Page:Lancashire Legends, Traditions, Pageants, Sports, Etc., with an Appendix Containing a Rare Tract.djvu/273

 insured of a prosperous career through life. The person who takes the last piece of bread from a plate during any meal is favoured with a double omen; for he or she will either be blessed with a handsome partner, or die unmarried. Good fortune is supposed to be indicated by specks on the nails; and they have different significations, according to the fingers on which they may make their appearance. The common adage says—

Our marriageable females are not devoid of that curiosity which attaches to their sex. They are sometimes anxious to ascertain the intentions of their admirers, and various modes of prying into the future are resorted to in order to acquire the desired information. On such occasions popular opinion directs that if a lady desires to infer the name of her future husband she must peel an apple without breaking the rind, and hang the shred on a nail behind the door—the initials of the name of the first gentleman who enters the house after this has been done will be the same as those of the person she will marry. If she desires more special information she must stitch two nuts in the sleeve of her chemise, and give them the names of the two persons respecting whom she may entertain expectations; then the one of these who is the first to give her a kiss will be her future husband. Burning apple pippins is a very common test, and is practised in almost every cottage. In this case we are directed to place two pippins on the mouth of a pair of tongs, so as to touch each other. The lady who is performing the experiment now gives her own name to the left-hand pippin, and that on the right must bear the