Morning journal and courier., 1891-08-31

ciagola (to tear her to pieoes.) The wretch ed woman, kneeling at the grand altar, raised her hand in supplication, sobbing, trembling, begging for mercy. In vain. The widest of the Megere pulled out her hair, treated her disgracefully and beat her without mercy. The priest (parroco) ran at the cry and tried to shield her. but in vain, and was near being trampled on himself by the impetuous crowd.
 ''With every abuse the poor victim was dragged to the houee of the Franciosi and woman weeping, protested her innocence. She only received curses and blows Fi- nalIy the delegate Omodei, with aid of guardie, succeeded in dispersing the crowd when Mrs. Franciosi, perceiving too late her unpardonsble folly, threw her self at the knees of her friend, begging her forgiveness, declaring that another woman had counselled her, and that what she had done was for love of her child.
 '1n the afternoon the poor woman, &C., companied by her husband and Signore Omodei, was taken to her home in brougham and put to bed. She is better this morning, but still trembling from her sufferings. The sad memory of this sav- age medieval scene will long be remem- bered in the suburb of Porta Ticininese.
 "The women who had torn the hair from the head of Mrs. Micheletti, burned it, uttering incantations, and then ran to the house of the Franciosi to find if the child had recovered And as it was, ae- cording to them, muca better, they cried: 'Sse if it was not bewitched.'
 It may interest the reader to know the details of the mystic ceremony of boiling the clothes. The writer, who has made very large collection of such current sor- ceries, obtained the following in 1888 from a woman who had been regularly educated as "witch"
 "Quando si ha una bambino stregato" (when babe is bewitched.) "Take the clothes of the child and put them in pot to boil just at midnight. All the gar ments must go in with the shoes and stockings. Then take a new and very large knife and sharpen it at & table and say, Non inflr questo coltello,'" etc:
 do not sharpen this knife
 Iwhet the accursed witch,
 That she cannot resist coming,
 Until unto my child
 She again restores health.
 'Then the witch will probably appear at the window, or it may be at the door, in the form of a cat, or dog or spectre. But be in no fear, for these are but shift ing forms (forme cambiate.) And no not take the knife from the table, nor let the clothes cease to boil till a. m.
 "And being by this charm compelled to appear and obey, the witch being ordered will remove the illness of the child"
 There are several incsntations to be pronounced on burning the hair Of any person whom We may wish to injure, the following being probably the one used by the women referred to. When hairs are found they should be burned while these lines are repeated:
 Sc sci anima buona, Va m pace
 Sc sci una strega, &c-, &c. If thou art good soul, Go in peace, If thou a witch. Burst so that the sound May be heard afar, So that the devil Himself may hear it. And bursting his chains May come and take thee. These ceremonies, and especially the in cantations, are iealously guarded as great secrets among the adepti, and even while practicing them they murmur the latter