Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-04-30

Written for The Star.
Double double toll and trouble;
Fire burn and cauldron bubble.
Fillet of fenny snake
In the eauidron boil and bake;
Eye Of newt, and toe Of frog.
Wool # bat. and tongue of dog
Adder's fork and blind worms sting:
Lizards leg. and owIet's wing
For charm OF powerful trouble.
Like a hellbroth boil and bubble
Macbeth.
Shakespeare made the three witches con-
coct potion which was warranted to kill
or cure. The necromancy of that day
seems far removed from our ideas. Yet tho
amount of superstition, witchcraft and
charm working still surviving in this en-
lightened twentieth century would as
tontsh the readers of The Star. Witch
craft Is hard to kill. AS the scientific peo-
pie speak. 1t Is persistent. 1t hides away
IN undiscovered corners. The daily paper
cannot reach 1t. Sarcasm. ridcule and
modern methods of healing are unknown to
It. -- -
The writer has recently come upon a nest
OF this curious survival of old witchcraft
days in a remote corner of the Pennsyl-
vania Dutch people. The pow-wow doctor
Is always In demand. Old women work
charms which save the dying. The hair
from mad dog will cure any one bitten
and no one in all the community would
dare to go against the common belief by
having his hair cut In the dark of the
moon. Indeed, the witch doctor and his
charms exercise such an influence over the
whole community that scarcely anything
that touches the daily life Is free from
their incantations. Here is partial list
of the things for which a charm can be
surely provided, either to ward off the i'll
luck or to induce favorable result: To
reconcile enemies; to ripen cherries; to keep
the Hessian louise from corn; to cure
rights and fantasies; to win the battle
/ra Ill
consecrate a divining rod; for SANDER for
collie: to make a dog stay at home; to pre-
vent dog from barking; to make one
talk in his sleep: to make a black
horse white; to catch fish: to hit at shoot
ing; for the blue cough: to make chickens
lay; for the hollow horn; to cast spell on
thief: for bite Of a mad dog; to make
wool grow on sheep: to gain a lawsuit; a
charm against fire; to quench fire without
water; a charm for personal safety:
against the influence of the gypsy art: to
curse a thief and make him stand: to make
thief return stolen goods; to win in a
game; to be safe against shots, cuts and
stabs; to stop a shot; to prevent growing
too large; with a full list of all the I'M
lucky days of the year.
This Is only a few of the gems culled
from the claims of one OF these Pennsyl-
vania Dutch wonder-workers
Inc writer with much dlfncuIty ana a
little guile recently secured the permission
to inspect one of these old-time charm
books. Talk about the literary curiosItes
of the National Library There is nothing
among its million volumes so curious and
fantastical this materia medca of the
pow-wow man, who will throw spell over
your enemy by few words, or give you
the formula by which you may render your
self safe against all foes, robbers, murder
ers and weapons of every kind. 1t is
against the solemn adjura ton of the charm
doctor that Of these things are pub
lished. The paper in which they appear for
the first time may fall under curse for
printing them.
Notwithstanding the impending doom let
US select few Of the interesting prescrip-
lions. But first 1t may be worth while to
read the wonder-worker's account of him
self. Those people who cure their rheuma-
tism by carrying a horse chestnut in the
hip pocket until 1t has dried up-the pain
disappearing simultaneously; and those
credulous souls who locate the point for
digging well by piece of peach stick
and those who change the number on their
houses If there Is a thirteen combination
in it, will all find some material for re-
Election in these ancient charms.