Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1888-06-12
TALES OF THE TEETH.
TRADITIONS, oMENs AND ADAGEs
AMONG THE UNEDucATED.

An Sorts Of superstitions concernlog the
Teeth-Charms aud Other Remedies for
Toothache--English and Irish Recipes.
The Prayer Cure.
The teeth and the aches to which they
give rise have been subjects Of many
strange ideas among uneducated people.
Teeth have even been worshiped. and are
still venerated as relics in some Catholic
shrines. Buddhas tooth is preserved in a
temple in India. and Ceylonese worshiped
the tooth Of Q monkey. while an elephants
tooth and sharks tooth served similar
purpose among the Malabar Islanders and
the Tonga Islanders respectively Siam
ese valued q monkeys tooth so highly
that they are reported to have offered the
Portuguese zoe. 900 crowns for it
There was a tradition that from the
time Chosroes. the Persian. carried of
piece Of the true cross from Constantine.
ple the number of teeth In the mouths of
men were reduced from thirfy-two to
twenty three. 1t Is needless to say that
we still have thirty two Teeth have
often been worn as amulets. Sharks
teeth serve this purpose in Samoa. 1t
was formerly thought that q VOLTS tooth,
worn In q bag about the neck, would
chase fear away from the possessor. The
back tooth of q horse. found by chance,
will. say the Irish. keep you supplied with
money.
oArENs AND ADAGEs
There arc many omens connected with
infants teeth. as well as those OF adults.
II child teethe early. It is thought in
England to predict more children. ''Soon
teeth. soon toes, is the adage, both in
that country and in Sweden If tooth
comes first In the upper jaw 1t Is. on the
contrary. an omen Of early death, as the
child cannot survive so potent disaster.
An old work. published In 1033 tells us
that to loose tooth or an eye is also to
lose some friend or kinsman. or is, at
least. attended by some i'll luck. He who
has his teeth wide apart is there said to
be attended by good luck. Breton mothers
viii not touch infants gums. lest the
teeth grow crooked. To dream of teeth
was q warning of some disaster, unless
you dreamed they fell out
The period of teething being On anxious
one In childhood 1t is extremely imp0r-
tant to have it over with. In Sussex.
England. necklace Of beads made from
poony root was placed on the child's neck
to assist this operation, and one of amber
beads was also thought powerful It was
also said that first teeth must not be
thrown away when they fall out, for If
any animal got such trophy the next
tooth would be like that Of the animal
finding the old one. In Nova Scotia, and
In some parts of the United States, chill
dren are told that the new tooth will be a
gold one If the tongue is kept out Of the
old cavity
Folk lore is full of odd notions about
the toothache. and many queer remedies
are current for it. It was once thought to
be caused by worm.
One Of the most potent remedies was
thought to be a charm of some kind OF
other. In England this charm Is rhyme
or prayer written on piece Of paper
Verses for this purpose are current in Ger
many to this day. st. Appollinus was
especially invoked for this malady In the
Thirteenth century.
work published In 1895 prescribes the
following remedy: The patient was to In
bale the smoke from @ vessel in which
dried herbs were mixed with live Goals
He must then breathe over cup holding
water mixed with wax and serum, whsn
it was said that worm. the cause Of the
trouble. would appear in the cup.