, 1880-10-04
some pea -porridge, which he was in
such hurry t0 devour that he sealded
his mouth:

| bOuO Pca- poiIiukcs W0ICu 0o WSo II
such hurry t0 devour that he sealdet
his mouth:
| "Tke man in the moon
Came tumbling down,
And aaked his way to Norwich
but whether he ever reached his desti
nation we are not told. An Australian
legend says that originally the moor
was native cat, who fell in love will
some one else's wife, and was driver
away to wander ever since. Among
the Esquimaux the sun is o maiden
and the moon is her brother; and the
Khasias of the Himalaya say that the
moon falls every month in love with
his mother-in law, who throws ashes
in his face, whence his spots. The
tribes of the Malsyan Peninsula be-
lieve that the moon is o woman, and
the stars are her children; whereas in
South America there is legend that
the moon is man, and the sun is his
wife.
One of the superstitions associated
with the moon is its supposed influence
in healing certain diseases. In the
south of England the May new moon
is said to have a share in curing scrof-
ulous complaints. An interesting case
is related of a man residing near
Chichester who twice travelled into
Dorsetshire with different members of
his family to place them under "cun-
ming man residing there. His charms
were only potent in the month
of May. He further required his
patients to have their eyes fixed upon
the new May moon while they received
from his hands boxes of ointment
made from herbs gathered when the
moon was full. On one occasion as
many as two hundred persons waited
to be charmed. In Staffordshire a
remedy for whooping cough consists
in taking ont the child to let it SEE the
new moon, at the same time rubin g
its stomach and repeating the follow
ing invocation
What see, may it increase;
What feel may it decrease;
In the name Of the Father, Son, and Holy
Ghost. Amen"
In Cornwall the clnb-moss, if properly
gathered, is considered "good against
all diseases of the eyes," The gather
ing is regarded as mystery, and if
any man ventures to write the secret.
the virtues of the moss avail him no
more. In spite of this, however, some
one has boldly revealed to us this won
derful secret, the mystery of which,
to quote his own words, is this !: ron
the third day of the moon, when the
thin crescent is seen for the first time,
show it the knife with which the moss
is to be cut, and say,
"IsAs Christ healed the issue OF blood,
Do thou cut what tkou cuttest for good
At sundown, having carefully washed
the hands, the club moss is to be cut
kneeling. 1t is to be carefully wrapped
in a fine linen cloth, and subsequently
boiled in some water taken from the
spring. nearest to its Place of growth.
This may be used as fermentation, or
the club moss may be made into an
ointment with butter made from the
milk of new COW. In Devonshire
the hair and nails should always be cut
during the waning of the moon, and
persons troubled with corns are reconl-
mended to cut them after the moon has
been at its full.
When the moons horns appear to
point upward, it is said by the weather
wise to be like a boat, and in many
parts there is an idea that when it is
thus situated there will be no rain-a
superstition which George Eliot de-
scribes in Adam Bede: ct 'ud ha'
been better luck if they'd ha' buried
him i the forenoon, when tho rain was
fallin'; there's no Likelihood OF drop
now. An the moon lies like boat
there. That's q sure sign of fair
weather." According to sailors, when
the moon is in this position it denotes
fine weather, for, to use their phrase,
" You might hang your hat upon it."
In Liverpool, however, it is considered
a sign of foul wealth .r, as the moon is
Low considered to be like basin full
of water about to fall. The Scotch
proverb expressive of the same fancy
inculcates the following admonition
"The honey moon is on her back;
Mend your shoes and sort your thack.'
Whenever a planet or large star is
seen near the moon it is said by sea-
faring men to prognosticate boisterous
WeatucT, IOr, W maAo uSo VI tuelI
term, "A big star is dogging the
moon" "Some years ago." says
correspondent of Notes and Queries, " a
fisherman of Torquay told me, after a
violent gale, that he had foreseen the
STERN, as he had observed one star
ahead of the moon towing her, and
another astern chasing her."
The moons eclipse has been from
the earliest times held as ominous, and
hence just as unlucky for lawful en-
terprises as suitable for evil designs.
The Romans supposed it resulted from
the influence OF magical charms. to
counteract which they had recourse to
the sound of brazen implements of all
kinds. Shakespeare, too, in the Tempest
A. ~