364
A Batch of Irish Folk-lore.
put a worm near that mark, it will crawl towards the mark and then draw back as if terrified, repeating this action again and again till it really crosses the line and remains motionless. If you examine it you will find it is dead. The actions of the worm are described as giving you the impression that it is mesmerised. If that same boy puts his finger into a pail of worms, every single one will die almost at once. My cousin says that the country people, having got a pail of worms for fishing with, will avoid meeting the seventh son of a seventh son (who are sure to be well known) lest their trouble should go for nothing and the worms should die.
A. C. Haddon.
