The Toledo chronicle. [volume] (Toledo, Tama County, Iowa) 1873-1924, 1876-08-17
MODERN CREDULITY.

1861, man went into neighbor's
house, and there found child troubled
with severe cough. The father had
delayed sending for doctor until he
had tested the efficacy of remedy
which he declared had never failed.
This remedy or charm consisted in cut
ting few hairs from the part of the
patients head where it joins the neck,
placing them between two thin slices
of bread d-and-butter, and giving them
to dog to eat. Resisting his neigh
boris eXpostulation at such an absurdi-
ty, the father of the child administered
this delectable sandwich to a dog; if
the animal had sickened, a doctor for
the child would have been sent for; :;
but as Rover did not seem to care
much about it, the invalid was left to
recover without medical aid.
At Stratford-on-Avon a whole fam
lily held firm to belief that they were
visited by beings of a very exceptional
haracter-sometimes a human crea-
ture carrying his head under his arm !;
sometimes a headless being that de-
scended the chimney; sometimes a
headless couple that tossed the beds
and the inmates about, and made
havoc with the furniture. Neither
ridcule nor serious talk could shake
them in this belief they declared them
selves to be bewitched, and that relief
could only be found by drawing blood
from the person supposed to be the
witch. Unfortunately for her the
foolish people suspected a woman
named Jane Ward, who lived a
door or two off. The father pounced
upon her one day, held her
firmly, and cut her face with knife,
The family professed to be at once
relieved by this mode of breaking the
spell; they all slept well that night,
which they declared they had not done
for some time previously. Jane Ward,
of course, did not approve of such an
extraordinary proceeding, and the
magistrates committed the man on a
charge of cutting and manning. If
the memory of Shakespeare has re-
fined his birthplace this refinement
certainly had not reached the family
in question.
A laboring-man at Woodbury. whose
wife had an attack of paralysis be-
lieved that she was "ill-wish' d. by
some one-apparently a modification
of the old belief in the "evil eye.'
Having heard of woman at Ply
mouth possessing magic-power, he
went and sought her out as means of
ascertaining who was the ill-wisher.
The "wise woman" was equal to the
occasion. She told him that his wife
would have to "see the planets and
to gather certain herbs in the church
yard for twenty-one nights. More
over, certain powders were to be burnt
in the fire, one in the morning and one
in the evening, and the ninety-frst
Psalm was to be read during the burn
ing; "skin' was to be worn
round the neck, put on for the first
time on Sunday. A piece of parch-
ment was given to him under the
name of CHARM" bearing cabal-
istic signs or hieroglyphics, with a few
sentences" Whosoever beareth this
sign, all spirits will do him homage
"This sign against witchcraft, putrid
infections, and sudden DEATH
Who so beareth this sign
need fear no foe;'' "This is a
sign against witchcraft and suicide and
evil demons" The foolish man. lent
willing ear to all this; and as he had
saved little money he became a well
come dupe to the wise woman, who
fleeced him to the extent of more than
"a. AS his wife became more "ill-
wish'd'' than ever, or at any rate more
paralyzed, his eyes were opened lit
tie; he told his grievances to q magis-
trate, and imprisonment with hard
labor was allotted to the wise woman.
A countryman lost his watch and
consulted cunning woman about
it. She undertook, for a fee of twelve
shillings, to show him in glass the
man who possessed the watch. On the
silly noodle giving her the money, she
brought sort of birdcage glass, and
requested him to look in it; he did so,
and saw something that looked like
mans whiskers, but no face" He
paid second visit, and gave her mon
ey to buy some "stuff' at chemists.
The cunning woman" went to his
house next day, took tea with him,
told him that the person who had the
watch was every hard-hearted," and
demanded nine or ten shillings where
with to buy some more "stuff''. An
other day came, and with it demand
for more money, which the dupe gave
and so on until forty-five shillings in
all had been thus transferred. All the
instructions she gave him was "to
keep at home till midnight, when the
man who had the watch would bring