Original - North Central Michigan College Library

anUUpon its disappearance he began to distorthimself in the most frightful manner, usingevery gesture which could convey the ideaof pain; at length he succeeded, or pretendedto succeed, in throwing up one of the bones.This was handed about to the spectators, andstrictly examined; but nothing remarkablecould be discovered. Upon this he went backto his song and rattle: and after some timethrew up the second of the two bones. In thegroove of this the physician, upon examination,found and displayed to all present a smallwhite substance, resembling a piece of thequill of a feather. It was passed round thecompany from one to the other; and declaredby the physician to be the thing causing thedisorder of his patient.The multitude believe that these physicians,whom the French call jongleurs, or jugglers,can inflict as well as remove disorders. Theybelieve that by drawing the figure of any personin sand or ashes, or on clay, or by consideringany object as the figure of a person and thenpricking it with a sharp stick or other substance,or doing in any other manner thatwhich done to a living body would cause painor injury, the individual represented, or supposedto be represented, will suffer accordingly.On the other hand the mischief being done,another physician of equal pretension can bysuction remove it.Unfortunately, however,the operations which I have described were119