Any one who is unable to explain why the thought resembles
the object he mentioned must pay a forfeit.
Two hazel-nuts are thrown into hot coals by maiden,
who secretly gives a lover’s name to each.
If one nut bursts, then that lover is unfaithful;
but if it burns with steady glow until it becomes ashes,
she knows that her lover is true. Sometimes it
happens, but not often, that both nuts burn steadily,
and then the maiden’s heart is sore perplexed.
Take half as many apples as guests, tie two long strings,
one red and one yellow, to each apple.
Place them in one large or several small baskets or
receptacles on a table. The girls choose the
red and the boys the yellow strings and at a signal
they carefully pull the strings and follow them up
until each finds his or her mate holding the string
of the opposite color, attached to the same apple.
The apples are then to be divided between each couple
and the seeds in each half, counted as follows:
One—I love thee.
Two—he (she) loves me.
Three—Wedded we will be.
Four—he (she) loves me dearly.
Five—he (she) loves me nearly.
Six—a friend forever.
Seven—we must sever.
Eight—we met too late.
Nine—why hesitate.
Ten—he (she) is my chosen mate.
Sit on round bottle laid lengthwise on floor, and
try to thread a needle. First to succeed will
be first married.
1. The dragon consists of half a pint of ignited
brandy or alcohol in a dish. As soon as brandy
is aflame, all lights are extinguished, and salt is
freely sprinkled in dish, imparting a corpse-like pallor
to every face. Candied fruits, figs, raisins,
sugared almonds, etc., are thrown in, and guests
snap for them with their fingers; person securing
most prizes from flames will meet his true love within
the year.
2. Or, slips of paper on which verses are written
are wrapped tightly in tin-foil and placed in dish.
Brandy is poured on and ignited. The verse each
person gets is supposed to tell his fortune.
Place burning dish in middle of bare table, for drops
of burning spirits are often splashed about.
Carve all the letters of the alphabet on a medium
sized pumpkin. Put it on a dish and set on a
stand or table. Each guest in turn is blindfolded
and given a hat-pin, then led to pumpkin, where he
(she) is expected to stick pin into one of the letters
on the pumpkin, thus indicating the initial of future
life-partner.
Take water and meal and make dough. Write on
slips of paper names of several of opposite sex friends;
roll papers into balls of dough and drop them into
water. First name to appear will be future husband
or wife.
