mysterious words. Woe to him who undertakes the task without such preparation, because either the devils will carry him off, or the trees of the forest will fall on him and kill him. I have been fortunate enough to find out one of these secrets. A peppercorn, some spice, and a little salt, have to be put into a small piece of bread-crumb, all kneaded together and buried in the hole from which the root has been extracted, in order to satisfy the devil; and at the same time the Lord's Prayer and the Creed must be mumbled over once. It is not allowed to speak a single word to anybody on the way there or back or during the gathering itself. This, of course, is a precaution against eventual molestation or inconvenient questioning by troublesome inquirers.
In many cases the preparation of the drug is also carried out amidst similar mysterious and inexplicable magic words and the application tied to strict outer formalities. For instance, if the medicine is a liquid the doctor makes with his hand the sign of the cross over the vessel containing the healing fluid; and, dipping his fingers into it, sprinkles some of it on the ground, in order to let the devil, too, have his share. The water in which a patient has been bathed is to be poured into a running stream, before sunrise, in the direction of the flow of the water, and nobody must be spoken to on the road; nor is it allowed to look back.
To the natural medicaments belong also the local medicinal waters that are used by the people and some fresh-water springs, the latter being used for diseases of the eye. The affected eye is to be bathed with these waters, always before sunrise. The water drawn from a well on the first day of March before sunrise is said to possess universal healing power; many people, therefore, keep a supply of it, as much as will last them a whole year, in a closed vessel in the house.[1] Our popular tales, too, mention the miraculous spring which makes hands, that have been cut ofi*, grow again. And if cripples roll in the dewy grass of the meadow on a Friday night which coincides with the new moon, or if the blind wash their eyes with the dew, the maimed limbs of the former and the eye-sight of the latter will be
- ↑ The water obtained by melting snow collected in the month of March is said to have a beautifying effect on the skin, and is largely used for freckles. — (Budapest.)
