_FLOWER ORACLES, ETC._
A spire of grass hath made me gay;
It saith, I shall find mercy mild.
I measured in the selfsame way
I have seen practised by a child.
Come look and listen if she really does:
She does, does not, she does, does not, she does.
Each time I try, the end so augureth.
That comforts me--'tis right that we have faith.
_Walther von der Vogelweide_ [A.D. 1170-1230].
No. 42.
_Flower Oracles._
Plucking one by one the petals of the ox-eye daisy (_Leucanthemum
vulgare_), children ask:
Rich man, poor man, beggar-man, thief,
Doctor, lawyer, Indian chief.[83]
Girls then take a second flower, and, getting some one else to name it,
proceed, in order to determine where they are to live:
Big house, little house, pigsty, barn.
And in like manner use a third to discover in what dress they are to be
married:
Silk, satin, calico, rags.
Finally, they consult a fourth, to find out what the bridal equipage is
to be:
Coach, wagon, wheelbarrow, chaise.
Another version gives for the second line of the first formula:
Doctor, lawyer, merchant, chief.
In Switzerland, girls in like manner say, as they pick off the
flower-leaves of the common daisy (_Bellis perennis_):
Be single, marry, or go into the cloister?