Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1911-09-01
|, irnaginings which occupy the mind of the

All are aware of the i'll luck which is
! said TO belong 10 the ship whose name
has been changed; but il may not be so
generally known that belief prevails
| among seafaring men that the vessel
| whose name ends IN "a rests also under
an evil spell. Indeed. 1t would almost
seem that the latter superstition is not
wholly unfounded if we consider only j
! few of the disasters at sea IN our own
! times, wherein the Inflated ships have
borne names which ended with the first
letter of the alphabet For instance, II.
NJ. $ Victoria, sunk in the Medterra-
/ mean, Is still fresh in the memory of Eng
tfishmen. Other we'll known instances arc
the Stella, lost off the Channel Islands:
the Arequipa, ashore on the west coast
| Of America the Cobra. destroyer, which
broke her back in the North Sea on her
maiden voyage, and the Sardinia, burned
| in the harbor at Malta. The fate of the
| last named vessel in the light of the<two
| superstitions already mentioned may be
| fairly said to have been pre-ordained.
| for in addition TO her name ending with
| the letter "a she had during her career
| borne at least one other, viz, Gun of
| Corcovado. Needless to say, many ships
have been wrecked whose names did not
bear the unlucky final letter, and there
are hundreds ahoat which do possess it
and in which Ii is safer to travel than on
the railway. a very common supersti-
ton among sailors Of today is that which
attaches an evil influence to particular
member of a crew and sometimes to
passenger, Equally common is the belief
which attaches to particular man, the
contrary reputation OF possessing per-
sonality or quality tending TO good luck.
and according to which the vessel he
sails in is blessed by his presence. mas
much as whatever the vicssitudes of the
voyage the issue Will be favorable.
Turning to the picturesque superstitiens
of the ancient Eastern mariners. we find
in the first voyage Of Sindbad the Sailor
that. having landed upon q small islana.
the master of the ship standing upon
is side, called out with his Ioudest voice.
o We passengers. whom may God pre-
serve, come mp quickly into the ship;
hasten TO embark save yourselves
from destruction: for this apparent island.
upon which We are. IS not really an island,
but ii is a great fish that hath become
stationary in the midst of the sea" In
his second voyage, the same famous mari
ner relates how he encountered the roc
bird of such enormous size that when
IL flew In the air il obscured the light of
the sun.
There is certain similarity between
these Arabian phantasms and the Incl
dents of Homer's voyage of Ulysses. for
the same encnanted islands occur in both,
and in both we have fabulous monsters in
human and animal form. Can we trace
the modern superstitions back TO the
parentage of the horrors and enchant
ments of the ancient seas? Is the sea
serpent descendant of Sindbad's roe
Can ii be that the tabled bird of the Ara
bian seaman has become the marine
monster of the latter day sailor? Or can
we more legitimately trace the history of
the sea serpent to the living island upon
which this much Travelled navigator found
himself?
II would perhaps, be futile to seek for
any explanation Of most of the curious
beliefs held by sailors; but we can readily
understand the superstition attaching 10
any hitch in the solemn ceremony of
launching a vessel; for it is obvious that
should any such hitch occur at launching
i'll luck is not merely threatened but has
actually attended upon the craft at the
very outset of her career. \ ship at her
launching is addressed as a living thing,
and wine is obligatory in her christening.
For the origin of this ceremony we must
clearly bark back to remote times, and in
the sprinking of the wine, as well as in
the breaking Of the bottle. we perceive
al once the pagan libation.
Sicoff the landsman as he may at the
superstitions OF the sailors, while the
ocean wears the eternal CLOAK of mystery,
those whose days are spent upon its
vastness, whose nights are filed with the
music of its waters, with the awe and
grandeur Of its being. must ever with
sindbad the Sailor, and Ulysses, the hero
of Ithaca, dream day dreams of wonder
and people the night watches with phan-
toms of dread.-The London Globe.
Franklit1's Manners.
Franklin collected u principles to cover
the small amenities of daily life. Each
week he picked out one and practeed II
diligently, thus creating a habit. 1t took
three months to cover them ALL Each
year he practiced each one four full
weeks. He kept this up for many years.
The uncouth Franklin of early manhood
who found fault with his wife for giving
him q silver spoon and china bowl for
his bread and milk instead of a pewter
spoon and earthenware crock, developed
into the statesman and man Of the world
Who won the respect of Englishmen, the
| admiration of Frenchmen and the graft
tude of Observation-Disclosures Maya
zine.