When a man has lost anything, or been robbed, he often has in his own mind, quite unconsciously, some suspicion or clue to it. A clever fortune-teller or gypsy who has made a life-long study of such clues, can often elicit from the loser, hints which enable the magician to surmise the truth. Many people place absolute confidence in their servants, and perhaps suspect nobody. The detective or gypsy has no such faith in man, and suspects everybody. Where positive knowledge cannot be established there is, however, another resource. The thief is often as superstitious as his victim. Hence he fears that some mysterious curse may be laid on him, which he cannot escape. In the Pacific Islands, as among negroes everywhere, a man will die if taboo or voodoo attaches to the taking of objects which have been consecrated by a certain formula. Therefore such formulas are commonly employed. Among the Hungarian gypsies to recover a stolen animal, some of its dung is taken and thrown to the East and the West with the words:-- "Kay tut o kam dikhel: Odoy ává kiyá mánge!" "Where the sun sees thee, Hence return to me!" But when a horse has been stolen, they take what is left of his harness, bury it in the earth and make a fire over it, saying:-- "Kó tut cordyás Nasvales th' ávlás Leske sor ná ávlás, Tu ná ac kiyá leske Avá sástes kiyá mánge! Leskro sor káthe pashlyol Sár e tçuv avriurál!" "Who stole thee Sick may he be May his strength depart! Do not thou remain by him, Come (back) sound to me, His strength lies here As the smoke goes away!" To know in which direction the stolen thing lies, they carry a sucking babe to a stream, hold it over the water and say:-- "Pen mánge, oh Nivaseya Caveskro vástehá Kay hin m'ro gráy, Ujes hin cavo, Ujes sár o kam Ujes sár páni Ujes sár cumut Ujes sár legujes? Pen mánge, oh Niváseyá, Cáveskro vastehá Kay hin m'ro gráy!" "Tell me, oh Nivaseha, By the child's hand! Where is my horse? Pure is the child Pure as the sun, Pure as water, Pure as the moon, Pure as the purest. Tell me, oh Nivaseha, By the child's hand! Where is my horse?" In this we have an illustration of the widely spread belief that an innocent child is a powerful agent in prophecy and sorcery. The oath "by the hand" is still in vogue among all gypsies. "Apo miro dadeskro vast!" ("By my father's hand!") is one of their greatest oaths in Germany, ("Die Zigeuner," von Richard Liebich), and I have met with an old gypsy in England who knew it. If a man who is seeking for stolen goods finds willow twigs grown into a knot, he ties it up and says:-- "Me avri pçándáv coreskro báçht!" "I tie up the thief's luck!"