Superstitions Routed.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XXVII, Issue III, 20 July 1901, Page 138

Superstitions Routed.

SOME OLD SAWS WHICH ARE DYING HARD. It is all very well for a woman to announce herself free from superstitions, but the crux comes when she is asked to prove her emancipation by sacrificing someone else. That is why two superstitions in particular have held good for so long, the one that promises misfortune to a Friday wedding, and the other that declares a child will “go back” if it is weighed. But both saws are being tested daily now. The weighing of infants is regularly done, because the modern doctor holds the theory that more can be told about the progress of the child by its weight than by any other means. Special nursery scales are sold now, comfortably equipped for the little cherub’s possession. There was a Friday wedding the other day. Everyone was, of course, on the qui vive to discover untoward results from the bride’s bravery, and when the happy couple slipped as they walked out of the church on a step the hearts of the bystanders leaped into their throats. Then later there was a carriage accident, and the coach and four had to be abandoned for a humble vehicle. But, as on neither occasion the two were in the least hurt, is it not sane to suggest that Friday is their lucky day! A few bold spirits with the nerve to dare peacock-feather decorations in their abodes, habitually prone to walk under ladders, to be gay saltspillers, and wearers of black at weddings would do much to stamp out a frequent cause of miserable moments to the fanciful.