An intense desire to know future events, besides being the great encouragement of astrologers, sorcerers, and magicians, wise men, cunning women, fortune-tellers, &c., has given rise to a large class of small circumstances which are regarded as indicative of coming good or bad luck, of good or evil fortune, to the observer or the person experiencing their influence. Hence, nothing is more common than to hear amongst uneducated and credulous people predications from the most trivial occurrences of daily life. A winding-sheet in the candle, spilling the salt, crossing knives, and various other trifles, are omens of evil to thousands of lore-folk to this day. Should one of your children fall sick when on a visit at a friend's house, it is held to be sure to entail bad luck on that family for the rest of the year, if you stay over New Year's-day. Persons have been known to travel sixty miles with a sick child rather than run the risk. A flake of soot on the bars of the grate is said to indicate the approach of a stranger; a bright spark on the wick of a candle, or a long piece of stalk in the tea-cup, betokens a similar event. When the fire burns briskly, some lover smirks or is good-humoured. A cinder thrown out of the fire by a jet of gas from burning coals, is looked upon as a coffin, if its hollow be long; as a purse of gold, if the cavity be roundish. Crickets in a house are said to indicate good fortune; but should they forsake the chimney corner, it is a sure sign of coming misfortunes.

In the neighbourhood of Lancaster I know ladies who consider it "lucky" to find old iron: a horse-shoe or rusty nail is carefully conveyed home and hoarded up. It is also considered lucky if you see the head of the first lamb in spring; to present his tail is the certain harbinger of misfortune. It is also said that if you have money in your pocket the first time you hear the cuckoo, you will never be without all the year.[91]

In Lancashire we still dislike the moaning or hooting of owls and the croaking of ravens, as much as the Romans did of old. In a large class of our population few would yet defy evil fate, by beginning a journey or any important undertaking, or marrying, on a Friday; on which day Lancashire, like other sailors, have a strong repugnance to beginning a voyage. This day of the week is regarded as of evil augury, because it was the day (Good Friday) when our Saviour's blood was shed. The auguries of dreams are so numerous, that a large class of chap-books are still to be found circulating in country places, from Mother Shipton to Napoleon's Book of Fate. Few young women in the country, farmers' daughters and servants, were without a favourite "Dream-Book." Again, the farmer or cottager deems it necessary, in order to secure a crop of onions, to sow the seed on St. Gregory's-day [March 12] named "Gregory-gret-Onion," (i.e., Gregory the Great). Amongst the more pardonable longings to raise the veil of futurity are those of village maidens (and not a few of those in towns too, and of all ranks) to get a peep at the figure of the husband whom the future has in store for her. On All-Hallows' Eve she strews the ashes which are to take the form of one or more letters of her lover's name; she throws hemp-seed over her shoulder and timidly glances to see who follows her. On the fast of St. Agnes she watches a small candle called a "pig-tail," to see the passing image of her future husband. The up-turned tea-cup, for its leaves, or the coffee-cup for its "grounds;" the pack of cards, with the desired King of Hearts or Diamonds, the sputterings and spurtings of a tallow-candle, all furnished to the omen-instructed damsel some sign by which to read the future, and to arrive at a knowledge of her lot in life, as to husband, children, fortune, &c. When leaving home to begin a journey, or to commence any future enterprise, it is deemed an important observance, necessary to insure good luck, to walk "withershins" (i.e., as the weather or sun shines). In many country places this is always observed by a bridal party when advancing to the altar to have the marriage solemnized, and, of course, one particular aisle of the church is the only fortunate or lucky one to proceed by. Some, however, say that to walk "widdershins" is to take a direction contrary to the course of the sun, i.e., from right to left.[92] Some persons more credulous than humane, will shut up a poor cat in the oven, to ensure their own good luck. Days have long been parcelled out between lucky and unlucky, for any important undertaking, as a journey, taking a partner in business or for life, buying land, or even for such trivial matters as blood-letting, taking physic, cutting the hair, or paring nails. Again, the moon's age is an important element in securing future weal or woe. For the first year of an infant's life many mothers will not have its hair or nails cut, and when the year is gone these operations must be performed when the moon is so many days old, to ensure good results. A tooth, as soon as it has been drawn, should be sprinkled with salt, and thrown into the fire; if it be lost, no rest or peace will be enjoyed till it is found again. The following are a few omens drawn from observing peculiarities about animals:—

CATS.

1. If a cat tear at the cushions, carpets, &c., with its claws, it is considered to be a sign of wind. Hence we say, "the cat is raising the wind." 2. If a cat in washing its face draw its paw quite over its forehead, it is a sign of fair weather. If not so, it betokens speedy rain. 3. Allowing cats to sleep with you is considered very unhealthy. They are said to "draw your health away." 4. Those who play much with cats have never good health. A cat's hair is said to be indigestible, and you will die if one get into your stomach. 5. It is counted unlucky to allow cats to die in a house. Hence when they begin to be ill they are usually drowned. A case of this kind occurred in Burnley a short time ago. 6. If a kitten come to a house, it is counted a lucky omen.

DOGS.

1. Dogs are said to sit down and howl before the door when any one is about to be sick, or die. A death is considered certain if the dog return as often as driven away. 2. Dogs are hence considered to be somehow acquainted with the spirit world, "or else," as one said, "how should they know when a person is going to die?" This is firmly believed in about Mellor and Blackburn. In Burnley and neighbourhood equally so at present. 3. The life of a dog is sometimes said to be bound up with that of its master or mistress. When either dies the other cannot live. Is this a remnant of the old belief in the transmigration of souls? 4. The whining of a favourite dog is considered by many to betoken calamity to the family to which it belongs.

LAMBS.

It is very lucky for lambs to have their faces towards you when you first see them in Spring. The omen is much more favourable when they are looking towards the east.

BIRDS.

To kill or ill-use swallows, wrens, redbreasts, &c., is accounted unfortunate; for these all frequent our houses for good. There is a stanza common among us which declares that

Birds are supposed by some to be somehow cognizant of what is about to happen. A jackdaw is always an unwelcome visitor, if it alight on the window-sill of a sick chamber. A white dove is thought to be a favourable omen; its presence betokens recovery to the person within, or it is an angel in that form ready to convey the soul of a dying person to heaven. I once knew a Wesleyan Methodist who was of opinion that "forgiveness of sins" was assured to her by a small bird, which flew across her path when she had long been praying for a token of this kind. When a Canary-bird sings cheerfully, all is well with the family that keeps it; when it becomes silent, and remains so, there is calamity in store for that household. If you hear the cuckoo shout towards the east, for the first time in any year, and have gold, silver, and copper coin in your pockets, you will never want money during that year.

SWALLOWS.

1. If swallows, or martins, begin to build their nests about a house or barn, it is looked upon as predicating good luck to the occupier. "The more birds the better luck." 2. On the contrary, when they forsake a haunt, the occupiers become apprehensive of misfortune. Hence farmers will always protect such birds, and often ill-use boys who may be stoning them, or attempting to rob their nests.

MAGPIES.

There are, at least in Lancashire and Yorkshire, many curious superstitions connected with this bird. Its appearance singly is still regarded in both these counties by many even of the educated representatives of the last generation, as an evil omen, and some of the customs supposed to break the charm are curious. One is simply to raise the hat as in salutation, another to sign the cross on the breast, and to make the same sign by crossing the thumbs. This last custom is confined to Yorkshire, and I know one elderly gentleman who not only crosses his thumbs, but spits over them when in that position, a practice which was, he says, common in his youth. The superstition applies only to a single magpie, according to the old nursery legend:—

I met a person the other day who solemnly assured me that he had seen a 'pynot' as he came along the road; but he had made the figure of a cross on the mire in the road, in order to avert the evil omen.[94]

In Lancashire they say:—

But in Tim Bobbin it is expressly said that two magpies are indicative of ill-fortune:—"I saigh two rott'n pynots, hong 'um, that wur a sign of bad fashin; for I heerd my gronny say hoo'd as leef o' seen two Owd Harries os two pynots."[96] "I shall catch none to-day," we heard a man advanced in life, exclaim in a melancholy tone, who was angling in the river Ribble. "Why?" we asked, "the day is not inauspicious." "No; but do you not see that magpie?" In fact pynots, that is, magpies, according to an old Lancashire superstition, are considered birds of ill-omen. In spring it is considered by old-fashioned anglers unlucky to see a single magpie; but two are a favourable auspice, because in cold weather one bird only leaves the nest in search of food, the other remaining to keep the eggs or the young ones warm; but when both are out together, the weather is warm, mild, and favourable for fishing.[97]

DREAMS.

This might well form a great division of itself, in any work on Folk-lore. Yet a little reflection will serve to show that it is only one branch, though a very large one, of the general subject of "Omens." Dreams are regarded by the superstitious simply for what they predicate as about to happen; in other words, they are important to the credulous only as omens of coming events. Itinerant hawkers and small village shops drive a considerable trade in "Dream Books," or "Books of Fate," which profess to interpret every dream and to explain every omen, whether of good or evil import. Of the great variety and extent of "Dream-Book literature" we cannot treat, for want of space. Hawkers and small shops sell a vast quantity of penny dream-books in Lancashire. One of the oldest specimens of these chap-books we have met with is a little 32mo. volume, entitled "Mother Shipton's Legacy, or a favourite Fortune-book, in which is given a pleasing interpretation of dreams, and a collection of prophetic verses, moral and entertaining." (York, 1797, price 4d.) Cap. I. treats of Lucky and Unlucky Days; II. of Moles on the Person; III. Miscellaneous; IV. Dreams; and V. a Magical Table. A few specimens of the dream portion may suffice:—To dream of joy denotes grief; of fine clothes, poverty; of sweetmeats, a whipping; of flying, falling down; of fire, anger; of serpents, private enemies; of money, loss; of weeping, joy; of bathing, ease from pain; of kissing, strife; of feasting, want; of many people, affliction; of singing, sorrow; of changing abode, sudden news; of fishing, good luck; of death, marriage; of finding money, bad luck; of gold, death; of embracing, death; of being bald, misfortune; of a long nose, death; of growing fat, wealth; of drinking water, good entertainment; of the sun rising, preferment; of flashes of fire, sudden death; of being among tombs, riches by the death of relations; of your teeth falling out, losses; of a lean ox, famine; of a fine garden, much pleasure.

[Moral.]

Many persons persuade themselves into the belief that events are revealed to them in dreams. Those who can neither see nor hear spirits generally presume to have this faculty. One dream is not taken much notice of, but if the dream be repeated substantially three times, the events of the dreams are supposed to be sure to come to pass. Some see all the circumstances as realities in their dreams, others only have dim recollections; they hear all but do not see the persons. This agrees with the supposed prophetical dreams of the ancient Greeks and Romans. (Homer, Virgil, Ovid, &c.) Morning dreams are more to be relied on than those of any other time. Those of the morning twilight are most valued. Horrid dreams, or those in which the dreamer feels very uneasy, are supposed to predict bad luck, or misfortune to the family. "Dreams," they say, "always go by contraries." There is a very general belief in dreams among the people of Lancashire. The following are a few not hitherto noticed by the writer:—1. Dreaming of misfortune betokens prosperity.

2. To dream of sickness betokens marriage to young persons. 3. Dreaming of being before an altar indicates sorrow and misfortune. 4. To see angels is a sure sign of coming happiness. 5. When you dream of being angry with any one, you may count that person amongst your best friends. 6. To dream of catching fish is very unfortunate; every fish you take betokens the death of some valued friend. 7. Dreaming about balls, dances, &c., indicates coming good fortune. To the young we may say:—

8. When persons dream of losing their hair, it is a sign of loss of health, friends, or property. 9. If a person dream of losing one, or more, of his teeth, it is a sign that he will lose one, or more, lawsuits which he may happen to be engaged in. I knew a person who had a case in our county court. The case was to come on on the Thursday; but on Wednesday night he dreamt he had lost a tooth. On the case being decided against him, he appealed to his dream as a sure indication of his non-success. 10. Dreaming of bees is counted lucky, because they are industrious.

If the bees sting you, it is a sign of bad luck, crosses and difficulties. 11. Dreaming of marriage, brides, &c., is a sign of death, or long sickness. 12. To dream of a candle burning brightly betokens health, prosperity; and vice versÂ. 13. Dreaming of cats betokens treachery; but if you kill the cat you will have revenge. 14. To dream of seeing a coffin is unlucky; but to dream of seeing a corpse betokens a speedy marriage. 15. Dreaming of death betokens long life and happiness. 16. To dream that you are dirty implies sickness for a longer or shorter period. 17. If you dream of being drowned you will experience some loss. 18. To dream of falling indicates loss. 19. To dream of flying implies that you will not succeed in accomplishing high things. 20. If you dream of the water in a river being very clear you will have good luck; if the water be muddy you will have misfortune. 21. When a widow dreams of seeing her husband, it is a sure sign that she will soon have an eligible offer. 22. If you dream that you are daubed with ink, you may be sure that some one is writing evil of you. 23. Dreaming of going on a journey indicates a change in your circumstances. 24. To dream of flying kites, or playing with bunches of keys, betokens prosperity and advancement in business. 25. To dream of cutting yourself, or of being infested with lice, indicates misfortune or disease. 26. It is very fortunate to dream of milk. 27. To dream of being naked indicates shame and misfortune. 28. To dream of the nose bleeding is a very sure sign of misfortune and loss. 29. Dreaming of seeing the ocean in a calm state betokens steadiness of circumstances; and vice versÂ. 30. To dream of rats indicates difficulties; of snow, prosperity and success; of a wedding, death; and of a widow, that your husband, wife, or lover, will desert you.

All the preceding, and many more, are well-known to every Lancashire lad and lass.

THE MOON.

Our farmers predict fair weather, or the reverse, according as the new moon "lies on her back," or "stands upright." It is also very unlucky for anyone to look at the new moon, for the first time, through the window.

HÆVER OR HIVER.

A "quarter" of the heavens, or compass, or direction; "a lucky hÆver" is a fortunate or desirable direction. The origin of this word is somewhat difficult of explanation; nor is it certain whether its proper etymon has yet been ascertained. It is still in common use among some of the farmers in East Lancashire, and was much more frequently used some thirty or forty years ago. "What hÆver is the wind in this morning?" was a common inquiry when any prediction respecting the weather for the day was about to be hazarded. "I don't expect much rain," would probably be the reply, "the wind is in a good hÆver." There is generally most rain in these parts of Lancashire when the wind blows from the south or south-west; and hence if the wind came from the eastward continued rain was not to be expected.

Most persons have a notion that the East is the most sacred point of the compass. The Star of the Nativity was seen in the east; the chancel, or most holy portion of a church is placed at the east; and the dead are buried so as to rise with their faces towards the east on the morning of the resurrection. These considerations have been applied to the hÆver from which the wind may blow; and hence the proverb occasionally met with among those who live in the neighbourhood of Mellor and Ramsgreave, near Blackburn, to the effect that "the East is a lucky hÆver."

A writer who signs himself "F. C. H." in Notes and Queries, 3rd series, vol. vii. p. 310, asks whether hÆver is not "a peculiar pronunciation of ever, so that the above inquiry would be in plain English, whatever is the wind in this morning?" This derivation appears both too fanciful and insufficient; for when we consider that Lancashire formed part of the Danelagh, and was long a Danish kingdom, and that its dialect contains a large admixture of Danish words; we are naturally led to examine whether such a term may not be found in the Danish language. On examination this proves to be the fact, for "Hive," (pronounced "heeve," as "high" is pronounced "hee,") is the verb "to blow;" and hence "hiver" or "hÆver," as applied to the place whence the wind is blowing. This derivation appears to be both natural and sufficient, since it fully accounts for the use of this peculiar term; which, by the way, is not found in Halliwell's Dictionary of Archaic Words, or in Wright's more recent work on the same subject.

DEASIL OR WIDERSINNIS.

These are Celtic names for going round by way of ensuring good fortune. The former name is derived from the Gaelic deas or des, the right hand, and Syl, the sun, and denotes a motion from east to west, or according to the apparent motion of the sun; and is a custom of high antiquity in religious ceremonies. In the western isles fire was carried in the right hand in this course, about the house, corn, cattle, &c., about women before they were churched, and children before they were baptized. So the fishermen rowed the boat about first sun-wise to ensure a lucky voyage. On the other hand, the Highland Wider-sinnis (whence the Lancashire Wither-shins) was from left to right or west to east, or opposed to the course of the sun, a course used in magical ceremonies, and said to be the mode of salutation given by witches and warlocks to the devil.[98]—(See page 140 suprÂ.)

OMENS OF WEATHER FOR NEW YEAR'S-DAY.

In a Saxon MS. we find that "If the Kalends, or first of January, fall on the Lord's-day, then will the winter be good, pleasant and warm."[99] Another Saxon MS. in the Cotton Library contains the omens to the following effect:—"If the Kalends of January be on the moon's day (Monday) then there will be a severe and confused winter, a good spring, windy summer, and a rueful year, in which there will be much sickness. If the Kalends fall on Tuesday, then the winter will be dreary and severe, a windy heat and rainy summer, and many women will die; ships will voyage in danger, and kings and princes will die. If on Wednesday, there will be a hard winter and bad spring; but a good summer. The fruits of the earth will be much beaten down, honey will be scarce, and young men will die. If on Thursday, there will be a good winter, windy spring, good summer, and abundance of the fruits of the earth, and the plough will be over the earth; but sheep and children will die. If on Friday, there will be a variable winter, good spring and summer, with great abundance, and sheep's eyes will be tender in the year. If on Saturday, there will be a snowy winter, blowing spring, and rainy summer; earth fruits will labour, sheep perish, old men die, and other men be sick; the eyes of many will be tender, and fires will be prevalent in the course of the year. If the Kalends fall on Sunday, there will be a good winter, windy spring, and dry summer; and a very good year this year will be; sheep will increase, there will be much honey, and plenty and peace will be upon the earth."[100]

DEATH TICK OR DEATH WATCH.

The death tick is not yet forgotten in the district around Burnley. Very recently the insect has disturbed the imagination of a young lady, and its ticks have led to more than one gloomy conjecture. It is a curious circumstance that the real death tick must only tick three times on each occasion.

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