The new North-west. [volume] (Deer Lodge, Mont.) 1869-1897, 1889-11-01
IRISH suPERsTIrIoNs.

The pishthroges are all charms Of an evil
nature.
Candle ends used at wakes are highly priced
for scalds and burns
A cat is never taken from one house to an
other when removing.
A round tower OF castle ruin unfreaueuted
by lackdaws is certainly haunted.
Many truly believe the banshee to be the
spirit OF some former member Of the family
II hare be met on May morning the
milk is likely to be charmed from the cows.
1t is very unlucky to meet in the early
morning barking dog or barefooted
woman.
If an osprey be shot along any coast all the
herring and lnackere will Immediately dis.
appear.
When tue startling does not follow the graz.
ing cattle some witch charm has been put
upon them.
When corpse retains animal heat over
long, another member of tue family Is to die
within the year.
Garments and other articles which have
come in contact with the dead are very eff.
cacious in disease.
If the stacks are not circled each night by
the noiseless barn owl, blight will fall upon
next seasons crops
The nagpie, as with tho ancient Greeks is
the repository of the soul Of an evil minded
and gossiping woman. @.
The tongue of one who has licked lizard
ever after has the power to extract the sting
from scalds and burns.
The dead are believed to have the bitterest
experiences IL buried at any distance from
their homes while living.
The sedge warbler, known more popularity
as the Irish nightingale" !" is the object OF
most tender superstition.
The coaeh-a-bower or death coach" seems
to stand in something the same relation to
the peasantry as the banshee.
The last one buried in church yard is be-
lieved to do all manner Of menial service for
those having been previously buried.
Every twelfth night the dead walk. They
SIT, too, upon every tile of tho house, waiting
to be freed from purgatory by prayer.
The linnet pours forth the most melancholy
song Of all Irish birds, and have seen honest
hearted peasants affected by it to tears.
When the nest Of the thrush or mavis is
built unusually high i'll the thorn bush, this
betokens great calamity to II neighborhood.
Great numbers Of jays or mssel. thrusbes,
feeding upon the berries of the hawthorn,
betoken the approach Of a very cold winter.
Every donkey in Ireland is supposed to fall
on its knees at midnight of Christmas eve,
and bray three times in honor of its ancient
noble Use.
Over in Connamara to this day a funeral
procession on its way to church will halt at
some distance away and cast together huge
pile of stones. @
One Of the oddest Of all Irish superstitions
Is the belief that if you chase and catch a
butterfly you imprison the wandering soul Of
your grandmother.
Any child born on Whit Sunday or the
day after is doomed to an unnatural death,
and it is invariably named after some partic-
ular saint to ward off the curse. m5o
Any three idle strokes of stick in the
ashes or Il spade or other farm tool in the soil
making figure resembling coffin Is certain
to portend death in ones family.
The waxwng, the beautiful Tncendura
avis of Plny, whose breeding haunts have
never yet been discovered by man, are the
torches Of the bean sidhe or banshees. @..
When abroad ut night one never turns at
the sound Of footsteps behind. For these arc
often those of the dead hungering for human
companionship, and their glance is fatal
The fishermen of the west coast make good
use of the cat. They secure favoring winds
by burying it in the sands Of the seashore,
with its head opposite the desired direction
When "praheen carkn or hen crow is
found in the solitudes or mountain glens
away from human habitations, it assuredly
possesses the wandering soul Of an impenitent
sinner.
Persons who enter into u compact with Sa-
tan can raise wind and storms by calling him
up, and these disturbances cannot be stiled
save by the death of black cock, black dog
or an unchrsteued child.
When water ousels appear in the spring
time in unusual numbers in any unfrequent-
ed locality that is sign of abundance Of
fresh water fish, but also token of the ap-
proach of malignant disease.
The most potent charm known to those
given over body and soul tosupcrstition Is the
hand of an unbaptized babe taken from tho
grave in tho name Of tho evil one The
hand of murderer so taken is also very
powerful.