New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-06-21

WHAT THEY SAY IN MEWENnhAMp coe SGoG
Of signs ssy!nss ana pS ss Boston Lee &
shepard.
CURRENT sU'PERsTITIONS collected from me
oral Tradition OF EnglS Speaking FOX, En ,ue
In.iion by william Wells Newell. Pp- T. i6l.
Houghton Min'n a. Co
TIE material for the first Of these books - drawn
Amos, exclusively from Western Massachusetts
Far Tho second the popular lore OF the whole conti-
,.,, 81. l,,l under contribution Bu, they comprise
much tho same sort OF fances after all. For ex-
annie they say IN Western Massachusetts, that to
dream OF a funeral IL tho sign Of welding anu 10
dream q wedding Is the sgn of a funeral Tao
sam. notion IS prevalent In Alabama, and more eN-
nj city I'm tina, state ~ you dream OF marriage.
vo. VII hear Of death the next day" The same
bel,e, Is reported from Newfoundland These appear
20 be- specific Illustrations ~ he moro general
SUPERSTITION that dreams must be interpreter 10y
coniraries 80; only In Massachusetts,. but al over
tho United States. ~ you drenia Of the dead. YOU
VII hear from ito living that "a. according 20 Mr.
j hnson. you vii receive letter from some one
Announcing he death OF near relative. He adds
tho dream % 4 woman who her Cousin Jane
smiling a, her from the top OF high mountain and
the next day received a. telegram tina; Cousin Jane
wss dead
To dream OF snakes. no, only IN Western Ma SEA
chusetts but anywhere In the United States. means
TIA, the dreamer has enemies. But It IS only in
certain localities Massachusetts, Included. that 20
dream OF killing tho snakes prcsagcs victory over
tho enernios Speaking o, snakes. Mr.. Johnson
dra,e, on the terrors OF the mythical hoop snake.
which docs not como within the scope Of Mrs.
Bergcn's book Hut the superstition on this point Is
20 b. found IN other places besides Massa chuse,s.
and Il is curious how positive some people are IN
the belle: that they have seea snake put IT'S tai!
In i,s mouth roll Ike hoop. They Amt afraid
OF u man no more'n nothin'." said one witness 10
Mr. Johnson. and they can run EASTERN any horse
chtsa ana ~ he's .ff ires
strikes hoe handle with i,s sharp tail. It skaters
tho wood In the West. II (, strikes a tree. both
tree and snake are sure 10 die The hoop snake ~
q lightning calculator. The only way TO escape 1t
ia TO run toward II instead OF running away. That
disturbs It's estimate Of distance. This statement,
however mus, not be taken coming from Mr..
Johnson OF course. the serpent with It's tall In It's
mouth symbol OF time. Is older than tho
American superstition. for 1t was familiar to races
as widely separated tho Egyptians and the
Az;ecs But 70 discuse this would lead the way TO
tho vexcd question OF the zodiac and that must
bo len to those who think they know something
about Il
given sign does not signify the same thing every
where. Sparks on the bottom OF the tea-ket;e mean
cold weather In Western Massachusetts. But In
I'ntten NE, they mean rain. In Ohio they say.
when you blow out tho candle II the fire the
wick burns bright. 1t means fair day on the NOR
row. II II dies down being blown out, 1t indicates
a rainy day" In Western Massachusetts,. BLOW
out a candle. ard II the wick continues long TO
shoulder look for bad weather II 1; goes out quickly.
the weather will be fair" Massachusetts, is not In
perfect agreement even with Itself some polats.
For example in Brooklno the belief Is said pre-
vail that There will bc sun during some part OF
Saturday tho year through: but in IIadiey The
shines every Saturday but one In the year"
Hadiey. according TO Mr.. Johnson. has one phenom-
enon which the rest OF the world must envy. namely
an occasional rainbow at noon. Rainbow at noon.
rain very soon.' Is said 70 be popular saying For
Mr.. Johnson's part OF Massachusetts Northern
Lights a sign OF cold weather" But Mrs Ber-
gems Mae sachusetts respondents say that ITO
Northern Lights denotes that south wind and
storm Will come inside OF forty-elgh hours" Sneeze
twice when you first get up, and you will hear OF
a death before night" says Mr. Johnson; but Mrs
Bergen finds that In Northern Vermont IN you
sneeze on Sunday morning before breakfast you
will hear OF the death OF some person you know be-
fore the next Saturday night"
Mr. Newell. In his Introduction TO Mrs. Bergcn's
book shows the relation OF many trivial modern be-
llefs to antique mythology and to various forms OF
primitive worship. The connection ls most obvious
In cases where the sun and moon figure In popular
sayings But he certainly strains a point when he
calls the attention OF the housewife beating eggs to
the fact that her movements bear testimony ITO the
deepest ethical and ceremonial conceptions OF re-
mote ancestors because she Internationally tyirls
the spoon or egg beaten In the direction OF the suns
motion II she stood with her back to the south this
would oil be reversed, and 1t would be reversed
In any case II she happened to be left handed As
examples OF survival from time much nearer to
the present than that OF old paganism Mr. johnson
gives a series Of witch stories. most OF which will
douptiess suggest others TO every reader They IN
dictate that the belief In witchcraft Is not vet a
thinB OF the past IT seems from his illusions that
the story Of President Lincoln forecasting his own
death In n dream has found place In Massa-
chusetts folk lore. Another curious tradition IL that
tho year after Harre; Beecher Stoves Uncle
ioms CABIN came out. all the oranges that grew In
her Florida grove were black skinned" The author
has also several variants OF well-known nursery
tales. Including q Jack and the Beansalk" In
which the giant never says III 70 fum." nor sny-
thing about roe blood Of ~ Englishman.