_Raven Superstition._--On a recent occasion, at an ordinary meeting of the
guardians of the poor, an application was made by the relieving officer on
behalf of a single woman residing in the church village at Altarnun. The
cause of seeking relief was stated to be "grief," and on asking for an
explanation, the officer stated that the applicant's inability to work was
owing to depressed spirits, produced by the flight of a croaking raven over
her dwelling on the morning of his visit to the village. The pauper was by
this circumstance, in connexion with its well-known ominous character,
actually frightened into a state of wretched nervous depression, which
induced physical want.