ew moon to
insure good luck for the ensuing month." [412] And Halliwell
mentions a prayer customary among some persons:--

"I see the moon, and the moon sees me.
God bless the moon, and God bless me." [413]

In Devonshire it is lucky to see the new moon over the right, but
unlucky to see it over the left shoulder; and to see it straight before
is good fortune to the end of the month. "In Renfrewshire, if a man's
house be burnt during the wane of the moon, it is deemed unlucky.
If the same misfortune take place when the moon is waxing, it is
viewed as a presage of prosperity. In Orkney, also, it is reckoned
unlucky to flit, or to remove from one habitation to another, during
the waning of the moon." [414] A recent writer tells us that in
Orkney "there are superstitions likewise associated with the moon.
The increase, and full growth, and wane of that satellite are the
emblems of a rising, flourishing, and declining fortune. No business
of importance is begun during the moon's wane; if even an animal is
killed at that period, the flesh is supposed to be unwholesome. A
couple to think of marrying at that time would be regarded as
recklessly careless respecting their future happiness Old people in
some parts of Argyllshire were wont to invoke the Divine blessing
on the moon after the monthly change. The Gaelic word for fortune
is borrowed from that which denotes the full moon; and a marriage
or birth occurring at that period is believed to augur prosperity."
[415]

Kirkmichael, says another writer on the Highlands of Scotland, hath
"its due proportion of that superstition which generally prevails over
the Highlands. Unable to account for the cause, they consider the
effects of times and seasons as certain and infallible. The moon in
her increase, full growth, and in her wane, are with them the
emblems of a rising, flourishing, and declining fortune. At the last
period of her revolution they carefully avoid to engage in any
business of importance; but the first and the middle they seize with
avidity, presaging the most auspicious issue to their undertakings.
Poor Martinus Scriblerus never more anxiously watched the
blowing of the west wind to secure an heir to his genius, than the
love-sick swain and his nymph for the coming of the new moon to
be noosed together in matrimony. Should the planet happen to be at
the height of her splendour when the ceremony is performed, their
future life will be a scene of festi