Folklore Scraps from Several Localities.
The first batch of the following scraps of folklore was collected, except where otherwise stated, from "old standards" in Gainford, County Durham, by Miss Alice Edleston, and sent to me in July, 1893. She also collected game rhymes, some of which I published, and an excellent version of the Sword-dancers' (Mummers') Play which I handed to Mr. T. Fairman Ordish for use with others. The notes from Yorkshire and from Trinity College, Cambridge, were obtained by her from her father, the Rev. Dr. Edleston, born at Halifax in 18 16. The notes from the Marlborough district in Wilts came from Mr. H. S. May.
I. Durham County.
Bells.
1. The passing bell should not be tolled before sunrise, or after sunset.
2. The bell is tolled five times for a man, three times for a woman.
3. The "Pancake Bell" was rung on Shrove Tuesday at 11 a.m. at the church till 1866, but since then at the National School.
Medicine.
1. To cure "kingcough" [whooping cough], cross a running stream to the house of a woman who has married without changing her name, and there eat a slice of bread and butter sprinkled with sugar.
2. Barberry bark is good for jaundice.
3. South running water is good for bad eyes.
4. "Moles," i.e. common mallow, is good for hurts.
Good and Bad Luck.
1. Pigeons' feathers are unlucky for a bed.
2. It is unlucky for pigeons to settle on strange roofs.
3. It is unlucky to hear lambs, before seeing them the first time.
