May was embarrassed, especially as she felt Miss Irene’s grave eyes fixed upon her.  But Mrs. Mahon was too courteous to allow any one to remain disconcerted at her hospitable board.  With ready tact she managed that the little incident should seem speedily forgotten.  After a momentary awkwardness the girls began to chatter merrily again, and harmony was restored.

On their return to the drawing-room, May whispered to Miss Graham:  “I hope Mrs. Mahon will excuse me for calling her attention to the number at table.  I did not mean to be rude, and I suppose it is silly to be so superstitious; but, indeed, I can not help it.”

“Do not say that, dear; because you can help it if you wish,” was the gentle reply, “Mrs. Mahon understood, I am sure, that you did not intend to be impolite; but I know she must have felt regret that you should give way to such folly.”  Then, turning to the others, Miss Irene continued:  “Well, girls, considering the revelations of this morning, perhaps you will admit that you have, after all, a fair share of superstition.”

“I’m afraid so,” acknowledged Rosemary; and no one demurred.

“Do you know how these superstitions originated, Miss Graham?” asked Anna, who was of an inquiring mind.

“Many of them are very ancient,” replied Cousin Irene.  “That which predicts that the gift of anything sharp cuts friendship probably dates back farther than the days of Rome and Greece, and is almost as old as the dagger itself.  No doubt it originated in an age of frequent wars and quarrels, when for a warrior to put a weapon in the hands of a companion was perhaps to find it forthwith turned against himself.  In those days of strife also, when men were more ready in action than in the turning of phrases, and so much was expressed by symbolism, the offering of a sword or dagger was frequently in itself a challenge, and a declaration of enmity.  Thus, you see, that what was a natural inference in other times is meaningless in ours.  The adage which advises the person obliged to turn back in his journey to be careful to sit down before setting out anew, was at first simply a metaphorical way of saying that having made a false start toward the accomplishment of any duty, it is well to begin again at the beginning.  The custom which restrained comrades in arms, or friends walking or journeying together, from allowing anything to come between them, had also a figurative import.  It was a dramatic manner of declaring, ’Nothing shall ever part us,—­no ill-will nor strife, not even this accidental barrier, shall interrupt our friendly intercourse.’  In the times, too, when there were few laws but that of might, when danger often lurked by the wayside, it was always well for a traveller to keep close to his companion, and not to separate from him without necessity.