dreams,
after the performance of certain incantations.

Turning to some of the well-known charm formulas, may be mentioned that
known as "a clover of two," the mode of gathering it constituting the
charm itself:

"A clover, a clover of two,
Put it in your right shoe;
The first young man you meet,
In field, street, or lane,
You'll get him, or one of his name."

Then there is the hempseed formula, and one founded on the luck of an
apple-pip, which, when seized between the finger and thumb, is supposed
to pop in the direction of the lover's abode; an illustration of which
we subjoin as still used in Lancashire:

"Pippin, pippin, paradise,
Tell me where my true love lies,
East, west, north, and south,
Pilling Brig, or Cocker Mouth."

The old custom, too, of throwing an apple-peel over the head, marriage
or single blessedness being foretold by its remaining whole or breaking,
and of the peel so cast forming the initial of the future loved one,
finds many adherents. Equally popular, too, was the practice of divining
by a thistle blossom. When anxious to ascertain who loved her most, a
young woman would take three or four heads of thistles, cut off their
points, and assign to each thistle the name of an admirer, laying them
under her pillow. On the following morning the thistle which has put
forth a fresh sprout will denote the man who loves her most.

There are numerous charms connected with the ash-leaf, and among those
employed in the North of England we may quote the following:

"The even ash-leaf in my left hand,
The first man I meet shall be my husband;
The even ash-leaf in my glove,
The first I meet shall be my love;
The even ash-leaf in my breast,
The first man I meet's whom I love best;
The even ash-leaf in my hand,
The first I meet shall be my man.

Even ash, even ash, I pluck thee,
This night my true love for to see,
Neither in his rick nor in his rear,
But in the clothes he does every day wear."

And there is the well-known saying current throughout the country:

"If you find an even ash or a four-leaved clover,
Rest assured you'll see your true love ere the day is over."

Longfellow alludes to the husking of the maize among the American
colonists, an event which was always accompanied by various ceremonies,
one of which he thus forcibly describes:

"In the golden weather the maize was husked, and the
maidens
Blushed at each blood-re