If either a girl or boy finds the ring in the beans it is a sign of an early marriage. If a girl gets the thimble she will be an old maid, and when the thimble falls to the lot of a boy he will marry an old maid.
The brass button in a girl’s cup of beans denotes that she will marry a widower, but in a boy’s cup it is a bachelor’s button and shows that he will be a bachelor all his life and will sew on his buttons himself.
Each player can have but one trial, and if only beans fall to her share, it signifies that her fate is still undecided.
Here is another test called
The Witch Screen
Fig. 57.—Through the lengthwise centre of the cloth cut two slits for each player.
Across the end or corner of the room fasten a breadth of inexpensive cloth for the witch screen; old muslin or any material most convenient will answer the purpose if not too thin. Through the lengthwise centre of the cloth cut two slits for each player. [Fig. 57] has eight slits and is intended for four players. Seat the company in a row near to and facing the witch screen, adjust it so that the slits will come on a level with the hands of the players, then, standing behind the screen and looking over the top, say, “I have some wonderful treasures which the witches have loaned us for this evening, but, as the objects are very valuable and must be returned, I ask that you use the utmost caution in handling them, and take great care not to drop or break any of the things while passing them from one to another down the line.