El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1896-12-22
LOVE PHILTERS.
Regular Articles Of Trade in New
York Shops.
Secret Stores Where Sleeping Potions
and Other Quack Nostrums Are
Sold in SurreptitiOus


Love potions and love charms are
regular articles of trade in many of the
queer-loolling little shops on Ne"
Iork's great east side. They are to be
found for the most part in the dirty
looking groceries and the overcrowded
dry goods shops
There is also constant demand
for sleeping pOtions" as well as for
various odd poisons whose use is little
| understood by the medical profession
here. Perhaps if these poisons could be
traced their use might solve many an
east side mystery that has baffied the
police. Your east side foreigner has
been in the habit of buying such things
in obscure stores in the cities and towns
where she used to live and the demand
is still supplied in one way or another
in New York.
The writer discovered one of these
secret stores in walk on the east side.
1t was connected with little dry goods
shop east of Third avenue. His atten-
ton was attracted to a collection of
amber beads. which on the east side
and other parts of the town are freely
sold to anxious parents, who tie them
about the necks of their children to
keep off Group. The proprietor of the
shop. who seemed to be a Roumanian
with half Russian type of face. picked
up a peculiar amber ring, which he
offered for sale as love ring"
I'm the east" he said, "a number Of
drugs are used for the purpose of eN-
citing love in a cold and careless lover.
Some of these drugs are made into
medicines, or love potions, to be
swallowed, but there are many love
charms which can be made up with
iewelry or worn on the body. Amber is
firmly believed by the peasants in
southern Europe to have peculiar pow
ers in causing one who wears it to be
loved. 1t is made into lockets. or set in
a ring, or carried in a bag around the
neck.
amber is also distilled into an oil
and is used as one of the ingredients of
love potions.' which are given in a
liquid form to be taken internally. 1t
is brown-colored liquid of hot tas:c
and a strong, disagreeable odor. 1t is
poisonous in large doses. but in small
amounts is freely used in southern
countries. 1t is frequently rubbed in
the back with wonderful effect. Most
ters'" continued the old Roumanian
st orekeeper, must have originated in
oriental countries. where such things
have been in common use from the earli-
est times.
another new drug used to stimulate
the emotions of love is a salt of gold
originally discovered by the old al
chemists in their attempts to make gold
Of ill no n+h l. l..
1t was long ago used as a secret love
medicine" and is now used by physi-
clans for that purpose. 1t acts like
strychninP, which is one of the most
powerful drugs known. but it also has Il
special action in exciting the passions.
One of the oldest of "love potions' is
called the essence of pearls" 1t dates
back to the time of Antony and Cleo
patra.
among the German peasants" con-
tinued the old Roumanian. "a number
of strange superstitions has been
handed down. which are practiced even
among the Germans in New York city
to-day. at least among the more ignor-
ant. \ stick of lovage root is supposed
by them to be etficacious in exciting
love. It is used by Young wives or un-
girls VINO nave uOuDtS ABOUT
their husbands or lovers. The lovagc
root is made into powders and baked in
cakes given to the men to eat. or put
into wine or beer for them to drink. An
old superstition teaches that bats
blood is an excellent antidote for an
apathetic lover.
Nutmeg has, been thought to have
similar powers. \ diet of mushrooms
and truffies is recommended by the Ger
mans as a stimulant to the emotion of
love"
The old Roumanian storekeeper had
4 curiouSly carved wooden chest con-
tanning several little metal TASKS with
some OF these ''love potions." which lie
had brought from his native land. He
also had recipes for the manufacture of
others. but these he declined to show.
He seemed proud of his reputation.
which had brought him patrons not
only from his own people, but people
Of various nationalities, even including
Irish and negroes.-N. Y. Press.