The Brussels Post, 1913-1-23, Page 6belief in Lucky Days
The belief in lucky and unlucky
days appears •bo have been first
taught by the magicians of ancient
ChaIdea.. and it is to be learned
from history that similar nations
affected every derail of primitive
Babylonian life. thoueancli of years
before Christ. Certain days were
called Dies Egyptiaci because they
were tituetght to have been pro-
nounced unlucky by the astrelegers
of ancient Egypt. In that eouutay,
however, the unlucky days were
fewer in number than the leeks-
ones,
eekyones, fortunately for the race, and
they also differed in the degree of
ill -heck,
The poet, Heeicd, who is believed
to have flourished about 1.000 tears
before Christ. in the third book o£
the poem, !Corks and Days, dis-
tinguised lucky days frem ethers
and gives advice to fame •s re-
garding the most favorable e d et s tor
the various operations of agr'1rui
tore. Tints he recommends the
eleventh of the month as exec -Rens
for reaping corn. and the twelfth
for shearing sheep, bat the thir-
teenth was an nnleeky day for s..w-
ing, though favorable for planting.
The fifth of each month was an es-
pecially unfortunate day, while the
30th was the most propitious of all.
The Three Most Unlucky Days
of the year, according to William
Lord Burghley, were the first Mon-
day in April, on which day Cain
was born and his brother, Abel,
slain; the second Monday in Aug-
ust, which day Sodom and Gomor-
rah were destroyed, and the last
Monday in Deoember, upon which
day Judas was born, who betrayed
our Saviour Christ.
Friday has been considered un-
lucky for ages, the strongest fact of
this belief being that it was the day
upon which Christ was crucified.
That sailors who have no religious
belief stall hold to the habit of re-
fusing to sail upon Friday is one of
the best evidences ef the prevalence
of their belief that misfortunes will
overtake them if they do.
The Romans classed as unfortu-
nate the days immediately follow-
ing the calends, pones and ides of
each month. The unlneky days of
the Romans were marked in the eal-
endar with black charcoal, the
lucky ones being indicated by
means of white chalk. There were
days that were thought especially
favorable for martial operations,
but the anniversary of a national
misfortune was considered very in-
auepicioue. Thus after the defeat
of the Romans by the Gauls under
Brennus on the batiks of the river
Allia, on July 16, 390 B.C., that
date was given a prominent place
among the black days of the ealen-
dar. Lncullus was not to be in-
fluenced by such superstition, for
when an attempt was made to dis-
suade him from attacking the King
of Armenia, whom he defeated B.
C. 69, because upon that date the
Cimbri had vanquished a Rrtnan
army, he replied: "I will make it
a day of goad omen for the Rom-
ans."
A Latin writer states that when
one of the market days fell neon
New Year's, it was considered very
unfortunate. In such an event the
Emperor Augustus, who wars very
superstitious, adopted the method
Of inserting an Extra Day
in the previous year and subtract-
ing ene from that ensuing, thus
preventing the regularity of the
Julian style of reckoning. Ordi-
narily, however, New Year's Day
was deemed auspicious, and on that
day, as now, people were accus-
tomed to wish .each other happiness
and good fortune.
The early Saxons in England al-
ways considered the twelfth day of
the lunar month a profitable one
for sowing, getting married, tra-
velling and blood letting, but the
thirteenth clay was in bad repute
among them—an evil day for under-
taking any work.
In the dark ages and also in
early modern times the false doc-
trines of astrology, an inheritance
from the ancients, dominated the
actions of the people regarding the
influence of the position of the
moon in determining the proper
seasons for surgical eperations and
for the administration of medicines,
was a strict belief among the an -
Men es.
The Persians formerly divided all
the days of the year into three
daises—preferable or lucky, mid-
dling or indifferent, and unlucky
or detested ones, and the Emperor
Frederick bite Great of Prussia was
gever'ned in his military operntiens
by the advice of -astrologers, and
always waitedttitil they had indi-
cated the fortunate moment for a
start, The' ancient sages declared
that the chief means of averting
evil were, first, the devout invoea-
tion of Providence, Lind, secnnd, the
easeful choice of the proper time
. for sailing.
Among the Chinese of Tosday,
es with the inhabitants of ancient
Babylon;' the days whieh are deem-
ed 'favorable or otherwise fee sired.-
rim
ire -Hess transactions, farming ee era•
tions or for travelling
'ere star de-
termined by astre,logere end vele In-
dioated in 1 oflleial alumnae pub-
lished annually in Pekin by the im-
perial board of st;tronumers, The
various tribes of the i -]anal of Dlu•d-
ag'•asear also aro exceedingly super -
et hems in ,regard to the heck or ill -
luck attending certain. days, and
the lives of children burn at an un -
levity time are sant, t=lnee dae-ri-
ficed to save thein front anticipated
misfortune.
Among the Moslems of India
'there are in ea.rh month :,even evil
(lase. on which lux enterprise is to
be undertaken on any consideree
tion. For instance. they believe
that if ane proposed to travel on
Saturday they churn) eat fish be-
fore s artit1g in-,rder Cita; Iheir plan
ma;: be sneee `.f,ll\ a , up1i*bed,
but an Sund tti bet, l .tf is prefer-
able for thio immerse. l i like man-
ner, on Monday he sasses look tato
a Illirr'r. in ores e t, +.ate ,t..t Se e:rith,
Oil Tee gray ht s l iiande r
seed, and on \1 ..,e; at ut should
-partake of cur'dla1 Inns before
sterti,ig. On There -ley, if he eat
roti: -res as its mat. ,oinhaently anti-
cip:ite retaining ,.,fH plenty of
merchandise, and on l'tiday. if he
eat dressed meal. he •'sill bring Lack
pearls anal jewels galore.
In enlighteried En land and Am-
erica there are L li to be. found
many peopie wears believe that the
relative pesitione et the sun, moon,
and planets are p it -e• factors in de-
derntitting the pr,,per times and
seasons for undertaking terrestrial
enterprises. •
An Ancient Saxon Manieseript,
dating back to the year 1120. thus
states the superetiti=ins regarding
the days of the week: "Whoever is
born on Sunday shall live without
anxiety and be handsome. If born
on Monday he shall be killed of
men, be he laic or be he cleric. If
on Tuesday he shall he corrupt in
his life and sinful and perverse. If
on Wednesday he shall be very
peaceable or easy and shall grew
up well and be a lover of good. If
on Friday he shall be accursed of
men, silly and crafty and loathe -
some to all men, and shall ever be
thinking evil iu his heart, and shall
be a thief and a great coward, and
shall not live longer than to mid -
age. If on Saturday his deet!,
shall be renowned, many things
shall happen unto him and he shall
live long."
In the popular belief of the Swa-
leans, Friday is the day when the
witches celebrate their joint festival
with the devil on the Heuberg, near
Rutenburg, and atferwards scour
the country, intent 00 working all
manner of mischief upon the people
and their cattle. A.eonrding to a
Scotch ,superstition, however,
witches are supposed to hold their
weekly meetings on Saturdays in
unfrequented places.. The Irish are
careful not to mention fairies by
name, either on Wednesdays or Fri-
days, for these invisible creatures
are unnsally alert on these two
days.
In Servia, children born on Fri-
day are thought to be invulnerable
to the assaults of the whole arm-
or hags and sorcerers. In Germany
Friday is reckoned the most fateful
of all the weekdays,
Whether for Good or Evil,
The beliefs vary in different por-
tions of the empire, but there is a
universal prejudice against setting
out on a journ,ey, moving foto a
new house or changing servants on
this day. In Prussia Sunday bap-•
tisms are thought to offset the un-
lucky auspices of children born on
Friday, And in spite of this, in
olden tithes Friday was considered
the most favorable day for court-
ship and weddings in Germany,
and, unless e bride first entered
her new hone on that day, domes-
tic strife was likely to ensue, If
she wished to tame a bad tempered
husband, her first care was to pre-
pare for him a soup made with the
rainwater of a Friday shower.
The French people share fully
the general distrust of the sixth
day of the weak., This is -.hewn by
statistics of the Parisian theatres,
where there are prndnced on an
average of nearly 200 new pieces
annually, and for many years not
one of these hes had its first per-
formance on a Friday. -
There is a very early custom in
England to appoint Friday as the
day for the execution of eriminkls.
Therefore, if yon are wise, read-
er, you will ascertain upon. which
day of the week you were • been,
and act accordingly. If the day is
unlucky, try every possible way to
overcome the superstition regard-
ing -it, and if your birthday is lucky,
he .sure that you keep it always in
mind and see that your life and
your birthday are always fully in
aceerd.
She—Of course I'm much honored
by your proposal, but I must have
a few days to think it over. He --
Well, when may come for my an -
ewer? - She—Let's sea. Monday
there's the washing; Tuesday
must put up clean curtains and.
Wednesday T -meet make some jam,
Ctntne on Thursday.
"WHERE THERE'S A WILL—"
She—"Does my feather spoil your view?" •
• He—"Oh, no, madam. I've cut it off 1"
TORONTO CORRESPONDENCE
INTERESTING BITS OF GOSSIP FROM
THE QUEEN CITY.
The Favorite of a King -An Unusual Event
—An Alderman's Opportunity --Local
option --A Bright Newsboy.
The visit of Gaily Deslys presented a
curious study in 7,ycchelogy. in ability
and appearance this famous young wo-
man has little te distinguish her from
thousands of ether actresses. - She is nei-
ther a great singer ani• a great dancer
and her beauty is of the not uufumiliar
doll type. But the fact that, according
to a report. she was once the favorite of
a Icing is her great asset. The theatre
was crowded at every performance, and
hours before the doors opened each after-
noon and evening a string of men ex•
tending several blocks lined up at the
gallery entrance ready for the rush seats.
The unusual curiosity to see the former
bourgeois girl who has taken the name
of Gabrielle of the Lilies, must bo put
down to a anecies of abnormal flunkyiem
which is curious ,,bout everything per-
taining to a Sling. There may bo same
satisfaction iu knowing that fnronto is
by no means alone in this weakness. Al-
though it is reported that Gnby was
something ef n frost in Montreal, ler
success in practically all American cities
has been phenomenal. Even in England
she had a marvellous run and some of the
articles about her appearing even in
staid papers and magazines were of the
most gusshing type, shrouding her with a
elmplexity of character and wonderful
mentality which if applied to a Cleopatra
would have been high praise. As a mat-
ter of fact, she is an ordinary woman,
of not uncommon type, who travels with
her husband. who is also her dancing
Partner. But she has a press agent who
is making her fortune,
Mn O'Netll's Success.
The surprise of the Tionieipal election
in Toronto was the phenomenal vote
polled by John O'Neill in the race for
the Board of Control, Mr. O'Neill is a
Liberal Roman Catholic who in Orange
'tory Toronto polled the second highest
vote of the eleven candidates. This is
,lust one of those unusual events which
sometimes vary the monotony of voting
in this e;outewltnt unus,tal city.
11r. O'Neill is a man of no little Per-
sonal strength. He has a human, affee.
tionnte element in his make up which
makes friends easily and Molds them
fast, He is also a man of wealth, being
largely interested in real estate and in
several hotel properties, one of which,
the St. Charles, is n well-known down -town
property controlled by his brother.
Some criticism has been offered against
lir. osseine campaign on the ground
that Ile anent ton much money. Thera
fs lie suggestion that any of this money
wa;: spent for corrupt purposes, but ho
used printing and advertising vory ex-
tensively as well as other means of pro-
moting his campaign., One report states
that his erection cost him not, leas than
$6,000. Hie. salary as Controller will be
$2,500. The argument to that such, a scale
of expenditure makes it impossible for a
Poor man to rum for the Board of Con-
trol, or if he does run, that, he will be
tempted to get his neeesaury expenses by
graft or other improper means at the
nittiuoie expense of the city, It is likely
that the movement to require the publica-
tion of all election expmtees andperhaps
assume limit them will assne considerable
proportions.
Aid. Wlokett'c Opportunity.
At the C'onneil Board there are many
new fazes, including Dr. Morley wicket'
the "high brow" candidate who headed
tbe poll in his ward. Or-' Wtckett now
has au excellent chance to put his theories
of Municipal Government into practice.
His friends say he will make goon. If
he does, he will have little trouble in be-
ing eiprted to the Board of Control In tho
near future and pe.se,ibie alto to the
Meyer's their, especially as during the
lest wear or ewe the calibre of Conser-
vatives effering for the higheet positions
in the city has not been, In soot: inetano-
00, nearly nn to the standard of the party
in Toronto. For this reason the path of
Dr, Wicltett, who is a prominent Comm -
relive, ought to be easier than it other-
wise would be.
Interest in Local Option,
Municipal elections throughout the
Province have now envie to be cvereha-
dowed, tie far ee interest in Toronto Is
concerned, by the local option campaign.
With the results this year both temper•
°nee and Liquor men profess to be antis
fiat To the Temperance fermi the feet
that then bald practically all of the muni.
clpulities where repeals of the not were
attempted is proof that in no scetien of
the. province has sentiment begun to turn
against the +muse and the fact that to
those ntunioipalitlee already held they
have been able to add a 'considerable
number of others is particularly eneonr•
aging. On the other hand, the liquor
forces rejoice because ouch notable con.
tents as the proposal to reduce the flute -
her of licenses In liamiltgn and the local
notion contest in the city of Peterbero
went in their favor, to say nothing of the
Large 'number of important towns and
villages wheel' they also hold. Prom those
facto 'they argue that the tonal option or
prohibition wove bee about reached its
height,
The scone on palling night when the re-
turns wore being roat;lved et the heart -
quarters of the Deertirdon Alliane.o was in
MIno reepeots an impreeaIVe one. A
tge atendanao composed of ministers and
laymen and women trrominsntrtin sweet
wer]a Rs fyrod Width • ennpofhintr ofthe
snirit of Maunders.The fervor with which
they areae and sang the doxology was
elguiacant of further lights to come and
plain iudteation of the fait that a moral
issue is likely to have a long life.
A Newsboy's Fartuns.
It is not always necessary to pity a
newsboy because lie may seem to be poor.
Sammy Liehtmun, who sells papers at the
corner of King and Yongo Ste„ is now
the owner of property rained at 026,000. Ha
sold one tot the other day at a profit of
$10,000. He has made this money by sell.
hue papers at le. apiece and h^ investing
the proceeds. It 0 the result of some 10
or 12 years' work on the streets of Toron-
to. Sammy is, of course, a young man
of unusualendowments. we has the
meow -making Instinct, has force of char.
atter and ability. When he found he
could not sell papers fast enough him-
self, ho bit upon the scheme of buying
them wholesale and getting othor boys
to work for him. He has been the leader
in the organisation of tbe News Boys
Tinton and other movements lookingto-
ward the betterment of their condtion.
He says he is going to stop the newspaper
business next summer, but it may be a
long time before Sammy gives up his
stand at the north -eget corner of King
and Yonge. Sammy knows how to cell
papers and lilies the business.
le
CITY OF SITRPRISING GROWTH
Sao Paulo 'Has Some Ambitious
Schemes.
How much do you know about
the South American city of Sao
Paulo? This Brazilian town, the
capital of the great coffee growing
state of the same name, now has
an estimated population of 380,000;
and it is anticipated that within
fifteen years it will reach the mil-
lion mark. Although 4,000 new
houses were erected in the city dur-
ing the last year, the demand for
houses greatly exceeds the supply,
owing to the rapid increase of po-
pulation, and rents are exorbitant.
A magnificent opera -house, con-
structed by tho municipality, was.
opened last year with a brilliant
season of Italian opera. The old
cathedral is to be torn down to
give place to a new one, which will
cost $2,000,000, and will be one of
the notable churches of the world.
Finally a vast scheme of city im-
provements has been instituted, un-
der the advice of M. Bonvard, ar-
chitect for the city of Paris. It will
include splendid boulevards and
viaducts, asphalted streets, and a
public garden at an estimated total.
cost of $20,000,000, toward • which
the state government has already
appropriated $3,500,000.
0
WEDDING STOPPED. •
Crowd Mistakes Reayon and At-
tacks Relative of Bride.
The wedding of a soldier of the
Northumberland Fusiliers in St,
Andrew's Church, Newcastle, Eng-
land, Ives tsuddonly stopped after
the bride and bridegroom and the
wedding party had assemblecl in the
church.
The reason for this step was that
the officiating clergyman suddenly
discovered that the banns had been
published on only two Sundays in-
stead of three. Both the bride and
the bridegroom were much upset.
An even more unpleasant ineident
followed, A crowd of women who
were waiting outside ,the ehuroh
imagined thee the poaatponemont
had been caused by a woman rela-
tive of the bride, and they violently
attacked this woman as she left the
church.
The, wedding guests, knowing the
trite state of affairs, went to the
assistance of the victim, and a free
fight took, place on the church steps.
She Got It,
Mrs. fryer—Wily did the leave
her husband?
Mrs. Crier—He lost his money,
Mrs. Pryer—Row!
Mrs, Crier—Gave it'to her,
0
When a girl can sign a cheque for
a million almost any man will ad-
mit that she has a perfect figure.
A TURKISH $ELAMI,IK,
Picturesque Occasion When the
Sultan Goes to Pray,
One of the most picturesque nights
In Constantinople is a Selttnilik, oi•
Sultan's levee, a ceremony which
takes place weekly. These invited
under the ex -Sultan's reign had
seats in a pavilion which Need the
moeque and thus saw the arrival
and departure ef his !Majesty when
he went to pray on Friday, the Mo-
hammedan eahbatJi,
Nowhere out of i'onstant.int:eple do
more nationalities jostle each ether,
and the color and variety of dress
is amazing, The hill leading to the
mosque when I attended a Selamlik
was a blue of color, writes Lada'
Jepson in the Qnoen. Cavalry and
marines, foot soldiers and sailors
lined the read, and behind these
stood Turks, Serbs, Bulgars,
Greeks, Levantines, English, Am-
ericans, Germnns and Russians.
Many were the curious • tales
which reached us of Abdul Hamid.
He lived chiefly on eggs, they said,
served a la Coq, because it would
require the skill of a Borgia to poi-
son them. His terror of assassina-
tion mit so abject that he never
left the Yildiz Palace, except to say
his prayers once a week at his
mosque, and he employed a "tas-
ter," like any mediaeval monarch.
The ex -Sultan, as all the world
knows,, was and is an enemy to pro-
gress and reform and excessively
narrow in his views. The Young
Turks 'had a batt time of it tinder
his sway, and women a worse one.
He enforced strict seclusion for Tur-
kish women, forbade them ever to
leave the country after they were
old enough to be veiled, and obliged
all respectable women to be indoors
by sunset.
Even now under a more enlight-
ened rule, although they go out
and about the streets disguised in
yashmak and ferejeh the Turkish
1 lady is lucky if a spy does not fol -
low in her wake ready to report to
i a jealous husband the slightest in-
discretion, One of our party passed
a high wall on his way to the Selam-
lik, which his dragoman informed
him was that of a harem. "The
walls must be high," said the Turk,
"since women are so bad."
We waited long in our pavilion
for the Sultan and were relieved
when at last his coming was her-
alded by men who scattered gravel
before him on the hill. Abdul Ha-
mid was a handsome old man with
refined features, a prominent nose
and a good carriage. • He was
dressed simply and he wore no de-
corations. As he drove past the
troops cheered him in a strange
low key, unlike any other hurrah
1 have ever heard. It is etiquette
that all eyes should be cast down
as the mighty Sultan goes by.
Behind Abdul Hamid the ladies of
his harem drove in closed carriages,
but they did not enter the mosque,.
women in Turkey having no souls!
0
THE RING IS NO FIGUREHEAD
Refused to Sign Papers With Wbieh
He Is Unfamiliar.
A London correspondent of the
Kew York Tribune says: King
George has been showiug his en-
tourage more and more his deter-
mination to keep a firm grip upon
his own affairs. One hears in the
privacy of the court of attempts
made by Cabinet Ministers and
other public personages to treat the
Ring as a figurehead and to expect
him to sign documents without hav-
ing any idea of their purport. His
Majesty's practice in these matters.
is as firm es that of the late Queen
Victoria, who caused much surprise
and no little chagrin in the early
days when she refused to append her
name to a document the meaning of
which had not been fully explained.
It is said that on a 'recent occasion
the King showed his sense of the
fitness of things by withholding his
sanction to: a paper for which a
statesman in a hurry sought his
signature at a moment's notice. The
throne is at very real power nowa-
days, and its influence tends to in-
orease rather than to diminish.
There was never•intention on the
Ring's part of receiving a foreign
potentate under state conditions at
Windsor Castle during the coming
week. The Edwardian tradition in
that reaped is not to be continued
in the present reign, and any state
visits that may be made to the Eng-
lish court by the crowned heads of
Europe will in 'future be fixed, as a
mile, during the month of Juno.
There aro many practical advalr-
tages in this, not the least being the
fact that the 'great officers of the
household are at that time in full
duty and more readily available to
help in the discharge of royal hos-
pitality than in November. At the
same time it is not to be inferred
that the November sojourn of the
court will be curtailed or that their
Majesties will not receive guestsin
the early winter. They are not
able to do so at Sandringham, it is
true, on account of the lade of ac-
commodation et York Cottage,
But the resources o£ Windsor are
ample, and have been greatly ex-
tended during the last few months
by alterations. Guests will arrive
in a fortnight: from now, The Queen
of Norway, with her son Arid heir,
may spend a few days net Windfsor,
and in that event will ooeupy the
tapestry suite. This has been fer-
�fi
ttfitieo
125Eggfnutlhatra
soul Brooder 701-V
If ordered together.
i�,an aa, n.c
cn, f'o 71C 1 MAW.
P;fnnill rnn,1 r,,' Pf It a df Ifeiie (,e,,
wtnaomma enaussron co.a
OP z38 -.abet^P,w1�„ tl, A .,. tr. CI I OO,t,,
nished with bathroom accommoda-
tion. and is now a very comfortable
apartment, The castle staff is very
fond of the Crown Prince Olaf, and
pride themselves upon the protein -
elation of his name, which they call
Orloff. Many .stories could they
tooll of his boyish e'scapade.s and his
disregard for the sanctity of
thrones and monarchs. They recall
the similar taros which used to be
told of the present Queen of Spain,
when she used to leave her dolls
about on the priceless furniture of
the grand corridor.
JAPANESE IIEA.LTH RULES.
Printed and Widely Distributed by
the Government.
The fullowing rules fer the gen-
eral guidance of the people in
health matters have been printed
and widely distributed by the Jap-
anese Government:
First—Spend as much time out
of doors as possible. Bask hutch
in the sun and take plenty of•exer-
cise. Take care that your respira-
tion is always deep and regular.
Second—As regards meals eat
meat only once a day and let the
diet be eggs, cereals and vegetables,
fruits and fresh cows Milk. Take
the last named as much as possible.
Masticate your feed carefully.
Third—Take a hot bath every day
and a steam bath once or twice a
week if the heart is strong enough
to bear it.
Fourth—Early to bed and early
to rise.
Fifth—Sleep in a very dark and
very quiet room, with windows
open. Let the Minimum of sleeping
hours be six or six and one-half
hours. In case of woman eight and
one-half lours is advisable.
Sixth—Take one day of absolute
rest each week in which you must
refrain from even reading or writ-
ing.
Seventh—Try to avoid any out-
bursts of passion and strong mental
stimulations. Do not tax your
brain at the occurrence of inevit-
able incidents or of coming events.
Do not say unpleasant things nor
listen, if possible to ayoid it, to dis-
agreeable things.
Eighth—Be married 1 Widows and
widowers should be married with
the least possible delay.
Ninth—Be mederate in the con-
sumption of even tea and coffee,
not to say tobacco and alcoholic
beverages.
Tenth—Avoid places that are too
warm, especially steam heated and
badly ventilated rooms.
0
ARMED ROBBERIES INCREASE.
Hangings in Russia Did Not Lessen
the Crime.
The Russian Ministry of the In-
terior has just issued its quinquen-
nial report covering the years 1907-
1911 in regard to crime in the Em-
pire, The report emphasizes the
fact that the wholesale hangings
that took place in 1900-1907 did not
serve as a deterrent to crime.
The number of armed robberies
in the five years recorded amount-
ed to 38,094, of which over 1,000 re-
sulted in murder, The number of
State officials and servants killoid
was 1,719, while 8,997 private assns-
sinations took place. The number
of State servants wounded was
2,499, and of private persons 5,747.
A large percentage of the injured
were crippled for life.
In a supplement to the report it
is stated that the number of. capital
offenses coltrinitted during the first
nine months of 1912 was 2,148, al-
though the pereentage of the killed
is not given,
tN
A negro preacher, alluding to the
story of Daniel in the lions' den,
said :—"There he sat •all night long
looking at the show and it didn't
cost him a cent."
I ��ap;� l� TE.tore E T
vs.
SPECULATION
Speculation means risking or
gambling your money, while
investment; is defined by safe-
ty of principal, combined with
a fair interest yield.
When we try to interest you in
bonds, we offer you the highest
class of investment, where
safety of principal is assured—
and 0% earned on your money,
We offer bonds in $100 $500,
and $1,000; deft ittaticnt,
J. A. MACRKAY & CONd"l,u V
LIMITED
euardlan nldg, Reyel ae"'t 91 tt 1
MOMreetl, eepte t""
iatas'. iw'rste..2ska,1i . 1;;
SAILORS' SUPERSTITIONS
1/311:1110 US INSTANOES 011
GIiOWf'I€Y VESSELS.
Reeot'd 0f the Flying i)ntelttntia••
Phantom Ship Seen in Gtoipo.
Bay.
It would be surprising if among
eltllerincrt and fisherfoik, whose
superstition is proverbial, tt large
antouut• of legendary narrative con-
ed with their calling did nob
exist, A little researclt.proves that
this is so and that erre eon. passesees
its quota of uncanniness, but which,
with one notable exception, is sel-
dom heard of.
This -of course is the famous "Figs,
ing Dntohman" or phantom ship of
Vanderclecken, How the story ori-
ginated is doubtful, but it has been
ascot•tained that ',here was a sea-
man of repute who many years ago
•sailed from Holland to tho East via
the Cape of Good Hope but woo
never again hoard of.
Soma authorities say that, meet,•
ing with contrary winds off the
cape, he swore a, terrible oath, in
oonsequeneo ef which the :Divine
wrath decreed that he should ho
occupied till the crack of doom in
endeavoring to weather the. head-
land. Others state that this punish:_
ment was meted ottt to him in re-
tribution for a terrible murder he
committed before commencing his
fateful voyage.
Whatever the cause of this atnr
`eicnt gcntlem.a•n'.s monotonous wan-
l.erings ma.y be, it lo probably in
connection with him, says the Lnn-
den Globe, that the most authetrtdo
And Cold-blooded Record
of any phantom exists either afloat
' or ashore, for it is stated that
the log of H.M.S. Bacchante, while
an a voyage round the world with
the little princess in 1881. there ap-
' pears on July 11 the entry : "Flys.
ing Dutchman crossed our bows."
The log book of one of the then
largest of her Majesty's warships
is eertainly the very last place to
expect to find that which is g04.
erally associated with the hystorfe
cal of either sex.
In the "Chronicles of tho St,
Lawrence" by Le Maine it is re-
corded that on a certain day in th
year a phantom ship is seen oft
Cap d'Espoir in Gaspe Bay, Lights
aro seen aboard of her and her
decks are crowded with men. By
the feet of the bowsprit a man is
conspicuously standing and facing
toward the shore, with it, lady cling-
ing to his arm. Gradually the
lights go out and the vessel sinks.
It is said to be the ghost of the
flagship of a fleet which was sent
out to reduce the French fonts, the
vessel being lost with all hands,
There is also related among than
lumbermen of the same great river
of an antique caravel whieh sail
up the Cadolia Falls, ' where no
other vesse) dare or could follow.
To come to our native waters,
there are nutnerous instances re-
lated in local history of the visita-
tions of ghostly vessels, the west, of
England, .as might be expected, be-
ing most prolific in these records.
Indeed, Cornwall boasts ,,f a gob-
lin :ship probably unique the world
over, as she not only sails the wa..
ter but proceeds most unconcerned
By Some Good Distance Inland.
This is the spectre ship of Porth-
cua•no, and in Robert Bunt's book
is related the experience of a, local
inlrg:bitant who witnessed one of her
escapades. She.. is described as so
black square rigged single masted
vessel, sometimes towing a emelt
beat, lfo crew are ever :seen : pro-
sumately they are down below.
:Cha personal narrative says: "On
earrte the craft. It passed steadily •
through the breakers, glided on
aver the sands, .steadily pursued its
°enured on the clry land as if it had
been water. On it went to Bede-
ran, where. St, Leven formerly
dwelt. It then steered its course
to Ohygwiden, and there vanished
like. smoke," '
Bottr'oll also tells tsa that in an-
other Cornish bay during an in-
coming fog the noise of falling
.spars, gena firing and so forth is
heard as if an action were in pro -
greets.
Many ins•lateees can be given of
how ships themselves are said rto be
haunted, especially when a murder
has nem:reed en board. And of the
West Indies gruesome stories are
toed of the restless spirits of the
ancient pirates, who presumably
are too wtelced to. !cons this sphere,,
bet visit their old cleanses and pro-
vide any unfortunate shipwrecked
seaman with a fund of r`hoe roes, 'r
which he eventually relerbes to Tia
gaping .andience of brother salts.
The fllt•t its always practicing .a
game she never intends to play,
"Whensloes your husband find.
time to clo. all his ?tatting?"' "Deus
ally when I want to tell hhn Bente"
thing important,"
Ti; is but too trite that when st
mat itis the stamp of genius on hits
prow, he also bel the gloss of gene
tea on his coat..