PART III.

Other Species of Witchcraft. Charms. Amulets, tyc.
ET us entertain whatever views we may, in regard tQ spectral appearances and many other matters per-* taining to our subject, we ought not to lose sight of the fact that sometimes those said to have been be- witched, were found to suffer from the effects of dis- ease, and to pine away and die in accordance with the maledictions of those vyho it was alleged bewitched them. The effects here, were real, whatever may have been the, came. We may call the cause imagination — and perhaps that is a proper term — bui the effects were very far from being imaginary. The mind has an effect upon the body, such as we are not accustomed duly to recog- nise; ancf an impression made up*on the mental portion of our nature, may seriously affect the physical organization. Disease and death frequently follow from the operation of the mind. We should remem- ber that the mind is master of the body. How clearly is this shown in the awful crime of suicide. Here, the mind wills the destruction of the body, and severe as the agony is, that body cannot resist. Skill- ful and cunning mental appliances often exhibit results, astonishing to the unbelieving or unreflecting.
As a familiar example, I would refer to the story of the. farmer of \Varvyickshire, told by Darwin, and so touchingly versified by Wordsworth, under the title of Goody Blake and Harry Gill. And the story, by the way is well authenticated. During a winter season, this unfeeling young man discovered that sticks had been purloined from his hedges. So one cold night, he concealed himself near where the trespass had been committed, and remained watching till near mid- night, when an old woman made her appearance and began to collect a bundle of sticks. He remained undiscovered till she had proceeded so far as to enable him to convict her of theft, and then sprang upon her :
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'* And fiercely by the arm he took her,
And by the arm he held her fast, And fiercely by the arm he shook her,
And cried, ' I 've caught you then at last ! '
Then Goody, who had nothing- said, Her bundle from her lap let fall ; , And kneeling on the sticks, she pray'd,
To God that is the judge of all.
She pray'd, her wither'd hand uprearing,
While Harry held her by the arm — .* God ! who art never out of hearing,
O may he never more be warm ! '
The cold, cold moon above her head,
Thus on her knees did Goody pray ; Young Harry heard what she had said,
And icy cold, he turned away."
He was immediately seized with such chills as set his teeth to chatter* ing. The next day, he was so very cold that he was obliged to put on additional garments; but all his efforts could not restore him to warmth. He was finally obliged to take to his bed, which he kept for twenty years, shivering beneath an enormous quantity of blankets, when death released him from his suffering. Here, it is evident, the solemnity and fervor of the old woman's prayer, offered under such impressive circumstances, instantly awakened, in a perhaps naturally apprehensive mind, an overwhelming conviction that it would be answered. And it was literally answered through the operation of his own mind.
That the mind has great effect in removing or producing disease cannot be doubted. Miller, a German physician of some note, ob- serves ; "The influence of ideas upon the body, gives rise to a variety of phenomena which border on the marvellous. It may be stated as a general fact, that any state of the body, which is conceived to be ap- proaching, and which is expected with perfect confidence and certain- ty of its occurrence, will be very prone to ensue, as the mere result of that idea, if it do not lie without the bounds of possibility."
During the prevalence of the cholera in France, in 1832, a number of experiments were tried by the physicians to discover if possible the extent of this influence of the mind upon the body in relation to dis- eases. This was one of the experiments: A healthy criminal in a prison was removed from one cell into another ; and though no one having the cholera, had ever been in the prison, a physician remarked in the hearing of the criminal that he hoped the poor fellow would not $ie of the cholera, as they had just removed from the cell into which
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they were placing him, the corpse of a man who had died of that ter- rible disease. The next day, the man was found dead, and what was most remarkable, it was evident that he had died of the cholera. This was the first case that had appeared in the prison.
I very well remember that when quite a lad, with two or three school fellows I went to an elderly lady who had a high reputation for curing warts, by charms. She received us kindly, and simply asked each of us how many warts we had. We told her. She then assured us that id three weeks they would all be gone. And her assurance was veri- fied. The implicit faith we had in her power undoubtedly put in 'ac- tion that portion of the physical machinery which removed, by absorp- tion, the excrescencies.
Few, probably, will doubt these things. And the position taken, is strongly fortified by the following extract from one of Dr. Warren's medical lectures of 1832. " Sometime since," observed that eminent practitioner, " a female friend presented herself to me, with a tumor or swelling of the submaxillary gland of the neck, which had become what is called a wen. It was about the size of an egg, had lasted two years, and was so very hard, that I considered any attempt to dissipate it by medicine to be vain, and advised its removal by operation. To this the patient could not bring her mind ; therefore, to satisfy her wish, I directed some applications of considerable activity to be made to the part, and these she pursued for a number of weeks, without any change. After this she called on me, and with some hesitation begged to know whether an application recommended to her, would in my opinion be safe. This consisted in applying the hand of a dead man three times to the diseased part. One of her neighbors now lay dead, and she had an opportunity of trying the experiment, if I thought it not dangerous. At first I was disposed to divert her from it; but recollect- ing the power of the imagination, I gravely assured her she might make the trial without apprehension of serious consequences. Awhile after, she presented herself once more, and with a smiling countenance inform- ed me that she had used this remedy, and on examining for the tumor, I found it had disappeared."
There is no doubt that pains, particularly those of a nervous char- acter, are often removed by these to some people singular appliances. All requisite to charm away a pain in many cases is to fully convince the one on whom you would operate that you have power to relieve him. This faith is marvellous in its results. It is the miraculous power claimed by some bodies of christians. I was not long ago con-
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versing with an Elder who vehemently and sincerely maintained that he could establish the authenticity of his doctrines by miraculous ex- hibitions. I asked him what he could do. He said he could heal dis- eases. Well, said I, please to cure that man's head. 1 can, if he has faith. But can you not do it without his having faith in your power? Certainly not, he replied— and quoted some scripture which did not seem applicable. Now this showed that the power was not miracu- lous. A miracle, properly, is a 'contravention of some law of nature; and hence faith is not a prerequisite. It is, for instance, a miracle to change water into wine, for the water cannot exercise faith. If this distinction were kept in mind, great errors would be avoided by many very good christian people.
This power of the mind, or imagination, if people think proper so to call it, in curing diseases or aggravating them, is so great that all medical men know that where a patient firmly believes he must die, there is little hope of saving him. And on the other hand, the pro- gress of restoration to health is greatly accelerated by faith in the means employed.
The eminent Mr. Boyle says that at one time he was very subject to the nose bleed, and after using several remedies, he found the moss- of a dead man's skull the most effectual. And he speaks of amulets as often efficacious — the effluvia pervading the pores of the body — « supposing " an agreement between the pores of the skin, and the fig- ure of the corpuscles." *
Every body knows, however, that intelligent physicians have a thou- sand difficulties to contend with arising from prejudice and downright superstition. And they are often obliged to conceal their better knowledge and fall in with the whims of people. Formerly, the belief extensively prevailed that a remedy should partake of the color of the
* The following extract from a scarce work of Reginald Scot — the " Discoverie of Witchcraft " --will give sufficient information on the use of amulets: " An Agat (they saie) hath vertue against the biting of scorpions or serpents. It is written (but I will not stand to it) that it mak- eth a man eloquent, and procureth the favor of princes; yea that the fume thereof (loath turn awaie tempests ! Chelidonius is a stone taken out of a swallowe, which cureth melancholie ! Jlmctkysus maketh a droonlten man sober, and refresheth the wit ! The Corall pteserveth such as beare it, from fascination or bewitching, and in this respect they are hanged about the chil- dren's neckes! A Topase healeth the lunaticke person of his passion of lu'nacie ! Chalcedonius maketh the bearer luckie in law, quickeneth the power of the bodie, and is also of force against the illusion of the divell, and phantasticall cogitations! Comeolous mitigateth the heate of the mind, and qualifieth malice ! Iris maketh rainbows to appeare ! " And the astute author adds that according to " the aboundance of humane superstitions and follies " some ascribe to these stones other or greater powers than they possess !
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disease. A relic of that belief comes to us in the use of saffron for the meazles. The color of the remedy corresponds with the color of the disease. But saffron tea is no better for the meazles than cat- nip tea; yet a physician would be considered a half heretic* if he prescribed the latter.
In reflecting upon these subjects we should be careful to discrimi- nate between those occurrences which are to be ascribed, to the op- eration of the mind upon the body, and those which cannot be affected by mental operations. Gross superstitions are exhibited in the latter class. Even Hippocrates urged particular studies on his son, because " the rising and setting of the stars have a great effect upon distem- pers." The plague of London, many supposed, arose from causes similar to the above. In a pamphlet, by W. Kemp, A. M., dedicated to Charles II. is this passage: "One cause of breeding the pestilence is that corruption of the air, which is occasioned by the influence of the stars, by the aspects, conjunctions, and oppositions of the planets, by the eclipses of the sun and moon, and by the consequences of com- ets." It is very important for a just apprehension of what I would urge, to make the distinction in classes of occurrences here referred to.
I trust that what has been said will not be misunderstood. It would be doing great injustice to charge me with intimating that such oc- currences as some that have been instanced are common. I only un- dertake to say that such effects follow in the degree of faith which can be brought into action ; if they be not without the bounds of pos- sibility. Some people have no more faith than stones — and so you may as well try to operate on stones. Others are so susceptible that they will go into the mesmeric sleep at the command of another. One of the most interesting and profitable chapters in the history of these times, is that relating to quack medicines. It would be heresy to at- tempt to convince the world that they do not perform wonders. But, I apprehend the curative effects in most instances follow rather from the faith of the patient than from any inherent properties of the nos- trums. But then, if the effects really follow, the only difference seems to be that two cents would purchase some known and simple medicine to effect what twenty-five cents' worth of the patent concoctions would.