Raftsman's journal. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1854-1948, 1855-01-10
SIGNS AND oMErs.

From curious article upon the popular su-
perstitions broughtinto England by the Saxons,
many of which we know to be still alive and
vigorous in our day. we clip the feIlowing:
Imagine man believing that all these little
circumstances-the falling of stone, the tick
| ing of a death-watch, tinglng in the ear, a
shivering sensation in the back, or any other
similar trivial occurrence-greatly betohened
some good or evil fortune, what a strange sort Of
| life he must lead A stork settles on gable
of his house. Welcome. To kill the bird would
be opea sacrilege, for the stork is a harbinger
of happiness. He receives the visit with feel
ing of delight, and halls it as promise of
good luck. When he goes out, strange dog
! follows; here again is another sign of prosper
Gus fortune. strange dog never follows any
person without good luck speedily coming en-
| the favored one. Welcome to the dog. When
night sets in, the man looks upon the shining
points in the heavens, the jewels of the night,
and notices shooting star. Good luck again.
He forms wish before the star has disappear
ed, and the wish is certain to be gratifcd.
Moreover, our friend is lucky altogether; he
was born with a caul, and this is certain to rem
der him remarkably fortunate, besides having
the extraordinary effect of preserving anybody
who buys it from watery grave People now
a-days are short of faith, and prefer life pre-
servers of another sOrt-such, for instance, as
cork jackets. But our lucky friend, besides
being born with caul, having a stork on his
house, strange dog at his heels, and wishing
himself good fortune as a shooting star lits
over the face of the heavens, has found, una
oil ~;
account, as well as all the rest. is entitled
to the best Of luck all his life long. Fortu-
nately, too, he has been seated, mad
vertentlr, between q married couple at
a dinner table, and this ensures
'sHome, and in the cup of life ai
That honey drop. pleasing wife" y" -
and at no distant date-within the twelve-
month, as sure as the zodiac. .r1s0 e9
We omit, for want of space, the stealing OF
salt as betokening strife, the tingling in tho
ear as a sign of people talking about you;
after which the enumeration continues.
Our friend has been relating 4 remarkable
story, the visitors have been. all listening anx-
iousy. els it true, is he quite satisfied of its
autllenticity?" Quite. Up stands our friend,
when his chair falls backward, and falls on the
ground with crash. There is an audable tit
ter. Our friend colors ssrudier than the cher
ry.'' What does it meant The falling of
chair is a sure sign that the person who sat in
it has been guilty of an untrGth. Our friend
is about to present very choice knife to affair
acquaintance, but he knows very well that 1t
may sever their friendship forever. To give
cold steel, scissors or knives, separates friend
ship between even the dearest friends. There
fore, some money, no matter how small apiece,
must be paid-duly paid-and the affair be re.
garded as purchase. Salt also must not be
given; it must be bought. else unthought of
calamity is sure TO follow. Our friend has
plucked water lily, that spread its broad
leaves and white and yellow cups upon the wa.
ter. No harm is done by this; but he has un-
fortunately slipped and fallen while he had Il
in his hand. What will be the result Perhaps
bruise OF two; nothing OF the sort but he will
now be subject to fits. Moreover, he happens
to have cut his finger rather deeply, and the
manner which he takes to cure the wound isas
simple as it is remarkable. He snoints the
knife with oil, puts It into drawer, and allows
it or remain there some days. Sympathetically
the cut is cured. Our friend, like wise, enter
tains the notion that if he goes under lader
he stands the chance of being hanged; that the
consequence of such an imprndent act will, in
all probability, be long co,d and short
shrift. Then, being once or twice detected
talking to himself-like modern Prince of
Denmark-he is confirmed in the idea, for TO
soliloquise is the precursor of violent death.
And as our friend occasionally feels cold
shivering sensation in bis back, he begins to
understand that his time is near, and that
somebody is Walking over his grave. sle2
Such are a few Of the odd fancies which our
Saxon forefathers left US as an heirloom. Sigma
and onaens, such as ancient Romans might have
gathered from the fight Of birds, and ancient
Britons from the writings Of a sacrifcial VIC
tim, our Saxon ancestors detected in every tri-
ding circumstance Of daily life. Such fancies
are still retained in Holland and in Germany,
and here, in England, are not forgotten. It
seems strange, indeed, that at any time such
g59zs Ha"Triiles light as air.nl 70 asego4
should have effected the mind of man. hut
that they have done so is beyond all dispute,
and with such folk lore forms an extensive
chapter in the delusion Of the oIden time. 4
EIa silf ai - :.
D The st Louis Rspx5Iican says that few
days ago, a man aud his wife, in that city,