WAR SUPERSTITIONS.

Auckland Star, Volume XLVII, Issue 258, 28 October 1916, Page 13

WAR SUPERSTITIONS.

TOMMY AND HIS GOOD-LUCK

CHARMS.

The cafes near the firing-line in France are like little shops. They sell all sorts of odds and ends besides coffee, wine and beer. The cafe-keepers do a brisk trade in all kinds of amulets, which are supposed to bring the wearere good luck \ ou may have noticed that nearly every wounded soldier you see in the streets at home wears a bracelet round, his ririit wrist. These are supposed to be lucky. There is hardly a British soldier in France, near the firing line at all events who does not sport one of these bracelets Tie bracelet is s i mp l y a white metal chain, with, in the centre, an oval aluminium disc which is really a bullet hammered flat. On the disc the soldier scratches with the point of his pen-knife or some other handy instrument, his' name and number, and also the name of the regiment to which he belongs. The bracelet thus inscribed, worn round the wrist, does away with the necessity for wearing the regulation Army cardboard identification disc, which is fastened round each man's neck with a piece of string or ribbon.

OTHER LOCK BRINGBRS. I have worn one of these bracelets since my first week in France. On July 1 I was 'lucky" enough, to get a "Blighty" wound, which brought mc to England, where I am now comfortably convalescing in a charming country house, "somewhere in the Midlands." But whether I have the bracelet to thank or not I sin not very sure. They are cheap enough these bracelets, for they only cost threepence. There are a variety of other lnck-bring-ers displayed in the cafes, such of coloured beads, whioh used to be very popular, but i»Te recently lost their vogue. There are rings of all kinds, massive most of them, made of shellcasing, and quaintly designed, and a host of other gewgaws.

The average soldier, like the eailor, has a veneration for time-honoured superstition. He does not like to spill salt, sir ; if he doee spill any you will frequently see him fling a pinch over his left shoulder —a proceeding which is supposed to avert evil consequences. On no consideration will he walk under a ladder, if it is possible to get round it, nor -will he trim his finger nails on Friday, for they say if you do that you have "the devil with yon for the rest of the week," and nobody wants the devil for a companion in the trenches.

Curiously enough, thirteen is net regarded as an unlucky number in France. There is a number thirteen platoon in every battalion, and experience has shown that it ie v«rj often the platoon which is moet favoured by fortune.

CIGARETTE "KTJLE OF THREE." Perhaps the superstition which is most prevalent in France to-day is the solid belief that it is unlucky to light three cigarettes with one match. Sow, matches are often jolly scarce among the troops, but, scarce or plentiful, the majority of the lada would rather use an extra one than risk the "unlucky three. ,. It is hard to say how this superstition arose, or 'where it came from. Nobody seems to know. Neither does anybody appear to know what particular kind of bad luck is likely to overtake those who break the "rule of three." But the fact remains that it is tie most persistent superstition in France to-day, and not only "Tommy," but the officers also take scrupulous care to avoid breaking it. I remember an incident which occurred coming from the trenches one night. There were only three of vs —a young officer, a corporal, and myself. When we reached the road, and it was safe to light up, the officer produced cigarettes. The corporal struck a match, and gave us a lig-ht. He wae just about to apply the match to his own cigarette, when the officer jumped forward and blew it out. "No you don't," he said, laughing, "we have had enough bad luck for one night. Light up from this," and he proffered the red end of his own cigarette. You will see an incident like that ten times a day in France, for the fellows are always forgetting, and offering the third man a light.

STOWED CHAEMS. There are few soldiers in the firing-line who do not carry somewhere on their persons, perhaps eewn in their body belts, or tacked away <leep in a secret pocket, some little charm or other. It may be a lucky coin, or a keepsake from ■home, a kiae-curi from tne "best" girl, or merely a faded flower around which lingers the memory of some little romance.

Sometimes the Inck-bringers take grotesque shapes. When our battalion was in Ecypt the lads went jn largely for pigs—little imitation ivory ewine, which can he picked up in any of the bazaars in Alexandria, Cairo, or Port Said for a few coppers. latterly golliwogs have been popular—tiny golliwogs, arrayed in regimentals. Some of the fellowe carry these :ittte grotesques with them wherever they go. Many a golliwog went "over the top" on July 1, secreted somewhere in its owner's naversack- — W.R.S., in "Weekly Scotsman."