Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 15, 1904.djvu/232

 2o8 Collectanea.

If you wish a visitor to go away, take a broom and lean it up behind a door and sprinkle salt on it, and he will leave directly.

If a large blackbeetle fly into the house, alight on the floor, and fly off again, you will hear good news ; if it remains on the floor, it portends something bad.

If a flock of blackbirds fly over a house and one alights on the roof, some one in that house will die.

If the limb of any tree near a house suddenly breaks off, it is a sure sign of death in the household.

If any one sees a ghost and speaks of it immediately, the ghost will hurt him.

If peas are planted on a grave, the spirit of the dead person cannot rise to harm any one.

If your lose you wife, the young lady that put the crape on your hat will be your wife.

To make a duppy laugh, show it a firestick.

If you want a person to sleep, make a cotta (a kind of pillow made of old soft cloth, or plaintain bark, very small) and put it under his head and stick two black pins in it, and he will sleep until you awake him.

If you meet a duppy and you wish to know whether it is good or a bad one, say, " Jesus, the name high over all," and if it is a good one it will help you to sing it, if a bad one it will run away.

If you want to see duppies, take the water from a dog's eye and rub yours with it.

Never sit at the threshold of a door at twelve o'clock, for the duppies will walk over and injure you.

If you are troubled by duppies, sprinkle sand before your door at night.

If you meet a funeral and want to see a ghost, run before it, stoop down and look between your legs, and you will see the ghost sitting on the coffin.

If you light your pipe at night do not throw the match on the ground, or duppies will take it up and trouble you.

If you meet a funeral you must take off your hat, or you will be sure to see the ghost.

If you and a dog are walking at night, never let the dog walk behind you, or a duppy will knock you down.

If you are walking by day or at night and feel a sudden heat, a 2;host is there-