Eastern times. [volume] (Bath, Me.) 1846-1857, 1850-10-10
Superstition.
AMUSING .sEcDoTE OF GENERAL wALsrE1s

AMUSING ASEcDoTE OF eENERAL wALsTEIN.
1t is singular, but it is true, that supertiton
prevails in this day of knowledge. 1t is an
impossibility to reason people out of the belief
that the breaking Of looking glass, the howl
ing of dog, the lowing of a at night the
gnawing of an insect upon the wall, &c, prog
nosticate the near approach Of death to some
member of the family After the death of
child a brother or parent, we have heard
persons remark, with all sincerity-'l knew
some one would die; was forewarned of it
| heard groan one day under the window, and
no one was there We have also heard the
remark after the death of friend--I expected
tour dog dug several graves in the yard and
these were the signs of DEATH Foolish as
this language may appear, we have heard it
time and again, especially from those who live
in the country and are less informed. These
very persons who are thus superstltious, had
they lived in the days of Mather, wonld have
been believers in withcraft, ghosts and hobgob-
lins. And while they are thus delnded, they
are wretched. The barking of every dog
the burning of every candle-the breaking of
every glass-makes them turn pale with fear.
They are warned of death by every breeze
Night brings them but little repose. The
death tick may be heard or they may be WARM
ed of the grim destroyer in terrible dream.
Gen. Walstein, who lived in the seventeenth
century, was singularly supersttious, though
he was brave and intrepid on the field of battle.
In 1925, while planning one of his campaigns,
he sat up all night, as usual on such occa-
sions, to consult the stars. Sitting by his win
dow, but in contemplation, he felt himself
violently struck OH the back. Feeling that he
was alone, and his chamber door locked, he
was seized with alright. He doubted not his
message was from God, to warn him of his
speedy death. He became melancholy bnt his
friends knew not the cause. His confession,
howeve, discovered the cause, and one of the
pages of the General confessed that, being in
tent on playing a trick on one Of his comrades,
he had hid himself in Walstein's apartment,
and mistaking him for his friend, had struck
him on the back. While his master was ex-
amining the room he jumped out of the win
dow. The confessor pledged himself that no
harm should befall the page, and felt happy to
be able to quiet the General. Great was his
surprise when he heard Walstein order the i'm
mediate hanging of the young man. He would
hear no words-the gibbet was prepared, the
page delivered up, the executioner provided
The whole army, from the highest officer to
the lowest in rank, felt indignant towards the
General while the confessor threw himself at
the feet of Walstein, begging for the life of
the youth-but in vain. The page mounted
the ladder, and in a moment the unfortunate
youth would have been in eternity, when sud-
denly the General cried out-'Stopn and in
loud voice excaimed-'Well, young man,
have you now experienced what the fears Of
death are. | have served you as you served
me-now we are quits More dead than alive,
the poor youth descended from the gibbet amid
shouts of joy from the whole army.
Thousands of people suffer from their super
stitious notions, when, if the cause of certain
noises and signs were explained, they would
see at once how foolish they had been. There
is natural cause for every thing. The DEATH
tick in the wall is from severe exertion, or over
eating. The faces and forms we imagine we
see before MS, are caused by defecti in our vision
We have warnings enough in the falling
leaves-the decay Of nature and the death Of
friends-without making ourselves eternally
miserable by any superstitions.