Notes and Queries, Number 35, June 29, 1850: A Medium of Inter-communication for Literary Men, Artists, Antiquaries, Genealogists, etc.Various
History
Notes and Queries, Number 35, June 29, 1850: A Medium of Inter-communication for Literary Men, Artists, Antiquaries, Genealogists, etc.
Various
Questions and answers -- Periodicals
And cold did run the blood of the adventurous damsel when, on opening one
of the room doors, she found it filled with the dead bodies of murdered
persons, chiefly women. Just then they heard a noise, and on looking out of
the window saw Bloody Baker and his servant bringing in the murdered body
of a lady. Nearly dead with fear, they concealed themselves in a recess
under the staircase.
As the murderers with their dead burden passed by them, the hand of the
unfortunate murdered lady hung in the baluster of the stairs; with an oath
Bloody Baker chopped it off, and it fell into the lap of one of the
concealed ladies. As soon as the murderers had passed by, the ladies ran
away, having the presence of mind to carry with them the dead hand, on one
of the fingers of which was a ring. On reaching home they told their story,
and in confirmation of it displayed the ring. All the families who had lost
relatives mysteriously were then told of what had been found out; and they
determined to ask Baker to a large party, apparently in a friendly manner,
but to have constables concealed ready to take him into custody. He came,
suspecting nothing, and then the lady told him all she had seen, pretending
it was a dream. "Fair lady," said he, "dreams are nothing: they are but
fables." "They may be fables," said she; "but is this a fable?" and she
produced the hand and ring. Upon this the constables rushed in and took
him; and the tradition further says, he was burnt, notwithstanding Queen
Mary tried to save him, on account of the religion he professed.
F. L.
_Cure for Warts._--Steal a piece of meat from a butcher's stall or his
basket, and after having well rubbed the parts affected with the stolen
morsel, bury it under a gateway, at a four lane ends, or, in case of
emergency, in any secluded place. All this must be done so secretly as to
escape detection: and as the portion of meat decays the warts will
disappear. This practice is very prevalent in Lancashire and some parts of
Yorkshire; and two of my female acquaintances having _tried_ the remedy,
stoutly maintain its efficacy.
T. T. W.
Burnley.
_Another Charm for Warts._--Referring to EMDEE'S charm for warts, which
appeared in Vol. ii., p. 19., I may state that a very similar superstition
prevails in the neighbourhood of Manchester:--Take a piece of twine, making
upon it as many knots as there are warts to be removed; touch each wart
with the corresponding knot; and bury the twine in a moist place, saying at
the same time, "There is none to redeem it besides thee." As the process of
decay goes on, the warts gradually disappear.
H.
_Charm for the Cure of the King's Evil._--Acting on the advice of your able
correspondent EMDEE (Vol. i., p. 429.), I beg to forward the following
curious and cruel charm for the cure of the king's evil, extracted from a
very quaint old work by William Ellis, farmer of Little Gaddesden, near
Hempstead, Herts, published at Salisbury in 1750:--
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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