, 1875-06-26
Same Old Marriage SuperstitiOns.

SOME Uiu MdEfthS cupSi iS'i'ioi0'
On St. Marks Eve the custom stlll
fingers among the maidens OF North
hamptonshire to make the dumb cake
The number of the party never exceeds
three. They meet in silence to make
the cake, and as soon as the clock
strikes y they each break off piece
to eat; and when done, they walk up
to bed backward, without speaking a
word-for if one speaks, the spell Is
broken. Those that are to be married
see the likeness of their sweethearts
hurrying after them. Those that are
TO die unmarried neither hear nor see
anything; but they have terrible
dreams, which are sure TO be of new
made graves, wind sheets and church
yards, and OF rings that will fit ne fin
ger, or which, if they DO, crumble into
dust as soon as put in
There is another dumb ceremony
also prevalent in NorthamptoDshire of
eating the yolk of an egg in silence,
and then filling the shell with salt,
when the sweetheart Is sure to make
his appearance in some way or other
before morning.
The Young women of Scotland, iu
( former times determined the figure
and size of their husbands by drawing
cabbages blindfold on All Hallow
Even (or Halloween, the 31st of Oc-
tober), and, ike the English, tlinging
nuts in the fire. 1t is mentioned by
Burns that :" the first ceremony of
Halloween Is pulling each q stock or
plant Of kali. They must 90 out hand
in hand, with eyes shut, and pull the
first they meet with. IL being big or
little, or straight or crooked, Is pro-
phetic of the size and shape Of the
grand object OF their speIIs-the has
band or wife. If any yird, or earth,
stick 10 the root, that Is t0cher, or for,
tune; and the taste of the coSt0c-
that is, the heart Of the Stem-is indi-
calive Of the natural temper aud dis
position. Lastly, the Stems-or TO
give them their ordinary appeIlatiun-
the runtS are placed somewhere above
the head of the door, and the chriSti4n
names Of the people whom chance
brings into the house are, according 10
the priority Of placing the 1unts, the
names in question"
The Welsh have a play in which
the youth Of both sexes seek for an
even leaved Sprig Of the ash and the
first of either sex who finds and calls
out Cynicc' is answered by the first
Of the other that succeeds, and these
two, if the omen fails not, are to be
joined in wedlock.
Burning the nuts was once a favor
ire charm IN Scotland. They name the
lad and the lass to each particular nut,
as they lay them in the fire, and ac-
cording as they burn quietly together,
or start from beside one another, the
issue OF the courJship VIII be.
In Ireland, when the young women
wished to know if their lovers are
faithful, they put three nuts upon the
bars Of the CRATE, naming the nuts after
the lovers. Ii the nut cracked or
jumped, the lover would prove untaith-
tul. ii il began to blaze or burn, he
had a regard for the rerson making
the trial. Ii the nuts named after the
or! and her lover burned together,
they would be married.
Eating an apple at a glass was an
other charm once in vogue; " Take
candle and 90 alone to looking glass.
Eat an apple before it, and TRADITIONS
say you should comb your hair all the
tIme) the face OF your coniugal com
pauion TO be will be seen in the glass,
as if peeping over your shoulder"
Throwing a s,ocking," is a singu-
lar sort Of love diyiration on the first
eve Of wedding. After the bride
has retired, and while she is undreSs-
ing, she delivers one of her stockings
to female attendant, who throws it
at random among the company assem-
bied on this occasion. The person
upon whom it happens to light Will,
1t Is supposed, be the next to enter
the blessed state of matrimouy.
The following superstitious customs
still linger in the south Of Scotland :
The BRIDE, when she enters the house
of her husband, is lifted over the
threshold. To step on it, or over it,
involuntary Is reckoned a bad omen.
On the same occasion q sweet cake.
baked for the purpose, Is broken over
the head Of the bride, which Is also a
rite Of classic tradition.