an all-powerful charm to remove certain physical ailments. Mr. Pepys has preserved, in his curious and interesting Diary, a few specimens of these "charms." It must not, of course, be supposed that the garrulous old diarist was himself a believer in their efficacy,-although even in the time of the second Charles medical practice was characterized by some very odd usages. For instance, Mr. Pepys records, in speaking of the queen's severe illness, that "she had to be shaved and pigeons put to her feet." The first "charme" is in Latin, and is "for the stenching of blood": Which may 66 Sanguis mane in te, Sicut Christus fuit in se; Sanguis mane in tuâ venâ, Sanguis mane fixus, Sicut Christus quando fuit crucifixus.” be thus translated : "Blood, remain in thee, As Christ was in Himself; As Christ in His own sufferings; As Christ when He was crucified." The next is "for a thorn": "Jesus that was of a Virgin borne, Was pricked both with nail and thorne ; It neither wealed, nor belled, rankled nor boned; In the name of Jesus, no more shall this." And here is another and somewhat improved version for the same complaint :- "Christ was of a Virgin borne, And He was prickèd with a thorne ; The following is a charm for a "burn," or "burning": "There came three Angels out of the East; : The one brought fire, the other brought frost :- In the name of Father, and Son, and Holy Ghost." This last is, to say the least, obscure. Is it possible that the "three angels out of the East" could have any reference to the "wise men from the East" who brought costly presents to the infant Saviour at Bethlehem? In mediæval times there were many legends concerning these mysterious personages, and although different accounts give different names, they all agree in the number of the "wise kings" as they are called, which was three. The allusion to fire having been brought from the East may perhaps be a relic of some olden tradition connecting these Magi (for such is the term in the Greek original, which in our version is translated "wise men from the East") with the ancient fire-worshippers. But that frost should be brought from the East is utterly incomprehensible; and indeed but little sense is to be expected in these silly rhymes. It is curious to note that the fact of three angels having been mentioned is quite ignored in the second line -"the one brought fire, the other brought frost." But even in such apparently meaningless rhymes a clue has often been found leading to interesting discoveries in folk-lore. Whether the charms employed by our superstitious ancestors ever produced any effect or not-and it is well known that imagination plays a very important part in physical as well as mental ailments-they certainly were preferable to many of the nostrums of self-constituted doctors, ignorant of even the rudiments of the art of healing, inasmuch as nature was thus allowed full sway, and probably the "charm" was oft credited with having effected a cure which was due entirely to "the kind nurse of men."-W. A. Clouston. 66 THE CHILDHOOD OF ABRAHAM: A RABBINICAL APOLOGUE. 1. IN those days Nimrod the king persecuted Tharah, and sought after his life. 2. And Tharah fled into the caves of the rocks; and Abram his son was born and reared within the darkness of the cave. 3. Yet even in the dark cave the law of God was in the heart of the boy; and continually within himself he said, Who is my Creator? 4. At length it came to pass that Abram walked abroad from the cave, and was in freedom to behold the heavens and the earth. Then did he earnestly survey all things, still meditating within himself, and saying, Who is He that made the heavens and the earth, and is the God of all things that be? 5. Then Abram beheld the sun ascending in his glory, and he fell upon his knees, and said, Kingly, kingly art thou, O sun: Thou art the God of heaven. 6. And in this faith remained he all that day. 7. But when the evening was come, and the sun was gone down into the sea, then saw Abram the moon shining clearly in the east. 8. Then Abram said, The light that hath descended and been cast down into the sea, how can he be the God of heaven? Behold, this lesser light is the king of heaven, and these stars that shine round about him are his nobles that do him homage, and his captains and his host. 9. But yet a little while, and the moon and the stars were clean gone out of the firmament, and Abram was left alone in the wilder ness. 10. Then ran he unto Tharah his father, and said unto him, I pray thee, O father, reveal unto me who verily is the God of the heavens and of the earth. 11. And Tharah took him by the hand, and led him into the inner chamber, where his idols stood; and Tharah said unto Abram, These be the gods of the heavens and the earth: my son, bow down before them and worship them. And as his father commanded him even so did he. 12. Now after three days it came to pass that the mother of Abram gave unto him a certain sweet cake; and Abram said unto himself, I will not eat of this cake, but make thereof an acceptable offering unto the gods of heaven and earth, whom my father showed unto me in his inner chamber. 13. And the boy went into the inner chamber and laid the cake upon the table before the carved images, saying, O ye gods of the heavens and the earth, let mine offering be well pleasing and find favour in your sight; stretch forth your hands and take this cake. 14. But the images moved not, neither did they stretch forth their hands to take his offering. 15. And when Abram went in on the morrow, behold the cake was yet lying on the table, and none of the carved images had touched it nor tasted thereof. 16. Then Abram mused within himself, and said, Of a surety the gods of my father be not the true gods. 17. And Abram took a hammer, and he broke all the images, save one which stood in the midst of them; and that image he left standing. 18. And he ran unto Tharah, and cried unto him with a loud voice, saying, My father, behold, the god that standeth in the middle of the table hath slain, in his anger, all the other gods, and broken them into pieces in the fury of his indignation, and utterly destroyed them. 19. Then Tharah waxed angry with Abram, saying, Verily it is thou that hast done all this evil. 20. As for the god thou speakest of, is he not the work of mine own hands? Did I not carve him out of the timber of the tree which I cut down in the wilderness? How then could he lift up his hand, being a piece of carved wood, or do violence upon his fellows? 21. My son, thou hast deceived me. Thy hand hath broken my gods. 22. Then said Abram unto Tharah, May it please thee, my father, to consider what manner of thing this is that thou sayest. Behold, I am but a little child, and yet thou sayest unto me, that the thing which the god thou worshippest cannot do, that I, even I thy son, can do easily with these hands. 23. And Tharah wondered, but he wist not what to answer. 24. And not many days thereafter God showed himself unto Abram, and called him out of the land of the Chaldeans. GERTRUDE'S BIRD: A NORSE TALE. IN Norway the black red-crested woodpecker is called Gertrude's bird; and the following tale, in which the names alone are Christian and all the rest purely heathen, makes the bird a transformed baker. "In those days when our Lord and St. Peter wandered upon earth, they came once to an old wife's house who sat baking. Her name was Gertrude, and she had a red mutch on her head. They had walked a long way and were both hungry, and our Lord begged hard for a bannock to stay their hunger. Yes; they should have it. So she took a little tiny piece of dough and rolled it out; but as she rolled it, it grew till it covered the whole griddle. Nay, that was too big: they couldn't have that. So she took a tinier bit still; but when that was rolled out, it covered the whole griddle just the same, and that bannock was too big, she said: they couldn't have that either. The third time she took a still tinier bit-so tiny you could scarce see it; but it was the same story over again-the bannock was too big. 'Well,' said Gertrude, 'I can't give you anything; you must just go without, for all these bannocks are too big.' Then our Lord waxed wroth and said, 'Since you love me so little as to grudge me a morsel of food, you shall have this punishment, you shall become a bird, and seek your food between bark and bole, and never get a drop to drink save when it rains.' He had scarce said the last word before she was turned into a great black woodpecker, or Gertrude's bird, and flew from her kneading-trough right up the chimney; and till this very day you may see her flying about, with her red mutch on her head, and her body all black, because of the soot in the chimney; and so she hacks and taps away at the trees for her food, and whistles when rain is coming, for she is ever athirst, and then she looks for a drop to cool her tongue.”—Dr. Dasent's Popular Tales from the Norse. FROM THE KORAN OF MOHAMMED. [THE origin of Parnell's celebrated poem of the "Hermit" has been traced as far back as the writings of Sir Percy Herbert, published in the year 1652, but it is probably to be found in the Talmud or other Rabbinical works. Mohammed has embodied the same interesting fable in the eighteenth chapter of the Koran, entitled "The Cave," which relates, as follows, the circumstances to have occurred between Moses and Elias; and it is well known that the best parts of the Koran are corruptions of Biblical narratives and Talmudic traditions.] "MOSES said unto him (Khedr), Shall I follow thee, that thou mayest teach me part of that thou hast been taught, for a direction unto me? He answered, Verily, thou canst not bear with me; for how canst thou patiently suffer those things the knowledge of which thou dost not comprehend? Moses replied, Thou shalt find me patient if God please; neither will I be disobedient to thee in anything. He said, If thou follow me, therefore, ask not concerning anything, until I shall declare the meaning thereof unto thee. So they both went on by the seaside, until they went up into a ship; and he made a hole therein : Moses said unto him, Hast thou made a hole therein, that thou mightest drown those who are on board? Now hast thou done a strange thing. He answered, Did I not tell thee that thou couldst not bear with me? Moses said, Rebuke me not, because I did forget, and impose not on me a difficulty in what I am commanded. Wherefore they left the ship, and proceeded until they met a youth, and he slew him. Moses said, Hast thou killed an innocent person, without his having killed another? Now hast thou committed an unjust action. He answered, Did I not tell thee that thou couldst not bear with me? Moses said, If I ask thee concerning anything hereafter, suffer me not to accompany thee; now hast thou received an excuse from me. They went forward, therefore, until they came to the inhabitants of a certain city, and they asked food of the inhabitants thereof; but they refused to receive them; and they found therein a wall which was ready to fall, and he set it upright. Whereupon Moses said unto him, If thou wouldst, thou mightest doubtless have received a reward for it. He answered, This shall be a separation between me and thee; but I will first declare unto thee the signification of that which thou couldst not bear with patience. The vessel belonged to certain poor men who did their business in the sea; and I was minded to render it unserviceable, because there was a thing behind them who took every sound ship by force. As to the youth, his parents were true believers; and we feared lest he, being an unbeliever, should oblige them to suffer by his perverseness and ingratitude; wherefore we desired them that their Lord might give them a more righteous child in exchange for him, and one more affectionate towards them. And the wall belonged to two orphans in the city, and under it was a treasure hidden which belonged to them; and their father was a righteous man; and the Lord was pleased that they should attain their full age, and take forth their treasure, through the mercy of thy Lord. And I did not what thou hast seen of mine own will, but by God's direction. This is the interpretation of that which thou couldst not bear with patience."— Sale's Translation of the Koran. [This subject was formed into a Persian poem, by the celebrated Moulavy-Jullal-addeen-Roumy, who died in the year 1262, which has full as many admirers as the English "Hermit." Extracts of this author's works are to be found in the writings of Sir William Jones, from which a judgment may be formed of his style. Somewhat similar incidents are related by Voltaire, in his "Zadig; or, the Book of Fate."] SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY. THE mythology of the northern nations, that is, of the Norwegians, Danes, Swedes, and Icelanders, is uncommonly curious and entertaining. The Edda and Voluspa contain a complete collection of fables which have not the smallest affinity with those of the Greeks and mans. They are wholly of an Oriental complexion, and seem |