The Portland daily press., 1879-03-29

In Ireland when peasant sees a cloud OF
dust driven before the wind he raises his hat
and says "God speed you, gentlemen" He
is propitiating the Eastern Djinns, the wind
demons, the terrible destroying sirocco and
simeon. The Yankee who would thus doff
bis hat would do 1t in honor of quite another
deity, Plutos, or in admiration of one who
was smart enough to "raise the wind" But
In other ways we are as superstitious as any
Wearer OF the green. Our language itself is
in many words recognition of old beliefs.
Even when we say we ''abominate'' super
stition we use the Latin phrase signifying ill
omen. To-day we talk of elf-locks and there
in recognize that malicious trick of the
fairies was to tangle the hair of those thew
disliked. We speak of Fascination" The
word carries US back to the corn-processions
of Latium and the women with tacini about
their heads. The observance lives to-day in
the "Roga.ions'' of the Catholic Church.
Later the word came to be applied to the
power of the eye. The belief in the "eyil
eye' exists in Italy now; and few years
since pilgrims who kuelt to ask the blessing
OF Plus TX. crossed their fingers to ward off
the evil influence of his look. Most of us
believe in coed luck. Luck is simply the
"good look" of a star, the favorable regard of
disembodied spirit who feels kindly toward
us. In Russia stars are still thought to be
the eyes of good men, as in Australia they
are thought to be the souls-the nomina be-
coming numira.
Examples of the survival of superstitions
might be multiplied, but these given may
suffice. One superstition which has, unfor-
tunately, died out with some, is by an un-
comfortable law of compensation carried to
fanatical extreme by others. German chill
dren are taught not to slam the doors for fear
they may pinch the souls of ancestors who
are coming in to visit the family hearth.
Our children either persist in sammipg
doors, or, carrying their faith in the old be-
lief to the extreme of bigotry, will not shut
them at all, doubtless thinking they may
squeeze the names unawares. Unhappily
they cannot shake off the childish terror after
they come to mature years.
Many of these superstitions of ours are
lightly held. most of them, in fact As long
as it is just as easy to dress the right foot be-
fore the left, to pick up apin as to leave it,
we do these things. When we see an ad-
vantage in abandoning the practices we make
short work of them. Yorick once knew
man, a liar, cheat, and given to foul living,
who never let Sunday pass without reading
a chapter in the Bible. He made no profess
sions to piety, scoffed at religion, affected to
distrust church members, and looked upon
morality as foolish device for the curtail-
ment of pleasure; but he'had superstitious
belief that Bible reading once week was an
aid to him-might help him to cheat his
neighbor when Monday came. Doubtless he
weuld have abandoned his readings if they
had cost him trouble or time he thought val
liable. He is dead now, and perhaps has
learned the worthlessness of superstitious
observances. But his case is in degree the
case of many of us. We cling to idle observ-
ances that cost US little and put faith In them.
Had we to struggle, Through much tribula-
tion," for the privilege of the observances,
very likely we should abandon them.
| Very many Of the old beliefs now only ex-
ist in the fairy stories that delight our chill
dren. The comparative mythologists have
taught us that. We have learned to trace
our ogre to the Raksha Of Eastern legend;
we have learned that Little Red Riding Hood
| is the Dawn-Nymph, with her robe of GRIM
son twilight; that the Prince who kisses the
lips of the Sleeping Beauty is the Sun him
self; that Cinderella is but another form of
the universal myth; that even our nursery
| songs, the ballads of Mother Goose, are but
repetitions of old Aryan beliefs-the four
and twenty birds baked in pie being the
four and twenty hours that appear when the
King of Light breaks the crust, the King
himself counting out his money but form of
Dame and her golden shower the glorious
| sunlight quickening all things, the washing
that the maid hangs out the feecy clouds,
and the carnivorous blackbird that nips off
| her nose Night the devourer of all things, in
other tales figuring as the fearful monster
that swallows the Sun. All this and more
we can read in Fiske's "Myths and Myth
Makers" or teach our little ones from John
Thackray Bunce's "Fairy Tales" We can
d
beliefs we fail to shake off with babyhood.
Proud of our new knowledge we are now
fastening to impart it to our children and
| writing books to show them how absurd is
the belief in wonderland. We teach our
little ones that Jack the Giant-Killer is In
dra, the Hindoo Sun-god, and his cloak the
rain. clouds, and his shoon of swiftness the
winds, and his sword of sharpness the light
ming; and that the golden fleece Of Jason's
search is the sunlight; and that the MASTER
thief Is none other than the Greek god Her.
mes. We explain to them that there is no
pot OF gold at the foot of the rainbow, take
them to the chimney so they may see the
impossibility Of its descent by Santa Claus.
| We tell them that the story of William Tell
is fable, and even suggest that wise men
entertain grave doubts of Washi ngton's We.
| racity. 1t does not seem to Yorck that any
good can come of these premature revela-
tions. They only teach the child to disbe-
| lieve. We tell him that the fairy stories are
| not true. He at once puts them down as
lies. He cannot draw the line between false
| hood and other fiction. The revelation is as
bad in its way as that well-intentioned book
of Professor Wilder's, "What Young People
Should Know"-a very good statement of
things there is no need they should know.
| Let the discovery come to the child gradual
ly and with comprehension of the beauties
other than wonderment that the tales pos
sess. What need is there to tell him that
Little Red Riding Hood is sun-myth? Is
he any better or wiser for the telling? One
cannot help sympathizing with the doubts OF
the little hero of current newspaper story
who, on being informed Christmas time that
the Santa Claus in whom he had Heretofore
devoutly believed was fiction, turned upon
the explainer and earnestly asked care those
stories you have been telling me about Jesus
| Christ lies too, father?"
Indeed, leaving children aside, there
need be no haste to teach the sun-mvth.
Very many facts have been brought forward