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truthfulness cannot be surpassed. That they have received so little patronage is to be regretted, but I must repeat, one principal cause of the neglect is the strangeness of the dialect even to the natives of the county. Avowed imitators and rivals of Burns, it is generally acknowledged that of the Cumbrian poets Robert Anderson most nearly attained his aim, and was most successful in bringing out to advantage the local dialect and the manners of the people.* All, however, with one exception-John Raysonhave now shuffled off this mortal coil; even the dialect is passing away, and the next generation, should it ever find time to leave the dull tracks of prose, will have to woo the muse in another language.

* It is only right to say that Mr. Rayson, the last of the Cumbrian bards, labours under the disadvantage of never having published separately any but earlier pieces. The latest and best effusions of his muse have as yet only appeared in a fugitive form; and certainly Cumberland would do itself justice rather than its poet, in bringing out for him a last and complete edition containing his matured and corrected productions.

PART III.

SUPERSTITIONS AND CUSTOMS.

* * *

"EIN dreifaches Räthsel ist der Menschheit zur Auflösung vorgelegt worden: Mit heisser, unermüdlicher Arbeit haben die Völker sich an diese Aufgabe gemacht, Vieles haben sie erforscht und mit dem Wachsthume ihrer Erkenntniss hat sich ihre Bewunderung vermehrt-aber gelös't haben sie jene Räthsel nicht."

Dr. KRAFT.

A three-fold enigma has been proposed to mankind for solution: * * * With ardent, untiring toil have the nations betaken themselves to this problem; much have they investigated, and with the growth of their knowledge their astonishment has increased-but they have not solved the enigma.

CHAPTER I.

INTRODUCTORY.

RELIGIOUS propagation has taken its course from the East westwards into Europe. In the south, that is, with respect to the Greek-Latin branch, the stream for a time seems to have flowed in the contrary direction, but as far as concerns the peoples in whom we are immediately interested, there has been no retroactive influence.

Common to all the Indo-European races was a simple form of fireworship, which belonged to the stock before its separation. But subsequently each branch, under a distinct influence, developed in its own peculiar way its religious forms, so that Celts and Goths, when we meet them in Europe, show a broad line of demarcation, and types of belief, the individuality of which cannot be mistaken. The religious culture of the Celts may be said to have been astralian, whilst that of the Goths was tellurian and mythological. Our information on this subject is imperfect, but there is sufficient to prove that the Celtic and Gothic religions, having been separated by a wide interval, again came in contact, and interlaced, so as to be considerably indebted to each other.

The Tatár and Iberian peoples, the contact of whom with the Indo-Europeans has been already pointed out, do not appear to have influenced much the Celtic religion. Taking what is known of the Iberians on this subject, and substituting for the original Tatars of western Europe, the Finns and Lapps of the north, and the Tungusians and Ostiaks of Asia, the points of resemblance or

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