{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_57411/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_57411","id":"gutenberg_57411","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/57411","summary":null,"tags":["Category: History - Other","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Folklore"],"text":"Produced by Chris Curnow and the Online Distributed\nProofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was\nproduced from images generously made available by The\nInternet Archive)\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nTHE MAGIC OF THE HORSE-SHOE\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration: ARMS OF THE TOWN OF OAKHAM, RUTLANDSHIRE, ENGLAND.\n\n[_From an Old Engraving._]]\n\n\n\n\n                                   THE\n                         MAGIC OF THE HORSE-SHOE\n\n                       With Other Folk-Lore Notes\n\n                                   BY\n                      ROBERT MEANS LAWRENCE, M. D.\n\n                             [Illustration]\n\n                           BOSTON AND NEW YORK\n                      HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN AND COMPANY\n                     The Riverside Press, Cambridge\n                                  1898\n\n               COPYRIGHT, 1898, BY ROBERT MEANS LAWRENCE.\n\n                          ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.\n\n\n\n\nPREFACE\n\n\nThe study of the origin and history of popular customs and beliefs\naffords an insight, otherwise unattainable, into the operations of the\nhuman mind in early times. Superstitions, however trivial in themselves,\nrelics of paganism though they be, and oftentimes comparable to baneful\nweeds, are now considered proper subjects for scientific research. While\nthe ignorant savage is a slave to many superstitious fancies which\ndominate his every action, the educated man strives to be free from such\na bondage, yet recognizes as profitable the study of those same beliefs.\nThe heterogeneous character of the material drawn from so many sources\nhas rendered it difficult, if not impossible, to follow any distinctly\nsystematic treatment of the subject. However, the development in recent\nyears of a widespread interest in all branches of folk-lore warrants\nthe hope that any volume devoted to this subject, and representing\nsomewhat diligent research, may have a certain value, in spite of its\nimperfections. The expert folk-lorist may find much to criticise; but\nthis book, treating of popular beliefs, is intended for popular reading.\nIt has been the writer\u2019s aim to make the chapter on the Horse-Shoe as\nexhaustive as possible, as this attractive symbol of superstition does\nnot appear to have received hitherto the attention which it merits. This\nchapter is the outgrowth of a paper read at the seventh annual meeting of\nthe American Folk-Lore Society, at Philadelphia, December 28, 1895, an\nabstract of which appeared in the Society\u2019s Journal for December, 1896.\n\nExtended quotations are indicated by smaller type.\n\n                                                                 R. M. L.\n\nBOSTON, September 1, 1898.\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS\n\n\n                                                 PAGE\n\n    THE MAGIC OF THE HORSE-SHOE                     1\n\n    FORTUNE AND LUCK                              140\n\n    THE FOLK-LORE OF COMMON SALT                  154\n\n    THE OMENS OF SNEEZING                         206\n\n    DAYS OF GOOD AND EVIL OMEN                    239\n\n    SUPERSTITIOUS DEALINGS WITH ANIMALS           279\n\n    THE LUCK OF ODD NUMBERS                       312\n\n    _Topical Index_                               341\n\n\n\n\nTHE MAGIC OF THE HORSE-SHOE\n\n    And still o\u2019er many a neighboring door\n      She saw the horse-shoe\u2019s curv\u00e8d charm.\n\n                                        WHITTIER, _The Witch\u2019s Daughter_.\n\n    Happy art thou, as if every day thou hadst picked up a horse-shoe.\n\n                                                LONGFELLOW, _Evangeline_.\n\n\nI. HISTORY OF THE HORSE-SHOE\n\nThe evolution of the modern horse-shoe from the primitive foot-gear for\ndraught animals used in ancient times furnishes an interesting subject\nfor investigation. Xenophon and other historians recommended various\nprocesses for hardening and strengthening the hoofs of horses and\nmules,[1] and from this negative evidence some writers have inferred that\nthe ancients were ignorant of farriery. It seems indeed certain that the\npractice of protecting the feet of horses was not universal among the\nGreeks and Romans. Fabretti, an Italian antiquary, examined with care\nthe representations of horses on many ancient columns and marbles, and\nfound but one instance in which the horse appeared to be shod;[2] and\nin most specimens of ancient art the iron horse-shoe is conspicuous by\nits absence. But in the mosaic portraying the battle of Issus, which was\nunearthed at Pompeii in 1831, and which is now in the Naples Museum,\nis the figure of a horse whose feet appear to be shod with iron shoes\nsimilar to those in modern use;[3] and in an ancient Finnish incantation\nagainst the plague, quoted in Lenormant\u2019s \u201cChaldean Magic and Sorcery,\u201d\noccur these lines:\u2014\n\n    O Scourge depart; Plague, take thy flight \u2026 I will give thee a\n    horse with which to escape, whose shoes shall not slide on ice,\n    nor whose feet slip on the rocks.\n\nNo allusion to the horse-shoe is made by early writers on veterinary\ntopics. But, on the other hand, there is abundant testimony that the\nancients did sometimes protect the feet of their beasts of burden.\nWinckelmann, the Prussian art historian, describes an antique engraved\nstone representing a man holding up a horse\u2019s foot, while an assistant,\nkneeling, fastens on a shoe.[4] In the works of the Roman poet Catullus\noccurs the simile of the iron shoe of a mule sticking in the mire.[5]\nContemporary historians relate that the Emperor Nero caused his mules\nto be shod with silver,[6] while golden shoes adorned the feet of the\nmules belonging to the notorious Empress Popp\u00e6a.[7] Mention of an iron\nhorse-shoe is made by Appian,[8] a writer not indeed remarkable for\naccuracy; but the phrase \u201cbrasen-footed steeds,\u201d which occurs in Homer\u2019s\nIliad, is regarded by commentators as a metaphorical expression for\nstrength and endurance. Wrappings of plaited fibre, as hemp or broom,\nwere used by the ancients to protect the feet of horses.[9] But the most\ncommon form of foot covering for animals appears to have been a kind of\nleathern sock or sandal, which was sometimes provided with an iron sole.\nThis covering was fastened around the fetlocks by means of thongs, and\ncould be easily removed.[10]\n\nIron horse-shoes of peculiar form, which have been exhumed in Great\nBritain of recent years, have been objects of much interest to\narch\u00e6ologists. In 1878 a number of such relics shaped for the hoof\nand pierced for nails were found at a place called C\u00e6sar\u2019s Camp,\nnear Folkstone, England.[11] In the south of Scotland, also, ancient\nhorse-shoes have been found, consisting of a solid piece of iron made to\ncover the whole hoof and very heavy. In the year 1653 a piece of iron\nresembling a horse-shoe, and having nine nail-holes, was found in the\ngrave of Childeric I., king of the Franks, who died A. D. 481. Professor\nN. S. Shaler believes that the iron horse-shoe was invented in the fourth\ncentury, and from the fact that it was first called _selene_, the moon,\nfrom its somewhat crescent-like shape, he concludes that it originated in\nGreece.[12] But even in the ninth century, in France, horses were shod\nwith iron on special occasions only,[13] and the early Britons, Saxons,\nand Danes do not appear to have had much knowledge of farriery. The\nmodern art of shoeing horses is thought to have been generally introduced\nin England by the Normans under William the Conqueror.[14] Henry de\nFerrars, who accompanied that monarch, is believed to have received his\nsurname because he was intrusted with the inspection of the farriers; and\nthe coat-of-arms of his descendants still bears six horse-shoes.[15]\n\nOn the gate of Oakham Castle, an ancient Norman mansion in Rutlandshire,\nbuilt by Wakelin de Ferrars, son of the first earl of that name, were\nformerly to be seen a number of horse-shoes of different patterns.\n\nThe estate is famous on account of the tenure of the barons occupying\nit. Every nobleman who journeyed through its precincts was obliged as\nan act of homage to forfeit a shoe of the horse whereon he rode, or else\nto redeem it with a sum of money; and the horse-shoes thus obtained were\nnailed upon the gate, but are now within on the walls of the castle.\n\nThese walls are covered by memorials of royal personages and peers, who\nhave thus paid tribute to the custom of the county.[16]\n\nQueen Elizabeth was thought to have initiated this practice, though this\nopinion is incorrect. According to tradition she was once journeying on\na visit to her lord high treasurer, William Cecil, the well-known Lord\nBurleigh, at his residence near Stamford. While passing through Oakham\nher horse is said to have cast a shoe, and in memory of the mishap the\nqueen ordered a large iron shoe to be made and hung up in the castle, and\nthat every nobleman traveling through the town should follow her example.\n\nA similar usage prevails to-day, new shoes being provided of shapes and\nsizes chosen by the donors.[17]\n\nWhile John of Gaunt (1339-99), son of Edward III. of England, was riding\nthrough the town of Lancaster, his horse cast a shoe, which was kept as\na souvenir by the townspeople, and fastened in the middle of the street.\nAnd in accordance with a time-honored custom a new shoe is placed in the\nsame spot every seven years by the residents of Horse-Shoe Corner.[18]\n\nThe practical value of the horse-shoe is tersely expressed in the old\nGerman saying, \u201cA nail preserves a country;\u201d for the nail keeps in place\nthe horse-shoe, the shoe protects the foot of the horse, the horse\ncarries the knight, the knight holds the castle, and the castle defends\nthe country.\n\nThe following story from Grimm\u2019s \u201cHousehold Tales\u201d (vol. ii. p. 303) may\nbe appropriate in this place, as illustrating the same idea, besides\npointing a moral.\n\n    _The Nail._\n\n    A merchant had done a good business at the fair; he had sold\n    his wares and lined his money-bags with gold and silver.\n    Then he wanted to travel homeward and be in his house before\n    nightfall. So he packed his trunk with the money on his horse\n    and rode away. At noon he rested in a town, and when he wanted\n    to go farther the stable-boy brought out his horse and said:\n    \u201cA nail is wanting, sir, in the shoe of its left hind foot.\u201d\n    \u201cLet it be wanting,\u201d answered the merchant; \u201cthe shoe will\n    certainly stay on for the six miles I have still to go; I am\n    in a hurry.\u201d In the afternoon, when he once more alighted and\n    had his horse fed, the stable-boy went to him and said, \u201cSir, a\n    shoe is missing from your horse\u2019s left hind foot; shall I take\n    him to the blacksmith?\u201d \u201cLet it still be wanting,\u201d answered the\n    man, \u201cthe horse can very well hold out for the couple of miles\n    which remain; I am in haste.\u201d He rode forth, but before long\n    the horse began to limp. It had not limped long before it began\n    to stumble, and it had not stumbled long before it fell down\n    and broke its leg. The merchant was forced to leave the horse\n    where it was, and unbuckle the trunk, take it on his back, and\n    go home on foot. And there he did not arrive until quite late\n    at night. \u201cAnd that unlucky nail,\u201d said he to himself, \u201chas\n    caused all this disaster.\u201d Hasten slowly.\n\n\nII. THE HORSE-SHOE AS A SAFEGUARD\n\n    Your wife\u2019s a witch, man; you should nail a horse-shoe on your\n    chamber-door.\u2014SIR WALTER SCOTT, _Redgauntlet_.\n\nAs a practical device for the protection of horses\u2019 feet, the utility\nof the iron horse-shoe has long been generally recognized; and for\ncenturies, in countries widely separated, it has also been popularly used\nas a talisman for the preservation of buildings or premises from the\nwiles of witches and fiends.\n\nTo the student of folk-lore, a superstition like this, which has exerted\nso wide an influence over men\u2019s minds in the past, and which is also\nuniversally prevalent in our own times, must have a peculiar interest.\nWhat, then, were the reasons for the general adoption of the horse-shoe\nas a talisman? It is our purpose to consider the various theories\n_seriatim_.\n\nAmong the Romans there prevailed a custom of driving nails into cottage\nwalls as an antidote against the plague. Both this practice and the\nlater one of nailing up horse-shoes have been thought by some to\noriginate from the rite of the Passover. The blood sprinkled upon the\ndoor-posts and lintel at the time of the great Jewish feast formed the\nchief points of an arch, and it may be that with this in mind people\nadopted the horse-shoe as an arch-shaped talisman, and it thus became\ngenerally emblematic of good luck.\n\nThe same thought may underlie the practice of the peasants in the west of\nScotland, who train the boughs of the rowan or mountain-ash tree in the\nform of an arch over a farmyard gate to protect their cattle from evil.\n\n\nIII. HORNS AND OTHER TWO-PRONGED OBJECTS\n\nThe supernatural qualities of the horse-shoe as a preservative against\nimaginary demons have been supposed to be due to its bifurcated shape,\nas any object having two prongs or forks was formerly thought to be\neffective for this purpose. As with the crescent, the source of this\nbelief is doubtless the appearance of the moon in certain of its phases.\n\nHence, according to some authorities, is derived the alleged efficacy\nas amulets of horse-shoes, the horns and tusks of animals, the talons\nof birds, and the claws of wild beasts, lobsters, and crabs. Hence,\ntoo, the significance of the oft-quoted lines from Robert Herrick\u2019s\n\u201cHesperides:\u201d\u2014\n\n    Hang up hooks and sheers to scare\n    Hence, the hag that rides the mare.\n\nThe horn of the fabulous unicorn, in reality none other than that of the\nrhinoceros, is much valued as an amulet, and in west Africa, where the\nhorns of wild animals are greatly esteemed as fiend-scarers, a large horn\nfilled with mud and having three small horns attached to its lower end is\nused as a safeguard to prevent slaves from running away.[19]\n\nIn the vicinity of Mirzapur in central Hindostan the Horwas tie on the\nnecks of their children the roots of jungle plants as protective charms;\ntheir efficacy being thought to depend on their resemblance to the horns\nof certain wild beasts.\n\nThe Mohammedans of northern India use a complex amulet, composed in part\nof a tiger\u2019s claw and two claws of the large-horned owl with the tips\nfacing outward,[20] while in southern Europe we find the necks of mules\nornamented with two boar\u2019s tusks or with the horns of an antelope.\n\nAmulets fashioned in the shape of horns and crescents are very popular\namong the Neapolitans.[21] Elworthy quotes at some length from the\n\u201cMimica degli antichi\u201d of Andrea de Jorio (Napoli, 1832), in illustration\nof this fact. From this source we learn that the horns of Sicilian\noxen and of bullocks are in favor with the nobility and aristocracy\nas evil-eye protectives, and are frequently seen on their houses and\nin their gardens; stag\u2019s antlers are the favorites with grocers and\nchemists, while the lower classes are content with the horns of rams and\ngoats. The Sicilians are wont to tie pieces of red ribbon to the little\nhorns which they wear as charms, and this is supposed vastly to increase\ntheir efficiency.\n\nIn southern Spain, particularly in Andalusia, the stag\u2019s horn is a\nvery favorite talisman. The native children wear a silver-tipped horn\nsuspended from the neck by a braided cord made from the hair of a black\nmare\u2019s tail. It is believed that an evil glance directed at the child is\nreceived by the horn, which thereupon breaks asunder, and the malevolent\ninfluence is thus dissipated.[22]\n\nAmong the Arabs the horn amulet is believed to render inert the malign\nglance of an enemy, and in the oases of the desert the horned heads\nof cattle are to be seen over the doors of the Arab dwellings as\ntalismans.[23]\n\nIn Lesbos the skulls of oxen or other horned creatures are fixed upon\ntrees or sticks to avert the evil eye from the crops and fruits.[24]\n\nIn Mongolia the horns of antelopes are prized on account of their alleged\nmagical properties; fortune-tellers and diviners affect to derive a\nknowledge of futurity by observation of the rings which encircle them.\nThe Mongols set a high value upon whip-handles made from these horns, and\naver that their use by horsemen promotes endurance in their steeds.[25]\n\nInasmuch as the horns of animals serve as weapons both for attack and\ndefense, they were early associated in men\u2019s minds with the idea of\npower. Thus in ancient times the corners of altars were fashioned in the\nshape of horns, doubtless in order to symbolize the majesty and power of\nthe Being in whose honor sacrifices were offered.[26]\n\nApropos of horns as symbols of strength, the peasants of Bann\u00fa, a\ndistrict of the Punjab, believe that God placed the newly created world\nupon a cow\u2019s horn, the cow on a fish\u2019s back, and the fish on a stone; but\nwhat the stone rests upon, they do not venture to surmise. According to\ntheir theory, whenever the cow shakes her head, an earthquake naturally\nresults.[27]\n\nThe Siamese attribute therapeutic qualities to the horns and tusks of\ncertain animals, and their pharmacop\u0153ia contains a somewhat complex\nprescription used as a febrifuge, whose principal ingredients are\nthe powdered horns of a rhinoceros, bison, and stag, the tusks of an\nelephant and tiger, and the teeth of a bear and crocodile. These are\nmixed together with water, and half of the resulting compound is to be\nswallowed, the remainder to be rubbed upon the body.[28]\n\nThe _mano cornuta_ or anti-witch gesture is used very generally in\nsouthern and central Italy. Its antiquity is vouched for by its\nrepresentation in ancient paintings unearthed at Pompeii.[29] It consists\nin flexing the two middle fingers, while the others are extended in\nimitation of horns. When the hand in this position is pointed at an\nobnoxious individual, the malignity of his glance is believed to be\nrendered inert.[30]\n\nIn F. Marion Crawford\u2019s novel, \u201cPietro Ghisleri,\u201d one of the characters,\nLaura Arden, was regarded in Roman society as a _jettatrice_, that is,\none having the evil eye. Such a reputation once fastened on a person\ninvolves social ostracism. In the presence of the unfortunate individual\nevery hand was hidden to make the talismanic gesture, and at the mere\nmention of her name all Rome \u201cmade horns.\u201d No one ever accosted her\nwithout having the fingers flexed in the approved fashion, unless,\nindeed, they had about them some potent amulet.\n\nIt is a curious fact that the possession of the evil eye may be imputed\nto any one, regardless of character or position. Pope Pius IX. was\nbelieved to have this malevolent power, and many devout Christians, while\non their knees awaiting his benediction, were accustomed slyly to extend\na hand toward him in the above-mentioned position.[31]\n\nIn an article on \u201cAsiatic Symbolism\u201d in the \u201cIndian Antiquary\u201d (vol.\nxv. 1886), Mr. H. G. M. Murray-Aynsley says, in regard to Neapolitan\nevil-eye amulets, that they were probably introduced in southern Italy\nby Greek colonists of Asiatic ancestry, who settled at Cum\u00e6 and other\nplaces in that neighborhood. Whether fashioned in the shape of horns or\ncrescents, they are survivals of an ancient Chaldean symbol. It has been\nsaid that nothing, unless perhaps a superstitious belief, is more easily\ntransmissible than a symbol; and the people of antiquity were wont to\nattribute to every symbol a talismanic value.[32]\n\nThe modern Greeks, as well as the Italians, wear little charms\nrepresenting the hand as making this gesture.[33]\n\nBut not alone in the south of Europe exists the belief in the peculiar\nvirtues of two-pronged objects, for in Norway reindeer-horns are placed\nover the doors of farm-buildings to drive off demons;[34] and the fine\nantlers which grace the homes of successful hunters in our own country\nare doubtless often regarded by their owners as of more value than mere\ntrophies of the chase, inasmuch as traditional fancy invests them with\nsuch extraordinary virtues.\n\nIn France a piece of stag-horn is thought to be a preservative against\nwitchcraft and disease, while in Portugal ox-horns fastened on poles are\nplaced in melon-patches to protect the fruit from withering glances.\n\nAmong the Ossetes, a tribe of the Caucasus, the women arrange their hair\nin the shape of a chamois-horn, curving forwards over the brow, thus\nforming a talismanic coiffure; and when a Moslem takes his child on a\njourney he paints a crescent between its eyes, or tattooes the same\ndevice on its body. The modern Greek, too, adopts the precaution of\nattaching a crab\u2019s claw to the child\u2019s head.[35] In northern Africa the\nhorns of animals are very generally used as amulets, the prevailing idea\nbeing everywhere the same, namely, that pronged objects repel demons and\nevil glances.\n\nHorns are used in eastern countries as ornaments to head-dresses, and\nserve, moreover, as symbols of rank. They are often made of precious\nmetals, sometimes of wood. The _tantura_, worn by the Druses of Mount\nLebanon in Syria, has this shape.[36]\n\nIn the Bulgarian villages of Macedonia and Thrace the so-called wise\nwoman, who combines the professions of witch and midwife, is an important\ncharacter. Immediately upon the birth of a child this personage places a\nreaping-hook in a corner of the room to keep away unfriendly spirits; the\nefficacy of the talisman being doubtless due partly to its shape, which\nbears considerable resemblance to a horse-shoe.\n\nAnd in Albania, a sickle, with which straw has just been cut, is placed\nfor a few seconds on the stomach of a newly born child to prevent the\ndemons who cause colic from exercising their functions.[37]\n\nThe mystic virtue of the forked shape is not, however, restricted to its\nfaculty of averting the glance of an evil eye or other malign influences,\nfor the Divining Rod is believed to derive from this same peculiarity of\nform its magical power of detecting the presence of water or metals when\nwielded by an experienced hand.\n\n\nIV. THE SYMBOL OF THE OPEN HAND\n\nIt is worthy of note that the symbol of an open hand with extended\nfingers was a favorite talisman in former ages, and was to be seen, for\nexample, at the entrances of dwellings in ancient Carthage. It is also\nfound on Lybian and Ph\u0153nician tombs, as well as on Celtic monuments in\nFrench Brittany.[38] Dr. H. C. Trumbull quotes evidence from various\nwriters showing that this symbol is in common use at the present time in\nseveral Eastern lands. In the region of ancient Babylonia the figure of\na red outstretched hand is still displayed on houses and animals; and in\nJerusalem the same token is frequently placed above the door or on the\nlintel on account of its reputed virtues in averting evil glances. The\nSpanish Jews of Jerusalem draw the figure of a hand in red upon the doors\nof their houses; and they also place upon their children\u2019s heads silver\nhand-shaped charms, which they believe to be specially obnoxious to\nunfriendly individuals desirous of bringing evil either upon the children\nthemselves, or upon other members of the household.\n\nIn different parts of Palestine the open-hand symbol appears alike on\nthe houses of Christians, Jews, and Moslems, usually painted in blue\non or above the door.[39] Claude Reignier Conder, R. E., in \u201cHeth and\nMoab,\u201d remarks on the antiquity of this pagan emblem, which appears on\nRoman standards and on the sceptre of Siva in India. He is of the opinion\nthat the figure of the red hand, whether sculptured on Irish crosses,\ndisplayed in Indian temples, or on Mexican buildings, is always an\nexample of the same original idea,\u2014that of a protective symbol.\n\nA white hand-print is commonly seen upon the doors and shutters of\nJewish and Moslem houses in Beyrout and other Syrian towns; and even the\nChristian residents of these towns sometimes mark windows and flour-boxes\nwith this emblem, after dipping the hand in whitewash, in order to \u201cavert\nchilling February winds from old people and to bring luck to the bin.\u201d[40]\n\nIn Germany a rude amulet having the form of an open hand is fashioned out\nof the stems of coarse plants, and is deemed an ample safeguard against\ndivers misfortunes and sorceries. It is called \u201cthe hand of Saint John,\u201d\nor \u201cthe hand of Fortune.\u201d\n\nThe Jewish matrons of Algeria fasten little golden hands to their\nchildren\u2019s caps, or to their glass-bead necklaces, and they themselves\ncarry about similar luck tokens.\n\nIn northwestern Scotland whoever enters a house where butter is being\nmade is expected to lay his hand upon the churn, thereby signifying that\nhe has no evil designs against the butter-maker, and dissipating any\npossible effects of an evil eye.[41]\n\nAs a charm against malevolent influences, the Arabs of Algeria make use\nof rude drawings representing an open hand, placed either above the\nentrances of their habitations or within doors,\u2014a symbolical translation\nof the well-known Arabic imprecation, \u201cFive fingers in thine eye!\u201d\nOftentimes the same meaning is conveyed by five lines, one shorter than\nthe others to indicate the thumb, thus [Illustration].[42]\n\n\nV. CRESCENTS AND HALF-MOON-SHAPED AMULETS\n\nThe alleged predominant influence of the moon\u2019s wax and wane over the\ngrowth and welfare of vegetation was formerly generally recognized. Thus\nin an almanac of the year 1661 it is stated that:\u2014\n\n    If any corn, seed, or plant be either set or sown within six\n    hours either before or after the full Moon in Summer, or before\n    the new Moon in Winter, having joined with the cosmical rising\n    of Arcturus and Orion, the H\u00e6di and the Siculi, it is subject\n    to blasting and canker.[43]\n\nTimber was always cut during the wane of the moon, and so firmly rooted\nwas this superstition that directions were given accordingly in the\nForest Code of France.\n\nAn early English almanac advised farmers to kill hogs when the moon was\ngrowing, as thus \u201cthe bacon would prove the better in boiling.\u201d\n\nEven at the present time a host of credulities regarding the moon is\nprevalent among the ignorant classes of different lands. Thus, for\nexample, the negroes in the vicinity of Washington, D. C., believe that\npotatoes should be planted before the new moon in order to thrive, and\namong the negroes and Indians of the State of Missouri, the proper time\nfor weaning a baby or calf is determined by the lunar phases.\n\nMoon-worship was one of the most ancient forms of idolatry, and still\nexists among some Eastern nations. A relic of the practice is seen in\nsome parts of Great Britain in the custom of bowing to the new moon.\n\nAstrologers regarded the moon as exerting a powerful influence over the\nhealth and fortunes of human beings, according to her aspect and position\nat the time of their birth. Thus in a \u201cManual of Astrology\u201d by Raphael\n(London, 1828), she is described as a \u201ccold, moist, watery, phlegmatic\nplanet, and partaking of good or evil as she is aspected by good or evil\nstars.\u201d[44]\n\nThe growing horned moon was thought to exert a mysterious beneficent\ninfluence not only over many of the operations of agriculture, but\nover the affairs of every-day life as well. Hence doubtless arose the\nbelief in the value of crescent-shaped and cornute objects as amulets and\ncharms; of these the horse-shoe is the one most commonly available, and\ntherefore the one most generally used.\n\nIn astrology the moon has indeed always been considered the most\ninfluential of the heavenly bodies by reason of her rapid motion and\nnearness to the earth; and the astrologers of old, whether in forecasting\nfuture events or in giving advice as to proper times and seasons for\nthe transaction of business affairs, first ascertained whether or not\nthe moon were well aspected. This was also a cardinal point with the\nshrewd magicians of later centuries. And should any one require proof of\nthe existence of a modern belief in lunar influences, let him consult\nZadkiel\u2019s Almanac for the year 1898. Therein he will find it stated that\nwhen the sun is in benefic aspect with the moon, it is a suitable day for\nasking favors, seeking employment, and traveling for health.\n\nVenus in benefic aspect with the moon is favorable for courting,\nmarrying, visiting friends, engaging maid-servants, and seeking amusement.\n\nMars, for consulting surgeons and dealing with engineers and soldiers.\n\nJupiter, for opening offices and places of business, and for beginning\nnew enterprises.\n\nSaturn, for having to do with farmers, miners, and elderly people, for\nbuying real estate and for planting and sowing.\n\nFor, says the oracle of the almanac, astrologers have found by experience\nthat if the above instructions are followed, human affairs proceed\nsmoothly.\n\nIn his work entitled \u201cThe Evil-Eye\u201d (London, 1895), Mr. Frederick Thomas\nElworthy calls attention to the fact that the half-moon was often\nplaced on the heads of certain of the most powerful Egyptian deities,\nand therefore when worn became a symbol of their worship. Indeed, the\ncrescent is common in the religious symbolism not only of ancient Egypt,\nbut also of Assyria and India. The Hebrew maidens in the time of the\nprophet Isaiah wore crescent-shaped ornaments on their heads.[45]\n\nThe crescent is the well-known symbol of the Turkish religion. According\nto tradition, Philip of Macedon (B. C. 382-336), the father of Alexander\nthe Great, attempted to undermine the walls of Byzantium during a siege\nof the city, but the attempt was revealed to the inhabitants by the light\nof a crescent moon. Whereupon they erected a statue to Diana, and adopted\nthe crescent as their symbol.\n\nWhen the Byzantine empire was overthrown by Mohammed II., in 1453, the\nTurks regarded the crescent, which was everywhere to be seen, as of\nfavorable import. They therefore made it their own emblem, and it has\nsince continued to be a distinctively Mohammedan token.\n\nIn the Mussulman mind the new moon is intimately associated with\ndevotional acts. Its appearance is eagerly watched for and\n\n    The moment the eye lights on the slight thread of silver in\n    the western twilight, it remains fixed there, whilst prayers\n    of thanksgiving and praise are offered, the hands being held\n    up by the face, the palms upward and open, and afterwards\n    passed three times over the visage, the gaze still remaining\n    immovable.[46]\n\nGolden crescents of various sizes were among the most primitive forms of\nmoney. Ancient coins frequently bore the likenesses of popular deities or\ntheir symbols, and of the latter the crescent appears to have been the\none most commonly employed.[47] It was the usual mint-mark of the coins\nof Thespia in the early part of the fourth century B. C.;[48] is seen on\nthe coins of the reigns of Augustus, Nero, and other Roman emperors; and\non the silver pieces of the time of Hadrian is found the _Luna crescens_\nwith seven stars.[49]\n\nA crescent adorned the head of the goddess Diana in her character of\nHecate, or ruler of the infernal regions.\n\nHecate was supposed to preside over enchantments, and was also the\nspecial guardian and protectress of houses and doors.[50] The Greeks not\nonly wore amulets in the shape of the half moon, but placed them on the\nwalls of their houses as talismans;[51] and the Romans used _phal\u0115r\u00e6_,\nmetallic disks and crescents, to decorate the foreheads and breasts of\ntheir horses.\n\nSuch ornaments are to be seen on the caparisons of the horses on\nTrajan\u2019s Column and on other ancient monuments, in the collection of\nRoman antiquities in the British Museum, and in medi\u00e6val paintings and\ntapestries.[52]\n\nIn the portrayals of combats between the Romans and Dacians on the Arch\nof Constantine, the trappings of the horses of both armies are decorated\nwith these emblems,[53] as are also the bridle reins of a horse shown in\na French manuscript of the fifteenth century representing \u201cgentlefolk\nmeeting on horseback.\u201d[54]\n\nCharms of similar shape, made of wolves\u2019 teeth and boars\u2019 tusks, have\nbeen found in tumuli in different parts of Great Britain.\n\nA sepulchral stone, which is preserved among other Gallo-Roman relics\nwithin the ch\u00e2teau of Chinon, France, bears the effigy of a man standing\nupright and clad in a large tunic with wide sleeves. Above the figure is\na crescent-shaped talisman, a symbol frequently found in monuments of\nthat period.[55]\n\nBut the use of these symbols, although so ancient, is by no means\nobsolete; the brass crescent, an avowed charm against the evil eye,\nis very commonly attached to the elaborately decorated harnesses of\nNeapolitan draught-horses, and is used in the East to embellish the\ntrappings of elephants. It is also still employed in like manner in\nvarious parts of Europe and in the England of to-day. In Germany small\nhalf-moon-shaped amulets similar to the ancient \u03bc\u03b7\u03bd\u03af\u03c3\u03c7\u03bf\u03b9 or _lunul\u00e6_ are\nstill used against the evil eye.\n\nIn Sweden and Frisia, bridal ornaments for the head and neck often\nrepresent the moon\u2019s disk in its first quarter; and it is customary to\ncall out after a newly married pair, \u201cIncrease, O Moon.\u201d[56]\n\nElworthy remarks that the horse-shoe, wherever used as an amulet, is the\nhandy conventional representative of the crescent, and that the Buddhist\ncrescent emblem is a horse-shoe with the curve pointed like a Gothic\narch.\n\nThe English fern called moonwort (_Botrychium lunaria_) is thought to\nowe its reputed magical powers to the crescent form of the segments\nof its frond. Some writers regard it as identical with the martagon,\nan herb formerly much used by sorcerers; and also with the Italian\n_sferracavallo_.\n\nAccording to the famous astrologer and herbalist, Nicholas Culpepper,\nmoonwort possessed certain occult virtues, and was endowed with\nextraordinary attributes, chief among them being its power of undoing\nlocks and of unshoeing horses. The same writer remarked that, while some\npeople of intelligence regarded these notions with scorn, the popular\nname for moonwort among the countryfolk was \u201cunshoe-the-horse.\u201d[57]\n\nDu Bartas, in his \u201cDivine Weekes,\u201d says in reference to this plant:\u2014\n\n    Horses that, feeding on the grassy hills, tread upon moonwort\n    with their hollow heels, though lately shod, at night go\n    barefoot home, their maister musing where their shoes become.\n    O moonwort! tell me where thou hid\u2019st the smith, hammer and\n    pinchers, thou unshodd\u2019st them with.\n\nThe horse-shoe has sometimes been identified with the cross, and has been\nsupposed to derive its amuletic power from a fancied resemblance to the\nsacred Christian symbol. But inasmuch as it is difficult to find any\nmarked similarity in form between the crescent and the cross, this theory\ndoes not appear to warrant serious consideration.\n\n\nVI. IRON AS A PROTECTIVE CHARM\n\nSome writers have maintained that the luck associated with the horse-shoe\nis due chiefly to the metal, irrespective of its shape, as iron and\nsteel are traditional charms against malevolent spirits and goblins. In\ntheir view, a horse-shoe is simply a piece of iron of graceful shape\nand convenient form, commonly pierced with seven nail-holes (a mystic\nnumber), and therefore an altogether suitable talisman to be affixed to\nthe door of dwelling or stable in conformity with a venerable custom\nsanctioned by centuries of usage. Of the antiquity of the belief in the\nsupernatural properties of iron there can be no doubt.\n\nAmong the ancient Gauls this metal was thought to be consecrated to the\nEvil Principle, and, according to a fragment of the writings of the\nEgyptian historian Manetho (about 275 B. C.), iron was called in Egypt\nthe bone of Typhon, or Devil\u2019s bone, for Typhon in the Egyptian mythology\nwas the personification of evil.[58]\n\nPliny, in his \u201cNatural History,\u201d states that iron coffin-nails affixed\nto the lintel of the door render the inmates of the dwelling secure from\nthe visitations of nocturnal prowling spirits.\n\nAccording to the same author, iron has valuable attributes as a\npreservative against harmful witchcrafts and sorceries, and may thus be\nused with advantage both by adults and children. For this purpose it was\nonly necessary to trace a circle about one\u2019s self with a piece of the\nmetal, or thrice to swing a sword around one\u2019s body. Moreover, gentle\nproddings with a sword wherewith a man has been wounded were reputed to\nalleviate divers aches and pains, and even iron-rust had its own healing\npowers:\u2014\n\n    If a horse be shod with shoes made from a sword wherewith a man\n    has been slain, he will be most swift and fleet, and never,\n    though never so hard rode, tire.[59]\n\nThe time-honored belief in the magical power of iron and steel is shown\nin many traditions of the North.\n\nA young herdswoman was once tending cattle in a forest of Vermaland\nin Sweden; and the weather being cold and wet, she carried along her\ntinder-box with flint and steel, as is customary in that country.\nPresently along came a giantess carrying a casket, which she asked the\ngirl to keep while she went away to invite some friends to attend her\ndaughter\u2019s marriage. Quite thoughtlessly the girl laid her fire-steel on\nthe casket, and when the giantess returned for the property she could not\ntouch it, for steel is repellant to trolls, both great and small. So the\nherdswoman carried home the treasure-box, which was found to contain a\ngolden crown and other valuables.[60]\n\nThe heathen Northmen believed in the existence of a race of dwarfish\nartisans, who were skilled in the working of metals, and who fashioned\nimplements of warfare in their subterranean workshops. These dwarfs\nwere also thought to inhabit isolated rocks; and according to a popular\nnotion, if a man chanced to encounter one of them, and quickly threw a\npiece of steel between him and his habitation, he could thereby prevent\nthe dwarf from returning home, and could exact of him whatever he\ndesired.[61]\n\nAmong French Canadians, fireflies are viewed with superstitious eyes as\nluminous imps of evil, and iron and steel are the most potent safeguards\nagainst them; a knife or needle stuck into the nearest fence is thought\nto amply protect the belated wayfarer against these insects, for they\nwill either do themselves injury upon the former, or will become so\nexhausted in endeavoring to pass through the needle\u2019s eye as to render\nthem temporarily harmless.[62] Such waifs and strays of popular\ncredulity may seem most trivial, yet they serve to illustrate the ancient\nand widely diffused belief in the traditional qualities ascribed to\ncertain metals.\n\nOne widely prevalent theory ascribed to iron a meteoric origin, but the\ndifferent nations of antiquity were wont to attribute its discovery or\ninvention to some favorite deity or mythological personage; Osiris was\nthus honored by the Egyptians, Vulcan by the Romans, and Wodan or Odin by\nthe Teutons.\n\nIn early times the employment of iron in the arts was much restricted by\nreason of its dull exterior and brittleness. There existed, moreover,\namong the Romans a certain religious prejudice against the metal, whose\nuse in many ceremonies was wholly proscribed. This prejudice appears to\nhave been due to the fact that iron weapons were held jointly responsible\nwith those who wielded them for the shedding of human blood; inasmuch as\nswords, knives, battle-axes, lance and spear points, and other implements\nof war were made of iron.[63]\n\nThose mythical demons of Oriental lands known as the _Jinn_ are believed\nto be exorcised by the mere name of iron;[64] and Arabs when overtaken by\na simoom in the desert endeavor to charm away these spirits of evil by\ncrying, \u201cIron, iron!\u201d[65]\n\nThe _Jinn_ being legendary creatures of the Stone Age, the comparatively\nmodern metal is supposed to be obnoxious to them. In Scandinavia and in\nnorthern countries generally, iron is a historic charm against the wiles\nof sorcerers.\n\nThe Chinese sometimes wear outside of their clothing a piece of an old\niron plough-point as a charm;[66] and they have also a custom of driving\nlong iron nails in certain kinds of trees to exorcise some particularly\ndangerous female demons which haunt them.[67] The ancient Irish were wont\nto hang crooked horse-shoe nails about the necks of their children as\ncharms;[68] and in Teutonic folk-lore we find the venerable superstition\nthat a horse-shoe nail found by chance and driven into the fireplace will\neffect the restoration of stolen property to the owner. In Ireland, at\nthe present time, iron is held to be a sacred and luck-bringing metal\nwhich thieves hesitate to steal.[69]\n\nA Celtic legend says that the name _Iron-land_ or _Ireland_ originated\nas follows: The Emerald Isle was formerly altogether submerged, except\nduring a brief period every seventh year, and at such times repeated\nattempts were made by foreigners to land on its soil, but without\nsuccess, as the advancing waves always swallowed up the bold invaders.\nFinally a heavenly revelation declared that the island could only be\nrescued from the sea by throwing a piece of iron upon it during its\nbrief appearance above the waters. Profiting by the information thus\nvouchsafed, a daring adventurer cast his sword upon the land at the time\nindicated, thereby dissolving the spell, and Ireland has ever since\nremained above the water. On account of this tradition the finding of\niron is always accounted lucky by the Irish; and when the treasure-trove\nhas the form of a horse-shoe, it is nailed up over the house door.\nThus iron is believed to have reclaimed Ireland from the sea, and the\ntalismanic symbol of its reclamation is the iron horse-shoe.[70]\n\nOnce upon a time\u2014so runs a tradition of the Ukraine, the border region\nbetween Russia and Poland\u2014some men found a piece of iron. After having\nin vain attempted to eat it, they tried to soften it by boiling it in\nwater; then they roasted it, and afterwards beat it with stones. While\nthus engaged, the Devil, who had been watching them, inquired, \u201cWhat are\nyou making there?\u201d and the men replied, \u201cA hammer with which to beat the\nDevil.\u201d Thereupon Satan asked where they had obtained the requisite sand;\nand from that time men understood that sand was essential for the use of\niron-workers; and thus began the manufacture of iron implements.[71]\n\nAmong the Scotch fishermen also iron is invested with magical attributes.\nThus if, when plying their vocation, one of their number chance to\nindulge in profanity, the others at once call out, \u201cCauld airn!\u201d and\neach grasps a handy piece of the metal as a counter influence to the\nmisfortune which would else pursue them throughout the day.[72] Even\nnowadays in England, in default of a horse-shoe, the iron plates of the\nheavy shoes worn by farm laborers are occasionally to be seen fastened at\nthe doors of their cottages.[73]\n\nWhen in former times a belief in the existence of mischievous elves was\ncurrent in the Highland districts of Scotland, iron and steel were in\nhigh repute as popular safeguards against the visits of these fairy-folk;\nfor they were sometimes bold enough to carry off young mothers, whom they\ncompelled to act as wet-nurses for their own offspring. One evening many\nyears ago a farmer named Ewen Macdonald, of Duldreggan, left his wife and\nyoung infant indoors while he went out on an errand; and tradition has it\nthat while crossing a brook, thereafter called in the Gaelic tongue \u201cthe\nstreamlet of the knife,\u201d he heard a strange rushing sound accompanied\nwith a sigh, and realized at once that fairies were carrying off his\nwife. Instantly throwing a knife into the air in the name of the Trinity,\nthe fairies\u2019 power was annulled, and his wife dropped down before him.[74]\n\nIn Scandinavian and Scottish folk-lore, there is a marked affinity\nbetween iron and flint. The elf-bolt or flint arrowhead was formerly in\ngreat repute as a charm against divers evil influences, whether carried\naround as an amulet, used as a magical purifier of drinking-water for\ncattle, or to avert fairy spite. It seems possible that iron and steel\nin superseding flint, which was so useful a material in the rude arts of\nprimitive peoples, inherited its ancient magical qualities.\n\nIn the Hebrides a popular charm against the wiles of sorcerers\nconsisted in placing pieces of flint and untempered steel in the milk\nof cows alleged to have been bewitched. The milk was then boiled, and\nthis process was thought to foil the machinations of the witch or\nenchantress.[75] The fairies of the Scottish lowlands were supposed to\nuse arrows tipped with white flint, wherewith they shot the cattle of\npersons obnoxious to them, the wounds thus inflicted being invisible\nexcept to certain personages gifted with supernatural sight.[76]\n\nAccording to a Cornish belief, iron is potent to control the\nwater-fiends, and when thrown overboard enables mariners to land on a\nrocky coast with safety even in a rough sea.[77] A similar superstition\nexists in the Orkney Islands with reference to a certain rock on the\ncoast of Westray. It is thought that when any one with a piece of iron\nabout him steps upon this rock, the sea at once becomes turbulent and\ndoes not subside until the magical substance is thrown into the water.[78]\n\nThe inhabitants of the rocky island of Timor, in the Indian Archipelago,\ncarry about them scraps of iron to preserve themselves from all kinds of\nmishaps, even as the London cockney cherishes with care his lucky penny,\ncrooked sixpence, or perforated shilling; while in Hindostan iron nails\nare frequently driven in over a door, or into the legs of a bedstead, as\nprotectives. It was a medi\u00e6val wedding custom in France to place on the\nbride\u2019s finger a ring made from a horse-shoe nail,[79] a superstitious\nbid, as it were, for happy auspices.\n\nIn Sicily, iron amulets are popularly used against the evil eye;\nindeed iron in any form, especially the horse-shoe, is thought to be\neffective, and in fact talismanic properties are ascribed to all metals.\nWhen, therefore, a Sicilian feels that he is being \u201coverlooked,\u201d he\ninstantly touches the first available metallic object, such as his\nwatch-chain, keys, or coins.[80] In ancient Babylon and Assyria it was\nbelieved that invisible demons might enter the body during the acts of\neating and drinking and thus originate disease, and the doctrine of\ndemoniacal possession as the cause of illness is still widely prevalent\nin uncivilized communities at the present day. Wherever, therefore,\nsuch notions exist, talismans are naturally employed to render inert\nthe machinations of these little demons; and of all these safeguards,\niron and steel are perhaps the most potent. Quite commonly in Germany,\namong the lower classes, such articles as knives, hatchets, and cutting\ninstruments generally, as well as fire-irons, harrows, keys, and needles,\nare considered protectives against disease if placed near or about the\nsick person.[81]\n\nIn Morocco it is customary to place a dagger under the patient\u2019s\npillow,[82] and in Greece a black-handled knife is similarly used to keep\naway the nightmare.\n\nIn Germany iron implements laid crosswise are considered to be powerful\nanti-witch safeguards for infants; and in Switzerland two knives, or a\nknife and fork, are placed in the cradle under the pillow. In Bohemia\na knife on which a cross is marked, and in Bavaria a pair of opened\nscissors, are similarly used. In Westphalia an axe and a broom are laid\ncrosswise on the threshold, the child\u2019s nurse being expected to step over\nthese articles on entering the room.[83]\n\nThe therapeutic value of iron and its use as a medicament do not properly\nbelong to our subject; and, indeed, neither the iron horse-shoe nor its\ncounterfeit symbol have usually been much employed in folk-medicine.\nProfessor Sepp, in his work on the religion of the early Germans,\nmentions, however, a popular cure for whooping-cough, which consisted in\nhaving the patient eat off of a wooden platter branded with the figure of\na horse-shoe.\n\nIn France, also, a favorite panacea for children\u2019s diseases consists in\nlaying on the child an accidentally found horse-shoe, with the nails\nremaining in it; and in Mecklenburg gastric affections are thought to\nbe successfully treated by drinking beer which has been poured upon a\nred-hot horse-shoe.[84]\n\nPliny ascribed healing power to a cast-off horse-shoe found on the road.\nThe finder was recommended carefully to preserve such a horse-shoe; and\nshould he at any future time be afflicted with the hiccoughs, the mere\nrecollection of the exact spot where the shoe had been placed would\nserve as a remedy for that sometimes obstinate affection.[85]\n\nIn Bavaria a popular alleged cure for hernia in children is as follows:\nFrom a horse-shoe wherein all the nails remain, and which has been cast\nby a horse, a nail is taken; and when next a new moon comes on a Friday,\none must go into a field or orchard before sunrise and drive the nail by\nthree blows into an oak-tree or pear-tree, according to the sex of the\nchild, and thrice invoke the name of Christ; after which one must kneel\non the ground in front of the tree and repeat a _Paternoster_. This is\nan example of a kind of therapeutic measure not uncommon among peasants\nin different parts of Germany, a blending of the use of a superstitious\ncharm with religious exercises.[86]\n\nAn ingenious theory ascribes the origin of the belief in the magical\nproperties of iron to the early employment of the actual cautery, and to\nthe use of the lancet in surgery.[87] In either case the healing effects\nof the metal, whether hot or in the form of a knife, have been attributed\nby superstitious minds to magical properties in the instruments, whereby\nthe demons who caused the disease were put to flight. In northern India\nthe natives believe that evil spirits are so simple-minded as to run\nagainst the sharp edge of a knife and thus do themselves injury; and they\nalso make use of iron rings as demon-scarers, such talismans having the\ndouble efficacy of the iron and of the sacred circle.[88]\n\nIn Bombay, when a child is born, the natives place an iron bar along the\nthreshold of the room of confinement as a guard against the entrance of\ndemons.[89] This practice is derived from the Hindoo superstition that\nevil spirits keep aloof from iron; and even to-day pieces of horse-shoes\nare to be seen nailed to the bottom sills of the doors of native\nhouses.[90] In east Bothnia, when the cows leave their winter quarters\nfor the first time, an iron bar is laid before the threshold of the door\nthrough which the animals must pass, and the farmers believe that, if\nthis precaution were omitted, the cows would prove troublesome throughout\nthe summer.[91] So, too, in the region of Saalfield, in central Germany,\nit is customary to place axes, saws, and other iron and steel implements\noutside the stable door to keep the cattle from bewitchment.\n\nThe Scandinavian peasants, when they venture upon the water, are wont to\nprotect themselves against the power of the _Neck_, or river-spirit, by\nplacing a knife in the bottom of the boat, or by fixing an iron nail in\na reed. The following is the translation of a charm used in Norway for\nthis purpose:\u2014\n\n    Neck, Neck, nail in water, the Virgin Mary casteth steel in\n    water. Do you sink, I flit.\n\nIn Finland there is an evil fairy known as the Alp Nightmare. Its name\nin the vernacular is _Painajainen_, which means in English \u201cPresser.\u201d\nThis unpleasant being makes people scream, and causes young children to\nsquint; and the popular safeguard is steel, or a broom placed beneath the\npillow.[92]\n\nFriedrich remarks that the Moslems look upon iron as a divine gift, and\nthat the Finlanders have their tutelary gods of this metal.\n\nAmong the Jews there prevails a popular belief that one should never make\nuse of a knife or other steel instrument for the purpose of more readily\nfollowing with the eye the pages of the Bible, the Talmud, or other\nsacred book. Iron should never be permitted to touch any book treating\nof religion, for the two are incompatible by nature, the one destroying\nhuman life and the other prolonging it.[93] The Highlanders of Scotland\nhave a time-honored custom of taking an oath upon cold iron or steel.\nThe dirk, which was formerly an indispensable adjunct to the Highland\ncostume, is a favorite and handy object for the purpose. The faith in\nthe magical power of steel and iron against evil-disposed fairies and\nghosts was universal, and this form of oath was more solemn and binding\nthan any other.[94]\n\nAmong the Bavarian peasants nails and needles have a reputation the\nreverse of that of the horse-shoe. A horse-shoe nail stuck into the front\ndoor of a house will give the owner a serious illness. A needle, when\ngiven to a friend, is sure to prick to death existing friendship, even as\nsuch friendship is severed by the gift of a knife or pair of scissors.\nSuch an untoward result may be averted, however, if the recipient smile\npleasantly when the gift is made. A curious superstition about iron locks\nprevails in Styria and Tyrol. If you procure from a locksmith a brand-new\nlock and carry it to church at the time of a wedding ceremony, and if,\nwhile the benediction is being said, you fasten the lock by a turn of\nthe key, then the young couple\u2019s love and happiness is destroyed. Mutual\naversion will supplant affection until you open the lock again.[95]\n\n\nVII. BLACKSMITHS CREDITED WITH SUPERNATURAL ATTRIBUTES\n\nVulcan, the Roman god of fire, the Heph\u00e6stus of Grecian mythology, was\nalso the patron of blacksmiths and workers in metals. He was the great\nartisan of the universe, and at his workshop in Olympus he fashioned\narmor for the warriors of the heroic age. On earth volcanoes were his\nforges, and his favorite residence was the island of Lemnos in the \u00c6gean\nSea. Beneath \u00c6tna, with the aid of those famed artisans, the Cyclops, he\nforged the thunderbolts of Jove; and there also, according to tradition,\nwere made the trident of Neptune, Pluto\u2019s helmet, and the shield of\nHercules. Heph\u00e6stus was thus a controller and master of fire.\n\nThe Cyclops were believed by the ancients to have invented the art\nof forging; and the discovery of the peculiar qualities of iron was\nattributed to certain mythical beings called the Dactyls, who dwelt\nin Phrygia, and who were thought to have acquired this knowledge from\nobservation of the fusion of metals at the fabulous burning of Mount\nIda. The Dactyls had the reputation of being wizards, whose very names\npossessed a mysterious protective power when pronounced by persons\nexposed to sudden dangers.\n\nCertain semi-fabulous tribes of central Asia, workers in metals, kept\nsecret the mysteries of their craft, and were wont to indulge in wild\norgies and festivities, which served to inspire with awe the uninitiated.\nAt such times they danced until frenzied with excitement, to the\naccompaniment of cymbals and tambourines and the clashing of weapons. The\npeople of neighboring tribes feared to approach them, believing that\nthey were possessed of a magical power which enabled them to transform\none metal into another and to forge thunderbolts. They were reputed to\nbe masters of fire and of the elements, and their forges, like Vulcan\u2019s,\nwere volcanoes.[96]\n\nThese barbarous peoples were sometimes confounded with the Dactyls,\nCorybantes, Cabiri, and Curetes, traditional metallurgists endowed with\nsupernatural skill, and therefore popularly reckoned as magicians, or\neven as divinities. For a long period they were supposed to be vested\nwith the exclusive knowledge of metal-working, a knowledge shrouded in\nmystery.\n\nIn the \u201cKalevalla,\u201d or ancient epic poem of Finland, the blacksmith\nIlmarinen is represented as the pioneer and most skilled of artisans, who\nfashioned both the implements of warfare and domestic utensils. This hero\n\n    Came to earth to work the metal;\n    He was born upon the coal-mount,\n    Skilled and nurtured in the coal-fields;\n    In one hand a copper hammer,\n    In the other tongs of iron;\n    In the night was born the blacksmith,\n    In the morn he built his smithy;\n    Sought with care a favored hillock,\n    Where the winds might fill his bellows;\n    Found a hillock in the swamp-land,\n    Where the iron hid abundant,\n    There he built his smelting-furnace.[97]\n\nIn the Teutonic mythology, blacksmiths were magical craftsmen; and even\nin the Middle Ages they were looked upon as superior to other artisans,\nowing to their faculty of seemingly toying with fire, rendering the\ndangerous element subservient to their will, and by its aid manipulating\niron with ease and dexterity. In Germany their workshops were known as\n\u201cWieland\u2019s houses,\u201d in remembrance of the most cunning of smiths in the\nmythical lore of the North.\n\nAs in early ages the origin of metal-working was imputed to divine\nbeings, it was natural that in popular tradition blacksmiths acquired\ntheir wondrous technical skill through the assistance of such beings, and\nhence were exalted above the plane of ordinary mortals because they had\nreceived supernatural instruction.\u2026\n\nThe following medi\u00e6val legend serves to show that memories of the old\npagan traditions lingered in the minds of the Scandinavians until long\nafter the establishment among them of Christianity. One evening in the\nyear 1208, a horseman rode up to the house of a blacksmith named Thord\nVettir, who lived in southern Norway at Nesjar, near the town of Laurvig\non the Skager-Rack, and asked for lodging overnight and shoeing for\nhis horse. The smith assented, and early the next morning began the\nwork, chatting meanwhile with his guest. \u201cWhere were you last night?\u201d\nhe inquired of the latter. \u201cIn Medaldal,\u201d was the reply. \u201cAnd where\nwere you the night before?\u201d asked the smith. \u201cIn Jardal,\u201d answered the\nstranger. \u201cYou must be a tremendous liar,\u201d said the smith, with great\nfrankness. Then he applied himself to his task in earnest, and forged the\nbiggest horse-shoes which he had ever seen, but which were found to fit\nthe horse\u2019s feet perfectly. In the course of further conversation the\ntraveler remarked that he had long dwelt in the north of Norway and was\non his way to Sweden. When he was ready to continue journeying and had\nmounted his steed, the smith inquired his name. \u201cHave you ever heard of\nOdin?\u201d was the rejoinder. \u201cI have heard his name,\u201d said the smith. \u201cThen\nyou may see him now,\u201d remarked the horseman, \u201cand, if you do not believe\nwhat I have told you, look how I leap my horse over the fence.\u201d Thereupon\nhe spurred the animal and rode straight at the court-yard fence, which\nwas seven ells high. The gallant steed cleared the fence with ease, and\nneither he nor his rider were seen again by the worthy blacksmith.[98]\n\nThe dignity and importance of the blacksmith\u2019s art in early medi\u00e6val\ntimes in England is illustrated by the following tale from Paul\nS\u00e9billot\u2019s \u201cL\u00e9gendes et Curiosit\u00e9s des M\u00e9tiers,\u201d art. \u201cForgerons:\u201d\u2014\n\nKing Alfred the Great, who reigned in the latter part of the ninth\ncentury, on one occasion assembled together seven of his principal\nmechanics and craftsmen, and announced that he would appoint as their\nchief that one who could longest dispense with the assistance of the\nothers; and he also invited them all to a banquet, on condition that each\nshould bring with him a specimen of his handiwork and the tools wherewith\nit was made. At the appointed time they all appeared: the blacksmith\nbrought his hammer and a horse-shoe; the tailor his scissors and a newly\nmade garment; the baker his long-handled wooden bread-shovel and a loaf\nof bread; the shoemaker his awl and a pair of new shoes; the carpenter\nhis saw and a squared plank; the butcher his chopping-knife and a large\npiece of meat; and the mason his trowel and a corner-stone. After careful\ndeliberation the company decided that the tailor\u2019s work was the best, and\nhe was accordingly chosen to be chief of the artisans.\n\nThe blacksmith was vexed at the choice, and vowed he would work no more,\nso long as the tailor was chief; he therefore closed his shop and took\nhis departure.\n\nBut his absence was speedily felt; the king\u2019s horse lost a shoe, the six\ncomrades one after another broke their tools, and, although the tailor\ncontinued to ply his trade longer than the others, he too was soon\nobliged to cease from work. Thereupon the king and his tradesmen decided\nto try their hands at blacksmithing, but met with ill success; for the\nking\u2019s horse trod on his royal master, the tailor burnt his fingers,\nand the others met with various mishaps. At length they began to quarrel\namong themselves, even coming to blows, and in the m\u00eal\u00e9e the anvil was\noverturned with a crash. Just at this point Saint Clement appeared on\nthe scene arm in arm with the blacksmith. The king saluted the newcomers\nrespectfully, and addressed them as follows: \u201cI have made a bad mistake,\nmy friends, in allowing myself to be beguiled by the tailor\u2019s fine cloth\nand his skillful handiwork; in common fairness the blacksmith, without\nwhose aid the other workmen can accomplish nothing, should be proclaimed\nchief artisan.\u201d All the tradesmen except the tailor then begged the\nworthy smith to make new tools for them, which he forthwith proceeded to\ndo, even including a brand-new pair of scissors for the tailor.\n\nThen the king reorganized the society of artisans and proclaimed as\nchief the blacksmith, whom all greeted with wishes for good health and\nhappiness.\n\nAfter this the king called on each one for a song, and the new chief in\nhis turn sang one entitled \u201cThe Merry Blacksmith,\u201d which is even nowadays\nsometimes heard at the festivities of tradesmen\u2019s guilds in England.\n\nSaint Clement, who figures in the above tale, was the patron saint of\nfarriers. He was a Roman bishop, who died A. D. 100. In ecclesiastical\ntradition he was reckoned among the martyrs, having been bound to an\nanchor and thrown into the sea on November 23 of that year. His name-day\nwas still observed in recent times by English blacksmiths, who regarded\nhim as the originator of the art of practical farriery, and held an\nannual festival in his honor.\n\nThe blacksmiths\u2019 apprentices of the Woolwich dockyard were wont to form\na procession on the evening of Saint Clement\u2019s Day, one of their number\npersonating \u201cOld Clem,\u201d with masked face, oakum wig, and long white beard.\n\nDuring the festivities this worthy delivered a speech, in part as\nfollows:\u2014\n\n    I am the real Saint Clement, the first founder of brass, iron,\n    and steel from the ore. I have been to Mount \u00c6tna, where the\n    god Vulcan first built his forge, and forged the armor and\n    thunderbolts for the god Jupiter.[99]\n\nSaint Eloy, or Saint Eligius, is sometimes represented as the guardian of\nfarriers and blacksmiths. He flourished in the seventh century, and in\nhis youth served as apprentice to a goldsmith at Limoges, where he became\nvery proficient in the art of working the precious metals. His festival\noccurs on December 1.\n\nAccording to a well-known legend, Saint Eloy was once shoeing a demoniac\nhorse, which refused to stand still; he therefore cut off the animal\u2019s\nleg and put on the shoe. Then, making the sign of the cross, he replaced\nthe leg, the horse experiencing no ill effects from the operation.\n\nThis saint is mentioned in Barnaby Googe\u2019s \u201cPopish Kingdome,\u201d as follows:\u2014\n\n    And Loye the smith doth looke to horse, and smithes of all degree;\n    If they with iron meddle here, or if they goldsmithes bee.\n\nIn certain countries blacksmiths and farriers have always been credited\nwith supernatural faculties, and it seems, therefore, reasonable thus to\nexplain the origin of some portion of the alleged mystic virtues of their\nhandiwork, the iron horse-shoe, although indeed this view does not appear\nto have been advanced hitherto.\n\nAmong ourselves, and in some of the principal European countries,\nblacksmiths are highly respectable members of society, although they\ndo not usually deal in occult science. But in portions of the Russian\nempire, as in the province of Mingrelia, the Caucasus, and neighboring\nregions, blacksmiths do enjoy a certain reputation as magicians. Solemn\noaths are taken upon the anvil instead of upon the Bible. In Abyssinia\nand in the Congo country all iron-workers have the reputation of\nsorcerers, and among the Tibbous of central Africa they are treated\nwith great deference. When an inhabitant of the Orkney Islands wishes\nto obtain an amulet, he applies either to a farrier, or to his son or\ngrandson; and the Roumanian gypsies are mostly blacksmiths, their wives\nobtaining a livelihood by mendicancy, the practice of divination, and the\ninterpretation of dreams; while both men and women are thought to have\nthe faculty of summoning to their aid powerful spirits of the air.[100]\n\nIn Morocco, at the present day, there still exists a community of\ndwarfish artisans, workers in metals, magicians, and adepts in the\nhealing art, who make little books which are used as portable amulets;\nand the Haratin, who inhabit the Drah valley, deem it sinful even\nto mention by name these dwarfs, whom they consider entitled to\nextraordinary respect.\n\nEach member of this mysterious tribe of pigmy smiths is said to wear a\n_haik_, or outer garment, having upon the back a representation of an\neye, a symbol suggestive of the Cyclops of old.[101]\n\nThere was, indeed, as we have seen, a common opinion throughout a great\npart of Europe that the earliest smiths were supernatural beings; for it\nwas reasoned that the marvelous process of melting and fashioning iron\ncould not have been conceived by man, but must have originated through\nmagical agencies.\n\nIn Germany blacksmith\u2019s forges were often situated on highways remote\nfrom settlements, and were the resort of travelers and teamsters, who\nstopped either to have a horse shod, or to obtain veterinary advice.\nQuite naturally these smithies, like the modern crossroads variety\nstores, became little centres of sociability and gossip, and even of\nconviviality. Moreover, questionable characters sometimes frequented\nthese places, and hence their reputation was not always savory. But\nthe blacksmith himself, by virtue of his calling, was looked upon with\nrespect, even after his craft had ceased to inspire the vulgar with\nmysterious awe.[102]\n\nIn south Germany and the Tyrol, when a blacksmith rests from his work\non a Saturday evening, he strikes with his hammer three blows upon\nthe anvil, thereby chaining up the Devil for the ensuing week. And so\nlikewise, while hammering a horse-shoe into shape, he strikes the anvil\ninstead of the shoe every fourth or fifth blow, and thus makes doubly\nsecure the chain wherewith Satan is bound.[103]\n\nBlacksmiths are usually clever enough to recognize the Devil, even when\ndisguised as a gentleman.\n\nOnce upon a time the Evil One appeared at the door of a smith in the\nvillage of Gossensass, on the Brenner road, Tyrol, and wished to have his\ntwo horses shod. When the work was done, he inquired how much he should\npay; but the shrewd smith refused to take any money, and only stipulated\nthat his customer should never enter the shop again, which the Devil\npromised and went away.[104]\n\nThe magicians of Hindostan, when treating cases of alleged demoniacal\npossession, after the performance of other mystic rites, are wont to\nsprinkle the patient with water from a blacksmith\u2019s shop, the water\nhaving been endowed with additional virtue by the repeated immersion of\niron.[105]\n\nIn northeast Scotland a cure for rickets consists in having the child\nbathed by a blacksmith in the water-trough of the smithy. Then he is laid\non the anvil and iron implements are passed over him, the use of each\nbeing asked, and the ceremony is followed by a second bath. To insure the\nefficacy of this process, three blacksmiths of the same name must take\npart in it.[106]\n\nIn Henderson\u2019s \u201cFolk-Lore of the Northern Countries of England,\u201d p. 187,\nmention is made of a remarkable method of treatment intended for the\ndevelopment of sickly, puny children who are thought to be under the\ninfluence of an evil spell which retards their growth,\u2014a notable instance\nof survival of the old belief in the blacksmith\u2019s magical powers. Very\nearly in the morning the little patient is brought to the shop of a smith\nof the seventh generation, if such can be found, and laid quite naked\non the anvil. The blacksmith raises his hammer thrice as if to strike\na glowing horse-shoe, each time letting it gently fall on the child\u2019s\nbody,\u2014a simple ceremony, but vastly promotive of the child\u2019s physical\nwelfare, in the minds of its rustic parents.\n\nThe farriers of the Arabs inhabiting the oases of the great Sahara desert\nare exempt from taxes and enjoy numerous privileges. Of these the most\nimportant and striking, as showing the honor accorded to the men of this\ncraft, is the following:\u2014\n\nWhen, on the battlefield, a mounted farrier is hard pressed by enemies,\nhe runs the risk of being killed so long as he remains upon his horse\nwith weapons in his hand. But if he alights, kneels down, and with the\ncorners of his hooded cloak or _burnous_ imitates the movements of a pair\nof bellows, thus revealing his profession, his life is spared.[107]\n\nThe Baralongs of South Africa regard the art of smelting and forging\nas sacred, and, when the metal begins to flow, none are permitted to\napproach the furnaces except those who are initiated in the mysteries of\nthe craft.[108]\n\nIn Finland, also, blacksmiths are held in profound respect, and the\ngreatest luxuries are none too good for them. They are presented with\nbrandy to keep them in good humor; and a Finnish proverb says, \u201cFine\nbread always for the smith, and dainty morsels for the hammerer.\u201d[109]\n\nAmong certain tribes of the west coast of equatorial Africa the\nblacksmith officiates also as priest or medicine-man, and is a chief\npersonage in the community, which often embraces several adjacent\nvillages. Indeed, there appears to be a quite general belief in different\nportions of Africa that metal-workers as a class are superior beings,\u2014of\nhigher origin than their fellow-tribesmen. When a savage people, without\na knowledge of farriery, acquired by conquest a new territory, and found\ntherein blacksmiths plying their vocation, they naturally regarded these\nartisans with wonder, not unmixed with fear.[110]\n\nMoreover, the early association, in mythology and tradition, of\nmetal-working and sorcery, appears to explain in a measure, as already\nsuggested, the reason for the magical properties popularly ascribed to\nhorse-shoes and to iron articles generally.\n\n\nVIII. FIRE AS A SPIRIT-SCARING ELEMENT\n\nThe horse-shoe is a product of the artisan\u2019s skill by the aid of fire.\n\nThis element has in all ages been considered the great purifier, and a\npowerful foe to evil spirits.[111]\n\nThe Chaldeans venerated fire and esteemed it a deity, and among primitive\nnations everywhere it has ever been held sacred. The Persians had\nfire-temples, called _Pyr\u00e6a_, devoted solely to the preservation of the\nholy fire.[112]\n\nIn the \u201cRig-Veda,\u201d the principal sacred book of the Hindus, the crackling\nof burning fagots was listened to as the voice of the gods, and the same\nsuperstition prevails still among the natives of Borneo.[113]\n\nIn a fragment of the writings of Menander Protector, a Greek historian\nof the sixth century, it is related that when an embassy sent by the\nEmperor Justin reached Sogdiana, the ancient Bokhara, it was met by a\nparty of Turks, who proceeded to exorcise their baggage by beating drums\nand ringing bells over it. They then ran around the baggage, bearing\naloft flaming leaves, meantime, by their gestures and movements, seeking\nto repel evil spirits; after which some of the party themselves passed\nthrough fire as a means of purification.[114]\n\nFire is especially potent against nocturnal demons, and also against the\nevil spirits which cause disease in cattle. Hence the utility of the\nancient \u201cneed-fires,\u201d produced by the friction of two pieces of wood,\nwhich were thought to be an antidote against the murrain and epizo\u00f6tics\ngenerally,\u2014a custom until recently in vogue in the Scottish Highlands,\nand formerly practiced in many other regions.\n\nThe midsummer fires kindled on Saint John\u2019s Eve, in accordance with an\nancient British custom, were regarded as purifiers of the air. Moreover,\nthe whole area of ground illuminated by these fires was reckoned to be\nfreed from sorcery for a year, and, by leaping through the flames, both\nmen and cattle were insured safety against demons for a like period.[115]\n\nIn Ireland it was customary for people to run through the streets on\nSaint John\u2019s Eve carrying long poles, upon which were tied flaming\nbundles of straw, in order to purify the air, for at that time all kinds\nof mischievous imps, hobgoblins, and devils were abroad, intent on\nworking injury to human beings.[116]\n\nMidsummer fires were still lighted in Ireland in the latter half of the\nnineteenth century, a survival of pagan fire-worship. In many countries\npeople gathered about the bonfires, while children leaped through the\nflames, and live coals were carried into the cornfields as an antidote to\nblight.[117]\n\nSometimes the remaining ashes were scattered over the neighboring fields,\nin order to protect the crops from ravaging vermin or insects; and in\nSweden the smoke of need-fires was reputed to stimulate the growth of\nfruit-trees, and to impart luck to fishing-nets hung up in it.[118]\n\nWhen a child is born, the Hindus light fires to frighten demons; and\nfor the same reason lamps are swung to and fro at weddings, and fire is\ncarried before the dead body at a funeral.[119]\n\nDevout Brahmins keep a fire constantly burning in their houses and\nworship it daily, expecting thereby to secure for themselves good\nfortune. The origin of the respect accorded to fire among these people\nhas been attributed to its potency in alleviating or curing certain\ndiseases,[120] as, for example, when applied in the actual cautery, or by\nmeans of the moxa; for, wherever a belief exists in demoniacal possession\nas the cause of bodily disorders, the cure of the latter is evidence\nthat the malignant spirits have been put to flight.\n\nThe fire-worshiping Parsees also keep a fire continuously in the lying-in\nroom; and when a child is ailing from any cause, they fasten to its left\narm a magical charm of written words prepared by a priest, exorcising the\nevil spirits in the name of their chief deity, Ormuzd, and \u201cbinding them\nby the power and beauty of fire.\u201d[121]\n\nOn the birth of a child among the Khoikhoi of south Africa a household\nfire is kindled, which is maintained until the healing of the child\u2019s\nnavel; and when a member of the tribe goes a-hunting, his wife is careful\nto keep a fire burning indoors; for, if it were allowed to go out, the\nhusband would have no luck.[122]\n\nThe conception of a medi\u00e6val smith as a master and controller of fire\nwas embodied in a group of figures modeled by the Austrian sculptor,\nKarl Bitter, and placed at the southern entrance of the Administration\nBuilding at the World\u2019s Fair, Chicago, in 1893. This group, which was\ncalled \u201cFire Controlled,\u201d consisted of a female figure, whose uplifted\nright hand carried a torch, while at her feet stood a brawny smith\nresting a sledge hammer upon the prostrate form of a fire demon.\n\nAbove this group stood a single figure, by the same artist, representing\na blacksmith standing at his anvil, with hammer resting against it, and\nin his belt hung a pair of pincers. In his left hand was a horse-shoe,\nwhich he was examining.[123]\n\n\nIX. THE SERPENTINE SHAPE OF THE HORSE-SHOE\n\nThe theory has been advanced that in ancient idolatrous times the\nhorse-shoe in its primitive form was a symbol in serpent-worship, and\nthat its superstitious use as a charm may have thus originated. This\nseems plausible enough, inasmuch as there is a resemblance between the\nhorse-shoe and the arched body of the snake, when the latter is so\nconvoluted that its head and tail correspond to the horse-shoe prongs.\n\nBoth snakes and horse-shoes were anciently engraved on stones and medals,\npresumably as amuletic symbols;[124] and in front of a church in Crendi,\na town in the southern part of the island of Malta, there is to be seen a\nstatue having at its feet a protective symbol in the shape of a half moon\nencircled by a snake.\n\nThe serpent played an important r\u00f4le in Asiatic and ancient Egyptian\nsymbolism. This has been thought to be due partly to a belief that the\nsun\u2019s path through the heavens formed a serpentine curve, and partly\nbecause lightning, or the fertilizing fire, sometimes flashes upon the\nearth in a snake-like zigzag.[125] The serpent was endowed with the\nattributes of divinity on account of its graceful and easy movements, the\nbrightness of its eyes, the function of discarding its skin (a process\nwhich was regarded as emblematic of a renewal of its youth), and its\ninstantaneous spring upon its prey.[126] The worship of serpents is of\ngreat antiquity, the earliest authentic accounts of the custom being\nfound in Chaldean and Chinese astronomical works. It was nearly universal\namong the most ancient nations of the world, and this universality\nhas been ascribed to the traditionary remembrance of the serpent in\nEden,[127] and has given rise to the opinion of some writers that\nsnake-worship may have been the primitive religion of the human race.[128]\n\nOn the walls of houses in Pompeii are to be seen the figures of snakes,\nwhich are believed to have been intended as preservative symbols;[129]\nand we learn from Mr. C. G. Leland\u2019s \u201cEtruscan Roman Remains\u201d that the\npeasants of the mountainous regions in northern Italy, known as the\nRomagna Toscana, have a custom of painting on the walls of their houses\nthe figures of serpents with the heads and tails pointing upward. These\nare intended both as amulets to keep away witches, and as luck-bringers,\nand are therefore exact counterparts of the horse-shoe and the crescent\nas magical emblems. The more interlaced the snake\u2019s coils, the more\neffective the amulet; the idea being that a witch is obliged to trace\nout and follow with her eye the interweaving convolutions, and that in\nattempting to do this she becomes bewildered, and is temporarily rendered\nincapable of doing harm.\n\nIn ancient Roman works of art the serpent is sometimes portrayed as\na protective symbol. In some bronze figures of Fortune unearthed at\nHerculaneum, serpents are represented either as encircling the arm of the\ngoddess, or as entwined about her cornucopia, thus typifying, as it were,\nthe idea of the intimate association of the snake with good luck.\n\nThe Ph\u0153nicians rendered homage to serpents, and history shows that the\nLithuanians, Sarmatians, or inhabitants of ancient Poland, and other\nnations of central Europe, treated these reptiles with superstitious\nrespect. In Russia, also, domestic snakes were formerly carefully\nnurtured, for they were thought to bring good fortune to the members of a\nhousehold.[130]\n\nThe worship of serpents is still practiced in Persia, Tibet, Ceylon,\nand other Eastern lands. In western Africa, also, the serpent is a chief\ndeity, and is appealed to by the natives in seasons of drought and\npestilence.[131] A talisman having the form of a snake, and known as _la\nsirena_, is in use among the lower classes at Naples.\n\nIn the folk-lore of the south Slavonian nations the serpent is regarded\nas a protective genius, not only of the people, but of domestic animals\nand houses as well. Every human being has a snake as tutelary divinity,\nwith which his growth and well-being are closely connected, and the\nkilling of one of these sacred creatures was formerly deemed a grave\noffense. To meet with a snake has long been accounted fortunate in some\ncountries. The south Slav peasant believes that whoever encounters one\nof these creatures, on first going into the woods in the spring, will be\nprosperous throughout the year. But on the other hand he regards it as an\nevil omen if he happens to catch a glimpse of his own tutelary serpent.\nFortunately, however, a man never knows which particular ophidian is his\nspecial guardian.[132]\n\n    The relation of the serpent to sculptured or engraved stones\n    reveals to us the reptile as still the object of veneration, if\n    not of adoration, among widely remote nations. If we search\n    among the tombs of Egypt, Assyria, and Etruria, we shall find\n    innumerable signets, cylinders, and scarabei of gems engraved\n    with serpents; these were proverbially worn as amulets, or used\n    as insignia of authority; and, in the temples and tombs of\n    these and other countries, serpents are engraved or sculptured\n    or painted, either as hieroglyphics or as forming symbolical\n    ornaments of deities or genii. In India they are sculptured\n    twining around all the gods of the cave temples which mark the\n    graves of kings and heroes, and the oldest of the Scandinavian\n    runes are written within the folds of serpents engraved on\n    stones.[133]\n\nIn ancient Mexican temples the serpent symbol is frequently seen. The\napproach to the temple of El Castillo, at Chichen in Yucatan, is guarded\nby a pair of huge serpent heads, and a second pair protect the entrance\nto the sanctuary. Figures of serpents also appear in the Mosaic relief\ndesigns of the fa\u00e7ades, and within on the sanctuary walls. So, too, in\nthe temples of Palenque and other southern Mexican towns, serpents are\neverywhere plentiful in the decorations and sculptures.[134]\n\nRepresentations of snakes are to be seen on the walls of houses in many\nparts of India at the present day, and villages have their special ophite\nguardians.\n\nThe fifth day of the first or bright half of the lunar month S\u2019ravana,\nwhich nearly corresponds with August, is celebrated by the Brahmins in\nhonor of the naga or cobra. Some interesting details of the ceremonies on\nthese occasions are given in Balfour\u2019s \u201cCyclop\u00e6dia of India.\u201d We learn\nfrom this source that native women are wont at such times to join in\ndancing around snake-holes, and also to prostrate themselves and invoke\nblessings; while others bow down before living cobras at their own homes,\nor worship figures of serpents.\n\nVisits from snakes are highly appreciated as auspicious events, and the\nreptiles are sure of a hospitable reception, because they are looked upon\nas tutelary divinities.\n\nThus the serpent was held sacred by the nations of antiquity, being\na prominent feature in every mythology and symbolizing many pagan\ndivinities.\n\nThe Vlach women of European Turkey, who inhabit villages in the mountain\nranges of Thessaly and Albania, treat serpents with great respect and\neven with veneration. If one of the harmless white snakes which abound\nin the country chances to enter a cottage, it is provided with food\nand allowed to depart unharmed, its appearance indoors being accounted\na lucky event. Such friendly treatment often results in the snake\u2019s\nbecoming domesticated and receiving the title of \u201chouse-serpent.\u201d[135]\nThe Carinthians, too, are wont to treat snakes as fondlings, for they\nconsider that these reptiles bring good luck proportionate in degree to\ntheir bodily diameter; hence they are fed with care and provided with\nbowls of milk twice a day.[136]\n\nIndeed, in many countries the serpent or dragon, originally a guardian\nof treasure, is considered a house-protector. The same conception is\nembodied in the grotesque dragon-headed gargoyles so common in medi\u00e6val\narchitecture.[137]\n\nDr. Daniel G. Brinton, in speaking of the emblematic significance of the\nserpent among American aborigines, remarks that this symbol has ever been\nassociated with religious mysteries.\n\nMany derivatives from the Hebrew and Arabic words for serpent signify the\npractice of sorcery, consultation with familiar spirits, and intercourse\nwith demons.[138]\n\nIt would seem, therefore, not improbable that the horse-shoe amulet has\nacquired some portion of the magical influences ascribed to it through\nits serpentine form.\n\nThe serpent-symbol has furnished a theme for many writers, and sumptuous\nvolumes attest its deep interest.\n\nThe chief points which relate to our present subject are briefly: (1) The\nsimilarity of form between the horse-shoe and a serpentine coil, and\n(2) the association of ideas resulting therefrom in the popular mind.\nThe horse-shoe, when allied symbolically to the serpent, represents a\ncreature which has ever been an object of superstition, whether as a\ndeity, household guardian, or embodiment of evil. Hence it suggests\nmagical power, whether good or evil, but chiefly the idea of beneficent,\nprotective influence.\n\n\nX. THE HORSE-SHOE ARCH IN ANCIENT CALEDONIAN HIEROGLYPHICS\n\nThe horse-shoe arch was a common emblem on pagan monuments, and is\nfrequently seen in Caledonian sculptured hieroglyphics, where it is\nbelieved to have had a special significance as a protective symbol.\nLieutenant-Colonel Forbes Leslie, in \u201cThe Early Races of Scotland,\u201d\nremarks that the horse-shoe arch was probably emblematic of the serpent\nas a protecting and beneficent power, because this arch closely resembles\na peculiar mark or attribute of the so-called _Nagendra_, the hooded\nserpent-king, a chief deity in the mythical lore of Ceylon. It would\nappear quite unnecessary to refer to the Cingalese mythology in this\nconnection, inasmuch as the close resemblance between the shape of the\nhorse-shoe and the arched body of a snake has already been commented on.\nAs illustrative of the somewhat unique theory which claims the ancient\nhorse-shoe arch, itself a talismanic symbol, as the original source of\nall the superstitions associated with the modern iron horse-shoe, it may\nbe appropriate to quote a few lines from the authority above mentioned:\u2014\n\n    Whatever this figure (the horse-shoe arch) may have represented\n    to our heathen ancestors, it seems very likely that from it\n    the horse-shoe derived its supposed power of promoting the\n    fortune of its possessor and protecting him against threatened\n    calamities, whether designed by men or demons. Superstition\n    clung to the symbol that was hallowed by antiquity, and even\n    impressed this emblem of paganism on the Christianity by which\n    it was superseded.\n\nThe historian Diodorus Siculus said that the Chaldeans imagined the earth\nas having the shape of a round boat turned upside down. The boats still\nused on the rivers Tigris and Euphrates resemble in form a beehive with a\nconsiderable bulge in the middle. Gerald Massey (\u201cThe Natural Genesis,\u201d\nvol. ii. p. 63) says that this conception of the earth\u2019s figure\n\n    corresponds to the Egyptian _Put-sign_ with its hollow\n    underneath. Various forms of this formation of the world are\n    extant. The horse-shoe is one. _Hence its value as a symbol of\n    superstition._ The head-dress of the Egyptian goddess Hathor\n    has the shape of a horse-shoe. The letter omega (\u03a9) is another\n    form of the same sign.\n\nThe Rev. C. Vernon Harcourt, in his \u201cDoctrine of the Deluge\u201d (vol. i.\np. 141), suggests that the moon was anciently regarded as particularly\nsacred when in the first quarter, because at that period it resembled\nmost closely the ark of Noah, which was crescent-shaped.\n\nAgain, the horse-shoe form is believed to be a survival of an ancient\nreligious symbol often seen in Assyrian and Egyptian sculptures,\nsignifying the mystical door of life.\n\n    The _D_ of the Italic alphabets placed \u2313 reveals its early\n    picture origin, while the Greek delta (\u0394) represents a tent\n    door. The Egyptian hieroglyphic for ten was \ud80c\udf86. It is plain,\n    therefore, that the horse-shoe is the mystical door reduced to\n    its simplest possible form, and as a fetish for bringing good\n    luck, or as a talisman to avert the evil eye, it would have no\n    meaning except with the points downward.[139]\n\nFrom a scientific standpoint, therefore, the horse-shoe, when used as a\nprotective symbol, should be placed with its convex arch uppermost; but\nas a luck token, the reverse position is the proper one, else, according\nto a popular notion, the luck may be spilled out.\n\nIn northern Germany and Bavaria figures of horse-shoes are sometimes\ncut on boundary stones, as for example, on a stone which separates the\nhamlets Ellerbek and Wellingdorf, suburbs of Kiel; and, again, on one\nbetween the estates of Depenau and Bockhorn, in middle Holstein. In these\ncases the idea involved is probably that of the beneficent horse-shoe\narch, impartially guarding the interests of both villages or estates.\n\n\nXI. THE HORSE-SHOE AS A SYMBOL OF THE HORSE\n\nBut the efficacy of the horse-shoe as a protector of people and buildings\ndepends not solely upon its arched shape, nor on its bifurcated form, nor\nyet upon its fancied resemblance to a snake. Its relation to the _horse_\nalso gives it a talismanic value; for in legendary lore this animal was\noften credited with supernatural qualities. An English myth ascribes to\nthe horse the character of a luck-bringer, and horse-worship was in vogue\namong the early Celts, Teutons, and Slavs.\n\nIn Hindostan, also, the horse is regarded as a lucky animal; and when\nan equestrian rides into a sugar-cane field in the sowing season, the\nevent is considered auspicious. In the same region the froth from a\nhorse\u2019s mouth is thought to repel demons, which are believed to have\nmore fear of a horse than of any other animal. The natives of northern\nIndia also believe that the horse was originally a wing\u00e9d creature, and\nthat the horny protuberances on his legs indicate where the wings were\nattached.[140]\n\nIn the Norse mythology almost every deity has his particular steed, as\nhave most of the heroes of antiquity, for the heathen nations regarded\nthe horse as sacred and divine.[141]\n\nTradition says that when the city of Carthage was founded by Dido, the\nPh\u0153nician queen, in the ninth century B. C., a priestess of Juno dug\nin the ground, by command of the oracle, and discovered the head of a\nbullock. This was considered unsatisfactory, because bullocks and oxen\nwere servile animals under the yoke. Thereupon the priestess again turned\nup the soil and found a horse\u2019s head, which was reckoned auspicious, for\nthe horse, although sometimes yoked to the plough, was also symbolic\nof war and martial glory. Therefore a temple of Juno was built on the\nspot, and the figure of a horse\u2019s head was adopted as an emblem by the\nCarthaginians and stamped upon their coins.[142]\n\nDr. Ludwig Beck, in his \u201cHistory of Iron,\u201d states that in Teutonic\nlegends the horse was sacred to Wodan or Odin, who always rode, while\nThor either drove about in his chariot or went afoot. Thence it is, says\nthis writer, that the Devil of the Middle Ages is represented with the\nhoofs of a horse.\n\nThe reputation of the horse as a prophetic and divinatory animal, even\namong Christian peoples, is shown by various German traditions, of which\nthe following is an example. When the inhabitants of Delve, a village in\nthe Duchy of Holstein, were about to build a church, the choice of a\nsite was determined in this manner: An image of the Virgin was fastened\nupon the back of a parti-colored mare, which was then allowed to roam at\nwill; and it was agreed that the church should be erected upon the spot\nwhere the mare should be found the next morning. This proved to be a\nneighboring bramble-thicket, and the new edifice was accordingly placed\nthere, and dedicated to \u201cOur beloved Lady on the Horse.\u201d[143]\n\nThe ancient belief in the oracular powers of the horse is well shown by a\ncustom formerly in vogue among the Pomeranians. On the outbreak of a war\na priest laid three spears at equal distances upon the ground in front of\nthe temple. Two other spears were then leaned transversely across them,\nwith their points resting in the earth. After a prayer the high priest\nled up a sacred horse, and if he stepped with his right foot foremost\nthrice in succession over the spears without stumbling, it was accounted\na good augury, otherwise not.[144]\n\nA dragon-headed horse, emblematic of grandeur, having on its back the\ncivilizing book of the law, is one of the four great mythic animals of\nthe Chinese; and the Tibetans have a like symbol, which they use as a\nluck-bringing talisman.\n\nThe association of the horse with luck is prominent in Indian myth as\nwell:\u2014\n\n    The jewel-horse of the universal monarch, such as Buddha was to\n    have been had he cared for worldly grandeur, carries its rider\n    Pegasus-like through the air in whatever direction wished for,\n    and thus it would become associated with the idea of material\n    wishes, and especially wealth and jewels.[145]\n\nAmong the lower classes of the Hindus of Bombay, a notion is prevalent\nthat spirits are frightened by the sound of a horse\u2019s hoofs; and this\nsuperstition has been thought to explain the custom, in vogue among the\nHindus generally, of having a bridegroom ride a horse when on his way to\nthe bride\u2019s residence.[146]\n\nIn Bokhara, when a horse stumbles in fording a stream, and the rider\nthereby gets an involuntary wetting, it is considered a most fortunate\noccurrence instead of a mishap. In the same country it is also accounted\nlucky to meet an equestrian.[147]\n\nOne reason in favor of the theory which ascribes the horse-shoe\u2019s weird\npowers to its connection with a luck-bringing animal is the fact that\nvarious portions of the equine frame serve as amulets in different\nlocalities. Thus not only the horse-shoe but the hoof, or even a single\nbone of the foot, may be used for this object.\n\nIn the island of Montserrat the two incisor teeth of a horse are carried\nabout as charms.[148] The popular belief of many people credits equine\nhair with special virtues. \u201cHonor abides in the manes of horses\u201d is\na saying of Mohammed, and in Turkey a horse\u2019s tail as an emblem is\nsignificant of dignity and exalted position.\n\nIn certain villages of Brandenburg every new-born boy, before his first\nbath, is placed upon a horse, the animal being brought into the chamber\nfor the purpose. This is thought to impart to the child manly qualities\nfor life. In other districts small children are allowed to ride a black\nfoal to facilitate the cutting of their teeth; and the neighings of\nhorses are believed to be of favorable import if listened to carefully.\nThe popular belief on this subject is exemplified in the German saying,\n\u201cHe has horse-luck,\u201d in reference to a piece of extraordinary good\nfortune.[149]\n\nThe Irish think that the reason for the horse-shoe\u2019s magical power is\nbecause the horse and the ass were in the stable where Christ was born,\nand hence are evermore blessed animals.\n\nThe romantic literature of Ireland affords evidence of the existence of\na species of horse-worship in that country in former ages, and tradition\nsays that in the olden time there were horses endowed with human\nfaculties.[150] We learn from Tacitus, moreover, that the Teutonic peoples\n\n    used white horses, as the Romans used chickens, for purposes of\n    augury, and divined future events from different intonations\n    of neighings. Hence it probably is that the discovery of\n    a horse-shoe is so universally thought lucky, some of the\n    feelings that once attached to the animal itself still\n    surviving around the iron of its hoof. For horses, like dogs\n    and birds, were universally accredited with a greater insight\n    into futurity than man himself.[151]\n\nThe horse is seen among the insignia of Kent, the first of the\nAnglo-Saxon kingdoms, and is displayed at the present time on the shields\nof the houses of Hanover and Brunswick.[152]\n\nOne of the most solemn forms of oath taken on the eve of battle required\na warrior to swear \u201cby the shoulder of a horse and the edge of a sword\u201d\nthat he would not flee from the enemy even if the latter should be\nsuperior in strength.[153]\n\nAt the time of the conquest of Peru, the Indian aborigines were amazed at\nthe sight of the Spanish horsemen, believing that man and horse were one\ncreature. And it is said that Pizarro owed his life to this superstitious\nbelief; for on one occasion, when pursued by the natives, he fell from\nhis horse, and the Peruvians who witnessed the mishap, believing that\none animal had by magic divided itself into two, gave up the pursuit in\ndismay.[154]\n\nM. D. Conway, in his \u201cDemonology and Devil-Lore,\u201d asserts that the\nScandinavian superstition known as the \u201cdemon-mare\u201d is the source of the\nuse of the horse-shoe against witches. In Germany there is a saying in\nreference to the morbid oppression sometimes experienced during sleep or\nwhile dreaming, and which is a symptom of indigestion, \u201cThe nightmare\nhath ridden thee.\u201d\n\nThis elvish mare rides horses also, and in the morning their manes are\nfound all tangled and dripping with sweat.\n\nGrimm says that the traditional idea of the Nightmare seems to waver\nbetween the ridden animal and the riding, trampling one, precisely as the\nDevil is sometimes represented as riding men, and again as taking them on\nhis back after the manner of a horse.\n\nAccording to a Bavarian popular belief, the Nightmare is a woman, who is\nwont to appear at the house-door of a morning, invariably requesting the\nloan of some article. In order to get rid of her at night, one should\nsay: \u201cCome to-morrow and receive the three white gifts.\u201d The next morning\nthe woman comes, and is given a handful of flour, a handful of salt, and\nan egg.[155]\n\nIn the north of England, naturally perforated stones are hung up by the\nside of the manger to prevent the Night Hag from riding the horses. In a\nrare book of the sixteenth century, entitled \u201cThe Fower Chiefest Offices\nbelonging to Horsemanship, by Tho. Blundenill, of Newton Flotman, in\nNorffolke,\u201d the following curious charm is given as a remedy for horses\naffected with the nightmare:\u2014\n\n        Take a Flynt Stone that\n        hath a hole of hys owne\n        kynde, and hang it ouer\n        hym and wryte in a bill:\n\n        _In nomine patris_, etc.\n        Saint George our Ladyes Knight,\n        He walked day so did he night\n        Until he hir found,\n        He hir beate and hir bounde,\n        Till truely hir trouth she him plyght\n        That she woulde not come within the night.\n        There as Saint George our Ladyes Knight\n        Named was three tymes, Saint George.\n\n    And hang this Scripture ouer him, and let him alone. With such\n    proper charmes as thys is, the false Fryers in tymes past were\n    wont to charme the money out of the playne folkes purses.\n\nDrink offerings were anciently poured from vessels made from horses\u2019\nhoofs; and witches are popularly supposed to drink with avidity the water\nwhich collects in equine hoof-tracks. German writers on early traditions\nand folk-lore agree in ascribing to the horse-shoe divers magical\nproperties, whose origin is vaguely connected with the ancient pagan\nconception of the horse as a sacrificial animal.[156]\n\nAccording to a popular poetic fancy of the ancient Teutons, horses,\nWodan\u2019s favorite and darling animals, were endowed with the gifts\nof speech and prophecy during the twelve days between Christmas and\nEpiphany. At this holy season they were wont to put their heads together,\nand impart to each other confidentially their experiences and trials of\nthe past year; and this communion of equine spirits was the sole pleasure\nvouchsafed to the noble animals, and atoned in a measure for the hard\nwork which was their lot.\n\nEven nowadays many peasants do not venture to harness their horses at\nChristmas time, and do not even speak of the animals by name, but make\nuse of pet epithets and circumlocutions when they have occasion to refer\nto them. On Christmas night, hostlers often sleep in the manger or under\nit, and their dreams at such times are prophetic for the coming year, for\nin their sleep they can hear what the horses are saying.\n\nIn order to impart health and vigor to the animals without incurring the\nexpense of extra fodder, the hostler walks at Epiphany season by night\nthree times around the village church, carrying in his uplifted hands a\nbundle of hay, which he afterwards feeds to the horses; or on Christmas\nnight he steals some cabbage, which is then mixed with the fodder; or,\nbefore going to the midnight Christmas Mass, he lays on the manure-heap\na quantity of hay called the \u201cMass hay,\u201d and on his return from church\nthis is given to the horses. Some peasants have a yet more simple method\nof promoting the welfare of their horses, which consists in laying the\ncleaning-cloth upon a hedge on the evenings of Christmas, New Year\u2019s\nDay, or Epiphany, and afterwards grooming the animals with the dew-laden\ncloth.[157]\n\nIn the popular mind horses are credited with extraordinarily keen\nfaculties for detecting ghosts and haunted places, which they\ninstinctively scent from afar. The Thuringian peasant does not beat\nhis horse when the latter refuses to proceed along some gloomy forest\nroad; for the whip is useless against spiritual obstacles, whereas a\n_Paternoster_ devoutly repeated is usually much more effective.\n\nIt is a Bohemian superstition that a horse sees everything magnified\ntenfold, and that this is the reason why the noble animal submits to\nbeing led by a little child.[158]\n\nWhen a Brandenburg rustic has bought a horse in a neighboring town and\nrides him homeward, he dismounts at the boundary line of his own village,\nand, gathering a handful of his native soil, he throws it backward over\nthe line to prevent the animal\u2019s being bewitched. In Bohemia the chief\nsigns of bewitchment in a horse are thought to be shivering, profuse\nsweating, and emaciation. A charm against this consists in drawing one\u2019s\nshirt inside out over one\u2019s head, and using it as a wherewithal to groom\nthe animal,\u2014a method which may be acceptable to superstitious jockeys\nand hostlers, but which will hardly commend itself to a fastidious\nhorse-owner.[159]\n\n\nXII. HORSES\u2019 HEADS AS TALISMANS\n\nIn early times it was customary to use horses\u2019 heads as talismans, by\nmeans of which also the ancient heathen nations practiced various\nmagical arts. Grimm says in his \u201cTeutonic Mythology\u201d that the\nScandinavians had a custom of fastening a horse\u2019s head to a pole, with\nthe mouth propped open with a stick. The gaping jaws were then turned\nin the direction whence an enemy was likely to come, in order to cast\nover him an evil spell. This contrivance was known as a spite-stake,\nor nithing-post. In Mallet\u2019s \u201cNorthern Antiquities\u201d (p. 156, 1890), it\nis related that Eigil, a famous Icelandic bard, on being banished from\nNorway in the ninth century, fixed a stake in the ground and fastened\nthereon a horse\u2019s head, saying meanwhile: \u201cI here set up a nithing-stake,\nand turn this my banishment against King Eirek and Queen Gunhilda.\u201d Then,\npointing the horse\u2019s head toward the interior of Norway, he uttered a\nsolemn imprecation against the protecting deities of the land, invoking\nevil upon them, and expressing a wish that they might be compelled to\nwander about and never find rest until they had driven forth the hated\nking and queen. In these cases the horse\u2019s head was magically employed as\nan instrument for working evil upon an enemy, but later the same symbol\nwas widely used among northern peoples as a talisman _against_ evil.\n\nNot alone in remote antiquity, but throughout the Middle Ages, the old\npagan device of the spite-stake continued to be employed by the Teutonic\npeoples; and even after the Reformation, as late as the year 1584, a\nmare\u2019s skull placed upon a pole was a favorite means for driving away\nrats and other vermin in Germany. The principle involved appears to have\nbeen always the same, namely, the power of averting evil supposed to be a\nmagical attribute of horses\u2019 heads; and this power was not only effective\nagainst human enemies, but likewise against the spirits of evil.[160]\n\nWhen the Roman general C\u00e6cina Severus reached the scene of Varus\u2019s defeat\nby the German tribes under their chieftain Arminius, in the year 9 A. D.,\nnear the river Weser, he saw numbers of horses\u2019 heads fastened to the\ntrunks of trees. These were the heads of Roman horses which the Germans\nhad sacrificed to their gods.[161]\n\nIn the fifteenth century a savage tribe known as the Wends had a practice\nof placing a horse\u2019s head in the crib or manger to counteract the\ninfluence of evil spirits, and to prevent their horses from being ridden\nby the Night Hag. And in many countries analogous notions, veritable\nrelics of paganism, exist in full force to-day. Thus in Mecklenburg and\nHolstein it is a common usage to place the carved wooden representations\nof the heads of horses on the gables of houses as safeguards, and when\nfixed upon poles in the vicinity of stables they are thought to ward off\nepizo\u00f6tics. In Mecklenburg, also, horses\u2019 heads, when placed beneath the\npillows of the sick, are believed to act as febrifuges, and in Holland\nthey are hung up over pigsties. The fore-parts of horses are to be seen\non the gables of old houses in the Rh\u00e6tian Alps, \u201ccarved out of the ends\nof the intersecting principals.\u201d[162]\n\nThe use of horses\u2019 heads as talismans is thought to have some connection\nwith the ancient pagan sacrificial offerings of horses. Adherence to the\nlatter custom was formerly regarded as a pledge of loyalty to heathenism,\nand conversely its renunciation was a sign of adopting the new religion.\nIn the tenth century the Norwegian king Hakon Athelstan, known as \u201cHakon\nthe Good,\u201d endeavored persistently to extirpate heathen idolatry in his\nkingdom, but without much success, owing to the vigorous opposition of\nhis people. At one of their great Yule-tide festivals the king was urged\nto eat some horse\u2019s flesh as a proof of devotion to the old faith, and on\nhis refusal to do this they wished to kill him.\n\nOn another occasion King Hakon so far yielded to the importunities of\nhis people as to inhale the steam from a kettle of horse-broth. He also\ndrank some Yule-beer, holding the cup in his left hand, while with his\nright he made the sign of the cross, which the pagan mind conceived to\nbe the symbol of Thor\u2019s hammer. Finally he was even induced to eat a\ncouple of mouthfuls of horse-flesh, an act which his people accepted as a\nsatisfactory guarantee of his orthodoxy.[163]\n\nAmong the newly converted Northern nations the use of horse-flesh as\nfood fell into disrepute, and the practice was looked upon as a secret\nsacrifice to the old idols, while those indulging in it were punished as\nobdurate pagans.[164]\n\nThe employment of horses\u2019 heads as talismans, a custom doubtless\noriginating in heathendom, has been thought not only to suggest the\nsacrificial offering of a horse, but also to symbolize the religious\ndedication of a building placed under the protective influence of such\na symbol. For among the ancient Teutons the horse was held to be the\nmost holy of animals, and auguries were derived from the neighings of\nwhite horses in their sacred groves. There exists, moreover, among\nGerman peasants a widespread belief that the placing of carved wooden\nrepresentations of horses\u2019 heads upon house-gables is an act of homage to\nthe Deity, whose blessing and benediction are thereby invoked upon the\ndwellings thus adorned, and upon the inmates as well. When, however, the\nheads are directed _outwards_, in order to ward off evil, the principle\ninvolved is evidently akin to that of the pagan spite-stake, of which\nmention has been made.\n\nProfessor Christian Petersen, of Hamburg, who investigated this subject\nsome years ago, expressed the belief that among the pagans every dwelling\nwas protected by three talismanic emblems, namely: (1) on the gable a\n_horse\u2019s head_, or the representation of some other animal or bird; (2)\nby the side of the entrance door a _broom_, as a preservative against\nlightning; and (3) on the threshold a _horse-shoe_.\n\nThe German botanist, Karl Friedrich von Ledebour, who visited the Altai\nMountains early in the present century, wrote that among the Kalmuks,\na nomadic people inhabiting that region, he observed numerous horses\u2019\nheads and hides, relics of sacrifices, placed upon scaffolds; and the\ndirection of the horses\u2019 heads, pointing east or west, indicated whether\nthe sacrificial offering was made to a good or evil deity.[165]\n\nFormerly in some parts of Germany, especially in the north, it was\ncustomary to place a horse\u2019s head above the stable door; sometimes also\nhorses were killed and their bodies buried beneath the corner-stone of a\nbuilding, in order to bring good luck. In the same region the association\nof horses and horse-shoes with lucky influences is everywhere apparent:\na horse-shoe when found is either carried about as an amulet, or placed\non the chamber wall or threshold; and a young girl who finds a certain\nnumber of horse-shoes in a year, or who sees a hundred white horses\nwithin the same period, will be married before the year is out.[166]\n\nIn Moldavia the head of a horse or of an ass is much esteemed on account\nof its reputed magical properties, and is believed to be a powerful\nagent not only for the production of witchcraft, but conversely as a\npowerful antagonist of evil.[167] Inclosures where animals are kept are\nvery commonly protected by one of these talismans placed upon a forked\nstake; and the same device is popular as a safeguard against wolves\nand robbers.[168] In Roumania the skull of a horse is placed over a\ncourt-yard gate as a preservative against ghosts, and in Tuscany it is\nalso used as a charm.[169]\n\nThe Christmas festivities at Ramsgate, in Kent, formerly included a\npeculiar feature called \u201cgoing a-hodening.\u201d A horse\u2019s head fixed on a\npole was carried through the town by a party of young people, grotesquely\nattired and ringing hand-bells. By pulling a string attached to the lower\njaw, the horse\u2019s mouth was made to open and shut with a snapping sound.\nIn this case the horse\u2019s head was typical of the good Demon, threatening\nand overcoming the powers of darkness.[170]\n\nIt appears that a modern counterpart of the ancient heathen practice\nof hanging equine heads upon trees, as tributes to Wodan, still exists\nin Sussex, where the bodies of horses are suspended by the legs from\nhorizontal tree-branches, as a means of bringing luck to the cattle.\nAnd the evident analogy between the two customs of widely separated\nepochs, the sacrificial offering of horses upon trees in order to avert\nevil or to invoke protection, has not escaped the attention of modern\nwriters.[171]\n\nThe Ostiaks of southern Siberia were wont to suspend horses\u2019 heads from\nthe branches of trees, and to protect bees from witchcraft they also\nplaced them near the hives.[172]\n\nIn Bulgaria and among the Osseten, an Asiatic tribe, the same talismans\nare affixed to the palings inclosing farmyards. The ancient Teuton\nplaced a horse\u2019s head on the weather-vane of his barn, while he hung up\na horse-shoe in some consecrated place, as a deprecatory offering to the\ngod of thunder and storms;[173] and the Tartars of the Chinese province\nof Koukou-Nor seek to protect their bees from the \u201cevil eye\u201d by hanging\nup near the hives either a skull, a foot, or in fact any bone of a horse.\n\nIn Mecklenburg one remedy for the delirium of fever consists in placing a\nhorse\u2019s skull under the bed; and in some parts of Prussia certain spinal\naffections of children are treated by bathing the patient in rain-water\nin which a horse\u2019s head has been dipped thrice daily for three successive\nThursdays.[174] In a curious old work by M. Fugger (1854), the writer\nsays that a mare\u2019s skull, fixed on a pole and placed in a garden, has a\nwonderful effect in promoting the growth of plants and vegetables, and,\nmoreover, insures freedom from rats and caterpillars.[175]\n\nThe Magyar shepherds place horses\u2019 and asses\u2019 skulls as talismans about\ntheir sheepfolds to keep wolves away from their flocks, and also to\nprevent herbaceous animals other than their sheep from eating the grass\nof their pasture lands. Also when, as occasionally happens, some hill\nor upland region gains an unsavory reputation among the peasants as an\nalleged meeting-place of witches, horses\u2019 skulls are placed there in\norder to prevent such unseemly orgies, for, according to the popular\nreport, where witches meet grass will not grow. Whoever has the courage\nto visit such a place on the midnight of Good Friday with a so-called\n_Luciastuhl_, a peculiar chair or stool made during Christmas week, may\nsee the witches at their revels, and may easily disperse them by throwing\na horse\u2019s skull into their midst.[176]\n\nThe gypsies inhabiting lands bordering on the eastern Danube are wont\nto fasten the skulls of horses and cattle upon the fence-palings which\nsurround their farmyards, to prevent witches and evil spirits from\nentering the inclosures. So, too, the Transylvanian gypsies bury horses\u2019\nskulls beneath the floor of the earth caverns which they occupy in\nwinter; and the tribes of southern Hungary place similar talismans upon\nthe graves of their kindred, that no witch may tread upon the sanctified\nground.[177]\n\nThe wizards and conjurers of the Shamans pretend to be experts in\nsorcery, and to possess a secret knowledge which enables them to control\nthe actions of evil spirits. They wear a long elk-skin robe adorned with\nmany fetich objects, such as bells and pieces of iron; and to assist them\nin their magic rites they carry staves, whose tops are carved into the\nshape of horses\u2019 heads, and by means of these staves they are enabled to\nleap high into the air.[178]\n\n\nXIII. THE HORSE-SHOE AS A FAVORITE ANTI-WITCH CHARM\n\nThe _universality_ of the use of the horse-shoe as a safeguard against\nevil spirits is indeed noteworthy.\n\nIt is the anti-witch charm _par excellence_, as well as the approved\nsymbol of good luck, and, used for these purposes, it is to be seen\nthroughout a large portion of the world. The horse-shoe is most commonly\nplaced over the entrance-doors of dwellings; but stables likewise are\nthought to be effectually protected by it, for \u201cwitches were dreadful\nharriers of horse-flesh.\u201d In William Henderson\u2019s \u201cFolk-Lore of the\nNorthern Countries of England\u201d we read of a Durham farmer who was\nconvinced that one of his horses had been ridden by hags, as he had found\nit bathed in sweat of a morning. But after he took the precaution to nail\na horse-shoe over the stable-door, and also to hang some broom above the\nmanger, the witches had not been able to indulge in clandestine rides on\nhis horses. While many an honest fellow in England and elsewhere is a\nfirm believer in witches and magical horse-shoes, very few of them can\ngive plausible reasons therefor.\n\nThe Lancashire farmer thinks that mischievous fairies not only ride\nhorses by night, but drive cows out of the barn, steal the butter, and\neat up the children\u2019s porridge; so he, too, affixes horse-shoes to his\nbuildings.\n\nAny one visiting the hamlets of Oxfordshire can hardly fail to notice the\nnumerous horse-shoes affixed to the picturesque thatched-roofed cottages;\nand the countryfolk in this neighborhood are not always content with\n_one_ of these popular safeguards, for two or three of them are often to\nbe seen on the walls of a dwelling, invariably placed with the prongs\ndownward.\n\nIn Brand\u2019s \u201cPopular Antiquities\u201d (vol. iii. p. 19, 1888) may be found\na clipping from the Cambridge (Eng.) \u201cAdvertiser,\u201d which relates that\none Bartingale, a carpenter and resident of Ely, suspected a woman\nnamed Gotobed of having bewitched him, and of being the cause of an\nillness which he had recently had. Thereupon, at a consultation of\nmatrons of the neighborhood held in his chamber, it was decided that the\nmost efficient means of protecting him from the evil influence of the\nsuspected sorceress was to have three horse-shoes fastened to the door. A\nblacksmith was accordingly summoned, and\n\n    an operation to this effect was performed, much to the anger\n    of the supposed witch, who at first complained to the Dean,\n    but was laughed at by his reverence. She then rushed in wrath\n    to the sick man\u2019s room, and, miraculous to tell, passed the\n    Rubicon in spite of the horse-shoes. But this wonder ceased\n    when it was discovered that Vulcan had substituted donkeys\u2019\n    shoes.\n\nMiss Georgiana F. Jackson says, in \u201cShropshire Folk-Lore,\u201d that, in the\nhome of her childhood at Edgmond, the stable-door was decorated with\nthree rows of horse-shoes arranged in the form of a triangle; and the\ngrooms used to say that they were placed there to exclude witches.\n\nIn this region, too, an old horse-shoe placed above the door of a bedroom\nis a preventive of the nightmare.\n\nIn Shrewsbury, the ancient county town of Shropshire, horse-shoe\ntalismans are to be seen not only above the house-doors, but also on the\nbarges which navigate the river Severn.\n\nIn quite recent times a case has been reported of a poor girl of\nWhatfield, in Suffolk, who had experienced a long illness, during which\nshe was visited daily by an old woman who appeared to be very solicitous\nas to her welfare. At length the girl\u2019s family began to suspect that\nthis old woman was none other than a witch; they therefore caused a\nhorse-shoe to be fastened to the sill of the outer door. The precaution\nwas successful, so runs the tale, for the reputed witch could never\nthereafter cross the threshold, and the girl speedily recovered her\nhealth.[179]\n\nAubrey, in his \u201cRemains of Gentilisme,\u201d describes the horse-shoe as a\npreservative against the mischief or power of witches, attributing its\nmagical properties to the astrological principle that Mars, the God\nof War and the War Horse, was an enemy of Saturn, who according to a\nmedi\u00e6val idea was the liege lord of witches.[180]\n\nDuring the witchcraft excitement in Scotland, one Elizabeth Bathcat was\nindicted for having a horse-shoe attached to the door of her house \u201cas a\ndevilish means of instruction from the Devil to make her goods and all\nher other affairs to prosper and succeed well.\u201d[181]\n\nAccording to an old legend St. Dunstan, the versatile English\necclesiastic of the tenth century, who was a skilled farrier and the\nowner of a forge, was requested by the Devil to shoe his \u201csingle hoof.\u201d\nDunstan, who recognized his customer, acceded, but during the operation\nhe caused the Devil so much pain that the latter begged him to desist.\nThe request was heeded on condition that the Devil should never enter a\nplace where a horse-shoe was displayed.[182] The popular belief is that\nhis Satanic Majesty has always faithfully kept the contract, and quite\nnaturally all lesser evil spirits have followed his example.\n\nIn Scotland, even as late as the beginning of the nineteenth century,\nthe peasantry believed that witches were able to draw milk from all the\ncattle in their neighborhood, by tugging at a hair-rope in imitation\nof the act of milking. Such a rope was made of hairs from the tails of\nseveral cows, whose exact number was indicated by knots in the rope.\nWhile tugging at the rope the witches repeated either the following or a\nsimilar charm:\u2014\n\n    Cow\u2019s milk and mare\u2019s milk,\n    And every beast that bears milk,\n    Between St. Johnstone\u2019s and Dundee,\n    Come a\u2019 to me, come a\u2019 to me.\n\nThe only adequate protection from such mischievous pranks as these was\nafforded by nailing a horse-shoe to the byre-door and tying sprigs of\nrowan with a red thread to the cow\u2019s tail. If, however, these precautions\nwere neglected, the guilty witch might yet be discovered by placing the\n\u201cgudeman\u2019s breeks\u201d upon the cow\u2019s horns, a leg upon either horn; and\nthereupon the animal, being let loose, was sure to run directly to the\nwitch\u2019s house.[183]\n\nIn many places, certain houses continue even at the present time to have\nan evil reputation as harborers of witches and goblins. In these cases it\nseems probable that the owners or occupants of such dwellings neglected\nto avail themselves of the immunity afforded by horse-shoes and other\nsafeguards. For no one, we believe, has ever seriously maintained that\nevil spirits, who are once firmly domiciled, can be easily expelled.\nFamiliarity with their surroundings may breed a contempt for amulets.\nCertain it is, however, that an ounce or two of iron by way of prevention\nis worth a pound or more of cure. When a dwelling is demoniacally\npossessed, the devils must be driven out somehow, and for this purpose\nrecourse is had to exorcisms, and to religious or magical ceremonies. In\nthe words of the poet Dryden (\u201cWife of Bath\u2019s Tale,\u201d i. 28):\u2014\n\n    And friars that through the wealthy regions run\n    Resort to farmers rich, and bless their halls,\n    And exorcise the beds and cross the walls.\n\nIn \u201cAntiquitates Vulgares,\u201d by Henry Browne (1725), the writer gives\nelaborate directions as to the proper mode of exorcising a haunted\ndwelling, and says that the house which is reported to be vexed with\nspirits shall be visited by a priest daily for a week, appropriate\nprayers and scriptural selections being read. Sometimes magical\nprocedures supplanted religious exercises, and experts in sorcery were\nemployed to rid a mansion of its undesirable tenants. The following\nadvertisement from a London newspaper of 1777 may be appropriately given\nhere:\u2014\n\n    HAUNTED HOUSES.\u2014Whereas there are mansions and castles in\n    England and Wales which for many years have been uninhabited,\n    and are now falling into decay, by their being visited and\n    haunted by evil spirits or the spirits of those who for\n    unknown reasons are rendered miserable, even in the grave, a\n    gentleman who has made the tour of Europe, of a particular\n    turn of mind, and deeply skilled in the abstruse and sacred\n    science of exorcism, hereby offers his assistance to any owner\n    or proprietor of such premises, and undertakes to render\n    the same free from the visitation of such spirits, be their\n    cause what it may, and render them tenantable and useful for\n    the proprietors. Letters addressed to Rev. John Jones, No.\n    30 St. Martin\u2019s Lane, duly answered, and interview given if\n    required.[184]\n\n\nXIV. THE POSITION OF THE HORSE-SHOE AS A PROTECTOR OF BUILDINGS\n\nIt has been supposed that the horse-shoe is placed at the _outer_\nentrance to a building because of an ancient Saxon superstition that\nwitches were unable successfully to practice their wiles upon persons in\nthe open air.[185] The horse-shoe effectively bars the ingress of witches\nand evil spirits, but an entrance once obtained by these creatures, it is\npowerless to expel them. Therefore the horse-shoe within doors loses much\nof its efficacy, but is still an emblem of good luck.\n\nPlaced on the outside of the door, or above the entrance of a dwelling,\nor upon the threshold, the horse-shoe is easily first among the\ninveterate foes of witches and devils generally.\n\n    Laugh if you will, who imps nor devils fear,\n    Whom death appals not, phantoms come not near;\n    Along whose nerves no quick vibrations dart,\n    As teeming twilight\u2019s shadowy offspring start;\n    Not yours to feel the joy with which I flew\n    To snatch the rusty, worn, but lucky shoe.\n    Oft have I heard them chattering at my door,\n    The hags whose dances beat the shrinking moor;\n    Oft have I sprung from nightmare-haunted rest,\n    And gasped an _oro_ from my panting breast,\n    As forms that vanished ere the half-shut eye\n    With fright could open, from their revels fly.\n    Henceforth, good horse-shoe, vain shall be their ride:\n    Their spells are baffled and their rage defied.[186]\n\nEdward Moor, in his \u201cOriental Fragments\u201d (p. 455, London, 1834), relates\nhaving once, in company with a gang of urchins, nailed a donkey-shoe\nunder the threshold of a poor woman in Suffolk who was suspected of\nsorcery. He and his youthful companions endeavored thus to keep her all\nnight within doors, as witches cannot cross iron.\n\nAn English writer[187] tells of having heard an animated discussion in\nthe parlor of a London beer-shop as to whether it were preferable to\nnail a horse-shoe _behind the door_ or upon _the first doorstep_; and\ninstances of extraordinary good luck were mentioned as the direct result\nof the potency of the amulet in each position.\n\nBut there are weighty reasons for the selection of the front door, or the\nparts immediately connected with it, as the proper place for the display\nof horse-shoes as household guardians.\n\nIn the earliest historic times, and in primitive communities, the\nentrance of a dwelling was considered a sacred place; and in the opinion\nof eminent scholars who have made a study of the subject, the threshold\nwas the first family altar. A peculiar reverence for the doorway and\nthreshold prevails to-day in many parts of the world, as is evident from\nthe numerous ceremonial rites in vogue among widely separated savage\ntribes and uncivilized peoples.[188] Indeed, the custom of placing\namulets and charms in and about the entrance-doors of houses, stables,\nand other buildings is almost universal. In Russia a cross is marked on\nthe threshold to keep witches away. In Lithuania, when a house is being\nbuilt, a wooden cross, or some article which has been handed down from\npast generations, is placed under the threshold. There, also, when a\nnewly baptized child is being brought back from church, it is customary\nfor its father to hold it for a while over the threshold, \u201cso as to\nplace the new member of the family under the protection of the domestic\ndivinities.\u201d Sick children who are supposed to have been afflicted by\nan evil eye are washed on the threshold of their cottage, in order that\nwith the help of the Penates who reside there, the malady may be driven\nout of doors.[189]\n\nUnder the threshold of the Assyrian palaces at Nineveh were found certain\nimages of grotesque monsters, as, for example, a human form with the head\nof a lynx, and a lion\u2019s body with a man\u2019s head, which were intended as\ntutelary deities.[190]\n\nJohn Netten Radcliffe, in his \u201cFiends, Ghosts, and Sprites\u201d (p. 43,\nLondon, 1854), says that the horse-shoe superstition is a remnant or\nrelic of the worship of household guardians or divinities,\u2014a practice\nstill in vogue among the natives of Ashantee, and also among the Bhutas\nof Hindostan. In some English counties, naturally perforated stones are\nhung behind the door; and in Glamorganshire the walls of the houses\nare whitewashed in order to terrify wandering spirits of evil. Whether\nsuccessful or not for this purpose, the custom is certainly effective as\na destroyer of the demoniac germs of certain diseases.\n\nThe French Canadians are not the least superstitious of mankind, neither\ndo they wholly neglect to take due precautions against the admittance to\ntheir homes of evil spirits.\n\nThey do not answer \u201cEntrez!\u201d when a knock is heard at the door, but\ncall out \u201cOuvrez!\u201d This custom is said to have originated from a\ncurrent tradition regarding a young woman who once answered \u201cEntrez!\u201d in\nresponse to a knock, whereupon the Devil promptly came in and carried\nher away.[191] Where such legends find open-mouthed credence, it does\nnot appear strange that horse-shoes and other talismans should be at a\npremium.\n\nIn Tuscany magical medicines are taken upon the threshold, which also\nplays an important part in sorcery. One reason assigned for this fact\nis that the threshold forms the line separating the outer world, where\ndemons are rampant, from the domestic precincts, where human beings dwell.\n\nOne writer affirms it to be a fixed law in demonology that spirits cannot\ncross the threshold and enter a house unless previously invited to do so,\nbut adds that there are many exceptions to this rule.[192] The weight of\nevidence does not support this view, for mischievous fairies and witches\nare known to rudely disregard the laws of etiquette, and do not wait for\nan invitation to enter dwellings. This fact is, indeed, a chief _raison\nd\u2019\u00eatre_ for the use of talismans at the entrance of habitations.\n\nThe residents of the beautiful Thuringian Forest region, in whose\nneighborhood these lines chanced to be penned, are wont to affix\nhorse-shoes to the thresholds of their chamber-doors, lest some rude\ngoblin enter and disturb their slumbers. But the fastidiousness of these\nsylvan folk is not content with an ordinary shoe, even though found on\nthe road and venerable with rust; in order to serve its purpose as a\ntalisman, a Thuringian horse-shoe must have been forged by a bachelor of\nwholesome life and good character, on Saint John\u2019s Eve.[193]\n\nIn German households, the horse-shoe over the door is believed to afford\nprotection against divers apparitions, as well as against the Devil,\nwitchcraft, lightning, sickness, and evils of every sort.\n\nThe cross, symbol of the Christian faith, is the most potent of all\ntalismans, but is seldom seen at the entrance of dwellings. In some Roman\nCatholic countries the crucifix is, indeed, everywhere conspicuous, not\nonly in churches and shrines, but by the roadside, in fields, and on the\nouter walls of houses, but it is rarely placed at the front door. In\nHungary, however, the Magyars mark with black chalk the figure of a cross\nupon their stable-doors, and also brand anew thereon the sacred emblem\neach year at Christmas time.\n\nThe respect paid by the inhabitants of Tibet to their household\ndivinities somewhat resembles the worship of their _Lares_ by the Romans\nof old, and finds a parallel in the honor accorded to the favorite amulet\nof Western civilization, the horse-shoe.\n\nThe Tibetans set up above the entrances of their houses complex\ntalismans, composed of various mystical objects, such as a ram\u2019s skull\nwith horns attached, having displayed along the base of the skull pieces\nof carved wood representing a man and woman, a house, and other symbols;\nthe idea being to deceive the demons, and to make them believe that these\nobjects are the real dwelling and its inmates. The Tibetans believe that\nthe demons are thus tricked, and that the wooden images are the victims\nof their mischievous designs.[194]\n\nFar away among the nomadic tribes of Turkestan, horse-shoes are\noccasionally seen nailed to the thresholds of dwellings in the vicinity\nof the ancient city of Merv; and within doors, near the entrances of\nthese peculiar habitations, which resemble mammoth parrot cages, pieces\nof linen or calico, four or five inches square, are seen upon the felt\nwall-lining, to serve as receptacles for the free-will offerings of such\nwandering spirits as may pass the magic barriers of the horse-shoes.[195]\n\nIn some regions there still prevails a time-honored custom of placing\nover the chief entrances of dwellings inscriptions, embodying usually\na religious thought or exhortation. Sometimes, however, the sentence\ncommends the house and its occupants to the care of the goddess Fortune,\nthus having a significance akin to that of the horse-shoe symbol. In\nthe year 1892 the writer copied many inscriptions found above the doors\nof houses in northern Italy and Switzerland, some of them being written\nin Latin, others in German, French, Italian, and the Romansch dialect,\ncurrent in the Engadine. Here, for example, is one from a house in the\nSwiss village of Bergun, the original being in German: \u201cThis house is in\nGod\u2019s hand; May Good Luck come in, and Bad Luck stay out! 1673.\u201d\n\nMany of these inscriptions are Biblical verses, which are here used as\ntalismans, just as the pious Moslem employs sentences from the Koran.\n\nHere, again, is the translation of a German sentence over the door of a\ndwelling in the village of Ober-Sch\u00f6nberg, near Innsbruck, Tyrol, copied\nin 1897:\u2014\n\n    All persons entering this house are recommended to Divine\n    protection. God and the Virgin Mary guard all such, even though\n    powerful enemies threaten, and lightnings and thunder rage\n    without!\n\nAbove the door of a house in the village of Welschnofen, near Botzen, the\nwayfarer may read the following sentence: \u201cPray for us, holy Florian,\nthat fire may not harm our dwelling.\u201d Above the inscription an eye\nis painted, while below is a realistic picture of Saint Florian, the\nprotector of buildings against fire, engaged in pouring water on a\nburning roof.\n\nThe Bassamese, inhabitants of the Gold Coast of Africa, west of Ashantee,\nuse certain fetich objects for the protection of their dwellings. These\namulets, which are often merely pieces of wood painted red, or fragments\nof pottery, are placed upon the doors of their huts, and are believed to\nafford ample protection against thieves.[196] Such a fetich is probably\nintended to exclude evil spirits as well, and is, therefore, a substitute\nfor both the horse-shoe and the watch-dog, those guardians of the\nhousehold so popular in civilized communities.\n\nWhen a modern Egyptian returns from a pilgrimage to Mecca, he fastens\nabove the entrance of his house a branch of the aloe, which is not only a\nproof of his religious zeal in having accomplished the holy journey, but\nis also reckoned a protection against objectionable spiritual intruders,\nand is, therefore, seen in Cairo over the doors of the houses both of\nChristians and Jews.\n\nIn northern Scotland, formerly, a branch of the rowan-tree was placed\nover a farmhouse door, after having been waved while the words \u201cAvaunt,\nSatan!\u201d were solemnly pronounced.[197]\n\nAbout the year 1850 the Rev. Andrew A. Bonar, who was then assistant\nminister in Collace Parish, Perthshire, Scotland, found the custom of\ndisplaying horse-shoes on the doors of farm buildings so prevalent\nthat he thought it his duty to remonstrate against a practice savoring\nof paganism. But his efforts in this direction, though hardly crowned\nwith success, were yet not wholly without avail, for his superstitious\nparishioners removed the guardian horse-shoes from the outsides of the\ndoors, and nailed them up on the insides.[198]\n\nThe _raison d\u2019\u00eatre_ of the horse-shoe at the entrance of shops and other\nfrequented buildings has been attributed to a belief that, among the\nmany people continually passing through the doorway, some one might,\nunobserved, bring in ill-luck or work mischief. But these safeguards not\nonly form a sufficient barrier against obnoxious hags and sorcerers, but\nare potent against ghosts and all manner of evil creatures. When the\nOxford undergraduate \u201csports his oak\u201d to prevent the untimely entrance\nof dunning tradespeople, he shuts out friendly visitors as well; but\nthe faithful horse-shoe, by a process of natural selection, debars only\nobjectionable spirits, and is a formidable obstacle to the demon of\nill-luck.\n\n\nXV. THE LUCKY HORSE-SHOE IN GENERAL\n\n    He laughs like a boor who has found a horse-shoe.\u2014_Dutch\n    proverb._\n\nThroughout Germany the belief obtains that a horse-shoe found on the\nroad, and nailed on the threshold of a house with the points directed\noutward, is a mighty protection not only against hags and fiends, but\nalso against fire and lightning; but, _reversed_, it brings misfortune.\nIn eastern Pennsylvania, however, even in recent times, the horse-shoe\nis often placed with the prongs pointing inward, so that the luck may be\nspilled into the house. The horse-shoe retains its potency as a charm\non the sea as well as on land, and it has long been a practice among\nsailors to nail this favorite amulet against the mast of a vessel,\nwhether fishing-boat or large sea-going craft, as a protection against\nthe Evil One. The shoe of a \u201cwraith-horse,\u201d the mythical offspring of\na water-stallion, is especially esteemed by Scotch mariners for this\npurpose.[199]\n\nIn Bohemia only exists the superstition exactly opposite to that\nelsewhere prevalent, namely, that whoever picks up a horse-shoe\nthereby _ipso facto_ picks up ill-luck for himself,\u2014a notable example\nin folk-lore of the exception which proves the rule. The Bohemians,\nhowever, believe a nailed-up horse-shoe to be a cure for lunacy.[200]\n\nAs a general rule, the degree of luck pertaining to a horse-shoe found by\nchance has been thought to depend on the number of nails remaining in it:\nthe more nails the more luck.[201]\n\nIn Northumberland the holes free of nails are carefully counted, as these\nindicate, presumably in years, how soon the finder of the shoe may expect\nto be married.[202] The peasants of northern Portugal prefer mule-shoes\nhaving an uneven number of nail-holes, as counteractives of the evil\ninfluences of the dreaded, omnipresent witches known as the _Bruxas_.[203]\n\nIn Derbyshire it is customary to drive a horse-shoe, prongs upward,\nbetween two flagstones near the door of a dwelling.[204] This position is\nsometimes explained by saying that, so placed, the luck cannot spill out.\n\nIn a short poem called \u201cThe Lucky Horse-Shoe,\u201d by James T. Fields, an\namusing account is given of a farmer who picked up an old horse-shoe\nfrom the road, and nailed it upon the door of his barn with the prongs\ndownward. But, far from bringing him luck, Fortune thereafter frowned\nupon him; his hay crop failed, a drought blighted his vegetables, and his\nhens refused to lay.\n\nThe good farmer, discouraged and perplexed, confided his woes to the\nsympathetic ear of an aged wayfarer who chanced to pass by, relating how\nmisfortunes had pursued him since he had fastened up the old horse-shoe.\n\n    The stranger asked to see the shoe;\n    The farmer brought it into view;\n    But when the old man raised his head,\n    He laughed outright and quickly said:\n    \u201cNo wonder skies upon you frown,\n    You\u2019ve nailed the horse-shoe upside down;\n    Just turn it round, and soon you\u2019ll see\n    How you and Fortune will agree.\u201d\n\nThe farmer profited by the friendly suggestion and reversed his\nluck-token, whereupon the capricious goddess fairly beamed upon him.\nHis barn was soon filled with hay, his storehouses were packed with the\nkindly fruits of the earth, while his wife presented him with twins.\n\nFarmers may well take heed _how_ they nail up horse-shoes over the doors\nof their barns. To obtain the best results, it would seem advisable to\nplace a pair of these useful articles on each farm building, one with the\npoints upward, the other reversed; for in this way they may not only hope\nto win Fortune\u2019s smiles, but also to keep all witches and unfriendly\nspirits at a respectful distance.\n\nIn an interesting story for children in \u201cSt. Nicholas,\u201d April, 1897,\nby Rudolph F. Bunner, entitled \u201cThe Horse-Shoe of Luck,\u201d the writer\nintroduces Luck in the character and garb of a wandering clown or\njester, mounted upon a white horse. This jovial traveler seeks a night\u2019s\nlodging at a wayside farmhouse, and when he has almost reached its\nhospitable door, his steed casts a shoe, which the farmer hastens to\npick up and carefully hangs on a hook above the door. Luck proved to be\na most amusing fellow, and after supper he entertained the children of\nthe household in a royal manner, showing them, among other things, how\nto drop china and glass without breaking them, and how to tumble down\nstairs without getting hurt. So the evening passed merrily enough, and\nall retired for the night in a happy frame of mind. Early in the morning\nthe farmer was awakened by the splash of raindrops upon his face, and,\nhastily arising, he discovered that the roof had sprung a leak, and\nthat his guest had unceremoniously departed. Nettled by such conduct,\nthe farmer and his family hastened in pursuit of the fleeing stranger,\nguided by the hoof-prints of his white horse; and when they had overtaken\nhim, the farmer reproached his late guest for having left his house so\nabruptly. Whereupon Luck replied: \u201cI left you, not because you could not\neven nail my horse-shoe over your door, but hung it upside down, so the\nluck ran out at the ends, but because of your own mistake. You trusted to\nme; you trusted to Luck. Ah ha!\u201d\n\nIn the northernmost districts of Scotland exists a belief that if the\nfirst shoe put on the foot of a stallion be hung on the byre door, no\nharm will come near the cows; and in the same region, if a horse-shoe be\nplaced between the houses of quarrelsome neighbors, neither incurs any\nrisk of evil as a result of the other\u2019s ill-wishes.[205]\n\nAs a means of warding off impending sickness from cattle, and in order\nthat they may thrive during the summer, the Transylvanian peasants place\nbroken horse-shoes in the animals\u2019 drinking-troughs on St. John\u2019s Day,\nJune 24.\n\nIn Lincolnshire, not many years ago, there prevailed a custom of\n\u201ccharming\u201d ash-trees by burying horse-shoes under them. Twigs from a tree\nthus magically endowed were believed to be efficacious in curing cattle\nover which a shrewmouse had run, or which had been exposed to the glance\nof an evil eye. To effect a cure in such cases, it was only necessary to\ngently stroke the affected animal with one of these twigs.[206]\n\nSome years ago, a Golspie fisherman who owned a small boat was favored\nwith an extraordinary run of luck in his fishing, and as a result of his\ngood fortune was enabled to buy a larger vessel, selling the old one\nto a neighbor. From that time, however, his lucky star seemed to wane,\nand good \u201ccatches\u201d were infrequent. Casting about in his mind for the\nreason of this, he bethought him of a stallion\u2019s shoe which was fastened\ninside his former boat, and which had been given him by a \u201cwise person.\u201d\nBut both boat and horse-shoe were now in the hands of his neighbor, who\nmaintained with reason that the lucky token was now _his_ property,\nas he had purchased \u201cthe boat and its gear.\u201d And ever thereafter the\ndisconsolate fisherman attributed his lack of success in that season to\nhis own folly in having parted with the stallion\u2019s shoe.[207]\n\nThe horse-shoe figures often in traditions of the sea as a protection\nto sailors. When the ghostly ship of the Flying Dutchman meets another\nvessel, some of its uncanny crew approach the latter in a boat and beg\nthem to take charge of a packet of letters.\n\nThese letters must be nailed to the mast, else some misfortune will\novertake the ship; especially if there be no Bible on board, nor any\nhorse-shoe fastened to the foremast.\n\nIn the month of September, 1825, lightning struck a brigantine which lay\nat anchor in the Bay of Armiso, in the Adriatic. A sailor was killed\nby the bolt, and tradition says that on one of his hips was seen the\nperfect representation of a horse-shoe, a counterpart of one nailed to\nthe vessel\u2019s foremast in accordance with the custom in vogue on the\nMediterranean.[208]\n\nThe same custom is common in German inland waters, as, for example, on\nthe river craft which ply on the Elbe below Hamburg, and on those which\nnavigate the Trave, at Lubec. On the latter vessels horse-shoes are\nusually fastened to the stern-post, instead of to the mast.\n\nIn a German work, entitled \u201cSeespuk,\u201d by P. G. Heims, page 138, the\nwriter remarks that, among seafaring people, the old pagan emblem,\nthe horse-shoe, whose talismanic origin is so closely associated with\nhorse-sacrifice and the use of horse-flesh as food among the heathen\nnations of the North, is even now the most powerful safeguard aboard ship\nagainst lightning and the powers of evil.\n\nThere are comparatively few small vessels laden with wood, fruit,\nvegetables, or other merchandise, sailing between Baltic Sea ports, upon\nwhose foremast, or elsewhere upon deck, horse-shoes are not nailed.\n\nIndeed, continues the same writer, this symbol has a notable significance\nin German art as well, a fact attributable less to its graceful curving\nshape than to the deeply rooted superstitions, relics of barbaric times,\nwhich yet cling to it.\n\nWhether we regard the horse-shoe as a symbol of Wodan, the chief deity of\nthe northern nations, as deriving magical power from its half-moon shape,\nas a product of supernatural skill in dealing with iron and fire, or as\nappertaining to the favorite sacrificial animal of antiquity, the pagan\nsource of its superstitious use is equally evident.\n\nThe horse-shoe, whether as an amulet or as a sign of good luck, has\nnothing to do with the Christian religion. In either case it is a\nwholly superstitious symbol, and savors of paganism; it is in fact an\ninheritance from our heathen ancestors, a barbaric token, unworthy even\nto be named in connection with the sacred cross. Yet throughout many\ncenturies it has captivated the popular fancy, and its emblematic use\nappears to be as firmly established to-day as ever in many parts of the\nworld.\n\nIt is popularly believed that the chance finding of a horse-shoe greatly\nenhances its magical power; and it is claimed, moreover, by some writers,\nto be an axiom in folk-lore that talismanic objects thrust upon one\u2019s\nnotice, as it were, are direct gifts from the goddess Fortune, and hence\npossessed of a special value for the finder. Such a notion is as clearly\nof pagan origin as the custom of bowing to the new moon, or of fixing\nrepresentations of horses\u2019 heads upon the gables of houses in order to\nterrify wandering spirits of evil.\n\nIn \u201cCuriosities of Popular Customs,\u201d by William S. Walsh (p. 665, 1898),\nit is stated that the Northern peoples were wont to offer sacrifices to\nWodan after the harvest, and that the little cakes still baked on St.\nMartin\u2019s Day, November 11, throughout Germany, are shaped like a horn or\nhorse-shoe, which was a token of the pagan god. Although not susceptible\nof proof, it seems highly probable that we have here another relic of\nidolatry. It is a point worthy of note, moreover, that Wodan was not only\nan all-powerful deity, corresponding to the Greek Zeus and Roman Jupiter,\nbut that he was also a great magician, and hence quite naturally the\nhorse-shoe, as one of his symbols, inherits magical attributes.\n\nIn Tuscany a horse-shoe when found is placed in a small red bag with some\nhay, which the Tuscans consider also a luck-bringing article, and the\ntwofold charm is kept in its owner\u2019s bed.[209]\n\nDr. Robert James, an English physician of the eighteenth century, and\nthe inventor of a well-known fever-powder, ascribed his success in\nacquiring a fortune to his good luck in having once found a horse-shoe\non Westminster Bridge. The sincerity of his faith was attested by the\nadoption of the horse-shoe as his family crest.\n\nBrand quotes from John Bell\u2019s MS. \u201cDiscourse on Witchcraft\u201d (1705) as\nfollows:\u2014\n\n    Guard against devilish charms for Men or Beasts. There are many\n    sorceries practiced in our day, against which I would on this\n    occasion bear my testimony, and do therefore seriously ask you,\n    what is it you mean by your observation of Times and Seasons as\n    lucky or unlucky? What mean you by your many Spells, Verses,\n    Words, so often repeated, said fasting or going backward? How\n    mean you to have success by carrying about with you certain\n    Herbs, Plants, and branches of Trees? Why is it that, fearing\n    certain events, you do use such superstitious means to prevent\n    them, by laying bits of Timber at Doors, carrying a Bible\n    merely for a Charm, without any farther use of it? What intend\n    ye by opposing Witchcraft to Witchcraft, in such sort that,\n    when ye suppose one to be bewitched, ye endeavour his Relief\n    by Burnings, Bottles, Horse-shoes, and such like magical\n    ceremonies?\n\nIn some Roman Catholic countries the priests are wont to brand cows\nand pigs on the forehead with the mark of a horse-shoe, to insure them\nagainst disease.[210] It was, moreover, an old Scotch superstition, or\n_freet_, to pass a horse-shoe thrice beneath the belly and over the back\nof a cow that was considered elf-shot.[211]\n\nAmong the Wendish inhabitants of the _Spreewald_, in North Germany, the\nlucky finder of a horse-shoe is careful not to tell any neighbor of his\ngood fortune, but proceeds at once to fasten the shoe over the door of\nhis house, or on the threshold, with three nails, and by three blows of a\nhammer, so that evil spirits may not enter.\n\nWe have seen that a horse-shoe picked up on the road is often prized as\nno mean acquisition by the finder thereof. It may not be out of place\nto give here a literal translation of a spell for the protection of a\nhorse\u2019s hoof when a shoe has been lost. The original appeared in Mone\u2019s\n\u201cAnzeiger\u201d in 1834, and is written in the dialect known as \u201cMiddle High\nGerman,\u201d which was in vogue from the twelfth to the sixteenth centuries:\u2014\n\n    When a horse has lost one of its iron shoes, take a bread-knife\n    and incise the hoof at the edge from one heel to the other,\n    and lay the knife crosswise on the sole and say: \u201cI command\n    thee, hoof and horn, that thou breakest as little as God the\n    Lord broke his Word, when he created heaven and earth.\u201d And\n    thou shalt say these words three hours in succession, and five\n    _Paternosters_ and five _Ave Marias_ to the praise of the\n    Virgin. Then the horse will not walk lame until thou happenest\n    to reach a smithy.\n\nThe Germans have a saying in regard to a young girl who has been led\nastray,\u2014\u201cShe has lost a horse-shoe.\u201d This saying has been associated with\nthe shoe as a symbol of marriage, an idea found both in the northern and\nIndian mythologies. But the phrase has been also thought to refer to\nthe horse-shoe shaped _gloria_ which crowns the head of the Virgin, the\nhorse-shoe thus becoming the symbol of maidenly chastity.[212] Again, it\nhas been suggested, in reference to the same phrase, that the horse-shoe\nis a symbol of the V (or first letter of the word _Virgo_), which is used\nin church records to designate the unmarried state, just as the word\n\u201cspinster\u201d is used in legal documents.\n\nThe ancient Irish were wont to hang up in their houses the feet and legs\nof their deceased steeds, setting an especial value upon the hoofs;[213]\nand with the Chinese of to-day a horse\u2019s hoof hung up indoors is\nsupposed to have the same protective influence over a dwelling that a\nhorse-shoe has elsewhere. In southwestern Germany it is still a common\npractice to nail a hoof over the stable-door; and in the Netherlands a\nhorse\u2019s foot placed in a stable is thought to keep the horses from being\nbewitched.[214]\n\nBurton, in his \u201cAnatomy of Melancholy,\u201d admits a belief in the virtues of\na ring made from the hoof of the right foot of an ass, when carried about\nas an amulet.\n\nOccasionally, though rarely, the horse-shoe is thought to have been\nemployed by the witches themselves in furtherance of their mischievous\ndesigns.\n\nIn the \u201cRevue des traditions populaires,\u201d vol. ii. 1887, an anecdote is\nrelated of a veteran Polish cavalryman who had served under Napoleon I.\nWhile bivouacking with a detachment of lancers in a village of eastern\nPrussia, he and several others lodged in the house of an old peasant\nwoman, and their horses were accommodated in her barn. It was shortly\nnoticed that the animals appeared depressed and refused the hay and\ngrain provided for them, whereupon the soldiers concluded that they were\nunder some spell and began a search for the cause. They soon found an\nold horse-shoe with three nails remaining in it, and one of these was\nquickly driven out with a hammer. Instantly the horses began to snort\nand exhibited signs of restlessness. On the removal of the second nail\nthey held up their heads proudly, and when the third nail was hammered\nout they fell upon their provender and devoured it voraciously. The\ncavalrymen were now convinced that their horses had been the victims of\nsome deviltry at the hands of their hostess, whom they believed to be\na sorceress. Before their departure, therefore, they gave her a good\nbeating with their sabre scabbards to teach her not to practice her\nnefarious arts upon the horses of honest people.\n\n\nXVI. THE HORSE-SHOE AS A PHALLIC SYMBOL\n\nIt will suffice merely to allude to the theory of the phallic origin of\nthe superstitious use of the horse-shoe, a branch of our subject capable\nof much elaboration. The horse-shoe is still the conventional figure for\nthe _yoni_ (a phallic emblem) in modern Hindu temples. This theory is\ndiscussed in \u201cAncient Faiths embodied in Ancient Names,\u201d by Thomas Inman,\nM. D., London, 1873; and in \u201cA Discourse on the Worship of Priapus,\u201d by\nRichard Payne Knight, Esq., London, 1865.\n\nPhallic ornaments are of great antiquity, and amulets of this character\nhave been found in the earliest Etruscan tombs. Specimens are also to be\nseen in the various Italian museums.\n\nThe _yoni_ symbol guards the entrances of ancient temples in Mexico and\nPeru, as well as in India.\n\nOrnate Mexican sacred stones of the horse-shoe form, relics of the\nancient Maya tribes, are classed in the National Museum at Washington,\nD. C., as representative of fecundity and nature-worship; and horse-shoe\nsymbols are found in Aztec manuscripts relating to agriculture as signs\nof abundance.[215]\n\nPhallic charms are seen above the entrances of houses and over tent-doors\nin north Africa to avert the evil eye, and to bring health and good\nfortune. Much information on this subject may be found in a chapter on\nserpent and phallic worship in \u201cRivers of Life,\u201d by Major-General J.\nG. R. Forlong, London, 1883; and in an essay on \u201cPhallism in Ancient\nReligions,\u201d by C. Staniford Wake, 1888.\n\nOn a curious tablet found near a prehistoric mound in the vicinity of the\nvillage of Cahokia, Saint Clair County, Illinois, are portrayed human\nfaces with bird-like profiles, diamond-shaped eyes, and low foreheads\nsurmounted by ornamental crowns or head-dresses. The mouths are wide\nopen, and in front of them are represented symbols having a well-defined\nhorse-shoe form. These symbols, although probably of phallic origin, are\nthought to signify the principle of life residing in the breath, just as\nin India the horse-shoe is an emblem of the soul.[216]\n\n\nXVII. THE HORSE-SHOE AS A SYMBOL ON TAVERN SIGN-BOARDS\n\nThe horse-shoe, associated usually with some other symbol, is not\ninfrequently seen displayed on the signs of British taverns. There is a\nwell-known hostelry bearing this sign and name on Tottenham Court Road in\nLondon. To quote from \u201cThe History of Signboards,\u201d by Jacob Larwood and\nJohn Camden Hotten:\u2014\n\n    _The Three Horse-shoes_ are not uncommon, and the single shoe\n    may be met with in many combinations, arising from the old\n    belief in its lucky influences. Thus the _Horse and Horse-Shoe_\n    was the sign of William Warden at Dover, as appears from his\n    token. The _Sun and Horse-Shoe_ is still a public-house sign\n    in Great Tichfield Street, and the _Magpie and Horse-Shoe_ may\n    be seen carved in Fetter Lane; the magpie is perched within\n    the horse-shoe, a bunch of grapes being suspended from it. The\n    _Horns and Horse-shoe_ is represented on the token of William\n    Grainge, in Gutter Lane, 1666, a horse-shoe within a pair of\n    antlers. The _Hoop and Horse-shoe_ on Tower Hill was formerly\n    called the _Horse-shoe_.\n\nMiller Christy, in his book \u201cThe Trade Signs of Essex,\u201d says that\nhorse-shoe signs probably owe their origin partly to the fact that this\nsymbol appears on the arms of the Farriers\u2019 Company, and partly to the\nold practice of fastening a horse-shoe upon the stable-door or elsewhere\nas a witch-scarer. In the county of Essex the horse-shoe may be seen upon\nthe signs of beer-houses at Great Parndon, Braintree, Waltham Abbey, and\nHigh Ongar.\n\nThere was formerly more than one noted inn in London known as the\nHalf-Moon, and a street of that name, leading from Piccadilly, is well\nknown. The name and symbol of the _full_ moon, however, seldom appear on\nsign-boards. Butler asks in \u201cHudibras:\u201d\u2014\n\n    Tell me, but what\u2019s the nat\u2019ral cause,\n    Why on a sign no painter draws\n    The full moon, but the half?\n\nThe reason is doubtless because of the favorable auspices associated from\ntime immemorial with the crescent moon.\n\nOne need hardly accept as plausible the explanation sometimes offered,\nnamely, that the half-moon tavern symbol is a silent invitation to eat\nand drink to one\u2019s full capacity; a hint, as it were, to follow the\ncrescent moon\u2019s example and \u201cget full.\u201d\n\n\nXVIII. HORSE-SHOES ON CHURCH-DOORS\n\nThe origin of the horse-shoe as a charm has been ascribed to its\nresemblance to the metallic aureole or _meniscus_ formerly placed over\nthe heads of images of patron saints in churches, and which is also\nrepresented in ancient pictures of the Virgin.\n\nThis aureole, or more properly _nimbus_, was probably of pagan origin,\nfor in early times circles of stars frequently ornamented the heads of\nstatues of the gods, as emblematic of divinity. In speaking of certain\nancient relics found in Ireland, Mr. W. G. Wood-Martin (\u201cPagan Ireland,\u201d\np. 492) says:\u2014\n\n    Thin crescentic plates, with the extremities terminating\n    in flat circular disks, are the ornaments most frequently\n    discovered. In form they are identical with the half-moonshaped\n    ornaments in use among the Greeks and Romans, and with the\n    _nimbi_ on carvings of the Byzantine school; and they differ\n    but little from the ring which now is conventionally placed\n    around the head of a saint. Thus this glory can be traced\n    back to pagandom. The crescentic plate appears to have been\n    primarily the badge of some distinguished person, a chief\n    or king; then it became the emblem of one considered to be\n    a very holy person, for in Ireland, in the early days of\n    Christianity, the saints were derived principally from the\n    aristocracy.\n\nIn the collection of the Royal Irish Academy is a golden tiara or diadem,\nsaid to have been found in County Clare. This relic, which measures about\na foot in height and the same in breadth, is thought to have been a\nhead-dress of some pagan or early Christian chieftain.\n\nIn the earlier years of the church these crescent symbols were avoided as\nsavoring of heathenism; but without any thought of its significance, it\nbecame customary in the Middle Ages to place a circular brass plate upon\nthe heads of statues as a protection from snow or rain. Hence arose the\npractice of similarly adorning images and paintings in churches.[217]\n\nIn later times these crescent-shaped pieces of metal were sometimes\nnailed up at the entrance of churches, and so came to be regarded\nas protective emblems.[218] The horse-shoe was an easily available\nsubstitute for the halo or glory, and so was often placed upon the doors\nof churches, especially in the southwest of England, as it was generally\nbelieved in olden times that evil spirits could enter even consecrated\nedifices. Aubrey, in his \u201cMiscellanies,\u201d mentions having seen under the\nporch of Staninfield Church, in Suffolk, an inscription with the device\nof a horse-shoe, intended to exclude witches, and he na\u00efvely remarks that\none would imagine holy water amply sufficient for the purpose.\n\nOn the south door of the parish church of Ashby-Foville, in\nLeicestershire, were formerly two ancient horse-shoes of great size, one\nof them measuring 16 by 11\u00bd inches, or more than twice as large as an\naverage modern shoe.\n\nAs it does not seem likely that such shoes were made to fit horses\u2019\nfeet, in the absence of traditional information regarding them, it\nappears probable that they were intended solely to bar the ingress of\nwitches.[219]\n\nIn St. Martin\u2019s Church, Canterbury, the oldest in England, the sacristan\nshows visitors the site of an early English door on the south side,\nand a Norman doorway in the middle of the northern wall, both long\nsince blocked up. Infants to be baptized were formerly brought into the\nchurch by the south entrance, and after the ceremony the north door was\nthrown open to permit the egress of evil spirits expelled by baptism.\nFor in early times demons were believed to come from the north, where\nthe habitations of the Norse gods were also thought to be. The pagans,\nwhen worshiping their deities, looked towards the north; but Christians\nengaged in prayer turned their faces eastward and lifted up their\nhands; they regarded the north as \u201cthe unblessed heathen quarter.\u201d\nThe unexplored Arctic regions, where night[220] reigned much of the\ntime, were thought to belong especially to the Devil, or spirit of\ndarkness;[221] and the same idea is conveyed in several passages of Holy\nScripture, as, for example, in Jeremiah iv. 6: \u201cI will bring evil from\nthe north, and a great destruction.\u201d\n\nIn the Middle Ages the rose-windows in the north and south transepts of\nLincoln Minster were called the two eyes of the cathedral, the former\nbeing known as the _Dean\u2019s Eye_, ever on the watch against the attacks of\nLucifer, who had his abode \u201cin the sides of the north\u201d (Isaiah xiv. 13);\nwhile the window in the south transept was called the _Bishop\u2019s Eye_,\n\u201ccourting the influence of the Holy Spirit, of which the south wind was\na type.\u201d Apropos of evil spirits entering consecrated places, there is\na quaint legend about a little stone figure yclept the _Lincoln Imp_,\nwhich is to be seen perched upon a corbel of a column on the north side\nof the Angel Choir of the same cathedral. According to one version of\nthe legend, when Bishop Remigius came to Lincoln, in the year after the\nNorman Conquest, the Devil was sorely tried; for until that time he had\nhad undisturbed control of affairs in the town and neighborhood. In vain\nthe Evil One sought to hinder the completion of the church, and finally\nhe waylaid the bishop outside the building and attempted to kill him.\nBut the good bishop at this critical time called upon the Blessed Virgin\nMary for assistance, and she sent a tempest of wind which so buffeted\nand distracted the Devil that he sought refuge inside the church, not\ndaring to venture out because of the fierce wind, which prevails a good\npart of the time even nowadays, and which is still awaiting the Devil\u2019s\nreappearance!\n\n    The Bishop, we know, died long ago;\n    The wind still waits, nor will he go\n    Till he has a chance of beating his foe;\n    But the Devil hopp\u2019d up without a limp,\n    And at once took shape as the Lincoln Imp.\n    And there he sits atop the column,\n    And grins at the people who gaze so solemn.\n    Moreover, he mocks at the wind below,\n    And says, \u201cYou may wait till doomsday, O!\u201d[222]\n\nIn southern Germany, Bavaria, and Tyrol, the horse-shoe symbol is to\nbe seen on church-doors, as an emblem of St. Leonard, the guardian and\nprotector of horses and travelers; and it is usually associated with some\nromantic legend, having oftentimes a historic basis. Traditions relating\nto horse-shoes on church-doors are, indeed, plentiful in the popular\nliterature of Germany, and a few examples are given later. St. Leonard\u2019s\nDay, November 6, had its special observances. The peasants were wont to\nbring their horses to some church dedicated to that worthy, and ride\nthem thrice around the sacred building, a procedure which was believed\nto be highly auspicious.[223] It was, moreover, customary for noblemen,\nbefore starting on an equestrian journey, to fasten a horse-shoe on the\nchurch-door as a votive offering to St. Leonard.[224]\n\nEspecial honor is accorded to this saint on the day of his festival, at\nFischhausen, a seaport village in northeastern Prussia. On that occasion\nthe parish church is surrounded by farm wagons and other vehicles drawn\nby gayly decorated horses, for here the country people have a grand\nrendezvous; young women in holiday attire drive hither the cows, who\nhave been brought from their summer quarters in the upland pastures,\nthat they, too, may participate in the festivities. A religious service,\nlargely attended by the peasants, is first held in the church, and then\nfollow the outdoor exercises, of which a chief feature consists in\ndriving the horses three times around the building at a rapid pace.[225]\n\nDuring the prevalence of a severe epizo\u00f6tic in W\u00fcrtemberg many years\nago, the people removed the shoes from their horses\u2019 feet, and hung them\non the walls of churches as propitiatory offerings. Various other iron\nimplements, such as chain traces, were thus similarly displayed.\n\nAn ancient St. Leonard\u2019s Chapel, in the town of Laupheim, is encircled by\nan iron chain, which is said to have been forged from horse-shoes thus\npiously contributed.[226] The largest church dedicated to this saint is\nat T\u00f6lz, in upper Bavaria, and its altar is likewise surrounded by an\niron chain.\n\nPictures of St. Leonard are sometimes placed upon stable-doors to bring\nluck; he is usually represented as holding a pastoral staff, while on one\nside is seen a colt or filly, on the other a sick ox, and at his feet is\na ewe lamb.\n\nIn northern Germany, St. George, as a successor of Wodan, is one of the\nspecial guardians and protectors of horses. On the festal day of this\nsaint, April 23, the peasants gather in large numbers around some church\ndedicated to him, and their horses and vehicles, numbering sometimes\nmany hundreds, are drawn up in a circle around the sanctuary. After\nthe parish priest has delivered a sermon in the church, he comes to\nthe door and blesses each horse separately as the animal is led past,\nmeanwhile sprinkling him with holy water. Then the young men mount their\nbest horses and ride them three times at full speed around the church,\nshouting lustily meanwhile.\n\nJ\u00e4hns remarks that this ceremony is doubtless a relic of some pagan rite,\nand that in many places a venerable tree, instead of a Christian church,\nis chosen as the place of rendezvous on St. George\u2019s Day. During the ride\naround the tree, an aged peasant standing in its shade throws upon each\nhorse, as it passes, a little moist earth taken from about the roots of\nthe sacred tree, and this insures the animal against sickness until the\nfollowing spring, especially if some of the earth be placed in a bag and\nhung up in the stable.\n\nAs the hammer was Thor\u2019s emblem, so the horse-shoe has been thought to\npossess a certain mystic significance as a symbol of the heathen god\nWodan; and it has been assumed that the ancient churches, upon whose\ndoors horse-shoes are still to be seen, were built upon the sites of\npagan temples dedicated to that deity. It has been argued, moreover,\nthat the modern use of a horse-shoe as a talisman, and the placing of\nhorses\u2019 heads on peasants\u2019 houses, are relics of heathendom, and have a\nmysterious affinity with the hoof-print legends of Teutonic mythology.\nSuch a theory appears plausible enough in view of the fact that many of\nthe superstitious customs and beliefs of modern times are known to have\nexisted before the Christian era.\n\n\nXIX. HORSE-SHOE LEGENDARY LORE\n\n1. Within recent years two horse-shoes were to be seen on the door of the\nparish church of Haccombe in Derbyshire. A romantic legend associated\nwith these horse-shoes is the theme of a ballad supposed to have been\nwritten by a master of Exeter Grammar School in the early part of the\nnineteenth century. The ballad graphically describes a race for a wager\nbetween a certain Earl of Totnes, mounted on a Derbyshire roan, and one\nSir Arthur Champernowne, on a fleet Barbary courser. The race was won by\nthe earl, who thereupon rode straight to the door of Haccombe Church,\n\n    And there he fell on his knees and prayed,\n    And many an _Ave Maria_ said;\n    Bread and money he gave to the poor,\n    And he nailed the roan\u2019s shoes to the chapel door.[227]\n\n2. In the traditionary lore of the Harz Mountains there is a weird tale\nof four horse-shoes, which for ages were to be seen on the door of a\nchurch in the suburbs of Klettenburg.\n\nOnce upon a time, so runs the story, a great drinking-match was held\non a Sunday morning at Elrich. The prize was a golden chain, and many\nknights assembled from near and far. The carousal lasted for some hours,\nuntil Count Ernest of Klettenburg, the only one who could still keep\non his feet, exultantly claimed the golden chain, which he hung about\nhis neck. Then, mounting his horse, he rode homeward, and while nearing\nKlettenburg he heard the strains of even-song in a church dedicated to\nSt. Nicholas. Urging on his steed, he rode madly through the open door\nstraight to the altar. Then, so runs the legend, the horse\u2019s four shoes\nfell off, and horse and rider sank down together out of sight. In memory\nof this wonderful event, the four horse-shoes were placed on the door\nof the church, and for many years were regarded with awe by the simple\ncountryfolk.[228]\n\n3. In the construction of the Church of St. Stephen, at Tangerm\u00fcnde,\nin Prussian Saxony, a brick edifice of the fourteenth century, the\nmembers of two guilds, those of the blacksmiths and shoemakers, were of\nespecial assistance; and in remembrance of this, a horse-shoe and an\niron shoe-sole were built into the outer wall of the church. The former\nindicates that up to its level the blacksmiths had built the walls, and\nthe latter shows that all the work above the horse-shoe was done by the\nshoemakers; such, at least, is the popular explanation, which may well be\nreceived _cum grano salis_.\n\n4. In the parish church of Schwarzenstein, in east Prussia, hang two\nhorse-shoes as reminders of the following tradition: In the village of\nEichmedien, one mile from Rastenburg, lived formerly as tavern-keeper\na woman, who had earned an unenviable notoriety by her practice of\ncharging double the proper fees for board and lodging. Late one night,\nwhen several of her guests accused her of being a cheat, she asseverated\nher honesty by holding up her hand, and saying in the form of an oath:\n\u201cIf my score is not correct, may the Devil now jump on my back.\u201d The\nEvil One took the woman promptly at her word, transformed her into a\nmare, and rode her out of the village, laughing scornfully. At headlong\nspeed he rode to a blacksmith\u2019s shop in Schwarzenstein, and demanded\nthat his mare be shod at once. The blacksmith, routed out of his\nsleep, excused himself, pleading the lateness of the hour and the fact\nthat there was no fire in his forge. The Devil insisted, however, and\npromised liberal payment if the work were done quickly. The blacksmith\nyielded at length, but had not proceeded far in shaping the shoes when\nthe mare began to speak. \u201cMy cousin, don\u2019t you know me?\u201d she said; \u201cI\nam the tavern-keeper.\u201d Upon this the blacksmith was so horrified that\nneither threats nor entreaties could prevail to make him proceed with\nthe shoeing, and before he had finished the third shoe a cock crowed,\nand immediately the spell was broken and the woman reassumed her own\nform. And to point the moral of this legend, and as a warning to cheats,\nthe two horse-shoes which the smith had completed were nailed up in the\nvillage church at Schwarzenstein.\n\n5. According to an old tradition, the Lapp king, Olaf Sk\u00f6tkonung\n(995-1030), wishing to become a Christian, asked his royal contemporary,\nEthelred II. of England, to send him a teacher. In response to this\nrequest Bishop Siegfried and three missionaries came to Sweden, and,\nlanding on the southwestern coast, encamped the first night at Wexio, on\nLake Sodre. Here the bishop saw in a vision a great company of angels,\nand thereupon determined to build a church at that place. The pagan\ninhabitants, however, were hostile to the undertaking, and seized the\nthree missionaries, Winaman, Unaman, and Sunaman, whom they beheaded, and\ncaused their heads to be thrown into the water.\n\nOne night soon after this sad event Siegfried was walking along the\nshore of the lake, sighing and praying, when he espied three luminous\nobjects approaching on the water, borne onward by the waves, and soon\nhe recognized them as the heads of his friends. And, behold, the first\nhead said, \u201cThe dead shall be avenged.\u201d And a voice from the second head\nexclaimed, \u201cWhen?\u201d Then replied the third head in solemn tones, \u201cOn\ntheir children and children\u2019s children.\u201d This prophecy was not, however,\nfulfilled to the letter, for through Siegfried\u2019s intercession Olaf\nconsented to spare the lives of the murderers, on condition that they\nshould build a Christian church in Wexio; and this church, which still\nexists, has on its coat-of-arms, or seal, the representation of three\nsevered heads, in memory of the occurrence and its legend. In this church\nhung formerly a shoe of Wodan\u2019s famous steed Sleipnir, as a souvenir of\nthe following tradition: When the church bells rang for the first time\nto summon the people to mass, Wodan came riding over the mountains, and,\nwhen nearing Wexio, Sleipnir, in a sudden fright, struck a rock with one\nof his feet, and the impress of the powerful blow remains in the rock to\nthis day. But the shoe fell off and was placed in the church.[229]\n\n6. Many years ago, so runs an old legend, a man obtained employment at a\nfarm in Norway, where, unknown to him, the mistress was a witch. Although\nthe man had plenty of good wholesome food, he did not thrive upon it, but\nbecame thinner each day. Being troubled at this, he sought the counsel\nof a wise man, from whom he learned the true character of his mistress.\nHe learned, moreover, that she had been in the habit of transforming him\ninto a horse at night while he slept, and riding him to Troms Church, a\nfact which fully accounted for his leanness.\n\nThe wise man also gave him a magical ointment, with which to rub his\nhead at bedtime, and by virtue of which, on awaking the next morning, he\nfound himself standing by Troms Church with a bridle in his hand, while\nbehind him were a number of horses bound together by their tails. Soon he\nperceived his mistress coming out of the church, and when she was near\nenough to him he threw the bridle over her head, and instantly she was\ntransformed into a handsome mare, which he mounted and rode homeward.\nOn his way, however, he stopped at a farrier\u2019s and had the animal shod\nwith four new shoes, and on reaching home he told his master that he had\nbought a fine mare, that would be an excellent mate for one which he\nalready had. His master bought the mare at a good price, but when he took\nthe bridle off she disappeared, and in her place stood the mistress witch\nwith new horse-shoes on her hands and feet. Thereupon the man related the\nwonderful tale of his experiences, and in consequence thereof the wife\nwas turned out of doors, and never got rid of the horse-shoes.[230]\n\n7. Once upon a time a gentleman of rank was driving with four horses\nalong the highway which runs between the towns of T\u00fcbingen and Hirschau,\nin W\u00fcrtemberg, and when opposite a roadside chapel he scoffed at a\npicture of the Madonna which adorned it. Immediately his horses came to a\nstandstill, nor could he make them proceed, in spite of vigorous urging.\nAt length, in this dilemma, a priest was called, who imposed as a penance\nthe removal of a shoe from the right fore-foot of each horse, and after\nthis had been done the gentleman was enabled to continue his journey. And\nin commemoration of this miracle one of the horse-shoes was nailed upon\nthe chapel-door, where it was still to be seen in recent years.[231]\n\n8. One Sunday morning a swarthy rider on a black horse rode at full speed\nthrough the village of Nabburg, in Bavaria, directly to the blacksmith\u2019s\nshop, to have his horse shod. \u201cWill you not rest on a Sunday?\u201d demanded\nthe smith. \u201cMy steed and I journey to and fro, and care nothing for the\nChristian Sunday,\u201d replied the horseman; \u201ctherefore shoe my horse in the\nDevil\u2019s name, and I counsel thee speak no pious word meanwhile, for no\ndevout person has yet obtained the mastery over this spirited animal.\u201d\nWith these words he sprang to the ground and stroked his horse\u2019s flowing\nmane. The smith, though ill at ease, began the work, and the horse was\nas quiet as if under a spell, much to the astonishment of his master,\nwho could scarce believe his eyes. Three shoes were quickly set, and the\nsmith called to his assistant, \u201cNow, then, in God\u2019s name, hand me the\nlast shoe!\u201d Instantly the fiery steed reared and struck out wildly,\ncasting a shoe with such force against the wall that it remains to this\nday embedded there. But the horse and his rider were seen no more.[232]\n\n9. In a wall on an estate called Ludwigstein, in Schleswig-Holstein, is\nto be seen a large stone bearing the imprint of a horse-shoe, wherewith\nis associated the following tale: One morning many years ago a horseman\nwas riding along the road when the church prayer-bell rang, whereupon he\nswore an oath and said, \u201cMay the Devil take me if I am not again on this\nvery spot this evening when the bell again sounds.\u201d And indeed he kept\nhis word, but at the stroke of the evening bell his horse slipped upon\nthe stone and broke a leg, and the mark of a shoe is still to be seen\nthere.\n\n10. The Horse-Shoe imprint in the cemetery of the Church of Our Lady\nat Munster. During the building of this beautiful Gothic church in the\nfourteenth century, the Devil observed its shapely proportions with\nincreasing displeasure, and bethought himself of various schemes to\nhinder the work\u2019s progress. Finally he decided on trying to bewitch the\narchitect\u2019s senses. Accordingly he braided his hair, arrayed himself in\ngay female attire, bedecked with costly jewels, and appeared before the\narchitect, whom he sought to ensnare with soft words and gifts. But the\nlatter was not thus to be deceived. Leaning upon his measuring-rod, he\nlistened unmoved to the beguiling conversation of the pretended belle,\nand rejected with scorn the gold and precious stones which she brought\nhim. Thereupon the Devil became enraged, stamped upon the ground with\nvehemence, and disappeared, leaving behind him an evil smell; and the\nmark of one of the iron horse-shoes, wherewith he was shod, was deeply\nimprinted on a stone in the cemetery, and, according to popular report,\nis still to be found there.\n\nThe impressions on stone of figures of horse-shoes, of which there are\nnumerous examples in northern Europe, are regarded by some arch\u00e6ologists\nas sacred symbols of the pagans or relics of the cult of Wodan, and as\nshowing the sites of ancient altars and burial places; while others\nmaintain that these figures were originally intended as boundary\nmarks. Numerous traditions associate them with battles fought in these\nlocalities, and in the popular fancy they are imagined to indicate the\nfavorite haunts of witches, the meeting-places where they held their\nrevels, the horse-shoe mark being an imprint of the Devil\u2019s foot. These\nweird rendezvous were usually on the tops of mountains or hills, and\nare still known as Witches\u2019 Dance-Places in different parts of Europe,\nespecially in Germany.\n\n\nXX. RECAPITULATION OF THEORIES OF THE ORIGIN OF THE HORSE-SHOE\nSUPERSTITION\n\nIn the preceding pages an attempt has been made to furnish plausible\nreasons for the horse-shoe\u2019s universal popularity both as an amulet and\nas a token of good luck. It is evident, however, that this superstition\ncannot be referred to any one particular starting-point. Just as the\nsources of a river may be manifold, consisting of numerous springs and\ntributaries, so, too, the belief in the horse-shoe\u2019s magical virtues is\nof complex origin, and can be traced to diverse beginnings.\n\nIt may be profitable, therefore, briefly to enumerate the different\ntheories which have been advanced:\u2014\n\n1. At the _rite of the Passover_, the blood sprinkled upon the lintel\nand door-posts formed the chief points of an arch. Hence the value of\narch-shaped talismans.\n\n2. The magical virtue of the horse-shoe against witches and fiends has\nbeen attributed to its _bifurcated form_, and to its resemblance to the\n_lunar crescent_. Charms of similar shape are known to have been in use\namong the ancient Chaldeans and Egyptians.\n\n3. _Iron_ and _steel_, metals having traditional power against\nevil-disposed fairies and goblins.\n\n4. The _serpentine shape_. Serpent-worship was nearly universal among\nprimitive peoples, and amuletic symbols of this form were in use in the\ndays of ancient Rome.\n\n5. The so-called _horse-shoe arch_ as typifying a beneficent, protecting\npower.\n\n6. The ancient conception of the earth as having the shape of a _round\nboat turned upside down_ and corresponding to the Egyptian _Put-sign_.\n\n7. _The Horse._ This animal was worshiped among the early Germanic\ntribes, and an English myth accredits to it luck-bringing qualities.\n\n8. The Scandinavian superstition of the _Demon-Mare_.\n\n9. The old astrological principle that _Mars_, the God of War and the War\nHorse, was hostile to _Saturn_, the liege-lord of witches.\n\n10. The legend of _Saint Dunstan and the Devil_.\n\n11. _Phallic Symbolism._\n\n12. The _Aureole_ or _Nimbus_.\n\n13. Supernatural faculties ascribed to _blacksmiths_.\n\n14. The Egyptian hieroglyphic symbol \ud80c\udf86, signifying the _mystical door of\nlife_.\n\n15. _Horses\u2019 hoof-prints_ in mythology and tradition.\n\n16. The horse-shoe a symbol of the heathen god _Wodan_.\n\n\nXXI. CONCLUSION\n\nWhatever may be the origin of the superstitious employment of the\nhorse-shoe, its adoption as a token of good luck appears to be\ncomparatively modern, its earliest use having been for the exclusion of\nwitches, evil spirits, and all such uncanny beings.\n\nBefore leaving the subject an extract may be given from an article in\nthe \u201cLondon World,\u201d August 23, 1753, against the repeal of the so-called\nWitch Act, wherein the writer offers the following satirical advice to\nwhomever it might concern:\u2014\n\n    To secure yourself against the enchantments of witches,\n    especially if you are a person of fashion and have never been\n    taught the Lord\u2019s Prayer, the only method I know of is to nail\n    a horse-shoe upon the threshold. This I can affirm to be of the\n    greatest efficacy, insomuch that I have taken notice of many\n    a little cottage in the country with a horse-shoe at its door\n    where gaming, extravagance, Jacobitism, and all the catalogue\n    of witchcrafts have been totally unknown.\n\nThe world moves and civilization progresses, but the old superstitions\nremain the same. The rusty horse-shoe found on the road is still prized\nas a lucky token, and will doubtless continue to be so prized; for human\nnature does not change, and superstition is a part of human nature.\n\n\n\n\nFORTUNE AND LUCK\n\n    If Fortune favor you, be not elated;\n    If she frown, do not despond.\n\n                                         AUSONIUS.\n\n    When Fortune means to men most good,\n    She looks upon them with a threatening eye.\n\n                         _King John_, III. 4, 119.\n\n    When smiling Fortune spreads her golden ray,\n    All crowd around to flatter and obey;\n    But when she thunders from the angry sky,\n    Our friends, our flatterers, our lovers fly.\n\n                                             OVID.\n\n    Since Fortune is not in our power,\n    Let us be as little as possible in hers.\n\n                                           STEELE.\n\n\nI. TYCHE, THE GRECIAN GODDESS OF GOOD LUCK\n\nAmong the more popular divinities of the early Grecians was Tyche,\nthe goddess of good luck, whose worship, according to Plutarch,\ncomplemented that of Destiny. She ruled over accidental events, and was\nthe dispenser alike of blessings and misfortunes; but when too lavish in\nthe distribution of her favors she was liable to incur the jealousy of\nNemesis, the goddess of retribution.\n\nTyche, the Goddess of Fortune, is not mentioned in the works of the\nearliest Grecian poets, but Homer and Hesiod both allude to an ocean\nnymph of this name who was gathering flowers with Proserpina when the\nlatter was carried off by Pluto.\n\nThe Theban lyric poet Pindar appears to have originated the worship\nof Tyche, whom he celebrated in verse, and invested with the title\nPharopolis, or Protectress of Cities;[233] and in Greece, towards the\nclose of the fifth century B. C., this goddess was generally believed\nto be the ruler of worldly affairs. While Zeus was, indeed, the most\npowerful of the gods, Tyche was regarded by some as having the character\nof Providence;[234] yet she was more generally thought to be identical\nwith Chance or Luck. The famous Ionic philosopher Anaxagoras said that\nFortune was a cause unknown to human reason; for some things come by\nNecessity, some by fatal Destiny, and others by deliberate Counsel.[235]\n\n\nII. THE ROMAN GODDESS FORTUNA\n\nThe worship of the Goddess of Chance, _Fortuna_, was introduced among\nthe Romans from Greece during the reign of Servius Tullius, and soon\nbecame very popular. Indeed, at one period Fortuna was the chief Italian\ndivinity, and the plebeians and slaves held an annual festival on the\ntwenty-fourth day of June in honor of her who could bestow riches and\nliberty. Pliny wrote that the Chance or Fortune by means of which we\nacquire so much is a divine power; and Plutarch, in his work on the\nFortune of the Romans, attempts to show that the great achievements of\nthat people were to be attributed to good luck rather than to sagacity\nor prowess. As an example he cites their escape from invasion by the\nopportune death of Alexander the Great at Babylon, B. C. 323, at a time\nwhen he was preparing to overwhelm Italy with his armies.\n\nThe Roman biographer, Cornelius Nepos, in speaking of the Greek general,\nEmenes the Cardian (B. C. 361-317), said that, even if the favors shown\nhim by Fortune had been commensurate with his great abilities, he would\nnot for that reason have been more eminent; for great men should be\nmeasured by their qualities, and not by their good or bad fortune. The\nDutch _savant_, Desiderius Erasmus, wrote that Diogenes was wont to\nrebuke with asperity those who blamed the goddess when their affairs\ndid not prosper; and he also severely criticised the prevalent habit\nof craving at the hands of Mistress Fortune, not such things as were\nsubstantially good, but rather such as seemed to be so in the fancy of\nthe petitioners. Philip of Macedon, on the receipt of the news of great\nvictories won by his generals, thanked Fortune for her great goodness,\nmodestly beseeching of her only some \u201clight and shrewd turn again at\nanother season.\u201d And Erastus, commenting on Philip\u2019s moderation and\ngood sense in not being unduly elated by prosperity, quaintly remarked\nthat this great king, having profound wisdom and experience, did not\ninsolently leap and skip about on the receipt of joyful tidings, but\nrather mistrusted the pampering of Fortune, whom he knew to be a fickle\njade.\n\n\nIII. THE CHARACTER OF FORTUNE\n\nOf all the pagan deities, Fortune was the most absolute and the most\nuniversally worshiped; for she kept all men at her feet, the prosperous\nthrough fear and the unfortunate through hope.[236] She was also an\neccentric goddess, not only favoring the brave, according to the familiar\nmaxim of Terence, but likewise being decidedly partial to fools, if we\nmay believe another classical saying, _Fortuna favet fatuis_. And again,\nas an ancient poet wrote, _Legem veretur nocens, Fortunam innocens_. The\nsatirist Juvenal said that, if men were discreet, Fortune had no power\nover them. When she entered Rome she folded her wings as a sign that she\nwished to remain there; and, as has been aptly remarked, she is there\nstill, for the modern Roman is as firm a believer in luck, whether good\nor bad, as was the Roman citizen two thousand years ago.[237] Among the\nancients, a lucky event, something opportune occurring unexpectedly, was\nascribed to a sudden caprice or whim on the part of the goddess, while\nsuccess in an undertaking was thought to be due to her favor when in a\nsober mood.[238]\n\n\u201cWhy was Fortune made a goddess?\u201d asked St. Augustine, since she is so\nblind that she runs to anybody without distinction, and often passes by\nher admirers to cling to those who despise her.[239] And Cicero remarked\nthat Fortune was not only blind herself, but often deprived her votaries\nof sight.\n\nPliny, in discoursing about the religious beliefs current in his time,\nsays:\u2014\n\n    All over the world, in all places and at all times, Fortune is\n    the only God whom every one invokes: she alone is spoken of;\n    she alone is accused and is supposed to be guilty; she alone\n    is in our thoughts, is praised and blamed, and is loaded with\n    reproaches; wavering as she is, conceived by the generality\n    of mankind to be blind, wandering, inconstant, uncertain,\n    variable, and often favoring the unworthy. To her are referred\n    all our losses and all our gains, and, in casting up the\n    accounts of mortals, she alone balances the two pages of our\n    sheet. We are so much in the power of chance, that chance\n    itself is considered as a God.\n\nThe representations of Fortune, which are to be seen in ancient statues,\nbas-reliefs, medals, and coins, exhibit the many different attributes of\nher character. The earliest image of the goddess was probably at Smyrna,\nand was the work of the eminent sculptor Bupalus, who lived in the sixth\ncentury B. C. She was here shown as bearing on her head a hemisphere,\nand with the horn of Amalth\u00e6a in her left hand, thus typifying the\ndistribution of all good things.[240]\n\nHer lack of discernment has been symbolized by artists, who have\nportrayed her with a bandage before her eyes; with a rudder, as guiding\nworldly affairs; or with a wheel or ball, as types of instability. In a\npainting by Sulzer, Fortune is shown seated on a throne, which is borne\naloft in the air by contrary winds. In her hand is a magic wand, and her\ncountenance expresses inconstancy and fickleness, while in her train\nfollow Riches, Poverty, Despotism, and Slavery. In the Villa d\u2019Este, near\nthe Italian town of Tivoli, is a painting by Zucchari showing Fortune\nastride of an ostrich, which has been supposed to be an allegorical\nintimation that the goddess has a preference for simpletons.[241] In\nher temple at Thebes, she held Wealth in her arms. Sometimes she was\naccompanied by a winged youth named Favor, to denote how speedily her\nfavors may fly away from us;[242] or by a winged Cupid, which has been\nthought to signify that, in Love, Beauty has a less permanent influence\nthan Fortune.[243]\n\nHer numerous titles were usually complimentary, as Golden or Royal\nFortune, but she was disrespectfully spoken of by Horace, Ovid, and other\nwriters, by whom she was characterized as unjust, fickle, and delighting\nin mischief. One reproachful epithet applied to her was _viscosa_,\ntenacious or sticky, because men are caught in her toils like birds in\nquicklime.[244]\n\nThe Abb\u00e9 Banier, in his \u201cMythology and Fables of the Ancients,\u201d thus\nmoralizes regarding Fortune, good and bad:\u2014\n\n    As men have always highly valued earthly goods, \u2019tis no\n    wonder that they adored Fortune. Fools! who thus instead of\n    acknowledging an intelligent Providence that distributes riches\n    and earthly goods, from views always wise, though dark and\n    placed beyond the reach of human discovery, addressed their\n    vows to an imaginary Being, that acted without design and\n    from the impulse of unavoidable necessity; for \u2019tis beyond\n    question that, in the Pagan system, Fortune was nothing else\n    but Destiny. Accordingly she was confounded, as we shall see\n    afterwards, with the _Parc\u00e6_, who were themselves that fatal\n    Necessity, which the poets have reasoned so much about.\n\nWe learn from the historian Suetonius that the early Roman emperors were\nwont to cherish small images of Fortune, which they venerated as special\ntutelary deities.\n\nThe goddess is said to have once appeared in a vision to the Emperor\nGalba, who reigned A. D. 68-69, and to have informed him that she was\nstanding weary before his door, and that, if she were not quickly\nadmitted, every one dear to him would become her prey. On awakening he\nfound outside the entrance-hall of his palace a bronze figure of Fortune,\nwhich he concealed beneath his garments and carried to his summer\nresidence at Tusculum. There he set apart a sanctuary for the image,\nand offered prayers to it each month, keeping, moreover, in its honor\nan all-night vigil every year. On one occasion Galba had intended to\npresent his little guardian genius with a necklace of pearls and precious\nstones, but changed his mind and gave it to the Capitoline Venus. The\nfollowing night Fortune, in angry mood, again appeared to the emperor in\na dream, complaining that she had been cheated out of the intended gift,\nand threatening to take away the many benefits which she had bestowed\nupon him. Alarmed at this, Galba sent a messenger early in the morning\nto prepare a sacrificial offering, and he himself hastened to Tusculum,\nbut found on the altar of the sanctuary nothing but warm ashes; and\nnear by stood an old man clothed in black, holding in one hand a glass\nplate containing incense, and in the other an earthenware vessel full of\nsacrificial wine.[245]\n\nSome verses containing uncomplimentary allusions to the character of\nFortune were formerly to be seen on the wall of a chamber in Wressell\nCastle, Yorkshire, a building of the latter part of the fourteenth\ncentury, which was destroyed by fire in 1796:\u2014\n\n    The Proverbis in the syde of the utter chamber above of the\n    Hous in the Gardyng at Wresyll.\n\n        No thynge to fortune thou apply,\n        For her gyftis vanyshithe as doth fantasy,\n        The more thou receyvethe of her gyftis moste unsure,\n        The more to the aprochethe displeasure.\n\n        Then in blynde fortune put not thy truste.\n        For her brightness sone receyveth ruste.\n        Fortune is fykill, fortune is blynde.\n        Her rawardes be fekill and unkynde.\n\n        Forsake the glory of fortune(\u2019s) fyckillnes,\n        Of whom comythe worldly glory and yet much unkyndnes,\n        Put thy trust and in hym sett thy mynde,\n        Whiche when fortune faylithe will nevyr be unkynde.[246]\n\nAmong most civilized nations of the present day the Goddess Fortune is\nnot openly worshiped, although the Japanese have their seven Gods of\nLuck, which are comparatively modern deities, brought together from\nvarious sources, including their own primitive Shinto religion, Buddhism,\nand the Taouism of China.[247]\n\nThe Lamas of Tibet perform each year a peculiar scapegoat rite called the\nChase of the Demon of Ill-luck. One of their number, in fantastic garb\nand with grotesquely painted face, sits in the market-place for a week\npreviously, and on the day of the ceremony this worthy, who is known as\na ghost-king, wanders about shaking a black yak\u2019s tail over the heads of\nthe people, whereby their ill-luck is in some mystic way transferred to\nhim.[248]\n\n\nIV. TEMPLES OF FORTUNE\n\nTemples in honor of the Goddess Tyche were built at Elis, Corinth, and\nin other Grecian cities; and in the second century A. D. the eminent\nphilanthropist, Herodes Atticus, erected for her a temple in Athens, the\nruins of which are believed still to exist.[249]\n\nThe western suburb of Syracuse, in Sicily, was called \u03a4\u03cd\u03c7\u03b7, after a\ntemple of Tyche which adorned it.\n\nAmong the Italians the worship of Fortune became so popular that her\ntemples outnumbered all others. \u201cWe have built a thousand temples to\nFortune and not one to Reason,\u201d remarked Fronto, the worthy tutor of\nthe Emperor Marcus Aurelius. Of all these pagan edifices in Rome, but a\nsingle one now remains, the temple of Fortuna Virilis, now the church of\nSanta Maria Egiziaca.[250] It is a small Ionic tetrastyle building on the\nleft bank of the Tiber, a little north of the so-called Temple of the\nSun. But the most famous Italian temple of Fortune was at Preneste, an\nancient Latin town, now called Palestrina. Here oracles were consulted\nand fugitives found a place of refuge.\n\nIn Great Britain there still exist a number of altars in honor of\nFortune, which date from the Roman occupation. One of these, on the line\nof the wall of Antoninus in Scotland, was erected by soldiers of the\nsecond and sixth legions. Another altar, dedicated to the same goddess,\nwas found at the headquarters of the sixth legion at Eboracum, the modern\ncity of York, and is still to be seen at the museum there.[251] The\ninscription on this altar was copied by the writer during a recent visit\nto York, and reads as follows:\u2014\n\n                               DE\u00c6 FORTUN\u00c6\n                                  SOSIA\n                                 IUNCINA\n                                Q. ANTONI\n                                ISAURICI\n                                LEG. AUG.\n\n\nV. LUCK, ANCIENT AND MODERN\n\nOur English word _luck_, according to some authorities, is of\nScandinavian origin, while others consider it to be the past tense of\nan Anglo-Saxon verb meaning \u201cto catch.\u201d Luck signifies, therefore, _a\ngood catch_, and is analogous to the German _Gl\u00fcck_. It has been aptly\nremarked that very many so-called strong-minded persons, who would not\nfor a moment admit that they are superstitious, are yet not insensible\nto the fascination of this little monosyllable. As Christian people, we\nprofess to believe implicitly in Divine Providence; yet often because we\ncannot understand its workings, we so far relapse into paganism as to\nworship secretly the Goddess Fortune. The fact is, that superstition is\nan ineradicable element of human nature. The combined forces of religion,\neducation, philosophy, and common sense are allied in a perpetual\nwarfare against it. The thousand and one little credulities which form\nsuch an important part of modern folk-lore may be intrinsically the\nveriest whimsies and trifles, but they are evidence of the tenacity of\ntraditional beliefs.\n\nThe modern sailor carries in his pocket a bit of sealskin, or an eagle\u2019s\nbeak, to shield him from the lightning; and the Southern negro has his\nrabbit\u2019s foot, and a host of other outlandish fetiches, all for luck.\n\nThe millions of American negroes have, indeed, a deeply-rooted love for\nthe supernatural, and their character exhibits a peculiar blending of\nsuperstition and religion. Among the mixed colored races in Missouri,\nfor example, we find a bewildering jumble of African Voodoo credulities,\nthe traditions of the American Indian, and religious fanaticism. Thus,\nin \u201cVoodoo Tales,\u201d by Mary A. Owen, we read of an old crone who kept her\nmedicine-pipe and eagle-bone whistle alongside of her books of devotion,\ncarried a rosary and rabbit\u2019s foot in the same pocket, and wore a saint\u2019s\ntoe dangling on her bosom, and a luck-ball under her right arm.\n\nIt has been well said that only those whose minds are predisposed to\nentertain idle fancies are wont to regard misfortune as a natural\nsequence of the legion of alleged evil omens. Yet we know that in all\nages and countries such notions have prevailed. The ancient Chaldeans\nmade use of magic formul\u00e6 to ward off ill-luck, and Tacitus relates that\nthe most trivial events were regarded as portentous by the Roman people.\nWhat a contrast to the credulity of a superstitious age is afforded by\nthe often quoted remark of Cato the Censor, who refused to regard it as\nominous when informed that his boots had been gnawed by rats! \u201cIf the\nboots had gnawed the rats,\u201d he said, \u201cit might have portended evil.\u201d\n\nThere is a deal of philosophy in the Irish saying, \u201cEvery man has bad\nluck awaiting him some time or other, but leave the bad luck to the last;\nperhaps it may never come.\u201d\n\nIn attributing the sundry and divers misfortunes of our lives to bad\nluck, we surely ignore the fact that these same unwelcome experiences\nare often the logical sequences of our own shortcomings, and that the\nfickle goddess cannot with fairness be made always to masquerade as our\nscapegoat.\n\n\n\n\nTHE FOLK-LORE OF COMMON SALT[252]\n\n    Jests, like salt, should be used sparingly.\u2014_Similitudes of\n    Democritus._\n\n\nI. ORIGIN AND HISTORY\n\nThe origin of the use of common salt as a condiment is hidden in the\nmazes of antiquity. Although we have no evidence that this important\narticle of diet was known to the antediluvians, there is still abundant\nproof that it was highly esteemed as a seasoner of food long before\nthe Christian era. In a Greek translation of a curious fragment of the\nwritings of the semi-fabulous Ph\u0153nician author, Sanchoniathon, who is\nsaid to have lived before the Trojan war, the discovery of the uses of\nsalt is attributed to certain immediate descendants of Noah, one of whom\nwas his son Shem.[253]\n\nFrom the mythical lore of Finland we learn that Ukko, the mighty god\nof the sky, struck fire in the heavens, a spark from which descending\nwas received by the waves and became salt. The Chinese worship an idol\ncalled Phelo, in honor of a mythological personage of that name, whom\nthey believe to have been the discoverer of salt and the originator\nof its use. His ungrateful countrymen, however, were tardy in their\nrecognition of Phelo\u2019s merits, and that worthy thereupon left his native\nland and did not return. Then the Chinese declared him to be a deity, and\nin the month of June each year they hold a festival in his honor, during\nwhich he is everywhere eagerly sought, but in vain; he will not appear\nuntil he comes to announce the end of the world.\n\nAmong the Mexican Nahuas the women and girls employed in the preparation\nof salt were wont to dance at a yearly festival held in honor of the\nGoddess of salt, Huixtocihuatl, whose brothers the rain-gods are said,\nas the result of a quarrel, to have driven her into the sea, where she\ninvented the art of making the precious substance.[254]\n\nThe earliest Biblical mention of salt appears to be in reference to\nthe destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. (Genesis xix. 24-26.) When King\nAbimelech destroyed the city of Shechem, an event which is believed to\nhave occurred in the thirteenth century B. C., he is said to have \u201csowed\nsalt on it,\u201d this phrase expressing the completeness of its ruin.[255]\n(Judges ix. 45.) It is certain that the use of salt as a relish was\nknown to the Jewish people at a comparatively early period of their\nhistory. For in the sixth chapter of the Book of Job occurs this passage:\n\u201cCan that which is unsavoury be eaten without salt?\u201d\n\nIn Eastern countries it is a time-honored custom to place salt before\nstrangers as a token and pledge of friendship and good-will. The phrase\n\u201cto eat some one\u2019s salt\u201d formerly signified being in that person\u2019s\nservice, and in this sense it is used in the Book of Ezra, iv. 14, where\nthe expression, \u201cwe have maintenance from the king\u2019s palace,\u201d means\nliterally, \u201cwe are salted with the salt of the palace,\u201d which implies\nbeing in the service of the king. And from the idea of being in the\nemployment of a master, and eating his salt, the phrase in question came\nto denote faithfulness and loyalty.[256]\n\nAs an instance of the superstitious reverence with which salt is regarded\nin the East, it is related that Yacoub ben Laith, who founded the dynasty\nof Persian princes known as the Saffarides, was of very humble origin,\nand in his youth gained a livelihood as a free-booter. Yet so chivalrous\nwas he that he never stripped his victims of all their belongings, but\nalways left them something to begin life with anew.\n\nOn one occasion this gallant robber had forcibly and by stealth entered\nthe palace of a prince, and was about departing with considerable spoil,\nwhen he stumbled over an object which his sense of taste revealed to\nbe a lump of salt. Having thus involuntarily partaken of a pledge of\nhospitality in another man\u2019s house, his honor overcame his greed of gain\nand he departed without his booty.[257]\n\nOwing to its antiseptic and preservative qualities, salt was emblematic\nof durability and permanence; hence the expression \u201cCovenant of Salt.\u201d\nIt was also a symbol of wisdom, and in this sense was doubtless used by\nSt. Paul when he told the Colossians that their speech should be seasoned\nwith salt.\n\nHomer called salt divine, and Plato described it as a substance dear to\nthe gods.\n\nPerhaps the belief in its divine attributes may have been a reason for\nthe employment of salt as a sacrificial offering by the Hebrews, Greeks,\nand Romans, all of whom, moreover, regarded it as an indispensable relish.\n\nPlutarch said that without salt nothing was savory or toothsome, and that\nthis substance even imparted an additional flavor to wines, thus causing\nthem \u201cto go down the throat merrily.\u201d And the same writer remarked that,\nas bread and salt were commonly eaten together, therefore Ceres and\nNeptune were sometimes worshiped together in the same temple.[258]\n\n\nII. SALT UNCONGENIAL TO WITCHES AND DEVILS\n\nGrimm remarks that salt is not found in witches\u2019 kitchens, nor at\ndevils\u2019 feasts, because the Roman Catholic Church has taken upon herself\nthe hallowing and dedication of this substance. Moreover, inasmuch as\nChristians recognize salt as a wholesome and essential article of diet,\nit seems plausible enough that they should regard it as unsuitable for\nthe use of devils and witches, two classes of beings with whom they have\nno particular sympathy. Hence perhaps the familiar saying that \u201cthe Devil\nloveth no salt in his meat.\u201d\n\nOnce upon a time, according to tradition, there lived a German peasant\nwhose wife was a witch, and the Devil invited them both to supper one\nfine evening. All the dishes lacked seasoning, and the peasant, in spite\nof his wife\u2019s remonstrances, kept asking for salt; and when after a while\nit was brought, he remarked with fervor, \u201cThank God, here is salt at\nlast,\u201d whereupon the whole scene vanished.[259]\n\nThe abbot Richalmus, who lived in the old German duchy of Franconia\nin the twelfth century, claimed, by the exercise of a special and\nextraordinary faculty, to be able to baffle the machinations of certain\nevil spirits who took special delight in playing impish tricks upon\nchurchmen. They appear, indeed, to have sorely tried the patience of the\ngood abbot in many ways, as, for example, by distracting his thoughts\nduring Mass and interfering with his digestion, promoting discords in the\nchurch music, and causing annoyance by inciting the congregation to cough\nin sermon time. Fortunately he possessed three efficient weapons against\nthese troublesome creatures, namely, the sign of the cross, holy water,\nand salt.\n\n\u201cEvil spirits,\u201d wrote the abbot, \u201ccannot bear salt.\u201d When he was at\ndinner, and the Devil had maliciously taken away his appetite, he simply\ntasted a little salt, and at once became hungry. Then, if soon afterwards\nhis appetite again failed him, he took some more salt, and his relish for\nfood speedily returned.[260]\n\nIn Hungarian folk-lore, contrary to the usual opinion, evil personages\nare fond of salt, for at those festive gatherings described in old\nlegends and fairy tales, where witches and the Devil met, they were wont\nto cook in large kettles a stew of horse-flesh seasoned with salt, upon\nwhich they eagerly feasted.\n\nHence appears to have originated the popular notion current among the\nMagyars that a woman who experiences a craving for salt in the early\nmorning must be a witch, and on no account should her taste be gratified.\n\nOnce upon a time, says tradition, a man crept into a witch\u2019s tub in\norder to spy upon the proceedings at a meeting of the uncanny sisterhood.\n\nShortly thereafter the witch appeared, saddled the tub, and rode it to\nthe place of rendezvous, and on arriving there the man contrived to\nempty a quantity of salt into the tub. After the revels he was conveyed\nhomewards in the same manner, and showed the salt to his neighbors as\nproof positive that he had really been present at the meeting. Sometimes,\nhowever, salt is used in Hungary as a protection against witches. The\nthreshold of a new house is sprinkled with it, and the door-hinges are\nsmeared with garlic, so that no witch may enter.[261]\n\nThe peasants of Russian Esthonia are aware of the potency of salt against\nwitches and their craft. They believe that on St. John\u2019s Eve witch-butter\nis maliciously smeared on the doors of their farm-buildings in order to\nspread sickness among the cattle. When, therefore, an Esthonian farmer\nfinds this obnoxious butter on his barn-door or elsewhere, he loads his\ngun with salt and shoots the witch-germs away.[262]\n\nThe Hindus have a theory that malignant spirits, or _Bh\u00fats_, are\nespecially prone to molest women and children immediately after the\nlatter have eaten confectionery and other sweet delicacies.\n\nIndeed, so general is this belief that vendors of sweetmeats among\nschool-children provide their youthful customers each with a pinch of\nsalt to remove the sweet taste from their mouths, and thus afford a\nsafeguard against the ever-watchful _Bh\u00fats_.[263]\n\n\nIII. THE LATIN WORD \u201cSAL\u201d\n\nOwing to the importance of salt as a relish, its Latin name _sal_ came\nto be used metaphorically as signifying a savory mental morsel, and,\nin a general sense, wit or sarcasm.[264] It was formerly maintained by\nsome etymologists that this word had a threefold meaning according to\nits gender. Thus, when masculine, it has the above signification, but\nwhen feminine it means _the sea_, and only when neuter does it stand for\ncommon salt. The characterization of Greece as \u201cthe salt of nations\u201d\nis attributed to Livy, and this is probably the origin of the phrase\n\u201cAttic salt,\u201d meaning delicate, refined wit. The phrase _cum grano salis_\nmay signify the grain of common sense with which one should receive a\nseemingly exaggerated report. It may also mean moderation, even as salt\nis used sparingly as a seasoner of food.\n\nAmong the ancients, as with ourselves, _Sol_ and _sal_, the Sun and salt,\nwere known to be two things essential to the maintenance of life.\n\nSoldiers, officials, and working people were paid either wholly or in\npart in salt,[265] which was in such general use for this purpose that\nany sum of money paid for labor or service of whatever kind was termed a\n_salarium_, or salary, that is, the wherewithal to obtain one\u2019s salt.[266]\n\nPliny remarked that salt was essential for the complete enjoyment of\nlife, and in confirmation of this statement he commented on the fact that\nthe word _sales_ was employed to express the pleasures of the mind, or a\nkeen appreciation of witty effusions, and, therefore, was associated with\nthe idea of good fellowship and mirth.[267]\n\nA certain mystic significance has been attributed to the three letters\ncomposing the word \u201csal.\u201d Thus, the letter S, standing alone, represents\nor suggests two circles united together, the sun and the moon. It\ntypifies, moreover, the union of things divine and mundane, even as salt\npartakes of the attributes of each. A, alpha, signifies the beginning of\nall things; while L is emblematic of something celestial and glorious.\nS and L represent solar and lunar influences respectively, and the\ntrio of letters stand for an essential substance provided by God for\nthe benefit of his people. In a curious treatise on salt, originally\npublished in 1770, the writer launches forth in impassioned style the\nmost extravagant encomiums upon this substance, which he avers to be\nthe quintessence of the earth. Salt is here characterized as a Treasure\nof Nature, an Essence of Perfection, and the Paragon of Preservatives.\nMoreover, whoever possesses salt thereby secures a prime factor of human\nhappiness among material things.[268]\n\nThe French people employ the word \u201csalt\u201d metaphorically in several common\nexpressions. Thus, in speaking of the lack of piquancy or pointedness\nin a dull sermon or address, they say, \u201cThere was no salt in that\ndiscourse.\u201d And of the brilliant productions of a favorite author they\nremark, \u201cHe has sprinkled his writings with salt by handfuls.\u201d[269] In\nlike manner they use the term _un epigramme sal\u00e9_ to denote a cutting\nsarcasm or raillery. Very apt also is the following definition by an\nold English writer:[270] \u201cSalt, a pleasaunt and merrie word that maketh\nfolks to laugh and sometime pricketh.\u201d The expression \u201cto salt an\ninvoice\u201d signifies to increase the full market value of each article, and\ncorresponds to one use of the French verb _saler_, to overcharge, and\nhence to \u201cfleece\u201d or \u201cpluck.\u201d Thus the phrase _Il me l\u2019a bien sal\u00e9_ means\n\u201cHe has charged me an excessive price.\u201d[271]\n\n\nIV. SALT EMPLOYED TO CONFIRM AN OATH\n\nIn the records of the Presbytery of Edinburgh, under date of September\n20, 1586, is to be found the following description of an oath which\nScotch merchants were required to take when on their way to the Baltic:\u2014\n\n    Certan merchantis passing to Danskerne (Denmark) and cuming\n    neir Elsinnure, chusing out and quhen they accompted for the\n    payment of the toill of the goods, and that depositioun of ane\n    othe in forme following, viz: Thei present and offer _breid_\n    and _salt_ to the deponer of the othe, whereon he layis his\n    hand and deponis his conscience and sweiris.[272]\n\nGypsies likewise sometimes use bread and salt to confirm the solemnity of\nan oath. An example of this is recorded in the \u201cPesther Lloyd\u201d of July 1,\n1881. A member of a gypsy band in western Hungary had been robbed of a\nsum of money, and so informed his chief, who summoned the elders of the\ncamp to a council. On an upright cross formed of two poles was placed a\npiece of bread sprinkled with salt, and upon this each gypsy was required\nto swear that he was not the thief. The real culprit, refusing to take so\nsolemn an oath, was thus discovered.\n\nAmong the Jews the covenant of salt is the most sacred possible. Even at\nthe present time, Arabian princes are wont to signify their ratification\nof an alliance by sprinkling salt upon bread, meanwhile exclaiming, \u201cI am\nthe friend of thy friends, and the enemy of thine enemies.\u201d So likewise\nthere is a common form of request among the Arabs as follows: \u201cFor the\nsake of the bread and salt which are between us, do this or that.\u201d[273]\n\nIn the East, at the present day, compacts between tribes are still\nconfirmed by salt, and the most solemn pledges are ratified by\nthis substance. During the Indian mutiny of 1857 a chief motive of\nself-restraint among the Sepoys was the fact that they had sworn by their\nsalt to be loyal to the English queen.[274]\n\nThe antiquity of the practice of using salt in confirmation of an oath\nis shown in the following passage from an ode of the Greek lyric poet\nArchilochus, who flourished during the early part of the seventh century\nB. C.:\u2014\n\n    Thou hast broken the solemn oath, and hast disgraced the salt\n    and the table.\n\nIn the year 1731 the Protestant miners and peasants inhabiting the \u201csalt\nexchequer lands,\u201d prior to their banishment from the country by Leopold,\nArchbishop of Salzburg, held a meeting in the picturesque village of\nSchwarzach, and \u201csolemnly ratified their league by the ancient custom\nof dipping their fingers in salt.\u201d The table at which this ceremony took\nplace, and a picture representing the event, are still shown at the\nWallner Inn, where the meeting was held.[275]\n\n\nV. SALT-SPILLING AS AN OMEN\n\nThe widespread notion that the spilling of salt produces evil\nconsequences is supposed to have originated in the tradition that Judas\noverturned a salt-cellar at the Paschal Supper, as portrayed in Leonardo\nda Vinci\u2019s painting. But it appears more probable that the belief is\ndue to the sacred character of salt in early times. Any one having the\nmisfortune to spill salt was formerly supposed to incur the anger of all\ngood spirits, and to be rendered susceptible to the malevolent influences\nof demons.[276] When, in oriental lands, salt was offered to guests as\na token of hospitality, it was accounted a misfortune if any particles\nwere scattered while being so presented, and in such cases a quarrel or\ndispute was anticipated.[277]\n\nBishop Hall wrote, in 1627, that when salt fell towards a superstitious\nguest at dinner, he was wont to exhibit signs of mental agitation, and\nrefused to be comforted until one of the waiters had poured wine in his\nlap. And in Gayton\u2019s \u201cArt of Longevity\u201d we find these lines:\u2014\n\n    I have two friends of either sex, which do eat little salt or\n    none, yet are friends too; of both which persons I can truly\n    tell, they are of patience most invincible; whom out of temper\n    no mischance at all can put; no, if towards them the salt\n    should fall.\n\nThe Germans have a saying, \u201cWhoever spills salt arouses enmity,\u201d and in\nsome places the overthrow of a salt-cellar is thought to be the direct\nact of the Devil, the peace-disturber. The superstitious Parisian, who\nmay have been the unfortunate cause of such a mishap, is quite ready to\nadopt this view, and tosses a little of the spilled salt behind him,\nin order, if possible, to hit the invisible Devil in the eye, which,\ntemporarily at least, prevents him from doing further mischief.[278]\nThis is probably a relic of an ancient idolatrous custom; and salt thus\nthrown was formerly a kind of sop to Cerberus, an offering to pacify\nsome particular deity. In like manner the natives of Pegu, a province of\nBritish Burmah, in the performance of one of their rites in honor of the\nDevil, are wont to throw food over their left shoulders to conciliate the\nchief spirit of evil.[279]\n\nWhen salt was spilled at table the pious Roman was wont to exclaim, \u201cMay\nthe gods avert the omen!\u201d and the modern Sicilian, in such a case,\ninvokes \u201cthe Mother of Light.\u201d\n\nAmong the Greeks it was customary to present salt to the gods as a\nthank-offering at the beginning of every meal. Louis Figuier, in \u201cLes\nmerveilles de l\u2019industrie,\u201d places these three happenings in the\ncategory of ominous mishaps in a Grecian household: (1) the omission\nof a salt-cellar from among the furnishings of a dinner-table; (2) the\nfalling asleep of one of the guests at a banquet, before the removal\nof the salt-cellar to make place for the dessert; (3) the overturning\nof this important vessel. It seems evident, therefore, that the origin\nof the belief in the ominous character of salt-spilling is of far\ngreater antiquity than is popularly supposed; and Leonardo da Vinci,\nin portraying Judas as upsetting a salt-cellar, probably had in mind\nthe already well-known portentous significance of such an act. But some\nobservers have failed to discover any trace of a salt-cellar in the\noriginal _Cenacolo_ on the refectory wall of the Milanese convent. In\nthe well-known engraving by Raphael Morghen, however, the overthrown\nsalt-cellar is clearly delineated, and the spilled salt is seen issuing\nfrom it. An animated discussion on this moot-point enlivened the columns\nof \u201cNotes and Queries\u201d some years ago.\n\nThe following passage is to be found in a work entitled \u201cHieroglyphica, a\nJoanne Valeriano\u201d (1586), being a treatise on ancient symbols:\u2014\n\n    Alioqui sal amiciti\u00e6 symbolum fuit, durationis gratia. Corpora\n    enim solidiora facit et diutissime conservat. Unde hospitibus\n    ante alios cibos apponi solitum, quo amiciti\u00e6 firmitas ac\n    perseverantia significetur. Quare plerique ominosum habent si\n    sal in mensam profundi contigerit. Contra vero faustum si vinum\n    atque id merum effusum sit.\n\nWhich has been rendered into English as follows: \u201cSalt was formerly\na symbol of friendship, because of its lasting quality. For it makes\nsubstances more compact and preserves them for a long time: hence it was\nusually presented to guests before other food, to signify the abiding\nstrength of friendship. Wherefore many consider it ominous to spill\nsalt on the table, and, on the other hand, propitious to spill wine,\nespecially if unmixed with water.\u201d[280]\n\nIn Gaule\u2019s \u201cMagastromancer\u201d (1652), overturning the salt is mentioned in\na list of \u201csuperstitious ominations.\u201d According to a popular Norwegian\nbelief, one will shed as many tears as may suffice to dissolve the\nquantity of salt which he has spilled;[281] and in east Yorkshire, also,\nevery grain of spilled salt represents a tear to be shed. Moreover,\nsaltness has been thought to be an essential attribute of tears, and\nthis intimate connection between the two may have given rise to some\nof the many superstitions connected with salt.[282] In Bucks County,\nPennsylvania, in order to avert ill-luck after salt has been spilled, one\nshould not only toss a pinch of the spilled salt over the left shoulder,\nbut should also crawl under a table and come out on the opposite\nside.[283]\n\nIn the \u201cBritish Apollo\u201d (1708) are these lines:\u2014\n\n    We \u2019el tel you the reason\n    Why spilling of Salt\n    Is esteemed such a Fault,\n    Because it doth ev\u2019rything season.\n\n    Th\u2019 antiques did opine\n    \u2019Twas of Friendship a sign,\n    So served it to guests in decorum,\n    And thought Love decayed,\n    When the negligent Maid\n    Let the salt-cellar tumble before them.\n\nIn New England the gravity of salt-spilling as an omen, its deplorable\nseverance of friendship\u2019s ties, and the necessity for prompt remedial\nmeasures, are all fully recognized.\n\nAnd here the deft toss of the spilled particles over the left shoulder\nis not always adequate; for in order thoroughly to break the spell, these\nparticles must be thrown on the stove.[284]\n\nGypsies have a saying, \u201cThe salt of strife has fallen.\u201d\n\nFrom the idea of the desecration of a sacred substance, to which allusion\nhas been made, doubtless arose the remarkable superstition that, as a\npenalty for spilling salt, one must wait outside the gate of Paradise for\nas many years as there are grains of salt spilled.[285]\n\nIn the Lansdowne MSS. 231 (British Museum) occurs this passage:\u2014\n\n    The falling of salt is an authentic \ua751sag\u0305emt of ill-luck, nor\n    can every temper contemn it; nor was the same a grall \ua751gnostic\n    among the ancients of future evil, but a \ua751ticular omination\n    concerning the breach of friendship. For salt as incorruptible\n    was y\u1d49 symbole of friendship, and before ye other service\n    was offered unto y\u1d49\u2071\u02b3 guests. But whether salt were not only\n    a symbol of friendship w\u02b0 man, but also a fig. of amity and\n    reco\u0305ciliation w\u02b0 God, and was therefore offered in sacrifices,\n    is an higher speculation.\n\nHerbert Spencer affirms[286] that the consciousness which harbors a\nnotion that evil will result from spilling salt is manifestly allied\nto the consciousness of the savage, and is prone to entertain other\nsuperstitious beliefs like those prevalent in barbarous lands. And\nalthough idolatry and fetich-worship do not flourish in civilized\ncommunities, yet many popular superstitions are akin in nature to the\nsentiments which prompt the savage to bow down before images of wood or\nstone.\n\n\nVI. HELPING TO SALT AT TABLE\n\nIn the northern counties of England, and indeed quite generally in\nAnglican communities, it is reckoned unlucky to be helped to salt at\ntable, and this idea has found expression in the popular couplet, \u201cHelp\nme to salt, help me to sorrow.\u201d In a small volume entitled \u201cThe Rules\nof Civility\u201d (London, 1695), translated from the French, and quoted in\n\u201cBrand\u2019s Popular Antiquities,\u201d is the following passage:\u2014\n\n    Some are so exact they think it uncivil to help anybody that\n    sits by them either with _salt_ or _brains_. But in my judgment\n    that is a ridiculous scruple, and if your neighbor desires\n    you to furnish him (with salt), you must either take out some\n    with your knife and lay it upon his plate, or if they be more\n    than one, present them with the salt that they may furnish\n    themselves.\n\nIn Russia there is a superstitious prejudice against helping one\u2019s\nneighbor to salt at table on account of the liability to quarrels thereby\nincurred. For in so doing one is thought to have the air of implying,\n\u201cWell, you have received your allowance of salt, now go away.\u201d But if\nin proffering the salt one smiles amicably, all danger of a quarrel\nis happily averted, and the act is wholly relieved of its ominous\ncharacter.[287]\n\nThe simple expedient of a second help is commonly regarded as equally\neffective for this purpose, but it is difficult to imagine whence was\nderived the alleged potency of such an antidote, which is contrary to the\nPythagorean theory of the divine character of unity and the diabolical\nattributes of the number two.\n\nIn many lands, however, it is only common courtesy to help a friend to\nsalt at table; but in Italy this delicate attention was formerly thought\nto be a mark of undue familiarity, and, when salt was offered by one\ngentleman to the wife of another, it was a sufficient cause for jealousy\nand even quarrel.[288]\n\n\nVII. SALT AS A PROTECTION TO YOUNG INFANTS\n\nThe medi\u00e6val Roman Catholic custom of using salt to protect infants\nfrom evil prior to their baptism is frequently alluded to in early\nromantic literature. In an ancient ballad entitled \u201cThe King\u2019s Daughter,\u201d\nthe birth of a child occurs under circumstances which prevent the\nadministration of the rite of baptism. The mother, therefore, exposes\nthe baby in a casket, and is careful to place by its side salt and\ncandles. The words of the ballad are:\u2014\n\n    The bairnie she swyl\u2019d in linen so fine,\n    In a gilded casket she laid it syne,\n    Mickle saut and light she laid therein,\n    Cause yet in God\u2019s house it had\u2019na been.[289]\n\nMr. William G. Black, in his work on Folk-Medicine, says that in some\ndistricts of Scotland it was formerly a custom, previous to baptism, to\ncarry some salt around the child \u201cwithershins,\u201d or backwards,\u2014a procedure\nwhich was believed to protect the child from evil during its oftentimes\nlong journey from the house to the church where the ceremony was to be\nperformed. In Marsala the relatives of a new-born child do not sleep the\nfirst night, for fear of the appearance of witches. Indeed, a watch is\noften kept for many nights, or until the child\u2019s baptism. A light burns\nin the room constantly, and an image of some saint is fastened upon the\nhouse-door. A rosary and a raveled napkin are attached to the image, and\nbehind the door are placed a jug of salt and a broom. When a witch comes\nand sees the saint\u2019s image and the rosary, she usually goes away at once;\nbut even if these talismans are wanting, the salt, napkin, and broom\nafford adequate protection. For any witch before entering must count the\ngrains of salt, the threads of the napkin\u2019s fringe, and the twigs of\nwhich the broom is made. And she never has time enough for these tasks,\nbecause she cannot appear before midnight, and must hide herself before\nthe dawn.[290]\n\nThis popular belief in the magical power of salt to protect infants from\nevil, especially in the period between birth and baptism, is exemplified\nin the following allusion to a foundling in a metrical \u201cHistory of the\nFamily of Stanley,\u201d which dates from the early part of the sixteenth\ncentury (Harleian MSS. 541, British Museum): \u201cIt was uncrisned, seeming\nout of doubt, for salt was bound at its neck in a linen clout.\u201d[291]\n\nIn Sicily, too, it is sometimes customary for the priest to place a\nlittle salt in the child\u2019s mouth at baptism, thereby imparting wisdom.\nHence the popular local saying in regard to a person who is dull of\nunderstanding, that the priest put but little salt in his mouth.[292] A\nsimilar usage is in vogue in the district of Campine in Belgium. The use\nof salt at baptism in the Christian Church dates from the fourth century.\nIt was an early practice to place salt, which had been previously\nblessed, in the infant\u2019s mouth, to symbolize the counteraction of the\nsinfulness of its nature.[293]\n\nSo, too, in the baptismal ceremonies of the Church of England in\nmedi\u00e6val times, salt, over which an exorcism had been said, was placed\nin the child\u2019s mouth, and its ears and nostrils were touched with\nsaliva,\u2014practices which became obsolete at about the time of the reign of\nHenry VIII.\n\nAn octagonal font of the fifteenth century, in St. Margaret\u2019s Church,\nIpswich, Suffolk, has upon one of its sides the figure of an angel\nbearing a scroll, on which appears a partially illegible inscription\ncontaining the words _Sal et Saliva_.[294]\n\nThomas Ady, in \u201cA Perfect Discovery of Witches\u201d (London, 1661), says that\nholy water, properly conjured, was used to keep the Devil in awe, and to\nprevent his entering churches or dwellings.\n\nWith such holy water Satanic influences were kept away from meat and\ndrink, and from \u201cthe very salt upon the table.\u201d\n\nIn the Highlands of Scotland, instead of using salt as an amulet for\nthe protection of young babies, it was customary for watchers to remain\nconstantly by the cradle until the christening. For it was believed that\nspiteful fairies were wont to carry off healthy infants, leaving in\ntheir stead puny specimens of their own elfish offspring; and infants\nthus kidnapped were sometimes kept in fairyland for seven years. This\nwell-known popular belief gave rise to the word \u201cchangeling,\u201d which\nsignifies a \u201cstrange, stupid, ugly child left by the fairies in place\nof a beautiful or charming child that they have stolen away.\u201d[295] And\ninasmuch as baby elves were invariably stunted and of feeble intellect,\nall idiotic and dwarfish children were thought to be changelings.[296]\n\n    From thence a faery the unweeting reft,\n    There as thou slepst in tender swadling band,\n    And her base elfin brood there for the left:\n    Such men do _chaungelinges_ call, so chaunged by fairies\u2019 theft.[297]\n\n\nVIII. SALT AS A MAGICAL SUBSTANCE\n\nThe natives of Morocco regard salt as a talisman against evil, and a\ncommon amulet among the Neapolitan poor is a bit of rock-salt suspended\nfrom the neck.[298] The peasants of the Hartz Mountain region in Germany\nbelieve that three grains of salt in a milk-pot will keep witches away\nfrom the milk;[299] and to preserve butter from their uncanny influences,\nit was a custom in the county of Aberdeen, Scotland, some years ago, to\nput salt on the lid of a churn.[300] In Normandy, also, the peasants are\nwont to throw a little salt into a vessel containing milk, in order to\nprotect the cow who gave the milk from the influences of witchcraft.\n\nPeculiar notions about the magical properties of salt are common among\nAmerican negroes. Thus in some regions a new tenant will not move into a\nfurnished house until all objects therein have been thoroughly salted,\nwith a view to the destruction of witch-germs.[301] Another example of\nthe supernatural attributes ascribed to salt is the opinion current among\nuneducated people in some communities of its potency in casting a spell\nover obnoxious individuals. For this purpose it is sufficient either to\nsprinkle salt over the sleeping form of an enemy, or on the grave of one\nof his ancestors.[302] Another kind of salt-spell in vogue in the south\nof England consists in throwing a little salt into the fire on three\nsuccessive Friday nights, while saying these words:\u2014\n\n    It is not this salt I wish to burn,\n    It is my lover\u2019s heart to turn;\n    That he may neither rest nor happy be,\n    Until he comes and speaks to me.\n\nOn the third Friday night the disconsolate damsel expects her lover to\nappear.[303] Every one is familiar with the old saying, \u201cYou can catch\na bird with your hand, if you first put some salt on its tail.\u201d This\nquaint expression has been thought to imply that, if one can get near\nenough to a bird to place salt on its tail, its capture is an easy\nmatter. The phrase, however, may be more properly attributed to a belief\nin the magical properties of salt in casting a spell over the bird.\nOtherwise any substance might be equally effective for the purpose of\ncatching it. The writer remembers having read somewhere an old legend\nabout a young man who playfully threw some salt on the back of a witch\nsitting next to him at table, and the witch thereupon acquired such an\nincrease of avoirdupois that she was unable to move until the young man\nobligingly brushed away the salt.\n\nThe ancient Teutons believed that the swift flight of birds was caused\nby certain powerful spirits of the air. Now salt is a foe to ghostly\nmight, imparts weight to bodies, and impedes their motion; therefore\nthe rationale of its operation when placed upon a bird\u2019s tail is easily\nintelligible.\n\nIn the Province of Quebec French Canadians sometimes scatter salt about\nthe doors of their stables to prevent those mischievous little imps\ncalled _lutins_ from entering and teasing the horses by sticking burrs\nin their manes and tails.[304] The _lutin_ or _gobelin_ is akin to the\nScandinavian household spirit, who is fond of children and horses, and\nwho whips and pinches the former when they are naughty, but caresses them\nwhen good.[305] In Marsala, west Sicily, a horse, mule, or donkey, on\nentering a new stall, is thought to be liable to molestation by fairies.\nAs a precautionary measure, therefore, a little salt is placed on the\nanimal\u2019s back, and this is believed to insure freedom from lameness, or\nother evil resulting from fairy spite.[306] Common salt has long enjoyed\na reputation as a means of procuring disenchantment. It was an ingredient\nof a salve \u201cagainst nocturnal goblin visitors\u201d used by the Saxons in\nEngland, and described in one of their ancient leech-books;[307] while\nin the annals of folk-medicine are to be found numerous references to\nits reputed virtues as a magical therapeutic agent. In Scotland, when\na person is ailing of some affection whose nature is not apparent, as\nmuch salt as can be placed on a sixpence is dissolved in water, and the\nsolution is then applied three times to the soles of the patient\u2019s feet,\nto the palms of his hands, and to his forehead. He is then expected to\ntaste the mixture, a portion of which is thrown over the fire while\nsaying, \u201cLord, preserve us frae a\u2019 skaith.\u201d[308]\n\nThe Germans of Buffalo valley in central Pennsylvania believe that a boy\nmay be cured of homesickness by placing salt in the hems of his trousers\nand making him look up the chimney.[309]\n\nIn India the natives rub salt and wine on the affected part of the\nbody as a cure for scorpion bites, believing that the success of this\ntreatment is due to the supernatural virtue of the salt in scaring away\nthe fiends who caused the pain.[310] An ancient Irish charm of great\nrepute in cases of suspected \u201cfairy-stroke\u201d consisted in placing on a\ntable three equal portions of salt in three parallel rows. The would-be\nmagician then encircles the salt with his arm and repeats the Lord\u2019s\nPrayer thrice over each row. Then, taking the hand of the fairy-struck\nperson, he says over it, \u201cBy the power of the Father and of the Son and\nof the Holy Spirit, let this disease depart and the spell of evil spirits\nbe broken.\u201d Then follows a solemn adjuration and command addressed to the\nsupposed demon, and the charm is complete.[311]\n\nIn Bavaria and the Ukraine, in order to ascertain whether a child has\nbeen the victim of bewitchment, the mother licks its forehead; and if her\nsense of taste reveals thereby a marked saline flavor, she is convinced\nthat her child has been under the influence of an evil eye.[312]\n\nIn the Swiss canton of Bern a person is believed to be amply fortified\nagainst all kinds of spiritual enemies by the simple expedient of\ncarrying a piece of fresh bread and a psalm-book in the right and left\ncoat pockets respectively, provided one is careful to have some rock-salt\neither in each vest pocket, or inside a briar-wood cane upon which three\ncrosses have been cut.[313] In Bohemia a mother seeks to protect her\ndaughter from evil glances by placing a little bread and salt in her\npocket; and when a young girl goes out for a walk the mother sprinkles\nsalt on the ground behind her, so that she may not lose her way.[314]\n\nHoly water has been employed in the religious ceremonies of many peoples\nas a means of purifying both persons and things, and also to keep away\ndemons. Sprinkling and washing with it were important features of the\nGreek ritual.\n\nThe holy water of the Roman Catholic Church is prepared by exorcising and\nblessing salt and water separately, after which the salt is dissolved in\nthe water and a benediction pronounced upon the mixture. In the Hawaiian\nritual, sea-water was sometimes preferred.[315]\n\nA Magyar house-mistress will not give any salt to a woman who may come\nto the door and ask for it in the early morning, believing that any\nsuch would-be borrower is surely a witch; but in order to keep away all\nwitches and hags, she strews salt on the threshold. On St. Lucien\u2019s Day\nneither salt nor fire must be taken out of the house.[316]\n\nAmong the Japanese, the mysterious preservative qualities of salt are the\nsource of various superstitions. The mistress of a household will not buy\nit at night, and when purchased in the daytime a small quantity is thrown\ninto the fire in order to prevent discord in the family, and to avert\nmisfortune generally.[317]\n\nIn Scotland salt was formerly in high repute as a charm, and the salt-box\nwas the first chattel to be removed to a new dwelling. When Robert Burns,\nin the year 1789, was about to occupy a new house at Ellisland, he was\nescorted on his route thither along the banks of the river Nith by a\nprocession of relatives, and in their midst was borne a bowl of salt\nresting on the family Bible.[318]\n\nIn some places in the north of England the giving away of salt is a\ndangerous procedure; for if the salt thus given comes into the possession\nof an evil-wisher, it places the donor entirely in the power of such a\nperson.[319]\n\nIn upper Egypt, previous to the setting out of a caravan, it is customary\nfor the native women to throw salt on burning coals, which are carried\nin earthen vessels and set down before the different loads. While so\ndoing they exclaim, \u201cMay you be blessed in going and coming,\u201d and such\nincantations they believe render inert all the machinations of evil\nspirits.[320]\n\n\nIX. MISCELLANEOUS REMARKS ON SALT\n\nAmong the peasants of the Spanish province of Andalusia the word \u201csalt\u201d\nis synonymous with gracefulness and charm of manner, and no more\nendearing or flattering language can be used in addressing a woman,\nwhether wife or sweetheart, than to call her \u201cthe salt-box of my love.\u201d\nThe phrase \u201cMay you be well salted\u201d is also current as an expression of\naffectionate regard.[321]\n\nScotch fishermen have a traditional custom of salting their nets \u201cfor\nluck,\u201d and they also sometimes throw a little salt into the sea \u201cto blind\nthe fairies.\u201d\n\nIn the Isle of Man the interchange of salt is regarded as indispensable\nto every business transaction, while Manx beggars have even been known to\nrefuse an alms if proffered without it.[322]\n\nIn Syracuse, Sicily, salt has won distinction as a symbol of wisdom\nthrough a curious misinterpretation of the words _sedes sapienti\u00e6_ of the\nso-called Lauretane litany; these words becoming in the mouths of the\npeople _sale e sapienza_,[323] salt and wisdom.\n\nSalt and bread, representing the necessaries of life, are the first\narticles taken into the dwelling of a newly married pair in Russia. And\nin Pomerania, at the close of a wedding breakfast, a servant carries\nabout a plate containing salt, upon which the guests place presents of\nmoney.[324]\n\nIn olden times bread and salt were reckoned the simplest and most\nindispensable articles of diet, and were offered to guests as a guarantee\nof hospitality and friendliness. The universal reputation of salt as a\nsymbol of good-will is shown in the proverbs and current sayings of many\nnations. Cicero, in his treatise on Friendship, wrote that age increased\nthe value of friendships, even as it improved the quality of certain\nwines; and he added further that there was truth in the proverb, \u201cMany\npecks of salt must be eaten together to bring friendship to perfection.\u201d\n\nInasmuch as salt is a necessary and wholesome article of diet, a generous\nuse of it is reckoned beneficial. Evan Marlett Boddy, F. R. C. S., in his\n\u201cHistory of Salt,\u201d p. 78, comments with some asperity on the custom,\nprevalent at the tables of English gentlefolk, of placing salt in the\ntiniest receptacles, as if it were a most expensive substance. He regards\nit as anything but edifying \u201cto see the host and his guests, in the most\nfinical, grotesque manner, help themselves to the almost infinitesimal\nquantities of salt, as if it were a mark of good breeding and delicacy.\u201d\nOn the contrary, he continues, such stupid customs of \u201cgood society\u201d are\ntruly indicative of mental weakness and profound ignorance.\n\nIn a treatise on the \u201cDignity and Utility of Salt,\u201d by Jean de\nMarcounille Percheron, Paris, 1584, this mineral is likened in value\nto the four elements recognized by the ancients,\u2014earth, air, fire, and\nwater; and indeed, on account of its importance for the maintenance of\nhealth in the animal economy, salt has been termed a \u201cfifth element.\u201d So\nhighly did the Thracians of old prize this commodity that they bartered\nslaves in exchange for it, whence originated the phrase _Sale emptum\nmancipium_.\n\nThe Egyptian geographer, Cosmas, stated that a salt currency was in use\nin Africa in the sixth century;[325] and Marco Polo wrote that salt was a\ncommon medium of exchange among certain Asiatic peoples in the thirteenth\ncentury. In Tibet, for example, pieces of salt shaped in a mould, and\nweighing about half a pound each, served as small change; eighty such\npieces were equal in value to a _saggio_ of fine gold, corresponding to\nthe Roman _solidus_, worth about three dollars. Salt was, moreover, used\nas money at this time in Yun-Nan and other provinces of southwestern\nChina.[326]\n\nFelix Dubois, in his \u201cTimbuctoo the Mysterious,\u201d p. 123, comments on the\nrarity of salt in the interior of the Soudan, and says that it is the\nmost valuable commodity of that region, the _true gold_ of the Soudanese.\nThe bulk of the salt supply of Timbuctoo comes from the salt mines of\nTaudeny, which are situated in the great Sahara desert, some three\nhundred miles away to the north. Here the salt is found in abundance\nbeneath a scanty layer of sand, and is dug up in lumps and fashioned into\nblocks. Small pieces of this rock-salt are useful to the traveler as\nmoney, and are readily accepted as such by the Soudanese merchants.\n\nThe camels of southern Mongolia require a certain amount of salt in order\nto remain in good condition. Instinctively, therefore, they browse upon\nthe saline efflorescence which is found on the grassy plains or steppes\nof Asia. Baron Humboldt, in his \u201cAspects of Nature\u201d (Berlin, 1808),\nwrote that these plains were covered with juicy, evergreen soda plants;\nand that many of them glistened from afar with flakes of exuded salt,\nwhich much resembled newly fallen snow. When camels do not find this\nefflorescence, they sometimes show their craving for its saline flavor\nby taking white stones in their mouths, supposing them to be lumps of\nsalt.[327]\n\nOwing to the universality of its use, salt has been termed the\n\u201ccosmopolitan condiment.\u201d The craving for this substance is not confined\nto man, but is shared by the lower animals, and its hygienic value\nfor horses and cows is well known. Wild animals travel long distances\nover deserts and prairies, or through swamps and jungles, to reach\n\u201csalt-licks.\u201d\n\nIt may be that this natural craving for salt, which is common to man and\nbeast, may have suggested a custom of etiquette in Abyssinia. For when a\nnative of that country desires to pay an especially delicate attention\nto a friend or guest, he produces a piece of rock-salt, and graciously\npermits the latter to lick it with his tongue; a custom not a whit more\nridiculous than the ceremonious offering of snuff and the social sneeze\nof modern civilization.\n\nIn certain portions of the Dark Continent salt is esteemed a great\nluxury, and is relished by native children quite as keenly as candy in\nmore favored lands.\n\nIn the region of Accra, on the coast of Guinea, salt is said to rank next\nto gold in value; and according to Mungo Park, among the Mandingos and\nBambarras, west African tribes, whose members are unusually intelligent,\nthe phrase, \u201cflavoring one\u2019s food with salt,\u201d implies the possession of\nwealth.[328]\n\nThe Namaquas, inhabitants of the Hottentot country, share so little the\nsentiments of their neighbors regarding salt that they consider it a\nsuperfluous article having no value whatever.\n\nAbout the year 1830 there appeared in England a volume by a certain\nDoctor Howard, with the following curious title: \u201cSalt, the forbidden\nfruit or food; and the chief cause of diseases of the body and mind of\nman and of animals, as taught by the ancient Egyptian priests and wise\nmen and by scripture, in accordance with the author\u2019s experience of many\nyears.\u201d[329]\n\nAs may well be imagined from its title, this book treats of salt as a\nmost obnoxious substance, abstinence from which as an article of diet is\nessential to the maintenance of health.\n\nThe use of salt as an article of food was, moreover, thought to render\none irascible and melancholic, and in illustration of this view may be\nquoted the following passage from \u201cEuphues and his England,\u201d by John\nLyly, Maister of Arte (1580):\u2014\n\n    In sooth, gentlemen, I seldome eate salte for feare of anger,\n    and if you give me in token that I want wit, then will you\n    make cholericke before I eate it; for women, be they never so\n    foolish, would ever be thought wise.\n\n    I staied not long for mine answer, but as well quickened by\n    her former talke as desirous to cry quittance for her present\n    tongue, said thus: \u201cIf to eat store of _salt_, cause one to\n    fret; and to have no _salt_, signifies lack of wit, then do you\n    cause me to marvel, that eating no _salt_, you are so captious;\n    and loving no _salt_, you are so wise, when indeed so much wit\n    is sufficient for a woman, as when she is in the raine can\n    warne her to come out of it.\u201d[330]\n\nIn a recent article in the \u201cJournal of Hygiene,\u201d the writer affirms\nthat the general belief in the necessity of the use of salt for the\nmaintenance of health is mischievous; for many people, in their zeal to\nmake the most of a good thing, are wont to eat salt as a seasoner of all\nkinds of food. Thus an abnormal craving for the saline flavor is acquired\nand the condiment is used in excess, thereby unduly taxing the secretory\norgans, whereas in reality but a small quantity of salt is requisite.\nPersons addicted to the so-called \u201csalt habit\u201d have a perverted taste,\nand are naturally total failures as epicures; for how can any one assume\nto be a dainty feeder who disguises the true flavor of every dish, and\nwhose palate refuses to be tickled by the choicest morsels, unless these\nsmack strongly of salt?\n\nBut even in our times the use of salt as a relish is sometimes\ndeprecated as unnecessary, if not positively harmful. Thus it is argued\nthat this substance arrests or retards the physiological processes of\ndisintegration and renewal of the cells which compose the tissues of the\nliving body, processes essential to the maintenance of life and health.\n\nA recent advocate of this theory maintains that the fondness for salt\nshown by some domesticated animals is due to an acquired taste rather\nthan to an instinctive craving; for dogs and cats easily grow to like\nsuch artificial products as ice-cream and beer. As to the occasional\nvisits of wild animals to salt-licks, the fact that such visits are\ncomparatively infrequent has been thought to prove that these animals\nperiodically require the medicinal effects of saline waters, on the same\nprinciple which leads people of wealth and fashion to visit certain spas\nof Europe or America. The writer above mentioned suggests that, whereas\neach article of food has its own individual flavor, the addition of\nsalt makes them all taste alike. And if an inveterate user of salt will\nforego this favorite condiment for a month, he will then for the first\ntime be enabled properly to appreciate the true flavors of meats and\nvegetables.[331]\n\nIn the \u201cRevelations of Egyptian Mysteries,\u201d by Robert Howard, the use\nof salt as a relish is characterized as an infringement of that law of\nnature which forbids animals to partake of mineral substances as food.\nHistory may, indeed, vouch for the antiquity of the custom, but can\nfurnish no proof of its propriety. Indeed, the writer alleges in the\nabove work that salt is a most pernicious substance, and the direct cause\nof many ills.\n\nThe idea conveyed by the phrase, \u201cEnough is as good as a feast,\u201d applies\nin full force to the use of salt as a condiment, for an excess of this\nsubstance in one\u2019s food certainly spoils its flavor. According to one\nversion of a Roumanian forest-myth, a prince, while following the chase,\ncame upon a beautiful laurel-tree, whose branches were of a golden hue.\nThis tree so pleased his fancy that he determined to have his dinner\nbeneath its shade, and gave orders to that effect. Preparations were\nmade accordingly; but during the temporary absence of the cook, a fair\nmaiden emerged from the tree and strewed a quantity of salt upon the\nviands, after which she re-entered the tree, which closed over her. When\nthe prince returned and began eating his dinner, he scolded the cook for\nusing too much salt, and the cook quite naturally protested his innocence.\n\nOn the following day the same thing occurred, and the prince thereupon\ndetermined to keep watch, in order if possible to detect the culprit.\nOn the third day, when the maiden came forth from the tree on mischief\nbent, the prince caught her and carried her away, and she became his\nloyal wife.[332]\n\nThis section may be appropriately concluded with the following\ntranslation of a Roman legend illustrating the value of common salt as an\narticle of food:[333]\u2014\n\n    _The Value of Salt. A Roman Folk-tale._\n\n    There was once a king who had three daughters, and he was very\n    anxious to know which of them loved him most; he tried them in\n    various ways, and it always seemed as if the youngest daughter\n    came out best by the test. Yet he was never satisfied, because\n    he was prepossessed with the idea that the elder ones loved him\n    most.\n\n    One day he thought he would settle the matter once for all, by\n    asking each separately how much she loved him. So he called the\n    eldest by herself, and asked her how much she loved him.\n\n    \u201cAs much as the bread we eat,\u201d was her reply; and he said\n    within himself, \u201cShe must, as I thought, love me the most of\n    all; for bread is the first necessary of our existence, without\n    which we cannot live. She means, therefore, that she loves me\n    so much she could not live without me.\u201d\n\n    Then he called the second daughter by herself, and said to her,\n    \u201cHow much do you love me?\u201d\n\n    And she answered, \u201cAs much as wine.\u201d\n\n    \u201cThat is a good answer too,\u201d said the king to himself. \u201cIt is\n    true she does not seem to love me quite so much as the eldest;\n    but still, scarcely can one live without wine, so that there is\n    not much difference.\u201d\n\n    Then he called the youngest by herself, and said to her, \u201cAnd\n    you, how much do you love me?\u201d\n\n    And she answered, \u201cAs much as salt.\u201d\n\n    Then the king said, \u201cWhat a contemptible comparison! She only\n    loves me as much as the cheapest and commonest thing that comes\n    to the table. This is as much as to say, she doesn\u2019t love me at\n    all. I always thought it was so. I will never see her again.\u201d\n\n    Then he ordered that a wing of the palace should be shut up\n    from the rest, where she should be served with everything\n    belonging to her condition in life, but where she should live\n    by herself apart, and never come near him.\n\n    Here she lived, then, all alone. But though her father fancied\n    she did not care for him, she pined so much at being kept away\n    from him, that at last she was worn out, and could bear it no\n    longer.\n\n    The room that had been given her had no windows on the street,\n    that she might not have the amusement of seeing what was going\n    on in the town, but they looked upon an inner court-yard. Here\n    she sometimes saw the cook come out and wash vegetables at the\n    fountain.\n\n    \u201cCook, cook!\u201d she called one day, as she saw him pass thus\n    under the window.\n\n    The cook looked up with a good-natured face, which gave her\n    encouragement.\n\n    \u201cDon\u2019t you think, cook, I must be very lonely and miserable up\n    here all alone?\u201d\n\n    \u201cYes, Signorina,\u201d he replied; \u201cI often think I should like to\n    help you to get out; but I dare not think of it, the king would\n    be so angry.\u201d\n\n    \u201cNo, I don\u2019t want you to do anything to disobey the king,\u201d\n    answered the princess; \u201cbut would you really do me a favor,\n    which would make me very grateful indeed?\u201d\n\n    \u201cOh, yes, Signorina, anything which I can do without disobeying\n    the king,\u201d replied the faithful servant.\n\n    \u201cThen this is it,\u201d said the princess. \u201cWill you just oblige\n    me so far as to cook papa\u2019s dinner to-day without any salt in\n    anything? Not the least grain in anything at all. Let it be as\n    good a dinner as you like, but no salt in anything. Will you do\n    that?\u201d\n\n    \u201cI see,\u201d replied the cook, with a knowing nod. \u201cYes, depend on\n    me, I will do it.\u201d\n\n    That day at dinner the king had no salt in the soup, no salt in\n    the boiled meat, no salt in the roast, no salt in the fried.\n\n    \u201cWhat is the meaning of this?\u201d said the king, as he pushed dish\n    after dish away from him. \u201cThere is not a single thing I can\n    eat to-day. I don\u2019t know what they have done to everything, but\n    there is not a single thing that has got the least taste. Let\n    the cook be called.\u201d\n\n    So the cook came before him.\n\n    \u201cWhat have you done to the victuals to-day?\u201d said the king\n    sternly. \u201cYou have sent up a lot of dishes, and no one alive\n    can tell one from another. They are all of them exactly alike,\n    and there is not one of them can be eaten. Speak!\u201d\n\n    The cook answered:\u2014\n\n    \u201cHearing your Majesty say that salt was the commonest\n    thing that comes to table, and altogether so worthless and\n    contemptible, I considered in my mind whether it was a thing\n    that at all deserved to be served up to the table of the king;\n    and, judging that it was not worthy, I abolished it from the\n    king\u2019s kitchen, and dressed all the meats without it. Barring\n    this, the dishes are the same that are sent every day to the\n    table of the king.\u201d\n\n    Then the king understood the value of salt, and he\n    comprehended how great was the love of his youngest child for\n    him; so he sent and had her apartment opened, and called her to\n    him, never to go away any more.\n\n\nX. THE SALT-CELLAR\n\nThe rhetorician Arnobius, in his work \u201cDisputationes contra Gentes,\u201d\nwrote that the pagans were wont to sanctify or hallow their tables\nby setting salt-cellars thereon. For owing to the fact that salt was\nemployed at every sacrifice as an offering to the gods, and owing\nmoreover to its reputed divine attributes, receptacles containing salt\nwere also held sacred.\n\nIndeed, the salt-cellar partook of the nature of a holy vessel,\nassociated with the temple in general, and more particularly with the\naltar.[334]\n\nPythagoras said that salt was the emblem of justice; for as it preserves\nall things and prevents corruption, so justice preserves whatever it\nanimates, and without it all is corrupted. He therefore directed that a\nsalt-cellar should be placed upon the table at every meal, in order to\nremind men of this emblematic virtue of salt.[335]\n\nThe Romans considered salt to be a sacred article of food, and it was a\nmatter of religious principle with them to see that no other dish was\nplaced upon the table before the salt was in position.[336] A shell\nserved as a receptacle for salt on the table of the Roman peasant, but\nat the repast of the wealthy citizen the silver salt-cellar, which was\nusually an heirloom, was placed in the middle of the table; and the same\ncustom prevailed in England in medi\u00e6val times.\n\nIn a work entitled \u201cAntiquitates Culinari\u00e6,\u201d compiled by the Rev.\nRichard Warner, London, 1791, are to be found, reprinted from an old\npaper-roll, elaborate directions for the preparation of the banquet-table\non the occasion of a great feast at the enthroning of George Neville as\nChancellor of England and Archbishop of York in the sixth year of Edward\nthe Fourth, A. D. 1466.\n\nAfter the laying of the \u201cchiefe napkin,\u201d the officials of the king\u2019s\nhousehold charged with such duties were directed to bring salt, bread,\nand trenchers, and to \u201cset the salt right under the middest of the cloth\nof estate.\u201d\n\nMinute directions follow regarding the proper disposition of the\ntrenchers, knives, spoons, and bread, and their exact relations to the\nsalt, which was treated with special deference throughout the ceremony.\n\nThe Hon. Horace Walpole published an account of the formalities observed\nat the \u201csetting\u201d of Queen Elizabeth\u2019s dinner-table, as described by\na German traveler who was present on such an occasion. After the\ntable-cloth had been spread two gentlemen appeared, one bearing a rod\nand the other having a salt-cellar, a plate, and bread. After kneeling\nthree times with the utmost reverence, they placed these three articles\nupon the table and withdrew. Later in the ceremony came an unmarried lady\ndressed in white silk, and a matron carrying a tasting-knife. The former,\nhaving thrice prostrated herself, approached the table in the most\ngraceful manner, and rubbed with bread and salt the plates provided for\nthe guests. After this the yeomen of the guard, clad in scarlet, and each\nwith a golden rose upon his back, entered bare-headed, bringing a course\nof four-and-twenty dishes. In the households of the English nobility a\nsimilar custom prevailed. A rhythmical code of instructions to servants\nof the fifteenth century required that the salt should always be the\nfirst article placed on the festive board after the cloth was laid:[337]\u2014\n\n    Tu dois mettre premi\u00e8rement en tous lieux et en tout hostel\n      La nappe, et apr\u00e8s le sel;\n    Cousteaulx, pain, vin et puis viande,\n      Puis apporter ce qu\u2019on demande.\n\nIn the \u201cHaven of Health\u201d (Thomas Coghan, London, 1636) are these verses,\nquoted from an earlier author:\u2014\n\n    Sal primo poni debet, primoque reponi,\n    Omnis mensa male ponitur absque sale.\n\nA curious little treatise, with the title \u201cHow to serve a Lord,\u201d\nspecifies how the principal salt-cellar shall be placed:\u2014\n\n    Thenne here-uppon the boteler or panter shall bring forthe his\n    pryncipall salte \u2026 he shall sette the saler in the myddys of\n    the tabull accordyng to the place where the principall soverain\n    shall sette \u2026 thenne the seconde salte att the lower ende \u2026\n    then salte selers shall be sette uppon the syde tablys.\n\nThe custom of placing salt upon the table before all else is thought to\nhave originated in the ancient conception of this substance as the symbol\nof friendship; and indeed no banquet, however elaborate, was complete\nwithout it. The salt was, moreover, the last article to be removed from\nthe hospitable board.\n\nIt was as though our forefathers thereby intended that the guests, seeing\nsalt on the table, might realize that they were \u201cinvited in love and were\nloved before they came;\u201d and the fact that it was allowed to remain after\nthe other dishes had been removed might serve to remind them that while\nfeasts, like many other good things, come to an end, love and friendship\nmay be perpetual.[338]\n\nMacrobius wrote, in the fifth century A. D., that the ancients did not\nconsider themselves as either welcome or safe at a banquet unless the\nsalt and the shrines of their gods were placed upon the table; the\nformer indicating a cordial greeting, and the latter being a guarantee of\nprotection.\n\nThe ancient \u201cBoke of Keruynge\u201d says: \u201cThan set your salt on the ryght\nsyde where your soverayne shall sytte, and on ye lefte syde the salte set\nyour trenchours.\u201d\n\nMedi\u00e6val salt-cellars were often elaborate pieces of silver. In Paul\nLacroix\u2019s \u201cManners, Customs, and Dress during the Middle Ages\u201d are\nillustrations of an enameled silver salt-cellar with six facings,\nrepresenting the labors of Hercules, which was made at Limoges for the\nFrench king, Francis I., in the early part of the sixteenth century. At\nCorpus Christi College, Cambridge, England, is preserved an elegantly\nwrought silver and golden salt-cellar which belonged to Matthew Parker,\nwho was appointed Archbishop of Canterbury in 1558.[339]\n\nIn the \u201cArt Journal\u201d (vol. xxxix. 1887) is a description of the state\nsalt-cellar of Mostyn Hall, Flintshire, North Wales, which had been\nrecently discovered in an ancient chest. This magnificent piece of plate,\nwhich bears the London date-mark 1586-87, is eighteen and one half inches\nin height and of cylindrical form, surmounted by a vase, and richly\nornamented with groups of fruit, foliage, animals, and birds.\n\nIn medi\u00e6val England the chief salt-cellar was sometimes in the form of\na silver ship, thus suggesting both the briny deep and the craft which\nsails thereon.\n\nKing Henry III. ordered twenty silver salts in the year 1243.[340]\n\nIn the room containing the crown jewels, in the Tower of London, are to\nbe seen eleven magnificent golden salt-cellars, the oldest dating from\nthe reign of Elizabeth. Of these the so-called state salt-cellar, which\nis a model of the White Tower, was presented by the city of Exeter to\nKing Charles II., and was used at coronation banquets.\n\nDescriptions and illustrations of old English salt-cellars of different\nepochs are to be found in a volume entitled \u201cOld English Plate,\u201d by\nWilfred Joseph Cripps, M. A., F. S. A., London, 1886; and in \u201cOld Plate,\u201d\nby J. H. Buck, New York, 1888. In the former work mention is made of a\nmagnificent salt-cellar, \u201cin the form of an olifaunt,\u201d the property of\nJohn, Earl of Warrenes, in 1347; and another, \u201cin the shape of a dog,\u201d\nbelonging to Edmund Mortimer, Earl of March, in 1380.\n\nFrom an early period until the close of the seventeenth century, the rank\nof guests at a banquet in wealthy households, as in the halls of country\nsquires, in England, was indicated by the situation of their places at\ntable with reference to the massive silver centre-pieces which contained\nthe salt,[341] sometimes called the \u201csalt-vat\u201d or \u201csalt-foot.\u201d\n\nAt the head of the table, which was called _the board\u2019s end_, and \u201cabove\nthe salt,\u201d sat the host and his more distinguished guests; and during the\nreigns of Henry VII. and VIII. it was enjoined upon the ushers to see\nthat no person occupied a higher place than he was entitled to. Probably\nno penalty was imposed upon guests who unwittingly selected a more\nhonorable seat than their rank warranted, other than removal to a lower\nposition. But in the less civilized era of the eleventh century, the laws\nof King Canute provided that any person sitting at a banquet above his\nposition should be \u201cpelted out of his place by bones, at the discretion\nof the company, without the privilege of taking offense.\u201d[342]\n\nIn a book called \u201cStrange Foot-Post, with a Packet full of Strange\nPetitions,\u201d by Nixon (London, 1613), the author says in reference to a\npoor scholar:\u2014\n\n    Now, as for his fare, it is lightly at the cheapest table, but\n    he must sit under the salt, that is an axiome in such places;\n    then having drawne his knife leisurably, unfolded his napkin\n    mannerly after twice or thrice wiping his beard, if he have it,\n    he may reach the bread on his knife\u2019s point.\n\nThe \u201cBabees Book\u201d (1475) says: \u201cThe salt also touch not in his salere\nwith nokyns mete, but lay it honestly on the Trenchoure, for that is\ncurtesy;\u201d and the \u201cYoung Children\u2019s Book\u201d (1500) contains this passage:\n\u201cIt was not graceful to take the salt except with the clene knyfe; far\nless to dip your meat into the salt-cellar.\u201d\n\nJoseph Hall, in his \u201cSatires\u201d (1597), speaking of the conditions imposed\nby a gentle squire upon his son\u2019s tutor, says that the latter was\nrequired to sleep in a trundle-bed at the foot of his young master\u2019s\ncouch, and that his seat at table was invariably \u201cbelow the salt.\u201d\n\nAgain, in a volume of \u201cEssayes,\u201d by Sir William Cornwallis (1632), occurs\nthe following:\u2014\n\n    There is another sort worse than these, that never utter\n    anything of their owne, but get jests by heart, and rob bookes\n    and men of prettie tales, and yet hope for this to have a roome\n    _above the salt_.\n\nQuite apropos to our subject are the words of an old English ballad:\u2014\n\n    Thou art a carle of mean degree,\n    Ye salt doth stand twain me and thee.\n\nThe following passage from Smyth\u2019s \u201cLives of the Berkeleys\u201d refers to\nLord Henry Berkeley, who dwelt in Caludon Castle, near Coventry, in\nWarwickshire, in the latter part of the sixteenth century, and may serve\nto illustrate the importance of the central salt-cellar as a boundary:\u2014\n\n    At Christmas and other festivals when his neighbors were\n    feasted in his hall, he would, in the midst of their dinner,\n    rise from his own, and going to each of their tables,\n    cheerfully bid them welcome; and when guests of honor and high\n    rank filled his own table, he seated himself at the lower\n    end; and when such guests filled but half his board and those\n    of meaner degree the other half, he would take his own seat\n    between them in the midst of his long table _near the salt_,\n    which gracious considerate acts did much to gain the love that\n    his people had for him.\n\nAnd in commenting on this passage a recent writer remarks that his\nhaughty wife, Lady Katherine, high-born and beautiful and clever though\nshe was, could hardly be imagined as sitting \u201cbelow the salt,\u201d out of\nconsideration for the feelings of an inferior.[343]\n\nIn the houses of well-to-do farmers among the Scottish peasantry in the\nlatter part of the eighteenth century, a linen cloth was sometimes spread\nover the upper portion of the dinner-table, where sat the farmer and the\nmembers of his family. Quite commonly, however, a chalk-line divided this\nend of the board from the lower portion where the hired laborers were\nseated; and in the more pretentious households the salt-dish served as a\nboundary.[344]\n\nIn \u201cNares\u2019 Glossary,\u201d vol. ii. p. 763, under the heading \u201cAbove or Below\nthe Salt,\u201d the writer comments on the invidious distinctions formerly\nmade between guests seated at the same table, and quotes as follows from\nBen Jonson\u2019s \u201cCynthia\u2019s Revels\u201d in reference to a conceited fop:\u2014\n\n    His fashion is not to take knowledge of him that is beneath him\n    in clothes; he never drinks below the Salt.\n\nThe Innholders Company still adheres to the custom of indicating rank and\nsocial position at table by means of a handsome salt-cellar of the time\nof James I., to which is assigned the responsible function of dividing\nthe Court from the Livery at the Livery dinners; the latter occupying the\nseats corresponding to those of the retainers in the old-time baron\u2019s\nhall.[345]\n\nAmong the Puritans in New England \u201cthe salt-cellar was the focus of the\nold-time board.\u201d Our ancestors brought with them from beyond the sea, not\nonly the ideas regarding table etiquette prevalent in the old country,\nbut also such tangible vanities as silver plate. Miss Alice Morse Earle,\nin her book on the \u201cCustoms and Fashions of Old New England,\u201d says that\nthe \u201cstanding salt\u201d was often the handsomest article of table furniture,\nand mentions among the belongings of Comfort Starr, of Boston, in 1659, a\n\u201cgreate silver-gilt double salt-cellar.\u201d Early in the eighteenth century\nthese ponderous silver vessels were superseded by the little \u201ctrencher\nsalts,\u201d of various patterns, which are still in use.\n\n\n\n\nTHE OMENS OF SNEEZING\n\n    He is a friend at sneezing time; the most that can be got from\n    him is a \u201cGod bless you!\u201d\u2014_Italian proverb._\n\n\nI. IN ANCIENT TIMES\n\nThe ancient Egyptians regarded the head as a citadel or fortress in\nwhich the reasoning faculty abode.[346] Hence they especially revered\nany function seemingly appertaining to so noble a portion of the body,\nand dignified even the insignificant act of sneezing by attributing to\nit auguries for good or evil, according to the position of the moon with\nreference to the signs of the zodiac.[347] The Greeks and Romans also,\nby whom the most trivial occurrences of every-day life were thought to\nbe omens of good fortune or the reverse, considered the phenomena of\nsneezing as not the least important in this regard. Homer tells us in the\nOdyssey that the Princess Penelope, troubled by the importunities of her\nsuitors, prayed to the gods for the speedy return of her husband Ulysses.\nScarcely was her prayer ended when her son Telemachus sneezed, and this\nevent was regarded by Penelope as an intimation that her petition would\nbe granted.\n\nAristotle said that there was a god of sneezing, and that when in Greece\nany business enterprise was to be undertaken, two or four sneezes\nwere thought to be favorable. If more than four, the auspices were\nindifferent, while one or three rendered it hazardous to proceed.[348]\nAbout this, however, there appears to have been no unvarying rule.\nSneezing at a banquet was considered by the Romans to be especially\nominous; and when it unfortunately occurred, some of the viands were\nbrought back to the table and again tasted, as this was thought to\ncounteract any evil effects. The Greeks considered that the brain\ncontrolled the function of sneezing. They were therefore as careful to\navoid eating this portion of any animal as the Pythagoreans were to avoid\nbeans as an article of diet.[349]\n\nIt is related that just before the battle of Salamis, B. C. 480, and\nwhile Themistocles, the Athenian commander, was offering a sacrifice to\nthe gods on the deck of his galley, a sneeze was heard on the right hand,\nwhich was hailed as a fortunate omen by Euphrantides the Soothsayer.\nAgain, it happened once that while Xenophon was addressing his soldiers,\nreferring to the righteousness of their cause and the consequent divine\nfavor which might be expected, some one chanced to sneeze. Pausing in\nhis address, the great general remarked that Jupiter had been pleased\nto send them a happy omen, and it seemed therefore but right to make an\noffering to the gods. Then, after all the company had joined in a hymn\nof thanksgiving, the sacrifice was made, and Xenophon continued with his\nexhortation.\n\nAmong the ancients sneezing to the right was considered fortunate and\nto the left unlucky. In some erotic verses with the title \u201cAcme and\nSeptimius,\u201d by the Roman poet, Catullus (B. C. 87-47), are these lines,\ntwice repeated:\u2014\n\n    Love stood listening with delight,\n    And sneezed his auspice on the right.\n\nThe omens of sneezing were thought to be of especial significance in\nlovers\u2019 affairs, and indeed the classic poets were wont to say of\nbeautiful women that Love had sneezed at their birth. The Italian poet,\nPropertius, while asserting his enduring affection for Cynthia, the\ndaughter of the poet Hostius, thus apostrophizes the chief theme of his\neulogies: \u201cIn thy new-born days, my life, did golden Love sneeze loud and\nclear a favoring omen.\u201d\n\nThe Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans regarded the act of sneezing as a kind\nof divinity or oracle, which warned them on various occasions as to the\ncourse they should pursue, and also foretold future good or evil.[350]\n\nPlutarch said that the familiar spirit or demon of Socrates was simply\nthe sneezing either of the philosopher himself or of those about him.\nIf any person in his company sneezed on his right hand, Socrates felt\nencouraged to proceed with the project or enterprise which he may have\nhad in mind. But if the sneeze were on his left hand, he abandoned\nthe undertaking. If he himself sneezed when he was doubtful whether\nor not to do anything, he regarded it as evidence in the affirmative;\nbut if he happened to sneeze after any work was already entered upon,\nhe immediately desisted therefrom.[351] The demon, we are told, always\nnotified him by a slight sneeze whenever his wife Xantippe was about to\nhave a scolding fit, so that he was thus enabled opportunely to absent\nhimself. And in so doing Socrates appears to have given proof, were any\nneeded, of his superior wisdom; for Xantippe had been known to upset the\nsupper-table in her anger, and that, too, when a guest was present.\n\nOn a column in the garden of the House of the Faun, at Pompeii, there is\na Latin inscription which may be freely translated as follows:\u2014\n\n    Victoria, good luck to thee and wherever thou wilt, sneeze\n    pleasantly.[352]\n\nClement of Alexandria, in a treatise on politeness, characterizes\nsneezing as effeminate and as a sign of intemperance.\n\nProbably the only Biblical reference to the subject of sneezing is in 2\nKings iv. 35, where the son of the Shunamite sneezed seven times and then\nrevived at the prayer of Elisha.\n\nHor-Apollo, in his treatise on Egyptian hieroglyphics, says that the\ninhabitants of ancient Egypt believed that the capacity for sneezing was\nin inverse ratio to the size of the spleen; and they portrayed the dog as\nthe personification of sneezing and smelling, because they believed that\nthat animal had a very small spleen. On the other hand, they held that\nanimals with large spleens were unable to sneeze, smell, or laugh, that\nis, to be open, blithe, or frank-hearted.[353]\n\nThe function of the spleen in the animal economy is not fully understood\nto-day. If the above theory were correct, we should expect that the\nremoval of a dog\u2019s spleen would incite excessive sternutation and render\nmore acute the sense of smell, whereas the only marked result of the\noperation is a voracious appetite. The theory is certainly unique, as\nwell as illogical and absurd.\n\nSt. Augustine wrote that, in his time, so prevalent was faith in the\nomens of sneezing that a man would return to bed if he happened to sneeze\nwhile putting on his shoes in the morning.\n\nThe learned English prelate, Alcuin (735-804), expressed the opinion that\nsneezings were devoid of value as auguries except to those who placed\nreliance in them. But he further remarked that \u201cit was permitted to the\nevil spirit, for the deceiving of persons who observe these things,\nto cause that in some degree prognostics should often foretell the\ntruth.\u201d[354]\n\nIn an ancient Anglo-Saxon sermon, a copy of which is in the library of\nCambridge University, England, reference is made to certain superstitions\nexisting among the Saxons before their conversion to Christianity. The\nwriter says: \u201cEvery one who trusts in divinations, either by fowls or\nby sneezings, or by horses or dogs, he is no Christian, but a notorious\napostate.\u201d\n\n\nII. MEDI\u00c6VAL BELIEFS ABOUT SNEEZING\n\nFrom certain ancient Welsh poems, it appears that sneezing was considered\nunlucky in Wales in the twelfth century;[355] but in Europe generally, in\nmedi\u00e6val times, the sneeze of a cat on the eve of a wedding was reckoned\nauspicious.[356] In the writings of the French poet, Pierre de Ronsard\n(1524-85), the opinion is expressed that not to sneeze while regarding\nthe sun is a sign of ill-luck; and from Doctor Hartlieb\u2019s \u201cBook of all\nForbidden Arts, Unbelief, and Sorcery,\u201d 1455, we learn that in Germany\nthere was a popular belief that three sneezes indicated the presence of\nfour thieves around the house.\n\nJerome Cardan, the noted Italian philosopher and physician (1501-76), in\nspeaking of genii or familiar spirits, remarked that, in his opinion,\nsneezing was a supernatural phenomenon, and, like the sound of ringing in\nthe ears, was premonitory of some event of importance.[357]\n\nSome idea of the credulous notions on the subject of sneezing which were\nprevalent in England during Queen Elizabeth\u2019s reign may be obtained from\nthe following extracts from the \u201cBurghley Papers,\u201d Lansdowne MSS. (No.\n121) in the British Museum.[358]\n\n    1. If that any man talk with another about any matter and snese\n    twise or iiij tymes, let him by and by arise, yf he sett, or yf\n    he be stand, let him move hymself and go straightway without\n    any stays about his business, for he shall prosper.\n\n    2. Yf he snese more than iiij tymes, let him staye, for it is\n    doubtful how he shall spede.\n\n    3. Yf a man snese one or iij tymes, let him proceed no further\n    in any matter, but let all alone, for it shall com to nought.\n\n    4. Yf two men do snese bothe at one instant, yt is a good syne,\n    and let them go about their purpose, yf that it be either by\n    water or land, and they shall prosper.\n\n    5. To snese twise is a good syne, but to snese once or iij\n    times is an yll syne. If one come suddenly into an house and\n    snese one tyme, yt is a good token.\n\n    6. One snese in the night season made by any of the household\n    betokenyth good luck to the house, but yf he make two sneses,\n    yt signifieth domage.\n\n    7. Trewe yt is that he who snesith takit pte (part) of the\n    signification in this condition, that he pte some pte with\n    other.\n\n    8. Yf that any man snese twyse iij nightes together, it is a\n    tokyn that one of the house shall dye, or else some greatt\n    goodness or badness shall happon in the house.\n\n    9. Yf a man go to dwell in an house and snese one tyme, lett\n    him dwell there, but yf he snese twyse, lett him not tarry,\n    neither let him dwell therein.\n\n    10. Yf a man lye awake in his bedd and snese one tyme, it is a\n    syne of some great sickness or hyndraunce.\n\n    11. Yf a man sleape in his bedde and snese one tyme, it\n    betokenyth greatt trouble, the death of some person or extreme\n    hyndraunce in the loss of substaunce.\n\n    12. Yf a man lye in his bedde and make a snese one tyme, it is\n    a good syne both of health and lucre, but if he sleape it is\n    moche better.\n\n    13. Yf a man snese twyse three nights together, it is a good\n    syne, whatsoever he go aboutt.\n\n    14. Yf a man travell by the ways and come into an Inne and\n    snese twyse, let him departe out of the house and go to another\n    or else he shall not prosper.\n\n    15. Yf a man go forthe to seke worke and laye hands of it and\n    then snese one tyme, let hym departe, leaving his worke behind\n    hym, and seke worke elsewhere, and so shall do well; but yf he\n    snese twyse let hym take his worke and go no further.\n\n    16. If any man, after he haue made a bargayne with another\n    for any thing and then snese one tyme, it signifieth that his\n    bargayne will not continue.\n\n    17. Yf a man rise betymes on a Monday mornyng out of his bedd\n    and snese one tyme, yt is a token that he shall prosper and\n    gayne all that week, or haue some other joye and comoditie.\n\n    18. But yf he snese twyse, yt is cleane contrary.\n\n    19. Yf a man lose a horse or anything els, and is stopping\n    (_sic_) out of his dore to seke it, do snese one tyme, yt is a\n    token he shall haue it agayne, but yf he snese twyse he shall\n    never haue it agayne.\n\n    20. Yf a man ryse betyme on a Sonday and snese ii tymes, yt is\n    a good tokyn, but if he snese one tyme, it is an yll tokyn.\n\n    21. Yf a man at the very beginning of dinner or supper be\n    minded to eat, and snese twyse, yt is a good tokyn, but yf he\n    snese one time, yt is an yll syne.\n\n    22. Yf a man lye sicke in bed and mystrusts himselfe, and snese\n    one tyme, yt is a tokyn of deathe, but if he snese twyse he\n    shall escape.\n\n    23. A woman being very sicke, yf she snese one tyme, yt is a\n    syne of health, but if she snese twyse, she shall dye.\n\n\nIII. MODERN SUPERSTITIONS ABOUT SNEEZING\n\nSneezing at the commencement of an undertaking, whether it be an\nimportant enterprise or the most commonplace act, has usually been\naccounted unlucky. Thus, according to a modern Teutonic belief, if a\nman sneeze on getting up in the morning, he should lie down again for\nanother three hours, else his wife will be his master for a week.[359]\nSo likewise the pious Hindu, who may perchance sneeze while beginning\nhis morning ablutions in the river Ganges, immediately recommences his\nprayers and toilet; and among the Alfoorans or aborigines of the island\nof Celebes in the Indian archipelago, if one happens to sneeze when about\nleaving a gathering of friends, he at once resumes his seat for a while\nbefore making another start.[360]\n\nWhen a native of the Banks Islands, in Polynesia, sneezes, he imagines\nthat some one is calling his name, either with good or evil intent, the\nmotive being shown by the character of the sneeze. Thus a gentle sneeze\nimplies kindly feeling on the part of the person speaking of him, while a\nviolent paroxysm indicates a malediction.\n\nIn the latter case he resorts to a peculiar form of divination in order\nto ascertain who it is that curses him. This consists in raising the\narms above the head and revolving the closed fists one around the other.\nThe revolution of the fists is the question, \u201cIs it such an one?\u201d Then\nthe arms are thrown out, and the answer, presumably affirmative, is given\nby the cracking of the elbow-joints.[361]\n\nIn Scotland even educated people have been known to maintain that idiots\nare incapable of sneezing,[362] and hence, if this be true, the inference\nis clear that the act of sternutation is _prima facie_ evidence of the\npossession of a certain degree of intelligence.\n\nBritish nurses used to think that infants were under a fairy spell until\nthey sneezed. \u201cGod sain the bairn,\u201d exclaimed an old Scotch nurse when\nher little charge sneezed at length, \u201cit\u2019s no a warlock.\u201d\n\nThe Irish people also entertain similar beliefs. Thus in Lady Wilde\u2019s\n\u201cAncient Cures, Charms, and Usages of Ireland\u201d (p. 41) is to be found\nthe following description of a magical ceremony for the cure of a\nfairy-stricken child. A good fire is made, wherein is thrown a quantity\nof certain herbs prescribed by the fairy women; and after a thick\nsmoke has risen, the child is carried thrice around the fire while an\nincantation is repeated and holy water is sprinkled about liberally.\nMeantime all doors must be closed, lest some inquisitive fairy enter and\nspy upon the proceedings; and the magical rites must be continued _until\nthe child sneezes three times_, for this looses the spell, and the little\none is permanently redeemed from the power of witches.\n\nAmong uncivilized peoples the sneeze of a young child has a certain\nmystic significance, and is intimately associated with its prospective\nwelfare or ill-luck. When, therefore, a Maori infant sneezes, its mother\nimmediately recites a long charm of words. If the sneeze occurs during a\nmeal, it is thought to be prognostic of a visit, or of some interesting\npiece of news; whereas in Tonga it is deemed an evil token.\n\nSo, too, among the New Zealanders, if a child sneeze on the occasion of\nreceiving its name, the officiating priest at once holds to its ear the\nwooden image of an idol and sings some mystic words.\n\nIn a note appended to his \u201cMountain Bard,\u201d the Ettrick Shepherd says,\nregarding the superstitions of Selkirkshire: \u201cWhen they sneeze in\nfirst stepping out of bed in the morning, they are thence certified\nthat strangers will be there in the course of the day, in numbers\ncorresponding to the times they sneeze.\u201d[363]\n\nIt was a Flemish belief that a sneeze during a conversation proved that\nwhat one said was the truth,[364] a doctrine which must have commended\nitself to snuff-takers.\n\nIn Shetlandic and Welsh folk-lore the sneeze of a cat indicates cold\nnorth winds in summer and snow in winter;[365] and the Bohemians have an\nalleged infallible test for recognizing the Devil, for they believe that\nhe must perforce sneeze violently at sight of a cross.[366]\n\nAccording to a Chinese superstition a sneeze on New Year\u2019s Eve is ominous\nfor the coming year; and, to offset this, the sneezer must visit three\nfamilies of different surnames, and beg from each a small tortoise-shaped\ncake, which must be eaten before midnight.[367]\n\nIn Turkistan, when a person to whom a remark is addressed sneezes, it\nis an asseveration that the opinion or statement is correct, just as if\nthe person accosted were to exclaim, \u201cThat is true!\u201d In the same country\nthree sneezes are unlucky. When, also, any one hiccoughs, it is etiquette\nto say, \u201cYou stole something from me,\u201d and this phrase at such times is\nsupposed to produce good luck.[368]\n\nThe Japanese attach significance to the number of times a man sneezes.\nThus, one sneeze indicates that some one is praising him, while two\nbetoken censure or disparagement; a triple sneeze is commonplace, and\nmeans simply that a person has taken cold.[369] In Mexico, also, it was\nformerly believed either that somebody was speaking evil of one who\nsneezed, or that he was being talked about by one or more persons.[370]\n\nSussex people are prejudiced against cats which develop sneezing\nproclivities, for they believe that, when a pet feline sneezes thrice,\nit augurs ill for the health of the household, and is premonitory of\ninfluenza and bronchial affections.[371]\n\nIn an interesting article in \u201cMacmillan\u2019s Magazine,\u201d entitled \u201cFrom the\nNote-book of a Country Doctor,\u201d[372] a physician practicing in a remote\npart of Cornwall tells of a peculiar cure for deafness which recently\ncame to his notice.\n\nOne of his patients, an elderly woman whose name was Grace Rickard,\ncomplained that she could no longer hear the grunting of her pigs, a\nsound which, from childhood, had roused her from sleep in the early\nmorning. The doctor was obliged to tell her that the difficulty was due\nto advancing years.\n\nA short time after, on calling at her house, he found her sitting\nbefore the fire with a piece of board in her lap, and deeply absorbed\nin thought. Just as the door opened, she exclaimed: \u201cLord, deliver me\nfrom my sins,\u201d and this petition was followed by a peculiar noise which\nsounded like an abortive sneeze. \u201cDon\u2019t be frited, zur,\u201d she said, \u201c\u2019tes\naunly a sneeze.\u201d \u201cIt\u2019s the oddest sneeze I ever heard,\u201d said the doctor;\n\u201cwhy can\u2019t you sneeze in the ordinary way?\u201d \u201cSo I do, when I can,\u201d she\nexplained; \u201cbut now \u2019tes got up to nine times running, and wherever to\nget nine sneezes from is moor \u2019n I knaw.\u201d\n\nIt appeared that Grace was making trial of an infallible cure for\ndeafness, the necessary apparatus for which consisted of a piece of board\nand some stout pins. One of the latter is stuck into the board every\nmorning, the patient\u2019s forefingers being crossed over the pin, while\nthe pious ejaculation above mentioned is repeated simultaneously with a\nvigorous sneeze. On the next morning two pins must be stuck in the board,\nthe petition and sneeze being once repeated; on the following morning\nthree pins, three prayers, and three sneezes, and so on up to nine times.\n\n\nIV. THE DOCTRINE OF DEMONIACAL POSSESSION\n\nThe natural instinct of the untutored savage is to regard the act of\nsneezing as the manifestation of an attack by a demon. Certain African\ntribes, for instance, are said to believe that whoever sneezes is\npossessed of an evil spirit, to whose malicious agency is due the\nviolence of the paroxysm and its utter disregard of times and seasons.\n\nDr. Edward B. Tylor, in his \u201cPrimitive Culture\u201d (vol. i. p. 97), asserts\nthat the Zulus have faith in the agency of kindly spirits as well, and\nsays that, when one of these people sneezes, he is wont to exclaim: \u201cI am\nnow blessed; the ancestral spirit is with me. Let me hasten and praise\nit, for it is that which causes me to sneeze.\u201d Thereupon he praises the\nspirits of the dead, and asks for various blessings. But among most\nuncivilized peoples sneezing is placed in the category of paroxysmal\ndiseases, and reckoned to be of demoniac origin.\n\nInasmuch as sneezing is often one symptom of an incipient cold, which is\na physical ailment, and as among savage tribes every physical ailment\nis regarded as a case of demoniacal possession, the use of charms and\nexorcisms to counteract the efforts of the evil spirits seems a natural\nexpedient.[373]\n\nWhen an American Indian falls sick, he believes his illness to be the\nwork of some spiteful demon. Therefore, when he gets well, he changes his\nname, so that the demon may not be able to recognize him again.[374]\n\nThe chief aim of the medicine-man, in treating a patient, is the\nexpulsion of the evil spirit; and this is the prime object of the various\nsuperstitious ceremonies and incantations which are a prominent feature\nin medical practice among savages.[375] The medicine-man strives to drive\naway the demon by frightful sounds and gesticulations, and by hideous\ngrimaces and contortions. Sometimes he makes a small image typifying\nthe spirit of sickness, and this image is then maliciously broken in\npieces.[376]\n\nThe natives of West Africa believe that the mere mention of unpleasant\nnames suffices to frighten away the demons who cause sickness; and these\nspirits may moreover be deceived by simply changing the name of a sick\nchild. In the province of Tonquin, a French possession in southeastern\nAsia, hateful names given to ailing children are likewise thought to\nterrify the evil spirits; but when the little patients are convalescent,\npleasanter names are substituted.[377]\n\nThe Indians of Nootka Sound, Vancouver Island, attribute physical\nailments either to the absence or irregular conduct of the soul, or to\nthe agency of spirits, and medical practice is governed accordingly;\ntherefore the Okanogons of the State of Washington subject patients\naffected with serious illnesses to the magical treatment of the\nmedicine-man.[378]\n\nThe islanders of the South Pacific have their own doctrine about the\nphilosophy of sneezing. They believe that, when the spirit goes traveling\nabout, its return naturally occasions some commotion, as is evident from\nthe violent act of sneezing. They therefore deem it proper to welcome\nback the wandering spirit, the form of greeting varying in the different\nislands. The phrase employed by the natives of Raratonga, for example,\nmeans \u201cHa! you have come back!\u201d[379]\n\nThe \u201cSadda,\u201d one of the sacred books of the Parsees, counsels the\nfaithful to have recourse to prayer when they sneeze, because at that\ncritical moment the demon is especially active.\n\nThe Parsees regard sneezing as a manifestation that the evil spirits, who\nare constantly seeking to enter the body, have been forcibly expelled by\nthe interior fire which, in their belief, animates every human being.\nWhen, therefore, a Parsee hears any one sneeze, he exclaims, \u201cBlessed be\nOrmuzd!\u201d thus praising his chief deity. The Parsees are forbidden to talk\nwhile eating, because at such times demons are on the alert, watching for\nopportunities to gain admission to the body through the mouth while a\nperson is engaged in conversation.[380]\n\nPious Brahmins are careful to touch the right ear when they happen\nto sneeze either during the performance of a religious ceremony or at\ncertain other times specified in the \u201cShastra,\u201d or holy books of the\nHindus. Evil spirits were believed to enter the body through the ears, as\nwell as by the nose or mouth, and the object of touching the ear was to\nprevent their gaining admission there.\n\nIn reference to this subject, Gerald Massey says, in the \u201cNatural\nGenesis\u201d (vol. i. pp. 83-85):\u2014\n\n    Sneezing is not only a vigorous form of breathing, but it is\n    involuntary; hence inspired, or of extraordinary origin. A\n    hearty sneeze, when one is ill and faint, would imply a sudden\n    accession of the breathing power, which was inwardly inspiring\n    and outwardly expelling. The good spirit enters and the bad\n    spirit departs, cast out by the sudden impulsion. The expulsion\n    and repudiation implied in sneezing is yet glanced at in the\n    saying that such a thing is \u201cnot to be sneezed at.\u201d\n\nThe natives of Turkistan consider yawning to be a reprehensible act,\noriginating from an evil place in one\u2019s heart, and indicative of a state\nof preparedness for the reception of demons. When, therefore, they yawn,\nthe hand is placed, palm outwards, before the open mouth, thus barring\nout the demons.[381]\n\nThe once popular opinion, which is still met with to-day, that the\nefficacy of a medicine is proportionate to its harshness of flavor, is\nprobably a relic of the ancient theory which attributed illnesses to\npossession by evil spirits. When one\u2019s body was believed to be the abode\nof such a spirit, the natural desire was to drive out the unwelcome\nvisitor, and to force him to seek some other habitation. Nowadays we have\nso far abandoned this theory that, while we may have faith in the virtues\nof bitter herbs, we are ready to welcome also the palatable remedies of\nthe modern pharmacop\u0153ia; but until comparatively recent times the science\nof therapeutics was dominated by superstition, and physicians prescribed\nremedies composed of the most repulsive and uncanny ingredients.\n\nIn Tibet antiseptics are employed in surgical operations, the rationale\nof their use in that country being the preservation of the wound from\nevil spirits; and when smallpox rages in the neighborhood of the city\nof Leh, capital of the province of Ladakh, the country people seek to\nward off the epidemic by placing thorns on their bridges and at their\nboundary lines.[382] This practice is strikingly analogous in principle\nto some of the superstitious uses of iron and steel in the form of sharp\ninstruments, of which mention has been made elsewhere in this volume.\n\nThe aboriginal Tibetans ascribe illnesses to the spite of demons, and\nhence a chief object of their religious rites is the pacification of\nthese malignant beings by the sacrifice of a cow, pig, goat, or other\nanimal.[383]\n\nThroughout Christendom it is customary for those present to invoke the\ndivine blessing upon a person who sneezes, and the Moslem, under like\ncircumstances, prays to Allah for aid against the powers of evil. In\neither case the underlying idea appears to be the same, namely, the\ndoctrine of invading spirits.\n\nIn ancient Egypt illnesses were thought to be caused by demons who had\nsomehow entered the patient\u2019s body and taken up their abode there; and\nthe Chaldean physicians, actuated by the same belief, were wont to\nprescribe the most nauseating medicines in order to thoroughly disgust\nthe demon in possession, and thus enforce his departure.[384]\n\nThis doctrine of spiritual possession was formerly even supposed to be\nwarranted by Scripture, and especially by a verse of the 141st Psalm:\n\u201cSet a watch, O Lord, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips.\u201d This\npassage was interpreted as an entreaty for preservation from evil\nspirits, who were likely to enter the body through the mouth,[385]\nespecially during the acts of yawning, sneezing, talking, and eating.\nThe Hindus consider yawning as dangerous for this reason, and hence the\npractice of mouth-washing, which is a part of their daily ritual. Hence\nalso their custom of cracking their fingers and exclaiming \u201cGreat God!\u201d\nafter yawning, to intimidate the _Bh\u00fats_, or malignant spirits. Sneezing\nis usually accounted lucky in India, except at the commencement of an\nundertaking, because it means the expulsion of a _Bh\u00fat_.[386]\n\nJosephus relates having seen a Jew named Eleazar exorcise devils from\npeople who were possessed, in the presence of the Emperor Vespasian and\nmany of his soldiers. His mode of procedure consisted in applying to the\ndemoniac\u2019s nose a ring containing a piece of the root of a magical herb,\nand then withdrawing the evil spirit through the nostrils, meanwhile\nrepeating certain incantations originally composed by Solomon.\n\n\nV. SALUTATION AFTER SNEEZING\n\nThe origin of the benediction after sneezing, a custom well-nigh\nuniversal, is involved in obscurity. A popular legend says that, before\nthe time of Jacob, men sneezed but once, as the shock proved fatal. The\npatriarch, however, obtained by intercession a relaxation of this law,\non condition that every sneeze should be consecrated by an ejaculatory\nprayer.[387] According to a well-known myth of classical antiquity,\nPrometheus formed of clay the model of a man, and desiring to animate\nthe lifeless figure, was borne to heaven by the Goddess Minerva, where\nhe filled a reed with celestial fire stolen from a wheel of the Sun\u2019s\nchariot. Returning then to earth, he applied the magical reed to the\nnostrils of the image, which thereupon became a living man, and began its\nexistence by sneezing. Prometheus, delighted with his success, uttered\na fervent wish for the welfare of his newly formed creature. The latter\nthenceforward always repeated aloud the same benediction whenever he\nheard any one sneeze, and enjoined upon his children the same practice,\nwhich was thus transmitted to succeeding generations.\n\nFamianus Strada, the Italian Jesuit historian (1572-1649), in his\n\u201cProlusiones Academic\u00e6,\u201d relates that one day, when Cicero was present\nat a performance of the Roman opera, he began to sneeze, whereupon the\nentire audience, irrespective of rank, arose and with one accord cried\nout, \u201cGod bless you!\u201d or, as the common phrase was, \u201cMay Jupiter be with\nthee!\u201d Whereat three young men named Fannius, Fabalus, and Lemniscus, who\nwere lounging in one of the boxes, began an animated discussion in regard\nto the antiquity of this custom, which all believed to have originated\nwith Prometheus.[388]\n\nEven in the time of Aristotle, salutation after sneezing was considered\nan ancient custom;[389] and references to it are to be found in the\nwritings of Roman authors. Pliny narrates in his \u201cNatural History\u201d that\nthe Emperor Tiberius C\u00e6sar, who was known as one of the most melancholy\nand unsociable of men, scrupulously exacted a benediction from his\nattendants whenever he sneezed, whether in his palace or while driving\nin his chariot; and Apuleius, the platonic philosopher of the second\ncentury, alludes to the subject in his story of \u201cThe Fuller\u2019s Wife.\u201d\n\nAlthough the fact of the existence of this custom centuries before\nthe Christian era is beyond cavil, yet a very general popular belief\nattributes its origin to a much later period. The Italian historian,\nCarlo Sigonio, voices this belief in his statement that the practice\nbegan in the sixth century, during the pontificate of Gregory the Great.\nAt this period a virulent pestilence raged in Italy, which proved fatal\nto those who sneezed. The Pope, therefore, ordered prayers to be said\nagainst it, accompanied by certain signs of the cross.[390] And the\npeople were wont also to say to those who sneezed, \u201cGod help ye!\u201d[391] a\nrevival of a custom dating back to prehistoric times.\n\nAgain, Jacobus de Voragine (1230-98) wrote as follows in the \u201cGolden\nLegend,\u201d a popular religious work of the Middle Ages:\u2014\n\n    For a right grete and grevous maladye: for as the Romayns\n    had in the lenton lyved sobrely and in contynence, and after\n    at Ester had receyvd theyr Savyour; after they disordered\n    them in etyng, in drynkyng, in playes, and in lecherye. And\n    therefore our Lord was meuyed ayenst them and sent them a grete\n    pestelence, which was called the Botche of impedymye, and that\n    was cruell and sodayne, and caused peple to dye in goyng by\n    the waye, in pleying, in leeying atte table, and in spekyng\n    one with another sodeynly they deyed. In this manere somtyme\n    snesyng they deyed; so that whan any persone was herd snesyng,\n    anone they that were by said to hym, _God helpe you_, or _Cryst\n    helpe_, and yet endureth the custome. And also whan he sneseth\n    or gapeth, he maketh to fore his face the signe of the crosse\n    and blessith hym. And yet endureth this custome.\n\nThe Icelander, when he sneezes, says, \u201cGod help me!\u201d and to another\nperson who sneezes he says, \u201cGod help you!\u201d In Icelandic tradition the\ncustom dates from a remote period, when the Black Pest raged virulently\nin portions of the country, and the mortality therefrom was great.\nAt length the scourge reached a certain farm where lived a brother\nand sister, and they observed that the members of the household who\nsuccumbed to the disease were first attacked by a violent paroxysm of\nsneezing; therefore they were wont to exclaim \u201cGod help me!\u201d when they\nthemselves sneezed. Of all the inhabitants of that district, these two\nwere the only ones who survived the pest, and hence the Icelanders,\nthroughout succeeding generations, have continued the pious custom thus\noriginated.[392]\n\nIn medi\u00e6val German poetry are to be found occasional references to\nthis subject, as in the following passage quoted in Grimm\u2019s \u201cTeutonic\nMythology:\u201d \u201cThe pagans durst not sneeze, even though one should say,\n\u2018God help thee.\u2019\u201d And in the same work allusion is made to a quaint bit\nof fairy-lore about enchanted sprites sneezing under a bridge, that some\none may call out \u201cGod help,\u201d and undo the spell.\n\nIn the year 1542 the Spanish explorer, Hernando de Soto, received a\nvisit in Florida from a native chief named Guachoya, and during their\ninterview the latter sneezed. Immediately his attendants arose and\nsaluted him with respectful gestures, at the same time saying: \u201cMay the\nSun guard thee, be with thee, enlighten thee, magnify thee, protect thee,\nfavor thee,\u201d and other similar good wishes. And the Spaniards who were\npresent were impressed by the fact that, in connection with sneezing,\neven more elaborate ceremonies were observed by savage tribes than those\nwhich obtained among civilized nations. And hence they reasoned that\nsuch observances were natural and instinctive with all mankind.[393] We\nhave the testimony of the earliest English explorers that the custom of\nsalutation after sneezing was common in the remotest portions of Africa\nand in the far East. Speke and Grant were unable to discover any trace\nof religion among the natives of equatorial Africa, except in their\npractice of uttering an Arabic ejaculation or prayer whenever a person\nsneezed.[394]\n\nThe Portuguese traveler, Godinho, wrote that whenever the emperor of\nMonomotapa sneezed, acclamations were universal throughout his realm;\nand in Guinea in the last century, whenever a person of rank sneezed,\nevery one present knelt down, clapped their hands, and wished him every\nblessing. The courtiers of the king of Sennaar in Nubia are wont on the\noccasion of a royal sneeze to turn their backs on their sovereign while\nvigorously slapping the right hip.[395] Among the Zulu tribes, sneezing\nis viewed as a favorable symptom in a sick person, and the natives\nare accustomed to return thanks after it. In Madagascar, when a child\nsneezes, its mother invokes the divine blessing, conformably to European\nusage; and in Persia the sneezer is the recipient of congratulations and\ngood wishes.\n\nIn the \u201cZend-Avesta,\u201d or sacred writings of the Persian religion, is\nthe injunction: \u201cAnd whensoever it be that thou hearest a sneeze given\nby thy neighbor, thou shalt say unto him, _Ahunavar Ashim-Vuhu_, and so\nshall it be well with thee.\u201d[396] In Egypt, if a man sneeze, he says,\n\u201cPraise be to God!\u201d and all present, with the exception of servants,\nrejoin, \u201cGod have mercy upon you!\u201d[397]\n\nThe Omahas, Dakotas, and other Sioux tribes of American Indians attach\na peculiar importance to sneezing. Thus, if one of their number sneeze\nonce, he believes that his name has been called either by his son, his\nwife, or some intimate friend. Hence he at once exclaims, \u201cMy son!\u201d But\nif he sneeze twice, he says, \u201cMy son and his mother!\u201d[398]\n\nIn France the rules of etiquette formerly required that a gentleman who\nsneezed in the presence of another should take off his hat, and on the\nsubsidence of the paroxysm he was expected formally to return the salutes\nof all present. The salutation of sneezers by removal of the hat was\ncustomary in England also. Joseph Hall, who was Bishop of Exeter in 1627,\nwrote that when a superstitious man sneezed he did not reckon among his\nfriends those present who failed to uncover.\n\nThe Italians are wont to salute the sneezer with the ejaculation _Viva_,\nor _Felicit\u00e0_; and it has been reasoned that the latter expression may\nhave been sometimes employed under like circumstances by the ancient\nRomans, because an advertisement on the walls of Pompeii concludes by\nwishing the people Godspeed with the single word _Felicitas_!\n\nSo, too, in Ireland the sneezer is greeted with fervent benedictions,\nsuch as, \u201cThe blessing of God and the holy Mary be upon you!\u201d for such\ninvocations are thought to counteract the machinations of evil-disposed\nfairies.[399]\n\nThe Siamese have a unique theory of their own on this subject. They\nbelieve that the Supreme Judge of the spiritual world is continually\nturning over the pages of a book containing an account of the life and\ndoings of every human being; and when he comes to the page relating to\nany individual, the latter never fails to sneeze. In this way the Siamese\nendeavor to give a plausible reason for the prevalence of sneezing among\nmen, and also for the accompanying salutation. In Siam and Laos the\nordinary expression is, \u201cMay the judgment be favorable to you.\u201d[400]\n\nIn the Netherlands a person who sneezes is believed thereby to place\nhimself in the power of a witch, unless some one invokes a divine\nblessing; and such notions afford a plausible explanation of one theory\nof the origin of this custom.[401]\n\nGrimm (vol. iv. p. 1637) refers to a passage in the \u201cAvadanas,\u201d or\nBuddhist parables, in which the rat is represented as wishing the cat joy\nwhen she sneezes. And in the department of Finist\u00e8re in northwest France,\nwhen a horse sneezes or coughs the people say, \u201cMay St. Eloy assist you!\u201d\nSt. Eloy was the guardian of farriers and the tutelar god of horses.[402]\n\nThe natives of the Fiji Islands exclaim after a sneeze, \u201c_Mbula_,\u201d that\nis, \u201cMay you live!\u201d or \u201cHealth to you!\u201d And the sneezer politely responds\nwith \u201c_Mole_,\u201d \u201cThanks.\u201d Formerly Fijian etiquette was yet more exacting\nand required the sneezer to add, \u201cMay you club some one!\u201d or \u201cMay your\nwife have twins!\u201d[403]\n\nA Spanish writer, Juan Cervera Bachiller, in his book \u201cCreencias y\nsuperstitiones,\u201d Madrid, 1883, says that this widely diffused practice\nappears to have originated partly from religious motives and partly from\ngallantry, and that it is as obviously a relic of pagan times as are the\nvarious omens which have ever been associated with sneezing.\n\nThe apparently independent origin of the custom of salutation after\nsneezing among nations remote from each other, and its prevalence\nfrom time immemorial alike in the most cultured communities and among\nuncivilized races, have been thought to furnish striking evidence of the\nessential similarity of human minds, whatever their environment.\n\n\nVI. LEGENDS RELATING TO SNEEZING\n\nIn the traditional lore of ancient Picardy is the following legend:\u2014\n\nIn the vicinity of Englebelmer nocturnal wayfarers were often surprised\nat hearing repeated sneezes by the roadside, and the young people of\nthe neighboring villages made frequent attempts to ascertain the origin\nof the mysterious sounds, but without avail. The mischievous spirit or\n_lutin_ took pleasure in seeing them run about in a vain search while he\nhimself remained invisible. Finally people became accustomed to hearing\nthese phantom sneezes, and, as no harm had ever resulted to any one, with\nthe contempt bred of familiarity they gave little heed to the spiritual\nmanifestations, and were content with merely crossing themselves devoutly.\n\nOne fine moonlight evening in summer a peasant returning from market\nheard the usual _Atchi, atchi_, but pursued his way with equanimity.\nHowever, the _lutin_ pursued him for about a mile, sneezing repeatedly.\nAt length the peasant impatiently exclaimed, \u201cMay the good Lord bless you\nand your cold in the head!\u201d Scarcely had he spoken when there appeared\nbefore him the apparition of a man clad in a long white garment. \u201cThank\nyou, my friend,\u201d said he: \u201cyou have just released me from the spell under\nwhich I have long rested. In consequence of my sins, God condemned me to\nwander about this village sneezing without rest from eve till morn, until\nsome charitable person should deliver me by saying a benediction. For at\nleast five hundred years I have thus roamed about, and you are the first\none who has said to me \u2018God bless you.\u2019 Fortunately it occurred to me to\nfollow you, and thus I have been set free. I thank you. Good-by.\u201d\n\nThereafter the mysterious sounds were no longer heard; and thus, in the\nbelief of the peasants of Picardy, arose the custom of salutation after\nsneezing.[404]\n\nUnder a bridge near the town of Paderborn, in Prussia, there lives a\npoor soul who does nothing but sneeze at frequent intervals. If a wagon\nhappens to pass over the bridge at the moment when a sneeze is heard,\nand the driver fails to say \u201cGod help thee,\u201d the vehicle will surely be\noverturned, and the driver will become poor and break his leg.\n\nTradition says that a godless fellow who died long ago of incessant\nsneezing, during an epidemic of the plague at Wurmlingen in W\u00fcrtemberg,\nwas condemned on account of his sins to wander about the neighborhood,\nstill sneezing at intervals. One day, while one of the villagers was\ncrossing a bridge over some meadows near the town, he heard some one\nunderneath sneeze twice, and each time he piously responded, \u201cGod help\nthee!\u201d When, however, he heard a third sneeze, the villager thought to\nhimself, \u201cThat fellow may keep on sneezing for a long time and make a\nfool of me.\u201d So he cried out angrily, \u201cMay the Devil help you!\u201d Thereupon\na voice from under the bridge exclaimed pitifully, \u201cIf you had only said,\n\u2018God help thee!\u2019 a third time, I should have been freed from the spell\nwhich binds me.\u201d[405]\n\n\n\n\nDAYS OF GOOD AND EVIL OMEN\n\n            Friday\u2019s moon,\n    Come when it will, it comes too soon.\n\n                                         _Proverb._\n\n\nI. EGYPTIAN DAYS\n\nThe belief in lucky and unlucky days appears to have been first taught by\nthe magicians of ancient Chaldea, and we learn from history that similar\nnotions affected every detail of primitive Babylonian life, thousands\nof years before Christ. Reference to an \u201cunlucky month\u201d is to be found\nin a list of deprecatory incantations contained in a document from the\nlibrary of the royal palace at Nineveh. This document is written in the\nAccadian dialect of the Turanian language, which was akin to that spoken\nin the region of the lower Euphrates; a language already obsolete and\nunintelligible to the Assyrians of the seventh century B. C.[406] Certain\ndays were called _Dies Egyptiaci_, because they were thought to have been\npronounced unlucky by the astrologers of ancient Egypt.\n\nIn that country the unlucky days were, however, fewer in number than the\nfortunate ones, and they also differed in the degree of their ill-luck.\nThus, while some were markedly ominous, others merely threatened\nmisfortune, and still others were of mixed augury, partly good and\npartly evil. There were certain days upon which absolute idleness was\nenjoined upon the people, when they were expected to sit quietly at home,\nindulging in _dolce far niente_.[407]\n\nThe poet Hesiod, who is believed to have flourished about one thousand\nyears B. C., in the third book of his poem, \u201cWorks and Days,\u201d which is\nindeed a kind of metrical almanac, distinguishes lucky days from others,\nand gives advice to farmers regarding the most favorable days for the\nvarious operations of agriculture. Thus he recommends the eleventh of\nthe month as excellent for reaping corn, and the twelfth for shearing\nsheep. But the thirteenth was an unlucky day for sowing, though favorable\nfor planting. The fifth of each month was an especially unfortunate day,\nwhile the thirtieth was the most propitious of all.\n\nSome of the most intelligent and learned Greeks were very punctilious\nin their observance of Egyptian days. The philosopher Proclus (A. D.\n412-485) was said to be even more scrupulous in this regard than the\nEgyptians themselves. And Plotinus (A. D. 204-270), another eminent\nGrecian philosopher, believed with the astrologers of a later day, that\nthe positions of the planets in the heavens exerted an influence over\nhuman affairs.[408]\n\nIn an ancient calendar of the year 334, in the reign of Constantine the\nGreat, twenty-six Egyptian days were designated.[409] At an early period,\nhowever, the church authorities forbade the superstitious observance of\nthese days.\n\nSome of the most eminent early writers of the Christian Church, St.\nAmbrose, St. Augustine, and St. Chrysostom, were earnest in their\ndenunciation of the prevalent custom of regulating the affairs of life by\nreference to the supposed omens of the calendar. The fourth council of\nCarthage, in 398, censured such practices; and the synod of Rouen, in the\nreign of Clovis, anathematized those who placed faith in such relics of\npaganism.[410]\n\nWe learn on the authority of Marco Polo that the Brahmins of the\nprovince of Laristan, in southern Persia, in the thirteenth century,\nwere extremely punctilious in their choice of suitable days for the\nperformance of any business matters. This famous traveler wrote that a\nBrahmin who contemplated making a purchase, for example, would measure\nthe length of his own shadow in the early morning sunlight, and if the\nshadow were of the proper length, as officially prescribed for that day,\nhe would proceed to make the purchase; otherwise he would wait until the\nshadow conformed in length to a predetermined standard for that day of\nthe week.\n\nThe Latin historian, Rolandino (1200-76), in the third book of his\n\u201cChronicle,\u201d describes an undertaking which resulted disastrously\nbecause, as was alleged, it was rashly begun on an \u201cEgyptian day.\u201d There\nis frequent mention of these days in many ancient manuscripts in the\nAmbrosian Library at Milan.[411]\n\nIn a so-called \u201cBook of Precedents,\u201d printed in 1616, fifty-three days\nare specified as being \u201csuch as the Egyptians noted to be dangerous to\nbegin or take anything in hand, or to take a journey or any such thing.\u201d\nAn ancient manuscript mentions twenty-eight days in the year \u201cwhich\nwere revealed by the Angel Gabriel to good Joseph, which ever have been\nremarked to be very fortunayte dayes either to let blood, cure wounds,\nuse marchandizes, sow seed, build houses, or take journees.\u201d\n\nAstrologers formerly specified particular days when it was dangerous for\nphysicians to bleed patients; and especially to be avoided were the first\nMonday in April, on which day Cain was born and his brother Abel slain;\nthe first Monday in August, the alleged anniversary of the destruction\nof Sodom and Gomorrah; and the last Monday in December, which was the\nreputed birthday of Judas Iscariot.\n\nIn Mason\u2019s \u201cAnatomie of Sorcerie\u201d (1612), the prevailing notions on this\nsubject were characterized as vain speculations of the astrologers,\nhaving neither foundation in God\u2019s word nor yet natural reason to support\nthem, but being grounded only upon the superstitious imagination of\nmen. A work of 1620, entitled \u201cMelton\u2019s Astrologaster,\u201d says that the\nChristian faith is violated when, like a pagan and apostate, any man\n\u201cdoth observe those days which are called _Egyptiaci_, or the calends of\nJanuary, or any month, day, time, or year, either to travel, marry or\ndo anything in.\u201d And the learned Sir Thomas Browne, in his \u201cPseudodoxia\nEpidemica,\u201d published in 1658, declaimed in quaint but forcible language\nagainst the frivolity of such doctrines.\n\n\nII. ROMAN SUPERSTITION CONCERNING DAYS\n\nThe Romans had their _dies fasti_, corresponding to the modern court days\nin England. On such days, of which there were thirty-eight in the year,\nit was lawful for the pr\u00e6tor to administer justice and to pronounce the\nthree words, _Do, dico, addico_, \u201cI give laws, declare right, and adjudge\nlosses.\u201d\n\nThe days on which the courts were not held were called _nefasti_ (from\n_ne_ and _fari_), because the three words could not then be legally\nspoken by the pr\u00e6tor. But these days came to be regarded as unlucky, a\nfact rendered evident by an expression of Horace. The Romans also classed\nas unfortunate the days immediately following the calends, nones, and\nides of each month. Unlucky days were termed _dies atri_, because they\nwere marked in the calendar with black charcoal, the lucky ones being\nindicated by means of white chalk. There were also days which were\nthought especially favorable for martial operations, but the anniversary\nof a national misfortune was considered very inauspicious. Thus after the\ndefeat of the Romans by the Gauls under Brennus on the banks of the river\nAllia, July 16, 390 B. C., that date was given a prominent place among\nthe black days of the calendar. But not every general was influenced by\nsuch superstitions. Lucullus, when an attempt was made to dissuade him\nfrom attacking Tigranes, king of Armenia (whom he defeated B. C. 69),\nbecause upon that date the Cimbri had vanquished a Roman army, replied,\n\u201c_I_ will make it a day of _good_ omen for the Romans.\u201d[412] The Roman\nladies, we are told, gave less heed to the unlucky days of their own\ncalendar than to the works of Egyptian astrologers, among whom Petosiris\nwas their favorite authority, when they wished to ascertain the proper\nday, and even the hour, for the performance of household and other\nduties.[413]\n\nHorace (book ii. ode xiii.) thus apostrophizes a tree, by whose fall he\nnarrowly escaped being crushed at Sabinum: \u201cThou cursed tree! whoever he\nwas that first planted thee did it surely on an unlucky day, and with a\nsacrilegious hand.\u201d\n\nThe Latin writer, Macrobius, stated that when one of the _nundin\u00e6_ or\nmarket days fell upon New Year\u2019s, it was considered very unfortunate. In\nsuch an event the Emperor Augustus, who was very superstitious, adopted\nthe method of inserting an extra day in the previous year and subtracting\none from that ensuing, thus preserving the regularity of the Julian\nstyle of reckoning time. Ordinarily, however, New Year\u2019s Day was deemed\nauspicious, and on that day, as now, people were accustomed to wish each\nother happiness and good fortune.\n\n\nIII. MEDI\u00c6VAL BELIEF IN DAY-FATALITY\n\nThe early Saxons in England were extremely credulous in regard to the\nluck or misfortune of particular days of the month, and derived a legion\nof prognostics, both good and evil, from the age of the moon. Thus, they\nconsidered the twelfth day of the lunar month a profitable one for\nsowing, getting married, traveling, and blood-letting, but the thirteenth\nday was in bad repute among the Saxons, an evil day for undertaking\nany work. The fourteenth was good for all purposes, for buying serfs,\nmarrying, and putting children to school; whereas the sixteenth was\nprofitable for nothing but thieving. The twenty-second was a proper time\nfor buying villains, or agricultural bondmen, and a boy born on that day\nwould become a physician. The twenty-fifth was good for hunting, and a\ngirl then born would be of a greedy disposition and a \u201cwool-teaser.\u201d[414]\n\nIn an English manuscript of the twelfth century mentioned in Chambers\u2019s\n\u201cBook of Days,\u201d and known as the \u201cExeter Calendar,\u201d New Year\u2019s is set\ndown as a _Dies mala_. As an illustration of the credulity prevalent in\nEngland in the fifteenth century regarding the influences, meteorological\nand moral, of the occurrence of important church festivals on particular\ndays of the week, a few lines from a manuscript of the Harleian\nCollection in the British Museum are here quoted:\u2014\n\n    Lordlings all of you I warn,\n    If the day that Christ was born\n    Fell upon a Sunday,\n    The winter shall be good, I say,\n    But great winds aloft shall be;\n    The summer shall be fair and dry,\n    By kind skill and without loss.\n    Through all lands there shall be peace.\n    Good time for all things to be done,\n    But he that stealeth shall be found soon.\n    What child that day born may be\n    A great lord he shall live to be.\n\nNot alone in Britain, but throughout the world, men have esteemed one\nday above another. This universal tendency of the human mind is tersely\nexpressed in a translation by Barnaby Googe of some verses accredited\nto the Bavarian theologian, Thomas Kirchmaier (1511-78), whose literary\npseudonym was Naogeorgus:\u2014\n\n    And first, betwixt the dayes they make no little difference,\n    For all be not of vertue like, nor like preheminence,\n    But some of them Egyptian are and full of jeopardee,\n    And some againe, beside the rest, both good and luckie bee,\n    Like difference of the nights they make, as if the Almightie King,\n    That made them all, not gracious were to them in everything.[415]\n\nJohn Gaule, in his \u201cMagastromancer\u201d (1652), remarks that, according to\nthe teachings of the astrologers,\n\n    Times can give a certain fortune to our business. The magicians\n    likewise have observed, and all the antient verse men consent\n    in this, that it is of very great concernment in what moment\n    of time and disposition of the heavens everything, whether\n    naturall or artificial, hath received its being in this world:\n    for they have delivered that the first moment hath so great\n    power that all the course of fortune dependeth thereon and may\n    be foretold thereby.\n\nIn the dark ages, and also in early modern times, the false doctrines of\nastrology, an inheritance from the ancients, dominated the actions of\nmen. In all important enterprises, as well as in every-day labors, it was\ndeemed essential to make a beginning under the influence of a favorable\nplanet. Nor did these beliefs prevail exclusively among ignorant people,\nbut were as well a part of the creed of scholars, and of the nobility and\ngentry. Modern astronomical discoveries, and especially the Copernican\nsystem, availed to banish a vast amount of superstition regarding the\nmalevolent character of certain days. But neither science nor religion\nhave yet been able wholly to eradicate it, as is evident from the\nill-repute associated with the sixth day of the week even at the present\ntime, a subject to be considered later.\n\nIn the \u201cLoseley Manuscripts,\u201d edited by Alfred John Kempe, London, 1836,\nis to be found a letter, some extracts from which may serve to illustrate\nthe paramount influence of astrology in England in the sixteenth century.\nThe letter is addressed to Mr. George More, at Thorpe:\u2014\n\n    As for my comming to you upon Wensday next \u2026 I cannot possibly\n    be w\u1d57\u02b0 you till Thursday.\n\n    On Fryday and Saterday the signe will be in the heart, on\n    Sunday, Monday and Tuesday in the stomake, during w\u1d9c\u02b0 tyme\n    it wil be no good dealing w\u1d57\u02b0 your ordinary phisicke until\n    Wensday come Sevenight at the nearest, and from that tyme\n    forwards for 15 or 16 days passing good. In w\u2019ch time yf\n    it will please you to let me understand of your convenient\n    opportunity and season, I will not faill to come along\n    presently w\u1d57\u02b0 your messenger.\n\n                  Your worship\u2019s assured\n                                lovinge fr(ie)nd\n                                                SIMON TRIPPE, M. D.\n\n    WINTON. Septemb. 18. 1581.\n\nThe influence of the position of the moon in determining the proper\nseasons for surgical operations, and for the administration of medicines,\nmay be best illustrated by a few extracts from ancient almanacs.\n\nAn antique illustrated manuscript almanac for the year 1386 contains the\nfollowing advice to physicians:\n\n    In a new mone sal not be layting of blode, for yan are mennys\n    bodyes voyed of blode and humos, and yan by layting of blode\n    sal yay more be anoyded.\n\nAnd again:\u2014\n\n    It es to know generally, yt ye tyme electe to gyve a medcyn in\n    es whan ye mone and ye Lord ascendyng ar free from all ille and\n    not let by it, \u2026 and it es hyely to be ware to a medcyn whyles\n    ye mone es in an ill aspect, wt Satne or Mars.\n\nAn almanac for the year 1568, published by John Securis, London, contains\na list of days in that year favorable or otherwise for the preservation\nof man\u2019s health.\n\nThe second day of January was therein declared to be wholly propitious.\nThe twelfth was unfavorable, owing to the furious aspect of Mars to the\nSun, which was not, however, likely to cause bodily sickness, but rather\nto incline the hearts of some people to imagine evil of their rulers. The\nfifteenth of April was especially to be dreaded. On that day, says the\nwriter, \u201cGod keep us from the fury of Mars.\u201d\n\nIn June evil passions were to stir men\u2019s hearts, anger, hatred, and\nstrife; for in that month were no less than six quartile aspects of the\nplanets, one to another.\n\nMany propitious days are also mentioned, and in conclusion _all_ days are\ndeclared to be favorable to a good man.\n\n\u201cA New Almanacke and Prognostication for the Yeare of our Lord God 1569\u201d\n(London) says that surgical operations must be performed only when \u201cthe\nMoone or Lorde of the firste house\u201d is in the zodiacal sign governing the\nparticular member or organ which is to be operated upon.\n\nAnd in an English almanac for the year 1571 we find the following\npassage:\u2014\n\n    No part of man\u2019s body ought to be touched with the Chirurgicall\n    instruments, or cauterie actuall or potencial, when the Sunne\n    or Moone, or the Lord of the Ascendent, is in the same signe\n    that ruleth that part of man\u2019s body.\n\n    Also _Gemini_, _Leo_, the last halfe of _Libra_, and the\n    first 12 degrees of _Scorpio_: with _Taurus_, _Virgo_, and\n    _Capricorne_, are not good for the letting of bloud. Two days\n    before the change of the Moone, and a day after, is yll to let\n    bloud.\u2026\n\n    If the same be for the Pestilence, the Phrensie, the Pluresie,\n    the Squincie, or for a Continuall headach, proceeding of\n    choler or bloud; or for any burning Ague, or extreme paine of\n    partes, a man may not so carefully stay for a chosen day by the\n    _Almanack_: for that in the meane tyme the pacient perhaps may\n    dye. For which cause let the skilfull Chirurgeon open a veine,\n    unless he finde the pacient verie weake, or that the Moone be\n    in the Same Syne that governeth that part of man\u2019s body.\n\nThe persistence of similar beliefs is shown by the following extract from\n\u201cA Briefe Prognosticon or rather Diagnosticon for this Year of Grace\u201d\n(1615), by John Keene, London:\u2014\n\n    Seeing that these inferiour and sublunary mixt bodies are\n    governed of the superiour and simple bodies, and especially by\n    the motion of our neighbour Planet, the Moone, diseases vary\n    and differ, and not for that she exceedes the rest in vertue\n    and power, but because she is neerer us and swifter in motion;\n    for wee see, the Moone increasing, humours increase; and when\n    she decreaseth, humours decrease: for the bones in the full\n    of the Moone are full of marrow, all living creatures both on\n    sea and land, are then augmented in humiditie, as the Crab,\n    Lobster, Oyster, etc. Also humours in man\u2019s bodie and in Plants\n    are then increased: for when the Sunne and Moone are in hot\n    signes, heate is increased, in cold signes, cold exceedes\n    heate; therefore have we just cause in purging of humours to\n    consider the motion of the Moone through every signe of the\n    Zodiacke, not only in purging of humours, but also in curing\n    diseases and in strengthening the faculties and vertues.\n\nIn the \u201cDialogue of Dives and Pauper,\u201d printed by Richard Pynson in 1493,\nthis subject is referred to as follows:\u2014\n\n    Alle that take hede to dysmal dayes, or use nyce observances\n    in the newe moone, or in the newe yeere, as setting of mete or\n    drynke by night on the benche to fede alholde (or gobelyn).\n\nThe French traveler, Jean Chardin (1643-1713), stated that in the year\n1668 Cossacks invaded the northern provinces of Persia; and when the\ninhabitants appealed to the Persian government for aid, they received\nonly the reply that no assistance could be sent them until the moon had\npassed out of the sign of the Scorpion. The Persians formerly divided all\nthe days of the year into three classes,\u2014preferable or lucky, middling or\nindifferent, and unlucky or detested ones;[416] and the Emperor Frederick\nthe Great of Prussia (1712-86) was governed in his military operations by\nthe advice of astrologers, and always waited until they had indicated the\nfortunate moment for a start.\n\nThe \u201cEnglish Apollo, by Richard Saunders, student in the divine,\nlaudable, and celestial sciences, London, 1656,\u201d in giving advice to\nmariners, says that the good or bad position of the planets at the time\nof sailing has much influence over the fortunes of a voyage. The ancient\nsages, moreover, declared that the chief means of averting evil were,\nfirst, the devout invocation of Providence; and, secondly, the careful\nchoice of a proper time for sailing by observation of the rules of\nastrology.\n\nIn William Jones\u2019s \u201cCredulities Past and Present\u201d (1525), St. Augustine\nis quoted as follows:\u2014\n\n    No man shall observe by the days on what day he travel, or on\n    what he return; because God created all the seven days which\n    run in the week to the end of this world. But whithersoever\n    he desires to go, let him sing and say his _Paternoster_, if\n    he know it, and call upon his Lord, and bless himself, and\n    travel free from care, under the protection of God, without the\n    sorceries of the Devil.\n\n\nIV. PREVALENCE OF SIMILAR BELIEFS IN MODERN TIMES\n\nAmong the Chinese of to-day, as with the inhabitants of ancient\nBabylon, the days which are deemed favorable or otherwise for business\ntransactions, farming operations, or for traveling are still determined\nby astrologers, and are indicated in an official almanac published\nannually at Pekin by the Imperial Board of Astronomers. The various\ntribes of the island of Madagascar also are exceedingly superstitious in\nregard to the luck or ill-luck attending certain days, and the lives of\nchildren born at an unlucky time are sometimes sacrificed to save them\nfrom anticipated misfortune.\n\nNatives of the Gold Coast of West Africa, in their divisions of the\nyear, observe a \u201clong time\u201d consisting of nineteen lucky days, and a\n\u201cshort time\u201d of seven equally propitious days. The seven days intervening\nbetween these two periods are considered unlucky, and during this time\nthey undertake no voyages nor warlike enterprises. Somewhat similar\nideas prevail in Java and Sumatra, and in many of the smaller islands of\nthe Malay Archipelago. The Cossacks of western Siberia, the natives of\nthe Baltic provinces of the Russian Empire, and the Laplanders of the\nfar North, all adapt their lives to the black and white days of their\ncalendar. The peasantry of West Sussex in England will not permit their\nchildren to go blackberrying on the tenth day of October, on account\nof a belief that the Devil goes afield on that day, and bad luck would\nsurely befall any one rash enough to eat fruit gathered under such\ncircumstances. The same people believe that all cats born in the month of\nMay are hypochondriacs, and have an unpleasant habit of bringing snakes\nand vipers into the house.\n\nAmong the Moslems of India there are in each month seven evil days, on\nwhich no enterprise is to be undertaken on any consideration. Some of\nthe peculiar superstitions of these people with regard to traveling on\nthe different week-days are shown in \u201cZanoon-E-Islam, or the Customs of\nthe Mussulmans of India,\u201d by Jaffur Shurreef. Thus, if any one proposes\njourneying on Saturday, he should eat fish before starting, in order\nthat his plan may be successfully accomplished, but on Sunday betel-leaf\nis preferable for this purpose. In like manner, on Monday he should\nlook into a mirror in order to obtain wealth. On Tuesday he should eat\ncoriander-seed, and on Wednesday should partake of curdled milk before\nstarting. On Thursday, if he eat raw sugar, he may confidently anticipate\nreturning with plenty of merchandise; and on Friday, if he eat dressed\nmeat, he will bring back pearls and jewels galore.\n\nSome idea of the beliefs current in the mother country during the last\ncentury may be obtained by a study of the advertisements of astrologers\nand medical charlatans in the public press of that period. For example,\nin the year 1773 one Sylvester Partridge, proprietor and vendor of\nantidotes, elixirs, washes for freckles, plumpers for rounding the\ncheeks, glass eyes, calves and noses, ivory jaws, and a new receipt for\nchanging the color of the hair, offered for a consideration to furnish\nadvice as to the proper times and seasons for letting blood, and to\nindicate the most favorable aspect of the moon for drawing teeth and\ncutting corns. He proffered counsel, moreover, as to the avoidance of\nunlucky days for paring the nails, and the kindest zodiacal sign for\ngrafting, inoculation, and opening of bee-hives.\n\nIn enlightened England there are still to be found many people who\nbelieve that the relative positions of the sun, moon, and planets are\nprime factors in determining the proper times and seasons for undertaking\nterrestrial enterprises. Zadkiel\u2019s Almanac for 1898 states that natural\nastrology is making good progress towards becoming once more a recognized\nscience. To quote from the preface of this publication:\u2014\n\n    As the whole body of the ocean is not able to keep down one\n    single particle of free air, which must assuredly force its\n    way to the surface to unite with the atmosphere, so cannot the\n    combined forces of the prejudice and studied contempt of all\n    the _soi-disant_ \u201creally scientific men\u201d of the end of the\n    century prevent the truth of _astrologia sana_ from soaring\n    above their futile efforts to crush it down, to join the great\n    atmosphere of natural science, to enlighten the human mind in\n    its onward course and effort,\u2014\u201cto soar through Nature up to\n    Nature\u2019s God.\u201d\n\nOne example may suffice to exhibit the character of the predictions given\nin this same work. Under the caption, \u201cVoice of the Stars,\u201d August, 1898,\nthe writer says that the stationary positions of Saturn and Uranus are\nlikely to shake Spain (and perhaps Tuscany) physically and politically\nabout the 10th or 11th insts. There will be strained diplomatic relations\nbetween the United States and Spain; for Mars in the sign Gemini, and\nSaturn in Sagittarius, must create friction and disturbances in both\ncountries.\n\nThe Jewish current beliefs in the influence of certain days and seasons\nappear to have been mostly derived from the Romans of old. Even nowadays\namong the Jews no marriages are solemnized during the interval of fifty\ndays between the Feast of the Passover and Pentecost; and formerly the\nfavorite wedding-days were those of the new or full moon.[417] In Siam\nthe eighth and fifteenth days of the moon are observed as sacred, and\ndevoted to worship and rest from ordinary labor. Sportsmen are forbidden\nto hunt or fish on these days. The Siamese astrologers indicate the\nprobable character of any year by associating it with some animal, upon\nwhose back the New Year is represented as being mounted.[418]\n\n\nV. THE SIXTH DAY OF THE WEEK\n\nLet us now consider the subject of Friday as an alleged _dies mala_.\nThe seven week-days were originally named after Saturn, Jupiter, Mars,\nthe Sun, Mercury, Venus, and the Moon, in the order given, and these\nnames are found in the early Christian calendars. The Teutonic nations,\nhowever, adopted corresponding names in the Northern mythology,\u2014the Sun\nand Moon, Tyr, the Norse God of War, Wodan, Thor, Freyja, and Saturn; and\nour early Saxon ancestors worshiped images representing all these deities\nuntil Christianity supplanted paganism in Britain. It has been suggested\nthat our Friday may have been named after Frigga, the wife of Odin and\nthe principal goddess of the ancient Scandinavians. But it is much more\nprobable that the day derives its name from Freyja, the Goddess of Love,\na deity corresponding to the Roman Venus and the Grecian Aphrodite.\nFreyja, the most easily propitiated of the goddesses, was wont to listen\nfavorably to all who invoked her aid, and was especially tender-hearted\nto disconsolate lovers. She dwelt in a magnificent palace, and journeyed\nabout in a car drawn by two cats.[419]\n\nIt has been hinted that Freyja\u2019s character was not irreproachable, and\nthat thence arose Friday\u2019s ill-repute, but such an hypothesis is wholly\nuntenable.\n\nFrom the prose \u201cEdda\u201d we learn that this goddess was the wife of one\nOdur, and had a daughter named Hnossa, who was wonderfully beautiful. Sad\nto relate, Freyja was abandoned by her husband, who went away to visit\nforeign lands, and she has since spent much time in weeping, her tears\nbeing turned into drops of pure gold.[420]\n\nThe fish was an emblem of Freyja, and as such was offered by the\nScandinavians to their goddess on the sixth day of the week.[421] The\nfish was also held sacred by the Babylonians and Assyrians, and by the\nancient Romans as a symbol of Venus.\n\nThe generally accepted theory is that the crucifixion of our Lord on\nGood Friday was the origin of the widespread superstitions regarding the\nsixth day of the week. It is highly probable, however, that these beliefs\noriginated at a much earlier epoch; for similar ideas are current among\nthe inhabitants of heathen countries, as in Hindostan, for example.\nAccording to an ancient monkish legend, Adam and Eve partook of the\nforbidden fruit on a Friday; and in the Middle Ages many inauspicious\noccurrences of history or tradition were thought to have happened on that\nday.\n\nIn a French manuscript of the year 1285, preserved in the Biblioth\u00e8que\nNationale in Paris, entitled \u201cRecommandation du Vendredi,\u201d the following\nevents are alleged to have occurred on a Friday: Adam\u2019s creation, his\nsin and expulsion from Eden, the murder of Abel, Christ\u2019s crucifixion,\nthe stoning of Stephen, the massacre of the Innocents by Herod, the\ncrucifixion of Peter, the beheading of Paul and that of John the Baptist,\nand the flight of the children of Israel through the Red Sea; also\nthe Deluge, the Confusion of Tongues at the Tower of Babel, and the\ninfliction of the Plagues upon the land of Egypt.[422]\n\nThe following extract from a translation of a Saxon manuscript of about\nthe year 1120 may serve to illustrate the credulity of that epoch in\nEngland, and the odium attaching to Friday:\u2014\n\n    Whoever is born on Sunday or its night, shall live without\n    anxiety and be handsome. If he is born on Monday or its night,\n    he shall be killed of men, be he laic or be he cleric. If on\n    Tuesday or its night, he shall be corrupt in his life, and\n    sinful and perverse. If he be born on Wednesday or its night,\n    he shall be very peaceable and easy and shall grow up well and\n    be a lover of good.\u2026 If he be born on Friday or its night, he\n    shall be accursed of men, silly and crafty and loathsome to all\n    men and shall ever be thinking evil in his heart, and shall\n    be a thief and a great coward, and shall not live longer than\n    to mid-age. If he is born on Saturday or its night, his deeds\n    shall be renowned, he shall be an alderman, whether he be man\n    or woman; many things shall happen unto him, and he shall live\n    long.[423]\n\nAlthough the superstitions of the dark ages may seem to us so\nchildish, it may yet be affirmed with reason that, in proportion to\nthe enlightenment of the times, the beliefs then current regarding\nday-fatality were no more absurd than those of our own era. In the\n\u201cReliques of Ancient English Poetry,\u201d by Thomas Percy, D. D., is to be\nfound the following \u201cexcellent way to get a fayrie:\u201d\u2014\n\n    First, get a broad square christall or Venice glasse, in length\n    and breadth three inches. Then lay that glasse or christall in\n    the blood of a white hen, three Wednesdayes or three Fridayes.\n    Then take it out and wash it with holy aq; and fumigate it.\n    Then take three hazle sticks or wands of an yeare groth; pill\n    them fayre and white; and make them so longe as you write the\n    spiritt\u2019s name, or fayrie\u2019s name, which you call three times on\n    every stick being made flatt on one side. Then bury them under\n    some hill, whereat you suppose fayries haunt, the Wednesday\n    before you call her; and the Fridaye followinge take them uppe\n    and at eight, or three or ten of the clocke which be good\n    planetts and houres for that turne; but when you call be in\n    cleane life and turn thy face towards the east, and when you\n    have her bind her in that stone and glasse.[424]\n\nWhiston, the translator of Josephus, publicly proclaimed in London that\nthe comet of 1712 would be visible on October 14 of that year, and that\non the Friday morning ensuing the world would be destroyed by fire.\nIn the resulting panic, many people embarked in boats on the Thames,\nbelieving the water to be the safer element, on that particular Friday at\nleast.\n\nMr. Charles Godfrey Leland, in his \u201cEtruscan Roman Remains,\u201d says that\nin certain medi\u00e6val manuscripts the Goddess Venus was represented as\nthe Queen of Hearts and a dealer of lucky cards. Therefore Friday, the\n_Dies Veneris_, was sometimes considered a lucky day, especially for\nmatrimony. This opinion finds favor in Glasgow, where a large proportion\nof marriages take place on this day; whereas, in the midland counties of\nEngland, less than two per cent. of the weddings occur on the sixth day\nof the week.[425]\n\nReferences to the popular sentiment regarding Friday are frequent in the\nworks of English writers. Sir Thomas Overbury, in his description of \u201ca\nfaire and happy Milk-mayd,\u201d says: \u201cHer dreams are so chaste that shee\ndare tell them; only a Fridaie\u2019s dream is all her superstition: that she\nconceales for feare of anger.\u201d Again, in the play of \u201cSir John Oldcastle\u201d\nis this passage: \u201cFriday, quotha, a dismal day, Candlemas Day this year\nwas Friday.\u201d[426] And in Scott\u2019s \u201cMarmion\u201d is the following:\u2014\n\n    The Highlander, whose red claymore\n    The battle turned on Maldas\u2019 shore,\n    Will on a Friday morn look pale\n    If asked to tell a fairy tale.\n    He fears the vengeful Elfin King,\n    Who leaves that day his grassy ring;\n    Invisible to human ken,\n    He walks among the sons of men.\n\nAs a refreshing instance of independence of thought in a credulous age,\nwe may quote from a letter written by Sir Winston Churchill, father of\nthe Duke of Marlborough, and printed in a tract of 1687. The letter,\nthough ungrammatical, is given verbatim:\u2014\n\n    I have made great experience of the truth of it, and have set\n    down Friday as my own lucky day, the day on which I was born,\n    christened, married, and which, I believe, will be the day of\n    my death. The day on which I have had sundry deliverances from\n    perils by sea and land, perils by false brethren, perils of\n    law-suits, etc. I was knighted (by chance unexpected of myself)\n    on the same day and have several good accidents happened to\n    me on that day; and am so superstitious in the belief of its\n    good omen, that I choose to begin any considerable action that\n    concerns me, on the same day.[427]\n\n\nVI. FRIDAY IN MODERN TIMES\n\nFriday is the Sabbath of the Moslems, corresponding to the Sunday of the\nChristians and the Saturday of the Jews. In Egypt Friday is therefore\nblessed above all other days, while Saturday is the most unfortunate.\n\nHowever, although Friday was the day selected by Mahomet for the holding\nof the Moslem Assembly, it was not wholly devoted to religious worship,\nand at the conclusion of public prayers business was transacted as on\nany other week-day.[428] Among Mohammedans Friday is considered the\nmost lucky of days; and it is also the most popular for commencing any\nenterprise of importance, whether building a house, planting a garden,\nembarking on a voyage, contracting a marriage, or making a garment.[429]\n\nOne reason for Mahomet\u2019s choice of Friday as the day for public prayers\nwas probably because this day was consecrated by the people of many\nnations to Alilat, the celestial Venus or Urania, whom the ancient Arabs\nworshiped.[430] Mahomet said that whoever bathed on Friday and walked to\nthe public religious service, taking a seat near the _Imam_ or _Khalifah_\n(the leader of a Moslem tribe), and listened attentively to the sermon,\navoiding meanwhile frivolous conversation, would obtain the reward of a\nwhole year\u2019s prayers at night for every step which he took between his\nhome and the place of this assembly.[431]\n\nThe Moslems among the peasants inhabiting the frontier region between\nAfghanistan and Hindostan have a special reverence for Friday; for they\nbelieve that on that day God rested, after having created the world. On\nFriday eve, according to their belief, the spirits of the departed are\nwont to revisit their former abodes, and hence the custom prevails of\nsending delicacies to the mosque at such times.[432]\n\nFriday was the most popular day for weddings among the Jews in medi\u00e6val\ntimes, and its selection appears to have been due to expediency, because\nof its nearness to the Jewish Sabbath, and the convenience of associating\nthe marriage ceremony with the services in the synagogue on the latter\nday. The bridal pair fasted on the morning of the wedding, and ashes were\nsprinkled over their heads during the ceremony.[433]\n\nAccording to the teachings of the Talmud, a second soul was believed to\nenter men\u2019s bodies every Friday evening and to remain throughout the\nfollowing day, its presence being indicated by an increased appetite for\nfood.[434]\n\nOn Friday, says an old tradition, is held the Witches\u2019 Sabbath or\nAssembly, and one should be careful not to speak of these creatures on\nthat day, for their hearing is then especially acute, and disrespectful\nremarks will render one liable to incur their spite.\n\nIn the popular belief of the Swabians, Friday is the day when the\nwitches celebrate their joint festival with the Devil on the Heuberg,\nnear Rotenburg, and afterward scour the country, intent on working all\nmanner of mischief upon the people and their cattle.[435]\n\nAccording to a Scotch superstition, however, witches were supposed to\nhold their weekly meetings on Saturdays, in unfrequented places. The\nformal proceedings on these occasions included an address by the Devil,\nand the holding of a court, wherein each witch was expected to give a\ndetailed statement of her doings; and those who had been idle were given\na beating with their own broomsticks, the diligent being rewarded by\ngifts of enchanted bones. A dance followed, the Devil playing on the\nbag-pipes, and leading the music.[436]\n\nThe Irish are careful not to mention fairies by name either on Wednesdays\nor Fridays, for these invisible creatures are unusually alert on these\ntwo days.\n\nOn Fridays especially, their power for evil is very strong. On that\nday, therefore, a careful watch is kept over the children and cattle; a\nlighted wisp of straw is waved about the baby\u2019s head, and a quenched coal\nis placed under the cradle and churn. And if the horses are more than\nusually restive in their stalls, it is a sure sign that the fairies are\nriding them; therefore the people spit three times at the animals, and\nthe fairies thereupon immediately take their departure.[437]\n\nIn Ireland Friday is _facile princeps_ among unlucky days, and especial\ncare should be taken not to open the door of one\u2019s dwelling to any\nstranger on that day. Neither butter nor milk should be given away, nor\nshould a cat be taken from one house to another on a Friday. To undo a\nsorcerer\u2019s spell, one should eat barley cakes over which an incantation\nhas been said; but the cakes must be eaten on a Monday or Thursday, and\nnever on Friday.[438]\n\nIn Welsh tradition the water-sprites are thought to keep an especially\nwatchful eye over the sea on Fridays, making it rough and tempestuous.\n\nOn a Friday morning in the year 1600, says an old legend, a ship set sail\nfrom a Northern port, having on board a young man and a maiden of rare\nbeauty, whose strange actions and demeanor seemed to betoken that they\nwere supernatural beings. The vessel never reached port, but one stormy\nnight a phantom ship was seen, enveloped in an uncanny light; and on its\ndeck stood the youth and his sweetheart, a weird vision, as the spectral\ncraft moved along over the stormy sea against the wind.[439]\n\nIn Hesse Frau H\u00f6lle, the modern Freyja, is the special guardian and\nprotectress of newly married people, and so tenacious has been this old\nbelief in the minds of the Hessian peasants that the day of Venus is\nstill in high favor among them as the most propitious for weddings.[440]\n\nIn some places it is unlucky to receive any news, whether good or bad, on\na Friday; and, according to a Shropshire saying, \u201cif you hear anything\nnew on a Friday, it gives you another wrinkle on your face, and adds\nanother year to your age.\u201d[441] Indeed, the term \u201cFriday-faced\u201d was used\nto denote a gloomy or dejected visage, as in the following quotation:\u2014\n\n    Marry, out upon him! what a friday-fac\u2019d slave it is! I think\n    in my conscience his face never keeps holiday.[442]\n\nIn Servia children born on Friday are thought to be invulnerable to the\nassaults of the whole army of hags and sorcerers. In Germany Friday is\nreckoned the most fateful of all the week-days, whether for good or evil.\nThe beliefs vary in different portions of the empire, but there is a\nuniversal prejudice against setting out on a journey, moving into a new\nhouse, or changing servants on this day. In eastern Prussia, whoever\nbakes on a Friday will get but little bread; but Sunday baptisms are\nthought to offset the unlucky auspices of children born on Friday. The\nNorth German farmers consider Friday the best day on which to begin\ngathering the harvest.[443]\n\nIn olden times Friday was the most favorable day for courtship and\nweddings in Germany, and, unless a bride first entered her new home on\nthat day, domestic strife was likely to ensue.\n\nIf she wished to tame a bad-tempered husband, her first care was to\nprepare for him a soup made with the rain-water of a Friday\u2019s shower.\nThe magic charm of words wherewith cattle were freed from the mange was\nspoken on a Friday morning; and a hare which had been shot on the first\nFriday in March was of great therapeutic value, especially its eyes,\nwhich were dried and carried about as a sovereign remedy for defective\nvision.\n\nOnly on a Friday did the church-bells strike the hour for the release\nof bewitched spirits, and the delivery of enchanted souls from their\nspells.[444]\n\nDoctor M. H\u00f6fler, in his \u201cVolksmedizin und Aberglauben in Oberbayern\u201d\n(p. 208), says that Bavarian peasants still cherish many superstitions\nabout the sixth day of the week, the day sacred to Freyja, the old German\nGoddess of Love. Moreover, wonderful amuletic virtues are attributed to\nhens\u2019 eggs laid during Good Friday night, and whoever eats these eggs is\nthought to be thereby insured against bodily harm. How long this immunity\nholds good does not appear; but probably until another Good Friday night\negg is eaten. In farmers\u2019 households these precious eggs are therefore\neagerly sought by the house-mistress, who is wont to give them to her\nhusband and the farm-hands; or else she uses them as an ingredient of the\ndough figures which ornament the Easter bread.\n\nIn some districts of Hungary the following peculiar custom is in vogue:\u2014\n\nWhenever any one\u2019s name-day happens on a Friday, that person selects a\npiece of one of his cast-off garments, rubs thereon a few drops of his\nown blood and saliva, and then burns the fragment of clothing. By so\ndoing he burns up also all the ill luck which else might have befallen\nhim during the next year. In southeastern Transylvania a rag mystically\ndealt with as above is hung on a tree before sunrise on the day in\nquestion; if it disappear before dawn of the next day, the person who\nthus superstitiously celebrates the occurrence of his name-day on a\nFriday may laugh at ill luck for a year.[445]\n\nThe Magyars begin no work on a Friday, for it is bound to miscarry;\nneither do they give any milk out of the house on that day, for by so\ndoing they imagine the usefulness of the cow to be impaired. In Bihar\nCounty, Hungary, a loaf of bread baked on Friday and impaled upon a stick\nis accounted a safeguard against the spread of fire. The natives of this\ndistrict likewise entertain various curious fancies which are decidedly\nunique. For example, when a newly born child is knock-kneed, the mother\nregards it as a changeling. She therefore seats herself on the threshold\non a Tuesday or Friday, when witches are abroad, and peremptorily\naddresses those creatures, demanding the restoration of her own child,\nwhom she believes they have stolen away. \u201cPfui! Pfui! you scoundrels!\u201d\nshe exclaims, \u201cgive it back!\u201d[446]\n\nThe Sicilians have a host of superstitions on this subject. The following\nare among the more interesting items of their folk-lore relating to\nFriday. On this day the owner of a rented house will not hand over\nthe keys to a new tenant, neither would the latter receive them. In\nthe southern part of the province of Palermo no thief dares steal on\na Friday, and the accuracy of this statement is corroborated by the\ncriminal statistics. Indeed, on this day the most timid householder may\njourney in safety anywhere in the province, a fact which the sagacious\ntraveler in a land notorious for brigandage will not fail to note. This\nimmunity is not attributable to any special veneration for Freyja\u2019s day,\nbut rather to a popular belief that thefts and other misdemeanors then\ncommitted are sure of speedy detection. Laughter is thought to offend\nthe goddess, and the proverb runs, \u201cHe who laughs on Friday weeps on\nSaturday.\u201d In an anonymous manuscript in the municipal library of Palermo\nappears a statement that whoever cuts out garments on a Tuesday or a\nFriday runs the risk of making them too short and of losing the cloth.\nSuch clothing has little wear in it, for nothing begun on these days has\nany durability.[447]\n\nThe inhabitants of ancient Gascony are no less credulous, as is apparent\nfrom the following bits of Friday lore. Any one rash enough to start on\na journey on horseback runs especial risk of falling off his horse, and\nof being drowned in attempting to ford a stream. It has even happened\nthat newly baked loaves have been found tinged with blood in the oven.\nHowever, Friday is a good day for making vinegar, and the casks filled at\nthree o\u2019clock in the afternoon of that day are found to be superior to\nothers. This is because our Lord, while on the cross, was given vinegar\nto drink, mingled with gall, at three o\u2019clock on the afternoon of Good\nFriday.[448]\n\nIn Normandy, also, Friday is the favorite day for putting water in wine\nor cider, for the people believe that on any other day the mixture would\nbecome sour.[449]\n\nAccording to a quaint Italian belief, whoever is born on a Friday will be\nof sanguine temperament, passionate, light-hearted, and handsome. He will\ndelight in music, both vocal and instrumental, and will have a liking for\nfine clothes. Moreover, he will be voluble in speech, though of unstable\ncharacter.[450]\n\nThe Tyrolese have a saying, \u201cWhoever is born on a Friday must experience\ntrouble,\u201d and they regard it as folly to marry on that day.[451]\n\nThe French people share fully the general distrust of the sixth day of\nthe week. This is shown by statistics of the Parisian theatres, where\nthere are produced on an average nearly two hundred new pieces annually,\nand for many years not one of these has had its first performance on a\nFriday.[452]\n\nIn Alsace Wednesday and Friday are unlucky days, and the former is never\nchosen for a wedding or baptism. But of the two, Friday is the more\nundesirable, and no business of importance is done thereon, nor any\njourney undertaken. It is foremost among witch days, for evil spirits\nare then abroad, and their activity on a Friday is proverbial. These\nsentiments prevail in other German districts, and are entertained by\npeople of cultivation and learning. Indeed, it may be affirmed truly that\nthe possession of intellectual force is by no means incompatible with\na superstitious belief in the luck or misfortune of particular days.\nThe credulousness of the great Napoleon in this regard is well known.\nBismarck is said to have once written to his wife from Letzlingen, a\nvillage of Prussian Saxony: \u201cI have not had such good luck in hunting\nto-day as I had three years ago; but then\u2014it is a Friday.\u201d[453] The\nFrench statesman, Gambetta, is reported to have arranged his journeyings\nand business affairs with reference to auspicious hours, as determined by\na professional reader of cards; and President Felix Faure, we are told,\nis similarly credulous. Indeed, so prevalent are notions of this kind in\nthe French capital that tastefully ornamented cards with a list of \u201chours\nto be avoided\u201d find a ready sale in the streets.[454]\n\nAmong the Slavonians St. Prascovia, the modern successor of Venus and\nFreyja, is believed to visit the peasants\u2019 houses every Friday, and woe\nto the luckless woman whom she then finds engaged in certain occupations.\nLocal tradition says that sewing, spinning, and weaving on that day are\nsinful, and are especially distasteful to St. Prascovia, familiarly\nknown as \u201cMother Friday,\u201d because the dust so produced gets into her\neyes. She is very apt to take revenge by inflicting upon the offenders\ndivers physical ailments, such as sore eyes, whitlows, or hang-nails. In\nsome districts the peasants retire earlier than usual on Friday evenings,\nunder the impression that Mother Friday will punish those whom she may\nfind awake when she makes her evening visits. These popular beliefs are\nexemplified in the following tradition:\u2014\n\nThere was once a certain woman who did not pay due reverence to Mother\nFriday, but set to work on a distaff full of flax, combing it and\nwhirling it. She spun away until dinner-time, then sleep fell upon her.\nSuddenly the door opened, and in came Mother Friday, before the eyes of\nall who were there, clad in a white dress, and in such a rage! And she\nwent straight up to the woman who had been spinning, and scooped up from\nthe floor a handful of the dust that had fallen out of the flax, and\nbegan stuffing and stuffing that woman\u2019s eyes full of it! After she had\nstuffed them full, she went off in a rage,\u2014disappeared without saying a\nword.\n\nWhen the woman awoke, she began squalling, at the top of her voice,\nabout her eyes, but could not tell what was the matter with them. The\nother women, who had been much frightened, began to cry out: \u201cOh, you\nwretch, you! you\u2019ve brought a terrible punishment on yourself from Mother\nFriday.\u201d Then they told her all that had taken place. She listened to it\nall, and then began imploring: \u201cMother Friday, forgive me! Pardon me, the\nguilty one! I\u2019ll offer thee a taper, and I\u2019ll never let friend or foe\ndishonor thee, mother!\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, what do you think? During the night, back came Mother Friday, and\ntook the dust out of that woman\u2019s eyes, so that she was able to get about\nagain. It\u2019s a great sin to dishonor Mother Friday, combing and spinning\nflax, forsooth!\u201d[455]\n\nProfessor Max M\u00fcller, in his \u201cContributions to the Science of Mythology\u201d\n(New York and Bombay, 1897), cites a tradition of the as yet little\nknown mythology of the Mordvinians, a Finnish race inhabiting the middle\nVolga provinces of Russia. A woman who had been working all day long on\na Friday, baking bread for some orphan children, was taken up in a dream\nto the sun, and when she was nearly exhausted, owing to the effects of\nthe heat, and to the rapidly increasing size of a piece of dough which\nshe had put into her mouth, she was accosted by Chka\u00ef, the large-eyed\nMordvine sun-god, who told her that she was being punished because she\nhad baked bread for the orphans on a Friday. She was charged, moreover,\nto tell all the people so. \u201cBut who will be such a fool as to believe\nme?\u201d asked the woman most disrespectfully. Thereupon Chka\u00ef placed his\nmark in scarlet and blue upon her forehead,\u2014an emblem which is thought\nto bring luck. And after that the Mordvine women were careful to bake no\nbread, nor to do any other work, on a Friday.\n\nIt was a very early custom in England to appoint Friday as the day for\nthe execution of criminals, and until recently the same was true in this\ncountry, but through the persistent efforts of the \u201cThirteen Club,\u201d\nof New York, whose object is the discouragement of certain popular\nsuperstitions, the sixth day of the week has been partially relieved of\nthe odium of being \u201changman\u2019s day\u201d in the United States.\n\nA writer of an inventive turn of mind has suggested that Friday\u2019s\nunpopularity is partly owing to its being late in the week and money runs\nshort to the poor. Saturday being the close of the week, and pay-day as\nwell, there is no time then to be superstitious.\n\nSome modern writers have displayed a misguided zeal in the collection\nof statistical evidence that Friday has been a most auspicious day in\nAmerican history, and have cited among other events the surrender of\nBurgoyne at Saratoga, and that of Cornwallis at Yorktown, as occurring\non that day. But will such an argument appeal with success to English\nreaders? If by general consent we should teach our children that Friday\nwas the luckiest day of the week, evidence in favor of this theory would\nno doubt rapidly accumulate, and the new belief would soon be worth just\nas much as the old one.\n\n\n\n\nSUPERSTITIOUS DEALINGS WITH ANIMALS\n\n\nI. RATS AND MICE AS AVENGERS\n\nWhen in ancient times fields were overrun and crops destroyed by swarms\nof pestiferous animals or insects, these creatures were regarded either\nas agents of the Devil, or as being themselves veritable demons. We\nlearn, moreover, that rats and mice were formerly especial objects of\nsuperstition, and that their actions were carefully noted as auguries\nof good or evil.[456] A rabbinical myth says that the rat and the hog\nwere created by Noah as scavengers of the Ark; but the rat becoming\na nuisance, the patriarch evoked a cat from the lion\u2019s nose.[457] In\nthe \u201cHorapollon,\u201d the only ancient work now known which attempted to\nexplain Egyptian hieroglyphics, the rat is represented as a symbol of\ndestruction. But the Egyptians also regarded this animal as a type of\ngood judgment, because, when afforded the choice of several pieces of\nbread, he always selects the best.[458]\n\nAccording to an early legend, the Teucri, or founders of the Trojan\nrace, on leaving the island of Crete to found a colony elsewhere, were\ninstructed by an oracle to choose as a residence that place where they\nshould first be attacked by the aborigines of the country. On encamping\nfor the night, a swarm of mice appeared and gnawed the leathern thongs of\ntheir armor, and accordingly they made that spot their home and erected\na temple to Apollo Smintheus,[459] this title being derived from the\nword meaning \u201ca rat\u201d in the \u00c6olic dialect. In ancient Troas mice were\nobjects of worship; and the Greek writer, Heraclides Ponticus, said that\nthey were held especially sacred at Chrysa, a town famous for its temple\nof Apollo. At Hamaxitus, too, mice were fed at the public expense.[460]\nHerodotus relates, on the authority of certain priests, that when in the\nyear B. C. 699 Egypt was invaded by an Assyrian army under Sennacherib,\nit was revealed in a vision to the Egyptian king, Sethon, that he should\nreceive assistance from the gods. And on the eve of an expected battle\nthe camp of the Assyrians was attacked by a legion of field-mice, who\ndestroyed their quivers and bows, so that, being without serviceable\nweapons, the invaders fled in dismay on the ensuing morning. And in\nmemory of this fabulous event a stone statue of King Sethon, bearing a\nmouse in his hand, was erected in the temple of Vulcan at Memphis, with\nthis inscription: \u201cWhoever looks on me, let him revere the Gods.\u201d\n\nCicero, in his treatise on Divination, while commenting on the absurdity\nof the prevalent belief in prodigies, remarked that, if reliance were\nto be placed in omens of this kind, he ought naturally to tremble for\nthe safety of the Commonwealth, because mice had recently nibbled a copy\nof Plato\u2019s \u201cRepublic\u201d in his library. Pliny wrote that rats foretold\nthe Marsian war, B. C. 89, by destroying silver shields and bucklers at\nLavinium, an ancient city near Rome; and that they also prognosticated\nthe death of the Roman general, Carbo, by eating his hose-garters and\nshoe-strings at Clusium, the modern Chiusi, in Etruria. The same writer,\nin the eighth book of his \u201cNatural History,\u201d devotes a short chapter\nto an enumeration of instances, fabulous or historical, in which the\ninhabitants of several cities of the Roman Empire were driven from\ntheir homes by noxious animals, reptiles, and insects. He states, on\nthe authority of the Greek moralist, Theophrastus (B. C. 372-287), that\nthe natives of the island of Gyaros, one of the Cyclades, were forced\nto abandon their homes owing to the ravages of rats and mice, which\ndevoured everything they could find, even including iron substances.\n\nWhen the Philistines took the ark of the Lord from the camp of the\nIsraelites, as recorded in 1 Samuel iv., a plague of mice was sent to\ndevastate their lands; whereupon the Philistines returned the ark,\ntogether with a trespass-offering, which included five golden mice, as an\natonement for their sacrilegious act.\n\nIn medi\u00e6val legendary lore rats figure not unfrequently as avengers.\nThe Polish king, Popiel II., who ascended the throne in the year 820,\nrendered himself obnoxious to his subjects by his immorality and tyranny,\nand, according to tradition, Heaven sent against him a multitude of rats,\nwhich pursued him constantly. The king and his family sought refuge in a\ncastle situated on an island in the middle of Lake Goplo, on the Prussian\nfrontier. But the rats finally invaded this stronghold and devoured the\nking and all belonging to him.\n\nAgain, in the year 970, so runs the legend, Hatto II., Archbishop of\nMayence, who had made himself hateful to his people on account of his\navarice and cruelty during a season of famine, was informed by one of his\nservants that a vast multitude of rats were advancing along the roads\nleading to the palace. The bishop betook himself at once to a tower in\nthe middle of the Rhine, near Bingen, still known as the \u201cMouse Tower,\u201d\nwhere he sought safety from his pursuers. But the rats swam out to the\ntower, gnawed through its walls, and devoured him. We read also in \u201cA\nChronicle of the Kings of England\u201d that, in the reign of William the\nConqueror, a great lord was attacked by mice at a banquet, and \u201cthough\nhe were removed from land to sea and from sea to land again,\u201d the mice\npursued him to his death.\n\nRats and mice were not, however, the only agents employed as avengers.\nIn the year 350, during a long siege of the Roman stronghold, Nisibis,\nin Mesopotamia, by the Persian king, Sapor II., the inhabitants besought\ntheir bishop, St. James, to utter a malediction against the enemy.\nAccordingly the prelate, standing on one of the wall towers, prayed God\nthat a host of flies might be sent to attack the Persians, and tradition\nhas it that the prayer was answered at once. A multitude of the insects\ndescended upon the besiegers, their horses, and elephants; and men and\nanimals, thus goaded to frenzy, were compelled to retreat, and so the\nsiege was raised. The Philistines of old worshiped a special deity,\nBeelzebub, to whom they attributed the power of destroying flies.[461]\nThis same region is still infested with insect plagues; but the modern\ntraveler, who has no faith in Beelzebub, is more likely to employ\nfly-traps and energetic practical measures.\n\nSuch are a few instances of the supernatural employment of vermin and\ninsects as instruments of vengeance; and we need hardly wonder that,\nconversely, people in olden times should avail themselves of supernatural\nmethods in order to protect themselves or their property from the ravages\nof these noxious creatures.\n\nIn Mexico rats were anciently the objects of superstitious regard, for\nthey were credited with possessing a keen insight into the characters of\nall members of a household, and were wont publicly to announce flagrant\nbreaches of morality on the part of such members by gnawing various\narticles of domestic furniture, such as mats and baskets. It does not\nappear, however, that the rodents were sagacious enough to indicate the\nindividual whose conduct had aroused their displeasure.\n\nThe Mexicans had also a superstition that whoever partook of food which\nhad been gnawed by rats would be falsely accused of some wrong-doing.[462]\n\n\nII. SPIRITS ASSUME THE FORMS OF BLACK ANIMALS\n\nThe belief in the demoniacal possession of animals was prevalent in\nEurope for several centuries, and in order to drive away the evil spirits\nit was customary to employ various exorcisms and incantations, which were\nsupposed to be infallible after approval by ecclesiastical authority.\nReginald Scot, in his \u201cDiscovery of Witchcraft,\u201d says that, according to\nthe testimony of reliable authors, spirits were wont to take the forms of\nanimals, and especially of horses, dogs, swine, goats, and hares. They\nalso appeared in the guise of crows and owls, but took the most delight\nin the likenesses of snakes and dragons. Bewitched animals were usually\nof a black color. A black cat is the traditional companion or familiar\nof witches the world over, and the black dog is also associated with\nsorcery in the folk-lore of some lands. Among the Slavs the black demon\nCernabog has this form, and the black hen is a common devil-symbol in\nmedi\u00e6val witch-lore. The gypsies believe, moreover, that black horses\nare gifted with a supernatural sight, which enables them to see beings\ninvisible to the eye of man.[463] Black animals figure prominently in\nmany legends of the dark ages. Thus the Devil, in the form of a black\nhorse, disturbed a congregation which had gathered to listen to a\nsermon delivered by St. Peter of Verona in the thirteenth century, but\nwas put to flight by the sign of the cross.[464] Among birds the crow\nis considered an ominous creature in some countries, and in northeast\nScotland is always associated with the \u201cblack airt.\u201d[465] The raven, too,\nis traditionally portentous, and is sometimes called the Devil\u2019s bird;\nits plumage is said to have been changed from white to black on account\nof its disobedience.[466] In Swedish legend the magpie shares the evil\nreputation of the raven and crow, and is characterized as \u201ca mystic bird,\na downright witches\u2019 bird, belonging to the Devil and the other powers of\nthe night.\u201d[467]\n\nThe Kirghis, a nomadic people of Turkestan, are very superstitious in\nregard to the magpie, and note with care the direction whence the sound\nof its cry is heard. If from the north, it portends evil; from the south,\na remarkable occurrence; from the east, it denotes the coming of guests;\nand from the west, a journey.[468]\n\nThe Rev. Alexander Stewart, in his \u201cNether Lochaber,\u201d deprecates as\nunreasonable the universal distrust of the magpie. It seems probably that\nthis is due less to its color than to certain other characteristics;\nfor the magpie is a confirmed mimic and kleptomaniac, and of exceeding\nslyness withal.\n\nApropos of crows as foreboders, whether of good or evil, an amusing story\nis told of a man who wished to test for himself the truth or falsity of\na popular belief that seeing a couple of crows in the early morning is a\nsign of good luck. He therefore directed his servant to awaken him at\ndaybreak whenever two crows were to be seen. Accordingly one morning the\nservant called him, but in the mean time one of the birds had flown away.\nThereupon the master became angry and gave his servant a sound beating,\nupbraiding him with having delayed until but one crow remained. The\nservant, however, nothing daunted, replied: \u201cLo, sir, have you not seen\nthe luck which is come to me from seeing two crows?\u201d[469]\n\nSuperstition has been defined as \u201ca belief not in accordance with the\nfacts,\u201d but this is manifestly incorrect. An ignorant person, who thinks\nthat black cats are more evil-minded than white ones, thereby cherishes\na mistaken idea, but is not necessarily superstitious. If, however,\nhe believes that a black cat or any other animal is endowed with a\nsupernatural faculty of exerting evil influences over human beings, then\nhe is not only ignorant, but also superstitious.\n\n\nIII. EXORCISM AND CONJURATION OF VERMIN\n\nThe Grecian husbandmen were accustomed to drive away mice by writing them\na message on a piece of paper and sticking it on a stone in the infested\nfield. A specimen of such a message, beginning with an adjuration and\nconcluding with a threat, is to be found in the \u201cGeoponica,\u201d a Grecian\nagricultural treatise.\n\nIn the endeavor to justify the employment of radical measures against\nvermin, some curious questions of casuistry were involved. Rats and\nmice being God\u2019s creatures, one ought not to take their lives. But it\nwas considered entirely proper to drive them off one\u2019s own domain,\nwhile recommending as preferable the well-stocked cellar of a neighbor.\nFormul\u00e6 of exorcism, or sentences containing warnings to depart, were\nwritten on scraps of paper, which were then well greased and rolled\ninto little balls, or wrapped about poisoned edibles, and placed in the\nrat-holes.[470]\n\nConjurations of vermin were usually in the name of St. Gertrude, the\nfirst abbess of Nivelle in Belgium, and also the patron saint of\ntravelers and cats, and protectress against the ravages of the smaller\nrodents.\n\nThe Spanish ecclesiastic, Martin Azpilcueta, surnamed Navarre, stated\nthat when rats were exorcised, it was customary to banish them formally\nfrom the territory of Spain; and the creatures would then proceed to the\nseashore and swim to some remote island, where they made their home.\n\nThe public records of Hameln, in the kingdom of Hannover, state that\nin the year 1284 a stranger, in gay and fantastic attire, visited the\ntown and proclaimed himself a professional rat-catcher, offering for a\nconsideration to rid the place of the vermin which infested it. The\ntownsfolk having agreed to his proposal, the stranger began to play a\ntune upon his pipe, whereupon the rats emerged in swarms from their\nhiding-places and followed him to the river Weser, where they were\nall drowned. The people of Hameln now repented of their bargain and\nrefused to pay the full amount agreed upon, for the alleged reason that\nthe rats had been driven away by the aid of sorcery. In revenge for\nthis, the piper played the same tune on the next day, and immediately\nall the children of the town followed him to a cavern in the side of\na neighboring hill, called the Koppenberg. The piper and the children\nentered the cavern, which closed after them; and in remembrance of this\ntragic event several memorials are to be seen in Hameln. Indeed, some\nwriters maintain that the legend has an historical foundation, and such\nappears to have been the opinion of the townspeople, inasmuch as for\nyears afterwards public and legal documents were dated from the mournful\noccurrence.\n\nAn old tradition says that mice originally fell upon the earth from the\nclouds during a thunder-storm, and hence these animals are emblematic of\nstorms; they are also mystical creatures, and have a relationship with\nDonar, Wodan, and Frigg. In Bavaria profanity is thought to increase the\nnumber of mice in a dwelling, and their appearance in the fields in large\nnumbers indicates war, pestilence, or famine.[471] Bohemian peasants are\nwont to make a certain provision for these elfish rodents; on Christmas\nEve and on the first holiday of the year, whatever food remains from the\nmidday meal is thrown upon the barn floor, and the following sentence is\nrepeated: \u201cO mice, eat these remnants and leave the grain in peace!\u201d On\nChristmas Eve, also, peas are placed in heaps, shaped like a cross, in\nthe four corners of a mouse-infested room, lest the vermin get the upper\nhand and the premises be overrun. In eastern Prussia, when the harvest\nis gathered, the last sheaf of corn is left standing in the field, while\nthe peasants surround it and sing a hymn as an incantation against\nfuture devastation of their lands by rats or mice. Or, when the corn is\nharvested, three inverted sheaves are fixed upon the barn floor for a\nlike purpose.[472]\n\nAccording to a Bohemian legend, the mouse was originally a creation of\nthe Devil, at the time when Noah entered the Ark, attended by the members\nof his family and followed by a numerous retinue of animals. The Devil,\nso runs the tale, hated the patriarch for his piety, and with evil intent\ncreated the mouse, whom he sent to gnaw a hole in the side of the Ark,\nthrough which the water might enter. But God then created the cat, who\npursued and devoured the mouse, thus frustrating the design of the Evil\nOne.[473]\n\nAt the siege of Angers, the ancient capital of Anjou, in the year 845,\nduring the reign of King Charles the Bald, the French were much annoyed\nby swarms of grasshoppers of unusual size. They were duly exorcised\naccording to the custom of the times, and having been put to flight, are\nreported to have precipitated themselves into a river.[474]\n\nThe French writer, St. Foix, in his \u201cEssais historiques sur Paris,\u201d has\nrecorded that in the year 1120, the Bishop of Laon, in the Department of\nAisne, pronounced an injunction against field-mice, on account of their\nravages; and St. Bernard, a contemporary of that prelate, while preaching\nat Foigny in the same diocese, in order to relieve his congregation of\nthe annoyance caused by a multitude of flies, repeated a formula of\nexcommunication against them, whereat, according to monkish records, the\nflies fell dead in heaps and were gathered up with shovels.\n\nThe early Anglo-Saxons not only made use of amulets of wood or other\nmaterial, on which were engraven Runic characters, to secure protection\nfrom elves and demons,[475] but they carried about with them the herb\ncalled periwinkle, of the botanical genus _Vinca_, as a charm against\nsnakes and wild animals.[476]\n\n\nIV. CHARMS AGAINST ANIMALS\n\nAs illustrative of the superstitious use of charms and exorcisms against\nanimals and reptiles in different epochs and countries, we have examples\nfrom many and varied sources.\n\nThe Egyptians used, as charms against venomous serpents, various magic\nformul\u00e6 inscribed upon strips of papyrus, which were rolled up and worn\nas talismans. A specimen of such an one is to be seen among the Egyptian\nmanuscripts in the Louvre collection. The following is a translation of a\nportion of one of these incantations, which invokes the aid of a god to\nprotect the bearer against wild animals and reptiles:\u2014\n\n    Come to me, O Lord of Gods, drive far from me the lions coming\n    from the earth, the crocodiles issuing from the river, the\n    mouth of all biting reptiles coming out of their holes.[477]\n\nPliny recommended a particular herb as an amulet against serpents and\nvipers. This herb, to which he gives no less than five Latin names,\nappears to be identical with the _Anchusa officinalis_ of modern\npharmacop\u0153ias, the bugloss or ox-tongue of southern Europe, a plant now\nseldom used in therapeutics.\n\nThe Grecians also were doubtless addicted to the superstitious use\nof charms against animals, although there is good authority for the\nstatement that the citizens of ancient Athens did not hesitate on\noccasion to accelerate the flight of \u201cominous creatures, as cats and the\nlike,\u201d by throwing stones or other handy missiles at them in the night,\na method wholly mundane and natural.[478] And in this connection we may\nquote the opinion of the Rev. Father Pierre Le Brun, in his \u201cHistoire\ncritique des pratiques superstitieuses\u201d (Amsterdam, 1733). The learned\nwriter remarks that, if it were desired to drive a strange dog out of\none\u2019s room, it would be quite unsuitable to _begin_ with prayer and the\nuse of holy water. One should rather first open the door and take hold\nof a stick, or throw some food outside; and if these and other practical\nmeasures fail, then recourse may be had to supernatural expedients,\nprovided these have ecclesiastical sanction.\n\nIn a treatise against superstition by a French _savant_, Martin of\nArles, published in 1650, it was stated that the friars of the monastery\nof Ardennes were wont to boast that no rats could thrive in their\nneighborhood, and that this fact was due to the merits of St. Ulric,\nBishop of Augsburg, some of whose relics were deposited in their church.\nIn this monastery also it had been formerly customary to scatter crumbs\nof bread which had been blessed, in places infested by vermin, and the\nmonks believed that this procedure either caused the death of the animals\nor frightened them away.\n\nThuringian houses are sometimes cleared of rats in the following\nmanner: Before sunrise on Good Friday morning, the master of the house,\nbarefooted and in his shirt-sleeves, goes through every room blowing\non a tiny whistle made out of the thigh bone of a rat\u2019s hind leg.[479]\nAnother curious method of expelling vermin from a dwelling is in vogue\nin some portions of the Austrian Empire. Before the dawn of a principal\nfeast day, one must take an old shoe which has not been recently cleaned,\nand lay it on the ground at a place where two roads cross. No word\nmust meanwhile be spoken aloud, but a _Paternoster_ is to be silently\nrepeated. The direction in which the shoe points indicates the course to\nbe taken by the rats in their flight.[480] In the village of Bechlin, a\nfew miles north of Prague, troublesome mice are thus dealt with: Very\nearly on an Easter Sunday morning, before the bells have rung for the\nfirst Mass, the peasant matron collects and fastens together all the\nhouse-keys. Then she waits until the first stroke of the bell for High\nMass at noon, whereupon she proceeds to the cellar, meanwhile jingling\nthe keys vigorously so long as the church-bells ring; when they cease\nshe retraces her steps, still rattling the keys; and these measures are\nbelieved to permanently frighten away the mice.[481]\n\nTowards the middle of the seventeenth century a great army of locusts\ninvaded the fields in the neighborhood of the town of Mixco, in\nGuatemala. So numerous were they as for a time to obscure the light of\nthe sun, and to break the branches of the trees whereon they clung; and\nthey speedily devoured the corn and other crops. Moreover, they covered\nthe highways and startled the traveling mules by their fluttering\nmovements. By order of the magistrates, the people of the country\nassembled in the fields with trumpets and other instruments in order to\nscare away the unwelcome visitors. Idols were brought out, especially\npictures of the Virgin and of St. Nicholas Tolentine. From the country\nregions near and far came the Spanish farmers to the town of Mixco, with\npropitiatory offerings for the saint, and all brought with them loaves of\nbread to be blessed. These loaves they carried back to their farms, and\neither threw into their cornfields or buried beneath their hedges, hoping\nby this method to protect their crops from the locusts.[482]\n\nThe mountain ash, or rowan-tree (the Scotch _roun-tree_), is thought to\nhave derived its name from the Latin word _runa_, an incantation, because\nof its employment in magical arts. Woe to the witch who is touched by a\nbranch of this tree in the hand of a christened man![483]\n\nMuch has been written concerning the folk-lore of the mountain ash,\nand it is indeed a powerful rival of the horse-shoe in its talismanic\nvirtues, though not as a luck-bringer.\n\nBut for the protection of cattle from the incursions of witches, not even\nthe horse-shoe may assume to usurp the rowan\u2019s prestige. Branches of\nthis favorite tree, when hung over the stalls of cows or wreathed about\ntheir horns, are potent to avert the evil glances or contact, whether\nof witches or malicious fairies. And their efficacy is enhanced if the\nfarmer is careful to repeat at regular intervals the following fervent\npetition:\u2014\n\n    From Witches and Wizards, and long-tailed Buzzards, and\n    creeping things that run in hedge-bottoms, good Lord, deliver\n    us!\n\nJamieson, in his \u201cScottish Dictionary,\u201d remarks that this practice of\ntwining the rowan about the horns of cows bears a certain resemblance to\nan ancient custom of the Romans in their _Palilia_, or feast celebrated\nat the end of April, whose object was the preservation of the flocks. He\nsays:\u2014\n\n    The Shepherd, in order to purify his sheep, was in the dusk of\n    the evening to bedew the ground around them with a wet branch,\n    then to adorn the fold with leaves and _green branches_ and to\n    cover the door with garlands.\n\nIn China it is customary for the Taouist priests to perform certain\nmagical rites on the completion of a new pigsty, and before the admission\nof the animals to their new quarters. An altar is erected in honor of the\nChu-Lan-Too-Tee, or genii of pigsties, and the walls of the compartments\nof the sty are adorned with strips of red paper, upon which are Chinese\ncharacters, signifying, \u201cLet the enemies of horses, cows, sheep, fowls,\ndogs, and pigs be appeased.\u201d[484]\n\n\nV. IMAGES OF ANIMALS AND BIRDS USED AS CHARMS\n\nThe belief that cities or towns may be protected from the incursions of\nnoxious animals, birds, or insects, by an image or figure representing\none of these creatures, is of great antiquity. This seems to be on the\nprinciple of the hom\u0153opathic doctrine, \u201cLike cures like.\u201d A homely\nillustration of the same idea is afforded by the shrewd farmer who hangs\nup a dead crow in his cornfield to protect the crops. On the other hand,\nthe eccentric French writer, Antoine Mizauld, recommended the following\nas an effective charm for attracting a large number of crows to one spot:\nAs soon as the constellation of the Virgin rises above the horizon, the\nfigure of a half crow is to be painted on a piece of cloth, while these\nwords are repeated: \u201cLet no crow in all this district move away without\ncoming to this image, in whatever spot it may be buried.\u201d The piece\nof cloth, with its magical figure, is then interred and the charm is\ncomplete.[485]\n\nApollonius of Tyana in Cappadocia, the philosopher and pretended magician\nof the first century, is said to have freed Antioch from scorpions and\nflies by means of the brazen image of a scorpion. The French bishop,\nGregory of Tours, mentions an ancient popular belief that no serpents or\ndormice were to be seen in Paris. In his time, however, or toward the\nclose of the sixth century, while workmen were removing the mud which\ncovered one of the arches of the Bridge of Paris, they found imbedded\ntherein two brazen images of a serpent and dormouse, which were taken\naway; and thenceforth, he says, the city was infested by prodigious\nnumbers of dormice and snakes. In Jean Baptiste Thiers\u2019s treatise on\nSuperstitions (Paris, 1679), we find allusion to a serpent of brass at\nConstantinople, which long served as a talisman to bar the entrance of\nliving serpents. But when the city was captured by Mahomet II. in 1453,\nthat monarch broke the teeth of the image by the force of an arrow-shot;\nand immediately a legion of serpents attacked the inhabitants, but\nwithout doing them any harm, for the teeth of all were broken. In the\nreign of Charlemagne it was customary in Piedmont to use a formula for\nblessing holy water with which to drive away noxious animals from the\ncrops, and with such success that not a single mole could be found in\nthe whole town of Aosta, nor within three thousand paces beyond its\nboundaries.\n\nMr. Andrew Lang, in his volume entitled \u201cCustom and Myth,\u201d says that,\nin a church of a certain old Saxon town, the verger is wont to exhibit\nto visitors a silver mouse dedicated to Our Lady; explaining that the\ntown was infested with mice until this now precious relic was presented\nby some ladies as a propitiatory offering, whereupon the creatures\ndisappeared at once.\n\nAccording to the ancient Doctrine of Signatures, the therapeutic virtues\nof plants were indicated by certain peculiarities of their external\nappearance. Thus _Dracontium_, or great dragon, a plant which has a\nfancied resemblance to this mythical monster, was thought to be a\npreservative against serpents; and the scorpion-grass (_Myosotis_), whose\nflower-spike was not unlike a scorpion\u2019s tail, was deemed an antidote to\nthe stings of noxious insects.\n\nIndeed, the old herbalists of England claimed by the sole use of herbs,\nnot only to cure all fleshly ills, but to drive away or keep at a\ndistance wolves, leopards, and all venomous wild beasts.[486]\n\nIn Tibet, according to L. Austine Waddell, M. B., ferocious mastiffs\nare permitted to roam at large in the night, a source of terror to\nwayfarers, who therefore carry about charms consisting of \u201cthe picture\nof a dog muzzled and fettered by a chain, terminated by the mystic and\nall-powerful thunderbolt sceptre,\u201d while along the dog\u2019s body are written\ncertain Sanskrit magical sentences.[487]\n\n\nVI. WORDS USED AS CHARMS\n\nThe English word \u201ccharm\u201d is derived from the Latin _carmen_, a verse; and\nthe magical potency of a sentence used as a charm was believed to rest\nin the words themselves, and not in the person who uttered them. In the\nopinion of the cabalistic magicians of the Middle Ages, the power of a\ncharm of words depended upon its being unintelligible.\n\nThe Latin poet, Varius, wrote in the first century B. C. that old women,\nby the sole use of words as charms, were able not only to restrain and\nsubjugate wild animals and serpents, but also to drive away noxious\ncreatures and vermin. Few early writers allude to this practice, which\nappears, however, to have been much in vogue in different countries\ntowards the close of the medi\u00e6val period. The Swiss theologian, Felix\nHammerlein (1389-1457), wrote of a peasant living near Zurich who was\nable, by repeating a magic formula, to rid infested premises of adders,\nvipers, lizards, and other reptiles;[488] and in some parts of Normandy\nit was a custom formerly to place small rolls of hay under the fruit\ntrees. The hay was then set on fire by means of torches carried by young\nchildren, who repeated meanwhile: \u201cMice, caterpillars, and moles, get out\nof my field; I will burn your beard and your bones; trees and shrubs,\ngive me three bushels of apples.\u201d Hampson remarks that this incantation\nsomewhat resembles one employed by the ancient Grecians against beetles,\nwhom they held responsible for the destruction of their corn. These\nmagical lines are thus translated: \u201cFly, beetles, the ravenous wolf\npursues you.\u201d[489]\n\nIt was currently reported among the ancients that the famous philosopher,\nPythagoras, not only possessed the faculty of predicting storms and\nearthquakes, but that he had by a magical word been enabled to tame\na Daunian bear, and had also prevented an ox from eating beans by\nwhispering in his ear.[490]\n\nAntoine Mizauld, the French physician and astrologer, affirmed that,\naccording to Ptolemy, in order to drive away serpents, one should prepare\na talisman by engraving the figure of two serpents upon a square piece\nof copper and pronouncing a charm of words as follows: \u201cWith this image\nI forbid serpents to harm any one, and command them to leave the place\nwhere it shall be buried.\u201d In like manner, says the same authority, to\nexpel rats and mice, one has only to represent an image of one of these\ncreatures upon a piece of tin or copper, and at the proper time, as\ndetermined by astrology, command them to depart.\n\nIn order to expel snakes, insects, and vermin from their dwellings, the\nBulgarian women of Turkey, on the last day of February, endeavor to\nfrighten the creatures by beating copper vessels all over the house,\nwhile shouting, \u201cOut with you, snakes, scorpions, flies, bugs, and\nfleas!\u201d One of the vessels is then taken into the court-yard, the pests\nbeing expected to follow it. And in Serfo, an island of the Grecian\narchipelago, at the commencement of the vintage a bunch of grapes is\nthrown into each house to expel the vermin, while this formula is\nrepeated: \u201cThe black grape will sicken you; the black grape will poison\nyou! Out with you, rats and fleas!\u201d[491]\n\nIn Albania, when locusts or cockchafers devastate the fields, a number\nof women, having caught some of the insects, form a mock funeral\nprocession, and proceed to drown them in some convenient stream. And\nwhile on their way thither they chant in turn the following dirge, which\nall repeat in chorus:\u2014\n\n    O locusts, O cockchafers, parents kind,\n    Orphaned you have left us all behind.\n\nAnd this proceeding is thought to be destructive to the whole swarm of\ninsects.[492]\n\nThe following charm against foxes was formerly used in France, and was to\nbe repeated thrice a week:\u2014\n\n    Foxes, both male and female, I conjure you in the name of the\n    Holy Trinity, that ye neither touch nor carry off any of my\n    fowls, whether roosters, hens or chickens; nor eat their nests,\n    nor suck their blood, nor break their eggs, nor do them any\n    harm whatever.[493]\n\nThe Roman Catholic Church formerly sanctioned the use of certain\nsentences as charms against vipers, and the following may serve as a\nspecimen:\u2014\n\n    I conjure thee, O serpent, in this hour, by the five holy\n    wounds of Our Lord, that thou remove not out of this place,\n    as certainly as God was born of a pure Virgine. Otherwise, I\n    conjure thee, serpent, by Our Lady St. Mary, that thou obey\n    me, as wax obeyeth the fire, and as fire obeyeth water, that\n    thou neither hurt me nor any other Christian, as certainly\n    as God was born of an immaculate Virgine, in which respect I\n    take thee up. _In Nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti_.\u2026\n    Otherwise, O vermine, thou must come as God came unto the\n    Jews.[494]\n\nWhen a Turk chances to encounter a serpent, he is wont to invoke the aid\nof Chah-Miran, the serpent-king, and in the name of this deity he bids\nthe reptile depart. Now Chah-Miran has long been dead, but the astute\nTurk reasons that serpents are not aware of this fact, for, if they were,\nthe human race would be helpless against their attacks.[495]\n\nAs preservatives from the stings of insects, and to prevent the croaking\nof frogs, the Moslems use scraps of paper containing magical formul\u00e6,\nor sentences from the Koran engraved on stones or pieces of metal;[496]\nand a method formerly in vogue in France, to protect pigeons from the\nincursions of scorpions, consisted in writing the word \u201cAdam\u201d on each of\nthe four walls of the pigeon-house.[497]\n\nThe natives of Mirzapur, in cases of scorpion-bite, recite a charm\nmeaning as follows: \u201cBlack scorpion of the limestone, green thy tail and\nblack thy mouth, God orders thee to go home. Come out, scorpion, at the\nspell. Come out, come out!\u201d[498]\n\nThe following charm against insects is in vogue in Lesbos: In the evening\na black-handled knife is stuck in some spot where the insects congregate,\nand certain Greek verses are repeated, of which the following is a\ntranslation:\u2014\n\n    I got three naughty bairns together,\n    One a wasp, one caterpillar,\n    And a swarming ant the other.\n    Whate\u2019er ye eat, whate\u2019er ye drink,\n    Hence, hence avaunt,\n    To the hills and mountains flee,\n    And unto each fruitless tree.\n\nThe knife is to remain in the same spot until the next morning, and\nis then to be removed. This completes the charm, and the insects are\nexpected to depart at once.[499]\n\nIn Great Britain there formerly prevailed a belief that rats could be\nrhymed to death by anathematizing them in metrical verse, a practice\nmentioned by Shakespeare and contemporary poets, and which is even to-day\nnot wholly obsolete.[500]\n\nIn southern Germany, during the campaigns of Napoleon I., mice with inked\nfeet were placed upon the map of Europe, and their tracks were held to\nforetell the routes by which the French soldiers would advance.[501]\n\nThe Hindus consider the rat to be a sacred animal, and among the lower\nclasses of the natives of western India it is thought unlucky to call a\nrat by his own name, so they speak of him as the \u201crat-uncle.\u201d[502]\n\n\nVII. SUPERSTITIOUS DEALINGS WITH WILD ANIMALS\n\nIn encountering a wild animal, the ancients deemed it a matter of great\nimportance that a man should see the beast before the latter was aware of\na human presence. If a wolf, for example, first perceived the man, the\nbrute was master of the situation, and the man was bereft alike of speech\nand strength; whereas the wolf, if first seen by the man, became an easy\nprey. The side from which a wild beast approached was also of moment.\nThus the \u201cGeoponica\u201d warned its readers not to allow a hyena to approach\nfrom the right side, lest one be rendered motionless by the fascination\nof its presence; but if it appeared on the left side, the animal might be\nattacked with confidence.\n\nVarious wonderful tales are current among the natives of Senegambia, and\nother districts of western Africa, regarding the lion. This noble animal,\nit is said, forbears to attack a man who salutes him with a respectful\ngesture, and the same gallant instinct restrains the beast from harming\na woman.[503] In most lion-haunted regions, however, the natives do not\nhave such implicit confidence in the courtesy and forbearance of wild\nanimals, but trust rather to the efficacy of various amulets. The Kaffirs\nof southeastern Africa, for example, on encountering a lion or leopard in\nthe forest, proceed at once to nibble a so-called lion-charm, which is\nmerely a small bit of wood or root. And if the animal moves away without\nmolesting him, the Kaffir attributes his security to the magic power of\nthe charm, not realizing that his escape is due to the natural dread of\nman which is characteristic of animals generally.[504]\n\nSo, too, the priests of Mexico were accustomed to rub their bodies with\na certain ointment which they believed to be an efficient protection\nagainst wild beasts, its pungent odor acting as a charm, so that they\nwere enabled to wander unmolested amid the wildest solitudes.[505] The\nskilled hunter, however, confident in his own prowess, depends neither\nupon the alleged gallantry of lions nor the potency of amulets, but\nrather on his trusty rifle.\n\nThe belief in charms against noxious animals is widespread; for not\nalone in African jungles does this form of superstition prevail: it is\nfound among civilized people as well, and more particularly in southern\nlands; indeed, wherever venomous creatures abound. In a collection of\namulets belonging to Professor Joseph Belucci, of Perugia, Italy, which\nwas exhibited at the Paris Exposition, 1891, were a number of perforated\nstones and other objects used by Italians as charms to protect the bearer\nagainst the bite of serpents and reptiles.[506]\n\n\nVIII. LEGAL PROSECUTION OF ANIMALS\n\nLegal proceedings were formerly instituted against vermin, who were\nthus treated as if they were human beings endowed with consciences and\nresponsible for their actions. Prosecutions of animals were common in\nFrance and Switzerland, with a view to protect communities from their\ndepredations. Thus rats and mice, and also bulls, oxen, cows, and mares;\nsheep, goats, pigs, and dogs; moles, leeches, caterpillars, and various\nreptiles, were liable to punishment by legal process.[507] The Roman\nCatholic Church claimed full power to anathematize all animate and\ninanimate things, founding its authority on the Scriptural precedents of\nthe malediction pronounced on the serpent in the garden of Eden, and the\ncursing of the barren fig-tree by our Lord.[508] The belief in the moral\nresponsibility of animals was also thought to be warranted by the old\nMosaic law as declared in Genesis ix. 5:\u2014\n\n    And surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand\n    of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man.\n\nAlso in Exodus xxi. 28:\u2014\n\n    If an ox gore a man or a woman, that they die: then the ox\n    shall be surely stoned, and his flesh shall not be eaten; but\n    the owner of the ox shall be quit.\n\nIn the Code of the Spartan lawgiver, Lycurgus, and in that of the\nAthenian legislator, Draco, provision was made for the formal trial of\nanimals for misdemeanors.[509] A vestige of the unreasonable belief that\nbrutes and even inanimate objects were accountable for their actions is\nto be found in that now obsolete term of English law, _deodand_, meaning,\naccording to Blackstone, \u201ca personal chattel which was the immediate\ncause of the death of a rational creature, and for that reason given\nto God; that is, forfeited to the Crown to be applied to pious uses.\u201d\nThe _deodand_ was of Grecian ancestry, as appears from the ceremonies\nconnected with the offering of a sacrifice by the Athenians. When the\nanimal or victim had been dispatched by an axe in the hands of the\nofficiating priest, the latter immediately fled, and to evade arrest he\nthrew away the axe. This instrument was then seized by his pursuers, and\nan action entered against it. The advocate for the axe pleaded that it\nwas less guilty than the grinder who sharpened it; the grinder laid the\nblame on the grindstone which he had used; and thus the whole process\nbecame a farce and a mockery of justice.[510]\n\nWe learn from the writings of the Benedictine monk, Leonard Vair, that\nin certain districts of Spain, in the fifteenth century, when the\ninhabitants wished to drive away grasshoppers or noxious vermin, they\nchose a conjurer as judge and appointed counsel for the defendants, with\na prosecuting attorney, who demanded justice in behalf of the aggrieved\ncommunity. The mischief-makers were finally declared guilty, and either\nduly anathematized or formally excommunicated,[511] the technical\ndistinction between the two sentences being doubtless to them a matter of\nprofound indifference. At this period, also, prosecutions of pigs or sows\nguilty of devouring young infants were not uncommon.\n\nBarth\u00e9l\u00e9my Chassaneux, a famous French advocate of the sixteenth century,\nfirst won distinction by the originality of his pleas in defense of some\nrats in a notable trial at Autun. He represented to the judge that his\nclients found it extremely difficult to obey the summons issued to them\nby the court, owing to their being obliged to traverse a region abounding\nin cats, who were, moreover, especially alert on account of the notoriety\nof the legal proceedings.[512]\n\nChassaneux wrote that the people of Autun had long agitated the question\nhow best to rid the province of Burgundy of locusts, and he expressed\nthe belief that a sure method of accomplishing so desirable a result was\nby the scrupulous payment of all tithes and ecclesiastical dues, and by\ncausing a woman to walk barefoot round the infested fields.[513]\n\nAfter the seventeenth century, prosecutions of animals and the use of\nincantations for their expulsion became less common. The Ritual of\nS\u00e9ez in 1743 forbade such practices without the special permission of\nthe church, but the same volume contains a formula for driving away\ngrasshoppers, maybugs, and other insects. Mr. C. G. Leland states, in\nhis \u201cGypsy Sorcery,\u201d that exorcism has been vigorously applied in the\nUnited States, not only against the Colorado beetle and army worm, but\nalso for the suppression of blizzards and the grape disease. It has not\nhad much success hitherto, probably owing, as he na\u00efvely remarks, to the\nuncongenial climate.\n\n\n\n\nTHE LUCK OF ODD NUMBERS\n\n    \u201cFor there\u2019s luck in odd numbers,\u201d says Rory O\u2019More.\u2014SAMUEL\n    LOVER.\n\n\nI. EARLY SIGNIFICANCE OF NUMBERS\n\nIn the \u201cCabala,\u201d or ancient mystic philosophy of the Jews, much\nimportance is attributed to the combination of certain numbers, letters,\nand words. According to one tradition, the earliest Cabala was given by\nthe angel Raziel to Adam, and orally transmitted through generations\nuntil the time of Solomon, by whom it was first embodied in written\nform. Another report alleges that the cabalistic secrets of nature were\nreceived from God by Moses in the Mount, and afterwards taught to Joshua,\nwho communicated them to the seventy elders, and they have since been\ntreasured by the initiated among the Jews.\n\nAccording to the doctrine of the Pythagoreans, the unit or monad was\nregarded as the father of Numbers, while the duad, or two, was its\nmother; and thus is explained one source of the general predilection for\nodd numbers, the father being esteemed worthy of greater honor than the\nmother, and the odd numbers being masculine, while the even numbers\nwere feminine. Moreover, the unit, being the origin of all numbers,\nrepresented Divinity, as God was the creator and originator of all\nthings.[514] It was also the symbol of Harmony and Order, whereas the\nduad signified Confusion and Disorder, and represented the Devil.\n\nPlutarch remarks in his \u201cRoman Questions\u201d that the beginning of number,\nor unity, is a divine thing; whereas the first of the even numbers, Deuz\nor Deuce, is directly opposite in character. As for the even number, said\nthis writer, it is defective, imperfect, and indefinite; whereas the\nuneven or odd number is finite, complete, and absolute.\n\nThe belief in the lucky significance of odd numbers is of great\nantiquity, and reference to it is made by Virgil in the eighth Eclogue,\nand by Pliny, who comments on its prevalence in his time, but offers no\nexplanation therefor. The Roman king, Numa Pompilius, is said to have\nadded days to certain months in order to make an odd number.\n\nIt is related, moreover, that the Emperor Julius C\u00e6sar (B. C. 100-44),\nhaving once been thrown out of his chariot through some mishap, refused\nthereafter to set out upon a drive or journey until he had thrice\nrepeated a magic formula; and this practice appears to have been commonly\nin vogue in those days.[515]\n\nThe persistency of a traditional belief is exemplified by the modern\nassociation of luck with uneven numbers; and probably the Goddess Fortune\nherself preferred a three-legged stool. However this may be, it is\nevident that the legions of her worshipers to-day are firmly convinced\nof the mystic charm inherent in triplets. The Chinese pagodas, or sacred\ntowers, built by devout persons with the object of improving the luck\nof a neighborhood, have always an odd number of stories, being from\nthree to thirteen floors high.[516] In Siam, also, this superstition\nholds universal sway, and its influence in the construction of buildings\nis especially noticeable; for the Siamese religiously adhere to odd\nnumbers in architecture, and every house must have an uneven number of\nrooms, windows, and doors; each staircase must have an uneven number of\nsteps.[517]\n\nIn the early literature and mythology of the Northern nations much\nimportance was attached to the numbers three and nine, which were held\nespecially sacred and dear to the gods. This fact is shown in their\nreligious ceremonies, and more particularly in their sacrifices, which\noccurred every ninth month. Each sacrifice, moreover, lasted nine days,\nand each day nine victims, whether men or animals, were offered up.[518]\n\n\nII. THE NUMBER THREE\n\nThree, as emblematic of the Trinity, has always been considered a sacred\nnumber, and long before the Christian era God was worshiped as a triple\nDeity. This is true not only of the Assyrians, Ph\u0153nicians, Greeks,\nand Romans, but also of the ancient Scandinavians, the Druids, the\ninhabitants of Mexico and Peru, as well as the Chinese and Japanese.\n\nSo from earliest times the Hindus have worshiped their triad of Brahma,\nVishnu, and Siva. In Holy Writ we find three sister virtues, Faith, Hope,\nand Charity; and in classic mythology are trios of Graces, Fates, and\nFuries, the three-forked lightning of Jupiter, the three-headed dog,\nCerberus, and the trident of Neptune. The tripod was anciently a symbol\nof prophecy and of divine authority, and the triangle was originally the\npagan emblem of a holy triad.\n\nThe peculiar significance of the number three was due partly to the fact\nof its being the first uneven number containing an even one; and from the\nimportance formerly attributed to it may have originated the familiar\nsaying, \u201cThe third time never fails.\u201d\n\nIn the several codes of ancient Welsh laws are numerous so-called triads,\nof which the following are curious examples:\u2014\n\n    Three things which a villain is not at liberty to sell without\n    permission of his lord; a horse, swine, and honey. Three things\n    not to be paid for though lost in a lodging-house; a knife, a\n    sword, and trousers. There are three animals whose tails, eyes,\n    and lives are of the same worth; a calf, a filly for common\n    worth, and a cat, excepting the cat that shall watch the king\u2019s\n    barn.\n\nAmong the ancient Irish, also, considerable importance was attached to\nthe number three. Thus we read that among the household officials of the\nHigh King of Erin were three royal jugglers, three jesters, three head\ncharioteers, three equerries, three swineherds, three janitors, and three\ndrink-bearers.\n\nMultiples of the mystic number three were much employed by witches in\ntheir incantations, and they are even now favorites with the Chinese, who\nhave a saying that one produced two and two produced three, while three\nproduced all things. This partiality is illustrated in the dimensions of\nthe Temple of Heaven in Pekin, where three and nine constantly recur.\n\nIn a book entitled \u201cVarieties,\u201d by David Person (London, 1635), being \u201ca\nsurveigh of rare and excellent matters, necessary and delectable for all\nsorts of persons,\u201d the author comments at some length on the significance\nof certain triads. Among others he mentions three things incident to\nman,\u2014to fall into sin, which is human; to rise out of it again, which is\nangelical; and to lie in sin, which is diabolical. Again, three powerful\nenemies, the world, the flesh, and the Devil, which constantly assail\nman, should be opposed by three efficient weapons, fasting, prayer, and\nalmsgiving. Thomas Vaughan, in his \u201cAnthroposophia Theomagica,\u201d has much\nto say concerning the virtues of numbers. \u201cEvery compound whatsoever,\u201d\nhe says, \u201cis three in one and one in three.\u201d In speaking of a natural\ntriplicity, however, he does not wish to be understood as referring to\n\u201ckitchen-stuff, those three pet principles, water, oil, and the earth,\nbut to celestial hidden natures, known only to absolute magicians.\u201d\n\nIn Northumberland smooth holly leaves, gathered late on a Friday, are\ncollected in a three-cornered handkerchief and carried home. Then nine of\nthe leaves are tied into a handkerchief with nine knots, and placed under\nthe would-be diviner\u2019s pillow, and, as a result, interesting revelations\nfrom dreamland are confidently anticipated. In another magical ceremony,\na maiden before retiring sets three pails of water on the floor of her\nbedroom, and pins three holly leaves on her left breast. She will then,\nconformably to the popular belief, be awakened from her first nap by\nthree loud yells, followed by three horse-laughs, whereupon the form of\nher future husband will be revealed to her.[519]\n\nThe supposed efficacy of these rites doubtless depends chiefly upon\nthe use of the magical holly, but the repetition of odd numbers is also\ncharacteristic of charms, incantations, and mystic procedures in all ages\nand throughout the world.\n\n\nIII. THE NUMBER SEVEN\n\nThe number seven has ever been regarded as having a peculiar mystic\nsignificance, and its manifold virtues have been the theme of elaborate\nmonographs. Alike in Holy Writ and among the earliest historic peoples,\nin classic antiquity and in the mythologies of many nations, this number\nhas been most prominent, and to this fact may reasonably be attributed a\nportion of the luck associated with odd numbers in general. A complete\nenumeration of familiar examples of the use of this favorite number,\nalthough germane to our subject, would be beyond the scope of this\nsketch, but a few instances may be appropriately given.\n\nThe origin of the respect accorded this number by the nations of\nantiquity was probably astronomical, or more properly astrological, and\narose from their observation of the seven great planets and of the lunar\nphases, changing every seventh day.\n\n    _Saturn_ is first, next _Jove_, _Mars_ third in place;\n    The _Sun_ in midst, fifth _Venus_ runs her race,\n    _Mercury_ sixth, _Moon_ lowest and last in band,\n    The Planets in this rank and manner stand.[520]\n\nIt was a saying of Hippocrates that the number seven, by reason of its\nmystic virtues, tended to the accomplishment of all things, and was\nthe dispenser of life and the fountain of all its changes; for as the\nmoon changes its phases every seven days, so this number influences all\nsublunary beings.[521] The phrase \u201cto be in the seventh heaven\u201d was\nderived from the seven planets, which were believed by the Babylonians\nto be carried around upon as many globes of crystal, the seventh being\nthe highest.[522] In the writings of the Cabalists of old are likewise\nportrayed seven heavens, one above another, and the seventh or highest\nwas the abode of God and the higher angels. The ultimate source of\nthe sanctity of the number seven has, however, been ascribed to the\n_septentriones_, the seven ploughing oxen, stars of the constellation of\nthe Great Bear.\n\nAn ingenious but not especially plausible reason alleged for the\npopularity of this number is the fact of its being composed of _three_,\nthe number of sides in a triangle, and _four_, the number of sides in a\nsquare, thus representing two of the simplest geometric figures.[523]\n\nCertain Biblical critics of a speculative turn of mind have concluded\nthat its prominence as a symbol is due to the emblematic significance of\nits component parts, three and four; the former representing Divinity,\nand the latter Humanity: in other words, \u201cthe union between God and\nman, as affected by the manifestations of the Divinity in creation and\nrevelation.\u201d[524]\n\nIn some portions of a great work on magic, discovered by Mr. A. H. Layard\namong fragments of clay tablets in the ruins of a palace in ancient\nNineveh, are many incantations, formul\u00e6, and conjurations, in which the\nnumber seven occurs repeatedly.[525]\n\nAs familiar instances of the prominence of this number in former times\nmay be cited the seven wise men of Greece, the seven gates of Thebes, and\nthe legend of the seven sleepers of Ephesus.\n\nOther examples are given in the following \u201cseven heroic verses\u201d sent by\na certain Mr. Michelburn to one Mr. Crisp, who owed the former seven\nshillings:\u2014\n\n    Friend Crisp, I send you verses only sev\u2019n,\n    The number\u2019s od, God numbers lovs unev\u2019n;\n    Sev\u2019n Hills at Rome, sev\u2019n mouths of _Nilus_ are,\n    Sev\u2019n sacred Arts, the World\u2019s sev\u2019n Wonders rare,\n    The week sev\u2019n dais, the Heav\u2019ns sev\u2019n Trions show.\n    But one thing rests, sev\u2019n shillings you me ow,\n    Which that you\u2019l pay, sev\u2019n Verses I bestow.[526]\n\nIn ancient Ireland every well-to-do farmer had seven prime\npossessions,\u2014a house, a mill or a share in it, a kiln, barn, sheep-pen,\ncalf-house, and pigsty.\n\nThe number seven appears more than three hundred times in the Scriptures.\nGod created the world in six days and rested on the seventh, and\nthroughout the Old Testament, as well as in the Apocalypse, the constant\nrecurrence of this sacred number is noteworthy. Thus we read of the seven\nfat and seven lean kine of Pharaoh\u2019s dream, and also, in the account\nof the Fall of Jericho (Joshua vi. 4): \u201cAnd seven priests shall bear\nbefore the ark seven trumpets of rams horns: and the seventh day ye\nshall compass the city seven times, and the priests shall blow with the\ntrumpets.\u201d\n\nAccording to a popular medi\u00e6val tradition, Adam and Eve remained but\nseven hours in Eden.\n\nSeven archangels are mentioned in the Bible and in Jewish\nwritings,\u2014_Michael_, who was the special guardian and protector of the\nJews, and in whose honor the Festival of Michaelmas is celebrated on\nthe twenty-ninth day of September by the Anglican and Roman Catholic\nchurches; _Gabriel_, the messenger who appeared to the Virgin Mary and\nto Zacharias; _Raphael_, spoken of in the Book of Tobit as the companion\nand guardian of Tobias, and conqueror of the demon Asmodeus; _Uriel_,\nan angel mentioned in the Book of Esdras; _Chamuel_, who, according to\nJewish tradition, wrestled with Jacob; _Jophiel_, who expelled Adam and\nEve from Eden, and who was the guardian of the \u201ctree of the knowledge\nof good and evil;\u201d and _Zadkiel_, the angel who is supposed to have\nstayed the hand of Abraham when the latter was about to sacrifice his son\nIsaac.[527]\n\nSamson\u2019s strength resided in seven locks of his hair, representing the\nseven rays of Light, the source of Strength. And the shearing of these\nseven locks by Delilah, a woman of low character, has been described as a\ntriumph of Evil in suppressing Light.[528]\n\nAccording to Herodotus, the Arabs of the desert had a peculiar method of\nconfirming a vow of friendship. Two men stood on either side of a third,\nwho made incisions with a sharp stone on the palms of their hands, and,\nhaving dipped in the blood therefrom some portion of a garment of each,\nhe proceeded to moisten with it seven stones lying on the ground.[529]\n\nThe age of the world, in the opinion of learned men of former times,\nwas properly divided into seven great epochs; namely, the _first_, from\nthe creation of Adam to the Deluge; _second_, from the latter event\nto the time of Abraham; _third_, from Abraham to the Exodus of the\nchildren of Israel; _fourth_, from that time to the building of Solomon\u2019s\nTemple; _fifth_, from then to the Babylonish Captivity; _sixth_, the\nperiod between that and the coming of our Lord; and _seventh_, from the\nbeginning of the Christian era to the end of the world.\n\nAccording to astrologers, man\u2019s age was divided into seven parts,\ngoverned by seven planets. The first part, _Infancy_, comprised four\nyears, and was ruled by the Moon, a weak, moist, and changeable body.\nNext came _Childhood_, a period of ten years governed by Mercury, a\nplanet indifferently good or bad, according to the character of the\nplanets with whom he was associated. Following this came _Youthhead_,\nfrom fourteen to twenty-two, over which Venus presided. Next was\n_Adolescence_, lasting twenty years and ruled by the Sun, and in this age\nman attained his full strength and vigor. The fifth, from forty-two to\nfifty-six, was called _Manhood_, and was under the dominion of Mars, a\nbad star. At this time men began to wax angry, impatient, and avaricious,\nbut were more temperate in their diet, and more discreet. The next period\nof twelve years was called _Old Age_, governed by Jupiter, a noble\nplanet, whose influence rendered men religious, chaste, and just. The\nseventh was _Decrepit Old Age_, ruled by Saturn, and comprising the years\nfrom seventy-eight to ninety-eight.[530]\n\nIn the Lambeth Palace Library there is a manuscript of the fifteenth\ncentury in which the seven canonical hours are compared with the seven\nperiods of human life, as follows:\u2014\n\n    Morning,                Infancy.\n    Midmorrow,              Childhood.\n    Undern,                 School Age.\n    Mid-day,                the Knightly Age.\n    Nones, or High Noon,    the Kingly Age.\n    Midovernoon,            Elderly Age.\n    Evenson,                Declining Age.[531]\n\nIn the \u201cSecrets of Numbers,\u201d by William Ingpen, Gent. (London, 1624),\nthe number seven is described as the most excellent of all for several\nnotable and curious reasons, and prominent among these was the alleged\nfact that the Soul consists of seven parts, namely, Acuminie, Wit,\nDiligence, Counsel, Reason, Wisdom, and Experience.\n\n\nIV. ODD NUMBERS IN WITCHCRAFT\n\nOdd numbers are intimately associated with the black art, for witches\u2019\nincantations are commonly repeated three or nine times. Who ever heard\nof a witch performing any of her mystic rites exactly four or six times?\nApropos of this may be quoted the following story, taken from the advance\nsheets of a work entitled \u201cGolspie,\u201d edited by Edward W. B. Nicholson,\nM. A., Bodley\u2019s Librarian in the University of Oxford, England, and\nloaned by him to the writer. The book contains much interesting folk-lore\nof the extreme north of Scotland:\u2014\n\n    A woman who lived near Golspie was always telling her neighbors\n    that a woman whom they all believed to be a witch had cast\n    an evil eye upon the cow and herself. \u201cHer milk and butter\n    were spoiled,\u201d she said; and she also told them that in a\n    dream she saw the witch in the shape of a hare come into her\n    milk-house and drink the milk. One day when she was in the\n    wood for sticks, her neighbors went into her byre, and seeing\n    a petticoat on a nail, cut a number of crosses on it and put\n    it in the cow\u2019s stall. Then they tied nine rusty nails to a\n    cord with nine knots on it. This cord they tied to the chain\n    on the cow\u2019s neck, and then went away. Shortly after the woman\n    came home, she went into the byre, and seeing the petticoat,\n    nails, etc., ran out to her neighbors screaming, and calling\n    to them to go and see what the witch had done on her. To make\n    sure that it was the witch\u2019s work, she showed them the _unequal\n    number_ of nails and knots. Then she took everything that she\n    thought the witch had handled, and made a fire of them, saying\n    that she could no longer harm any person, because her power was\n    destroyed by fire.\n\nThe employment of odd numbers in magical formul\u00e6 is exemplified in the\nfollowing recipe for a drink against all temptations of the Devil, used\nby the Saxons in England:\u2014\n\n    Take betony, bishop wort, lupins, githrife, attorlothe,\n    wolfscomb, yarrow; lay them under the altar, sing nine masses\n    over them, scrape the worts into holy water, give the man to\n    drink at night, fasting, a cup-full, and put the holy water\n    into all the meat which the man taketh. Work thus a good salve\n    against the temptations of the fiend.[532]\n\nA Hindu woman, on returning with her young child from a strange village,\nis careful, before entering her own dwelling, to pass seven small stones\nseven times around the baby\u2019s head, and throw them away in different\ndirections, in order thus to disperse any evil which may have been\ncontracted during her trip.[533]\n\nAnd as a preliminary to other mystic procedures, in order to avert the\nEvil Eye, the Hindus wave around the patient\u2019s face seven pebbles taken\nfrom a spot where three roads meet, seven leaves of the date-palm, and\nseven bunches of leaves of the _bor_ tree.[534] It may not be surprising\nthat such mysterious rites, whose efficacy depends chiefly on the magical\npotency of certain odd numbers, should be popular among the natives of\nIndia, but it is noteworthy that these numbers are equally influential in\nChristian lands. A multiplication of examples might serve to emphasize\nthis fact, but would occupy too much space. Charms and formulas are\ncommonly thrice repeated, probably in reference to the Holy Trinity.\n\n    Of all the numbers arithmeticall,\n    The number three is heald for principall,\n    As well in naturall philosophy,\n    As supernaturall theologie.[535]\n\nThe Bavarian peasant, in passing through a haunted place, considers\nhimself amply fortified against evil if he takes the precaution to carry\nthree things; namely, (1) a new knife which has never cut anything,\nmarked on the blade with three crosses; (2) a loaf of bread baked on\nEpiphany Eve; (3) a black cat.[536]\n\n\nV. ODD NUMBERS IN FOLK-MEDICINE\n\nIn a volume containing a great variety of ancient charms and magical\ncures, collected by Marcellus Empiricus, a Latin writer of the fourth\ncentury A. D., in which volume various remedial measures are described\nwith great minuteness, the even numbers seldom appear. Thus, for the\nremoval of a foreign substance from the eye, one should rub the affected\norgan with the five fingers of the hand of the same side, and repeat\nthrice a charm of words. Again, for the cure of a sty on the eyelid,\ntake nine grains of barley and poke the sty with each one separately,\nmeanwhile repeating a magic formula in Greek. Then throw away the nine\nand do the same with seven, throw away the seven and do the same with\nfive, and so with three and one.\n\nThe early Saxon physicians in England seem also to have had faith in the\npeculiar virtues of the number nine, as is evident from many of their\nprescriptions, of which the following prefix to a lengthy Latin charm is\na fair specimen:\u2014\n\n    For flying venom and every venomous swelling, on a Friday churn\n    butter which has been milked from a neat or hind all of one\n    colour, and let it not be mingled with water. Sing over it nine\n    times a litany and nine times the _Paternoster_, and nine times\n    this incantation.[537]\n\nIn an ancient English manuscript (Harleian Collection, No. 585), frequent\nexamples are given of the employment of odd numbers in therapeutics.\nThus, for dropsical affections, a beverage containing alexander, betony,\nand fennel is to be drunk daily for seven days. \u201cTo expel venom,\u201d\ncentaury is to be taken for fifteen days, and a potion prepared from the\nseed of cress is extolled for its curative qualities if taken faithfully\nduring three days.[538]\n\nIndeed, the odd numbers are prominent in the annals of folk-medicine\nthroughout Great Britain. The three chief duties of a physician were\ndeclared to be as follows: the restoration of health when lost, its\namelioration when weak, and its preservation when recovered. So also\nthree qualities were requisite in a surgeon; namely, an eagle\u2019s eye, a\nlion\u2019s heart, and a lady\u2019s hand, attributes equally essential to the\nskillful operator of the present day.\n\nThe natives of the Hebrides inherit the old Scandinavian and Celtic\npartiality for certain odd numbers. Thus in Tiree a favorite cure for\njaundice consists in wearing a shirt previously dipped in water taken\nfrom the tops of nine waves, and in which nine stones have been boiled.\nThese same people formerly employed a peculiar method of treating sick\ncattle. The veterinary, holding in his hands a cup of cream and an\noat-cake, takes his seat upon the animal, and repeats a Celtic charm\nof words \u201cnine times nine times,\u201d taking \u201ca bit and a sip\u201d before each\nrepetition.[539]\n\nIn Cornwall, for the cure of inflammatory affections, the invocation of\nthree angels is thrice repeated to each one of nine bramble leaves; and\na popular remedy for whooping cough is to pass a child nine times under\nand over a three-year-old donkey.[540] In the south of England, for\nintermittent fever, the patient is recommended to eat seven sage leaves\non seven successive mornings, fasting meanwhile; and in northern Scotland\nscrofulous affections are thought to yield to the touch of a seventh\nson, when accompanied by an invocation of the Trinity.[541]\n\nThe belief in the magical curative qualities of the number nine was not\nlimited to the northern nations. Thus the inhabitant of ancient Apulia,\nwhen bitten by a scorpion, proceeded to walk nine times around the walls\nof his native town.\n\nDr. D. G. Brinton, in his \u201cNagualism, a Study of Native American\nFolk-Lore and History,\u201d remarks that the number nine recurs very often in\nthe conjurations of Mexican magicians.\n\nThe women of Canton, China, attribute magical properties for the cure of\ncutaneous affections to water drawn after midnight of the seventh day of\nthe seventh month.\n\nWhen a gypsy child bumps its head, a knife-blade is first pressed upon\nthe swelling, after which an incantation is pronounced three, seven, or\nnine times, and the knife is stuck into the earth a like number of times.\nMany charms employed by gypsies could be mentioned in illustration of the\navoidance of even numbers in all their mystic rites.[542]\n\n\nVI. THE NUMBER THIRTEEN\n\nIn regard to the luck of odd numbers, the exception, which is commonly\nsupposed to prove the rule, is the much maligned thirteen.\n\nIn the Scandinavian mythology Loki, the Principle of Evil and the chief\nauthor of human misfortunes, accompanied the twelve \u00c6sir, or Demigods,\nand was reckoned the thirteenth among them. Moreover, the Valkyrs,\nor Virgins, who waited upon the heroes in Valhalla, were thirteen in\nnumber, and from these sources is believed to have sprung the very common\nsuperstition concerning the ill luck and fatality of the number thirteen,\nespecially in connection with a party of guests at table.\n\nThe most generally received explanation of the origin of this popular\nbelief refers it to the Last Supper of our Lord, where Judas is sometimes\nrepresented as the thirteenth guest. But why Judas rather than John, the\nbeloved disciple? However, this is the generally accepted starting-point\nof this notable superstition. As with the Jews the thirteenth month, and\nwith the Christians the thirteenth day of the year, which began with\nChristmas, were accounted ominous, so, with the inhabitants of India,\nthe thirteenth year was considered to be of evil import. It is evident,\ntherefore, that the source of this nearly world-wide belief cannot be\nattributed wholly either to the mythology of the north or to the Paschal\nSupper.[543]\n\nWhen the year was reckoned as thirteen lunar months of twenty-eight\ndays each, the number thirteen, according to one view, was considered\nauspicious; but when, under the present method of solar time, the number\nof months was reduced to twelve, thirteen\u2019s reputation was changed for\nthe worse.[544]\n\nIn early times the Feast of the Epiphany, which is the thirteenth\nday after Christmas Eve, was feared because at that time the three\ngoddesses, Berchta, Holle, and Befana, with their ghostly companions,\nwere especially active; and, as a guard against their machinations,\nthe initial letters of the names of the three kings, or wise men, were\nwritten on many a door.\n\nOf the former trio, Berchta was represented as a shaggy monster, whose\nname was used as a bugbear with which to frighten children. She was\nintrusted with the oversight of spinning, and on the eve of Epiphany she\nvisited the homes of the countryfolk, distributing empty reels, which she\nrequired to be filled within a specified time; if her demands were not\ncomplied with, she retaliated by tangling and befouling the flax.\n\nHolle, or Holda, was a benignant and merciful goddess, of an obliging\ndisposition, who was usually most lenient, except when she noticed\ndisorder in the affairs of a household. Her favorite resorts were\nthe lakes and fountains, but she had also an oversight over domestic\nconcerns, and shared with Berchta the supervision of spinning. Sometimes,\nhowever, she appeared as an old hag, with bristling, matted hair and long\nteeth.\n\nBefana, the third goddess, was of Italian origin, and her name signifies\nEpiphany. On that day the women and children used to place a rag doll in\nthe window in her honor. In personal appearance she was black and ugly,\nbut her disposition was not unfriendly.\n\nSo universal has been the superstition regarding the number thirteen at\ntable, that it has long been a matter of etiquette in France to avoid\nhaving exactly that number of guests at dinner-parties. The Parisian\n_pique-assiette_, a person whose title corresponds to the English\n\u201ctrencher friend\u201d or \u201csponger,\u201d is also known as a _quatorzi\u00e8me_, his\nchief mission being to occupy the fourteenth seat at a banquet.\n\nThe ancients, we learn, had ideas of their own regarding the proper size\nof festive gatherings, their favorite number of _convives_ being between\nthree and nine, the number of the Graces and Muses respectively.[545]\n\nOpinions have differed as to whether misfortune were likely to befall\nthe whole company of thirteen persons rash enough to dine together, or\nonly the one leaving the room first after the repast. All evil, however,\nwas supposed to be averted by the entire company rising to their feet\ntogether. It has been wittily remarked that the only occasion when\nthirteen plates at table should cause disquietude is when the food is\nonly sufficient for twelve persons.\n\nAt the thirteenth annual dinner of that unique organization, the Thirteen\nClub, held in New York city, January 13, 1895, at 7.13 o\u2019clock, P.\nM., the custodian delivered an address in which were recounted the\ncircumstances of the club\u2019s formation. So prevalent was the apprehension\nof evil likely to result from the assembling together of thirteen persons\nthat, when at length the requisite number were seated at table, it was\nfound desirable to lock the doors of the banquet-room, lest some faint\nsoul should retire abruptly.\n\nField-Marshal Lord Roberts, in his \u201cForty-One Years in India\u201d (vol. i.\np. 24), mentions a circumstance occurring in his own experience, which\naffords evidence, were any needed, of the falsity of the superstition in\nquestion. On New Year\u2019s Day, A. D. 1853, Lord Roberts was one of a party\nof thirteen who dined together at a staff-officers\u2019 mess at Peshawer, on\nthe Afghan frontier. Eleven years later all these officers were alive,\nthe greater number having participated in the suppression of the great\nSepoy Mutiny of 1857, during which several of them were wounded.\n\nIn Italy shrewd theatrical managers have found it expedient to change\nthe number of Box 13 to 12A, and in many streets of Rome and Florence\none may search in vain for house-numbers between 12\u00bd and 14. A gentleman\nof the writer\u2019s acquaintance, living in Washington, D. C., sent a formal\npetition to the authorities asking leave to change the number of his\nhouse, for the sole reason that it contained the ominous figures.\n\nAs an illustration of the popular distrust of the number thirteen among\nthe villagers of the Department of Ille-et-Villaine, France, may be cited\nthe following custom, which is in vogue in that district. Children are\nthere usually taught the art of knitting by devout elderly women. The\nlittle ones are first seated in a circle, and, to facilitate the work, on\nthe completion of the first round of knitting they are made to repeat the\nfollowing words: \u201c_One_, the Father;\u201d at the close of the second round,\n\u201c_Two_, the Son;\u201d and so on, as follows: \u201c_Three_, the Holy Spirit; the\n_four_ Evangelists; the _five_ wounds of our Lord; the _six_ commandments\nof the church; _seven_ sacraments; _eight_ beatitudes; _nine_ choirs of\nangels; _ten_ commandments of God; _eleven_ thousand virgins; _twelve_\napostles;\u201d and at the close of the _thirteenth_ round, the children\nmention the name of Judas.[546]\n\nThis remarkable and unreasonable prejudice against an innocent number\nseems to pervade all classes and communities. The possession of\nintelligence and culture is no effective barrier against it. Arguments\nand reasoning are alike vain. Even at this writing, an evening journal\nrecords that at a recent meeting of a newly elected board of aldermen in\nan enlightened city of eastern Massachusetts, one of the members objected\nto casting lots for seats because he did not relish the idea of drawing\nnumber thirteen. However, his scruples having been in a measure overcome,\nhe was much relieved to find that the number eleven, which is both uneven\nand lucky, had fallen to his share.[547]\n\nBrand quotes as follows from Fuller\u2019s \u201cMixt Contemplations\u201d (1660) in\nreference to this subject:\u2014\n\n    A covetous Courtier complained to King Edward the sixt of\n    Christ Colledge in Cambridge, that it was a superstitious\n    foundation, consisting of a Master and twelve Fellowes, in\n    imitation of Christ and His twelve Apostles. He advised the\n    King also to take away one or two Fellowships, so as to\n    discompose that superstitious number. \u201cOh, no!\u201d said the King,\n    \u201cI have a better way than that to mar their conceit; I will add\n    a thirteenth Fellowship unto them;\u201d which he did accordingly,\n    and so it remaineth unto this day.\n\nPersians regard the number thirteen as so unlucky that they refrain\nfrom naming it. When they wish to allude to this number, instead of\nmentioning the proper term, they use words meaning \u201cmuch more\u201d or\n\u201cnothing.\u201d[548]\n\nThe Moors, or Arabs, of northern Africa have similar prejudices, whereas\nthe American negro, ordinarily a most credulous being, appears to be\nquite indifferent to the evil influences of the fateful number;[549]\nbut in Turkey, so great is the popular dislike of it that the word for\nthirteen is seldom used.[550]\n\nIn Scotland this number is known as the \u201cDeil\u2019s Dozen,\u201d a phrase which\nhas been supposed to have some connection with card-playing, there being\nthirteen cards in each suit of the \u201cDeil\u2019s Books.\u201d John Jamieson, in\nhis Scottish Dictionary, avows his inability to trace the superstition\nto its source, but believes that it includes the idea of the thirteenth\nbeing the Devil\u2019s lot. The number thirteen is also sometimes known as\na \u201cbaker\u2019s dozen,\u201d because it was formerly a common practice to give\nthirteen loaves for twelve, the extra piece being called the _in-bread_\nor _to-bread_. This custom is supposed to have originated at a time when\nheavy fines were imposed for short weights, the additional bread being\ngiven by bakers as a precautionary measure.[551]\n\nIn certain cases, contrary to the general rule, thirteen is accounted a\nfortunate numeral, or even as one possessing extraordinary virtues.\n\nDr. Daniel G. Brinton, in \u201cA Primer of Mayan Hieroglyphics\u201d (p. 25), says\nthat in the old language of the Mayas, an aboriginal tribe of Yucatan,\nthe numbers nine and thirteen were used to denote indefinite greatness\nand supreme excellence. Thus a very fortunate man was possessed of nine\nsouls, and the phrase, \u201cthirteen generations old,\u201d conveyed the idea of\nperpetuity. The \u201cDemon with thirteen powers\u201d was a prominent figure in\nthe mythology of the Tzentals, a Mayan tribe.\n\nAccording to a widely prevalent popular impression, a brood is usually\nodd in number, and therefore it is folly to set an even number of eggs\nunder a hen. In spite of the falsity of this idea, it is still quite\ncustomary to set thirteen eggs, an even number in this case being\naccounted unlucky.\n\nGerald Massey, in \u201cThe Natural Genesis,\u201d remarks that \u201cthere were\nthirteen kinds of spices set out in the Jewish religious service, along\nwith the zodiacal number of twelve loaves of shew-bread. There are\nthirteen articles to the Hebrew faith, and the Cabalists have thirteen\nrules by which they are enabled to penetrate the mysteries of the Hebrew\nScriptures. Thirteen are the dialectical canons of the Talmudical doctors\nfor determining the sense of the law in all civil and ecclesiastical\ncases.\u201d\n\nIn England the day of twenty-four hours was formerly divided into\nthirteen parts, as follows:\u2014\n\n     1. After midnight.\n     2. Cock-crow.\n     3. Between the first cock-crow and daybreak.\n     4. The dawn.\n     5. Morning.\n     6. Noon.\n     7. Afternoon.\n     8. Sunset.\n     9. Twilight.\n    10. Evening.\n    11. Candle-time.\n    12. Bed-time.\n    13. Dead of night.\n\nRecurring now to the prevalent notions regarding the sinister and\nportentous character of this number, one may well inquire in all\nseriousness whether the harboring of this and other firmly rooted\nsuperstitious fancies is compatible with a deep and abiding Christian\nfaith. The answer is plainly in the negative. Therefore it is doubtless\ntrue\u2014and the truth should make us free\u2014that the greater our indifference\nto the various alleged omens and auguries which so easily beset us, the\nmore readily shall we acquire and retain a firm and enduring dependence\non Divine Providence.\n\n\n\n\nFOOTNOTES\n\n\n[1] _New Cabinet Cyclop\u00e6dia._\n\n[2] _Arch\u00e6ologia_, vol. iii. 1775.\n\n[3] John Kitto, D. D., _Cyclop\u00e6dia of Biblical Art_.\n\n[4] John Beckman, _A History of Inventions_.\n\n[5] Carmen XVIII. 26.\n\n[6] Suetonius: \u201cSoleis mularum argenteis.\u201d\n\n[7] Pliny: \u201cJumentis suis soleas ex auro induere.\u201d\n\n[8] Fosbroke, _Dictionary of Antiquities_.\n\n[9] _Knight\u2019s Mechanical Dictionary._\n\n[10] Alexander Adam, LL. D., _Roman Antiquities_.\n\n[11] _Arch\u00e6ologia_, vol. xlvii.\n\n[12] _Scribner\u2019s Magazine_, November, 1894.\n\n[13] John Beckman, _A History of Inventions_.\n\n[14] Fosbroke, _Arch\u00e6ologia_, vol. iii.\n\n[15] _Notes and Queries_, series 3, vol. v. 1864.\n\n[16] _Leicestershire and Rutland Notes and Queries_, vol. i. 1889-91.\n\n[17] Margaret G. Finch, _The History of Oakham Castle_. Oakham, 1897.\n\n[18] _Chambers\u2019 Journal_, March 10, 1866.\n\n[19] Cameron\u2019s _Across Africa_.\n\n[20] W. Crooke, B. A., _North Indian Folk-Lore_.\n\n[21] Clara Erskine Clement, _Naples_.\n\n[22] George Borrow, _The Zincali_.\n\n[23] A. Certeux and E. Henry Carnoy, _L\u2019Alg\u00e9rie traditionnelle_, tome i.\np. 159.\n\n[24] _Folk-Lore_, June, 1896, p. 148.\n\n[25] Lieutenant-Colonel N. Prejevalsky, _Mongolia_, vol. ii. p. 207.\n\n[26] William M. Thomson, D. D., _The Land and the Book_.\n\n[27] S. S. Thorburn, _Bann\u00fa_.\n\n[28] Sir John Bowring, F. R. S., _The Kingdom and People of Siam_, vol.\ni. p. 145.\n\n[29] Clara Erskine Clement, _Naples_.\n\n[30] Elworthy, _Evil Eye_, p. 261.\n\n[31] _Popular Science Monthly_, November, 1896.\n\n[32] Goblet D\u2019Alviella, _La migration des symboles_, p. 25.\n\n[33] Rennell Rodd, _The Customs and Lore of Modern Greece_. 1892.\n\n[34] _Revue des traditions populaires_, tome viii. 1892.\n\n[35] _M\u00e9lusine_, tome viii. No. 4. 1896.\n\n[36] M\u2019Clintock and Strong\u2019s _Cyclop\u00e6dia_, art. \u201cHead-Dress.\u201d\n\n[37] Lucy M. J. Garnett, _The Christian Women of Turkey_.\n\n[38] _L\u2019Alg\u00e9rie traditionnelle_, tome i. p. 159. 1884.\n\n[39] H. Clay Trumbull, _The Threshold Covenant_, p. 74.\n\n[40] _Folk-Lore_, March, 1898, p. 10.\n\n[41] _M\u00e9lusine_, tome viii. No. 3. 1896.\n\n[42] _L\u2019Alg\u00e9rie traditionelle_, tome i. p. 159. 1884.\n\n[43] Richard Folkard, Jr., _Plant-Lore_.\n\n[44] Rev. Timothy Harley, _Moon-Lore_, p. 192.\n\n[45] Isaiah iii. 18.\n\n[46] _Cornhill_, March, 1877.\n\n[47] Thomas Inman, M. D., _Ancient Faiths embodied in Ancient Names_.\n\n[48] Barclay V. Head, _Historia Numorum_. Oxford, 1887.\n\n[49] _A Dictionary of Roman Coins._ London, 1889.\n\n[50] _Gentleman\u2019s Magazine_, vol. 84. 1814.\n\n[51] _Popular Science Monthly_, November, 1895.\n\n[52] _Journal of the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and\nIreland_, vol. 19. 1890.\n\n[53] Bernard de Montfaucon, _L\u2019antiquit\u00e9 expliqu\u00e9e_.\n\n[54] Ph. Charles Berjean, _The Horses of Antiquity, Middle Ages, and\nRenaissance_. London, 1864.\n\n[55] Theodore Andrea Cook, B. A., _Old Touraine_.\n\n[56] Professor C. H. Rochholz, _Alt-deutsches B\u00fcrgerleben_.\n\n[57] Richard Folkard, Jr., _Plant-Lore_.\n\n[58] Laisnel de la Salle, _Croyances et legendes du centre de la France_.\nParis, 1875.\n\n[59] Merlin, _Book of Charms_.\n\n[60] William A. Craigie, M. A., _Scandinavian Folk-Lore_, p. 396.\n\n[61] Rudolph Keyser, _The Religion of the Northmen_, p. 299.\n\n[62] _Popular Science Monthly_, vol. 44. 1894.\n\n[63] Dr. Karl Sittl, _Arch\u00e4ologie der Kunst_, p. 210. 1895.\n\n[64] Edward B. Tylor, LL. D., _Primitive Culture_.\n\n[65] William S. Walsh, _Handy Book of Literary Curiosities_.\n\n[66] Rev. Justus Doolittle, _Social Life of the Chinese_.\n\n[67] _Rennell Rodd_, p. 165.\n\n[68] William George Black, _Folk-Medicine_. London, 1883.\n\n[69] J. B. Friedrich, _Die Symbolik und Mythologie der Natur_.\n\n[70] F. Nork, _Mythologie der Volkssagen und Volksm\u00e4rchen_. Stuttgart,\n1848.\n\n[71] Paul S\u00e9billot, _L\u00e9gendes et curiosit\u00e9s des m\u00e9tiers_.\n\n[72] _The Folk-Lore Journal_, vol. vii. 1889.\n\n[73] Jacob Larwood and John C. Hotten, _The History of Signboards_.\n\n[74] William Mackay, _Urquhart and Glenmoriston_, p. 434.\n\n[75] Daniel Wilson, _The Arch\u00e6ology and Prehistoric Annals of Scotland_.\n\n[76] Thomas Keightley, _The Fairy Mythology_, p. 352.\n\n[77] F. S. Bassett, _Sea Phantoms_.\n\n[78] James W. Mackinlay, _Folk-Lore of Scottish Lochs and Springs_, p. 6.\n\n[79] William Jones, _Credulities Past and Present_.\n\n[80] Giuseppe Pitr\u00e9, _Usi e costumi, credenze, e pregiudizi del popolo\nSiciliano_. Palermo, 1889.\n\n[81] A. Wuttke, _Der deutsche Volksaberglaube_, p. 92.\n\n[82] _Cornhill_, N. S. vol. xix. 1892.\n\n[83] Dr. H. Ploss, _Das Kind in Brauch und Sitte der V\u00f6lker_, p. 122.\n\n[84] A. Wuttke, _Der deutsche Volksaberglaube_, p. 336.\n\n[85] _Natural History_, book xxviii. ch. 81.\n\n[86] Dr. G. Lammert, _Volksmedizin in Bayern_, p. 120.\n\n[87] Campbell.\n\n[88] W. Crooke, B. A., _Popular Religion and Folk-Lore of Northern India_.\n\n[89] Letter to the writer from H. Clay Trumbull.\n\n[90] _The Folk-Lore Journal_, vol. vi. p. 77.\n\n[91] Jones and Kropf, _Folk-Tales of the Magyars_, p. 410, note.\n\n[92] Thomas Keightley, _The Fairy Mythology_, p. 148.\n\n[93] Moise Schuhl, _Superstitions et coutumes populaires du Judaisme_.\n\n[94] John Gregorson Campbell, _The Fians_, p. 52.\n\n[95] Fr\u00e4ulein Helene Raff.\n\n[96] _L\u2019Initiation_, 19\u1d49 volume, April, 1893.\n\n[97] J. C. Brown, LL. D., _People of Finland in Archaic Times_, p. 112.\n\n[98] W. A. Craigie, _Scandinavian Folk-Lore_.\n\n[99] T. F. Thiselton Dyer, M. A., _British Popular Customs_, p. 424.\n\n[100] _M\u00e9lusine_, tome iv. p. 367.\n\n[101] R. G. Haliburton, _The Dwarfs of Mount Atlas_.\n\n[102] Dr. Ludwig Beck, _Die Geschichte des Eisens_, p. 879.\n\n[103] A. Wuttke, _Der deutsche Volksaberglaube_, p. 263.\n\n[104] For this legend, and for other information regarding the traditions\nand customs of the Bavarian and Tyrolese peasantry, the writer is\nindebted to Fr\u00e4ulein Helene Raff, of Munich.\n\n[105] Crooke, p. 199.\n\n[106] Gregor, _Scotch Folk-Lore_, p. 45.\n\n[107] E. Daumas, _The Horses of the Sahara_, pp. 150 _et seq._\n\n[108] Rev. James Macdonald, _Religion and Myth_, p. 92.\n\n[109] Dr. O. Schrader, _Prehistoric Antiquities_.\n\n[110] Richard Andree, _Ethnographische Parallelen und Vergleiche_, p. 155.\n\n[111] Chambers\u2019 _Encyclop\u00e6dia_.\n\n[112] Banier, _Mythology_, vol. ii. p. 570.\n\n[113] Brinton, _Religions of Primitive Peoples_, p. 142.\n\n[114] Henry Yule, _Cathay and the Way Thither_.\n\n[115] _Gentleman\u2019s Magazine_, vol. 281, p. 514. 1896.\n\n[116] _The Comical Pilgrim\u2019s Pilgrimage into Ireland_, 1723, p. 92.\n\n[117] Dyer, _British Popular Customs_, p. 322.\n\n[118] W. K. Kelly, _Curiosities of Indo-European Tradition and\nFolk-Lore_, p. 48.\n\n[119] Campbell, p. 24.\n\n[120] Campbell, p. 318.\n\n[121] L. Maria Child, _The Progress of Religious Ideas_, vol. i. p. 276.\n\n[122] Theophilus Hahn, Ph. D., _Tsuni-Goam_, p. 77.\n\n[123] The Werner Company, _Art Treasures from the World\u2019s Fair_. Chicago,\n1895.\n\n[124] _All the Year Round_, N. S. vol. xxxix. 1887.\n\n[125] _Indian Antiquary_, vol. xv. 1886.\n\n[126] _Cornhill Magazine_, vol. xix. 1869.\n\n[127] E. G. Squier, A. M., _The Serpent Symbol_.\n\n[128] Sir John Lubbock, _The Origin of Civilization_.\n\n[129] Marc Monnier, _Les contes populaires en Italie_.\n\n[130] _Grosses Universal Lexicon._\n\n[131] Astley, _Collection of Voyages_.\n\n[132] Dr. Friedrich S. Krauss, _Sr\u00e9ca, Gl\u00fcck und Schicksal im\nVolksglauben der S\u00fcdslaven_. Wien, 1886.\n\n[133] A. W. Buckland, _St. Paul\u2019s Magazine_, vol. i. 1874.\n\n[134] _Amer. Antiq._, vol. xviii. p. 141. 1896.\n\n[135] Lucy M. J. Garnett, _The Christian Women of Turkey_.\n\n[136] _Popular Science Monthly_, vol. 35. 1889.\n\n[137] _M\u00e9lusine_, tome viii. No. 2. 1896.\n\n[138] _The Myths of the New World_, p. 132.\n\n[139] John Newton, _Notes and Queries_, 7th series, vol. iii. April, 1887.\n\n[140] W. Crooke, B. A., _Popular Religion and Folk-Lore of Northern\nIndia_.\n\n[141] Jacob Grimm, _Deutsche Mythologie_.\n\n[142] Friedrich Creuzer, _Symbolik und Mythologie der alten V\u00f6lker_, vol.\niv. p. 380.\n\n[143] _Das Kloster_, vol. ix. p. 97.\n\n[144] Friedrich, p. 454.\n\n[145] L. Austine Waddell, M. B., _The Buddhism of Tibet_, p. 413.\n\n[146] Campbell, p. 457.\n\n[147] Schuyler, _Turkistan_, p. 30.\n\n[148] _M\u00e9lusine_, tome viii. No. 1, p. 17. 1896.\n\n[149] Max J\u00e4hns, _Ross und Reiter_, i. 371.\n\n[150] _Ulster Journal of Arch\u00e6ology_, vol. vii. p. 69.\n\n[151] _Cornhill Magazine_, article on \u201cComparative Folk-Lore,\u201d vol. lxxvi.\n\n[152] Thomas A. Wise, M. D., _History of Paganism in Caledonia_.\n\n[153] Mallet, _Northern Antiquities_, p. 154.\n\n[154] _Gentleman\u2019s Magazine_, vol. 278, p. 417. 1895.\n\n[155] Fr\u00e4ulein Helene Raff.\n\n[156] Professor Dr. Sepp, _Die Religion der alten Deutschen_, p. 340.\n1890.\n\n[157] J\u00e4hns, i. pp. 294-296.\n\n[158] Wuttke, p. 185.\n\n[159] Wuttke, p. 423.\n\n[160] Richard Andree, _Braunschweiger Volkskunde_, p. 128.\n\n[161] Grimm, vol. i. p. 47.\n\n[162] S. Baring-Gould, M. A., _Strange Survivals_.\n\n[163] J. Scheible, _Das Kloster_, Band ix. p. 101; Thomas Carlyle, _Early\nKings of Norway_, p. 8.\n\n[164] Dr. Karl Weinhold, _Altnordisches Leben_, p. 145. 1856.\n\n[165] Brand, vol. ii. p. 664.\n\n[166] Fr\u00e4ulein Helene Raff.\n\n[167] J. B. Friedrich, _Die Symbolik und Mythologie der Natur_.\n\n[168] E. Rolland, _Faune populaire de la France_, tome iv.\n\n[169] C. G. Leland, _Gypsy Sorcery_.\n\n[170] Gerald Massey, _A Book of Beginnings_.\n\n[171] _Folk-Lore_, vol. iv. p. 6. 1893.\n\n[172] _M\u00e9lusine_, tome viii. No. 1, p. 17. 1896.\n\n[173] Professor Dr. Sepp, _Die Religion der alten Deutschen_, p. 263.\n1890.\n\n[174] J\u00e4hns, vol. i. p. 373.\n\n[175] _Das Buck der ritterlichen Reutterkunst._\n\n[176] Heinrich von Wlislocki, _Aus dem Volksleben der Magyaren_, pp. 9,\n10.\n\n[177] Heinrich von Wlislocki, _Volksglaube und religi\u00f6ser Brauch der\nZigeuner_.\n\n[178] M\u2019Clintock and Strong\u2019s _Encyclop\u00e6dia_, art. \u201cShamanism;\u201d E. B.\nTylor, _Primitive Culture_, vol. ii. p. 142.\n\n[179] _Gentleman\u2019s Magazine._ 1867.\n\n[180] Rev. T. Thiselton Dyer, _Domestic Folk-Lore_.\n\n[181] _Museum of Foreign Literature_, vol. xxvi. 1835.\n\n[182] The Rev. E. Cobham Brewer, LL. D., _Dictionary of Phrase and Fable_.\n\n[183] Robert Ford, _Thistledown_.\n\n[184] _Boston Transcript_, May 9, 1898.\n\n[185] Turner\u2019s _Anglo-Saxons_.\n\n[186] John Brooks Felton, _The Horse-Shoe_, a Poem. Cambridge, 1849.\n\n[187] James Napier in _Folk-Lore_.\n\n[188] H. Clay Trumbull, _The Threshold Covenant_, chap. i.\n\n[189] Ralston, _Songs of the Russian People_, p. 136.\n\n[190] Bonami, _Nineveh and its Palaces_, p. 159.\n\n[191] _Popular Science Monthly_, vol. 44, p. 520. February, 1894.\n\n[192] C. G. Leland, _Etruscan Roman Remains_, p. 282.\n\n[193] Petersen, _Hufeisen_, p. 7.\n\n[194] Waddell, p. 484.\n\n[195] Edmond O\u2019Donovan, _The Merv Oasis_, vol. ii. p. 141.\n\n[196] A. Featherman, _Social History of Mankind_.\n\n[197] Rev. Charles Rogers, D. D., _Social Life in Scotland_, vol. iii. p.\n229.\n\n[198] Robert Ford, _Thistledown_, p. 262.\n\n[199] Gregor, _Scotch Folk-Lore_.\n\n[200] A. Wuttke, _Der deutsche Volksaberglaube_. Berlin, 1869.\n\n[201] Robert Thorne, M. A., _A Dictionary of Rare and Curious\nInformation_.\n\n[202] _The Denham Tracts._\n\n[203] _Fortnightly Review._\n\n[204] Sidney Oldall Addy, M. A., _Household Tales_. 1895.\n\n[205] Edward W. B. Nicholson, M. A., _Golspie_. Edinburgh, 1897.\n\n[206] _Notes and Queries_, 5th series, vol. ix. p. 65. January, 1878.\n\n[207] Rev. James Macdonald, _Religion and Myth_, p. 92.\n\n[208] _Novellenzeitung_, sechster Jahrgang, No. 51, p. 812.\n\n[209] C. G. Leland, _Etruscan Roman Remains_.\n\n[210] Thomas A. Wise, M. D., _History of Paganism in Caledonia_.\n\n[211] _The Scottish Gallovidian Encyclop\u00e6dia._ London, 1824.\n\n[212] Petersen, _Hufeisen_, p. 8.\n\n[213] Camden\u2019s _Britannia_.\n\n[214] Thorpe\u2019s _Northern Mythology_.\n\n[215] Francis Parry, F. R. G. S., _The Sacred Symbols and Numbers of\nAboriginal America in Ancient and Modern Times_.\n\n[216] _The American Antiquarian_, vol. xii. p. 356; vol. xiii. p. 58.\n\n[217] Leopold Wagner, _Manners, Customs, and Observances_.\n\n[218] S. H. Killikelly, _Curious Questions_.\n\n[219] _Leicestershire and Rutland Notes and Queries_, vol. ii. 1891-93.\n\n[220] Grimm, p. 34.\n\n[221] J. Scheible, _Das Kloster_, vol. ix. p. 422.\n\n[222] Arnold Frost, _The Ballad of the Wind, the Devil, and Lincoln\nMinster_. Lincoln, 1897.\n\n[223] J. W. Wolf, _Beitr\u00e4ge zur deutschen Mythologie_, p. 91.\n\n[224] Ignaz V. Zingerle, _Sitten, Br\u00e4uche und Meinungen des tiroler\nVolkes_. Innsbruck, 1857.\n\n[225] Herman Schmid and Karl Stieler, _The Bavarian Highlands and the\nSalzkammergut_.\n\n[226] Anton Birlinger, _Sagen, Legenden und Volksaberglauben_, vol. i. p.\n49.\n\n[227] _Belgravia_, vol. iv. 1887.\n\n[228] _Yule-Tide Stories_, edited by Benjamin Thorpe. London, 1853.\n\n[229] J. Scheible, _Das Kloster_.\n\n[230] Thorpe\u2019s _Northern Mythology_, vol. ii. p. 190.\n\n[231] Ernst Meier, _Deutsche Sagen, Sitten und Gebr\u00e4uche aus Schwaben_.\nStuttgart, 1852.\n\n[232] Friedrich Panzer, _Bayerische Sagen und Br\u00e4uche_, vol. i. p. 127.\n\n[233] _Cyclop\u00e6dia of Arts._ Philadelphia.\n\n[234] F. All\u00e8gre, _\u00c9tude sur la d\u00e9esse grecque Tych\u00e9_. Paris, 1889.\n\n[235] Plutarch\u2019s _Opinions of Philosophers_.\n\n[236] Lyon, _Nouveau dictionnaire historique_. 1804.\n\n[237] _History of Rome._\n\n[238] George Crabb, _English Synonymes_.\n\n[239] Andrew Tooke, A. M., _The Pantheon_. Dublin, 1792.\n\n[240] Anthon\u2019s _Classical Dictionary_.\n\n[241] F. Noel, _Dictionnaire de la fable_. Paris, 1803.\n\n[242] P. Galtruchius, _History of the Heathen Gods_. 1671.\n\n[243] Daniel Watson, A. M., _A History of the Gods and Goddesses_.\n\n[244] Plutarch\u2019s _Roman Questions_.\n\n[245] Roscher, _Lexicon der griechischen und r\u00f6mischen Mythologie_, p.\n1523.\n\n[246] _The Antiquarian Repertory_, vol. iv. p. 256. London, 1784.\n\n[247] Basil H. Chamberlin, _Things Japanese_.\n\n[248] L. Austine Waddell, B. A., _The Buddhism of Tibet_, p. 512.\n\n[249] _Mythology and Monuments of Ancient Athens._\n\n[250] Rodolfo Lanciani, _Pagan and Christian Rome_.\n\n[251] Thomas Wright, _The Celt, the Roman, and the Saxon_.\n\n[252] Read at the Annual Meeting of the American Folk-Lore Society, New\nYork, December 29, 1896.\n\n[253] Banier\u2019s _Mythology_. London, 1739.\n\n[254] Bancroft, _Native Races_, vol. ii. p. 353.\n\n[255] J. J. L. Ratton, M. D., M. C., _A Hand-Book of Common Salt_.\n\n[256] J. B. Friedrich, _Die Symbolik und Mythologie der Natur_.\n\n[257] Calmet\u2019s _Dictionary of the Holy Bible_.\n\n[258] Philemon Holland, _The Morals or Miscellane Works of Plutarch_.\n\n[259] Horst, _D\u00e6monomagie_. Frankfurt, 1818.\n\n[260] Richalmus, _Liber Revelationum de Insidiis et Versutiis D\u00e6monum\nadversus Homines_.\n\n[261] Dr. Heinrich von Wlislocki, _Volksglaube und religi\u00f6ser Brauch der\nMagyar_, p. 151.\n\n[262] W. Mannhardt, _Germanische Mythen_. Berlin, 1858.\n\n[263] W. Crooke, B. A., p. 147.\n\n[264] Alexander Adam, LL. D., _Roman Antiquities_.\n\n[265] _Grosses Universal Lexicon._ Leipzig and Halle, 1742.\n\n[266] John Borrow, F. R. S., _Travels in China_.\n\n[267] _Natural History_, book xxxi. ch. 41.\n\n[268] Elias Artista Hermetica, _Das Geheimniss vom Salz_.\n\n[269] _Il a r\u00e9pandu le sel \u00e0 pleines mains dans ses \u00e9crits._\n\n[270] Baret, 1580.\n\n[271] Brewer\u2019s _Dictionary of Phrase and Fable_.\n\n[272] _Edinburgh Monthly Magazine_, June, 1817.\n\n[273] Chevalier d\u2019Arvieux, _Memoir_. Paris, 1735.\n\n[274] J. J. Manley, M. A., _Salt and Other Condiments_, p. 90.\n\n[275] Karl Baedeker, _The Eastern Alps_, p. 124. 1895.\n\n[276] _Spectator_, vol. 66. 1891.\n\n[277] _Gentleman\u2019s Magazine_, part i. 1833.\n\n[278] Felix Liebrecht, _Die Symbolik und Mythologie der Natur_.\n\n[279] Owen on _Serpents_.\n\n[280] The writer is indebted for this translation to John P. Hopkinson,\nEsq.\n\n[281] Felix Liebrecht, _Zur Volkskunde_. 1877.\n\n[282] Shakespeare refers to this subject in several passages, and among\nthem the following:\u2014\n\n    How came her eyes so bright? Not with salt tears.\n\n                             _Midsummer Night\u2019s Dream._\n\n    With tears as salt as sea.\n\n                             _2 Henry VI._\n\n[283] _Current Superstitions_, edited by Fanny D. Bergen.\n\n[284] Clifton Johnson, _What they say in New England_, p. 92. 1896.\n\n[285] M. J. Schleiden, _Das Salz_, p. 73.\n\n[286] _The Study of Sociology_, p. 5.\n\n[287] _Revue des traditions populaires_, tome i. 1886.\n\n[288] _A Theological and Philosophical Treatise of the Nature and\nGoodnesse of Salt._ Imprinted by Felix Kyngston for Richard Boyle at\nLondon, 1612.\n\n[289] James Napier, _Folk-Lore_, p. 33.\n\n[290] Pitr\u00e9, vol. iv. p. 102.\n\n[291] R. T. Hampson, _Medii \u00c6vi Kalendarium_. London, 1841.\n\n[292] Pitr\u00e9, vol. ii. p. 161.\n\n[293] Dr. Heino Pfannenschmid, _Das Weihwasser im heidnischen und\nchristlichen Cultus_.\n\n[294] _Notes and Queries_, 6th series, vol. ix. p. 428. May, 1884.\n\n[295] _Century Dictionary._\n\n[296] Francis Grose, _Popular Superstitions_.\n\n[297] Spenser\u2019s _Faerie Queene_.\n\n[298] Clara Erskine Clement, _Naples_.\n\n[299] Grimm\u2019s _Teutonic Mythology_.\n\n[300] _The Folk-Lore Journal_, vol. vii. 1889.\n\n[301] _Journal of American Folk-Lore_, No. xviii. 1892.\n\n[302] _The Washington Post_, November 27, 1894.\n\n[303] William Henderson, _Notes on the Folk-Lore of the Northern\nCountries of England_.\n\n[304] _Journal of American Folk-Lore_, No. 19. 1892.\n\n[305] Keightley\u2019s _Fairy Mythology_.\n\n[306] Giuseppe Pitr\u00e9, _Usi e costumi, credenze e pregiudizi del popolo\nSiciliano_, vol. iii. p. 426. Palermo, 1889.\n\n[307] _Leechdoms, Wortcunning, and Starcraft_, edited by Rev. Oswald\nCockayne. London, 1865.\n\n[308] Rev. Charles Rogers, LL. D., _Scotland, Social and Domestic_.\n\n[309] _Journal of American Folk-Lore_, No. 13. 1891.\n\n[310] James M. Campbell, _Notes on the Spirit-Basis of Belief and Custom_.\n\n[311] Lady Wilde, _Ancient Legends, Mystic Charms, and Superstitions of\nIreland_.\n\n[312] _Revue des traditions populaires_, tome vi. p. 43. 1891.\n\n[313] _Zeitschrift f\u00fcr deutsche Mythologie und Sittenkunde_, Band iv.\n\n[314] _Sitzungberichte der kaiserlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften._\n\n[315] Abraham Fornander, _An Account of the Polynesian Race_, vol. i.\n\n[316] _Aus dem Volksleben der Magyaren_, p. 111.\n\n[317] William Elliot Griffis, A. M., _The Mikado\u2019s Empire_.\n\n[318] Rogers, vol. iii. p. 288.\n\n[319] Henderson, p. 217.\n\n[320] Burkhardt\u2019s _Nubia_.\n\n[321] M. J. Schleiden, _Das Salz_.\n\n[322] Waldron\u2019s _History_.\n\n[323] Pitr\u00e9.\n\n[324] M. J. Schleiden, _Das Salz_, p. 71.\n\n[325] _The Leisure Hour_, vol. xliii. p. 805. 1894.\n\n[326] _The Book of Ser Marco Polo._ London, 1874.\n\n[327] Lieutenant-Colonel N. Prejevalsky, _Mongolia_, vol. i. p. 122.\n\n[328] J. J. Manley, M. A., _Salt and Other Condiments_.\n\n[329] J. J. Manley, p. 13.\n\n[330] _Nares\u2019 Glossary_, vol. ii. p. 763.\n\n[331] _Cosmopolitan_, vol. xx. p. 94. 1894.\n\n[332] _Contemporary Review_, vol. xxxi.\n\n[333] R. H. Busk, _Roman Legends_.\n\n[334] Schleiden, p. 73.\n\n[335] M. Dacier, _The Life of Pythagoras_, p. 60. London, 1707.\n\n[336] Feu M. Jean Fran\u00e7ois Buddeus, _Trait\u00e9 de l\u2019ath\u00e9isme et de la\nsuperstition_.\n\n[337] Thomas Wright, _A History of Domestic Manners in England during the\nMiddle Ages_.\n\n[338] Richard Boyle. 1612.\n\n[339] Chambers\u2019s _Book of Days_.\n\n[340] Emily S. Holt, _Ye Olden Time_, p. 130.\n\n[341] Fosbroke, _Encyclop\u00e6dia of Antiquities_.\n\n[342] _Leges Curiales Regis Canuti; apud Bartholin_, p. 583; J. S.\nForsyth, _The Antiquary\u2019s Portfolio_. London, 1825.\n\n[343] Elizabeth Hodges, _Some Ancient English Homes_.\n\n[344] Rogers, vol. i. p. 233.\n\n[345] P. H. Ditchfield, M. A., F. S. A., _Old English Customs_. 1896.\n\n[346] Martin Schoock, _De Sternutatione Tractatus Copiosus_. Amsterdam,\n1664.\n\n[347] Joh. Gerhardus Menschen, _Disquisitio Philologica de Ritu Salutandi\nSternutantes_. Kiloni, 1704.\n\n[348] John Potter, D. D., _Antiquities of Greece_.\n\n[349] Francis Rous, _Arch\u00e6ologi\u00e6 Attic\u00e6_. London, 1685.\n\n[350] _Encyclop\u00e9die m\u00e9thodique._ Paris, 1788.\n\n[351] U. S. _Literary Gazette_, vol. iv. 1826.\n\n[352] Eustace Neville Rolfe, B. A., _Pompeii, Popular and Practical_.\nLondon, 1888.\n\n[353] Gerald Massey, _The Natural Genesis_, vol. i. pp. 83-85.\n\n[354] Henderson, p. 128.\n\n[355] _M\u00e9lusine_, vol. iv. 1888-89.\n\n[356] William Jones, _Credulities_.\n\n[357] John Beaumont, Gent., _A Treatise of Spirits_. London, 1705.\n\n[358] _Twelfth Annual Report of the Thirteen Club of New York_, January,\n1894. The writer has also consulted the original manuscript.\n\n[359] Grimm\u2019s _Teutonic Mythology_.\n\n[360] A. Featherman, _The Social History of the Races of Mankind_.\n\n[361] R. H. Codrington, D. D., _The Melanesians_.\n\n[362] _Notes and Queries_, 1st series, vol. xii.\n\n[363] Rev. Charles Rogers, LL. D., F. S. A., _Scotland, Social and\nDomestic_.\n\n[364] Alexandre Desrousseaux, _M\u0153urs populaires de la Flandre fran\u00e7aise_.\n\n[365] _Gentleman\u2019s Magazine_, vol. 252, p. 237. January, 1882.\n\n[366] Wuttke, p. 243.\n\n[367] _Philadelphia Inquirer_, February 24, 1898.\n\n[368] Eugene Schuyler, _Turkistan_, p. 29.\n\n[369] Griffis, _Japan_, p. 187.\n\n[370] _Journal of American Folk-Lore_, vol. x. p. 272. 1897.\n\n[371] Henderson, p. 206.\n\n[372] Vol. 73, pp. 41, 42. 1896.\n\n[373] _Cornhill Magazine_, vol. 76.\n\n[374] Lecture by Dr. D. G. Brinton, at the Lowell Institute, Boston,\nMass., November 9, 1896.\n\n[375] Elijah M. Haines, _The American Indian_, p. 416.\n\n[376] D. G. Brinton, _Myths of the New World_, p. 307.\n\n[377] Andree, _Ethnographische Parallelen_, p. 177.\n\n[378] Herbert Spencer, _Principles of Sociology_, vol. iii. p. 186.\n\n[379] Rev. William Wyatt Gill, B. A., _Myths and Songs from the South\nPacific_.\n\n[380] L. Maria Child, _The Progress of Religious Ideas_, vol. i. p. 276.\n\n[381] Schuyler, _Turkistan_, p. 29.\n\n[382] Isabella L. Bishop, _Among the Tibetans_, p. 104.\n\n[383] Rev. J. A. Graham, M. A., _On the Threshold of Three Closed Lands_,\np. 76.\n\n[384] G. Maspero, _The Dawn of Civilization_. 1894.\n\n[385] Professor E. P. Evans, _Popular Science Monthly_, November, 1895.\n\n[386] W. Crooke, B. A., _Popular Religion and Folk-Lore of Northern\nIndia_.\n\n[387] S. Baring Gould, _Legends of the Patriarchs and Prophets_.\n\n[388] _The Catholic World_, vol. iii. 1866.\n\n[389] Brand\u2019s _Popular Antiquities of Great Britain_.\n\n[390] _Encyclop\u00e6dia of Arts and Sciences._ Philadelphia, 1798.\n\n[391] Pedro Mexio, _The Treasurie of Auncient and Moderne Times_. 1613.\n\n[392] _Legends of Iceland_, collected by J\u00f3n Arnason, 2d series, p. 646.\n\n[393] Edward B. Tylor, _Primitive Culture_.\n\n[394] _Temple Bar_, vol. 43. 1875.\n\n[395] _Dictionnaire des sciences occultes._\n\n[396] William S. Walsh, _Handy-Book of Literary Curiosities_.\n\n[397] Edward William Lane, _The Modern Egyptians_.\n\n[398] James Owen Dorsey, \u201cA Study of Siouan Cults,\u201d _Eleventh Annual\nReport of the Bureau of Ethnology_, Washington, D. C.\n\n[399] Lady Wilde\u2019s _Ancient Cures, Charms, and Usages of Ireland_.\n\n[400] M. l\u2019Abb\u00e9 Bertram, _Dictionnaire de toutes les religions_.\n\n[401] _Cornhill Magazine_, vol. 76.\n\n[402] Brand, vol. i. p. 361.\n\n[403] C. F. Gordon-Cumming, _At Home in Fiji_, p. 105.\n\n[404] E. Henry Carnay, _Litterature orale de la Picardie_. Paris, 1883.\n\n[405] Ernst Meier, _Deutsche Sagen, Sitten und Gebr\u00e4uche aus Schwaben_.\nStuttgart, 1852.\n\n[406] Fran\u00e7ois Lenormant, _Chaldean Magic_.\n\n[407] Adolf Erman, _Life in Ancient Egypt_, p. 351.\n\n[408] F. Chabas, _Le calendrier des jours fastes et n\u00e9fastes et de\nl\u2019ann\u00e9e egyptienne_, p. 124.\n\n[409] M. Court de Gebelin, _Monde primitif_, vol. iv. Paris, 1776.\n\n[410] Jean Baptiste Thiers, _Trait\u00e9 des superstitions_. Paris, 1679.\n\n[411] _Historia litteraria_, vol. ii. London, 1731.\n\n[412] Monsieur Danet, _A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities_.\nLondon, 1700.\n\n[413] Chabas, p. 124.\n\n[414] Rev. Edward Cockayne, M. A., _Leechdoms, Wortcunning, and Starcraft\nof Early England_.\n\n[415] Brand\u2019s _Popular Antiquities_.\n\n[416] Dr. C. Edward Sachan, _The Chronology of Ancient Nations_. London,\n1879.\n\n[417] Israel Abrahams, M. A., _Jewish Life in the Middle Ages_, p. 184.\n\n[418] Bowring, _Siam_, vol. i. p. 158.\n\n[419] Mallet\u2019s _Northern Antiquities_.\n\n[420] Mallet, p. 426.\n\n[421] Clifford Howard, _Sex Worship_, p. 119.\n\n[422] M\u00e9lusine, tome iv. 1888-89.\n\n[423] Cockayne, vol. iii. p. 163.\n\n[424] \u201cPopular Superstitions,\u201d _Gentleman\u2019s Magazine Library_, vol. i.\n\n[425] William Jones, _Credulities Past and Present_.\n\n[426] T. F. Thiselton Dyer, _British Popular Customs_.\n\n[427] Isaac Disraeli, _Curiosities of Literature_, vol. i. p. 280.\n\n[428] Sir William Muir, K. C. S. I., _The Life of Mahomet_.\n\n[429] John J. Pool, _Studies in Mohammedanism_, p. 103.\n\n[430] M. l\u2019Abb\u00e9 Bertrand, _Dictionnaire universel de toutes les\nreligions_.\n\n[431] Thomas Patrick Hughes, B. D., M. R. A. S., _A Dictionary of Islam_.\n\n[432] S. S. Thorburn, _Bann\u00fa_.\n\n[433] Israel Abrahams, M. A., _Jewish Life in the Middle Ages_, p. 186.\n\n[434] Gerald Massey, _The Natural Genesis_, vol. ii. p. 298.\n\n[435] Moritz Busch, _Deutscher Volksglaube_.\n\n[436] Rogers, vol. iii. p. 278.\n\n[437] Lady Wilde, _Ancient Legends, Mystic Charms, and Superstitions of\nIreland_, p. 136.\n\n[438] Lady Wilde, _Ancient Cures, Charms, and Usages of Ireland_.\n\n[439] P. G. Heims, _Seespuk_, p. 135.\n\n[440] Wilhelm Kolbe, _Hessische Volks-Sitten und Gebr\u00e4uche_.\n\n[441] _Shropshire Folk-Lore_, p. 260.\n\n[442] \u201cWily Beguiled,\u201d Hawkins\u2019s _English Drama_, vol. iii. p. 356.\n\n[443] Dr. Adolf Wuttke, _Der deutsche Volksaberglaube_. Berlin, 1869.\n\n[444] E. L. Rochholz, _Alt-deutsches B\u00fcrgerleben_, pp. 52, 53.\n\n[445] Wlislocki, _Aus dem Volksleben der Magyaren_, p. 68.\n\n[446] _Zeitschrift des Vereins f\u00fcr Volkskunde_, vol. iv. p. 307. 1894.\n\n[447] Giuseppe Pitr\u00e9, _Usi e costumi, credenze e pregiudizi del popolo\nSiciliano_. 1889.\n\n[448] M. Jean-Fran\u00e7ois Blad\u00e9, _Contes populaires de la Gascogne_. Paris,\n1886.\n\n[449] M. l\u2019Abb\u00e9 Migne, _Dictionnaire des superstitions populaires_.\n\n[450] Giuseppe Pitr\u00e9, _Il venerdi nelle tradizioni popolari italiane_.\n\n[451] Busch, _op. cit._\n\n[452] _A World of Wonders_, edited by Albany Poyntz.\n\n[453] _Zeitschrift f\u00fcr deutsche Mythologie_, iv. 147.\n\n[454] _Boston Herald_, May 1, 1898.\n\n[455] W. R. S. Ralston, M. A., _Russian Folk-Tales_.\n\n[456] Larousse, _Grand dictionnaire universel_.\n\n[457] M. D. Conway, _Demonology and Devil-Lore_.\n\n[458] Fr. Noel, _Dictionnaire de la fable_.\n\n[459] Danet\u2019s _Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities_. London, 1700.\n\n[460] Andrew Lang, _Custom and Myth_.\n\n[461] Ermete Pierotti, _Customs and Traditions of Palestine_.\n\n[462] _Journal of American Folk-Lore_, vol. x. No. 39, p. 274. 1897.\n\n[463] Leland\u2019s _Gypsy Sorcery_.\n\n[464] Brewer\u2019s _Dictionary of Miracles_.\n\n[465] Rev. Walter Gregor, M. A., _Notes on the Folk-Lore of the Northeast\nof Scotland_.\n\n[466] Hulme, _Natural History Lore and Legend_, p. 241.\n\n[467] Thorpe, ii. p. 84.\n\n[468] Schuyler, _Turkestan_, p. 30.\n\n[469] Edward Jewitt Robinson, _Tales and Poems of South India_, p. 378.\n\n[470] E. Rolland, _Faune populaire de la France_. Paris, 1877.\n\n[471] Wuttke, p. 118.\n\n[472] Wuttke, p. 276.\n\n[473] Dr. Joseph Virgil Grohmann, _Aberglauben und Gebr\u00e4uche aus B\u00f6hmen\nund M\u00e4hren_, p. 232.\n\n[474] _Encyclop\u00e9die theologique_, tome, \u201cSciences occultes.\u201d\n\n[475] John Thrupp, _The Anglo-Saxon Home_. London, 1852.\n\n[476] _Leechdoms, Wortcunning, and Starcraft_, edited by the Rev. Oswald\nCockayne.\n\n[477] Francis Lenormant, _Chaldean Magic and Sorcery_.\n\n[478] Francis Rous, _Arch\u00e6ologi\u00e6 Attic\u00e6_. London, 1635.\n\n[479] Grohmann, _Apollo Smintheus_, p. 60.\n\n[480] Grohmann, _Aberglauben_, vol. i. p. 59.\n\n[481] Grohmann, _Aberglauben_, vol. i. p. 61.\n\n[482] Thomas Gage, _A New Survey of the West Indies_. London, 1677.\n\n[483] Rev. Hilderic Friend, _Flowers and Flower-Lore_, p. 554.\n\n[484] John Henry Gray, M. A., LL. D., _China_, p. 169.\n\n[485] Martin Frederick Blumber, _A History of Amulets_.\n\n[486] Richard Folkard, Jr., _Plant-Lore_, p. 160.\n\n[487] _The Buddhism of Tibet._\n\n[488] _The Nation._ June 15, 1866.\n\n[489] R. T. Hampson, _Medii \u00c6vi Kalendarium_. See, also, article by W. W.\nNewell in _Journal of American Folk-Lore_, vol. v. No. 14.\n\n[490] Anthon\u2019s _Classical Dictionary_.\n\n[491] Garnett, p. 340.\n\n[492] Lucy M. J. Garnett, _The Women of Turkey_, p. 286.\n\n[493] Jean Frederic Bernard, _Superstitions anciennes et modernes_, tome\ni. p. 101. 1733.\n\n[494] Scot\u2019s _Discoverie of Witchcraft_.\n\n[495] _The Folk-Lorist_, vol. i. July, 1893.\n\n[496] William Jones, _Credulities Past and Present_.\n\n[497] J. B. Thiers, _Trait\u00e9 des superstitions_.\n\n[498] W. Crooke, B. A., _North Indian Folk-Lore_.\n\n[499] _Folk-Lore._ June, 1896.\n\n[500] W. W. Newell, _Journal of American Folk-Lore_, No. 16. 1892.\n\n[501] M. D. Conway, _Demonology and Devil-Lore_.\n\n[502] James M. Campbell, _Notes on the Spirit Basis of Belief and Custom_.\n\n[503] _Bulletin de la societ\u00e9 d\u2019ethnographie._ July, 1887.\n\n[504] Rev. J. G. Wood, M. A., _The Uncivilized Races of Men_.\n\n[505] _The Occult Sciences_, from the French of Eusebe Salverte.\n\n[506] _Journal of American Folk-Lore_, No. 13. 1891.\n\n[507] L. Lalanne, _Curiosit\u00e9s des traditions_. Paris, 1847.\n\n[508] E. P. Evans, _Atlantic Monthly_, vol. 54. 1884.\n\n[509] W. Lander Lindsay, M. D., _Mind in the Lower Animals_.\n\n[510] Banier\u2019s _Mythology_.\n\n[511] J. B. Thiers, _Trait\u00e9 des superstitions_.\n\n[512] Louis Duval, _R\u00f4le des croyances populaires dans la protection des\nanimaux_. 1889.\n\n[513] _The Student and Intellectual Observer_, vol. iii. 1869.\n\n[514] Rev. G. Oliver, D. D., _The Pythagorean Triangle_.\n\n[515] Pliny, _Natural History_, book xxviii.\n\n[516] _Century Dictionary._\n\n[517] Sir John Bowring, F. R. S., _The Kingdom and People of Siam_, vol.\ni. p. 139.\n\n[518] Mallet\u2019s _Northern Antiquities_, p. 112.\n\n[519] Folkard, p. 377.\n\n[520] Robert Vilvain, of Excester, _Enchiridium Epigrammatum_, p. 148.\n1654.\n\n[521] T. Wain, _The Wonderful Number Seven_.\n\n[522] Charles De B. Mills, _The Tree of Mythology_.\n\n[523] _The International Cyclop\u00e6dia_, vol. xiii. p. 360.\n\n[524] Smith\u2019s _Dictionary of the Bible_, art. \u201cSeven.\u201d\n\n[525] F. Lenormant, _Chaldean Magic and Sorcery_.\n\n[526] _Enchiridium Epigrammatum_, p. 141. 1654.\n\n[527] T. Wain, _The Wonderful Number Seven_.\n\n[528] S. Pancoast, M. D., _The Kabbala_, p. 247.\n\n[529] _The National Review_, vol. xxi. p. 199. 1893.\n\n[530] D. Person, _Varieties_.\n\n[531] _All the Year Round_, vol. iii. 1870.\n\n[532] Cockayne, vol. ii. p. 335.\n\n[533] Crooke, p. 199.\n\n[534] Campbell, _Spirit Basis of Custom and Belief_, p. 208.\n\n[535] _Times\u2019 Whistle._\n\n[536] Fr\u00e4ulein Helene Raff.\n\n[537] _Leechdoms, Wortcunning, and Starcraft_, edited by the Rev. Oswald\nCockayne.\n\n[538] _Arch\u00e6ologia_, vol. xxx. p. 427. 1844.\n\n[539] _Celtic Magazine_, vol. viii. p. 252.\n\n[540] William G. Black, _Folk-Medicine_.\n\n[541] _Social Life in Scotland_, vol. iii. p. 227.\n\n[542] C. G. Leland, _Gypsy Sorcery_.\n\n[543] _Das Kloster_, Band xii. p. 771; Thorpe\u2019s _Northern Mythology_,\nvol. i. p. 227; Grimm\u2019s _Teutonic Mythology_, vol. i. pp. 272 _et seq._\n\n[544] Gerald Massey, _Luniolatry_, p. 17.\n\n[545] J. B. Salgues, _Des erreurs et des pr\u00e9juges_.\n\n[546] _Zeitschrift des Vereins f\u00fcr Volkskunde_, vol. iv. p. 250. 1894.\n\n[547] _Boston Transcript_, December 30, 1897.\n\n[548] Surgeon-General Edward Balfour, _The Encyclop\u00e6dia of India_.\n\n[549] _Journal of American Folk-Lore_, No. 17. April, 1892.\n\n[550] Brewers\u2019 _Dictionary of Phrase and Fable_.\n\n[551] _The Century Dictionary._\n\n\n\n\nTOPICAL INDEX\n\n\n  Above and below the salt, 202-205.\n\n  \u00c6sir, the twelve; demigods, 331.\n\n  Animals, superstitious dealings with, 279-311.\n    charms against, 292-297.\n    spirits assume the forms of black, 284-287.\n    legal prosecution of, 308-311.\n\n  Archangels, 321, 322.\n\n  Artisans, dwarfish, 28, 49.\n\n  Astrology, 19, 20, 248-253, 255-257.\n\n  Auguries derived from the sneeze of a cat, 212, 218, 219.\n\n  Augustine, Saint, quoted, 211.\n\n  Aureole or nimbus, 120, 121.\n\n  Avadanas, or Buddhist parables, 235.\n\n\n  Beelzebub, the fly-god, 283.\n\n  _Bh\u00fats_, or malignant spirits, 160, 227.\n\n  Black animals not more vicious than others, 287.\n\n  Blacksmiths, credited with supernatural attributes, 40-53.\n    usually able to recognize the Devil, 50.\n\n  Board\u2019s end, 202.\n\n  British Apollo quoted, 170.\n\n\n  Camels instinctively browse upon saline plants, 187.\n\n  Ceremonies associated with sneezing, 231.\n\n  Cernabog, the black Slav demon, 285.\n\n  Chah-Miran, the serpent-king, 304.\n\n  Changelings, 176, 177, 271.\n\n  Chinese pagodas have always an odd number of stories, 314.\n\n  Chka\u00ef, the Mordvine sun-god, 276, 277.\n\n  Clement, Saint, 46, 47.\n\n  Copernican system, 248.\n\n  Cosmopolitan condiment, salt thus termed, 188.\n\n  Covenant of salt, 157, 164-166.\n\n  Crescent, the Turkish symbol, 21, 22.\n\n  Crescents and half-moon-shaped amulets, 18-26.\n\n  Cross, the, most potent of talismans, 99.\n\n  Crows, as foreboders, 285-287.\n\n  Cure for deafness, 219, 220.\n\n  Cyclops, the, 41, 49.\n\n\n  Dactyls, mythical artisans, 41.\n\n  Days, of good and evil omen, 239-278.\n    Egyptian, 239-243.\n    Roman superstition concerning, 243-245.\n    medi\u00e6val belief in day-fatality, 245-253.\n    modern belief in day-fatality, 253-257.\n    the sixth day of the week, 258-263.\n    Friday in modern times, 263-278.\n\n  Demon-mare, 74.\n\n  Deodand, obsolete term of English law, 309.\n\n  Deuz or Deuce, the number two, 313.\n\n  Devil, the, 26, 31, 50, 69, 98, 123, 124, 130, 135, 136, 158, 159, 167,\n    218, 238, 254, 279, 285, 286, 290, 313.\n\n  Devil\u2019s foot, imprint of, 136.\n\n  _Dies atri_, 244.\n\n  _Dies Egyptiaci_, 239-243, 247.\n\n  _Dies fasti_ and _nefasti_, 243, 244.\n\n  _Dies mala_, 246.\n\n  _Dies Veneris_, 262.\n\n  Diet regulated by the days of the week, 255.\n\n  Divining rod, 15.\n\n\n  Elf-bolt, 33.\n\n  Eloy, Saint, 47, 48, 235.\n\n  England, the day formerly divided into thirteen parts, 339.\n\n  Exorcism, of haunted house, 93.\n    of vermin, 287.\n\n  Evil eye, 10-13.\n\n  Evil spirits, keep aloof from iron, 38.\n    dislike salt, 159.\n    cause sickness, 220-227.\n\n\n  Fairies, when especially alert, 266, 267.\n\n  Farriers, 52.\n\n  Farriery, introduction of modern, 4.\n\n  Fire, a spirit-scaring element, 54-58.\n\n  Fires, midsummer, 55, 56.\n\n  Fireflies, 28.\n\n  Fish, an emblem of Freyja, 259.\n\n  Fortune, the Roman goddess, 141-149.\n\n  Fortune and luck, 145-153.\n    temples of, 149, 150.\n\n  Foxes, charm against, 303.\n\n  French Canadian legend, 97, 98.\n\n  Freyja, the Northern goddess of love, 258, 259, 269, 274.\n\n  Friday, 258-278.\n    Moslem beliefs regarding, 264.\n    Jewish beliefs regarding, 265.\n\n  Froth from a horse\u2019s mouth repels demons, 68.\n\n\n  Geoponica, the, Grecian treatise on agriculture, 287, 306.\n\n  George, Saint, 126, 127.\n\n  Gertrude, Saint, patron saint of travelers and cats, 288.\n\n\n  Half-moon tavern symbols, 120.\n\n  Hamlin, the pied piper of, 288, 289.\n\n  Hammer, Thor\u2019s emblem, 127.\n\n  Hand, symbol of the open, 16-18.\n    in Palestine, 16.\n    in Syria, 17.\n\n  Hand, symbol of the open, in Germany, 17.\n\n  Hatto II., Archbishop of Mayence, legend concerning, 282, 283.\n\n  Hebrides, preference for odd numbers, in the, 329.\n\n  Hecate, 23.\n\n  Hernia, cure for, 37.\n\n  Holy water, 182.\n\n  Horapollon, a treatise on Egyptian hieroglyphics, 210, 279.\n\n  Horn, of the fabulous unicorn, 9.\n\n  Horns, and other two-pronged objects, 8-15.\n\n  Horns of animals, used as amulets:\u2014\n    of the stag, 10, 14.\n    of cattle, 10, 11.\n    of antelopes, 11.\n    of reindeer, 14.\n\n  Horse, the, a luck-bringer, 68.\n    a divinatory animal, 69, 70.\n\n  Horse-shoe, history of the, 1-6.\n    as a safeguard, 7, 8.\n    as a symbol of the horse, 68-78.\n    as a favorite anti-witch charm, 88-94.\n    position of, as a protector of buildings, 99-104.\n    as an emblem of good luck, 104-116.\n    as a phallic symbol, 116-118.\n    on tavern sign-boards, 118-120.\n    on church-doors, 120-127.\n    legendary lore, 128-136.\n\n  Horse-shoe arch, in Caledonian hieroglyphics, 65-68.\n\n  Horse-Shoe of Luck, story for children, 107, 108.\n\n  Horse-worship, 73.\n\n  Horses, Wodan\u2019s favorite animals, 76.\n\n  Horses\u2019 heads, as talismans, 78-87.\n    on house gables, 82.\n\n  Horses\u2019 hoofs, the sound of, frightens spirits, 71.\n\n  Horses\u2019 skulls, 86, 87.\n\n  Houses, haunted, 93, 94.\n\n  Huixtocihuatl, Mexican goddess of salt, 155.\n\n\n  Idiots alleged to be incapable of sneezing, 216.\n\n  Inscriptions above entrances of dwellings, 101.\n\n  Intellectual force not incompatible with superstitious fancies, 274.\n\n  Ireland, origin of name, 30, 31.\n\n  Iron, as a protective charm, 26-40.\n    use of, in folk-medicine, 36, 37.\n    religious prejudice against, 29.\n\n  Iron and flint, affinity between, 33.\n\n  Iron-workers, regarded as sorcerers, 48.\n\n\n  Jinn, the, mythical demons, 29, 30.\n\n\n  Kalevalla, ancient Finnish epic poem, 42.\n\n\n  Legends, 30-32, 43-46, 50, 69, 70, 79, 91, 128-136, 154, 155, 160, 192,\n    193, 227, 228, 236, 237.\n\n  Leonard, Saint, 124, 126.\n\n  Lesbos, charm against insects in vogue in, 305.\n\n  Lincoln Cathedral, 123, 124.\n\n  Lincoln Imp, 123.\n\n  Locusts invade fields, 295.\n\n  Loki, the Principle of Evil in Northern mythology, 331.\n\n  _Lutins_, mischievous imps, 179, 236.\n\n\n  _Mano cornuta_, or anti-witch gesture, 12-14.\n\n  Medical superstitions regarding days, 251, 252.\n\n  Metal working and sorcery, early association of, 53.\n\n  Mexican priests, use magical ointment as a charm against wild\n    beasts, 307.\n\n  Moon, superstitions concerning the, 19-21.\n\n  Moon-worship, 19.\n\n  Moonwort, 25.\n\n\n  Nagendra, Cingalese serpent-king, 65.\n\n  Nail, story of the, 6, 7.\n\n  Neapolitan evil-eye amulets, survivals of ancient Chaldean symbols, 13.\n\n  _Neck_, or Scandinavian river-spirit, 38.\n\n  North, the unblessed heathen quarter, 122, 123.\n\n  Numbers, the luck of odd, 302-339.\n    early significance of, 312-314.\n    the number three, 315-318.\n    the number seven, 318-324.\n    odd numbers in witchcraft, 324-327.\n    odd numbers in folk-medicine, 327-330.\n    thirteen, 331-339.\n\n  _Nundin\u00e6_, or market days, 245.\n\n\n  Oakham castle in Rutlandshire, 4, 5.\n\n  Odd numbers, 312-339.\n\n  Ormuzd, chief deity of the Parsees, 57, 223.\n\n\n  Passover, Feast of the, 7, 8, 257.\n\n  Perforated stones as talismans, 75, 97.\n\n  Persians, share popular distrust of the number thirteen, 336.\n\n  Phelo, Chinese idol, 155.\n\n  Popiel II., king of Poland, pursued by rats, 282.\n\n  Position of horse-shoe as amulet, 94-103.\n\n  Prascovia, Saint, 274, 275.\n\n  Prometheus, myth concerning, 227, 228.\n\n  Put-sign, Egyptian, 66.\n\n  Pythagorean doctrine of numbers, 312.\n\n\n  Rats and mice as avengers, 279, 284.\n\n  Rats rhymed to death, 305.\n\n  Raven, the, a portentous bird, 285.\n\n  Recapitulation of theories of the origin of the horse-shoe\n    superstition, 137, 138.\n\n  Rickets, cure for, in Scotland, 51.\n\n  Rites connected with sneezing, 230-233.\n\n  Rowan-tree, 92, 102, 196.\n\n\n  Salt, the folk-lore of common, 154-205.\n    origin and history of, 154-157.\n    uncongenial to witches and devils, 158-161.\n    the Latin word _sal_, 161-163.\n    employed to confirm an oath, 164-166.\n    salt-spilling as an omen, 166-172.\n    helping to salt at table, 172, 173.\n    as a protection to infants, 173-177.\n    as a magical substance, 177-184.\n    miscellaneous remarks on, 184-196.\n    used as money, 186, 187.\n    regarded as an obnoxious article, 189-191.\n    The Value of Salt. A Roman folk-tale, 193-196.\n    the salt-cellar, 196-205.\n\n  Saxon superstitions, 260.\n\n  Septentriones, or seven stars of the constellation of the Great\n    Bear, 319.\n\n  Serpent as an amuletic symbol, 58-60, 64, 65.\n    as a tutelary divinity, 61.\n    serpent-worship, 59-61.\n\n  Serpentine shape of the horse-shoe, 58-65.\n\n  Seven, the number, 318-324.\n\n  Shastra, or holy books of the Hindus, 224.\n\n  Sneezing, the omens of, 206-238.\n    in ancient times, 206-211.\n    medi\u00e6val beliefs concerning, 211-214.\n    modern superstitions about, 215-220.\n    doctrine of demoniacal possession, 220-227.\n    salutation after sneezing, 227-236.\n    alleged origin of custom, 229, 230.\n    legends, 236-238.\n\n  Spite-stake, 79.\n\n\n  Talismanic coiffure, 14.\n\n  Talismans, complex, of the Tibetans, 100.\n\n  _Tantura_, head-dress, 15.\n\n  Teutonic beliefs about sneezing, 215.\n\n  Thieves fear to steal on a Friday, in Palermo, 271.\n\n  Thirteen, the number, 331-339.\n\n  Thirteen Club, 334.\n\n  Three, the number, 315-318.\n    a favorite of witches, 316.\n\n  Threshold, a sacred place, 96-98.\n\n  Triads, in the codes of ancient Welsh laws, 315.\n\n  Tyche, Grecian goddess of good luck, 140, 141.\n\n  Typhon, the personification of evil, 26.\n\n\n  Ukko, a Finnish deity, 154.\n\n  Unit, a symbol of harmony and order, 312.\n\n  Universality of horse-shoe amulet noteworthy, 88.\n\n\n  Valhalla, 331.\n\n  Valkyrs, or thirteen virgins, 331.\n\n  Vermin, curious methods of expelling, 291, 294.\n\n  Vulcan, Roman god of fire, 40-42.\n\n\n  Water-sprites, active on Fridays, 267.\n\n  Witches crave salt, 159.\n\n  Witches\u2019 sabbath, 265, 266.\n\n  Wodan or Odin, the chief Northern deity, 29, 44, 69, 76, 85, 111, 112,\n    126, 132, 136, 138, 258, 289.\n\n  Words used as charms, 300-306.\n\n\n  Xenophon, processes for strengthening the hoofs of horses recommended\n      by, 1.\n    regards sneezing as a happy omen, 208.\n\n\n  Yawning considered dangerous, 226.\n\n  _Yoni_ symbol, 117.\n\n\n  Zadkiel\u2019s Almanac, 20, 256.\n\n  Zend-Avesta, or sacred Persian writings, 232.\n\n                           The Riverside Press\n                   CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, U. S. A.\n                       ELECTROTYPED AND PRINTED BY\n                         H. O. HOUGHTON AND CO.","title":"The Magic of the Horse-shoe, with other folk-lore notes","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":79362}