Miscellaneous

Categories: WARTS

844. It is believed that piercing the ear will cure weak eyes or

strengthen the eyes. It is often done to children for this purpose.

Northern Ohio.



845. To cure hiccoughs repeat in one breath the words,--



There was an old woman who lived all alone,

And she was made of skin and bone.

One day to church she went to pray,

And on the ground a man the e lay,

And from his head unto his feet

The worms crawled in, the worms crawled out.

Boston, Mass.



846. A variant,--



There was an old woman who lived all alone,

And she was made of skin and bone.

One day to church she went to pray,

And on the ground there lay a man.

And from his head unto his feet

The worms crawled in, the worms crawled out.

The woman to the parson said:

Shall I be so when I am dead?

The parson he said yes.

Portland, Me., Brookline and Deerfield, Mass.



847. For hiccoughs the nurse used to say in a droning, deep, ghostly

tone,--



There was an old man an' an old woman,

And they lived in a bottle and eat BONES.

Brookline, Mass.



848. Other somewhat general remedies for hiccoughs are to munch a

spoonful of sugar, to scare the one troubled with hiccoughs by some

startling announcement or accusation, as, See, you've torn your dress!

or, How did you break my vase? etc. Another custom is to steadily point

a finger at the hiccougher, or to make him hold up his arm and shake it.



849. To cure hiccoughs, slowly take nine sips of water.

Prince Edward Island and Northern Ohio.



850. Another cure for hiccoughs is as follows: Put the thumb up against

the lower lip, with the fingers under the chin, and say, hiccup, hiccup,

over my thumb, nine times.

Northern Ohio.



851. A cure for hiccoughs: Try for a long time to make the edges of the

thumb-nails meet at the end.

Chestertown, Md.



852. Think of the one you love best, to cure hiccoughs.

Prince Edward Island.



853. For chapped lips kiss the middle rail of a five-railed fence.

Bernardston, Mass.



854. To relieve coughing or strangling, put a pair of scissors down

inside the back of your dress.

Prince Edward Island.



855. Chew brown paper as a cure for nose-bleed.

Eastern Massachusetts.



856. For nose-bleed, put a key down the back.



857. For nose-bleed, hold up the right arm.



858. For nose-bleed, place a wad of paper between the upper lip and the

gum.



859. You can keep from crying as you peel onions if you keep the mouth

closed.

Northern Ohio.



860. Hold, by the points, two needles between your teeth, as you peel

onions, and you will not cry.

Prince Edward Island.



861. Hold a needle between your teeth with the point out, while peeling

onions, and you'll not cry, i.e., will not feel the smart.



862. You will not cry in peeling onions if you hold a bit of bread in the

mouth.

Prince Edward Island, Cambridge, Mass. (Irish).



Or, put the bread on the point of the knife.

Maine.



863. You will not cry in peeling onions if you let the faucet be open so

the water will run.

Cambridge, Mass.



864. To bring up the palate when it drops and tickles the root of the

tongue, take a wisp of hair on the crown of the head and tie it up very

tight.

Chestertown, Md.



865. Rubbing a sty with a gold ring will cure it.

Prince Edward Island.



866. Cure a sty by rubbing it with a wedding ring.

General.



867. A sty in the eye is cured by rubbing a gold ring on the eye three

mornings with a sign of the cross.

Labrador.



868. A pebble in the mouth will ease thirst.

Brookline, Mass.



869. A sore throat may be cured by binding about the neck on going to bed

one of the stockings which the patient has been wearing (no other one

will do).

Somewhat general in the United States.



870. To cure the sore throat, take three handfuls of ashes with your left

hand, put into your left stocking, and bind it around your throat.

Mattawamkeag, Me.



871. To burn the little nerve in the ear will cure the toothache forever.

Northern Ohio.