Morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven [Conn.]) 1848-1894, 1892-10-29


ton upon the shape that molten lead will
take when we drop it into water.
Bat it is good night for frolicl The
witches are out and skurrying through the
air, in some subtle way exciting to pranks
and jollity. And the weather is cold
enough for fires, and what would Hallow-
cen be without fire? The charm of
burning chestnuts ought properly to be
tried by a hearth fire, but the top of hot
kitchen stove will do very well. You
name two nuts, as did Jean in Burns
famous poem:
"And this is Jock and this is me,
She says it to hersef."
Then you place them side by side, and as
they conduct themselves in the process of
combustion you may judge whether Jean
and Jock, yourself and himself, will be
tickle, true or faithless. If the course of
true love is to run smoothly the nuts will
burn side by side with clear fame, but
if, Kissing and sputtering, they fly apart,
accept the augury, oh Jock and Jean, and
though you may have "a sair heart to see
It that night" be sure that you two are not
suited to each other. OF course it is the
natural expansion by heat of the juices of
the kernel that causes the kissing and hop
ping, and very few nuts burn to ashes as
they were placed together in the flames.
This only makes the analogy more striking
as We apply it to wayward human hearts
and the furnace of st1iction, and proves
that the omen is one to be depended upon.
One method of individual divination is
"the three dishes" One is filed with clear
water, one with colored water, bluing will
do, and the third is empty. Each of the
party in turn is blindfolded and led up to
the table. The dishes are shifted about,
then according to the one in which the
player dips her finger her fate is made
known. If in the clear water she will
marry bachelor, if in the colored water
widower, and if in the empty dish she need
not expect to marry at all.
Or Of the three dishes fill one with sand,
one with sugar and one with salt. The
blindfolded questioner Of fate must test
one of these with the tip of her tongue.
Sugar fortells happy, sweetly prosperous
future, salt symbolizes sorrow, and sand a
life of hard work. Let us hope it also
means that the worker will have sufficient
"sand" to be persevering ana faithful.
If wish is made before the tasting,
salt denotes disappointment, and sand that
the granted wish will make you regret that
you ever made it.
Another mode of determining destiny is
by means of molten lead. Each lady pours
little from an iron spoon, through the
ring of key. The fanciful shapes which
the lead assumes in the cold water, the
spade or book, ferule gun, or anchor, may
be regarded as symbolic of the profession
or calling of that "bright particular" he,
in whom the player is most interested.
Still another method of divining the fut-
ure is to go out in the garden at the hour
of midnight, to pluck up by the roots the
first small plant tho hands chance to touch.
hot oxal a,.l .taI 30
If one dares, and being sour or sweet, juicy
or dry, with roots bare or covered with
earth, indicate happiness or sorrow, pros
psrity or poverty.
"Winding the clue" is another of these
infallible Halloween tests. The party all
go to an upper window, open it, and stand
in the darkness in long row with their
backs toward each other. All hold out the
left hands with the thumb and middle
finger clasped into ring. The one
farthest from the window holds the end of
a ball of coarse yarn, the thread passing
back to the window through each of the
rings. The ball is then thrown out and
the player who holds the end of the clue
carefully winds it in to the softly chanted
chorus:
"Wind. wind! wind, ball, wind!
Good luck, bad luck, what shall we ind!"
If anything outside catches the thread
it is given jerk and the important ques-
tion sung:
"what does hold: What does hold,
Iron, copper, silver, golds
If the thread breaks it is because it is
held by one of the three less valuable met
ais, and losses and crosses must ensue, but
gold will let it come free, and good fortune
is sure to follow.
All this, and much more, is to be had by
way of Hallowmass diversion. 1t is a good
time, as has been said, for frolic, and
any Ingenious young hostess may expand
these ideas, introduce original gsmes-the
more fanciful the better-and furnish q
delightful evenings entertainment to a
number of ''little witches"-her friends.
The old time traditions are displaced for
ever by later day wisdom. Even the chill
dren will wonder how any one could have
| sorrowed or rejoiced over the results of
these quaint rites, and ridicule the super
stition that thought thus to solve some
problems of human destiny. In a few
| more years they will interest the antiquary
only. Better SO than to be held in the
| bonds of superstition though ever so
| lightly.
SUGGESTIONS.
| Have you heard of the "Agony Column
Albums' 1t is collection of advertise
/ u6ut6 Cub l1OA UuC OOluLhho VI thC uhb J
papers chosen because they are oddly con-
structed as to their syntax, sublimely ridic
ulous, or unintentionally comic. These
are pasted in a scrap p-book, and on the
margins artistic friends execute original
drawings, suggested and inspired by the
bathos of the advertiser. Such collections
are really amusing and might at some
future day acquire value greater thar
and wholly apart from that which they
have as means of providing merrimen'
for guests, on account of their never-to
be- duplicated illustrations by professional
| and amateur artists.
Add this to your lists of "Things Thai
Must be Done Before Christmas Day." es
pecially if you have an invalid friend fol-
whom you would provide convenient and
useful gift.
1t will save the strength and patience Of
both the invalid and the nurse if bed
pocket is provided. They are made ot
linen, of silk, or ribbon; sometimes EN-
broidered and sometimes edged with lace
They are interlined with a layer of wad
pecially convenient for invalids, since theil
small belongings have an e1asperatinf
habit, according to the doctrine Of
the total deprsvity of inanimst'
things, of taking themselves
out of reach or out of sight just when mos
needed A bed-pocket, hanging Away
within reach of the hand will hold thu
watch-there might be little pocke
placed on the outside of the larger one fo
it's accommodation-fresh handkerchiefs
tiny scent bottle, knife, pencil, hand mir
ror, the letter that one wants to read
second time; any and all of those littl
things that are sometimes essential to the
emiinvalid's comfort, yet for which sh
often waits, in state of nervous agitation
because they have impishly hidden them
!. selves, and there is no one near to searcl
for them. hillary.
| GAME.