Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1888-06-29

with regard to them eEistssvsn among
our own people.
A curious Jewish tradition reports
that Adam vas entirely clothed Ia q
har6, horny skin, and only lest e and
becams subject to evil spirits on los
ing Paradise. The nails aEa the rem
nants Of this dress, but they are So
cred, and who ever cuts them on and
throws the cuttings away does hin-
self an injury. An old Persian Chron:
Gle says that Eve also possessed this
dress, and the nails were left to remind
them Of the loss Of Paradise.
The Ancient Edda Of the Ecandina-
vians tells of a great ship, Eagliar.
which will appear at the last day. It
Is made Of dead mems nails, and par
ings should not be thrown away, nor
should any one die with impaired
nails, ''ior he who dies SO, supplies
material for the building Of that yes
sci, which gods and men viii wish were
finished as late as possible"
The Jewish Talmud OF Babylon for
bids the Jews to leave the nail-parings
on the ground, for fear OF the cOnse-
quences to women passing over them.
They should be burned or hidden
away. Another old work says: ''He
who burns the pariugs Of his nails is
a piOus man; he who buries them is
equally so; but he who casts them on
the earth is an impiOus man." Many
Jews still carefully burn or bury these
a n Cd
between two small bits o. wood and
consumed. The reason alleged is that
the body should be burned or buried,
and that nail pairing being left above
ground, the soul of the possessOr will
wander abroad after his death. In
Norway they are burned, or else one
will have to gather the pieces on the
last day.
There are many curious beliefs in
regard to the manner in which the
nails should be cut. He who has had
the habit Of pairing them frequently
will have no good luck, say Andalu.
sian wiseraCres, and he who cuts
them over a fire, allowing the parings
to drop into it. will become q fool.
In Iceland. it is believed that any
one turning toward the north
while trimming his nails will soon die.
Norwegian peasants say you must use
the knife with which you trim the
nails TO cut something else before put
ting it away. If you cut with it three
times into wood you are free from
any danger of sOrcsrY. Arabs proper.
ly regard it as bad taste to bite the
nails.
The nails of infants are regarded
with peculiar attention in many lands.
it is generally thought throughout
Europe that they must not be cut at
all until the child has attained a GER
tain age. In one part OF France, it IS
said that they must not be trimmed
at all or the child will grow slowly; in
in an other that 1t will not learn to
talk soon; in another, that it will be
q thief; in another, that cutting them
before the child is seven years old, will
destroy its wit, while the limit in still
another part of the same country is
but one year.
In Germany, and in parts Of Eng.
land, 1t is SAID that the child will be-
come a thief if its nails are cut while
at the breast, and it is prescribed both
in these countries and in France. that
they should be bitten OF, preferably
by the mother. Many mothers in our
own country believe this, and prefer
tender grOWths.
An old English prOverb says:
Better a child had nser been born,
Than cut his nails on q Sunday mOrn.'
In Sicily, to avoid trouble, q piece Of
money is put into a child's hands the
first time It's nails are trimmed. An
dalusian mothers carefully cut them
from behind the door If they wish the
child to be a good singer, while North
cumberland parents bury the first
cutting under an ash tree for the same
reason. 1t is said in many parts of
France, and In many parts our cOun-
try that q 7-months child has no
nails.
At to Monday. you should cut
them then, if you neglect 1t Saturday,
for then you will not suffer from the
tOothache, say Vendean peasants. 1t
is also a good day in Berne for a
ike reason. In the department Of
Deux- Sevress France, II you cut them
Monday morning, you wall have a
present or good fortune Of some kind
during the week. In POmerania, on
the contrary, it is believed that you
will have no luck throughout the week,
if you cut them on the first day. The
same uncertainty attends the opera
ton performed on Tuesday. In
Calabria, in Normandy, in Maine and
In Valencienness to cut them on
Tuesday. Wednesday or Friday is
unfortunate, for you will have hang
nails. 1t is a lucky day in Berne, for
you will never have the malaria or
tOothache, if you cut them then. In
Sussex. England. it is said, If you cut
them on Tuesday morning without
thinking OF a fOX's tail, you viii get a
present. In Lusatia, it Is said that
cutting them on Wednesday keeps
them from growing until the next
Sunday. Thursday seems to be a
lucky day to perform this act Of neces-
sity, for it IS without mention In the