Montour American. (Danville, Pa.) 1866-1920, 1907-08-29
LINKED WITH DEATH,
Articles That Brought Tragedy to
Their Owners.
SOME QUEER CONDOLENCES.
The Hindoo Idol That Nine. Carrot
Ordered Destroyed-A Grim Exhibit
In London Museum-A Ring That
Brought Its Owners to Suicide.


In a London Museum-A Ring That
Brought Its Owners to Suicide.
OF course the psychologists have ex-
plantations for them all, but there
are lots of things that happen that
somehow do not respond readily to
these so called explanations of purely
mental effect or accidental coinci-
dences" and all that sort of thing.
When Nine. Carnot, widow of Sadi
Carnot, died and her will was read, a
clause In 1t caused considerable com
ment. This was to the effect that q
certain small Hindoo idol carved from
q hard stone which would be found
among her property must be taken out
and crushed until completely destroy
ed. Many marveled at this appa rently
singular request, for the idol seemed
n harmless, ugly little thing, but her
instructions were carried out to the
letter.
The idol had been presented to Sadi
Garnot years before he had ever
thought of the presidency of France
by friend who had brought it from
India. Later he learned that there
was a legend attached to 1t which as
serted that whosoever would retain 1t
in his possession would rise to the
fullest height of power in his chosen
profession. but die of a stab wound
when at the zenith of his career. Car
not traced the history of the idol and
found that for 800 years the rulers
who had possessed it had all died
either in battle or by assassination of
stab wounds Yet he laughed at the
story, called the facts adduced by his
search mere chain of cofncidences
and retained the idol He died by
dagger In the hands of an assassin;
hence Nine. Carnot's strange request
In Chicago a pawnbroker has a queer
looking old turnip of watch that he
will not sell and will not wear, for he
knows its history. He bought 1t at q
sale of accumulated police property,
and after the sale as q warning one of
the police officials related three "coin-
cidences" in connection with 1t. The
first Chicago man to own the watch,
so far as the police knew. had been
killed by burglar. and the watch was
one of the few things the thief got
away with. A few weeks later the
burglar, with party of his pals, pur-
sued by the police for another crime,
took refuge in house on the outskirts
of the city and sought to hold the Off
GERS at bay. All were taken alive ex-
cept the burglar. and he was shot dead,
The watch was found on his body. 1t
was around the dstectiye bureau for a
long time, and one day one of the
force asked permission to take it home
TO show some friends, his description
of its quaint, curious case having
aroused their curiosity. On his way
back to report that night, with the
watch in his possession. he was shot
dead by crook who had long stand
ing grudge against him
The pawnbroker put the watch in
his showcase. but purely as an orna-
ment, and made such investigation re-
garding its history as he could. He
learned that II had been made in
France more than a hundred years
ago, and five men who had worn 1t had
died violent deaths. Yet these We're
all condolences. and the curse of the