It was considered a
great offence for any person, other than the mother or near relation, in
whom every confidence could be placed, to cut a baby's nails; if some
forward officious person should do this, and baby afterwards be taken
ill, this would give rise to grave suspicions of evil influence being at
work. The same remarks apply to the cutting of a baby's hair. I have
seen the door locked during hair-cutting, and the floor swept
afterwards, and the sweepings burned, lest perchance any hairs might
remain, and be picked up by an enemy. Dr. Livingstone, in his book on
the Zambesi, mentions the existence of a similar practice among some
African tribes. "They carefully collect and afterwards burn or bury the
hair, lest any of it fall into the hands of a witch." Mr. Munter
mentions that the same practice is common amongst the Patagonians, and
the practice extends to adults. He says that after bathing, which they
do every morning, "the men's hair is dressed by their wives, daughters,
or sweethearts, who take the greatest care to burn the hairs that may be
brushed out, as they fully believe that spells may be wrought by
evil-intentioned persons who can obtain a piece of their hair. From the
same idea, after cutting their nails the parings are carefully committed
to the flames."

Besides this danger--this blighting influence of the evil eye which
environed the years of childhood--there was also this other danger,
already mentioned, that of being spirited away by fairies. The danger
from this source was greater when the baby was pretty, and what fond
mother did not consider her baby pretty? Early in the century, a
labourer's wife living a few miles west of Glasgow, became the mother of
a very pretty baby. All who saw it were charmed with its beauty, and it
was as good as it was bonnie. The neighbours often urged on the mother
the necessity of carefulness, and advised her to adopt such methods as
were, to their minds, well-attested safe-guards for the preservation of
children from fairy influence and an evil eye. She was instructed never
to leave the child without placing near it an open Bible. One unhappy
day the mother went out for a short time, leaving the baby in its
cradle, but she forgot or neglected to place the open Bible near the
child as directed. When she returned baby was crying, and could by no
means be quieted, and the mother observed several blue marks upon its
person, as if it had been pinched. From that day it