Another version of this charm was given me by Mrs. Reynolds, Pembroke House, Oswestry—
As Jesus walked through the gates of Jerusalem,
He saw Peter weeping. Jesus said unto him, why weepest thou?
I have got the toothache. Jesus touched his tooth,
And Jesus said, have faith and believe,
Thy tooth shall ache no more.
I return you humble and hearty thanks
For the blessing which you have bestowed on me.
A young man told me that his brother once suffered greatly from toothache, and a woman gave him a charm like the above, written on paper. He rubbed the charm along the tooth, and he kept it in his pocket until it crumbled away, and as long as he preserved it he never was troubled with the toothache.
Rosemary Charm for Toothache.
“Llosg ei bren (Rhosmari) hyd oni bo yn lo du, ac yna dyro ef mewn cadach lliain cry, ac ira dy ddanedd ag ef; ac fo ladd y pryfed, ac a’u ceidw rhag pob clefyd.”—Y Brython, p. 339.
“Burn a Rosemary bough until it becomes black, and then place it in a strong linen cloth, and anoint thy teeth with it, and it will kill the worm, and preserve thee from every kind of fever.”
It was thought at one time that toothache was caused by a worm in the tooth, as intimated above.
Whooping Cough Charm.
Children suffering from whooping cough were taken to a seventh son, or lacking a seventh son of sons only, to a fifth son of sons only, who made a cake, and gave it to the sufferers to be eaten by them, and they would recover. The visit was to be thrice repeated. Bread and butter were sometimes substituted for the cake.
The writer has been told of instances of the success of this charm.