The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1880-04-07
Thirteen at Dinner.

1t is idle, of course, to fight supersti.
tion with logic, but when a presuma.
bly, sane man gravely sets forth in the
London Whitehall ReHeaD 1.-THE simple
facts in the case" of the death of DR.,
Fairbanks, one of Queen Victoria's
physicians, and these simple facts are
that the dead man was the first to sit
down and the first to rise again at a
dinner where the diners numbered thir-
teen, it is perhaps worth while to direct
attention to the way in which such
superstitions are nourished.
DR.. Fairbanks died the next morning
after the dinner mentioned. After that,
therefore beause of that, argue the
superstitious. So it always is. Men are
quick to note and comment upon CO.
incidence of occurrence with supersti-
tion, but they rarely remember the
cases in which such condolences fail to
come about. Yet every logical mind
must feel that hundred ful6llments of
such an augury with one failure of full
fillment must discredit the augury {;
while in practice superstitious persons
argue upon precisely contrary assump-
tion, namely that a hundred failures
count for nothing against single full
fillment.
Mr.. Whitelaw Reid in conversation
related some bits Of experience upon
this point OF thirteen at dinner not long
ago, one of which is worth reporting as
an Offset to the Whitehall Reuiew's story.
Mr.. Reid died one day at q gentleman's
house in Washington. There were just
thirteen persons at the table, and the
fact was commented upon. During the
dinner Mr.. Reid was served with writ
of arrest in one of the ve1atious suits
by means of which certain persons at
the capital sought to punish him for
boldness of speech, and this untoward
event appeared, according to the SUPER
stition. to mark Mr.. Reid as the doomed
thirteenth guest. The superstition be-
ing thus brought to mind, MIR. Reid
made list of the persons present, and
although the dinner occurred good
many years ago there is not one of its
guess who is not in sounder health to-
day than he was at the time when the
thirteen dined together.
One such fact as this Is complete
logical refutation of the teaching of the
superstition; and such refutations occur
frequently; yet it is certain that one
such story as that of DR.. Fairbanks
death will undo the salutary work of
score of carefully noted cases in which
the thirteen survive. Men are weak
and foolish, and superstition is stronger
than logic, and cowardice is a COM
moner quality than philosophy.
The fact is that when as many as
thirteen persons of middle age, selected
without reference to their bodily health,
come together, it is not far from an
even chance that some one of the num-
ber will die within the year, in the
natural order of things, and if more
than thirteen are present the chance is
increased. But nobody thinks of delay
ing dinner or making it uncomforta-
BILE by silly forebodings when eighteen
or twenty persons are present, although
there is then greater probability than
in the case of thirteen that some one of
the company will be buried within the
year.
So silly and 50 annoying a supersLi-
ton as this-for it is annoying to have
dinners postponed or guests removed to
side table in Difference to superstitious
cowardice-ought to be combated by
every sensible person until its head
shall be bruised unto death. Soundly-
constituted minds regard death with
philosophic calm even when its approach
is certain, and vague dread of it when
its time of coming is uncertain is in
high degree unmanly. After all, it is
life rather than death that ought to oc-
cupy attention, and most of us have
enough to do to keep our lives what they
ought to be.-Meac York Evening Post.