Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1881-11-05

writer In the Saturday Reuieso says: This
healing power Of faith, which doctors are 6lay
by day admitting more a. reality, throws light
on the popularity Of the miracle wells and heal
ing shrines on the continent, and forbids % to
condemn ~ mere rAndom lying the tales that
are told OF the astonishing cures effected by
them There are many such pilgrimage wells
IN scotland cited BY Mr.. Gregor, although their
healing emcacy was supposed to be an inherent
virtue IN the wster and not dependent on the
favor Of . saint. Some ofthese wells were sur
rounded BY stones shaped like the several parts
OF the human body, called the 'eye stone" the
maidstone. and 30 ons and 1t was Q neces-
sary part OF the treatment, after washing with
water, to rub the part affected against the stone
tnat bore the same form. This Is the super
sutton OF the Vui-stone in the New-Hebrides.
Some offering was always left behind by those
who tried the curing powers of the waters, even
II It were only rag from the patients clothes.
These tributes were hung up near the WELL and
everyone abstained from disturbing them, as it
was believed that whoever did 80 would get the
disease that had been cured in the former pa
tient. Just the same sort of thing was done as
early as the time of the Romans. VOtive Offer
1ngs Of hands, feet, almost every part of the
body, have been excavated in the island sacred
to Esculapius In the Tlber. The mode of cure
in vogue then, however, was for the patient to
go to sleep on the sacred spot, when it was re-
vealed to him in a vision what he must do to in
sure recovery. Among the cures for the whoop-
ing-eough, which are very numerous and i'm
probable we do not observe one which was in
favor in some parts of Scotland. This was to
sew living caterpillar between two pieces of
flannel, and wrap it round the patients throat,
leaving room for the animal to crawl round
BY the time the grub died the whooping-co
was cured. Three roasted mice were an infalll-
BILE cure for the whOoping- cough The same
remedy is still much esteemed in Norfolk
There, however, swallowing one mouse Is con-
sidered enough.
The charming of warts is one of those perfectly
unreasonable modes of cure that often prove
efflcacious when medical treatment fails. Dr.
Carpenter cites as an instance of this strange
truth the case OF girl who was cured Of twelve
warts by friend who merely counted them
and then with an air of Importance wrote the
day they would all have disappeared. And SO
it proved. By the day named they were all
gone, though the girls father himself sur
geon, had before tried to remove them with
caustic and other applications in vain. If so
very simple prescription was enough to charm
away dozen OF these unpleasant excrescences
we cannot wonder that the more elaborate
forms of exOrcism here enumerated should
prove equally eflicaciOus. In Switzerland the
approved mode of charming wart is to rub it
with a snail and then put the snail on thorn
bush. Indeed, charm cures for other diseases
are not by any means obsolete In Yorkshire
it Is still believed that a set Of mole's feet tied
IN bag and worn round the neck keeps away
cramps. And it is quite accepted as a fact by
some persons that to carry potato in the
pocket secures immunity from rheumatism
These cures like the miracle wells. prove that
the will, if concentrated in sufficient force has
the power to cure any local affection of the
body. The most remarkable case of this on
record is the way in which the Prince of Orange
cured the garrison Of Breda of the scurvy by
sending them small phial Of a decoctiOn of
cammomlle, NORWOOD and camphor. 1t was
diluted with gallon of water to every three
drops OF the tincture, and served out az medi-
cine to the sufferers who from that day began
to recover.