Gold Hill daily news. [volume] (Gold Hill, N.T. [Nev.]) 1863-1882, 1871-11-11
srprnsr1r1ous People.

NuNALAOh N~A ii
ONE minds. Even mem who fancy
clear Of the weakness, and
vho would stoutly deny all faith In
hese old fancies, bctray their tacit
aith in them unconsciously. Some
persons, for example, cannot bear the
rash Of n broken mirror without an
,oyance much greater than tho mere
yoss OF tho article would occasion.
And there are many other little fan
Ties which get into mems minds, they
know not how, but which no amount
Of reasoning can efface from their re-
membrance. A sinister glance from a
face IL more irritating to
most people than even abusive words.
OF course such a look Is d~lsagreeable
for the malice it implies but-there Is
In the natural aversion to It a trace,
and sometimes more than q trace Of
the old superstition about the "erll
Like most other superstitions,
IL comes from the East, tho cradle Of
the human race, and Of course the
source Of human fancies and supersti-
lions. The "evil eye" IS supposed
to be most dangerous and potent when
the victim of 1t is enjoying himself, In
rest, or in fsasting; and Eastern peo-
pie are for this reason much disturbed
when strangers enter where they are
eating and drinking. The "evil eye"
like many other %follies, Is made to
excuse or p~alllate slovenliness. "Bet-
ter all the hair on q cows back In the
butter" Is an old European proverb'
"than one glance Of an lll-eye ~
Some writers, who strive to discover
natural reasons for oil things natural
and unnatural, possible and impossi-
Bile, discover a reason for the superstl'
ton In the torrld SUI Of warm coun-
tries, and In the imputed mischief OF
the moon-beams, In the civilizations Of
swamps and the malaria Of marshes.
These causes unquestlonably produce
i'll effects, and so do the neglect OF
cleanliness and inattcntion to proper
precautions induce disease. 1t is easy
to attribute these misfortunes to the
"eyil eye," but there must first be the
faith In that sinister influence before 1t
could be cited as the cause of disease
The "evil eye" prevents butter from
looming" In the country, and pro,
duces various disasters In the town:
with which sun, nor moon, nor will-'o'
the-wisp have anything to do. The
moon has much to answer for, In the
fortunes and mlsfortunes Of supersti
tious people. There are, to this day,
those who will not butcher pigs while
the moon IL waning, lest the porl
should shrink in boiling; nor plant
seeds In the "down sign" lest they
should not come up. People will lool
at the profile Of the new moon, ant
pronounce oracularly whether thu
month IL to be dry or wet. A certain
magical importance Is given to thu
state Of the weather when the moor
"changes;" that Is to say, when thu
f" -
almanac marks tho quarter, as II thu
moon were not changing all the time
In small and primitive seaport towns
It Is verify believed that while the tide
Il rising q sick person cannot die, ant
that life will not 60 till 1t GIBBS GU
with the tide. 70 revert again to TIT
moon, the word "lunatic," of uniyer
sal application to insane persons, Il
only a potter form of moon-struck
the moon having been once held an
swerable for all dementia. Herbs TO-
medical purposes were once gathered
with great care at certain times In the
moons age. Southey, in one of hi
books, has preserved an account Of nj
ancient superstition, viz: that wart;
on the hands could be cured by wash
ing them in the 'moonshine In n silver
basin /; that Is, going through the form
Of washing without water in the moon
light. And, speaking Of warts ant
excrescenses, recalls tho fact chat Il
this day many people will affirm tha'
they have had warts removed BY
"pow-wowing," which means the
muttering Of some senseless jargor
over them. Among the forms Of su
perstition most mischieyous Is the be
lief In fortune-telling. 1t Is worse
than mere superstition, because the
pretcnders to fortune-telling do moi
merely cheat their dupes out Of money
more or less, but are not unfrequently
engaged in the very worst practices
and pursuits. They are agents ant
abettors Of the wretched class who
corrupt youth and betray innocence
In London these panderers to intquitJ
are vigorously prosecuted whenever
witnesses can be secured against them
This It Is not easy to do. as the dupe'
prefer rather to submit to imposition
than to expose their own folly. The
same difficulty IS in the way In TIL:
country /; and in our large cities many
impostors who deserve the peniten'
tiary, 60 unwhipped Of Justice because
their victims are ashamed, and would
rather themselves forget their folly
than make 1t public by testifyins
against their decelvers. 1t Is some
times regretted that In this country
we have no legends, no antiquity-in
a word, but q limited degree of the
poetry Of superstition, nonsense. But
there are some advantages In a new
country. While we have traces Of old
superstitlons, and while there are moi
a few persons who ara prone to credit
old wives fables, 1t is a matter Of con
graduation that steam, the printing