Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-11-27
Good and Bad 0mens
Handed Down for Years

w rounding death it is not surpris-
ing that there should be con-
nected singular fancies, for that which
is absolutely inscrutable to the most en-
lightened ages of the worlds of civiliza-
ton must have presented terrors innu-
| merabfe to the wholly ignorant. Thus. the
belief that the bowling of dog, whether
py night or day, is the precursor OF a
death In the family, is not confined to
remote districts of the country any more
than Is faith in the ominous ticking of
the insect whose supposed characteristics
have caused 1t to be named the death
watch or the fancy that a bumblebee or
pird enters room ats harbinger of ap-
proach1ng deceaEe. A mouse Squeaking
peh1nd the bed of a sick person is also
supposed to be a warning Of death. and
the breaking into garden of COW is
an omen that within six months a men,
Der OF the family is to die. The faith in
tn1s singular idea is so steadfast that
there are many instances on record
where death has actually followed the
event, and. of course. the oftener the CO.
incidence has occurred the more deeply
rooted becomes the credence of the SUI
pe!,stition
The striking of clock during the Civ
ing out of text in church is an unfail-
, .hs omen 10 the credulous of a death in
Int PARISH: In1S Is warning in which
rev need fear to put faith, for whether
the CLOCK strikes or not during the enunci-
auon OF the preachers theme. there can
be little doubt that q member of a fair
sized parish is likely to shuttle off this
mortal coil sooner or later. To cut ones
nails on Sunday is to have the devil with
one an the week. although one can find
no assurance that refrainiug from the
!, co.
away Many are the omens of coming
luck, the chief of them being the seeing
OF dead donkey. and here again the
chroniclers of small beer produce wonder
fully convincing evidence in support, of
the theory that defunct asinine quad
rupeds are surrounded by a singular
glamour OF luck. Happy those workers in
bohemia, where, it is alleged, the poor
patient donkey is relesated after death
TO the preparers of the we'll known tooth
some sausage to which the town has
given a name.
If spider be found on the clothes it is
an unfailing omen that the lucky discov-
erer is to receive money. There is an
old belief, too, that If the left palm itches
money is to be paid away, while if the
form1cant sensation be confined to.~the
dexter hand the exact reverse is to take
place. Classical literature gives us more
than one reference to an itching palm,
which would seem to indicate that efen
great and enlightened writer's like Shake
speare were not entirely above the minor
superstition that was an article of faith
with the ignorant. =
The breaking of looking glass is
sure omen of coming trouble for a period
OF seven years, but the severity OF this
lnh1ct1on Is somewhat mitigated by the
belief that the trouble is not to be
want Of the necessaries of existence
Nevertheless this is of all portents the
most desperately evil. To have ones
teeth set wide apart is sure indication
Of luck, as also is the meeting of pie
bald horse, but the killing of a cricket is
ominous Of bad fortune, while the turning
of a feather bed on Sunday is sure to
produce evil results.
The belief that crickets bring good
luck to house is universal, while the
idea that their destroyers are tormented
by having holes eaten in their stock
ings would appear to be favored by
some few localities only. A sudden
shivering is a sign that goose is
walking over ones grave. But one need
feel little concern on this account, for
no worse can be portended than that
we are to be comfortably. buried on
land and not sunk in the unhallowed
depths Of the understanding sea.
There is an idea still extant that if
the sole of the foot itches we are to
walk over strange ground: If the knee,
we are to genufect in an unaccustomed
meeting house; IL the elbow, we are to
share our slumbers with a stranger;
all of which, when compared with the
terrors Of breaking mirror, present
an aspect which is decidedly trivial, If
not entirely unworthy Of notice.
AS regards backbiting and scandaliz-
ing, there are various omens. Some
consider that tingling of ones ears
Is sign that slanderer is at work.
while others attribute the same sig
MITIGATION to the burning of a cheek.
Some, again, affirm that to have a
tingling in the right ear portends that
somebody is praising. while to expert
ence the sensation in the other aural
appendage signifies that somebody is
occupied in vilifying. There Is GER
tafnIy terror in believing that we
may not have button sewed on 4 gar
ment while it is on our back without
mourning the ill opinion of our neigh
bors, but there is possibility that
venomous tongues may. still find &C.
cupation if We invariably take off our
coats for necessary repairs, or even
have them mended at all.
To see a new moon for the first time
through glass is notoriously unlucky.
although it is not certain that we may
not counteract i'll effects likely to ac-
crue by at once turning over the money
we have in our pockets. if any. To sit
down thirteen at meal Is a sure In
d1catfOn that one or the party Will Ole
ere the year is out. To this there is
a sort Of antidotal comfort to be found
in the belief that if an unmarried per-
son chances to sit between n man and
his wife at dinner he will infallibly be |
married before the year is out. In !
dividual taste may determine whether
this is to be considered a matter for |
congratulatiOn or the reverse.
To walk beneath a ladder is VIGOROUSLY |
to invite calamity. About this singular |
belief there is that need of uncertainty
which seems to add a mysterious charm to |
the bulk of similar credulities. The ca |
lamity sought to be avoided by carefully |
abstaining from passing beneath the
slope of ladder may mean broken head
or fractured limb, or 1T may be reduced
to the ridiculous extreme of drop OF
paint upon u coat or bonnet. The belief !,
in the virtue of the four-leaved shamrock |
is as firmly planted as the certainty that
ST. Patrick killed the noxious creatures of
the Emerald Isle. There is, perhaps, not
an Irishman living who does not drn2y i
believe that the finding of this freak Of
nature does portend good luck. We have
a similar fancy in our own island. But
the omen comes from the clover, not the