Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1879-02-13
.. English ,Sperst ltiQps.

ENGLISH statlops s..u...s.s,&,
4 4 writer, in the Pax MAJ yGagets, who
has lately been making q tour OF rural
England, writes Of tic Superstition" s. ol
the 5hamlets as folioMs:as1 q aIii51 fI5tt
q Ia most large rural parishes in Bog
land there is at least one small hamlet
a mile orr two distant from the main vi vi.
1lsge. 3Affew'l houses and cottages stand
loosely scattered about the fields, no two
OF them together-so separated, indeed,
by hedges, meadows and copses,t as hard
~ 10 be called even q hamlet. u The com:
munication with the village is maintained
by long, winding, narrow lane; but
foot passeng gers follow a. shorter path
across the fields, which in winter is sure
to be ankle deep, in mud by the gate-ways
end stiles the lane at,the same time
is crossed bya torrent, which may spread
out to thirty yards wide in, the hollow
shallow at the edges, but swift and deep
in the middle: TIf:you wait a. couple of
hours it will subside, as the farmers now
er down the brook pull up their matches
to 1.-THE flood pass. If yous sre in a
hurry, you must climb up into the
doublem ound beside the lane and force
your way along it between, the rthorns
and s,oles till you reach the channel
through which the current IS rushing.
Across that an old tree trunk will prob
ably lie, and by grasping q bough as a
handrail it is possible to get over. But
either way, by lane or footpath, you are
sure to get what, the countey folk call
ewatdhet," So, that in winter. the
hamlet is practically isolated; for even
ino moderately good weather the
lane is an inch Or two deep in: finely
puddled adhesive mud. 1t was so shad-
ed by elms and thick hedges that the
dirt requires q length Of time to dry,
while the passage Of hundreds Of sheep
tread and puddle it as only sheep can.
In summer the place is loyely;. but, then
the inhabitants are one and all busy in
the fields and have little stime for social,
intercourse or for travel into the next
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. .iiee-you knock at
9 cottage door you will find it. locked :
if, indeed, you get 50 far as that, pad
lock being often on the garaen-gate. Be-
ing so Isolated and apart FROM the cur
rent of modern~life and manners, the
hamlet folks retain something: of the old
fashioned; way Of thinkingI rThey do
not believe their own superstitions with
the implicit cyedence of yore, but they
have not quite forgotten them i haye
known women, for instance, who serious
ly asserted that such and such az aged
person had magic, book, which con-
tanned spells and enabled her to fore see
some kinds>of coming events. Them
fiuence of the moon-so firm an article
of faith among their forefathers--is not
altogether overlooked; and they watch
for the new moon carefully. II the cres-
cent slopes it will be wet weather.
But if the horns of the cres-
cent touch, or nearly, vertical line III
it stands upright--then it will he fine.
Something, too, must be allowed for the
degree of sharpness or: definition of the
crescent, which reveals the. state of the
atmosphere. And the cottage astroioger
has q whole table Of the quarters, aspects
and so on, and lays much stress upon the
day and the hour of the change; indeed,
it is very complicated business to un-
derstand the moon. The belief in the
power of some persons to ''rule the plan
cts" is profound; SO profound that neither
ridicule, argument nor authority will
shake it in the minds of
the hamlet girls, and it abides by
them even when they are placed amid
the Disseminating realities Of town life.
When 'in service" they buy dreambooks.
and consult fortune tellers. To ''rule the
planets" means to tell fortunes by the
stars. The Gypsies in passing through
the country choose the by-ways and lanes;
they thus avoid the tolls, have a chance
of poaching, and find waste places to-
camp in, though possibly something of
the true nomadic instinct may urge tht m
to leave the beaten; tracks and wander
over lonely regions. They camp near the
hamlet as they travel to and from the
great sheep.fairs which are held upon the
hills, and perhaps stay a few days; and
by them to some extent the belief in as
trology and palmistry is strengthened.
D.; The carriers, whoohave to spend some
considerable time every day: with thei,
horses in the stable, still retain large
repertory of Legendary ghost-1ore. Toey
know the exact spot in the lane where, a,
certain hour of. the night, the. white
specter of headless horse, rushing past
with Incredible swiftness and without the
sound of a hoof, brushes the very coat. Of
the traveller, aud immediately disappears
in the darkness. Another lane is haunted
by white woman, whose specter crosses
itin front OF the spectator: and then ap-
,oo.~c l>ohso1 him r. hn k,,v~o h;c boc1.
and looks on one side in order to escape
the sig ht of the apparition, it instantly
crosses to that side. Indeed, no matter
to which direction he glances, the flick
ering figure floats before him till, max
ing a run for it, he passes beyond the
limits of the haunted ground. Near by
the hollow, where the stream crosses the
lane, is another spirit, of an indefinite kind,
that does not seem to take shape, but
abuses those whogo past at the time when
il has power to feel mortal horror. A
black dog may be seen in at least two diff
terent places. The wayfarer is suddenly
surprised to find gigantic animal of the
deepest jet trotting by his side, or he
sees dark shadow detach itself from the
bushes and take the form Ola dog. The
black dog has perhaps more vitality and
survives in more localities than all the ap-
partitions that in the olden times were
sworn to by persons of the highest, verac-
ity. They may still be heard Of in many
q nook and corner. I have known peo-
pie of the present day who were positive
that there really was -"something" weird
in the places where the dog was said to
appear. It is supposed that horses are
peculiarly liable to take fright and run
away, to shy, or stumble and break their
knees at q certain spot in the road. They
go very well till just at passing ithe fatal
spot. a sudden fear seizes them sometimes
they bolt headlong, sometimes the!
stand stock-still and shiver; or throw
their rider by rapid side movement
In the aay-time-for this supernatural