American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1874-09-12
Singular Antipathies.


with an unreasonable dislike of spiders,
which some of his friends thought was
more affected than real. One of the
doubters, Mr.. John Murray, atterward
Duke of Athole, meeting MIR. Matthew
in company, and desiring to raise a
.l.figh at his expense, left the room for
a few minutes. On returning he walked
up to his victim with one hand closed.
Believing the clenched fingers held n
spider, Mr.. Matthew became furious,
drew his sword, and but for timely in
terposition would have done mischief
to himself or his tormentor. He was
only quoted on being satisfied that Muir
rays hand was empty \ prisoner in
the Bastile, who detested mice and hated
spiders, had his feelings under better
control. Having obtained permission to
solaee. himself with a lutte, he was horrl-
fed to find his music attracted crowds of
loug-legged spinners and bright eyed
mice. who formed a circle round him as
long as he continued playing. 10th to
deprive himself of his amusement, but
una BILE to enjoy it in the presence of such
an audience, the musician borrowed the
keepers cat, which he put in cage, and
let loose upon his unlimited visitors when
they were most entranced with the lutte.
The cat went in for the mice, the spiders
staid not for ceremonial leave taking,
as select as he could wish.
Everybody knows what those who love
not the concord of sweet sounds are fit
for, and Pepys might well be astonished
to hear Lord Lauderdale vow he had
rather hear a cat NEW than listen to the
best music in the world; that the better
the music the more sick it made him,
his especial aversion being the lutte and
the bagpipes. Oddly enough, Pepys,
affect him unpleasantly too, at least
upon one occasion. Going to see the
Virgin Martyr he was ravished by the
wind-music when the angel came down :;
Indeed" says he, Il did wrap up my
soul so that it made me really sick, just
as have formerly been when in love
with my wife; that neither then nor all
the evening going home and at home
. was able to think of anything, but re-
manned all night transported so as
could not believe that ever any music
hath command over the soul of a
man as this did upon me-" Music had
no charms for thunder-loving La Motto
de Vayer who hated all musical sounds
as thoroughly as a certain French officer
hated the martial roll of the drum; this
latter gentleman, who had clearly no
business TO be in the army, soon took his
discharge by falling dead at the sound
of the tattoo. The ringing of a bell suf-
feed to send a sensitive fair one into IA
fit; Boyle's philosophy was not proof
against the sound of splashing water;
Augustus and Caligula forgot their dig
nifty when thunder was about; Lamar
tine. was Mortified if Delphine Gay
laughed, although the lady laughed well.
: He was as much shocked as Byron pre-
tended to be if he saw a woman eat; and
-oddest of all aural antipathies-the ut
terance of the word lame" sent a Span
ish gentleman into a syncOpe and an
Englishman nearly gave up the ghost if
he heard the fifty-.hird chapter of Isaiah
read aloud.
The secretary of Francis /. used to
stop up his nostrils with bread if he saw
dish of apples, to prevent an otherwise
inevitable bleeding at the nose. A Pol
ish king had an antipathy to both the
smell and sight of this wholesome fruit,
and family of Aquitaine had hered-
itary hatred of it. A Flemish damsel
was sadly troubled by an uncOnquerable
aversion to the smell of bread. Cheese,
mutton, musk and ambergris have been
SO repugnant to some nasal organs as to
send their owners into commissions.
Gretry, the composer, could not endure
the scent of the rose; neither could Anne
of Austria. The mere sight of the queen
of flowers was too much for Lady Hen
cage, bedchamber-woman to Queen Bess :;
indeed, Kenelm Digby records that her
cheek became blistered when some one
laid a white rose upon it as she slept.
Her ladyship's antipathy was almost as
strong as that of the dame who tainted
when her lover approached her wearing
an. artificial rose in his button-hole. A
violet was thing of horror to the eyes
of the Princess de Lambelle; tansy was
abominable to the Earl of Barrymore :;
Scaliger grew pale before the water
cress; and IA soldier who would have
scorned to turn his back on a foe fled
without shame from sprig of rue.
\ poor Neapolitan was always seized
with fit upon attempting to swallow a
morsel of flesh-meat Of any kind, and ma
ture thus condemned him to vegetarian
ism; sorer infliction than that suffered
by Guianerius, whose heart palpitated
violently if he INDUCED in a pork dinner.
DIR. PrOut had a patient who declared
honest mutton was as bad as poison to
him. Thinking this was all fancy, the
doctor administered the obnoxious meat
under various DISCUSSES, but every eX-
pertinent ended in a severe vomiting fit.
Another unlucky individual always had
fit of the govt few hours after eating
fish; and a Count d'Armstadt never
failed to go off in a fit if he knowingly or
unknowingly partook of any dish CON
tanning the slightest modicum of olive
OIL n still. worse penalty attached to
lobster salad in the case of a lady, for if
she ventured to taste it at dancing
party her neck, before she returned to
the ballroom, would be covered with
ugly blotches and her peace of mind de-
stroyed for that evening.
Montaigne rather plumed himself upon
his antipathy to physic and physicians,
an inherited antipathy of two centuries
standing, springing out of secret and
natural family instinct. He boosted that
his great grandfather lived almost four
score years, his grandfather sixty nine,
and his father seventy-five years without
tasting physic, the sight of IA potion be-
ing loathsome to their eyes. An uncle,
"A valetudinarian from birth, made his
crazy life hold on for sixty-seven years
by steadfastly keeping the doctors at
bay He would not have shown the
complaisance of the man in the play,
who once in his life took dose of physic
in compliment to cousin who had set
up as an apothecary; for, when attacked
by serious fever, and warned by the
physicians his alarmed servants had
summoned that if he would not allow
them to help him he would surely die,
the obstinate old fellow replied: Il am
dead man them" Fortunately he lived
10 laugh at their prophecy. Equally de-
termined, If not so clever at defending
her determination, was bricklayer's
wife, who died not long ago at the age OF
eighty-four. Whatever allied her she
never would have the doctor called in
believing if once she swallowed any
doctors stuff there would be an end o.
her, and the old lady went out of tn,
world in the faith that she had RENAME,