Year: 1868

A correspondent of the London Athena
um writes:


SIN most of those wrong notions men, :
toned in your journal of the first of Au- !
gust, you win find some substratum of fact
There is no smoke without fire, and there is 4
generally O foundation for some of them
at least we know or can guess at q founda-
ton. That of thirteen persons at table one J
will die within the year, is distinctly trace
able to Our Lords last supper, wher there
were thirteen and He died. The spilling of .
salt is derived from the Eastern idea, thai
eating salt with a man, or having eaten OF :
his SALT binds you to him. You may re-
member in the Indian mutiny, that having
eaten of John Company's salt kept many
men faithful; and it was constantly thrown
in the teeth of those who broke faith with
us, fthat they had eaten our salt; therefore
spilling or wasting this symbol of friend
ship woold be considered unlucky-though
why the unluck should be purged by throw
ing a pinch of 1t over the left shoulder do
not see, unless because the left is also the
uulucky side. Stammering at beginning
speech means that if you begin i'll you are
likely to go on ill, and end badly. Break
| ing a mirror is referable to the days when
mirrors were most rare, at least glass ones,
and accounted magical instruments. No
magician was properly set up in trade with
out his mirror. Breaking a wine glass is
also thought unlucky.


| 'tMagpies being unlucly is a superstition
as old most likely as the ark or older; it is
both Celtic and Teutonic; and 1 believe the
odd numbers are those most unlucky. Ger
tain animals crossing our path is the same,
and hiss q parallel superstition in India; but
the reason why is probably lost in the mists
of antiquity. That animals should be killed
at certain times of the month, is most like
ing better at one time than another, and
being less likely 10 be putri0ed by weak
and waning moon than by strong and
waxing moon. Washing hands in water
which has been used by another, causing
them either to kiss or to quarrel, has been
referred to PLATE washing his hands; but
think it must be referred TO the older use
and custom which he illustrated of washing
an evil deed off his hands into the water
which would contaminate the water OF any
that touched it.


',The raven (not the common rook) is
very strong, wise and wary bird, and, being
extremely common among the northern ma
tions, was adopted as their emblem, much
as the eagle was by the Romans and others,
and from its feeding or corpses would be
considered as unlucky by all the Mortimer,
to say nothing of any traditions that might
remain from the ancient aruspices, and
Iemnants of Baal worship and Ashtoreth
worship that still linger among us. How


many ladies tell you to bow to the new


moon; that it is unlucky to see the new


moon through glass; to turn a piece of


money in your pocket for luck the first time


you see the new moon, which was as an


cient as the time of Job, who emphatically


declares that he has never kissed his hand
to the moon, also, think, David; but 1


have not Concordance handy to find out


chapter and verse.


'tA great deal of curious matter is to be


found in these wrong notions. Among fisn-
ermen there is belief that salmon weighs


more when dead than when Just caught;
apropos of man weighing more when dead
than when alive, and which is very likely
true, as when the lungs are inflated man


really weighs less, otherwise why does he
float higher In water? The belief in the
rowan or mountain ash being efficacious


against witchcraft is known all over Europe,
but should like to know the reason of it.


"Many other wrong notions with some
that are not wrong, too, might be brought
forward; also the reasons for them; and


shall be glad if some of your other cores
pondents will give reason for some of


those of almost universal currency. Putting
the wrong shoe on first dates from Augustus,
at least he considered it unlucky. Why 7
Has this also an Eastern origin 2"