Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1878-11-15

! HhpeFhhAuFht " aFhihkH'
Ia social gatherings some Of the guests ar
often inclined to amuso and entertain tho
company, by reoounting some of the wonder
| ful signs or "omons,' which the ignorant
and superstitious Of the oldcn times regarded
as sent from above, TO guide them in the
! right way or warn them Of impending dan
| ger Indeed, it is not always those who can
be classed with the ignorantly supcrstitous
| who are influenced by these tokens, even if
in their hearts they are not aware of an undc-
| fined faith in them. Yet one will notice, if
in large company accidentally thEown to-
| gether, these relics of bygone days are dis
| cussed without premedtation scarcely two
out of ten giving the same Interpretation.
One speaks of an ancient superstition hand
| ed down from his ancestors as bad sign -
but another will instantly reply -
"Oh, no was always told that was a
| good sign"
1t is seldom that housekeeper can per-
suade a servant, particularly if she is Irish,
to begin her work in new place on Friday,
| no matter how urgent the case mny be but
| they are perfectly willing to come Saturday.
Sailors, however think Friday the best time
to start on II voyage, yet are not quite salts
fed if they leave the shore Saturday. They
are sure it will be an unlucky voyage.
talking in the cars. Ono took of her glove
and her companion exclaimed, as she took up
her hand -
"Oh, Minnie Look at the white specks
on your nails. They are covered with them.
What naughty girl you must be, said She,
laughing merrily.
why? My mother says those specks are
a sign I have bruised the nail little Is
there anything naughty in that =
My grandmother says replied the first,
when she sees them on my nails, that they
never come unless I have told lie; and do
you know think she really believes have.
But | know there isn't word Of truth in it. "
"Well,' said the third, II guess these
signs are all nonsense. / am always told il
n white spock comes on my rails its u sign
of good luck. But mamma always tells me
to be good girl and pay no attention to these
silly signs
We knew q young lady whose engagement
ring broke on her finger while she lay dan
gerously i'll. Among many to this day this is
n sure sign of speedy death. If the young
lady's mother had not taught her more sensi-
BILE lessons, and at the moment of this occur
renee enforced them by her own cheerful re-
marks as she picked up the fragments, the
little accident, coming when the young girl
was i'll, might have had serious effects. But
she is an old lady now, and has taught her
children to give no heed to the many super
stitions that even nov are repeated to chill
dren without their parents knowledge. by
servants and many others who should have
more sense.
We have watched with the sick who would
become almost wild if dog howled near
their window or an owl was heard at night
near the house.
We were once most solemnly urged by n
niao old lnlt. 10 gtyollpyp tho oh
one of our children lost, because if We did
not the child would never have any new
growth of teeth Was there ever anything
more absurdI And yet it is not many years
since this advice was given, and by one who
in every other respect, was wise and sensible
We have heard this often repeated by nurse
girls from the old country.
One of our children having the whoopiug-
cough, a German woman insisted that the
child should be held by the feet, face down
ward, and cough in each corner of the room,
beginning at the north and ending at the east
corner, and then thCre would be 10 danger Of
the childs dying!
when a mouse gnaws u dress some mis-
fortune will follow" OF course, The dress
and that is misfortune enough-is injured
and must be mended.
Before moving into new house, bread
and Il new broom must be sent in the first
thing, or the owners will be unlucky"
There is no end to these absurdities. and
we only notice them to put parents, mothers
particularly, on their guard, so that if such
signs" are told their children, they may
make haste to counteract any wrong impress
sion which a young child may receive, by
showing the absurdity of it. 1t is much more
common than is generally known for mothers
to repeat such foolish things without giving
the antidote, if, indeed, they have not them
selves brought down from their grandmothers'
stories some small superstitions, which so far
influence their own minds that they are not
quite ready to prevent them from taking root
in their chldrens. But it is from the nurses
to whose care our young children are too
often committed that the most permanent
mischief comes Most of that class have
firm faith in many of these 'signs," and are
not slow in matchmaking the little ones in
their charge into the same belief and for
that reason chiefly We call attention to the
evil.
Many of these supersttions may do our
children no harm only so far as it is mis-
take to allow young child's mind to be
filed with such trash but many of the les
SONS taught by illiterate and imaginative
nurses take root and have an injurious inhu-
ence, of which the mother has no idea. The
timidity which many little ones manifest, and
Whlch OIten is torment 10 lhem through lle,
could be traced back to the wild ghost storiesof
their nurses, which are usually authenticated
by some "omen." "We knew" they tell the
children, "this terrible thing would happen,
because we saw or heard certain things that
betoken Just such troubles or accidents" aud
this "sign" is remembered by the child there
after.
Almost every child who is afraid in the
dark has been made so from very early years
by some "sign" born from darkness, or fear
full story of which that "sign" was the fore
runner. When a mother finds her child is
afraid in the dark, she may be sure that some
thing has been told the little one that has
created this fear, or that she herself has been
injudicious in talking to the little folks. The
sooner she counteracts this influence and
overcomes the fear the better for the child,
No one but those who have suffered from
such fears can imagine all the horrors that a
timid child sees in the dark. Judicious, gen.
tle loving parents are the best physicians for
such diseases, and to keep them close by the
mothers side, or, if nurse is absolutely nee
essary, 10 keep close watch of her mode of
talking TO the children, is the best preven-
tive. Christian Union.