Nose: If your nose itches you are either going to be vexed or kissed by a fool.
Shoulder: An itching on the right shoulder signifies you will shortly have a large legacy left you.
Hand: Palm, you will have money; back, you will give money.
Foot: If the foot itches underneath you are going to tread on fresh ground.
Ankle: If the right ankle itches you will receive a present.
The following recommendation usually accompanies the above:
"Rub it on wood.
Sure to be good.
Rub it on brass,
Sure to come to pass.
Rub it on brick,
Sure to be quick."
Mascotte Legend.—I should esteem it a favour to be told in what book of folk-lore the best account of the Mascotte legend is to be found. Arthur Stallman.
Good Friday Buns as a Medicine.—The wife of my coachman, in Sussex, finding herself unwell a few weeks ago, was "remembered" by her husband that she had "a bit of that Good Friday bun, with a cross upon it, you know, ma'am," in a drawer. This was accordingly found, and enough of it grated in a nutmeg-grater to fill a tea-spoon. This was mixed with brandy, and swallowed, with a beneficial result—attributable, of course, solely to the bun.
Irish Mythology.—Mr. Abercromby (ante, vol. ii. p. 317) takes exception to my statement (same volume, p. 180), made on O'Curry's authority, that Cromm Cruach means bloody maggot or worm. O'Curry's exact words are (MS. Materials, p. 632): The Gaedhelic word crom, or crum, signifies, literally, a maggot. . . . . It is a remarkable fact that the name of the celebrated idol of the ancient pagan Gaedhil was Crom Cruach, which would signify, literally, the "bloody maggot." Mr. David Fitzgerald, in his article in the last
