Daily Yellowstone journal. [volume] (Miles City, Mont.) 1882-1893, 1891-07-28
Nettle out. dock Ia:
Dock remove toe neffle sling

70 this day at midnight of Aug. (old style)
bathe in Lochmanur, Sutherlandshire, to
cure themselves Of an bodily ailments. re-
paying theAspirit Of the lake in coin for
these benefits Soap and salt are still
sr1eared over cows afflicted with "the evil
eye" And Goals and salt must be tossed
into a new house before taking possession
Of IL tn drive out lingering evil spirits.
The Scotch baby is the subject and OBJ
ject Of very many traditional superstitious
safeguards and ominous portents. II, in
praising the baby and calling it pretty,
you do not add, Save i'll" your eye viii
take on t." Save itr' wards away the
evil eye. It is equally necessary, when
praising your neighbOr's cattle or fowls,
to add, my eye will not take on itP'
Babes are at the mercies of tie fairies be-
fore baptism. For a partial safeguard
against their bewitchment some article of
clothing belonging TO the child's father
should always be thrown over it, In Bor-
der shires il is believed that II a babe hap
pens 10 be sitting on the floor and any one
should step over it, or walk entirely around
it, it would become a weazened pigmy If
the babe takes a spoon first in its left, in
stead Of its right. hand, It will be unlucky
all its life. Il is most unfortunate for a
mother, after the birth of babe, TO appear
out Of doors until she is 'churched."
The first babe baptized by a minister
after his appointment TO a parish receives
the clergyman's Christian name; and If a
male and female child are brought together
for baptism the boy must be first baptized
Otherwise he will go through life bare
faced and the girl will be disfgured with
a beard During nursing mothers wesr
- -.
around their neck to avert ephemeral fevers
t-e.a their babes These are handed down
from mother to daughter, are greatly
priced, and their efficacy is in proportion
TO their antiquity. In the Border country
a cradle is never rocked, as it will bring
disease TO child. ''The luck o. the BARN"
is a curious outgrowth of tradition and
custom. Whoever carries the babe 70
church for baptism must be provided with
piece of cake. This is given TO the first
person met, no matter whom, and II it be
a man IL is better luck" for the child
In the matter of courtships and weddings
Scottish people preserve an extraordinary
number Of peculiar customs and fanciful
superstitions. IL Is deemed unlucky TO
alter the first width of an engagement
ring Many troths have been broken as a
result The giving Of brooches and pins
by lovers is full of i'll consequences. No
young man or woman in the tender rela-
lation will take pin from the other with
out returning the same after use. Pins,
needles, etc, are all emblematic of the ces-
sation Of friendship and affection. It Is
very FORTUNATE fog the bride to wear some
borrowed article of apparel at her wedding.
II swine cross the path Of the bridal party
before il, it is an omen Of the direst i'm
IL L. = H. A
hind the party il would be happy augury.
A wedding after sunset entails on the bride
a joyless life. the loss of children and an
early grave.
In the south Of Scotland a rainy day for
marriage is an unluckY one. The bride
Is then called ''greetin' bride" whereas
''Blest is the bride that the sun shines
on" To rub shoulders'' with the bride Is
sign Of speedy marriage The first among
the unmarried female friends who succeeds
in doing it will be the first to wed, and /
have myself witnessed scrambles on the
part Of buxom Scotch lasses for precedence
quite closely approaching hsticuffs- As
newly married wife first enters her new
home some elderly person must throw a
cake Of shortbread into the door before
her. One securing a pieoe of cheese cut
with the brides own hand before she has
left the wedding feast is certain 60 be
shortly happily married And It Is every
where in Scotland as inauspicious for the
brides mother TO be present at a wedding
as It Is unfortunate in our country 70 have
the same individual arrive, 70 remain, at
any subsequent period.
As with the Irish, the Scottish people
have some very interesting and occasion
ally monrnful folklore and superstitions
regarding birds and fowls. The song Of
the robin bodes III TO any sick person who
hears IL. A robin seen sitting upon stone
foretells the falling Of snow. A black cock
IL highly prized, as its presence prevents
the ravages Of bogies and wariocks. To
hear a cuckoo cry before breakfasts Is an
i'll omen Il il fortunate for a house
wife IL a brood Of chickens all come of the
nest cock birds, as it is indicative Of com
ing prosperity. The magpie Is a particu
larry ominous bird TO the Scotch.
One Is sorrow; two. mirth;
Three. a wedding; four. birth:
Five. heaven; sixf hell;
Seven, the de'l's ain sell
The entrance Of the thrush, any Of the
family Of fnches. OF the little oxeye tit
into the open window or door Of a house
Is an omen that any one IN within viii re-
gam ACaAtus anu II al alc IN Auuu uEMllMa
that some pleasant good fortune is In store
for the household When the starting
ceases TO follow the grazing cattle some
witch spell Is being wrought upon them;
and II the raven hover near cattle or sheep
'ielf shooting" is very likely TO occur.
When the robin viii not sing in graveyard |
trees the place is held in unusual dread;
and II you viii keep the white hEir you
viii find under your foot when you hear |
the first notes Of the cuckoo in the spring |
time, the next name y0u hear spoken is Of /
the one you will haply wed.
Death tokens and funeral tokens are
very numerous When abroad az night /
0ne should never turn about on hearing /
footsteps. They are likely to be those Of /
he dead who are seeking human compan,
onship The bowling Of = dog with its 4
head toward the house for q near and /
sway from the house for a distant rela-
i've. or beneath the window Of one lying /
d. the croaking Of ravens on the thatch, /
March ronstcrs Growing before midnight
he sound of spirit bells in the Night, cir
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