_Ques._ Who were the Druidesses?

_Ans._ They were prophetesses or sorceresses, most generally wives or daughters of the Druids, who exercised an unbounded influence over the people. They were supposed to read the future, to conjure tempests, and appease them again at will. The Gallic mariner often went to consult them amid the reefs of the Armorican coast, and trembled with superst.i.tious awe as he saw them gliding like phantoms among the misty crags, waving flaming torches, and mingling their wild chants with the voices of wind and sea. Some of these sorceresses were obliged to a.s.sist at nocturnal rites, where, with their bodies painted black, and their hair dishevelled, they joined in a frantic dance, and abandoned themselves to the wildest transports of frenzy. A peculiar rite was practised by the Druidesses who resided in an island at the mouth of the Loire. They were obliged once every year, between sunrise and sunset, to demolish and rebuild the roof of their rustic temple. If any of their number should let fall the least part of the sacred material, her fate was sealed. She was torn to pieces by her companions, amid paroxysms of wild frenzy which recalled to the Greeks the orgies of their own Bacchantes. It is said that no year pa.s.sed without a victim.

The nine virgin priestesses who dwelt on the island of Sena, an almost inaccessible rock off the promontory of Plogoff, on the coast of Brittany, were regarded with particular veneration, and const.i.tuted, perhaps, the highest religious authority among the ancient Gauls.

There was a cla.s.s of Druidesses in Gaul and Germany, who, in addition to practices of sorcery and incantation, presided at fearful rites.

Strabo tells us that when the Cimbri had taken prisoners of war, they were offered in sacrifice by these terrible women. The chief Druidess, standing by a rude stone altar, received the victim dragged thither by her companions. She plunged her knife into his heart, and watched carefully to obtain an omen, according as the blood should flow more or less rapidly. This ceremony was repeated with other victims until the augury was deemed decisive. The superst.i.tions with regard to witches and their nocturnal revels, which prevailed so long in Europe, originated, no doubt, from popular traditions concerning these sorceresses.

In Ireland, they do not appear to have played either so terrible or so important a part. We only know that at Tara, certain virgins of royal blood were consecrated to Baal and Samhain, (the moon,) and watched the perpetual fire which burned on their altars. In one of the civil wars so common in the island, a chief of Leinster destroyed this sanctuary and ma.s.sacred its inmates. The entire country united to punish the perpetrators of this sacrilege; they were put to death, and a perpetual fine was imposed on the province of Leinster.

_Ques._ What sacrifices were offered by the Druids?

_Ans._ In time of peace, fruits and cattle; in war, human sacrifices were preferred.

_Ques._ How were the victims chosen?

_Ans._ They were generally captives taken in war, slaves or criminals.

In some cases, warriors and others devoted themselves voluntarily to the altar, either to propitiate the G.o.ds, and obtain victory for their people, or because they were weary of life, and desired to hasten the moment of transmigration. These acts of self-immolation were esteemed exceedingly meritorious. Csar supposes Teutates to be the same with Dis or Pluto; but in the mythology of the Gauls, there were no infernal regions, and consequently, there was no Pluto. The soul pa.s.sed into another body, and the transmigration was happy, or the contrary, as the actions performed during its last state of existence had been good or evil.

According to the Druids, death was but the central point of a long life.

_Ques._ What was the usual mode of sacrifice?

_Ans._ Victims offered to Baal were always burned. On important occasions, a great number were enclosed in a huge frame of wicker work in which they were consumed together. In offerings to other G.o.ds, different rites were observed.

These remarks apply chiefly to Gaul, Germany and Britain. Human sacrifices were rare in Ireland.

_Ques._ What were the princ.i.p.al festivals of the Druids?

_Ans._ The Tauric festival, which has been already mentioned, was the most ancient, dating from the time of the Chaldees, or Babylonians. In Ireland and in the Highlands of Scotland, the first of May takes its name from this solemnity, being called in Gaelic, Beltane; and in Irish, Beal-Tinne, or the Fire of Baal. The solstices were also celebrated as the chief points in the sun's annual course. Wherever Druidism prevailed, there was in the centre of each great district or canton, a perpetual fire in honor of Baal. On the feast of the G.o.d, this was extinguished, and again lighted, after which all the fires throughout the country were rekindled from this sacred source. This rite was observed with particular solemnity in Ireland. There the Druids a.s.sembled around the sacred or "parent fire," which the Arch-druid extinguished. At this signal every fire disappeared, and, in an incredibly short s.p.a.ce of time, darkness settled on the island.

The chiefs and princes, together with the a.s.sembled people, then a.s.sisted in silent awe, while the Druids performed their nocturnal rites. At length the fire was rekindled; torches lighted at the sacred flame were pa.s.sed from hand to hand, and the country was soon illuminated by the Baal fires which blazed on every hill. The chief scene of these solemnities was Ouisneach, in the centre of the island, but the same rite was performed in many other places.

According to what seems an authentic tradition, it was during such a ceremony that St. Patrick obtained the opportunity of holding a public disputation with the Druids in the presence of the king and chieftains a.s.sembled at Tara. It was Easter Eve, and the Saint, who must have been well aware of the penalty of death attached to such an act, commanded his disciples to light the paschal fire at the moment when all around was plunged in darkness. The flame was seen at Tara, and the Druids called loudly for the punishment of the sacrilegious strangers. They were seized and brought before the a.s.sembly, but the result was favorable to the missionaries, and from that day may be dated the rapid though peaceful decline of Druidism in Ireland.

The idolatrous rites peculiar to the season of the summer solstice have been long forgotten but the custom of lighting fires upon that day, still prevails. The bonfires of St. John's Eve (June 21st) recall, at least, one feature of the ancient Druid festival.

_Ques._ What rites were observed on the first day of November?

_Ans._ The day was consecrated to the Moon, (called in Ireland Samhain,) and was observed both in Gaul and in the British islands. It would seem that the spirits of the departed were also propitiated at this season, and many curious traditions are connected with its observance.

Before the invasion of Csar, Britain was so little known to the ancient Gauls, as to be still a land of mystery. They believed that on every feast of the moon, the souls of those who had died during the year, were obliged to repair thither for judgment.

Connected with this, Procopius relates an Armorican legend of which some traces may yet be found in Brittany. At the foot of the promontory of Plogoff, around the sacred isle of Sena, are scattered rocks on which the sea breaks with an unceasing moan. Thither a.s.semble, on the night of judgment, the spirits of the dead. Faint wailings are heard, and pale phantoms are seen gliding above the waves, which they are not yet spiritual enough to cross without human succor. At the hour of midnight the sailors and fisher men along the coast hear mysterious voices calling at their doors. They rise and find strange barks waiting on the sh.o.r.e. Scarcely have they entered these, when the light craft is weighed down by a ghostly band. The terrified pilot has no need of helm or sail, for the barks are borne westwardly with incredible velocity. When they touch the misty sh.o.r.es of Britain, there is a hollow murmur--the boats ride lightly on the water--the souls are gone.

The superst.i.tious observances which are still practised on November, or All Hallow Eve, in Ireland, Scotland, and some parts of England, are of pagan origin, and seem to be relics of this festival.

_Ques._ At what period may we fix the decline of Druidism?

_Ans._ It was suppressed in Gaul by the Roman conquerors, who built temples, and introduced the worship of their own G.o.ds, adopting also those of the conquered race. Druidism retired, step by step, before this more cla.s.sic heathenism, but found a temporary refuge in the German forests and in Armorica. It was suppressed in Britain during the reign of Nero. The persecuted Druids took refuge in the island of Mona or Anglesea, whence they were driven by the Roman troops with great slaughter. They found a last asylum in the island of Iona. Here they maintained a certain influence up to the latter part of the sixth century, when the inhabitants of the island were converted by the preaching of St. Columba, the Apostle of the Highlands. This missionary was a native of Ireland, where Christianity had been established for nearly a century.

_Ques._ What traces still remain of the ancient Druidical worship?

_Ans._ Certain monuments, which are called, according to their form, menhirs, dolmens or cromlechs.

_Ques._ What are the menhirs?

_Ans._ The word is derived from the old Breton man, stone; and hir, long. They are upright blocks of stone, often terminating in a point; and are for the most part rough and unshapely; the ordinary height is from seven to twelve feet; but in some rare instances, they exceed thirty feet in height. The purpose of these menhirs is not well understood. Where they stand singly, or in groups of two or three, they probably mark a spot rendered memorable by some important event.

Similar monuments were common in primitive times, as we learn from Scripture; when the Israelites had crossed the dry bed of the Jordan, Joshua placed twelve stones on the bank, as a remembrance of the miracle. Jacob marked in the same manner the spot on which he had been favored by a celestial vision. In certain places on the Scandinavian peninsula, extensive groups of menhirs occur, scattered irregularly over the plain; these are supposed to mark ancient battle-fields.

Where the stones are arranged in a "cromlech" or circular form, there is generally a dolmen in the centre. The dolmen is a large flat stone, placed like a table, upon two others which are set upright.

Some of these were evidently altars, as the flat stone on the top is furrowed and slightly inclined to facilitate as it were the flowing of blood. Dolmens are found also in straight lines, forming a sort of covered gallery.

_Ques._ Where are the most remarkable of these monuments?

_Ans._ On the continent of Europe, the most extensive series is that of Carnac in Brittany. In the midst of a wide heath, stand rude blocks of gray granite, set on end; they are angular, and show no marks of polish. These menhirs are arranged in eleven lines, forming regular alleys. The blocks numbered formerly about ten thousand; but there are now many gaps in the stony lines, as every house in the vicinity seems to have been built from this convenient quarry.

At Stonehenge, in England, is a large cromlech arranged in two circles and two ovals. There are in all about one hundred and forty stones, of which the smallest are estimated to weigh ten or twelve, and the largest seventy tons. In the centre of the work is a ma.s.sive slab of fine sandstone, supposed to have been an altar. This cromlech is surrounded by a trench and an earthen embankment. Numerous ancient _barrows_, or burial mounds, are found in the neighborhood. In Ireland, monuments constructed of stone are sometimes found; but circular earthworks are more common. In this country, as in Brittany, many popular superst.i.tions still attach to these remains of ancient paganism. Almost within our own day, many an Irish peasant has made his scanty harvest still smaller, rather than violate with the plough, the gra.s.s-grown "rath," or Druid circle. Death within the year is the supposed penalty of such an act. In Brittany, malignant dwarfs and night-elves still haunt the deserted cromlech, and have power at certain times, to wreak their malice on the belated traveller. Some of these giant stones are themselves subject to mysterious laws. Once in a hundred years, they are obliged, at the hour of midnight, to pa.s.s in weird procession to bathe in the waters of the Northern Ocean.

Then for a few brief moments the stars look down on the riches buried in ancient times beneath the enchanted circle. It is the treasure-seeker's golden opportunity, but woe to the avaricious wretch who lingers over the spoil. He is crushed by the swift returning stones, and the morning sun finds the grim sentinels silent and motionless as before, bearing no trace of their wild nocturnal march.

CHAPTER IX.

Mexico.

MYTHOLOGY OF THE AZTECS.

_Ques._ What peculiarity has been remarked in the mythology of the Aztecs or ancient Mexicans?

_Ans._ Its incongruity. On the one hand we find their priests inculcating the most sublime truths of natural religion, and the purest maxims of morality, while on the other, their sacrifices and public worship were marked by a spirit of unexampled ferocity.

_Ques._ How has this been explained?

_Ans._ It is supposed that the religion of the Aztecs was derived from two distinct sources. The ancient Toltecs, who preceded them in Mexico, were a comparatively humane and enlightened race; they retained many of the highest principles of natural religion, united, probably, with truths derived from primitive tradition. The Aztecs seem to have adopted the religion of their more civilized predecessors without abandoning their own dark and cruel superst.i.tions. Hence the contradictions and inconsistencies of their mythology.

_Ques._ What did the Aztecs believe of G.o.d?

_Ans._ They believed in one Supreme Lord and Creator, to whom they attributed all the divine perfections. The prayers which they addressed to Him recall, in many instances, the very phraseology of Scripture.

_Ques._ Did the Aztecs worship any other deity?

_Ans._ Yes, they worshipped many subordinate divinities who were supposed to preside over the elements, the changes of the seasons and the various occupations of men. Of these G.o.ds, thirteen held the most exalted rank, while the inferior cla.s.s numbered over two hundred.

_Ques._ Who may be considered the chief of these subordinate divinities?

_Ans._ Huitzilopotchli, a sort of Mexican Mars, who was, in fact, the patron deity of the nation. His temples were the most stately of all the public edifices, and his altars in every part of the empire were continually reeking with the blood of human victims.

_Ques._ Who was Quetzalcoatl?