The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1881-11-26
Domestic Folk Lore.
Omens Regarding Births, Childhood, Love
ang Courtship, Marriage, Death and
Burial.

easy one, as the railroads and public schools
are fast sweeping away the old beliefs and Gus
toms, which, in days gone by, held such
prominent place in social and domestic life.
OF nursery folk lore th re is great stock in
all countries The evil eye is thoroughly be-
lieved in n the old countries, and remedies
against the disaster are numerous. In Corn
wall the believers resort to this plan to arrest
il: Before sunrise the child is brought to
blacksmith of the seventh genaration and laid
on the anvil. The smith raises his hammer as
if he were about to strike the hot iron, but
brings it gently down on the child's body.
This is done three times, after which the child
is considered certain to amend. In Scotland
the people use "gold and silver water as
charm to avert the evil eye. A sovereign and
shilling are put into water, which is sprinkled
over the patient in tire name of the Trinity
Again, in the Highlands of Scotland, ash sap
is given to new born children, because, in com
mon with the rowan, that tree is supposed to
possess the property Of resisting the attacks OF
witches, fairies and other imps of darkness.
The Irish think that not only their children,
but their cattle are ''eye bitten when they
fall suddenly sick.
In Yorkshire it is stated that new born in
fant should always be placed first in the arms
of maiden before anyone else touches IL.
Again, there is a common idea that baby and
kitten cannot thrive in the same house. Few
nurses can be found courageous enough to
weigh a young child, from superstitious no
tion that it is unfortunate to do SO, the child
often dying, or at any rate not thriving after
ward. Equally unfortunate too, is it consid
cred to rock the baby empty cradle. it being
an omen of its death-a belief which also pre-
walls in Scotland. A curious Northumberland
belief affirms that il the parings of the child's
nails are carefully buried under an ash tree il
will turn out in after years capital singer. IL
is also popular fancy in nursery-folk lore that
the ch lids future career in this world can be
easily argued from the little specks on its nails,
species of palmistry still extensively credited
by even educated persons, and one, too, not
confined TO infancy. Again, the infants tiny
hands are not free from superstition, and here
and there, throughout the country, there is
notion that for the first few months after its
birth, the right one should remain unwashed,
the reason assigned for this strange piece of &C.
centricty being that it may sther riches. Ac-
cording to another idea, children born open
handed are said to be of boustiful disposition.
In Scotland, too, great attention is paid as to
which hand child uses when taking up for
the first time spoon to eat If II should hap
pen to be the left, then, alas, he is doomed to
be an nnlucky fellow all his life.
Again, il baby frets and does not appear to
thrive, it is supposed by some to be- longing"
Thus Sussex nurse one day said to | dy:
baby isiso uncommon fretly. do believe he
1.,x,rr for acE
what ne could be longing for, she replied:
Something that his mother longed for, and
did not get, before he was born and the best
way to satisfy him would be, think, to try
him with branded cherry some hare's
brains - This piece of superstition, however,
is not confined to Sussex.
A popular prayer for children, formerly in
use, and not yet forgotten, is this:
''Matthew, Mark, Lu Q and john
Bless the bed lie upon;
our corners TO my bed,
-Four angels at its h ad,
Oe TO atch, two 10 pray,
fa And ons to b my soul away;
G d within d God without.
Sweet Jesus Christ ali round about;
1T l die before wake,
pray to Col my soul 10 take"
School life has its customs aud superstitions,
many of which have been transmitted from
generation TO generation; and childhood, 1h-
deed, would seem quite incomplete without
them Thus, according TO an odd notion uni
versally accepted in days gone by, aud still re-
ceiyed with implicis faith, if the masters cane
is carefully nicked at the upper emo, and halr
inserted, il will as soon as used split immedi-
ately TO the very tip. In school games the usu-
vi antipathy to odd numbers is found, and a
caild is easily persuaded TO give away marble
to make the number even. kind of dlvina-
tioi, is also still frequently employed by boss TO
settle matters of difficulty, such, for example,
as W bo shall be the leaders in game, the
choic . of partners and other details which are
deemtsd of eqnal Importance. The mode OF
proceed Sre ia this: A long stick is thrown into
The air. and caught by one of the parties Each
one then grasps it, hand over hand, and he
Who succ eeds in getting the last hold is the sue
cessful patty. Mr.. Henderson says that an odd
expression was formerly connected with the
lending of knife among boys for the cutting
of a cake or any other dainty, the borrowers
being asked to give it back "laughing," i. O.,
xith some of the good things it was used TO
cut.
LOVE AND coURTsHIP sUPERsTITIoNs.
No event in human lives has, from the ear
liest times been associated with more exten-
sive folklore than marriage, which is. indeed,
no matter of surprise, considering that this Is
naturally looked upon as the happiest epoch
the sttnllnugs b0natD1--of each ones career IN
this world. Hence TO write a detailed accou Dt
of the charms, omens and divinations, as well
as of the superstitious aud customs, connected
with marriage. including its early stages OF
love and courtship, would require Volume
for itself, SO varied and widespread IS this sub
ject of universal interest
In the present article, however have been
collected together, in as condensed form as
possible, some of the principal items OF folk
lore connected with love and courtship, as we
fnd them scattered here and there throughout
the country. Commencing, then, with love di-
vinations, these are of every conceivable kind,
the anxious maiden apparently having left no
stone unturned in her anxiety to ascertain her
lot in the marriage state. Hence. in her natu-
raj longings to raise the vail OF futurity, the
aspirant to matrimony, if she be at all of su-
perstitious turn of mind, seldom let's an oppor-
tunity pass by without endeavoring to gaiu
from t some sign or token OF the kind OF aus
band that is in store for her.
The use of plants in love cha-ms Is very nu-
merous The daadelion, as plant OF omen, is
much in demand. AS soon as lis seeds are ripe
they stand above the head of the plant in
.yiobular form, with feathery top at the end
~ each seed. aud then are without difficulty
detached. When in this condition the flower
stalk must be carefully plucked, so as not 10 IN
iure the globe of seeds, the charm consisting IN
blowing off the seeds with the breath. The
numbuer of puffs that are required to blow ev-
ery seed clean off indicates the number of years
that must eispsee before the person is mar
ried
Some days ars considered specially propitious
in practicing love divinations. Foremost
among these is ST.. Valentines day, festival
which has been considered highly appropriat To
for such ceremonies, s.there is an old tradition
that ON this day birds choose their mates, no.
ton which is frequently alluded to by the poets
| and particularly oy Chaueer, aud to which ref
erence is also made in "a Midsummer Nights
Dream"
0Good-morrow. friends St. Valentine is past;
B~in the wood birds but to couple now.'
Tins the Deyonshire young ladies have a
| fancy that on ST. Valentines day they can, II
thew wish, make certain of their future. II SO
disnosed they go into the churchyard at mid
night, with same hempseed in their hand,
which. after they have walked round the
| church a certain number OF times. they scatter
| on either side as they return homewald, re-
| peating certain charm. 1t is supposed that
the true lover will be seen taking up the hemp
seed Just sown, aJtired for Gne ceremony in
sinuingsheet. Another species of love divina-
sa0u once observed consisted in obtaining tive
eae leaves, four of which the anxious maiden
oiilred at the four corners OF her pillow, aud
he f;fsh in the middle II she was fortunate
to dream of her lover it was a sure sign she
would be married to him in the course oil the
verr. Again, some young people would boil an
~ hard. aud, after taking out the contsnts,
ti1i the she'll with salt, the charm consisting in
II "A lf to had of