Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1896-01-28
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THE THIRTEENTH GUEST.
A Tale for the Superstitious.

were assembled in a room III the Aide
marie hotel, New York, impatiently
awaiting the arrival of Hudson Sedley,
the thirteenth guest.
They had been invited to dinner
given by Hubbard Vernon, and he
nervously paced the room, ever and
anon gazing at his watch, and inward
ly cursing at the hardness of Sedley.
Every one present, even the writer
OF this story. observed that he was
much annoyed, and at last he gave eX-
preston to his feelings by utterlnS
these words:
IF Sedley does not come soon, we
shah have to sit down to dinner with
that ill-omed number-thirteen."
.'Oh. what silly rot"' exclaimed Jack
Denton. surely, Vernon, you do not
place any faith in that old woman's
superstition?'
Indeed / do said Vernon; Il am
deeply affected by what you are pleas
ed TO call an old woman's supersti-
tioa. l am in fact, so powerfully at
fected by it that l would not sit Ut
table with thirteen for any considera-
ton"
would nothing induce you to do
so!" asked Gerald Sinclair with what
/ considered ill-timed banter.
Nothing" said Vernon. firmly; and
growing somewhat heated at the tone
and smile of Sinclair. he added: Il
feel so strongly on this matter that L
would rather the devil himself>should
fill seat at the table than sit down
to It with thirteen"
"Aha" cried Sinclair. ''the devil is
invited but will his satanic majesty
come"
While the tones of his voice were
still vibrating, the bell rang. A mo-
ment later the servant announced:
'AIr. Sedley."
"Ah," said Vernon, much relieved,
"here he is at last How are you,
Sedley? You are doubly welcome, for
just before you came we We're specu-
lating as to whether your absence
would not make it necessary for us to
to sit down with thirteen at table"
II was detained said Sedley briefly.
IL ask your pardon"
There was something odd about his
tone / noticed it. and saw that Yer
non did so, too. But he replied:
Don't mention it, old fellow. It's
W DlNl hlSht hsNNt htppthtt w
any Of us
But as l grasped Sedleys hand I
met NornOn's eye. | don't know eX-
actly whether it was that or Sedley's
hand which startled me. But if Yer
mons look was peculiar, Sedley's hand
grSsp was even more so. 1t was quite
clammy, snake-like. Ugh! J can re-
member it still.
we gathered at the table. and il was
my lot to sit opposite to Sedley. Be
SIDE me sat Sinclair. But although he
seemed in unusual spirits and was
mere brilliant even than was his wont,
tho conversation tagged. There SEEM
ell to be some spell upon us, for all
the guests were gay fellows, and, as q
RUE, at dinner parties where there are
no LADIES'. the merrment is apt to be
Unchecked.
KS for myself, whenever attempted
an sally | would catch the eye of
Seilley, and it invariably exercised an
uE pleasant effect upon me. l could
nGi divine the cause. Ordinarily, Sed-
Lee was as jolly fellow as you would
mCSt in days stroll down Broadway,
blu. to-night-well. l couldn't under
ste it. | gave it up, and devoted
myself to my dinner
rs if to complete the ill-fOrtune of
tho evening, the conversation persist
emily turned on thirteen. The various
SuoerstitiOns with that number were
discussed. and they were many. 1t
seemed from the amount of curious
lore brought forth by this discussion
th*t the evil properties of the number
ara by no means confined to the table.
1t is said of the Turks" remarked
Sioclair, as he slipped a glass Of
Sherry, sit Is said of the Turks that
they consider the number thirteen so
uniucky that they have almost eX-
plunged 1t from their vocabulary"
so it seems, then" remarked Yer
non, that the prejudice against thir-
te IN is not confined to the number of
gl'estsI"
BY no means. Yet that supersti-
ti,n is widespread one. AS every
ole knows, its origin is generally at
tfibuted to the Last Supper, at which
there were thirteen-Christ and the
tvrelve apostles-and from which Ju-
DIS, with the Savior's words of accu-
ss,tion still ringing in his ears. went
forth to deliver up his Master to the
death. But the superstition is in re-
atty much older. and is mentioned in
tIc 4NuIse my lnoloSy. Ibis NufStf SUI
ptrstition prevails in the minds of
many who firmly believe that it is not
Only unlucky to sit with thirteen at
table. but that the last man to seat
himself will de before the year Is
Otst'
Sedley lifted ais head and fixed his
eye on Sinclair. Until now had never
noticed what extremely unpleasant
eyes Sedley had. They were cavern
ot,s, piercing, green eyes. and there
was sinister CLEAN about them that
night which actually made me uncom-
fcrtable. But apparently no so Sin
clair.
"The vulgar superstition, you say?"
began Sedley 1t was the first time
he had spoken, and involuntarily
h'ish came over the table. 1.-THE vul-
gar superstition. you say? Do you not
believe it, them
believe it? Mo-" sneered Sinclair
N;t is an old wOman's chatter. 1t Is
fig only for the consideration of chill
dcen and FOOLS"
''By the way" said Vernon, looking
ABOUND the table with an attempt at
p,easantry, "who was the thirteenth
man to sit down to-night?"
"Ay," added Sedley in a tone which
deprived the remark of all pleasantly,
"Hvho was the thirteenth MANI