, 1888-10-27
TO REMOVE WARTS.
THE SUPERSTlTIous NOTIONS CON-
CORNING THE PESTS.

Curious Methods of Kidding Ones Self of
the Troublesome visitOrs-Charms of All
Sorts-Absurd Beliers-Stray Bits of
Folk Lore.
Warts are especially undesirable pos
sessions; although it has been thought
that the presence of ore on the right
-hand-would- insure riches to the lucky
person having it. Various means of rid
ding ones self of these troublesome WIS.,
itors are on record, and some of them are
sufficiently curious to merit mention.
They may be banished, say some, by
merely wishing them gone. The Breton
peasant passes his hands over them,
makes the sign of the cross, and bids
them go in Gods name. In Deux Sevres
you must pinch them each time you think
of them, and say, Zone /" In Lusatia,
when you see a funeral pass, say, "'Thoul
thou! in the nam of the Father, Son and
Holy Ghostl" Or, when two carriages
pass, say, Get outl get outl' The
troublesome warts will follow the process
sion. A funeral procession is utilized in
Ireland by saying, MAY these warts and
this corpse pass away and never more re-
turn. In the name" etc. The warts
must be rubbed with the hand during
this time.
In Lancashire, the warts may be rubbed
with a cinder, which must then be
wrapped in paper and dropped at cross
roads. Whosoever picks it up will get
the warts. In Lusatia, certain marine
petrifactions picked up on the beach are
used in the same way, with the addition
of the formula, in the name of the
Father, etc. In Lower Brittany, small
buttons are made of slate, and the credu-
lous peasants count out as many as the
number of their warts, inclose them in
paper, to look ID a roll of pennies, and
throw this away on the first road, believ-
ing that the person who shall pick up
the deceptive package will take the warts
with him. In Deux Sevres, as many
pebbles as there are warts are placed in a
cavity in the wall, in the hopes tina some
one will get them and the warts.
L have heard, when a boy, that q piece
of beef would cause them to disappear, if
they are rubbed with it, and the beef
buried. There are many variations in
this remedy in various parts of the world.
1t Is, perhaps, the most popular cure of
all those given. In Northumberland.
Devonshire and lancashire the beef
should be stolen, C.. in Deux Sevres, two
pieces must be ; !, and then tied to-
gether. In Lane are, it is not buried.
but must be carefully nailed up on a gate
post at a point where four lanes end, or
any other secure place, and suffered to
decay. In Dev~onshire, the beef must be
thrown over a wall and your left shoulder
at the same time.
In Scotland, stolen bacon is necessary,
and lard from a male pig in the Vosges
mountains, buried deep in the ground.
In Lower Brittany, you must steal a piece
OF lard from your neighbours chimney,
taking care not to get caught at it, rub
the warts with it, and put it in a manure
pile. Norman peasants use a pork rind,
and put it in a rut in the road; when a
carriage passes over it, a cure is insured.
In Vivarais, France, rub with the
down of the broom plant, and throw it
over your shoulder into the road. Peas
or beans are employed in many places. In
Upper Brittany, the warts must be rubbed
with small peas, which are then cast into
a well or fountain. AS they rot, the warts
will disappear. In the Vosges noun
tains, you may take as many peas as there
are warts, and cast them on the fire, talk
ing care to run away so as not to hear
them explode.
In BuCkinghamshire, the favorite pre-
scription is to rub the warts with peas,
one for each wart, and then wrap the
peas in a paper and throw them away. A
leaf of cabbage picked up on the road is
used in Lower Brittany. Rub the warts
with 1t, and put it just where you found
1t, fastening away without looking be-
hind. In England a piece of sour apple
will perform a cure, and in Deux Sevres,
blood from a wart is dropped inside an
apple, but in a peculiar way, and then
allowed to rot. In Northumberland, you
must rub with the black snail nine nighta
in succession, and then impale the ami
NAL on a thorn hedge. In Lower Brittany,
a large snail must be rolled over the
warts, and hen impaled on a wheat
stalk as high as possible.
In the Vosges, knots are tied in a string,
one for each wart, and the string thrown
over the shoulder, without looking to see
what becomes of it. Others say to put
the string under a stone which you NAV
not be able to find again, or under the pa
ternal roof tiles. In one part of England,
each wart must be touched with it's knot,
and the string buried in a moist place,
while the formula, There is none to re-
deem it besides thee" is repeated. In
Lusatia, stalks of grain, containing as
many knots as there are warts, are used,
passing each knot three times over them
and saying: Il the name of the Father"
etc. In L'Orient, the straw is buried to
rot. In Scotland, rye stalks are neces-
sary, and they must be wrapped in a cloth
and put secretly away. In Oxford, a
notched stick was substituted.-F. S.
Bassett in Globe Democrat.