ss. Standing so
that through a window she may see the moon in a glass she holds,
she counts the number of reflections to find out how many pleasant
things will happen to her in the next twelve months. Alabama has
taken over the Scotch mirror test in its entirety.

A girl with a looking-glass in her hand steps backward from the
door out into the yard. Saying:

"Round and round, O stars so fair!
Ye travel, and search out everywhere.
I pray you, sweet stars, now show to me,
This night, who my future husband shall be!"

she goes to meet her fate.

"So Leslie backed out at the door, and we shut it upon her. The
instant after, we heard a great laugh. Off the piazza she had
stepped backward directly against two gentlemen coming in.

"Doctor Ingleside was one, coming to get his supper; the other
was a friend of his.... 'Doctor John Hautayne,' he said,
introducing him by his full name."

WHITNEY: _We Girls._

A custom that is a reminder of the lighted boats sent down-stream
in Japan to bear away the souls of the dead, is that which makes
use of nut-shell boats. These have tiny candles fastened in them,
are lighted, and named, and set adrift on a tub of water. If they
cling to the side, their namesakes will lead a quiet life. Some
will float together. Some will collide and be shipwrecked. Others
will bear steadily toward a goal though the waves are rocked in a
tempest. Their behavior is significant. The candle which burns
longest belongs to the one who will marry first.

The Midsummer wheel which was rolled down into the Moselle River in
France, and meant, if the flames that wreathed it were not
extinguished, that the grape-harvest would be abundant, has
survived in the fortune wheel which is rolled about from one guest
to another, and brings a gift to each.

The actions of cats on Hallowe'en betoken good or bad luck. If a
cat sits quietly beside any one, he will enjoy a peaceful,
prosperous life; if one rubs against him, it brings good luck,
doubly good if one jumps into his lap. If a cat yawns near you on
Hallowe'en, be alert and do not let opportunity slip by you. If a
cat runs from you, you have a secret which will be revealed in
seven days.

Different states have put interpretations of their own on the
commonest charms. In Massachusetts the one who first draws an apple
from the tub with his teeth will be first married. If a girl steals