What They Say in New England

Front matter

the magical new moon. Frontispiece.

What They Say in New England A Book of Signs, Sayings, and Superstitions

Collected by Clifton Johnson author of “the new england country“ “the farmer’s boy“ etc.

Introductory

Introductory

. .

When I began to collect these signs and sayings, it was with the idea of gathering them for my own entertainment. In days like the present of universal books and schools, I thought I could hope to get only a few remnants of the thought and notions that have descended to us from the illiterate and superstitious ages of the past; and I supposed that by the time I had picked up two or three scores of these oddities the subject would be exhausted as far as New England was concerned. But when I began to notice, I found that people in their every-day conversation were constantly dropping remarks on the significance of all sorts of things that were a part of this old folk-lore. When questioned, nearly every one, old and young, could repeat a few sayings of the kind I sought, and among these were almost always some I had not heard before. My collection grew until I saw the possibility of a volume, and I could not but wonder what the superstitions of the Dark Ages were like if these were only remnants. Not only was the number of sayings floating about astonishing, but it was remarkable how much belief there was in them.

Most New Englanders disclaim a belief in signs,—at least, they say a good share of them are all nonsense; yet a confidential acquaintance is apt to reveal some they accept. Most of the signs you hear from any particular person are repeated because they are simply curious, or because there may be some possible unperceived significance in them. I do not suppose any one believes them all, unless it is some imaginative small boy. It is the least thoughtful and least educated classes that have most belief in signs. Children accept them readily, just as they will accept anything told them about which they know nothing to the contrary. Some sayings add charm, some mystery, to the child’s life; others frighten. The person who is not affected at all by these old sayings is the exception. A few of them, as, for instance, certain of those about the weather, have a scientific foundation; and I do not speak of those, but of such as seem to be entirely without sense. It is not always easy to decide which sayings have truth to back them and which only fancy. If you will listen to the relation of them, some of the most fantastic will be told with such detail and so stoutly championed that you are tempted to question if the days of miracles really are past. A man will tell you about horse-hairs turning into snakes; and you will hear of wart cures, and of the good or ill effect of one thing and another,—and all of the list “known” to be true,—till you begin to think that perhaps your own knowledge of the supernatural is very narrow and bigoted.

Perhaps no class is more addicted to sign-telling and belief in signs than those who have emigrated to this country in comparatively recent years. It is their children at the schools who are most apt to keep the rest posted as to what means what, and as to when things portend disaster. I do not know that any of the signs gathered are natives of New England by right of invention. I suppose most can be traced to a foreign ancestry, just as they say all the old jokes can be traced back to Noah. Yet if Yankee cuteness did not share in the originating of them, it has given its peculiar local twist to a large number of them.

One man who has made a study of the subject affirms that superstition, in our most cultured communities, is so general that no woman in Massachusetts, for instance, would invite a party of thirteen to dine together. There are plenty of women who would not themselves object to being one of a dinner party of thirteen; but they would not call together such a number, because among the guests there would be sure to be some who would be disturbed. The statement seems to me too sweeping, though I think there is much truth in it; and I have known parties which happened to number thirteen where great pains were taken to procure an extra guest, or to have a part of those present eat at a side-table. It is certain that signs and sayings flourish in the society life of our towns. Indeed, you cannot tell with certainty who will believe them and who disbelieve; for there are still men of wise repute and high position who have superstitions that lead them to performances as odd as that of Dr. Johnson, who would always touch every post in a certain street when he passed through.

There are many believers in the significance of dreams, and they can give plenty of instances in their own experience and that of others to show a good foundation for their faith. I suppose this faith and apparent proof grow out of the fact that we remember odd coincidences, and forget the many times when we dreamed and nothing came of it.

The moon gets seriously given credit for a good many things too. Yet how its phases could affect the weather, or the crops, or the pork of the hogs that are killed, I do not understand, and probably no one does. I have read that the light of the moon will spoil fish exposed to it; but I am sure I do not see what there could be in moonlight to harm the fish or anything else.

Wart cures have a good many champions who have proved their virtues in their own persons; most people who try these cures believe in the last one they tried before the warts left them. It doesn't matter how ridiculous it was; if the warts went, that settles it. Even Lord Bacon, that “wisest of men,” tells us at length of a queer performance he once went through to dispose of his warts; and though he did what he did as an unbeliever, when the warts disappeared he was constrained to credit the value and efficacy of this method of wart cure.

Luck and snakes and charms, and all the rest of the list, have believers as well as quoters. Least weight is perhaps attached to the sentimental sayings and to fortune-telling. Love signs are repeated and futures forecast usually for the humor of the thing, though I imagine there are persons who find even these oracular. Small children are much concerned over the way their buttons or the daisy petals count up; but as their fortune is different with different daisies or a change of clothes, they soon get over this. There is rarely any one in country regions who makes pretensions to fortune-telling, though wandering gypsies, when they pass through a district, are ready for a consideration to tell what one's life will be. I think few people believe in the powers these gypsies claim, but some say they tell things they themselves had no idea were so, or would be so, until afterward.

One might fancy, from the number of sayings and superstitions that can be readily picked up, that there was as yet no real folk-lore decadence. But you will find when you talk with people that they are very sure to speak of a father or a grandfather or grandmother, or some other relative, now passed away, whom you “ought to have seen—they had no end of signs, and they knew lots of old rhymes and songs, and believed in witches. They would be just the ones you’re lookin’ after.” Signs are certainly not believed in as unquestioningly as they were once, nor are they in so common use. At the same time we lose them gradually, and the survivors will make up a large bulk in common use for a great while to come. Loss is most apparent when we get outside the short jingles and sayings of a sentence or two in length. There is now such a mass of reading, stories and songs, that people gather hastily and forget quickly. In more barren times many tales were handed down by word of mouth, and were remembered and repeated a life through. As for songs, now we have a new one that takes the popular fancy every six months. For half a year everybody is singing it, and after that nobody sings it. In the olden time the clever ones had a number of ditties and ballads in their heads that were indelibly memorized; and at an evening party, when they were called on for a song, they could sing the particular song they undertook clear through, even if it had twenty-nine verses. They could tell old fairy-tales too, and would scare themselves with witch stories. Now, of all this more elaborate lore, you can pick up only scattered fragments.

Nearly all of what is in this volume was gathered in western Massachusetts. It is largely put down in the language of the people who made the statements, and I have sometimes added their comments. With few exceptions, everything in the book came to me by word of mouth.

The chapter of Nursery Tales and some other chapters could have been much extended; but I did not care to repeat things found in other books, unless there was an interesting individuality in the telling that warranted it.

I would be glad if New England readers who know of sayings and stories not noted here would send such to me.

CLIFTON JOHNSON.

Hadley, Mass. Postscript. This book is one of three New England books that I have written, each of which in its way supplements the others. The titles of the two other books are “The New England Country,” a study of old times and of the out-of-doors nature of the present, and “A Book of Country Clouds and Sunshine,” a study of life on our farms and in our rural villages. Both books are very fully illustrated.

The Weather

The Weather . .

When you see the sun drawing water at night, know that it will rain on the morrow. The sun is said to be drawing water when its rays can be seen shining through rifts in distant clouds.

Rain before seven, Clear before ’leven.

As the old woman said, “I never knew it to begin in the mornin’ and rain all day in my life. But I’ve known it to begin at noon and rain all day lots of times.”

Six weeks after you hear the first katydid look for a frost.

Notice your cat when it washes its face. The paw it uses and the direction it faces will show the point of compass whence the wind is blowing. For instance, the cat faces the north and washes with its left paw; the wind is blowing from the north-west.

Blow out a candle, and if the wick continues long to smoulder, look for bad weather. If it goes out quickly, the weather will be fair.

When the camphor in its bottle is “riley,” it shows that a storm is brewing.

Red in the morning, Sailors take warning; Red at night, Sailors delight.

There is a rainbow jingle much like this, which runs as follows:—

Rainbow in the morning, Sailors take warning; Rainbow at night, Sailors delight; Rainbow at noon, Rain very soon.

When you hear the first frogs in the spring, you may know the frost is out of the ground.

The last Friday of each month is the almanac index for the next month. If the weather is fair, the month will be likewise; if foul, so will the month be.

The twelve days after Christmas indicate the weather for the following year. Each day in order shows the weather for one month.

If it storms the first Sunday in the month, it will storm every Sunday in the month.

When you take up the tea-kettle and find sparks on the bottom, it is a sign of cold weather.

When a person kills a snake he does well to consider what kind of weather he would like. If he hangs the snake up, it will rain; if he buries it, the weather will be fair.

Rub a cat’s back the wrong way, and if you see sparks, it is a sign of cold weather.

If the sun sets in a cloud, it will rain on the morrow. The person who takes this saying as literally true would do well to remember that unless the cloud that hides the sun from his sight is extremely large, a spectator a short distance to the north or south would at the same moment see the sun set in clear sky.

If you see sun-dogs, expect rain soon.

In winter when you see the wild geese flying south, expect cold weather. They fly south because the ponds to the north are frozen over. When the geese are seen flying north, warm weather is to be expected.

Three white frosts and then a storm.

When you see whitecaps on the pond or river, it is going to rain.

When the smoke from a chimney does not rise, but falls to the ground, it is going to storm.

When the squirrels lay in a big store of nuts, look for a hard winter.

Three foggy mornings and then a rain.

If the corn-husks are thicker than usual, the winter will be colder than usual.

If the melt of the hog killed in the fall is big at the front end, the winter will be sharpest at the beginning. If the melt is biggest at the rear, the winter will be coldest in the latter part.

If in the autumn you find the skin of the apples tougher than usual, look for a cold winter.

When the cattle lie down as soon as they are turned out to pasture in the morning, it is because they feel a rheumatic weariness in their bones, and you can look for a rain soon.

If the chickens’ feathers are very thick at Thanksgiving time, the winter will be a hard one.

A ringing in the ears is the sign of a change of weather. Others say it is a sign that several people are talking about you.

When the rooster crows at nine o’clock in the evening, expect a change of weather.

If the chickens come out while it rains, it is a sign that the storm is to be a long one. If they stand around under the shed, the storm will be short.

If it rains on the first dog-day, it will rain on each of the other thirty-nine. If, on the other hand, the first dog-day is dry, all the rest will be dry.

If the chickweed blossoms are open, it will not rain for at least three hours.

But if instead of rising the fog descends, it is going to clear off.

If you see froth along the shores of the streams, you may know it is going to rain.

On such mornings as you see the cobwebs on lawns and grass-fields shining with dew, the day will be fair.

All signs fail in a dry time.

When the farm animals are unusually frisky, it is a sign that it is going to rain.

If the breast-bones of the Thanksgiving chickens are light in color, there will be a good deal of snow in the winter following. If the color is dark, there will be little snow.

When a night passes and no dew falls, it is a sign it is going to rain. This omen loses much of its mystery when one remembers that dew has not fallen because the night was clouded.

Northern lights are a sign of cold weather.

After the frogs begin to sing in the spring, if they are frozen in three times, you may be sure that afterwards you will have warm weather.

When the fire snaps and sparkles, it is a sign cold weather is coming.

If some night you hear a cricket chirping in the house, look for cold weather soon.

When the wind whistles about the house, that is a sign of a storm.

When you hear an owl hoot, it is safe to conclude it is going to storm.

When you hear a cuckoo calling, you may know it is going to rain, Bob White sings at such times too, Some say he is calling, “More wet, more wet.” When you hear the treetoads crying, you can also know it is going to rain,

If the rooster crows on the fence, it # is a sign that the weather is going to change.

If the water boils out of the kettle, it is a sign that it is going to storm.

If the snow on the roof melts off, the next storm will be rain. If it blows off, you can calculate on snow.

The day of the month on which the first snowstorm comes gives the number of storms you can expect in the following winter.

If the breast-bone of the Thanksgiving goose is dark, it shows that you will have more rain in the succeeding winter than snow.

Another jingle referring to much the same kind of a clouded sky is this:—

If you see an old cat running and playing and feeling good, it is a sign the wind is going to blow,

The sun shines every Saturday but one in the year. On some Saturdays there may not be more than a few stray gleams, but with the single exception it will at least shine a little.

If the sun sets clear on Friday, it will storm before Monday night.

Whistle when you want the wind to blow.

If the cat comes in and sits on the hearth with its back to the north, it is a sign of cold weather,

If you see the cat or the dog eating grass, you may look for rain soon.

If the children find the dog eating grass when they do not wish it to rain, they will chase him away, with the idea to in that way gain fair weather.

When the scales are thick on the buds, the winter will be long and cold.

If it rains while the sun shines, it will rain on the day following.

When it rains thus, the saying is that “the devil is whipping his wife.”

When in the evening you see the swallows flying high, the morrow will be fair. When the swallows fly low, it is a sign of rain.

When the leaves of the poplars or other trees turn up their under sides, look for rain. Know, too, that it is going to rain when you see the hens “greasing” themselves.

When of a morning you find tiny heaps of dirt thrown up by the ants during the night in the hard-packed earth of the paths and dooryard, you can calculate on a fair day.

When the coals in the old fireplace were ruddy, and the fire burned up brightly, it was said cold weather was approaching. When the fire sparkled and snapped, they expected wind.

A curdly sky is the sign of a rain within three days.

If the ice on the trees melts and runs off, the next storm will be rain, If it is cracked off by the wind, the storm that comes next will be snow.

If you see an unusual number of crows flying about in the autumn, look for a cold winter, ‘his is accounted a very sensible saying by some, on the ground that many more of the birds will naturally be hovering about on their way south when a hard winter is approaching than when the season promises to be mild.

If the sky looks brassy in the west at sunset, it is a sign of high winds.

Thunder after midnight means that the next day will be lowery.

If the sun shines clear in the early nothing, and then the sky very soon clouds up, it will rain before night. When you see the frogs jumping around in the meadows with greater activity than common, look for rain soon.

When you hear the frogs piping of an evening, you can calculate on a fair morrow.

When the chimney swallows flock out in great numbers, and dart about high in the air, diving and whirling in great excitement, there is soon to be a thunder-storm or a high wind.

Snowy winter, a plentiful harvest. The snow is supposed to protect the roots of grass, vines, and trees, so that they put forth more vigorous growths the summer following.

If March comes in like a lion, it goes cut like a lamb. If it comes in like a lamb, it will go out like a lion.

Kill a beetle, and it will be sure to bring rain.

Snow that comes in the old of the moon is apt to last. Snow that comes in the new of the moon is apt to melt quickly.

When you see the pigs carry straws in their mouths, lock for high winds.

A peck of March dust is worth a bag of gold. The idea is that when you have much dust blowing about there must be much wind; and winds at that season dry the mud, and prepare the earth so that all crops can get an early start.

That is, you can expect rain when the clouds open and shut.

This means that if early in a cloudy morning the sun comes out for a little, it will rain by noon.

The sunlight always dawns on the wall on Easter morning.

Whenever after it has been raining you can see through the clouds enough blue sky to make a pair of Dutchman’s breeches, you may know it is going to clear off.

This savage rhyme must have descended from very ancient times. The idea is, that when the old man found the second of February clear, and remembered that this meant there was still hard winter weather ahead, he wished his wife dead because of the trouble it would be to support her.

The old farmer at this time takes a critical survcy of his woodpile and hay-mow; and if there is not in them half what there was at the beginning of winter, he lays plans for their replenishing before the opening of the new season.

Others say, —

It is related that there was a time when the men would occupy a part of their leisure on Christmas Day in making a tour of the neighbors to see how their hay was holding out.

If the woodchuck comes out on Candlemas Day, and sees his shadow, he crawls back to his hole and dozes again. He knows there will still be sharp weather. If the day is cloudy and he sees no shadow, he knows the hardest part of winter is past, and begins to make preparations for warm-weather housekeeping.

It’s a sign of rain when the flies bite.

As long as the dogstar reigns, there will be dry weather.

“I was sure ’twas goin’ to rain when I started out this mornin’, it looked so dark and dull. Then I see one o’ these little whirlwinds, and it turned around from right to left like you wind your watch, and I knew we wouldn’t have no rain that day anyhow.” A whirlwind has to turn from left to right to mean rain.

On some days of autumn you may see the grass full of stringy lines of cobwebs that make a glistening path sunward. They are a sign of frost.

When it begins to snow, notice the size of the flakes. If they are very fine, the storm will be a long one; if large, the storm will soon be over.

When you see a cloud in the sky that grows larger, it is going to storm. When you see a cloud grow smaller and melt away, it is going to be fair.

There is going to be a change of weather when you hear the telegraph poles buzz. It is going to be either colder or warmer.

It is a sign of a storm when you see the sheep feeding more eagerly than usual.

If a storm clears off in the night, you can expect another storm soon.

The bones of rheumatic people ache when a storm is brewing.

“Well, boys,” says the farmer, “you want to hustle round this morning and get that hay in. My bones have been achin’, and there’s always a storm within forty-eight hours after they begin to ache.”

Tea-Grounds

When you find tea-grounds floating in your cup, know that you are going to have company. If the grounds are soft, it is a woman who is coming; if hard, a man, If the grounds are long, the person coming is tall; if short, the visitor will be short. When a girl or woman first sights the floating grounds in her cup, the comment is apt to be, “There, got a beau!” If the grounds are taken out and thrown under the table, the company will stay all night. If the grounds are left in the cup, the visitor will simply make a call.

After you drink the tea you can get still further enlightenment, if there are grounds in the bottom of the cup. Turn the cup around a few times. Then put it bottom upwards on your saucer, and give it a few more turns, Now turn it over. If you see paths in the grounds, it is a sign that you are to go on a journey. If the paths are long, the journey will be long, and vice versâ. Turn the cup up sideways, and if any tea runs out you will cry on your journey. If the grounds anywhere form a ring with a dot in the middle, that is a wish, and you must think what you most want. You may see hills, and people walking or working or on horseback. All the things you see have a meaning. But I believe you are at liberty to interpret them pretty much as you choose. It is to be noted that many people can see naught but the tea-grounds, where others see all sorts of objects in them.

Dreams

Dreams . .

If you dream of falling, and are awakened by the fancied jar of landing, it is a sign that you are going to be sick. If, however, you awake while still in mid-air, you may be assured you will continue in good health.

Tell your dreams, and you will keep on dreaming. To tell the dreams cultivates a habit of remembering what is dreamed; and that is probably the only effect, though it may apparently seem to make the teller have more dreams.

Dream of seeing fresh beef, and you will soon hear of a friend who is sick.

If you dream of water, it is a sign of sickness.

If you dream of eating, it is a sign that you are going to be sick.

One woman says, “Well, I always know I’m goin’ to be sick when I dream I can’t get the table set. When I dream there’s so many here I can’t get my work done, I always have a sick spell.”

It used to be said that if a dream was sufficiently vivid to make the dreamer notice and remember it, there was some occult significance in it that was worthy of study.

Dreams are often thought to contain information. Sometimes the information is in a realistic, sometimes in a symbolic form. Frequently the dreams contain prophetic warnings. Many stilt believe n dreams to a limited degree. The following are examples of what are repeated as dreams of proved significance. An old lady tells the first:—

“It was after midnight, and I was dreaming a dream about a terrible thunder-storm, It grew worse and worse till there was one clap so loud it seemed as if the skies had broken to pieces. Right after it I woke up, and I heard a knock on the outside door of the sitting-room. I knew that instant what my dream meant and who was there. It was Charlie I went to the door and it was. There he had been gone seven or eight years. He’d been a sailor on the ocean, and we hadn’t heard a word from him, and didn’t know but he was dead, and that dream came to show me he was alive and near.”

A younger woman tells the second:—

“I dreamed one night I was going to get a scolding letter from Centerville; and the next day I got a scolding letter from Centervilie, and it was word for word just as I dreamed it. Wa’n’t that curious ?

“Don’t you believe in dreams? There’s lots do. Our minister does. I asked him one day.

“‘Don’t you believe in dreams?’ says I.

“‘Yes, I do,’ says’e. Most everybody believes in some of ’em.”

A third woman relates the following:

“One night toward morning I dreamed I saw Cousin Jane way up on the top of a high mountain; and I was looking up at her from the valley, and wondering how she got up there. She was so high up it seemed as though her head touched the sky, and she looked down and smiled on me just as pleasant as could be. I hunted around for some way to get up to her, and I found some steps. But when I got half way up, the steps came to an end, and I couldn’t get any farther. The next thing I found myself in a river and in lots of trouble. The waters were muddy, and the wind blew, and the waves dashed ever me. Then I woke up; and there was beginning to be light enough to see things around in the room, so I knew it was time to get up, All that morning I felt downhearted and depressed, and I couldn’t think of any reason why. Then at noon there came a telegram that Cousin Jane had died just before sunrise that day.”