12 TRANSACTIONS. 
shepherd-author, told me that when he was young many persons in 
contributing to a raffle wrote against their subscription the word 
“ Friday,” expecting thereby better luck from the dice. It is not 
well to change situations on Saturday. “Saturday’s enter is a 
short residenter.” I quote the following rhyme from a native of 
the district : 
‘* Gang and see the swallow flee, 
Sit and hear the gowk, 
The foal before its minnie’s e’e, 
And all that year ye’ve luck.” 
If a hare cross your path to the left it is of evil omen, but not if 
it cross to the right. If a person eats the brains of a hare he 
will be ill-tempered afterwards. This Tynron saying is something 
like La Fontaine’s estimate of the hare, whose flesh produced 
melancholy. In Swift’s ‘‘ Polite Conversation” hare-flesh is called 
“ melancholy meat.” 
“The robin and the wren are at God’s right hand. 
The yeldrock and the sparrow are the Devil’s bow-and-arrow.” 
“¢ The robin and the wren made their porridge in a pan, 
Ere the robin got a spoon, the wren had them all done.” 
A dairyman once asked me for the scientific name of the “ worm 
that first breaks through the coffin lid.” He also informed me 
that the bat and dormouse and the hedgehog were three of the 
seven sleepers. To rub shoulders with a bride or bridegroom 
augurs a speedy marriage. Ifa girl eat a herring before going to 
bed she has a chance to dream of her sweetheart. A rainy 
wedding-day goes with a greeting bride. It is the correct thing 
to dance in stocking soles at the marriage of a sister or brother 
younger than yourself, the sister at the sister's, the brother at the 
brother's. It bodes not well to make a present to your sweet- 
heart of a knife or other sharp article, lest it should cut love. It 
was a custom at Hallowe’en to wind a clue in a kiln-pot with the 
expectation that your future partner in life might be seen holding 
the other end of it. Should a girl scoop a hole where three or 
more roads meet and apply her ear to it, she may hear a whisper 
telling her the trade of her future lover. If your palm tickle it is 
a sign that you shall soon shake hands with the rich or obtain 
money. Sitting down to meat causes the invited guests to arrive. 
The tongs falling head foremost into the ash-pit isa sign that a 
stranger is coming. An itching palm is a sign of change of 
weather. If your right ear be warm or tingle it is a sign that 
