The belief that
"tokens" or warnings often presaged death
was still in general acceptance by 1930.
A story is told of
a woman living in St. Ives who, while her mother lay
dying, she heard distinct tapping at her window. She
looked out of the window but could see nothing, so
she dismissed it until a few days later when the
tapping occurred again more distinctly. She now
thought she was receiving a warning of her mother's
death, who in fact died a few days later.
Her neighbors
maintained, however, that she had forgotten that she
had mended a broken pane of glass with some bread
dough when she had no window putty.
