recover; but when the wraith was seen in the afternoon or evening, this betokened evil or approaching death, and the time within which death would occur was considered to be within a year.  This belief in wraiths goes back to a very early period of man’s history.  The ancient Persians and Jews believed that every person had a spirit or guardian angel attending him, and although generally invisible, it had the power of becoming visible, and separating itself for a time from the person it attended, and of appearing to other persons in the guise of the individual from whom it emanated.  An excellent example of this superstitious belief is recorded in the Acts of the Apostles.  When Peter, who was believed to be in prison, knocked at the “door of the gate” of the house where the disciples were met, the young woman who went to open the door, on recognising Peter’s voice, was overjoyed, and, instead of opening, ran into the house, and told the disciples Peter was at the door.  Then they said “It is his angel” (wraith).  Thus the whole company expressed their belief in attending angels.  The belief in wraiths was prevalent throughout all Scotland.  It is beautifully introduced in the song of “Auld Robin Gray.”  When the young wife narrates her meeting with her old sweetheart, she says, “I thought it was his wraith, I could not think it he,” and the belief survives in some parts of the country to the present day.

If a dying person struggled hard and long, it was believed that the spirit was kept from departing by some magic spell.  It was therefore customary, under these circumstances, for the attendants to open every lock in the house, that the spell might be broken, and the spirit let loose.  J. Train refers to this superstition in his Mountain Muse, published 1814:—­

   “The chest unlocks to ward the power,
    Of spells in Mungo’s evil hour.”

After death there came a new class of superstitious fears and practices.  The clock was stopped, the looking-glass was covered with a cloth, and all domestic animals were removed from the house until after the funeral.  These things were done, however, by many from old custom, and without their knowing the reason why such things were done.  Originally the reason for the exclusion of dogs and cats arose from the belief that, if either of these animals should chance to leap over the corpse, and be afterwards permitted to live, the devil would gain power over the dead person.

When the corpse was laid out, a plate of salt was placed upon the breast, ostensibly to prevent the body swelling.  Many did so in this belief, but its original purpose was to act as a charm against the devil to prevent him from disturbing the body.  In some localities the plate of salt was supplemented with another filled with earth.  A symbolical meaning was given for this; that the earth represented the corporeal body, the earthly house,—­the salt the heavenly state of the soul.  But there