Current Superstitions Part 4

Certain, true, Black and blue, Lay me down and cut me in two.

68. A boy who desires to tell an extravagant story without being guilty of a lie would point with his thumb over his left shoulder. If he should succeed in accomplis.h.i.+ng this without the observation of the boy to whom he is talking, so much the better.

_Biddeford, Me._

69. "In my school-days, if a boy crossed his fingers, elbows, and legs, though the act might not be noticed by the companion accosted, no blame was attached to the falsehood."

_New York city._

70. The addition of the words "in a horn" justify a falsehood. In the childhood of the informant, it was not considered honorable to express the words in such manner that they could not be heard by the child with whom conversation was carried on.

_Cambridge, Ma.s.s._

71. In making a false statement, it was proper to say "over the left."

This was often uttered in such manner that the person addressed should not perceive the qualification. Or, the statement would be made, and after it had been taken in and believed, the words "over the left" would be added.

_Ohio and Cambridge, Ma.s.s._

72. A formula for making a false statement: "As true as I lie here,"

said, as one fools, gives free scope to white lies.

_Roxbury, Ma.s.s._

73. An imprecation of children against disloyalty:--

Tell tale t.i.t, Your tongue shall be slit, And every dog in our town It shall have a bit.

_Ohio._

CHALLENGE.

To "stump" another boy to do a thing is considered as putting a certain obligation on him to perform the action indicated. The phrase is sometimes used, although the person giving the "stump" may not himself be able to accomplish the feat.

74. We used to "dare" or "stump" one another to eat green "chuckcherries."

_Brookline, Ma.s.s._

75. Daring or "stumping" is or has been common among children generally.

Sometimes it is to jump a certain distance; sometimes to skate out on thin ice; again, to touch something very hot. Once in Ohio several lads were collected together about a spring. One of them drew a pail of fresh water and by chance brought up a small live fish. One of the boys "stumped" his companions to eat the fish alive, without dressing or cooking. The boys took the "stump," one quickly cut up the unfortunate little animal and each boy swallowed a bit. Often the dare is to eat some very untoothsome morsel.

FORTUNE.

76. Put a mark upon a paper for every bow you get, and when you have one hundred bury the paper and wish. When the paper is decayed you will find your wish in its place.

_Cambridge and Bedford, Ma.s.s._

77. Children collect two or three hundred names of persons, asking each to give a bow with the name. This bow is expressed after the name on a sheet of paper on which the latter is written by this sign [Symbol: H with slanted cross-bar]. After all are collected the paper is secretly buried face downward, and then dug up after two or three months, when money is sometimes found under it.

_North Cambridge, Ma.s.s._

78. At Christmas or New Year's children, on first meeting, call out "My Christmas-gift," or "New Year's-gift," and the one who calls first is to receive a gift from the other.

_Mansfield, O._

FRIENDs.h.i.+P.

79. If two persons, while walking, divide so as to pa.s.s an obstruction one on one side and one on the other, they will quarrel. Children avert this catastrophe by exclaiming, "bread and b.u.t.ter," which is a counter charm. On the other hand, if they say "pepper and salt," the quarrel is made doubly certain. So universal is the practice that many grown people of the best social cla.s.s (women) still involuntarily avoid such separation, and even use the childish words. In country towns, when girls are walking with young men, if the latter pa.s.s on the other side of the tree it is considered as rude, and as a token of indifference; in such a case one girl will cast a meaning look on her companion as much as to say, "he does not care for you." To use the local phrase, it would be said, So-and-so is "mad" with ---- (naming the girl).

_Ma.s.sachusetts._

80. In pa.s.sing a tree in the middle of the sidewalk, children used to pa.s.s it on one side going one way and on the other side going the other way for luck.

_Billerica, Ma.s.s._

MYTHOLOGY.

81. The stars are angels' eyes.

_Westminster, Ma.s.s._

82. The stars are holes made in the sky, so that the light of heaven s.h.i.+nes through. "I remember, as a child, that this idea was suggested to me on seeing the effect of holes in the lamp shade. I think, however, that I rather liked to suppose it true and firmly believed in the explanation."

_Cambridge, Ma.s.s._

83. "As a child, I constantly looked into lilies and tulips in the expectation of finding fairies lying within them."

_Mansfield, O._

84. "I remember that as a child, while walking with a companion, she cried: 'Why, a fairy lighted on my hand!' The child believed that this had been the case."

_Cambridge, Ma.s.s._

85. The children used to fearfully look in the well, and on seeing the reflected face in the bottom, would cry out, "Face in the well, pull me down in the well," and would then run away quickly.

_Bruynswick, N.Y._

86. At the age of six or seven years, a child, while going to a spring to draw water, saw a little creature with wings fly from one star to another, leaving behind an arc of light. She cried to her aunt: "Oh, aunt, I saw a little gold-boy!" Her aunt, somewhat shocked, rebuked the child, who insisted on the literal truth of her vision.

_Mansfield, O._

87. Stick your thumb through a knothole and say:--

Old Gran'f'ther Graybeard, without tooths or tongue, If you'll give me a little finger I'll give you a thumb.

Thumb'll go away and little finger'll come.

88. Go to the woodpile and say, "Johnnie with your fingers, and Willie with your toes," and something (suthin) will come out of the woodpile and tear off all your clothes (close).

_Gilsum, N.H._

PUNISHMENT.

89. An "eyewinker" placed in the palm of the hand will cause the ferule to break when the teacher strikes the palm with it.

_Portsmouth, N.H._

90. Pine tar or pitch in the hand will prevent the blows of the ferule from causing pain. (_Portsmouth, N.H._, sixty years ago.)

Believed by most schoolboys there at that time.

SPORT.

91. At croquet, if your ball was about to be sent flying, the safeguard was to draw an imaginary X with your mallet, saying, "Criss cross." It made your enemy's foot slip, and many a girl would get "mad" and not play, if you did it often.

_Brookline, Ma.s.s._