“With the first Spring the soft Fumaria showsOn stern Bavaria’s rocks her sev’ral hues;But by report is struck by certain fate,When dreadful thunders echo from their height;And with the lightning’s sulph’rous fumes opprest,Her drooping beauties languish on her breast.”Dioscorides says that the juice dropped into the eyes clears the sight, and also that the juice, having a little gum Arabic dissolved therein, and applied to the eyelids when the hairs have been pulled out, will keep them from growing again.——According to astrologers, Fumitory is a herb of Saturn.GANG FLOWER.—The Milk-wort,Flos Ambarvalis, Cross-, Procession-, Gang-, or Rogation-Flower (Polygala vulgaris), was so called from its blossoming in Gang-week or Rogation-week, when processions were made in imitation of the ancient Roman Ambarvalia (seeCorn), to perambulate the parishes with the Holy Cross and Litanies, to mark boundaries, and to invoke God’s blessing upon the crops; upon which occasions Gerarde tells us “the maidens which use in the countries to walke the procession do make themselves garlands and nosegaies” of the Milk-wort, which the old herbalist likewise informs us is so called on account of its “vertues in procuring milke in the breasts of nurses.”GARLIC.—The tapering-leaved Garlic (Allium sativum) derives its name from two Anglo-Saxon words, meaning the Spear-plant. The Egyptians so appreciated Garlic, that they were accustomed to swear by it, and even to worship it. Referring to this, Juvenal satirically remarks: “Each clove of Garlic hath a sacred flower.” Nevertheless, no Egyptian priest was permitted to eat Garlic. The Israelites, who had learnt in Egypt to prize this vegetable, murmured at being deprived of its use, and expressed their preference of it to Manna itself.——In Asia Minor, Greece, Scandinavia, and Northern Germany, Garlic is popularly believed to possess magical properties of a beneficent nature. According to the ‘Lay of Sigurdrîfa,’ protection from witchcraft may be ensured by the addition of Garlic to a beverage. The Sanscrit name for Garlic means the Slayer of Monsters. Galen relates that it was considered inimical to all cold poisons, and to the bites of venomous beasts. Macer Floridus affirms that the eating of Garlic fasting ensured immunity from all ills attending change of climate or the drinking of unknown water. The roots, hung round the necks of blind cattle, were supposed to induce restoration of sight. Clusius relates that the German miners found the roots very powerful in defending them from the assaults of impure spirits which frequented mines.——In England, Garlic obtained the name of Poor Man’s Treacle, or Triacle, from its being considered an antidote to animal poison. Bacon tells us that, applied to the wrists, and renewed, Garlic was considered a cure for long agues: in Kent, and probably in other counties, it is placed in the stockings of a child with the whooping-cough, in order to allay the complaint.——De Gubernatis states that the Bolognese regard Garlic as the symbol of abundance; at the festival of St. John, everyone buys it, to preserve themselves from poverty during the year. In Sicily, they put Garlic on the beds of women during confinement, and they make three signs of the cross with it to charm away polypus. In Cuba, thirteen cloves of Garlic at the end of a cord worn round the neck for thirteen days, is considered to safeguard the wearer against the jaundice, provided that, in the middle of the night of the thirteenth day, he proceeds to the corner of two streets, takes off his Garlic necklet, and, flinging it over his head, runs instantly home without turning round to see what has become of it.——The broad-leaved Garlic was formerly called Buckrams, Bear’s Garlic, Ramsies, and Ramsins, the last name being referred to in the proverb—“Eat Leekes in Lide, and Ramsins in May,And all the year after physitians may play.”We read that if a man dream of eating Garlic, it signifies that he will discover hidden secrets, and meet with some domestic jar; yet to dream he has it in the house is lucky.——Garlic is under the dominion of Mars.Gean.—SeeCherry.GENTIAN.—The Gentian (Gentiana) was so called after Gentius, King of Illyria, who first discovered the medicinal virtues of this bitter plant. Gentius having imprisoned the ambassadors sent to his court by the Romans, they invaded his kingdom, conquered it, and led the royal botanist and his family in triumph through the streets of Rome. The old name of this flower wasGentiana cruciata, and it was also calledS. Ladislai Regis herba, in regard to which latter appellation, there is a curious legend:—During the reign of King Ladislas, the whole of Hungary was afflicted with the plague. Compassionating his unfortunate subjects who were dying by thousands, the pious king prayed that if he shot an arrow into the air, the Almighty would vouchsafe to guide it to the root of some herb that might be employed efficaciously in arresting the terrible plague. The king discharged an arrow, and, in falling, it cleft the root of theCruciata(Gentian), which was at once tried, and found to possess the most astonishing curative powers when administered to sufferers from the plague.——According to old Robert Turner, the herbalist, Gentian, or Felwort, “resists poisons, putrefaction, and the pestilence, and helps digestion; the powder of the dry roots helps bitings of mad dogs and venomous beasts, opens the liver, and procures an appetite. Wine, wherein the herb hath been steept, being drunk, refreshes such as are over-wearied by travel, or are lame in their joynts by cold or bad lodgings.” Gerarde states that it is put into counterpoisons, “as into the composition namedTheriaca diatessaron, which Ætius callethMysterium, a mystery, or hid secret.” Formerly the names of Baldmoney and Baldmoyne were applied to the Felwort or Gentian. (SeeBaldmoneyandFeldwode.)——Gentian is under the dominion of Mars.Geranium.—SeeCrane’s Bill.Gill.—SeeIvy.GILLIFLOWER.—The appellation of Gilliflower has been applied, apparently as a kind of pet name, to all manner of plants. Formerly the word was speltgylloferandgilofre, from the Frenchgirofléeand Italiangarofalo, words derived from the LatinCaryophyllumand GreekKaruophullon, a Clove, in allusion to the flower’s spicy odour. The name was originally given by the Italians to the Carnation and plants of the Pink tribe, and was so used by Chaucer, Spenser, and Shakspeare. Afterwards both writers and gardeners bestowed the name on theMatthiolaandCheiranthus. At the present time the word has almost fallen out of use, but in books will be found to be applied to the Clove Gilliflower,Dianthus Caryophyllus(the true Gilliflower); the Marsh Gilliflower, or Ragged Robin (Lychnis flos cuculi); Queen’s, Rogue’s, or Winter Gilliflower, the Dame’s Violet (Hesperis matronalis); Stock Gilliflower (Matthiola incana); Wall Gilliflower (Cheiranthus Cheiri); and Water Gilliflower (Hottonia palustris).——The Gilliflower is in old songs representedas one of the flowers thought to grow in Paradise. Thus, in a ballad called ‘Dead Men’s Songs,’ occurs the following verse:—“The fields about the city faireWere all with Roses set,Gillyflowers and Carnations faireWhich canker could not fret.”(See alsoCarnation).GINSENG.—The Chinese consider the far-famed Ginseng (Panax quinquefolia) the most valuable production of nature. It is their specific for all disorders of the lungs or of the stomach, curing asthma, strengthening the eyesight, renewing a worn-out constitution, delaying the approach of old age, and acting as a counterpoison. The Dutch naturalists thus described the Ginseng:—“Its name is taken from its shape, because its represents a man (in ChineseGin) striding with his legs. It is a larger and stronger species of our Mandrake. The dried root is of a yellow colour, streaked round with blackish veins, as if drawn with ink. It yields when chewed an unpleasant sweetness, mixed with bitterness. The Chinese will give three pounds of gold for one pound of it.” To the Chinese this shrub is in some measure a foreign production, as it is found only in Manchoo Tartary; but it does not owe all its reputation to its distant origin; the Tartars also prize it, and give it a name (Orhota) expressive of its quality as the chief of plants. They endeavour to procure it at the risk of losing their lives or liberty, equally endangered by the nature of the country where it is found, and by the policy of the Chinese Government, which endeavours to monopolise this much-esteemed production. A large extent of country to the north-east of Pekin, covered with inaccessible mountains, and almost impassable forests infested with wild beasts, and affording no means of subsistence, is separated from the province of Leao Tong by a strong barrier of stakes, always carefully protected by guards of Chinese soldiers who seize and punish unlicensed intruders: this is the native country of Ginseng, and these precautions are considered necessary to preserve the valued plant from depredation. The Père Jartoux, who was employed in the survey of Tartary by order of the Emperor Kam-he, describes the mode of gathering the Ginseng, as it was practised at that time. He had frequently met with the party of Tartars employed on the service, but on this occasion ten thousand Tartars were commanded to gather all the Ginseng that could be found; and after deducting two ounces from the quantity gathered by each man, they were allowed for the remainder its weight in pure silver. This army of botanists divided themselves into companies of a hundred men, with a chief to each company. The whole territory was then apportioned to the several divisions; each division formed a line, and, slowly advancing, traversed that portion of country allotted to it; nearly six months were spent in the occupation,and the whole territory was thus searched through. Of the Ginseng thus collected the root is the only part preserved.GLADIOLUS.—The Corn-flag, or Sword-flag (Gladiolus), has been thought by some to be the flower alluded to by Ovid as the blossom which sprang from the blood of Hyacinthus when he was accidentally slain by Apollo with a quoit—the flower which bears displayed upon its petals the sad impression of the Sun-god’s sighs-Ai, Ai!(SeeHyacinth). The upper root of the Sword-flag was supposed by the old herbalists to provoke amatory passions, whilst the lower root was thought to cause barrenness.——The Gladiolus is a plant of the Moon.GLASTONBURY THORN.—In Loudon’sArboretum Britannicum, the Glastonbury Thorn is mentioned as theCratægus Oxyacantha præcox. This variety of the Hawthorn blossoms during the Winter, and was for many years believed religiously to blow on Christmas-day. The Abbey of Glastonbury, in Somersetshire, which is now a ruin, and of whose origin only vague memorials exist, was said by the monks to have been the residence of Joseph of Arimathea. The high ground on which the old abbey was erected used in early days to be called the Isle of Avalon. The Thorn-tree stood on an eminence to the south-west of the town of Glastonbury, where a nunnery, dedicated to St. Peter, was in after times erected. The eminence is called Weary-all Hill; and the same monkish legend which accounts for the name of the hill, states also the origin of the Thorn. It seems that when Joseph of Arimathea, to whom the original conversion of this country is attributed, arrived at this spot with his companions, they were weary with their journey, and sat down. St. Joseph then stuck his stick in the ground, when, although it was a dry Hawthorn staff, it took root and grew, and thenceforth commemorated the birth of Christ in the manner above mentioned. This rendered its blossoms of so much value in all Christian nations, that the Bristol merchants exported them as things of price to foreign lands. It had two trunks or bodies until the time of Queen Elizabeth, when a Puritan cut down one of them, but left the other, which was about the size of an ordinary man. This desecration of the tree brought condign punishment upon the over-zealous Puritan, for, according to James Howell, a writer of the period, “some of the prickles flew into his eye, and made him monocular.” The reputation which the Glastonbury Thorn still retained, notwithstanding the change of religion, may be estimated by the fact that King James and his Queen, and other persons of distinction, gave large sums for small cuttings from the original tree. Until the time of Charles I., it was customary to carry a branch of the Thorn in procession at Christmas time; but during the civil war, in that reign, what remained of the tree was cut down; plants from its branches are, however, still in existence,for a vintner of the place secured a slip, and planted it in his garden, where it duly flowered on the 25th December. When the new style was introduced in 1752, the alteration (which consisted of omitting eleven days) seems to have been very generally disliked by the mass of the people. The use which was made of the Glastonbury Thorn to prove the impropriety of the change is not a little curious. The alteration in the Christmas Day, which was held that year and since on a day which would have been January 5th, was particularly obnoxious, not only as disturbing old associations, but as making an arbitrary change from what was considered the true anniversary of the birth of Christ. In several places, where real or supposed slips from the Glastonbury Thorn existed, the testimony of the plant against the change was anxiously sought on the first Christmas Day under the new style. As the special distinction of the Thorn arose from its supposed connection with the great event commemorated on that day, it was argued that it must indicate the true anniversary, and that its evidence would be conclusive on the subject. The event of one of these references (at Quainton, in Buckinghamshire) is thus recorded in the ‘Gentleman’s Magazine’ for 1753:—“Above 2000 people came here this night (December 24th, 1752,N.S., being the first Christmas Eve under the new calendar), with lanthorns and candles, to view a Thorn-tree which grows in this neighbourhood, and which was remembered (this year only) to be a slip from the Glastonbury Thorn; that it always budded on the 24th, was full-blown the next day, and went off at night. But the people, finding no appearance of a bud, it was agreed that December 25th n.s. could not be the right Christmas Day, and accordingly they refused going to Church, or treating their friends as usual. At length the affair became so serious, that the ministers of the neighbouring villages, in order to appease the people, thought it prudent to give notice that the old Christmas Day should be kept holy as usual.” The slips of the Thorn seem to have been everywhere unanimous in this opposition to the new style. There still exist at Glastonbury, within the precincts of the ruins of the Abbey, two distinct trees, which, doubtless, sprang from the Thorn of Joseph of Arimathea, and which continue to blossom during the winter months.GLOBE FLOWER.—The botanical name of the Globe Flower,Trollius Europæus, is supposed to be of Scandinavian origin, and to signify a magic flower. The plant is also called Globe Ranunculus and Globe Crow-foot, from the globular form of its calyx. The flower was formerly known as the Troll-flower, and in Scotland as the Luckan Gowan (Cabbage Daisy). Its name of Troll was probably derived from the Swedish wordtroll, a malignant supernatural being,—a name corresponding to the Scotch Witches’ Gowan, and given to theTrolliuson account of its acrid poisonous qualities. It is a common flower on the Alps, and has been employed from time immemorial by the Swiss peasantry tomake garlands of on rural festive celebrations. In the northern counties of England, at the beginning of June, the Globe-flower is sought with great festivity by the young people, who adorn their doors and cottages with wreaths and garlands composed of its blossoms.GOAT’S BEARD.—The yellow Goat’s Beard (Tragopogon pratensis) is one of the best floral indices of the hour of the day, for it opens at sunrise and closes at noon.“And goodly now the noon-tide hour,When from his high meridian towerThe sun looks down in majesty,What time about the grassy leaThe Goat’s Beard, prompt his rise to hailWith broad expanded disk, in veilClose mantling wraps its yellow head,And goes, as peasants say, to bed.”—Bp. Mant.Other names of this plant are Noon-day Flower, Go-to-bed-at-noon, Star of Jerusalem, and Joseph’s Flower. No satisfactory explanation has ever been given with respect to the last two names, nor is it known whether the Joseph referred to is the son of Jacob, the Virgin Mary’s husband, or Joseph of Arimathea.GOLDEN ROD.—The tall straight-stemmed Golden Rod (Solidago virga aurea) was formerly called Wound-weed, and on account of its healing powers received its scientific namesolidago, from “in solidum ago vulnera,” “I consolidate wounds.” It was brought from abroad in a dried state, and sold in the London markets by the herb-women of Queen Elizabeth’s days, and Gerarde tells us that it fetched half-a-crown an ounce. About that time, however, it was found in Hampstead ponds, and when it was seen to be a native plant, it became valueless and was discarded from use; which, says Gerarde, “plainely setteth forth our inconstancie and sudden mutabilitie, esteeming no longer of anything, how pretious soever it be, than whilest it is strange and rare. This verifieth our English proverbe, ‘Far fetcht and deare bought is best for ladies.’”——According to tradition, the Golden Rod is also a divining-rod, and points to hidden springs of water as well as to treasures of gold and silver.——Astrologers say that Golden Rod is a plant of Venus.Gold CupandGold Knobs.—SeeRanunculus.Gold,Golding, andGowan.—SeeMarigold.GOLDILOCKS.—This name is applied toRanunculus auricomus,Chrysocoma Linosyris,Amaranthus luteus(Golden Flower Gentle), and, by Gerarde, toMuscus capillaris(Golden Maidenhair Moss).Camelina sativais the Gold of Pleasure.GOLUBETZ.—There is a popular belief in Russia, that anyone drinking a draught of water in which this plant of the marshes has been steeped, will be exempt from attacks by bears.GOOD HENRY.—The Allgood, English Mercury, Good Henry, or Good King Harry (Chenopodium Bonus Henricus) seems to have been given its name of Good Henry to distinguish it from a poisonous plant calledMalus Henricus. Grimm explains that the name Henry has reference in this case to elves and kobolds, which were called Heinz and Heinrich.GOOL-ACHIN.—ThePlumeria acutifolia, a tree of American origin, is called by the Hindus Gool-achin, and is esteemed sacred by them. It is commonly planted in Indian gardens, and particularly in cemeteries, because it keeps the graves of the departed white with its daily fall of fragrant flowers. The branches are stout, and, when wounded, exude a milky juice, which is prized.GOOSEBERRY.—The homely Gooseberry, which derives its name from the Anglo-Saxoncrós, a curl (Germankraus, and old Dutchkroes), is an old inhabitant of England, for Tusser, who lived in the reign of Henry VIII., wrote of it—“The Barberry, Respis, and Gooseberry, too,Look now to be planted as other things do.”It was formerly called Feaberry, Dewberry and Wineberry.——An old-fashioned remedy for a wart consisted in pricking it with a sharp Gooseberry-thorn passed through a wedding-ring.——To dream of ripe Gooseberries is considered as a favourable omen. It predicts a fortune, a lucrative post under Government, great fidelity in your sweetheart, sweetness of temper and disposition, many children (chiefly sons), and the accomplishment of your aims. To the sailor, to dream of Gooseberries, indicates dangers in his next voyage; to the maiden, a roving husband.——The Gooseberry is placed by astrologers under the rule of Venus.GRAPES.—The product of the Vine was the especial fruit of the god Bacchus, who is sometimes represented like an infant, holding a thyrsus and clusters of grapes with a horn. In the Catholic Church, Grapes and Corn are symbolic of the Blessed Eucharist. According to Brocard, the finest Grapes are those grown in the vales of Eshcol and Sorek. The wordsoreksignifies “fine Grapes.” Clusters of Grapes have been found in Syria, weighing as much as forty pounds, worthy successors of the cluster taken by the Israelitish spies from Eshcol, which “they bare between two upon a staff.”——In some countries, the Grape is believed to have been the forbidden fruit of the Tree of Knowledge in the Garden of Eden.——To dream of Grapes foretells to the maiden that her husband will be cheerful, and a great songster. If the dreamer be in love, they augur a speedy union, and denote much happiness in marriage and success in trade. According to another authority, to dream that you see clusters of Grapes hanging round about you predicts future advancement and honour. To the maid it implies marriage with an ambitious man, who will arrive at great preferment, but die early.GORSE.—The Whin Gorse, or Furze (Ulex)—“the never-bloomless Furze”—caused Dillenius the greatest delight, and is said to have so affected Linnæus, when he first came to England and saw a common covered with its golden blossoms, that he fell down on his knees in a rapture at the sight, and thanked God for its loveliness. He attempted in vain to introduce it into Sweden; but although hardy enough in England, yet it would not grow even in the garden in which Linnæus planted it.——The old English names for this shrub were Fursbush, Furrs, Whins, and Goss.——Gorse is held to be under the dominion of Mars.GORY-DEW.—A minute Alga bears the name of Gory-dew from its resemblance to blood-drops. During the Middle Ages, it caused much dismay by appearing like a sudden shower of blood, and it was thought to portend battle, murder, and sudden death.GRASS.—In India, several kinds of Grass, such as theKusa, a species ofAndropogon, andEragrostis, are held sacred by the Hindus, and employed in their temples.——In Prussia, the northern Holy Grass (Holcus odoratus) is used for strewing the floors of churches at Whitsuntide. In some parts of Germany, Holy Grass (Hierochloe borealis) is strewn before church doors on holidays.——Wheat would appear to be only the cultivated form of theÆgilops, a Grass infesting Barley-fields on the shores of the Mediterranean. Grip-grass (Galium Aparine) is so called from its gripping or seizing with its hooked prickles whatever comes in its way. ThePotentilla reptansis called Five-Finger Grass, on account of its five leaflets. The only poisonous Grass (Darnel) is supposed to be the Tares of the Scriptures: Linnæus says of this Grass (Lolium temulentum) that if the seeds are baked in bread it is very hurtful, and if malted with Barley it produces giddinness.——In Norfolk, coarse marshy Grass is called Hassock, hence the application of this name to church hassocks, which are often made of a large Sedge, theCarex paniculata.——In connection with Tussack-grass (Aira cæspitosa), Mr. Sikes relates the following tradition current in Wales:—The son of a farmer at Drws Coed was permitted to marry a fairy-wife on condition that she should never be touched by iron. They had several children, and lived happily enough until one unfortunate day her horse sank in the deep mire, and as her husband was helping her to remount, his stirrup struck her knee. At once sweet singing was heard on the hill top, and she was parted from him; but, though no longer allowed to walk the earth with man, she used to haunt the turf lake (Llyn y dywarchen). This lake has moving islands of Tussack-grass, like Derwentwater, so on one of these islands she used to stand for hours and hold converse with her bereaved husband.——“Fairy Rings” is the popular name for the circles of dark-green Grass occasionally seen on grassy downs and old pastures, round which, according to popular belief, the“Elfe-queen, with her jolly compagnie,Danced full oft in many a grene mede.”On this dark Grass rustic superstition avers that no sheep or lamb will browse. Disregarding the poetical charm which lingers around the fairy superstition, and oblivious of the poet’s asseveration that—“Of old the merry elves were seenPacing with printless feet the dewy green,”some naturalists have ascribed the phenomenon of these rings to lightning; others to the work of ants; and others, again, to the growth of a small esculent Fungus calledAgaricus Orcades. However, Edmund Jones, a celebrated preacher, of Monmouth, who in 1813 wrote a book on apparitions, declares that in St. Matthew xii., 43, is to be found an authority for the popular belief. He says, “The fairy rings are found in dry places, and the Scripture saith that the walk of evil spirits is in dry places.”——In Sussex, elves and fairies are sometimes called “Pharisees” by the country folk, and in Tarberry Hill, on Harting, are Pharisees’ rings, where the simple people say the Pharisees dance on Midsummer Eve.——To dream of Grass is a good omen; if the Grass be fresh and green, the dream portends long life, good luck, and great wealth; but if withered and decayed, misfortunes and sickness may be expected, if not the death of loved ones. To dream of cutting Grass betokens great troubles.GROUNDHEELE.—This plant, known in Germany asGrundheil, and in France asHerbe aux Ladres, is identified by Doctor Prior withVeronica officinalis, which he says was so called from its having cured a king of France of a leprosy, from which he had suffered some eight years—a disease, called in Germany,grind. Quoting from Brunschwygk, our author tells us that a shepherd had seen a stag, whose hind quarter was covered with a scabby eruption from the bite of a wolf, cure itself by eating of this plant, and rolling itself upon it; and that thereupon he recommended the king to try it.Ground-Ivy.—SeeIvy.GROUNDSEL.—TheSenecio vulgarisis called, in Scotland, Grundy Swallow, a term derived from the Anglo-Saxon wordgrundswelge, ground glutton, and of which Groundsel is evidently a corruption.Senecio Saracenicusis said to have been used by the Saracens in the cure of wounds. Common Groundsel has the power of softening water if it be poured while boiling on the plant. The Highland women often wear a piece of its root as an amulet to guard them from the Evil Eye. A bunch of Groundsel worn on the bare bosom was formerly reputed to be an efficacious charm against the ague. Pliny prescribes Groundsel for the toothache. A root must be pulled up, and a portion of it cut off with a sharp razor; then the Groundsel must be immediately replanted, and the excised portion applied three or four times to the ailing tooth. A cure is probable, says Pliny, provided the mutilated and replanted Groundsel should thrive: if otherwise, the tooth willache more than ever. In Cornwall, if Groundsel is to be used as an emetic, they strip it upwards; if for a cathartic, downwards.——Groundsel is a herb of Venus.GUABANA.—The Guabana or Guarabana, which is presumed to be the wild Pine Apple,Ananas sativus, first became known to Europeans in Peru some three centuries ago. In theMythologie des Plantes, we read that the dead were, according to a ghastly popular tradition, believed to rise and eat the Guabana fruit every night. This fruit of the dead is described as tender and sweet as a Melon, of the shape of a Pine-apple, and of a splendid appearance.GUELDER ROSE.—TheViburnum Opulushas been called the Snowball-tree, but is more generally known as the Guelder Rose, from its Rose-like balls of white blossom. The shrub is a variety of the Water Elder, introduced from Gueldres. In England, its flowers are dedicated to Whitsuntide.HÆMANTHUS.—TheHæmanthus, or Blood-flower, is a native of Brazil, whereH. multiflorusis the Imperial Flower—the especial flower and blazon of the Emperor.HAG-TAPER.—TheVerbascum Thapsuswas called Hedge-taper, High-taper, or Hig-taper, because it was used as a torch on funeral and other occasions. These names became corrupted into Hag-taper during the period when the belief in witchcraft existed, from a notion that witches employed the plant in working their spells. Probably this superstition was derived from the ancients, for we read in Gerarde’s ‘Herbal’—“Apuleius reporteth a tale of Ulysses, Mercurie, and the inchauntresse Circe using these herbes in their incantations and witchcrafts.” (SeeMullein).HALLELUJAH.—The Wood-Sorrel (Oxalis Acetosella) bears the name of Hallelujah, not only in England, but in Germany, France, Spain, and Italy, because it blossoms between Easter and Whitsuntide—the season at which those Psalms are sung which end with that pious ejaculation, viz., the 113th to the 117th inclusive.HAREBELL.—Gerarde, in his ‘Herbal,’ Parkinson, in his ‘Paradisus,’ and other old herbalists, term theHyacinthus non scriptus, or English Jacinth, the Hare-bell or Hare’s-bell. This is probably the “azure Harebell” alluded to by Shakspeare, and is the flower referred to by Browne, in his ‘Pastorals,’ as only to be worn by faithful lovers:—“The Harebell, for her stainless azured hue,Claims to be worn of none but who are true.”The nodding Blue-bell of the heath-land (Campanula rotundifolia), however, is the Hare-bell of modern poets; but both plants are called by that name in different parts of England. The original word is said to have been either Air-bell or Hair-bell, appellations which might most appropriately be applied to the graceful and airy Campanulas, whose slender stems have sufficient elasticity to riseagain when lightly trodden under foot. In some English counties the flower is familiarly called Witches’ Thimble. In France, a little white Hare-bell is common in the meadows, and from its modest and chaste appearance is called the Nun of the Fields. (SeeBlue-bellandCampanula).Hassocks.—SeeGrass.HAWKWEED.—The Hawk-weed or Hawk-bit (Hieracium) was a name originally applied to several plants of the Dandelion and Mouse-ear families, and in days when falconry was practised, these plants derived some importance from the notion entertained by the ancients that with them hawks were in the habit of clearing their eyesight—a notion endorsed by the later herbalists, for we find Gerarde writing that hawks are reported to clear their sight by conveying the juice hereof into their eyes. The old tradition that the hawk feed upon Hawkweed and led her young ones early to eat the plant, that by its juices they might gain acuteness of vision, was believed some centuries ago not only in England but throughout Europe. The Greeks considered the Hawkweed a holy plant, inasmuch as it was dedicated to the use of a bird they held sacred. One of these plants was, like the Scabious, called the Devil’s-bit, on account of its root presenting the appearance of having been bitten off short; another (Hieracium aurantiacum) bore the familiar name of Grim the Collier, given it from the black hairs which cover its stem and involucre. Hawkweeds were considered good for strengthening the eyesight, and were deemed efficacious against the bites of serpents and scorpions.——The plant was adjudged to be under the rule of Saturn.HAWTHORN.—The Hawthorn, according to ancient myths, originally sprang from the lightning: it has been revered as a sacred tree from the earliest times, and was accounted by the Greeks a tree of good augury and a symbol of conjugal union. After the rape of the Sabines, upon which occasion the shepherds carried Hawthorn-boughs, it was considered propitious; its blossoming branches were borne by those assisting at wedding festivities, and the newly-married couple were lighted to the bridal chamber with torches of the wood. At the present day, the Greeks garland their brides with wreaths of Hawthorn, and deck the nuptial altar with its blossoms, whilst on May-day they suspend boughs of the flowering shrub over their portals. The ancient Germans composed their funeral-piles of Hawthorn wood, and consecrated it with the mallet, the symbol of the god Thor. They believed that in the sacred flame which shot upwards from the Thorn, the souls of the deceased were carried to heaven.——In France, the Hawthorn is calledl’Epine noble, from the belief that it furnished the Crown of Thorns worn by our Lord before the Crucifixion. Sir John Maundevile has given the original tradition, which is as follows:—“Then was our Lord led into a garden ... and the Jews scourgedHim, and made Him a crown of the branches of theAlbespyne, that is, White Thorn, which grew in the same garden, and set it on His head.... And therefore hath the White Thorn many virtues. For he that beareth a branch thereof, no thunder or manner of tempest may hurt him: and in the house that it is in may no evil spirit enter.”——A Roman Catholic legend relates that when the Holy Crown blossomed afresh, whilst the victorious Charlemagne knelt before it, the scent of Hawthorn filled the air. The Crown of Thorns was given up to St. Louis of France by the Venetians, and placed by him in the Sainte Chapelle, which he built in Paris. The Feast of the Susception of the Holy Crown is observed at the church of Notre Dame, in Paris, in honour of this cherished relic. The Crown of Thorns is enclosed within a glass circle, which a priest holds in his hands; he passes before the kneeling devotees, who are ranged outside the altar rail, and offers the crown to them to be kissed. The Norman peasant constantly wears a sprig of Hawthorn in his cap, from the belief that Christ’s crown was woven of it.——The French have a curious tradition that when Christ was one day resting in a wood, after having escaped from a pursuit by the Jews, the magpies came and covered Him all over with Thorns, which the kindly swallows (poules de Dieu) perceived, and hastened to remove. A swallow is also said to have taken away the Crown of Thorns at the Crucifixion.——The Hawthorn is the distinguishing badge of the royal house of Tudor. When Richard III. was slain at Bosworth, his body was plundered of its armour and ornaments. The crown was hidden by a soldier in a Hawthorn-bush, but was soon found and carried back to Lord Stanley, who, placing it on the head of his son-in-law, saluted him as King Henry VII. To commemorate this picturesque incident, the house of Tudor assumed the device of a crown in a bush of fruited Hawthorn. The proverb of “Cleave to the crown, though it hang on a bush,” alludes to the same circumstance.——The Hawthorn has for centuries borne in England the favourite name of “May,” from its flowering in that month:“Between the leaves the silver Whitethorn showsIts dewy blossoms pure as mountain snows.”In olden times, very early on May-day morning, lads and lasses repaired to the woods and hedgerows, and returned, soon after sunrise, laden with posies of flowers, and boughs of blooming Hawthorn, with which to decorate the churches and houses: even in London boughs of May were freely suspended over the citizens’ doorways. Chaucer tells us how:—“Furth goth all the Courte, both most and lest,To fetche the flouris freshe, and braunche, and blome,And namely Hawthorne brought both page and grome,With freshe garlandis partly blew and white,And than rejoisin in their grete delighte.”In Lancashire, at the present day, the Mayers still, in some districts, go from door to door, and sing:—“We have been rambling all this night,And almost all this day;And now returned back again,We’ve brought you a branch of May.“A branch of May we have brought you,And at your door it stands;It is but a sprout, but it’s well budded outBy the work of our Lord’s hands.”Aubrey, writing in 1686, records that at Woodstock, in Oxfordshire, the people were accustomed on May-eve to go into the park and procure a number of Hawthorn-trees, which they set before their doors. In Huntingdonshire, on May-day morn, the young men used formerly to place, at sunrise, a branch of Hawthorn in blossom, before the door of anyone they wished to honour.——A curious superstition survives in Suffolk, where to sleep in a room, with the Hawthorn in bloom in it during the month of May, is considered, by country folk, to be unlucky, and sure to be followed by some great misfortune.——In some parts of Ireland, it is thought unlucky to bring blossoming Hawthorn indoors, and unsafe to gather even a leaf from certain old and solitary Thorns which grow in sheltered hollows of the moorlands, and on the fairies’ trysting places.——It is considered unlucky to cut down a Hawthorn-tree, and in many parts the peasants refuse to do it: thus we read, in a legend of county Donegal, that a fairy had tried to steal one Joe McDonough’s baby, and, telling the story to her neighbours: “I never affronted the gentry [fairies] to my knowledge,” sighed the poor mother; “but Joe helped Mr. Todd’s gardener to cut down the old Hawthorn-tree on the lawn Friday was eight days: an’ there’s them that says that’s a very bad thing to do. I fleeched him not to touch it, but the master he offered him six shillings if he’d help wi’ the job, for the other men refused.” “That’s the way of it,” whispered the crones over their pipes and poteen—“that’s just it. The gude man has had the ill luck to displease the ‘gentry,’ an’ there will be trouble in this house yet.”——Among the Pyrenean peasantry Hawthorn and Laurel are thought to secure the wearer against thunder. The inhabitants of Biarritz make Hawthorn wreaths on St. John’s Day: they then rush to the sea, plunge in after a prayer, and consider themselves safe during the ensuing twelve months from the temptation of evil spirits.——The old herbalists prescribe the distilled water of the Haws of the Hawthorn as an application suited to “any place where thorns or splinters doe abide in the flesh,” the result being that the decoction “will notably draw them out.” Lord Bacon tells us, that a “store of Haws portends cold winters.”——Among the Turks, a branch of Hawthorn expresses the wish of a lover to receive a kiss.——The Hawthorn attains to a great age, and its wood is remarkablydurable: there is a celebrated tree enclosed in Cawdor Castle, near Inverness, which has stood from time immemorial. Tradition relates that the Castle was built over the tree in consequence of a dream, by which the original proprietor was instructed to erect a castle on this particular spot. From the most remote times it has been customary for guests to assemble themselves around this venerable tree, and drink success to the House of Cawdor.——The most remarkable of English Thorns is that known as the Glastonbury Thorn, which is reputed to have sprung from the staff of Joseph of Arimathea. (SeeGlastonbury Thorn).——By astrologers the Hawthorn is placed under the dominion of Mars. Turner remarks that, should he “want weapons, he may make use of the prickles and let Saturn take the fruit.”Haymaids, orHedgemaids, the Ground-Ivy.—SeeIvy.HAZEL.—The Hazel (Corylus Avellana) is the theme of many traditions, reaching from the remotest ages, and in England the tree would seem to have acquired almost a sacred character. In Scandinavian mythology the Hazel was consecrated to the god Thor, and in the poetic Edda a staff of Hazel is mentioned as a symbol of authority, and hence employed for the sceptres of kings.——In classic mythology, the Hazel rod becomes thecaduceusof the god Mercury. Taking pity on the miserable, barbarous state of mankind, Apollo and Mercury interchanged presents and descended to the earth. The god of Harmony received from the son of Maia the shell of a tortoise, out of which he had constructed a lyre, and gave him in exchange a Hazel stick, which had the power of imparting a love of virtue and of calming the passion and hatred of men. Armed with this Hazel wand, Mercury moved among the people of earth, and touching them with it, he taught them to express their thoughts in words, and awakened within them feelings of patriotism, filial love, and reverence of the gods. Adorned with two light wings, and entwined with serpents, the Hazel rod of Mercury is still the emblem of peace and commerce.——An old tradition tells us that God, when He banished Adam from the terrestrial Paradise, gave him in His mercy the power of producing instantly the animals of which he was in want, upon striking the sea with a Hazel rod. One day Adam tried this, and produced the sheep. Eve was desirous of imitating him, but her stroke of the Hazel rod brought forth the wolf, which at once attacked the sheep. Adam hastened to regain his salutary instrument, and produced the dog, which conquered the wolf.——A Hebrew legend states that Eve, after eating the forbidden fruit, hid herself in the foliage of a Hazel-bush.——It was a Hazel-tree which afforded shelter to the Virgin Mary, surprised by a storm, whilst on her way to visit St. Elizabeth. Under a Hazel-tree the Holy Family rested during their flight into Egypt.——It was of wattled Hazel-hurdles that St. Joseph, of Arimathea, raised the firstEnglish Christian church at Glastonbury.——In Bohemia, a certain “chapel in the Hazel-tree,” dedicated to the Virgin Mary, is regarded with much reverence: it was erected in memory of a butcher to whom a statue of the Virgin, near a Hazel-tree, had spoken. The butcher carried off the image to his house, but during the night the statue returned to its former place near the Hazel-tree.——For the ancient Germans, the Hazel-tree, which re-blossoms towards the end of winter, was a type of immortality. It is now considered a symbol of happy marriages, because the Nuts are seen on its branches united in pairs.——In the Black Forest, the leader of a marriage procession carries a Hazel wand in his hand. In some places, during certain processions on Sunday, the Oats stored in stables for horses are touched, in the name of God, with Hazel-branches.——It is believed that this humble shrub frightens serpents. An Irish tradition relates that St. Patrick held a rod of Hazel-wood in his hand when he gathered on the promontory of Cruachan Phadraig all the venomous reptiles of the island and cast them into the sea.——The Hazel rod or staff appears in olden times to have had peculiar sanctity: it was used by pilgrims, and often deposited in churches, or kept as a precious relic, and buried with its owner. Several such Hazel staffs have been found in Hereford Cathedral.——The Tyroleans consider that a Hazel-bough is an excellent lightning conductor.——According to an ancient Hebrew tradition, the wands of magicians were made of Hazel, and of a virgin branch, that is, of a bough quite bare and destitute of sprigs or secondary branches.——Nork says that by means of Hazel rods witches can be compelled to restore to animals and plants the fecundity which they had previously taken from them.——Pliny states that Hazel wands assist the discovery of subterranean springs; and in Italy, to the present day, they are believed to act as divining-rods for the discovery of hidden treasure—a belief formerly held in England, if we may judge from the following lines by S. Shepherd (1600):—
“With the first Spring the soft Fumaria showsOn stern Bavaria’s rocks her sev’ral hues;But by report is struck by certain fate,When dreadful thunders echo from their height;And with the lightning’s sulph’rous fumes opprest,Her drooping beauties languish on her breast.”
“With the first Spring the soft Fumaria showsOn stern Bavaria’s rocks her sev’ral hues;But by report is struck by certain fate,When dreadful thunders echo from their height;And with the lightning’s sulph’rous fumes opprest,Her drooping beauties languish on her breast.”
“With the first Spring the soft Fumaria shows
On stern Bavaria’s rocks her sev’ral hues;
But by report is struck by certain fate,
When dreadful thunders echo from their height;
And with the lightning’s sulph’rous fumes opprest,
Her drooping beauties languish on her breast.”
Dioscorides says that the juice dropped into the eyes clears the sight, and also that the juice, having a little gum Arabic dissolved therein, and applied to the eyelids when the hairs have been pulled out, will keep them from growing again.——According to astrologers, Fumitory is a herb of Saturn.
GANG FLOWER.—The Milk-wort,Flos Ambarvalis, Cross-, Procession-, Gang-, or Rogation-Flower (Polygala vulgaris), was so called from its blossoming in Gang-week or Rogation-week, when processions were made in imitation of the ancient Roman Ambarvalia (seeCorn), to perambulate the parishes with the Holy Cross and Litanies, to mark boundaries, and to invoke God’s blessing upon the crops; upon which occasions Gerarde tells us “the maidens which use in the countries to walke the procession do make themselves garlands and nosegaies” of the Milk-wort, which the old herbalist likewise informs us is so called on account of its “vertues in procuring milke in the breasts of nurses.”
GARLIC.—The tapering-leaved Garlic (Allium sativum) derives its name from two Anglo-Saxon words, meaning the Spear-plant. The Egyptians so appreciated Garlic, that they were accustomed to swear by it, and even to worship it. Referring to this, Juvenal satirically remarks: “Each clove of Garlic hath a sacred flower.” Nevertheless, no Egyptian priest was permitted to eat Garlic. The Israelites, who had learnt in Egypt to prize this vegetable, murmured at being deprived of its use, and expressed their preference of it to Manna itself.——In Asia Minor, Greece, Scandinavia, and Northern Germany, Garlic is popularly believed to possess magical properties of a beneficent nature. According to the ‘Lay of Sigurdrîfa,’ protection from witchcraft may be ensured by the addition of Garlic to a beverage. The Sanscrit name for Garlic means the Slayer of Monsters. Galen relates that it was considered inimical to all cold poisons, and to the bites of venomous beasts. Macer Floridus affirms that the eating of Garlic fasting ensured immunity from all ills attending change of climate or the drinking of unknown water. The roots, hung round the necks of blind cattle, were supposed to induce restoration of sight. Clusius relates that the German miners found the roots very powerful in defending them from the assaults of impure spirits which frequented mines.——In England, Garlic obtained the name of Poor Man’s Treacle, or Triacle, from its being considered an antidote to animal poison. Bacon tells us that, applied to the wrists, and renewed, Garlic was considered a cure for long agues: in Kent, and probably in other counties, it is placed in the stockings of a child with the whooping-cough, in order to allay the complaint.——De Gubernatis states that the Bolognese regard Garlic as the symbol of abundance; at the festival of St. John, everyone buys it, to preserve themselves from poverty during the year. In Sicily, they put Garlic on the beds of women during confinement, and they make three signs of the cross with it to charm away polypus. In Cuba, thirteen cloves of Garlic at the end of a cord worn round the neck for thirteen days, is considered to safeguard the wearer against the jaundice, provided that, in the middle of the night of the thirteenth day, he proceeds to the corner of two streets, takes off his Garlic necklet, and, flinging it over his head, runs instantly home without turning round to see what has become of it.——The broad-leaved Garlic was formerly called Buckrams, Bear’s Garlic, Ramsies, and Ramsins, the last name being referred to in the proverb—
“Eat Leekes in Lide, and Ramsins in May,And all the year after physitians may play.”
“Eat Leekes in Lide, and Ramsins in May,And all the year after physitians may play.”
“Eat Leekes in Lide, and Ramsins in May,
And all the year after physitians may play.”
We read that if a man dream of eating Garlic, it signifies that he will discover hidden secrets, and meet with some domestic jar; yet to dream he has it in the house is lucky.——Garlic is under the dominion of Mars.
Gean.—SeeCherry.
GENTIAN.—The Gentian (Gentiana) was so called after Gentius, King of Illyria, who first discovered the medicinal virtues of this bitter plant. Gentius having imprisoned the ambassadors sent to his court by the Romans, they invaded his kingdom, conquered it, and led the royal botanist and his family in triumph through the streets of Rome. The old name of this flower wasGentiana cruciata, and it was also calledS. Ladislai Regis herba, in regard to which latter appellation, there is a curious legend:—During the reign of King Ladislas, the whole of Hungary was afflicted with the plague. Compassionating his unfortunate subjects who were dying by thousands, the pious king prayed that if he shot an arrow into the air, the Almighty would vouchsafe to guide it to the root of some herb that might be employed efficaciously in arresting the terrible plague. The king discharged an arrow, and, in falling, it cleft the root of theCruciata(Gentian), which was at once tried, and found to possess the most astonishing curative powers when administered to sufferers from the plague.——According to old Robert Turner, the herbalist, Gentian, or Felwort, “resists poisons, putrefaction, and the pestilence, and helps digestion; the powder of the dry roots helps bitings of mad dogs and venomous beasts, opens the liver, and procures an appetite. Wine, wherein the herb hath been steept, being drunk, refreshes such as are over-wearied by travel, or are lame in their joynts by cold or bad lodgings.” Gerarde states that it is put into counterpoisons, “as into the composition namedTheriaca diatessaron, which Ætius callethMysterium, a mystery, or hid secret.” Formerly the names of Baldmoney and Baldmoyne were applied to the Felwort or Gentian. (SeeBaldmoneyandFeldwode.)——Gentian is under the dominion of Mars.
Geranium.—SeeCrane’s Bill.
Gill.—SeeIvy.
GILLIFLOWER.—The appellation of Gilliflower has been applied, apparently as a kind of pet name, to all manner of plants. Formerly the word was speltgylloferandgilofre, from the Frenchgirofléeand Italiangarofalo, words derived from the LatinCaryophyllumand GreekKaruophullon, a Clove, in allusion to the flower’s spicy odour. The name was originally given by the Italians to the Carnation and plants of the Pink tribe, and was so used by Chaucer, Spenser, and Shakspeare. Afterwards both writers and gardeners bestowed the name on theMatthiolaandCheiranthus. At the present time the word has almost fallen out of use, but in books will be found to be applied to the Clove Gilliflower,Dianthus Caryophyllus(the true Gilliflower); the Marsh Gilliflower, or Ragged Robin (Lychnis flos cuculi); Queen’s, Rogue’s, or Winter Gilliflower, the Dame’s Violet (Hesperis matronalis); Stock Gilliflower (Matthiola incana); Wall Gilliflower (Cheiranthus Cheiri); and Water Gilliflower (Hottonia palustris).——The Gilliflower is in old songs representedas one of the flowers thought to grow in Paradise. Thus, in a ballad called ‘Dead Men’s Songs,’ occurs the following verse:—
“The fields about the city faireWere all with Roses set,Gillyflowers and Carnations faireWhich canker could not fret.”
“The fields about the city faireWere all with Roses set,Gillyflowers and Carnations faireWhich canker could not fret.”
“The fields about the city faire
Were all with Roses set,
Gillyflowers and Carnations faire
Which canker could not fret.”
(See alsoCarnation).
GINSENG.—The Chinese consider the far-famed Ginseng (Panax quinquefolia) the most valuable production of nature. It is their specific for all disorders of the lungs or of the stomach, curing asthma, strengthening the eyesight, renewing a worn-out constitution, delaying the approach of old age, and acting as a counterpoison. The Dutch naturalists thus described the Ginseng:—“Its name is taken from its shape, because its represents a man (in ChineseGin) striding with his legs. It is a larger and stronger species of our Mandrake. The dried root is of a yellow colour, streaked round with blackish veins, as if drawn with ink. It yields when chewed an unpleasant sweetness, mixed with bitterness. The Chinese will give three pounds of gold for one pound of it.” To the Chinese this shrub is in some measure a foreign production, as it is found only in Manchoo Tartary; but it does not owe all its reputation to its distant origin; the Tartars also prize it, and give it a name (Orhota) expressive of its quality as the chief of plants. They endeavour to procure it at the risk of losing their lives or liberty, equally endangered by the nature of the country where it is found, and by the policy of the Chinese Government, which endeavours to monopolise this much-esteemed production. A large extent of country to the north-east of Pekin, covered with inaccessible mountains, and almost impassable forests infested with wild beasts, and affording no means of subsistence, is separated from the province of Leao Tong by a strong barrier of stakes, always carefully protected by guards of Chinese soldiers who seize and punish unlicensed intruders: this is the native country of Ginseng, and these precautions are considered necessary to preserve the valued plant from depredation. The Père Jartoux, who was employed in the survey of Tartary by order of the Emperor Kam-he, describes the mode of gathering the Ginseng, as it was practised at that time. He had frequently met with the party of Tartars employed on the service, but on this occasion ten thousand Tartars were commanded to gather all the Ginseng that could be found; and after deducting two ounces from the quantity gathered by each man, they were allowed for the remainder its weight in pure silver. This army of botanists divided themselves into companies of a hundred men, with a chief to each company. The whole territory was then apportioned to the several divisions; each division formed a line, and, slowly advancing, traversed that portion of country allotted to it; nearly six months were spent in the occupation,and the whole territory was thus searched through. Of the Ginseng thus collected the root is the only part preserved.
GLADIOLUS.—The Corn-flag, or Sword-flag (Gladiolus), has been thought by some to be the flower alluded to by Ovid as the blossom which sprang from the blood of Hyacinthus when he was accidentally slain by Apollo with a quoit—the flower which bears displayed upon its petals the sad impression of the Sun-god’s sighs-Ai, Ai!(SeeHyacinth). The upper root of the Sword-flag was supposed by the old herbalists to provoke amatory passions, whilst the lower root was thought to cause barrenness.——The Gladiolus is a plant of the Moon.
GLASTONBURY THORN.—In Loudon’sArboretum Britannicum, the Glastonbury Thorn is mentioned as theCratægus Oxyacantha præcox. This variety of the Hawthorn blossoms during the Winter, and was for many years believed religiously to blow on Christmas-day. The Abbey of Glastonbury, in Somersetshire, which is now a ruin, and of whose origin only vague memorials exist, was said by the monks to have been the residence of Joseph of Arimathea. The high ground on which the old abbey was erected used in early days to be called the Isle of Avalon. The Thorn-tree stood on an eminence to the south-west of the town of Glastonbury, where a nunnery, dedicated to St. Peter, was in after times erected. The eminence is called Weary-all Hill; and the same monkish legend which accounts for the name of the hill, states also the origin of the Thorn. It seems that when Joseph of Arimathea, to whom the original conversion of this country is attributed, arrived at this spot with his companions, they were weary with their journey, and sat down. St. Joseph then stuck his stick in the ground, when, although it was a dry Hawthorn staff, it took root and grew, and thenceforth commemorated the birth of Christ in the manner above mentioned. This rendered its blossoms of so much value in all Christian nations, that the Bristol merchants exported them as things of price to foreign lands. It had two trunks or bodies until the time of Queen Elizabeth, when a Puritan cut down one of them, but left the other, which was about the size of an ordinary man. This desecration of the tree brought condign punishment upon the over-zealous Puritan, for, according to James Howell, a writer of the period, “some of the prickles flew into his eye, and made him monocular.” The reputation which the Glastonbury Thorn still retained, notwithstanding the change of religion, may be estimated by the fact that King James and his Queen, and other persons of distinction, gave large sums for small cuttings from the original tree. Until the time of Charles I., it was customary to carry a branch of the Thorn in procession at Christmas time; but during the civil war, in that reign, what remained of the tree was cut down; plants from its branches are, however, still in existence,for a vintner of the place secured a slip, and planted it in his garden, where it duly flowered on the 25th December. When the new style was introduced in 1752, the alteration (which consisted of omitting eleven days) seems to have been very generally disliked by the mass of the people. The use which was made of the Glastonbury Thorn to prove the impropriety of the change is not a little curious. The alteration in the Christmas Day, which was held that year and since on a day which would have been January 5th, was particularly obnoxious, not only as disturbing old associations, but as making an arbitrary change from what was considered the true anniversary of the birth of Christ. In several places, where real or supposed slips from the Glastonbury Thorn existed, the testimony of the plant against the change was anxiously sought on the first Christmas Day under the new style. As the special distinction of the Thorn arose from its supposed connection with the great event commemorated on that day, it was argued that it must indicate the true anniversary, and that its evidence would be conclusive on the subject. The event of one of these references (at Quainton, in Buckinghamshire) is thus recorded in the ‘Gentleman’s Magazine’ for 1753:—“Above 2000 people came here this night (December 24th, 1752,N.S., being the first Christmas Eve under the new calendar), with lanthorns and candles, to view a Thorn-tree which grows in this neighbourhood, and which was remembered (this year only) to be a slip from the Glastonbury Thorn; that it always budded on the 24th, was full-blown the next day, and went off at night. But the people, finding no appearance of a bud, it was agreed that December 25th n.s. could not be the right Christmas Day, and accordingly they refused going to Church, or treating their friends as usual. At length the affair became so serious, that the ministers of the neighbouring villages, in order to appease the people, thought it prudent to give notice that the old Christmas Day should be kept holy as usual.” The slips of the Thorn seem to have been everywhere unanimous in this opposition to the new style. There still exist at Glastonbury, within the precincts of the ruins of the Abbey, two distinct trees, which, doubtless, sprang from the Thorn of Joseph of Arimathea, and which continue to blossom during the winter months.
GLOBE FLOWER.—The botanical name of the Globe Flower,Trollius Europæus, is supposed to be of Scandinavian origin, and to signify a magic flower. The plant is also called Globe Ranunculus and Globe Crow-foot, from the globular form of its calyx. The flower was formerly known as the Troll-flower, and in Scotland as the Luckan Gowan (Cabbage Daisy). Its name of Troll was probably derived from the Swedish wordtroll, a malignant supernatural being,—a name corresponding to the Scotch Witches’ Gowan, and given to theTrolliuson account of its acrid poisonous qualities. It is a common flower on the Alps, and has been employed from time immemorial by the Swiss peasantry tomake garlands of on rural festive celebrations. In the northern counties of England, at the beginning of June, the Globe-flower is sought with great festivity by the young people, who adorn their doors and cottages with wreaths and garlands composed of its blossoms.
GOAT’S BEARD.—The yellow Goat’s Beard (Tragopogon pratensis) is one of the best floral indices of the hour of the day, for it opens at sunrise and closes at noon.
“And goodly now the noon-tide hour,When from his high meridian towerThe sun looks down in majesty,What time about the grassy leaThe Goat’s Beard, prompt his rise to hailWith broad expanded disk, in veilClose mantling wraps its yellow head,And goes, as peasants say, to bed.”—Bp. Mant.
“And goodly now the noon-tide hour,When from his high meridian towerThe sun looks down in majesty,What time about the grassy leaThe Goat’s Beard, prompt his rise to hailWith broad expanded disk, in veilClose mantling wraps its yellow head,And goes, as peasants say, to bed.”—Bp. Mant.
“And goodly now the noon-tide hour,
When from his high meridian tower
The sun looks down in majesty,
What time about the grassy lea
The Goat’s Beard, prompt his rise to hail
With broad expanded disk, in veil
Close mantling wraps its yellow head,
And goes, as peasants say, to bed.”—Bp. Mant.
Other names of this plant are Noon-day Flower, Go-to-bed-at-noon, Star of Jerusalem, and Joseph’s Flower. No satisfactory explanation has ever been given with respect to the last two names, nor is it known whether the Joseph referred to is the son of Jacob, the Virgin Mary’s husband, or Joseph of Arimathea.
GOLDEN ROD.—The tall straight-stemmed Golden Rod (Solidago virga aurea) was formerly called Wound-weed, and on account of its healing powers received its scientific namesolidago, from “in solidum ago vulnera,” “I consolidate wounds.” It was brought from abroad in a dried state, and sold in the London markets by the herb-women of Queen Elizabeth’s days, and Gerarde tells us that it fetched half-a-crown an ounce. About that time, however, it was found in Hampstead ponds, and when it was seen to be a native plant, it became valueless and was discarded from use; which, says Gerarde, “plainely setteth forth our inconstancie and sudden mutabilitie, esteeming no longer of anything, how pretious soever it be, than whilest it is strange and rare. This verifieth our English proverbe, ‘Far fetcht and deare bought is best for ladies.’”——According to tradition, the Golden Rod is also a divining-rod, and points to hidden springs of water as well as to treasures of gold and silver.——Astrologers say that Golden Rod is a plant of Venus.
Gold CupandGold Knobs.—SeeRanunculus.
Gold,Golding, andGowan.—SeeMarigold.
GOLDILOCKS.—This name is applied toRanunculus auricomus,Chrysocoma Linosyris,Amaranthus luteus(Golden Flower Gentle), and, by Gerarde, toMuscus capillaris(Golden Maidenhair Moss).Camelina sativais the Gold of Pleasure.
GOLUBETZ.—There is a popular belief in Russia, that anyone drinking a draught of water in which this plant of the marshes has been steeped, will be exempt from attacks by bears.
GOOD HENRY.—The Allgood, English Mercury, Good Henry, or Good King Harry (Chenopodium Bonus Henricus) seems to have been given its name of Good Henry to distinguish it from a poisonous plant calledMalus Henricus. Grimm explains that the name Henry has reference in this case to elves and kobolds, which were called Heinz and Heinrich.
GOOL-ACHIN.—ThePlumeria acutifolia, a tree of American origin, is called by the Hindus Gool-achin, and is esteemed sacred by them. It is commonly planted in Indian gardens, and particularly in cemeteries, because it keeps the graves of the departed white with its daily fall of fragrant flowers. The branches are stout, and, when wounded, exude a milky juice, which is prized.
GOOSEBERRY.—The homely Gooseberry, which derives its name from the Anglo-Saxoncrós, a curl (Germankraus, and old Dutchkroes), is an old inhabitant of England, for Tusser, who lived in the reign of Henry VIII., wrote of it—
“The Barberry, Respis, and Gooseberry, too,Look now to be planted as other things do.”
“The Barberry, Respis, and Gooseberry, too,Look now to be planted as other things do.”
“The Barberry, Respis, and Gooseberry, too,
Look now to be planted as other things do.”
It was formerly called Feaberry, Dewberry and Wineberry.——An old-fashioned remedy for a wart consisted in pricking it with a sharp Gooseberry-thorn passed through a wedding-ring.——To dream of ripe Gooseberries is considered as a favourable omen. It predicts a fortune, a lucrative post under Government, great fidelity in your sweetheart, sweetness of temper and disposition, many children (chiefly sons), and the accomplishment of your aims. To the sailor, to dream of Gooseberries, indicates dangers in his next voyage; to the maiden, a roving husband.——The Gooseberry is placed by astrologers under the rule of Venus.
GRAPES.—The product of the Vine was the especial fruit of the god Bacchus, who is sometimes represented like an infant, holding a thyrsus and clusters of grapes with a horn. In the Catholic Church, Grapes and Corn are symbolic of the Blessed Eucharist. According to Brocard, the finest Grapes are those grown in the vales of Eshcol and Sorek. The wordsoreksignifies “fine Grapes.” Clusters of Grapes have been found in Syria, weighing as much as forty pounds, worthy successors of the cluster taken by the Israelitish spies from Eshcol, which “they bare between two upon a staff.”——In some countries, the Grape is believed to have been the forbidden fruit of the Tree of Knowledge in the Garden of Eden.——To dream of Grapes foretells to the maiden that her husband will be cheerful, and a great songster. If the dreamer be in love, they augur a speedy union, and denote much happiness in marriage and success in trade. According to another authority, to dream that you see clusters of Grapes hanging round about you predicts future advancement and honour. To the maid it implies marriage with an ambitious man, who will arrive at great preferment, but die early.
GORSE.—The Whin Gorse, or Furze (Ulex)—“the never-bloomless Furze”—caused Dillenius the greatest delight, and is said to have so affected Linnæus, when he first came to England and saw a common covered with its golden blossoms, that he fell down on his knees in a rapture at the sight, and thanked God for its loveliness. He attempted in vain to introduce it into Sweden; but although hardy enough in England, yet it would not grow even in the garden in which Linnæus planted it.——The old English names for this shrub were Fursbush, Furrs, Whins, and Goss.——Gorse is held to be under the dominion of Mars.
GORY-DEW.—A minute Alga bears the name of Gory-dew from its resemblance to blood-drops. During the Middle Ages, it caused much dismay by appearing like a sudden shower of blood, and it was thought to portend battle, murder, and sudden death.
GRASS.—In India, several kinds of Grass, such as theKusa, a species ofAndropogon, andEragrostis, are held sacred by the Hindus, and employed in their temples.——In Prussia, the northern Holy Grass (Holcus odoratus) is used for strewing the floors of churches at Whitsuntide. In some parts of Germany, Holy Grass (Hierochloe borealis) is strewn before church doors on holidays.——Wheat would appear to be only the cultivated form of theÆgilops, a Grass infesting Barley-fields on the shores of the Mediterranean. Grip-grass (Galium Aparine) is so called from its gripping or seizing with its hooked prickles whatever comes in its way. ThePotentilla reptansis called Five-Finger Grass, on account of its five leaflets. The only poisonous Grass (Darnel) is supposed to be the Tares of the Scriptures: Linnæus says of this Grass (Lolium temulentum) that if the seeds are baked in bread it is very hurtful, and if malted with Barley it produces giddinness.——In Norfolk, coarse marshy Grass is called Hassock, hence the application of this name to church hassocks, which are often made of a large Sedge, theCarex paniculata.——In connection with Tussack-grass (Aira cæspitosa), Mr. Sikes relates the following tradition current in Wales:—The son of a farmer at Drws Coed was permitted to marry a fairy-wife on condition that she should never be touched by iron. They had several children, and lived happily enough until one unfortunate day her horse sank in the deep mire, and as her husband was helping her to remount, his stirrup struck her knee. At once sweet singing was heard on the hill top, and she was parted from him; but, though no longer allowed to walk the earth with man, she used to haunt the turf lake (Llyn y dywarchen). This lake has moving islands of Tussack-grass, like Derwentwater, so on one of these islands she used to stand for hours and hold converse with her bereaved husband.——“Fairy Rings” is the popular name for the circles of dark-green Grass occasionally seen on grassy downs and old pastures, round which, according to popular belief, the
“Elfe-queen, with her jolly compagnie,Danced full oft in many a grene mede.”
“Elfe-queen, with her jolly compagnie,Danced full oft in many a grene mede.”
“Elfe-queen, with her jolly compagnie,
Danced full oft in many a grene mede.”
On this dark Grass rustic superstition avers that no sheep or lamb will browse. Disregarding the poetical charm which lingers around the fairy superstition, and oblivious of the poet’s asseveration that—
“Of old the merry elves were seenPacing with printless feet the dewy green,”
“Of old the merry elves were seenPacing with printless feet the dewy green,”
“Of old the merry elves were seen
Pacing with printless feet the dewy green,”
some naturalists have ascribed the phenomenon of these rings to lightning; others to the work of ants; and others, again, to the growth of a small esculent Fungus calledAgaricus Orcades. However, Edmund Jones, a celebrated preacher, of Monmouth, who in 1813 wrote a book on apparitions, declares that in St. Matthew xii., 43, is to be found an authority for the popular belief. He says, “The fairy rings are found in dry places, and the Scripture saith that the walk of evil spirits is in dry places.”——In Sussex, elves and fairies are sometimes called “Pharisees” by the country folk, and in Tarberry Hill, on Harting, are Pharisees’ rings, where the simple people say the Pharisees dance on Midsummer Eve.——To dream of Grass is a good omen; if the Grass be fresh and green, the dream portends long life, good luck, and great wealth; but if withered and decayed, misfortunes and sickness may be expected, if not the death of loved ones. To dream of cutting Grass betokens great troubles.
GROUNDHEELE.—This plant, known in Germany asGrundheil, and in France asHerbe aux Ladres, is identified by Doctor Prior withVeronica officinalis, which he says was so called from its having cured a king of France of a leprosy, from which he had suffered some eight years—a disease, called in Germany,grind. Quoting from Brunschwygk, our author tells us that a shepherd had seen a stag, whose hind quarter was covered with a scabby eruption from the bite of a wolf, cure itself by eating of this plant, and rolling itself upon it; and that thereupon he recommended the king to try it.
Ground-Ivy.—SeeIvy.
GROUNDSEL.—TheSenecio vulgarisis called, in Scotland, Grundy Swallow, a term derived from the Anglo-Saxon wordgrundswelge, ground glutton, and of which Groundsel is evidently a corruption.Senecio Saracenicusis said to have been used by the Saracens in the cure of wounds. Common Groundsel has the power of softening water if it be poured while boiling on the plant. The Highland women often wear a piece of its root as an amulet to guard them from the Evil Eye. A bunch of Groundsel worn on the bare bosom was formerly reputed to be an efficacious charm against the ague. Pliny prescribes Groundsel for the toothache. A root must be pulled up, and a portion of it cut off with a sharp razor; then the Groundsel must be immediately replanted, and the excised portion applied three or four times to the ailing tooth. A cure is probable, says Pliny, provided the mutilated and replanted Groundsel should thrive: if otherwise, the tooth willache more than ever. In Cornwall, if Groundsel is to be used as an emetic, they strip it upwards; if for a cathartic, downwards.——Groundsel is a herb of Venus.
GUABANA.—The Guabana or Guarabana, which is presumed to be the wild Pine Apple,Ananas sativus, first became known to Europeans in Peru some three centuries ago. In theMythologie des Plantes, we read that the dead were, according to a ghastly popular tradition, believed to rise and eat the Guabana fruit every night. This fruit of the dead is described as tender and sweet as a Melon, of the shape of a Pine-apple, and of a splendid appearance.
GUELDER ROSE.—TheViburnum Opulushas been called the Snowball-tree, but is more generally known as the Guelder Rose, from its Rose-like balls of white blossom. The shrub is a variety of the Water Elder, introduced from Gueldres. In England, its flowers are dedicated to Whitsuntide.
HÆMANTHUS.—TheHæmanthus, or Blood-flower, is a native of Brazil, whereH. multiflorusis the Imperial Flower—the especial flower and blazon of the Emperor.
HAG-TAPER.—TheVerbascum Thapsuswas called Hedge-taper, High-taper, or Hig-taper, because it was used as a torch on funeral and other occasions. These names became corrupted into Hag-taper during the period when the belief in witchcraft existed, from a notion that witches employed the plant in working their spells. Probably this superstition was derived from the ancients, for we read in Gerarde’s ‘Herbal’—“Apuleius reporteth a tale of Ulysses, Mercurie, and the inchauntresse Circe using these herbes in their incantations and witchcrafts.” (SeeMullein).
HALLELUJAH.—The Wood-Sorrel (Oxalis Acetosella) bears the name of Hallelujah, not only in England, but in Germany, France, Spain, and Italy, because it blossoms between Easter and Whitsuntide—the season at which those Psalms are sung which end with that pious ejaculation, viz., the 113th to the 117th inclusive.
HAREBELL.—Gerarde, in his ‘Herbal,’ Parkinson, in his ‘Paradisus,’ and other old herbalists, term theHyacinthus non scriptus, or English Jacinth, the Hare-bell or Hare’s-bell. This is probably the “azure Harebell” alluded to by Shakspeare, and is the flower referred to by Browne, in his ‘Pastorals,’ as only to be worn by faithful lovers:—
“The Harebell, for her stainless azured hue,Claims to be worn of none but who are true.”
“The Harebell, for her stainless azured hue,Claims to be worn of none but who are true.”
“The Harebell, for her stainless azured hue,
Claims to be worn of none but who are true.”
The nodding Blue-bell of the heath-land (Campanula rotundifolia), however, is the Hare-bell of modern poets; but both plants are called by that name in different parts of England. The original word is said to have been either Air-bell or Hair-bell, appellations which might most appropriately be applied to the graceful and airy Campanulas, whose slender stems have sufficient elasticity to riseagain when lightly trodden under foot. In some English counties the flower is familiarly called Witches’ Thimble. In France, a little white Hare-bell is common in the meadows, and from its modest and chaste appearance is called the Nun of the Fields. (SeeBlue-bellandCampanula).
Hassocks.—SeeGrass.
HAWKWEED.—The Hawk-weed or Hawk-bit (Hieracium) was a name originally applied to several plants of the Dandelion and Mouse-ear families, and in days when falconry was practised, these plants derived some importance from the notion entertained by the ancients that with them hawks were in the habit of clearing their eyesight—a notion endorsed by the later herbalists, for we find Gerarde writing that hawks are reported to clear their sight by conveying the juice hereof into their eyes. The old tradition that the hawk feed upon Hawkweed and led her young ones early to eat the plant, that by its juices they might gain acuteness of vision, was believed some centuries ago not only in England but throughout Europe. The Greeks considered the Hawkweed a holy plant, inasmuch as it was dedicated to the use of a bird they held sacred. One of these plants was, like the Scabious, called the Devil’s-bit, on account of its root presenting the appearance of having been bitten off short; another (Hieracium aurantiacum) bore the familiar name of Grim the Collier, given it from the black hairs which cover its stem and involucre. Hawkweeds were considered good for strengthening the eyesight, and were deemed efficacious against the bites of serpents and scorpions.——The plant was adjudged to be under the rule of Saturn.
HAWTHORN.—The Hawthorn, according to ancient myths, originally sprang from the lightning: it has been revered as a sacred tree from the earliest times, and was accounted by the Greeks a tree of good augury and a symbol of conjugal union. After the rape of the Sabines, upon which occasion the shepherds carried Hawthorn-boughs, it was considered propitious; its blossoming branches were borne by those assisting at wedding festivities, and the newly-married couple were lighted to the bridal chamber with torches of the wood. At the present day, the Greeks garland their brides with wreaths of Hawthorn, and deck the nuptial altar with its blossoms, whilst on May-day they suspend boughs of the flowering shrub over their portals. The ancient Germans composed their funeral-piles of Hawthorn wood, and consecrated it with the mallet, the symbol of the god Thor. They believed that in the sacred flame which shot upwards from the Thorn, the souls of the deceased were carried to heaven.——In France, the Hawthorn is calledl’Epine noble, from the belief that it furnished the Crown of Thorns worn by our Lord before the Crucifixion. Sir John Maundevile has given the original tradition, which is as follows:—“Then was our Lord led into a garden ... and the Jews scourgedHim, and made Him a crown of the branches of theAlbespyne, that is, White Thorn, which grew in the same garden, and set it on His head.... And therefore hath the White Thorn many virtues. For he that beareth a branch thereof, no thunder or manner of tempest may hurt him: and in the house that it is in may no evil spirit enter.”——A Roman Catholic legend relates that when the Holy Crown blossomed afresh, whilst the victorious Charlemagne knelt before it, the scent of Hawthorn filled the air. The Crown of Thorns was given up to St. Louis of France by the Venetians, and placed by him in the Sainte Chapelle, which he built in Paris. The Feast of the Susception of the Holy Crown is observed at the church of Notre Dame, in Paris, in honour of this cherished relic. The Crown of Thorns is enclosed within a glass circle, which a priest holds in his hands; he passes before the kneeling devotees, who are ranged outside the altar rail, and offers the crown to them to be kissed. The Norman peasant constantly wears a sprig of Hawthorn in his cap, from the belief that Christ’s crown was woven of it.——The French have a curious tradition that when Christ was one day resting in a wood, after having escaped from a pursuit by the Jews, the magpies came and covered Him all over with Thorns, which the kindly swallows (poules de Dieu) perceived, and hastened to remove. A swallow is also said to have taken away the Crown of Thorns at the Crucifixion.——The Hawthorn is the distinguishing badge of the royal house of Tudor. When Richard III. was slain at Bosworth, his body was plundered of its armour and ornaments. The crown was hidden by a soldier in a Hawthorn-bush, but was soon found and carried back to Lord Stanley, who, placing it on the head of his son-in-law, saluted him as King Henry VII. To commemorate this picturesque incident, the house of Tudor assumed the device of a crown in a bush of fruited Hawthorn. The proverb of “Cleave to the crown, though it hang on a bush,” alludes to the same circumstance.——The Hawthorn has for centuries borne in England the favourite name of “May,” from its flowering in that month:
“Between the leaves the silver Whitethorn showsIts dewy blossoms pure as mountain snows.”
“Between the leaves the silver Whitethorn showsIts dewy blossoms pure as mountain snows.”
“Between the leaves the silver Whitethorn shows
Its dewy blossoms pure as mountain snows.”
In olden times, very early on May-day morning, lads and lasses repaired to the woods and hedgerows, and returned, soon after sunrise, laden with posies of flowers, and boughs of blooming Hawthorn, with which to decorate the churches and houses: even in London boughs of May were freely suspended over the citizens’ doorways. Chaucer tells us how:—
“Furth goth all the Courte, both most and lest,To fetche the flouris freshe, and braunche, and blome,And namely Hawthorne brought both page and grome,With freshe garlandis partly blew and white,And than rejoisin in their grete delighte.”
“Furth goth all the Courte, both most and lest,To fetche the flouris freshe, and braunche, and blome,And namely Hawthorne brought both page and grome,With freshe garlandis partly blew and white,And than rejoisin in their grete delighte.”
“Furth goth all the Courte, both most and lest,
To fetche the flouris freshe, and braunche, and blome,
And namely Hawthorne brought both page and grome,
With freshe garlandis partly blew and white,
And than rejoisin in their grete delighte.”
In Lancashire, at the present day, the Mayers still, in some districts, go from door to door, and sing:—
“We have been rambling all this night,And almost all this day;And now returned back again,We’ve brought you a branch of May.“A branch of May we have brought you,And at your door it stands;It is but a sprout, but it’s well budded outBy the work of our Lord’s hands.”
“We have been rambling all this night,And almost all this day;And now returned back again,We’ve brought you a branch of May.“A branch of May we have brought you,And at your door it stands;It is but a sprout, but it’s well budded outBy the work of our Lord’s hands.”
“We have been rambling all this night,And almost all this day;And now returned back again,We’ve brought you a branch of May.
“We have been rambling all this night,
And almost all this day;
And now returned back again,
We’ve brought you a branch of May.
“A branch of May we have brought you,And at your door it stands;It is but a sprout, but it’s well budded outBy the work of our Lord’s hands.”
“A branch of May we have brought you,
And at your door it stands;
It is but a sprout, but it’s well budded out
By the work of our Lord’s hands.”
Aubrey, writing in 1686, records that at Woodstock, in Oxfordshire, the people were accustomed on May-eve to go into the park and procure a number of Hawthorn-trees, which they set before their doors. In Huntingdonshire, on May-day morn, the young men used formerly to place, at sunrise, a branch of Hawthorn in blossom, before the door of anyone they wished to honour.——A curious superstition survives in Suffolk, where to sleep in a room, with the Hawthorn in bloom in it during the month of May, is considered, by country folk, to be unlucky, and sure to be followed by some great misfortune.——In some parts of Ireland, it is thought unlucky to bring blossoming Hawthorn indoors, and unsafe to gather even a leaf from certain old and solitary Thorns which grow in sheltered hollows of the moorlands, and on the fairies’ trysting places.——It is considered unlucky to cut down a Hawthorn-tree, and in many parts the peasants refuse to do it: thus we read, in a legend of county Donegal, that a fairy had tried to steal one Joe McDonough’s baby, and, telling the story to her neighbours: “I never affronted the gentry [fairies] to my knowledge,” sighed the poor mother; “but Joe helped Mr. Todd’s gardener to cut down the old Hawthorn-tree on the lawn Friday was eight days: an’ there’s them that says that’s a very bad thing to do. I fleeched him not to touch it, but the master he offered him six shillings if he’d help wi’ the job, for the other men refused.” “That’s the way of it,” whispered the crones over their pipes and poteen—“that’s just it. The gude man has had the ill luck to displease the ‘gentry,’ an’ there will be trouble in this house yet.”——Among the Pyrenean peasantry Hawthorn and Laurel are thought to secure the wearer against thunder. The inhabitants of Biarritz make Hawthorn wreaths on St. John’s Day: they then rush to the sea, plunge in after a prayer, and consider themselves safe during the ensuing twelve months from the temptation of evil spirits.——The old herbalists prescribe the distilled water of the Haws of the Hawthorn as an application suited to “any place where thorns or splinters doe abide in the flesh,” the result being that the decoction “will notably draw them out.” Lord Bacon tells us, that a “store of Haws portends cold winters.”——Among the Turks, a branch of Hawthorn expresses the wish of a lover to receive a kiss.——The Hawthorn attains to a great age, and its wood is remarkablydurable: there is a celebrated tree enclosed in Cawdor Castle, near Inverness, which has stood from time immemorial. Tradition relates that the Castle was built over the tree in consequence of a dream, by which the original proprietor was instructed to erect a castle on this particular spot. From the most remote times it has been customary for guests to assemble themselves around this venerable tree, and drink success to the House of Cawdor.——The most remarkable of English Thorns is that known as the Glastonbury Thorn, which is reputed to have sprung from the staff of Joseph of Arimathea. (SeeGlastonbury Thorn).——By astrologers the Hawthorn is placed under the dominion of Mars. Turner remarks that, should he “want weapons, he may make use of the prickles and let Saturn take the fruit.”
Haymaids, orHedgemaids, the Ground-Ivy.—SeeIvy.
HAZEL.—The Hazel (Corylus Avellana) is the theme of many traditions, reaching from the remotest ages, and in England the tree would seem to have acquired almost a sacred character. In Scandinavian mythology the Hazel was consecrated to the god Thor, and in the poetic Edda a staff of Hazel is mentioned as a symbol of authority, and hence employed for the sceptres of kings.——In classic mythology, the Hazel rod becomes thecaduceusof the god Mercury. Taking pity on the miserable, barbarous state of mankind, Apollo and Mercury interchanged presents and descended to the earth. The god of Harmony received from the son of Maia the shell of a tortoise, out of which he had constructed a lyre, and gave him in exchange a Hazel stick, which had the power of imparting a love of virtue and of calming the passion and hatred of men. Armed with this Hazel wand, Mercury moved among the people of earth, and touching them with it, he taught them to express their thoughts in words, and awakened within them feelings of patriotism, filial love, and reverence of the gods. Adorned with two light wings, and entwined with serpents, the Hazel rod of Mercury is still the emblem of peace and commerce.——An old tradition tells us that God, when He banished Adam from the terrestrial Paradise, gave him in His mercy the power of producing instantly the animals of which he was in want, upon striking the sea with a Hazel rod. One day Adam tried this, and produced the sheep. Eve was desirous of imitating him, but her stroke of the Hazel rod brought forth the wolf, which at once attacked the sheep. Adam hastened to regain his salutary instrument, and produced the dog, which conquered the wolf.——A Hebrew legend states that Eve, after eating the forbidden fruit, hid herself in the foliage of a Hazel-bush.——It was a Hazel-tree which afforded shelter to the Virgin Mary, surprised by a storm, whilst on her way to visit St. Elizabeth. Under a Hazel-tree the Holy Family rested during their flight into Egypt.——It was of wattled Hazel-hurdles that St. Joseph, of Arimathea, raised the firstEnglish Christian church at Glastonbury.——In Bohemia, a certain “chapel in the Hazel-tree,” dedicated to the Virgin Mary, is regarded with much reverence: it was erected in memory of a butcher to whom a statue of the Virgin, near a Hazel-tree, had spoken. The butcher carried off the image to his house, but during the night the statue returned to its former place near the Hazel-tree.——For the ancient Germans, the Hazel-tree, which re-blossoms towards the end of winter, was a type of immortality. It is now considered a symbol of happy marriages, because the Nuts are seen on its branches united in pairs.——In the Black Forest, the leader of a marriage procession carries a Hazel wand in his hand. In some places, during certain processions on Sunday, the Oats stored in stables for horses are touched, in the name of God, with Hazel-branches.——It is believed that this humble shrub frightens serpents. An Irish tradition relates that St. Patrick held a rod of Hazel-wood in his hand when he gathered on the promontory of Cruachan Phadraig all the venomous reptiles of the island and cast them into the sea.——The Hazel rod or staff appears in olden times to have had peculiar sanctity: it was used by pilgrims, and often deposited in churches, or kept as a precious relic, and buried with its owner. Several such Hazel staffs have been found in Hereford Cathedral.——The Tyroleans consider that a Hazel-bough is an excellent lightning conductor.——According to an ancient Hebrew tradition, the wands of magicians were made of Hazel, and of a virgin branch, that is, of a bough quite bare and destitute of sprigs or secondary branches.——Nork says that by means of Hazel rods witches can be compelled to restore to animals and plants the fecundity which they had previously taken from them.——Pliny states that Hazel wands assist the discovery of subterranean springs; and in Italy, to the present day, they are believed to act as divining-rods for the discovery of hidden treasure—a belief formerly held in England, if we may judge from the following lines by S. Shepherd (1600):—