Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1880-10-29
Superstitlens Of Childbirth.

Ii O6uIuark ClllOrou pOru Oh sundays
have characteristics by no means enviable.
Mr.. Thorpe, in his Northern Mythology, ,"
tells us that in Fyen there was a woman
who was born on Sunday, and therefore
had the faculty Of seeing much that was
hidden from others. Unfortunately, on
this account, she could not pass by the
church at night without seeing hearse or
spectre; hence this gift became a perfect
burden to her. She therefore sought the
advice of man skilled in such matters,
who directed her, whenever she saw q
spectre. to say go to heaven" but when
she met a hearse. ''Hang on."- Happening
some time afterwards toe meet hearse,
she, through forgetfulness, cried out, go
to heaven" and straightway the hearse
rose in the air and vanished. Soon after,
meeting spectre, she said to it, "Hang
on, )" whereupon it chung round her neck.
hung on her back, and drove her down in
to the earth before it. For three days her
shrieks were heard before the spectre
would put an end to her wretched life.
In some parts of Scotland the newly born
child was bathed in salt water, and made
to taste it three times. Baptism, too, has
been supposed to be good remedy; and
Mr.. Napier, IN his "Folklore of West of
Scotland quotes an instance in which the
baby was born on Saturday and carried
two miles to church the next day rather
than weeks delay be risked. In the
north of England, when a child pines or
wastes away, the cause assigned Is the
Evil Eye" In days gone coral beads
we're hung around the necks of babies from
an ancient superstitious notion that these
would protect them from evil influences of
every description. Hedrick, too, has given
us the following charm:
"Bring the holy crust of bread,
Lay it underneath the head;
IT'S certain charm to keep,
Hays away while children Sleep
Yet the SuperstitiouS wife
Near the child's heart lay knife,
Point be up and haft be down;
This, 'mongst other mystick charms,
Keeps the sleeping child from harms"
In the north of England, women still
wear round their necks blue woollen
threads. or small cords, till they wean
their children. for the purpose of warding
off fevers, or, as they are nicknamed,
'sweeds and onfas.'' These threads are
handed down from mother to child, and es-
teemed in proportion to their antiquity.
According to Yorkshire notion, a new
boon infant should be laid first in the arms
of maiden before any one touches it; and
in some places the infants right hand is
left Gnwashed in order that he may gather
riches. 1t is, too, considered very lmpor-
tant by many that an infant should go up
in the world before it goes down. Thus,
in Cleveland, says Mr.. Henderson. IF
child should be born in the top story Of
house. for want of flight Of stairs one of
the gossips will take it IN her arms and
mount a table, chair, or chest of drawers,
before she carries it down stairs" In the
north of England, when an infant for the
first time goes out of the house, it is pre-
sented with an egg, some salt, a little loaf
of bread, and occasionally with small
PlcC0 VI IuOu0y-uuOoO SA1 70 OC1uk
to ensure that the child shall never stand
in need of the common necessaries of life.
In the East Riding of orkshire few
matches are added, to light the child to
heaven.
1t was, too, in former times customary,
and the practice is not yet obsolete, of pro-
viding large cheese and cake, and cut
ting them at the birth of a child. These
we're called the ''Groaning Cake and
cheese and were distributed among all
the neighhors. In Yorkshire this cake is
termed the ''PeppeI Cake" and in some
localities the "Sickening Cake" It is the
source of species of divination, for being
cut into small pieces by the medical man,
It is divided among the unmarried of the
female sex, under the name of ''Dreaming
Bread" Each one takes piece, places it
on the foot of the left stocking, and tArows
it over the right shoulder. This being
done, they must retire to bed backward,
without uttering word, and those who
are lucky enough to fall asleep before mid
night are favored with sight of their fu-
go h,s1oandc in their dreams