Evening star., 1924-12-11

Have you ever smiled at the sim
plicity Of African savages in naively
believing In the hocus- pocus of their
so-cailed witch doctors?
You. superior being of mighty civili-
cation, scorn such Grass superstition
as that involved in bowling down to
a piece of bone, in the belief that
1t will cure all manner OF sickness.
If witch doctor should suddenly
appear before you and place a curse
upon you, declaring that you would
be dead in three days, you properly
would laugh the ugly fellow to scorn.
The simple native, victim of that
superstition, would be crazed with
dread, make his plans to depart to
the third day. Such Is the compelling
power OF suggestion, coupled with
fear of the unknown.
You are not entirely free from
superstition. however, despite the
decades OF highly cultured civiliza-
tion behind you.
Not as long as you tap on wood!
X x y X
Consider for q moment the many
household superstitions which hold
away throughout the length and
breadth Of this great land of ours.
IN country towns, on farms, in small
ana great cities countless men and
women are victims of superstition.
They laugh at what they do. yet
would not refrain from doing 1t for
the world. They smile indulgently at
themselves. yet keep on tapping on
wood, and walking around ladders,
and being upset when they break a
mirror.
These little household superstitions
hold US all in thrall. Many an emf
nent man, noted for his wisdom and
ability, will tap on wood" with fer
yer, If by chance he happens to boast
that he has mot had cold this Win
ter"
The intelligence of the victim has
nothing to do with It. 1t is the dark
dread of the unknown that was with
man in his early days, that stark fear
of something evil lying out there"
which has followed US into our safer
dwelling places OF today.
This primitive fear feeling knows
nothing of police or fire protection.
1t takes no reckoning of the passing
of centuries or change in conditions,
the upbuilding OF civilization, or the
firmer belief in a power that works
for Righteousness.
Like some terrible monster that
turks IN the deep wood, from which 1t
never emerges, but in which men are
sure 1t abides. superstition raises its
ugly head to scare us today as of old.
We no longer believe In auguries-
at least most of US do motor trial by
sword or any Of the other major
superstitions of long gone days. The
little pet ones, however, are with us
still, as much at home as our dogs
and cats.
II X Il \
There is not a housewife anywhere
who, when she drops knife. fails
to say:
'Oh, 4 woman Is coming to call"
If she lets u fork fall from her
hand she exclaims:
"a man is coming to call"
/, These mystic sentences mean that
by evening there will be a visitor
at the house of the sex indicated
by the utensil carelessly allowed to
fall from the hand, usually in the
process of washing and drying the
dishes. Only in a special work, such
as Sir John Frazer's THE Golden
Bough." would it be possible to find
the origin of this little by-play in
dulged in by the good mothers of
our land. and probably one would
not be able to find out. even in the
pages of that monumental work de-
voted to the curious origins of our
everyday habits. how 1t came to be-
In some families the dropping of
a spoon means that child will
come calling before nightfall. In
many small towns to drop a dtshrag
signifies that a dirty sIouch" will
honor the household with a visit.
This superstition probably is a slap