The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1900-12-09
THE TIMES RICHMOND Va, SUNDAY. DECEMBER 9. 1900.
THE VAGARIES OF
NUMBER THIRTEEN.
People Who VIII Not Associate
With This Combination
of Figures.

"A business man recently moved from
Lynchpurg to Richmond and after Sett.iis
well established wrote to his wife to come
and to give directions in advance as TO
what sort OF house he must rent.
She sent only two specifications: u
must have ten rooms and must not Dear
the number thirteen or any combination
of thirteen. This would seem simple
enough, but the husbnnd grew weary IN a
long hunt and never found the requests
without the prohibitions, but he got the
house agent to change 81 number and the
wife was never a bit the wiser.
GOOD LUCK.
Councilman Harry Glenn has no such
prejudice against the number thirteen. The
first time he started in business he dis
covered that his place was No. 1913. Inc
hrst day he had thirteen customers ana
since then he has had a long list OF com
cident relations with this number that
would take page Of space to enumerate
and he regards it as his lucky num-
ber
He has prospercd ever since ne tied to
this number and still keeps tab on the
fnteful way in which it follows him
through life.
IS CONSISTENT.
The last incident was in the passage of
the curfew law. The vote stood 13 to Il
and Mr.. Glenn thought his pet mineral
had played him false and his pet scheme
was lost, but a member changed his vote
and then another and the Curfew ordi-
nance was passed by a vote of - to II.
councilman Glenn continues 10 follow
fate on the schedule of a bakers dozen
even to eating thirteen biscuits for sup
per.
EDITOR HART.
But lets have what Editor James L.
Hart. Of the esteemed Farmville Herald
has to say about it.
He becomes reflective and makes some
discoveries. Mr.. Hart edtoralizes as fol-
lows:
We have often wondered why any super
sutton has been associated with the num-
Der 13. Some people are forced TO wear
NO. 10 boots but there are many others
VINO cannot be made to occupy room IL
in a hotel.
y citizen of our town would not toler-
ate phone No. IS, and SO it goes the world
round
So far as we know the earliest record of
the horrible being associated with the
number is to be found in the boot of
Esther, when Hamamn appealed to Aha
SueruS for permission to kill the Jews
then in that llinglow, the edict was writ
ten by the scribes on the 18th day of
the first month and the killing was to
take p!7e on the 18th day Of the twelfth
month"
And w,en Hannah was brought to
grief anC the Jews were commissioned
to STAY their oppressors they began
their bloody work ION the twelfth
month TINT is the month Adar on the
18th day d the same The Jews con-
tinued this work Of destruction on the
18th and 18th days of this same month
Adar and afterwards Mordecai COM
manded tina they should keep the 18th
and 18th da.s of the same, yearly but
nothing is said of keeping the 18th
This is curious reading at any rate, and
may throw SINE light on the supersti-
tious IS.
The Herald, some years since. called
attention to the fact that Virginia's sic
semper tyrannis' had its origin in
Joshua, chapter 1t and verse q.
AS a book and 1pthing more the Bible
is the most interesting Of all books. and
the man who fails to read it loses some
thing he cannot find II the other books
of the world. ii.,,f..