, 1889-05-01
SOME S~UPERSTITIONS.
A FEW OF THE POPULAR FEARS,
FANcIES AND FAIRY TALES.

Didn't Believe In Ghosts, but Afraid of
vent DIsease-UnIuoky to Go Under n
LAdder-In and Out the Same Door.
The probable truth is that there Is not
one of The Globes readers who does not
ut least half believe In some superstition.
Somewhere in your lives you have a
little private closet where you keep one
or more pet superstitions locked up out
of sight of your friends, and, for the
most part, out of your own sight But
now and then you unlock the door, or
they get out through the keyhole; then
they look at you in the twilight with
their weird eyes, full Of the mystery of
the past, and you find yourself on your
knees before them. Perhaps you are
half ashamed of them, because you do
not moro than half believe in them, but
when hey get you alone they master
o You arc like Mime. de Stael. A
friend said to her one day, "Do you be-
lieve in ghosts?" NO" she replied, but
! am afraid of them, though"
A LONESOME LADY.
Col. Ingersoll dedicated his first vol
ume of lectures to Eva a. Ingersoll, n
woman without superstition" In the
early mining days In California, when
selfish rascality seemed to be the rule,
an old miner who had been repeatedly
''leeced" was very much astonished at
the remarkable honesty of n young man
who had just paid back some money
which had beer given him by mistake.
Thinking he could not have many COM
panions in such deeds the old man
stepped up to him, laid his hand on his
shoulder and said, stranger, don't you
find yourself awfully lonesome about
these parts?' So / nave often thought
that II Mrs. Ingersoll is really altogether
without superstition she must some
times find herself lawfully lonesome"
l remember, when n boy, that one of
my brothers used to wear about his neck
a red wooden cord to prevent the nose
bleed. The only thing clear in my mind
ON the subject was that 1t did not pro
vent it. At any rate 1t used to bleed
very often, while the rest of us, who did
not wear one, were never troubled Mt all,
except in those cases that all who have
been boys will understand, where a post,
or the ice in skating, or n snowfall, or
some other boys fist came in somewhat
violent contact with tho most prominent
feature of our faces. l suppose, how
ever that there was some ~fanciful con-
nection between the red of the string
and the red of tho blood, and an incipient
homeopathy suggested that "liko would
cure like"
| also remember, when a child, how
some of the larger boys used to carry
about n horse chestnut in their pockets
as n preventive of rheumatism. This is
one of the mysteries l have never faith
omed. Only 1t does seem n willful per-
versity for people TO suffer 30, just to save
the trouble of carrying n horse chestnut.
Just as it seems pure malice In any ono
ever TO die when one looks through an
apothecary shop, reads tho advertise
monts in the newspapers, or knows how
DIR. Cults cures people by simply praying
for them, and then telling them they are
well.
WHAT BAD DREAMS MEAN.
A friend told me the other day that
when a boy he always felt it incumbent
on him to spit three times whenever he
saw n dead cat. Tho origin Of this will
not stop nov 10 trace.
Not long since alady acquaintance was
walking along the street with q friend,
when she suddenly felt herself pulled off
the sidewalk into the street. The occa-
sion of this sudden maneuver was the
other lady's superstitious fear Of walking
under n ladder that leaned against the
wall in front of them. / have learned
that this superstition is very
and, perhaps, it is not worth my while to
disturb it. For it might DO decidedly
"unlucky" to walk under n ladder-pro-
vided n man weighing 200 was on 1t and
it should slip; or In case ar unsteady
man with a "drop too much" should In
dulge in n further drop too much of u
loose lying brick from his hod. Though
in the case of the colored brother, who
stood serene while the brick lay In frag-
ments at his feet, and who merely ex-
claimed, Look out, darl Eff yo' doan't
want yo' bricks broke jes' keep EN- off o.
dis chile's he'df' it was only the brick
that was '~'unlucky."
Ihave an old acquaintance in Maine
who used to stick his jackknife in the
headboard on going to bed toprevent his
having the cramp. That is the sole in
stance of that sublime faith with which
/ am acquainted. But l have known of
people who warded off the same uncom-
Portable nightly ~visitant by scrupulously
arranging their slippers bottom up at the
foot of their bed.
A lady not long since went into n
jewelry store. Being at a corner it opened
on two streets. When she started to go
out, the salesman said, 'Madaml you
have forgotten" "Why whatT' said she,
thinking of purchase or purse. "But you
came in at the other door" ne replied.
Then it flashed over her; and though she
went on her way, she remembered that
1t was "unlucky" to enter by one door
and so out by another. However 1t may
be about other places, l am really inclined
to think that it is unlucky for a lady to
SO into a jewelry store, no matter which
door she goes out of; unlucky for the
man who has to pay the bills.
Then, again, it is unlucky to have n
bad dream three nights running. This is
one of the signs that / believe in thor
oughly. "Ahar you say, then you, too,
are superstitious as well as the rest of