QUAINT SUPERSTITIONS

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 233, 6 November 1909, Page 3

QUAINT SUPERSTITIONS

' I»LACIv CAT AS TilK LJIIDGEPLAYKR'S MASCOX/i'E. I The fact that to be superstitious is tu i be unreasonable and illogical has little I ' ell'cct on the woman wito believes in lucky and unlucky portent*, talismans, anil mascots. It is a question whether bridge or motoring has had most to do with an -apologetic credence in absurdities in the matter of dreams and wea-ther-signs, borne of which arc, however, ! old-established beliefs in out-of-the-way districts, while others were t'he pet Mipcrstitions of famous people. "Napoleon," says a writer in McCall's Magazine, was decidedly superstitious, llu dreamt of two black cats the night before Waterloo, and the result is historically recorded. One may rejoice and fed that one has the best of policies against evil if a black cat lives iu one at hou<e, but to dream of two portends i ' disaster (never lull your dreams before { 1 breakfast). Some animals are always regarded as prophetic of sorrow, Havens spoil evil, never good, and ligure in in- • iuimcraldc family legends. I "The gift of a mirror cuts friendship; ' also, when giving a friend a pin, you ' should hand it head tirst, as fdiarp-poiiu 1 ed things cut love. It is obvious that it « is very bad luck to sit upon a pair of i scissors. It is an error of judgment to | f "ive awav your .shoes, as your luck goes t with them; but to throw shoes after a person brings them luck without loss to the thrower. It invites sorrow to wipe ii your engagement ring with a towel; als ways use a handkerchief, or something s' sympathetiealy soft; and, if you would • avoid sorrow and tshame never visit your dentist on a Wednesday." t There is one thing, however, about I superstitions, so many seem to be based t on a compensatory principle. For exc ample, if your hand goes to sleep, it is a \ sigii of good fortune; if you burn a hole in your dies it is equally so. }fi yon arc'fortunate enough to sneeze be-1 "fore breakfast you will receive a present. j« "Lose a letter, lind something better," is distinctly consoling. If the wind :0 breaks your umbrella you will receive l( , money. * To tear a veil in putting it on is a sign of luck, though a rather ohd scure one.

Over the country is hurrying "Bil'iken, the god of things as they ought io| be," to rival the little jade, Maori, who, 'with the "Ankir (the emblem of long life), has protected so many the past ifew years. The amulet of the eye is

among the latest guarantors of luck at bridge. It leads tn fortune if yon stroke a black eat's tail seven times before be "inning to play, but it Is unlucky to meet a eat on the stairs when going out. Always sit at Ihe crack of the table, anil remember that money talks, but to most people it says good-bye. unless you fold your bank-note lengthwise, when you will Always have money,