Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1885-02-07
LITERATURE or THE sNEEzE.
The Cdd sapevssisiers Aunehtar 20 she Act
Of snsexipg- How saeeze seeaSsd . Cap

| IOht tttt tAtttiTt VI tthN ~
is defined as violent emission Of air,
with a moisture. audibly by the nose.
So universal is the custom. and so many
superstitions connected with this sim
pie act, that, trifiing as il is, no incon-
siderable argument could be dcduced
therefrom showing the unity of the
human race. In that delightful mine
of oddities, 1.-The Arabian Nights -
and what child has not read and
run fancy free in their gorge
Gus descriptions and Oriental imagin-
| ings--there is an account OF a
hump-backed schoolmaster, whose un-
fortunate habit proved nearly his ruin.
lie was always teaching, among HIS pre-
cepts Of learning, those of politeness,
and when he sneezed he told his pupils
to clap their hands and say: Long
live our noble MASTER" One day mas
ter and pupils wentout for stroll. The
day was oppressive, the air hot, and
wearied with excessive exertion, one
and all, they hailed with a joy akin to
| lntl VI lnt Noihii-
bus when =" Land, no rang out, deep
well at whose bottom lay in refreshing
eoolness depth of crystal water. The
bucket was at the bottom, and the
schoolmaster descended for the purpose
of bringing it up full. This he
soon did, and gave the word
for the boys to pull at the rope,
and when near the top the school
master sneezcd. The boys let go the
rope. simultaneously shouting, Long
live our noble master J" and clapped
their hands vociierously. The luckless
master went to the bottom. breaking
his back. and ever after regretting his
prejudices in favor of etiquette. Alb
surd as the story is. it is but one way
of explaining a curious custom preya-
lent in one form or another among many
different peoples Of salutation at the
event of sneezing. Not only among the
Greeks and Romans. but even among
savage tribes, will this be found
to be true. Xenophon, in his Ana
basis says that when the Greeks
were about TO commence their ccle-
bratcd retreat after the death of
Cyrus the Younger, and as Memo
phon was addressing them with these
words, "We have many reasons to
hope for preservation" soldier unfor-
tunately sneezed. The whole army
thereupon invoked Jupiter the Pre-
server. The orator continued Since
at the mention Of your preservation
Jupiter has sent this omcn." thus turn
ing the event into an indication of sue
cess. The Jewish account. as explained
by the rabbis. gives. however. a clearer
idea of the origin Of the custom. The
rabbis declare that there was no disease
or illness among men until some time
after the flood. How, then. did men
die in those days: Simply sncezed and
died. They say that Jacob, not fan
cying this mode of crossing the dark
river, wished to give some warning so
that parties could prepare for this mo-
mentouS moment. For this purpose he
went and wrestled with the angel. His
prayer was granted he sneezed and
feb sick. Heretofore men had sneezed
and died. Therefore, the fact of Ja-
cob's sneezing and surviving made a
great sensation, and ever after the act
became one Of the important phenomena
Of the human system, and when men
sneezed they saluted and uttered some
ejaculation of well-wishing. The Jews
accordingly, when a person INDUCES in
a sneeze. say: " T'oJim Chdiim IA
long life to you.
Travellers relate many incidents re-
garding this custom. Speke and Grant
say that among some of the natives Of
equatorial Africa they could discover
no traces of any religious idea except
in the Arabic custom of uttering a
prayer when person sneezed. DE Soto
declares that when an Indian sachem
sneezed sayages around him bowed
down and prayed the sun for his
salvation. In New Zealand the priest
is guided by sneeze when he names
an infant. He repeats over a list
of names, and when the child sneezes |
the name then pronounced is selected. |
An amusing story is told of an English !
lady travelling in Italy, and not under /
standing the language, who was present /
when a married lady, Sneezing. was
saluted by her friends present. after
ward brought u bishop to the blush
who happened to Sneeze near her by ex-
claiming: "Figiio .Aaschio May
it be hoy.
The Thugs Of India are without doubt
the most bloodthirSty people that ever
lived. Yet, in one respect, they are the
most religious. They are guided by a
bloody goddess whom they serve most
zealously. The goddess is supposed to
give her commands by Omens and
sounds. and one Of them is a sneeze.
Were one Of the victims Of the Thugs
with a strangling-cord about his neck
to suddenly awake and utter sneeze
his life would be regarded as sacred.
The Greek legend in reference to Sneez-
ing takes this form: One day Prone
theuS determined to make clay statue.
lie wished to give it life and motion.
So he slipped up to heaven one day,
while Minerva was making visit on
earth, by gliding under her wing. and
there stole the celestial fire which was
needed to animate his clay model. The
fire he hid IN a tube which he called a
narthex, the end of which he sealed with
stars stolen from the milky way. Has
tening to earth, he blew the celestial
fire into the nostrils of the clay image.
and as soon as the brain was reached
the statue became a man, and began
bobbing its head up and down, and
gave prodigious sneeze. The aston
shed and delighted man-maker cried
OUT :" Much good may it do you" and
ever afterward words Of good cheer and
well-wishing were uttered by mortals
after person sneezed.
There is a good sneezing story told
Of the chaste Penelope, who, when she
vas one day surrounded by her adorers,
zach suing for fayors, she prayed that
ler long-lost Ulysses might be restored
% her. Scarce had she concluded her
prayer when Tenacious, her son, gave