POPULAR SUPERSTITIONS.―Why, however, north country people are so
persistent in their refusal to give one another a pin it is not easy
to discover, as even they themselves cannot give the origin and reason
of this superstition. When asked for a pin they invariably say, “You
may take one, but mind, I do not give it.” It may, perhaps, have some
connection with the vulgar prejudice against giving a knife or other
sharp instrument, as mentioned by Gay in his “Shepherd’s Week.”
But woe is me! such presents luckless prove,
For knives, they tell me, always sever love.
―a supposition as popular now as in days gone by. Another fact
associated with pins will doubtless interest those of the fair sex
about to enter on the happy state of matrimony. Thus it is still
a prevalent belief in certain places that a bride in removing her
bridal robe and chaplet at the completion of the marriage ceremonies,
must take special care to throw away every pin worn on this eventful
day. Woe to the bride who keeps even one pin used in the marriage
toilet. Woe also to the bridesmaids if they retain any of them, as
their chances of marriage will thereby be materially lessened, and
anyhow they must give up all hope of being wedded before the following
Whitsuntide. On the other hand, in Sussex on her return home from
church is often robbed of all the pins about her dress by her single
friends present, from the belief that whoever possesses one of them
will be married in the course of a year. Much excitement and amusement
are occasionally caused by the youthful competitors for this supposed
charm, and the bride herself is not unfrequently the victim of rather
rough treatment.
A poor peasant dwelling in the vicinity of Rheims, in Champagne,
saw, one night, during his slumbers, a young man, who taking him by
the hand, conducted him to the base of an old wall, where, after
designating a huge stone recommended him to raise it up on the morrow,
he suddenly vanished. The peasant followed his advice, and found the
stone indicated in his dream, which upon being displaced, revealing a
vase filled with golden coins―enriching the dreamer and his family.