EXAMPLES OF SUPERSTITIOUS BELIEFS 315 



unwell, I decided that it must be X. L.'s death that was foretold 

 me." Mrs. C— " Foretold you ! how ? " Mrs. B.— " Why, thus : 

 long after dark last night, as I was busy getting the children's 

 supper, the cock, that had gone to roost as usual, suddenly stood up 

 on his perch, and crowed a long and loud crow that startled us all ; 

 and I made Katie say the Lord's Prayer, for I knew that a cock 

 crowing at an hour so untimeous meant a death in our neighbour- 

 hood, and nothing else. On inquiry, I find that X. L. died just 

 about that time." Mrs. D. — " I knew it too, that there was to be 

 a death in our neighbourhood. My nose itched so much all last 

 evening, and the itching was on the left nostril side, and I was 

 certain that it was to be the death of a male that I should hear of. 

 I had not, however, heard that X. L. was so very poorly." Mrs. 

 r. — " WhUe at breakfast this morning, I could hardly eat anything, 

 so loud and persistent was the ringing in my ears. It was just 

 like the toUing of the church beU." Now, the reader must remem- 

 ber that these were highly respectable women, of some education, 

 and in every way of good repute ; and yet they had no idea at all 

 that there was anything siUy or wrong about their superstition, 

 of which they made no secret, and which was reported to us 

 immediately afterwards by one who was present. Now, we ask, 

 if one was present and heard it all, how could he best deal with 

 the believer in this superstition, a superstition so wide-spread that 

 it may be said to be universal. Any attempt at getting angry and 

 driving it out of them by the mere force and weight of your 

 superior enlightenment would be a false move, sure to be attended 

 by no good results. Laughing at the whole affair might perhaps 

 be a more successful way of dealing with the nonsense, but in 

 neither way would you be likely to make them look at the matter 

 from your particular light and point of view. Admitting that it 

 was rank superstition and sheer nonsense, there was this one good 

 thing attending it ; it led to much moralising on the shortness and 



