bs has ceased, but
traces of sun and moon worship having been once common still remain.
In several parts of England it is customary to bless the new moon,
while in Scotland people not only do the same, but in mock adoration
they bow to it at the same time.

Many superstitious beliefs remain as to the influence of the moon. It
is unlucky for one to have his hands empty when he first sees the new
moon, and it is regarded as a good sign if one has silver in his hand
the first time he sees it. It has, or is supposed to have, a great
effect on the weather and sea. One often hears it said in times of
stormy weather, "We will not have a change before the new moon." It
influences the affections of lovers to a very great extent. If a swain
is halting between two opinions, viz. whether he will propose to such
a lady, let him invite her to take a walk with him by moonlight, and
the chances are ten to one, that if they go out together, they will be
married. If one doubts this, he is advised to try it, and he will see
how warm the affections will become. If one is going to enter into an
important undertaking, he will be wise to do so when the moon is
filling. People who are married in one of the first two quarters of
the moon, are more happy than those who enter into the matrimonial
state when it is on the wane; and, taking a sudden bound from the
sublime to things that are common, we are compelled to say that not a
few consider the effects of the moon so great, that they would not
kill their pigs but when it was on the increase. Then every one has
heard of the effects the moon has on the human mind; whence the term
"lunacy." There are many tribes and nations that reckon time by moons,
and not by years, as we now do. This reminds us of a story which shows
the credulity of the savages of North America, and how they calculated
time. It is this:--

A Swedish minister was preaching a sermon one day to the savages, and
when he had finished, an Indian orator stood up to thank him for his
discourse, which had reference to our first parents eating the
forbidden fruit. "What you have told us," said the orator, "is very
good. It is indeed bad to eat apples; it is better to make them all
into cider. We are much obliged by your kindness in coming so far to
tell us those things which you have heard from your mothers. In
return, I will tell you some of those we have heard from ours. In the
beginning, our fathers had only the flesh of animals to