The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1892-01-26
WOMEN'S SUPERSqITIONS
They Make Believe They
Don't Believe in Them,
But Most Of Them Do.
HOUSEHOLD LORE ABOUT OMEN'.
The Supernatural Appeals TO us
all a Little-S0me Old
Signs.

pie would only bring themselves to be-
lieve it, but there's no denying the fact
chat women are more or less superst1-
tious; and men too. for that matter. The
latter are usually ashamed OF this failing
but women glory in the thousand and
one foibles. which go to make up the list
Of superstltions. One of the most famil-
lar of these is seeing the moon over the
right shoulder for good luck. Some
women never pass q stray pin. See q
pin, pick it up. All the day you'll have
good luck" is gospel truth 10 them, con-
sequently the pins are rescued for the
time being. Various superstitious are
cherished by old nurses in regard to the
care OF young babes. aud as the fond
mother is over anxious, she is prone to
humor these fancieS. The new
baby must be taken Upstairs Qf only Il
step) before 1t is taken down. III order
that it may be sure TO rise in the world,
and on the same plan, Its sharp little nn-
ger nails must De broken of and never
cut until twelve mouths nave passed over
the small head. lest the child become u
thief, and rs TO allowing it to behold its
chubby face in the mirror before it is a
wear old. one might AS wei commit muir
der at once, for the child is sure to die
before that time comes, at least SO says
tradition.
il the palm of ones hand itches, it is a
sign he or she will soon shake hands with
il stranger. and il the left hand, it is for
money, which is sure TO come. 1t is Won
derfui now many people sincerely believe
in all these ridiculous things, but the SUI
pe%rnatural has always n charm and this
sort of thing borders on 1T. line howllng
of a dog at night strikes terror to the
heart OF man or woman, for fear of death.
and even if one is philosophical enough
to reason that a dog howls because he
feels like it. anu for no other reason,
still that gruesome feeling hangs
AVE numberless little bubbles
which they are apt to believe in.
II the dish cloth falls upon the floor it is a
sure sign OF company. When the tea ket-
| tie sings it is for reasons not at all to do
| with the making of the tea, and when the
water boils away it's a sure sign of Il
| storm. IL a fork drops and sticks in the
floor one might as well prepare for com.
pany, because a gentleman is sure to CAL
before the day is over.
Where all these iueas originate is "a
question, but very likely they were hand
cd down from generation to generation
| and believed because somebody's mother
or grandmother said SO. Some men have
a strange a%ntipathy to cross-eyed women,
and rather than risk failure in any BUSH
ness transaction about to be entered into
will postpone the all important step till
some future day if they have happened to
meet a woman whose eyes are crossed.
DON'T GO BACK.
After leaving nome tor the day, or for
a journey, it is considered uniucky to re-
| turn for any reason whatever, for fear of
| ill-luck during the day. and many per-
sons, if by chance an article of clothing
is gotten on wrong side out in the hurry
| of dressing, believe it must be worn in
that fashion or else ill-luck will be the
result. OF course, everybody Is not SUI
perstitious to this degree, but one almost
always thinks of these things aud makes
mention of them whether one believes
them or not. and probably this is one
reason they are kept alive and believed
by SO many. And who does not carry Il
luck penny or pocket piece of some kindP
Another phase of sign worship Is bel!ev-
ing in dreams. Many persons believe.
with perfect faith, hat to dream OF the
dead will bring news from the
living" and to dream of IL wedding is a
sure sign of death. and vice versa. 1t is
"a dreadful sign to dream OF white horses
aud something terrible is sure to happen.
Truly, those who believe in signs worry
themselves more than a little over dreams
which are more likely caused by bilious
| r%etribution than by supernatural power.
Four-leaved clovers are said to bring
| good luck to any one who finds them. Ii
| one is worn in the shoe success will fol-
low every undertaking, and merry a maid
| has often placed four-lesved ~clovers
over the door. quite confident that the
first man to enter would be the one of
her choice.
II LUCKY HORSESHOE.
To find the horseshoe is popularity sup
posed to bring good luck. This idea has
prevailed since the time of old brian
| Boru," monarc of Ireland, who reigned
during the eleventh century. at least so
says the old song, which goes something
like this:-
IT'S a fact that's handed down in Irish his
Down from the days of mighty king Boru,''
Sure, the best Of luck Will follow after him
Who picks up on the road a horses shoe.
A man once found n horseshoe. aud inn
mediately began to build a stable, quite
soon be Forthcoming. In the
days of Salem witchcraft the
horseshoe was credited with
wonderful powers, and to nall one over
the threshold would insure the home from
the wiles of witches. To this day nearly
all country places will have the emblem
OF good luck over the stable door. from
the remote idea probably that the willy
witches were won to practice their black
arts upon the unoffending and unsuspect-
ing cattle. Some old country danes still
believe in its charm. II the butter is slow
d-COullub tuG otoCoAOC 10 dIoPpCN INV
The chnrn of cream and sooner or later
the butter comes, and all ON account of
the horseshoe.
Apropos of the horseshoe. a very pretty
bit of sentiment and superstition was il
Illustrated not such a very long time ago,
in which that humble instrument played
a conspicuous part. 1t IS like Il story, and
is a true one. Once upon q time Il fine
Young man fell deeply in love with a
beautiful woman, youug. OF course. and
very wealthy. but, truth to tell. she did
not smile upon the lovesick hoy; never
theless he followed her about most
~assiduously, and in the course of
events had proposed three successive
! times and had as many times been de-
cidedly rejected. Still the young man
was not disaeartened, and taking for his
motto, Faint heart meier won fair
lady" he started out for the
fourth time. and it CHANGED that a
horseshoe lay in his path. 1t was old
and rusty and half worn out, but it was
slowed away in his pocket and the jour-
ney renewed. 1t surely brought good
luck. for the young lady accepted his
heart and hand at last and made the
youth g%loriously happy. And do you
think they would part with that horse
shoe? No, indeed, it was sent to a jewell
Ter and silverplated; then mounted in a
silver frame; four etchings adorn the
latter representing the four separate
places where the all-importanJ question
| ,o q n I'D m hu tha sad 40. xpauoS