The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1883-05-11
Curing by Faith.
THE RECENT REVIVAL OF A QUEER sU
PERsTITIoN

HuNc uuoln ihVtlN' lnb IdHt lOT W
broke out in the country, and our first
notification OF it came through de
spatches of its alleged marvels in the
newspapers. 1t has now reached
Brooklyn and found such favor that
there are two opposition faith doctors
healing humanity in that city. 1t is
odd how this old superstition crops up
from time to time, From the earliest
period down there have always been,
as there probably always will be, peo-
pie who believe in the efficacy of faith
as a means of cure.
IL will be remembered that DIR.
Johnson's mother took him to London
when boy to be "touched' by the
King for the scrofula which afflicted
him. She did this, as johnson him
self writes, by the advice of "the cee-
brated Sir John Slayer, then physi-
clan in Tichfeld," and the doctor adds
that the touch was without any eff
feet" n.. ..r .I.
This reminds one of the story that
Sir Walter Scott's piper, John Bruce,
spent whole Sunday selecting twelve
stones from twelve South-running
streams, with the purpose that his
lame master might sleep upon them
and become whole. Scott was not the
man to hurt ii honest fellows feel
ing by ridculing the notion of such a
remedy proving of avail so he caused
Bruce to be told that the recipe was
infallible, but that il was absolutely
necessary to success that the stones be
wrapped up in the petticoat of wild
ow who had never wished to marry
again; upon learning which the High
lander reuounced all hope of complet-
ing the charm.
But the superstitions of which these
two facts were born were ia their de-
cline at the time Up to the end of
the last century they were prevalent
enough. In England, in the good cid
times, sovereigns fostered the belief,
and the learned generally as well the
ignorant accepted it without invcstiga-
ton. 1t was practiced by nearly all
the English kings up to the time of
George |, who wisely discountenaced
it, and finally abolished it in IVA.
The superstition reached its culmna-
ton in the reign of Charles ii, when,
in the space of fourteen years, more
than $4,000 persons sought relief from
the touch of the royal hand, and, if
we may believe DIR. Wiseman, the
kings physician, they were nearly all
cured.
In 1856 James ii advertised in the
London Gazette his intention of touch
ing the afflicted as follows: "His
Majesty is graciously pleased to ap-
point to heal, weekly, for the evil,
upon Friday, and hath commanded his
physicians and chirurgeons to attend
at the Office appointed for that pur-
pose in the Meuse, upon Thursdays, in
the afternoon, to give out tickets.
Queene Anne announced her gra-
cious pleasure to perform the miracle,
through the same channel, March ~,
1712, and on the 30th of the same
month publicly touched POO persons.
Another Queen, Elizabeth, during
her progresses in Goucestershire, be-
came so tired touching those who de-
sired to be cured that she bluntly told
the afflicted who were pressing on her
that God only could relieve them from
their complaints
James | announced, by proclama-
ton, that patients would not be per-
mitted to approach the royal presence
during the summer; and Charles |
ordered that no one should apply to
be healed who did not bring proper
certificate that he or she had never
been touched before. This certificate
was obtained from medical officers
specially appointed for this purpose,
whose duty it was to make personal
examination of all presenting them,
selves for relief, and to keep record
of cases submitted to the royal touch.
This was re ldered necessary as a
measure of pro ection for the sover,
eign, so great were the throngs that
besieged the royal presence on these
occasions ..f.
English historians generally assert
that Edward, the last of the Saxon
line of kings, was the first to practice
the gift in England. The practice
seems to have originated in France,
however, or at least was known there,
away back in the time of Clovis |,
whose reign began A. d. 48l. A man
uscript in the Sloane Collection in the
British Museum aflirms that "God
gave Clovis CA. d. 496) the gift of
curing the Kings evil, aud he proved
it on Lancier, or LANCET, his favor.
ite.'
Other records assert that Louis ]
(Sl4-S40) originally received the pow
from divine sources. The true in
wardness of the touching business
seems to be limited by the fact that
each person touched used, also, to re-
ceive present of money. In Eng
land the gold angel, worth in Eliza
beth's time ten shillings, aud now a
couple of pounds, was the regulation
present, and sometimes smaller "heal-
ing pieces" as they were called, were
given. Silver was also, though unfre-
quently, used.
Gemelli, the Italian traveller, was in
Paris, on Easter Sunday, when 1000
persons were touched by Louis XIV.
He says the words used were, lie roy
te touche, Dieu te guerisse. Each
Frenchman was given fifteen sous
after being touched, but each foreigner
received thirty sous. Even this small
sum attracted imposters, for the King
said to some; "Are you sick, too p
implying that he doubted them. But
Ter atlirms that the French kings per,
formed the cure only on days when
they had received the holy communioni
and Philip de Confines says they al
ways confessed beforehand Mezeray
records that st, Louis added to the
ceremonial the sign of the cross, but
other authorizes ascribe it to Louis
|. terH@
The lcoin, which was attached to q
string or ribbon, and hung about the
patients neck, seems to have contrib
uted much to the permanent efficacy Of
the touch, for it was necessary to weaI
il during life. Moncony, the French