Many persons, although not absolutely considered as wizards, are looked upon with no favourable eye from their supposed possession of books relating to the black art, by the study of which they are thought to be able to control the elements, to produce strange effects either for good or bad on the bodies of man and beast, to discover hidden secrets, treasure, etc. These books are generally known by the name of _Albins_, probably derived from that famous professor of magic, Albertus Magnus, many of whose formulas for raising the Devil, etc., they are said to contain. They are also called “_Le Grammaille_” or “_Grand-Mêle_,”[171] and a distinction is made between the _Grand-Mêle_ and the _Petit-Mêle_. Among the effects which the possessors of these books are said to be able to produce is that of causing persons to walk in their sleep, and to direct their steps towards any point to which the dabbler in magic may wish them to go, but in order to accomplish this, it is necessary that he should have previously drawn blood from the person on whom he intends to practise his unlawful art. So small a quantity however as that produced by the scratch of a pin is amply sufficient for the purpose. These books are said to be indestructible. If thrown on the fire they remain unconsumed, if sunk in the sea, or buried in the earth, they will be found again the next day in the cupboard or chest from whence they were taken.[172] [170] From Miss E. Chepmell. [171] Mr. Métivier in his dictionary translates _Grand-Mêle_ as _Grimoire_, or the book by which sorcerers pretend to raise the dead, being derived from the old Norse word _grîma_, a spectre, a witch, a word which is, he says, also the origin of “_grimace_.” The _Grand-Mêle_ of the Guernsey folk was literally the _big book_, just as the _Petit-Mêle_ was the little book, _Mêle_ being nothing but a survival of the Gothic _Meli_--a writing, discourse, or song. Also _Ma’l_, with the Norsemen, as _Veda_ with the Hindoos, and as _Scripture_ with us, was simply the collective name of all the holy books. [172] From Elizabeth Matthieu. EDITOR’S NOTES. Nowadays the people, in speaking of the “bad books” as they frequently term them, call them the “_Grand Albert_” and the “_Petit Albert_,” the former being undoubtedly derived from “Albertus Magnus.” The “Petit Albert” is an abridgment of the larger book, and is supposed to be comparatively harmless, and, with proper precautions, some say it may even be used by good Christians. The country people to this day believe these books to be imperishable, and many is the tale they tell of how they will neither drown, nor burn, and how in particular, one old wizard’s books at Saints’ Bay had to be buried, and part of the funeral service read over them, to keep them from reappearing on their accustomed shelf.