Democratic Sentinel, Volume 9, Number 1, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 30 January 1885 — Horseshoes. [ARTICLE]

Horseshoes.

Now that the horseshoe, as a pretty symbol of good luck, forms so much a part of household decoration, it may not be amiss to say a word about its significance in the olden times. The horseshoe was anciently believed to be an effectual protection against witchcraft and witches, who could no more overcome the sanctity of its semi-cir-cular form than they could the movement of a stream, which even the most powerful could not cross, if in the shape of a running brook, as witness the race of Tam O’Shanter, who, pursued by them, passed the keystone of the bridge himself, while the tail of his good mare, on the wrong side thereof, became the prey of the pursuing warlocks. We have seen the horseshoe nailed to the lintel of bams and masts of vessels, for a witch, mounted on her broomstick, might take it into her head to descend upon some unlucky craft, or she might call up the surging waves to engulf it, unless it were protected by this holy symbol. For a horse to cast a shoe was a bad omen when a gallant knight was about to start upon some expedition; hence, if a horse stumbled, which he would be sure to do if imperfectly shod, it was unlucky. We do not in our day believe much in witches or “bad signs,” but everybody is pleased with the good luck implied in the finding of a horseshoe. By an old Norman custom, which has been preserved to the present, the venerable castle as Oskliam is plentifully bedecked with horseshoes. The Lords de Freres were in olden time entitled to demand from every Baron on his first passing through the town a shoe from off one of his horse's feet. There are several shoes over 200 years old, the most notable being one given by Queen Victoria. The Princess of Wales recently visited the town, and, in conformity with the custom, a gilt shoe with her name inscribed upon it will be fastened to the castle wall. In our day it is not much to give a gilded horseshoe, as did the Princess of Wales, but it was a serious thing to an old knight, who, giving direct from his horse’s hoof parted with his good luck. —Brooklyn Magazine.