elic was the veil sent to the Sultan to cover
the Kaaba of Mecca. It was cut in pieces, and distributed over the
whole empire. Parts of it were worn by the faithful, as one of the
means of grace, and an assurance of divine protection; and these
charms were sometimes buried in the grave along with the individuals
who had prized them when in life.

The belief of the baneful effect of the evil eye, and of envious
commendations, was prevalent in the East. Virgil's shepherd attributed
to the malicious glance of an enemy the diseased appearance of his
flock. Pliny relates that the Thessalian sorcerers destroyed whole
harvests by speaking well of the crops. In Egypt, everything which
could possibly attract attention or excite jealousy was protected by
some counteracting influence. The eye of the malicious observer was
rendered harmless by a sacred sentence, written in conspicuous
characters, and placed in a particular way that the wicked eye might
see it. The horse, it was believed, carried his rider in safety if a
charm of blue beads dangled from the animal's neck. But the anxious
mother did not consider her darling child safe, though it had a charm
about its person, unless she frequently spat in its face.

When a mother had reason to suppose an evil eye had been cast on her
little helpless babe, her duty was to borrow a sixpence from a
neighbour, put it into a basin of water, and then wash the child with
the water so charmed. By these means the spell was removed. To pass a
child over a table was unlucky. Great apprehensions were formerly
entertained of the malignant influence and interference of fairies
with mothers in child-bed and children unbaptized. A Bible under the
pillow protected the mother, or a bottle of holy water at the bed-foot
did equally well; and the sacrament of baptism rendered the infant
secure from fairies and witches. If one meet or see anything unlucky,
all he has to do to avert evil is to touch cold iron. To prevent evil
in time of a thunder-storm, let a candle be kept burning until the
warring elements have ceased raging. And surely it has not been left
for us to tell the good Catholics, that, to extinguish a fire or stop
an inundation, their forefathers threw a consecrated wafer into the
midst of the flames or overflowing river. Every little Catholic maid,
who can count her beads, knows that if she cannot secure the
affections of the young man on whom she has set her affections, she
should unsparin