The evening times., 1899-11-21
The Decay of super-,i,ion.

II is rather amusing to the student OF
ton with the anticipated shower of ne
| teors a few days ago--a shower which did
! not materialiZe. There was a prophecy,
| made by a scientist of some eminence. chat
| the end of the world was to be coincident
| with this shower-that il would be caused
by the tail of a comet striking the earth,
| and that when this event took place the
| entire earth would be burned up so sud
| denly that no one would know what had
| happened.
| If that prophecy had been made one hun
| dred Two hundred. even sixty years ago
| there would probably have been conster-
nation all over the civilized world. People
| would have been saying their prayers.
publicly and privately. Lunatic asylums
| would have received recruits. especially
from isolated and unenlightened communi-
| ties. The dealers in charms and black
magic would have made money. Enthus
asts would have given away their property
and spent several weeks in preparation
for the anticipated calamity. But in
eighteen hundred and ninety-nine the
idea caused scarcely ripple of society.
and the feeling about it generally was one
of mild interest and amusement rather
than anything more serious. In the days
OF the Nllerite excitement. parties of
white robed persons sat out on hiiltops all
night waiting to be waited into The air.
and returned to their homes at daybreak,
cresifalien and foolish in appearance, a
for tba Of ha in
tervais during the Middle Ages practically
the whole population of towns. cities. or
provinces became terror-stricken at the
prospect Of approaching judgment The
Millerite saints were but few in num-
ber compared with the whole population
of the United States, and though there
is superstition enough here yet. it is
doubtful if any prophet could have raised
a following on the strength of the state
ment that the world would be consumed
N the twinkling of an eye by the agency
of a comet. As it was. people observed to
one another. with careless jocularity.
Lets see: this is the day the world comes
to an end. isn't it, and nobody reproved
them for being frivolous.
The truth of the matter is that the
scientific attitude of mind, which is the
natural and sane attitude, is becoming gen.
eral. The idea that all things are caused
by natural development and subject to
physical laws is taking frmer and firmer
hold of the public mind. Superstitious ter
rors are losing their power, because the |
boy or girl is not regaled in babyhood with |
stories of ghosts and goblins, told by the |
old folk in the chimney corner with entire |
belief in their verify. Superstition lis not |
made part of the child's life in babyhood. |
Imaginative tales are given their proper |
place. The child regards its fairy world |
as delightful playground. into which it /
may escape from the hard realities of ac-
tual life, all the more delightful because !
the things and people concerned are not |
real, and therefore are subject to the man.
dates of fancy. 1t does not reason all this |
out, OF course. but children nowadays know
that the brownies are not real in the same
way thai the apple dumplings which they |
have for dinner are real. and that the ogre |
of Jack and the Beanstalk'' is not to be
dreaded as much as the big dog in the next
block. And it is the same way with the
SIoWt loih- lht NTItIuS OF
the present day is inferior to none that
has ever been put into print, and is more
keenly appreciated than it could have been
by any earlier population. We have lost
nothing really worth having by the vanish
ing of superstition. Romance is not dead,
because we have novels in place of sagas
Religion is not less vital and real because
its votaries no longer tremble in fear of
ghosts and devils waiting for them in the
or in some haunted house."
And the people Of today will do just as
much to make the world happier and bet
ter as they would if they really believed
hat it would end on the first day of the
year nineteen hundred. In fact, they will
probably do more, and that is hopeful
iugury for the future.
AT the War Department several deduc-
ions are made from the facts of our opera
inns in nnrthern IJrzou which ,v, o,,,r |