The Blood of the Martyrs.
During the horrible persecutions of the primitive Christians at Rome, the blood of the martyrs was esteemed a talisman of especial power. A sponge saturated therewith was sometimes worn as a sacred relic. Prudentius describes the spectators of the martyrdom of St. Vincent as dipping their clothes in his blood, that they might keep it as a sort of palladium for successive generations—
"Crowds haste the linen vest to stain,
With gore distill'd from martyr's vein,
And thus a holy safeguard place
At home, to shield a future race."
The First Sale for the Day.
In London, in the street market-places, amongst the stall-keepers, it is considered unfortunate to refuse a "first bid" for an article. It brings bad luck on the day's selling, and it is better to get the first sale over, even at a loss. In all such places, much to the stall-keeper's exasperation, there are to be found mean folks who are known as hansel (first-sale) hunters, and who are early at market, on the alert to take advantage of the poor vendor's superstition. The latter is well aware of the paltry device to obtain goods at less than cost price; but though he may swear somewhat, he will rarely turn away the "first bid," and "chance" it for the day. When he has taken hansel money, he would as soon think of throwing it into the road as putting it into his pocket without first "spitting upon it."
Arsenic as an Amulet.
During the severe visitation of the plague in London, amulets composed of arsenic were very commonly worn in the region of the heart, upon the principle that one poison would drive out or prevent the entry of another. Large quantities of arsenic were imported into London for the purpose. Dr. Henry, in his "Preservatives against the Pestilence" (1625), wrote against them as "dangerous and hurtful, if not pernicious to those who wear them." The wearing of arsenic in the way of an amulet, common in olden times, is said to have arisen chiefly from ignorance of Arabic, the word in the Arabian authors which is rendered arsenic properly signifying cinnamon.
Red Tape a Protection against the Plague.
Taylor, in his "Account of the Rebellion in Wexford," relates a curious story of the amuletive properties of red tape as a protection against the plague: "Before the rebellion broke out in Wexford, all the red tape in the country was bought up, and more ordered from Dublin. It was generally bought in half-yards, and all the Roman Catholic children, boys and girls, wore it round their necks. This was so general and so remarkable as to occasion some inquiry, and the reason given was this: A priest had dreamed there would be a great plague among all the children of their church under fifteen years of age; that their brains would boil out at the back of their heads. He dreamed also that there was a charm to prevent it, which was to get some red tape, have it blessed and sprinkled with holy water, and tie it round the children's necks till the month of May, when the season of danger would be past. The Protestants suspected that it was intended as a mark to distinguish their own children, like the blood of the Paschal Lamb, when the Egyptian first-born were to be cut off."