amulets against fairies. Being anxious to obtain specimens of these amulets, I wrote a letter to the curé of the town in question, sending him a small sum and asking him to procure for me a few of the objects (which, as I was writing to a curé, I described as used for superstitious purposes), and to put the balance in his "poor fund." In reply to my request I received a long and remarkable letter, which I regret to say cannot be given verbatim, as it is, (I hope only temporarily), mislaid, but which an abstract made on its receipt shows to be a very indignant repudiation of my suggestion of superstition, informing me that the crosses were not examples of the amulets or charms I was seeking, but that they were symbols of the Redemption placed in the ground by God, to be found and used by His people for their protection.
The second letter was the only result of a number of letters of enquiry, enclosing stamps for reply, which I sent with a view of ascertaining whether certain old-world appliances still existed in a locality in the West of Ireland. The one enquiry answered was addressed to the parish priest of a certain town, and explained what I wanted, offering to pay the expenses of obtaining the objects and to contribute also to the "poor box." The reply was as follows:
"Sir,
An English officer came here last year in search of a box which some old English woman told him, in a séance, was hidden in the grave of an old Irish chieftain, and was said to contain certain proof that a brother officer was the real Earl of ——. This officer was apparently quite sane, and, except that he broke the law by opening graves, was quite harmless. I hope you are not the victim of some similar kink in the mind. At all events the idea that I should institute a search in this district for amulets and charms (superstitions) and tallies and children's dolls is quite on all fours with your superstitious countryman's search in the graves of chieftains for papers that had no existence except in the mind of an old English woman who was either very mad or very "clever."
I would strongly advise you to consult your friends, and see some good doctor. If you follow his advice, all may yet be well with you.
Yours, etc., ——."
