n6 WILD LIFE IN A SOUTHERN COUNTY. 



horns of the crescent touch, or nearly, a vertical line, 

 if it stands upright, then it will be fine. Something, 

 too, must be allowed for the degree of sharpness of 

 definition of the crescent, which reveals the state of the 

 atmosphere. And the cottage astrologer has a whole 

 table of the quarters, aspects, and so on, and lays 

 much stress upon the day and hour of the change ; 

 indeed, it is a very complicated business to understand 

 the moon. 



The belief in the power of certain persons to " rule 

 the planets " is profound so profound that neither 

 ridicule, argument, nor authority will shake it in the 

 minds of the hamlet girls, and it abides with them 

 even when they are placed amidst the disenchanting 

 realities of town life. When " in service " they buy 

 dream-books and consult fortune-tellers. The gipsies, 

 in passing through the country, choose the byways 

 and lanes ; they thus avoid the tolls, have a chance of 

 poaching, and find waste places to camp in, though 

 possibly something of the true nomadic instinct may 

 urge them to leave the beaten tracks and wander over 

 lonely regions. They camp near the hamlet as they 

 travel to and from the great sheep fairs which are 

 held upon the hills, and perhaps stay a few days ; and 

 by them, to some extent, the belief in astrology and 

 palmistry is strengthened. 



The carters, who have to spend some considerable 

 time every day with their horses in the stable, still 

 retain a large repertory of legendary ghost-lore. They 

 know the exact spot in the lane where, at a certain 



