The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1898-01-22
One
WOr1nann'S
Views


tion, however emphatically he may as
sert to the contrary. The man who
tells you with fine scorn that he hasn't
a grain IL II in his composition will
probably refuse to occupy room 10,
choosing almost any other in prefer
ence. In fact, however much the world
may laugh at women for throwing
spilled salt over their shoulder hesi-
tating to begin task or set forth on
journey on Friday. or to gaze at the
moon from a left obliauity, men will
be found to be fully as supershtious,
although they may take more trouble
to conceal their small weaknesses in
this direction. know man, a bril-
liant lawyer. who carries around
grimy horsechestnut which looks as if
it might have been in the pocket of a
small boy during the entire period of
his school days. and yet he turns up
his intellectual nose at the girl who
treasures the left hind foot of a rabbit.
killed at midnight in a southern grave
yard, or the other one who wears
four-eaved clover dangling from a
long chain about her neck.
A prominent Scranton man has been
worried and filed with forebodings for
the past month because he waa SO un-
fortunate as to lose certain coin,
value three cents. which he has car
ried for many years. Just what dire
calamity he fears is not understood.
but he secretly laments the absence of
that three-cent piece from his pocket
more than he would the elopement of
a daughter
The average man does not appear to
regard the awful possibilities resulting
from seating thirteen people at table
with as much alarm as does the aver
age woman. Few women will consent
to such an arrangement if by any
means it can be avoided. and all kinds
of subterfuges are adopted to prevent
the fatal omen. Yet well-known
family in this city dined every day for
some time during the entertainment of
guests with thirteen around the board.
This was one year ago last summer,
and UP to date all are living, as spe-
clal inquiry is frequently made to as
certain. There is a charm of which If
known will protect you from the omin-
Gus thirteen spell, and that is you must
see to it that no one at the table sits
with crossed feet during the meal
Probably the Scranton family mem
toned made regulations to this effect,
which precluded the usual fate and
occupied very correct attitudes at the
same time.
1t may be noticed that men are more
superstitious about hoodoos in jewels
than are women. Few men wear opals,
while on the contrary they abound in
that lucky stone, the cats eye, al
though, generally speaking, they will
declare that the gem is worn because
of the soicitude of wife, sweetheart or
sister. Scranton man of brains and
refinement. not to mention good looks.
was heard to declare the other day
that he wouldn't wear an opal for a
hundred thousand dollars, while the
average representative of femininity
these days will assert that the only ill
luck she considers attached to opals
is the bad fortune of not being able to
have any.
However, l know one fair and gentle
lady of intellectual attainments and
little disposition to he the victim of
the most trif1ing superstition, who, in
the shadows of deepening trouble
fast closing about her, hastily gathered
up a rich set of opals and diamonds,
given her not long since by the hus-
band whose steps seemed now newt
ably directed toward the distant coun-
try from which he could not ever re-
turn to the love ana warmth of nome,
and flew with them to the jewelers.,
saying: Here, take them all. ! don't
care what you do with them. only never
let me see them again." Whether the
impending curse was thus turned aside,
certain it is that for a little longer the
dreaded blow fell not. and at any rate
the opals did not threaten the half
frantic wife from their velvet casket
on her dressing table.
To those who vet hold degree of
suspicion of the beautiful stone. a ray
of comfort may exist in the assurance
that if the opal is set with emeral5s,
olivines. or an odd number Of diamonds
in juxtaposition, the curse is averted.
i've been having a struggle with the
| gas man." remarked Il tired woman
| one day this week. You see, I've had
| the notion for some time that we We're
| hcirg swindled. and / learned to read
| the meter. Although as | always for
| set what did with the paper that con-
tained the figures last time | clam
| bered up to read ii, my education i'm
| that line hasn't seemed to be much
| advantage as far as our gas bills go.
Well, I've watched these men who come
| to take the meter, and to the best of
| my ability and belief they don't look
| AT the figures at all but strike AN aver
| age in some way known only to them
| selves. When our house was closed up
| lest fall for month our bill was rather
more for that length of time Than dur
| ing December, when we burned a lot
of gas, SO if that isn't guess work I
| don't know what is"
What could you do about it3"
| queried her friend.
| do? Why, 1 was sure ! could dc
| something. Joe said the gas people
were not buncoers and m-lammers
and i made up my mind to take mat
! ters in my own hands and go down and
| talk to them myself, You know men
are such chumps. Now, Joe will Jet
anybody cheat him foolish'y. He sell
| dom buys anything for the house that
| somebody doesn't pur him off with an
| inferior article. (You ought To see the
queer waist lining he brought home
| the other day. Well, I can Just tell
| you Joe is mistaken. Tall. about film
| Hammers, A nice-lOoking young man
| down in the office Of the Scranton Gas
and Water company is q post .gradu-
| ate In that art. He was too polite for
| anything Went to the trouble Of get
| ting out a lot OF big account books
which contained so many figures they
made me dizzy. Then he glibly ratified
off collection of numbers. Sometimes
they were feet, sometimes they were
dollars and sometimes they were per,
cents. BY the time he got through my
| head was in such a Whirl they might