It is not so very long ago since every funeral at Guisborough[26] was headed by the sexton singing a hymn from the house to the church gates, but this singing by friends is common to-day.
The superstitions connected with the dying and the dead are many and varied. Few country people doubt the existence of a power by which the living can (as they put it) hold back the dying. It is not an uncommon thing to hear some one say, ‘Sha wad ’a’e deed last neet, nobbut Mary wadn’t let her gan,’ or ‘Mary wadn’t gi’e her up,’ or ‘Mary ho’ds on tiv her seea.’ It is, as it were, the last link of the chain connecting life with the earthly side of eternity, the snapping of which would for ever free the soul, but which the dying person is unable to break, because some one refuses to be reconciled; they cannot bear to part with them, and in this way hold them back. Again, the soul cannot free itself if the dying person has been laid on a bed containing pigeon feathers, or the feathers of wild birds even. Instances are on record of pigeon feathers having been placed in a small bag, and thrust under dying persons to hold them back, until the arrival of some loved one; but the meeting having taken place, the feathers were withdrawn, and death allowed to enter.
On the other hand, when something unaccountable has seemed to prevent a person in extremis from passing into the other world, pigeon feathers have often been suspected. Under such circumstances the invalid has been lifted out of bed, and either laid upon another one, or seated in a chair. And as a rule death speedily followed either treatment, the patient passing away in an incredibly short space of time, which of course clearly proved that such feathers had inadvertently been mixed with those in the bed.
When the signs of death are observed the windows and door are thrown wide open, and a silence as still as death itself is maintained, so that nothing shall either hinder the dark angel from setting his seal on their loved one, or impede the soul’s flight over the borderland into that of the great unknown.
Much of what is done may be rooted in the rankest superstition, or in many cases long-forgotten pagan rites, and one feels inclined to smile; but, after a moment’s consideration, one is forcibly reminded that it is equally deeply rooted in the old belief, which embraces in its faith a devil, a fiery hell, Jonah, whale, and everything. As things go nowadays, theorists are not leaving us much to believe or be superstitious about.
The death-watch, with its ’tick-a-tick,’ has blanched the cheek of many an otherwise brave Yorkshire man and woman. Tell them it is only the head of a small beetle called Atropos tapping against the wood as it eats its way out, and they will jeer at you. They know, as their fore-elders did before them, that it is the sign of death; if not for some one in that house, assuredly so for some one in the village, and by-and-by some one dies, and wise heads are shaken—they knew.
Every care is taken that nothing animate shall pass over the corpse. I never heard of any domestic pet having been killed which so offended, though such at one time would have been the case a little further north.
The belief still lingers that the passing bell possesses the power to drive away all evil spirits, and so prevent them from troubling the soul in its upward flight, for even to-day a sexton, on being asked to ‘ put the bell in,’ is also often urged to do so as speedily as possible.
It is looked upon as a kindly action, when standing by the corpse of some dear one, if the visitor gently touch the same. In some undefined way, this solemn contact of the living with the dead, makes known to the sorrowing ones that nothing but sympathy is felt. By this act all past injuries or misunderstandings, if such existed, are blotted out, forgiven, forgotten.
So soon as the vital spark has left its earthly house, the fire, if such be burning in the room, is immediately extinguished[27], and it is not an uncommon thing for the looking-glass to be either draped entirely, turned with its face to the wall, or removed from the room. The omens denoting the near approach of death are many—a white dove fluttering near the window, the rapid flight of birds over the house, and in some instances the actual appearance, to some dearly loved one, of the wraith of the person about to die. Many instances of the latter could be given.