Year: 1874

prOVlOeO We are uOl neat enough 70


spoil the charm, is an infallible prog


nostic that something is about to hap


pen which will profit the sloven


greatly. Mr.. Village tells US, in the


Co7lnOisseUr, how his pretty country


cousin came down to breakfast one


morning with her cap wrong side out,


whereupOn her mother solemnly


charged the needless lassie not to al


ter her headgear all the day, for fear


she should change the luck. When
the Conqueror was arraying himself


on the morning of Hastings, some


one hinted he would get the worst of


the coming "bout," becsuse, in his


haste, lie had donned his mail-shirt


hind part before; but the ready-wit-


ted and confident Norman declared it


to be q token that he was about to be


transformed from duke into q king:


an Interpretation, at any rate not to


be disputed few hours later.


Trouble will never come near folks


whose eyebrows meet. Ladies with


overmuch down, gentlemen with


overmueh hair upon their arms and


hands, carry about them natures


own guarantee that they are born to


be rich some day,-as rich as those


happy individuals whose front teeth
are set wide apart. Steel belongings,
such as keys and knives, get rusty by


instinct, in spite OF all pains to keep


them clean and bright, when some
kind-hearted soul is laying up riches
for their owners benefit. To find q
spider upon ones clothes indicates
that some money is coming to US.
The moral of which, Fuller says, is
this: Such who initiate the indns-
try of that contemplate creature
msy, by Gods blessing, weave them
selves into wealth and procure q plen-
tiful estate" The appearance of a
white speck upon finger nail warns
the owner of the finger that gift is
on its way; and the same pleasant no.
tification is made by the itching of
the palm of the right hand; but in
that case it is best to make ASSURANCE
QOuhly 0ure ard rIID the SAID pal m
against wood, then ait is sure to be
good"


1t is not pleasant to stumble up
stairs, but there is some consolation
for sore shins in knowing that a we'd
ding will come off in the house ere
twelve months have passed by, even
if the stumbler has no hope of being a
party concerned in the event. Should
spinster or bachelor be inadvert-
emily placed between a married pair
at the dinner table, he or she will
taste the sweets of connubiaI bliss be-
fore the year is out. A maiden who
has constant i'll luck at the card table
will play the game of life with great
er success, partnered with a good hus-
band. Happy will be the bride the
sun shines on and If q hen cackles
in her new home as she crosses its
threshold, she will be happy moth
er as well as contented wife. The
odd notion prevails in some parts of
France that when two marriages take
place at the same time, the bride who
first leaves the church will have a
boy for her first child. Not long ago,
two weddings were celebrated stimuli.
taneously at Arches. AS soon as the
ceremony was over, the two couples
and their friends made all haste to
reach the church door, and, to use a
sporting phrase, made a dead.heat of
it. Neither party were inclined to
yield precedence, defiant looks were
exchanged, and things wore threat
ening aspect, when the Mayor, step
ping to the front, solved the difficulty
by giving an arm to each of the
brides, and taking them out together
to the immense relief Of their respee-
tive friends.


Chances freakish daughter is given
to coming and going as the fit takes
her, but there are ways and means of
compelling luck to do US suit and SER
vice. That man need feel no doubt
about triumphing over his foes who
takes care to make an end of the first
adder that crosses his path. II IL is
sometimes best to take the bull by the
horns, it is always advisable to seize
black snail by his, and toss him ov-
er the left shoulder, for while the first
may help US out of a quandary, the
last-named performance insures us
success in all our undertakings. In
default Of black snail, mOney-spiI-
ner will answer the purpose equally
well. II too tender-hearted to treat
snails and spiders so uncermoniously,
the seeker after good fortune will be
just as well of IL he hangs an adder
skin over the mantel-piece, takes care
to keep his fire burning through the
last night of the year, or does some
thing new upon Whitsunday. Far
ley, of pantomimic fame, pinned his
faith to lucky cap of which he was
the fortunate possessor. AT the last
rehearsal of "Mother Goose" when
all was ready, Grimaldi happened to
observe to Farley that he had not the
red cap on his head which he usually
sported on such occasions, Il will not
90 on without it. said Farley, 'or we
shall have no luck with the panto-
mimev nor would he proceed to busi-
ness until the cap of good fortune had
been fetched. According TO the fish
ermen Of Buckle, full nets may be in.
sured by dressing corpse in flannel
shirt stuck over with burs, aAd wheel
ing him through the town in 8 barrow.
A correspondent of Notes and Queries
writes: "Wife-beating to the effusion
Of blood may be novel method Of Sc
curing luck in the herring fishery, but
to draw blood is practiced in some ot
the fishing villages on the northeast
coast Of Scotland, under the belief
that success follows the act. The act
must be performed on New Years
day, and the good fortune is his only
who is the first to shed blood. II the
morning of the new year is such as to
allow the boats of the village to put
to sea, there is quite q struggle as to
which boat Will reach the fishing
ground first, SO as to gain the coveted
prize, the first shed blood Of the year.
If the weather is unfayorable for fish
ing, those in possession of guns-and
g great many of the fisherman's
houses possess one-are out, gun in
hand, along the shore before day
break, in search Of some bird or wild
animal, no matter how small, that
they may draw blood, and thus make
sure of one years good fortune" An
other Scotch plan for securing coed
luck for the space of twelve months
at least is to draw bucketful of wa
ter from the village well at midnight
on New Years eve, and after throw
ing a handful OF grass into it, to carry
it carefully home. II the drawer be
he uses part of the water
to wash bis dairy utensils, and gives
the remainder to his COWS, in the
rather dishonest hope that he will
thereby obtain the cream Of the cows
of such Of bis neighoors as use the
well, and have not been so wise as
himself.


To barter away old shoes for the
benefit Of the translator" Is q sad
waste; there is nothing like well.worn
leather to propitiate fate. The time
honored custom Of throwing an old
shoe after departing friend, In order