The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1890-07-03
THE SURVIVAL OF SUPERSTITION

Every now and then some queer things
come to the surface which make us in
cline to wonder whether mistake has
not been make in chronology and wheth-
er this is not the ninth century instead
of the nineteenth. History does not in
form us of any more gross and groveling
approximations prevalent in the dark
ages than appear to flourish in this sup
posedly enlightened age and favored
land. Out of an unlimited number of
instances three may be selected, each of
them based upon very recent news.
A little while ago man in Michigan,
at Grand Rapids, was convicted in the
United States courts on the charge of
using the mails for fraudulent purposes.
1t appeared from the testimony that his
practice was to advertise to furnish, for
a sufficient consideration, 'spirit let
ter from any deceased person whose
surviving friends would send the neces-
sarp address, with the required admit
tance. The interesting part of the testi-
mOny, however, was not in regard to the
bait that was hung on the hook, for that
did not differ essentially from a great
many other things of the sort that have
been exposed but it seemed that there
were multitudes of people all over the
country sufficiently resembling gudgeons
to swallow the bait greedily.
A society" writer, who appears to
have access TO reliable sources of infor-
nation regarding some of the most ex-
clusively fashionable and wealthy circles
in our large cities, has lately published
q statement that it is very common
thing for social leaders to consult ''as.
trologers;" that many members of ''the
, Four Hundred" would not dare to give q
ball OF dinner, choose summer resort
buy spring hat or fall in love without
first having their horoscope cast,
Our third instance is, perhaps, thu
most curious, both in itself and on ac
count of the place from which the new
: comes. The place is Boston. Tho new
= in this case also was developed in court
$ 1t appears that certain wizard
5 claimed to be possessed of mysteriou
Il power of such nature that when bo,
containing o certain sum of money ha'
been ''annointed" by him and locked N
!, in his secret chamber, the business car
, ried on by the owner of the box am
= money would be, so long as the annOint
d ed property continued to remain wher
it had been placed, ten times as prosper
T. Gus as before. Does any one imagin
,. that this fraud was too impudent to SUE
It ceed? Not bit of it. The possessor G
Ie the mysterious amounting power wa
ie making money with the most delightfl
IS rapidity when, by some accident, til
owner Of one of the boxes discovere
"a that it was empty.
IA Now, the first thing TO be said abOI
n all this, that the victims of spirit lett
= writers, astrologers and annOinters al
III not mainly ignorant people. Whenev'
IN we get glimpse into these secret ong
ne ing we are startled by discovering thi
ye men and women who would have bee
d. least likely TO be suspected of such fol
nc are often the most willing dupes. Tv
explanations may be offered and tax.
n for whatever they are worth. 1t may
ny that superstitious inclinations are hered
tary, like certain kinds of disease, an
iy like such disease, may be sent dow
"a through unnumbered generations; or
r. may be that these strange phenomel
rs are the result Of a reaction from the Il
he mendous tide Of scientific realism whit
he has been sweeping over society in o.
70 day.-N. Y. Press.