s in general circulation; every body carries
it about him, and though strictly forbidden by the police, the copies
are multiplied so profusely as to increase the evil all attempts to
destroy which have hitherto failed. Among the country people this idea
is equivalent to the doctrine of fatality; and if they commit faults or
even crimes, on the days which are marked as unlucky, they do not
consider themselves as guilty, because they were predestined.

The flight of certain birds, or the meeting of certain animals on their
first going out in the morning, are with them good or bad omens. They do
not hunt on St. Mark's, or St. Catherine's day, on penalty of being
unsuccessful all the rest of the year. It is a good sign to sneeze on
Christmas day. Most of them are so prepossessed against Friday, that
they never settle any important business, or conclude a bargain on that
day; in some places they do not even dress their children. They do not
like visits on Thursdays, for it is a sign they shall have troublesome
guests the whole week.

In some districts of Esthonia, up the Baltic, when the shepherd brings
his flocks back from the pasture, in spring for the first time, he is
sprinkled with water from head to foot under the persuasion that this
makes the cattle thrive. The malignity of beasts of prey is believed to
be prevented by designating them not by their proper names, but by some
of their attributes. For instance, they call the fox _hallkuhl_ (grey
coat) the bear, _layjatyk_ (broad-foot), etc. etc. They also fancy that
they can oblige the wolf to take another direction by strewing salt in
his way. The howling of wolves, especially at day-break, is considered a
very bad omen, predicting famine or disease. In more ancient times, it
was imagined that these animals, thus asked their god to give them
food, which he threw them out of the clouds. When a wolf seizes any of
their cattle, they can oblige him to quit his prey, by dropping a piece
of money, their pipe, hat, or any other article they have about them at
the time. They do not permit the hare to be often mentioned, for fear of
drawing it into their corn-fields. To make hens lay eggs, they beat them
with an old broom. In families where the wife is the eldest child of her
parents, it has been observed that they always sell the first calves,
being convinced, that, if kept, they would not thrive. To speak of
insects or mischievous animals at meal-times, is a sure way to make