and young a constant source of amusement; and we may, now and then, find some elderly damsel, who still aspires to enter one day on the marriage state, taking care to put the milk into her tea before the sugar lest she should lose her chance of securing a sweetheart. Mrs. Latham, too, tells us how matrimonial fortunes are often told by seers at home from the grounds or sediment remaining at the bottom of a tea-cup; and where to unenlightened eyes nothing is apparent but a little black dust floating in a slop, those who have the wit to do so may discern a hidden meaning. Again, among the host of small superstitions connected with our daily meals, one at the very outset relates to breakfast; there being a widespread belief that if a person sings before breakfast, he will cry before supper. This notion probably has some reference to another popular one, namely, that high spirits forebode evil, proving the forerunner of adversity. Many anecdotes illustrative of this theory have been recorded at various times. In the last act of _Romeo and Juliet_, Romeo is introduced as saying:-- "If I may trust the flattering truth of sleep, My dreams presage some joyful news at hand; My bosom's lord sits lightly on his throne; And all this day an unaccustomed spirit Lifts me above the ground with cheerful thoughts." In the evidence given at the inquest upon the bodies of four persons killed by an explosion at a firework manufactory in Bermondsey, October 12th, 1849, one of the witnesses stated:--"On Friday they were all very merry, and Mrs. B. said she feared something would happen before they went to bed, because they were so happy." If, in a social gathering of any kind, an unmarried person is inadvertently placed between a man and his wife, it is an indication that the individual so seated will be married within the course of a year. Many consider it unlucky to shake hands across the table; and there is also an old superstition mentioned by Grose, that, in eating, to miss the mouth and let the food fall is a bad omen, betokening approaching sickness. Once more, if a person in rising from table overturns his chair, this is not a very fortunate occurrence, as it is said to show that he has been speaking untruths. Without further extending our list of the superstitious beliefs and practices that have clustered round the table--to which many of our readers will doubtless be able to make their own additions--we may briefly sum up this branch of the subject by saying:-- "'Tis a history Handed from ages down; a nurse's tale, Which children open-eyed and mouth'd devour, And thus, as garrulous ignorance relates, We learn it and believe." CHAPTER IX. FURNITURE OMENS. Folk-lore of the Looking-glass--Luck of Edenhall--Clock-falling--Chairs--Beds--The Bellows.