, 1885-11-20
VARIOUS KINDS OF cRANka
People who Accept ''signs" as Guilds
FOR he Future-supsrstitions.


for the Future-superstitions.
baltimore Herald
Now, superstitions, " said a well.
known | ark avenue physician, unlike
hobbies, do not frequently denote a dis.
ordered condition of the mind. A
hobby finds expression in an action; q
superstition is embodied in the simple
action and attitude of the mind. Then
there are a vast multitude of crankisms.
some OF which l will mention. Some
classes of people entertain superstitions
MS n class, but most superstitions affect
only individuals, and depend on birth,
education and associations. know a
printer working at the case in this city
who Nill return home ii he meets "a cross
eyed person OF his way to work. The
sight OF an organ grinder, or the sound
OF his melliiuous music, affects him in
a similar manner. lie believes the
cross-eyed man and the organ-g grinder
both bring bad luck, and neither thu
arguments nor the ridiculc oil his friends
can convince him that otherwise is the
case. This printer will not wipe his
hands more than three times on the
sauu towel, and ii he hears II cricket
under his case he is scared nearly out
Of his wits. | have a patient. a promi
lnent business man, Who will moi eat
pickles, because he says they make the
nose red. He cant tell why, but still
ln firmly felieyes il. Another OF my
patients has got 1t into his head that
the original ether, out Of which the e,o
lutionists hint the world was formed.
was nothing more nor less than gin
He believes that gin is therefore "A pan
aeca for all human ills and the vital
principle of life.
There are lots of people who woald
aot, MS you know, under any circnm-
stances 20 out of a room through any
door other than the one by which they
entered. | know n man who is the vic
tim OF a delusion that misfortune stalks
ohind him whenever he walks on the
shady side of the street, and in the heat
OF the summer he religiously keeps on
the sunny side, no matter how high the
thermometer may te. one of my
friends thinks that the sight of a catn
green, CLASSY eyes, shining in the dark
ness. is a certain f%orernnner of sickness,
and IN one or two occasions | have
actually had to give linn medicine TO
cure imaginary ailments on this nc
count.
Dreams are fruitful Of superstition.
have n patient, n sporting man, and Il
popular figure in society, who, If he
dreams about u yellow dog, will not
hunt a fox for n month, no matter il he
has made every arrangement TO that
end. Another OF my patients carefully
mars bis position in bed before falling
asleep, and, II on waking he discovers
that he has turned over, or gotten his
arm under the pillow. he is rs miserable
as though the sheriff were after him,
for no believes he is about to meet with
some financial calamity. 1t so an.
nerves him that he frequently does lose
OF u speculation, thus Strengthening
every time in his mud the truth of his
superstition. This is, after all, the key
note to superstitions, and explains why
they are so long chung to. 1t is like
having some ono to grense n pole be-
fore attempting to climb it Belief in n
su erstition robs one of the nerve &c
avail of opportunities that would Pre-
sent themselves il the mind was alert
and confident, and not depressed AMI
indisposed.
'One Of the most ridiculous supersti.
tons | remember to have heard of was
that which was the exclusive property
OF n well-to-do and successful farmer in
baltimore county. Tho old gentleman
quakes in his boots and says his prayers
II be hears Il pig squeal IN sunday. He
thinks it is by far the unluckiest sign OF
all. To him it means all sorts of I'M
fortunate things, but if the pig slueals
on sunday within an hour OF sunset
then the representation for evil grows
more wildly violent. Strange to say,
several misfortunes have followed closely
on the pigs s%quealing. among them be
ing a storm that destroyed his crop OF
wheat, a case of measles that kept his
eldest daughter home from school for a
month, and a drought that made havoc
with his broad pasture fields.
Another amusing superstition is that
entertained by II dancing master on
Baltimore street. If he slips while
practicing or introducing a new dance,
he believes the dance is destined to be
come unpopular. lie made one mistake,
however, that considerably wea %
ened his faith in the superstition. 1t
was the first season of the rae luet- walt
He slipped and nearly broke his neck,
but the dance became one of the most
popular @ or brought out"