il hour,
apprenticed themselves to the vulgar callings of life. To be a soldier
was honourable, to be a tiller of the ground was not a disgrace, to be
a cattle reiver was not a crime, but for a clansman to condescend to
earn his bread by ordinary industry in a workshop, could not fail to
bring discredit and misfortune on himself and kindred, however remote
the relationship might be. To this superstition the nation is
indebted for the many stalwart Highlanders who have fought England's
battles, and won them too, at home and abroad. Ask the decrepit old
woman, leaning on her staff, far up yonder glen, the cause of the
expiring zeal among the mountain youths to study the art of war, and
she will tell you in effect what we have said; and will add, that
through the intimacy that has long existed between Highlanders and
Lowlanders, and the frequent evictions that have brought a scandal on
our nation, her country no longer remains a recruiting ground for
armies.

CHAPTER XLIII.

Caution of our Ancestors--A Magpie crossing one's
Path--What four Magpies betokened--The Poet and the
Magpies--More about Magpies--Flight of Birds--Swarming
of Bees--Howling of Dogs--Lowing of Cattle--Crowing of
Cocks--Dogs' Power of Sight--Stockings wrong side
out--Evil effect of Suspended Eggs--Burning Fish
Bones--Sign of a Letter coming--Sneezing of a
Cat--Various Signs--The sight of a Fox foreboding
Evil--Owls and Ravens--Various Signs and Omens--How to
prevent Ill Luck--Reputed Witches crossing the
Path--Highland Superstition--Print of a Caldron, what
it denoted--Unlucky to pass over a Balance--How to see
in the Dark--When not to pare your Nails--Touching a
Dead Body--Funeral Processions--Storks and Storks'
Hearts--How to Sit--Marriages--A Prophetic
Rhyme--Favourable and Unfavourable Times for
Marriages--Unfortunate to lose or break a Wedding
Ring--Rules to be observed in taking possession of a
House--Throwing Slippers, Besoms, Salt, and Rice after
Newly-married Persons--Charms for Bridegrooms and
Brides--Mothers and Children--More about
Marriages--Rules to be observed at Baptisms--How to
treat Young Children.

Mark the caution of our ancestors: If a magpie crossed one's path when
setting out on a journey, his mission, whatever it happened to be, was
certain to prove unsuccessful, unless the trav