FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   124   125   126   127   128   129   130   131   132   133   134   135   136   137   138   139   140   141   142   143   144   145   146   147   148  
149   150   151   152   153   154   155   156   157   158   159   160   161   162   163   164   165   166   167   168   169   170   171   172   173   >>   >|  
on his back on the bank of a river or brook, having a straight staff lying by his side between him and the water, and must have the following words repeated over him: "Boneshave right, Boneshave straight. As the water runs by the stave Good for Boneshave."[156] _Scrofula._--Scrofula, or "king's-evil," was best cured by the touch of the sovereign, but, if this could not be accomplished, a naked virgin could cure it, especially if she spit three times upon it. Stroking the affected parts nine times with the hand of a dead man, particularly of one who had suffered a violent death as a penalty of his crime, especially if it be murder, was long practised, and was said to be efficacious in curing scrofula. _Sweating Sickness._--Aubrey[157] gives a selection of the favorite prescriptions in use against the sweating sickness. Among them was the following: "Another very true medicine.--For to say every day at seven parts of your body, seven paternosters, and seven Ave Marias, with one Credo at the last. Ye shall begyn at the ryght syde, under the right ere, saying the '_paternoster qui es in coelis, sanctificetur nomen tuum_,' with a cross made there with your thumb, and so say the paternoster full complete, and one Ave Maria, and then under the left ere, and then under the left armhole, and then under the left hole, and then the last at the heart, with one paternoster, Ave Maria with one Credo; and these thus said daily, with the grace of God is there no manner drede hym." _Thorns._--Three metrical charms have been used for troubles of this kind. _Pepys' Diary_ records "A charme for a thorne": "Jesus, that was of a Virgin Born, Was pricked both with nail and thorn; It neither wealed, nor belled, rankled nor boned; In the name of Jesus no more shall this." Another form of the same is this: "Christ was of a Virgin born, And he was pricked with a thorn; It did neither bell, nor swell; And I trust in Jesus this never will." Brand gives another thus: "Unto the Virgin Mary our Saviour was born, And on his head he wore the crown of thorn; If you believe this true and mind it well, This hurt will never fester, nor yet swell."[158] _Toothache._--King in his interesting article recites this cure: "Seeth as many little green frogges sitting upon trees as thou canst get, in water: take the fat flowynge from them, and when nede is, anoynt the teth therwyth. The graye worms breathing un
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   124   125   126   127   128   129   130   131   132   133   134   135   136   137   138   139   140   141   142   143   144   145   146   147   148  
149   150   151   152   153   154   155   156   157   158   159   160   161   162   163   164   165   166   167   168   169   170   171   172   173   >>   >|  



Top keywords:
Boneshave
 

Virgin

 

paternoster

 

pricked

 

Another

 
straight
 
Scrofula
 

manner

 
anoynt
 

wealed


flowynge

 

therwyth

 
troubles
 

metrical

 
thorne
 

breathing

 
charme
 
records
 

Thorns

 

charms


rankled

 

Saviour

 

article

 

interesting

 

fester

 

recites

 

sitting

 

frogges

 

Toothache

 

Christ


belled

 
affected
 

Stroking

 

virgin

 

murder

 
practised
 

penalty

 
suffered
 

violent

 
accomplished

repeated
 

sovereign

 
efficacious
 
coelis
 

sanctificetur

 

armhole

 
complete
 

Marias

 
selection
 

favorite