The age-herald., 1898-05-31

beat the sheaves and pins of the blocks to drive the devil out of the gear, and the noise they make is a horrid din. rms IS said to have originated in an order2 given which resulted in disaster A certain Spanish squadron that had been anehoreo some time was surprised by the enemy and could not make sail and escape. as all the blocks were rusted and useiess
 The Spanish sailor has prejudice against starting out on a voyage on Fri day, that being the day on which CO., lumbus started on his voyage of discovery. English and American sailors will not sail on that day if they can help it. They would consider the whole trip hoodooed by such beginning.
 A sneeze at sea would hooddoo the ship unless it happened to turn to the right, when it brings good luck. Sailors have faith in odd numbers and naval gunners carry out this belief in the number of times they fire a salute
 WhistliHg for wind is another favorite superstition of the man before the mast. This is a trick when ships are becalmed, as "Whtles rash tempests roar" IA "eapful of wind" or a "a bagfu'' ussl- ally defines the quantity.
 The phantom ship.so often seen by nayigators. is not purely the apparition of romance, but mirage, something al- most as wonderful; but not of the super natural order.
 The horseshoe is still a popular contri- tion by sailors to the fetish of good luck. A distinguished precedent is given for this, Lord Nelson believed in the luck of the horseshoe, and had one nailed to the mast of his ship Victory
 A peculiar superstition is that if women are taken on board a voyaging ship some disaster will follow. This may be the req tn carry women passengers. Sailors, too, pre- fer ship that has a masculine name, or is called after some man, or Is geographical A line of steamers will often employ a cer- tain selection of names to the exclusion or all others. The Cunard steamers end all their names with "la, feminine terminal, but one that has been the reverse of dis astrous, since that line has mover lost a ship. Captains are quite as superstitious as their crews, being of bettetr education, l, and that may account for the names Of sailing vessels being identical with that of wife or. sweetheart. Certain names are known in the history of nautical nomen- cature as hoodoos. They have been paint ed over and other names substituted, but bad luck attended the ship, and not even reconstruction saved it. Then, if the name must be feminine, the crew want some thing they are familiar with One old tar who was told the name of new ship was the Aurora said:
 "Why don't they leave poetry to the navy folk and stick to the Susannahs and Mary Anns and Jemimas of my day? Aurora! How is a plain able seaman to answer a hail with such a mouthful as that behind his teeth?"
 Sailors cling to their supersttions with a tenacity worthy of better cause. Possibly it is more from custom rather than from an actual belief in their efficacyI The man at the wheel will tell you that he can not steer straight if there is a cross-eyed passenger on board, and he repeats a charm of words to annul the evil: St. Peter! St. Peter, pray give us charm, Against the bad eye that would do us a
 harm.