I have been warned that I should always have some alum in my pocket, for this is a charm which will keep away witches. It is usually carried along with the beads. Some beads are made with a small piece of alum inside them, and people who are ashamed to show their belief in the beads often carry alum in their pockets. If a child goes out without charms the mother is greatly alarmed, and if she thinks that someone has cast an evil eye on it she burns a bit of the child’s clothes with incense and a small piece of alum. She first prays over the child, waving the bit of stuff and the alum about as she does so. She then throws the charm into an open fire and holds the child over it. As the alum burns it gives off a smoke which takes certain shapes, and the mother believes that by looking at them she can learn who has cast the evil eye on her child. The same rite is gone through with by pretty girls who feel ill on coming home from a call. They work this charm to find out who has cast a spell on them. One of the commonest safeguards against the evil eye is a text from the Bible or the Koran such as: “Break down the spell of the Eye”; or “By the blessings of God.” These phrases written in Arabic characters are framed and hung up in many of the houses. They are also carved upon furniture. The Jews carry about texts of the Scriptures. The Christians have relics of saints, and some of the natives here think they have pieces of the true cross. It is customary to use the name of God at the beginning of every sentence which contains the name of one’s friend. [Illustration: The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is the centre of superstition in Jerusalem, where imagination sets the only limit to stories told to the tourists—and implicitly believed by many of them] [Illustration: The women of the Holy Land are great believers in the power of the Evil Eye and wear blue beads and other charms to keep the spirits away. Bits of alum, which is supposed to be especially effective, are often worn in little bags around the neck] The people of Palestine do not like to hear themselves complimented unless at the same time you use the name of God. Otherwise they believe such expressions are bound to bring misfortunes and possibly troubles and death. If you call a boy or a girl pretty its mother’s heart is filled with terror, and she straightway throws out her hand, extending the index and little finger in a way supposed to ward off the devil and to prevent the evil consequences of your remark. If you wish to praise the beauty of a child you must begin the sentence with, “May God surround thee.” After that you may go on as you please. If you pat the child on the head and fail to use this sentence, the mother upon returning home will take the child into a room and put it in the middle of the floor. She will then take a shovel and gather some dust from each of the four corners, and throw it into the fire, crying: “Fie on thee, evil eye.”