Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 28, 1917.djvu/132

100 burnt, but its efficacy lies in the fact that it renews a dead or waning affection rather than influences an existing one.

Medicinal charms form a large part of the collection. There are necklaces made of the stems of the night-shade which, if put around the neck of an infant, will help it to cut its teeth. A necklace of acorns is a specific against other infant ills. A knuckle-bone, carried in the pocket, will ward off rheumatism, the theory being that as the dead bone does not suffer from the complaint the disease will go into it. Another cure for rheumatism is a potato. A specimen shown was carried by a rheumatic subject for many years. A third charm against the same complaint is a small bottle containing mercury, hermetically sealed and covered with leather. Mr. Lovett states that it is sold in London by one of the largest chemists in the world.

Those who suffer from nightmare may welcome this prescription. A pair of horseshoes covered in blue and red cloth, or a string of stones, naturally perforated, should be hung up at the head of the bed. A necklet of blue beads will protect a child against bronchitis, while red beads or coral will avert sore throats. A small bag containing a tooth should be placed round the neck of an infant as an antidote against teething convulsions. Since the beginning of the war another charm against disease has been introduced by Belgian refugees—the wearing of cat's skin for rheumatism and chest troubles.

One of the most curious of the exhibits is a sheep's heart, pierced with pins and nails to break the spell of a black witch. It was prepared by an old woman who practised witchcraft in London as late as 1908. She learned the secret of the charm from her grandmother in South Devon, where it was popular with farmers. The black witches were supposed to bring about the death of sheep and cows by casting a spell over them, or by surreptitiously introducing the poisonous leaves of the yew tree into their food. By taking the heart of a sheep which had fallen victim to these machinations, piercing it with pins and nails, and hanging it up in the chimney, the spell was supposed to be broken.—The Times, 5th March, 1917.