A belief amongst boys, that to harm or
disturb the nests of the redbreast or swallow is unlucky, appears very
general throughout the kingdom; and the keen bird-nester, who prides
himself on the quantity of eggs blown and strung bead-fashion, here
often gets mortified by finding his trophies destroyed by the housewife
who considers their presence as affecting the safety of her crokery
ware. This belief may have been encouraged, if not invented, for a
humane purpose: but how are we to account for the efficacy of the Irish
stone in curing swellings caused by venomous reptiles, by merely being
rubbed upon the part affected? The fullest faith in the practice appears
to have prevailed in the country at no distant period, and is yet far
from extinct. The swallow and the cuckoo are generally hailed as
harbingers of spring and summer, but, perhaps, many of our readers are
not aware that it is only lucky to hear the cuckoo, for the first time
in the season, upon soft ground in contradistinction to hard roads, and
with money in the pocket, which the youngster is sagely advised to be
sure then to turn over.
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