Page:The New Forest - its history and its scenery.djvu/197

Rh Plenty, too, of old love superstitions remain—about ash boughs with an even number of leaves, and "four-leaved" clover, concerning which runs a Forest rhyme:—

Then, too, we must not forget the Forest proverbs. "Wood Fidley rain," "Hampshire and Wiltshire moonrakers," and "Keystone under the hearth," have already been noticed. But there are others such as "As yellow as a kite's claw," "An iron windfall," for anything unfairly taken, "All in a copse," that is, indistinct, "A good bark-year makes a good wheat-year," and "Like a swarm of bees all in a charm," explained further on, which show the nature of the country. Again, "A poor dry thing, let it go," a sort of poacher's euphemism, like, "The grapes are sour," is said of the Forest hares when the dogs cannot catch them, and so applied to things which are coveted but out of reach. "As bad as Jeffreys" preserves, as throughout the West of England, the memory of one who, instead of being the judge, should have been the hangman. Again, too, "Eat your own side, speckle-back," is a common Forest expression, and is used in reference to greedy people. It is said to have taken its origin from a girl who shared her breakfast with a snake, and thus reproved her favourite when he took too much. Again, "To rattle like a boar in a holme bush," is a thorough proverb of the Forest district, where a "holme" bush means an old holly. Passing, however, from particulars to generals, let me add for the last, "There is but one good mother-in-law, and she is dead." I have never heard it elsewhere in England, but doubtless it is common enough. It exactly corresponds with the German saying, "There is no good mother-in-law but she that 179