Current superstitions

by Fanny Dickerson Bergen, William Wells Newell

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER III. PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS. BEAUTY. 101. If a person is very handsome, it is a sign that he will have one of the infectious diseases of childhood (measles, whooping cough, etc.) more than once. Massachusetts. Dimple. 102. Dimple in chin, Devil within. Chestertown, Md. 103. A dimple in the chin is lucky. Some say " it shows you 're no fool." 104. A dimple is the mark left by the angel's finger in turning up the face to kiss it when asleep. Pennsylvania. Ears. 105. Small ears indicate that a person is stingy. Large ones show that he is generous. General. 106. Large ears are a mark of a liar. Small ears show that one is truthful. Boston, Mass. 107. Long, slim ears are a sign that you will steal. Chestertown, Md. 108. If the protuberance behind the ear is large, it indicates generosity. Massachusetts. EYES AND EYEBROWS. 109. Hazel eyes betoken a good disposition. Boston, Mass. 110. If your eyebrows meet, you will be rich. Somerville and Bedford, Mass. 111. A well-known children's rhyme runs: ? Blue-eye beauty, do your mammy's duty Black eye, pick a pie, Run around and tell a lie Gray-eye greedy gut Eat all the world up i General in the United States. 112. If the eyebrows meet, one is ill-tempered. General in the United States. 113. If the eyebrows are far apart, you will live away from home; if near together, you will live near home, or at home. Massachusetts. 14. Heavy eyebrows are a sign of long life. Lawrence, Mass. FINGER-NAILS. 115. Always keep your nails clean and you will be rich. Peabody, Mass. 116. A white spot in the nail, when it comes, means a present . You get the present when it grows to the end and is cut. Boston, Mass. 117. White spots on the nails of the left ...

167 pages, Nook

First published December 1, 1972

About the author

Fanny Dickerson Bergen (1846 – 1924) was an American folklorist, ethnobiologist and author. Bergen worked on superstitions and customs. She had a specific interest in horticultural superstitions. As a result of her work documenting American immigrant animal and plant lore Bergen is regarded as being an early female pioneer of ethnobiology. She also worked with her husband Joseph Young Bergen on a number of botanical books.

Reviews

[Tracy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was interesting to see what superstitions people had in the 1800's and before but it was just a laundry list of superstitions without any commentary about them. It would have been more interesting to have fewer superstitions listed and to know some of the backstory on how they came about.

[Tammy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The superstitions are funny until one reads of a superstition that one observes. Very interesting.

[Dawn Milligan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting

Different superstitions and oral traditions past down. Many versions from different states. Most categories covered from babies, marriage, and death.