Rensselaer Union and Jasper Republican, Volume 8, Number 23, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 24 February 1876 — CURIOSITIES OF SUPERSTITION. [ARTICLE]

CURIOSITIES OF SUPERSTITION.

* ui) ior ciiii WEMp w»tu *IVIImI • 1 “" m tiMB ipplicd nt a hiltci to the stomach of the child lathe'Englishcheese counties the bewh* tucks a white cow .InßcotUund, mo among persons of station tad intelligence, them it a very <fl**aa**»irrmgin May Tin “ dei.’ l . tj *wrepe duHng the Middle Ages the beliefin nuqric rings Was almost universal. Borne of them, like that one which Ojger, King Of Lyme, found In a grave, were supposed to possess the power of miking their : valuers invisible. Others were regarded m charms and talismans against witch el, demons and diseases. A copper ring, having a dog and lion engraved upon it, preserved Its wearer from the pestilence; with the figure of a hare It was a defense against the devil, and with aoohteatrtce it was & talisman against A ring of gold was thought to cure St. Anthony’s fin or erysipelas. A ring made of silver collected si the communion service cured convulsions. A silver ring made of five sixpences collected from five different bachelors and constructed by a bachelor blacksmith, cured fits, provided none of the givers knew for what purpose they gave the coin. A ring made of silver contributed by twelve young VNNMt, constantly worn on tile finger, cured epilepsy. The colic was cured with the “ help of an octangular iron ring, and by commanding the bile to take poasession of an unfortunate lark.” SMI darker, if possible, was the superstitioa that rings mads of the chains of criminals, or from three nails or screws which had been used to fasten a coffin, or had been dug up in a graveyard, could These superstitions obtained credence qBJ? « Christopher Hatton, vrho feat a ring to Qomu sfueabath to protect her from all intentions airs. It was not to be worn on will, emphasises the solemn declaration: “With regard to my son, let him keep as a talisman theto wart attached to my This piece fetichism lias befween the imperial exufe who had passed from our midst, and those Latin races which cause he affected to represent, whOs# superstition he certainly shared. Nut manyyears ago it was believed that a bedger’S tooth sewn within the waistcoat would taring great luck at cards. hi some parts of Sussex, England, there is a superstition that if you put on your right stocking, right shoe and right trouser-leg before the left, you will never have toothache. Lady Wentworth, in a letter written in 1713, to her son, Lord Strafford, spoke of the efficacy of wolves. that teefli: They are very lucky things; for my twoe first (me did dye, the other bred his very ill, and none of ye rest did, for I had one for all the rest." Cromwell believed in Sept. 2, and Louis Napoleon in Dec. 2. Sulla called himself Felix, the favored child of fortune, and Timoleon tamed his house into a temple of chance. Alexander, if we may credit the account given by Quintus Curtins, was terrified by Mood flowing from inside his soldiers’ bread during the siegeof Tyre, in 332 B. C. His son, Aristander, foresaw in this crimson efflux of the vital stream out of the commissiarat a happy issue for the Macedonians; and the waters thus never took TyreIke learned Bacon, Luther, Pascal, Guy Patin, Milton, Dr. Johnson, and even Southey, believed jta the existence of Ghosts, and bad Pope not entertained som« similar idea, he had not written — “ ’TU true, ’Tic certain, man, though dead, rePartvr himself; the immortal remain*: The Arm subsist* without the body'* aid, Aerial semblance and an empty shade.” UDrd Byron saw on one occasion a specter. Socrates had warnings from his demon. Brutus saw his evil genious before Philippi. Lord Castlereagh saw on one occasion a spectral child- Ben Johnson informed Drummond of Hawthorndoa that he had passed a night in looking at Tartars and Turk#, Romans and Cartliathe heavens, which he accepted as a favorable response to his prayer for direction in regard to the publication of a book. Nelson had great faith in the luck of a horse-shoe, and one was nailed to the mast of the ship Victory. In some parts of Lancashire, England, it ispopularly believed that at midnight on Christmas eve the cows reverently fall on their knees, and hum the 100th psalm. In the south of Ireland the number of husbands or wives a person is to have BMlgsd from the upward wrinkles, above the eyes to the brow, which are to be seen on her or his face. In Tannine, France, the aurora borealis Is considered a sign of war and tumults. White -moons in July and August are signs if The jttnjta believed to danceshree timtt on the horizon when he rises on 0C John's day. The screaming of owls forebodes death. A branch of

sweet brier suspended over the door pro tects ilie inmates from fever. It you wish for good success in rearing poultry, you should dance on the dung-hill m the farmyard on Shrove Tuesday. After the — W&t "I —T you must abstain from eatbig Ighstedbread, or you will. have a^bad thefr meals, leavers small portion of meat on their plate for This sort of offering renders him less malicious. Crickets bring good luck to the house, and mart not be disturbed. The cobwebs floating is the air in August are produced by tbs Holy Virgin, who is then spinning robes for the angels. A spark flying fM Hie chimney presages a visit from a stranger. If, at washing time, the boiler J» i( la a sign of death in the family. The . wren is a sacred Mid in consequeaoe of her having broagte flie from heaven; in doing which •bSjnirni her feathers, on which accident all the other birds gars her one, except fto mjfry wg opt, to booted whenever seen. On a death taking place la abowe, tbs water in the bucket, or any win* ofliquld in the drinking vessel, is thrown out, lest the soul of i lie departed should rooelvs any damage i y tiding into them. If it it the master of Uw hooes who is dead, some one runs immediately to the beehives, knocks gently on each, lid says: “My little lrieods. be uttlct: you bare lost your mas «sr, baton net leave ns; we will take the same cue of you and »»e kind to you.” a piece of black stuff to tiL> blaei fnbf flie fkMllV Seh pubiished in 1714, called a

ESSS&kw And • child that Is born on a Christmas day In these rhymes no mention is made of Sunday—the only day in which the writer of this article has a right to take a personal ittlerest from his birth. In some particularly superstitious parts of Germany, they believe that the aspan is the tree on which Judas hung himself; that it was as calm a tree as any until'then, but from that hoar It began to shiver, and baa done so ever since. And the Mexicans say that the rich, reddishbrown spots with which the French marigold is so elegantly mottled, are splashes of the blood of Mexican soldiers slain by the Spaniards.—Thomas J. Bowditch , in Troy (N. Y.) Time*.