The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1910-01-13
f1HBSUPERSTIIIoNS or MRS. WOMAN

bring h favored OF fortune to lift the
latch and walk In. The poet Gray has 1t
in rhyme thus:
AS peapods once < plucked. I chanc'd to
One that =, We. closely filled with three times
Which, so1 wns9 ! cropp'd. 1 safely home
And DER the door the spell in secret laid:
first come In.
But in his proper person-Lubberkin!
The same poet also embodies in verse
another pretty superstition, as follows:
TWO hazel nuts I threw into the fame.
Ana to each I CAV a sweetheart's name:
This with the loudest bounce me sore
amazed,
That in a flame OF brightest color blazed,
AS blazed h nut. so may the passions
For twas thy nut that did so brightly
glow.
But of these divinations the number 10
almost endless. many of them arc now
being superseded by the a~rtiices of Mad
anne ~Clarivoyant and other so-called &C.
cultists who trade on this feminine foible.
1t is interesting to note that nearly
every woman's Introduction to such mat
ters dates back to her girlhood when
some older woman lifted the veil from
the future by means Of the settings in her
tea cup. Then a friend learned how to
read hands and there was much puzxling
over life lines, n little criss-cross pat
terms ON small hands that meant most
important events. and fingers that be-
spoke the artistic temperament. But the
summit OF all things supernatural in girl
hood came when a more daring school
mate persuaded her to visit BLACK Betty
a .'really. truly" fortune teller, who
charged two bits for a sitting.
How much planning that visit required,
and with what palpitating hearts two
oun sinners slipped down back alleys
and around remote corners Of streets to
the little shanty behind the big lumber
yard on the outskirts OF town. Once seated
in Betty's parlor, with what breathless
interest they watched Betty thumb q dirty
of cards. and listened to her ungra-.
NAUTICAL maunderings about a 'light-haired
Teller" and a dark rival, and discovered
in their future, diamond soiitaries and
some tragedy. That was q visit to be
dreamed Of for days and discussed in
whispers with certain chosen c%onfdantes
at recess time.
That sort Of thing Is all very we'll for
school girls. but when the girl has grown
to woman's estate and has developed aes-
thetic and artistic tendencies, she nat
urally rises to higher things. the latest
OF which 10 the discovery Of the ocultist,
that each human being Is owner Of q very
important adjunct called the aura.
As soon as Mrs. Woman discovers that
h has an aura. she 10 compelled to tell
her best friends about 1t. The usual
trend Of the conversation IL something like
this:
my dear, I have the loveliest aura, all.
purple and gold. melting into lovely violet
shades. l. went to see Madame Occult the
other day. after Mrs. Brown had been,
and I've been SO comforted. Somehow I
had grown tired of Madame Blank and
her horoscope. But this 10 fascinating.
You see. to have q purple gold aura
means that you dwell o. Q higher plane
Of thought that you are open to ali fine
influences. and that YOU have risen above
the physical.
rs 1t expensive? Well. she charges
you =, but the visit is worth 1t. The only
thing I didn't like was not having a
humanity. But I told her that q suburb
ante couldn't have much pink after hang
Ing on q strap for miles in q crowded
street car.
What I like about her Is her franknes..
puts you. In q strong light, stands OPP
posite. half closes her eyes. and then she
goes into that frame Of mind In which the.
The listener wonders whether It Is nos.
sible to arrange an aura to suit changes Of
costume. There might be times when:
even so superlatively beautiful an aura as
one OF purple and gold might jar or spoi,
the color scheme, n then, perchance. shs
composes herself to listen to a sorrowful
tale about another enthusiast who had
cried.a whole day over a dingy brown and
gray aura. without a single touch Of color.
anywhere in sight.
Each woman is amused by her neiRh
boris weakness, but search long enough
1t may be ID at table. or the nm
lucky Friday. or a cure for warts. but Il
is there.