Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 11, 1900.djvu/141

 Charm against tJie CJiild-stealing Witch. 131

into the dust, the oxen shall take it on their horns, when the oxen have taken it on their horns, they shall carry it to the sea. There it shall vanish and there it shall disappear. George shall remain clear as the shining silver and as the bright sun for ever and ever. Amen."

This charm is one of the longest and most complete in the whole range of Roumanian charms. It contains all the elements which do not occur in so complete a form in other charms ; for either one incident or the other is omitted. Here the whole scenery is given. It is like a small epic poem, reciting the adventures of the man whom God afflicted with a cataract on the eyes, and the way the cure is going to be effected. The chief personage is the Holy Virgin ; at her bidding some mysterious personages, here described asof a friendly character, are ordered to proceed to the patient and to drive away the illness from him. Before entering on a further examination of this charm and the conclusions to be drawn from it, I will mention two more. The first is against the "Evil Hour"; that means, according to the Roumanian belief, an evil occurrence which happens to a man unawares. The "Evil Hour'^ is an evil spirit which has taken possession of the man, causing contortions, spasms, and often unconsciousness. The woman who pro- nounces the charm does it on the fast days of the week, viz. on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, when the moon grows smaller. She then takes Solanum dulcamara (wood night- shade) and boils it in virgin water, and she puts into it a few drops of honey. After she has uttered the charm she gives the patient this water to drink three times a day, after which he is expected to recover. The charm is as follows :

" N. got up early, N. got ready, she left her house, left

her table, strong and beautiful, well and cheerful. When

uishe was in the middle of the road, in the middle of the path-

theway, there came to meet her, stopped the road for her, the

Iaps,Archangel Michael on a black charger, with nine bears, with

Quickly nine dogs, all these born^ grown up, and formed on the day

le wall of St. George; he held a weapon of thunder and a sword of

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