Of course, an old, worn shoe is more lucky than a new one, and it is a recognized fact that the more nails found in it the luckier will be the finder.
THE SCARAB.—This device is accounted very lucky or very unlucky, according to the disposition of the wearer. The symbol represents the scarab beetle with its wings outspread or with them closed. Such charms are made to-day in large numbers for sale in Egypt, but those who trade in them usually claim that each particular specimen has been in the family since Biblical times. As a rule, the device is made in a rough kind of bluish porcelain and is carved, in intaglio, with divine figures. The Egyptians used to make up the scarab as a neck pendant or as a little ornament for placing in the coffins of the dead. Its mission was to scare away the evil one.
No. 2.—An Egyptian Scarab, such as were used as talismen. Two forms are shown, one with the pectoral wings outspread; the other, with wings closed.
THE TET.—This symbol was shaped somewhat like a mallet, and was always worn with the head uppermost and the handle hanging down. It was made in porcelain or stone, and was often colored gaudily. The Egyptians were the first to find efficacy in this charm, and they wore it suspended around the neck to ward off attacks from visible and invisible enemies. Thus, it was a protection against evil in any form; it was also supposed to provide the wearer with strength and endurance. The tet has been much forgotten of late years, but there are adherents who value it above the horseshoe and almost any other charm.
No. 3.—The Talisman on the left is the Tet; on the right, the Arrow-Head.