Memoirs of the American Folk-Lore Society. 59
If good, good betide you, and If bad, may the Devil ride you.
or, in Baltimore, Md. : —
If it 's good, may the Lord bless you. If it 's bad, may the Devil take you.
Saliva has not only a prophylactic but also a prophetic potency. We cite the items illustrating this power : —
Strike the saliva with the right forefinger, and notice the direction in which it flies ; that will be the direction of the lost article.
Missouri (negro).
92. To find lost cattle or any lost articles, strike a drop of spit on the palm of the hand. Pennsylvania.
93. Spitting on the palm of the hand or on the inner side of the wrist will recall to the memory where a mislaid article is. Salem, Mass.
94. Spitting on a hot shovel serves as a means of divination. One's future home is in the direction taken by the moving bubble. If it remains stationary, the one who is trying the oracle will remain where he is.
Northern Ohio.
Superstitious beliefs relating to animals have different roots. In some cases the omens derived from these may belong to the class of mere indications ; that a white dove should be a sign of marriage, a "mourning dove" of death, may be natural. The lowing of a cow is said to be a sign of death ; but the idea is explained by other simi- lar items of superstition, in which it is only after darkness has set in that the sound is dangerous. The disturbance of the domestic ani- mals is dependent on their foresight of approaching disaster to their master's house. That a white spider " spinning down" is a token of good news, a black one of evil tidings, is equally in accordance with the laws of association of ideas. That the sight of a redbird on Saturday portends a vision of one's sweetheart on the Sunday may be due only to the brightness of the plumage. In these cases the prophetic character belongs to the animal only incidentally, or in consequence of the suggestion of certain feelings.
There is, however, a mass of belief relating to animals which goes back to the sacred quality of the creatures, as anciently worshipped or dreaded. Thus, in the case of the snake, the ancient hostility set forth in Genesis is fully maintained by modern practice.
351. Kill the first snake you see in the spring to bring good luck.
Cape Breton.
352. If a snake crosses one's path, that person has an enemy.
Somewhat general in the United States.
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