The people's journal. (Pickens, S.C.) 1891-1903, 1901-08-22
TO CHASE AWAY ONES LUCK.
The Maxi1ns of Exp riencc Sit
pcrstition Thrives Best Among
Women.

Women.
If il man walks under ladder and
the careless painter above upscts the
paint pot upon him the viclim prompt
~ iOlmctS both his religious teachings
and his matcrialistic reasoning and all
the preachers in the world and all the
lnycrsolIs III folty-live States COM
bumcd could not convince BIN that it
was not unlucky to do us he hal done.
;SUpCl is the one thing that
Christian and unbchcvcr unite in at
tackiuy, yet, despite the onslaught of
pulpit, press and platform, it survives
not, perhaps, as openly, but none the
less strongly, even if shamc-Faccdly
feared, says the pittsburg Dispatch.
The Witch OF Endor may be but a
classical remembrance and civilization
may have convinced the SalCmilcs of
the rutility of the brand and HIc fagot
as an exercising medium, but few of
lief, however slight, in fate and for
tune. Iypnotism and the faith cure
are its modern development.
The literature of superstition, as cX-
pressed in the proverbs of every land :,
is not usually given The attention it
deserves. These maXims representing
the tested and accumulated experience
OF mankind have had their cIrccLiyc-
ness destroyed by familiarity. The
axiom that in union there is strength
is only being fully appreciated by the
corporations and the labor unions after
centuries OF repetition. This was one
of the proverbs not based upon super
snlion, which probably accounts for its
lack of recognition sooner. But take
the majority Of She aphorisms and it
is no. difficult TO trace them back to Il
Supelstitious origin or forward to a
supcrstuOus moral. "ThG more haste,
the less speed" finds expression in the
belief that it is unlucky 10 turn back
from Journey. The individual who
has been half way TO his work with a
few minutes TO spare and has had to
turn back for some essential he had
forgotten, realized the i'll luck when
he was "dockcd" for being late. The
man who hurrics to catch a tram or to
see Il show and leaves his money or his
ticket in his other clothes also adorns
the illustration.
Spiilin9 box of matches is a sure
sign of Il row III many households. If
it is the man OF the house who does
the spiliing the row doesn't tarry on
the way while he picturcsuucly blamcs
his better half for leaving them upside
down or placing them III an awkward
corner. Spilling the salt was long re-
galdcd as SO unlucky that unspillablC
salt shakers were invcntcd to dodge it.
The uncanny cat has long been the
symbolic supcrSLiti0us animal. The
black cat which crosses The path of the
pedestrian brings him i'll luck. This
is especially true if thc threatened
victim tries to ward it off by shooting
the cat back to its lair. With ones
eyes on the cat one may easily tril
upon distractions and break Il leg or 4;
neck But The cal is not always az
omen Of evil. If he or she sQuats Il
your door and news Justify at night i
means good luck to all within The
house. 70 chase such a cat away IS tt
chase away ones luck. 1t is tcrribl,
to think of the amount Of luck that ha
been chased away.
When one door shuts another Opcn
says The provcrb. Quaint and homcl,
was its wisdom. But the one tha
opens may be the door OF the polio,
station or the poor farm nowadays
Still, it IS a door, and that lets the pro
verb out. Some have strivcn to en-
large the axioms by having two Opcl
when one shuts, but one must have
been Il screen door, and that docsn
count. One might never get farlhc
than the vestibulC.
Superstition, like religion, Lhrivc
best among women. Their more i'm
a9lnativc minds grasp the ideals tina
Clulu the masculine matcriallst. Th
dropping Of a knife in many houses i
regarded as 50 certain an indication o
the arrival OF q "man at the house :,
| that preparations are at once made I
cvaGc the ice collector and the install
g ment man, or to he ont when the ia
Z collector calls. The dropping of for