Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1857-12-11
Friday an Unl!Icky Day.

/ - A'AS' Aih- b~oS htJ ~ JtO'S tllo, IL W.
woald only take the tr, ublc so to do
is to collect and adluco groups ofinstan
ces in which joys and successes, happy
enterprises, fortunate determination,
world-improvins schemes, have been
initiated on Friday. Do not, good read
cr, deem this process of proof beneath
you it is always worth while to remov,
prcJudices for to show the f,llacy o
aught that is untrue, is to render dat
allcg giance to that august lady who i,
said by some learned men to " live at thu
bottom Of a we'll"
N3t that we can ever remove sucl
prejndices entirely. To whatever sub.
jet science has not yet reached, there
llck and ill-lac't maintain sovereignty
in popular belief. Lucky numbers have
ha! prodigIous reputation ever since
the days of the astrologers, and lcng be-
fore. Three, four five. six, seven. nine
ten, twelve, twenty yone-all have had
advocates, as being numbers to which
certain special attributes pertain. Num-
Der seven had a long reign. but it is be-
ing gradually deposed; for the talk of
seven planets will no longer accord with
the discoveries Of modern times. We
kn9w-nlccd the numbers of such be-
licveers is still conslderable-a person of
clucation and general good sense, who
would refuse to 81. down at table if the
number Of diners were thirteen; he
would rather have a domestic servant
included among the guests, or would 90
without his own dinner, or would retain
snpplem entary guest at hand for
cxisencies, than be placed under the
cloud of the dreaded thirteen. Ask him
why; he can only say it i, :. unlucly."
Ask him why it is unlueky he can only
say, 'because it is" Ia theoll
days of lotteries, when it was optional
IN the purchasers to select ticket Of any
particular number, the theory of lucky
and unuoky numbers was in full power
Some alventurcr in the lottery would
select the number representing lis own
age, another, the carrcut year Of the
Christian era; another, the year IN which
h. was boin; another, the number of
pounds in the greatest prize; another, a
number revealed to him in a dream.
The Spectator diecourscs Of a noncon-
formist, who being a great enemy 10 pop
cry, and believing tha. bad m:n are the
most fortunate il this world, selected
Cog against any other number, because
1t is the number Of the Beast. Lpttor-
les are now dead by law in England;
but e: us only look down the advertising
columns Of the sporting newspapers, and
consider how astounding is the crcdulity
there implied seeing that men vii give
money to knaviSl charlatans for the
expression Of a guess concarnin, the
name of the horse that will win in the
forthcoming Derby, Oaks, or ST. L,5cr
race. If a man would toss heads and
tails with himself, it would be better;
tor tAc Saess would be jast as good, and
he would save the caariatan fee; but
in either case, it IS relic o! the old feel
Ing, 4 belief in lucky Numbers or lucky
ntmas.
Certain days of the year have had cc-
lehrtv, either as llcky or unlucky days
sometime, only in the thoughts Of ind
yilaalS, bat occasionally throughout
wide circles of society. There was Il
queer little volume published two csntu-
RES ago, something midway il character
between Buchan's Domestic Medicine
and the Young Mans Best Comptnion,
in which it is said; six days Of the year
are peri!ouS ot cath AMI therefore phi :
losophers forbid men to let blood on
them, or take any drink; that is to say
January 3, July |, October =, April so,
August |, December 2l. These six
days with great diligence ought to be
kept, but mainly the latter three, for
all the veins are then full. If any child
be born in these three latter days, they
shall die a wicked DEATH In an old Ro-
man calender, on the 18th of December,
prognostications Of the weather were
drawn for the whole year. Another
old weather-book asserts tuat the feast
Of ST. Barnabas and the feast of St
Simon and St. Jude are often tcmpcstu-
ons days. \ writer of the EliZabethian
times enumerated no less than sixty
unluc1y days in the year the month
of January was especially unfortunate
in this matter; for the lst, 2l, 18th, 5th
10th. 18th, Eth. and Goth days of this
month were included in the do'eful cat
alogue, The ancients had their dies al
ibi and dies atri --"white days and
"black days" St. Augustine, in com
mantins on a passage in St, Pauls epis
tie to the Galatians, says that it wa;
meant to apply to those persons who
regulated their conduct BY reference tc
the particular day Of the month, or tc
the are of the moon, or to the relative
position of the planats, or to the yeal
being leap-year, &o. There are many
old missals and breviarics. produced be
fore the days of printing, which contain
sort Of calendar in Latin, enumeratins
the days in the year which are to be re-
garded as unlucky; these are January
AMI I, FEBRUARY and 4, March / and 4
April 10 and IL. May 3 and 7, Juue l(
and l5, July 10 and l3, Aug. and 2
Sept. and 10, Oct. 3 and 10, Nov. 3
and 5, Dec. I and 10; al kinds of mis-
eres-swords, staying, dying, blood
| wounds drinking to death. treachery