The desire to gather omens3 from the various surrounding objects of every-day life has naturally included articles of furniture; and hence we find signs[112] and portents4 attached to certain of these which are implicitly5 credited by many, from the highest to the lowest, who, notwithstanding, would consider themselves deeply insulted if the idea of their being superstitious7 were only so much as hinted at by some sceptical friend. Among the most common of these odd fancies are those relating to the looking-glass. As a piece of furniture this is most necessary, and its very importance is, perhaps, the chief reason why superstition8 has invested it with those mysterious qualities which certainly do not belong in the same ratio to chairs and tables. A chair, however beautiful and costly9 in its manufacture, may nevertheless be cruelly broken with perfect impunity10; whereas, if some wretched, dilapidated looking-glass is accidentally cracked, the inmates11 of the house are thoroughly12 discomposed, from a conviction that such an event is sure to be followed by misfortune of some kind or other. In Cornwall, the supposed penalty for such an offence is seven years of sorrow; and a Yorkshire proverb informs us that this unfortunate occurrence entails13 "seven years' trouble, but no want." It has also been said to foretell14 the speedy decease of the master of the house; and in Scotland it is regarded as an infallible sign that some member of the family will shortly die. It has been suggested that this popular superstition dates very many years back, and probably originated in the terror inspired by the destruction of the reflected human image—an interesting illustration of how the formation of certain ideas is often determined15 by mere16 analogy. A similar style of thinking[113] also underlies17 the medi?val necromancer's practice of making a waxen image of his enemy, and shooting at it with arrows in order to bring about his death.
The folk-lore, however, of the looking-glass does not end here; for many consider it the height of ill-luck to see the new moon reflected in a looking-glass or through a window-pane; and some mothers studiously prevent their youngest child looking in one until a year old. It is also associated with marriage and death. Thus, in the South of England it is regarded as a bad omen2 for a bride on her wedding morning to take a last peep in the glass when she is completely dressed in her bridal attire18, before starting for the church. Hence very great care is generally taken to put on a glove or some slight article of adornment19 after the final lingering and reluctant look has been taken in the mirror. The idea is that any young lady who is too fond of the looking-glass will be unfortunate when married. This is by no means the only occasion on which superstitious fancy interferes20 with the grown-up maiden's peeps into the looking-glass. Thus, Swedish young ladies are afraid of looking in the glass after dark, or by candle-light, lest by so doing they should forfeit21 the goodwill22 of the other sex.
The practice of covering the looking-glass, or removing it from the chamber23 of death, still prevails in some parts of England—the notion being that "all vanity, all care for earthly beauty, are over with the deceased." It has also been suggested that, as the invisible world trenches24 closely upon the visible one in the chamber of death, a superstitious dread25 is felt[114] of some spiritual being imaging himself forth26 in the blank surface of the mirror. Mr. Baring Gould considers that the true reason for shrouding27 the looking-glass before a funeral was that given him in Warwickshire, where there is a popular notion that if a person looks into a mirror in the chamber of death he will see the corpse28 looking over his shoulder. Again, Brand informs us that looking-glasses were generally used by magicians "in their superstitious and diabolical29 operations." He quotes an old authority, who says:—"Some magicians, being curious to find out by the help of a looking-glass, or a glass full of water, a thing that lies hidden, make choice of young maids to discern therein those images or sights which a person defiled30 cannot see." Sometimes, too, our ancestors dipped a looking-glass into the water when they were anxious to ascertain31 what would become of a sick person. Accordingly as he looked well or ill in the glass, when covered with the drops of water, so they foretold32 whether he would recover or not. Mirrors were also regarded by our forefathers33 as the most effective agencies in divining secrets and bringing to light hidden mysteries. Thus, there is a tradition that the Gunpowder34 Plot was discovered by Dr. John Dee with his magic mirror. We find in a prayer-book, printed by Baskett in 1737, an engraving35 which depicts36 the following scene:—In the centre is a circular looking-glass, in which is the reflection of the Houses of Parliament by night, and a person entering carrying a dark lantern. On the left side there are two men in the costume of James's[115] time looking into the mirror—one evidently the king, the other probably Sir Kenelm Digby. On the right side, at the top, is the eye of Providence37 darting38 a ray on to the mirror; and below are some legs and hoofs39, as if evil spirits were flying out of the picture. This plate, says a correspondent of Notes and Queries40, "would seem to represent the method by which, under Providence (as is evidenced by the eye), the discovery of the Gunpowder Plot was at that time seriously believed to have been effected. The tradition, moreover, must have been generally believed, or it never could have found its way into a prayer-book printed by the king's printer." It may be noted41, however, that as the fame of Dee's magic mirror was at its zenith about the time of the Gunpowder Plot, this may have led to the mirror being adopted as a popular emblem42 of discovery, or "throwing light" upon a subject. Hence it has been reasonably suggested that the mirror in the print may simply be a piece of artistic43 design, rather than evidence of its actual employment in the discovery.
In days gone by, too, it appears to have been customary for both sexes to wear small looking-glasses—a fantastic fashion much ridiculed44 by Ben Jonson and others of his time. Men even wore them in their hats—an allusion45 to which custom we find in Ben Jonson's Cynthia's Revels46 (Act ii., sc. 1): "Where is your page? Call for your casting-bottle, and place your mirror in your hat as I told you." We may infer that this was the very height of affectation by the manner in which the remark is introduced.[116] While men of fashion wore mirrors as brooches or ornaments47 in their hats, ladies carried them at their girdles or on their breasts. Thus Lovelace makes a lady say:—
"My lively shade thou ever shalt retaine In thy inclosed feather-framed glasse."
It was a popular superstition in former years that fine glass, such as that of Venice, would break if poison were put into it. To this curious notion Massinger thus gracefully48 alludes:—
"Here crystal glasses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . This pure metal So innocent is, and faithful to the mistress, Or master, that possesses it, that rather Than hold one drop that's venomous, of itself It flies in pieces, and deludes49 the traitor50."
This is among the errors noticed by Sir Thomas Browne, who says, "And although it be said that poison will break a Venice glass, yet have we not met with any of that nature. Were there a truth herein, it were the best preservative51 for princes and persons exalted52 to such fears, and surely far better than divers53 now in use." It may not be inappropriate here to refer to the well-known tradition connected with the "Luck of Edenhall." From time immemorial there has been a current belief that any one who had the courage to rush upon a fairy festival and snatch from the merry throng54 their drinking-glass, would find it prove to him a constant source of good fortune, supposing he could carry it across a running stream. A glass has been carefully preserved at Edenhall,[117] Cumberland, which was in all probability a sacred chalice55; but the legend is that the butler, one day going to draw water, surprised a company of fairies who were amusing themselves on the grass near the well. He seized the glass that was standing6 upon its margin56, which the fairies tried to recover, but, after an ineffectual struggle, they vanished, crying:—
"If that glass do break or fall, Farewell the luck of Edenhall."
The good fortune, however, of this ancient house was never so much endangered as by the Duke of Wharton, who, on one occasion having drunk the contents of this magic glass, inadvertently dropped it, and here most assuredly would for ever have terminated the luck of Edenhall, if the butler, who stood at his elbow to receive the empty glass, had not happily caught it in his napkin.
Referring, however, more particularly to our subject, we find several items of folk-lore associated with the clock. Thus, in the North of England, there is a superstition called "Clock-falling," the idea being that if a woman enters a house after her confinement57, and before being churched, the house-clock will immediately fall on its face. So strong was this belief in years past that a woman would never think of transgressing58 this rule under any circumstances whatever. In some places the house-clock is stopped on the occasion of a death, no doubt to remind the survivors59 that with the deceased one time is over, and that henceforth the days and hours[118] are no longer of any account to him. A correspondent of Notes and Queries informs us that he knew "an intelligent, well-informed gentleman in Scotland who, among his last injunctions on his death-bed, ordered that as soon as he expired the house-clock was to be stopped, a command which was strictly60 obeyed." Aubrey also tells us that formerly61 it was customary for people of a serious turn of mind to say, every time they heard the clock strike, "Lord, grant my last hour may be my best hour."
Chairs, again, have their superstitions62. It is regarded as a bad omen, for instance, if, when a person leaves a house, he replaces the chair on which he has been sitting against the wall, the probability being that he will never visit the house again. The chair on which a woman sits after her confinement to receive the congratulations of her friends is popularly termed "a groaning63 chair," an allusion to which we find in "Poor Robin's Almanack":—
"For a nurse, the child to dandle, Sugar, soap, spiced pots, and candle, A groaning chair, and eke64 a cradle."
Another article of furniture not without its folk-lore is the bed. Thus some superstitious persons always have their bedsteads placed parallel to the planks65 of the floor, considering it unlucky to sleep across the boards. Others again pay particular attention to the point of the compass towards which the head should be when in bed, a belief we find existing even among the Hindoos, who believe that to sleep with the head to the north will cause one's days to[119] be shortened. To lie in the direction of the south they say is productive of longevity66, whereas the east and west, it is asserted, are calculated to bring riches and change of scene respectively. Various theories in this country have been, at different times, started as to the proper position of the bedstead during the hours of sleep, which find ready acceptance among those who are ever ready to grasp any new idea, however fanciful it may be. A correspondent of The Builder, writing on the subject, says:—"So far as my own observations have gone, I know that my sleep is always more sound when my head is placed to the north. There are persons whom I know, the head of whose bed is to the north, and who, to awake early, will reverse their usual position in the bed, but without knowing the reason why, beyond 'that they could always wake earlier,' the sleep being more broken." An eminent67 physician in Scotland states that, when he failed by every other prescription68 to bring sleep to invalid69 children, he recommended their couches or little beds to be turned due north and south—the head of the child being placed towards the north—a process which he had always found successful in promoting sleep. After all, however, as has been so often said, the best prescription for a good night's rest is a healthy body and a sound mind.
The well-known phrase, "to get out of bed the wrong way," or "with the left leg foremost," is generally said of an ill-tempered person; the term having originated in an ancient superstition, which[120] regarded it as unlucky to place the left foot first on the ground on getting out of bed.
Once more, as a mark of the simplicity70 of ancient manners, it was customary for persons even of the highest rank to sleep together, an allusion to which practice occurs in Henry V., where Exeter says:—
"Nay71, but the man that was his bedfellow, Whom he hath cloy'd and grac'd with kingly favours."
In conclusion, we may take one further illustration on this subject from that useful little article, the bellows, to place which on a table is considered extremely unlucky, and few servants will either do it or allow it to be done.
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1
bellows
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| n.风箱；发出吼叫声，咆哮（尤指因痛苦）( bellow的名词复数 )；（愤怒地）说出（某事），大叫v.发出吼叫声，咆哮（尤指因痛苦）( bellow的第三人称单数 )；（愤怒地）说出（某事），大叫 | |
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2
omen
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| n.征兆，预兆；vt.预示 | |
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omens
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| n.前兆，预兆( omen的名词复数 ) | |
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portents
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| n.预兆( portent的名词复数 )；征兆；怪事；奇物 | |
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implicitly
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| adv. 含蓄地, 暗中地, 毫不保留地 | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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superstitious
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| adj.迷信的 | |
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superstition
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| n.迷信，迷信行为 | |
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costly
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| adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的 | |
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impunity
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| n.(惩罚、损失、伤害等的)免除 | |
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inmates
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| n.囚犯( inmate的名词复数 ) | |
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thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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entails
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| 使…成为必要( entail的第三人称单数 )； 需要； 限定继承； 使必需 | |
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foretell
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| v.预言，预告，预示 | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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underlies
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| v.位于或存在于（某物）之下( underlie的第三人称单数 )；构成…的基础（或起因），引起 | |
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attire
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| v.穿衣，装扮[同]array；n.衣着；盛装 | |
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adornment
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| n.装饰；装饰品 | |
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interferes
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| vi. 妨碍，冲突，干涉 | |
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forfeit
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| vt.丧失；n.罚金，罚款，没收物 | |
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goodwill
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| n.善意，亲善，信誉，声誉 | |
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chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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trenches
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| 深沟，地沟( trench的名词复数 )； 战壕 | |
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dread
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| vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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shrouding
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| n.覆盖v.隐瞒( shroud的现在分词 )；保密 | |
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corpse
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| n.尸体，死尸 | |
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diabolical
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| adj.恶魔似的，凶暴的 | |
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defiled
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| v.玷污( defile的过去式和过去分词 )；污染；弄脏；纵列行进 | |
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ascertain
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| vt.发现，确定，查明，弄清 | |
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foretold
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| v.预言，预示( foretell的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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forefathers
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| n.祖先，先人；祖先，祖宗( forefather的名词复数 )；列祖列宗；前人 | |
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gunpowder
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| n.火药 | |
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engraving
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| n.版画；雕刻（作品）；雕刻艺术；镌版术v.在（硬物）上雕刻（字，画等）( engrave的现在分词 )；将某事物深深印在（记忆或头脑中） | |
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depicts
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| 描绘，描画( depict的第三人称单数 )； 描述 | |
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providence
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| n.深谋远虑，天道，天意；远见；节约；上帝 | |
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darting
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| v.投掷，投射( dart的现在分词 )；向前冲，飞奔 | |
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hoofs
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| n.（兽的）蹄，马蹄( hoof的名词复数 )v.（兽的）蹄，马蹄( hoof的第三人称单数 ) | |
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40
queries
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| n.问题( query的名词复数 )；疑问；询问；问号v.质疑，对…表示疑问( query的第三人称单数 )；询问 | |
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noted
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| adj.著名的，知名的 | |
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42
emblem
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| n.象征，标志；徽章 | |
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artistic
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| adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的 | |
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44
ridiculed
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| v.嘲笑，嘲弄，奚落( ridicule的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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45
allusion
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| n.暗示，间接提示 | |
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46
revels
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| n.作乐( revel的名词复数 )；狂欢；着迷；陶醉v.作乐( revel的第三人称单数 )；狂欢；着迷；陶醉 | |
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47
ornaments
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| n.装饰( ornament的名词复数 )；点缀；装饰品；首饰v.装饰，点缀，美化( ornament的第三人称单数 ) | |
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48
gracefully
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| ad.大大方方地；优美地 | |
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49
deludes
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| v.欺骗，哄骗( delude的第三人称单数 ) | |
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50
traitor
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| n.叛徒，卖国贼 | |
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51
preservative
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| n.防腐剂；防腐料；保护料；预防药 | |
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52
exalted
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| adj.(地位等)高的，崇高的；尊贵的，高尚的 | |
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53
divers
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| adj.不同的；种种的 | |
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throng
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| n.人群，群众；v.拥挤，群集 | |
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chalice
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| n.圣餐杯；金杯毒酒 | |
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margin
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| n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘 | |
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confinement
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| n.幽禁，拘留，监禁；分娩；限制，局限 | |
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transgressing
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| v.超越( transgress的现在分词 )；越过；违反；违背 | |
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survivors
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| 幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 ) | |
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strictly
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| adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地 | |
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formerly
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| adv.从前，以前 | |
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superstitions
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| 迷信，迷信行为( superstition的名词复数 ) | |
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groaning
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| adj. 呜咽的, 呻吟的 动词groan的现在分词形式 | |
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eke
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| v.勉强度日，节约使用 | |
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planks
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| （厚）木板( plank的名词复数 )； 政纲条目，政策要点 | |
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longevity
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| n.长命；长寿 | |
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eminent
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| adj.显赫的，杰出的，有名的，优良的 | |
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prescription
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| n.处方，开药；指示，规定 | |
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invalid
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| n.病人，伤残人；adj.有病的，伤残的；无效的 | |
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simplicity
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| n.简单，简易；朴素；直率，单纯 | |
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nay
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| adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者 | |
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