citement, as he who has a
great thought oppressing him or a great fear continually tugging at his
heart-strings. The most hopeless disbelievers in the Divine Being, that
can possibly be met, are those who seldom or never enter into a
controversy on the subject; and the least assured is he who oftenest
enters into controversy, perhaps for the purpose of strengthening his
own belief. There _are_ Captain Barecolts, of course, who go bravely
into battle after venting boasts that seem to stamp them as arrant
cowards, and who come out of the conflict with stories staggering all
human comprehension; but these cases are rare, and they do not go beyond
the requisite number of exceptions to justify the rule.

Perhaps the most general of the ordinary superstitions of the country is
the indefinable impression that the catching a first sight of the new
moon over the right shoulder ensures good fortune in the ensuing month,
while a first glance of it over the left is correspondingly unlucky. (It
may be said, in a parenthesis, that the fast phrase, "over the left," so
prevalent during the past few years, to indicate the reverse of what has
just been spoken, has its derivation from the impression that such an
untoward sinister glance may neutralize all effort and bring notable
misfortune.) Of a hundred men interrogated on this point, ninety-five
will assert that they hold no such superstition, and that they have
never even thought of the direction in which they first saw the new moon
of any particular month. And yet of that ninety-five, the chances are
that ninety are in the habit of taking precautions to meet the young
crescent in the proper or lucky manner, or of indulging in a slight
shudder or feeling of unpleasantness when they realize that they have
accidentally blundered into the opposite.

Next in prevalence to this, may be cited the superstition that any
pointed article, as a knife, a pin, or a pair of scissors, falling
accidentally from the hand and sticking direct in the floor or the
carpet, indicates the coming of visitors during the same day, to the
house in which the omen occurred. Hundreds and even thousands of
housewives, not only the ignorant but the more intelligent, immediately
upon witnessing or being informed of such an important event, make
preparation, on the part of themselves and their households, if any are
felt to be necessary, for the reception of the visitors who are sure to
arrive within the time indicate