Again:—
Sunday clipt, Sunday shorn,
Better t’ bairn ’ed nivver been born.
Before the baby is nine days old it is wise to decide upon its name, and once having done this, so let it be. If either parent should happen to say, ‘We will call it So-and-so,’ do not alter after having so declared, for if so the child will grow up a liar, and probably have to assume several aliases before death. But the worst of all is to decide upon a name before the child is born, and then afterwards change to some other. Singular to say, in Cleveland you are told that such a proceeding ’can end i’ nowt bud harm’; but you are not informed either precisely what form the harm will take, or why. There is a legend lingering still in Wensleydale, to the effect that once a soul was permitted to view the body it would shortly tenant. The mother happened to say whilst the soul was near, ‘When my baby is born, if a boy, we shall have him christened——,’ mentioning the name they had decided upon. The soul knew it would be a boy, and on its return to spirit-land gave a full description of the body it was going to have for its companion on earth, mentioning at the same time the name by which it would be known. What then was its dismay to discover, on being carried to the font, that it was being christened by some other name. For a time it was sorely troubled. What must it do? What could it do? In the end it felt there was only one way open: it must hurry back to soul-land and clear itself from an apparent untruth, but in order to do this it must free itself from the body; but if ever the soul and body part company they never meet again. So the baby died, and the soul went back to spirit-land.
The above was given to me years ago by an old Yorkshire dame, who during her girlhood, if not a native, lived for many years in the village of West Burton. In the dales of Cleveland and Wensleydale, to guard her babe from the influence of evil spirits and bad wishes, the mother used to place a Bible under the pillow of the sleeping child, until such time as the infant had been christened, that being considered sufficient protection against all evil spirits. And in the days of witchcraft, in many houses where the first cradle would shortly be tenanted, it was most carefully kept wrong side up until the child was laid in it. This was done so that no other living thing in that house should sleep in it before the coming owner. Otherwise the cradle would be forestalled, and in after years the occupant might have reason to doubt the fidelity of his wife, or vice versa.
In such fear was this forestalling of the cradle held, that one was rarely purchased until absolutely needed. A cradle should always be paid for before it crosses the threshold. It is said that the child who sleeps in an unpaid-for cradle will end its days lacking the means to pay for its own coffin, or, as others put it, be too poor to pay for its lodgings on the earth or in it. Should the baby when grown older say ‘Papa’ before he or she utters ‘Mamma,’ then be assured the next little stranger will be a boy; however, should it say ‘Mamma’ first, then it will be a girl; and should it say ‘Papa’ and a girl is born, then be quite sure that it said ‘Mamma’ some little time before, when no one was near. This last bit is mine; I like to help even a superstition out of a difficulty.
If baby’s first tooth appears in the upper jaw, it is not considered a good sign; there is a fear of the child dying in infancy. Sometimes they don’t.
Should the baby be born with a mole on its chin, success is strongly foreshadowed; the same on the left thigh is considered quite the reverse. One on the right temple gives wealth and high position, and one placed at the outside corner of either eye denotes a sudden death. Whilst
A dimple on the chin brings a fortune in,
A dimple on the cheek leaves the fortune for to seek.