Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1877-01-19

White spots in finger nails denote
gifts; and black spots, according to Bur
ton, are bad omens. The forefinger OF
the right hand should not be used in ap.
plying any remedy 10 wound OF bruise.
The nails should not be pared nor the
hair cut on Friday or Sunday. Short
and fat fingers mark intemperance and
Stiffness; long fingers and long hand be.
token mechanical artifice; short hand
notes a fool or good-for-nothing; a soft
hand, wit and cffcminacy; hairy hand,
luxuriousness; a dry hand, age and de.
bility.
Doubling the thumb within the hand
shielded persons from danger during the
times of witchcraft, and the thumbs of
deceased persons were doubled to pre-
vent the power Of evil spirits over them.
There's letter in the candle when we
see spark in IL; a collection Of tallow
rising up against the wick denotes
winding. .sheet a kind of fungus in the
candle predicts the arrival of stranger
or a parcel from the country nearest the
object. The waving motion of flame
presages windy weather; when candles
or lamps cannot be lighted readily look
out for wet weather, as also when they
sparkle and emit little fumes. A thief is
discovered in the candle when the tallow
melts irregularly; and, If the candle
burns with dim or blue light, spirits
in the house, or not far off.
A coal in the shape of coffin flying
out Of the fire prognosticates death; one
in the shape of purse is good omen.
A buzzing noise in the fire denotes q
storm; the sparkling of the FIRE, the heap
ing together of ashes, the burning of
particles of SCOT on the bottom of a pot
when taken from the fire, and the much
and sudden" falling of SCOT, all presage
rain, according to Willsford, in his
Natures Secrets"
"lf doggs houle in the night" says an
old writer, neere house where some
body is sick It's sure signe of death"
This Is very old superstition, and many
persons, even at the present day, place
great credencc in the howling of dogs as
prophetic Of approaching death. Alex
andcr Ross explains that dogs by their
howlings portend death and calamities is
plain by historic and experience. Cap
itolinus tells us that dogs, by their howl
ings, presaged the death Of Maximinus.
Psusanias lin Messe) relates that before
the destruction OF the Messenians the
dogs broke out into more fierce howl
ing than ordinary and we read in Fin.
cclius that, in 1868, some weeks before
the overthrow of the Saxons, the dogs in
Mysina tlocked together and used strange
howlngs in the woods.
Milton says that when the cat washes
its face lover its ears we shall have
great store of raine." If the cats skin
look bright it presaged good weather.
The sneezing of cat is considered q
! lucky omen for bride to be married the
next day. Cats sitting with their tails
to the fire foretell change of weather.
1t is considered a sign of ill.luck, and
even of death, for a rat to gnaw q per-
sons clothes or the hangings of a room.
The coming in and going out of strange
cats have also been resolved into many
! ludicrous omens.
1t is lucky to have crickets in the
house. 1t is very unlucky to kill a
cricket. The flying of ravens over a
house foreshadows a death. 1t is un-
lucky to kill robins, martins, swallows,
wrens, lady.bugs, sparrows, or tit
mouse, and persons doing so will in
fallibly, in the course of the year, break
a bone or meet with some other dreadful
misfortune. 1t presages good luck to
have martins or other swallows build
their nests in the caves of house or in
the chimney Birds fighting against
each other are ominous of war. Meet
ing with a weasel is unlucky, as also
meeting with an ill-favored man or
woman, a rough footed hen, a shag-
haired dog, or black cat. When the
ancient Scots met an armed man on the
road they thought it a good omen; if
they met q bare footed woman they
seized her and drew blood from her
! forehead. The Maiabrians interpret it
as very bad sign if they meet blind
man, n Brahmin, or washerwomsn, an
earthen.pot maker, or widow
The owl is called by Pliny inauspicala
et fune6rtS dDis, it is reckoned most
abominable and unlucky bird, and its
awaking is an omen of the approach of
some dire calamity. The ancients thought
the soreech of the owl a messenger of
death. Bartolomatus has the following:
"Of the owle, Dininours tells that they
betokyn evyll; for if the owle be scene
in cite, it signifyeth Obstruction and
waste, as Isidore sayth. The crying of
the owle by nyght tokeneth deathe, as
divinours conjecte and deme." The
croaking of the ravens foretells death.
The wOodpeckers cry denotes rain,
When buzZards or kites fly high, the
weather will be warm The chatter
ing Of magpie denotes the approach of
guests. To see one is unlucky; to see
two denotes marriage or merrlment; to
| ft1l fnt1r
good news, and FIVE, unexpected good
luck. If the cock crows or goes to roost
at unusual hours, or if the chickens
come late from their roosts in the morn
ing, it presages foul weather. 1t ls omi-
nous for man in love to get the "merry
thought" Qhe bone next the breast of a
fOwD. The Growing of cock is lucky
omen. Themistocles was assured of a
victory over Xcrxes in this manner, and
ever after used cock on his ensign The
Arabians, Carians, Phrygians and Sile-
clans, according to Floyd in his "Stratp-
gems of Jerusalem, assured themselves
of good or bad events in war by the fly
ing or chirping of birds; the Persians
used cock for the same purpose; the
Egyptians, bull; the Ethiopisns, a dog;
the Beotians, beech tree; "in Epyre
by an oake, in Delos by a dragon, in
Lycia by wolfe, in Ammon by ramme. 4"
'Dirt bodies luck" is Scottish proverb.
Many housewives refuse to brush away
cobwebs, OF kill spiders, as they deem it
unlucky to do either. Others imagine
they are about to receive money il a
spider falls upon their clothes.
Grose tells us that, besides general
notices of death, many families have
particular or peculiar warnings; some
by the appearance of bird, others by
the appearance of woman in white. In
Ireland there is popular belief that the
Bdnshee, a mythical old woman, follows
certain families, and is heard to cry be-
fore a death. The .fye also gave due
warning of approaching death in parts
of Scotland. The death.rattlc, pecul-