Current Superstitions
Edited By Fanny D. Bergen
Chapter II.
Childhood
Asseveration
60. A child to whom is told any story which he considers remarkable will usually reply by an expression of skepticism, such as: “Really and truly?” “Honestly?” “Earnest, now?” or, “You are fooling.” The first speaker answers by some formula or asseveration, as, “Honor bright” (New England); “Deed, deed, and double deed” (Pennsylvania); “True as I live,” or, “Hope I’ll die if it isn’t so,” or simply, “Hope I’ll die.”
General in the United States.
61. A formula of asseveration in Maryland and Pennsylvania is, “I cross my heart,” accompanied by the sign of the cross.
62. A sign resembling that of the cross is made on the chin or throat. “You won’t tell?” “No.” “Well, cross your throat.”
Cambridge, Mass.
63. When a child wishes to make an asseveration, he wets his finger on his mouth and signs a cross on his throat.
Salem, Mass.
64. In asseveration, the proper method is to use the words, “Hope to die if I don’t,” the speaker drawing the forefinger across the throat from ear to ear.
Biddeford, Me.
65. Asseveration in Maine and Massachusetts is often made by the following formula. First boy: “Honor bright?” Second boy: “Hope to die.” First boy: “Cut your throat?” Second boy draws finger across throat. This is the strongest possible form of oath that can be taken by a boy.
66. Little girls, without any idea of the meaning, employ the following formula of asseveration:—
Certain, true,
Black and blue.
A variant of the first line: “Certain and true.”
Massachusetts.[27]
67. A form fuller than the preceding:—
Certain, true,
Black and blue,
Lay me down and cut me in two.
68. A boy who desires to tell an extravagant story without being guilty of a lie would point with his thumb over his left shoulder. If he should succeed in accomplishing this without the observation of the boy to whom he is talking, so much the better.
Biddeford, Me.
69. “In my school-days, if a boy crossed his fingers, elbows, and legs, though the act might not be noticed by the companion accosted, no blame was attached to the falsehood.”
New York city.
70. The addition of the words “in a horn” justify a falsehood. In the childhood of the informant, it was not considered honorable to express the words in such manner that they could not be heard by the child with whom conversation was carried on.
Cambridge, Mass.
71. In making a false statement, it was proper to say “over the left.” This was often uttered in such manner that the person addressed should not perceive the qualification. Or, the statement would be made, and after it had been taken in and believed, the words “over the left” would be added.
Ohio and Cambridge, Mass.
72. A formula for making a false statement: “As true as I lie here,” said, as one fools, gives free scope to white lies.
Roxbury, Mass.
73. An imprecation of children against disloyalty:—
Tell tale tit,
Your tongue shall be slit,
And every dog in our town
It shall have a bit.
Ohio.
CHALLENGE.
To “stump” another boy to do a thing is considered as putting a certain obligation on him to perform the action indicated. The phrase is sometimes used, although the person giving the “stump” may not himself be able to accomplish the feat.
74. We used to “dare” or “stump” one another to eat green “chuckcherries.”
Brookline, Mass.[28]
75. Daring or “stumping” is or has been common among children generally. Sometimes it is to jump a certain distance; sometimes to skate out on thin ice; again, to touch something very hot. Once in Ohio several lads were collected together about a spring. One of them drew a pail of fresh water and by chance brought up a small live fish. One of the boys “stumped” his companions to eat the fish alive, without dressing or cooking. The boys took the “stump,” one quickly cut up the unfortunate little animal and each boy swallowed a bit. Often the dare is to eat some very untoothsome morsel.
FORTUNE.
76. Put a mark upon a paper for every bow you get, and when you have one hundred bury the paper and wish. When the paper is decayed you will find your wish in its place.
Cambridge and Bedford, Mass.
77. Children collect two or three hundred names of persons,
asking each to give a bow with the name. This bow is expressed
after the name on a sheet of paper on which the latter is written
by this sign 
. After all are collected the
paper is secretly buried face downward, and then dug up after two
or three months, when money is sometimes found under it.
North Cambridge, Mass.
78. At Christmas or New Year’s children, on first meeting, call out “My Christmas-gift,” or “New Year’s-gift,” and the one who calls first is to receive a gift from the other.
Mansfield, O.
FRIENDSHIP.
79. If two persons, while walking, divide so as to pass an obstruction one on one side and one on the other, they will quarrel. Children avert this catastrophe by exclaiming, “bread and butter,” which is a counter charm. On the other hand, if they say “pepper and salt,” the quarrel is made doubly certain. So universal is the practice that many grown people of the best social class (women) still involuntarily avoid such separation, and even use the childish words. In country towns, when girls are walking with young men, if the latter pass on the other side of the tree it is considered as rude, and as a token of indifference; in such a case one girl will cast a meaning look on her companion as much as to say, “he does not care for you.” To use the local phrase, it would be said, So-and-so is “mad” with —— (naming the girl).
Massachusetts.
80. In passing a tree in the middle of the sidewalk, children used[29] to pass it on one side going one way and on the other side going the other way for luck.
Billerica, Mass.
MYTHOLOGY.
81. The stars are angels’ eyes.
Westminster, Mass.
82. The stars are holes made in the sky, so that the light of heaven shines through. “I remember, as a child, that this idea was suggested to me on seeing the effect of holes in the lamp shade. I think, however, that I rather liked to suppose it true and firmly believed in the explanation.”
Cambridge, Mass.
83. “As a child, I constantly looked into lilies and tulips in the expectation of finding fairies lying within them.”
Mansfield, O.
84. “I remember that as a child, while walking with a companion, she cried: ‘Why, a fairy lighted on my hand!’ The child believed that this had been the case.”
Cambridge, Mass.
85. The children used to fearfully look in the well, and on seeing the reflected face in the bottom, would cry out, “Face in the well, pull me down in the well,” and would then run away quickly.
Bruynswick, N. Y.
86. At the age of six or seven years, a child, while going to a spring to draw water, saw a little creature with wings fly from one star to another, leaving behind an arc of light. She cried to her aunt: “Oh, aunt, I saw a little gold-boy!” Her aunt, somewhat shocked, rebuked the child, who insisted on the literal truth of her vision.
Mansfield, O.
87. Stick your thumb through a knothole and say:—
Old Gran’f’ther Graybeard, without tooths or tongue,
If you’ll give me a little finger I’ll give you a thumb.
Thumb’ll go away and little finger’ll come.
88. Go to the woodpile and say, “Johnnie with your fingers, and Willie with your toes,” and something (suthin) will come out of the woodpile and tear off all your clothes (close).
Gilsum, N. H.
PUNISHMENT.
89. An “eyewinker” placed in the palm of the hand will cause the ferule to break when the teacher strikes the palm with it.
Portsmouth, N. H.[30]
90. Pine tar or pitch in the hand will prevent the blows of the ferule from causing pain. (Portsmouth, N. H., sixty years ago.)
Believed by most schoolboys there at that time.
SPORT.
91. At croquet, if your ball was about to be sent flying, the safeguard was to draw an imaginary X with your mallet, saying, “Criss cross.” It made your enemy’s foot slip, and many a girl would get “mad” and not play, if you did it often.
Brookline, Mass.
92. Children believe it is unlucky to step on the cracks in the flagstones, which are believed to contain poison. It is a game to walk a long distance on such stones without setting foot on the interstices.
Cambridge, Mass.
93. When children are tired of swinging, or think it is time for the swinger to give way to another, the phrase is “let the old cat die.” After this has been said, it is unlucky to quicken the motion of the swing again.
General.
VARIOUS.
94. When a child loses a tooth, if the tongue is not put into the cavity a gold tooth will come in place of it.
New York and Northern Ohio.
95. The ideas of children about the significance of color are mixed. Thus in croquet no child (in a town near Boston) would take the red ball, because it was supposed to mean hate. Blue is the favorite color.
96. Red and yellow, catch a fellow. Brookline, Mass.
Pink and blue, he’ll catch you. Deerfield, Mass.
Pink and blue, he’ll be true. Deerfield, Mass.
Black and white, hold him tight. Pennsylvania.
97. An old superstition which still survives among children is, that if they crawl over an older person and do not crawl back they will never grow again.
Haverhill, Mass.
98. “We used always as children to get X’s scored with a pin on our new ‘village gaiters.’ We were told it was to make them safe and take the slipperiness off.”
Brookline, Mass.[31]
99. Children say that the one who takes the first bite of an apple that is to be passed about for eating will fail in his or her lesson.
Chelsea, Mass.
100. Boys believe that they can prevent the stitch in the side which is liable to be induced by running, by means of holding a pebble under the tongue. “I believe I could run all day, and not get tired, if I could hold a pebble under my tongue,” said one.
Cambridge, Mass.[32]
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