The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1890-06-11
He WAS NOT SUP ERsr1TIoUs.
But Some Ideas and Condolences Made
Him Feel Uncomfortable.

HIN reel OQcOnIOTCaDle.
From, the NeU York Tribune.
"Superstitiousa No. I am not supersti-
tious. don't believe in at all-that is to
say, l absolutely refuse to accept circum-
stances which strike nue. in q strange man
ner as anything other than circumstances
condolences. And yet" and the speaker
toyed with the slender stem of his wine
glass, and seemed to be trying to find some
expression which would explain his views
The dinner party were smoking their
cigars and chatting, when some one avowed
MS inability to shake off certain ideas
which seemed like superstition.
''What 1 do not believe" the speaker
went on, pushing the glass from him, sis
that superstition is anything but imaglna-
ton. But sometimes 1 find superstition
governing my actions in spite of myself"
in other Words some one interposed,
"you say to yourself that you are not, but
you know that you are"
mo, not exactly"
Then you know that you are not, but
say that you are"
"Yes-no, that isn't it either" and his
hand again reached for the wine glass.
LET me give you an example. When I
was down in Georgia Iast winter, a friend
of mine gave me the left hind foot of a
graveyard rabbit A graveyard rabbit is
one which is shot in q burying ground be-
tween shutdown and dark. The left hind
foot is voodoo, and, according to tradition
in Georgia, brings bad luck to the man upon
whose heart cross is defined with couple
of strokes of the soft brown foot. | put the
little thing in my pocket with laugh.
When l came home | was i'll for two weeks
and could not go to my Office during that
time. / finally got out, only to drop a
pretty sum on stock which seemed the
surest on the market. l went to the races
alone and lost. I went with friends
moment missed contract
which would have been worth $40 900 to
me. | did not believe that the voodoo had
anything to do with my ill-fortune, but one
day l took it from my pocket. and, feeling
ashamed of my weakness. put it IN drawer.
/ went to the races the next day, not to try
the effect of the change, mind you, and won
on everything. Ny stock indicated itself
Immediately. made better contract than
the one lost. | wouldn't carry the voodoo
again, but know that it had nothing to do
with my luck"
But you are superstitious, another diner
said.
mo, I'm not. But when one gets an idea
into his head like that, it makes him uncom-
Portable The way | do is to remove the
cause.n
'Well," said one of the party, laughing,
that comes pretty near to superstition"
Here's another story" put in an inter
ested listener. "a friend of mine, on
leaving Paris, sold his Gao for 1900 francs.
The baggage of himself and wife amounted
to thirteen pieces The number of the cab
which took them to the station was 13.
The steamer sailed on the 18th day of the
month. There were ! 800 souls on board,
and the steamer was wrecked. He doesn't
believe in the unlucky thirteen, and he
laughs at the whole thing. But he has told
me many times that he would never get on
steamer under the same or similar cir
cumstances, because it would make him
miserable"
II still maintain" said the advocate of
superstition, that that is the good old
doctrine of superstition"
But Pm not superstitious," declared the
owner of the voodoo.
''Of course not, but"
IN give you the rabbits foot if you will
take it."
NO, thank you,o and the laugh turned
on the scoffer.