but brother March can.' So he
turns to a fine young man near him and says, 'Brother March, sit in my
place.' Presently the air around grows softer. The snows around the
fire melt. The green grass appears, the flower-buds are to be seen. At
the orphan girl's feet a bed of violets appear. She stoops and plucks
a beautiful bouquet, which she brings home to her astounded
stepmother."

[Illustration: STONE MONUMENTS AS MEMORIALS (KASYA)]

[Illustration: STONE SEATS AT A KASYA VILLAGE
(2 FEET TO 6 FEET IN DIAMETER)]

How clearly this is a representation of the tribal assembly worked
into the folk-tale, where January and the months are the tribal
chiefs, may be illustrated by a comparison with the actual events of
Indian tribal life. Within the stockaded village of Supar-Punji, in
Bengal, are two or three hundred monuments, large and small, all
formed of circular, solid stone slabs, supported by upright stones,
set on end, which enclose the space below. On these the villagers sit
on occasions of state, each on his own stool, large or small,
according to his rank in the commonwealth.[68]

Now evidence such as this, showing how the folk-tale among primitive
people gets framed according to the social conditions within which it
originates, will help us to realise the peculiar value of similar
features which may be found in the folk-tales of our own country.
English tales are nearly destitute of such illustrations of primitive
tribal life as this. Some of the giant stories of Cornwall, such as
that relating to the loose, uncut stones in the district of Lanyon
Quoit, on whose tors "they do say the giants sit,"[69] may refer to
the tribal assembly place, but it is shorn of all its necessary
details, and we do not get many examples even in this shortened form.

Curiously enough, too, we find but little mention in the Scotch tales
of the open-air gatherings of the tribe. The following quotation may
refer to the custom perhaps, but it is not conclusive: "On the day
when O'Donull came out to hold right and justice...." (there were
twelve men with him).[70] Another story is more exact. Mr. Campbell
took it down from a fisherman in Barra (ii. 137). The hero-child
Conall tends the sheep of a widow with whom he lodged. "To feed these
sheep he broke down the dykes which guarded the neighbours' fields.
The neighbours made complaint to the king, and asked for justice. The
king gave foolish judgment, whereat his neck was turned awry, and