Chapter IV

PORTENTS OR OMENS, AUGURIES, LUCKY NUMBERS, AND DREAMS.

Upsetting the Oil Jar—Crows, Magpies and Ducks—Dogs and
Cats—Crowing Hens—Swallows—Owls—Setting an Even Number of
Eggs—Superstitions as to Mirrors—Crooked Paths—Eclipses, Comets,
and Stars—Bells—Drawing Water at Certain Hours on a given
Date—Omens of Personal Sensation, Itching, Shivering, Sneezing
&c.—A Shaky Finger—Trousers—Sitting in a Warm Chair—Meeting a
Funeral or Coffin—People with Joined Eyebrows—Itching of the Palm
and Specks on the Nails—The First Words heard after making a
Resolution—Casting Lots—Lucky Numbers, 3, 5, and 7—Numerical
Categories—Even Numbers, Lucky—Chinese beliefs as to
Dreams—Comparison of Chinese and Japanese Superstitions as to
Dreams, pp. 33–45.