76 THE ESSEX NATURALIST.
described by the Magpie, where he discovered the entrance to an
underground passage, through which he passed. In due course
he came to a cavern, bright with silver, but not forgetting the
Magpie's advice went on until he reached a second cave, this
time shining with gold. This was more than he could resist,
so he plunged his bill greedily into the golden dust, which
carpeted the floor. At once a terrible demon appeared, emitting
fire and smoke, who rushed at the terrified bird with such alarming
speed that he escaped by a hair's breadth ; but he did not escape
unscathed, for the dense smoke had coated his feathers and
he was now quite black with the exception of his bill, which
still retains the colour of the gold he attempted to take away.
Even today when the Blackbird is surprised he utters cries of
terror, such as were compelled by the monster. The imaginations
of the folk did not seem to react readily to Geese as there is
not much lore bearing on these and similar types of birds. A
quaint conceit existed regarding the origin of the Barnacle-Goose.
Gerard's account was that Barnacles were produced in the North
of Scotland and the Orkney Islands. He tells "what his own
"eyes have seen and hands have touched." On a small island
off Lancashire, called the Pile of Foulders, were found parts of
old ships, also trunks and branches of old rotten trees, cast
up by the waves, on which was found spume or froth, which in
time bred into certain shells, shaped somewhat like mussels
and of a whitish colour. These shells contained an object
resembling a lace of silk, one end of which adhered to the inside
of the shell. The other end was attached to the belly of a
rude mass or lump, which in time assumed the form of a bird
and when its form became perfect the shell opened. The first
thing to appear was the lace or string, then the legs of the bird
hung out, and so the shell was gradually opened until the whole
bird was in view and hung only by the bill. Soon it came to
full maturity and fell into the sea, where it gathered feathers
and grew to a fowl, larger than a Mallard and smaller than a
goose, having black legs and bill, and black and white feathers
spotted like a Magpie. Gerard added: "For the truth hereof,
''if any doubt, may it please them to repaire unto me, and I
''shall satisfie them by the testimonie of good witnesses." A story
of the same nature, but with a different origin, relates to the