The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1901-11-16
AS LUCK WOULD HAVE IT.
M"nkiud's Peculiar Propensity To
Entertain SuperStifionS

4 lady being asked il she believed in
ghosts. replied: No. ] don't believe ia
them, but m awfuuy afraid Of them.
and that Is about the mental attitude of q
good many pcopl' with r. gard to what is
commonly called luck" They profess
they do not believe there is such "a thing
as good OF bad luc5. but at the same time
are very careful not To take any chances
/ 10y doing things popularity supposed to be
Uulucky- and occasionally We hear them
complain OF such a day having been one
Of their unluclSy days.
OF course, luck is not thing we can
very well reason about, but once in "a
while we arr confronted by circumstances
that go very far 10 convince Us thr re-
must really be- something IN the theory.
IN the many decisions both small and
great that we are CDLSJdujIy called upon
To- make iu life. there rs 50 little To guide
our choice that u appears matter of
lualn renee which PAIN We take nGt lt
We select one which ends dlStstTOuSIy,
ana We and that the other would have
been right IL IS not much wonder that
We atulDUte IL To our usual had luck
Again, there are many persons who VII.
seldom venture into any lottery, re1Iie-
uI game Of chance, not because OF any
SCruPleS on thu subject of gambling. but
simply S-CaUSe of a conviction that they
are always uulUcky IN things Of that sort
Other hand there ar, those who are al
WAYS ready to venture because they be
ucVe they are lucky.
Il is not only ignorant and UUeducated
people who believe in luck, for some OF
those who have been very conspicuous in
the world and have won a great name
were strong believers in their own lucky
star, and. took great risks because OF
their firm conviction that they could not
fail in anything. That some Of these emil
dren Of destiny eventually came 70 grief
and finished their careers miseTabIy does
not argue that they We're mistaken all
along. but simply that they tempted tate
too far.
The superstition which some persons
have regarding certain numbers some
times leads 20 strange results. We heard
recently Of a law suit in New York grow
ing out Of the refusal Of a gentleman TO
have the number 5l3 on his house because
he thought IL horribly unIIcky- Il is said
that few hotels have rooms numbered -
dred miles from Charleston. where the
former number having inadvertently been
painted on the door Of room. IL was
found necessary 10 change IL TO "A be-
cause SO many guests refused TO occupy
D.. The superstition about thirteen at
"a BILE is too common 20 need comment u
is said that there had been thirteen guests
At inc laSl dinner party given William J.
Bryan in New York. after which further
remark on that subject Is unnecessary.
The Friday superstition IS quite as COM
teen, and Yet Americans have good reason
10 think u a fortunate day Tor them. since
the first voyage of Columbus began on
Friday, and on the same day Of the week
he discovered land. planted the cross on
the soil of the Western world and entered
i'm triumph the Port Of Barcelona uugn
his return. A. several 81 the other i'm
portaut events Of the great discoveries
life occurred on Friday, ne certainly
should not have regarded IL as an lgnfOr-
tUUHt- day for him.
Two other noteworthy events Of our his
tory occurred on Friday one being Inc
landing of the Pilgrims ON Plymouth
Rock, ana the other the birth Of George
Wa shirgtonf seq Il would seem that 10
should Dc regarded with special favor in
stead of urvaG by AmtTI-auS At the
same time. when Friday falls on the 18th
n the month. AS IL did in Septambev. and
VIII In December. those who attach Spr-
ci7l Impo TtdUcc To the Two things rs be-
ing UulEcky may wei beware what they
do ON that dan
Whether we be supCrStiti1Us OF not in
q general way, We are apt o. feel th-t
then, when everything We do pru~p,rS or
the reverse : mo 90 the most potent
reasons for having day OF miSf1rJIueS
have been given aS follows We may have
have gut the wrong foot Que first. or
have ChnUged some article OF dress
which we had accidentally put on wron2
side uHt- or have seen woman instead
of "a man tho first time We looked ont Df
hH EigdDW-Wn--tu being uTsEerbIIIlv
mixed zap with an the troubles one has in
lfe-Or We may have met crosS--y-d
person upon going out Of doors in the
morning OF have seen "a spider some
Ul-Tt-NVt Their are hundred other
such good and sufficient reasons for these
uulucky days that viii happen now and
81 -U g. The most fortunate Of men 10 is.
however. rathrr "a depl0rable habit e. ram
into when two or three things 20 wrong
af q morning. that OF eXclaimiUE- This
IS one of my uulUcky days." as the more
We look for such things the more We are
ant 20 discover things that confirm us I'm
such belefs.-CharleSt0n News.