FOLK LORE.
Ancient Custom on Interment.
—I have read that it was a custom to inter an hour-glass with the deal, as an emblem of the sand of life being run out; or perhaps (as I should rather suggest) to intimate that the departed, having entered upon eternity, had done with time. I believe that in the early part of the last century the custom had not entirely disappeared, and that small hour-glasses were given to the friends of the deceased attending at funerals, and were put beside the corpse (like rosemary), or thrown into the grave? Does the custom still linger in any remote parts of the country?
W. S. G.
Newcastle-on-Tyne.
Pure Rain Water.
—Pure rain water is said to be an infallible cure for sore eyes, and cases are reported to the writer by persons who have tried and fancy they have proved its efficacy. The rain water must be collected in a clean open vessel, in the month of June, and must not be contaminated be being previously collected by any other means; it will then remain pure for any length of time, if preserved in a bottle.
T. D.
Gainsbro'.
Cure for Hooping Cough.
—This complaint is very prevalent in my neighbourhood just now. I overheard a conversation the other day between some farmers: one was recommending the patient to inhale the breath of a horse as a certain cure; another gravely informed his audience that the sight of a piebald horse would afford immediate relief!
G. A. C.