Centre Democrat. [volume] (Bellefonte, Pa.) 1848-1989, 1881-03-24
THE LOOKING-GLAsS.
some Queer Supcrrtitions Concerning IL
Magic Mirrors, Etc.

AS Il piece Of furniture the looking
glass is most necessary, and it's very i'm
portance is among the chief reasons why
supcrstitious fancy has invested il with
those mysterious qualities which Ger
tainly do not belong to chairs and
tables. A chair, however beautiful and
costly in it's manufacture, may be cruelly
broken with perfect impunity; whereas,
If some wretched, dilapidated mirror is
accidentally cracked, such an event is
sure to be followed by misfortune of
some kind or other Most readers are,
no doubt, acquainted with Bonapartcs
superstition on this point. During one
of his campaigns in Italy he broke the
glass over Josephine's portrait. So dia.
turbed WAS he at this, as he thought.
Ominous occurrence that he never rested
until the return Of the courier whom hr
had forthwith dispatched to convince
himself of her safety, 80 strong WIS the
impression Of her death upon his mind.
In Cornwall breaking n looking -glas. is
believed to insure seven years Of SORROW:
and Yorkshire provcrb informs us that
such an unfortunate occurrence entails
"scyen years trouble, but no want" In
Scotland to smash looking glass hang
ing against the wall is regarded as an
infalliblc sign that member Of the
family will shortly die. Grosc, alludng
to this superstition, SAYS il foretclls the
speedy d"coase Of the master Of the
house.
In the south Of England it * regarded
highly unlucLy for a bride on her we'd
ding day 10 look in the glngs, when she
is completely dressed before starting
for the church. Hence very great care
il usually taken 10 put on glove or
some slight article of adornmcnt, after
the last lingering and reluctant look has
been taken in the mirror. The idea, We
are informed. is that any young lady who
j. too fond Of the lookingglass will bc
unfortunate when married. This is not.
however, the only way in which super
siition intcrfcrcs with the growu-up
mAidcn's peeps in tho looking glass
Thus Swedish damsols are afraid Of look
ing in the glass after dark, or hy candle
light, lost by 80 doing they forfeit the
GOODWILL Of the other scN. On the other
hand, in our own country, the looking
glass occasionally holds prominent po-
-ition in love diYuatious. In the north
crn counties number of Young men
and women meet together on St Agncs's
eve at midnight, and go one by one, to a
certain fold, whore they scatter some
grain. after which they repeat the fol
lowing rhyme:
AEuo- ~v,c' auI Arue- fair
HiihsT. hl'L,r nnu repair.
Enuus Agnes lsi ms HDr
The laA alp D. 60 msrrE me"
On their return home it j. believed that
the shadow Of the destined bride or
bridegroom will be seen in q looking
gla>, on this very night. Hence, for
many an hour together the young in
quirors sit MP watching the looking glass.
before which they not uufrcquontly fall
asleep. miStAking the visions that have
appeared in their dreams for actual re-
alitics. Belgian girls who desire to see
their husbands in n dream lav their
gartcrs crosswisc AZ the foot Of the bed
and looking-Rla under their pillow /:
in this glass they believe, the desired
image will appear The practice Of
covering OF removing the looking glass
from the chamber Of death still prevails
in some parts Of Engand-th notion,
according to some, being that "all
over with the deceased" Mr. Barring
Gould considers that the true reason for
shrouding the lookinggla before a
funeral was that given him in Warwick
shire, where there is a popular notion
that II person looks into a mirror in
the chamber Of death he will see the
corpse looking over his shoulder. A
similar superstition prevails in some
parts Of Devonshire.
II the looking glass is associated with
marriage and death, So it is with in
fancy; for. according to piece Of Dur
ham folklore. a boy or girl should never
be allowed 10 look in one until year
old. In days gone by, too, it appears to
have been customary for both sexes to
wear small looking-glasses fantastic
fashion ridiculed by Ben Jonson and
others of his time. Men even wore
them in their hats. "Whcre is your
page? Cali for your casting bottle, and
place your mirror in your hat, as | told
YOU" This, we may suppose, was the
very height Of afrcctation, by the man
ner in which Ben Jonson introduces il
but there can be no doubt, TO use the
words Of Mr. Clifford, that both men
and women wore them publicly--the