The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1889-08-31

directions. A lighted candle or ''splin
ter can never be extingulshed in sucl
hand, and wherever it is placed a
night, all near it must sleep the sleel
of the dead until 1t is taken away. Gar
ments and Other articles which have
come IN contact with the dead ar, Yer,
efficacious in disease. Candle ends USED
at wakes are highly priced for scalds
and burns. Over in Connemara to this
day funeral procession on its way tt
church will halt at some distance away
and cast together huge pile OF stopes
This is a track on the evil one. The
latter on his way after the soul stops al
the heap aud rummages within it.
searching long and carefully: and poor
Pat. the deceased, has been in this way
given little advantage in the race in
territory of the ''Beyant." The last one
buried in churchYard is believed to do
all manner OF menial service for those
having been
PREVIOUSLY BURIED.
This accounts for the otherwise mex.
plicable bloody fights when two fune-
rails happen to come to the burial place
at the same time. An amicable adjust
ment ofsuch difficulty is to have every
spadeful of earth turned at the same in-
stant, and the bodies simultaneously
h01 r.,
have the bitterest experiences if buried
at any distance from their home while
living; and this belief is so fixed that
the keen anguish of the aged IN leaving
their neighborhoods is largely accounted
for. When abroad at night one never
turns at the sound Of footsteps behind.
For these are often those of the dead
hungering for human companionship,
and their glance is fatal. When the
dead are sent back to earth with mes
sages announcing other deaths. they are
themselves Thus released from purga
tory. When a corpse retains animal
heat overlong, another member of the
family is to die within the year. Death
omens Of minor character, such as the
hOwl1ng of@a dog with it's head toward
the house for near, and away from the
house for distant relative; the croak-
ing of ravens, ringing In the ears.
March roosters growing before mid
night, flies alighting on SICK person,
butterflies flying about and the like are
countless. Any three idle strokes OF a
stick in the ashes. or spade or other
farm tool in the soil, making figure
resembling a coffin, is certain to por-
tend death in ones family. ANY child
born on Whit Sunday, or the day after,
is doomed to an unnatural death. and
it is invariably named after some par
ticular saint to ward off the curse.
Every donkey IN Ireland is supposed to
fall on it's knees at midnight of Christ
mas eve and bray three times in honor
of it's ancient noble use. If hare be
met on May morning the milk is
likely to be charmed from the cows.
The tongue OF one who has licked a
lizard lin Irish, aire luichair. or the
''pig of the rushes'0 ever after has the
power to extract the sting from scalds
and burns. 1t is very unlucky to meet
in the morning barking dog or bare
footed woman, and cat is never taken
from one house to another when re-
but the fishermen of the west
coast make good use Of the cat. They
secure fayoring winds by burying 1t in
the sands of the seashore. with it's head
the desired direction. Persons
who enter into a compact with Satan
can raise wind and storms By calling
him up, and these disturbances cannot
be stilled save by the death of black
cock, black dog or an unchristened
child. The pishthroges are all charms
of an evil nature. They are surprising
in number. and the pishthroge woman,
whose exclusive vocation is to exercise
them, exist to this day among the
of the west of Ireland. In
some parts Of the country crickets are
regarded as possessing vindictiye
powers, and
ALL MANNER OF DEVICES
are resorted to for their conciliation.
But one of the oldest of all Irish super
stitions is the belief that if you chase
and catch a butterfly you imprlson the
wandering soul Of your grandmother. [
hove never seen printed anv reference
to Irish superstitlons. signs and por-
tents regarding birds. In my wander
lngs among the peasantry have found
that such were simply innumerable.
Here are few out of several hundred
scattered through my notebooks : IF an
osprey be shot along any coast, all the
herring ard mackerel will immed diately
If the hen barrier, which
only hunts by twilight.in precisely the
same winged circles above the fallows
each evening, is missed from its accus-
toned raptorial haunt, some evil spirit
is said to be hOYering about the locality.
On the west coast IN early spring the
poor fisherman watches early and late
tor the gannot, He calls it the solan, or
swift dving goosa: If 1T does not come
his heart sinks. for there will be no luck