The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-07-22
THE uNLUcKY NUMBER 10.



From the London Spare Moments.)
One Of the most curious and widespread
OF the superstitious Of France Is the belle
In the efficacy OF numbers lucky and un
lucky. There Is scarcely Partisan whit
has not his number. and the recurrence o.
this number In dates. either in the Weei
or month, marks his day Of fate. When the
date contains his lucky number he bets OF
horse races, plays ecarte at the cercle, and
makes heavy epeculations on the bourse:
when the date comedies with his unlucky
/ number he avoids business ventures and
gaming a. he would . plague.
/, Come men have their lucky number COM
bined with their monogram In q seal ring.
French satlors sometimes have their lucky
numf-r tatto0ed on their right arm and
their 1nlucky number on the left.
The rarity Of the number thirteen in the
streets and in hotels and o.hces shows to
what extent this oldest of superstit;ons Is
believed and regarded In Paris-so care
less and apparently caring so little and be-
| lieying SO little in what cannot be felt
| with the hands. Very few Parisians would
care to live in house Of the ill-omened
number. but be 1t only omitted, or let ita
place be filled by twelve bis" as the
French put 1t, and the evil charm Is bro
ken.
The number is sought for by only one
class-the sage femmes''-the wise women
of that particular sort who deal in love
phflters and charms. who sell to BONES
and to young girls OF the bougeo:s pow
ders to bring back their erring or recreant
lovers. These women augment their power
and their earnings by living at the fateful
number.
Most Of the fashionable clubs OF Paris
have stories, which are their peculiar prop
erty, Of disasters which have followed a
disregard to the superstition with regard 10
thirteen people sitting at table. The fol-
lowing is one often told: 1t belongs to the
best known literary dining club of Paris,
the famous monthly Diner Dentu. The an
cient lay Of the club fixed the number of
its members at twelve, and the limit YVES
never passed until Arthur de Boissieu. OF
the Gazette de France persuaded them
to extend the number to thirteen. This
was voted unanimously, and a banquet
was arranged to welcome him.
On the evening set the members gath
cred to meet their brilliant addition. ard
while awaiting his arrival news was brought
them that he had been thrown from his
favorte horse and almost instantly killed.
The skeleton had at length obtruded mo
the feast. This fatality stands solemnly
recorded in the clubs records-the death
OF member who had never entered the
secret rooms of the club. never sat at its
board or wore its ribben-one who was
first toasted around a table whose banquet
lamps were extinguished and pledged only
after he had touched glass to glass with
death.
Some years ago a well-known English
woman, widow. moved to Paris, and took
apartments in hotel in the Rue Goujon,
in the quarter Occur la Reine. She was
wealthy and very beautiful, and before
long fell in love with and became engaged
to an attache. young Hanoyerian baron,
who had been aide de-camp to King
George OF Hanover when Prussia imade the
latter province independent Early In the
autumn the young baron. was summoned
hurriediy back to Hanover. and on the
evening before his departure from Paris
his English fiancee gave an impromptu din
ner in his honor. Am8ng others invited
were the Comte and Countesse de W OF
Poland. Dinner was served at 10 o'clock.
and all was proceeding merrily, when the
countesse suddenly made an exclamation
which drew all eyes to her. There were
just thirteen at the table.
Some laughed incredulously, some fear
fully and all counted.
But there is something more strange
STILL" said she. Il think We are of ex-
actly as many nationalities as we are per-
sons"
Strange enough. 1t was true. There were
present Hungarian friend Of the baron's,
Scotch cousin of the hostess, an Italian
painter. an attache Of the Russian Lega-
ton, Haytian, Mexican married in
Paris and a Partisan councillor of state.
The hostess herself was English, the
Comte de W was a Pole and his wife
by birth an American.
This discovery was hailed as little short
of marvellous and the discue sion which fol-
lowed served to make the company in
measure forget the fatal number.
The next morning the hostess accompan-
led her iance to the STATEN, and on her re-
TURF, as the weather was Intensely hot,
sat at her garden window clot'led only in
light wrapper. The same night she was
stricaen with pneumonia, and in two days
she died before the baron could reach her.
A strange fatality seemed to pursue the
guests OF that curious and unpleasins cos
mopolitan dinner. On her return to her
esq was in a railway accident In Wales,
and and was made cripple for life. The
same year saw a quarrel between the ba-
ron and his friend, who had been enter
tanned at the repast, and duel in which
the Hungarian was fatally wounded The
comtesse was divorced from her Polish
husband; the Russian attache died IN
Siena Of fever, and the French deputy was
deposed, arrested on charges Of bribery
and conspiracy and committed suicide. :,
Only four of that dinner party are still
alive. Three Of them have been question:
ed in regard to this strange series of dis
asters. and but one would speak Of it at
all, and then only after the most evident
reluctance.
A MYSTERY CLEARED UP.