St. Paul daily globe., 1895-12-25
CHARMS, SPELLS, HO0D00S.
REI.IEFS WHICH FOLLOW A MAN
FROM HIS CRADLE TO HIS
GRAVE.
DIsPRooFs ARE FREQUENT.
hut He Goes Right on Believing
Them ns If They Were
Truths.

MIN, by strange perlludClly, eiii Hi''
life. saws the New York Times. Man
is too proud to admit a governing
influence which has no real founda-
ton and must fall to pieces when lts
stability is tested, but no matter
how silly "a superstition may be,
once imbedded in memory by SIN
gle instance when it came true, all ltS
signal failures will generally fail to
loosen its grip upon the human being
who has been taught it in child
hood. A pet superstition will lose
not a jot of its influence should II
fail every time in a hundred, pro-
yided it proves true in one instance
only. This fact shows how men are
ioiped to their superstitious idols.
Sing before breakfast, cry before
night" is the most ridiculous or all
old bogies, and the most destructive
of mirth, laughter and happiness. 1t
is not difficult to prove its fallacy.
Let every man, woman and chlld
stand I'D against it, sing, howl, II
they cannot give forth melodlous
sounds, laugh merrily, and rejoice
at the coming of day, like the plrds'
whose first thought upon waking OH
the appearance of the first. streak
of dawn is to sing happily with pure
iov for the return of another DAY.
Let each be as happy as the plfus,
and make everybody else happy, ana
thus will this detestible superstition
retire to the gloom of its lnceptlon
and be heard of no more.
There is an old superstition tnal
the left limbs should always be
dressed first, but not completely at
one time. Suppose that the man VINO
manifests his Indignation at the as
sartion that he is superstitious COM
mences, cautiously, as it We're, with
out letting himself know that he is
being watched, with the first gar
nent he puts on in the morning, ana
learn what is the result. How sur
prised he will be to know, perhaps
for the first time, that his left arm
goes into his shirt first, his left leg
in his trousers first, and fls lett
sock on his left foot first, to say
nothing of continuing the observa-
ton as far as the shoe. There are
men who will change a garment
which has been put on, unconscious
ly, inside out, but there are many
men who will not, for their lives,
risk the old superstition concerning
such an act. Kings have not dared
it. .-..,...
Where is the man or boy who, saw
ing only in a spirit Of braVado, Will
knowingly walk under a ladder?
Even if done in a spirit of definace
of the old bogie, how eXpectantly
and sometimes tremblingly he awaits
the coming of the penalty. Try it,
man, and if the penalty of sorrow or
loss, disappointment or accident, does
not result before the day has swept
by you will not tell of it. If it comes
to you, the rule will be followed, and
you will never cease telling of it,
this rare occurrence.
When a man returns to the house
after once starting out, having, per-
hapS, forgotten to kiss his wife, or
something less important, his natural
inclination, without special prompt
ing, is to sit down before starting
again. 1t is said to be bad luck to
omit this.
Even death may result if human
being should raise an open umbrella
over his head within doors, it is said.
Umbrella makers have been known
to observe this religiously.
People who live in the country
must be careful not to have around
their homes a white-nosed COW, for,
should the window be open and this
COW with the white proboscis reach
1T over the window sill in search of
information or something dainty,
there will be a death in the family
before long. SO says the old saw.
Why must we give a penny for any
sharp instrument presented by a
friend? Why do we seek a four
leaved clover, and why must we
pick up dirty horseshoe from the
street whenever we see it there
Why do men nail the horseshoe over
their doors, and ends down, too, when
the original superstition, of which
they seem to be in ignorance, asserts
that it should be nailed up the other
way, so as to catch within it's en-
brace the luck which descends?
There is no longer any use of talk
ing about the old bogie concerning
one of thirteen sitting at table dying
within a year after the feast, for
the Thirteen club exploded that fool
ish old saw by sitting thus month in
and month out many years, many
tables with thirteen at each, and all
lived out the dangerous year and
more years added, but there are
still living men who would not un-
dertake a journey on Friday, al
though, after coming to sum the mat
ter up, multitudes of men have dis
covered that Friday, of all days in
| the week, is the most fortunate day
| for everything. And it is rarely now
| that a criminal is executed on Fri
| day in any part of the world, thanks
| to that Thirteen club, who laugh al
| superstition, knife and fork in hand
| Yet there is not one of them who
| has not his pet superstition, either
consciously or otherwise. The big.
| gest man in the club carries horse
chestnut in his pocket to ward of
rheumatism, and another is spirit
ualist. They all put on the left socl
| first, and few of them dare sing be
fore breakfast. But they are de
serving of great praise for wha
| they have done and must not weary
in well-doing.
When a valuable vase in the Tui1
! leries fell to the floor and was shat
tered a short time before the grea
battle of Waterloo, Josephine prophe
sled disaster would follow-and i
did: Napoleon met his fate there
but his Book of Fate" never tolt
him defeat was near and disaster
| lowering over him. But this wa:
the first vase broken by many il
the Tuilleries. What about the 9th
ers and the old omen? The opal i: