Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1888-12-06
SILLY suPERsTlTIoNs.
Observances Required to Insure Persona
Safety fn Roumania.

Safety in Roumania.
Countless are the superstitions which
govern the daily life of the Roumanian,
and the observances which are required
to insure his safety in the midst of the
mysterious dangers which surround
him. Neither On Wednesday nor Fri
day should he take bread or use needle
or scissors, nor should bargain
be. concluded on those days. On
Tuesday no spinning should be
done, and there is even danger
in washing the hands or combing the
hair. MAY the spirits of Tuesday
carry you OFF, is the equivalent to say
ing MAY the devil take your Neither
should any one make the mistake OF
supposing 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 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 inauspi-
cious for field labor.
The exact hour of noon is always q
dangerous moment, and so is mid
night; it is safer to be in the house at
these times. The night before Easter
Sunday witches and demons are about,
and flames betray the site of hidden
treasures. None but the most reck-
less peasant, however, would dare ap-
propriate the treasures thus revealed,
for on that night they can not be
taken without sin. A whirlwind
shows that the devil is dane
ing with witch, and whoever
comes near the circle may be
swept on to hell. One should neither
point at the rainbow nor at an ap-
preaching 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 pre-
sumptuous for man to dare NEEDLE with
His work" Whoever turns three SOM
ersaults 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 a woman with a jugful of water,
while an empty jug or pail is unlucky;
therefore the Roumanian maiden
meeting you on the way back from the
well will display her trimming pitcher
as she passes, with a pleased consci-
BUSINESS of bringing good luck, while
the girl whose pitcher IS empty will
stink past shamefacedly. as though she
had crime to conceal"
1t was an old Roumanian belief that
in the building of large edifce it was
absolutely essential that human being
should be built into the walls to give
them stability. There can be no doubt
that this barbarous custom was often
observed, and the remnant of it is seen
in the practice which still prevails of
walling into any large building the
shadow of living man. The
shadow of some person, who must
be unconscious of the spell to
be cast upon him, is measured
with cord or strips of reed. and the
measure is inferred within the wall.
The victim is sure to pine and die
within forty days. A careless passer
near some building in process of erec-
ton may even now hear the warning
cry from the bystanders: Beware
lest they take thy shadow It is not
long since there were professional
shadow traders, whose business it was
to supply architects with the neces-
sary victims. -Gartenldube.