Show still have faith in wi wishing 9 shing wells devout peasants of europe foster traditions of their healing virtues new kAt at one time or an other every one of us has gone to the th wishing well either actually or meta remarked dr frank U H to the new york times although ald wishing wells do not abound d la in this country of airs ours as 1 they do tn in the old world wishing wells are very old and they are places that in years gone by the young people used to visit 11 particularly the girls hoping that the future might be revealed toi to them in europe water hns has figured conspicuously in folklore divination blob and healing its use usein in divination has been common at till all times in greece the disposition of the gods was tested by casting offerings into holy doiy wells accepted gifts sank to the bottom those that were rejected were thrown out there was a 0 sacred spring to the east of apollos temple at adelphat its wn that legend claimed as oracular flowed through a narrow gorge formen formed by rocky walls therefore the priestess of appolo drank of tills this sacred spring and masticated the sacred lau an rel before she prophesied among the slavs at it Is still the custom on st georges day for the village maidens to go at day break to a well and gaze gae therein un til III their eyes fill with tears then tra baitlon claims they will see the imago image of their future husbands reflected in the water the sc scots have a parallel which they observe on halloween alloween Il when apples and a sixpence alx pence are put into a hubof tub of water and the one who can draw them by mouth without the use of the teeth beeth will be very lucky sacred pond of Vit vitrolles rolles at Vit vitrolles rolles in the south of france there 19 h a d holy well or sacred pond where to ward off fever the young people bathe throughout the year at marles maries in the same region horses are watered to protect them from the itch in sweden bertaln sacred springs tire ore believed to possess medi cinal virtues on st johns eve and on that day many sick persons resort there hoping to henl heal their infirmities at near in ireland there tire are three wells for which the people claim extraordinary healing powers on Mid summers eve the halt the malmed and the blind throng there to wash in the waters consecrated by their patron saint and so strong Is their belief in its efficacy that many who go to be healed healea leave believing that they have been perfect ly restored by its miraculous virtues on the island of sicily at mar solo there Is a subterranean grotto know as the grotto of the sibyl to which tile the sick resort for cure by bv bath ing in tile the waters on this some same adny do likewise tt at copenhagen in denmark invalids used to ninke a pilgrimage to a spring in the vicinity for the purpose of strengthening themselves by immersion in its waters the famous grotto at lourdes I the source of many miracles infra cles since the appearance of the blessed virgin to bernadette be doubt rous on february 11 1858 ls ia Is ano another ther of the holy wells or sacred springs to which man has attributed miraculous cures all over the continent of europe sacred wells takes lakes and tanus tanks were nere at one time reverenced reveren ced as having been b een made discovered or occupied by some saint or nr god if hot water flowed bowed in any of them it indicated a special mark of divine power it if the ho waters voters in creased or ou decreased periodically chev possessed curative qualities no well was considered a wishing well until its spirit avns was solemnly wedded veri led with that of th the land or garden it was in tended to water from this belief tants tanks were furnished with wooden poles to which the water spirit was said eald to 0 o be ni married tor for until this was done the water would increase not al lay lav thirst and might even cause dis ease the idea of the pote pole was it served to protect tile the spirits of tile waters from the attacks attack 9 of evil spirits early water worship water worship has been nn an element of all early ful fulfills fulfils flis th the e jews jew anil and the edans reverenced reveren ced wells and springs even as did the early brist lans of tile the primitive type tile pools of bethesda in palestine find a holy well to in aldekka ofie one ol of the most sacred objects object 9 within theare the precincts of the kanba fand fand their counterparts over europe and asia and also in tile the new world wherever inal anees dominated it it the legend of tells of hagar ond and of Ish innel who abandoned by abraham waw wan dered into the valley an and d H engar agar oppressed by the hl heat nit so sought light for natii to relle relieve he thirst it from which she I 1 and w were e suffering forward rd andrack and back sho tan banin in until return ing to the spot where she ehe had left poor little she found that hint he had discovered a spring by the simple expedient familiar to bubles babies of till notions nations and an d nil periods he had kicked the ground froni under his feet and laid aid bare one of the th e springs which in arabia are sometimes concealed by a light layer of sand this was the well the prophet meds grandfather opened the well when he was trying to find some means of supplying water to the thousands of pilgrims who flocked annually to worship at the baaba digging on the spot he found the remains of an ancient piece of masonry enclosing a copious never falling failing spring which was at once accepted RH aa the traditional well of hagar millions odthe of the pilgrim visitors to mecca did not leave the sacred precincts without washing in or tasting of the I 1 sacred waters of and many of them took a flask of this holy water back home with them the tribes of central america mexico and new mexico each had their sacred springs and offered sacrifices to them the natives of colorado held the bubbling springs with reverence and awe and brought their sick to them for treatment according tp their trad tradition liton the bubbling water contained the henling healing power which was ascribed to spirits that breathed into it in mexico whipple disclosed a i spring held sacred to the rain god by the aborigines some notion of the reverence in which this spring was I 1 held may bi be derived from the fact that no animal was permitted to water there annually it was cleansed by natives who used ancient vases handed down from generation to generation for this purpose in this region not far from Is a sacred spring eight feet in diameter from which neither man nor beast Is allowed to drink it Is protected protect edby by a wall of stone here once a year the cacique performed certain religious rites and made special offerings nga to the holy well wells of legendary healing almost every village of northern europe had its sacred spring and the legendary origin of some of these Is to be found in scandinavian folklore folk lore wishing wells there are still held in superstitious reverence at haabested Haa rested in Is the famous st knuds knuda well visited annually by persons of nf meted with body aliments oll all ments na as well as s by many others who wish to obtain a glimpse of the future this spring Is sold said to have gushed forth in the spot where knud lavard was murdered by magnus the kings son eon in the year 1129 in this locality la Is another spring known as helens well which has achieved fame through its supposed miraculous virtues tradition has it that helen a scandinavian princess of marvelous beauty caused this well to appear when flying from pursuit by an enamoured ena king her foot first touched the spot holy wells and healing wells tire are common all over the highlands of scotland and the people still leave offerings of plue pine and nalls nails and bits of colored goods around them though few will admit so doing in islay in the western highlands there here la Is a spring known as tile the Wl witches well where the visitors deposited in chinks and trees by the spring sprang side copper caps pins and buttons and similar gear there are numerous wells throughout the british isles where the pass erby er by hns has but to breathe a wish or drop a pin or other offering into the water to obtain what he wants according to legend st helens well near sefton in lancashire Is not far from white haven from what I 1 learned of st helens well young ladles indies still continue to throop pins into it to find out whether their sweethearts are faithful to them the dat 3 of their mar marriage ringe lind and other details on which their future happiness hangs and this they learn from the turning of the pin to the north or to the south or possibly to some other point of the compass in many parts of the island of guernsey holy wells still exist and are visited principally for the cure of erysipelas rheumatism glandular swellings and inflammation or weakness of the eyes by the country folk foil these ailments are known as mal alai de to la fontaine Font alne to obtain a cure the patient must apply the water before lie he has broken fast for nine consecutive mornings and it must be dropped on to the affected place with the aln gers not applied with sponge or rag it must be drawn fresh from th the ewell well every day at dawn of day while the person who draws it must not on any account speak to anyone that lie he m may ny meet on his way to or from tile the spring above all he must he be careful not to spill a single drop of water from the container each votary or patient deposits a small coin on the edge ol of the well as an offering to the saint who had find the spring under his protection tec tion these springs are used also for divination nation and so the malden maiden of bashful fifteen who wishes to know who her future husband will be musi must visit the spring for nine consecutive marn m rn ings fasting and in silence when afie n she looks into the clear basin of th the e well on the last lay day t there liere will she see the face of hie file man she Is fated to marry reflected in the anter it I 1 her destiny be to die unmarried a grinning skull will appear instead of the wished for face |