A man had reason to believe, from the flames which he had seen hovering about a certain spot, that a treasure was hidden there. Accordingly, one night, he took his spade and lantern and dug till he came to a large jar, which contained what appeared to him to be shells.[115] Suspecting that this might be a stratagem of the evil spirit to deter him from obtaining possession of the treasure, he carefully gathered up the whole, and took it home with him. On examining the parcel the next morning, he found he had judged rightly, for the apparent shells of the preceding night had now resumed their original form of gold and silver coin. Another man was less fortunate, for, finding nothing but what he conceived to be shells, he hesitated about removing them, and was effectually deterred by the appearance of an immense animal, resembling a black conger-eel with fiery eyes, coiled up in the hole which he had dug.[116] [115] It is perhaps to the fact that limpet shells are found in the cromlechs, which are always supposed to be the repository of hidden treasure, that the idea that buried gold, when discovered by mortals, is transformed by its guardian spirit into worthless shells, is entertained by the peasantry. [116] From Rachel Du Port. “4 Oct. 1586. Procédures contre Edmond Billot, Richard Le Petevin, Nicollas Le Petevin, et Jean Moullin, pour avoir été de nuit fouyr à Ste. Anne, à St. George, et à St. Germain pour chercher des trésors qu’un nommé Baston, des parties de Normandie, leur avoit dit y être déposés,--savoir: trois à St. George, un dans la muraille, un autre enterré dans la chapelle, et un troisième déhors, un à Ste. Anne, et un à St. Germain au milieu du champ.”--_Proceedings of the Royal Court._ EDITOR’S NOTE.--See _Traditions et Superstitions de La Haute Bretagne_. Tome I., p. 39 etc. “On m’a conté à Dinan que lorsque les chercheurs de trésors eurent creusé à la base du Monolithe, il sortit de la terre des flammes qui les forcèrent à interrompre leur travail. On assure qu’à différentes époques on a fait des fouilles sous un meulier de la forêt de Brotonne, dit ‘La Pierre aux Houneux’ pour y découvrir un trésor; mais à chaque fois d’effrayantes apparitions les firent discontinuer.… Des ouvriers qui avaient tenté d’enlever le trésor de Néaufle se virent entourés de flammes.” A. Bosquet, p. 159-186. “THE VAROU.” The “Varou,” now almost entirely forgotten, seems to have belonged to the family of nocturnal goblins. He is allied to the “Loup-Garou” of the French, and the “Were-Wolf” of the English, if, indeed, he is not absolutely identical with them. He is believed to be endowed with a marvellous appetite, and it is still proverbially said of a great eater “Il mange comme un varou.”[117]