Love, fond of such substantial fare,
And proud to play the glutton there,
All thoughts of cutting will disdain,
Save only—“cut and come again.”
In the West Riding of Yorkshire it is thought sinful to burn evergreens which have been used for decorations; or, again, to point at the stars, or try to count them. Many, they say, have been struck dead for so doing. I believe that this idea extends to Durham. Neither must you collect hailstones. The impropriety of this is said to be shown thus—if you put them into a wine glass to melt, they will run through it, and make a slop underneath!
No one in the Borders will put on a new coat or dress without placing some money at once in the right-hand pocket. This insures the pocket being always full; but if, by mistake, it is put in the left-hand pocket, you will never have a penny so long as you wear the coat.
My native county supplies many conventional speeches proper to be made on first seeing one’s friends in new clothes, i.e., “There you go, and well you look.” “May you have health to wear it, strength to tear it, and money to buy another.” Those in use in our schools are less kindly in their character, especially as they are accompanied with actions to correspond:
A nip for new,
A bite for blue.
or,
A nip for new,
Two for blue;
Sixteen
For bottle green.
Among country people in Lancashire it is considered unfortunate to buy cattle without receiving back some small coin from the purchase-money “for luck.” A farmer of fourscore years old told a friend that in early life he once bought a cow without thus receiving a gift from the purchase-money, but the animal was soon afterwards found dead in the field. During the re-
