Among the peoples of Western Europe, ancient magical healing formulas, relics of previous ages, were employed in medieval times by rural charlatans, who professed to cure ophthalmic disorders by the recitation of ritualistic phrases, together with suitable gestures of the arms and fingers over the affected eyes. Dislocations were said to have been promptly reduced by means of runic enchantments, which were doubtless supplemented by mechanical treatment; while fractured bones of man or beast were alleged to unite readily under the influence of Odinic charms. Wherever the Teutonic races were found, a knowledge of runic remedies appears to have prevailed.[138:3] FOOTNOTES: [135:1] M. Mallet, _Northern Antiquities_, p. 226. [136:1] John Thrupp, _The Anglo-Saxon Home_. [136:2] Nelson's _Encyclopædia_. [136:3] H. D. Traill, _Social England_, vol. ii, p. 110. [136:4] Joseph Strutt, _Manners of the English_, vol. i, p. 17. [136:5] Vol. iii, p. 455. [138:1] _The Egil's Saga_, chap. 72. [138:2] Jacob Grimm, _Teutonic Mythology_, pp. 1173-1174. [138:3] George F. Fort, _Medical Economy in the Middle Ages_. CHAPTER XII METALLO-THERAPY Metallo-therapy has been defined as a mode of treating various affections, chiefly those of a nervous character, by the external application of metals. It was recommended by Galen and other medical writers, but they attributed its curative powers to the magical inscriptions which the metals bore. Mesmer experimented with magnets extensively, but soon abandoned their use, as he found that he could obtain equally good results without them. The so-called "metallic tractors" originated with Dr. Elisha Perkins (1740-1799), a practising physician of Norwich, Connecticut, and consisted of two rods, one of brass, and the other of steel. In cases of rheumatism and various neuroses, the affected portions of the body were lightly stroked by means of the tractors, and many remarkable cures were reported. The new therapeutic method was endorsed by many reputable practitioners, both in the United States and Europe, and its fame spread like wild-fire. It was soon discovered, however, that wooden tractors were fully as efficacious as the metallic ones, and that the many vaunted cures were psychic. Thus Perkins's tractors afford a striking example of the curative force of suggestion.