these.[18] Each of these ends with the same phrase, and they
differ only in regard to the particular maladies from which
freedom is desired. One reads:

"From wasting, from want of health, from the evil spirit of the
ulcer, from the spreading quinsy of the gullet, from the violent
ulcer, from the noxious ulcer, may the king of heaven preserve,
may the king of earth preserve."

Another is phrased thus:

"From the cruel spirit of the head, from the strong spirit of the
head, from the head spirit that departs not, from the head spirit
that comes not forth, from the head spirit that will not go, from
the noxious head spirit, may the king of heaven preserve, may the
king of earth preserve."

As to omens having to do with the affairs of everyday life the
number is legion. For example, Moppert has published, in the
Journal Asiatique,[19] the translation of a tablet which contains
on its two sides several scores of birth-portents, a few of which
maybe quoted at random:

"When a woman bears a child and it has the ears of a lion, a
strong king is in the country." "When a woman bears a child and
it has a bird's beak, that country is oppressed." "When a woman
bears a child and its right hand is wanting, that country goes to
destruction." "When a woman bears a child and its feet are
wanting, the roads of the country are cut; that house is
destroyed." "When a woman bears a child and at the time of its