Evening star., 1924-12-11
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL.

at the careless woman who dirties
the kitchen floor.
The curious thing about this par
ticular superstition of dropping eat
ing utensils is that quite often 1t
works out. Hence the universal be-
lief In 1t by women and girls. Almost
any family can tell you instances
| the evening following the dropping
of a knife or fork on the kitchen
floor.
Knocking on wood" Is the most
widely spread of all the every-d day
household superstitions. 1t numbers
among its victims the most intel
lectuaL Probably the most purely
Intellectual man I know never fails
to knock on wood after any remark
savoring of Dragging.
Sometimes he Is hard put to 1t to
find any object of wood at the point
where he Violates the unwritten law.
but usually ends up by seeking out
bit, and solemnly tapping IL with
his forefinger.
Sometimes he Is walking along the
street. Then tree has to serve, and
1 have known him to carefully insert
his fingers between the meshes of the
wire protective covering sometimes
placed by our thoughtful District
government around the trunks OF
young and innocent trees
At other times this highly intel
lectual man has recourse to his pipe
the bowl OF which is of briar wood
Lacking that, he will fall hack on
that humorous expedient of the small
boy and tap his own head, satisfied
that in some mysterious way he has
| at least partially complied with the
occult laws which he scorns, but
nevertheless reverences
Dec Yolente," the ancients said
after any statements Of theirs involv-
ing determination. God willing
was a sort of mental knocking on
! wood. Il will go to Naples next
month, Deo Volente"-that is, God
! willing.
Is not our knocking on wood a
gross survival of that pleasant and
reverent old phrase?
x x i
Very few women will leave = house
return to 1t to get something they
nave forgotten, and go out again
without performing a certain rite.
This rite involves sitting down and
| counting 10 before leaving the house
the second time. Staid and lovely
women VIII force whole companie.
" ie-cHLer the mouse, III
De seated, all be silent, all count
mentally, rather than run the risk
OF displeasing the great unknown
force of evil
most OF our superstitions are an
effort to ward off evil, some form
or propitiation of dastardly devil
VINO seems bent on wreaking VEN
geance upon US for our least lapse.
We are afraid to travel on Friday
for fear something will happen to US.
Many a man and woman, reading
here, VIII recognize himself or her
self.
Oh, no. we are not at all afraid
OF travelling on F'ridays-we do not
fear train wreck in the least
but we plcs out Monday or Tuesday,
Just the same, If we possibly can.
The number 13 is held in dread by
most people, although some regard II
as their lucky number" Either way.
1t Is pure superstition.
opening an umbrella in the house
Is regarded as dire bad luck by
many. This probably arises from the
fact that most umbrellas are black
breaking mirror means how many
years of bad luck? As for walkin q
under ladder, thousands would
rather climb one $50 feet high than
walk under the shortest one.
And black cats. Whewi
These are few Of the more widely
spread household superstitions. Every
section of the country has it's own
pets. All of them point back to our
ancient beginning. and give US pause
when we boast too much of our
intelligence.
Let US tap on wood.