[Footnote 6: [We are glad to supply our correspondent with another
instance of hypertautology, and from a work in great demand during
this part of the year. On the cover of Bradshaw's _Railway Guide_
we read, "Eighth Month (August) 1st, 1851."]]
94. _Unlucky for pregnant Women to take an Oath._--In a police case,
reported in _The Times_ of the 28th of May, a woman was called as a
witness who, however, upon the book being tendered to her, positively
refused to be sworn, with the remark, that it must be evident to the
magistrate that she could not take an oath. The usher of the court said
that the woman was pregnant, and that low women who were in that
situation, entertained an absurd belief that it was unlucky to take an
oath. What is the origin of this superstition? Is it common amongst the
uneducated classes of society?