In the first place, she must never conceal3 her state nor deny it, when interrogated4 on the subject; for if she do so, her child will have difficulty in learning to speak; nor may she wear beads5 round her neck, for that would cause the infant to be strangled at its birth. Carrying pease or beans in her apron6 will produce malignant7 eruptions8, and sweeping9 a chimney makes the child narrow-breasted.
On no account must she be suffered to pull off her husband’s boots, nor to hand him a glowing coal to light his pipe, both these actions entailing11 misfortune. In driving to market she may not sit with her back to the horses, nor ever drink at the well out of a wooden bucket. Likewise, her intercourse12 with the pigsty13 must be carefully regulated; for should she, at any time, listen over-attentively14 to the grunting15 of pigs, her child will have a deep grunting voice; and if she kick the swine or push one of them away with her foot, the infant will have bristly hair on its back. Hairs on the face will be the result of beating a dog or cat, and twins the consequence of eating double cherries or sitting at the corner of the table.
During this time she may not stand godmother to any other child, or else she will lose her own baby, which will equally be sure to die if she walk round a new-made grave.
If any one unexpectedly throw a flower at the woman who expects to become a mother, and hit her with it on the face, her child will have a mole16 at the same place touched by the flower.
Should, however, the young matron imprudently have neglected any of these rules, and have cause to fear that an evil spell has been cast on her child, she has several very efficacious recipes for undoing17 the harm. Thus if she sit on the door-step, with her feet resting on a broom, for at least five minutes at a time, on several consecutive19 Fridays, thinking the while of her unborn babe, it will be released from the impending20 doom21; or else let her sit there on Sundays, when the bells are ringing, with her hair hanging unplaited down her back; or climb up the stair of the belfry tower and look down at the sinking sun.
When the moment of the birth is approaching, the windows must be carefully hung over with sheets or cloths, to prevent witches from entering; but all locks and bolts should, on the contrary, be opened, else the event will be retarded22.
If the new-born infant be weakly, it is usual to put yolks of eggs, bran, sawdust, or a glass of old wine into its first bath.
Very important for the future luck and prosperity of the child is the day of the week and month on which it happens to have been born.
Sunday is, of course, the luckiest day, and twelve o’clock at noon, when the bells are ringing, the most favorable hour for beginning life.
Wednesday children are schlabberkinder—that is, chatterboxes. Friday bairns are unfortunate, but in some districts those born on Saturday are considered yet more unlucky; while again, in other places Saturday’s children are merely supposed to grow up dirty.
Whoever is born on a stormy night will die of a violent death.
The full or growing moon is favorable; but the decreasing moon produces weakly, unhealthy babes.
All children born between Easter and Pentecost are more or less lucky, unless they happen to have come on one of the distinctly unlucky days, of which I here give a list:
January 1st, 2d, 6th, 11th, 17th, 18th.
February 8th, 14th, 17th.
March 1st, 3d, 13th, 15th.
April 1st, 3d, 15th, 17th, 18th.
May 8th, 10th, 17th, 30th.
June 1st, 17th.
July 1st, 5th, 6th, 14th.
August 1st, 3d, 17th, 18th.
September 2d, 15th, 18th, 30th.
October 15th, 17th.
November 1st, 7th, 11th.
December 1st, 6th, 11th, 15th.
I leave it to more penetrating23 spirits to decide whether these seemingly capricious figures are regulated on some occult cabalistic system, the secret workings of which have baffled my understanding, so that I am at a loss to explain why January and April have the greatest, June and October the least, proportion of unlucky days allotted24 to them; and why the 1st and 17th of each month are mostly pernicious, while, barring the 30th of May and September, no date after the 18th is ever in bad odor.
Both mother and child must be carefully watched over during the first few days after the birth, and all evil influences averted25. The visit of another woman who has herself a babe at the breast may deprive the young mother of her milk; and whosoever enters the house without sitting down will assuredly carry off the infant’s sleep.
If the child be subject to frequent and apparently26 groundless fits of crying, that is proof positive that it has been bewitched—either by some one whose eyebrows27 are grown together, and who consequently has the evil eye, or else by one of the invisible evil spirits whose power is great before the child has been taken to church. But even a person with quite insignificant28 eyebrows may convey injury by unduly29 praising the child’s good looks, unless the mother recollect30 to spit on the ground as soon as the words are spoken.
Here are a few specimens31 of the recipes en vogue32 for counteracting33 such evil spells:
“Place nine straws, which must be counted backward from nine to one, in a jug34 of water drawn35 from the river with the current, not against it; throw into the water some wood-parings from off the cradle, the door-step, and the four corners of the room in which the child was born, and add nine pinches of ashes, likewise counted backward. Boil up together, and pour into a large basin, leaving the pot upside down in it. If the boiling water draws itself up into the jug” (as of course it will), “that is proof positive that the child is bewitched. Now moisten the child’s forehead with some of the water before it has time to cool, and give it (still counting backward) nine drops to drink.”
The child that has been bewitched may likewise be held above a red-hot ploughshare, on which a glass of wine has been poured; or else a glass of water, in which a red-hot horseshoe has been placed, given to drink in spoonfuls.
In every village there used to be (and may still occasionally be{114} found) old women who made a regular and profitable trade out of preparing the water which is to undo18 such evil spells.
The Saxon mother is careful not to leave her child alone till it has been baptized, for fear of malignant spirits, who may steal it away, leaving an uncouth36 elf in its place. Whenever a child grows up clumsy and heavy, with large head, wide mouth, stump37 nose, and crooked38 legs, the gossips are ready to swear that it has been changed in the cradle—more especially if it prove awkward and slow in learning to speak. To guard against such an accident, it is recommended to mothers obliged to leave their infants alone to place beneath the pillow either a prayer-book, a broom, a loaf of bread, or a knife stuck point upward.
Very cruel remedies have sometimes been resorted to in order to force the evil spirits to restore the child they have stolen and take back their own changeling. For instance, the unfortunate little creature suspected of being an elf was beaten with a thorny39 branch until quite bloody40, and then left sitting astride on a hedge for an hour. It was then supposed that the spirits would secretly bring back the stolen child.
The infant must not be suffered to look at itself in the glass till after the baptism, nor should it be held near an open window. A very efficacious preservative41 against all sorts of evil spells is to hang round the child’s neck a little triangular42 bag stuffed with grains of incense43, wormwood, and various aromatic44 herbs, and with an adder’s head embroidered45 outside. A gold coin sewed into the cap is also much recommended.
Two godfathers and two godmothers are generally appointed at Saxon peasant christenings, and it is customary that the one couple should be old and the other young; but in no case should a husband and wife figure as godparents at the same baptism, but each one of the quartette must belong to a different family. This is the general custom, but in some districts the rule demands two godfathers and one godmother for a boy, two godmothers and one godfather for a girl.
If the parents have previously46 lost other children, then the infant should not be carried out by the door in going to church, but handed out by the window and brought back in the same way. It should be carried through the broadest street, never by narrow lanes or by-ways, else it will learn thieving.
The godparents must on no account look round on their way to{115} church, and the first person met by the christening procession will decide the sex of the next child to be born—a boy if it be a man.
If two children are baptized out of the same water, one of them is sure to die; and if several boys are christened in succession in the same church without the line being broken by a girl, there will be war in the land as soon as they are grown up. Many girls christened in succession denotes fruitful vintages for the country when they shall have attained47 a marriageable age.
If the child sleep through the christening ceremony, it will be pious48 and good-tempered—but if it cries, bad-tempered49 or unlucky; therefore the first question asked by the parents on the party’s return from church is generally, “Was it a quiet baptism?” and if such has not been the case, the sponsors are apt to conceal the truth.
In some places the christening procession returning to the house finds the door closed. After knocking for some time in vain, a voice from within summons the godfather to name seven bald men of the parish. This having been answered, a further question is asked as to the gospel read in church, and only on receiving this reply, “Let the little children come to me,” is the door flung open, saying, “Come in; you have hearkened attentively to the words of the Lord.”
The sponsors next inquiring, “Where shall we put the child?” receive this answer:
“On the bunker let it be,
It will jump then like a flea50.
Put it next upon the hearth51,
Heavy gold it will be worth.
On the floor then let it sleep,
That it once may learn to sweep.
On the table in a dish,
Grow it will then like a fish.”
After holding it successively in each of the places named, the baby is finally put back into the cradle, while the guests prepare to enjoy the tauf schmaus, or christening banquet, to which each person has been careful to bring a small contribution in the shape of eggs, bacon, fruit, or cakes; the godparents do not fail to come, each laden52 with a bottle of good wine besides some other small gift for the child.
The feast is noisy and merry, and many are the games and jokes practised on these occasions. One of these, called the badspringen{116} (jumping the bath), consists in placing a washing trough or bath upside down on the ground with a lighted candle upon it. All the young women present are then invited to jump over without upsetting or putting out the light. Those successful in this evolution will be mothers of healthy boys. If they are bashful and refuse to jump, or awkward enough to upset and put out the candle, they will be childless or have only girls.
The spiesstanz, or spit dance, is also usual at christening feasts. Two roasting-spits are laid on the ground crosswise, as in the sword-dance, and the movements executed much in the same manner. Sometimes it is the grandfather of the new-born infant, who, proud of his agility53, opens the performance singing:
“Purple plum so sweet,
See my nimble feet,
How I jump and slide,
How I hop54 and glide55.
Look how well I dance,
See how high I prance56.
Purple plum so sweet,
See my nimble feet.”
But if the grandfather be old and feeble, and the godfathers unwilling57 to exert themselves, then it is usually the midwife who, for a small consideration, undertakes the dancing.
It is not customary for the young mother to be seated at table along with the guests; and even though she be well and hearty58 enough to have baked the cakes and milked the cows on that same day, etiquette59 demands that she should play the interesting invalid60 and lie abed till the feasting is over.
Full four weeks after the birth of her child must she stay at home, and durst not step over the threshold of her court-yard, even though she has resumed all her daily occupations within the first week of the event. “I may not go outside till my time is out; the Herr Vater would be sorely angered if he saw me,” is the answer I have often received from a woman who declined to come out on the road. Neither may she spin during these four weeks, lest her child should suffer from dizziness.
When the time of this enforced retirement61 has elapsed, the young mother repairs to church to be blessed by the pastor62; but before so doing she is careful to seek out the nearest well and throw down a{117} piece of bread into its depths, probably as an offering to the brunnenfrau who resides in every well, and is fond of luring63 little children down to her.
With these first four weeks the greatest perils64 of infancy65 are considered to be at an end, but no careful mother will fail to observe the many little customs and regulations which alone will insure the further health and well-being of her child. Thus she will always remember that the baby may only be washed between sunrise and sunset, and that the bath water should not be poured out into the yard at a place where any one can step over it, which would entail10 death or sickness, or at the very least deprive the infant of its sleep.
Two children which cannot yet talk must never be suffered to kiss each other, or both will be backward in speech.
A book laid under the child’s pillow will make it an apt scholar; and the water in which a puppy dog has been washed, if used for the bath, will cure all skin diseases.
Whoever steps over a child as it lies on the ground will cause it to die within a month. Other prognostics of death are to rock an empty cradle, to make the baby dance in its bath, or to measure it with a yard measure before it can walk.
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1
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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well-being
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| n.安康，安乐，幸福 | |
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conceal
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽 | |
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interrogated
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| v.询问( interrogate的过去式和过去分词 )；审问；（在计算机或其他机器上）查询 | |
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beads
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| n.（空心）小珠子( bead的名词复数 )；水珠；珠子项链 | |
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apron
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| n.围裙；工作裙 | |
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malignant
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| adj.恶性的，致命的；恶意的，恶毒的 | |
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8
eruptions
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| n.喷发，爆发( eruption的名词复数 ) | |
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9
sweeping
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| adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的 | |
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10
entail
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| vt.使承担，使成为必要，需要 | |
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entailing
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| 使…成为必要( entail的现在分词 )； 需要； 限定继承； 使必需 | |
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12
intercourse
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| n.性交；交流，交往，交际 | |
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pigsty
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| n.猪圈，脏房间 | |
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attentively
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| adv.聚精会神地；周到地；谛；凝神 | |
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grunting
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| 咕哝的，呼噜的 | |
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mole
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| n.胎块；痣；克分子 | |
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17
undoing
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| n.毁灭的原因，祸根；破坏，毁灭 | |
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undo
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| vt.解开，松开；取消，撤销 | |
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19
consecutive
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| adj.连续的，联贯的，始终一贯的 | |
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impending
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| a.imminent, about to come or happen | |
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doom
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| n.厄运，劫数；v.注定，命定 | |
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retarded
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| a.智力迟钝的，智力发育迟缓的 | |
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penetrating
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| adj.（声音）响亮的，尖锐的adj.（气味）刺激的adj.（思想）敏锐的，有洞察力的 | |
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24
allotted
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| 分配，拨给，摊派( allot的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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25
averted
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| 防止，避免( avert的过去式和过去分词 )； 转移 | |
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26
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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eyebrows
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| 眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 ) | |
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28
insignificant
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| adj.无关紧要的，可忽略的，无意义的 | |
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unduly
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| adv.过度地，不适当地 | |
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recollect
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| v.回忆，想起，记起，忆起，记得 | |
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31
specimens
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| n.样品( specimen的名词复数 )；范例；（化验的）抽样；某种类型的人 | |
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32
Vogue
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| n.时髦，时尚；adj.流行的 | |
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33
counteracting
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| 对抗，抵消( counteract的现在分词 ) | |
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34
jug
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| n.(有柄，小口，可盛水等的)大壶，罐，盂 | |
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35
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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uncouth
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| adj.无教养的，粗鲁的 | |
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37
stump
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| n.残株，烟蒂，讲演台；v.砍断，蹒跚而走 | |
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38
crooked
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| adj.弯曲的；不诚实的，狡猾的，不正当的 | |
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thorny
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| adj.多刺的，棘手的 | |
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40
bloody
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| adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染 | |
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41
preservative
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| n.防腐剂；防腐料；保护料；预防药 | |
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42
triangular
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| adj.三角（形）的，三者间的 | |
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43
incense
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| v.激怒；n.香，焚香时的烟，香气 | |
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aromatic
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| adj.芳香的，有香味的 | |
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45
embroidered
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| adj．绣花的 | |
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46
previously
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| adv.以前，先前（地） | |
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47
attained
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| （通常经过努力）实现( attain的过去式和过去分词 )； 达到； 获得； 达到（某年龄、水平、状况） | |
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48
pious
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| adj.虔诚的；道貌岸然的 | |
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49
bad-tempered
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| adj.脾气坏的 | |
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50
flea
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| n.跳蚤 | |
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51
hearth
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| n.壁炉炉床，壁炉地面 | |
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52
laden
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| adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的 | |
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53
agility
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| n.敏捷，活泼 | |
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54
hop
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| n.单脚跳，跳跃；vi.单脚跳，跳跃；着手做某事；vt.跳跃，跃过 | |
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55
glide
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| n./v.溜，滑行；(时间)消逝 | |
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56
prance
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| v.（马）腾跃，(人)神气活现地走 | |
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57
unwilling
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| adj.不情愿的 | |
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58
hearty
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| adj.热情友好的；衷心的；尽情的，纵情的 | |
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59
etiquette
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| n.礼仪，礼节；规矩 | |
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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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61
retirement
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| n.退休，退职 | |
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62
pastor
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| n.牧师，牧人 | |
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63
luring
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| 吸引，引诱（lure的现在分词形式） | |
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64
perils
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| 极大危险( peril的名词复数 )； 危险的事（或环境） | |
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infancy
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| n.婴儿期；幼年期；初期 | |
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