Traditions of Lancashire, Volume 1 | Page 5

an authentic and well-attested fact; and
legendary lore, in particular, he throws aside as worthless and
unprofitable. The author of the "TRADITIONS OF LANCASHIRE," in
leaving the dry and heraldic pedigrees which unfortunately constitute
the great bulk of those works that bear the name of county histories,
enters on the more entertaining, though sometimes apocryphal

narratives, which exemplify and embellish the records of our
forefathers.
A native of Lancashire, and residing there during the greater part of his
life, he has been enabled to collect a mass of local traditions, now fast
dying from the memories of the inhabitants. It is his object to
perpetuate these interesting relics of the past, and to present them in a
form that may be generally acceptable, divested of the dust and dross in
which the originals are but too often disfigured, so as to appear
worthless and uninviting.
Tradition is not an unacceptable source of historical inquiry; and the
writer who disdains to follow these glimmerings of truth will often find
himself in the dark, with nothing but his own opinions--the
smouldering vapour of his own imagination--to guide him in the
search.
The following extract from a German writer on the subject sufficiently
exemplifies and illustrates the design the author has generally had
before him in the composition and arrangement of the following
legends:--
"Simple and unimportant as the subject may at first appear, it will be
found, upon a nearer view, well worth the attention of philosophical
and historical inquirers. All genuine, popular Tales, arranged with local
and national reference, cannot fail to throw light upon contemporary
events in history, upon the progressive cultivation of society, and upon
the prevailing modes of thinking in every age. Though not consisting of
a recital of bare facts, they are in most instances founded upon fact, and
in so far connected with history, which occasionally, indeed, borrows
from, and as often reflects light upon, these familiar annals, these more
private and interesting casualties of human life.
"It is thus that popular tradition, connected with all that is most
interesting in human history and human action, upon a national scale--a
mirror reflecting the people's past worth and wisdom--invariably
possesses so deep a hold upon its affections, and offers so many
instructive hints to the man of the world, to the statesman, the citizen,
and the peasant.
"Signs of approaching changes, no less in manners than in states, may
likewise be traced, floating down this popular current of opinions,
fertilising the seeds scattered by a past generation, and marking by its

ebbs and flows the state of the political atmosphere, and the distant
gathering of the storm.
"National traditions further serve to throw light upon ancient and
modern mythology; and in many instances they are known to preserve
traces of their fabulous descent, as will clearly appear in some of the
following selections. It is the same with those of all nations, whether of
eastern or western origin, Greek, Scythian, or Kamtschatkan. And
hence, among every people just emerged out of a state of barbarism, the
same causes lead to the production of similar compositions; and a chain
of connection is thus established between the fables of different nations,
only varied by clime and custom, sufficient to prove, not merely a
degree of harmony, but secret interchanges and communications."
A record of the freaks of such airy beings, glancing through the mists
of national superstition, would prove little inferior in poetical interest
and association to the fanciful creations of the Greek mythology. The
truth is, they are of one family, and we often discover allusions to the
beautiful fable of Psyche or the story of Midas; sometimes with the
addition, that the latter was obliged to admit his barber into his
uncomfortable secret. Odin and Jupiter are brothers, if not the same
person; and the northern Hercules is often represented as drawing a
strong man by almost invisible threads, which pass from his tongue
round the limbs of the victim, thereby symbolising the power of
eloquence. Several incidents in the following tales will be recognised
by those conversant with Scandinavian literature, thus adding another
link to the chain of certainty which unites the human race, or at any rate
that part of it from which Europe was originally peopled, in one
original tribe or family.
A work of this nature, embodying the material of our own island
traditions, has not yet been attempted; and the writer confidently hopes
that these tales may be found fully capable of awakening and sustaining
the peculiar and high-wrought interest inherent in the legends of our
continental neighbours. Should they fail of producing this effect, he
requests that it may be attributed rather to his want of power to conjure
up the spirits of past ages, than to any want of capabilities in the