1233. Three horses of the same color indicate death, but this sign is not very noticeable in a thickly settled community. Baldwinsville, N.Y.
1234. Three chairs placed accidentally in a row mean death. Ohio.
1235. If there is a death there will be three deaths in the family within a short time. New York.
1236. To break the spell of thirteen at table, all should rise together, otherwise the first up (or, as some say, the last down) dies inside a twelvemonth. New England.
1237. If thirteen sit at table, the one who rises first will not live through the year. Somerville, Mass., Newark, N.Y., and Mifflintown, Pa.
1238. If thirteen sit at table, the last one who sits down will not die that year. Brookline, Mass.
1239. If window-shades fall down without being molested, it is a sign of death. Cape Breton.
MORTUARY CUSTOMS.
1240. If "salt water pigeons'" feathers are in a bed, the sick person on it will not die easily. Newfoundland.
1241. In old colonial burying-grounds--in Plymouth, Concord, Cambridge, and Rutland, Mass.--the graves are so placed that the headstones face west, that is, the body lies with the feet toward the east. Perhaps general in New England.
1242. Among Irish Catholics it is usual to place the body with the feet toward the door. The body of a young girl is usually draped in the robes of the society to which in her church she belonged. Over the corpse is constructed a white canopy, from one end of which images of white doves are often hung. At the feet is a stand or table, on which flowers are laid, and where, at night, candles are kept burning. Boston, Mass.
1243. Country people turn the mirror to face the wall while one lies dead in the house. Northern Ohio.
1244. While the corpse is in the house, the looking-glass must be turned toward the wall; otherwise, whoever looks into the mirror will die within the year. This custom is said to be most common among Irish Catholics, but it is not confined to them. Baldwinsville, N.Y.
1245. Bad luck (instead of death) is also said to follow violation of this rule. Washington, D.C.
1246. If, when any one dies, you put the coffin in any other room than the one the corpse is in, some other member of the family will die within a year. Western Massachusetts.
1247. "I have noticed at funerals of the aged, that when elderly people passed by the casket they would touch the forehead of the dead person. I was confident that there was some superstition connected with the act, because the same look was apparent on every face; but on being asked why this was done, they pretended it was bidding an old comrade good-bye. At last one told me that it was that they might not dream of the dead or see them." Westport, Mass.
1248. It is usual, after the conclusion of the funeral service, for the persons present at the ceremony to pass in front of the dead, and look on the face. Not to perform this token of respect is felt as a lack of propriety. It is not uncommon for the undertaker, or some person in charge of the proceedings, to say in a loud voice: "An opportunity is now offered to those who desire to look on the face of the corpse," or words to that effect. General in the United States.
1249. Only male relatives take part in the funeral procession. Philadelphia, Pa.
1250. In regard to the ceremonies at the grave, usage differs widely. In New England it is usual for near relatives to attend; and, in the case of important persons, for a procession to march to the cemetery. Among Catholics a great number of friends attend the hearse of persons in humble life.
1251. It is an old Connecticut custom that the yard gate should never be shut after being opened to let through a body being carried from its former home to the graveyard.
1252. The funeral procession must not cross a river. Baldwinsville, N.Y.
