Teeth, Superstition respecting (Vol. vi., p. 601.).—A similar (perhaps the same) piece of childish superstition respecting the teeth is, that when the upper incisors are large, it is a sign that you will live to be rich.
Furvus.
New Moon Divination.—Being lately on a visit in Yorkshire, I was amused one evening to find the servants of the house excusing themselves for being out of the way when the bell rang, on the plea that they had been "hailing the first new moon of the new year." This mysterious salutation was effected, I believe, by means of a looking-glass, in which the first sight of the moon was to be had, and the object to be gained was the important secret as to how many years would elapse before the marriage of the observers. If one moon was seen in the glass, one year; if two, two years; and so on. In the case in question, the maid and the boy saw only one moon a-piece. Whether the superstition would, in this instance, be suggestive to their minds of anything to be deduced from the coincidence, I do not know; but as they were both very old-fashioned folks, I suppose the custom may not be unknown to those learned in Folk Lore.
What is the orthodox mode of conducting this kind of divination?
Oxoniensis.
The Hyena an Ingredient in Love Potions.—In Busbequius's Letters (Elzevir, 1633) I note that the Turks consider the hyena useful in love potions. I extract the passage:
"In amatoriis ei vim magnam Turcæ, ut etiam veteres, tribuunt, cumque essent duæ eo tempore Constantinopoli, mihi tamen vendere gravabantur, quod se Sultanæ, hoc est, principis uxori, eas reservare dicerent, quippe quas philtris et magicis artibus animum mariti retinere, recepta in vulgus (ut dixi) opinio est."—P. 84.
Allow me to add a Query: What ancient authors allude to this old specimen of Folk Lore?
S. A. S.
Bridgewater.