Auguries and prophecies of coming fate may also be obtained from the
flight of birds, the motion of the winds, from sneezing, dreams, lots,
and the signs from a verse of the Psalter or Gospels. The peasantry
attach great importance to the first verses of St. John’s Gospel, and
maintain that when the cock crows in the morning he is repeating these
verses (from the 1st to the 14th), and if we understood the language of
animals and birds, we could often hear them quoting these same verses.
* * * * *
A charm against sickness is an amulet worn round the neck, enclosing
a piece of paper, on which is written the first three verses of St.
John’s Gospel.