Northern Ohio journal. [volume] (Painesville, Ohio) 1872-1896, 1874-01-17
WHOLE NO. 1872.

feathers of night-hawk, the blood of
doves, bones torn from the mouths of
farnishing dogs, and the strands of. a
rope with which q man had hanged
himself. Among such Heterogeneous
collection of material some must have
had injurious properties. And, either
in qualification of private hate, or to
make good their reputation from time
among their votaries, it was in the power
Of the dealers in magic to'prepare a de-
cocti0n which should arrest the reason
or even the flow of life: such as the
witch of Vesuvius prepared for Glaucus.
So great was the encouragement given
TO this nefarious traffic, THAT it produced
q regular profession, well skilled to Gull
the spotted henbane and dig the hem
locks root. From her evil pre-eminence,
Locusta, the poisoner of Britannicus,
gave her name TO the trade, and taught
the matrons OF Rome how to distil the
toad and poisonous mushroom in their
husbands cups, SO that the disordered
brain might wander. Among the
Greeks the Thessalians held the first
place as Magicians; and it was believed
that thev had power to draw down the
moon by their lamentations. In Italy,
the Marsians, who derived their powor
from the son of Circe, were deemed the
most potent, and many instances are re-
lated of their skill. We must not stray
into the field of ordinary poisoning,
which was so fashionable among the
patrician ladies of Rome as to call for
special legislation in the Lex Cornelia
against all who sold, bought or prepared
n0xious drugs, but confine ourselves to
what may be called love. .pnilters, i.e.,
pOtiOns administered or incantatiens
performed for the phrpose of exciting
or retaining love, and under this cate
CORY, it will be seen that luckless hus-
bands, whose affections were supposed
to be straying, were not exempt from
danger. 1t is upon this that the tragic
story of Dejanira is founded, who be-
coming jealous of Iole, sent to her hus-
band, Hercules, the robe stepped in the
blood Of Nessus, which the crafty CEN
taur gave her bidding her take this pro-
Mt of his last voyage across the river
over which he was bearing her, that it
| might prove to her soothing charm
over the mind of Hercules, SO that when
he looked ON any other woman he might
not feel more affection for her than for
his lawful wife. Horace describes the
peculiar method by which witches pre-
pared love-clIarm by burying the
body of a child i'm the ground. The head
being left exposed, food changed three
| ttuOs q dSy, was pidCcU UckOre Tile
famishing victim; fhen, when lite be-
came slowly extinct. the parched liver
was removed and carefully guarded az
a charm of peculiar potency. Theocritus
supplies us with recipe so accurately
described that 1t may be worth recount.
ing. The slighted maiden, complaining
that her lover had deserted her, prepare:
"a poisonous brewage," with which she
bids her attendant smear the threshofC
of his door. Having wreatled bow
with fine purple wool, she whirls .th,
the wheel, casting in the meantime q
handful of barley-meal upon the fire
that SO the faithless lovers bones MAY
waste away; whirling the wheel again
she burns a sprig of laural, that, us tn,
cracking leaves consume, so bis fiesf
may burn; then she moves the whee
i once more, and melts wax upon tn,
flames, that her stubborn lover may, il
like manner, melt. How great is th,
faith she places in these arts we gather
from her love-sick rawlings. Whom
sought not ?" she exclaims. !" Wha
magic-dealing crone consulted not p
And again H.
"That chest has drugs shall make him feel m,
The art learned from an Assyrian sage.o -
In addition to these methods for awaken
ing reciprocal passion, images of wa,
were formed, under the belief that what
i ever impress the plastic material re
ceived would be communicated to tn,
person whose form it bore. And whei
/ it was desired to soften one heart ant
render the other obdurate, clay and wal
were exposed at the same time.
*Belgra1ia.