Grampian Club > Scotland, social and domestic

General Folklore. 209
morning each patient was crowned with a handbell
dedicated to Saint Fillan. The cure was supposed to be
complete.
The spring of Tobar-na-demhurnich was believed to
denote whether a sick person would overcome his com-
plaint. Water was drawn from the Well before sunrise,
and the patient was immersed in it. The water was
then examined. When it remained clear, the patient
was likely to recover ; when its purity was sullied,
death was held to be near. The spring of Balmano, in
the parish of Marykirk, Kincardineshire, was believed
to supernaturally restore imperfect eyesight, and render
delicate infants strong and healthy.
To south-running water extraordinary virtues were
attributed. When a sick person was unable to drink of
it freely, his night-dress was cast into it, and was then
thrown about his person. Water drawn under a
bridge, "over which the living walked, and the dead
were carried," was regarded as peculiarly remedial. It
was conveyed at dawn or twilight to the house of the
invalid, who was expected to drink of it before the
bearer addressed him. It was essential, for the preser-
vation of the charm, that the bearer should have kept
silent on his way to and from the stream, and that he
should not have permitted the water-vessel to rest upon
or even touch the ground. If the sick person was
unable or unwilling to adopt this charm, it was sup-
posed to operate when the water was thrown upon his
dwelling.
The Well of Craigach, Ross-shire, is still frequented
on the morning of the first Sunday of May, old style.
The visitors assemble at the Well before sunrise, and
each in turn stoops down and tastes the water. Some