The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-06-10
BELIEF IN CHARMS AND TOKENS
MEDIEVAL SUPERSTITIONS OF
RURAL ENGLAND.
Cures for n Coush-Quaint Scene at n
Church DoOr-Preventiye for Fits
Kitten in House Makes Is ut Table
Lucky-Witchcraft and Black Art.

Those who do not happen to have been
born in Devonshire or to have spent part Of
their lives in the fair county will no doubt
find it hard to believe what a strong hold
the extraordinary superstitions enumerated
below still possess over the minds of dwellers
in remote parts Of the Western shire, writes
q correspondent Of the London Chronicle.
Even people born and bred in Devonshire
towns fail to realize to What an extent
weird forms of credu'ity still linger in rural
parts of the county.
How strongly som OF the strange, folk
lore and superstitious hcffefs still survive
in some Of the rural parts Of Devonshire
is illustrated by the following incident,
which took place recently at Sutcombe,
and which is thus described by the rector,
Rev. F. G. Scrivener.
son Sunday the parish church OF SUIT
combe, a small village between Noteworthy
and Hartland. was the scene Of a revival
Of an interesting old faith cure. A woman
in the parish has of late been a sufferer
from epileptio fits, and at the persuasion
Of a neighbor, who nineteen years ago
had done the same thing, and had not suf-
fered from fits since, she went around the
parish and got thirty married men to
promise to attend the parish church at the
morning service.
AT the close Of the service the rector
desired the selected men to pass out n by
one, and as they passed through the church
they found the woman seated there, accom-
panied by the neighbor who. had lone the
same thing nineteen years & (as many
who were present remembered). Each
man as he passed out put a penny in the
woman's lap, but when the thirtieth man
Che ~rector's church warden) came he took
the twenty-nine pennies and put in half a
crown. A silver ring is to be made out
of this half crown, which the woman is
to wear, and it is to be hoped that the result
will be as satisfactory in her case as it was
on the previous occasion.
in a small parish Qess than 800 popula-
tom 1t was not easy to find thirty married
men, but all were willing to help-farmere,
laborers and tradesmen-and the whole
incident passed of very quietly, and all
was done with The utmost reverence and
decorum. The woman takes her seat
in the porch when the preacher begins his
sermon, and from the time she leaves her
house until she returns she must not speak
a word We hsye not heard whether she
The Rev. Roger Granville OF Pinhoe,
formerly rector Of Bedford, also tells an
interesting story Of Devonshire supersti.
ton. son one occasion" he says, "a young
farmer from the neighborhood OF Torrine,
ton called On me and asked me to tell him
what was contained in a bag which he had
worn round his neck since infancy, and
which a white witch had given his mother
as a preventive against fits After cut
ting open several outer cases, wei! worn
and sweat stained, l came upon the orig.
inal inner one, which contained a number
of bits OF paper, each bearing word.
"Pieoing them together, I found thew
formed the following sentences: Sinner.
Jesus died for thee tthrics repeatedl,
Therefore fee that sim At the mans IA,
quest these pieces Of paper wore reinsertsd
intAhr seyera@ eAga, end my maid servant