* Nº 21&ºi= JA Cº º' ...C. º.º. º. vº º sº. C/ ©|| || ºſ eſ: €. G s • • CP º º º sº º º º sº º me • sº a sº º & º ºr sº gº º Aº ‘Tº º sº tº º º º mºtº sº * ºr Storagé’ TBF |-lin S , DIS º ENCYCLOPAEDIA SUPERSTITIONS, FOLKLORE, An ID THE OCCULT SCIENCES WORLD A COMPREHENSIVE LIBRARY Human Belieſ and Prattiteitle Mysteries I Liie through MORE THAn SIX THOUSAND YEARS OF EXPERIENCE AND PROGRESS INCLUDING The Fundamental Intuitions and Instincts Underlying the Structure of Civilization. Theology, Mythology, Demonology, Magic, Witchcraft, Esoteric Philosophy, Signs, Omens, Oracles, Sorceries, Auguries, Divinations, Prophecies. Methods and Means Employed in Revealing Fortune and Fate. Systems and Formulas for the Use of Psychical Forces. HYPNOTISM, CLAIRVOYANCE, TELEPATHY, SPIRITUALISM, CHARACTER READING AND CHARACTER BUILDING, WITH ALL THE KNOWN POWERS AND WONDERS OF MIND AND SOUL. Illustrated with Numerous Ancient and Modern Designs and Thoroughly Indexed. VOIL. I. EDITORIAL STAFF: CORA LINN DANIELS, AND PROF. C. M. STEVANS, PH. D. , Member of the Society of Arya Samaj of Arya-Wart, Formerly several years Teacher and Lecturer in Litera- Feliow of the §. of Science, Literature and Art, London, ture, Ethics and Psychology; since then, Author of Fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society, London. Numerous Series of Historical, Philosophical Member of the American Folklore Society, and other Educational Works. With more than ONE THOUSAND Eminent Assistants, Advisers and Contributors, J. H. YEVVDAILE & SON'S CO., PUBLIs HERs, CEIICAGO AND MII.W.A.T.J.P.E.E. Storage 6 F. 1115 , TV)1% W,\ y T. * gº =) Copyright, 1908, by J. H. Yewdale & Sons Co., MILwaukBE, WIs. All rights reserved. PREFA CE. The Superstitios in the early days of Rome were those who sur- vived in battle, in the time of Cicero they were those who prayed that their children might outlive them, and, at the christianizing of the em- pire, the word referred to those who still clung to the old beliefs. Later on this term was applied to everything anti-christian or pagan, and final- ly it became degraded in meaning until it included only those beliefs that were regarded as the offspring of fear and ignorance. The unreasoning awe with which the unscientific minds of early civ- lization looked upon birth, accident, death, and other mysteries of nature, made them particularly susceptible to signs and wonders of super- natural structure or origin, that foretold or accounted for the strange things they saw or experienced. Formulated into sayings easily remem- bered and repeated, these aphorisms, symbols and myths not only be- came the moral guide of individuals, but of communities and nations, perhaps even to be incorporated into the religions and governments of the human race. That the superstitions of the world arose from instincts inherited from ages of racial experience may be inferred from the fact that many fundamental beliefs of that nature are universal. Countless ones similar in character are found in every tongue and tribe of every part of the earth. Thus the origin of most of the experiential sayings formulated into aphorisms in every lar'ritage, is lost far back in ancient obscurity. The more modern ones were uoubtless launched into an immortal career by some droll and eccentric or pºilosophical personage unidentified in an obscure part of civilization. His juaint figure of speech or specially fitting idea may have been made under the pressure of bitter experience, and, as it tersely expressed the feelings of others, its use spread until it became a nationalized belief or maxim. , t t expressed an axiom of human experience it entered into the service of t, 'e world for all time. There were and there are still many startling effects and results to be seen in human experience whose cause is still unknown and can not yet even be reasonably conjectured. Something plausible to the com- mon mind must be assigned to account for these phenomena, and that something, when superseded by other theories, is looked upon as the superstition of that age. Thus many persons among the learned and the unlearned regard vaccination against small-pox as one of the greatest and most extensive superstitions of modern times, while an unquestionably respectable num- ber of persons assert that the entire practice of medicine is one of the worst delusions and superstitions that ever afflicted mankind. Likewise there are many undeniably great thinkers who stoutly affirm that everything above the observable and knowable laws of mate- rial things is untenable, ridiculous and absurd superstition, while there are others, appearing equally able to speak with authority, who logically contend that everything we regard as material is merely superstitious fancy and that, “this world is but a fleeting show for man's illusion given.” Even great theologians have defined religion itself to be merely the universal feeling that obsesses and possesses the soul in the presence of the unknown. The Cartesian school of philosophy is founded on the only fact that Descartes could find which he could not dispute; namely, “I think, therefore I am.” But a score of great writers since then have logically proven this to be no fact at all. e Thus no one has been able to state a single fact that has not been disputed by a host of respectable thinkers, who produce arguments in the contention that can not be satisfyingly met or or nvincingly refuted, if we are to be governed through the logic of reason. On this account it has been asserted that a delusion is anytime as good as a fact, provided a sufficient number of persons agree harmoniously to act upon it. Taking these things into consideration, we can not afford to hold in derision those beliefs, known to us now as superstitions, which are the venerable survivals of the uſ.iversal experience and instinct of ancient generations if not of inspi;, ior ºr of revelation from the Spiritual World during the infancy of Mankind. We are not yet so scientifically sure of our superiority or of our facts as to be able reasonably to say that we have the truth, and all the rest is wholly falsehood born of ignorance. ~ Hypnotism, now nowhere denied as an explanation of certain mental phenomena, has lent a kind of uncanny scientific aspect to many of the fundamentals of ancient superstition. If a living mind can influence with suggestion, even to the feat of controlling another mind, then we need not be so sure that from the spirit world, if we admit there is one, there may not come a kind of telepathic influence amounting to a veri- table unconscious suggestion which may likewise hypnotize and control. Aside from the question of belief or truth in superstitions, or the question of unwholesomeness, or of ignorance contained in them, there can be no question that the study of the superstitions, myths, legends, and folklore of the world affords a bright illumination of the construction and development of the human mind, as well as of the hopes, fears, and happiness that have been a part of the experiences, thoughts and lives of our fore-parents from the dawn of civilization. On that account, this Encyclopaedia of the Superstitions, Folklore and Occult Sciences of the World, claims to be a valuable contribution to the entertainment and learning of the present age. It gives in a con- densed and easily-consulted form the principles of human beliefs that have permeated and influenced the course of human conduct from time so far past as to be lost in the obscurity of ancient ages. It has been a stupendous task done at an almost incredible cost of money and labor. The material has been gleaned from every corner and part of the earth, and extracted from the writings of all languages, and all time. The result is a work that is unique in exhaustive compila- tion. It covers the field of so-called unscientific thought and belief, and affords a momentous study of mankind. Illustrations. VOL. I. PAGE, THE WRITER OF MYSTERIES, e e © © º O ſº © . FRONTISPIECE THE GUARDIAN OF CHILDHOOD, . {º o O © º © © © o tº 1 MATERNAL APPARITIONS IN JAPANESE CHILD LIFE, © o º tº © O 30 TALISMAN FOR LOVE, . © © e o e © © © o © O © 71 84 THE EXTINGUIs HED CANDLE, . º © © C C C C & Q & AN OFFERING OF FLOWERs, . . . . . . . . . . . . 126 THE PALL OF DEATH, . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166 SUICIDE FoR REVENGE, . o © Q - tº tº Gº O © º O © e 192 THE MYstERY OF DREAMs, . . . . . . . . . . . . .252 CHART of THE HAND, . © e e G º g © º O © tº e 289 LINEs OF THE PALM, . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290 THE HAND of DEATH, © e o e o e s tº 6 & 0 & 294 CHARTs of THE CRANIUM, . . . . . . . . . . . . 296 THE Use OF HAIRS FROM DoG AND CAT, . º gº e - . . . . 836 HEALING WATERs of RIVER LYBARIs, . . . . . . . . . 378 THE Wom AN WHo QUARRELs, . . . . . . . . . . . 420 THE GRAVE ROBBER, . e º tº º © © º º e tº . . 462 HAPPY OMEN of THE HAwk's DEATH, . . . . . . . . . 504 THE FLIGHT OF SUPERsTITION, . © © © © © Q o © o ſº 546 CONTENTS, CoNTRIBUTORS, & e . . . . . . . . . . XV, XVI, XVII, XVIII. Countries, NATIONS, PLACES, RACES, TRIBES, AND SECTS, . . . . . • e e º e e s a x [X, XX, XXI, XXII, XXIII, XXIV. PREFACE, e e º 'º III, IV, V. CHAPTER I. BIRTH AND CHILD LIFE. BAPTISM, Christening Days, Name-Giving, Circumcision, Benediction, Evil Spirits. BIRTH IN GENERAL, e Degradation of Birth, Premature Birth, Accouchment, Incantations at Childbirth, Esquimos' Childbirth, Japanese Invisibles, Navel String the Flower-Stalk of Life, The Caul, Dancing Fairy Ladies, Lights at Child- birth, Malicious Spirits, The Ainu of Japan, Virgin Mothers. BIRTH, SIGNs of e e e s " e s e o e IO BIRTH, TIME OF . . . . . . II Week Days, Month Days, Months. BIRTHDAY Stones, e I2 Gems for Each Month, Divinities for Each Month. INFLUENCE OF THE Months AND THEIR ConstELLATIONS UPON THE BIRTH, I4 Signs of the Zodiac, Planetary Influence, Disposition and Character, Weather. º CHILDREN IN GENERAL, . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 The Cry of a Child, Infanticide, Twins, Seventh Son, Kissing a Child, Customs with Infants, The Invisible Pencil of Fate, Children's Clothing, Charms, The Sandman, Learning to Talk, Eating and Drinking, Plutarch's Story of Demophoon, Puny Infants, Quince and Coriander Seed, Shakes- peare, Brilliant Cakes, Fetiches, Fairy Children, Changelings, Wild Maid- ens, Idiots, Erl-King, Bogie, Wolf's Tooth, Wood Demons, Evil-Eye, The Christ-Child, Dervish Babies, Chinese Customs as related by Robert K. Douglas, The Twenty-four Filials, Dr. Paul Carus. MISCELLANEOUs “Don’ts” For PARENTs, . . . . . . . . . . . . .30 Truthfulness, Humiliation, Consideration of Feelings, Whipping, Lying, Breaking Wills. CRAPHE, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3O Elder-wood Cradles, Clipping Hair and Nails, Cradle Cap. DEATH OF CHILDREN,. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Burying a Dog with the Little One, Turkish Customs. DISEASES OF CHILDREN, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31 Use of a Lion's Skin, Dew from a Grave, Half-Christening, Eggs in an Ant Heap, Egyptian Vows to the Gods, Lighting of Candles, Chicken- Pox, Brilliant Cakes, Tiger's Picture, Silver Keys Blessed by the Pope, Hen-Oil, Customs in the Canary Islands, Nixies, Currant Cakes, Tooth of a Dead Horse, New Milk in the Forest of Bere. FECUNDITY AND STERILITY, . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Pocket of Dock-Seed, “Avaunt Thee, Lilith,” Dakota Bride, Hottentot Maidens, Kaffir Women, Albanians, Church of Annunciation. Food For CHILDREN, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Crabs for Decayed Teeth, Planting of the Mango Tree, Prepared Food for the Toothache. LACTATION, . 36 The Weevii-Grub, Evil-Eye, Cow's Milk as a Breeder of Horns, Bag of Corks, Weaning. VIII CONTENTS. PLAY AND CHILDREN's SAYINGS, . . . . . . . . . . . Corals with Silver Bells, Playing Among Sheep, Playing with Fire, Sing- ing a Dirge, Playing Marbles, “Hi-Spy,” Charm for a Kite, Kissing One's Elbow, Incantation to a Snail, To a Ladybug, “Naked Bear.” PREGNANCY, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Walking Over a Grave, Stepping on a Broom, Eating Rabbit Meat, Dreams of Swallowing a Star, Grain of Corn Carried by an Ant, Wearing the Husband's Shoes, Foretelling Sex, Sand Painting Ceremony. PUNISHMENT, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Whipping with a Willow Rod, Striking with a Broom, Charm Against Caning. SCHOOL, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Studying Before Breakfast, First Bite of an Apple, Quarreling at Oxford, Stepping on Chalk, Touching Gold, Smiling or Weeping Teachers. TEETHING, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Born with Teeth, Shedding Milk Teeth, Use of Rabbit’s Stomach, Wolf's Tooth, Job's Tears. CHAPTER II. LOVE AND MARRIAGE. BED, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Head Toward the Rising Sun, Stranger in the Bridal Room, Falling of a Pillow, Cash Sword, Looking Under the Bed. BEVERAGES, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bridal Ale, Coffee at Wedding Breakfast, Origin of Honeymoon, Eating a “Posset,” Well of St. Keyne, Spilling Claret Wine, Drinking From the Same Cup, a Wedding Drunk. CEREMONY, ALTAR, CHURCH, ETC., . . . . . . . . . . . Flowers, Ring and Gloves, “Tying the Knot,” Which Shall Rule the Household, Horseshoes and Good Luck. Divorce, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DRESS AND TROUSSEAU, . . . . . . . . . . . . . Making One’s Own Wedding Clothes, Colors at the Wedding, Material for Dress. ELOPEMENT, . . . . . . . . . . . . ENGAGEMENT AND PROPOSAL OF MARRIAGE, . . . . . . . . Signs and Omens, Women Proposing, Riding a Mare to the Wooing, The Evil-Eye, Engagement Cards, Legend of the Artificial Flower, Time of Plighting Troth. FIRE, SMOKE, LIGHT, STOVE, ETC., . . . . . . . . . . . Torches Carried at Weddings, Candle Light, Household Fires, Miscel- laneous Superstitions. FooD, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Apples and Brides, Barley-Corn and Beans, Bread and Cake, Garlic and Hops, Oats, Wheat, and Rice. * - JEALOUSY, • e e s e o e º e e e s e s e e Cures for Jealousy, Evil Results, Story of Pandarus, Story from Ovid's Art of Love. Kiss AND KISSING, . . . . . . . . . . . . Signs to Kissing, Superstitions of Kissing. LETTERS AND CoRRESPONDENCE RELATING To LoVE AND MARRIAGE,. . . . Number of Sheets Used, Sign of the Pencil, The Trembling Hand, Blots, Letters of Bride Relating to Marriage. MISCELLANEOUS CHARMS AND OMENS RELATING TO CHANCEs of MARRIAGE, The First Chance, The Spray of Olive, Leaves of Mistletoe, Divination by Water, by Matches. MISCELLANEOUS CHARMS AND OMENS RELATING To FUTURE WIFE AND HUS- BAND, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Choosing a Wife on Certain Days, Dumb Cake, Fortune Telling by Var- ious Means, Acorn Charm, Moonbeams and the Mirror, Foretelling by Bible, Miscellaneous Signs. 36. 38 4 I 42 43 45 50 5O. 52 53 55 56 6I 6I 63 CONTENTS, IX MISCELLANEOUS CHARMS AND OMENS RELATING to LAPSE of TIME BEFORE MARRIAGE, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 MISCELLANEOUS CHARMS AND OMENS RELATING To LovE, . . . . . 71 Talisman for Love, Love Knots, Love Incantations, Love Spells, Bewitch- ments, Irish Love Charm, Stories of Various Charms, Lucky Love Papers, To Increase or Allay Love, To Discover Sincerity of a Lover, Love Cordials. MiscellANEOUS CHARMS AND OMENS RELATING to MARRIAGE, . . . . Riding a Camel, Dropping the Dishrag, The Sneezing Horse, Ring in a Teacup, Selecting a Husband, The Fortune Table, Gypsy Sorcery, Bare- foot Boy, Detracting Sounds, Runaway Marriages, Turtledoves, Twen- tieth Anniversary of Marriage, Happiness or Unhappiness, Black or White Horses, Marriage Test, Miscellaneous Warnings, Advice, Customs and Stories. MiscellANEOUs “DON'Ts” RELATING to MARRIAGE, . . . . . . 118 The Babbling Woman, The Flirt, The Fashionable Girl, The Low Neck Girl, The Young Man Who Has Sown His “Wild Oats,” Spendthrifts. 89 | MonEY, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121 Superstitions About Coins, Paying Bills, The Old Purse on Wedding Day. MOTHERS-IN-LAW, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I22 MUSIC, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I22 ORNAMENTS, RIBBons, Flow ERs, Jewels, Etc., . . . . I22 The Scratch of a Thorn, Rose Buds, Daisies, Orange Blossoms, Bridal Wreaths, Lost Jewels, Evergreens, Myrtle Wreaths. RINGS, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Accepting Engagement Ring, The Jewel Ring, Posey Ring, Wedding Rings, Omens About Rings. SHOEs AND SLIPPERs, • e s e e e s a • e e s " Finding Shoes, Marriage in Old Shoes, The Bride's Squeaking Slippers. StockINGS AND GARTERs, e e º e e º e s e s e e i. Stockings at the Altar, Stealing the Garter, Last of the Bridal Ollet. I25 128 I3O VEILs, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I31 Relic of the Bridal Canopy, The Torn Veil, White Veils. WEDDING FEAST (Breakfast, Dinner and Supper), e e º e º 'º' I32 Sharing Food, Roast Fowl, Glass of Wine, The Omen of the Mother-in- law, Step-parents, Spilt Milk, Sacred Figs. WEDDING Journey, . . I34 The Secret Honeymoon, The Bride’s Trunk, Meeting Unharnessed Horses, Meeting a Funeral. WEDDING PRESENTs, Love TokENS AND GIFTS GENERALLY, . . . . Aprons and Dish Towels, Chinaware and Clocks, Garters and Handker- chiefs, Matchbox and Flatiron, Pomegranates, Disposal of Duplicate I35 Presents. WEDDING TIME, • * e s e e s e o e s e e 1S7 Days of the Week, Days of the Month, Various Omens and Signs. CHAPTER III. DEATH. APPARITIONS, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I39 Spectres of the Good and Bad, Story of the Skeleton in the Closet. BED I40 Death Warnings, Signs of Death, Prevention of Return of Death. BURIAL, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140 Fine for Burial, Custom of Burying with the Feet to the East, Burial of Old Maids, Death Shoes, H. B. Stone, Book of the Dead, Coins and Clothes for the Dead, Story of Miles Coverdale, Customs Regarding Burial in Various Tribes and Nations. CANDLES, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I51 X t; CONTENTS. CEREMENTS, DRESSING THE DEAD, ETC., . . . . . . . . . . . . . . “Angel of Deity,” Burial in Garments of a Monk, Various Superstitions. CLOTHES BELONGING TO THE DEAD, ... ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . .: Disposal of Clothing in Various Tribes and Nations, Fenelon’s Belief, Yeat’s Story of the Celts. CofEIN, ... ... ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sound in Nailing Coffin, Breaking the Handles, Method of Carrying the Coffin. CoRPSE, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Touching a Corpse, Miscellaneous Superstitions, Custorms of Various Countries. CRAFE, • e o e " DEATH CHAMBER, DEATH ANNOUNCEMENT, DEATH, THE HOUSE OF, DROWNING, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Quest of the Body, Mark Twain's Method, The Spirit of the Drowned. DYING, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . To Die Comfortably, Helping the Soul Away, Weeping, Hearing Music, Homer’s Belief. Evil SPIRITs, DEMONS AND DEVILs, ExHUMATION, • a º Extreme UNCTION, FLowers AND PLANTS, FUNERAL BELL, FUNERAL FEAST, . . . . . FUNERAL SERVICE, . . . . . FUNERALS IN GENERAL, . . . Customs in Various Countries, Numerous Superstitions, Beliefs Among Tribes and Nations. GRAVE AND GRAVEYARD, . . . . . . . . . . . . . Corpse Candles, Will-'o-the-Wisps, Stories of Superstitions, Beliefs, Cus- toms of Different Nations, Curious Methods of Various Peoples, “Cities of the Silent.” HEARSE, e e º LIGHTNING, DEATH BY, . . . . . . . . . . . MISCELLANEOUS CHARMS AND OMENS RELATING TO DEATH, . . SIGNS OF DEATH IN THE SICK, . . . . . . . . . . . . Wind of Death, Cold Hands, Chariot of Death, Corpse-Bird, Spectral Dogs, “Gabriel’s Hounds,” Death Rattle, “Waffs,” “Swarths,” “Task,” “Fye-Tokens,” Stories from Various Countries, Foretelling Death, Super- stitions, Mysteries and Wonders Concerning Death. MoURNING, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Time for Mourning, Colors Used in Mourning, Tribes That Have Special Signs of Mourning, Omens Regarding Mourning, Signs of Mourning in Oriental Homes. PALL AND PALL-BEARERS, tº e e Sounds AND NOISES, . . . . . . SUICIDE, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CHAPTER IV. THE HUMAN BODY AND MIND, AND THEIR FUNCTIONS. ABDOMEN, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . AGB, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Apportionment of Years, Signs of Health, the Short and the Long Lived. SIGNs of OLD AGE, tº tº SIGNIFICANCE OF THE AGE OF 56, . . . . . . . . . . . Noted Persons, Legends and Fairy Tales of Ages, Stories of Ancient Celebrities, The Untiring Ones of Ireland. ISI I52 I53 I54 I59 I59 I6o 16o I60 I61 I64 I64 I64 165 I65 I66 I66 178 I79 I79 I79. I92 I95 I95 196 I97 I97 198 98 CONTENTS. XI ANGER, . . . . . . ANKLES, . . . . . ARM, . . . . . . . BEARP, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Character in the Mustache, Significance of Whiskers, Time of Shaving, Omens in the Beard. BEAUTY AND UGLINESS, ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Book of Notable Things, “Carriage People,” Story from the Anatomy of Melancholy. BIRTH MARK, Qe e º e e © * e te e & © ſº BITING, s e e º e " BLOOD, e & Veins of Aristocrats, White Livers, Sprinkling the Doorstep, Laws of Draco, Mountain Dwellers of Spain. BLUSHING, e e s " BoDY, tº ge Bone, cº © Reverence for Relics, Writers of the Talmud, “Bon-fire,” Stories of Virtues of Bones, Luz of the Ever-Living Power. Bosom, e e e BRAIN, . . . . . . BREATH, . . . . . CHARACTER, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fortitude, Melancholy, Gaiety, Prudence, Timorousness, Disposition. (See Special Traits and Faculties in Index.) SIGNs of AN ILL-NATURED PERSON, tº gº tº º e º C PHYSIOGNOMICAL SIGNS OF A GooD GENIUS, tº e º e º º SIGNS OF A CHOLERIC DISPOSITION, . . . . . . SIGNS OF A SANGUINE CONSTITUTION, . . . . . . . . . How To TELLA PERSON'S CHARACTER BY CABALISTIC CALCULATIONS, . . CHEEK, . . . . . . . . CHIN, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CourAGE, . . . . . . . . • e º e º CoMPLEXION, . . . . . . . • e º e º e s e CRYING, . . . . . . . . e e º e º e s e CURIosity, e e e o e s tº e º e º e º DIMPLE, . . e e o e e a º tº e DIRT, SMUT, SPOTS, STAINs, Etc., on VARIo Doubt, e e º e º e e DREAMS, tº ge e e © © e tº * e e e e & e e ſº e Nightmares, Incantations, “Spell-Songs,” The Poets on Dreams, Evil Dreams, Amulets for Dreaming. DICTIONARY OF DREAMS, . © DREAMS IN LEGEND AND HISTORY, . . . . . . . . . . {º Jacob, Pharaoh, Hecuba, Astyages, Themistocles, Hannibal, ufus, Hamilcar, Olymphia, Alexander, Pyrrhus, Alcibiades, Dyonysius, Simonides, Acetus, Gracchus, Cicero, Caesar, Cassius, Vespasian, Sever- nus, Constantine, Henry IV., Louis XIV., Napoleon, Marie Antoinette, and Numerous Others. US PARts of the BoDY, R, e e e e iº & e ſº & e tº Elbow, e e º 'º EYES, . Čolors of All Kinds, Characteristics of Eyes, Care of the Eyes, Supersti- tions About Eyes. ExEBRows, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hairy Eyebrows, Size of Eyebrows, Shape and Color, Characteristics from the Eyebrows. 202 2O3 2O4 205 205 2O7 2O7 2I2 2I2 2I2 2I3 2I4 2I4 2I4 2I4 2I5 217 218 218 218 2I9 2I9 22O 22O 22I 224 24I 257 258 258 262 XII CONTENTS. EYELASH, . . . EYELID, . . . FACE (Physiognomy), . FINGERs, size and Shape, Significance of Various Kinds, Characteristics Šhown by 264 264 265 265 the Different Fingers, Mannerisms with the Fingers, Reading of Character in the Fingers. FINGER NAILs, o FLATTERY, . . . FLESH, 9 @ Q Foot, . . . . FoREHEAD, * > * FRECKLES, . . . FRIENDS AND FRIEN GROWTH, . . . GUM, . . . . HABIT, © tº e HAIR, . . Åmount of Hair, Texture, Combing Hair. DSHIP, Falling Out of the Hair, Curls Cow-Licks, Character Reading by the Hair, Red Hair, HAND (Graphology, Palmistry), HANDwRITING AS INDICATION OF CHARACTER, PALMISTRY OR FORTUNE-TELLING BY THE HAND, . . . CHIRoMANCY or PALMISTRY, HAPPINESS AND UNHAPPINESs, . HEAD AND PHRENoL PHRENoLogy According to DR.SPU HEART, tº ITCHING, The Head, Eyes, Eyebrows, Hand, Fingers, Feet, Etc. KNEE, . . . LAP, . . . . LEG, . . . . LIP, . . . . MARKs, © tº o MEMORY, . . . MIND, . . . . Moles, ſº tº OGY, On Women, On Men; Fifty-two Month, . . . NAILS IN GENERAL, NECK, . . . . NoSE, . . . . PALING, . . . PERSPIRATION, tº PoſNTING, . . . PROMISE, . . . QUARREL, . . . RIB, . . . . SALIVA, . . Charm Against Fascination and Witchcraft, Significance of Spitting, Cur- Omens, RTZHEIM, . tº e e Nostrils, iips, Ear, Neck, Superstitions About Moles. ious Beliefs of Tribes and Nations in Regard to Saliva. and g Ringlets, Bald-Heads, • 27I • 27I . 271 273 274 275 275 275 275 275 286 290 294 294 295 of 3OO . 3OI 3O2 . 3O2 . 303 . 303 307 3II 3II 3II 3II 3II 3I2 3I2 CONTENTS. XIII SALUTATION, gº te o tº e º e ë ſº {º © © gº tº 3 I 5 SECRET, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 316 SENSATION, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... : : - - -.. 347 Cause of Trembling, Significance of Shivering, Ringing in the Ears, Pliny Quotes from Salpe, SIGHING, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .319 SITTING, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .319 SKIN-TATTooing, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 319 Origin and Meaning of Tattooing, Methods of Tattooing, Painting the Skin, Totems, Finger-Nail Amulets. SLEEP, ‘. . . . -- " -- " - "... " - . . ~. -- ~ * * ~ * * Explanation of Sleep, Hours of Sleep, Luck in Sleep, The Seven Sleepers, Superstitions in Regard to Sleep, Stories Regarding Sleep, Traditions in Regard to Sleep. SMELL, ' ' - - - - " - " -- " - . . - " " - - - " - " - " ' The Signs of Smell in the Nose, Significance of Perfumes, Lucky and Unlucky Odors, The Odor of Sanctity, Odoriferous Phenomena in Mediaeval Times. SNEEZING, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Omens in Sneezing, Stories of Customs Regarding Sneezing, Opinions of Robbis in Regard to Sneezing, Superstitions in Sneezing. 32I 326 328 SNORING, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 332 SoLAR PLExUS, • - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 332 STAMMERING, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 333 STRENGTH, • - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 333 SWALLOWING, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .333 SweLLING, • - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 333 TAIL, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .333 TEMPLE, • • - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 334 THROAT, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 334 Toe, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 334 Toe NAILS, • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 335 ToNGUE, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 335 TEETH, • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 336 ToUCH, • • * > . . . . . . . . . . . . . 337 Twitch.ING, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .338 VEIN, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .338 VIRTUE AND WICE, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .338 VoIce, • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 339 Synchronism in Speaking, Advice as to Talking, Ventriloquism, Charac- ter in the Tone of Laughing, Story of the Confusion of Language. WAIst, • - - - - - - - - - - - - - . . . .340 WALKING, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .340 WARts, º 342 Oliver Čromwell, To be Rid of Troublesome Warts, Superstitions Relat- ing to Warts. WHISTLING, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .344 WRIST, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 345 YAWNING, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .345 CHAPTER V. DISEASES AND INJURIES OF THE HUMAN BODY AND THEIR CURES. DICTIONARY OF DISEASES AND THEIR CURES, . . . . . . . . 347 MISCELLANEOUS DISEASES AND THEIR CURES, . . . . . . . . 374 Numerous Superstitions. Regarding the Cause and Cure of Illness and Wounds, Folklore of Diseases Among the Various Countries, Charms XIV CONTENTS. Against Diseases, Incantations Against Diseases, Stories of Sympathetic Powders and Witch Doctors, Abracadabra Talisman. LUCKY AND UNLUCKY DAYS IN SICKNESs, . . . . . . . . . .389 DICTIONARY OF DISEASES, CONTINUED, . . . . . . . . . . 390 CHAPTER VI. HOUSEHOLD AND DOMESTIC LIFE. DICTIONARY OF Hom E INTEREsts AND AFFAIRs, e e º 'º e º 'º Superstitions, Signs, Omens, Occurrences, Admonitions, Folklore, Popu- lar Wisdom, Illustrative Stories and Miscellaneous Manners and Customs of Tribes, Nations and Races, in Relation to all Matters Pertaining to General Matters of Personal Interest in Family and Home, Arranged in Alphabetical Order. Principal Subjects: Ashes, Bed, Beverages, Charms, Clock, Clothing, Cooking Utensils, Fan, its Language, Fire, Food, Gifts, Glove, its Language, Handkerchief, its Language, Insects and Vermin, Jewelry, Lamp, Letters, Language of Envelopes,' Looking-Glass, Meals, Miscellaneous “Don’ts,” Moving, Photographs, Rings, Salt, Sewing, Shoes, Sweeping, Swords, Tobacco, Language of Parasol, Miscellaneous Superstitions, Signs of Occurrences, Visits, Washing, Writing, Etc. CHAPTER VII. THE STREET, TOWN, PUBLIC LIFE, ETC. DICTIONARY of PUBLIC MATTERs, . . . . . . . . . . . Alphabetical List of General Matters and Things Pertaining to Communi- #. and Public Places, with Superstitions and Folklore Pertaining to €111. 406 523 CHAPTER VIII. BUSINESS, MONEY, BUYING AND SELLING. DICTIONARY OF PRIvate AND PUBLIC ENTERPRISE, witH SIGNs, OMENs, CHARMS, AND DIVINATION OF FAILURE OR SUCCESS, . . . . 527 CHAPTER IX. TRADES AND OCCUPATIONS. DICTIONARY of PROFESSIONAL SUBJECTs, witH LEGENDs, StorTES, CHARAC- TER READING, AND THE SIGNS For ETELLING SUCCESS IN POPULAR Vocations, • . . . . . . . . . . . . . 540 i List of Distinguished Contributors. The following is a list of a few of the personages to whose courtesy we are indebted for contributions to this volume, either by the expression of personal interest, advice, encouragement, introductions, letters, items gathered from their vicinity, cuttings, pamphlets, books, manuscripts or other matter, accompanied by letters so kindly, so appreciative and so enthusiastic in praise of the work on hand, that no words of thanks are adequate to express our gratitude. His Majesty Leopold II., King of Belgium. His Majesty William II., King of Wurtemberg. His Majesty Oscar II., King of Sweden and Norway. His Royal Highness Ferdinand, Prince of Bulgaria. His Royal Highness Frederick I., Grand Duke of Baden. His Royal Highness Ernst Louis V., Grand Duke of Hesse. His Roya Highness Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. His Royal Highness Frederick Francis III., Grand Duke of Mechlenburg- Schwerin. His Excellency Joseph Zemp, President of Switzerland. His Excellency General Ulises Heureaux, President of the Dominican Republic. His Excellency. General Gutierrez, President of the Republic of Salvador. His Excellency Sir Antony P. Macdonnell, K. C. S. I., Governor of Northwestern Provinces and Oudh, India. His Excellency Lord Lamington, K. C. M. G., Governor of Queensland. His *::::::s Sir Arthur J. Lyon-Fremantle, K. C. M. G., C. B., Governor of alta. His Excellency Sir Herbert Harley Murray, K. C. B., Governor of Newfoundland. His Excellency Sir Henry Arthur Blake, K. C. M. G., Governor of Jamaica. His Excellency Sir William Robinson, K. C. M. G., Governor of Hongkong. His Excellency General Thomas Casey Lyons, C. B., Governor of Bermuda. His Excellency Sir T. Fowelle Buxton, Bart., K. C. M. G., Governor of South Australia. His Excellency General Sir Robert Biddulph, R. A., G. C. M. G., C. B., Governor of Gibraltar. His *::::::: the Right Honorable the Earl of Glasgow, Governor of New ©ala Il Cl. His Excellency A. M. Skinner, C. M. G., Governor of Penang. His Fºllºy Sir John Bates Thurston, K. C. M. G., Governor of the Fiji Sla Il CIS. His Excellency Sir Roger Tuckfield Goldsworthy, K. C. M. G., Governor of the Falkland Islands. The Honorable George W. Caruth, American Embassador Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, Lisbon, Portugal. The Honorable Eben Alexander, American Embassador Extraordinary and Min- ister Plenipotentiary, Athens, Greece. The Honorable John Barrett, American Consul General, Bangkok, Siam. The Honorable Herbert W. Bowen, American Consul General, Barcelona, Spain. The Honorable James H. Mulligan, American Consul General, Apia, Samoa. The Hºle Darius H. Ingraham, American Consul General, Halifax, Nova COtia. The Hºle Henry M. Smythe, American Consul General, Port au Prince, ayti. XVI LIST OF DISTINGUISHED CONTRIBUTORS. The Hººk Thomas T. Crittenden, American Consul General, City of Mexico, €X1CO. The Honorable Van Leer Polk, American Consul General, Calcutta, India. The Honorable D. Lynch Pringle, American Consul General, Guatemala. The Honorable Frederick C. Penfield, American Consul General, Cairo, Egypt. The Honorable Dean B. Mason, American Consul General, Frankfort on the Main, Germany. The Honorable N. W. McIvor, American Consul General, Kangawa, Yokohama, Japan. The Honorable George G. Dillard, American Consul General, Guayaquil, Ecuador. The Honorable John C. Karel, American Consul General, St. Petersburg, Russia. The Honorable Sir Julian Pauncefote, G. C. B., G. C. M. G., Ambassador Extra- ordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary from Great Britain. 1 The Honorable G. M. H. Playfair, Her British Majesty's Consul, Ningpo, China The Honorable Gentlemen, American Consuls:— +. Newton B. Ashby, Dublin, Ireland. Charles L. Adams, Cadiz, Spain. Edgar Battle Acapulco, Mexico. R. M. Bartleman, Antigua, West Indies. D. N. Burke, Malaga, Spain. Adolph Billhardt, Moscow, Russia. John Bidlake, Barranquilla, Colombia. Alfred Chapalie, Tunis, North Africa. Edward P. Crane, Hanover, Germany. James C. Chambers, Batoum, Russia. Samuel Comfort, Bombay, India. Charles B. Davis, Florence, Italy. George G. Dillard, Guayaquil, Ecuador. W. H. Dawson, Sydney, New South Wales. John Fowler, Ningpo, China. Eugene Germaine, Zurich, Switzerland. George J. Gibbs, Island of Grand Turk, West Indies. John R. Geary, Malaga, Spain. Archibald H. Grimkie, St. Domingo, Dominican Republic. John Gross, Liege, Belgium. W. E. Heard, Newport, Wales. Anthony Howells, Cardiff, Wales. H. G. Huntington, Castellammare di Stabia, Italy. John D. Hall, San Juan, Puerto Rico. W. Stanley Jones, Turks Island, West Indies. T. C. Jones, Funchal, Madeira Islands. Alfred C. Johnson, Stuttgart, Wurtemberg, Germany. Milo A. Jewett, Sivas, Turkey. John Karel, St. Petersburg, Russia. Stewart Keightley, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia. Robert J. Kirk, Copenhagen, Denmark. James J. Inglis, Glasgow, Scotland. William M. Little, Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Henry C. Morris, Ghent, Belgium. J. C. Monaghan, Chemnitz, Germany. A. Mackirdy, Muscat, East Arabia, Asia. W. E. Mantius, Turin, Italy. Ellis Mills, Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands. W. W. Masterson, Aden, Arabia. Thomas Miller, Teneriffe, Grand Canary, Canary Islands. Albert E. Morlan, Belize, Honduras. Thomas O'Hara, San Juan del Norte, Nicaragua. Leon Jastremski, Callao, Peru. Andrew J. Patterson, Demerara, British Guiana. LIST OF DISTINGUISHED CONTRIBUTORS. XVII Benjamin H. Ridgely, Geneva, Italy. Geo. H. Roosevelt, Brussels, Belgium. General W. P. Roberts, Victoria, British Columbia. W. H. Seymour, Palermo, Italy. John M. Savage, Dundee, Scotland. Ralph Steiner, Munich, Germany. Luther Short, Constantinople, Turkey. James Y. Walton, Port Antonio, Jamaica, West Indies. J. M. Wiley, Bordeaux, France. John M. Wilbor, Lisbon, Portugal. Gardener Williams, Kimberley, South Africa. Charles W. Whiley, Jr., St. Etienne, France. Edward Telfair Wetter, Tamatave, Madagascar. Other favors are from:— The Right Reverend The Lord Bishop of Antigua. The Right Honorable Count Goblet d’Alviella, Brussels, Belgium. (The cele- brated author of “The Migrations of Symbols.” The Honorable J. F. Clarke, American Missions, Samokov, Bulgaria. The Honorable R. I. Phinnemore, Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society, the Imperial Institute, etc., Pietermaritzburg, Natal, South Africa. The Fº W. H. K. Wright, Fellow Royal Historical Society, Plymouth, ngland. The Honorable Douglas Hyde, LL. D., Frenchpark, Ireland. The Honorable H. P. Hulbert, Seoul, Korea, Asia. The Honorable Andrew Kerr, Coquimbo, Chili, South America. The Fº H. G. Keene, Companion of the Indian Empire, M. A., Oxford, ngland. Professor Paul Lang, University of Wurtemburg, Urach, Germany. The Honorable A. H. Mackay, Superintendent of Education, Halifax, N. S. Professor Eugene Monseur, Brussels, Belgium. The Honorable A. H. Moore, Douglas, Isle of Man. The Honorable Henry Davis, Rye, Sussex, England. Madame Anna B. Monckton, Weymouth, England. Madame Professor F. P. Kopta, Castle Podmok, Shuttenhofen, Bohemia. The Honorable E. Toulmin, Nicolle, St. Heliers, Island of Jersey. The Honorable Colonel Henry S. Olcott, President of the Theosophical Society, Madras, India. Judge Bennett, Harbor Grace, Newfoundland. Chevalier Hamilton Sharpe, Member of the Institute of Journalists, London, Valletta, Malta. Professor James Rodway, Demerara, British Guiana. The Hºle T. Rothbart, Private Secretary to the Duke of Saxe-Coburg- Otha. The Honorable H. D. Blewitt, President of the Press Union of South Africa. The Honorable R. E. Gosnell, Librarian of the Legislative Assembly, Victoria, British Columbia. The Honorable A. C. Floyd, Secretary of the Scotch-Irish Society, Chattanooga, Tennessee. The Honorable S. Sheba, Hauamaula, Kauai, Hawaiian Islands. Professor Minaz Tcheraz, M. R. A. S., Armenia. The Honorable K. B. Tharpar, Editor the Punjab Patriot, Lahore, India. The Honorable J. Crawford, B. F. M., Geologist, Botanist and Mineralogist Especial to the Government of Nicaragua. The Honorable Thomas E. Underdown, Aden, Arabia. The Honorable F. W. Weaver, Editor “Somerset Notes and Queries,” England. The Reverend Arthur C. Waghorne, Bay of Islands, Newfoundland. The Honorable Lady of the Manor of Sudeley, Sudeley Castle, Winchcomb, England. - The Honorable Thomas Worsnop, Town Clerk, Adelaide, Australia, President of the Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science, Brisbane. IXVIII LIST OF DISTINGUISHED CONTRIBUTORS. The Honorable James, Deans, 1st Vice President British Columbia Natural His- tory Society, Victoria. The Honorable Frederick T. Elworthy, Author of “The Evil Eye,” London. Her Highness the Princess Hannah Matchutadzie, Batoum, Russia. The Honorable Frederick J. Clarke, Mount Durand, Island of Guernsey. The Honorable T. C. Evans, Llangyn Wyd, Wales. Lieutenant Col. Sir Arthur J. Bigge, Private Secretary to her Majesty Queen Victoria. The Honorable Wm. Esslington Hughes, Editor “Miscellanea-Genealogica,” London. The Honorable C. H. Evelyn White, Cambridge, England. The Honorable Secretary of State to the King of Belgium, Brussels. Dr. Paul Carus, Author of “The Soul of Man,” Chicago, Illinois. The Hºable Heli Chatelain, Director Philafrican Liberators League, Cape OW11. The Hºle Stewart Culin, Director of the University of Pennsylvania, Phila- delphia. The Honorable G. A. Grierson, C. I. E., Patua, Bengal, India. A. Carroll, M. D., Denbigh House, Sydney, New South Wales. Director “Anthropological Society of Australasia.” The Honorable Ernest W. Clement, Librarian of the Asiatic Society of Japan, Tokyo. I List of Countries, Nations, Places, Races, Tribes and Sects Represented in this Volume. British Guiana. Scilly Islands. Sicily. Oxford, England. Vermont, U. S. Gypsies. Mesopotamia. Worcestershire. Virginia Lowlands. Poland. Yucatan. Guatemala. Nicaragua. Phoenicians. Amalekites. Moors. Indian Archipelago. Polynesia. Melanesians. Sunderland. Black Forest. River Ganges. Amazons. Khokand. Kerneval. Lawrence, Mass., U. S. Northern Ohio. Cape Breton. Portland Maine, U. S. Aztecs. Zulus. Salem, Mass., U. S. New Hampshire. Central New York. Gaelic Community. Madagascar. Smyrna. London, Canada. Victoria, Brit. Columbia. South Sea Islands. Semetic Races. Saracens. Pimas, Arizona. Columbia River Indians. Newcastle Colliers. Cambridge, Mass., U. S. Peabody, Mass. Lowell, Mass. Portsmouth, England. Flanders. Shunammites. Andaman Islands. Samoa. Canary Islands. Jesuits. Atlantis. Cardiganshire. Winchfield, England. Venice. Brittany. Pacific Coast. Belgium. Nova Scotia. Tamils. Javanese. Loch Earn. Finistere. Sheba. Ethiopia. Island of Guernsey. Island of Jersey. Voodoos. Cape of Nun, Portugal. Caucasus Mountains. Accoas, Gold Coast. Anamaboe. Crobboes, Africa. Galatians. District of Carhaix. Liburnia. Cumana, Spain. Osmanlis, Turkey. Rhodesia, South Africa. Celebes, Malay Archipel. River Lynn. Lucerne. Archangel District, Russia Cossacks of Ukraine. Island of Rona. Lake Tanganyika. Amazulians. Shangalla. Marang. Benim, Abyssinia. Yangroo, W. Africa. Thebes, Egypt. Sidon, Greece. Hesna. Country bet. Adelepsen and Nornden, Ger. Country bet. Hamelin and Minden, Ger. Auspach. Quatzow, Mechlenburg. Muleteers of Persia. Ravello, Italy. Duborg. Flensborg. Sharks Island. Alsace. Venezuela. y Languedoc, France. Kalyles. The Alps. Vienna. Cleone, Argolide. Brandenburg. Mount Calasay. Roystan, England. Tissington, England. Cathedral of Hildersheim, Germany. . Garden of Gethsemane. Sarego. Azore Islands. Talien of Burmah. Perm. New Andalusia. Island of San Juan de Puerto Rico. Cambuslang, Scotland. Valley of the Lanzo. Nuamis. Pharisees. Lake Nicaragua. Island of Elephantine, Ethiope. Fontainebleau Forest. River Spey. Zincalis. Rhode Island, U. S. Sabeans. Tulus. Island of Tarven. . John’s Island, S. Carolina. Red Sea. Tower of Lusignan. Caroline Islands. Falklenburg, Rhine. Block Island, U. S. North Fusians. Ruthenia. Danger Isl’d, Ind. Ocean. Naini Tal, India. Augsburg. Ojibway Indians. Dahomey Negroes. Halberstadt, Germany. Kerry, Ireland. Wiesland. Thracians. Stirlingshire, Scotland. St. Mary's River, Florida. Yellow River, China. Perthshire, Scotland Ayrshire, Scotland. Siloam. River Elbe. XX LIST OF COUNTRIES, NATIONS, ETC. Lake Managua, Nica'gua. Westphalia. Islam. Canada Indians. Landividian. High Island. River Gallus, Phrygia, Banff. - Midlothian. Abeheron, Shirwan. Congo Negroes. Cape Colony. Vey Tribe, West Africa. Island of Gigha. Charybdis Whirlpool. Lake Traunsee, Austria. Turkestan. Wittengen. Dillinghofen. Limburg. Nineveh. Damagas, S. America. Hottentots. Rantum. Western Kansas, U. S. River Tiber. Kirkwall, Scotland. Dunsky. Pyrenees Mountains. Bethlehem. Basutoland. Glasgow. Northumberland. Laconia. Celts. Troy. Pompeii. Paderborn. Moncaro. Pre-existiani. Wallachia. Berlin. Rhodes. Hanover. Epirus. Lyons. Alexandria. Canopus. Epidarus. Stratford, Conn., U. S. Irish Sea. Asia Minor. Mohave Indians. Colorado Indians. New Mexican Greasers. Sierra Nevada. Volcians. River Castelay. Bolivia. British American Indians Mechlenburg. Delians, Island of Delos. Pythagorians. Palatinate. Corinthians. Parma. Naples. e Montgomeryshire. alſTa. Hertford, England. Essex. Carthage. Euphrates River. Mississippi River. Waterloo. Washington, D. C. Norwich, England. Nantucket, Mass. Mount Ida. Glastonbury. River Rhine. Arcadia. Killarney, Ireland. Wexford, Ireland. Ephesians. Disciples of Lao-Tize. Strasbourg. Brussels. Shrewsbury. Medes. Marathon, Greece. St. Petersburg. Moscow. Oracle at Delphi. Rosicrucians. Treefeen Bridge. Monckulm, Silverton. Llanwnog Parish, Wales. London, England. London Bridge. Cardiff. Cyrenians. Acadians. Thessaly. Russian Finns. Galam, Africa. Tyrians. Zwickan. Odessa. Byzantium. Aceldama, Field of Blood River Acis. Poor Whites, U. S. Bushmen, South Africa. Hyperboreans. Chicasaw Indians. Tupi Indians, Brazil. Botocudos, Brazil. Dog-Rib Indians. Peruvian Incas. Scythians. Iranians. Cholsis. Black Sea. Anakim. Antioch. River Stygiis. Fountain of Kallirrhoe. Veii. Shosone Indians. Otoe Indians. Isle of Mull. Tilbury, England. Bristol, England. Freshwater Bay Indians. Cree Sorcerers. Alhambra. Hellespont. Lemnos. Temple of Libitina. Cave of Domdaniel. Cape of Good Hope. Mecca. Philippine Islands. lympia. Mount Athos. Samos. Siouans. Lakota Indians. Sittendorf, Germany. Dorians. Stoics . Cock Lane, London. Ishmonie, Petrified City. Hamelin, Germany. Puerto Rico. Lydia. Isna, Upper Egypt. Baden. Dominica. Salvador. Queensland. Hongkong. Bermuda. Penang. Falkland Islands. Bangkok. Barcelona. Halifax. Haiti. Calcutta. Guatemala. Frankfort on the Main. Yokohama. Guayaquil. Ningpo. Cadiz. Tunis. Hanover. Batoum. Bombay. Florence. Plymouth, England. Island of Grand Turk. St. Domingo. Castellamare di Stabia. San Juan, Puerto Rico. Stuttgart. Siwas, Turkey. Newcastle, N. S. Wales. Copenhagen. LIST OF COUNTRIES, NATIONS, ETC. I. XI Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Ghent. Chemnitz, Germany. Muscat, E. Arabia. Honolulu. Aden, Arabia. Belize, Honduras. San Juan del Norte. Callao. Demerara, British Guiana. Geneva. Palermo. Munich. Constantinople. Bordeaux, France. Lisbon. Rimberley, South Africa. St. Etienne, France. Tamatave, Madagascar. Antigua. Samokov, Bulgaria. Western Islanders. Romans. Ostiaks. Finland. Scotland. Orkney Isles. Highlands. Esquimaux. Koraks. Siberia. Cochin States. Southern Negroes. Norwegians. Russians. Mexico. . Warwickshire, England. Kent County, England. China. South America. Burmah. Grand Cairo. Cumberland. Bokhara. Africa. Dards. Honduras Indians Normandy. Franks. The River Maine. The River Vienne. Turkey. Kamtchatka. Virginia. Comanche Indians. et11. West Coast of Ireland. Sioux Indians. Obeah men. Santa Maria Indians. Bareuth. Sandwich Islands. Buckinghamshire, Eng. Denbighshire, Wales. Forest of Bere. Warwick, England. Salop, England. Jamaica. Northern India. Deori. Thibet. Punjab. Akola. Hindus. England. Ireland. Portugal. Rugen. Kaffirs. Chippewa Indians. Wales. Greeks. Pennsylvania. Germany. Egypt. Spain. Aix. White House. Upper Canada. Jews. Teutons. Bergkirchen. Sclavonic. France. Thlinkits. Alaska. Corsica. Wurzburg, Franconia. New Zealand. Otaheites. Omahas. Alabama Clay Eaters. Borneo. Seminole Indians. English Channel Islands. District of Brisse. Thuringia. Moravians at Salem. Patagonia. Saxony. Herefordshire, England. New Guinea. Ceylon. Algiers. Telfo, Tyrol. Ludenscheidt. Paris. Touraine. Moguls. Arles, France. Teton Indians. Papuans. Babylonians. New Marquesans. Mangas, West Africa. Turin. Switzerland. Ladrone Islands. Connaught. Cherokee Indians. St. Ives. Vosges Peasants. Gold Coast Negroes. Bakaa, Africa. Wangora, Africa. Barbadoes. Exmore, England. Leicestershire, England. Northamptonshire, Eng. Bohemians. Swabia. North Lincolnshire, Eng. Tartary. Dorset. Ober Inn Valley. Sarsans. Sheeringham. Zurich. Westphalia. Neumark. Hartz Mountains. Somerset, England. Gloucestershire, England. Annam. South Hampton. Dartmoor. Pomerania. Holland. Denmark. County Mayo, Ireland. Zillerthal. Carians. Phrygians. Silesia. Brazil. Austria. Hungary. Island of Rugen. Altmark. Tonga Islands. Abipones. Piron, Normandy. Abyssinia. South Shropshire, Eng. Gentiles. Devonshire, England. Sachsenberg. Netherlands. Persia. Yorkshire, England. Lapland. Hull, England. Glamorganshire, Wales. Burnley, England. Surrey, England. Middle Cos. of Scotland. Tyrol. Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Isle of Man. Edgmond, England. Japan. South Hampton, England. Arabia. East Norfolk, England. St. Combs. Korannas. New England, U. S. Dundee, Scotland. XXII LIST OF COUNTRIES, NATIONS, ETC. Indo-Europeans. Cashmere. Buddhists. North of France. Athens. Sweden. South Carolina. Jerusalem. Bucharest. Transylvania. St. Croix, West Indies. Australia. Lancashire, England. Formosa. Iceland. Portesse. Sussex, England. Crovie. Shetland Isles. Asia. Calmucks. Dakotas. Housatonic Valley, U. S. Polperro, England. Aryans. Brighton Downs. Druids. Illinois Indians. Italy. Dyaks. East Prussia. Apaches. Gauls. Bengal. Lithuania. Clonmany, Donegal. Hebrides Islands. Massachusetts. Bavaria. Bedouins. Sumatra. Meissen, Saxony. Oswestry. Cymri. Bretons. Shropshire. Mohammedans. Ephesians. Syrians. Derbyshire, England. Palestine. Servia. New Caledonia. Seneca Indians. Mergarians. Mohawk Indians. Tunguragua, Ecuador. Esthonians. N. W. Territories, U. S. Asam. Missouri Indians. Bath, England. Siam. Ovahereroes. Karens. Norsemen. Picts. Styria. Malta. Biarritz. Sardinia. Gotland. Moldavia. Carinthia. River Nile. Island of Elba. Crete. Albania. Tangiers. Neapolitans. Circassia. Matabele. Dalmatia. Wurtemburg. Morocco. Negritos. Malabar. Malays. Surinam. Maoris. Burgundy. Kirghis-Tattars. Holstein. Magyars. Galicia. River Ouse. Mount Pilatus. Vosges. Altmark. Dardani. Korannas. Helgoland. Hyderabad. Livonia. Teneriffe. Gibraltar. Pegu. Minorca. Sparta. Voightland. Alsatia. Bretague. Oudh, N. W. India. Behar, India. Kols. Jainas. Ladakh. Kunbis of Kolaba. Dravidians. Mirzapur. Korwas. River Phalgu, India. River Karamnasa, India. Chanda District, India. Himalaya Mountains. Mathura. Lamas. Paukas. Slavonia. Boston, U. S. Hesse, Germany. Balkan Peninsula. Cheshire, England. Michigan, U. S. Roumania. Bulgaria. Yumas. Utes. Navajos. Fiji Islands. Hawaiian Islands. St. Kilda. Yetholin. Chebehas Indians. Brahmins. Parsees. Caribs. Algonquin Indians. Harbor Grace, Níld. Gohers. Koreans. Florida Indians. Mandingos. Dendermond. Honduras. Madeira. Cuba. Tenby, Wales. Cologne. Montague-Noire. Sembawees. County Dublin, Ireland. Chaldea. Jordan River. Libyans. Etruscans. Macedonia. Nasamonians. Lower California. California Indians. Roman Catholics. River Dee. Rome. New South Wales. Tasmania. Victoria. Harrowgate, England. Durham Peasants. Capri. Monte Carlo. Oldenburg. St. Thomas. St. Croix. Micnac Indians. Salish Tribes. Dieri, Central America. Grenada. Basques. Brandenburg. Island of Collonsay. Pigmies of Cent. Florida. Tullock Castle, Scotland. Sudeley Castle, England. Armenia. East of Equatorial Africa. Chuwashes, Russia. Fife. South Shields, England. LIST OF COUNTRIES, NATIONS, ETC. XXIII Winnebago Indians. Dajakese, Borneo. Tyrone, Ireland. Ohio Indians. Etonamas, South America Johnstown, U. S. Island of Lewis. Indo-Chinese States. Forfarshire, Scotland. Argyleshire, Scotland. Pisa, Italy. Temple of St. Sophia, Constantinople. Island of Borea. Pierre, Dakota. Edinburgh. Island of Valay. Island of Jona. Walloons. Wiltshire. River Oronoco. Blarneystone, Ireland. Sangai-Tenang. Sooloo Islands. Island of Annan. Beulba, Central Africa. Onandaga Indians. Manchester, England. St. Paul's Cathedral, Lon- don. Pawnee Indians. Westmoreland. Maya Indians. Gualior. Chinook Indians. Tunguses. Vera Cruz, Mexico. Tripoli. Bosnia. Furness. West Cork. Cape Breton. Iroquois Indians. Asiatic Greeks. South African Portuguese. White Down, Devonshire, Kaluakalma Mt., Hawaii. Chibchao Indians. New Orleans, La. Tuscany. Jarrow. Venice. Totem Clans, Bengal. Kalang, Java. Boeotia. West Barbary. Marshes North Sea Coast. French-Canadian. Nevada. Pisek, Bohemia. Goldbrook, Hoxton, Eng. Belgis. Albthal. Copts. Buchan. Stockholm. Mount Carmel. Toledo, Ohio. Guttenburg Race Track. Moqui Indians. Fifth Avenue Theatre. Fitchburg, Massachusetts. Blackpool, England. Kirby, England. Montmartie, Paris. Saragossa Sea. Carbonari, Naples. Mosaic Israelites. Fern Islands. Buckie. Funchal, Madeira. Pietermaritzburg, Natal. Frenchpark, Ireland. Urach, Germany. Weymouth, England. Shuttenhofen, Bohemia. St. Heliers, Isle of Jersey. Madras, India. Valletta, Malta. Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. Chattanooga, Tenn., U. S. Lahore, India. Managua, Nicaragua. Bay of Islands, Nfla. Adelaide, Australia. Sydney, N. S. Wales. Llangynwyd, Wales. Chicago, U. S. Patua, Bengal. Alban Lake. Mount Aetna. Upper Amazon. West Germanic Tribes. Straits of Messina. Field of Forty Footsteps. Capua. Kharezme. Milan, Italy. Leuctra. Lacedaemonians. Thebans. Temple of Dodonian Oracle. Shinar. Canterbury, England. Greenwich, England. Dorset, England. Negara. Pampeluna. Midians. Romagna. Craven. Creoles. Buffalo Valley, Penn. Aborigines of Victoria. Alabama. Tasar, India. Juangs, India. Bedfordshire, England. Cumana, Venezuela. Gothland, Baltic Sea. New Forest, England. Malabar. The Levant. Maryland. Hardenburg, Sweden. Ballymoyer, Ireland. Greenock. Texas. Tapaya Indians, S. A. Isle of Wight. Dekhans, Hindostan. Moravia. Samothrace. Westminster Abbey. Sea of Galilee. Island of Cyprus. River Eridanus. Luxemburg. Delhi. Exeter Cathedral. Pinckneyville, Illinois. Innis-Murry, Sligo. Gitanos. Island of Shannon. Mount Damar, Arabia. Saint’s Island. Malacca. Temple of Memphis. Elsinore, Denmark. Vancouver Islanders. Koosa Kaffirs. Mediterranean Sea. Greenland. Peloponnesian Sea. Indian Ocean. Persian Gulf. Goa Island, Bombay. Georgian Mountains. Mount Ararat. Lake Derwentwater, Eng- Martinique. Alemanni. Issefiord, Gattegat Strait. Gummer's Ore, Floating Island. Gulf of St. Lawrence. Cape of Caba Rumia. Menai Strait. Temple of Minerva, Sais. Lucky Bay, Australia. . Osage Indians. Island of Innisboffin. Canton, China. Mongols. Coast of Morlaix. Carriers of Brit. America. Is. of Sena, Coast of Gaul. River Ale. Banks Island. Quiches, Guatemala. Island of Inniskea. Flodda Chuen, Western Isles. Ashantees. Piedmont. Tusayan Indians. Pueblo Indians. XXIV LIST OF COUNTRIES, NATIONS, ETC. Cotes-du-Nord, France. Bolognese. Mogul Empire. Oceanicans. Ancient Muscovites. North Guiana. Gallows Hill, Salem. Malagasy. Antiparos, Aegean Sea. Fairfield County, Conn. Isle of Skye. Loch Lomond. Glaswich. Jutland. Husley, North Sea. Vlachi. Tours. Feregas. River Cridnos. Thugs. Volscion Lake. Benares. Island of Magdalena. Georgians. Ostrogoths. Hakkas Indians. Cappadocia. Cambro Britons. Hidatsa Indians. Somalis. Modoc Indians. Tahitians. Osage Indians. Nubia. Tuango, Africa. Korea. Travancore. Solomon Island. New Hebrides Islands. Corvino Museum, Rome. Isle of France. Santo Domingo. Amsterdam. Antilles. Sierra Leone. Isle of Harris. Australian Kanagi. Sonora, Sierra Madre. Malanka Isl., Polynesia. Doraks. Matukanas of New Brit- ain. Minahasses. Leper's Island. Windsor Castle. Coimbra, Portugal. Hofberg, Vienna. Heidelburg. Lake Titicaca. Anansis, Jamaica. Betsemararaka, Madagas- C3 I. Ngaliyalatina, Viti Levu, Fiji. Wampanoag Indians. Troglodytes. Guanches. Iberians. Orotava. Atalaya, Grand Canary. Queen Charlotte Islands. Cape Flattery, Strait of Fuca. Coppermine River, Lake Superior. Caddo Indians. Klamath Indians. Creeks. Volcano Ometepe, Nica- ragua. Ottomans. Guebers. Ainu of Japan. Kurnias, Gippsland. Coquimbo Chile. Baden en Suisse. Mountaineer Indians, a D. Darjeeling, India. The Guardian of Childhood. Birth and Child Life. CHAPTER I. BAPTISM. In carrying a child to the church to be christened, it is important to go through the widest streets and to avoid narrow lanes, else when it is big it will be a thief. As far as the father carries the child to be baptized, so far can the child swim without being drowned. (Bohemia.) Give an infant three drops of water just before it is baptized and it will answer the first three ques- tions put to it. (Old Irish.) In Ancient Greece, on the day a child was to be named, the nurse cleaned its face with her spittle, so as to propitiate the gods and make the infant fortunate, as spittle is a good and lucky thing. Before an infant is baptized in Greece, the priest breathes upon it as an exorci of the devil, hith- ertO º Before the child is christened we should not accept any sugar from godmother or godfather as it would be “Jew” sugar. (Belgium.) Years ago, in Wales, christening was usually performed at the home of the infant’s parents. The vicar, or incumbent of the parish, was asked to the house where his serv- ices were required, and a good deal of preparation was made to receive him. After the christening was over, the water was carefully taken to the garden, and thrown over the leek-bed; or, if it happened that there were no leeks, then over any- thing green, the general idea being that something unlucky would hap- pen to the child if this was not done. At one time it was believed that water used in baptism had pecu- liar curative properties. It is re- garded in Scotland as a preserva- tive against witchcraft, and the evil eye. Persons who would bathe their eyes in it would never see ghosts. To GO TO A CHRISTENING: On Sunday: Good news from across the water. On Monday: Good luck in speculation. On Tuesday: Early and hap- py marriage. On Wednesday: Some crosses in love. On Thursday: Bankruptcy through carelessness. On Friday: Death of a friend. On Saturday: Scandalized by lies. In Scotland, if the first boy child who is baptized in the parish by a minister after his appointment, is not given the minister’s first name, the child, when grown up, will never have a beard. When a child was baptized in Ireland in old times, its right arm was placed to the shoulder in the holy water, in the belief that thus the grown man could strike a stronger and incurable blow. At the baptism of infants in Rus- sia, after being asked the necessary questions, the child is exorcised, X 2 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. out of the church, lest the devil as he comes out of the infant should pollute or profane it. If water from the river Neva is used, that has been blessed by the Czar at the feast of “the benediction of the waters,” it will protect the children against evil spirits, and is an omen of good luck and prosperity generally. At the time of the name-giving to a child in Turkey, usually on the seventh day after birth, the father whispers an invocation into one ear and the call to prayer into the other. This will make him devout and also takes him into the fold of Islam, and makes him a full fledged Mussulman. Children are carefully protected from the evil eye. Their little caps are frequently adorned with a large gold or gilt medal em- bossed with writing from the Ko- ran; hanging to this is a bunch of three bead drops enclosing respec- tively the clove of garlic, the blue bead and the safety giving herbs. In addition a careful mother will not forget to adorn her infant be- tween the eyebrows with a blue or black mark endowed with the same precautionary virtues. Both moth- er and child are frequently incensed during the first nine weeks. Circumcision is, in Madagascar, a feast of great rejoicing, but also of much drunkenness and licen- tiousness. This rite is observed by royal command at intervals of a few years. The following benediction or prayer is uttered when a child is circumcised in Madagascar: “O be thou able to steal well! O be thou able to fight well! If thou diest, die by the gun or spear! O thou my child.” If a child cries when it is chris- tened, it asks for a new frock. (Bel- gium.) Christen a child on the day of the week on which it was born. It is a bad omen to rise and leave the church when a baby is getting christened. If there are faded leaves in the room where the baby is christened, it will soon die. Apostle spoons of gilt given to babies when baptized, were lucky tokens so long as they were pre- served in the family. If a grave-digger is sponsor to your child, it will never grow up. It is regarded as extremely un- lucky to lose the gold or silver cross given to the child at baptism. (Russia.) In Georgia, Asia, after the bap- tism of an infant, some of the sa- cred wine is placed to its lips and a tiny morsel of the bread offered it, and if it swallows them, it is a hap- py omen. If the first child of which you are the godfather is a bastard, it will be lucky in marriage. Never kiss an unbaptized baby; it is a devil. (Greek.) In Rhoda, no stranger is allowed to enter the house until the baby has been baptized by a priest, for fear of the evil eye. Until a newly born child is bap- tized, it must never be left alone in the dark lest the devil come and steal away its soul. (Portugal.) In Belgium a little heart of red or blue silk is hung around a baby's neck, to protect it from sorcery un- til baptized. In some countries an open Bible or a single leaf of the Bible is placed by a child to protect it until bap- tized. To prevent evil spirits taking possession of a baby before bap- | { f FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 3 tism, the Chinese throw a right shirt-sleeve or left stocking into the cradle. It is believed by East Anglians that a child never thrives well until it is named. In Africa a child is named when it is seven or eight days old. The ceremony commences by shaving the infant’s head. The priest, after a prayer, whispers something in the child's ear and spits three times in its face after which, pronouncing its name aloud, it was returned to the mother. After that the devil or his witches could have no power over it. The Tyrolese have a superstition that an unbaptized infant who dies is changed into a “Fluh-Vogel” and has forever to flit about the deso- late shores of the mountain lakes. When unbaptized children die, their souls fly restlessly through the air making a noise like the cries of many hounds, which is called the “Gabble Retchet” or “Gabriel's hounds” or the “Seven whistlers,” and forebodes trouble or even death. In Iceland it is told that when God visited Eve, she kept a large number of her children out of sight because they had not been washed and these children were turned into elves and became the progenitors of that baleful race. From this fol- lows the belief that any baby not baptized, or washed with the holy water, if it dies, will be a wicked spirit and wander around like an elf. BIRTH IN GENERAL. Among the early Christians birth was considered in its very essence a degradation, inasmuch as it im- plied the inheritance of sin which Adam has bequeathed on all his de- scendants. Hence, and also in view of the hard and cruel life, which the early Christians had to endure, op- pression and persecution by Jews and pagans alike, the anniversary of a person's birth was originally not celebrated in the joyful manner, as we are now wont to do, but frowned upon and cursed. “From the moment,” however, says Rus- kin, “when the spirit of Christianity had been entirely interpreted to the Western races, the sanctity of wom- anhood worshipped in the Madon- na, and the sanctity of childhood in union with that of Christ, became the light of every honest hearth and the joy of every pure and chastened soul.” Irenaeus, a Christian mar- tyr of the second century, said: “The Son of God became a child among the children in order that childhood might be made holy.” In Somersetshire, England, ex- ists the odd belief that whenever a lioness brings forth her cubs un- timely, the women will have a pre- mature deliverance, too. Also, if a lioness dies in whelping, the wom- en will be in great danger at the same period. Among the Maori people, if a child was born before its time and died, and thus perished without having known the joys and pleas- ures of life, it was carefully buried with peculiar incantations and cere- monies. Because, if it was cast into water, or carelessly thrown aside, it became a malicious being or spirit actuated by a peculiar antipathy to the human race, whom it spitefully persecuted from having been itself deprived of happiness which they enjoyed. All their malicious deities had an origin of this kind. A certain insect of South Africa is supposed to cause premature birth; hence when one of them is seen, it is pinned to the ground by a pointed stick and then covered 4. ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. with a stone. To remove the stone will bring to the tribe many mis- fortunes. The penknife, boots, and a piece of the shirt of Archbishop Becket used to be believed greatly to aid in parturition. In Northern India, the natives have a -charm to assist delivery. They take a piece of brick from a certain old fort and dip it in water, which is drank by the patient. Or else, a likeness of her feet is drawn in a dish, shown to the woman, and washed in water, which she drinks. No child can be born in safety where the sallow is hung. Spanish records of the early part of the 18th century tell us that dur- ing childbirth bells were rung to assist the mother and to drive away evil spirits who might injure the child. To secure a proper accouchement to a man’s wife in the old days, it was believed and practiced to hang a bell on her girdle and ring it three times. Before childbirth the Marangee woman in Africa wears a noisy iron rattle upon her thigh, so as to have good luck in her child. The Chinese used a marine insect that resembled a horse, which was laid on the back of the hand of an expectant mother to assist child- birth. Previous to childbirth a woman is encircled with a snake to insure an easy parturition. (Hindu.) A wine-tub was held, in ancient Egypt, over the head of the wom- an when in labor, to ward off all kinds of evil influences. In ancient Egypt the insects “muscidae” were driven away when a woman was in labor, for fear she would bring forth a daughter. Incantation of the Cherokee In- dians for easy childbirth: “Little boy, little boy, hurry, hurry, come out, come out! Little boy, hurry, La bow, a bow; let's see who'll get it! Let's see who'll get it!” Or, “Little girl, little girl, hurry, hurry, come out, come out! Little girl, hurry, a sifter, a sifter, let's see who'll get it; let's see who'll get it!” This formula was obtained from Takwatihi as given to him by a specialist in his line. A decoction of herbs is blown upon the patient, on the top of the mother's head, her breasts and the palms of her hands. In many cases the medicine is simply cold water, the idea being to cause a sudden muscular action by the chill. The possible boy or girl is coaxed out in this formula by the promise of a bow or a meal sifter to the one who can first get it. Among the Cherokees it is therefore common in asking after the sex of a new arrival to inquire, “Is it a bow or a meal sifter?” “Is it ball-sticks or bread?” Another charm to make the baby hurry its entrance into the world is to address it in this wise: “Listen. You little man get up now at once. There comes an old woman. The horrible old thing is coming only a little way off! Listen. Quick! Get your bed and let us run away!” In this formula the idea is to fright- en the child out, as children are very much afraid of an old woman, some of the old lags threatening a naughty child that they will live until he can marry them and then he will be compelled to do so. In Malta, when a woman is about to give birth to a child, she sends to one of her neighbors for the loan of a withered flower called the “pas- sion flower,” which is put at once FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 5 into the water. As soon as the flower opens, the woman is deliv- ered of the child. It is true that the rose opens after it has remained in the water for some time, although quite with- ered; but the fanaticism of some of the Maltese people is really exces- sive. A certain man related that his wife was about to be confined and one of the neighbors brought her a passion flower; in the con- fusion, however, that prevailed at the moment, the withered flower was thrown into a drawer and they forgot all about it. Shortly after the woman was de- livered of three sons. The flower, however, was not to be found. One of the inmates then remembered that it was left in a drawer. What was his astonishment On opening that drawer to find that on the stem of the withered flower were brought forth three branches covered with leaves. Among the Eskimos, before childbirth, a woman must eat no flesh except from the produce of her husband’s chase and of which the entrails have not been removed; fish, however, is allowed. Two weeks after the child is born, she may eat flesh, but the bones must not be carried out of the house. Ill luck follows the breaking of these rules. In the first childbirth, wom- en were not allowed to eat the head or the liver of an animal, nor to eat or drink in the open air. They had their water separate from anyone else, and if anyone happened to drink from her water-tub, the rest must be thrown out at once. All this was done so that the child should be healthy and courageous. It was deemed unlucky for the father to work for some weeks after the first child was born. A boot was pulled off and placed under the dish from which they ate so that the son should grow up a good hunter. - In China a pair of trousers are hung on the bed at childbirth, so that the waist-band will hang downward. It is thought that the evil spirits who are about to enter the babe will go into the trousers instead. If two pieces of charcoal are hung before the chamber-door, it is believed the child will be vig- orous and hardy. Onions are some- times hung over the door of the room containing a new-born babe, as it is thought to cause the child in after years to be quick-witted and intellectual. If fruit is suspended, the child will naturally be cleanly. A child will be fortunate and suc- cessful in life, if the pith of a cer- tain rush used as wicking i hung up over the door. Should anyone, who has no business there, enter the room while these fortune-bringers are hung, the child will have white sores on its gums and be sickly and hard to rear. (China.) When a child was born in west- ern Norway, great care was taken that no blood or anything else that came, was thrown away. Every- thing had to be burned. It was the belief even fifteen years ago that if anything was lost of those things, the invisible people would be creat- ed out of them, to inhabit hills and mountains. These people would wander around their sisters and brothers, but could not be seen. In dark nights they could be heard crying and speaking in the hills and nothing could stop them, but men- tioning the name of Jesus. One of the invisible people once said that a drop of blood fell on a green oak leaf and from that he was made. In America it is a settled idea that the “after” should be burned and burned in the back of the stove, to strengthen the mother's back. In Somersetshire, England, ex- 6 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. © ists the belief that immediately after a birth, the navel-cord should be burned. If this were not done, or the cord dropped on the floor, the child would be afflicted with an un- clean habit. Among the people of western Japan, something is always pre- served which in other lands is cast away without a thought; that is, the flower-stalk of life, the navel-string f the newly born. It is enwrapped carefully in many wrappings, and upon its outermost covering are written the names of the father, mother and infant, together with the date and hour of birth. The daughter becoming a bride bears it with her to her new home; for the son it is preserved by the parents. It is buried with the dead and should one die in a foreign land or perish at sea, it is entombed in lieu of the body. (Lafcadio Hearn, “Glimpses of Unfamiliar Japan.”) In China it is considered un- lucky to bury or destroy the umbil- ical cord after birth, as the child will die if it is not preserved. To be born with a caul, which is a part of the amniotic sac, envelop- ing the head of a newly-born child, was formerly regarded as lucky. The caul itself was highly valued as a talisman against drowning and evil generally. “But still that jolly mariner _Took in no reef at all, For in his pouch, confidingly, He wore a baby’s caul.” (Hood, The Sea-Spell.) Charles Dickens was born with a caul, and he says in writing about himself: “It was offered for sale in the newspapers at the low price of fifteen guineas.” Caesar was also born with a caul, or brought into the world unnaturally, which presaged his future greatness. In Scotland the caul was called “the Virgin's Vest” or the fortunate hood and was an object of great veneration. If thrown away, sick- ness or death would overtake the child with whom it was born, and the young mother would be taken away by the fairies. The only way to recover them was for the hus- band to watch the “yearly riding” and throw the wedding gown after her. ** A person possessing a caul may, tell the state of health of the person’ with which it was born; if it is crisp, the person is well; if it is flabby and moist, the person is ill. A child's caul stuck up in the _2^ pantry or closet will bring good. luck to the house. ana.) In San Salvador, British West Indies, a child born with a caul will be the victim of restless spirits until the nurse boils the caul on the ninth day, and the child drinks the broth. Those who are born with a veil over the face, are believed by the Catholics to be intended for the priesthood. (British Gui- If a baby is born with any kind of birthmark, the mother should lick the place nine mornings in succes- sion with spittle before partaking of food, and the mark will disappear. (Gloucestershire, England.) In the Canton of Solothurn, Switzerland, exists the custom, when a mother dies in child-bed, of putting on her feet both shoes and stockings, so that she may the more easily be enabled to return to earth to be near the surviving child. When a seventh son is born, and an earthworm is put into his tiny hand and left to die there, he will, when he reaches maturity, be able to cure all diseases. Among the Ute Indians of Colo- rado, twins and triplets are an of- fence to the gods. The woman is 2° FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 7 in such cases abandoned in her hut to live or die, and the twin, espe- cially if a girl, is killed. Among some tribes both mother and child are buried, and if the mother dies in childbirth, the child will be bur- ied alive. The husband who desires pros- perity, should banish the woman who has given birth to twins, trip- lets, or more, to foreign lands, and should satisfy Brahmins by the gift of what they are fond of, and shall also perform expiatory home cere- monies. (Hindu.) If two, three, four or more chil- dren should be born to a woman at a time, or if the offspring should be of defective organs, or if it should be born with extra organs, the country would suffer miseries as well as the family. (Hindu.) If women should give birth to children of unnatural form, or if cows, sheep, horses, deer or birds should do the same, or if leaves, sprouts or creepers should be of un- natural appearance, there would be prosperity in the land. (Hindu.) When a child is born to a Brah- min, he throws himself into a well with all his clothes on, and, coming out, dresses in fresh clothes; and in the presence of his wife and her re- lations drops a couple of drops of honey and butter into the child's mouth for luck to the child. At the time of a birth in China, the table is set forth with cakes and live crabs, which are afterwards turned into the street to frighten away the evil spirits that are always hovering around at that time. At births in China no one should drop a word about the child being weak or sickly, as it will bring bad babies are tied together so that in after life they may not be trouble- SO 1116. When a baby is born in Albania, its face is rubbed with an egg, so that it may never blush for its ac- tions. In India when the father first comes to visit his offspring, it is a good omen to put money in its hand. It is thought to bring luck to the child to have a great feast in its honor. The appearance of an owl at the time of birth near the house is a bad omen. King Henry address- ing Gloster, says: “The owl shrieked at thy birth, an evil sign.” (Shakespeare, 3, King Henry VI. v., 6.) In Wales and Cornwall miners burn their hats upon the birth of a child for good luck to it. In San Salvador exists the super- stition that neither the mother nor the child should be seen until after the ninth day, except by the nurse, or the consequences would be sim- ply fearful. When a child is born in Scotland, a cheese is made, which is left un- touched as long as it lives, and is often first cut at its funeral. A rich man will also store up wine to go with its cheese, so that when its death occurs, a goblet of this wine, called “dead wine,” is placed on the coffin, the mourners approach, take the goblet in their hands, touch the coffin with it, and drink the con- tents to a future meeting with the departed. When a boy is born in Bohemia, he is put first under his mother's A bed so that he may be obedient; if " a girl, she is put under the table, health to it. The wrists of new-born Chinese 8 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. so that she may be chaste and vir- tuOuS. Fire must not be given out of a house where there is a new-born child. (Greek.) A tree planted at a child's birth, or any other plant mentally asso- ciated with the child, gives a sign by its flourishing or withering as to that person's health or death. In some Zulu tribes, when twins are born, the father plants two eu- phorbia trees near the door of the hut. The life of each child is be- lieved to be bound up with one of the trees; if the tree dies, the child will die also. Milton speaks of fairy-ladies dancing upon the hearth at the birth of a child as indicative of good luck. To keep away black spirits when a child is being born, the father must hang his hat on the bed post. (Scotland.) When a child is born, the lights must not be extinguished for a single minute or the underground folk may steal or exchange it. (Wales.) At a childbirth no evil name and no illness must be mentioned in the room. A broom is placed behind the door of the lying-in chamber to keep out evil. On the third day all the jewelry of the family is put about the child for then a spirit comes and determines the fate of the baby. No one should come or go after sunset for a certain number of days. The mother cannot go out for forty days. She is purified by prayer first and then all will go well with her and the babe. (Greek.) For forty days after the birth of a child in Turkey, the door of the house is shut promptly at sunset and not opened until sunrise for fear of evil spirits. The mother rises on the third day and walks around the bed in a stream of water to get the good will of the water deities. On the fifth day she pro- pitiates the Fates, who will confer favors upon the infant which will influence its future career. In the districts of Macedonia and Thrace, the old wise women, on the birth of a child, set a reaping hook in the corner of the room to drive off evil spirits. Maliciously disposed spirits are exceedingly afraid of a “cash- sword,” that is a sword made of small coins strung together, and if they are hung up in the bed-cur- tains when a woman bears a child, will not dare to interfere. (China.) The Malays place thorns on the floor when a child is born to keep out demons. A newly confined woman must not be left alone, else the female old nick, called by the Turks “Old woman of the Horseshoe,” may come and pull out the lungs of the woman, carry off, change, or kill the child. This dreadful spirit fears men, but not women. If a man catches this witch and sticks a pin in the waist of her dress, she be- comes a slave of the house. She has breasts so long that she can throw them over her shoulders. If she mixes the bread, it will keep on rising continually, until a black cat or a black hen passes over the dough. Put a bit of money in her hand and she will keep handing money to you until a black-bird' flies over her hand. A pair of men's drawers placed on the bed will frighten away this witch. The hus- band of a newly confined woman must not visit the house of another where there is a newly born baby, else his own child will be “pressed,” that is feeble. To prevent the evil FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 9 results of such a visit or other dan- ger from the evil eye, the child should be taken to a Turkish bath before anyone has come to bathe in the morning and be washed with the demon water. That is the water that the demons have used during the night to bathe in. To find out how the child has been given the evil eye, take a piece of honey comb and melt it, throw it on the ground and see if it assumes the form of a man or a bird. That will indicate whether it was a man or a bird that bewitched the child. To save the child from the evil effects of the eye, put the melted wax in the child's bath and then bury the wax in the ground where three cross- roads meet or where six streets meet in a square. These places are peculiarly favorable for a prayer, divinations and the like. (Turkish and Albanian.) The Vlachi, at the birth of a child, fear wicked spirits bearing ill will to new born infants. Those who attend the child cast a stone behind it and say, “This is the mouth of the spirit of evil!” and thus save the child. The same night a child is born in Bohemia, three old women visit it. The first says, “What will he or she be?” The second says, “Not so! How will she be?” But the third decides her fate. In Northern India a mother who has borne a son does not eat but once in three days and then noth- ing made by human hands. This insures good luck to her boy. This ceremony originated when a pond was dug, but no water came until a mother sacrificed her boy, who came to life again. It is performed in honor of the miracle. When a mother dies at child- birth and the little one survives, its clothes must be carefully put away at sundown, as the baby will cry for its mother, whose spirit hovers near the clothes. (Japanese.) If the news of the birth of a boy is told within three months, the boy will die. (Persia.) A person born in a kitchen will never rise out of it, and will always have to work hard. It is considered lucky for a child to be born in a hotel. To see a branch of olive hung over the door was a sign that a newly born child was within. It is lucky to come down and go out first after a birth on Sunday. (Suffolk.) To hear of two births in one day foretells a marriage. Hindu women flung their new- born infants into the Ganges to be devoured by alligators, not because they were destitute of maternal af- fection, but because the mother's love was overpowered by the fear of the wrath of some offended deity. (Wright, “The Inhabitants of In- dia.”) Old writers and travelers tell of the curious custom which existed in different countries, that after the birth of a child, the husband would take his wife’s place in child-bed, and remain in it for as much as thirty or forty days, while the wife got up and attended to her house- hold duties. These men are called couvades, and such are the people known as “Gold Tooth” in the con- fines of Burmah. M. Francisque Michel tells us the custom still ex- ists in Biscay; and Colonel Yule as- sures us that it is common in Yun- nan and among the Miris in Upper Assam. Mr. Tylor has observed the same custom among the Caribs of the West Indies, the Abipones of Central South America, the aborig- IO ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. ines of California, in Guiana, in West Africa, and in the Indian Ar- chipelago. Diodorus speaks of it as existing at one time in Corsica; Strabo says that the custom pre- vailed in the north of Spain; and Apollonius Rhodius that the Tab- erenes on the Euxine Sea observed the same: “In the Tabarenian land, When some good woman bears her lord a babe, & 'Tis he is swathed, and groaning put to eq; While she arising tends his baths and Serve S Nice possets for her husband in the straw.” (Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautic Expedition.) A similar custom used to exist among the Ainu people of Japan. As soon as a child was born, the father had to consider himself very sick and stay at home, wrapped up by the fire, as the idea was preva- lent that life was passing from the father to the child. According to the early Sabian idea the father was the only parent of the child, the mother simply sup- plied nourishment. (The Sabians were an ancient Persian and Chal- dean sect, who recognized the unity of God, but worshipped intelligen- ces supposed to reside in the heav- enly bodies.) It is also a current belief among all Australian tribes that the child is derived from the male parent only, and that the mother is no more than its nurse. As a black fellow once put it: “The man gives the child to a woman to take care of for him, and he can do whatever he likes with his own child.” This is so wonderfully like Apollo’s well- known dictum in the Eumenides as to be positively startling when heard from the lips of an Australian black. An unpurified mother will turn the wine to vinegar. Women are purified after childbirth by turning water over their heads. (Turkey.) In the city of Malaga, Spain, a few years ago, an unmarried wom- an had a child born, and many dev- otees of the poorest and most ig- norant class pronounced the birth “miraculous,” and firmly believed the mother was a virgin, on account of a singular dream of the over- shadowing of her particular Saint, before the babe was born. The child has been covered with relics and is known in the ward as the “boy of the dream.” There was in the middle ages a sect that observed the custom of marrying but not procreating, so as not to perpetuate inherited sin, as they had a tradition that Abel, the son of Adam, never married, and that if they had children, the sin of Adam would be visited upon them to the third and fourth gen- eration. So they adopted the chil- dren of others. In India it is supposed that a man is born to the state he comes into. If he acts in any way different from his parents, does not follow their occupation, or seems original, he is set down as having been changed in his mother's body before his birth. Hereditary traits are the only proper thing in India. The goddess who plays these tricks of changing babies is called Jatu- harini. (Sir Richard Burton.) BIRTH, SIGNS OF. If a hen gets into the house and cackles near a bed, it is the sign of a birth. If wild geese came to Piron in grey plumage and took the upper hand in the court of the castle, a son would be born to the illustrious family of Piron; but if there was to be a daughter, the snow-white fe- FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. II males would sit at the right hand of the males. If one of the geese would not build, but sat alone in the corner, it was a sign that the daugh- ter to be born, would take the veil. BIRTH, TIME OF. Monday’s child is fair of face, Tuesday's child is full of grace, Wednesday's child is full of woe, Thursday's child has far to go, Friday's child is loving and giving, Saturday's child works hard for its liv- 1ſlg; But the child which is born on the Sab- bath-day, Is blythe and bonnie, and good and gay. A man born on the first day of the week will excel in only one quality. He who is born on the second day will be an angry man, for on that day the waters were divided. He who is born on the third day will be rich and licentious, for on that day the herbs were cre- ated. He who is born on the fourth day will be wise and of good mem- ory, for on that day the lights were hung up. He who is born on the fifth day will be charitable, for on that day the fishes were created. He who is born on the Sabbath shall be eminently holy, but die on the Sabbath also. (The Talmud.) In Burmah it is believed that per- sons born on Monday are jealous; on Tuesday, honest; on Wednes- day, quick tempered; on Thursday, mild; on Friday, talkative; on Sat- urday, hot tempered; on Sunday, parsimonious. It is fortunate for either sex to be born on Sunday. A child born on a Sunday can converse with beasts on Christmas €We. The Scotch believe that if a child is born on Sunday it is destined to become a minister. The following illustrates the idea. The Archbish- op of York, Dr. Maclagan, was born on Sunday, June 18th, the an- niversary of Waterloo. The old nurse immediately predicted that he would be a soldier, being born on Waterloo day. But to this an old Scotch servant of the house ob- jected, saying, “Na, na, a bairn that’s born o' the Sawbath wull no be a sodger; he canna be nout else but just a minister.” Dr. Maclagan fulfilled both prognostications by first entering the army and a few years later taking Holy Orders. A gravestone at Church Stret- ton has the following inscription: On a Friday she was born, On a Friday made a bride, On a Friday her leg was broke, And on a Friday died. In contradiction of the belief that Friday is an unlucky birthday, we find that it was the birthday of some of the greatest men, such as Washington, Disraeli, Bismarck, Fahrenheit, Wolfe, Michael Ange- lo, Dante, Isaac Watts, Tennyson and Dickens. The latter attributed the success of all his undertakings to having begun them on Friday. Among the Chinese, the day and hour on which the baby is born are considered as portentous for the future good or evil of the child, as among English north country folks. A child born on the fifth day of a month, and more certainly if on the fifth of the fifth month, will either commit suicide in after-life, or will murder his parents. Apart from these and some other ill-omened days, a child born at noon is be- lieved to be a sure inheritor of wealth and honor, and he who first sees the light between nine and eleven will have a hard lot at first and afterwards great riches; while the unfortunate infant who appears between three and five is doomed to poverty and woe. (Robert K. Douglas, “History of China.”) 2 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. It is lucky to be born on the first day of the month. If a child is born in Madagascar on a day that is considered unlucky, its evil destiny must be averted by the destruction of its life under the eyes of its parents. The Jews believe that a man's character and destiny are deter- mined by the day of the week on which he came into the world. It is unlucky to be born on the third day of the moon. If a per- son falls sick on that day, he will die. Mother Shipton said that it was unlucky to be born on the 12th, 15th or 17th day of the moon. “He who is born on New Year’s morn, Will have his own way as sure as you’re born.” “He who is born on Easter morn, Shall never know want, or care, or harm.” A child born on a saint's day must bear the name of the saint. It is unlucky to take away the day from it. Children born on Palm Sunday are believed to be able to see ghosts and find hidden treasures. (Bohe- mia.) In Bohemia it is extremely lucky to be born on St. Nicholas' day (Dec. 6th). In Malta exists the belief that people born on Christmas eve will ever after in that night be trans- formed into “gaugaus,” some kind of ghosts or spirits, while asleep, and in that state wander about frightening other people and play- ing all sorts of pranks. After a while the gaugau returns, and the person will awake in the morning, exhausted, but unconscious of what has taken place during the night. Those who believe in this super- stition, say that this yearly punish- ment is inflicted upon the persons because our Saviour does not like any one to be born at the same time that he was born. A child born in January will be laborious. In February, will love money much but women more. The person born in March will be honest and rather handsome. The person born in April will be subject to maladies and will travel to his disadvantage. A person born in May will be handsome and amiable. In June, will be small of stature and very fond of children. In July will be fat and constant. In August, ambitious and cour- ageous. In September, strong and pru- dent. In October, will be wicked and inconstant and will have a florid complexion. In November, will be a gay de- ceiver. In December, will be of a pas- sionate disposition and will devote himself to public affairs. Birthday Stones. Showing the significance of cer- tain gems to persons born in the respective month. JANUARY: By those who in this month are born, No gem save Garnets should be worn; They will ensure your constancy, True friendship and fidelity. FEBRUARY: The February born will find Sincerity and peace of mind, Freedom from passion and from care If they the Amethyst will wear. MARCH : Who in this world of ours their eyes In March first open, shall be wise; In days of peril firm and brave, And wear a Bloodstone to their grave. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. I3 APRIL: Those who in April date their years, Diamonds shall wear, lest bitter tears For vain repentance flow. This stone Emblem of innocence is known. MAY: Who first beholds the light of day In Spring's sweet flowery month of ay, And wears the Emerald all her life, Shall be a loved and happy wife. JUNE: Who comes with summer to this earth, And owes to June her day of birth, With ring of Agate on her hand, Can health, wealth and peace command. JULY: The glowing Ruby should adorn Those who in warm July are born; Thus will they be exempt and free From love's doubts and anxiety. AUGUST: Wear a Sardonyx, or for thee No conjugal felicity. The August born without this stone 'Tis said must live unloved alone. SEPTEMBER: A maiden born when Autumn's leaves Are rustling in September's breeze, A Sapphire on her brow should bind, *Twill cure diseases of the mind. OCTOBER: October's child is full of woe, And life’s vicissitudes must know; But lay an Opal on her breast, And hope will lull her woes to rest. NOVEMBER: Who first comes to this world below With dull November's fog and snow, Should prize the Topaz’ amber hue. Emblems of friends and lovers true. DECEMBER: If cold December gave you birth, The month of snow and ice and mirth, Place on your hand the Turquoise blue, Success will bless you if you do. The guiding angels or divinities of the birth-months are as follows: If thou wert born in January, Gabriel will be thy guardian angel and bring thee consolation and con- stancy. February: Barchiel guards thy youthful days and checks the will that passion sways. March: Malchidiel divines thy modest power, and helps thy course in a dangerous hour. April: Ashmodel knows and guides thee. May: Amriel doth declare that hope will give of blessing thy full share. June: Muriel for thee decrees long life of luxury and ease. July: Verchiel giveth thee elo- quence and defendeth thee from en- emies. August: Hamatiel guards thy heart's fidelity. September: Tsuriel preserves thy life from care and gives thee happiness. October: Bariel will protect thee from injustice and misfortune. November: Adnachiel thee wise and true friends. December: Humiel brings thee - success and happiness. A child born in February will be unlucky all his life. (Persia.) A Greek child born in the first quarter of the moon will be subject to diseases. (Greece.) The Egyptians believed that a child born on the 5th of the month Paopi would be killed by a bull. On the 14th and 15th of the first month in the year, every man and boy in Corea walks over three par- ticular bridges in succession. By so doing they can save themselves from pains in the legs and feet for a year. Those who were born on the 14th of January make on that day straw images of themselves containing as many “cash” (the currency of the country) as they are years old. They place these on the street and the poor people tear them to pieces for the money. This sends I4 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. saves them also from pains in the legs and feet for a year. The Influence of the Months and their Constellation upon the Birth, Persons born in January, under the sign of the Aquarius and Sat- urn, are of a mixture of sensitive nerves; they are either weak or very strong; also kind-hearted; have splendid discriminating power; slow to give expression; need force to lead them into action until they have discovered their spiritual strength, when they will become capable of great possibilities; they are keenly sensitive and faithful friends; they are fond of water and traveling. If born in the sign of Taurus, they will show self-reli- ance; splendid memory; patience; they will be slow to anger, but at times very severe. People born un- der this sign should guard against false accusations, imprisonment, signing, boat accidents; they are apt to suffer from falls, frights, and diseases of the neck and throat. People born in the month of February, under the sign of the Pisces and Jupiter, will be inclined to travel; they will have a mind toward the mystical and scientific; many sorrowful experiences to pass through; they can be fully relied upon, but will not always be ap- preciated, being as a rule very mod- est and sensitive, yet can be very loving and affectionate; they have often to live double lives; make easy mediums. If born under the sign of the Gemini, they will be usually thoughtful, intellectual and will have to guard against diseases of the lungs, nerves and rheuma- tism. Gemini gives visionary ideas, morphine habits and checkered ca- TeerS. People born in the month of March, under the sign of Aries, are positive, resolute, powerful, just; in- ate. clined to sports; full of courage and energy. If born under the sign of Cancer, they will be of careful speech. People born in this month under that sign should avoid law; are liable to frights by water and are apt to suffer from the diseases of the breast and stomach. People born in the month of April, under the sign of Taurus and Venus, will be self-relying, patient, slow to anger, but when provoked very severe. If born under the sign of Leo, they will be strong in friendship, impulsive, conscientious and generous. They should guard against accidents by explosions, firearms, gas in the city. They will suffer from pains in the neck and throat; are liable to be very stout and may have trouble with the eyes. People born in the month of May, under the sign of Gemini and Mercury, will be safe on water, highly intellectual, thoughtful, fond of science, conscientious, intuitive, and of great mental activity. They will be wise and witty in old age. If born under the sign of Virgo, they will become good business men, good instructors, hopeful and con- tented. They will have strong power of judgment. They should guard against accidents in streets, and are liable to diseases of the bowels and side. People born in the month of June, under the sign of Cancer, will be reflective and self-relying. Girls born under that sign will become good mothers and have many chil- dren. If born under the sign of Libra, they will be good business people, eloquent and very affection- They should guard against dangers on or by water; diseases of the ears, breast and stomach. Li- bra gives weakness to the back and side. People born in the month of July, under the sign of Leo, will be strong in friendship, clever in art FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. I5 and music, determined, impulsive, old when young in years, and young when old, conscientious and generous. If born under the sign of Scorpio, they will be of quick judgment, brave and passionate. They should guard against blows in the abdomen, as Scorpio indicates ruptures and genital troubles. These people will grow stout in body and must take great care of their eyes. People born in the month of August, under the sign of Virgo and Mercury, will have great love of learning and good business abil- ities, love of chastity, active imag- inations, prudent, practical, gener- ous, hopeful, and of a fine discrim- inating power and judgment. They will make fine nurses and doctors; their life will be lengthy, and will be happy and wealthy in old age. If born under the sign of Sagittari- us, they will be kind-hearted, sin- cere in love matters, show activity of mind and body, quick spoken, and inclined towards romantic views. Should guard against acci- dents to the abdominal organs and hands, as Sagittarius gives acci- dents by and through dogs and horses. People born in the month of September under the sign of Libra and Venus, will be strong, honor- able, virtuous, eloquent, intuitive, affectionate, but may at times lack push and energy to elevate them- selves. If born under Capricornus, they will be powerful and author- itative, deep thinkers, patient, self- reliant, but overfond of affectionate demonstration. They should guard against rheumatism, injuries of the side, as Capricornus indicates trouble in the lower limbs and ears, danger through scalds, explosions, and morphine habit. Those people born in September will live to old age, People born in the month of October, under the sign of Scorpio and Mars, will be brave, studious, secretive, faithful friends; they should be careful of jumps, lifting, fencing, athletic sports, as Aquarius shows accidents to falls, danger of ankles, diseases of the throat and danger from poisonous herbs. People born in the month of November, under the sign of Sagit- tarius and Jupiter, will be of a changeable nature, but kind-heart- ed, sympathetic, sincere in love matters, activity of mind and body, inclined towards romantic views, impulsive, fond of outdoor exercise. If born under the sign of Pisces, they will be fond of travel; their minds will be inclined towards the mystical and will have many sor- rowful experiences. They should avoid accidents through sports, horses, bathing and swimming in the water, but should guard against colic, indigestion and diseases of the feet, chest, head and ears. People born in the month of December, under the sign of Cap- ricornus and Saturn, will be deep thinkers, cool and collected, calm, practical, self-reliant, not fond of af- fectionate demonstrations, but can be very sincere and faithful in their affection. They will be lacking self-esteem, hard to penetrate, strong fancy for politics. If born under the sign of Aries, they will be resolute, inclined towards sports, courageous and energetic. They should be careful of things falling from above, as well as danger of underground work. They are also liable to suffer in the lower limbs, from ear troubles; Aries shows dan- ger from fires, sunstrokes, metals and tendencies towards bilious and giddiness troubles. It is a sure sign of a phlegmatic disposition for a child to be born under the sign of Cancer. 16 - ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. A prediction relating to the time of birth: “Full moon on high sea, Great man shalt thou be, Red dawning stormy sky, Bloody death shalt thou die.” Those who were born after dark, and before midnight, were sup- posed to be gifted with second sight, or the faculty of seeing and hearing signs of death, etc. (Wales.) Persons born in the daytime can never see a ghost. Children born in summer and young pigs born in winter ruin a house. (Luxembourg.) If a child is born in stormy weather in Kamchatka, it is an evil omen, and that child will carry storm and rain wherever it goes. CHILDREN IN GENERAL, “When a child is born, If it be man it cries A-A. That is the first letter of the name Of our former father, Adam. And if the child a woman be, When it is born it cries E-E. (Eve.) (Hampole.) When the family do not want a female child, it is killed and a piece of sugar put on its tongue, while the following rhyme is said two or three times: ‘Eat your sugar, open your thread, . We don’t want you but a brother in- stead.” John Hunter believed if there were several sons and only one daughter in a family, that the daughter would be of a masculine disposition, and if the family con- sisted of many daughters and one son, the son would be effeminate. Homer is also said to have enter- tained this belief. Among the Feregas, a fierce and warlike tribe living in the northwest part of Hindustan, great numbers of female infants are put to death immediately after birth. These people have a tradition that a curse was pronounced by a holy Brah- min upon all their tribe who should suffer their female children to live. To escape the effects of this terrible curse, and to avoid the expense of bringing up daughters whom they regard as worthless, they are in- duced to inbrue their hands in in- nocent blood. Mothers are the ex- ecutioners of their own children. They either strangle them or poison them with opium. In one village there were twenty-two boys and not one girl. In another fifty-eight boys and four girls, in another for- ty-four boys and four girls. The men confessed that they had mur- dered the infants, and seemed to think nothing of it. (Wright, “In- dia and its Inhabitants.”) A child born in Africa with a white face is killed, lest it bring sor- row to the tribe. It is not lucky among the Ute Indians to permit twins to live. The weaker of the two children is placed outside the wickiup to die. Cripples or malformations are al- lowed to live fifteen minutes. In Japan a little girl must not see herself in the glass, or when she grows up she will have twins. It is said that the Countess of Henneberg railed at a beggar for having twins, and the beggar, turn- ing on the countess, who was forty- two years old, said, “May you have as many children as there are days in a year!” Sure enough, on Good Friday, 1276, the countess brought forth 365 at one birth; all the males were christened John, and all the females Elizabeth. They were bur- ied at a village near La Hague, and the jug is still shown in which they were baptized. A similar story is told of Lady FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 17 Scarsdale, who reproved a gypsy woman who applied for alms at Kedleston Hall, because she was about to become a mother. The beggar, turning on her moralizer, said, “When next you are in my condition, may you have as many children at a birth as there are days in the week!” It is said that ere long the lady actually was delivered of seven children at a birth, and that “the fact” is set forth in Latin in Kedleston Church. (Reader's Handbook.) In Yorkshire, if a woman has a seventh son, he is supposed to have healing powers and will make a fine physician. A ceremony is per- formed to ratify his powers. The woman who receives the boy in her arms, places some substance in his little hand, that has been decided will be best for him to rub through the world with, and she is very care- ful not to let him touch anything else until the ceremony is conclud- ed. If silver is to be the charm, she takes a six or three penny bit; but the uncertainty of the coins chang- ing during his lifetime, she will most probably place on the table nearby, meal and salt, which never change. Also sometimes it is de- cided that he shall rub his own hair, and then the father must kneel be- fore his son and the little hand is guided to his father's head and made to rub the hair. Whatever substance a seventh son first rubs with, must be worn by his patients as long as they live. The Circassian father puts a shirt on a child he adopts, while the Greeks pass the child through the adopted father's shirt. The believers in the healing pow- ers of a seventh son cite as an ex- ample James Young Simpson, the discoverer of chloroform, who was the seventh son of David Simpson and Mary Jarvey. The seventh son or the son of the seventh son has the power to exor- cise ringworms. If such a One draws a circle around a ringworm with his finger, the worm will not pass it. (Irish.) When you take a baby in your arms for the first time, make a good wish for it and give it its full name. If it opens its eyes and looks at you, it is a very lucky sign. Do not let two small children that cannot speak kiss each other. They will learn to speak with great difficulty. (Bohemia.) To kiss a child’s hand causes it to be a beggar. (Madagascar.) To kiss a child on the lips is for- bidden, as disease might be com- municated. (Madagascar.) Very unlucky to praise a child or anything you set much value on, as if misfortune comes to it, it will be due to the tongue that spoke of it. A correspondent writes: “On congratulating a woman in a village near Oswestry the other day on the healthy looks of her baby, she said, ‘Yes, ma'am, and I give him no medicine except a little cinder tea.’ On my inquiring what this was, she told me she dropped a red-hot cinder into a cup of water, to which was added sugar.” In San Salvador, British West Indies, it is not permitted to ad- mire a fine healthy baby and say it is fat, for then it would grow up sickly, unless the precaution is tak- en to pinch the child on the arm or leg immediately after expressing the admiration. A little child must not on any ac- count be called fat, or good look- ing, or charming, but must be called ugly, a little pig, or any such name. Thus among children's names there are few that are com- 18 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. plimentary. This is done in case the spirits, hearing the child praised, should be envious and injure it. (Madagascar.) The Mohammedans of Tripoli believe that it is unlucky if a Chris- tian embrace or even look at a child. If you put a drop of blood in an infant’s bath, it will have a rosy complexion. A mother should not wash her in- fant's hands on Sunday or they will always tremble. (Russia.) The water in which a new born baby has been washed is considered by the Samoans to possess magic and beneficent virtue, and is there- fore drunk by them for luck. If a woman with a new born babe pours water on a cracked stone, she will lose her child. (Russia.) In Macedonia the third night af- ter a child is born, the babe is swung over the fireplace in a sheet, and with it are placed some money, a pair of scissors, a book, and some bread, so that it may become rich and know how to cut out garments, read, and make bread. It is said that when they do this three angels, probably the three fates of Greek mythology, come to tell its fortune. The eldest comes first and appoints the number of years it shall live, and is followed by the second, who also mentions a certain number. The youngest comes last, and the number of years she appoints the child to live, is the real number. In Tuscany people pound the house leek the first Friday after the loirth of a child and administer to it the juice, which is thought to pre- serve the babe from convulsions and prolong its life. On the sixth day after a Moslem child's birth an invisible god writes with an invisible pencil all its fate on its forehead. It cannot escape its written fate and will do precise- ly what the god has decided it shall do, even if it leads to perdition. When a Chinese child is a month old, its mother tries to induce it to look down a well and thus secure to her child justice and understand- ing. In Armenia, if a sack of flour is brought into the house before the baby is forty days old, it must be placed by the door, and the child set above it, so that the baby shall not have a melancholy and sad dis- position. If a funeral procession passes the house in Armenia within forty days after the birth of a child, the mother must take the child to the terrace till it has passed, or the dead will take the child with him. The first time a child’s hair is cut is a time of great rejoicing in Madagascar. The hair is mixed with rice and fat; it is then put on a large wooden tray, and the wom- en of the family scramble for this mixture and eat it. It is a charm against barrenness and is also lucky for the child. In Malta, on the first anniversary of a child's birth, the parents give an elaborate entertainment called the Kuccija. The company of relations and friends having assembled, the child is brought in and if it be a boy, he is presented with a basket or tray containing corn, sweetmeats, coins, an inkstand, a candle, a rosary, a book, a sword, and other toys; if the baby is a girl, needles, silks and ribbands supply the place of the sword and inkstand. The choice the baby makes on this occasion will, according to Maltese notions, give a just idea of FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. I9 his future disposition and the pro- fession which he will follow. Should he choose the corn, it is a sign of liberal character; if he picks out the inkstand, it points towards an in- clination for trade or the bar; if he takes the book, the rosary, or the candle, the assumption is that he is intended to dedicate his life to the service of the church. When the baby makes his or her selection, the guests are treated with refresh- ments, and they all drink the health and future prospects of the small individual in question. Deduct nothing from the making of a child's first dress. The more you scrimp, the less the child will have in after years. It is lucky to throw the child’s first napkin on the grass; it will then always be cleanly in after life. If you are careless enough to throw an article of clothing belong- ing to a child on the floor, the child will grow up with a weak spine. (San Salvador, B. I.) In Egypt small boys are dressed like girls, so as to provoke less en- vy. A mother who fears that her child has been admired, will at sun- set cut off a fragment of its dress, burn it with a little salt and alum, and sprinkle the child with the ashes, having first fumigated it with smoke. A favorite countercharm is to burn alum while reciting a few verses of the Koran. The alum will surely take the form of the envious person and this image must be powdered and given to a black dog in its food. If every person who looks at a child will say: “God bless it,” the evil eye will be averted. Children in Egypt are kept poor- ly clad, as it is believed that if they were richly dressed, someone might look upon them with an envious ; which would bring them bad 11CK. A Chinese mother feeds a young infant from a cup rather than from a bowl or plate, as the bowl, being capacious, will make him a large eater, while the plate being shallow causes him to throw up his food on slight provocation. The cup, being small and deep, insures his taking little food and keeping it for assim- ilation. If an Albanian child drops asleep just before a meal, it is considered very propitious for the whole fam- ily. When little children in their sleep put their arms up over their heads, we must put them down, as they are calling misfortune on their heads. A sleepless babe is said, in Japan, to be bewitched by foxes. ..When children cannot sleep, take some earth off the common and strew it over them. A lucky and happy little child, in Japan, is he whose mother sings him to sleep with these words, make one of the oldest known lul- labys of the whole world: “Sleep, baby, sleep! Why are the honor- able ears of the Child of the Hare of the honorable mountain so long? 'Tis because when he dwelt honor- ably within her honorable womb, his mamma ate the leaves of the loquat, the leaves of the bamboo- grass. That is why his honorable ears are so long.” The following charm and prayer was formerly taught children by their mothers: “Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, Come bless the bed that I lay on, If anything appear to me, Sweet Christ arise and comfort me! Four corners to this bed, Six angels round me spread, Two to pray, two to wake, Two to guard me till day break, Blessed guardian angels keep Me from danger while I sleep.” 2O ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. Children believe that sleep is caused by the Sandman, who makes the round every evening dropping a grain of Sand into each one of the eyes of the little one. To quiet a child which persists in crying, seat it on the mother's wedding gown. If a child that is noisy be put three times through a ladder, it will be quiet. Another superstitious remedy to quiet a child, is to put it thrice through a piece of yarn that is spun in the twelfths and wound the wrong way. To cure baby of being cross, change its name. The leaf of a Bible pasted on a baby's dress will keep it from cry- 1ng. Bind a handkerchief over the eyes of a new-born babe, and it will not cry much. (Persia.) A child learning to talk must not have the tongue put out at it, or its 3 teeth will not grow. (Madagascar.) It is a sign of early death if a child keeps speaking of himself in the third person. Passing a knife between the legs of a child will help it to walk. When a child is learning to walk, the Chinese take a sharp knife and go behind it without touching it, and pretend to cut something. This will cause it to walk rapidly and prevent it from so many tumbles. To assist a child who frequently falls while learning to walk, make some bread with butter in it, give some of it to two children, and have them run around in a circle in op- posite directions. (Greek and Al- banian.) If a child falls and cuts its head on a rough stone, the first care of the mother is not to wash and bind up the cut, but to find the exact spot where he cut it, and then go and pour out a libation of wine or Sugared water over her shoulder, being careful not to look back, and by this wise measure all evil con- sequences will be avoided. If you put a stiff shoe on a baby under a year old, it will be unlucky. A correspondent from Brookline, Mass., writes: “We used always as children to have the mark of the cross put on our ‘village gaiters,’ as we were told that it made them safe and took the slipperiness off.” Children must not give anything grudgingly. It will cause the death of their mother. (Madagascar.) Japanese children are told that if they tell a lie, an imp will pull out their tongue. The terror of the “oni” running away with their tongue has kept many a child to the truth. In Somersetshire, England, ex- ists the belief that it is injurious to an infant to burn its excrement, as that would cause constipation and colic. In the presence of a child, you must not eat or drink anything without giving it some of it, else the longing will break its heart. (Luxembourg.) Do not go for the first time into the room where the infant is, with- out removing veil and gloves. To take a deaf child away from home against its will is very un- lucky. In the Carolina mountains it bodes ill to a child when a cat seems to be extremely attached to it. It is a bad omen for a child to give itself a sobriquet. It is a Welsh superstition not to FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 2][ cut an infant's nails with a scissors, or any edged tool, until it is a year old; otherwise it is feared the child will become a thief. Children who throw the parings of the nails into the fire will meet with some great calamity. (Japan.) A North German belief affirms that if the first trimmings of a child's nails are carefully buried un- der an ash tree, the child will be a good singer. A similar superstition exists in the north of England, where it is said that if the first par- ings of a child's nails are buried under flax roots, the child will be a good singer. Unlucky to beckon to a child with a dipper. (Japan.) A thing touched by the fore- finger of an infant will die early. The Alabama negresses believed that if anyone stepped on their pickaninnies, it would dwarf them. To step on a child’s leg stops its growth. (Greek.) ~ *S*, * A., A. An old superstition which seems like a reversal of the usual idea, still survives among children, that if they crawl over an older person and do not crawl back again, they will never grow again. (Haverhill, Mass.) If two infants that have no teeth meet in the same room, it is be- lieved one will at once sicken and die. Never put an infant through an open window or it will grow up a flºomise (San Salvador, B. In old Ireland, the mother put the first meat in her infant’s mouth on the point of his father's sword, and wished it might die no way but in war or by the sword. If a little child folds its arms, its parents will die. (Persia.) If you wish to see whether your baby will be smart, lay a pair of scissors before it and if it grabs for them, it will be clever. If a child swallows a coin and lives, it is a sign that it will become rich. If a child hears the roaring of a seashell before his fifth year, he will spend one-half of his life on the OCCa11. If a child has small feet, she will lead an easy life. A boy who will carry a dull knife will be a bachelor. If a boy rests a gun on his head, he will grow no taller. (Chinese.) Demophoon was brought up § Demeter, who anointed him wit ambrosia and plunged him every One day his night into the fire. mother, out of curiosity, watched the proceeding, and was horror- - struck, whereupon Demeter told her that her foolish interference had robbed her son of immortality. The same tale is told of Achilles and Isis. It probably was to teach that genius must be allowed its experi- ences of sweetness and pain, or it will never become famous. The in- terference of the parent with the as- pirations of the child often produce mediocrity where there could have been excellence. (Plutarch.) . Among the American Indians it is believed that if the father kills an animal during the infancy of the child, the spirit of the animal will revenge itself by inflicting some disease upon the little one. For six months after the birth of a child the Carib father must not eat fowl, cat-birds, or fish, as these will im- press their forms and characteristics upon his infant. 22 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. If you give your baby a little honey, it will have a sweet dis- position and be industrious. If you wish a child to be bright, do not take it out of the house be- fore it is twenty-eight days old. To make a puny infant strong, lay it naked on the turf on Midsum- mer day and sprinkle it with flax seed. As the flax grows, the child will become stronger. (German.) Quince and coriander seed make a baby wise and witty, when taken through the mother; but onions, beans and the like, make it a fool. A bright child, a short life. “So wise so young they say ne'er live long.” (Shakespeare, Richard III. iii., 1.) The women of South Albania twist a number of colored threads, tie them around the necks of their children, and draw the children across the thresholds to prevent sunstroke and sunburn. In March, when the sun first finds its strength in Greece, a twist- ed thread of red and gold, or blue and gold, is tied around the chil- dren's wrists to prevent the sun from tanning them. If a child’s hands are rubbed with the juice of wormwood before it is twelve months old, it will never be too hot or too cold. (Folkard, Plant Lore.) To protect their children against evil and weather, mothers, in Lower California, cover their whole bodies with a varnish of urine and coal dust. If a Chinese child carries about . its clothes a picture of a gourd, it will be free from harm. A certain mineral substance is daubed on the ears, nose, and mouth of Chinese children upon a certain day, to prevent bugs and lice. A certain image called “mother” is kept in the nurseries in China, so that no harm can come to the chil- dren. Some Chinese believe that chil- dren who eat “brilliant” cakes, which are baked and distributed every fifteenth of the month, will become more proficient in their studies. Others think to eat “bril- liant” cakes will prevent the trans- migration of the soul after death. Waist girdles of old fish nets are worn by Chinese children to avert ill influences. For a boy under sixteen, in China, to wear an iron ring made from nails taken from a casket, will not only protect him, but assure him a prosperous career. Pieces of red fish nets worn by children, in China, protect from all evil. If a child carries a date-stone, it will not fall or be hurt. (German.) In Portugal, fetiches, in the shape of a silver half moon, are put on a chain on a baby's neck to pre- serve it from ill luck. Such amulets are sold for that purpose in all jew- elry stores in that country. A hollow golden ball hung about the necks of the Roman youth, was supposed to prompt them to wis- dom. When a child is a dirt-eater, tie a dead frog on its left arm and it will cure him. (Persia.) Among the Albanians, if two children have died in infancy, the next born baby is passed three times through a kind of iron tripod. If that one dies, too, in spite of this powerful charm, the next is placed where four roads meet, and a silver FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 23 cross, for which nine women, who bear the name of Mary, have given the metal, is laid on its body. In many countries it was believed in olden times, and it is occasionally believed to this day, that specially weak and deformed infants were fairy-children which had been sub- stituted for the real mortals; espe- cially unchristened children were much in danger of being carried off by the fairies, who sometimes left “little changelings,” as they were called, of their own blood. We find numerous allusions to this be- lief in the poets. Ben Jonson, for instance, in his “Sad Shepherd,” makes the attending and nurture of human changelings one of the fa- vorite elfin employments: “There, in the stock of trees, white fay do dwell, And spar-long elves, that dance about ...a pool, .. e With each a little changeling in their arms.” One of the most efficacious of the many charms which were in use in Scotland for the restoration of stol- en children, was believed to be the roasting of the supposititious child upon live embers. This would cause the false infant to disappear and the true one to be left in its place. “Ye fairies, who, Into their beds did foist your babes, And theirs exchanged to be.” (Albion's England, 1612.) The story of infants being ex- changed in their cradles is, in the Isle of Man, in such credit that mothers are in continual terror at the thought of it. I was prevailed upon to go and see a child, who, they told me, was of these change- lings, and indeed must own I was not a little surprised, as well as shocked, at the sight; nothing un- der heaven could have a more beau- tiful face; but, though between five and six years old, and seemingly healthy, he was so far from being able to walk or stand, that he could not so much as move any one joint —his limbs were vastly long for his age, but smaller than infants’ of six months; his complexion was per- fectly delicate, and he had the finest hair in the world; he never spoke, or cried, ate scarce anything, and was very seldom seen to smile, but if anyone called him a Fairy Elf he would frown, and fix his eyes so earnestly on those who said it, as if he would look them through. His mother, at least his supposed moth- er, being very poor, frequently went out a-charing, and left him a whole day together; the neighbors, out of curiosity, have often looked down at the window to see how he behaved when alone, which, when- ever they did, they were sure to find him laughing, and in the ut- most delight. This made them judge that he was not without com- pany more pleasing to him than any mortals could be, and what made this conjecture seem the more rea- sonable was that if he were left ever so dirty, the woman, at her return, saw him with a clean face, his hair combed with the utmost exactness and nicety. (Waldron, “Descrip- tion of the Isle of Man.”) Among the various stories of children-kidnapping by the fairies, to be found in Waldron’s account of the Isle of Man, is the following: “A woman had given birth to a child, when her attendants were en- ticed from the house by the cry of ‘fire.” While they were out, the child was taken from the helpless mother by the invisible hand; but the sudden re-entry of some of the gossips compelled the fairies to drop the child, and it was found sprawling on the threshold. The fairies, who seemed to have espe- cial dislike for this woman, tried to carry off her second child in the same way, but failed again. At the 24 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. third trial they succeeded, and left behind them a changeling, a with- ered and deformed creature, which neither spoke or walked for the first nine years, and ate nothing but a few herbs.” This changeling superstition has been the cause of much deplorable cruelty, as that very member of the family who should require the kind- est attention was but too often neg- lected and wretchedly abused, on the plea of its being an alien. “Wild maidens” are seen in the mountains of Germany and in the fastnesses of the forests. They are believed to place changelings in cradles in place of unbaptized chil- dren. * In Ireland, fire, iron, and dung are the great safeguards against the influence of fairies and infernal spirits, and if a baby was suspected of being a changeling, it was put on a hot shovel and thrust out on a dung heap. If it did not die, it was human and was allowed to live. Do not speak of a changeling or an elf-child in the presence of a baby less than seven months old. If you do so inadvertently, cross yourself and the baby at once or it may be changed. Idiots are believed to be fairy- changelings. To get back the lost child, place the changeling upon the beach below high water mark when the tide is out, and pay no heed to its screams, for rather than have it drowned the fairies will re- place the lost child. When the child no longer screams, this is sup- posed to have been done. (West- ern Isles of Scotland.) The Irish believed that if a child grew wan and weak, the nereids had struck it, and it was laid naked on the altar-steps for a night to test the truth of the suspicion. If the child died under the trial, then it was certainly bewitched by evil spirits, and the parents were glad to be well rid of the unholy thing. The English and German peas- antry believe that the soul is lured from children by sweet songs which they alone can hear. Some say it is the sound of the Erl-king's voice and some say it is that of angels, but all agree that when a sick child speaks of hearing music his doom is SL11"C. Small children are frequently frightened into submission by the threat that the bugaboo or bogie- man is coming, generally supposed to be come mischievous fairy, or goblin, or demon. Strange to say, the word “bogie,” like “Puck,” originally means God, originating from the Slavonic word “Bog,” which means the supreme being. Indian children are often fright- ened into good behavior by the story of a birdlike ghost resembling a monstrous owl, called Toh-kah- lot. This ghost is capable of in- flicting terrible calamities upon the disobedient. In Scotland, a silver brooch is stuck in the baby's petticoat to keep witches and evil spirits away. Wherever a child is fairy-strick- en, there is plenty of butter in the churn. The Bulgarians believe that Ash- medie, the chief demon of the Jews, waits to stifle a new born child whenever he can get a chance, so the infant must never be left a mo- ment alone. If you have a child possessed of the devil, place the same on its back on the ground, and near its feet place an egg, then blow a loud blast on a tin horn, and you will blow the devil into the egg. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 25 At about midnight give a child a drink mixed with the blood of a crowing hen, and he will be safe from fairy, demon, or witchcraft. In China, to prevent nursing a demon, dried banana skin is burned to ashes and then mixed with water. Into this the mother dips her finger and marks the cross on the sleeping child’s forehead. A silver chain on a child’s neck will keep it from evil spirits. (China.) Japanese children think that an imp stands ready to pull out the tongue of a liar. If a child falls from a high place, spirit-money must at Once be burned to propitiate the demon who is trying to pull the child down to destruction. (China.) A lock of silver with a chain at- tached is worn by a boy in China until he is sixteen, as a charm against evil spirits and to insure longevity. A daughter born after many years of the parents' marriage is considered very unlucky in China; such girls are therefore giv- en a silver ring to wear on their ankles for protection. When Jewish children are panic- stricken, sugar is strewn from their beds to a neighboring cistern so that the demon that caused it, who has a sweet tooth, will follow the track and tumble into the water. If you drink water near a sleep- ing child, the child will see spirits. (Persia.) To prevent a baby seeing ghosts, put a Bible or prayer-book under its pillow, or tie a string (red pre- ferred) around its neck, and hang to it a bag containing a piece of assa- fetida, or the caul of another baby of the opposite sex. (British Gui- ana.) Children are given a wolf's tooth to be worn as an amulet and charm against fear. This superstition, still extant in many countries, is men- tioned by Pliny in his “Natural His- tory.” “Bring the holy crust of bread, Lay it underneath the head; 'Tis a sure and certain charm To keep the children from all harm.” In ancient times, in Greece, the grandmother rubbed the little one's forehead with her middle finger wet with saliva, to preserve it from evil influences. The Russians are so surrounded by adverse powers that they have to breathe spells upon their children to keep them safe from so many dangers. The following is a part of one by a mother for the protection of her “never-enough-to-be-gazed- upon-child” from demons and witches: “I avert from thee the terrible devil, I drive away the fierce whirl- wind, I keep away from thee the one-eyed Lycshy (wood-demon), the stranger Domovy, the water- demon, the witch of Kieff, the beck- Oning Russalka, the thrice accursed Baba Yaga, and the flying Snake. I wave away from thee the pro- phetic raven and the croaking crow. I screen thee from Koshchei the deathless, from the spell-weaving wizard, the daring magician, the blind soothsayer, and the hoary witch. And may he who tries to beguile or cast a spell over my child, may he be shut up beyond the mountains of Ararat in the low- est gulfs of hell, in boiling pitch and burning flame. And may his spells be for him no spells, his deceit no deceit, and his guile no beguiling.” (Laura E. Poor, “Sanscrit and Its Kindred Literatures.”) When a little stranger comes to an Osmanli woman, a cap of red silk seeded with pearls and hung 26 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. with amulets, is at once placed on the infant’s head to protect it from the evil eye. The mother's head is also covered with a red cap, with a bunch of charms hung to it, and a head of garlic is propped up in the corner of the room to keep out un- canny invisible visitors. If the mother and child have to be left for a single moment, no evil spirit can get them if you put a broom across the bed. If the mother and child have bad company, it is ascer- tained whether the visitors did any harm or not by flinging, after their departure, a clove in the fire for each visitor. If the clove explodes in burning, it is proof positive that the visitor named for it, cast the evil eye over mother and child. To counteract this, snips of hair are immediately cut off and placed in charcoal, and the supposed suffer- ers are fumigated with the noxious vapors. Prayers intermingled with spitting and blowings are persisted in, until a fit of yawning proclaims that the evil effects have passed. An old servant is dispatched to the house of the suspected one to pro- cure a little scrap of their clothing with which to fumigate again, and after that the anxious mother and her relatives are at rest. In British Guiana, gum benzoin and camphor are burnt in a child's room when it sees ghosts. Every second negress will tell you that she is troubled with ghosts, and the children believe this and see them as a matter of course. When a person is suspected of having an evil eye and glances at a child, the mother should wipe the child’s face with a white cloth to ward off the evil influence. If such a person is about, the best way is to protect one's self by saying, “God with us and evil away!” (Bo- hemia.) In Italy, where the belief in the evil eye is especially strong, the fascinator of infants is most dread- ed. A gentleman acted three times as sponsor in Naples and singular- ly all three of the children died. He ever after got the reputation of hav- ing the malocchio, so that mothers took every precaution to keep their children out of his sight. The “evil eye” influence may be inflicted on a child simply by get- ting possession of a scrap of its clothing, a toy, a hair, or a nail- paring. Should one cast the evil eye upon a child wearing a stag’s horn, the horn will instantly snap asunder. (Spain.) Children of wealthy parents in Rome wore a round heart-shaped locket of gold until they reached manhood, to protect them from the evil eye. Children of poorer pa- rents had a knot of leather to pro- tect them. Place strings of coral about the neck of a child, and it will be safe from the evil eye. (Greece.) In Macedonia, during the first week after a child’s birth, the young mother and child are not left alone unless it is absolutely necessary. In that case a broom is left in the room to ward off the evil eye. In the East, a mother, when dressing her baby, makes a black mark on its cheek as a safeguard against the evil eye. There are in Buddhism certain weirdly beautiful consolations, un- known to our western faith. The young mother who loses her first child, may at least pray that it will come back to her out of the night of death, not in dreams only, but through re-incarnation. As a charm to this effect, she writes in the palm of the little corpse the first ideograph (a hieroglyphic sym- bol) of her lost darling's name. Months pass; she again becomes a FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 27 mother. Eagerly she examines the flower-soft hand of the infant. And lo! the selfsame ideograph is there —a rosy birthmark on the tender palm, and she believes with great joy that it is not a new Soul that she has brought into the world, but that the soul returned looks out upon her through the eyes of the newly born with the gaze of other days! (Lafcadio Hearn, “Unfamil- iar Japan.”) There is a window in Bohemia where the wind always weeps, and it came about in this way: A very poor woman, who had only one lit- tle child, whom she had to leave when she went out to work, put her bed on the floor, placed on it her child, with pillows around, so it could not hurt itself, and looked about to find something with which it could play. A small raised pic- ture had fallen down from the wall, made of wax figures, representing Joseph, Mary, and the Christ-child. The broken glass she put away, but as the figures were also broken, she gave them to her child, first kissing it many times. Then tying her handkerchief on her head, she went out. As soon as she was gone, the little horse began to neigh and spring about, to the great delight of the little child, who began to scream and crow with pleasure. The mother, hearing his voice, turned back and looked into the room, and saw how the Christ-child in a rosy cloud came out of the picture, and began to play with her child. In holy fear she fell on her knees and began to pray, “O Christ-child, my heart and everything I will give you if you do not take my child away!” She was afraid, as when her hus- band died, nobody could shut his eyes, and that was a sign that an- other member of the family would follow soon. While she was pray- ing, the two children climbed up on the little horse's back, who had now received golden wings, and sprang to the window that had opened of itself. The horrified mother sprang after them and tried to close the window, but only caught one of her child’s feet in the window-sash, when it gave a cry and wept, but flew away, and was lost in the clouds. From that time one can hear the low wailing by the window. It is a warning to mothers not to try to keep back their children when God wants them. In Turkey exists a “sacred” trampling that is believed to be a blessing and good luck to the dev- otee who permits it. Among the howling Dervishes babies are brought forward by a black dervish, who is very energetic. He lays them three or four in a row on their faces, and is particularly careful to straighten their little limbs, holding them gently down. There is no sign of resistance from the infant devotees as the scheik, first passing his right foot softly down the body, walks over them, carefully stepping over the upper part of the leg, and supported on each side by an at- tendant; the pressure, though mo- mentary, must be considerable for those tender forms, yet, strange to say, the little ones seem to enjoy it; there is not a cry or murmur from any of the children. Many have gone of their own accord to endure the sacred trampling, and laid themselves down as if it were a cus- tomary observance, jumping up af- terwards quite briskly and kissing the hand of the scheik, who in turn presses his two hands gently on the two cheeks of the little ones, mur- murs a prayer, and blows upon them, after which, well pleased and feeling all the better for it, they re- gain their places without the least confusion. Some of the infants, af- ter undergoing the tread, and re- ceiving the blessing, are carried 28 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. around by their mothers, to be blown upon by the most saintly among the worshippers. There is a pause in the shouting, and the scheik returns to his sheepskin to bless bottles of water brought for that purpose. He murmurs a short prayer or invocation over each bot- tle as he blows it, and it is then handed back to the owner sup- posed to be endowed with a healing virtue. Many curious customs and su- perstitions relating to early child life prevail in China. The follow- ing are quoted from Robert K. Douglas' interesting book on “China”: In China, the cries and move- ments of babies are carefully watched by the light of the regula- tions laid down by physiognomists, who say that if a baby cries long, he will live to be old; but if his cries are constantly intermittent, his life is precarious. Babies whose cries die out, or the tone of whose crying is deep, or who open their own eyes, or who constantly move their hands and feet, are doomed by the same authorities to early death; while a child who walks, teeths, and speaks early has a bad disposition, and will turn out to be unlovable. In China, the baby is washed for the first time on the third day after its birth. The occasion is one of great moment, and the relations and friends are invited to take part in the ceremony. Each guest brings with him or her as the case may be, an onion and some cash— emblems of keen-wittedness and wealth—which they present the child. Water, in which scented herbs and leaves have been fused, is used in the ablutions, and when the process is over, all present join in offering sacrifices to the goddess of children for the mercy she has vouchsafed. In China, swaddling clothes for babies are essential for the purpose of preventing contact with any evil influence which may interfere with the all-pervading principle of the season. For instance, should the time of year be spring or summer, then the life-producing principle is abroad, and it is of the utmost im- portance that the baby should be protected from the touch of any- thing that would counteract that principle existing in it. In the same way, in autumn and winter, the gathering-in principle is pre- vailing, and care must be taken to ward off all contact with everything hostile to it. The first clothes worn by the infant should be made out of the coat and trousers of some old man of seventy or eighty years, to ensure a like length of life to the Wearer. At the end of the month the mother leaves her room for the first time, and the ceremonies of naming the baby, and of shaving its head, whether girl or boy, are performed on the occasion. In contradistinc- tion to this rational and civilized regard for the mother, the aborig- ines in the province of Kwei-chow preserve the curious custom, known as couvarde, which is, or was, also practised by the Basques, among other peoples. The mother among these tribes gets up immediately after the birth of the child, and goes about her ordinary duties, while the father goes to bed with the infant for a month; the idea being that the life of the father and child is one, and that any harm happening to the father will affect injuriously the well-being of the infant. For a hundred days the Chinese mother remains in the house, and at the end of that time goes with her in- fant to the temple of Kwan-yin— the goddess of matrons—to return thanks for the possession of a child. On its first birthday, if the child be a boy, he is seated in a large sieve, in which are placed round him a set FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 29 of money-scales, a pair of shears, a foot measure, a brass mirror, a pen- cil, ink, paper, ink-slab, a book or two, an abacus, and other imple- ments and ornaments; and the as- sembled friends watch to see which object he first handles, in or- der to gain an indication of his fu- ture career. The brightest hopes are entertained of his scholarship should he take up a book or pencil. To see him handle the money-scales is the next ambition of his parents, and the probability is that devices are not wanting to direct his atten- tion to the objects which it is par- ticularly desired he should touch. The power of a Chinese father over his children is as full as that possessed by the Roman father, and stops short only with life. The practice of selling children is com- mon, and, though the law makes it a punishable offence should the sale be effected against the will of the children, the prohibition is practi- cally ignored. In the same way a law exists in the statute-book mak- ing infanticide a crime, but as a matter of fact it is never acted upon; and in some parts of the country, more especially in the provinces of Keang-se and Fuh-keen, this most unnatural offence prevails among the poorer classes to an alarming extent. Not only do the people acknowledge the existence of the practice, but they even go the length of defending it. “What,” they say, “is the good of rearing daughters? When they are young, they are only an expense, and when they might be able to earn a living, they marry and leave us.” Period- ically the mandarins inveigh against the inhumanity of the offence and appeal to the better instincts of the people to put a stop to it; but a stone which stands near a pool out- side the city of Fuhchow, bearing the inscription, “Girls may not be drowned here,” testifies with ter- rible emphasis to the futility of their praiseworthy endeavors. It is only, however, abject poverty which drives parents to this dreadful ex- pedient, and in the more prosper- ous and wealthy districts the crime is almost unknown. How the spirit of filial devotion among the Chinese is carried to the extreme, can be illustrated by many instances of Chinese habits, history, and stories. We quote one tale, which is at once typical and terse, from a popular book called “The Twenty-four Filials”: “In the days of the Han dynasty lived Koh Ku, who was very poor. He had one child three years old; and such was his poverty that his mother usually divided her portion of food with this little one. Koh says to his wife, ‘We are so poor that our mother cannot be sup- ported, for the child divides with her the portion of food that belongs to her. Why not bury this child? Another child may be born to us, but a mother once gone will never return.” His wife did not venture to object to the proposal; and Koh immediately dug a hole of about three cubits deep, when suddenly he lighted upon a pot of gold, and on the metal read the following in- scription: “Heaven bestows this treasure upon Koh Fu, the dutiful son; the magistrate may not seize it, nor shall the neighbors take it from him.’” The neglect of what western na- tions would consider as the highest duties is frequently enjoined for the sake of parents; and in agreement with this code of morals, the Chi- nese Emperor of late concluded to yield to all the demands of the vic- torious Japanese only that the Em- press dowager in Pekin should not be obliged to be inconvenienced by a removal of the Imperial Court. (Dr. Paul Carus in “The Monist.”) 3O ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. Miscellaneous Don'ts for Parents. Don't yell “shall,” sha’n’t,” “must,” etc., at the little ones; they will wish they had been born be- fore their father. Don't tell your children how sweet and good you were when you were little, they may not believe you. Don’t send the little ones to bed on an empty stomach. If yours was hollow, you would toss and swear all night. Don’t tell your little ones the early bird and worm story. It is a wormy old chestnut, and bad pol- icy. Sleep is worth more to them than worms. Don’t act to your children as if you were the superintendent of a gang of Italians. It might Scare them and prevent them from admir- ing you. Don’t hold up some other little boy or girl for your children to im- itate. They probably know the child better than you do and may imitate his faults. Don't humiliate your child and cause it to think itself a poor for- lorn creature. It may not put a high monument over you when you die. Don't forget that your child may turn out to be a genius while you will never be known as anything 1111CO111111011. Don’t fail to consider that a child has feelings of its own, which, in contrast with your best and finest, are still unsullied as snow and fair as heaven. This may make a bet- ter man or woman of you. Don't whip your children. It is barbarous. You might as well kick yourself. Don't lie to your children and then scold them for lying. Remem- ber who was the father of lies. Don’t try to break your chil- dren's wills; you had better break their necks. CRADLE, If you rock an empty cradle, the baby will be sick. (Persia.) It was a custom in Llansilin, Wales, some years ago (if it is not still) not to put a child in the cradle until it was christened; the super- stition was that the child would otherwise die. Children laid in cradles made of elder-wood will not sleep well and are in danger of falling out of the cradle. The elder tree is cursed, since Judas hanged himself on it; also because from its wood was made the cross on which Christ was crucified. Put a steel key in the cradle, and it will keep off the black dwarfs from the infant. (Norway.) In India a knife, nail, or scissors is attached to the cradle of a child to bring it luck. Clippings of the hair and nails of a child placed in a little bag under the cradle will prevent convulsions. If the “cradle cap” of a baby be combed with a fine tooth comb, the child will be blind. (Labrador.) DEATH OF CHILDREN. When a child dies in Greenland, the natives bury a live dog with it as a guide to the other world. When questioned as to this curious superstition, they will only answer, “A dog can find its way anywhere.” In Macedonia, a house in which the children die, one after the other % Ž / 2 Z º - V. º | | º ſ Ø 7- ſ º º - º Mºº º º [** º º º º - Tºº º -È №.§ ∞SOENR ſ. &\§- \\ÈÈÈÈ\\\\\ ----N ĶĒĒĒĒĒĒĒĒŅŅŇ]\\ ---- | | | Maternal Apparitions in Japanese Child Life. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 3I in quick succession, is supposed to be haunted and is deserted. In Turkey the women howl over the death of a child. DISEASES OF CHILDREN. To cure any illness peculiar to babes, hang a piece of lion's skin, with a morsel of the hair, on his neck. Dew from the grave of the last person buried in the parish church- yard, if applied to any weakly child before sunrise on a May morning, is very healing. If a tree of any kind is split, a sickly child drawn through the split and the tree drawn together again so that it will unite, the child will get well as the tree grows together. When an infant is ill and not like- ly to live, it is often “half-chris- tened;” a ceremony which is be- lieved not only to secure its pass- port to heaven, but also to be of great service in restoring its bodily health. (Gloucestershire, Eng- land.) In Brittany a child is protected against all diseases by having his shirt put on damp. If a child is sick, deposit two eggs in an ant-heap, and the child will recover. (Norway.) In Egypt parents made vows to the gods for the health of their chil- dren, especially if they were sick, and the vow was discharged by spending an amount of silver equal to the weight of the child's hair, for food for the sacred animals. If children are sick in China, their mothers frequently invoke the tiger, whom they believe to have the power to absorb or destroy the £vil causes. In Bengal, when a child declines in health, the mother puts it in a basket and hangs it in a tree. She feeds it for three days, and if the owls and vultures do not eat it up, or it is not killed by the heat or the rain, she thinks the evil spirits that possessed it are worsted, and takes it home again. (Wright, “India and Its Inhabitants.”) On the first three Wednesdays in May children suffering with mesen- teric diseases are dipped three times in Cuthbert's well, against the sun, and dragged three times about the well on the grass in the same di- rection, for a cure. If a child has trouble with its res- piratory organs, carry it through a flock of sheep as they are let out of the fold in the morning. A child who has a weak back may be cured by drawing it over the grass wet by the morning dew. It must be drawn the first three mornings of May. In order to determine the illness of a child, in Belgium, four candles were lighted, and named Bernard's candle, Pirmin’s candle, Willibrad- us’ candle, or Peter Mailand’s can- dle. Meanwhile all present prayed loudly until one of the candles was extinguished. The name of this candle was also the name of the disease. If you have the chicken-pox, go into a chicken-house backwards and come out forwards; you will then leave the pox in the chicken- house. A tiger's picture worn by a baby will prevent colic. (China.) If children eat “brilliant” cakes which are distributed the fifteenth of each month, in China, it is a sign that they will be kept free from the colic, 32 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. A ring made of some of the silver given as alms at the communion table and put on the hand of a child with convulsions, will cure it. Silver keys blessed by the Pope will keep infants from convulsions. The Arabs think the horn of the rhinoceros will cure convulsions and spasms in children. In Tuscany they pound the house-leek the first Friday after the birth of a child and administer to the infant the expressed juice, which is thought to preserve the babe from convulsions, and to in- sure its long life. Give a young child shavings from a rhinoceros’ horn and it will never be subject to convulsions. (Hindu.) The ashes of a moccasin snake's head will cure croup if mixed with water and applied to the child's throat. (Negro.) If a child has a hiccough, spit on a rag, put it to the child’s fore- head, and the hiccough will imme- diately cease. (San Salvador, B. I.) Hen-oil will cure hives in chil- dren. A tea decocted from sheep drop- pings is still made by some rustics for the cure of “black measles.” Nurses tie a tow string around the bodies of children afflicted with the mumps. It is tied under the arms to prevent the disease from going below the armpits. Cure for mumps: Tie a halter around the child’s neck, then lead it to a brook and bathe it three times in the name of the Trinity. If you do not want the mumps, rub your jaws where a pig has rubbed. In the Canary Islands, the na- tives cure a child of rupture in the following manner: They take the child before sunrise on St. John's day to where “mimbre,” a sort of willow, grows. With him go his god-mother with a lighted candle, also a woman whose name must be Isabel, carrying a distaff, spindle, and flax, another woman whose name must be Mary, and a man whose name must be John. When they arrive at the place, they open or split a willow-stalk, wide enough to pass the child through. John places himself on one side, and Mary on the other; then they pass the child through the split stalk, each saying to the other: “Mary, here goes the ruptured child to thee so that next year he may be well and strong again.” Mary repeats this, while Isabel is spinning. Then with the thread she has made, Isa- bel binds the willow-stalk together again, while they recite three cre- dos. Next year, on the same day, they go to see the stalk, which has grown together and looks as if it had never been opened. This is a sign that the child has been cured effectively. Children in China are protected against smallpox by gourds hung around their necks, or masks worn over their faces on New Year's eve; the latter is done in the belief that the smallpox demon would then not recognize them and pass them by. Gourds are also worn by children as a safeguard against colic, which may also be prevented by children wearing embroidered pockets of red cloth during the first five days of the fifth month. In Northern Albania, if a mother has a baby born with a running sore, she puts a stone on the baby’s head to cure it as soon as she sees the first stork. If a child in Cornwall has the thrush, it is taken fasting on three successive mornings, to have its FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 33 mouth blown into by a posthumous child. Anyone who has never seen his or her father can cure a child of the thrush by laying on of hands. “Charming” for a white mouth, thrush, or canker, was a very com- mon practice in Winchcombe, Eng- land. The oldest inhabitants can remember how children, suffering from those complaints, were taken to be charmed by the blacksmith, Mr. Bridges, “Old Thatcher Smith's wife,” and others. The incanta- tions were mysteriously muttered over the infant, the words being sometimes taken from scripture, when one thumb of the charmer was placed on the mystic text, and the other in the mouth of the suf- fering child. It is also believed that everyone must have “white mouth,” either in infancy or at death. To cure the thrush, wipe out the child’s mouth with a clean cloth and hang it up to dry, and as it dries so will the thrush disappear; but you must not hang it in the sun or before the fire to make it dry quick- er. (British Guiana.) The Scotch believe in a nixie named “Hob.” When a child had the whooping-cough, it was taken to a certain cave and the mother Sang: - “Hob, hole, Hob, Ma bairnie has gotten the kinkcough Take it off! Take it off!” In Yorkshire whooping-cough is thought to be cured by drinking holy water out of the silver chalice. If a child having the whooping- cough is fed with the bread and butter of the family, the heads of which bear respectively the names of John and Joan, it will be cured. In Cheshire, a plain currant-cake made by a woman whose maiden name was the same as that of the man she married, is given to a child for the whooping-cough. Whooping-cough may be cured by obtaining bread from a family in which the parents before their marriage bore the same family name. (Pennsylvania German.) In Warwick, England, a certain shell called the “Devil's thumb” cal- cined, is thought to be a cure for the whooping-cough. In Cheshire is a peculiar method of treating whooping-cough. Hold a live toad's head in the mouth of the person afflicted, and after keep- ing it there for a few minutes, it has stopped the cough. Eat three roasted mice for whooping-cough, say the people of Hull. A favorite cure in Donegal for whooping-cough is to catch a beetle that flies against you unawares (you must not look out for it), and cork it in a bottle. As it wastes away the cough will be cured. In Lancashire, England, a hairy caterpillar is tied up in a small bag and placed around the child's neck, and as the worm dies the cough will wear away. The tooth of a dead horse rubbed over the child's mouth will stop the whooping-cough. In Salop, drinking cups made from the wood of the common ivy and used by those afflicted with whooping-cough will cure it. If a woman who did not change her name in marriage will give a child with the whooping-cough a piece of bread and butter before it has broken its fast in the morning, the disease will end. Cure for whooping-cough: Put a live trout into the child’s mouth, 34 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. fasting. If a trout cannot be had, a frog may be tried. A draught from the horn of an ox, nine times repeated, will cure the whooping-cough. Water left over in a bucket from which a horse has drank, will cure the whooping-cough. The whooping-cough can be cured by mounting the child on an ass, saddled and bridled, and lead- ing it nine times around an Oak tree. Three hairs taken from the cross of an ass will cure whooping-cough, but the ass will die. To cure whooping-cough, put one of the sufferer’s hairs down the throat of a mule; it is necessary, however, that you should have a firm belief in its efficacy. A small quantity of hair taken from the nape of the child's neck, rolled up in a piece of meat, and given to a dog, will cause whoop- ing-cough to be transferred to that animal. Cure for whooping-cough: A lock of hair taken from the head of a person who never saw his or her father, is to be tied up in a piece of red cloth and worn around the neck. - To cure whooping-cough, carry a child fasting on Sunday morning into the parishes. The staylace of a child’s god- mother tied with nine knots around the child's neck, is a cure for whooping-cough. In the Forest of Bere, new milk, drank out of a cup made of the va- riegated holly, is supposed to cure children of the whooping-cough. The only cure for a man with the whooping-cough is to sit under a monument beside a grave. It was believed that a person who rode on a piebald horse was capable of curing the whooping- cough. FECUNDITY AND STER- ILITY. (See also “Births,” “Pregnancy.”) At Whitchurch, near Cardiff, Wales, it was usual for every mar- ried woman, who had never been blessed with issue, to repair to the church-yard on Easter-Monday, be- ing first provided with two dozen tennis balls, one dozen of which were covered with white, and the other dozen with black leather; these were cast by the fair votaress over the church, from the back- ground, and scrambled for by the populace, who assembled for that purpose in front of the building. So imperative was this custom, that neither rank nor age were excused, until they were relieved by the birth of a child from its annual per- formance. A little packet of dock-seed tied on the arm of a woman will pre- vent her from being barren. Superstitious Jews used to put four coins on which were written the names of Adam, Eve, and the words, “Avaunt thee, Lilith,” in the rooms occupied by their wives; the first to make them fruitful, and the last to scare away the enemy of children. A married woman without chil- dren is often seen kneeling at the foot of a pedestal where the image of her devotion stands, praying for issue, preferably a male. If her prayer is granted, the cast of an in- fant made in silver is placed at the shrine as a token of gratitude. The Dakotan bride, swayed by the yearning of expectant mater- nity, perhaps also by ambition to FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 35 excel in the sole permitted mode of its display, adorned her lodge with ornamental cradles, each new one becoming in design more beau- tiful and intricate than the last, un- til her yearning was answered, when the cradles not needed were exchanged for ornaments, which became the endowment of the new- born child. The Hidatsa Indians have an oracle called the house of infants, a cavern near the Knife river, which they suppose extends far into the earth, but whose entrance is only a span wide. It is resorted to by the childless husband or the barren wife. There are those among them who imagine that in some way or other their children come from this place, and any marks or bruises On the little one were given him by his companions when they kicked him out of his subterranean home. A Hottentot maiden must run about naked in the first thunder- shower after the festival of her ma- turity, the rain pouring down upon her body, as it has the virtue of making her fruitful and adding many to the tribe. If a Kaffir woman is long mar- ried and has no children, a heifer is procured, from the tail of which an amulet is made and hung around the woman's neck. This, they believe, will surely procure children. The river near Kerasunt, Turkey, brings fecundity to the sterile who bathe in it. (Greek, Albanian, and Turkish.) When a woman in Albania has no children or only girls, she at- tributes it to some enemy of the family who has, without doubt, tied three stalks of nettles together for the purpose of preventing her from having a boy. If an Albanian, having lost his first wife, marries a second, in what the relatives consider indecent haste, the people inflict a punish- ment upon him by pouring water on the grave of his dead wife. This will have the effect of making his second wife childless. Amongst the Kara - Kirghis, women roll themselves on the ground under a solitary tree, usu- ally an apple-tree, that they may be blessed with children. Among the Kara-Kirghis the women often wear the bark of an apple-tree about their persons in order to be lucky in children. Women who wish for children, tie a thread around a broken pillar in the church of the Annunciation at Aghmat, East India, and after- wards wear it about the waist. In India, women not blessed with children try to procure the breast- cloth of a woman who is suckling a baby; and if they can eat a piece of it, they will have a little one themselves. In India, the women walk in the forests on the sixth day of the moon, with a fan in one hand and eating vegetables with the other, to be sure to have many and beautiful children. If you kiss the head of an ir- rigating stream, you will have a brother. (Persia.) FOOD FOR CHILDREN. Among the Brazilian Indians, the first food given to a child was the flesh of an enemy. It was then be- lieved that the child would live to be very old. The bones of those eaten, were piled up in front of the houses, and the family who had the greatest number of enemies’ bones was considered the greatest family. Crabs must not be eaten by a child as his teeth will decay. (Mad- agascar.) 36 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. be starved. A young child must not plant a mango tree, or the child will die. (Madagascar.) Food prepared for a child should not be put into the hands of a per- son suffering with toothache, for the child will also suffer. (Mada- gascar.) LACTATION. If a woman will wear a small in- got of polished steel between her breasts, hung by a silk cord, it will prevent breast-pains and insure a bountiful flow of milk for the child. Pliny says that the weevil-grub has the singular property of pro- ducing milk in women. In Northern India, when a child is born, an evil spirit is born at the same time, and the mother must for forty days keep one breast tied up while she suckles the child with the other, so that the evil spirit shall Else the child will have an “evil eye.” A woman must not be separated from the father of the child while it suckles; if so, it will not thrive. (British Guiana.) It is a Japanese notion that ba- bies should not be nursed with cow’s milk, because in that case horns would surely grow out of the head. - To nurse a child on the knees causes it to be diseased. (Mada- gascar.) If a woman, with a fresh breast of milk, shall milk a portion of it into a bag of corks, very soon there- after her milk will all dry away. The Lithuanians in Europe wean girls at the waning of the moon, as being the best time for the sex. It is unlucky to wean a child in the wane of the moon. Its strength will wane with the moon. PLAY AND CHILDREN'S SAYINGS. When boys are much given to certain plays it is an omen. If, for instance, they play nothing but sol- diers, drilling, and battles, an im- portant war may be expected. Do they play at police, hide and seek, and similar plays, important thefts will take place, and the locks and windows are specially looked after at night. (Belgium.) What children said when they played, was believed in ancient Egypt to come to pass. Corals with little silver bells, the same as we give our babies to play with, were and are to this day giv- en by the Neapolitans to their in- fants not only to play with, but par- ticularly as a charm to ward off the evil eye. These little bells are made of silver in honor of Diana, the goddess who patronized moth- ers and infants. Let a child play among sheep, and it is said that it will never have consumption. Children who play with fire be- fore going to bed in the evening, will wet their bed in the night. If children sing a dirge, it por- tends death. ^s . In playing marbles, if the hand rests on a moleskin, the shot will win. g Bury a marble in a hollow log and say: “What has not come here, come; and what has come here, stay!” and in the morning you will find all the marbles you ever had. It is considered lucky when a boy drops his taw when playing mar- bles. It is said: “He dropped his luck to pick up a duck.” If a boy loses a marble, he must throw another one into the air and FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 37 say: “Brother, go find your broth- er!” and the two will be found to- gether. Bury a marble and leave it for a fortnight, then all the marbles which you have lost, will be found with it. (Mark Twain.) It is considered a bad sign to throw a ball over a person's head. When you play “hi-spy” and you want to know where the others are hid, take a stick and let it fall; if it falls three times in one direction, that is the way they are. (New England.) A charm to make a kite fly high: “Climb hither, climb hither! Mount hither, mount hither! To one side of the mighty wind! Incline hith- erward of the lofty wind!” It is a very unlucky sign if the “cat dies” while you are in the swing swinging. Children in Belgium believe that the creaking of doors or large gates is nothing else but the groaning of poor souls who suffer purgatory in that place; so they must not swing on such creaking doors or gates. If your friend finds something, cry out, “Halves!” and you will get half the good luck of the finding. “Nipping for new clothes,” a pinch for new and a kick for old, is a superstition among boys in Gloucestershire, England. The Maltese made children be- lieve that if they threw stones in a well, or into the sea, they had to lift them up again some day with their eyelashes. Children collect two or three hundred names of persons, asking each one to give a bow with the name. This bow is expressed on a sheet of paper after the name by a sign. After all are collected, the paper is secretly buried face down- ward and in two or three months dug up in the expectation to find money with it. (North Cambridge, Mass.) Children say that if a boy kisses his elbow, he will immediately turn into a girl. “Crossing with a switch,” is a ne- gro superstition. One negro ur- chin will strike another lightly with a switch and exclaim, “Dar now! you goin’ ter get a whippin’ fore night!” while the victim will pite- ously plead to have the cross taken off, which is done by another stroke from the same switch by the same hand. Children blow off the feathery ends of the dandelion and ask, “How old shall I be?” As often as they have to blow before the last one is blown off, so long have they to live. Scotch children have a horror of caterpillars. They say that if a cat- erpillar gets twined around your finger, it can never be removed. When children see a snail, they repeat to it the following words, be- lieving that it will protrude then out of its shell: “Snail, snail, come out of your hole Or else I’ll beat you black as a coal.” Also in Germany, the children have several rhymes referring to the snail. In places where there are snails, children amuse themselves by charming them with a chant to put forth their horns. These snail- rhymes, however, are not peculiar to England alone, but can be found in various European countries, as 38 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. well as in this country. One of these rhymes is the following: “Snail, snail slug slow To me thy four horns show; If thou dost not show me thy four I will throw thee out of the door, For the crow in the gutter To eat for bread and butter.” When Bohemian children find a ladybug, they set it on their hand and cry, “Pinko linko, pinko linko, fly away into God’s window!” The children of the Abdah dis- trict, in Asiatic Turkey, have a su- perstition among themselves, al- most similar to one in Europe and in this country. There you will often see a child put a ladybug on its finger and chant the following doggerel: “Ladybug, Ladybug, fly away home, your house is on fire, and your children will burn!” These Arab children procure a large black beetle, called a “bog- haranga,” and holding it between finger and thumb, address it as fol- lows: “Bogharanga, bogharanga, hear my speaking and tell me the truth!” They then proceed to ask it various questions regarding their childish wishes; whether their father will let them wear a knife at the next feast, or when they will be allowed to keep a camel of their own, etc. Sometimes the boghar- anga will remain silent and obsti- nate, in which case they throw it down in disgust; but generally, if pinched hard enough, it will re- spond with a peculiar clicking noise, nodding its head repeatedly. This is, of course, taken as an af- firmative. In Germany, the children are told that the babies are brought by the stork. There are many nursery rhymes about the stork, which are sung by them at the sight of a stork. The “naked bear” is sometimes used as a threat to American chil- dren. He is a fairy creature larger than any other animal, and with only a tuft of hair on his head. The “Sandman” is also a personage of the nursery who comes around at bedtime and scatters sand in the children's eyes. The “bogie-man” is another fairy by the mentioning of which children are frightened in- to submission. For other superstitions about ghosts and spirits in relation to children, see under “Children in General.”) PREGNANCY, (See also “Birth,” “Fecundity.”) If an expectant mother walks over a grave, her child will be club- footed, the Irish name for the club- foot being “crooked-churchyard.” If an expectant mother steps over a broom, she will have a hairy child. (Japanese.) In the Turks Islands, an expect- ant mother will not step over a rod or a small branch laid in her path, lest evil should befall her. A pregnant woman, when riding in a sedan chair, in China, has a piece of old fish-net hung up on the inside and also over the door, otherwise she might see evil spirits and be influenced by them. A gar- ment of old fish-net is very valu- able and highly prized for its good luck-bringing qualities. An expectant mother should not cut the tongue out of a bird, lest her children be unlucky. (Russia.) A woman with child should not eat fish. The child will be born dumb. (Bohemia.) When an Albanian wife is an ex- pectant mother, she must not eat snails, pomegranates, nor dye her hair more than three times, or bad luck will come to her child. The Hidatsa Indians believe that if an expectant mother eats a bit of FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 39 a mole or shrew, her child will have small eyes; or, if she eats a piece of porcupine, it will be inclined to sleep too much when it grows up. If she partakes of the flesh of the turtle, her offspring will be slow and lazy, but she herself will not be affected. If an expectant mother eats rab- bit meat, her child will sleep with its eyes Open. (Persia.) Expectant mothers must not eat tomatoes, in Greece, on St. Simon's day as that would make “mother- marks.” The Greeks consider moles lucky signs; therefore black pepper is thrown on expectant mothers on St. Simon's day, which is supposed to cause moles on the child. It has been observed in Ireland that if an expectant mother eats many quinces and coriander-seeds (the nature of both of which is to mount to the brain and repress va- pors), it will make the child ingeni- ous. If, however, the mother eats many Onions, beans, or vaporous food, it endangers the child to be- come a lunatic or of unsound mem- ory. An expectant mother must not laugh at a deformed person, lest her child be deformed also; neither must she step over an axe, or her child will be bandy-legged; neither must she use ginger as taken from the earth, or her children will have more than the normal number of toes. The expectant mother must not eat mulberries, or her child will be spotted with red. To drop into a rice pit, to pluck anything green, to step over a pumpkin stalk, to go into a room where a corpse is, to catch locusts, to eat quickly, will all bring on miscarriage. (Mada- gascar.) The Chinese will not allow a child to see an expectant mother, as its soul may pass into the un- born. If an expectant mother looks at a corpse before her baby is born, the child will be as pale as death. If a woman about to become a mother sees the little white tuft on the end of a hare’s tail, her little one will have a harelip. She may avert the danger by unraveling a small portion of the seam of her petticoat. It is unlucky for an expectant mother to see a hare sitting. If it is running, it does no harm. (Irish.) In bygone times, when a horse was rarely seen in Natal, it was be- lieved that if an expectant mother saw one, she would bring forth a monSter. The Japanese believe that if an expectant mother dreams of swal- lowing a star, she will have a beau- tiful child. If a woman with child steals, the child will grow up a thief. (Bo- hemia.) Paxamus taught that if a person take a grain of corn that has been carried by an ant, places it upon a skin of Phoenician dye with his thumb and finger, and ties it around the head of his wife, it will prove to be the cause of the loss of her child before proper birth. In some parts of Germany, a woman about to become a mother, wears her husband's shoes, so that when her time comes, she will suf- fer little pain. In San Salvador, British West Indies, a vigorous application of the cane is given to the mother in her illness, to hasten the birth, and it is considered very unlucky to prepare any clothing for the child before it is born. 4O ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. It is a common practice in some localities of Scotland to place in the bed where an expectant mother is lying, a piece of cold iron to scare the fairies and so prevent them from spiriting away both mother and child to elf-land; it will also secure a happy delivery. It is an old and widespread belief that trees have a quality to insure easy delivery. In Sweden, a certain tree is set aside in many places as sacred; no man is allowed to touch it; no leaf or branch is allowed to be plucked; but expectant mothers go to it, clasp it in their arms, and believe thus to be sure of an easy delivery. In Congo exists a similar belief, and women make garments for themselves of the bark, to wear in the aforetime. Greek mythology tells us that when Leta (or Latona) was about to give birth to Apollo and Diana, she clasped a palm and an olive, or, according to others, two laurels, to give ease and re- lief. (See “Trees.”) The Greeks and Romans had a strange belief that certain plants had the power to make a virgin be- come an expectant mother. Sim- ilar beliefs exist in our days among the ignorant people of this country, for instance in regard to the gold- en-rod. To know if your child will be a boy or a girl, write the proper names of the father and the mother, and of the month she conceived with child, and adding all the num- bers of those letters together, di- vide them by seven; if the result is even, it will be a girl; if uneven, it will be a boy. Another method, as practised in Persia, is the following: Five months before the birth of a baby, take a cat by the tail and throw it up; if it falls on its back, you will have a girl; if on its feet, a boy. A Navajo Indian must not look. upon a sand-painting when his wife is in a state of gestation, as it would result in the loss of the life of the child. He can avert the calamity by administering to the child im- mediately after birth a mixture in water of all the sands used in the painting. The sand-painting cere- mony is for the healing of the sick, and is one of their most important practices. It lasts nine days and is attended with great pomp and a large number of participants. For sand-painting a space is cleared and smoothed on the ground, and with. black, red, blue, yellow and gray paints, made from various materi- als, the artists lay the paint on a background of sand. These have a. mythical and religious significance. Every line used in sand-painting means something, and if a mistake is made, it may call down the great- est trouble upon the people. Thus, great care must be taken to run the lines up the cheek of a painted fig- ure, for if it was run down, not only would vegetation be stunted, but the lives of the people would be- come so, as all people and things. should aim upward and not down. PUNISHMENT. Children who have been chas- tised with a hazel or willow rod are supposed to become crippled and stunted in their growth. Some people believe that whipping chil- dren with a willow rod causes their death. It is a Japanese belief that a child will die within three years if he is struck with a broom, beckoned to with a dipper, or if he faces down in a graveyard. If you whip a boy with a broom, he will be a small man. (Persia.) FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 4I | | To punish a child signifies good fortune to the victim and honors to yourself. It is a common custom among school-children, in England, to lick their hand as a charm before hold- ing it out for a caning. If a boy is going home late and expects a punishment from his pa- rents, he must pick up stones as he goes along and throw them over his shoulder to charm away the expect- ed punishment. (British Guiana.) SCHOOL, To have success in mathematics, take a flat key and insert it in the book, letting it remain for twenty- four hours, wishing in the mean- time to be able to do the problems. If you study your lesson before breakfast, you will remember it. A scholar on the way to school will miss in his lessons if he cuts the corners. Children say that the one who takes the first bite of an apple that is being passed around for each one to take a bite, will miss in his or her lessons. (Chelsea, Mass.) A school teacher says that just before a storm the children will be very restless; but when it is about to clear up, you could hear a pin drop. When the scholars at Oxford get to quarreling, there will soon be war in England. If a large piece of chalk is stepped on and crushed in the schoolroom, the largest scholar will be absent next day; and if a little piece is stepped on, the smallest scholar will be absent. For a dead branch to fall on a newly-erected graduating-stone, is a sign of the death of one of the members of the class. Many school-children believe that if they can touch a hundred pieces of gold before examina- tion, they will get “100 rank.” Some also believe that if they go into the school grounds by the car- riage gate instead of the foot gate, they will fail in their lessons. If, on passing from church, hall,' or school, you hit one pew or seat, it will be unlucky if you do not hit them all. Children believe that to see their teacher weep, is a sign of luck in their studies. If your teacher smiles when he first sees you, he will scold or pun- ish you during the day. In China, school life begins at the age of six. The selection of a lucky day for beginning work is confided to astrologers, who avoid above all other days those upon which Confucius and Tsang Hieh, the re- puted inventor of writing, died and were buried. The stars, having in- dicated a propitious day, the boy presents himself at the school, bringing with him two small can- dles, some sticks of incense, and some paper-money, which are burnt at the shrine of Confucius, before which also the little fellow prostrates himself three times. (Robert K. Douglas, “History of China.”) An image of clay is used by Chi- nese students as a kind of charm against unlucky influences in study, and at the various examinations for the literary degrees. Gifts from the teachers chosen by the Chinese boys every spring, are valued as omens of good luck in their studies. 42 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. TEETHING. To be born with teeth is a sign of future greatness. History tells of many great men with this pecu- liarity, among them Napoleon I., King Henry VIII., Caesar. It is sometimes, however, taken as a sign of future cruelty or ferocity, as illustrated by the fact that Richard III., Ivan the Terrible, and others, were born with teeth. Shakespeare alludes to the super- stitious belief in natal signs in many passages and among others alludes to the significance of the teeth. In Henry VII., the Duke of Gloster, speaking of the peculiarities at- tending his birth, says: “The midwife wondered and the women cried, ‘O, Jesus bless us, he is born with teeth !’ And so I was; which plainly signified That I should snarl and bite and play the dog.” “Soon teeth, soon toes,” is a Winchcombe (England) wise-saw, signifying that there will soon be an addition to the family. When a child sheds his milk- teeth say, “Go away, little donkey; come, big donkey,” then throw the tooth over the right shoulder, and walk on without looking backward. (Turkish.) It is believed that if a child’s first tooth comes in the upper jaw, it will die in infancy. A child who cut the upper teeth before the under, was always put to death by the Bakaa, as it was supposed to be possessed by evil spirits. A child will cut its teeth easier if it wears coral. Coral rubbed on the gums is sup- posed to help children in teething. Negroes believe that if a child's gums are rubbed with the brains of a rabbit, it can teeth without being sick. The skin of a rabbit’s stomach tied around a baby's neck helps it cut its teeth. If a child teeths very hard, tie a sawyer-bug around its neck. The tooth will then come through eas- ily. A few hairs taken from the dark cross on the back of a donkey, sewed up in a bag, and tied about a child’s neck, will prevent convul- sions in teething. To make a child cut its teeth without pain or trouble, steal a cock and, unknown to any one, cut the cock’s comb and rub it on the gums of the baby. The cock must be a stolen one, or the charm will have no effect. (San Salvador, B. Pliny says that a wolf's tooth at- tached to the body not only pre- vents infants from being startled, but also acts as a preservative against the maladies of teething. Jewelers in Italy sell teething rings as charms to assist infants in teething. To these rings are fre- quently fastened red coral charms, or little silver bells, to drive away witches. A string of “Job’s tears,” an East Indian grass often cultivated in con- servatories, placed around a child's neck, will save any trouble in teeth- 1ng. Children who wore the Arondyne necklace but a single night would cut their teeth immediately with safety. Love and Marriage. CHAPTER II. BED, For the first night of wedded life put the head of the bed toward the rising sun, and you will be blessed with good health. Jews place the wedding-bed fac- ing south, believing that this will insure a large family. During the last century a Jap- anese bride always placed her brid- al pillows toward the north to show that she considered herself dead to her parents and would forever cling to her husband. To move the bride's bed after it has been arranged, is a sign of ill luck in China. No stranger must come into the bridal chamber. When the bed is made, it must not be beaten, but softly stroked, or else the wife will get beatings. (German. Erzge- birge.) If anyone interrupts the making of the marriage bed, it will cause much sorrow to the bridal couple. Long life is predicted by the presence on the bride’s bed of a quilt made by her mother. If feathers picked up in two fields happen to be in the marriage bed, the couple will part. (German.) If a pillow fall off the wedding bed, the one who lay on it will die first, The Cupid of the ancient Hindus tipped his arrow with flowers, so it was considered lucky to strew the bridal bed with the petals. It was considered lucky by the Romans to hang a bell under the bridal bed. In China, a “cash-sword” is hung horizontally on the bed curtains of a bride in order to insure happiness and prosperity for her. A “cash- sword” is a sword, the sheath of which is made of small coins strung together; it is an effective charm. against Spirits. For a Chinese bride to disturb the peculiar box placed at the top of the bedstead upon which are a lamp and two candles, till the oil and the candles are burned out, would surely be regarded as an omen of evil to those who are to occupy the bed. In Papal times it was considered unlucky for the bridal couple to go to bed together until the bed had been blessed. If the bride gets into bed first and makes the groom hand her a glass of water, she is sure to be the mas- ter. (Wurtemberg.) If a bride falls out of the mar- riage bed, she will die within a year. If you wish ever to marry, do not look under the bed. 44 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. BEVERAGES. If the bridal ale fermented strongly, good fortune was in store for the bridal pair. (N. E. Scot- land.) In brewing the bridal ale, if the wort boiled up on the far off side of the pot, it was very unlucky. If it boiled up in front, it was a sign of prosperity. In some parts of Russia, a can of beer is poured over the groom's horse and a handful of rye over the bridal couple. Before the wedding the bride- groom shall broach the beer-cask and put the tap in his pocket, lest bad people should do him mischief. The minister should never drink coffee at the wedding breakfast; if he does, trouble will come to the bride during the first year. Among the ancient Teutons, from whom have descended the Germans, it was the custom for a newly-wedded pair to drink hydro- mel or mead, a beverage made from honey, thirty days after the mar- riage. From this custom comes the common word, “honeymoon.” Attila, the king of the Huns, in- dulged so freely in mead at his wed- ding-feast that he died the same night. + In order that a bride, when she shall have a child, shall have an abundance of milk, let her mother present her with a glass of milk on her return from church. In Southern India the bridal couple swear eternal fidelity to each other by pouring milk over each other's heads. The custom of eating a “posset” in the evening of the wedding day was general in England years ago. They believed that the sack would make a man lusty and the sugar would make him kind. If you want to get married, never look in the tea or coffee pot. If you wish to get married, never change the brand of tea that is in use until leap year. If you hate the bride and wish her many troubles, get her to drink some vinegar on her wedding day. If hot water is poured on the steps when a bridal party leaves, there will be another wedding. Boiling water should be thrown on the kitchen floor and allowed to evaporate quickly before the couple come in, so as to insure good luck. The Cornish well of St. Keyne possesses the quality: “That man and wife, Whose chance or choice attains First of this sacred well to drink, Thereby the mastery gains.” To see a smooth body of water On the way to be married, is re- ceived as the omen of a tranquil life and the storm-tossed water foretells a life of prosperity in industry. In Greece the groom is lightly sprinkled with water when leaving the house for the ceremony. The bride visits the family oven with her father or a near relative and asks permission to set out. There is an old superstition of the well of St. Keyne of Cornwall, that if the husband drinks of it be- fore the wife, he shall be the mas- ter for life; but if the wife drinks first, she will make him do her will. In olden times it was a custom at a wedding for the chief bridesmaid to present the bride with what was called “the benediction posset,” so designated from the words uttered over it. Herrick refers to it in his “Hesperides” in the following lines: "whº, hort sweet prayers shall be Sal Cl, And how the posset shall be made With cream of lilies, not of kine, And maiden's blush for spiced wine.” FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 45 Suckling also alludes to the cus- tom thus: “In came the p0SSet, The bridegroom eat in spight.” bridesmaids with the A posset was a beverage of milk curdled with some strong infusion, as by wine, once in great favor. It was supposed that this drink car- ried with it all sorts of good luck to the happy couple. In the wedding processions in old England, a boy carried after the bridal couple a silver cup filled with hippocras (a cordial made of spiced wine, with Sugar, milk, lemon, aro- matic tincture, or other ingredi- ents), which was drunk as a symbol of constancy by the young couple, before retiring or during the feast. Wine is poured lavishly about the house in Georgia, Asia, before the bridal pair enter it, in order that they may have health, prosperity and plenty. If a Georgia bride scatters the paste and wine which have been placed in the center of the room for the guests to kick over, lavishly, it is a sign of abun- dance and prosperity. It is unlucky to spill claret wine on the dress of a bride. It means bloodshed within a year. If you drink wine when you come to a wedding and spill some, you will never marry. (Norwe- gian.) In Scotland it is said the bride will always be rich if she drinks out of a silver mug the first thing on the morning she is to be married. If the bride and groom drink out of the same glass by mistake, they will have a happy life. Jewish custom ordains man and wife to drink out of the same cup at marriage and the vessel to be dashed to pieces to remind them of the utter fragility of earthly joys. Among the Jews, if the goblet from which the bride drinks has a narrow mouth, it is a sign she is a maid. If your lover is thirsty, never let him take anything to drink out of . your hand; if you do, he will be a drunkard. (Pennsylvania.) For the bride to drink before the groom after the ceremony, will sig- nify that she will rule in the home. If the groom gets drunk and lies down on his wedding day, they will never come to honor. CEREMONY, ALTAR, CHURCH, ETC. Flowers must entwine the altar at a Grecian wedding for happiness to the bride, but must be stripped of flowers for a funeral lest it bring bad luck on weddings. At Belgian weddings the priest asks the bridegroom for a ring and a pair of gloves; red gloves if they can be had, with three bits of silver money inside them. Putting the gloves into the bridegroom's right hand, he joins this with the right hand of the bride and then dexter- ously loosening them, he leaves the gloves in the bride's grasp as a sign that she is taken possession of and bought and paid for. One part of the wedding cere- mony among the Babylonians was to take a thread from the garment of the bride and one from the groom and tie them together into a knot. The groom gave this to the bride. This is probably the origin of the saying of “tying the knot” when we speak of marriage. For a marriage to be fortunate among the Negritos, a tribe of people in the Philippine Islands, 46 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. the couple with the whole tribe as- sembled and the affianced pair climb two trees growing near each other. The elders then bend the branches until the heads of the couple meet; when the heads thus bump together, the marriage is 1e- gally accomplished and great re- joicing takes place, a fantastic dance completing the ceremony. In Malta, the country people al- ways want the organ to be played during the mass which is celebrated at their wedding, for they believe that if it is not played the couple will not live long together. As an illustration of this, we will quote the following anecdote from P. P. Castagna’s “Storia da Malta”: Not long ago a young man went to church at Casal Chircop to get 1married. On finding, however, that the organist did not turn up to play during the mass, he took off his coat, threw it on the floor and went out in a rage, and he could not be persuaded to go back to his wedding before the organist could be found and the organ played for the occasion. One part of the Zulu marriage ceremony is very peculiar. The groom comes forward and sits on the ground. His bride then dances around him, laughing and ridicul- ing him, kicking dust in his face, disarranging his elegant head- dress, and otherwise taking liberties with him, intending to show he was not as yet her master. The groom sits silent, never replying, and as she ceases, probably for sheer want of breath, he arises, and leaving the enclosure, returns almost immedi- ately, leading an ox, called “the ox of the girl.” This is solemnly killed, and constitutes the binding portion of the ceremony. About three days before the wed- ding ceremony, another ceremony takes place in China without which no maid would be married. A large, round, sieve-like utensil, made of bamboo-splints, is pre- pared, together with a brass vessel, which is placed on a pedestal. Ten chopsticks are placed in the sieve, while in the brass vessel are placed burning coals. Every wedding garment must be laid one by one on the sieve and smoked for a mo- ment. By doing this, wealth and good fortune are assured and all evil influences expelled. Russia still has many odd and curious superstitions; one is, that the bride and bridegroom race rap- idly down the aisle as soon as the bridal procession enters the church, because of the belief that whoever places a foot on the cloth in front of the altar first will be master in the household. The following incident, having occurred recently, illustrates super- stition in Bohemia, where it re- sulted in death: In the Church of Chrastian, at Pisek, in Bohemia, a marriage was about to be solem- nized between Anna Roslin, aged nineteen, and a youth of her choice, Bride and bridegroom stood al- ready before the altar, where were lighted tapers. Before the priest could unite the bridal pair, one of the tapers became suddenly extin- guished. A loud shriek came from the bride, and she gasped, “Meine Kerze ist erloschen!” (my taper is extinguished). Anna Roslin sank unconscious into the arms of the bridegroom. Immediately all at- tention was turned to the condition of the bride. Several attempts were made to revive the poor girl, but in vain. The bride, in her chaplet and veil, died at the altar rails. The su- perstition of the villages of the Plain is, that if a lighted taper be- comes extinguished on either side of the altar, the person standing on FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 47 that side of the altar where the light went out will suffer a dire calamity. In Spain it was considered a good omen to tie around the necks of the bride and groom a silk sash fringed with gold while they knelt before the altar, thus binding their love the stronger. In Spain, when returning from the church, it was considered good luck for the bride to be carried on the groom's horse. If you take the family cat where it can witness the wedding cere- mony, it will bring good luck to it. It is very unlucky in France to have a person older than the bride enter the church door first. It is lucky for the couple to run out of the church hand and hand, for rapid progression in business. A stick is held at the church door for the bride to jump over. If she clears it, all will go smooth with her, but if she falls, woe be unto her. Temper will wreck her happi- IlêSS. ... -------. º: bride and groom must not / \ *..., --~, look about or recognize any one on going up the church aisle, for the one who does it will go elsewhere for love in a short time. The more steps the couple go up when entering a church to be mar- ried, the more happy their lives will be and the longer they will live. Going to a wedding, the bride should be a few steps ahead, so that the husband will follow her advice. (Bohemia.) The one of the betrothed who gets up first from the altar will al- ways in after life be the one to get up first in the house. (Belgium.) 1f a woman signs her maiden name instead of her new married name on the church register when she marries, it is a sign of bad luck and separation. It is a sign of good to the couple to have a pigeon light on the church, as they go into it to be mar- ried. The bride will insure to herself a long and a happy wedded life if she goes out of the church right foot forward. It is unlucky for a bride to be married in a church where there is an open grave in the churchyard. When the priest has tied the knot at the nuptial altar, his clerk throws a handful of hops on the head of the bride to ensure good luck to her. If the officiating clergyman has trouble to find his glasses, it is the sign that one of the two before him will not bear inspection. If the officiating clergyman makes a mistake, some one is pres- ent who is opposed to the match. It is considered a bad omen to the young couple to have a minis- ter to refuse, from any excuse, to perform the ceremony. If the pastor drops the prayer- book while reading the marriage service, the married couple will be blessed with twins. It is considered a bad omen if, during the wedding ceremony, you hear the knocking of the wood- pecker at work on the church. It is a sign that one of the couple will die soon. It is a bad omen for the wedded couple if a person in mourning passes the church door when the ceremony is being performed. When a wedding pair join hands before the altar, the one whose hands are coldest will die first. 48 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. When the bride goes to the altar, she should leave one of her gloves unbuttoned so that she will not be bound so tight as to have no free- dom. Lucky for a marriage to be sol- emnized in a ruined church. It is a bad omen if the groom coughs at the altar. In Russia a piece of white and pink satin is placed before the feet of the bridal couple as they go to the altar. Whichever one touches it with the foot first, will rule the household. If there is a man's grave open in the churchyard while there is a wedding, the bride will be a widow. If a woman’s grave is open, the bridegroom will be a widower, and if a child's grave is open, the chil- dren will die young. (German Er- zebirge.) The couple will be separated, if ; by mistake, they start from the altar in different directions. The groom who has something in each pocket of his suit at the altar, will never be wealthier than he is at the time of his marriage. The one who speaks loudest at the altar will die first. If the best man stumbles on his way to the altar, it means bad luck to the groom; and if one of the bridesmaids stumbles, it carries evil luck to the bride. If the bridegroom comes down the aisle before the hymeneal knot is tied, misfortunes may be ex- pected. The fainting of a bride at the al- tar is the sign of a death in the family. A baldheaded man at the altar, whether he be minister, groom, or bride’s father, foretells the advent of marriage squalls. Whoever first rises from the altar after the ceremony will die first. If a pair stand so far apart at the altar that you can see between them, they will disagree. If a bride at the altar kneel on the bridegroom's cloak, she gets the upper hand. If the bride steps on her own gown on the way to the altar, she will do something that will destroy her own happiness in married life. If the bride turns her head when standing at the altar, it is a very bad omen, because she is looking for a second husband. When the bride goes from her seat to the altar, the bridesmaids must close up quickly, lest the seat grow cold, which is a sign the bride and groom’s love will quickly grow cold also. If the bride and groom do not stand close together at the altar, witches will creep in between them. The bride may look for trouble if the groom recognizes any lady on his way to the altar. It is an ill omen to have at the altar a person of the same given name as either of the principals. To hear a baby cry at a wedding is an omen that the love of the couple is one-sided. The groom's love is fickle, if he drops anything in the room of the ceremony. In some countries it is believed for a bride to carry salt in her pock- et during the ceremony insures good luck. The old women take it as a very bad sign when either of the young FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 49 folks hesitate in their vows in the ceremony. In some parts of Scotland, it is said to be unlucky for the bride's mother to appear at the wedding. Happiness in spite of all difficul- ties is in store for that couple whose relatives refuse to appear at the ceremony, after being asked. Disappointed love is foreshad- owed by the fainting of a woman at the ceremony. If the bride places her foot be- fore that of the groom when being married, she will rule the house. Should Venus happen to be at the height of her splendor, when a marriage ceremony is performed, the life of the happy couple will be a continuous scene of happiness and all its paths strewed with the rosebuds of delight. The bride or groom who looks at anything during the ceremony, thus gives evidence that they will one time try to untie the knot that is being tied. If a dog barks during the cere- mony, he tells of an enemy in the TOO111. If the bride coughs during the marriage ceremony, her life will not last long. Bridegrooms of Elba place one knee on the bride's dress when be- ing married, to ward off evil spirits. It is lucky to get married on a white fur rug. . Never marry in the middle of folding doors or under an archway. If a bride stands under a floral bell on being married, and the pet- als of a white rose should fall on her, she will be happy and will nev- er know a care. To stand with the back to a mir- ror, when being married, denotes bad luck; people are sure to talk ill about you. If a minister is marrying a couple and a clock strikes and a bell rings all at the same time, the groom will die before a year. If, during the marriage cere- mony, one of the couple tramps se- retly upon the foot of the other, it will prevent sickness. (Persian.) During the wedding, whichever has his or her hand above the other's shall be master. To be married facing south is be- lieved by the Jews to insure a large family. Happiness will fly out of an open window or door in the room in which a couple is married. A wedding in the open air is un- fortunate. * In Japan it is considered lucky to be married on a hill or mountain. If the church is too warm during the ceremony, a quarrel will ensue; if too cold, friends will prove false. If it rains on the bride as she goes to be married, she will see pleasure come from all her present trials. An evil spirit is seeking to de- stroy the love life of the couple if a door squeaks about the time of the ceremony. Loud laughter heard near the time of the ceremony is the pre- monition of tears. To see a streak of lightning just before the wedding ceremony is a happy omen. The first person to come into the room prepared for a wedding, who does not go out before the cere- 5o ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. mony, will have good luck for a year. It is good luck if you can hear a pin drop when the bride is going out from the wedding. If a couple are married while the “bise” is blowing, the wife will be master. (The “bise” is a dry, cold, north and northeast wind prevail- ing especially in Provence and the Rhone valley and very destructive to vegetation, so that to “be struck by the bise” has become a proverb in Provence, meaning to be over- taken by misfortune. Nearly the same as mistral.) If the groom speaks to another woman before he speaks to his wife after the ceremony, there will be a woman marring the happiness of the union. If the father gives the bride away and in so doing hesitates, she will return to his care again. To conceal a horseshoe beneath the flowers under which she is mar- ried, brings good fortune to a bride. The Chinese believe that where the bride is older than the groom, the first child will be a girl. For a child to appear in the aisle of the church while the wedding party is being waited for or is in the church, foretells beyond a doubt that a large family will come to the couple. It is very unlucky to have anyone speak to the bridegroom after the ceremony before the bride has called him by name. In some places, the motions of bride and groom are curiously watched when they first begin to walk around after the ceremony. If they face each other, they will live happily together; if they turn their backs, they will separate; if the groom walks around the bride, he will be kind to her; if she walks around him, he will be unkind. DIVORCE. The Ghebers or fire-worshippers of Persia thought it an evil omen to be divorced from their wives. They had as lief suffer death. If, however, a wife had no children, after nine years the husband could take another wife. DRESS AND TROUSSEAU, A bride should not make her own wedding dress; she is sewing her shroud. (Bohemia.) Never mark your linen or any- thing for use in your married life, with the initials of the name of your fiancé, as it is said that you will never have occasion to use the in- itialed articles if you do. To send a maid's dowry to her future home and find the door locked, is a sign of bad luck. After the bride’s clothes have been “sifted” in China, contact with them is carefully avoided; for should any person wearing mourn- ing, or an expectant mother, even so much as touch them before they are taken to the bride’s new home, it is regarded as unlucky; death in her husband’s family, or quarrels and misunderstandings are sure to OCCL11. A young lady should never let her future husband see her in any- thing of her wedding trousseau, as it is bad luck. A bride should never have in her trousseau anything trimmed with ivy leaves. If the bride's outfit is not paid for at the time of the wedding, death FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 51 will come into the new home and ~~ take away one of its first little ones. In Russia, when a girl in moder- ate circumstances is to be married, her girl friends sew her trousseau. An omen has it that “a stitch pulled out brings the bride bad luck,” and it sometimes happens that a jealous helper will sew wrongly, and then pull out the stitches, to avenge her- self on the bride. Bad luck to wear red clothing at a wedding. In Japan, a bride and groom must not wear garments of purple, or their love will soon fade. If a bride tear her bridal dress, it is a sign of much trouble. For the groom to step on the bride's dress is an omen of ill to her from his hand. If a bride’s dress, on her way to the altar, catches on anything so as detain her, it is a bad omen. If you marry in purple, you will be looked down upon. If you marry in fawn-color, you will cross the ocean once. Bad luck to cut up your wedding a dress. Keep it for luck. To be married in a dress that has been torn or has a hole in it, is disastrous. Should you get a drop of blood on a wedding dress, when making it for the bride, she will never live to wear it out. 2-ff the bride wears some article at the altar worn by her own moth- UK erat the altar, she will insure a long ied life to herself. The bride who is in mourning will avert bad luck by having one who is also in mourning dress her for the ceremony. If you hold a wedding dress on your lap for five minutes, you will be a bride in a year; and if you make a wish, it will come true. It is a sign of misfortune for a bride to take in her arms a babe while she has her wedding dress on before she is married. A raveling on the garments of the groom shows that another woman clings to him with her heart. If the groom buys the bride's clothes, she will not be happy with him. It is lucky for a bride to give her bridal dress to her children. If a friend loans the bride a pin to use in her dress, it should be bent, in order to not make it an omen of bad luck. It is said that a married couple will not get rich until the wedding clothes are worn out. A Chinese bride, when she enters the house of her husband, must jump over a sieve and a pan of chopsticks, to avert bad luck. For a bride and groom to be su- premely happy, they should both dress for the wedding under the same roof. If you try on the bridal costume of a girl friend, it is a sure sign you will have to bear all the trials and ills she will have to bear, as well as your own. In China, when a bride is trying on her clothes and worshipping her ancestral tablets, it is an ill omen if any friend is present dressed in mourning. (“Credulities, Past and Present,” Jones.) A bride when paying for the making of her wedding dress, should be sure there is at least two pieces of silver money in the change / 52 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. paid, otherwise one of the contract- ing parties will be very unlucky. A woman who ruins her wedding dress during the honeymoon will know nothing but death and trouble in her married life. She is liable to be a widow very soon. When a maiden is going to be married and she fits on her wedding dress for the first time, she will have success through wedded life if the fit is good; but if the fit is not good, she may expect sorrow and trouble. Unlucky for a bride to wear a fig- ured dress, especially if birds are So much as indicated in the fabric. It is the sign of death for the bride to wear at the ceremony any garment that has a vine-like figure in it. There is a very strong supersti- tion against a bride being dressed in black. All sorts of misfortunes are prophesied to such a bride. It is said to bring bad luck to dye a wedding dress black. For a bride to marry in lavender is a bad sign. If a widow is mar- ried in lavender, it is the sign she will mourn the second time. For a bride to wear flesh color signifies lasciviousness and willow green that she will be forsaken. Red signifies justice and sea-green inconstancy. A wedding dress of velvet sig- nifies poverty. It is bad luck for a bride to marry in white and have a single bit of black upon her person. It is unlucky for a bride to be married in white satin. If the bride wears white through- out, but one article, as shoes, being black, she will have one great sor- row in her new life. As many different colors as there are in your wedding dress so many years you will have of trouble. Probably this omen has influenced many to wear white. Another ver- sion of this superstition is the fol- lowing: As many colors as there are about your wedding attire, so many deep sorrows you will en- counter in your wedded life. It is unlucky for the bride to change her gown between the time of the wedding and the time for re- tiring. If a bride wears a blue gown, she Q will lose her first child. It is said to be unlucky to begin making the wedding gown before — the day is named. It is good luck for a bride to have silver buttons on her gown. If the bride tumbles over the train of her wedding gown, she mayº be sure that someone is envying her her happiness. If there are tucks in the bride's wedding gown, it is a sign that she will have a year's trouble for every tuck. Her life will be narrowed by just so much. Anyone stepping on the bride's train gives ill luck to the bride and themselves. A bride should never wear any colored skirts on her wedding day. Pure white, and she will always be well dressed after. If the groom's tie is askew, his L^ heart is in another place, and with another maiden. ~. There should not be a buttonhole about the garments of the groom or bride that has not a button in it, for the evil fairies will go through it and steal away the heart of the possessor. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 53 ! In France it is strongly believed that the bride will live the number of years that there are buttons on her dress. If the groom gets mud on his wedding trousers, it is a sign he will be a widower. If a bride has not worn out her wedding underwear before her fifth year of married life, she will be bur- ied in them. ELOPEMENT. If you meet an eloping couple, you, too, will have a chance to mar- ry. ENGAGEMENT AND PRO- POSAL OF MARRIAGE. A long courtship and a long en- gagement are usually unlucky in the end. If you want the days of courtship to run smoothly, the first morning after you have promised to wed, walk down the steps backward to show you have turned your back on all lovers but the accepted one. It is a bad omen to receive a proposal of marriage on a railroad train, a horse car, or in any public place. It will bring you much luck, if you receive a proposal of marriage at a dance, but do not accept it. The maid who asks a man to wed Will come to want and beg for bread. If a man proposes to a girl in winter, she may think he is sincere, but spring proposals are not last- ing; and it is said a man loves a new woman every springtime for a short time. If a young man rides a mare to the wooing, only daughters will be born of the marriage. (Esthonian.) If a Brahmin sees a snake on his way to demand a wife, he will aban- don his object altogether. If he only hears the name of a serpent spoken, it is a bad omen, and he will not go on that errand that day. Among the Brahmins, if a man is going to demand a girl for his son’s wife, and he hears or sees anything ominous, he will turn back. When a Greek woman goes to arrange a match, she wears two different kinds of stockings for luck, as a white one on one foot and a colored one on the other. (Greek.) If a young lady is so surprised as to scream when unexpectedly approached by her lover, she will accept him if he proposes. When a young Chinese gentle- man wishes to engage himself to a young lady, he sends presents of pigs, a pair of fowls or two fishes, to her family as an omen of good fortune to the parties most inti- mately connected. There is also a custom of sending betrothal cards to each other, tied with red thread. These ribbons are sometimes woven into the queue of the bride- groom or worked into the shoes of the bride on the day of the mar- riage. In China a betrothal is under consideration for three days, and if anything unlucky happens in that time, such as the breaking of a bowl, the negotiation is postponed. A betrothed pair must not sit at the same table with a newly mar- ried pair, or they will all be very unlucky. In the northwestern Highlands of Scotland, licking thumbs was the ceremony of betrothal between lad 54 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. and lass, and to break the vow thus plighted, was held to be a vile form of perjury. It is exceedingly difficult to wit- ness the ceremony of betrothal in Turkey, which is quite an elaborate affair, as the fear of the evil eye, always weighing on the Oriental mind, has an overpowering in- fluence on those occasions. The man who has been refused three times should never ask again, as he would be happier unmarried. If a young man, when propos- ing, is interrupted by another young lady, she some day will be his second wife. The red cord attached to the en- gagement card in China is after- wards worked into the shoes of the bride on the day of her marriage, as an omen of good. This red cord is also often braided into the queue of the groom for luck. Engagement cards are an old Chinese custom. They are not sent, however, in large number to all friends and relatives, is it is now done in many European countries, but only two large cards are pre- pared, on which the particulars of the engagement are written. On the Outer side of the one which he keeps is pasted a paper dragon, and on the outside of the other, which is sent to the lady, appears a phoe- nix. Each card is adorned with two pieces of red silk, which have their origin in the following legend: “In the time of the T'ang dynasty—that is to say, about a thousand years ago—a man named Hwuy KO, while staying in the town of Sung, met an old man reading a book by the light of the moon. In answer to Hwuy's inquiring look, the old man said, “This is the register of the engagements for all marriages under heaven, and in my pocket I have red cords with which I con- nect the feet of those who are to become husband and wife. When these cords are once tied, nothing on earth can change the destiny of the parties. Your future wife,’ ad- ded he, ‘is the child of the old wom- an who sells vegetables in yonder shop in the north of the town.” Upon hearing this, Hwuy hurried off to the vegetable shop, and found the woman in charge possessed of such a hideous little infant of about a year old, that in his despair he hired a man to kill the child. Years afterwards the prefect of the town where Hwuy Ko then lived, gave him in marriage a beautiful young lady, whom he affirmed was his own daughter. Seeing that his bride always wore an artificial flow- er over one of her eyebrows, Hwuy Ko asked her the reason of her do- ing so. “I am the daughter,’ replied she, ‘of the prefect's brother, who died at Sung when I was an infant, leaving me to the care of an old woman who sold vegetables. One day when I was out with her in the street, a ruffian struck me on my forehead, and made such a scar that I am obliged to wear this flow- er to hide the mark!’ Hwuy Ko then recognized the immutability of fate, and from that day to this, red silk has been entwined in the mar- riage cards of every pair in China.” (Douglas, “History of China.”) Various articles of food are sent by the parents of the Chinese groom to the girl he is destined to marry; but they must be in pairs, as a pair of fowls, fish, etc. When the engagement card is returned to the bride's family in China, the groom's parents also send gilt flow- ers, vermicelli, and the like, to in- sure abundance, prosperity, and longevity. The marriage will never take place if you have an announcement party. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 55 An engagement by mail will be unlucky. Many objections made to a girl's engagement and marriage forebode trouble for her. If your intended spills his tea, he will be inclined to drink. It is bad luck for the best man and bridesmaid to walk home to- gether from the church if they are engaged. If right after the engagement you see an eel, your intended, after becoming your husband, will be displeased with everyone, and a reg- ular faultfinder. You had better not marry him. Easter engagements are thought to be financially fortunate. En- gagements at Ascension prognos- ticate health. Those at Trinity, a numerous progeny. Whitsuntide, peace in the domestic circle. Troth plighted on Easter Sunday is peculiarly sacred: “Troth plighted on Christ's rising day, Is sacred, holy, good and true, Let come to me whatever may, In life or death I’ll cling to you.” ** To marry after a very brief ac- quaintance will not prove lucky. A year of courtship and three months of engagement are lucky. Weddings in Malta were always entirely arranged by the parents, without consulting the children. After the young people had been selected, they were allowed to see each other. The first interview was then fixed to take place in presence of the pa- rents and their kinsfolk, best friends, and neighbors, who were regaled with sweetmeats and other refreshments. Before this meeting took place, the mothers of the two young people retired either into an arbor in the garden or some separate apartment, where they prepared a mixture of aniseed, aromatic plants, salt, and honey, with which they rubbed the bride's body, with the idea of rendering her affable and prudent. She was then con- ducted into the room where her fu- ture husband awaited her arrival, who presented her with a ring on which was engraved two hands united—the emblem of mutual faith — together with bracelets, necklaces and a gold chain, she presenting him in return with a handkerchief trimmed with lace and bows of ribbon. This ceremony is called “il chel- ma,” which means the engagement. FIRE, SMOKE, LIGHT, STOVE, ETC. Among the Romans, hazel torch- es were burnt on the wedding eve, to insure prosperity to the wedded pair. (Folk Lore of Plants, Dyer.) If the torches carried at a wed- ding give a poor light, or go out, it is a very bad omen. The Venetians have a bit of folk- lore, “Leave the candle burning on the wedding night, as the one who puts it out will die first.” Blow out a candle light and if the coal dies quickly, you will be mar- ried soon, but if it lingers, you will be an old maid or a bachelor. At a wedding supper a wedding candlestick is brought in. This holds four candles for the groom’s friends and one in the midst, for the bride. These are lighted and if the bride's candle is burnt out be- fore the others, something terrible will happen to the bride and groom before a year. (Irish.) When a bride is coming home, she must be met with five candles 56 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. in a candelabra, that she may be wise. (Persia.) Two burning lamps on one table indicate a bride in the house or one at hand. In the Albthal a triple-twisted lighted paper is borne by each of the bridal party during the wedding service; the one, whose paper is burned out first, will be the first to die. The bride who touches anything about a stove after she has been arrayed for the ceremony, will thereby bring sorrow on her wed- ded life. When a maiden is married, she must pass seven times around her father's oven, so that starvation may never come to the home she is leaving. (Persia.) After a Chinese bride departs, her mother must put a basket over the mouth of the oven to stop all the adverse mouths that would crit- icise her daughter. A Chinese mother must also sit down quietly before the fire after her daughter goes to her new home, that the peace and leisure thus em- blematized shall be duplicated in the life of her daughter. The Germans think that there are naughty elves in the bride's new stove and they will cause her trouble unless an old lady cooks on the stove first. A bad sign to face the fire when being married. Around a camp fire the person to whom the fire and smoke bend the most, will be the first to get married. There is a tradition that if the bride's clothes catch fire at the altar without doing her any personal in- jury, she and hers will have good luck ever after. In Chaldea on the wedding day a fire is lighted and should never be put out until the hour of the death of the pair, or their married life will be unhappy. If the alarm of fire awaken a couple on the wedding night, they have an enemy whom they should both be diligent to thwart. FOOD. - (See also “Wedding-Feast.”) In Servia, if a maiden accepts an apple from her lover, she is en- gaged. In some parts of Germany it is still considered a good omen to give the bride and groom an al- mond. The Greeks believe that to throw a bitten apple into a lady's lap will soften her affections. On your marriage day try to throw an apple on the roof of your husband's house, and if the apple falls on the roof, it is a sign you will be happy. Let the bride cut open an apple, and if the seeds are an even num- ber, she is lucky; if not, unlucky. In Greece, when the bride and groom at last are alone at home, they sit down and eat an apple to- gether, to insure pleasantness and harmony in after life. e In England, a slice of bacon eat- en by the bride and groom is the charm that brings a year of happi- 116SS. When the bride bore a vessel of parched barley from her home to the house of the groom, it was a sign she was ready to attend to her domestic duties. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 57 In Poland the father receives the newly wedded couple at the door of their house and strews some bar- leycorns over their heads. These are carefully gathered up and sown. If they grow, it is an omen that the married pair will enjoy a life of hap- piness. In parts of Italy small candy beans are thrown after the bride for luck. A woman who cuts the bread in thick slices is destined to make a good stepmother. When two persons of the same name marry, bread baked by the woman will cure a lame back. At a wedding in China, a plateful of various berries, fruits and con- fections is thrown among the guests and spectators, and as many as one can catch as many children will he have. At a Roumanian wedding, the one who gets the smallest piece of the communion bread will be the first to die. Lay by some bread from your wedding and you will never want it. The bride who wishes for a son Should read a psalm and eat a bun. In England during Queen Eliza- beth's reign, buns were eaten at wedding banquets, some flung to poor people who usually had col- lected without, and some crumbled to bits and poured upon the bridal crown to insure good luck. Wedding cake is a remnant of the Romans, with whom the break- ing of bread was a solemn act of ratification or union. Consequently the eating or sending of wedding cake is a symbol that ancient friendships shall not be broken. At the time of a wedding, a small cake is made and in it are stuck nine pins, the tenth being thrown away. The cake is handed by the groom to the bride; if if breaks in four quarters in the hand, it is con- sidered very lucky; but if it does not, something evil will happen to bride and groom within a year. (Irish.) In baking the bridal cakes, great care was taken with the first one, lest it should be broken, as the breaking of it portended unhappi- ness. (N. E. Scotland.) Seven maidens must prepare the dough for the wedding cakes, to insure seven children to the couple, seven being a perfect number. (Persia.) It is lucky for the bride to cut the first slice of wedding cake; but unlucky to taste the cake before the wedding. (Gloucestershire, Eng- land.) “But, madam, as a present take This little paper of bride-cake, Fast any Friday in the year, When Venus mounts the starry sphere, Thrust this at night in pillow beer; In morning slumber you will seem Tº enjoy your lover in a dream.” If a young lady wears a piece of the bride's cake in the pocket of her dress until the honeymoon is over, she will be married before the dress is worn out. The ancient Britons believed that every person who ate bride's cake, either man or woman, would have a vision in the night of the one they were to marry. To eat wedding cake after a wed- ding is all over is very bad luck. Pieces of wedding cake that have been kept a long time should never be eaten. Give them to the hens. In a certain village in Germany, the bride, on her wedding day, deals out her bride's cake to the poor for good luck. 58 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. Dropping the wedding favors and breaking the cake are both un- lucky. It is believed that if the bride tastes of the cake on the eve of the wedding, her husband will not love her. When there is a wedding in the family for the first time, a piece of the wedding cake must be left in the house as long as there are un- married daughters in the family, or they will be doomed to live single. In Ireland, at New Years, a flat cake made of oatmeal is dashed against the wall by a young man, and the maiden who secures the first bit considers it a sure sign that she will be married within a year. Put wedding cake into your stocking with three slips of paper with the names of three persons written thereon. On two mornings draw out one of the slips, and the one remaining will be the man you will marry. If you cut your fingers when cutting the wedding cake, it is a bad omen. “The bride cake, which so inva- riably accompanies a wedding among ourselves, and which must always be cut by the bride, may be traced back to the old Roman form of marriage by ‘conferreatio,” or eating together. So, also, among the Iroquois the bride and bride- groom used to partake together of a cake of sagamite, which the bride always offered to her husband.” (Sir John Lubbock, “Smith. Rep.” 1869.) It is an old saying that if the groom is in the house while the wedding cake is baking, that it will fall. The groom should eat a part of the bride's piece of cake at the breakfast, that she may be econom- ical in her home duties. If any accident befalls the bride's cake, she may look for sorrows ear- ly in her married life. The girl who gets the longest piece of what is called “bachelor's cake” at the wedding, will be the first to get married. It is unlucky for the bride to bake the bridal cake or bread. If the bride leaves a piece of cake on her plate and an unmarried per- son eats it, it will be the sign of that one's speedy marriage. Many blessings are sure to come to the home of that couple of whose wedding cake a beggar has secured a piece. For an ancient Pole and his bride to be presented with cereals at their own door, was a good Omen, as it indicated that the wife would never want any of those grains so long as she attended to her religious duties and her household. It is a good omen for the bride to eat celery at the wedding break- fast. It is believed that she who re- ceives a piece of cheese cut by the bride before leaving the table, will be the next one married among the guests. To have corn thrown on the wed- ding couple with the words, “In- crease and multiply,” will bring them good luck. By a certain tribe of Indians, it is considered good luck to present the bride with an ear of corn. It will ward off evil spirits and induce plenty. If you eat anything while in your wedding clothes, before you are married, you will have bad luck. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 59 If there is no cooked food in the house when the bride enters it as her home, she will be hungry be- fore she leaves it, for food she can- not have. Among Russian families of the highest order, it is customary for the bride and groom to observe a strict fast during the entire twenty- four hours preceding the wedding day. It is called very unlucky to take a mouthful of food or drop of water during this fast. Lighted ta- pers are placed in the hands of the bride and groom before the altar. The guests notice this with deep interest because if either taper burns out before the other, it shows which will die first. The young Negrito man will leave a basket of fruit at the door of his sweetheart some time during the night. If she takes it in the next day, it signifies that his suit has met with favor. Swedish bridegrooms sew garlic, cloves, and rosemary in their wed- ding garments to keep away trolls and sprites, and the maid of honor carries a bouquet of the same herbs. The bride herself has bread in her pocket to give to the poor, every piece of which averts a misfortune. But the receiver must not eat the bread, as the misfortune would pass to him. If the crust of the saved-up wed- ding loaf gets mouldy, the marriage will not be a happy one. To have grapes at the wedding supper, will keep the bride from Want. Broil a salt herring without turn- ing, eat it with the tongs and dream on it without drinking. The dreams will be ruled over by the fairies and will be sure to come true. (Mayo's Popular Supersti- tions.) Hops sprinkled on the heads of the bridal couple will surely bring children to the happy pair. Poverty is seen in the distance if the first meal in the new home is disturbed. Oats thrown on the bridal party is the promise of early prosperity; rice signifies happiness. In some parts of Germany it is the custom for groomsmen to car- ry wands of osier to show their su- periority over the bridesmaids and at the conclusion of the ceremony, they start for the house in a race, and the first to reach there wins a flask of brandy, which he brings back to the wedding company. These form in a circle around the bride and groom. The groom then drinks of the brandy and hands the flask to his bride, saying: “Custom must be indulged with custom or custom will weep.” After t. at they proceed to the house, where the bride cake is broken over the bride’s head and then thrown to be scrambled for by the guests, each piece bringing good luck to the possessor. The man who eats a piece of pickle left by the groom, renders himself proof from the denial of any lady he may wish to marry. It used to be said that when a maiden could bake an Indian pud- ding of such consistency that she could throw it up the chimney and have it come down on the outside without breaking, she was ready to be married. An ancient Grecian custom re- quired the bride to eat a quince for good fortune. In ancient Athens the bride and groom ate a quince together on en- tering the bridal chamber, so that their relations would always be sweet and affectionate. 60 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. In Celebes, an island in the Ma- lay Archipelago, marriage is a crit- ical epoch, and it is thought that the soul is apt to fly away then; so colored rice is scattered over the couple to induce their souls to stay. At South Celebes, rice is thrown over anyone's head in whose honor a festival is given, in order to de- tain the soul, which, being too hap- py, may be lured away by demons. In various parts of Europe, rice is thrown by the guests over the young couple when they leave the house to start for home or on their wedding journey for luck. The reason why rice was thrown in early times over the wedded couple was because the souls of newly wedded people are like birds, apt to fly away, and rice has the power of keeping them. If, on disrobing, the bride or groom find rice in their shoe, they can be assured of the constancy of their friends. In Italy the mother of a newly married man, on his arrival at his house for the first time with his wife, throws some rice behind the back of the bride as a sign that the wedding festivities are over and the duties of the housewife have begun. For an unmarried person to eat the heart of a rose, is very bad luck and is said to prevent their ever marrying. It is lucky to sprinkle salt on the floor of the bride's room on her wedding-day. In the Isle of Man every bride goes to the altar with a pinch of salt in her pocket. To throw rice after a bride and groom brings them good luck. The bride will secure good luck if she adds the salt to the wedding cake. It is said if a bride eat a double strawberry or any kind of fruit or nut that comes double, that she will have twins. At Boeotia, ancient Greece, sweetmeats were showered on the bride and groom to insure prosper- ity. The early English bride wore a wreath of ears of wheat, sometimes gilded. Showers of grain were thrown after her and then picked up and eaten by the guests. This would insure mutual luck. When the fashionable maiden of ancient Rome was married, she car- ried in her hand three ears of wheat, while over her head was broken a simple cake as an omen of plenty. JEALOUSY. If you are jealous of your lover, eat a carrot three nights in suc- cession and you need have no more fears; he will cling to you like a burr. If you keep your eyes half-shut, you give reason to your wife or hus- band to be jealous. It was an ancient Japanese be- lief that jealousy would turn a young woman's hair, especially at night. The folklore of Japan has several stories referring to this no- tion. A daughter of Pandarus of Eph- esus was so envious of Niobe, to think she had six sons and six daughters, that she formed the de- sign of killing the eldest son. But by some mistake, she killed her own son instead, and then was so strick- en with remorse and grief that the gods, to relieve her intense distress, turned her into a nightingale. One day, overcome with heat, Cephalus threw himself on the FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 61 grass and cried aloud, “Come, gen- tle Aura, and this heat allay.” The words were told to his young wife Procris, who, supposing Aura to be some rival, became furiously jealous. Resolved to discover her rival, she stole next day to a covert and soon saw her husband come and throw himself on the grass, ex- claiming, “Come, gentle Zephyr, come, Aura, come, this heat allay!” Her mistake was evident and she was about to throw herself into the arms of her husband, when the young man, aroused by the rustling, shot an arrow into the covert, supposing some wild beast was about to spring upon him. Procris was shot, told her tale, and died. (Ovid's Art of Love.) KISS AND KISSING. If a dark-complexioned man, who is in love with you, kisses you, expect a proposal. There are no less than eight signs to kissing: Salutation, valediction, reconciliation, subjection, approba- tion, adoration, treachery and love. A kiss on the forehead signifies respect and admiration for intellect. A kiss on the cheek signifies ad- miration for beauty. A kiss on the nose shows awk- wardness. A kiss on the chin shows an ap- preciation of something better. A kiss on the hand shows timid- ity and homage. A kiss on the lips signifies love. A short kiss, carelessness. A long kiss, passionate devotion. All who kiss the bride after the ceremony and before the husband * does, will have good luck for a year. In Yorkshire, when a newly wed- ded pair first enter their house, a hen is brought and made to cackle as a sign of good luck. In the Highlands of Scotland, it is unlucky for the bride to go at once to her new home, so she stops at the inn until the guests have ar- rived. If two brides kiss at the first meeting after marriage, their wed- ded lives will be full of happiness. If you kiss your dead husband or wife as they lie in the casket, you will be sure to marry again soon. To kiss a man and get a hair in your mouth from his moustache, is a sign you will die an old maid. The sex of the first baby kissed by the bride foretells the sex of her first born. There remains a superstition called “Happy and Unhappy Feet.” They wish the bride and groom a “happy foot” and to prevent any bad effect they salute those they meet on the road with a kiss. To kiss one friend, then to kiss another, and then to kiss the first again, is a sign of very bad luck to the one kissed last. Letters and Correspondence Relating to Love and Marriage. If you write seven or thirteen sheets to your lover, you will be sure to get the mitten. If a man writes a love letter in pencil to a girl, it is a sign that they will never marry. If your hand trembles as you write to your beloved, his love for you is strong. To make a blot on a love letter, shows that the person you are writ- 62 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. ing to is thinking of you at the mo- Inent. If you utter a wish while writing a letter to your sweetheart, under an oak tree, your wish will come. true. If a lady is reading her first love letter and the clock strikes 12, the man who wrote it will never marry her. Don’t mail a love letter on a Sunday, or you will have a dispute with your lover. If a bride receives a letter from her former lover on her wedding day, she will be unhappy. It is unpropitious for a bride to receive letters in mourning en- velopes. If two letters from two different lovers are brought to you at once, you will never marry either of them. If the bride or groom receives a telegram of regrets on the wedding day, it is a sign of unfaithfulness on the part of the other one. It is unlucky for a bride to have the postman forget to leave her mail and come back with it. A letter received on the wedding day is a good omen if the writer is a devoted friend. The bride who receives a letter on her wedding day, has before her a long journey. A love letter insufficiently stamped, is an evil sign. Never ask your love a favor on a postal card. It will bring an unsat- isfactory reply. Don't send a type-written love letter unless you and your love completely understand each other, so that it will make no difference; otherwise the reply will not be pleasant. If your lover sends you an un- sealed letter, it is a sign that he is growing cold towards you. On receiving a proposal by let- ter, open it out flat, then fold it nine times, put it in an old glove under your pillow and sleep on it. You will dream the answer you ought to give. If you keep a love letter in your shoe, your lover will be faithful to you. If the bride carries one of her lover's love letters in her pocket during the ceremony, she will have his entire love during life. When a couple are correspond- ing, and the lady has serious inten- tions, she can make the gentleman equally anxious by wearing his let- ter on her heart. Their courtship will be happy and the maritage for- tunate, “Ill luck before frost, If a love letter's lost.” If a maiden receives letters from a lover and burns them and then marries him, she will be left his widow. To burn letters from a sweet- heart is very bad luck. Tear them up. If you destroy a love letter, do not venture on the water for a month. The bride must tear up every let- ter which she has received from other gentlemen relating to mar- riage, into pieces not larger than postage stamps, and have them strewn into the fire by some third person, or their evil spirits will haunt the home she goes to make her own. © FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 63 4 Miscellaneous Charms and Omens Relating to Chances of Marriage. It has been said that a girl’s first chance is her best. N If a gentleman is a groomsman three times, he will never be mar- ried. * , If the seventh wedding one at- tends is not one's own, one will never marry. If you propose to your sweet- , heart on the water, it is a sign that * you will never live to marry her. To know if you will ever be mar- ried, put the “swim” of a herring on the stove; if it swells up, you will; but if it burns up, you will not. Moisten a spray of olive with the lips and throw it into the fire. If the leaf jumps three times, or darts out of the fire, you will have a hus- band; but if it burns without mov- ing, you will be an old maid. If, after seeing the new moon, you say, “If his face is to me, and his back to the sea,” you will find that if you meet your lover with his face to you, he will marry you; but if, when next you see him, his back is to you, then you will not be mar- ried. Name two leaves of mistletoe, (a friend and yourself), and place them before the fire; if they jump up together, you and the one named will marry; but if they do not jump, you will not. Cut the bread in slices the whole length of the loaf and place the slices one over the other. Then cut all in two with one sweep of the knife. If done by a young woman and the slices are not severed clear through to the plate, she will not be married within a year; but if the Yread parts in two even heaps, she may as well order her trousseau. If a person takes seven slips of paper, and writes on five of them the names of possible lovers, on one “death,” and on the last “stranger,” then places them in a box, and draws one each on seven consecutive mornings, the seventh will tell the fortune. If “death” is drawn, it simply means that you will die unmarried. When young Russian girls wish to know if they are going to be married, several of them assemble, each wearing a ring. A large bas- ket of corn is brought in, and each girl drops in her ring, stirring care- fully. Then a hungry hen is in- troduced and whichever maiden's ring comes to the top first in her scratchings, will be the first to marry. If a gypsy girl wants to know how soon she will be married, she whispers into the ear of the first donkey she meets, “Shall I soon have a husband?” If the donkey moves his ear, she will; but if he stands immovable, she won’t. If a damsel wishes to know whether she will get a husband or not, let her knock on the henhouse on Christmas eve; if the cock crows aloud, she will get one; but if all is silent, she will not. A maiden who places a flower on the church porch on St. John's eve, and returns for it at midnight, will then see, if she is to marry, a bridal procession; but if she is not to mar- ry, she will see a funeral. Take three dishes, put clear wa- ter in one, foul in another, leaving the third empty. Blindfold a per- son, and lead him or her to the hearth where the dishes are ranged; he or she dips the left hand; if, by chance, in the clean water, the fu- ture husband or wife will come to the bar of matrimony a bachelor or maid; if in the foul water, a widower or a widow; if in the empty dish, it 64 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. foretells with equal certainty no marriage at all. It is repeated three times and each time the arrange- ment of the dishes is altered. In the valleys of Lanzo, Italy, when two lovers wish to know whether or no they will marry, they search for the concordia, the root of which is divided into two parts, each representing a hand with five fingers. They uproot the plant, and if the two hands are united, the lovers will be married; but if they are separated, the marriage will not take place. When a house is building in Ire- land, twelve couples, each made of two holly-twigs tied together with a hempen thread, are named and stuck in a circle in the clay. A live coal is then placed in the center, and whichever couple catches fire first will be the first to get married. Then the future husband is invoked in the name of the devil to come and quench the fire. Stand two matches on a hot stove, sulphur end down, and name them for yourself and marriageable acquaintance of the opposite sex. If both stand or fall together, it is a sign that you will live and die together. If one falls, it is a sign that one will leave the other. (Cape Breton.) Miscellaneous Charms and Omens Relating to Future Wife and Husband. It is lucky to choose a wife on Saturday, but unlucky to choose one on Sunday, for Sunday is Heaven's day, and there is neither marrying nor giving in marriage in Heaven. The first wife equals a broom; the second wife equals heresy; the third wife equals society; the fourth wife equals cash. The “Dumb Cake” was a popular superstition in England. Two make it, Two bake it, Two break it; and the third must put it under each of their pillows, neither of the three speaking a word during the whole operation. They will see their future husbands in a dream. During the middle ages it was believed that a girl had only to agi- tate the water in a bucket of spring water with her hand to see the face of her future husband. If your fellow’s name is Harry, You will not long tarry, Before you will marry. If a young lady wears a borrowed garment to a party, she will meet - her future husband. To have your future partner ap- pear, go into the garden on Christ- mas eve, sow black seeds and leek seed, and leave your rake on the ground. If a man would know what sort of a wife he will have, he must ride on Walpurgis night on a broom- stick to the stable and knock thrice. Then go to the pigsty and notice which pig grunts. If an old one, he will have an old wife; if young, a young One. If you drop a live coal in water, break it apart, and a hair the same color as that of your future wife or husband will appear. If a maid wishes to know what kind of hair her lover will have, let her grope backwards through the open door on Christmas eve, and she'll grasp the hair in her hand. Take nine steps backward and take up the dirt under your right heel. In it you will find a hair of the color of the person's whom you will marry. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 65 If a girl wishes to know the color of her future husband's hair, she must thrice take hold of the latch of the door and call out: “Gentle love, if thou lovest me, show thy- self.” She must then quickly open the door a little way and she will find in her hand a lock of hair. If a girl takes a handful of fine ashes and blows her breath hard in- to them so that they fly into her face, her husband will be unkind to her in every way; but if she blows and they do not fly back at her, her husband will be generous, kind and loving. To know if her lover will be good or not, the girl must go to the wood pile on Christmas eve and pull out a stick. As the stick is, so will he be. To know what he is called, let her stretch the first yarn she spins that day, outside the house door. The first man who passes will be the namesake of her future hus- band. In Venice on Midsummer eve, the girls sow some corn under á pot, which they place in a position where the sun cannot touch it, and after eight days remove the pot. The corn has then sprouted, and if it is green and healthy, it is a to- ken to the girl that she will have a rich and handsome husband; but if the sprout is yellow or white, it is a sign that the husband will be any- thing but desirable. There is an old superstition among the darkies, bidding a girl go to a wood pile after dark and draw out a stick: “Which if it foul and crooked be, and knotty here and there, A crabbed churly husband then they earnestly may fear; But if it straight and even be, and have no knot at all, A gentle husband, then, they think shall surely to them fall.” Throw two kernels of corn at midnight into a well and repeat: “Spirit of this living well, Pray assist me in my spell. And as I look upon thy face, Let my husband's form there trace.” Then hold a mirror face downwards over the center of the well, and your future husband will appear in the glass. If a girl wishes to know how her future husband will look, let her take a glass of cider in her right hand, and go down the cellar stairs backwards at midnight, and at the bottom of the stairs turn around three times, and then look in the glass, and she will see his face. Acorn Charm. This is to be tried on the third day of the months between September and March. Let any number of young women (not exceeding nine, and minding that there is an odd one in the com- pany) assemble together, and each string nine acorns on a separate string, or as many acorns as there are females in company, but not more; wrap them around a long stick of wood, and place it in the fire just as the clock strikes twelve at night. Say not a word, but sit around the fire till all the acorns are consumed; then rake out the ashes and retire to bed almost directly, repeating: “May love and marriage be the theme, To visit me in this night's dream: Gentle Venus be my friend, The image of my lover send. Let me see his form and face, And his occupation trace; By a symbol or a sign, Cupid, forward my design.” Let a maiden let down her back hair, dress herself in white and then with a lighted candle in the right hand and a mirror in the left, pro- ceed to wend her way slowly and alone down the stairs backwards to the cellar. When the final step is reached, she will see the pictured 66 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. face of her future husband in the mirror which she carries in her left hand. In Scotland the lassy slips alone and unperceived to a darkened room containing a mirror whereon a moonbeam falls. She stands be- fore the mirror eating an apple, and intently regarding the mirror, in which soon appears the reflection of the face of her future husband. If you read the third chapter of Hosea, Joel and Amos for three Sundays in succesion, the first per- son you walk with thereafter will be your future husband or wife. Read the third verse, 17th chap- ter of the book of Job after supper, and on going to bed put the Bible under your pillow with the verse you have read thrust through with a pin, and you will call up the im- age of your future mate. According to French supersti- tion, if a maiden while on her way home from midnight mass on Christmas eve, will give alms to a beggar and ask him his name, and he tells her, it is a sign that her future husband will have the same 11a111C. Turn the finger rings around on the hands of your lady friends until you have turned 24. On the 25th let it be a wedding ring and the first single man you shake hands with, will be your future husband. “On St. Mark's eve at 12 o’clock, The fair maid will watch her smock, To find her husband in the dark By praying unto good St. Mark.” To marry a lady whose last name Begins with the next letter of the alphabet to her husband's name, is a sign of great luck and happiness. If a girl writes the names of her male friends on the ground and places a grain of corn on each, then puts a chicken in the center, the first grain which the chicken swal- lows will indicate the one she will marry; but if she cannot coax the chicken to eat a grain, she will be an old maid sure. Listen to the kettle on the stove on Christmas eve, and if the water makes a roaring noise, your lover will be a Smith; so, according to the various tones of the water, the ini- tiated can tell you what trade your future husband will pursue. (Ger- man.) Picking the grass from a bach- elor's grave alone at midnight, and placing it between the leaves of the Bible, on a chair beside the bed; the dreams that follow will tell you the occupation of your mysterious “future husband.” Old wives tell us that the last chapter of Proverbs tells us our own characters, and that of the man or woman we are to marry. Find out what day of the month he or she was born on and read the corres- ponding verse. It will tell you his or her character. The night when the lucky man gets an affirmative answer to the all-important question, he should go out of the same door at which he came in, or he will never return to claim the bride. To know what fortune your fu- ture husband will have, take a wal- nut, a hazel nut and a nutmeg; grate them together, and mix them with butter and sugar, and make them up into small pills, of which exactly nine must be taken on go- ing to bed, and, according to your dreams, so will be the state of the person you will marry. If a gentle- man, your dream will be of riches; if a clergyman, of white linen; if a lawyer, of darkness; if a tradesman, of odd noises and tumults; if a sol- dier or sailor, of thunder and light- ning; if a servant, of rain. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 67 Take two sprigs of live-for-ever and plant them in the garden, nam- ing one for yourself and one for your lover. If they grow towards each other, you will always love and marry; but if they lean apart, you will be separated. If one dies, the person will die for whom it was named. If you write your lovers’ names on a piece of paper, roll them sepa- rately in clay, and drop them in a glass of water, the one that rises to the top first will be your mate. It is customary in Russia for girls and young men to either go themselves or send their servants out into a certain street on a par- ticular square to ask the names of the persons they meet. These are believed to be the names of the per- sons whom they will marry. Take a pan of corn meal and put a snail into it. Let it remain till morning, and you will find the ini- tials of your future mate's name done in the crawlings of the snail in the meal. Broken egg shells thrown over another person's head are thought to reveal the name of the future spouse. Take the first star you notice, count the numbers between it and the Milky Way, halve that, and it will give the number of letters in your future husband's name. If you wish to know whom you will marry, the first time you sleep in a strange bed, you shall name the four walls, and whichever wall you see when you first awake will decide for you which of the four persons you will marry. Make a pillow of sweet peas, lie down on it, and a voice will tell you what manner of man you will marry. Let the dish-water boil and then dip the dish-rag into it. Tear off a little piece and tie it around the leg of a chair. The next man who sits in that chair you will marry. Tap an egg gently with a knife so as to break the shell, and drop it from a low window and bury it where it lies. This must be done when no one sees you. Your fu- ture husband will tell you he met with an accident and show you the cut, saying he could not understand how he met with the accident in such a curious manner. When the apple trees are in full blossom, go under a tree when the full moon is shining, say the follow- ing verse, and your future husband will come and look over . your shoulder. “Under the appleblooms lo! I stand, The magic mirror in my hand, The moon shining bright in the sky so clear, On this polished surface make appear The image of him who will one day, Be the dearest in all the world to me!” You should have a hand mirror in your hand all the time, and hold it so he can look over your shoulder. In Suabia, a widow eats half an apple on St. Andrew’s eve, and puts the other half under her pillow, when she wishes to dream of her next. Take the bladebone of a rabbit and stick it with nine pins. Put it under your pillow and you will see your future mate in your dreams. A recipe for girls who wish to dream of their future husband: “Take a walnut, a hazel nut, and nutmeg; grate them together, mix them with butter and sugar, and make them up into small pills, of which exactly nine must be taken on going to bed; and according to your dreams, so will be the state of the person you will marry. If of riches, a gentleman; if of white lin- 68 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. en, a clergyman; if of darkness, a lawyer;if of odd noises and tumults, a tradesman; if of thunder and light- ning, a soldier or sailor; if of rain, a servant.” A young maiden is said to be en- abled to dream of her future hus- band on New Year's eve by pulling twelve hairs from her head and plaiting them into the form of a ring, then put them into a prayer- book at the place where the mar- riage service commences, and place it under her pillow taking care not to speak, and retiring at once. The future husband will then appear in her dreams. Maine Islanders believe that if they eat a certain strip called the “dream-line,” taken from along the back of dried salt fish, their future partner will appear in a dream and offer them a drink of water. When in bed tie a knot in the corner of the sheet and say: “Here I knit and a knot I knit, I have a true heart and I have it yet; but I give it to him,” and you will dream of “him” that night, if you are ever to marry him. Before getting into bed on Fri- day night, draw the left stocking into the right and say: “This is the blessed Friday night, I draw my left stocking into my right, To dream of the living not of the dead; To º of the young man I am to wed.” If you put the mirror under your pillow for three successive nights, you will dream of your future hus- band. If you sleep with a borrowed ring on your finger, you will dream of the man you will marry. When the girls in Belgium wish to see their lovers in a dream, they lay their garters crosswise at the foot of the bed and a little looking- glass under the pillow. Then they will see in their dreams the image of their future husband as if ap- pearing in the glass. Stand on something upon which you have never stood before and hold a hot kale in your hand. Drink nine times, go to bed back- wards, and you will see your future husband in a dream. (North of England.) If an unmarried person will cross a brook, gather nine switches of dif- ferent kinds, dip them in the brook, bind them together, using with the twine the hair from the head of the person last spoken to, and lay the bundle under the pillow, they will dream of their future wife or hus- band. If a maiden would have a hus- band, let her, on St. Catherine's day, invoke the saint as follows: “A husband, St. Catherine, A handsome one, St. Catherine, A rich one, St. Catherine, A nice one, St. Catherine, And soon, St. Catherine.” Then let her take a morsel of wed- ding cake, pass it through a wed- ding ring thrice, and place it under her pillow. She will most surely see the handsome, rich, nice, hus- band in her dreams that night. The little round pool, black as night, lying quiet under a noisy place in a creek (called a “Fairy's Dubb”), will tell a maiden's for- tune if she repeats the following and drops in a willow branch: “Willow bough, willow bough, which of the four, Named of my lovers will come to the shore? Sink, circle or swim or come to the shore?” and of the four little named boughs one will come to the shore and that one will be her husband. A superstitious practice seems to prevail in some parts of Cardigan- FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 69 shire by which the future husband is made, so it is said, to appear. The young lady, curious in this respect as to the future, gets a couple of lady friends to accompany her in procession nine times around a hay- rick. She heads the procession and carries a boot, saying, “Dyma’r es- gid lle mae'r troed?” (Here is the boot, where is the foot?) At the ninth round, the future husband makes his appearance. The num- ber of the company must be three, and three only. Four would break the charm. On the eve of St. Antonio, St. John, or St. Peter, a girl takes three broad beans. She peels all the skin off one, half the skin off the next, and does not skin the next. When she first awakes, she takes one hap- hazard out from under her pillow, where she has placed them, and puts it on the other side of her pil- low. By daylight, if she sees it was the peeled one, she knows she will marry a poor man; if it is the half- peeled one, he will be fairly well off; but if its skin is on, she will marry rich. (Madeira.) A man must not dredge for fish, sweep the house, carry water, or plait mats; if he does, he will be henpecked. (Madagascar.) If the unmarried person will arise at midnight of their birthday and look into the mirror, they will see the image of their future husband or wife looking over their shoulder. If a young girl has several lovers and wishes to know which one will be her husband, let her name some red rose leaves for each and put them in water. The one that sinks last will be hers. When walking on the railroad, if you walk the length of fourteen rails without once falling off, name some particular friend and you will marry him within the year. Wash your handkerchief, not speaking a word, and hang it before the fire to dry. Sit down and watch it, and your future husband will come in and turn it over. Cut from a newspaper or hand- bill all the letters of the alphabet, and when you go to bed, place them face downward in a bowl of water. In the morning, if any are turned up, they will be the initials of your future partner; but if none turn up, you will not marry. If you pare an Orange or apple in one long string. and throw the peel over your shoulder, it will form the initial letter of the person you are to marry. Take three grains of coffee, put one notch on one, two on another, put them in a glass of water under your bed and name them. The one that sprouts is the one you are go- ing to marry. (Alabama.) Put two eggs in front of the open fire on a very windy day. Two men will come in with a coffin. The man at the foot will be your hus- band. (Negro superstition at Ches- tertown, Maryland.) Put three raw beans in your mouth, go out of doors, stand in front of someone's window and lis- ten. The first man's name you hear spoken will be that of your future husband. (Salem, Mass.) Moisten your knuckles with spit- tle. Put an apple seed on each of the four knuckles of the right hand. Let a friend name them. Work your fingers a little, and the seed that stays on the longest will repre- sent your husband. (Stratham, N. Name apple seeds and place them on the lids of the closed eyes. Wink and the first to fall off means your future husband. (Maine, New York, Pennsylvania.) 7o ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. Girls place bowls of clean and dirty water. One searches blind- folded with a stick. If she puts it into the dirty water, she will marry a widower; if in the clean, a single IIla II. Wax and lead melted together will show you what will be the oc- cupation of your future husband. This is done in Germany and Bo- hemia usually at Christmas or New Year's eves. Manx maidens believe that if they address an invocation to the new moon to show them their fu- ture husbands, it will do so in dreams, if they are standing in the open air when they pray; but if they speak to the moon through glass, it will pay no attention. “The knife and the sheath spell” was performed as follows: If the operator was a girl, she was to place a knife, stuck on end, in the corner of the leek-bed in the gar- den, retaining the sheath in her hand, on a dark night, and after ten o'clock, in absolute secrecy. She was then to walk backwards around the bed, carrying the sheath in her right hand. She was on no account to look behind her, and was to be very careful not to stumble. If her destiny was to be matrimony, her lover's shade would appear, take out the knife from the earth, and place it in the sheath. It is said that a young girl, on One occasion, in performing this trick, was beset by two shades at once. The conse- quence was that she became a vic- tim of the wicked wiles of one of them, and eventually wife of the other. (Wales.) For a girl to be always reeling on one leg of her chair, is a sign her future husband will be a drunk- ard. Miscellaneous Charms and Omens Relating to Lapse of Time before Marriage. If a maiden stumbles over a bot- tle, she will not be married for a year. Dip a feather in water and as many drops as fall from it after you shake it, will be the number of years before you are married. Between 11 and 12 on St. John's day the girls gather nine sorts of flowers, three of which must be wil- low, storkbill and wild rue. They are twined into a wreath, of which the twiner must have spun the thread in the same hour. Before the fateful hour is past the girl throws the wreath backwards into a tree; as often as the wreath is thrown without catching on, so many years will it be before she is married. If a person places the hearts and diamonds of a pack of cards in their stockings, puts the stockings under the pillow on a Friday night, and draws one out on Saturday morn- ing, the number of spots on the card will tell how many years or months it will be before marriage OCC11TS. A Creole notion is that if a girl happens to step on a cat's tail, she will not be married that year. To find how many years it will be before you are married: Fill a glass tumbler two-thirds full of wa- ter, pull a hair out of your head, and tie it to a common open thim- ble. Taking the other end of the hair between your thumb and fin- ger, suspend the thimble over the center of the glass, and say the fol- lowing words: “As many years as I live single, Let this thimble knock and jingle.” It will strike the glass as many years as you will live single. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 71 If a person thinks of a certain number of railroad-ties and walks the rails for that distance, the num- ber of times they accidentally step off will denote the number of years hence when he or she will be mar- ried. Look at the first new moon in January in a mirror. If one moon is seen in the glass, one year will elapse before marriage, etc. If a bridesmaid goes to bed back- ward, with her hand over her heart, and the first man she sees in the morning is an old man, she will marry before the year is out. Miscellaneous Charms and Omens Relating to Love. 3. This Talisman is said to be wonderfully effi. Sºcious in procuring success in amours and love adventures, must be made when Venus, the planet of love, is the evening star. It should be ºnade of pure silver; and worn immediately over the Heart, on the left breast. Love knots are spells or charms made of blades of oats or wheat the use of which the following rhyme explains: "When I was young and went a-weed- ing wheat, e º to make them on our dinner Seat, We laid yo blades across and lapt them TOun Thinking of those we loved, and if we Oun Them linked together when unlapt again, * knew.our charm had not been made 1n vain.” A snake's rattle worn in a cham- ois bag next to the heart will give success in love affairs. To have success in love, eat the nail of the left middle finger of your loved one. If you walk in a strange garden with your lover, his success will in- CICa SC. In England, when a young man wishes to go a-courting, he snatch- es a pea-pod off the vine and if the peas remain in the pod, it is a good O111611. If you meet your true love on a steamboat for the first time, your life will be happy, but if you meet her on the cars, you will experience much trouble. In the love charms of the Cher- okee Indians, the lover always fig- uratively takes the spittle of the girl in order to fix her affections upon himself. In a love charm about going into the water (ceremony of a lover preparing for the dance), he refers to the “red spittle of Ageya- guga,” of which he says, “You have come to put your red spittle upon my body,” love, passion and suc- cess being simulated by the color red. So efficacious is even the im- agination of placing his spittle upon the breast of his mate when an In- dian lover sings his incantations, that, when successful, a ceremony of this kind has the effect of render- ing the beloved one so “blue” or lovesick, that her life is in danger until another formula is repeated to make her soul “white” or happy again. A love incantation to attract and fix the affections: “Listen! O, now you have drawn near to hearken. Your spittle, I take it I eat it. Your body, I take it I eat it. Your flesh, I take it I eat it. Your heart, I take it I eat it.” Then to the Fire. “Listen! O, now you have drawn near to heark- 72 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. en, O ancient one. This man’s (or woman’s) soul has come to rest at the edge of your body. You are never to let go your hold upon it. It is Ordained that you shall do just as you are requested to do. Let her never think upon any other place. Her soul is faded within her. She is bound by the black threads.” This charm is sung four times over, and in imagination, while singing, you are to rub the breast of your love with your spittle. If it is a young wife or husband who wishes to fix the affections, and they are together, when one is asleep, the other actually moistens the finger with spittle and while softly chanting the charm rubs the breast in the center. Gatigwanasti, from whose manuscript this famous charm is taken, declared that this ceremony is so effective that “no husband or wife need have any fears that they will lose the love of their mate after performing it.” The bringing of the body to the edge of the Ancient one, (the fire) means the warming of the hands at the fire before “the laying on of hands” as is usually done in all such ceremonies. If a lady is cold to her lover's advances, he should try to slip on her finger a ring of straw or rushes, or better still one forged out of an old horseshoe. She will then be charmed with whatever he says. In olden times, in Scotland, lov- ers who wished to increase the af- fections of their loved ones, were advised to make a transfusion of blood from their own veins into those of the beloved. An apple held in the armpit un- til it gets warm, and then eaten by anyone will make him or her love you. The following is an Irish charm of most desperate love to be written with the blood of the ring finger with a raven's quill by the left hand. “By the power that Christ brought from Heaven, mayest thou love me, woman (or man)! As the sun follows its course through the heavens, may’st thou follow me. As light to the eye, as bread to the hungry, as joy to the heart, may thy presence be with me, O wom- an, that I love, till death comes to part us asunder.” It is a West Highland supersti- tion that a beauty spot cannot be resisted; hence Diarmid inspired masterless love by a beauty spot. Carrying the bones of a toad will compel the affections of the op- posite sex, especially if the flesh has been eaten from the bones by antS. When a girl wishes to gain the love of a man and make him marry her, the dreadful spell is used called, “Drinial Agus Thorial.” At dead of night she and an accomplice go to a church, exhume a newly buried corpse, and take a strip of skin from the head to the heel. This is wound around the girl's body with a sol- emn invocation to the devil for his help. After she has worn it for a day and a night, she watches her opportunity, and ties it around the wrist of the sleeping man whom she desires, during which process the name of God must not be men- tioned. When he wakes, the man is bound by a spell and is forced to marry the cruel and evil harpy. It is said that the children of such a marriage always bear a black mark round the wrist and are known and shunned by the people of England, who call them “Sons of the Devil.” If you get a piece of a girl's hair and sew it in your coat, she will be- come infatuated with you. (Penn- sylvania.) FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 73 Celestial divinities were supposed in old times to be the protectors and favorers of marriage. The nuptial crown was attributed to the Heav- enly framer who forged the first plow. A charm is made by a young girl, and a prayer that he will forge her a nuptial crown, and out of the remainder a wedding ring and a wedding pin with which to fasten the veil. “There comes a smith from the forge, Glory! The Smith Glory! Smith, Smith, forge me a crown, Forge me a crown both golden and new, Forge from the remnants a golden ring, And from the chips a pin, In that crown will I be wedded, With that ring will I be betrothed, With that pin will I fasten the nuptial kerchief! Glory!” This charm is sure to procure a lover. (William Jones' Finger Ring Lore.) carries three hammers, To be beloved by everybody, carry about with you the heart of a pewit or a green frog. Girls who wear wasp-nests can win men's love. A king-bow of purple ribbon, placed near the heart inside of the corsage, will never fail to win the love of the person toward whom the thoughts are directed. The herb sowbread will make you or anybody fall in love, and a judi- cious application of the rod will make you fall out. Take an onion, or any bulb, and plant it in a new pot, repeating the name of the one you love. Then morning and evening every day say over it: “As this root grows, As this blossom blows May his heart be Turned unto me.” On Hallowe'en pluck two month- ly roses with long stems and name one for yourself and one for your lover. Go directly to your sleep- ing room and, kneeling beside the bed, twine the stems of the two roses together and then repeat the following lines, meantime gazing intently upon the rose named for your lover: “Twine, twine and intertwine, Let my love be wholly mine; If his heart be kind and true, Deeper grow his roses' hue.” If your swain is faithful, the color of his rose will grow darker and more intense. One of the prettiest charms by which maidens try to look into the future is the one in vogue by the Hindoo maidens on the Ganges. They take a little boat carved out of a cocoanut shell and set the little bark afloat on the river: “Each carries a lamp and carries a flower And carries a hope unsaid, And when the boat hath carried the lamp Unquenched till out of sight, The maids are sure that love will en- dure, But love will fail with the light.” To find out if your lover is true, light one of his letters. If the flame is high and clear, his is true, but if small and blue, he will for- sake you. Take four strands of grass, tie them together in the middle and give them the name of someone you are interested in; then tie the ends together, two and two, untie the knot in the middle, and if they are all joined together in a square, the person named is in love with you. If not, he cares nothing for you. We are told that Charlemagne was bewitched by a ring, and that he followed anyone who possessed this ring, as a needle follows a load- stone. He fell in love with a poor girl and neglected matters of state, but, to the joy of his ministers, the 74 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. girl died. Then he seemed as much infatuated with the dead body even after it had become decayed. The Archbishop suspected sorcery, examined the body, and found the ring under the girl's tongue. He took possession of it and the king noticed the body no more, but seemed to be desperate after the Archbishop. The great prelate amazed, bethought himself of the ring and threw it into a pool at Aix, where Charlemagne built a palace and monastery, and no spot in the world had such attractions for him as Aix-la-Chapelle, where the ring was buried. In Greek fable, a cestus worn by a woman inspired love; hence Aph- rodite was irresistible on account of her cestus. (This “girdle of Ve- nus” was stitched and embroidered with every figure which could awaken love.) Get a lock of a girl’s hair and wear it in your coat without her knowing it, and she will love you. To obtain the love of women, carry about with you a bat’s blood. If you wish to cause love, give a dish of new made butter, such as Mary set before Christ, in the pres- ence of a mill, a stream and a tree, to your beloved, saying softly: “O woman, loved by me, may thou give me thy heart, thy soul and thy body, Amen.” If a woman wants her husband to love her, let her take a portion of her hair and offer it on the altar thrice, with a lighted taper. As long as that lock of hair stays on her head, he will love her. The Tartars throw the feathers of a kingfisher into a vase of water and preserve those that float, for it is believed that it is quite sufficient for a woman to touch one of them to make her love the wearer. A very common love charm con- sists in procuring a few drops of holy water out of three distinct par- ishes, which must be in the propor- tion of two to one, two masculine and one feminine. These drops are mixed and secretly administered in the drink or food of the person whose love is desired. A Christian science healer says that if you direct your thoughts with intense love toward anyone, unless he or she loves another with all the soul, you can gain their love. In the toad's head there is a pe- culiar-shaped bone. Anyone wish- ing to obtain the love of a certain person can win his affection by touching him or her with the bone, or putting it in the other’s pocket unknown to him or her. In this way a maiden can be won against her will. It is a Basque superstition that yellow hair in a man is irresistible with women, hence every woman who set eyes on Ezkabi Fidel “the golden-haired” fell in love with him. In the middle ages love powders were advertised for sale, and a wise Senator of Venice was not ashamed to urge on his reverend brethren as a fact, that Othello had won the love of Desdemona “by foul charms, drugs, minerals, spells, po- tions of mountebanks, or some dram, powerful o'er the blood to awaken love.” Theocritus and Virgil both speak in their pastorals of women using charms and incantations to inspire or recover the love of the opposite Sex. If a man suspects that his wife does not love him, let him give her wine to drink in which he has dipped his wedding ring, and her love will return. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 75 If the bride wishes to be always loved by her husband, she must make him the wedding necktie. “Knot the only tie that binds two loving hearts.” A Magyar lass on Christmas night digs up her own footprints and throws the earth into the court- yard of the place where dwells the lad whose affection she covets. When he treads on the earth in the morning, he will be attracted to her and her footprints will bring him home to her. * “This pedlar offers magic charms, but next Philters, by which the husband’s mind’s perplext.” (Juvenal.) To draw the thumb across the tongue and present it to a sweet- heart was an evidence of fidelity. “By my thumb I’ll never beguile thee!” The Zulu chews a piece of wood in the belief that by doing so, he will soften the heart of the woman he wants to wed. “All poisonous drugs and necromantic arts Ne'er move the scornful maids’ relent- less hearts; © They but distract the senses, seize the rain, And Venus' rights and mysteries pro- fane.” (Ovid.) If one would be beloved by everybody, one must carry about with him the heart of a pewit or green frog. (Stendal, North Ger- many.) If you want the love of anyone, take an onion or a root of any kind and plant it in a clean pot, which has never been used before, repeat the name of the one you love while you plant it, and every morning and evening say over it: “As this root grows And as this blossom blows, May her heart be Turned unto me!” And every day the one you love will become more and more in- clined to you till at last you get your heart's desire. (Gipsy.) If a man is in love, he will find his love returned if he swallows a small portion of the loadstone pul- verized, at time of going to rest. (Spain.) If a bride wishes to retain her husband's love, she must pull out all the basting threads of her gown and burn them. An ancient Irish love charm: S A T O R A R E P O T E N E. T. O P E R A R O T A S These letters are so arranged that read in many ways the same word is produced. When written in blood, they form a charm which no woman can resist. After being rolled up and tied with a true love knot, it must be put in the posses- sion of the woman by her lover in such manner that she knows it not, or secreted among her belongings always without her knowledge. If a person takes a piece of skin from the arm of a corpse, binds it on a person whose love is sought, while asleep, and after some time re- moves it before the sleeper awakes or has any knowledge of the trans- action, the victim will be forever charmed to love, in spite of any cruelty or unkindness, as long as the skin remains in the person's possession. If a lover is going to serve as a soldier, or has obtained work in a distant part of the country, his sweetheart gives him a loaf of bread seasoned with cummin, or perhaps a cup of wine in which cummin has been previously powdered and mixed, so as to insure their con- 76 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. tinued attachment and fidelity. (Irish.) After making a rhyme, kiss the back of your hand three times and you will see your beau in the even- ing. If a man has a rival in love and can get his photograph and bury it, he will rapidly progress in the lady's affections. The saying, “I have you faded,” arose from this. In Malaga, girls in search of a husband, usually kneel in front of the house-altar of San Antonio and pray to him. If the prayer is grant- ed, prayers of thanks will be of fered to him for three days; but if the lover who has been sent by the saint is unsuitable or displeasing, the image will he upturned. If a lover should desert a girl, a cord is tied around the saint's neck and the image is thrown into a well; or, in order to have the lover come back, the divine infant is taken out of the saint’s arm, as it is believed that in order to get it back, he will cause the lover's speedy return. If, without intercession of the saint, a lover is gained, girls place two large brooms behind the doors of their tenements with the palms upright and a pair of Scissors are fixed in the palm. This is done to secure and keep their lovers either from evasion or repentance. The odor of a salve made of cin- namon was believed by the ancient Greeks to have the power to at- tract a WOman. To think of your lover the first moment you awake is a sign that the compliment is returned. A report read to the British As- sociation (in 1896) upon various be- liefs and customs prevailing among the northwestern tribes of Canada, gave the following recipe for effec- tually gaining the love of a girl: Take the tongues and gizzards of a raven and of a woodpecker, place them in a hollow stick, together with some saliva, mix with the lat- ter, close the tube and wear it under a blanket. The underlying idea is that the woodpecker and the raven are pretty birds, and that therefore the girl will consider the man who wears them just as pretty and at- tractive. There was a witch of Pagolla, in the Basque provinces, who mixed love philters that would cause a person to love even the most re- pugnant being. Cast into the fountain, this philter turned it per- manently red. The notes of a dove are interpre- ted to mean this or that of the com- munication of a lover. “He loves, he loves not!” A Turkish lover thus addresses his sweetheart: “My well-beloved, my soul, take this ring. Wear it on thy finger and when thou seest the rust gather upon it, then I am dead.” Or he says, “Take this silk- en veil with gold embroidery. When the gold melts, I am dead.” A persevering lover can gain the affections of his mistress by scat- tering over her, secretly, the ashes of a burnt water-lizard. The brain of a cat is useful in love affairs, if taken in small doses. Mr. Jake Metzer, an employe of the Pacific Meat Co., Tacoma, Wash., has in his collection a Sioux necklace which has been used as a love-charm. It is made of a buck- skin string, four feet long, upon which are strung as pendants 99 deer toes, one empty buckskin string proving there were original- ly 100. The toes have been boiled and the side cut off through which the string is passed. Tied to the FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 77 necklace are two sacks formed of a circular piece of buckskin, with beads, one dark and one light blue. These are tied so as to form a re- ceptacle for a brownish powder, the wearing of which will protect the owner from sickness. A brave wears this necklace when he goes a- courting and the deer toes are counted over by the young couple, and acts as a charm to win the af- fections of the girl. Whoever wears such a necklace was Sup- posed to be assured of success in love. In Natal, as a love charm, a young man would pound up, to- gether with the wood of the hemp plant, something taken from his own person and from that of the girl, as the dirt scraped from the handle of his walking-stick or from her necklace, and would place the composition in that part of the hut where she would be likely to sit. Evidently the idea was to get some of the perspiration, which in many other places is believed to be irre- sistibly attractive. A kind of medicine, called um- sizi, used to be given by a native doctor of Natal to a man who sus- pected his wife of infidelity. The husband ate it, and in due course the lover would become afflicted with pains and debility, and would pine away and die, while the man and his wife would suffer no harm from it; but to resume their proper and former relations, both husband and wife hust be thus “doctored” again. It may be a consolation to many to know that not happy lovers alone have a patron and protector in Cu- pid or Eros, for there is a god who makes the sorrows of unhappy love his own, and avenges unrequited affection. His name is Anteros, and to him all those who love but cannot win the object of their af- fections, prayers. should offer up their Ovid tells the following story of a successful love charm: “Acon- tius gathered an Orange in the gar- den of Venus, and having written on the rind the words: “By Ar- temis, I will marry Acontius!” threw it in Cydippe's way. She took it in her hand, read out the inscrip- tion, and threw it from her. But the goddess Artemis had heard and registered the vow, so she filled the scornful girl with love, and the mar- riage took place.” Sir Crudor, the knight, told Bri- ana that he would not marry her till she brought him enough hair and “that of the locks of ladies and the beards of knights” to purfle his cloak with. In order to obtain this love-gift, the lady established a toll by which every lady and every knight who passed her castle should give, the one of her hair and the other of his beard, as “passing pay,” or else fight for their lives. Sir Crudor being overthrown by Sir Calidor, Briana was obliged to abolish this toll. (Spenser's Faerie Queene.) If a young woman finds her chances of getting a husband are poor, and she fears she is to be an old maid, she should go to a mill, take the measure used in the mill for measuring grain, undress by the waterfall, and bathe in the water, pouring the water over herself from the measure. (Albanian and Tur- kish.) When a pot is boiling over, put a small stick into one of the ears and name it for the one you like best. If he loves you in return, the water will cease to boil over; if not, it will keep on. Rub your hands in sweet fern. The first one you shake hands with 78 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. afterwards will be your true love. (Prince Edward Island.) Name apple pips, put them on the grate, and say: “If you love me, live and fly, If you do not, lie and die.” When a young man loves a girl and his love is not returned, let him get a smooth stone and write his and his mother's name, and her and her mother's name on it, and put the stone in the fire. stone heats, her love for him will grow warmer. (Persian.) There are lucky love-papers, di- vining-papers, pretty tinted things with little shadowy pictures upon them, by which the Japanese youths and maidens divine their future. When held near a lamp or a fire, words written upon them with in- visible ink begin to appear. These are always about sweethearts and sometimes tell one what he does not wish to know. The fortunate ones who read them believe themselves still more fortunate; the unlucky abandon hope; the jealous become even more jealous than they were before. These love-charms and love-fortunes are sold by a love- peddler, on the street. (Lafcadio Hearn, “Glimpses of Unfamiliar Japan.”) In Ngaliyalatina, one of the mountainous districts of Viti Levu, Fiji Islands, lives a small clan called the Korovou. They are de- scended from a goddess called Le- wavatu, which in English means the stone woman, and they derive from her a potent love spell. The ancestral shrine is a large water- worn boulder, situated upon a piece of moorland amidst coarse grass, bracken, and the purple orchis, at a place called Namboutini. When a young man of this clan falls in love, he invokes the aid of his divine ancestress, and this is the way in As the which it is done. He gets all his young male friends to go with him on a pilgrimage to the shrine. They put on their finest masi (native cloth) and deck themselves with garlands of sweet-smelling flowers and leaves, and when they arrive before the boulder, that is “Lewava- tu,” they dance their finest meas- ures, and sing; and when they have finished, they all sit down reverent- ly before the stone and smooth and stroke it down, and say: “Ah! Le- wavatu dear, we have come to ask you to come with us, the boys of your own tribe.” Then a small piece is chipped from the stone and carefully tied up in a piece of fine white masi, and carried home to the village. Upon arrival there, the wrapper is always found to be torn to shreds, done, is it said, by the teeth of Lewavatu. The next thing to do is to grind the chip to powder and fold it up in the leaf of a pan- danus, which is the sacred tree of the tribe. (All the mountain tribes of Fiji have sacred plants and trees, which are tribal badges, and from which, too, they claim descent. Hence the clan, whose legend is now being told, would in mekes —songs and poems—be referred to as the “children of the pandanus.” A similar custom obtains with Scotch Highland clans, who when in full dress wear oak, pine, holly, and other leaves, according to their respective tribal badges.) The powdered stone with its wrapper of leaf is then put into a gourd full of cocoanut oil, such as people use for anointing themselves with. It is then given into the charge of an elderly female of the tribe. The greatest care must be taken in this, as were it to be put into the charge of a young girl, or even of a middle- aged matron, she and all the female inhabitants of the same house would be unable to contain them- selves, and their desire would be FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 79 to the youths, who had danced be- fore Lewavatu. And besides that, to perfect the spell, the bottle of oil must remain in the custody of an old woman. And so it stops until the time comes for putting the spell into operation. This is gen- erally done when the people of dif- ferent villages meet for the purpose of barter, which is always accom- panied by songs, dances, feasting, and general merrymaking, and which in the vernacular are called “so-levu.” Before starting for one of these, the votaries who have pre- pared the spell, provide themselves with minute gourds. Then they go to the old woman, the keeper of the powdered stone and oil, and get her to pour a little of the mix- ture into their smaller vessel. Then they very sparingly anoint them- selves under the armpits, and start off for the so-levu, where, of course, it is known that the beloved one will be present. The oil must be used very sparingly, as it is sacred. Should it be put on the body ex- travagantly, as ordinary unguents are, the jealous goddess would de- sert her profane votary for the first man met on the road. This would be visibly manifested by the oil transferring itself from one body to the other. The small gourd is car- ried tied in the waist girdle, and as the oil dries under the armpit, it returns to the bottle in the care of the ancient female. Arrived at the place of the so-levu, the lover goes and watches the object of his af- fections dancing, and then the charm begins to work. When the dance is finished, she will come and ask him for tobacco, and he will roll her a cigarette wrapped in a plan- tain leaf, and on which he has man- aged to rub a little of the sacred oil. After dancing again, she will once more ask for a cigarette, and will be provided as before. After that she belongs to her lover, and will follow him through all the world. To the other youths, who have gone through the incantation with the original proposer of it, the philter is also efficacious. They have only to look and to conquer, to desire and to have. And in witness to this story stands Lewavatu to this day in her perennial majesty and beau- ty; and though thousands of her descendants have besought her be- nignant aid, and chipped her come- ly face, to work the spell with, yet she ever renews her youth, and search as closely as you may, not a scratch or a blemish will you find upon her smooth, smiling counte- 11a11Ce. If you put three barleycorns un- der your pillow, you will dream of your lover. Take an opportunity of going to a beanstalk and fathom it around three times. At the last fathom you will catch the apparition of your true love in your arms. If you wish to see your lover, prick the third, or wedding finger, of your left hand with a sharp nee- dle (beware a pin), and with the blood write your own and lover's name on a piece of clean writing paper, in as small a compass as you can, and encircle it with three round rings of the same crimson stream, fold it up, and exactly at the ninth hour of the evening, bury it with your own hand in the earth, and tell no one. Your lover will hasten to you as soon as possible, and he will not be able to rest until he sees you, and if you have quar- relled, to make it up. A young man may also try this charm, only instead of the wedding finger, let him pierce his left thumb. If a lady, going to bed, rolls up her corset and repeats three times 8o ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. the following words, she will see her true lover: “I roll it, oh roll it, ah roll it up tight, And hope that my true love I’ll see in the night. Not in his coffin and not in his clay But in the good clothes that he wears every day.” If you take the twig of a tree, straighten it, and place it in the window-sill when you go to bed, the way it points in the morning will show what direction your lover will come from. If your lover is in an unknown part of the world, catch a fly and say, “Dainty fly do to me tell, where is the lover I love so well?” and let it go. It will fly in the right direc- tion. Put a grain of pop-corn on a hot stove and whichever way it pops, that way your sweetheart lives. If you wish you had visitors, es- pecially a lover, repeat the follow- ing lines: “Bite off his head and throw him under the table, And he will come as soon as he is able.” If you wish to see an absent lov- er, pluck the first flower you see the first time you go Maying, breathe on it, and say; “Flower pink, flow- er white, I wish to see my love to- night!” Your true lover will be sure to come, though it may not be the one you are thinking of. If a girl wishes to see her true love, she must pluck the yarrow from the grave of a young man and place it under her pillow, say- ing: “Yarrow, sweet yarrow, the first that I’ve found, In the name of Jesus Christ I pluck thee from the ground. As Joseph loved sweet Mary and took Ther for his dear, So in a dream this night I hope my true love will appear.” If you have an absent friend whom you wish very much to see, write your name, and his or her name, on a sheet of paper with your blood. Fold the sheet into nine, and wear it nine days on your heart. Take it out and burn it on the ninth day, and the absent one will shortly appear. When Buckinghamshire damsels prick the candle to see their lovers, they say: “It’s not this candle alone I stick But (here mention your lover's name) heart I mean to prick. Whether he be asleep or awake, I’d have him come to me and speak.” By the time the candles burned down to the pins, the lover would CO111C. Peasant girls think they can make their lovers come to them by sticking pins in the rushlights. Take an egg to your window; break it over a knife; remember the day and hour. Wish that your true love will come to you. If you go up too high to do it, he will be killed. (Nashua, N. H.) In Spain, when a husband deserts his wife, she devoutly kneels before the image of her devotion, praying for the return of her lord. Under her knees is a powder made of hu- man bones mixed with wax. Should the husband have the least spark of his former affection in his heart, this will attract him back to her side, and he will return. If a Chinese woman desires the return of any gentleman, she will burn yellow paper, and that will compel him to go and see her at some future time. If your lover leaves at night just as the clock strikes twelve, he is apt never to come back. Should you wish for the return of an absent lover, write his name on a piece of paper when the clock is striking eight, put it beside the FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 81 House under the water spout, and he will be bound to return. A very old charm for the restora- tion of a lover is thus spoken of in VerSe: But strew the salt and say in angry tones, e “I scatter Delphid's, perjured Delphid's bones! First Delphid injured me, he raised my ame, And now I burn this bough in Delphid’s name, As this oak blaze and burn away in fume How soon it takes, let Delphid’s flesh Consume, Inyx, restore my false, my perjured SWa1n, And force him back into my arms again. As this devoted wax melts o'er the fire, Let Midian Delphid melt in warm de- sire!” (Idylliums, page 12, 13.) If you wish the return of your lover, boil a letter from him, or some article of his, and let it sim- mer. He will have no more rest than the letter in the pot, until he sees you. The burning of a certain number of tapers will compel an absent lover's return. Before the last one is consumed, some mysterious pow- er will compel the wanderer to turn homeward. A love charm is to attend mid- night mass, when at the elevation of the host, three knots must be tied with the left hand in a hand- kerchief or a piece of ribbon. This will draw the loved one unaccount- ably to one. If you wish to see your lover, throw salt on the fire five succes- sive mornings and say: “It is not salt I mean to burn, But my true love's heart I mean to turn; Wishing him neither joy nor sleep *Till he comes back to me!” The Neapolitan lover is afraid to T^accept a lock of hair from his sweet- heart, from the prevalent belief that pernicious influences may thus be conveyed. How to make your lover come to you: “Through the doubtful streams of joy and grief, True love doth wade, and finds at last, relief.” Get a small piece of blotting pa- per of a red color, about two inches square and cut a small hole in the center with your scissors. (A knife will not do.) Take a needle and pierce a small hole in each corner of the paper. Then, with another needle, pierce your thumbs and lit- tle fingers till the blood flows, then wet two corners of the paper with the blood of your little fingers and the other two with the blood from your thumbs. Let the paper dry and then burn it, repeating the fol- lowing verse until it is entirely con- sumed: “Come to me, my lover calm, be gener- ous, kind and free, Come my lover to my arm and I’ll ever think of thee.” This done, your lover will have no peace day or night until he has seen you. If a girl fires a gun, her sweet- heart will forsake her. For a lady to present a book to her lover is bad luck. It often means the breaking of their en- gagement. If you wish the course of true love to run smoothly, walk down- stairs backward the first morning after you are engaged. If two lovers in Spain happen to meet at two crossroads, it is a sign of separation. If one had two lovers who proved faithless, the third will make up for both. If an engaged couple are de- tained from a wedding, which they 82 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. had planned to attend, they will be separated, or marry to live unhap- pily. In Durham a paving stone is set up on end on the porch, and if the bride does not step on it, she will not be happy. It is said to be a sign of love, when a girl picks a thread from a man's coat. Take a milkweed and squeeze it; if the milk comes out, you are in love. Rosalind in the forest of Arden tells Orlando what are the signs of a man's being in love: “A lean cheek, which you have not; a blue eye and sunken, which you have not; an unquestionable spirit, which you have not; a beard neglected, which you have not. Then your hose should be ungartered, your bonnet unbanded, your shoe untidy, and everything about you demon- s strating a careless desolation.” The Scandinavians believe in the following love charm: If lovers plight their troth and break a ring in two, each taking half, they will be united, even if necessary to come from beyond the grave; and, more- over, the one thus come for must go, no matter what other ties he or she may have contracted. The Greeks believed that if they threw themselves from a promon- tory into the sea, it would cure them of their love if they were not drowned. Love can be broken by wearing a gray hat. If a lover wants to get rid of a rival, let him beat him with a grape- vine stick and he will pine away and die. (Minneapolis Journal.) Ants' eggs are an antidote to love. To cause hatred between lovers, take a handful of clay from a new- made grave and shake it between them, saying: “Hate ye, one another, May ye be as hateful to each other as sin to Christ, As bread eaten without blessing is to God!” They will quarrel and hate each other, even if they know that they are being charmed. To bring about a divorce in Tur- key, they steal a spoon belonging to each, the husband and the wife, or the lover and his lady, tie the two together with a woolen string, and bury them. When the string rots so that the spoons are separ- ated, the couple will be separated, to O. A charm to allay love is: “If so be a toad is layed In a sheep-skin newly flayed, And that tied to a man, 'Twill ever, Him and his affections sever.” If you wish to prevent a man from visiting a girl in any house, take some shoemaker’s wax and two nails, make a cross of these and put it under the seat where the girl and man sit. They will soon quar- rel and part. A steel necklace, to which was suspended a camphor bag, was worn as an amulet to stifle passion, and one is said to have been worn by a certain Mrs. Lee in 1814. Light a candle at midnight, prick it three times with a needle and say: “Thrice the candle broken by me, Thrice thy heart shall broken be.” Your enemy will love three times in vain, and your lover, if he then does not keep true to you, will have his heart broken three times by others. It was narrated in Yorkshire that if a man under the influence of a philter was forced to love a girl FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 33 against his will, would put on a pair of new shoes and wear them out by walking in them, and then drink wine out of the right shoe, where it could mingle with the perspiration already there, he would promptly be cured of his love and hate would take its place. If dirt from a graveyard is thrown between a pair of lovers, it will break the engagement; if they are not engaged, they will become estranged. An instinctive antipathy should always be heeded. Instinct seldom leads astray. If a woman is forsaken by her lover, she has but to write out the CIX Psalm, send a copy of it to him, and he will never thrive. A charm against love-fascination is to sprinkle one's self with the dust wherein a mule has rolled. Lord Byron tells us of a lady who had a large agate bead, with a wire run through it, which had been tak- en out of a sepulchral mound. She kept it ever at hand as a charm, so that she might never fall in love, and Byron does not add, but the chronicler does, that she was the only woman who did not succumb to Byron's fascination, even the rigid Madame De Staal declaring that she would gladly yield to his embrace, If a person desires to be re- venged on a false lover, take a bird's heart and at midnight stick it full of pins. A likeness of the false lover will appear in great agony. A charm to annoy a lover is: “It is not this herb I wear, But Dick's hard heart I tear; May he never rest or happy be, Until he maketh love to me!” If you want a new lover, sweep all the cobwebs down. To forget a faithless lover, let a maid go to the well of Lagnanay, Ireland, which is a fairy well, “—and if the dews arise, True maiden in its icy flow With pure hand bathes thrice, Three lady brackens pluck likewise, And three times round the fountain go, She straight forgets her tears and sighs.” her bosom If a young man or woman catch- es the feet in a wire, it is a sign that he or she is to have a new sweetheart. When there is ice on the outside of the window, give it a knock with your hand, and as many pieces of ice as fall, so many lovers you will have. To make your lover come to you, sleep with your scissors under your pillow. If you wish an absent lover to keep his thoughts on you and no one else, take a cup of wine and, looking intently into it, thinking at the same time intently of the loved One, say: “Thou for me and I for thee and for none else! Your face to mine and mine to thine and your head turned Away from all others.” He will be possessed with an equal desire to be yours alone. In olden times the spark who was resolved to sacrifice his youth and vigor on a damsel whose coyness would not accept his love oblations, would thread a needle with the hair of her head, and then, running it through the most fleshy part of a dead man, as the brawn of the arm, thigh, or calf of the leg, the charm would work so well that she soon would run mad after him whom she had so lately slighted. If your lover is in danger of for- getting you, get up at midnight, wave your hands around your head 34 -- ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. and say, “You love me, you must love me, you shall love me!” Do this three nights in succession and you need fear no more. He will be compelled to love you. The well of St. Dwynwen's in Wales cured love-sickness during the 14th century. It has been cov- ered with sand for many years, but even now people drink of the water nearest to the well for the cure of broken hearts. It is lucky for a bride and groom to eat the leaves of the periwinkle together. They will love one another. (English.) To bring back a husband's love for his wife, take a partridge's heart and a piece of the root of a wallflower, make it into a small ball and let it be eaten by the offender. He will never scold or beat his wife again. Froissart, a French chronicler of the 14th century, says that Gaston, son of the Count de Foix, received a bag of powder from his uncle, Charles the Bad, for restoring the love of his father to his mother. A charm to retain the love of a lover is to tie a live cock with its legs to its head and plunge it into spirits, as rum or gin. Another horrible charm is to tear the live fowl asunder. If, while talking to a gentleman, he crosses his feet, it is a sign that he loves you. If a girl eats more pickles than usual, she may know she is in love. In Germany the girl who uproots the endive with bits of gold or a stag's horn will be assured of the constancy of her lover. To tell whether your future mate will be fond of you, trusting or jealous, or tired of you, select a star as you first cast up your eyes, count the number between it and the “dipper,” and add thirteen. Halve that, and if the number is even, he will adore you; but if un- even, you will have no peace. Clouds shooting across the sky while you are trying the charm, mean rivals. Name the fire, blow it three times, and if it burns, the person loves you. A method of determining the faithfulness of lovers is to put three nuts upon the bars of the grate, naming the nuts after the lovers. If a nut cracks or jumps, the lover will prove unfaithful. If it begins to blaze and burn, he has a regard for the person making the trial. If the nuts named after the girl and her lover, burn together, they will be married. To tell if a person loves you, pluck a flower and say: “He loves me, he don’t, He will marry me, he won't, This year, Next year, Now, Never,” and pull the petals off at the same time. The last petal will tell the story. In Japan a girl drops a long hair pin on the matting and counts the straws from it to the border: “Yes, no, yes, no,” to test her lover's faithfulness. If you wish to dream of your lover, do not tell anyone what you mean to do, but after you enter your room do not speak but fold your petticoat under your pillow and repeat the following: “On Friday night when I go to bed, I place my petticoat under my head, To dream of the living and not the dead, « , - To dream of the one that I shall wed." Before morning you will be sure to dream of him. Walk three times around a fire on St. Johns' eve and you will see | \ N \\ \ | %Tº º N %iº § ſº ſº * The Eartinguished Candle. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 85 your lover in your dreams that night. If you take the initials of the man you love and your own initials, write them on a slip of paper, pin them with six pins in the middle of your handkerchief and place them under your pillow, you will dream of what his intentions are toward you. If you wish to dream of your lover, hang your shoes outside of your window. Love's cordial. To be tried the third night of a new moon. Take brandy, rum, gin, wine and the oil of amber, of each a teaspoonful; a teaspoonful of cream, and three of spring water; drink it as you get into bed; repeat— “This mixture of love I take for my potion, That I of my destiny may have a no- tion; Cupid befriend me, new moon be kind, And show unto me the fate that's de- signed.” You will dream of drink, and, ac- cording to the quality or manner of its being presented, you may tell the condition to which you will rise or fall by marriage. Water is pov- erty; and, if you dream of a drunk- en man, it is ominous that you will have a drunken mate. If you dream of drinking too much, you will fall, at a future period, into that sad error yourself, without great care. The maidens of Rome used to say this charm: “St. Peter take it not amiss, o try your favor I have done this, You are the ruler of the keys, And you can help me if you please; Let me then your influence prove, And let me see my only love.” This must be done on the eve of St. Peter's and in silence. If a wife wishes to keep her hus- band's love, she must bind a lock of her hair to a lock of her hus- band's three times by the full moon. A like superstition is that a lock of hair given one by his or her, sweetheart, will keep the lov- ers together. Lovers’ initials may be found at the roots of lilies gathered on St. Johns' eve. If a girl wishes to attach her lover to her unalterably, she must wait until she catches him asleep with his clothes on and stealing his garter unawares, tie it with a true lover's knot to her own, saying: “This knot I tie secure; firm is this knot, firm shall his love endure.” If you wish a person to think of you, pluck a hair from your head and blow it out in the air in the direction of his or her home. Call the name of the person at the same time in a loud voice three times. During this you must be entirely alone and have your thoughts con- centrated upon this object alone. In order to ascertain the abode of an absent lover, the anxious en- quirer moves around in a circle with the pip of an apple in the hand, squeezing it between the fin- ger and thumb. By this pressure it will fly from its rind and go in the direction of the lover. In the meantime this rhyme must be said: “Pippin, pippin, paradise, East, west, north or south, Pilling brig or Cockermouth?” To find out if your lover will wed you or what your fortune is in love, make the candle charm. Take two candles and light them and float them in something on a tub of water. If they drift asunder and then come together again it is a sign that the lovers will be parted for a time but will come together again. If they sink it is a sign they will never be married. If it goes out it is a sign of the death of the 86 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. owner of the candle. If the girl's candle floats a little ahead, it is a sign she will be the head and mis- tress of the house. If a fungus forms on the candles it is a sign of many children. If they run in to- gether it is a sign of quarrels. In Poland they float the candles on a river and by their actions foretell the lover's fortune. To discover whether you are loved, blow the seeds off a dande- lion, or pluck the petals off a daisy or star flower, and repeat alternate- ly, “He loves me, he loves me not.” The last one repeated will turn out to be true. You can do the same thing by picking up a handful of pebbles and throwing them on the ground, one at a time, repeating the same words as you do so. If a maid in Wales gives a young man a birch-twig, it is a sign that she loves him. If she dislikes him, a hazel-twig is given. When two lovers wish to know if they are destined for each other, let them go out and build a little fire and hand in hand jump over it. Should they chance to fall, they will probably separate. The great flick- ering or smoking of the fire, sig- nifies trials in their married life. If the flames rise high and clear, or crackle as if rejoicing over the agile pair, then the future life may be commenced at once in peace and security, for the midsummer fire has declared its prosperity. If the first time you see a man, you happen to sneeze, you will sometime marry him. Take three peach seeds and plant them near a log. Stand over them and sprinkle water on them, repeat- ing a piece of poetry about your love. Let them remain there for a month and if they all come up, it is a sign that you will gain your love, be rich and prosperous, and a leader among your sex. If only one comes up, you can take your choice of which you would rather have. Tuscan lovers during Lent, break a branch of myrtle in two, each tak- ing a piece and keeping it by him or her. Whenever they chance to meet, they greet each other with the following words: “Out with your green branch!” If either fails to respond, the marriage is broken off, for it is a sign of misfortune. If each produces the branch, their love will endure and on Easter Sunday they will be married. A Hindu lover finds his mate, or a girl her lover, by the following: “May thy heart devour itself for me, May thy dry mouth water for me.” Someone will passionately re- spond. The young man anxious to know whom he will wed, should dip his shirt-sleeve in a south-running stream and hang it up before the fire on retiring. He must lie awake and at about midnight a girl will appear and turn the shirt-sleeve to dry on the other side. A young man can win a favor- able answer from his sweetheart by obtaining her handkerchief or glove and wearing it in his shoe three days. He must get the article un- known to her. In Ireland it is believed that, if a young woman “fairly worships the ground” her lover “treads on,” something will certainly prevent their marriage. Paracelsus taught that when one person ate or drank anything that came off the skin of the other, as for instance a drop of perspiration falling into a glass, he would fall , desperately in love with the person. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 87 In the North of Germany, if a young man falls in love with a girl, he goes of an evening to her door and asks for a light for his cigar. If she gives it to him, he knows that he may call again; but if she makes an excuse, his addresses are not welcome. In Holland it is believed that if a young man is refused by the girl he loves and stops and lights a match and his pipe before he leaves the house, he will sometime marry the girl after all. Write your and your sweetheart's Vin both, saying: “Friendship, love, indifference, hate.” \lcomes out on, tells the real feelings of each. To find out the humor of a lover stir the fire with the poker. If it burns brightly, he is good-hu- mored; but if it is dim and ob- stinate, the lover is surly and angry. If a girl has two lovers and wish- es to know which would be most constant, she should procure two brown apple-pippins, and sticking one on each cheek, would repeat this couplet after naming them: “Pippin, pippin, I stick thee here, That that is true thou may'st declare!” Patiently wait until one falls off. That one will be the one who is not worthy. Let a youth or maiden pull from its stalk the flower of the “horse- knot,” and cut the tops of the sta- mens with a pair of scissors and lay the flower by, where no hu- man eye can see it. Think all day and dream all night of your sweet- heart; if, when you look at the flower in the morning, it has shot out to its former length, the loved one will be amicable; but if not, a disappointment will enstie. names, cancel all the letters that are The One it A fish cut out of very thin paper and placed longwise in the palm of the hand will show by its move- ments the disposition of your lover. If the head only rises, he is jealous and quick-tempered; if the tail only rises, polite and amiable; if head and tail rise at same time, change- able; if the fish quivers, passion- ate; if there is no sign of movement, cold and indifferent; if the fish re- clines on one side, constant and true. One who takes three bites of the mantelpiece and then runs out of the door, will hear the name of his true love pronounced. If you put a sleeping person's hand in a glass of water and ask, “Who is your lover?” he or she will tell you the name. Place under your pillow an ounce of yarrow-seed and say: “The pretty herb of Venus’ tree, Thy true name it is yarrow. Now who my bosom friend must be, Pray tell thou me to-morrow.” On the morrow you will get a sure indication of your wish. Hang your garters on the wall and say thrice: “Garter, garter on the wall, Let me hear my lover call.” Think intently on your lover for fifteen minutes and call his name in your mind. He will reply after two or three calls and you will feel it by a thrill of joy and the hearing of your name in your mind. If you would know the full name of your future spouse, this spell is said to be unfailing: Let a bach- elor and maid fasten a doorkey se- curely by tying firmly with a cord, in a Bible, at the first chapter of Ruth. They must then support the Bible between them by holding the key on the tips of the right thumbs of the right hands. Beginning with A, the one who is trying the charm 88 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. must say: “Whither thou goest I will go, and where thou lodgest I will lodge. Thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God. Where thou diest will I die, and there will I be buried. The Lord do so to me and more also if aught but death part thee and me.” Re- peat the verses with each letter of the alphabet until the key turns about on the thumbs and falls to the floor. Then begin again and you will in this way get the Bible to spell out the name. If you place a snail on a slate on May day, it will describe by its turnings the initials of your future mate's name. “Last May day fair I searched to find a snail, That might my secret lover’s name re- veal, Upon a gooseberry bush a snail I found, For always snails near sweetest fruits abound; I seized the vermin, home I quickly sped, And on the hearth the milk-white embers spread, Slow ºwed the snail and if I right can Spell, In the soft ashes marked a curious “L’. Oh may this wondrous omen lucky prove: For “L” is found in Lubberkin and Love.” (Lubberkin or Lubrikan is an Irish fairy resembling an old man. He is a maker of brogues—a certain kind of shoes worn in Ireland and in the Scotch highlands—and lives in out-of- the-way and desolate parts. His ham- mering discloses his whereabouts to the wanderer. He is very rich, and remains visible only as long as anyone keeps his eye fixed upon him, but the mo- ment one looks away, he disappears. There are many stories connected with him, current in Irish folklore.) You may also trace your future husband's initials by a snail’s path in clay. In Transylvania, if a girl steps naked into a stream or river, she will see the reflection of her lover’s face. Go into the garden on Christmas eve with two rakes. Leave one on the ground, and while industriously working with the other, say: “He that would my life-partner be, Let him come and rake with me.” Presently a shadow will appear as if raking, and you will know your lover's spirit has answered you. The belief in philters is peculiar to Naples, where young men who fade away in flesh and strength without apparent cause, are said to have taken love-potions. To find out whom a person loves best, name his brow, nose, upper lip, and chin for friends of his and then draw a straw lightly across each. The one that tickles the most, is the one he loves best. “Seventeen small secret stitches Taken in a bachelor’s breeches, Will his stubborn heart incline If a spinster for him pine.” (German.) The love of Tristram and Ysolde was attributed to their drinking a love potion designed for King Mark, the intended husband of the fair Princess. If you wish to hear good news from your sweetheart, walk down- stairs backwards. If one girl looks in the mirror over another's head, she will some- time catch her beau. Pick a feathery head of dande- lion, charge the little feathers with a tender thought, turn to the spot where the loved one dwells, and blow, and the seed ball will carry the message faithfully. It is unlucky for a girl to stand in the window and watch to see if her lover is coming. Two lovers can find out whether they will live happily together, if they go hand in hand at night and FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 89 pull up a weed or flower. If the weed is straight and smooth, so will be their lives; if the flower is fresh and beautiful, so also will be their lives. But if the weed is crooked and rank, beware; if the flower is faded and old, look out. If either is dry and dead, do not marry. Miscellaneous Charms and Omens Relating to Marriage. To make love for only three days before marriage, you will defeat your rivals and win your wife. (Chinese.) In Sweden, if a girl sees a stork flying on its first coming, she will ride in a bridal carriage. Two people born on the same day of the same month will quarrel if they get married. Love to be of good quality must make one ill. If a girl rides a camel, it is a sign she wants to be married. To sit on the table is said by some to signify a desire to get mar- ried. "tº ºetween who would success- ul De, Should meet both lad and lass beneath a tree.” If one goes to Westminster for a wife, it is sure he will get cheated. (Grosse.) If a knife is thrown off the table and falls on its back, it betokens a wedding. To drop a milk pan is a sign of marriage. Drop the dish-rag and soon be married is said of engaged girls. In looking for a good wife, go to the cross-roads, drop a ball, and follow in the direction it rolls. (Irish.) To rub shoulders with a bride is a sign of speedy marriage. If a carriage breaks down in coming from a marriage, and the occupant is a single person, he or she will be married soon. If a betrothed couple rides in the same hack or car with a wedding party, they will soon be married. If a girl shakes hands with four different gentlemen as she enters a room, she will soon be married. In Turkey, if a horse sneezes when a young girl passes, it is a sign that she will soon be married; if her hair becomes unfastened, she will soon be sought for; if she eats a peach with a split kernel, her mar- riage is at hand. The first unmarried lady who is greeted by the minister presiding at a wedding, will be married soon. The day you read your first love- story will be your wedding day. If a pin shows in the bride's dress, and a young lady can get it unobserved, she will soon be at the altar herself. It is said there will soon be a marriage in the family of the man who owns the farm where the end of a rainbow seems to rest. If you see the king, you must think of the one you want to marry and wish it; then you will marry as you like. It denotes the speedy marriage of that young person who sleeps in the chamber last occupied by a bridal party. If a maiden sees three successive new moons, she will have her heart's desire. 90 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. To find a bottle, betokens that the finder will soon be married. If a brick falls off your chimney, it means that your eldest daughter will soon be married. If a girl makes a practice of sit- ting in chairs that have just been vacated, she will marry early. If you see a rainbow over the right shoulder, you will be married in the summer; if it is seen over the left, you will be married in the win- ter. If a person who is sewing has the thread continually knotted, she will have the very best chance to get married before the year is out. See your sweetheart's picture in the mirror when you first awaken on the first of May and you will marry her or him within the year. If at the table an unmarried per- son is placed between a man and his wife, the individual so seated will be married within a year. If an unmarried lady's canary has an even number of feathers in its tail, she will be married during its life. Put a ring in a teacup of flour pressed tight. Then turn it out on a plate. The one who can shove all the flour away from the ring with a knife without toppling it over, will be the first to marry. A “scadding of peas” is a custom in the North, of boiling the com- mon grey peas in the shell and eat- ing them with butter and salt, first shelling them. A bean, shell and all, is put into one of the pea-pods, and whoever eats this bean, will be the first to be married. If a lady or gentleman of Scot- land sends a mitten to a lover, it shows that all hope is over; they will not marry then. If you fall upstairs, you will not be married that year. If a bridesmaid is undressing the bride and keeps a pin, she will not be married till the next Easter. If anyone comes when you are sweeping, they will not be married that year. If a spinster in springtime, when the birds come back, sees two wag- tails together, she will be married. within the year. If three unmarried persons hav- ing the same Christian name meet at table, it is a sign that one of the three will be married within the year. The tall should marry the short; the fat should marry the lean. If the man you contemplate with favor have thick red lips, he will be simple, good-natured and easily managed. If he speaks quickly, but dis- tinctly, and walks firmly and erect- ly, he will be ambitious, active and probably a good husband. If he blushes, it is a good sign, but speaking positively and blunt- ly betokens much of headstrong self-will. If he loses at cards snappishly, he is impatient; and to cheat at play, shows a mind unworthy of trust. If he boasts of a lady's favors, he is to be avoided. If he looks pale in a passion, with pale lips, he cannot have either truth, love, or real courage to de- fend you. If he has a manly, dark beard and a handsome nose, he will have ability to please and many good qualities. If he is of a yellow complexion, it implies moroseness and jealousy; FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 91 if he has a pug nose, snappishness and vulgarity. If he is beetlebrowed, it shows duplicity and fickleness. If he has a dimple on the cheek or chin, he will be the father of a handsome and generous race. If a girl marries a man with curly hair, she must expect a curly tem- per. It is unlucky for blond to marry blonde and brunet to marry bru- nette. For healthy and beautiful children and conjugal happiness and love, a blond should marry a brunette, or at least contracting persons should be opposites. In the 17th century the Hunga- rians thought it unlucky to marry a widow. When girls are weeding, they look for a little weed called “love meet me,” and hide it about them; the first bachelor that they meet they will marry. (German.) Among the Jews it is considered a good omen for the elder brother of the deceased to marry the wid- ow. It would be bad luck for any- one else to think of marrying her without this brother's consent. Formerly women fasted every Wednesday and Saturday through- out the year, so that their girls might get good husbands, or that the women themselves, in case their own husbands were brutal, might be relieved by their death or deser- tion. A Matabele maiden, although her father has the power to sell her to the highest bidder, is not devoid of sentiment. She prefers the brave who has most often stained his spear in the blood of his enemies. ... Never marry a woman who has been twice married. If a man sits up very straight at table, don’t marry him. (Pennsyl- vania.) It is very good luck to marry a widow before she leaves off mourn- ing. If you make sport of a lover, it is a sign that you will be very un- happy. Love is sacred. The following has been often ob- served: A man who has two Os, Cs, LS, or Ys in his name will come to grief in the married rela- tion, have unhappiness and divorce. The Christian name of the first person you meet on January 1st, will also be that of the person you are to marry. If the one who gets the wish-end of a wishbone places it over the door, the next person of opposite sex who passes beneath it, will be the candidate for that person's hand in marriage. If you wear a lock of hair of your absent lover's, and it is soft and silky, he is well; if it is dry and harsh, he is ill. In selecting a husband, try to choose one whose last name begins with a letter in the alphabet which comes after and not before your own, for if it does come before yours, he will not make you happy. If a woman wishes to have a compliant husband, let her have a ring made of old iron nails, on Fri- day during mass, then lay the gos- pels upon it daily and say a pater- noster. If she wears that ring on her finger, she will have a husband who will be ready to grant all her wishes for a year. Several queries in matters of love and marriage are resolved by throwing a die or pricking at a fig- 92 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. ure after the form and rules of the following table. What number you throw, or what number or letter you prick upon, they being covered by a piece of paper, through which you must prick, get the same number and let- ter in the following solutions for a true anSWer, THE FORTUNE TABLE, A—2—3—4–4–5—6— B—2—3—4—5—6—— C 6— D—2—3—4—5—6— es Af º J. * J ax * As to what kind of a husband a widow or maid shall have: A Handsome youth be sure you’ll have, Brown hair, high nose; he'll keep you brave. 2. An honest tradesman is thy lot; When he proffers, slight him not. 3. A man upon thy lot shall fall, Eely slender, strait and tall. 4. Fair, ruddy, bush-haired is thy love, He'll keep thee well, and call thee dove. 5. A widower, though rich thou’lt marry; You for a husband won’t long tarry. 6. Proper and gray will be the man, That will thee wed, my pretty Nan. Whether a maid shall have him she loves: Be not too coy, he is your own, But thro’ delay he may be gone, 2. He of your wishes does not know; He’d soon comply, if it was so. 3. Come set your heart at rest I say, He will but plunder and away. 4. Fear not, thy neighbor is the man: And he will have thee, if he can. 5. Show him more kindness, he will speak; His heart with silence else will break. 6. Sigh though no more, he does relent; And his inconstancy repent. How many husbands you may expect: Come i. the town though first shall wed; A stranger next shall grace thy bed, 2. With one well lov’d, thy life shall be, And happy days in marriage free. 3. The stars three husbands do presage; And thou shalt die in good old age. 4. Wed though betimes, or else I fear, Thou wilt not much for wedlock care. 5. Too much of pride will make thee tarry, Yet after all that, thou shalt marry. 6. Accept the ring thy love doth give, For long in wedlock he’ll not live. Whether it be best to marry or not: I}on’t fear, thy husband will be kind, And it is one shall please thy mind. 2. If he be of complexion fair, For thee that man I do prepare. 3. Come! never fear, it will be well; Or say I can no fortune tell. 4. Pray lose no time, for if you do; Age will come on, and you may rue. 5. If this match slip you long may stay; Then take kind will without delay. 6. Cupid commands thee now to do ’t, Then prythee make no more dispute. A man who keeps his sweetheart waiting after the hour appointed to meet, will keep his wife waiting for him on the wedding day. If a girl can wind a tangled skein of yarn with her lover without a dispute, it is a sign that they will never quarrel. If a girl takes a glass of brandy and a fish to a cross-roads on St. George's eve, her future husband will appear. Should he take the fish, the marriage would be happy; but if he takes the brandy, it will be the reverse. (Gypsy Sorcery.) In North England a bride must not hear her banns published lest she have deaf and dumb children. It is unlucky for a couple to have their banns published at the end of one, and to be married at the be- ginning of another quarter of the year. It is unlucky for the bride to see her marriage license before the cer- emony. It is very unlucky for a girl to have her heels stepped upon, for it will cause her to be cut out and at a disadvantage with her lover. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 93 If you bump up against a closed door, you will not marry that year. If a man eats no butter, he will be hard to please about his food. (Pennsylvania.) When a young lady hears of the marriage of a friend, she should not exclaim, “Oh, I wish it was Il” If she does, she will never be married. If a gentleman and his fiancée stand up together at a christening, they will never marry. If two sisters marry two brothers, one of the couples will not live har- moniously. To meet your lover by accident in a churchyard is a very bad sign; death will separate you, though not necessarily the death of your- self or of him. If a parasol is raised in the pres- ence of a newly wedded pair, it is a sign of death to them. Should two members of one fam- ily intermarry with two members of another family, one of the four will die within a year. One who is going to be married should not keep writing her future name. She may never have it! The night before your nuptials, write your name on a piece of pa- per, as small as possible, with the name of your spouse elect, the date of the wedding day, the month and the year; enclose all in a circle of blood drawn from one of your fin- gers, fold the paper into nine folds, place it in the stocking drawn from your left leg, and place it between your head and the pillow, and by your dreams of that night you may guess what will be the fate attend- ing your nuptial life. If you see a grasshopper in the house on the eve of your marriage, it is a most excellent omen. If you go to the opera on the evening before you wed, it is a sign you will travel. In Sweden, if on the night pre- ceding the wedding, the bride has an infant boy sleep with her, her first child will be a son. If the bride mistakes anything for a ghost on the night before the wedding, it is a warning, and the wedding should never take place. Unaccountable noises heard about the house the night before a wedding are the spirits of friends who are hovering near. In German villages all the bride's outfit is carried to the groom's house in carts a week before the wedding, the bride elect sitting on cushions in the center of the wag- on, throwing cakes and doughnuts to the little children who follow, insuring her wealth, so that she will always have plenty to give. To loan a bride a garment to be married in, is bad luck to the bride and good luck to the lender. Unlucky for the bride to have any man see her while she is being dressed. When preparing for your mar- riage, it is unlucky to have bad work with your hair and have to do it up twice. It is bad for the bride to look in the glass after making her toilette, unless she leaves one hand un- gloved. Unrelated persons of the same name marrying, will be lucky. If the dog barks as the wedding party leaves the home of the bride, she will not come back to it again. If an old person is the last to say good-bye to the bridal party, they may expect a long life. 94 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. Leave the parental home in great haste, and be back again in a short time. A detention to the wedding party on the way to church indicates that the life of the contracting parties will be unhappy and the family small. It is unlucky if the bride's horse stumbles on the way to the church. As the bride goes to church, throw the keys after her, and she will be economical. It is unlucky for a bride and groom to walk downstairs togeth- er to be married. They will be walking downhill in their fortunes. The wedding party that goes up- hill to the place of the ceremony, will start in life at the place which marks its least happiness. If you see a dark person sleeping when you go to be married, it is a sign of good luck. If the dark per- Son is a female, it is a sign of dan- ger or sickness. If a bridal party meet a barefoot boy, the first child will be strong and healthy. If a couple on their way to get married meet a baby in a carriage, they will have a deformed child come to them. The couple who see a policeman as they go to be married, should carefully guard their happiness, as danger hovers over them. Unlucky persons and animals to meet on the way to church when you are going to be married: A nun, a monk, a priest, a policeman, a lawyer, a doctor, a rabbit, (this is by many people considered a very lucky omen), a dog, a blind person, a lizard, a serpent. (Wood's Wed- ding Day in all Ages and Nations.) A peacock seen when going to the place of the wedding, is the omen of a couple to be poor but vain. Gray horses to carry you to church are the luckiest color. (Popular Superstitions.) If it rains when the bride is on her way to the church, it is a sign she has not fed her cat. A mule seen on the way to be married indicates humble friends, but faithful. If a cat crosses the road before the couple on their way to be mar- ried, a jealous person is lurking and brooding trouble. It will bring bad luck if either of the contracting parties go back af- ter having once started to the place of the ceremony. To see a ladder while going to be married denotes that the new rela- tion will be one of prosperity. If a key is seen on the wedding march, the one who sees it will be the ruler of the home. If the bride falls on the way when being fetched, it prognosticates the death of her first children. If a stone rolls toward a wedding pair walking to church, it is an evil On 1611. If you sit on the back seat as you go to be married, you will always be second in your husband's affec- tions. Bad luck to go to a wedding and a funeral on the same day. If on coming home from the church after being married the bride seizes the door handle of her new home and cries out, “This door I seize upon, in this house let all my will be done,” she will have the mastery and will rule her husband. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 95. An old English custom was to carry the bridal cup before the bride, on returning from the church, to prevent evil. When the bride comes home from the church, she should herself unharness the horses, so that she may have children easily. When the bride is fetched home, she must make no circuit, but come by the common road, or else she will have no luck. If a bride wishes to have good luck in her wedded estate, she must on coming out of the church from her wedding, enter her house un- der two sabers laid crosswise over the door. If, on coming home from your wedding, you make a black hen run in first, any mischief to be feared will fall on the hen. If a newly married couple meet twins on their way home, it is be- lieved that they will have no chil- dren. If the wedding couple meet a smiling child as they come out of church, they will have a happy life, but a crying child means evil. In going or coming from a wed- ding, it is unlucky to meet a funer- al. If it be a female, the bride will not live long; if a male, the groom. If going to or coming from the church, the wind is blowing and catches up dust and leaves, whirl- ing it in a circle in the road before the bridal party, it betokens a stormy and unsettled married life. (German.) If a donkey brays in the hearing of a bridal party, someone is harsh- ly criticizing them. If the gate slams after the bridal party, they have an unkind relative who will make them trouble. A toad hopping along the road in the same direction as the bridal couple is going, will bring unex- pected happiness to their home; if it is going in the other direction, it is bearing away some of their joys with him. (A superstition especial- ly found among Orientals.) If a bride feels perfectly com- posed when she is married, she will find that she is not mated. It is said to be a good omen for a groom to take a piece of the bride's gown in his pocket to the altar. He should also wear some- thing the bride has given him. If dogs fight at a wedding, the happy pair will come to blows. Snow on the wedding day fore- tells a happy marriage. If a beggar comes to the house while the wedding guests are pres- ent, the newly married couple will have wealth to spend upon the needy. In the Vosges, it is still believed that when two marriages take place in a church at the same time, the first bride to step out of the church will have a boy for her first child. If a guest attend two weddings in one day, the second one will turn out unlucky. Any detracting sound heard dur- ing the marriage ceremony is an omen of ill fortune. It is unlucky for the best man to wear everything black at the wed- ding. . It is unlucky for a bridal party to meet a WOman. For cousins to marry is unlucky. If a bridal party ventures off from land, it is unlucky to go down Stream. 96 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. Runaway marriages always turn out unfortunate. If the minister is invited to a wedding before any other arrange- ment is made, it is unlucky. Persons marrying one born un- der the same astrological sign as themselves are seldom happy. An Irish Catholic mother will seldom attend the wedding of her daughter in church, as it is consid- ered unlucky. If anything unlucky or Ominous occurs, like the breaking of a bowl, while a negotiation for a marriage is in progress in China, the affair is broken off or set aside. If the bride's canary bird have young birds in the nest at the time of her marriage, she will have as many children as the bird has young ones. In marrying, to change the name and not the letter, Is to change for the worse and not for the better. The Peruvians believe that the person who carries a cripple will become crippled in a like way. If a couple who were engaged are prevented from being married, they will always suffer confusion of mind and bad luck in business. It is unlucky to marry one who comes from a great distance. (Grosse.) If a newly wedded pair meets a hedgehog, it is a sign that the mar- ital bed will not be a bed of roses. To have a wedding or a wash on Monday is bad luck; what's begun on that day won't be a week old. If a turtledove sit near the house in which a wedding is soon to take place and mourn for his mate, some sad disaster awaits the people to be married. A mistake in your marriage no- tice will bring you bad luck. Unlucky for a bridegroom to have for his best man one who is no blood relation. When Jews are to marry they must stand on glass—a bottle, usu- ally. If it breaks they can marry; if not, they must separate. For a stranger dressed in black to come to the door just before a wedding is to take place in the family, is a sign of good luck. It is unlucky if the bride uses a red handkerchief. She will wipe away her husband's affection. For a bride to weep immediately after being married, in front of the groom, denotes a short life of hap- piness or an early death to one or the other. The negroes of the South will not get married without some bor- rowed article about them for luck. Pictures of fruit or flowers in the bridal chamber give promise of a happy life. A maiden being married may keep her gloves on, but harm will surely come of it. If the young couple see others kissing before the ceremony, there will be a dissension soon. If there is any article of child furniture in the bridal chamber, it is said the newly wedded pair are foretold to have many children. Sign the wedding certificate with a quill pen and as long as the ink can be read the union will be com- pact. In the “Holy Island,” Durham, if the bride cannot at one stride reach the end of a stone called the “Petting Stone” the wedding will be unfortunate. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 97 To see a man’s horse run away just before the ceremony is a good On 1611. In Greece, if a bride carries a lump of sugar in her glove, she will have sweet joy all her life. When a bride feels very nervous, she may be sure that someone is criticising her looks. In Sweden it is unlucky for any one to make a noise with the well- pole when the marriage ceremony is going on. For a parrot to talk near the time of the ceremony indicates that the lover is a flatterer. “If you are married by the service of the Episcopalian rule, Do you know how many wives you’ll have on rising from the stool? Just sixteen more than you suppose! ‘This woman’ is the first, ‘Four better’ then will make you glad or else will make you curst! “Four worse’ make nine as you can see, as eight and one make nine, “Four richer’ and ‘four poorer' make up seventeen in the line!” A broken lamp-chimney in the bridal chamber foretells broken imarriage vows. When the younger girl or boy in the family gets married before the older ones, the older ones must dance in the hog-trough, if they ex- pect to get married at all. In the far Eastern countries it is said that if a girl wishes to be happy in her married life, she should sit for at least two weeks before the wedding with a very dim light in the room; for if it is bright, it will induce quarrels between her and her new husband. In Siam an impediment to mar- riage is often caused by the fact that each year is named after an animal, and only certain animals are al- lowed to intermarry. For instance, a person born in the year of the rat cannot marry with a person born in the year of the dog, or a person born in the year of the cow with a person born in the year of the tiger, and there are similar embargoes about months and days. A hair on the bride's garments is a token of unhappiness if it is her own; if another's, it is the sign of victory. When a Jewess is to be married, she is not to speak for one whole day, the day before the ceremony. A place is arranged for her to sit all day amid the wreaths and flow- ers which her friends bring in. They come to see her, but never speak to her, for if they should do so the good luck would fly, the spell would be broken, all would go wrong. The bride who is married after sunset will have a joyless life, lose her children and die early. If a house-pet dies while a wed- ding is being prepared for, it fore- tells the death of one of the con- tracting parties. In China it is unlucky for a maid to marry before she has had her eyebrows pulled out. The butterfly that lights on the wedding blooms, is the precurser of incontinency. If you wish a strife between man and wife, press a padlock home while the parson makes them one. If glasses break at a wedding, the wedded pair will not be rich. To break any wedding present is the sign that the wedding was the entrance into a life that was to be in some sense a burden. A mouse seen at a wedding is the sign of thieves about the house. 98 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. If there are the pictures of any old people in the bridal chamber, it denotes a long life; pictures of babies indicate the reverse. In Scotland it is an omen of great evil if in the hurry and rush of a wedding, a caged bird dies of hunger and thirst. The Innuit Indians in Alaska wear the tip of a dog's tail secreted about the person at marriage, so as to insure victory over all persons who wish them evil. It is believed in Brittany, that it is lucky to have a good many wed- dings at the same time; at the little town of Ploughastell not long ago thirty-four couples were married si- multaneously, all marching in pro- cession to the church. The blessing of the bridegroom at a Jewish wedding used to be of no esteem unless it was given in the presence of ten people, ten being a lucky number. It is unlucky to be married by a deathbed. What is begun in sor- row will not end in joy. The first one to cry at a brother's or sister's wedding will be the next one in the family to marry. It is a sign of fortune if a man on horseback appears accidentally at a wedding. In India the bride who would have a prosperous life is sure to se- cure the claw of a man-eating tiger to carry about her during the cere- mony. Acorns carried by the groom in his pocket at the wedding ensures a long wedded life. In some rural places it is the cus- tom for betrothed couples to hold a ribbon or a napkin between them in church, so that they might live solely for each other. If a bride shows her teeth before reaching the altar, she will not be happy. Whoever sings at a silver wedding, Need neither harm nor loss be dreading. Marriages on board ship are con- sidered unlucky by Scotch seamen. The postponement of a wedding is regarded with such horror, that many will be married on a sick bed rather than postpone the date. It is lucky for a bride if a spider drops down on her at the wedding. If there are an undertaker and a doctor at the wedding, there will be death in the home within a year. If the bride carries more than one handkerchief to the altar, the extra ones will be for her to wipe away the tears of regret, which she will shed for the union she has en- tered. If the bride does not love her hus- band, her pillow will turn dark at midnight, but fade out to white again in the morning. If another man but the groom steps on the bride's wedding skirt, she will find some third person mar- ring her happiness before long. Every wedding makes an en- gagement and breaks an engage- ment between the guests present. It is unlucky to ally one’s self by marriage to the reigning house of Belgium, as it is blighted with a curse which affects all who wed with it. It is unlucky to celebrate the 20th anniversary of a marriage. In some countries it is even thought that it is bad luck to so much as mention it. It will result in the death of one of the persons. If you. celebrate your silver or golden wedding with great rejoicing, one: of you will die within a year. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 99 It is neither good taste nor lucky to congratulate the bride. If the first to congratulate the bride be a woman, it is sure to be an unhappy marriage. On the first interview between the bridegroom and the bride, her assistants ask him to rub her feet, so that the tiny things will never ache thereafter. The Digger Indians of California believe that the squaw who is not tied up the first night after her mar- riage will be unruly to her husband. Fishermen say it brings good luck to burn seaweed after a wed- ding. After the wedding one of the bridesmaids hurries home first and offers a glass to the bridegroom, who empties it and tosses it over his shoulder; if the glass is broken, it is good luck; if not, bad. The first spoken words after mar- riage will come true. It is unlucky for a newly married couple to drive a team of gray horses. The bride who hears from an old lover after she is married, and be- fore he has heard of it, will be a widow. It is a bad sign for a bride to for- get and sign her maiden name af- ter marriage. A long and happy life will follow if the bride can slip a “graveyard rabbit's foot” in the groom's pock- et the next day after marriage. In Sweden, if the bride goes im- mediately to the milk-house and milks a cow, it will insure good luck. It is not right that a bride should go out of the house for three days before the wedding. She might change her mind and marry some one else. An old friend is announced by the crowing of a rooster soon after the new home has been entered. If a bird flies into the house, he brings word of a lover who will soon come in search of a bride. The bride should not go straight through her new home; it will be bad luck for her to do so, but if she will sit for a time in some room, this will be averted. The bride who comes to Rome, And sees St. Peter’s dome, Will have a happy home. (Italian.) A strange dog coming to the new home warns of enemies. The bride who is carried for the first time into her own home, will before long be carried out dead. Half-hearted sincerity is indi- cated where the groom arrives at the home of the bride after the preacher. A bridegroom and his bride must not allow a post or pillar to come between them as they step on the porch, as it will cause a separation. Both must pass on the same side. Dissension is foreseen when the first person to call at the new home is a vender. When a young man brings his bride for the first time to his fa- ther's house, he should ride around the house three times as fast as the horses can go; this will insure health and prosperity. Unhappiness is sure to ensue if the bride or groom enters the new home, after it has been made ready, with anyone of the opposite sex, be- fore entering first with the partner. IOO ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. If there is a corpse in the block when the abode is taken up in the new home, one of the parents will soon die. It is a sign of prosperity and hap- piness if the sun happens to shine in the door as a newly wedded pair is entering the new home. If a bride on entering her new home picks up an article of metal, it is said to be an ill omen. It is unlucky for the bride to step on the threshold when first entering her new home. It is unlucky for the groom to ar- rive in the house if it is to be a house wedding, on the day; he should be in the house for three days before. If the bride opens her umbrella in the house, bad luck will surely follow. The Bohemians keep the evil spirits from the bridal chamber by hanging a tangled skein on the door knob, which they cannot pass. In Dalmatia it is an exceedingly good omen if the cat sneezes as the bride enters her new house. The bride who first enters her new home by the back door will be a drudge. It is lucky if the groom carries in the last armful of goods that his bride brings to his home. Italian brides smear the door- posts of their new husband's house with wolf fat, so that they may al- ways be happy. Let the bride arrive at the bride- groom's house at dark and they will have every corner full. Unlucky for a Scotch bride to step on the threshold of her new home. Should a newly wedded couple change houses in the first year, it is a sign they will live an unsettled and wandering life. If the bride finds a horseshoe about the new home, she will be lucky; if there is a broken vehicle about, she will have trouble, de- stroying her happiness. The style of a girl's future dwell- ing may be determined with flower petals in the same way as the oc- cupation of her husband. “Big house, little house, brick house, barn.” Her trousseau can be told in the same way: “Big box, little box, bandbox, bundle.” It is unlucky for a bride and groom to pass under house-eaves. If the bride is coming to her hus- band’s home and a shepherd drives his flock in her way, let her give him a fee and she will have luck. If a bride puts the shoulder blade of a pig over the kitchen door, the sex of the first one who comes un- der it will be the sex of her first- born. In parts of Australia, the bride must run around her husband's house seven times to prevent evil spirits from entering it. The Swedes believe that a few hairs from the bride's combing bas- ket, hung over the door, and at the windows, will catch the witches that would creep in to do deeds of evil. That couple who find clouds in the sky on rising on their wedding day, and see them clear away, will find happiness increase in their married life; but if the day is clear and the clouds arise, they may ex- pect the reverse. If, on your wedding morn, your mirror seems cloudy and in it can FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. IOI be seen faint objects, it is said by the Romans to be a very evil omen. If it is clear, or a ray of sunlight falls upon it, it foretells happiness and prosperity. If a bride stumbles on her wed- ding morn, she will be a widow be- fore the end of the year. It is unlucky for a bridegroom to stand at the junction of cross- roads or beside a closed gate on his wedding morn. Some gypsies say that if the bride should arise in the morning and prick her foot on anything, the first offspring would be pigeon- toed. When the bride happens to see a big gray squirrel on the wedding morning, he brings her a greeting of good luck. It is a lucky groom who is waked by a cock crowing on the wedding morning. If a bride looks out of the win- dow on the wedding morn and sees a hearse, it is a very bad omen. She will die before she has been married a year. The one who wakes first on the morning after the wedding, will be the master of the house. A sundog seen on the wedding day indicates that the sorrows of life will all be avoided and not be- come realities. Bad sign to fall down on the wed- ding day. If the bride breaks the teeth of a comb on her wedding day, she will lose many friends. Let the bride go out to the barn on the day of wedding, and if the first fowl she sees is a hen, she will. be prosperous; if it is a rooster, she is to see many days of poverty. If you are ill on your wedding day, you will be ill most of your wedded life. The bride who is burned in her bath, will find troubles awaiting her, and will conquer them. The person who, on his or her wedding day, has a sharp pain in the region of the heart, is being de- ceived. Storm and sunshine in the mar- ried life is indicated by the quarrel- ing of one who is to be married with anyone on the day of the wedding. If you see a number of furs hang- ing on a fence on your wedding day, you will have a fine marriage. For the groom to shave off a part of his beard on his wedding day, foretells incontinency. To exchange knives or forks, by mistake, at the breakfast, betokens a life of disagreement. If someone injures a person to be married, on the day of the wedding, it is the precursor of a sorrow that is not merited in married life. It is very important that the bride should receive the little one called “hug-ma-close,” or sidebone, for she who gets it on her wedding day will be happy with her husband. If there is an eclipse on your wed- ding day, it is a sign that your life will be shadowed with sorrow. It is unlucky for the bride and groom to meet on the wedding day before the marriage. If on the wedding day a bride or bridegroom have a hurt on them, it will never heal. If the bride puts on the groom's hat on the day of their marriage, she will have him come to her for advice. IO2 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. If the bride or the groom cuts herself or himself on their wedding day, it foreshadows cruelty on the Other's part. If a lady finds a pin or needle on the walk on the day of her wedding, she will be fortunate if its head is from her; if the point is toward her, she will have trouble. It is a bad omen to break a dish on your wedding day. To see a strange cat on her wed- ding day, is accounted lucky by some brides. In Scotland, contrary to most countries, it is considered an excel- lent omen if something causes the wedding day to be postponed. You will be very lucky if you kill any living being on your wedding day. On the wedding night, all the old pottery is to be thrown out of the house for luck. To wear your hair done up high on your wedding day is lucky, as people will always look up to you. If the bride cries on her wedding day, she will soon meet another man whom she loves more than her husband. - If your nose bleeds on your wed- ding day, it is a sign that you will visit other countries. Much wind on your wedding day is a sign of much money. A bride must, above all days, weep on her wedding day. No mat- ter how happy she may be, she should squeeze out a tear or two, for the bride who neglects to weep, will be very unhappy indeed. On the other hand, there are many su- perstitious people, who insist that it presages bad luck if a bride cries on the morning of her marriage. With the Mexicans, it is a good omen if the groom calls unexpect- edly on the bride on the day of the wedding. If a beggar begs of you on your wedding day, you will never be rich. The Eskimos believe that the man who kills a bear on his wed- ding day will be the father of a large family of boys. It is believed by the Bavarians that the bride and groom should not give their bare hands to anyone on the wedding day except to each other at the altar, otherwise they would be poor all their lives. If on walking out on your wed- ding day you see a fountain of clear water, it is a sign of profit and joy. In the South of Scotland, if it rains on the wedding day, the bride is called “a greeting bride.” Among the Chinese the breaking or losing of anything on the wed- ding day is considered so unlucky that the wedding is postponed. The only way to avoid the ill luck that comes from meeting a funeral on the wedding day, is to pass through it. If it hails on the wedding day, the bride's troubles will be great. If the bride looks at the groom through a lattice on her wedding day, she will be subject to him. If the bride playfully puts the glove of the groom on her own hand, she will meet with a disap- pointment. Among the Greeks it was be- lieved that if the bride's hair was combed on her wedding day with a spear of a man who had lost his life in battle, her sons would be brave and great warriors. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 103 For the bride to see blood on her wedding day foretells her ill-health in married life. If the groom would have many friends in his new relationship, he must bestow some charity on his wedding day. If, before marrying, your canary happens to die on your wedding day, you should postpone the wed- ding. If a bride should see a king or a member of the royal family on her wedding day, it is a sure sign that greatness is in store for her. It is a good omen to see doves billing and cooing on your wedding day. It indicates happiness in your household, and a true and loving wife and husband. To see an opossum on your wed- ding day denotes that the bride will be fruitful, a loving wife, and de- voted to her children. Snow on the wedding day is in- dicative of a life of quiet seclusion and home enjoyment. At a village in Yorkshire, Eng- land, a man on his way to be mar- ried rubs his elbow if he meets a male acquaintance. This is to guard against the man's possible influence over the affections of the bride. Among the Sioux Indians only that young couple will be prosper- ous who together see a hawk killed on the day of their nuptials. The young person who kills a flea on his or her wedding day will overcome all obstacles in life and be prosperous. The groom denotes that he gives only half his heart, when he ex- presses regret for anything on the lºng day in the presence of the T1C16. To see soap bubbles on your wedding day is a sign of troubles in business that will soon depart. It is bad luck for the bride to bake, or go shopping, or on any er- rand just before the wedding day. A rainbow seen on the wedding day bespeaks a life full of bright promise and joyful realization. If, on your wedding day, you and your mate are walking out-of-doors, and birds fly over your head or about you, they will bring you health, fortune and happiness. A strange revelation is to come to the bride or groom who meet each other unexpectedly on their wedding day. If her wedding day is rainy, her life will be sorrowful. Poverty is foretold by the tak- ing of medicine on the day one is to be married. If, in crossing a stream on your wedding day, you see many fish in it, it is a sign you will have many children. It is unlucky to wear your hair waved on your wedding day, for if you do, your love will be wavy and not smooth as it ought. The ancient French had a queer custom, that the groom should pare his nails on the wedding day and send them to his bride, so that they should live happy ever after. If a child is born in the family of either the bride or groom on the wedding day, it is a promise of long life to the couple to be married. Add the number of letters in the first given name of the bride, and of the first given name of the groom together, and if the number is odd, he will die first; if even, she will die first. IO4 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. To cross a river or other body of water on the night of the wedding indicates sorrow to come. The bride who locks the door on her wedding night is to be jealous of her husband. To go to your own home on the night of the wedding foretells a life of quiet and little travel. Wv moever sleeps first on the wed- ding night will be the first to die. It is unlucky for a bride to put her feet on any bare floor on her wedding night. The darkey bride carries a rab- bit foot in order to keep jealous lovers from hoodooing her. In Portugal, it is good luck to sprinkle the bride's hair with differ- ent colored papers cut very finely, and put into empty egg-shells. Each bridesmaid scatters some, but is careful to save a little, lest she should become an old maid. It is most unlucky for a bride to break a pane of glass. If a baby refuses to go to a bride, she will be childless. The sacred goatskin which the priestesses of Athens took to newly married women was used in the same way for fruitfulness. It is called unlucky for more than one to marry out of the same fam- ily in the same year. New Orleans girls carry little images of St. Joseph in their pock- ets as a charm against spinsterhood, also wear yellow garters and refuse to receive thimbles for gifts. If the couple get out of one door of the carriage and in at an another door, their love will not be as strong in marriage as it was in courtship. The groom should place the gloves in the bride's hands for luck when she is to put them on. If the bridal couple leave their bedroom window open at night, a thousand troubles will flock in. If a bride touches a dish-rag, she will do hard work all her life, If a wedding couple find any ar- ticle of value, they may be sure of a prosperous life together. It is a sign of good luck to the young lady who finds a hairpin from the hair of the bride; but to the gentleman who finds such an article, it foretells bachelorhood. If a man is younger than his wife, they will have good luck in raising sheep. The best man, it was once thought, should wear a pink shirt to cast a rosy glow over the future of the happy couple. Loosen all the knots about the clothing of the bride and groom in public, and then let them fasten them again privately, and there will be harmony between them. To bump the head, is to the bride or groom the sign of rising in life. In some places the bride will run away from her attendant maids. Whoever catches her first, will be married first. Breaking of a wedding carriage- wheel is ominous of evil. To offer a bride a salt cellar is equivalent to wishing her ill luck. Among the Kalang of Java, whose totem is a red dog, the bride and groom are rubbed with the ashes of a red dog for luck. If the birth months of the bride and the groom are far apart, it will prove unlucky. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. IO5 If the cat scratches the bride, she will have many small trials. In Japan, an old maid is an un- fortunate creature. She is believed to be courted by evil spirits and to put pains upon those who fear her. In Austria, if a young man de- stroys the eye of an unmarried woman, he must wed her in order to preserve his present and future happiness. Love will die in its infancy if the horses that draw the wedding party are both black or white. If someone says you are a fool to marry as you did, it is a sign of friends and happiness. Women who have two Ms, or As, or Hs, in the name would do well to live single, as no good would come of uniting with any man, as only poverty and sickness, with loss of children, could be the OutCOme. Some news of death coming to the newly married couple, implies that they will have to undergo a severe trial, but will have sympathy in it all. The cat that gets angry at the bride or groom foretells family quarrels. Bride and bridegroom of the Transylvanian gipsies are rubbed with a weasel to bring good for- tune. If a woman falls out with her hus- band and wants him to have fits, she will take a piece of charcoal, draw his profile on a tree and make his son shoot his profile with a gun. To a married person or anyone about to be married to find a wig is the luckiest of finds. They will have excellent success in whatever they do, and will live to a good old age. Enemies are foretold by two doors in the bridal chamber. It is unlucky for a man to eat the leavings of his wife; he will be- come subservient to her. (Hindu.) If you start to embrace a gentle- man and do not, it is a sign of great treachery. It is unlucky for a bride to see a mouse in a trap. She will feel like the mouse. If a wife laughs while her hus- band is cutting a stone implement, it will break. (Early Alaskan.) It is said that the feather from a canary bird brings good luck if worn by a bride. The Irish think that the reason so few marriages are happy is be- cause the young women spend so much more time making nets than making cages. If a girl meets a newly wedded pair, their first child will be a girl; if a boy, a boy. To find a bird’s nest is to the bride or groom a sign of plenty, if it has eggs; if birds, children; if it is empty, poverty and sorrow. For a young married couple to attend a funeral before they have been married a year will cause the death of one. The power of widows is suppos- ed to be great, and to offend them is dangerous, for they can call down curses upon one by their prayers. - It is a bad omen for a person who has lost their own partner by death or separation to act as a sup- porter at the marriage of another. The presence of a bridal couple on board ship portends a violent Storm. Ioé ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. For a man and his wife to be born on the same day of the year indicates prosperity and success. Negro widows wishing to marry a second time will go and duck themselves in a pond to drown the souls of their departed husbands, which are supposed to cling about their necks. In Mississippi, the negroes be- lieve in a superstition called “pick- ing up tracks.” Put a dog's hair in a man's track and a cat's hair in a woman's track, and the mar- ried couple can no more live to- gether than a cat and a dog. Long long ago it was held to be of especial good fortune for the friends of the bride to offer vio- lent opposition to her capture by the bridegroom. A bride's glove should be taken off before the groom's. If you see three brides in one day you will go to another wedding in three days, weeks, or months. If you agree on the seventh day you are married, you will on the seventh year. A young wife should never wash her husband's nightrobes during the first year if she wishes him to be true to her. It is said that a man cannot “wive and thrive in the same year.” If a grass widow sits at the table with a newly married couple, they will part before death. A sure omen of a woman's luck in marrying is to count her buttons, saying: “Silk, satin, calico, rags.” She will be comfortable, hard-work- ing, or poor, according to the name that falls on the last button. If a newly wedded bride, going to housekeeping, takes her mother's dishcloth or wiper unobserved, she will never be homesick, In marriage, remember that if you adore anything all of a sudden, you will despise it in the extreme, as soon as you tire of it. If a bride sees a beautiful child, she touches it with both hands and then makes passes over her own person, in hopes that Providence will favor her in the same way. (Turcoman.) It is lucky to have your firstborn a girl. Adding the number of letters contained in the first names of the wedded pair, foretells the sex of their offspring, an odd number in- dicating a male and an even num- ber a female. If the back of the head of your fiancée slopes toward the neck with- out development at base, or small brain, she will love her husband, but have little love for children. A marked development of the lower brain denotes a loving wife and de- voted mother. If a piece of paper blows from the road into the bride's face, she will be childless. Women married at Jarrow seat themselves in the chair of the Ven- erable Bede as soon as the parson has done his part. This will insure many children. (The accounts giv- en of the “Venerable Bede” vary. This “wise Saxon” once, when blind, preached to a heap of stones thinking himself in a church, and the stones were so affected by his eloquence that they exclaimed, “Amen, venerable Bede!” This is, of course, based on the verse of Luke, 19, 40. The chair in which he sat is still preserved at Jarrow. Some years ago a sailor used to show it and always said: “This is FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. Io? the chair of the great Admiral Bede.” He lived from 672 to 735.) A bridge which is carefully avoided by wedding couples spans a stream called the Goldbrook, in the parish of Hoxen, in the county of Suffolk, England. Standing in the center of an open field at Hox- en, is an obelisk to the memory of Edmund, king of the East Angles, who was killed by the Danes in 870. On the site of the monument stood an oak tree, in the branches of which the king took refuge from his foes. At nightfall he emerged from his leafy hiding-place and se- creted himself under the above mentioned bridge. A wedding par- ty passing over the bridge at night observed the king's gold spurs glit- tering in the moonlight and in this way he was betrayed to his enemies, who took him back to the oak tree, and shot him with arrows. Local tradition has it that many years ago the existing inscription of the event was followed by these words: “Cursed be the wedding party that passes over this bridge.” No such words are there now, but the tradi- tion is so well known that bridal parties prefer taking a circuitous route, rather than to pass over Goldbrook bridge. If two persons, both born on a Saturday, should marry, they will never be harmonious together. If you are over fond of flowers, it is a sign you will never marry. Two lovers should never have their photographs taken together before they are married, else they will never be united. There is a legend in the family of De Grimm to the effect that if the Baron finds and weds a maiden who has not yet been kissed, he will regain his youth at the rate of a year for every kiss he obtains. * If the bridal party meet a nun as they go to the church, the bride's oldest unmarried sister will be an old maid. An unmarried woman should never be asked to cut a pat of but- ter; she will never marry. (Swiss.) To accidentally break a broom handle, marks the unlucky one as an old maid or bachelor. The Indian who is pursuing a wife and has any animal cross his path, will not continue after his wife until he has secured good luck by killing an animal of the kind that delayed him. r It is unlucky for an engaged couple to walk to the altar of a church together at any time, as the old saying goes: “Once to the al- tar, never again.” If you pass a bed of bright flow- ers on your wedding day, it is a sign of a pleasant and amorous life. If you pass a bed of white flowers, it is not so lucky; it means frustra- tion of your plans. To hear of two marriages in one day, foretells dishonor. It is very unlucky if the key falls out of the door when a bride closes it. By locking a padlock, when a couple are married, one can stop the consummation of the marriage. If the bride, in pulling off one of her husband’s boots, draws off the one containing a trinket, it is con- sidered good luck. If the bride has a pet bird and it refuses to sing on the marriage morn, she will not be happy. If a bride steers a boat on her wedding day, the waves have no power to harm it, be they never so fierce. IoS ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. If a bride preserves her wedding wreath and a piece of the wedding bread, she will never want for bread so long as she keeps that hardened lump. Hempseed is thrown upon a wed- ding couple for luck in Russia. Sometimes linseed is thrown on the head of the bride, that she may be happy in her wedded life. Don't marry the only son of a widow; if you do, you will be a wid- OW, too. If, at the first meal as man and wife, both eat out of the same dish, they will never quarrel Never address a lady about to be married as “Mrs.” until she lays claim to that title, for it is consid- ered very unlucky. It is unlucky to mount many steps before gaining the church door at your wedding. It will bring luck to anyone to do or say anything that will break up a marriage between two families, in China, hence the truth is not al- ways told at such times. Sir Thomas Randolph gives in his “Letters” the history of the marriage of Mary Queen of Scots, and says that when she retired to her chamber to change her clothing after the wedding, “she suffered them that stood by her, every man that could approach, to take a pin, for their good luck.” It is a sign that the honeymoon is on the wane when the bride stops telling things and begins to ask questions. Among the tribes in Northeast Africa, when the bride is brought home, an ox is killed, and the bride and groom dip their fingers and paint each other on the breast and lower limbs with the blood, to pro- cure strength and blessing to the forthcoming offspring. After a time the relatives paint the bride all over with blood to give herstrength when she comes to bear children. The groom gives the finishing touch by pouring blood down the back of her neck. In Marangu, Africa, the more beads one can get by borrowing or purchasing, the better luck the young folk will have after marriage, (Smithsonian Report.) At a Rhodesian wedding, in South Africa, as the couple enter the house, the young husband dips his fingers in a cup of honey and makes the sign of the cross over the door, while those present cry out, “Be good and sweet as the honey.” A pomegranate is placed on the threshold, which he crushes for a hope of fertility, while over the wife the guests scatter corn, cotton, seeds and Orange-flour water, that she may always have the necessaries and luxuries of life. In some parts of South Africa, it is unlucky to marry a man who has not the courage to be put through the “tests.” His hands are tied up in a bag full of ants, for two hours, If he bears unmoved the torture of their stings, he is considered qual- ified to cope with the daily jar and fret of married life. In Eastern Equatorial Africa, the women rub flour on their bodies when their husbands die, as a sign of mourning, as well as in order to attract another husband. Among the Arabs, in old times, the unfortunate bridegroom under- went the ordeal of being whipped on the marriage day. If he stood this well, he was supposed to make a kind husband. The Australian natives of the Narrinyeri tribe do not marry one FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. IO9 who belongs to the same totemic clan, neither do they allow cousins or other near relations to marry, al- though of different clans. The cer- emony (if it may be so called) of marriage, consists in the father, or eldest brother, or nearest male rela- tive of the woman, giving her to her future husband in the presence of the assembled clan. She signifies her acceptance of the husband by making a fire for him. Songs and dances accompany the marriage. The Assyrians broiled certain fish at the door of the nuptial chamber, to keep away all evil spirits. The Australian aborigines have a great horror of consanguineous marriages and have strict laws for- bidding them. It is considered, in the Narrin- yeri tribe, disgraceful for a woman to take a husband who has given no other woman for her. Yet the right to give a woman away is often pur- chased from her nearest male rela- tive by those who have no sisters. In most instances a brother or first- cousin, gives a girl away in ex- change for a wife for himself; the females are married at the age of about fourteen years; men seldom marry under eighteen years. Polygamy is practiced, but it does not often occur that there are more than two wives. The eldest wife is the head, and an elderly wife has a very strong objection to her lubra (native name for wife or hus- band) having a younger one, as she is subordinate to her. If a man ill- treats his wife, her clan always in- terferes, and if he continues so to do, they will take her from him, and give her to another man. Children belong to their father's clan. The South Australian natives of the Dieyerie tribe say that, after the creation, fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers, and others of the closest kin, intermarried promiscuously, until the evil effects of these alli- ances becoming manifest, a council of the chiefs was assembled to con- sider in what way they might be averted, the result of their delibera- tions being a petition to the Moora- moora (the good spirit), in answer to which he ordered that the tribe should be divided into branches, and distinguished one from the other by different names, after ob- jects animate and inanimate, such as dogs, mice, emu, rain, iguana, and so forth. The members of any such branch were not to intermar- ry, but with permission for one branch to mingle with another. Thus the son of a dog might not marry the daughter of a dog, but either might form an alliance with a mouse, an emu, a rat, or other family. If, during a courtship, or the first week of matrimony, one spills or breaks anything, it is a sign of quar- rels and divisions. (Belgium.) When a Bohemian bride is about to go to the church, her friends put a feather and a little flaxseed in her shoe, so that she may have linen and feather-beds in abundance. It is considered unlucky in Bohe- mia to marry a girl with too large a dowry, for they say: “A wife with a dowry large, Will be sure to govern the barge.” (Bohemia.) It is very unlucky to make a new road to your house when you are going to be married. One or the other will be carried over it as a corpse within the year. (Bermuda.) During the time that the banns are being read, one should never dance. (Bohemia.) Two large candles are placed in the bride's room after a marriage, in China, and are allowed to burn IIO ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. down entirely. It is considered very unlucky if one is accidentally extinguished. Should one or both go out during the night, it is said to indicate the untimely death of one or both. It is also a bad omen for the wax to trickle down the side of the candle, it being thought to resemble the flowing of tears down the cheeks, and betokens sorrow. In Borneo, a bride and groom are made to sit on two bars of iron, that blessings as lasting and health as vigorous as the metal may at- tend them. When a Brahmin goes to select a wife for his son, he considers it a bad omen to hear a serpent; but if he sees one, all thought of marriage must be put aside. If a Chinese bride does not stand in a round shallow basket while putting on her wedding garments, she will be unhappy. The Chinese hang meat on the door of the groom's house, to pre- vent injury to the bride from wild beasts. When a Chinese maid desires to wed, a sort of tower is built in the garden of her father's house, and her suitors gather about the base of the structure. The bride takes a ball, throws it among them, and the one who catches it is chosen for her husband. In China, at weddings, the couple are provided with four large needles and two red silk threads. Two of the needles, threaded with one of the threads are stuck into a card. The thread represents the cord with which the feet of all mortals, who are fated to be husband and wife forever, are tied in the spirit world. Should anything be lost while a lady is preparing for a wedding, in China, it would be considered a bad omen, and the man would be given up. When a bridegroom, in China, first sits by the side of the bride on the side of the nuptial bed, he tries to sit on some portion of her dress, so that she will be submis- sive; for if she sits on his robe, she will rule. From the moment a Chinese bride leaves her own room, till she reaches her room in the bride- groom's house, she never puts her feet on the ground, or even on a bare floor, as that would bring her the worst luck possible. A piece of red paper on which the word “joy” has been written twice, side by side, as though the whole constituted but one word, is often hung over the door of a bride as an omen of good luck. (China.) After a wedding, in China, the new couple worship the “god and goddess of the kitchen” as soon as possible, to propitiate their good will, and especially in order that the bride may succeed in her house- hold affairs. When the Chinese bride steps out of the red sedan chair, in which she is conveyed to the house of the groom, a boy holds a mirror, so that the surface will reflect her, as this will turn away from her all the deadly influences of the sedan, When two who have nursed at the same breast, marry, it is con- sidered very lucky in China. This is done among the poor, who can- not pay the price for a girl, which is about $100 at sixteen years of age. The parents buy for their in- fant son a wife cheap, an infant; by this economical device they prevent the serious calamity of leaving no children to perform sacrifices at their tombs, without which their FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. III souls will be lost. A Chinaman will not marry a foundling. He be- lieves evil goes with such a girl. In China, choosing a lucky day for the marriage, selecting a day for cutting the wedding garment, plac- ing the bridal bed in position, fur- nishing a curtain and the embroid- ery for the bridal pillow, are all of importance since they have an in- fluence on the future luck. Before she sends her clothes to the groom's house, the bride must lift them over a fire to purify them, and when she enters the house, she must sit down on the groom’s dress if possible. The wax candles must not go out. In Circassia, there are always set upon the carpet in one of the rooms in the bridegroom's house, a vessel of wine and a plate of dough; the first thing the bride does on enter- ing is to kick over the wine and scatter the dough with her hands about the room. This insures a full house. When the Egyptians have a mar- riage, they hang a chandelier over the bride's door and whoever breaks it will be the first to be mar- ried. In Egypt, a chandelier is hung at the door of the bridegroom's house, and a large jar is thrown down to divert the attention of persons with the evil eye, who might look at the light and break the glass, which would be very unlucky. The Copts, an Egyptian race, kill a sheep as soon as the bride enters the bridegroom’s house, and she is obliged to step over the blood, which is made to flow Over the threshold of the door, believing that this will insure a prosperous wedded life. In many parts of England, it is believed that the newly wedded pair must be driven from the church by gray horses, to insure felicity. In Derbyshire, England, on the wedding day, the bride and groom must clasp hands and jump Over a broom handle. If they make a mis- step, they will not be happy. In Sussex, a bride on her return from church is often robbed of all the pins about her dress by the single women present, as it is be- lieved that whoever obtains one of them will be married within a year. Those who do not fast before marriage, except for very serious cause, will have only mute chil- dren. (France.) There is a “marriage test” in Fin- land, “set by the daughter of the air.” It is to cut a hair from a horse's tail with a knife that has no edge, and tie an egg, with an invis- ible tie. To pull a stone, or cut a club from ice without making a splinter. To build a boat out of the splinters from her spindle and launch it without touching it. To catch the wild horse of Huisi. To catch the wild swan on the black river of death. To plow a field of serpents. In all these tests, the bride helps and insures good luck in their union. Mr. Adolph B. Joske, of Colo, North Fiji, writes: “On the north- ern coast of Viti Levu, the largest of the Fiji Islands, at a bold and lofty headland running down into the deep water channel, which is the fairway for the coasting craft, may be seen two ledges or clefts of rock. They are always conspicuous through being covered with frag- ments of snow-white coral, and they stand out in strong relief to the dark volcanic cliffs above and be- low them. The one touch of na- ture that makes all the world akin, is the cause of the departure of the coralline sprays from their native home in the ocean. Anxious youths, in the desire to divine what II2 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. fate in love awaits them, fling the morsels of coral, and according as to how they lodge in the clefts above, so will be their destiny with the fair sex. “The natives say that now they have become ‘lotu,” that is, Chris- tianized, they no longer believe in, nor practice the superstition. But this I greatly doubt. I have passed the spot now for many years, and I have never failed to observe the dense and close covering of pure white, which affords such a strik- ing contrast to the dark rock, which girds it all around, and which therefore one cannot help seeing. The following is the translation of the legend of the place, as told me by a native: “‘Nangaralase (the coral cave or cleft) is a point, and there is a high cliff there, and the inhab- itant of it is a spirit called RO- kombala, and only one shrub, the vonoyauyau (a fragrant plant like the myrtle, woven into garlands, and worn on festive occasions), grows there. We call it the eyelashes of Rokombala. This is what a young man does, if he visits that spot: He picks up a bit of coral from off the seashore, and tries to fling it to the top ledge. If it lodges there, he will marry young. Should it, however, fall to the lower edge, he will not succeed in winning a wife until his old age; and should it altogether fail and fall to the beach, he will never know the pleasures of love. So unto this day even, we call that place “the rock of the bachelors.” In former times it was a very sure omen. But now it is not believed, the coming of the religion has caused it to be doubted.’” Brand, in his “Popular Antiq- uities” 1849, ii. 127), relates how, at Wrexham, in Flintshire (sic) on the occasion of the marriage of the sur- geon and apothecary of the place, August, 1785, were placed “at the door of his own and neighbors' houses, throughout the street where he lived, large boughs of trees, that had been cut down and fixed there, filled with white paper, cut in the shape of women’s gloves, and of white ribbons.” In Saterland, North Germany, it was formerly customary to put a ladle into the hands of the bride as soon as she entered her husband's house, and to lead her thrice around the fire, to insure her future hap- piness, On the evening of St. Andrew's day, the German girls form a circle about a gander, and the first one the creature turns to, will be mar- ried first. In returning from a wedding, each one bites from a loaf of bread, but does not eat it, and saves the morsel for luck. (Johnson, “Peas- ant Life in Germany.”) In Rauen, North Germany, the more shards thrown out and brok- en on the eve of the wedding, the better the luck. In Germany, it is the custom to throw old crockery in front of the house door on the eve before the wedding, for luck. The more crockery is broken on that night, the greater will be the luck attend- ing the young couple. The even- ing before a wedding is hence called “Polter-Abend,” “poltern" meaning “to make noise.” Fre- quently surpri, -parties are ar- ranged for this evening, with all kinds of mummery, serious and hu- morous declamation, and various superstitious or noisy rites. There is a curious custom in modern Greece. The groom is shaved by a young man whose par- ents are both living, while the FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 113 young girls and young men sing: “Razor silvered and gilt, shave ten- derly the young man's cheeks, don’t leave a hair, lest the parents of his bride think him ugly.” Burn the axle-tree of the carriage that conveyed the bride to her new home, and she will never separate from her husband. (Greece.) If a Greek wants to put ill luck upon the bride, he leads a black cat to the house instead of presenting her with goats or sheep, as is done by her friends. If, in Greece, a bridegroom is shaved by a young man whose par- ents are both living, the parents of his bride will admire him for his good looks. In Greece, to insure good luck to a groom, water is Sprinkled upon him when he starts Out. In old Greece, it was anciently considered unlucky not to take a bath in the sacred water just before the marriage ceremony. Near Athens was a rock a few feet high, on which newly married women used to sit and slip down, in order to be blessed with numer- ous sons. It was worn smooth as polished ivory, and is supposed to have procured the blessing by its magic properties. Greek mythology makes Psyche the personification of a soul filled with the passion of love, and as such conceives her as a beautiful winged little maiden, or, at other times, as a butterfly. Aphrodite, jealous of her far-famed beauty, sent her son Cupid to Psyche, who was a king's daughter, with the ob- ject to cause her fall in love with Some common man. Instead, Cu- pid fell in love with her himself, car- ried her off to a secluded spot, where they were undisturbed and happy. Curiosity compelled her, however, to disregard his com- mand not to look at him with her mortal eyes. She softly stole to his couch one night with a lamp, when a drop of hot oil fell on his shoul- der, awoke him, and drove him forth never to return. On her search for him she came to the pal- ace of Aphrodite, who, after sub- jecting her to various kinds of me- nial work, ordered her to descend to the lower world and fetch a box of Persephone's beauty ointment. She accomplished the task, but, on opening the box, fell, overpowered by its odor. Cupid came to the rescue, revived her, and was united with her in marriage by Aphrodite, whose anger was appeased by such true love. On the island of Guernsey exists a curious wedding custom, Sup- posed to insure good luck for all concerned. The Sunday following the ceremony, bride and groom, with all the bridesmaids and groomsmen, repair to the church, dressed in their gala costumes, and sit together as on the day itself. The word by which this ceremony is known locally is “Reneurchoun- nair.” Another odd thing they do for the good fortune of the happy couple, is for the bridesmaids and groomsmen to go about on foot or in carriages on the day of the wed- ding, carrying wine and cake to all their acquaintances, to celebrate the Occasion. Heliodorus says that love is of the same nature as disease, and is caused by the sight striking pas- sion into the soul. If a Hindu hears a bride cry as she is leaving her parents’ home for that of her husband, it is an aus- picious omen. The Hindus think it is unlucky to give the youngest in marriage before the firstborn. II4 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. To marry three times is consid- ered very unlucky by the Hindus. To ward off the evil, the man be- troths himself to a tree and the evil expends itself on that and lets the man go free, but the tree dies. In Northern India the groom finds at the bride's door seven or nine wooden sparrows, the largest in the middle. He must touch the largest with his sword for luck. At a marriage in India, the bride is made to eat a piece of raw deer meat, so that she and her husband will always be lovable and that their love may never grow cold. They will thus have long life and the protection of the gods. On the Malabar coast of India, the priest sprinkles rice on the heads of the wedding party, that they may be fruitful. Sometimes a gold coin is melted previous to the ceremony, and if the metal is dull, they do not marry. In Bengal, the bride always touches a piece of red lead before the marriage ceremony. The customs observed by the to- tem clans of Bengal, of marrying the bride and groom to trees be- fore they were married to each other was carried out in this way: The bride touched a mahwa tree with red lead, clasped it in her arms and was tied to it. The bridegroom went through a like ceremony with a mango tree. In India, when a father desires to arrange a marriage for his daughter, he, with his relations, chooses a person whom he regards suitable. Then he consults the priest, and a copy of the horoscope of the intended bridegroom, to- gether with that of the girl, is hand- ed to the priest for comparison. If the priest finds that the stars of the man's horoscope are more power- ful than the girl’s, he declares the marriage will be auspicious; if otherwise, he does not hesitate to tell the unwelcome news and to for- bid the marriage. At Rome, bride and groom sat down on the skin of a sheep, which had been sacrificed for the occasion for good luck. If a Roman meets a priest on the way to the wedding ceremony, he considers it a very bad omen. In Lapland, the friends of the young man go in a body to Solicit the hand of the lady, in the behalf of the lover. Should the parents of the maiden refuse their consent, the presents are restored, and even the brandy drank is replaced, as it is considered unlucky not to do so. In Macedonia, before entering any of the other rooms in the house, the bride is conducted to the kitch- en with a loaf of bread under each arm, to insure wealth. Her head is then bumped against the sides of the fireplace, so that she may not desert her husband, but remain dutifully at home. This done, she is set to stir the ashes, to find a small wheaten cake (previ- ously buried there by the mother- in-law) as an omen that she may become a successful breadmaker. The first thing a bride does in her new home in Kavadartsy, Macedo- nia, is to make bread, in order that she and her mother-in-law may al- ways live peacefully together. The bride also dips her finger in sugar and makes a sign of the cross with it over the door, that she may al- ways have a good sweet temper. A bottle of wine and a loaf of bread are given her on entering her new husband's home, that she may al- ways have plenty. At Macedonian weddings the groom leads the bride into his house with a halter around her FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. II5 neck, and then he knocks her head against the wall, as a warning of what she may expect if she does not behave well. In Malta, as the newly married couple wend their way to their house, the women and girls who crowd the balconies shower flow- ers upon them, also nuts and grains of wheat, and on their entering the house one of the kinsfolk throws from one of the windows or bal- cony a few handfuls of barley and some small coins on their heads. This is done that they might never - lack the good things of life. The Manxmen look with ill-favor upon a maiden who does not get married. They say it brings bad luck upon the whole family. In Montenegro, the mother-in- law gives an apple to the bride, who must try to throw it over her new husband's house. If the apple falls . the roof, the marriage will be lest. In Morocco, a bride is taken to her husband's house in a decorated box on a mule's back, having with her a little boy, as a good omen that she will be blessed with such. When a young Mosquito Indian marries a girl, his mother-in-law strictly avoids seeing him, as it is believed that if they should ever look each other in the face, one of them would surely die. They do this, therefore, for many years; the mother-in-law keeps all the time with her a cloth, something like a sheet, which she throws over her head as soon as she knows he is near her. When both live in the same house or very near each other, he will always, upon return- ing from an errand or journey, make a noise by singing, whistling, or coughing, to warn her of his ap- proach. At all times when he is in the house, she remains covered. Mr. C. Naseby, of Maitland, New South Wales, who lived for fifty years in the Kamilaroi country, states as follows: “When a young man has passed a certain number of ‘boras' (initia- tions) he has a right to choose a wife from among the unmarried and otherwise unappropriated wom- en of the tribe, who are of the class permitted to him by the native laws. He claims the girl in the presence of her parents, by saying, ‘I will come and take you by and by,’ and they cannot refuse her to him un- less he be specially disqualified, as for instance if ‘his hands are stained with the blood of any of her kin.” And even in that case, he may carry her off by force, if he can, in spite of their refusal. For this purpose, he generally comes by stealth and alone. But if he be a very bold warrior, he sometimes goes openly to the girl’s camp and carries her off, defying the bravest of her friends to meet him in single combat if they dare to stay him.” In Orkney, it was the custom for the young couple to go together in the moonlight to the “standing stones,” the temple of Odin, where the young woman, kneeling on the ground, invoked the protection of Odin in marriage. When an Osmanli couple are married, he transfers at night a piece of sugar from his mouth to hers, and she to his, to bring sweetness and bliss into their lives. In the morning they are asked, “Have your stars met?” If they answer “Aye!” all is well. For forty days after marriage, the bride must not go to her fa- ther's house, nor to church; it would be a sin. (Persia.) In ancient Persia living people were married to the dead, as the belief is that the dead are in a hap- II6 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. pier state if they are married. A certain payment is made and the ceremony gone through when a corpse has not had the felicity in life to be married. (“The Wedding Day in all Ages and Nations.”) When a widower marries, the rel- atives of the first wife always set a pitcher of water on the first wife's grave, to keep her from burning with jealousy. (Persia.) A red and blue cord twisted to- gether must be sewed on the robe of a bride, that she may never be divorced. (Persia.) When a bride goes first to her husband's home, put oil in the path in which she walks to insure riches. (Persia.) Throw raisins on a bride's head and she will be sweet. (Persia.) The Poles formerly had wheat thrown at the door of the bride- groom's house to signify that the bride should never want for food. The people of Pommern believe if it rains upon a bride's wreath, she will have many tears to shed. In a hill in Minho, Portugal, called the hill of St. Luzia, there is a large hole where the image of St. Elysen is kept. The young girls of the district go there on Wednesdays, and standing off, throw a stone towards the hill, say- ing, “O! my Saint Elysen, find me a husband!” An old Provençal legend is to the effect that Raymond of Roussilon killed Cabestan, a poet of the day, because he was jealous of him. Af- ter killing him, he caused his wife to eat, unwittingly, the heart of the gentle singer. When she learned what she had done, she declared that her lips, which had tasted such noble food, should never touch other, and died of starvation. Seven of the poems of this bard are pre- served, and breathe a pure and in- tense passion. . Hops are thrown upon the head of a bride for luck in Russia. In Scotland is the curious cus- tom of washing the bride's feet, else the marriage would be unlucky. As a rule the bride just dips her feet in the tub, and there the washing ends, but the ceremony does not end there. The young woman, on the withdrawal of her feet from the tub, drops a ring and a shilling into the water, whereupon there is a struggle among the girls present for the possession of these articles. The one who obtains the ring will be first married and the finder of the shilling will have the most of world- ly goods. A curious legend is related in an English paper, concerning the Rus- sian custom which prescribes that the new Czarina must dress on her wedding morn before the historical wedding table which belonged to Czarina Maria Ivanowna. This precious piece of furniture was the gift from her imperial fiancé, and the legend relates it is the most wonderful nuptial gift known. The young Princess Maria was very pleased and proud of it; she was also very beautiful, loved and was adored by her future husband. On her wedding day, while her ladies were dressing her before this table, all at once the precious mirror did not reflect the superb beauty of Maria Ivanowna, nor her magnifi- cent dress, nor her magnificent gems. Instead of that, a rapid vis- ion passed over its clear surface, scenes of bloodshed, struggles, mis- fortunes, in which appeared the fig- ures of her husband and of sons and grandchildren destined to wear the heavy crown of the Muscovite succession. The poor girl was ter- ribly frightened and fainted at the FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 117 sight of these dreadful scenes, and to which future events gave a trag- ic confirmation. Maria Ivanowna, to whom this revelation was one of advice and instruction, expressed the desire that the golden toilet table should be used by each suc- cessive Czarina on the day of her bridal, with the intention, perhaps, that if the vision should again re- veal the mysteries of the future to another bride, it would serve as an admonition that earthly happiness is not to be attained here below, even on the steps of a throne. Near Glasgow was a mount called “The Mote.” After a mar- riage in the neighborhood, the couple danced there with friends, in order that the bride would be blessed with children. In Scotland, if the bride, as soon as the ceremony is over, will throw some heather on an unmarried per- son, they will next be married. After the marriage in Servia, the wife dresses a little child and touch- es the walls with a distaff, to show forth her future industry. The Spanish scatter gold-dust on the head of the bride, to bring her a prosperous married estate. In Spain, after a royal marriage, flowers are thrown after the car- riage, to bring luck to the royal couple. For centuries there has existed a bad feeling in regard to Portu- guese marrying into Spanish fam- ilies, bringing forth this couplet: “From Spain blows no good wind, Nor a happy marriage.” In Sweden, the bride touches her naked body, while sitting in the bridal chair, with as many fingers as she wishes children. For one to eat the bits of bread thrown by the bride as she goes to church, would be very unlucky, as you take all her little troubles up- on yourself. (Sweden.) Strong herbs are sewn into the bridegroom's clothes, to keep out evil spirits. (Sweden.) On the return from the wedding, the bride and groom visit the cow- house and stables, so that the horses and cattle may multiply. (Sweden.) In Gothland, as well as in Swe- den, the bride carries a piece of bread in the pocket on the way to church, which she throws away in little bits, thus throwing away all her little troubles. In the Swiss Highlands, it is the custom among the peasant class on the eve of a marriage, for the bride's female friends to visit her and wash her feet, and for the groom's friends to visit the groom and do the like service to him. The latter is roughly handled sometimes, soot or other offensive matter being first rubbed over the feet. This custom is probably based on the ceremony of the washing of the feet of the disciples by the Christ. When a maid fails to get a hus- band, she must scrub the bridge of Bebra and knit warm socks for the frogs. (Thuringia.) In Thuringia, if a girl places flax in her shoes on the day she is mar- ried, she will never know poverty. In the Tyrol, every newly mar- ried couple plant a “marriage tree.” Among the Tyrolese, it is cus- tomary to give the bride a small handkerchief, and if she sheds a tear on the day after she is married, she is to wipe it away with her little handkerchief; not to do so, launch- es her into a life of sorrow; this tear handkerchief is supposed to charm away her worst sorrows, and is bur- ied with her. II8 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. A person who sits down to rest on a box of clothing, in Turkey, may, quite unwittingly, hinder the happy marriage of the young girls whose belongings are packed there; adverse influences will certainly prevent the old woman whose busi- ness it is, from coming to that fam- ily to seek a bride. If a girl walks with a gentleman for the first time and has on new shoes and crosses over a bridge, she will marry him. (Eastern Massa- chusetts.) It is a very popular fancy in Wales, that when a maiden dies who has loved, not wisely, but too well, she comes back to haunt her lover in the form of a white hare. Among the Romans, the Chinese, the Abyssinians, and the Indians of Canada, the singular custom pre- vails of lifting the bride over the doorstep of her husband's home. (Sir John Lubbock, “Smith. Rep.,” 1869, p. 352.) Mejnoun and Leilah were typical and mythical lovers among various eastern nations, like Pyramus and Thisbe among the Greeks and Ro- mans. These personages are es- teemed among the Arabians as the most beautiful, chaste and impas- sioned of lovers, and their amours have been celebrated with all the charms of verse in all the Oriental languages. The Mohammedans re- gard them and the poetical records of their love in the same light as “The Bridegroom and Spouse” and “The Song of Songs” are re- garded by the Jews. In some countries, it is believed that young unmarried people who die have no chance of going to heaven. They must be mated, and so the parents contract with the pa- rents of a living son or daughter, or else a daughter or son that had died almost at the same time as their child, to marry them together. The dowry is often very large for the girl, but is regulated by the good or bad reputation she held in life. A father has been known to give as many as thirty cows to ob- tain an eligible husband for his dead daughter. If one party to a mar- riage dies before the union has tak- en place, the ceremony is neverthe- less proceeded with. In China, the spirits of all boys who die in in- fancy are in due course of time mar- ried to spirits of girls who have been cut off at the same age. This is done even with children who have lived to be ten or twelve years old. J Miscellaneous Don'ts Relating to Marriage. Don’t marry a woman who talks too much; it is a sign that you will always be tired and never have any family secrets. Don't marry a girl who has too many beaux. Such a girl will nev- er make a good wife. Don’t marry a girl who does not love her mother, for she will not love you. If she allows her moth- er to do the housework while she paints, powders, and receives call- ers, it is a sign that she does not love her. Don't marry a girl who wears a dress long enough to sweep the ground. Such women are not clean and tidy. They will not make good housekeepers. A dainty girl will not wear such. Don't marry a flirt; flirt and vir- tue were never on intimate terms. Don't marry a “belle;” she is not worth marrying, and is too com- mon for a wife. Don't marry a girl who is not willing to occupy herself with FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. II9 something useful. A girl who does neither physical nor mental work is no companion for an intelligent gentleman. Don't marry a fashionable girl. She may prove to be a spendthrift, besides being devoid of many of the choicest womanly virtues. Don't be too hasty about mar- rying rich girls. Very few of them but will twit you of it when angry, and most are domineering and un- ruly. Don't marry an unhealthy girl. You will always be reminded that you paid too dear for the whistle. Don't marry a girl who is the victim of tight lacing. She is not fond of children nor fit to be the mother of them. Don't marry a girl who has an abnormally small waist. It is a sign of feeble constitution and is almost synonymous with “doctors’ bills.” Don't marry a girl who paints and powders much. She may be mistaken for a woman of loose vir- tue. Don't marry a girl who “does not want to go to housekeeping,” and “had rather board.” She is lazy, inclined too much for the so- ciety of other men, and has not the instinct of home. Don't marry a girl unless she knows how to cook. You may not expect her to do the cooking, but she should know whether her serv- ants are competent or not. Don't marry a girl who “had rather read a novel than eat.” She will read novels and you will not eat. Don't marry a girl who spends one-half of her time attending tea- parties, sewing-circles, theatre and opera, social functions, and wom- en's clubs. She has not time to make you happy. Don't marry a girl who cuts the neck of her dress so low behind that you wonder how it can hang on. She is lacking in modesty. If it is as low as that in front, she has no modesty at all. Don't marry a girl unless you love her. If you do, married life will be made miserable for both of you. Don't marry a girl whose hands are cold and clammy. She is not in the proper physiological condi- tion. Don't marry a girl with deep, dark rings around her eyes. If any shock or misfortune comes to her, she is apt to be deranged. Don’t marry a girl who wishes she had been born a boy, unless you are a feminine creature your- self. Don’t marry a girl with positive religious beliefs opposite to your own. She will think you are des- tined for the opposite place from herself. Don’t marry a girl whose ances- try was tainted with insanity, idio- cy, or crime. Don’t marry a girl who has the same eccentricities or abnormal ideas as yourself. Don’t marry a girl who is stingy. Find this out or you will be utter- ly disgusted in a year, unless you are one of those contemptible na- tures yourself. Don't marry a man who has “sown his wild oats” too often and too much. It is said that they are liable to spring up when and where you least expect them. I2O ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. Don't marry a girl whom you have caught in a direct lie. She will not prove true in many other things. Don't marry a girl who is cruel to animals. Such would be a harsh, unfeeling mother and a quarrelsome wife. Don't marry a man who is in the habit of drinking. He is on the highway to ruin. Don't marry a man who has sev- eral sweethearts. He will be fickle and worthless. Don't marry a man younger than yourself, unless it is your last chance, or unless he is unusually brilliant, for it is said a woman should look up and not down. Don’t marry your mental infe- rior. When the first passion is over, you cannot love him. Don’t marry a spendthrift. You will have to support yourself and perhaps him, too. Don't marry a man without the means of support. If he saves nothing before marriage, he will not after. Don't marry a man for his mon- ey, or to “have a home,” it savors too much of being a mistress. Don't marry a man who has had several wives. He is likely to be rid of you also. Don't marry a man old enough to be your father. Love is im- possible, and the money, social po- sition, or fame, he brings you, won’t settle love's bill. Don't marry a man who gambles or speculates. You will be sorry you trusted to luck. Don't marry a man to spite some other girl; it will not pay. You cut off your nose to spite your face. Don't marry a man with whom you “have occasional spats.” When you are married, they will become quarrels, and quarrels kill love and JOy. Don't marry a man; he is soft. “fashionable” Don't marry a “dude.” You had better form a partnership with some smart woman for all the good he will do you. Don't marry a man to reform him. The task may not prove satisfactory. Don't marry a man whose toes turn inward. He is devoid of am- bition and is generally “pokey.” Don't marry a man who is nar- row between the cheek-bones and is sunken below the eyes; he will die of consumption. Don't marry a man whose feet, hands, eyes, nose, and ears, are small. Real men never have small features, especially small noses. Don’t be too anxious to get mar- ried. Over-anxious girls never suc- ceed in getting good husbands. Don't marry a man unless you love him enough to sacrifice all else for him if necessary. It may be- come necessary. Don’t permit another person to choose a husband for you. That is a matter of which you should be your Own judge. Don’t marry a man who has little regard for his parents. He will prove to have little regard for you. Don’t marry a man who is too much like yourself. You will clash. Don’t marry a stingy man. He will make your life a burden, and you will be ashamed of him a thousand times. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. I2I Don’t marry a man whose air is all pomp and dignity. They don’t know much, and are too egotistic to consider you as their equal. Don’t marry a sickly man through pity. Pity will not cure him, and his children were better not born. Don't marry a man who talks like a girl, unless you are horsy and fast. Don't marry a man who is too “mortally good” and too “dreadful- ly pious.” Pious men are either hypocrites or good-for-nothings. Don't marry a man who is not willing to sacrifice all his luxurious habits in order to furnish you with a home. Don't marry a man who contin- ually questions you as to what you do, whom you see, and where you go. He will be exacting, jealous, and tyrannical. Remember, in mar- rying, that each should have con- sideration without silly self-sacri- fice, each should have confidence without indifference, each should love with the whole nature, and both should try to please the other. MONEY. If the bride asks the groom for a small coin on the evening of the bridal, she will never be out of money. In ancient times Jews used to distribute coins among the guests to predict fruitfulness and plenty. In England, in the 10th year of the reign of Edward II., we first hear of the custom of throwing money over the head of the bride for luck. The prospects for a happy union may be shown by melting a gold coin. If the metal is bright, the marriage will be happy; if dull, un- happy. The bride should carry a penny which the groom has given her; she will thus be assured that in the life she is entering she will not want for money. To stick coins on the forehead of the groom after the marriage is considered good luck by the Moors in West Barbary. If a bride dances with money in her shoes, no witch can affect her. At weddings in Egypt, newly coined money is thrown among the ladies for luck. The groom who speaks of money on the wedding night to the bride, indicates that he has other motives in marriage that are before love. The groom who is dunned on his wedding day, will quarrel with his wife about money matters. It is said that if a penny is sewed into the folds of a wedding gown, it will carry good luck wherever it goes. The moment the bride enters her husband's house, she is led into every room and closet, and as she holds her husband dear, she is obliged to drop money and rib- bands in every part, even into the well and fire. (German.) For the groom to borrow on his wedding day, bespeaks that another would have been happier in his place than he is to be. Should you by chance fail to pay the minister for performing the cer- emony, no heirs will ever gladden your home. Every bill connected with a wed- ding must be paid within a fort- night, or else financial worries will follow the wedded couple. I22 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. It is considered a good omen if the bride throws away her old purse on the wedding day. To throw a piece of silver over the heads of the married couple as they leave the church, will make them both lucky and rich. In China, five coins belonging to the reigns of five different emperors are scattered on the bottom of the bedstead so that children may be born to the newly wedded pair. MOTHER-IN-LAW. If you reach home at a time when bread is being baked, your mother- in-law will love you; if afterward, she will hate you. (Persia.) A bridegroom who first sees his mother-in-law after the ceremony, must be very careful how he con- verses, lest he say something un- lucky. When dining, if you lay the bread on your knee, your mother- in-law will die. (Persia.) MUSIC. The organ must not delay a note while waiting or there will be dis- cord in future years. To hear music immediately after or during a proposal, is a very fine O111611. It is very lucky to awaken a couple on the morning after their marriage with a concert of music. A discord in the wedding music foretells death. Unlucky to play any tune at the wedding except the “Black and the Gray.” (English.) If a lady plays the wedding march three times for friends, she will never be married. Ornaments, Ribbons, Flowers, Jewels, Etc. If the first flower a bride sees on her wedding morn is white, she will lead a happy life; but if red, she will know sorrow and care. A Chinese bride wears her hair braided with a red silk cord and a sprig of evergreen. If a bride has a bunch of pink roses given her, it is lucky. For anyone else but the bride herself to pluck the flowers worn at her wedding, was considered in Greece an ill omen. For a bride to buy her own flow- ers was considered ominous in Greece. To eat three leaves from a bridai wreath is said to cure fever. A bride will not be happy if a. thorn in her bouquet scratches her hand. The usher or best man who gets the groom's boutonnière, will mar- ry next. The girl who finds a flower from the bride's bouquet will soon be married. If the bridesmaids go into a per- fectly dark room and toss up the bride's bouquet, the first to pick it up will be the first to get married. A rose from the bridal wreath of one you love betokens happiness. To bring a lucky marriage, put flowers on the beehive and tell the bees. The bride may doubt the quali- fications of the groom under trial, if he gives her flowers on the wed- ding day. In Scotland, brides and their at- tendant maids think it a good omen FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. I23 to wear some ornament in the way of a thistle. If a girl wears a gown with rose- buds on it, she will not be a bride until it is worn out. The Scotch bride who can get a piece of white heather to wear at her wedding, is sure her future life will be full of happiness. It was formerly the custom for newly engaged pairs to wear flow- ers as an external sign of their en- gagement. If a bride wears tuberoses, it is a sign of the mourning she will soon have to wear. It is also be- lieved by some to be a sign that she will be deserted by her husband. A Dutch maiden will not bring any flowers into the house, as it spoils her chances of ever finding a husband. If a bride mixes a few daisies and daffodils in her bridal bouquet, her life will never be gloomy. If the bride separates the flowers in her bouquet, and throws them, the one who catches the largest number will be married first. If, at your wedding, red roses are given you by your father, it will bring good luck. It is considered lucky to take a flower away from the church after a wedding. If a bride leaves her bouquet in church and turns back to get it, she will have an unfortunate wed- ded life. In Scotland, the bride who wears bluebells is sure to become insane. If the bride loses a flower from her bouquet before the wedding, she will have many little troubles in her married life. At weddings the groom wears a fine sprig of rosemary on his sleeve for luck. (Bohemia.) In Russia and Poland exists a custom to place sugar in a bouquet of rosemary as a sign that the mar- riage would be happy to the end. In some parts of Russia a tiny piece of bread was placed in the bride's bouquet, to make sure that she should always have enough. Sometimes a piece of money was used instead. The last thing a bride calls for in the Isle of Crete is a sprig of rose- mary, to bring her luck. In France, it is said no wedding decoration should be without the mignonette, “little darling.” It will keep the bride first in her husband's thoughts. The girls of Tuscany always wear a sprig of the jasmine in their brid- al attire, as they have a proverb which says: “The bride who wears jasmine is rich enough to make the fortune of a poor husband.” If a wedding gown is trimmed with orange blossoms, they should be removed after the ceremony and white roses put in their places, as orange blossoms are intended dis- tinctly for a maiden. It is a good thing for a newly married couple to take their wed- ding flowers and strew the graves of their departed friends. They will then secure the prayers of their angels for the wedded happiness. It is unlucky for anyone but a bride to wear orange blossoms. It is considered bad luck to use red roses at a bridal, because on the ejection of Eve from Paradise, all the roses which were white, blushed red at our great Mother's fall. It is also said that red roses worn by a I24 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. bride will cause her to blush in af- ter years when her wedding is men- tioned. “It is unlucky for either spouse, To look in the closet and see a mouse.” In India, if the Rajah desires to find a husband for his daughter, he invites a number of guests to a banquet. The young maiden, after studying them sufficiently, throws “varamala,” or the marriage gar- land, around the neck of one of the guests, as a sign that he is the chos- €11 O'Ile. If a bride wishes the many bless- ings of Heaven, she should offer up to the Saviour a vase of fuchsias (according to ancient omen), or twine them in her hair. It is said that angels whispered this omen to mortals here below. “When the Saviour was crucified, an angel at the foot of the cross prayed that the drops of blood that flowed from the wounds might take some form of beauty and live in the world to remind people of the blood which had been shed for them. Then the fuchsia sprang up, there on Calvary, hanging its head from sorrow, beautiful, without perfume, for its fragrance had all ascended to heaven in incense. But in this love- ly flower these drops of blood still live, and many blessings will de- scend upon the bride who offers this flower to the Holy One on her wed- ding day.” For a bride to wear flowers in her hair, if no veil is worn, will cause regret to her, as: “If the bonny bride do wear, Naught but flowers on her hair, The day will quickly dawn When she'll regret her wedding morn.” In Brittany, on St. John's eve, the men, wearing bunches of green wheatears, and the women, deco- rated with flax blossoms, assemble around a historic stone and place wreaths upon it. Should these re- main fresh, the lovers represented by them will remain united; if they wither and die, it is a sign that love will rapidly disappear. (“Folklore of Plants,” Dyer.) If the handkerchief used by a bride at her wedding has been pre- viously spread over the face of a dead person, it is said to bring her luck. Lost jewelry at a wedding, omens lost friends. Pearls or opals worn by a bride are both bad omens and should be avoided. Put a sapphire secretly into the pocket of your husband, and he will love you in spite of himself and conquer all his enemies. For an Egyptian bride to lose one of her jewels on her wedding, means more ill luck than the loss. When a bride is led in, she must wear no chains or bells, but come in solemn silence, else she will have noisy, restless children. It is good luck for a bride to wear bracelets. Evergreen worn on the head of a bride in Greece was esteemed lucky. It is good luck to a bride to wear all the jewelry she can get, bor- rowed or otherwise. Whoever puts a bridal wreath or veil on for play, will never marry. If a bride wears a silver buckle on her shoe she will have good luck. In the time of Henry the Eighth the bridal wreath was made of wheat ears as a sign of faithfulness. The present bridal wreath is principally composed of orange FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. I25 blossoms from an old practice of the Saracens, by whom the orange blossom was regarded as a symbol of prosperous marriage. It is good luck for the bride to wear at the altar some love gift given by the groom before they were engaged to be married. It will bring good luck to the bride to have some one secrete some old heirloom of her family in the trunk she takes away with her. In Greece wreaths of rue and marjoram are used for wedding decorations as a sure preventive of the wicked influence of evil spirits. Bridesmaids often buy a myrtle wreath and let the bride wear it for a while. After the ceremony the bride is blindfolded and the brides- maids dance around her; the one on whose head the bride throws the wreath, will marry within a year from that time. In Sweden and Russia the crown is the bride’s chief ornament. It is usually of silver and often very becoming. During the ceremony the groom should place it on the head of the bride with his own hands, and if by any chance it should slip to one side or fall off, the omen is considered exceeding- ly disastrous. It is good luck for a lover to wear a ribbon belonging to his lady. Pin two ribbons in the form of a cross on a bride's dress just before she goes to the church. If she re- turns without them, she will have good luck. In the North of England, the groom gives a ribbon to each of the young men as they come from the church, and these run a race to the house, the first one getting there being allowed to kiss the bride. It has been recommended to wear a ribbon belonging to your lady if she is cold to your affection. Many men wear a lock of her hair if he can procure it, for the same charm. RINGS, In Tangiers, all Jewesses about to be married, wear a ring carved in the shape of a hand, to ward off the evil eye. Never, under any circumstances, accept an engagement ring that has a setting of an unlucky stone, no matter how free from superstition you may be. Wear only the cir- clet of eternal devotion, or one con- taining the sparkling diamond. This stone will insure you from mis- understanding, which is the rock of many a human wreck, and will prove a talisman to any lack of con- fidence or mistrust that may arise. The diamond is a clear mirror where everything shows true. And it has all the colors of the rainbow of happiness united in its depths. There are plenty, of people in the old world who say that the wed- ding ring should be a diamond and placed on the fourth finger because of a common belief that a vein runs from it to the heart. In modern times the ring is placed on the left hand, as the emblem of submission, as the right is of authority. The position of the symbol on the left hand thus indicates the wife’s sub- jection to her husband. There is a certain ring called the “gemel” ring, which is made double, the hoops joined together like links in a chain. One side of each hoop is flat and is inscribed with an emblem or motto. The ring is constructed to form one as well as two, and it was the custom of French lovers to plight their 126 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. troth by putting their fingers through these hoops, the girl after- ward wearing them in the form of a double ring. 2. Many years ago they had in Great Britain for marriage rings what they called “posey rings,” on the inside of which was engraved some sweet motto of love and hope. The posey of John Dunton's ring was: “God saw thee Most fit for me.” A ring dug up at Somerton, in Lincolnshire, was inscribed: “I love you my sweet, dear heart, so I pray you please my love.” Hundreds of these charming mottoes have been preserved, and they of course mean the intense hope and longing for happiness and good fortune which always accom- panies a true marriage. (Wood's “Wedding Day in all Ages and Countries.”) Those engaged with an emerald ring will never be married. Tertullian, who died A. D. 216, tells us that a golden ring was in his time sent to the intended bride as a pledge, and omen of faithful- 116SS. Selden says that betrothal rings were first given in lieu of dower money. If a gentleman gets an engage- ment ring and tries it on the finger of anyone excepting the bride, he i. never marry the girl he bought it for. In France, it is customary to place a ring under the feet of the married couple for luck. It is unlucky to alter the first width of the engagement ring. If your engagement ring wears off before you marry, you had bet- ter give up the marriage, as it por- tends disaster. If the bride will kiss the wedding ring before she puts it on, she will have good luck. If the lover drops the ring while trying to put it on the finger as an engagement ring, they will never wed. Never wipe an engagement ring with a towel. Get a fine handker- chief, or a napkin. A towel is un- lucky. It is unlucky to lose an engage- ment ring. Of losing the engagement ring, Shakespeare says in “The Mer- chant of Venice: “As Portia gives her wealth to Bassanio; I give them with this ring, Which when you part from, lose or give a Way, Let it presage the ruin of our love.” Many married women whose hands grow larger and more fleshy after marriage will rather suffer the pain than take off the wedding ring or have it altered. To buy a wedding ring: On Monday, foretells a bustling life, full of excitement; On Tuesday, an easy life, con- tented and free; On Wednesday, that your part- ner will be gay and fond of wine; On Thursday, that you will gain what you desire; On Friday, that you will sow with toil, but reap your harvest; On Saturday, that you will al- ways have cause to rejoice. If the bride buys the ring, she will never live happily with her hus- band. A ring of Kusa grass is put on the finger during the most sacred ceremonies and at marriage. It represents an imperishable bond be- tween the giver and the receiver, and is a symbol of the original blood covenant, which is an im- (); º | º |Nilſº | %| $º/ | - - 4n Offering of Flowers Before the Ceremony of Marriage. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 127 | portant element of belief in the minds of all primitive peoples. Bad luck to the groom who gets the wedding ring by credit or gift. The Jews consider it very un- lucky to have the wedding ring given to you. It must be pur- chased. For a lady to borrow a wedding ring foretells protection in the hour of danger. For a gentleman to borrow a wedding ring foretells un- expected gain. An English work on etiquette, published in 1835, says that where the wedding ring is placed on the thumb, it will prove that great physical strength will follow, as the thumb is the strongest member of the hand. The same work mentions that where the ring is placed on the in- dex finger, it indicates noble aspira- tions, because at its base is the mount of Jupiter. In Brittany, if the wife wishes to rule, she must be sure that when the ring is placed on her finger, it slips clear down into place at once. In France, during the middle ages, a ring of straw or One made from a horseshoe nail was placed on the bride's finger, and some had as many as five such rings. The couple also stood on a ring during the ceremony. If a woman clandestinely places her wedding ring under a sorcer- ess' chair, the sorceress cannot rise. In Kerneval, it is considered lucky to wear the wedding ring on the little finger of the left hand. It is a sure sign of a life of wretchedness for the woman who ever removes from her finger the ring placed there at the altar. This token is given as a sacred pledge by the husband to his wife, to seal the vows sworn by him to her. In England it is considered sacrilegi- ous to remove it. A ring habitually worn on the first finger indicates a haughty, bold, and overbearing spirit; on the middle finger, prudence and dignity; on the third, love and af- fection; on the little finger, a mas- terful spirit. Taking off the wedding ring from a sick, dying or dead person is bad luck. Let this sacred emblem be buried with the body. If a bride removes her wedding ring and puts it on again within twenty-four hours of the ceremony, she wards off all the evils which fol- low, if it slips off afterwards. To allow anyone but the partner to remove a wedding ring, foretells separation. It is bad luck to take off your wedding ring to show it to your friends. If you are married a second time and forget to take off the former wedding ring, you are destined to unhappiness. The use of the wedding ring is noted first in Egypt, where it was first called the emblem of eternity. The use of the marriage ring originated in an oath to Odin which two lovers made by joining their hands through a circular open- ing in the sacrificial stone, meaning they were bound, although sepa- rate. If the wedding ring grows too tight for the finger, it portends evil. If it breaks, it portends death. In some places it is customary to put the wedding ring into the posset, and after serving it out, the person whose cup contains the ring will be the first of the company to get married. 128 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. If a girl turns twenty-four wed- ding rings, she will marry the next man she shakes hands with. Should the shaking hand of the groom drop the ring in the act of putting it on the bride's finger, the ceremony had better be stopped right where it is. If the bride breaks her wedding ring, she will be a widow soon. If the wedding ring is lost, the couple will separate. Whoever loses the wedding ring first will die first. “Vows at the altar spoken, Break with the wedding ring that's broken.” To drop the wedding ring is om- inous of evil in Germany. The wedding ring of the mother is an infallible cure for eruptions on the skin of the child. The ring must be rubbed three times around each sore. If a girl takes a ring off a gentle- 'man's finger, she will have bad luck in love. For a gentleman to wear a ring on the first finger of the left hand is a sign he desires a wife. In some parts of Holland it is considered lucky to be married with a glove instead of a ring. The Italians believe that you will marry soon if you cast a ring in the Adriatic Sea. SHOES AND SLIPPERS, Wear a piece of paper in your new shoe and you will have an en- gagement within a month. If a maid finds a pair of old boots, she will wed in a short time. If a young girl gets a new pair of shoes and drops them on the floor, she will be very unlucky in her love affairs all the time until they are worn out. In Sweden, it is unlucky to pre- sent shoes to your sweetheart, for she will run off with another man. Among the middle classes in Spain it is considered a good omen for the young man to ask his be- trothed shortly before the wedding for the measure of her foot. Upon obtaining it, he would make her a pair of white satin shoes with his own hands. They were presented on the wedding day, so that she might ever walk on satin. In Transylvania, Greece, Fin- land, Bulgaria, Russia, Jerusalem, and various other countries, the marriage ceremonies include the use of shoes, new or old, in some way or another. To leave them out of the wedding ceremonies would be to leave out the luck. In Greece the bride's mother will not let the husband go to bed until he gives her a pair of new shoes. In Bulgaria he gives “shoe-money” to the relatives; in Russia, although the wife removes the husband's shoes, she nevertheless gives him a good blow with it to show she is not wholly subservient, and among the Hebrews the woman unties the man’s shoes to show the knot be- tween them. A Jewish bride will prosper bet- ter if the shoe that is thrown after her is taken from the left foot. Never wear new shoes to be mar- ried in. You will always be squeezed in your walk of life. It means poverty. It is bad luck for your wedding slipper to hurt your feet. It is a sign you will be pinched in money matterS. If on getting your wedding shoes another person should try them on before you do, it is a sign that you will not live very long and that the girl who tried on your shoes will get your husband. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. I29 If a bride will be married in old shoes she will fall heir to much land. It is considered proper and very lucky for the groom to polish the shoes in which he is to be married, but not while on his feet. It is a bad omen if a bride's slippers squeak. It is a sign her lover is a poor weak specimen and that she will be unhappy. If a bride puts a handful of earth from home in her wedding shoes she will never be homesick and she will be getting the “flavor of home” so that good luck will follow. (Swedish.) When a couple were married ages ago, the sole of the groom's shoe was placed on the head of the bride to show that she was to be under subjection to him. Swedish brides let a shoe drop off or drop their handkerchief in the hope that the bridegroom from politeness will stoop and pick it up. If he does so, it will be his lot to submit, to bend his back all through his married life. In Sweden it is considered a good omen if a bride loses her slip- per. To carry a slipper before a bride was once the sign of her subjection to her husband. It was formerly the custom among the nobility of Germany for the bride to fling her shoe among the guests when she was conducted to the bridal chamber, and the one who caught it would be married Inext. It is lucky for the bride to treas- ure the shoes given her on the wed- ding morning by her husband. He will not begin to beat her until they are worn out. (Hindu.) If anyone pulls your shoe off your foot to throw it after a bride, you will have a change of lovers SOO11. If the shoe that is thrown after the bride is taken off from the left foot, it will bring better luck. It is unlucky to dance the first reel at a wedding with your shoes O11. It is lucky for the bride to put her slippers under the pillow the first night. The Germans have the bride turn the shoes upside down in order to keep the demons or elves from placing another woman in her shoes and thus in her place in the home. If a bride give her wedding slip- pers away, especially if they are white, she will give luck and take luck at the same time. If a woman tears her wedding shoes, she will be beaten by her husband. A bride should not wear out her bridal shoes during the first year, as that would bring great misfor- tuneS. When a bride returns from the wedding, she must have her new husband immediately unlace her shoes or take off her slippers, as this will bring them prosperity and besides she will “set her foot on his neck.” Unlace the right shoe first. Among the Peruvians, it was formerly a custom that when a man wished to marry, he went to the woman’s house and with her fa- ther's consent put on her foot a pe- culiar kind of shoe, in which he led her to his home. If she were a vir- gin, the shoe was of wool; but if a widow, it was of rush. I3o ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. Stockings and Garters. A troubled home awaits the bride who wears striped stockings at the altar. If a young lady going to be mar- ried, takes a bath and drops her clean stockings in the water, it is a sign that her husband will be a drunkard. It is said when a bride retires to rest on her wedding night, that her bridesmaid should lay her stockings across, so as to assure her good luck. At “penny-weddings” the bride after she was “bedded,” drew off her left stocking and threw it into the crowd. The one who caught it was the first to marry. A “penny-wedding” is a wedding at which the guests contribute toward the expenses of the enter- tainment and frequently toward the household outfit of the wedded pair. A long time ago, in Virginia, each lady present at a wedding was presented with a rolled up stocking. She turned her back to the bride and threw it over her shoulder. The one who succeeded in hitting the bride's head was first to be married. The men would go through the same performance, only over the groom's head. If the bridegroom's stockings, thrown by one of the bridesmaids, falls on the bridegroom's head, it is a sign she will be married herself SOO11. If the bride or groom put on a stocking or any other undergar- ment wrong side out, and leave it so, good luck will follow. The young lady to whom the bride will give one of her garters, will find the prizes in the matrimo- nial field all at her command. If the groom ties the bride's gar- ters, she will have easy labors. In the North of England the young men present at a wedding, immediately after the ceremony, and before the bride has left the al- tar, endeavor to take her garter off her leg. The one who succeeds in doing this is borne about the church in triumph, as he, too, will soon be married. Another old English custom was for a little child to creep under the table and steal the garter of the bride; the silken band was cut to . pieces, and the possessor of each scrap was supposed to be insured with good fortune. If a widow gives you a garter, it will bring success in love if you. wear it about the left leg. If the bride's garter hurts her on. her wedding day, she will have all. girl babies. If two young girls, one wearing black garters and the other yellow, exchange garters, each one wearing one of the other's, they are sure to become engaged before the year is. Out. If you get an unmarried man to give you ten cents and get a mar- ried man to sew it into your garter, you will be engaged before the year is out. At all times garters have been considered very important in wom- an’s dress, and always associated in some manner with matrimony. Down through half a dozen cen- turies comes to us the custom from France, practiced to-day in this country, of making the garters the finishing touch to the bridal toilet. The particular girl friend who is permitted to slip the garters into place is the lucky one who will be FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. I31 w married herself within the year, and a near and blissful prospect of mat- rimony is also before the girl friend who made and presented them. VEIL. For a veil the old British cus- tom was to use nature’s own, just as it is, unadorned: the long hair of the bride, noble or simple. Among some, the tresses were cut and carefully stowed away when the maid became a wife. It is custom- .ary in Russia for village brides to cut the locks on returning from the church. The peasants of that coun- try have a pretty song, the gist of it being the lamentation of a wife over the golden curls just cut off, ere she laid them low. The bridal veil is evidently of Eastern origin, being a relic of the bridal canopy held over the heads of the bride and the bridegroom. Among the Anglo-Saxons a similar custom existed, but if the bride was a widow, it was dispensed with. According to Saracen usage a fine linen cloth was laid on the heads of the bridal couple and not re- moved until the benediction was said. A bride should knit the fillets to the doorposts in Greece and anoint the sides, to avert the fascination of witches, and previous to this opera- º she should put on a yellow Well. In Rome, the bride always wore a flame-colored veil for good Omen's sake. It is considered fortunate to be married in a previously worn mar- riage veil, especially if the former wearer had been happy in the mar- ried state. When the short veil which is sometimes worn, has been un- pinned, it must be left to fall on the altar steps and lie there until every- One has left the church. This brings good luck to the newly wed- ded couple. It is a sign of good luck if the bride's veil catches fire at the altar. It is said to be lucky for the bride to get her veil torn. A bride should wear her veil un- til she exchanges her wedding gown for her traveling suit. The bride brings ill luck on her- self if she unveils in the room in which married. For a bridegroom in Timbuctoo to see his bride unveiled on the wedding day is a bad omen. If the groom kisses the bride through the veil, she may be on the alert for his double life. It is very lucky for a bride to save her wedding veil. In Mexico, the man's mantle and the woman's veil are tied together when they are married, so that they shall always agree, and as an em- blem of an interior union. If, when quarreling, both will stand before the hearth-fire, the fire will re-unite their minds at once. In Malta, on the morning of the wedding day, the most honored personage among the husband's re- lations threw a fine white veil over the bride's head, who wore a bro- cade or velvet dress, in which the other relations made certain rents for the purpose of affixing small golden shells, for luck, as they were emblems of the boundless treasures of the sea. The bridal veil of a Japanese young lady is subsequently used as her shroud. Just after the marriage it is carefully put away and reserved until death makes it useful again. I32 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. WEDDING FEAST (Break- fast, Dinner and Supper). (See also “Food.”) An ancient Greek superstition was that if a crow appeared at a wedding breakfast, a divorce would be inevitable, unless all with one accord cried out, “Maiden, scare away that crow.” On no account invite a widow and widower to the marriage break- fast, unless you have an old maid and a bachelor to counteract the in- fluence. The bride and groom must use the same finger-bowl at the wed- ding breakfast, or discord will come into their lives from the water fair- 16S. If the bride wishes to be happy, she must taste every article of food served at the wedding breakfast, sharing it with her husband. For the bride or groom to drop any food at the breakfast table is a sign that they will become depend- ent upon their friends. For the bride to eat pickles at her wedding breakfast, signifies an un- requited love. A stormy life is foreshadowed when the bride is sick at the break- fast. In some countries the bride and groom have swords stuck in the wall over their heads during the wedding breakfast, and the sword that vibrates the longest will show which will live longest. If, at the bridal supper, a child hangs on the bride's dress, it is a sign she will be blessed with many children. In old times a hen ready dressed and a raw egg were indispensable for the wedding supper. These were placed before the bride and indi- cated she would have many chil- dren. At such times the bride would eat a small piece of the hen and then the guests would scramble for the rest, the one who got the largest piece having the best luck for the coming year. A singular marriage custom pre- vails among the French-Canadians in Quebec. After the morning marriage service in the church the bridal party, in caleche or cabriolet, make a tour of calls upon relatives and friends during the day, and then return again to church for vespers. Before the evening dance at the bride's new home comes the sup- per. When the company rise from the table the bride keeps her seat, and some one asks, with great dig- nity: “Why does madame wait? Is she so soon in bad grace?” She replies: “Someone has stol- en my slipper; I cannot walk.” Then they carry her, chair and all, into the middle of the room, while a loud knocking announces a grotesquely ragged vender of boots and shoes. He kneels before the slipperless bride and tries on a long succession of old boots and shoes of every variety and size until at last he finds her missing shoe. The groom redeems it for a good price, which is spent in treating the company. If the groom is not watchful they steal her hat and cloak, which he redeems in the same way; and they have been known to steal the bride. If suc- cessful, the visitor demands a prize from the groom. A roast fowl is served at the wed- ding supper in Russia; the bride- groom tears it to pieces, and at last, throwing that part which he holds in his hands, whether it be leg or wing, over his shoulder, he eats the FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. I33 rest. A supper served in this way is sure to bring good luck. At a Jewish wedding a glass of wine is thrown at something hard for luck. Frequently also, a raw egg is placed before the bride as a symbol of fecundity. He who got the largest share of the hen at the wedding-supper was deemed the most lucky among the ancient Jews. In Thuringia an almond is put in the wedding-soup and the one to whom it falls will be married in the year. In Silesia, young men and girls throw nuts at each other at the wedding-feast. If anyone finds a nut with two kernels it is a sign of a speedy marriage. (Harper's Mag., Vol. 41.) From Scotland comes the idea that a pair of fowls should grace the wedding-feast for luck and that the bride should have a pair of kitchen tongs and a bunch of keys placed in her hands to indicate her proper sphere at the fireside and her duties within doors. Pass everything to the right at a marriage-feast. If you make a wish at a wedding- feast it will come true. A bride in receiving her guests should never turn her back to the groom, as it will ensure much bit- terness during life. If a poor couple have an extra large meal on their wedding-day they will never come to want. If all the people at the bride's table are married but one, that one will marry soon. If your mother-in-law sits next you at the table, you will live at peace with all your relatives. If thirteen sit at the bride's table the bride or groom will be untrue. For all the parents of the wedded couple to sit at the bride's table is indicative of a death in one of the three families. If a cripple is a member of the wedding party, you may look for disaster to soon come upon the new home. If a step parent sits at the bridal table, one of two young people will marry again. It is lucky for the bride and groom to sit at the wedding-table with the corner between them. An ant seen on the bride's table is the messenger of many good things. To point a knife at the bride when she is sitting at the table is an omen of very bad luck. She will die within the year. If the bride puts a good many questions to the officiating minis- ter at the wedding-feast it is a sign of great luck to her. Don't spill milk on your wed- ding-gown or you will always be wanting it. To be married without a feast is as bad luck as to be married with- out a ring. In the Tyrol, the vicar must be present at the wedding-meal, else the wedded couple will never have occasion for his services, that is, they will be childless, and both die suddenly. In Persia, during the seven days of the marriage-feast, the wall of the groom's home should be spot- ted with flour. They will then have many children. In India it would be a very bad omen for a widow to look on and see a wedding-festival. I34 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. In Liburnia, before the wedding- feast was over, the bride threw over the roof of the bridegroom's house, a cake called “kolarh,” and the higher she threw it the happier she would be. In some parts of Prussia exists the custom during the wedding- feast to startle the company by some tremendous crash while some- one is making a speech or singing a song, which sets everyone laugh- ing, and is the sign for wishing happiness to the young people. In ancient times it was believed that no wedding-feast should be without figs or the evil spirit would steal the bridal couple's love. The Cyrenians, during their fes- tivals, crowned the statues of their gods with fresh figs. This was done particularly to the statue of Saturn. Then to the next bride, these sacred figs were given dried, so that she should obtain wisdom and be the mother of many girls and boys. Before going on a wed- ding journey, the custom was to hang branches of figs over the door of the house as an omen of happy return, with another with them. WEDDING JOURNEY. It means good luck for the new- ly wedded pair not to tell where they are going. It is very unlucky for a bride to pick up her train as she leaves her parents’ house for the wedding journey. When the young couple leave the house to start on their wedding journey, the guests throw rice after them for luck. It is very unlucky for a bride to be accompanied to the depot by her relatives. If the parents bid adieu to the bride at the door of the carriage, they will also meet her at the car- riage door in sorrow before long. The wedding party that is com- posed of three as they set out on tour, foretells the coming of a de- pendent relative to the new home. To tie the bride's trunk with white ribbon will insure the joy of the couple on their honeymoon journey. To be lucky, a bride must wear gray for her traveling dress. It is a good omen when the bride's outer garments are un- changed before starting on the tour; if she change throughout, she will be unhappy. If the bride wears any old article on her wedding tour, she will be poor all her wedded life. If a live animal is carried on the wedding tour, children will come to bless the home. If a bride carries a black bag on her tour, it foretells her journey to the grave of her firstborn baby. An ocean voyage in the honey- moon is the omen of a long life in wedlock. If the bride loses any article of her apparel on her tour, she may look for some unannounced trouble to come to her. It brings good luck for the bride to kiss a baby while on herwedding tour. In Russia, to meet a horse with- out harness or bridle, when on the wedding journey, is a bad sign. The couple will not be harnessed to- gether long. If the young folks arrive at home from the tour at night, they will overcome all their evilly inclined enemies. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. I35 In the wedding ride, if the driver turn the horses or rein them in, the pair will be childless. If there are two wedding parties on the same train, the circumstance is an omen of evil and of the re- marriage of at least one of the par- ties. If a funeral is on the train, there is some unexpected sorrow to befall one of the young folks, and this will be followed by happiness. Wedding Presents, Love To- kens and Gifts Generally. The luckiest present of all is an apron and half a dozen dish towels. It is bad luck for a young man to give his sweetheart a snake bracelet or ring. They will be parted and she will have bad luck whenever she wears it. It is unlucky to give one's sweet- heart a brooch or pin. If a young married couple have a broom given them it is lucky. If a young man engaged to a lady gives her a calendar, it is a sign he wishes her to hurry and set a date for the wedding. In Sicily it is considered a very bad omen to give anything in the shape of a cat to a betrothed per- son, as such a gift heralds sudden and violent death. If your lover will accept a cat from you as a gift, nothing can ever separate you. To have a person, present you with chinaware is a sign of a wed- ding. If you receive a dictionary, you and your husband will have much trouble, always arguing and look- ing things up. If a clock is among the wedding presents and it stops the first night it has been wound in the new home, either the husband or the wife will live but a short time. In the marshes of the North Sea coast it was formerly customary in Germany for the bridegroom to give the bride on the day of be- trothal instead of a ring, a valuable coin, called “Echle,” or genuine, as a pledge that the compact between them was binding. To have anything given you with the spot of diamonds on it, will make you a bride within the year. If a man gives his fiancée an emerald and in after years the emerald becomes paler, his love for his wife has lessened, but if the emerald becomes darker, his love for her has increased. A gift of a dress from a gentle- man will break an engagement. Present the first egg laid by a pullet to your sweetheart. The gentleman who presents his sweetheart with a fan will never wed her. A yellow garter for the left leg, knit by a friend and presented un- expectedly, if worn on Easter day, is supposed to bring an engage- ment before the year is out. In Finland it is a lucky thing for the married couple to present the clergyman with a handkerchief and a pair of warm hair gloves. In Sweden it is considered un- lucky for a lover to give his sweet- heart a silk handkerchief. She will wipe away her affections for him. In the Tyrol one of the most valued gifts to the bride is a hand- kerchief, blessed by the priest, wherewith to dry her tears. This I36 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. is carefully put away and kept as a talisman; and at the woman's death is laid over her face and buried with her. As many iron-holders as are given to you when married, so many boys will you have. “If you wish a strife Between man and wife, e Present them with a silver knife.” If the bride receives much table linen her family will never want food. If among the wedding presents there happens to be a match box the lady will marry twice. If you give your sweetheart a nice pen, pencil, or penholder, he will write to others and forget all about you. If you receive a piano as a wed- ding gift and cannot play on it, you and your husband will part. For the bridal pair to receive a pieced quilt as a wedding gift brings them a bed full of good luck. To give a bride a flatiron stand will give her good luck. Present the bride with a small ball of twine, which as it increases denotes an increase of fortune. If a man gives his sweetheart an umbrella they will surely quarrel. The maiden who takes a watch as a present from her lover will never marry him. In certain parts of Ireland it is considered very bad luck to accept a four-footed animal from a lover. It is very lucky if the wedding gift arriving first is made of silver. A young lady should avoid re- ceiving too many presents from her lover; it is the sign they will never be married. When girls receive presents from boys they should not return the compliment, for if they do they will quarrel and within a year become enemies. It is a sign of prosperity if a colored person gives you a wedding present. Pomegranates were often given in Greece to a newly married couple, as an omen of fertility. The rest of the married couple's life depends very much upon the presents they receive, whether they be lucky or unlucky. It used to be a custom to present something valuable on the first an- niversary of their wedding, to a man and wife who would swear, that neither of them in a year and a day had, either waking or sleep- ing, repented of their marriage, If you do not return the presents of a discarded lover, you will have ill luck all your life. The groom should wear some- thing that was given him as a present, if he wishes good luck. If a bride wishes to always re- tain her husband’s love and con- fidence, she should never wear to the altar anything that was given her by a male friend. To break a wedding present, be- fore the first year is gone, will bring trouble. If you break a present received from a lover, you will not marry him. To break anything that was given you for a wedding present is a sign of impending trouble. Duplicate presents seem embar- rassing and some people exchange them for something else, but they change off their luck when they do. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. I37 It is an omen of sadness if the donor of a wedding gift dies before the wedding takes place, and to avoid the evil falling upon the new couple, the gift should not be taken to their home before it has been º in some manner by somebody €ISC, When a present is given to a sweetheart and the present is asked back again, the giver will have a sty on the eye. In the East Indies, if a man marries a second time he must present his wife with the first wife's jewels or he will never be happy. WEDDING, TIME OF. To be married on Sunday signi- fies a happy lot. To be married on Monday signi- fies that you will be enriched through a foreigner. To be married on Tuesday signi- fies a great benefit from your chil- dren. To be married on Wednesday signifies that within a month you will find something of consequence. To be married on Thursday fore- tells several children, but not to your comfort. To be married on Friday fore- tells a strange home within a year. To be married on Saturday fore- tells an enviable fate. Another superstition says: “Wed on Monday, always poor; Wed on Tuesday, wed once more; Wed on Wednesday, happy match; Wed on Thursday, splendid catch; Wed on Friday, poorly mated; Wed on Saturday, better waited; Wed on Sunday, Cupid's wooing; Wed in the morning, quick undoing.” In many countries Wednesday is said to be the luckiest day of the week to be married. If you marry a minister you must marry on Sunday for luck. In Turkey, widows are remarried On a Sunday after sunset; young girls are taken to their homes on Thursdays, the home of their new husbands. No marriage takes place during Ramazan or in the second month of the Mussulman year Sefer; it is considered unlucky. In Germany, Thursday is the un- lucky day to be married. It is unlucky and foretelling much trouble to be married on a Thursday. Contrary to this, an old MS., dated 1707, advises people to marry on Thursday and declares they will be happy. (The Wedding Day.) It is very unlucky for a widow to marry a widower on Saturday evening, for the groom will not live two years. Saturday is an especially unlucky day to be married on. It is unlucky to be married on St. Joseph's day. To be married on Easter the new couple may look for their life to grow constantly brighter. A wedding on your birthday will end unhappily. To be married on the birthday of either, indicates that the family will be blessed with many children. Never be married on celebration days. They who wed in the sunrise light, Together shall see the dark of night. Some people in England con- sider the best time to be married before breakfast between eight and nine o’clock. It is unlucky to hold a wedding after sunset. 138 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. For a wedding to turn out well the contract must be signed before 11OO11. To be married in early evening is good, but to be married in the morning is best. In the Orkney Islands the bride selects her wedding day so that its evening may have a growing moon and a flowing tide. A wedding after sunset betokens to a young couple a struggle and then happiness, but to old couples it forebodes separation or death. Ovid says: “Let maid or widow that would turn a wife, Avoid the scorn that's dangerous to life! If you will mind old saws mind this: I Say, 'Tis bad to marry in the month of May.” The Scots believed that because the ill-fated Queen Mary married Bothwell in May, it was thought to cast an evil eye upon all who mar- ried in that month. Again, a rea- son is given for the unhappiness supposed to follow a “May mar- riage,” that it is wrong to remain anything but virgin, in the month of the Virgin Mary. Still further back, the Latin poet Ovid (born B. C., March, 43, died A. D. 17) says: “Bad prove the wives that are mar- ried in May.” So there must have been a still older superstition to thus influence Ovid. “Of three summer months they say, The worst of luck is the second of May, Our hands and hearts to join.” The couple that is married on the Fourth of July will live a life that is largely homeless. Senator Stewart of Nevada an- nounced the wedding of his daugh- ter Isabelle to Francis L. Payson on May 16 at 1 o'clock, 1896. The date and time are understood to have been selected by the Senator, who is superstitious and thinks 16 to 1 auspicious. The popularity of June for wed- dings is due to the pretty omen that Juno (meaning yokemaker) takes an especial interest in mar- riage and that her protecting care follows and blesses all those wed- ded in June. The girl who becomes a bride on the 25th day of December has nothing to fear. Years ago, England had a great prejudice against marrying on the 28th of December, the anniversary of the slaughter of the innocents by Herod. The ninth year of the month is unlucky for marriage. (Chinese.) If a widow marries the second time in the same month in which she was married before, she will be a widow twice. Bad omen to marry in the nine- teenth year of one's age. For a bride to live happy, she should marry when the trees begin to blossom. It is unlucky to be married while the church-bell is striking. It is good luck to be married when the hands of the clock are going. To disagree about the time of the ceremony is a sure indication of loss of health to the one who makes the objection. A wedding timed to take place when the sun and moon are in con- junction will be a happy one. To discover the time of one's marriage, pull the petals off a flow- er, saying at the same time: “This year, next year, some day, never." & Death. CHAPTER III, APPARITION. In the neighborhood of Burnley, Great Britain, many believe in the reality of the appearance of a death- sign, locally termed “trash,” which in appearance is that of a large black dog. It makes its appear- ance to some member of that family from which death will shortly select his victim. In Scotland, if one imagines to have seen a person passing and then goes to the door or window only to find that no one is there, it is a sign of the death of the per- SOIl Seefl. In Ireland, when some one of the family is about to die, they say that frequently one who died before will appear and come into the house, sit down, or do something just about as matter-of-fact. There is always one of the household gifted to see this apparition. If you don't want to see the ghost of a deceased person, sleep in the bed from which the body has been removed. If a deceased person has lived a good life, his spectre will appear in a pleasant form; if he was evil, he passes into a hideous shape. Light comes to the dead and in- dicates a good person. When a person is hung, light is looked for over the body to determine guilt or * (Turkish and Albani- all. It is believed among the High- landers that the death of the head of a Highland family is announced by a chain of lights of different colors called “Dreng or death- lights of the Druid,” and the direc- tion which it takes marks the place of the funeral. In the Swiss Highlands, an omen of death is said to be a light, called the death-candle, which will come and stand over the roof of the house in which the doomed person lives. The Eskimos tremble when they see lights on the wigwam roof, as it is a sign that some one is going to die in it. To see a light on the wall for which you cannot account, is a sign of death. In the “Statistical Account of Scotland” the minister of Apple- cross in the county of Ross, speak- ing of the superstitions of that parish says: “The ghosts of the dying, called ‘tasks,’ are said to be heard, their cry being a repetition of the moans of the sick.” The expression, “There is a skeleton in every closet,” arose in this way: A young Italian student, finding he was dying, and fearing to break the news to his mother, adopted the following device. He informed her that he was ill and had been told that he would not recover until he could wear a shirt made by a woman who had never had any trouble. His mother tried to find such a person almost in vain, but at last found a lady who said she had no trouble. The mother made known her desire and for answer I4O ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. was shown a closet where a skeleton was suspended from a beam. She was told it was the remains of the lady's lover, who had been slain by the husband, and she was compelled to visit it daily. “Still,” said the unhappy mother, “you claim you have no trouble!” “I do not wear my grief and love upon my sleeve,” said the lady, “but in every house, if they would but show you, you will find a skeleton in the closet.” The mother returned to find her son dead, but she bore her sorrow with equanimity, since she knew she was but one among all who have to en- dure the skeleton in the house. BED. It is difficult to die if the bed is placed at right angles with the boards of the floor. It is unlucky to stand at the foot of the bed of a dying person. It is said by some that three knocks on the head of a sick per- son's bed means death, but some say that this is but a close call or warning, and will not always lead to death, unless the sick person answers the knocks. If a sick person tells you that someone is knocking on the bed, be prepared for the worst. After death has taken place in a family, the straw or chaff from the bed of the departed is taken into an open place and burned. Among its ashes the survivors look for a foot- print, and that member of the fam- ily whose foot fits the impression, will be the next to die. In Macedonia, immediately after the corpse has been removed for burial, the bedding upon which it lay is turned upside down, and up- on it are placed a loaf of bread (the liturgy) and a stone. This is done to prevent the return of death. BURIAL, It is unlucky to bury anyone be- fore the third day, as it is supposed that the spirit does not leave the body until the third day. Never bury the dead after sun- down, for doing so on the wane of the day will place a direful spell up- on all the dead person's family and friends, causing them to follow soon to the last rest. It is bad luck to bury a corpse in the dark. It is unlucky to bury anyone far from his last home, the spirit can- In Ot rest. An Irish soul, to rest peaceably, must be laid in Irish earth, and not among strangers, but with their forefathers. The people of the East desired to be buried in their native land, from a superstition that only those so buried could enter paradise. If the Jews could be buried in Jerusalem, they thought there was no doubt that they should rise and reign with the Messiah when he COIIICS. Jacob and Joseph wished to be carried to Canaan to be buried, be- cause of a superstition that only those buried in the Promised Land would rise in the resurrection. Among eastern Jews, it is be- lieved that if a Jew is buried out of the Holy Land, an angel afflicts the body and makes it roll under the ground to Jerusalem. To prevent this punishment a bag of earth from . Holy City is placed in the cof- 11. The reason why the Chinese are so anxious to have their bodies car- ried back to China is illustrated by Sir Edwin Arnold in a recent ar- ticle. His servant told him: “That FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. I4I number one piecy God-pidgin! Suppose wanchee go top-side after killee, then wanchee family make chin-chin joss at grave! Suppose not takee bones, no makee grave, no speakee chin-chin joss, then not belong to top-side after killee, but belong hellee!” Hence his extreme desire to have his mortal remains laid in the family soil. It is unlucky to have a parish priest buried outside of the parish. It brings diseases of all kinds on the parishioners. In olden times, it was considered a terrible omen to have a body bur- ied within the walls of a city. It is unlucky to be the first buried in a new churchyard, because no matter how good you are, the devil must have you for his first innings. People used to be buried with their feet to the east, so as to be in the right position “to meet the sun of righteousness, when he rises with healing in his wings on the resur- rection day,” or as it is also said, “when the angel Gabriel blows the resurrection horn,” that the dead will rise with their faces to the ris- ing sun and start right for their des- tination. Bury the dead with their heads to the west and they will be long remembered. In ancient times, in the North of Germany, those who died Chris- tians were buried in the graveyards with their faces facing east; but those who laid violent hands on themselves, murderers, thieves, and the like, were buried with their heads to the north. The body of a Sioux Indian that has been murdered by one of his own tribe, is placed in the grave face downward, with a piece of ba- con in his mouth, to prevent him from driving away all the game from that section of the country. The Creeks of Indian Territory always bury their dead with the feet to the east, to avoid bad luck to the living. California Indian tribes bury their dead with the head towards the east for luck. It is said in the Island of Rona, that all old maids should be buried on their faces, else they will not go to heaven. Before the corpse of a relative is buried, do not do any work, or else the departed soul will lose its place in paradise. (Russia.) According to an Aryan tradition, the greater part of the way from the land of the living to that of death lay through morasses and vast moors overgrown with furze and thorns. That the dead might not have to pass over them barefoot, a pair of shoes was laid with them in the grave. This custom prevails in many countries to this day. If a man dies with his boots on, he should also be buried in them, in order to prevent the black spirits from transporting luim bodily to their realm. In Iceland, the death-shoes are bound tightly on the feet of the dead man, so that he may walk safely to Hel, the abode of the dead, where Hel, the goddess of death, lived. In many parts of Asia it is thought that if a person is buried without being shod, his ghost will return and haunt the place, hunting for a pair of shoes. In Granada, sometimes a small cup will be thrown into the grave just before the coffin is lowered. It is brought from the house of the I42 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. deceased and contains earth, or, perhaps, if the people are Roman Catholics, holy water, brought from church on Good Friday, and kept hitherto as a charm. This se- cures the entrance of the dead to Paradise. When anyone dies in Chaldea, vases filled with wine are placed within his or her reach, and in the palm of his or her hand is placed a bowl filled with dates or other food, to strengthen the deceased on his or her mysterious journey. When spinsters die in Spain, a curled palm is placed in their tombs, sq that St. Peter will be induced to open to them the gates of heaven. In Gloucestershire, England, as well as in many other places, exists the superstition that it is unlucky for a married woman, or anyone else, to be buried with her, or his, rings on. A story is told of a gen- tleman who wished, when his moth- er died, that her wedding ring should be left on her hand. But those who laid her out said: “Ye mun no send her to God wi' her trinkets about her!” and prevailed upon him not to act contrary to custom and belief. This may have originated with the Romans, who liad a law, B. C. 449, forbidding gold being buried with the dead, except such as had been used for fastening the teeth. In the North of England, widows are known to throw their handker- chiefs, covered with tears, into the grave of their deceased husband, at the conclusion of the service. In a small collection of Roman antiquities at Sudeley Castle, Winchcombe, Gloucester, England, are some little flattened drops of iridescent glass, which have been presented several years ago to Lady Sudeley by Signor Fiorelli, the dis- tinguished custodian of the Neapol- itan Museum. Such glass-drops are often found in ancient Italian tombs, representing expiatory or propitiatory tears for the dead. The husband or wife throws a stone called the “dead stone” into the grave, saying, “I am no longer husband (or wife) of the dead, but of the living;” then taking another stone called the “living stone,” he or she goes home with it. (Mada- gascar.) Very closely allied to magic writings for the protection of the living, is the remarkable Russian custom of placing in the hands of the dead a sort of passport to the nether world, almost precisely an- alogous to the “Book of the Dead” of ancient Egypt. At the burial of the late Czar, we read in the “Lon- don Daily Telegraph,” 1894, “A prayer was chanted described as a prayer of absolution. This prayer is not merely read, it is likewise printed on a scroll of paper, which the officiating priest places in the hands of the corpse as a document, enabling him when wandering about in the spirit world, during the first few days of his death, to pass on his solitary way unmolested by evil spirits.” To prevent a dead person from reappearing as a ghost, a basin of water is thrown after the corpse just as it is carried out of the house. An ancient custom at a burial, in Sweden, was to put a looking-glass in the coffin of an unmarried wom- an, so that when the trumpet sounds, she will be able to arrange her tresses. Some natives of Africa tie the hands of their dead together and pull out their nails, for fear the corpse will scratch his way out of the grave and become a vampire. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. I43 It is unlucky to bury a woman's body with any piece of her jewelry upon it. The orthodox Jew puts a twig in the hand of a corpse, so that he can dig his way through to Palestine. Negroes in some parts of the coast of South Carolina, bury their dead and then put all the bottles and boxes containing the remains of the medicine and salves which they have used during the sickness, on top of the grave. They also place there pieces of china, which the deceased had used or cherished particularly, so that his or her spir- it could have these things to use in the other world. The primitive Russians place a certificate of character in the dead person's hands, which is to be given to St. Peter at the gates of heaven. When a negro is buried, a piece of hair, and finger and toe nails are buried in an auger hole in a tree, and plugged up. If the plug falls out, the spirit of the dead gets loose, and if bad, plays the dickens with his former companions. The Chinese put rice in the mouth of a dead person, so that he or she will have food for the long journey. If a person’s bones are not all buried together, their ghost will haunt the earth. If a limb is am- putated, bury it where it can be taken up and buried with the body after death. An old woman insisted on being buried with all her teeth (those which had been extracted she had carefully preserved), as she believed she could not arise on the judg- ment day unless she was perfect. When a Jewish body was in- terred, someone threw a brick after it, to show that all grief was over. If you want good luck, lay all the combs, knives, and cloths used about a dead man, in the coffin with him. The ancient Britons believed that by burying a bead of amber with a man, it would help him along on his journey to the next world. The Indian practice of depositing weapons and food with the dead was universal in ancient Europe, and in German villages nowadays a needle and thread is placed in the coffin for the dead to mend their torn clothes with ; while all over Europe the dead man had a piece of money put in his hand to pay his way with. An “obolus” is a little silver coin of the ancient Greeks. It was placed between the lips of the dead, to pay passage over the river of death. The Chinese believe that if they do not bury money with the dead, they cheat the gods. A Jewish superstition is to put a dollar in the hand of a dead person and bury it with him, to pay the fare over the river Styx. Put money in the mouth of the dead and they will not come back, if they have hidden a treasure. Jewels and large sums of money are often put in the graves to help the dead on their way to the next world. (Hindu.) The pennies placed on a dead person's eyes should be buried with the corpse, or they will bring bad luck to all who touch them. The Jews returning from the grave, used to pluck up the grass two or three times and then throw it behind them, saying these words of the Psalmist: “They shall flour- I44 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. ish out of the city, like grass upon the earth,” thus intimating that the body though dead should spring up again as the grass. Six yen (coins) are placed in the coffin in Japan for the six Jigo who stand at the heads of the ways of the six shadowy worlds. It is told that in olden times the Bohemians, when returning home from a burial, would fling stones and chips over their shoulders with- out ever looking behind, a delicate hint to the dead not to loiter among his former friends. The thumbs of a dead Jew used to be tied carefully down to his palms to preserve him from the Devil’s clutches. In Ireland, it was the custom to fold the thumbs into the palms of a corpse to prevent the power of evil spirits over the deceased. The thumb, placed in that position, formed the character in the Hebrew alphabet, which is commonly used to denote the name of God. In Russia, the Chuwashes fling a red-hot stone after a corpse when it is carried out, as an obstacle to bar the soul from coming back. In Denmark, a corpse is not al- lowed to be buried in the clothes of a living person, lest, as the clothes rot in the grave, the person to whom they belong will waste away and die. In Ireland, when the corpse is laid in the coffin, a handful of earth is sprinkled over it by the priest, so as to prevent the body from turn- ing over if a suicide was buried in the same yard. When the grave is dug in West- ern Ireland, the spades are crossed and the body is carried around it three times before being placed in the clay. The scarabaeus is laid over the heart of the corpse of an Egyptian so that the soul will have it on its heart when it comes to need a pass- port by which to pass the portals of Hades. If the straps slip when the coffin is lowered into the grave, or if the box is too short to contain the casket, another death will occur. Formerly a hand bell was rung between the psalms sung by the singers at a burial and it was to “avaunt” evil spirits! If, after leaving a burial, a person remarks, “I wonder who will be next,” that person will follow. It is an ill omen if the head of the coffin drops lower than the foot when burying it. For a widower to brush his knees after kneeling at his wife's grave, is a sign that he will soon marry again. After a burial, the clergyman should not return to the house of the mourners, or there will be an- other death. (Russia.) When Queen Katherine Parr was buried in Sudeley church, Winch- combe, Gloucester, England, Miles Coverdale, in his sermon, laid par- ticular stress on the fact that the alms that were collected, and the candles and torches which were carried about the corpse, were not in any way intended to “profit the dead.” - It is unlucky to watch a burial from a window. Some old women say that the luck of one generation depends up- on the satisfaction of the dead of the last generation with their burial, shroud, and general environment. When persons have to be buried at sea, the last stitch in the ham- FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. I45 mock in which they are wrapped must be sewed through the tip of the nose, otherwise the body will not remain at the bottom of the sea. In Abyssinia, the custom of bury- ing the dead in the ground is be- lieved to have originated in the fol- lowing manner: “When Adam found the murdered body of his son Abel, he carried it about upon his shoulders for twenty days, not knowing what to do with it. God took pity on him in this predica- ment and sent a crow with its young one on its back, dead like Abel. The crow flew before Adam until it came to a tract of sandy ground, and then dug a hole with its feet and buried its offspring. Adam saw this, and he dug a hole in the sand and buried his boy.” In Africa, the men are buried on the left side, the women on the right. To have them different would be to them a terrible omen. When the Armenians chant the psalm and hymn at the grave, the music is prolonged so that the soul can go to Jerusalem and prostrate itself at the grave or tomb of Jesus Christ; when it returns, the body embraces it, and they wing their way to heaven. The Australian natives bury their dead a little distance beneath the surface, the body being protected with pieces of bark from contact with the soil. Among the aborigines of Aus- tralia we find that it was customary to place their dead between layers of green leaves, a custom very sim- ilar to the prevailing one among the natives of India. In Albania, the corpse is carried on the shoulders to a large stone near the cemetery. It is laid on the stone for a few minutes while the spirit takes its flight. Then the corpse is carried low instead of on the shoulders to the grave. Turks do the same while the Mollah or priest leans over the corpse, while it rests on the stone, and whispers in the ear of the dead man. The Mollah calls down into the grave and asks the dead person if he is comfortable before he is covered. The corpse is buried in a slightly raised manner, so as to appear more respectful when the angel comes to call him to paradise. The Australian aborigines gash themselves at a funeral until the grave is covered with blood. This is to strengthen their dead friend in his attempt to rise to another coun- try. In Babylon, a camel is tied at the grave of a newly buried body and left to die, so that when the resur- rection comes he may find it ready to mount. The Dajakose of Borneo never bury a dead member of their tribe until a slave can be procured who is beheaded at the interment or cre- mation, to attend the deceased in the next world. The Chinese have what is called “bridge-ladders” for the dead. They are to help him on his jour- ney to the land of ghosts. The bridge will help him across rivers, and the ladder will assist him to climb mountains. They also have a lantern to light him on his way. A Chinaman depends upon the favorable influence of the spirits of his ancestors for all the good for- tune he enjoys. Everything de- pends upon the manner and place in which they are buried and they are frequently removed from one place to another for better luck. Even in this country there are people who have the same belief. I46 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. * They say one locality brings wealth, another prosperity in business, an- other social influence; therefore it behooves one to see that their an- cestors are buried in the proper localities. According to Diodorus Siculus, it was customary among the Druids at the funerals of their dead to throw letters to defunct relatives on the funeral pyre. Written messages are still sometimes surreptitiously placed by Greek women in the hand of the corpse for transmission to the loved ones in the other world. Two instances are recorded in the Old Testament of embalming. These were the bodies of Jacob and of Joseph. It was not generally practiced by the Hebrews, but the Egyptians believed that so only could the soul be preserved. The Egyptians were exceedingly superstitious about preserving the human body after death, as they be- lieved that the soul could only exist in the other world as long as the body remained intact. This was the secret of their very costly embalm- ing, and of the mummies which we now see preserved in some of our museums. So careful were they to show proper respect to all that be- longed to the body that even the sawdust with which it was cleaned was carefully collected from the floor and tied in bags, placed in urns and buried near the sarcopha- gus. This was to insure the great- est length of immortality possible to the released soul. (Barnes’ “An- cient Peoples.”) If the flames consuming the body during a Greek cremation were lift- ed high by a strong wind, it was considered to be a favorable omen. In ancient Greece people believed in burning the bodies of the dead, wearing their ashes about their own bodies. They thought they could thus render their lives pure and could meet the departed again. The Greeks buried their dead in their churchyards; but after a time they would remove them, as they thought it an evil omen to let them remain, and they buried new ones in their places. Only a prescribed number were allowed to be buried at one time in one yard. The Buddhists who are most lav- ish in their use of flowers in ordin- ary worship, and generally have ex- tensive gardens and lotus-ponds at- tached to their monasteries, use them in many places without stint about the dead. When a child dies under the age of two years, it is not burned like the adults, but decked with flowers, and laid in its tiny grave while the priest chants the song of Yama, the god of the un- der world. These ceremonies, beautiful in themselves, are all of that religious tendency which is propitiative and expectant of favor and blessing from some invisible power. It is lucky to touch the garments of a widow who is going up on a funeral pyre. (Hindu.) The Hindus would not dare to burn a dead body until four hours and forty minutes after death. The Hindu widow burns her- self on the funeral pyre of her hus- band to escape the obloquy of wid- owhood, and also to win a place in heaven with her husband and rel- atives, as it is believed that other- wise she will be annihilated, as she has no soul. On the death of Azie, prince of Malvar, fifty-eight women threw themselves on the funeral pyres and perished. As late as 1844 this su- perstition still prevailed, and twen- FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. E47 ty-four women were burnt in the Punjab. Among the Karens of Burma, a corpse is bandaged up so that no part of it is visible, shortly after the person has expired, and then the spirits of deceased relatives are call- ed upon to visit the person who has just died, to come and guide him to Hades. Rice is put on the head of a Corpse, and a basket, such as a Karen carries on his back, with an axe, knife, bag, and cooking-pot are placed by its side, while they chant, “O dead, eat as in thy state of consciousness on earth, eat and be not ashamed,” believing that this invocation will enable the spirit to find its food in the invisible. They then chant a musical ditty typical of life and death. One person says re- peatedly, “What is the matter?” The company answers: “Ascending the trunk, Ascending the branch. Taking the fruit. Descending the branch. Descending the trunk. Depositing the fruit.” Life being a tree and our ascending and descending and taking the fruit of it, being all of the experience of man, while he is in a continuous struggle with evil spirits who are ready to carry him off to their realm. The Karens of Burma burn their dead. When the body is burned, they take a bone which they believe contains the soul, care- fully out of the ashes, and preserve it for a time until it is convenient to assemble a large concourse of people. Booths are then built among the trees, and ceremonies are performed around the bone as if it were the corpse. On the even- ing of the day when the bone is finally buried, the friends assemble and sing a peculiar dirge, one line being “Mukha has seized her,” meaning an evil spirit who is sup- posed to seize and kill anyone who becomes obnoxious to him. They also say: “The flat-billed duck, the dead go with 111] The flat-nosed duck, the dead return with him.” as they believe the wild duck goes and returns from Hades. The Ka- rens, when burying the sacred “soul-bone” of the corpse, sing: “Tie up the cord of seven strings, That the dead may arrive at his grave. Tie up the cord of seven strings, The dead arrives to-day.” This is in reference to the super- stition that when they have buried the bone, hung up a bangle, placed a cup of rice, and tied a cord of seven strings tightly, then the spirit of the departed that is supposed to be hovering near, will come, and the strings will tremble until they Snap, as if by a miracle, which is a sure proof that the spirit will go to heaven; but if the string does not Snap, it is a sign that he is to go to hell. When by means of the string he has manifested that he is pres- ent, he is guided to the cemetery, the bone is buried, and money for his passage to heaven, together with Other articles, are placed on the grave. He is then addressed: “Now thou mayest go to thy coun- try, to thy kingdom! When thou arrivest, do not forget us. We shall come to thee. Go not to hell, go to the abodes of bliss. Here is thy small house; thy great house is on the river Naudokwa.” (A river in Hades.) The Parsees of Inlia do not bury their dead, but carry them to the “Towers of Silence.” Within the high walls of these towers, which have no roof, and are open to the light and air, the bodies are depos- ited, so that the vultures can speed- ily devour the flesh, leaving only the white bones to be reduced to dust by the fierce sunlight. Dur- I48 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. ing the recent prevalence of the plague at Bombay, causing the death of thousands, the vultures have been found to be sufficiently numerous to respond to the extra demand made upon them. There are said to be now 400 vultures hov- ering daily over the towers, where- as formerly there were only 250. This is believed by many to be a miraculous provision and interven- tion for the safety and good of the surviving, and as the right or left eye was pecked out by sacred vul- tures, it was indicative of the hap- piness or unhappiness of the de- ceased. If the right eye was taken out first, it was a certain sign that the soul had gone to bliss; but if the left eye was taken first, the soul had gone to punishment. In India, it is good luck to throw the ashes of the dead into the river Ganges, as it transports the spirit to heaven. For the body of a Caddo Indian to be buried is very unlucky. It must be devoured by birds of prey. The Indians of Colorado positive- ly refuse to have anything to do with the burial of an Indian who dies under the superintendence of white men, on account of the ill luck sure to follow them. They bury the dead as expeditiously as possible, else they will have bad luck. If a pigmy of Central Florida dies, his corpse is wrapped in bark, securely corded with strips of hide, and hidden away in some secret place in the almost impenetrable forest. His ghost is supposed to linger in the neighborhood of his body, hence no “nequito” will ever approach the vicinity of his grave, for fear of giving offence and there- by incurring the enmity of the dead man, which would entail untold and unmentionable horrors. The Haidah Indians of Queen Charlotte’s Islands, B. C., have the practice of cremation or burning the bodies of any of their friends who may die while absent from their homes. They believe that if they buried it in a strange land, their enemies would dig it up and make charms with it to destroy the Haidah tribe. When a Makah Indian dies, the body is immediately rolled in blankets and firmly bound with ropes and cords, then doubled up in the smallest compass and placed in a box, which is also firmly bound with a rope. A portion of the roof is removed, and the box with the body is taken out at the top of the house and lowered to the ground, from a superstition that if a dead body is carried through a doorway any person who passes through it afterwards will immedi- ately sicken and die. The Mandans of Dakota are bur- ied on a scaffold and their weapons are buried under the body, and no Indian would even dare to touch one of them for it would be “bad medicine” to touch the dead or any- thing belonging to them. The Missouri Indians think it a bad omen to let the earth touch a corpse, and therefore bury them sit- ting up in trees. The Mohaves believe that all who die and are not cremated are turned into owls. The Navajo Indians of New Mexico and Northeastern Arizona, previous to dumping a corpse into the shallow trench they dig, be- smear their naked bodies with tar from the pimon-tree to protect themselves from the evil influences around at such times. Sometimes a Navajo Indian is buried in what is called a “hogan,” and in such a FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. I49 case the Indians would freeze soon- er than make a fire of the logs of a fallen hogan even though it may have been years in that condition. He would expect to have misfor- tune all his life. Indians put in the graves of their dead braves a pouch of tobacco, a pipe, a bottle of whiskey and his gun, to console him on the way to and after reaching the happy hunt- ing grounds. When a warrior chief of the sav- ages dies, his favorite canoe and all its appendages are placed in the cemetery, it being thought that it rests his soul. We find the Indian practice of burying the dead in a sitting pos- ture in use among the Nasamoni- ans, a tribe of Libyans. Herodotus, speaking of the wandering tribes of Northern Africa, says, “They bury their dead according to the fashion of the Greeks.....They bury them sitting, and are right careful, when the sick man is at the point of giv- ing up the ghost, to make him sit, and not let him die lying down.” A tradition exists among the Jews that if you devote your time to piously preparing the dead for bur- ial, you will surely be rewarded by going to heaven. At a Jewish funeral the mourners walk seven times around the grave reciting verses from the psalms. Fragments of earth are placed in the eyes and mouth in order that the deceased may not behold the misdeeds of those he has forgiven on earth, nor accuse his enemies before God. When a Kaffir dies, a grave is dug and the body placed in a sit- ting posture, and by it are depos- ited his weapons of war and orna- ments. When it is closed, ad- dresses similar to the following are made. “Remember us from where you are. You have gone to high places. Cause us to prosper.” In Korea, after the corpse has been laid out in an air-tight, very thick wooden coffin, in a special room and mourned over for several months, geomancers are consulted as to the site of the tomb. Then the funeral takes place with many strange rites. A red standard is carried in the procession to frighten away evil spirits, and a man wears a hideous mask for the same purpose. If the interment is not done prop- erly, trouble will arise, and the body will have to be dug up and reburied at heavy expense. Thousands of people, self-duped by these super- stitions, are befooled by profession- al cheats who live by working upon their fears and beliefs In Macedonia, after the burial and before returning from the cem- etery, the friends of the deceased assemble in a special place built for the purpose. Here they seat them- selves and eat bread, cheese, and pastry. Some also drink whiskey. This is done in order to dream of the deceased that night. Returning from the burial each one washes his hands before the fire, in order to prevent death from following them into the house. In his “Great African Island,” W. Silree remarks: “In Madagascar exists a general belief throughout the country in pollution as con- nected with death. Thus no one who has been at a funeral can come near the sovereign unless a month has elapsed, and no corpse is al- lowed to be buried in the city or remain in it beyond a short time. The rough bier on which the corpse is carried to the grave is thrown away. No one would dare use it even for firewood. It is left to de- Cay. I5o ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. The ancient Medes and Persians worshipped the elements as gods, and for this reason it was exceed- ingly difficult to dispose of the bod- ies of the dead, as they thought it would bring upon them the disfavor of the earth to place in its bosom of life what was full of death. They overcame the objection by coating the lifeless bodies of their friends in wax, and having made this con- cession to the sacred earth, they ventured to deposit the body. So the Earth continued to bless them and bring forth in abundance, just the same as if she had not been in- sulted. (Barnes’ “Ancient Peoples.”) The Ovahereroes think the spirit of the dead cannot rest until a black sheep be sacrificed. In Persia it denoted good luck if the dead were promptly devoured by wild beasts when their bodies had been exposed according to cus- tom; but if they were not, the omen was bad and some great misfortune was supposed to hang over the sur- viving family. To insure peaceful rest to their dead, the Persians laid the body from north to south. The Megari- ans and the Phoenicians placed their heads to the east. The Athen- ians placed the head to the west. Most Christians bury their dead with the face to the east. The ancient Romans believed that if a body was buried near one that had been struck by lightning, the former would become polluted. In Roumania, a small piece of money is always placed in the hand of a corpse or fixed to the taper which is put in the grave; and the stone cross at the head of the cof- fin is made with a niche to receive a lamp as well as the little cakes which the mourners do not fail to provide for the journey of their lost friend. The lamps are lighted dur- ing the night following the festival of all saints. This illumination of the cemeteries produces a startling and extraordinary effect, the lights shining through a tangled wilder- ness of briars and rank weeds amongst which crosses leaning in every direction out of the perpen- dicular, are half-buried. But then of course the souls of the dead ap- preciate it and the living feel a great deal better for it. In Gurief and in other parts of Russia the peasants used to prac- tise the following custom at the burial of the master of the house, to prevent the corpse taking away with it the good luck of the house. They threw a large rope over the house and fastened the ends to a post. Others cut down the best tree in the yard, and if the master had left a gun, it was fired off while the corpse was being carried out of the yard. In San Salvador, British West Indies, a so-called running burial is a happy omen. A running burial means that while the corpse is being carried to the grave, the bearers gradually quicken their pace until it develops into a fast trot. When this happens everyone is glad, for it indicates that the spirit is going to a place of rest, and as it cannot leave its body until that is buried in the ground, it enters into the bear- ers and compels them to hasten to the grave. The faster the trot, the greater the surety of bliss to the departed. The people of Tahiti placed their dead on a bier strewn with fragrant green leaves and garlands of choice flowers. In order to secure the ad- mission of the departed spirit to the joys of Paradise, we are told that the Samoans thought it necessary, after they had arrayed the corpse in FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. I51 the best raiment they could provide, to wreathe its head with flowers and offer as the Chinese still do, a baked pig to their gods or the manes of the departed. In Tahiti all who were employed in embalming the dead were during the process carefully avoided by everyone, as the guilt of the crimes for which the deceased had died was supposed to be fastened in some degree upon all who touched the body. They did not feed them- selves lest the food defiled by the touch of their own polluted hands should cause their death; others fed them. The Tartars throw their dead sometimes into an open field to be devoured by dogs; if the number of dogs exceeds six, they deem it a lucky sign for the dead; otherwise he is a disgrace to his family. The Mohammedans put their dead bodies upon the towers of their temples to be devoured by birds. They observed the birds to see which part they ate first, there- by to judge whether the fate of the deceased is good or bad. When a Mohammedan dies, he is thrown into his grave and the by- standers run away for fear he will return in the form of a pig. Should the corpse fall on its back, the de- ceased is believed to have been righteous and to go to Mohammed; but should it fall face downward, it is taken as a sign that the man was unrighteous and goes to hell. The Turks also believe that St. Elijah comes and beats the deceased with an iron rod until the bones are broken. The Turkish priest and the others call out to the corpse from a distance, “Have no fear, but give an answer for your deeds.” CANDLES. In Ireland, when a person is dy- ing, they place twelve lighted can- dles or rushes about the bed. This they say is to prevent the devil coming for the soul, for nothing evil can pass a circle of fire. If a candle placed on or near the coffin of a dead body burns straight up, it is a sign that the soul has gone to heaven. It it burns crook- ed, the soul is in purgatory, and if it burns down into the center, it is a sign that the soul has gone to a very bad place. If a candle that has been held in the hand of a corpse is taken into another house at night, the inmates will sleep the sleep of the dead until it is taken out again. An early English custom was to bury a candle with a corpse, to light the soul to Paradise. If this was neglected, there was no way for it to get there. In Macedonia, a candle is placed upon the breast of the corpse, and as it burns away, the sins of the de- ceased are supposed to be forgiven. CEREMENTS, DRESSING THE DEAD, ETC. It was considered unlucky to lay out a corpse unless his feet were turned to the outside of the bed. When the Romans die, their fam- ilies tie a white cloth around the body, but leave it open at the top and the bottom so that the corpse can sit up and answer the questions of the “Angel of Deity.” If you wish to appear well among the other ghosts when you die, al- ways have some garment that is new, to be laid out in, if you go suddenly, as then you will have it to wear after death. I52 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. In the middle ages, the Welsh would bury their dead in the gar- ment of a monk if they could pro- cure one, as no evil spirit would in- trude upon such a corpse. To either try on or be measured for a shroud in fun or otherwise is a very bad omen. You beckon your own death angel. In Germany they say, never tie a knot about the body or clothes of one you are dressing for the grave, else another in the same family must soon follow. Always button or pin the wrappings of the dead. It is unlucky to bury a person with his or her name on any of their clothes. It is considered unlucky by some people to sew anything new, that is to be put on a dead person. In making a shroud, it is unlucky to bite off the thread. The shroud of the dead must be seamless, else ill will happen to him. (Greek.) In Portugal, a pin is always put in the shroud of the dead so that they may always remember their friends. In some families it is considered bad luck for any member of the family to dress the dead or touch the garment of a corpse. If a sick person selects her grave- clothes, it is a sign that she will not die. It is unlucky to cut the nails of a corpse. If you keep a piece of cloth from a shroud in the house, you will have a death in the house within a year. The comb and knife that have been used on a dead man, shall be put in the coffin, or the hair of those who use them will fall out. To possess a needle that has wrought on a shroud, will insure good luck to the possessor. Pins used in laying out the dead have mystic charms ever after. In St. Croix, in preparing a body for burial, some”relic of the de- ceased (as a lock of hair) must be preserved, or bad luck will follow. When a dead person happens to have upon his person a portion of a living person's garment, the latter will be consumed away as the gar- ment is consumed in the grave. CLOTHES BELONGING TO THE DEAD. If a dead man's linen is not washed soon, he cannot rest. The linen of a dead person must be washed separately. If they came in contact with the linen of living people, in the tub, they would cry out. (Luxembourg.) In Macedonia, the clothing of the dead is not left hanging out of doors at night, for while the soul is wandering about on earth during the first forty days after death, it is believed to return to its former home every evening, and if it should light on a white object, it is feared that the soul will laugh and resurrect the body. Among the Malays, property be- longing to a dead man is burned, as it would bring ill luck to anyone owning it after him. As the clothes and linen of the dead decay and fall to pieces, so do the bodies in the grave. A Canadian Indian widow must not be seen without the bundle con- FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. I53 taining her husband's clothes, which is called her husband, until his family take the bundle from her and make her a present. In Greece, upon arriving at the grave, the clothing of the deceased is rendered valueless by snipping it with scissors, or saturating it with oil, to prevent the cupidity or frus- trate the malice of demons. At a Chinese funeral a woman's clothes are burned, together with a sedan chair, so that she may be car- ried to Paradise. It brings bad luck to keep her clothes. It is unlucky to keep any of the paraphernalia of the dead. It is considered lucky if the de- parted had a new suit of clothes at the time of his death, as he can then appear respectably at the res- urrection. These may be worn by any of the remaining relatives, but by no means must they be altered. º do that would bring the worst of uck. If you wear a dead man’s clothes, you will get a legacy. If you wear a dead woman's clothes, you will change your employment. The Irish say that it is unlucky to alter the best clothes of the dead and wear them, as they are worn by the ghost at night. If you wear a dead person’s clothes, you will have to pay for them every time you put them on. It is unlucky for the sons to wear the dead father's clothes. Fénelon says: “It wonderfully shortens life if we wear clothing be- konging to the dead.” “A lady I once knew, saw a vil- lage child running about with a kng trailing petticoat upon her, and asked the creature why she did not have it cut short. ‘It was my grandmother's,” said the child; “would you have her going about yonder with her petticoat up to her knees and she dead but four days?' I have read a story of a woman whose ghost haunted her people be- cause they had made her grave- clothes too short, so that the fires of purgatory burned her knees.” (Yeats', “The Celtic Twilight.”) COFFIN. The Ohio Indians believed that if they bored a hole in the coffin over the eyes and mouth of the corpse, the spirit could go in and out. If a coffin rings hollow while be- ing nailed up, another of the house- hold will die. The lid must not be nailed on the coffin of a new born babe; if it is, the mother that bore it will not have any more. It always bodes ill to a family when the coffin of one of its mem- bers is removed from one grave to another, for someone else in the family will die shortly after. The Egyptians believed that it was an unpardonable sin to remove the outer case of a mummied friend. It is a bad omen when a coffin is found to be too small. It is unlucky not to touch a cof- fin if you go into a room containing O116. If the handles of a coffin break off when carrying a corpse to the grave, someone else in the family will soon die, and as many as the number of handles pulled out. When a person is carrying an empty coffin, he must not stop at any house except that at which the corpse is lying; for if he does So, I54 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. there will be a death in that house shortly after. (British Guiana.) It is bad luck to cross the cof- fin lid over the corpse. If you beat down the joiner's charge for the coffin, the dead can- In Ot rest. If a coffin is carried into a house foot foremost, it must be carried out in the same way. To reverse it on going out, would be exceedingly unlucky. If a coffin is brought into a house where one is dead and one ill, the ill person will also die. The Jews consider it a very bad sign if one coffin touches another. It is unlucky to speak of a coffin as being very heavy. Some people think, if you see your reflection in the glass of a coffin, that you will soon die. If you introduce a stranger to a member of the family over a coffin, the relative of the dead will die. Any three idle strokes of a stick in the ashes, or of a spade or some other farm-tool in the soil, making the figure resembling a coffin, is º to portend death in one's fam- 11y. CORPSE. If you wish to see if a body is alive or not, place the blaze of a candle to the skin, and if life re- mains in the body, the spot will blister; but if it is dead, it will not. The Irish believe that one will nave bad luck of some kind if a corpse is touched for two hours after death. This comes from the belief that the soul requires at least two hours to free itself from its physical environment. Durham peasants still expect everyone who views a corpse to touch it in token that they bear no ill will to the dead persen. He who left a house after viewing a corpse, without sprinkling him- self with water by the use of a cy- press branch placed at the outside entrance, was thought to be unclean and would bring ill luck wherever he went. A person who touches a corpse is said to lose all recollection of the dead one’s appearance. If anyone is afraid of the dead and can be made to touch a corpse, the fear will leave him forever. The forehead is the best place to touch a corpse, if you do not wish to dream of it. If you are in great trouble, touch the toe of a dead man. To touch crape or flowers while the corpse lies in the house is the omen of another death. If you make a wish when first bending over a corpse, the wish will COme true. The sight of anything dead is an omen of evil to a gypsy. On viewing a corpse, if you look around before you pass on, you will be the next to follow. It is bad luck to blow breath on a corpse. You will never recover from grief. It is bad luck to see a corpse just as one is starting on a journey. In Russia, each person who goes to see the dead body, must take hold of the middle finger, else the spirit will haunt him or her. Never kiss a dead person on the lips, or your teeth will fall out. (Jamaica.) FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. I55 Do not look at a dead body through a crevice or a window, for it will make its ghost angry and the latter will hurt you. (Jamaica.) It is unlucky to look at a corpse over your left shoulder. If you kiss the dead, you will dream of them. (Persia.) Kissing a dead friend will give you courage for life. For an old and a young person to wash a corpse together, the younger will die first. A corpse must be washed very clean and new clothes be put upon it, if you would have it obtain favor in the eyes of God. If you put a garment on a corpse and then take it off, the person who owns the garment will die in a year. White cloth is torn into strips, wound about a corpse, and tied into a certain kind of knot, which is con- sidered auspicious of good to the possessor in China. It is good luck to leave or put a ring on the finger of a corpse. Never allow any of your posses- sions to deck the body of a dead person. If they go into the grave, you will soon find it open to receive you. If a garment or linen comes be- fore a dead man's mouth, one of the family will die. Some Indians paint a corpse's face red, so that he will not show a pale face if he is afraid. In Barbadoes, it is considered very unlucky to pass a light over a corpse. Whoever does, will have his own light extinguished. In Cuba they believe that if a light falls on the face of the dead, death will come to the one who car- ries the light. It is a superstition in Catholic countries that if a person dies with the thumb and finger making a cross, he or she has gone straight to heaven without having had to pass through purgatory. It is a singular fact that when human bodies are cremated, they will sometimes make that sign during incineration. Greeks believed that the skin of the corpse of a wicked man be- came distended and filled with an evil spirit, which knocked at people's doors at night; if they an- swered, they would die. After the death of a very fleshy person, an egg buried in salt must be placed on the abdomen to pre- vent swelling or distention. (Brit- ish Guiana.) * A dead person frothing at the nose or mouth will bring to the survivors bad news about some Other relative. A blue finger-nail on the right hand of a corpse is a sign that someone of the same family will follow soon. If a dead person’s eyes look green, close them at once, or he or she will beckon someone of the family to follow him within a year. A limber corpse is the forerunner of another corpse in the same fam- ily. If a corpse is soft and flabby, it is a sign of another death. “When corpse light shines bright, Be it day or night, Be it light or dark, Corpse shall lie stiff and stark.” (Notes and Querries, Dec., 1885.) In Themar, when a corpse has one eye open, the people say: “He 156 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. draws one after him;” and when the deceased has a portion of his death garments in his mouth, being so buried, he will in a short time draw after him the whole family, one by one. (Thuringia.) There is a negro superstition that if the left eye of a corpse stays open, a boy baby will be the next to die; if the right, a girl. If a corpse turns color when the bells toll, it longs for the earth. If a corpse opens its eyes, one of its relations will die. If the eyes of a corpse are dif- ficult to close, it is a sign that they are looking for a follower. If a corpse sighs once more when on the straw, and remains limp, one of the family will soon follow. If a corpse looks red in the face, it is a sign that one of the friends will soon follow. If a corpse sucks in a handker- chief, one of its relations will die. • It is bad luck to hear a corpse Sneeze. If teeth of a dead person show, a member of the family will soon gC). Blessed is the corpse that the rain falls on. In some parts of Germany, it is believed that to let tears fall on a corpse will disturb the rest of the dead. If you call the dead by name, you will call them up. To speak the name of a corpse while looking at it, is bad luck to you. To keep a corpse over Sunday will bring death to another mem- ber of the family. If you lock up your house and leave it while a dead body is in it, some other person in the family will follow soon. In Norway, a violin is played at the head of the coffin and the corpse is asked questions, in the course of which it is customary to ask pardon for any injury or offense to the deceased during life. Bad luck will be the consequence if this is left undone. Cubans think if you happen to measure yourself with a rule that is used to measure the dead, you will die in a year. In laying out a body, put the head to the east and the feet to the West. If a member of a family washes their dead, he or she will die next. For good luck the Irish some- times place a plate of snuff on the breast of the body. In some places it is customary to place a saucer of salt on the breast of a corpse and this, perhaps orig- inally a disinfectant, has curiously come to be regarded as a means of telling the fate of the soul just set free. If the salt melts, the soul will go to hell; if it dries, it will go to heaven. But it does not depart at the moment of death; it lingers about the body until interment, rid- ing the coffin to the grave, and af- terwards hiding behind the door for three nights and days. In Wales, a deep pewter plate is put on the body, filled with salt, “to prevent the corpse from swell- ing.” Along, the border all fire is ex- tinguished where a corpse is kept, and it is reckoned so ominous for a dog or a cat to pass over it that the animal is killed at once. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. I57 In India, they put fire into the dead man’s mouth to keep out evil spirits from the body. To pre- serve the one who does it from dan- ger, he carries a key or knife in his hand. In ancient Greece, the feet were always turned to the outside door when the body was laid out, so he would carry away death from the survivors. Among Indians, it is a bad omen to take a body out through a door. It should be taken out through a slit in the wigwam made for the purpose, lest the spirit should re- turn and trouble the living. Close the opening and it cannot get in, as it must get in the way it went out. The ancients thought it very bad luck to remove a corpse that had been struck by lightning from the place where it fell. If it was pos- sible, the body would be buried as near to that place as the grave could be dug. If a corpse is removed from a train head foremost, bad luck to the train will surely result. If a corpse falls to the ground, the most fatal events will happen to the family. If a person carrying a corpse or coffin speaks to a member of the family, there will be another death. To put a corpse or a coffin out of a window, is a sign that there will be more deaths. A corpse can seldom be brought across the sea under the name of a corpse. The sailors are too super- stitious for that. In England, it is said that any path that a corpse has been carried over can never be done away with. Among the Greeks, whoever dis- covered a dead person and omitted to cast earth upon it three times, was deemed a thief, and the gods would prove it by being angry with him—he would be unlucky. If a person dies unseen, the one who discovers the body will die in a similar manner. A spoon stealer keeps his mouth open in death. The Bulgarians believe that if any animal, especially a cat or a dog, steps across the corpse before it is buried, it will turn it into a vampire. In Armenia, if a cat should jump over a corpse, it is a sign that the dead has been excommunicated by one of the clergy. If a cat crosses a corpse and then runs over a living person who is ly- ing down, the person will be de- prived of sight. In India, it is believed that if you cut the top of the head of a dead person and take off the top lock of hair, the spirit of the corpse so mu- tilated must become your slave as long as you live. In Malaga, if when administering the viaticum to a dying person, the church clock strikes, death will COme at Once. In Samoa, while a dead body is in the house, no meals must be tak- en therein. They must be taken outside or in another house. Those who attend upon the dead are fed by others for days. The penalty for breaking this rule is baldness and loss of teeth. Never let your tears drop on a dead body, or harm will come to you. (Jamaica.) In New Zealand, Tahiti, and other wild countries, one who has touched a dead body, must be fed 158 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. by others, or pick up his food with his lips from the ground. To come in contact with a dead body causes bad weather as well as bad hunting. (Eskimo.) In Washington State, Indians be- lieve that one who handles a corpse should eat of salmon or sturgeon for thirty days after the burial, to secure future prosperity. The two pennies used to close the eyes of a corpse are not to be spent; if you cannot afford to keep them, use two halves of limes instead of the coppers. (British Guiana.) In Macedonia, the corpse is never left alone before burial. If a dog or a cat pass over the corpse, the spirit will return in the shape of a ghost. That will also happen if anyone passes anything to another across the corpse. Some Indian tribes fear to go near the dead because they think that the evil spirit which killed the deceased may enter into the living and kill them too. The evil spirit has more influence over children than over adults; therefore children are never allowed to go near the dead. During the interval between a death and the burial, the corpse is spoken of in some places as “lying against the wall.” If a corpse lies against the wall on a Sunday, there will be another death in the family within a year. The Turks think that a dead man suffers until he is buried. The Scotch, Australians, Jews, French, Aztecs, and other people, sprinkle dust about the body of a dead person, so that the footprints of his ghost or those of other ghosts may be detected next morning. The inhabitants of the Punjab think that unless a corpse and its bones and ashes after cremation, are not carefully watched for four days, the magicians can bring the Soul back to life, and always keep control over it as their slave. But if it is carefully measured at once, this cannot happen. It is unlucky to permit the parts of a body to be separated after death. (Mexican.) It is believed by the Bulgarians that the dead can carry messages to other lost friends, and such are sent symbolically by placing around the corpse, flowers, candles, and a pillow of homespun linen filled with earth, a handful being dropped in by each friend. This is placed under the head. A recent traveler in the East saw a number of coffins with cocks tied to them. On inquiry he found that this was to keep the spirits of the dead in their coffins awake, until they could be properly buried in Chinese soil. In Kavadartsy, Macedonia, when the corpse is removed from the house, a nail is driven into the floor on the spot where the head lay, and this is done in order to prevent the return of death. In Macedonia, it is believed that after a person's death, his or her soul will return to the house and remain there three days in the form of a fly. A cup of wine is placed at the head of the corpse, and the first fly that sips from it is the soul of the departed. The first one that the fly lights upon after sipping the wine is the one for whom the de- parted had the most affection. If the corpse is not anointed for bur- ial, the soul returns in the shape of a bear and does much harm about the house. . In Turkey, when anyone is dy- ing, a piece of the clothing of some FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. I59 absent loved one is placed near his or her head, to help him or her die with less suffering. When a Parsee dies, his dog is brought into the room. If the dog should lick affectionately the face or even the hands or feet of his master, it is held to be a most au- spicious sign of the dead man's ready admittance into heaven. In Japan, a dead body is placed upon the floor. No pillow is placed under the head. A naked sword is laid across the limbs to keep evil spirits away. All friends send gifts of incense, wherefore, a gift of in- cense, however rare and precious, given upon any other occasion is held to be unlucky. Friends pray beside the corpse. There a little box is placed containing 1,000 peas, to be used for counting during the recital of 1,000 pious invocations, which it is believed will improve the condition of the soul on its un- familiar journey. The Arabs have a faith that a newly buried person is examined concerning his or her faith by two angels with livid, corpse-like faces, whose names are Monke . nd Nake. These angels make the corpse sit upright in the grave and answer their questions. If the answers are Satisfactory, the body is left to rest in peace; but if not, they beat it about the head with iron clubs until it yells with pain. This belief is authorized by the Koran and is mentioned by Sale in his translation of that work in the preliminary discourse. The Jews believed that a broken pot thrown after a corpse would prevent evil spirits from hovering at the home. . In Macedonia, when the corpse is in the house, the people consider it unlucky to eat at the table, and spread a cloth on the floor instead. CRAPE, To leave the crape on, and the door open, after the corpse has left the house, forebodes another death in the family. If the crape is left on the door until the mourners come back, there will be another death in the same house shortly after. When taking the crape from the door of a friend, never hand it to a child. If you do, the child will fol- low. Crape should never be removed from the door by one of the mourn- €ITS. If anyone wears crape when not in mourning, his or her death will follow shortly. To find a piece of crape is the sign of death. DEATH CHAMBER, If by chance one looks at him- self in the mirror in the chamber of death, he will see the corpse looking over his shoulder. The first person to occupy a room wherein has been a death, will be the next to die. Stone is put in the room to hard- en the hearts of the mourners at a funeral. (Greek.) The room in which the head of the house dies, is ever after un- lucky, especially if he leaves no will. 16o ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. It is good luck to have a room where a corpse is lying, brilliantly lighted. An idea is still current in Jamaica that the room in which a person dies should not be swept or dis- turbed for nine days. Water and other requisites are placed in it, and, as among the Jews, a light is kept burning during the prescribed period. This is done for the bene- fit of the dead. DEATH ANNOUNCEMENT. If you are going to announce the death of any person, you should sit down before you do it, or the death will be in your house next. Among the Dieri of Central America, when a messenger is sent to convey intelligence of a death, he is smeared with white clay, and if he rubs it off, it is a bad omen. If a Roman, falsely reported to be dead, comes home, it was thought unlucky for him to enter the house through the door; so he came in through the roof. DEATH, HOUSE OF In Assam, houses are deserted as soon as there occurs a death in them, for they are then considered sacred. In Japan, the house of a dead man was formerly consumed by fire except so much of it as was used to construct his monument. Nobody could prosper living in a dead man's house. At the present time in Japan a fire is built in front of a house of the dead, and oils and spices are thrown upon the fire for good luck to the remaining rela- tives. DROWNING, In Great Britain, the way to find a dead body in the water, is to float an apple from above the place where the drowning is supposed to have taken place. A curious superstition prevails when people are in quest of a drowned body. They row a boat around and around with a rooster on board, fully believing that the rooster will crow when the spot where it lies is found. Mark Twain's method of finding a dead body, is to put quicksilver in a loaf of bread and float it. It will stop over the body. A way to find a drowned body is to light a candle, place it on a shingle, and float it on the water where the person is supposed to have been drowned. It will go to the place. It is believed in some parts of America that the body of a drowned person may be discovered by float- ing a cedar chip, which will stop and turn at the exact spot. A drum beaten or cannon fired will raise a drowned body. To find the body of a drowned person, take his shirt, spread it on the water after placing a piece of bread on it, and it will float to the spot. There is an old superstition that when any Christian is drowned in the River Dee, a light appears on the surface of the water to show where the body lies. A belief existed in the Isle of Man, that lights over water pre- saged drowning, or indicated the places where drowned bodies lay. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. I61 Some fishermen believe that when any person is drowned, a voice is heard from the water, and it predicts a squall. It is said that the reason why a Chinaman is so reluctant to save a man from drowning, comes from the belief that the ghost of the last person killed must act as watch- man in purgatory until the arrival of a fresh defunct relieves him of his post. A belief prevails among the fish- ermen of the Norfolk coast that when any person is drowned, the person's voice is heard from the water before a storm. When a person is drowned, the Chinese throw salt into the water to appease the gods. According to Kaffir belief, if a spirit pulls a man under the water and drowns him, it will sometimes accept an ox as a ransom for the human victim. If, therefore, a per- son is drowned, they drive oxen in- to the stream and implore the spirit to accept it in lieu of the person drowned. If nothing occurs, they think it is because there is no one near powerful enough to work the proper charm. Drowned persons are supposed by the Makah Indians to turn into owls, and several years since, aparty of Indians having been lost by the accidental canoe by the tail of a whale they were killing, I was gravely assured that the night after the accident eight owls were seen perched on the houses of the drowned men, and each had suspended from his bill the shell worn in the nose of the man while alive. It is believed that a spirit of a drowned person flits along the wa- ter and will keep flitting about demolishing of their there, until it has caused the death of a fellow creature by drowning. It is believed by many that the body of a drowned person will float on the ninth day. Drowned women are said to float face downward and men face upward. In Portesse they say that the sea cannot become calm until the body of the drowned, that is destined to be buried, is found. There is a strong feeling among many people against rescuing a person from drowning. It was said in old times that he who saves an- other from drowning must carry him on his shoulders through life. Others, especially fishermen, say that it robs the water spirits of their lawful prey and so offends them that there will be no luck at the fishing. The inhabitants of the Hebrides Islands and those of the Orkney Islands used to believe that all drowned persons were changed into seals. To keep the shoe taken from the foot of a drowned person, brings great luck. When a drowned person is touched by a near kinsman, he be- gins to bleed at the nose. DYING. People can only die easily on the left side. In India, they say no one can die peaceably in bed. An old English belief was, that if bells were rung as the soul of the dying passed out, its escape would be hastened. It is also said that a person can- not die comfortably under the crossbeams of a house. I62 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. We read in the works of the Ro- man poet, Virgil, that all knots were untied to assist the dying. Near Bath, the people thought that to put a dish of salt on the dy- ing person's breast would render death easier. If a dying man cannot die, turn a shingle on the roof. Rosewater is given to the dying to help the Soul get away. (Alba- nian.) If a person dies hard, put the blade of a plow under his pillow. (Greek.) What one says at point of death will come true. If a stranger dies at a hotel, the number of his room will be a lucky number in the lottery. If a Hindu dies upon a bed, he will become an evil spirit. The sick person is always placed upon the floor. Queen Elizabeth died on the floor, but whether from a belief in the above superstition or other- wise, history saith not. The Japanese believe that a mother dying in child-bed suffers by her death for some sin commit- ted in a former incarnation. After death they say she sinks into hell. The Gypsies say that the doors must all be left open when a person is dying, so that the soul can go out. The following lines must be repeated: “Open lock, end strife, Come death and pass life.” When a gypsy feels that death is near, he asks to be carried out into the open air, for if it happens that he dies in his home, his family must carry all the furniture out into the street, before they can carry out the corpse. Not to die within sight of the river Ganges is considered a great calamity by the people of India. If anyone in the house is dying, someone should shake the vinegar barrel to prevent the mother in it from dying too. In Roumania, it is considered the greatest of misfortunes if a man dies without a candle burning by him, a favor no Roumanian dares to refuse to his most deadly enemy. The Etonamas (South America) close the mouth and nostrils of the dying, so that death may not escape and pounce upon others. Ivory placed on the heart of a dying child will prolong life. From Denmark comes the idea that it is unlucky to weep over the dying, as they cannot rest easy in their graves. Roumanians consider it very un- lucky if a man dies without a candle in his hand. The person on whom the eyes of the dying man rest last, will be the next to die. Some ancient tribes, when one of their number was dying, would strike the tent wherein rested the sick one, at the same time filling the air with cries and lamentations. This was done to prevent evil spir- its from taking away the soul of the dying man. Tears that are wept over the dead are efficacious as medicine and will restore when all else has failed to revive. Unlucky to die with long finger and toe nails. (Mallett’s “Northern Antiquities.”) To die with a “thaw” is consid- ered a sign of a bad conscience. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 163 In Japan, to say the Mikado dies, would bring bad luck to the whole nation. He simply vanishes. Strains of music are often claimed to be heard by the dying. Also music of an unearthly nature is sometimes heard by the nearest and dearest of the very sick, giving warning of their transition. If you see a woman die, you will lose property. If you see a man die, your prop- erty will diminish gradually. An old negro superstition is to the effect that if it thunders and lightens during the death of any person, his soul will go to perdition. On your death-bed confess any wrong you have committed, else you will be uneasy in your grave. If you call any dying person by name, it prolongs their agony. Homer says that the souls of dy- ing men being then somewhat let loose from the body, could foretell future events. It is related by Cic- ero that when Calanus, the Indian philosopher, was dying, Alexander asked him if there was anything on his mind that he would like to speak, “Yes, I shall see you short- ly,” said he. “Which accordingly,” (saith Cicero) “came to pass.” ... The dying Hector foretold the death of Achilles, and when Cala- nus ascended the burning funeral pile, and Alexander asked him if he were in need of anything, he re- plied, “Nothing! The day after to- morrow I shall see you!” And so it was. Posidonius mentions a dy- ing Rhodian who named six per- Sons one after another in the order in which they were to die, and who actually died as foretold. In San Salvador, British West Indies, the dying have the power to foretell the future fate of their relations, and are therefore pestered with questions. Near Brighton, a notion has for ages been entertained that if a dy- ing person is carried three times around an enormous thorn tree that stands there, he will recover. When anyone is dying, take away the looking-glass or it will grow dim. (Bohemia.) To be present when a person dies is supposed by the Jews to bring great blessings. In Turkey, if a cat enters the room of a dying person and should pass over the body of the patient, it is a sign that both the dying per- son and the cat would become vam- pires. In the suburbs of Oporto, Portu- gal, it is the custom when, among the poor, the agony of a dying per- son lasts a long time, to send to the parish church and have the bell rung seven times, in order that the soul may depart without pain, and peacefully. It was considered very unlucky to witness the death struggle, so at that moment the face was veiled. In Spain, all the water in the house of the dying is thrown out, as the angel of death may have washed his sword in it. It is the devil’s own, out of whose mouth the soul runs in the shape of a red mouse. A miller, cutting fire- wood in the Black Forest, fell asleep over his work. His compan- ions saw a red mouse run out of his mouth. They at once tried to rouse him, but he was dead. The soul had escaped. In Thuringia, a serv- ant girl fell asleep at harvest and a red mouse ran out of her mouth; they tried to shake her and rouse her, but her soul was gone. 164 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. EVIL SPIRITS, DEMONS, AND DEVILS. In the West Indian Islands the lilac or hay-bush is a common charm against evil spirits, and is therefore planted at doorways and under windows, and is used at fu- nerals. When sickness and death come to a person in Africa, it is a sign that an evil spirit, called “Abam- boo,” has visited them. EXHUMATION. If a body is moved from its grave, another member of the fam- ily will die shortly after. An old custom still occasionally observed among the Roumanians, obliges the friends to disinter the body after the lapse of seven years. If the usual decay has not taken place, it is a sign of excommunica- tion, requiring fresh devotions and donations to the church to get the soul out of purgatory; if all is well, the bones are collected, washed in wine, placed in a white satin bag, and reinterred. There is no ves- tige of religious feeling, however, in the folk-poems that have been col- lected. Neither do they show any hope of a future, superior to the happiness of wandering amongst the flowery meads and rippling fountains of the Carpathian moun- tains, or of revelling in the rich treasures of corn and wine, of milk and honey, that abound in the fer- tile plains watered by the Sereth and the Danube. In Macedonia, on the third an- niversary of a person's death the body is disinterred. If it has crumbled away, his or her sins are believed to be forgiven; but if a portion of the flesh still remain in- tact, it is taken for a sign that its sins are not forgiven, and more money must be spent on the priests for prayer. If a corpse is found well pre- served when exhumed, it presages evil to the descendants. If only the skeleton remains, it is a lucky sign. If only the bones are found and they are yellow in color, it is a very good omen; but if they are black, great evil is presaged. (Chinese.) EXTREME UNCTION. In Oldenburg and East Prussia the people defer the sick-bed com- munion as long as possible, believ- ing it to be followed by speedy death. If a sick man, after receiving the Sacrament, asks for food, he will die; if he asks for drink, he will live. It is bad luck for a priest to ad- minister the last sacraments at night. FLOWERS AND PLANTS, The indoor plants will droop and die after a death, unless a piece of black cloth is tied about the stems. If flowers are laid on the mouth of a corpse, he will draw his rela- tives to the grave after him. It is unlucky to put flowers over the mouth of a corpse. He will not be able to plead his cause at the Judgment day. If there are flowers in the hand of a corpse, and you take one out and keep it, you will die a violent death. When arranging a bouquet for the dead, it is unlucky to burn the useless twigs, leaves, and stems; bury them. If you can get a flower out of a cemetery to place in the coffin of FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 165 your nearest and dearest, she will rest well in her grave. Flowers are not popular at Rus- sian funerals. If a wreath of flow- ers is sent, another death will oc- Cl1ſ. It is unlucky to preserve flowers that have been used at a funeral. Some graves have been kept blooming with flowers in Wales for over a century, by descendants who believe that ill luck will come to the family when the flowers cease to bloom. FUNERAL BELL. In Wales, the bells tolled for the dying instead of for the dead, to drive off the evil demons. When the death-bell tolls, which- ever side the tongue touches last, from that side of the village will the next corpse come. It is unlucky to eat while a bell is tolling for a funeral. A funeral at which bells are not rung, will bring hail. FUNERAL FEAST. In Scotland, a feast is given after a funeral and all the poor are fed. This is done, of course, in honor of the dead and also to give good fortune to the living. In Greece, a regular banquet was served by the side of the tomb, and the dead were supposed to be con- scious of these attentions. It was an old Dutch custom, to be found in old New York in colo- nial times, to serve a special kind of cakes, called “doed-koecks” (lit- erally “dead-cakes”), to the attend- ants at funerals. These cakes were sometimes marked with the initials of the deceased. Friends and ac- quaintances frequently carried them home to be preserved for years as mementos of the occasion. At a funeral every drop of wine represents a sin that the dead per- son has committed. When you drink the wine you therefore take º the sins and bear them your- self. The heathen watched the dead, for they believed that unless the corpse were watched, the evil spirits would go in and snatch away the body. Our watching is a custom derived from that early idea. We find among the Irish of to- day many Oriental customs. The game of “jacks,” or throwing up five pebbles and catching them on the back of the hand, was known in Rome. The Irish keen (caoine), or the lament over the dead, may still be heard in Algeria and Upper Egypt, even as Herodotus heard it chanted by the Libyan women. The same practice existed among the Egyptians, Etruscans, and Romans. The Irish wakes are identical with the funeral feasts of the Greeks, Etruscans, and Romans. (Cusack's “History of Ireland,” p. 141.) The music kept up at Irish wakes used to be done for the purpose of driving away evil spirits. To go to a wake signifies return of a relative. Darkies believe that to sing every night over a corpse until it is buried will sing its sins away and the spirit will go to heaven. A Scotch correspondent writes: “In 1846 an older brother of mine died. Many neighbors offered to sit up with the corpse. I asked mother, who was a widow, if there 166 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. was any use in that. She answered, “It is an old friet and I dinna fear anything uncanny happening. Still, cats and rats have been known to eat dead bodies, and folk might think we were wanting in respect to your brother's memory; sae it may be as weel to sit up 'til the turn o' the nicht; after that it disma matter sae much.’” If you ever have to sit up with a corpse alone, it is a sign that you will have to die alone. FUNERAL SERVICE. If a man is injured so badly that he may die or is supposed to be dead, and the funeral service is read over him, there is a chance of his recovery; he can “get beyond the trouble.” (Swedish.) If a stray black dog comes into the house when a funeral is going on, there will be a death of another member of the family. FUNERAL IN GENERAL, In Mito, Japan, it was the cus- tom, in obedience to the commands of a former prince, to have funerals in the evening instead of the day- time, in order to avoid display. Doubtless it was through fear of the evil eye, lest it should be attracted toward the mourners. If, in starting a funeral proces- sion, someone drives ahead of the hearse, it is considered by the Penn- sylvania Germans an unlucky omen as another death in the neighbor- hood will soon follow. It is unlucky to put on a new gar- ment when going to a funeral. When the Fijians carry a dead person from his house to his burial place, they go thither by devious tracks, with many twists and turn- ings, so that the spirit of the de- ceased should not find his way back to his old home and thereby cause trouble to the survivors. It is unlucky to wear white flow- ers at a funeral. While you are going to a funeral you should throw old rags out of the carriage, so that the evil spirits will not annoy the dead. In Wales, a funeral procession will stop at the crossroads and say a prayer, to prevent the souls of the dead from troubling the corpse they are carrying. On the island of Guernsey, the men and women walk in pairs at fu- nerals, and all members of the mourning family attend church to- gether the following Sunday, sit- ting together and remaining seat- ed during the whole of the service, even when others rise. This is termed “taking mourning.” It is thought in Ireland to be a bad omen to meet a man on a white horse when going to a funeral. To avoid the evil, no matter if it be a stranger, the reins must be seized and the horse and rider forced to turn about and proceed a little dis- tance with the procession, when he can resume his journey. At South Shields, England, those who are invited to a funeral consid- er it unlucky to use the rapper of the door, or the bell, but always knock with a key that they carry around for the purpose. West Indian people think it un- lucky to go to a funeral, if you have a cut or bruise. In some parts of Prussia the fol- lowers of a funeral, on the way to the grave, sing as loudly as pos- sible; the louder they sing, the hap- pier will be the spirit in heaven. The Pall of Death. - FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 167 sº- To hear music playing when a funeral is passing, denotes a great event just coming in your life's his- tory. To play a musical instrument or to sing or laugh or act mirthfully when a funeral is passing, is to in- vite future afflictions. It is unlucky to have a band at a funeral. If you get a fit of laughter at a funeral, you will soon have some- thing to cry for. If, while entering a door where there is a funeral going on, you tear your dress, it is a very bad omen. If you see sheep when going to a funeral, it is a sign of unexpected consolation. If anyone comes to a funeral after the procession has started, it is a sign of another death in the same family. All the cats belonging to a house ought to be caught and confined during a funeral. If a cat runs under a hearse at a funeral, it is a sign of an imme- diate death to one of the company. If at a funeral the sun shines brightly on a living person's face, it marks him an early death. If, on placing the coffin in the hearse at a funeral the horse looks around, another member of the family will die. If you count the carriages at a funeral, it will be just so many years before you die. If a funeral procession goes in a straggling manner, it is a sign of another death in the family. In Greece, an earthen jar or vase is thrown out of the window when a funeral procession leaves the house, as a charm against death coming again to the house. It is very unlucky to count the carriages in a funeral. At a Jewish funeral some of them pluck a bunch of grass so as to leave all bad luck there. A half-open door may occasion serious difficulties in Turkey. If the door of a house be open when a corpse is carried out, it must be closed instantly or the uneasy spirit that has so lately left its earthly tenement will glide back and take up its abode where it is not desired. On the doorstep of the house where the poor body has been removed, a vase or bottle of wine must be thrown down and broken so that it may not seek to re-enter its lost home. If the door of the house is shut before the hearse starts, another death will soon follow. When the wind blows against a funeral party, it is an ill omen and another death will follow soon. The gypsies consider it a bad omen to have a funeral procession pass their home after 12 o'clock noon. They close up the house quickly, if they see one coming af- ter noon, and none of the inmates leaves the house until the following morning, lest they too should die. If you hitch horses to a hearse and they refuse to go after the cof- fin has been placed into it, it is the sign that the person is not dead. The side of the street on which the hacks stand which form a funer- al procession, will be the side where there will be the next death. The English superstition of using torches and “eights” at funerals is to show that the departed souls are 168 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. not quite put out, but having walked here as the children of light, are now gone to walk before God in the light of the living. A peculiar lantern made of gauze, on which red paper charac- ters are pasted, is used at funerals in China, so that the survivors shall be blessed with a numerous pos- terity. At one time a handbell was rung at the head of a funeral procession to drive away evil spirits. The Welsh believed that a light would rise from the bed of a corpse and make its way to the graveyard, and this was the way the corpse ought to be carried to be buried. If the light went in a different direc- tion from the graveyard, where the rest of the family were buried, the newly dead should be buried where it led. In the neighborhood of Courtrai, (Belgium,) when conveying a corpse to the churchyard, a pater noster is repeated at every crossway so that the dead, when he wishes to return home, may be able to find the way. In Wales, in the rural districts, a funeral procession stops at the crossroads to kneel and repeat the Lord's prayer. This is done to pre- vent the spirits of the dead buried at the crossroads from troubling the departed. In Connemara, a funeral proces- sion on its way to the church will halt at Some distance away, and cast together a huge pile of stones, to bring good luck to the survivors. To disturb a mound or monu- ment made by relatives on their way to the churchyard with a corpse, is deemed an inauspicious omen and no one would dare to touch one while the world lasts. In the West of Ireland the rela- tives stop half way to the grave and pile up a monument of stones, and no hand would ever dare to touch or disturb it. With some people, music and singing at funerals indicate the be- lief in the soul's return, and the har- mony and happiness of heaven. It will disturb the dead in his or her coffin to take a short cut to the graveyard. (Irish.) The Kase Indians, when passing a puddle with the funeral cortege, will lay down a straw for the dead man's soul to use as a bridge. It is the custom in the west of England, when a corpse is carried to the grave, for the bearers to stop half way, while the nearest rela- tives build up a small monument of loose stones; no hand would ever dare to touch or disturb them, lest they should die a horrible death. It has been customary in some parts of England to carry “the dead with the sun,” to the grave, in order that the soul of the de- parted may rest in peace. Gilt paper ornaments are thrown along the way in a Chinese funeral procession, in order to keep the devil so busy that he cannot pre- vent the soul of the departed from getting away to Heaven; for the devil is crazy for every bit of paper he sees. It is unlucky for a funeral to cross a corn field. Ii. at a funeral, the horses be- come frightened, another member of the family will die soon. The custom of leading the horse of the dead warrior to his grave is in accordance with the old supersti- tion that the soul of the warrior FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 169 rides into the other world on the back of his horse. Unlucky to carry a dead body across a field. It blasts the ground. Never let a funeral procession cross a corn field, even if it lies fal- low. (Esthonian.) If there is a white horse in a funeral procession, there will be another death in the same family. It is an ill omen if a funeral pro- cession goes fast. If a funeral passes the street and you hear a dog barking, do not look at the dog, as it will bring sickness to you. For a cow to bellow the moment a funeral is passing, is a sign that the relative nearest to the corpse will die next. If a carriage breaks down in a funeral procession, it is the sign that one of the occupants of the carriage will soon die. It is unlucky to pass through a funeral. If two funerals meet at the same churchyard, the last corpse to enter will have to supply the dead with water till the next corpse arrives. If your watch stops at a funeral, it is a sign that your life will stop at the time it indicates. Doles were distributed at funer- als to procure rest to the soul of the deceased, so that he might find his judge propitious. If the day of your funeral is rainy, it means that your memory will be kept green, like the flowers. In Ireland, it is considered very unlucky to watch a funeral proces- sion while standing under an um- brella. Always raise the sick up to see a funeral procession, as this brings a recovery of health. In some parts of Scotland, he who meets a funeral procession will surely die, if he does not bare his head, turn, and join the procession. It is a sign of bad luck, if the corpse passes over any part of the road twice. If you meet a funeral, you must take off your hat, or you will soon see the dead person's ghost. (Ja- maica.) For a Mohammedan funeral pro- cession to go through a town in Persia, is looked upon as a very evil sign. He who meets a “Border funer- al” will soon die. (Scotch.) If you meet a funeral, and want to see the ghost, stoop down and look between your legs, and you will see the ghost sitting on the coffin. (Jamaica.) To prevent misfortune, when a Persian meets a funeral, he dis- mounts and assists in carrying the corpse at least ten steps, when he remounts, and resumes his jour- ney. If you are going to a cemetery, it is a sign of death to meet a dar- key funeral. If you sit on your hat at a funer- al, you will not have to have a funeral for many years. It is unlucky to look at a funeral through an open door. The Chinese burn at a funeral imitation money, to pay the way of their dead to the “shady realms.” In Siam, when a funeral is pass- ing, the women take down their hair and unfasten their beads. and 17o ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS, the men hold a piece of metal be- tween the teeth. In Scotland, a peculiar cake was made to be used at funerals, and was not to be eaten at any other time. should eat any, that the ghost of their grandmothers would rise from the grave. It is good luck to give people who come to a funeral, something to eat. Some Highlanders refuse to eat or drink at funeral assemblages, in apprehension of elfic interference. In Macedonia, it is considered unlucky to sweep on the day of the funeral. In parts of Somersetshire, it is supposed to foretell another death if an odd number attend a funeral. It is unlucky to count the follow- ers at a funeral. In Madagascar, funerals are times of much feasting, and at the death of people of rank and wealth, numbers of bullocks are killed. If you are so attracted as to fol- low the funeral of a person un- known to you, you will be present at some grand entertainment. If a dog follows a corpse into the church, it is a sign that one of the pall-bearers will die soon. If you get cold in a graveyard or at a funeral, you will never get over it. One writer says that when the lower class of Irish attend a funer- al, before giving the last parting wail of grief, they expostulate with the corpse and ask him why he died, reproaching him for leaving them. They even remind him that he has an excellent wife, a mild The boys thought if they cow, seven fair children and a com- petency of potatoes. Never come out of a graveyard in front of the hearse. To do so means a long and dangerous ill- ness, if not death. The old saying: “Let the devil take the hindermost,” originated in the superstitition that the person who left the graveyard last, when a funeral had taken place, would be the next one to die and go to him. An old German legend tells of a sly rogue cheating the devil by having brought with him a pig, which he let loose behind him, after all the mourners had gone. If, after going to a funeral, you dream of it, you will not live long yourself. In returning from a funeral, it is customary to wash or dip the cloth- ing in running water; in case of a dead husband or wife, the survivor bathes in the stream. The object is to remove calamity. (Madagas- car.) If you have been to a funeral be- fore dinner, never leave anything upon your plate when you take the meal. (British Guiana.) In many villages of Wales is to be found an old man who supports himself by acting as a “sin eater.” Salt and bread are placed on the breast of the corpse, and at the funeral this old man scatters the salt and eats the bread, and thus takes upon himself the sins of the dead person. He is actually be- lieved to appropriate the sins of the corpse, and on the Welsh border is therefore held in general detesta- tion. It is not in Wales alone that this custom and superstition is found. Mr. Eugene Schuyler men- tions a corresponding character in Turkistan. He says: “I noticed FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 171 one poor old man, who seemed constantly engaged in prayer. He was an ‘iskatchi,' a person who earns his living by taking upon himself the sins of the dead, and thenceforth devoting himself to prayer for their souls.” The “sin- eating” is like the Hebrew “scape- goat” of the Bible, which was sac- rificed as an offering for the for- giveness of sin. It was supposed to free the offerer from the conse- quences of his unrighteousness. GRAVE AND GRAVEYARD. Corpse-candle is a luminous ex- halation, which, hovering over the graves, is supposed to portend death, and to indicate by its course the direction the corpse-bearers will take. If a corpse-candle burns red, it is for a man. If a corpse-candle burns blue, it is for a child. If a corpse-candle burns white, it is for a woman. In Wales and in Ireland there exist many superstitions about corpse-candles. It is sometimes held in the hand of a ghost, who appears to warn a member of the family of a death, and then again it is a blue flame, which issues from the lips of a sick person, indicating that he or she will surely die. If two are seen, a mother and child will die. It is said that will-o'-the-wisps gather thickly over the spot where the next grave is to be dug in the graveyard. A farmer in Jutland, on New Year's eve, 1851, went to the graveyard, as his custom was, to see coming events. His wife asked him: “Is anyone to die in our vil- lage this year?” He said: “One person will die.” “Young or old?” “Old.” In the spring this old man fell sick, and then she knew that her husband had seen his own corpse-candle. The blacksmith of Husley, a small village near the North Sea, said that he and his mother saw seven lights advancing at short in- tervals along the road leading to the churchyard, and shortly after- ward a ship was wrecked and seven persons were drowned and carried by that same road to their last rest- ing place. A malignant Scarlatina having broken out in that district, many children died, and all during the night small lights were seen in the churchyard. On one grave, where three small children were afterward buried, three lights were seen standing. The story goes to this day in the Isle of Man, that when Captain Leathes, chief magistrate of Bel- fast, was in a shipwreck in 1690, but was himself saved, several peo- ple told him, as soon as he got on shore, that he had lost thirteen men, as they had seen their “corpse-candles” going in a proces- sion to the graveyard the night be- fore. He had, in truth, lost just thirteen men. It is a common belief in the East, both among Christians and Mos- lems, that a supernatural light, called, in Turkish, “nur,” hovers over the grave of the saintly dead. The canonization of dervish sheiks usually follows the report of such a light having been observed over their resting places. In Normandy, the people believe in a phantom wolf, that wanders about the graveyards at night. It is jet black, and very large, and when it approaches, it stands on its hind feet and then disappears, 172 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. howling: “Robert is dead! Rob- ert is dead!” (This superstition is probably in connection with the legend of “Robert, the Devil,” first Duke of Normandy, who was sup- posed to be the son of a fiend. It is a Norman tradition that his wan- dering ghost will not be allowed to rest till the day of judgment.) The origin of our planting so many firs, cypress trees and pines in our graveyards is a survival of the old custom of planting a pine before the house of the dead, to warn people that there was one dead in the house, just as we hang crape on our doors for the same purpose. The real reason was to drive away evil spirits that were supposed to hover around during the time of the unburied dead, and which the people of other days dreaded with great fear. In a certain graveyard in Scot- land, it is deemed unlucky to bear a corpse past a certain well, even if the body has to be taken a round- about way to be buried. There is a male burying ground in the County Tyrone, Ireland, and it is thought that if a woman enters it and shall stand upon a grave, she will surely die before the year is out. This belief is so strong that very seldom a woman can be induced to enter it. It was formerly believed that if a horse was buried alive in every churchyard, before any corpse was laid in it, it would help those buried there on their journey. In various parts of Germany and Norway, a pig was buried in the churchyard, first of anything, as an offering to the devil. He was thus outwitted, and got a beast instead of a man, for the first thing buried in a new churchyard was the devil's possession. To bury your dead in a new churchyard, that has not been used for the purpose before, is a sign that you will bury others of the family there soon. The last one buried in a church- yard is supposed to do all manner of menial service for the ones pre- viously buried. If you have to visit a graveyard at night, wear a ring on your thumb, so that you will not see the dead, who always rise out of their graves from midnight until dawn. To lose something while visiting a necropolis (an ancient cemetery), is an evil sign. It is believed to be certain death for a person to eat the fruit of any tree in a New Zealand cemetery. In the Netherlands it is very un- lucky to take a bone from a grave- yard, no matter how long it has been there, for the dead person to whom it belonged will haunt the person who took it until it is re- turned. Many people will not go through a graveyard on their way to visit friends, for fear of carrying death into the house. In Sweden it is unlucky to run through a graveyard. To look at a graveyard brings ill luck to the gambler in all his spec- ulations for that day. It is ominous to point towards a graveyard. If a building is put up near a graveyard, the latter will open for some of the builders, before the year is out. If the ground where a grave is dug is dry and stony, it is an un- lucky omen in China. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. I73 If the Chinese can procure a burial site where the soil is deep yellow, it is considered the best of luck. In China, it is unlucky to have a tomb on flat lands. It is an ill omen in China if a level, dry plain faces the burial site, as the descendants will not have numerous posterity. Also, if a peak of any kind points at a grave, or if a peaked shadow falls over it, is ominous of ill luck, and the evil must be warded off by many differ- ent charms. If, on entering a churchyard, people notice a recent depression on a grave, some one of the same family will soon die. It is making way for another. (Belgium.) In Scotland, not a word is said when going to the graveyard. To express grief would be to rebel against God's will and bring more deaths into the family. On the way to the grave, friends and relatives march on either side of the corpse, and sing as they go along, to prevent the evil spirits from hovering around it. (Russia.) At a place called Four-Mile- Water, in Wexford, there is an old graveyard full of saints. Once it was on the other side of the river, but they buried a rogue there, and the whole graveyard moved across in the night, leaving the rogue- corpse in solitude. In many parts of Australia the natives’ cemeteries are kept with loving care, and show much taste and ability in laying them out. There is a burial-place called “Milmeridien,” near the Bogan River. Sir Thomas Mitch- ell says: “It was a fairy-like spot in the midst of drooping acacias. It was extensive, and laid out in walks, which were narrow and Smooth, as if intended for spirits only, and they meandered in grace- fully curved lines among the heaps of reddish earth, which contrasted finely with the acacias and dark casurinas around; others gilt with moss shot far into the recesses of the bush, where slight traces of still more ancient graves proved the antiquity of these simple but touch- ing records of humanity.” A sim- ilar cemetery exists near the Finke River, in the center of the conti- Ilent. A Japanese grave is generally eight feet deep, and the body is buried with the head in any direc- tion except towards the north, from whence comes the cold. This is an unlucky point of the compass at all times. It was formerly a cus- tom, when the husband died first, at the same time to prepare for the widow's burial, by carving on the tombstone the widow's name, col- ored red, and then, the red would be erased when she died. Never dig a grave until the morning of the funeral; if you do, the open grave will call for a whole family to fall into it. If a grave is dug on Sunday, an- other one will have to be dug by next Sunday. Bad luck if it rains in an open grave. If rain falls into an open grave, there will be another burial in the same yard within three days. If rain falls upon a new-made grave, there will be another death in the family within the year. To find an open grave partly filled with water is a bad omen. To find snakes in a newly-dug grave indicates that the person 174 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. who is to be laid there, “seeks his own,” and partakes of their nature, and his soul is among the con- demned. He who looks in open graves Will be buried 'neath the waves. “As the coffin of Miss Lorch was lowered in the grave, a large black snake crawled through the mourn- ers and fell in the grave on the coffin. Many of the superstitious regarded this as an omen of evil. They went home, and a short time later Lorch was stricken with hemorrhages and died without gaining consciousness. His wife was carried from her dead hus- band's body unconscious, and to- day is in a critical condition.”—(N. Y. World, Oct., 1896.) To put a still-born child into an open grave is lucky for the next person to be buried there. It is a good sign to have a dove fly over a new-made grave, for it will bear the soul to heaven. Should it fly over or alight on the dead, before burial, the sign is equally happy. Darkies never remove spades, picks, and hoes with which a grave has been dug, until at least one night has passed since the burial, no one daring to touch them, lest his own burial be the next occasion for their use. The Madagascans place the skulls of slaughtered cattle on poles at the head of tombs, to drive away the evil spirits from the dead. A fire is kept burning constantly for three days, by the grave of a Klamath Indian, to keep away the demons. It is considered lucky for a body to lie in the grave from west to east. Everyone who stands around the grave should throw a clod into it, in order to insure rest for the dead. If a dead man had a grudge against you, throw a handful of sand on his grave, and he will for- give you. It is lucky to place articles which had been used or worn by a dead person on the grave, as they keep away evil spirits. (Southern Ne- gro.) A charm to protect a grave from being desecrated, is to put a garter worn by the deceased in life, in the right side of the coffin. Throw a rose into a grave, and the body will waste away rapidly. The curious custom of placing a horseshoe on the grave of the col- ored dead, is still practiced “down South,” in the belief that the shoe will keep witches away and pre- vent their riding the deceased's spirit. In the West Indies, a gourd is thrown into a grave for luck. Blue plates and saucers are often let into a Moslem tomb, to prevent evil happening to the dead. Among Russians, there is a sup- erstition that a ladder should be placed in the grave of the dead, by which the soul might climb the steep road to heaven. The Winnebago Indians swept the grass from the grave in a circle of six to twenty feet in diameter, to keep evil spirits from the soul. At certain times of the year, the graves are swept, in China, to show that their descendants are living, and to be sure that there will al- ways be some. Strips of yellow paper are also placed on the tombs, to show that some of the ancestors FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. I75 itself. were highly honored by their em- peror, and if this fact were not thus shown, the descendants would be unlucky. The Mohawk Indians will not permit so much as a blade of grass to grow on the graves of their companions. The Mohawk Indians consider it a sign of ill luck to allow grass to grow upon a grave. Should fresh grass be found near a cave where no one has been re- cently buried, it is a sign that a murder has just been committed there, and no one will go near the place for a year, or until the grass disappears. (Australia.) Deck the tombs of the dead with roses, and the evil spirits will not venture near. (Greece.) It is unlucky when a grave turfs If peas are planted on a grave, the spirit of the dead person can- not rise to harm anyone. (Ja- maica.) Amakosa are careful that not a sod be taken from their graves, for fear the earth should become too light to keep the spirit in. In Welsh churchyards, it is a good omen to make an enclosure of roses around the grave of a young maiden. In Glamorganshire, it is lucky for a person to plant a white rose on a virgin's tomb. When a Mosquito Indian dies, his relations build a hut over the grave, made of palm leaves, to shelter him from the weather and hot sun. The Mosquito Indians believe that the dead have for a time the same necessities that they had in life, such as eating, drink- ing, striking for fish, and other duties to perform of their way of living. As there are different tribes some of them differ a little from the others in their beliefs. Some think that the dead have to travel a long journey to heaven, and for this reason they provide them with a small pitpan or canoe, paddles, striking-staffs, and other utensils, as a pot, a knife, cassava, potatoes, plantains, and fruits. Oth- ers supply them every day with cooked food, water, and even liquor. But as a rule, all of them make huts over the graves. At the season of maple-sugar- making, the Oshkosh Indians place pieces of that delicacy on the graves of the dead, thinking it will bring their favor, and thus good luck in the next season. In Wales, it is considered un- lucky to decorate the graves of rel- atives on Palm Sunday. As many days as the first flower blooms on a grave, so many days must the Occupant stay in purga- tory. (Belgium.) It is good luck to plant a red rose on the grave of those who were distinguished for goodness and benevolence of character, so that their spirits will hover around you and help you. Some Indians placed a flag at the head of a grave, and woe to him who disturbed it. All evils would pour upon him. Some Greeks thought that pars- ley or everlasting flowers scattered about the tombs of the dead would keep them free from evil spirits. After a death, the California In- dians build fires on the grave, and the next morning they try to read the condition of the soul by the tracings left in the ashes. 176 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. The California Indians keep watch over the graves of their dead for three days and nights, to keep off evil spirits. The Omahas keep fires lighted for four days and nights by the side of the graves of any of their people, to light them on their way to the unknown world. Otherwise, they would be wholly in the dark. The Winnebagoes also keep a fire on graves for four successive nights after the burial, and keep the grass dug up, so that the bad spirits will have nothing to cling to. The Chinese have their tombs built in the shape of a horseshoe, a curious custom, from which prob- ably originated the widespread horseshoe-superstition among the European races. A small house is built over the graves of Madagascar kings, as it is believed that the spirit of the king occasionally visits the place. Put up no monument during the first year after a death. It is a bad omen to get a head- Stone too SOOn. In Mohammedan graveyards the gravestones have niches cut in them, in which is placed a small saucer, with oil and a wick in it, and lighted at night, so as to light the soul on its way to Paradise. To sleep on a new-made grave, will give you occult powers and hidden wisdom. If you come upon an open grave unexpectedly, you will lose some- one by death. It is very generally believed that if a person caves in the earth with his or her foot, when standing by a grave, it is a sure sign of his or her death. (Negro.) When anyone is about to die in a village, the inhabitants can hear the sound of spades at work in the churchyard. When one is buried and the sand makes a noise and caves in, it is the sign that a friend will die. If a grave is encircled by a stream; or on land where water flows; or commanding an exten- sive view of hill, dale, and water, it is a lucky sign. If a newly-made grave sinks Soon after burial, it is a sign that the soul is not at rest. When the dirt sinks deeply in a grave, it is making a hole for an- Other person. In Davenport, if a still-born child was put into a grave, the next person buried there was lucky, for he would certainly go to heaven. Coleridge, in his “Sibylline Leaves,” describes the popular be- lief that ill luck would follow him who trod upon a grave: . “To see a man tread over graves I hold it no good mark! *Tis wicked in the sun and moon And bad luck in the dark.” If a grave is covered on Friday, another member of the same fam- ily will die within a year. (Chat- ham, N. B.) In County Tyrone, there is a male burying-ground, and it is be- lieved that if a woman enters it and stands upon a grave, she will die before a year is out. If a child falls down in a grave- yard, it will die within a year. (Japan.) - -y •." *: FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 177 To walk over a grave is to invite sickness. To repeat the act, is to render it fatal. Bad luck to walk or sit on a grave. Some one will treat you in the same way. Passing over a hidden grave is thought, in some parts of England, to produce a rash, and in New England the same cause is said to bring cramps in the foot. The Mohammedans consider it bad luck if a man passed a grave and did not say, “Would to Allah that I were in his place.” A widow in Bulgaria, carries water every day for fifty days, to her husband's grave, so that his spirit may not die of thirst. If you do not make a fire at the head of a grave on the first night of burial, the body will be torn up by wild beasts. (Persia.) It was considered dangerous and unlucky in Japan to go near the Spot where an old woman was buried, as her ghost might rise and do harm to the beholder. It was an ancient belief that if the young people danced on a holi- day in the churchyard, it would bruise the bones of the dead, Among the Pimas Indians, a grave is often made for an Indian when he is very ill, and should he chance to recover, woe to the in- dividual who should disturb his grave, he would be certain of ill luck, and perhaps death. Don’t visit a cemetery when there is any other place to go. It calls up ghostly ideas. To leap over a murderer's grave three times, will insure your peace with everyone. It is bad luck to pass a suicide's grave, without throwing a stone on it. To touch a certain cross in one of the Norwegian burial grounds, was certain to cure rheumatism. In certain localities in England, it is said that if a young woman should walk over the grave of Vanora, she would entail upon her- Self perpetual sterility. If you repair your burial-lot, it is a sign you will soon need it. In the West Indies, if you repair an enclosure where remains are in- terred, it will cause another death. It is unlucky to pluck flowers from graves. To use rosemary plucked from a grave, will invite every evil. The Welsh believe it would cause ill luck to the descendants, if the graves of the departed ones were not kept covered with plants and flowers. Hence, some graves have been kept blooming for nearly a century without interruption. To receive a picture of a grave, is an omen of evil. An ancient Irish saying is that a man is constrained once in his life to go to the place of his grave. To find a red rose on a grave, is a sign that the tenant of the grave was, in life, a person of peculiar benevolence of character. If rats scratch the mound of a woman's grave, it is a sign that she was unchaste. (Fiji.) Take a handful of dust from a grave, and if it stirs, it is a sign of a wicked person being buried there. 178 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. It was a belief of the middle ages that eternal lamps were to be found burning in ancient sepulchers. Never open a grave for twelve months. A strange single lady weeping at the grave of a married woman, will marry the widower. If a grave is opened on Sunday, another death will follow in a month. If you read tombstones, you will lose your memory. Some Chinamen think pour- ing wine on the tombstones makes them turn a reddish color, which is a sure sign of luck to the de- scendants. It is also done in order to make the letters on the stones appear more clearly, which would indicate that the descendants will never be poor. He who walks silently around the tomb of Heinrich Velsbach three times, receives a slap upon the cheek by an invisible hand. (German.) To tread on the tomb of a Vaz- imba (one of the supposed aborig- inal inhabitants of the central prov- inces of Madagascar), will cause paralysis. These tombs are anoint- ed with blood and fat for propitia- tory reasons. To point at a tomb will cause the fingers to rot off. (Madagascar.) People count their teeth when coming near a tomb, in order that they may carry their teeth to the tomb. (Madagascar.) To look into a new grave will cause early death. (Madagascar.) To measure a tomb will cause the knees to swell. (Madagascar.) It is believed by the Orientals that graveyards, “Cities of the Si- lent,” are peopled by invisible ghosts, each one sitting at the head of his own grave. The left seat of the gateway of the entrance to the churchyard is called “The Devil's Seat,” at Yar- mouth, and is supposed to render anyone who sits upon it, particu- larly liable to misfortune ever after- ward. HEARSE. If a hearse is drawn by two white horses, death will occur again in the neighborhood within a month. If the doors of a hearse are clos- ed before the mourners are all in the carriages, there will soon be an- other death in the same family. If the hearse, with the body in it, has to be turned around to go an- other way, it will draw another of the family after it. It is unlucky for the hearse to stop on its way to the grave. If a person rides directly behind the hearse at a funeral, he will be the next to die. To meet a hearse with feathers on it, indicates your presence at the wedding of a friend. If you see a hearse in the night, there will be a fire. If you sneeze when you see a hearse, another person will die. (Persia.) Men who drove hearses in old times had their whip-stocks made of elder-wood, to protect them from the evil spirits that haunt hearses. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 179 LIGHTNING, DEATH BY Bodies scathed by lightning were held in great reverence in old days, and believed to be incorrupti- ble, as to be killed so was a sign of God's good will. But it is also said that nobody struck by lightning could be buried in consecrated ground as it showed the displea- sure of the Creator. The belief varied with the nation and age. The Kaffirs of South Africa be- lieve that when a person is struck by lightning, it is the great chief who has sent for him; and so no mourning is permitted. Miscellaneous Charms and Omens Relating to Death. Signs of Death in the Sick. If the forehead waxes red. If the brows fall down. If the nose waxes sharp and cold. If the left eye becomes small. If the corner of the eye runs. If the patient turns to the wall. If the ears are cold. If they cannot bear the light. If they pull straws or the bed clothes. If they frequently pick the nos- trils. If they wake much. If they see spirits of friends. If they gradually lose conscious- IlêSS, “The death-bell thrice was heard to ring An aerial voice was heard to call, And thrice the raven flapped his wing Around the towers of Cumnor Hall.” (Mickle.) If a sick person keeps the hands waving and moving around in the air, it is a sign of his or her death. If a sick person pulls at his or her toes it is the sign of death. When one is very ill, an extreme hunger is called the “death-hun- ger” and is always a forerunner of death. Off the coast of Connemara there is a herb which the people place in the hand of the sick. If it keeps fresh and green the person will live, but if it soon withers and dies, the person will die. If the peculiar odor of yarrow pervades a house in Wales even when the plant is not seen or known to be near the premises, the old folk know that it means a death in the house. Old people in Wales “smell death” and often smell death in a wreck on the shore. There is also a “wind of death,” a “wind blowing over the feet of the corpses,” which is felt in the churchyard by the relation of the person who is about to die, and often near the house or in the garden. If a sick person calls for anyone who is dead, death is near. (Negro.) If a sick person's shirt is thrown into St. Oswald’s well it will show if the person will live or die. If it floats it denotes recovery; if it sinks, death. (English.) When a warning comes of a death, the person it comes for will not hear it. In Tullock Castle in Scotland, a cold hand was always said to be laid on the face of the person whose death it foreboded. 18o ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. If a sick person feels cold be- hind the ears, he or she will die. If a cross forms before you, the crosspiece being on top, it is the sign of the death of a woman; if the crosspiece is next to you, it will be a man. In Wales the Gurachy Rhibyn comes after dusk, flaps her leath- ery wings against the window, giv- ing warning of death and calling on the one who is to quit mortality, in broken, howling tones, several times. The “chariot of death” is a ter- rible apparition covered with a white sheet and driven by skele- tons, and the noise of the wheels is always heard in the street pass- ing the door of a house where any person is dying. Some persons say that when a relative is about to die, they see a mist between him and themselves. Drop two straws and if they form a cross on the ground, ex- pect a death in the family. Counting funeral-cards is the sign of the death of a relative. Four in a row, crape on the door. When the galadrot turns its head away from the sick person, it is a sign of his or her death. In many parts of France the humming-bird, the hawk, and the moth are signs of death. Cicero was warned of his death by the fluttering of ravens, and Macaulay tells the legend that a raven entered the chamber of the great orator the day of his murder, and pulled the clothes off his bed. A little smooth brown bird in Wales called the corpse-bird ap- pears without feathers or wings. It perches itself on the roof of the house or on the window where the death will take place. In Wales, spectral dogs are seen near the house of one who is fast approaching dissolution. There are two of these dogs. One is black and one white. If the white One appears the soul is to be saved. If the black one appears the person is very wicked and his soul will be taken to everlasting torment. When McManus of '48 celebrity was sitting by the bedside of his dying brother, a bright-eyed bird of the vulture species came in the window and perched upon the breast of the dying man remain- ing there until the soul left the body. It was considered a most evil omen. (Irish.) The death of George II in 1760 was expected by the common peo- ple because of the death of the old- est lion in the tower about the king's age. (Timbs. “Things not Generally Known.”) The “Gabriel Hounds” are an omen of death. They fly through the air towards the house where lies the sick and they give two or three short, sharp barks just as he breathes his last. They are sup- posed to be the ever wandering ghosts of sinners, chased by the an- gel Gabriel’s hounds. They are also called Gabble Ratched, and are ex- plained to be in reality swarms of wild geese, whose flight makes a noise like a pack of hounds crying. In some parts of England the “Gabriel Hounds” are said to be the souls of unbaptized children, who are compelled to hover around the house when their parents are dying. Crickets, dogs and waybirds foretell death by their cry. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 181 The raven, the crow, and the swallow are omens of death. If the wind howls around the house where a sick person lies at the crisis of his illness, there is no hope. To hear strange noises, as knocking, walking, rattling and the like, where you know nobody could be, is a sure sign of the death of a relative or friend, no matter how far off. In George Eliot's “Adam Bede,” we are told that when Adam was working by night at the coffin which his father had neglected to make, he heard a smart rap at the door of the workshop, a peculiar sound. Gyp, the dog, growled, and Adam was at the door imme- diately, but saw nothing. The rap- ping came again, and Adam again failed to discover anyone. He could not help shuddering as he re- membered how often his mother had told him of just such a sound coming as a sign when someone was dying. This belief in death raps is common to many parts of Wales. An old carpenter who lived near Llanidloes said he al- ways heard some one at work in his shop before a coffin was to be made. He knew the peculiar Sound of the spirit workman, and was in the habit of speaking of hav- ing heard the sign of some one's death. A person near Montgom- erytown in Shropshire, who heard the death rap at her door, thought it was a friend, and opened the door, expecting to greet an ac- quaintance, but all that met her view was a white hand extending towards her, as if about to shake her hand with a sad farewell. The fright of the woman can easily be imagined, and the announcement of the death of a friend was re- ceived with the thought that that friend had come in part to bid her good bye. The death rattle, a peculiar kind of noise made in respiring by a per- son in the extremity of sickness, is ever construed to mean the death of the patient. If a person hears sweet and soothing music, so sweet as he never heard the like of before, the Welsh say: “Poor fellow; it is all over with him!” In Wales, they have three “tol- aeths,” or death-signs, one before the death, one before the coffin, and one before the burying. The first is a singular and supernatural noise, heard at the dead of night; the second is that of sawing wood, or the hammering of nails, or the turning of screws, and is always heard before a funeral or any dreadful catastrophe; the third is just like a supernatural funeral pro- cession. The Welsh believe they hear the singing, the tramp of the feet, and the sobbing and moaning, and take this as a sign that a real funeral is sure to pass that way before long. In Germany, some princely houses are warned of death by the striking of a clock at an unusual hour. Some old people have told their friends they knew they were going to die soon, because they had heard the clock fall on the floor and the wheels roll about, when in reality the clock was all right in its place. Alexander was warned of his near death by meeting a female Druid. When the lamb or horse showed itself in a churchyard, it betokened a death. 182 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. If a person is sick, it should be noticed which way the smoke of the candle blows when it is put out. If it blows toward the church, the patient will die. In Northumberland, a warning death-light is called the person's “waff,” in Cumberland a “swarth,” in Ross a “task,” and in some parts of Scotland, the “fye-token.” If a person is sick, his death will be foretold by a light. It is seen during the night, slowly gliding from the house to the graveyard, along the road over which the funeral procession will pass. Sometimes the house is over- whelmed with glowing lights, as a fore-runner of the death of the sick. Sometimes it burns all night on the spot for the grave. The death of Drusus, the Roman general, was foretold by his meet- ing a tall Celtic woman. If the lightning strikes near the house of a dying man, it is all up with his soul. It is the devil who has come for him. It is an omen of death to the one who, on the day of the burial, shall sit in the chair of the dead master of the home. His time will be one year. If a hoop bursts off a barrel, it is a sign of death. Among the many superstitions about signs of death, the owl has played at all times and in almost every part of the world a very prominent part. To hear the screeching of an owl, or see an owl in the vicinity of a dwelling, to meet an owl, when abroad, flying towards you, etc., all these have al- ways been considered a sure omen of death. Jn Germany exists the belief that to hear an owl hoot for several nights at the same spot in the woods, was a certain sign that some one had been murdered there and buried under the tree where the owl sat. “The shrieking witch-owl that doth ever cry But boding death and griefs herself in- ters In darksome graves and hollow sepul- chers.” (Drayton.) To stop the screeching of an owl and thus averting the evil, it was believed by some to be effective to take off one’s left slipper and throw it at the owl, or to put iron into the fire, or to turn a garment wrong side out. The negroes of Jamaica, to avert the evil, when they see an owl flying over their house or hear it screeching, call out: “Pepper and salt for your mammies.” American Indians believed that the owl was the spirit of a dead per- son. They believed that the dead thus communicated with the living, sending the latter news of death. If the Florida Indian hears an owl sing “who-who,” he at once whistles to it; if there is no an- swer to his whistle, he bows his head in resignation, in the full be- lief that he has received the sum- mons of approaching death; if the owl answers his whistle, by repeat- ing its cry, the Indian goes on his way rejoicing, as this is to him a sign of good luck. White owls are generally believed to be not real birds, but the spirits of the dead, come in that shape to give warning of approaching death. Some of the few places where the owl was not considered an omen of death, or of bad luck, was old Athens, where the owl was held sacred. In India, the white owl is held sacred to the goddess of prosperity, and its presence is al- FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 183 ways credited as an omen of good luck. In Russia, claws of owls are worn as amulets, believed to be of great value to a man after his death, as they would enable his soul to scratch out of the grave, and climb the steep hill that leads to heaven. History records many instances where the owl has been regarded as having predicted the death of some prominent person; thus, the mur- der of Julius Caesar is considered to have been presaged by the Screeching of an owl. “The bird of night did sit E'en at noon day upon the market place, Hooting and shrieking.” (Shakespeare, Julius Caesar, I, 3.) The owl sitting upon the top of a house in which Valentian lived foretold his death. The death of Antonius was pre- dicted by an owl, who sat on top of his house at Rome, and also at Lanuvium. A correspondent from England sends the following conversation, which took place between him and an old blind man, Joseph Pearce, and his daughter, at Droitwich, Worcester, illustrating the popular belief in signs of death: Joseph—“Well, sir, I do believe in tokens afore death. I do, for I sin 'em, sir. The folks in this row say as a crow flying over the roof is a sign o’ death. An' a dog howlin.’” His Daughter—“Yes, a dog howlin' is a token, I believe.” Joseph—“But I sin 'em, sir. When I was a lad, me an’ me two brothers was down be the hedge, when, ‘Hullo,” says I, ‘tharr's a white rabbit!' An' we chased un as furr as the hedge, an’ then a was clear gone—not a track of him nowhurr! An’ up we went to the house, an’ first thing we saw was mother at the gate a cryin' and say- in’ as how father had been taken that very hinstant. Me an’ my brother, we seed it, an’ thot we'd get a prize; an' 'twas but a token o’ death, sir. An' tharr was some lads in an arrchard—a happle orchard (sic)—an' says they, ‘Let's have a bit o' them apples!' So up tha climbs, and tharr tha was, a settin' in tha tree, on the branches like, sir, when, “Lor bless us!" says one, ‘tharr's a tame rabbit, a white 'n!'—an’ the rabbit run right under the tree. An’’twas a token of thurr master's death, an’ die a did. I have a heerd tell by men as I knows, an’ they sin it them- selves, that a Christmas eve, at a certain hour, all the cattle and beasts, be they what you will, 'll kneel down wharr tha be. No, sir, I haven't sin 'em myself, but I knows them as have.” There are many people living in Wales who, to this day, assert that they are given a premonition of death by what is called the “death- pinch.” These fore-tellings of the death of friends, shows itself as a black and blue mark as of a thumb and finger, and would remain dis- colored for several days. Mrs. S. used to say: “See! I have had a death-pinch in the night; now we shall hear of the death of someone we know.” And in the course of a day or two such news would actually come. Some declare they can feel it when they get the pinch. The numerous tokens of death of Henry IV. of France, are finely tragical. Mary of Medici saw in her dream the brilliant gem of her crown change into pearls, the sym- bol of tears and mourning. An I84 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. owl hooted until sunrise at the window of the chamber to which the King and Queen retired at St. Denis, on the night preceding their coronation. The flame of the con- secrated taper held by the Queen was suddenly extinguished, and twice her crown nearly fell to the ground. In the play of “The Intruder,” by Maurice Maeterlinck, the old blind grandmother knows that there is the presage of death in the house, when no one else can see it. The swans leave the lake, the garden- er is heard sharpening his scythe though it is ten o'clock at night. The lamp also goes out. These are all potent signs of death. In the past, the farmers of Llan- gynwyd, Wales, had to haul the limestone they required to manure their land with, from Porthcawl. This was done over the old tram- road which led to that port. It was done chiefly in the winter months, and the journey being long, it was necessary to start very early in the morning, some hours before daylight, to make it possible to return the same day. The following story was told to I. C. Evans, author of “The His- tory of Llangynwyd,” by a person who affirmed that he had witnessed the circumstances: “One morning, at two o'clock, I started from my home, with the horses, for Porthcawl. Having been so fortunate as to send my empty trams down the day before, in the care cf a friend, who was do- ing hauling work on the tramway, I was enabled to take a shorter route by way of Llangynwyd Vil- lage, and over the mountain to Pyle. When I arrived near to Pontrhyd.cyff, on a cross-road that led to the main highway, my horses suddenly halted, and, looking be- fore me through the darkness to discover the cause, I thought I could see a great crowd of people coming out of the cross- road into the main, on which I was proceeding. It was too dark to See anything very distinctly, or to recognize features; but I could plainly distinguish the footsteps and bustle of a moving crowd. Af- ter a time, something resembling a coffin borne on men's shoulders passed by, followed by a number of horses and horsemen, amongst them being prominent a white horse. After they had passed on, I followed them slowly, and could distinguish the sounds of move- ment in front of me. When I ar- rived at the village of Llangynwyd, I paused for a short period to per- mit of sufficient time for them to get into the church, and then pro- ceeded on my journey without de- lay. “A few weeks later, an old neighbour of mine died, and his re- mains were brought along the same road from which I had seen the phantom funeral emerging. Following the coffin, there was, amongst many others, a man on a white horse. He was quite a prom- inent figure in the crowd. I at- tended the funeral myself, and feel quite convinced that it was the real procession of which I had seen the phantom on the morning I went to Porthcawl.” Such is a specimen of the stories frequently told by persons, whose credibility, in ordinary matters, no one even doubts. The following are believed to be sure signs of the approach of death in the parish of Llangynwyd: The howling of dogs at mid- night. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 185 The crowing of cocks before midnight. The crowing of hen birds. The birth of twins to a cow or IIlaſ C. The ticking sounds of the death- watch. . The blossoming of fruit trees at an unseasonable time of the year. The dreaming of being present at a friend's wedding. The beating of screech owls against the windows of a sick TOO111. The sound of a bell humming in the ear. The above are all natural signs; but there are also supernatural -Omens, such as— The Howling Wraith (Y Gyhi- raeth), or the Dracholaeth—a frightful sound of lamentation that proceeded from the house of death to the parish church. The sounds of barking dogs (Cwn Anwn) in the air, which were supposed to be driving lost souls to the infernal regions. The Corpse Candle (Canwyll Gorff), the most generally accepted of all. This was a light, which passed along in the night, quite noiselessly, irom the house of death to the grave, along the path the funeral was sure to follow. A singular ceremony is used by the Mayas of Yucatan, to prevent the death of those who are sick. The dread being who, in mediaeval symbolism, was represented by a skeleton, is known to the Mayas as Yum Cimil, lord of death. He is supposed to lurk around a house where a person is ill, ready to enter and carry off his life when oppor- tunity offers. He is, however, will- ing to accept something in lieu thereof, and to bring this about, the natives perform the rite called “kex,” or barter. They hang pots and nets on the trees around the house, repeating certain invoca- tions, and they believe that often the lord of death will be satisfied with these, and thus allow the in- valid to recover. In all Slavonian countries, death is believed to be a woman. She looks in the window or enters the house. Chinese believe that disease and death are the work of malignant demons, who can only be induced to leave by especial offerings and the utterance of passages from the sacred work. To preserve one from sudden death, one must carry in the pocket, a bullet that has once hit a man; then one may be quite sure of dy- ing in one's bed, with a good and sufficient cause, and warning to the soul. If a purse of taffeta, containing a parchment, full of characters in Hebrew, is worn about a person's neck, he will never die a sudden death. Two hairs from a rabbit's tail, and an incli of opossum-tail, will secure the possessor from sudden death, if worn in a small bag over the heart. A charm to prevent a person from being buried alive: Wear a small bag filled with rosemary, marjoram, and thyme, around your neck. It will also guard you from evil spirits that walk abroad. Stick pins in a stile, whenever a corpse is taken over it, to prevent further death in the same family. 186 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. A wowuk is an Indian relic that is for good fortune and divination. If an Indian points this relic at a person, and mentions his or her name, the person will fall sick and die. If the owner dies without heirs, it must be sunk in a sacred spring, for if it were buried with the owner, the whole tribe would get sick and die. If the relic were ruthlessly exposed before a crowd of people, all of them would die of an epidemic, and if it is shown to one, that person's death is as- sured. It is as unlucky for the owner to show it, as it is for anyone to see it; but the owner is very lucky all the time it is in his possession. How to tell the time of one's death, is taught by the German conjurer, Little: Take a very little Olive oil, mix it with good brandy, add a little yellow-white ingredient, and set fire to the mixture. The vision that will appear from the flames will be so terrible that each one present will tremble for his neighbor. In some villages “Death” is drowned. If the ceremony is omitted in one of these villages, it signifies the death of a young man or maiden. It is most unlucky to bathe in a river where “Death” has been drowned. In many places in “the old coun- try,” the young folks have a cere- mony for luck, called “driving out death.” They prepare a hideous figure to represent death; men take whips and whistles, and the women and children make all the noise they can, and start for a running stream, river or pond, throw the figure in it, and return in triumph, having prevented death from com- ing near them for another year. In China, if, after having buried the head of the family, one is pur- sued by bad luck, it is a sign that the body is not satisfied with its resting place. In Cambridge, Mass., they say that deaths do not come singly. If one of a family dies, a second death will occur within a year. The Irish believe that all the dead are in a sort of a trance, and that they can hear everything, but cannot move nor make a sound. Sheel-fire” is said to rise from the dying in Sussex. It is said in Germany that a mother returns for eight nights after her death, to see if her chil- dren are properly cared for. Whenever an old person dies in the neighborhood, a child will be born in the vicinity. When two friends or relations die in quick succession, the third will soon follow. To hear of the death of two of your friends in one day, is a sign of luck to yourself. It is a Negro saying that if a man has buried three wives, he will bury six. It is unlucky to speak when passing a house where some one lies dead. When a death occurs in the house of a Jew at Gibraltar, all the water contained in any vessel is thrown away, for fear that the an- gel of death might wash his sword there. People not reconciled to a Jew before his death, kissed his great toe, and asked pardon, lest he should accuse them before God. In West Gloucestershire, Eng- land, the windows are all thrown open at the moment of death. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 187 When the master of the house dies, one must go into the garden and shake the trees, saying, “The master is dead!” else they will de- cay. (German.) If anyone dies in the house, shift the bee-hives and shake the vin- egar and wine, or else the bees, vin- egar and wine will go bad. Outside the door of the house where lay a dead person, was placed a vessel with water and a cypress branch for sprinkling, and whoever went out without going through the ceremony would be exceedingly troubled in spirit. It is a belief in the West of Eng- land, that if any bolt or lock, which belonged to the dead, is fastened until the burial, the dead will not rest easy in their graves. Loosen all knots, open all doors, unfasten all boxes, unlock all trunks, and let the soul go free! The Greeks throw a jar of water in the street to refresh the souls of the dead. In Oldenburg, cornstalks must be scattered about a house in which death has entered, or an- other death will follow. To feel jolly over the death of any person whom you dislike, is a sign that you will be called, to laugh with them in the other world. The Congo negroes refrain from sweeping the hut for a year after the death of an inmate, for fear that the dust will injure the ghost. In New Hampshire, they stop the clock at the time of death. It is unlucky to talk about un- buried people. In Scotland, a widow considers it unlucky to mention the name of her deceased husband, although she will talk about him by the hour. It is bad luck to speak evil of the dead. Whenever the dead are spoken of, they come to listen, and if evil is said, their vengeance is terrible. A Roman proverb says: “De mortuis nilnisibonum!” (of the dead, nothing but good should be said). The Indians of the Northwest Territories believe it unlucky to pronounce the name of the dead. To talk of a dead man brings bad luck. It is said that a person will die on the hour that he or she was born. In Hull, England, it is believed that death takes place, not at the ebb, but at the turn of the tide. If a person's death is expected when the tide begins to flow it is a sign that he or she will live till it ebbs. People are more liable to die when the first moon makes its ap- pearance, than later. It is unlucky for a family, if the head of it dies in the waning moon. A Jewish superstition is, that a person dying on Friday, goes to heaven. In Africa, no one is supposed to die from natural causes. No one is killed in war, by drowning, or by any mischance. Everything is done by witchcraft. The witches must be found out, tortured to confession, and made to expiate their crime with death. This breaks the spell. When a death has occurred among Jews, water is poured out I88 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. and sprinkled on the doorstep, so that the angel of death may not re- turn. In Jamaica death cools his sting in the water in the house where a death has occurred, and so poisons the water. Every drop of water is therefore thrown out, as soon as anyone dies, and some people take the precaution to do it while they are dying. A mulatto girl told me of one woman who was brave and curious enough to stoop down over a water-jar as soon as a death had occurred, and was rewarded by hearing a curious noise, but al- though she knew it must be death, she dared not look up. She de- scribed it as the faint fluttering of a bat. Very probably it was one of the huge night-moths—but if it was a black one, it would only have increased the woman’s fear, for to have a “black witch” flying about the room is a sign of death. When a New Zealander dies, they paint the house red, to keep the devil away. If a Sioux Indian is ill and can- not possibly recover, they leave him to his fate, as it would bring evil to the tribe, for the medicine- men to bother the spirits any long- er on the sufferer's account. When a maiden dies, the Seneca Indians imprison a bird, and wait until it begins to sing. Then, load- ing it with caresses and messages, they set it free over her grave, in the belief that it will fly to the spirit land and deliver the mes- Sages. In India, if the husband dies, the wife is supposed to have been the cause; if the wife dies first, it is considered a good omen to all the relatives, for they believe the gods have favored her. When a Japanese dies, all the screens and doors in the house are turned upside down, and all the clothing turned inside out. The inhabitants of the Caroline Islands believe that in the begin- ning there was no death, but a fearful spirit was created, who was so jealous of man that he conceived a way to torture him, and thus death came into the world. In the lonely valleys of Aydyr, Scotland, lurks a strange old superstition that even death must listen to the voice of time in gold; when the scantily numbered mo- ments of the sick are fleeting, a gold watch laid in the wasted palm and pointing the earthly hours, compels the scythe of death to pause, the timeless power to bow before the two great gods of the human race—time and gold. To delay the death, a watch is thus placed in the palm, and often time is gained to see a loved one, has- tening home. To the Karens of Burma, death is a fearful event. Whenever the death of an individual is announc- ed, the man drops his axe, the woman her shuttle, the child its toys, not to be resumed that day, while unfinished work is never re- sumed at all. The house, or canoe, or whatever the man was at work on when the intelligence reached him, is abandoned to the beasts of the forest, and the labors of the loom are given to the worms, as they would prove more deadly than the shirt of Nessus, causing the death of anyone who would use them. When two deaths occur in one year, in the same house among the eastern Jews, a cock is sacrificed if it be men, and a hen if women. The Australian aborigines don't think a man ever dies a natural FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 189 death unless he is killed in their presence; otherwise they attribute his death to sorcery. The name of the dead is never mentioned. That is considered most inauspicious. After a death among the Creek and Seminole Indians, they remove to another place and make a new home, as the old one is believed to be inhabited by goblins. When two families are living in One house in China, and a death occurs in one of them, pieces of red silk are sent to the other family to ward off any inauspicious event. Formerly, it was most danger- ous for a white man to be in the camp of the Ute Indians if an Indian died, as the death was at once attributed to the malign in- fluence of the white man, and he might be put to death in conse- Quence. The flowers in pots, which are put in the room where a dead per- son lies, will afterward drop their leaves and flowers. People say they mourn the dead. (Belgium.) If one of the Otoe or Missouri Indians die, the ghost and evil spirits are supposed to be near, and an elderly Indian dances about the corpse, commanding the spirits to go to the land where the sun goes down. In Voden, about forty miles southeast of Monastir, Macedonia, a little girl was seen with a locked brass padlock on her apron band. Upon inquiry, her mother said that her only other child, a boy, had recently died, and for fear of losing his sister, also, she had fastened this padlock upon her daughter, and kept the key in her own pock- et, in order to keep death away. The Mohammedan doctors used to say that the angel of death, Az- rael, appeared to the eyes of the one whom he struck with the wand of death, so that he would know he was going to die; but when Mohammed saw the terror with which the beneficent angel was re- garded, he prayed earnestly that it should be no longer permitted, and since then men's souls have been removed without their beholding the angelic form of the spirit who takes them. As it is very unlucky in Turkey for a death to occur in the house, the greatest unkindness is shown particularly to slaves, who are usu- ally put out of the house to die. A very great proportion of the Cir- cassian slave girls die early with consumption, and a slave in a great harem, whose life is despaired of, is always sent out of the house to die. In this matter little mercy or tenderness is shown, and it is then, not while she is living in comfort and even luxury, that the poor halaik feels the full bitterness of her destiny. She is cast forth from the house where she has lived her brief life, not unhappily, to draw her last breath among strangers, a burden to be shaken off as quickly as possible. The old superstition that death is delayed till the ebb of the tide, is illustrated in Shakespeare. Mrs. Quickly, speaking of Falstaff's death, says: “”A made a finer end and went away, an it had been a any Christian child; 'a parted even just between twelve and one, even at the turning of the tide.” The same is also alluded to in Dicken's “David Copperfield.” Not to know and record the ex- act time of a death, is considered a great calamity by the Chinese. When a Sioux dies, they make his “ghost” out of a lock of his hair and a tin cup, and hang it up 190 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. in the lodge. If a stranger comes, he must drink out of the cup, and it would be very unlucky to lose the “ghost” out of the lodge. It is believed lucky by the Sioux Indians to offer, before smoking themselves, the pipe to the “ghost,” as if it were a real person, mean- while asking it to confer some favor upon the person offering. The natives of Australia think that death almost invariably comes by bewitchment, and they will ask the dead man carried on his bier who bewitched him. If he has died by witchcraft, he will make the bier move around; and if the sorcerer is present who killed him, a bough of a tree will bend down and touch him. Among the negroes of Africa, the corpse will cause the bearers to dash the coffin up against the house of the one who murdered him, or caused his death by witch- craft. A Natal woman, after the death of a near relative, goes to her father's, a bullock is slain for puri- fication purposes, and the gall rubbed on her arm. In the Orcades, when an engag- ed couple were separated by death, it was customary for the survivor to take the corpse and formally re- sume the troth plight, in the belief that if this was not done, he or she would be haunted by the ghost of the departed, if a new lover were chosen. No spirit can depart in peace if the foliage of the sallow is near. To perform any labor for ten days after the burial of a relative, is believed by the Jews to bring bad luck. It is believed that if a relative of a dead Yukon Indian seeks birds’ eggs on the overhanging cliffs for a year, he will surely slip and be dashed to pieces. - Indians believe that the smoke of the sacrfice is consumed by the dead. For the same reason, death and kindred subjects, are seldom mentioned, and the names of the departed pass the lips under no cir- CunlStanceS. To have an axe used in an Indi- an village during five days after a death, is very ominous. For a woman in the village to sew for four days after the death of a warrior, is reckoned ominous. The Treton Sioux never use old burial scaffolds or any of the wood connected with them, for fear that some evil consequences will follow. The Navajo Indians fear even to mention the name of anyone de- ceased for that would give offence to the devil, When a person dies, the water with which the body is washed must be set aside, and when the funeral starts to leave the house it must be dashed after the hearse, otherwise the “duppy” (the dead person's ghost) will haunt you. (Jamaica.) In Yorkshire, the bees require a taste of everything served at the funeral feast, else they will desert their hives and cause trouble to the family. In Armenia, on the eighth day after a death, the relatives assemble at the grave, and taking portions of earth from it, drop them down each other's backs, between the clothing and the flesh, believing that the parents, sisters, brothers, wives, or children may thus obtain the re- mainder of the life which the dead was not permitted to enjoy FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. I9I When a person dies in Bulgaria, all the pots, pans, and kettles in the house must be turned upside down, else the spirit of the dead will enter and reside in them, and cause much trouble in the future. The Greeks believe that it is un- lucky to die excommunicated, for their bodies will never dissolve un- til the devil's spirits are in some manner taken out of the body. One who dies impenitant is also looked upon with awe and mistrust, for his body, too, will never moulder away. At Monastir, Macedonia, the doors of paradise are believed to be open to all who die between Easter and the day of Pentecost. In India, it is believed that the dead can be resuscitated by chang- ing the position of two blocks at each end of the couch. The natives of the Isle of Man tell you that before any person dies, the procession of the funeral is acted by a sort of beings which, for that end, render themselves vis- ible. It is told of several people that, as they have been passing the road, one of these funerals has come behnd them, and even laid the bier on their shoulders, as though to assist the bearers. One person, who assured to have been served so, said that the flesh of his shoulder had been very much bruised, and was black for many weeks after. There are few or none of them who pretend not to have seen or heard these imag- inary obsequies. Lord Teignmouth, when in the Isle of Man in 1835, was informed that persons walking in the neigh- borhood of a churchyard some- times found themselves entangled in a crowd, which suddenly van- ished, a sign that forboded a funer- al. It was supposed that when the funeral hymri was sung in a low key, it was a sign of another death. Queen Elizabeth always shud- dered when death was announced in her presence. It is unlucky for anyone to sleep in the house of the dying. In India, it is thought lucky to die on a bed of dāb grass. Every person has his or her light in heaven, which, when he or she dies, goes out. Heretics are not allowed in the homes of Catholics when a mem- ber of the family is dying, as they are believed to make the death- struggle longer and harder to bear. If a sick child is to die, the church lamb is seen to dance upon the threshold of the house. (Wales.) If a mother, when she loses her infant, will put some of her milk at the door of the mosque, it will dry up. (Persia.) - A mother should not follow the body of her first dead child, else all her children will die. (Persia.) When a mother dies, leaving a young babe, it must be passed over the coffin in which its mother is lying, or else it will die also. (British Guiana.) In the villages around Oporto, Portugal, it is the custom to ring joy-bells when a baby dies, and the people always speak of its death as something to be grateful for, to die in purity and innocence. If a sick man's neighbor dies, the friends of the sick man measure him from head to foot and put the thread in the dead man’s shroud, so that death should pass from the living man into the dead one. (Persia.) I92 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. The Rabbis say that there are three drops of gall on the sword of death; one drops in the mouth of the man who dies; from the second the pallor of death is diffused; from the third the corpse is made to turn into dust. The American Indians believe that to die in battle is much more lucky than to die a natural death, because a warrior fares better in the next world. It is thought in some parts of Greece that if the body does not dissolve in 40 days, its spirit knocks at people’s doors and calls them by name, and whoever answers, will die in a day or two. In Macedonia, when a person dies, boiled wheat is distributed among his or her relatives and friends, so that the soul of the de- parted may never hunger. No rice is cooked on the 42nd day after the death of a parent in China, but must be bought else- where, else the worst of luck would attend the family. No meat must be eaten for three days after a death in the house. (Greek.) In the Mohammedan mythology, the angel of death, Azrael, is im- measurable in height, insomuch that the space between his eyes equals a 70,000 days’ journey. MOURNING. Never put on mourning for any- one before you are forty years old; if you do you will have to wear black clothes until the roses have gone from your cheeks, and the lustre from your eyes. When going into mourning, it is lucky to give away your colored dresses. Ancient superstition says not to wear mourning beyond the second year, or you will have cause to rue it. If your thread breaks while mak- ing mourning wear, it is a sign of a wedding in your own family. To try on anyone's mourning garments, is a sign of death. (Ne- gro.) Ornaments of gold should never be worn during the first period of mourning, as it would bring bad luck. The Egyptians’ color of mourn- ing is yellow, to show that, as herbs and leaves, when faded, are yellow and dead, so is the end of human life and hope. Oddly enough, far away in another part of the world, the New Haven fisherwomen have chosen yellow as their color of mourning. Mourning gloves should always be of cotton, or one funeral will fol- low another until your home is empty. The Syrians, Armenians, and other Eastern nations, use sky- blue as the color of their mourning, as a sign that their friends have gone to the beautiful places beyond the sky. Arabian women who have to go. into mourning, stain their hands and feet with indigo for eight days, and during that time they will not drink any milk, on the ground that its white hue does not har- monize with their mental gloom. In the Salish tribe, after the death of husband or wife, the sur- vivor paints his or her legs and blanket red, and does not eat for three days. Guatemalian widows paint their bodies yellow; all for good luck to º % % %% % º % º WN F *T 2-|- E. º -- - º º \\ º * | N º - - º ſ // Suicide as a Means of Revenge in China. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. I93 themselves, and in mourning for the dead. The Micmacs paint themselves black when their friends die. The Australians use white for mourning, and when a near rela- tive dies they plaster their fore- heads, the tips of their noses and the lower orbits of their eyes, with pipe clay. This is done to prevent death from thinking of them, smelling them out or seeing them. Howitt says of the Dieri, a tribe in Central Australia, that widows and widowers paint their faces with white clay, and are not allowed to utter a word until it is all worn off. They will not hasten this by scrap- ing it off, as that would be a bad omen. During the time of this prohibition, they communicate by gestures. After a death in Nebraska, the Indian children had their faces blackened for three months, and were only allowed one meal a day. This would cause the child to dream of coming events, and pro- phesy what was about to come to pass in the future. In the north of England, in for- mer times, tears were painted on doors and shutters, to show the rel- atives’ sorrow for death; the tears being represented by little white dabs on a black background. The Sac Indians are particular in their demonstrations of grief for departed friends. They make in- cisions in their arms, legs, and other parts of the body, not, as one would suppose, for mortification or to create a pain, which shall, by di- viding their attention, take it from their sorrow, but from a belief that their grief is internal, and that the only way of dispelling it is to give it a vent, through which to escape. It was a custom in olden times, and is still among some uncivilized people, for mourners to mutilate their bodies or inflict wounds and tortures upon themselves, in dem- onstration of their grief for the dead. The Jews were forbidden to do so; we read in Leviticus xix, 28: “Ye shall not make any cut- tings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you.” In some countries existed the superstition that tears were effica- cious for procuring rest and par- don for the dead. Thus, in a funer- al oration of St. Ambrose, we find the passage: “The poor also shed their tears, precious and fruitful tears, that washed away the sins of the deceased. They let floods of redeeming tears.” In Korea, it would be very un- lucky to neglect any of the cere- monies due the dead, as ancestor- worship is a ruling power in their destinies. The corpse must be placed in a very thick wooden cof- fin and preserved many months in a room especially prepared and or- namented for this purpose. It is proper to weep only in the death chamber, but this must be done three or four times a day. The mourner must be clad in grey, ragged and filthy garments, carry a table of viands into the room and weep and wail so that the neigh- bors can hear, else he will neither be lucky nor respected. For some people to wear mourn- ing is said to be very unhealthy. Some physicians will not permit their patients to wear it. It is unlucky to weep for the dead, as it will make them uncom- fortable in the other world. In the Western Isles, it is thought to be very unlucky to cry for the dead until three hours have I94 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. passed by, as the wail of the mourners will awaken the dogs, who are waiting to devour the Souls of men, before they can reach the throne of God. On the islands of the Channel, it is forbidden to cry for the dead, un- til three hours have passed by, lest the wail of the mourners should awaken the dogs who are waiting to devour the souls of men, before they can reach the throne of God. A widower weeping profusely on the death of his wife, will remain a widower but a short time. It is a sin to weep for the dead after the grass has grown over them, as every tear brings a pang to them. There is a legend of a little child, who returned to its distracted mother and told her if she did not stop weeping, it would never get out of its grave. In Turkey, as soon as the breath is out of a man's body, all the fe- males in the neighborhood resort to the house and howl for a quarter of an hour at least, to drive away the evil spirits, who are trying to take the soul to their realm. It is the custom of mourners in Oriental countries to wipe the tears away with a piece of cotton. This cotton, when used by the priest, will cure certain diseases, by sim- ply rubbing it on the person af- flicted. If two who are in mourning, fall in love with each other, it is an evil O111611. If you kiss a friend through a mourning veil, you will see him or her in mourning soon. If you put on the hat or bonnet of one in mourning, you will be in mourning yourself before the year is out. Never take as a present any article of mourning, as for instance, a black-bordered handkerchief, or a jet pin. If you do, fate will quickly force you to wear them to a funeral of one dear to you. It is not good to use perfume when going to a wake or visiting the dead; and when you are leav- ing the party, never say “good- night.” (British Guiana.) It is unlucky to keep black- edged paper in the house, unless a death has occurred. If, while taking a walk, you pass several people dressed in mourn- ing, it is a sign that a wedding will soon take place. When you lay off mourning, give all your black clothes away (if anyone will have the temerity to accept them), for if you save them for the next funeral, you will have use for them right along. Once in mourning, it is very hard to get Out. If you put on blue first, after mourning, you will stay out of mourning several years. If you put on red first, you will soon be in mourning again. The Irish believe that if they mourn over a corpse until two hours after death, the voices of the mourners might recall the soul and the pangs of the second death would then be greater. At death, it benefits the departed very much to have as many people shave their heads and beards in their honor as possible. (India.) If you lose your wife, the young lady who puts the mourning band on your hat will be your second wife. (Jamaica.) FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. I95 If a German Jewess, who is in mourning for her husband, tears her head-dress, it is a sign that she will remain a widow. Bad luck for a man in mourning to let the sun's beams fall on his head. (Japan.) Excessive sorrow for Osmanli children is considered sinful, as it prevents them from enjoying para- dise. It is, however, a meritorous action to mourn for lost parents, as it helps you and them, too. If the lamp that is placed at the death-bed's head in a Jewish home, should go out within the week of mourning, it would be considered a very bad omen. For a person in deep mourning to cook food in their own house, for eight days after the funeral, is thought to be unlucky in Greece. PALL AND PALL BEARERS. If, by mistake, the pall is laid over the coffin wrong side out, an- other person in the house will die S001), To be a pallbearer signifies mar- riage of yourself or of one of your family. Among Osmanli people it is a lucky thing to be a pallbearer, as great future benefit accrues to one. You carry your sins to death. If three brothers act as pall- bearers, one is sure to die before the year is out. It is an ill omen to keep the gloves which you have worn as a pallbearer. \ SOUNDS AND NOISEs. The little insect which makes that weird, ticking noise at night, called in England the “Death Watch,” has a Japanese relative, named by the people, “Bim bo mushi,” or the “Poverty Insect.” It is said to be the servant of Bim- bogami, the god of poverty, and its ticking in a house is believed to signal the presence of that most unwelcome deity. But they can rid themselves of him by placing a coin in a bambo bellows stick and throwing it into a stream “The solemn death-watch clicks the hour of death.” (Tuscany.) Gay says, in one of his pastorals: “When Blangelind expired The solemn death-watch clicked the hour she died.” In Havana, invisible bells are said to ring when a friend is going to die. They are heard by the nearest and dearest. If a West Country woman in England, has a son in America, and hears three knocks at her door, it is a sign that her son is dead. If a man hears a noise like the stroke of a club upon a table, he will either die himself or lose a very near friend. A sound of a switch striking the house is a warning that a relative is dying. If the sounds of dripping water are heard on a clear night, it is a sign of death. To hear the murmur of many voices around a house is a fore- runner of death. Sometimes at the close of day there may be heard high in the air sounds like the cries of a pack of hounds in full chase. It is a group I96 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. of children's souls condemned to wander ceaselessly because they died without baptism. In Welsh villages, the people hear the “Cyhyraeth" before the death of such as those who are of strayed mind or who have long been ill, and it always comes when there is an epidemic about to visit the neighborhood. When sounds occurred in the house at night that sounded like carpenters’ work, it meant that some one in the house was to die, and as the coffin was always made at home, it meant that a coffin would soon be needed. (Western Norway.) “Seemed in mine ear a death-knell rung, Say, what doth this portend? The death of a dear friend.” (Scott’s Marmion.) If you hear the furniture give a loud crack, or there comes a strong clap on the door, some one of your family has just died. (Belgium.) SUICIDE. There is a German tradition that suicides, by hanging themselves, raise a storm. If someone hangs himself, there will be a windstorm. (Bohemia.) Suicides haunt the place where they committed the act. (Bo- hemia.) Suicides were supposed to be as light as a feather when dragged up hill, but down hill as much as a team of horses could draw. If a person tries to commit sui- cide, and does not succeed, it is a sign that he will not die a natural death. A Hindu belief is that anyone who meets a suicidal, violent or ac- cidental death, is doomed to perdi- tion. If a Chinaman kills himself, the Chinese think that he will appear in hell with the knife, or whatever instrument he killed himself with. If a Sioux Indian hangs himself on a large tree, the tree will forever have to be dragged after the sui- cide. It is unlucky to remove the body of one who kills himself by the way of the door. (Scotch.) If a Chinaman desires the death of an enemy, he goes and hangs himself upon the enemy's door. It is considered a certain way of kill- ing not only the enemy, but all his family. In many places it is considered unlucky to make a coffin for a sui- cide, while in Scotland a supersti- tion prevails that it portends good luck. The boundary where a suicide is buried, will be struck three times by lightning. It is lucky to touch someone who has committed suicide. To impair the body in suicide by cutting the throat, adds to the mis- ery or detracts from the happiness of the soul. (China.) The body of a suicide will not decay, until the time comes when he would have died naturally. The Human Body and Mind and Their Functions. CHAPTER IV. ABDOMEN, “To see one's belly large and great, Predicts a fair and large estate.” AGE. It is said that no man is the same man after seven years. Ev- ery particle of his body has been changed, and in another seven years will be changed again. Mod- ern physiologists make the time much shorter. It is the soul inform- ing the body, which keeps it look- ing like the same individual. A modern philosopher has ap- portioned man's full extreme of life as follows: Seven years in childhood's sport or play . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Seven years in school from day to day . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Seven years at trade or college life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Seven years to find a place and wife . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Seven years to pleasures follies given . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 . Seven years to business hardly driven . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ‘. . 42 Seven years for some a wild- goose chase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 Seven years for wealth—a bootless race . . . . . . . . . . . 56 Seven years for hoarding for your heir . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 Seven years in weakness spent and care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 Then die, and go, you know not where. The signs of long life and health are strong teeth, a sanguine tem- perament, middle size, large, deep, and ruddy lines in the hands, stoop- ing shoulders, full chest, firm flesh, clear complexion, slow growth, wide ears and large eyelids. Short life may be inferred from a thick tongue, the appearance of grinders before the age of puberty, thin, straggling and uneven teeth, confused lines in the hands, and quick but small growth. To know if you are long-lived, take a piece of string and stretch it from the outside corner of one eye around the back of your head to the outside corner of the other eye. It should pass over the most promi- nent place on the back of the head. Then measure the distance between this string and your earbole. If such distance is an inch or over, you will live to a good old age. That is, unless some accident hap- pens to you. If it is three-quarters of an inch, you stand a fair chance to be old, though your hold upon life is not very strong. A serious sickness might carry you off. If but half an inch, you will very likely die young. 198 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. Signs of Old Age Deep and plain lines in the palm of the hand. Fondness of bitter herbs and dis- like of alcohol. When the hands and feet are pink and fat. When the lips are always red. Strong teeth, long or large muscles, wide ears and eyelids. Slow growth, sanguine tempera- ment, full chest and firm flesh. The person who sits longest at the table will live the longest. It is unlucky to tell your exact age. Tell it a year older or a year younger for luck. It is unlucky to be informed of the age of the chief's house. (Mad- agascar.) He who does not become hand- some before twenty, strong before thirty, wise before forty, rich be- fore fifty, “on him hops and malt are lost,” meaning that he is an unlucky good-for-nothing. (Ger- man.) To die at the age of Christ, thir- ty-three, is an especial favor of heaven, and such persons are not easily damned. (Belgium.) The Curious Significance of the Age 56. Hugh Capet, king of France, died at 56; born 940. Henry VIII., king of England, died at 56; born 1491. Henry IV., emperor of Germany, died at 56; born 1050. Frederick, first king of Prussia, died at 56; born 1657. Nicholo Paginini, world renown- ed violinist, died at 56; born 1748. Alexander Pope, English poet, died at 56; born 1688. George Sala, English Orientalist, died at 56; born 1680. Dante, Italian poet, died at 56; born 1265. John Hancock, American states- man, died at 56; born 1757. Maria Louisa,empress of France, died at 56; born 1791. Phillip Massinger, English dra- matist, died at 56; born 1584. Saladin, Sultan of Egypt and Syria, died at 56; born 1137. Robert Stevenson, English engi- neer, died at 56; born 1803. Helvetius, French philosopher, died at 56; born 1715. Henry II., first of the Planta- genets, died at 56; born 1133. Charles Kingsley, English au- thor, died at 56; born 1819. Juan Prim, Spanish general, died at 56; born 1814. - Julius Caesar, Roman general, died at 56; born 100 B. C. The elder Pliny, Roman author, died at 56; born 23 B. C. Claudius II., Roman emperor, died at 56; born 214 B. C. Henry Knox, American general, died at 56; born 1750. Thomas Mifflin, American patri- ot, died at 56; born 1744. Van Martin Troup, Dutch ad- miral, died at 56; born 1597. Abraham Lincoln, died at 56; born 1809. Barry O’Meara, Irish surgeon, at St. Helena, died at 56; born 1780. Frederick Marryat, English nav- al officer, died at 56; born 1792. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. I99 Scipio Emilianus Africanus, Ro- man general, died at 56; born 185 B, C. Robert Dudley, Earl of Leices- ter, died at 56; born 1532. George Whitfield, died at 56; born 1714. Johann Spurzheim, German phrenologist, died at 56; born 1776. Frederick II., emperor of Ger- many, died at 56; born 1194. Many other famous names from every age and every walk in life could be given to strengthen the belief that great genius or great station or great character usually come to a stand-still at this fatal age. When the two figures that tell One's age are alike, as 22, or 33, or 44, it is a sign of some great change. (Nashua, N. H.) He who lives to the age of 35 will probably live on to be 70. There are more who die before the age of 35, than after. It was said of Augustus Caesar that he was glad and hoped he would live long because he had passed his 63d year. He died 14 A. D., aged 71. There are two years, the seventh and the ninth, that commonly bring greatchanges and sometimes dangers to a man. These multiplied are the worst and form one of the climacteric years and the most dangerous to pass. The superstition about “climacter- ics” were very strong and general in the middle ages. A “climacter- ic” is a critical period in human life or a period in which some great change is supposed to take place in the human constitution. 3, 7, 21, 49, 63, and 81, were supposed to be the critical years, and the “grand climacteric” was always the 63rd year. Death and disease was sup- posed to be more prevalent at 63 than at any other period, and many writers have taken the pains to col- lect statistics showing that there is twice as great risk of death and twice as much sickness at 63 as at 53. (Horace Welby’s “Mysteries of Life, Death, and Futurity.”) When the head of the family in China has reached 70 or 80 years of age, the coffin is frequently pur- chased, together with the grave clothes, to have them in readiness; but upon the coffin is placed a piece of red silk for good luck, probably to prolong the old people’s lives. In Korea, certain years in every person's life are considered “criti- cal,” and special care is taken of health, food, clothing, and ven- tures, the year being ended with a feast of joy, or what is more econ- omical, a sigh of relief. A horrible belief among some Albanian tribes is to the effect that when persons have lived to be more than 100 years old, their breath becomes poisonous to healthy people. Ogier, the Dane, one of the pal- adins of the Charlemagne era, was 100 years old when Morge, the fay, took him to the island of Avalon, hard by the terrestrial paradise, and gave him a ring that restored him to ripe manhood, a crown that made him forget his past life, and an introduction to King Arthur. The secret or miracle of rejuve- nation has ever played a prominent part in magic and folklore. The elixir of life was one of the mystical drugs which was eagerly sought by the alchemists of the middle ages. There are numerous legends among almost every nation of mir- 2OO ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. aculous springs in which old peo- ple, by taking a bath, would be re- stored to youth, or of mills where they could be ground to youths. The Greeks believed that the goddess Hebe had the power of re- storing youth and beauty to whom she chose. In the French fairy tale, “The Princess Fairstar,” we are told of the dancing water, which had such miraculous power, and which was obtained for Fairstar by Prince Chéry. Pliny tells us in his “Natural History” (xxxi., ii., 10), of the river Lybaris in Lucania, Italy, whose waters had the virtue of restoring vigor to the feeble and exhausted. Other famous rivers and fountains of this kind were the fountain of Bimini; the mythical fontaine de jouvence, which occurs in French folklore; the river of juvescence, at the foot of Mount Olympus, in Greece. Welsh legends tell of Vran, king of Britain, who had a caldron which restored to life whoever was put therein, but the revivified never recovered speech. A similar magi- cal caldron was owned, according to Greek mythology, by Medea, who could revive or rejuvenate any person or animal that she placed therein, by chanting certain incan- tations. Many of the ancients, accepting the Oriental traditions, and believ- ing in the immortality of the soul, saw no reason to doubt a literal in- terpretation of the passage in Gen- esis, which intimates that man might have become immortal had he partaken of the fruit of the “tree of life,” in the midst of the Garden of Eden. Hence it was evident that there was nothing in man's physical nature to prevent his liv- ing forever, provided he possessed the requisite knowledge. There- fore, the first object with the al- chemist was some material which would so exactly replace the waste of the system as to arrest the ap- proach of age; this accomplished, it was but a step further to the dis- covery of the “precious elixir" that conferred upon mortality “peren- nial youth.” Some are said to have succeeded. “One of the great lights of the Hermetic philosophy, Eugenius Philaethes (Thomas, Vaughn), born in 1612, is said by a writer of the year 1749, to be then living at Nuremberg, as the presi- dent of the “illuminated’ through- out the world.” 9 3 “Elixirvitae,” the elixir of life, is a drug prepared by the alchem- ists and magicians of the middle ages, after various recipes and with various mystic diabolic ceremonies, purported to ensure perpetual life and health. Legend tells that St. Leon be- came possessed of the elixir of life and of the power of transmuting base metals into gold, which, how- ever, only added to his misery of life. “He º has once the “Flower of the un,” The perfect ruby which we call elixir, by its virtue Can sºr honour, love, respect, Mong 116, Give safety, valor, yea, and victory, To whom he will. In eight and twenty days He'll make an old man of four score a child.” (Ben Jonson, The Alchemist.) The Brahmins brew a portion of mixed sulphur and quicksilver and drink it twice a month, so as to give themselves long life. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 2OI It was said in olden times that if a person could place a pinch of salt on the tongue and swallow it with- out wincing, he would live to a great age. When the gods feel old age ap- proaching, they regain youth by tasting of the apples which are kept in a box by Iduna, a goddess of the under world. (Norse Mythology.) Jamshid, king of the genii, was famous for a golden cup filled with the elixir of life. The cup was hid- den by the genii, but found when digging the foundations of Per- sepolis. Thomas Moore, in Para- dise and the Peri,” thus mentions it: “I know, too, where the genii hid The jewelled cup of their king Jamshid, With life's elixir sparkling high” But Omar Khayam, the Per- sian poet, who wrote more than 800 years ago, said: “Iram indeed is gone with all his rose, And Jamshid's seven-ringed cup where no one knows; But still a ruby gushes from the vine And many a garden by the water blows.” In the Ramapo Mountains, New Jersey, is the “fountain of perpetual youth,” which was discovered about fifty years ago by Dr. Smith, who has bathed in it every day since then, and is now a hundred and twenty-six years old. (Every- body's Magazine, September, 1899.) There are people in Ireland call- ed “The Untiring Ones,” because they never seem to die and never get too old. They have fallen un- der enchantment, and cannot get out from it until something hap- pens to release them. Such a mor- tal was born long ago at a village in the South. She lay asleep in the cradle, and her mother sat by rock- ing her when a woman of the “she” (fairies) came in and said that the child was chosen to be the bride of the prince of the dim kingdom, but that as it would never do for his wife to grow old and die while he was still in the first ardour of his love, she would be gifted with a fairy life. The mother was to take the glowing log out of the fire and bury it in the garden, and her child would live as long as the log remained unconsumed. So she lived seven hundred years as the prince's bride, he coming every night to visit her, and then she had another husband, and lived seven hundred years with him, for even the prince got tired and died, but she was untired; and so she lived until she had lived seven hundred years with each of seven husbands. At last one day the priest of the parish called on her and told her she was a scandal to the whole neighborhood, with her seven hus- bands and her untiring life. She was very sorry, she said, but could not help it. Then she told him of the log. He straightway dug it up and burned it, and she died and was buried like a Christian and ev- erybody was well pleased. Such a mortal, too, was Clooth-na-bare, who went all over the world seek- ing a lake deep enough to drown her fairy life, of which she had grown weary. She leaped from hill to lake and lake to hill, setting up a cairn of stone wherever her feet alighted, until at last she found the deepest water in the world in little Lough Ia, on the top of the bird’s mountain at Sligo. And many are the others to whom the great winds came and took them up into themselves. (Yeats, “The Celtic Twilight.”) 2O2 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. ANGER. If a person is very angry, let him stop, count four, sit down, laugh, and repeat: “My good angel, I ask thee, To make this demon fly from me.” By this time his anger will be abat- ed. If your husband is cross, put a piece of chip in the bottom of his shoe, and his temper will turn. ANKLES. It is said that thin ankles indicate a tidy housekeeper. ARM. Hairy arms are a sign that you will be rich and successful in busi- 116SS, If your arm gets sore in spring, it is a sign of ill success in business. You may be tired, abstracted, or reflective, nevertheless, carefully ab- stain from standing with your arms crossed, for to do so is to tie up your good fortune in your des- tiny. (Turkey.) BEARD, There is a great deal of charac- ter in a moustache. As the form of the upper lip and the regions about it have largely to do with the char- acter, feelings of pride, self-reliance, manliness, vanity and other quali- ties, that give self-control, are con- nected with the moustache. When the moustache is ragged, flying about, there is little self-control. When it is straight and orderly, the reverse. Tendency to curl at outer ends, ambition, vanity and display. Curl running up, genial and fond of approbation. Curl running down, sedate mind. Good-natured men, in playing with the mous- tache, give it an upward curl, cross-grained and morose men give it a downward twist. A short, stubby moustache indicates a sport, or pugilist; a long, silky, sweeping one, a lady's man. Long, silken sidewhiskers always being stroked, a flat. To have your mustache cut off, is a sign that your eyes will be weak. For a woman to have a mustache is the sign that she will be the ruler of the family and will have many difficulties about her husband. If a hair in a man's mustache sticks out straight, it is said that he will quarrel with somebody. If a man with side-whiskers goes to a hotel, it is a sure thing that he will not be satisfied with his accom- modations. He is a rogue, whose whiskers are darker than his hair. Watch him! If someone pulls your beard, to awaken you, it is a sign of busi- ness losses. Men with long, pointed beards, who are constantly stroking them, cannot be trusted. They generally are among the most respectable, but underneath they are not relia- ble. If you wish to gain the favor of anyone, or get a favor from them, if you have a long beard, stroke it a while before you ask them. If a man with a very black beard stares at you, or distresses you in FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 2O3 any way, you will experience trou- ble from him. It is unlucky to have a red beard or red hair. “Beard of red, Of the devil bred.” If a man's beard is gray, and starts to turn back to its natural color, it is a sign that he will not live long. This is said never to fail. In the East, the beard is the mark of freedom and manhood; so it was very unlucky, and even ac- counted a shame, if one should lose hair or beard. It was also a sign that you would have to mourn. In Syria, and especially in the neighborhood of Aden, a beard is supposed to have a peculiar sacred- ness so that it is bad luck even to mention it. Therefore, if a grain of rice should fall on a man’s beard, and his neighbor wishes to tell him of it so it can be removed, he would not say, “Some rice has fallen on your beard,” that would be an ill omen; but he would say; “The ga- zelle is in the garden!” to which he would receive the reply: “We will hunt her with the five,” meaning, we will remove it with the hand. Mahomedans are very particular to bury the hairs which they comb from their beards and break them first, because the angels have charge of every hair, and if they make two of one, a new angel must come to protect it. Thus they are panoplied by a thousand unseen guardians. They used to wear pasteboard crosses over their beards at night, so that they might run no risk of rumpling them. The Chinese say that bearded men will never become beggars. In Russia it was the common be- lief that beardless men were soul- less, and that a man who had his beard cut, could never enter heaven. The famous Rascolniki schismat- ics, a Russian sect of the Greek- Catholic church, had a peculiar superstition that the divine image dwelt in their beards. Shaving the beard should be done only on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. The other days are inauspicious. If a married lady has to shave, she will live to be a widow. BEAUTY AND UGLINESS. Drink hot liquor to make you pretty. If maids will take wild tansy and lay it in buttermilk for nine days, and then wash their faces in it, they will be fair ever after. “A Book of Notable Things” says that if you will make a powder of elder-flowers gathered on Mid- summer day, dry them, and use a spoonful thereof in a good draught of water morning and evening for the space of a month, it will make you young and handsome for a long time. The French used to wear black court-plaster on their faces, cut in different shapes. The position of each piece had some meaning, and they thought it also added to their beauty. If a person is very handsome, it is a sign that he will have one of the infectious diseases of childhood (as the measles) twice. (Massa- chusetts.) 2O4 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. A young maiden with ugly feat- ures is very apt to marry riches. “Carriage people” are generally homely. The Lord usually does not grant beauty and wealth to one person. There is a story of a spindle that fell so deeply in love with Coelia, the girl that spun, so great was her beauty, that it began to smoke, and fired, and was burned to ashes with its ardor. And when Coelia came into her bath, the water, which was cold, at once began to smoke with vapor, so eager and hot it became; while her looking-glass, unable to give up the image of so much lovli- ness, scattered into a thousand pieces with the effort to retain it. Death himself having sought her out, was unable to strike his dart, for he fell in love with her instead; and old Father Time, stopping to see what was the matter, forgot to go on, and that day the sun shone into the night, and the moon could not rise, and everything would have ceased, had not a serpent, stinging the old man’s foot, driven him for- ward with a bound. “I loved her not as others, soberly, But as a madman rageth, so did I.” A Thessalian wench had be- witched King Philip to dote on her, and had enforced his love by phil- ters; but when Olympia, the queen, saw the maid of an excellent beauty, well brought up, and quali- fied, “These,” quoth she, “are the love philters that have inveigled King Philip!” Plutarch records of Lucullus that he died of a philter and that Cleopatra, amongst other allurements, used philters to in- veigle Antony. But Lucretia brags in Aretine that she could do more than all philosophers, astrologers, alchemists, necromancers, witches, and the rest of the crew. “As for herbs and philters, I could never skill of them, the sole philter that ever I used was kissing and em- bracing, by which alone I made men rave like beasts stupified, and compelled them to worship me like an idol.” Rodophe was the fairest maid of her days in Egypt. She went to wash her and by chance, her maids meanwhile looking but carelessly to her clothes, an eagle stole away one of her shoes and laid it in Psammeticus, the king of Egypt's lap, at Memphis. He won- dered at the excellency of the shoe and the pretty foot, but more at the manner of bringing it, and he forthwith made proclamation that she who owned the shoe should come presently to court. The beau- tiful virgin came, and was forth- with married to the king. I say this was heroically done, and like a prince!” (Anatomy of Melancholy.) BIRTHMARK. A woman having a birthmark on her face or a scald or burn is born to misery and poverty. She will have great social ambition, without accomplishing much, and will be a false friend. A birthmark on or near the nose shows a person to be successful in all that he undertakes. A birthmark near one of the eyes signifies that a person is trust- worthy and of a quiet nature, but will meet with a terrible death. 2 birthmark on the right side of the forehead signifies that the per- son will come to great power and honor. A birthmark on the left side of the forehead signifies that the per- ‘. ; . * FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 2O5 son will be thwarted in his dearest desire. It is said that all Jews have a blood-mark on their breast. A birthmark over the heart is the sign of a bloody death. If a person has a scar from birth, it is because he or she was born under the planet Mars. Those born with a natural defect are said to be elf-marked. The Greeks believe that toma- toes, eaten by expectant mothers on St. Simon's day, will make birth-marks on the child. BITING. If you bite the inside of your cheek or tongue while talking, it is a sign that you are telling a story. If you bite your finger and some- one bites their tongue, it is a sign Someone is talking ill of you. (Folk- lore, Napier.) BLOOD, It is an old notion that the veins of aristocrats are of a deeper blue than those of inferior persons, hence the saying that blue blood is the sign of nobility, or aristocrats having blue blood. To have red blood was, in old times, a sign of courage, and to be pale, “with livers white as milk,” was to be a coward, a “milk-sop,” a “lily-livered boy.” Sir Toby, in “Twelfth Night,” makes the follow- ing pertinent speech: “For An- drew, if he were opened, and you find so much blood in his liver as will clog the foot of a flea, I’ll eat the rest of the anatomy!” The blood of a dead man, min- gled with chalk and rubbed on the forehead of a native, is believed by the Africans to give him all the vir- tues of the deceased. It is said that when blood is hard to wash out of anyone's clothes, it is a sign of a sulky disposition. The sight of blood fills a gypsy with great fear. The curious superstition about the unluckiness of letting blood, especially that of a king or person of high rank, fall on the ground, may also have some sacrificial meaning. We have a historical in- stance of this in the Isle of Man, for it is remembered to this day that when Iliam Dhone, William Christian, was shot at Hango Hill in 1662, blankets were spread where he stood, so that not one drop of his blood should touch the earth. It was formerly very generally believed that a drop of an infant's blood renews life. The custom is still common in many parts of Ireland of sprinkling the doorstep with the blood of a chicken on the death of a very young child, to draw into the blood the evil spirits from the too weak soul. Blood is a great gatherer of supernaturals. The blood of martyrs was con- sidered in early Christian times, a powerful talisman. If towers were smeared with martyrs’ blood, they would be safe against thunderbolts. Kings anointed in olden times their crown and regalia with some of 2O6 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF S WERs TITIONS. their own blood, to ward off dis- CaSC. The laws of Draco were written in blood, because every offense was punished by death. Compacts with the devil had to be signed with a quill dipped in the person's blood. In olden times, persons forming a secret society, opened a vein and let some of their blood drop in a cup, of which each member took a sip, swearing an oath of allegiance and fraternity, which was consid- ered binding unto death. Fre- quently two persons formed a blood Covenant, either by drinking or by transfusion of the veins, whereby they would become closer bound to each other than by natural brother- hood. Such rites prevail even to this day in many countries, civil- ized and uncivilized, and may be traced back to extreme antiquity. They are in the literature and cus- toms of the ancient Egyptians, and frequently alluded to in the Bible. Dr. H. Clay Trumbull, who has made a scientific examination of the subject, holds that its origin is in the universally dominative prim- itive conviction that the blood is the life; that the heart, as the blood-fountain, is the very soul of every personality; that blood-trans- fer is soul-transfer; that blood-shar- ing, human or divine-human, se- cures an interunion of natures; and that a union of the human nature with the divine is the highest ulti- mate attainment reached out after by the most primitive as well as by the most enlightened mind of hu- manity. With savage and barbar- ous peoples, the rite lies at the foundation of cannibalism; it is the motive of sacrifice, in which the an- imal is offered to the god as a sub- stitute for the human blood. In one form the drops of blood were ... a . put in wine or other draughts and drunken; then the wine was drunk- en without the actual presence of the blood; whence we have the use of wine in pledges of friendship and in marriage. Among the Jews it is symbolized in circumcision; among Christians in the use of wine in the sacraments. (Walsh, Popular Cus- toms.) It was a widespread belief that the Jews sacrificed Christian chil- dren in order to obtain their blood which was supposed to have been used in various rites; for instance, mixed with the dough of Passover- cakes, or dried and powdered, car- ried as a charm on one's person. It is an interesting fact that the idea of blood having efficacy to make atonement for sin, is a mark- ed feature in the sacrifices occas- ionally offered by the people of Madagascar, and also that the in- ner fat of the victim was regarded as in the Jewish ritual, as the most appropriate portion to be offered with the blood. In crossing many. streams certain rocks in the midst of the current are often seen smear- ed with fat, as a propitiatory offer- ing to the genius of the river. The upright stones fixed at the head of graves are anointed with blood and fat as an offering to the spirits of the ancestors of the family, even in the neighborhood of the capital. Many tombs are honored in this manner, as well as stones and pieces of rock, which are regarded as sacred, and the graves of the vazimba are similarly reverenced. In the empire of Burmah it is a matter of faith that nothing stable can be accomplished without pre- vious effusion of blood, and some miserable wretch usually has to pay FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. the penalty. If, for example, a new gate was built in a city, the first native peasant who passed under it was seized, killed, and buried on the threshold. Mussulmans to this day slay an animal to inaugurate any momentous enterprise. When the railway from Jerusalem to Jaffa was solemnly opened, the rails at the terminus of the Holy City were crimsoned with the blood of a sheep, slaughtered for the occasion. Among the mountain dwellers of the Basque provinces of Spain, ex- isted the superstition, and it is as- serted to be existing and secretly practiced to this day, that the blood of children is especially efficacious in strengthening the weak bodies of women. The Aral' will not touch blood, and thinks himself defiled if a drop even falls on his garments, hence butchers are considered by many Arab tribes, just like among the Chinese, almost in the light of criminals, and the trade of butchers is a very despised one. An excep- tion is made on the feast of the 22nd of May, when the fattest sheep of the village is killed, and the chief or sheikh dips his finger in the blood and traces a cross on each side of the doorway, to avert and counteract the malignant in- fluence of evil spirits. When Sir Richard Burton was at Zayla, East Africa, persons were pointed out to him as having the power to change themselves into hyenas, for the purpose of tasting human blood, of which they were especially fond. Such cases were not uncommon, and it was pretend- ed that such people could be told by the expression of their counte- Ilan CeS. BLUSHING. To blush when you meet a mar- ried person, is a sign that you are in love with that person's husband or wife. BODY. Corpulency is said to be a sign that the fairies were kindly treated at your birth. If a person suddenly fleshes up, it is a sign of wealth and dress. The Chinese consider stoutness a sign of ability. Fat men seldom commit crimes. A fat, portly person is a mascot, against all sort of ill. He who is lucky enough to trip up a very big man, will be lucky ever after. Honor follows in the footsteps of very great people, physically speaking. They are mascots. If two persons measure back to back on Sunday, it is a sign that the measure for a coffin of one of them will soon be taken. Measuring the height and cir- cumference of the body of an en- emy was believed by the Greeks to cause him to pine away and die. To measure height signifies that you will soon obtain what you at that moment desire. To measure one’s own height, will stop one’s growth. (Madagas- car.) Measuring your waist, as if for a dress, will bring bad luck. In the West Indies, to take a cane which has been used for 208 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. measuring a coffin, and then to measure yourself with it, is an omen of death. In old Rome, it was considered an evil omen to meet a pale and lean man. “A lean and hungry look,” was a certain omen of dis- favor with the emperor. If you begin to waste away in the wane of the moon, it is a sign that you will be poor. A person who sits high is said to have great vitality. Never step over the prostrate form of anyone lying down. It presages the death of one of the family. Anoint your body with chicory when you want any great favor; the person you ask it of cannot refuse you then. In anointing, in Biblical times, to omit the use of oil or perfumes on the head of a guest, was a sign of grief and mourning. It was un- lucky to anoint the body of the dead. It used to be thought that a man's body was made up of the four elements, and when illness came it was because one or the oth- er of these became more powerful than the rest, so as to unbalance one. Brutus said of Anthony: “His life was gentle, and the elements So mixed in him, that Nature might stand up And say to all the world, “This was a man!’” (Shakespeare.) By concentrating his mind upon the human body, as regards its re- lations to air and space, the ascetic acquires the power of freeing it from the law of gravitation. (Hin- du.) A great many Mandans believe that they have animals in their bodies. The left side of the body is thought by the Japanese to be the pure and fortunate side of a man, and the sacred straw-ropes are al- ways twisted to the left in conse- quence. The heart being on the left side may have given rise to this idea. It was formerly very generally believed, and is believed by many to this day, that those who are de- fective or deformed in figure, are marked by nature as evil, mischiev- ous, and of bad temper. Constant allusions are to be met with in lit- erature of the feeling of our fore- fathers about this. Even Bacon said: “Deformed persons are com- monly even with nature, for as na- ture hath done ill by them, so do they by nature, being void of nat- ural affection.” BONE. There is widespread reverence for and dread of the human bones, from the fact that there is an under- lying and far-reaching sentiment that the soul of man resides in his bones after death. This belief is at the root of many customs, cere- monies, charms and the like, that would otherwise be unintelligible. It is a very important branch of folklore and a few specimens of the hundred and one notions of the different peoples of the world are here gathered from an article by - Daniel G. Brinton, in the “Journal of American Folklore.” From the earliest times certain bones were used as amulets, and probably the most ancient fetish in existence is the thigh-bone of a FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 209 mammoth carried to their cavern loy the later cave-dwellers of Bel- gium, and now preserved in the Museum of Natural History in Brussels. The small bones of the carpus and tarsus were perforated and worn on the person as a charm, some specimens of which may be seen in Mr. Maxwell Sommerville's collections in the University of Pennsylvania. To this day, in the south of England, such efficacy is attributed to a small bone obtained from a pig's skull. This magical power of bones is a survival from early conditions, and is to-day par- alleled in the methods of the rain- makers of Southern Polynesia, who employ human bones to compel the clouds; and by the sorcerers of the Zulus, who by the same potent agencies, discover lost objects and advise prosperous ventures. The oracle of the shamans or na- tive priests of the Carib tribe was a human bone. They wrapped it carefully in cotton, and alleged that the soul of the deceased dwelt in it, and communicated to them their prophecies and spells. To injure an enemy, they would wrap up with this bone something belong- ing to him, believing that the magi- cal power of the bone could thus be directed against their foes—a close parallel to the horse's bone in the Egil Saga. It would not be difficult to par- allel in native American supersti- tions and myths pretty much all the folklore about bones which we may collect in the Old World. In the Popol Vuh, the sacred book of the Quiches of Guatemala, the dry bones of the four hundred brothers who became the stars of heaven are restored to life by the word of the hero-god, as were those in the valley by the command of the prophet Ezekiel. Grant that both are figurative narratives; yet both indicate the underlying and far-reaching sentiment that the most durable part of the body of man is the residence of his Soul after death. The writers of the Talmud not only recognized the bones as the casket of the soul, but had discov- ered which particular bone was its indestructible seat. They did not seek it anywhere near the pineal gland, as did with equal acumen the philosopher Descartes, but quite at the other end of the verte- bral column, in the ossicle at its lowest extremity, that called the Os coccygis, to which the learned Rabbis gave the name “the resur- rection bone.” This they believed could not be destroyed, and from it the individual should derive his second life. Yet among the ancient Hebrews, as among so many other nations where incineration did not obtain, a very sacred character attached to the bones of the dead. One of the most terrible curses which Jere- miah proclaims as from the Lord against the idolatrous people of Judah, is that their bones shall not be gathered or buried, but “shall be as dung upon the face of the earth;” and the chief of the trans- gressions of Moab for which the prophet Amos fulminates the male- diction of Jehovah, is “that he burned the bones of the king of Edom into lime.” Nothing is more familiar than some of its modern instances. Who of us has not taken his or her share in breaking the “pull-bone” or “wish-bone” of the domestic fowl at the dinner table? And how many young ladies must plead guilty to hanging it above the door that it may point out the first bach- 2IO ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. elor who enters as a suitor to their hands? Its efficacy in both these directions, as a grantor of wishes and an indicator of nuptials, is, I think, derived from its shape, which, like the horseshoe, simu- lates that of a new moon, and car- ries us back to the worship of As- tarte and Ostara, goddesses of fer- tility and reproduction. Finally, in connection with the curse involved in grinding the bones to dust, to which Dr. Brinton has referred, Professor Jastrow called attention to the custom of the Assyrian kings to expose the bones of their enemies to the light of day, as the most dire punishment to be inflicted on them. Thus As- surbanipal relates in his annals (V. Rawlinson, i, 70), how he opened the graves of the kings of Elam and carried their bones to Assyria. Sennacherib (I. Rawl. 43, 8) speaks of having taken the bones of some of his enemies out of their resting places, and incidentally, we learn from a passage in another inscrip- tion of the king, with what horror the Assyrians regarded the thought of having the bones of the dead “held up to the sunlight.” The fixed belief that a man con- tinued to live in his bones after death, is abundantly shown in the Old Testament, and in the Talmud- ic inscriptions. Thus, Elisha, dur- ing his life, was said to restore the dead son of the Shunammite wom- an to life by stretching himself upon the corpse, efficacy going out of his bones to the dead body (ii. Kings, ii, 32-37); and the dry bones of Elisha, when touched by the corpse of the Moabite soldier, were still so full of his miraculous indi- viduality that the corpse revived and stood up on its feet. (II Kings, 13-21.) In various parts of Africa and America, the skulls of ancestors were preserved and honored with superstitious reverence; for in them was supposed to reside the depart- ed spirit. They were also supposed to retain some flash of their ancient wit, and at least to be of potency as charms and talismans. This power extended in earlier folklore, classical and Teutonic, to the skulls of lower animals. A widow in the Andaman islands will carry the skull of her deceased husband on her shoulder until she marries again, when it is thrown ignominiously on the ash-heap. The word “bon-fire,” comes from the original “bone-fire,” in which bones were burned as symbolic of a human sacrifice, which in the ear- lier ages was common in the wor- ship of the gods and goddesses. They were celebrated on midsum- mer night and the summer solstice. The bone in the fire was something more than a symbol. Its presence grew out of and illustrates the deepest and most remarkable phase of osteologic folklore. The notion was almost universal in primitive mythology and modern supersti- tion that the immaterial part of creatures, their indestructible ele- ment or soul, is connected with or resident in the bones. It has always been believed by some that the personality of a human being clung to the bones, and so a skeleton has been regarded with terror more on that account than on its uncouth appearance. In some parts of Europe, as in the Netherlands, it is still a popular belief that if a person takes a hu- man bone home with him from the grave-yard, the dead man to whom FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 2II it belonged will torment him until he returns it. The mysterious potency which was held to reside in human bones led to their extended use in medi- cine. As late as the last century, pulverized portions of the human skull were administered in various diseases. Among other things, bones were held to be intoxicants. John Aubrey (born in Wiltshire, England, 1626, antiquary and au- thor of “Miscellanies,” a collection of ghost-stories and tales), writes that “cunning Alewives do mix the ashes of dead men's bones in their ale to make it intoxicating,” and So widespread was this superstition that a statute was formally passed in Ireland, forbidding the custom. The magical virtue, supposed to reside in bones, is most prominent- ly illustrated in the belief in the effi- cacy of the Saint's bones, so widely prevalent in the early Christian church, and also in the Roman Catholic church as it exists to-day. In the eighth century it was so general a belief that the Synod of Nicaea (787) commanded that no church should be consecrated which was not in possession of such a relic, under penalty of excom- munication. John Calvin wrote a treatise de- claring that great profit might come to all Christendom, if there was a careful register kept of all the saints’ bones and relics, which showed that the great advocate of eternal pain was not without his lit- tle weaknesses of superstition. All the New Zealand gods and idols are painted red. When a per- son dies, his house is so painted and the scraped bones of the dead chiefs are also painted a bright red and wrapped in a red-stained mat and placed in a box, painted red, in a red grave over which is erected a red post, so that the spirits are kept away from the body. In Scotland it is said that if a limb is amputated the surgeon should give a toe or finger bone to the patient, to be worn on the same side, as this will keep away those sympathetic pains that run from the decaying member to the origi- nal body. Amulets made from murdered men's bones are regarded by the Su- perstitious of Spain and other coun- tries as having much greater effica- cy than those of a man who died a natural death. “And it came to pass as they were burying a man that, behold! they espied a band of men; and they cast the man into the sepul- cher of Elisha: and when the man was let down and touched the bones of Elisha he revived and stood up on his feet.” To handle human bones is bad luck for seven days. At Cape La Hune exists the be- lief that dead men's bones will bleed if taken out of a cave where they are buried, and that the blood will stain the rocks so that no wind or weather can blot it out. Luz is a name given by the old Jewish Rabbins to an imaginary lit- tle bone which they believed to ex- ist at the base of the spinal column and to be incapable of destruction. To its ever-living power, fermented by a kind of dew from Heaven they ascribed the resurrection of the dead. “Hadrian (whose bones may they be ground and his name blot- ted out!) asked R. Joshua Ben 212 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. Hananiah, “How doth a man re- vive again in the world to come?’ He answered and said, “From luz in the back-bone.’ Saith he to him, ‘Demonstrate this to me!’ Then he took luz, a little bone, out of the back-bone, and put it in water and it was not steeped; he put it in the fire and it was not burned; he brought it to the mill and that could not grind it; he laid it on the anvil and knocked it with a ham- mer, but the anvil was cleft and the hammer broken.” BOSOM, If a woman has a large bust, she will, if married, lose her husband. If a woman’s breasts are far apart, it is a sign that when she marries, she will live across a stream from her family. When a Dakota mother feels a pain in her breast, she thinks her dead children are talking of her. BRAIN. In ancient times it was thought that the brain was the seat of the soul. This idea is mentioned by Prince Henry who, speaking of King John, said: “His pure brain Which some suppose the soul's frail dwelling house, Doth by the idle comments that it makes, Foretell the ending of mortality.” (Shakespeare.) If you are born with a brain within a brain, you can cure every kind of misery. . A secret is never safe out of your own brain. If you cannot keep it yourself, how do you expect other people will? BREATH. The breath has been ever known to have great importance in the healing and the giving of disease, especially deep-rooted diseases. Pure virgins and young children were supposed to be able to free persons from disease with their breath, and more with their blood. History supplies us with many re- markable instances of recovery to health by the person being breath- ed upon. Pliny recommends breathing upon the forehead. Gal- en reckons among the most certain outward remedies for bodily weak- ness, young persons who were laid on the bed, so as to cover the body of the sufferer. Hyginus was also of the same opinion, as well as Vir- gil. Rudolph of Hapsburg, when very old and decrepit, was accus- tomed to kiss in the presence of their relations, the daughters and wives of princely, ducal and noble personages, and to have derived strength and renovation from their breath, and lived to a great age. The Emperor Frederick Barbaros- sa, near the end of his life, was ad- vised by a Jewish physician to have young and healthy boys laid across his stomach, instead of using fo- mentations. Johannes Damascenus relates that for a lameness or gout nothing better could be applied than a young girl, to the affected part. The story of Luc. Clodius Her- mippus is well known, who reached a very great age by being continu- ally breathed upon by young girls. Kohausen records an inscription which was discovered at Rome by FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 213 an antiquary by the name of Go- mar. It was cut in marble, and runs as follows: “To Aesculapius and Health, this is erected by L. Clodius Hermippus, who by the breath of young girls, lived 115 years and 5 days, at which phys- icians were no little surprised. Successive generations! Lead such a life.” If you blow your breath upon anyone's face, the person will be- come freckled. For short breath, hold your left thumb with your right hand. If you breath smells of violets, you have kidney trouble. Abdalmalek, son of Marvan, who was the fifth caliph of the Ommia- des, and lived toward the end of the seventh century, was popularly called “Abulzebab,” because his breath was said to be so offensive that it killed the very flies that set- tled on his lips. CHARACTER. (Other indications of character will be found under the different parts of the body.) A good character may be told by a thin skin, middle stature, bright blue eyes, fair complexion, straight and rather strong hair, the eye- brows near but not joined, modera- tion in mirth, an open, cheerful countenance, and the temples a lit- tle concave. Fortitude is promised by a wide mouth, a sonorous voice, grave, slow and always equal, upright posture, large eyes pretty open and steadfast, the hair high above the forehead, the head much com- pressed or flattened, the forehead square and high, the extremities large and robust, the neck firm, 'though not fleshy, a large, corpu- lent chest, and brown complexion. Melancholy is denoted by a wrinkled countenance, dejected eyes, meeting eyebrows, slow pace, fixed look and deliberate respira- tion. An amorous disposition may be known by a fair, slender face, a re- dundancy of hair, rough temples, moist, shining eyes, wide nostrils, narrow shoulders, hairy hands and arms, and well shaped legs. Gaiety attends a serene, open forehead, rosy, agreeable counte- nance, a sweet, musical voice, an agile body and soft flesh. Envy appears with a wrinkled forehead, frowning, dejected and squinting look, a pale, melancholy countenance and a dry, rough skin. Boldness is characterized by a prominent mouth, rugged appear- ance, rough forehead, arched eye- brows, large nostrils and teeth, short neck, great arms, ample chest square shoulders, and a forward COuntenance. Prudence is generally distin- guished by a head that is flat on both sides, a broad, square fore- head, a little concave in the middle, a soft voice, a large chest, thin hair, light eyes, large ears, and an aqui- line nose. The eyes may be either hazel, blue or light brown. Irascibility and choleric disposi- tion is accompanied by an erect posture, a clear skin, a solemn voice, open nostrils, moist temples, displaying superficial veins, thick 2I4 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. neck, equal use of both hands, quick pace, blood-shot eyes, and large, unequal, ill-arranged teeth. Timorousness resides where we find a concave neck, pale complex- ion, weak winking eyes, soft hair, smooth, plump chest, and a shrill, tremulous voice. *º º Signs of an Ill-natured Person, Form of the body meagre and lean. Forehead cloudy and sullen. Eye cast down and malicious. A nimble tongue. A short, quick un- even pace. A secret murmuring to one's self as one walks. Physiognomical Signs of a Good Genius. A straight, erect body, neither over-tall nor short, between fat and thin, the flesh naturally soft, the skin neither soft nor rough, but a medium between; the complexion white, verging to blush of redness; the hair between hard and soft, usually of a brown color; the head and face of a moderate size; the forehead rather high; the eyes manly, big and clear, of a blue or hazel color; the aspect mild and humane; the teeth so mixed that some are broad and some are nar- row; a subtle tongue, and the voice between intense and remiss; the neck comely and smooth; the chan- nel-bone of the throat appearing and moving; the back and ribs not over-fleshy; the shoulders plain and slender; the hands indifferently long and smooth; the fingers long, smooth, and equally distant; the nails white, mixed with red, and shining; and the carriage of the body erect in walking. Signs of a Choleric Disposition. 1. The habit of the body hot in touch, dry, lean, hard and hairy. 2. The color of the face yellow. 3. A natural dryness of the mouth and tongue. 4. The thirst great and frequent. 5. Activity and inquietude of the body. 6. The pulse hard, swift, and often beating. 7. The spittle bitter. 8. The dreams are mostly of yellow things—of brawls, of fights, and quarrels. Signs of a Sanguine Constitu- tion. 1. The habit of the body hot in touch, fleshy, soft and hairy. 2. The color of the body fresh, sanguine and lively. 3. A natural, constant blush in the face. 4. The pulse soft, moist and full. 5. The sweetness of the spittle. 6. Dreams, most commonly of red things—of beauty, feasting, dancing, music, and all jovial and pleasing recreations. 7. A continual habit of pleas- antness and affability. 8. Often affected with jests, mirth and laughter. Every girl and woman is a walk- ing indication of character. If she wants to know what she is telling other people by her appearance, let her read the following, and then look in the glass: Sloping shoulders indicate in- sensibility, weakness and prostra- tion. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 215 If the shoulders are square, they indicate strength of character. The elbow thrust out from the side while the wrist is close to the body, indicates coarseness, bold- iness, audacity and self-love. When the forearm goes out with the elbow, it signifies love for the object toward which it moves. The elbow pressed against the sides indicates humanity, timidity, and self-suppression. The wrist, when straight, indi- cates vital energy in reserve; when nearly straight, a normal state, a condition of calm. If a person extends a hand to- ward you, and does not carry with it the forearm and elbow, you may be sure that person loves him or herself and not you. A person over-anxious to be great will never be so. Greatness is an attribute of character, and cannot be acquired. A high posi- tion does not make a man great. It may be bought or inherited. Deep, heavy lines extending from the nose down either side of the mouth, indicate a person to be obstinate and firm in all opinions. These are sometimes called “char- acter lines.” Good business men do not tell the public much about their private affairs. A close tongue is a busi- ness safe-guard. Do not forget that every motion, the voice, the walk, the looks, all indicate character. Do not forget that the peacock in human nature is prominent, and that taffy is a prominent weapon. Henry IV. of France could not bear a great eater or a great sleep- er. He considered those bad omens, and declared that such would never rise to greatness. A patient man becoming furious, is an unlucky sign. Some say it denotes insanity. “Beware the fury of a patient man.” (Dryden.) How to Tell a Person's Charac- ter by Cabalistic Calculations. This is said to have been the in- vention of the sage, Pythagoras, whose doctrine was that everything in the universe was represented and goverened by certain figures and numbers, to which he ascribed mysterious properties and virtues. An alphabetical table must be first prepared, with its corresponding numbers: A B C D, E F G H 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 I K L M N O P Q 9, 10 20 30 40, 50 60 70 R S T U X Y Z 80 90 100 200 300 400 500 V Hi THu 600 700 800 900 This is accompanied with a list of numbers, with their various in- terpretations and significations, as follows: 1. Passion, ambition, design. 2. Destruction, catastrophe. 3. Religion, destiny, the soul, charms. Solidity, wisdom and power. The stars, happiness, graces, marriage. 6. Perfection, labor. : 7. Imperfection, diminution, grief, expectation. (9.) Reverse. 8. Justice, preservation. 9. Course of life, repose, liber- ty, perfect happiness. (7.) 216 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 42. 43. Success, reason, future hap- piness. Faults, discord, punish- ment, prevarication. Good omen, a town or city. Impiety. Sacrifice, purification. Piety, self-culture. Love, happiness, voluptu- OllSíl CSS. Misfortune, forgetfulness. Hardening of the heart, misfortune. Folly. Austerity, sadness. Mystery, wisdom, the crea- tion. A scourge, the divine ven- geance. Ignorance of religion. Journies. Intelligence, a birth. Useful works. Firmness, courage. Love tokens. Letters. Fame, a wedding. Love of glory, virtue. Marriage. Purity. Suffering, trouble of mind. Beauty, harmony. Genius, vast conception. Domestic virtues, conjugal love. Imperfection, avarice, envy. Praise. Festivals, weddings. Ignominy. A short, unhappy life, the tomb. Religious priest. Power, pomp, monarchy. Population. Fertility. 45. 46. ceremonies, a 47. 48. 49. 50. 60. | 70. 75. 77. 80. 81. 90. 100. 120. 200. 215. 300. y 318. 350. 360. 365. 400. 410. 500. 600. 666. 700. 800. S. 900. 1000. 1095. 1260. 1390. Long and happy life. The tribunal, judgment, judge. Love of money. Pardon, liberty. Widowhood. Initiation, graces. The world. Pardon, repentance. A cure. Physician. An adept. Occultism. Blindness, error, affliction. Divine favor. Patriotism, praises. Irresolution. Calamity. Safety, belief, faith, philos- ophy. A divine messenger. Hope, justice. Home, society. Astronomy. Long and wearisome voy- ages, travel. Priests, theology. Holiness. Perfection. A malicious person, plots, C116.1111CS. Strength. Empire. War, combats, struggles. Mercy. Taciturnity. Torments. Persecution. science, the Now, write down the full name of the character of the person whose character you wish to learn, and beneath each letter composing it, place the corresponding number. Should the letter W be among them, it must be represented by two V's, which would give the number 1400. Add them all to- FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 217 gether, and by comparing the prod- uct with the table of significations, you will discover what you wish to know. Here is an example: Sup- posing you wish to know the char- acter of Jean Jacques Rousseau, the celebrated author of “The Con- fessions.” J 600 J 600 R 80 E 5 A 1 O 50 A 1 C 3 U 200 N 40 Q 70 S 90 — U 200 S 90 646 E. 5 E 5 S 90 A 1 — U 200 969 *=º 716 646 te 969 716 2,331 Of this total, 2,331, we cut off , the 2,000, leaving 331, which, on reference to the table, reads as fol- lows: 300—Safety, belief, philosophy. 31—Love of glory, virtue. Which is a pretty fair idea of the character. But if one desires, the 2,000 can be divided into 1,000 twice, making him extra merciful. Frequently it is done by taking each product by itself. , Thus, 646 would be—600 perfec- tion, and 46 fertility. 969–900 would be war, combats and struggles, 60 widowhood, 9 im- perfection, diminution, grief, ex- pectation. 716–700 would be strength, 16 love, happiness and voluptuous- ness. This seems to be the most satis- factory way of telling it, and in this case, certainly turns out far more to the truth. (Pythagoras differed essentially from the other celebrated teachers of wisdom among the ancient Greeks, in that he combined the character of priest with that of phil- osopher. He had certain doctrines of which he spoke only to his dis- ciples and followers. These were strictly limited to those within the secret circle, and were called eso- teric, while those without were taught the less secret philosophy, and were called exoteric. So great was his authority with his followers that when they were asked why they believed this or practiced that, they were wont to answer, “he him- self said sol” which was considered an efficient mode of silencing cavil or doubt.) (B. An excellent chapter on “The Study of Character in its Re- lation to Business Success, as taught by Phrenology and Phys- iognomy,” will be found in the “Werner Universal Educator,” pp. 531 to 543.) CHEEK. If a girl has rosy cheeks, with a white spot in the middle, she will not be long-lived. In France and Italy, it is be- lieved that rosy cheeks will come to the lass who buries a drop of her blood under a rose bush. Very full cheeks indicate great digestive powers. Whenever, in laughing, three parallel curves are formed in the cheeks around the corners of the mouth, it is an indication of silli- ness and stupidity. High cheek-bones are unlucky. They generally indicate great force 218 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. of character in some direction, either good or bad. If your right cheek has an un- common red spot on it, you are the subject of some person's ridicule. It is lucky to have your left cheek flush, as you are receiving praise. The left cheek should be smooth- ed first after shaving, or ill luck will follow. CHIN. If you see a dimpled chin, you may be sure the owner thereof is benevolent, and has a fine sense of humor. A double chin is a sign of a lover of the table; it is usually laughing and denotes good-naturedness, and Sometimes smartness. If a woman has lots of loose skin under the chin, it shows that she would nake a good step-mother. A long, thick chin is commonly found only in persons of low men- tal organization. If a man has a very small chin, he will suffer great misfortunes in old age. A retreating chin is weak, and shows a bad streak in the charac- ter. It is also said that a retreating chin denotes silliness, a flat one viciousness, a small one cowardice, a pointed one craftiness, a soft, round one a fondness for the pleas- ures of the table, a square, strong one will and self-interest. A cluster of three hairs on the chin of a woman is a sign of pros- perity. COURAGE. To cure cowardice, before you move, go into the empty house at twilight, light a candle, go down into the cellar, then up to the gar- ret, blow out the candle there, and come down the stairs backwards. (Pennsylvania.) To drink the blood, or eat the heart of a lion, or to wear a lion's claw on one's breast, was believed to give courage and strength. The Indians believe if you eat the heart of a brave man, you will be brave. Some tribes believe that to eat any part of an animal will strengthen a corresponding part in the human body. * “Every part strengthens a part.” The Chinese “high-binders” eat wildcats to make them bold. In 1862, some Chinese in Yun- nan ate the heart of a murdered missionary, and the heart and brains of a celebrated robber who had been executed, so as to acquire their cunning and valor. COMPLEXION, “At a pale man draw thy knife From a black man keep thy wife.” It is thought in Bohemia that if anyone is unusually pale, it is caus- ed by the lies which are told about O1162. If your complexion tans quickly, you will marry young. Beware of the fair Spaniard or the dark Englishman. In many countries, girls wash their faces with May-dew to im- prove their complexion; this is be- FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 2I9 lieved particularly efficacious on May-day morning. The monks of the ordered the ashes for the complexion. Moonlight is believed to cause a pale complexion. century ned flies CRYING. If tears come to your eyes unac- counted for, you will hear of a death. A patient who weeps and sheds tears, will not die that time. If you weep under a carriage- pole, you will stop growing. To wake up in the night crying, is said to be an omen of good luck. If one happens to be awake be- tween 12 and 2 in the morning, and hears sobbing and crying, a dear relative will die within a month. If your unkindness causes some- one to weep, you will meet with a misfortune. It was believed that tears falling upon crystals would turn them into good-luck amulets, and the super- stition is spoken of thus: “And those true tears falling on your pure crystals - Should turn to amulets for your queens to adore.” (Beaumont and Fletcher.) CURIOSITY. Among the many interesting legends of India, is one told of the god Dulha Deo, the god of bride- grooms. General Sleeman gives the legend thus: “In descending into the valley of the Nabada over the Vindhyan range from Bhopal, one may see on the side of the road upon a spur of the hill a singular pillar of sand- stone, rising in two spires, one turning and rising above the other to the height of some twenty or thirty feet. On the spur of a hill not half a mile distant is another pillar not quite so high. The tradi- tion is that the smaller pillar was the affianced bride of the larger one who was a youth of a family of great eminence in those parts. Coming with his uncle to pay his first visit to his bride, in the marri- age procession he grew more and more impatient as he drew nearer and nearer and unable to restrain himself he jumped on his uncle's shoulders and looked with all his might toward the place above, where his bride was said to be seat- ed. Unhappily she felt no less im- patient than he did, and they saw each other at the same moment. In that moment the bride, the groom and the uncle were all three con- verted into pillars, and there they stand to this day, a monument to warn mankind against an inclina- tion to indulge in curiosity. Since then in that part of the country the bride goes to the groom for fear of a recurrence of the calamity.” Folklore is full of instances where the indulgence of curiosity is punished by the person being turned into a pillar of stone, sand or something else. We need but remind of the story of Lot's wife in the Bible, who was turned into a pillar of salt, the story of Lady Godiva, where the eye of “Peeping Tom” was turned to stone, and numerous others. Fol- lowing is the story of Lady Godiva and “Peeping Tom,” which had 22O ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. Nºe been made the subject of a poem by Tennyson: In 1040, Leofric, Earl of Mercia and Lord of Coventry, imposed certain exactions on his tenants, which his lady, Godiva, besought him to remove. To escape her im- portunity, he said he would do so if she would ride naked through the town. Lady Godiva took him at his promise. The legend asserts that every in- habitant of Coventry kept indoors at the time, but a certain tailor peeped through his window to see the lady pass. Some say he was struck blind, others that his eyes were put out by the indignant townfolk, and some that he was put to death. Be this as it may, he has ever since been called “Peep- ing Tom of Coventry.” DIMPLE. For a man to have dimples in his cheeks is a sign that he will have handsome children. A dimple in a young man's or boy's cheek is a sign that he loves his home. “A dimple in your cheek, Many hearts you will seek. A dimple in your chin, Many hearts you will win.” Dimples are considered a sign of beauty and fascination, particularly if there is a deep one in the chin. & & in the chin, T 1 is within.” (Sºfit of fun and mischief.) A dimple in the chin is lucky. Some say it shows you are no fool. A man with a dimple in his chin will never commit murder. A dimple in a young man's chin is the sign of passionate love, and of good nature. It is a bewitching feature to women. Dirt, Smut, Spots, Stains, Etc., on various parts of the Body. If you get smut on your knuckles, a stranger will come. It is said that if you get your knees dirty, you will be sick. If you get rust-stains on your hands, will have a quarrel. DOUBT. Always stop when you are in doubt. It is unlucky to lose your thoughts just then. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 22I DREAMS. “When the body sleeps, the spirit wakes.” - †. “We are somewºt'imore than ourselves in our sleep, and the slumber of the body seems to be but the waking of a soul. It is the litigation of sense, but the liberty of reason; and our waking concep- tions do not watch the fancies of our sleeps.” (Sir Thomas Browne.) “From dreams of bliss shall men awake, One day but not to weep; The dream remains; they only break The mirror of the sleep.” (Jean Paul Richter.) At all times and among all the people of the world, nothing has ever been of more significance to the impressionable human mind, nothing has ever made a greater impression upon credulous and superstitious mankind, than the fleeting fancies of sleep, the mys- terious, imagining children of night —dreams. Let cynics shrug their shoulders, let materialists smile dis- dainfully, dreams will always be re- garded as some supernatural influ- ence. They will always be regard- ed more or less as foreshad- owing of coming events; they will always be heeded more or less as warnings of the future; hence they will never cease to be of more or less influence upon our life and our actions. In order that dreams should have any significance, they must, ac- cording to general belief, occur during a healthy and tranquil sleep, and the sleeper must have, after be- ing fully awake, a vivid conception or clear remembrance of the dream. Shadowy, indistinct, or half-re- membered dreams are usually con- sidered of little or no significance. Dreams which occur during a restless, troublesome sleep, from which the sleeper awakes with a feeling of exhaustion or pain, are generally the consequence of nerv- ous affection of the mind, or of ill health or indigestion, and belong mostly to the class of “nightmares.” These are attributed by the super- stitious to the influence of evil spir- its and demons, such as vampires, the incubus, the succubus, etc., or are sometimes believed to be caus- ed by witches having been riding the sleeper, or by the sleeper's soul or spirit having been lured away by witches or evil spirits to some unholy night-revel. In Germany, the nightmare is believed to be a spectral being which places itself on the breast of the sleeping, depriving them of the power of utterance or motion. If one puts on inherited gloves and seizes it, he can hold it fast. In Windham, Maine, as well as in other parts of our country, ex- ists the belief that nightmare is caused by the nightmare man, a kind of evil spirit striving with one. It is prevented by placing a sharp knife under the pillow, and stuffing the key-hole with cotton. In Lancashire the peasants fancy that the nightmare comes in the form of a dog, and in order to frus- trate its influence, they place their shoes under the bed, toes upward. The ancients believed that a nail drawn from a sepulchre and placed on the threshold of the chamber door, would keep away nightmare. An incantation to prevent night- mare is a “spell-song,” of which the Shetlanders have no end. This especial spell-song has been almost an inaccessible treasure, and sev- eral authors of note have done 222 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. their best to procure the whole of it, only two lines having been se- cured for many years, but for- tunately it is now obtained, and is probably one of the oldest “spell- Songs” of any nation. It runs as follows: “Arthur Knight, He rade a' night, Wi’ open swird An' candle light. He sought da mare, He fan da mare, He bund da mare, Wi’ her ain hair! An' made da mare To swear! *At she would never Bide a' night Whar ever she heard O’ Arthur Knight.” A charm against nightmares: “St. George, St. George, our lady's knight, He walked by day and he walked by night TJntil such time as he she found; He she beat and he she bound Until her troth she to him plight, She would not come to him that night.” A New England correspondent writes: “Now, when you go to bed, you just smell your stockings when you take 'em off. That's all you’ve got to do, and you won't hev no more nightmare, I’ll war- rant you.” If a person slept with a Bible under his head, it would prevent the witches from troubling him and giving him bad dreams. (Ohio.) It was believed that dreams come into the sleeping brain by two roads, and Pitt has thus versified the idea: “Two gates the silent courts of sleep adorn, That of pale ivory, this of lucid horn; Through this true visions take their airy way, Through that, false phantoms mount the realms of day.” Dryden says: “Full in the midst of this infernal road. An elm displays her dusky arms abroad; The god of sleep there hides his heavy head, And empty dreams on every leaf are spread.” Pope explains: “But let some prophet or some sacred Sage, Explore the cause of great Apollo’s. rage; Or learn the wasteful vengeance to ren OVC By mystic dreams; for dreams descend. from Jove.” Hippocrates considered dreams as presaging alterations in the body. Homer says that there was a special portal through which de- ceptive visions passed into the mind, and the holy fathers taught that it was one of the occupations. of the demons to perplex and be- wilder us with unmeaning dreams. (Lecky’s History of European Morals.) The Indians believe all dreams to be revelations, sometimes made by the familiar genius and some- times by the “inner or divine soul.” An Indian, having dreamt that his finger was cut off, had it really cut off the next day. (Charlevoix, Voyage to North America.) Visions are of great importance among the Omahas. According to Francis La Flèche, they believe that there are three powers which come to men by dreams. First, if the vision takes the form of an ani- mal, it will stead him in danger, and give him success in life; sec- ond, if the vision comes in the shape of a cloud or a human being with wings it adds the power to foretell events. Third, if only a voice is heard and FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 223 #. * * * *** * ...'. ' a sº...º.º. . . . §º: ' , , no semblance seen, it adds the power to foresee the coming of death. Amongst the ancient Gauls, the leader of the army was often de- termined by dream or vision. The different candidates retired, each to his “hill of ghosts,” to pass the night, and he to whom a vision ap- peared was appointed the leader. “The night came down. We struck the shield of the dead. We raised the hum of songs. We call- ed thrice the ghosts of our fathers. We laid us down for dreams.” (Ossian.) Regarding the superstition about dreams in Japan, Lafcadio Hearn says in his “Glimpses of Unfamiliar Japan:” “Some dreams are held to go by contraries in Japan, even as in this country; therefore to dream of hav- ing one’s house burned up, of fu- nerals, of being dead, or of talking to the ghost of a dead person, is good. Some dreams that are good for women are bad for men; for ex- ample, it is good for a woman to dream her nose bleeds, but very bad for a man.” If a Japanese has an evil dream, he goes, immediately after rising, into the garden and whispers it to the shrub called “nanten,” believ- ing that it will thus be prevented from coming true. The Australians believe that dreams prognosticate future events, and tell their fortunes by them. The Wallachians place great faith in dreams. It is a part of their creed. If the Australians see a dog show emotion in its sleep, as if it were running or htinting kangaroos, they think it is dreaming of it, and will put it to hunting the next day, being sure that they will kill game. No Chinaman needs despair be- cause of a bad dream. The dream interpreter will avert the impend- ing danger. The mystic scroll used for this purpose is written on red or yellow paper rolled in a trian- gular form and attached to the dress of the client. He then looks toward the east, a sword in his hand, his mouth full of spring wat- er, which he squirts through his teeth, while the interpreter is say- ing the charmed words which will bid the calamity to depart. It was believed in ancient times that the evil following horrid dreams might be averted by telling them to the sun. If you have bad dreams, go to bed with a steel thimble on your finger. If you are afraid you will dream of some bug-bear you have in mind say to yourself, “I will dream of that tonight.” Then you will not dream. If you are awakened by fearful dreams, make the sign of the cross on your breast, and it will put the midnight terrors to flight. Burn hazelnuts and do up the ashes in packages. These placed under the pillow will insure happy dreams. Young men place a hard black root under their pillows in midsum- mer, so that they may dream of themselves, and thus prognosticate their fortunes. An amulet allied to dreaming is made by taking twigs or bits of small boughs from an oak tree (in England, mountain ash). Bind two 224 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. of these so as to make a cross, or lay them across one another on the table, or stand by your bed, and repeat, before going to sleep: “It is not oak which here I place, But good fortune by its grace, May it never pass away, But ever in my dwelling stay.” Tie a true-lover's knot of shav- ings and place it under the pillow. You will dream of your lover, even if, at that time, he is unknown to you. (Newfoundland.) If you awake from a sweet dream and you wish to dream it over again, turn your head where your heels ought to be, and falling asleep you will dream it again. (Russia.) When you sleep for the first time in a house, count the beams, and your dreams will come true. If you dream any dream three times, particularly as regards water, traveling, or any particular busi- ness, heed the providential warn- 1ng. Whatever you dream the first 12 nights in January, will represent, symbolically or literally, the events that will happen to you during the 12 respective months of the year. So if you keep a record of those dreams, you will have a clear warn- ing of what will happen. If you have a ticklish job on hand, sleep on it three nights, and your dreams will teach you your duty. Some Germans say that you must never relate a dream, if you do not wish for trouble. It is also a widespread belief that if you tell a woman an important dream, you will meet with ingratitude; but if you tell a man an important dream, you will get a sum of money. DICTIONARY OF DREAMS. The following is compiled from the best sources, such as the famous writings of Albertus Magnus, Nostradamus Cagliostro, Madam Lenormand, Napoleon's Dream-Book, the Egyptian Dream Book, Mother Shipton's Dream- Book, etc., together with the most popular beliefs gathered from the mouth of the people in all parts of the world. ABSENCE—Seeing absent persons in your dreams denotes their speedy return. ABSINTHE-drinking — Complete success; seeing a glass filled with absinthe, but not drinking it, dis- appointment. ABUNDANCE—Deceitful security. ACCIDENT — Witnessing one, passing worries; being the victim of one, slow but finally successful in your favorite enterprise. AccusATION.—Being accused by a man, great danger, success; being accused by a woman, bad news; accusing someone else, sorrow. ACQUAINTANCE—Having a fight with an acquaintance, financial dis- traction. ACROBAT — Seeing acrobats, much joy; to see yourself acting the acrobat, great troubles. ACTORs and ACTRESSES-Seeing them, fulfillment of your desires; to dream that you are one yourself, much anxiety. ADAM and Eve—Increase of family. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 225 ADoPTING A CHILD–Troubles. ADULTERY-Scandal and quar- rels. ALLIGATOR — Disappointment, danger, business troubles, law suit; killing alligators, success. ALMONDS—Seeing them, great happiness, or sorrow and troubles. ALMS-Asking and receiving, bad luck; being asked and refusing to give, want and misery; being asked and giving them freely, good luck, joy, and long life. ALTAR–Happiness and a speedy marriage. ANCHOR-Hope and influential friends. ANGEL–Good luck, happiness, good news. ANGER—Trouble, powerful enemies. beware of ANIMALS-As a general rule good luck, domestic animals signi- fies a hasty return of absent friends, family happiness and reconciliation of quarrels; wild animals signifies Secret enemies. ANTS-Alive and a great many crawling over your body foretells that you will die soon. APPARITIONs—To see ghosts, spirits, and the like, in your dream, is a very unlucky sign. APPETITE–Having a greatappe- tite denotes the departure of a friend or relative. APPLES-Seeing them, great troubles; eating them, heavy losses. ARM-Seeing one, true friend- ship; if it is a broken, a quarrel; if it is very hairy, fulfillment of de- Slres. ARMY—A quarrel with those whom you love best. ARRows—Temporary sorrows. ASPARAGUS—Success. AUTOMOBILE-Seeing one, a vis- it from an old friend; riding one, a speedy journey. BACON.—Eating some, triumph over enemies; cutting some is sometimes a sign of death and sometimes a prediction of failure in business. BARBER—Troubles. BALCONY—Standing on one or gazing at it means bad luck, either financial worries or death. BALL–Attending one, pleasure and joy; playing ball, good fortune, perhaps increase of family. BALLOON.—Trouble. BANANAs—Seeing them is lucky; if a person who is in love dreams of eating bananas, it denotes that his or her sweetheart will deceive the person. BAND OF MUSIC-Money. BANK—Disappointment. BANKRUPTCY—Prosperity, and great success in business. BAR-ROOM-Happiness and long life. BARN–Seeing an empty barn, distress; seeing a barn full of grain, prosperity. BASKET-Increase of family. BATH–Taking a bath that is either too hot or too cold, domes- tic grief; moderate temperature, pleasure and wealth; if a person is in love and dreams of taking a warm bath, it foretells a speedy marriage; if the water is, too hot the person will quarrel with her or his love; if the water it not warm enough, the union will not be hap- py. BEANs—Signifies either financial loss, or illness or slander. 226 ENCYCLOPAEDIA of SUPERSTITIONS. BEAR–Being attacked by one, persecution by some enemy; if it runs away from you, success. BEARD–Very long, misfortune; white, honors; black, lucky; seeing a bearded woman is a sign that you xill soon wed. BED–Being in bed alone, ill- ness, peril. BEER—Trouble. BEES—Riches, success. BEGGAR–To dream of beggars is usually invaluable, especially to lovers and persons of business. BELLs—Hearing them ringing, quarrel and disappointment. BLEEDING—Losses. BENCH-Standing on One, com- fort. BETTING—Losses pointment. BICYCLE-Troubles and losses. BILLIARDS—Bad luck. BIRDS—Caging some, pleasure and profit; killing them, poverty; seeing or hearing singing birds, successful, profits; seeing them quarreling foretells some great change in your life; to be changed into a bird, also signifies some change in your life; if you dream of birds three times in succession, you will fall heir to a fortune in one year. - BIRTHDAY PRESENTs — Receiv- ing them, poverty; giving them, an agreeable surprise. BITE–To be bitten is a sign of great danger. BLIND—To dream of becoming blind yourself is usually a very lucky sign; sometimes it may fore- tell danger; to see a blind person, a warning of danger. and disap- BLOOD-Seeing it, great riches; inheritance; losing blood yourself, disappointment, losses. BoAT—Arrival of a friend; in danger of foundering, danger or illness. Bon Es—Of animals, loss; human, death. financial BOOKS-Reading a good book, pleasure and honors; reading a bad one, disgrace. Bottles—Full, pleasure; empty, sickness; broken, sadness. BREAD — White, friendship; brown or black, poverty. BRIDGE—Crossing one, prosper- ity and success in life; passing un- der it, trouble; broken down with it, death. BROTHER OR SISTER—To dream of one who is dead means long life and prosperity. BUILDING—Illness, losses, sick- ness, death. BURIAL–To be buried alive, danger; seeing a burial, news. BUTCHER—Some 1162WS. g CAGE—A warning of danger. CAKE-Pleasure. CAMEL–Good luck. CANDLES-Happiness and pros- perity; seeing one extinguished or giving a dull light, sickness. surprise or CANDY-Loss of money. CANNON.—Seeing one, good luck; hearing the boom of one, fi- nancial ruin or death. CARDs—Quarrel, loss of money; if young people dream of cards it is a sign of success in life and a speedy marriage. CARNIVAL–Disappointment. CARRIAGE-Worry, loss of a friend or loss of fortune. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 227 CASTLE-Success. CAT—Trouble, disappointment, quarrel, and bad luck in general. To dream of cats is indicative of enemies. If one follows you, be on the lookout for burglars; if you catch one, you will surely detect a thief before long. CATTLE–Prosperity. CAVE—Danger. CALLER—Good health and long life; many people have believed that this means sickness and death. CEMETERY--Prosperity. CHAIN–Seeing one, marriage; broken one, some hard task in store for you. CHECKERS–Financial losses. CHECK–Cashing one or paying out money by check, signifies loss of money and business troubles. CHEESE—Seeing it, small trou- bles or ultimate success; eating it, profit. CHERRIES-Good news, pleas- tlſeS. CHESS — Quarrels, disappoint- mentS. CHILDREN-Increase of family; pleasure. CoNFINEMENT—Success, perity, riches. CHURCH-Seeing one, inheri- tance; entering one or being in one, troubles. CoAL–Beware of enemies, jeal- Ous persons and slander. pros- CoIN–Gold, distress; silver, Worry; copper, loss. CookING—Beware of slander and jealousy; danger of separation and divorces. CORPSE — Disaster, perhaps death. Cows—Prosperity, the more the better. CRADLE—Death of a child. CROSS – Happiness, sometimes resulting from a broken enjoy- ment; carrying one, worry, follow- ed by an unexpected death. CROws—Bad luck, especially for married people. CROWN-Gold, favors and hon- ors; diamonds, sorrows and anxi- ety. DANCING—Success. DEATH-To dream of death is, as a general rule, considered un- lucky; to dream that you are dying or dead, yourself, is believed by many to signify long life and suc- cess. If a sick person dreams of a dead person whom he formerly knew, it is the sign of approaching death. In Belgium, to dream of a dead man or a burial, is a sign that the dreamer may shortly expect a letter or some important news from afar. In Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet,” V. 1, we find: “If I may trust the flattering eye of sleep, My dreams presage some joyful news at My bosom's lord sits lightly on his throne, And, all this day, an unaccustomed spirit Lifts me above the ground with cheerful thoughts. I dreamtmy lady came and found me dead; Strange dream, that gives a dead man leave to think I And breathed such life with kisses on my lips That I revived, and was an emperor. Ah me ! how sweet is love itself possessed, When but love's shadows are so rich in joy ! ” DENTIST-Beware of dangerous persons. DEVIL–Seeing him, sign of death; fighting with him, danger; conquering him, success; being conquered by him, great danger. DIAMONDs—Small pleasures fol- lowed by domestic losses. 228 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. DITCH-Danger; 1ſ you are in love it foretells happiness, and that you will marry your present lover. DECOLLETE–Seeing a pretty lady in a low-necked dress is an omen of marriage; plain or ugly women, sorrows, troubles. DOGS—Dreaming of dogs is as a rule a favorable sign; seeing a strange dog, bad luck; a barking dog, quarrel; fighting dog, beware of enemies and thieves; howling dogs, misfortune; if bitten by a dog, temporary troubles; being caressed by a dog, coming of a true friend. DONKEY-Seeing one, quarrel; seeing a donkey heavy loaded, profits, good luck; running don- key, disappointment; braying, Some shame is awaiting you; riding a donkey, success in love; falling from a donkey while riding it, dis- tress; a white donkey, family pleas- ures; black or brown, riches; hav- ing a donkey or having received one as a gift, great success. DOOR-Breaking one open, ar- rest; seeing one broken or destroy- ed, death. Dough—Physical and financial losses. DOVEs—Success, especially to lovers; to married people, it de- notes pleasure. DRAGON.—Riches. DRAwING—Seeing a person drawing, friendship or success in love; if you dream that you are making a drawing of yourself, it foretells a proposal which you should refuse. DREAMS-To dream that you are dreaming signifies disappointments and losses. DRowNING—To see another per- son drowning, joy, success; to dream that you are drowning your- self, success, prosperity. Some fortune-tellers say that to dream of drowning is a sign of financial troubles in the near future. Dwarf–Bad luck. - EAGLE-Success. EARs—Well-shaped ears, friend- ship; dirty, beware of devices. EATING—Danger. ECHO-Sickness. ECLIPSE—Sorrow, loss of money. EEL–Alive, working; dead, suc- C6SS. EGGS-Good luck; broken, loss. EGG-PLANT—A happy omen to the Japanese. ELEPHANT—Riding one, trouble; seeing one, good luck. ELOPEMENT—A sign of a speedy marriage. EMBROIDERY — Ambition that will not be fulfilled. EMPRESS—Loss of employment or reputation. ENEMY—Meeting one, ruin and distress; triumphing over one, you will win a law-suit; having a pleas. ant time with one, business failures, troubles. ENGAGEMENT—To dream of be- ing engaged to a handsome person, great pleasure in store for you; to a plain, ugly looking person, wo or grief. \ ExECUTION.—Seeing yourself ex- ecuted or about to be, great luck; dreaming of another person's ex- ecution, great disappointment in someone whom you trust. ExILE–Going into exile, good luck; hidden, sorrows. ExPLoSIon—Death in the fam- ily. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 229 EYES-To dream about eyes is as a general rule a sign of good luck, and the prettier the eyes, the better the luck. FACE—To see a person with a handsome face, good fortune; to dream of your own being hand- some, honors and long life; rosy and smiling, a friend will visit your relatives; lean and pale, illness, poverty, loss of friends; to dream of your face being dirty and wash- ing it, sorrows. FAINTING—A sign of true love. FALCON–A happy omen to the Japanese. FALL–To dream that you fall, dishonor, troubles, losses; to fall in- to water, loss of health, poverty, distress. FAN–Quarrels. FARMS, FARMER, FARMING— Comfort, happiness, success. FATHER—To dream of your father alive, great joy; dead, finan- cial losses. FEATHERs – White, riches; black, failure. FEET-A journey; if they are dirty or wounded, sickness, sorrow and losses. FENCING—Good luck. FESTIVITY—Bad luck, poverty. FIGHT-Peace. FIGURES-Dreaming of figures and not remembering them when asked, disappointment; if you re- member the numbers, good luck, place them in the lottery. FINGERs—Burning them, be- ware of envious persons; cutting them, loss of a friend; seeing yours with more fingers than the regular number, your marriage will be a failure; but if you are already mar- tied, it foretells some new alliance, followed by profits. Success, FINGER-NAILS — Sorrows and quarrels. FISH-Alive, success; quarrel, perhaps death. FISHING—Disappointment and trouble. FIRE–To dream of a small fire, pleasures; a large conflagration, you will attend soon some great festivity; being burned, disappoint- ment and loss. The Japanese hold a dream of fire a good omen. FLAG-Seeing it floating, dan- ger; carrying it, honor and success. FLEET-Realization of your hopes. FLIES-Beware of rivals and jealous persons. FLOOD-Slander. FLOUR-Riches, some aunt Or uncle have departed; to dream of flour signifies death. FLOWERs—Seeing them, pleas- ure; wearing them, you will soon be married; tearing them to pieces, separation; plucking them, good health. FLUTE—Increase of family. FLYING—Without wings, great success; having wings, trouble, worry. For EST-Trouble and losses. For EHEAD–Low, you will short- ly do some stupid act; clear and high, successful future. FORK-Danger. FORTUNE – TELLING — Slander, worry. Fountain—Clear water, health and comfort; muddy water, grief. Fox—Beware of treachery and thieves; killing one, good luck. FRIEND.—Alive, pleasure; dead, financial trouble; enjoying yourself with a friend, trouble and quarrel. FROGs—Trouble, sickness; be- ware of false friends. dead, 23o ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. FROST-Success. FRUIT-Pleasure and profits; eating it, beware of deceitful wom- an; throwing away fruit, danger. FUNERAL–Marriage; see in g yourself or somebody else buried alive, foretells an inheritance. GALLOWS-Bad luck, death. GAMBLER, GAMBLING HousE— Beware of treachery. GAME–Playing any game in a dream is a bad omen; witnessing a game, loss of friends. GARDEN.—Pleasure, comfort; if ill-kept, ruin. GARMENTs—A dream of white garments, especially to a sick man, is a sign of death, because the dead are buried in white garments; a dream of black garments means re- covery, for it is the living mourners who wear black. GARRET-Good luck. GARTERs—Sickness. GEESE—Joy, success. GIANT—Good fortune, success. GHOST-White, pleasure; black, trouble. Some American Indians believe that it is a very bad omen, predicting the sleeper's speedy death, to dream of a spirit, called “the lying prairie-wolf.” GIRDLE—Successful marriage; if broken, danger; if old and worn, trouble; golden, wealth; silver, loss; copper colored, happiness. GLASS—Receiving a glass of water, there will be soon a mar- riage of a child born in your fam- ily; if the glass breaks without spilling the water, death of the mother and safety of the child; if the water is spilled without break- ing the glass, death of the child and safety of the mother; to dream of anything of glass is, as a rule, gen- erally refers to ladies. GLOVES-Usually bad luck. GOAT—Dreaming of one, bad health or want; dreaming of many, inheritance; killing one, good luck; seeing white one, profits; black one, misfortune. GOLD-Dreaming of gold is gen- erally supposed to be an omen of loss and bad luck. Some fortune- tellers, however, consider it a sure sign that you will shortly receive some or its equivalent in property. To pay out gold in your dream is a sign that you will increase the number of your friends. GRAND-PARENTs—To dream of grand-parents foretells sometimes inheritance or you will soon have occasion for repentance. GRAPES-Profits and pleasure. GRASS—Seeing it, good luck; eating it, sickness. GRASSHOPPER—Bad luck. HAIL–Worry. - HAIR-White, honors; blond, friendship; black, misfortune; dreaming of hair of different colors is an omen of separation. HAM—Profits. HAMMOCK–Sorrows, poverty. HAND–White, profits; dirty, be- ware of thieves; thick and heavy, friendship; washing your hands, you will receive a large sum of money; burning the hand, the loss of a relative or a true friend; to dream that you have many hands, success, abundance. HARE-Dead, good luck; alive, friendship; to see one running may signify either great wealth or finan- cial losses. - HARVEST-Profits. HAT-If new, small success; if old or torn, dishonor, losses. HAY—Good luck; to see cutting hay, sorrow. ºrrº - **, * (, . W. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. HEAD–To dream of the head as a general rule is a sign of good luck, health and money; or if the head fills you with power in your dream, you may expect Sorrow or trouble. HEARSE—Sorrow and loss. HELL–Bad luck; some change in life. HENS-To dream of hens is as a rule lucky; crowing hens or chick- ens, however, is a warning of dan- ger. In Belgium, to dream of a white hen is said to be a sign of death of some dear friend. HERRING — Pleasure, red herring, trouble. Success; HIPs—To dream that your hips are much larger and stronger than usual, denotes joy, health and in- crease of family; if smaller, separa- tion, or even death. HoLE–Gazing at it or falling into it, death. HoNEY—Money. HoRNs—To see in your dream horns on your head is a sign that you will be deceived by your sweet- heart. HoRSE—To dream of a horse is generally a very happy omen; rid- ing, success; seeing a white horse, riches; seeing a black one, disap- pointment; seeing a wounded horse, bad luck; killing one, great sorrow in store for you. The Jap- anese say to dream of a horse is a lucky omen, and generally foretell- ing a journey; particularly lucky to dream of a running horse on a night in spring. HoRSESHOE-Seeing one, a jour- ney; finding one and keeping it, great luck. Hospital—Misery, poverty. Hous E–To dream of a house is generally a lucky sign. 23I HUGGING—Beware of deceitful friends. HUNGER—To dream that you feel hungry is a very lucky omen, you prosper and acquire riches. HUNTING—To dream that you are going hunting or being in a hunting party, is a bad omen; re- turning from hunting, good health, gains. HYMNs—Singing hymns in a dream foretells sickness or perhaps death to the dreamer; hearing sing- ing, consolation. ICE—Success. IDIOT-Grief. ILLUMINATION — Poverty and worry. IMAGES-Bad luck. INHERITANCE—Death of a rela- tive. INK–Spilling ink, breaking an engagement or separation from a friend; dreaming of ink in any oth- er way is a favorable omen. INSANITY—To dream of insanity of some other person, grief; to dream of yourself becoming insane, assurance of a long life. INTOxICATION.—Increase of for- tune, recovery of health. INUNDATION-Sadness, sickness. IRON−Profits; if burning hot, SOTITOWS. ISLAND–Desertion. ITCH-Good luck. Ivy—True friends. JANITOR-Beware of gossip. JAUNDICE—Beware of treachery. JAws—Sickness. JAY—Sorrow and trouble. JEw—Loss, disappointment; if you dream of a Jew rendering you a service, expect success. JEwBLRY—Trouble and danger. 232 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. JUDGE–Beware of slander and malice. KETTLE–To dream of a black kettle means death. (Turkish.) KEYS-Anger, worry, want. KILLING—Killing a person is generally a very bad omen, foretells distress and even death; to kill someone else, worry over enemies. KING—Beware of flattery and cheatery. KISS—Kissing a relative, beware of treason; kissing a hand of a per- son, friendship, good fortune; kiss- ing a stranger, journey. KNEE–Being wounded in the knee, disappointment, worry; kneel- ing down to a person, trouble; un- able to use the knee, poverty, bad news; sore or painful knee, sick- 1162 SS. KNIFE—Quarrel, separation; if you dream of a knife wounding you, danger. LABYRINTH-You will make a great discovery. LADDER—Climbing a ladder, success; descending a ladder, great loss and trouble, ruin. LAKE-Clear water, foretells friends, muddy or agitated water quarrels. LAMB–Good luck. LAME—Trouble, sickness. LAMP-Lit, trouble; extinguish- ed, death of the dreamer. LANTERN–Success. LARKs—Alive, good luck; roast- ed, trouble, imprisonment. LAUDANUM–Misfortune. LAUGH-Worry and losses. LAUNDRY-WoRK–You will have to work hard for other people. LAwYER — Quarrels, troubles, losses. - LAWN–Gazing upon one, good health; running over one, worry. LEAD–Inheritance. LEAVES—Sickness. LEGS-Journey, success, money; wooden legs, bad luck. LETTER—Visit by a friend or good news. LETTER-CARRIER — Important 116 WS. LIGHT-To see in your dream a great light is a happy Omen, great honors and riches are in store for you; it predicts success in love, happy marriage life, blessed with children. LIGHTNING—Love quarrels. LIMPING—Business troubles. LINEN—Riches. LION.—Seeing one, you will find some new good friend or make an acquaintance of one soon; hearing a lion roaring, danger; killing or taming the lion, great success; see- ing lioness with young, domestic happiness. LIQUOR-Riches. LIZARDS—Danger. LoBSTER—Alive, success; cook- ed, joy. LOCOMOTIVE–Unpleasant jour- ney. Lott ERY-Loss and failure. MAGICIAN-Beware of treachery. MAN–A girl dreaming of man: beware of gossip; if he is plain or ugly, quarrel; clear, trouble and loss of money. MANURE—Great financial luck. MARBLE–Inheritance. MARRIAGE — With a relative, danger; with a handsome person, joy; with a plain or ugly-looking person, sorrow. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 233 MASQUERADE—Seeing one, be- ware of deception; taking part in One, SuCCéSS. MASS—To dream of going or at- tending mass, denotes happiness. MATCHES-Riches. MEADow—Comfort and prosper- ity. MEAT—Pleasure and satisfac- tion. MEDICINE—Taking it, sickness, distress; administering it to some- body else, profit. MENAGERIE-You will enjoy true friendship. MELON–Good health; if the dreamer is a sick person, it denotes a speedy recovery. MENDING CLOTHES and STOCK- INGS-Unhappiness. MERCHANDISE—Seeing a great amount of it piled up, beware of thieves. MERCHANT—Meeting some mer- chant of importance, success. MESSAGE–Receiving one, ad- vance in life. MICE—Trouble. MIDWIFE—You may expect good luck, probably increase of family, but you must beware of gossips. MILL–Success, riches, inherit- 3IlC6. MILK–Dreaming of milk means as a rule increase of family; drink- ing it, you will have a good friend of the other sex; spilling the same, loss in business. MILLER—Seeing one, treason; gazing into one, success in love. MISTLEToE—Health. MonEy—Finding it, good luck; saving it, loss; seeing large amount beware of treachery. The Japanese say that to dream of much money . is a sign of coming loss. This also seems to have been the belief in Shakespeare's time, for in “The Merchant of Venice,” he lets Shy- lock say to his daughter Jessica, when he is bidden to a supper and entertainment: “Jessica, my girl, Look to my house:—I am rather loath to go. There is some ill a-brewing towards my nest, For I did dream of money bags to- night.” Monk—Beware of treachery. Mon KEY-Beware of enemies; deceit in love. MonstERs—To dream of mon- sters of any kind is a very unfortu- nate Omen. Moon—Is as a general rule a very favorable omen, predicting joy and success in love, specially if the moon is clear and bright; if it is reddish, fame and fortune; if full moon, great comfort; new moon, fortune of consequence; or if the moon is cloudy it is a sign of a death of some one you love. Among most of the American Indi- ans, to dream of the moon is a great calamity; while in Japan it is considered very lucky. MonumENT—Good luck; if the dreamer is a sick person, it indi- cates quick recovery. MoRGUE—Warning of death of some relative or near friend. MoSAIC–Danger. Mosquitoes—You will be the victim of envy and hatred. Moth ER—To see one's mother in a dream alive, joy and happi- ness; dead, misfortune; striking her, distress; killing her, death. MoURNING—To see yourself in mourning in a dream, happy times. MoUNTAIN — Ascending high mountains, success, riches, honors, 234 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. happy marriages, successful chil- dren; if the mountain is steep and Craggy, difficulties in accomplish- ing your designs; if enveloped in flames, great misfortune. To the Japanese, the most lucky of all dreams is a dream of Fugi, the sacred mountain. MoUTH–Small, a fortune; wide, you will have a valuable friend; Seeing ill-kept teeth, sorrows. Moving—You will soon be the victim of treason or thieves. MoWING—Comfort. MUD-Dreaming of mud, a pleasant future; wading through it, S11CCéSS. MUFF–You will suffer from Some sly conceit. MUMMY-Long sickness, trouble resulting in death. MUSHROOM-Quarrels; if the dreamer is in love or engaged, sep- aration. MUSIC-A very happy omen; joy and pleasure, money, success in love, good news from an absent friend; if the dreamer is married, he or she will be blessed with sweet- tempered children. MUSICAL INSTRUMENTs—Mar- riage, either of yourself or of some- One near to you. MUSTACHE—Quarrels. MUSTARD–Quarrels. MYRTLE–A marriage, either of yourself or of someone near to you. MYSTERIES-Dreaming of mys- teries and being unable to solve them, beware of flattery, deceit. NAILS-Sickness and trouble. NAKEDNESS—To dream of see- ing a person of your own sex en- tirely naked, beware of treachery, danger; a person of the other sex, if young and handsome, unknown joy; if ugly and old, shame and bad luck; if you see yourself naked, you will be threatened by a severe ill- nesss, perhaps death, shame and trouble. NEGRO—A warning of trouble. NEIGHBORS–Beware of gossip. NETS-Dreaming of fishing nets, trouble and money losses. NETTLES-Worries and losses, NEWSPAPER—Beware of treason and slander. NIGHT-To dream of darkness or night is an omen of sadness. NIGHTINGALE–Happiness and peace; your lover or sweetheart will be true to you; happy mar- riage. NoSE—Big, good luck, prosper- ity; very long, an increase of fam- ily; very short, poverty; crooked, somebody of the opposite sex will deceive you; seeing yourself nose- less, you will suffer from the slan- ders of an immoral life. NUMBNESS—Illness, worry. NUN–Inheritance. NURSE—Good health. NUTs—Seeing a great quantity of nuts, riches, happiness, success in love, profits, quarrels. OAK—With green foliage, good health, long life, happiness; waving or shaken by wind, money and speedy marriage; stripped of foli- age, fortune in old age; a number of young oaks, large family; oaks bearing acorns, great wealth. OBELISK—Grief. OCULIST-Visiting an oculist in your dream, there is a scheme against you which you will avoid. OCEAN–As a rule, unlucky omen, specially if you dream of swimming in it or walking on it; if you are on the ocean with com- pany of the other sex, beware of deceitful friends. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. - 235 OLL–Success, satisfaction, fine crops; a woman dreaming being anointed with oil, good omen; a man, shame. OLIVES-Very lucky omen; pleasure, peace, honors, success. OMNIBUS—Troubles and heavy losses. ONIONS-Quarrels, worry. ORANGE—Satisfaction, success. ORCHARD–Riches, success in love, happy marriage, large family. ORGAN–Disappointment, losses, playing it, or hearing it played, good luck, seeing a church organ, an omen of death. OSTRICH-Disappointment. OVEN–You will experience no- toriety; it may signify a change in place. Ox—To see many strong oxen, success, riches, large family; poor and lean, you will suffer from want; hornless, beware of treachery; fighting, you will be honored with true friendship; seeing oxen in water, bad luck; killing oxen, sorrows. OWL–A very bad omen, pre- dicting sickness, poverty, impris- onment, or even death. OYSTERs – An unfavorable omen; empty oyster shells, trouble and loss. PAIN–Dreaming of suffering pain, improvement of luck and health. PAINT—To dream of being soil- ed with paint, dishonor, ruin; daubing someone else with paint, pleasant times in store for you in the near future; seeing paintings or executing them, pleasure and good luck; paint brushes, success. PALACE—Trouble. PALM TREE–Good luck. PANTHER—Beware of treason and intrigues; killing one, you will triumph over your enemies. PAPER—White, good news; col- ored, treachery; crumpled, torn or soiled, you will suffer much pain. PARADISE—Danger. PARK–Success, happiness; if ill- kept or desolate, great losses. PARROT-Beware of gossip. PASTOR — Beware of false friends; a pastor performing a mar- riage ceremony, a speedy marriage either of yourself or some relative or friend. PASTRY-Making pastry or pies, success in business; eating pastry or pies, good news. PAWNSHOP–Sorrows, want. PEACHES-You may expect much pleasure and joy. PEACOCK–Beware of conceit. PEARLs—Hard treaSOn. PEARs—Gathering pears, an Omen of pleasure; eating them, an Omen of sickness or death. times, worry, PEAS—Cooked, sickness; raw, good health. PEBBLES-Sorrows. PEDLER — Beware of false friends. PERFUME—Great success. PETTICOAT—Troubles. Position—A good omen, health, success in love, prosperity. PIG–Good luck. PIMPLEs—Good luck. PINs—Quarrels. PIPE—Pleasure; drainage pipes, good luck. PLASTER—Sorrows and suffer- 1ng. PIT-Falling into one, misfor- tune, disappointment in love, dan- ger; being in one and climbing out of it, you will overcome your dif- 236 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. ficulties and triumph over your en- emies. PLOw—Good luck in love or marriage, though it may be slow in coming. - PLUMS–Fresh, ripe, good luck; dried, severe troubles. POISON.—Great misfortune, sick- ness, or death. POLICEMAN–Trouble, dishonor. Pool, OR POND—Gazing into one with clear water, you will enjoy true friendship; if the water is mud- dy, quarrels; seeing dead fish in it, poverty. POP-CORN–You will soon hear of a birth, perhaps in your own family. PORK–Good luck. In Portugal, to dream of pork is a sign of calam- ity in the household. PORTRAIT-Good luck to the one it represents; dreaming of destroy- ing one, bad luck, sickness or even death to the one whom it repre- SentS PREACHING—Listening to a Ser- mon, happiness. PRECIPICE—Falling into one or gazing into it, danger. PRESENT—Receiving one, trou- ble from young person of the oppo- site sex, and if the dreamer is un- married, disappointment in love; from a married person, danger. PRIEST — Misforune, perhaps death. It is an old Irish saying: It is better to dream of the devil than of a priest. PRISON.—Being in prison, good luck; escaping from it, success in your enterprise. PROCESSION.—Losses. PURCHASEs—To dream of mak- ing purchases, you will receive much money. PURSE—Empty, prosperity, suc- cess; well filled, fortune; finding one, bad luck. QUARREL–To dream that you are quarreling, expect news proba- bly unfavorable, troubles. RABBIT-White, success; black, worry. RADISH — You will discover some secret; if the dreamer is in love, disappointment; if the dream- er is married, increase of family. RAGs—Success after much trou- ble. RAILROAD–Journey. RAIN–Inheritance; if it is a heavy rain storm, sorrows, trou- bles; a person who is in love dreaming of rain may expect pleas- ure and satisfaction or either love affairs. In Japan, to dream of rain, is a lucky Omen. RAINBow—Temporary disagree- ment with your best friend. RATs — Beware of trouble and enemies; if attacked by them, great misfortune; if driving them away, or killing them, you will Overcome your difficulties. RACER—Bad luck. RAVEN—Bad luck, disappoint- ment, separation, death. READING—A serious work, suc- cess; a novel, pleasure; an agreea. ble book, honors, success in love; a disagreeable or bad book, trouble, disgrace. RIBs—To dream of having some ribs broken, you will quarrel with your wife or husband or with your lover or sweet-heart. RICE—Eating it, prosperity. RING — Wearing a heavy gold ring, success; receiving a ring, suc- cess in love, marriage; giving one away, loss and trouble. RIVER—If the water is smooth and clear, happiness and success; if FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 237 | } | it is disturbed and muddy, sorrows and losses; to dream of falling in a river also signifies storms if you are going on a journey by water; if smooth and clear, success; muddy and disturbed, danger; if the water looks calm, you will go to sea and return with much money. ROCKS-Seeing them, losses and troubles; climbing rocks, success. Roof — To dream of seeing a roof or being on it, good luck, suc- CCSS, ROOTS-Seeing roots of plants, poverty; eating roots, beware of trouble of the opposite sex. ROPE—Money troubles. Roses—The dream signifies as a rule, happiness and good fortune; ugly roses, worry, trouble. RUINs—Good luck. RUNNING—If you are running in a dream, worry and trouble; if you See others running, bad news. SAILORS–You will go on a jour- ney which will probably prove un- pleasant. SALAD—Financial difficulties. SALMON–Separation. SALT—Quarrel, worry. SAND—Trouble. SAUSAGE-Good luck. SCISSORS–Quarrels, sickness. SCREECH-owl — Death of the dreamer or a member of the dream- er's family. SEA — Seeing a sea in your dream, you will soon undertake a journey; if you see a sea in your dream before taking a journey, your journey will be very success- ful; if you dream that you are swimming in it, or walking on it, it signifies bad luck. SERVANTs—Beware of gossip, Quarrels. SHARK–Danger, sickness, death. SHEEP—Good luck, success; if they run away from you, bad luck, disappointment in love. - SHIP-You will soon go on a journey which will prove success- ful; ship-wrecked, great danger. SHOES-Quarrels; if you are los- ing a shoe foretells losses, sickness; if worn out, you will go on a long journey. SHOULDERS — If broad and strong, success; if thin and low, troubles. SHROUD–Happiness. SILK–Good luck, money. SILVER-WARE — Money losses; giving it away or selling it, im- provement of your affairs. SINGING—H e a ring yourself singing in your dream, sorrows; hearing other people singing, pleasure, good health. SCHOOL – If a grown person dreams that he or she is going to school again, the dreamer may ex- pect some great change, and will be successful in his enterprise. SKY—Gazing at it, good luck; if it is cloudy, money losses; if it is reddish, danger; rising skyward through the air, great success; fall- ing from the sky, failure. SLEEP—To dream that you are sleeping, beware of false friends. SLIDING——Trouble. SMOKE–Failure. SNAILS-You will become a vic- tim of bad habits. SNAKES-Trouble, sickness, bad luck generally. SNOw—Success, money; a plen- tiful harvest; eating snow, you will soon undertake a journey. SNUFF—Worry. SOAP—Success. SOLDIERS — Danger, trouble, losses, you will soon change your 238 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. domicile, or should do so to avoid danger. SPARROWS — Troubles; many sparrows, you will soon go on a journey SHOOTING—Generally good luck. SPECTACLES-A warning to keep your eyes open or you will be de- ceived. SPIDER—Generally an omen of good luck; bad luck if you kill one. SPINNING—Worry. STABLE–You may expect short- ly a visit of a true friend. STAIRS–Climbing stairs, cess; falling down stairs, grief. STARs—Bright and clear, happi- ness and success, good news, suc- cessful journey; seeing them disap- pear, bad luck, losses; if hidden by clouds, misfortune, sorrow. For a young Japanese wife it is most fort- unate to dream of swallowing a star; this signifies that she will be- come the mother of a beautiful child. STEEPLE—Seeing a church stee- ple, bad luck; climbing a steeple, SU1CCC.SS. STOCKINGS-Money. STORKS-Happy marriage bless- ed with children. STORM-Danger. STOVE—Comfort, good news. STRAw—In piles, prosperity, for- tune; burning, joy. STRAWBERRIES-Riches. STREET-Seeing yourself walk- ing aimlessly walking in a street, trouble and worry. SUICIDE—To dream that you are committing suicide is a warning that you will change your habits or probably your domicile, or some great calamity will befall you. SUN–Honor and wealth, success in love; sunrise, you will receive S11C- some good news; sunset, bad news, disappointment in love, business troubles; seeing a sun half hidden by clouds, danger, trouble SWALLOWS-Happiness. SWANs—Good luck. Swoon — If young persons dream that he or she falls into a swoon, bad luck; married persons, prosperity. Sweeping—Sweeping a room of a house, troubles. Swim MING—Success; you will soon meet some person whom you have not seen for a long time. SworD–Danger, quarrels. TABLE—Setting a table, prosper- ity. TAILOR-Business troubles. TEA-Worry. TEARS–Success, happiness. TEETH-Losing a tooth, bad luck, loss of a friend, disappoint- ment in love, bad news; seeing white teeth, some great joy is in store for you. THIMBLE—You will without employment. THoRNs—Worry. THREAD–Beware of intrigues; breaking a thread, poverty; entang- ling a spool or skein of thread, bus- iness troubles THRONE—Disappointment. THUNDERSTORM-This signifies, as a rule, great misfortune and even death; sometimes, however, it fore- tells something opposite, denotes a successful, happy marriage and wealth. TIGER—Beware of envy and hat- red; killing one, success in your enterprise. ToAD—Scandal, bad luck, disap- pointment, losses; the dreamer may become the victim of a crime. soon be FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 239 TOMBS — Great success, expect good news, increase of family. ToNGUE—Beware of gossip. Toys—Disappointment. TRAVELER—In a carriage, you will have some unexpected good fortune; afoot, hard work in view; in company, people are talking about you. TREASURE–Finding a treasure in your dream is a very unfavorable omen, disappointment, losses, trou- bles are in store for you. TREES-If in foliage, good luck, realization of your hope; if burned or broken down, quarrels, sorrows; climbing one, success. TRUNK–You will soon go on a journey. TURKEY — Alive, success; more the better; dead, trouble. TURTLE–Seeing it, beware of some secret enemy; eating it, crowned with success. UNCLE—To see one's uncle in a dream, predicts an inheritance or marriage, perhaps both. UNDERTAKER—Sign of a wed- ding; if you see them in connection with white, the marriage will be happy; if black, unhappy. WALLEY-Pleasure and peace. VASE—An inheritance or profits; if broken, death. VEGETABLEs—Plucking vegeta- bles, quarrels; eating one, loss. VEIL–White, sorrows are in store for you; black, disappoint- ment; if an unmarried person dreams of a veil, he or she will soon be married. WELVET-Good luck. VEINs—Gazing at one's own veins, anxiety and trouble. VERMIN–Good luck, money. VINEGAR–Poverty. the VIOLETS-Happiness. VoMIT-If the dreamer is poor, profits; if rich, loss. WALK–To see yourself walking alone and slowly, sadness and pov- erty; walking fast, you will experi- ence much anxiety in the pursuit of a certain object, or you will meet with ultimate success; walking through fire, danger; walking with somebody else, you will enjoy com- fort and true friendship; walking with a young person of the other sex, and if the dreamer is unmar- ried, the dreamer will soon be mar- ried and enjoy a happy wedded life; if you dream that you have a pleas- ant sensation while walking, suc- cess, joy, prosperity. WALL-Seeing one in your dream, trouble, you will find many obstacles in your pursuit with a fu- ture plan; climbing out or destroy- ing it, success; jumping over one, joy and happiness; seeing one sur- rounded by water, disappointment, disgrace; burning a wall, you will work hard, but without success. WASH-BOWL–Inheritance. WASH-Wom AN–Seeing a wash- woman at work in a dream, happi- ness, success; if she is tired or you are quarreling with One, disap- pointment, beware of gossip. WASPs—Hard times are coming, much worry and trouble. WATCH-Gains, money, prosper- ity. WATER—Clear, comfort, happi- ness; dirty, sorrows and trouble; stagnant, severe illness probably followed by death; dreaming of falling water, danger; walking over it, success, you will triumph over your enemies; seeing water under abnormal circumstances or improb- able places,danger,trouble; seeing it dried up and disturbed,you will soon find your affairs improved; dream- 24O ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. ing of very cold water, beware of enemies, hot, illness; spilling water, beware of fire; drinking it, com- fort, satisfaction; carying water in a sieve or bottomless vessel or the like without spilling it, you will have much domestic troubles, dis- appointment, great losses; seeing another person carrying water, good luck either to yourself or to that person, or something of good luck will happen to you in connec- tion with that person. WAVES-Dreaming of the waves of the sea, denotes worry, the dreamer will soon take a journey; dreaming of a big wave threatening to fall over you, great danger, probably death; seeing many agi- tated waves, trouble and sickness. WEATHER-COCK — Disappoint- Iment. WEDDING—Attending a wed- ding in a dream, disappointment, annoyance; dreaming of your own wedding, a fortunate omen; for a young person to dream of a wed- ding ring, signifies that his or her marriage will soon take place. WEEPING—Pleasure, success. WELL–Seeing a well, good 1uck; falling into it, danger; draw- ing water from it, good health, if sick, improvement of health; if un- married person draws clear water from a well, happy marriage; if the water is dirty, the marriage will be unhappy; if you dream that you are drawing water from a well and giving it to some other person to drink, that person will have good luck on your hand, if it is clear; if it is muddy, bad luck. WET-If you dream that you are wet for no reason whatever, disap- pointment, anger. WHEAT—Dreaming of wheat is as a rule, an omen of good luck, especially in money matters; wheat in the year, piled up in great quan- tities in the fields or in the barn, abundance, prosperity, you will have a fine harvest; seeing it in Small quantities, want; carrying it, you will experience some great disappointment, loss; seeing wheat growing, you will gain many profits after much trouble and labor; seeing wheat burning to ashes, famine; seeing wheat burn- ing without it being destroyed, great wealth in store for you; car- rying wheat away, a fine harvest, abundance. f WHEELs—Inheritance. WHISTLE-Beware of slander. WIDowHooD—Dreaming that you are a widower or a widow, you may expect some great joy or sat- isfaction. WIG—Beware of slander. WILL–Making your own will, bad luck, sorrows, probably death; making the will of somebody else, you may expect some great satis- faction or inheritance. WINDow—To dream of a win- dow is generally a very unlucky omen; falling out of it, an unsuc- cessful law suit; seeing the win- dows burning or broken, great danger, sickness, death; climbing through an open window into a house, you will soon get an intro- duction into that house which will prove of consequence to you; see- ing windows shut tightly, disap- pointment. WINE–Seeing or drinking wine, comfort, profit; spilling wine, bad luck. WINTER—Dreaming of winter in summer, bad luck; dreaming of a severe winter in season, good luck, you will reap a fine harvest. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 24I WITCHES-Bad poverty. Wolf—Seeing wolves, beware of jealousy and intrigues; being at- tackd by one, danger; killing One, Sll CCCSS. luck, slander, WomAN—Dreaming of women is as a general rule an unfavorable omen; seeing many women, be- ware of gossip; seeing women quarreling or fighting, Scandal, dis- appointment; seeing a blond wom- an, you will be blessed with some- body's devoted love; brunette, you will be loved passionately or pas- sively; plain looking, ugly or old, trouble, disappointment; seeing a dark woman, sickness; seeing a woman in the family way, good news; hearing the voice of a wom- an without seeing her, you will soon be compelled to move. WOOL–Troubles. WoRK–Seeing a workman at work, good luck, success; resting, poverty; fighting, disappointment, danger; if you are doing some work with the right hand, good luck; if with the left hand, momen- tary embarassment, loss of money. Wound—Being wounded, suc- cess in love, profits; wounding somebody or seeing somebody else wounded, grief. WREATH-Seeing a wreath of flowers, your hope will be fulfilled. WRECK–Bad luck. WRITING—You will hear some pleasant news. YoUNG—To dream that you are young again, good luck, some agreeable surprise, or pleasures in store for you. ZoDIAC–To dream of the zodi- ac, you will win in the lottery; to a man it will also denote that he is going on a long journey; to an un- married woman, that she will soon wed a foreigner; to a married per- son, increase of family. A Few Remarkable Dreams Recorded by History and Legend. Joseph, the son of Jacob, saw in his dreams how the sheaves of his brothers bowed before him; and it appeared to him that the sun and moon, surrounded by eleven stars, paid homage to him. This dream proved to be true. Joseph after- ward became governor of Egypt, and during the great famine, which lasted seven years, he supplied his brothers, father, and mother with the necessaries of life, gave them large estates, and made them a present of the land of Goshen. The patriach Jacob dreamed at night, while on his flight from his brother Esau to his uncle Laban, in Haran, that he saw a ladder, which, going out from earth, reach- ed with the highest rundle to heaven, upon which the angels were descending and ascending. The Lord, leaning himself upon this ladder, promised Jacob and his posterity the place on which he was sleeping, and announced to him that all the generations on earth should be blessed. This hap- pened after his vision. Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, dreamed that he was wandering on the bank of the river Nile, out of which came seven nice and fat cows, which were devoured a few moments after by seven others that were lean and ugly. In the same night he dreamed of seven full ears, which were consumed by seven dry and barren ones. Joseph, being asked to explain 242 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. this dream, said that the seven fat cows and seven full ears meant seven productive years, and the seven lean cows and seven barren ears indicated seven poor years, during which everything would be consumed which had been gathered in the seven rich years. This inter- pretation happened to be true. Hecuba, wife of Priamus, the king of Troja, dreamed that she gave birth to a burning torch which consumed the city of Troja. This was an omen of the great Trojan war, in which Priamus lost his kingdom, his family and his life, and the city was destroyed by the Greeks. Astyages, the last king of the Medians, had a dream in which he saw a tree growing out of his daughter, Mandan, the shadow of which covered him, as well as the whole continent of Asia. Upon consulting the priests and inter- preters of dreams, they told him that his daughter would give birth to a son, who would afterwards be ruler of Asia, and dangerous to himself. The king was horror- struck at this. Out of apprehen- siveness, he sent his daughter away from court to the small province of Persis, where she married a man of but little power and peaceful character, whose name was Kam- byses. In the course of a year she became mother to a son whom they called Kares, or Cyrus. He afterward subjugated the whole continent of Asia, and his grand- father Astyages also. So happened the interpretation of his dream to be true. During the war against the Latins, P. Decius and T. Manlius Torquatus, consuls or leaders of the Roman army, had dreams alike, while they encamped at the foot of Mt. Vesuvius. A stranger appear- ed to both, and announced to them that the gods of hell and earth, the common mother of mankind, de- manded as a sacrifice the com- mander of one hostile party and the whole army of the other; and that the Roman consul who would at- tack the first and sacrifice himself, would gain the victory for their destruction. When on the next day the sun had reached the meridian,. they brought the gods a sacrifice, to serve them either with an expiation in case the prophecy would be changed, or with the preparation of the sacrifice at its fulfillment if the will of the gods would stay immov- able. The sacrifice confirmed both dreams. After this they concluded that the first of the consuls seeing the wing of the army under his command fall back, should save the welfare and cause of his country by his death. Both generals acted with great bravery; the battle com- menced, and after it had been rag- ing furiously for a long while, the wing under P. Decius’ command. began to fall back, whereupon he gave himself over to death, and his. countrymen gained the victory, Once, while Themistocles was hiding from his enemies, after a sacrifice and supper given by the friend who was concealing him, the attendant upon the host's chil- dren fell into a sort of frenzy and fit of inspiration, and cried out, in verse like an oracle: “Night shall speak and night instruct thee, By the voice of night conduct thee.” After this Themistocles, going to bed, dreamed that he saw a snake coil itself up on his belly and creep to his neck; then, as soon as it touched his face, it turned into an FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 243 eagle, which spread its wings over him and took him up and flew away to a great distance; then there appeared a herald's golden wand, and upon this at last the eagle set him down securely, after infinite terror and disturbance. The subsequent history of the great warrior, the honor in which he was held and his name in history, all followed out the prophetical dream. In Plutarch's time, the Magnesians possessed a splendid sepulchre of Themistocles, placed in the middle of the market place. It was in the second Punic war, from 201-218 before Christ, that Hannibal, the son of Hamilcar, surmounted the Alps with an army of 60,000 warriors and forty ele- phants, to attack the Romans in their own country, and having suc- cessfully defeated all their armies sent against him, he destroyed in Italy everything by fire and sword. But before he commenced this great campaign he dreamed one night that a young man of more than human magnitude, was sent to him from heaven to guide him through Italy. In the beginning the Carthagenian general followed his advice, without turning his eyes from the path, but at last, in con- sequence of his natural inquisitive- ness, which drives men to penetrate secrets, he turned his eyes behind, and saw a monstrous serpent, which in its quick course destroyed everything that came in its way. Nature was convulsed, storms roar- ed, the thunder rolled, the light- ning crossed the air, and heaven was enveloped in deep darkness wherever the serpent passed. As- tonished at this, Hannibal asked his guide for the explanation of this forebodement. “You see,” he an- swered, “the devastation of Italy. It is your duty to remain silent and leave the rest to the secret decrees of fate.” So it was through this dream revealed to him that he should be the future conqueror of Italy. While Atirius Rufus was staying at Syracuse, during the celebration of the gladiatoric plays, he saw in his dream a net-fighter who pierced his breast with a sword. On the next day at the festival, he related his dream to some of the specta- tors sitting around him. A few moments after this a net-fighter, with a sword in his hand, stepped into the arena from that side where the Roman cavalier had taken his seat. At this sight Atirius Rufus cried out, “There is the net-man whom I believed killed me last night in a dream.” He made prep- arations to leave the palace imme- diately but his neighbors succeeded at last to keep him back and to free him from his sudden fright, were themselves the cause of his death; because the net-fighter, thrusting his sword at this place, knocked Atirius down on the ground and killed him. While Hamilcar, the chief com- mander of the Carthagenians, be- sieged the city of Syracuse, in the first Punic war, he thought he heard in his dream a voice saying to him, “Tomorrow thou shalt take thy dinner in Syracuse.” Believing that heaven promised him a victory by this dream, he put his army in line of battle to venture an attack; but through the help of a quarrel, which suddenly broke out between the Carthagenians and Sicilians who constituted a part of his army, the Syracusans issued in strong force out of the city, took posses- sion of his camp, and carried him back to the city as a prisoner. In 244 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. this manner, deceived, not by his dream, but the misunderstand- ing of it, he indeed dined in Syra- cuse, not as a victor, but as a pris- oner of war. While the queen Olympia, the wife of King Philip of Macedonia, was pregnant with Alexander the Great, she dreamed that her hus- band sealed her womb with a sig- net, in which the features of a lion were carved; thus indicating the strength, the eminence, and the future victories of this most famous conqueror of ancient history. Alexander the Great, king of Macedonia and conqueror of nearly the whole world, was often warned in his dreams to pay more attention to the security of his life, but it would have been necessary that fate had armed him against threat- ening dangers. In fact, he had dur- ing his sleep, enough opportunity to perceive that the hand of Cas- Sander would be momentous to him. Only a few hours after the ac- cusing dream, Cassander made his appearance before King Alexander, and he recognizing in him the pic- ture which had terrified him in his dream, satisfied himself with men- tioning a Grecian verse denounc- ing the nullity and invalidity of dreams. But after the writings of the most authentic authors of ancient his- tory, Alexander the Great was poisoned by Cassander, the son of Antipater, one of Alexander's own generals. Alexander the Great, sleeping by the side of his friend Ptolomaeus, who was mortally wounded, dream- ed that a dragon belonging to his mother appeared before him bear- ing in his mouth a root that would save his friend's life. Alexander related the dream, the root was dis- covered, Ptolomaeus was cured, and many other soldiers besides. Pyrrhus won a great country by a dream. He took arms and march- ed against Beroea. That night he seemed in his sleep to be called by Alexander the Great, and approach- ing, saw him sick in bed. He was received with very kind words and much respect, and promised zeal- ous assistance. He made bold to reply, “How, sir, you being sick, can you assist me?” “With my name!” said he, and mounting a Nisaean horse, seemed to lead the way. At the sight of this vision, he was much assured, and with swift marches overran the adjacent places, took Beroea and reduced the rest of the country by his com- manders. (Plutarch's Lives.) Alcibiades was a famous gen- eral of the Grecians, in the Pelope- nese war, in the attempt to conquer Sicily and several other campaigns, but at last, in spite of all the merit he had gained in the cause of his country, he was banished from his native city, and a few days before his death, he saw in a dream how he was covered with the cloak of his mistress. His enemies thought him to be dangerous to themselves yet, although in banishment, so they sent out assassins, and he fell, a few days after his dream, by their hands, and after he was dead they covered his body with the cloak of his mistress. So happened his dream to be fulfilled. At the time when Dionysius, of Syracuse, a city in Sicily, was yet a private person, a lady of high nobility in Himera dreamed that she arrived in heaven, and running through the habita- FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 245 tions of different gods and goddesses. she saw at the feet of Jupiter a man of colossal magnitude, with fair hair and freckles in his face, sigh- ing under the burden of heavy chains. “Who is this unfortu- nate?” she asked the young man who was her guide in her heavenly visit. He returned: “He is the bad spirit of Sicily and Italy, who once relieved of his chains would cause the fall and destruction of many cities.” This dream became public on the following day. The goddess For- tuna, jealous of the liberty of Syra- cuse, and after she had sworn de- struction to its virtuous citizens, effected the release of Dionysius from his prison, and slung him like a stroke of lightning among them, to disturb the peace and tranquility of nations. Hardly had said woman, who was among the crowd that conven- ed to see his (Dionysius) entrance into the city of Himera, perceived him, and seen his countenance, than she exclaimed: “This is the man I saw in my dream!” The ty- rant having her arrested, asked for the meaning of that exclamation. After she had made a full confes- sion of her dream, he sentenced her to death. The poet Simonides being upon the point of embarking for some other port, was kept back by a dream, which prophesied to him a tempest. In fact, the tempest broke forth before the ship had reached the high sea, and all the men, to whom he was to have been a com- panion, perished and drowned be- fore his eyes. ulated himself for having more trusted a dream than a ship, and out of acknowledgment for the Simonides congrat- miraculous salvation of his life, he glorified this dream through a magnificent poem. The king of Acetus saw in his dream how his son Atys fell, killed by the sharp blade of a sword. Deeply terrified at this, he took great pains in his fatherly affection to procure all precautions to pre- vent the dire calamity which so horribly threatened him. The most insignificant cautious proceedings were, at his command, made use of every day, but the pressure of cir- cumstances knew how to procure misfortune an entrance. A wild hog was destroying the fields of the Sydiens; Atys, burning with desire to relieve the country of this most dangerous enemy, gained, aft- er much pains, the permission of his father, although he feared nothing but the sword of the murderer. In the ardor of the hunters to kill the overpowered monster, one of their lances turned about and killed the unfortunate prince instantly. Caius Gracchus, while asleep, was notified by a dream in the most remarkable mode of the fate which threatened him. He saw in his sleep the shadow of his brother, Tiberius Gracchus, who had been slain, with three hundred of his companions by the patricians, while defending the rights of the people. He announced to him the impossibility of avoiding the same horrible doom which had taken his life when he was driven from the capitol. Before he took possession of the notorious tribunal which brought upon him the fate of his brother, he himself made his dreams known to several persons, but it was too late; he had not obeyed the pro- phesies of the inspiration. 246 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. Artorius, the physician of Augus- tus, saw in the night preceding the battle of Philippi, in his dream, the goddess Minerva, who commanded him to admonish the emperor to attend at all hazards the next bat- tle, however dangerous the malady might be which retained him bed- ridden to his tent. Artorius noti- fied the emperor of the vision he had had; Augustus, by some sort of presentiment, obeyed the com- mand of the dreamer, and while being carried on a litter, and await- ing the result of the battle, Brutus took possession of his camp, and would have made him, undoubted- ly, his prisoner if he had remained within. Cicero, exiled from Rome by the cabal of his enemies, abided at his villa in the neighborhood of Atina. One night while asleep, he dreamed of meeting Marius, then the chief and commander of the Roman army, surrounded by all the luxury of a consul’s dignity, and as if this commander asked him whereforehe walked so adventurously and with such absence of mind; and how Marius, being notified of his cal- amity, took hold of his hand, and intrusted him to his first lictor to accompany him to a certain habita- tion which he had prepared for him, with the assurance that he would find a better fate there. This promise was based upon no delus- ion, because the senate of Rome concluded shortly afterward in the temple of Jupiter, when they were erecting a monument by order of Marius, to call back the great ora- tor and statesman, Cicero. In tri- umph, he returned to Rome, great crowds of enthusiastic people came to meet him, and he was received by the senate and populace of Rome with the greatest congratu- lations. Cicero was called the “father of his country,” and so his dream proved to be no illusion. Cicero relates a story of two Ar- cadians who, traveling together, arrived at Megara and went to sep- arate lodgings, one to an inn, the other to a private house. In the course of the night the latter dreamed that his friend appeared to him and begged for help, because the inn-keeper was preparing to murder him. The dreamer awoke, but not considering the matter worthy of attention, went to sleep again. A second time his friend appeared, telling him that assist- ance would be too late, for the mur- der had already been committed. The murdered person also said that his body had been put into a cart and covered with refuse, and that an attempt would be made to take it out of the city the next morning. The dreamer went to the magistrate and had the cart search- ed, whereupon the body was found and the murderer brought to jus- tice. It is said that Julius Caesar had many warnings of his ap- proaching fate, and that the night before his death his wife, Calpurnia, dreamed that he was murdered in her arms. In the morning she en- treated him with tears not to go to the senate-house, as he had intend- ed. Caesar, however, went at last, and was assassinated that same morning. On the night before Caesar was assassinated, he dreamed at inter- vals that he was soaring above the clouds on wings, and that he plac- ed his hand within the right hand of Jove. The wife of Julius Caesar, Cal- purnia, dreamed that her husband FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 247 fell bleeding across her knees; she told her dream, and warned him not to go out that day, but heed- less of her prayers, he went to the forum, and was stabbed with twen- ty-three wounds. Cassius of Parma, who had espoused the cause of Marc An- thony, fled to Athens after the bat- tle of Actium. While sleeping in his apartments there, he saw a man enter his chamber, an individual with dark complexion and dishev- elled hair, very tall and stout. Cas- sius demanded who he was; to which the phantom replied: “I am your evil genius!” The dreamer arose in a fright, and seeing no one present, summoned his slaves, in- quiring if any among them had seen a stranger enter the apart- ment. An examination showed the doors of the house to have been firmly closed, so that it was impos- sible for anyone to enter. Cassius, persuaded that he had been the vic- tim of some illusion, again went to sleep, but the same vision present- ed itself a second time, addressing him with the same words. Cassius, troubled, arose from his couch and summoned lights. At early day- break he was assassinated by order of the emperor, Augustus. While Vespasian was stopping with the emperor Nero, on the isl- and Aegina, near the coast of Greece he believed he saw in a dream an unknown person who foretold him that his fortune would commence as soon as somebody would extract a tooth from the em- peror Nero. On his waking the first individual he met, while going out, was a dentist, who had drawn Nero a tooth. This emperor, be- ing a cruel monster, and full of self- conceitedness, was shortly after- ward killed, and after his successor, Galba, had been killed by the Prae- torians, and Otho and Vitellius had passed as mere shadows, he (Ves- pasian) was proclaimed as emperor. Septimus Severus saw in his dream how Pertinax, the Roman emperor, fell from his horse, in- jured himself mortally and died al- most instantly, and how he himself mounted the imperial horse. The event justified itself; Septimus Sev- erus was elected Roman emperor in place of Pertinax. After the death of his father Con- stantius, Constantine, his son, suc- ceeded him, in the year 306 after Christ, as emperor of a part of the Occident, but he had five fellow- emperors, who tried their best to govern the whole empire. One night he saw in mid-air a shining and radiant cross, and at the same time he believed he heard a voice which said: “In hoc signo vinces,” “in this sign thou shalt conquer.” On the next day he ordered a cross to be made out of gold and jewels, which was carried in the battle by the strongest warriors; and under this auspicious ensign they went in the battle, defeated the enemy, and Maxentius, the antagonist of Con- stantine, himself perished. A few days before the death of Henry IV. of France, his queen, Marie de Medici, had two strange dreams. She thought all the jewels in her crown were changed to pearls, the sign of tears; and on the following night she dreamed that the king was stabbed in his side. The king and queen therefore had sad presentiments, and in a few days it all came out true; for the king was slain by the hand of a reg- icide. Henry IV. saw in the night, pre- ceding his assassination, how a 248 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. rainbow formed itself over his head. This was the omen of his sudden death; on the following day he fell by the murderous hand of Ravail- lac. In the year 1668, Louis XIV. saw in his dream how he was fight- ing with a monstrous lion, which he killed at last. Soon after he con- quered the Franche-Comte, after severe fighting, which lasted two months. In the year 1713, Tartini, a cele- brated composer, in a mid-summer night, heard how the devil played, in his presence, with the most ad- mirable talent, a violin solo of orig- inal style and wonderful melody. Hardly awake, Tartini remembered every note of this most extraordin- ary music, and hurried to write it down, and this work is well known under the title, “The Sonnet of the Devil.” It is said that on the night before the battle of Waterloo, Napoleon dreamed of two black cats, who were running from one army to the other; the one which they left was cut in pieces. The events proved that it was his own army, that met with defeat the following day. Marie Antoinette, queen of France, saw in her dream, while in prison, a few hours before her awakening—on the gloomy and awful day of the 21st of January, 1795—a red sun—bad omen—aris- ing above a pillar which broke down immediately, the signs of the death of a powerful person. In the year 975, Charlemagne, or Charles the Great, saw in his dream how clouds heaped them- selves over his head, which were dispersed right after by a shin- ing sun. This was an abodement of the revolution which broke out. in the following year in Saxonia, under their leader, Wittekind. But Charles defeated him after severe fighting, and restored peace. While the Crusaders, under God- frey de Bouillon, were besieged in the city of Antioch, by the Turkish emir, Corboga, a great famine broke out in the city and thousands died of starvation. At this time a. man, whose name was Peter Bar- tholomaus, had a dream in which Saint Andrea appeared to him and told him that in the church of Saint Peter they would find the lance with which the side of Our Lord was pierced. The mere aspect of this lance would drive the Saracens. away. On the following day he communicated this most extra- ordinary dream to the leaders of the Christian army. The lance was found, as the dream had stated, and in the following battle, Corboga. and his immense army were totally defeated. ! Cromwell did not yield before the execution of Charles I., al- though he had a horrible dream on the evening before the sentence (January 26, 1649). He saw him- self in the middle of a churchyard —omen of future fortune—before an executioner—the sign of bloody catastrophe-who put on his head a crown of skeleton bones. Richard, the lion-hearted, after his secret return from the holy land, where he had gained by his bravery many brilliant victories over the Saracens, landed near Aquileja, not far from Venice, when he saw one night in his dream, how two dogs were fighting together, and how the torch he held in his hand became extinguished. These signs happened two weeks before his capture and imprison- FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 249 | ment by Leopold, duke of Austria, who delivered him to the German emperor, Henry VI., called the cruel. Richard was a prisoner for two years. A short time before the Princess Nagatzky, of Warsaw, traveled to Paris, she had the following re- markable dream: She dreamed that she found herself in an un- known apartment, when a man, who was likewise unknown to her, came to her with a cup, and pre- senting it to her, he ordered her to drink out of it. She replied that she did not feel thirsty, she was thankful to him for his offer. The stranger repeated his request, and added that she should not refuse any longer, for it would be the last she ever would drink in her life. Terrified at this, she awoke. In October, 1720, the princess arrived in good health in Paris, where she occupied a furnished hotel, but soon after her arrival, she was seized with violent fever. She sent immediately for the king's phys- ician, the father of Helvetius. He came, and the princess showed striking marks of astonishment. She was asked the reason of it, and answered that the physician per- fectly resembled the man whom she had at Warsaw seen in a dream; “but,” she added, “I shall not die this time, for this is not the same apartment which I saw on the oc- casion of my dream. The princess was soon afterward completely re- stored, and appeared to have com- pletely forgotten her dream, when a new incident reminded her of it in a most forcible manner. She was dissatisfied with her lodgings at the hotel, and therefore request- ed that a dwelling might be pre- pared for her in a convent in Paris. The princess removed to the con- vent but hardly had she entered the apartment destined for her, when she began to exclaim: “It is all over with me; I shall not come out of this room again alive, for it is the same I saw in Warsaw, in my dream.” She died in reality in the same room, shortly afterwards. The following is narrated by Von Seckendorf: King Frederick William I. of Prussia, the father of Frederick the Great, stood in such friendly con- nection with August II. of Poland, that they, if possible, saw each Other at least once a year. This was continued till a short time before the death of the latter, who appeared at the time to be in tolerable health, except that he had a serious inflammation in one of his toes, and he was therefore strictly warned against any excess of wine, and the king of Prussia, being aware of this, gave orders to his ad- jutant, Von Grumbkow, that at the parting dinner he was carefully to avoid everything, by which moder- ation in the use of wine might be exceeded. But on the king's desire to have a few more bottles of champagne, to make a finish, as it were, Grumb- kow, who was himself fond of this wine, consented, and drank so much of it for his share that he, in passing over the courtyard, broke his ribs against the pole of a car- riage, and was, therefore, obliged the next morning to be carried in a sedan to King August. On this occasion the king of Poland was only dressed in a short fur cloak, with the exception of a shirt open in front. On the first of February, 1733, about three o'clock in the morning, while Von Grumbkow was asleep, the king appeared to him in the same dress, and said to him: “Mon 25O ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. cher Grumbkow, je viens de mourir à Varsovie.” (My dear Grumbkow, I am just expiring at Warsaw.) After Grumbkow awoke, he sent instantly a full statement of the whole vision or dream, to Count Von Seckendorf, who was at that time at Frederick William’s court, and besought him to communicate the matter to the king. At Von Seckendorf's receiving this note, he exclaimed: “One would think that pain had made a visionary of Old Grumbkow, but, however, I have to communicate the contents of the letter at once to the king.” Forty-six hours after- ward, the news arrived at Berlin, by the Polish Uhlans, and Prussian hussars, that the king of Poland had died in the same hour, at War- saw, that Grumbkow saw the ap- parition. Dr. Jung-Stilling, the celebrated German writer, relates the follow- ing: “The merchant in whose em- ploy I was formerly, from the years 1763 to 1770, frequently related to me a remarkable presentiment, which he once had, while staying in Rotterdam. On commencing busi- ness, he took a journey into Hol- land, for the purpose of forming connections with his extensive iron works. But his chief attention was directed to Middleburg, to which place he had several recommenda- tions from his friends in Holland. Having finished his business in Rotterdam, he went in the morn- ing to the Middleburg market- boat, which was lying at anchor, ready to sail at noon to Middle- burg. He then went to his inn, prepared for his voyage, and ord- ered some refreshments to be sent up to his room at eleven o’clock. Almost being ready with his repast, he fell asleep, when a sailor ap- peared to him, who came to call him to the boat. On beholding him, he was seized with an unac- countable trepidation, together with an inward conviction not to go to Middleburg. On awakening, he beheld the sailor stepping in the door, summoning him to the boat. He told the sailor he was not able to accompany him, and he felt him- self compelled to stay. In the ev- ening he went to see a friend of his, and a great noise was heard in the street. After inquiry was made, they found out that the market- boat, being struck by lightning, had sunk, and that not a single in- dividual on board was saved. A letter in Moritz's Experimental Psychology says the following: “In the year 1768, while studying medicine at the Royal Medical Academy, at Berlin, I played in the seventy-second drawing of the Prussian numerical lottery, which took place on the 30th of May, and fixed upon the numbers 22 and 60. “In the night preceding the day of drawing, I dreamed that toward twelve o'clock at noon, which is the time when the lottery is gener- ally drawn, the master apothecary sent down to tell me that I must come up to him. On going up- stairs, he told me to go immediately to Mr. Mylius, the auctioneer, on the other side of the castle, and ask him if he had disposed of the books which had been left with him for sale; but that I must return Speedily, because he was waiting for an answer. ‘That is just the thing,” thought I, still dreaming, ‘the lottery will just be drawing, and after I have executed my com- mission, I will run quickly to the general lottery office, and see if my numbers come out’ (the lottery be- ing drawn in the open street); ‘if I only walk quick I shall be at home in time again.” FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 251 “I went, therefore, instantly (still dreaming), in compliance with my orders, to Mr. Mylius, executed my commission, and, after receiv- ing his answer, ran hastily to the general lottery office, on the ‘Tager Brucke.’ Here I found the cus- tomary preparations and a large number of spectators. They had already begun to put the num- bers into the wheel, and the mo- ment I came up, No. 60 was exhib- ited and called out. ‘O,’ thought I, 'it is a good omen that just one of my numbers should be called out just at the moment of my arrival.’ “Having not much time, I wish- ed they would hasten to tell in the remaining numbers; and they, at length, were all counted in, and the drawing commenced. When the first number was drawn and called out, it was No. 22. ‘A good omen again!’ thought I; ‘No. 60 will also certainly come out!' The second number was drawn, and behold! it was surely No. 60. ‘Now they may draw what they please,” said I to some one who stood near me; ‘my numbers are out—I have no more time to spare.” With this I turned about and ran directly home. Here I awoke and recollected my dream as clearly as I relate it now. Of course, it excited my curiosity so much that I could scarcely wait till 11OO11, “At length it struck eleven, but still no appearance of my dream being fulfilled. It struck a quarter —it struck half past—and still there was no probability of it. Giving up all hope already, suddenly some one came in and told me to go in- stantly up stairs to the master apothecary. Going up, I heard with great astonishment, that I must go immediately to Mr. Mylius to ask him if he had disposed of the books intrusted to him for sale. He told me also to return quickly, as he was waiting for an answer. “I went in all haste to execute my commission, and, after receiv- ing answer, went directly to the lot- tery office on the Tager Brucke, and full of surprise, I saw that No. 60 was exhibited and called out the moment I arrived. My dream be- ing thus far punctually fulfilled, I resolved to wait to the end, At length the drawing commenc- ed, and the first number was No. 22. The second was drawn also, as I had dreamed, and was No. 601 I turned instantly to return home, when a person near me exclaimed: ‘What, will you not wait till all the numbers are out?’ ‘No,' said I, ‘my numbers are out, and they may now draw what they please.’ “Thus was the whole of my dream fulfilled, not only substan- tially, but literally and verbatim.” The following story is quoted by Il Vessillo Spiritisto, from a book on Pathology, by Dr. Catalani, a distinguished physician of Fermo: On March 25, 1825, Countess Vinci related to her friend, Coun- tess Montani, a dream which she had had on the previous night. A murderer had pounced upon her during her sleep, and, seizing her by the hair, had plunged a dagger in her throat. She only caught sight of the assailant, but was en- abled to identify him as a valet de chambre who had been serving her for years with much faithfulness and devotion. No importance was attached to this occurrence until six months afterwards, when, on September 25, the papers related the murder of Countess Vinci by an unknown as- sassin. Countess Montani applied at once to Dr. Catalani, and told him the story of the dream. The 252 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. doctor communicated with the po- lice, who proceeded to arrest the valet de chambre. The latter had remained in his situation as if noth- ing had happened, but a large quantity of jewels which had disap- peared from his mistress's safe, on the night of her tragic death, were found in his lodgings. He col- lapsed under the weight of the evi- dence, and made a full confession of his crime, admitting that he had been contemplating it for three years. He was sentenced to death, and executed on February 25, 1826. When cholera broke out in 1831 in Berlin, all Brandenburg was in alarm. K–, a teacher, however, said: “I saw in a dream that a monster came towards Branden- burg from the east, but when near to it the monster sprang to the right and to the left hand; so it will go by on both sides, but Branden- burg will escape.” This proved to be the case. A letter from Hamburg, Ger- many, contains the following cur- ious story, relative to the verifica- tion of a dream. It appears that a locksmith's apprentice, one morn- ing lately, informed his master (Claude Soller), that on the pre- vious night he dreamt that he had been assassinated on the road to Bergedorf, a little town at about two hours’ distance from Ham- burg. The master laughed at the young man's credulity, and to prove that he himself had little faith in dreams, insisted upon sending him to Bergedorf, with 140 Reichs- thaler (£22.8s), which he owed to his brother-in-law, who resided in the town. The apprentice, after in vain imploring his master to change his intention, was com- pelled to set out, at about eleven o'clock. On arriving at the village of Billwaerder, about half-way be- tween Hamburg and Bergedorf, he recollected his dream with terror but perceiving the baillie of the vil- lage at a little distance, talking to Some of his workmen, he accosted him, and acquainted him with his singular dream, at the same time requesting that, as he had money about his person, one of his work- men might be allowed to accom- pany him for protection across a small wood which lay in his way. The baillie smiled, and in obedience to his orders one of the men set out with the young apprentice. next day the corpse of the latter was conveyed by some peasants to the baillie, along with a reaping- hook, which had been found by his side, and with which the throat of the murdered youth had been cut. The baillie immediately recognized the instrument as one which he had on the previous day given to the workman who had served as the apprentice's guide, for the purpose of pruning some willows. The workman was apprehended, and on being confronted with the body of his victim, made a full confession of his crime, adding, that the recital of the dream had alone prompted him to commit the horrible act. The The assassin, who was thirty-five years of age, had hitherto borne an irreproachable character. A remarkable fulfillment of a dream, or rather of four identical dreams, is reported by the Aber- ystwyith Observer in relation to the sudden death of the late Colonel Pryse. It was not considered safe to break to Viscountess Parker the news of her uncle's death for some days, and Mr. Fryer went up to London to convey to her the infor- mation. On his arrival at her resi- dence, in Montague square, a maid The Mystery of Dreams. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 253 announced to her ladyship his ar- rival. “Mr. Fryer,” she said, “I know what it is. My uncle is dead. He died alone on the road leading from Rhiwarthen to Penwern. I have dreamt four times infouryears that this would happen, and the last time was the night before baby was born. I have tried many times to keep him from going that way. Ask Mr. Fryer to come up.” She after- wards said that she meant the road leading to Penuwch, which is in the same direction, and that she would know the spot. Another story which is told in the same connec- tion, curiously illustrates the sur- vival of old beliefs. Our contem- porary states that some months ago, just before the death of Mrs. Fryer (Colonel Pryse's sister-in- law), Lady Pryse noticed a bird hovering around Gogerddan, and at times flapping his wings wildly at the windows. And the same thing occurred again just before Colonel Pryse's death. During the illness of a late well-known public man in Cardiganshire, a similar bird was seen about Penwern, and as his wife had noticed the same thing before the death of her daughter and grand-children, she felt very much alarmed, and men- tioned the incident to the medical attendant. Sónya Kovalévska (1850-1890), one of the most brilliant mathemat- icians of the century, who obtained the Prix-Bordin from the French academy, the greatest scientific honor ever gained by a woman, whose love for mathematical and psychological problems amounted to a passion, and whose intellect would accept no proposition incap- able of a mathematical demonstra- tion, all her life maintained a firm belief in apparitions and in dreams as portents. She was so influenced by disagreeable dreams and the ap- parition of a demon as to be for some time thereafter obviously de- pressed and low-spirited. An acquaintance of Mrs. Helen Jackson, writing in “The Overland Monthly,” says: “‘The Prince's Little Sweetheart,” one of the last sketches from her pen, published in the May number of The Century, was a fanciful little tale, which pro- voked widespread comment and discussion. Oddly enough, its readers were everywhere divided into two distinct classes—one re- garding it as an absurd and un- meaning fable, the other reading a deep meaning in the quaint story, whose simple pathos went to their hearts. As I started to leave her after a little afternoon call one day early in July, the story somehow came into my mind, and I said, a little awkwardly: ‘Oh, by the way, Mrs. Jackson! That story of yours in the May Century. I wanted to tell you that I understood it and liked it. It seems to me to voice the concentrated tragedy of young wifehood.” “It is the oddest thing in the world—about that story,’ she earnestly rejoined. “I believe I have never in my life written any- thing of which I have heard so much. Letters have been pouring in upon me ever since. Some beg me to explain its meaning, and others thank me for it. I have just received a letter from Miss (mentioning a famous writer in the east), and she declares that it is the best thing I have ever written. Now the truth of the whole matter is, that story was a dream. It oc- curred after my accident last year, and in my own house at Colorado Springs. I dreamed it all out, every detail, just as I afterwards wrote 254 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. it. And the strange part of it was that when I woke up I saw the little sweetheart standing before me in her homely brown gown, and with her pitiful little face, as plainly as I see you at this moment. But while I looked at her she faded away and was gone. It was the most singu- lar experience I ever had in my life.” Three painters were not long ago precipitated six stories by the breaking of a rope in New York city. Before starting work, one of them had told another that he had dreamt that the rope would break, when his mate asked: “What be- came of us?” The answer was: “I presume we were killed, for I awoke then.” In an hour the rope broke, and thus the terrible dream had come true. Some thirty years ago, while an express train near Springfield, Mass., took up a laborer with both feet cut off. He said, “I told my wife this morning that I dreamed I would lose my feet to-day, but she laughed at me.” In our history the oft-repeated story of the dream of Abraham Lincoln, which came to him always on the eve of great sorrows in his life, has repeatedly been told. On the night before his assassination he dreamed it for the last time. On the morning of that eventful Friday, at the cabinet meeting, he said to those assembled: “Gentle- men, something very extraordinary is going to happen, and that very soon.” To which the attorney-gen- eral observed: “Something good, sir, I hope,” when the president answered very gravely: “I don’t know; I don’t know; but it will happen, and shortly, too.” As they were all impressed with his man- ner, the attorney-general took it up again. “Have you received any information, sir, not yet disclosed to us?” “No,” answered the pres- ident, “but I have had a dream, and I have now had the same dream. three times—once upon the night preceding the battle of Bull Run, Once on a night preceding another battle not favorable to the north.” His chin sank in his breast again, and he sat reflecting. “Might one ask the nature of the dream, sir?” asked the attorney-general. “Well,” replied the president, without lift- ing his head or changing his atti- tude, “I am on a great, broad, roll- ing river, and I am in a boat, and I drift, and I drift—but this is not business,” suddenly raising his face and looking around the table, “Let us proceed to business, gentle- men.” The following is from the Cleve- land Plaindealer, Oct. 28, 1899: Strange and inexplicable as it may seem, it is an indisputable fact that dreams do foreshadow or de- note disasters, and such cases are of much more frequent occurrence than is generally supposed. An extraordinary instance was brought to light at an inquest held at Birmingham, England, four years ago, on the body of a girl who was found drowned in a canal near Spring hill, in that town. She had been away from home on a visit to her aunt, and as she did not return, her absence was reported to the police. The night after hearing of the girl's disappearance the auntdream- ed that she was on the bank of the canal referred to, and that while passing along she rippled the water with her umbrella, on which the body of her niece at once rose to the surface. Next morning she vis- FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 255 ited the spot, that had figured in the dream, and, finding the police dragging another portion of the canal, she suggested that they should try the part she had dream- ed of. This they at once did, with the startling result that the body was immediately brought to the surface. The sensational Dreyfus affair was last year productive of a sim- ilar dream during M. Zola's pres- ence in London. One night Miss Vizetelly, daughter of the well- known publisher, whose guest the famous French writer was at that time, dreamed that she was in the fortress that formed the prison of Henry, one of the notorious char- acters in the affair. On the floor she saw a man lying in a pool of blood, the spectacle somehow seeming to make her feel glad. Next morning she related her dream to her father's guest, and a short time afterwards news- papers were brought in announc- ing the suicide of Henry. It then transpired that while the lady was dreaming of it the rash act was actually being committed. Not long since there was a fatal shaft accident at a colliery at Gris- ley, Derbyshire, England. It hap- pened on a Monday, and the night before the collier employed in the pit where the disaster took place, had a dream. In this he was hor- rified to see the cage in which the miners descended to their work, dash down from the top to the bot- tom, killing all the men. The dream made him feel quite ill, and, waking his wife, he told it to her. She persuaded him not to go to his work in the morning, and very fortunately, too, for an acci- dent did happen, and to the very cage by which he would have gone down the shaft. There was a less satisfactory se- quel to a somewhat similar dream which came to light at the inquest on the three men killed a short time ago by the fall of a stone in the Kelloe pit. One of the victims, named Davison, lived with his mother, who the night before the accident, dreamed that she saw her son brought home lifeless. She im- plored him not to go to work the next day, but he lightly replied that if he had to be killed it might as well be that day as any other. And that day it was, as foreshadowed in his widowed mother’s dream. Between four and five years ago a Benhar miner of the name of Mc- Farlane, disappeared from his home, all efforts to trace him prov- ing fruitless. A day or two after- wards, a brother-in-law of the miss- ing man fell asleep and dreamed that he saw his near relative at a cerain part of the Almead water, several miles away. On learning this the searchers proceeded to the spot, and soon found footprints in the snow, fol- lowing which they came upon the body of the man standing upright in the water, which was frozen all around him. The dream that de- noted this disaster, caused quite a sensation in the neighborhood. Imagine a woman dreaming that she was going to be murdered, and the manner in which the foul deed was to be done! Such was the experience of Mrs. Eggleston of Antelope Valley, Mono, county, Cal., whose dream was fulfilled to the letter a few days later. A week or so before the event took place she told several neigh- bors she had dreamed that, as she 256 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. was about to open the oven door in her kitchen one morning, a man named Watkins suddenly appeared with a knife in his hand, and stab- bed her several times. The neighbors were rather per- turbed at this, and when the poor woman was found dead in her house, wounded in the manner in- dicated, a short time afterwards, her dream was brought back vivid- ly to their minds. The man who had figured in it as the assassin was at once apprehended, and his guilt was proved up to the hilt. A case arose, too, out of the re- cent holiday season. A young man resident of King's Lynn, was drowned while bathing at Scar- borough, where he was spending his vacation. Two or three nights before his sister at home had a dream, in which she saw him drowning, and so real did it seem that she woke up with loud cries. It affected her so much that next day she wrote to her brother en- treating him to exercise the great- eSt Care. “You need not tell me—I know he is drowned l’’ was the remark with which she astonished the po- lice when they went to apprise her of the sad occurrence. Some eighteen months since news reached New York of a terri- ble dynamite explosion which had taken place in the Coney mine, near Skykomish, a day or two be- fore. It resulted in the death of two men, one of whom was named Robinson. At the time of the ac- cident the latter's young wife was asleep in bed at the house of her parents at Renton, several miles away. Just at the moment that it took place she had a most realistic dream, in which her husband was killed in an explosion at the mine. Awaking in great agitation, she aroused her mother and related what she had seen in her sleep. The old lady essayed to reassure her, but nothing would convince her that her husband had not been killed, and in the midst of her la- mentations a messenger arrived to apprise her of the accident. Last year an engine-driver, named Edward Jones, fell off his locomotive at Wrexham, England, and was killed. It was disclosed at the inquest on his body that the night before the accident the un- fortunate man's wife dreamed that this accident had taken place. To ease her mind she got up and went to the works to ascertain whether he was safe. She found him all right then, but shortly after she had returned home the accident took place, and her strange dream was fulfilled. A similar experience recently be- fell the wife of a Leeds cab propri- etor. Among her friends was an old lady of sixty of the name of Higgins, and a few nights after paying her a visit she dreamed that her friend was dead. This induced her to take the first opportunity of seeing the old lady again, and next morning she pro- ceeded to the house in which her friend resided alone. Getting no response to her repeated knocks, she summoned one of the old lady's relatives, who, with a doctor and a policeman, forced the door and found the aged occupant dead in her bedroom. A remarkable instance of a dream that denoted disaster occur- red in Paris in connection with the death of a well-known English gen- tleman jockey, who was killed there by a fall from his horse. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 257 According to his own testimony, a confidential friend of the unfor- tunate man was troubled with a very disquieting dream the night before the accident took place. In it he saw a horseman wearing a cherry red coat, which was his friend's particular color, crushed to death by a fall. Much impressed by this singular occurrence, he mentioned his dream to several acquaintances next morning, but not one of them would regard it in at all a serious light. Before long, however, it had been fulfilled to the letter, and the skeptics changed their views. All the foregoing instances are strictly authentic, and conclusively show that there are some things dreamed of in our beds which can- not yet be accounted for by our philosophy. EAR, One who has a broad, well- shaped ear is sure of a long life. Large ears are a sign of coarse- IlêSS. If your ears are large, it is a sign that you have a taste for music. A combination of a small ear and a small, straight nose signifies pov- erty. Long, thin ears denote a person to be bold, slow to acquire learn- ing, proud and scornful; also that you may have confidence in him or her for the keeping of a secret. Very small thin ears are a sign of great delicacy and refinement. Some call them poets' ears; others say they are self-seeking and stingy. If a person has full, protruding ears, it is a sign that he or she has a talent for music. Those who have a fine sense of hearing have their ears well fur- nished with gristle, well channelled and hairy. When hair grows in the ears, it is a sign of an ill-natured, treach- erous and Savage person. When you hear a ringing in your ear, repeat the names of the people you know; the name that the ringing stops at will be the one who is thinking of you. If it rings in your left ear, the person is think- ing or talking well of you; if in your right ear, ill. (Some people take it the reverse.) If both your ears ring at the same time, it is a sign that someone in the other world is talking of you. When one hears singing in the ears, it is a sign that the dead are asking for food. (Eskimos.) If you pull a person's ears, they will not forget anything you tell them to do. When you have a ring in the ear ask somebody which ear it is in. Should he guess correctly, people are talking well of you; but if he fails, they are talking ill. (Bohem- ian.) In India, to have a small hole or hollow behind the right ear, is to have great luck and riches. In India, to have a hole bored in the right ear and nostril, also brings great luck. If a hogplum-tree is growing in your neighborhood, and the fruit is ripe, you must not pierce a girl's ears or the lobes will ulcerate or swell, producing those unsightly abnormal growths sometimes seen in the negro and on hogplum-trees. (British Guinia.) 258 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. ELBOW. If your elbows are sharp, it is a sign that you are a scold. If you knock your elbow, you will see someone whom you wish very much to see; others say you will be disappointed. To bump your crazy-bone signi- fies that you are going to hear Some hasty news. EYES. To tell a person's disposition, notice the color of his or her eyes: “Black eye, pick-a-pie, Turn around and tell a lie. Blue eye, beauty, Do your mother's duty. Green eye, greedy gut, Eat all the world up.” “Deep and sly, Beware the eye, Of grayish dye!” The brown less shocking, Merry and mocking, Also pass by. Honest and true, Seek out the blue. But the gleam of black orb I rede ye, fly! For dark, even like Allah's ways, Is that eye! Black, sparkling eyes, with a grave mouth, show taste, elegance, sound judgment, but often an un- generous disposition. A black eye is usually lively, pen- etrative, brisk, and proves a per- son to be of a lively wit, sprightly conversation, not easily imposed upon, of a sound understanding, apt to lie, often led away by the in- fluence of others, selfish, desirous of absorbing the time and attention of a friend, and jealous of everyone else. It is indicative of domination and personal power to have haughty black eyes. A black-eyed man is always most jealous and suspicious of his wife, a gray-eyed man is most faithful, the brown-eyed man is the best to provide, and the blue-eyed man is always henpecked. Take your choice, girls. A true, gray eye denotes the per- son to be of weak intellect, devoid of wit, but ... plain, plodding, down- right drudge, who will act as order- ed or suggested by others. Slow in learning anything that requires attention, they will be just, to the amount of their understanding of the matter. With the Arabs, grey eyes are synonymous with sin and enmity. In the Koran XX, we read: “On that day the trumpet shall be sounded and we will gather the wicked together, even those hav- ing grey eyes.” Greenish gray eyes, with light streaks coming and going, denote intellectuality, impulsiveness, im- pressionableness and love of poetry and art. Gray-blue, clear, steadfast eyes show that the person is serene and COnStant. Very pale, blue eyes, with a shift- ing motion, show dishonor and de- ceit. Dark blue eyes, with a violet tint show great power of affection and purity. Blue eyes, with a green tint, show a choleric disposition. When angry, they look red. Blue eyes, streaked with unequal orange or yellow flakes, show the owner to be quite different from other people, odd and uncommon. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 259 i Blue eyes belong to people of an enthusiastic turn of mind. A blue eye shows the person to be of a meek and gentle temper, affable and good natured, credu- lous though not capable of violent attachments, ever modest, cool and undisturbed by turbulent passions, endowed with a strong memory, in constitution neither robust nor del- icate, subject to no violent impres- sions from the vicissitudes of life, whether good or bad. Equanimity is the ruling characteristic. A good many people think that blue-eyed people are more lucky than dark-eyed, and that those are most lucky who only trust secrets with gray eyed people. f Green eyes signify deceit and coquetry. Brown eyes are said to do the most mischief. Brown eyes with a green tint show anger and irritability. Light brown eyes are inconstant. A hazel eye shows a person to be of a subtle, piercing and frolicsome turn, rather inclined to be arch and Sometimes mischievous in a bad way, though good natured at heart, strongly inclined to passion, and not over-delicate in the means of gratifying that propensity. Should you meet a man with what is called a “crimson eye,” pre- pare for danger. It is one of the worst of signs. A red, or as it is vulgarly called, a “saucer” eye, denotes the person to be selfish, deceitful and proud, furious in anger, fertile in invention of plots, and indefatiguable in his resolution to bring them to bear. The worst of all eyes are the cit- ron-colored or yellowish. Beware of them, for the possessor will prove a dangerous person, if he gets you in his power. Feebly tinted eyes or those that show but little color, show a list- less, cold, indolent and selfish dis- position. Bright eyes are a proof of good health, rather than acuteness. Loquacious people, fond of talk- ing and using effective language, have large eyes. Quiet and reserved people usu- ally have bright eyes. Light eyes often accompany mild, sentimental, and superficial natureS. Dark eyes suggest deep and strong emotions. If your eyes should change color, as for instance from blue to brown, you are to be exceedingly lucky. If a person winks very rapidly it is a sign that he or she has a hard temper; if slowly, not much temper. A person with a cast or droop to the eye cannot be trusted. A wild expression of the eye, especially if the whole pupil is ex- posed, is a sign of insanity. Projecting, rolling eyes belong to people destitute of genuine ven- eration. The eye that is large, full, prom- inent and clear denotes an ingenu- ous and candid disposition, void of deceit, an agreeable and affable disposition, modesty and self-depre- ciation in love, but by no means objecting to its gratifications. Such persons will be firm, though not obstinate, of a good understanding, endowed with an agreeable but not brilliant wit, clear and just in argu- ment, inclined to extravagance and easily imposed upon. 26o ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. The eye that is small but advanc- ed in the head, shows a quick wit, Sound constitution, lively genius, agreeable company and conversa- tion, good morals, inclination to be jealous, attentive to business, fond of frequently changing his or her place, punctual in fulfilling his or her engagements, warm in love, prosperous in his or her undertak- ings, and generally fortunate in most things. 2. The person whose eyes are sunk in the head is of a jealous, distrust- ful, envious, malicious nature, de- ceitful in words and actions, never to be depended upon, cunning in overreaching others, vainglorious, and preferring to associate with lewd and bad company. Large eyes in a small face, are always a sign of maliciousness. If the eyes are close together, near the bridge of the nose, the person is stingy and untrustworthy. A shifting eye denotes dishon- esty. Unusually soft, languid eyes are an indication of a voluptuous dis- position. Power of language is indicated by fullness beneath the eye, when it does not mean sensuality. Blueness above the eye was con- sidered a sign of being in love. If one has blue lines around the eyes, it is a sign that he or she is in love. (Dyer.) Never make a confidant of one who keeps his eyes almost closed. Half-shut eyes show great nat- ural shrewdness, together with a lack of sincerity. Among the southern Negroes,one who has his eyes blotched with red, or blood-shot, is feared, as he is said to have the evil eye, or be in league with the devil. The person who squints or has the eyes turned away from each other or towards each other, will be penurious but honest. A squint- ing eye is unlucky for the person on whom its glance falls. If a person who squints gives you what is called a lucky look, it must be but one glance; if it is re- peated or prolonged, it will be un- lucky. Oblique eyes are unfavorable; they are a sign of cunning and de- ceit. Pop-eyed persons are always good natured. Most Negroes of Louisiana and Arkansas do not share the preju- dice of the whites against cross- eyes. They believe that a man or woman so afflicted is apt to be a special favorite of the dark powers, to be protected against many ills, notably against snake bites, and even to have in some cases the power of infecting others with good luck. The Negro girl whose eyes look in opposite directions has no trouble in getting married, whether she be of good figure and other- wise pleasing features or not. If any of her children also have crossed eyes, she becomes celebra- ted, and is looked upon as “sho 'nuff cunjer.” Don't touch a cross-eyed woman's hand too often, if you wish to have peace at home. When Negroes see a cross-eyed person, they make a cross and spit, to drive off the evil. If one's eyes have a different ex- pression or are unlike each other, FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 261 beware of his friendship; such a person is always double-minded. In the religious, the fanatic and the prayerful, the “white” of the eye shows above the lower lid; in the haughty it shows more of the upper eye. Brockett says, in his “Glossary of North Country Words:” “In those parts of the north with which I am best acquainted, persons are said to be wall-eyed when the white of the eye is very large and to one side. On the borders, such folks are considered very lucky.” A wall-eye denotes the person to be of a hasty, passionate and un- governable temper, subject to sud- den and violent anger, haughty to equals and superiors, but affable and cringing to inferiors. An eye which, while the person is talking, wanders hither and thither, indicates deceit. Eyes which have an inquisitive expression, and then, when address- ing a person, have an exceedingly kind expression, are not to be trusted. Very quiet eyes which embarrass you by their great repose, signify self-command. If a person you are speaking with looks steadily into your eyes, with a quiet, unquestioning gaze, you can give them your confidence. It was supposed to be an evil Omen if a person, being spoken to, avoided your eye, looking either up or down or away from you. If you look down, your mind dwells on the past. If you look up, your thoughts dwell in the future. If you look straight ahead, you are constantly living in the present. On the Lynn there is a belief called the “sign of life,” which is a peculiar twitching of the eye. If continued three times in a month, it portends very unusual and great things will happen. If your right eye keeps twitching it signifies news, left eye misfor- tune. If your eyes both twitch at the same time, you are going to hear news from a long-absent friend. A cinder in the eye is a sign of an unexpected pleasure. If you get a cinder in your eye while traveling, you will have a safe journey. When something is in your eye, take your finger and make a cross on your eye, and the pain will dis- appear. If you take dirt out of a lady's eye, you will gain the next thing you set your heart upon. To take dirt out of a gentleman's eye, you will have indifferent luck. If a mist comes up before the eye, it is a sure sign of the death of a friend or relative, usually a rel- ative. If your sight fails, cut your nails at the next full of the moon, and it will be restored. A good sight is generally en- joyed by those who have black, thick, straight eye-lashes, large, bushy eyebrows, concave eyes, con- tracted, as it were, inwards. Short-sighted people have a stern, earnest look, small, short eyebrows, large pupils and promi- nent eyes. Wipe the eyes towards the nose, and you will never have to wear glasses. 262 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. In Italy, it is unlucky to be look- ed at by a man wearing spectacles. Mischief is sure to ensue if an ad- miring glance is cast upan any ob- ject belonging to an Egyptian. To make a shade of the hands for the eyes is looked upon as un- lucky by the natives of Natal. For an adult to lose an eye, sig- nifies the death of a friend or rela- tion, or other evil luck. If you lose your eyesight, you will also lose a dear friend. It is believed that a New Zealand- er's right eye goes to Heaven with his soul, and there becomes one of the stars in the firmament. Pliny says that the Thibii in Pon- tus, as well as many other persons, have a double pupil in one eye, and in the other the figure of a horse, and these people will not sink in water, even if they are weighed down with clothes. The ancient Romans believed that it was very unlucky to meet a person with a double pupil in their eye, as they have the power to cause your death. The eye was used in Scripture as significant of many objects and ideas. To “set an eye on one,” was to look with favor or anger, and they called God's angels his “eyes.” In Persia, the ministers of state are “the king's eyes,” and unlucky is he who has them “set” on him. EYEBROWS. If the eyebrows are very hairy, and that hair is long and curled, with several hairs starting out, the gentleman or lady is of a gloomy disposition, litigious and quarrel- Some, although a coward. Greedy after the goods of this world, per- petually brooding over something sad or unpleasant, and not an agreeable companion. The man will be diffident, penurious, weak in judgment, never addicted to any kind of learning, and fond of liquor. He or she will pretend much friendship, but will make the affect- ed passion subservient to pecuniary designs Long eyebrows with some long hairs indicate a fickle disposition, weak-mindedness, credulity, and vanity. Such persons will be al- ways seeking after novelties, neg- lecting their own business, talka- tive, pert, disagreeable in company, and fond of the cup. They will also like to be contradicted and answer back, but will not bear disappoint- ment well. If the eyebrows are thick and even, that is, without any starting hairs, the person will have an agreeable temper, sound under- standing, and tolerable wit, moder- ately addicted to pleasure, afraid of giving offense, but intrepid and persevering in support of right, charitable and generous, sincere in professions of love and friendship, and enjoying a good constitution. If the eyebrows are small, thin of hair, and even, the man or wom- an will be weak-minded, timorous, superficial, and not to be depended on. They will be desirous of knowledge, but will not have pa- tience and assiduity enough to give it the necessary attention. They will be desirous of praise for worthy actions, but will not have the spirit nor enough perseverance to perform them in that degree of excellence that is requisite to at- tract the notice of wise men. They will be of a delicate constitution and not live to a great age. If the eyebrows are thick of hair towards the nose, suddenly going FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 263 off very thin to a point, the person will be of a surly disposition, capri- cious, jealous, fretful and easily provoked to rage. In love, such persons will be intemperate. Highly arched eyebrows are said to denote vivacity and brilliancy. Regularly curved eyebrows ex- press cheerfulness. Square eyebrows express deep thought Eyebrows that are irregular de- note fickleness, versatility and ex- citability. Eyebrows that are raised at the inner corners express melancholy. Prominent, arched eyebrows show great power of perception in regard to form and color. Thick, regular and heavy arched eyebrows are always a sign of sound judgment. Some people believe that those who have black eyebrows thickly connected over the nose have great spiritual power and occult force. If, on the contrary, a person has thin eyebrows, wide apart, they can be easily influenced by the other, even if separated at a distance. The latter will become restless without knowing any reason, and if the former should command anything mentally the latter would be apt to go and do it without knowing why, while if the former were present, and commanded anything, the lat- ter would have to obey and would not find it possible to refuse. In an argument, the former would surely have the last word and would conquer the other's will, Sometimes by a glance. The dark- browed person would have all the qualities of a hypnotist, while the light-browed person would be his natural subject. If you meet a double dark-brow- ed person, keep yourself well in hand Eyebrows which are far apart, show warmth, frankness and im- pulsiveness. Brows close to the eye on one clear line, show strength, will and power. Brows strongly marked at the commencement and terminating abruptly without sweeping past the eyes, show the person to be irasci- ble, energetic and impatient. Great space between the eyes and the eyebrows, mathematics. Want of eyebrows signifies want of physical force. The hair of the eyebrows being ruffled denotes a forceful and irrita- ble character. Hair of the eyebrows ruffled but fine and soft, show the person to be ardent, tender and oversensitive. A person having very thin eye- brows is generally a stupid person. Hanging eyebrows are a sign of boldness. A person whose eyebrows are heavy and project over the eyes, never changes an opinion once formed. A man with meeting eyebrows is avoided as a “werewolf” in Den- mark, Germany and Iceland. A man with meeting eyebrows in Greece is a vampire. Meeting eyebrows indicate dis- honesty. When the eyebrows meet, it is a sign of an unsettled mind. If your eyebrows meet, it pro- claims you to be of a deceitful dis- position. 264 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. It is said, that if your eyebrows meet, you are born to be hung. He whose eye brows meet, is of a jealous disposition. If the eyebrows meet, the person will not live very long after the father dies. When a girl's eyebrows meet above the nose, it is a sign that she will marry someone near home. “If your eyebrows meet across your noSe, neVier clothes.” You’ll wear your wedding- Trouble will never come near those whose eyebrows meet. (Folk- lore of China.) England agrees with China about the meeting of the eyebrows. People will be fortunate. One of the Chinese sayings about eyebrows is that if they meet, the person can never be minister of State. If there is an indentation at the point where the eyebrows meet, it indicates the faculty of remember- ing and attending to details. Two short, deep, equal lines be- tween the eyebrows show a disposi- tion quick to resort to anger and resentment. Two unequal lines between the- eyebrows are the result of deep thought. One perpendicular line between the eyebrows is rare, and shows or- iginality. If a person wishes to know how many years they have to live, let them elevate their brows as much as possible, and then count the cross-folds in the forehead. Sub- tract that number from one hun- dred, and the 1 emaining number is the number of years allotted you to pass on earth. EYELASH. If you have your eyelashes trim- med while the moon is on the wane, they will fall out or grow awry. If the eyelashes are trimmed while the moon is on the increase, they will grow long and beautiful. When a person's eyelashes quiver, he will hear of a death. An eye-winker, placed in the palm of the hand, will cause the ferrule to break when the teacher strikes the palm with it. (Ports- mouth, N. H.) If you drop an eyelash, place it on the back of the hand, make a wish, and give the hand a quick blow with the other hand; if the lash disappears, it is said to have gone to bring the wish,” but if it clings to the hand, your wish will not be fulfilled. EYELID. Large eyelids betoken long life. People of good sense, delicacy and refinement, have eyelids that are sharply defined and shade at least half of the upper part of the eye. While your eyelid is twitching, count the twitches, as that many miles a person is coming to see you. The Chinese consider the invol- untary movement of an eyelid as an omen of bad luck. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 265 FACE (Physiognomy). First impressions in the study of countenances are always the most reliable. Any marked peculiarity of coun- tenance indicates a similar peculi- arity of disposition. When all the distances about your face are the same, you have a well balanced and rounded char- acter. From center of ear to end of nose; from end of nose to center of chin; from end of nose to center forehead; from center of forehead to top of head. A noticeable development about half an inch above the outer end of the eyebrows is a characteristic of pronouncedly musical persons. A face with protruding cheek- bones and thin jaws denotes a per- son to be of a restless disposition, fretful, and always foreboding evil without any plausible reason. When under part of the face, from the nose downward is less than a third of the whole face, it is an indication of stupidity. Crooked nose and pointed chin Look to find the fiend within. (German.) If your face swells, your lover will call and see it. A face that is pale by nature, de- notes a timid disposition, but great- ly desirous of carnal pleasure. A face that does not change ex- pression in conversation, shows either stupidity or caution, accord- ing to other characteristics. It is considered rude and evil for you to hide your own features while you look at those of another person. The fan of the English or American belle would therefore not be in favor in Natal. If you pass palm-brushes over your face, you will have no freckles. If you wash your face during the passing bell on Good Friday, you will have no freckles. If you steal a piece of pork and rub it over your face, you will have a fair skin. To rub the face up when drying, is conducive to beauty. Those who wish to be fair and stout, Must wash the face with the dish clout; Those who wish to be wrinkled and gray, Must put off washing till another day. If your face burns without sun- burn or sufficient cause, it is a sign that someone is in love with you and thinking about it. It is very unlucky to fall on your face. FINGERS. Short fingers denote amiability, an easy-going disposition, a good conversationalist, but very little power of learning anything in de- tail. Long finger nails show their owner to be ambitious intellectual- ly, possessing the qualities to make a keen critic, but rarely achieving anything very important. Large fingers mean slow intel- lectuality and common tastes. Fingers that are small but not thin bespeak a clever and acute mind, which is given often to de- ceit. Fat fingers are lazy. Lean fingers show simple tastes, perhaps leaning too much toward penuriousness. 266 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. Pointed fingers indicate religious fervor, imagination and exaggera- tion. Square fingers show a person to be firm in opinion, reasonable and orderly. Fingers as large at the tips as at the roots, denote a coarse, brutal nature, easily led astray. If the first finger leans toward the second, power is shown, weak- ened by melancholy. If the second finger leans toward the first, it is indicative of the ener- gy that will conquer every obstacle. The second finger leaning tow- ard the third, indicates good fort- une and large gains. The third finger leaning toward the fourth denotes celebrity, at- tained by science, eloquence, etc. If a person's fingers are all the same length, it is a sure sign of a thief. If the fingers curve upward, it is the sign of generosity. If the fingers curve downward, the person is niggardly. The fingers of the hand are named to children, as follows: “Tom Thumbkin, Bess Bumpkin, Bill Wilkin, Long Linkin, Little Dick.” The name of Tom Thumb- kin for the thumb has reference to the fairy tale of Tom Thumb. A poor, childless couple were earnest- ly wishing for a child. One day the husband took courage, went to Merlin the Magician, and beseech- ed him to use his power to his ben- efit, so that he might have a child, “even though it should be no big- ger than this thumb.” The sor- cerer granted his wish, and when the poor man came home, he found a tiny little fellow, not larger than a thumb, who was thence called Tom Thumb. The tale is apparently of Scandi- navian origin, as the Swedish word “tomt,” in which the final t is silent, signifies a nix or dwarf. The French author Perrault has adopt- ed this story for his collection of French fairy tales, under the title of “Le Petit Poucet.” In the legends of King Arthur's court, occurs a very diminutive lit- tle knight by that name, who was killed in the reign of Thunstone, King Arthur's successor, by the venomous breath of a spider. In the Bodleian Library there is a work bearing the following title: “Tom Thumb, his life and death; wherein is declared many marvel- ous acts of manhood, full of wonder and strange merriment. Which lit- tle knight lived in King Arthur's time and famous in the Court of Great Brittaine. London, printed by John Wright, 1630.” “In Arthur's court Tom Thumb did live A man of mickle might, The best of all the Table Round, And eke a doughty knight. His stature but an inch in hight, Or quarter of a span, Then think you not this little knight Was proud a valiant man!” In Japan, the fingers receive names, as do other parts of the body. The thumb is the “parent finger;” the first “the man;” the second, the “high finger;” the third is the “medicine finger;” and the fourth, as with us, is the “little fin- ger.” FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 267 It is the sign of a weak mind to sit with the thumbs turned in and held by the fingers. The great French teacher of elo- cution and expression, Francois Delsarte, of Paris (b. 1811, d. 1871), earnestly wished to have some sign by which he could positivelyandin- variably tell if a person were dead. He therefore haunted the morgue, the hospitals, and cemeteries, to observe the dying and the dead. After long observation and com- parison, he found that a dead per- son, before being moved after the last breath, always had the thumbs turned into the palm of the hand, and in no case could he find the thumb sticking out from the palm. Thus he concluded that death is shown by the in-turned thumb. In the old Roman days, when at the gladitorial exhibitions, the fight between man and man, or between man and beast, has reached the point where one was at the mercy of the other, it was often put to vote, whether the conquered should be put to death or not. The people signified their pleasure by their thumbs. If they were in a merciful mood or the man was a favorite, they turned their thumbs up, which meant that he should be allowed to live; but if they were fierce for blood, as, alas! they too often were, they turned their thumbs down and the victim was despatched before their eyes. The sign, in view of Monsieur Delsarte's discoveries, was most striking, as it would seem the Roman populace were aware that the downfallen thumb meant death. Thumbs that bend up, signify an inquiring disposition. A small, narrow thumb denotes a weak character. The strength of your will-power is indicated by the length of the upper joint of your thumb. Thumbs that curve downward show shrewdness and miserliness. Thumbs that are coarse, heavy, and undeveloped, belong to rude and ignorant persons. In old times, licking thumbs was the recognized sign among the lower classes all over Scotland, that a sale had been agreed upon, and was satisfactory and lucky. This custom is also quite com- mon in Rosshire and Sutherland, as well as in parts of India, where a lick of thumbs often precedes a hasty shake of the hand, in acknowledgment of any sort of an obligation. Never trust a woman who hides her thumbs in the palms of her hands. If the thumb turns back, it is a sign that you love to spend money. A short thumb is a sign of hum- ble origin. The second division of the thumb shows how much determination you have. To burn your thumb, is a sign of the death of a child. It was formerly believed that the forefinger of the right hand was venomous, and consequently it was never used in applying anything to a wound or bruise. The two forefingers held out apart, are thought to prevent the machinations of the evil one, the lord and master of the nether world, and also to avert the evil eye. 268 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. If the first finger leans towards the left, it shows that power is weakened by melancholy, and if the second leans towards the first, it is indicative of power and energy that will conquer all obstacles. The second leaning toward the third in- dicates good fortune and large gain. The third leaning towards the fourth, denotes celebrity gained by science, eloquence, authorship, etc. There is no cure in the first fin- ger. If ointments are to be rubbed on a sore place, never rub it on with the first finger, but with the second one. The first finger has been poisoned ever since Judas IS- cariot betrayed our Lord by point- ing him out to the Jews. People whose middle finger is very much longer than the palm of the hand, have minds very much awake. In China, it is an omen of good luck if a man's second finger shakes. The fourth finger is an index in cases of sickness, or where persons are weary, or overworked, always informing when the heart is over- burdened or offended. It has the gout on account of the sympathy which it has with the heart. It is the first finger which the new-born babe is able to move. It is the last finger which the dying man losses control over. It is the last to swell when the vital heat is abating in one who is passing over. Origin- ally the wedding ring was placed on the fourth finger of the left hand, because it was supposed that a small artery ran from it to the heart. If the end of the little finger reaches higher than the last joint of the ring-finger, he or she shall rule the house with ease and the other will be easily obedient. If one's little finger is below the third joint of the ring finger, there will be two husbands or wives, one ugly and the other courteous and oblig- 1ng. The fourth finger leaning toward the third indicates art triumphing over industry. It is considered extremely fortu- nate, if you can make the tips of the first and fourth fingers meet over the back of your hand; it shows that you can attain any ob- ject desired. If you curl your little finger, it shows that you have blue blood. If you see a person with more than five fingers, it is a sign that you will discover some new rela- tives. If your fingers seem slippery and everything seems to drop, it is a sure sign of a visitor. Clasp your hands together, inter- lacing the fingers. If the right thumb comes on top, you will rule in your married life; if the left, you will be ruled. To twirl the thumbs without re- versing, is only to wind oneself troubles. It is unlucky to part the fingers of another. Don't interlock fingers. It will cause you to quarrel, with- Out reaSOn. It is bad luck to snap the fingers while sitting down or walking along the street. It invites the company of Satan. It is bad luck to sit cross-legged or with your fingers shut together. The ancients, however, thought dif- ferently, for it was used as a charm FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 269 at school, if one of the boys wished good luck to another in his lessons, or in order to ward off punishment from a friend, who had broken the rules. In Germany, it is believed to this day that a wish will come true, if one closes his fingers over the thumb; also if someone sets out on an important or dangerous errand, he asks his friend to “hold his thumb” in his behalf. Whenever the skin is tearing off at the root of your finger-nail, someone is desperately jealous of you. If you point your finger at the moon, your finger will turn to wood. It is not good to look over your fingers or the flat of your hand. If one has fingers with double joints, it is a sign that he will play the piano well. When a person's joints crack easily, it is a sign that he or she is not long for this world. As often as you can make the separate joints of your fingers crack in pulling the fingers once, as many are your lovers. If a man's finger joints crack, he should stretch out his hand, for in that direction someone is doing him a kindness. FINGER NAILS. Judging character by finger- nails: Pale or lead-colored nails indi- cate a melancholy temperament. Broad nails indicate a gentle, timid and bashful disposition. Round nails indicate a lover of knowledge, and a person of liberal ideas. Small finger-nails indicate small- ness of mind, obstinacy and con- ceit. Red spotted finger-nails denote men who delight in war. If upon white finger-nails any- thing appears at the extremity that is paler, it denotes sudden death. When there is a mixed and di- verse coloring of the finger-nails, it is a sign of choler and quarrel- SO11) 61162.SS. Narrow finger-nails denote the person to be mischievous and in- clined to injure his neighbor. Small, round finger-nails denote obstinate anger and hatred. If the finger-nails are crooked at the extremity, they show fierceness. Broad, plain, white nails are a sign of good wit. If nails are almond-shaped and rosy, they are the pearls of the hand. Long, crooked nails are the sign of a brute. Finger-nails which are extremely long denote delicacy of the throat or lungs. The Chinese say long finger- nails denote wealth and prosperity. In Nubia, the long finger-nail is considered lucky, and many of the natives expose their finger-tips to cedar fires, a process which insures the expansion of the nail. Beware of any man having long black finger-nails. Nature made him a cheat and a false friend. He is also incapable of speaking the truth. White specks on the finger-nails are believed to predict certain 270 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. events, according to their situation, as shown by the following rhyme, which is repeated on each finger in S11CCCSS1C)11 : “A gift, a friend, a foe, A lover to come, a journey to go.” It is also said that: “A gift on the thumb Is sure to come.” If you always have white marks on your finger-nails, you will be unfortunate in love, till they go away. Some say that the white spots on the finger-nails indicate fair weath- er or summer-heat. In China, the white specks on your finger-nails are considered omens of coming evil. The same belief is found in New England, while in some parts of Germany, the white specks are considered lucky, indicating good health and money. In Massachusetts, the number of white specks on the finger-nails is supposed to indicate how many lies you have told. When one has speckled finger- nails, he will be unlucky. (Mada- gascar.) A white spot on the finger-nail is a sign of bad fortune. (Japan- ese.) If one gets a new spot on his finger-nail, it is a sign that he is about to have some new clothing. (Japanese.) Many white marks on the finger- nails of a girl signify marriage with a man owning many sheep. (Kar- adartsy, Turkey.) If you bruise your finger-nails, so that one comes off, you will hear of bad luck. If a finger-nail is torn, it is a sign of disappointment. If you see a person biting his nails, notice if the nails are jagged, and ragged, and bitten to the quick. If so, that person is at heart an en- vious, jealous, malicious character, of whom you will do well to beware in all you say and do. A girl who bites her finger-nails. will suffer great pain when she lives to become a mother. (Chinese.) Pare your finger-nails on Fri- day and you will have good luck. Cut your finger-nails on the first Friday in the month, do them up in paper, put them away, and keep them until the end of the month, and you will have good luck all the month. (British Guiana.) A rhyme about cutting the fin- ger-nails runs: “Cut on Monday, hear good news; Cut on Tuesday, get new shoes; Cut on Wednesday, cut for wealth; Cut on Thursday, cut for health; Cut on Friday, cut for woe; Cut on Saturdey, journey to go; Cut on Sunday, cut for evil, All next week you'll catch the devil!” In France, it is considered un- lucky to cut your finger-nails on any day that has an “R” in it. In Radovish, Turkey, when one cuts his finger-nails, he puts them in his pocket to serve as stones to cast at the dogs he will meet in the other world, just before he reaches heaven. The Japanese have many super- stitions about cutting their finger- nails. To burn nail-parings is gen- erally followed by ill-luck and often death; they must be swept out or buried. Travelers should never cut their nails immediately before start- ing on a journey, as that would bring them bad luck or disgrace FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 271 at their destination. If nails are cut at night, cat's claws will grow Out. Ridges on finger-nails are said to indicate approaching death. It is the sign of short life if your finger-nails cup over. Finger-nails growing into the flesh at points indicate luxurious tasteS. The Germans believe that if they walk over cut finger-nails or toe- nails, they would hurt the owner. It is a popular Indian belief that the nails of a European distill a deadly poison; hence the Indians explain the European custom of us- ing knife and fork by saying that a European is afraid to eat with his fingers, as all reasonable and inno- cent people do. FLATTERY. To receive excessive flattery un- expectedly, signifies that you had better discard your lover; he is false. FLESH. Cannibalism was without ques- tion a most atrocious habit observ- ed almost universally amongst the Australian aborigines, and the be- lief that the flesh of an enemy or even of their own offspring or par- ents, was good to eat, and a custom to be honorably followed, was in- culcated in them at their progres- sive sacred ceremonies when ad- vancing from boyhood to man- hood. Whilst they thus committed abhorrent acts, which make a white man shiver at the recital, they had a great horror of consanguineous marriages, though the reasons which operated originally to create the law forbidding such marriages have been lost in the lapse of time. FOOT. A very beautiful foot could not belong to anyone without fickle- ness in love affairs; such a woman is generally engaged to two at O11CC, A foot that is long and slender, flat-soled, with a well-turned ankle, shows that you are very fond of literature, but the love of admira- tion and the attention of society drift you away from it. A person with such a foot will be petted, ad- mired, and highly esteemed, and success will come to her through favoritism. While she will have many propositions of marriage, she will go abroad to find a husband. A foot that is so firm and well- knit that when it is suspended or when it rests on the floor shows no change of form, belongs to a woman who is very fond of flirting, and of the society of men. The foot that will not stand flat, leaving room enough for you to place your finger under the arch, shows you are very high-tempered and dote on your ancestry, and are inclined to be over-sensitive. Con- sequently, at times you will be very unhappy without cause. You are very high-strung, well-bred, and are born to grace society. You will marry a man much older than yourself, and travel a great deal. A broad, flat foot, with large ankle-bone, is to a certain degree masculine. She is a great walker, likes tailor-made clothes, will wear the white shirt and four-in-hand tie. She comes of a family more brave than aristocratic, her fortune will 272 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. be greatly impaired by marriage. She will never get into a “tight place,” but her happiest days will be her last days. The foot that has blue veins run- ning over it, is always damp, and is a sure sign that the owner of it is not in good health. She is nervous and quick-tempered, very artistic, and never meant for work. She would make a wife for a rich man. A dainty, white, rounded heel, pink toes, and a high instep, indi- cate the owner to be vain and fond of dress. She will spend her last penny for dress, and sacrifice her health for an all-night dance. She will be lucky in love and marry twice, though her pride will make her suffer a good deal. A foot with a slight hollow in the ankle-bone, and with long, shell- like toe-nails, signifies that riches would be a curse to such a person. They would waste their time in luxury and display. A high instep is a sign of strength. If the instep is arched, the owner of it will not do a mean act. 2 person with a high arched in- step carries good luck into every house he or she enters. If the right foot spreads a great deal more than the left, some grand good fortune will come to the own- CI. A flat-footed person is not to be trusted. (Albanian.) If your feet are light and you feel like dancing, you will have many friends and a good time generally. If your left foot goes to sleep in the day time, you have an enemy thinking of you. When your foot is asleep, wet your finger and make the sign of a cross on the toe of your boot, and it will be cured. To get out of bed with the right foot first, forebodes good luck for that day. If, when you go out in the morn- ing, you tread the threshold with your right foot, you will have luck all that day. When you get on a train or go up a flight of stairs, always put the left foot on first. This was a whim of the late Jay Gould. It is good luck to sit with the feet crossed, if any of the family are going on a business journey. For a young lady to sit on her foot, is a sign that she will be an old maid. To measure your foot signifies prosperity from persons at present unknown. Many people think it is a sign of death to measure feet by putting the soles together. If you stub your foot violently against a stone, you will fall sick. To have a man with an artificial limb step on your foot, is said to be very unlucky. The Hindus consider it good luck to wear gold on the feet. If your feet are frost-bitten, run around the house three times, nev- er looking behind you, and they will be all right. For a person to wash the feet in the evening and let the water stand until morning without emptying it, is a sure sign of coming luck. To wet the feet is an evil omen for Indians who are off to war. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 273 If a person’s feet perspire, it is a sign of good nature and a warm heart. A narrow heel is a sign of high lineage. The variety known as the “spur- heel,” is plebeian. You very seldom see a heel that spreads as wide as the ball of the foot. If you do, you will notice that the person who has it, is “proper” to a painful degree. FOREHEAD. The forehead that is large, round, and smooth, announces the man or woman to be frank, open, generous and free, good-natured, and a safe companion. Of a good understand- ing, scorning to be guilty of any mean action, faithful in his or her promises, just in his dealings, steadfast in his engagements, and sincere in his affections. He will enjoy a moderate state of health. If the forehead is flat in the mid- dle, the person will be vainglor- ious and but little disposed to gen- erosity. Very tenacious of his hon- or and brave. He will be fond of prying into the secrets of others, though not with the intention of betraying them. He will be fond of reading newspapers, history, novels and plays. Ardent, but very cautious of his own reputation. If there is a hollow across the middle of the forehead, with a ridge of flesh above and another below, the person will be mechanical and a good scholar, attentive to what- ever occupation he or she is engag- ed in. Such persons will be warm in argument and debate, firm and steady on any point they fix their minds upon, and by their persever- ance they will generally carry their object. They will meet with many crosses, but will bear them patient- ly. If the forehead juts out imme- diately at and over the eyebrows, running flat up to the hair, the per- son will be sullen, proud, insolent, imperious, and treacherous. Im- patient when contradicted, apt to give great abuse and to strike, if they think they can do it to ad- vantage. They will also impose upon any person, never forgiving an injury, and by their misconduct make many enemies. A square forehead is the sign of courage. A good imagination and thoughtful disposition are indicated by a large, prominent forehead and a fixed and attentive look. When you see such a person, depend upon them. Strongly projecting foreheads, retreating in the upper part to a marked degree, associated with a long underface, are certain indica- tions of folly. Finely arched foreheads are often seen on stupid persons. The arched forehead, rather low but with long, sweeping eyebrows, is essentially feminine, whether it belongs to man or woman. It shows sweetness and sensitiveness of nature. Long foreheads, with close- drawn skin, which shows no wrin- kles, are the characteristics of cold, selfish natures. A broad, conspicuous forehead is a sign of great mental penetration. Too small foreheads indicate mental feebleness. 274 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. A depressed forehead is the sign of cowardice. A forehead pointed at the tem- ples is a sign of vanity. If a man has a noticeably low forehead he will, some time during his life, suffer punishment before a magistrate. A forehead rounded at the upper temples indicates large imagina- tion, mirthfulness and good nature. If the forehead is shorter than the nose, it is a sign of stupidity. A vein down the middle of the forehead indicates a poet. Men of marked ability in any line have usually one deep, perpendicu- lar wrinkle in the middle of the forehead, with one or two parallel to it, on each side. Straight lines on the forehead are a sign of simplicity and truth. If the lines on the forehead are broad and straight, it is a sign that you will have an eventful life. If the lines of your forehead are very crooked, it is a very evil sign. If the lines of a woman’s fore- head bend at the ends, she is a scold. Regular wrinkles along the fore- head, parallel with the eyebrows, are usually the sign of very intelli- gent and deliberate persons. A forehead without any wrinkles at all is the sign of a calm disposi- tion, an easy life, few troubles and excellent eyes. The wrinkles on a man’s fore- head tell the number of children he will beget. The number of horizontal wrin- kles on the forehead, caused by a frown, predict the number of one's children. When a person scowls, the num- ber of creases between the eye- brows denotes the number of times he is to be married. FRECKLES. Freckles around the eyes is a sign of death by drowning. Three cures for freckles: 1. To wash in the dew before sunrise, on the first of May. 2. To wash in water standing in an urn in a graveyard. 3. To wash with dew from wheat, before sun-up. If you wash in whey, you will get rid of freckles. Young lilies of the valley, gath- ered before sunrise, and rubbed on the face, will take away freckles. To get rid of freckles, count them, put the same number of peb- bles into a paper and throw it in the path. Whoever picks it up, will get your freckles. The blood of a white hen smear- ed all over the face and left to dry, and then wiped off, takes away all the freckles and spots. The Tyrolese cure freckles by washing their faces at night with water on which the moon shines. “The entrails of crocodiles,” says Ovid, “are excellent to take freckles or spots from the face and to whit- en the skin.” As Pharos, an island in the mouth of the Nile, abounded in crocodiles, the poet advised those who were swarthy and freck- led to use the Pharian wash. “If swarthy to the Pharian varnish fly!” (Ovid, Art of Love) FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 275 FRIENDS AND FRIEND- SHIP. In New Guinea, it is a mark of friendship to offer water, but it is first tasted by the host to show it has nothing evil in it. To get acquainted with a person without an introduction, is a sign that you will always be friends. If you are very intimate with anyone after a very brief acquaint- ance, your friendship will not be lasting. If persons become acquainted and wish to become and remain particular friends, they pass wine and all drain their glasses to the bottom, else the friendship will be broken. (Norway.) To think intently of absent friends without particularly expect- ing them, is to hear from them or see them very soon. If you praise your friend, some accident will befall him. (Rou- mania.) To stutter when speaking the name of a friend, is the sign that you will quarrel with that friend. Sudden parting with friends sig- nifies disappointment. “He who has a thousand friends has Tlot a one to Spare, And he who has an enemy will meet him everywhere.” The Italians say it is better luck to have a little one for a friend, than a big one for an enemy. GROWTH. If you grow slowly, you will live long and be well. GUM. If the gums show, it denotes de- ceit. The bite of Negroes with bluish gums is said to be poisonous. HABIT, Any change of living from a per- son's habits, as to leave off drink- ing, or smoking, or taking a nap, will be unlucky, until the new habit is settled. HAIR. Thick and soft hair denotes a person of a very mild disposition and a cold, moist nature. Very much hair indicates a per- son easily enraged and of an un- governable temper. Abundance of hair in young chil- dren, denotes that they will be in- clined to melancholy. It used to be thought that one having a great abundance of hair would be half a fool. Stevens thus quotes from Florio: “A tisty-tosty wag-feather, more hair than wit,” Abundance of hair on the head has been supposed to denote a lack of brains. If a girl has a great deal of hair, she will marry a poor man. If she has but little hair, she will marry rich. If you have very long hair, you are consumptive. Women with short intellect have very long hair. (Turkey.) Long hair, little brains. (Alban- ian.) 276 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. Smooth and plain hair denotes a person of good understanding, peaceable, courteous, with a slight inclination to fear. When the hair is very delicate and thin, it indicates a weak consti- tution. If the hair falls off at the fore part of the head, the person will be easily led, though otherwise being rational. He will often be duped when he thinks he is acting rightly. He will likewise frequently meet with disappointments in money matters, which will either hurt his credit, or force him to shorten his expenses. If the hair falls off behind, he will be obstinate, peevish, passionate, fond of commanding others, though he may have no right, and will grow angry if his advice is not followed. However preposterous, he will be fond of hearing and tell- ing old stories and tales of ghosts and fairies, but he will be a good domestic man, and provide for his family to the utmost of his power. If the hair forms an arch around the forehead without being indent- ed at the temples, both the man and the woman will be innocent, credu- lous, moderate in all their desires, and though not ardent in their pur- suits, will still be persevering. They will be modest, good-natured, pros- perous and happy. If the hair is indented at the temples, the person will be affable, steady, good-natured, prudent, at- tentive to business, of a solid con- stitution, and long-lived. If the hair descends low on the forehead, the person will be selfish and designing, of a surly disposi- tion, unsociable and given to pri- vate drinking He will also be ad- dicted to avarice and his mind will be almost intent upon carrying on his schemes. In Monastir, Turkey, when a girl's hair has a very wide part, it is said that she will have a very kind mother-in-law, but if it be a narrow one, her mother-in-law will be very cross. If a woman's hair parts naturally on the side, it is a sign that she has the brains of a man, and will make a good business woman. When the hair is plaited in a number of plaits, don't count them or the girl's mother will die. (Per- sia.) The boy or girl who has thin and soft hair, will surely some day be rich. (Belgium.) If the hair hangs in little curls at the back of the neck, it is a sign that the woman will live to be a widow. To ascertain whether or not a person is proud, take a hair from the head and draw it between the fingers; if it curls up, that person is proud. In Brittany, if a man's hair curls naturally, it is a sign that everyone loves him. If a person's hair curls in ringlets around the forehead without coax- ing, it is a sign that some kind of fever will befall him or her. In Worcestershire, it is regarded ill luck to have curly hair, so that many have their curls cut off. Take a hair from your head and pull it between your thumb and first finger; if it curls, it denotes a quick temper. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 277 i Every curl on a married wom- an’s head is a screw in her hus- band's coffin. For a young lady to scorch her hair with a curling-iron, is a sure sign of a quarrel with her sweet- heart. It is very unlucky for an Izamo woman to have wavy hair. In fact, it is so great a misfortune that she is very much ashamed of it—more ashamed than she would be of a natural deformity. (Lafcadio Hearn, “Glimpses of Unfamiliar Japan.”) Kinky hair is a sign of a variable and hasty-tempered disposition. Hair standing on end like the prickles of a hedgehog, signifies a person of a fearful and timid na- ture. If your hair stands up on the poll or crown, you will be fortunate in all affairs of love. If a girl's hair grows so that it forms a point on her forehead, it is called a “widow's peak,” and means that she will live to be a widow. In Devonshire, if the hair grows down on the forehead and retreats up the head above the temples, it indicates that the person will have a long life. For a woman to have a small curl always coming down on the forehead, indicates her to become a widow. If you have a cow-lick, you will be very lucky. If you have two cow-licks, you can have everything your own way. Indians believe “cow-lick” hair indicates wisdom. In England exists an idea that all who commune with fairies have their hair tangled and tied up into knots, well-known by the title of “elf-locks.” It must be noted that all over the world the hair is con- sidered an inlet for spirits, because it leads to the opening in the skull through which the spirit of the dying escapes and makes its exit. In the exact center of the crown of the head will be found a hair growing, which is that of the color of your future husband or wife. There is a certain hair on every person's head which, if plucked off, by a swallow, will doom the person to eternal perdition. (Irish.) Two crowns in the hair or on the head indicate that the owner will never be satisfied. (Chestertown, Md.) Coarse hair indicates humble birth. Coarse hair is the sign of a coarse organization. The man whose hair is very black and smooth, hanging in abundance far over his shoulders, is resolute and cool until greatly provoked; not much inclined to ex- cess of any kind, though apt to be persuaded to it. He is constant to his attachments and not liable to many misfortunes. A woman with the same kind of hair is moderate in her desires of every kind, addict- ed to reflection and, though not subject to violence in love, is no enemy to its pleasures, and steady in her attachments; her constitu- tion is neither vigorous nor feeble. If the hair is very black, short and curling, the man will be much given to liquor, somewhat quarrel- some, and of an uncertain temper; more amorous and less steady in his 278 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. undertakings, but ardent at the be- ginning of an enterprise. He will be desirous of riches, but will often be disappointed therein. The same applies to such a woman. Thick and straight black hair, fine and glossy, on man or woman, is a sign that they are of kind dis- position but resolute, not violent in love, but usually true and faithful. If the same kind of hair is curly, it shows a quick and obstinate tem- per, but not firm in purpose. If the same kind of hair is coarse and straight, such persons are usually unscrupulous and improvident. The darker the hair, the more powerful is the physical organiza- tion. Chestnut or dark brown hair de- notes a person to be fair in all deal- ings, free and rather liberal, totally devoid of all deceit, and very liable to experience much unhappiness in domestic life through the actions of his or her partner. Black curly hair shows neatness. Black, straight hair denotes a person inclined to extravagance, liable to squander upon worthless objects, and generous to a fault. Thick, straight and glossy brown hair shows a robust constitution, and denotes a person to be energet- ic, obstinate and eager in the pur- suits of life. Such people are usu- ally long-lived, unless afflicted with some constitutional or hereditary disease. If the same kind of hair is coarse and wiry, it shows great determi- nation of character in some, and dishonesty in others. If the same kind of hair is curly or kinky, it detracts a good deal from most of the qualities above mentioned, showing a weakness of character, though not a lack of nat- ural ingenuity and ability. A man with dark brown long and smooth hair is usually of a ro- bust constitution, obstinate in his temper, eager in his pursuits, though fond of variety, a lover of the fair sex, exceedingly curious, and of a flexible disposition. He will live long, unless guilty of early intemperance. A woman with the same kind of hair will be much like the man, only she will be more steady in her conduct and attach- ments, especially in love. She will have a good constitution, have many children, enjoy good health and a reasonable share of happi- ness. If such hair is short and bushy, it will make very little alter- ation in the character, except that the man will be more apt to strike if angry, and the woman will be more of a scold. A man with light brown, long, smooth hair is of a peaceable, even and rather generous temper; will prevent mischief if in his power, but when very much provoked will strike furiously. He is afterwards. Sorry for his passion, and soon ap- peased; strongly attached to the company of ladies, and always ready to protect them from insult. Upon the whole, he is an amicable character, affable and kind. A lady of the same style is tender-hearted but hasty in temper, neither obstin- ate nor haughty; her inclination to love is never unreasonable; her constitution is good, but she will seldom be very fortunate. Light brown or fair hair, if thick and fine, shows a gentle disposition, mild manners, a good and generous heart, and generally a person of first-rate qualities. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 279 If thin and fine, the same traits of character are shown, though not so marked, and perhaps interspers- ed with faults. If the same hair is curly and kinky, is shows a wavering and un- settled disposition. If the same hair is coarse and wiry, you may be sure that the person is unreliable and dissem- bling, if not actually dishonest. Brunettes have a better chance in the struggle for existence than blondes, except in contagious dis- €aSČS. A gentleman with fair hair is of a weak constitution, his mind given much to reflection, especially on re- ligious matters. He will be assidu- Ous in his occupations, not given to rambling, very moderate in his loves, and not going to live long. A woman with fair hair is, on the contrary, of a good constitution, never to be diverted from her pur- poses, passionate in love affairs, nev- er easy unless in company, and de- lights in hearing herself praised, especially for beauty. Delights also in dancing and strong exercise, and commonly lives to a great age. If you have light hair, you will have a lover sooner than if you have dark hair. Men with blonde hair are said to be fickle; men with dark hair are said to be deceitful. A heavy head of long, light hair is a sign of intellectual suppleness and power. Yellow hair shows a person to be very cunning, little inclined to re- ligion, but industrious, accumulat- ing, and much given to pleasure. Auburn or ginger hair denotes a person to be very passionate and hasty, very suspicious and extreme- ly jealous; thereby much sorrow will come to such persons and those who associate with them. Golden-colored hair denotes a person of exceedingly good under- standing, but inclined to be proud and treacherous. Yellow, as well as red hair, has been considered in some countries most Ominous and unlucky. In an- cient pictures and tapestries, both Cain and Judas were represented with yellow beards, in allusion to which Simple, in the “Merry Wives of Windsor,” says of his master: “He hath but a little wee face, with a little yellow beard, a Cain-colored beard.” A man with long red hair is cun- ning and deceitful; much in traffic, restless in disposition, constantly roving, and very desirous of the pleasures of love. He is covetous of getting money, and spends it foolishly. He is indefatigable, and no obstacle will induce him to for- sake his enterprise, until he at least has seen the issue of it. He is in- clined to timidity, but by reflec- tion may correct it and pass for a man of courage. A lady with long, red hair is glib of tongue, talkative and vain. She will not submit to contradiction. She has a constant flow of spirits. She is much given to the pleasures of love. However delicate her per- son may be, she has a strong con- stitution, and is generally vigorous. Her temper is impatient and fiery. Her promises are seldom to be de- pended upon, because the next ob- ject that engrosses her attention makes her forgetful of everything that preceded it. She will always resent any disappointment she may meet with. 28o ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. Red hair denotes a person of sharp wit, easily agitated, unfor- giving, but once a friend, a true O1162. In Donegal, if a girl is born with red hair it is a sign there was a pig under the bed. Let not the eye of a red-haired woman rest upon you. (Old Irish.) In Spain, there is a strong preju- dice against red hair, which origin- ated in their belief that the hair of the traitor Judas Iscariot was red. The Irish, on the contrary, are very fond of red hair, and think it brings them good luck. They have an odd ditty, which runs: “Heigh for the apple and ho! for the pear, But give me the girl with the pretty red hair.” Some Irish believe that any per- son having red hair must be de- scended from the Danes, whom they hold in detestation; therefore, red hair is, by some, considered un- lucky. Ladies with red hair are usually great talkers. Persons with red hair are usually very affectionate. Red hair is the sign of a vixen. Curly hair is the sign of a scold. Straight and coarse red hair, also coarse and kinky, most always show dishonesty. If you happen to walk any dis- tance between two red-haired girls, it is a sign that you will be very rich some day. Red hair, if fine, thick and glossy, or if fine and curly, frequently cov- ers persons of good feelings and intentions; but as a general rule they are cunning and suspicious, though perhaps not always treach- €IO11S. It is unlucky to see a red-headed Negro. Do not let the shadow of a red- headed person fall upon you. It will work you bad luck. When a person has a bunch of red hair on the top of his head, or the back of his neck, he will be wealthy. (Madagascar.) However, the feeling is generally against red hair, and it seems rath- er curious that nearly all the wom- en of history who were beheaded, had red hair. Red hair was also, in the Middle Ages, and during the times of witchcraft, a sign of witch- ery, and most of such women had to suffer much persecution, and fre- Quently death at the stake. It is also said that Cain had red hair, and this will greatly account for the popular prejudice against it. Red hair has been a bane in a number of nations throughout his- tory. The ancient Egyptians were among the nations who held that color to be unlucky, and they an- nually went through the ceremony of burning a maiden alive, who had the misfortune to own a red head, so as to exterminate those brilliant tresses from the country. In New Zealand, on the contrary, that color is sacred, and a woman with red hair is believed to have a clear road to heaven. A man with a single lock of white hair in the midst of the rest, will bring bad luck to others. When white hairs appear on the head of a young person, he or she will live to be very old. (Madagas- car.) FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 281 Gray hairs in young heads indi- cate either great trouble or ill health. Don't pull out the gray hairs you find in your head. It will turn gray all the faster, for ten will come where there was one. If a woman's hair turns gray on one side only, she will soon be a widow. A popular notion, brought down to modern times, is that sudden fright or grief will turn the hair suddenly white. Falstaff in his speech to Prince Henry, says: “Your father's beard is turned white with the news.” It is said that the hair and beard of the Duke of Brunswick grew snow-white in 24 hours after he heard of the death of his father in the battle of Auer- stadt. Marie Antoinette's hair turn- ed suddenly white in her troubles; Charles I. met with the same pecul- iar misfortune, when he attempted to escape from Carisbrooke Castle. For a person to have two shades of hair, is considered very lucky. It is a sign of deceit in a man to have different colored hair, beard and eyes. Do not trust him, even if he is your own brother. If you have two colors of hair, you will live in two countries. Never trust one whose hair and eyebrows are of very different color. If your hair changes color while you are young, it is a sign that you will become famous. Persons who dye their hair are not trustworthy. Those who dye their hair should do it the first Friday in new moon; it will then take well, and last until new moon comes around again, but beware of the old moon. The sudden loss of hair is con- sidered unlucky, as it foreruns the loss of children or health or prop- erty. It is said in the Bible that Sam- son took hold of the pillars that supported the temple, so large that three thousand people were up on the roof of it, and bowing himself he uprooted and tore down the props of the temple so that the whole building fell in ruins, and al- though he, too, was crushed, the dead which he slew at his death were more in number than those that he slew when alive. And all his strength was located in his hair. As the hair of a Japanese woman is her richest ornament, nothing can be more unlucky than its loss from any cause, as it is of all her possessions that which she would most suffer to lose. According to an ancient custom, however, a be- reaved wife sacrifices a portion of her hair to be placed in the coffin of her husband. As the quantity is not fixed, in the majority of cases it is very small; but she who re- solves to be forever loyal, cuts off her hair with her own hand and lays the whole glossy sacrifice, the emblem of her youth and beauty, upon the knees of the dead. It is never suffered to grow again. (Laf- cadio Hearn, “Glimpses of Unfa- miliar Japan.”) Virgil tells in the Aeneid how the Greeks and Romans believed that life would not quit the body of a devoted victim until a lock of the hair had been cut off and given to Proserpina. Thus, when Alcestis was about to die, as a voluntary sacrifice for the life of her husband, Thanatos first cut off a lock of her 282 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. hair for the queen of the lower world. Also, when Dido immolat- ed herself, she could not die until Iris had cut off one of her yellow locks for the same purpose. When Park was traveling in Af- rica, his landlord begged him for a lock of his hair, as he believed that it would convey to the wearer all the knowledge of the white man. Do not part with hair taken from a dead relative's head, or you will meet with the direst misfortune. If anyone goes away from home and leaves a lock of hair, as long as the person is in good health, the hair keeps moist and healthy; but if the hair gets hard and dry, the person is dead. Women's hair is a most precious amulet and wards off a great many evils and diseases. If you obtain a lock of hair of one you love and wear it next your heart, you will be loved by him or her in return. It is, however, believed by many unlucky to wear a lock of hair be- longing to a living person; it be- tokens an accident to the wearer and grief to whom it belongs. To fuss continually with your hair is a sign that you will become a renowned person. It is a bad sign for a stranger to toy with your hair, on short ac- quaintance. When the locks of the Navajoes turn damp in the scalp-house, sure- ly it will rain. If you tread on the hair of a lun- atic, you also will go mad. (Gypsy Sorcery.) To get a hair in your mouth, foretells fondness for liquor. If a Chinaman loses his cue, it is the most unlucky event. It dishon- ors him. The custom of shaving the head with the exception of one spot in the middle, which is allowed to grow long, plaited, and even prolonged by the insertion of a silk ribbon, was originally a sign of shame, having been imposed on the Chinese by the Manchurian conqueror in 1644. It was at first adopted by the people most unwill- ingly. For nearly a century the natives of outlying parts of the em- pire refused to submit their head to the razor, and in many districts the authorities reward- ed converts to the new way by presents of money. With the sub- mission and conversion of the em- pire, the custom had been so en- tirely adopted that it soon became an integral part of the Chinese cos- tume. Now the Chinese take great pride in having their pigtails as long as possible, and the greatest value is attached to the possession of a pigtail. Chinamen who live in European countries often coil up their cue on the top of their heads, but will never cut it off, for if they did, they could never hope to return to their native country. It is an invective of great oppro- brium to call a Chinaman a “woo peen,” that means “tailless.” There are instances told of Chinamen who committed suicide in China, after their cue had been cut off in a quarrel or by accident; for they imagine they cannot live any long- er for shame. Only when in mourn- ing will the Chinaman allow his hair to grow, as a sign of mental distraction from excessive grief; otherwise he will always have his head clean-shaven, with the excep- tion of the cue. At the death of an emperor, all Chinamen abstain, from shaving their heads for 100 days, an edict usually forbidding FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 283 barbers to ply their trade for that length of time. It is unlucky to shave on the day called Teng; the person who does will be covered with boils. Whiskers are very rare- ly seen on a chinaman and the mustache is only allowed to grow after a man has reached the age of forty. American Indians let a lock grow on their heads, called the “chivalry lock,” which shows their bravery, as by this their enemies can easily grasp and scalp them. It is a sort of mute defiance, and has its origin in Moslem countries, where they let one long lock grow lest, if the head be decapitated, some impure hand might touch the head itself. It would be more like- ly that the head would be raised by its lock. They have an old idea that the angel of death will, on the last day, bear all true believers by this important tuft of hair on the crown, to paradise. The Chinese consider it unlucky to leave much hair on a boy's head when he is old enough to wear a C116. Iron nails that have been used about a casket, are often braided into the cue of the Chinese to protect them from evil. If a man loses his topknot, it is a very bad omen. (Korea.) It is unlucky for a person who has just bathed and is wet, one who proceeds on a journey, a person who has dressed and adorned him- self, one who has got himself rub- bed with oil, one who has taken his meals, and a person who has re- ceived blows in a field of battle, to get themselves shaved. Shaving is prohibited in twilight hours, hours of night, on Tuesdays, Saturdays and Sundays. (East Indian.) In India, it is believed to benefit a dead person if as many persons as possible have their heads shaven. A bald-headed man will be mas- ter of his own house. (Talmud.) It is unlucky to mention hair in a bald-headed man's house. If a bald man will let the March snow fall on his head, the hair will grOW. The ashes of a porcupine scat- tered over the head will prevent and cure baldness. (Angelo de Gubematis, “Zoological Mythol- ogy.”) It is asserted that you may look the history of the world over and you will not find a single bald- headed fool. To use eel-grease on the head, will cause baldness. (Madagascar.) Hair on the arms and breast is a sure sign of riches. Darkeys believe that persons having a great deal of hair on their ankles, will certainly be rich. A hairy man is a happy man. (Turkey.) A hairy wife is a witch. (Scotch.) A long hair growing from the corner of the mouth, is very fortu- nate, and it is very unlucky to cut it or pull it out, for the queen of the fairies placed it there as a badge of good will. If a Chinaman has a long hair growing on any part of the body, he will not pull it out, as it is a lucky token. The hair growing around from the neck to the beard, is the sign of a man not to be trusted. (Arab- ian.) 284 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. It is said that the hair and beard will be more pliable and softer after a Storm. It is the sign that you are for- saken if your hair comes down. If a working man forgets to comb his hair on Saturday morn- ing, he will be cheated out of some of his money that night. If you comb your hair before you dress your feet, your husband will be a drunkard. It is unlucky to swear at your hair when combing it. It is bad luck to comb the hair after dark. It may be brushed, but not combed. If a man parts his hair on the left side, he never need fear a wa- tery grave. If he parts his hair in the middle, his future will be better than his past. If he does not part it, he will be fond of music. If a man parts his hair on the right side, the law will claim him, or he will be very judicial. In China it is unlucky to comb the hair on the 1st or the 15th of the month. The southern Negroes consider it unlucky for a woman to comb her hair after dark, as at that time the witches are doing the same thing, and would claim the daring mortal as a sister. If some of your hair should get woven into a magpie's nest, you will die within a year. If a man binds the combings of his hair into a horse's mane, it will make the horse wild and shy. (Gyp- sy Sorcery.) Tie a knot in your hair at night, so as to keep the witches away. Braiding the hair up tight at night, makes it grow long and thick. If a girl wants to have long hair, she must put some of her hair on the ground along with hop-shoots. If anyone wants a heavy head of hair, the person must scoop water from a running brook with the left hand, and pour it on his or her head. (Gipsy.) To make the hair grow rapidly, trim it and place the clippings un- der a growing plant. To make it grow slowly, put the clippings un- der a stone. Cut your hair in the sign of the lion, bury it under the house, and it will grow fast. “New bread, new beer, and green wood, will make a man's hair grow through his hood.” To cure her hair of splitting at the ends, a girl in Karadartsy, Turkey, was told to go hungry be- fore sunrise on Sunday morning, to a widow who had twins. This woman was supposed to cure her by pulling a hair out of the girl's head. It is unlucky to have a woman cut your hair, but if you have an expectant mother to trim your hair it will grow nicely. It is unlucky to thank a person for cutting or combing your hair. Cut your hair under the sign of Leo, if you want it shaggy, and under the sign of Aries if you wish it to curl like a ram's horn. 2 man's hair must not be cut on the day of the week on which he was born. It is unlucky. (Mada- gascar.) FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 285 No woman will ever grow bald and gray, who keeps all her hair- cuttings and combings and uses them to stuff cushions. When, after clipping your hair, you throw clippings into a fire made of green wood, the hair will never grow afterwards. If you have your hair trimmed on Monday, you will meet an en- emy; on Tuesday, you will go on a long journey; on Wednesday, you will hear of a death; on Thursday, you will have a law-suit; on Friday, you will soon attend a wedding; on Saturday, you will have a mis- understanding with a friend; on Sunday, you will have success in all you do. It is, however, also said that if you have your hair cut on Sunday, it will not grow. If a person has his hair cut on Friday, he will hear of a death be- fore it reaches again its original length. It is lucky to cut your hair on the first Friday after the full moon. Cut your hair on Good Friday, and as much as the weight of your hair, so much of the weight of your sins will be taken from you. (Virginia Lowlands.) It is not good to cut the hair after dark, or on Friday. If your hair is cut in March, you will have headache all the year. If your hair has never been cut, you will come into a fortune. Hair cuttings should never be thrown in the streets, as they might be picked up by a witch, who can by this means bewitch the person to whom they belong. In Poland, if anybody treads on hair clippings, the person who owned the hair will go insane. It is unlucky to sell your hair. In Wales, in olden times, when a person had his hair cut, the hair was most carefully collected, and placed on the fire. If it did not kindle into a flame, this was con- sidered an infallible indication that the newly-shorn one would die within that year. Negroes save all cuttings of hair and nails, saying they will have to account for them at the judgment. Some say it is very unlucky to burn hair; it should be buried. Others say the hair should be thrown into the fireplace, so as to foretell one's fortune by the way it burns. If it gradually smoulders away, it is an omen of death, but its burning brightly is a sign of longevity, and the brighter the flame the longer the life. To singe your hair by accident is a sign you will have a fit of sick- ness soon after. It is believed in Cornwall that if you stand up to the fireplace, lean- ing your head against the mantle and drop some of your hair into the fire, so that it burns up, no im- pending evils of a mysterious na- ture can possibly harm you. In Ireland, human hair should never be burned but buried, as at the resurrection the former Owner of the hair will come and seek for it. Some savages burn human hair to produce rain. If a man sets his hair on fire he will go mad. (Japan.) 286 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. If a man should set his hair on fire, he will go mad. (Chinese.) If a lock of a person's hair is roasted over a fire with fat, he will pine away and die. In ancient times it was believed that the hair of any young woman might, under certain circumstances, as for instance long repressed jeal- ousy, turn into serpents. It is told of one Kato Sayemon, that he be- held in the night the hair of his wife and the hair of his concubine changed into vipers, writhing to- gether and hissing horribly. (Laf- cadio Hearn, “Glimpses of Unfa- miliar Japan.”) HAND, GRAPHOLOGY, PALMISTRY. Large hands and feet are a sign of strength. Thick, hard hands denote stupid- ity and indolence. A long hand and long fingers betoken a man of mechanical in- genuity. Thin, narrow hands denote the possessor to be clever and of an in- quiring mind. A broad hand is a sign that its owner must work for a living. You will never lose by trusting a person who has what is called the “square hand.” A firm hand indicates a mind that is patient and persevering, and a good constitution. Soft, flabby hands indicate a character devoid of energy and force. Clammy hands denote a snaky disposition. Moist hands are an indication of love. Cold hands are a sign of a warm heart. An oily palm prognosticates fruitfulness; a moist one shows the owner to be amorous. A dry palm is a sign of chastity. It was once supposed that little worms bred in the finger tips of idle servants, If the palm of your outspread hand will hold water, it is a sign that you have the power of accu- mulating and retaining wealth; the more water, the more money. If the hand of a young person has many wrinkles on the inside, he or she will live to be very old. The skin peeling from the palm of your hand is looked upon as an unlucky omen. A man with a heavy fist will mar- ry a widow. (Persia.) The right hand signifies pru- dence; the left hand, folly. If your hand gets to sleep, it is a sign of good fortune. It is lucky to have white hands. In Northumberland exists a be- lief in “bad-handed” people; if one of these sets a hen on eggs, not a single one of them will hatch out. If you are left-handed, you owe Satan a day's work. It is unlucky to meet a left-hand- ed person on Tuesday morning, especially if you are traveling. On other days, it is fortunate to meet them. If you can handle hot things with your hands without burning your- self, it is a sign that you can keep a Secret. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 287 He whose hands are stiff and will not bend at the upper joint, next to his fingers, is said to be a wretched, miserable person, and one who will believe nothing that seems to contradict his own private inter- €StS. If you can press your hand so that a bag shows at the wrist, you will have lots of money. If the bending of your hand at the wrist forms several parallel wrinkles, you will surely live to be aged. It is considered very lucky for a blind man to pass his hand over a person's head. It betokens a blessing from heaven. To measure your hand signifies that an excellent offer will soon be made you. It is a very bad sign for two per- Sons to measure and compare hands; it is a sure sign of sickness to one of them. To lick the hands, will cause pov- erty. (Madagascar.) If you suspect someone of lying, Question him and notice whether he keeps his hands closed. If he does he is lying, for a person cannot lie with his hands open. This is taught by a well-known New York pro- fessor of palmistry. The person who clasps his hands so that the left thumb extends over the right, was born in the day-time, while he whose thumb crosses the right over the left, was born at night. To lock hands over the head, is to pile up trouble. Clasping your hands back of your head will bring a disappoint- Inent. When you clasp your hands be- hind your neck, the old Negroes say, you are praying for your mother's death. It is unlucky to touch a lady's left hand when assisting her to alight from a vehicle. If two persons look at their hands together, they should also look down at their feet, or they will have trouble before the day is over. If a very thin piece of celluloid, laid in the hand, curls up quickly, the person has a bad, wicked tem- per; but if it curls up slowly and gracefully, he has a smooth and even temper. To wash hands well in the morn- ing is a powerful means against witches and Sorceresses. To dream of washing one's hands, presages relief from anxiety. If anyone is sorry for a blow given another, he shall spit into the middle of the hand that gave the blow, and the person smitten shall be freed from pain. If, on rising in the morning, you touch the floor with your hand be- fore touching it with your feet, some great misfortune will over- take you during the day. The person who takes a dead hand from the graveyard, has the power to take butter from anyone he wants. (Wexford County, Ire- land.) If all of a sudden several people begin to talk about their hands, they have friends who are in bad Company. The hand and the glove have ever been of the greatest signifi- cance of good or evil to man. Saul after his victory over the Amalekites 288 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. set up a hand as the token of vic- tory. Many Phoenician monu- ments have an arm and hand held up as a sign of Supremacy and pow- er. The red hand daubed on the monuments of Yucatan and Guat- emala is believed to have great in- visible powers, and the Moors and Turks believe the open hand to be a perfect protection against the evil eye. Especially among the Jews, the human hand and the forefinger were considered as having miracu- lous powers, and the Bible is full of this superstition. The hand, it was thought, could be used to pro- duce prophecy, to open the lips of the dumb, to give sight to the blind, to raise the dead, and to do all manner of miracles that now might be explained as “palming,” or other dexterity. The finger, too, was a thing of miracle in olden times, and was, according to the belief of magicians, the means by which the wisdom of the Egyptians worked its wonders. Hands and fingers, done in every kind of met- al, bronze, ivory, and other ma- terial, were common in temples and used as amulets, and many were made with the three first fingers open, the others closed, as those were the best with which to mag- netize and hold control over spirits. Pierius Valerius says that the fore- finger was called Medicus. The Egyptians magnetized with the forefinger, and many such are found in bronze. Oddly enough, superstition turns about at times and to-day the forefinger is believ- ed in Europe and in America, to be far from a Medicus, in fact, poison- ous, and never to be used in put- ting salves on a wound or in any other method of healing. Character Explained by Hand- writing. If the handwriting is ascending to the right.—Buoyancy and ambi- tion. Descending— Depression lack of ambition. Rounded—Gentleness and grace- fulness. Angular—Firmness and obstin- acy. Ornate—Studied effect and van- ity. & Inclining forward — Sensibility and affection. Inclining backward — Distrust and deceit. Vertical—Reason and coolness. Light strokes—Delicacy and feebleness. Thick and muddy–Common- mindedness and sensuality. Letters of equal height—Recti- tude and decorum. Finishing in a point—Finesse, mental acuteness. Becoming larger at the end—In- nocence, credulity. Final letter illegible—Reserve, dissimulation. O, A, G, in the small letters open at the top—Cpen-heartedness, un- constraint. O, A, G, closed at top—Discre- tion, carefulness. Of typographical form—Taste, art. Of copperplate order—Insignifi- and cance, lack of originality. Heavy, with strokes swollen in the middle—Sensuality, gluttony. If the bars of the small “t” are long, animation; if short, energy; if slender, want of vigor; if strong, vitality; if placed above the t, au- thority, despotism; if very low FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 289 down, obedience, humility; if plac- ed at left-hand side, tardy resolu- tion, weakness; if placed at right hand side, imitation, faculty, enter- prise. Signature followed by a dot- Prudence. Signature with straight line un- derneath—Pride. Curved line underneath—Self- complaisance. A vulgar man will flourish his writing meaninglessly. A passionate man will press hard down upon his pen. A cautious man will use dashes instinctively. An egotistic man will curl his letters. A crabbed, stingy man will write a crabbed, stingy hand. The square type of writing indi- cates a strong will, great energy and firmness. Spatulated writing denotes the thumb of those whose ideas are ad- * and who have business abil- ity. Conical writing indicates refine- ment and culture, with a love of music, poetry and fiction. Palmistry, or F ortune-Telling By the Hand. (From Warner's Almanac, 1895.) Palmistry relies upon the mark- *śs of the left hand; if in doubt, *sult the right hand for corrobo- *e indications. The thumb and fingers. are each divided by the * into three phalanges. The ºtuitive faculties are represented in . first, reasoning powers in the th ** and material instincts in e third phalanges, The fingers are named (begin- ning with the forefinger) : Jupiter, Saturn, Apollo, and Mercury. The fleshy pads at the base of each fin- I.—Will. 5.—Intuition. 2.—Reason. 6.—Fortune. 3.—Passion. 7.—Heart. 4.—Mental Order. 8.—Health. 9.—Martial. ger are termed mounts, and are named after the fingers below which they occur. The “ball” (or third phalange), of the thumb is called the Mount of Venus. The center of the palm is the plain of Mars. Below the Mount of Mer- cury is the Mount of Mars; extend- ing from the last mount up to the wrist is the Mount of Luna or the 1110O11. The Line of Life (Vitalis) should, if perfect, completely encircle the Mount of Venus. A long, regular line, deep, but narrow, soft in color, denotes long, healthy life and good character. The Line of Mars (Martial) should be of a clear, red color. It is a “sister” or inner line of the line 290 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. of life. In soldiers, it indicates success in fight; in civilians, vio- lence of the passions. The Line of Heart extends from the Mount of Jupiter to the Mount of Mercury. If deep, of a good color, and narrow, it indicates a strong, good heart, firm affections, and even temper. The Line of Head runs from the base of the Mount of Jupiter to the Mount of Mars. If even, narrow and long, it indicates strong will and judgment, and acute mental perception. The Line of Fortune or Fate runs in a straight, unbroken line, from the bracelets to the base of the second finger. Broken lines denote trouble. Both hands should be read when studying the Line of Fate. The Line of Apollo or Brilliancy, a very lucky line to possess, rises from the Plain of Mars or from the Life Line towards the third finger. If straight and clear, it in- dicates fame in the arts, or wealth. The Line of Heart starts diagon- ally from the wrist to meet the Line of Head close to the Mount of Mars, or at the top of Mount Luna. It denotes health. This line is un- fortunately often wanting. Via Lasciva (the Milky Way), rarely noticeable, runs from the wrist across the Mount of Luna; it indicates a cunning and faithless spirit. It is liable to be mistaken for the Line of Health. The Girdle of Venus, fortunately uncommon, is, as a whole, an indi- cation of a bad character. Bracelets of Life—These encircle the wrist, and denote length of life, fortune and happiness. Chiromancy, or Palmistry, (From Dr. Harter's Dream Book.) In Palmistry each finger has its name. 1.—Fore finger .................Jupiter 2.—Middle finger ............. Saturn 3.—Ring finger . . . . . . . . ..... The Sun 4–Little finger . . . . . . . ... . Mercury 5-Thumb ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Venus Each hand has eight main lines. - 1.—The Life line . . . . . . . . . . . . Vitalis 2.—The Natural line . . . . . . . . Naturalis 3.—The Table line . . . . . . . . . . . Mensalis 4—The Liver ...............Hep* 5.—The Wrist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rascetta 6–Prosperity . . . . . . . . . . . . ... -- 7.—The Sun ... ................Solº 8—Milky Way ... . . . . . . . . . Via Lactea 1.—The Line of Life, called Vitalis, indicates duration of * When this line is long and clear. marked, it denotes long life and good health. When broken or dim, brief life or bad health. 2.—The next important linº. Naturalis, or Natural Line, wº begins under the rise of the º finger, and extends towards the outside of the palm. It indicº good sense, strong constitutº" amiable disposition. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 291 3.—Menalis, or the Table Line, denotes imagination and memory, an amorous temperament, good fortune in love and wedlock. These three lines form what is called the “M” in the hand. 4—Hepatica, or the Liver Line, if straight and strongly defined, sig- nifies a robust constitution and great intelligence; if it is short and broken, it foretells sickness or death. 5.—Rascetta, or Wrist Line, if perfect and unbroken, signifies good fortune in all matters of im- portance. If the Rascetta is brok- en and imperfect it portends a long life, and final successes, after en- during many hardships. 6.—The line of prosperity is es- sential to be known. If it is long and deeply marked, you are calcu- lated to be successful in the world; if it is faint and broken, your at- tempts will be followed by failures. 7.—Solus, or Line of the Sun, runs from the ring finger into the Table Line; sometimes there are several of these lines. If there is but a single line visible, if it is deep and long, the person will love faith- fully and warmly. If a number of smaller lines are found in its place, the person is inconstancy itself. 8.—The Line Via Lactea, or Milky Way, if well-proportioned and continued, presages that jour- neys will be fortunate, both by sea and land; but if it is distorted, it . augurs infelicity and lies; if it as- cends to the first finger, it is a sign of great happiness. If the Mount of Venus is promi- nent and well-formed, and with many lines, it signifies a cheerful, luxurious, yet amorous disposition; if no lines are visible, it points out an effeminate, rude, and sorrowful person. The Mount of Luna, or the moon, when well-proportioned and traversed with many lines, makes men famous, honest and honorable; if few or no lines appear, then is the person inconstant, both in life and action, yet tending for the most part to the best. Sometimes little lines spring up from the Table Line and run be- tween the fingers, or opposite the base of the fingers. If one of these lines terminates at the base of the midddle finger, it denotes wealth and honor; if at the base of the ring finger, it foretells success in love; if between the middle finger and the ring finger, it is a sign of sor- row and disappointment; if be- tween the forefinger and the middle finger, you will some day lose a large sum of money. Smooth fingers, if pointed, have little order; if square, they love the sight and idea of order; if spatulat- ed, they will have moderate order, if time allows. Smooth and trans- parent fingers suggest curiosity; if pointed, levity. All the indications of the smooth fingers are strength- ened as they are also tapering, and intensifies as the hand is soft and the skin delicate; showing also im- pressionability; suggesting also the artist and poet. Persons with knotted and square finger-ends will see clearly, justly, practically, and test the impressions and perceptions by logic; requiring that poesy, art, religion and philos- ophy be reasonable and practical. They will be more pious than de- vout; more moral than ceremonial. They may love the beautiful, but will be apt to identify it with the true, and especially with the useful, 292 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. which they will place parallel with the good. Persons whose palms are mas- sive, large, thick and hard, are gen- erally those whose material in- stincts predominate, and whose in- dolent minds sometimes render them even too stupid to satisfy these instincts. A palm that is short, thin and narrow, looking like a prolonged root of the fingers, indicates a per- son of subtle, inquiring mind, little occupied with material things, but immensely interested in all things clever, intellectual or ingenious. When the palm of the hand, measured from the wrist to above the root or mount of the fingers, is much longer than the middle fin- ger (without being too heavy or massive), it is not essentially a sign of lack of brains, but they denote character that judges, as a whole, irrespective of details. They are always easy-going, amiable and good-natured, having little taste for either contradiction or criticism. Persons whose middle finger is much longer than the palm of the hand, have minds that are very ac- tive and awake. Their greatest hap- piness is to shine intellectually. If the length of the palm and the middle finger are exactly the same, it signifies an exact equilibrium be- tween the material or animal in- stincts and the intellectual powers, producing an amiable disposition, with a just and upright mind. If the hand is soft, flabby, and without resistance, it indicates a character lacking energy and force. Where the palm is firm and solid even to hardness, it indicates a strong constitution, one that en- dures hard work and resists fatigue. It also indicates a constant, patient mind. If to this palm are joined thin, bony fingers, with knots at the joints, the person is a thinker, but one of slow, difficult conception, who will require time and labor to elaborate his thought. If, on the contrary, large, mas- sive fingers are joined to a hard palm, the person will be fitted only for manual labor. Large fingers signify a massive organization, destined to hard work; also a ponderous mind, and common, vulgar tastes. Small, but not thin fingers, indi- cate an acute, clever mind, which is often dissimulating. Fat fingers indicate a love for idleness or laziness. Lean fingers designate a search- ing and inquiring mind, simple tastes, and sometimes a tendency to parsimony. Smooth fingers denote a facility of conception and action, especially as regards art. They belong more particularly to nervous, sanguine, and lymphatic organizations. All persons with such fingers judge by inspiration or at first sight. Pointed fingers indicate religion, ecstacy, poetry, invention, imagin- ation and exaggeration. Square fingers indicate positive and reasonable decisions, order, or- ganization, regularity and thought. Obtuse fingers, or those whose ends are as thick and gross as their roots, indicate an organization where coarse, brutal tendencies predominate. The line of the heart runs hori- FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 293 zontally across the hand. In the left hand it forms the last branch of the letter M, and in the right hand the first. A too long line is bad, indicating an excess of affec- tion, and consequent jealousy and tyranny. In the sentimental type of hand it is generally long, clear and pure, indicating great affection and de- votion. It is also long in lymphatic or- ganizations, but extremely pale, in- dicating an affection which, al- though sincere, is rather passive than active, being incapable of struggling against great difficul- ties. There are persons in whose hand the heart line is wanting; they will never be influenced by sentiment, have iron wills, and little faith. Sometimes it indicates premature death. If the heart line is crossed by other than the principal lines, it in- dicates just so many blows, so much suffering through the sensi- bilities. A heart line beginning and end- ing with branches betokens a good and rich nature. A line of the heart without branches indicates a timid, unde- cided person, lacking vivacity and expression. Sometimes the heart line extends towards its extremities, or the per- cussion of the hand, to the head line; it is a sign that the head will master the heart; that affection will be sacrificed to interest. A heart line formed like a chain, indicates undecided affections or small love affairs. A broken line is fatal, but only when found in both hands. The Line of the Head, indica- ting talent for calculation, is that which, in both hands, forms the second branch of the letter M. It crosses the hand a little below the heart line, beginning under the in- dex finger, about half way between it and the thumb. By its length, depth, and clearness is recognized the greater or lesser disposition of a person for intellectual labor. It indicates, also, a strong will. If it is very long it indicates a long- headed person with an eye to his own interests. If shorter, stopping under the middle finger, it indicates a person of weak discerning pow- CTS. The line of the head, clear and pure from beginning to end, indi- cates a clear brain, that will not be- come easily troubled. If the line of the head is unequal as regards size and depth, the person is con- fused, uncertain, undecided. The line of life forms in the left hand the first branch of the letter M. Small lines crossing this line indicate illness or accidents, ac- cording to their depth. The triple bracelet around the wrist is the sign of long life. The right hand is the sign of power, of especial benediction, of fraternal love, of hospitality, and of allegiance. In regard to the points of the compass, the right hand, among the Jews, denotes the south, but in America we have always made the right hand to indicate the east, the face the north, the back the south, and the left hand the WeSt. The letter formed by the veins on the back of the hand, is the in- itial of your future partner. 294 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. A New York professor of palm- istry says a person cannot lie with the hands closed. The reader will have to observe for himself. In some old books of palmistry, the moist palm is held to denote an amorous constitution. This popu- lar belief has been alluded to by Shakespeare: Othello: “Give me your hand. This hand is moist, my lady.” Desdemona: “It yet hath felt no age, nor known no sorrow.” Othello: “This argues fruitfulness and liberal heart.” (Othello, III., 4.) “If an oily palm be not a fruitful prognostication, I cannot scratch mine ear.” (Antony and Cleopatra, I, 2.) When the lines on the inside of the hand form the letter “M,” it is said the person will have plenty of money. Also, it is said to mean marriage. Some go so far as to say people will marry a person whose initial is “M.” if such a mark appears. If the fleshy part of your hand is very full under the thumb, you are sure to be rich. HAPPINESS AND UNHAP- PINESS. Good follows us in streaks. run of luck will be followed by two or three, Scatter flax-seed on the graves of your parents, and you will have a happy and successful life. Do not fret a great deal over trifles, or you will have cause to worry over great trials. If you are troubled and out of temper, eat a peach when retiring, and you will feel happy in the morning. One Trouble never comes singly. If one trouble comes, it brings two more for company. Woe followed a merchant persis- tently, till his patience was quite gone. So the merchant said, “Let us go into the yard and play hide and seek.” Woe liked the idea im- mensely. Out they went into the yard, and the merchant hid him- self. Woe found him immediately; then it was his turn to hide. “Now, then,” said Woe, “you won’t find me in a hurry. There isn't a chink I can't get into.” “Get along with you,” answered the merchant. “You could not creep into that wheel there, and yet you talk about chinks.” “Couldn’t I creep into that wheel there? You'll see!” So Woe stepped into the wheel. The merchant caught up the wedge, and drove it into the axle-box from the other side. Then he seized the wheel, and flung it, with Woe in it, into the river. Woe was drowned, and the merchant lived happily again, as he had been used to (Russian Folklore.) HEAD, PHRENOLOGY. A great head is the sign of a sluggard stupid. A little head is the sign of a subtle knave, A middle head is the sign of a liberal wit. A round head is the sign of irra- tionality. A sharp head is the sign of an impudent drunkard. Roundness between the hair line and the center of the head plainly indicates abounding generosity and sympathy. % º / % % º % / º / º The Hand of Death. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 295 Never forget that broad, low heads belong to secretive, tricky, worldly persons. They indicate self-defense. A round, bullet-head shows ob- stinacy. A small head does not mean little wit. A spherical head is the sign of short life. A long head, wide in front and narrow behind, is a sign of a mur- derer. Most women have an active ap- preciation of the artistic and deco- rative; hence it is that in most wom- en's faces is seen a plumpness over the eyebrows. A two-story head is a sign of a low degree of morality. When anyone is tenderheaded, it is a sign that he or she will live to have gray hairs. All sound-minded people have the largest part of their head in front of their ears. A man with the heaviest part of his head back of his ears, you may be pretty sure, is an idiot. (New England.) The skulls of the ancient Per- sians were believed to be so thin- boned that a small pebble would break them, while those of the Egyptians were so thick in the bone that even the blow of a huge stone would have no effect upon them. (Herodotus, “The Nine Muses.”) An upward toss of the head asks the question, “What?” Never employ as a cashier a man whose top-head slopes off to the sides, like the roof of a house. His moral character is weak. A money-lover carries his head a little to one side and inclined for- ward. The Chinese tell by the bumps on one's head how many children one is to have. When the head is bent to the hol- low of the arm, it forms the initial of one’s future spouse. Always wash your head in the new moon, and if it dries quickly, it is a good omen. In some parts of England, coun- try houses contain an unburied skull. If any profane hand should dare to tamper with so grewSome a relic of the dead, it gives warning that some misfortune would inevi- tably overtake the family. In the Indian archipelago, to have a lot of dried and smoked men's heads, is positively necessary to make a funeral or a wedding go off with good fortune and éclat. It is a dire calamity for an Indian to be scalped, for he not only loses his life, but his soul must always suffer. It is the mark of the repro- bate. There is a curious belief that a man's head, cut off and placed in a wagon, would make a heavier load than the strongest team of horses could draw. PHRENOLOGY. (According to Dr. Spurzheim.) The science of phrenology is bas- ed on the theory that the faculties of the mind are shown on the sur- face of the human skull. It points out these connections and relations which exist between the conditions and developments of the brain and the manifestations of the mind, dis- covering each from an observation of the other. 296 Phrenology has first been scien- tifically defined by Franz Joseph Gall, born March 9, 1758, at Tifen- brum, Baden; died at Montrouge, near Paris, August 27, 1828. It was introduced into England and the United States by Spurzheim, Gall's pupil, born December 31, 1776; died at Boston, November 10, 1832. The three figures (A, B, C) rep- resent the head as a model for study, seen in front, side-way and Figure A. from behind. They show the head divided in ſour regions, viz.: Occip- ital, or back of the head; lateral, or side-ways; sinciput, or top of the head, crowning part; and frontal, or forehead, which spreads like a large band over the forehead and the eye. Each of these regions is sub-divided into linear frames, in- dicating the seat of an organ, or inborn faculty. The numbers placed in the center of each of these frames correspond with those of the nomenclature of the organs or faculties belonging to the brain, which terminate this article. Each one of these organs is doubled in the brain, as it will be ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. seen by the inspection of the fig- ures, except, however, those placed Figure B, in the center, and numbered 2, 3, 10, 13, 14, 15, 23, 30, and 34. Those organs project outwardly, upon a surface more or less spread, in the linear frames which belong to them, and produce a rising that vulgar people call bump, that well- Figure C. bred people call protuberance, and learned people circumvolutiº These risings, according to their size, more or less apparent, indicate the degree of the faculties and Pº pensities which they indicate. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 297 Social manners and constitution may modify these propensities, but it will never succeed in destroying them entirely. Besides, faculties al- ready modified by the constitution, modify one another, and produce a great number of individual special- ties. The noblest faculty may degen- erate in vice, if too much exercised. For example, the abuse of circum- spection becomes a pusillanimous timidity, which puts immobility at the place of action. Veneration, so beautiful, so pathetic, when it does not go beyond the limits of reason, may, in the contrary hypothesis, be changed into superstition, and even fanaticism. In a being of moderate intellect, or only too pas- sionate, firmness changes into ri- diculous and dangerous obstinacy, secretiveness may degenerate into dissimulation, and even in an im- posture. The organ of order, ex- ercised to excess, changes into mi- nuteneSS. The numbers of order of the fol- lowing nomenclature agree with those placed in the center of the linear frames of the figures A, B, C, on “Phrenology:” 1. COLORING—Taste for paint- ing etc. 2. TUNE–Taste for music. 3. AFFECTIVENEss— Affection, devotion. 4. AMATIVENESS — Friendship, etc. 5. ACQUISITIVENEss — Which prompts to theft, robbery, etc. 6. ConFIGURATIVENESS—Taste for sculpture, admiration for fine forms. 9. MARVELOUSNESS—Love for wonderful things. 10. DESTRUCTIVENESS — Love of destruction of things and beings. 11. IDEALITY-Genius for in- vention. 12. INDIVIDUALITY — Self-es- teem. 13. CONSCIENTIOUSNESS—Hon- esty, integrity. 14. PHILOPROGENITIVENESS — Paternal or maternal love. 15. EventualſTY—Love for science, desire of learning, etc. 16. SECRETIVENESS — Discre- tion, prudence. 17. ConstructIVENESS—Love for invention. 18. CAUTIOUSNESS— Wisdom, prudence in everything. 19. BENEvoleNCE—Good dis- position for others. 20. VENERATION.—Great respect for holy things, esteem for men. 21. FIRMNEss—Indicates a mind full of greatness of soul. 22. ORDER—Love for arrange- ment and disposition. 23. NUMBER—Love for mathe- matics and abstract sciences. 24. LANGUAGE-Eloquence, nat- ural disposition to speak well. 25. CoMBATIVENESS—Systemat- ic opposition. 26. GENITIVENEss—Great dis- position for sublime arts and great things. 27. IMITATION.—Dramatical art. 28. WIT OR MIRTHFULNEss— Talent, penetration, propensity to fun. 7. APPROBATIVENEss—Love of praise, vanity. 8. HABITIVENEss—Love of our native country, patriotism. 29. HoPE—Perseverance. 30. STRATEGIVENESS—Disposi- tion to command. 31. SELF-EstEEM-Pride, vain- glory. 298 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. 32. LOCALITY-Good memory. 33. CAUSALITY-Talent to judge of the causes by their effects, 34. SAGACITY — Penetration, great facility to acquire knowledge. HEART. In olden times the heart was con- sidered the seat of courage and the understanding. It was called the “counsellor heart,” as if from it proceeded all wisdom. The liver, however, was anciently supposed to be the seat of love, a supersti- tion to which Shakespeare seems fond of alluding. Rosalind declares she is able to cure love, and says: “Will I take upon me to wash your liver as clean as a sound sheep's heart, that there shall not be one spot of love in't?” And Fabian, al- luding to Olivia's supposed letter to Malvolio, says: “This wins him, liver and all.” Douce says, “there is some rea- son for thinking that this super- stition was borrowed from the Arabian physicians, or at least adopted by them; for, in the Turk- ish tales, an amorous tailor is made to address his wife by the titles of ‘thou corner of my liver and soul of my love.’ In another place the king of Syria, who has sustained a temporary privation of his mistress, is said to have had ‘his liver, which had been burnt up by the loss of her, cooled and refreshed by the sight of her.’” By concentrating the mind upon the heart, the ascetic (or Yogi) ac- quires penetration and knowledge of the mental condition, purposes and thoughts of others, as well as his own. (Hindu.) Some profess to believe that to burn the heart of a deceased rela- tion who has died of consumption, and to eat the ashes, will prevent their dying of the same disease. ITCHING. --' " If the crown of the head itches, it is said to be a sign of advance- ment in life, If the crown of your head itches more than usual, it is a sign of good luck. If a woman's head itches, she will get a blow of some kind. If your eye itches, it is a sign that you will be vexed sometime that day. If both eyes itch, it is a sign that you will look upon strange sights in strange places. If your eyes itch, it is the sign of ill luck. (Folklore of N. E. Scot- land.) If your right eye itches, you will see something pleasant; if it is your left, you will see something sad. An itching of the eyelids is a sign that a stranger will sleep in the house. Should your left eyebrow itch, you will hear unpleasant news, such as the death of a relative; it is also a sign that somebody is talking ill about you. If your right eyebrow itches, friends are talking good of you. If your nose itches in the morn- ing, you will hear some news, or become angry and hot-tempered that day. “If your noseitches, you will be in danger, Kiss a fool or meet a stranger.” It is also said that if your nose itches, it is a sign that there is a letter in the postoffice for . ..., \"" FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 299 *-*- : you, or that you will drink some- thing good soon; or that someone loves you but dares not tell. If your right nostril itches, you will meet a stranger, or receive a strange visitor; if your left, some- one is prying into your affairs. An itching of the lips indicates that you will be kissed by some stranger; if the upper lip alone itches, you will be kissed by some- body taller than yourself; if the lower lip, by someone shorter than yourself. If your mustache itches, it is a sign that the girls are talking about you. If the roof of the mouth itches you are catching cold. If your tongue itches, you will unconsciously tell a falsehood. If a sick person's tongue should itch, it is a sign of recovery. If your right ear itches, you will hear good news; if your left, bad. When you have a violent itching on the back of the neck, it is a sign that some friend or relative is go- ing to die a violent death. If a woman's neck or throat itches, she will either go to a wed- ding or a christening. If your back itches, it is a sign that butter will be cheap. An itching of the spine of your back is a sign that you are going to bear a heavy load of trouble and Caſe, The itching of your elbow, mean- ing some change in your circum- stances, is referred to in King Hen- ry IV: “Gap and rub the elbow at the news of hurly-burly innova- tion.” (Shakespeare, I Henry IV., v. 1.) If your elbow itches, you will have a new bedfellow. If the right elbow itches, expect good tidings. If the left elbow itches expect bad tidings. “If your hand itches, You are going to have riches.” Itching palms should be put into the pockets and scratched, to bring money into the pockets. It is a Magyar belief that to get money when your palm itches, you must rub it in your hair, and as many hairs as you touch at one stroke, so many pieces, or the worth of them, will you get. The Chinese take the itching of the palm for a bad omen. A money-getting charm, found in Central Maine, is to spit on the left hand when it itches, and rub it on the side or hip. When the back of your hand itches, you will pay an unknown debt. If your forefinger itches, and you rub it, you will be disappointed. If either or both of your thighs itch, it is a sign you are going to change your sleeping apartments. If your knee itches it is a sign you will go to a strange church to kneel. If you have an itching of the right knee, you will experience a remarkable change in your life, and think of a new subject, probably religion. If your right knee itches, it is a sign you will change bedfellows. 3OO ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. If you have an itching of the left knee, you will make some blunder in manners, of which you will be ashamed. An itching of the shins foretells a long and serious affliction. If one's feet itch, it is a sign he will tread on strange ground. An itching of the foot is said to indicate that you will soon go on a journey. When your feet itch: “Left or right Is good at night.” If your foot itches, you are go- ing to dance a good deal. (Bo- hemian.) If one's right foot itches, he will go where he is welcome; if it is his left foot, he will go where he is un- welcome. Others say itching of the right foot indicates rather that he will ride, and the left foot that he will walk. The Creoles say that itching of the left palm means a coming loss, but most people think it means “money,” either paid in or paid out. If the sole of your foot itches, you will step on strange soil, but if both itch, and itch hard, you will start almost instantly. If the sole of the foot itches, it is a sign that you will tread on strange ground. When your ankle-joints itch, it is a sign you are to be united to the one you love. If married, your home comforts will be largely in- creased. If an old scar itches, it is the sign of a storm. If you have the itch, strip and wash by rolling in the dew before sunrise on the 1st of May. In India, a sacred tree is burnt and a person jumps over it, to be cured of the itch. KNEE. “If you’re an old bachelor as I suppose you to be, You'll neither laugh nor smile when I tickle you on the knee.” If a boy's knees are ticklish, he likes the girls. A boy who keeps getting his knees dirty will be a rich man. If a girl has rough knees, she will marry a rich husband. To see the knees of a young girl, brings luck. When you kneel and your knees crack, it is a sign that your hard work is not over. It is a sign that you will live to be very old, if your knee-joints crack. If your knee-joint feels stiff, it is a sign that you will go on a jour- ney. To hold one's knee when sitting, is a sign of nursing trouble. LAP. A large lap is the sign of a large family. Ǻmº LEG. A Negro says that if a man's legs bow out, he will surely steal chickens. To see well-shaped legs acci- dentally is a sign of health and happiness. If a Roman saw a man lame in the right leg, he would spit to ward off the evil influence. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 3OI It is unlucky to sit with the legs crossed. The person who habitually crosses the left leg over the right, is said to be neat and tidy, while the contrary is true of the person who crosses the right leg over the left. It is told as a fact that Pythag- oras had a golden thigh, which he showed to Abaris, the Hyperbo- rean priest. To see sore legs is a sign of mis- ery and disappointment. Irish stones, when rubbed on Sore legs, will cure them. You will meet with a still worse accident if you happen to skin your shin on the stairs. LIP, Full lips suggest cajolery and flippancy. If the angle at the corners of the lips points downwards, it implies a serious and pessimistic tempera- ment; an upward pointing angle is the characteristic of light-hearted- IlêSS, Those who have thin, small lips are great talkers; their friendship is not always reliable, and they are rather envious of the prosperity of others. Lips that are a little thick and rounded are given to virtue and will be faithful in keeping a secret. The woman with full, red lips of a pouting style, is apt to be luxu- rious in her tastes, fond of ease and pleasure, beauty and brightness. Her ideals are not likely to be high, but she is ardent in her tempera- ment, and very impulsive. Lips continually curving upward slightly pouting and red, may be very pretty, but they do not denote womanly sympathy or much thought. A person having red lips will live to be old. Thin lips are a sign of a stingy disposition. A person with very bloodless lips will be immoral and treacherous. A thick upper lip, protruding prominently above the lower, and having a sharp curve upwards, is the indication of a bad and stub- born temper. If the upper lip trembles repeat- edly, it is a sign that one is to have a present of some rare and delicious dish. If the lower lip trembles, it denotes severe illness. A protruding lower lip, turning downwards, indicates the evidence of sordid tastes. If your under lip projects, you are fond of being kissed. A projecting under lip shows ma- lignity and avarice. It has long been accounted un- lucky to have a hare-lip. It was formerly supposed that a person so afflicted was bewitched or had an evil spirit. When one has a cleft lip, it is the work of some mischievous fairy. In “King Lear,” Edgar says of Gloster: “This is the foul fiend Flibbertigibbet: he squints the eye and makes the hare-lip.” Chapped lips are an indication that the owner has been kissing someone he had no business to. For chapped lips, kiss the mid- dle rail of a five-railed fence. (Ber- nardston, Mass.) 3O2 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. Cold-sores on the lips have the Same significance for a woman as chapped lips for a man. MARKS. If, in the morning, blue marks appear on a body, they are consid- ered by the Danes pinches of a spectre, and betoken the death of a relative or dear friend. Some people say that the black and blue spots that you often find on the body, not knowing where they come from, are witch pinches. In Wales, it is said that the death-pinch, a blue spot on the arm or leg which you cannot account for, portends a legacy. A mark on the side of the neck, denotes that the person will be smothered or strangled, but will be held in high esteem, and will be an heir to an unexpected fortune. If a man has a mark on the back of the neck, he runs great danger of being beheaded in some way. If either a man or a woman has a mark over the heart, he or she is undoubtedly very wicked. If you accidentally get a spot of soot on your face, touch the spot at once, without looking into the glass; if you succeed in hitting the spot, make a wish, and you may be sure that it will be fulfilled. Touch your beauty-spot (a dirt- mark on the face), and you will go abroad to-morrow. A mark on either cheek signifies that the person will never be either rich or poor. If a man has a mark running straight across the nose, he will wander hither and thither through many remote countries and cities. A mark on the uppper or lower lip shows a person fond of deli- cacies and sentimental pleasures, in which he will be exceedingly lucky. If a man has a mark on his tongue, he will by his eloquence, win a woman of wealth, beauty and celebrity. A mark on the chin is a lucky mark, and denotes riches and hon- OTS. Persons having a mark on the ear will be reverenced and much spoken about. A spot on the hand signifies vis- itors, “The nearer the thumb, the sooner they come.” Yellow spots appearing on the palm of the hand, predict death. “When yellow spots on your hands appear, Be certain that of a corpse you shall hear.” If a person has a mark on the knee, a handsome and wealthy partner is promised. MEMORY. A good memory is commonly attached to persons who are small- er, yet better formed in the upper than in the lower parts. Not fat, but fleshy, of a fair, delicate skin, with the poll of the head uncov- ered, crooked nose, teeth thick set, large ears, with plenty of cartilage. A bad memory is observable in persons whose upper parts are larger than their lower, fleshy, but dry and bald. Albertus Magnus, the great phi- losopher of the thirteenth century, says that if the heart, eye, or brain of a lapwing or black plover hang upon a man's neck, he cannot for- get anything, and his mind will grow sharp and bright. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 3O3 If you have forgotten what you wished to say, step out over the threshold, and you will remember it when you step in again. To know something by heart, you must put it under your pillow at night. You can commit things to mem- ory before breakfast very easily. The whitest of frankincense beat- en fine and drunk in white wine is believed to strengthen the memory wonderfully. Perhaps the most common prac- tice to remember something, is to make a knot in one’s handkerchief. In France, Piedmont and Swit- zerland the peasants declare that there is an herb of oblivion, which causes loss of memory to anyone who steps on it. It is an old saying that we forget nothing. Thomas Dempster, a Scotch his- torian of 1579, had such a pro- digious memory that he was popu- larly believed to be inspired by some spirit. He used to say that he did not know what it was to for- get anything. Woodfall, the editor of the Lon- don Morning Chronicle (b. 1745, d. 1803), was known to be able to re- peat accurately any debate that he had attended the previous day, without having taken any notes. W. Radcliffe was known to do the same thing. The Italian biblioph- ilist, Magliabechi, of Florence (1633–1714), was called “the univer- sal index and living cyclopedia.” Garrick, the famous actor, could repeat his part by reading it once over. There are numerous other remarkable instances of persons en- dowed with a phenomenal memory. MIND. To eat much beef was, in olden times, supposed to impair the mind. Sir Andrew says, in Shakespeare's “Twelfth Night,” I, 3: “Methinks sometimes that I have no more wit than a Christian or any ordinary man has: but I am a great eater of beef, and I believe that does harm my wit.” People who, at certain seasons, seem to be “light” in the head, or in any way curious or unusual, are said to be “off with the fairies.” (Irish.) A good imagination and thoughtful disposition is distin- guished by a large, prominent fore- head, a fixed and attentive look, slow respiration, and an inclination of the head. MOLES. On Women. On a woman's right knee—Hon- est and virtuous; on her left knee, many children. On the nose—Travel on foot in many countries. On a woman's lower jaw—Lead a life of Sorrow and pain of body. On the midst of forehead—Dis- courteous, cruel mind, of unpleas- ant discourse. If honey-colored—Will be be- loved. If red—Sullen and furious. If black—Inexpert and waver- 1ng. - On any part of the lip—A great eater, amorous, but much beloved. On the chin—Riches. On the ear—Riches and respect. On the neck—Money by the peck. 3O4 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. On the right breast—Poverty. Near the bottom of the nostril— Very lucky. On the left side of belly—Afflic- tion. On the right foot—Wisdom. On the left foot—Dangerous, rash actions. On the eyebrow—Early and hap- py marriage. On the wrist—Ingenious mind. Between elbow and wrist—Many crosses, ending in prosperity and JOy. On the side of the chin—Amiable disposition, industrious and suc- cessful. On the thighs—Poverty and in- felicity. On the armhole—Riches and honor. On the right arm or shoulder— Great wisdom. On the left arm or shoulder— Contention and debate. On Men. On a man's throat—He will be- come rich. Under a man’s left breast—An unsettled mind. On the ankle—Courage. On the right arm—Undaunted courage and vigor. On left arm—Resolution and victory in battle. On either elbow—Restlessness and an unsteady temper, fond of roving. Over the right ribs—To be slow in understanding anything that may be attended with difficulties. On the stomach—Sloth and glut- tony. On either hip—Healthy and pa- tient. On either leg — Indolent, thoughtless and indifferent as to whatever may happen. If raised like a wart—Very for- tunate; the same on a woman shows her to be untidy, and if black treacherous and consenting to evil. There are 52 omens of moles, which accord with your birth in any one of the 52 weeks in the year. If you are born in the 1. Week of the year, moles above the shoulders indicate good fortune. 2. Restlessness and fondness for travel. 3. Domestic enjoyments and love of children. 4. Many important turns of fate during life. 5. As many lovers or sweet- hearts as moles. 6. An important journey for each mole. 7. Great prosperity. 8. As many narrow escapes as you have moles. 9. As many intrigues of love or statecraft as you have moles. 10. An important sum of money left you for each mole. 11. The parent of as many chil- dren as you have moles. 12. As many good opportuni- ties during life as you have moles. 13. Good luck for you all your life. 14. A voyage on the water for each mole. 15. A journey by land for each mole. 16. Love and affection from as many persons as you have moles. 17. If you have but one mole, it is very lucky. If more than one, not. - 18. If you have a mole on the FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 305 ºneck, it is a sign of dangerous ele- vation. 19. You will have enemies and dangers to encounter. 20. Advancement and social po- sition through love, if the moles are above the shoulders; if they are on the legs, they foretell travel. 21. You will show great genius. 22. A contentious life, full of controversy and dissension. 23. Failures in little things. 24. Suits at law. Domestic dis- agreement. 25. Hosts of friends. 26. Hosts of envious acquaint- all CCS, 27. Much happiness and ease. 28. Unfortunate. Grief and misery. 29. Diplomatic. agems and plans. 30. Battles, contentions. work to hold your own. 31. Labor and exertion with lit- Full of strat- Hard tle profit. 32. Prudence to stinginess. Miserliness. 33. Also avaricious and accu- mulating. 34. Inconstant. Full of unrea- sonable changes of mind and hu- IIlOT, 35. Fond of the opposite sex physically. 36. Your friends will cause you more trouble than your enemies. 37. You will do deeds that will require penitence to obliterate. 38. Flattery will be your weak- est point. Anyone can praise, and deceive you thereby. 39. Slow to anger; merciful and kind. 40. Parent of a child for each mole. 41. If you have three or less than three it is well, but more than three bring you bad luck. 42. Many fortunate escapes from troubles of all kinds. •They hover around, but do not touch you. 43. You will encounter arrests that concern you, and will be trou- bled by someone in prison. 44. You will make some lucky speculations in life. 45. Much rejoicing and happi- ness over various things. 46. Apt to be intemperate. Be- ware of any kind of stimulants. 47. Fond of the pleasures of the table. Apt to be an epicure. 48. Brilliant mind, happy fate. 49. Legal disputes, but victor- ious. 50. You will be divorced if mar- ried, or you will lose your love. 51. You will trust too much, and people will steal from you. 52. You will lead a strange, rambling life, often in far lands. These moles should be in all in- stances above the shoulders, except where especially mentioned, as they pertain principally to the head. If a person has a bluish or pur- plish mole, it is because he or she was born under the planet Jupiter. If a person has an olive or chest- nut-colored mole, it was caused by the sun that was shining brightly at birth. If a person has a yellow mole, Venus was the planet ascendant at birth. If a person was born when Mer- cury was the reigning planet, he or she will have moles of a lead color. If a person has a white mole, he or she was born on a white moon- light night. 306 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. If a planet that gives a mole is afflicted or impeded, the mole will be larger or in a more visible place. If the sign or planet that gives moles is masculine then the moles, will be on the right side; if femi- nine, on the left. If the planet that gives the moles is above the horizon, the mole will be on the front of the body; if below, the mole will be on the back of the body. A mole on the right side of fore- head, declares a man to abound in benefits from great men, friend- ships with important people, loaded with command, esteemed and hon- ored. The paler the color the great- er the honor, and if raised like a wart, it increases the good fortune. A woman having this mole shall be fortunate in all her actions, but if it is black, beware of her tongue. A mole on a man's left forehead threatens a man with persecutions from his superiors. If it is honey- colored, he prodigally wastes his estate; if red, he will become poor; if black, let him beware of the wrath and malice of great men. A mole on a woman's left fore- head threatens sorrow from the perfidy of man; if it is black, she will partake of the extremity of misery. “Moles on the back, Want you’ll never lack.” A mole on the right eyebrow an- nounces early marriage and large fortune; on the left eyebrow, un- expected disappointment. A mole on either cheek, a per- son will never rise above medioc- rity in fortune. A mole on the nose denotes suc- cess in all undertakings. A mole on upper or lower lip tells that the person is much given to pleasures of love, and will be successful therein. A mole on center of bosom sig- nifies mediocrity of health and for- tune. To meet a blue-eyed woman with a mole on her left cheek, is the sign of trouble. If a person has black moles, it is because he or she was born under the planet Saturn. A mole between elbow and wrist signifies success after much strug- gle. A woman with a black mole on her body, is sure to come to a trag- ical end. A mole on the knee signifies a wealthy partner. Mole on your arm, live on a farm. (Alabama.) Mole above breath means wealth. (Prince Edward Island.) In the “Husbandman's Practice and Prognostication Forever,” of 1658, it is declared that “if a man hath a mole located directly over his heart, he is surely and undoubt- edly very wicked.” The hairs growing from warts or moles are omens of good luck. If there are hairs in a mole and you let them grow, you will be rich. If you pull them out, you throw your riches away, The Greeks consider moles lucky. On St. Simon's day black pepper is thrown over expectant mothers, in the belief that this will cause moles on the child. In ancient times a mole found on a woman's body was considered a FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 3O7 witch mark; if found on a man, he was believed to be a sorcerer. If a child is born with a mole, it should be stroked by the hand of a dead person of the other sex, and as the corpse decays the mole will go away. (North German.) A mole on a child is spoken of by Oberon in the “Midsummer- Night's Dream,” as an unfortunate thing, and he promises to the new- ly-married couples: “And the blots of Nature's hand, Shall not in their issue stand, Never mole, hair-lip nor scar, Nor mark prodigious, such as are Despised in nativity, Shall upon their children be.” MOUTH, The color and shape of the mouth is an open book to the wise. There are certain mouths that tell you in every curve to beware of the owner. A large mouth denotes a person without shame, a good conversa- tionalist liable to judge a person without sufficient proof of guilt or innocence. A mouth exactly twice as wide as the eye, is a sign of dullness of ap- prehension. A large mouth indicates liberal- ity of mind, but coarseness of man- 116 rS. A small mouth, with small nose and nostrils, shows indecision and cowardice. A small mouth indicates a nar- row mind and extreme sensitive- IleSS. A little mouth denotes a person to be faithful and peaceable. A close-fitting mouth, revealing sharp, straight lines, indicates sternness of disposition. A woman who has a mouth with thin lips, drawn down at the cor- ners, rather bloodless and pale, is self-righteous, has very narrow ideas, and is extremely obstinate. She is also likely to be subject to hysterics and melancholy. Never trust a man whose mouth droops at the corners. When a fever blister comes in your mouth, someone has been dreaming of kissing you. Put nothing in your mouth of a morning, till you have had a bite of bread, if you wish to be lucky. A mouth which, viewed in pro- file, turns up in a curve when smil- ing, is a sign of frivolity. NAILS IN GENERAL. A Jewish tradition reports that Adam was entirely clothed in a hard, horny substance instead of the skin, and only lost it on leaving paradise and becoming subject to evil spirits. The nails are the rem- nants of this dress. An old Persian chronicle says that Eve also pos- sessed this dress, and the nails were left as a souvenir of Eden. Fleshy nails show the person to be lazy and luxurious. A hang-nail is the sign of the un- kindness of an aunt. (Japanese.) In swampy countries, if the nails become brittle and break, it is a sign that an attack of ague is com- ing on. “Better thou wert never born, Than on Friday pare thy horn. Better a child were never born Than cut his hoof of a Sunday.” (Ancient Rhyme.) 308 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. The Jews pare their nails on Fri- day for good luck. The devil trims his nails always on a Friday; therefore select some Other day for yours. (Portugal.) If a grown person cuts the nails on Sunday, he or she will do some- thing to be ashamed of during the week. Cut your nails on Sunday and have the devil with you all the week. If a boy or girl cuts the nails on Sunday, they will be whipped dur- ing the week. If a maid cuts her nails regular- ly every Saturday morning before 12 o'clock, she will have an offer of marriage before the year is out. (Gloucestershire, England.) Trim your nails for four succes- sive Sundays at the front gate, and on the fifth Sunday the person whom you are going to marry will enter the gate. In Sweden they say if you cut your nails on Sunday the chickens will have nails in their eyes. When the moon is young, do not scrape your nails. Wait until the moon is full, or they will grow thick and brittle. (Rio Grande Indians.) Trimming nails in company de- notes a quarrel with an acquaint- 3.11Ce, - If you cut your nails in a stran- ger's house, you will have bad luck at once. (Russia.) It is ill luck to have your nails cut by another person. When you cut your nails, wrap them up and bury them, and they will come up at the resurrection. (Persia.) If, while cutting his nails, some of the pieces spring into the fire, the man will die soon. Do not cut your nails pointed, or you will die in single blessedness. Do not cut your nails with scis- sors, or the devil will claim you for his own. Albertus says: “Cut your nails never, but use a file, And you will be lucky all the while.” Children who cast the clippings. of their nails into the fire, are in danger of calamity. It is still a point of belief in Ire- land that nail-clippings must be cut again in three pieces, or the devil will make a ship of them. If you walk over nail-parings, you will always dislike the person they belong to. The Polish Jews believe that not to burn one's nail-parings, will cause great troubles; a person who does so is considered righteous. It indicates that a man is right- eous among the Jews, if he takes the pains to bury his nail-parings. The man who carelessly throws his nail-parings away is not to be trusted, and is believed to be wick- ed, whether he shows it or not. NECK. If a person with a large neck will on seeing a new moon, rub the neck down for three successive nights, and recite, “What I see in- crease; what I rub decrease,” his or her neck will grow smaller. A thick neck is a sign of gross. organization and gross tastes. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 3O9. If there is a hollow in the back of a person's neck, it is a sign that they will die of consumption. One who is marked with a red or purple line about the neck, is marked for the gallows. People who have two or three wrinkles about the base of the neck, in Japan, are suspected of being nuke-Kubi. And what is a nuke- Kubiº “Kubi” signifies either the neck or head. “Nukern” means to creep, to skulk, to prowl, to slip away stealthily. To have a nuke- Kubi is to have a head that de- taches itself from the body and prowls about at night, by itself. (Lafcadio Hearn, “Glimpses of Un- familiar Japan.”) If you are kissed on the neck, it is a sign of regret. Others say it is the sign of in- tense passion. NOSE. The nose that is small, tapering round in the nostrils, and cocked up, shows the person to be ingen- ious, Smart, quick of apprehension, giddy, seldom considering conse- quences, generous, agreeable so as to carefully avoid giving offense, but resolute in doing themselves justice when they receive an injury. The nose that is small, slender, and peaked shows the person to be of a fearful disposition, jealous, fretful and insidious, ever suspi- cious of those about him, catching at every word that he can interpret to his own advantage, to ground his dispute on, and also very cu- rious to know what is said and done. A woman with a small nose, lacking a substantial bridge, and inclined to turn up, is sensitive, prone to suffer from trifles, wanting in real self-esteem, shy, and per- haps fickle. - If a man has a small nose and distended nostrils, it is a sign that he will come to beggary. Look out when you do business with persons who have a small pinched-up nose. - A woman with a nose broad and high at the bridge, and not too sharp at the end, is a person of strong personality, shrewdness, ag- gressiveness and independence. When the nose is wide and full between the bridge and the fore- head, so full as to give the skin a drawn appearance between the eyes, somewhat in the shape of the letter Y, it may be taken as the evidence of an acquisitive and sav- ing nature. If your nose is large, it is a sign that you are very generous. Large noses are invariably asso- ciated with people of strong traits of character, whether good or oth- erwise. A large nose is a sign of wisdom. Large noses generally belong to those who like to lead and rule. Those of an inquisitive disposi- tion can be told by the horizontal length of the nose from the lip for- ward. If this distance is unusually large, it denotes the person to be very inquisitive, asking a great many questions and taking means to find out the secrets of their friends. A nose that comes even on the bridge, flat on the sides, with little or no hollow between the eyes, de- clares the man to be sulky, insolent, disdainful, treacherous and self- 3Io ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. sufficient; if it has a point descend- ing over the nostrils, he is avari- cious, unfeeling, vainglorious, ig- norant, peevish, jealous, quick in resentment, yet a coward at bot- tom. A nose that is even on the ridge, then falling into a sort of hollow below, shows its owner to be petu- lant and noisy, void of science, and of a very light understanding. A person with a sharp ridge on the top of the nose is greatly en- dowed with the power of self-de- fense, The best noses always show a concavity between the nose and the forehead. It denotes short life if the vein on the nose between the eyes shows plainly. Noses with wrinkles down the sides, which never entirely disap- pear, generally belong to money- getting natures. Noses which wrinkle easily, are rarely found in persons of good natured disposition. Pointed noses are a sign of med- dlesomeness. A suspicious person who always keeps a close watch over every- thing around him, usually has a long nose from the root downward at a right angle with the horizontal length forward. The Roman nose shows the greater character and the Greek nose the greater taste. A projecting nose and mouth is a sign of self-confidence, impu- dence and rashness. Look out for persons who have what is called “hook-billed” noses, for if such be your partners their rights will certainly be taken care of by themselves regardless of Others. Never fail to be on your guard when you do business with people whose noses are “sway-backed” (concave), they seldom, if ever, are noted for a high degree of manli- 116SS. It is unlucky to have dealings with a man whose nose is decidedly bent. “Infirmities deep you may well suppose, Belong to the one with the pendulous nose.” If a man can reach his nose with the end of his tongue, it is a sign that he is a good singer. A “snub” nose is peculiar to Russians, Esquimaux, Tartars and Africans. You will always find people with pug noses of a saucy disposition. Those who can keep a secret, can be told by the great breadth or ex- pansion of the nostrils. Narrow, thin nostrils are a sign of low vitality and small lungs. Van Helmont the famous plemist physician who died 1644, tells a story of a man who came to him to have a new nose put on him as he had lost his, but disliking to have a part of the skin of his own arm used for the purpose, he hired a laborer to let him have some of his skin. The operation was suc- cessfully performed and the man enjoyed a new nose until one day it suddenly turned white and dropped off. The cause of this un- expected occurrence was discov- ered to be that the laborer at the moment the nose grew cold, had expired at Bologna. In the popular tales of Tibet is FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. : 3II to be found a miraculous fashion of lengthening the nose of any obnox- ious individual, and in one of the stories of Central Asia the fairies so elongate the nose of an intruder in- to their realm, that they tie seven knots in it and send him home. Also in German folklore monstrous length or any odd abnormity of the nose is a favorite punishment of evil-doers, PALING, If a man in a passion looks pale and gets pale lips, he cannot have either true love or courage to de- fend. In the Fiji islands, it is very un- lucky if a man looks pale when he goes to paint himself black, for it is a sign of his approaching death. PERSPIRATION. Excessive perspiration on the upper lip is an indication of high temper. If perspiration gathers in beads on a person's nose, it is a sign that he or she is high-tempered. “If you sweatred, You will never want bread.” If you are perspiring, do not wipe it off with your hand, for you will wipe away your luck. (Jamaica) If you put a pan of salt or a basin of water under your bed, you will be free from night sweats. In Karadartsy, Turkey, to cure her hands from perspiring, a girl rises before sunrise on the day of St. George (April 23), and grasps the iron latches of three doors in Succession. Perspiration renders philters abortive. POINTING. Never point at your own body in showing a place that is diseased or weak, and never point at your own body when telling someone where another person is diseased, or you will get the same complaint in the same place. It is bad luck to point at a person coming towards you. It is very unlucky to point a first finger at any sore, for it is said it will never heal. In India, it is unlucky to point a forefinger at anything. If you point at a fruit tree, it will not bear, Among the Congo tribes, a na- tive never points the finger at a friend, as by that means an evil in- fluence could be transmitted. PROMISE. To get a promise from a friend, signifies that you will hear of a broken marriage promise. QUARREL. To have a quarrel on Monday, your lover more in love than ever. On Tuesday, to hear of a death. On Wednesday, a friend's sick- 116SS. On Thursday, unlucky under- takings. On Friday, lucky and successful. On Saturday, news of wealth. On Sunday, sad news. If you enter into another's quar- rels, and try to set them right, you will lose both friends. In ancient times, if two neigh- bors disputed about the boundaries 312 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. of their lands, a piece of turf of the contested land was brought into court before the judge, and the two persons touched it with their swords, calling to God to witness their claims. Then a combat be- tween the two disputants settled the question. The one who maimed or killed the other had the land. RIB, It is a widespread belief that woman has one rib more than man. This is based on the story of the creation of Eve, as told in Genesis II, 21 and 22: “And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; and the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.” SALIVA. The human saliva has from olden times on been esteemed a charm against all kinds of fascination and witchcraft. “Spit upon the ground and your good luck is bound When the fates shall bring, it shall not take wing.” Never hold your fingers to your mouth and spit through them. Some accident will certainly befall you. Men who work with tools, are frequently seen spitting on their hands before using them; this prac- tice is doubtless a survival from the superstitions, that the human saliva has a subtle and peculiar power of working charms, assisting labor and otherwise contributing to the well-being of the race. Athletes, particularly English boxers and wrestlers, spit into their loofs before commencing a com- bat, believing that by so doing they are more likely to prevail. If a pugilist spits in his hands, his blows will be more telling. Spitting over the left shoulder upon meeting your enemy, will pre- vent him from doing you any harm. To spit out of a window is a sign of ill luck. If you chance to spit on a stone, you will have a sore mouth. If you happen to spit on your- self, you will hear some news; in northern Ohio it is taken for a sign that someone is telling a lie about you. Unless you spit when smelling a bad odor, your hair will come out. Roasted mice eaten by children, will dry up the spittle. A lady, brought up in Boston, says that when she was a child they spit on any dead animal to prevent taking its disease. Boys in New Hampshire used the same way to find a lost ball, saying: “Spitter, spatter, where's that ball gone?” A mnemonic device now found in Salem, is to spit on the palm of one hand or the inner side of the wrist, to remind one where some- thing mislaid may be found. Boys out bird-nesting in Salem, Mass., years ago, would spit in the palm of one hand and then strike the saliva a quick blow with the forefinger of the other, saying: “Spit, spat, spot, Tell me where that bird's-nest is.” The direction of the most prom- FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 313 inent drop of spittle flying off, in- dicated the locality of the nest. A well-known scientist says that in Portland, Maine, forty years ago, in passing dead dogs, cats, and the like, one should spit three times on the carrion to prevent getting the itch. The custom of using spittle in some manner as part of the cere- mony of naming children, or as a lustral rite, appears to have a very extended range, both historically and geographically. “See how old beldams expiations make; To atone the gods the bantling up they take, His lips are wet with lustral spittle, thus They hope to make the gods propi- tious.” A northern Ohio way of telling fortunes was to spit on a hot shovel. The saliva will froth and dance up over the shovel. The direction tak- en by this moving bubble sliding off the shovel, will indicate the di- rection in which you are going to live, but if the saliva dries up and does not run off the shovel, it shows you are to stay where you 31ſe. If you have lost an article, spit upon the palm of the left hand and then strike it with your right hand; you will then find the article in the ision towards which the spit IllCS. The saliva of a king will cure disease. Lecky refers, in his “History of Rationalism,” to a sect, in evidence during the fourth century and later, the members of which made spit- ting a religious exercise in hopes of thus casting out the devils they had inhaled. Among the early Saxons, spittle was an important ingredient of a holy salve. Brand relates a curious custom of boys in the north of England, namely that of pledging their faith, “their Saul,” by Spitting, just as an American boy will say, “I hope to die if it is not true.” Newcastle colliers bind a com- pact of protection against their em- ployers by spitting together upon a Stone. The Irish peasantry spit on an object they fear, and say, “God bless it.” Ennemoser, in his “History of Magic,” says that a charm, to ward off the evil of a witch, was spitting three times before her house. In Hesse, spitting in the fire will make the culprit's mouth sore, a belief which is probably a remnant of the time when fire was consid- ered sacred. According to Dr. Buck, in Swabia, the spittle of a person who has been tickled to death, is con- sidered extremely poisonous. Dr. Buck also states that it is customary in Swabia for the way- farer to spit upon carrion, that he encounters by the wayside, lest he should become mangy through its influence. It is an old French belief that to spit in the fire or on the stove in the morning on rising, is a bad omen. In Germany, spitting in the fire or on the stove is said to cause a sore mouth. To spit on another's face or hands, will cause a rough place. (Bohemian.) Who spits against heaven, re- ceives his spittle back again in the face. (Sicilian proverb.) 3I4 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. When his countrymen spit upon him, the Russian simply crosses himself to avert the curse. The Mandingo Negroes, the South Sea Islanders, the American Indians, the Japanese, the Aryan and Semetic races, all have com- mon superstitions of saliva, think- ing it efficacious or poisonous as the case may be. It is positively decided, however, by science, that it has no peculiar property in any way justifying this belief. In Indian formulas for medicine, love, the ball play, and others, the river is always addressed as “The Long Person,” and the “spittle” re- ferred to, is the foam at the edge of the water. River spittle is effica- cious in bringing about the wishes of the incanter. In Mungo Park's travels there is a description of a charm or “saphie” to insure a safe journey, by muttering a few sentences and spitting upon a stone laid on the ground. Paul Kane, in his “Wanderings of an Artist Among the Indians of North America,” writes: “The Columbia River Indians are never seen to spit without carefully oblit- erating all traces of saliva. This they do lest an enemy should find it and work them an injury. They always spit on the blanket they wear.” Captain John G. Bourke says, all Indians who have never been on a reservation carefully spit in their blankets and mantles. Purification of the warrior who had killed an enemy, was generally deemed necessary by the various tribes of American Indians. Among the Pimas of Arizona, one feature of the ceremony consisted in the transference of saliva from the mouth of the officiating medicine- man to that of the warrior. (Cap- tain Grossman, in Smithsonian Report.) The Cherokee Indians, and in fact all American Indians, have great faith in the manifold power of spittle, and if a man can get any of the spittle of an enemy, he has that enemy in his power, so that he can work charms upon him, and even kill him secretly. Thus, if a victim is doomed by a shaman or medicine-man, either for himself or for hire, the shaman conceals him- self near the trail along which the victim is likely to pass. When the doomed man appears, the shaman waits until he has gone by and then follows him secretly until he chances to spit on the ground. On coming up to the spot, the shaman collects upon the end of a stick a little of the dust thus moistened with the victim's spittle. The pos- session of the spittle gives him power over the life of the man. Many ailments are said by the doc- tors to be due to the fact that some enemy has by this means “changed the spittle” of the patient, and caused it to breed animals or sprout corn in the sick man's body. An old Aztec says, one must not spit after meeting a polecat, lest he grow white-headed. Africans, on starting out on a journey, spit on the first stone they See, so as to come back safely. The Somalis' method of wishing anyone good luck is to spit on him or her. The South Africans believe that they will have good luck for a month if they spit on their hands and rub it over their faces in the full moon. Sir Richard Burton writes that, on his trip into East Africa, a man FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCEs. 3I5 s y ". was importunate for a charm from him to cure a sick camel, and when he gave him some trifle to satisfy him, he began to thank him in a set speech of blessing which last- ed half an hour, and concluded by deliberately spitting on each of the party for good luck. When Hasan, the grandson of Mahomet, was born, Mahomet “spat in his mouth” and named him Hasan, thus causing him to become very much like himself. (Ockley's History of the Saracens.) When a man spits, Satan will lose many of his children. (Persia.) To spit into the river Ganges, is good luck for a Hindu. Human saliva is believed in Japan to be a deadly poison to cen- tipedes. Galen, a celebrated Greek phy- sician and writer (born about 130 A. D.), believed that a scorpion could be killed by a person's spittle. Among the South Sea Islanders, it is believed that injuries may be worked upon the producer of spit- tle, if sorcerers chance to get hold of it, and so the chiefs are followed around by spittoon-bearers, who collect and bury the dangerous product. If you spit accidentally upon yourself, it is a sure sign that some- one is telling lies about you. (Brit- ish Guiana.) The ancients believed that the morning saliva was able to kill dragons. When a Greek wanted extra good luck, he spit in his hands. The ancients considered spittle to be a charm against all sorts of fascination. Theocritus, in describ- ing the demeanor of a city beauty, in repelling the advances of a rustic wooer, says: “Speaking thus, she spat thrice upon her breast, to guard herself safe from fascinating charms.” An old Roman counter-charm was to spit in the right shoe before putting it on, or before going where there was danger. Pliny says it was a Roman cus- tom to wet the finger with spittle and place it behind the ear, to allay any disquietude of mind. Pliny says that if you have done an injury to anyone, that you re- gret, and wish the person to forget and forgive, just spit in your hand, and all feeling of resentment will be removed from the mind of the person you have assailed! Pliny says that spitting was su- perstitiously observed in averting witchcraft and in giving a shrewder blow to the enemy. Pliny believed contagion might be repelled by spitting. SALUTATION. The firm, hearty hand-shake of a sincere man may be rather rough, but it indicates stamina. The hesitating, insinuating-hand that slips away from you easily, be- longs to the clever man. The flabby hand that returns no pressure, belongs to the man who would not go out of his way to meet you. The quick, nervous hand-shake of an excitable, nervous tempera- ment, and its opposite, the nerve- less, passive one, belong to persons in ill-health. 316 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. The hand that threatens to col- lapse in yours, means deceit. Idlers shake harder and longer than other people. If a man cannot give a hearty hand-grasp, he will be easily over- come by the opposite sex. To shake hands with your left hand, signifies that you have or will have many false friends; with both hands, a gay and false lover. It is unlucky to shake hands across the table. If four people cross hands in the act of shaking hands, it is a sign that two of the party will be mar- ried shortly. It is unlucky to offer your left hand in salutation. “A curse with the left hand to those we hate, but the right hand to those we honor.” If you shake hands with a person standing sidewise, bad luck will follow. Hand should cross hand. Never shake hands with a slaughter-house butcher or an un- dertaker. If you do, you will be sad for the rest of the day. It is lucky to shake hands with a brewer. It will give you joy and happiness, and give you a feeling of jollity all day. Never shake hands in the moon- light when parting from a friend. It brings bad luck. If you shake hands on leaving a friend's house, and then are detain- ed, do not, on going, shake hands again, as it is very unlucky. (Wales.) Never shake hands twice with anyone on going to bed. (Wales.) If four people cross hands when they greet each other, a betrothal is signified, (Macedonia.) To kiss or shake hands with a person who is holding a knife or razor, will certainly break friend- ship. (Norman.) Kissing the hand by way of Salu- tation, is derived from the sun-wor- shippers among the Persians, who raised their hands to their mouths and then to the sun in adoration. It is a sign of reverence and admi- ration. The salutation of New Zealand- ers is made by rubbing noses to- gether, the violence of the friction being supposed to determine the warmth of the friendship. A quaint superstition is veiled in the Arabic phrase, “Salaam ali- kum,” which means “Peace be with you!” In addressing a single per- son, one would naturally suppose the singular form of alikum—alik —would be used. One seldom meets this form, however, because each man is supposed to have at his side two invisible guardian-an- gels, called “El Moakkibah.” The salutation is thus addressed to the three beings which make up the entire “ego.” Hence the plural form. SECRET. Never tell a secret, as it is never safe outside your own brain. If you cannot keep it, how do you expect that anyone else will? Never dispose of any of your secrets to anyone who is continual- ly talking about other people. Such persons cannot be trusted. If the tongue of a goose is cut out when the fowl is alive, and placed on the breast of a woman, FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 317 when she is asleep, she can be made to tell all her secrets and tell all her S111S, SENSATION. Trembling, according to current belief in years past, was caused by a demon having taken possession of the body. In the “Comedy of Errors,” the Courtezan says of An- tipholus of Ephesus: “Mark how he trembles in his ecstacy!” and Pinch says: “I charge thee, Satan, housed within this man To yield possession to my holy prayers, And to thy state of darkness hie thee straight; I conjure thee by all the saints in heaven!” (Shakespeare.) If a faint trembling should of a sudden come upon one, it is con- sidered lucky. “A maiden fear invades me, a faint trembling Under this omen, As is oft felt, the panting of a turtle, Under a stroking hand.” “That bodes good luck still! Since you shall change state speedily, for that trembling Is always the first symptom of a bride.” If your hand trembles, it is a sign that you have given something to the poor. When a cold trembling creeps over the limbs, people frequently say: “They are riding over my grave.” If a warm wave sweeps over you and you feel very hot, without any apparent reason, some great calam- ity is about to occur to someone in the house. If you feel a crawling sensation of the flesh, it is a sign that some- one is trying to bewitch you. If you have goose-flesh without cold, it is a sign, in Ireland, that a goose is walking over your grave. If you have a creepy, shivery feeling without apparent cause, it is a sign of bad news or trouble of some kind. If a person shivers in summer or beside a roaring fire, the Welsh say “The spirits are searching for your grave.” If you shudder, it is a sign that a rabbit is running across your grave, or a goose is eating grass from it. (Chestertown, Maryland.) When an Albanian is seized with a sudden shiver, he thinks Death is calling for him, and he mentally replies, “I am not yet ready!” If you meet a warm streak in the air on a cool night, turn back, for it is a sign of very bad luck, being the supposed track of a devil or a friend from the lower regions. If you feel a severe pain in the head, the spirits of the dead are haunting you. If the right cheek burns, some- one is speaking to your advantage; if the left, to your disadvantage. “Right cheek, left cheek, why do you burn? Cursed be she that doth me any harm; If she be a maid let her be staid; If she be a widow, long let her mourn; But if she be my own true love—burn, cheek, burn.” If you are a maiden and your left cheek burns, you will be kissed on that cheek by a young lady friend; if the right cheek burns, guard well your rosy lips, for your lover is 1163.I. A red cheek or a ringing in the ear is a sign of someone talking about you. (Albanian.) 318 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. The evil spoken of you when your right ear burns will fall un- heeded if you bite the little finger of your left hand. In some parts of Germany, the right ear burning is an omen of good luck or some- body talking good of you; while the left ear burning indicates ill luck or somebody talking bad of you. If you hear a whistling in your ears, it is a sign that you are going to be dunned. If your right ear burns, someone is speaking good of you; but if it is the left ear, they are speaking bad. (Bulgaria and Macedonia.) American Indians believe that ringing in the ear will result in One of two things. Someone will come without his family and he must be entertained, or you will hear news. The direction from which the per- son or news will come is shown by the ear affected. “By the pricking of my thumbs, Something wicked this way comes.” (Shakespeare, Macbeth IV, I.) A tickling in the palm of the hand betokens blows. In Lawrence, Mass., if the hand is asleep, cross it with the tip of the forefinger, moistened with saliva. In Italy the same. In northern Ohio, a variation of the practice is this: If the foot or leg is asleep, spit on your hand or finger and rub under the knee on the ham- string. This will give quick relief from the unpleasant pricking sen- sation. Still another variation is to pe found among the people of a small Gaelic community on Cape Breton. If the right foot is asleep, wet the right forefinger with spit- tle and rub it on the right eyebrow; if it is the left foot, use the left fore- finger. Pliny quotes from Salpe the statement that when any part of the body is asleep the numbness may be relieved by spitting into the lap, or by touching the upper eyelid with spittle. Pliny also states that a “crick” in the neck may be cured by putting fasting spittle on the right knee with the right hand, or On the left knee with the left hand. If a person makes a cross on the foot when it is asleep the tingling will cease. In Japan, where people sit cross- legged, they believe that when legs get benumbed, it can be cured by picking up a straw, wetting it with saliva, sticking it on the forehead, and letting it stay there until it falls off of its own accord. In Tokyo, after a piece of straw is placed on the forehead, a person wets his in- dex finger, with which he first touches the end of his nose and then rapidly moves his finger up towards the forehead. This is re- peated three times, accompanied by saying: “Numbness go up to Kyo!” (Bergen, Animal and Plant Lore.) If your feet burn and you have a desire to keep them out from be- neath the covers, you will be very angry over a disappointment. If your corns sting, it is a sign of rain. If a person has lost a limb and has a sensation, apparently in the absent member, it is a sign that Someone is tampering with it. A tickling sensation around the heart that cannot be relieved by Scratching, is a sign of love. A jumping sensation of the heart forebodes serious ill fortune. To feel a touch on your shoulder or a pull at your dress, is evil. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 3I9 To imagine you smell flowers, is the sign of a death in your family. SIGHING, There is an old belief that every sigh or groan robs the heart of a drop of blood. Every time you sigh, you drive a nail in your own coffin. To sigh a great deal is a sign that you are in love. If one keeps sighing without real reason, he will surely draw sor- row and sighing to himself. SITTING. If a girl sits cross-legged, like a tailor, she may get married when she can. SKIN; TATTOOING. Tradition tells us that the Giao chi, the alleged ancestors of the Annamites, were fishermen and in danger from marine animals and sea-monsters. To prevent disaster from the genii of the waters, the king directed the people to tattoo their forms with the images of the sea-monsters, and afterwards the dragons, crocodiles, etc., ceased their persecution. The custom be- came universal, and even the kings tattooed a dragon on their thighs, as a sign of power and nobility. The same idea was in the painting of the eyes on the prows of the Annamite ships, which strongly resembled the Sea-monsterS. Whether a similar origin obtains for the tattooing of the American Indian, is uncertain, or whether their custom may have descended by tradition from these ancient na- tions; but many tribes tattoo, as the Haida, Makah, Ojibway, Es- kimo, Wichita, Chickasaws, Osag- es, and many others. Among the girls, tattooing is a charm for love, and they will endure the pain will- ingly for the sake of charming some lover, while others believe that a fully tattooed person is in- vulnerable to weapons. Rev. J. Owen Dorsey says: “In order that the ghost may travel the ghost-road in safety, it is necessary for each Dakotan during his life to be tattooed, either in the middle of the forehead, or on the wrists. In that event his spirit will go directly to the “Many Lodges.” The word tattooing is of Tahitian origin (ta- a mark), but the custom is widespread, being universal in the South Sea Islands, also found among the North and South Amer- ican Indians, the Dyaks, the Bur- mese, Chinese, and Japanese, and common to this day among civiliz- ed sailors. Undoubtedly, the main cause of its origin was the desire to attract the admiration of the opposite sex, but this fundamental human desire does not, of course, exclude mo- tives for tattooing for religious or other ceremonial purposes, or for mere ornament, apart from sexual considerations. Among the Poly- nesians, the operation is attended with circumstances of ceremony, and the figures represented are of— ten religious in signification or symbolic of rank, not seldom the totem or special tribal badge. The New Zealanders were distinguish- ed by elaborate tattooing of the face, and many of their heads are preserved in European museums. As it was formerly a common cus- tom for shipmasters to purchase these on visiting New Zealand, there is little doubt that the demand stimulated the supply. Dr. Wuttke labors to prove that tattooing is a 32O ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. kind of writing, but, whatever may be the case elsewhere, its origin in Japan, where it reached its greatest perfection, is neitherceremonial nor symbolical, but merely cosmetic. Its end is to take the part of a gar- ment or decoration, those parts of the body only being tattooed which are usually covered, and only in cases of such workmen as run- ners, grooms, bearers, who work in a half-nude state. Still further, this is found only in large and civilized towns, where nudity might have been objectionable. It was substi- tuted for clothing, but now that clothing is compulsory in Japan, it has lost its meaning, and may be expected to disappear. Dr. Baelz, writing in 1885, estimated that a few years before there were in Tokyo alone as many as 30,000 men who were tattooed. The head, neck, hands, and feet are never tat- tooed, and it is found among the lower classes alone, and very sel- dom amongst women, and these only the dissolute. The usual ob- jects illustrated are large dragons, lions, battle scenes, beautiful wom- en, historical incidents, flowers— never obscene pictures. The colors employed are black, which appears blue, derived from Indian ink, and various shades of red, derived from cinnabar. The artist uses in his work exceedingly fine, sharp sew- ing needles, fixed firmly four, eight, twelve, twenty, or forty together, and arranged in rows in a piece of wood. The points are quite even, except when it is desired to pro- duce a light or dark shading. A skillful artist can cover the whole back or breast and belly of a grown man in a day, and that with excel- lent pictures with various degrees of shading. These punctures are not very painful, and as soon as the operation is over, the patient is bathed with hot water, which brings out the color more clearly. Among the Ainos again the tattoo- ing is done on the exposed parts of the body, and largely practiced by women. The Igorrotos in the mountainous region above Luzon, tattoo elaborately, but in series of lines and curves. They ornament the hands, arms, breast, and parts of the legs, the back only in one tribe, and a favorite form is a pic- ture of the sun as a number of con- centric circles on the back of the hand. According to the Archduke Joseph of Austria, tattooing is un- known amongst the Gypsies, but this is questioned by Bataillard and MacRitchie. Many savages paint their skins as a means of protection against cold, or against the sun's heat or the bites of insects; others again at- tempt thus to make their aspect more terrible in war, as Caesar tells us did the ancient Britons. Tattoo- ing has often been employed as a badge of brotherhood in some cause, and more often still as a means of identification for slaves and criminals. The so-called brand- ing of the letters D. and B. C. on military deserters and incorrigible characters, only given üp in 1879, was merely tattooing with needles and Indian ink. Among the relics of the ancient cave men of Europe, are hollowed stones, in which were ground the ochre and other colors for painting themselves. The war- paint of the ancient Britonsand Red Indian braves still survives in the paint-striped face of the circus- clown; and the rouge of the faded London beauty is merely the civi- lized equivalent of the Maori wom- en's tattooing around the mouth, or the beautiful flower-patterns on the backs and bellies of the Formo- sans. Amongst the lower-class FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 32K wit: ; 2 * , criminal population in Europe the practice of tattooing is still com- mon, but almost exclusively amongst the males, more than twenty designs being sometimes found on the same individual— transfixed hearts, swords, serpents, flowers, initials, a woman's figure, and occasionally obscenities. Among 800 convicted French sol- diers, Lacassagne found 40 per cent. tattooed, many with inscrip- tions which gave an index to the criminal's attitude to the world. (Chambers’ Encyclopaedia.) In order, apparently, to put him- self more fully under the protection of the totem, the clansman is in the habit of assimilating himself to the totem by dressing in the skin or other part of the totem animal, ar- ranging his hair and mutilating his body so as to resemble the totem, and representing it on his body by cicatrices, tattooing, or paint. (En- cyclopaedia Britannica, Werner Edition, vol. xxiii, page 469.) The Haidas of Queen Charlotte Islands are universally tattooed, the design being in all cases the totem, executed in a conventional style. When several families of dif- ferent totems live together in the same large house, a Haida chief will have all their totems tattooed on his person. Tribes in South America are especially distinguish- ed by their tattoo marks, but whether these are totem marks is not said. The Australians do not tattoo, but raise cicatrices; in some tribes these cicatrices are, arranged in patterns which serve as the tribal badges, consisting of lines, dots, circles, semicircles, etc. According to one authority, these Australian tribal badges are sometimes representa- tions of the totem. Again, the totem is sometimes painted on the person of the clans- man. This is sometimes done by the Indians of British Columbia. Among the Hurons (Wyandots) each clan has a distinctive mode of painting the face; and, at least in the case of the chiefs at installation, this painting represents the totem. Among the Moquis the representa- tives of the clans at foot-races, dances, etc., have each a conven- tional representation of his totem blazoned on breast or back. (En- cyclopaedia Britannica, Werner Edition, vol. xxiii, page 469.) Tattooing was forbidden to the Jews in Bible times. We read in Leviticus xix, 28: “Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you.” The Bedouin women tattoo themselves with animals and stars, to keep off evil spirits. In Burmah, certain kinds of tat- tooing are considered to bring good luck and keep from disease and drowning. The Persian ladies were formerly tattooed, in the belief that this would insure happiness for them. The Tasmanians believe in the human skin as a charm for disease, and keep the ears and the finger- nails as amulets. SLEEP. Sleep is supposed to be the tem- porary withdrawal of the soul from the body, and in sleep the spirit sometimes comes in contact with that of another person, the conflict being shown in the morning by bruises that cannot be accounted for. If a man wakes up in the morning full of pains in his bones, he infers that his spirit has been 322 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. wandering about in the night and received a castigation from the hands of some other spirit. When people are asleep their spirits are sometimes away in the shape of mice, birds, snakes, or such animals, and they cannot awake until the bird or animal re- turns. (Bohemia.) The Japanese believe that some women are liable, while sound asleep and dreaming, to have their heads leave their bodies and roam about. It is dangerous to arouse them till the head returns. Hours of sleep: Nature requires five; Custom gives seven; MWeariness takes nine; Laziness takes eleven.” It is bad luck to sleep with your head to the east. If you want good luck, the sun should rise at your feet and not over your head. It is better, however, to sleep with your head to the north, so as not to sleep crosswise of the world, and so as to benefit by the electrical and magnetic currents that flow that way. The Hindus, however, say that to sleep with the head to the north, will cause one's days to be shortened; to the south will bring longevity. Russians will not sleep with their heads to the north, as they are taught that all evil comes from that quarter of the heavens. The Hun- garians and Poles have the same prejudice. The Japanese never sleep with their heads to the north, as the dead of that country are buried in that direction, and so par- ticular are they about this that a diagram is usually found in a sleep- ing room, pointing out which way is north. The Patagonians have an equal prejudice against this posi- tion, and other nations also, all be- ing influenced by an abject fear of being visited in their sleep by foul and evil influences. To sleep with the head towards the north, is a sign that you are a witch. (Madagascar.) If a man is drowsy, it is a sign of ill luck. If you fall asleep in your chair, the person who comes in the room and wakes you will be rich. If you go to sleep in your chair and sleep till you wake up yourself, you will receive an unexpected vis- it. It is dangerous to sleep when thirsty, for the soul then leaves the body in search of water; and if the body be wakened too quickly, the soul may not have time to get back, and the body will die. It has long been considered bad luck for a person to sleep with his eyes open. He will get drowned. People who are in the habit of sleeping with their arms crossed under the head, are said to be not long-lived. The Indians say that it is lucky to put cotton in your ears, or if you cannot get cotton, grass, when you go to sleep on the ground. The Kamchatkans believe that if they happen to ease nature during sleep, it signifies the coming of a distinguished guest to the nation. Terribly bad luck will befall a Turkish family if one of its mem- bers is allowed unchecked to grind the teeth in sleep. Quickly strike the mouth of the offender with a slipper three times, and the family misfortune will be avoided. The mysterious influences that hover over our beds are moved by FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 323 other grievances than by grinding our teeth ! A black handkerchief on the head of a sleeper is an abom- ination. Woe to the woman who may have thoughtlessly so bound up her brows; her good destiny, peeping in at the door and seeing the sombre headdress, will cast off all interest in the sleeping sinner, and with a gesture, “Na! Na!” take flight forever more. If a person talks in his sleep, put his hand in a bowl of water and he will tell you anything you have a mind to ask him. To weep in sleep is a sign of joy when waking. If you imagine you are falling in your sleep, and do not wake before you strike, you will die. If you are restless in the night and cannot sleep, mention one of the names of the seven sleepers twelve times, and sleep will come to you. (The seven sleepers were, according to Gregory of Tours: Constantine, Dionysios, John, Maximian, Malchus, Marcian, and Serapion. The best account of them is given in the Koran, but it does not give the names. Gregory says they were seven noble youths of Ephesus, who fled in the Decian persecution to a cave in Mount Celion, the mouth of which was blocked up by stones. After 250 years, they were discovered and awoke, but did not live long, died, and were taken in a large stone coffin to Marseilles. The coffin is still shown to visitors at St. Victor's Church.) If you want a person to sleep, make a cotta (a kind of pillow made of old soft cloth or plantain bark), and put it under the per- son's head, Stick two black pins in it, and he or she will sleep until you wake him. (Jamaica.) A charm for rest: “In the name of the Father, up and down, And the Holy Spirit upon my crown, The cross of Christ upon my breast, Sweet lady, send me eternal rest.” To be restless on a rainy night is conceded to be a sign that your friends have slandered you. Get out of bed and turn your shoes over if you cannot sleep, as that will drive away the witches, who are keeping you awake. If you want to sleep or wake at will, cut off the head of a live toad and let it dry, seeing that one eye is open and the other shut. That which is found open makes one wake, and the one that is shut, sleep. Cover either one or the other as you desire, put the head on your bed, and you will have the desired effect. If you want to get up in the morning at a certain hour, before going to bed make, with your right foot, as many marks on the floor as the hour at which you want to get up, and go to bed backwards. You will wake up at the desired time. It is not safe to wake a person dy calling him by his name. (Greek.) Many people believe that some harm will happen to a person who is too suddenly awakened from sleep. There is a superstition, not yet wholly extinct in Denmark and Iceland, that persons could not be awakened out of their sleep if a thorn lay upon their body, or was stuck into their clothing. If someone asks you if you slept well, do not answer him directly, or he will take your sleep away. (Bo- hemia.) 324 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. The Duchess of , in Por- tugal, lived to a great age. Up to the time of her last illness she never retired to bed until daybreak. As the sun rose, she walked to her win- dow, and raising the sleeve of her gown, would watch through it the sun rise, and then go quietly to bed. When the last illness prevented her from doing this, she was much dis- tressed, and felt she would soon die. The eldest son of the duchess who also lived to a good old age, always occupied either a different room or a different part of the same room, night after night, never sleeping in the same spot as the night before. Before retiring, he walked up and down the room a certain number of times, carrying an open umbrella over his right shoulder, then an old woman who had been in the family from baby- hood, was called. She sat down be- side him with a box of beads. Tak- ing them in her hand, she would drop them one at a time into the box, always waiting a certain length of time between the beads. This she kept up until the gentle- man went to sleep. He believed if all this was not done as a prepara- tion for bed, he would expire in the night. Another member of the above family, who still lives, sleeps in a long box, which is dragged from the room in which he gets into it, to another. He also will not sleep in the same room two nights following. There are few nations that do not have traditions of sleeping heroes, who will sometime awake and re- new their deeds of valor. In Brazil, Sebastian I. fell asleep in the battle of Alcazarquebir in 1578, and will in due season awake and make that country the most powerful of all the earth. Barbarossa, with six of his knights, sleeps in the Kyff- haeuser mountain in Thuringia, till the fullness of time, when they will awake and make Germany the fore- most kingdom of the earth. The beard of the red king has already grown through the marble slab of the table at which he is sitting, but it must wind itself three times around the table before his second advent. Barbarossa occasionally wakes and asks, “Is it time?” When the ravens that fly around the mountain peak reply, “Not yet. Sleep on.” Since the foundation of the new German empire in 1871, however, the Germans believe that the spell is broken, Barbarossa hav- ing reappeared in the person of Emperor William I. (Barbablanca), and has at last gone to eternal rest. Elijah Mansur, warrior, prophet and priest, of Asiatic Russia, tried to teach a more tolerant form of Islam, but was looked upon as a heretic, and condemned to impris- onment in the bowels of the moun- tain. There he sleeps, waiting the summons when he shall arise and wave his victorious sword, to the terror of the Muscovite. (Miller's “Gallery of Geography.”) There are several curious tradi- tions about King Solomon. One is to the effect that he died stand- ing, and did so deliberately, for this reason: He had power over all the genii and employed them in build- ing the temple, but perceiving that his end was near at hand, and fear- ing that they would not get it fin- ished, he prayed to God that his death might be concealed until the work was completed. Accordingly he died standing, leaning on his staff as if in prayer. The genii, supposing him to be alive, toiled on, and when the temple was fully built a worm gnawed at the staff and the corpse fell prostrate to the earth. Mahomet, referring to this FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. as fact, said: “When God had decreed that Solomon should die, nothing discovered his death unto the genii except the creeping thing of the earth, and when he fell down, the genii saw that they need not have remained so long in vile punish- ment.” (Al Koran.) Washington Irving tells the legend of Rip Van Winkle, who slept in the mountains for twenty years. He was a Dutch colonist of old New York, who met a strange man in aravine of the Catskill moun- tains. Rip helped him to carry a keg, and on arriving at the destina- tion, saw a number of odd creatures playing ninepins, without uttering a word. Rip, having become tired and thirsty, took a sip at the keg, fell into a stupor, and slept for twenty years. When he awoke, he found his native village changed, his wife dead, his daughter married, and America an independent coun- try. Germany also has its Rip Van Winkle. The héro of an old popu- lar tradition is a goatherd from Sittendorf, who is led to a grotto by a young man and given some- thing to drink, when he falls asleep and remains so for twenty years. The story is related in “Traditions of the Harz,” Bremen, 1800. The Greeks had a similar legend about the famous poet Epimenides, who, when a boy, had been sent by his father in search of a sheep. Seeking shelter from the heat of the sun in a cave, he fell into a deep sleep, from which he did not awake until fifty-seven years later, when he found himself possessed of all wisdom, and upon returning home, was amazed to find his younger brother an old man. The Koran contains a legend of seven noble youths of Ephesus who fled during the Decian persecution to Mount Celion, where they took refuge in a cave. Here they re- mained asleep for 230 years, when they awoke, and soon after died. Their faithful dog, Katmir, stood watch, never eating, drinking or sleeping, and was, in reward, ad- mitted into heaven by Mohammed. The same legend occurs in the “Golden Legend,” and is told with slight variations by many writers. The old fairy tale of the “Sleep- ing Beauty,” probably of French origin, is told by Perrault under the title “La Belle au Bois Dormante,” and has been retold by Grimm in German, under the title of “Dorn- roeschen.” At the birth of the young princess, all the fairies had been invited to become god-moth- ers, with the exception of one, who, in revenge, predicted that she should die at the age of sixteen. She was most carefully guarded; but exactly on the sixteenth anniver- sary of her birthday while she was spinning, she pricked her finger with a golden spindle, and imme- diately fell into a deep sleep, to- gether with the whole household, and every living being in the castle. Thus she remained asleep for a hundred years, during which time an impenetrable hedge of wild roses grew around it. When the hundred years had elapsed, a young prince appeared, disenchanted her by penetrating through the thicket, awoke her with a kiss, and married her. The Bohemians believe that their national patron-saint, St. Wenzes- laus, who lived in the ninth cen- tury, together with other knights and national heroes, sleep in a cave under the mountain Blanic, waiting for the time of the worst calamity when they will awake, come to the rescue, and general victory and 326 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. prosperity will be the result. The sign will be given by an old oak tree, that stands on the top of the hill, sprouting green, and the old dry spring giving water. Among the American Indians, the sun god, Michabo, is said to sleep through the winter months; and at the time of the falling leaves, by way of composing himself for his nap, he fills his great pipe and divinely smokes; the blue clouds, gently floating over the landscape, fill the air with the haze of the Indian Summer. In the Greek myth, the shepherd Endymion, the beloved of Selene (the moon god- dess), preserves his freshness in a perennial slumber. The German Siegfried, pierced by thorn of win- ter, is sleeping until he shall be again called to fight. In Switzer- land, by the Vierwaldstätter See, three Tells are awaiting the hour when their country shall again need , to be delivered from the oppressor. Charlemagne is reposing in the Untersburgh, sword in hand, wait- ing for the coming of Antichrist; Olger Danske similarly dreams away his time in Avallon; and in a lofty mountain in Thuringia, the great Emperor Frederic Barba- rossa slumbers with his knights around him, until the time comes for him to sally forth and raise Ger- many to the first rank among the kingdoms of the world. The same story is told of Olaf Tryggvesson, of Don Sebastian of Portugal, and of the Moorish King Boabdil. The Seven Sleepers of Ephesus, hav- ing taken refuge in a cave from the persecutions of the heathen Decius, slept one hundred and sixty-four years, and awoke to find a Chris- tian emperor on the throne. The monk, Hildesheim, in the legend so beautifully rendered by Longfel- low, doubting how with a God a thousand years ago could be as yes- terday, listened three minutes en- tranced by the singing of a bird in the forest, and found, on awaking from his reverie, that a thousand years had flown. To the same fam- ily of legends belong the notion that St. John is sleeping at Ephesus until the last days of the world. The myth of the enchanter Merlin, spellbound by Vivien; the story of the Cretan philosopher. Epimeni- des, who dozed away fifty-seven years in a cave; and Rip Van Win- kle's nap in the Catskills, are all of similar origin. SMELL. Smelling is most perfect in those who have large noses, descending very near the mouth, neither too moist nor too dry. He who smells at the flowers or wreaths at a funeral, will lose his sense of smell. To think you smell fresh clay, is a sign that you will hear of the death of a friend or relative. It is unlucky to put perfume on your clothes the first time you wear them. To use perfume on a mourning costume is unlucky. Happily, a frivolous and irrev- erent spirit can be changed into that of a profound and meditative thinker by the habitual use of ber- gamot. Timid men should eschew the use of the essence of magnolia, as it has a tendency to promote war- like passions. Very strangely, the perfume of the placid lily is said to beget an increasing mood of obstinacy. The FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 327 extract of cloves is credited with the perversion of honest thought into the rank poison of the slander- ous mind. Perfumes were freely used by the Orientals and are to this day. When a royal person went abroad, a “pil- lar of smoke” was thrown as in- cense about his path, to assure him good luck on his journey and drive away the evil spirits who might fol- low his train. Musk is a lucky odor. In India the odor of musk and the color of coral are believed to be restored if placed where the odor from human excrement can reach them. The red rose will cause the fancy to turn not lightly but rapturously to thoughts of love and conquest in Cupid's realm. The essence of the verbena arouses a taste for strong drink. The faint perfume of the common or garden pink will be responsible for a highly-developed pious spirit. Vervain will develop the artistic impulses. Ambergris is recom- mended as the divine essence upon which the poetic genius must be nurtured. White rose begets a love of sloth and indolence, and the famed patchouli will, sooner or later, cause the moral downfall of its devotee. A spirit of placid devotion will abide with the person who habit- ually uses violets. The use of incense is frequent among the inmates of a Turkish harem. It is an antidote to sorrow and misfortune; young ladies suf- fering from ennui apply to the chaf- ing dish as the supreme resource. A prayer carpet is spread and a small brazier with lighted charcoal on it, a piece of aloes wood on the burning embers, sends up a deli- cious vapor across which the patient steps three times; the incense is also waved about her head and person. When this valuable remedy fails, another method for driving away from her the evil influences is adopted. This is the use of the “dog-bread.” A handkerchief or towel being held at the four corners over the head of the sufferer, some small rolls of bread are broken into it. This we must imagine absorbs the noxious power which is pro- ducing headache, heartache, ill humor, or misfortune, as the case may be. The broken bits are then given to the dogs, who doubtless find them poor food, but no worse than usual. Mandeville tells in his travels of a fountain that appears to have had a miraculous odor. “At the foot of that mount is a fayer well and a gret, that hath odoure and savoure of alle spices, and at every hour of the day he changeth his odour and his savour diversely.” To die in the “odor of sanctity,” did not mean simply in “good re- pute.” It was a prevalent notion that the dead body of a saint posi- tively emitted a sweet-smelling savor, and the dead body of the un- baptized an offensive smell. Sir T. Mallory, in his “History of Prince Arthur,” II Vol. (1470), says: “Then he smote off his head, and therewithal came a stench out of the body when the soul departed, so that there might nobody abide the savor. So was the corpse had away and buried in a wood, because he was a panim. Then the haughty prince said to Sir Palimedes, ‘Here have ye seen this day a great mir- acle by Sir Corsabrin, what savor there was when the soul departed 328 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. from the body, therefore we require you for to take the holy baptism upon you, that when you die you may die in the odor of sanctity, and not like Sir Corsabrin, in the disodor of the unbaptized.’” Again: “When Sir Bors and his fellows came to Sir Launcelot's bed, they found him stark dead, and the sweetest savor about him that ever they smelled.” This was the odor of sanctity. Plutarch, Pliny, and others of the ancient writers, tell us of a na- tion in India that lived only upon pleasing odors. Democritus lived for several days together on the mere effluvia of hot bread. The odor of sanctity is believed in and frequently referred to by monks, priests, fanatics and spirit- ualists, as well as East Indian adepts. The odor is said to accom- pany some mediums, and is to be smelled at the seances they hold. Stainton Moses, well known in the literature of theosophy, thus wrote to Madame Blavatsky of his con- stant experience of this odor: “Some of your friends, the invisi- ble Mahatmas, have paid me a visit of late very often, if I may judge by the atmosphere of sandalwood, the lodge scent, which pervades my rooms and myself. I taste it, I ex- hale it, everything belonging to me smells of it, and there has recurred the old and inexplicable phenome- non which I have not seen for many months, more than a year, and which used to obtain with me in respect to other odors. a well-defined spot just around the crown of the head, quite small, the size of a half-crown piece, exudes a most powerful odor. It is now this lodge scent, so strong as to be almost unbearable. (Sandalwood.) It used to be a rose, or indeed any From fresh flower in my neighborhood. A friend gave me a gardenia the other evening at a party. In a few minutes it gave an overpowering odor of the lodge perfume, turned a mahogany brown before our eyes, till the whole flower was of that color, and it now remains dead and saturated with the odor of sandal- wood.” Readers of church history will recall the fact that in mediaeval times this odoriferous phenomenon was frequently observed among really pious and ascetic monks, nuns, and other recluses of the cloister, cave and desert. Some- times from the mouth of an ecstat- ic, while lying in a trance, would trickle a sweet and fragrant liquor, thought to be the nectar of heaven, and in the case of Maria Ange, it was caught and preserved in bot- tles. W. B. Yeats tells in his book on “Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry,” a story of the “priest's supper,” wherein “the lit- the fellows,” dance and gambol in the dew until one of them chirps Out: “Cease, cease with your drumming, Here’s an end to our mumming; By my smell I can tell A priest this way is coming!” SNEEZING, When a person sneezes in Ire- land, the people say at once: “The blessing of God and Holy Mary be on you.” Or they say: “The con- secration be upon you,” meaning the holy water. Otherwise the fairies would do some evil turn. Also in other countries it is the cus- tom to wish well to a person who is sneezing, saying in Germany, for instance, “Prosit,” or “Gesundheit” (good health to you!”). FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 329 When a person sneezes and no one says “God bless you,” witches have power to bewitch the sneezer. The saying, “God bless you,” to one who sneezes, originated prob- ably during the frightful plague of 590, which was attributed to the influence of the comet of that year. While the malady was at its height, sneezing was frequently followed by death, and in order to avert danger. Others claim that this saying originated in the year 750. The custom of wishing “good health” to one who sneezes, is of very great antiquity, and the Greeks, in observing it, “claimed to follow the example of Prome- theus, who stole celestial fire to ani- mate the beautiful figure he had made of clay; as the fire permeat- ed its frame, the newly-formed creature sneezed, and the delight- ed Prometheus invoked blessings on it.” At any rate, the custom was of long standing in Aristotle's days. St. Chrysostom names sneez- ing among other things of which people made a sign; and St. Eligius warns his flock to take no notice of it. Good wishes have been uttered on the occasion far and near, in the remotest parts of Africa and in the far east. Clarke, in his travels, re- fers to the usage common in Scan- dinavia; and in the year 1542, when Fernando De Soto, the famous conquestor of Florida, had an in- terview with the Cacique Guach- oya, the following curious incident occurred. In the midst of their conversation the Cacique happened to sneeze; upon this all his attend- ants bowed their heads, opened and closed their arms, and made signs of veneration, saluted their prince with various phrases of the same purport, such as: “May the sun guard you!” “May the sun shine upon you!” “May the sun defend you!” “May the sun pro- tect you!” and the like. In Brand’s “Popular Antiquities” we read that the custom of salut- ing a person who sneezed was ac- counted very ancient, even in the time of Aristotle, who in his “Prob- lems,” has endeavored to account for it, but knew nothing of its ori- gin. According to him, the first men prepossessed with the ideas concerning the head as the princi- pal seat of the soul, carried their respect to sternutation, as the most manifest and the most sensible operation of the head. Hence those several forms of compliments used on similar Occasions amongst Greeks and Romans: “Long may you live; may you enjoy health.” The custom of saying “Evviva” or “Sahha,” to one who happens to sneeze, prevails in Malta, as it does in similar ways in other parts of the world. If you hear someone sneeze and cannot see the person, say “God make you well again.” Perhaps it was a wandering soul, which you have now delivered. (Bohemia.) The rabbis, speaking of sneezing, say that not long after the creation, God made a general decree that every man should sneeze but once, and that at the very instant of his sneezing his soul should depart, without any previous warning or indisposition. Jacob got this law repealed, so that all people now, by the way of thankfulness, say “God bless you!” for the prolongation of life. When anyone sneezes in India, all present say, “Live!” and the sneezer answers, “with you!” This will prevent ill luck. It was considered in old times 330 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. to be lucky as well as religious to sneeze, as sneezing would drive out the devils from the body. It was therefore considered polite to make some remark immediately after a person sneezed, to give him or her time to recover from his expulsion of the evil one. Sneezing is said by some people to be caused by the devil walking by you. Among the ancients, if a person sneezed immediately after dinner, a dish had to brought back and tast- ed, to avert the misfortune. The Siamese believe that one of the judges of hell keeps a book, in which every human being's name is registered. They think that when- ever he opens that book, all the people whose names appear on that leaf sneeze. When one sneezes in Bengal, the hearers think it necessary to make a profound bow to avoid ill luck. . It is said that when the king of Mesopotamia sneezed, acclama- tions were made in all parts of his kingdom. In Siam, long life is wished to persons who sneeze, and if they sneeze a number of times in suc- cession, nothing could be more lucky. Ancient Persians believed that a sneeze foretold a contest between fiery soul and earthly body, with victory of the former. It is a common notion among the natives of Natal that friendly or hostile spirits make their presence manifest in a person by his sneez- ing. When the Zulu sneezes, he exclaims: “I am now blessed; the ancestral spirit is with me. It has come to me. Let me salute it. For 9 it is he who causes me to sneeze.” When a chief sneezes, all exclaim: “Bless you!” When a child sneezes, “Grow!” Zulu sorcerers are also accus- tomed to sneeze, regarding the act as an indication of the presence of the spirits by which they perform their magic. In Florida, Solomon Islands, it is a dreadful thing to sneeze, for the sneezer thinks that someone is speaking evil of him or cursing him, is angry with him, or is calling upon his tindalo or personal ghost, to eat him. So he calls upon his own tindalo to damage the man who is cursing him. At Saa in Polynesia if a man sneezes, he at once calls out: “Who is calling me? If for well, good; if for evil, may I be defended!” In Motlan, when a child sneezes, the mother exclaims: “Let him come back into the world!” or “Let him remain!” In Mota they say, “Live! Roll back to us!” The idea is that the soul of the person sneezing is being drawn out of his body into the other world through the nostrils. A man in Mota will stamp when he sneezes, and say: “Stamp down the mischief from me. Let it be quiet!” Or he will say: “Let them say their words in vain! Let them lay their plots in vain!” So con- vinced is he that the sneeze is a warning that some enemy is at work against him. In Leper's Island, if an infant sneezes they think its soul has been away and has just gotten back, so they exclaim, “Good wishes!” The Romans believed that, when a Cupid-like little boy sneezed, a beautiful girl-baby was born. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 33I The sneezing of an unmarried girl, a widow, a barren wife, a shoe- maker's wife, a woman sick with the cholera, is bad for each. If, in Germany, someone sneezes, when somebody else has made an assertion or told a story, the sneez- ing is taken as vouchsafing the truth. If anyone looks at you when you want to sneeze, you cannot do it. An attempt to sneeze without effect is a sign of loss. When you want to sneeze but cannot, look at the sun, or if even- ing, into the light; that will make you sneeze, and if you have made a wish, it will be granted to you. To sneeze so violently as to tear a buttonhole out of a shirt, dress or west, is a sign of approaching riches. An ancient Greek writer says: “O happy bridegroom, by a lucky sneeze to Sparta proclaimed.” If a servant sneezes while mak- ing a bed, the person who occupies it will not sleep well. Good to sneeze, while reading. It is lucky to sneeze in beginning an argument. It is lucky to sneeze when retir- ing to rest. Good to sneeze at seed-sowing; great shall the harvest be. Good to sneeze while eating. Negroes, however, say that to Sneeze while eating, means that you will hear of a death. If you sneeze with food in your mouth, you will hear of the death of a friend. To sneeze while putting your shoes on, is a sign of bad luck. It is also said that every time you sneeze at table, there will be one more or less the following meal. If two men talking business hap- pen to sneeze at the same time, it is a good omen. If a soldier sneezes at the men- tion of an approaching battle, he will win. If anyone in Minahasse, on the island of Celebes, sneezes when they are about to part company with friends, they will turn around and sit down again for a few mo- ments to ward off the evil luck. In India it is considered an ominous sign to hear another per- son sneeze while about to begin an undertaking. If a sick person cannot sneeze, his or her disease will end in death. It has been reported by some English writer of the seventeenth century that a physician has been heard to say: “He hath sneezed thrice; turn him out of the hospital! He will now do well!” To sneeze at prayer, is the devil's Sila T6. The Hindus think that if they happen to sneeze while praying, their prayers will be offensive to the god, and therefore unlucky. They begin all over again. Should a Hindu hear a person sneeze while on his way to his place of business, it is considered an evil omen, and he turns back and starts over again. To sneeze twice or four times is lucky. Three times or once, un- lucky. If, on the street, intent on busi- ness, or at home occupied with his 332 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. accustomed duties, a Hindu hears a person sneeze, he for a moment halts in his walk or pauses in his work. Failing to do this, he can- not hope for success. It is also said to sneeze once is a kiss, twice a letter, three times a wish and four times, something better. If one sneezes once, his especial friend, or wife, or son, or mother, has named him, so the sneezer calls out, “My son.” If he sneezes twice he exclaims, “My son and my mother.” (American Indian.) Sneezing is held to be a happy omen among the Persians, especial- ly if it is often repeated. If a person sneezes twice each night for three successive nights, it is a sign of death. If you sneeze between 11 and 12 O'clock, it is a sign of a stranger. If you sneeze when you get up in the morning, lie down again for another three hours, else your wife will be master for a week. If you sneeze before breakfast, you will get a present that day. If a person sneezes before break- fast on Sunday morning, he or she will hear of the death of a friend before the next Saturday night. (Vermont, U. S. A.) If you sneeze on Saturday night after the lights are out, you will see, on the following day, a person whom you have never seen before. When Telemachus sneezed loud- ly, Penelope thought it a lucky sign. (Homer's Odyssey, Book xvii.) When Themistocles was offering sacrifice it happened that three beautiful captives were brought to him, and at the same time the fire burned clear and bright, and a sneeze occurred at the right hand of him. Euphsantes, the soothsay- er, therefore predicted the memo- rable victory which he soon after- wards obtained. Xenophon was appointed gen- eral in consequence of a sneeze on the right hand of him as he was making a speech. Of Xenophon, known both as a scholar and a soldier, it is recorded in history that when he ended a speech to his soldiers, with the words, “We have many reasons to hope for preservation,” the sudden sneezing of one of his men stirred the entire army to accept the omen as favorable. Aristotle, a learned philosopher, who lived long before the Chris- tian era, and of whom it has been written that “he attained unparal- leled distinction for scholarship,” thoroughly believed in the mysteri- ous quality of a sneeze and wrote concerning it:—“To sneeze be- tween noon and midnight heralds success, but if between night and noon, ill luck.” SNORING. Hearing yourself snore is good luck. To stop a person from snoring, whistle. SOLAR PLEXUS. By concentrating the mind upon the solar plexus, a knowledge of the material structure is acquired. (Hindu.) FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 333 STAMMER. If you hear a person stutter, you will hear of loss through careless- 116SS. Stutterers stammer more when the wind is in the north. STRENGTH (Physical). Strength of body is known by stiff hair, large bones, firm and erect carriage, hard, short and peaked forehead, large feet, rather thick and broad, a harsh, unequal voice, and a choleric complexion. Weakness of body is distinguish- ed by a small, ill-proportioned head, narrow shoulders, soft skin and melancholy expression. If you are proud of your strength some very little thing will conquer you, especially if you are boasting of what you can do. Milo of Greece was a wonderful athlete. He was six times victor in the Olympic games, and six times at the Pythian, and he carried a heifer four years old on his shoul- ders through the stadium at Olym- pia, then slew it, and ate the whole of it in one day. He is said to have been eaten by wolves, who attack- ed him when his hands were caught in the cleft of a tree, which he had endeavored to rend. SWALLOWING. One who cannot swallow a pill readily, may be sure of a long life. SWELLING. When your hands or face appear swollen in the morning, it is a sure sign that money will come to you. TAIL. It is generally believed that men and women are tailless creatures, and that this differentiates them from the ape; but not all people are so. Some have tails, well-devel- oped and hairy, like an ape, and several races are well known to have them. Thus the Niam-Niams of Africa, between the Gulf of Ben- in and Abyssinia, have tails “(Ab- yssinian Travels,” 1852, by Mons. d’Abbadie): “I have examined them, fifteen of them, and am posi- tive the tail is a natural append- age.” Also Dr. Wolf, in his “Trav- els and Adventures” (1861), says: “There are both men and women in Abyssinia with tails like dogs and horses.” The Poonangs of Borneo are a tail-bearing race, and the Ghilane race, which numbers 40,- 000 souls, who dwell far beyond the Senaar, have tails three or four inches long. But this is not so strange as a punishment of tails being meted out by a saint who had the power. Polydore Virgil asserts that when Thomas à Becket came to Stroud, the mob cut off the tail of his horse, and in eternal re- proach for such a sacrilege, he con- demned them and their offspring to have tails, which happened. Lambarde, in his Perambulation of Kent, 1576, makes the same state- ment. The Kickapoos (North Ameri- can Indians) are Darwinians. They think their ancestors had tails, and “when they lost them, the impudent fox sent every morning to ask how their tails were, and the bear shook his fat sides with laughter at the joke.” Among the natives of Brazil the father cuts a stick at the wedding of his daughter, so as to cut off the tails of any of his future grand- 334 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. children. (Tylor, Primitive Cul- ture.) TEMPLE. Fullness of the temple is sup- posed to show great mathematical calculation. If the temples are hollow, with the bones advancing towards the forehead on either side, so that the space between must be necessarily flat, with a small channel or indent- ure rising from the upper part of the nose to the hair, the man or woman will be of a daring and in- trepid temper, introducing them- selves into matters where they have no business. They are desirous of passing for wits, of a subtle and en- terprising nature, greedy of praise, quick in quarrel and of a wandering disposition. Very lewd and full of resentment when they feel their pride is hurt. In short, they de- light in evil. THROAT. By concentrating the mind upon the nerve-center in the pit of the throat, the ascetic is able to over- come hunger and thirst. (Hindu.) By concentrating the mind upon the nerve-center below the pit of the throat, the ascetic can prevent his body from being moved. (Hin- du.) TOE. In a purely artistic foot the little member should curl inward. Its arching upward denotes a passion- ate nature and is much found in southern countries. If your little toe is hidden under the next toe, it shows that your mind is guarded by prudence and that you are very kind and courte- OUIS. Turned-in toes are often found in preoccupied or absent-minded people. People with turned-in toes are born to ill luck. If your toes turn down it is a sign of wealth. Toes joined together by a web are a sign of great luck to the pos- sessor. (Folklore of N. E. Scot- land.) Twin toes are said to be of good luck to the owner. If the big toe is strong and broad the inclination towards idealism will be checked by a good amount of common sense. If your big toe lies flat on the floor and very broad, it is a sign that you will rule everybody you Call. The big toe not clinging to the others, is a sign of independence of spirit. A pink coloring on a great toe- joint declares that you have an en- emy trying to do you an injury. A girl can tell whether her hus- band will earn her living or not by the size of the toe next to the leg. If the toe next to the large one is the longest, she will have to sup- port him. The foot with space between the first two toes indicates individual- ity, pride and resolution. If the space between the first two toes is very wide it shows ob- stinacy. If a man's second toe is longer than the first, he will have a wife taller than himself. The second toe should be longer than the others to denote an artis- tic temperament. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. - 335 If your second toe is longer than your first, it is a sign that you are a scold. The person whose second toe is honger than the big toe, will be the boss of the home. If a man's second and third toes are the same length it is a sign he will be unkind to his wife. (Scotland.) If you stub your toe and imme- diately return and go over the spot again, this time successfully, you will get the best of bad luck and disappointment. If you stub your right toe, you will meet someone you wish to see; if your left, someone you would rather not see. If you stub your left toe, you must kiss your thumb to avert ill luck. If you stub your left toe, and go back and bow, it will bring you good luck; but if you go on, you will have bad luck. To step on your own toes is a sign that you have foes. To have somebody step on your toes is a sure sign of a quarrel with a stranger. If you should step on your own toe in walking, turn and go the other way to avoid misfor- tune. It is a sign that you will sleep with a person, if you tread on his or her toes. The large toe of Pyrrhus, king of Epirus, was said to have divine vir- tue, for after his death, the rest of the body being consumed, this was found unhurt and untouched by the fire. TOE-NAILS, “If your toe-nails grow in, 'Tis the sign of lovers many; If your toe-nails grow out, You will not have any.” Cut a “v’’ in the large toe-nail and you will never have an ingrow- ing toe-nail. A certain king thought that if he let his toe-nails grow for a year and cut them the first of every Jan- uary, he would add a year to his life. It is unlucky to cut one's own hair, or to cut the nails of one's fingers and toes the same day, or to cut the toe-nails before the fin- gers, unless a piece of wood is cut intermediately. (Madagascar.) TONGUE. A nice faculty of tasting is pe- culiar to those who have a spongy, porous, soft tongue, well moistened with saliva, yet not too moist. If the veins under your tongue are large and deep blue, you are fond of lying and tattling. If the one you love sticks out his or her tongue, and it appears flat and circular, it is a lucky sign; but if it looks pointed and thick, it is an ill sign, and forebodes troubles between you. A sore tongue shows that you have told an untruth. He who gets a blister on his tongue, is being slandered that mo- ment. When your tongue is swollen and thick, lay your head on the firstborn of the family, and it will be healed. (Persia.) 336 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. TOOTH. Rigord, an historian of the thir- teenth century, tells us that the number of man's teeth, which was originally thirty-two, has been re- duced to twenty-three when Chas- roës, the Persian, carried away the true cross, discovered by St. Hel- ena, the mother of Constantine the Great. It is considered very bad luck to count your teeth. It is considered unlucky to cut a new tooth after 25 years of age. Pure white teeth and very rosy lips, saith an old tradition, are a sign of kindliness of character, im- planted at one's birth by the good fairies who predominated. Very red lips are also a sign of very long life. Do not trust people with pointed teeth. (Chestertown, Maryland.) Persons with protruding upper teeth are short-lived. If your teeth lie one on the other you will always live with your mother. If a person's teeth are ridgy, he or she will die of fever. A child whose teeth are wide apart in front will be petted a good deal. When the teeth are all separated, it betokens a fine voice. Teeth far apart—You will live far from your parents. Teeth close together—You will live near your parents. Teeth wide apart warn a person that he must seek his fortune far from his native place. It is also said, however, to be lucky to have your teeth set far apart. You can always have sound teeth by going in the early spring when you hear the first swallow, to a run- ning stream and dipping your fourth finger of the right hand into the water, saying: “I say to thee, O swallow, as this will be thy beak, Give me sound teeth for a year.” A man or woman whose teeth are far apart will marry twice. (Persia.) The bite of an angry man is thought in the United States to be almost as poisonous as that of a mad dog. The chattering of teeth signifies the visitation of a lost lover. If a person bites his teeth, it is the sign of a disturbed conscience. It is unlucky for a sleeping per- son to grind his or her teeth. The danger may be averted by striking the person three times with a slip- per. It is bad luck for two persons with false teeth to marry. Breaking a tooth is a sure sign of the death of a friend. If you can put a five-cent piece between your teeth, you will live but a short time. To brush the teeth with the water from the first spring shower, will insure wealth, health and happiness for the following year. To clean the teeth immediately after eating will cause them to be- come loose. (Madagascar.) Burn your old toothpicks, else your teeth will decay. - º ~~~~ Nº. º s Track and Cat's Hair on the Woman’s Track y Cause Them to Live a Cat and Dog's Life Together. Pog's Hair on the M(171. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 337 If your teeth decay at the lower edge, you will marry a widower. If your teeth decay at the side, you will marry well. If your teeth decay at the top, you will be sure to be an old maid. If you lose all your teeth before you are seven, you will die before eleven. For an adult to lose a tooth, sig- nifies the death of a friend or rela- tion, or other evil luck. It is also said that to lose a tooth is an indication that you will also lose money. It is particularly unlucky to lose a tooth on a rainy or stormy night. To get your teeth pulled: On Monday, signifies approach- ing sadness. On Tuesday, legacy from a dis- tant relative. On Wednesday, loss and shame. On Thursday, success in busi- IlêSS. On Friday, confusion in affairs. On Saturday, discovery of a se- Cret. On Sunday, a love quarrel. If you have your teeth attended to in a great storm, you are likely to be sick and die. To have a tooth pulled without bleeding, is a sign that you will find Something valuable soon. If you have a tooth pulled and do not put your tongue in the place, a gold one will grow. It is very unlucky to throw a tooth carelessly in the fire. First put salt on it. When you pull a tooth from your mouth, throw it over your left shoulder, and you will receive money. When a tooth is drawn, either put it in a rat hole, or throw it over the house, and say: “Here, rat, take this old tooth and give me one of your milk-white teeth.” If you have a tooth pulled, give it to a dog, and the one that re- places it will be firm and sound. (Persia.) If a tooth is pulled and thrown away, and a cat gets it, a cat's tooth will grow in its place. A child losing a tooth, throws it on the top of the house, saying at the same time, “I exchange the bad for the good.” (Madagascar.) At doomsday, we shall be requir- ed to come to judgment with all our members, so we must not lose a tooth when it comes out of the head. It is best to hide them in a wall, as it will then be easy to find them when we must have them. Some put their teeth in a mouse hole, so that the next tooth that comes will be white as that of a mouse. (Belgium.) Your teeth are nearer kin to you than your relations. (Sicilian prov- erb.) To knock a tooth that has been drawn into the bark of a young, growing tree, will insure the owner from a violent death. Pounded dead men's teeth were used in England in old days to cure bewitchment of men who had no families. Teeth worn as amulets by wom- en were used to avert the plague. TOUCH. Delicacy in the touch belongs to those who have a soft skin, sensi- tive nerves and nervous sinews, moderately warm and dry. 338 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. TVWITCHING, Twitching of the flesh forebodes serious ill fortune. American Indians believe that if the eye twitches involuntarily, the person will weep. If any other part of the body twitches involun- tarily, the person will be stabbed or shot there. If the palm of the hand twitches often, he will soon strike someone, or else will become an- gry. VEIN. If you have a deep vein in the center of your forehead, you will be drowned. He who sees his veins, sees his pains. If a white person has colored blood, you cannot see the veins in the wrist. VIRTUE AND VICE. An old fable says that a man carries a bag in which he places his neighbor’s faults. This he hangs before him. He has another in which he stows away his own faults, and this is carried where he can never see it, behind him. Milton says no evil can touch an absolutely chaste person: “Some say no evil thing that walks by night, In fog or fire, by lake or moorish fen, Blue meagre hag, or stubborn, unlaid ghost, That breaks his magic chains at curfew time, No goblin, or swart fairy of the mine, Hath hurtful power o'er true virginity. So dear to heaven is saintly chastity, That, when a soul is found sincerely so, A thousand liveried angels lackey her, Driving far off each thing of sin and guilt.” When her husband was very sick, Alcestis sacrificed her life for his, as the god Apollo had said it should be so. She was allowed to return to earth, however, by Per- sephone, as a reward for her con- stancy. Klopstock, in “The Messiah,” tells of the angel Ithuriel, who had a spear whose slightest touch ex- posed deceit. Hence when Satan “squatted, like a toad, close to the ear of Eve,” Ithuriel only touched the creature with his spear and it resumed the form of Satan. “For no falsehood can endure Touch of celestial temper, but returns Of force to its own likeness.” (Milton’s Paradise Lost.) No person is to be trusted who is continually talking about other people. If you talk about a person being bad or disagreeable, you will do something equally bad before the day is out. “On absent people cast no slur, When they come they will stick like a clinging burr.” The Japanese consider it unlucky not to smile if they are chided by someone else. If someone speaks badly of you, and you hear it, you will soon have a stroke of good luck. If you hear someone praise you, it is a sign that you will meet with Some misfortune. Tie salt in your skirt, and if any- one talks about you, it will make their teeth ache. Alexander the Great said: “To do good and be evil spoken of, is the best of luck.” A boy who desires to tell an ex- travagant story without being guilty of a lie, would point his FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 339 thumb over his left shoulder, or say in a whisper to himself, “over the left,” or “in a horn;” if notobserved by his companion, his conscience will be clear. (Cambridge and Ohio.) The Japanese tell their children that an imp always stands ready to pull out their tongues if they tell a lie. An oft-told lie is said to come true. The early Persians were charac- terized by perfect truthfulness; they believed that lying was the worst attribute of the devil. VOICE. If two persons say the same thing almost together, the person who gets through first will live the longer. (Persia.) When two persons are about to tell each other the same thing, it is a sign that some lie will be told about them. If two people of opposite sex be- gin to tell the same piece of news at the same time, they will be married at the same time. If two people happen to say the same thing simultaneously and without another word, pull their little fingers and make a wish, the wish will come true. When two people speak the same word together, they sometimes put their two thumbs together at once, say “thumbs,” and make a wish, and the wish will come true. If, in Germany, somebody telling a story, has been interrupted, and afterwards has forgotten what he was going to say, it is a sign that he was telling a falsehood. If, in conversation, you express your thoughts confusedly, it is a sign of a joyful surprise. To strangle when talking, indi- cates that you were about to falsify. Talking backwards or misplac- ing words is the sign of a coming Stranger. Nantucket fishermen Say, “You’ve browned your goose fore and aft,” when you happen to make an unlucky speech. If a man habitually speaks aloud to himself, he will die a violent death. It is a sign that if people talk aloud to themselves, they have money in the bank. Never talk loud at night, or a duppy will catch your voice and may not give it back to you. (Ja- maica.) It is said that ignorance talks loud, knowledge talks low. It is not safe to judge of a man's courage by the tone of voice which he uses to the office boy. To talk with proud people who disgust you, signifies that you will rise in the world. People who are always gesticu- lating and moving their hands while talking, are loquacious. When there is a sudden silence in a crowded room, an angel is passing through. Of ventriloquism, Aristophanes exclaims: “Like that fantastic divination Which Cuckles of old did invent, When from his bowels he contrived to bring Words of ridiculous import.” A person whose voice is loud and monotonous is uncultured, and 34O ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. lacks self-control. (This rule is proved by the exception in the case of the poet Tennyson. It was ever said of him that his voice was pecu- liarly monotonous, especially when reading his own poetry, and his enunciation was loud and perfectly clear.) It is a well known and easily demonstrated fact that different people sound different vowels when laughing; from this fact, a close observer has drawn the following conclusions: People who laugh in A (pro- nounced ah) are frank, honest, fond of noise and excitement, though they are often of a versatile and fickle disposition. Laughter in E (pronounced ey) is peculiar to phlegmatic and melancholy per- sons. Those who laugh in I (pro- nounced ee) are children or simple- minded, obliging, affectionate, tim- id, and undecided. To laugh in O indicates generosity and daring. Avoid, if possible, people who laugh in U (pronounced ooh), they are wholly devoid of principle. If a girl laughs with her teeth closed, it is a sign of a flirt. If you laugh until your eyes run over, there will be quarrels. In Scotland, any unwonted hilar- ity was supposed to cause death. The admonition was “You must be fey.” In Turkestan the strict Islamites do not laugh, because they say that Hanify, a famous Mussulman doc- tor, lost half of Islam by laughing. Sucking the first egg laid by a lolack hen will clear the voice and render it musical. The Australian natives of the Encounter Bay tribe, have the fol- lowing legend about the origin of their language: In remote times, an ill-tempered old woman named Wurruri, lived towards the east. She generally walked with a large stick in her hand, to scatter the fires around which others were sleeping. Wurr- uri at length died. Greatly de- lighted at this, they sent messen- gers in all directions to give notice of her death; men, women and chil- dren came, not to lament but to show their joy. The Encounter Bay tribe were the first that fell upon the corpse, and began eating the flesh, and immediately began to speak intelligibly. The other tribes to the eastward, arriving lat- er, ate the contents of the intestines, which caused them to speak a lan- guage slightly different. The northern tribes came last, and de- voured the intestines, and all that remained, and immediately spoke a language differing still more from that of the Encounter Bay tribe. WAIST. It means short life to have a small waist. The lady who resem- bles an hourglass will find the sands of her life soon run out. WALKING. Calculating persons generally walk with their heads slightly in- clined. Modest persons usually step very softly. Timid persons often step off the pavement on meeting another, and always go around an obstacle or stone—never step over it. Wideawake persons toe out and have a long swing to their arms. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 34I Lazy persons scrape along loose- ly with their heels, and are first on one side of the path and then the other. Weak or sickly persons also sometimes drag their heels. Very strong-minded persons place their toes directly in front of them and have a sort of stamp movement. Unstable persons walk fast and then slow, and do not seem to have any particular place to go to. Venturous persons try all roads, and go over fences, or cross streets frequently, never satisfied with walking directly on. Selfish and one-idead persons in- variably toe in. Cross and hasty-tempered per- sons will knock their knees to- gether. Good-natured persons are apt to snap their fingers as they go. Absent-minded persons neversee anybody, and cut their acquaint- ances simply because they “don’t see 'em!” The shoulders bending forward in walking, signifies a high mind. Leaning to the right side as you walk indicates that you are a cynic. If a person in walking keeps glancing around in an idle fashion it is a sign of little thought or pur- pose. If a man keeps looking behind him when he walks, as if he thought he was pursued, he has not a clear conscience. The man who walks leisurely, gives proof of being reflective. A man who walks leisurely, but firmly along, as if sure of himself, is systematic, businesslike, and apt to be rich. If a person walks along with his feet and knees turning in, it is a sign of physical and mental weak- Il CSS, A person walking and striking the heel first denotes firmness of character. The toe first, weak- 116SS, Quick steps are indicative of en- ergy or agitation. It is unlucky to walk about the house with one shoe on and one shoe off; you will have as many days of bad luck as you take steps. Others say, “it is calling one's father into the grave.” If a female walks “pigeon-toed,” it is a sign that when she marries there will be more boys than girls in the family. Turning the left foot while walk- ing is unlucky. The miser's walk is stooping, noiseless, with short, nervous, anx- ious steps. Slow steps, whether short or long, indicate a gentle or reflective turn of mind. The proud step is slow and meas- ured; the toes are conspicuously turned out and the legs straighten- ed. - Where a vengeful purpose is hid- den under a feigned smile, the step will be noiseless and shrinking. The direction of the steps waver- ing, and following every changing impulse of the mind, inevitably be- trays uncertainty, hesitation and in- decision. Obstinate people, who, in argu- ment, rely more upon muscular 342 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. than intellectual power, rest the feet flat and firm on the ground, walk heavily and slowly, and stand with the feet apart. Tiptoe walking symbolizes sur- prise, curiosity, discretion or mys- tery. Persons who drag their feet while walking are usually slow and slouchy in everything they do. A young man running when he should walk, will be poor all his life. Too hasty steps are unlucky. There is time for a decent leisure in all things, if you just calculate beforehand. “God does not hurry.” Never walk along with your eyes on the ground. Carry your head like a man and not like an animal. Look up and not down. There is an old saying that maid- ens taking long leaps are liable to change their sex. To go downstairs two steps at a time, is a sign that you will al- ways be lazy. WART. Oliver Cromwell had a large wart on his face. The sign of it is “a tempestuous life.” Truly, his life bore out the sign. If a person has a wart under the left ear, it is a sure sign that he or she will hang. American Indians believe that warts betray a bad person, given to stealing. If the skin of the hard palate peels off, the person is un- truthful. When a wart appears upon a grown-up person, or on a little girl, it is but the exception to the rule, and only emphasizes the fact that they are indigenous to the mascu- line youth. Some people who have warts or moles on their faces, preserve the hairs that grow out of them with great care, believing them to bring good fortune. To get rid of warts go alone into the middle of the woods where you know there is a spunk water- stump, and back up against the stump exactly at midnight, dip your hand in the water and say: “Barleycorn, barleycorn, Indian meal shorts, Spunk water, spunk water, swallow these warts,” Then walk away eleven steps with your eyes shut, turn around three times and go home without speak- ing to anyone. To get rid of a troublesome wart on the hand or face, which keeps growing larger, one must repeat three times in succession, gently rubbing the finger-tips around the wart at three different fu- nerals, the words: “John, take me along also,” while the fu- neral leaves the church-door and while the church-bells are ringing. In the west of England exists the belief that some old persons have the power of charming away warts by holding the afflicted person's hands in his or hers, putting his or her thumbs over the warts and closing the eyes, while mumbling some mysterious words. The per- son with the warts, who must have implicit faith in this cure, then de- parts, saying: “Now they will go!” In a day or two the warts will have disappeared. If a seventh son of a seventh father takes you out in the dark and mutters a charm over your warts, he will cure them. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 343 You can cure warts in Turkey by reciting a verse to the new moon. At the same time you must bury a mixture of egg, salt and barley. If the barley rots, the wart will disappear. (Albanian.) To cure warts: Wash the hands in the moon's rays focused in a dry metal basin, saying: “I wash my hands in this thy dish, O man in the moon, do grant my wish, And come and take away this!” Water taken from a gravestone and rubbed on warts, will cure them. To strike warts with an under- taker's hammer will cure them. To remove warts from the hand, watch for a funeral procession to pass, and as it passes, say within yourself, and not telling anyone: “I do sincerely hope that these warts will pass off my hands as that body decays in the ground.” If you take as many pins as you have warts and give them to some person, your warts will be trans- ferred to him or her. In eastern Massachusetts, cen- tral New York and parts of Eng- land, it is believed that warts may be removed by rubbing them with spittle. If you expectorate on a wart for nine successive mornings, it will disappear. If a person steals an egg and se- cretly buries it in the ground, his or her warts will disappear when the egg decays. Pick up an old marrow-bone, touch it to your warts, walk off, throwing it behind you. Don't look back. To cure a wart, rub it with an old bone you may happen to light upon unexpectedly. Place the bone back in the same place you found it, and go on your way. (Pennsylvania German.) Three buttons bound together with a thread and laid in a coffin will cure warts. To cure a wart, rub it with a stone, which you then throw away with the eye shut until it pitches. It is said if one picks up a stone and rubs a wart with the under side of it, and then replaces it ex- actly as found, the wart will disap- pear. Tie up some pebbles and a piece of silver money in a little bag, and the person who opens the bag and keeps the money, will carry away your warts, which will trouble you 110 1110TC. A wart pricked with a moss-rose thorn through a wedding ring will disappear. In Buckinghamshire, England, each wart is touched with a sepa- rate green pea, each pea then being buried, after it has been wrapped in paper. This will surely cure them. A cure for warts is to make them bleed upon a grain of corn and to give the corn to the chickens. In Italy, a charm to cure warts is to bury peach leaves. As they decay the warts will go. Rub the wart with the juice which exudes from the broken top of a clover blossom, and bury the head of the flower where the eaves will drip on it. To cure warts, rub them with milk of milkweed. 344 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. The inhabitants of Cumana be- lieve that the black fluid that ex- udes from the grasshopper will cure warts, if placed upon them. A German cure for warts: Rub a red houseless snail upon the warts, then throw the snail over your left shoulder, and proceed on your way without looking back- wards. As soon as the snail has died, your warts will have disap- peared. An English cure for warts is very similar. Rub a snail on warts and then hang on a blackthorn bush by piercing its body with a thorn; as the snail withers the warts will dis- appear. Dip a cloth in pig's blood and bury the cloth if you wish your warts to disappear. The fresh blood of mice is said to Cure WartS. To cure warts, wash in an empty basin into which the moon shines. If you make a mark on the back of the chimney-place with a piece of chalk, then rub it on a wart, and throw it away, the wart will go with the chalk. Two charred sticks pulled over a wart will remove it. Rub warts with a cinder, tie it up in a paper, drop it where four roads meet, and the warts will be trans- ferred to whoever picks up and opens the packet. It is unlucky to touch the hand with blood from warts, as it causes more to grow. (Folklore of N. E. Scotland.) Never cut off a wart, for every drop of blood will bring another. To cut a wart from your hand, signifies that you will have a law- suit. To count warts, increases their number. If another person counts your warts, they will leave you and lo- cate on the one who counts them. Count your warts, mark the number on the inside of a man's hat, who is to leave the village, and the warts will go with him. Count your warts, take a corres' ponding number of knots from the stalks of any of the cereals (wheat, oats, or barley), wrap them in a cloth and bury them in the earth. As the nodules decay, the warts will disappear. Lord Bacon records that when he was young, he was cured of a hundred warts by the English am- bassador's wife in Paris rubbing them with a piece of lard with the skin on, and then hanging the lard outside her window towards the south. As the lard melted, so did the warts disappear, even the one which he had in his infancy. He goes on in a learned manner"to dis- cuss the possibility of things that have once been contiguous or en- tire, transmitting virtue one to the other, so that when part of the lard melted, the other part carried off the warts. WHISTLING, To whistle with the mouth, was believed to be to chop wood for the devil’s furnace. You need never fear on the dark- est night a man who is whistling. He will rather protect you from danger than do you harm. If one whistles in the night, snakes will follow him. (Japanese.) FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 345 It is unlucky to whistle in a wind. There seems to be a firm, deep- rooted prejudice against a woman's whistling. Evils of any kind, we find to be the consequence. When the goddess Minerva once whistled she saw her face in the pool, and never tried it after. In England, a gentleman desired to take some ladies for a sail, but the bluff old skipper refused to take out one of them who had whistled, and as nothing could induce him to go, the sail was abandoned. Whistling is called “the devil's music.” In Cornwall it is said that a whistling woman and a crowing hen are the most unlucky things under the sun. “They always come to some bad end.” A common saying is: “A whistling wife, and a crowing hen, Will call the ‘old one’ out of his den.” When a woman whistles it makes the Virgin Mary weep. If a girl whistles, she will grow a mustache. A legend tells us that while the nails were being forged for the cross of our Lord, a woman stood by and whistled, and ever since it has been considered unlucky and unbecom- ing for a woman to whistle. The Germans say that when a woman whistles, the angels weep and the devils rejoice. Among the Puritans of New England, it was believed that the mouth of the whistler would re- main impure for fifty days. Arabians look upon whistling as bad luck, for they call it the “chit- chat of the Jinns.” Some say that the whistler's mouth cannot be pu- rified for forty days; others think that Satan touches a man when he begins to whistle and causes him to produce the offensive sound. The Icelanders not only abhor whistling, but believe that he who swings a stick or whip or any other object so as to make a whistling sound, drives the Holy Ghost away from him. An American traveler in Iceland tried to coax a dog to her by whis- tling. A servant exclaimed: “If you please, ma'am, do not whistle, for every time you do, the heart of the Virgin bleeds!” The strict Islamites in Turkestan believe that it is bad to whistle. If a husband whistles, something will happen to his wife, and if children whistle, something will happen to their parents. WRIST. The farther you can span the left wrist with the fingers of the right hand, the richer you will be. No bastard can span his own wrist. YAWNING. Yawning is said to be both sinful and dangerous. It is supposed to arise from an evil place in the heart, which is getting ready for the re- ception of the evil spirit. In the middle ages, it was a com- mon belief that the devil was always waiting for a chance to enter a man's body and take possession of him. Satan always went in by the mouth; when he had waited a rea- sonable time and the man did not open his mouth, the devil made him yawn, and then jumped down his throat. So the people always pro- tected their bodies by making the sign of the cross over their mouths 346 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. when yawning, so Satan could not enter, for he cannot pass this sign. The Persians ascribe yawning, sneezing and so forth, to demon- iacal possession. Among the Mos- lems generally, when a young man yawns, he puts the back of his hand to his mouth, saying: “I seek refuge with Allah from Satan, the accursed.” The Hindus consider yawning an omen of impending danger. To prevent it, they snap their fingers three times, when they yawn, and call loud upon some divinity. It is unlucky to omit that. An Indian emperor once yawned and his prime minister stuck his hand in the emperor's mouth, saying: “Those rascals were bound your Soul should go out of your mouth, but I am bound to keep it in!” To yawn is a sign of disappoint- ment. It is said that if a person gapes, the beloved of that person will gape also. It is said you cannot gape after a person you dislike. Two persons yawning simulta- neously is a sign that one of them will soon be sick. It is a good sign, either among animals or people, to see them gape when ill, as it is a sign of recovery. If a person wishes to cease gap- ing, he must make the sign of the cross over his mouth. Diseases and Injuries of the Human Body and Their Cures. CHAPTER V. ASTHMA can be cured by a tea made from the moss which gathers on old chestnut-rail fences. On account of the great respira- tory power of the fox, the English think that to eat its lungs will be good for asthma. ATROPHY-Lice were once used medicinally in cases of atrophy, and also in other diseases. BANDAGES-Never burn ban- dages that have been on sores; it increases the inflammation. BATHING—When bathing the feet of the sick, the water should not be thrown out, but kept till morning. BED-SORES-If you put a bucket of water under the bed of a sick person, they will not get bed- SOTCS. A wolf's skin, put in the bed with an invalid, will cure bed-sores. BILIOUSNESS—On the east- ern shore of Maryland, biliousness is cured by boring three holes in a carefully selected tree, and walking three times around the tree “sun- wise,” saying, “Go away, bilious- ness!” BITES-SNARE–For the bite of a snake, kill the reptile and apply the fat to the wound. For a snake-bite, take a live chicken, cut it open, lay the warm inwards against the wound, and let them remain until the fowl gets cold. It will turn black if it takes out the poison, and you may assure yourself that you are cured. A rattlesnake-skin steeped in vinegar and bound on the skin op- posite the wound, will draw out the sting. If you are bitten by a mosquito, score a cross with the thumb-mail on the bitten place, and it will nev- er Smart again. The music of a tarantula will cure its venomous bite. The bite of a blue-gummed Ne- gro is more poisonous than a ser- pent’s bite. Scorpions sting themselves. They are said, however, to have an oil which is a remedy for their own stings. A silver penny put in a cleft stick, and the water of a pool stir- red with it, was believed to cure the bite of rabid animals. An old-fashioned charm to stop the poison from the bite of an ad- der was to place a cross formed of hazelwood upon the wound. Cures for Snake-Bites. Wet a dried blacksnake's skin and bandage it upon the injured . . . part and it will draw the poison out so hard that it will almost draw the blood through the skin to the sur- face. Pluck feathers from a live fowl, make an incision in the wound, and 348 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. put the feathers in; they will absorb the poison, if you keep it up till the fowl dies, which will occur very SOO11. In Cornwall, it is believed that the dead body of a serpent bruised on the wound it has occasioned, is an infallible remedy for its bite. Quite early in the spring the Nishanam Indians have a fête day, the purpose of which is to prevent by certain ceremonies the biting of Snakes during the summer. For an adder-bite, a piece of hazelwood fastened in the shape of a cross should be gently laid on the wound, and the following lines thrice repeated: “Underneath this hazelin mote, There’s a bragotty worm with a speck- led throat, Nine double is hel Now from nine double to eight double; from eight double to seven double; from seven double to six double; from six double to five double; from five double to four double; from four double to three double; from three double to two double; from two double to no double; NO DOUBLE HATH HE!” Cherokee incantation for snake- bite: “Ha! it is only a common frog which has passed by and put the intruder upon you! Listen, ha! It is only a Usugi which has passed by and put it into you!” (Prescription): Say it twice. Rub tobacco on the bite for some time, or if you have no tobacco, rub spittle on once. In rubbing one must go around four times. Go around towards the left, and blow four times in a circle. This is be- cause in lying down the snake al- ways coils to the right, and this is just the same as uncoiling it. BLEEDING —The reason the doctors bled their patients so much in old days, was because they be- lieved that the evil spirit who had taken possession of the man and made him sick, was forced to come away with the blood. This absurd superstition has sent millions to un- timely graves. (Donnelly, Atlan- tis.) In Persia, people are bled only on such days as are appointed by the StarS. Of staunching blood: Sir Wal- ter Scott says, in his “Lay of the Last Minstrel”: “She drew the splinter from the wound and with a charm, she staunched the blood.” For bleeding or a strain: “Christ rode over the bridge Christ rode under the bridge. Vein to vein, strain to strain, I hope God will take it back again.” A very strange charm from an old German book of Little, the famous conjurer, to stop the flow of blood from oneself, is used by the people of the South Mountains, Pa., through their conjurers. It is as follows: Say, “In God's heart stop.” Then say, “3. 2. 8g. 28. these are his. tä9. 28.d. these others also are his. 5. 865g. 28d. the third is his wish. Stop, blood, stop. So must thou surely stop. So God be praised. Bb. 5t. 7622. 5th. h. 1tg. 261B. 28. XXX.” An incantation to stop the bleed- ing of a wound: “Listen O blood! Instead of flowing, instead of pouring forth thy warm stream, Stop, O blood! Like a wall. Like a hedge. Like a reef of the sea. Like a stiff carex in the moss. Like a boulder in the field. Like the pine in the wood.” This incantation is very old, and is said to be very efficacious. (Chal- dean.) To stop blood, repeat to yourself these words: “Three lilies grew on FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 349 Jesus’ grave, one was good, one was brave, and one stopped his blood. So shall this man's blood be stopped.” A charm of the thirteenth cen- tury to staunch blood is almost un- intelligible, but is nevertheless in- teresting: “Longus, the Knight, him understood. To Christ's side his spear he set. There came out water and blood. In the name of the Father, stop blood. In the name of the Holy Ghost, cease blood. At Christ's will drip no more!” This is a free rendering of the old words. Another charm was: “In the blood of Adam, death was taken. In the blood of Christ death was shaken. By the same blood I do thee charge, thou do no longer run at large.” Another charm: “Jesus was born in Bethlehem, baptized in the river Jordan. The water was wild and wood, but he was just and good. God spake and the water stood, and so shall now thy blood.” A charm for staunching blood: “Stand fast as Christ did When He was crucified upon the cross; Blood remain up in the veins As Christ's did in all his pains.” A Manx charm to stop bleeding: “Three Maries went to Rome, the Spirits of the Church stiles and the Spirits of the houghs, Peter and Paul, a Mary of them said, stand; a Mary of them said, walk; the other Mary said, may this blood stop as the blood stopped which came out of the wounds of Christ: me to say it and the son of Mary to fulfill it.” BLISTER—To raise a blood- blister without knowing how or when, is a sign that you will see the one you love. If you get a blister on your tongue somebody is lying about you or slandering you; if you then throw salt on the fire crosswise, that person will bite his or her tongue. BOIL–When a person has a boil on the shoulder he will get rich. (Madagascar.) A boil on the left leg indicates poverty; on the right, wealth; on the heel, a speedy marriage. It is said that if one will swallow pebbles, he will not have boils. Pliny states that a boil may be cured by wetting it three times with fasting spittle. To cure a boil: Describe a circle three times around it with the thumb and repeat each time in the three Highest names: “The dragon and the bile, Went over the creek, And the dragon drunk, And the bile sunk.” (South Mountains, Pa.) BRUISES-For a bruise, heat a great stone in the fire and throw it in water; then bathe the bruise in that water three times a day, always first heating the stone. Bruises are often treated with saliva. The mother almost instinc- tively rubs a bump on her child’s head with saliva from her own mouth, and in Japan, when a child hits his head against a hard object, he at once applies his own saliva to the spot, to prevent a lump from rising, repeating the words: “This is parent's saliva,” showing the reverent belief in the efficacy of the saliva of mother or father to cure. BURNS-Ends of candles used at wakes are of great efficacy in curing burns. If you burn your fingers, it is a sign that you have done an injury to SOIn eOne. 350 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. A Worcestershire cure for a burn is to keep it secret, spit on the finger and press it behind the left ear. When scalding water falls upon you, call the name of God and you will not be burned. (Persia.) Put holy water on a severe burn. Holy water and fire do not agree. If you burn your finger, touch the end of your ear and it will stop burning. There is a belief in Shark’s Island, that any man who will run his tongue down the back of a lizard will ever after have the power to cure a burn by placing his tongue upon it. There is a little salamander-like reptile in Ireland called a newt, and anyone who catches it and will lick it with his or her tongue three times on its belly, from head to tail, will ever have the power to cure all burns or scalds by applying his or her tongue to them before the blis- ter rises. To heal a burn on the body, say the following: “Here come I to heal a burnt sore, If the dead knew what the living endure, The burnt sore would burn no more.” Then the sore will gradually cease to burn. It is believed that if a man is licked by a lizard called the “Man- keenee,” he will never suffer from burns and can even heal them in another by his touch. The following is a curious old charm for burns: “There came three angels out of the East; The o: brought fire, the other brought rost; Out fire, in frost, In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. Amen.” If anyone should happen to burn their finger, the pain can be driven off by saying the following dog-. gerel: “Burn, burn, lose your color As Judas did when he betrayed the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen, amen, amen.” and then blowing on the burn three times. To cure a burn or scald, say: “Mary Miller has burned her child with a spark of fire. Out fire, in frost! In the name of the Saviour and Holy Ghost.” Make the sign of the cross on the affected part with the third finger, and it will be cured. A charm for a burn, by an old woman of Hanley Castle, England, is the following: “Mary mild burnt her child With a red hot coal. Out of fire into frost, A blessing from the Holy Ghost, Pray God to send it!” A scald will be immediately re- lieved by repeating one of the psalms. CANCER—A cancer can be cured with the ashes of a burnt toad. (Allegheny.) Toads have the power of curing cancer by sucking the wound. If a person dies of a cancer or a tumor, it is said that flowers will not grow on their graves. CANKER—A charm for canker is: “A canker I do come to tell and to let thee know where not to be! If thou do not soon be gone, I will take a course you will like far less!” CHILBLAINS-A little yarrow or mistletoe worn in a bag upon the stomach will prevent chilblains. CHOKING—When a person was choked, his or her nearest FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 35I friend placed a hand on the patient and exclaimed in a loud voice: “Get thee out or descend, the mar- tyr Plaise, the servant of Jesus Christ, commands thee.” CHOLERA-Cholera can be avoided by wearing over the pit of the stomach a small bag filled with black pepper, cloves, allspice, cam- phor. It must be prepared in full II].OO11. A few years ago during the chol- era scare in India, a woman, dress- ed in fantastic style, was led by two men up to an infected house, with the usual following of tom-toms and musicians. A fire with much smoke was made outside, and the woman, who represented the chol- era-spirit, was completely fumigat- ed, amid much ceremony, prayers, and great din. Nothing whatever was done to house of patient; in two days, however, the cholera had ceased. In some parts of Russia, when the approach of cholera is feared, all the young girls of the village gather together and go around the place, one with an Icon and another with a plow. This is sup- posed to prevent the spread of the disease. (An Icon is an image of the infant Saviour.) To expel the cholera spirit, a plough is driven around the village and a small space left through which the spirit can escape. Then a fowl and a goat are sacrificed and burned, and the plough beam and yoke fixed in the ground and worshipped, so the spirit cannot come back. In the Japan Daily Herald, 1877, in an account of the popular Jap- anese charms, we find the follow- ing: “In order to escape cholera, the dogs of Nashsushima, and neighborhood, the cats, birds and horses, even the monkeys, bears, deer and rabbits, all wear charms.” When cholera is epidemic, cook seven meals and let each member of the family have an equal por- tion of each meal, and they will not have the disease. (Persia.) When there is a cholera scare in India, the natives hang a pot on a bamboo tree and place sweet- meats in it. If the birds come and eat the morsels, they will carry away the cholera. COLD–If you tie a lock of your hair to a stick, it will cure a cold. If, when you have a cold, you put a drop of water from your nose on a light-haired man, your cold will leave you and go to him. (Persia.) Blow the candles out and sniff the smoke for a cold. When you get a cold, count back three days, and you will find where you got it. A wife who has a cold must sneeze in her husband's shoe. COLD-SORE-To kiss a black- eyed beauty will cure a cold-sore. COLIC–If a string of allspice is hung around the baby's neck it will stop the colic. Sextus, a Greek philosopher of the third century, said if one would eat a boiled new puppy, it would prevent colic for life. Among the peasants of the Mon- tagne-Noire, a white-handled knife is an infallible remedy for colic. For colic use a stone on which a figure of Hercules killing a lion is engraved, and a verse of Homer. Also a gold plate on which the words, “When the moon was wan- ing,” were written in Greek, has been used as a charm against colic. 352 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. If one has a severe colic, and holds a live duck to the belly, the colic will immediately remove, but the duck dies. If a chicken, or any other living thing, is thus held to the belly, it produces no visible effect, either one way or the other. CONFINEMENT — During confinement a strip of the skin of a donkey and a piece of the hoof are tied with a scapula around the woman's neck, but should the woman be dying, the scapula is hastily removed, so that some one else may have the blessing de- rived from it and she not take it away with her. (Ireland.) (A scapular is a small emblem worn by the members of certain lay con- fraternities, whose duties consist in the recitation of certain prayers and the performance of certain re- ligious exercises.) CONSUMPTION.—It is an old saying that if you are consumptive, March will search you, April will try you, and May will tell whether you will live the year out or not. In 1875, the body of a woman in Chicago, who had died of con- sumption, was exhumed and her lungs burned, under the persuasion that she was drawing others after her into the grave. It is said, to drink the blood of a chamois will cure consumption. If one is beaten with dry twigs, it brings on consumption. Make a circle of oak and ivy, which has been gathered in March, and kept one year; consumptives passing through the circle will be cured. A remedy for consumption brought on by witchcraft, is to eat butter made from the milk of cows fed in a churchyard. To cure the phthisic, you must hang around the neck of the sick person the stone called the feri- pendus. To cure consumption, kill a black cat and remove all the bones; rub the consumptive with the flesh from head to foot, and have him or her drink the cat's blood mixed with warm water. In Gloucestershire, England, ex- ists the belief that consumption can be cured by letting a small frog jump down one's throat. “Dew nails,” gathered early in the morning and taken in a glass of new milk, is also a Gloucester- shire cure for consumption. An old German cure of con- sumption is the following: Gather red houseless snails, put them alive in a big jelly-pot, three-quarters full, fill up with sugar, cover up tightly and let it stand until snails and sugar are dissolved into one jelly-mass. Take of this one tea- spoonful every morning before breakfast, and you will shortly be cured entirely of consumption. In Bohemian villages situated some distance from larger towns, peasants often go rather to seek help from a “wise woman” than to seek a physician. One of the most original of the cures of disease is “measuring consumption.” If one is suspected of having that malady and comes to the healer, he must lie down on the floor of the room with quite outstretched arms. Then the healer takes an unbleached yarn spun on a spinning wheel by a girl not over seven years old, and measures the patient from head to foot, and then again from the tip . of one hand to the other. If the length of his body exceeds the length of his arms, it is a bad sign; he either has the consumption, or at least is threatened by it. The FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 353 patient must then swallow the third part of the thread with some water, while one-third is buried under a tree, and the remainder is burnt. Then he is obliged to be measured again every first Friday after the new moon; the difference between the two measures gradually dimin- ishes until they are equal, when the patient is pronounced cured. All these proceedings are carried on in the name of the Holy Trinity, and the healer ought to be a person of much piety, and generally performs her services without payment. But the patient must be convinced of the efficacy of the work, for who does not believe will not be cured. CONVULSIONS AND FITS —Burning the underclothes is said to be a cure for fits. To cure fits, go into church and creep under the communion table three times while the midnight chimes are playing. In Newcastle-on-Tyne, a man was said to be cured of the tend- ency to fits by a woman, who placed the mouth of her sucking baby to his mouth. The innocent breath of the child drew away the evil spirit that was afflicting him. Cornelius Gemma, a medical writer of the sixteenth century, re- lates in his second work of “Natural Miracles,” of a young maid named Katherine Gaul- ter, a cooper’s daughter, in 1571, who had such strange pas- sions and convulsions that three men could not hold her; “she purg- ed a live eel, which I saw, a foot and a half long, and the eel after- wards suddenly vanished; she vom- ited twenty-four pounds of fulsome stuff of all colors, twice a day for fourteen days; and after that she voided great balls of hair, pieces of wood, pigeon's dung, parchment, goose-dung, coals, and after them two pounds of pure blood, and then again coals and stones, of which some had inscriptions bigger than a walnut, some of them pieces of glass, brass, etc., besides parox- ysms of laughing weeping and ecstacies, which I saw with horror.” CORNS-When corns or bun- ions hurt on feet, it is a sign of a coming Storm. Spit on your corns for nine mornings in succession before you Speak, and they will leave you. To cure corns, rub them with a piece of raw meat, and hide it after use; when the meat is dried up, your corns will be gone. To cure corns, rub them with spittle on retiring, four nights in succession; this will make the hard center come out of the painful cal- losity. Be careful when you cut your COT11S . “When the moon’s in her increase, If corns are cut, they grow apace. But if you always do take care After the full, your corns to pare, They do insensibly decay, And will in time waste quite away.” “Prune your corns in the gray of the In OOn, With a blade that’s shaved the dead, And barefoot go and hide it, so The rain will rust it red; Dip your foot in the dew and put A print of it on the floor, And stew the fat of a brindle cat, And say this o'er and o'er: ‘Corney, morney bladey dead! Gorey, sorey, rusty, read, Footsey, putsy, floory stew, Mew, mew, mew, mew, Come grease my corn in the gray of the no On, Mew, mew, mew!' This will cure your corn. COUGHING—A pressure of the hands on the ears will stop a violent fit of coughing. If a person has a bad cough in Sunderland, they cut off some hair 99 354 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. on the crown of the head and hang it up in a tree, in the firm belief that if birds carry it away to make a nest, they will carry away the cough also. The hoofs and forefeet of a cow, dried and taken any way, are ex- cellent against a cough. CRAMPS–Wear a shell ring for cramps. In Devonshire, a cork put under the pillow is a sure cure for cramps. If you keep a mutton-bone in your pocket, you will not have Cramps. Rattlesnake’s venom cramps. (Allegheny.) To cross your stockings or shoes before going to bed will prevent cramps. - The little bone of the knee-joint of a hare's hind leg doth presently help the cramps if you do but touch the grieved place with it. tortoise- C111°CS Any person who will wear an eelskin around his body will never have a cramp. But there is the gut of the Ourang-outang, if worn around the body, will cause a cramp as long as the person shall wear it. Persons might be killed in this way, and they would be ig- norant of the true cause. If a man gets the cramp at night, his slippers must be put under the bed, sole upward. Place your shoes with the toes just peeping from the coverlet, and you will never have cramps. Charm for a cramp in the leg: “The devil is tying a knot in my leg; Mark, Luke, John, unloose it I beg; Crosses three we make to ease us, Two for the thieves and one for Christ Jesus.” This charm is supposed to cure cramps: “Foot, foot, foot, is asleep. Thumb, thumb, thumb in spittle we Steep, Crosses three we make to ease us, . Two for the thieves and one for Christ Jesus.” The following is a very common cure for the cramp, in Devonshire and Cornwall: “Cramp be thou painless! As Our Lady was stainless When she bare Jesus!” In Gloucestershire, England, people suffering from cramp have been known to lie in bed on a pok- er, or to go to bed holding a piece of sulphur in the hand. The first superstition is probably based on the popular belief in the charm of the cross. The second is based on the superstition that the smell of sulphur scares off the evil spirit who causes the pain. A New England correspondent writes: “I had a great-aunt who used to have the cramp terribly, till someone told her to tie a cotton string around her ankle. After that she never had a cramp to the end of her days.” Rings made from coffin-hinges are supposed to cure cramps. The ceremony of blessing cramp rings on Good Friday is still ob- served in some parts of Devon- shire. Lord Bacon names several cures for cramps. One is chafing a little place above the pain, wearing on the finger rings made of sea-horse teeth, and a band of green periwin- kle tied about the calf of the leg. CRICK–Anyone suffering from crick in the neck or back, could be cured by crawling nine times through the crick-stone in Corn- wall, or sleeping with a crooked sixpence under his pillow. DEAFNESS—The hum of the bee is said to cure deafness. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 355 DIARRHOEA—It is said that if the linen is left unironed, thebaby will not be troubled with diarrhoea. Many people think that a small particle of bread cooked on Good Friday, and mixed with water, will cure many diseases, especially diar- rhoea. DISTEMPER—In 1616, one Elspeth Peacock cured distemper by resting on the right knee while pulling a certain herb betwixt her middle finger and thumb, and say- ing, “In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost!” DROPSY-If a man has the dropsy, stand him up to his neck in sand by the seaside on a hot day, and the sand will draw up all the water and cure the disease. DROWNING—It is thought that the person saved from drown- ing will certainly do some injury or cause some sorrow to the person who saves him. DRUNKENNESS—The eggs of an owl, broken and put into the cup of a drunkard, will cure him of the habit. Drunkenness can be cured by the use of eels and brandy, with the assistance of the power of sympa- thy. If your husband or friend is a drunkard, give him an amethyst ring. He will begin to hate spirit uous liquors and leave off drink- Ing. To cure drunkenness, feed the man on whiskey in which a toad has been soaked. DUMBNESS—If a person has lost his or her speech, place an ointment made of wormwood on the person's tongue. DYSPEPSIA—The real balm of Gilead is the dried juice of a low shrub which grows in Syria. It is very valuable and scarce, for the amount of balm or balsam of Gilead yielded by one shrub, is said never to exceed 60 drops. According to Josephus, it was this herb that was one of the presents given by the Queen of Sheba to King Solomon. The ancient Jewish physicians pre- scribed it for dyspepsia and melan- choly. EARACHE–Wool taken from a black sheep and worn constantly in the ear will prevent anyone from having the earache. ..For the earache, find a “betsy- bug,” a beetle that lives in rotten wood, pull its head off, and drop the blood that comes out into the aching ear. EPIDEMIC-To continue to live in the same place after an epi- demic has passed through an In- dian village, is considered bad luck. The Burmese believed that whip- ping a house would rid it of an epi- demic. Quills of quicksilver worn about the neck were supposed to preserve against the plague. The blood of some who died of the plague could not be made to coagulate. During the plague in London, amulets of arsenic were worn in the region of the heart, to prevent the wearer from taking it. Brahmins and Swedes kindle a fire by boring a stick into a board, to drive away pestilence. Driving nails into the side of the house used to be thought to pre- vent the plague. It was currently believed at the time of the “Black Death” in Eng- land, that even a glance from the sick man's distorted eyes was suffi- 356 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. cient to give the infection to those on whom it fell. Epidemics can be warded off by hanging a red shirt which has been spun, woven and sewed, all in one night, by seven old women, at the entrance of the village. Carolus Sigonius says in his His- tory of Italy, that all those who sneezed during the time of the pes- tilence of Gregory the Great, were sure to die. This was the influenza and to it was attributed the origin of the custom to say, “God bless you!” when one sneezes. During a fatal epidemic, the Chi- nese hold a celebration just as at New Year's to fool the god of the pestilence into thinking he has made a mistake in the date, and so induce him to depart. Whenever a plague or other great calamity infested a country, the magicians made an image of the supposed destroyer in gold, sil- ver, clay, wax, etc., under a certain configuration of the heavens, and set it up in some particular place, that the evil might be stayed. In the Indian archipelago noth- ing can be done in case of an epi- demic without fresh heads (heads cut from the human body), as that propitiates the evil genius of dis- ease, especially in cases of small- pox. A slave is killed or an enemy caught for the purpose. The Sembawees lead a she-camel through the town covered with feathers and balls, and all sorts of ornaments, after which it is slaugh- tered, and the flesh thrown to the dogs. This is done to get rid of the plague, or any epidemic which they may have. Bluet d’Arbères was “fool” or jester to the Duke of Mantua. Dur- ing a pestilence he was told by a spirit that if he would sacrifice his life for the people, the plague would be stayed. He, therefore, actually starved himself to death. In the Western Isles of Scotland, to ward off the plague, or the mur- rain in cattle, eighty married men got a plank and rubbed it, nine at a time, against another plank until they got a fire. All the fires in the parish had previously been extin- guished. From this forced fire each family was supplied, a pot of water boiled over it, and the people and cattle sprinkled from the pot. During an epidemic, the Chinese creep under a table on which are offerings, and put their heads through a round hole made for the purpose, to make the gods think this is a genuine case of offering a human head for a sacrifice, expect- ing that they will act accordingly and save the family from the Scourge. The “sweating sickness” was a curious disease which ravaged all England several times, the last time being in 1551. It seized principally on males of the upper classes, and within twenty-four hours the fate of the victim was de- cided for life or death. Two princes died of it, and the horror of it was greatly increased by the supersti- tious belief that it was confined to Englishmen, and that this myste- rious minister of fate, like an evil spirit, with malice and Sagacity, tracked their steps into every dis- tant country of the earth whither they might have wandered, and picking them out from among the foreigners around them, left unas- sailed all who were not of English blood. Russian peasants believe that the plague is a person, not a disease. It is a person who assumes differ- ent forms and can be seen going through a village just before the FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 357 epidemic breaks out. They de- scribe it as sometimes being an old, shaggy man, and sometimes a withered old woman. She has “flashing eyes,” and if her glance is once turned on you, your life is not worth a penny. The method of driving out this horrible creature is to drive every living thing into a circle, and go around them with a plow, which is dragged by the old- est woman in the community. The female villagers follow, beating tin pans and making as much noise as possible. This will scare the hid- eous hag away. A plague-spoon, in the posses- sion of Sir P. M. Threspland, was once believed to possess amulative virtues. It is formed of a cowry- shell set in silver, with a curiously- wrought handle of the same metal. Medicine taken from this spoon was supposed to be an infallible remedy against the plague. Per- sons flocked from all parts of the country to test its healing powers. Another charm for the plague was a piece of “angel gold,” Eliza- beth coin, which was to be kept always in the mouth when out-of- doors or when visiting a sick per- SOſl. A certain priest, it is told, dream- ed that a plague would break out among the children of the Catholic church under fifteen years of age. He also dreamed that to prevent it he was to get red tape and sprinkle it with holy water and tie it around the children’s necks, until the month of May, when the season of danger would be past. The prot- estants thought it a mark to dis- tinguish their own children, like the blood of the paschal lamb, when the Egyptian firstborn were cut off. Taylor writes that when he wrote his book on the “Rebellion in Wexford,” the people had great faith in the amu- lative properties of this red tape as a protection against the plague, and “before the rebellion broke out, all the red tape in the country was bought up and more ordered from Dublin, for this purpose. It was bought in half-yards, and all the Roman Catholic children wore it about their necks.” All on ac- count of a dream. EPILEPSY—It was deemed unlucky in Greece to be in the presence of one afflicted with epi- lepsy. To see if a patient with epilepsy will recover, a cock or hen was taken to St. Tegla's well and duck- ed three times under the water. If the animal would die, the sick per- son would die also, and vice versä. The wearing of a peony will cure epilepsy. A Scotch cure for epilepsy is to bury a cock below the patient's bed. A ring made from the roof of an ass’s right foot worn on the person will help epilepsy. To wear rings blessed on Good Friday will cure the falling sick- 116SS. If you wear steel bracelets you will be free from epilepsy. A ring made of a “sacrament shilling” is a guard against epilep- tic fits. If you carry a knife having a handle of oak mistletoe, you will infallibly be free from epilepsy. The ancient English believed that the skull of a man who had never been buried, beaten into powder and taken three times a day, was a preventive of the fall- ing sickness. In Stockholm, if a man had an attack of epilepsy, he would be 358 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. cured if the word “Anamzaptas” were whispered in his ear. If a woman, the s was left off. To cure epilepsy, the person should wear a shirt in which some person has died, without washing it. The ancient Romans thought that the powder of a man's bones, chiefly of the skull, that is found in the earth, cured epilepsy. An Austrian superstition of the eighteenth century said that when a criminal was beheaded, to drink the blood just gushing from the neck would cure falling sickness. The nail taken from the arm of a malefactor who has been crucified, is a cure for epilepsy. (From an old manuscript of the fifth century.) Tie a red handkerchief around the neck of an epileptic person when in the fit, and he or she will quickly recover. Collect thirty pennies from thirty different people, string them on a ribbon, wear it around the neck, and it will cure epilepsy. Three drops of blood from the third rib of a maddened black cat, constitutes, in some countries, a standard remedy and preventive of epilepsy. The liver of a mouse, roasted in the new moon, will cure epilepsy. The head of a mouse will also help the epilepsy. The fat of a wildcat is a certain cure for epilepsy and lameness. The Norwegians considered the hoof of the elk as a potent remedy for epilepsy. The person afflicted must apply the hoof to his heart, hold it in his left hand, and rub his or her ear with it. Epilepsy was also often cured by attaching a crucifix-nail to the pa- tient’s arm, or by causing him to wear a silver ring or medal, bearing the names Caspar, Melchior, and Balthazar. (The three magi, or kings of Cologne. Caspar offered frankincense to the infant Jesus, in token of divinity, Melchior offered gold for royalty, and Balthazar, Lord of Treasure, offered myrrh.) Josephus says in his “Antiquities of the Jews,” that Solomon discov- ered a plant efficacious in the cure of epilepsy, and that he employed the aid of a charm or spell to assist its virtues. The root of the herb was concealed in a ring, which was applied to the nostrils of the de- moniac. Josephus says he saw himself the art of Solomon applied with complete success in the pres- ence of Vespasian and the tribunes of the Roman army. If persons afflicted with epilepsy go to the shrine of John the Bap- tist, and cry out disorderly like a madman, they shall go free of their sickness for one year. But if they bite the Saint's head and revile him, their trouble will come every month with the full moon. “Three nails made in the virgin of the nativity of St. John Baptist (called midsummer eve), and driv- en in so deep that they cannot be seen, in the place where the party doth fall who hath the falling sick- ness, and naming the said person's name while it is so doing, doth drive away the disease, quite.” In the month of October, a little pefore the full moon, pluck a twig of elder. Cut the cane that is be- tween two of its knees or knots in nine pieces and string them on a thread. Wrap them in a piece of linen and suspend them around the neck so that they touch “the spoon of the heart or the sword-shaped cartilage.” Repeat the following charm in the left ear of the patient while the FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 359 fit is on. He is to be signed three times with the sign of the cross in the name of God and the blessed Lord, when, by virtue of the charm, he will be cured: “By the wood of the cross, by the man that over- came death, be thou healed.” Cures for Epilepsy: String nine pieces cut from a twig of elder and make a necklace to place around the patient’s neck. If it should fall to the ground, a new one must be made. Burn the patient with a red-hot church-key, along the head, and he will be cured. If he falls in the fit, he can be cured at once by putting in his mouth the juice of absinthe, fennel or Sage. Best cured by hand of priest. If, on the first attack, the per- son's shirt is taken off, thrown into the fire and burned, his hair cropped, and his nails pared, and both hair and parings buried with a young living cock, he will never have another attack. Put salt and white snails in a vessel for three nights, add seven pounds of woodbine leaves and mix them to a paste; a poultice of this, applied for nine days, will cure. The heart of a crow beaten up with its blood and drank for nine days will relieve the disease. For a cure for epilepsy there is still practiced in the north of Scot- land what may be called a formal sacrifice. On the spot where the epileptic first falls, a black cock is buried alive with a lock of the patient’s hair and some parings of his nails. The disease is called, in Wales, St. Tegla's evil and is cured at St. Tegla's well by the sacrifice of a cock or hen carried around the well and the church. So long as a person, subject to the falling sickness, wears a band of the fresh skin of the wolf about the body as a girdle, he will be free from fits. Other charms are: To drink wine that has been poured upon a pound of hemlock fresh gathered. Three hairs of a milk white grey- hound, tied up and worn as an amulet on the neck, keeps the fits away. Take a bundle of unbleached linen yarn, tie it round the patient, cut his hair and pare his finger and toe nails. Burn the yarn and clip- pings together. Divide the ashes into two parts, lay the patient on the ground and make a hole at his head and another at his feet. The portions of ashes are to be put into these holes and a harrow-pin placed over all. The patient is left in this position a day and a night. The sickness is buried forever in this spot never to rise again while the ashes and the iron remain un- touched. In this charm none touches the patient but the one who works it. A harrow-pin, a piece of money and the cuttings of the hair and nails of the patient are buried deep down in the earth on the spot where he fell in the fit, and he is given a drink of holy water in which nine hairs from the tail of a black cat have been steeped. The following singular advertise- ment appeared in the “Deutsche Kronen-Zeitung” of December 11, 1883: “Magpies shot between De- cember 24, and January 6 are used for a remedy against epilepsy. The undersigned by whom this remedy is prepared, will be greatly obliged to everyone who will send him at 360 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. that time as many magpies as pos- sible, provided that they have been shot and not killed by poison, nor caught in traps. Castle Tutz, (signed,) Theodore, Count Stol- berg.” ERYSIPELAS–Erysipelas is called “small snake,” perhaps be- cause snakes shed their skins. (Turkish.) To cure erysipelas take twelve hazel-nut tassels gathered during the dark of the moon in August, bruise them and bind them on the affected part. If you have wild-fire, get blood from anyone named Cahill, and put it on wherever the fire is; the blood is to be taken somewhere from the person's body. The sole of the left shoe of a per- son of the same age but opposite sex as the patient, reduced to ashes and applied, will cure St. Anthony's fire. Erysipelas is either male or fe- male; and small polishedstones, one male and the other female, are put on the diseased part. The one cor- responding to the sex of the disease will stick on and cure the malady. the other will drop off. (Turkish.) There was an inflammatory dis- ease which, in the year 1100, was a dreadful plague. It was said that through the intercession of the great St. Anthony, the disease vanished and the plague was stop- ped. It was thereafter called “St. Anthony’s fire.” The natives of the Canary Isl- ands believe in the following cure of St. Anthony's fire: Take a spoonful of earth from where four corners meet, and a small quantity of lard, put it into an earthen ves- sel on the fire, and while it is melt- ing, repeat the following: “St. Marcial, St. Marcellino, We are both going by one road, We see St. Anthony’s fire. How shall we put it out? With hog's lard, Earth from landmarks, With a Padre Nuestro And an Ave Maria.” EYES, DISEASES OF, If one gets sore eyes, his rice will thrive. (India.) In Cuba the rum used for wash- ing the dead, is a sure cure for Sore eyes. If you look at one who has in- flamed eyes, you will catch the disease. Pliny says a woman's fasting spittle is good for bloodshot eyes. It is believed that sore eyes are made much worse by looking on the dead. Point a gooseberry thorn at a sty on the eye and say, “Away, away, away!” and the sty will soon be gone. In a Gaelic community a sty can be cured by fasting spittle. Moistening the eyes with saliva, especially “fasting spittle,” will cure them of inflammation. A brass ring worn in one ear will cure sore eyes. On taking a foreign substance from the eye, spit over your left shoulder for luck. For a sty in the eye, a hair from a cat's tail must be rubbed over it nine times. Cures for a sty: The tail of a black cat, rubbed seven times over the eye, will effect a speedy cure. Point nine thorns in succession at the eye without touching it, throwing away each one after use over the left shoulder. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 361 rxº~~ - If a person has a sty, he or she must go around the corner and Say: “Sty, sty, go off of my eye, Go to the next person who passes by.” The person must, however, look neither to the right nor to the left, while saying the rhyme, else the sty will not leave. Sties are sometimes got rid of by curious means. One of them is to seize a black cat on the first night of a new moon, pull a hair out of its tail, and rub it over the sty nine times. Gold was formerly consid- ered a good cure, too, a gold ring being passed over the growth. An old play alludes to this: “I have a sty here, Chilax, I have no gold to charm it away.” To take particles out of your eye breathe three times on a handker- chief and then rub the eye three times gently with the handkerchief. The water accumulated on the lids caused by steam, will cure sore eyes. For an aged person to wear amber-beads about the neck will preserve the eyesight. Who reads a chapter of the Bible immediately after rising will never be troubled with sore eyes. The rain-water that falls from pine boughs, collected in June, will cure sore eyes. The tail of a black cat rubbed on the eyes has marvelous curative properties. If one eat three small pome- granate flowers, he will be free from diseases of the eyes for a year. If the right eye of the chameleon is taken out before the animal is slain, and steeped in goat's milk, it will remove any disease of the eye. If anyone with sore eyes will get a woman who is nursing to squirt some milk from her breast into their eyes three mornings insucces- sion, it will cure them. “April snow is good for sore eyes,” runs an old superstition, and country dames are still in the habit of bottling a vial of it to keep for that use. To preserve the eyesight, burn the head of a black cat to ashes and have a little of the dust blown into the eyes three times a day. The people of Barbadoes believe that persons who use anything that has been used in washing the corpse for washing the eyes, will never have bad eyes. A remedy for sore eyes is to tie some unwrought flax into as many knots as there are letters in the patient's name, pronouncing each letter as the knot is tied. This is placed about the neck. An Indian doctor used for sore eyes a water, made of rain-water caught on the 3d, 4th and 5th of June. It is said this rain-water will not putrify. (New Hampshire.) A spell to cure sore eyes: Write the following imprecation on a paper: “Diabolus effodiat tibei- Oculos, impleat foramina stercori- bus;” sew it up in silk and wear it around the neck without ever let- ting anyone see the writing. In Malta, to prevent or cure the sty, it is customary for the patient to throw seven grains of barley over his or her shoulders into a well. The superstitiously inclined also say that a sty forebodes the inher- itance of some riches. From Black's “Folk Medicine,” we quote: “Hilarion cured a blind woman in Egypt by spitting on her eyes. Vespasian so cured a blind man in Alexandria.” In the Bible, we find that Christ so cured a blind man in Palestine. 362 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. In Madagascar the first spittle in the morning is called “bitter or disagreeable saliva,” and is thought to have medicinal virtue in healing diseases either of the ear or eye. Those little gatherings which oc- cur on the eyelids of children, lo- cally called “winks,” are cured by passing a black cat's tail nine times over the place; if it is a ram cat, the cure is more certain. A film over the eye can be dis- posed of in this manner: Say, “Eye, I do not know what ails you, I know not whence it is. There shall it go, in the name of the Trin- ity. Amen.” Repeat this three times, and rub the eye with the right hand three times. So it will depart. This is the magical sev- enth cure. (South Mountains, Pa.) Where swallows have been con- stant to one nest for seven years, they will leave behind them a small stone of great healing power, espe- cially for diseases of the eye. The “web or pearl of the eye,” when affected in ancient Greek times, was believed to be cured by a plant called agrimony, which is of the rose family, and to-day old ladies will recommend steeped rose leaves for sore eyes. Fasting spittle is considered of great efficacy for sore eyes, espe- cially if mixed with clay from a holy well. The people say, “Noth- ing beats the fasting spittle for blessedness.” The gutta serena is a sort of lindness that was once thought was an incurable extinction of vision by a transparent watery humor distilling on the optic nerve. It was called the “drop serene.” It caused total blindness, but made no visible change in the eye. Milton, speaking of his own blindness, ex- presses a doubt whether it arose from the gutta serena or the suffu- sion of a cataract. “So thick a drop serene hath quenched their orbs Or dim suffusion veiled.” (Paradise Lost.) Topsell, an English scientific writer of the seventeenth century, quotes from the old Roman writer, Lamonicus, the following remedy against pains in the eye: “If that some grievous pain perplex thy sight, Wool wet in oil is good, bound on all night; Carry about thee a live scorpion's eye, Ashes of calewort if thou do supply With bruised frankincense, goat's milk and wine, One night, will prove this remedy di- V111C. It is now known that this sort of blindness arises from obstruction in the capillary nerve vessels, and, in some cases at least, is curable. FAINTING—If a person faints without apparent cause, it is a sign that he or she is not chaste, FEET-Diseases of Japanese women think that the dew on the grass, if gathered on the first day of the fifth month, will cure all the ills of the feet. FELON – Cobwebs wound around the finger cure felons. Kill all kinds of little insects with your hands, and you will never have felons. The thin membrane that lines an eggshell will cure a felon. If you catch a ground-mole and Squeeze it to death in your hands, it will give you the power to cure a felon by simply holding the afflict- ed finger in your hand. FEVER—The blood of a cham- ois will cure low fever. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 363 If a bear tramps over a fever- patient, recovery will follow. (Mac- edonia.) If a person who is sick with a fever is better on Sunday, it is a sign of a relapse. In Scotland, fever is believed to be easily cured by bedding a goose with the sufferer. If a person who has a fever wears a spider upon the breast for nine days and nights, the person will not die. (Norman.) A certain beetle was worn in Egypt when one was sick with fe- ver, as it was believed to cure the disease. In Ireland, “heart-fever” can be cured by measuring the patient three times around the body with a green string. To say the word “Abracalan,” drives away ague. A tarred rope worn about the waist will break up the hardest case of chills. Cantharides wrapped in a spi- der's web and hanged over him who is suffering with quartan ague, per- fectly cures him. Ague has been known to be cured by drinking water from the font. (Somersetshire, England.) If you drive a nail into a stile where foot passengers frequently pass, they will take your ague away with them. A cure for ague in West Sussex is to place a leaf of tansy in the shoe. A spider in a nutshell will cure ague. A sure cure for ague can be made by tying your garters around the gallows. To be secure against ague, eat on Easter day two eggs that were weighed on Good Friday. If the fourth book of Homer’s Iliad is laid under the pillow of a patient suffering with ague, it will cure him at once. Chills and fever are cured by Swallowing cobweb pills. You will be cured of ague the moment the grafter cuts a branch of the maiden ash tree. Take as much of the snuff of a candle as will lie on a sixpence, mix it with honey, and it will prove a sure cure for ague. To cure chills and fever, make a tea of ground worms; for worms come out of the ground and so does the “chills-and-fever.” It is a Devonshire belief that you can give a man the ague by bury- ing a dead man's hair under the threshold. Place some salt in the ground in the name of a patient suffering with the ague, and as the salt dis- solves the ague will leave. When a quack pretended to cure agues and wrote it “egoes” on his sign, Dean Swift remarked that evidently “the cure was not made by a spell!” Wear a portion of vellum bear- ing words from Homer's poem of the Iliad around the neck, and it will prevent the ague. (Greece.) The stealing of a neighbor's door-key and dropping it down the well, is a guard against fevers. A person ill with fever should be covered with nine articles of cloth- ing, each of a different color and material, and then he will recover. The Greeks believe that if a piece of the peel of the first cucum- ber eaten is bound around the fore- 364 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. head, the person will be free from fever during the whole year. Place a patient sick with a fever on the sandy shore when the tide is coming in, and he will recover. In the Tyrol, he who beholds the first Swallow stops, and digging below his left foot, will find a coal, which will cure the ague. If the perspiration of the fever- stricken is mixed with dough, baked into bread and given to a dog, the dog will get fever and the patient will get well. If a person is troubled with the ague he should stand naked oppo- site the rising sun, and at the same time repeat the Pater Noster and an angelical salutation. In the Indian archipelago, physic is folly compared with a human head. If smoke-dried and the brain removed, it will cure pustules and cause the destruction of fever. To cure fever, secure some of the dust in which a raven has dust- ed its feathers, and tie it up in a linen rag, with a red string. At- tach it to the body. In Alabama, chills and fever can be cured by taking the inside skin from an egg, going to a young persimmon tree three days in suc- cession, and tying a knot in the skin each day. To place, without his knowledge, a mirror under the head of a person suffering with ague, will cause his recovery. (Japan.) To be rid of a fever, go into an inn and drink a glass of wine with- out speaking or paying, but leav- ing behind some article of clothing which is of greater value than the wine drank. A woman was cured of the hectic fever by having a hole bored in the north side of her chimney and put- animal. ting a loop of yarn thrice through the door into the hole, and going nine times through the loop. If a person who had long been afflicted with the ague would tie a wisp of straw to a tree the moment the trouble was coming on, and then run until the fit is past, he would get rid of the disease. A person with the ague was greatly afraid of rats. He was ac- cidentally confined in a room con- taining a large specimen of that It jumped upon him, and the ague disappeared, being scared out of him. To ascertain the result of a fever, the Irish take a live black cock and splitting it lengthwise, place the two halves on the two feet of the patient. If they stick, he will re- cover; but if they fall away from the feet, he is doomed. In Malta exists the belief that when a person bathes his or her feet in hot water, while under the influence of fever, or suffering from a headache, a little salt should be added to the water to strengthen it. But in order that the salt may produce its effects, it must be thrown in by a married woman, not by a maiden. An ague charm is to take a wool- en string of three colors and go alone to an apple tree. Then tie the left hand loosely to the tree, slip it out of the knot and run into the house as fast as you can, with- out looking back. It was thought in Devonshire that the ague could be cured by breaking a salted cake of bran and giving it to a dog when the fit comes on, by which means they be- lieved that they would transfer the disease from themselves to the dog. He who has ague, let him go to a lofty willow without speaking or FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 365 to an ancient willow tree. crossing water, make a gash into it, breathe three times into it, close it quickly, and hasten away, without looking back; he will leave the ague behind him. In Hertfordshire, on a spot where two roads cross, are some oak trees called “cross-oaks,” and here aguish patients resort and peg their hair into one of the oaks, then by a sudden wrench, transfer the lock from their heads to the tree, going away convinced that they have left the ague behind them. An English charm to cure ague, is as follows: String nine or eleven live snails on a string, the patient saying, as each one is slipped on, “Here I leave my ague.” When all are strung, they should be friz- zled over a fire, and as the snails disappear, so will the ague. Flemish folklore dictates in the case of ague an early morning visit When there, the sufferer must tie three knots in one of its branches, and say: “Good morrow, Old One; I give thee the cold; good morrow, Old One,” upon which the “Old One” accommodatingly relieves the patient of his troublesome complaint. In a village near Areevo, Portu- gal, there is every year a feast to St. Paio, during which the peasants bathe the image of the saint in wine, ordinary wine of the country. This is afterwards used as a posi- tive cure for intermittent fevers. In Estramadura, this fever is cured by eating cheese which is made upon Ascension day. In an article on “Folk-Prayers,” in the Sunday Magazine, Decem- ber, 1894, Mr. Baring Gould pub- lishes the following letter, describ- ing a curious charm for ague: “The Vicarage, Upper Grey, “Winchfield, Nov. 16, 1890. “Dear Mr. Baring Gould:—I wonder if you ever came across a case of the following strange sur- vival, which I met with in the Lin- colnshire marshes, as a cure for ague. It was in the autumn of 1857 or 1858 that I had taken some quinine to a lad who lived with his old grandmother. On my next vis- it the old dame scornfully refused another bottle, and said she ‘knowed on a soight better cure nor your mucky stuff.” With that she took me round the bottom of the bed and showed me three horse shoes nailed there, with a hammer crosswise upon them. “On my expressing incredulity, she waxed wroth, and said, ‘Naay, lad, it's a charm. Oi take tº mell (hammer) i' my left haan, and Oi mashys they shoon throice, and Oi Se2 : *Feyther, Son, and Holi Ghoast, Naale the devil to this poast, Throice I stroikes with holi crook, Wun fur God, and wun fur Wod, and wun fur Lok.’” Wod is, of course, Woden, and Lok is the evil-god Loki of Scan- dinavian mythology. Cures for the ague: When Christ first saw the cross on which he was to be crucified, he trembled exceedingly. The Jews asked him, “Hast thou the fever or the ague?” “No,” he answered, “neither of these do I fear, for God is above all.” Let the person af- flicted repeat these words of Christ, when the fit comes, and he will be cured. It was usual with many persons who were afflicted with ague, to visit about Easter, at night, the nearest cross-road five different times, and there bury a new-laid 366 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. egg. The visit was paid about an hour before the cold fit was expect- ed. On the way the strictest silence was to be observed, taking care not to speak to anyone whom they chanced to meet. The following is a charm for the ague, which is said to be only effi- cacious on St. Agnes' eve (Jan. 21st). “Tremble and go! First day shiver and burn, Tremble and quake! Second day shiver and learn, Tremble and die! Third day never return.” A small, living spider should be rolled up in a cobweb, then put into a lump of butter and eaten while the fit is on; or a few spiders tied up in a bag and worn around the neck will keep off this disease. Take a mug of water from a run- ning stream against the current; repeat this for three mornings be- fore sunrise, and the cure will be perfected. Incantation for the chills: “Listen! In the pines you dwell, in the water you dwell, O little whirlwind, in the leafy shelter of the lower mountain, there you re- pose. O now again you have drawn near to, hearken, O whirl- wind, surpassing great. O great whirlwind, arise quickly. A very small part of the disease remains, You have come to sweep the in- truder into the great swamp on the upland. You have laid down your paths towards the great Swamp. You shall scatter it as in play, so that it shall utterly disappear. And now relief has come. All is done. Yu!” (Prescription): When they are very sick with the great chill take a decoction of wild cherry and blow upon them. If you have old tobacco, it is very effective. (Amer- ican Indian.) In Japan the ague is believed to be caused by the “goki-botoke,” or hungry ghosts. They are the spir- its of those who were condemned to the sphere of penance of perpet- ual hunger and thirst. These suf- fer, and to obtain warmth and nu- triment they enter into the bodies of the living. The person into whom a goki enters, at first feels intensely cold, and shivers. Then the chill is followed by an intense heat, as the goki gets warm. Hav- ing warmed himself and absorbed some nourishment from his unwill- ing host, he departs, but he comes back the next day at the same hour. That is why people have chills and fever at Oki. (Lafcadio Hearn, “Glimpses of Unfamiliar Japan.”) FOOD FOR THE SICK–In Sweden, it is considered lucky for a sick person to have his food from a neighbor's larder. To give a sick person, who is just convalescing, chicken meat to eat, is decidedly unlucky. There will be a relapse. If an invalid is ordered goat's milk, great care should be taken that the goat is quite black, not a single white hair anywhere. (Ma- deira.) FRACTURE–Breaking a bone in the body is said to prolong life. Of an old lady living in New Hampshire, who is, though ninety years of age, still very active and intelligent, a distinguished corre- spondent and reader, and who has had many accidents, it has been said that “Having broken every bone in her body, she is now going over them the second time.” To heal any sore or broken limb: FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 367 Q “He put the blood to the blood till all upstood; The lith to the lith till all took nith; Cur º charmed her dearly beloved Oil, With her tooth and with her tongue, And her ten fingers, in the name of the Seven Mercies, be healed.” St. Amaro is the patron saint in Portugal for broken arms and legs. In the province of Bega, outside the gates of Erora, there is a feast to this saint, at which the peasants offer him arms and legs made of a Sweet paste. In the evening, how- ever, there is always a profane scene, as the church is used as a sort of market-place, where they sell these arms and legs, which are eaten at once by the purchaser, who is then sure not to suffer any pains in his or her limbs during the following year. Forty meas- ures of flour were consumed for this last year. FRIGHT-In Malta, the cure of the ailments brought about in con- sequence of a fright, is to kill a pup- py, boil it, give the patient to drink the water in which it is boiled, then throw the whole boiled puppy in the plate in such a way as to cause a fright to the patient. GOUT-To escape gout, you must be bled on the 14th of March. (English.) If you wish to cure the gout, wear a velvet slipper. An excellent cure for the gout is to take a young puppy, all of one color if you can get such a one, cut him in two pieces through the back while alive, and lay the hot end to the grieved place. The right foot of a tortoise made fast to the right foot of a gouty man, will give him ease. In Italy, a popular cure for the gout is to spit three times in the footprint of a person to be cured, and at the same time repeat a cer- tain spell. In olden times it was believed that a hexameter from the Iliad, written and worn, would cure the gout. To wear a blue ribbon which is studded with shells of gray snails, tied about the leg, allays the heat of the gout. * To cure the gout, take the hair and nails, cut them small, mix with wax, and stick to a live crab, cast- ing it into the river again. HEADACHE–Avoid ills of the head by writing “Ruinbad” on the crown of your hat. The man who wishes to be in- sured against headache, has only to rub it on stone or knock it on iron. A ring made of the hoof of an ass’s right foot and carried about, will cure headaches. The last nine drops of tea poured from the tea pot, will cure the headache. A heart-shaped piece of beeswax carried in the pocket will charm away headache. The brains of a mouse, being steeped in wine and applied to the forehead, helps headache. If grass growing on the head of any statue is gathered in the moon- light and bound around an aching head, it will cure the headache. Headache can be cured by the patient standing in the sun with a bottle of water on his or her head. The water attracts the heat out of the brain and effects the cure. (Turks Islands.) The native cure for headache, in Natal, is to place a pan of hot medicine supported by a grass- ring upon the patient's head, by which it is said that the parts are 368 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. softened and the insects which cause the headache are driven downwards. Then the same medi- cine injected, is supposed to drive them quite away. L’Abbé Rolland asserts that Olivier Charreau in his history of the Archbishops of Tours, said that he was miraculously cured by plac- ing on his head the bonnet of Marie de Maille (1332-1414) of “a headache most violent which he had endured for the awful space of forty years.” In Macedonia, headache is fre- quently cured by an old woman who has some curious stones and crosses. These she puts in water, and if bubbles arise, it is taken for granted that an evil eye has been put upon him and he drinks the water for cure. Another wise old woman heals by enchantment. She rubs three grains of salt on his forehead while she meantime mutters an incanta- tion, and then, after blowing upon them, throws them in the fire. In regard to a headache-cure, be- lieved in by the superstitious na- tives of the Canary Islands, a cor- respondent writes: “A girl of twelve was suffering from a terri- ble headache and I thought her ready to come down with some severe sickness, but two days later she was perfectly well again and told me, upon my inquiries, that a neighbor had come in and tried the cure of ‘sun on the head,” or ‘in the head,” as they say. It consists of putting a small bottle of water on the head and muttering some prayer. She says that when the woman was repeating the prayer, the water in the bottle on her head began to bubble as if it was boiling, she gradually felt better, and in a few hours’ time she was quite well. She could not understand the mys- terious words uttered in the pray- er.” A Thibetan cure for headache is found in the story of King Vasu- datta. He had a terrible headache, which would not leave him; but a woman learned of a Rakshasi how to cure it. First his head must be anointed by rubbing warm butter on it, and then it must be placed in the sun intensified by noonday. And a hollow cane tube must be in- serted into the aperture of his ear, which must communicate with a hole in a plate, and this plate must be placed above a pitcher of cool water. Accordingly, the centipedes that make his head ache, crawling around in there, annoyed by heat and perspiration, will come out of his head, and will enter that cane tube from the aperture of the ear, and desiring coolness, will fall into the pitcher. Kirtisena carried out these instructions, and the result was that she “extracted from the head of the king, through the aper- ture of the ear, one hundred and fifty centipedes.” (W. R. S. Rals- ton, Thibetan Tales.) HEARTBURN-If you eat the first three sloe blossoms you see, you will not have heartburn that year. HEMORREHAGE — The an- cients had great faith in a blood- red cornelian ring. They believed it would stop the flow of a danger- ous hemorrhage, if it were placed upon the hand. As a charm against hemorrhage of every kind, the rose has long been a remedy in Germany and in Westphalia. The following formu- la is employed: “Abek, Wabek, Fabek; in Christ's garden stand three red roses, one for the good God, the other for God’s blood, the R FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 369 third for the angel Gabriel. Blood, I pray thee, cease to flow!” In Cardiganshire there is still a sincere belief in the efficacy of what is termed the Phiol, and in serious cases of hemorrhage, internal or otherwise, this old relic is fetched, sometimes from a great distance, and, whatever the patient is able to take, if taken from this Phiol, or wooden bowl, will very soon effect recovery. This Phiol is now worn so much that it has lost the round cup shape, and is black with age. Something valuable must always be left with the owner as security for the safe return of the Phiol. HICCOUGH-If you stick a straw in your hair, it will cure hic- coughs. To cure hiccoughs, plunge a naked knife into a can of beer and take a good draught of it in one breath. If you have hiccough, it is a sign that somebody is thinking of you. If you have hiccough and think of the right person, it will stop. When attacked by hiccough, an Albanian thinks a friend is speak- ing of him. If you hiccough in the morning, it is a sign that your lover is think- ing of you. In Wales, if people have hic- cough, they say, “One!” after the first, and it will be the last. If you begin to hiccough while talking to anybody, you will have a surprise. If you hiccough in the evening, your lover will come that night. To cure hiccough, use the fol- lowing charm: “Hickup, hickup, Stand up straight up, One drop two drop, Good for the hickup!” Hiccoughs can be cured by hold- ing the breath until fifty can be counted, during which time the end of one's finger must be intently re- garded. To cure the hiccoughs, take a glass of water, cut it twice with a steel knife, crossways, and take nine swallows of the water without drawing a breath. (A sailor super- Stition.) If a person in Kokand has the hiccoughs, the friend who is pres- ent exclaims: “You have stolen something from me!” After this uncomplimentary utterance, they are both supposed to have good luck. Hiccoughing in Bohemia is usually considered as a sign that somebody, a dear person whom we have in mind, thinks of us. “Who thinks of me?” is always the ques- tion of one who hiccoughs. “We thought of you on a certain Oc- casion; did you not hiccough?” is frequently asked. To cure the hiccoughs, drink water three times, and say: “Hiccoughs and kickups, The racket, the rickups, Three drops of tea-cups Will cure me of hiccoughs!” To cure hiccoughs, say in a ghostly, droning tone: “There was an old man and an old WOman, And they lived in a bottle and eat BONES.” (Brookline, Mass.) Another cure for hiccoughs is to put your thumb up over your lip with the fingers under the chin, and say: “Hiccoughs, hiccoughs, over my thumbl” nine times. (North- ern Ohio.) To cure hiccoughs, repeat in one breath the words: “There was an old woman who lived all alone, And she was made of skin and bone. One day to church she went to pray, 37O ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. And on the ground a man there lay, And from his head unto his feet The worms crawled in, the worms crawled out. The woman to the parson said, “Shall I be so when I am dead?’ The parson he said 'YES!’” the last word out loud.) Mass.) HYDROPHOBIA — Eating churchyard-grass will cure hydro- phobia. (Shout (Boston, Hydrophobia can be cured by looking down into seven wells in succession. Crabs caught during full moon and burned to powder, will cure the hydrophobia. If a dog bites you, the evil con- sequences may be avoided by ap- plying three of the dog's hairs to the wound. It is a widespread belief that if a person is bitten by a dog, it should be killed whether it is mad or not, for if it ever goes mad, the person will also go mad. If a dog bites you in a country where they have limes, go to a lime tree and select a ripe lime, cut it in half and bury one of the halves. As this decays, so will the dog's teeth, and no harm will come to you. The “Alluring Stone,” in Wales, will cure hydrophobia. Grains are scraped from the stone with a knife and administered to the person who has been bitten by a rabid dog, and a cure is effected. When a Newfoundlander had been bitten by a dog, the dog was killed and its liver clapped on the wound, in the belief that the bite of the dog can be cured by the flesh of the dog. This is another charm for the bite of a mad dog: “Oh, King of Glory, come in peace, Pax, max and max, Hax, max, adinax, opera, chudor.” It must be written on three ap- ples, and one swallowed on three successive mornings. The tooth of a mad dog which has bitten any human being, tied in leather and hung at the shoul- der, will preserve and keep the wearer from being bitten by any mad dog so long as he wears it. It may be worn next to the skin or concealed in the clothing. Cures for the bite of a mad dog: Apply some of the hair of the dog to the wound and leave it there, bound tightly, till all danger is over. Take out the liver of the dog and grind it to powder, then mix with water and give it to the pa- tient to drink. Say the following charm over the person, giving him butter to eat in the meantime: “Arise, Cor- mack O’Cullan, through Christ be thou healed. By the hand of Christ be thou healed in blood, marrow and bone, and may the poison die in thee as I sign the sign of the cross.” This charm may also be said over a cow or a horse, but never over a hog or a dog. In Wales, to cure hydrophobia, the patient was taken out to sea in a boat and dipped three times, and each time, as he came up, he was asked: “Will you have more?” When he opened his mouth to speak, he would be dipped again, The object of this was to get as much salt water into him as possi- ble, as that was believed to cure the bite, There is a “mad-stone” at Myn- ydd Yslwgn, Wales, which is most marvelous in its curative proper- ties. Fabulous stories are told of FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 37 I 7. it, and it is looked up to as some- thing sacred. Several instances have been given of pilgrimages made by friends of people bitten by mad dogs, in order to procure a piece of the stone, which was ground to powder and taken in milk by the patient. Another Welsh cure for hydro- phobia is a certain herb which grows in Llaufrynach church, boil- ed in milk. INFECTION.—According to an old superstition, infection commu- nicated to another left the infector free, The gold-headed cane formerly carried by physicians, was long viewed as containing a safeguard against infection. INSOMNIA—Raw eggs of a white hen are said to be a cure for sleeplessness. To avoid sleeplessness, plant a row of black hollyhocks under your window in new moon. When anything bothers you in your room at night, and you can- not sleep, put two pins, crossed, under your pillow, and you will Soon sleep. Whenever you are troubled with wakefulness, get up and reverse the position of your shoes; you will then go to sleep at once. The reason why people believe that if you set your shoes with the toes pointing away from you, you can sleep, is based on a German super- stition that when you take them off a witch at once takes possession of them; if you turn the heels to your bed, she turns her back, and can do you no harm, so she goes away and lets you alone. INSANITY-The water from a toad's brain will cure a diseased mind. The insane and idiots are rever- enced by the Turks. Sprinkle the bed of a person who is delirious, and he will recover his TealSO11. To cure mad people, hang up a brass mirror in their room, or a gourd, or a set of tiger claws. Sir Kenelm Digby, an English philosopher of the seventeenth cen- tury, expressed his great faith in the efficiency of dew in the case of delirium or frenzy. Among the Greeks the people spit three times on the breast when they see a madman, to prevent the evil effect he may have on them. An idiot is gently treated by the Indians, or rather avoided as one who is under the influence of the evil god and belongs to him. The Turks are known to attach great value to the words of idiots— persons bereft of understanding. “That is the very reason,” says a writer, “for allowing them weight as words coming from higher in- telligences.” To cure a lunatic, says a cheerful charm, take the skin of a swine or porpoise and work it up into a whip, swinge the man therewith, and he will soon be well. Madness is cured by the person being given three substances not procured by human means, and not made by the hand of man. These are honey, milk and salt, and they should be given him to drink be- fore sunrise, in a seashell. (Irish.) At St. Fillan's pool near Loch Earn (Scotland), insane folk were dipped, with certain ceremonies, and then left bound all night in the open air. If not dead in the morn- ing, and if their cords were loosed, they were pronounced sane, wheth- er raving mad or not. 372 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. JAUNDICE—If you have jaun- dice, go to a carrier's cart, look in his grease pot, and it will soon go aWay. In olden times, yellow jaundice was cured by boiling the clippings from a person's hair in grease and feeding them to a dog. The golden oriole is a bird with strange healing virtues; when look- ed upon by one who has the jaun- dice, it cures the person, but the bird dies. If a person is affected with jaun- dice, it is considered a sure remedy to cut the finger-nails and insert those small pieces of the nails which are cut off into the bark of a live-oak tree. t Among the Maltese, the blood of a tortoise is believed to be an excellent remedy for jaundice caus- ed by a fright. If the patient be a man, he is to bleed a female tor- toise in the leg and make the sign of the cross with its blood on the joints of his arms and legs; but if the patient be a woman, she is to bleed a male tortoise. Schroeder, in his “History of Animals that are Useful,” says: “Lice are swallowed by country people against the jaundice.” Also, Beaumont and Fletcher thus allude to them as a specific against this disease: “Die of the jaundice, yet have the cure about you; lice, live lice, begot of your own dust and the heat of the brick kilns.” LAMENESS—When a lame knee, ankle or arm hurts, it is a sign of a storm. If a strand of black wool is tied about a lame ankle, it will soon strengthen. LEPROSY-Never harm a lep- rous person, else misfortune and grief are sure to follow you. If a leper eats the heart, liver and kidneys of a healthy child, washes in its blood and anoints himself with grease made from its body, he will be cured. (Brazil.) A leper should never be spoken to in terms of commiseration, lest the person so speaking should take the disease. (Madagascar.) Never give a piece of iron or a piece of meat to, or receive the same from, a leprous person; you will take his disease. (Madagas- car.) The Jews believed it not only to be a terrible scourge to have the leprosy, but the worst of ill luck because they thought they were doomed for the rest of their lives in this world, and also in the world to come. This disease was consid- ered the especial token of God's wrath towards the individual. When a leprous person is sent to the asylum in China, a branch of a tree with green leaves upon it, is hung up on the neighbors' houses to prevent the disease from enter- ing them. The Chinese dare not build a fire in a house for three days after lep- rousy has broken out in the neigh- borhood, as it would befall them, too. LUNG TROUBLES — Those who are troubled with the lungs should always wear violets, as they keep away bad coughs and strengthen the chest against the March wind. MALARIA—A hair from a bear worn on the person will keep away malaria. (Macedonia.) MEDICINE–If you take med- icine with a grimace, it will do you no good. If a tear falls into a sick person's medicine, he or she will die. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 373 Homoeopathic pills must be tak- en in odd numbers. (New Eng- land.) If, when you drop a pill-box, it stands on end, it will bring good luck. If a potion is made of herbs, it must be paid for in silver, or it will not do any good to the patient. Medicine for the liver should be taken with the right hand; for the kidneys, from the left. It is not lucky to thank anyone who gives you medicine. The reason why it is unlucky to give thanks for medicine is that it will thus have no effect. Werensel says that it is unlucky to take an even number of pills when sick, as they will not do the least good. In Japan, as in many other coun- tries, it is believed that if a sick person's medicine is upset, it is a sure sign that the patient will re- COWer. Actius, an Italian poet of the thirteenth century, when applying an ointment, would say: “May the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob deign to give virtue to this medi- cine.” To stir mixtures with the medi- cal (ring) finger, will show if there is anything noxious therein. (Greek and Roman.) To give anyone who comes to your house medicine, is a sign of gain. To take medicine from someone you do not like, is a sign of pov- erty. If the Tartar doctor has not the herbs he wants, he writes the name of them on a slip of paper and orders the patient to burn the paper and take the ashes, believing the name of the herb will work the same cure as the herb itself. Medicine made of leaves, wood, and other ingredients, mixed with meat, used to be given in Natal as a charm, to persons in whose fam- ily a death had occurred. Those who did not follow this ceremony were believed liable to incur the disease. The Chinese in this country are constantly taking medicine, but the aromatics and demulcents that compose the greater part of their pharmacopoeia at the worst do them little harm. The folklorist finds an interesting field in their practice, and especially in the drugs they employ. Magical properties are attributed to some of them. The bezoar stone and many other reminders of the mediaeval phar- macist, find place with tigers’ bones and fossil crab shells in a collection than which none more appropriate could be taken as a beginning for a folklore museum. Every object would have its story. The Chinese are unwilling to take our medi- cines, which they pronounce too strong and powerful. They only call on foreign physicians as a last resort. They will not go to hos- pitals if they can help it, as there is a general belief among them that when a man goes to a hospital, he always dies. They say there is a devil there that catches and kills people. (Hon. Stewart Culin, “Customs of the Chinese in Amer- ica.” One of the strangest beliefs in the way of a cure, was prevalent long before and long after Shake- speare's time, and the stuff was sold in all the great cities. It was called “mummy,” and was a concoction made from dead bodies. People bought it in good faith that it would cure various diseases, and 374 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. “the skillful conserved maiden's hearts” as a cure for love. Sir Thomas Browne tells us that Fran- 'cis I. always carried mummy with him as a panacea against all dis- orders. “The common opinion of the virtues of mummy bred great consumption thereof, and princes and great men contended for this strange panacea wherein Jews dealt largely, manufacturing mummies from dead carcasses and giving them the names of kings, while specifics were compounded from crosses and gibbets' leavings.” MIDSUMMER MADNESS— Midsummer madness can be cured by washing the hands in poppy- tea. Miscellaneous Diseases, In many countries, all diseases except insanity are regarded as signs of divine disfavor. If a person is taken suddenly ill, the first person he or she speaks to will be the next to become sick. If, recovering from an illness, you see two puny people quarrel, you will never fully recover. If an invalid goes out for the first time and makes a circuit, the cir- cuit must be made with the sun; if against the sun, there will be a relapse. It is very unlucky to bring a sick or injured stranger into your house. It is unlucky to give anything out of a house where a woman lies ill. To leave a sick person alone in the dark at Whitsuntide, is very unlucky. If you imitate an afflicted person, you will get the same affliction. To have a sick person make preparations for the funeral, is a good sign that he or she will re- COVCT. High spirits in a sick person is a sign of calamity or death. When a sick person is constantly trying to get the feet uncovered, it is a sign that he or she will not get well. In ancient Assyria, written texts were bound around a sick man's brain, to keep it from harm. For a patient to get up from his bed on a Sunday is a sign that he or she will have to go back to it. The Chinese wear a bracelet to prevent sickness. They are of a dark color, and when in sickness this bracelet turns much lighter. In Africa, packets of medicine are worn about the neck to ward off all kinds of diseases. Formerly, Indians placed the green plumage of birds in their medicine-sacks for a charm against disease. A patient must never look at himself in a mirror while confined to the bed, else he or she will never recover fully. A silver ring made out of begged penny pieces, and worn on the fin- ger, is a sovereign charm against all diseases. When a sick person keeps talk- ing about another sick person, it is a bad sign; for if one dies, the other will die also. - Carry a lump of camphor in your pocket and it will prevent coughs, colds and sore throat. The bones of certain birds sewed into the clothes were anciently sup- posed to preserve the health. In Mexico, when twins are born and only one lives, that one can heal the sick by just touching them. .* w” g FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 375 The ancients believed that the sponge had power to cure diseases by its magical touch. Keep several Easter eggs from one year to another, and it is said they keep sickness out of the house. The skin of a beaver was sup- posed by the ancient Indians to have magical properties in curing diseases. Paper boats, ten to twenty feet long, and framed of bamboo, are burned and sent out to sea to carry off certain diseases in China. Certain pointed stones, called “smallpox stones,” tied around the neck, are a defense against infec- tious diseases. If a sick person kisses the robes of a priest, the person will recover. (Turkey.) Reading prayers and scriptures at the grave of a saint was be- lieved by Albanians to cure disease. Arabs believe that the smoke from the burnt hair of a Christian would cure a patient. If an adult is sick in Norway, they seek for the fat of a white worm, found at the meeting of the crossroads. The skin of Ziska, the Bohemian reformer, was made into a medi- cine-drum by his followers. A dead hand in Ireland is thought to cure many diseases. The Negroes in Jamaica think the bread used in the Lord's sup- per will cure diseases. The ashes of fires made on mid- Summer eve are considered in Wales to have some medicinal charm. In the Highlands, to get rid of disease, a cat is washed in water that has bathed the patient, and so carries off the disease. Put the medal of St. Benedict into water and let a sick person drink it, and it will cure him or her. If you get down on your knees and creep down a steep flight of stairs head foremost, it will cure all your ills. If you tie a handkerchief on the head when you are sick, you will Ilever recover. An ivory skull as a watch-charm will dispel sickness. For one diseased to touch the bole of an oak is a sure sign of re- covery. At one time tar-water was be- lieved to be a panacea for all ills. If the keys of the church are laid on a sick person, a cure will follow. To cure diseases, sew yarrow up in clothes that are worn. In order to be effective, healing spells must be taught in secret, without witnesses. Toads stabbed and worn about the throat will cure all sorts of dis- CaSeS. A spider covered with dough and taken as a pill, was an ancient rem- edy. If a doctor cannot cure a sick person, get a duck or a drake, and put its bill in the sick person's mouth. Its breast will draw out all his trouble. If there is perfect silence during a prayer for the sick, he or she will die; if there is a slight noise, the person will recover. If a person mentions his illness, the hearer taps on his amulet or under the table to prevent the transmission of the disease. (In- dia.) 376 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. When a man is ill for three days, he is relieved of all his sins. When one is very sick in China, a priest will ascend a “ladder of knives,” and by so doing will drive out the demon who has made the person ill. A Jewish superstition is that if a little of the soil of the city of Je- rusalem is in the house, no sickness can enter therein. It is not always unlucky to be sick in Bohemia, for they say: “Often unwell does not toll the bell!” Charms for cure of diseases are set with most effect on Wednesday and Friday, and must be set fast- ing, generally before sunrise. Live fire coals should be put into water just before a sick person drinks it, to “knock the air off.” When the mail is brought to the door of a sick person, if the bell gives a good round sound, the person will get well, but if it leaves an echo, he or she will die. In Hampshire, England, the country people think that a piece of money collected during the sac- rament, will cure many diseases. Water from a running stream, bottled at dawn of Easter day, will not grow offensive for a year, and has marvelous properties for heal- ing. An Oriental universal cure is to write prayers in soot on a board, and, washing off the board in clear water, to drink the water. For a sick Hindu to lie on the bank of the Ganges river and watch the water flow by, is supposed to cure him. In Sweden, to take the clipping of the toe-nails and finger-nails and, placing them in an eggshell, throw them to the birds, would cure sickness. The Indians of Santa Maria wore at their necks the teeth of those whom they had killed in battle, as a health charm. Put a piece of gold in a dish of water, sprinkle it on the sick per- son, and it will cure the disease. (Hebrides Islands.) The song of the fire-bird near the sick foretells their recovery; if it is heard by a blind person, it will restore the sight. When there is much sickness on the Irish isles, the god “Neevougi” is appealed to to stop it; it is be- lieved that when the diseases abate, he has answered the prayer. To charm away the last of a dis- ease, go up three steps before you go down, after leaving your sick- bed. For one who is ill to touch the impress left by St. Lenanus on the rocks near the well at St. Dunas, Ireland, will always find relief. In Switzerland, it was thought that the rubbing of the forehead of a gipsy girl with the palm of the hand would prevent disease. The heathen Chinese believe firmly in the healing quality of broth made out of human flesh, just as we believe in “beef tea.” A well in St. Brenban has great power in healing diseases, but it loses its efficacy if a thief or mur- derer drinks of its waters. When there is a case of sickness in the house, and some domestic animal dies, the patient will recov- er; death has claimed its victim. (British Guiana.) When people are sick, magicians make images of clay, which they bury in the woods, and promise by their incantations that the disease shall be transferred to the image. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 377 Measure a sick person and he will get well. Sick persons may be cured by striking them with the back of a knife. Teeth drawn from the jaw of a man who had died a violent death, were, in olden times, highly recom- mended for all sickness that was caused by witchcraft. In the Orkney Islands, the water in which the patient has been wash- ed is thrown down by the gateway, so that the disease may be trans- ferred to the next passer-by. The floating bone often found after boiling a black cat's brain, will cure all diseases, and is valued most highly by superstitious peo- ple. When an Indian is sick they gather around him, yell, and thus drive the evil spirit that has taken possession of him, out of him, so that he will get well. In Fiji, the sick are credited with malignant qualities. They are sup- posed to pollute objects that they touch, and spoil food by means of their saliva. Wear round the neck a piece of paper, on which is written the first three verses of St. John's Gospel, and it is said in Ireland that you will never be sick. If an adult is ill, search is made at the crossroads for the fat of a white worm; if the search is suc- cessful, the patient will recover. (Norwegian.) Grosse says: “I saw some dust in which blood was absorbed, taken from the scaffold, for the purpose of charming away some disease, when one of the rebel lords was beheaded in 1746.” A person afflicted with any dis- ease may be cured by earth taken from the grave of somebody who has died of the same disease. If you visit a sick person, watch his or her movements when you enter the room. If the patient moves the hands or feet, he or she will get well; but if he or she moves neither, the person will die. A charm to cure illness: “As our blessed lady sat at her bowery dower, with her dear daughter at her knee, waiting for the wild-fire coming in at the town end, I medi- cine thee.” A tongue cut from a living fox will ward off disease of all kinds, but as the person carrying one will surely die if he happens to meet a fox at any crossroads, the charm is seldom used. It is believed in New Zealand that if a priest casts a fish or some vegetables into the sea, pronounc- ing a curse upon them, it will rid the sick of disease. A superstition in England says that a dying person can recover if thrice carried around and thrice bumped against a thorn of great antiquity, which stands on the downs in Sussex. If you bind a silver penny, in some saint's name, over a diseased part of the body, and then pass the coin into possession of the church, the patient will recover from his disease. It is believed in Ireland that if one who is out of health will visit Mary's well, near Dundalk, and go round the well nine times on his knees, always westward, he will be cured. A solution of gold was one sup- posed to be almost a certain cure for any disease, because, as the metal was absolutely pure, it im- parted to all parts of the body its 378 ÆNCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. own pureness, and thus drove out the disease. For the sick, one ought to cause prayers to be said in three churches, one of which should be an offering church. It will then be speedily decided whether the patient is to live or die. A native doctor of Natal used to pour water through a gourd full of holes, by means of which, observ- ing the direction in which the spouts came out, he pretended to tell from which way the disease had been sent to the patient. When the priest climbs the “lad- der of knives,” it is bad luck to idly stand by and look at him, as he is pretty sure to have the wicked spirits transferred to himself, and in that case the sick could not be cured. A morsel of the food which has been given to a certain god at the sacrifice of the first day of the moon, is supposed, by the Hindu mother, to cure her children and relatives of disease. The poorer classes of Persia tie bits of colored stuff on the boughs of certain trees, and after leaving them there for a while, consider them to have acquired power to cure diseases. *. An ancient practice to cure dis- ease is to enter a churchyard at the mystic hour of twelve, and to cut three bits of lead about the size of a half-farthing, from three different water-spouts. In the north of Fife it is believed that if the beloved one is held back from dying by being “cried back,” as they call their prayers for recov- ery, he will recover, but will lose one or more of his faculties. Go into the church at midnight and steal minute cuttings of the lead from each diamond pane of its windows, make of these cuttings a heart of lead, and you will have an infallible cure for sickness. Blue glass was once considered a sure cure for rheumatism and other diseases. Houses had whole windows paned with it; a reminder of this craze is to be seen in an aris- tocratic residence in Beacon street, Boston. Among the Macedonians, it was believed that if a man prolonged his life by curing any disease, he would meet with misfortunes. So, when ill, they refused remedies, preferring to die rather than meet with the threatened calamities sure to happen if they were cured. As regards disease, whatever you cannot smell will not harm you. If you think you smell a disease, even if you don’t, you are liable to have it. If you carry an onion, so that you can't smell a disease, you can go where it is, and you won't take it. (New England.) When a patient in Siam is sup- posed to be in a dangerous state, magicians are called in, who make images of clay, which they convey to the woods and bury, promising to transfer by their incantations the disease to the image. In the Pennsylvania German counties there are “pow-wow doc- tors.” Convulsions, pains, bleed- ings, felons, caked breasts, etc., are cured by incantations pronounced over them, lightly touching the fin- gers to the affected parts. This is called “pow-wowing!” At Trenby, the people used to walk barefooted to church on Good Friday morning, and returning, bought several hot cross-buns, which were hung up in the kitchen, there to remain until the next Good Friday. If one of the family were *\\ The Healing Waters of the River Lybaris in Lucania, Italy. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 379 ill, to eat one of these buns was a Sllſ C. Cl11 C, In Turkey, when a beloved mem- ber of the household is ill, a sheep is promised as a sacrifice to one of the saints should health be restor- ed. The sheep is then killed and portions of it sent to the neighbors. Sick people in Ceylon are still turned with their heads to the east, as long as there is any hope of re- covery; but when the fatal termina- tion approaches, the head is turned to the west. It is a dire calamity for a cat to pass above the head of a sick Ar- menian, even if on the roof. To prevent this, they always shut up the cats until the man or woman is either well or dead. The Chinese believe that when disease does not yield to medical treatment, the vitals of the sick and suffering person are being preyed upon by an evil spirit. They will beat the tom-tom all night to drive the demon out of the poor wretch's body. Among the Chinese exists a su- perstition that tea made of human flesh is good for the sick, and a government clerk deliberately cut off his finger and had it made into broth for the benefit of his mother, who was sick. In Brandenburg, the old believ- ers in the wonderful doctrines of old-fashioned cures, say that who- ever hears diseased persons com- plaining of their troubles, will catch the disease; therefore, he who hears it will retort: “Bear thy pains alone, Or bewail them to a stone.” In Rome, if one was sick and in danger of death, a mirror was let down into the fountain of the god- dess Ceres; if a disfigured face was seen, it was an evidence of death; but if the patient's face appeared fresh and healthy, it was an omen of recovery. With reference to the supersti- tion that it is unlucky for a sick person to look in a mirror, a corre- spondent from Gloucestershire, England, writes that when the little girl of a neighbor was ill, she beg- ged to be allowed to look at herself in the glass; permission was grant- ed; but strange to say, from that moment her strength gradually failed, and she soon after died. In Central Africa some of the natives take no medicine, but clip their nails, and tying them to the back of a crawfish, throw the fish over their shoulder into the river, without looking at it, believing the disease will go with the nails. The natives of the Tonga Isl- ands never wash themselves when they are sick, as they think they will wash away a cure and never get well. The Scotch will never swallow pills in even numbers. A sick person must not go to bed when the sun is setting. (Mada- gascar.) A sick person sleeping at that time, must be aroused and made to sit up, or the disease will be in- creased. (Madagascar.) A sick person must not look at the setting sun, lest he die. (Mad- agascar.) Bits of cloth taken from the clothing are tied on trees near graves which are regarded as sa- cred, in order to get rid of sick- ness. To leave sickness behind, the person must not turn back after he has once tied the rag on the tree. (Turkish and Circassian.) A well in County Dublin called the “Chink Well,” is covered by salt water at high tide, yet itself re- 38o ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. mains pure and fresh. Leave a piece of bread on the brink of the well, and if this is carried away by the next tide, any disease you have is thought to depart with it. The Welsh well of St. Winifred's at Holywell has for seven hundred years been flocked with patients to be cured; it is said that nearly every disease can be cured. Another well with medical virtues is St. Clare's, found in Denbighshire, Wales. Medical rings were once very seriously believed in. Physicians were wont to wear finger-rings in which stones were set, and these stones were credited with many virtues. Sometimes the patient was only touched with the ring, and sometimes it was put on the pa- tient's finger for a while. It is a Spanish belief that if a black cat appears about a house where a person who has by evil means accumulated a large fortune, thereby depriving many honest people of their daily bread, is lying ill, and the black cat mews, it is a very bad omen, for the truth is that the devil himself is on the alert. In a chronic sickness, take a stone, and rubbing the patient, say: “Out, sickness! From marrow to bone, from bone to flesh, from flesh to skin, from skin to hair, from hair to stone!” Then lay the stone in its original place. The stone will carry off the disease every day, and leave it in the air until all is gone. In all cases of cure the magic in the South Mountains, Pa., depends upon words said in the name of God, the Son and the Holy Ghost. The people say the power lies in words and words alone. The im- pious use of holy names and allu- sions to the sufferings of Christ seem to be the “root of power” of these words. “Jesus, saviour of men, in Jesus trust, and in Mary trust, truly for all grace. Whoever reads this charm or hears it cannot be hurt by fire nor tempest nor the knife nor the lance. Neither can the devil have power over him, nor will he die an untimely death, but safety from all dangers will be his to the end.” The Irish believe that many dis- eases are simply the tormenting of displeased fairies; to drive them off, they place themselves in a sweating bath, covered over with branches. Stones are heated, hot water pour- ed over them, and the patient crouches over them until a violent perspiration is produced, which carries off the disease. The sacredness of wedding rings, charms, and amulets frequently be- came mixed up in the minds of the people with the idea of “sympa- thy,” “transplantation,” and the like; the idea of a sacred place for the burial of such things was lost, and it was sufficient if the weakness of the patient was buried quietly and thus got rid of forever. In Japan, if one is sick, they think the patient has a fox in him, and they send for the priest, who, by beating a drum at three beats each half-minute, all night long, will drive him out. The fox is the cause of a thousand ills to the peo- ple. He is reverenced because he is supposed to be the cunningest creature in all creation. The two hard bones found just within the sides of the head of a fish and called, from analogy, the “ear-bones or ear-stones,” though correctly speaking, they are not that, were in ancient times held in great repute as charms among the Romans. They were supposed to cure several maladies, especially FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 381 colic. They lost their efficacy if purchased. A remarkable instance of the efficacy of charms in disease was communicated to Zwelfer by the chief physician of the States of Mo- ravia, who having prepared some troches, or lozenges, of toads, after the manner of Von Helmont, not only found that, being worn as amulets, kept him and his friends from taking the plague, but being applied to carbuncles and buboes, the result of the disease, it cured and saved many. To keep diseases out of the house, the Japanese frequently put up images of their house-god in front of their houses, or adorn their house-doors with liverwort, or fas- ten an “ofary,” a small wooden box, consecrated by a priest, on their street-doors. The Karens, a native race of Burmah and Siam, make a sacrifi- cial feast when a person is sick, to appease the spirit that is afflicting the patient. This will release the captive soul. They offer a portion of the food to the spirits by placing it outside the house or village. Birds quickly seize and carry off this food, and they believe the spirit of ill will leave. The “Bear Cure” for rheuma- tism and fevers, is a favorite with the peasants of Roumania. Gipsies roam around the country with their tame bears, which they lend for the healing charm. The bear walks over and around the sick man, who pulls out some of the hair from the fur of the animal. The hair is worn in the bosom of the patient. A peculiar kind of parchment- charm is a phylactery, a bit of pa- per, on which a few words of sacred writ have been traced. If worn on the person, it is held to be a charm against diseases and calamity. The Hebrews in the East used to carry an amulet written with a Hebrew verse from the Bible, to ward off all evil, and some of the Moham- medans with an Arabian sentence from the Koran. - A ring made in the following way is said to be a charm against many diseases: Five pieces of the same kind of coin, collected from five different bachelors, to be con- veyed by the hand of a bachelor to a Smith who is a bachelor; none of the persons who give the coins to know for what purpose or by whom it is to be worn. Seeing how every phase of na- ture had its special divinity, we learn that in imperial times in Rome, according to Varro, there were three temples dedicated to the goddess of fever, one to mephitis, one to the evil eye, and near the Praetorian camp, there was an al- tar to Verminous, god of microbes, and in the very center of the forum, an altar to Cloacina, the goddess of typhoid. This is the charm used by witches in curing diseases, after they have received their pay of a penny and a loaf: “My loaf in my lap, My penny in my purse, Thou art never the better, And I am never the worse.” To be taken sick on Sunday, sel- dom recover. To be taken sick on Monday, all doings on this day successful. To be taken sick on Tuesday, temptation to dishonesty. To be taken sick on Wednesday, will recover with many losses. To be taken sick on Thursday, very little sickness to follow. To be taken sick on Friday, quite often sick, but not dangerous. 382 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. To be taken sick on Saturday, always ailing, never well. The bed of a sick person in China is beaten with the branch of a willow tree, and the evil spirit will Quickly leave him. The bedstead of the sick person in China is also often beaten with a peach-branch, to drive off the evil spirits, so the person may recover his health. Frequently a scourge made of hemp to imitate a snake, is used to beat the sick man's bed in order to expel the malicious spirit that has made him sick. It was believed that the murmur- ing of the following words would cure either man or beast of disease: “Our Lord was the first man That ever thorn pricked upon, It never blistered nor it never belted, And I pray God that this not may.” Pyrrhus, king of Epirus, had the power of assuaging colic and affec- tions of the spleen, by laying the patients on their backs and rubbing his great toe over them. Hadrian recovered persons who had the dropsy by touching them with the points of his fingers, and recovered himself from a violent fever by the same treatment upon himself. Among German princes the Counts of Hapsburg had the power of healing diseases with a kiss. Pliny says that there are men whose whole bodies possess medi- cinal properties, as the Marsi, the Psyli, and others, who cure serpent bites with a mere touch. In China, in cases of sickness, the enchanter seeks to restore the patient to breath by a mystic scroll, inscribed with a vermilion pencil on two pieces of yellow paper. One of them is burnt, the ashes are put in a cup of water, and given to the patient to drink. The other is fas- tened over the door of the dwelling, to keep evil spirits from destroying the efficacy of the charm. The Babylonians had no physi- cians. When a man was ill, they laid him in the public square, and passers-by who had the same dis- ease, gave him some good advice. Nobody was allowed to pass the sick man without asking what was the matter with him. To do so was to bring the same disease on him- self. To charm a handkerchief so that you can cure with it, say nine times: “If it is a white ill thing, or a black ill thing, or a red ill thing, or a sticking, cracking, pricking, stabbing bone ill thing, or a sore ill thing, or a smarting ill thing, let it fall from thee to the earth in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. Amen.” The charm is to be re- peated nine times, and each time the Lord's Prayer is to be said. It is said that if a man will be in a place where nothing is grow- ing but ferns, exactly at midnight, when no sound can be heard, Puck will appear and hand him a purse of gold. (Puck is frequently called Hobgoblin or Robin Goodfellow. Shakespeare, in his “Midsummer- Night's Dream,” represents him as “a very Shetlander among the gos- samer-winged, dainty-limbed fair- ies, strong enough to knock all their heads together, a rough, knurly-limbed, fawn-faced, shock- pated, mischievous little urchin.”) All physical misfortune will be averted from a Japanese family for a year, if at the festival of Letsabun they each have a little figure cut out of white paper, made to repre- sent themselves, and have their names, age, and sex written upon them by the priest. Taking them home, each person rubs the body gently with his “people-shape,” as FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 383 it is called, and says a little Shinto prayer. The next day they are burned in holy water, and all dis- eases burned with them. (Lafcadio Hearn, “Glimpses of Unfamiliar Japan.”) A correspondent writes that there is a cure for cancer, a simple remedy applied to the crown of the head; one for insanity, an herb worn around the neck, though not to touch the cuticle; one for chol- era, to be worn in the stockings; that cholera can never cross. The crown of the head and the soles of the feet are the poles of the body, and remedies applied there will cure, because disease cannot cross them. Another declares that dis- ease can be drawn out of the sys- tem by breathing into your own shoe. When you take it off at night, before the aroma from the foot can escape, place your nose and mouth in it, and breathe into it strongly for ten minutes, not allowing any mixture of the outer air. This will preserve your vital powers instead of letting them go to waste; you take back into your system all you would have lost, and so preserve your equilibrium and defy disease. At one time people believed that they had diseases which no one had ever heard of before and which never have been proved to exist. This came about through a singu- lar advertisement found in the Har- lean M.S., which is to the effect that the writer, having returned from long travels, has to announce that there are certain secret dis- eases which are the real cause of all sickness, that no one knows of them but him, and that he can cure them, and thus stamp out the very root of disease in man. The dis- eases are four in number, and are named, respectively: The strong fives. The marthambles. The moon-pall. The hockogrocle. He was to be consulted at the Three Compasses in Maiden Lane, at reasonable prices, and, of course, he was consulted and got his prices, for were not the people at once certain that they had either the marthambles, or the hockogrocle, or the moon-pall, or the strong fives! Their symptoms at once convinced them of it. When a Chinese is sick, the peo- ple invoke certain gods and god- desses, whom they suppose to have control over certain diseases. If he recovers, it is because the gods will that he shall. When one is suddenly taken with dizziness or pain in the eyes, hands or feet, it is ascribed to evil spirits. One of the methods to destroy these spirits is to use three paper charms; one is to be stuck up over the door of the room, an- other to be worn by the sick per- son, and the third to be burnt, its ashes mingled with hot water, and drunk by the patient. In case the priest is successful in expelling the malignant spirit, medicine is rarely used to restore health. An incantation for disease runs: “O malady, disappear into the heavens. Pain, rise up to the clouds. Inflamed vapor, fly into the air, in order that the wind may take thee away; that the tempest may chase thee to distant regions where neither sun nor moon give their light, where the warm wind does not inflame the flesh. O pain! mount up upon the winged steed of stone and fly to the mountains covered with iron. For he, my be- loved, is too robust to be devoured by disease, to be consumed by pains! Go, O disease, to where the virgin of pains has her hearth, 384 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. where the daughter cooks pains— go to the hill of disease.” (Chal- dean Sorcery and Magic.) The aborigines of the California peninsula use a few herbs in the cure of diseases. They do not, how- ever, content themselves with these natural remedies, but have also re- course to supernatural means, which certainly never brought about a recovery. There are many impostors among them, pretending to possess the power of curing dis- eases, and the ignorant Indians have so much faith in their art that they send for one or more of these scoundrels whenever they are in- disposed. In treating a sick person, these jugglers employ a small tube, which they use for sucking or blowing the patient for a while, making, also, various grimaces and muttering something which they do not understand themselves, un- til, finally, after much hard breath- ing and panting, they show the pa- tient a flint, or some other object previously hidden about their per- Sons, pretending to have at last re- moved the real cause of the dis- order. Twelve of these liars re- ceived one day, by the orders of the missionary, Jacob Baegert, the punishment they deserved, and the whole people had to promise to de- sist in future from these practices, or else he would no more preach for them. But when, a few weeks afterwards, that individual who first of all had engaged to renounce the devil, fell sick, he sent immediately again for the blower to perform the usual jugglery. To East Indian incantations of ages ago and to their imprecations, supernatural power was ascribed, a power which, perhaps, in its mode of operation resembles the more modern display of mesmer- ism or hypnotism. Especially trained experts were taught to use the power in Chaldea, for the pur- pose of healing diseases. The evil spirit which entered a sick person in Chaldea was exorcised by pre- scribed prayers. The following in- cantation was used against the “Maskim,” one of the most terrible class of evil spirits: ,” “They are seven! They are sev- en! In the depths of ocean they are seven. In the brilliancy of the ocean they are seven. They pro- ceed from the ocean depth, from the hidden retreat. They are nei- ther male nor female, those which stretch themselves out like chains. They have no spouse, they do not produce children, they are strangers to benevolence, they listen neither to prayers nor wishes. Vermin come from the mountains, enemies of the god Hea, they are the ven- geance of the gods; raising up diffi- culties, obtaining power by vio- lence. The enemies, they are sev- en! Spirit of the heavens, may they be conjured. Spirit of the earth, may they be conjured!” & When a Ute Indian is sick, he or she will claim that she is possessed by devils, or that a “spell” is upon her. She will not take medicine, but thinks that “poco canti” will bring her out all right. “Poco canti” is faith medicine, chants, and is only perfect when the old medi- cine-man, accompanied by four or five squaws, participates. The per- son shows where the seat of pain or disease is, the old medicine-man chants a little, then places his mouth down, draws in his breath, turns his head back, gargles his throat, then chants, accompanied by the squaws, and thus claims to suck the disease out of the patient. After a few hours (it all depends upon how sick the patient is), the squaws are sentaround the wickiup, or wigwam, or “tepee,” as it is FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 385 called, and switch it all around, to scare off the witches. If the per- son is not better then, he or she goes to the door with a gun, shoots twice, and thus drives them away. If this does not cure him, he is doomed by God to die. According to Dr. Giuseppe Petré, author of “Sicilian Popular Medicine,” if a disease shows itself unlocalized and chronic, it is attrib- uted to witchcraft, the evil eye, or other supernatural cause. If a child wastes away, it may be conjectur- ed that his mother failed to use the formula, “With the permission of these mistresses!” The ladies with- out, therefore, offended by neglect, have caused the decline, or have exchanged the patient with another infant. In the case of a possessed person, the spirit is to be cast out by the nostrils or other aperture. Cholera is still believed to be sent by the government, whose agents are the physicians. This disastrous notion was encouraged by Gari- baldi, who in 1860 presented the Si- cilians with the antithesis: “Colera o leva? Will you submit to general conscription, or do you prefer to have the cholera let loose on your heads?” This speech has since been quoted as irrefragable proof that the disease is the product of the ad- ministration. It is conceived that the authorities are zealous in cleansing the streets because dirt acts as a prophylactic. To keep out the infection all chinks which might conduce to ventilation are stopped up. The methods relied on to prevent the spread of the dis- ease are processions, exhibition of relics, etc. Within the last few years, Dr. D'Erf-Wheeler, of the English mis- sion hospital for Jews at Jerusalem, has come across several instances of the secret practice of a dark su- says: perstition known as “Indulco.” He “As an example of gross Superstition, I may mention the cure called ‘Indulco' or ‘Indulca,’ probably from the Latin, to sweet- en. It is used for blindness, epilep- Sy, barrenness, and is divided into two classes, the great and the small Indulca. The small Indulca is done in this way: All the household of the patient, as well as all the neigh- bors who live in the same enclosure or adjoining rooms, are obliged to leave their dwellings for a few days, and the patient is left alone in his chamber with the witch who under- stands the secret. The chamber must be previously emptied, white- washed, and decently arranged, and all holy books removed. The patient is forbidden to pray, to re- cite the daily portion of the Scrip- tures, to mention the word heaven or anything concerning holy writ, and the witch prepares a little bar- ley, wheat, salt, water, milk, honey, four or six eggs, sweetmeats and sugar. At midnight she mixes these ingredients together and scat- ters a little around the sick bed, on the threshold, and in the four cor- ners of the room. She then makes a prayer to ‘My Lords,’ offering her life in the place of the patient; and if the patient does not improve at once, it is kept up nine nights. The “great Indulca’ differs only by greater ceremony and lasting 45 days.” The white doctor works upon a disordered organism. The Chero- kee doctor works to drive out a ghost or a devil. According to the Cherokee myth, disease was in- vented by the animals in revenge for the injuries inflicted upon them by the human race. The larger animals saw themselves killed and eaten by man, while the smaller an- imals, reptiles, and insects were trampled upon and wantonly tor- 386 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. tured until it seemed that their only hope of safety lay in devising some way to check the increase of man- kind. The bears held the first council, but were unable to fix up- on any plan of procedure, and dis- persed without accomplishing any- thing. Consequently the hunter never asks pardon of the bear when he kills one. Next the deer assem- bled, and after much discussion, in- vented rheumatism, but decreed at the same time that if the hunter driven by necessity to kill a deer, should ask its pardon according to a certain formula, he should not be injured. Since then every hunter who has been initiated into the mysteries asks pardon of the slain deer. Sickness is supposed by the Canadian Indians, to be caused by an evil spirit, and the effort is to drive out this spirit from the pa- tient. The latter is usually stretch- ed on his back in the center of a large lodge, while his friends sit round in a circle beating drums. The Sorcerer, grotesquely painted, enters the ring chanting, and pro- ceeds to expel the spirit by press- ing both clenched fists with all his might in the pit of the stomach, kneading and pounding also other parts of the body, blowing occa- sionally on his own fingers, and sucking blood from the part sup- posed to be affected. Each tribe of the South Austra- lians has its own doctor, who has but one remedy for every disease. When the doctor visits the patient, he ascertains the seat of the pain, and he then squeezes the part af- fected between his hands, and sucks it with his mouth; having done this for a minute or two, he spits out a piece of stick or a small pebble, or a bit of seaweed; in the evening the doctor and the sick man's friends assemble round him, and sing as loud as they can, to drive away the disease. The doc- tor sits in front of the patient, with two sticks, one in each hand, with which he beats the air; and the women beat upon their kangaroo or opossum skins, which they have previously rolled up tight, holding them between their knees. Mr. Cordy Jeafferson, in an issue of the Leisure Hour, tells the tale of the cure of a Welshman in London more than a couple of centuries ago, that puts into the shade the most marvelous effects produced by such nostrums as Nemo's Salt or Swalloway's Pills in our own day. After recounting the per- formances of medicos in the days of Elizabeth, he goes on to say: “The story of Sir Kenelm Dig- by's Sympathetic Powder enables us, whilst reviewing the sci- ence and practice of the doc- tors of the seventeenth cen- tury, to realize what their more ed- ucated patients believed or were ready to believe respecting disease and its treatment. Sir Kenelm made his celebrated powder in the following manner: After dissolv- ing vitriol in warm water, he filter- ed the solution, and left it in the air to evaporate till a thin scum ap- peared on the surface. Closely cov- ered, this solution was kept in a cool place for two or three days, when it precipitated fair green crys- tals, that were exposed in a large flat earthen dish to the heat of the sun in the dog days, till the sun calcined them. When thus calcin- ed, they were roughly powdered, and again exposed to the sun for further calcination, and put again in the mortar for further tritura- tion. This treatment was repeated till the crystals had been reduced to the finest possible powder, which FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 387 possessed truly marvelous proper- ties. Good for many things, it was especially efficacious for the cure of wounds. If a piece of a wounded man's raiment, stained with blood from the wound, were dipped in water holding some of this miracu- lous powder in solution, the wound of the injured person forthwith be- gan to heal. It mattered not how long a time had elapsed since the infliction of the wound, or how far the sufferer was away from the place where the bit of bloodstained raiment was placed in the sympa- thetic solution. The patient might be dying in Paris or Madrid, and the piece of stained linen or velvet might be operated upon in Lon- don. It was not needful that the patient should place faith in the remedy, or even that he should know how his cure was being com- passed, at the distance of a thou- sand, or any number of thou- sands of miles. Coming ac- cidentally on two of his friends when they were fighting a duel with swords, James Howel, the author of the ‘Dendrologia,” with excellent motives and inconvenient consequences, interposed between the combatants, and tried to sepa- rate them. The immediate result of this interference was that Mr. Howel retired from the field with his hands badly cut by the swords of the belligerents. Five days later, when his hands were in so bad a way that the surgeons feared the wounds would gangrene, Mr. Howel had recourse to Sir Kenelm Digby, the knight whom his eulo- gizersdelighted to term ‘a gentleman absolute in all numbers’ (whatever that may mean). Taking from his visitor a garter, stained with blood from the wounded hands, Sir Ken- elm, without letting the sufferer know or suspect what was about to be done, threw the article of cos- tume into a vessel that contained some of the vitriolic solution. The cure worked instantaneously. “‘What ails you?' cried Sir Ken- elm, seeing his patient start with a look of mingled surprise and grati- fication. “‘I know not how it has come about, but all the pain has left my hands,’ was the answer. “Me- thinks that a pleasing kind of fresh- ness, as it were a cold napkin, has replaced the inflammation that a minute since was tormenting me.’ “‘Good, rejoined the knight ab- solute in all numbers. ‘Then throw away the medicaments and plais- ters, and only see that you keep the wounds clean.” “Instead of going home like a prudent invalid, Mr. Howel forth- with ran about the town telling his acquaintances of the marvellous af- fair. Catching the gossip of the courtiers, the Duke of Bucking- ham hastened to Sir Kenelm Dig- by to ascertain the exact truth of the matter. After entertaining the duke with dinner, Sir Kenelm, to demonstrate the power of his pow- der, took the garter out of the so- lution, and in his grace's presence dried it before the fire. Scarcely was it dry, when Mr. Howel's serv- ant ran into the room with the an- nouncement that his master's hands were worse than ever—aye, were burning as though they were placed between coals of fire. The servant having been dismissed with an assurance that on returning to his master he would find his wounds painless and free from in- flammation, Sir Kenelm put the garter back in the solution, with a result altogether satisfactory to Mr. Howel and his servant. Dur- ing the next six days there was little talk in the best houses of James the First's London on any subject but Mr. Howel's case and 388 AENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. Sir Kenelm's powder. King James required a series of bulletins, giv- ing him quick intelligence of every change in the patient’s state; and on the completion of the cure, his majesty successfully besought Sir Kenelm to tell him how the powder was made. If he is to be trusted, Sir Kenelm learnt how to make the sympathetic vitriol from a French philosopher, who described the process in an oration delivered to ‘a solemn assembly of nobles and learned men at Montpellier in France.’ Whatever the confidence or distrust to which the knight is entitled, it is certain that for a time educated English people believed in Sir Kenelm and his powder quite as readily and as generally as un- educated people of the present time believe in any imposture of the hour which tickles and fascinates them.” James Howel mentioned here was a very well known man in his day. The son of a curate in Brec- Onshire, he was born at Llangam- march, in that county, in 1594; and by force of character, aided, no doubt, by special good fortune, he early in life made his way in the world. He traveled much on the continent as the agent of a glass- blower; and, after various adven- tures, was appointed secretary to Scrope, Earl of Sunderland, through whose intercession he was made member for Richmond in 1626. He accompanied Robert, Earl of Leicester, ambassador ex- traordinary to the court of Den- mark, as secretary, in 1630, and was a prolific author. A recent number of the Red Dragon maga- zine gave the engraving of a por- trait of him, by Hollar, and some account of his life may be found in Canon Williams’ Eminent Welsh- 111611, A talisman for healing diseases: A B R A C A D A R A A B R A C A D A B R A B R A C A D A B A. A B R A C A D A B R A C A D A B R A CA A B R A C A B R A A B R. A B A The letters which compose this charm must be arranged in a pyra- midal form as shown above, on the purest white wax, of the ordinary thickness, and of a size sufficiently large to admit of the letters being distinctly written by the individual who is sick, or by his next nearest and dearest friend, if the person is too sick to do it himself. For writ- ing them, use a quill made from the wing of a raven, and ink composed of the smoke of concentrated taper and rain water. Let the person who is afflicted with the disease wear the charm hung around the neck, enclosed in a bag of virgin parchment, during the time that the moon performs one circuit of the twelve signs that compose the Zodiac, and let it be commenced on the day of the full moon. The wearer must have full faith in the divine omnipotence and repeat the letters of the talisman in some one of the different directions in which they may be read, daily. If it is re- quired to perform a cure upon one at a distance, or without the afflict- ed person's knowledge, write the talisman as above, and then you may perform the cure by scraping out one line each day with a new knife kept expressly for the pur- pose. As you scrape, say: “So as I destroy the letters of this talisman Abracadabra, so by virtue of this sacred name, may all grief and dolor depart from (here mention FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 389 the name). So I destroy this dis- ease. Amen.” Lucky and Unlucky Days in Sickness. Whoever falls sick or is attacked with any infirmity in the first day of any month, will have to beware of the third day following; if he passes that day, he or she shall re- COVCT. - Those falling sick on the second of any month, though they be long confined, will still recover. Any illness beginning on the third day will certainly terminate favorably. Those falling sick on the fourth day will probably linger until the 28th; if they pass that day, they may possibly recover. Those taken sick on the fifth day may go very low, but will recover. Those falling sick on the sixth day may recover if they pass the fifth day of the ensuing month, but they will stand a poor chance of recovery. § The seventh day is lucky, and those who fall sick on this day may recover even though having to en- dure great suffering. The eighth day is an unfortunate one, and those falling ill on it are not likely to survive. Illness beginning on the ninth day will not usually prove fatal, though sometimes it may. On the tenth day the contrary holds good. The eleventh day is unusually fortunate for those falling sick. They will speedily recover. It is a bad omen to be taken sick on the twelfth day of any month, for if you do not recover within two or three days, you will most certainly die within the year. Those taken sick on the thir- teenth day will quite likely recover, if they pass the fifth day following. The fourteenth is a lucky day, and those taken sick on it will re- cover in forty-eight hours. On the contrary, those taken ill on the fifteenth day may experience a long and lingering illness, which will probably prove fatal. Those taken ill on the sixteenth, may escape after some weeks of ill- 116SS. Persons taken ill on the seven- teenth day, are very apt to die in three weeks. The eighteenth is a lucky day, and those taken ill will undoubtedly re- COVCI. The nineteenth is also lucky, though the sickness may last much longer. The twentieth is an uncertain day, and sickness beginning on this day frequently terminates fatally, if it continues more than five days. The twenty-first perils one's life for ten days. Those passed, you will recover. Those taken sick on the twenty- second will die in forty-eight hours, or recover after that time. The twenty-third will stand a chance of lingering illness, which will terminate favorably. The twenty-fourth is an unlucky day, and those taken sick then, will, though partially restored, die in three months. The twenty-fifth is a very favora- ble day, and the sick will get well rapidly. The twenty-sixth portends a long illness, which will terminate favor- ably. The twenty-seventh threatens death, though the chances of re- covery are fair. 390 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. Death menaces those taken sick on the twenty-ninth. The thirtieth and thirty-first are uncertain days, and those taken sick on those days may recover or die. Diseases, Etc. NECK–A necklace of horse- hair will cure goitre. If a person has the muscles of his neck turn stiff and draw to one side, it is a sign that he will be hanged. A gold chain worn over a neck with a goitre or “big neck,” will cause the goitre to disappear. Draw the chain as tight as possible. Coil a snake about a goitre nine times, then cork the snake in a bot- tle and bury it. As the snake dis- appears, the goitre will also disap- pear. There is a superstition in Sicily that anyone troubled with goitre can be cured by eating a peach on St. John's night, if the peach tree dies. An ornamental necklace, made of hair taken from the tail of a gray stallion, plaited together and fas- tened in front with a neat gold clasp, worn around the neck, will prevent or cure a wen or a thick neck. In the Hartz mountains and Si- lesia the remedy for goitre is to turn one's face to the increasing moon three evenings in succession, and then take a stone, silently touch the swelling with it and throw it over the left shoulder. Another cure for the swelling of the neck: The patient must go be- fore sunrise on May morning to the grave of the last one buried of opposite sex, and apply the dew gathered by passing the hand three times from the head to the foot of the grave, to the parts affected by the ailment. (South Mountains, Pa.) For swelling of the neck: Take a living snake by the head and tail, and draw it nine times across the front part of the neck of the person afflicted, the reptile being allowed each time to crawl about for a while. After- wards, the Snake is put alive into a bottle, which is corked tightly, and then buried. It will effect a cure. NERVOUS D IS E A S E S- When a nervous person will raise his hat or bow, the elves will leave him. A silver basin of water tilted so that the moon can shine in it, then drank with closed eyes, after the person has looked steadfastly at the moon, will cure nervous and heart troubles. (India.) Dr. James says: “Oil of earwigs is good to strengthen the nerves under convulsive emotion, by rub- bing it on the temples, wrists and nostrils.” Dean Swift wrote, allud- ing to the superstition: “Doll never flies to cut her lace Or throw cold water in her face, Because she heard a sudden drum Or found an earwig in a plum.” NEURALGIA—Neuralgia can be cured by wearing the rattles of a rattlesnake in the hatband of the sufferer. NOSE BLEEDING—To cure nose-bleed, write the name of the person on his forehead. For nose-bleed, wear a red bean on a white string around the neck. An article ironed on Sunday will stop nose-bleeding. A black sheep's wool placed in the nostrils, will stop nose-bleed. g"r v. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 391 If your nose bleeds on the left side, crush the little finger of your right hand; and for the other side, do the opposite. A nutmeg, strung and worn around the neck, will cure or pre- went the bleeding of the nose. A blue cornflower pulled up by the roots on Corpus Christi day, stops nose-bleeding, if held in the hand till it grows warm. If your nose will not stop bleed- ing, place two straws on the floor in the form of the cross, and let it bleed on them. It will soon stop. An Arabic remedy for bleeding at the nose is for the man to go to a priest whose name is Maroun, and let him write his name back- wards, and use as a charm or amu- let. To stop nose-bleeding, chew or- dinary chewing-gum, go outside the house, and hold your hand as high as you can on the wall. Or put a piece of silver in the mouth. Or lay an open knife on the back of the neck. As regards the superstition that to bleed at the nose is something ominous, Launcelot says, in the “Merchant of Venice”: “It was not for nothing that my nose fell a-bleeding on Black Monday last!” The following is a charm for nose-bleeding: “In the blood of Adam sin was taken, In the blood of Christ it off was shaken, And by the name of blood I do thee charge, That the blood from your nose no longer run at large.” - For nose-bleeding, get an old woman, Dutch preferred, to repeat these lines: This virgins came from Jordan's and, Each with a bloody knife in her hand; Stem, blood, stem, Bloody nose in Heaven’s name, mend!” The same will cure a bloody mouth. PAIN–A “loadstone” will draw out pain. For “stitch” in your side, wet your finger and cross your toes. (Gloucestershire, England.) When one suffers pain, a serpent applied over the affected part will cause it to cease. (Hindu.) Cobwebs wet in hot water and applied externally, are recommend- ed for pains in the kidneys and bladder. To say the Lord's Prayer when rubbing the hand over the seat of pain, will often relieve the sufferer. For a stitch in the side rub the affected part with unsalted butter, make the sign of the cross seven times over the place, and it will get well. In North India, a kite is killed on a Tuesday and the bones worn in a string about the heart, to cure pain. Pains in joints may be cured by spitting on the joint and singing nine times this cantation: “Malignus obligavit, Angelus curavit, Dominus salvavit.” To take away pains in the body, rub the part with flax and tow heated in the fire, repeating in Irish: “In the name of a rough man, and a wild man, and the lamb of God, be healed of your pains and your sins; so be it, Amen.” It is said that a person afflicted with a pain in the side should wear a ring of pure gold inscribed with certain Greek letters; if the pain is in the right side, the ring should be worn on the left hand, and should be done upon Thursday or the decrease of the moon. 392 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. The Eskimos believe that pain is directly caused by the devil, and So the oldest person takes all the pot-crooks, hoops, or such things, and taking a poker, turns over all the skins in the wigwam to drive him away. They also appease him by sitting in profound silence, not even letting a child cross the floor. If that does not cure the sick one, they kill a dog or some other ani- mal, and even resort to human sac- rifice. A man forced his wife to kill his neighbor’s wife, thinking thus to save his own life, but the charm failed. PALATE–Pull up the crown lock of your head, if you have a dropped palate, and it will return to its proper place. PALPITATION OF THE HEART-Swabians believe that palpitation of the heart may be re- lieved by secretly lifting a stone from the ground, spitting on it three times, and replacing it. To be affected by a sudden con- vulsive throbbing coming from a sudden palpitation of the heart, ap- parently without cause, is the sign of a dear friend’s dying. PALSY-To escape palsy, you must be bled on the 14th of March. PARALYSIS-Shoot a silver bullet over a paralytic person, and he will be cured. The following superstition was thought by the ancient Scotch to cure paralysis: Take the clippings of the toe and fingernails, wrap them in wax and early in the morn- ing, before the rising sun, affix the parcel to the door of a neighbor’s house, or else tie it on the back of a living crab, and throw the crab back into the stream. PHLEGM–Jet, as well as am- ber, if hung about one’s neck, is profitable against the distillation of phlegm in the throat and lungs. PHYSICIAN-No doctor will head a page of a hotel register; it is unlucky. If you settle your doctor's bill in full, it is the sign that you will re- quire his services soon again. It is unlucky for a doctor to topple over at the bedside of a sick person; it is a sure sign of death. PIMPLE–In a village near Portland, Maine, they have the no- tion that pimples may be removed by moistening with Saliva. Lane, in his book on “Modern Egyptians,” says that they had a peculiar ceremony over a pimple on the edge of the eyelid. The per- son so affected went to any seven women of the name of Fatimah, in seven different houses, and begged from each of them a piece of bread; those seven pieces of bread would cure the pimple. PNEUMONIA—It is said that that when a person is suffering with pneumonia, the friend should fill a bottle with water, cork it tightly, and bury it neck down- wards. When the water begins to . leak out, the patient will begin to improve, and recover when the water is all gone. If the water does not escape, it is a sign that the patient will die. POISON.—The Hindu thinks the myrtle is capable of dispelling the poison of serpents. Nourgehan's bracelet gave warn- ing of poison by a tremulous motion of the stones, which in- creased as the poison approached nearer and nearer. (The Four Tal- ismans.) In old times existed a belief in slow poison, that persons could FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 393 be made to “burst” with it, and that it could be regulated in time like a clock, so that it would take effect at the moment desired. This idea that a poison could be set like an alarm clock for a certain number of hours, is illustrated by the speech of Cornelius in Shake- speare’s “Cymbeline,” in relating the Queen's confession: “She did confess she had For you a mortal mineral; which, being took, Should by the minute feed on life, and, lingering, By inches waste you.” It has been believed that the na- tive Africans possessed the secret of how to temper poisons so finely that they should not take effect and operate until several years after they were administered. Shake- speare, who never missed a chance for comparison, makes Gonzales Say: “All three of them are desperate; their great guilt Like poison given to work a great time after, Now 'gins to bite the spirits.” (The Tempest, iii., 3.) Poison, among the ignorant, was always believed to swell the body So as to make a person burst open with it. Take a great, overgrown toad and tie it up in a leather bag prick- ed full of holes, and put bag and all in an ant-hill. The ants will eat away all its flesh, then you can find a stone of marvelous virtue. If a man is poisoned, this stone will draw all the poison to it presently; if he is stung or bitten by an adder, by touching it with this stone both pain and swelling will presently CeaSé. “There’s a good deal of pizen in people, especially in red-headed men. All folks hev some, but there's more pizen in a red-headed man than in a man with black hair, a good deal. In London a red-head- ed man who was a sailor sold him- self to a doctor, for quite a sum of money. The doctor strung him up by his heels, and put a toad at his mouth, and the man died, and a great lot of green, nasty-looking pizen oozed out, that the doctor said was very valuable.” PUSTULES-Pustules on the lips are a sign that mice have gnawed the eatables. QUINSY-If you have quinsy, procure a live toad, hang it, and leave it till the body drops from the head. Then tie the string about your throat, and do not remove it till your fiftieth birthday. You will never be troubled with quinsy again. RACHITIS-In Shetland, the scum that rises from slugs kept in a bottle will cure the rickets. In the East Indies, if a child with rickets passes through a perforated stone, it will be cured. In South Wales they have a dis- ease which they call Llech, which means rickets. Only this Llech is not confined to children. They are able to detect some string pulling on the kidney, which, if left uncut, would draw that organ up into the head. By cutting a small notch on the ear this string is broken, and the kidney drops back again into its normal position. A cure for the rickets is to have a blacksmith whose ancestors have been blacksmiths for three genera- tions, carry the child three times around the anvil for seven days in succession, repeating the Pater- noster each time. THEUMATISM – A Welsh curé for rheumatism consisted in 394 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. wearing a little powdered brim- stone in the stocking. Wear an iron ring on the fourth finger, and you will not have rheu- matism. If you put a fiddlestring around your waist, you will never have rheumatism. Bind the limbs with nine withes of certain trees, and you will be cured of rheumatism. (Norway.) In Norway there is a cross in a certain burying-ground, to touch which is believed to cure rheuma- tism. If you fasten your clothing with pins that have been stuck into a toad or frog, you will find it an ex- cellent remedy for rheumatism. To crawl under a bramble which had formed a second root in the ground, was thought in the North to cure rheumatism. In Malta, amateurs of the heal- ing art advise those who suffer from rheumatism, to carry about a dried fish in the pocket as a charm for its cure. In Sussex, the belief is prevalent that by placing a pair of bellows in the sufferer’s chair, so that he may lean against it, it will charm the rheumatics away. If you have rheumatism, get a frog-spawn, put it in a crock and bury it for three months. It will be found full of water, which will cure you if you bathe in it. When a man in Scotland in an- cient times was afflicted with pains in his joints, a sheep was flayed alive and the skin was placed over the rheumatic part while the sheep was still living. If you turn a bed in which a person is sick with rheumatism, with its head to the north, and put a tumbler under it, it will cure the disease. For rheumatism and neuralgia, take a piece of copper wire large enough to go over your head, have is soldered, wear it around your neck, and it will cure you. Corks suspended to the garter are supposed to be a cure for rheu- matism, and this belief is still in vogue, for but recently, after the death of a sufferer in Winchcombe, Gloucestershire, England, the gar- ters and corks were found on her legs. A well-known, respectable serv- ant of the Wynniatt family of Stanton Court, Gloucestershire, England, was three times con- firmed for the rheumatism, as that is considered a great remedy. Rheumatism can be cured by carrying the bone of the haddock that lies under the marks of Christ's fingers in the pocket. This bone must not be lent or touched or even seen by any, after the pos- sessor gets it. To cure rheumatism, “You go in de lot, up to de fence. Den put you bres on it an’ say, ‘I lef’ you here, I lef’ you here,' three times, then you go way an' don't you never come back here no more.” (French- Canadian.) In Michigan, U. S., a double cedar knot is carried in the pocket to cure the rheumatism. In south- ern Michigan, people carry a peb- ble in the pocket to prevent rheu- matism. In New Hampshire, a man car- ried a gall from the stems of the golden-rod, for rheumatism. A small white grub is found in the gall, and as long as it lives, the dis- ease cannot touch him. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 395 Formula for treating the rheu- matism: “Listen! Ha! In the Sun Land you repose, O red dog. O now you have swiftly drawn near to hearken. O great adawehi, you never fail in anything. Oh, appear and draw near running, for your prey never escapes. You are now come to remove the intruder. Ha! You have settled a very small part of it far off there at the end of the earth. Listen! Ha! etc. O blue dog, O black dog. O white dog. O white terrapin. It is for you to loosen its hold on the bone. Re- lief is accomplished!” (Prescription): Lay a terrapin shell on the rheumatic spot and keep it there while the five kinds of spirits listen. On finishing, then blow once. Have a good deal of medicine boiling, and apply with the hands. Fern roots make the medicine, including the roots of maidenhair fern, bear’s bed, cinna- mon fern and the like. “The in- truder” is the disease. The following is also used and believed in for treating rheuma- tism: “Yu! O red woman! you have caused it! You have put the in- truder under him. Ha! Now you have come from the Sun Land. You have brought the small red seats with your feet resting upon them. Ha! Now they have swiftly moved away from you. Relief is accomplished. Let it not be for one night alone. Let the relief come at once.” If treating a man, one must say red woman; and if a woman, one must say red man. This is the tabu for seven nights. One must not touch a squirrel, a dog, a cat, a woman nor a mountain trout. (Cherokees.) To ward off rheumatism, carry a small potato, or a horse-chestnut, or a cedar knot, or a bone from a chicken-wing in your pocket. To cure rheumatism, carry the last double tooth in the jawbone of a hog in your pocket, or wear a ring that has previously been in a hog's nose. Charmed belts were commonly worn in Lancashire to cure rheu- matism. The Chinese say that the jelly of tiger-bones cures rheumatism. RINGWORM-Cut off the end of a black cat’s tail, put the blood On a ringworm, and the ringworm will presently disappear. Ringworms may be killed by moistening with saliva, if care is taken to rub the finger in the same direction that the sun moves. To cure a ringworm, rub it nine times a day for nine days with your mother's wedding ring. A copper cent moistened and rubbed on a ringworm will cause it to disappear. RUPTURE –Children afflicted with rupture, are passed through the slit in an ash tree, and the tree is then bound firmly together. As it closes, so will the rupture be cured. ST. VITUS DANCE—People afflicted with St. Vitus dance are made worse by seeing red clothing. In East Anglia, a cure for St. Vitus dance is effected by a band playing in the cottage where the victim is lying. The following charm, written on a piece of parchment, was carried about by people afflicted with St. Vitus dance: “Shake her good devil, Shake her once well, Then shake her no more Till you shake her in hell.” 396 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. SCARLET FEVER—Scarlet fever is called “red wolf” by the Turks. * Scarlet fever is charmed away from a human being to an ass, by mixing some of the hair of the former with the ass’s fodder. It is an old belief that salt her- rings tied on the soles of the feet, and tar smeared around the throat, will cure scarlet fever. To cure scarlet fever, cut off some of the hair of the sick one and put it down the throat of a donkey. (Irish.) When all other remedies fail to cure scarlet fever, take a hair from the sufferer, and put it down the throat of a mule, with a firm belief in its efficacy. The wearing of arsenic (in a small bag) as an amulet was very common in ancient times; it was worn about the heart, in the belief that one poison could drive out an- other. Children wear a little bag with arsenic sewed up in it, and tied in front of the throat, to pre- vent having scarlet fever. SCROFULA—The Scotch be- lieve that"king's evil” is caused by 3. WOTIT1. If a person drinks out of a skull, he will never have scrofula. A Manx charm for the king's evil: “I am to divide it in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; whether it be a sprite's evil, or a King's evil, may this divided blemish banish this distemper to the sand of the sea.” In Macedonia, a person suffer- ing from scrofula is told to go to a certain place and find a bone. This bone he must rub three times on the wall and three times on the diseased part. When this process has been repeated three times, re- covery is supposed to follow. Scrofula is called the king's evil from a notion, which prevailed in England from the reign of Edward the Confessor to that of Queen Anne, that it could be cured by the royal touch. The French kings claimed the same divine power. Louis XIV. is said to have touched over 1,600 persons, using the words: “Le roy te touche, Dieu te guerisse.” Henry VII. intro- duced the practice of presenting the “touched” person with a small gold or silver coin, called a touch- piece, or “angel,” from its device. It was used as an amulet ever after, and believed to be able to cure as well as the “touch.” So many were given away that it made a charge of three thousand pounds yearly on the public exchequer. “There are a crew of wretched souls That stay his cure; their malady con- V111CeS The great assay of art; but at his touch, Such sanctity hath heaven given his hand, They presently amend. . . . . . The disease is call'd the evil; A most miraculous work in this good king, Which often, since my here-remain in England, I have seen him do. How he solicits Heaven, Himself best knows; but visited people, All swollen and ulcerous, pitiful to the eye, The mere despair of surgery, he cures, Hanging a golden stamp about their necks, Put on with holy prayers; spoken To the succeeding royalty he leaves The healing benediction. With this strange virtue, He hath a heavenly gift of prophecy, And sundry blessings hang about his throne That speak him full of grace.” (Shakespeare, Macbeth, iv., 3) Among the singular incidents connected with the wandering of strangely- and 'tis FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 397 young King Charles after the bat- * tle of Worcester, it is recorded that his nose bled frequently, and the dirty and tattered handkerchief he used was sacredly kept as an amu- let and charm for long after, to cure “king's evil.” Flannel dyed nine times in blue, is said to cure scrofula. A belief, to be found all over the world, and at all times, is that cer- tain diseases can be cured by the patient merely being touched by the king, the queen, the pope, the high priest, or some other exalted person. Faith cure is a modern il- lustration of this belief, based on the miracles worked by Christ, as told in the Bible. The legends of the saints tell us of many instances, where saints cured the sick by merely laying their hands upon them; thus St. Francis is said to have healed the child Bonaventura, who later became a famous saint and wrote a biography of St. Fran- cis. The people of Morocco believe implicitly in their sultan's healing as well as prophetic power; and in England the belief in the efficacy of the sovereign's touch to cure scrofula has been in vogue for many centuries. It goes back to Edward the Confessor, who was so Saintly a character that it was sup- posed he had not only the power of healing, but also of transmitting his power to his successors. When Charles II. came to the throne, this belief was at its height, and he “touched” no less than 24,000 per- sons. Queen Anne was the last sovereign in England who per- formed the ceremony of touching, and Dr. Johnson is named as having been taken to her, when a child, for that purpose. SCURVY—The following story about a curious cure of the scurvy was given to a correspondent from Glamorganshire, Wales, some years ago, by an old woman, who said she knew the servant girl who is mentioned in the tale: About eighty years ago there was a servant girl at Llangewydd Court Farm, who suffered much from scurvy, which had broken out all over her face. She was not al- lowed to handle anything that oth- ers might touch, or to do anything in the house, but was employed in outdoor work. One day she was working in the hayfield, raking and shuffling after two mowers. The dairymaid brought them food to the field, viz., Uwda Llaeth, flummery and milk, and had gone to the shelter of the hedge to par- take of it. The dairymaid having departed, one of the mowers lit his pipe, and while he was thus em- ployed, in the enjoyment of a “whiff,” the other mower and the servant girl took a short nap. When everything appeared still and quiet, the man who was Smok- ing, observed a large Snake coming Out of the hedge towards the girl, and he kept very still, watching its movements. The reptile glided slowly towards the girl's face, and seemed to be examining her sores very carefully. Following this, it returned quickly to the hedge, and soon brought back some herb- leaves in its mouth, and placed them gently on each sore, but be- fore the snake had finished its be- nevolent task, the servant girl awoke. The mower, who had been watching all the time, begged her not to move on any account, that a doctor had undertaken her cure, and if she could keep her eyes shut and not move for a short time, she would receive a certain cure for her scurvy. The girl somehow did as she was told, and the snake soon finished dressing her wounds and then took its leave. 398 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. After the snake's departure, the two men went and examined the leaves which had been placed by the snake on the girl's face, and afterwards went to the hedge to see whether they could find any of the same kind; but they could not find any like them on the hedge, or any- where near,and the conclusion they came to was, that the doctor-snake had mashed the leaves in its mouth, and so disfigured them before put- ting them on. Anyhow, the girl was completely cured of the scurvy, but no one was the wiser as to the remedy. SEA-SICKNESS—In Iceland a turf from a graveyard is thought to be a sure preventive of sea-sick- Il CSS, SHINGLES-If the shingles meet around your waist, it will kill you. For shingles, Mr. Washbourne and Mr. Davies, the well-known and respected clerks of Oxenton and Winchcombe churches (Eng- land), have frequently been re- quested to supply grease from the church-bells as a remedy. SICK ROOM-If a patient longs for a room upstairs, he will not live. If the odor of a sick room is par- ticularly strong and clinging, the patient will die. In sweeping out a sick room, re- turn and sweep three times before the bed, to insure recovery. If persons keep constantly counting the objects in the sick chamber, it is considered a bad O1116.11. In Scotland the people used to think that death was pitifully pro- longed if the door of the sick chamber was kept closed. SICK VISIT-Ill fortune will attend sick persons, if “good-bye” is said to them while in bed. If you step on an ant-hill when you go to see a sick person, you will carry recovery with you. If a doctor goes to see a patient and his horse paws a hole in the ground, the patient will die. If you meet a sickly child when going to visit a sick person, the pa- tient will not recover. If a physician stumbles when he enters a house, it is a sign that he will be unable to cure the patient in the house. Never visit the sick in company with two others. Three at a time will cause a change for the worse. If the minister's horse hangs his head when he stands in front of a house where the minister is visiting a sick person, no hope is left for the patient. There is a saying that if you visit the house of a sick person, and leave it without sitting down, you will take the sleep and rest of the patient away. SKIN DISEASES — Alder leaves carried in the pocket will prevent galling from heat. The first water that falls in June is supposed to cure all skin dis- eases, and it is said to be “dretful good for the insides, too!” (West- ford, Mass.) SMALLPOX — Smallpox is called “flowers.” In Borneo, it is forbidden to mention smallpox, lest the disease be brought. If you eat of the first bread a woman ever made, you will never have smallpox. (Persia.) If a person has smallpox, every- FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 399 thing in the room should be red, if you expect him to get well. Negroes burn fires in their yards, thinking it will drive away small- p0X. A piece of paper, bearing the im- pression of a black hand, will ward off an attack of smallpox. It is said that to wrap persons having smallpox in Scarlet cloth will cure them. In Japan a piece of white paper impressed with the characters for the “horse,” carried about the per- son, will protect from the small- pox. The Norwegians believe that they protect themselves from small- pox by wearing sunflower seed. If you have smallpox, put a bright-red cloth over you and go to the top of the house, and when the people cry out, “What is that?” the smallpox will leave you. (Persia.) In Japan an amulet impressed with a black hand will ward off the Smallpox. When there is a smallpox epi- demic, you can drive it away by writing a notice that the children are absent, and posting it on the door. (Japanese.) In Corea, the body of a child who has died of smallpox is wrap- ped in straw and hung up on the city walls. The Coreans believe that smallpox is the work of a ma- levolent demon, and that if they do not bury the child, its spirit may return to it. But some say the de- ceased child is thus hung up to se- cure a longer life to the next born. SPITTING OF BLOOD- When one spits blood, take ants, put them in the blood, let it stand over night, and say over it: “I put these ants into this blood, That his (or hers) may be both well and good; That he his health may soon regain And his lungs be sound and Sane; May his trouble soon be o'er And illness trouble him no more.” SPLEEN–Pyrrhus, king of E- pirus, could cure the spleen by kill- ing a white cock and gently press- ing his right foot on the spleen of persons as they lay down on their backs; nor was anyone so poor or inconsiderable as not to be wel- come, if he desired it, to the ben- efit of his touch. SPLINTERS AND THORNS —A mouse dissected and applied will draw thorns from the flesh. If on picking a splinter from the hand, you rub the splinter in the hair, the place it was extracted from will never be sore. The following is a charm used for wounds caused by thorns: “Unto the Virgin Mary our Savior was born, And on his head he wore the crown of thorn, If you believe this true and mind it well This hurt will never fester nor yet swell.” If you run a splinter into your finger, pick it out, chew it, and you’ll never run one in again. Charm for a thorn: “Christ was of a virgin born, He was pricked with a thorn, It did neither bell nor swell, And I trust in Jesus this never will.” If you get a splinter in your hand on Monday, it signifies death of a friend; if on Tuesday, it signifies unexpected danger; on Wednesday, it signifies approaching marriage; on Thursday, it signifies a separa- tion; on Friday, it signifies an out- rage or insult; on Saturday, it sig- nifies betrayed confidence; on Sun- day, it signifies a forced marriage. SPRAIN–In olden days the fol- 4OO ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. lowing was a charm against sprains: “Haut, haut, hista, pista, vista.” A thread having nine knots in it, fastened around a sprain in Shet- land will cure the sprain. The natives of the Canary islands believe in the following cure of a sprain of the hand or leg: Take a thick, coarse rag, a needle with strong thread, sew the rag around the painful part, and while sewing, say: “Saint and blessed Ildefonso, and the Sovereign Virgin both are going the same road. St. Ilde- fonso fell. Flesh was ruptured and the Virgin cured him. What shall I send? Flesh? Sprained or put out?” Repeat this three times, with the credo, and three times in twenty-four hours. Cure for a sprain: “Sinew to sinew and bone to bone, God makes all right to him who has faith, and be thou healed, O man, in Jesus’ name.” In Scotland, when anyone had met with a sprain, it was customary to apply to an individual practiced in “casting the wrestling thread.” This thread is spun from black wool, on which are cast nine knots, and tied around the sprained leg or arm. During the time the oper- ator is putting the thread around the affected limb, he says, but in such a tone as not to be heard by the bystanders, nor even by the person operated upon : “Our Lord rode, His foal's foot slewed, Down he lighted, His foal's foot righted. Bone to bone, Sinew to sinew, Blood to blood, Flesh to flesh, In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.” SURGICAL OF ERATIONS- In New England, it is said that an amputated limb should be burned; if buried, it will cause great pain to the living limb. Dangerous surgical operations performed in full moon will prove beneficial. STOMACH ACHE – When you have a severe stomach ache, go out and get a stone, Spit on it, replace it exactly where you took it from, and your stomach ache will leave you. SWELLING—A piece of linen wrap taken from a corpse, placed around a swelling, will cure it. TAPEWORM–Cure tape- worms by eating saffron or Onions when the moon is new. TETTERS–If tetters and warts are touched by the hand of a corpse they will disappear. THROAT, DISEASES OF- Never say “sore throat,” say “sore neck;” it will cure faster. In New Hampshire a cure for a Sore throat is to wear a stocking about the neck, in the toe of which a potato has been tied. A nutmeg shaved on each side to flatten it, and worn on a string around the neck, will cure sore throat. A white silk thread worn around the neck, will prevent a quinsy sore throat and the croup. For ulcerated sore throat, take the patient and shake him soundly, thus shaking the devil out of him. Wear a horse-chestnut around your neck to avoid having sore throat. For a stoppage of the throat, hold the person by the throat and exclaim: “Blaize, the martyr and servant of Jesus Christ, commands thee to pass up or down.” tº FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 4OI When England was Catholic, it was believed that a charm in the name of St. Blaize would remove a bone from the throat. (St. Blaize was the patron saint of the wool- combers, because he was torn to pieces with combs.) If you suffer from sore throat, write the following on a piece of paper and stick it to the ceiling: “The ant has neither blood nor poison, Fly, O pain, lest the crab devour thee.” To heal “king's evil,” or any throat Soreness, touch the place with the hand of one who died an untimely death, or let a virgin, fasting, lay her hand on the Sore and spit three times. Scott, in the “Discoveries of Witchcraft,” records an accredited method “To heale the king's or queene's evill, or any other sore- ness in the throat: Let a virgin fasting laie her hand on the sore and say: ‘Apollo denieth that the heat of the plague can increase where a naked virgin quenches it’ —and spit three times upon it.” When a woman has a sore throat, she must take her own apron and measure or fold it in a cross three mornings. Then, before eating, she must cross three pins with a sharp knife stuck in the table, and say: “Devil, I conjure thee alone, In flesh and bone! If I should bewitched be, The witch at once shall set me free, *Till I’m freed from all my pain The knife in the table shall remain, And the witch shall feel the knife, In her soul and in her life!” This is counter-witching the witch. TOOTHACHE–Amber given in wine, will cure the toothache. A horsenail driven into the up- per lintel of the door will cure toothache, but it must be firmly kept there. A double nut carried in the pocket will prevent toothache. To cure toothache, rub the teeth with a bone from a graveyard. It is an infallible cure. Ancient magicians ate mice twice a week to prevent toothache. A cord worn about the loins will ward off toothache. An egg that is laid on Thursday, the white being emptied out and the empty place being filled with salt and gently roasted by the fire, will cure cankered teeth and kill the worms which eat the teeth. To draw a tooth without pain, fill an earthen crucible with emmets, Or ants, eggs and all, and when you have burned them keep the ashes, with which, if you touch a tooth, it will drop out. Putting both stockings on the same foot will cure the toothache. If a woman wraps a man's breeches about her head, it will cure her toothache. If you pick your teeth with the nail of the middle toe of an owl, you will never have toothache. Toothpicks made of wood struck by lightning, will drive toothache away. In Yorkshire, England, a leaf or flower taken from the vessel-cup on Good Friday, will cure the toothache. If you take a tooth from the mouth of a corpse and hang it around your neck, you will be free from toothache. A Swabian cure for toothache is to have the sufferer spit on the un- der side of a silicious stone. In New Zealand the doctor’s prescription is hung about the child’s neck to cure the toothache. Wool taken from a black sheep 4O2 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. and worn constantly in the ear, will prevent anyone from ever having the toothache. A Danish cure for toothache is to put an elder twig in the mouth and then Stick it in a wall, saying: “Depart, thou evil spirit!” Very superstitious people say that if you bring your hands down your face, so that the thumbs meet, three times every morning, you will never have the toothache. If on drinking in honor of an- cestors in Corea, the youngest in the family takes the initiative (as it is allowed to do), he or she will not have toothache for a year. Take a pinch of clay from a priest’s grave and put it in your mouth. Then kneel and say a pa- ter and an ave, and you will never be troubled with toothache. A Roumanian cure for toothache is to take some black bread and sit by an ant-hill and chew it. Spit it out, and as the ants eat it up, you will be rid of the ache. There is a superstition that if a molar tooth is taken from some grave in a churchyard, and sus- pended around a person's neck, it will preserve him from toothache. Cure for toothache: The tooth of a dead horse, or the hand of a dead man, rubbed over the jaw, will be found effective. A remedy called “wormy-lines” is written on paper and worn around the neck of the patient to cure the toothache. Wormy-lines are mystical words, written in a wavering manner, as if in the track of a worm. A Shetland charm against tooth- ache is: “A Finn came over from Norway For to put my toothache away!” Bishop Hall speaks of a charm- patch that was used as a cure for toothache: “Or Gellia wore a velvet mystic patch, Upon her temples when no tooth did ache.” The following is an old magic toothache cure: Hook a dogfish, cut off the horn that projects from the back, and let the fish go back into the sea. Place the horn on the tooth, and as the fish swims away, so will go your toothache. The mountaineer Indians of Labrador believe that they can cure the toothache by fixing a bear’s tooth to the aching tooth, at- tached sometimes to a pair of scis- sors. Another remedy is to wear a haddock's bone around the neck. A person suffering with tooth- ache should drive a nail in the gate at midnight, while the clock is striking the hour, and the first per- son touching the gate will take the toothache. Sufferers from toothache often stick needles into the willow tree in Japan, believing that the pain caused to the tree-spirit will force it to exercise its power to cure. To charm a toothache away, re- peat: “An eel a spiny back, True indeed, indeed, True in sooth, in sooth, You must eat the head Of said spiny back!” If you do not say this, you will be liable to lose your tooth ! A remedy for toothache that was used in England in 1668 is the fol- lowing: Raise and cut the gum about the tooth with an iron nail till it bleeds. Then drive the nail into a wooden beam up to the head. You will be quite sure never to have toothache again as long as you live. When a person has the tooth- ache, let him go and complain to a FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 4O3 tree, preferably a pear tree. This is to be done by taking hold of the tree, going thrice around it, and saying: “Pear tree, I complain to thee! Three worms sting me! The one is gray, the second is blue, the third is red, and I would wish that all were dead.” In the Orkney islands the people write the following on a slip of paper for toothache, and sew it on some garment, and wear it as long as the paper lasts: “Peter sat on a marble stone, weeping. Christ came past and said: ‘What aileth thee, Peter?” 'O my Lord, my God, my tooth doth ache!” “Arise, O Peter, go thy way. Thy tooth shall ache no more.” In Alabama, to cure toothache, go with one of the opposite sex, who carries an axe, and let the bearer chop around the roots of a white oak. Cut off with a jack- knife nine splinters from the root, then cut the root of the aching tooth with the knife, dip each splin- ter in the blood, and bury all at the root of the tree. An Irish recipe for toothache, bids you to go to a grave, kneel upon it, say three paters and three aves for the soul of the dead, then chew a handful of grass, taken from the grave, and spit it out. The toothache will never afterwards trouble you. Another remedy is to vow never to comb your hair on Friday, in- voking the Creator, the Virgin and the new moon. The two jawbones of a haddock have been powerful in allaying the toothache ever since the miracle of the loaves and fishes. If you wish to avoid the tooth- ache, say the sons of the “Ould Dart,” never shave on Sunday. The following words were used in the time of Cervantes for the cure of toothache, and were said to be very efficacious: “Apollonia was at the gate of Heaven and the Virgin Mary pass- ed that way. She said, “Say, Apol- lonia, what are you about? Are you watching or sleeping?’ ‘My Lady, I neither sleep nor watch; I am dying with a pain in my teeth !’ “By the star of Venus and the set- ting sun; by the most Holy Sacra- ment, which I bore in my womb, may no pain in your teeth, neither front nor back, ever affect you from this time forth !’” And so it was, and so it is to all who use this charm. (Apollonia was the wife of Attalus I., king of Pergamus. She was the mother of four sons who were noted for filial piety, and who erected a temple to her memory.) The toothache was once thought to be caused by a worm. One of the most potent remedies was thought to be a charm of some kind or another. In England this charm is a rhyme or a prayer, writ- ten on a piece of paper. Verses for this purpose are current in Ger- many to this day. By an old “yarn,” the patient was to inhale the smoke from a ves- sel in which dried herbs were mix- ed with live coals. He must then breathe over a cup holding water, mixed with wax and serum, when it was said that a worm, the cause of the trouble, would appear in the Cup. In olden times it was believed and practiced that if you would so- licit alms in the name of St. Law– rence, the worst toothache would immediately cease. A person must not look into the mouth of another person suffering from toothache, or he will get it. (Madagascar.) 4O4 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. & Put the first aching tooth you have pulled, in a glass of whiskey. Then drink the whiskey, and you will never have occasion to have another tooth pulled because it aches. (New England.) The Japanese god Agonashi- Jizo cures the toothache in Japan. The people pray to him and then drop into the sea twelve pears, one for each of the twelve months. They believe that the currents will carry all these across the sea to Oki, toothache and all. The name “Agonashi,” is certainly suggestive of toothache, but it really means “Jizo-who-has-no-jaw.” For it is said that in one of his former lives Jizo had such a toothache in his lower jaw that he tore off his jaw and threw it away. Then he be- came a Bosatsu, and the people of Oki made a statue to him without a jaw, and pray to him to cure their toothaches. It was formerly a common super- stition that toothache was caused by a little worm in the form of an eel, which gradually gnawed a hole in the tooth. This notion was some years ago prevalent in Der- byshire, where there was an odd way of extracting the worm. A small quantity of a mixture consist- ing of dry and powdered herbs was placed in a small vessel, into which a live coal from the fire was drop- ped. The patient then held his or her mouth over the vessel and in- haled the smoke as long as it could be borne. The cup was then taken away and a glass of water was placed before the patient. Into this glass the person breathed hard for a few moments, when it was sup- posed that the grub or worm would drop out and be seen in the water. In Orkney, toothache goes by the name of the worm and as a remedy a charm, called “wormy-lines,” is written on a piece of paper and worn as an amulet. TYPHOID FEVER—If you bind Irish potatoes to the feet, it will cure typhoid fever. ULCER—In Sweden it is con- sidered unlucky for a person with an ulcer to pass over a newly-dug grave. VACCINATION.—The natives of San Salvador, British West In- dies, believe that if the pastor vac- cinates the people, he inoculates them with “church matter,” and that it will work in the children to “bring them into the church.” VOMITING—The skin of a chicken's gizzard is said to cure vomiting. WEEPING SINEW–If you find a bone and rub it on a weeping sinew, the weeping sinew will dis- appear. You must, however, throw it over your shoulder. WEN–To touch the hand of a suicide is an infallible cure for a Well. Touch wens with a hanged man's hand and they will go away. It was thought in ancient times that perspiration was effective against wens. When a criminal is still hanging, but already dead, rub his hand over a wen and it will go away. If a person who has a wen will let it be struck with a pea-ladle, it will disappear. A wen, if stroked with the hand of a dead person, will disappear. To drive away a wen, take a common snake, hold it by the head and tail, and draw it nine times over the wen. Put the snake in a bottle and bury it. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 4O5 To cure a wen, go into the next parish and have the hand of a dead man laid nine times across it; this is done in the belief that “the touch of a vanished hand” hath healing virtue. WHITE FLAW–A cock was offered to St. Christopher for a cer- tain sore called a white flaw. The cock must be a white one. WHIT-NAIL–In Iceland it is believed that ear-wax will cure whit-nails. WHITLOW–If anyone has a whitlow on the nail it shows that in his former life in another body he stole gold from a priest. To cure a whitlow hold the fin- ger in a cat’s ear fifteen minutes every day for several days. WORMS-A horsehair eaten on a piece of bread and butter, will Cllſe WOIII].S. Procure some worms in prime condition, the fatter the better, from your garden, and place in a muslin bag in a saucepan, cover with new milk and simmer with brown sugar for a few hours. This as a drink will at once expel the abdominal parasite in children. The child is put to sleep, and the garden at once searched for the finest specimens of the grub crea- tion, and when a good number has been dug out, they must be put into a handkerchief and placed on the child’s stomach; then the worms inside will die, the same time as the worm outside. WOUND—If you have many Scars on your flesh, you will die rich. A long scratch on your hand is a sign of a long ride. If you cut yourself with glass, someone will laugh at your looks. If someone accidentally scratch- es you, you will receive a mean and impudent letter. If a girl cuts her hand while planting a flower, she will marry a farmer. If your body breaks out sudden- ly with eruptions, you will get a legacy. - If injured by an iron intrument, keep it bright; if it gets rusty it may cause lockjaw. If a person who has a wound in the head eats strawberries, it will cause him to die. To prick your hand until the blood comes, is a sign that you are going to be kissed. If you have a scar on your right hand, you will travel and see the world. If you hurt yourself on a pro- truding nail, you will hear bad 1162WS. A scar on your hand is a sign that you will travel a good deal. If you hurt yourself and do not know how you did it, you will get a present. It is believed that if anyone is suffering from a wound in the head and eats strawberries, the wound will prove fatal. A ring-finger stroked across a wound will soon heal it. In Cuba, a person with a wound will not look upon a dead person, for fear that the wound will not heal. Lay a branch of mistletoe over a wound and it will act like a charm, so that the wound will soon heal. The belief comes from Martin Luther that three toads spitted on a stick will extract the poison from wounds. 406 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. To have a scratch on the hand that one cannot touch with the fin- . ger of the same hand, foretells an unexpected present. A scratch up and down is a friend found. A scratch across is a friend lost. If a girl cuts herself with her lover's knife, it will make a sore that will be very hard to heal. A piece of blacksnake's skin soaked in vinegar and bound on a wound that has splinters, glass, or steel in the flesh, will draw them Out. If a person is stabbed by a thorn and can draw it out of the flesh, he must bite the thorn, and then the wound will not fester. Call upon God and remember St. Blaize on St. Blaize's day, and it will fetch a thorn out of any part of your body. “If thou be hurt by hart it brings thee to thy bier, But barber’s hand will boar's hurt heal, therefore thou need'st not fear.” A mother who extracts blood from a wound on her child, will sprinkle it upon the roof of the hut to charm away sickness. (Africa.) If anyone has received a bodily hurt, wash him in brook water while the bell is tolling for a funer- al, and he will take on new life. The ring of Camballo had the power to staunch all bleeding wounds. It is lost in the Irish sea, and is still searched for by fisher- II.1011. If you cut your foot with an axe, stand the axe in the chimney-cor- ner and no ill results will follow. In Holland and Germany, when one cuts himself, he quickly anoints the knife with oil, puts it away, and the wound will heal right up. Place an ash-knot on a wound, and then place it where neither sun nor moon can touch it with their rays, and you will be healed. To cure and staunch the bleed- ing from a wound, repeat the sixth verse of the sixteenth chapter of Ezekiel, including the name of the person injured. This will cure at a distance. (Pennsylvania German.) If blood flows from a cut in your finger, apply cobweb from under the cellar stairs. The wound will heal at once, and you will have good luck. Anciently it was believed that the sponge would heal wounds by simply applying it to the surface. A fisherman who wounds his hand with a hook, is very careful not to let the hook get rusty, until the wound is wholly healed. A New England correspondent writes: “An Indian woman who was called to cure a bad wound made by an axe, wrapped the axe carefully up in salve, and the man's foot got well right off.” If you get a nail in your foot, pour spirits of turpentine into the wound at once; then beat up green Sage, put it on a piece of bacon- rind, and bind it on the wound. It will cure it. The following charm was used to cure wounds: “Tom Potts was but a serving man, And yet he was a doctor good; He bound a handkerchief on his wound, And with some words he stopped the blood.” To be cut by tin signifies that you will soon meet with ingrati- tude; by a knife, a new lover, but not the right one yet; by glass, un- expected money and prosperity be- fore you; by paper, unexpected surprise and a strange bed; by a saw, a long journey, by which you will benefit. The Household and Domestic Life. CHAPTER VI. ALMS-To send a wassail-cup singer away from your door unre- quited (at least the first one who comes), is to forfeit all the luck of the approaching year. APRON-Some women turn their aprons before the new moon, to gather good luck. If your apron becomes untied, it is an indication that someone is speaking of you. In Suffolk it is very unlucky if the strings of the big blue apron worn by the peasant women, called a “mantle,” become untied. If a woman lets another person wipe his or her hands on her apron, that person will hate her or quarrel with her. It is said to be a sign of a poor cook to see a person use her apron for a lifter. In Yorkshire, when a married lady's apron falls off, it is a sign that she is going to be vexed. If you put on an apron wrong side out by mistake, and you dis- cover it, it is considered a sign that there is a plot going on against you. If you accidentally lose your apron while wearing it, it is a sign that your lover is thinking of you. ASHES-If the ashes stick to- gether on the hearth, it is a sign of rain. Careless treading on cinders used to be thought sacrilegious. (Gloucestershire, England.) To lift the ashes or carry them out on Friday, will bring bad luck. If anyone is sick in the house, do not take up the ashes for nine days, or it will cause their death. Ashes retaining their heat for a great length of time, foretell a mar- riage in the family. To carry out the ashes from a wood-fire between Christmas and New Year, will surely bring bad luck. Take ashes out of the house after nightfall and you bring death in. BAKING—To leave much dough in the pan when mixing up bread or cake, is a sign of poverty. When the bread is put in the oven, the baby must be covered with a quilt, or it will pine and die. (Armenia.) To make a light cake, ſock the door against any person whose glance may prevent its rising. (Greece.) If one forgets to put salt in the bread, it is a sign of death. (Mace- donia.) To bake bread with wood that has been struck by lightning, is considered a sin. (Bohemia.) If a cat enters the room while bread is being handled, the dough will not rise. A piece of dough from the last baking, stuck on the kitchen wall, will keep off the evil eye. (Isle of Man.) 408 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. If you sing while making bread, you will cry before it is eaten, If water should escape from the dough while mixing it for bread, it is a sign of death. (Macedonia.) Stir cake from you, and you will stir your troubles away. When bread in baking cracks across the top, it means death. If you roll pastry an even num- ber of times, it will be tough. It is unlucky to turn a cake twice while baking. A woman will have heavy bread and cake if made during her sick- 110SS. If there is any baking in the house at the time of death, it will bring misfortune. Bread must not be baked on All Saints’ night, or the ghosts will eat it. If a maid who is kneading dough clutches at a lad's face, he will never get a beard. If you bake in a new pan on Fri- day, you will have bad luck with your cake, ever after. When one naturally stirs the bread-dough from right to left, it denotes strength of character. It is considered unlucky to leave any dough in the pan after the bread has been taken out. If you have a good cake-recipe and give it away, you give your luck in baking that cake away. In preparing dough or cake, it should be stirred from east to west, the way the sun travels, for then it will be sure to rise. If your dough splits in the pan when you set it to rise, and you do not work it over, you’ll hear of a death in the family. (Pennsyl- vania.) When making pies, if the person engaged in the work, after putting the crust on the plate, trims it all around without changing hands, she will be wealthy. (New Eng- land.) Never put a vessel of water on the stove when baking cakes, if you wish a nice, light cake; nor walk heavily across the room, as it will make the cake heavy. It is impossible to make bread or cake on Good Friday, for the water to mix it with will turn into the blood of Christ. In Brittany it is believed that certain women can make dough multiply. On the coast of Brittany, when dough is moulded, it is adjured to imitate the leaven, the miller, and the cake, and rise well. A superstition among Negroes is to the effect that if you have a knack of baking cake or doing anything else particularly well, you must on no account teach anyone else, or you will lose your knack. If a girl rides a donkey, her bread will rise very quickly. (Stru- mitsa, Turkey.) When a little girl first learns to make bread, her hands are rubbed over with sugar, so that she may always make good, sweet bread. In olden times the cook was ac- customed to bake cakes in large rounds, and would cut them in four quarters with a large knife. Each quarter was then put to bake by itself, and care was taken that dur- ing the baking, the pointed end of each of these quarters should not be broken. Otherwise a death might shortly be expected. It is a general popular belief throughout the United States that in making cake, the eggs, or indeed FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 4O9 the whole mixture, must be stirred or beaten from beginning to end in the same direction in which the stirring began, or the cake will not be light, and that a custard will curdle if the stirring motion is re- versed. This superstition is still current, even in households where a patent egg beater is used, which is so constructed that its loops of wire revolve in opposite ways at the same time; and, although the result is most satisfactory, the be- lief in the old rule of stirring “only one way,” or in a dextral direction is unshaken. Often it is said that the stirring must be sunwise, the popular expression for this dextral motion being “with the sun.” The same notion is found in Newfound- land; and a woman from Aberdeen, Scotland, says that it is a general belief among her countrywomen that to succeed in any household work where either stirring or rub- bing is involved, the movement should always be “with the sun.” Some matrons in northern Ohio say that to insure good bread, the dough should be stirred “with the sun,” and that yeast should be made as near sunrise as possible to secure lightness. It is also a com- mon saying that if, after turning the crank of a churn for a time sun- wise (the most natural way for a right-handed person), it be turned backwards, all the work done will be undone. The same superstition is found in Newfoundland. In southern Sweden, cooks will tell you that in beating butter to a froth or in making gravy, the stirring must continue as begun, to secure good results; and in eastern Massa- chusetts the superstition extends even to the processes of making ice cream and molasses candy. The notion that lye soap will not “come”—i. e., saponify—unless it is stirred “with the sun,” is more or less current in localities where this old-fashioned industry is yet car- ried on. BEADS—To break one's string of beads or pearls is a sure sign of great illness. BED–It is unlucky to turn the mattress of a sick person on Friday night. Shake the pillows well and you Shake off trouble. It is unlucky for a person to lie with his or her feet out of bed. In Ireland, a fork stuck on the foot of the bed will bring good luck. To avoid ill luck, put a piece of cork under your pillow. If a girl makes a bed nicely, she will have a handsome husband. To reverse the pillows in a bed is a sign of sickness or even death. A person must not make his pil- low of a chopping block; he will get the toothache. (Madagascar.) It is unlucky for a person to make a pillow out of another per- son's clothing. It is bad luck to put your bed crosswise of the room. The man who goes to bed with his boots on will always be poor. If a slat falls out of a bed, it is a sign of coming riches. If you hear the side of your bed crack, you will hear of the birth of a child. Anyone that crowds down in the bed when sleeping, will always be poor. If you sleep on a pillow without a case, your dream will come true. If you clean your beds on St. Patrick's day, you will never have bugs. 4IO ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. If you move your bed to the east in summer, you will be cool all S11111111CT. If you move your bed to the west in winter, you will be warm all win- ter. Pull bedclothes straight for luck, when you rise. Never give a bed to anyone; it brings bad luck to the receiver. If you lay an umbrella on the bed, you will quarrel with a friend. To turn a feather-bed on Sunday it unlucky. For a sick person to turn from the head to the foot of the bed, is a bad sign. A bed made of partridge feathers 1s a prevention of disease. Never put a hat on the bed, or you will lose your sleep. (Bohe- mia.) The Chinese think it lucky to place the book of “Changes” under the pillow to keep away evil spirits. Never lie in bed until the cock has marched thrice around the yard, or you will always be poor. If you put clean sheets on a bed for an expected guest, he or she will not arrive. To keep a branch of leaves on the head of your bed, is believed to bring good sleep. In Sweden, it is unlucky to sleep in a strange bed without first spit- ting in it. It is unlucky to take to bed sick on a Friday; you will never re- COVer. If in making a bed you throw up the clothes from the foot, you will not have good luck. When lumps of feathers are found in the bed, it is a sign that the witches have been sitting on it. Putting old garments on a bed brings Scandal. It is unlucky to get into bed over a person. If you make up your bed with a hollow in the middle, you will have many children. On the island of Magdalena it is unlucky ever to put the foot upon the bed. If you do not put the pillows straight and smooth on the bed, you will be disappointed that day. To hear in the night, water pour- ed three times upon the bed, is a sign of coming sickness. If a bed breaks down while a sick person is lying upon it, that person will die. Leave a sheet off the bed when making it, and you will have com- pany for the night. It is said that where purslane is laid in bed, those in it will not be disturbed by any visions that night. Anyone who uses several pillows to lie upon will be often ill. He who uses but one, will be blessed with good health. To move a bed containing a sick person will surely bring about a relapse of the disease. If, when making up your bed, you chance to forget one of the sheets, you will soon hear of a wed- ding. If the bed of a sick person is set in a cross direction with the raft- ers, he will have a long and painful death. It is very unlucky to put one's hat upon the bed when entering a room; it is a sign of death to the owner or of some member of the family. If a sick person cannot sleep be- cause there are pigeon feathers in FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 4II the bed, the only remedy is to place the shoe of the patient sole up- wards. A neat bed betokens a happy future. Dirt or rubbish beneath the bed is a sign of misfortune. If you are lying in bed and a cat scratches at the door, it is a sign that you will be sick and lie in bed a long time. If you see a bird peck at your window as you lie in bed, it is a sign that you are either in moral or physical danger. If the under quilt comes down below the upper one, when mak- ing up a bed, it is a sign that you will have a lover. Men shall not stay in the house while women are stuffing feathers into beds, else, the feathers will stick through the bedtick. Open a pillow, on which lay a sinless head when dying, and you will find a beautiful crown of feath- CIS, If you put feathers in beds when the moon is on the wane, they will very soon creep out again. If a bed is so placed that the feet point at the door, the sleeper will die soon. If you turn your feet towards the window, you will get consumption. The Chinese believe that by plac- ing their books of classics under their pillows, they drive away all evil. Two persons must not make a bed together, especially for a sick person, as to do so is a sign of an immediate death in the family. In putting straw into a bed do not leave the knots in the straw- bands; there is no sleeping on them. To use dove-feathers in a bed is sacrilegious and unlucky. Nobody can die at ease on such a bed, if he can die at all! So say Yorkshire people. If a woman makes up her bed and the pillow keeps falling for- ward, it is a sign that she will get money. She must spit on it and make a wish, and it will come true. If you get a new bed, and want to make sure of pleasant dreams, Say: - “Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, Bless the bed I lie upon.” If the bedstead must face a door, let it be the headboard, no matter how it looks; for if turned the other way the person occupying it will be carried out of the door dead within a year. It is a bad omen to have a bed break down while you are in it, but an omen of good luck if it should break down with a newly-married couple. “He who lies in the stock shall have a gold rock; He who lies in the middle shall have a gold fiddle; He who lies at the wall shall have a gold ball.” A long, flat pillow is invariably placed in the bed when it is un- rolled and prepared for the night, to simulate a sleeping person, for if this is neglected, the “Afrits” might hasten to possess themselves of the bed. It is the custom of Swedish chambermaids when making the beds in the morning, under no con- sideration to leave a bed half made or on any pretext to go to any other work, for fear that the person occupying the bed will be robbed of his rest. The old idea that a sick person's bed should be placed with the head to the north has been corroborated 412 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. by French savants, who scientifi- cally demonstrate that the most healthful posture for the body is to lie north and south with the head to the north, so that the nervous system will be in harmony with the magnetic currents of the earth. It is a very bad omen accidental- ly to kick or knock over a Japa- nese wooden pillow. Should you be so unlucky as to strike it with your foot, you must raise it to your forehead and replace it in its orig- inal position, saying respectfully: “go-men,” signifying, “I pray to be excused.” Unlucky to place anything upon the bed representing a profession, as a roll of music. Cards, umbrel- las, shoes and many things bring ill luck when placed on the bed. Do not use your bed for a table. If a person gets out of bed back- wards, it is said to bring him ill luck throughout the day. If you stumble when getting out of bed Monday morning, you will be lucky all the week. Some people have their beds placed parallel to the planks of the floor, as it is said to be unlucky to sleep across the boards. To lie with the head to the east will bring riches. To lie with the head to the west will change your residence often. When you sleep in a strange bed remember your dream, and tell it before breakfast, and it will come true. BEDROOM-If you find brok- en glass in a bedroom it is a sign of death. Count the panes of glass in the windows of a room you sleep in for the first time, and your dreams will COme true. Never hang black draperies in your bedrooms or over your bed, nor paint the woodwork black, as there will be a death before the gloss can leave the paint. BEGGAR–If you drop food when handing it to a tramp, he will do you some harm. In Persia it is thought that the feet of mendicants drive away ill luck. No good thing will be withheld from the person who practices se- cret benefits. Riches will fly out of the front door if you drive a beggar woman away from the back door without giving her some food. At Smyrna, it is unlucky to give to the poor directly from one's own table, lest it become as poor as theirs. In Bulgaria it is not only un- lucky but a sin, to give alms to a Jew or an infidel. When giving alms, the giver and receiver should not stand on differ- ent sides of the threshold. (Ben- gal.) It is lucky to give alms to the “Fear Gorta” (man of hunger, an emaciated phantom, who begs through the land in famine time). (Irish.) If a beggar comes asking for charcoal to light his fire, throw three handfuls of salt on your fire and refuse him, or ill luck will overtake you. A sister of mercy must be given something every time she asks, no matter how small the donation. The greatest business misfortunes follow a refusal. If on a morning you are accost- ed by a third beggar for alms, do not refuse him, although you may FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 413 have refused the others, for you will be manifoldly rewarded. The Chinese who have pork- stalls, think it good luck to give away a small piece of pork on the first day of Summer to each beggar who asks for it—and they are out in full force—as that will give luck for the year. Augustus annually, on a certain day, begged an alms of the people, holding out his hand to those who offered him, for he believed if he did not do this he would have a re- verse of fortune. BELL–If you break a bell, you will hear of a death. If you break your dinner-bell, it is a sign of a death. To ring a bell inadvertently sig- nifies a sudden and happy eleva- tion. A bell which rings from swaying in the wind, is a lucky sound to the one who hears it. The Moslems never use bells in their houses, as they believe that they invite evil spirits and keep good spirits away. If you crack a tea-bell throw it away; never ring it again; it will ring broken fortunes to you. If a spiral door-bell hung in the hall is rung by the wind or from any other cause than by a person, a wedding is sure to come, and the strokes or tinkling of the bell de- notes the number of months or weeks before it takes place. BELLOWS-It is unlucky to borrow or lend bellows. If the bellows are laid on the table after being used, there will be a quarrel in the house before the day is out. BELT—It will bring on the itch if anyone steps over your girdle. If you habitually wear a belt or girdle, it is a sign that you are eco- nomical. If you have a dress on that has a belt, and if by any chance you should go out and forget to put on the belt, it foreshadows bad luck for you. Floriel's girdle would loosen or tear asunder if any unchaste or un- faithful woman put it on. (Spen- ser's Fairie Queene.) If, while dressing, the girdle be- comes tangled into a knot, the wearer must not untie it himself, but must let someone else untie it, and he will become rich. (Chinese.) The dervishes of Turkey have the following superstition connect- ed with their girdle, which consists in wearing a stone in the girdle. The sheikh puts it in and out seven times, saying: “I tie up greediness and unbind generosity. I tie up anger and unbind meekness. I tie up anger and unbind the fear of God. I tie up passion and unbind the love of God. I tie up the dev- ilish and unbind the divine.” This will give the wearer all the beauti- ful qualities unbound. B E V E R A G E S-When the Ashantees in West Africa drink, they spill a little on the ground for luck. If you fill a person's glass over his or her head, you intend to quar- rel with that person. (Belgium.) Mason, in his “Anatomy of Sor- cery” (1612), says it is good luck to have drink spilled on a man. “Take a cup and drink it up, and all the day you will have good luck.” Looking in the glass when you are drinking, is a sign that you are in love. A person who looks down into a glass when drinking, is constant. 4I4 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. To drink a person's health in water, is sure to bring him bad luck. To drink out of a shell, signifies that you will soon fall in love. To drink a health in water, means death. If sour milk is poured on the fire, it will bring bad luck to the do- mestic animals. (Russia.) Never let a person drink out of the same glass after you, as he or she would learn all your secrets. If two people begin drinking at the same time, one will drink the other's color away. Many people will not drink from a white cup or bowl, thinking it will bring them bad luck. It is good luck to have drink sent around the board from left to right. If a single man breaks a wine- glass while in the act of offering a toast, it is a sign of marriage with- in three months. If the cherry in a cocktail floats, turn your hat quickly around; oth- erwise you will have reverses in business. No high caste Hindu will drink in his son-in-law's house. Some will not even drink from the well of his village. luck. If a company is drinking wine, and one man puts his head on the mouth of the bottle, all will get drunk but himself. (Persia.) In the Malagasy islands, none but the intimate should drink from the same cup, as successive evils will follow. If, in Russia, you happen to spill a glass of wine on the tablecloth, the master of the house will be It is an omen of bad much obliged to you, as it brings him good luck. Nectar is the drink of the gods and is white as milk, Sweet as honey, fragrant as the rose, foamy as the sea, and intoxicating as wine. If, in Norway, the drinking mug of wood or glass breaks in drink- ing a health, it is considered very unlucky for the person whose health was drank. To drink chocolate the first time you are ever in a house, foretells happiness. “A cup of vodka given to a foe, Will bring good luck to both, as on they go.” (“Vodka” is Russian whiskey.) The Greeks considered it very unlucky to hear the word “poison,” and if it was pronounced while they were drinking, they would pour out the wine and call for another Cup. In Kokand a prevailing super- stition teaches that in drinking water a man should first take one swallow slowly, while repeating to himself the name of Allah, then to take two swallows, and after that he might gulp down all he pleases. Bulgarians, before drinking, make the sign of the cross to pre- vent the devil from entering with the drink. Russians blow on the glass be- fore drinking, to neutralize the “satanic operation of spirituous liquors.” In Assyria, there is a certain re- ligious sect, the members of which are forbidden to drink from a cup that has touched the lips of a stranger. In spite of this, they nev- er refuse a drink of water to the thirsty traveler, although they must immediately destroy the cup he has FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 4I5 used, or all sorts of misfortunes will befall them. The Greeks believe that the wine cup or the beer mug held in the hand, will give warning of danger to an absent loved one. “The wine, as he was drinking, turned turbid in the wine cup”; or “The wine which in his hand he held, became like blood and troubled”; or “This is the sign that evil has befallen me, the pot of beer in thine hand shall bubble.” To drink beer in a shop denotes future prosperity. When making beer, put in a coal before adding the yeast, and it will not get Sour. To upset beer is to have a chris- tening soon in the house. (Bohe- mia.) If the froth of beer sticks to the inside of the glass, it is a sign that it is good beer. Melton says in his “Astrolagas- ter,” “If the beer fall next a man it is a sign of good luck.” It is said that if spilled beer is running towards a man, it is a sign of good luck. If you are making small beer, think of someone who has been very cross lately, and your beer will be very mild. Let him who gets the first can of beer out of a cask, run away fast, and the rest of the beer will soon go off. To stir your coffee with a fork instead of a spoon, will stir up trouble. To forget to put coffee in the coffee pot, is the sign of a joyful surprise. To throw coffee-grains in the fire will bring you good luck. A grain of coffee dropped on the floor will bring bad luck if it is not immediately picked up. To drink black coffee at mid- night is a sign that you will find a lost jewel. If, on dropping a lump of sugar into a cup of clear coffee, bubbles collect in the middle of the cup, a fair day follows. They also indi- cate money or a kiss. If they ad- here to the sides, forming a ring, with a clear space in the center, rain is at hand. If the grounds of a coffee cup re- main at the bottom and form them- selves into a circle, it is a sign of a wedding; if into long straight lines, a funeral; if a few cluster together and cling to the side of the cup, a letter is coming; a small bit high up on the side of the cup signifies a visitor or news. If milk is spilled on a table, it means the baptism of a child in the Same year. To have milk boil over signifies success, preceded by danger. It is unlucky if milk boils over and runs into the fire. The Japanese must never use milk, as it is a sign of bad luck. If your milk sours quickly, you are not a good housekeeper. If you spill milk, do not feel bad- ly; some of the dead wanted a drink. If you give milk out of the house without mixing a drop of water with it, you will be unlucky. If a maid eats boiled milk or broth out of the pan, it will soon rain, and she will get a surly hus- band. (German.) Never carry milk over flowing water nor pour milk on the ground or in the fire. If you do, the cow 416 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. whose milk was spilled will stop giving milk. No one will have luck until he or she has made tea in his or her own teapot. Strangers are coming when you spill tea or coffee. If you pour tea out of a pot in any way but through the spout, it signifies the approach of a priest. (Japan.) “Matrons who toss the cup and see, The grounds of fate in pounds of tea.” (Churchill.) If you put the sugar and milk into the cup before you pour the tea, your children will have red hair. When you make tea too strong, it is a sign that you will gain friends; when you make it too weak, you will lose friends. “I was taking tea at a friend's house the other day, when the hostess, who had been making the tea, said it was very unlucky for a second person to pour any out. This remark was caused by the fact that a friend, thinking to make her- self useful, had taken up the teapot to fill the cups.” If the stalks of the tea gather around the spoon, when holding the spoon in the middle of the cup, it is a sign that you will soon be married. If you drink the last glass of wine out of a bottle, you will marry soon. (Belgium.) If one would make good vinegar from wine, he should throw the names of three witches into it. If an intoxicated person was found lying on his face, he was be- lieved by the Egyptians to have been made drunk with wine; if ly- ing on his back, with beer. If a girl drinks wine from a bot- tle with a young man, it is a sign that a family disgrace is approach- ing. If one would have good wine, he should write on his cask: “O taste and see that the Lord is good.” If there is a death in the house and you knock on the wine cask, the wine will spoil. To spill wine, is considered in Ireland as unlucky; in other coun- tries, lucky. When pouring wine and many little bubbles come to the surface, they are the spirits or ghosts of your deceased friends. In Switzerland, the country peo- ple believe that they will freshen up their stale wine by laying dead toads on the bungholes of the casks. In Greece, it is considered lucky if white wine is spilled, but unlucky if red. In Austria, it is said that one who puts a cask of wine in the cellar on St. Thomas’ night, will see his wife or her husband. The English believe that wine will be pleasant in savor and taste if an orange or a lemon, stuck all about with cloves, is hung within the vessel, so that it does not touch the wine, and if this is done on New Year's eve it will preserve the wine from ever spoiling. Q It is an old superstition that when Noah planted a vineyard, the devil claimed two-thirds of the wine as his portion; hence the les- son is taught that the use of wine is two-thirds evil. The Mussulmans also say that the devil poured the blood of a pea- cock, the blood of an ape, the blood of a lion, and last the blood of a pig, upon the vines planted by FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 417 Noah. Accordingly, they taught that moderate drinking developed the vanity of the peacock; more drinking produced the antics of an ape; drinking to excess so that the person became drunk, would cause him to rage like a lion, and finally he would grovel like a pig. BIRD-If a pair of sparrows fly into the house, good luck will fol- low them. (Japanese.) If a bird marks its passage in too free a manner on your window, it is a sign of riches coming. (Bel- gium.) If a caged bird cleans its feathers you may expect company. If your bird sits and hangs its head, a deceitful person is coming. BOILING—When milk boils over, say quickly: “Serpent, ser- pent,” and the milk will be fright- ened back and will not boil over. (Persia.) If, when boiling a pot of liquid, a straw is tied about the neck of the pot, the contents will neither boil over nor burn. BOOK–If you drop a book, you will see a spook. It is considered unlucky to read a book through twice. To open a book bottom upwards is a sign that you will hear good IlêWS. Never keep almanacs more than two years, as they are considered very unlucky. If a young gentleman hands a young lady a book, she will be hap- py in a short time. If you should turn a book or paper upside down without notic- ing it, it is a sign of bad luck. Anything in the form of a book brings luck to the possessor. (Hin- du.) To see books piled crosswise on a window, denotes parting. When you have finished reading a book, turn it upside down for luck. If a book falls out of the book- case, company will come. To get heavy-hearted over a book, means honors and increase of joy. If a book is taken from you while reading, you will receive a caller within an hour. In India, to open even a note- book without bowing to it, is thought to be a bad omen. If you put a book away upside down, you will forget its contents when most needed. If you drop a book while reading it, it is a sign that someone is thinking very kindly of you. To look in the dictionary and not find the word you want, is a sign of business trouble. If a certain page of a book is called for, and you open the book at the right place, it is an omen of great good luck. Never give away a book with a red cover, as it is sure to break friendship. Red is the color of an- ger and misunderstanding. To read one of the sacred books or to have one read at one's house, is a sign of exceeding good luck to a Hindu. One of the Chinese classics, especially the book entitled “Great Instruction,” brings luck to the house in which it is owned. He who can repeat any of the Chinese classics by heart need not fear any evil spirits when he is walking alone, for they cannot hurt him. The notion that it is lucky to place a copy of Homer underneath 418 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. the pillow, or that a few verses read from the poet will cure disease and bring good fortune to the reader, most probably arose from the fact that the all-powerful and successful Alexander was a great lover of Homer, and always slept with a copy of his works under his pillow. (Barnes, Ancient Peoples.) Ferdinand and Alphonsus, kings of Arragon and Sicily, were both cured of an illness by reading the history, one of Curtius and the oth- er of Livy, when no physic pre- scribed would have any effect. Camerarius relates as much of Lo- renzo de Medici. Heathen philoso- phers are so full of divine precepts of this kind that, as some think, the reading of them is alone able to set- tle an unsettled mind. Gregory calls the works of Origen “a charm,” and Lipsius says, “When I read Seneca methinks I am be- yond all human fortunes, on the top of a hill beyond mortality.” (Burton’s Anatomy of Melan- choly.) BOTTLE-If a maid sees many bottles anywhere, she will soon marry. Broken bottles signify sorrow. The placing of a beer bottle on an organ or a piano, is very good luck. You will die of starvation if you blow in a bottle. Old bottles should not be saved; they bring bad luck. It is bad luck to use an old med- icine bottle for new medicine. If a cork pops out of a bottle suddenly, you have an unknown enemy. It is the sign of a loss, if you push a cork into a bottle when you are trying to get it out. If a bottle is accidentally tipped over, it will bring good luck to the one towards whom it falls. Bottles that have contained med- icine should never be sold, or some- one else in the house will have to UISC SO111C. BRACELET-If you wear a leather bracelet on the wrist, you will become strong. If a man locks a bracelet about a lady's wrist, it is supposed that the will be married. - In Smyrna, blue glass bracelets are worn by women and girls to protect them from the evil eye, and if anything happens to them, or they break, great will be the mis- fortune coming. Bracelets are by many people supposed to be in close connection with the soul of the wearer. In China, they place a bracelet of jade on the arm of a child and it is never taken off again. Doubtless they also believe it holds the soul. BREAKING—If anything is broken at the door of a house, the person who passed out last before it was broken, will die soon. (Rus- sia.) If the rim of a cup is broken in the presence of an official when he is eating, he will be unhappy. (Chinese.) When a valuable vase in the Tuileries fell to the floor and was shattered, a short time before the great battle of Waterloo, Josephine prophesied disaster would follow —and it did. Napoleon met his fate there, but his “Book of Fate,” never told him defeat was near and disaster hovering over him. An old superstition that fore- bodes death and disaster, is the pr.sº wº is * * - FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. breaking of a medicine bottle or of a pouncet box by accident. A story is told of Ferdinand de Lesseps, who held the greatest con- tempt for superstition. When his wife bemoaned that three things would be broken because she had just broken her coffee cup, to show how absurd were her fears, he took two more of the Dresden trifles and crushed them together. To break a water pail signifies that your lover is a “wee” bit of a fellow, not much account. To break a door-key signifies that you will arrive at great honors. To break a lead pencil signifies that you will never be poor but al- ways unhappy. To break a toilet comb signifies that a letter of abuse may be ex- pected. To break a lamp chimney signi- fies that you will be brought to dis- grace. To break a picture frame signi- fies that you will be unsuccessful in your undertakings. To break a bottle signifies that you will be deceived by great friends. To break a tallow candle signi- fies a letter announcing a loss of money. To break a light of glass signifies that a friend across the sea will bring riches. To break a table knife signifies loss in trade, attacks of thieves, un- faithfulness in love. To break a plate signifies that you will sow with toil, but reap a golden harvest. To break a saucer signifies that you will soon have cause to rejoice. To break a cup signifies that your planets give strife and dis- Cord. 4I9 To break a ring foretells loss, separation, broken friendship. To break a chair signifies that you will overcome your difficulties. To break a rocking chair signi- fies a speedy wedding. To break a smoking-pipe signi- fies a quarrel that will injure your prospects. To break a tea plate signifies a meeting of friends. To break a pen signifies triumph obtained over obstacles or ene- mies. To break a pocket-knife blade signifies an ambush laid by distant enemies. To break a needle signifies kisses or betrayed by friends. To break a window signifies a change of employment. To break a rudder in a boat sig- nifies that the person in the boat . with you will die a sudden death. To break a pair of scissors signi- fies that you will marry in a year. To break a clock signifies that you will suffer by carelessness. BREASTPIN–To lose a breast- pin means small losses through life, but no serious disaster. BROOCH-If a girl's brooch is unfastened, they say her lover is thinking of her. BROOMSTICK–In Saxony, if anyone was so unfortunate as to be struck with a broomstick, he firmly believed that he would die of consumption. BRUSH-To break a handle from a brush is the sign of a new member in the family. BUCKLE–To find a buckle is good luck. To lose a kilt-buckle, the Scotch 42O ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. think, will make them have bad luck for a year. BURNING—To get a burn while cooking will bring good luck. To burn your finger when light- ing a candle is a sign of misfortune. If you burn your wrist while cooking, you will have visitors be- fore night. If you burn yourself when you are doing your first baking after marriage, you will have many troubles. To burn barley accidentally sig- nifies that jealousy will be the mar- plot of your peace. To burn beans accidentally sig- nifies that you will not wed your first love, but the loss is for the best. To burn bread accidentally sig- nifies a happy lot, especially in mat- rimony. To burn cakes accidentally sig- nifies that the next favor you ask will be granted. To burn carrots accidentally sig- nifies that you will see your sweet- heart unexpectedly. To burn clams accidentally sig- nifies that you have a false confi- dant. To burn your clothes accidental- ly signifies quarrels, alarm or mis- fortune. To burn fish accidentally signi- fies that you will have riches but an ill-tempered mate. To burn grease accidentally sig- nifies that you will be enriched through a foreigner. - To burn meats accidentally sig- nifies sudden prosperity, great fav- ors from high personages. To burn milk accidentally signi- fies success, prompt but dangerous. To burn mush accidentally sig- nifies that you are to have several lovers and select the worst. To burn onions accidentally sig- nifies that you will have a quarrel with your lover. To burn oysters accidentally sig- nifies that you have a secret rival. To burn pies accidentally signi- fies a failure in trade, to your detri- ment. To burn potatoes accidentally signifies that you will gain many useful friends. To burn rice accidentally signi- fies experience rather too dear, but prosperity after. - To burn soup accidentally signi- fies a newly awakened affection. To burn tomatoes accidentally signifies that many changes are at hand. To burn a towel accidentally sig- nifies that you will refuse an offer and afterwards regret it. BUTTER—To make yellow butter you must have a yellow COW. It is unlucky to cut the butter at both ends. BUTTON.—The girl who loses many shoe-buttons will never have many beaux. To put old buttons to a new coat is bad luck. For a button to come off your coat or vest indicates business re- VCTSCS. It is considered very lucky to find a trousers button. It is a bad omen if three buttons come off the shoes in a row. It is unlucky to tip a box over which contains buttons. A coat having eight buttons down the front is considered good luck. *\|| =|Ag/, . . S/g #: º º - Sºiſſy Sº *N. - = Nº % º * º ºncº - -7| --- - º º -- º: º* º M. º º º: 4 | º º ºu Nu ºn X ſº º ſº - " | / | tº V º Žº ſ º º º --- -ºry w - ------ º º - A. º º º º º º º º º º - º - º º º º º | º º º º º Z. | | == = º s - T-- - º º % % The Woman Who Quarrels. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 42I If you find a white button and give it to a fair-haired girl, it will bring you luck. If a lady has one of her dress- buttons unbuttoned, it is a sign that she has a secret lover. Never sew a white button on with black thread, or a black but- ton on with white thread. It will make you unpopular. Bite the top button on your shirt and anyone who is telling untruths about you will get a blister on his or her tongue. If a girl has one or five buttons on her gown, she is destined to marry a rich man. If she has two or six buttons on her gown, she will marry a poor man. Three or seven buttons are very unlucky; she will marry a beggar. If a button comes off one of your gloves when you are going out, it is a sign that you will meet someone you have not seen for a long time. If a button comes off each glove, it is a sign of disappointment. “Always make your button-holes on the left side. You do not want to be on the button-hole side of Heaven and you won’t have to ask again.” This refers to the parable wherein the goats are divided from the sheep and went to the left of the throne. (New England.) B U TT O N-HOOK–Wear a button-hook in the top of your shoe and you will not have corns. CANDLE–If your candleburns Out, robbers will come. When the candle suddenly goes Out, one of the household will die. If the flame of a candle jumps, your neighbor has a bit of gossip to tell. A black snuff-cap on the top of a candle signifies the plumes of a hearse. If the wick of a candle burns down into the tallow, it is the sign of a death. A small black speck in the wick of a candle signifies a letter. Never light a candle without making the sign of the cross. The Irish, in putting out a can- dle, say: “May the Lord send us the light of Heaven.” Many sparks around a candle be- token triumph over enemies. Never let a candle burn down until it extinguishes by itself, if you do not wish bad luck. Dipping candles is as bad as clip- ping them, if done on Friday. To snuff out a candle accidental- ly is a sign of marriage. If candles are clipped on Friday, there will be a death within a year. When the candle at night burns “roses,” there is good luck and money coming next day. If sparks of fire spurt out of a candle, the person they fly at will get money that day. If a stranger brings a lighted candle into a room where lies a sick person, that person will die. A tallow loop in the candle, call- ed a “coffin handle,” is a sign of death in the family. If, after candles are lighted, you empty a washbowl, somebody will fall and hurt himself. It is unlucky for a Parsee to snuff a candle, for fear of extin- guishing the symbol of the deity he worships. If the smoke of a candle turns towards the church, when a person is sick, it is an omen of his or her death. 422 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. When the sparks of a candle shine around the wick in a circle, you will triumph over your ene- mies. After putting a candle out, don't leave it upside down in the candle- stick, else nobody can wake if thieves should come in. If a candle, while burning, sud- denly gets a very large flame and beckons up and down, it is consid- ered as an omen of death in the family. If a lighted candle has a wick that gets detached so that the can- dle burns away too rapidly, it is a sure forerunner of misfortune. If a candle, after being blown out and exposed to the outer air at Inight, continues to smoulder for a long time, the next day will be fair. Goldsmith says, in his “Vicar of Wakefield,” speaking of the wak- ing dreams of his hero's daughters: “The girls had their omens, too; they saw rings in the candles.” In Transylvania, whoever can blow out the spark on the wick of a candle will become a pastor. A bright spark in the candle pre- dicts the arrival of a letter. If the spark drops on the first shake, it denotes that the letter has already been posted. Whenever a guttering candle folds over its cooling grease, it is watched with great anxiety. If it curls upon itself, it is said to form the handle of a coffin, and the per- son to whom it is directed is in dan- ger of death. - “If the candle blaze turn yellow You may soon expect your fellow; If the candle blaze turn red You may early go to bed.” CANE–If you beat anyone has- tily with a stick, it is a sign that you are charitable when not in anger. A walking-cane with the hoof of a deer for a handle, carries good luck along with it. To use a stick as a prop when you do not need it, is a sign that your position is insecure, and a change is about to take place. To drop a walking-stick on the floor or pavement indicates a brok- en limb. If the schoolmaster's cane is care- fully nicked at the upper end and a hair inserted, it will, as Soon as used, immediately split to the very tip. Make a hollow in your “Alpen- stock,” or cane, and place a four- leaved clover therein, taking care not to injure it; as long as you walk with it you will be less weary, and meet with luck in many ways. CARPET-To sweep a new car- pet with a new broom is good luck. To shake a rug lengthwise is an omen of evil, denoting death in the family. A rug turned wrong side up will bring blessings to the feet of those who tread on it. It is a sign of good luck when, in driving carpet tacks, the heads come off. To shake a rug in the door of your house is to foretell the shak- ing of a young man out of the door SOO11. If your foot catches under a car- pet or a rug, someone near and dear is thinking about you. If sparks burn the carpet, it is a sign of a wedding or a birth. It is unlucky to take up a carpet on Sunday. When the carpet is warped, it in- dicates rain. When it rises from the floor with the wind, it means a St0rm. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 423 rº, Do not, on any account, tear a carpet when you are taking it up. If you do, you will have sickness in the family. Never tack down a carpet on the floor of a new house without first washing the floor, as it is said to wash away all the evil influences. If you find the edge of the carpet or rug turned up, spit on it lightly before turning it down, or your neighbors will slander you. The reason why all Indian shawls and carpets are either not rectangular or show some other ir- regularity or apparent defect, is be- cause the natives of India believe that that will protect against the evil eye and the malignant influ- ence of demons. Hence, everything of Indian manufacture shows some kind of deficiency. Perfectness in human work is ominous; it belongs only to the gods. CASKET-A gift of caskets was a sign of future plenty among the ancients. CAT—If you kill kittens, you will be unlucky. If a cat has only one kitten at a time, it is good luck to the family. If a cat has a litter of eight kit- tens or more, you will hear of a death. CELLAR–On digging a cellar for a house, if the edge of the spade bends at the first stroke, it is a very evil omen. To go down into the cellar and forgetting what you started for re- turn empty-handed, is an ill omen. CELLAR DOOR-It is bad luck to walk over a cellar door. CHAIR-If a chair falls, a stran- ger will enter. A young couple going to house- keeping should have an old chair for luck. If you sit thinking and fall out of your chair, it is all over with your marrying. It is bad luck to turn a chair on one leg. To turn a chair with its legs up- permost, is unlucky. If a child whirls a chair about, it will get a whipping soon. If, on rising, your chair tips over, it is a good omen. - Never put a three-legged stool upside down, for you offend God by so doing. To sit in a chair while it is being dusted, is a sign of money coming. To upset a chair when you rise from table, is a sign that you have been telling lies. When the rocking chair moves along as you rock in it, you are going to have a caller. It is considered unlucky for two persons to occupy one chair at the same time. . If a chair creaks when you sit down in it, look out for an accident. Placing an extra chair at the din- ing table is the addition of a hun- gry visitor. Do not twirl a chair on one leg. You are turning your friends from you. If chairs stand back to back, they foretell the coming of a stranger. In Sweden it is unlucky to sit in a chair turned bottom up, without spitting in it. In China to sit in a chair that is still warm, is to fall out with the former occupant. “A chair that has but spindles three When sat upon brings woe to thee.” 424 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. When a chair upon which you are sitting breaks down, it is a sign of bad news. Never pick up a chair that you have knocked over, before first walking around it. It is a bad omen to sit down to a table of invited guests with one un- occupied chair. Never rock a chair in which no one is seated, for the one who sits in it next will die before the year it out. It is bad luck to walk a chair on its legs instead of carrying it. Some one of your near friends or rela- tives will be injured. Sitting down in a chair that a person has just vacated, is a sign that you will shortly fall out with that person. Two persons sitting on one chair will cause them to die young. Also to burn anything green in the fire- place causes the same result. (Mad- agascar.) If a maiden lady gets a new set of furniture, the first man who sits down in her new rocking chair will be her husband sometime. To spin a chair on one leg is a sure sign that you will be swindled before you retire. It is unlucky to rock in a chair that squeaks. Get some oil and stop the ill wail over your misfor- tunes. When the Ashantees rise from their chairs or stools, the seat is hastily laid on the side, to prevent the devil or evil spirits from slip- ping in their place. If a person, upon leaving, places the chair in which he has been sit- ting against the wall, it is a sign of very bad luck When a man goes to sit down in a chair, he always takes hold of its back and moves it. Perhaps he won't move it more than an inch or two, but in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred, he will move it a little. When a woman goes to sit down, she sits down in the chair just where it is. If men and women dressed exactly alike, you could tell them apart by watching how they sit down. (New England.) CHAMOIS SKIN–It is a very unlucky thing to hang a chamois skin on the door knob. CHARMS RELATING TO THE HOUSE—In China, an im- age of a cat on the roof of a house protects it from all evil. Garlic hung over doors in mod- ern Europe will bring good luck to a house. To nail a bat on the house-door prevents the magicians from enter- ing. (Irish.) In Africa, a bullock's horn is hung over the door to keep witches out of the house. On most of the old houses in Edinburgh there are remains of tal- ismanic and cabalistic characters which the superstition of earlier ages had caused to be engraved on their fronts. The medal of St. Benedict hung over a door will protect the house from the raging of the elements. A Congo Negro will outline his hut with a circle of ashes, to pre- serve it from evil influences. A picture of a tiger's head rudely painted on a square of board and hung in front of a house or shop in China, is certain to bring good luck. ZA small wooden box, called the “ofaray,” which is given by the Japanese priest, is fixed on the street door to keep out evil spirits, FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 425 but after a year it must be exchang- ed, as it loses its supernatural qual- ities. An old shoe has its virtues in the East, and a rare specimen may fre- quently be seen, dangling from the corner of a newly laid house-roof, in company with garlic and other charms to keep the djinns from the unfinished dwelling. That house in which is seen the spider's web, or which is not swept clean and adorned with flowers both morning and evening, or in which there is constant quarrel be- tween persons, or where the lady of the house is forever dirty, will suffer miseries. (Hindu.) A concave mirror partially fram- ed is often hung on the outside of a house in China, so as to reflect and to counteract the bad influ- ences which flow from some pro- jecting point of the house opposite, else very bad influences would come on to the house and spoil its luck. The Japanese have before the doors of their houses an image of their domestic god, which has the supernatural power of protecting them from all manner of distempers, the smallpox, and from all casual - ties usual to mankind. Frequently they also use for the same purpose the liverwort, which is believed to have magic properties. In Germany,three crosses painted over the house-door keep disease and all other domestic disasters off the house of true believers; fre- quently, the initials K, M, and B, or even the pentalpha, are painted or engraved over house or stable door. This pental- pha, commonly called “wizard's foot,” consists of two triangu- lar figures united so as to form a six-pointed star. The three initials stand for the names of Kaspar, Melchior and Balthazar, the patron saints of the farmers, the three magi of German folklore. CHEST-The English consider it very good luck to possess a chest that has been handed down through many generations. CHIMNEY—If your chimney burns, you will hear some startling 116 WS. If your chimney catches fire three times in succession, it is a sign of a wedding. In Austria, if anyone hears the slightest rattling in the chimney, it is believed that evil spirits are ap- proaching the house. When sparks fly out of the chim- ney, it is a sign that witches are breathing evil wishes for the in- mates of the house; a handful of salt thrown on the fire will scare away the witches and dispel their wicked will. CHIMNEY BACK–Sweep the chimney back down if you wish Company. CHINA BOARD–When your china board gives a strange crack- ing sound, it is said your washer- woman will not live long. CHOPSTICKS-In Japan it is unlucky to use chopsticks of which the one is wood or ivory and the other bamboo. The Chinese test their cooking with an ivory chopstick. If there is anything poisonous in it, the chopstick will turn black. CLOAK—If you throw a cloak accidentally over a person's head, it is the same as putting sod on their grave. It is unlucky, when going out of the hotºse, to have anyone hold you 426 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. by the cloak, or have your garment catch on anything. CLOCK–For a clock to strike between hours is a sign of death. If a clock stops without running down, it is a sign of death in the house. It is unlucky for a clock to be placed opposite the fireplace. It is unlucky if a clock strikes more than twelve. To hear a clock ticking when there is no clock, is a sign of death. If a clock runs down when there is a sick person in the house, he or she will die. The stopping of a clock three times at the same hour signifies death. If you make a face while the clock strikes, it will stay that way. If the clock is bewitched, take it out at the back door and in at the front door. It is a bad sign to see the face of the clock over the left shoulder in the morning. If a clock whirrs in an unusual manner, you will hear of the death of a friend. When a clock gives a whirring noise and then suddenly stops, it is an omen of evil. If your clock runs down with a whirr, just as someone is leaving the house, it is a sign that the per- son will die. When you hear a clock strike, say: “Lord, may my last hour be my best hour.” For your clock to stop in the morning before breakfast, is a sign that you will want something. If anyone asks what time it is, and the clock strikes just at that moment, he or she will die before long. Should a clock strike unexpect- edly or incorrectly, it presages the reception of sudden riches. If a clock strikes thirteen, it por- tends the death of the owner. If a clock which has long stop- ped running, suddenly begins to strike or tick, it is the sign of ap- proaching death or misfortune. When a “grandfather's clock” casts the shadow of a coffin, it means that someone in the house will die. If the clock stops at exactly twelve o’clock, prepare to hear of the death of a member of the fam- ily. If the large hand drops off the clock, it foretells the death of a male relative. The small hand in- dicates a female. If a clock is heard to strike dur- ing the ringing of the elevation bell (Catholic service), by those in church, it is said that one of the hearers or their immediate family will die before long. If you make a face while the clock strikes twelve, the wind changes and a cock crows, all at the same time, your face will al- ways remain in the same ugly con- dition. The reason why people think it best to stop the clock at the mo- ment of a death, is doubtless for the purpose of limiting the power of death by introducing a new period of time. If you should become possessed of an old “grandfather's clock” and conclude to sell it, you will never have any luck. One by one you will sell your possessions until you will have to sell the last. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 427 A clock or watch will often stop the moment of the death of the Qwner, although nobody knows why. In newspaper reports of accidents or sudden deaths, it is not at all unusual to read, “his watch stopped at half-past three” (the mo- ment of death). Baxter, in his “World of Spirits,” says: “It is recorded of a great and good man who had a clock- watch which had been lying unused in a chest for many years, that when he died at exactly eleven o'clock, the watch struck eleven, and was heard by many persons.” There is a popular song sung in . the rural districts of the United States, the refrain of which em- bodies an old belief that old clocks are in sympathy with their owners. “And the clock stopped, never to go again, when the old man died.” An English lady writes that when her grandfather died, the old Clock which he had wound up every week for sixty or seventy years, began to go slower and tick slower and slower, until its owner drew his last breath, when it stop- ped; but in a moment it began to go again in its usual time and still goes, in the old home. She and all her family heard and noticed this OCC11rren Ce. CLOTH-It has always been re- garded as unlucky to cut new cloth instead of tearing it. If you leave a dirty cloth on the table at night, you will make the angels weep, so that the youngest person in the home can get no rest. “To smell burning cloth it doth imply A sudden danger ripe and nigh, Look for escape and pray beware! Though Fate may threaten it may spare.” CLOTHING IN GENERAL– To insure good luck, wear your new dress for the first time to church. It is good luck for daughters to wear their mothers' clothes. A new dress must be worn for the first time on Sunday. (Greek.) To hang clothes wrong side out is an antidote for a drunken hus- band. (Maine.) If a man has to wear out his wed- ding clothes, he will never be rich. (New England.) If a lady buys a gentleman clothes, she will receive a letter from across water. If a gentleman buys a lady clothes, his favor will not be grant- ed. To get pitch on your clothes sig- nifies that someone has been scan- dalizing you. If you wear green a great deal, you will get rich. If your dress rips in the seams, you have a secret enemy. If you tear your skirt, you will have a severe illness. Hang up your clothing at night for luck. Drop it, and your luck drops. A new garment should not be put on empty. Bad luck to hang a garment on the cellar door. If you trade your clothes for others, you will lose caste in soci- ety. If your good dress falls and lies on the floor, you will be sick. To burn a hole in your dress sig- nifies good luck. To have damp clothes sent to you, is a sure sign of sickness. To take wet clothes away from a house brings bad luck. 428 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. To throw clothing into the fire is a sign that the owner will be like- wise consumed. When making a coat, it is con- sidered very unlucky to piece it. To wear a new dress for the first time when it rains, is an ill omen. To find clothing and pick it up, is the sign of sickness. You must set an iron on a new garment before wearing it, to have good luck. If all your woolen garments burn up, you will die rich. Wear plaid and you will have bad luck. For brothers or sisters to wear the same clothes in succession, is lucky. To tear your dress under the arm is a sign of a wedding. In Japan it is unlucky to put on new clothes after 5 p. m. For a dress to be torn by a bram- ble, is a sign of suffering by envy. If you wear another person's clothes, you take their troubles up- on yourself. It is considered very lucky to tear your dress before it is washed. To put the band of a dress on awry is a bad omen. It is unlucky to put on a new dress when the moon is in the de- cline. It is unlucky to cut up a dead person's clothes. Burn or bury them. To dress handsomely and neatly is half the battle in business. To brush clothes at night brings surprises. It is a sign of luck and wealth to wear a fur garment; you will al- ways be rich. It is good luck to wear your old clothes until you can pay for the IICW OIlêS. The garment made from wool pulled from a dead sheep's back will irritate the skin. If a stick catches in a girl's dress while she is walking, it is a sign of a beau. To accidentally find a drop of blood on a garment, is a sign of Sorrow to the one who finds it. If a woman keeps picking up the hem of her dress with her heels, she is a slattern. If you wear soiled clothes about the house, you will never live to marry. If you wish your dress to wear well, put a piece of iron in your pocket and keep it there. It is said if you carry a new gar- ment into a house where there is sickness, it is bad luck. To have mud splashed on a white dress, is a sign that someone is going to speak ill of the wearer. Bad luck to allow anyone to wear your clothing before you have worn it yourself. If you have on a new garment and somebody pinches it (perhaps to examine the material), it is very lucky. Should three things go wrong when making a garment, you will wear it at a wedding, probably your own. Never mend a rent in a dress while on your body; you will either become poor, or evil and malicious reports will be spread about you. (Ireland.) If you wear a new dress for the first time in the rain, it will rain every time you put it on. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 429 To leave clothes hanging on the line over New Year's signifies death in the family. It is good luck if the hem of your dress turns up. Spit on the place, and you will get a new dress. It will bring good luck to put on any article of clothing belong- ing to a cripple. If your dress or coat catches in the seat at the theater, you will be sorry that you went there. When a man wears clothing without taking off the price-tag, it is a sign that he has not paid for the suit. If a friend's dress has a kink in the bottom, turn it down, or your friends will quarrel with you. If any of your clothing becomes unpinned and drops off, you will lose a dear friend. If you buy a dress on New Year's day, it will always be satis- factory, and you will look well in it. It is regarded as ill luck to dress again after one has undressed to retire. Put on new clothes in the morn- ing. Begin the day clean and fresh. It is the luckiest thing to do. A knot in a staylace betokens a present, and the nearer it is to the tag, the sooner will it arrive. (Gloucestershire, England.) It is always a sign of despair" when a woman wears too much rouge and too little clothing. When a hole is burned in your dress, someone is talking evil of yOu. If you tear your clothes across the shoulders, it is a sign that you will receive a bodily injury. To tear a garment the first time you wear it, is a sign that you will have bad luck whenever you wear it. To have your dress or any part of your clothing caught and held without tearing, is a sign that Somebody is anxious to see you. If you accidentally put on any garment wrong side out, and make a wish before changing it, the wish will come true. The ancient Egyptians believed that woolen clothing would excite the passions, and therefore prefer- red linen. To break a great many needles on a garment that you are making, is said to be a sign that it will be your wedding garment. To tear a garment on wearing it the first time, is pretty sure to be the luck of the garment all through. A stain must be made on the white linen of a new dress lest the wearer should become so proud that he will incur the evil eye. (Greek.) If you change your garments for lighter ones on a week day, you will catch cold. Change on Sunday and you will be all right. Some people are so superstitious that they will throw away any gown which they have worn to a funeral. If a woman's dress turns up when she is going down the steps, it is a sign that a widower is paying attention to her. If you are unlucky while making a dress, the luck will reverse when you put it on, and you will be lucky whenever you wear it. If you tear clothing in the shape of an L, you will shortly receive an introduction to a valuable acquaint- ance of the opposite sex. 430 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. If you wear old-fashioned clothes when you are young, you will be giddy in your dress when you are old. If the figures in your dress are rings linked together, it is a sign that you will be married before the dress is worn out. Never mark the name of a sick person anywhere on a garment; if you do, he or she will not live to wear it. When you see a man with one trouser-leg in his boot and the oth- er out, you may know he has money to let. (New England.) If you buy material for a new dress and do not make it up until you are married, you will have very bad luck. (New England.) If, in making a dress, you think it finished but have forgotten a seam, you will make another in a very short time. If, in going out, your clothes get caught in the door or on the latch, stay a while where you are, or you will meet with a mishap. Dean Swift, the author of “Gulli- ver's Travels,” would never change a garment if he found he had put it on wrong side out. If you are sewing on a new gar- ment, and prick your finger with the needle so as to bring blood, it is a sign that the first time you wear the garment you will receive many kisses. If a person tears his or her clothes on passing through a door- way, it is an omen of ill luck, and the person had better give up the undertaking he or she is embarked upon. It is unlucky for a girl to put on a man’s clothes. If she does so, the devil will obtain the mastery over her. This notion is prevalent among the peasantry of some parts of Europe. To mend your dress on your body will make you ashamed be- fore you take it off; if someone else mends it, while you have it on, you will be angry before you take it off. Many persons believe it unlucky to wear garments that have not been paid for. They will not even put them on until they are paid for, or until at least some part of the bill has been settled. To accidentally burn a hole in the front of a garment is a sign of good fortune before you. A hole burnt in the back part of a garment is bad luck. If you have a new dress and do not pull it over your head on tak- ing it off after having worn it for the first time, but let it slip down over your feet, you will never have a good time in that dress. It is very unlucky to fold your clothes carefully at night. In that way you fold up the day's sins and put them on again the next morn- ing. Shake your clothes and hang them up. Then you will get rid of yesterday's sins. If a gentleman accidentally burns the tail of his coat, or a lady the hem of her skirt, during a visit at a friend's house, it is a sign that they will repeat the visit. When you first put on a new coat or dress, put money in the right-hand pocket; you will then never be in want. If, by mistake, you put it in the left-hand pocket, you will be in need as long as the coat or dress is worn. If, when dressing, you acciden- tally put on a garment wrong side out, do not change it until you have said: “I wish a wish, I wish I may, Have better luck another day.” FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 43 K Whenever anyone puts on a new garment, he or she should repeat this spell: “This coat I wear, this garment bear, To bring good luck to me; If any man begrudge that luck, May he accursed bel.” Dress has a radical effect on the moral conduct of mankind. It is equally effective in business. The well and carefully dressed man can borrow five thousand dollars to tide him over a tight place, where a shabby and ill dressed man could not get a dollar. The carefully dressed man looks prosperous and draws the congenial attention of prosperous men. The seedy indi- vidual, no matter how talented, will meet with but scanty attention. If you have your measure taken for new clothes— On Monday, you will have am- ple food and provisions. On Tuesday, your clothes will be burnt. On Wednesday, you will enjoy happiness and tranquillity. On Thursday, your fate will be good and propitious. On Friday, you will get into prison. On Saturday, you will experi- ence numerous troubles and sor- TOWS. If you put on new clothes— On Monday, they will soon tear. On Tuesday, they will catch fire. On Wednesday, you will readily obtain a new suit. On Thursday, you will always appear neat and elegant. On Friday, you will be happy as long as the suit remains fresh. On Saturday, you will be taken ill soon. On Sunday, it foretells happiness and ease. In the morning, you will increase your wealth and be fortunate. In the evening, something will make you wretched. At Sunset, you will have a long illness. CLOTHES FOR MEN–It is bad luck for a man to button his vest from the top down. To button your coat awry, is a sign of a disappointment. The boy who wears his pants out at the knees, will be rich. To button your coat crooked is a sign of jealousy. If an unmarried man habitually warms his coat before he puts it on, he will always remain single. If the hem of a man’s trousers keeps catching on the top of his boots it is a sign that he is out of employment and wants work; it is also frequently a sign that the man is a heavy drinker. If there is a white thread on a gentleman's coat, it is a sign that he wants to get married. If a man’s coat is always unbut- toned and Swinging open, it is a sign that he cannot keep a secret, and will tell all he knows. CLOTHES FOR WOMEN- To lose a dress-skirt means disap- pointment concerning wearing ap- parel. Whoever works on a sick per- son’s dress, will die within the year. Women who pick up the skirt of a walking dress of ordinary length on the street on a dry day, are “more nice than wise.” If a dress is begun on Wednes- day or Saturday, it must be done that day, or the maker will never live to wear it. To feel a sudden motion of the dress as if someone had pulled it, 432 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. is a sign that you will soon hear of the death of a loved one. If an unmarried woman steps on the bottom of her skirt and rips it, she must look upon the painful sight of her lover walking with a favored rival. In Cambridge, Mass., if the bot- tom of your dress is turned up so as to show the hem, spit on it and it will secure you a new one. CLOTHES LINE–When the clothes line breaks it warns you that the next washing will be stol- CI1, CLOTHES PIN–To split a clothes pin when hanging out clothes, is a sign you will have bad 1162WS. The woman who hangs her clothes with the clothes pins in her mouth and hangs the pieces evenly, is said to be a good housewife. COAL–A piece of live coal found among the ashes of a cold grate, signifies a death. A coal in the shape of a coffin flying out of the fire to any particu- lar person, denotes that the death of that person is not far off. If you see images in the coals in the shape of houses, it is a good O111C11. Coals which rattle when held to the ear, are signs of wealth. If mute and solid, they indicate sick- ness or death. Charcoal is lucky and displayed at festivals in Japan because noth- ing can change its color, and be- cause it expresses the hope that the fortunes of those we love shall for- ever remain unchanged in all that gives joy. Bituminous coal will sometimes swell into bubbles, which burst, and afterwards throw off the upper section with some explosive force. According to the shape of the piece so thrown it is named. If it is round, it is a purse of money; if ob- long, a coffin, and the group to- wards which it flew will be in dan- ger. COAL HOD–It is bad luck to wash out a coal hod. COBWEB—In Hampshire, if there is a dangling cobweb, the cook wants kissing. Many cobwebs around a house are a sign of sickness. It is unlucky to brush away cob- webs; the Hindus are particularly firm in the belief of this. The cobweb is thought lucky by various people because Mahomet, David and Felix were each saved by it. If a girl finds a cobweb in the door, it is a sign that her lover's affection is fickle. He calls else- where. (Northern Ohio.) If a cobweb catches you under the chin while passing through a doorway, it is a sign that you will be sick and die. COFFEE POT-If your coffee pot boils over on your wedding morn, it is a sign that you will have a cross husband. COLLAR–To scorch a collar is a sign of a present. A person who wears celluloid or paper collars will never get a com- petency. If a man wears a very low collar in front, he cannot keep a secret; he tells all he knows. COLOR OF DRESS—It is lucky to wear something blue, if it is only a garter. To wear green is a sign of death in the family. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 433. Blue dresses are said to keep the wearers from insults. Wear purple and you will never Want. It is considered very bad luck to have a green dress or coat hanging in your closet. It is unlucky to wear purple at a wedding, as it fades the Soonest, and is a sign of divorce. Make red your favorite color to wear and you will be rich. Make green your favorite and you will have good health. Perhaps some of the most com- mon superstitions among society women touch upon some particular costumes which in their minds have the power to make or break the enjoyment of the occasions on which they are worn. In the wear- ing of a pink gown something of an unusual nature is sure to happen, and the cherished white one insures the most radiant pleasure. COMB AND COMBING—It is bad luck to burn a comb. To count the teeth in a comb is a sign that they will break out. If you drop a comb, you will meet with a disappointment. To break a comb while combing your hair, is a sign of a fit of sick- 116 SS, A person using a comb before another person has finished using it, is a sign of a headache for the latter. Should the hair of your head come out frequently when comb- ing, it is a sign you will be afflicted. To see a comb drop will give you a disappointment, but it can be counteracted by stepping on the comb before picking it up. If a person drops a comb, and, putting the foot on it, makes a wish, while another person picks it up, the former will get the wish. COMFORTER—If, when mak- ing a comforter, you prick your fin- ger, you will receive many kisses under it. COOKING—It is unlucky to use a cooking-pot to take water from a stream. (Madagascar.) Stir food from left to right, or “sunwise,” or it will bring sickness. “Crock-mark sign of a spark; Nearer the thumb, sooner he'll come.” (New England.) A cook who lets the dinner burn in the pot, is either betrothed or promised. If you see a woman stirring her batter from left to right, you may know she is a good cook. (New England.) If you leave half a pumpkin in the kitchen, a witch will come in and stay and spoil your cooking. (South Carolina Negroes.) When, in cooking rice, a ring forms around the edge of the pot, the owner will become rich; also when the rice swells in the middle. (Madagascar.) The Burmese say that to inhale the odor of any fat oil while cook- ing, will entail great trouble. To forget spices in cooking, sig- nifies troubles and difficulties. To overdose cooking with spices, signifies that you will better your- self in marriage. When you have a kettle of lard on the stove that you are trying out, and want to know if it is done, put a match into it. If it is done, it will light; but if it does not light, keep on cooking your lard. (New England.) In Malta, it is considered un- lucky and even shameful for a 434 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. woman to send food to be cooked in a public oven, when her husband is away from the island. To stop crying while peeling onions, hold two needles between your teeth by the points. (Prince Edward Island.) COOKING AND EATING |UTENSILS-If you drop a fork, a man will come. If you drop a knife, a lady will COII.10. If you break dishes, buy some- thing, and the luck will change. Two forks crossed forebode strife and enmity. Two knives laid crosswise fore- bode misfortune. Stir with a fork when cooking, stir Sorrow. (Irish.) Seeing a knife sharpened foretells a quarrel. To play with a knife is a sign of poverty. If you drop a large gravy-spoon, a widow will come to see you. It is unlucky to turn a silver Spoon over in your mouth. If you put two spoons in a pot, two ladies are coming. If a knife is thrown off a table and falls on its back, it is a sign of a wedding. If a knife lies the wrong way, it forebodes quarreling. It is a very bad omen to stumble over a knife. It is a bad omen to scour butch- er and bread knives. It is said to be unlucky to buy a knife and not to cut first, wood or paper. If you sharpen a knife otherwise than on a whetstone, there will be strife in the house. Table knives turning blue denote that a northeast wind is coming. (Placentia Bay, Nfid.) An extra knife set before a guest will send him away hungry. It is a sign of riches if your pen- knife rusts in spite of care. If someone gives you a fork, be- ware of flattery; don’t trust the one who next flatters you. If a gentleman loses his pocket- knife, it is a sign that he will soon lose his heart. It is forbidden to touch one's own person with a knife; the re- sult will be leprosy. (Madagas- car.) A knife with which a human be- ing has been slain is an invaluable possession in China. If a knife or scissors are dropped and stick up in the floor, visitors may be expected. Some people will not let a knife lie on its back for fear of cutting the angels' feet. If a knife be spun around, care should be taken to spin it back again, otherwise it insures ill luck. To strike a person with a large cooking spoon that is used in serv- ing out rice, will cause the person struck to become an animal. (Mad- agascar.) It is good luck to find a knife. No matter how useless and old it may be, keep it. If a pocket-knife is lent to you, always return it in the way you got it—open if open and shut if shut— else it will bring bad luck to you. To stick the chopsticks upright in a bowl is the sign of a death. (Japan.) If you throw your knife to a per- son to whom you wish to lend it, instead of handing it to him, you will lose it. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 435 If a cup falls from your hand and does not break, it is a sign that you will be called to witness a stran- ger's wedding. It is a sign of a kiss to the girl who has a cluster of bubbles in the center of her cup. She will be so saluted during the day. If from extreme cold a dish flies to pieces, it is a sign of trouble to some member of the family who is away from home. If, having bought a new knife, you give a morsel of the first thing you cut with it to a dog, you will not lose the knife, A servant should never carry away a plate from the table on which are two knives, until one of them is removed, nor a saucer with two spoons. If you have old-fashioned dishes decorated with birds, you had bet- ter break them; for you will never have good luck till they are brok- €11. A Spaniard considers it very un- lucky if, when he borrows a friend's dagger, it is presented with the point forward, instead of the hilt. If anyone makes you a present of a knife, you must pay him back with a penny, else it would cut the friendship. It is remarkable that Arabs will not take a knife or sharp instru- ment from the hands of anyone. They require that it first be laid on the ground, when they will take it without fear. If a Japanese should eat from a plate used by his holiness, the high priest of the temple, he would get an inflammation of the throat, and a sore mouth. If a friend asks to borrow your pocket-knife, you should always open it before giving it to him, and he should return it open. If not, you will lose it that day, or break the friendship. The spoons displayed in the Turkish bazaars are extremely ele- gant. They have tortoise bowls, the handle being of ebony, ivory, fine horn, silver, coral and mother- of-pearl. Others have the bowl of cocoanut, ivory, fine horn, or even of agate; and most of the slender, delicately turned handles are tip- ped with little branches of coral to avert the evil eye. The following is not exactly a superstition or an omen, though, aside from being historically interesting, it may be entitled to a place in this work, in- asmuch as the collection of relics and souvenirs may be or become more or less connected with some form of superstition. Some years ago a party of distin- guished visitors were being enter- tained at a dinner given by the Philadelphia millionaire, George W. Childs. Noticing that one of the guests was looking somewhat intently at a peculiarly shaped dish- holder at one end of the table, the host genially remarked: “Isn't that a curious bit of plate? Do you know what it is? Well, it is the baron’s silver coronet which the poet, Lord Byron, wore at the cor- onation of George IV. I have had the velvet cap removed, and by turning it upside down, have converted it into a dish-holder!” The feelings of the English guests may be imagined at seeing mashed potatoes steaming in the silver headgear of England's renowned poet. CORKSCREW–The breaking of a corkscrew is said in Limerick to mean eternal poverty. 436 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. CORSET-To break a corset- stay is a sign of coming money or visitors. If a girl breaks her front corset- steel in the middle, she will never marry the man she loves. CROCKERY-In Austria it is very unlucky to throw, in anger, broken crockery at anybody. CUE—Chinese wear cues so that God can pull them up to heaven when they die. CUFF-A person who never wears cuffs will always be poor. CURTAIN–It is a sign of dis- appointment for a window curtain to roll up askew. When a young girl pushes a cur- tain up slantingwise, she is about to fall out with her lover. If a bed curtain, or any other kind of curtain, catches fire in a house, it is a sign of a wedding be- fore the year is out. To have the tassel of the curtain pull out in your hand, when draw- ing it down, is a sign that you are going to be invited to a place of amusement. DAIRY-If you wish to have especial good luck in your dairy, give your bunch of mistletoe to the first cow that calves after Christ- IIIa S CVC. DISHCLOTH-If you drop a dishcloth, company will come. It is good luck to steal a dish- rag from your neighbor. It is bad luck to touch a person with a dishrag. Should you not wish for com- pany, shake the dishcloth, and so shake intending visitors off. “To drop a dishcloth is a sign that a sloven Worse than yourself is surely comin’.” DOOR-In China, to have a door on the north side of the house, will bring ill luck. Do not slam a door. You may pinch a returned spirit in it. A house with its front door not facing the street, is unlucky. You lose all your luck by going through a door backwards. To knock at the door will cause the house to be deserted. (Mada- gascar.) It is unlucky to knock at one's own door by mistake. It is a sign of death to fancy you hear knocks at the door. When your door blows open, you are going to get a pleasing Sur- prise. To forget to lock your door at night is a sign of a death that will concern you. A person who never shuts a door will never own a house. To bruise a finger while closing a door is held to be unlucky. Go out one door and come in an- other, and you will surely have company. When you go out of a door, turn around and close it, with your face to it. People who do not close doors after them will always be poor. To see doors opened so as to form a triangle, is a sign of death. When two persons open a door at the same moment, they will soon quarrel. If you are accidentally locked out of your own house, it forebodes a death. It is unlucky to slam a door; you might pinch a soul. (German.) If, in walking into a room, you turn around in the doorway, it is unlucky. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 437 A quarrel will always result, if you and your friend leave the house by the separate sides of a swing door. In China, a gourd, shell, or even a piece of wood on which a gourd is painted, placed on each side of the door, is a very lucky thing, and wards off all evil influences. If two persons stand in a house- door and a bee flies between them, they will hear of a death very short- ly. If a door of a house opens with- out apparent cause, it means some misfortune to the owner. If an outside door flies open, hasten to close it at once. Spirits threw it open and witches are thronging in. When you are going away and lock the door with your left hand, it is a sign of disappointment. A man who is always forgetting to close the door after him, is said to be unlucky in buying real estate. If a door is pushed twice before it closes, another person will soon come through it. It is unlucky for three men to stand in the doorway together when a dead body lies in the house. One of the three will follow soon. To mistake a door slam for the discharge of a gun, is the sign you will be accidentally shot. If you come to an open door that you expected to find shut, you will go through it to hear good news. A Hindu thinks it unlucky to carry anything out-of-doors in the morning until he has rubbed his doorway with the excrement of a COW. Cut no new doors or windows in a house after it is finished. Every hole cut in a house means a hole cut in the graveyard for a member of the family. In Bulgaria if a closet-door is left open while anyone sleeps, the bodily Satan they all believe in, who is always prowling around, will find ingress thereby. If a person has difficulty in turn- ing the handle of a door, it is a sign that he or she has neglected to say the prayers. (Hungary.) In Germany, children are taught not to slam doors violently or sud- denly, as the soul of the dear old grandmother may be following them, and they may pinch her. Many old houses in Holland have an especial door, which is never opened except on two occa- sions—when there is a marriage or a death in the family. The bride and groom enter by this door; it is then nailed up and securely barred until a death occurs, when it is opened, and the body is removed by this exit. To take the corpse out of any other door would simply be to let in death at any time. DOOR-BELL–If the door-bell rings and you do not answer it, you will lose a friend. DOOR-KEY-For any lady to leave her door-key in your house, is a sign that she is talking about you. DOORSTEP—If you whiten your doorstep, it will keep all witches out of the house. The threshold is guarded against evil spirits by pitch or a donkey's shoe. (Turkish.) If five copper coins are placed under the doorsill, good luck is sure to come. (China.) In Madagascar, a pebble taken from the stomach of a crocodile 438 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. was buried under the doorstep, to prevent evil-minded ghosts from coming at night to disturb the family. DRESS AND DRESSING—If any person sees a strange woman undress, he or she will be slander- ed. If you dress in the morning with- out speaking, and then speak first to one you love, you will have good luck all day. If you dress in the presence of others, it signifies slander. If you happen to see someeone undress, you will find out some se- cret of passion. DRINKING CUP–Cups made of rhinoceros horns cause any liquor to effervesce if there is poi- son in the cup. DUSTER—To drop a duster signifies the arrival of visitors. DWELLING—The Navajo In- dians believe it unlucky to occupy a lodge in which any person had died—so they burn it. EMBROIDERY--TO wear em- broidery gives you honors and luck. In Macedonia, in order that a girl shall know how to embroider well, she is told to kiss the foot- prints of a camel. EYEGLASSES-Someone goes blind every time a pair of glasses is broken beyond mending. It is bad luck to wear other peo- ple's spectacles. If, by mistake, you put your spectacles on upside down, you will hear from a long-absent friend. To miss your spectacles and find them on your forehead, is a sign that you will go blind. There, is a notion in Australia that if a man places his glasses up- side down by mistake, he will die by the rope. FACE POWDER—If you pow- der a lady's face, it is a sign of de- ceit. FAMILY-If members of a family, after a long separation, meet for a family reunion, one of them will die within the year. FAN–In fanning, if the fan strikes the body, it should be struck three times on the ground. (Bengal.) It is considered very lucky for the sick if you fan them with the fan of an ancestor or a grandmoth- er. If it is made of feathers, so much the better; they will waft the illness away. If a lady is perfectly devoted to her fan, and fans constantly, you could not trust her out of your sight. Language of the fan: “Yes,” is expressed by letting the fan rest on the right cheek. “No,” let fan rest on left cheek. “I hate you,” drawing through the hand. “I am Sorry,” drawing across the eyes. sº “We will be friends,” dropping fan. “I am engaged,” fanning fast. “I am married,” fanning slow. “You are cruel,” open and shut. “Wait for me,” open wide. “I have changed,” shutting it. “You have changed,” rest on right ear. “I wish to be rid of you,” twirl- ing in left hand. “I love another,” twirling in right hand. “Kiss me,” hold handle to lips. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 439 prº y “You are too willing,' in right hand. “Follow me,” carrying in left hand in front of face. “I desire acquaintance,” carry- ing in left hand. “We are watched,” across the forehead. “I love you,” drawing across cheek. The origin of the fan is told in the following Chinese story: It is said that one evening the beautiful Kan Si, daughter of a powerful Chinese mandarin, who was attend- ing a grand feast of lanterns, be- came so overcome with heat that she felt it necessary to remove her mask. But the law forbade a wom- an to expose her face to the com- mon gaze, so holding the mask as closely to her face as possible, she rapidly fluttered it to give air, and the rapidity of the movement still concealed her. The other ladies, observing the hazardous but charming innovation, followed suit. At once a thousand hands were fluttering their masks, and thus was begun the flirtatious and fasci- nating fan. FEAST –To give a feast under unusual conditions, signifies ap- proaching trouble. carrying drawing It was unlucky not to be furnish- ed with a handsome cloak or gar- ment by the host at a great feast in Biblical times. In olden times a bull’s head, pre- sented at a feast, meant that some- body was going to be put to death immediately. When the Hindu makes a feast, he sends out his servants to invite guests to come to it; if they refused it would make the host very angry, as it was considered a sign of ill luck to him. This custom is allud- ed to by Christ in the parable where a king made a great feast and the guests invited made excuses, until he was so wroth that he took an army, destroyed them, and then had his servants go and com- pel people to come in from the highways, but he was still so an- gry that when he happened to no- tice that one of these compelled guests had not on a proper gar- ment, he ordered him to be taken out and punished. Oddly enough, this wrathful monarch, supersti- tious and revengeful, with his forced feast, is compared unto the “Kingdom of Heaven.” FENCE—If a house has an iron fence around it, the inmates will have good luck as long as it stands. FINGER BOWL–The last one to remove the finger bowl from the plate will never marry. FIRE-A chunk of fire falling down on the hearth is a sign of company. When the fire sparkles very much it is a sign of rain. To fan a fire with a broom will bring disappointment. If a stranger pokes your fire and it blazes, you will find some money. If you throw salt on the fire, you will quarrel with your nearest and dearest. If a female makes a fire without much trouble, it is a sign of fine, healthy children. If you step on a spark of fire, you will save someone from telling a lie. If the fire blazes up suddenly, a visitor or a stranger is coming. If the fire burns with a pale flame it presages foul weather. When the fire sparkles very much, it is a sign of rain. 440 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. If the fire burns and scorches more than usual, it is a sign of frost. To sit with your back to the fire brings rain. To stir the fire with the tongs, stirs up anger. Continuous dull popping and spewing in an open fire indicates S11OW. When the fire will not burn, it is a sign of quarrels and bad luck. When the wood-fire burns blue, it is a sign that the weather will be colder. Never poke the fire with a walk- ing-cane, or you will have the back- ache. If the fire makes a buzzing noise, tempests are at hand. If the wood in the fire crackles, it is a sign of a storm. It is lucky to start a fire in a new house or stove on Thursday. A cracking fire foretells strife. It is lucky to let anything drop into the fire. At a fire, he whose shoes catch and burn is the incendiary. When the fire burns more ve- hemently than usual, it is a sign of frost. If sparks of fire fly out of an open stove door, it is a sign of death. (Trinity Bay.) When the fire spurts and jumps, it announces a visit or a present. (Canary Islands.) Never carry a chunk of fire from one room or one house to another. It is bad luck to pile up cinders on the fire; a sign that the rent will be raised. Persians think it a lucky way to start a fire by rubbing two pieces of wood together. - To spit in a blazing fire, kills one's heart; in Germany, it is be- lieved that it will give one a sore mouth. Never rake out all the fire at night. Fling an egg that was laid on Whit-Sunday, into a fire and it will stop the flames at once. The noise made by the gas in a piece of coal catching fire, is the sign of a quarrel. When you are about to make a fire in the chimney, and find that there is one already, you must spit on it, in order to avert bad luck. If one looks intently into the fire, it is a sign that someone is evilly disposed towards him or her. The modern Kirghis Tartars think it very unlucky to spit into the fire. If a chip in the fire in winter time has a large “cat's tail,” it is a sign of snow. If the fire burns brightly after it has been stirred, it denotes that the absent lover, father or mother is in good spirits. Burning peat should not be turn- ed when lovers are in the house. The young man will not come again. If sparks scatter in golden show- ers from the chimney, it is a sign of money coming to the watcher. If you are thinking of anyone and the fire suddenly blazes up, it is a sure sign that the compliment is returned. Playing with fire is a sign that you will be unjustly punished. If fire springs out of the hearth, you may be sure to receive a vis- itor. If someone puts out the fire with water just as you are leaving a house, death will be on your foot- steps. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 44I When sparks fly out of the fire, a maiden may expect a call from her sweetheart. If you wish for anything very much, poke the fire for fifteen min- utes and you will get it. It is unlucky to carry fire from one room to another, unless some- one spits on it. No cutting instrument should ever be in the corner near a fire; it is a bad omen. If an oval cinder jumps out of a fire, it is a sign of the coming of a baby. Never poke a man's fire unless you have known him seven years. It provokes all sorts of misunder- standings. If the fire hums with a buzzing noise, it is a sign of tempests near at hand. If a youth sits musing and gaz- ing into the fire, it is a sign that someone is doing him ill. If anyone succeeds in lighting a fine fire with a single match, it is a sign that he or she will make an amiable partner in marriage. If a round cinder flies out of the fire it is a sign of a purse, signify- ing prosperity. If a fire lighted in the morning, and then not replenished but for- gotten, is found burning in the evening, it is a sign of a death. A round cinder flying out of the fire is said to be a “money box,” and is a sign that the person to- wards whom it flies will receive money. If you find the fire still burning from overnight when you come to make it in the morning, it is a sign that you will hear of illness during the day. In Shropshire is a superstition that it is unlucky to turn a coal over when you are poking the fire, for then you will turn sorrow to your heart. To allow a spark of fire to be taken out of the house during cer- tain days, is thought to be an evil Omen among the Zuni Indians. Stir a log fire with the right hand, sit to the left, and watch the embers; the faces of friends will Soon appear. That fire and water are the hab- itations of spirits is perhaps a uni- versal article of the pagan creed. The sacred ever-burning hearth- fire was, in primitive days, reckon- ed the special abode of the house- hold gods; it was therefore consid- ered very dangerous to give a stranger a burning brand. If a new maid, the moment she is in the house, sees that the fire is . & 6 ° y 9 in,” and stirs it up, she will stay long in the place. (German.) Among the natives of Victoria, no one ever spits in the fire, as it would injure the person doing so. In Germany, some people believe that spitting into the fire gives you a sore mouth. Don't let fire or light be carried out of your house by a stranger; it is carrying away your luck, taking the victuals away from the house. A peculiar little noise is heard in the winter when the fire goes “poot,” “poot.” This is a sure in- dication that snow is coming. Keeping a fire all the time, with- out letting it go out, is a sign that you will always be well supplied with everything. A spark of fire falling on the stomach of a married woman, pre- dicts that she will be delivered of a dead child. When you see the fire on the hearth reflected outside, the 442 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS, witches are making their tea. It is dangerous to go out-of-doors then, and to stand in the reflection of the fire will bewitch you. Fire and salt are the two most sacred things given to man, and if you give them away on May-day, you give your luck away for the coming year. To turn the unburned end of a stick that has just burned through, to the center of the fire, is bad luck. Simply lift the pieces nearer to the middle without turning them. Never make a fire when you are violently angry, for in the first place it will not burn, and that will make you angrier still, and in the second place you will have a quar- rel with your dearest friend. If a log rolls off the andirons in the fireplace, it is a sign of a vis- itor, and in case you run and spit on it, and wish before it reaches the hearth, the one you wish for will COII16. When the fire was started in the morning and the stove or chimney did not draw and the smoke rolled out into the room, it was a sign that there was a witch on the top of the chimney. (Ohio.) To see a bright blaze in the dis- tance before retiring is a very good omen, and foretells that you will be successful in what you undertake. If it flickers and dies out before you turn your eyes away, it signifies that you have lost an excellent op- portunity. In Greece, when a peasant bor- rows fire from another's hearth, to kindle his own, the owner of the fire must accompany the borrower of the fire to his home to “see the fire blaze,” otherwise the one mak- ing the loan will have his house and goods destroyed by fire. “Wash your hands or else the fire Will not tend to your desire; Unwashed hands ye maidens know Dead the fire though ye blow.” The Albanian Highlanders at- tach great influence to fires on the hearth, and on all important festi- vals they have them burning all day and all night. From the crack- ling noises they divine if enemies are conjuring against them, or if good crops and flocks will be theirs. ** Albanians think it unlucky for the thick end of a stick to burn first, and will not place one stick on top of another. In the Romagna the old men say if you want to know how things will turn out, you must study the fire attentively. If you wish to get very decided omens, repeat the fol- lowing before consulting the fire: “Unto fortune I aspire, So I hope that I may see, That thou still will truly be, A fortune-giver unto me!” FIREPLACE—If you mark on the back of the fireplace, you will have bad luck. To cross the poker and tongs in front of the fireplace will prevent the sparks from popping out upon the floor, and prevent fire while you are absent. FIRE SHOVEL–The mis- placing of the shovel and tongs is a sign of jollity. A crooked-handled fire shovel will cause the children to be cross- eyed. FIRE TONGS.–If you fall on the fire tongs, you will sometime be rich. If a pair of tongs should fall without apparent cause, you will have a visit from a strange gentle- 1113.11. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 443 FLOOR-To measure a floor, you will get what you hope for. Cracks running in opposite di- rections are Omens of evil. If the floor creaks as you walk over it, look out for news of the death of an acquaintance. When the floor splinters, suitors are coming. When the stone floors are damp and “giving,” the women say it is a sign of great heat. If splinters pull off the boards in the sitting-room, it is a sign of Strange company. If, in the house where you live, a board gets loose and bulges up from the floor, a neighbor will die; Sometimes one of the family. The Assyrians thought it lucky to have the floor of the doorway set with images of baked clay, rep- resenting animals heads on human bodies, with bulls' legs and tail, as these were their guardian divinities. They were only fortunate in the open air, and were never placed in- side. FLOUR-It is a bad omen to sell or give away a sack of flour without first making a loaf of bread from it. In Bulgaria, it is most unlucky to sell a sack of flour without first making a loaf of bread from it. If you spill flour over the front of your dress when baking, you will get a shiftless husband. If you see a bag of flour the first thing in the morning, you will hear of a death in the neighborhood that day. If you put a twin almond in your barrel of flour, the flour will last five months longer than usual. (Persia.) How to tell good flour: Squeeze it in your hand, and if it presses to- gether it is good; but if it flies apart it is poor. When you bring home the first flour ground that season, put into it a piece of iron, or else the devils will carry it away. (Persia.) In Bulgaria, flour must be fumi- gated with incense, when it is first brought from the mill, especially if the miller is a dark man, as it may be bewitched. In bringing it into the house, some of it must also be spilled on the floor, lest a demon may have entered the house with it. FLUTE–To hear a flute on Sunday is a sign of strife and mal- 1CC, FLY-If a swarm of flies an- noys you very much, and comes into your kitchen, and will not be driv- en out, sickness and death will fol- low, or you will hear of the death of a dear friend. FOOD-If new-baked bread has a crack, one of the family will die SOO11. It is very unlucky to speak pro- fanely with bread in the hand. In Norway, it is considered very bad luck to throw a piece of bread on the ground. Don’t put bread on your head, or you will have a bad harvest. (Rus- sia.) If a loaf of bread is laid on its brown sides, witches can walk in. It is unlucky to toast bread on a knife. To throw bread on the ground is a very bad omen in Sweden, Ger- many and other countries. Always cut a loaf evenly if you wish to be wealthy. If a piece of bread falls from one's hand, someone is coming to beg. 444 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. If you accidentally drop bread in a cup of tea, you will receive a let- ter. If you eat bread that another has bitten, you will become his enemy. It is unlucky to step on bread. If priests are abused, the bread turns out flat. He who eats much mouldy bread lives to be old. Eating stolen bread or cheese gives one the hiccoughs. She who pricks bread with fork or knife, Will never be happy, maid or wife. There is a traitor at the table, when the loaf gets turned wrong side up. If you drop a piece of bread and then pick it up off the floor, you will be poor if you eat it. It is a bad omen to sell or give away a loaf of bread without break- ing off a piece Never throw bread on the ground. Our Lord used bread at the last supper. All forms of it are sacred. If you give bread out of the house in the early morning, you will bring scarcity into the house. (Russia.) If a loaf is sent away from the table uncut, the people will leave the table hungry. If you leave any of the bread put before you, you must at any rate put it away, or you will have the toothache. If a man puts bread on his head he will die by famine. (Persia.) Never give away the first slice of bread that you cut from a loaf, or you will give away your luck. (Bo- hemia.) If you eat bread with your head uncovered, you show disrespect to God. (Persia.) To eat the crust of your bread, will hasten marriage. (Portugal.) Never put bread just from the oven to your nose to smell; for if you do, after death worms will eat only your nose. (Portugal.) If you cut bread at table and cut One slice too many, it is a sign that Someone will come to eat it. , If you are rich and someone gives you some wheaten bread, you will be much richer. If you are poor, you will be poorer. If you eat the first loaf cooked on any day, your wife will die. (Per- sia.) If, when you are eating bread, it sticks in your throat, and you cough, it is a sign that someone is starving whom you should feed. (Persia.) If you wish to rise in the world, cut the top side of the loaf first, clean and even. In many countries, unleavened bread is given you as you enter the house, so that you and the family will always be fast friends. Making a cross with the finger on the top of a fresh loaf of bread, is said to bring a blessing to each and every person partaking of the SalſT16. If a young married lady bakes bread and it runs over at the side, it is a sign that her firstborn will be a son. The whole world over, an espe- cial respect has been paid to bread as “the staff of life.” According to the familiar saying, “The man who wastes bread will come to want.” Never give away caraway bread, for it gives rise to the saying: “You baked for me caraway bread but prepared for yourself tears,” or “very great need.” FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 445 ºr, In some parts of France it is sup- posed to bring misfortune if bread is eaten before it is marked with the sign of the cross. If you drop a slice of bread while cutting it, you will have friends coming; and if you drop the whole loaf, very dear friends. In Turkey, if a man should step upon a piece of bread, it is a sign that he will be an inmate of the third hell, where he will be per- petually gored by an ox with a single horn. If you find a whole grain of wheat in a loaf of bread, and put it over the door, the name of the first one who enters will be that of your sweetheart. It is unlucky to leave any of your bread behind when rising from a meal; if anyone takes it and throws it over the gallows, you will be hung. If your bread falls on the butter- ed side, ask forgiveness in your prayers, for you have committed a sin that day. Some people con- sider it an omen of death if your bread falls on the buttered side. It makes you stingy to eat bread- CrustS. The Persians believe that bread made in a town exercises an intox- icating effect over strangers. The one who eats the crusts of the bread is the one who will get all the kisses. For a woman to see a large num- ber of loaves of bread is a sign that she will come to want. You will have very bad Iuck if you break bread with a person you hate, or one whom you have cause to think hates you. When loaves of bread burst across the top, the maker is in an expectant condition. If a loaf, while being eaten, parts in the middle, it bodes dissension between man and wife, or separa- tion of the family. He who cuts bread unevenly has told lies that day. Carrying a crust of bread in the pocket is considered lucky. If a loaf of bread lies topsy-turvy, it is a bad sign. If you burn your bread, someone is angry with you. It is bad luck to give away warm wheat bread. It is unlucky to let bread fall on the ground; to avert evil results, pick it up and kiss it before eating it. To habitually lay a loaf of bread bottom side up on the plate, is said to be a sign that you will marry a drunkard; if you already have a husband, it is said to be a sign that he will fall into bad habits. In Devonshire, if the poor get a loaf of bread from the flour of new corn, the first who gets it gives a mouthful to his neighbor, and then fills his own mouth as full as he can, so that his family will not want for bread until the harvest comes again. In Suffolk, England, when a death was expected, it was consid- ered wise to have aquantity of bread made, in order that the evil spirits might occupy themselves with eat- ing it, and let the soul depart in peace. One reason why a cross was made on a loaf of bread in old times, was because they thought it could not be heavy after the proc- ess. Another idea was, that it keeps the bread from turning mouldy. Craven people, when kneading dough, or when adding milk to soften it, make the sign of the cross to keep off evil influences. 446 - ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. The reason why the Germans put cummin in their rye bread is said to be based on the superstition that it prevents newly-made bread from being stolen by the wood- demons. In Scotland, the superstition that it is very unlucky to turn a loaf upside down, is accounted for by a legend that Sir Walter Menteith, the betrayer of Wallace to the Eng- lish, made this action the signal of attack, whence the reversing of a loaf in the presence of a Menteith was considered so deadly an insult as to cause more than one fatal duel in the old fighting days. The Russians hold this belief so firmly, that you have only to re- verse a loaf upside down in any native village, to see the whole company dash at it and reverse it, explaining that when the flat side is exposed, the devil comes and seats himself upon it, and is not to be dislodged without a victim of Some kind. Servants should not handle bread, “the gift of God,” without any reverence and ceremony. They should sign it with the cross either before or after taking it out of the oven. It should be blessed when placed on the table. While it was rising, no gaping fellow dared to come near it, lest he should “over- look” it and make it fall. Even the children should not forget to say, “God bless it.” when they enter the kitchen. The crumbs belong to the fire. If a crumb is stepped on, the souls in purgatory weep. Who- ever, in cutting the loaf, does not come out even with the bread, will not come out even with the people. When one cuts into the side of the loaf, he cuts off God's heels. (Bo- hemia.) If you eat both butter and cheese with your bread, you will be poor. If you are fond of bacon, it is a good sign of luck in love and mar- riage. - If you make fine looking corn- cakes you will marry a handsome IIlall, Among the Romans, it is believ- ed that a loaf of bread and a dish of salt placed side by side during a storm, will avert its dangers. You will always be poor if you borrow either bread or salt. It is considered bad luck to see a person cut a biscuit in two with a knife. Four slices of toast is the small- est quantity that can be made for luck. In Scotland, the “dreaming ban- nocks” are very much liked. They contain a little Soot. In baking them, the baker must be as mute as a stone, as one word would destroy the whole charm. Each person has one, slips quietly off to bed, lays his or her head on the bannock, and the sweetheart never fails to appear in the dreams. Bannocks were presages of good luck when baked with a sign of the cross and eaten in many ceremo- nious ways. The fortunes of a Scotch family were believed to rest with the proper baking and eating of this peculiar cake. “In your pocket just for trust, Carry nothing but a crust; Thus a holy piece of bread, Charms the danger and the dread.” If two divide a piece of cake and eat it together, they will quarrel. It is unlucky to upset a cake or pie so that it turns upside down, when you take it out of the oven. In Coventry, good luck is as- sured by eating a sort of cake call- ed “god-cake.” It is made in tri- angular shape, and filled with mincemeat. * FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 447 If a fine cake bursts in the center and runs over the top of the pan, it is lucky, and denotes abundance or financial accumulation. The Chinese bake on the fif- teenth of each month so-called “brilliant” cakes, which are dis- tributed among all members and friends of the family, and eaten for luck. They are supposed to have divers beneficent properties; chil- dren, for instance, will, by eating them, be safe against colic, and will also become more proficient in their studies. Some Chinese, again, believe that the eating of these cakes will prevent the transmigra- tion of the soul after death. If eggs crack in boiling, it is the sign of a visitor. If eggs float in cold water, they are stale. To open two eggs at once, sig- nifies that you will be deceived by your friend. Clean out the eggshells with your fingers, and you will become a good cook. Don't break the small end of your egg. If you eat a frozen egg, you can never marry. Eggshells or spools strung on a string, always bring bad luck. If you break a double-yolked egg, it is good fortune, especially if the hen is your own. To step on an egg signifies that you will soon quarrel. If a woman steps over an egg- shell she will surely go mad. To drop an egg on the floor and thereby break it, is the sign of a Serious disappointment. For a man to love raw eggs is a sign that he loves liquor. If eggs burst when boiling, it is a sign of separation. If you touch the round of an egg with your tongue and it feels cold, the egg is stale. When you have eaten eggs, the shells are to be broken, else you will get the ague. When you eat eggs crush the shells, or someone will get the fe- ver, as evil spirits are supposed to live in the shells. Many person break their egg- shells after eating the eggs, lest the witches should use them for boats. To suck the first egg laid by a black hen, is lucky. It will clear the voice and make it musical. (Irish.) In France, the magicians used the egg for their diabolical witch- eries, and having emptied it, adroit- ly traced on its interior shell cabal- istic characters able to cause much evil. The faithful were therefore instructed to always break the shell, So that no magician could use it. Chinooks think it unlucky to eat the heart of any fish. The ancient Syrians believed that to eat fish would bring upon them misfortune, and perhaps death. Break the backbone of the her- ring when eating it, and the witches will have no power over you. Many high officers in Japan will not eat a roasted herring. If they did, their castles would be burned down. Eat the eyes of a herring, and you will never be timid after dark. In eating a herring, it is bad luck to turn it over on your plate. The water from a barrel of small mackerel sprinkled around the doors of a business place, brings plenty of prosperity. The bones of a haddock should never be burned. 448 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. To open shell clams signifies dis- union in the family circle. If, in opening a quantity of oys- ters, they obstinately refuse to open, you will gain money, but not by in- heritance. To eat oysters in any month that has no “R,” signifies difficulties in money matters. To open shell oysters signifies tidings of a death. When heat is retained in food or water a long time, a storm is near. If a pepper box gets knocked over when people are eating, it is a sign that there will be trouble in the house before the day is out. To spill pepper is the sign of a fight. It is unlucky to borrow red pep- per from a neighbor. If a potato bursts in the stove, there will be a death in the family. If a roasting potato bursts, it is a sign of a death in the house. If you drop a cooked potato, you will have a visitor before the day is over. It is a sure sign of rain for the potatoes to boil dry. If the porridge is burnt, it is a sign that the cook is in love. If you eat fried pudding, it will make your hair curl. It is lucky to stir a neighbor's pudding. If a stranger comes in when a pudding is being boiled, it will surely burst asunder. Honey is believed to have power over spirits because honey is one of the earliest foods, yields an intox- icating drink, has many healing virtues, and prevents corruption. Old honey is a cure for cough, wind and bile. It also increases strength and virility. Honey is used by the Hindus for washing their household gods. The Dekhan-Brahman father drops honey into the mouth of his new- born child. Among higher class Hindus, especially among Brahmans, when a child is born, honey is dropped into its mouth from a gold spoon or ring. Among Dekhan Hindus, when the bridegroom comes to the bride's house, honey and curds are given him to sip. This honey-sip- ping is called madhuparka; its ap- parent object is to scare evil from the bridegroom. Some think that to eat the lobes of the beef will make one deaf. To help anyone to calf's brains is to promote trouble. Let each guest help himself. The Chinese never eat the flesh of a white fowl, as that would make the gods angry. In preparing game, it is very lucky to find three shots imbedded in the breastbone. The orientals believe that meat can be rendered unclean and unfit to eat by the glance of an evil eye. Many Chinese wives vow not to eat meat any morning for a certain time, believing it will bring wealth and learning to their husbands. American Indians believe that he who eats the calves of the legs of any animal, will have cramps in his legs; also, that a man will be- come lame who splits bones in two. Should the meat for dinner shrink in the pot, it presages a downfall in life. Should the meat swell to a large size, it denotes that the head of the house will be pros- perous in all he does. To extract the marrow from bones will cause the toothache. (Madagascar.) FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 449 Meat fried before day will spoil before night. (Negro.) There is a family rule in Demer- ara, British Guiana, called “ken- na,” forbidding every member of a family to eat meat of a certain kind, as pork, or goat's meat; and if anyone gets leprosy, or scrofu- la, or any other violent disease, he is at once believed guilty of having broken the rule of kenna. If a farmer kills a beef and does not ask the Lord to preserve it, it is said he will not be able to use half of it. Feeding on venison, the Indians claim, will make one swifter and more Sagacious than any other food The devil will follow anyone who carries unsalted meat along the road or across water. If you eat the marrow of pork, you will go mad. A Pythagorean thought it bad luck to eat peacock meat. Among some Indian tribes ex- ists the belief that if a morsel of cooked meat falls to the ground, Some great calamity will befall them, and so strong are they in this notion that the bones are all gath- ered and burned, so that neither dogs nor women can trample on them. If you cut an onion and leave it on the shelf, it will absorb the fever and disease in the house. It is good for malarial districts to have one in the sleeping-room. It is unlucky to keep a cut onion in the house. This is a Salopian (Shropshire) superstition, though even elsewhere a cut onion is con- sidered a very powerful absorbent of poisonous effluvia, etc. It is largely used in fever hospitals, while on the other hand it should not be left carelessly about in the causes extreme poverty. cooking regions, lest it absorb some unsuspected mischief. A cut Onion, applied to a bite, extracts the venom, and is more valuable than a cautery. In malarial dis- tricts, a cut onion is left on the shelf, to absorb fever, as well as the germs of all other diseases. In Egypt, it was a sign of bad luck to break an onion or a leek with the teeth. They should be cut. Garlic was considered un- lucky to eat. If when boiling rice you cover it with water and let it boil without stirring it, it will never burn and the kernels will be separate and full. The Japanese never stir rice. The Japanese think it an omen of good luck if the boiling rice makes a humming sound, faintly at first and then louder. To put down sauerkraut when the moon is full, there will always be a ring in the barrel; when the moon is waning, it will always be dry; when the moon is growing, you will have nice, juicy sauer- kraut. When a baking apple bursts with a sputter, you will hear good news. If, in eating an apple, a child merely girdles it, leaving the stem part and blossom part intact, he will always be poor. It is called “a poor man's core.” To skin a banana with the teeth (Mada- gascar.) A young child should not eat bananas, as the teeth will decay. (Madagascar.) It is unlucky to eat strawberries if you have a wound in the head. (Devonshire.) A hungry person should not eat citrons, pineapple, loguats, cayenne pepper or ginger, as these will aug- ment his hunger. (Madagascar.) 450 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. In eating a peach, if the kernel splits, you will soon be wedded. Fruit stones left carelessly on your plate and then counted, sig- nify the trade of the man you will marry. 1. Tinker. 2. Tailor. 3. Soldier. 4. Sailor. 5. Rich- man. 6. Ploughman. 7. Beg- garman. 8. Thief. To find out the time when you are going to get married, count as follows: 1. This year. 2. Next year. 3. Some- time. 4. Never. If you eat red grapes before go- ing to bed, you will dream many dreams. (Persia.) If, when opening a can of fruit or any similar thing, the juice should happen to spout up in your face, it is a good omen. If a single person mixes the sal- ad, the leaves which fall out of the plate show the number of years he or she has to wait before getting married. (Luxemburg.) When you set the sponge for bread, be sure and sprinkle a little dry flour on top. This will insure good bread. In the New Hebrides, if a snake carries off some food to a “sacred” place, the man it belonged to will sicken as the food decays. Among the Nubians, no food is ever carried without being covered, for fear of the evil eye. Eating dates with an old maid is considered unlucky. When boiling mush, watch the bubbles arise; if they form into rings without breaking, it is a sign of money. - When making griddle-cakes, if they rise up suddenly in the center, it is a sign of a stranger in the house. If young people eat charred rice, they will marry persons with pock- marked faces. (Chinese.) In making a shortcake, don't cross it. If you do, you will cross your fortune shortly. It is bad luck to burn food; it will make sickness. Disputes will follow chopping up food with a knife inside a pot. (Creole.) Roast not that which has been boiled. The Milanese think they can make a man break out with ulcers by getting some of his food. It is unlucky to hand food out of the window, either to people or animals. The Greeks believed that scatter- ing sweetmeats about the house brought good luck. It is unlucky for a woman to pre- serve while in her sickness. The preserves will spoil. In Japan, rice eaten with red beans will bring good luck. He who wishes good luck must never burn fish bones. Among the Jews, it was unlucky to let the staff fall out of the hand, or the food from the mouth. It is bad luck to eat a piece of pie-crust that happens to be marked with a cross. Drop a dish of victuals and you will hear bad news. (New Eng- land.) If you scrape cheese on the table- cloth, people will dislike you. Among the aborigines of Queensland, any food that is left from a meal is burnt for fear some sorcerer may get hold of it, con- jure it, and injure them by its 11163.11S. There is a Turkish sweetmeat called nevrouzie, which is endowed with mysterious powers, and which is distributed at the commence- ment of spring. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 451 Adam has the credit of having invented confectionery. Before eating, a portion of the food was thrown into the fire and consecrated to the gods, else the food would disagree with the eater. Humboldt tells us that the Pap- uans would not touch any food of- fered by a stranger, because they might come under the stranger’s power. The Indians think that what they eat affects them, as: pepper, be- ing hot, so is the mind heated; dry corn gives leanness and suffering, for, as the corn dries, so will the body dry up with heat. To eat anything that has been chopped on an iron trivet, or for a child to eat the liver of an ox, causes the teeth to rot. (Madagas- car.) The Chinese believe that the eat- ing of boiled tares under a bright light will make one clear-sighted. If people throw cooked food at each other, it will cause boils. (Madagascar.) Never take food to a house and then bring it out again unless you leave some, as it brings bad luck to the house. The Australian natives have many superstitious notions about their food. Certain articles of food are under taboo, especially to chil- dren and to persons in mourning. Among the natives of the New Britain Islands, Banks Islands, and Solomon Islands, the practice of burning the remains of a meal is prevalent, to prevent sickness and death that would be caused by any enemy who could obtain it. Many people, especially epicures, have an idea that by eating the first of fruits, fish, grain, or vegetables of the season, they will live seventy- five days longer than they would otherwise. Among the Chinese there is a curious belief that it is possible to economize in food by abstaining from muscular exertion. Thus when wages fall below a certain point, poor Chinamen prefer not to work, because they consider that they would have to take more food to repair the waste than the work done would produce. Take some grains of pop-corn, put them an a plate, place the plate on the stove at midnight and say: “I put this corn, devils, to see, However many ye may be! I conjure you that you may tell, Me if my lover loves me well. So make him come this afternoon And if he means to wed me soon Therefore I do pray you make This corn a certain form to take, Should the grain be like a heart, He will never from me part, Should the shape be like a flower Soon will come the nuptial hour. If he loves me not at all Then the devil take it all, If he loves not let there be, Neither heart nor flower for me!” The Turkish dish, “aschourah,” a sweet porridge, which makes its appearance on most festive occa- sions, deserves a few words of ex- planation, as this preparation has a legendary origin. Aschourah is composed of Indian wheat, barley, wheat, dried raisins, nuts, almonds, walnuts, pistachio nuts and even dry Windsor and haricot beans, boiled and sweetened—ten ingre- dients in all. This is in remembrance of Noah's residence in the ark, “into which the water must have penetrated at length and produced an unexpected soup amongst the remnants of his dry stores.” This Soup is made in great quantities during the first ten days of the month Mouharem, the first month in the year, to be sent about to friends and to be liberally distrib- 452 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. uted to the poor; at this period any persons presenting themselves at the door of a konak receive, with- out question, a bowl of aschourah. FURNITURE-It is unlucky to hear loud cracking of furniture. It is bad luck to burn an article of furniture. To change the arrangement of the furniture in your room during the new moon, will bring you good luck. To sell old furniture that has been in the family for many years, is unlucky; misfortune and disap- pointment are sure to follow. GARTERS–If you give away a garter, it is a sign that you are weak and silly-minded. Wear red silk garters to always have money. To find a garter means an in- crease of friends. Any girl who wears her garter below her knee will be an old maid. If your garters are left untied or knotted, your friends will annoy you. If a woman or maid loses her garter on the street, her husband or lover is unfaithful to her. If your garter slackens your love backens, If your garter tightens your love brightens. GAS–To light the gas and sit down, and then turn it out again before you get up, is bad luck. For the gas to go out, is an omen of death. GATE–If one looks back after having shut the gate at night, the person will see a ghost. (Japa- nese.) To swing on a gate, is good luck. It is unlucky for a person to al- low the gate to be left open when the family has retired, as it will give colds to all. If the gates keep banging open and shut, you will have a good many visitors that day. “Go through a gate when a stile is near by, You'll be a widow before you die.” If two friends get astride of a gate at the same time, it is a sign that they will quarrel and break off friendship forever. GIFTS-When a poor man makes a rich man a present, the devil laughs in his sleeve. (Sicilian proverb.) Don't give to the rich; you will surely come to want if you do. (New England.) If you receive one present, you may expect three. (Gloucester- shire, England.) It is said to be very unlucky to receive a prayer-book from your lover. To give an umbrella will bring bad luck; also a mirror. Either of these as a gift causes estrangement. The gift of a mirror, or a silk handkerchief, cuts friendship. Gifts from one’s enemies are thought to be dangerous. To give or take a gift with the left hand will cause loss of friend- ship. Do not receive or give black things. They bring death, say what you may. A present or a purchase from a priest will bring bad luck to the re- ceiver. The gift of a basket will break friendship. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 453 To receive a present of new shoes, is a good omen. The gift of a cocoanut brings luck. It is unlucky to accept gifts from an intoxicated person. If you have a gift of ivory, you will be very fortunate. If a treasure is given to you, you will have joy through life. It is unlucky for a lady to give a man a pair of slippers, a necktie or an umbrella. Opera glasses should never be presented by a lover to his be- trothed. For a girl to receive souvenir spoons predicts for her a rich mar- riage. If someone gives you a nightcap for a present, you will soon marry. Never give away what has been given to you; if you do, you will be sure of broken friendship. If you receive a stool as a present it is a sign of honor. It is good luck to be presented with a drum. To receive a present of your own likeness is unlucky. To receive a present of an old purse will increase your wealth. It is very lucky to receive a pres- ent of a clock or watch. If friends give religious books to each other, it is a sign that they will pretty soon drift apart. It is the sign of anger to receive a gold pen from anyone. It is good luck to receive from your lover any present that is round, as a watch, a ring, etc. Negro women say it is unlucky to give anything away and then take it back again. If anyone receives his own por- trait as a gift, it is a sign of treach- ery. If you receive a gift in the full of the moon, you may expect some- thing better than the gift before long. In the Isle of Man, if you blow your breath on any gift, the person who gave it will be true to you. For fish-hooks, lines, flower- cuttings, or plants, no thanks should be given, or bad luck will be sure to follow. If you receive a handkerchief as a gift from a friend, it will break your friendship. To receive two presents exactly alike, is a sign that one of the givers will no longer be your friend. If you give a present with birds on it, it is a sign that the person you give it to will take money from you. For anyone to receive as a gift two loose-skin or “kid-glove” oranges, will make him prosperous. To receive an umbrella as a pres- ent, brings protection, but to be presented with a sunshade is a sign that one in whom you trust is de- ceitful. If you receive a present from a sailor, it is a sign that you will within the year travel on a long journey which will end prosperous- ly. When the Japanese make a pres- ent, it must be put in a box tied with silk cord with a knot, and col- ored paper on top, which is em- blematic of luck. If you give a knife or scissors to a friend, it will cut friendship un- less a bent pin or some small coin is given in return. Then the spell will be broken. 454 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. To give anyone an album for a present will cause a quarrel be- tween giver and receiver. It is said to be unlucky to take back a gift. The old rhyme goes: “Give a thing and take it back, Old Nick will give your head a crack.” If a number of friends present you with a “friendship-ring,” they are supposed to remain your fast friends until the ring is broken. If anyone gives you a present of tin, it forebodes mischief. If anyone gives you a present of pewter or zinc, it is an omen of long life and happiness. If a young woman has fourteen cups and saucers given to her with- in a year, she will be engaged within the month after she gets the last one. . The first must be given by a widow. The gift of a pair of new shoes is said to cut love and friendship. This result may be prevented by the payment of one cent. To give or receive glassware as a present is a sign of a quarrel with the giver or receiver as the case may be. If you have any article that any- One has praised so that you think they covet it, you had better give it to them, for you will never have any luck with it again. It is unlucky to make a present and then take it back again, or to “tie a string to a gift.” “Give a thing and take again And you shall ride in hell's wain.” It is alluded to in a little work entitled “Homer a la Mode,” a mock poem upon the 1st and 2nd Books of the Iliad: “Prithee for my sake let him have her! Because to him the Grecians gave her, To give a thing and take a thing You know is to wear the devil's ring GIPSIES-When gipsies come to the door, do not fail to buy some 12, trifle of them or they can put a blight upon you. GLASS—If you drop a glass when drinking from it, you will hear sad news soon. (Wales.) If a glass of any kind falls in your presence and does not break, great success awaits you. If you turn a whiskey-glass up- side down, it is the sign of a death. To break a tumbler is a sign that some secret will be discover- ed. The people of Bohemia say that it is bad luck to cut your name on glass. It is a sign of bad luck, sickness, death, and other evils, if glass dishes break on the pantry shelf. When a glass or pitcher breaks without any visible reason, it is a sign of death in the family. Never drink out of a glass that has a spoon in it; if you do, you are doomed to be an old maid. If a glass falls to the floor with- out breaking, it is a sign that you will get a present. If a glass that you are drinking out of cracks, it is a sign that you will die within the year. If a man drinks out of a cracked glass, his wife will have no children but girls. If you drop a glass and it does not break, you have friends who would go through fire for you. To wish when the first mouthful is taken from a glass that is too full to be taken up from the table, your wish will come true. If you are in the habit of filling your glass with water or any other liquid, to overflow, it is a sign that you will marry an intemperate per- SO11. To upset a glass of wine or water on the table-cover, signifies high FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 455 water or an accident by water, or a great rain. If a glass, wine-glass, goblet, fruit-dish, or any other glass of common household use, suddenly and unaccountably breaks while no one is touching it, it is a sure sign of misfortune to some member of the family, or even sudden death. A correspondent communicates the following story as an illustration of this omen: “A worthy old Ger- man gentleman had ordered quite a feast, to celebrate the wedding of his only daughter. In the center of the table was an old cut-glass fruit-dish, a large and lovely old family heirloom. While they were in the very height of their joyous- ness, the old man reached for some fruit, and just as his hand was about to touch it, the dish, with several loud, sharp cracks, fell into pieces on the table and scattered the fruit. Consternation reigned, for the good wife knew that the dish was flawless when she placed it on the table. The old gentle- man, whose health had been ex- cellent until the occurrence, rapidly declined, and was soon laid away in the grave. The dear old lady who told me this, said: ‘Believe in signs? Why, no, dear; only igno- rant people believe in signs, but this was queer, wasn’t it? and if there are any signs, I like to have them favorable to me, don't you?’” GLOVES-To be asked to mend torn gloves is a sign of dis- appointment. It is unlucky to roll your gloves together; you roll up your luck. Dropping the left glove is a sign that your lover is thinking of you. - Dropping the right glove beto- kens a letter from one's beau. When your glove falls, you are going to get an invitation. It is unlucky to remove the glove or shoe to scratch the itching palm or foot. When your glove falls, you are going to get an invitation. When you drop your glove, it is a sign that your lover is coming. To find a pair of gloves is said to be a sign of a wedding, probably your own. When you go to put on your glove, and it is unusually tight for you, you are loved. It is bad luck for a young lady to receive kid gloves from a gentle- 111311. If you put your glove on the wrong hand, it is a sign that you will hear from absent friends. In olden times it was a custom to hang a pair of gloves over the unmarried people's pew, so that they should be induced to marry. It is unlucky to wear gloves in the house. It is unlucky to put your gloves on in the street. To wash a pair of white gloves is a sign that you will find some- thing you desire. It is ill luck to put on any other person’s gloves, as it will sever friendship. An unexpected present of a pair of gloves is the sign of a wedding in the family before the year is out. If you lose a glove or a shoe, throw the mate after it, and they will both come back to you. The first time you wear a new pair of gloves, you will meet with a gentleman who will admire you. Those who wear out the gloves at the ends of the fingers, are al- ways grasping all they can get. To lose one glove is a sign of worry. To lose both gloves, signi- fies that a serious disappointment is in store for you. 456 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. To find a pair of black gloves left at your home, is a sign that someone in the house will die. To rip a glove while stretching it, is a sign that someone is trying to do you evil. The exchanging of right-hand gloves is said to cement friendship between two persons. In early times, gloves were given as a sign of faith and thrown down as a sign of challenge. To bite your gloves was a sign of mortal enmity to the person at whom you direct your glance; if you were an exalted personage, to be deprived of your gloves was to deprive you of all honor and regard. If you drop both your gloves, your lover will meet you soon. LANGUAGE OF THE GLOVE —“I love you,” is signified by dropping both gloves. “Indifference,” drawing glove half way on left hand. “I wish to be rid of you,” biting the tips. “No,” clinching, rolledupin right hand. “Yes,” clinching, rolled up in left hand. “I wish acquaintance,” holding tips downward. “Do you love me?” left glove half on with thumb exposed. “Kiss me,” right glove half on, with thumb exposed. “I am shocked,” striking over the hand. “Follow me,” striking over the shoulder. - “I love another,” striking the chin. “I am engaged,” tossing up gently. “I hate you,” turning inside out. “I am vexed,” putting them away. “We are watched,” twirling them around the fingers. “Introduce me to your com- pany,” using them as a fan. “Get rid of company,” fold up carefully. “Be contented,” holding loose in right hand. “I am satisfied,” holding loose in left hand. * “I wish I were with you,” smoothing them gently in the hand. Among the ancient Jews, the giv- ing of gloves was a sign of taking possession. The custom of bless- ing gloves at the coronation of the kings of France was a remnant of this old custom, the gloves being a sign that the king had entered into his inheritance. In 1002, the bishops of Pader- born and Moncaro were put in pos- session of their sees by receiving gloves as the sign thereof. A rhyme about tearing one's glove: “Tear the thumb you bear for danger, Tear the finger you tear for mirth, Tear the hand you tear for love, But if you wish good luck don't tear at all.” g Another rhyme signifies about the same: “Tear at the thumb troubles to come, Tear at the finger troubles linger, Tear at the hand troubles stand, Don't tear at all troubles won’t fall.” GOOSE—If a person eats goose on Whit-Sunday, he or she will be choked. In England, it is considered lucky to dress a goose on Michael- mas day. Who eats of the king's goose will void a feather forty years after. Astronomers say that if a goose is eaten on April 30, August 1st, or December 31st, there will be a death in the family in 40 days. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 457 According to the goose-bone be- ing red or white, the winter will be cold or mild. GREASE—To spill grease on the tablecloth is a sign that you will be untrue to a friend. GRIDIRON-Never set a grid- iron on the fire without something on it; it will make wrinkles in your face. GUEST-It is an omen of good luck to have a hunchback, at a feast, a wedding or a jollification of any kind. People think it unlucky to en- tertain company on Saturday. It was deemed unlucky by the Greeks to send away a guest with- out a piece of cake to take home. When ye gather flowers to deck the house for stranger guests, gather only red and yellow flowers, for white bring misfortune. (An- cient Syracuse.) Among the Hebrews, to run and open the door to a coming guest, was lucky and honorable to the Stranger. If an absent-minded guest hangs his napkin upon his chair, it is a sign that he will soon be a guest again. (Pennsylvania Ger- man.) A plague of moths will infest a house into which a woman, newly risen from childbed, enters with- out being invited to eat and drink. Nine persons at the table, is said to be as lucky a number as ever brought a wedding about, as one of the nine will soon be married. Among the ancients, there were lucky numbers of guests at the table, and if the lucky number was not present, guests must be gotten Some way, to make up the auspi- cious complement. In Japan, if a guest bites his tongue, he considers it an omen that his host begrudges him his food. The idea that it was unlucky or fatal for thirteen people to sit down at table, seems to have come from the fact that Judas was the thir- teenth at the Paschal Feast, when our Lord instituted the holy sacra- ment; did he not “go out and hang himself,” shortly afterward? GUN–It is bad luck to have a gun on your shoulder in the house. HAIR-If you happen to get a hair in your mouth, you will short- ly kiss a fool or see a drunkard. H A I R D R E S SING—If you comb your hair in the dark, you will see ghosts. (Persian.) When dressing your hair, it is very unlucky to have your hair- string break. If you sit in front of a mirror while somebody combs your hair, you will be gray-headed long be- fore you ought to be. If a woman's hair is parted crooked, there will be a quarrel at her home. (Persia.) If a woman who has friends at sea dresses her hair after nightfall, it will bring disaster upon her friends. (Scotch.) If you leave out a lock of hair when doing it up, it is a sign of a stranger. If you drop the comb while combing the hair, you will meet with a disappointment; but if the person kneels upon the comb with both knees and repeats: “Disappointment fly away, Never come another day.” the spell will be broken. HAIRPIN–Negroes consider it very unlucky for a hairpin to 458 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. drop from your hair; you will lose your best friend. To lose a hairpin signifies cross- es in love and amorous perplexi- ties. If you lose a hairpin, someone whom you love is thinking of you. Always pick up a hairpin; it means a new friend. The older and rustier the pin, the better the friend. Find a hairpin, get a letter. If you see a hairpin sticking out of a girl’s hair, quickly push it in, and say a number under 26. The corresponding letter of the alpha- bet is the initial of the man who is thinking lovingly of you at the mo- ment. HAND–To clean the hands with either oil, benzine or turpen- tine, is a sign of honor and success in business. HANDIWORK–Some people leave something about the house unfinished, for fear they will die if they finish it. HANDRERCHIEF—It is bad luck to wear a black handkerchief when sleeping. (Greek.) It is bad luck to put a folded handkerchief in the pocket. It is unlucky to carry more than one handkerchief at a time. If you have a handkerchief with you, and take another when start- ing out to visit a friend, it is a sign that you will be welcome. To find a handkerchief is a sign of getting a letter which you will be glad to read. For a lady to give a gentleman a silk handkerchief, breaks friend- ship. It is unlucky to put a black hand- kerchief over your head when sleeping or lying down; this would be a sign that your people will mourn for you. It is very lucky to have a gift of handkerchiefs on your birthday or any holiday, as it wipes away sor- TOW. A woman who carries cheap lit- tle handkerchiefs will never be able to carry lace-trimmed ones. LANGUAGE OF THE HAND- KERCHIEF—“I desire acquaint- ance,” is signified by drawing the handkerchief across the lips. “I love you,” drawing it across the cheek. “We are watched,” drawing it across the forehead. “I am sorry,” across the eyes. “I hate you,” through the hands. “We will be friends,” dropping it. “I wish to speak with you,” folding it. “Yes,” letting it rest on the right cheek. “No,” letting it rest on the left cheek. “You are so cruel,” letting it remain on the eyes. “Do wait for me,” opposite cor- ners in both hands. “Follow me,” over the shoulder. “How you have changed,” plac- ing it over the right ear. “No more love at present,” put- ting it in the pocket. “You are most too willing,” tak- ing it by the center. “I love another,” twisting it in the right hand. “Indifference,” both hands. “I am engaged,” winding it around the forefinger. “I am married,” around the third finger. twirling it in winding it HAT-If you happen to burn a hole in your hat, you will soon have a sore head. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 459 If you don't wear your bonnet, jaybirds will pick your hair out. If a man tips his hat to you with his left hand, you will be unlucky for the day. It is unfortunate to replace a loaned hat by a new one. To keep a hat on at the table is the sign of a disappointment. Men turn their caps inside out to get a change of luck. It is bad luck for a man to put his hat on a bed. It is unlucky to put on your hat before you put on your shoes. If your bonnet-strings loosen, it is a sign that you will go to the theatre. A hat or bonnet will never sell, if a brass pin is left in it. When your hat blows off, wish for luck and you will get it. To sit on your hat, is a sign that you are in love. To put your hat on top of an- other person’s hat, is the sign of a quarrel. If a man puts on a woman's cap, he will be kicked by horses. If a man comes in your house and puts his hat with the crown down on a chair or table, it is good luck. If, before going out calling, you drop your bonnet or hat, nobody will be at home. If you wear your hat in the house, you will be bald-headed. To have your hat blow off into the river, is considered in Germany a good omen. To pledge your best hat, is to pledge your best girl. If you lose your hat in the high wind, you will be frightened soon. It is a sign that a man has money to lend, if he wears his hat with the brim turned up behind. If a young lady wears her bonnet when at work, it is a sign that she has been disappointed in love. If there is a doubt whether or not the hat will be satisfactory, it can be made so by spitting in the CTOW11. If you see a man with his hat on the side of his head, it is a sign that he has come to sell you something. If you hang a hat on a door- knob, or door-bell, the only person present will die. If you see a man with a white felt hat on, going down the street and you look back, you will see a girl with a blue parasol. If you wear your hat or bonnet crooked, it is a sign that a widower is in love with you. If you forget where you placed your hat and search a long time, Some unpleasant thing is about to happen to you. Before wearing a new hat spit in it, and you will be lucky as long as you wear it. If you lose your hat or have it taken from your head, it is a sign that you have an enemy not far off who seeks to injure you. When your hat blows off, be sure you are soon to hear news that will make you happy. A man who wears a “slouch” hat by preference all his life, will be fond of horses, have a very mixed acquaintance, and know all sides of the world. The tall silk hat worn by men habitually, is a sign of personal esteem, egotism, dignity and pride. If you put on a cap just after you are engaged, you must be careful not to offend your lover, or you will lose him. The cap will extin- guish his love. If a young lady gets her hat on wrong side before, it is a sign that 46o ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. she has a new lover; if a matron, a change of circumstances; if a man, good luck in business. If there is a dent in your hat, and somebody takes the hat off your head and pushes the dent out, you will have a quarrel with him and also bad luck otherwise. A man who wears his hat over his eyes will be ugly and mean to his wife. To get a new bonnet is the sign of a new lover. If your new bon- net is blue, he will be affectionate; if green, deceitful; if pink, his love will not last. For gentlemen to change hats, signifies a new offer and establish- ment. For ladies to change hats, signi- fies an easy life, with few cares to perplex you. For a lady to borrow a hat, signi- fies that her partner will be fond of bottle and glass. For a gentleman to borrow a hat, signifies that he will soon form a lasting friendship. A man who wears his hat on the back of his head is generally con- ceited. One who wears it far over on the side is dishonest, and will lie and steal. One who wears it tilted just a little to one side, is in- clined to be sporty. One who wears it square on his head, is the one to trust, and will be honest and upright. A man who wears his hat on the back of his head, will have the re- deeming quality of being kind to his wife. - To tell the character of a man by the way he wears his hat: If he wears it on the back of the head he is a coward and a brag. By pro- fession he will be a showman or an actor, or something public and notorious. Wearing it on the right side of the head, denotes a quarrelsome disposition. To wear it on the left side of the head, denotes bashfulness and mel- ancholy. To wear it squarely on the top of the head denotes a manly, tidy, proud and businesslike person. To wear it drawn down over the forehead denotes a rogue and a thief. To wear it low down on the ears shows weakmindedness and timidity. If a man walks along with his eyes to the ground and his hat over his eyes, he is meditating some mean trick on a neighbor, or some little petty way to make another ten CentS. If a man will not meet your eyes squarely on the street, but gives you a quick sideglance under his hat by way of greeting, he is stingy, quick-tempered, and has a bad con- science. If a man lifts his hat high from his head in bowing, with a sweep back to his head, he is a man of the world, well-bred and courteous. A man who raises his hat but a short distance, straight up and down, is martial in his instincts, and would make a good soldier. HATBAND–If you embroider a hatband for a gentleman, you will soon quarrel. It gives him “the big-head.” HEARTH-To step into the hearth, in Madagascar the fireplace being in the middle of the room, causes sore eyes. If you spill some acid on the hearthstone, your new wife will keep sweet-tempered. It is very unlucky to wash your feet on the hearth. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 461 In Wales, it is a bad sign to go to bed without sweeping the hearth. Never disturb the hearthstones in your house for fear you will drive away the crickets and thereby draw down misfortune on your dwelling. On the Western Islands of Ire- land, there is a hearthstone on which, should the domestic fire ever become extinct, a new spark must be obtained from the Church candles. Should the light be got- ten from any other source, the in- habitants of the whole island would meet with misfortune. HOB–A clean kept hob brings good luck. Money is sometimes left on them by the fairies. HOLE–To putty up holes, sig- nifies losses; the larger the holes, the greater the loss. HOMESTEAD–Keep the luck of the old homestead with you, by always retaining it in the family possession. HOUSE CLEANING—Clean house in March, and you will have no bedbugs. To clean house on Sunday means hard work and poor pay all the next week. If you wish to keep your house free from insects of all kinds, do your spring cleaning in March, be- ginning with the first Monday in the new moon. HOUSE PAINTING —Never start to paint a house before the full of the moon, or you will have a fall before the job is finished. HOUSE IN GENERAL–Lay a hair from the horse's mane and guard the house from fire. An old man in a house is a lucky inmate for the house. The Russians believe that any- one who lives in a hut without a window, harbors the evil one. If you have an iron railing on the top of your house, you will 11eVer Want. It is unlucky to leave a lodge standing, for an evil spirit will oc- cupy it at once. (N. E. Indians.) If the Chinook Indians thought a house was bewitched, they hung a branch of cedar back of the door. If you would have property re- main in your name, throw a hand- ful of salt in at the door before you enter to take possession. It is said that when the house is most dirty, you will be sure to have visitors. In Russia, nobody will occupy a house where a suicide has been committed, as they think it is haunted. At certain times, the Chinese nail on their door-posts a weed like the common chickweed, for luck, and think evil and confusion would come upon them if they did not do it. To go into an untenanted house without first going over the rosary, is considered dangerous, as it may be haunted by spirits. If an iron nail is driven into the door or wall of an Italian house, it insures the inmates from the plague. It is a lucky omen to knock thrice at the door of the dwelling- room of a new house, and place a psalm-book open upon the window so that the sun may shine upon it. (Germany.) To make the “Wizard's Star,” or the five-pointed star, without lifting your pencil, about the house, near the window, will protect the house from misfortune of any kind. 462 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. “To hang an egg laid on Ascen- Sion Day in the roof of a house, preserveth the same from all hurts,” was quaintly said by one Reginald Scott in 1584. A house in China that abuts on a lane, generally has a slab on the side next to the passage, with an inscription, warding off the evil in- fluence of the lane. The Siamese have a regard for Odd numbers, and insist upon hav- ing an odd number of doors, win- dows, and rooms, in their houses, and an odd number of steps in their stairs. The penalty for not doing this is to have your home shaken down by an earthquake. An old opinion which may have sprung from Scriptural tradition, is the curious reluctance manifested by the people of several of the Eng- lish northern counties, to enter a house which is “empty, swept and garnished.” When a family has been carried off by fever, the house where they died may be safely inhabited again, if a certain number of sheep is driv- en into it and allowed to sleep there three nights. ICE—If the first piece of ice that is brought into your house in the spring is clear and fine, you will have a lucky summer. ICICLE–If an icicle falls on your head as you leave a house, it is a sign that you will meet an en- emy before you enter it again. (German.) INSECTS AND VERMIN–A swarm of ants suddenly appearing On one’s premises is a sign of much money in the near future. (Mace- donia.) If a spider comes down from the ceiling, it is a sign that a friend will come. (Korea.) To be infested with bugs is a sure sign of enemies. To have a new house invaded by bugs, is a sign that the Occupants will be unstable and dishonest. To catch a flea on your hand is to get a letter. (Bohemia.) Cockroaches appearing in the house at night in unusual numbers indicate rain before morning. (Turks Islands.) Being lousy is an indication that the lousy person is in good health. (Newfoundland.) If you hold a looking-glass be- fore roaches, they will be so fright- ened that they will run away, never to return. The English believe that the formula, “Och, och,” engraved with a diamond point upon brass, will drive away fleas and other ver- min. Stones taken from Ireland and never allowed to touch English ground, will keep vermin out of the house. To free a place from vermin, the figure of the obnoxious animal is made in wax or consecrated metal in a planetary hour and put in the infested spot as a talisman. (Span- ish.) Among the Turkish people of the present day, square pieces of paper bearing written inscriptions are sold by learned hadjis (teach- ers connected with the mosques), to persons whose dwellings are in- fested with vermin. If ants invade your kitchen, show them a handful of bread- crumbs, which you throw out of the window, and pretty soon they will all go outside after the crumbs. If you wish to be rid of cock- roaches, put one in an envelope and drop it on the street. The per- The Grave Robber, º FOLKLORE, AND THE occult SCIENCEs. 463 son who opens the envelope will take the roaches from your house. To expel cockroaches, a thread is tied to one of them, and all the inmates of the house, with closed lips, help to drag it out of the house. This is to be done on the eve of St. Philip's fast. (Irish.) To get rid of all sorts of living pests in the house, the charm con- sists in beating copper pans all Over the house on the last day of Feb- ruary, calling out at the same time: “Out with you, scorpions, serpents, fleas, bugs and flies!” A pan held by a pair of tongs is carried outside in the courtyard, and into it all will obediently go. To rid the house of bugs and vermin, take a few in a reed to the butcher, and say to him: “Here is flesh, here is blood for you to deal with. Take them away and give us something better in exchange.” If he take the reed, all the bugs and vermin of the kinds contained therein, will fly out of your house as from a plague. To charm away ants, flies, moths, and other vermin and insects, the Russians take an egg on the even- ing before Lent, break it, take out the inside, and fill the eggshell with a crumb of bread, cheese, flour, meat, etc., and say: “O ants, O flies, O mice, and O all things that trouble me, take this as your portion and do not rob me.” The next morning they take the egg, and throwing it into the water, be- lieve they rid themselves of the troublesome pests. IRONING—You will iron a man's wealth away, if you iron his shirt on the back. It is unlucky to iron a chemise On the back. You will not scorch clothing, if you borrow the iron you use. Never burn a hole in your hand- kerchief when ironing, for it is a sign of weeping. If you iron your stocking, it is a sign that you will never be rich. The Scotch believe that if you use a hot iron on Sunday, the print of it will be left on the face. If flatirons are left on the stove all day on Sunday, it is a sure sign of disaster during the week. If, in ironing clothes, the iron tilts over and burns your hand, you are about to meet with many crosses and losses. JAR.—When opening a glass jar of preserves, if the jar cracks, it in- dicates a death in the family. JELLY-If jelly is given to you, you will live to see as many genera- tions as there are pots of jelly. JEWELRY IN GENERAL– To receive a necklace from a gen- tleman, foretells disgrace. If some highly polished curiosity is lost, you will have heaps of trouble. If you accidentally drop a piece of jewelry into a well or cistern, you will shortly be reconciled with an old enemy. To lose jewelry in the snow, is a sign that you will lose something dearer during the year. In the Netherlands, the rings or jewelry of a dead friend are never given away, as it is a sure sign of the giver's death. A string of beads from one's godmother is a lucky string. A bit of coral in the house brings good luck. A silver snake with green eyes is a most unlucky thing to own. To break a ring or lose a stone from the same, is an evil omen for the donor. 464 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. If you wear a cross habitually, expect to have crosses. If you wear a heart, you will be healthy, and happy in love. JUG-If you sit on a water-jug, your stepmother will dislike you. If a jug or any vessel vibrates without cause, it is a sign of death. To span the end of a jug with your hand, the next one who drinks will have tension of the heart. To break the handle of a china pitcher, is a sign of a death in the house. It is bad luck to break the handle off a pitcher or jug. To break a pitcher indicates sick- 116SS. KETTLE–If the teakettle boils dry, it is a sign that you will lose your lover. If it always seems a long while for the kettle to boil, it will seem much longer before your lover pro- poses. The dancing of a kettle of water on the stove while heating it, is a bad omen. The kettle should be at once removed. It is unlucky to leave a print of the caldron when taking it from the ashes. If the kettle is allowed to boil hard for any length of time, it is said it will boil all the luck out of the house. KEY-Breaking a key in the lock is a good omen. In Germany, miniature keys are worn for good luck. To lose an outdoor key is a sign of sickness to the loser; to find one, brings riches to the finder. If you lose the key to your house, your love for your wife or husband is decreasing. If you drop a key from the lock, you will have a misunderstanding with someone. To find a key, signifies that some secret will be revealed to you which will surprise you. If you should lose your door-key when from home, it is a sign that you are wanted at home. In Scotland, a soup-ladle and a door-key put into the hands of a newly-married man, denote that he is master of the house and is the breadwinner. If you whistle on a key, especial- ly a very old one, it will call the fairies to you, who will help you in your undertaking, especially in love. If you throw a bunch of inherit- ed keys at the door where some- body is eavesdropping, the listener will be deaf for the rest of his life. Very old keys are fine for luck- amulets. They may be carried, or hung up in your room on a red ribbon. It is very lucky to find one. When you pick it up, say: “”Tis not a key which I have found, Nor one which I shall bear around; But fortune which I trust will be, Ever my friend and near to me.” (This may also be said on finding anything.) KILLING—To kill a chicken unexpectedly, signifies delay in money affairs. To kill a duck unexpectedly, sig- nifies profit and pleasure. To kill a rat or mouse unexpect- edly, signifies that perfidy is about to wound you. To kill a rooster unexpectedly, signifies that you will find some- thing elegant. To kill a bird unexpectedly, sig- nifies a promise to you that you can depend upon. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 465 KNITTING—If you see five ladies knitting together, it is the sign of a wedding. If you drop the stitches while knitting, you will lose some money. In setting up knitting work, the length of yarn left after a sufficient number of stitches are made, deter- mines whether the knitter will fin- ish the article speedily or not. If the piece is short, it indicates a speedy finish. If a young man should accident- ally catch his foot in your knitting- yarn, he will be sure to propose;but if the same should occur with a lady acquaintance, she will prove to be your rival in love. KNOT-If anything knots and you cannot get it open, just guess someone's name and it will surely open if he or she loves you. LADDER—If you climb a lad- der successfully, you will rise in the world; but if you fall, you will lose money. Don’t walk on a ladder that is lying on the ground. It is unlucky to go under a lad- der; but no ill luck will follow, if you stop to make a wish, which, moreover, will come true. On one occasion in St. John, New Brunswick, where a ladder extended across the sidewalk, of one hundred and seventy girls who came along, only six ventured un- der it, the rest going along in the gutter in mud ankle deep. Many people will climb a steep and rocky i. rather than go under a lad- er. LAMP-Three lighted lamps in a row is a sign of death in a house. The man who sits long in the lamplight will live long. (Persia.) A man who burns two wicks in one lamp will be guilty of bigamy. (Madagascar.) If the flame of the lamp flares, it is the sign of rainy weather. If your lamp falls to the floor, whether it breaks or not, you will hear of a death. It is bad luck for a lamp to be burning at Sunrise. If you tip over a lamp, you will not live to a good old age. Always hold a lighted lamp in your right hand or you will be un- lucky. To set a lighted lamp or a candle on the floor will bring bad luck. (Bermuda.) If the lamp goes out when a per- son is sitting up with a sick friend, the patient will die. When you light a lamp and, starting to carry it to some place, it goes out, you will be disappoint- ed. If on the lighted lamp a coal is forming, people say that the follow- ing day they will be met with an unexpected claim. (Luxemburg.) If a lamp that you supposed you had put out, burns all day, and you do not notice it till night, you will soon have a legacy. In Japan, if lamp-oil be spilt on the floor in winter, some damage by fire will come to the house. This can be averted by sprinkling some drops of water on the head of the spiller of the oil. In Salonica, Turkey, during the evening meal, if the lamp should suddenly extinguish itself, or if it has been necessary to take it out of the room, those who remain in the dark, rap on the table until the light reappears, to keep the devil away. 466 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. LAMP CHIMNEY-It is a sign of a death, if a lamp chimney bursts while any person is sick in the house. When the flame of the lamp leaves a blackened spot on the chimney, it is a sign of the death of a friend. It is a bad omen to have your lamp chimney break when the lamp is not lighted. For an unmarried lady to have a dirty lamp chimney is a sign that she has no beau. LAMP SHADE—Yellow lamp shades are indicative of fires. LANTERN–It is unlucky to set a lantern on the table. LATCH-‘‘If the latch catch and not the match,” a stranger will come the next day. LETTERS–Forgetting to seal an envelope, signifies a marriage of inclination. To forget to date a letter, signi- fies home troubles. If your hand twists when you write, you will quarrel with the one to whom you are writing. To forget words in writing, sig- nifies that the correspondent will deceive you. If the seal of a letter breaks, the sender will have trouble before it arrives. To write with a blue penholder and gold pen, will bring pleasant 3.11SW6 TS. A blotted letter will find the re- ceiver in ill health. Never beg a wafer when you seal a letter, as it is unlucky. To miss the address of a letter, signifies unchanging friendship. It is considered lucky to keep old letters, the older the better. Misdate a letter and see a fight. It is unlucky to drop a tear on a letter from a friend. If letters cross in the mail, they cross out love. It is said to be very unlucky to write a letter very late at night. It is regarded to be a bad omen to receive letters and put them on the bed. If your pen should break while you are writing a letter, it is a sign of broken friendship. To receive a letter with the stamp off, is a sign that the con- tents will be unpleasant. To mix letters and mail them to wrong addresses, signifies loss, care, and bitterness. . To receive an unsealed letter is a bad omen. If you open a letter with a needle, it is the sign of bad news. If letters cross each other on the way, is a sign of good luck. If a letter is delayed, it is a sign of good news. Lose a letter, find something bet- ter. It is lucky to get a letter from a distant friend on the 7th of the month. If you receive a letter with the postage stamp upside down, you will be sure to make some finan- cial mistake during the day. To receive a letter with the ad- dress on the envelope wrong side up, is a sign that you will be unfor- tunate in your financial affairs. It is an ominous sign if the first letter you get in the New Year is written on mourning paper. If you get a letter on Monday, you will receive a batch of mail ev- ery day in the week. To ruin an envelope when ad- dressing it for a letter, is a sign FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 467 that it will be a long time before you get an answer. Don't change pens in writing a letter; you will have bad luck with the person to whom you are writ- ing. It is considered bad luck if, in going to post a letter, you pass a house with crape on the door. If you meet with some injury when you are going to post a letter, you had better not post it. If a person returns a letter with the four corners scorched, it is a sign of contempt. The mistake of a word in a letter is a sure sign that whatever request the letter contains will not be granted. If you break your pen when writ- ing a letter, and someone inter- rupts you at the same time, it is a sign that the person will cause trouble. To tear an envelope, when open- ing a letter, is better than to cut it open; but if you tear the letter, too, it is very unlucky. If your ink will not flow from your pen when you are writing to a friend, it is a sign that your letter will be unwelcome. To write a letter and forget to mail it, is a sign that you will be in- vited to a party before long. Never write a letter to a friend with red ink, as it indicates and will provoke anger, and break your friendship. Never cross out words in a letter. If you do, and have made any re- quest therein, it will not be grant- ed. If you have a letter to post and forget to drop it in the box, do not go back to the last one, but go on to the next, to be sure of the safety of the letter. To write a letter for a friend, sig- nifies that you will soon change your present abode. In writing a letter, if you rewrite a word unintentionally, you will soon meet the person you are writ- ing to. If your pen slips out of your hand as you start to write a letter, take it as a warning and don't write it. If you write and tear up a letter three times as being unsatisfactory, do not send any at all that day. If you do, you will have a disappoint- ing reply. - If an ignorant person has chanc- ed to write a letter for another but erred in the minutest stroke, he will expose his mistress to a dangerous illness. LANGUAGE OF ENVEL- OPES-White denotes a proposal for marriage. Black denotes bereavement in form of death. Blue denotes constancy. Yellow denotes jealousy. Green denotes hope. Brown denotes melancholy. Violet denotes condolence. Red denotes commerce. Gray denotes friendship, and is used between friends. The avoidance of display in this as in all things is indicative of re- finement. If when going out to mail a let- ter, you see a bird fly overhead or meet a white horse, you will soon be in receipt of a pleasing answer; if you meet a yoke of oxen or see a snail or tortoise, you may expect the reverse. It is an evil omen to begin a let- ter and not to finish it the same day. If it is a love letter, it will either not reach its destination or it will find the receiver cold or in trouble. 468 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. To write an important letter— On Monday, poverty to come. On Tuesday, to hear of a mar- riage. On Wednesday, a water journey. On Thursday, will be close to a large fire. On Friday, will hear of a ship- wreck. On Saturday, failure in business. On Sunday, a gain of friendship. “When you earnestly desire to hear from anyone and there is any reason why you should not write to that person, take a pen and write all you have to ask or to tell, and when you have so written, take and tear up and burn the letter, think- ing earnestly of the person all the while. At that same instant the person’s thoughts will turn irresist- ibly to you and will be restless and uneasy until she or he determines to write, and soon thereafter you will receive the longed for com- munication.” LIGHT-If, in England, you find yourself in the middle of three lights, you have to die soon. To lie down in a room without a light should be avoided, as this is like the dead in the tombs. (Mad- agascar.) It is good luck to burn a light in the window to give light to the traveler. If another person looks in while you strike a light, the tinder won't catch. If a person rises from the table to light a lamp or candle, before having finished a meal, it is a sign of death. It is a sign of death to one of those present to have three lights burning in one room, especially if they stand in a row. Do not put out the light while people are at Supper. You put out the light of a life, and there will be one less at the table before the year is out. If two persons step into a room from opposite doors at the same time, each carrying a light in the hand, one or the other will marry in a year. Some of the wandering tribes of India will not blow out one light until another is lighted, believing that a light extinguished is in a manner murdered, becomes a ghost, and wanders in marshy and waste grounds. LINEN—If you lay linen out to bleach on Saturday, it will never bleach. If you wish to forget a place, burn the linen you wore there. (Germany.) If a linen hangs in the moonlight it will not wear long. In Virginia, old-fashioned house- wives use lavender in their linen to prevent it from wearing out quick- ly. If you find iron-mould on your linen, it is a sign that you will be- come rich. LOCK–When you go out of doors or out of a room and the spring-lock locks you out, you will be locked out of a piece of good fortune. LOOKING-GLASS—In China, a concave metal mirror placed on the door brings good luck. The Chinese lady thinks it ill luck to look in a mirror when in a strange place. It is unlucky to sit in front of a mirror in a strange house. He who looks in the mirror at night, sees the devil there. It is bad luck to look in a glass as you cleanse your teeth. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 469 If you gaze in a mirror when troubled, your anxiety will soon pass away. On breaking a looking-glass, re- peat the Lord's Prayer, to avert the evil. If you see yourself in two mir- rors at the same time, you will be disappointed. The breaking of a mirror in- sures seven years' bad luck, but no Want. To come suddenly upon oneself in a mirror, is accounted good luck. It is unlucky for sick persons to see themselves in a looking-glass. To break a hand-glass is the sign of the death of an infant. It is considered unlucky to sleep in front of a mirror. In Switzerland, it is said that if a mirror breaks, the person who looked in it last, will be the first to die. If three persons look into the mirror together, one will die before the year is out, It is considered a bad omen to look into the mirror just as the clock strikes the midnight hour. For a prisoner to break a mirror in jail, is a sign that he will be hanged, or incarcerated for life. When a mirror is broken in large pieces, you will have large troubles; if in small pieces, trifling troubles. For two persons to measure their height, standing before a look- ing-glass, indicates the death of one or the other within a year. Swedish girls are afraid to look in the glass after dark, for fear of forfeiting the love of the other sex. Among the Austrians, there is a superstition that you should not al- low a mirror to be in a room where a sick person lies nor ever let a sick person look at himself. It is ill luck to see one's face by candlelight in the looking-glass. The Chinese think it a good Omen to hang up a mirror or pol- ished piece of brass where there is a madman or a fool. If you see yourself in the mirror while the moon shines on your face, it is a sure forerunner of death. There is no surer omen of disas- ter than when looking in the glass, you See a threatening, angry, or Scowling face beside your own. If a cord which holds a looking- glass breaks and lets the glass fall to the floor, without breaking it, it is a particularly lucky sign. In some portions of Germany, there is an omen that to sleep in a room where a mirror hangs oppo- site the bed, will bring misfortune. Superstitious people will hang a piece of cloth over it. When you hold up a hand-mir- ror to look at the back of your head, never hold it so that your face is reflected from the large mir- ror back again to the hand-mirror, or your first child will be cross- eyed. It is not safe for a man to be- hold his own face in a mirror with- out repeating some form of invoca- tion to ward off mischief he may have done unconsciously. (Egyp- tian.) Some people say that you can avert the evil of breaking a look- ing-glass by pounding the broken pieces so fine that no mortals can ever see their faces in it again. Many savage peoples regard a person’s reflection in a mirror as his or her soul, and believe that any injury done to the reflection has the same effect on the person. This belief is closely related to the wide- spread superstition about a man’s 470 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. shadow (to be found elsewhere in this work), and any injury done to the shadow having its effect upon its owner. Also the notion that it is bad luck to have one's picture taken—photographed, sketched or painted—which is to be found among the Indians, the Chinese, and in parts of England, has doubt- less the same origin. (See “Photo- graph.”) The mirror plays a prominent part in Arabian legends. Thus, in the Arabian Nights, Canace's mir- ror indicated by its lustre whether the person whom the inspector lov- ed was false or true. Alasman's mirror remained un- sullied when it reflected a chaste woman, but it became dim when it reflected an impure or a faithless O116. In Grimm's fairy tale of Snow- white, the bad stepmother had a magic mirror which would tell her whenever she asked it, who was the most beautiful woman in the coun- try. LOUNGE–To sit on a lounge with three ladies older than your- self, is a sign that you will be an old maid or an old bachelor. MATCHES-If two matches fall down crossed, your house will catch fire. Never light more than one lamp with the same match, or you will be disinherited. To scratch your matches on the seat of your trousers, is a sign that you will come to want. To step on a match without knowing it, and lighting it, is a sign of great good luck. If you are saving with matches, you will be rich. If you are lighting a lamp and the match goes out before you can light the lamp, you will have a dis- appointment. If you wish while holding a lighted match until it goes out, the wish will come true. If you have to strike a match three times before it burns, you will hear news. If you go to strike a match and strike the wrong end, it is a sure sign of disappointment in love. If you let a box of matches fall, and they ignite, you will throw away wealth. To strike a match on the stove, signifies that you spoil your own fortune. To strike a match on the wall, signifies a letter of importance. To fail of getting a light on the approach of a shower, on account of the matches going out, is said to be a sign that the house will be struck by lightning. Ordinarily, the persistent going out of matches is a sign of a disappointment. MATCH BOX—It is a bad sign to go to a match box and find it empty. MEALS-If a young man dines with women, his beard will not grow. (Persia.) If, in eating, you miss your mouth, and your food falls, it is a sign of someone begrudging you what you eat. Riches are in store for any per- son who is in the habit of eating fast. It is lucky to put iron into the meal, in a house where a dead body is lying. It is lucky to sit between a brother and sister at table. Eat not while the death bell tolls. You will have toothache. If two eat off one dish, they will become enemies. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 47 I It is unlucky to lay plans during a meal. They will not succeed. If a man leans far over his plate when he eats, he will make a good husband. (Pennsylvania.) To sit down at the table exactly as the clock strikes 12, is a sign of death. If you whistle at the table, you will lose your appetite. If you always eat every morsel on your plate, you will come to poverty. It is very unlucky to stretch at table. It is very unlucky to be the first who starts to eat. Some people think that persons who eat a great deal, will decay rapidly when dead. If you eat anything that an ene- my has given to you, sickness will follow. It is unlucky to eat a meal in- tended for another person. Russians always make the sign of the cross before eating, to insure health. In India, if from any cause the light is blown out while taking their meal, the people will leave the meal unfinished. Never sing while eating, if you don't want to be disappointed. In China, it is lucky to have eight sit at table. It is unlucky to speak of sickness or death during meals. Three silences at a dinner prove that dinner a failure. If one eats just at sunset, his or her parents will die. (Macedonia.) To clap the hands while eating causes sickness. (Madagascar.) If a gentleman stays to dinner and he gets two knives, two forks, or two spoons at his plate, he will be married within the year. (Con- necticut.) Thomas Lodge, the English writer (b. 1556., d. 1625), consider- ed it very unlucky to eat his dinner before looking in the almanac. “If you eat crumbs, 'twill make you W1S6. “If you leave the crust, you’re sure to bust.” (New England.) If you have a fishbone in your throat, pull your big toe and the bone will immediately come out. (New England.) If a young man takes food on his plate and leaves it, he will undoubt- edly have an ugly wife. (Russian.) In Cochin-China, the people in- voke the gods before eating to pre- vent harm to themselves. When one on each side of you at table passes you some viand at once, you will be the first to have a christening at your house. In Siam, it is a maxim with the priests that to eat and talk at the same time is a sin. The Moors consider it unlucky if a stranger is present when they are taking their meals. If a person eats the ears or small parts of a calf, cow or hog, he will become talkative. If anything falls from a dish that is passed to you at table, and it lands in front of you, you must eat it for luck. The Pythagoreans thought it un- lucky to pronounce at mealtime any word that conveyed peril, sick- ness or death. An East Indian saying is to the effect that a man, who cannot eat a good breakfast will not be a good husband. In ancient Rome, at any meal the first act was to throw some article 472 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. of food into the fire, to insure good luck. Eating the food with a “quick hornspoon” is sure to bring good health. A quick hornspoon is one made from the horn of a living Creature. If you throw the “devil's bit” under the table, the guests will quarrel and fight. If a double allowance of food is given at meals, someone who is hungry may be expected. To eat with a hat on will cause baldness. (Madagascar.) To eat while lying down should be avoided, as it might cause one’s father or mother to be choked. (Madagascar.) If, at or near Liege, Belgium, at table, you wish to know the person present who loves you, make your knife quickly turn around, and when it stops, the point will mark this person; but it is necessary to keep quiet. All strict Mohammedans will on- ly pass dishes the “way of the sun,” and if by chance a dish is handed around otherwise, they will not partake of it, as it would be an omen of bad luck. When our ancestors found a dif- ficulty in carving a goose on Mich- aelmas day, they used to say that they should hit the joint if they could but think of the name of a deceived husband. An Eskimo who wishes his son to become as good and brave a hunter as his father was, insists on his son's eating his meals with his plate placed upon his father's boots. Devout Italians cross their knife and fork on the top of their plate when they have finished a meal; this is equivalent to thanking God for the repast. For seven people to dine togeth- er brings good luck to all. The Dyaks of Borneo say it is unlucky to attack an enemy when eating. The Tahitians offer a prayer be- fore eating, not of thankfulness, but to ward off evil from the food. Among the aborigines of New Zealand, it was thought very un- lucky to take a meal near a place where the dead were buried, death by drowning being the result of so doing. In Travancore, in India, the na- tives bathe and put sacred ashes on their heads before eating, and eat in silence, lest they eat and drink evil. The Arabs and Syrians eat in si- lence after prayer, for the same TC2SO11. If you drink out of the same glass with one you love, it is lucky to break the glass. . On rising from a meal, don't leave any of your bread behind; if anyone takes it and throws it over the gallows, you will not escape hanging. Some people always place a plate and chair at table for the deceased members of the family, believing their spirits to be still hovering about. Negroes soon learn to dislike a man who eats his lunch or dinner with his hat on; they say it is a sure omen that he is not thankful to God for his food. If an Indian had, during his life, been accustomed to share the food of his relatives, the latter would, after his death, set during feasts and ceremonials, a portion apart for burning, for fear the deceased FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 473 would otherwise upbraid them in dreams for their selfishness. In Abyssinia, doors are carefully barred before meals to exclude the evil eye, and a fire is always light- ed, otherwise devils will enter and there will be no blessing on the meat. The king always dines alone. Some tribes in Madagascar also lock the doors when they eat, for the same reason. No respectable Zulu will eat in the company of evil-doers, lest he become like them. In New Zealand, no one dare eat the food of a gentleman, as it would be eating his sacredness. A slave ate his master’s dinner by mistake. When told what he had done, he fell into convulsions from cramps, and suddenly died. If anyone ate the Mikado's food his throat would swell, and death would ensue. MISCELLANEOUS DON'TS OF DOMESTIC LIFE—Don’t wear long finger-nails, unless you wish to advertise yourself as the proprietor of a gambling fake. Don't wear a hat two sizes too large or two sizes too small. The former gives you the air of a bully, and the latter of a greeny. Don’t wear a hat with a narrow brim if you have a broad face. It is said to make you look out of date. Don't be guilty of using Latin, German or French when address- ing an English-speaking audience. It is not good manners. Don't use Latin, Greek or any quotations from a foreign lan- guage, without translating them into English, if you are writing an English book; it is exasperating to your readers, and is only an ego- tism of erudition. Don't tell other persons that you are not smart; if you do, it is evi- dent without telling. Don't use local expressions be- yond the neighborhood where they belong. You will be set down as provincial. Don't talk too much. You are certain to bore somebody and say something you ought not. Don't converse too much about your hobby. It may not interest your audience. Don't fail to speak loud enough for all in your audience to hear. A speaker who cannot raise his voice enough to be heard, deserves to re- ceive a dose of ancient hen-fruit. Don't forget that a dude is per- fectly harmless, incapable of hate, envy, love, good or evil. Don't forget that a dude is soci- ety’s plaything, not even suggest- ive enough to bring a blush to the cheek of virtue. Don't fear a person who is al- ways boasting. It is said that he is not dangerous. Don't forget that poverty is more inconvenient than present indul- gence is agreeable. Don't say you eat simply to live. Those who eat in that way, do not live very long. Don't come to the conclusion that the world is growing worse every day. It is a sign that you have an abscess on your liver. Don’t cultivate the habit of crit- icising everything and everybody you see. If you can make anything better, or appear better than they, go ahead and do it, but meantime mind your own business. Don’t think that you are so smart that nobody can fool you. You probably are trusting some- body who is laughing in his sleeve at your stupidity. 474 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. Don't cheat or steal. It is said that it will make you so chicken- hearted that you will be afraid of your own shadow. Don't pray out of one side of your mouth and lie out of the oth- er. Rather commit suicide and get a fresh start, Don't boast of your blood unless you are descended from somebody besides our first parents. Don't endeavor to be aristocrat- ic. If you are so, you paint the lily; if you are not, you dress a beg- gar in fine linen. Aristocracy and common sense are intimate ac- Quaintances. Don't conclude to be happy some other time. Now or never. Don't defer being happy until there is a more favorable opportu- nity. Happiness does not wait for foot-passengers. She flies. Don't conclude you cannot be mistaken. Bright minds admit that they err every day. Don't fail to have your office- hours for the reception of the devil, at from half-past twelve to thirty minutes of one. Don't conclude that all the cranks are in the asylums. Those places are much too small. Don't play the fool unless you are well paid for it. A clown per- forming gratis is a pitiable object. Don't forget that greatness is relative, and somewhere in the world is a mind that would give you 100 points and then beat you. Don’t forget that wisdom con- sists in being humble, honest, in- dustrious, kind, generous, loving, and willing to grant to others the same privileges claimed by your- self. * * Don’t fail to appreciate and praise your husband's efforts and achievements. It will turn his head from other women to admiring so clever a wife. Don't fail to see that your hus- band has good, dainty, relishable food, served in an artistic manner, He will not contrast his home with that of the widow Jones. Don't reveal any of your hus- band's and your secrets to your sis- ters. If he travels in Egypt, the Sphinx will tell him you told. Don’t let anyone know that you and your husband do not live hap- pily together, until you take out the papers for divorce. You may be reconciled, and then you would be ashamed that you complained. . Don't tell your mother all your troubles that transpire; it is said that she may get impatient and bring about a crisis before you are prepared for it. Don't make a confidant of any man or woman about your private affairs. She may run to your hus- band, and he may try to make love to you to console you. Don't fail to make your husband think he is the most agreeable man to you in the world. Courting should come after marriage, and it requires true wit to keep a man your lover. Don't open your mouth and swallow everything that strangers tell you; it is said to produce nau- Sea, Don't sign any papers for the benefit of strangers; you are apt to feel poor afterward. Don’t let your money make a fool of you. After you have lost your good sense, you will find that your money can’t buy any more. Don't fail to assist your wife with the household duties when she is in an emergency. When you are in an emergency of sickness, she will repay you tenfold. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 475 \ Don't denounce rich persons just because they are rich. They are often as respectable as you are. Don't be miserly, curious, exact- ing, sarcastic, or given to humiliat- ing your wife. If she does not re- sent it, she must have had her spir- it broken by you; and if she does, she will never forgive you, al- though she may appear to do so. Don’t fail to treat your wife as well as you would treat the wife of the governor of your state or the consort of your king. Don’t henpeck your husband. Its effect is like pouring hot water on ice. Don't permit your husband to do all the work and you none; it is like the handle of a jug—all on one side. Don’t go to see your “ma,” or to Europe, or away from home, and be gone several months. Your husband has to attend to business, and unless you live with a man, you can hardly expect him to sup- port you. It is said to be cruel and to lead him into temptation. Don’t spend the money which your husband gives you, “just like water.” You may want it for bread Sometime, and it is said to discour- age him. Don't neglect to care for your health. Husbands love healthy wives. Don't call your wife “the old woman.” It shows your ancestors were ignorant and low, and that you have inherited their traits, Don't fail to dress as bewitching- ly as when your husband courted you, and he will see new beauties in you every day. Don't do anything to make your husband jealous. Jealousy no man will long endure without doing Something desperate. Don’t be slovenly and lazy about your person and house. It disgusts a husband. Don't treat your wife as if you were “the boss.” She may “strike.” Don't abuse your wife in private; she is not a dog. Don't correct and criticise your wife in public. People will judge you more sharply than you do her. Don't keep praising your first wife. Your present wife may wish to heaven she had never died. Don't manifest extreme annoy- ance at anything your wife does; it only adds fuel to fire. Don't argue with your wife when she is angry; coax her when she is in good humor. Don't hallo at your wife! Unless she is deaf, she will hate you as sure as fate. Don't make any useless re- marks when your wife is tired and cross. Then is your time to be pleasant. Don't reply to her little peevish- ness. It does her good and don’t hurt you, and she will love and re- spect you for being kind. Don’t court some other man’s wife. It is liable to become a court affair not so courteous. Don’t cease to make love to your wife. It is a most profitable invest- ment. Don't call your wife “sis”; it makes other people think you are a “sissy.” Don't tell your wife how old she looks; it impairs her digestion. Don't tell your wife how pretty some other woman is; it disturbs her equilibrium and causes her to doubt your respect for her. Don’t look too long and too closely at a pretty girl; it makes your wife feel chilly. 476 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. Don't speak disrespectfully of your mother-in-law; it lowers you in the estimation of sensible per- SO11S. Don't remind your wife that she cannot cook as well as your moth- er; she may feel sorry that she ever took you away from her. Don't tell your wife of the many sweethearts you had before you married her; it may stir up the “green-eyed monster,” and much other trouble. Don't keep sighing in your wife's presence; it forebodes a storm, and dampens the ardor of love's young dream. Don’t remain out almost all night; it will make your wife lone- SOIIIC. Don’t keep anything from your wife that interests both; she has a right to know. Don't speak of your wife's faults in public; the public will sneer be- hind your back, and probably will not believe you. Don’t tell other persons your do- mestic incompatibilities; people will call you green, and say it serves you right. Don't call your wife sweet names in public; folks will believe you storm at her in private. Don’t make a slave of your wife. MOTHER-IN-LAW–If your mother-in-law is hard on you, wear a pepper-seed in your shoe, and she will soon fear you! Wear the same for a surly father-in-law. A man must never kiss his moth- er-in-law during the first year after marriage, for she will cause trouble between him and his wife. “She will kiss his lips and bite his happi- ness off.” MOUSE-To see a mouse run across the floor, means bad for- tune. If a mouse runs across the bed, there will be sickness in the house. MOVING—Never wash a house out when you leave it. (Turkish.) No one should remove on Mon- day, for the house affairs will not thrive. When moving, get a drayman with fat horses for luck. Borrow a cup of salt when mov- ing to a new house, and you will have good luck. It is bad luck to move out of a house on Saturday. To move back into a house you have occupied before, is unlucky. If you move to a new house in new moon, your provisions will in- CTC3SC, Never move from one house to another in the waning of the moon. Drop salt around the corners of a new house for luck. It is considered very unlucky to take ink from the old house to the 116 W. If you move into a house where a conjurer or a hag has died, you will be very unlucky. The Tartars believe it ominous of evil to abide long in one place. If you happen to move in a snow- storm, you will gain money and have prosperity. (Pennsylvania.) It is considered very unlucky to move from a house and leave your old shoes behind. If you move into a house before it is finished, it will never be fin- ished. If your furniture falls off the load when moving, expect sick- 116SS. If chickens cackle too soon in the morning, it is a sign that the owner is going to move. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 477 In France, it is a good omen to hang a rosary up in the house you move from, as then you will be free from sickness. To remove a cat with a family, when changing residence, will bring bad luck. If you move into a new house, throw in something alive first, as for instance a dog or a cat, as the first to enter is the first to die. It is unlucky to move into a new house before first sending in bread, salt and new brooms. It will bring good luck to the new home if the head of the house takes with him some slip or root of a tree or vine. On moving into a new house, open the shutter that faces the east first; this will guard against St0rm S. A birth, wedding, or death will occur to the family who moves into a new house. One of these will oc- cur within the year. If you wish good luck when moving into a new house, have all your brooms and brushes new. It is said that the family who moves from the home where all have been born and reared, will have bad luck. On entering a new dwelling, the first thing to be provided is bread; you will then always have bread there. When moving into a new house, it is considered good luck to place a basket of eatables in it the first thing, so as to never want good food. Coals and salt must be tossed in- to a new house before taking pos- session of it, to drive out evil spir- its. When moving into a new house, something that cannot be blown away by the wind should be taken in first. On entering a newly-built house, for luck, say: “Happiness come, unhappiness depart.” (German.) To put a handful of soil in the shoes in removing from one house into another, will give good luck to the new home. (Swedish.) Before moving, burn all your dishcloths and cleaning-cloths. Thus you will not carry to the new house any of the bad luck which you have wiped up in the old. When a family migrates to a new house, they turn the fowls loose and wait until the cock crows. If the cock will not crow at all, it is a sign that they will have great trouble in that house. In China, that the inmates may not be troubled after moving into a new house, bags of silk contain- ing five iron nails are kept hung under the front eaves. When moving, beware of having a coal driver or anyone in a black business, move your goods. A farmer is the best to get, if possible, as you will never know want in that house. Always leave money, if only a penny, in the house you are re- moving from; it will bring good luck to the next tenants and ward off evil from yourself. When you take the last load from a house when moving out, walk backward to the door, throw out a broom, and leave it; good fortune will follow you. It is considered a good omen if, on approaching their new home for the first time, the people are met by the bleating or neighing of some young animal yet unbroken to the use of man, as a sheep that has nev- er been sheared, or a colt that has worn no halter. 478 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. In Russia, when one takes pos- session of a house, he consecrates it with salt to make it prosper and never want. When one leaves a house to go to another, he leaves some hay or bread as a sign of prosperity to the newcomers. When a Russian family moves from one house to another, they rake all the fire from the hearth of the old house, and carry it in a closed vessel to the new one. A lady met a family moving from one house to the other and wished them luck in their new home. “Look, Miss,” said the man, taking his tobacco-box out of his pocket, and showing two crickets within, “Look what we are taking with us—for luck, sure!” To move into a house next to one in which a dead body lies awaiting burial, is a sign that death will enter your home and a funeral take place from the house into which you have moved, within a year. Avoid this by waiting to move until the corpse has been buried. In Hawaii, when a person was to move into a new house, to make it a prosperous and fortunate home, presents were given to the priest and he was entreated to sleep in it one night. If he would, the family could move in in perfect safety. In Russia, when moving, people always go into the new house and sprinkle holy water in all the rooms, for it is believed that evil spirits were around the last family, and they therefore had to move to get rid of them. If, on leaving the old house, it is for any reason desirable to have no haunting memories of it or its his- tory, burn the last shred of the clothing worn when leaving it, and cut the nails closely. Some women have been known to cut off their hair and some men their beards, but these were cases where great Sorrow and sin had been. When moving into a new house, every friend who can, should give you some trifling present, but noth- ing should be taken away. A prayer should be said in each cor- ner of your bedroom, and some article of clothing deposited there at the same time. To remove your household goods On Monday, signifies that you will recover something lost. On Tuesday, signifies that a serv- ice will be rendered. On Wednesday, signifies a be- trayal. On Thursday, signifies money quickly spent. On Friday, signifies an adjust- ment of affairs. On Saturday, signifies a dispute among friends. NAIL–Some drive a nail into the threshold every time a person dies. If you smash your finger in driv- ing a nail, you will be slandered. NAPKIN–To get a torn nap- kin at table foretells a prosperous journey. If you fold your napkin the way it was, you will not be invited again. NECKERCHIEF—To wear a red neckerchief is a sign that you are loved. To wear black mufflers is said to be unlucky. NECKLACE—Elderly people would deem it very ominous if they were to remove from their necks the gold beads which had never before been removed. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 479 The necklaces of the women of Siam have all been dipped in holy water for luck. Gold beads in old times were earned and bought one by one un- til the whole necklace was com- plete. Old people can hardly be induced to take off this necklace, which they have never taken off since they put it on, as they believe bad luck would follow. Harmonia's necklace was an un- lucky possession. It brought mis- fortune to all who possessed it. Whether it is still in existence one cannot say, but if you have a neck- lace of any kind, and have very bad luck, maybe you possess Har- monia's, without knowing. Necklaces are by many people supposed to be in close connection with the soul of the wearer. Spe- cial magical properties are attrib- uted to necklaces of sandalwood. Sodewa Bai was born with a gold- en necklace around her neck, and the astrologers to whom the par- ents had taken her, announced: “This is no common child. The necklace about her neck contains your child's soul. Let it be guard- ed with the utmost care, for if it were taken off and worn by anoth- er person, she would die.” NECKTIE–A young lady should never give her lover a neckscarf. He will begin to feel as if he were haltered, and will run away and never marry her. To wear a red necktie is a sign that some lady gives you money to live on. It is unlucky to wear a green necktie except on St. Patrick's day. If you meet a man with a blue tie on, you will see your sweet- heart very soon. If you meet a man with a red tie, it is a sign that your sweetheart is flirting with a rival. If the knot of your necktie keeps turning to the left, you may look out for the worst misfortune. NEEDLE–It is unlucky to find a broken needle on the ground. If a needle is broken in a hat, the wearer will be kissed the first time it is worn. If you pick up a needle with a thread in it, you will have a car- riage ride. If the thread pulls out, you will be disappointed. It is unlucky to find a broken needle on the ground. To break a needle while making a garment, is a sign that the owner will live to wear it out. It is bad luck for anyone to give another needles. If you see a needle sticking up in the carpet, you may expect a visi- tor. If a person finds a needle on the ground before having said his or her morning prayer, the person will either get blows or bad words. On opening a paper of needles, always take the third one first, for that will give you success in what- ever you do with that paper of nee- dles. NEEDLEWORK–It is un- lucky to fix needlework with a black pin; it will never be finished. NEIGHBOR—If a neighbor brings you beans, cooked or un- cooked, it means a squabble. NEWSPAPER—It is a bad omen to receive a newspaper with the stamp on the left of the address. To read an advertisement in a paper and then dream about it, is a sign that the statements are not true. 48O ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. The morning paper turned up- side down will make everything go wrong all day. If a newspaper blows into your room from the outside, you will have a summons to attend court. NIGHTCAP—If you wear a nightcap and tie it before the glass, you will die an old maid. NIGHTDRESS—Do not roll your nightgown; it brings bad luck. Hang it up. To wear a new nightdress and see the new moon, is lucky for the Weareſ. To scorch a new nightgown which has never been worn, or any- thing that is new, is a sign that the person who is to wear it will never live to wear it out. White used to be considered preferable for nightgowns because it was most in favor with the god of sleep. Thus we trace our white nightdresses to the Greeks. NOISE—To hear a noise in the house at night, as if something were rushing around and roaring, is the sign of a ghostly visitant. To hear a noise in the house at night, as if something heavy had fallen, is a sign of death. OIL–If you spill the oil in fill- ing a lamp, you will soon fall out with someone. To spill oil on the floor, foretells damage to your property. To spill oil on yourself, foretells profit. Chinese, Greeks and others con- sider it unlucky to spill oil. OIL JAR–It is very unlucky to clean the oil jar or frying pan with water. They must be wiped out with a clean cloth, or the olive crop will not be good. (Greek.) OVEN–Don’t leave the oven- fork in the oven; if you do, the witches can take a dollar a day from the house. PACKAGE-If you open an- Other person's package, you will COme to Want. PAPER—To pick up writing paper from the floor, signifies ti- dings of absent friend or relative. Some tribes think it will bring ill luck upon them to write on pa- per, unless it is burned immediate- ly afterwards. You should always pick up a scrap of paper lying in your path. To throw away waste paper is Ominous of the loss of friends. If a piece of paper drops on the hearth and in burning leaves round black marks on the stone, you will get a letter from your best friend. The Africans believe that when they see black lines on paper, it will bring sickness and death to them and their cattle, unless they burn the paper. PAPER-CUTTER—To break a paper-cutter is a bad sign; it brings sickness or death. PEPPER BOX—If you upset the pepper box it is a sign that you will receive money. PETTICOAT—If you lose a petticoat, you will be slandered. If you tear a new petticoat, you will find some money. If a girl in Scotland wears a red petticoat in leap year, it is a sign that she will ask somebody to mar- ry her. PHOTOGRAPH-It is un- lucky to have your photograph taken more than three times. It is bad luck to let a photograph hang crooked. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 481 Gipsies, like Indians, think it un- lucky to have their photographs taken. They will allow you to do it, however, if you will give them a shoe-string, as this is supposed to have the power of binding luck. If you lose a friend's photograph you will shortly lose his friendship. It is a bad omen for a man and wife to have their pictures taken together; worse still for bride and groom, before they are married. To give a photo of yourself and receive none in return, breaks friendship. It is bad luck to lose or destroy a photograph, or any kind of like- ness of a human being. The Irish believe that photo- graphs fade directly after the death of the original. In parts of New Hampshire it is considered unlucky to have a pho- tograph enlarged while the origi- nal is still living. If you stumble when entering a studio to have a picture taken, your photograph will be unsatisfactory. For friends to have their photo- graphs taken together, is a sign that they will separate on unpleas- ant terms. If the photograph of your hus- band, taken before marriage, fades, it is a sign that his love for you is on the wane. To turn a person's photograph with its back upside down, will bring them bad luck. Always keep your photographs in straight piles, or in albums. Keep them right side up. To receive a photograph with a broken glass over it, is a sure sign that the original or one of his family will die before the end of the year. A photograph falling on its face without apparent cause, is a sign that the original is in trouble. If a photograph is stood head downward, the original will be ex- ceedingly restless and uneasy. It is bad luck to mutilate or Scratch a photograph in any way. Yuma Indians generally object very strenuously to being photo- graphed, for they believe the ac- curacy of the picture is due to something taken from them, whose loss will soon cause death. To have your photograph taken on Monday foretells that you will suffer by scandal. On Tuesday, foretells that you will travel that year. On Wednesday, foretells that you will suffer by carelessness. On Thursday, foretells that you will lose by a wager. On Friday, foretells an early marriage and happy issues. On Saturday, foretells too many lovers and some tears. On Sunday, foretells that you will gain a good friend. Many savage people regard their likeness in a mirror as their soul. The Andaman and Fiji Islanders believe an injury to the reflection is the same as to the man. The strange notion that the soul is in the reflection, is the reason why many Indians will not be photo- graphed, and the Chinese will not have a portrait taken. The dread of being pictured is found all over the world. Somerset people often object to having their likenesses taken, on the ground that it is un- lucky, and that so and so was “a-tookt’ and soon afterward she was “took bad and died.” Fear and dread have in all human his– tory been more potent factors in man's conduct than hope, gratitude or love. - 482 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. PIANO—Never play the piano when there is anyone sick in the house; they will die away with the music. PIANO STOOL–To sit on a piano stool and keep turning around as if nervous, is the sign of a quarrel. PICKLE–If a person gives you a bottle of sharp pickles, it is a sign that someone will insult you, or that some of your so-called friends are trying to do you harm. If a lady and gentleman divide a pickle between them, they will Soon quarrel. If you eat a pickle beforeretiring, it is a sign that you will meet with many disappointments the follow- ing day. PICTURE-It is unlucky to burn up the picture of any but your enemy. If you hang up a new picture, you will have lasting friendship. If, in putting a screw or a nail in a picture frame, to be hung on the wall, you break the glass, it means death. A picture falling from the wall, forebodes death in the house. If a picture weeps, it is a bad omen. (Korea.) If a picture sweats blood, it is a bad omen. (Korea.) It is an ill omen to hang the pic- tures of two who were bitter ene- mies in life, in the same room. (Norway.) - If you drop the picture of one you love, you will soon be parted by death. If you go into a house and see the pictures all hanging crooked, you may be sure that there is an engaged person in the house. That house will meet with ruin, in whose walls figures of dead men or of the master of the house are drawn with charcoal or red chalk. (Hindu.) It is unlucky for a picture to slide down a wall. A kind of sym- pathy is supposed to exist between the owner and the picture, so that the material cord simultaneously gives way when the cord of life is snapped. (West Indies.) A coarsely executed representa- tion of a mountain and the Ocean, hung up in a house in China, is thought to bring success to the in- mates. The image of a cat sitting in the center of one side of the roof is also favorite; but the cat must always be placed along in a line with the tiles, not crosswise, the design be- ing to counteract some supposed unpropitious influences which tend to render the house unprofitable as a residence. Archbishop Laud, not long be- fore the disastrous circumstance which hastened his end, on enter- ing his study one day, found his picture at full length on the floor, the cord which held it to the wall having snapped. And from that moment it is said he never enjoyed a moment's peace. (The celebrated Archbishop of Canterbury was born at Reading, in Berkshire, in 1573. In 1640 he was impeached by the Commons and committed to the Tower. After he had been tried for treason without obtaining a ju- dicial sentence, the Commons pass- ed an illegal and unjust ordinance for his execution, and he was be- headed in 1645. Laud had many noble qualities of head and heart, but his great fault was non-recog- nition of the right of private judg- ment, in a commonwealth nominal- ly free.) FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 483 The Duke of Buckingham (as- sassinated 1628) was struck by an occurrence of a similar kind. He found his picture in the Council Chamber fallen out of its frame. This accident in that age of omens was looked upon with awe. Even now it is regarded with no little terror when a portrait of a living person falls from the wall. PIE-It is unlucky to cut pie- dough. It must be pinched off, or the maker will always be poor. “Cut a pie for only two, Want three pieces before you are through.” PILLOWCASE—If three black spots are found on a person's pil- lowcase or sheet, it is a sign of the death of that person. PIN–If you are pricked by a pin, keep a sharp lookout on your lover, or you may lose him. If you break a pin on yourself, it is a sign of good luck. Do not use black-headed pins when trying on a new dress. For a friend to give you safety- pins, is a sign of true friendship. To pick up a black pin is bad luck. Some say it is only good luck to pick up a pin when you see it just as you are getting out of bed. To put a black pin into a child's dress, is a sign of death. (Negro.) If a person habitually carries a supply of pins about him, he will never marry. If a man uses safety-pins to hold his clothes together, he will surely be an old bachelor. If you give a pin of any kind as a present to a friend, he or she should stick you with it in order to avoid a quarrel between you. Never put in your mouth a pin that has been used in a shroud, or your teeth will decay. If you are fitting on a gown and upon removing, will find it pinned fast, you will not marry for as many years as there are pins at- tached to the undergarment. If someone hands you a pin or a needle, you must smile, but not say “thank you,” else it would hurt the friendship. If you kiss your hand at every safety-pin you see, you will be sure to find something fine when you get a hundred; but you must not count as you see them. Pins have a place in the belief of many peoples. Fifty years ago a correspondent asked a young lady to oblige him with a pin for a min- ute. “Taking one from her dress, as she was in the act of handing it to me, seeing the point was to- wards me, she reversed it and pre- sented the head first. I asked her, ‘What do you mean by that?' The answer was not given until ‘we twain were one flesh,” when she told me that ‘sharp-pointed things cut love.’” A man who believes in the old saying, “see a pin and pick it up, and all day long you'll have good luck,” saw a pin in front of the post office one morning. Bending down to get it, his silk hat tumbled off and rolled into the mud, his eye- glasses fell off and broke on the pavement, his suspenders gave way behind, he burst the button-hole on the back of his shirt collar, and his false teeth fell out of his mouth, just as a pretty girl was passing and saw them! He got his pin— but the point was towards him. Therefore only pick it up if the pin points the opposite direction from you. 484 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. PLASTER—It is an evil omen when the plastering falls from the wall or ceiling; it is believed by many to be a sign of approaching death. To plaster a house with black mortar is a sign of death. Lord Bacon says that his father plastered the house over with black mortar, and he died right away. POCKETBOOK–If you buy your own pocketbook you will never save money. POKER—By holding the poker before the fire you will drive away the witch who hinders the fire from burning, as it will make the sign of the cross. If a person can unflinchingly bear the end of the blackened pok- er near the end of the nose, he or she is not jealous. If he or she takes fright at it, he is jealous in- deed. PORTRAIT-The Cubans have a superstition that it is unlucky to have the portrait of a living person painted. If you break a friend’s portrait, you will quarrel with him. If a portrait of anyone who is dead should fall from the wall, it is a sign that the dead person is turn- ing over in his grave. Superstitious Negroes say that portraits come out of their frames at night and walk about the rooms, and you must on no account ad- dress them, for, if they answer, you will meet with a calamity. Napoleon Bonaparte, during one of his campaigns in Italy, broke the glass over Josephine's portrait. He never rested until the return of the courier he forthwith dispatched to assure himself of her safety, so strong was the impression of her death on his mind. When a European artist had fin- ished a portrait of a Turkish wom- an, some of the women cried, “Eiy! Eiy!” gathering the fingers and thumb of the right hand together, waving them slightly upwards in sign of approval, a good-natured negress with the bestintentions,spat as she uttered her compliments, to avert evil influences. POSTAGE-A postage stamp worn on the inside band of a man's hat, is very lucky. POT-It is very unlucky to break a plant pot. Don’t watch the pot. It will not boil while you do. The shaking or oscillating of a coffee pot or other utensil on the stove, is a bad omen. When a mess, though it be off the fire, simmers in the pot, it is a sign that there are no witches in the house. When you lift a pot from the fire, you must set it in the same place where you took it from, or you will soon come to poverty. POWDER-PUFF – Always burn your powder-puff or flannel- cloth the last day of the year and start the New Year with a fresh one, if you wish good luck with your face. QUILT AND QUILTING— To go to a quilting party, your scheme will not succeed. If a lady completes a patchwork- quilt without assistance, she will never be married. If the quilting rips out before the end of the year, the quilters will never be married. If a quilting-frame comes un- done at a quilting-bee, three of the merry maidens present will be matrons before the end of the year. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 485 You can cause a person to be married within a year by shaking a quilt over his or her head. When you sleep under a new quilt or comforter, your dream will COme true. The patchwork bed-quilt pattern known as “Job’s Troubles,” is con- sidered very unlucky in the South. The “Rising Sun” pattern is con- sidered lucky. When taking a quilt out of the frame, it is thrown over the head of some of the girls; the one whose head it covers, will be the next to marry. Another custom is to put a cat into the quilt and toss it up three times; the one nearest to whom it springs out, will be the first to have her own “household cat.” RAT—No house will catch fire as long as there are rats in it. . In Scotland there is a custom to paste the following rhyme against the wall of the house: “Ratton and mouse, Leave the poor woman's house! Gang awa’ o'er by the mill An' there ye’ll a’ get yer fill!” The rats read the rhyme and go. READ–It is a bad omen to read with your back to a mirror. It is an ill omen to look over the shoulder of another who is reading or writing. If you read facing the lamp, you will have misfortunes. If you read the same thing twice, or keep reading it over and over, while your mind is not on it, you will have bad luck. To read several times, acciden- tally, about some wonder, is a sign that you will see it some day. REFUSE—To throw refuse out of the house at certain times, is con- sidered very bad luck among the Zuni Indians. To throw out dirty water or ashes at night, will make the ghosts very angry. (Madagascar.) The Turks always take heed that they do not give ashes out of the house during the twelve days be- fore Christmas; the house would in- evitably burn down. RETIRING—In Wales, to go to bed without leaving the water-pail filled, is bad luck. It will make one bow-legged to stuff the stockings into the shoes on going to bed. After saying good-night, it is un- lucky to turn back. If you wish to go to sleep at night, kiss the pillow and say so. For an Oriental to put his bam- boo staff beside him when he goes to rest, will bring him good for- tune. “Go to bed first, golden purse; go to bed second, a golden pheas- ant; go to bed third, a golden bird.” If you go to bed without clean- ing the table, the youngest of the family will get no sleep. Among the Manxmen it was customary for a person before go- ing to bed, to first set a tub or pail of clean water beside the bed for the fairies to bathe in during his sleep. If this was neglected, mis- chief was sure to be done him on Hallowe'en. RING—It is lucky to possess a signet-ring. If you stumble over a ring, you will meet your intended. To wear a ring on the thumb is supposed to bring good luck. A ring baked in a cake brings a lover to the one who finds it. 486 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. If a young lady puts a gentle- man's ring on her thumb, it will make a felon. If one wears a ring on his mid- dle finger, his brother or son will die. (Macedonia.) A lost ring, found inside of a fish, is a sign of impaired reputa- tion and faithlessness. A snake ring is an unlucky orna- ment; some people, however, wear it as a luck charm. ! To break a ring on the finger will bring you strange ill luck. The person giving away the rings of a dead relative, will die SOO11. For a lady to wear a ring on the first finger of her left hand is a sign that she is or will be an old maid. The removal of a long-worn ring from the finger is said to be un- lucky. Changing the rings on your fin- gers changes your luck. To wear the ring of a dead per- son next to your heart, is good luck. No harm can come to you while you wear it. The signs of rings as worn are as follows: First finger, courted; second, engaged; third, married; fourth, single; thumb, supersti- tious. If you wear a ring on the middle finger of the right hand, it is a sign that you will have an illegitimate child. A thumb-ring set with the tooth of some animal as its principal gem, is supposed to have power for good over the fortunes of the pos- SCSSOT. Solomon is said to have inherited from Jared, the father of Enoch, a ring by the power of which evil spirits might be rendered harm- less. The ring of Aladdin of the “Thousand and One Nights” fame, could call up a huge spirit from his cave and make him obey all the commands of the owner. Tubal-cain, the descendant of Adam and Eve, by counsel of our first parents, made the first ring. It was used to bind friendship and love, as it was the emblem of eter- nal and hearty affection that flow- ed around constantly and forever from one to the other. There is a story that a matron of East Lulworth lost her ring one day. Two years afterwards when peeling potatoes, she found it in one which had been dug in a neighboring field. A dove with a branch of olive in its mouth, engraved in pyrites and mounted in a silver ring, ensures the wearer the utmost hospitality wherever he goes. A fair head, well combed, with a handsome face, engraved on a gem in a ring, Se- cures joy, reverence and honor. A ring in the possession of the Barkenon family in Sweden, is justly celebrated, as it is known to possess miraculous powers in sick- ness, against evil spirits, and against misfortunes. When one of the Barkenon fam- ily dies, a red spot like blood al- ways appears on the stone of their ring. (Hofberg, Swedish Folklore.) Queen Elizabeth's coronation ring grew too small for her and she had to have it filed off. She be- lieved the incident ominous of evil, and attributed some passing events to the omen, for she was a firm be- liever in signs and omens of good and ill luck. A curious superstition is histor- igally shown by a letter addressed FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 487 to Sir Thomas Smith by Lord Chancellor Hatton, which is pre- served among the Harleian MSS., relating to the epidemic then prev- alent. “I am likewise bold to com- mend my humble duty to our dear mistress Queen Elizabeth, by this letter and ring, which hath the vir- tue to expel infections and ill airs and is to be worn between the sweet bosom, the chaste nest of her pure constancy. I trust, sir, when the virtue of it is known, it shall not be refused for the value.” Among the curious applications of rings to various purposes, one of the most singular is the custom once prevalent in the Isle of Man, that if a man grossly insulted a married woman, the crime was punished with death; but if she were unmarried, the deemster, or judge, gave her a rope, a sword, and a ring, that she might make her choice of whether the culprit should be hung with the rope, his head cut off with the sword, or whether she should marry him with the ring. In one instance the maid was so ugly that the man pleaded to be hung, rather than to marry her as she desired. STONES, JEWELS, ORNA- MENTS, ETC.—There is a strong belief that demons and familiar spirits can be imprisoned in rings and carried about for the wearer’s benefit. An ancient tyrant had a ring which spoke by a sound that proceeded from itself and warned him of all seasonable and unsea- sonable times for him to transacthis affairs. But nevertheless his famil- iar fled from the ring when he was about to die, and warned him not. An old German physician gives an instance of how the devil him- self hid himself in a ring and al- most brought the wearer to ruin by his false warnings and advice. Solomon's favorite concubine was named Amina, daughter of Jerada, king of Tyre. When he went to bathe, it was to Amina that he intrusted his magic signet-ring, with which such wonders were per- formed. One day the devil assum- ed the likeness of Solomon and so got possession of the ring, and for forty days reigned in Jerusalem, while Solomon lived a wanderer seeking for alms. At the end of the forty days, tired of the joke, the devil flung the ring into the sea, and it was swallowed by a fish. The fish was caught and given to Solomon, who at once captured the devil and flung him into the sea of Galilee. (Jovian.) RISING—In Greece, to over- sleep in the morning, was a sign of ill luck. When you wake up in the morn- ing, have your first words pleas- ant; it brings good luck for the day, even if you scold the next minute. If you rise in the morning with a foreboding of evil, you will cer- tainly hear some bad news before night. Get out of bed backwards and everything goes contrary that day. When one wakes in the morning feeling very tired, the witches have been riding him all night. When you get up in the morn- ing and happen to find a feather in your hair, you will be angry that day. When you arise from bed you must always efface the image of your body, which you have left in the clothing. If you climb out of bed over the footboard when rising, you will be attended with good luck all day. It is said if you get out of bed late, you will be angry with some- 488 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. One during the short part of the day that is left. If you look out of the window the first thing on getting up, it is considered lucky; but you will for- get the dreams you had. It is es- pecially lucky if the first thing you see is living and a male. Whoever wishes to get up earlier than usual, must offer a prayer for the poor lost souls in purgatory, and beg them to wake him, which they will scrupulously do. (BO- hemia.) In Persia, it is believed that an awakened person suffers grievous injury. When the Shah was visit- ing in London, he was at one time asleep while he should have been the chief guest at a reception, and as no one dared awaken him, they had a brass band play under the window. It was successful. When a Japanese rises in the morning he offers up an ejacula- tory prayer, at the same time rais- ing the fingers of the right hand; they believe that this act will frus- trate the wicked devices of the devil all through the day, and that everything will pass along smooth- ly. “He who would thrive must rise at five. He who’d thrive more must rise at four. He who’d still more thriving be, Must leave his bed at turn of three. And who this latter would outdo, Will rouse himself at stroke of two. He who would never be outdone. Must ever rise as soon as one, But he who’d flourish best of all, Must never go to bed at all.” ROCKING-CHAIR-If a rock- ing-chair is seen moving back- wards and forwards when unoccu- pied, it indicates a death in the fam- ily. ROOF-If you sit on a roof, ex- pect someone to give you cause for anger. If you climb up on a roof and sit there, someone will vex you. In Norway, a cross made without using nails or knife and put on the roof, will keep off trouble and evil. It is a sign of fire, if you pull up the grass that grows on the roof of the house. (Chinese.) Sometimes an earthen image of a lion, and sometimes a tube con- taining three arrows, or a lad sit- ting on a three-legged nondescript animal, are placed on roofs in China, to protect the building from bad luck. RUBBERS–To lose a rubber overshoe is a sign of coming disas- ter. It is unlucky if you lose a rub- ber off your shoe. It is ill luck to put on a new pair of rubbers and then walk on dry sidewalks. To put on one new and one old rubber unintentionally, will bring good luck. To throw old rubbers at tramps will keep them forever away from your door. RUST-If pavements appear rusty, or if stoves or iron or steel rusts during the night, rain may be expected soon. SALT—Help me to salt, you help me to sorrow. Never pass the salt at table with- out smiling. (Russia.) Salt was detested by the ancient Egyptians, as they thought it ex- cited the passions. If a person would put salt on an- other man’s hand, both would be- come foes. (India.) In the Isle of Man, salt is con- stantly carried in the pocket for luck. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 489 If the salt falls towards you, pour some wine in your lap, or you will have bad luck. Byron would not help anyone to salt at table, nor allow himself to be helped. Oversalting meat, vegetables, or anything eatable, is a sign of be- ing in love. Call no man a friend, with whom you have not eaten salt at least three times. You can prevent the evil of spill- ing salt, by throwing some over your shoulder. An inordinate fondness for salt is the sign of a bad temper. Don't scrape up spilled salt; it is a most unlucky thing to do. Salt scattered about the house preserves the inmates from harm. (British Guiana.) To find out if a room is damp, leave a handful of salt on a paper Over night; if the room is damp, in the morning you will find the salt moist. When salt is bought, a portion must be thrown on the fire, or there will be a quarrel in the family. (Chinese.) The Muscovites thought that no better luck could happen to a man than that his prince should send him salt from his own table. If a person borrows salt and re- turns it, it will break friendship be- tween the two. In the Isle of Man, a beggar will not accept alms or clothing from you unless you add salt to it. In the Isle of Man no one goes out to transact business without salt in the pocket, nor would the people think of removing from one house to another without salt. If they put a child out to nurse or take one in, salt is interchanged for luck to all parties. Many people believe that it is an unlucky thing to overturn the salt; this superstition is said to have originated from the celebrated pic- ture of the Last Supper, by Leon- ardo da Vinci, in which Judas Is- cariot is represented as overturn- ing the salt. When purchasing a part of the furniture of a house, be sure and include the salt-cellar or salt box, or bad luck will come. Also always take the old salt-box with you if you move, and never quite empty the old salt-box until you have begun using the new. If you are afraid of quarreling with some friend because you have spilled the salt, you can prevent it by burning some salt at once, and saying: “Burn, burn, and rise in smoke, E’er my friendship you have broke.” A gentleman renting a house in Wales and purchasing part of the furniture of the former occupant, was advised to buy the salt-box, which he did, no one bidding against him. He was afterwards told that ill luck would have fol- lowed him if he had not bought it. An old English paper contains the following lines: We’ll tell you the reason Why spilling of salt Is esteemed such a fault: Because it does everything season. The antiques did opine 'Twas of friendship a sign To serve it to guests in decorum; And thought love decayed When the negligent maid Let the salt cellar tumble before them. Among the Orientals of the pres- ent day, as among the ancients, every meal that includes salt has a sacred character, and creates a guest-friendship between the parti- cipants. Hence the Arab phrase, 490 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. y “There is salt between us,” mean- ing that the parties, having eaten salt together, are united in friend- ship. It is unlucky to spill salt; it gen- erally announces a quarrel. SALT-CELLAR–Ancient salt- cellars were often greatly valued, on account of the luck attached to salt generally, and accumulated on the old salt-cellar in particular. SCARF PIN–“To wear a ‘Brownie' as a scarf pin, will bring you mischief,” is a very modern American superstition, since “Brownies” are but a recent inven- tion of the artist-author, Palmer Cox. SCISSORS–To sit on a pair of scissors will spoil your luck for a week. If you find a pair of scissors, expect to be taken advantage of where you little expect. For a lady to buy scissors, is a sign that she will have to work with them for seven years. If you sit on scissors, you will be disappointed. When one breaks a pair of scis- sors or shears, it is a sign of a di- vorce in the family. Handing a person a pair of scis- sors crossed is a sign of a quarrel. Putting scissors, pins, or any- thing sharp, on a bed, brings bad luck. If, during sickness, a pair of shears falls on the floor, and sticks upright, it means that the sick per- son will die. \ “When your scissors often fall A man you love is going to call.” If you sharpen a pair of scissors for a friend, you will rise to a high- er position in society. If you find the scissors lying open, close them at once; they are open for a fight. In Greece and Turkey, if a pair of scissors is left gaping on the table, it is said that the Archangel Michael's mouth is open, ready to take the soul of some member of the family. If a pair of scissors hang closed on the wall, it will make the man of the house cross and fretful. If you drop the scissors, a knife, or any sharp pointed instrument, and it sticks up straight, you may expect company. If it slants, the visitors will come from the direc- tion the instrument points to. SCOLDING—If the wife scolds, the chimney will smoke. SEALING WAX—If you are writing to a friend and use black sealing wax, when you are not in mourning, you will hear of a death. If, while writing, you receive a letter sealed with violet sealing wax, you will in a few days have oc- casion to write a letter of condo- lence to a friend. If a man writes to his sweetheart, and she uses the same color of seal- ing wax as he, it foretells an early marriage. If you seal a love letter with green instead of pink, you may feel hopeful but it will do no good; you will be disappointed in your sweet- heart. If you receive a letter sealed with brown wax, you will soon receive an invitation to a dinner and will meet with an old friend, or you will have some other surprise. Omens of sealing wax are: White—Delicacy, refinement. Black—Death. Violet–Condolence. Brown—Melancholy. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 491 Yellow—Jealousy. Pale Green—Mute reproof. Gray—Remembrance. Vērmilion—Business. Deep Red—Danger. Deep Green—Hope. Blue—Love. + SEALSKIN–If an Icelander's sealskin is mended on Sunday, he will be drowned. SERVANT—In Furness it is be- lieved unlucky to hire a servant on Friday. If a servant burns a hole in her apron, she will not remain long. It is said that servants who go to their places dressed in black, will never stay the year out. A servant girl changing posi- tions shall move in the morning. To move in the evening is unlucky for both parties. It is unlucky for the new servant to arrive just as the old one leaves. Praise your servant in the morn- ing, and you will hate your bishop ere the evening. A maidservant who has been hired on Friday, will break the china. (Belgium.) A girl hired on Monday gives no satisfaction. (Belgium.) In Norfolk, when a servant goes to a new place, her friends throw an old shoe after her for luck. In Ireland, when a servant leaves her place, her mistress gives her a piece of bread, which she keeps carefully; for as long as she has it, she will have good luck. If the byke or the crook are turn- ed towards the door when a new servant arrives, it is a sign that she will not stay long. (N. E. Scot- land.) A servant entering a new place, must first bring water from the well, to insure good friendship with the mistress, For luck, a new manservant must come at noon and eat his dumplings on the chimney-seat. If he is given sauerkraut to eat the first day, the place will be disagree- able to him. (German.) It is unlucky for a maid to reach her place of service so long as there is light enough to see to hang her bonnet up. It was believed that if a servant- girl should bury forty sovereigns in a flower-pot, she would get a noble- man for her husband. In Syria, the servants rise early in the morning and throw a piece of wet clay at the master's house. If it sticks, it is a sign of a good silk harvest. In Transylvania, it is considered unlucky to prevent a new servant from eating all she wants on the first day she comes, for her appe- tite will then never be stilled. SEWING—If you mend your dress while you still have it on, you will lose your memory. (Bo- hemia.) If, in sewing, you lose your needle, let someone ask if it had a thread in it, and you will find it at O11Ce. Mice will eat your work if you sew after sundown on Saturday. If your thread knots when sew- ing, it is the sign of a disagreeable disposition. Anyone doing some sewing on your body will not stick the needle into you, if you chew something. When a maiden sews with a double thread, she is said to be in love. To sew carpet-rags or ruffles ac- cidentally in a ring, is a sign that you will be married within a year. 492 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. P If you lose a needle while sewing a garment, you will find a lost arti- cle. If, on sewing on a garment, it falls off your lap, it is a sign that it will suit. If you begin to mend on Mon- day, you will have to mend all the week. Whoso doeth any sewing in bed, or on Sunday, cannot die till it is ripped. Who sews in bed will be un- lucky. If you sew a ring in sewing car- pet-rags, you will go to a wed- ding. If you sew anything upon a per- son's body, you will sew up their brains. For two people to sew on the same garment, with the garment between them, is a sign of a death in the family of one or the other. If you have to rip out any of the stitches you are putting in a gar- ment, while you are making it, it is a sign that you will live to wear it Out. * If you break a machine-needle while making any garment, it be- tokens that you will be kissed by a handsome man when wearing the garment, When your work falls to the floor while you are sewing, it is a good sign. If two people sew on the same piece of work at the same time, the work will never be properly fin- ished. - If you finish sewing any garment on Saturday, it is a sign that you will have something new next week. “Patch beside a patch is neigh- borly; patch upon a patch is beg- garly.” If you rip a seam in making a dress, you will live to wear the dress out. It is unlucky to forget to make a knot in your thread when sewing. The person who sews or patches anything on his or her own body, should always take something in his mouth, or else he or she will become forgetful. When basting up the front of a gown, if you by mistake put the right front to the left shoulder- seam, make a wish and it will be granted. The Chinese give a pair of trou- sers to a young girl learning to sew, and if she stitches them successful- ly, she will have wealth. When a woman who has been sewing puts her thimble on the table when she sits down to eat, it is a sign that she will be left a widow if she marries. When a dress is finished and a long piece of thread is left in the needle, it is a good sign, for the wearer will live long; but if short, it is bad. (Greek.) If you happen to prick your fin- ger while making any article of un- derclothing, and a drop of blood falls on the garment, there will be a death in the family before long. SHAVING—Do not burn your shaving paper. Throw it away, and you will be wealthy. SHAWL–If you wear your shawl folded cornerwise, it is a sign that someone will slander you. SHEET-To tear the bed-sheet is a sign of exceedingly bad luck. To get your sheets on the bed wrong side out, is a sign of a change of residence. When two persons are folding a sheet, let them wish, and if the last FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 493 fold comes out even, they will get their wish. To find any sheet with a turned- in crease, when newly ironed, is the sign of the death of an acquaint- a11CC, SHIRT-If you soil your dress- shirt with blood, you will live long and die happy. To put on a clean shirt on Friday is good for the gripes. If the back of a man’s shirt is ironed he will never be rich. He who wears a shirt woven of yarn, that a girl under seven has spun, will find luck in it. It is unlucky to keep or wear the shirt worn during disagreeable events. If it is not burned, un- pleasant memories will always haunt you when you wear it. One who gets his shirt on back- wards, will lose what employment he has. To wear a shirt made by a per- son without troubles, brings good luck and insures health or a recov- ery from illness. Shirts finished on Friday attract vermin. When your shirt-sleeves come down below your coat-sleeves, it is a sign that somebody is talking about you. If you wear out your sleeves at the elbow, it is a sign that your relatives are deceitful to you. SHOE-To break the thong of a clog in front when walking, is in the East a sign of evil for one’s enemies. It is bad luck to wear shoes on which buttons are missing. If your shoes crack across the toe, some friend is not true to you. “Wear on the vamp, Look out for a scamp.” In China, it is unlucky to wear leather-soled shoes. If your shoes tear in the back, you will never be able to save any money. Scotch girls believe if they drop their shoes before they are worn, trouble will ensue. Shoes and boots should never be raised off the floor. Always keep them in their place. The young lady who accidentally burns her shoes, may expect many admirers. If you tie your shoes together after wearing them, it is bad luck. Do not accept old shoes; you will walk off the donor's troubles and wade in his griefs. If a lady buys a gentleman shoes, she will have a family quarrel. If a gentleman buys a lady shoes, his favors are or will be granted. Boots and shoes easy to pull on and off, indicate dry weather. To insure good sleep, set your shoes with the toes from the bed. If you put red shoes on a child before it is a year old, it will never see blood. Never give away your shoes, or you will give away your luck. If, in taking off your shoes, they fall in the form of a cross, it is a sign of a journey. If you kick a good shoe into an oven and let it bake, you will gain a fortune. It is unlucky to receive shoes during Christmas week. If new shoes squeak, it is a sign that they are not paid for. It is unlucky to kick a pair of shoes. To have a friend spit on your new shoes, denotes eternal friend- ship. 494 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. If you wear your right shoe out before your left, you will never rise above mediocrity. To wear silver in your shoe, pre- vents your being deceitful. If you have a cross in the left boot-heel made with nails, it will keep off evil spirits. The placing of boots on the ta- ble is thought to be very unlucky. It is bad luck to hang up shoes. Set them on the floor, where they belong. To receive a pair of boots on your birthday, denotes the best of fortune. Drop your shoe, A letter for you. It is unlucky to wear cast-off shoes. If you put brimstone in your shoes, they will never swell. Bad luck to write on your shoe. If you bring home some new shoes and lay them on the table, they will not fit you and will hurt you. Never put your shoes and stock- ings on the table, or your feet will ache. (Bohemia.) A French lady losing the heel of her shoe, is sure of some disap- pointment in love. A German mother losing the heel of her shoe, is afraid of los- ing one of her children. If the tie of your slipper gets torn when one is leaving the house, the person will have bad luck be- fore he or she returns. (Japanese.) To put on another person's shoes is a sign that you wish their death in order to get their proper- ty. It is unlucky to walk with one shoe on and one shoe off. A day's bad luck for every step. If you soil your shoes in certain droppings on a roadway, you are to get money. (Belgium.) The common people in Bohemia have iron on their shoes like horses, only much smaller, and if they find the iron heel of a shoe it is lucky. If a servant gives the master or mistress the left shoe first in the morning, terrible things will hap- pen that day. Leaving boots or slippers at the head of your bed, will bring bad dreams. (Portugal.) Upon entering a house, a Hindu removes his shoes. If your shoes squeak at a funeral, while you have not noticed that they have done so before, it is the sign of a marriage. If you tread your shoes inward, you'll be rich. If you tread your shoes outward, you’ll be poor. If a woman going to market puts her right shoe on first, she will re- ceive a better price for her wares. Some people believe that if they hear their old shoes dance in the closet at night, they will be drowned. Place your husband's shoes at the head of your bed the first night after marriage, for good luck. If you get up in the morning and take up shoes of anyone else to put on, it is very unlucky. It is said to be a sign of good luck if you happen to be possessed of two pairs of brand-new shoes. If you kick a slipper off one foot when you hear a dog howling, there will be no death. If you find an old shoe on the street and count the buttons, you can tell how many years it will be before you marry. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 495 It is good luck to place your shoes when going to bed, so that the toes point toward the door. If you walk with only one shoe and stocking on, you will surely have a cold in your head. Hurl after me an old, old shoe; I'll be merry whate’er I do. When changing one's shoes, the pair taken off braced against the wall and resting upon the toes, brings good luck to their posses- SOI. To wear your heels off on the outside is the sign of a generous nature. To wear your heels off on the inside, is the sign of a stingy nature. Never blacken your shoes before you have had them both on your feet, or you may meet with an acci- dent or even a sudden death. (Irish.) Always keep the shoes in which you made your first success on the stage, but do not wear them. They will prove unlucky on the second trial. If you have had a restless night, look and see if your shoes are not so placed as to point the toes to- ward the bed? That made it! It is lucky to wear round holes in the soles of your shoes. They are round dollars. One who puts on his shoes with- out his stockings, will meet with violence within a year. If you see a man bowing as if someone were near, when there is no one, be sure his shoes are pinch- ing his toes. If your shoes hurt your feet, rub them with whiskey and “make them drunk.” They will then not hurt you any more. In Sweden, it is believed that if one puts his or her shoes up against a wall when going to bed and they have fallen down by morning, the person will die with- in a year. Throw a shoe over your head to- ward the door. If the toe points to the door, you will remove; if from the door, you will remain. The Eskimos are in the habit of attaching a piece of the shoe of a European to their wives to make them prolific mothers. If you “break in” a pair of shoes for a man, you will have troubles with a low person; for a woman, a short journey. To ascertain if you are soon to change your residence, throw up your shoe. If the toe falls toward you, it will walk off with you to some other place. As a mark of respect, the Japa- nese take off their slippers when they meet, and the Jews used to pluck off one of the shoes to con- firm a bargain. If a slipper falls off when danc- ing or merry-making, the lady who loses it will marry the one with whom she was playing or dancing at the time. One of the emperors of Rome put on his left shoe first one morn- ing and came near being assassin- ated during the day. Put on your right shoe and stocking first. Many reverse this, however. Herodotus says that Perseus fre- quently appeared on earth, and that a sandal worn by him was some- times found which was two cubits in length, and always after that all Egypt flourished. In China, women pay a visit to the shrine of Mitha, the goddess, to borrow her votive shoes. These shoes have been given the goddess by mothers who have been blessed with children. 496 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. When a vessel engaged in the Greenland whale-fishery left Whit- by, Yorkshire, the wives of the sail- ors would throw shoes after her for luck. In Yorkshire, the ceremony of shoe-throwing was known as “thrashing,” and the older the shoe, the greater the luck. A rhyme about the wearing-out of shoes runs thus: Worn on the side, soon a rich man’s bride; Worn on the toes, spends as he goes; Worn on the heel, thinks a good deal; Worn on the vamp, he's Surely a scamp. The origin of many superstitions about shoes lies in the common be- lief that the ghost, soul, spirit, wraith, or life-principle of a man resides in his shoes, apart from his body; therefore, when a murdered man is found, his shoes must be buried in the sand between high and low tide, so that his ghost will not hover around and torment his relatives. When a Chinese girl who has been betrothed, dies before the wedding day, her lover goes to her father’s house and with much weeping demands a pair of her shoes. These he carries home with much ceremony, calling out at ev- ery street corner for her to follow him, and when he arrives at home, he acts as if she were present, thus paying affectionate reverence to her spirit. If the sole and heel of a shoe af- ter two months’ wear, are equally worn, it is a sign that the wearer is a man of energetic business habits. If the wearer is a woman, she makes a good wife and an excellent mother. If a servant, he or she can be relied upon. If one wears his or her shoes mostly on the inside edge, it indi- cates weakness and irresolution in a man, and modesty in a woman. If one wears the outside edges of his shoes most, the owner is adven- turous, bold, rash and persistent. Wearing-out shoes: Tip at the toe, live to see woe; Wear at the side, live to be a bride; Wear at the ball, live to spend all; Wear at the heel, live to save a deal. In Japan, a beggar will not ac- cept cast-off sandals. He is afraid of stepping into another's shoes in more ways than one. Never wear other people's shoes if you can pos- sibly get some for yourself. Your own luck is the best for you, no matter what it is. To wear your shoes both long and well, A shoemaker’s wife doth this foretell For this does every maiden know, Shoemakers' wives and children go Barefooted underneath the skies, Unless they learn their shoes to prize. In the book entitled “Ten Thou- sand Wonderful Things,” the fol- lowing story is told as an instance of the luck caused by shoe-throw- ing: An English cattle dealer de- sired his wife to throw her left shoe after him when he started for Nor- wich to buy a lottery ticket, and looking around to see if she prac- ticed the charm, he received the shoe in his face with such force as to blacken his eyes. He bought the ticket, which turned out to win a prize of six hundred pounds. When Hiawatha put on his moc- casins he could measure a mile at a single stride. “He had moccasins enchanted, Magic moccasins of deer skin; When he bound them round his ankles At each stride a mile he measures.” (Longfellow.) Professor Rhys, continuing his paper in Folklore, on “Manx Folk- lore and Superstitions,” and re- marking that it is considered un- lucky to meet a spaagagh or splay- footed person at certain times and seasons, particularly on New Year's Day, proceeds to inquire why flat- FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 497 footed persons should be fixed up- on. In giving a possible answer to the question, Professor Rhys finds an argument in a shoemaker's shop and shows once more that science does not despise the smallest and most unlikely facts. “I must con- fess I cannot understand it,” he says, “unless we have here also some supposed racial characteris- tic, let us say greatly exaggerated. To explain myself I should put it that the non-Aryan aborigines were a small people of great agility and nimbleness, and that their Ar- yan conquerors moved more slow- ly and deliberately, whence the former, of springier movements, might come to nickname the latter ‘the flat-feet.’ It is even conceiv- able that there was some amount of foundation for it in fact. If I might speak from my own expe- rience, I might mention a difficulty I have often had with shoes of English make, namely, that I have always found them, unless made to my measure, apt to have their in- step too low for me. It has never occurred to me to buy ready-made shoes in France or Germany, but I know a lady as Welsh as myself who has often bought shoes in France, and her experience is, that it is much easier for her to get shoes there to fit her than in Eng- land, and for the very reason which I have already suggested, namely, that the instep in English shoes is lower than in French ones. These two instances do not warrant an in- duction that the Celts are higher in the instep than Teutons, and that they have inherited that character- istic from the non-Aryan element in their ancestry; but they will do to suggest a question, and that is all I want: Are the descendants of the non-Aryan aborigines of these islands proportionately higher in the instep than those of more pure- ly Aryan descent?” In the discus- sion which followed the reading of Professor Rhys's paper Dr. Karl Blind said that as to the instep he could speak from his own experi- ence: almost every German found that an English shoemaker made his boots too low in the instep. Thus the fit of a shoe in a modern shop is seen to have some possible relation to a vulgar superstition which has come down from anti- quity. SHOE-STRING—It is unlucky to burn a shoe-lace. If you break a shoe-string, it is a sign that your sweetheart will bestow her love upon a stranger. If a young man is careless with his shoe-strings, he will neglect his wife. If he laces them tightly, he will be stingy with her. If his lac- ings keep coming untied, his lady, is thinking of him. There is an old superstition that you can bind and lose luck with a shoe-string. In the earliest times the shoe-latchet was thought to bring luck, just as the shoe itself did, especially when filled with corn or rice, and thrown after a bride. SHUTTERS–If shutters blow together and stay bowed, it is a sign of death. SINGING—If you sing on wash day, it will rain. If you are going to sing a duet with a young gentleman and some- one interrupts you so that you do not sing, you will not marry him. SILK–The Mohammedans con- sider it very unlucky to wear anything made entirely of silk. A white silk dress worn at a grand party, is liable to gain a titled suitor or give the wearer a chance to make a tour around the world. 498 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. SILVERWARE-When y o u use a set of new silver forks or knives for the first time, make a wish and it will come true. SLEIGH-When you first see a sleigh in the fall of the year, make a wish and you will get it. (Winn, Maine.) SLOPS–It is lucky to throw away slops in three directions. SMOKE-Smoke driving into a house and a scolding wife, will make a man run out of doors. SNOW–If a bank of snow stands in front of a house when all the rest of the snow has melted away, it is a sure sign of a wedding in that house before the snow banks again. SOAP—It is very unlucky to borrow soap in the evening. (Greek.) To drop soap is a sign of death. To take soap from the hand of a person, forebodes a quarrel. (Al- banian.) It is unlucky to drop soap; also if it drops while a friend is handing it to you. If the soap parts in your hands when washing them, it is a sign that you will be parted from your friends. It is unlucky to make soap in the dark of the moon; also to stir it backwards. The first Monday after the March moon is the best time. SOFA–The person who first sits down upon a sofa or chair that has held a coffined body will be the next in the assembly to die. SOOT-The falling of soot pre- sages rain. When soot burns on the bottom of pots and kettles, a storm is por- tended. If the soot burns upon the chim- ney-back, called by children, “peo- ple coming out of meeting,” it is a sign of foul weather. Some say, if soot burns on the bottom of a kettle it is a sign of Walſ. SOUP-To have soup boil over, signifies a change of employment. If a girl drinks soup from a ladle, she will never be a mother. When soup continues to boil after the kettle is taken off, the cook will live to a good old age. If a man who is eating soup lays his spoon on the table with its in- ner side up, it is a sign that he has not had enough. When he has, it will fall with the outer side up. SPINNING—If you spin in the open country, all the witches will plague you. If the wool snarls, and you are not able to get it out as you spin, you will never get married. If a man on horseback meets a woman who is spinning, it is a bad sign. - It is bad luck to turn the spin- ning wheel backwards. If a bride spins in the first year of her marriage, the year will be windy. (Persian.) If you do not hide your spindle when you have done spinning, the devil will come and spin with it. (Persia.) If a maid has not spun her distaff clear by Sunday, those threads will never bleach. In Usedom and Wollin (North Germany), the people say: “The wand will come,” when all is not spun off. In some villages on the Huy, North Germany, it is said that be- tween the old and the new yearany- FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 499 thing left on the distaff will make the “martche” come. To catch hold of the spindle while still in motion, will bring an early death. (Madagascar.) In Piedmont there is a belief that flax spun on the last day of the car- nival will bring bad luck. If a woman spins on Saturday evening, she will walk after she dies. (German.) In the “spinning companies,” of the long winter evenings, all the people of the Bohemian villages as- semble at some cottage, and tell tales of witchcraft and folklore, fables and songs, while the “house- gods” that are still reverenced and were worshipped in all Slavic fam- ilies, together with the Bohemian “father,” who brought his house- gods with him in the fifth century, are supposed to benignantly smile on these festivities. Uneducated country people still believe in these housegods as the spirits of their an- cestors, who live with them unseen but helpful, take care of them, do them good, and sometimes punish them for their better interests. SPLITTING WOOD-If wood will not split, spit on it. SPOON-HOLDER—To tip over a spoon-holder is a sign of a christening. STAIR-To count the steps of stairs as you lie on your back, indi- cates the number of your troubles. To stop on the stairs and talk, is accounted unlucky. “Stub your toe on the stair, Someone will ask you his fortune to share.” If you catch your foot in the stair-carpet when going down- stairs, you will hear good news. STOCKING—To burn a hole in your stocking is a sign of a jour- ney. If you fold up your stockings when you take them off at night, you will fold up trouble. The falling down of your stock- ing is a sure sign that you are be- ing thought of by the person you most love. If you wear stockings of differ- ent colors, it will keep witches away. It is unlucky to fasten a stock- ing on the left on Monday. Persistently putting on the stocking and shoe on the left foot first, will restore a weakly person to health. To put your stockings on wrong side out, is a sign of disappoint- ment. Rub the feet of your stockings with soap, and you can walk a very great distance without experienc- ing the slightest fatigue. Some Jews put on the right stocking and right shoe first, with- out tying it, and then put on the left shoe and stocking, and then re- turn to tie the right, for luck; to do otherwise would be ominous. If, in putting on your stockings, your toe should happen to go into the heel instead of into the toe, it is a true sign that you will receive an important letter that day. If for any cause you have to re- move your stockings after getting dressed, it is a sign that you are about to receive some money. To remove your stocking to try on shoes, and find holes that morti- fy you, is a sign that you will lose money. Dr. Schliemann, the great ex- plorer and excavator of buried cities, had his dreams of ancient Troy, Helen, Hector and Mycenae, but he was too poor to prosecute his projects until he began to put on his left stocking and shoe first, 5oo ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. and then everything went well with him. He said himself that this was the means of his luck. STOVE–When the lid of your stove falls on the floor, you are go- ing to be unjustly scandalized. Never black a stove on Friday, or you will have the worst luck with your cooking. You will com- mit many errors. If paper burns on top of the stove, it means company. If you spit on the stove, you will get chapped lips. If the grate falls out, dog irons fall, or the coal spills, it is a very bad sign. It is a sign of a quarrel, to let a cooking stove get red-hot on top. When blacking rolls up and will not stick to a stove, it is a sign of hot and dry weather. A black mark, received while working about the fire or stove, is a sign of company, thus: “Nearer the thumb the quicker they come; Nearer the finger the longer they lin- ger.” STOVE-LIFTER—If a young girl habitually leaves the stove-lift- er in the cover of the stove after using, instead of hanging it up, she will get a cross husband. STOVEPIPE—The falling of a stovepipe is the sign of the break- ing up of the household. STRANGER—If you sleep with a stranger, you will have a quarrel next day. If an unknown person embraces you, you will travel far. If a stranger kisses you, expect a marriage. If you praise a stranger, you will fall out with a friend. To give a stranger your address, will end in a dislike. The appearance of a stranger during mealtime, is ominous to a Jew. To harbor a stranger in a new house the first night, is an unusual sign of good luck. If you hand a glass of water to a stranger and he drinks it all, it is a most excellent omen for both. In South Macedonia, the arrival of a little stranger is awaited in sol- emn silence by elderly women, whose presence and prayers keep away all invisible harmful influ- £11C eS. If a stranger looks in at the door on Monday without coming in, it makes the husband beat his wife. If a suspicious person, a peddler or a gipsy, comes to the door, treat them kindly and see them to the crossroads, lest harm should come. (Bohemia.) It is a common belief that if a stranger does not sit down when going into a house, the inmates cannot sleep. The Tartars have a superstition that if a handsome young man, a stranger, comes to the house, and he is killed, it assures them of his comely spirit remaining among them and benefiting them; but if left to go on his way, it will bring bad luck to the house. It is there- fore a dangerous proceeding to ask shelter among those people. STRAW–If you find a blade of straw lying in your chamber, you will soon have company. Never burn straw that anyone has slept on, else that person can- not rest. STUMBLING AND FALL- ING—To stub the toe or stumble, is a bad omen in Korea. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 5O1 To stumble at the doorstep, is a sign that the person practices witchcraft. (Madagascar.) Malesherbes, a French judge, when leaving prison for the revolu- tionary tribunal where he was to receive sentence, ironically ex- claimed on stumbling: “It is a bad sign; a Roman would have turned back!” Lockhart puts the same words into the mouth of Napoleon, whose horse stumbled and threw him to the ground as he was about to cross the Veimen on the expedi- tion to Russia, June 24th, 1812. He exclaimed: “I should go back! This is a bad omen.” SUGAR BOWL–If you upset the sugar bowl, it is a sign that you will receive money. SUSPENDERS–If you take off your suspenders before anyone, it is a sign of a disagreeable event. It is said if a man's suspenders break while he is away from home, that he would have good luck in anything he attempted, races, gam- bling in stocks, or any investment. SWEEPING—Don’t burn up brooms. To rest the broom on the handle behind the door, is a sign of thrift. For a broom-handle to snap in two, is a sign of death. It is unlucky to meet sweepings in a doorway. ... If one sweeps on New Year's day, the person will sweep out all his or her luck. (Japanese.) Burning dust insures riches. To see a broom worn straight, is the sign of a strong and firm mind in the user. If, when sweeping, you make a Smut-mark on the floor, it is a sign of a stranger coming. To drop a broom is a sign of Company. If a girl steps over a broom, she will be an old maid. It is bad luck to move a broom aCrOSS Water. Never sweep the first fallen snow from your walk with a new broom. To hang the broom up by the handle, is a sign of pleasure and ac- cumulation. If a woman steps over a broom lying on the floor, it is a sign that she is a sloven. To loan a broom is a sign of bad luck. To give away a broom that has been used, is bad luck. To walk over sweepings is un- lucky. Never burn a broom if you would be safe from St. Anthony's fire. If a broom standing beside a door falls out, it is the sign of a stranger coming. * If you dust well on Saturday you will have no company on Sunday. Never put a broom on your head. It is bad luck. To sweep the house towards the north or at night, causes poverty to come to the sweeper. (Madagas- car.) To sweep a house at night is the greatest insult to the fairies and the spirits of the dead. If by any chance you bring dust downstairs after twelve o’clock at night, you will soon bring a corpse down. If, in sweeping a room, you sprin- kle it with hot water, the people in the house will quarrel. When you sweep your house, take the dirt up in a basket or shovel and carry it out. Always 5O2 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. sweep inward from, and not out- ward to, a door. If there is dough in the trough, do not sweep the room until it is carried out, or you will sweep a loaf aWay. Never sweep the dirt from one room to another. Always take it up. It is unlucky to carry dirt from one place to another with a broom. In Wexford, it is considered very unlucky to sweep dirt behind the door and leave it there overnight. If you put a broom on the table or sweep a table off with a broom, someone in the house will die. A room must not be swept im- mediately after the departure of the inmates, for fear of sweeping out the luck. (Japan.) In Transylvania, it is an omen of good luck if a broom is left before the door upside down. “Brooms bought in May, Sweep the family away.” If, after sweeping a room, the broom is accidentally left in the corner, strangers will visit the house that day. The Negroes believe that if any- one is struck with a broom, he or she will have to go to the work- house. Do not step over a broom-handle that lies on the floor, or you will become slovenly; pick it up. Never allow yourself to be touched with a broom when you See any one sweeping; if you do, nine days of your good luck will be swept away. If you wish to avoid the ill luck which follows sweeping at night, all you have to say is: “Busy, busy, for I am receiving the bride and groom.” (Japanese.) It is very lucky to be able to sweep a large amount of dust and refuse from the kitchen several times a day, as it is a sign of wealth that will accumulate. Throughout Germany, brooms play a large part in popular medi- cine, since they are the witches' favorite means of conveyance to their nightly feasts at the Blocks- berg. Southern Negroes have a terror of having a broom pointed at them, or passed over their bodies. They are convinced that such an act shortens life. Place a broom across the door, and if any of your departed friends wish to come and speak to you, they can do so freely, as long as you keep the broom there. (Ala- bama.) If anyone is sweeping a room in which you are sitting or stand- ing, and the sweeper should acci- dentally pass the broom across your feet, it is called “sweeping your feet,” and is said to be a sign that you will not be married that year. “Dirt's luck,” says the Scotch proverb. Aberdeenshire folk, when “flitting,” only swept the house clean behind them, if they wished to spite their successors by taking away the luck with them. It was, in fact, the Iar, the Haus- geist, the familiar spirit of the dwelling, whom they would thus remove. No one will need remind- ing, surely, of the insignificant shapes and unsuspected lurking places of the luck-bringing elves and familiar spirits of the old folk- tales. “If you wish to thrive And with happy people bide, Have your house swept by three, One to dust, one to tide And one to see no spider runs alive.” SWORD–Do not lay a sword on the dressing-room table; it brings strife and rivalry. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 503 TABLE–For a person to lie on the table, is an inevitable sign of death. Never place money upon the table where the meals are served; it brings poverty. (Portugal.) The accidental dropping of the leaf of a table, especially if it breaks dishes, is very unlucky. When you cover a table, place a piece of bread on it at once, or someone will stumble over the cor- 1161. It is bad luck to violate the table by an indelicate action. Two persons must never wipe off a table at the same time; if they do, the younger will die. When you cover a table, put on some bread at once or someone will trip on the corner of the cloth. When your table warps in the middle, you are going to meet with great losses. Do not sit on the edge of a table or trunk, or you will be disappoint- ed. If you lie down on a table, you will die before the year is out. To drum on the table, with a knife and fork, is the sign that you will drum the poor into the house. If one sings at the table while the family are eating, it means the death of a friend. If two girls will set a table to- gether, both taking hold together on every dish and not speaking one word while doing it, their lovers will come and eat from the table. To break the leg of a table is the sign of death. “A friend and his wife were tak- ing tea with me a day or two ago, when the latter, as she was about to sit down, said: ‘Oh! It is not lucky to sit down at a table like that is.” “What is the matter?' I said. ‘Oh! don't you see it is not straight?” meaning that it was not quite parallel with the wall. So we put it straight, and then I ask- ed where she picked up that fancy. “At home,” said she; ‘I heard it ever since I can remember.” She was a Northamptonshire lady by birth.” TABLECLOTH-To soil acci- dentally a tablecloth foretells pleas- ure and plenty to eat. It is unlucky to shake the table- cloth after sundown. To shake a tablecloth is ill luck. You shake away your prosperity. (Bermuda.) If you leave the cloth on the ta- ble all night, the angels will not protect you. If the tablecloth is laid wrong side up, people can never eat their He who wipes his mouth on the tablecloth will never get enough to eat. If in spreading or laying a tablecloth a mound rises in it, you will soon hear of a death. In Saxony, nobody dared to wipe the fingers on the tablecloth, lest the hands become covered with WartS. To shake the tablecloth outside the courtyard, is to shake away the luck. Leave a bit of bread on the cloth for the good angels. (Greek.) TABLESPOON.—If you drop a tablespoon, a stranger will come. TACK–If you step on a tack, you will soon take a journey. TEA KETTLE-If you place, accidentally, the tea kettle on the stove with the spout to the back, it is a sign of company. If the steam of the tea kettle is- sues from the spout in short spurts, you will have good news. 504 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. It is considered unlucky to drain the tea kettle dry. If the bottom of the tea kettle is white when taken from the stove, it indicates a storm. (Peabody, Mass.) If a tea kettle spouts out water when boiling, it is a sign that there will be a quarrel between husband and wife. If in placing a tea kettle on the stove, it does not sink evenly down into the opening, it is a sign of disappointment to the person placing it. If the tea kettle boils over on your wedding morning, you will get to be a sour wife and mother. TEA POT-To leave the tea pot lid open, is the sign of the coming of a stranger. To pour the tea out of the back of the tea pot is a sure sign of the visit of a priest to the house. (Chi- nese.) If you break a tea pot, it is a sign of trouble. If people drink tea out of the spout of the tea pot, they will have children with mouths shaped like the spout. (Chinese.) TEASPOON.—If you drop a teaspoon, a child will come. THIMBLE–A thimble worn out-of-doors, will bring good luck. If you wear holes in the top of your thimble, you were born to be rich. It is unlucky to lose a thimble. There will be a death in the fam- ily within a year, if a woman loses her thimble. THREAD–To entirely empty a spool of thread is very unlucky. “A long thread, a lazy girl,” is an old German superstition. A skirt sewed with thread spun in the Twelves, is good for many things. TINDER—He who touches tin- der with his fingers, cannot make it catch. In making tinder, men's shirts only should be used, as it is said that women's shifts made into tin- der will not catch. TIN PAN–The falling of sev- eral tin pans at a time, indicates a wedding. TOBACCO-It is unlucky to be offered a broken cigar. Being caused to relight your cigar three times is a bad omen. If a dead man's briar pipe falls, some one near will die in three days. Pipes for smoking tobacco be- come indicative of the state of the air. When the scent is longer re- tained than usual, and seems dens- er and more powerful, it often forebodes rain and wind. To smoke a pipe unexpectedly, or under unusual conditions, fore- tells good business success; but if it goes out three times, losses. To let your pipe fall, you will get unexpected money. “Who the prize for health will take, Three times shall his snuff-box shake.” For a man to beg tobacco from another, is a portent of good to the giver. & It is a sign of trouble if, in smok- ing, the cigar burns unevenly down one side. When the Incas smoked, the first puff was to the sky and the next to each corner of the earth to secure good luck. Young men must not light their pipes at the lamp, else they will not get good wives. {\ ſº º \\ º N - §§ º \ www. - - Nº - N º º º M º \\ Q - | º º \\ º º Nº. º º Nº. yº ~ ------- --~~ \\ N º º § FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 505 It is good luck to save your cigar ashes in a silver thimble. If you light your cigar from that of another person, you will quarrel with him within a week. If three men light their cigar- ettes from the same match, bad luck will surely overtake one of them. (Rio Grande Indians.) If you are smoking a cigarette and it keeps going out, it is a sign that you are in love and not in vain. If a man buys a cigar, and instead of putting it in the cutter, bites the end off and blows through it, you may know that he means to have good luck. It is said by old tobacco chewers that it is very unlucky to refuse a cud to anyone asking you for it, if you happen to have it. If you light your pipe at night, do not throw the match on the ground, or the duppies will get hold of it and trouble you. (Ja- maica.) When a man is smoking, if his smoke takes the form of rings, it is a sign that his fortune will have no end. A certain Mandan Indian affirms that whenever another offers him a pipe to smoke out of civility, his mouth becomes full of worms, which he throws into the fire by the handful. If a man enters the room and lights his pipe by putting his head into the fireplace and drawing a whiff, it is a sure sign that trouble is brewing for that house. If, when smoking a pipe or cigar, the smoker sends forth a ring of Smoke, he should put out his hand, catch it, and put it in his pocket, and he will have money inside of a day. An American Tndian belief is that if any of them quarrel or have a misunderstanding, the whole company of them must sit around and smoke. They call this smok- ing the pipe of peace, after which all are supposed to be good friends. When the Sioux smoke, they present the stem of the pipe to the north, South, east and west, then to the Sun above their heads, pro- nouncing, “How-how-how!” and drawing a whiff or two. After the pipe is charged and lighted, it is considered an evil omen for anyone to speak, until the chief has drawn the smoke through it. Should any- one break the silence, the pipe is immediately dropped, and their superstition is such that they would not dare to use it. In the Basque legends we hear of a magic snuff-box called Ta- bakiera, which would speak when you opened it and say, “What do you want?” And whatever you wished, you would get it then and there. There is an old legend that when the Christians first discovered America, the devil was very much afraid he would lose his hold over the people. He told some of the Indian natives that he would be revenged upon the Christians by introducing tobacco to them, which would cause them to become its (and his) perpetual slaves, after they had once tasted it. Indians always pass everything to the left. The principal chief in the ring of those smoking the pipe facing east or the sunrise, hands the pipe to the man on the left, thus going “sunwise.” It would be very bad luck for a man to take the pipe from a man on his left. If any man refused to smoke the pipe when it came his turn, it was con- sidered not only an insult, but a disaster, as it brings bad luck on the tribe. 506 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. Some tribes use the pipe for the selection of a man for a special or dangerous service. “Casting lots,” the pipe is filled and passed from one hand to another, “sunwise,” with the greatest regularity, and the man in whose hands it goes out, is the person indicated by the Med- icine for the task. The American Indians have the following legend about the origin of their red pipe: The Great Spir- it long ago called the Indians to- gether, and, standing on the red pipe-stone rock, broke off a piece, which he made into a pipe and smoked, letting the smoke exhale to the four quarters. He then told the Indians that the red pipe-stone was their flesh, and they must use the red pipe when they made peace; and that when they smoked it, the war-club and scalp- ing-knife must not be touched. Having so spoken, the Great Spir- it was received up into the clouds. “The red pipe has blown its fumes of peace and war to the re- motest corners of the continent. It visited every warrior, and passed through its reddened stem the ir- revocable oath of war and desola- tion. Here, too, the peace-breath- ing calumet was born, and fringed with eagle's quills, which had shed its thrillling fumes over the land, and soothed the fury of the relent- less savage.” (Catlin letters on the North Americans, ii., 160.) TOOTHPICK-As often as you chew a toothpick, so often will someone make fun of you. To use grass for a toothpick is a bad omen, for many demons live in the grass and you are likely to in- hale one. TOWEL–Burning a sheet or towel is a forerunner of sickness. If the towel is twisted, two peo- ple may wipe on it together with- out a quarrel. The towel takes the twist instead of your tempers. If this is omitted, there will surely ensue a quarrel between the two persons before the day is over. TRAY-It is exceedingly un- lucky to step on a bread-tray TRUNK–It is unlucky to leave your trunk open when you are not needing it for anything. UMBRELLA—If you break your parasol, your lover will like another girl better. If you accidentally pick up an umbrella belonging to someone in deep mourning, some great mis- fortune will befall you. It is bad luck to loan an umbrel- la, and good luck to borrow one. If anyone gives you an umbrella, it will preserve you from the mach- inations of your enemies. If your umbrella turn wrong side out and then swishes back again, you will have better luck than you ever dreamed could come to you. For an umbrella to turn inside out in a storm, indicates a gift from an unexpected source. Some peo- ple consider it a sign of misfortune. To place an umbrella on the ta- ble, is a sign of vexation and dis- appointment. If you break your parasol, you will lose your lover. If you make a friend a present of an umbrella, you will soon lose his or her friendship. If you drop an umbrella, it is unlucky for you to pick it up. Have someone else do it for you. If you allow a lady friend to put a parasol on the bed, you and she will become bad friends. It is unlucky for anyone to hit you with an umbrella. FOLKLORE, AND THE Occult SciENCEs. 507 If you forget your umbrella, you will meet with a set-back. When you go out in a storm and the wind breaks your umbrella, you will receive a sum of money. To put an umbrella up while the moon is shining, is a sign of mis- fortune. To open an umbrella in the house, is a sign of death. To put up an umbrella in the house will cause rain. (Madagas- car.) LANGUAGE OF THE PAR- ASOL–“Desiring an acquaint- ance,” is signified by carrying par- asol elevated in the left hand. “You are too willing,” carrying it elevated in the right hand. “Meet on the first crossing,” car- rying it closed in the left hand. “Follow me,” carrying it closed in the right hand by the side. “No more at present,” carrying it in front of you. “You may speak to me,” carry- ing it over the right shoulder. “You are too cruel,” carrying it Over left shoulder. “I wish to speak to you,” closing it up. “I love you,” dropping it. “Do you love me?” end of tip to lips. “Get rid of your company,” fold- ing it up. “Yes,” letting it rest on the right cheek. “No,” letting it rest on the left cheek. “I am displeased,” striking it on the hand. “I am engaged,” swinging it to and fro by the handle on the left side. “I am married,” swinging it to and fro by the handle on the right side, “I love another,” tapping the chin gently. “We are watched,” twirling it around. “Introduce me to your com- pany,” using it as a fan. “Kiss me,” with handle to lips. The man who always takes his umbrella out with him, is a cautious man, who abstains from specula- tion and will probably die rich. The man who always leaves his umbrella behind him, is one who easily makes promises for to-mor- row, but does not keep them. He will be reckless, thoughtless, and absent-minded about all important things. For a man to lose his umbrella is unlucky. He will be unfortunate in money matters, and is inclined to borrow money without ever re- turning it. For a man to be perpetually ex- pressing a nervous anxiety about his umbrella and wondering if it is safe, is full of uneasiness and low suspicion. Give not your daughter to him, be he ever so rich, for he will take better care of his umbrella than of his wife. UNDERGARMENTS-To lose any piece of underwear is a sign that your sweetheart is in love with somebody else. Undergarments cut out on Fri- day are sure to be used for a corpse. If you have bad luck, turn your undergarments inside out and wear them so; your luck will change for the better. If in wearing two undershirts the top one is shorter than the one un- derneath, it is a sign that you love your father better than your mother. 508 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. Miscellaneous. Going to a theatre unexpectedly, foretells loss of money or friend, or sadness. If a gray spider spins in a young lady's room, she will soon be en- gaged. To handle poison unexpectedly, signifies that you will be in bad Company. To have a dinner party unex- pectedly, signifies forgiveness and reconciliation. What happens twice will happen thrice. To get your feet entangled in wire and fall backwards, is a sign of serious calamity. It is unlucky to pass over a bal- a11CC. To speak accidentally to yourself in a mirror, brings good luck. If a horse sneezes as a maiden passes it, it indicates her death. If a dog runs between two friends, they will break off their friendship. If a woman's girdle breaks, a welcome guest will come. (Korea.) If you fall on your knees, you will have gold given you. If anyone comes while you are talking about him or her, you will not live long. To enter a vault, signifies that you will get a letter from an angry friend. To see an old man fall, is the sign of the death of a friend. To burn the stub of a broom, or break a sugar bowl, means a quar- rel. (Westport, Mass.) Something falling, without being touched, is an evil omen. If a woman steps over an egg- shell, she will go mad. (Japan.) If a woman steps over a whet- stone, it will break; if she steps over a razor, it will become dull. (Ja- pan.) If, inadvertently, you speak a person's name, he will come soon. (Albanian.) If you break your comb acci- dentally, it is a lucky sign. (Jap- anese.) If a baby carriage moves when no one is near, it is a sign of death. If the wood splits in which you are driving a nail, you will soon quarrel. If you strike your head against a gatepost, you will shake hands with a fool. If you stumble on entering a new place, consider that some posses- sion or fortune lies there for you, or that good fortune will come to you out of it. When a person was in doubt, and something suddenly occurred to him, it was looked upon as a good Omen, and as a suggestion from his favorite divinity. (Greek.) The spilling of oil is considered “a very unlucky omen by the Mal- tese. The spilling of salt or wine, however, betokens good luck. If you see a load of hay passing your house on Monday morning, you will receive a present before the week is out. (Turin, Italy.) To kick the wall of the house, will cause the death of the grandmother or the grandfather of the one who kicks. (Madagascar.) If a person is unusually well and active one day, a change of health is almost sure to come the next, To be struck with a brick in the forehead is a sign of some future event that will bring you joy. If, in accident or play, friends draw blood, it is a sign that some- FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 509 thing will come up to break their friendship. To break accidentally the blade of your pocket-knife, is a sign that you will meet a beautiful woman who desires your acquaintance. If a maiden's hair becomes un- fastened, she considers it a sign that someone will soon seek her hand. If you have a paper in your hand upside down and do not notice it, it is a sure sign that a dear old friend will come to the house. If you upset a cuspidor with your foot, you are betrayed by a man you think your friend. If, in walking, the shoe-thong breaks in front, it is a sign of mis- fortune to one's enemies; if behind, to oneself. To break a glass out of a pair of Spectacles, is a sure sign that you will be surprised by some friend. If a ladder falls down from the wall without anyone touching it, misfortune will follow. A Negro superstition is to the effect that if two persons happen to strike their heads together, they will soon become bitter enemies. If you are talking about a per- son and he appears, it is a sign that nothing bad will happen to him for a year. A sign or token of death about to take place in the family, is the falling down of a blind in front of a window. It is supposed to drop down ready. (Gloucestershire.) In Jamaica, if a jalousie drops suddenly in a house about midday, it is a sign that “duppies” (domes- tic spirits, which may be either of a good or evil nature,) are in the house, and are about to leave. It also denotes that you will have vis- itors. If you accidentally see a kaleido- Scope lying near you, it is a sign that you will travel a long distance, and when you get to the end, make it your home. History tells us that several em- perors and generals were persuad- ed by unexpected occurrences not to go to battle, considering them as warnings of evil; one because his favorite horse died; one because a bear crossed his path; one because an ominous storm came up; one because of the birth of a monstrous child. - Signs of Occurrences. It should be remembered, that the efficacy of many signs which, at first glance appear nonsensical or ridiculous, depends wholly upon the unexpectedness of the act or occurrence. In any other case they are of no validity. For In- stance: “To meet a doctor, honor and happiness.” This does not mean to meet any doctor whom you see riding about every day, or would not be surprised to see at any time; it must be some doctor whom you have not seen for a long time, or whom you did not know was in that part of the country, or some distinguished doctor to whom you are introduced. Or: “To kill a chicken, delay in money affairs.” The act must not be an everyday affair with you. You must be called upon unexpectedly to kill a chicken, or do it for the first time, or in an unusual place. The whole spirit of these especial signs of daily acts is based upon the unusual quality of the act. To tear your clothes, invitation to a ball. To tear your shoes, a good omen of returning fortune. To tear your hose, to meet a shameless person. 5Io FNCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. To tear your hat, great wealth quickly dissipated. * To hear singing in an unexpect- ed place, you will be greatly de- ceived by a woman. To see animals slaughtered, you will meet with an accident. To ride alone in a gig, foretells delay in something you expected. If you meet a gipsy, it foretells you will have trouble of some kind. To carry a torch, an invitation to a wedding. To hear a serenade, news of a marriage. To hear a flute, news of a child- birth. To cut grass, a long life. To pluck feathers from geese, to be bashful, fearful and timid. To thread pearls, ennui, distress. To play with a dog, to suffer from former extravagance. To eat cheese, vexation, followed by ultimate success. To eat chocolate, dangerous ill- 11CSS. To eat tarts, discovery of a se- Cret. To drink in bed, experience many hardships but at last be hap- py. To read in bed, attend a wed- ding. To eat in bed, attend a funeral. To smoke in bed, a lawsuit. To sing in bed, your sweetheart is thinking of you. - ... To beat carpet, a great friend's death. To whitewash a room, undertak- ings will succeed this day. To whitewash a cellar, undertak- ings unlucky this day. To go riding in moonlight, do- mestic troubles. In cloudy moon, a quarrel. In rain, a brief visit from rela- tive. - Sleighing, if cloudy, misfortune. If snowing, unlucky journey. If you overturn or break down, to receive money. Through mountains covered with Snow, a favor granted. Going up mountains, good for- tune. Going through forests, loss and shame. Going across fields, good health and domestic happiness. To be in a storm, a lawsuit. Running a foot-race, disappoint- ment in love. Sailing on a raft, you can travel with good success. Treeing a raccoon, you will gain a sum of money. Playing quoits, a bad omen for lovers. - Quarreling with a make a new friend. Traveling by rail, if you keep house, you will break up. stranger, For a lady to rake new-mown hay, she will be married before hay is eaten. To open a rotten egg, foretells sickness and death. Rowing a boat, a sign of good luck generally. Sailing in strong wind, abun- dance. Frying sausages, come in con- tact with a poor person. Sawing wood, you will do some- thing you will regret. Going on a scaffold, misfortune and poverty. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 5II Get a pair of scissors sharpened, marry a person already married. Get your face scratched, scandal afloat about your conduct. If a lover tells a secret to a friend, that friend will become an enemy. To catch a shark, you will get money. If a lady gets a new shawl, it foretells she will have a new beau. If she loses a shawl, she will soon be in debt. If you do not get rich by your fortieth year, you never will. To hammer your finger, an un- expected event will enrich you. To keep losing buttons, a voyage to Sea and settlement abroad. For a lady to drive a nail, loss through a lover. To stumble in your own house, Speedy prosperity. To fall asleep in a chair, great promotion at hand. To stumble out walking, riches with ill-tempered mate. To fall asleep while reading, an enviable state to come. To trample on a nail, the next favor you ask will be granted. To lose your right glove, a loss you will never regain. To lose your left glove, speedy reconciliation when you desire it. To first notice a baby’s first tooth, to gain many and useful friends. * To stop a clock, you will suffer by scandal. To start a clock, you will go abroad within a year. To clean a clock, you will lose by a wager. To paint or decorate a clock, early marriage and happiness. To spill coffee, a party of pleas- ure from which great events will arise. To be in a whirlwind, danger of Scandal. To be out in rain, a legacy or present. To walk on ice, betrayed confi- dence. To walk in mud, riches near. To speak in church, domestic quarrels. To disinter a corpse, infidelity. To kiss a corpse, vexation. To speak to a corpse, long life. To go to a wedding, danger. To kiss anybody shedding tears, pleasure and happiness. To laugh at a wedding, meet an enemy. To hear funeral services, a lega- cy. Going through bushes, irrepara- ble fault. To fall going up hill, treason on the part of a friend. To gaze at a landscape, unex- pected gain. To drink water while on water, thirst on land. To bathe in running water, dis- appointment. To bathe in stagnant water, mis- fortune. To fall in a river, success in en- terprises. To fall in a well, sickness. To work on water, attempts of enemies. To climb a rock, lasting friend- ship. To pass a ditch, bankruptcy. To pass a port, discovery of a Secret. To draw water from a well, good fortune. 512 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. To gaze at the sky, peace, as- piration. To smell smoke, brief joy, false glory. To drink vinegar, labor in vain. To meet a lawyer, a friend, mar- riage. To meet an aged woman, scan- dal, evil speaking. - To buy from a peddler, your debtors will mysteriously disap- pear. To write with a stub pen, get yourself in a scrape by telling Something you ought not. To write with a gold pen, fore- shadows good news, success in business and love. To write with a quill pen, many enemies, but success and peace. To have your finger smashed, success in love affairs. To be blinded by the sun, to hear good news and have good luck. To wash a dog, you will end your days in affliction. To wash a cat, a new but not the right lover. To visit a large tombstone, soon join the matrimonial ranks. To pack a trunk, receive money from a distance. To fill a tub with water, trouble. To run against a tub of water, SOTrOW. To go through a tunnel, an early death. To go into a vault, an unexpected estate will come to you. - To vote against your will, you will shortly be much pleased. Wading in clear water, a wed- ding soon. Wading in dirty water, you will indulge in illicit love. To climb over a wall or fence, you will be disappointed. To look in a deep well, you will find something. Tö walk in a broad, good path- way, health and success. To present your sweetheart with pearls, you will never be rich. To have a plaster on your per- son, you will be insulted. To get a reward for any act, a house will be owned by you. To be shaved by a woman, a debt you had given up will be paid. To ride on a stage-coach, you will be soon out of employment. To watch a person stealing, you will make a good speculation. To hear a trumpet, denotes trou- ble and misfortune. To break a watch crystal, you will travel. Step on point of tack, gain use- ful friend. Open a fruit can, an advance- ment through some marriage. To solder tin, an easy life with- Out Care. For a pet of any kind to die, de- layed or no marriage. To walk on railroad ties, poverty and distress. To stain your clothes, you will be suspected of improper acts. To gaze at a marble statue, rise above your present position. To go up in a high tower, you will have a rise in your fortunes. To mow hay, abundance, happi- 1162.SS. To go among growing wheat, money and prosperity. To work in harvesting, sickness, but will recover. To go through a flour mill, a leg- acy from a relative. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 513 To grind corn, news from across Water. VEIL–It is unlucky to lose a white veil and unlucky to loan a mourning veil. It is a sign of an unnatural and severe death for a person to destroy a caul or veil. To kiss through a veil is a sign of deceit. The use of the veil among Per- sian women was the symbol of dig- nity and honor, rather than con- cealment from motives of modesty. Lose a veil, health will fail. If you tear your veil in putting it on, it is a sign of luck. VINEGAR–No vinegar will keep if made by a woman during her sickness. If you drink vinegar, it is the sign of domestic dissensions. In some places it is believed that if vinegar is disturbed while the apple trees are in bloom, it will turn back into cider. (Pennsyl- vania.) Put three beans named after three cross old women, in cider to make vinegar. (American.) It is unlucky to speak of vinegar, for it may sour the wine. In making vinegar, you must look sour and be savage, or it will not turn out good. Some people say that the vinegar spoils if you set the cruet on the table. That is the reason why many use a caster instead. Fill up the vinegar barrel every first Friday in the new moon with pure rain water, and you will always have good vinegar and never run out of it. VISIT-A friend who calls on you before breakfast brings in- crease of money. Never go calling or visiting when carrying a package contain- ing uncooked meat. If you wish an obnoxious visitor to go, put a pinch of salt in his galoshes outside of the door. (Greek.) p If you wish to have company, step on twenty boards without stepping on the cracks. If a person raps very loud at your door, it is a sign that he or she has good news for you. If an icicle falls on you as you enter a house, it is a sign that you are unwelcome. To have an old friend suddenly call, denotes sickness to a child. To have a minister call on Fri- day is considered lucky. It is lucky to have an insane or idiotic person visit your house. To enter a house the first time by the back door will bring mis- fortune. If three callers come at once, you will not have any more callers that day. You can count your visitors by the number of drops of mud scat- tered on you. Scrape the feet on leaving the house of a supposed enemy. (Turk- ish.) After making a visit to a friend, never place the chair in which you sat, against the wall; for if you do, you will never return to that house. (Portugal.) If you are visiting a young lady and you have a rival, just hang your hat on the rack on top of his, and you will be the successful one. (Jamaica.) If the first person who enters the house on Monday morning has dark hair, all will go well during the week. (Pennsylvania, U. S.) 5I4 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. If you turn up the sole of your shoe, unpleasant visitors will leave. (Portugal.) When you visit a friend's house and you go in at One door and out at another, it is a sign that you will never go there again. If you stumble before a house where you are just intending to call, it is a sign that you will be unwelcome; you had better not call. It is unlucky for a visitor to re- sume his chair when he has once started to go. “Welcome the com- ing, speed the parting guest.” It is unlucky to have someone call at your house who has just come from a funeral or from a house where a person lies dead. A person who, in company, is seated between two brothers or two sisters, in front of a mirror, will marry within a year's time. (Bel- gium.) Visitors, in looking over a new house, should never use the word fire, as it may bring about the burning of the dwelling. (China.) If on entering a house you stub your right foot, you are welcome; if your left, you are unwelcome. When visitors drive away, do not sweep the floor directly after; it will bring them ill luck on their journey. In Scotland, if a caller did not say: “I wish you luck,” before leav- ing, it was thought he came to the house with some evil design. If a surgeon calls at your house socially and unexpectedly, look out for an important and surprising event. If you receive a visit from a hos- tile person, it is a sign that you will enter upon a project at the time un- thought of. It is very unlucky if a person who comes in during a meal will not take at least a morsel to eat with you. It is unlucky to have a caller sit and muse, looking steadfastly into the fire. She will probably prove to have the evil eye. If your first visitor after having started housekeeping is a male, you will receive money; if a female, it signifies loss of money. To forget the number of a friend's house whom you mean to visit, is a sign that you will lose that friend before long. If you finish a piece of sewing when you are visiting, it is a sign that you will never go there again. If you count your visitors and tell how many you had in a day or week, you will never have any real friendship with them. If food is set before you when you are making a call for a pur- pose, do not eat until you have told your errand, or you will have bad luck with it. If you go to call, and the person you call upon is sleeping, you will be rich. To awaken sleeping per- sons will add to your riches, espe- cially if they are asleep in the day- time. . If three persons who are not members of the household, enter a house in succession without knock- ing, it is a sign that death will be the next visitor to enter. If a visitor does not sit down when making a call, she will, upon departing, carry away the sleep of her host with her, so that the host cannot rest. (Bohemia.) If you are pestered by visitors whom you wish never to see again, sprinkle salt on the floor after they are gone, and sweep it out by the same door through which they FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 515 have gone; they will never come again. If a feeling of coldness comes over you on entering a house, your relations with the inmates, no mat- ter of what a nature, will cease Soon, suddenly and permanently. If anyone enters the house on New Year's morning before break- fast, it is a sign that someone will be carried out of it before the next New Year. In the Banks Islands, when pre- senting a visitor with refreshments, the hostess takes a little first her- self to show it has not been charm- ed, or to take the risk of evil influ- ence upon herself. To meet very polite people un- expectedly, signifies a stranger will be introduced to you. To meet unexpectedly a genteel poor person, signifies somebody will insult you or hurt your feelings. If you expect a gentleman and do not want anyone to disturb you, put some salt under the threshold of the door or under the carpet. If you have a gentleman caller whom you do not like, take a broom and sweep two long sweeps after him when he goes, and he will never come again. If a person, known to every member of the family, enters your house, not disguised, and is not recognized by the head of the fam- ily, it is a bad omen. It foretells some misfortune to the person who enters the house. If you make your first visit after marriage— On Sunday, some misfortune will overtake you. On Monday, foretells success in your undertakings. On Tuesday, a rogue to victim- ize you. On Wednesday, poverty and dis- grace. On Thursday, domestic troubles. On Friday, care. On Saturday, a lawsuit. When you have a caller who stays too long, go out to the door and scatter ashes on his shoes, and he will go at Once. (Japanese.) (In Japan, the shoes are left at the entrance of the house.) Another way is to stand a broom upside down and cover it with a handkerchief. To go calling on friends— On Monday, signifies a useless Occupation. On Tuesday, a lawsuit. On Wednesday, prosperity. On Thursday, a family spat. On Friday, loss of a friend. On Saturday, an unworthy ac- quaintance. WALL-Brick walls damp before a rain. WARMING PAN–Let the warming pan fall out of the bed, and accident will soon happen. WASHBOARD — Don't drop the washboard if you want a lover. become To accidentally skin one's knuckles on the washboard, is a sign of a visitor. WASHING THE BODY-TO wash one’s hands in rice water, will cause them to become diseased. (Madagascar.) Washing hands in water after an- other person is unlucky. Perhaps this idea has some connection with the story of Pilate washing his hands at the trial of our blessed Saviour. (Wales.) The Japanese will seldom wash the hands in any but running Water. 516 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. After washing in the morning do not flirt the water from your hands or you will waste your food that day. • When a foot-bath has been used, do not empty the water until next day, or you will spill your luck out with it. If one goes out unwashed on Friday, it is a sign that the witches will have power over him. If a girl washes her hands under a pump, it denotes that she will be a widow. (Chestertown, Mary- land.) If you set the wash-basin on the table to wash yourself, you will have bad luck. To bathe just at the noon hour is lucky. If, after washing, you wipe your hands on a tablecloth, you will get WartS. When you have to get out of bed at midnight to bathe your feet, whether from burning or itching or any other cause, it is a sure sign of death. In washing your hands, do not splash the stove, as each little bub- ble that touches it will in time be- COme a Wart. If an unknown person enters the room as you are washing your face, it is a sign that you will be burglar- ized. You will never take any conta- gious disease if you always begin to bathe at the head and down to the feet. Never bathe the feet first. The first time a new mother bathes, she must throw a bunch of keys in the water and blow upon it three times to dislodge the evil spirits who are in the water wait- ing for her. After washing in the morning, take a dish of water and throw it as far as possible; the farther it goes, the better luck you will have through the day. Among the Thibetans, ablutions are believed necessary, not so much in order to keep clean, but to “wash off the smell of humanity,” so that if they should suddenly die, they would not be offensive to the gods. To bathe on Sunday, signifies that you will experience affliction. To bathe on Monday, signifies that your prosperity will increase. To bathe on Tuesday, signifies that you will labor under anxiety of mind. To bathe on Wednesday, signifies that unexpected events will enrich you. To bathe on Thursday, signifies that you will increase in beauty. No devout Spanish woman dares to bathe without the permission of her father confessor. If she did, she would bring upon herself dis- CaSC, A female Bulgarian is even worse off, for she can wash but once in her lifetime, the day be- fore she is married. Confession in the church is believed to wash them sufficiently. In South Slavonian families, the girls are rarely allowed to bathe and the women never; it would bring bad luck to all concerned. WASHING CLOTHES, ETC. —If your washing looks grimy, ex- pect particular company. To wash bed-clothing during the last twelve days of the year will bring sickness to those who occu- py the beds. Some washerwomen take the clothes to a running stream to be dipped, believing that they cannot be cleaned unless dipped in run- ning water. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 517 Good luck to wash clothes under a June apple-tree. In Devonshire, it is unlucky to wash clothes or even dishes on New Year's day, as it will wash Someone you like out of existence. Who pulls an article from the wash upside down, or leftwards, will not be bewitched. If you use lots of water in wash- ing, it is a sign that you will have a rich husband. In Sweden, it is unlucky to wash linen or lend household goods dur- ing Easter week. It is unlucky to quarrel on wash- day, as it makes bad weather. If it is easy to wash the soil out of a person's clothes, it is a sign that they have a pleasant disposi- tion. It is very unlucky to wash clothes on the first Friday in the new year. You will wash away some member of your family. When a young lady can take clothes out of a boiler without a clothes-stick, she is ready to marry. If you are stingy about the wash- ing-water, your husband will be stingy. If bedclothes are hung on the line during the week before Easter, it indicates that there will be a death in the family. It takes a great deal of washing to get a bad-tempered person's linen clean. To have your wash soiled before it is dried, signifies a sudden and happy elevation in life. To leave a space between drying clothes on the line, is a sign of a parting in the family. The Greeks think thatany clothes hung out to dry in the month of August, will have holes pierced in them. If you wet your apron a great deal when you are washing, your future husband will be a drunkard. If clothes in the wash are left hanging out till sunset, the person who puts them on will bewitch everybody. If a woman's wash is always stained from her wash-line, it is a sign of poverty; if she is poor, she will always remain so. To wash clothes or bedding— On Monday, signifies that you will soon have a pleasant adven- ture. On Tuesday, signifies that you will meet with a severe trouble. On Wednesday, that you will be happy in wedlock. On Thursday, a long sail on the wide ocean. - On Friday, a great rise in life, and soon. On Saturday, many changes, but a happy old age. Don't wash clothes the first six days in August, or they will go to pieces. (Greek.) The body-linen of a cross or pas- sionate-tempered person takes a good deal more washing than that of a mild-tempered person. It is considered lucky for two women to wash together, put out their clothes together, to dry and get them in together. “Wash to- gether, friends forever.” When washing clothes, never wring them to the left, as it is an omen of bad luck, and by some claimed a sign of death. Wash on Monday, wash for luck; Wash on Tuesday, wash for pluck; Wash on Wednesday, wash for double; Wash on Thursday, wash for trouble; Wash on Friday, wash for need; Wash on Saturday, slut indeed. If a woman, in washing her hus- band's trousers in a running stream, sees them fill up and be- 518 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. come inflated, it is a sign of his ap- proaching death. William E. Curtis, the newspa- per correspondent, tells the follow- ing story of a Washington colored woman: “The wife of a naval offi- cer in this city, whose husband has just returned from a long cruise, is fixing up her home here and sent her lace curtains to a colored woman to be ‘done up.’ The wash- lady returned them on the day agreed upon, but apologized be- cause they were so “limpsey,’ and offered to do them over again if she were allowed a few days’ time. ‘I had 'em jus’ as stiff as you like, honey,' she remarked to the naval officer's wife, ‘but my husband's niece by his fust wife died jus’ at the time I got 'em ironed, and nuthin'll take the starch out of things so much as a corpse in a house.” Another trial was given her. The editor of the Journal of Am- erican Folklore, in reviewing the new book of “Legends and Curi- osities,” by Paul Sibillot, says: As an example of the matter may be cited the account of washer- women who have ordinarily per- formed their work in the open air, in troughs, on boats, or beside run- ning water. The gatherings of women for this purpose are tradi- tionally represented as the head- quarters of local gossip; it seems to have been the practice to engage with passers-by in dialogues of a comic and not very decent charac- ter. On certain holidays, for rea- sons not now apparent, washing was interdicted. Belief in the prob- able enchantment of the suds led to the use of benedictions and charms. It was formerly not to be said that the suds boiled, but that they smiled. Like other human duties, washing was ascribed to fairies, and vapors rising from low ground were held to be a sign of this activity, while the grass was often found strewn with fairy linen, of dazzling fineness and whiteness. Nocturnal washerwomen were su- pernatural beings, kindly or mali- cious, the sound of whose beaters were listened to with terror; it was believed that such washers, if barred out, might summon any article of the apparatus to open for her. It is a common feature of fairy tales that the hero will marry only the maiden who can remove the blood-spots from a garment. One of the “Anansi” tales of Ja- maica is an exposition of this idea, where the wife makes herself known to her enchanted and for- getful husband by washing out the blood-drops, and singing: T’ree drops of blood I shed fo” yo” Turn, King Tonga, turn to me! Oh, t'ree pretty pick’ninny I bore fo' yo” Turn, King Tonga, turn to me! “An’ Tonga say: Me nuh dat voice! Bring dat pusson here, An' when Fuffoo come inside he 'mem- ber her an’ de t'ree pickaninnies.” WASHING DISHES, ETC.— If, in washing dishes, you forget an article, it is a sign of a wedding For a woman to put her hand into the dishwater when someone else has a hand in it, washing dishes, is a sign that she will be- come a mother within a year. WATCH-If a man drops his watch out of his hand as it dangles by the chain, he should beware of imprisonment. If a person who has a watch opens it and finds it within a sec- ond of twelve or six o'clock, it is good luck. * It is more lucky to wind your watch in the morning than in the evening. If you forget to wind your watch, you are sure to meet with a loss. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 519 To drop your watch, is a sign of death in the family or of a dear friend. To give a sick person a watch, will surely bring death. If a young lady drops her watch, and the hands come off, she will soon have a proposal of marriage. If your watch should stop at half past One, Your next little baby will be a son. If your watch should stop at half past . two, You will do an act you’ll surely rue. If your watch should stop at half past three, You will hear from a friend that is over the sea. If your watch should stop at half past four, Beware of thieves and lock your door. If your watch should stop at half past five, Some friend will ask you out to drive. If your watch should stop at half past S1X, You will find your word will go for If your watch should stop at half past seven, A fuss for you by half past eleven. If your watch should stop at half past eight, That is the time you should make a date. If your watch should stop at half past In1ne, You may think it a most unfortunate Sign. If yº watch should stop at half past €11 You’ll surely have trouble with some col ored men. But if it should stop at half past eleven, Prepare yourself for a taste of heaven. If your watch should stop at half past twelve, Go get a gun and arm yourself. The Dover and Deal pilots were at one time a superstitious class of seafaring men. One who for forty years was a Trinity Cinque Ports pilot, had a pet superstition con- cerning the good order of a watch or clock. Should any of the house- hold clocks fail to keep correct time, it was an omen of ill, a sure sign of death in the family. This superstition was shared by an old shipmate, who during a terrible gale and Snowstorm on Christmas day, 1831, was heard to exclaim on looking at his watch: “It is all up with me! My watch has stopped!” and singular to relate, the vessel shortly after drifted on to some rocks and went to pieces just under Shakespeare Cliff, in sight of his own home. The vessel bore the name of his wife, Harriet. WATCH CHAIN–If you break your watch chain while wearing it, you will get into finan- cial trouble. WATER—If water drips on you from your house, it is a sign that you will be rich. . If you are fetching water in si- lence, draw it downstream. Unlucky to spill water under a table. Water poured on the doorsill is an omen of prosperity. If you throw water out of a win- dow, you will have cause to weep. To slop water by the door, is a sign of a stranger. Never give water away before breakfast. A very old saying is: “Never throw out the dirty water until you get in the clean.” If some one throws water on you, you will have bad luck. One of the superstitions of the Welsh Border is, that water must not be thrown out of the house on Sunday, because it is thrown in the face of God. To receive a glass of water unso- licited, is a sign that you will soon have a chance to marry. . To pump water that is clear sig- nifies good luck in business or speculation. If the water is muddy and discolored, it signifies sickness. 52O ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. To let water boil uselessly on the fire, is to torture the souls in purga- tory. (Bohemia.) It is very unlucky to wash in water heated by a fire made of old wagon-wheels. If someone spills dirty water on you, it will bring you bad luck. If, in washing, you spatter water on a sick person, he will die. Pour cold water into warm for luck, as hot water into cold is used for washing the dead. (Japanese.) Do not spit or throw water out of a window at night; because if you happen to hit a “duppy” (a spirit), it will box you. (Jamaica.) Drinking water at the same time with anyone, means that both will die at the same time. (Macedonia.) If a person, while peeling pota- toes, spatters water on you, you will quarrel. It is unlucky to drink water when the sun is setting. (Greek.) If a young girl spills water when pouring into any vessel or carrying it, it is a sign that her lover is drinking to her health. If you boil water in the tea kettle and it gets cold before it can be used, it is a sure sign of a wedding. If you have much trouble to get water and are exceedingly thirsty, it is a sign that you are about to change your residence. If you fill a tub or pail with water so that it runs over, it is a sign that you will be overrun with callers. The maiden who is unfortunate enough to upset a tub of water must look out for trouble. If she marries, her husband will be poor, lazy, and a spendthrift. The Hindus consider it lucky to drink, fasting, water that has had the foot of a Brahmin in it. Water in which a priest has washed his feet is therefore kept in many houses and believed to protect the home from evil influences. If water in which one had wash- ed the feet, should be allowed to re- main over night without putting a live coal into it, it would act as the porter to let in evil spirits. (Wex- ford.) WAX—To melt wax, is to melt your lover's love. WEARING APPAREL – A person should never put on any new thing unless he or she first wets it with the finger, so that it may last long. It is very unlucky to burn any- thing you have worn. Give it to some poor person or throw it away in the rags. To wear a patch upon a patch is the sign of poverty dire, and is al- ways unlucky. If one would secure luck with any article of dress, it must be worn for the first time at church. An article worn before it is quite finished, will never be finished. To put on everything—your clothing, shoes, gloves—left side first, and to do so invariably, is said to be a sign of good fortune. Some people, however, consider it bad luck to pull on the left leg of one's trousers first. There are certain garments in which people are sure to meet with ill luck. It may be a pair of pretty stockings or gloves, but once the evil genius is fixed on the gar- ment, it should be dispensed with; if you give it away, you will also be rid of the ill luck, though the new owner may not get it, as their luck is different. However, if you have a grudge against anyone, give him or her the article, and wish the devil may go with it; they will then have bad luck instead of you. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 52I WELL–Cream put into a neighbor's well will drive away prosperity. If, in digging a new well, in De- cember, you find water, it will never fail you. WINDOW-If someone breaks the window, it is the sign of sick- ness in the family. If your windows steam up and the water trickles down in little rills, it is a sign of a water journey for you. If you break a window while it is raining, you will have bad luck. When you see thickly frozen windows in the winter, it is said to be the sign of a happy household. When a window cracks in a sick- room, as if someone flung a pebble against it, it is a sign of death. It is bad luck to wash windows on Friday. If a pane of glass in your win- dow breaks, expect bad luck for the coming year. It is a sign of death to hear a pane of window-glass fall. Windows should be washed in new moon, and looking-glasses in full moon, or they will be covered with a bluish haze. If someone opens a window just as you are passing, you will be fav- ored by persons of distinction. If someone closes a window just as you are passing, you will meet with embarrassments. If you step through a window, Someone will injure you. In the houses of the Ainu peo- ple of Japan, are two holes or win- dows, one to the east and one to the south. It is not considered po- lite to look in the window toward the south, and it is a positive insult to look in at the eastern window, as there is a peculiar sacredness at- tached to that side of the house, and the people are very supersti- tious about it. WINDOW BLIND—If a win- dow blind falls down suddenly, it is a sign of death. WINDOW SHADE—If a win- dow shade falls down without be- ing touched, it is a sign of death. WIDOW’S CAP–Bad luck to try on a widow's cap; you will be one yourself within a year. WOOD-If you chop rotten wood, you will have trouble with a WOIIla 11. To touch a piece of wood par- tially burned on the hearth, is be- lieved by the Indians to be bad luck. If you burn sassafras wood in your fireplace, there will be trou- ble in the family as long as the ashes remain. It is bad luck to be cutting wood and strike the axe in the ground; they say the devil will get you. Never put your foot on a log of wood when it is burning; it is bad luck. WOOD BOX—To sit on a wood box is a sign that you will always be poor. WOOL–When you find little lumps of wool in your clothes or socks, it is a sign that witches are trying to weave a spell around you. WRITING—The breaking of an ink-bottle is said to presage future disaster. If you write very fast, you will marry very young. It is said that people who chew the end of their pen, are quarrel- SO1116. To write with the left hand, is a sign of short life. 522 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. To break the point of a lead pen- cil when writing, is a sign of bad 116 WS. If, in writing without lines, the writing slants up, the writer has a good character; but if it slopes down, there is a lack somewhere. When an author’s or a writer's ideas will not flow readily, change from black to red ink; that will stimulate the flow. While sharpening a pencil, if the point breaks off three times, be prepared to hear bad news. When you are writing and words come directly under each other, it is a sign that some one is writing to you. To upset ink, signifies a separa- tion. The women of Houssa, West Af- rica, seeing Major Denham using a pen, came to him in crowds to obtain a scrawl that should serve as an amulet, to restore their beauty, to preserve the affection of their lovers, and to destroy a rival. Some people always write with a goose-quill, believing it would bring bad luck to change. If you spill ink and soil your hands, it denotes that your corre- spondence will not be successful, whether in trade or in love. It is very unlucky to write on walls or on a house with chalk. In China, they say that if your pencil breaks when your are writ- ing, it is a sign of good luck. To stick a pen in an empty ink- well is bad luck. - When opening a fresh bottle of ink, use a new pen or wash your old one, for luck. In marking with indelible ink, do it in the new moon, for luck. If, when writing, you get ink up- on the first finger, it is a sign that you will kiss the person you are writing to, very soon. According to Mohammedan tra- dition, Enoch was the inventor of writing, and was the most studious of men. The Archangel Gabriel taught him to read and write, as well as weave. He constructed the ink-horn and reed pen, and the dis- taff, and the Mussulmans believe he was really translated as it is told in the Old Testament. A man who wets his pencil when he writes, will never make a success in business. People who are constantly writ- ing their name are said not to live long. There lingers in Igumo (Japan) a wholesome superstition about the value and sacredness of writing. It is most unlucky to destroy a writ- ten paper, except by burning. Paper upon which anything has been written or even printed must not be crumpled up, trodden on, dirtied or put to any base use. If you have some particular com- position to write up, and wish for inspiration, speak the names of the seven wise men of Greece as you fall off to sleep. (The seven wise men of Greece were: 1. Bias; his maxim was, “Most men are bad.” 2. Chilo; “Consider the end.” 3. Cleobulos; “Avoid extremes.” 4. Periander; “Nothing is impossible to industry.” 5. Solon; “Know thyself.” 6. Thales; “Suretyship is the forerunner of ruin.” 7. Pit- tacos; “Know thy opportunity.” They lived in the sixth century be- for Christ. Plato said that My- son should take the place of Periander as one of the wise men of Greece.) YARN–If you leave yarn on a spool over Sunday, it will turn to Sausages. The Street, the Town, Public Life, Etc. CHAPTER VII. BELL–The Chinese consider it an omen of some dire calamity for the great bell of Canton to be struck. An old rhyme of the bells is: “Men’s death I tell By doleful knell, Lightning and thunder I break asunder. On Sabbath all To Church I call; The sleepy head I raise from bed. The wind so fierce, I do disperse; Men's cruel rage I do assuage.” BONFIRE-If you make a bonfire, you will soon hear news. At Cornwall, when bonfires are started, the people join hands and try to stamp them out. If the chain is broken, someone will die. CENSUS—To take a census is considered unlucky, and is said to bring strikes and pestilence up- on the people. This probably has come to us from the times of the ancient Jews, who had to be count- ed to pay taxes to the Roman em- perors. CLOCK–If two clocks in a town happen to strike exactly to- gether, it is the sign of the death of a married couple. “What caused the old black-faced clock on Whitehall street, near the corner of Alabama, the one with the gilded figures and the yellow hands, to stop at the fatal moment? “That is a question many persons have asked themselves,” says The Atlanta Journal,"as they have look- ed at the hands of the clock, point- ing for the last few weeks to eight- een minutes after 8. That was the exact time of night when Pres- ident Lincoln met his death at the hands of John Wilkes Booth, and as a silent mon- ument to Lincoln's memory, the makers of painted clocks since then have always painted the hands pointing to eighteen minutes after 8. Nearly all of the painted clocks have the hands marking this time, and it is strange that the clock on the corner should know about it. “It had been marking off the minutes as usual, until the time re- corded was eighteen minutes after 8. Then the hands stopped.” CONFLAGRATION.—If you barely escape burning to death, you will have a furious quarrel. If your house burns on Christ- mas day, you will soon get money for another. In old times, when fire started in a house, the farmer would take an inherited key and walk around the house. If you are burned out, prepare for three fires, for they are sure to CO1116. In some places it is believed that if a building gets afire, you can stop it by throwing a white pigeon into it. It is said that a person gets rich faster after once having the house burned down. If a fire breaks out, the first thing to do is to save the bread; for then a person will not lose his presence of mind. (Bohemia.) 524 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. If you come into a burning city when on a trip, it is a sign of loss. If fire should break out for no apparent cause, towns, quadrupeds, birds, and men will suffer. If beds, clothes or the hair on one's head should be seen to smoke, or with sparks of fire, there would be deaths in the land. (Hindu.) If an ecclesiastic approaches a conflagration, the wind will take such a direction as will not promote the increase of the fire, if it does not even at once get calm. (Bel- gium.) If a building in China catches fire, no effort will be made to put it out, even if the whole village burns, for the gods would be very angry if the fire was prevented from burn- ing. It was thought in Holland that fresh-cut sod taken from where a funeral had passed, and placed be- hind the doors, would preserve a house from conflagrations. If the fire burns down a hut of a savage, it is because the fire is a person with a soul and is angry with him. He can be coaxed into a kindlier mood by a sacrifice or a prayer. If your house is on fire, put a wet silk handkerchief over your face, and you will be able to breathe freely, see fairly well, and thus be able to get out or save something. Among the Romans exists the idea that if a building is burning, you can prevent its catching the adjoining building by carrying salt into every apartment. If a house takes fire in Japan and the idols can be taken out safe, the fire will cease; but if the idols should burn, the whole building will be doomed. It is believed that if anything from the tomb of St. Agatha (in Sicily) is kept in the house, it will never be destroyed by flame. In Normandy, the peasants rely to a great extent on the supernat- ural to put out their fires. They have a man who has been granted the power to use certain words with which to cure a burn on the body or put out a fire, and they run for him when their houses are burning, to come and say the words to the fire. They actually believe that they see the fire go out gradually after this incantation, and so it does, after it has burnt up all the available material. ELECTION−In Ireland, when a person enters upon a public office, women in the streets and girls from the windows sprinkle him with salt for luck. It is lucky to throw an old shoe over the head of anyone who has just been elected to public office. (Irish.) At Hardenburg, in Sweden, Mr. Hurst tells us, the mode of choos- ing a burgomaster is this: The persons eligible sit around with their beards upon a table. A louse is put on the table in the middle, and the one in whose beard the in- sect first seeks shelter is the magis- trate for the ensuing year. A New York state notion is to the effect that rainy weather on election day predicts a democratic victory; fine weather, a republican victory. This is based on the be- lief that the majority of the rural districts is republican, and that rainy weather and bad roads would prevent the farmers from turning Out in full force. To tell who will be elected U. S. president, take two roosters, the evening before election, and name each for the respective candidates of the leading parties; place them together under a tub, and early FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 525 the following morning uncover them and notice which crows first; the one first crowing will indicate the election of the candidate for which he was named. FOUNTAIN–To see a dry fountain, signifies poverty and wretchedness. HORSE—If a horse runs with a great clatter, you will have com- pany. The street horses in Naples are protected by dozens of bells to at- tract the ear and distract the evil eye. PROCESSION.—If you see a long procession, you will meet with a disappointment. PUBLIC MEETING—A Sud- den death at a public meeting is a sign to break up the assembly. This was a very strong belief among the ancients. It is said to be very unlucky for a man to forget to remove his hat at a public meeting where it ought to be removed. RIOT-To see a riot, you will be robbed. STATUE–The falling of a statue is the sign of a great man’s death. STREET-Don't cross corners. If you step on a water pipe, say “One, two, three; good luck for me,” and you will have good luck. Never walk over a white stone, or you will be disappointed. It is bad luck to kick an old shoe off the sidewalk. To jostle one another when walking together, denotes a long friendship. In Italy, it is considered very un- lucky to touch the garment of a priest when walking on the street. Don't talk when walking over a new sidewalk, if you wish to insure success for a year. It is bad luck to walk under a stovepipe. Gladstone always cut corners, but it is unlucky to common peo- ple. To drop a closed umbrella on the sidewalk is a sign of ill. Bad luck to walk backwards; it means a reproach to your mother. To step between two dogs lying in the street is bad luck. (Turkish and Albanian.) To step on a rope in the street is unfortunate. To slip on a board walk, signifies an intrigue stopped in good time. Treading on a crack brings bad luck. If your foot catches in a broken walk, you will go far. It is an unlucky omen for two women to kiss on the street. To see blood on a pavement when going on a business errand, is a sign of good luck. You will fall heir to an estate. When walking on a newly-laid sidewalk, make a wish and do not speak until you can answer a ques- tion with “yes” or “no,” and your wish will come true. If you ask a favor of anyone who is of high standing, while you are on a corner of the street, he will not grant it. If you slip and fall on the side- walk three times in the winter, you are bound to have a lucky sum- III C1". If you put a rope on the side- walk and watch the people passing, those who step on it are rich, and those who step over it are poor. In walking along the street or sidewalk, never step on the same 526 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. stone twice, especially if you are a card-player. Children think it unlucky to step on the cracks in the flagstones, as they believe they contain poison. (Cambridge, Mass.) In Russia, a person will never pass between two persons walking or standing together, because he believes that the sins of both of the others will at once fall on him. If you are walking with a dog at night, never let the dog go be- hind you or a “duppy” (a spirit) will knock you down. (Jamaica.) To cross a street from corner to corner, repeating three times, “bread and butter,” is good luck. Never cross the street without stepping on the curbstone, other- wise you will have a disappoint- ment. Going between two persons close together, separates them. Their friendship will cease. (Albanian.) Good luck will be yours if you see four ladies walking abreast; but it is unlucky to be one of the ladies. If you have to cross a pool of water in the street, spit in it first, otherwise you will get a glandular swelling or abscess. (British Guiana.) For a woman to stop and talk on a board sidewalk, foretells a ruin to her lover; to run on a board walk, signifies an ungrateful person in your household. To cross a street not on a crossing, foretells that you will be robbed. If a stone falls between two friends when walking, they will quarrel and their hearts will be- come as cold to each other as the Stone. Never step on a coal-grate that is set in the sidewalk. It will bring disappointment. If a lady, when going out, finds a raveling on her dress, it is a sign that she will have a new lover. Never walk through the shadow of a friend. It is a sign of death to someone dear. Don't walk along the street with the head of your umbrella down- ward. It is considered unlucky. When there is a new board added to an old sidewalk, step over it and wish. The wish will certainly come to pass. A maiden, in taking a girl friend home, should never part from her in the middle of a block, but always walk all the way to the corner; otherwise she will meet with a great disappointment. Don't walk along the street, en- ter stores, go to the theater or any public place with a hat-pin stick- ing an inch out of your hat; it will cause someone to go blind. A stone slab or pillow bearing a certain inscription is usually erect- ed in China directly opposite the entrance of an alley opening out into the main street near one's house or store, in order to counter- act the deadly influences that flow from that alley, and such a stone is believed to be absolutely necessary for the well-being of the people living in the adjoining houses or doing business there, alleys being considered haunts of evil. If two persons walk together, it is ill luck to let any other person, or an animal, or a post, pass be- tween them. A similar superstition existed even among the ancient Greeks, who said that it would be ominous of evil if two brothers walking together, would be sepa- rated by a stone. TOWER—If you go to the top of a tower, you will be protected in your affairs. Business, Money, Buying and Selling. CHAPTER VIII. AUCTION.—It is reckoned bad luck to turn away a first bid at an auction, for all the things will go low. BAIL–To have a woman go bail for you, is a sign of illness. To go bail for a woman, signifies tidings of a death. BEGINNING—Begin a thing late in the fall, and you'll succeed after all. It is lucky to begin any business concerning a steamboat on Satur- day. In India, it is a custom to “tell a lie for luck” when starting on any new business enterprise. To give alms when you are about to begin a new or important under- taking, is to insure the success of the enterprise. If you begin business with a maiden's money, you will be very prosperous. Always begin any business in the new moon if it is possible, so as to have a growth of prosperity. If the first person who trades with a man just starting in busi- ness, wants credit, do not let him have it, for it will start a run of “credit” customers. The day of the week on which you were born, is the luckiest to be- gin business. If, when you are preparing to leave a room to perform any busi- ness transaction, you strike your elbow, it is better not to go; only bad luck awaits you. Don't begin business in foggy or rainy weather if you can help it. Clear weather and sunshine for suc- C6-SS. BILL OR INVOICE—It is called lucky to bite off the corners of new bills. To receive or write a bill before breakfast, means an accusation. To forget that you have paid for something, and pay for it a second time, is a sign that you will receive a present. If a bill is presented to you on your way to a wedding, and your settle it, you will have great for- tune. If a bill is presented to you on your way to a funeral, and you can- not settle it, you will suffer from slander and misconception. BOOKKEEPING—It is un- lucky to begin to make erasures in the morning or the beginning of the week, but lucky in the evening or the latter part of the week. B O R R O W ING MONEY__ Don’t borrow money of a friend poorer than yourself; it brings bad luck. It is unlucky to borrow money to pay an obligation. Money borrowed on pawned dia- monds is called lucky in gambling. Never borrow, seldom lend, And you will have no break to mend. “Druid money” is a promise to pay on the “Greek kalends,” which is as much as to say that one will never pay at all! Purchas tells of 528 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. certain priests of Pekin who barter with the people upon bills of ex- change, to be paid in heaven a hun- dredfold. “Like money by the Druids borrowed, In th' other world to be restored.” (Butler's Hudibras.) BUSINESS—It is lucky to have a fat person about you when trans- acting business. If you worship the fox, you will be successful in business. (China.) A Russian will cross himself for luck after a bargain. Men's furnishing firms believe that if they sell a collar the first thing Monday morning, it circum- scribes the business for the week. In the English border country, no money is received as a gift and pocketed without first spitting on it “for luck.” Neither is the money received for the first article sold any day “lucky” without the same observance. No bargain is consid- ered safe or settled, such as a sale of horses or cattle, without a coin of some sort being returned, “for luck.” Zulus chew a piece of wood when they transact business, so as to soften the heart of the man they are trading with. To insure good luck, a Chinese shopkeeper, on entering his shop for the first time in the morning, rattles the balls of the “abacus” or calculating machine, backwards and forwards. If a man keeps changing and moving about in his business, he will never “make money.” If business schemes and plans become known to outsiders, the schemes will not be successful. If you sit on an easy chair when you enter an office on business, you will obtain a fine situation or suc- ceed in your errand. Never tell an old customer that the cost of an article is five dollars, but you will sell it to him for four. If he is not an idiot, he will con- clude you are a liar or a fool. It is unlucky to make a business transaction at three minutes of any hour. In Poland, if an undertaking is much talked of before it is begun, it is doomed. It is unlucky for a woman to in- terfere when two men are making a bargain. Bony men are not easily rattled about business. In Stendal, Germany, people be- lieve, to be safe against being de- frauded by traders, that they should wear the heart of a pewit in a bag about their body. Some people, though unfortu- nate in all their own concerns, can make money fast for others, and give luck to everyone with whom they deal. If a Hindu merchant hears the cawing of a crow or the cry of a kite when going to business, he trembles for his affairs, as they are sure to go wrong. If a Hindu merchant meets an oil man or a blind or lame man, it is a sign that he will not do much busi- ness that day. A good bargain refused leads to bad luck. A correspondent writes: “It was only lately that I heard it said that an overreaching person was generally punished for his greediness by some misfortune over- taking the object of his covetous- ness. The circumstances connected with this particular case were the following: A farmer took a good horse to the fair, and was offered a good price for it, but instead of selling there and then, he took the horse home, expecting to sell it at FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 529 . a bigger figure, but it became un- manageable, and the owner sold it at the next fair or so for about half the sum he had been offered for it a while before. When relating the loss he had thus sustained, he ut- tered the sage remark, that he ought to have sold the horse when offered a fair price, for no luck, said he, comes of refusing a good and fair bargain. I have heard a like remark made about wheat. A farmer, whom I knew, would not sell his wheat at the market price, which was really a good one, ex- pecting that the price would rise, but instead of doing so it went down, and by-and-by he sold it at a figure much below that which had been offered. The inference was in this case that a good bargain refused leads to bad luck.’” BUSINESS ENTERPRISE— Before starting on any great under- taking, it is well to spit in the hat, and then place it firmly on the head. BUYING AND SELLING— He who has about him a bitten old mole's paw, will buy cheap and sell dear. To walk to a store and then for- get what you went for, is a sign that you will quarrel with your neighbor. If you return anything you have purchased and paid for, you will have misfortune. Never go into a store and ask for black gloves the first thing. Buy something else first. CATTLE-To sell your cattle well at market, smoke them with a black ball dug out of the middle of an ant-hill. In all agricultural dealings con- nected with cattle, it is customary, in England, when receiving pay- ment, to return a small coin as luck money. CHANGING MONEY-Never change money on Sunday; it is very unlucky. CHARMS A N D O M E N S PERTAINING TO BUSINESS —When a person has warts, he must look out for calamities in his business. Contracts, engagements, jour- neys, or any undertaking, will prove fortunate on the same day you were born, no matter if the day of birth itself was not fortunate. If you find a darning-needle just before making a trade, you will get a bargain. If, while prosecuting any affair or planning any business, a person hears a crow crying out, it is a sign he will be unsuccessful. It is unlucky to have any busi- ness dealings, or to close a bargain, on Sunday. For a policeman to come into your place of business the last thing at night, is a sign that you will have poor business the next day. If one, while meditating on a plan about to be adopted, or while engaged in a pursuit which enlists his interest and attention, suddenly hears the voice of a magpie, it sig- nifies good luck to him. The Parisian housewife puts a chestnut in her pocket when she goes to market, so that she will not be cheated. Every Chinese shopkeeper burns three sticks of incense and two small candles before his shop morning and evening, to insure good sales. If you are bargaining with any- one and should sneeze once, it is a sign that the bargain will turn out well. 530 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. What the wife earns at nightfall, between daylight and dark, the husband will spend for her. It is a bad omen to meet your enemy on your way to transact im- portant business. If you go out on business and meet a cross-eyed person, you will have no success that day. On the way to market, see that no one meets you carrying water, else you had better turn back; you will have no luck, either in buying or selling. In Holland, salt must be put in the pockets of a person who is go- ing out to do business, else he will come home poorer than he went. Business men will be pleased to know that the highest development of the mercantile interest can be in- creased by an atmosphere of pep- permint. When about to begin a new en- terprise, one must not step over straws when setting out. In Yorkshire, if you are going to market to sell your produce, and see a white horse, spit and keep spitting as long as it is in your sight, or you will get low prices that day. The Egyptians considered it un- lucky to conduct any transaction when a person was ill. The Chinese burn incense with some mock money, before the shops on the evening of the fif- teenth of every month, to save the shopkeeper from buying articles that will prove to be unsalable. Market men believe that they will have no luck through the day unless they make the first sale to a young and flowering virgin. (John- son, “Peasant Life in Germany.”) A well-known real estate dealer in Toledo, Ohio, takes risks if he gets tips from the “unseen.” A creaking of the building he consid- ers an affirmative answer to go ahead in whatever he is planning. If the sounds are heard soon after he expresses a wish, the wish will COme true. CHARMS AND OMENS RE- LATING TO M O N E Y-The money left in a dead man's clothes will bring ill luck to whoever spends it and sickness to whoever saves it. It should be given away in charity. When you see the first bird in the spring, pick up a dry stone at once and put it in your pocket- book; you will then have money as long as you keep it there. In Russia, the first piece of money a Hebrew takes in in busi- ness, is kept all his life for luck. The tail of a lizard in your shoe will bring you money and good luck. Money that falls from your hand and rolls, is a sure sign of plenty to the person who drops it. A Japanese coin is considered a very lucky pocket-piece. Godfathers’ money makes the owner rich and lucky. To see a bundle of hay, is a sign of money. Leap year pennies are said to bring good luck, and should always be kept as mascots. The first coin made from the first gold taken from Cripple Creek is carried in her pocket by a western senator's wife, and is considered a charm for good luck. It is the best of luck to come across some money that you have put away and forgotten. If you mark a penny and it re- turns to you again, you will inherit a fortune. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 53I Always carry a little money in your pocket for seed. It is said that money attracts money. Brown the outer skin of an onion and wish for money; you will get it. To keep the first new coin that comes into your possession after the New Year, is an omen of pros- perity. If a merchant throws the first money he takes in on the floor and puts his foot on it, his business will increase. If you drop a piece of money and it comes with the head uppermost, you need not fret about anything that day. Wash your money in clean water and put salt and bread to it, so that the dragon and bad folks cannot get it. To leave a little money in the drawer over night, is to let it breed on the morrow. It is unlucky to carry a quarter- dollar as a pocket-piece, as there are thirteen letters and thirteen stars on it. To put one's foot in dung, is be- lieved by the French to insure the acquirement of wealth. If you are without work or money and do not know where money is coming from, and the right eyebrow quivers, it is a sign that you will have money come to you or you will find it. Many men think it draws trade to put some of the money made on a big day's run into the till in the morning. A feather of a live robin money charm. is a An English sixpence is said to be lucky; keep it in your purse for a maSCOt. If articles of steel, as knives, keys, and the like, constantly be- come rusty, even though care be taken to prevent it, it is a sign that some one is laying up money for the owner's benefit. If you have no money the first time you hear a robin or a cuckoo call, you will be short of it all the year. Bury the coins that have been placed on a dead man's eyes, as they carry ill luck with them. If you are taking in much money, put some chalk to it, so that bad people cannot get it back. An- other charm to keep it from being taken by bad folks or the devil, is to wash your money, and put salt and bread to it. English fisherwomen or huck- sters greatly esteem the “handsel,” or first money taken in the day, re- garding it as an omen of further sales. They always spit on it, else it would do no good. If you keep pennies in the kitch- en soap-dish, you will always have money. To carry a half-dollar of 1804, in- sures good luck. Place money near an image made of mandrake, and it will be in- creased. In Russia, the peasantry carry a nut in the purse, feeling sure it will help them in their efforts to make more money. If an old coin is washed in the following lotion, it is supposed to bring good luck to the pockets of the next owners: One drop of dew, one drop of rose water, one pinch of soda, two drops of essence of violet, and if the coin changes color, it is assured against all evil. “Heads up” on a coin is always good luck. If you say, “I will toss up a coin and if it comes up heads, 532 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. I will do so and so,” and on tossing it up it does come heads, and then you do not do as you promised, you will rue it all your life. Any one of the thirty pieces of silver for which Judas betrayed his Master, would bring ill luck, if not death, to its possessor. (Ancient Byzantine superstition.) Carry the ears of two mice in your purse, if you wish to always have money. If dirt seems to cling to you in spite of your utmost precautions, it is a sign that you will accumulate riches. If you have three pieces of money of the same date, it foretells improved financial conditions. In Bohemia, if you carry a small coin in your left stocking, you will be lucky. In New Hampshire, the practice is to spit on a piece of money be- fore putting it in the pocket, for luck, to bring more. A servant in Lowell, Mass., spit on a piece of money handed her and slipped it into her stocking, nodding the while, and saying, “for luck.” To always have money in your purse, put into it some small spiders called “money spinners,” or keep a bent coin, or a coin with a hole in it, and at every new moon take these things out, spit on them, return them to your pocket, and wish yourself good luck. Some people, however, consider a coin with a hole in it not a good pocket-piece, believing that the rest of your money will slip away through the hole. CHARMS AND OMENS OF SUCCESS—If you wish to be suc- cessful in any undertaking, take the first spider you see, or the first snail you come across, and throw it over your shoulder. If you are going to undertake anything that you are not sure of, have someone throw an old shoe at you; if the heel turns up, you may be sure of success. If you are undertaking any pro- ject, follow the first impulse about it and you will be successful with it. If you are about to undertake any great task and wish to succeed in it, you should anoint your head and feet with aniseed, and cross your face and breast with red chalk. Cut three locks of hair from your head at the back, make a good fire, and, standing in front of it, commit the hair to the flames, repeating the following verse without draw- ing breath: “O sweet aniseed do assist me, To succeed in this, and I will bless thee; For a ºat undertaking I want your alCl, Grant me the same and my fortune is made.” Watch the fire till the last spark has expired, go to bed at midnight, rise at four, and cleanse your skin of the ointment. Go to bed again until five o'clock, and then get up and begin operations, and you will be sure to succeed. CONTRACT-Deeds, contracts, leases, or any other papers drawn for a stated number of years, should be drawn for an odd number of years, as even numbers in such cases do not turn out well. They should be signed as all other con- tracts, in the first three days of the 111OO11. COUNTING MONEY-It is a bad omen to count over money after the sun goes down; it will cause evil spirits to hover around and envy you. It is bad luck to count one's money. You will have to spend FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 533 some of it in a disagreeable way if you do. He who counts his money at new moon, will never be short of it. (German.) - If you chew gum while you count money, it is a sign that you will get more in a short time. CUSTOMER—If your custom- er returns articles in the morning, the day's trade will be bad. (Jap- anese.) If your first customer on a Mon- day morning is a young man, you will do good business all the week. He of whom a boy makes his first purchase at market, will have good trade all day. He of whom a girl makes the first purchase, will have poor trade. If the first customer leaves a store without making a purchase on Monday morning, the week's business will be unsuccessful. If the last customer at night slams the door, you will have a brisk trade the next day. An old woman to come to your place of business the first thing on Monday morning, is the sign of bad business all the week. A colored man to be the first one to come in in the morning, will bring you good luck. If the first customer is genial, good luck all day; but if sour, bad. DEBT—If you owe a man, he will come from California to meet you in the street every day. FAILURE-It is an old tradi- tion that if seven men of one town or city fail in succession, a member in the family of the seventh will die. In Italy, it was the custom in former times to take bankrupts to a large flagstone, called “the stone of infamy,” on Shrove Tuesday, and bump them twelve times against it, “in honor of the twelve apostles.” At each bump the cred- itors crowed like cocks. FINDING MONEY-To find a coin heads up, take it; tails up, don't touch it. If you find money on a railroad track or a traveled highway, it is a sign that you will shortly travel. “Pass a penny and you will soon have not any; Pick it up, and it will grow to many.” Milton says it is ill luck to find money. Some superstitious people of the present day keep a found piece of money for luck, but Green, in his “Art of Cony Catching,” a very old work, tells us: “'Tis ill luck to keep found money, there- fore it must be spent.” To find a coin with 13 in the date is so unlucky that you had better throw it away than keep it, or spend it at once. To find money on a journey, is a sign that you will obtain the Ob- ject you desire. It is a good omen to find a one- cent piece on the street. Finding a coin on New Year's day, signifies that you will handle much money that year. If you see dewless patches on the grass before sunrise, you can find money there. If you find money before break- fast and there is no wood under it, it is unlucky. To find a silver dollar, is the luckiest thing that could befall you, as it attracts other dollars after it. The finder of a piece of money on which is the date of his birth, should preserve it as a talisman, as it will bring him the best of luck. 534 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. To repeat, “Money, money, money,” three times, when you find a small coin, will bring you in a larger sum. Should a person find any money in his winter overcoat that was put away for the summer, it promises most fortunate business affairs all winter. Some people, however, consider this a sign of financial dis- aSter. To find money, is a sign of pov- erty coming to an end. To find paper money, you will be successful in your business adven- tureS. To find a gold coin, is a sign of good luck in matrimonial affairs. If you find any money on your wedding day, you are particularly lucky, as you cannot come to want. If you find a cent, tail-side up, you must always spend it. Money found and not spent, brings the best of luck; but if spent, its luck deserts you. In Normandy, there is a belief that hidden treasures are in the ground beneath the ruined churches and castles, and they also think these are guarded by supernatural beings. They think places where money is concealed are haunted, and at the same place some great crime has been committed, and has never been found out. Therefore, if they find money, they give it to the church, as to keep it would do them evil, rather than good. HIDING MONEY-If you bury money, you will walk after death, until it is found. Ill luck will follow a family whose members die with any money hid. (Wales.) INHERITANCE—Money left by a priest, is thought by the Irish to bring poor luck. If you inherit a woodyard, good luck will attend your business. In Persia, if the heir to a fortune has his rights disputed, the neigh- ing of a horse will decide the diffi- culty. When one has come into inherit- ed money, or any sum that has been obtained honestly, it will bring an increase if it is placed for a moment in the warm crib of a child that is innocent, as it is yet too young to talk. INSURANCE—Some people in Russia consider it bad luck to in- sure houses or property of any de- scription; to take up a life-insur- ance would mean to them a sure sign of an early death. IN V E S T M. ENT—To invest money: On Monday, you will make a promise but not fulfill it. On Tuesday, you will ruin your own fortune by needless delay. On Wednesday, you will soon change your present abode. On Thursday, something un- pleasant is preparing for you. On Friday, unhappy in love, but fortunate in other respects. On Saturday, a hasty quarrel through a trifle. LAW–Step into a court of jus- tice right foot foremost, and you will win. Many people have no faith in law proceedings; they consider the money spent for it as wasted. Good luck is supposed to come to a person in a lawsuit if he or she wears odd stockings. If you have some lard upon your person, when fighting a lawsuit, you will win. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 535 The ancients believed that the tongue of the chameleon, torn out when the creature was alive, would assist the possessor to gain his law- suits. When you go to law, carry Erd- mann's Philosophy under your arm, and you will succeed, whether right or wrong. Upon the death of a juryman, it is said one of the twelve chairs in the juryroom falls over. (Thurin- gia.) In Burmah, suits are still deter- mined by plaintiff and defendant being furnished each with a candle equal in size, and both lighted at once. He whose candle outlasts the other is adjudged, amid the ac- clamations of his friends, to have won the cause. He who has a lawsuit and sees his opponent in court before his op- ponent sees him, will win his cause. (Japan.) In Stendal, Germany, exists the belief that a person who wears the eyes of a pewit on his breast, when before a judge, will be acquitted or win his suit, whatever the case may be. The natives of Natal believe that if a person eats a plant called Isin- diyandiya, he will bring confusion and perplexity upon his judges. The Kaffirs have a certain root which they chew when they wish to gain the favor of a judge during a trial. The method of using this root is as follows: A portion of it must be placed upon some coals, over which the man is to sit, cov- ering himself and the fire with his mantle, as he must be thoroughly smoked. The other portion is kept in his mouth. The “clameur de Haro,” an ab- breviation of “Ha! Rou, Rollo,” is an appeal which exists to this day in the island of Jersey. When a person is aggrieved, he must fall on his knees and in the presence of witnesses, utter the following invo- cation: “Harol Harol Harol ā. l'aide mon prince, on me fait tort!” This appeal must be respected, such is the veneration of the island- ers for his name. The alleged wrong must be at once stopped until the court has adjudicated thereon. No islander would resist this curious form of injunction. Cases of this sort, now only apply- ing to encroachments on landed property, are frequent. The Athenians had a passion for hearing and deciding judicial ques- tions, and, unlike Americans, clam- ored for seats in the jury-box. Greek literature abounds with satires of this peculiarity. Menip- pus is represented as looking down from the moon and watching the characteristic pursuits of men. He exclaims: “The northern hordes are fighting. The Egyptians are plowing. The Phoenicians are car- rying merchandise over the sea. The Spartans are whipping their children. The Athenians are sit- ting in the jury-box.” Also, Aris- tophanes, in his satire called “The Clouds,” has his hero visit the school of Socrates, where he is shown a map of the world. Student: “And here Athens.” Hero: “Athens! nay, go to hell! That cannot be! I see no law- courts sitting!” (Barnes’ Ancient Peoples.) It is said of him who goes to law, nine things are requisite: lies First: He must have a good deal of money. Second: A good deal of pa- tience. Third: A good cause. Fourth: A good attorney. Fifth: A good counsel. 536 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. Sixth: Good evidence. Seventh: A good jury. Eighth: A good judge. Ninth: Good luck. LEASE—Leases are granted for 99 years or 999 years, instead of a hundred or a thousand years, be- cause it used to be believed that the one-hundredth and one-thousandth years are under the influence of the evil one. Observe to take a lease for an odd number of years; an even num- ber is not prosperous. The three first days of the month are the best for signing papers, and the first five days, as well as the 24th, for any new undertaking. LENDING MONEY-It is bad luck to lend the first money made at market. Never refuse a loan that is asked of you on Friday; if you do, you will be sure to lose twice the amount. It turns out to be good luck when you tell a man plainly why you cannot lend him money. LETTER—For a letter to go to the dead-letter office, is a sign of bad luck in business. Never write a letter of great busi- ness importance on a Sunday. If you wish a business letter to make a favorable impression, seal it with red wax. LIFE INSURANCE—If you have your life insured in one com- pany and let it run out and change to another, it is a sign that you will soon die. Some men will not have their lives insured, for fear it will hasten their death. LOSING M O N E Y—If you ſhave lost money, you will find it again by kissing a darky boy. To lose a piece of money over 25 cents, in a public place, denotes a loss in business. MERCHANDISE—Hold back Some goods for a thousand days, and you will then sell at a great profit. He who deals in vinegar must lend none. Even a pin as a pledge will do, but the vinegar must be paid for. MONEY AFF AIR S-For a wife to search her husband's pock- ets, makes him unlucky in money affairs. MONEY GIFTS-If you spit on money given to you, you will get more. Godfather's gift makes rich and lucky. (German.) MONEY IN GENERAL–It is lucky to collect debts on Wednes- day. It is a common practice in Scot- land to spit on the first coin earned. The Greeks used to stamp the forms or heads of their gods on their money, as they thought they would then be protected. Some people think if counterfeit money is passed on them, that they will have good luck soon. In “the old country,” coins are sometimes built into the linings of a house, so as to insure always hav- ing money, as “money attracts money.” (Folklore of Ireland.) If you get a bad coin on a jour- ney, it is a sign of bad luck. “Ill-gotten goods never pros- per.” That ill-gotten money car- ries disaster with it and works harm to the family, has been a supersti- tion from time immemorial. It is referred to by King Henry: FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 537 “Clifford, tell me, didst thou never hear that things ill got had ever bad success?” (Shakespeare, III Henry VI., ii., 2.) To lose money, signifies that you will make a discovery, but too late. Fishwomen spit on the first money they take, for luck. “Money talks,” but to most peo- ple it says, “Good-bye.” Money gotten ill will not sit still. If you happen to step accidental- ly on money which you have just dropped, you will soon have more. Blood-money poisons all inno- cent mouths and breaks out for generations. Never refuse money when it is offered to you, or you will never have any offered to you again. To melt money, signifies losses in business. In some countries, the country people will curse you if you jingle money before them, believing it be- witched, and belonging really to themselves. A native of India thinks that the first money he takes in in the morn- ing indicates his luck in trade for the day, and the earlier he gets it the better. When a person is lucky in money affairs, people say he was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. If you spit on the first money you receive in the morning, you will get much more. To mislay money, signifies trou- ble caused by others. Money dropped when one is passing it to another, is a sign that more money will pass between them. Money snatched from the fire, will never purchase anything sub- stantial. Stolen money is unlucky; who- ever steals a purse, steals trash for himself, instead of solid worth. To plan what you will do with money before you get it, is a sign of disappointment. To receive money from a China- man, is good luck. Don’t let anyone else pick up money you drop. If you receive money from the deaf, you will have bad fortune. Touch the purse, test the heart. (Ancient Roman saying.) If you place your money accord- ing to value, i. e., lay it in order, you will be rich. (Bedford, Mass.) Put the first piece of money you get in the morning into your stock- ing, and you will get more to add to it before night. (Alabama.) In Catholic parts of North Ger- many, children who receive money as presents will cross themselves, that it may bring blessing. If, among the coins you take in change, you happen to find a brass medal, your riches will increase; gold signifies a happy marriage; copper, long life and happiness; iron, fatal prospects; silver, law- suits and secret enemies; steel, in- jury by the deceit of supposed friends. To draw money from the bank or from investments: On Monday, signifies a great loss and severely felt. On Tuesday, that you will soon fall sick, but as soon recover. On Wednesday, that you will soon discern friends from foes. On Thursday, that you will gain a happy establishment. On Friday, long life, happiness, riches and content. On Saturday, that you will soon form a lasting attachment. 538 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. A curious fate befell the new British pennies at the mint in the year 1896. By some extraordinary mistake, they were coined without the engraving of that famous little bit of lighthouse, emblematic of Britannia ruling the waves. This was thought a bad omen, and the pennies were immediately recalled to be recoined. In the Middle Ages, there were coins struck to the honor of St. Helena, the mother of Constantine. These were marked with a cross, and had the peculiar property of curing epilepsy, if worn suspended around the neck. Bless every coin, bill, note, or cheque that you receive, and it will reward you by drawing others after it. PAPER MONEY-If you fold your banknotes lengthwise, you will always have money. You will not be prosperous if you cram bills “any which way,” into your pocketbook. If paper money is folded length- wise first, it will insure the posses- sion of money; but if folded the short way, it will not remain in the pocket. (Alabama.) You will never be rich if you keep your paper money Smoothed Out. PURCHASE—If you make a purchase on Monday morning, and the change you get is of an even number, you will be lucky all the week. The Brahmins used to have an especial augury for every day in the week. Suppose some purchase is on foot, he who proposes to be- come the buyer takes note, when he rises in the morning, of his shadow in the sun. It ought to be on that day of such and such a length, and should his shadow be the proper length that day, he completes the purchase, but if not, on no account will he do so. PURSE—It is a bad omen to lose a purse, whether it be empty or full. If you are out of money, mind that the new moon does not peep into your empty purse, or you will be short of money the whole month. If you line your pocketbook with calfskin, it will never be empty. Rub your purse when you see the new moon and say: “What I rub and what I see, Both alike increase for me.” If you stumble over a purse of money, you will always go uphill. One who finds an empty purse, will soon kiss a stranger. REAL ESTATE–If you buy land shaped like a rectangle, you will be unfortunate with it. When you buy a piece of land, you must take a spadeful of earth, throw it in the air, and catch it on the back of the spade, if you want the crops to thrive. If, in driving stakes to mark out a lot of land, the stake flies out of the ground at the first blow, or if the marking line snaps in two, it is an evil omen for the house that is built thereon. If you should meet a person with a broad head or a bald head, on your way to select a site for a house, it is an evil omen. It is also unlucky when bent on selecting the site of a house, to come upon a bundle of firewood. RENT—To pay your rent: On Sunday, signifies a journey for business. On Monday, that you will short- ly be much pleased. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 539 On Tuesday, that you will have luck in preventing a loss. On Wednesday, a speedy recov- ery. On Thursday, success in your undertakings. On Friday, to become public and notorious. On Saturday, the death of the last person you kissed. SECURITY—The Egyptians, when hard put for security, would make a pledge of their father's mummy. This was as much as their life and their soul. SELLING—When at market selling goods, don’t let your first customer go away, even if you have to sell under value. When anything is to be sold, put a swallow's feather into it, and say: “I put in this feather in the devil's 1121116 That much silver and good price come hame!” The New Orleans Creoles think that in selling anything, they will not have good luck if they do not give a little over for good measure. In trade, some superstitious seller returns part of the purchase- money for luck, lest the buyer should unconsciously part with his talisman or luck-elf with the coins. Don't sell the skin before you have caught the bear. “The man that once did sell the lion’s skin While the beast lived, was killed with inunting him.” (Shakespeare, King Henry V., iv., 3.) A merchant will not sell to his most valued friend an article on credit, if that friend should chance to be his first customer in the morning. To do so would be to in- vite ill luck all day. The first sale must be a cash purchase. SILVER MONEY-Drop a sil- ver coin somewhere near St. Pe- ter's and you will visit Rome again. STOCKS AND BONDS—Wall street brokers consider it good luck to tip beggars before entering the exchange. Jay Gould said: “Buy stocks in the morning and bonds in the after- noon.” Stock taken as a gift brings bad luck; give a trifle for it. Stockbrokers think if the dexter side is chosen by the wielder of the razor, stocks will rise. On buying stock, it is unlucky to inquire the name. - SUCCESS—An Italian supersti- tion is, never to tell how successful you are, for fear that someone will envy you, and so bring you bad luck. WAGES-If you receive wages with bad temper, you will be disap- pointed. To spend your week’s wages in one night, is a sign that you will lose your work before a month. WEALTH-If you gain wealth unjustly, your descendants will squander it in evil living, if they ever get it. WRAPPING AND PACKING GOODS—If you cut strings or cords without unfastening the knots, you will never be rich. Al- ways untie your bundles. It is said that you will fail in business if you wrap goods in ad- vertising paper. Trades and Occupations. CHAPTER IX. ARTIST-A lucky hit might be called that of the French painter who tried in vain to paint the foam on a horse's mouth, in a great his- torical painting, and becoming an- gry at his failure, he threw his Sponge at the picture, and thereby produced the very effect he desired. It is said that Dibutades, a Greek artist, had a daughter, who traced on the wall her lover’s shadow, cast there by the light of the lamp, and that is the origin of portrait-paint- ing; while the father, who was a potter, applied the same process to his potteries, and this, it is averred, is the origin of sculpture in relief. “Will the arts ever have a lovelier Origin than that fair daughter of Dibutades, tracing the beloved shadow on the wall?” (Ouida.) If you spill paint when you are dressing for an evening party, it is a sure sign that your evening will be spoiled by something disagree- able. If a painter accidentally drops his brush while painting, he will soon have another job. Do not whitewash your house when the moon is full, for it will produce bugs. Parrhasius, one of the most cele- brated Greek painters, who lived in the fourth century, B. C., painted a curtain so wonderfully well that even Zeuxis, the rival artist, thought it real, and bade him draw his draperies aside and show his picture. The painting of Zeuxis was a bunch of grapes, so true to nature that the birds flew to it, and began to peck at it. The curtain, however, gained the prize, for though the grapes deceived the birds, the curtain deceived Zeuxis. AUTHOR-It is unlucky for an author to begin a new work with a new pen. * Literary men believe that to have their first work rejected, is a good sign. George Du Maurier, when writ- ing “Peter Ibbetson,” became dis- couraged after a few chapters, and concluded to give it up; but as he left the house, the first object that his eyes rested upon was a wheel- barrow, and as he had mentioned a wheelbarrow in the first chapter, he considered it a good omen and was encouraged to go on, and it proved a great success. BAKER—In Transylvania, it is considered unlucky to count loaves of bread when put into the oven. If a baker gives away his yeast, he will give away his luck, unless he receives a coin in return. If a dog looks into the oven when you are baking, the loaves will be poor. If a baker would always be fortu- nate in his trade, he must throw a portion of each baking into the fire. Bakers in Wiltshire and some other counties of England, used to put a certain kind of pebble in their ovens to give notice when the oven was hot enough for baking. When FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 54I the stone turned white, the oven was fit for use. The guild of bakers, corn-factors, and millers, in Turkey, admit that Adam was the first of their craft. He is supposed to have been taught by the angel Gabriel to bruise wheat between two stones, and having made dough therewith, to bake it in a hole in the ground. BARBER—It is said that he who goes into a barber's shop to get shaved, and always takes the first chair he can get, the nearest one to him, will, in time, have his throat cut. It is unlucky for a barber to shave a man on credit the first thing in the morning. Some barbers say it is bad luck to step over their footstools. Some barbers will not have the hair cut from customers, swept out before the day's work is done. They say it is surely bad luck. If a man cuts his finger while honing a razor, he will have a fist- to-fist fight before the week is out. It is good luck to have a little bay rum spilled on your shirt front when in a barber’s shop. Some people think if they keep their eyes open when a barber is shaving them, it will cause him to cut the skin. A barber pinching your ear with his scissors while cutting your hair, is said to give you good luck. If a woman steps over a razor, it will become dull. (Japan.) To use a loaned razor, will slaughter your beard. A razor honed on the day a man is hanged, always turns out excel- lently, and will remain sharp for months, without being honed. Barbers in India believe that if they, for any reason, shampoo one leg of a customer and let the other go, a dog will bite them. If you laugh while being shaved, the barber will surely cut you. To step into a barber's shop and not be able to get shaved, is a sign of a more serious disappointment. It is a bad sign if friends call on a barber during working hours. It is unlucky to have your hat brushed in a barber's shop. Never let a barber use a blue- edged towel when shaving you; it will cause you the blues. Fee the barber always with sil- ver, and luck will be with you. If the barber makes a long draw with the razor, expect disappoint- ment. It is bad luck to a barber to use a razor that has been dropped. Ill luck will follow, if the barber begins to shave you with an upper- Cut. Some superstitious men will not be shaved unless three have been shaved ahead of them. The barber's pole alludes to the surgery which formerly formed part of their profession. A staff was needed by them to assist in the operation of bleeding the patient, for him to grasp it. When the pole was not in use, the tape was tied around it, and this the barbers al- ways carried about with them, in olden times. This was adopted as a sign of their profession, and hung at the door. Later, instead of using the pole proper for the sign, another pole, painted with stripes around it, in imitation of the real pole and bandage, was put up in front of their door. In Germany, barbers use as a sign, three round brass shaving- dishes. 542 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. BLACKSMITH-The Ameri- can Indians look upon blacksmiths as being allied to the spirits, and call them the ghosts of iron. It is very unlucky to have a woman come into a blacksmith's forge. It is unlucky to steal anything from a smith's forge. The blacksmiths north of Dur- ham, England, will not drive a nail on Good Friday, as they consider it very unlucky. It is bad luck to use horseshoes that have been taken from the feet of a dead horse, to put on another horse. It is unlucky to shoe the first horse on Monday morning on trust. Always ask cash or part- payment. If the first horse brought to a blacksmith's shop in the morning is a poor, bony, or sickly horse, it is not a good omen. If it is a sound, healthy horse, bay or dap- ple-gray, it is a good sign for the rest of the week. If a blacksmith's fire is dull, it is a sign of dull trade and ill luck; if it burns brightly, it indicates good trade. A smith who rises before the sun, goes to his forge, strikes the anvil four or five terrific blows with his sledge, and repeats this practice for nine mornings, fasting for the nine days, is supposed to have any wish granted him, whether good or bad. Blacksmiths spit on their hands to help subdue an unruly horse to be shod: - “Or unbacked jennet or a Flanders mare, That at the forge stands snuffing at the ayre; The swarthy smith spits in his buck- horn fist, And bids his men bring out the five- fold twist.” BOOTBLACK–For luck, you should always give your bootblack silver, not pennies. BREWERS–If a bunch of stinging nettles is laid on the vat when brewing, thunder will not spoil the beer. Water used for brewing must be called something else, not water, else the beer will not be good. A cold iron bar was put upon the barrels in old times, to prevent the beer from souring by thunder. In the private breweries of Scot- land, a live coal is dropped in the vat to keep off the fairies. In Scotland, a little dry malt was formerly scattered with a handful of salt, over the “mash” when brew- ing, to keep the witches from the beer. Brewers in England sometimes cast a handful of salt into the mash, to keep out witches. BUILDER AND BUILDING —Unlucky to build a house over a donkey's bone. Good luck will be with the house, if the rafters are laid on Wednes- day. It is very bad luck to build into a house a beam made from a tree that was broken by the wind. To avert bad luck, the Greeks slay a lamb over the foundation of a new house. If a burned house is re-erected upon the old foundations, it will burn again. It is unlucky to shingle a house in the light of the moon. The shingles will curl up like the hair on a woolly dog, and the roof will leak. It is equally unlucky to clap- board a house in the light of the moon, as the clapboards will not stay down. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 543 The Turks say, when the house is finished, death stalks in. Always have a little more to do to your house. To insure a good foundation for a house, measure with a reed the shadow of the first person who passes after digging for foundation, and bury the reed under the corner Stone. Houses must be shingled when the moon is waning, to prevent the shingles from coming up. When a carpenter knocks the first nail in a new house and fire leaps out of it, the house will burn down. Should an architect about to build a house, meet a young and handsome virgin, it is a good omen for him and the house. If any of the workmen employed in the construction of a new build- ing are killed, the building will be destroyed by fire sooner or later. It is a good sign to set up the posts of a house on Monday. The Chinese believe that carpen- ters, builders and bricklayers are able to bring ruin on a house by building evil spirits into it. They counteract their influence by pres- ents, money, and by hanging red rags on every door. If shingles are put on a roof in the dark of the moon, they will curl up; if in the light of the moon, they will curl down. It is unlucky for a house to be built in the dark of the moon; it will be infested by bedbugs. (Ne- gro.) In building a house in Scotland, if the carpenters are not served with whiskey, bread and cheese, the oc- cupants will not live happily. If the sign of an imaginary circle is drawn and a knife placed within it, in the walls of houses when they are building, no evil influence can trouble the inmates. Upon the completion of a house, ancient builders threw a bottle on the floor, and if it did not break, it signified ill luck to the owner. In building a house, the master of it shall deal the first stroke of the axe; if sparks fly out, the house will burn down. If a painter or a carpenter, occu- pied on a high building, is awak- ened in the night by some un- known cause, he had better not go to work the next day. He will have a fall. It is unlucky to build a store- house on the northeast side of your house. Always begin to erect a new house at the time of the new moon. When a new bridge was built in Europe during the Middle Ages, a cock or a chamois was first made to run across it, for good luck. If one is going to move a house from one locality to another, he will have better luck if it is done in the 116 W 111OO11. To see a corner-stone laid, signi- fies that the foundation of your love is jealousy. To build a shed, your wishes will be granted. In Borneo, among the Milanan Dyaks, at the erection of a house, a deep hole was dug to receive the first post which was there suspend- ed over it, a slave girl was placed in the hole, and the post driven in, crushing the girl to death. This sac- rifice they thought would give great luck to the house. 18 house situated on a hill, is of good omen. In old times in Amer- ica, they built their houses on hills, so as not to be surprised by the 544 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. Indians. They wished for a clear lookout in all directions. The Bulgarians believe that in building a house a spirit is created, called the house spirit, which watches over the house as long as it stands. In order to have this spirit mild and gentle and give the house peace, a lamb is killed and buried under the foundations. The peace of the house, however, is also greatly affected by those whose shadows fall on the timbers when building. Language relating to conflagra- tions should be avoided by work- men on a new house, in China, as a fire would be the sure result of it, and the house might perhaps burn down, if they say too much about it. When a bridge is built in Al- bania, over a rapid stream, twelve sheep are sacrificed and their heads buried under the piers, in order that these may be able to bear the force of the current. Southern darkies think it un- lucky to build a new house, saying that the owner will need a coffin before it is done. When building a house, put a vegetable under the foundation; it will stand long and do you good service. It is unlucky to build a house by a path on which the fairies pass. The Siamese consider it an ill omen to build a house with an even number of stairs, doors or win- dows. . It is bad luck to build a dwelling house out of the material of an old church. The Owner will never live to see it finished. In building a house, lay herbs on the ground to attract ants. If the ants are black, it is a sign of good luck; if red, of misfortune. In England, it is very unlucky to build a house in a straight lane. To have laths placed crosswise about a house when building, makes it witch-proof. In a newly-built house, there is generally a corpse in the first two years. There is a superstition in St. Croix that to add any building to your house, a wing, or smaller shed, is sure to be followed by the death of some member of the fam- ily. If the last nail which a carpenter knocks in a new house gives out fire, let him put in additional nails, even if useless; for it will prevent the house from burning down. He has lived to no purpose, who has not built a house, written a book, or begotten a son. During an erection of a building, it is deemed a good sign, to the workmen, if the “tomts” (spirits) are heard chopping and pounding during the hours of rest. (Sweden.) If a Chinese carpenter conceals the picture of a bad spirit in the walls of a house he is building, he curses the family that lives therein with bad luck. If a house is built with ill-gotten gains, there will never be a birth in it that will not be followed by a death. “If you build your house with ill- gotten gains, Joy never enters, but trouble pours and rains.” It is unlucky to build a house on a deserted road. (Slavonic.) If an animal or a person falls into the cellar of a newly-built house before it is completed, the inhab- itants of the same will never possess any luck while living there. In enlarging a house, make the additions to the front or back, FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 545 rather than to the sides, or some- one will die there very shortly. (British Guiana.) If an egg is built into a new building, it will protect from all evil. In the north of England, it is considered an omen of death to be the first to enter a new-built house. A Creole idea is that it is unlucky to live in a house which you have built, until you have rented it for a year. The Lancashire people think that it is fatal to one of the family to build, or even to rebuild, a house. If a new house is built on the ex- act site of an old one, someone who lives in it will die within the year. A sheep is sacrificed when the foundation of a house is laid, to make it stand long; and presents are given when the roof is put on. (Turkish.) Before Christianity was intro- duced into Madagascar, a man building a house would, for good luck, sacrifice and bury a cock in a hole in which the first post of the house was erected. The north- eastern corners of the houses were dedicated to the idols and ances- tors; so the massive posts were bound very strongly with enduring grasses and other herbs, in order that the house might last a very long time. In building a home in Persia, a pillar must rest on a piece of money; then the home will be rich. If, in erecting a building in Greece, the corner-stone should be placed upon the shadow of a man, that man was believed to be doomed to die within a year. To injure oneself when building a temple, is considered in Japan very bad luck, and in some in- stances, the temple has been pulled down on that account. When a house is being built in China, and nearly finished, salt and rice mixed are scattered slowly by the head workman from the top of the house, over the posts and other parts, so that nothing but good luck can come to it. Never add a piece to your house, or an old person will die. (Ja- maica.) The Greek legend in regard to the ancient superstition about sac- rificing a human life to consecrate a new building, was: “The mason builds his bride into the wall that the king's house may stand.” The Romans are said to have drowned the cries of the victim by viols and flutes. Upon the completion of the framework, in building a house in Japan, the workmen shoot an ar- row to the northwest, to frighten away the devils from the new house. When a new house was built in Belgium, the master-builder took a good Square stone, and, cutting a cross on it, placed it under the doorstone, so that no bad spirits could enter. When a new bridge was built at Halle, in 1843, there were many people who demanded that, accord- ing to the old superstitious belief, a living child should be immured under the bridge to insure its sta- bility. A bottle of wine is thrown from the highest part of a new house; if it breaks, it is a good sign; if not, no luck will come to the house or its owner. (Johnson, “Peasant Life in Germany.”) Legend tells us that when the castle of Liebenstein was being 546 EncycloPAEDIA of superSTITIONs. built, a mother sold her child to be built into the wall, for the purpose of making it stand firmly and long on its foundations. As the wall rose about the little one, it cried out: “Mother, I still see you!” then later: “Mother, I can hardly see you!” and lastly: “Mother, I can see you no more!” Yet she with- stood all these pitiful appeals, sim- ply to comply with this supersti- tious notion. Nowadays, in Greece, since they can no longer sacrifice a human victim, the builders typify it by building on a man's shadow. They entice a man on to the site, secretly measure his body or his shadow, and bury the measurement under the foundation stone. It is believed too, in this case, that the man whose shadow is thus buried, will die within a year. The Roumanians still believe this and you often hear the cry,"Beware lest they take thy shadow,” when a person is passing a new building. There are actually people whose trade it is to secure shadows to sup- ply architects. In Madagascar, a silver chain is attached to the first corner-post set up in building a house, in the be- lief that it will insure the owner's always having money. In the case of a royal palace, the sovereign sprinkles the post with sacred water, so as to give the house a blessing. In North Glaswich, it is believed when a carpenter's saw or axe strikes fire in building a house, that that fire will sooner or later destroy that house. It may be for years kept that there is no accident, it is kept unseen, and as long as the trees that surround the house are not cut down it will not appear, but as soon as they are cut, the fire escapes and burns down the house. At one house the fire was put into a cap worn by an old woman and hung up by the door for years. One day a stranger came in and took down the cap. This let the fire loose, and the house burnt up. In building a house, the Chinese put a piece of red paper on which four Chinese characters are written in black ink, on the ridge-pole, to prevent accidents, and also to keep evil influences from the workmen. For the same purpose, the builders put two small conical shaped bags made of red cloth, and containing five kinds of grain, on the ridge- pole. It was a widespread belief in an- cient Rome, that the spanning of a river by a bridge was an insult to the divinities of the streams; pro- pitiating sacrifices, often of inno- cent children, were therefore made when bridges were being built. Hence arose, probably, the name of pontifex for a member of the high- est priestly collegium of Rome, whose duty it was, among various others, to perform these rites. The pontifex maximus was also the keeper of the sacred bridge on piles (pons sublicius) over the Tiber. Longfellow explains the name in his “Golden Legend” poetically, thus referring, doubtless, to the pope, the name having been adopt- ed by the Christian church from the Roman highpriests: “Well has the name of pontifex been given Unto the Church's head, as the chief builder And architect of the invisible bridge That leads from earth to heaven.” Numerous stories of foundation sacrifices are told in Celtic coun- tries. In Adamnan’s “Life of Columba,” we read: “Kolumkille said to the people: “It would be well for us that our roots should pass into the earth here; it is per- mitted to you that some one of you go under the earth of this island to ºwo!!!!saeºſn S ſo 4，4311.ſ øų L FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 547 consecrate it.’ Odhran arose quick- ly and thus spake: ‘If you accept me I am ready for that.’ ‘O Odhran,’ said Kolumkille, ‘thou shalt receive the reward of this, no request shall be granted at my tomb unless it is first asked of thee.’ Odhran then went to heaven, and Kolumkille founded the church of Hy.” Human skeletons have also been found under the foundations of two round towers in Ireland, the only ones that have been examined. It is believed by the Greeks that a mortal can become a stoicheion, or spirit post, prop, or support of any building or bridge. Bridges so built are called “stoicheion- built.” Such are the “bridge of Arta,” the “lady's bridge,” in the Peloponnesos; the “trem b 1 in g bridge” near Canea, in Crete. In an unpublished verse, M. Legrand says: . “Then cried the river's stoicheion, From out the stream he shouted; 'Til to stoicheion a mortal change, Ye ne'er will raise the arches!” as a remedy for a bridge that was always crumbling. When work is first begun in building a house, making a garden, or building a canoe, in Malanka island, a man first calls aloud, and then if something remarkable ap- pears, it is a sign that the work will be interrupted by death or by war; but if nothing unusual appears, all will be well. Mr. Macbain of Inverness says that there are still current in the Highlands many traditions regard- ing such sacrifices. One of these relates that when the workmen had assembled to lay the foundations of Tigh-an-Torr, in western Rosshire, they caught the first person who chanced to pass, and buried him under the foundation stone. The victim on this occasion was a stu- dent, who afterwards haunted the place until spoken to. And on lay- ing the foundations of Red Castle, a red-haired girl was buried alive, hence the name. The following was published a few years ago in the Pall Mall Ga- zette, which shows that the practice extended as far Eastas China: “The most curious item of news from the East by the present week's mail, comes from Singapore. A wide- spread belief prevails there among the lower classes of the Chinese population, that in the outskirts of the town the heads of unwary trav- elers are cut off by secret orders from the government. A sum of ten pounds is said to be paid for each head, the particular depart- ment inculpated being that of pub- lic works. The heads are believed to be wanted to lay at the founda- tions of certain new bridges which are being built, so as to ensure a successful termination of the work. Coolies could not be induced at any price to carry persons to the sub- urbs at night.” A similar statement is made by Mr. S. E. Peal at Sib- sagar, Asam, in 1896. B U R G L A R S, ROBBERS, THIEVES, ETC.—It is lucky for a thief to throw somewhat of what he steals into water. In West Flanders, not far from Baillene, a thief was taken, on whom was found the foot of one who was hanged, which he used for the purpose of putting people to sleep. Thieves and burglars think it lucky to carry a piece of coal with them. A burglar who carries in his pocket a piece of charmed coal, can defy the authorities. He who steals on Christmas, New Year's or Twelfth night, can steal safely for a year. 548 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. Burglars are firm believers in tal- ismans. Some carry around the hoof of a donkey, and if, by some misadventure, it is left at home, they will turn back from a job, for fear of ill luck. If a thief carries about him the arm-bone of a person who has been hanged, the person whom he de- signs to rob cannot wake. Tuesday is robbers’ day, and a theft committed on that day is said to have the luck to go unpunished. No burglar will set out on a crib- cracking job without some amulet or charm about him. He will not go on the night of the new moon, either. He has a fear of certain numbers, and will not go on a cer- tain street. But if he happens to be arrested by a policeman and es- capes from him, the number of the policeman is lucky for him ever more. A black cat is a good pro- tection for a house, for he will not enter, if it sits on the doorstep. If the knocker is muffled or draped, no burglar will enter. A cross-eyed person or a hump- back need never fear to lose their money, as no pickpocket would touch it. A club-footed person is also exempt. If a pickpocket finds a twisted coin in a purse, he will usually throw away the whole, as such a thing, if kept, would insure nine months’ bad luck or the thief’s early arrest. When pickpockets start out, they look for the policeman, and will not touch a pocket until they have seen one. If his back is towards them, they believe that they have a safe day before them; but if he is facing them, they will generally give up the idea of thieving on that day. BUTCHER—In olden times, the natives of the Canary islands, as it is the case in China to this day, regarded the butchers as outcasts, generally criminals, who expiated the enormities of their crimes by having to imbue their hands in the innocent blood of animals. A butcher will always have a cripple among his descendants. If you drop the butcher-knife, the minister will call. If you pity cattle that are being killed, they cannot die. If, when slaughtering animals, the blood flows freely, it is a good sign. - CANDLEMAKER – Never make tallow candles in the dark of the moon, or they will melt in sum- mer and crack in winter. The wax-chandlers' guild, in Turkey, venerate Shem, son of Noah, as their patron. He it was who invented tapers. When the ark was already floated, a swarm of bees settled on the roof. Shem, seeing them, removed them care- fully to a warm corner, where they hived and multiplied. When the ark rested on Mount Ararat, near the spot where the convent of Etch- miazim now stands, Shem took the wax, melted it in an earthen pot, and dipped therein strips of wool. These, when cool, he rolled in his hands, and thus made the first twisted taper. From this cause, Shem is also venerated as the patron of apiaries. CARPENTER—Carpenters and others who work on scaffolds, cut a star on the scaffold, to insure their safety. If a carpenter carries his tools in at one door and out at the other, some one in the house will have bad luck. A carpenter generally knows when a death is about to take place, FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 549 for he hears about him movements and crackings of boards. This is the wraith or genius of the fated person. Carpenters should stop working while a dead body is awaiting buri- al. (Irish.) If a sudden and unexpected light appears in a carpenter shop, it is a sign that the carpenter will soon have to make a coffin. Easily carpenters believe that the wood of trees, cut during the full mCOn, rot. Carpenters of a superstitious turn of mind, will tell you that they invariably hear the tolaeth, or death-sound, when they are going to get an order to make a coffin. This sound is like that of sawing wood, the hammering of nails, and the turning of Screws, such as is heard in the usual process of mak- ing a coffin. This is called the “tolaeth before the coffin.” (Wales.) CIGARMAKER—To cut your hand with a cigar-knife, denotes good luck. In making cigars, if you put the moulds in the press wrongly, it is a sign of true friendship. If you cut your tongue with a cigar-knife, it will bring good news. COFFIN-SCREW–It is lucky to carry a coffin-screw in your pocket. COMMERCIAL TRAVELER —A conductor asking for your fare twice, is a sign of a quarrel. DAIRY-It is lucky for a dairy- maid to wear three things blessed in the name of the Trinity. TXIVER—The Brahmins charm the great fishes and prevent them from injuring divers under water seeking for pearls. Their charm holds good only for the day; at night they dissolve it, so that the fishes can work any evil they will. DRESSMAKER—Many dress- makers consider it most unlucky to use black pins, and never do so on any account. If the head dressmaker will stitch a single hair from the head of each of the sewing girls into a wedding garment, they will become brides within a short time after the maiden who wears the bridal outfit. If you are a dressmaker, be sure and remove all basting-threads be- fore you send a garment home, or else it will be returned for altera- tions. Dressmakers claim that if any- one should, by mistake, sew a piece of trimming into a ring, either the person who is to have the dress or the sewer, will marry soon. A seamstress whose thread has broken three times, has to put in another, for the thread is enchant- ed. (Belgium.) DRIVER—In the cold northern countries, the cart-drivers bedeck their horses with the box plant, to insure good luck to them. If a wagon breaks down going down hill, it is said that the driver will meet a sudden death. If the carter plaits a snake's orad- der's tongue into a whip, his horses can pull the biggest load out of the ditch, and will not overdrink them- selves. DYER—Dyers often dye for luck, when they have prepared some dye, and feel anxious to know how it will turn out; if they lie, and can get people to believe them, it will turn out well. (India.) ENGINEER—An engine oper- ated by a left-handed engineer, will sooner or later have a mishap. 55O ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. Engineers consider it unlucky to carry a corpse with its feet toward the engine. EXECUTIONER—Execution- ers believed that their swords would move upon the wall when a criminal was to be delivered to them. FAKIR—A street fakir will not sell straw hats on the street after the Fourth of July. If he does, he will be “dead broke” before the year is out. FIREMAN–When firemen are called to go to a fire and the horses stumble on the way, it is almost certain that one of them will get injured or killed at the fire. Firemen say that whenever a member of a company dies, there is sure to be a big blaze to call out the engines. Fires never come singly, but in triplets. FORTUNE TELLER—If a fortune teller explains to anyone the meaning of the cards, his or her own power will be taken away. GRAIN DEALER—If you say to a grain dealer, “Look, there is a monkey on your head!” he con- siders it such bad luck that he will shut up shop for the day. (India.) GRAVE-DIGGER—If a grave- digger's spade clatters when a grave is being dug, someone else will soon need his services. If a grave-digger shakes his spade at anyone, it is considered an unlucky omen, as in a short time the sexton will be called upon to dig the grave of that person who has come under the influence of the spade. PHAMMER—To have the head fly off the handle of a hammer or hatchet, is a sign that you will shortly recover some lost article. HOTEL–You will change your boarding-house, if you change your Seat. It is unlucky to sleep in the sev- enth story of a hotel. It brings bad luck to a hotel to shut the register after signing your name, or opening it. Commercial travelers usually make vigorous objection to being placed in rooms number 13 and 33, as it means bad luck in that town. The lucky rooms at a hotel are: 9, 18, 27, 36, 45, 54, 63, 72, 81, 90, 108, 207, 306, 405, 504, 603, 702, 801, 900. It will be no- ticed that each of these numbers, added together, make nine, which is the lucky number for travelers, ac- cording to a Persian superstition. It is unusually good luck to be in the act of registering your name at a hotel when the clock is striking. There are many hotels all over the country which contain no room numbered 13. It is the custom in large hotels to number the rooms at the top of the house, but the par- lors are lettered up to the number 13, so that the first number is 14. This avoids the bad luck. Others skip the unpopular number alto- gether. INVENTOR—In olden times, it was an ill omen to be an inventor. Some of them had their heads cut off, some were doomed to perpetual punishment. The Emperor Tibe- rius ordered one to have his head cut off for changing the nature of glass, so as to render it malleable. Louis XIII. imprisoned a man for life for making a bust out of mallea- ble glass. IRONWORKER—Among the Doraks, Melanesian tribe, those FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 55I wishing to learn to work in iron are drenched with a certain kind of medicine called “obat,” to enable them to learn this black art easily, and they must bind themselves, be- fore entering the fraternity of iron- workers, never to eat any pork. JOCKEY-Jockeys sometimes wear an old jacket in a race, to bring good luck. Another recent superstition is that if a jockey dismounts or is thrown before the race takes place, he will win; there will be a rush for the bookmakers to back his mount. When a jockey finds it necessary to dismount at the starting post, on account of some little accident, there is a great scramble among the superstitious to bet on his horse. “Monkey Charlie,” a successful horse jockey, rents his spurs out when he has no mount, at five dol- lars a pair, to jockeys who think they can absorb some of his luck by wearing them. Another jockey, named Kelly, who rode at Guttenburg, N. J., believes that if he can get near or touch certain race-track habitues, he will win. JOURNALIST – Newspaper men have a superstition that the death of one noted man will be fol- lowed by two others within the next ten days. JOURNEYMAN–Journeymen must not look around the first time they travel, or they will be home- sick, and cannot stay anywhere. JUDGE–It was believed by the ancients that if a judge washed his hands after a trial, it relieved him of all responsibility in the matter. LAWYER—If a lawyer loses his glove, he will lose his case. It is said that if a lawyer stam- mers when making his plea, he is telling a falsehood and knows it. LEARNING T R A D E–The Scottish Highlanders think it un- lucky for a clan to learn any handi- craft engaged in by Lowlanders. L I Q U O R-DEALER AND DRINKING—It is unlucky to pour liquor back into the flask. If you see a cross-eyed man com- ing out of a saloon, don't go in. If a stranger touches your elbow as your drink is raised, drain the glass speedily and thank your stars, as this means certain good fortune. If a counterfeit bill is offered in payment for a cocktail, by a man “half seas over,” it is good luck for the bartender. If friends about to drink at a bar, find there are thirteen in their par- ty, the only way to take off the hoodoo is to lock arms, and, taking up their thirteen beverages as one man, drink down as one drink. The man who spills his drink is in for a drunk. Some bartenders say it is un- lucky to drink with a customer, that is, to be treated by him, there- fore they refuse to drink with one, but they will put the price of the drink in their pockets. To put a jack of diamonds un- der the sill of a barroom door, will bring customers. If you have a wooden pipe or tap, turned out of a birch tree, grown in the middle of an ant-hill, and then draw wine or beer through it, you will be able to sell your wine or liquor soon. The innkeepers at Amsterdam used to say, when the wick of a candle burned long and brilliant, that it was a sign that distinguished guests were coming. 552 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. It is lucky for him who sells beer, to place the first money taken for it, under the tap until the whole of the cask is sold. To meet your friends in a beer- house, is a sign of joy and pleasure. If the bartender breaks a glass in the morning, the house will have bad luck all day. If, on opening a restaurant or saloon, the first money taken is not framed and placed behind the bar, luck will be bad, until a piece of money is found on the floor and preserved as a luck charm. If you look at yourself twice in the glass before you take a drink in the morning, you will “see crook- ed” before night. If an old “rounder” tenders four cents for a drink in the morning, and three of them fall tail up, it is good-bye to luck for the day for the bartender. If you are in the habit of drink- ing from a square bottle, do not change and drink from a round one. If you do, your sweetheart will prove fickle. If a one-eyed man drinks any- thing but gin or whiskey, avoid that bar; it is unlucky. If you intend to start a new sa- loon, throw a new broom on the sidewalk. It will be a sign of good luck if the first customer steps over the broom, but a bad sign if he kicks it. If you hold your drink in your left hand, look out for hard luck. If you drink from a cracked or broken glass, that drink means drunk. If a drink which you did not order is served to you, do not drink it; a mistake-drink is the worst of hoodoos. If the cherry in a cocktail floats, be quick and turn your hat around, or look for reverses in business. LIVERYMAN–If a liveryman keeps a buck goat, it is lucky for him. It draws custom. LUMBERMAN–When a Ca- nadian lumberman shoots a deer, he wraps himself up in the skin at night, to keep off witches. MACHINE–If a machine gets turned with its face to the wall, it is a sign of death. MASON.—A mason considers it an ill omen to drop his trowel. Masons consider it very unlucky to break or mar a finished stone. MILLINER—Milliners believe that if they buy their goods on Fri- day, they will have a dull season. MINER AND MINING—If a minister comes into a mining camp, it is an evil omen. If a miner sees a snail on his way to “bal” in the morning, he will drop a drop of tallow from his candle by its side, for luck. If a Cornish miner, on his way to night work, meets a stranger and receives no answer to the custom- ary “good night!” he reckons it an omen of ill luck. If the colliers about Newcastle- on-Tyne combine for the purpose of raising their wages, they spit upon a stone together, by way of invoking luck upon the undertak- ing, and cementing confidence. Miners have frequent falls; they consider that being knocked down by the devil. Miners believe that if a woman goes down a mine, she will either bring very bad or very good luck, generally the latter. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 553 Miners consider it unlucky to work on Ascension day. Malignant spirits haunt the places where precious metals are found. Palms, blessed on Palm Sunday, will preserve from danger while at work in the mines. A silver mine in Sardino was neglected, because a certain spider that avoided the sun, haunted its darkest recesses, and caused bad luck. There are certain demons who live in hollows of the earth, who cause earthquakes and pestilent winds, and are avoided by miners as evil luck. At Whealvor mine, it has always been considered that a fatal acci- dent in the mine is presaged by the sign of a white rabbit or hare, ap- pearing in the engine house, A crescent, formed of two boar’s tusks, are frequently hung around necks of miners, to protect them from the mine gnomes and witches. In Cornwall, it is a very bad omen if a miner, on his way to the pits, meets an old woman or a rab- bit. Miners burn their hats upon the birth of a male child, to prevent witchcraft. Miners believe it unlucky to meet a white rabbit, when on their way to the mine at night. It is believed that a fatal accident is presaged by the appearance of a hare near a mine. All Mexican mines are dedicated to some saint, and the miners will not enter a mine until they have offered up a prayer to that saint, to prevent accidents. If a miner's candle should go out without visible cause, he should leave the mine at once, to prevent accident to himself. Miners have an idea that to carry a piece of alum in their pocket, will protect them from rheumatism. A Silesian miner makes his will, if his lamp goes out before the oil is spent. The coming of a stranger or a “tender foot” to a mining camp, will bring good luck. A miner is superstitious about killing a rat in a mine, as it is a sure sign of bad luck if he does. A miner thinks it bad luck to see a woman the first thing in the morning. It is unlucky to make the form of the cross on the sides of any kind of mine. Miners will not work in a mine when the rats begin to desert it, as it is a sign of an accident, or that it will cave in. The laborers in the mines have stories about small creatures called “sprights,” and they used to say that when the mist rises up from the underground vaults, these peo- ple knock and hammer. These damps render some lame, and others they kill outright, without any visible cause, and the miners say it is the “sprights” who do it. In the early days of California, gold miners often took the first gold they found and made it into a charm, to wear constantly for luck. Such a charm was the tip of a fir- cone, gilded with the first gold found. A curious popular belief among the Mexicans, relates to the so- called gold snake. Wherever it makes its nest there is sure to be a ledge containing the precious metal, and many miners will locate 554 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. at once if they chance upon a ser- pent of this species. People who dig for metals are full of supersti- tions. Mines are always haunted by demons and hobgoblins, some of them malicious and others be- nevolent. Nickel and Kobold are the names of two gnomes who in- fest underground workings in Ger- many. From them are derived the words “nickel” and “cobalt.” The ancient Romans worked a Cornish mine called the “Devil's Frying Pan.” According to a very primitive notion, precious stones are produced from condensed dew, hardened by the sun. This mine was the frying pan where dew was thus converted and hardened. It is a warning to miners when rats huddle together in the mines. The Mexican miners are very superstitious. Sixty fathoms down the “Despaches,” one of the en- trances to the Vahenciana mine, is a church, where lamps are kept continually lighted. The miners usually spend half an hour in this church, when going down or com- ing from the mine. Among the Lancashire miners, there is an old superstition about whistling ghosts, and when a miner heard its ominous notes, nothing could induce him to go down into the mine that day. When Welsh miners hear a thumping in the mine that they can- not account for, they conclude that it is the place where there is valu- able treasure, and that the gnomes are getting it. - The discovery of mines of pre- cious metals in Chili, is thought, by miners, to be frustrated by the “genius” of the mine, each mine being defended or watched over by one, in the form of an animal or bird. Guanacos, foxes, pumas, vul. tures, eagles, and condors are the esteemed custodians of these hid- den treasures, and when any searcher of the hills discovers a rich mine, and a few days after returns with his tools and provisions, in order to work it, he often finds that the animal or bird, which fled when he made the discovery, has re- moved the mine to another place, and balked him. Sometimes, how- ever, the genius of the mine looks favorably upon him, and allows him to discover and work it, to the mak- ing of his fortune, for these genii are capricious. The reason why mines in Korea are prevented from being opened and worked, is due to the belief that the sacred dragon who holds up the celestial mansions, so that they do not fall, presides over mines and metals. Hence, the attempt to open the mines and steal the metals from him, would result in his de- stroying the world. Cornish miners have, for cen- turies, used the divining rod, to find copper ore. The wand is made of applewood, the same as the magic wand of the ancient Druids. The miners’ divining rod is to be used after sunset and before sun- rise, and on the nights of Good Fri- day, Epiphany, Shrove Tuesday, St. John's day, or on the first night of the new moon, or that preceding it. In cutting it, one must face to the East, so the sun will shine through the fork, else it is no good. You can only find lead ore on St. John's eve, and when the hazel is one year's growth. To find the desired metal, bal- ance the divining rod upon the forefinger; the tipping of the rod indicates the direction in which the metal lies. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 555 There is a belief, in the gold mines of the West, that the discov- erer of a rich mine is sure to meet with a violent death. Some thirty or forty instances are on record and readily quoted, as a confirmation of this belief. MUSICIAN-If the string of a bass viol breaks while playing Sa- cred music, it is a sign of sickness in the family of the player. To buy resin for violin-bows, is said to endanger the violin. Musi- cians should borrow it of each other. If you wish to be a musician, it is a sign that you have a drum in your €alſ. Musicians regard everything yel- low as a harbinger of ill luck. A celebrated French musical composer was so superstitious about the barking of a dog, that when on one occasion he was visit- ing a lady of high degree and her lap-dog began to bark, he picked up the offender and hastily flung it out of the window. - NAIL–The Romans drove iron nails into the walls of houses, as an antidote to the plague. A Negro notion is to the effect that, if you drive a nail after dark, except in making a coffin, you will start your own coffin. NEWSPAPER MAN–If an obituary notice is prepared in a newspaper office before the death has occurred, it will be followed by the person's temporary improve- ment or his complete recovery Newspaper men believe that two great calamities will be followed by a third. OYSTERMAN–The care f 111 oysterman never chops wood on deck, when he has a cargo of oys- ters on board, lest he kill the oys- ters, and he dreads a thunderstorm for the same reason. PAWNBROKER—The pawn- broker's sign means: “One for you and two for me.” The pawnbroker's sign, three golden balls, is taken from the coats of arms of the Medici family, who were the richest merchants of Florence, and the greatest money- lenders. It was brought to Eng- land by the Lombards, who were the first money-lenders in London; hence the street where they were principally located, and which to this day represents the center of the banking business, was called Lom- bard street. The three balls in the arms of the Medici represented, originally, three gilded pills, in allu- sion to their profession of medicine and to their name. The Medici were notorious for their frequent criminal use of poison. Another legend of the origin of the three golden balls in the arms of the Medici, says that Averardo de Medici, a commander under Char- lemagne, slew the giant Mugello, whose club he bore as a trophy. This club or mace had three iron balls, which the family adopted as their device. PEDDLER—In the south of Scotland, if any of the traveling tinkers or peddlers are starting out in the morning, and meet a person whose face they do not like, they turn back, for to proceed would give them an unlucky day. PHOTOGRAPHER – When an amateur photographer takes a good picture for the first time, it will be a long time before he gets another. 556 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. PHYSICIAN-It is bad luck to wake a sleeping physician. That city is in a bad case whose physicians have the gout. When a doctor first goes out to practice, it is good luck for some- one to throw an old shoe at his shoulders. Pluto, the god of the infernal re- gions, complained to the gods of the heavens that hell was being de- populated. They inquired the rea- son, and found that Aesculapius, called the father of medicine, was so skillful that few died. So Zeus killed him with a thunderbolt, but Apollo begged that he should be placed among the stars. He is commonly represented as an old man with a beard, his usual attri- bute being a staff with a serpent coiled around it. The common of- fering to him was a cock, and Soc- rates, in his last moment, said: “We owe a cock to Aesculapius!” PRINTER AND PRINTING —John Faustus was a citizen of Mentz. He was one of the earliest printers. He had the policy to con- ceal his art, and in partnership with John of Gutenberg, printed off a considerable number of Bibles and sold them in Paris for 60 crowns, where the scribes had been charg- ing 500. As he produced copies as fast as they were wanted, and soon reduced the price to 30 crowns, all Paris was agitated. The uniformity of the copies increased the wonder; information was given to the police against him as a magi- cian, his lodgings were searched, and a great number of copies were found. They were seized. The red ink with which they were embel- lished, was believed to be his blood; it was seriously adjudged that he was in league with the devil, and if he had not fled, he would probably have shared the fate of those whom ignorant and supersti- tious judges condemned in those days for witchcraft. The art of printing was at first regarded as a “devilish business,” and Aldus Manutius, a printer in Venice, to the holy church and the doge, employed a negro boy to help him in his office. This little black boy was believed to be an imp of Satan, and went by the name of the “printer's devil.” In order to protect him from prose- cution and confute a foolish super- stition, Manutius made a public ex- hibition of the boy, and announced that anyone who doubted him to be of flesh and blood could come up and pinch him. From that day to this, the boy who runs with the “copy” to the press, has been called the “printer's devil.” When printing with types was discovered by Gutenberg about 1438, it was called the “black art,” and generally believed to have been an accomplishment due to a pact with the devil. John Faust, Guten- berg's partner, who continued, after separation of partnership, printing on his own account, acquired the name of a magician, and was look- ed upon by the uneducated with wonderment and awe. Some writ- ers assert that it was he who later became world-known as Dr. Faus- tuS. From the popular belief of print- ing being a magic art, arose the be- lief that the printer's assistant, who took the printed sheets from the tympan of the press and usually appeared much besmeared on hands and face, was the devil in person; hence, the errand-boy of the printer is to this day called the “printer's devil.” This belief was strengthened by the fact that the assistant of Aldus Manutius, the FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 557 famous printer of Venice, was a negro. To meet and destroy this superstition, Manutius published, in 1490, the following proclamation —without lasting effect, however: “I, Aldo Manuzio, printer to the Doge, have this day made public exposure of the printer's devil. All who think he is not flesh and blood, may come and pinch him.” Freedom from calamity and sick- ness attends him who worships lit- erature and the books of the Chi- nese. No matter whether written or printed, the written characters bestow wealth and health on any- one who pays them reverence. The Chinese have numerous supersti- tious rules in regard to paper, espe- cially bearing letters in printing or writing, and the following are a few of them: The Chinese say that to collect, wash, and burn lettered paper, will add twelve years to your life. Also, if you collect waste paper, your offspring will be good and lib- eral, and you will be wealthy. Engrave tracts on paper and dis- tribute them among the people, and you will have many honored children. To have a chance to forbid any- one to wipe anything dirty with a piece of lettered paper, is extremely lucky, for you will become pros- perous and intelligent. Use lettered paper to build a fire, and you will have sores. He who, in anger, throws any lettered paper on the ground, will lose his wits. To toss lettered paper into dirty water, will make you have sore eyes. To burn lettered paper in an un- sacred place, will make you blind. PUTTY—If putty h a r dens quickly while you are working with it, you will come down in the world. QUARRYMAN — Quarrymen in North Wales regard Holy Thursday as an unlucky day. RAILROAD MEN–To be too late for a train, signifies a hasty quarrel about nothing. Switchmen carry in the left-hand breast-pocket, sandwiched in be- tween a lead pencil and a tooth- brush, the fuzzy foot of a graveyard rabbit, killed in the dark of the moon, to prevent them from being hurt or killed on the road. Superstitious engineers see the year of their death on the piston- rod of their machine, in an electric Storm. Railroad men will not let a woman enter a train first, if they can pleasantly avoid it, as they con- sider it bad luck. It is bad luck to count a train of cars as it is going around a curve. For years, on the Fitchburg, Mass., railroad, there was a con- ductor who carried a rose in his mouth every trip, as a preventive against accidents. No accidents ever happened to his train. An engineer will not take an en- gine out for the first trip on Fri- day. Don't sit backwards in a railroad car. It is unlucky. It is regarded unlucky to put the last stroke to finish a locomotive on Friday. If the engine-bell tolls over a level track, it is the sign that some member of the engineer's family will die. It is considered a bad omen by railroad men if a cripple or hunch- 558 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. back gets on a train first, among a number of people. If a will-o'-the-wisp crosses the railroad track in front of the en- gine, trouble is ahead. An engineer considers it a very bad omen to have a cat run across the track in front of his engine. It means an accident. Railroad men say that when a man is killed at his work, two more will follow before the charm is broken. It the headlight of an engine goes out when it is backed out of the engine-house, it is considered very unfortunate by railroad men; it is the sign of a death on that trip. Railroad men believe it is un- lucky to take the place of a man who has been killed in an accident, until three days after the accident occurred. Railroad men dislike to take out an engine with the number 13. It is also unlucky to have a car num- bered 13 on the train. When a locomotive, bright and new from the machine-shop, is run along the tracks to the roundhouse, a broom or a horseshoe is some- times put on the cow-catcher, for good luck. If an engineer sees figures or a ghost before his engine, it is the sign of a wreck. RESTAURANT—It is bad luck to be waited upon by a cross-eyed waiter. SALESMAN — travelers have a superstition that unless they attend church on Sun- day, they will have bad luck all the week. Commercial travelers bribe the landlord to put their rivals into numbers thirteen and thirty-three, Commercial in order to secure many orders for themselves. Drummers pack their cases in a different rotation, go with unpol- ished shoes, and give pennies to beggars, all for good luck. A drummer must not allow a car or a wagon to cross the street in front of him, or he will lose a cus- tonner. If the drummer is the first to leave the train, it insures a good order. A drummer must wear the same tie throughout the trip, or his good luck will change. SAWYER—The sawyer is said to be under a ban, or curse, in the form of drunkenness, and that is the reason why sawyers have been as a class very much addicted to the vice of intoxication. The cause is said to be that the sawyer had to saw or prepare the wood for the crucifixion of our Lord. Hence the sawyers have ever had to suffer this direful ban which was imposed on them. (Montgomeryshire, Eng- land.) If a saw suddenly breaks, while in use, it is a sign of bad luck. SCULPTORS–Sculptors con- sider it very bad luck if they dis- cover a seam in the middle of the forehead of the statue they are carving. Callicrates, one of the architects of the Pantheon at Athens, used to make ants and other little creatures out of ivory, with so much skill and ingenuity that other men could not discern the counterfeits from the originals, even with the help of glasses. SCYTHE—To see a scythe, is never a good sign. It cuts your fortune. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 559 SHOEMAKER—When a roll of leather, or the tools of a shoe- maker, tumble about, it is a sign of new work coming in. If a shoemaker receives an order for shoes, does cobbling, and takes in money, on Monday, he will have a lucky week. Many shoemakers believe that to be ordered to make an odd shoe and to make it, is the omen of their death. º SOAPMAKER—Soap can only be made successfully by the light of the moon, and it must be stirred, but in one direction, by one person. Old-fashioned soapmakers be- lieved that their soap should be stirred with a sassafras stick. SOLDIER—In France, it is considered a most ominous omen if a soldier wants or chooses a horse with four white feet. SPADE—At Pulverbatch and Wenlock, a spade is a fatal imple- ment, if taken into the house; it is considered a certain sign that a grave will shortly be dug for some- one in the house. TAILOR-A good tailor always uses a short thread. The journeyman tailor claims that, if the shears drop and stick up, with the point towards him, it will bring him another job. TEACHER—If you wish to be a school teacher, it is a sign that you have a pupil in your eye. To begin school— On Monday, foretells a speedy change in present affairs. On Tuesday, a failure in a bar- gain, to your detriment. On Wednesday, a party of pleas- 111 e. On Thursday, a quarrel with a friend. On Friday, you will have a secret rival. To end school— On Monday, signifies that you will have a false confidant. On Tuesday, signifies that the next favor you ask will be granted. On Wednesday, foretells an offer of something you had best reject. On Thursday, a loss of what you never regain. On Friday, reconciliation with SO11] CO116. THEATRICAL–To sing be- fore putting on One's pearls, is a sign of bitter tears. It is a common superstition among prima donnas never to make a debut on a Friday night. Some even object to rehearsing a new opera on Friday. Comic opera singers often hold a quill toothpick in their right hand. They have a superstition that they would break down without it. Brignoli, the famous Italian tenor, who died in New York, usu- ally took in the audience thorough- ly on his first entrance, and should he see a man blowing his nose in a red handkerchief, his music would become discordant, and he would await ill fortune with the patience of a martyr. Patti always crosses herself be- fore going on the stage. Actors consider it unlucky to rope a trunk. If a trunk must be fastened with anything, it must be a strap. Italians believe that anything connected with a tragedy carries bad luck. Cross-eyed actors have much dif- ficulty to get a place on the stage, as they are considered “Jonahs.” Singers and actors say that if the last rehearsal is bad, the perform- 560 EncycloPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. ance will be very good. “Bad re- hearsal, good performance.” Some actors will not play in a theater where there is a red-headed man in the orchestra, as that is a sure sign of ill luck. If an actor sees the moon out of a window over both shoulders, there will be a disappointing house the next night. Some actors will not take part in a piece requiring an even number of players, considering an even number unlucky. Actors have a dread of opals, be- lieving that they will bring bad luck, and some will not go on the stage with anyone who has the temerity to wear the stone. McCullough would not appear without a change in the cast, if he should see the moon over his left shoulder, on his way to the theater. Forrest would not employ or play in a cast with an actor who could not look him in the face while talking to him. God, he in- sisted, had “marked him,” and he was thankful for the warning. Lawrence Barrett, before wear- ing the robes of the Cardinal, or donning the hump for “Francesco da Rimini,” invariably ate exactly the half of a pie, for luck. It is unlucky for an actor to re- ceive a bouquet before the play. Many actors wear talismans about their necks. In the dressing rooms of almost every theater, you will see a horse- shoe put up in a prominent place. Many actors carry one about with them. Some actresses and dancers be- lieve that success and applause will go with them, if they spit in their shoe just as they “go on.” Actors have small hopes of being successful in a theater that has the reputation of being unlucky, or in what is called a “poor show town.” Actors abhor the color yellow. They think is very unlucky to have a yellow trunk. It is unlucky for an actor to ap- pear in any part in yellow, if it is the first time he has played the part. To trip on entering the scene on the first night, is a sure sign of suc- CeSS. To avert the evil influence of a “Jonah,” burn a pair of shoes. It is a common belief that rehear- sals on Sunday bring failure of the piece, loss of salary, and death in the company. Actors consider it very unlucky to talk of prospective future en- gagements. - A cross-eyed man or woman in the front row, “hoodoos” the piece. Edwin Booth would not enter a theater where the drop-curtain had a red border. It is a sure sign of the success of a piece, if the star meets a load of hay on his or her way to the theater on the first night. If an actor should meet a stran- ger at the theater, just as he is go- ing on the stage, some misfortune would come to him. Sarah Bernhardt, the great French actress, had the name of Balfour changed to Ramsey, in the play of “Lena,” because she thought the syllable “four” in the play would bring bad luck upon it. Some theatrical performers be- lieve that thirteen is a lucky num- ber, and sign all contracts on that day of the month. Some actors take an adverse crit- icism of their work as a good omen. FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 561 Actors think it is good luck if the first person they meet on New Year's day is a Negro. An actor is sure of bad luck, if he sees in the audience a hump- backed person, on the opening night of an engagement. An actor thinks it the best luck if he can obtain some article of stage attire which has been worn by some successful star. - The star who has happened to be in several hotels when fire broke out, is called a fire-fiend, and those hotels, as well as the theaters in which they have played, are regard- ed as unlucky to other actors. Actresses preserve with great care the boots which they wore at their debut, and keep them to wear on the occasion of first nights of new plays. Old actors say that horses in a play, always bring good luck. It is the worst possible luck for the star to go on the stage the first night, and see either a pin or a nail on the floor. Some actresses consider peacock feathers very unlucky. An actor is sure of good luck, if he meets a gray horse on the morning when a new play is to be tried. A moonstone worn by an actor will bring him good luck. It is lucky for a theater to keep a black cat for luck. An old rhyme is amply proved by our merry comedians who are lucky enough to have taken its ad- vice: “Tickle the public and make it grin, The more you tickle, the more you'll Win; Teach the public you’ll never grow rich, But live like a beggar and die in a ditch.” If an actor is going up or down stairs and someone passes him, he must immediately go back to his door and start again, or some other actor will pass him in his profes- sion. Josh Hart built the theater now known as the “Manhattan,” in New York, and he had the temerity to name it after a bird, “The Eagle,” and to place an eagle over the pro- scenium arch. It is well known that his venture was a failure, as all his actor friends had predicted. To have a free pass presented at the door of a theater before any paid tickets are taken in, is consid- ered unlucky. A circus man with a yellow clar- ionette, brings bad luck to the show. A black cat is the theatrical omen of good luck. When a new piece is put on, a black cat is enticed to go on from the back, to insure good luck. In the theater, it is unlucky to lay an umbrella on the prompter's table. In America, some theatrical managers do not like to have a lady be the first to pass through the doors, when opening them for a performance; they usually let a boy or a man enter first. A cross-eyed patron and a bad house go together, say theater- managers. It is unlucky to have the peacock in any form, or even the feathers, on the stage. Blue is an unlucky color on the stage, its only relief being silver. A yellow dog, coming to a show or circus tent and staying, will “burst” the show in a few weeks. Don’t ring a bell at rehearsals; it is bad luck. 562 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. It is bad luck to count the people as they go in to the show. It will prevent others from coming. It brings bad luck to a theater to have anyone peep through the cur- tain at the audience, before the play begins. Don't raise the curtain at the side and look at the audience the first night of the play. It will scare away another audience. Actors and actresses will not cut their nails on any day but Mon- day. - To open an umbrella in a new play, means certain failure of the piece. It is bad luck to come into town and see a graveyard on the left- hand side, but lucky if it is on the right. It is unlucky to count the seats in the hall or opera house, before the doors are open. If you do, they will not be filled. To meet a colored person, or have one enter the show first, is lucky. Some actors believe that chrysan- themums will bring good luck, and always wear one in the buttonhole, when on the stage. If you are a member of a show- troupe, and a flock of geese cackle as you come into town, it is a sure sign that there will not be many people in the house that night. A theatrical person or a gambler will sit up all night in a hotel, rather than to occupy a room where a person has died. They think it would bring death to them before the year was out. If a comb is accidentally dropped in the green-room, it must be stepped upon before being picked up, or bad luck will come to all present. Theatrical managers sometimes consider the letter “M” a lucky one, and will work to have plays that begin with that letter. A black cat in a theater is con- sidered a lucky sign. If you have an engagement for several days in one place, do not on the first night look at the audience from either side of the curtain, or you will certainly have bad houses throughout the rest of the engage- ment. No actresses will let another woman come between them on the Street. It is unlucky to contract musical or dramatic engagements on a wet, Stormy day. Theatrical people do not like to take gold coin in payment for tick- ets, as they think it unlucky. Among theatrical managers, there is a superstition that their salary-list must neither be more nor less than a certain sum, in or- der to prevent disaster. If a bird should fly into your room while playing an engage- ment, kill it, for that may save a doomed life. Actors and actresses are gener- ally great believers in dreams, and most of them carry a deck of cards to tell fortunes with, and console themselves, in the event of bad business. There is always some sign of better luck next time. If you are traveling on a train and see suddenly a number of peo- ple rush across the car and begin bobbing their heads, do not think them mad; they are only actors, who have spied a flock of sheep, and are bowing to them, to get their good graces. When everybody is suited with his or her part, the play is “dead FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 563 before it liveth”; but if everyone kicks or grumbles about his or her part, the play will have a big run. A dog entering a theater during a performance, is an unlucky sign. An actress hates to tip over a chair. It is unlucky for an actor or an actress to put on a left shoe or glove first, in the dressing room. If a toad is found inside of a cir- cus tent, it is good luck. It is a bad omen for an actor to meet a load of barrels. It usually means a rainy night and a poor house. Actors think it is unlucky to whistle, “Then You’ll Remember Me,” in a theater, as it indicates the parting of friends, either by quar- rel or death. Never carry your “make-up,” no matter how expensive, from one engagement or troupe to another; if you do, the play will fail or the “ghost will not walk.” Some actors and actresses will not go back for anything which they have left at the theater or hotel when going from one town to an- other, although it might be their keys, and locksmiths be not handy. Better smash a lock than have bad luck. In one. Paris theater, the cat of the concierge decides the probable fate of a new piece. If Master Toby wanders wearily from the stage to the auditorium during the rehear- sals, actors, author, and managers are seriously uneasy; but if he set- tles comfortably in a stall and watches the proceedings with a beatific purring, the whole com- pany looks forward to at least 100 nights. To repeat the “tag” of a play during the rehearsal, is very 'un- lucky. Some authors will not write the “tag” on the MSS., but at the last moment give it to the com- pany by word of mouth. To speak it before the opening night, will in- sure the failure of the play. If an actor whistles the Macbeth music in or near the theater during the rehearsal of a play, the piece will be unsuccessful. An actor or actress who has been so unfortunate as to be cast in sev- eral unsuccessfu. plays, is called a “Jonah,” and is shunned, as bring- ing bad luck to a manager or play. They sometimes have to give up the profession, on account of this superstition. Among actors, it is considered very unlucky to have the word “Jonah” appear in any play. They cut it out and will not pronounce it. * A remarkable anecdote is told of the performance of “The Fair Pen- itent” in the town of North Wal- sham, Norfolk, in 1788. In the last act, where Calista lays her hand on the skull, a Mrs. Barry, who played the part, was seized with an invol- untary fit of shuddering, and fell on the stage. During the night her ill- ness continued, but the following day she sent for the stage-keeper and inquired whence he procured the skull. He replied, “From the sexton, who informed him that it was the skull of one Norris, who twelve years before was buried in the churchyard.” That same Nor- ris was her first husband. She never recovered from the shock, and died in six weeks. The following are a few speci- mens of superstitious notions of famous actors and actresses: Mme. Favart fainted in a room when three candles had been lit together. Frederic Lemaitre invariably turn- ed back, if he met a funeral on his 564 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. way. The inimitable Aimée Des- clée went into hysterics if she saw a knife and fork crossed, or a salt- cellar overturned. Dejazet used to say that she had been most success- ful in parts created on the thir- teenth of the month. When Mlle. Rachel was congratulated on her success in acting the piece called “Adrienne Lecouvreur,” she an- swered that she felt as if she her- self would have the same fate as the heroine. She died at the age of 37, the exact age of the heroine she represented. It was in “Adrienne Lecouvreur,” on the 17th of De- cember, 1855, at Charleston, that she made her last appearance. M. Léon Beauvallet, the biographer of her American tour, relates that as he was composing the programme for that performance, she insisted that he should add that she acted “positively only for that night and for the last time, the last time on any stage!” And so it proved. Reprieve pens, pens with which a reprieve has been signed, are, in our days, eagerly sought for and highly valued, as powerful talis- mans, especially among actresses and singers. Mme. Patti, for in- stance, owns one of these pens, which had been presented to her by Queen Isabella of Spain in person. The happy diva had the charm, which was already set in gold, stud- ded with precious stones, and has since been carrying it always about her person. The late singer, Ilma di Murska, bought from another singer, who owned two such pens, one of them, for the amount of 100 guineas. Queen Victoria, who knows of this superstition among theatrical people, always saves the pens with which she has signed re- prieves, has them mounted in gold, and uses them to present them to her stage favorites. Madame Al- bani received but recently one of these cherished charms out of the queen's hand. Actors consider it very unlucky to have birds painted on the scen- ery or drop curtains of a theater, and many will refuse an engage- ment where they are used Fanny Davenport, whose daily life was full of Omens, and who stood religious- ly in awe of presages, presented in her own opinion the best example of what ill luck awaits her who dares to have birds about the theater. When the scenery for “Cleopatra” was made and she first saw it, she flung up her hands and clasped her blonde head in con- sternation. She pointed to the birds, the ibis, painted all over the walls of the palace of Rameses. She ordered them painted out. The artist showed her that they were in the plans for the set, and that no palace of Rameses would be artistic without them. She pleaded and warned, but at last let herself be Overruled. When the Fifth Avenue Theater took fire on the very open- ing night of her season, and scen- ery and costumes which had cost her thousands of dollars, besides all the labor and thought, were burned, she pointed to it as an ex- ample of the folly of going against omens of that kind, and when the new scenery for “Cleopatra” was painted, the palace of Rameses had not a bird on its hieroglyph-cov- ered walls, right or wrong. Most women in the profession have a “mascot” or lucky amulet or charm, often a shabby something that has seen much travel, but which is always with her, and noth- ing will cause greater confusion than the loss of this guardian of good luck. Annie Clark always had a “mascot,” and one of her most successful ones was a black dress, which she first wore in the last act of “Caste.” In whatever FOLKLORE, AND THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 565 play she wore that dress, it was a success, and she wore it long after it was shabby and almost too tight for her. The list of plays that it was thought in the Museum owed their success to that black dress, was long. Indeed, such was the faith that actors about the theater had in it, that when Mrs. E. L. Dav- enport was going to California, to play the Marquise in “Caste,” she tried to buy it, but Miss Clark would not part with it. To make the superstition in regard to it the stronger, the first piece in which she required such a gown and used a new one, was a dire failure. It is said that Henry Irving's “mascot” is a piece of rope that a man hung himself with. Ada Re- han has an old battered garter. Dixie has a gold ring of a peculiar design. Della Fox has an old rub- ber doll. TINKER—Tinkers are looked down upon in Donegal, because, when the blacksmith was ordered to make the nails for the cross, he re- fused, but the tinker consented to make them, so Christ condemned him and all his race to be wander- ing, and never have a roof of their own till the world ends. TOOL–It used to be a common practice for workmen to put a cross on their tools, to prevent the witches from rendering them use- less. A woman stepping on edged tools spoils their temper and sharp- ness. (Japanese.) It is unlucky to carry tools through a house that have been used in the digging of a grave. T R A T) E S P E O P L E AND CRAFTSMEN IN GENERAL– If any person deemed auspicious, meets a young tradesman who has just donned his apron, and says to him: “Well, may ye dirty your apron!” the young man will be sure to do well in life. If you are a tradesman and are bothered with dropping your tools where, although they ought to be in plain sight, they hide themselves, snap the thumb and finger of the left hand, and you can at once pick up the thing you want. Put a miller, a weaver and a tai- lor in a bag and shake them up, and the first one who comes out will be a thief. TYPEWRITER—If a typewrit- er begins to scratch out in the morning, she will keep it up all day. It is said that if typewriter ope- rators trim their nails more than twice a week, they will lose their positions. A typewriter operator who makes the same mistakes three times in succession, believes himself or her- self bewitched. LJNDERTAKER—If a man si- lently carries off an undertaker’s measure and leans it up against a house, he can rob the people of the house without waking them. When an undertaker's tools rat- tle or move about without cause, it is the sign a coffin will soon be ordered. An undertaker gives it as a fact that when the yard-rule of a tailor whom he employed, rattles, it is a sure sign of an order to furnish clothes for the dead. VACATION.—It is said that if a man has a steady position, year in and year out, and he lays off for a vacation on the 26th or 27th of the month, he will lose his position within the year. 566 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SUPERSTITIONS. WAGON–If two or three wag- ons hitched together, pass along the street, it is a sign of a funeral. WASHERWOMAN – When her soap falls to the floor, the washerwoman may expect fresh work. WATCHMAN–If two watch- men, at two ends of the street, blow together, an old woman in that street will die. WEAVER—There used to be a saying, in the days of homespun, that “the rolls run best when the sheep are at rest.” In every Burmese village, in every house, you will find a loom, on which are woven the beautiful clothes worn by the natives. They will work for months on these looms on a piece of damask, before it is finished. On these looms may be seen bronze figures of fairies, placed there to win the good will of their guardian angel, or spirit, or fairy, in whose good graces to- wards them they firmly believe. WORK AND WORKMAN– It is said that one who tries to work between daylight and dark, will never be rich. - When you are working, and find a long hair in your work, it is a sign of a large order. If you find a short hair on your work, you will have a small order. Work on Sunday will bring an accident during the week. If you leave a place of labor in anger, you will not get a better one, but probably a worse one. To meet a jet-black colored man on the way to your work, is a good sign. If tools strike together at work, it is a sign that the workmen will get work together next year. When seeking an employment, it is bad luck to stop on the way, to meet a minister or to see One through glass. Workingmen and tradespeople should stop their work while a corpse is waiting burial. When you see a person working in Bohemia, say: “God help you!” for luck. - It is unlucky for a clansman of the Scottish Highlands to engagein any Lowlander's work. If you meet a loaded wagon as you start out to work, you will surely have some good fortune. Never carry a load on your head in the house; misfortune will over- take you. Never clean your boots on your feet, or you will lose your employ- ment. (Jamaica.) Never make a sketch of the building in which you are em- ployed, or you will be discharged. (Jamaica.) In Malaga, poor working women in search of work, are often seen standing, in the early morning, at the open door of their dwellings, praying to their saint or patron, and asking which way to turn. They then imagine to hear the saint's voice, whispering in their ears, “to the right,” or otherwise, and follow it in the sure hope of S11CCCSS. To leave your employment: On Monday, to have a false lover and bad friend. On Tues d a y, advancement through marriage. On Wednesday, a bustling life, but no advancement. On Thursday, a better end than beginning. On Friday, success by servitude. On Saturday, a sudden run of prosperity. |||||| ()} M I (, Hi (, AN Y | } N | V | {{ \, . " CN· CD CO ? OD ! CD CO CD CD LO ！= CD CD Cro ș,/* SKS