The Literary echo, and Pawcatuck advertiser. [volume] (Westerly, R.I.) 1851-1854, 1852-01-15
OmenS and Prediction.

The mind Of man is always searching out
some cause for all the ills and pleasures of his
life, and as the ways of Providence are inscru.
table, the real causes not to be seen, he imme.
diately reverts to some circumstance, trivial in
itself, as the precursor of such calamity, or
good news, and calls it an omen or sign. That
it is natural for the'untutored mind thus to
revert to such imaginary causes, and believe
in their potency is seen from the fact that ju
every country, and among all tribes, will be
found some signs or representations which are
considered infalable, and the sight of which
will cause fear and dread, or pleasing emotions
in the breasts of all who have been taught to
believe in their efficacy. That faculty implant-
ell in the mind Of all men, which causes them
to seek cause for an effect, will naturally lead
them to refer to mysterious agency all occur
rences which cannot be accounted for upon
known principles and laws; and the unlearned
mind that has some omen for nearly every
event which takes place during his life
The objects Of these groundless fears are
almost innumerable. The position of the stars
and planets-the appearance of some comet or
meteor-thc aurora 6oreaIis, or northern
iights-the appearance Of the clouds and nearly
all the celestial phenomena are regarded as
omiuous Of impending calamities. The ignes
fa;ui, those harmless meteors which hover
about moist and fenny places in the night time,
and emit glimmerinS light, have been re.
garded as malicious spirits, endeavoring to-
fla..n tho I
destruction The ticking noise of the little in
sect called the dsath- -rdtch--a screech-owl
screaming at the window-a raven croakinc
over house-a dog bowling, or a COW lowing
in the night-time-a hare n SOW crossing
the road-the meeting Of a smoke in the road
the falling of salt from the table-the breaking
Of looking glass-or even the curling Of
fibre Of tallow in burning candle, called in
Scotland the dead speri, are regarded by some
with apprehensions Of terror as prognostics Of
impending diseases, or of approaching death.
tickling sensation in the ear-an itching of
the nose-a canker sore upon the tongue-the
point of falling needle sticking in the floor
cat scratching her left ear-two persons
saying the same thing at time--seeing the
new moon over the right or left shoulder-look-
ing in the glass after dark-the- breaking of a
particular bone from the breast of a chicken
the appearance of dregs of cup of tea-a
cock growing in the house-letting the victuals
fall from the mouth while eating taking an
article upon the plate before former supply is
exhausted-the peculiar arrangement of the
puplia of the skin in the palm of the hand
presenting n sharp instrument to q friend, and
a whole category, altogether /" to numerous to
MENTION are considered by many to be signs
Of some future event. The superstitions are
not confined to the illiterate and vulgar, but
are to be found ins,iled into the minds of many
men renowned for their learning. But it is to
be traced to their early training, in which
children are made to mind from fear of some
ghost or goblin, and which fear haunts them
forever after. Such course is highly to be
deprecated in parents-more towards are made,
more unhappy hours are caused by these
means than by hardly any other.
These signs and omens are gradually dis
appearing before the general distribution OF
science, and will we trust, be numbered among
the things that were.
Es5- We learn from the Providence Journa