--should have lucky marks upon
their person. Forecasts were made from such facts as the following
concerning the recipient of the gift:--Was this person male or female,
deformed, disfigured, plain-soled, etc. If the party accepted the gift
willingly, tasted it, and returned a few steps with the baptismal party,
this was a good sign; if they asked to look at the baby, and blessed it,
this was still more favourable: but should this person refuse the gift,
nor taste it, nor turn back, this was tantamount to wishing evil to the
child, and should any serious calamity befall the child, even years
after, it was connected with this circumstance, and the party who had
refused the baptismal gift was blamed for the evil which had befallen
the child. It was also a common belief that if, as was frequently the
case, there were several babies, male and female, awaiting baptism
together, and the males were baptised before the females, all was well;
but if, by mistake, a female should be christened before a male, the
characters of the pair would be reversed--the female would grow up with
a masculine character, and would have a beard, whereas the male would
display a feminine disposition and be beardless. I have known where such
a mistake has produced real anxiety and regret in the minds of the
parents. We have seen that it was not until after baptism that the child
was allowed out of the room in which it was born, except under the
skilful guardianship of a relative or the midwife; but, further than
this, it was not considered safe or proper to carry it into any
neighbour's house until the mother took it herself, and this it was
unlucky even for her to do until she had been to church. Indeed, few
mothers would enter any house until they had been to the house of God.
After this had been accomplished, however, she visited with the baby
freely. In visiting any house with baby for the first time, it was
incumbent on the person whom they were visiting to put a little salt or
sugar into baby's mouth, and wish it well: the omission of this was
regarded as a very unlucky omen for the baby. Here we may note the
survival of a very ancient symbolic practice in this gift of salt. Salt
was symbolical of favour or good will, and covenants of friendship in
very early times were ratified with this gift; sugar, as in this
instance, is no doubt a modern substitute for salt. Among Jews, Greeks,
and Romans, as well as among less civilised nations, salt was us