The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1890-08-07
OMENS AND PORTENTS.
Superstitous Beliefs That Hold Their Grip
on the People Of Various Countries.
4Lo

on the People Of Various Countries.
From the New York LEDGER
''Do you hear that how'll" asks the
guide, in Pardoe's Turkish Travels"
it is foreboding OF sudden death if a
dog makes that sort of noise under
your window"
eyes; in America it is apt to fore
bode the sudden death of the dog" re-
plies the Yankee tourist.
It's, nevertheless, a curious fact
that the belief in omens retains its
hold even on nations that have out
grown all superstitions. 1 know an
intelligent American lady who CLOCKS
out for trouble" whenever d gust of
wind makes her house door rattle in
a peculiar way. More than one fear
less Western miner renounces the
hope of that days luck if a rabbit
crosses his path in the morning.
In ultra-rationalistic France many
gamblers will withdraw their bet from
the number of a card that has hap
pened to fall on the floor, or look for
change OF luck if they drop piece of
money. A Literary friend of mine gets
nervous whenever he hears the buzz
of muck-ay, vulgo, "blue-bottle."
"Macaulay," he says, "might class
me with those abject minds that are
superstitious without being religious
but I cannot help it. 1 do not even
pretend to explain the coincidence,
but 1 have noticed it too often to
slight the omen. Whenever L hear a
specimen OF those miserable insects
boom around my room, or catch sight
of them in the open air, I can make
my market on it that something or
other is going to make that a black
list day. On days when am spec
tally anxious that nothing should go
amiss, l confess 1 sometimes try to
avoid, as it were, putting myself in the
way of the omen, but 1 rare find it of
much use. 1 may keep indoors and
close every window, but presently
somebody calls to see me. Come
quick, pleased calls out my little boy;
our fence is down and believe the res
COW in our orchardp The collapse
of few fence rails seems to have been
caused by last nights rain storm, for
l can find no COW, but just before
leaving the orchard catch sight of
big blue bottle buzzing about heap
of stale apples. No mortal can avoid
his fate says Euripides, and I resign
myself to the inevitable. The critical
event of that day is going to turn
against me-"
"The winters of our latitude must
be agreeably free from distressing
events" l ventured the remark.
"Why, no." he laughs; "I wi,h they
we're; but that's not the way the thing
works. Cold weather simply leaves
me without my familiar omen.
Trouble still comes, but it comes I'M.
announced-no special improvement
OF programme, since forwarnedis often
forearmed. You may suspect warm
weather of affecting my brain; but in
most respects l am anti-visionary.
learned to laugh at spooks before
was 10 years of age, and shall die
without the slightest dread of Interior
calamities.'
1t is, indeed, remarkable how COM
pletely superstitions can be localized,
to borrow term from physical
pathology Sailors who have hobnobbed
with Turks and Budhists will kick q
cabin-boy for whistllng on the wind
ward side of dangerous reef, and
Alpine guides who crack jokes about
the wild huntsman and the mountain
witch will lose job rather than start
their excursion on Friday. "One day
is as good as another, if you are out
all week." said a Coroner's witness
after the catastrophe OF the Bremen
Pass, "only you must not begin on