_Derbyshire Folk Lore._--Many years ago I learned the following verses in
Derbyshire, with reference to magpies:
"One is a sign of sorrow; two are a sign of mirth;
Three are a sign of a wedding; and four a sign of a birth."
The opinion that a swarm of bees settling on a dead tree forebodes a death
in the family also prevails in Derbyshire.
In that county also there is an opinion that a dog howling before a house
is an indication that some one is dying within the house; and I remember an
instance where, as I heard at the time, a dog continued howling in a street
in front of a house in which a lady was dying.
It is also a prevalent notion that if the sun shines through the
apple-trees on Christmas Day, there will be an abundant crop the following
year.
I never heard the croaking of a raven or carrion crow mentioned as an
indication of anything, which is very remarkable, as well on account of its
ill-omened sound, as because it was so much noticed by the Romans.