Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1888-08-23
LORE OF TIE HAIR.
SOME OF THE SUPERSTITIONS EN-
TERTAlNED IN VARIOUS COUNTRIES.

| Custom.
The bolef that the hair, like the nails,
must be cut Mt certain times only and that il
is unlucky to trim hair or beard at other
| times, is very old Petronius SAYS it must
not be done at sea, lest a storm ensue. and
forty blows were necessary to overcome the
evil effects of such deed in a Roman vessel
Propertus says the same; and Juvenal SAYS
the hair was only given us as a final Offering
to the gods. and should not be cut at other
times. 1t was a bad omen even to dream of
| cutting the hair, as it portended shipwreck
In Calahria at the present day, the hair.
like the mails, must not be cut on Tuesday,
Wednesday or Friday In England the old
rhyme says;
| Friday cut and Sunday shorn
Better never had been born
And in Devonshire, as in many places in our
own country, it must not be cut during the
waning moon, and Friday is an unlucky dav
i'll Iceland, where il is said the one who cuts
his halr then will die soon, and in Oldenburg,
where it is then cut, for sorrow
| The sudden loss of the hair, ur IA consider
able portion of it, is also regarded in many
places as unfortunate In England it is said
| that loss Of children, health OF property Will
| ensue- The attachment Of the Chinaman for
his queue IS well known. 1t is regarded ns a
| disgrace to have it cut of, as well as entail
ing bad luck upon the owner This is the
more strange since 1t Is mark of conquest
| imposed upon the Chinese 10y their Manchu
| princes.
| USE CAUTION WHEN CoMBING
| Combing is an act that sometimes must be
| pursued with canton In Scotland it was
| thought that combing it by candlelight. or
at night at all, would cause disaster to friends
at sea. Many fear TO throw away their hair
| when cut off or combed out Ancient Greeks
offered 1t to the gods, and japanese present
II as a thank Offering for preservation al sea.
irish maldens of the last century hung their
hair up before the shrine of st Urbane, that
1t might be long and yellow. The Persian
Nendad forbade the casting away Of the
hair or nails, as the devils would then gain
| increased power. The hair must be buried
III hole dug Ten fingers deep, at a distance
of ten PAGES from the faithful, twenty-five
from fire, thirty from water and fifty from
the sacred brooms, and then three circles
drawn around 1t with a metal knife aud
three, six or nine PRAYERS said.
In parts of England 1t is thought imnrudent
TO throw away cuttings and combngs of the
halr, CT TO leave it living about Some say if
birds get It and build Nests Herewith. it Will
be fatal 10 the person from whose head the
hair was cut. II the bird were a magpie he
would die in year and n day Others say it
should not be burned, but buried as the
owner Will return for 1t at the resurrection
ash 2 Is int. . h.,
and if it burns up brightly it is a sign of lon
gevity' the greater the higher the flame, hut
II 1t smolders and burns slowly it is n sign of
death. In Belgium it is thought that witches
will gain possession Of hair carelessly thrown
away, and thus acquire power over the
former Possessor of it. The Gauchos of
South America fear TO cast the hair to the
winds but put it carefully away in holes in a
wall
AS A REMEDY FOR DISEASE
As remedy for certain Diseases the hair
is sometimes cut Off or the hair itself used
incidentally In Devonshire. England fr
you have the ague all you need do is to cut
off some of your hair ard convey the disease
to your next neighbor by buryi1e these locks
under his door step In Scotland when y
child was afflicted with boils, it was formerly
a custom to cut off its hair and throw it in
the fire, and thus compel witches to come
and remove the disease Irish peasants cut
of the hair from the head of anv one suf
fering from scarlet fever, and convey the
disease IL an ass by crammiug the hair down
its throat In Hertfordshire, to cure the
ague, peg a lock of your hair into a Young
oak tree, and wrench it from the head.
with
hair was formerly used as a Scotch remedy
for epilepsy. and, mixed with nail cuttings
and hair from the eyebrows. it was a specific
for convulsIOns- The Arabs believe that the
smoke of burning hair taken from Christ
ian's head will cure any disease
The hair is also used as a charm in Ireland
Womans hair is cut off, and locks of it made
into bracelets, rings, etc, to be used as
charms. Perhaps the custom of obtaining, "A
lock of hair from any one for whom Won
have a regard arose from such superstitlun
Witches were said TO desire IA similar token
for evil purposes.
Some instances of divination by the hair
have been given In Nestphalia when a
man first sees the new moon, if he finds a
hair in his shoe or under his foot it is thought
to be an indication Of a speedy marriage and
the color Of his wife's hair viii be the same
as that found. The poet Gay records similar
notions in England There was a singular
custom in ancient Greece connected with the
hair A bride must have her hair combed
with a spear that had belonged to some one
slain in battle, or that had been dyed with
the blood of some one slain thus. This would
assure her bringing forth brave sons-F S
Bassett in Globe-Democrat