"One is sorrow,
Two is mirth,
Three's a wedding.
Four a birth."
Pigeons.—It is considered unlucky to keep pigeons in the dwelling-house.
Crickets.—It is unlucky to kill a cricket, or to talk of killing them, because they tell one another and come and eat your clothes.
Charm for Toothache.—Say three times night and morning, or write on a slip of paper and carry about with you :—
"Peter sat on a marble stone,
Jesus came to him alone:
'What ail'st thou, Peter, why dost thou quake?'
'Oh, dear Jesus, 'tis the toothache.'
'Rise up, Peter, thou shalt be healed.
And all those who keep these words in memory
Of my Passion shall never be troubled with toothache.'"
Charm against Ague or Fever.—As above:—
"When Our Saviour came to the Cross,
His Body did shake and tremble.
The Jews asked of Him had he the fever or ague.
He said He had neither,
'And anyone who keepeth these words
In memory of Me shall never have either.'"
Charm to Recover a Lost Article.—Tie a piece of straw round the crook in the chimney, then take a sod from the fire and place it in the centre of the room, quench it, and the lost article will be restored to its place.
The tongs are thrown at persons going out on business, to take luck with them.
When a calf died it was the custom to cut off the forefeet from the knee, and place them up over the door of the house, inside, to prevent the death of calves.
Some people say that if they missed a piece of a ridge
