Page:The Folk-Lore Journal Volume 7 1889.djvu/416

328 Chapter 13 is devoted to a local belief of some importance, viz. in the Cirauli, people, who from being born on the Feast of Saint Paul are believed to inherit his power over reptiles, manifested at Melita. From this basis has grown up a mass of credulity in the alleged powers of the Cirauli in healing all sorts of disorders, prognosticating, &c. It may not be out of place to mention the coincidence that the writer of this notice, born on "the Conversion of St. Paul," has through life been conscious of being subject to a lesser feeling of repulsion for reptiles than is very commonly exhibited, and this from of old, long before hearing of the Cirauli. Dr. Pitrè goes with great care into the history, locality, and various manifestations of this fancy, and traces its connection with its congeners in earlier mythologies.

Very interesting will be found the last short chapter (14th) of this section on the Lupo mannaro.

The second section is headed "Lucky and unlucky persons and things." Chapter 1 relates to the iettatura and the "evil eye." The various modes of evil which result from coming under a glance of a iettatore are given in great detail. The iettatore, so fatal to others, seldom bodes evil to himself. An instance came under Dr. Pitrè's notice, however, of a iettatore as lately as the year 1883, whose death was popularly ascribed to his having had the ill-luck to look at himself in a large glass in a shop window as he was walking along the Corso Garibaldi in Messina. Counter-spells of course abound, and some unquotable ones are given at pp. 239, 244—246, and 253. Among curiosities of lucky and unlucky times and seasons, August like May marriages (pp. 253 and 257) are sure to end badly. Children born on Monday grow up robust. To pay money on a Monday is very unlucky; on the contrary, money received on a Monday is sure to turn out lucky. One can conceive the clashing of the two cross interests thus created, leading to some keen contests between debtor and creditor! Tuesday, as in other parts of Italy, is equally unlucky, for starting on a journey or on married life. An old woman told Dr. Pitrè that this is because Judas was born on a Tuesday. The variety of things that must not be done on a Friday, and the evil consequences of neglecting the warning, demand for it a whole chapter. While so many events are unlucky on Friday, to be born on Friday is the