The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1850-1873, 1873-09-12
Charms.
Bits of Ancient Superstition.

Old charms dealt with every possible
relation of life. Thus 4" Eat hare il
You want to look handsome for nine
days after" "Put a hens heart OF
your wife's left side while she is asleep
and she'll tell all her secrets" Swal
low a mole's heart, fresh and palpita
ting, and you1l at once be expert in
divination. "Quartan agues yield not
to ordinary medicine; so take of the
dust in which hawk has been rolling,
tie it up in a bit of white cloth with a
red thread, and wear it or else knocl;
out the eye of live lizard, and wear il
wrapped in a bit of goat-skin." These
are from Pliny, who also teaches that all
medicinal herbs should be gathered,
pick-pocket fashion, with the right hand
poked through the left armhole of the
tunic you ought to be clad in n white
robe, with naked, clean-washed feet,
and to have just offered an Oblation of
bread and wine. Worms out of goat 3
brain are good for epilepsy; so is rivet
taken from wrecked ship, inserted in
the bone cut of living stag's heart,
and then make it into a brooch. If You
see a shooting star, count very quickly,
for You'll be free from inflammation as
many years as you can count numbers
while the star remains in view. To
cure cataract in the eye, catch n fox,
cut out his tongue, let him go, dry his
tongue, and tie it up in a red rag, and
hang round the mans neck. When
something has got into your eve, rub 1t
with five fingers of the same side as the
eye affected, saying thrice "Tetunc
resoncO bregam gressO," and spit thrice.
If you would escape stomach-ache, take
care that you always put on your left
shoe first, and wear on gold-leaf the
letters L M o r A, written three
times. For toothache, say "Argidam
margidam sturgidam" thrice over, and
spit in frogs mouth, solemnly desir-
ing him to take the toothache. If any
one has swallowed bone, gently touch
the mouth with ring-finger and thumb,
and say nine times 81 kiss the Cor
CONS mouth" This is sovereign the
great Galen himself testifies TO the value
of charms in such case. These are
from Marcellus Empiricus (the quacl,
as he well deserves to be called who
fourished about $50 A. ID. But this,
from Albertus magnus, is the most won
derful of all Gather in August the
herb heliotropion, wrap it in a bay-leaf
with VOLTS tooth, and it will, if placed
under the pillow, show a man who has
been robbed, where are his goods, and
who has taken them also, if placed in
church, it will keep fixed in their
places all the women present who have
broken their marriage. vow. This last
is most tried and most true" Lay a
VOLTS head under the pillow, and the
unhealthy shall sleep sweetly. His
flesh we'll dressed and sodden, given TO
eat, cureth devils sickness, and an i'll
sight. For disease of joints, take live
fox. and seethe him till the bones alone
be left, adding oil during the seething,
and use this as bath right often. Let
those who suffer from apparitions eat
lions flesh they will not, after that,
suffer any apparition. But the king of
beasts is condescendinR For sore
ears take lions suet, melt in a dish, and
drop into the ear" which makes us
think either that lions we're much more
plentiful, or sore ears much more dis
tressing, than nowadays. Fancy in
"the Chepe" the announcement "a
fat lion killed last week of his suet
little left. To prevent disappointment,
apply early" For tear of mad hound,
take the worms which be under n mad
hounds tongue, snip them away, lead
them round about fig tree, give them
to him who hath been rent; he will
soon be healed; or this: a hounds
head burnt to ashes, and applied on the
wound, casteth out all the venom and
the foulness and healeth the man. And
so goats grease cures dropsy dogs
milk helps children through their teeth
ing; gall of a wild buck mingled with
field bees honey makes the eyes bright
a hare's heel carried in the pocket keeps
away stomach-ache hare's brain in
wine cures drowsiness; burnt hartshorn
in hot water kills worms and so on
Al the Year Round.