The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1864-12-07


! what be had done how he had been disturbed and
| insultedi and how he had thought proper 10 re.
Ntnee himself Agrippa became much alarmed
! az tlc Ffouable consequence OF this unfortunate
] adventure, aud be ordered the demon, without
| los, OF time, to rcluiruaie his victim, and walk
/ about the streets with him, that the public might
/ behold him alive. The Internal spirit rrluct-
| anty oOeyed, and went forth with the studen. in
! the market place and prOmCnadCS. This excur-
| sion over, however, he malCiOusy allowed his
| companion to fall down, when life once more
| fitted from his body. For time it was thought
| that the student had been killed by a sud len
| attack OF Illness, but, presently, the marks OF
| SuanguaiiOn became evident, and the truth
| came out. Agrippa was thus suddenly Obliged
10 quit the town, and seek refuge in q distant
State.
It was further related of this supposed wizard
that lac was always ac accompanied by familiar
spirit In the shape Of black dog; aud that when
he lay on bis dCath-bed he was earnestly cNhOrted
90 repent Of his sins. Struck with rcmorso, he
took hold OF the dog, and removed from hi, ne *
collar studded with Cabalistic nails eXCluimmg,
"Begone, wretched animal, that has been the
cause of my pcTdition!' and 10 the dog mmc-
uiatcly ran away, and plungng into the river
Noanc, disappcard. 1t IS to be regretted that his
turiaus do not relate whether the water hs,ed or
not when the canine devil took his last leap.
1t merits notice that the mystic and medicinal
&c cbrity OF various substances have TO this hour
survived the traditions of their suprrstitious
origin coral, for instance, which was considered
as possessed of the power Of keeping Off evil
cNN eye was constantly worn as an amulet aud
Idralelsus informs us that t should be worn round
the nCCks of infants as an admirable prcseryHtye
against hls, sorcery, charms and pOisOns. We
still find necklaces Of this substance suspended
10y fond mothers and nurses round the uecls Of
infants. In the West Indies these chaplet, are
worn by the negroes as a magic protection against
Oblism, and they even affirm that the color of the
coral is affected by the state Of the health of the
wearer, aud becomes paler when he is in.
The irrational belief in the mysterious powers
OF certain remedies went so far in former days
that when they were applied TO the weapon that
had inflicted an injury, their indirect sympathetic
action was considered MS efTcc.ual as If they had
been used to heal the wound The sympathetic
powder Of Sir Kenolm Digby, which was nothing
else but pulyerzed green yitriOl, was eulogized
IN a discourse pronounced by its inventor nc
Montpelier in 1903. Our James purchased this
wonderful discovery from Sir Kenclm, who pre-
tended that he had obtained II from Carmeliie
friar, who had learned in America and Persia.
This supersitious practice is alluded to by Walter
Scott in the Lay of the Last Minstrel -
ANA wssh'd It from the clottcd gore
And salvod the splinter scr and DER"
Dryden has also illustrated this absurdity in
his Enchanted Island where Ariel says
"Anolut tho sword which pierced him with this
TIL have tmc to visit Il again
Sir kenelm's sympathetic powder was applied
IN the same manner; the weapon being covered
with ointment and dressed three times a dlv
But II was not mentioned that az the same time
the wound was to be brought together and bound
up with clean linen bandages for seven DAYS
This wonderful cure was then simply the process
of what surgeons call healing by first intention.
which means uniting the lips of the wound with
out suppuratOn. DIR. Paris apprehends that this
secret was suggested to the worthy knight by the
cures operated by the rust of the spear Of Tele-
phus, which, according to Homer, healed the
injuries il had oCCasiOnCd; and this rust was most
probably ycrdgris.
To this day the Irish peasantry, and even m any
OF the superior classes, firmly believe in the ma
levolent and destructive effect of the evil eve
when cast upon man or beast. Hence the absurd
custom that prevails, especially in the western
provinces, of adding "God bless il I" TO any ey-
preSs'on OF admiration; and if perchance Il Sas-
senagh traveller exclaimed, "What a sweet child"
or "What fine cOwP' without the adiunctiyc
benediction, he would be suspected of maeGre.
and the priest forthwith summoned to save the
devoted victim Of sorCery. In Scotland dairy
maids drive cattle with switch of the mountain
ash, or roam tree considered as held sacred since
the days of Drudism; and in some districts the
sheep and lambs are made to pass through a hoop
of its wood on the first day of May.
The toad is also considered to be possessed of
marvellous qualities for the cure of various mala-
dies more especially the stone that was supposed
TO be occasionally found in the reptiles head and
which was called CTapauRina. Lupion, in his
seventh book of f"Notable Things =" thus instructs
US how TO obtain it :-''You shall kuowe whether
the tode-stone be the ryght and perfect stone or
not Hode the stone before toad, so that he
may see it and If it be right and true stone the
tode will leape towards it and make as though nc
would snatch it, he envies so much that man
should have this stone" This famous tOad-stone
is simply one of the fossil teeth of various fishes
and is chiefly formed OF phosphate of lime. It's
high polish and convexity have often induced
apidaries to have il set In rings and other Jewels
to which marvellous powers were attached.
PulYerized toads were not only employed in
medicine with supposed advantage, but were also
considered a slow but certain poison. Soander
relates that Roman woman, desirOus of poison
ing her husband, gave him this substance; but
instead OF attaining her criminal desire, it cured
him Of drOpsy that had long perpleXed him.
Boccaccio relates the story Of Pasquna and ST.
mona, two young lovers, who wandering in q
garden, plucked some sage leaves with which
Pasqnino rubbed his teeth and gums. In a few
minutes he fell i'll and expired. SimOna, accused
OF being his assassin, was brought before magis-
trate, who ordered an immediate investigation of
the matter, when, on proceeding to the garden
Simona, after relating the particulars of the case
took some leaves from the same plant and used
them in a similar manner. In a few minutes the
lovers were reunited in death, when it was dis
covered that large toad was under the root of
the plant, towhch II had communicated its deadly
venom.
Regarding unlawful cures, have we not seen
vaccination, when first introduced condemned
from the very pulpit an impious interference in
disease which seemed to have been assigned to
mankind by the Creator as an inevitable doom
Did not these desperate bigots even pronounce
that we were not warranted 20 seek In the brute
creation human remedy or preservation What
is still more worthy Of remark is the coincidence
of similar idea in India where the greatest
obstacle vaccination encountered arose from a
belief that the natural smallpox was a dispeusa-
ton of malicious deity, called Mah-yy- GUna,
or rather that the disease was an incarnation Of
the goddess herself into the person who was
affected by il the fear of irritating her and of
exposing themselves To her resentment necessa-
rily rendered the natives ayerse 10 vaccination
until il was impressed upon their easy belief that
Mdh-Ty- NINA had altered her mind, aud chosen
this new and milder mode of manifestng her
visits to her votaries.
Could there ever have existed a more supersti-