Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 23, 1912.djvu/218

 196 Collectanea.

Then blow on the pear and write on it the three Chinese characters which mean " Imperial — command — slay — devil." If the patient eats this pear on the day before his ague is due, it will not come. There is no example of this method failing.

To remove a bone which has stuck in the throat. Draw a ivakizashi (short sword) a little, and point it at the patient. Take out the small knife of the hilt,^^ and prick the ivakizashi with it in a certain fashion. The bone will then come away.

To stop haemorrhage. Write on the patient's forehead the Chinese characters which mean " I, great treasure." The flow of blood will stop at once.

To cure hiccough. Let a man write on the palm of his left hand, a woman on her right hand, the character for "dog" three times.

Divination from the crowing of cocks. Crowing in the evening twilight is lucky, in the early night unlucky. If the hen crows, it means ruin to the family.

Rats are driven away by burning a dough made of a black dog's blood and powder of a roasted crab.

Fire and thunder are kept off by planting a herb called chinkwaso {i.e. fire-quieting herb). The thunder fears this herb.^"

(The late) \V. G. Aston.

i-5[The/{Ws«/(-fl.— Ed.]

^®[The hinode or " sunrise grass" growing on the roof is expected to protect a house from fire. — Ed.]

The Game of "Thread the Needle" and Custom of Church Clipping.

"Thread the Needle" is a game in which two of the players hold up their arms to form an arch, while the others in line run or creep under. This is done repeatedly, the couples taking it in turn to form the "needle's eye." When adults took part in " Thread the Needle," it, was played on some particular day of the year; it now survives as a children's game, not restricted to any season.