SUPERSTITION DIES HARD.
NUMBER THIRTEEN AGAIN. Superstition dies hard, even in an enlightened age. It is curious to note that tho timo tablo of the Mauretania was altered to appease the people who were afraid to sail on Friday, tho thirteenth, remarked an overseas writer.
In the matter of superstitions we are just as foolish as our ancestors, and still pay attention to thirteens, Fridays, black cats, hooting owls, horseshoes and a hundred and ono alleged influences of good and bad fortune. As regards number thirteen, it becomes a positive nuisance, as some people will not go anywhere on such a dato, and I have come across others who refuse to livo in a houso or flat with these " sinister " numerals.
I have known a whole party ruined because somebody has discovered that thirteen people aro seated at the tablo. When shall we escape from such absurd tyrannies, which aro as silly as the numbo-jumbo of the fortune-teller and crystal-gazer? Education would appear to bo useless, as there aro highly cultivated minds who still swear by their pet superstitions. A certain well-known author always uses a symbol on his books as a charm in favour of their success.
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New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20851, 18 April 1931, Page 6 (Supplement)
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198SUPERSTITION DIES HARD. New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20851, 18 April 1931, Page 6 (Supplement)
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