Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1903-12-05

habits good and bad mostly the latter.
or our ancestors There, for example. N
the salt superstition. Every man and
woman In town knows that splling the
SAT- on the table cloth, whether acct
dentally or Of design, is unucky, but
not one in thousand can tell why, The
reason Is perfectly plain to any one who
knows ought OF the habits of our Teu-
tonic ancestors, Away back IN the days
When feudal barons held sway in cas-
Ties built on hllltops. a common table
was set In the great hall, whereot the
knight and his retainers all eat togeth-
en- About midway the table stood a
vase containing from one to three
quarts OF salt; the salt bowl was passed
from hand to hand, each feaster, with
knife or fingers helping himself to
what he needed. and after the ponder
Gus vase had gone round the table il
was replaced In the center Eating,
however, was but a minor part OF the
ceremonies at knlghtly banquets. The
drinking was the main feature. Drink
ing was frequently followed or accom-
panied by lighting, and an idea of the
times may be gained from the fact
that when one member of such u par
~ rose to drink a toast another, his
chosen friend, rose at his side and
stood with drawn sword as pledge OF
security that the drinker would not be
stabbed while both hands We're raised
holding the ponderous, double handled
tankard. That however is another
story. During the fights at the table
the salt bowl was frequently over
turned by the bellicose guests, who IN
their eagerness to get at each other,
climbed on or scrambled across the ta-
BILE. Hence the overturning Of the salt
az the baron's board was quoted as am
indication Of unusually lively scenes.
The incident was always unlucky for
somebody for when the Tentonlc, Eng
llsh, Irish French, Danish, Norwegian,
Italian and Spanish ancestors under
took to settle their little differences,
they did the business thoroughly, and
the fact that few of them were car
ried from the banquet on their shields
to the nearest church for Christian bur-
ial was an incident taken as n matter
OF course, which gave no particular
concern TO any one The upsetting OF
the salt however came to be regarded
as foreboding some unlucky Incident,
and, although we now cut our dinners
IN peace, we still cherish The belief That
the act of spilllng salt is Of Itself prog
nostic of evil to come.
uNLlLhI NUMBERS.
The idea of lucky and unlucly num-
bers Is also an Inheritance. one OF
those cosby old historians who knew
everything that was going on an his
time says that the Roman sports had
a game imported from Egypt, played
with a board divided into Squares, each
bearing a number; a stone pail about
the size OF "a marble was Tipped with
the finger against one side of the
board and went rolling about from
side TO side until II finally cam, 20 rest
on a square. Professional gW1blers
used boards specially prepared in such
a way that the bah would roll INTO de-
sired squares. These We're lucky for
the gambler, unlucky for everyone else,
and thus certain numbers acquired Il
bad reputation among the sporting fra
ternlty. Three seven and nine have
for one or another reason, hoen regard
ed as mystic numbers by many nation
alities, and the whole Christian world
holds thirteen In abhorranuc, because
that was the number of persons who
sat down at the table during the last
meeting of Christ and his disciples, be-
fore the cruclfixion. The superstition,
however connected with the last days
Of Christ are numerous enough TO form
a class Of themselves, the Friday super
stltion being perhaps the best known.
II Is quits probable, however, that most
of the number superstltions may be ia
thered ON the astrologers and sooth-
sayers, who juRged with numbers as
their stock IN trade. and nre also prob-
ably chargeable with the right ana left
hand ideas, to which some PERSONS ct
tach no little Importance,
DREAMS. CATS AND ToADs.
Belief in dreams has always been
common, and, indeed this superstition
seems to have more foundation IN sea-
son than any other class. SO many In
stances have occurred of prophetic
dreams, verified by the facts at later
date, that almost any one regards him
self as having a reason for the belief
In dreams, and, indeed, students of
mental science confess themselves puz-
zlod Mt many of the disclosures made
by scientific investigation and seem to
be agreed that the dream superstition
Is probably the most eXcusabe OF the
whole list Animal superstitions have
In large measure their origin I'm the ma
ture, habits, appearance or character
istics OF the animals themselves. The
toad, for instance, has always been in
ing, his habits are bad, he Is In the
popular mind, closely associated with
the serpent family, for whom all man
kind, from the Garden of Eden to the
present day has had universal detesta-
ton. In describing Satan tempting
Eve, Milton could find no more appro-
pirate figure than to liken him TO a
toad squatting at the ear of the mother
% mankind whispering evil suggestions
into her innocent mind. The astrOogers,
however, are, IN part responsible for
the unpopularlty of the toad. Toads and
frogs dressed In green and red velvet
We're the soothsayers assistants I'm his
int antations, In usefulness, they RI
vailed the black cat, the lnseparable
con ipanion of the witch. The sneak
ing treaohery OF the cat has always
made II an animal of evil omen; black
Is an unlucky color, so Is yellow and
the black coat of the cat, combined
with It's yellow eyes, treacherous habits
and unsparing cruelty, always made II
detestable among the superstition
makers and those who followed their
lead, In India the place of the cat
In folklore has been taken partly by tho
tiger and partly by the monkey, In
high ATTITUDES the fox bears the bur-
den of inlquity which among the peo-
pie OF the temperate climes has been
loaded ON the cat,
SOME LUCKY ONES.
The horse and the dog are lucky, so
also Is the COW, Their usefulness has
made them fortunate and even the shoe
of the horse, lucky meal, associated
with an animal OF good onion, shares
the reputation OF the horse,
a.. a. a A..
may often be traced to the uses made
OF the plant, its foliage or flowers.
Among the Greeks the bodies OF the
dead were crowned with parsley. "He
will be IN need Of parsley" was eue
phemsm slgnlfyng a belief In the APP
preaching death OF the person indi-
Gated. A Greek army marching TO at
tack an eremy was almost stampeded
by meeting two mules loaded with
parsley. We have no parsley super
stltiou; its uses us n vegetable has
a