Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1864-05-04
superanuated superstition.


"Ash-tree, ashen tree,
Pray buy this wsrt of me !"
after which the pin must be stuck in tn
tree, when the wart will soon disappea
and commence growing on the tree. Thi
must be done in secret. Another charm
ives 70 place as many pebbles in a littl
bjs !~ l1u have warts; tie up the bag anC
tliiuN = away without noticing where i
fcii. The warts would disappear, anC
whoever would find the bag would be m
noyed by the warts.
To cure hiccups use this charm. Ii ha
no effect on drunken hiccup; in fact il
would puzzle drunken man to repea
the verse correctly:
"Hiecup, hiccup, go away.
Come again another day,
Hiccup, hiccup, when bake.
I'll give you butter-cake."
The charm of the ague originated il
the fenny counties of England; whether
II has effect when transplanted to thil
country is more than we can say. Il
must be said on ST. Agnes eve, by the
Oldest member of the family
"rremble and go,
First day shiver and burn:
Tremble and quake,
| Second day shiver and learn;
Tremble and die
| Third day never return"
The formula for making the butter
come" has. we believe, been naturalized
in this country. 1t is frequently heard in
English dairies:
| Come, butter come,
Come, butter, come
Peter stands at the gate,
Waiting for buttered cake;
Come, butter, comet
Of course nearly every one is acquaint.
ed with the child's prayer on going to
bed. In the rural districts of England il
is still the general night prayer for the
young boys. 1t is very old:
Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
Bless the bed that lay on.
Four corners to my bed,
Four angels round my head,
One at head and one at feet,
And two to keep my soul asleep"
If a thorn should prick so a. TO bleed,
this fromula is used
Unto the VirginMary our Saviourwas born
And on his head he wore crown of thorn;
II you believe this true and mind it well.
This hurt will never tester nor swell ~
Those afflicted with the toothache were
cured by the following charm, and it was
but few months since we noticed in a
London paper the fact of witch" being
tined for obtaining money under false pre-
tences by selling this identical "charm :"
Peter was sitting on marble-stone,
And Jesus passed by;
Peter said, Ny Lord, my God,
How my tooth doth ache!'
Jesus said, Peter art whole [my sake
And whosoever keeps these words for
Shall never have the tOothache!"
School boys have several kinds of divi-
nation verses on going to bed. such as
''Go TO bed first,
A golden purse;
Go to the bed second,
A golden pheasant;
Go to bed third,
A golden bird"
The positions they occupy in bed are
suggestive of the following fortunes:
He that lies at the stock,
Shall have gold rock
He that lies at the wall,
Shall have the gold ball
He that lies in the middle,
Shall have the gold fiddle"
Another custom of school boys vas 70
ascertain their future avocations by count
ing the buttons of their jackets whilst
they repeated the rhyme:
Tinker, tailor.
Soldier, sailor,
Lawyer, cowboy,
'Pothecary, thief"
The name fallen on the last button in
dicsted the business predestined. The
choice was certainly not very extensive.
In making presents, it Is fatal to friend
ship if a sharp article is given, but the
danger may be averted by the receiver
giving back some trifing article, and say
ing
IF you love me as / love you,
No knife shall cut our love in two"
If any one is stung with nettle, e GER
tain cure can be effected by rubbing dock
leaves over the part and repeating this
charm very slowly:
"Nettle in, dock out,
Dock rub nettle OUT
PrObatumesti We have tried 1t, when a
boy, many time, and found the charm
ON the dock leaf-to be always effica-
cious.
When you cut your nails, if you
"Cut them on Monday, you cut them for
health;
Cut them on Tuesday, you cut them for
wealth;
Cut them on Wednesday, you cut for
news;
Cut them on Thursday, new pair of
shoes;
Cut them on Friday, you cut them for
sorrow;
Cut them on Saturday, you see your true
love tomorrow;
Cut them on Sunday, the devil will be
with you all the week"
The following diVination ryhmes refer
to the gifts, or white spots on the nails,
with the thumb, and going on
regularly to the little finger. The last
gift will show the destiny of the opera
tor pro tenpore:
"a gift-a friend foe
A journey-to CO."
This rhyme refers to days Of birth:
"Monday's child is fair in face,
Tuesdays child is full of grace,
Wednesdays child is full of woe,
child has far to go,
Fridays child is loving and giving,
child works hard for living;
And child's that's born on Christmas day,
Is fair and wise. good and gay"
The omens attached to colors are thus
given:
Blue is true,
Yellow's jealous,
Green's forsaken,
Red is brazen,
White is love,
And black is death.
A number of other similar rhymes are
more or less perfectly remembered, but
the present dose will probably be enough.
Whatever may be said of the Stiffness of
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