the chest of a dead body; but especially when the death has been
through dropsy. This was done only a short time since.

The roaring noise of a fire foretells a quarrel in the house.

A thin flake of smut on a bar of the grate betokens a visit from a
stranger.

Cinders flying out of the fire, taking the form of a purse and giving a
jingling noise when shaken, foretells the receiving of money. When they
are in the shape of a coffin (and with no jingling) this betokens a
death.

If anyone by stirring or otherwise makes a dull fire get bright, it is
said to make his or her sweetheart smile.

To prevent cramp at night place your shoes by the bedside in the form of
a T. One end pointed to, and the end of the other shoe pointed from the
bed, is also considered a preventative.

Knives laid edge upwards on the table cut Angels' feet.

Two knives, crossed on the table, foretells a quarrel within an hour.

To drop a knife mean a male visitor and, in the case of a fork, a female
visitor.

Never give, or accept, a sharp edged or pointed present without giving a
coin in exchange, or friendship will be broken.

Knives crossed and laid on the floor is a strong protection against the
power of witchcraft.

A very old woman told me she once tried the knives on one of her
neighbours, as she suspected the woman of overlooking her; so she asked
the woman to come and see her one day but before the woman came into the
house she crossed two knives and put them on the floor in a dark corner.
When the suspected person came in she wouldn't sit down and soon left,
appearing to be very uncomfortable; so she was a "wrong un" but the old
lady said she was all right after that, and had no more trouble.

Straws crossed and placed on a footpath, or on the road, prevents a
witch from passing.

Many years since I remember hearing of this being done as a suspected
woman was coming along, and it was said the woman got very angry and
foamed at the mouth but she didn't pass the straws.

The following is in use at the present time:--

If a husband runs away from his wife she buys a pennyworth of Dragon's
Blood, wraps it in paper, and places it under her pillow when she goes
to bed, and it is sure to draw him back again.

A chemist in Peterborough had a letter a few years since, from a woman
in the Fens, asking him to send her a "pennorth of Dragons Blood" for
this very purpose; and the following shows that the custom is in use,
even in the