The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1889-04-26

A man with an old fashioned yellow flute
in an orchestra will at times cause the best of
theatrical companies to play wretchedly.
The members of the company, instead of
playing TO the audience, will play solely to
the man in the orchestra playing the yellow
flute, and oftentimes so interested do they be-
come in that flute that lines are forgotten
or cues spoken at wrong places. The yellow
flute is "a Jonah of the worst kind, and in
the minds of professionals is on the same
level with the yellow dog A black cat in q
theatre, especially if it enters the building of
its own accord, can have turkey for dinner,
and be assured that it will be treated with as
much consideration and care as could be ac-
corded the president of the United States.
Among theatrical peoplea black cat is sup
posed to bring the best kind of good luck,
but woe 10 the yellow or tortoise shell cat
that attempts to join theatrical company.
Many an actor, when en- route to the theatre,
has seen a funeral procession approaching,
and in consequence retraced his steps until
he reached some side street, down which he
would walk and by a circuitous route reach
his destination. To have met that funeral,
in his opinion, would have been to have
signed his own death warrant within year
of the day
Another peculiar ST = qrstition of theatrical
people is that if. on the occasion Of the open
ing of new theatre, drop of blood gets on
the stage, the theatre is doomed forever after
to play to losing business The opening of a
new opera house in large manufacturing
city in Massachusetts is well remembered by
the writer. The play was The OctOroon,"
and in the duel between McClosky and the
Indian one of the parties received q slight
cut on one hand. He was quite full blooded
man and "the carmine" poured freely from
the wodnd upon the stage. The manager
happened TO be standing in one Of the wings,
and when he saw the blood upon the stage
the tears could not be kept back. He cried
like baby, declaring that his prospects in
life were ruined, and that the theatre was
"Jonahed" by carelessneSs, And ito tell the
truth, everybody who has undertaken to
manage this self same theatre has lost money.
Baseball players are about as superstitious
O set of people as actors, and many of the su-
perstitions well known by actors are as firmly
lmbued in the minds OF the sphere tossers.
For instance, if the members of nine pass
funeral procession on the way to the ball
grounds, they go into the game in a dis
heartened way, feeling positive, even before
the first ball is pitched, that the game is lost.
A horseshoe is considered by baseballists as
the best possible omen, and to pick one up on
the day of a game insures confidence in tho
players, and they look for victory with abso-
Lutte certainty.
ON TIE WILD, WIDE SEA
It is the belief Of sailors that departed spir-
Ets, as in life, possess all their peculiar ways
of warning and can communicate to their
friends still in the flesh such information as
may conduce to their happiness. Nearly all
OF their superstitions, however, are of an ex-
tremely gloomy nature They interpret the
simplest incidents as the precursors Of disas-
ter or death. A landsman who is unfamiliar
with or SCOTS at the fanaticisms of sailors is
held in unmitigated and expressed contempt
by them They do not believe that the
change from feshly to a spiritual state will
have the effect of altering their ideas in the
slightest degree Many of their conceptions,
however, are not altogether without founda-
ton, as the loss of Craftsmanship Friday many
years ago will demonstrate.
This vessel, large ironclad, built In Scot
land at great expense, was, in defiance of su-
perstition, named after the unlucky day.
Her officers were capable and experienced
i1eamen, and thoroughly adapted for such a
task as Tie. trial voyage. Of an ocean steamer