The evening times., 1899-05-30
SOME MARYLAND FOLKLORE.
A Collection of Rules Warranted to
Suit All Requirements.
(From the New York Sur

NGtiH new sum-
The Seventh Son Of a Seventh Son who
is also Sunday Child is, If occupying an
ascertainable domiciie anywhere In the
United States, resident OF the Eastern
Shore Of Maryland. a long. narrow. fer
tile stretch of country between the Chesa-
peake Bay and the Delaware State line.
and including Queen Anne. Kent, Cecil,
Talbot, Carroll. and Dorchester counties.
In this region many old-fashioned folklore
customs and expressions still prevail, and
the Baltimore Folklore Society has arrang-
ed TO publish some of them in book form
this year. Here are few examples:
Never shake crumbs out of window aft
er dark. They are certain to disturb the
spirits of the dead who wander abroad
at night. Never wash your hands in water
in which eggs have been boiled They are
more liable thereby to become covered with
warts Never step on railroad track on
walk of importance. II will be a failure
if you do. A schoolboy who lets fall a book
on his way TO school should quickly put
his foot on it before he picks it up or he
will miss his lesson. The widespread su-
perstition that if you spill salt you must
throw some over your left shoulder or
you will have trouble, prevails along the
Eastern Shore. The theory is that the salt
thus thrown away goes into the eyes of the
devil. who is lurking around. II you meet
a fat-footed man or woman, go home and
eat a good square meal and drink water
or something dreadful will happen. 1t is
believed that evil spirits enter through the
soles of flat-footed people. Study the Ches-
apeake Bay tides and watch the lights
along the shore when in trouble flick
ering light signifies an early end of good
or evil fortune. a steady light their con-
tinuance, an extinguished light an end to
hope except at dawn. light still burn
ing at dawn means good fortune in abund-
ance.
According to the records collated by
Miss Whitney, the secretary OF the Balti-
more Folklore Society,", this is one of the
rhymes popular among children in rural
Maryland to ward off evil:
God made man and man made money:
God made the bee and the bee made honey;
God made Satan and Satan made sin;
God made little hole TO put the devil in.
Dig a hole in the ground, repeat this.
and you never see the devil no more
Witches are supposed to make their
homes at the crossing of two roads, and to
appear there at midnight but they cannot
get across running water, and a stream
of any sort always acts as a protection to
even the most enterprising gnome or gob-
lin, who will follow along the bank of
stream in preference. II you sweep your
room at night you sweep away your luck.
II you look over your left shoulder at a
new moon and then look for it over your
right shoulder and clouds have meanwhile
obscured it, the wish you made in first
looking will come to pass. That is some
thing to depend upon unhesitatingIy.
To geographical rather than to political
or social causes are due many of the quaint
and peculiar customs which still tenacious
ly prevail on the Eastern Shore of Mary
land. The soil is generally sandy; streams
are for the most part unnavigable, ex-
cept for the inlets; there is very little rail-
road communication. and there are no
cities Of Importance or small towns. The
interests of these six Maryland counties
are agricultural almost exclusively, and
the absence OF means of intercommunica-
tion has been bar to any new immigra-
tion, while the modest cost of life and
sustenance keeps the population station
ary. The Eastern Shore Marylanders trace
their ancestry to English yeomen from the
rural districts and many old English ira
ditions and customs as to bell ringing
wells, running water, crops, crows, and
candlelight are still preserved among them.