M. T. Mansfield

“ An infant under four months old must not be laid on a table, or else it will be ever after afraid of thunder. If a baby-girl puts out her tongue and makes a sputtering noise, it is a sure sign of rain; while if a baby-boy indulges in the apparently innocent distraction, it will blow hard before the week is over. If a baby-girl's hands are fat and thick, the amah rejoices, and tells you that she will never do any hard work, but that she will enjoy life and marry a rich husband. ”

“ The elder of the two girls was called Ah Ko, and had; lately married Ah Saw's (the other girl) brother. She had come (Chinese fashion) to live with her mother-in-law, and, needless to relate, the young husband was still very much in love. The mother who, like all Chinese women, was a slave to her son was very lavish of her attentions to the youthful bride, and in her desire to please her son was perhaps more anxious for her welfare than for that of her own daughter. ”

“ It is commonly called "Ah tee tai tai," and "the black bean bird."
Once upon a time there lived a man whose first wife died in giving birth to a little son. The father, who had not been married long enough to grow tired of matrimony, resolved to renew the experiment, and consequently looked round for a second wife. In spite of the immense quantities of babies destroyed at their birth, for the only reason that they are born a girl, women are still very plentiful in China, and it is almost as easy to find a wife there as it is in England ”

“ Much dark and rainy weather is sure to follow a thunderstorm if it takes place before the 27th of the first Chinese month, and a typhoon season is generally predicted if the wind blows from the south on the 11th of the first Chinese month.
On the last day of the old year, rats are said to be running here, there, and everywhere, seeking their mates, and availing themselves of such a good opportunity for eavesdropping. If they hear nothing said about them in a house, well and good; they will not trouble themselves to go to that house again. ”

“ They have the greatest objection—in fact they absolutely refuse—to enter a room in which a woman has given birth to a child if they have attended a wedding during the previous month. They are afraid of bringing bad luck, not to the mother, but to the newly-wedded pair. ”