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

428 THE EVIL EYE chap.
lined every street through which the king was Hkely
at any time to pass, and the people had to remain
behind this fence when the king or any of the
queens went out. No one might attempt to look
through or over this blind,*^"^ of course from the fear
lest his eye should work mischief.
To this day the kings of Corea are shut up in
their palace ; so also was the King of Tonquin, who
was allowed out two or three times a year, for the
performance of religious ceremonies. The day
before his coming forth, notice was given to the
inhabitants to keep out of the way the king had to
go, for the people were not allowed to look upon
him. The women were compelled to remain in their
houses, and durst not show themselves under pain
of death — a penalty which was carried out on
the spot, even if disobedience occurred through
ignorance. Thus the king was kept invisible to all
but a chosen few.*^^^
Although in all these cases we are not told distinctly
why these precautions were taken, yet, know-
in^ what the belief was. there can be little hesitation
in assigning them to it, and to their dread of per-
mitting so precious a life as their king's to be sub-
jected to the blighting influence.
Our own customs regarding children may be dis-
tinctly referred to the same primaeval belief in the
liability of infants to the blighting effect of the
stranger's eye. It cannot be pretended that it is
necessary to its health that a baby's face should be
always carefully covered up whenever it is taken out
of the house, or even in the house, into the presence
^'^^ Shway Yoe, The Burmaii, i. 308.
•'^* Richard, History of Tonquin, in Pinkerton, ix. p. 746.