The flesh of the hyæna, taken as food, is said to be efficacious for the bite of a mad dog, and the liver still more so. The flesh or bones of a human being which have been found in the belly of a slain hyæna, used as a fumigation, are said to be remedial for gout: but if among these remains the nails are found, it is looked upon as a presage of death to some one among those who have captured it. The excrements or bones which have been voided by the animal at the moment when killed, are looked upon as counter-charms to magic spells. The dung found in the intestines is dried and administered in drink for dysentery; and it is applied to all parts of the body with goose-grease, in the form of a liniment, in the case of persons who have received injury from some noxious medicament. By rubbing themselves with the grease, and lying upon the skin, of a hyæna, persons who have been bitten by dogs are cured. On the other hand, the ashes of the left pastern-bone, they say, boiled with weasel’s blood, and applied to a person’s body, will ensure universal hatred; a similar effect being equally produced by the eye when boiled. But the most extraordinary thing of all is, their assertion that the extremity of the rectum of this animal is a preservative against all oppression on the part of chiefs and potentates, and an assurance of success in all petitions, judgments, and lawsuits, and this, if a person only carries it about him. The anus, according to them, has so powerful an effect as a philtre, that if it is worn on the left arm, a woman will be sure to follow the wearer the moment he looks at her. The hairs, too, of this part, reduced to ashes, and applied with oil to the body of a man who is living a life of disgraceful effeminacy, will render him not only modest, they assure us, but of scrupulous morals even. CHAP. 28.—NINETEEN REMEDIES DERIVED FROM THE CROCODILE. For fabulous stories connected with it the crocodile may challenge the next place; and, indeed for cunning, the one[2238] which lives both upon land and in the water is fully its equal: for I would here remark, that there are two varieties of this animal. The teeth of the right jaw of the amphibious crocodile, attached to the right arm as an amulet, acts as an aphrodisiac, that is, if we choose to believe it. The eye-teeth of the animal, filled with frankincense—for they are hollow—are a cure for periodical fevers, care being taken to let the patient remain five days without seeing the person who has attached them to his body. A similar virtue is attributed to the small stones which are found in the belly of this animal, as being a check to the cold shiverings in fevers, when about to come on; and with the same object the Ægyptians are in the habit of anointing their sick with the fat of the crocodile.