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I am so pleased that you have been able to continue Petticoat Discipline. I recently sent an account of changelings to the greatly missed Miss Susan but for obvious reasons it was never published. I think that it is a fascinating piece of information and I have re-sent it, as best as I can remember it, to you in case you wish to make use of it. Please do not attribute this to me, if you choose to print some or all of it, as it has been gleaned from a number of sources. We are all aware of why some members of the fairer sex may wish to dress young children in dresses. Some do it because they cannot afford to buy new clothing for the latest arrival and pass down female garb for their infant sons to wear, at least, until the child either becomes aware of this or until he begins school. Some do it because they see in the boy the daughter that they have yearned for but never had. Others do it to punish the wayward older child. However, I have come across another reason. It is to protect the male infant from evil faeries. These faeries would steal the human child from its crib and replace it with a faerie child (a changeling). It was only boys who were stolen so to prevent this wise grandmothers who possessed great knowledge would dress the infant in girl's clothes in order to confuse the faeries. Records of changelings existed in some parts of the British Isles up until the turn of the century (1800s to 1900s, that is) although whether it was belief, superstition or custom is not clear. For example, folk in Ireland and the Isle of Man still bid the faerie folk'good day' as they cross over bridges yet few acknowledge their existence. It is simply a delightful local custom. Changelings even feature in the Shakespeare play'A Midsummer Night's Dream' where the King and Queen of the faeries, Oberon and Titania quarrel regarding who should have guardianship of a changeling child. Real children were sometimes taken to be changelings by the superstitious, and therefore abused or murdered although it was felt that the perpetrators were only using this as a pretence in order to do away with children. Victorian baby farmers were widely known to dispose of unwanted children having accepted money from the mother to pay for finding foster parents for the babe. Two Victorian cases reflected the belief in changelings. In 1826, an Irish Anne Roche woman of hitherto good behaviour bathed four-year old Michael Leahy in the River Flesk. Michael, who could not stand unaided and was unable to speak, was submerged in the river three times. After the third time he had drowned. Anne Roche swore that she was merely attempting to force the faery out of his body although she never claimed that Michael was a changeling, only that he was possesses of an evil spirit. As the result of this testimony she was acquitted. In the 1890s, Bridget Cleary was slain by her husband and cousins, in an effort to cure her of a respiratory condition. It is unclear whether her husband, Michael Cleary, genuinely believed that his wife was a changeling her or whether he used this excuse as a defence to murder having killed her after a furious row as Jack Dunne, a local bard, had accused Bridget of being a faery changeling. The jury returned with a verdict of manslaughter, giving the killers the benefit of the doubt as to their belief that Bridget had been exchanged for a faery child when newly born even though she was a female child.. There are strong medical grounds to substantiate a belief in such folk-lore. As boys possess both an 'X' and a'Y' chromosome any defect on the'X' chromosome cannot be compensated for by the corresponding'Y' chromosome as can the female with her two'X' chromosomes. Common neonatal defects may result in malformed bodies which superstitious country folk thought were baby rabbits or piglets that had been placed in the crib when the baby was stolen. Such conditions included cerebral palsy and spina bifida although there are many others. Because it was the male child who was more predisposed to such medical conditions it was most likely that boy babies would be taken. A failure to develop either physically or mentally was a sign of a changeling. Respiratory, muscular, cardiac and digestive conditions may all result in failure to thrive as well as mental conditions such as autism due to their hitherto unexplainable behaviour. Some autistic children identify themselves with changelings or sometimes alien-beings. In cases where dedicated nursing brought the child to full recovery it was seen that such kindness had been rewarded with the return of the child. It is understandable that some parents would prefer to have people believe that a sickly child was a changeling rather that accept that they were the parents of a child with one or more medical conditions that delayed development. And that is why I prefer to wear satin dresses with frothy petticoats and lace panties so I don't get stolen - honest! BC Thank you for your informative letter BC, how fascinating. Auntie Helga |