Part 13 (1/2)
284. Place three basins on the floor, one containing dirty water, another clear water, and the third empty. Let the (blindfolded?) person crawl up to them on her hands and knees. The one she touches will foretell her fate. The clear water means she is to marry a rich man, the dirty water, a poor man, and the empty basin no man at all.
285. Make ready a mirror, a lamp, a basin of water, a towel and soap. Go to bed backward, not speaking afterwards, and lie awake till midnight. If your sweetheart comes and washes, combs his hair, and looks at you, you'll be married. If you don't see him, you'll see your coffin. (Both s.e.xes.) _Labrador._
286. When a pot is boiling over, put a small stick in one of the ears and name it for the one you like best. If he loves you in return, the water will cease to boil over; if not, it will continue.
_Double Creek, Md._
287. Let two girls wash and wipe the dishes together, then put a dish of water behind the door with a broom-handle in it. Two men will come in who will be the husbands of the two projectors.
_Deer Isle, Me._
288. Run molten lead into hot water; the shape of the pellets formed shows the occupation of your future sweetheart.
_Labrador._
289. Pour molten lead on a hearth; the shape the metal a.s.sumes in cooling foretells the occupation of one's future husband.
_General in the United States._
VARIOUS.
290. On accidentally making two lines rhyme, kiss your hand, and you will be so fortunate as to see your lover before nine that night.
_Alabama._
291. Put a looking-gla.s.s under the pillow, and you will dream of your lover.
_Green Harbor, N.F._
292. Tie a true lover's knot (of shavings) and place it under the pillow.
You will dream of your lover, even if at that time he is unknown to you.
_Newfoundland._
293. Steal a salt herring from a grocery store, eat it, don't speak after eating, and the first man you dream of will marry you.
294. Make a little ladder of sticks, place it under the head at night, and you'll dream of your future husband.
_Patten, Me._
295. Swallow a chicken's heart whole, and the first man you kiss afterwards will be your future husband.
_Winn, Me._
296. Take three grains of coffee, put one notch on one, two on another, put them in a gla.s.s of water under your bed, and name them. The one that sprouts is the one you are going to marry.
_Alabama._
297. Light a match, and the way the flame goes shows where your future husband lives.
_Bedford, Ma.s.s._
298. Stand two matches on a hot stove, sulphur end down, and name them for yourself and a marriageable acquaintance of the opposite s.e.x. If both stand or fall together, it is a sign that you will live and die together.
If one fall, it is a sign that one will leave the other.
_Cape Breton._
299. Go out in spring and turn up a brick on the ground, and look under it at the clay. The color of the clay denotes the color of the hair of your future husband.