Idaho semi-weekly world. [volume] (Idaho City, Idaho Territory) 1875-1908, 1891-09-29
IRELAND'S FOLK LORI
REVERENCE FOR ANl,aALs MeNr.c..
ED IN THE SCRIPTURES =

""ected vI,k
chri.tma.--wieksd Work Of Ii. ~
Daei"--Licking - Lizard-Cur,.
TOMBSTONE Signs Of III Fortun.
In Ireland, as In every couutrv \. !,
rope, many curious ideas about ~
everything that Is seen or heard , a''uoN
nary life have been handed dom = ofdt
parent to child. Beasts, birds XII oa
sects are regarded with supcrstifio,.S "
or favor, and when any object isl 'ta( 4
mention in scripture the popular hs,:s Az
its good or evil influence is masa'A
strengthened.
The OK and the ass, rs onnear,.
quently in the Bible, are always hsu ~
regarded, and, as it Is the penera, nsaly
that our Saviour selected the a. y Ui'S
upon on account Of the cross on biz ~. ".
that animal is looked upon with signal
teen. 1t Is considered lucky to Nave ava ~ =
of his species in field with cattle, 4 ~ ~
mark Of the cross Is certain safacus ~
against malicious witch or wanron s s;a
But this fortunate animal can a. ~
than ward off evil spirits. He en- ~
Christmas as unerringly as q scboo,h ~
and every Christmas eve ne falls dow
midnight and brays three times IN nov
of the approaching dawn. II this faosI!
doubted there are always plenty az II
nesses who have kept awake to see H. W
currence and who have seen 1t freoner,ss
The cock is regarded with similar ~
erence on account Of the scene betws'.
Christ and St. Peter, and is believed n d, /.
rs well aware of the joy of Chrstms.
as the ass, and in consequence crows A..
ing good part of the nine nights precasa
ing the Christian festival. The crow;s.
of hen, that at any other time womb y
a most unlucky omen, is then all right "a
it is then supposed to share in the iov a
the cock at the coming of Chrstmas
AFRAID OF A DARA DAEL.
The dubh dael, or dara dacl, is bl,.,
insect of the earwig class; the meaninr !,
the name in English is the black or o,hS.
devil. In creeping along. Whenever /,
hears any noise, it always halts, cocks n.
its tail and protrudes its sting. which I
similar to that of the bee. No reDtila has
been so much abhorred or dreaded by ,hs
peasantry of Ireland as the dara dael and
legends of its evil doings abound n
wicked work began at a very early day
1t is said to have eaten the core Of n.
apple thrown away by Eve, and to mi,
day strong smell of apples is perceived
when it is crushed, for it is always TO h
crushed by stone or lump of iron which
must he hurled at the vermin, as other
wise the devils essence would be con.
veyed through any medium of wood !,
leather held in the destroyers hand. Iron
and stones are deemed non-conductors.
The Irish boys and women, when tbev
throw the stones, generally exclaim: ma
shocht paca agus ma paca morrio urthn-
i. e., ''My seven sins and my deadly sin
upon you" The allusion in the exclama.
ton is to another legend, which claims
that the dara dael acted as spy upon
Christ and told his enemies where ha
went. Judas, on his way to betray
Christ, is said to have met number Il
dara daels, who turned up their tails to
indicate the way the Saviour had gone,
The lizard-in Irish, aire luichair.
which literally translated means 1.-THE pig
of the rushes'-is held in esteem for ia
curative powers. When caught the per.
son who is anxious to receive the curative
power takes the aire luichair in his hand,
ticks the creature all overhead, feet
belly, legs, sides and tail; and the tongue
Of the person who thus ticks the aire lui
chair is said ever afterward to possess the
power of taking the sting and pain out q
n burn. There is also an idea that the
aire luichair, or newt, is always on tho
watch to crawl down the throat Of aug
person who happens to fall asleep out d
doors.
CURIOUS CUSTOMS.
When passing over bridge of any size
in Ireland the wayfarer invariably raises
his hat or utters some word OF blessing or
prayer for the builder of the bridge. 1t
is considered unfortunate on u May morn.
ing for farmer or his wife to meet a
hare, as under such circumstances ''pussn
Is said to take the milk from the cows
Just at present, when evictions are in
full swing, it may help to illustrate the
popular sentiment by recalling the custom
of cursing known as 1.-The Fire of Stones"
The aggrieved person collects as many
small powders as will fill the principal
hearth of the holding he is compelled to
surrender. These he piles in the manner
of turf sods arranged for firing and then,
kneeling down, prays that until that heap
burns may every kind OF sweat, bad luck
and misfortune attend the landlord and
mis- family to untold generations. Rising,
he takes the stones in armfuls and hurts
them here and there, in loch, pool, DOG
hole or stream, SO that by no possibility
could the collection be recovered.
Certain trades and avocations are held
in disrcpute, but thinkers come in for more
than ordinary dislike. The reason al
legged is that when the blacksmith Was
ordered to make nails for the cross he re.
fused, but the tinker made them, and
therefore Christ condemned him and all
his race to be wanderers and never to have
a roof of their own to cover them to tho
worlds end.
1t is unlucky to take cat with you
when removing. In consequence OF tns
belief cats often suffer terribly. 1t IS IN
lucky to meet barking dog or bare
footed woman early in the morning. IL
in addition, the woman should be rea.
headed, you must turn back in haste, less
some evil thing come upon you. IL
lucky for dog to come into the house tIe
first thing in the morning. :.
A girl chasing a butterfly was scoidea
by her companions saying: "That INA!
be the soul of your grandfather. lpon
inquiry it was found that n butterfly nov
erlng near corpse was sign OF us ever
lasting happiness. Chicago News.
Central Americas Table Manners
When travelling in foreign country
Is discreet never to praise or criticlse' ou'
IT | do let the cat ont of the bag she nS'
SO far to run that her starting point can
not be traced Table manners IN LUIS