The spirit of democracy. [volume] (Woodsfield, Ohio) 1844-1994, 1880-12-14


an uncommon one among old people
"Say your prayers. child you'll have
seven years tfohble, = once said 1adyt0
the writer shen the letter had broken
her dolls looking .glsss. The augury
was fulfilled, bnt as four Of seven were
the black years Of the late civil war, the
trouble was yno means con6ned to the
unlucky looking glass shattefer.
Country folk-some ID Jest some III
earnest --trenslate the voirc 0f 1 chicken
cock GROWING II the door into ssStranecr:
coming to-day. and We remember 40;
old lady wtq Invariably masle prepare.
tlou s6r ~. 81 ssbSS tsI1s sss6ine nofe,
was sounded upon> her premises In,
thirty years, she declared, the sign had
never failed her.
The same old lady had IS a pet ca
as black as any which ever figured in
tale Of necromancy. "Keep black
cat" she used to say, when the hue Of
her favorie was commented on, .keep q
black cat and you'll never lack for mon
ey." She was wealthy, but few miles
off lived an old black crone, mistress of
cat as black as her own, who (the ne.
gress, not the cat) had the credit of
witchcraft and who, in spite Of her re-
puted connection with the devil and the
ownership OF the cat, had hard work to
keep soul and body together.
MET AT EVERY TURN.
There are thousand and one super
stitions strung upon the thread OF our
everyday lives and which meet US at
every turn Few of US are weak enough
to let them influence our actions. yet
most OF us remember them anpleasantiy
now and then. while very many of us,
did we own the truth, have one or more
omens which we would prefer not to en-
counter.
II cannot hear to have nv left cyelid
quiver,' said lady Of cultivation and
average intelligence "Of course !
know there is nothing in it, but then l
cant help feeling, when it does so, as il
trouble were coming"
Plenty OF people who ought TO know
better are firm believers in the supersli-
tion that it is unlucky to place the shoes
which one has worn during the day 9TH
erwise at night than With the toes pint
ing TO the door and cannot sleep in
peace unless they have done so.
Years ago the belief in the evil omen
Of spilling salt was so prevalent that il
was ridiculed by Addison ingthe Snecia-
tor; but the superstition still holds its
own. The evil may be averted by throw
ing pinch of salt over the left shoulder,
charm which is clearly a relic OF the
old nea hen ceremonial o: casting rice
in the ar and pouring libations on the
ground as proprietary offering to un-
seer spirs,ss Ameag'the sigass which
are supposed to fon tell death are the
ringing in the ear. known as the death
bell; the DEATH watch ia peculiar ticking
noise cansed by small insect cutting
it's way through wood or portrait fal-
ling from its place on the wall, and each
Of them has m,re than once given nerv
Gus persons fit of the blues.
When the eyes Of corpse refuse to
shut they are gbas'ly enough, in all con-
sciepce, to give color TO the superstition
that they are watching for some one who
is soon to follow, and if horse chances
to stumble near a graveyard its rider
may be excused If his sensaiions thereat
are none of the most pleasant, even
though he is not 80 foolish as to con
slider it an actual death-warning.
Ifadoor opens without apparent cause
the Germans have a saying, which has
come across The water to their Ameri-
can descendants, that spirit mas entered,
aud the cold, nervous shiver, which most
persons have felt more Cor less often,
is held to result from footballs over the
future grave of him who experiences it.
There are sick nurses who, at the bed
side of the dying, never fail to open
door or window that the pa,ting soul
may pass out. The superstition is, j
think, Of Scotch origin, and the reader
will remember Meg Merrilies at the dy
ing bed of the Gypsy. chanting:
Open lock- end strife
Come death and end life
DINNER PARTIES
Tragic stories are related in various
parts of the country at home and abroad
OF evil resulting to the unlucky guests
at dinner parties ct thirteen. Many in
teiligents and educated people harbor
this superstition. Bismai OK, it is said.
refuses " der any circumstances to sit
down to table with the fatal number,and
a prominent business man Of New York
is reported to owe his start in life to the
ready tact with which he suddenly re-
membered pressing engagement, when
the failure of two invited guests to ap-
pear at dinner given by A. T. Stewart
reduced the number present to thirteen,
to Mr.. Stewards evident annoyance. All
of US number among our acquaintance
wives who never remove their wedding
ring. and who, were it to slip off acci-
dentslly, would surely expect some dire
misfortune.
81 should think his ears would burn"
is a common remark when person 10
made tue subject OF continued conver-
sation. and $50 many stitches yon take
upon you. so many lies will be told
about you" is as quently quoted when
rent is hastily sewn up without chang
ing the torn garment.
In nearly every land the moon is the
subject OF numerous superstitions. She
regulates the changes OF the weather.
phases must be consulted in soap maxi
ing, in killing meat, in planting, in doz
ems of the common pursnits of life. and
to see the new moon through trees over
the left shoulder, with no money in the
pocket, is thought to be terribly un-
lucky.
Should coal pop out from wood
Gre and burn lady 8 dress the event
foretells suitor for her heart and hand,
and if two spoons come together In the
sugar dish wedding in the family is to
be ex ,,ected with equal certsinly.
"Sing before breakfast you'll cry be-
fore supper" and "Blessed be the bride
the sun shines on" have passed into ia
miller adages.
l Swallows building in a chimney bring
good luck to the house, but not to tn,
dwellers therein il the birds be molest
ed
Il Killing cat is thought by many t