Current Superstitions Part 26

679. To look over another person's shoulder into a looking-gla.s.s means disappointment.

_Deer Isle, Me._

680. When going fis.h.i.+ng, fishermen wear white mittens for luck.

_Portsmouth, N.H._

681. It is unlucky to lose a glove.

_Bathurst, N.B._

682. It is bad luck to have any one step across the fis.h.i.+ng-pole; you will catch no fish.

_Talladega, Ala._

683. Crawl under a fence, and you will have bad luck.

_Western Ma.s.ssachusetts.[TN-5]_

684. To step over the feet of any one who is sitting is ill luck.

685. Getting out of bed with the left foot first, or taking anything with the left hand when the right is disengaged, is a sign of bad luck.

_Alabama._

686. In getting out of bed in the morning, the right foot is always to be placed first.

_Ohio._

687. To get out of bed left foot first makes one cross. "He got out of bed left foot first," is a universal saying.

688. In going in at the house door, always put the right foot foremost.

This practice is observed by many intelligent people.

689. To sing at the table is a sign you will be disappointed.

690. It is an ill omen to leave the table while eating, to light the lamp.

_Western Ma.s.sachusetts._

691. To lay the knife and fork crosswise is ill luck.

_Peabody, Ma.s.s._

692. When you drop a knife or fork, and it sticks up in the floor, you will have good luck.

693. It is lucky to find a rusty knife or other steel instrument.

_Maine._

694. If a knife be spun round, care should be taken to spin it back again, otherwise it insures bad luck.

695. Often verses of Proverbs x.x.xi. are a.s.signed to girls and boys respectively according to the day of the month of the birth.

_Labrador and Brookline, Ma.s.s._

696. It brings bad luck to the bearer of a ring to have it taken from her finger by another person.

_Ma.s.sachusetts._

697. Measuring one's waist, as for a dress, will bring ill luck.

698. To turn a loaf of bread upside down is ill luck.

_Northern Ohio._

699. To find a four-leaved clover is lucky; but five-leaved, unlucky.

_General in the United States._

700. When a vessel is launched, break a bottle of wine over her for luck.

The bottle is to be broken by a lady.

_General in the United States._

701. Never carry clean wet clothes from one house to another, as it will bring ill luck.

_Chestertown, Md._

702. Do not go into your new house by the back door; if you do you take disaster with you.

703. Never build on a spot where a house has been burned. The second house is likely to go in the same manner.

_Maine and Ma.s.sachusetts._

704. Light coming in at the window is a bad sign.

_Peabody, Ma.s.s._

705. The opening of an umbrella in the house is a sign of bad luck.

_General in the United States._

706. If you drop your umbrella, you will have ill luck if you pick it up yourself; but the ill luck may be averted by having some one else pick it up.

_Prince Edward Island._

707. To carry a hoe through the house is ill luck.

_Alabama._

708. To light three lights with one match is good luck for a week.

_Peabody, Ma.s.s._

709. The falling of a chandelier foretells a disaster in the family.

_New York._

710. Breaking a looking-gla.s.s shows that you'll have seven years of ill luck.

_General in the United States._

711. If a chair be turned about on one of its forelegs, there will be bad luck in the house all that year.

_Talladega, Ala._

712. A mare-browed man, that is, one whose eyebrows meet, is unlucky and can cast spells.

_Newfoundland._

713. It is unlucky, when going deer-hunting, to meet a red-haired man.

_Newfoundland._