Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1893-09-23
CURSE OF THE EVIL EYE.
Belief in Its Malignant Influence Is

Very Ancient Origin.
There is no superstitious belief Of the
human race which Is so widely held as
the belief in the existence and male.
VIOLENT power of the evil eye. 1t Is
everywhere known and finds q place
In the folklore of all nations. Thr
apparent cause Is always the same
that power of fascination by the hui
man eye which is now known as hyp
motto force, which primitive age
could imagine to be nothing but de-
mon residing in and speaking from the
human eye. SO forcible did this thought
seem to the mind of the ancients that
the eye and the soul were convertible
terms in ancient magic. Even in this
day of advanced human knowledge
there are many things connected with
the influence Of mind upon mind that
are not fully understood, hence it Is
no wonder that they proved the pos
session of demoniac powers to the
mind of him who attributed every.
thing which he could not understand
to some supernatural agency. If the
thing was not only mysterious but be.
wildering, the first thought was to at.
tribute 1t to diaboliSm of some kind
If the influence went so far as to con
troll the will of another, then it be.
came witchcraft, and the one exercis
Ing 1t was witch.
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 glittering eye,
something like that with which the
Ancient Mariner holds 1.-The wedding
guest in Coleridge's Rhine" These
glittering eyes, in the great or the
small, were counted as sure marks Of
an indwelling presence. In the great
1t 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 beneti-
cent virtues, while the same glitter in
the eyes of the malevolent Indicated
malehcent diabolism. The key to the
theory is the possession of that power
known as fascination, whereby a mere
LOOK makes one man ready TO do the
Will of another instead of his own
This power In the eye in all folklore
Is attributed to either souls or demons.
which are supposed to swarm around
us in almost infinite numbers These
souls are everywhere, and a large pro-
portion of them are not only supposed
to be maleyolent, but to be possessed
of considerable power for working ill
to those who offend them.
The folklore tales are full of stor.
les about the operation Of the evil eve
and of recipes for defense against its
power. large proportion of these
are connected with the use of fire or
the color Of red, that being In all magic
of
value arises from the old worship of
the sun or from the hatred which all
evil things are thought to have of the
fire which is to consume them in the
pit of woe. A red string about the
neck or arm is the most ordinary de-
vice, but red berries as of the rowan
tree" or mountain ash, are still more
highly priced. Among the Scandina-
Wan nations, the Scotch, and partctl-
larry with the gypsies, the rowan tree
has standing of it's own, apart from
its use In connection with the evil eye
That special meaning reaches back to
the old pagan faith, and need not be
considered here. In Italy and among
the Latin races generally the horse.
shoe, or its equivalent, Is chiefly relied
upon to counterfeit the influence of the
evil eye. If horseshoe is not at hand
a forked twig, or even the fingers OF
the hand parted, is counted of great
value. A very amusing instance of
this credulity, and one that has become
historical, will serve to show the ease
with which the reputation of having
the evil eye may be given and the i'm,
possibility Of getting rid of it.
In the early years Of his papacy.
when he was adored by the Roman
people, Plus TX. was driving through
the streets of Rome and CHANGED to
look up to an open window, where Il
nurse was standing with a child. A
few minutes afterwards the nurse let
the child drop to the pavement below
and it was killed. Instead of laying
the blame to the carelessness of the
nurse 1t was laid to the malevolent in
tiuence of the evil eye, and the fancy
became universal among the lower
classes in Italy that the Pope had the
evil eye, and it lasted until his DEATH
Travellers who knew of the belief were
often amused to see people kneeling
to receive the Pope's blessing, and at
the same time holding the fingers fork.
ed to break the maleflcent power of
his glance. When Plus IX. gave up
his liberal theories and fell back to the
old accustomed methods of govern
uleHt there were all dDunudnce oI I'D
erals who took it as proof positive that
he was possessed Of an evil spirit.
One Of the remarkable things about
this superstition is that it is often at
tributed to whole peoples by others
who dislike or hate them. In ancient
times the Thebans, the Illyrians and
the Thracian women were so regarded.
In these later days the Christians of
Asia Minor have the same feeling about
the Turks and the Turks about the
Christlans.-Chicago Times.
How to Buy Gloves.
The woman who labors under the
delusion that she has done her duty to
her hands when she has bought pair
Of skies or 'six-and-a-quarters" In ii
presentable shade is making grievouS
error. She should always carefully eX-
anime her gloves, seeing to it that the
kid in the side finger pieces and the
triangle at the thumb is as firm and as
flexible as that at the wrists; that the
thumb piece is long and broad enough;
fl,ot t1,n R.,fyn nnif foo oh