Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1888-08-26


finger of her right hand to the billy goat
who was quietly sssimilating IN imitatio
tomato from the outside OF . tomato car
Leaning over her boy, she Whispered in hi
ear:
me darlint if yell get the AZ an spill
open that billy, yell find your little fis
inside nv him. Tn bastew
AMULETs AND CHARMS.
Protection Against Evils OF All Sorts.
Aucss Lane ia Chicago Gioo:.
The man who first wore an amulet o
used . charm is probably understandable
but, az all events. he was . savage. Al
amulet originally meant thing suspend
ed (from the Arabic word hammalst, whicl
has precisely that meaning. The Wort
amulet or rather amulsta, first &C
ours in Pliny, where il Is uset
by him in the sense Of Q charm sgsius
poisons, witchcraft and the like
They seem to have been first worn anon,
the Egyptians, who had formed such asso
Citations of symbolic forms with coucep
tons of magical powers that the use o.
charms would naturally and almost iner'
itsbly follow; hence the scarabaas OF
cssed beetle, the hawk, the serpent the
hooded snake, an open eye, or outspread
wings, are found in countless varieties, and
seem to have been horne, some on the
breast, and some suspended by chain
around the neck.
The law of Moses endsavored TO raise
the Jewish mind above such superstition
by prescribing fringes for the garments and
texts to be worn as frontlets or on the arm,
but in the time Of Isaiah the old charms
had worked In again in the form OF anu
lets. Rsbbinism increased the evil BY the
use of mystic figures-ths sacred tetrs.
grammaton, the shield Of David, the seal
of Solomon with its mystic letters. Every
where, from every quarter, the charms be-
gan to multiply, and even where the claims
of magic power were not allowed the charm
was used because ut might be of some
value, and couldn't do any hurt"
Early Christianity protested against
them, rs when the books of magic were
burned at Ephssus, but when Paganism
and Judaism began again to infiltrate into
Christianity the members began again 70
do the work Of providence in defending
them from evil, aud it wss not long ere
Christian superstition began TO yield q
large crop Of new charms, and when the
true cross was reported TO have been dis.
covered the fragments began TO increase
until this day they could hardly find space
on the top OF Mt, Calvary.
The word charm came originally from
the word carmen, a verse, q song, and was
used to designate q phrase or line used 10
necromancy to embody the idea Of power
or spell exercised in hidden or unknown
way by which some purpose should be
accomplished, but the word
has become generic for every kind Of sub.
stance having this reputed power Of pro-
duciDg magical results. From every quar-.
ter of the world they have poured in upon
US, until it would take dozen wise men
to trace out and locate the origin Of the
charms that infes. an English county or
French province, aud yet neither French
nor Epglisb are whit more credulous
than the other nations Of Europe.
In olden times everybody had touch Of
this kind of credulity. Pericles wore sn
amulet around his neck. Cicero and Pliny
wore amulets, and Cue ar WAS not above a
like credulity. When the church, justify
ing itself by the miracles Of the O!d Tesla
ment and those Of the apostles, began Ia
work miracles by the use Of sacred imple-
ments and relics, the work Of the charm
and the amulet revived with tenfold pow
or. On single day Bonifsce Nv. brought
to the Church Of the Tgin THAT had been
the PAntheon) no less than % wagon loads
Of relics II was then that All Saints day
was estsblished-i. g., Nov. 1. A. ID. 607.
With the crusades came revival Of the
charm and tslisman with greater populsri-
ty than ever. With the beginnings OF
science came sill another addition, and TO
that was iucomprehenSible
there was attached some phase or torn Of
magical influence.
The amulet comes down 10 us directly
from Egypt, through Judaism and heather
Rome. The written words upon parch-
ment or paper come from Islam. The use
Of parts Of animals and insects comes from
psgsnism and its teachings, and believers
in amulets and charms are confirmed In
their faith by the omnipresence Of the sub
stances that word the charm Whenever
the wasp stinRs the honey bee IL not far
away, and honey may be had TO put upon
the wound; il one has cramp it 10 easy 10
get elder sticks TO lay In the form Of
cross across the part that cramps; II one has
q sly upon the eye il Ia easy TO find q neigh
Dor that has piece of gold to rub 1t with,
for it is not everybody that is a. poor ~
Chilax in the play:
81 have o sty here, Chilsx."
Cbilsx-"I have no gold 10 cure II, not
a penny"
Finally, II evil spirits are around one In
the world, q Christian has only 10 pray "a
Christ, or speak Gods name, or make the
sign Of the cross, and they must fee away.
In the course Of time, and through .
of the Scripture doctrine Of
demonisc spirits, the Christian world al.
most universally believed that men and
women, by making special contracts with
demons, could attain particular privileges
or powers against which special safeguards
and protection were required by those who
did not wish 70 fall into the power Of the
evil one? Hence, soon there grew MP q
belief in the magical power of various sub
stances TO protect against the power Of the
evil and 10 make the wearer or bearer safe
from the assaults Of Satan's servspts, NO
matter in what form they might appear.
For instance, rue was dctested BY witches
and evil spirits, the mountain ash, with II,
red berries, was their adherence, and the
horseshoe hung above the door Wa a alb
solute protection.
The old beathen teaching Of the exist.
ence Of the evil eye IL one OF the mspy that
have never been forgotten say heather,
for did not yirgil's shepherd attribute "a
the malicious glance Of IN evil eye the dis.
eased appearance Of the crops, and de-,
not Pliney relate how the Tbe1Alis soe
cerss destroyed whole harvests BY prsisinl
the crops. The snciens had their lustrAl
water for purifying and spsinkling the pso
pie. It was supposed toposss0 something
like magical virtue. On the great L1stra
day (ths ninth day from the birth Of . boy
and eight days from the birth OF girl a.
ter being handed BY the nufse backward