Huntsville gazette., 1885-06-13
The Luck Of the HorseShoe.


Mrs. Leatherbury heard . hammer
ing at the front door and went down.
There was her husband on the step.lad-
der mailing something over the door.
"What are you doing" she wanted
to know.
Il am mailing horseshoe over the
door," replied Mr.. Leatherbury, in the
tone of man who half wished he had
got the job completed before anybody
came around.
For mercy's sake!" calculated his
wife, and her amazement was mingled
with dash of vexatiOn, "a horseshoe
over the front door Of 3 house like
oursr'
And she looked proudly at her hand
some home, and gazed at her husband
as though she thought he had gone mad,
or might possibly be dr--k. :.
Mr.. Leatherbury, on his part, said
never q word, but held the horseshoe
steady, while he felt in his vest pocket
for nail.
"Are you crazy?" she asked, at
length, ''or are you going to open Z
blacksmith shop in the parlor?"
Mr.. Leatherbury abruptly stopped
singing "Never take the horseshoe from
the door" which he had been trying to
warble in q CHEEKY way, and said, very
glumly: "No, he wasn't"
"Well then, for PHYS sake what are
you doing that for? Why do you want
a horseshoe nailed over the door?"
A slight flush mantled Mr.. Leather
bury's cheeks as he replied:
keep witches away"
Mrs. Leatherbury was now positive
that he was demented. She stepped
out Of the door and looked up at the
decoration.
"Wen," she said, II think it would. -
And she sighed.
In very truth, it was no slouch of a
horseshoe. 1t had been the property o1
the very biggest horse in the big brew.
cry. and was large enough to fit the
bows of a Cunarder. Mr.. Leatherbury
said he ''found it at cross-road, in the
new of the moon"
His wife said she didn't believe there
was ever room enough in the new moon
for such an arch Of iron, and begged
him to throw it away and come down.
"Witches!'' she went on in a fine
burst of sarcasm, ''when there hasn't
been a witch in Americ:, since Penn
was Governor.
MIR. Leatherbury feebly asked if she
meant Pen Butler, but the lady shifted
his little Joke into outer darkness.
"Do take that thing down. she
begged.
IL won't" replied her husband, stol-
idly. Its good luck to have horse.
shoe over the door, keeps away malaria
and bad dreams and brings all sorts Of
good luck"
"Fiddle-faddle!' she snapped, ef.
fectually quenching his rising enthus-
iasm. ''where did you ever hear such
stuff p''
And he wrathfully told her she didn't
know anything. and, besides, it was q
a romantic old German idea, came from
the German, and it was esthetic, too,
he said, and some people gold-plated
the horseshoe and wrote ''PrOslt, OF
"Gesundheit" on it, and nailed it up in
the parlor.
What does .Prosit' mean?' she
wanted to know.
"Good luck" replied her liege lord,
. little nervously. "They both mean
good luck, and horseshoe over the
door brings good luck to the home in
everything. Business prospers, people
are happier. nothing evil or hurtful hap
pens; everything is good and"
But just then, as he turned to feel for
the hammer, the s.ep-ladcer toppled,
he threw out his arms, lost his balance
and, as he went over, the loose end OF
that horseshoe caught him under the
chin, held on for a moment ard then
rasped around under the jaw and
caught in the ear which stretched out
under the strain of Mr.. Leatherbury's s
hanging weight until it looked like q
gum blanket, when it let go and
dropped the believer in horseshoes q
bowling, writhing wreck in a chaos OF
potted carnations and heliotropes.
Since the above was put in type a
physician, who was called in to sew up
q furrow in gentleman cheek and
gather few tacks in his ear, came to
the office to beg us not to make any
mention of the accident, as it led, he
understood, to some little domestic in
felicity, which he feared might be ag-
gravated. We would gladly comply
with his request, but the printer who
changes names has gone home, and the
gossip editor says he wants a few house.
hold rows for his column anyhow;
wherefore, as Mr.. Leatherbury saws.
''Gesundhiet. Burlinqton HaUkeuc.