Custom and Myth by Andrew Lang
page 12 of 257 (04%)
page 12 of 257 (04%)
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rests never?'--Answer, 'The Wind.' 'Who are the comrades that always
fight, and never hurt each other?'--'The Teeth.' In France, as we read in the 'Recueil de Calembours,' the people ask, 'What runs faster than a horse, crosses water, and is not wet?'--Answer, 'The Sun.' The Samoans put the riddle, 'A man who stands between two ravenous fishes?'--Answer, 'The tongue between the teeth.' Again, 'There are twenty brothers, each with a hat on his head?'--Answer, 'Fingers and toes, with nails for hats.' This is like the French 'un pere a douze fils?'--'l'an.' A comparison of M. Rolland's 'Devinettes' with the Woluf conundrums of Boilat, the Samoan examples in Turner's' Samoa,' and the Scotch enigmas collected by Chambers, will show the identity of peasant and savage humour. A few examples, less generally known, may be given to prove that the beliefs of folklore are not peculiar to any one race or stock of men. The first case is remarkable: it occurs in Mexico and Ceylon--nor are we aware that it is found elsewhere. In Macmillan's Magazine {15} is published a paper by Mrs. Edwards, called 'The Mystery of the Pezazi.' The events described in this narrative occurred on August 28, 1876, in a bungalow some thirty miles from Badiella. The narrator occupied a new house on an estate called Allagalla. Her native servants soon asserted that the place was haunted by a Pezazi. The English visitors saw and heard nothing extraordinary till a certain night: an abridged account of what happened then may be given in the words of Mrs. Edwards:-- Wrapped in dreams, I lay on the night in question tranquilly sleeping, but gradually roused to a perception that discordant sounds disturbed the serenity of my slumber. Loth to stir, I still dozed on, the sounds, however, becoming, as it seemed, more determined to make themselves heard; and I awoke to the consciousness that they proceeded |
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