from the bite. I laid myself down to sleep; then the mighty angel said: 'Saul,
Paul, stand up and receive this writing'; and I found in it the following
words:
"'I exorcise you, sixty and a half kinds of beasts that creep on the earth, in
the name of God, the Creator of Heaven and Earth, and in the name of the
immovable throne.
"'Serpent of Evil, I exorcise thee in the name of the burning river which
rises under the footstool of the Saviour, and in the name of His incorporeal
angels!
"'Thou snake of the tribe of basilisks, thou foul-headed snake, twelve-
headed snake, variegated snake, dragon-like snake, that art on the right side
of hell, whomsoever thou bitest thou shalt have no power to harm, and thou
must go away with all the twenty-four kinds. If a man has this prayer and
this curse of the true, holy apostle, and a snake bites him, then it will die on
the spot, and the man that is bitten shall remain unharmed, to the honour of
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, now and for all time. Amen.'"
SPELL FOR THE TOOTHACHE
"Saint Peter sat on a stone and wept. Christ came to him and said, 'Peter,
why weepest thou?' Peter answered, 'Lord, my teeth pain me.' The Lord
thereupon ordered the worm in Peter's tooth to come out of it and never
more go in again. Scarcely had the worm come out when the pain ceased.
Then spoke Peter, 'I pray you, O Lord, that when these words be written out
and a man carries them he shall have no toothache.' And the Lord
answered, '"Tis well, Peter; so may it be!'"
CHARM AGAINST NOSE-BLEEDING
"Zachariah was slain in the Lord's temple, and his blood turned into
stone. Then stop, O blood, for the Lord's servant, ------. I exorcise thee,
blood, that thou stoppest in the name of the Saviour, and by fear of the
priests when they perform the liturgy at the altar."
FIRE MAGIC
M. Kounavine, as set forth by Dr. A. Elysseeff (Gypsy-Lore Journal, July,
1890), gives a Russian gypsy incantation by which the fire is invoked to cure
illness. It is as follows:--