Nu mmits and C ru m mits r u D ev onshi e C sto ms, hara te i ti c a nd Folk- lore C c r s s , Sa rah Hew e tt Author of The Peasa nt Sp e ech of Devon Devons hi re Stori es n Fa i ri es Sup erstiti o s . ' W t! ; Fr onti s z e é eor r t n i p ec y G ge M a i . Lo ndo n T hom as Bu rl eigh 1 9 0 0 BARN IC O TT A ND PE A RCE P RI NT E RS Dedi cated by ki nd per miss io n the Right H o nourable o rd Hals bu r L y. P R E F A C E . THI S little book is made up of a fe w crumbs from the repositories of many Devonshire friends , to whom grateful thanks are tendered f or their untiring help fulness in supplying s o much that i s quain t and i n tere s ti ng . The miscellaneous scraps here gathered shew but inadequately the humorous characteristics o f ou r ct a s to Devonshire folk , their diale , and some like call “ it , jargon , as drawn by themselves . They illustrate t the t do wha people ac ually believe in , say , and , and f shew the general trend o their minds . Their belief in the supernatural is unbounded . N either age , ff social position , nor culture makes much di erence one and all are more or less wedded to the super s titi on s , beliefs , and traditions of their ancestors . Apologies are offered to any one whose Cru mmits have been appropriated without permission or a o kn l d ow e gment . as hundreds of newspaper and other cuttin gs came to hand anonymously , and being very precious morsels were reproduced . To each and all contributors most grateful thanks are given . SARAH H EWETT . ’ BLU NDELL S RE S T 3 , C CE N , VE RTON DE VO N TI , , ul 1 899 . y y . C O N T E N T S C HAP . PAG E . FR ONT I S P I E OE PREFACE SUPERSTITION S THINGS L U C KY AND U NLUCKY CHARMS CU STOMS WEATHER LORE AND WISE SAWS N U M M I T S AND C R U M M IT S PECULIAR AND E C C E NT RI O DEVONIAN S STORIE S O LD SONGS S u e st t o n s p r i i . I te t ee ll h , ’ There s no t a pulse be a ts i n the h um an f ra me Tha t i s not go verned by the s ta rs a bo ve us . The oo t a t fi s o ur v e i ns i n a ll i ts e b b bl d h ll , A nd flo w i s s w a e b t e a s c er tai n , y d y h m ly A S are the r e s tles s tide s o f the s a lt s ea By the r e s ple ndent moon a nd a t thy bi r th ' Thy m other s e ye ga z ed not more s te a dfa s tly O n t ee t a n d id the s ta r t a t r u es th f a te h , h h l y , Showeri ng u pon thy head a n i nfl uence M i n n o r b a l g a t enign . Su e st t o n s p r i i . ’ ALL H ALLOWE EN SU PERSTITION S . I THINK I cannot do better than describe what actually old took place at an farm house , in the eighties , in South Devon . 1 f ew was invited to spend a days with a family , n of hi s - u co sisting a farmer , wife , and seven grown p sons and daughters . The farm was picturesquely - n Ha ldon situated on a south wester slope of the Hills , from whence extensive views of land and s e a could be enjoyed . f Mary was the youngest and merriest o the family . She it was who acted as prime mover in all the fun , not that either of the others Showed any reluctance to l t carry out her wi dest suggestions . A brighter s e of f fin d i t young folk it would be di ficult to , and has sel dom been my good fortune to meet their equals in high Spirits and natural gentleness . Every one was thoroughly imbued with credulity in regard to omens t and predic ions . 4 mammite ant M ummies. ’ Mary sugge s ted that All Hallowe en should be ob served with due ceremony , as indeed it was . The n - amuseme ts began with fortune telling by cards , at which Maggie the eldest daughter was an adept . “ The fortunes were appraised as not up to much , ’ and as no one crossed Maggie s hand with a piece of silver , the cards were swept aside . e Then Jack , otherwis the family clown , brought in of dishes apples and nuts , bags of hemp seed , torn of paper , large basins water , scraps of lead , a melting ladle , large combs , small hand mirrors , and a printed of Sheet of capital letters , all which were to be used - as love charms . just as the clock began to strike eleven , a move wa s the made towards the fireplace , where from bars of the grate Jack had already swept every vestige of ashes . Simultaneously each girl laid a big hazel nut on s a t the lowest bar of the grate , and Silently watching ct a s t the result . I noticed that perfe silence w eligi o us ly observed during each ceremony . She , Whose nut first blazed , would be the first to marry . Ilted . She , whose nut first cracked , would be j She , whose nut first jumped , would very soon start o n . a journey , but would never marry She , whose nut smouldered , would have Sickness , a nd . disappointment in love , perhaps die young After this , one of the girls took an apple , a comb , é upz ratitinna. 5 of and a mirror , and retired to the brightest corner s he out the room , where began to comb her long tresses with her left hand and held an apple in the h She . rig t , which slowly ate Her future husband ct to was expe ed look over her Shoulder , revealing his n ot face to her in the mirror . He did , however , satisfy our curiosity by putting in an appearance . Then one took a handful of torn paper and scattered of of it on the surface a big basin water , and after stirring vigorously , awaited developments . The number of pieces of paper which fell to the bottom indicated the number of years which would intervene ’ before the operator s marriage . In this case twenty one n n ow - fell , and as Je ny was twenty eight , jack thought there was small chance for her to have an o wn - s o establishment of her at forty nine , she had b e better resign herself to her fate , and be content to o f come the unappropriated blessing the family , for , How said he , could you , Jenny , at that advanced ? age , dare to don white satin and orange blossoms ” No . , my dear , your future is sealed on Then everybody insisted Jack trying his luck , which he essayed to do by melting a fe w scraps o f lead in the ladle and pouring it red hot into one of the of or basins cold water . The letters formed , the t of nearest approach to letters , at the bo tom the basin h ” were supposed to be the initials of the future S e . The closest resemblance to letters which we could v disco er was an I , and an L . The question which 6 mammite annM ummies. now arose amid merry peals of laughter was to whom I L . the initials . could belong . Many names were mentioned and negatived as soon as suggested , Jack looking rather bashful , when from Jenny came the query Does not I stand for Ida , and L for Lang Ida Lang is a very pretty name , and is owned by a very sweet girl . Jack gave Jenny a look which could easily be i n “ ter rete d ! ! p I owe you one for that , Jenny Oh oh ” “ Jack , replied Jenny , we are hoping that Ida Lang will not be an unappropriated blessing . She Shall have my white satin and all the orange blossoms . ff There was a good deal more of this sort of cha , but ff - no o ence was taken by the good natured Jack , and things swung along amicably . Next came Tom to try his hap with a pair of scissors . Tom in silence separated the capital letters , each falling into the basin of water without being h touched by t e hand . When all were free they were stirred and left to settle . The initials of the future one . ! , were supposed to float on the water Alas poor ! Tom in his case fifteen letters presented themselves . Here again wa s food for fun and conjecture . Many m .