HORSE-SHOES AND WITCHES. 385 



misfortune — ' Ein Madchen class ein Hufeisen verloren 

 hat.' The origin of this strange application of the word 

 is unknown ; but the mishaj) may have been compared to 

 a horse stumbling and losing its shoe.' 



In Germany horse-shoes are stuck up in all the 

 ' Schmiedeherbergen,' or ' Gasthausern ' (smiths' j)ub- 

 lic-houses), and are called the 'arms of the guild' {TjUuJI- 

 gilde). 



Holiday, in his comedy of the ' Marriage of the Arts,' 

 among other good wishes introduced, gives one to the 

 effect ' that the horse-shoe may never be pulled from your 

 threshold.' 



To nail a horse-shoe, which has been cast on the road, 

 over the door of any house, barn, or stable, is an effectual 

 means of preventing the entrance of witches in Cornwall 

 and the West of England to this day.^ I have recently 

 met with instances of this custom in Kent. 



Butler,^ in his unrivalled ' Pludibras,' says of his con- 

 jurer that he could 



' Chase evil spirits away by dint 

 Of cickle, horseshoe, hollow flint.' 



Misson 4 mentions the popularity of this custom in 

 England, and its being intended as a defence from witches : 

 ' Ayant souvent remarque un fer de cheval clone au seuils 

 des portes (chez les gens de petite etoffe), j'ai demande a 

 plusieurs ce que cela vouloit dire ? On m'a rcpondu 

 diverses choses diffcrentes, mais la plus generale reponse 

 a etc, que ces fers se mettoient pour empecher les sorciers 



' Notes and Queries, vol. v. p. 391. 



' Romances of the West of England. Second Series, p. 240. 



' Canto iii. pt. 2, line 291. ■• Travels in England, p. 192. 



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