The evil eye. An account of this ancient and wide spread superstition

4o8 THE EVIL EYE chap.
ments in accordance with the recognised stages of
human Hfe.
The numbers of certain days and months are con-
sidered fortunate or otherwise according to certain
modes of reckoning, wherein the rationale or the
logic is by no means obvious.
A curious little black-letter book called A Con-
cordancie of Yeares, by Arthur Hopton, 1612, gives
a chapter headed " Of the infortunate and fatall dayes
of the yeare," etc., which throws some light upon
the methods of " wise men." It sets out the infor-
tunate days, beginning
—
January the i, 2, 4, 5, lo,^" 15, 17, 19.
February the 8, 10, and the 17.
March the 15, 16, and the 19.
Aprill the 16 and 21. Not so euill the 7, 8, 10, 20;
and so on through the year. He says that
" astrologers will have in every moone 2 infortunate
dales, wherein they recount it most unhappy to
begin or undertake any kind of worldly affaires."
These he specifies, and says " it is therefore very
ill to have a child borne in them, for feare of an
euill death." The most unfortunate days of all the
year are "January the 3 day, July the i, October
the 7, Aprill the 30, August the i and the 31."
Those in the former table were only "infortunate,"
while these latter appear to be fatal.
There were also two days in every month called
^gri, niali and Aigyptiaci. On yEgri "if any
fell sick they should hardly or never escape." On
mali " evill affections of the Constellations " would
frustrate any kind of work, and yEgyptiaci were un-
*'*! The present writer has no practical reason to complain of this day,
during the many "happy returns of it " for which he has given thanks.