n waved their Hand with the Rag thrice round his head
crying _Deas soil_, after which they buried the Rag in some unknown
place." Dr. Baas[136] declares that natural pills of rabbit's dung
were in use on the Rhine as a cure for consumption.

"There is a disease," says the minister of Logierait, writing in 1795,
"called Glacach by the Highlanders, which, as it affects the chest and
lungs, is evidently of a consumptive nature. It is called Macdonald's
disease, 'because there are particular tribes of Macdonalds, who were
believed to cure it with the Charms of their touch, and the use of a
certain set of words. There must be no fee given of any kind. Their
faith in the touch of a Macdonald is very great.'"[137]

_Cramp._--Among the many charms for cramp, the following is taken from
_Pepys' Diary_:[138]

"Cramp be thou faintless,
As our Lady was sinless
When she bare Jesus."

_Demoniacal Possession._--To know when a person is possessed, try the
following, says King: "Take the harte and liver of a fysshe called a
Pyck, and put them into a pot wyth glowynge hot coles, and hold the
same to the patient so that the smoke may entre into hym. If he is
possessed he cannot abyde that smoke, but rageth and is angry." "It is
good also to make a fyre in hys chamber of Juniper wood, and caste
into the fire Franckincense and S. John's wort, for the evill spirits
cannot abyde thys sent, and Waxe angry, whereby may be perceived
whether a man be possessed or not."[139] I am afraid that possession
would be sadly common if either of these tests were applied.

_Dislocation._--Among the oldest charms we have is one given by Cato
the Censor for the reduction of a dislocated limb, and passed on to us
by Pettigrew.

"A dislocation may be cured by this charm. Take a reed four or five
feet long; cut it in the middle, and let two men hold the points
towards each other for insertion. While this is doing repeat these
words: _In Alio S. F. Motas vaeta, Daries Dardaries Astataries
Dissunapitur_. Now jerk a piece of iron upon the reeds at their
juncture, and cut right and left. Bind them to the dislocation or
fracture, and it will effect a cure."[140]

_Dropsy._--Toads were formed into a powder called Pulvis AEthiopicus,
the mode of preparation being given in Bates's Pharmacopoeia. This
powder was used externally, and also given internally in cases of
dropsy and other diseases.

_Epilepsy._--The liver of a dead athlete was a sovereign remed