Page:Remaines of Gentilisme and Judaisme.djvu/41

Rh when she heareth scribling, she taketh it, that he will be a scholar, or scrivener, if she heares sewing a Taylor, or Shoemaker &c. Some lay themselves backward at the oven, and hold their hand in it, to get an hair, if the hair is black or whithe, or of any other colour, such haires their future husband will have. Yea, as some say, maids will keep a peece of meat at the first and three following Advent-Sundays, and at 12 a clok at night before Christmas doe lay the Table Cloth, and sett up the s$d$ meat, without laying on it any knif: then say, Here I sit and would fain eat, if my sweetheart would come and bring me a knif, where upon a ghost in shape of a man presenteth her with a knife, & such a one her future husband will bee.

Another Remainder of Geomancy to divine whether such a one will returne this night or no, is by the sheath of a knife, w$ch$ one holds at great end with his two fore fingers, & sayes he comes, then slips downe his upper finger under his lover, & then the lower under that & sayes, he comes not, and sic deinceps till he is come to the bottome of his sheath, w$ch$ gives the Answer. Like unto this is that of Jonathan's shooting three arrowes, &c.: See Samuel, chap. xx. v. 17, which read to the end.

So in Germany the S[c]hool boys practise, when the School-master stayes longer, than he useth to doe, they take a book and open it in the midst, at some part after the beginning or most at end, and then they begin with the first leaf of the book to say, he comes, with the second the schoolmaster comes not, with the third leaf again he comes, till they come to the last leaf, where they first opened the book, and thereby they believe he will come, or not at all.

The magick of the Sive and Sheeres, (I thinke) is in Virgil's Ecglogues: The Sheers are stuck in a Sieve, and two maydens hold up sieve with the top of their fingers by the handle of the shiers: then say. By St Peter & St Paule such a one hath stoln (such a thing), the others say, By St Peter & St Paul He hath not stoln it. After many such Adjurations, the Sieve will turne at name of  Thiefe.

Also I remember, the mayds (especially the Cooke mayds & Dayrymayds) would stick-up in some chinkes of the joists or &c.: Midsommer-men, w$ch$ are slips of Orpins, they placed them