Evening journal., 1888-11-01
SUPERSTITION IN RouMANlA.
observances Which Are Required TO In
sure Personal safety-Oid Relief.

sure Personal safety--OId Belief.
COUNTLESS are the superstitions which gov
ern the daily life of the Roumanian. and the
observances which are required to insure his
safety in the midst of the mysterious dam
gers which surround him. Neither on We'd
nesday nor Friday should be take bread or
use needle or scissors, nor should a bargain
be concluded on those days On Tuesday no
spinning should be done, and there is even
danger in washing tho hands or combinc the
hair "May tho spirit of Tuesday evening
carry you oRp' is equivalent to saying "NIay
the devil take you'll" Neither should any
one make the mistake of supposiag that on
the comparatively lucky days of Monday,
Thursday and Saturday he may safely do as
he pleases. One may attend to the house,
hold wash on Thursday and spin on Satur-
day, but terrible consequences would ensue
should this order be reversed. 1t is true
that Thursday is lucky day for marriages,
but it is most inauspicious for field labor.
The exact hour of noon is always a dam
gerous moment and SO is midnight; it is
safer to be in the house at these times. The
night before Easter Sunday witches and de-
mons are about and flames betray the site Of
hidden treasures. None but the most reck-
less peasant, however, would dare appropri-
night they cannot be taken without sin. a
whirlwind shows that the de-il is dancing
with witch, and whoever comes near the
circle nay be swept of to hell. Ono should
neither point at the rainbow nor at an APP
proaching storm, and "if house struck by
lightning begins to burn, it Is not allowed to
put out the flames, because God has lit the
fire, and it were presumptuous for man to
dare NEEDLE with his work" Whoever turns
three somersaults the first time he hears the
thunder will be free from pains in the back
for the following year. 1t is lucky to meet a
gypsy the first thing in the morning, and it
is also lucky TO meet woman with iugful
Of water, while an empty jug or pail is un-
lucky; therefore the Roumanian maiden
meeting you on the way back from the well
will display her brimming pitcher as she
passes with a pleased consciousness of bring
ing good luck, while the girl whose pitcher is
empty will stink past shamefacedly, as
though she had a crime to conceal
1t was an old Roumanian belief that in the
building of a large edifics it was absolutely
essential that living human being should
be built into the walls to give them stability.
There can be no doubt that this baTbarous
custom was often observed, and the remnant
Of it is seen in the practice which still pre-
walls of walling into any large building the
shadow of living man. The shadow Of
some person. whe must be unconscious of the
spell to be cast upon him, is measured with a
cord or strips of reed, and the measure is in
TERED within the wall. The victim is sure to
pine and die within forty days A careless
passer near some building in process of cree
ton may even now hear a warning cry from
the bystanders; beware lest they take thy
shadoww 1t is not long since there were pro
fessional shadow traders, whose business it
was to supply architects with the necessary
victims.-"The Land Beyond the Forest"