"Some years ago, a pretty wide district was alarmed by an account of the
beans [Faba vulgaris var. equina] being laid the wrong way in the pod
that year, which most certainly foreboded something terrible to happen
in a short time, and this produced much consternation amongst those who
allow their imaginations to run riot. The whole of the terrible omen was
this: the eye of the bean was in the pod towards the apex, instead of
being towards the footstalk, as might appear at first sight to be its
natural position; and some were scarcely convinced that this was the
natural position of the beans in the pod ever since the creation, even
on being shown the pod of the preceding year with the seed in the same
position.
"As yet, however, I fear we must sum up in the words of Davy:--
"_Phys._ But how can you explain such absurdities as Friday being an
unlucky day, and the terror of spilling salt, or meeting an old woman?
"_Poiet_. These, as well as the omens of death-watches, dreams, etc.
are founded upon some accidental coincidences; but spilling of salt, on
an uncommon occasion, may, as I have known it, arise from a disposition
to apoplexy, shown by an incipient numbness in the hand, and may be a
fatal symptom; and persons dispirited by bad omens sometimes prepare the
way for evil fortune, for confidence of success is a great means of
insuring it.
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