Modern Credulity

Abstract

DURING the last ten or twelve years there has been a remarkable recrudescence of the amulet, or mascot. Nowadays there must be few collections of jewelry which do not contain at least one piece for luck, whether it be a four-leaved shamrock, an effigy of a pig, cat, or other animal in one of the precious metals, a holed coin inset with a turquoise or other stable, real or imitation, or some similar object to which pro tective properties are attributed in some degree. It must afford a peculiar joy to Sir William Ridgeway to see his theory of the magical clement in primitive jewelry translated into actual practice in civilised conditions. The more grotesque or bizarre the object, the greater the attachment of the owner. Hence the remarkable forms taken by ornaments in china and other material. Nor need the mascot be an inanimate object. Dogs, cats, monkeys, and other animals are pressed into service. In Paris hunchbacks have a regular clientèle among stockbrokers, who make a point of touching the deformity before an important deal; while one French actor is said always to have a hunchback in his dressing-room during a first night.