Northern Weekly Gazette. — 1919-11-08 (Stockton-on-Tees, Cleveland, England)

LUCK, WITCHCRAFT, AND  FU TURE OMENS.  Intelligent people laugh at luck and look upon a life subject to chance as an absurdity. Yet even these, as well as others, unconsciously admit it as an element in human life. "It is better to he born lucky than rich," "The unexpected always happens," are stock proverbs admitted by all. How )f ten has The strongest-minded persons knocked at the front door of some person on important ousiness, and they are answered by the attendant with the remark, "He has just this minute gone out." Turning away, there is the spontaneous remark, "Just my usual luck." In. childhood we believe in chance happenings. How often as children have we sat in the meadow, picked up the long .stalk of &ceded grass, and run up its ;terminal swellings between our fingers, chiming, "Tinker, tailor, soldier, sailor, rich-man, poor-man, beggar-man, thief," declaring the last disZilnded seedling, whatever it ,happens to be .n our list, as our sett:ed destiny. If our lives ars regulated by our will, aand OUT course is preordained by Providence, all that happens to us is t naiural consequence. There is, therefore, no such thing as luck. Two travellers visited a house for an order. The first one went ,in and failed to get an order; the .second went in and succeeded. It was remarked to the latter, "You were lucky." There was no such thing as chance or luck in it. The second traveller talked the occupants of the house into a good humour—then showed them a greater variety and quality of fascinating goods. He got an order natiiral cruence. Yet strange to say the writers of the Bible make these slips, for it is sa o "By chance there past that way a Good Samaritan." The revelation that, all humanity are neighbours was a pre-arranged decree of Admigh'y tiod.  'Thou shalt not suffer a witch to love," was a divine inspiration. Witchcraft in OUT day is punioth. able by law. When the "Witch of Tudor," conjured up the spirit of Samuel, the prophet said to the personage, "Why lutst thou disturbed me." This a clear indication that the dead and the departed are best left alone. Yet there are "isms" now that attempt to 'recall them. These sooth4.yers always represent the spirit of evil. As such they are depicted in the "Tragedy of Macbeth." where their instigation to foretell a crown led Lady Macbeth to plan the murder of Duncan. But it now comes up in more respectable and tangible forms. Here we have astrology, palmistry, hand-eading, the crystal opal, all of whioh still thrive. Premonitons of oomin,g events by visitations from another world were firmly believed in by the ancients. Shakespeare tells us that Isrutus, the assassinator of Julius Coesar, sat alone in his tent the night before the great struggle on the planes of Phiippi. The next day in battle, he had to meet Mark Anto.ny, the leader of the Imperial party; though a man vicious and sensual, he was 1. mayterly strategist. Brutus, stoicial and selfcontained in his tent, sat reading poetry and calmly awaiting the coming disaster to his army. Thus sitting, the ghost of his murdered victim. Ciesar, entered. Brutus looked up and exclaimed, Why oomest thou r The appartrion answered, " To tell thee that to-morrow thou shalt meet me at Philippi." History tells us how true this became; the army of Brutus was Touted, and as was "ustomary, he requested his armour-bearer to plunge his sword into his body. and Brutus fell dead.  Richard 111. was foretold his fate in a vision. The night before Bosworth, Field, he dreamt his army 'was defeated, and he was slain. Rushing from the battlefield with the crown on his bead, he was mortally wounded, crying, "Treason Treason!" He fell heavily to the ground and breathed his, last. The sceptre fell from his head. I'lle next day the Crown of England, which is now view in a glass enclosure, was found under a hawthorn bush.  "Coining events cast their shadows before them." This is a saying of much truth. Bestides the historical facts alluded to, lot us oonault cur own experience. The writer had once one near and dear to him that lay on a sick bed. A loud rap came to the door in open daylight; he opened It and saw no one. A few days afterr this the, beloved one died. The howling of a dog or the falling of (Continued on foot of next column.)