, 1875-12-15

The feeling is by no means uncommon that
to talk much of the health of q family is, q way
to bring sickness on them. In the course of
pastoral visitation the clergyman will perhaps
say, In a house where there is alarge family,
that he never has occasion to go to that house
for visitation of the sick, so healthy is the
household. He will be respectfully but very
decidedly asked not to speak teo much about
it, as it has been noticed that if this be done,
sickness comes upon the family soon after.
There is another superstition, deeply rooted
in St. Croix, that to add any building to your
hOuse-a wing or any smaller sheds sure to
be followed by the death of some member of
the family. Is it possible that the origin of
this was the feeling that il was a vain show,
this adding to houses, and therefore deserved
punishment ,
To something of the same feeling may also
be referred the dislike that exists in certain
West Indian Islands to repairing an i~nclosure
within which the remains of the family lice
If you do SO, it is likely that soon it must be
taken down again for the entrance Of another
member of the family. 1t is not improbable
that the original feeling here was that one had
no right to take it for granted that his family
burying- place could not be wanted again direct
ly.
But if the aforementioned superstitions are
the development 10 a wrong direction of certain
right feelings, the same can not be said Of the
absurdltieS which / have now to mention.
The mere turning upside down of the GALA
bash that is used to bale the passage boats in
st. Vincent is fearful thing, betokening sure
destruction to the boat, and imperiling the lives
of the passengers. 90. H..
And In st. Croix ID is terrible only to open
an umbrella over your head in bouse-a sure
way to bring trouble either on yourself or on
some one in that house. ANY reason for this
/ must leave to some more fertile Imagination
than my own to suggest.
AS might be expected, there are West Indi-
an superstitions enough connected with pay
tioular days, notably with Good-Eriday. It
may be known among US that eggs laid on
GOOd-Friday will never. spoil, but the virtue
of Good Friday bitters is hardly known here.
Any bitters made on that day have not on
ly the ordinary properties of such a compound,
but are invaluable cures for disease. SO firm
is this belief that there is among the negroes
quite a general making of bitters on Good
Friday, which are put up and specially kept to
be used in cases Of dire illness. Well would it be
for the West~Indfes, to say the truth, if the
upper classes believed a little less in "bitterS"
as an article of diet, aud confined themselves
more strictly to the merely medicinal use Of
them.
In concluding this sketch of West Indian su-
perstitions, l can not forbear mentioning one
which have met with among the negroes of
st. Croix, aud which is, at least, a beautiful
one. 1t is the belief that the baptism of child
rem ought always to be performed with rain
water. In going to a house for the private
baptism of a sick child. and finding only we'll
water, [ have been requested to wait until
some rain-water could be- got from a neighbour.
ing house. The explanation was given me
simply enough by q man "'Tis de rain-wa-
ter, does. come down from heaven. These
people have a notion that the spring-water,
being "of the earth. earthly. is hardly the
fitting vehicle for enrolling children as men,
bers of Christ's Church and subjects of the
kingdom of heaven. One would like to deal
tenderly with such q. %poetiOal. superstition, and
almost wish to retain it rather than otherwise.
Mr. RTTSSETT,S MACEp AT1TON