Show ON CURIOUS BELIEFS Something About Our Superstitious Supersti-tious Statesmen RABBITS FOOT AND BATS LIVER How Senator Hansbrou hs Election Was Foretold Fore-told by the Goddess of Liberty and the I Washington Monument I WASHINGTON Feb 26 1S91 Special correspondence of THE HERALD Three fourths of the great men of our country are superstitious Away down in the souls of the most practical statesmen generals and scholars lurk premonitions which disturb their owners fully as much as those of the wildest imaginations of the plantation dar key Speaker Carlisle will never start on on journey on Friday Secretary Blaine will not go back to enter his house after he has quitted it if he has forgotten something and he will walk a few blocks rather than do what he considers unlucky I know a United States Senator from the south who carries a rabbit foot and Major McKinley carries a buckeye in his pocket for rheumatism rheuma-tism There are statesmen here who believe be-lieve that a bats liver is a sure preventive of contagious disease if carried in the left vest pocket just over the heart and the latest lat-est superstition in regard to political luck has just come out in connection with Senator Sena-tor Hansbroughs election to the United States Senate Both the Washington monument mon-ument and the Goddess of Liberty are mixed up in it and it is the marriage so to speak of these two that brings about the combination which points the politician on his road to fortune THS GODDESS OF JLIBERTT AS A FOETUS TELLEr The Washington monument is five hundred hun-dred and fifty feet high It leans agains the blue sky a great white shaft and i t towers nearly two hundred feet above the capitol dome which stands on a hill about a mile away The Goddess of Liberty is o af bronze She weighs 14000 pounds and she stands erect on a great bronze globe on the cap of the dome measuring nineteen and onehalf feet from her toes to the tips of the feathers which crown her beautiful head She is a woman of wonderful beauty and asa as-a Pennsylvania railroad train carries the statesman out of Washington it goes around a part of the city in such a way that the traveler looking from the windows sees this great figure of the statue of Liberty coming nearer and nearer to the Washing ton monument until at last the two are indirect in-direct line with his eye and the great Goddess God-dess forms a black silhouette agains the pure white of the monument Thi view of the monument has to be caught on a train going at the rate of forty miles an hour There are a number of car track just at the point where it becomes visible and a passing freight car will shut it out It can only be seen for a second and only one time perhaps in a dozen trips Public men leaving the capital on missions keep their eyes glued on the windows and if they are lucky enough to catch the combination they expect to find their mission successful If not some of them feel the superstitious s dread of failure assured and it is strange how many times they are correct Whei n Hansbrough went home to seek for a reelection re-election to Congress he kept his eyes glued on the goddess from the time the train left the station but just as he was about to see her kiss the monument a freight car rushe in and the moment passed He went ti o Dakota and failed to get his election The last time he left was to make his fight for the Senatorship But I will let him tel the story himself Saia he I watched the goddess as we left the depot The tracks were full of freight cars and feared I should miss it Senator Farwell wa with me and he also kept his eyes toward the capitol As we went out of the city freight cars increased and as we neared the point where the two come together > the track was full of them I kept my eye on the window however and I just caught a view of the goddess against the monument between the cars of a passing train I wa leaning over and watching closely as I did so ana when the two came together I excitedly ex-citedly clapped one hand against the other saying Ive got it and I nearly scared twits t-wits out of an old woman who sat in front of me and who must have thought I was crazy Well I went out to Dakota and secured my election I dont of course believe thai the monument and the goddess had much to do with it but Charlie Farwell wh failed to see them went out to Illinois for the same purpose and got left STATESMEN WITH DREAMS Senator Hansbrough had 1I am told a dream in connection with this combination in which he was told > that if the monument and the goddess came together on his trip he would be successful There is no end of curious dreams described in the cloak rooms of the House and Senate Some of our greatest statesmen arc connected with the stories told President Lincoln had a dream which he believed prophesied his assassination as-sassination He was lying on a lounge in his chamber and when he awoke he saw his picture in the looking glass opposite him His figure was reflected at full length and his face had two separate and distinct images the tip of the nose of one being about three inches from the tip of the noso of the other The illusion startled him He got up and looked In the glass but as he did so the second face vanished He lay down again and this time he saw that one of the faces was paler than the other He believed that the whole was the foretelling r of his death and he said that it made a great impression upon his wife He tried the experiment ex-periment again and again after that but never succeeded in reproducing tho images Senator Logan was to certain extent ex-tent a believer in dreams He thought it was bad luck to dream of his teeth and he j 1 J dreamt of these just before his adopted daughter Katy died She was absent at the time and just a few days before her death he said one morning at breakfast I am afraid Katy is sick This expression came from his dream and a few days later he got a telegram chronicaling her death General Grant had a number of dreams during his last illness which were reported at the time and which he thought foretold his death Just before he slipped and fell he had a premonition that he was going to be injured and he had the same kind of presentiment sentiment when ho was first inaugurated hero as President He made personal inquiries uiries about the stands at the capitol and told the officials that he feared an accident He even went so far as to have an army engineer examine the supports of the immense 1 im-mense stand erected on the main east portico I por-tico The test was made by allowing fiver five-r six hundred persons to go on it that morning It was found to be all right and a report to that effect was made to General Grant As he heard it he replied 1 dont doubt but that you are right but still I fear something will occur there that will be unpleasant un-pleasant to me An accident did occur but it was an accident to Grants father and not to Grant The old man stumbled over board which had been securely fixed o in the capitol steps and seriously injured his leg It was at first thought that the leg was broken but it turned out to be only a serious sprain Grant did not hear of this until he reached the White House As he got out of the carriage he saw the carriage containing his father drive up and though he said he knew nothing of the accident he asked Father were you hurt much The old gentleman informed him that he was not seriously injured Well I am glad said General Grant that it is not worse but I felt sure something would occur now WASHINGTON WARNED CALHOUN The most remarkable dream I have ever heard of was that which is said to have been related by John C Calhoun to Bob Toombs and others at just about the tim when he was preaching nullification and secession in South Carolina Calhoun told the story it was said at a breakfast party He was observed to be continually brushing his right hand in a nervous waj when Mr Toombs asked What is tne matter with your hand t Senator Does it pain you Mr Calhoun put his hand under the table An annoyed frown came over his face and he then jerked it quickly out again saying There nothing the matter with my hand only I had a peculiar dream last night which makes me see an indelible black spot lik an ink blotch on the back of it I konw i t is an optical illusion bull cant help seeing see-ing it GEORGE WASHINGTONS GHOST Calhoun turned a shade paler and then said I dont object to telling you It was it seems to me absurd in the extreme I dreamed that I was in my room writing and that I had given orders that no one should disturb me While I was in the busiest part of my work the door opened and a visitor entered He did not speak a word and to my surprise and indignation calmly took a seat on the other side of the table opposite me As I looked at him I saw he was wrapped in a thin cloak which effectually hid features I started to speak when he broke in in solemn tones withWhat What are you writing Senator from South Carolina Strange to say the question did not seem impertinent tome and I replied I am writing a plan for the dissolution of the American union As I said this the man went on Senator Sena-tor from South Carolina will you let me look at your right hand I started to holdout hold-out my hand The figure arose the cloak fell and I beheld his face Gentlemen that face struck me like a thunder clap It was the face of a dead man and the features fea-tures were those of General Washington He was dressed in Revolutionary costum andHere Mr Calhoun paused and Bo b Toombs who was very much excitedasked Well and what did he say Mr Calhoun replied I tried to keep back my hand but I could not do it I rose to my feet and extended it to him H o grasped it and held it near the light and after looking at it for a moment he said t And Senator from South Carolina would you with this right hand sign your name t o a paper dissolving the Union 2 Yes I replied if needs be I will sign such a declaration Well gentlemen at that moment black blotch appeared on the back of my hand and it frightened me and I said to the ghost What is that That replied h ° + dropping my hand is the mark by which Benedict Arnold is known in the next world and with that he drew from beneath be-neath his cloak a skeleton and laid it upo the table There said he are the bone of Isaac Haj ne who was hung at Charleston Charles-ton Ho gave up his life in order to establish estab-lish the Union When you put your nato mo na-to a declaration of dissolution you may as well have the bones of Isaac Hayno before you He was a South Carolinian and soar o you But there was no blotch on his right hand With these words the ghost left the room and I awoke I found myself sitting sit-ting at my table but the droam was so vivid that I can still see the blotch on my hand GENERAL FRANK HATTONS RABBIT FOOT General Frank Hatton who was the head of the posto ice department in President Presi-dent Arthurs Cabinet is said to have the most lucky rabbit foot in Washington He got it two or three years ago in Chicago and from it probably comes his success and that of his big paper the Washington Post which he is making so valuable The story as told me by one of General Hattons friends isthat this rabbit foot was sent to him by the seventh son a seventh son of a Georgia darkey who had been befriended in some way by the Hatton family and that it reached him when he was in Chicago He was at the time though the world hardly knew it metaphorically speaking trotting around on his uppers Ho had been connected with the Chicago Mail and the New York Pus and had lost a small fortune He hadnt a cent in his pocket and though he lived well it was only through the faith of one of his friends who keeps a big hotel in Chicago and who told Hatton to keep his family there as long as he pleased and to look around until some thing turned up The general did not think much of the rabbit foot but he put it in his j pocket and went out walked up and down the street along the banks of the lake and a I l t i < thought The rabbits foot and the darkey turned his mind towards the south and he finally got to thinking about Washington and Washington newspapers The more he thought about the field the better he liked it and he finally put his hand in his pocket grabbed the paw of the rabbit and said Ill buy the Washington Post He went back to the hotel and told his wife that he had decided the buy the Washington Post and move to Washington Mrs Hatton possesses considerable common sense and she said But Frank how are you going to buy it 3 You have no money and the Post is a costly property Ill borrow the money said General Hatton and with that he went out on the treat called on a friend and borrowed enough to take him to Washington and to keep him there for the week or two neces ary for his negotiations The amount however was so small that when he got to Washington he stopped with a friend rather than put up at the best hotel in the city as was his custom Now the Post was owned by Mr Stilson Hutchins and he considered it worth somewhere about three hundred thousand dollars General Hatton put on a bold air and called on Hutchins He talked as though he owned millions but Hutchins had a sneaking idea that he did not own anything Nevertheless Neverthe-less ho discussed the situation with him and they dickered over terms from day today to-day until Hutchins got his figures down omewhere near two hundred thousand dollars At this time General Hatton met exCongressman Beriah Wilkins who was then about to leave the House at the close of his term and did not know where to go nor what to do Hatton found how he was situated and meeting him on the street proposed that he go in with him and that thoy buy tho Post together Wilkins appeared ap-peared to like the idea but he said that he hadnt a great deal of money and that he would have to go slow Well come on and see Hutchins about it anyhow said Hatton And the two went together to Stilson Hutchins office There the dickering dick-ering began again and at last Hutchins saidNow Now Mr Hatton you and I have bean talking over this thing for several days and it seems to me that theres too blank much talk and too blank little money Now I want you to either put up or shut up Ill tell you just what I will do and you can take it or leave it Ill sell you the Washington Wash-ington Post for 210000 on certain terms and I want 10000 cash by tomorrow at twelve oclock to bind the bargain With that he looked at Hatton The face of the expostmastergeneral was like that of the sphinx His iron jaw became more like iron than over He looked Hutchins in thee the-e e and with nothing but the rabbit foot in his pocket he said coolly Ill take it Write out your terms and sign your proposition As he did this Beriah Wilkins turned pale He did not know what to make of it and as the two left together he said timidly to Hatton But Frank where are you going to get that lOOOO I can raise some money but I cant get 10000 here in Washington on three hours notice Who in blank asked you to get itl rejoined joined Hatton and with that ho shut his jaws together again and told Wilkins not to worry that he would attend to it This was in the evening He went homo that night and slept like a top The next morning morn-ing he called upon a banker friend of his here at about ton oclock He met him in his private office and told him that he wanted to buy the Post and that he had to put up 810000 by noon and that he wanted him to lend him the 10000 He then went over the situation and showed his friend how the Post could be made to pay and the old capitalist grunted and listened He continued to listen and continued to grunt until Hatton got through and then walked with him to tho door without giving an answer an-swer He followed Hatton out to the cab in which he had come to his office and a bB Hatton got in still not knowing how the thing was going to turn out he stepped in i after him and told the cabby to drive t a Ripgs bank Here the two got out and went in and the capitalist gave Frank Hat ton a check for 10000 Hatton presented it and the money was counted out to him As soon as he had seen that it was correct he handed it back and asked for a certified check for 510000 It was given him and he folded it up and put it into his pants pocket beside the rabbit foot He then drove tithe ti-the office of the Washington Post and reached there within five minutes of twelve He stepped into Mr Hutchins room and Stilson Hutchins greeted him with the remark re-mark which he judged to be facetious Well Frank said be with a laugh I suppose youve come to buy the Post Yes I have replied General Hatton and Ill take it now Indeed said Hutchins but you remember that the con tract calls for 10000 in cash before noon today Oh thats all right said Hat ton as though 810000 wa nothing to him Heres my certified check for the amount tr Hutchins was astounded but he took th tre check and with that he lost the Post Th remainder of the purchase money is now almost paid The paper is making money hand over fist and Beriah Wilkins an d Frank Hatton are growing rich Their success is of course due to their abilities but I dont believe you could get that ral bits foot for its weight in gold FRANK G CARPENTER |