Show LI Mental Dirt I IBy By DR FRANK CRANE The human mind is a urious thing thins It has not only onTy thoughts or ideas but there float about in it also vague ague ghosts that sometimes influence its conclusions conclusions con con- quite as much as as d does docs es intelligent reasoning These are hints hunches dreads and superstitions One has learned something when he has come to regard these things as mere to be swept out out of the mind at once At a meeting of ot the Folk Lore society recently in London there was quite an exhibition of some of ot these fallacies I that infest us There were all aU sorts of charms and amulets used by the superstitious superstitious in al all parts of the world It may be interesting interesting inter inter- esting to recount some of or these just to show what strange powers lowers can control the mind There were colored glass balls filled with threads The witch must count these threads before she could cross the of or the home hom There were so many threads that she could not count them in the tho witching hours hO that Is Is before the cock crows so 50 soshe soshe she had to r retreat in discomfiture There were also charms against the evil eye nightmare nightmare nightmare night night- mare disease and death and even against the toothache tooth tooth- r ache ach Soldiers and sailors during the great war used all sorts sorts' of charms A A. little dried potato brought one soldier safely through h. h his perils Other soldiers carried black cats coins and ornaments ornaments ornaments orna orna- ments made from enemy missiles pieces of goats goat's hair African beans little china hands and other cu curious curious curious cu- cu rious things One nien gave an account of a custom at gypsy weddings where the wedding cake was made of ot flour mixed with blood taken from the wrists of ot the bride and groom i Another told of divorce rites among the gypsies in n Scotland where a horse was sacrificed and the couple agreed o over er its carcass never to meet a anymore any y m more Another account was given ghen of a 3 gypsy who caused I blood to flow between him and his wife wile This This' he did by chopping oft off the fourth finger of his left lert hand land Then Ihen he salted the severed piece piece- and carded carried car car- I ned ried it about with him In a handkerchief If he married later he gave the finger to his new wife There may be some limit in the human mindo mind to o thought reason and fact but there seems to be beno beno beno no limit to the vagaries of superstition Copyright 1928 1921 McClure Newspaper Syndicate |