The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction. Volume 13, No. 355, February 7, 1829Various
History
The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction. Volume 13, No. 355, February 7, 1829
Various
Popular literature -- Great Britain -- Periodicals
_Against the bite of a mad dog._--Put a silver ring on the ringer,
within which the following words are engraven: _hobay, habas, heber_;
and say to the person bitten by a mad dog, "I am thy saviour, lose not
thy life;" and then prick him in the nose thrice, that at each time he
bleed. Otherwise take pills made of the skull of one that is hanged,
&c.
_To find her that bewitched your kine._--Put a pair of breeches upon
the cow's head, and beat her out of the pasture with a good cudgel,
upon a Friday, and she will run right to the witch's door, and strike
thereat with her horns.
We are exceeding our limits, else we should have added several other
pithy receipts, almost worthy of her who made the noted one against the
creaking of a door--"rub a bit of soft soap on the hinges." The most
celebrated and precious charm, however, (for the above are mostly
against every-day occurrences) was the _Agnus Dei_, which was a
"preservative against all manner of evil, a perfect catholicon; and
blessed indeed was the individual who possessed a treasure so
valuable." It was "a little cake, having the picture of a lamb carrying
a flag, on the one side, and Christ's head on the other side, and was
hollow; so that the Gospel of St. John, written on fine paper, was
placed in the concavity thereof;" and was a sovereign remedy against
lightning, the effects of heat, drowning, &c. &c. In some of the above
charms there is a little humour to be found; and as we have previously
observed, such are the effects of faith, that like the amulets of the
east (may not our own sprigs of witch-elm, &c. be so called?) they may
have had in many cases the desired effects in averting disease.
Reginald Scot furnishes us with directions "how to prevent and cure all
mischief wrought by charms or witchcraft." To prevent the entry of a
witch into a house, nail a horse-shoe in the inside of the outermost
threshold. We believe this rule is still in practice. Also it was a
custom in some countries to nail a wolf's head, or a root of garlic,
over the door, or on the roof of a house. And our Saviour's name, &c.
with four crosses at the four corners of a house, was a protection. The
Romish custom of driving out evil spirits by the smoke of sulphur, is
well known. "Otherwise the perfume made of the gall of a black dog, and
his bloode besmeared on the posts and walls of a house, driveth out of
the doores, both devils and witches." A sprig of witch-elm sewn in the
collar of the doublet, was celebrated amongst our great grandmothers as
a specific against the malignant deeds of the weird sisterhood.
But we must draw this article to a close. We may well rejoice that we
live in the nineteenth century; and that the disgusting infatuation and
baleful doctrines of witchcraft are gone for ever.
VYVYAN.
* * * * *
FINE ARTS
* * * * *
DESCRIPTION OF THE KING'S PALACE,
_By Mr. Nash, the Architect._
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account