VISITORS 89 XII. CURES 94 Amulets.--Charm.--Water.--Miscellaneous. XIII. WARTS 101 Causes.--Cures. XIV. WEATHER 106 Cold.--Days and Times.--Fair or Foul.--Moon.--Rain.--Wind and Storm. XV. MOON 117 Divination.--Fortune.--Moonlight.--Wax and Wane. XVI. SUN 123 Domestic and Mechanical Operations.--Cures. XVII. DEATH OMENS 125 XVIII. MORTUARY CUSTOMS 131 XIX. MISCELLANEOUS 134 Actions.--Bodily Affections.--Apparel.--Customs.--Days.-- Domestic Life.--Various. NOTES 151 CURRENT SUPERSTITIONS. INTRODUCTION. The record contained in the present volume forms the first considerable printed collection made in America of superstitions belonging to English-speaking folk. Numerous as are the items here presented, only a part of the matter is included, the collector having preferred to reserve for separate presentation superstitions connected with animal and plant lore, material which would require a space about equal to that here occupied. Again, the present gathering by no means pretends to completeness; while certain departments may be adequately represented, other sections exhibit scarce more than a gleaning. The collection, therefore, will be looked on as a first essay, subject to revision and enlargement. The designations of locality will suffice to show the width of the area from which information has been obtained, as well as the degree of similarity which appears in the folk-lore of different regions belonging to this wide territory. Here and there may be observed items showing a measure of originality; a new superstition may have arisen, or an ancient one been modified, according to the fancy of an individual, in consequence of defective memory, or in virtue of misapprehension. But on the whole such peculiarities make no figure, nor does recent immigration play any important part. Almost the entire body of this tradition belongs to the English stock; it is the English population which, together with the language, has imposed on other elements of American life its polity, society, ethics, and tradition.