Waterbury evening Democrat., 1892-09-27
THE WEARING OF AMULET,
A Superstition That Has Been Prevalen.
 With Many Noted People.

| A Superstition That Has Been Prevalent With Many Noted People. | Who wore the first amulet it would be impossible to say, but the adoption of talisman to ward off evil is of very ancient origin.
 l Phylacter1es, the Greek word for am- l ulets, were worn by the Israelites, to | which allusion is made in the Scrip 1 lures. These phylacteries were a nar- l row strip of parchment, on which were written passages from the Old Testa- ment This strip was placed in a small leathern box, and bound to the left el- bow by a narrow strap. There was smaller phylactery for the forehead, | the box for which was about an inch square.
 The word amulet is of Arabic origin, and implies a thing suspended Amu- lets were of various kinds. The moon- | stone found in the deserts of Arabia 1 was worn as a talisman against en- chantment by the women, who sus- | pended it around the neck. It was a white, transparent stone, the time for searching for it being midnight.
 In India a variety of gems and stones are used as amulets. The most common is the salagrama, stone about as large as a billiard ball, and which is perfor- ated with black. This is supposed to be found only in the Gandaki, river in NepauL The person who possesses one of these stones is esteemed highly for tunate; he preserves it in clean cloth, from whence it is sometimes taken to be bathed and perfumed. He believes that the water in which it is washed, if drank, has the power to preserve from sin. Holding it in his hand, the dying Hindoo expires in peace, trusting in a stone rather than in the living God.
 The modern Egyptian is a believer in the Evil Eye, to avert which he hangs around the neck charms supposed to possess a magic power. These are usually worn by children, and consist | of little tin or leather cases, which in- close words either from the Scriptures or Koran, if the children are of Moslem parents.
 Even the Romans were not without
 their charms. They hung little cases
 around the neck which contained a
 charm, generals not disdaining the
 same. Augustus thought it would bring him good luck to wear piece of the sea-calf, and, therefore, never went
 without this talisman.
 In Greece the priests sell sick charms, I
 is written the name of the disease from
 which the person is suffering, and these are nailed to the door of the chamber.
 Pliny tells us that any plant gathered , by a river before sunrise by person, ii
 unseen, tied on the left arm of an ague- , patient, without his knowing what ii is, will cure the disease.
 Queen Elizabeth, during her last i'll o1,o made of gold which had been be. queathed her by an old woman in Wales, who declared that so long as the } queen wore it she would never be ill The amulet, as was generally the case
 proved of no avail, and Elizabeth, not withstanding her faith in the charm
 nots only sickened, but died During
 the plague in London, people wore am ulets to keep off the dread destroyer
 Amulets of arsenic were worn near the heart. Quills of quicksilver were hung around the neck, and also the powder of toads.
 It was not at all unusual for soldiers s and others who were exposed to danger l to wear talismans by way of protection 3 A story which gained credence is tolc , | of soldier in the time of the prince O. , Orange He was Spanish prisoner
 and, on being condemned to be shot, i was found that he was invulnerable The soldiers stripped him to see wha kind of armor he wore, but it was dis l covered that he was not protected il | that way but an amulet, on which wa!
 the figure of lamb, was found on hi l person. This was taken away iron ) him and the shots took effect. - In 1888 beautiful locl<et, forming small paddock, was found in digging { f | grave in a church yard at Devices, Wilt !, shire, England. This was a charm and being valuable, was buried witl
 the owner.
 , Louis Napoleon, who believed him self, even among exile and poverty, des tined to that throne which the prestige a of his name and his cunning coup d'eta e enabled him to reach, was not withou f his superstitions. In his will he says . "With regard to my son, let him keel
 as a talisman the seal I used to wea
 attached to my watch" This talisma1 , had no power to turn aside the fata | spears of the Zulus; and the young Ma
 poleon met sadder fate than his fath
 CTS worst fears could have imaginet for him.
 What were known as anOdyne neck : laces, which were beads made out O !. roots of the white bryony, were huni a around the neclzs of infants to ward o1 - convulsions. The Chinese wore pearl
 as a charm against fire; and in som
 countries the agate formed an amule
 that was supposed to protect froIa dis ease.-Detroit Free Press.
 Fashion in Shoes.