The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-02-26
Cursed WITH EVIL EYE.
-zE SUPERSTITION CONCERNING
THE MALIGNANT GLANCE.


Exempt From Suspicion.
From the Chicago Times
7-bere is no superstitious belief Of the hu-
van race which is so widely held as the
t.1isfin the existence and malevolent power
~ the evil eye. It is everywhere known.
snd finds a place in the folklore of all ma
lions The apparent cause is always the
,sn,e-that power of fascination by the
human eye, which is now known as hypnot-
;o force, which primitive age could imag-
inc TO be nothing but a demon residing in
and speaking from the human eye. SO forcl.
HE did this thought seem to the mind Of the
oncients that the eye and the soul were con-
vsrtible terms in ancient magic. Even in
his day Of advanced human knowled ge
there are many things connected with the
influence of mind upon mind that are not
fnlly understood, hence it is no wonder that
they proved the possession OF demoniac
noTers to the mind of him who attributed
sverything which he could not understand
Ia some supernatural agency. If the thing
ras not only mysterious but bewildering
me first thought was TO attribute it to
disbolism of some kind. If the influence
went so far as to control the will of another,
then it became witchcraft, and the one ex-
ercising it was a witch.
Take the ordinary phenomena known
wears ago as mesmerism or animal magnet
ism. and now known as hypnotism. 1t is
mistake to suppose, as many do, that they
are O new thing in human progress The
ancents bad not reduced them to q science,
hut there were men in the DAYS of old who
had, as men have now, In a high degree
what is known as the magnetic power.
There were men then, as now, who could
l..1l a. Id.
make them mere puppets to do their will.
This power was a mystery to them, as it Is
20 us. and they labored under the disadvan-
tage Of having theories about the super
natural which made it impossible for them
10 arrive at a true conclusion.
THE CLEANING EYE OF THE DEAD.
Everywhere was the belief that the souls
Of the dead could enter into and animate
the living Their essence was considered as
controlling those into whom they entered.
and the sign of their presence was the gilt
tering eye, something like that with which
the ancient mariner holds 1.-THE wedding
guest" in Coleridge's "Rime.n These gilt
tering ewes, in the great or the small, were
counted as the sure marks Of an indwelling
presence. In the great it was divine; in the
mean it was sure sign of an evil eye, or, In
other words, a demoniac possession. In
like manner the glitter in the eyes of the
good indicated the possession Of henefcent
virtues. while the same glitter in the eyes of
the malevolent indicated malefcent diabo-
lism The key to the theory is the poses
sion Of that power known as fascination.
whereby mere look makes one man ready
to do the will of another instea d of mis- own.
This power in the eve in ali folklore is at
tributed to either souls or demons, which
are supposed to swarm around US in almost
Infinite numbers. These souls are every
where, and large proportion of them are
not only supposed to be malevolent, but to
be possessed of considerable power for
working i'll to those who offend them.
According to the Talmudic legend Mother
Earth takes up the dead, but the souls re-
vive in her life-giving bosom. They are an
essence without form, but having power to
enter into the being of living men. If the
soul has been evil it has naturally an evil
fire which it has caught in shoel-that is,
hades. In order to get rid of this fire the
Angel Gabriel is supposed to wash all such
souls by rlnsing them three times In deep-
est ocean, but the souls are so many that
some escape. and some are so dirty that
even the thrice washing does not get them
clean. Theirs is the evil eye that may be met
at any time, and it is to be guarded against
constantly. or course. the heathen legend
which gives the process Of the production
Of the evil eye differs considerably from
the Ialmudic, but the outcome is the same,
n and can well be omitted here. The eve
n Is the same and operates in much the same
way.
THE WOMAN, AS USUAL, CATCHES 1T.
We will now suppose that the malevolent
soul has escaped to earth and has entered
n into the being of some man. The eye of
n the man possessed becomes mere peep
z hole, through which the possessing soul
81 looks out at passers-by. Whoever il thus
e looked at and has not taken the proper
N precautions sickeDs or comes into mis-
fortune.
As these souls can enter into any man or
woman who has not taken the necessary
Trecautions, the evil eye can be in the beau.
nIul as we'll as the ugly and may even use
The beauty for the better working of its
n Dad purposes. 1t is counted advisable not
1oeat IN the presence of woman. say the
Ancall, for the evil eye, if cast by a woman
STAR more dangerous than if cast by q
"A man.
The folk lore tales are full of stories abou.
tne operation of the evil eye and of recipes
LOT defense against its power. A large pro-
PORTION Of these are connected with the use
oi IRE or the color of red, that being in all
magic the equivalent of fire. This supposed
value arises from the old worship Of the sun
VI from the hatred which all evil things are
tnought to have of the fire which is to con-
sumo them in the pit of woe. A red string
Soout the neck or arm is the most ordinary
ueVlce, but red berries as of the rowan
wee or mountain ash, are still more highly
Mlzed. Among the Scandinavian nations,
ue scotch, and particularly with the gyp-
eies, the rowan tree has a standing of its
GI"hi apart from its use in connection with
t .ue evil eye. That special meaning reaches
oack 70 the old pagan faith and need not be
TToaSuered here. In Italy, and among the
mum races generally, the horseshoe. or It's
e4uiValent, is chiefly relied upon to counter
"S' the influence of the evil eye. If horse
sIoe is not at hand forked twig, or even
oue myers of the hand parted, is counted of
~. eaV value. very amusing instance OF
us oredulty, and one that has become bis
Otcal, will serve to show the ease " it'll
e "u'cn the reputation Of having the evil
s ~ may he given and the impossibility OF
getting rid of it.
EVEN THE POPE COULD NOT ESCAPE.
III the early years of his papacy, when be
vas adored by the Roman people, Plus TX.
vas driving through the streets of Rome
MI ucuanced to look up at an open window,
SIerea nurse was standing with a child.
tbT ~" minutes afterward the nurse let the
t GId drop to the pavement below and it was
Ell instead Of laying the blame to the
~HIfelessness OF the nurse it was laid 20 the
ba ,fuent influence of the evil eye, and
o fancy became universal among the
,,a classes in Italy that the pope had the
eye, ana it lasted until his death
81 Ameers who knew of the belief were often
ro. aIed to see people kneeline 10 receive the
M Inc Dressing, and at the same time hold
E& D Vu6 nnQara forkad to hroak &ba M a Ia