ove,
Three I love, I say;
Four I love with all my heart:
Five I cast away.
Six he loves,
Seven she loves,
Eight they both love;
Nine he comes,
Ten he tarries,
Eleven he courts, and
Twelve he marries."

Nuts are burned in the open fire. It is generally agreed that the
one for whom the first that pops is named, loves.

"If he loves me, pop and fly;
If he hates me, live and die."

Often the superstition connected therewith is forgotten in the
excitement of the moment.

"When ebery one among us toe de smallest pickaninny
Would huddle in de chimbley cohnah's glow,
Toe listen toe dem chilly win's ob ole Novembah's
Go a-screechin' lack a spook around de huts,
'Twell de pickaninnies' fingahs gits to shakin' o'er de embahs,
An' dey laik ter roas' dey knuckles 'stead o' nuts."

IN WERNER'S _Readings, Number 31_.

Letters of the alphabet are carved on a pumpkin. Fate guides the
hand of the blindfolded seeker to the fateful initial which he
stabs with a pin. Letters cut out of paper are sprinkled on water
in a tub. They form groups from which any one with imagination may
spell out names.

Girls walk down cellar backward with a candle in one hand and a
looking-glass in the other, expecting to see a face in the glass.

"Last night 't was witching Hallowe'en,
Dearest; an apple russet-brown
I pared, and thrice above my crown
Whirled the long skin; they watched it keen;
I flung it far; they laughed and cried me shame--
Dearest, there lay the letter of your name.

"Took I the mirror then, and crept
Down, down the creaking narrow stair;
The milk-pans caught my candle's flare
And mice walked soft and spiders slept.
I spoke the spell, and stood the magic space,
Dearest--and in the glass I saw your face!

"And then I stole out in the night
Alone; the frogs piped sweet and loud,
The moon looked through a ragged cloud.
Thrice round the house I sped me light,
Dearest; and there, methought--charm of my charms!
You met me, kissed me, took me to your arms!"

OPPER: _The Charms._

There are many mirror-tests. A girl who sits before a mirror at
midnight on Hallowe'en combing her hair and eating an apple will
see the face of her true love reflected in the gla