Ruling the Planets. 109 
an article of faith among their forefathers, is not 
altogether overlooked; and they watch for the new 
moon carefully. Ifthe crescent slopes, it will be wet 
weather. But if the 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 com- 
plicated 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 disen- 
chanting realities of town life. When ‘in service, 
they buy dream-books, and consult fortune-tellers. 
The gipsies, in passing through the country, choose 
the by-ways 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. 
