OLD POPULAR SUPERSTITIONS.

Thames Star, Volume VIII, Issue 2943, 22 July 1878, Page 3

OLD POPULAR SUPERSTITIONS.

The following N superstitions, handed down by traditions" from the past, are fervently believed in many parts of this country, and by people who rank among the most intelligent: White specks on the nails are luck. . Whoever reads epitaphs loses his memory> . . . To rock the cradle when empty is injurious to the child. To eat when a bell is tolling for a funeral causes toothache.

The crowing of a hen indicates some approaching disaster. When a mouse gnaws a grown, some misfortune may be apprehended. He who has teeth wide asunder must seek his fortune in a distant land. Whoever finds a four-leaf trefoil — shamrock—should wear it for good luck. When children play soldiers on the roadside it forbodes the approach of war. Beggar's bread should be given to children who are slow in learning to speak. If a child less than twelve months old be brought into a cellar he becomes fearful. A child grows up proud if suffered to ,-.- 3ook into a mirror while less than twelve jaontbs old.' L' He who proposes moving into a new house must send in beforehand bread and and a new broom. Whoever sneezes at an early hour either hears some news or receives some present the same day. The first tooth cast by a child should be swallowed by the mother to insure a new growth of teeth. Buttoning the coat awry or drawing on a stocking inside out causes matters to go wrong during the day. By bending the head to the hoUow of the arm the initial letter of the naino of one's future spouse is represented. Women who sow flax seed should, during the process, tell some confounded lies, otherwise the yarn will never bleach white.

When women are stuffing beds the men should not remain in the house, otherwise the feathers will come through the ticks. When a stranger enters a~ room he ■hould be obliged to seat himself, if only for a moment, as he otherwise takes away the children's sleep with him. The/ following are omens of death: A dog scratching on the floor, or howling in a particular, manner, and owls hooting in the neighbourhood of the house. Domestic harmony must be preserved when washing day comes,_in_ oiler to insure fine weather, which is indispensable as that ceremony is generally performed out of doors. . *

Yarn spun by a girl under the age of seven years possesses extraoradinary virtue. Linen made of it furnishes the best bandages for gouty patienls, and when wrought into garments forms a complete coat of mail, not only against bullet and dagger, but even against the more formidable operations of witchcraft. The rery yarn itself can be wound into unerring musket balls.—American Paper.