Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1890-02-13
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OLD SUPERSTITIONS.
ORIGIN OF THE TAulsMAN," MADE
FAMOUS BY SCOTT.

Tales of AmuIets Which Possessed Won
derful Powers-Belief That Kings Couls
Cure Diseases by Laying On of Hands
Banishing a Plague from a Scotch Town
An eastern story called sThe Talisnan.
one OF Walter SCOTS best romances, wa.
published in 1926. The incident from which
the romance derived its name is this:
knights squire has been cured of severe
illness by an Arabian physician sent by Sal
adm, who has heard that King Richard, dan
gerousiy Ill, has been given over by his doc
tors, who were not very well instructed al
=. that time
The Saracen, who really is Saladin in dis
guise and known only as Ell Hakim THE ply
sician}, is entirely trusted by Richard, who
places high confidence in the honor of the
Sedan, his enemy. Ell Hakim produces a
small silken bag, made of net work twisted
with silver, containing something heavy
which he immerses in a cup of soring water
and retains it therein for few minutes
The king empties the cup at draught, and
falls back on his couch as if exhausted: is
left to rest in quiet, and when he awakens
some hours after the fever has wholly left
him, without the necessity of his taking sec
ond dose. The silken purse had contained a
talisnan!
AT the conclusion Of the romance Sir Ken
meth, the disguised son of the king of Scot
land, was married to Edith Plantagenet,
Richards cousin, and Scott says: 1T is still
in existence, having been bequeathed by the
Earl of Huntingdon to brave knight of
Scotland Sir Simon of the Lee, in whose
ancient and honorable family it is still pre-
served; and although charmed stones have
been dismissed from tie modern pharma-
cop9ia, its virtues are still applied to for
stopping blood and in cases of canine mad
ness
The talisman is still preserved It is
called the Lee Penny, or the Lee Stone. 1t
is an heirloom in the ancient Scottish fam
lily of Lockhart and derives its distinctive
title from the estate of Lee, in the west of
Scotland.
The Lee Penny is stone of a dark red color
and triangular shape, and it measures about
half an inch on each side 1t is set in piece
of silver coin much defaced, on which a few
letters may still be deciphered. Antiquarians
have declared that this inscription resembles
that on the shilling of Edward L Once a
lapidary was allowed to examine this tails
man and found it was stone-but of what
kind he could not tell.
The traditional account Of this Lee Penny,
as delivered by the family which has possessed
it for over $50 years, is singular enough.
Robert Bruce, king of Scotland, diving in 1929
left will which directed Lord James Doug
las, commonly called the Good, to convey his
heart to the Holy Land to be buried in Jerusa-
lem-hence heart, crowned and bleeding,
appears in the armorial bearingsof the Doug
las family to this day. Douglas went TO fight
the Saracens in Spain instead of going direct
TO Palestine, was slain in battle, and the per-
son who carried Bruces heart to its destina-
ton was one Simon Lee, who, to commem-
crate his achievement, took the name of
Lock-heart, putting On his shield heart
within lock.
In the Holy Land this gallant gentleman
fought 1ercely against the Saracens. Hav-
ing captured an enlir in battle, the aged
mother of that prince came to ransom him.
As was his right, Lockhart exacted as large
a sum as possible, which the old lady was
willing to pay-partly in cash, partly in jew
els Taking the latter out of her purse, there
fell out Of 1t stone set in a silver coin, and
she picked this up with so much haste and
anxiety that the Scottish knight became as
sured that it must be far more valuable than
unless that amulet were given him. After
many refusals tho lady consented and deliv
cred it to him, explaining how it was to be
used and what wondrous healing virtues it
possessed.
On one occasion complaint was made in
Scottish ecclesiastical courts against Sir
James Lockhart, then laird of Lee, for cur
ing diseases by witchcraft, but on trial the
7 tn ha
amulet, Ito which it had pleased God to an
mex certain healing virtues which the church
did not presume to condemn"
When the plague was in the town of New
castle, on the borders of Scotland, the inhab-
tants borrowed the Lee Penny, giving bond
to a very considerable amount for its safe re-
turn. The plague suddenly disappeared,
which the inhabitants attributed to the tails
man, which they offered to purchase at a
large cost, but the owner refused.
In the reign of William III lady of rank
near Edinburgh, bitten by mad dog, Dor
rowed the stone, drinking and bathing in the
water ia which it had been dipped, and at
trihuted her complete cure to its uss, This
water, called Lockeriee water, is in high re-
pute throughout the west of Scotland. In
Homes Table Booir'' is short description of
the Lee Penny, with an accurate engraving
of it, In the top of the silver setting is lit
tie chain, by which it was held while the pro-
cess of dipping it into the water was per-
Termed.
The inhabitants of Persia, Arabia, Turkey
and Egypt have very great faith in amulets
and taiisnans, believing that TO wear them
will prevent accidents and even cure dis
eases Walter Scott did not disbelieve the
virtues of the Lee Penny, though he did not
explain why. he limited that imagination
might have good deal to do with any cures
attributed to it.
In Homes Table Books he says: 'There
are some Iudicrous instances OF wonderful
cures performed in tho north of England on
credulous people, byivi-tue of water wherein
the Lee Penny was reputed to have been
dipped, and yet neither the water nor the Lee
Penny had crossed the Tweedn
The Lee Penny cures are not more incredi-
BILE than the popular belief that prevailed for
many centuries that the British sovereign
had the power Of curing diseases by touching