CHAPTER VII 



THE SWALLOW IN MEDICINE 



Strange and varied are the powers which, 

 we have learned, are attributed to the swal- 

 low, but the strangest of all is yet to be told 

 — her power to lessen human ills. With 

 the little swallow stone taken out of her 

 stomach or from her nest, with the burned 

 ashes of her body, and with her warm bleeding 

 heart, she was said to perform marvelous 

 cures. Even more than this, a small plant 

 which springs up in the fields each year upon 

 the arrival of the swallows was held to pos- 

 sess the same magic virtue. 



Let us first examine the swallow stone 

 and its manner of use. Faith in the healing 

 power of this little stone is very old and 

 comes to us originally, with our prettiest 

 songs and legends, from the ancient land of 



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