Part 25 (2/2)

_Alabama and Kentucky._

MISCELLANEOUS.

663. If two persons shake hands across the gate, they are bringing on themselves ill luck.

_Alabama._

664. It is unlucky to pa.s.s under a ladder.

_Canada._

665. Go under a ladder and you will be hanged.

666. Walking under a ladder is considered very unlucky. In the outposts girls will climb the rockiest cliffs to avoid such a contingency. On one occasion in St. John's, where a ladder extended across the sidewalk, of one hundred and twenty-seven girls who came along, only six ventured under it, the rest going along the gutter in mud ankle deep.

_Newfoundland._

667. If, in pa.s.sing, one parts two people, it is a sign of disappointment to the parter.

668. When two or three people go between different posts, in the entrance of gardens, cemeteries, etc., it is a sign they will be separated or disappointed.

_General in the United States._

669. Sing on the street, Disappointment you'll meet.

670. To count the steps of stairs, as you lie on your back, indicates the number of your troubles.

671. To fall upstairs means good luck; downstairs, ill luck.

_Ma.s.sachusetts._

672. To stumble downstairs, or on going out in the morning, means bad luck.

_Peabody, Ma.s.s._

673. Opals are unlucky.

_General in the United States._

674. The opal is unlucky, unless set with diamonds.

_New York._

675. Don't let the tea-kettle boil so as to make a bubbling or thumping noise, as some say it is unlucky.

_Eastern Ma.s.sachusetts._

676. A tea-kettle boiling so as to make a bubbling sound is said to boil away luck, and should be removed from the flame.

_Eastern Ma.s.sachusetts._

677. Never let your dish-water come to a boil, as every bubble means bad luck to the family.

_Eastern Ma.s.sachusetts._

678. Sewing in the twilight is an ill omen.

_Chatham, N.H._

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