The Sun.
London, England, 1823-09-04 00:00:00

OLD CUSTOMS.

HANDSELL.—Lemon explains " .Handsell," in
.his dictionary, " the first money received at
market, which many superstitious people will
spit on, either to render it tenacious, that it may
remain with them, and not vanish away like a
fairy gift, or else to render it propitious and
lucky, and that it may draw more money to it."
Fishwomen generally spit upon their handsell—
i. e. the first money taken for good luck. Grose
mentions this as a common practice amongst the
lower class of hucksters, pedlars, and dealers in
fruit or fish, on receiving the price of the first
goods they sell. Mission, in his Travels in Eng-
land, thus notices this custom :—" A woman,
that goes much to market, told me the other day,
that the butcher-women of London, those that
sell fowls, butter, eggs, &c. and in general most
trades-people, have a particular esteem for what
they call a hundsell—that is to say, the first
money they receive in a morning, they kiss it,
spit upon it, and put it in a pocket by itself."
Besides, being used to invoke good luck,spittle
among the ancients was esteemed a charm against
all kinds of fascination; and according to Pliny,
was observed in averting witchcraft, and in giving
a shrewder blow to an enemy. Hence seems
to be derived the custom our bruisers have of
spitting in their hands before they set-to, unless
it was originally done for good luck sake.
Pennant, in his account of religious customs in
North Wales, says, that cc in church the hearers
usually spit at the name of the devil, and smite
their breasts at the name of Judas. In their or-
dinary conversation, the first name gives them
no salvation, but is too familiar in their months."
In Browne's Britannia's Pastorals, there is an
account of the difficulty a blacksmith has to spew
" a stubborne muggy of galloway :"
" Or unbrack'd jennet, or a Maunders mare,
That at theforge stands snuffing of the ayre,
The swarty smith spits in his bullhorn fist.
And bids his man bring out the fivefold twist."
Several other vestiges of this superstition relative
to spittle, are mentioned by Pliny, and other
writers, both of our own and foreign countries,
and may be placed amongst our vulgar customs.
BELINSGATE.—Bagford, speaking of the Anti-
quities of London *, has the following notice as
to a custom once prevailing here :—" This brings
to my mind another ancient custom, that hath
been omitted of late years. It seems that, in
former times, the portes that ply'd at Belings-
gate, used civilly to intreat and desire every man
that passed that way, to salute a post that stood
there in vacant place. If he refused to do this,
they forthwith laid hold of him, and by main
force bouped him against the post; but if he
against the post; but if he quietly submitted to
kiss the same, and paid down sixpence, they
then gave him a name, and chose some one of the,
gang for his godfather. We believe this was done
in memory of some old image that formerly
stood there, perhaps of Belus, or Bolin." He
adds, C 4 somewhat
,of the like post, or rather
stump, was near St. Paul's, and is at this day
called St. Paul's stump."
It is the duty of the Rector of St. Mary-at-
Hill, in which parish Billingsgate is situated, to
preach a sermon every year on the first Sunday
after Midsummer-day, before the society of Fel-
lowship Porters, exhorting.' them to be charitable
towards their decayed old brethren, and "to
bear one another's burdens."
The stump spoken of by Bagford is probably
alluded to is Good Newes and. Bud Sexes, by
J. R. Lond. 1622, where the author, speaking of
a countryman who had been to see the sights of
London, mentions
" The water-workes, huge Pau's, old Char-
ing-crosse,
Strong London Bridge, at Billingsgate the
Bosse !"

PADDINC4 TON, (Distributing of Bredd.)—Ly-
sons, in his 'Environs of speaking of some
lands paid to have been given by two maiden
gentlewOmen to the parish of Paddington for the
purpose of distributing. bread, cheese, and beer,
among the inhabitants on the Sunday. before
Christmas-day, says that they are now let at 21h
per annum, and that 44, the bread was formerly
thrown from the church steeple to be scrambled
for, and'part,of it is still distributed that way..
Ho USE Sitoxi.--Aubrertells us in hiS Miscel-
lanies, that
.it is a thing very common to nail
horse-shoes on the thresholds_ of doors, Which
is to' hinder the power of witches that enter
into the' house. Most houses of the west end of
London :have. the horse-shoe on the threshold:--
ft should be a- horse-shoe that one finds. In the
Bermudas they use' to put an iron into the fire
when a witch comes in. " Mars is enemy to' Sa.
turn." He says, ibid., 44 under the porch of
Haninfield 'Church, in'SuffOlk, I saw a tile with
a horse-shoe upon it, placed there for this pur-
Oose,,though one would imagine that holy water
would alone have been sufficient. I am told
there are many other similar instances."
In Gay's Fable of " The old woman and her
cats," the supposed witch aomplains as follows—
_ " Crouch; Of boys •
Worry me with eternal noise ;
Straws laid across my pace retard, • •
-The Horse shoe's natrd( each threshold's guard ),
The stunted brooni the wenehei hide,
For fear that•l should up and ride ;
They stick with pins my bleeding seat,
Ana bid me show my secret teat."
In Monmouth-street- (probably the part .of
"London alluded to by Aubrey) many horse shoes
nailed to the thresholds • were to be seen a few
years' since, -seine' of 'which still' exist. There
was one also at the corner of Little Queen-street
Holborn.'

TOBA CCO IN A LE•ifouszs.—This foreign weed,
which has made so many Englishmen, especially
of the common sort, become its slaves, is said to
have been first brought to'England by Captain
R. Greenfield and Sit Francis Drake, about the
year 1586, during the reign of Elizabeth.
A pleasant kind of tale, but for one item of
the veracity of which we shall not vouch, is given
in the Athenian Oracle, by way of accounting
for the frequent use and continuance of taking it.,
44 When the Christians first discovered America,
the; devil was afraid of losing his bold of the
people there by, the• appearance of Christianity.

" In n letter printed in the first volume a LEland': Col.
lectawa. _