True American. [volume] (Steubenville [Ohio]) 1855-1861, 1858-03-03
LITERARY 31.77i ed !
Superstition.

: In reading the history Of our matter o
fact forefathers, we are astonished at thei
ignorance and utter childish innocence in
their beliefof witches, Wizards and ghosts
and shocked at the cruelties perpetratet
upon the poor wretches suspected of the
practice of dealing with familiar spirits
and devils. But century ago, it woult
cost an old woman her life to have in hel
possession black cat or an old broom
the black cat was her familiar spirit, and
the broom, the horse upon which she rode
through the air to the grand witch meetings
where all manner of diabolical crimes were
concOcted over a see thing cauldron Of hor-
rid combination. If a young maiden had
a mole between her shoulders or nnder her
armpits, and it was by accident discovered
1t was a sure sign which was well liknown
to professional witch-fnders, whose busi-
ness it was to search out those things,
that she had sold herself to the devil, and
was eternally lost, and she was drowned
or burned to give the devil his due in quick
er time than bargained for. Grave and
learned men believed and advocated such
horribly absurd ideas, and we are absolute
ly shocked while reading the necessity Of
Furnishing witches as put forth by Chief
Justice Hale, one ofthe most upright and
learned Judges that England ever produced.
And that a man so learned in the Scrip
lures as Cotton Mather, Of New England,
should ever waste his learning in proving
the existence of witchcraft in Salem and
other places in Massachusetts,. o., (
The very mode of detecting witches was
in itself the very acme Of absurd supersti-
tion. One was to bind the supposed witch
fast and throw her into pond of water
If she could swim, she was certainly o
witch, and was at once taken out and bur-
ned, If she sunk and was drowned, she
was acquitted, so the test ended always in
death. Another was to compel her to
walk over burning Goals or red hot plough
shares barefoot, if, her feet were burnt she
was acquitted, but of course was a ruined
cripple for life, If she escaped unscathed,
she was condemned and burnt alive. Not
two centuries have passed since such things
were common. w "a'"' g''''' 11. '.'H
We would have supposed that the pro-
gress of enlightenment would, ut least in
civilized countries, have caused such gu
perstition to cease; so far as regards the
punishment Of witches, it has, but as re-
CARDS the belief in fortune tellers, witches,
spiritual influences, and many such other
folies, the world has never ran as mad as
at the present time. Indeed, the increase
of such superstitions has become really
alarming and either indicates great mo-
raj deterioration or On uncommonly disea-
sed public mind. q" ~ a''''F % 1h !.
a'one Superstition which has been handed
down by our forefathers, and is still adhe-i
red to with tenacity by men who should
have more common sense is belief in the
influence ofthe signs of the zodiac. There
is,a certain sign in the rule of which they
must kill their meat, ce rtain others in
which they must plough, and plant, and
cut wood and o hundred other things. We
have closely watched the result Of such
close attention to signs, and all the differ.
ence we could ever discover was that they
never succeed eded as well as their more sen.
'sible neighbors, who paid no attention to
such nonsense. Yet they will not change.
Another folly is, that the position Of the
new moon has influence upon the weather,
IT far north, il indicated cold, If south heat
if lying on its back, dry weather, if nearly
perpendicular, wet, Do those absurd lu-
mar prognosticators know that every change
in the moon is arranged with perfect reg
ularity, and every variation is gone thro'
at fixed times, which every astronomer
can calculate! If'these signs indicate
what they are declared to do, our weather
would be as regular as a clock, and we
could by reference to our astronomical Ia
bic foresee oil changes. ''-''i"s =
The belief in fortune telling now exceeds
all former ages, the number of those hol-
ding forth lin our cities is astonishing.
most of, them have consulters enough to
support them in competency, while not a
few become very rich. We scarcely meet
a person who has not some instance to re-
late Of the truth of fortune telling, but we
rarely find one who is a partaker in the
good fortune. But the most alarming in
dication of diseased public mind, is the
great spread Of the belief in Spiritualism.
This most sublimely grand humbug Of
humbugged age, has taken root that no.
thing but time and return to healthy
state Of mind can destroy. IfSpiritualism
is true, what good has It done, OF what
good can 1t do! What is It's end and oh.