The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1883-01-19
Superstitions About Love.

From the earliest times no event In
human life has been associated with
more extensive folk lore than marriage.
Beginning with love diyinations, these
are OF every conceivable kind, the aux.
ious maiden apparently having left no
stone unturned in her anxiety tO ascer-
tain her lot in the marriage state. Some
cut the common brake or fern just
about the root to ascertain the initials
of the future husbands name. Again,
nuts and apples are very fsyorite love
tests. The mode Of procedure is for =
girl to place on the bars Of crate .
nut. repeating this incarnation:
II he loves me, pop AMI ny;
II he hates me. live and die.
Great is the dismay il the anxious
face of the inquirer gradually perceives
the nut, instead Of making the hoped
for pop, die and make no sign. One
means OF divinatiOn is to throw \ lady
bird into the air. and repeating mean
while the subjoined couplet:
Fly away east and iiy away west,
Show me where lives the one love best
Should this little insect "ha,ce to dy
in the direction Of al. uOt,a. ...rc the
loved-one resides, It il regarded a. q
most favorable omen.
Another species of love diviuatiOn
once observed consisted in obtaining
five bay leaves. four OF which the anx-
iOus maiden pinned at the four corners
of her pillow, and the fifth in the mid
die. Ii she was fortunate enough to
dream of her lover, it was II sure sign
that he would be married to her in the
course of the year.
Friday had been held a good day Of
the week for love omens; and in Nor
folk the following lines are repeated on
three nights successfully, as on the last
one it is believed that the young lady
will dream of her future husband:
Tonight, tonight Is Friday night,
Lay me down In dirty white:
Dream who my husband Is to be,
And lay my children by my side,
IL I'm to live 10 be his bride.
In selecting the time for the mar.
riage ceremony precautions OF every
kind have generally been taken to avoid
an unlncky month and day for the knot
to be tied. Indeed. the old Roman no
ton that the May marriages are I'M
lucky survives to this day in England.
June is highly popular month. FRI
day, On account Of its being regarded
as an inauspicious and evil day for the
commencement of any kind Of enter
prise. is generally avoided.
In days gone by Sunday appears to
have been popular day for marriages.
1t is above all things, necessary that the
sun should shine on the bride, and it is
deemed absolutely necessary by very
many that she should weep on her we'd
ding day. if il be only few tears; the omis-
sion of such an act being considered
ominous of her future happiness.
In Sussex, u bride on her return home
from church is often robbed of all her
pins about her dress by the single wo-
men present, from the belief that who
ever possesses one of them will be mar
ried in the course of year. and evil
fortune will sooner or later inevitably
overtake the bride who keeps even one
pin used in the marriage toilet.
.'Flinging the stocking" was an old
marriage custom in England. The
young men took the brides stockings,
and the girls those Of the bridegroom,
each of whom, sitting at the foot of the
bed. threw the stockings over their
heads. endeavoring to make it fall up
on that of the bride. or her spouse. II
The bridegroom's stockings, thrown by
the girls. fell upon the bridegroom's
head, it was a sign that they themselves
would soon be married. and similar luck
was derived from the falling of the
brides stockings. thrown by the young
men. There is superstitiOus notion in
some places that when the bride retires
to rest on her wedding night her brides
maids should lay her stockings across,
as this act is supposed to guarantee her
future prosperity in the marriage state.
Something TO Read.