Los Angeles daily herald., 1888-03-02
suPFRsT1T.oNs OF GIRLS.
A ousn 81 great moment That
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A onen a great moment That
$ = Locked Ter ~ Uraaesmaias.
- ! I'm and pick II mp,
4SG6IGh al the day you'll have good luck;
iSsR SRP ,oa :aS Is ssvs i az Through all the day.
A nursery superstition you say, and
4 arhymo hardly worthy Of the nur-
oery, even. Truly, so it is. Yet also
It 8 : superstition that is carried
beyond the nursery. Many society
girl holds to it - firmly as any child.
Wherefore? That is hard to say:
Girls aro naturally superstitious, and
: young ladies' boarding school is q
regular breeding place OF supersti-
lions. Those Of childhood are there
added to, and when the young lady
makes her debut in society she has
largo assortment.
his is no fairy tale; it is'the truth.
They do not parade their superstitions
in public, because they would be
laughed at, but they have them just
the same. They are not contided to
fathers or brothers ordinarily, and yet
who has not heard of the brides su-
porstition contained in the following
lame rhyme:
Something old and something new,
Something borrowed and something blue.
As fight Of posey it is not worthy
Of much notice, but as superstition
It receives . great deal of attention.
Did YOU consider it idle talk
when you heard it? If you
did vou are sadly mistaken.
During the last season there were
probably not three society brides, If
the term be allowable, who had the
courage to disregard the rhyme. Obe-
dience to. its dictates is supposed to
1naure = happy married life, and SO
Gtyungly ID the feminine mind imbued
with e that should bride be inclined
20 d Ard it the bridesmaids would
opSaiy<revolt.
OF course the something blue'' can
not w4ll be worn in sight, bride be-
ing dressed in white, and 80 it is usu-
allyA garter. The something old"
IL generally piece Of old lace, while
the something. borrowed" can be rib
bon or any little thing; the value cuts
NO figure. There is good deal that
u new about every BRIDES attire, so
no trouble is experienced there.
Then follow the other supersti-
tions Of the wedding. The ring in
the BRIDES cake every one knows
about; also the throwing of the brides
bouuet. The latter is a very pretty
custom, and is ever attended by q
great deal of excitement and jollity.
The superstition of the BRIDES garter,
perhaps, is not so we'll known to the
masculine sex. The incantations and
ceremonies always take place in the
seclusion of the brides apartment,
Just before she leaves the house, and
the eyes Of man are never permitted
to gaze upon the performance. When
the bride goes to her room to ex-
change her bridal dress for travel
ing gown, the bridesmaids accom-
pany her. Even unobserving men
have noticed that. The bride is then
blindfolded and the bridesmaids cir
Gle around her until she loses track of
the position of each, when she hands
the garter to one of them. This gar
tor, by the way, should be yellow, to
make the result more certain.
But there is one inconsistent feature
about all this-one problem that none
but woman can solve. The BRIDE
maid who gets the ring when the
cake is cut is to be the first one mar
ried. The bridemaid who catches
the brides bouquet when thrown is
also to be first married, and 80 is the
one who gets the BRIDES garter. How
can three be married first? This is
the problem.
Bah! It is just a pretty custom.
you say; no one believes in it.
eHow is that?" was asked of a
North Side young lady.
Indeed they do believe in these
-superstitions to a great extent" she
replied. The old and new one is so
firmly believed in that young ladies'
believe it almost imperative for brides
to observe it. And the others ?
Well they have a sort of half faith in
them. they may laugh at them a
little, but they are awfully anxious to
get the articles Just the same. The
pin? Oh, / know any number Of
girls who would not dare to pass one
BY. Good, sensible girls they are,
too, whom you would never suspect
Of anything Of that sort. Why, l sup
pose you are entirely ignorant of the
fact that lots Of the girls to be seen at
the balls and parties every night act
ually wear yellow garters on their
left legs all the year round, because it
il the sign OF an early marriage. This
is . superstition brought from board.
ing schools, where the custom is to
exchange garters every Halloween"
"Do you mean that?"
Indeed 1 do. 1t is one OF the
many superstitions observed in per-
feet good faith. Did you know that il
was sign Of bad luck to put your
shoes or slippers on the table? No?
Well, that also emanates from board
ing-schools. l nearly frightened my
roommate into fit by doing it
thoughtlessly. Perhaps you didn't
know that it was a sign of good luck
to have dog follow you. It is,
though, and, moreover, if it is black
dog, it indicates dark husband,
and If it is yellow dog it indicates
. blonde one. Then if you hang
: wishbone over the door, the first
man who passes under it is to be
your husband. did it at once, and
the plumber came in about ten min
utes later. That destroyed my faith
in that. You'll always notice, though,
that if you find hair pin you'll get a
letter shortly afterward."
Now, from this, pray do not think
that all of these superstitions are be-
lieved in by every society girl. A few
Of them are general, but not so with
al. Each girl has her own. And
this Is an enlightened age, too land sup
Z erstition is supposed to be relic Of
barbarian. But we have it just the
same, and many girl has more faith
In the consequences that will accrue
from doing or not doing certain things