The Dickinson press., 1890-02-22
THE FOOT OF A RABBIT.

, 1llG IOV1 vi n llADDlls
A WASHINGTON MAN WHO CARRIED
ONE FOR GOOD LUCK.
He Fell Down Stairs, His Wits Became
Ill. y Case Was Decided Against Him,
and for q Whole Week Everything Went
wronR-Then He Threw It Away.
If a man evcr tells you there is luck in
a rabbits foot, believe him if you want
to, but don't let him, under any circum-
stances, present you with n Us a
souvenir to carry for luck. If he at
tempts it, be sure it is because he has a
grudge against you, and desires to get
even in a roundabout manner
There may be good luck in some rab-
bits feet, but the particular one which
this story concerns was the quintessence
of misfortune, and it's possessor is a hol-
low eyed picture of despair, whose every
movement has been productive of calam-
itous results.
Two weeks ago the owner of the charm
was in the best of spirits and on good
terms with himself and the world, and
prospecting. For a week the nightmare
of ill luck has chung to him with the
grasp of the old man of the sea, and
cannot be shaken off.
AN UNHEEDED WARNING.
He capc into the possession of the
furry article which wrecked his happi-
ness in a somewhat peculiar manner. 1t
was presented to him as an emblem of
luck by one of his friends, and he care
fully tucked it away in his vest pocket.
A third friend who was standing by re.
marked at the time: eff 1 were you l
would throw that cursed thing as far as
I could. It's certain to bring i'll luck.
am usually not superstitious, but !
wouldn't carry one for Il thousand dol
lars"
The p%essin,ist was heartily laughed at
for Ills f%oolishness, and ridiculod as a
prophet of had luck. Wal and see"
was his laconic response to tho others
badinage. Had thatfriend been listened
to andhi advice taken, this story would
never have been written.
1t was Saturday evening when the gift
was received, but nothing eventful hap
pened that day. When the posscssor of
the talisman went to bed hc began to
think of the words of warning he had lis
tened to and it began to trouble him. He
could not sleep for a time, and when he
finally fell into a fitful dozc it was only
to sec big and little rabbits feet obstruct-
ing him and barring his progress in
whatever direction he turned. They
seemed to overwhelm him and crush
him down, and when he awoke with a
start it was to hear his wife calling him
to breakfast. He arose, haggard and
worn out. Sleep had been a burden
rather than a rest, and in consequence
he was snappish and out of humor.
The breakfast was a succession of
growls. He grumbled at everything
until finally his wife. who was unaccus-
toned to see him angry, anxiously in
quired what was the matter. He gave
her q curt reply, that sent the tears to
her eyes and her lips to quivcring, and
left for his Office without his usual fare.
well kiss, something he had neve done
before since his marriage.
TWAS Sunday, and, of course, none of
his clerks were at work. Hc could not
find any of the correspondence he de-
sired, and this made him more angry.
Finally he thought again of the rabbits
foot. cit must be that" he s~oliloquized,
"but I'll keep it just for spite and see
how far it will work its SPELL"
Coming down the stairs from his office,
he slipped and fell, and badly sprained
his wrist.
When he reached home his wife was
sick, and SO the doctor had two patients
instead of n Sunday night was but a
repetition of the previous one, filled with
bad dreams, and when the morning
dawned the possessor of the emblem was
thoroughly %fatigued in soul and body. He
determined to get rid of the rabbits foot,
and when lie reached the street threw it
on the sidewalk. In a moment he felt like
a new man, and his former %buoyancy of
spirits returned. But, alas, fate had more
misfortunes in store for him, and lie had
not proceeded half a square before a col
ored urchin touched him on the arm and,
holding the fatal rabbits foot toward
him, said, 81 seen you drop it, sir, and
thought you might want it,"
There it was, confronting him like a
nemesis. 1t would have been easy to have
told the boy to keep it, but he did not dc
this, and modify walked down to his Of
fee. The day was a succession of un-
lucky events. He did not receive a con.
siderable sum of money he confidently
expected, an important case in which he
had a large contingent fee was decided
against him, and his clerk was taken ill
so that it became necessary for his EN-
Ployer to do his own work, which, he man.
aged to get through at a late hour with
the assistance of a stenographer and
typewriter.
His wife was considerably worse when
he returned home and he was compelled
to remain up all night with her. The
rest of the week was a repetition of the
two days he had passed. When Satur
day came he was careworn, fretful anG
anxious about his wife's health, for she
was dangerously i'll, and there were
grave fears as to her recovery. His bust
ness had gone wrong and every thing III
did seemed to turn out exactly opposit,
to what he desired.
Then he determined to get rid of tina
internal rabbits foot. Its influence hac
undoubtedly contributed a great deal tx
his moroseness, and he was well nigh i'll
Into the stove he threw the foot ane
watched it burn with considerable pleas
ure. He was rid of it at last.
Strange to relate, his wife began to i'm
prove. He felt on better terms will
himself, and his life returned to its nor
NAL channels. 1t may be that a rabbit
foot is not ~unlucky, but there is one ma,
in Washington who will never carry on
again for good luck.-Washington Pcst
Looking for the Twitter.
"The mortality among the domesti
animals up in our block increased grea
ly last week." said a South side youn
man yesterday. "One of our neighbol