specialties and peculiarities, and much of 
their patronage. 
Possibly, the most foolish of the rural 
sports—and yet those the most thought of— 
were the ones occurring on “Allhallow 
E’en,” which is, as I#suppose you are 
aware, the very last night in October, the 
night of All Saints’ Day. A few of these 
ridiculous customs are carried on in these 
times, and a few we will take the liberty of 
introducing here, premising you will be 
wise enough to shun, and not follow them. 
^On this night, young people in the North 
of England dive for apples, or catch at 
them, when stuck upon one end of a kind 
of hanging beam, at the other extremity 
of which is fixed a lighted candle. This 
they do with their mouths only, their 
hands being tied behind their backs.” From 
the custom of flinging nuts into the fire, 
or cracking them with their teeth, it has 
likewise obtained the name of nut-crack 
night. In an ancient volume, a person is 
represented balancing himself upon a pole 
laid across two stools; at the end of the 
pole is a lighted candle, from which he is 
endeavoring to light another in his hand, 
at the imminent risk of tumbling into a 
tub of water placed under him. Burns has 
said: “Burning the nuts is a favorite 
charm. They name the lad and lass to 
each particular nut as they lay them in the 
lire; and accordingly as they burn quietly 
together, or start from beside one another, 
the course and issue of the courtship will 
be.” 
Divination by way of nuts seems to be 
extremely popular among lovers, for we 
are reminded that, in Ireland, when the 
young women would know if their lovers 
are faithful, they put three nuts upon the 
bars of the grates, naming the nuts after 
the lovers. If a nut cracks or jumps, the 
lover will prove unfaithful; if it begins to 
blaze or burn, he has a regard for the per¬ 
son making the trial. If the nuts named 
after the girl and her lover, burn together, 
they will be married. 
Perhaps, if persons were as anxious to 
find out the character and characteristics of 
their lovers, by observation, as they are to 
become wedded, and seek foolish and un¬ 
reliable means to discover the same, we 
might have happier couples and . less 
work for the divorce court. But I won’t 
prose or preach, as I suppose you think my 
province is not to tell people what they, 
should do, but what they really did do, and 
have done; so I will tell you something 
about the prophecy of the blue clew ; albeit 
you will laugh at its foolishness. Prepare 
to smile. “Whoever would, with success, 
try this spell, must strictly observe these 
directions. Steal out, all alone, to the 
kiln, and, darkling, throw into the pot a 
clew of blue yarn; wind it in a new* clew 
off the old one, and towards the latter end, 
something will hold the thread. Demand: 
‘Who holds?’ and, answer will be returned 
from the kiln pot, by naming the Christian 
and surname of your future spouse.” It is 
possible it may be so; yet more possible, it 
may not. If this spell failed, another could 
be tried; for there were plenty of them, 
and one just as likely to come true as the 
others. 
A very popular charm is to “Winn three 
wechts o’naething.” The wecht is the in¬ 
strument used in winnowing corn, while 
the following is the modus operandi of pen¬ 
etrating into the future: “This charm, 
likewise, must be performed unperceived 
and alone. A person must go to the barn 
and open both doors, taking them off .the 
hinges, if possible, for there is danger that 
the being, about to appear, may shut the 
doors and do mischief. Then ;the person 
takes the instrument, used in winnowing 
corn, and goes through the attitude of let¬ 
ting down corn against the wind. This is 
repeated three times, and the third time, 
an apparition will pass through the barn, 
in at the windy door, and out at the other, 
having both the figure in question, and the 
appearance or retinue marking the employ¬ 
ment or station in life.’’ 
You will find the charms to hold out as 
long as does your courage to test them. 
Some people used to “Fathom the stack 
three times,” w*hich consisted of “taking 
an opportunity of going, unnoticed, to a 
bear stack (barley stack) and fathoming it 
three times round. The last fathom of the 
last time, one was supposed to catch in her 
arms the appearance of her conjugal yoke¬ 
fellow. ” Rather a queer one was the follow- 
