The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1906-02-18

sional men are quite as superstitious
as the rest of us.
1t is hopeless task almost to rea-
son with the average man or woman
who believes that when a dog bites a i.
person the dog must Immediately be
killed in order to prevent hydrophobia
from developing in the person bitten,
of the superstitions of matter-of-f fact
New Workers. g There are thousands of
persons who believe that very thing.
To explain that killing the dog has
no effort one way or the other on the
development or prevention of hydro
phobia is a waste of breath. AS well
try to persuade some residents Of the
south that the will-o the wisp is not
of supernatural origin and an omen
Of good or i'll.
And that other foolish superstition
about a dog or dogs bowling just before
a death in the neighborhood; there is
no use in trying to explain that phe-
nomenon by natural causes either. Per.
sons who believe in this superstition
always fail to observe that dogs often
practice nocturnal howlings when no
one is at the point Of death, but Just
as soon as any one is taken very i'll
and the dogs yelp the connection to
their minds is obvious.
have never had patient who was
willing to have an operation performed
on Friday. No matter how great the
need, the operation must be put off till
Saturday if the patient has his way.
This is particularly the case with
women.
Doctors, of course, bump up against
all sorts of superstitions when making
the rounds of their patients. For in
stances, there are men who believe, rs
|
of common iron ring on the second
finger Of either hand will make them
immune to certain ills. Every third day
| they carefully wipe from the inside Of
this ring rusty deposit, which they
imagine the ring has drawn from their
body
Other persons never fail to carry, a
horse chestnut about with them as a
! preventive Of certain other ills. [ have
berry poultice for Inflammation of the
bowels, laying the stress not on the
heat Of the. poultice, but on the color
of it.
| "Most modern superstitions are mere
| Iva survival of old ideas, and the rea.
son they still flourish is that few per.
sons are sufficiently well educated and
intelligent to throw them off. No in
telligent and well-educated person will
euIeTIdlu SUPERSTITION. An lHCelll
Il gent person who is not well educated
mad do so or a well-educated person
who is not particularly intelligent; but
not person who is both intelligent ani
well educated
, President Hunter of the Normal col
lege does not agree with this view.
: ~ am inclined to think" said he
Fthat the most superstitious classes ar,
the highly educated and the very ig
norant, and that the most superstition
persons are those who do solitary woYl
in lonely places, like sailors, fishermen
and miners.
"Men of profound learning, men o
brilliant mind and intelligence, hav
been VIGOROUSLY superstitious. DI
Samuel johnson. for instance, VIII
never was able to pass a railing withou
touching every spike. Not to toucl
every spike meant i'll luck for him, h
, thought. And the great Napoleon wa
one of the most superstitious Of men.
Bringing superstition up to date
take the baseball players, one-third o
whom, at least, are college men. ] ca
think of no class of men more supersti
n tious.
"Invariably each team has masco'
n and when i'll luck befalls their pla
n some one among the onlookers has hot
n dooed them, they say.
n 81 am acquainted with woman VIII
is at the head of a fourishing Ne,
York school-a woman of sound educs
= tion and fine intelligence-whoi is supe
: stitious to an extent which makes h
relatives lose patience with ner som,
:. times. She can It be persuaded to stal
. a journey on Friday, not even to
n weekend party at Lakewood or som
other nearby place. She will stal
on Thursday or Saturday, or not at al
"a eff when starting on an unaccu
n toned route she meets a red-heade
m woman her pleasure is spoiled, becaus
n to her mind meeting red-headed won
an when starting on a journey po
tends disaster. If possible she wi
1 | turn back and postpone her journey u
It the next day.
i HThe trouble she takes to steer Gle;
Of the number IL is almost laughable.
"Other well-educated women [ hay
known were made quite miserable
the breaking Of mirror by one of the
family, or by the falling Of portra
a. from the wall.
"Nor do think superstitions alwa,
4 survival Of old ideas-at least NJ
consciously. Some persons have orig
, nal superstitions.