Collectanea. 211
(P. 2 2 1, after the fifth hne from bottom.)
A Uist man would say to another, "Theirig a mach, agus cuir do chorag ann an toll, agus mur a thig thu steach, innsidh raise dhuit co'n corag a chuir thu ann." (Go out and put your finger in a hole, and when you come in I will tell you what finger you put in it.) Out goes the man addressed, and returning asks, "Co 'n corag a chuir mi ann?" (What finger did I put in it?), and the rejoinder is "Corag an amadain" (The fool's finger).
Another of exactly the same sort is,
When one says to another, " Take the poker and tongs and fiddle any tune you like on them, keeping proper time, and I will watch the motion, and when you are done I'll tell you what you played."
The performance having been carefully gone through and the tune ended, the performer asks, " Now what did I play ? " and is told, " You played the fool."
(P. 224, after line 6 from bottom.)
Another Uist sell was when one said to another "Bha sean duin' uair rathad an Obain, aig an robh sealladh an da shuil, agus chunnaic an duine so aon latha crann a' treabhadh, nuair nach robh aon chuid eich 'ga tharruing, neo treabhaiche 'ga stiuireadh." (An old man was once Oban way who had the sight of both eyes (or, second sight), and this man one day saw a plough ploughing when there were neither horses drawing nor a ploughman guiding it.) Persons not knowing that it was a sell generally accounted for it as a case of second sight, and when all had given their opinions, it would be explained that there were two mares in the plough and it was a tailor who was ploughing.
In these games we have not dealt with Hallowe'en amuse- ments, or what are looked upon as amusements now-a-days, and this has been made a reason for animadversion. The per- formances peculiar to Hallowe'en are generally auguries and
