Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1896-06-26
CARD SUPERSTITIONS
PLAYERS WITH TIE PASTEsOARD
HAVE THEIR "eLlND SIDE"

That Immortal Gcvotoc # WHIST
Sarah Battle. whose wish was for "a
clear fire, clean hearth, and the rifor
If the game, and who. cmphatically
observing that cards were cards, loved
Il thorough paced partner a determined
eoomy, we are told, and neither took
nor gave concessions, had yet her weak
point. "Allreoplo, " says Lamb, have
their blind sidc--thcir superstition
and have heard her declare, under the
rose, that hearts WAS her favorite suit. "
And in this respect Sarah Battle was
type Of woSt card players Every one
has his l,o superstition, or his favoritc
suit, and as some one SHIT, or certain
cards thereof, nay be considered spo-
ciully lucky 50 there are at least two
cards which are generally locked at
askaucc rs decidedly unlucky one is the
four f clubs, known rs the devils
bcdpcStS, ana the other is the four Of
hearts, which for me reason, goes by
the name Of Hob Collugwood" III the
north If England.
No manner q nam is more prone TO
belief in luck, or To put his trust in
strange methods f insurirg it, and
warGng off Tho effects Cf unlucky
omcns and influences. than the con-
firmcd gambler and even the mildest
player at TIT form ot domestic whist
disrcspecttully known as "hUwble pup
py. where stakes are counters repre-
sonting purely imaginary valuos-oven
such IA one is, aS rule, just as strong
believer in the luck which he tries 20
propitiate either secretly or openly, as
any professional Barry Lyndon. The or
binary card player, when pursued by Il
run of i'll luck, gct- up, makes his chair
perform mystic gyratlOnS. and sits down
again, refreshed and hopeful, u pick
up the cards If the new deal. He may
laugh as he turns the CHAIR round, but
hc docs il AL the same, and cntortains,
you may bc sure, a sucalIng belief that
there is something in IT,, after al.
Card supcrstitious sometimes take odd
forms. Some time ago a visitor 10 the
ncighborhucd If "a country town IN the
eastern part Of Suffolk discovered that
il was. there considered unlucly to sit
opposite the hinges, locally called the
'jimmerS. of the table when playing
at cards Old Aubrey, the old antiqu&ry,
more than 200 years ago noted that
when one had bad luck at CARDS t was
common for him 10 say that somebody
was sitJirg with lis legs crossed and
had 50 brought him i'll fortune. This
wGs survival If "a superstition which
dates back 10 tie days Of Roman pagan
ism and may possibly account for some
Of the contempt 80 freely and Troverbial-
~ poured Out upon tailOrS, who sit cross
legged at their work.
Habitual card players often have To-
sort 70 strange methods f IropitiatiEg
the goddess fortune or luck, whom they
worship Du Boisg hey, in one of his
sensational stories, remarks: All heavy
players believe III some kind Of fetish.
Some put faith i'll ring, others i'll the
pendants OF watch chain: some will
only stake with their hats on or when
chewing toothpick. Others again IN
sist on wearing spcctacles, although they
possess excellent sight, while some, be-
fore venturing 70 enter their club. viii
walk for hours III the streets, hoping 70
meet a hunchback person and gently
touch the hump. Fetish worship j. 10y
no means confined 20 Africa. Burglars
have more than once been found carry
ing coal in their pockets, which was sup
posed in some mysterious way 20 help
them III their ncfarious trade, and many
people who have nothing in common
with lawbreakers save superstition make
practice Of carrying this or that III
frinsicallv worthless thing 70 bring
| hem luck.
Among English card players Of the
last century what was called carp
} bone that is, the curious fieshy palate
of the fsh--was supposed To be- Of sin
pular efficacy III bringing luck at cards
I'm arlStOcratic dcvOtcc of the green
ba!ze table, Lady Mary Coke, wrote to
a friend something more than hundred
years ago: The carp bones are intoler-
able In the evening | lost eight and
twenty guincaS at Lady Hcrtford's. |
have thrown onc"-carp bone III the
fire But whether tlS yours or Mrs.
Jackson | can { tell. Was not this
like the African fetch worShiper: The
untutcred savage, when things 90 ~, ng
with him, beats hi, fetch; the English
lady # rank. when her fetch failed to
bring her luck threw il into the fire
again, tho African beats and mail
treats his fetch but continues 10 wor-
/ ship IT or another. Lady Mary Coke
chung TO her belief in the virtues If the
carp bone. S.X years Later than the
date of the previous extract She wrote
10 friend concerning another card
party: Il lost - guineaS, though the
carp bone lay upon the table, but fear
the princess '-Amolia-"ha taken
away the virtue, for she unfoldod the
paper, took it ont and called il an old
tooth, which diverted the company more
than it did me, for from that time
lost. At cards | am superstitious, and
as it is only at play us pardonablc. "
Lady Mary was candid, although her
reasoning Is open TO question. London
/ Spectator