Page:Notes on the folk-lore of the northern counties of England and the borders.djvu/123

 Rh be trustworthy, so would be any dream dreamt on that night and repeated the next day; for—

Compare this with the analogous south-country charm which prevails, or has prevailed, from Sussex to Devonshire. A damsel must pluck some yarrow (millefolium) from a young man’s grave, repeating these words:

She must then sleep with the yarrow under her pillow.

On All Hallowe’en or New Year’s Eve a Border maiden may wash her sark, and hang it over a chair to dry, taking care to tell no one what she is about. If she lie awake long enough, she will see the form of her future spouse enter the room and turn the sark. We are told of one young girl who, after fulfilling this rite, looked out of bed and saw a coffin behind the sark; it remained visible for some time and then disappeared. The girl rose up in agony and told her family what had occurred, and the next morning she heard of her lover’s death. In another instance the young woman is said to have seen her lover at first, but his image quickly vanished, and was replaced by a coffin; she was shortly afterwards married to the man, but he soon died and left her a widow. I have heard of precisely the same practice in Ireland, and in the county of Sussex, where it seems to have been prevalent. I am told of one instance there in which a very tall man in black came in, turned the sark, and walked out again.

In Norfolk, this piece of divination was connected with St. Mark’s or St. Agnes’ Eve. It was resorted to some years ago by the servant of a house on Yarmouth Quay. She opened the doors and sat in silence to see the spectre enter, turn the shift, and go out again; but a sailor from one of the vessels on