Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1896-06-17
CARD SUPERSTITIONs
PLAYERS WITH THE PAsTEeoARD
HAVE THEIR "RLlND siDE.n

: PLAYERS WITH THE PAsTEeoARc
q HAVE THEIR "RLlND sipE.n
some OF the Strange Beliefs Are a. Old n,
the First Game Of Cards-some Of tb.
standard Superstitions Which were H.,d
r by Persons Known to History.
That immortal devotee of whist
Sarah Battle, whose wish was for "a
clear fire, clean hearth. and the rieor
OF the game. " and who, emphatically
observing that cards were cards. loved
thorough paced partner, a determined
enemy, we are told, and neither took
nor gave concessions, had yet her weak
point All people, says Lamb, "have
their blind side-their superstitions-
and have heard her declare, under the
rose, that hearts was her favorite suit" !"
And In this respect Sarah Battle was q
type OF most card players. Every one
has his pet superstition, or his favorite
suit, and as some one suit, or certain
cards thereof, may be considered spe-
cially lucky, SO there are at least two
cards which are generally looked at
askance as decidedly unlucky One is the
four of clubs, known as the "devil's
bedposts," and the other is the four of
hearts, which, for some reason, goes by
the name of "Hob Collingwood" in the
north Of England
No manner Of man is more prone to
belief in luck, or to put his trust in |
strange methods Of insuring it, and
warding off the effects of unlucky
omens and influences, than the con-
firmed gambler, and even the mildest
player at that form of domestic whist
disrespectfully known as ''bumble pup
py, where stakes are counters repre-
senting purely imaginary values-even
such one is, as rule, just as strong a
believer in the ''luc!1" which he tries to
either secretly or openly, as
any professional Barry Lyndon. The or
dlnary card player, when pursued by b
run OF i'll luck, gets up, makes his chair l
perform mystic gyrations, and sits down
again, refreshed and hopeful, to pick IL
up the cards of the new deal. He NAV a
laugh as hB turns the chair round, but
ne does 1t all the same, and entertains,
you may be sure, a sneaking belief that p
there is something in it," after all
Gard superstitions sometimes take odd t'
orms. Some time ago visitor to the u
OF a country town in the IL
astern part Of Suffolk discovered that
was there considered unlucky to sit "
pposite the hinges, locally called the II
'jimmers,'' Of the table when playing o'
t cards. Old Aubrey, the old antiuuary.
aore than 200 years ago noted that M M
7hen one had bad luck at cards it was IL
ommon for him to say that somebody
'as sitting with his legs crossed and Is
ad SO brought him ill fortune This 1e M
'as survival of a superstition which -
ates back to the days of Roman pagan -
IN and may possibly account for some 70 70
the contempt SO freely and proverbial- :
: poured out upon tailors, who sit cross st,
gged at their work. he
Habitual card players often have re- D.
'rt to strange methods of propitiating
le goddess fortune or luck, whom they ,,.
orshlp. Du Boisgobey, in one of his g.
nsatlonal stories, remarks: "A1l heavy
ayers believe in some kind of fetish.
'me put faith in ring, others in the
,ndants Of watch chain; some will
lly stake with their hats on or when +,
lewing toothpick. Others again in ev'
st ON wearing spectacles, although they INC
ssess excellent sight, while some, be- NJ.
re venturing to enter their club, will
ak for hours in the streets, hoping to
eet hunchback person and gently N
uch the hump" Fetish worship is BY Ma
means confined to Africa. Burglars Gu
We more than once been found carry
9 coal in their pockets, which was sup
sed in some mysterious way to help p
em In their nefarious trade, and many Wy Wy
ople who have nothing in common Ero
tn lawbreakers save superstition make
Practice Of carrying this or that in
nsically worthless thing to bring Vt
I'm luck. me,
Among English card players Of the mo-
It century what was called "carp OILY
ne"-that is, the curious f1eshy palate
the fish-was supposed to be of sin NJ
lar efficacy in bringing luck at cards. IN = :,
arlstocratic devotee of the green Mai
ze table, Lady Mary Coke, wrote to F, /
1end something more than a hundred
rs ago: 'The carp bones are intoler- =
g. In the evening lost eight and Nc
snty guineas at Lady Hertford's. G: I
re thrown one'-carp bone-s'i in the D's'
. But whether tits yours or Mrs.
10 ko11
the African fetch worshiper? The mea, nu
utored savage, when things go wrong mon
h him, beats his fetch; the English Robt
Y Of rank, when her fetch failed to- reta,
ng her luck, threw it into the fire.
Again, the African beats and NAL cb,
ITS his fetich, but continues to wor- meet
, it or another. Lady Mary Coke all
1g to her belief In the virtues of the B. &c
rp bone. " Six years later than the
, Of the previous extract she wrote
a friend concerning another card
y: II lost Is guineas, though the
} bone lay upon the table, but fear and
princess s''-Amelia-''has taken Hall.
y the virtue, for she unfolded the knie
ar, took it out and called it an old
b, which diverted the company more
- Aid ~ g., g., Ill -. Vale
At cards am superstitious, and stree
!; is only at play tbs pardonable. !" mon,
Y Mary was candid, although her Keen
Oning is open to question.
tator.
Why He Was Moving. Sta1
Won lita mnsic nnderstandp,, plar,
=. in nj
Very much. - 49, ~ ~
Then you are happy in the location r,Son mSon
our Aat?"
l am miserable -