Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1883-05-12
May Omens aud superstisions.

May Onens and SuPerstfti0nG.
From Harpers Bazaar.
The celebration of the LIST of Nav, and the
superstitions connected with it. have almost as
great hold upon the peasantry of England,
Scotland, and Ireland of to-day as they exer-
cised generations ago, and although the
average Amercan-or rather New Yorker
devotes it to moving. cur foreign populations
have introduced and kept up many old customs
which they were wont to observe at home, and
many May bough will be found on the LIST of
May nailed to the front door to please the
fairies.
| It has also become. in spite of the hard
things said about 1t, month in whicleto marry.
not being satisfactory. The first and most
important was that May being between April,
| which is cOnsecrated to Venus, and June which
IS sacred to Juno, and both these deities being
held propiti0us to marriage, they were not to
be sighted. In Scotland 1t is believed that all
the children born of May marriage Will die
young but that an engagement made in May is
sure to be happy aud lasting one.
May-day Is as much lovers day as the 18th
OF February, and May buildings. May dreams.
May boughs. and May wishes under the Young
May moon are as firmly believed in and as much
sought after as st. Valentines or Halloween
| signs
In the Highlands an oat-cake is baked, and the
usSn~pIicoU Va Iuc -CcIcIuOuy breaks OH certain
pieces. Some Of them he throws into the flre
| which has been kindled In the yard or ON the
| green, with these words: ''This give @ Boal:
preserve my horses; this give. o Boal; pre-
serve my kline" and so on Then he throws
Fox; spare my lambs; this to thee, Hooded
Grow; this to thee, O Eagle"
In County Cork and in some of the counties Of
Connaught and Ulster, Ireland, May b0nfires
are stu it and all over Ireland small fire is lit
IN tpNepr suNAn
ana cattle are made to pass through 1t as q pre-
ventive against sickness or the evil eye, and It
IL not unfrequent to see a fire kindled at the
mont door OF each little cabin at sunset May-day
| 70 Keep Oh eVii. ms custom prevails to some
extent among the shanty jewellers on Manhat-
tan Island.
On no account will an Irfshman or Scotch
Highlander allow bit of fire or water to be
taken from his home on New Year or May day,
but he will do his best to borrow from any one
| that he wishes to get the better of during the
year.
Amongst the girls the greatest rivalry prevails
as to who shall draw the first pail of water on
May morning, and in any New York home
. where Irish help is employed it may be noticed
that the girls are always up bright and early on
this day, for the first up will be first married
The first person entering house Ia ALWAYS
asked to take dash, or to help do some tribe,
! to show good will and friendship
Any anxiety on the part Of the housewife to
discover If there will be an increase or decrease
In the family can be satisfied If she will on May
eve sweep the hearth-stone clean, and then
sprinkle 1t with fine ashes. If in the morning
there should be a footprint pointing toward
other way, there will be an addition to the fam
lily circle; If 1t Is just as she left it, then all will
remain So
In the north If young girl wishes to dream
OF her future husband, she must go late on May
eve to black sally-tree and pluck therefrom
nine sprigs. the last of which she throws over
her right shoulder; the remaining eight must be
put into the foot of her right stocking, then
she must place it under her pillow, and her faith
being strong, she will in dream see her future
husband.
Still another mode of obtaining the same
knowledge consists In going after sunset ON
May-eve to bank on which yarr0w is growing
pientlfuily and gathering therefrom nine sprigs
OF the plant; while gathering 1t she repeats the
following:
"Good.morrow. good-morrow, fair yarrow,
And thrice g0od-morrow to thee!
Come, tell me before tomorrow
Who my true-ove shall be-"
The yarrow Is brought home. put into the right
tic dream Is sure to come; but should the girl
speak after she has pulled the yarTow the charm
is broken.
Among the Yorkshire girls custom prevails
of going to neighboring well and dropping a
noggin or small tin bucket while repeatinu the
name Of their lover. 1t must be left there all
night. II in the morning it is still floating it is
lucky sign; but If it has sunk, then she need
look nor wait no longer for him. In the south
ern states the snail charm Is resorted to. The
little animal that is here pressed into service is
not the box snail, but the common slug. and
should be discovered accidentally. When found
tt must be placed between two plates. on one of
which is sprinkled iour-the other Is used to
cover it-and left all night; next morning the
maid seeks to discover the initial of her secret
lovers name in the Shiny track left BY the snail.
But Scotch lassies think the surest way to dis
cover the coming lover is to search the pudding.
rice or bread pudding Is prepared, into which
Is dropped a ring. a button, aud thimble. and
also piece OF money. The ring, you will be
married; the button, You will marry an old
bachelor; the thimble, you will remain as you
are; and II you get the money, why. great good
luck viii come to you.
The May dew as every one knows, possesses
peculiar virtues, but not alone for it's cosmetic
powers, for the irish girls employ it-as Lover
has touchtngly described In his song Of the
May Dew" as bond Of peculiar power among
lovers.
Bon: Perlcy POOre,s Friends.
Major Ben: Perley Poore Is over 62, while his