The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1891-02-10
USUAL SUPERSTITIONS.
FAX LORE STORIES AND THEIR
- CHARACTERIsTICS.

The Wide Scope Of the Field Of Superstition
-omens and Signs by which People arc
Governed-Good and Bad Tslismen-Rural
Beiicfs and Notions.
One of the oldest and most successful pa
pers in America has recently offered liberal
prize for the best folklore story. and in desig-
nation of the exact article that would come
under that head explains that its object Is to
collect material for kind Of pictorial history
of the home life and characters of the peo-
pie.
The example has many times and most no.
bly been set, Homer doing so much for his
land and the Arabian Nights" while Haw-
thornes Twice Told Tales" are really the most
correct patterns to initiate, take 1t. There
il q suggestion that the superstitions ana le-
gendary lore peculiar to Southern plantations
and old colonial homes would be OF great IN
teres.. and so the subject is among all under
whose ken il has come one Of paramount I'M
portance. We have all almost unconsciously
donned our thinking caps" with dihgent
searching among the cobwebs OF memory LOT
some of the quaint and curious volumes OF
forgotten lore.
The line of thought is tangled with many
weird threads Of suggestiveness that woven
into the warp Of superstition may. make us
ashamed of the lingering tyranny OF ignorance
and weakness in this the age OF enlightenment
but shredded for the entertainment OF noting
their texture and color IL is delightfully."- ab-
eorbing as any subject pertaining 10 tne sPi-
Nual world ever is
aH SUPERSTITION WIDESPREAD.
II Is truly amazing to consider that there Is
La loaf an n
tlividual that does not wear the yoke Of some
,ne or more superstitions Too trlfilng 10
mention they may be in some instances ana
yet again pOrtentOus.
A certain superstition caused the thistle to
be adopted az the national flower Of Scotland,
and Oliver Cromwell was believed TO nave nav,
held personal conference with the devil
upon the eve of great battle-while some To-
cality has been Stunned by man and beast
alike for fear of sound heard like that IN the
scriptural valley of dried bones"
SAILOR sUPERsTITIoSs.
Sailors are said to be as a class the most SUI
perstitious of all people. This may readily be
understood, as ignorance is the mother of SUI
perstition, and seafaring not being a learned
calling or one Of undue piety, as lar as the
crew go. they are in constant observation OF
some miraculous and phenomenal state of the
elements. The unfathomable deep Of waters
is full of mysteries TO the learned, and the ex-
panseless space of air awning TO the one OF
great understanding; then the untutored and
hard worked without knowledge OF the sci
ences 10 make compatible strange happenings,
OF trust in God to calm the fears, may surely
be accorded some grain of forgiveness for
their belief in water-devils and fanatic horror
and abject refusal to sail in ship with dead
body on board
NOTIONS OF ACTORS.
Next TO sailors, actors are charged with be-
ing swayed to the greatest extent by uncanny
beliefs. Some of them always enter the stage
from certain point of the compass, Others
are particular about the day upon which they
sign for a theatrical engagement. Agreat star
was once thrown into violent fit of Mysteries
because she happened TO see cross-eyed man
as she was on her way to the theatre. This
is the most dreaded Of all the evil omens to
the people of the stage land. An actor, by
chance catching sight Of one of these crooked
orbed unfortunates in his audience, is as con-
WINGED OF failure as If his manager had handed
him an account of all debit and no credit.
The stray cat supposed under other circum-
stances and in other places TO be an invariable
harbinger Of good luck, that walks unbidden
across the stage is sufficient 10 disconcert an
entire tYoupe-so bad sign do the members
of the dramatic profession account it.
THE SOCIETY woMAN's FANCIEs
But show me the society woman that is not
flptTstltOuS III Is inOuSduu UtltHNs
childish, ludcrous ways She works her
pretty, harmless spells of necromancy with the
farvor of religious rite, and possesses a blind
faith in their efficiency which is delightful To
o degree.
Pardon. oh sisterhood, for the divulgence
of the secrets of your sacred art and refute
not these grave charges but remember that a
sin confessed is half forgiven.
The garter il would appear. belonged not
totally TO the sge of knight-errantry, for how
many of you this minute are guilty of wearing
one yellow garter in the firm belief and hope
that ere it drops of you will have sutton, and
the bitter alternative of its remaining on over
q wear without the desired results prOclaimng
spinsterhood your lonely, inevitable fate.
There is one receipt which calls for more
ingredients in the matrimonial garter act. IL
must be crochet of yellow worsted yard long
and must be the work of one already engaged
TO be married.
The popular ones, who are many times n
bridesmaid, know that they will soon be wed
II they act in the capacity as many as seven
times, but if they should not exceed three,
then old-maidenhood is their eternal doom.
They dream upon wedding cake, a bit of it
wrapped in piece of paper on which are
written the names of all the admirers. This
10 placed under the pillow upon which rests
the fair head full of anxiety as to her fate.
Another sort of love-philter which is as
serted as sleeping potion is TO name all four
the first time. In the morning the first post
upon which the eye falls is the fateful one.
Almost every constant wearer of ball dresses
knows what it is to feel so great an attach
ment for certain gown in which some glori-
Gus occasion has been enjoyed as 10 regard II
somewhat as a talisman, and be perfectly GER
tain of social successes and unlimited conquests
whenever it is donned. Never mind the
practical reasoning or the confidence and as
sured feeling of pleasure when attired in the
yarb that gives the ease and charm of manner.
heightened by the radiant smile of satisfac-
ton, which is more than half the battle in such
ballroom victories for some astute student Of
the frivolous sex has said that nothing can
give woman so exquisite a charm of manner
a. the consciousness that she is faultlessly and
becomingly dressed. In other words. know
ing that the pretty is" she naturally pretty
does"
That there is supernatural charm about
some particular spot, but a few trusting
women believe. A great belle once declared
that there was a certain sofa in a certain
corner Of her drawing room that was equal in
power TO the Blarney stone. The iciest
hearted man that there communed with her
gentle nature made invariable avowal of love
before departing.
POPULAR sUPERsTIrIoNs DESTROYED.
Many of the most popular and common SUI
Persttions are being worn away by continued
tests OF their fallacy. The ominous number
tbirfeen for instance watched and Iraalol