Ethel Mortons Holidays | Page 5

Helen reassured her. "What you are to do is to dip the fingers of your left hand into one of these saucers. If it proves to be the one with the clear water you'll marry a bachelor; if it's the sandy one he'll be a widower, and if it's the empty one you'll be a spinster to your dying day."
"You have three tries," cried Ethel Blue, "and the saucers are changed after each trial, so you have to touch the same one twice to be sure you really know your fate. Are you ready?"
"I'm ready," and Della bravely though cautiously dipped the finger tips of her left hand into the bowl of sandy water.
A cheer greeted this result.
"A widower, a widower," they all cried.
Helen changed the position of the saucers and Della made another trial. This time the Fates booked her as a spinster.
"That's the least trouble of anything," decided roly poly Della who took life carelessly.
A third attempt proved that a widower was to be her future helpmate, for her fingers went into the sandy saucer for a second time.
"I only hope he won't be an oldy old widower," said Della thoughtfully. "I couldn't bear to think of marrying any one as old as Edward."
"I'll thank you to take notice that I haven't got a foot in the grave just yet, young woman," retorted her brother.
While some of the others tried their fate by the saucer method, the rest endeavored to learn their future occupations by means of pouring melted lead through the handle of a key. Roger brought in a tiny kettle of lead from the kitchen where Mary had heated it for them and set it down on a small table on a tea pot stand, so that the heat should not injure the wood. Taking a large key in his left hand he dipped a spoon into the lead with his right and poured the contents slowly through the ring at the end of the handle of the key into a bowl of cold water. The sudden chill stiffened the lead into curious shapes and from them those who were clever at translating were to discover what the future held for them in the way of occupation.
"Mine looks more like a spinning wheel than anything else," said Roger who had done it first so that the rest might see how it was accomplished.
"Perhaps that means that you'll be a manufacturer of cloth," suggested Margaret. "Mine looks more like a cabbage than anything else. You don't think it can mean that I shall have to devote myself to that husband I pulled out of the cabbage patch?"
"It may. Or it might mean that you'll be a gardener. Lots of women are going in for gardening now. By the time you're ready to start that may be a favored occupation for girls," said Dr. Watkins.
"Here are several things that we can do one at a time while the rest of us are doing something else," said Helen. "They have to be done alone or the spell won't work."
"Let's hear them," begged Gregory, while he and the others grouped themselves about the open fire in the living room and prepared to burn nuts.
"The first one, according to Burns, is to go alone to the kiln and put a clew of yarn in the kiln pot."
"What does that mean translated into Rosemont language?" demanded James.
"James the Scotsman asks for information! However, there's some excuse for him. Translated into Rosemont language it means that you go to the laundry and put a ball of yarn into the wash boiler."
"Easy so far."
"Take an end of the ball and begin to wind the yarn into a new ball. When you come near the end you'll find that something or some one will be holding it--"
"Roger, I'll bet!"
"You demand to know the name of your future wife and a hollow voice from out the wash boiler will tell you her name."
"I shan't try that one. There's too good a chance for Roger to put in some of his tricks. What's the next?"
"Take a candle and go to the Witches' Cave--that's the dining room--and stand in front of the looking glass that's on a little table in the corner, and eat an apple. The face of your future wife or husband will appear over your shoulder."
"I'll try that. I could stand a face that kept still, but to have an unknown creature pulling my yarn and bawling my wife's name would upset my nerves!"
"Here's the last one. Go into the garden just as we did to pull the kale. Over at the right hand side there's a stack of barley. It's really corn, but we've re-christened it for tonight. You measure it three times round with your arms and at the end of the third