Part 7

An old lady of Paris was in the habit of encouraging her niece by promises of wealth, which she never fulfilled; extenuating her procrastination from year to year, by recourse of ingenious expedients, and she finally died. Shortly afer her decease, the aunt appeared during the night-time and instructed her niece to remove the centre tile of their hearth, where she would discover the oft promised treasure. The young girl obeyed the injunction, but discovered in the cavity nothing save a heap of cinders. In vexation of spirit, the niece railled vehemently against the duplicity of a relative deceiving her after death. On the following night, however, the phantom again appeared, and without saying a word, designated four numbers apparently on the wall. Although placing little reliance upon the injunction which she conceived to relate to a lottery (then the town talk), the niece resolved to try her luck, especially as the ticket offered for her purchase by the dealer bore the same numbers designated by the apparition. Subsequently, these numbers came out in the order indicated, and the girl came into possession of four hundred thousand francs.

FOLK-LORE OF PINS.

POPULAR SUPERSTITIONS.―Why, however, north country people are so persistent in their refusal to give one another a pin it is not easy to discover, as even they themselves cannot give the origin and reason of this superstition. When asked for a pin they invariably say, “You may take one, but mind, I do not give it.” It may, perhaps, have some connection with the vulgar prejudice against giving a knife or other sharp instrument, as mentioned by Gay in his “Shepherd’s Week.”

But woe is me! such presents luckless prove, For knives, they tell me, always sever love.

―a supposition as popular now as in days gone by. Another fact associated with pins will doubtless interest those of the fair sex about to enter on the happy state of matrimony. Thus it is still a prevalent belief in certain places that a bride in removing her bridal robe and chaplet at the completion of the marriage ceremonies, must take special care to throw away every pin worn on this eventful day. Woe to the bride who keeps even one pin used in the marriage toilet. Woe also to the bridesmaids if they retain any of them, as their chances of marriage will thereby be materially lessened, and anyhow they must give up all hope of being wedded before the following Whitsuntide. On the other hand, in Sussex on her return home from church is often robbed of all the pins about her dress by her single friends present, from the belief that whoever possesses one of them will be married in the course of a year. Much excitement and amusement are occasionally caused by the youthful competitors for this supposed charm, and the bride herself is not unfrequently the victim of rather rough treatment.

A poor peasant dwelling in the vicinity of Rheims, in Champagne, saw, one night, during his slumbers, a young man, who taking him by the hand, conducted him to the base of an old wall, where, after designating a huge stone recommended him to raise it up on the morrow, he suddenly vanished. The peasant followed his advice, and found the stone indicated in his dream, which upon being displaced, revealing a vase filled with golden coins―enriching the dreamer and his family.

SEEING WITH THE EYES CLOSED.

The following account of a remarkable case of somnambulism contributed to the American Journal of Medical Science by Dr. Belden, an able practitioner, who attended the lady afflicted with these somnambulic paroxysms:

* * * “After several attempts to keep her in bed, it was determined to suffer her to take her own course. Released from restraint, she dressed herself, went down stairs and proceeded to make preparations for breakfast. She set the table, arranged the various articles with the utmost precision, went into a dark room to a closet at the most remote corner of it, from which she took the coffee cups, placed them on a tray, turned it sideways to pass through the door, avoided all intervening obstacles, and deposited the whole safely on the table. She then went into the pantry, the blinds of which were shut and the doors closed after her. She then skimmed the milk, poured the cream into one cup and the milk into another without spilling a drop. She then cut the bread, placed it regularly on the plate, and divided the slices in the middle. In fine, she went through the whole operation of preparing breakfast with as much precision as she could in open day, and this with her eyes closed, and without any light except that of one lamp which was standing in the room to enable the family to observe her operations. She finally returned voluntarily to bed, and on finding the table arranged for breakfast when she made her appearance in the morning inquired why she had been suffered to sleep while another performed her duty. None of the transactions of the preceding night had left the slightest impression on her mind. In one instance she not only arranged the table for a meal, but actually prepared a dinner with her eyes closed.”

PREVOYANT VISION OF JOHN KNOX.

John Knox, the great Scottish Reformer, when upon his death bed, experienced a most remarkable presentiment as to the fate of his friend Kirkaldy of Grange, who, during the civil war of that period, was holding the Castle of Edinburgh in the cause of Mary Queen of Scots and of the Anti-Protestant party. The particulars are in this wise related by Calderwood, the historian, whose testimony is unimpeachable:

“John Knox, being on his death bed, sent for his colleague and successor, Mr. Lawson, Mr. Lindsay, Minister of Leith, and the elders and deacons of Edinburgh, all of whom he addressed in a farewell speech.

“They were departing, when Knox called back Lindsay and Lawson, and desired to speak with them in private. ‘Weel, brother,’ said he addressing Lindsay, ‘I have desired all this day to have had you, that I may send you to yon man in the Castle, whom you know I have loved so dearly. Go, I pray you, to him, and tell him I have sent you to him yet once to warn him and bid him in the name of God, leave the evil cause and give over the Castle. If not, he shall be brought down over the walls of it with shame, and hang against the sun. So hath God assured me.’ Lindsay went to the Castle accordingly and delivered Knox’s message; but Kirkaldy, after conferring with Secretary Letington, said, ‘Go, tell Mr. Knox he is but a drything prophet.’ Mr. Lindsay returned to Mr. Knox and reported how he had discharged his commission. ‘Well!’ said Knox, ‘I have been earnest with my God anent these two men. For the one, I am sorry so shall befall him; yet, God assureth me that there is mercy for his soul. For the other I have no warrant that it shall be well with him.’

“Kirkaldy maintained the Castle for some months after Knox’s death, but was at last forced to surrender, whereupon he was condemed to death as a traitor and hanged at Edinburgh on the 3d of August, 1572, at four o’clock in the afternoon, the sun being west.”

* * * * *

The Prince of Navarre, afterwards King Henry the IV., of France, while playing at dice with a company at the court of Charles IX., on the eve of St. Bartholomew, observed several drops of blood to fall upon the cloth, which spread consternation among the players.

* * * * *

On the day upon which Gen. Arnold died in Nova Scotia, the tree under which Major Andre was captured, near Tarrytown, fell, although there was no storm.

* * * * *

On the eve of the assassination of Julius Cæsar, the temple of Jupiter Stabor trembled to its foundation, and an enormous piece of rock fell from the height of the capitol, and carried with it a Roman standard bearer, who was on guard, at the opening of the road.

THE DIVINING ROD.

FACTS VERSUS THE DICTUM OF SCIENCE―WHAT A TENNESSEAN CAN DO.

A New York Paper publishes the following item of Interest:

I have seen several articles in regard to the divining rod. I know that science does not recognize such a thing, but were not all the sciences tested and proved by practical experiment before they were recognized by the scientific world? There is a man in this country who believes as strongly in the divining rod as the navigator does in the mariner’s compass. He is not an illiterate, superstitious man, but is as well informed on all subjects as any laboring man you ever met. He does not claim that he is enabled to locate a stream of water or a vein of mineral beneath the surface of the earth by any virtue contained in the rod, nor is it by the art of hocus pocus, but it is in and through the influence of electricity, with which his system is abundantly charged.

You will say: “If this be true why does he not go to some mining country and make himself and others rich by locating mineral veins?” He is a man that has had to labor very hard all his life. Now he is old and infirm, and unable to travel. This discovery with him dates only a few years back. His field for practice and experiment is limited consequently he gains knowledge on the subject slowly.

I will mention a few of the things that he claims he can do with the rod; He can locate a stream of water, and where the ground is perfectly level, measure its depth below the surface as accurately as you can measure it after the well is dug. He does not claim the depth within less than a foot, because the surface is so seldom perfectly level. There are hundreds of men in East Tennessee that will testify to this fact from actual experience. Some of them are as responsible men as there are in the State. He has never failed to convert any man who would go with him, no matter how sceptical, and he has certificates from a number of as intelligent men as there are in Tennessee. I cannot give you, in this communication, any idea of the various means by which he is enabled to demonstrate these things, but if you have any curiosity on the subject, and will answer this communication, like you do all others, you will elicit something from him that may be of interest to you.

Another writer says: “The divining rod is only another exemplification of a power not yet recognized. With a piece of witch hazel I discovered the Witch Hazel Coal Mines. I told the number of feet a shaft would have to be sunk to reach the coal, and even gave the thickness of the vein. I got $5,000 for locating the Witch Hazel mines and am also paid 12½ cents a ton for every ton of coal taken out of them.” John R. Whitelaw, Superintendent of the Cleveland Water Works, says: “At Geauga Lake, Mr. Latimer showed the power of the divining rod. After he had cut one I asked him to go over a little stream that we saw running from the bank. We knew that the water was there, and we wanted to see whether the rod would work over it. It was surprising. He held the prongs so firmly in his hands that the green bark twisted off in his palms.”

Water witches are highly regarded in the far West. One man in particular has the reputation in Colorado, of being a trustworthy diviner, and he is always in request. By trade he is a well-digger, but to this commonplace occupation he has added the profession of water finder. And he is not exclusively employed by silly people, but by practical men of business. Thus he is designating for a railroad company all the wells along the new line which they are constructing. The instrument of divination is a forked twig, by preference a mulberry.