that may not, as few Europeans have visited this wild part, have been noticed. The native, on seeing the thin crescent rise above the hills, salutes it with a prolonged 'Ah!' at the same time quickly tapping his open mouth with his hand, thus producing a rapid vibratory sound. I inquired of a chief in the town the meaning and origin of this custom, and my interpreter told me that he said, 'We always look and hunt for the moon in the sky, and when it comes we do so to show our pleasure at finding it again. I don't know the meaning of it; our fathers always did so.'"--Alfred St. Johnston, in Notes and Queries for July 23rd, 1881, p. 67. See also Mr. St. Johnston's Camping Among Cannibals, London, 1883, p. 283.
Lunar Influence on Dreams.