MISCELLANEOUS HOUSEHOLD LORE.
Horse-shoes--Precautions against Witchcraft--The
Charmer--Second Sight--Ghosts--Dreams--Nightmare.
The belief in witchcraft, which in years gone by was so extensively
entertained, has not yet died out, and in many of our country
villages it is regarded as one of those secret dangers to which every
home is more or less exposed. Hence we find various devices still
resorted to for the purpose of counteracting the supposed hurtful
influences of this baneful power, instances of which we subjoin.
Thus, according to a common idea, one of the best preservatives is a
horse-shoe nailed to the threshold. The reason of this is said to
be that Mars, the god of war, and the war-horse, was thought to be
an enemy to Saturn, who, according to a mediæval idea, was the liege
lord of witches. Thus, iron instruments of any kind have been said
to keep witches at bay, a superstition which has been traced back
to the time of the Romans, who drove nails into the walls of their
houses as an antidote against the plague. Mr. Napier says that he has
seen the horse-shoe in large beer-shops in London, and was present
in the parlour of one of these when an animated discussion arose as
to whether it was most effective to have the shoe nailed behind the
door or upon the first step of the door. Both positions had their
advocates, and instances of extraordinary luck were recounted as
having attended them.
In Lancashire, where there are, perhaps, more superstitions connected
with this subject than in any other county of England, we find
numerous traditions relating to the evil actions of the so-called
witches in former years, many of which have become household stories
among the peasants. At the present day the good housewife puts a hot
iron into the cream during the process of churning to expel the witch
from the churn; and dough in preparation for the baker is protected
by being marked with the figure of a cross. In some places a "lucky
stone"--a stone with a hole through it--is worn as an amulet, and
crossed straws and knives laid on the floor are held in high repute.
A belief, too, which was once very prevalent, and even still lingers
on, was that the power of evil ceased as soon as blood was drawn
from the witch. An instance of this superstition occurred some
years ago in a Cornish village, when a man was summoned before the
bench of magistrates and fined for having assaulted the plaintiff
and scratched her with a pin. Not many years ago a young girl in
delicate health living in a village near Exeter was thought to have
been bewitched by an old woman of that place, and, according to the
general opinion, the only chance of curing her was an application of
the witch's blood. Consequently the girl's friends laid wait one day
for the poor old woman, and scratching her with a nail till the blood
flowed, collected the blood. This they carried home, and smeared
the girl with it in the hope that it would insure recovery. Curious
to say, she finally got well, an event which, it is needless to
add, was attributed to this charm. It is still thought by many that
witchcraft, like hydrophobia, is contagious, and that the person, if
only slightly scratched by a witch, rapidly becomes one. The faculty
of witchcraft is also said to be hereditary, and in some places
families are pointed out as possessing this peculiarity. Again,
witches are supposed to have the power of changing their shape and
resuming it again at will, a notion which was very popular in past
years, the cat's and the toad's being the forms they were thought to
assume. Hence the appearance of a toad on the doorstep is taken as
a certain sign that the house is under evil influence, and the poor
reptile is often subjected to some cruel death. Cats, also, were
formerly exposed to rough usage, one method being to enclose them
with a quantity of soot in wooden bottles suspended on a line. The
person who succeeded in beating out the bottom of the bottle as he
run under it and yet escaping the contents was the hero of the sport,
a practice to which Shakespeare alludes in _Much Ado about Nothing_,
where Benedick says:--
"Hang me in a bottle like a cat and shoot at me."
It is only natural, too, that in _Macbeth_, Shakespeare, in his
description of the witches, should have associated them with the cat,
their recognised agent.
Another important character whose supernatural powers are still
credited is the "charmer." She is generally an elderly woman of
good reputation, and supposed to be gifted with extraordinary
powers, by means of which she performs wonderful feats of skill. By
her incantations and mysterious ceremonies she stops blood, cures
all manner of diseases, and is, in short, regarded as almost a
miracle-worker. At the same time, however, it must not be imagined
that she exercises her power gratuitously, as oftentimes her charges
are very high, and it is only by patient saving that the poor can
accumulate enough to satisfy her exorbitant demands. This kind of
superstition has been already incidentally alluded to in the chapter
on "Common Ailments;" and it is one that still holds its ground in
our country districts. These supposed charmers, however, do not
always make a trade of their art; for, on the contrary, it is
supposed by some of them that any offer of pecuniary remuneration
would break the spell, and render the charm of no avail.
Again, there is still an extensive belief in "second sight," certain
persons being thought to possess the faculty of peeping into
futurity, and revealing future events to their fellow-creatures. Many
of the Highlanders lay claim to this power, which was called by the
ancient Gaels "shadow-sight."
"Nor less availed his optic sleight,
And Scottish gift of second-sight."
Sometimes, says Mr. Napier, the person fell into a trance, "in
which state he saw visions; at other times the visions were seen
without the trance condition. Should the seer see in a vision a
certain person dressed in a shroud, this betokened that the death
of that person would surely take place within a year. Should such a
vision be seen in the morning, the person seen would die before that
evening; should such a vision be seen in the afternoon, the person
seen would die before next night; but if the vision were seen late
in the evening, there was no particular time of death intimated,
further than that it would take place within the year. Again, if the
shroud did not cover the whole body, the fulfilment of the vision
was at a great distance. If the vision were that of a man with a
woman standing at his left hand, then that woman would be that man's
wife, although they may both at the time of the vision be married
to others." The case is related of a man living near Blackpool who
foretold death and evil events from his visions. Men of superior
ability were credulous enough to visit him, and to give implicit
faith to his marvellous stories.
A species of superstition that may be said to reign supreme in almost
every home is the belief in ghosts, there being few households that
do not contain those who believe in ghostly visitants. In this
respect, therefore, we are not superior to our less instructed
forefathers whose experiences have been transmitted to us in many of
those weird and thrilling stories which are to be found recorded in
many of our old county histories. Indeed, there is scarcely a village
in England that does not boast of the proud distinction of having its
haunted house or spot. Hence as nightfall approaches with its sombre
hues of darkness, few persons can be found bold enough to visit such
mysterious localities, for--
"Grey superstition's whisper dread,
Debars the spot to vulgar tread."
Although many of these grotesque stories which have been from time
to time associated with certain old houses are simply legendary
and destitute of any truth, yet it cannot be denied that while
occasionally causing fear even to the strong-minded they have acted
most injuriously upon the credulous and superstitious. According to
an old fancy, ghosts of every description vanish at cock-crow, in
allusion to which Shakespeare makes the ghost of Hamlet's father
vanish at this season:--
"It faded on the crowing of the cock."
One night, however, in the year has been said to be entirely free
from spiritual manifestations of every kind--namely Christmas Eve--an
idea to which Marcellus refers, who, speaking of the ghost, says:--
"Some say that ever 'gainst that season comes
Wherein our Saviour's birth is celebrated,
The bird of dawning singeth all night long,
And then, they say, no spirit dares stir abroad;
The nights are wholesome; then no planets strike,
No fairy takes, nor witch hath power to charm,
So hallow'd and so gracious is the time."
But on other days of the year, every noise at night, however trivial,
which cannot be satisfactorily explained by inquisitive minds, is
thought by the superstitious to indicate that spirits are walking
abroad; such illogical persons forgetting how in the stillness of
the night sounds, which at other times would pass unnoticed, attract
attention, and thus assume an exaggerated importance. In this way the
whistling of the wind, the creaking of the floor, and a host of other
natural noises have in the deceptive hours of midnight terrified
their nervous victim, and filled the overwrought fancy with the most
alarming delusions.
An amusing volume might be written showing how most of the ghost
stories connected with so-called haunted houses have arisen. Thus, as
Mrs. Latham points out in her "West Sussex Superstitions," there is
very little doubt but that the ghosts formerly seen wandering in blue
flames, near lonely houses on the coast, "were of an illicit class
of spirits, raised by the smugglers in order to alarm and drive all
others but their accomplices from their haunts." On one occasion, for
instance, the unearthly noises heard night after night in a house at
Rottingdean caused such alarm among the servants, that they all gave
warning, when one night the noises ceased, and soon afterwards a gang
of smugglers who had fallen into the hands of the police confessed
to having made a secret passage from the beach close by the house,
and said that, wishing to induce the occupiers to abandon it, they
had been in the habit of rolling at the dead of night tub after tub
of spirits up the passage, and so caused it to be reported that the
place was haunted.
Ghosts are said to be especially fond of walking abroad on certain
nights, the chief of these being St. Mark's Eve, Midsummer Eve, and
Hallowe'en. Hence various methods have been resorted to for the
purpose of invoking them with a view of gaining an insight into
futurity, love-sick maidens, as we have said, seizing these golden
opportunities for gaining information about their absent lovers.
It must not be supposed, too, that apparitions are confined to the
spirits of the departed, as throughout the country there are the most
eccentric traditions of headless animals having been seen at sundry
times rushing madly about at night-time.
Leaving, however, the subject of ghosts, we find in the next place
an extensive folk-lore associated with dreams. We have already
incidentally alluded to the many divinations practised for the sake
of acquiring information by means of them on certain subjects, but
we may further note that dreams are by some supposed occasionally
to intimate not only future events, but things which are actually
happening at a distance. Hence a "Dictionary of Dreams" has been
framed whereby the inquirer, if he be credulously disposed, can learn
the meaning and signification of any particular dream which he may
recollect. Thus, it is said that to dream of death denotes happiness
and long life, but to dream of gathering a nosegay is unlucky,
signifying that our best and fairest hopes shall wither away like
flowers in a nosegay. Dreaming about balls, dances, &c., indicates
coming good fortune; and thus we are told that those--
"Who dream of being at a ball
No cause have they for fear;
For soon will they united be
To those they hold most dear."
To give one further illustration, to dream that one is walking in
a garden, and that the trees are bare and fruitless, is a very bad
omen, being said to indicate that one's friends will either become
poor or forsake one. If the garden, on the other hand, should be in
bloom, it is a propitious sign. Portents of approaching death are
said to be received through dreams; and we will quote an example of
this from Mr. Henderson, which happened, it is affirmed, some years
ago in the family of an Irish bishop:--"A little boy came down-stairs
one morning, saying, 'Oh, mamma, I have had such a nice dream.
Somebody gave me such a pretty box, and I am sure it was for me, for
there was my name on it. Look, it was just like this;' and, taking up
a slate and pencil, the child drew the shape of a coffin. The parents
gazed at one another in alarm, not lessened by the gambols of the
child, who frolicked about in high health and spirits. The father
was obliged to go out that morning, but he begged the mother to keep
the child in her sight through the day. She did so, till, while she
was dressing to go out in her carriage, the little boy slipped away
to the stables, where he begged the coachman to take him by his side
while he drove to the house door, a thing he had often done before.
On this occasion, however, the horses were restive, the driver lost
control over them, and the child was flung off and killed on the
spot." Shylock, it may be remembered, in the _Merchant of Venice_,
referring to his dream, says:--
"There is some ill a-brewing towards my rest,
For I did dream of money-bags to-night."
Many curious charms are still practised to ward off that unpleasant
sensation popularly known as nightmare, which both in this and other
countries has given rise to a variety of superstitions. According
to one old notion, this disagreeable feeling was produced by some
fairy, under a disguised form, visiting the person, and worrying
him while asleep by certain mischievous pranks. Thus, in Germany,
the nightmare is said to appear at times in the shape of a mouse, a
weasel, or a toad, and occasionally, too, in the form of a cat. One
German story relates how a joiner was, night by night, much plagued
with the nightmare, when he at last saw it steal into his room
about midnight in the form of a cat. Having at once stopped up the
hole through which the cat had entered, he lost no time in seizing
the animal and nailing it by one paw to the ground. Next morning,
however, much to his horror and surprise, he discovered a handsome
young lady with a nail driven through her hand. He accordingly
married her, but one day he uncovered the hole which he had stopped
up, whereupon she instantly escaped through it in the shape of a cat,
and never returned. There are numerous stories of a similar kind, in
most cases the sequel being the same. Among the charms still in use
as a preservative against nightmare may be mentioned a stone with a
natural hole in it hung over the sleeper, or a knife laid under the
foot of the bedstead, both being considered of equal efficacy. In
Lancashire the peasantry believe that nightmare appears in the form
of a dog, and they try to counteract its influence by placing their
shoes under the bed with the toe upwards, on retiring to rest. Not
very long ago, too, at the West Riding Court at Bradford, in a case
of a husband and wife who had quarrelled, the woman stated that the
reason why she kept a coal-rake in her bedroom was that she suffered
from nightmare, and had been informed that the rake would keep it
away. The best charm after all, however, for this common disorder is
to be careful that one's digestive organs are not upset by incautious
suppers eaten just before retiring to rest.
It only remains for us, in conclusion, to add once more that the
preceding pages are not intended to be by any means exhaustive,
our object having been to give a brief and general survey of that
extensive folk-lore which has, in the course of years, woven itself
around the affairs of home-life. However much this may be ridiculed
on the plea of its being the outcome of credulous belief, yet it
constitutes an important element in our social life, which the
historian in years to come will doubtless use when he studies the
character of the English people in this and bygone centuries.
INDEX.
Abgarus, Letter of Christ to, 7
Ague, Charms against, 149
Apes, Leading, 43
Apple-peel as a love-test, 30
Apple-tree blooming twice, a sign of Death, 52
Apron, Superstitions about, 84
Articles of Dress, 81
"Arval" and "Arval Bread," 64
Aryan Myths and Legends, 16
Astrology, Divination by, 144
Auguries gathered from Shoes, 89
Baby and Kitten, 8
Banns, Superstitions about putting up, 43
Baptism, how rendered propitious in Scotland, 19
---- Effect of, on Children, 18
Barring out, 27
---- Addison's conduct at, 27
Beards, Dyeing of, 76
Bed, Folk-lore about, 118
---- Position of, 119
Bellows, Superstition about, 120, 160
Bent piece of money, 133
Best man's prize, 46
Bible and Key, 135
Birds, Presages of Death by, 51
Birth and Infancy, Folk-lore relating to, 2
"Bishopping," good for rheumatism, 21
Bishop's Left Hand, Superstition respecting, 20
Biting the Glove, 95
"Black Ox" in Scotland, 51
Blade-bone, Divination by, 139
Bleeding of the Nose, 68, 150
---- as a sign of love, 68
Blue Vein across Nose, 69
Brake or Fern, Divination by, 31
Bread, Superstitions about, 107
Breaking Egg-shells, 108
Bride and Looking-glass, 113
---- Sun shining on, 40
Brides of Elizabethan Dramas, 39
Bride's Stockings, 86
Broom left in Room after Sweeping, 126
Burial of Dead among Greeks, 63
"Burial without the Sanctuary," 62
Burn or Scald, 151
Burning Hair, Omens from, 74
---- tail of Coat, &c., 84
Butter-dock, Scattering Seeds of, 35
Cæna feralis of Romans, 64
Candle in Ghost's Hand, 54
Candles, Omens from, 130
Carbuncle in Ring, 96
Cards, Divination by, 144
Carrying the Dead with the Sun, 61
Casting Lot, Divination by, 146
Cat, Sneezing of, 123
Cats and Toads, Form of, assumed by Witches, 177
---- Sucking Child's Breath, 13
Caul, Superstition about, 3, 4
---- Hood's Ballad about, 3
---- Price paid for, 4
Chairs, Superstitions about, 111, 118
Changelings, Superstitions about, 4
---- Luther's remarks on, 4
Character of Book, 180
Charm-remedies, 148
Charmer, her power, 172
Charms against changing Children, 5
---- to detect Changelings, 5
---- against stumbling, 124
Cheeks, Itching of, 77
Cheese given by Bride, 42
Child Dying unchristened, 18
Childhood's Folk-lore, 16
"Chime Hours," Birth at, 2
Chiromancy, or Palmistry, 140
Christmas Eve, Divinations on, 34
Christ's College, Cambridge, Fellowships at, 103
Churchyard Lore, 61
Cinderella, a Nature-myth, 17
"Clock-falling," 117
---- striking thirteen, 54
---- losing stroke, 55
Clothes of the Dead, 83
Cock-crowing at Night, 52
"Connoisseur," Love-tests in, 29
Corn in Marriage Ceremony, 44
"Corpse-candles" in Wales, 54
Counting one's Gains, 133
Covering Looking-glass at Death, 113
Cramp, Charms against, 151
"Creeling" the Bridegroom in Scotland, 48
Crockery, Breaking of, 127
Cross on Dough, 170
Crowing Hen, 125
---- of a Cock, 138
Crying at Baptism, 19
---- Anecdote regarding, 20
---- at Wedding, 40
Cuckoo's Notes, 32
---- First Note heard in Bed, Ominous of Illness or Death, 52
"Cunning Man," 121
Curious Marriage Customs, 47
Cutting the Nails, 80
Dactylomancy, or Divination by Rings, 98
Dandelion, Divination by, 31
Days of Week, Sneezing on, 123
Dead Children cannot rest if Mothers fret for them, 15
---- Hand, Rubbing with, 78
---- Anecdotes respecting, 78
---- Man's Hand at Bryn Hall, Lancashire, 79
Death and Burial, Superstition respecting, 48
---- Announced by the Dying, 55
---- Bell in Scotland, 67
---- Anecdote of Hogg about, 67
Dee, Dr., and Magic Mirror, 114
Destiny of Children, how augured in Scotland, 19
Diamond, potent against Poison, 97
"Dipping," in Bible, 136
Divination among Children, 26
---- by Pins, 100
---- of Sex of unborn Infant, 3
Dog, Howling of, at Death, how caused, 50
Doorstep, Lifting Bride over, 42
Drawing Blood from Witch, 171
Dreams, What denoted by, 177
Dutch Parson and Will-o'-the-Wisp, 18
"Dying Hard," 58
Ears, Tingling of, 66
Easter Day, New Clothes on, 82
Ecclesiastical Dignity and Gloves, Association of, 94
Eggs, Divination by, 146
---- Superstitions about, 108
Elder Sister Dancing in Hog's trough at younger Sister's Marriage, 43
Emerald, and Purity of Thought, 97
Epilepsy, Remedies for, 152
Erysipelas, Amulets against, 153
Evil Eye, 6
---- in "Satires of Persius," 6
---- Lancashire belief about, 6
Exeter Lammas Fair, 94
Eye, Omens relating to, 70
"Eye-biting" in Ireland, 7
Eye-brows, Meeting of, 70
Eyes, Itching of, 70
Face, or Look-divination, 142
Fair, Opening of, announced by hanging out Glove, 94
Fairy-tales, What embodied in, 16
Feet, Folk-lore about, 80
---- Itching of, 80
"Fetch-lights," 54
Finger-nails, Superstitions about, 10
---- in Germany, 10
---- in Northumberland, 11
---- in Scotland, 11
Fire, Omens and Portents of, 129
First Teeth, Precautions taken when they come out, 10
---- Tooth in Upper Jaw, 8
Fits, Charms against, 154
Flat Feet and Bad Temper, 80
Flinging the Stocking, 85
Foot going to Sleep, 81
Fretting Baby, 12
Friday, an Unlucky Day, 128
---- Good for Love-omens, 35
---- Inauspicious for Marrying, 38
---- Lucky for Marrying in Scotland, 39
Funeral Feasts, 64
---- Meeting of, by Bride or Bridegroom, 40
---- Meeting a, 65
---- of Unmarried Girl, Custom at, 64
Furniture Omens, 111
Garters, Superstitions about, 86
---- Tying Knots in, 30
Gathering Rose on Midsummer Eve, 30
Getting out of Bed the wrong way, 119
Ghosts, Belief in, 174
---- do not appear on Christmas Eve, 175
---- Favourite Days for appearance of, 176
---- seen by Animals, 50
Gloucester, Duke of, Born with Teeth, 9
Glove, Use of, at Fairs, 95
Glove-money, 93
Gloves, Superstitions about, 92
Going in at one Door and out at another at Marriage, 41
"Going up" at Birth, 8
Gout, Charms against, 155
"Grave Scab," 14
---- Remedy for, 14
Graves, Position of, 63
Green Yarrow, 31
Grounds at bottom of Tea-cup, 110
Hair, Superstitions respecting, 72
---- Omens from Growth of, 74
---- Sudden Loss of, 74
Hallowe'en, Divination on, 34
Hands, Emblematic of Character, 77
---- Itching of, 77
Headache, Cures for, 155
Headless Animals, 176
Helping to Salt, 104
Hen cackling at Wedding, 42
Hollow Cinder a Coffin, 129
Home-life, Superstitions relating to, 131
Horoscope in Germany, 143
Horse-shoes as Amulets, 169
Hot Iron in Cream, 170
Household Superstitions, 120
Howling of a Dog at Night indicative of Death, 49
Human Body, Superstitions about, 65
Hydrophobia, Cures for, 156
Hysteria, Remedies for, 158
Idiots cannot sneeze, 123
Invalid asking for Pigeons, 52
Itching of the Nose, 68
"Jack-a-Dandy," 25
Jackdaw, Omen of Death, 52
Jacob's Prophecies, 57
Jaundice, Remedies for, 158
Jewish Customs respecting Shoes, 90
June popular for marrying, 37
Keepsake Rings, Colours in, 93
Knife, Folk-lore relating to, 105
----, Giving away, unlucky, 106
----, Finding, unlucky, 106
Lady-bird, Divination by, 31
Lameness, Cure for, 158
Last Day of Year, Marrying on, in Scotland, 39
Leap-year, Birth in, 3
Lending Knife to cut Cake, 26
Long Life, how to secure, 12
Looking-glass, Fancies about, 112
Love and Courtship, 28
Love-tests, 28
----, whence derived, 29
"Luck of Edenhall," 116
"Lucky Stone" as Amulet, 170
Lucky Stones, 7
Lumbago, Cure for, 159
Magicians and Looking-glasses, 114
Magpie using Hair, 74
Maiden Assize, Gloves at, 93
Making "the Deazil," 61
"Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John," 21
May Marriages unlucky, 36
Measles, Cure for, 159
Medicated Rings, 97
Medicine Bottles, selling, 134
Melted Lead, Divination by, 146
Midsummer Eve, Practices on, 33
Misfortune not to die in one's Bed, 53
Moist and dry Hands, 78
Moles, Omens drawn from, 66
Money and the New Moon, 132
Nails, Signification of, 77
Necklace of Peony Beads, 10
New Clothes, Superstitions relating to, 82
---- Moon in Looking-glass, 113
Nicking Schoolmaster's Cane, 26
Nightmare, Charms against, 178
----, Curious Stories about, 179
North Side of Church, Burial in, 63
Nose, Omens relating to, 68
"Nose out of Joint," and "Paying through Nose," 69
Number Thirteen, Superstitions about, 100, 101
"Nutcrack-night," 34
Nuts and Apples, Divination by, 31
Odd Numbers, Antipathy to, in School Games, 25
Omens associated with Rings, 97
---- of approaching Death, 49
Onymancy, or Divination by the Finger-nails, 141
Opal Ring, unlucky to wear, 97
Open Grave at Wedding, 41
"Over-looking," Superstitions about, 71
Overturning Chair, 111
Ovid on June Marriages, 38
Ox or Cow breaking into Garden, Omen of Death, 51
----, Anecdote respecting, 51
Palmistry, or Divination by the Hands, 78
Paralysis, Charms for, 160
"Parson's Penny" in Wales, 62
Picking Broom in Bloom unlucky, 52
----, Anecdote respecting, 53
Pigeons' Feathers in Bed, 58
---- Heart, Divination by, 34
Pin in Candle, 131
Pins, Superstitions about, 98
---- in Witchcraft and Sorcery, 99
----, Robbing Bride of, 41
Plants and Petticoats, 85
---- in Love-charms, 30
----, Omens of Death derived from, 52
Poker across Bars of Grate, 129
Popular Divinations, 134
Pork, eating Marrow of, 109
Position of Grave, 63
Prayers of Poor in Lincolnshire, 22
----, Origin of, 23
---- Taught by poor People to their Children, 21
Prevalence of Superstitions, 122
Prophesying before Death, 57
Puritans and Wedding-ring, 46
Rain, Rhymes about, 24
Rainbow, crossing out, 24
"Rattley-bags," 25
Rebuilding House fatal, 54
Red Hair and Beard, 75
Reversing Articles of Dress, 83
Rheumatism and Shoes, 90
----, Charms against, 160
Rhymes used by Children, 23
Rings, Legendary Lore of, 95
---- as Talismans, 96
---- of dead Friend, 84
Rocking empty Cradle, 9
Rubbing Shoulders with Bride or Bridegroom, 41
Rural Bridegroom and Gloves, 95
St. Valentine's Day, 32
----, Divination on, in Devonshire, 33
Salt on Breast of Corpse, 60
Salt-spilling, Superstitions about, 103
Seasons admitting or prohibiting Matrimony, 38
Second Sight, 173
Selling Eggs after dark, 108
"Shaping" of Wedding Dress for Divination, 46
Shift, Divination by, 30
Shivering as a portent, 131
Shoeing-horn and Shakespeare, 91
Shoe-throwing, 87
---- at Weddings, 46
Shoes, Rhymes on, 90
----, Superstitions about, 87
Shortbread at Wedding, 45
Sieve and Shears, 137
"Sin-eaters" in Scotland, 60
Sitting above and below the Salt, 105
---- cross-legged, 80
Sleeping on Bones, 8
Small-pox, Remedies for, 161
Smith, Mr. G., the Assyriologist, and Dr. Delitzsch, 55
Snail, Divination by, 32
Snails, Rhymes about, 25
Sneezing and Sneezers, 122
Snow, Rhymes about, 24
_Sortes Virgilianæ_, 136
Sowing Hempseed, 29
"Spade-money" in Wales, 62
Spark in Candle, 130
Spasms, Cure for, 160
Spatulamancia, 139
Specks on the Nails, 79
Speedwell and Snowdrop, 53
Spider, Superstitions about, 126
Spitting on Money, 132
Sprains, Charms for, 161
Staff, Divination by, 146
Standing in another's Shoes, 91
---- on end, of Hair, 73
Stillborn Children, Graves of, 15
Stockings, Superstitions about, 85
Stolen Kisses and Gloves, 93
Stopping House Clock at Death, 117
Stumbling Up-stairs, 123
---- on Threshold, 124
---- at Grave, 124
Sty, Prevention and Cure of, 162
Sudden whitening of Hair, 73
Sunday good Day to marry, 38
---- Lucky for Birth, 2
Superstitions about Marriage, 42
----, value of, 1
----, in what interesting, 1
----, whence sprung, 1
Sussex Superstition about Children born on Sunday, 2
Sweeping, Superstitions about, 126
Symbolism of shoes, 88
Table Superstitions, 100
Tea-leaves, Divination by, 109
Tea-stalks, Divination by, 147
Teeth, Superstitions respecting, 72
Thirteen at Table, 101, 102
Three Magpies sign of a Wedding, 32
Thrush, Charm against, 163
Toothache, Charms against, 163
Touching Corpse among Poor, 60
Turning Back after starting, 132
Turquoise in Ring, 96
Typhus Fever, Remedies for, 165
"Unchristened Ground," 14
"Universal Fortune-teller," 2
Unmarried Person between Man and Wife, 111
Venetian Glass, Breaking of, by poisoned Draught, 116
Virgin Mary at Birth of John the Baptist, 8
Warts, Charms against, 165, 166
Watching dead Body, 61
Water used at Baptism, 20
Weakly Infants, how treated in Cornwall, 12
Wearing Looking-glasses, 115
Weather, Charms to influence, 23
Weather-lore from Fires, 129
Wedding-cake, 44
Wedding-ring, Divination by, 45
---- placed in Wedding-cake, 45
---- hired in Ireland, 47
----, Notions about, 47
Wens, Cures for, 167
Whistling Woman, 125
White Gloves and Death of the Unmarried, 94
Whitsuntide, new Clothes on, 82
Whooping-cough, Cures for, 167
Will-o'-the-Wisp, Omen of Death, 53
William I. at Hastings, 83
Wine, &c., drank at Funerals, 64
"Wise Woman," 121
"Wishing-bone" of Fowl, 109
Witch taking form of Cat, 14
Witchcraft, Divination in, 138
---- Precautions against, 169
Worthing, case of Dog howling at, 49
"Wrong Side of Church," 62
Yellow Hair and Beard, 75
Yew, at Christmas, 53
Young, Lieutenant, Announcement of Brother's Death to, 56
Zadkiel's Almanack, 142
CASSELL, PETTER, GALPIN & CO., BELLE SAUVAGE WORKS, LONDON, E.C.
* * * * *
Transcriber's Note:
_Underscores_ surround italicized text.
Obvious typographical errors were repaired. Valid archaic spellings
were retained.
The entry for "INDEX," at the bottom of the Contents page, did not
appear in the original. It has been added for the convenience of the
reader.
End of Project Gutenberg's Domestic folk-lore, by T. F. Thiselton-Dyer