sed as a
medical amulet, and was well adapted to fire the imagination of ignorant
patients.

The following curious extract is taken from a rare book published by W.
Clowes, serjeant-surgeon to Queen Elizabeth, entitled, "A Proved
Practice for all Young Chirurgians," 1588:

It is not long since that a subtile deluder, verie craftely
having upon set purpose his brokers or espials abroade, using
sundry secret drifts to allure many, as did the syrens by
their sweet sonets and melody seduce mariners to make them
their pray, so did his brokers or espials deceive many, in
proclayming and sounding out his fame abroade from house to
house, as those use which crye, "Mistresse, have you any worke
for the tincker?" At the lengthe they heard of one that was
tormented with a quartaine; then in all post haste this bad
man was brought unto the sicke patient by their craftie means,
and so forth, without any tariance, he did compound for
fifteene pounde to rid him within three fits of his agew, and
to make him as whole as a fish of all diseases: so a little
before the fit was at hand, he called unto the wife of the
patient to bring him an apple of the biggest size, and then
with a pinne writte in the rinde of the apple _Abracadabra_,
and such like, and perswaded him to take it presently in the
beginning of his fit, for there was (sayeth he) a secret in
those words. To be short, the patient, being hungry of his
health, followed his counsell, and devoured all and every
peece of the apple. So soon as it was receyved, nature left
the disease to digest the apple, which was to hard to do; for
at length he fell to vomiting, then the core kept such a
sturre in his throate, that wheretofore his fever was ill, now
much worse, _a malo ad pejus_, out of the frying-pan into the
fire: presently there were physitions sent for unto the sick
patient, or else his fifteene pound had been gone, with a more
pretious jewell: but this lewde fellow is better knowne at
Newgate than I will heere declare.[128:1]

Certain mystic sentences of barbaric origin, mostly unintelligible, and
known as "Ephesian Letters," engraved upon the famous statue of Diana at
Ephesus, were popular among the Greeks as charms wherewith to drive
away diseases, to render the wearer invincible in battle, or to purify
demon-infested places. Th