Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1898-12-23
IRON sUPERSTlTlONS.
Fhc Metal YAK ncgrrded by ERyD-
tians ~ AccurScd and Impure.

Fhc Metal YAK 1cErrdeG by ERyD-
tians a. Aceurscd and Impure.
In Ecypt ilou was nomiIally accurs-
cd, oven when people used it all cAy
long and every day 1t was "the in
pure meta" ---"tho bones of Typhon, y
father CT evil. No nan could touch II
without sin. lie must do penance and
make atonement. That was the theory
as long as the Egyptian race endured.
In practice iron had been handled freely
for several thousand years. The only
piece of metal found in the great pyra'
mid was an iron bar. Tho same conflict
Of ancient faith with growing con-
venience was urged everywhere no
doubt, but the record does not exist 1t
was lost before the classic time, and SO
Greek and Roman sages puzzled over
odd little customs handed down from
days Of old.
Cicero asked in vain why tool OF
iron must not be brought into the sa-
cred grove Of the arvals, or, if brought
by accident, must be expiated by the
sacrifice of pig CT lamb, and Plp-
tarch wondered why the archon CT
PlatRa might not touch iron except 1T
the yearly festival concentrating the
triumph Of Greece. There is no end to
such Instances. The sacred old Pons
Suhlicius had to be repaired without
using iron go had tbs ancient temple
of Jupiter Liber. In imperial times,
when the meaning Of such rules was
lost, "a special law abrogated them.
One may survey mankind from China
TO Peru and find the same superstition
everywhere. Iron tools were forbidden
in the building of the temple at Jerusa-
lem. The late Rajah Vizanagram, n
member of the council, man Of great
learning and enlightenment, would not
elbow iron to be used in any building
throughout his territory. He believed
that an epidemic would follow. Negroes
of the Gold Coast must remove any ar
ticles of iron on their persons when con-
sulting the fetch. Upon the other hand
a Sikh must always have piece OF
steel or iron about him. Burton tells
how "the pious Moslem stretches out
a finger exclaiming: Iron! Oh, thou Ill
omened one when a duststorm ap-
proaches the caravan-believing it to
be directed by jinnee.
In Scotland many traces survive. To
use iron in kindling the "needfre"
was awful impiety. When fisherman
swears during bad weather at sea, his
comrades still grasp the nearest bit OF
metal, crying. "Cauld iron " 1t is not
so long since people thrust nail or a
knitting needle through each article OF
food in the house or dipped it in tho
liquor when a person died. This IS
enough interested in the sub
ject will find reams Of evidence in books
devoted to folklore. We may credit
that the superstition arose everywhere
at the time when fierce invaders, armed
with iron, overran the country, mas
sacring the helpless people and destroy
ing the antique religion. 1t was the &C.
cursed metal.
Afterward by natural process the
evil thing often came to be regarded a.
a protection against other evil things
witches and demons and charms and
death itself. English babies were de-
Tended from fairy kidnapers by put
ting key, knife, pair of tongs and above
all, scissors, in the cradle. In many Of
those pretty tales dealing with "swan
maiden" the girl cannot recover her
plumage because it is locked in a chest
with an iron key. Sometimes she gets
mortal to open the chest and flies away
upon the instant In other stories she is
released by touch Of iron, in one IA
vorite version by the husband throwing
his bride at or to her-the iron bit 10
fatal.-London Standard.