“Blest Charles then to an Oak his safety owes;The Royal Oak, which now in songs shall live,Until it reach to heaven with its boughs—Boughs that for loyalty shall garlands give.”In many parts of England, Oak-branches are suspended over doorways, and gilded Oak-leaves and Oak-Apples are worn, on Royal Oak Day (May 29th), in celebration of King Charles’s restoration, and his preservation in the Boscobel Oak, which is still extant.Seven Oaks have given a name to a village in Kent; and Dean Stanley has described a row of seven Oaks standing at a particular spot in Palestine to which the following curious legend is locally attached:—After Cain had murdered his brother, he was punished by being compelled to carry the dead body of Abel during the lengthened period of five hundred years, and then to bury it in this place. Upon doing so, he planted his staff to mark the grave, and out of this staff grew up the seven Oak trees.The aged Oaks of Germany excited the wonder and respect of Tacitus, who, speaking of one of the giants of the Hercynian forest, exclaims: “Its majestic grandeur surpasses all belief; no axe has ever touched it; contemporary with the creation of the world, it is a symbol of immortality.” Sacred trees, or pillars formed of living trunks of trees, many of which were Oaks, were to be found in ancient Germany, calledIrmenseule. The world-tree of Romowe, the ancient sacred centre of the Prussians, was an evergreen Oak. The Oak of St. Louis at Vincennes, and the Oak of the Partisans at St. Ouen, are trees regarded with reverence by the French.Evelyn considers that the wood used for our Saviour’s cross was Oak; founding his belief on the statements made by divers learned men who had studied the subject, and “upon accurate examination of the many fragments pretended to be parcels of it.” The same author speaks of “the fatal præadmonition of Oaks bearing strange leaves”; and tells us that sleeping under Oak-trees will cure paralysis, and recover those whom the malign influence of the Walnut-tree has smitten. Paulus, a Danish physician, averred that one or two handfuls of small Oak-buttons mingled with Oats given to black horses will change them in a few days to a fine dapple-grey. Bacon says that there is an old tradition that if boughs of Oak be put into the earth, they will bring forth wild Vines; he also remarks that in his day country people had “a kind of prediction that if the Oake-apple, broken, be full of wormes, it is a signe of a pestilent yeare.” It is said that whenthe Oak comes out before the Ash, it is a sign that there will be fine weather in harvest. The Kentish people have a saying:—“Oak, smoke;Ash squash.”and that if the Oak comes out before the Ash, the summer will be hot; but if after the Ash, that it will be wet. Authorities in dream lore state that it is a very favourable omen to dream of an Oak-tree: if covered with verdure, it signifies a long and happy life; if devoid of foliage or withered, it betokens poverty in old age; to see many young Oaks thriving foretells male children, who will reap distinction by bravery; Oaks bearing Acorns betoken great wealth; and a blasted Oak forebodes sudden death.Astrologers state that the Oak-tree is under the dominion of Jupiter.OATS.—Oats did not enjoy a good reputation among the ancient Romans, and Pliny writes of them:—Primum omnium frumenti vitium Avena est.In old English books, the Oat is called Haver or Hafer corn, and to this day in Wales it is still called Hever. In Scandinavian mythology, the “Hafer” of the evil genius Loki is synonymous with Oats of the Devil, a term originally applied to all herbs hurtful to cattle.——The Danes call the plantPolytrichum communeLoki’s Oats; and in the tradition that the diabolic God of the North is wont mischievously to sow weeds among the good seed is probably to be found the origin of the English saying, “He is sowing his wild Oats.”——In the Ukraine, there is a tradition that on one occasion the Devil besought the Almighty to make him a present. God responded: “What is there that I can give you? I cannot part with the Rye, or the Barley, or the Millet: I must give you the Oats.” The Devil, well pleased, withdrew, crying, “Hurrah! the Oats, the Oats, are mine!” Then God inquired of St. Peter and St. Paul: “What can I do, seeing that I have handed them over to him?” “Verily,” said Paul, “I will at once go and get them from him.” “How will you manage that?” “Leave that to me,” replied Paul. “Very well—go!” St. Paul passed the Devil, and hid himself beneath a bridge. Presently the Devil came along shouting “Oats! Oats!” St. Paul commenced to shriek. The Devil stopped short. “Why have you thus frightened me?” he asked. “God has given me a plant, and now you have made me quite forget its name.” “Was it Rye?” “No,” “Wheat?” “No.” “Could it have been the Sow-thistle?” “Ah! that was it, that was it!” exclaimed the Devil, and he ran off shouting, “Sow-thistle, Sow-thistle.”——The contortions of the Animal Oat (Avena sterilis) are very noticeable: the strong beards, after the seeds have fallen off, are so sensible of alteration in the atmosphere, that they maintain an apparently spontaneous motion, resembling that of some grotesque insect. In olden times, conjurors and wizards predicted eventsand told fortunes by means of the awns of these Oats, which they caused to wriggle about by holding them in a damp hand, or breathing upon them. In these jugglers’ hands the Wild Oat became a magical plant, figuring at their will as the leg of an enchanted spider, Egyptian fly, or some other wonderful insect.——To dream of a field of ripe Oats just ready for the sickle is a most favourable omen, under all circumstances.Old Man.—SeeSouthernwood.OLEANDER.—The banks of the Meles, the rivulet sacred to Homer, are in some parts thickly set withNerium Oleander, a plant which bears a funereal and sinister character, and in Italy is considered as ill-omened and as bringing disgrace and misfortune. In Tuscany and Sicily, it is customary to cover the dead with Oleander-blossoms, and in India chaplets of these flowers are placed on the brows of the departed: the blossoms are also in that country much used in the decoration of temples. The Hindus call the shrub the “Horse-killer,” from a notion that horses inadvertently eating of its foliage are killed by it. The Italians bestow a similar name on the plant—Ammazza l’Asino, Ass-bane. Gerarde remarks that the flowers and leaves prove fatal to many quadrupeds, and that sheep and goats drinking water wherein the leaves have fallen are sure to die. In England, the plant is known as the Rose Bay and Laurel Rose. In Tuscany, it is calledMazza di San Giuseppe(St. Joseph’s Staff), and there is a legend that this staff commenced to blossom directly St. Joseph took it in his hands.OLIVE.—The legend runs, that in the days of Cecrops, king of Attica, the two rival deities, Neptune and Minerva, strove for the worship of the Athenians. Each claimed priority of right: Neptune, by a salt spring, which his trident had opened in the rock of the Acropolis; Minerva, by pointing to the Olive-tree, which at her command had sprung from the soil. The gods in council decided that the latter was the earlier, as well as the more useful, gift; and so Minerva became the tutelary deity of the city, and the early Athenian rulers endeavoured to turn the attention of the citizens from warlike and seafaring pursuits, to the cultivation of the soil and the peaceful arts. On the coins of Attica, before the time of Pericles, an Olive-branch appeared with the moon and owl. Goats were sacrificed to Minerva, because they were thought to do special injury to the Olive-tree, and the goddess is styled by VirgilOleæ inventrix. There was a deeper meaning attached to this Attic legend, the realisation of which appears as far off as it was in the days of Cecrops: still the Olive-branch remains the emblem of that period of peace and plenty which the world still hopes for.——The most sacred of the Athenian Olives grew in the temple of Minerva since the time of the dispute between Minerva and Neptune: it was burnt by Xerxes with the temple; but it was stated to have shot up again suddenly, after havingbeen destroyed. The Athenians punished with great severity those who damaged their venerated Olive, which to them appears to have been emblematic of peace. It indicated liberty, hope, chastity, pity, and supplication; and special directions for the mode of planting the sacred tree had place among the institutes of Solon. Pliny asserts that the identical Olive-tree, called up by Minerva, was standing in his time.——The Olive is frequently mentioned in the Bible, both in a literal and figurative manner. The dove sent forth by Noah from the Ark, brought back an Olive-leaf (probably from Assyria, a country famous for Olive-trees), which the bird probably selected because the leaves would continue green beneath the water. As an emblem of peace, a garland of Olive was given to Judith when she restored peace to the Israelites by the death of Holofernes. The tree is still with the Jew the emblem of peace and plenty, with an added significance of holiness; and the association of it with the last days of Christ has made it also sacred to sorrow.——As an emblem of peace and reconciliation, the Olive is figured on the tombs of the early martyrs. As the attribute of peace, it is borne by the angel Gabriel, and St. Agnes, and St. Pantaleon. By Romanists the Olive is deemed a fitting emblem of the Virgin Mary, as the mother of Christ, who brought peace on earth, and who was the Prince of Peace.——In regard to the Olive-trees of the Garden of Gethsemane, eight of which are still stated to exist, Dean Stanley says: “In spite of all the doubts that can be raised against their antiquity, or the genuineness of their site, the eight aged Olive-trees, if only by their manifest difference from all others on the mountain, have always struck even the most indifferent observers. They are now, indeed, less striking in the modern garden enclosure, built round them by the Franciscans, than when they stood free and unprotected on the rough hillside; but they will remain so long as their already protracted life is spared, the most venerable of their race on the surface of the earth. Their gnarled trunks and scanty foliage will always be regarded as the most affecting of the sacred memorials in or about Jerusalem.”——According to the Jewish legend of Abimelech, the trees, once upon a time, desiring a king, addressed themselves first of all to the Olive, who refused the honours of royalty. The trees next in turn invited the Fig, the Vine, and other trees to become their monarch, but they all declined. At last the crown was offered to the Oak, who accepted it.——Grecian mythologists relate that the club of Hercules, which was made of Olive-wood, took root, and became a tree. In the Olympic games, instituted by Hercules, the victor was rewarded with a crown of Olive. The club of Polyphemus was the green trunk of an Olive-tree.——The caps of the priests of Jupiter were surmounted with a twig of Olive. The Olympian Jove is represented as wearing a wreath of Olives. Herodotus recounts that Xerxes, before his Grecian expedition, dreamed that he wascrowned with an Olive wreath, the sprays of which turned towards the sun; but that a moment afterwards, this crown had disappeared.——The Athenians went to consult the Delphic oracle, holding in their hands branches of Olive, and asking for a favourable response in the name and through the favour of the Olive-trees; and Tigranes, when before Xerxes, reproached Mardonius with having carried on a war against a people who, in their Olympian games, were content with a crown of Olives as the reward of victory, and who fought not for plunder and riches, but for love of country and glory.——There stood in the Forum of Megara a wild Olive, on which it became the custom to hang the arms of local heroes. In course of time the bark of the Olive grew over these arms, and they were forgotten. An oracle, however, had declared that when the tree had brought forth arms, its destruction would take place. When the tree was cut down, the arms and helmets alluded to were discovered; and it was seen that the oracle had been fulfilled.——The Provençaux, at harvest time, sing a curious song, called the Reapers’ Grace, the first part of which narrates how Adam and Eve were put into the Garden of Eden; Adam is forbidden to eat of the fruit of life; he eats thereof, and the day of his death is foretold him. He will be buried under a Palm, Cypress, and Olive, and out of the wood of the Olive the cross was made.——According to a German tradition, from the tomb of Adam, the father of the human race, sprang an Olive: from this Olive was plucked the branch that the dove from the ark carried to Noah, the regenerator of the human race; and from the same Olive was made the cross of the Redeemer—the spiritual redeemer of the human race.——A tradition very general relates that the cross was formed of the Olive, Palm, Cedar, and Cypress, representing the four quarters of the globe.——In Central Europe, the Olive is everywhere regarded as the emblem of peace. It is planted in the midst of fields to ensure a good harvest and to protect the crops from hail: and in Venetia a branch is placed on the chimney-piece during thunder-storms as a preservative from lightning—a prayer being offered up at the same time to St. Barbara and St. Simon.——In some parts of Italy, young girls employ an Olive-branch as a means of divination. Having moistened a spray of Olive with their lips, they throw it in the fire; if the leaf jumps three times or darts out of the fire, they will find a husband; but if it burns without moving, it is a sure sign of celibacy. In Rome and Tuscany, the superstitious peasants imagine that no witch or sorcerer will enter a house where an Olive-branch that has been blessed is kept, and in order to ascertain whether they are suffering from the dire effects of an Evil Eye, they drop some Olive-oil in water, and from the appearance satisfy themselves on the point.——To dream of Olive-trees or Olives is considered a good omen, denoting happiness, prosperity, and success, and a speedy marriage to the lover; but to dream of plucking Olives is unpropitious, announcing troubleand vexation. To dream of Olive-trees bearing Olives denotes peace, delight, concord, liberty, dignity, and fruition of your desires. To dream that you beat the Olives down is lucky for all but servants.ONION.—By the ancient Egyptians the Onion was regarded as a plant partaking of a sacred character and as a symbol of the Universe. With them it was a common object of worship, and their veneration for this and other vegetable products is ridiculed by the satirist Juvenal—“How Egypt, mad with superstition grown,Makes gods of monsters, but too well is known:’Tis mortal sin an Onion to devour,Each clove of Garlic hath a sacred power;Religious nation sure, and blest abodes,When every garden is o’errun with gods!”The Onions of Egypt, which were of large size and exquisite flavour, were remembered with regretful longings by the discontented Israelites in the wilderness; and although the priests of ancient Egypt were forbidden to partake of them, yet they were admitted among the offerings placed on the altars of the gods.——Mythologists relate that the goddess Latona, having, during an indisposition, lost her appetite, regained it by eating an Onion, and thenceforth adopted this vegetable, which was accordingly consecrated to her.——The disciples of Pythagoras abstained from eating Onions, ostensibly because they grew during the falling moon, but probably because, like Beans, they were considered too stimulating in their effects. Among the Greeks, it would seem that the Onion was considered symbolic of generation, since we find that at the nuptials of Iphicrates with the daughter of King Cotys, he received, among other presents, a jar of snow, a jar of Lentils, and a jar of Onions.——It is thought that, as with the Egyptians, or with the English Druids, the Onion was an emblem of the deity, and to this day it is a custom in some parts of England for girls to divine by it. Barnaby Googe, in ‘Ye Popish Kingdome,’ tells us:—“In these same days young wanton gyrles that meet for marriage beDoe search to know the names of them that shall their husbands be;Four Onyons, five, or eight they take, and make in every oneSuch names as they do fancie most, and best to think upon.Then nere the chimney them they set, and that same Onyon thenThat firste doth sproute doth surely bear the name of their good man.”In olden times, country lasses used to resort to a method of divination with an Onion named after St. Thomas: this they peeled and wrapped in a clean kerchief; then, placing it under their heads, they repeated the following lines:—“Good St. Thomas, do me right,And let my true-love come to-night,That I may see him in the face,And him in my fond arms embrace.”In the South of England this species of divination is still extant, but the procedure is different. When the Onions are bought, the purchaser must take care to go in by one door of the shop and come out by another—a shop being selected that has two doors. These Onions, placed under your pillow on St. Thomas’s Eve, are sure to bring visions of your true-love, your future husband.——According to astrologers, the Onion is under the dominion of Mars.——To dream of Onions is considered of evil augury, portending sickness and misfortune.“To dream of eating Onions meansMuch strife in thy domestic scenes;Secrets found out or else betrayed,And many falsehoods made and said.”ORANGE.—Both Spenser and Milton held the opinion that the Orange is the veritable “golden Apple” presented by Juno to Jupiter on the day of their nuptials; hence, perhaps, the association of the Orange with marriage rites. This golden fruit grew only in the garden of the Hesperides, situated near Mount Atlas in Africa, where they were carefully tended by the three daughters of Hesperus—Ægle, Arethusa, and Erythia—and guarded by an ever-sleeping dragon. It was one of the labours of Hercules, to obtain some of these golden Apples. After slaying the dragon, he succeeded in plucking the auriferous fruit, and took them to Eurystheus, but they were afterwards carried back to the garden of the Hesperides by Minerva, as they could not be preserved elsewhere. Milton alludes to the Orange as a tree“Whose fruit, burnished with golden rind,Hung amiable, Hesperian fables true,If true, here only, and of delicious taste.”These, again, were the golden Apples given by Venus to the subtle Hippomenes, and by means of which he cunningly contrived to wrest victory in his race with the swift-footed Atalanta. Perhaps, also, Spenser’s opinion is correct, and the Orange may be the fruit, the bestowal of which upon Venus was the origin of the Trojan war. Spenser states his opinion in the following stanzas of his ‘Faërie Queene’:—“Next thereunto did grow a goodly tree,With branches broad dispread and body great,Clothèd with leaves, that none the wood might see,And laden all with fruit, as thick as thick might be.“The fruit were golden Apples glistering bright,That goodly was their glory to behold;On earth no better grew, nor living wightE’er better saw, but they from hence[17]were sold;For those which Hercules, with conquest bold,Got from great Atlas’ daughters, hence began,And planted there, did bring forth fruit of gold,And those with which th’ Eubœan young man wan [won]Swift Atalanta, when, through craft, he her outran.“Here also sprang that goodly golden fruitWith which Acontius got his lover true,Whom he had long time sought with fruitless suit;Here eke that famous golden Apple grew,The which among the gods false Até threw,For which th’ Idæan ladies disagreed,Till partial Paris deem’d it Venus’ due,And had of her fair Helen for his meed,That many noble Greeks and Trojans made to bleed.”At Brighton, there exists a curious custom of bowling or throwing Oranges along the high-road on Boxing-day. He whose Orange is hit by that of another, forfeits the fruit to the successful hitter.——An Andalusian tradition, given by De Gubernatis, relates that the Virgin Mary, journeying with the infant Jesus and with Joseph, came to the Orange-tree, which was guarded by an eagle, and begged of it one of the Oranges for the holy child. The eagle miraculously fell asleep, and the Virgin thereupon plucked not one but three Oranges, one of which she gave to the infant Jesus, another to Joseph, and the third she kept for herself. Then, and not till then, the eagle that guarded the Orange-tree awoke.——According to Evelyn, the first China Orange-tree which reached Europe was sent as a present to the old Conde Mellor, then Prime Minister to the King of Portugal. Writing in 1697, the Jesuit Le Comte states that “the first and unique Orange-tree, from which it is said all others have sprung, is still preserved at Lisbon, in the house of Count St. Laurent.”——In Sicily, statues of the Madonna are decorated with branches of the Orange; at Avola, in Sicily, on Easter Sunday, two posts are set up, and decorated with Orange-boughs.——The Orange is one of those rare trees which produce at the same time fruit, flowers, and foliage; hence it is in some countries considered as typifying great fulness, and has thus become connected with wedding ceremonies. The practice of wearing Orange-blossoms and wreaths by brides has been derived from the Saracens, amongst whom the Orange-flower was regarded as emblematic of a happy and prosperous marriage. In Crete, the bride and bridegroom are sprinkled with Orange-flower-water. In Sardinia, it is customary to attach Oranges to the horns of oxen which draw the nuptial carriage.——To dream of Oranges would appear to be at all times a very unfavourable omen.ORCHIS.—From mythology we learn that the Orchis owes its origin to the wanton son of the satyr Patellanus and the nymph Acolasia, who presided at the feasts celebrated in honour of Priapus. The headstrong Orchis, being present at the celebration of the feast of Bacchus, laid violent hands on one of the priestesses of that god; and this sacrilegious conduct so incensed the Bacchanals against the youth, that they forthwith set upon him, and in their fury literally tore him in pieces. His father adjured the gods, but the only remedy he could obtain was that his son’smangled corpse should be transformed into a flower, which should ever after bear the name of Orchis, as a blot upon his memory.——Among the early Romans, the Orchis was often called Satyrion, because it was believed to be the food of the satyrs, and as such excited them to those excesses which were characteristic of the attendants of Bacchus. Hence, the Orchis-root not unnaturally became famous as a powerful stimulating medicine, and is so described by all herbalists from the time of Dioscorides.——A very old tradition exists that Orchids sprang from the seed of the thrush and the blackbird.——Bishop Fleetwood writes of these curious flowers that they represent apes, birds, wasps, bees, flies, butterflies, gnats, spiders, grasshoppers, and other insects; “but the most curious sort is that which is calledAnthropophora, because it represents a man or a woman very exactly.” He further tells us “this flower, resembling a man, appears in the beginning of Autumn; but that which represents women comes in May. These two Orchids were, in 1671, engraved by order of theAcademia Curiosorum Naturæ, and were described asOrchis Anthropophorus Mas., andO. A. Fœmina.”——A tradition is attached to the English species,Orchis mascula, which usually has its leaves marked with deep purple spots. It is said that these spots are the stains of the precious blood which flowed from our Lord’s wounded body on the cross at Calvary, as this species of Orchis is reported to have grown there. In Cheshire, the plant is called Gethsemane.——The sweet-scented Orchis,Gymnadenia conopsea, is the Northern goddess Frigg’s Grass.ORPINE.—On Midsummer Eve, Orpine (Sedum Telephium), Fennel, Lilies, and Hypericum used formerly to be hung over doors and windows. The plant is commonly called ‘Midsummer Men’ and ‘Livelong,’ from a custom of country lasses to try their lovers’ fidelity with it on Midsummer Eve: this they do by setting up two plants of Orpine—one representing themselves, and another their lovers—upon a slate or trencher, and afterwards judging of the state of their lover’s affections by his plant living and turning to their own, or not. Wives, also, place over their heads the Orpine-plant, and by the bending of the leaves to the right or to the left divine whether husbands are true or false. (SeeLivelong.)OSMUND ROYAL.—The stately flowering FernOsmunda Regalisis said to derive its name from the following legend:—A waterman, named Osmund, once dwelt on the banks of Loch Fyne, with his wife and daughter. One day a band of fugitives, bursting into his cottage, warned Osmund that the cruel Danes were fast approaching the ferry. Osmund heard them with fear; he trembled for those he held dearer than life. Suddenly the shouts of furious men roused him to action. Snatching up his oars, he rowed his trembling wife and child to a small island covered with this beautiful Fern; and helping them to land, he bade them lie down beneath the shady foliage for protection. Scarcelyhad the ferryman returned to his cottage, ere a company of fierce Danes rushed in, but knowing that he could be of service to them, they did him no harm. During the day and night, Osmund was occupied in ferrying the troops across the lake. When the last company had landed, Osmund kneeled beside the bank, and returned thanks to Heaven for the preservation of his wife and child. Often in after years did he speak of that day’s peril; and his daughter called the Fern by her father’s name. Gerarde, in describing the stem of theOsmunda, which, on being cut, exhibits a white centre, calls this portion of the Fern the “heart of Osmund, the waterman,” probably in allusion to the above tradition.Our Lady’s Plants.—SeeLady’s Plants.Ox-Eye.—SeeMoon Daisy.PALASA.—Palasa is a Sanscrit word, meaning “leaf,” but in course of time it became applied to theButea frondosaas well as the name Parna, which also signifies a leaf. The modern Indian name of the tree is Dhak. The Palasa is in India a sacred tree, and has a special cultus; as such, it is held to be imbued with the immortalising Soma, the beverage of the gods. According to the Vedas, it owed its origin to a feather dropped by a falcon who, when the gods were pining for the precious Soma fluid, succeeded in stealing some from the demons who had charge of it. In flying off with its prize, the falcon was wounded by an arrow shot by one of the demons, which wounded it and caused a feather impregnated with the divine fluid to fall to earth, where it took root and became a Palasa-tree (called also Parna), which has a red sap and scarlet blossoms—emblems of the sacred fire. The falcon was a transformed god—some say Indra—hence the tree which sprang from the god-bird’s feather was in its nature divine.——The Palasa was much employed by the Hindus in religious ceremonies, particularly in one connected with the blessing of calves to ensure them proving good milkers. To this end, at the time of the sacrifice offered in the new moon (the season of increase), the priest, on behalf of the Hindu farmer, selected a Palasa-branch that grew on the north-east, north, or east side of the tree, and cut it off, saying, “For strength cut I thee.” Then, having stripped off the leaves, he struck both calves and dams with it, blessing the latter and bidding them be good milkers and breeders, and profitable animals to their masters. This done, he stuck up the Palasa rod eastward of the holy fire, and bade it protect the cattle. The object in thus touching the cattle was that the divine Soma contained in the rod might pass into and enrich the udders of the beasts. The Palasa is triple-leaved, and hence was deemed to typify, like the trident, the forked lightning, an appropriate attribute, inasmuch as it originally sprang from a god of the lightning. In this respect, it resembled the rod of Mercury (a fire-god), the Sami, and the Rowan rod.——The staff of the Brahman ought to be made of Palasa wood. (SeeDhak.)PALM.—The Palm-tree is symbolic of victory, of riches, and of generation. It was considered by the ancients also an emblem of light, and was held sacred to Apollo. The Palm of Delos was supposed to have existed from the time of the god Apollo himself. Among the Greeks, there existed a legend that the Palm, like the Olive, was brought into Greece by Hercules, on his return from the infernal regions. The Orphics venerated the Palm as an immortal tree, which never grew old; hence, as a symbol of immortality, and especially of the immortality of glory, it was associated with the goddess Victoria, called alsoDea Palmaris.——In India, as amongst the Arabs, the Palm is considered a sacred tree.——According to an Indian legend, the Palm of the Lake of Taroba, in Central India, was only visible during the day; in the evening it re-entered the earth. It is related that a rash pilgrim climbed one morning to the top of the Palm, but the tree grew to such a height above the earth’s surface, that the pilgrim was scorched to death by the sun’s rays, and the Palm itself was reduced to tinder. On the spot where the miraculous Palm is said to have once grown stands the idol of the Geni of the Lake, called Taroba.——Christian legend has associated the Palm with the history of Jesus. According to the Apocryphal Gospel, the Virgin Mary, whilst journeying, became fatigued and oppressed with the great heat; in passing by a great desert, she saw a large and beautiful Palm-tree, beneath which she wished to seek rest and shelter; so she asked Joseph to drive the ass upon which she was seated towards the tree. When she reached the foot of the tree, she dismounted, and, looking up, noticed that the tree was laden with fruit. Then she said to Joseph: “I wish to have some of the fruit of this tree, for I am hungry.” To this, Joseph replied: “Mary, I marvel that you should desire to eat of this fruit.” Then Jesus Christ, who was seated in his mother’s lap, ordered the Palm to bend down, so that his mother might partake of its fruit at pleasure. And forthwith the tree bent down to the Virgin Mary, and she partook of its fruit, and still the Palm remained bent downwards. Then, Jesus perceiving this, ordered the Palm to resume its natural position, and it immediately did so. This legend has been widely diffused in Italy and elsewhere, sometimes with the following addendum: “Jesus, after this act of devotion on the part of the Palm, gave the tree his benediction, chose it as the symbol of eternal salvation for the dying, and declared that he would make his triumphant entry into Jerusalem with a Palm in his hand.”——The Palm was early assumed by the Christian Church as the universal symbol of martyrdom, in accordance with Revelation vii., 9: “And after this I beheld, and lo, a great multitude stood before the throne, clothed with white robes, and with Palms in their hands.... And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation.” Hence, in early Italian paintings of the saints, as well as on the sculptured effigies of Christianheroes, the Palm is represented as borne by those who suffered martyrdom; and, in some instances, by those conspicuous for their victory over pain and temptation.——In old religious paintings, St. Christopher (who lived in the middle of the fourth century) is represented as a man of Herculean proportions, who uses, as a supporting staff, an entire Palm-tree with leaves and branches. The legend is, that having, when still unconverted, entreated a hermit to show him Christ, the holy man admonished him that he must do some good and acceptable work, and recommended him to go to the banks of a deep and swollen river, and by his great strength assist travellers to cross over it. Christopher readily undertook the task, and went and dwelt by the side of the river. Having rooted up a Palm-tree, he used it as a staff to guide and support his steps, and aided all who were overcome by the stream, and carried the weak on his shoulders across it. After he had spent many days at this toil, he, one night, whilst lying resting in his hut, heard a voice calling him from the shore. He arose and looked out, but saw nothing. So he lay down again, and the same thing occurred to him a second and third time. Then he took his lantern and searched about the river bank, and at last discovered a little child, who plaintively said to him: “Christopher, carry me over this night.” Thereupon the stalwart young man lifted the little child on his shoulders, and grasping his Palm-staff, entered the stream. As he struggled across, the waters kept rising higher and higher; the waves roared, and beat against him, and the winds blew. The infant on his shoulder became heavier and still heavier, till Christopher felt that he must sink under the excessive weight, and began to feel afraid: nevertheless, taking fresh courage, and staying his tottering steps with his Palm-staff, he at length reached the opposite bank. Gently placing the child down, he looked at him with astonishment, and asked, “Who art thou, child, that hast placed me in such extreme peril? Had I carried the whole world on my shoulders, the burthen had not been heavier.” Then the child replied: “Wonder not, Christopher, for thou hast not only borne the world, but Him who made the world, upon thy shoulders. Me wouldst thou serve in this thy work of charity; and, behold, I have accepted thy service; and in testimony that I have accepted thy service and thee, plant thy staff in the ground, and it shall put forth leaves and fruit.” Christopher did so, and the dry Palm-staff flourished as a Palm-tree in the season, and was covered with clusters of Dates. But the miraculous child had vanished. Then Christopher fell on his face, and confessed and worshipped Christ.——According to the legend of the death of the Virgin Mary, she was, one day, filled with an inexpressible longing to behold her Son again, and whilst weeping, an angel suddenly appeared, and said: “Hail, O Mary! I bring thee here a branch of Palm, gathered in Paradise; command that it be carried before thy bier in the day of thy death; for in three days thy soul shall leave thy body,and thou shalt enter into Paradise, where thy Son awaits thy coming.” After conversing with the Holy Mother, the angel departed into heaven, and the Palm-branch which he had left behind him shed light from every leaf, and sparkled as the stars of the morning. At the same instant, the apostles, who were dispersed in various parts of the world, were miraculously caught up and deposited at Mary’s door. Then, having thanked the Lord, she placed in the hands of St. John the shining Palm, and desired him to bear it before her at the time of the burial—an office which he faithfully discharged.——Some authorities mention the Palm as one of the four trees which furnished the wood of which the Redeemer’s Cross was composed; this notion is derived from Canticles vii., 8: “I will go up to the Palm-tree,” &c. Hence the old rhyme:—“Nailed were His feet to Cedar, to Palm His hands—Cypress His body bore, title on Olive stands.”The praises of the Palm have been sung by Hebrew, Indian, Persian, and Arabian poets of all ages. According to Strabo, a Persian hymn, but according to Plutarch a Babylonian hymn, records the three hundred and sixty benefits conferred on mankind by this noble tree; whilst a poem in the Tamil language, although enumerating eight hundred and one uses of the Palmyra Palm, does not exhaust the catalogue.——In the IndianVishnu Purâna, the fruitfulness of the Date Palm is alluded to. The youthful Bala Râma slays the monster Dhenuka, and casts the carcase at the foot of a Date Palm: then the Dates fell upon him just as rain, beaten by the winds, patters down on the earth.——In India, the Palm has given rise to a proverb on account of the facility with which it takes root: the natives say of a vile and despised enemy, that he takes root as a Palm.——To dream of a Palm-tree is a very good omen, particularly if it is in full blossom, in which case it predicts much success and good fortune.PANSY.—The Pansy (Viola tricolor) derives its name from a corruption of the French wordpensées, thoughts: thus poor Ophelia says:—“Pray you love, remember,And there’s Pansies,—that’s for thoughts.”—Shakspeare.Spenser designated the flower “the pretty Pawnce;” Milton spoke of it as the “Pansy freak’d with jet;” and Drayton sings:—“The pretty Pansy then I’ll tye,Like stones some chain enchasing;The next to them, their near ally,The purple Violet placing.”Rapin writes of the flower asFlos Jovis—the flower of Jove:—“With all the beauties in the valleys bred,Spearmint, that’s born with Myrtle crowns to wed.And Jove’s own flower, in which three colours meet,To rival Violets, though without their sweet.”In addition to this grandiose title, the little flower rejoices in a multiplicity of epithets bestowed on it by rural admirers. It is Heart’s-ease, Forget-me-not, Herb Trinity, Three-Faces-under-a-Hood, Love-and-Idle, Love-in-idleness, Live-in-Idleness, Call-me-to-you, Cuddle-me-to-you, Jump-up-and-kiss-me, Kiss-me-ere-I-Rise, Kiss-me-at-the-Garden-Gate, Tittle-my-Fancy, Pink-of-my-John, and Flamy, because its colours are seen in the flame of wood. In the North-east of Scotland, and in Scandinavia, the flower is with a spice of irony called Step-mother. In ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream,’ Shakspeare gives the Heart’s-ease magical qualities. Oberon bids Puck procure for him “a little western flower” on which Cupid’s dart had fallen, and which maidens called “Love-in-Idleness.”Says the fairy king:—“Fetch me that flower—the herb I showed thee once;The juice of it, on sleeping eyelids laid,Will make or man or woman madly doteUpon the next live creature that it sees.”The poet Herrick tells us, in regard to the origin of these favourite flowers, that—“Frolick virgins once there were,Over-loving, living here.Being here their ends denied,Ran for sweethearts mad, and died.Love, in pity of their tears,And their loss in blooming years,For their restless here-spent hours,Gave them Heart’s-ease turned to flowers.”The Pansy was the accidental cause of Bertram, the first American botanist, devoting himself to the study of botany. The stamens and pistil of this flower have something grotesque in their appearance when disclosed, resembling to a fanciful mind an animal with arms, and a head projecting and stooping forward. Bertram, who was originally a farmer, while superintending his servants in the field, and giving them directions, gathered a Pansy that was growing at his feet, and thoughtlessly pulled off its petals one after another. Struck with the stamens and pistil, Bertram conveyed it home, that he might examine it more carefully. Its examination created in him that thirst for the knowledge of the construction and habits of plants which afterwards rendered him so famous, and won for him the friendship of Linnæus.——The Heart’s-ease is said to be sacred to St. Valentine. As theHerba Trinitatis, or Herb Trinity, it is the special flower of Trinity Sunday.——It is considered to be a herb of Saturn.PAPYRUS.—Plutarch tells us that the vessel on which the Egyptian goddess Isis embarked on her voyage to search for the remains of Osiris, was constructed of the Reeds of the Papyrus (Papyrus antiquorum), and that the crocodiles, out of respect and fear of the goddess, dared not approach the bark.——The Papyrus is the Rush described in the Hebrew Scriptures by the wordGôme,and in an ark ofGômethe mother of the infant Moses put her babe, and laid it in the Flags by the brink of the river Nile. The ancient Egyptians plaited the stems of the Papyrus not only into little boats, but into sails, mats, and sandals. The fabrication in particular of little boats appears to have been practised by them to an immense extent, and to have commenced in the very earliest days of the nation. M. de Castelnau says that the Reed-boats still in use amongst the Peruvians exactly resemble the pictured representations of the Egyptian ones, as preserved on the walls of the tomb of Rameses III. at Thebes. Bundles of Papyrus-stems furnished models for the shafts of some of the pillars of the ancient Egyptian temples, and the bases of these were ornamented with representations of the sheaths that encircle the foot of the flower-stalk. The Papyrus-plant supplied the material of which the famous paper, both rough and fine, was manufactured in ancient times. Papyrus paper made 2000 yearsB.C., or anterior to the time of Abraham, is still in existence. It was an article of commerce long before the time of Herodotus, and it remained in use till the seventh century. This Papyrus paper was prepared from the white pith of the stoutest stems of the Reeds which grew in great abundance in the pools caused by the overflowing of the Nile.——Plutarch relates, that when Agesilaus visited Egypt, he was so delighted with the chaplets of Papyrus sent him by the king, that he took some home when he returned to Sparta.PARSLEY.—Hercules is said to have selected Parsley to form the first garlands he wore. The Greeks held Parsley (Petroselinum) in great reputation. A crown of dried and withered Parsley was given to the victor at the Isthmian games; and one of green Parsley to the conqueror at the Nemean games, in memory of the death of Archemorus, the infant son of Lycurgus, who, laid down by his nurse on a sprig of Parsley, was killed by a serpent.——A branch of Laurel and a crown of Parsley were given to the god of banquets. At Greek banquets the guests wore crowns of Parsley, under the belief that the herb created quiet and promoted an appetite.——Greek gardens were often bordered by Parsley and Rue; hence arose the saying, when an undertaking was in contemplation, but not really commenced: “Oh, we are only at the Parsley and Rue!” Parsley, again, was in great request for the purpose of decorating graves; and the Greeks were fond of strewing sprigs of the herb over the bodies of the dead. A despairing lover cries:—
“Blest Charles then to an Oak his safety owes;The Royal Oak, which now in songs shall live,Until it reach to heaven with its boughs—Boughs that for loyalty shall garlands give.”
“Blest Charles then to an Oak his safety owes;The Royal Oak, which now in songs shall live,Until it reach to heaven with its boughs—Boughs that for loyalty shall garlands give.”
“Blest Charles then to an Oak his safety owes;
The Royal Oak, which now in songs shall live,
Until it reach to heaven with its boughs—
Boughs that for loyalty shall garlands give.”
In many parts of England, Oak-branches are suspended over doorways, and gilded Oak-leaves and Oak-Apples are worn, on Royal Oak Day (May 29th), in celebration of King Charles’s restoration, and his preservation in the Boscobel Oak, which is still extant.
Seven Oaks have given a name to a village in Kent; and Dean Stanley has described a row of seven Oaks standing at a particular spot in Palestine to which the following curious legend is locally attached:—After Cain had murdered his brother, he was punished by being compelled to carry the dead body of Abel during the lengthened period of five hundred years, and then to bury it in this place. Upon doing so, he planted his staff to mark the grave, and out of this staff grew up the seven Oak trees.
The aged Oaks of Germany excited the wonder and respect of Tacitus, who, speaking of one of the giants of the Hercynian forest, exclaims: “Its majestic grandeur surpasses all belief; no axe has ever touched it; contemporary with the creation of the world, it is a symbol of immortality.” Sacred trees, or pillars formed of living trunks of trees, many of which were Oaks, were to be found in ancient Germany, calledIrmenseule. The world-tree of Romowe, the ancient sacred centre of the Prussians, was an evergreen Oak. The Oak of St. Louis at Vincennes, and the Oak of the Partisans at St. Ouen, are trees regarded with reverence by the French.
Evelyn considers that the wood used for our Saviour’s cross was Oak; founding his belief on the statements made by divers learned men who had studied the subject, and “upon accurate examination of the many fragments pretended to be parcels of it.” The same author speaks of “the fatal præadmonition of Oaks bearing strange leaves”; and tells us that sleeping under Oak-trees will cure paralysis, and recover those whom the malign influence of the Walnut-tree has smitten. Paulus, a Danish physician, averred that one or two handfuls of small Oak-buttons mingled with Oats given to black horses will change them in a few days to a fine dapple-grey. Bacon says that there is an old tradition that if boughs of Oak be put into the earth, they will bring forth wild Vines; he also remarks that in his day country people had “a kind of prediction that if the Oake-apple, broken, be full of wormes, it is a signe of a pestilent yeare.” It is said that whenthe Oak comes out before the Ash, it is a sign that there will be fine weather in harvest. The Kentish people have a saying:—
“Oak, smoke;Ash squash.”
“Oak, smoke;Ash squash.”
“Oak, smoke;
Ash squash.”
and that if the Oak comes out before the Ash, the summer will be hot; but if after the Ash, that it will be wet. Authorities in dream lore state that it is a very favourable omen to dream of an Oak-tree: if covered with verdure, it signifies a long and happy life; if devoid of foliage or withered, it betokens poverty in old age; to see many young Oaks thriving foretells male children, who will reap distinction by bravery; Oaks bearing Acorns betoken great wealth; and a blasted Oak forebodes sudden death.
Astrologers state that the Oak-tree is under the dominion of Jupiter.
OATS.—Oats did not enjoy a good reputation among the ancient Romans, and Pliny writes of them:—Primum omnium frumenti vitium Avena est.In old English books, the Oat is called Haver or Hafer corn, and to this day in Wales it is still called Hever. In Scandinavian mythology, the “Hafer” of the evil genius Loki is synonymous with Oats of the Devil, a term originally applied to all herbs hurtful to cattle.——The Danes call the plantPolytrichum communeLoki’s Oats; and in the tradition that the diabolic God of the North is wont mischievously to sow weeds among the good seed is probably to be found the origin of the English saying, “He is sowing his wild Oats.”——In the Ukraine, there is a tradition that on one occasion the Devil besought the Almighty to make him a present. God responded: “What is there that I can give you? I cannot part with the Rye, or the Barley, or the Millet: I must give you the Oats.” The Devil, well pleased, withdrew, crying, “Hurrah! the Oats, the Oats, are mine!” Then God inquired of St. Peter and St. Paul: “What can I do, seeing that I have handed them over to him?” “Verily,” said Paul, “I will at once go and get them from him.” “How will you manage that?” “Leave that to me,” replied Paul. “Very well—go!” St. Paul passed the Devil, and hid himself beneath a bridge. Presently the Devil came along shouting “Oats! Oats!” St. Paul commenced to shriek. The Devil stopped short. “Why have you thus frightened me?” he asked. “God has given me a plant, and now you have made me quite forget its name.” “Was it Rye?” “No,” “Wheat?” “No.” “Could it have been the Sow-thistle?” “Ah! that was it, that was it!” exclaimed the Devil, and he ran off shouting, “Sow-thistle, Sow-thistle.”——The contortions of the Animal Oat (Avena sterilis) are very noticeable: the strong beards, after the seeds have fallen off, are so sensible of alteration in the atmosphere, that they maintain an apparently spontaneous motion, resembling that of some grotesque insect. In olden times, conjurors and wizards predicted eventsand told fortunes by means of the awns of these Oats, which they caused to wriggle about by holding them in a damp hand, or breathing upon them. In these jugglers’ hands the Wild Oat became a magical plant, figuring at their will as the leg of an enchanted spider, Egyptian fly, or some other wonderful insect.——To dream of a field of ripe Oats just ready for the sickle is a most favourable omen, under all circumstances.
Old Man.—SeeSouthernwood.
OLEANDER.—The banks of the Meles, the rivulet sacred to Homer, are in some parts thickly set withNerium Oleander, a plant which bears a funereal and sinister character, and in Italy is considered as ill-omened and as bringing disgrace and misfortune. In Tuscany and Sicily, it is customary to cover the dead with Oleander-blossoms, and in India chaplets of these flowers are placed on the brows of the departed: the blossoms are also in that country much used in the decoration of temples. The Hindus call the shrub the “Horse-killer,” from a notion that horses inadvertently eating of its foliage are killed by it. The Italians bestow a similar name on the plant—Ammazza l’Asino, Ass-bane. Gerarde remarks that the flowers and leaves prove fatal to many quadrupeds, and that sheep and goats drinking water wherein the leaves have fallen are sure to die. In England, the plant is known as the Rose Bay and Laurel Rose. In Tuscany, it is calledMazza di San Giuseppe(St. Joseph’s Staff), and there is a legend that this staff commenced to blossom directly St. Joseph took it in his hands.
OLIVE.—The legend runs, that in the days of Cecrops, king of Attica, the two rival deities, Neptune and Minerva, strove for the worship of the Athenians. Each claimed priority of right: Neptune, by a salt spring, which his trident had opened in the rock of the Acropolis; Minerva, by pointing to the Olive-tree, which at her command had sprung from the soil. The gods in council decided that the latter was the earlier, as well as the more useful, gift; and so Minerva became the tutelary deity of the city, and the early Athenian rulers endeavoured to turn the attention of the citizens from warlike and seafaring pursuits, to the cultivation of the soil and the peaceful arts. On the coins of Attica, before the time of Pericles, an Olive-branch appeared with the moon and owl. Goats were sacrificed to Minerva, because they were thought to do special injury to the Olive-tree, and the goddess is styled by VirgilOleæ inventrix. There was a deeper meaning attached to this Attic legend, the realisation of which appears as far off as it was in the days of Cecrops: still the Olive-branch remains the emblem of that period of peace and plenty which the world still hopes for.——The most sacred of the Athenian Olives grew in the temple of Minerva since the time of the dispute between Minerva and Neptune: it was burnt by Xerxes with the temple; but it was stated to have shot up again suddenly, after havingbeen destroyed. The Athenians punished with great severity those who damaged their venerated Olive, which to them appears to have been emblematic of peace. It indicated liberty, hope, chastity, pity, and supplication; and special directions for the mode of planting the sacred tree had place among the institutes of Solon. Pliny asserts that the identical Olive-tree, called up by Minerva, was standing in his time.——The Olive is frequently mentioned in the Bible, both in a literal and figurative manner. The dove sent forth by Noah from the Ark, brought back an Olive-leaf (probably from Assyria, a country famous for Olive-trees), which the bird probably selected because the leaves would continue green beneath the water. As an emblem of peace, a garland of Olive was given to Judith when she restored peace to the Israelites by the death of Holofernes. The tree is still with the Jew the emblem of peace and plenty, with an added significance of holiness; and the association of it with the last days of Christ has made it also sacred to sorrow.——As an emblem of peace and reconciliation, the Olive is figured on the tombs of the early martyrs. As the attribute of peace, it is borne by the angel Gabriel, and St. Agnes, and St. Pantaleon. By Romanists the Olive is deemed a fitting emblem of the Virgin Mary, as the mother of Christ, who brought peace on earth, and who was the Prince of Peace.——In regard to the Olive-trees of the Garden of Gethsemane, eight of which are still stated to exist, Dean Stanley says: “In spite of all the doubts that can be raised against their antiquity, or the genuineness of their site, the eight aged Olive-trees, if only by their manifest difference from all others on the mountain, have always struck even the most indifferent observers. They are now, indeed, less striking in the modern garden enclosure, built round them by the Franciscans, than when they stood free and unprotected on the rough hillside; but they will remain so long as their already protracted life is spared, the most venerable of their race on the surface of the earth. Their gnarled trunks and scanty foliage will always be regarded as the most affecting of the sacred memorials in or about Jerusalem.”——According to the Jewish legend of Abimelech, the trees, once upon a time, desiring a king, addressed themselves first of all to the Olive, who refused the honours of royalty. The trees next in turn invited the Fig, the Vine, and other trees to become their monarch, but they all declined. At last the crown was offered to the Oak, who accepted it.——Grecian mythologists relate that the club of Hercules, which was made of Olive-wood, took root, and became a tree. In the Olympic games, instituted by Hercules, the victor was rewarded with a crown of Olive. The club of Polyphemus was the green trunk of an Olive-tree.——The caps of the priests of Jupiter were surmounted with a twig of Olive. The Olympian Jove is represented as wearing a wreath of Olives. Herodotus recounts that Xerxes, before his Grecian expedition, dreamed that he wascrowned with an Olive wreath, the sprays of which turned towards the sun; but that a moment afterwards, this crown had disappeared.——The Athenians went to consult the Delphic oracle, holding in their hands branches of Olive, and asking for a favourable response in the name and through the favour of the Olive-trees; and Tigranes, when before Xerxes, reproached Mardonius with having carried on a war against a people who, in their Olympian games, were content with a crown of Olives as the reward of victory, and who fought not for plunder and riches, but for love of country and glory.——There stood in the Forum of Megara a wild Olive, on which it became the custom to hang the arms of local heroes. In course of time the bark of the Olive grew over these arms, and they were forgotten. An oracle, however, had declared that when the tree had brought forth arms, its destruction would take place. When the tree was cut down, the arms and helmets alluded to were discovered; and it was seen that the oracle had been fulfilled.——The Provençaux, at harvest time, sing a curious song, called the Reapers’ Grace, the first part of which narrates how Adam and Eve were put into the Garden of Eden; Adam is forbidden to eat of the fruit of life; he eats thereof, and the day of his death is foretold him. He will be buried under a Palm, Cypress, and Olive, and out of the wood of the Olive the cross was made.——According to a German tradition, from the tomb of Adam, the father of the human race, sprang an Olive: from this Olive was plucked the branch that the dove from the ark carried to Noah, the regenerator of the human race; and from the same Olive was made the cross of the Redeemer—the spiritual redeemer of the human race.——A tradition very general relates that the cross was formed of the Olive, Palm, Cedar, and Cypress, representing the four quarters of the globe.——In Central Europe, the Olive is everywhere regarded as the emblem of peace. It is planted in the midst of fields to ensure a good harvest and to protect the crops from hail: and in Venetia a branch is placed on the chimney-piece during thunder-storms as a preservative from lightning—a prayer being offered up at the same time to St. Barbara and St. Simon.——In some parts of Italy, young girls employ an Olive-branch as a means of divination. Having moistened a spray of Olive with their lips, they throw it in the fire; if the leaf jumps three times or darts out of the fire, they will find a husband; but if it burns without moving, it is a sure sign of celibacy. In Rome and Tuscany, the superstitious peasants imagine that no witch or sorcerer will enter a house where an Olive-branch that has been blessed is kept, and in order to ascertain whether they are suffering from the dire effects of an Evil Eye, they drop some Olive-oil in water, and from the appearance satisfy themselves on the point.——To dream of Olive-trees or Olives is considered a good omen, denoting happiness, prosperity, and success, and a speedy marriage to the lover; but to dream of plucking Olives is unpropitious, announcing troubleand vexation. To dream of Olive-trees bearing Olives denotes peace, delight, concord, liberty, dignity, and fruition of your desires. To dream that you beat the Olives down is lucky for all but servants.
ONION.—By the ancient Egyptians the Onion was regarded as a plant partaking of a sacred character and as a symbol of the Universe. With them it was a common object of worship, and their veneration for this and other vegetable products is ridiculed by the satirist Juvenal—
“How Egypt, mad with superstition grown,Makes gods of monsters, but too well is known:’Tis mortal sin an Onion to devour,Each clove of Garlic hath a sacred power;Religious nation sure, and blest abodes,When every garden is o’errun with gods!”
“How Egypt, mad with superstition grown,Makes gods of monsters, but too well is known:’Tis mortal sin an Onion to devour,Each clove of Garlic hath a sacred power;Religious nation sure, and blest abodes,When every garden is o’errun with gods!”
“How Egypt, mad with superstition grown,
Makes gods of monsters, but too well is known:
’Tis mortal sin an Onion to devour,
Each clove of Garlic hath a sacred power;
Religious nation sure, and blest abodes,
When every garden is o’errun with gods!”
The Onions of Egypt, which were of large size and exquisite flavour, were remembered with regretful longings by the discontented Israelites in the wilderness; and although the priests of ancient Egypt were forbidden to partake of them, yet they were admitted among the offerings placed on the altars of the gods.——Mythologists relate that the goddess Latona, having, during an indisposition, lost her appetite, regained it by eating an Onion, and thenceforth adopted this vegetable, which was accordingly consecrated to her.——The disciples of Pythagoras abstained from eating Onions, ostensibly because they grew during the falling moon, but probably because, like Beans, they were considered too stimulating in their effects. Among the Greeks, it would seem that the Onion was considered symbolic of generation, since we find that at the nuptials of Iphicrates with the daughter of King Cotys, he received, among other presents, a jar of snow, a jar of Lentils, and a jar of Onions.——It is thought that, as with the Egyptians, or with the English Druids, the Onion was an emblem of the deity, and to this day it is a custom in some parts of England for girls to divine by it. Barnaby Googe, in ‘Ye Popish Kingdome,’ tells us:—
“In these same days young wanton gyrles that meet for marriage beDoe search to know the names of them that shall their husbands be;Four Onyons, five, or eight they take, and make in every oneSuch names as they do fancie most, and best to think upon.Then nere the chimney them they set, and that same Onyon thenThat firste doth sproute doth surely bear the name of their good man.”
“In these same days young wanton gyrles that meet for marriage beDoe search to know the names of them that shall their husbands be;Four Onyons, five, or eight they take, and make in every oneSuch names as they do fancie most, and best to think upon.Then nere the chimney them they set, and that same Onyon thenThat firste doth sproute doth surely bear the name of their good man.”
“In these same days young wanton gyrles that meet for marriage be
Doe search to know the names of them that shall their husbands be;
Four Onyons, five, or eight they take, and make in every one
Such names as they do fancie most, and best to think upon.
Then nere the chimney them they set, and that same Onyon then
That firste doth sproute doth surely bear the name of their good man.”
In olden times, country lasses used to resort to a method of divination with an Onion named after St. Thomas: this they peeled and wrapped in a clean kerchief; then, placing it under their heads, they repeated the following lines:—
“Good St. Thomas, do me right,And let my true-love come to-night,That I may see him in the face,And him in my fond arms embrace.”
“Good St. Thomas, do me right,And let my true-love come to-night,That I may see him in the face,And him in my fond arms embrace.”
“Good St. Thomas, do me right,
And let my true-love come to-night,
That I may see him in the face,
And him in my fond arms embrace.”
In the South of England this species of divination is still extant, but the procedure is different. When the Onions are bought, the purchaser must take care to go in by one door of the shop and come out by another—a shop being selected that has two doors. These Onions, placed under your pillow on St. Thomas’s Eve, are sure to bring visions of your true-love, your future husband.——According to astrologers, the Onion is under the dominion of Mars.——To dream of Onions is considered of evil augury, portending sickness and misfortune.
“To dream of eating Onions meansMuch strife in thy domestic scenes;Secrets found out or else betrayed,And many falsehoods made and said.”
“To dream of eating Onions meansMuch strife in thy domestic scenes;Secrets found out or else betrayed,And many falsehoods made and said.”
“To dream of eating Onions means
Much strife in thy domestic scenes;
Secrets found out or else betrayed,
And many falsehoods made and said.”
ORANGE.—Both Spenser and Milton held the opinion that the Orange is the veritable “golden Apple” presented by Juno to Jupiter on the day of their nuptials; hence, perhaps, the association of the Orange with marriage rites. This golden fruit grew only in the garden of the Hesperides, situated near Mount Atlas in Africa, where they were carefully tended by the three daughters of Hesperus—Ægle, Arethusa, and Erythia—and guarded by an ever-sleeping dragon. It was one of the labours of Hercules, to obtain some of these golden Apples. After slaying the dragon, he succeeded in plucking the auriferous fruit, and took them to Eurystheus, but they were afterwards carried back to the garden of the Hesperides by Minerva, as they could not be preserved elsewhere. Milton alludes to the Orange as a tree
“Whose fruit, burnished with golden rind,Hung amiable, Hesperian fables true,If true, here only, and of delicious taste.”
“Whose fruit, burnished with golden rind,Hung amiable, Hesperian fables true,If true, here only, and of delicious taste.”
“Whose fruit, burnished with golden rind,
Hung amiable, Hesperian fables true,
If true, here only, and of delicious taste.”
These, again, were the golden Apples given by Venus to the subtle Hippomenes, and by means of which he cunningly contrived to wrest victory in his race with the swift-footed Atalanta. Perhaps, also, Spenser’s opinion is correct, and the Orange may be the fruit, the bestowal of which upon Venus was the origin of the Trojan war. Spenser states his opinion in the following stanzas of his ‘Faërie Queene’:—
“Next thereunto did grow a goodly tree,With branches broad dispread and body great,Clothèd with leaves, that none the wood might see,And laden all with fruit, as thick as thick might be.“The fruit were golden Apples glistering bright,That goodly was their glory to behold;On earth no better grew, nor living wightE’er better saw, but they from hence[17]were sold;For those which Hercules, with conquest bold,Got from great Atlas’ daughters, hence began,And planted there, did bring forth fruit of gold,And those with which th’ Eubœan young man wan [won]Swift Atalanta, when, through craft, he her outran.“Here also sprang that goodly golden fruitWith which Acontius got his lover true,Whom he had long time sought with fruitless suit;Here eke that famous golden Apple grew,The which among the gods false Até threw,For which th’ Idæan ladies disagreed,Till partial Paris deem’d it Venus’ due,And had of her fair Helen for his meed,That many noble Greeks and Trojans made to bleed.”
“Next thereunto did grow a goodly tree,With branches broad dispread and body great,Clothèd with leaves, that none the wood might see,And laden all with fruit, as thick as thick might be.“The fruit were golden Apples glistering bright,That goodly was their glory to behold;On earth no better grew, nor living wightE’er better saw, but they from hence[17]were sold;For those which Hercules, with conquest bold,Got from great Atlas’ daughters, hence began,And planted there, did bring forth fruit of gold,And those with which th’ Eubœan young man wan [won]Swift Atalanta, when, through craft, he her outran.“Here also sprang that goodly golden fruitWith which Acontius got his lover true,Whom he had long time sought with fruitless suit;Here eke that famous golden Apple grew,The which among the gods false Até threw,For which th’ Idæan ladies disagreed,Till partial Paris deem’d it Venus’ due,And had of her fair Helen for his meed,That many noble Greeks and Trojans made to bleed.”
“Next thereunto did grow a goodly tree,With branches broad dispread and body great,Clothèd with leaves, that none the wood might see,And laden all with fruit, as thick as thick might be.
“Next thereunto did grow a goodly tree,
With branches broad dispread and body great,
Clothèd with leaves, that none the wood might see,
And laden all with fruit, as thick as thick might be.
“The fruit were golden Apples glistering bright,That goodly was their glory to behold;On earth no better grew, nor living wightE’er better saw, but they from hence[17]were sold;For those which Hercules, with conquest bold,Got from great Atlas’ daughters, hence began,And planted there, did bring forth fruit of gold,And those with which th’ Eubœan young man wan [won]Swift Atalanta, when, through craft, he her outran.
“The fruit were golden Apples glistering bright,
That goodly was their glory to behold;
On earth no better grew, nor living wight
E’er better saw, but they from hence[17]were sold;
For those which Hercules, with conquest bold,
Got from great Atlas’ daughters, hence began,
And planted there, did bring forth fruit of gold,
And those with which th’ Eubœan young man wan [won]
Swift Atalanta, when, through craft, he her outran.
“Here also sprang that goodly golden fruitWith which Acontius got his lover true,Whom he had long time sought with fruitless suit;Here eke that famous golden Apple grew,The which among the gods false Até threw,For which th’ Idæan ladies disagreed,Till partial Paris deem’d it Venus’ due,And had of her fair Helen for his meed,That many noble Greeks and Trojans made to bleed.”
“Here also sprang that goodly golden fruit
With which Acontius got his lover true,
Whom he had long time sought with fruitless suit;
Here eke that famous golden Apple grew,
The which among the gods false Até threw,
For which th’ Idæan ladies disagreed,
Till partial Paris deem’d it Venus’ due,
And had of her fair Helen for his meed,
That many noble Greeks and Trojans made to bleed.”
At Brighton, there exists a curious custom of bowling or throwing Oranges along the high-road on Boxing-day. He whose Orange is hit by that of another, forfeits the fruit to the successful hitter.——An Andalusian tradition, given by De Gubernatis, relates that the Virgin Mary, journeying with the infant Jesus and with Joseph, came to the Orange-tree, which was guarded by an eagle, and begged of it one of the Oranges for the holy child. The eagle miraculously fell asleep, and the Virgin thereupon plucked not one but three Oranges, one of which she gave to the infant Jesus, another to Joseph, and the third she kept for herself. Then, and not till then, the eagle that guarded the Orange-tree awoke.——According to Evelyn, the first China Orange-tree which reached Europe was sent as a present to the old Conde Mellor, then Prime Minister to the King of Portugal. Writing in 1697, the Jesuit Le Comte states that “the first and unique Orange-tree, from which it is said all others have sprung, is still preserved at Lisbon, in the house of Count St. Laurent.”——In Sicily, statues of the Madonna are decorated with branches of the Orange; at Avola, in Sicily, on Easter Sunday, two posts are set up, and decorated with Orange-boughs.——The Orange is one of those rare trees which produce at the same time fruit, flowers, and foliage; hence it is in some countries considered as typifying great fulness, and has thus become connected with wedding ceremonies. The practice of wearing Orange-blossoms and wreaths by brides has been derived from the Saracens, amongst whom the Orange-flower was regarded as emblematic of a happy and prosperous marriage. In Crete, the bride and bridegroom are sprinkled with Orange-flower-water. In Sardinia, it is customary to attach Oranges to the horns of oxen which draw the nuptial carriage.——To dream of Oranges would appear to be at all times a very unfavourable omen.
ORCHIS.—From mythology we learn that the Orchis owes its origin to the wanton son of the satyr Patellanus and the nymph Acolasia, who presided at the feasts celebrated in honour of Priapus. The headstrong Orchis, being present at the celebration of the feast of Bacchus, laid violent hands on one of the priestesses of that god; and this sacrilegious conduct so incensed the Bacchanals against the youth, that they forthwith set upon him, and in their fury literally tore him in pieces. His father adjured the gods, but the only remedy he could obtain was that his son’smangled corpse should be transformed into a flower, which should ever after bear the name of Orchis, as a blot upon his memory.——Among the early Romans, the Orchis was often called Satyrion, because it was believed to be the food of the satyrs, and as such excited them to those excesses which were characteristic of the attendants of Bacchus. Hence, the Orchis-root not unnaturally became famous as a powerful stimulating medicine, and is so described by all herbalists from the time of Dioscorides.——A very old tradition exists that Orchids sprang from the seed of the thrush and the blackbird.——Bishop Fleetwood writes of these curious flowers that they represent apes, birds, wasps, bees, flies, butterflies, gnats, spiders, grasshoppers, and other insects; “but the most curious sort is that which is calledAnthropophora, because it represents a man or a woman very exactly.” He further tells us “this flower, resembling a man, appears in the beginning of Autumn; but that which represents women comes in May. These two Orchids were, in 1671, engraved by order of theAcademia Curiosorum Naturæ, and were described asOrchis Anthropophorus Mas., andO. A. Fœmina.”——A tradition is attached to the English species,Orchis mascula, which usually has its leaves marked with deep purple spots. It is said that these spots are the stains of the precious blood which flowed from our Lord’s wounded body on the cross at Calvary, as this species of Orchis is reported to have grown there. In Cheshire, the plant is called Gethsemane.——The sweet-scented Orchis,Gymnadenia conopsea, is the Northern goddess Frigg’s Grass.
ORPINE.—On Midsummer Eve, Orpine (Sedum Telephium), Fennel, Lilies, and Hypericum used formerly to be hung over doors and windows. The plant is commonly called ‘Midsummer Men’ and ‘Livelong,’ from a custom of country lasses to try their lovers’ fidelity with it on Midsummer Eve: this they do by setting up two plants of Orpine—one representing themselves, and another their lovers—upon a slate or trencher, and afterwards judging of the state of their lover’s affections by his plant living and turning to their own, or not. Wives, also, place over their heads the Orpine-plant, and by the bending of the leaves to the right or to the left divine whether husbands are true or false. (SeeLivelong.)
OSMUND ROYAL.—The stately flowering FernOsmunda Regalisis said to derive its name from the following legend:—A waterman, named Osmund, once dwelt on the banks of Loch Fyne, with his wife and daughter. One day a band of fugitives, bursting into his cottage, warned Osmund that the cruel Danes were fast approaching the ferry. Osmund heard them with fear; he trembled for those he held dearer than life. Suddenly the shouts of furious men roused him to action. Snatching up his oars, he rowed his trembling wife and child to a small island covered with this beautiful Fern; and helping them to land, he bade them lie down beneath the shady foliage for protection. Scarcelyhad the ferryman returned to his cottage, ere a company of fierce Danes rushed in, but knowing that he could be of service to them, they did him no harm. During the day and night, Osmund was occupied in ferrying the troops across the lake. When the last company had landed, Osmund kneeled beside the bank, and returned thanks to Heaven for the preservation of his wife and child. Often in after years did he speak of that day’s peril; and his daughter called the Fern by her father’s name. Gerarde, in describing the stem of theOsmunda, which, on being cut, exhibits a white centre, calls this portion of the Fern the “heart of Osmund, the waterman,” probably in allusion to the above tradition.
Our Lady’s Plants.—SeeLady’s Plants.
Ox-Eye.—SeeMoon Daisy.
PALASA.—Palasa is a Sanscrit word, meaning “leaf,” but in course of time it became applied to theButea frondosaas well as the name Parna, which also signifies a leaf. The modern Indian name of the tree is Dhak. The Palasa is in India a sacred tree, and has a special cultus; as such, it is held to be imbued with the immortalising Soma, the beverage of the gods. According to the Vedas, it owed its origin to a feather dropped by a falcon who, when the gods were pining for the precious Soma fluid, succeeded in stealing some from the demons who had charge of it. In flying off with its prize, the falcon was wounded by an arrow shot by one of the demons, which wounded it and caused a feather impregnated with the divine fluid to fall to earth, where it took root and became a Palasa-tree (called also Parna), which has a red sap and scarlet blossoms—emblems of the sacred fire. The falcon was a transformed god—some say Indra—hence the tree which sprang from the god-bird’s feather was in its nature divine.——The Palasa was much employed by the Hindus in religious ceremonies, particularly in one connected with the blessing of calves to ensure them proving good milkers. To this end, at the time of the sacrifice offered in the new moon (the season of increase), the priest, on behalf of the Hindu farmer, selected a Palasa-branch that grew on the north-east, north, or east side of the tree, and cut it off, saying, “For strength cut I thee.” Then, having stripped off the leaves, he struck both calves and dams with it, blessing the latter and bidding them be good milkers and breeders, and profitable animals to their masters. This done, he stuck up the Palasa rod eastward of the holy fire, and bade it protect the cattle. The object in thus touching the cattle was that the divine Soma contained in the rod might pass into and enrich the udders of the beasts. The Palasa is triple-leaved, and hence was deemed to typify, like the trident, the forked lightning, an appropriate attribute, inasmuch as it originally sprang from a god of the lightning. In this respect, it resembled the rod of Mercury (a fire-god), the Sami, and the Rowan rod.——The staff of the Brahman ought to be made of Palasa wood. (SeeDhak.)
PALM.—The Palm-tree is symbolic of victory, of riches, and of generation. It was considered by the ancients also an emblem of light, and was held sacred to Apollo. The Palm of Delos was supposed to have existed from the time of the god Apollo himself. Among the Greeks, there existed a legend that the Palm, like the Olive, was brought into Greece by Hercules, on his return from the infernal regions. The Orphics venerated the Palm as an immortal tree, which never grew old; hence, as a symbol of immortality, and especially of the immortality of glory, it was associated with the goddess Victoria, called alsoDea Palmaris.——In India, as amongst the Arabs, the Palm is considered a sacred tree.——According to an Indian legend, the Palm of the Lake of Taroba, in Central India, was only visible during the day; in the evening it re-entered the earth. It is related that a rash pilgrim climbed one morning to the top of the Palm, but the tree grew to such a height above the earth’s surface, that the pilgrim was scorched to death by the sun’s rays, and the Palm itself was reduced to tinder. On the spot where the miraculous Palm is said to have once grown stands the idol of the Geni of the Lake, called Taroba.——Christian legend has associated the Palm with the history of Jesus. According to the Apocryphal Gospel, the Virgin Mary, whilst journeying, became fatigued and oppressed with the great heat; in passing by a great desert, she saw a large and beautiful Palm-tree, beneath which she wished to seek rest and shelter; so she asked Joseph to drive the ass upon which she was seated towards the tree. When she reached the foot of the tree, she dismounted, and, looking up, noticed that the tree was laden with fruit. Then she said to Joseph: “I wish to have some of the fruit of this tree, for I am hungry.” To this, Joseph replied: “Mary, I marvel that you should desire to eat of this fruit.” Then Jesus Christ, who was seated in his mother’s lap, ordered the Palm to bend down, so that his mother might partake of its fruit at pleasure. And forthwith the tree bent down to the Virgin Mary, and she partook of its fruit, and still the Palm remained bent downwards. Then, Jesus perceiving this, ordered the Palm to resume its natural position, and it immediately did so. This legend has been widely diffused in Italy and elsewhere, sometimes with the following addendum: “Jesus, after this act of devotion on the part of the Palm, gave the tree his benediction, chose it as the symbol of eternal salvation for the dying, and declared that he would make his triumphant entry into Jerusalem with a Palm in his hand.”——The Palm was early assumed by the Christian Church as the universal symbol of martyrdom, in accordance with Revelation vii., 9: “And after this I beheld, and lo, a great multitude stood before the throne, clothed with white robes, and with Palms in their hands.... And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation.” Hence, in early Italian paintings of the saints, as well as on the sculptured effigies of Christianheroes, the Palm is represented as borne by those who suffered martyrdom; and, in some instances, by those conspicuous for their victory over pain and temptation.——In old religious paintings, St. Christopher (who lived in the middle of the fourth century) is represented as a man of Herculean proportions, who uses, as a supporting staff, an entire Palm-tree with leaves and branches. The legend is, that having, when still unconverted, entreated a hermit to show him Christ, the holy man admonished him that he must do some good and acceptable work, and recommended him to go to the banks of a deep and swollen river, and by his great strength assist travellers to cross over it. Christopher readily undertook the task, and went and dwelt by the side of the river. Having rooted up a Palm-tree, he used it as a staff to guide and support his steps, and aided all who were overcome by the stream, and carried the weak on his shoulders across it. After he had spent many days at this toil, he, one night, whilst lying resting in his hut, heard a voice calling him from the shore. He arose and looked out, but saw nothing. So he lay down again, and the same thing occurred to him a second and third time. Then he took his lantern and searched about the river bank, and at last discovered a little child, who plaintively said to him: “Christopher, carry me over this night.” Thereupon the stalwart young man lifted the little child on his shoulders, and grasping his Palm-staff, entered the stream. As he struggled across, the waters kept rising higher and higher; the waves roared, and beat against him, and the winds blew. The infant on his shoulder became heavier and still heavier, till Christopher felt that he must sink under the excessive weight, and began to feel afraid: nevertheless, taking fresh courage, and staying his tottering steps with his Palm-staff, he at length reached the opposite bank. Gently placing the child down, he looked at him with astonishment, and asked, “Who art thou, child, that hast placed me in such extreme peril? Had I carried the whole world on my shoulders, the burthen had not been heavier.” Then the child replied: “Wonder not, Christopher, for thou hast not only borne the world, but Him who made the world, upon thy shoulders. Me wouldst thou serve in this thy work of charity; and, behold, I have accepted thy service; and in testimony that I have accepted thy service and thee, plant thy staff in the ground, and it shall put forth leaves and fruit.” Christopher did so, and the dry Palm-staff flourished as a Palm-tree in the season, and was covered with clusters of Dates. But the miraculous child had vanished. Then Christopher fell on his face, and confessed and worshipped Christ.——According to the legend of the death of the Virgin Mary, she was, one day, filled with an inexpressible longing to behold her Son again, and whilst weeping, an angel suddenly appeared, and said: “Hail, O Mary! I bring thee here a branch of Palm, gathered in Paradise; command that it be carried before thy bier in the day of thy death; for in three days thy soul shall leave thy body,and thou shalt enter into Paradise, where thy Son awaits thy coming.” After conversing with the Holy Mother, the angel departed into heaven, and the Palm-branch which he had left behind him shed light from every leaf, and sparkled as the stars of the morning. At the same instant, the apostles, who were dispersed in various parts of the world, were miraculously caught up and deposited at Mary’s door. Then, having thanked the Lord, she placed in the hands of St. John the shining Palm, and desired him to bear it before her at the time of the burial—an office which he faithfully discharged.——Some authorities mention the Palm as one of the four trees which furnished the wood of which the Redeemer’s Cross was composed; this notion is derived from Canticles vii., 8: “I will go up to the Palm-tree,” &c. Hence the old rhyme:—
“Nailed were His feet to Cedar, to Palm His hands—Cypress His body bore, title on Olive stands.”
“Nailed were His feet to Cedar, to Palm His hands—Cypress His body bore, title on Olive stands.”
“Nailed were His feet to Cedar, to Palm His hands—
Cypress His body bore, title on Olive stands.”
The praises of the Palm have been sung by Hebrew, Indian, Persian, and Arabian poets of all ages. According to Strabo, a Persian hymn, but according to Plutarch a Babylonian hymn, records the three hundred and sixty benefits conferred on mankind by this noble tree; whilst a poem in the Tamil language, although enumerating eight hundred and one uses of the Palmyra Palm, does not exhaust the catalogue.——In the IndianVishnu Purâna, the fruitfulness of the Date Palm is alluded to. The youthful Bala Râma slays the monster Dhenuka, and casts the carcase at the foot of a Date Palm: then the Dates fell upon him just as rain, beaten by the winds, patters down on the earth.——In India, the Palm has given rise to a proverb on account of the facility with which it takes root: the natives say of a vile and despised enemy, that he takes root as a Palm.——To dream of a Palm-tree is a very good omen, particularly if it is in full blossom, in which case it predicts much success and good fortune.
PANSY.—The Pansy (Viola tricolor) derives its name from a corruption of the French wordpensées, thoughts: thus poor Ophelia says:—
“Pray you love, remember,And there’s Pansies,—that’s for thoughts.”—Shakspeare.
“Pray you love, remember,And there’s Pansies,—that’s for thoughts.”—Shakspeare.
“Pray you love, remember,
And there’s Pansies,—that’s for thoughts.”—Shakspeare.
Spenser designated the flower “the pretty Pawnce;” Milton spoke of it as the “Pansy freak’d with jet;” and Drayton sings:—
“The pretty Pansy then I’ll tye,Like stones some chain enchasing;The next to them, their near ally,The purple Violet placing.”
“The pretty Pansy then I’ll tye,Like stones some chain enchasing;The next to them, their near ally,The purple Violet placing.”
“The pretty Pansy then I’ll tye,
Like stones some chain enchasing;
The next to them, their near ally,
The purple Violet placing.”
Rapin writes of the flower asFlos Jovis—the flower of Jove:—
“With all the beauties in the valleys bred,Spearmint, that’s born with Myrtle crowns to wed.And Jove’s own flower, in which three colours meet,To rival Violets, though without their sweet.”
“With all the beauties in the valleys bred,Spearmint, that’s born with Myrtle crowns to wed.And Jove’s own flower, in which three colours meet,To rival Violets, though without their sweet.”
“With all the beauties in the valleys bred,
Spearmint, that’s born with Myrtle crowns to wed.
And Jove’s own flower, in which three colours meet,
To rival Violets, though without their sweet.”
In addition to this grandiose title, the little flower rejoices in a multiplicity of epithets bestowed on it by rural admirers. It is Heart’s-ease, Forget-me-not, Herb Trinity, Three-Faces-under-a-Hood, Love-and-Idle, Love-in-idleness, Live-in-Idleness, Call-me-to-you, Cuddle-me-to-you, Jump-up-and-kiss-me, Kiss-me-ere-I-Rise, Kiss-me-at-the-Garden-Gate, Tittle-my-Fancy, Pink-of-my-John, and Flamy, because its colours are seen in the flame of wood. In the North-east of Scotland, and in Scandinavia, the flower is with a spice of irony called Step-mother. In ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream,’ Shakspeare gives the Heart’s-ease magical qualities. Oberon bids Puck procure for him “a little western flower” on which Cupid’s dart had fallen, and which maidens called “Love-in-Idleness.”Says the fairy king:—
“Fetch me that flower—the herb I showed thee once;The juice of it, on sleeping eyelids laid,Will make or man or woman madly doteUpon the next live creature that it sees.”
“Fetch me that flower—the herb I showed thee once;The juice of it, on sleeping eyelids laid,Will make or man or woman madly doteUpon the next live creature that it sees.”
“Fetch me that flower—the herb I showed thee once;
The juice of it, on sleeping eyelids laid,
Will make or man or woman madly dote
Upon the next live creature that it sees.”
The poet Herrick tells us, in regard to the origin of these favourite flowers, that—
“Frolick virgins once there were,Over-loving, living here.Being here their ends denied,Ran for sweethearts mad, and died.Love, in pity of their tears,And their loss in blooming years,For their restless here-spent hours,Gave them Heart’s-ease turned to flowers.”
“Frolick virgins once there were,Over-loving, living here.Being here their ends denied,Ran for sweethearts mad, and died.Love, in pity of their tears,And their loss in blooming years,For their restless here-spent hours,Gave them Heart’s-ease turned to flowers.”
“Frolick virgins once there were,
Over-loving, living here.
Being here their ends denied,
Ran for sweethearts mad, and died.
Love, in pity of their tears,
And their loss in blooming years,
For their restless here-spent hours,
Gave them Heart’s-ease turned to flowers.”
The Pansy was the accidental cause of Bertram, the first American botanist, devoting himself to the study of botany. The stamens and pistil of this flower have something grotesque in their appearance when disclosed, resembling to a fanciful mind an animal with arms, and a head projecting and stooping forward. Bertram, who was originally a farmer, while superintending his servants in the field, and giving them directions, gathered a Pansy that was growing at his feet, and thoughtlessly pulled off its petals one after another. Struck with the stamens and pistil, Bertram conveyed it home, that he might examine it more carefully. Its examination created in him that thirst for the knowledge of the construction and habits of plants which afterwards rendered him so famous, and won for him the friendship of Linnæus.——The Heart’s-ease is said to be sacred to St. Valentine. As theHerba Trinitatis, or Herb Trinity, it is the special flower of Trinity Sunday.——It is considered to be a herb of Saturn.
PAPYRUS.—Plutarch tells us that the vessel on which the Egyptian goddess Isis embarked on her voyage to search for the remains of Osiris, was constructed of the Reeds of the Papyrus (Papyrus antiquorum), and that the crocodiles, out of respect and fear of the goddess, dared not approach the bark.——The Papyrus is the Rush described in the Hebrew Scriptures by the wordGôme,and in an ark ofGômethe mother of the infant Moses put her babe, and laid it in the Flags by the brink of the river Nile. The ancient Egyptians plaited the stems of the Papyrus not only into little boats, but into sails, mats, and sandals. The fabrication in particular of little boats appears to have been practised by them to an immense extent, and to have commenced in the very earliest days of the nation. M. de Castelnau says that the Reed-boats still in use amongst the Peruvians exactly resemble the pictured representations of the Egyptian ones, as preserved on the walls of the tomb of Rameses III. at Thebes. Bundles of Papyrus-stems furnished models for the shafts of some of the pillars of the ancient Egyptian temples, and the bases of these were ornamented with representations of the sheaths that encircle the foot of the flower-stalk. The Papyrus-plant supplied the material of which the famous paper, both rough and fine, was manufactured in ancient times. Papyrus paper made 2000 yearsB.C., or anterior to the time of Abraham, is still in existence. It was an article of commerce long before the time of Herodotus, and it remained in use till the seventh century. This Papyrus paper was prepared from the white pith of the stoutest stems of the Reeds which grew in great abundance in the pools caused by the overflowing of the Nile.——Plutarch relates, that when Agesilaus visited Egypt, he was so delighted with the chaplets of Papyrus sent him by the king, that he took some home when he returned to Sparta.
PARSLEY.—Hercules is said to have selected Parsley to form the first garlands he wore. The Greeks held Parsley (Petroselinum) in great reputation. A crown of dried and withered Parsley was given to the victor at the Isthmian games; and one of green Parsley to the conqueror at the Nemean games, in memory of the death of Archemorus, the infant son of Lycurgus, who, laid down by his nurse on a sprig of Parsley, was killed by a serpent.——A branch of Laurel and a crown of Parsley were given to the god of banquets. At Greek banquets the guests wore crowns of Parsley, under the belief that the herb created quiet and promoted an appetite.——Greek gardens were often bordered by Parsley and Rue; hence arose the saying, when an undertaking was in contemplation, but not really commenced: “Oh, we are only at the Parsley and Rue!” Parsley, again, was in great request for the purpose of decorating graves; and the Greeks were fond of strewing sprigs of the herb over the bodies of the dead. A despairing lover cries:—