Northern Ohio journal. [volume] (Painesville, Ohio) 1872-1896, 1873-09-13
Happy is the bride that the sun shines

Is ScAlCldi
of the marriage ceremony, but in tho
Isle of Man, a quarter of a century ago,
1 very frequently, at marriage feasts,
saw little table set outside the house
for the fairies, or to propitiate any evil
influence lurking near.
Omens regarding the moon are of all
others the most ancient, and analogous
to this l have noticed in the English
farmer and the Texas planter the same
dislike to sowing a crop with a waning
moon. The Mexican stoek-raiser will
only brand his cattle at the new moon,
and the negro woman will only make
her soap at the same fortunate time. In
all parts of England it is still customary
to say at full moon, ''It is a fair moon
God help you!' and i'm Scotland to kiss
the hand and courtesy TO her. These
customs are evidently alluded to in Job,
XXI. 36, 81. TO see the new moon
when there is money in your. pocket. or
to see her first over the right shoulder
is sign of prosperity during the
month: but to see it over the left shoul-i
der or while the purse is empty,r is con-.
sidered unlueky. The latter omen is so
self-evident, that it cannot be disputed.
The superstitions referring to perseil-'
al matters are very curious. 10 put,
inadvertently the left shoe on the right
IOoG MAS OtlllllouS OI S0fftt StIdItSG1y uH-
lucky accident; and the. same was con-
sidered partially true in, regard to any
portion of the clothing put on wrong
side out; but the latter could in some de-
gree be remedied by turning the gar
ment right. The loss of a garter pre-
figured the loss of a lover Or friend.
The tingling of the right ear taught
that some one praised. the left, that some
one was abusing U.s.. Pliny calls it San
invisible Mercury teaching us to hear
by touch" Theocritus says that if the
right eye itched we should see some-
thing very. pleasant; and Melton says
the itching of the nose shows the arri-
val of strangers; though the Southern
negroes regard 1t as sure and certain
sign of approaching anger or disputes.
The itching of the palm has always
been significant of coming money; and
the itching of the thumbs signifies
Changer comes that way.'s .s.s 5=ii
Black spots Oh the finger nails Bur-
ton in his stAnatOmy of Melancholy'1sis
at considerable pains to prove omiiioas
of all kinds of evil fortune; while white
ones are certain fOreshadoWing of an ,ac-
cess of all the gifts of wealth and friend
ship. Yellow spots he considers as
foretelling the death Of the person on
whose finger nails they appear. -.5g as
1t was also a subject of some impor-
tanee to cut the nails on proper days,
since if cut on Sunday the devil would
rule next week. Monday brought
health, Tuesday wealth, Wednesday a
lover, Thursday letter, Friday sorrow,
Saturday a journey. iEse lzss:,' 81. e.
In going out of the house in the MORN
ing it was considered very unlucky to
meet a lame or Il squinting person, or a
priest; but fortunate to meet horses la
boring, oxen plowing, sheep. or large,
honest looking dogs. A prominent
merchant in, this city told me not long
ago that he always took the right hand
side Of the road when going on impor-
tant business. 7..S srts = 1ssgs ul4.sa 4li
| Cats have never been friendly to hut
| manity since The days OF their Egyptian
divinity. Yet if Il cat sneeZeS in "A
house where marriage is in eontempla-
ton, it is to be considered Il mark OF
great honor. and every one knows that
when a cat washes her face company is
coming. Sailors have u particular dis
like to cats. they say that before a storm
they are frantically and uneannily mer-
4 ry. And as cats are highly electrical,
there may be more truth than supersti-
/ ton in this observation. k.ss.sss.s i.fs3
Rats and mice are always disagreeable
omens, and if they .gnaw the furniture
/ OI CiOnluA 1t lS3 q SiSu EsCDduRC ot
] misfortune. Crickets on the contrary
are the very germs of. home happiness.
Pliny enumerates them among the
kindly influences, and Dickens has en-
balmed them in loving and perpetual
| memory. -sss 20 .-sts1s gz@ sIslf8fEi q
10 fall or stumble at the beginning oil
the week was significant,gof "a week. o1
annoyance, but to fallflltpstairs if the
party did not look behind afterward
was an assurance of a success in busi.
| ness. f5s.5.4g4=ss;.rY.t e - 951-,.zaE -z4I
| .Sneezing on the right hand OR be
tween midnight and noon was one lol
best of all omens; although ST. Austin
says the .ancients went to bed again il
they sneezed while putting on theil
shoes. The Persians regard sneezing
as a very good sign, and If "a person has
been sick and sneezes they consider his
recovery certain. hence they have 6
preverb, sfHe has sneezetl thrice, pu
him out of the hospital. =, The Scotch
look upon yawning in the same light
! Among birds the cock has always ell.
/ joyed high honor as q diviner. If he
! crows on the threshold of house some
fortunate visitor is coming. In Persia
however, they kill cock that crows. Al
an unusual hour; and in the southern
states they kill a hen, which under any
circumstances, or at any time crows, be.
lieving that if this is not done some
death in the family will speedily occur,
Crows, ravens, hawks are all birds o.
evil import; but swallows hoverina
about a dwelling foretell coming riches
The owl near house bodies death. Spi
ders are always lucky. Piiny says
when they spin a thread hanging from
| the roof il is a sign of increasing wealth
The small spiders in Scotland are called
s'monev spinners,'' and are never in
1 jured or molested. '"
| There are Il great many omens sup
posed to prefignre death beside those al
ready named indeed the attempt to col
lect them would lengthen the subjec
II Indefinitely, for almost every. family
has some peculiar token. Iprefer to no
i tice some funeral customs which 1ingcl
in the by-ways of English society.
i In Yorkshire. Derbyslire, and Vale.
tits believed that no one can die on pig
con feathers, Again, in many places
they believe that the opening of doors
and windows facilitates the parting oil
soul and body Many writer's notice
this superstition, and seven years ago
heard a very eminent physician say ii
regard to a dying patient: ''Ie is dy.
ing open the doors and windows" Ht
afterwards told me that it was super.
| Sbibit1l btstG utllcNcu Ill IoT years
| and which he cofild nos lielp fancyins
wa, sustained by experience. Dicken,
in "David Coppertield''' notices a super
! ssition common. in all seaboard coun-
4 tries: ale is going out with the tile
If he lives till it turns, he'll hold hi;
own till past the flood, aud go out with
4 the next tide
After death in the north of Scotland
they lock up all the cats, and cover III
the looking glasses until the body is in
tered. Throughout Cumberland it i
common to set small table covered
: with white cloth outside the door, OF
; which is plate containing Il little sal
and rosemary. In both countries it il
believed that Il tear failing on the face
of the dead is disturbing TO them, ant
fatal to the living. The custom of leav
ing the face uncovered until the houl
of burial dates from the Saxon Hep
rarchy. In Flintshire they say tn,
Lords Prayer over a corpse as it leave
the house. In Durham they never us,
the knocker or bell when bid to a funer
al, but rap with key which they bring
with them for the purpose.
, Throughout the north of England
sr 81,