“Rowan Ash and red threadKeep the devils frae their speed.”Another version of this charm renders it thus:—“Roan-tree and red thread,Haud the witches a’ in dread.”Pennant remarks that the Scotch farmers carefully preserve their cattle against witchcraft by placing branches of Honeysuckle and Mountain Ash in the cowhouses on the 2nd of May; the milkmaids of Westmoreland often carry in their hands or attached to their milking-pails a branch of the Rowan-tree, from a similar superstitious belief; the dairymaids of Lancashire prefer a churn-staff of Rowan-wood to that of any other tree, as it saves the butter from evil influences; and in the North of England a branch of “Wiggin” (Mountain Ash) is frequently hung up in stables, it being deemed a most efficacious charm against witchcraft. Formerly, in some parts of the country, it was considered that a branch or twig held up in the presence of a witch was sufficient to render her deadliest wishes of no avail.——In an ancient song, called the “Laidly Worm of Spindlestone Heughs” is an allusion to this power of the Rowan-tree over witches:—“Their spells were vain; the hags return’dTo the queen in sorrowful mood,Crying that witches have no powerWhere there is Roan-tree wood.”In Cornwall, the Mountain Ash is called “Care,” and if there is a suspicion of a cow being bewitched or subjected to the Evil Eye, the herdsmen will suspend a branch over her stall, or twine it round her horns. Evelyn says that the Mountain Ash was reputed to be a preservative against fascination and evil spirits, “whence, perhaps, we call it ‘Witchen;’ the boughs being stuck about the door or used for walking-staves.” In Wales, this tree was considered so sacred in his time, that there was not, he tells us, a churchyard without one of them planted in it.——At the present time, in Montgomeryshire, it is customary to rest the corpse on its way to the churchyard under a Mountain Ash, as that tree is credited with having furnished the wood of the Cross.——In olden times, collars of the wood of the Rowan-tree were put upon the necks of cattle, in order to protect them from spells or witchcraft. In many parts of England, it was formerly the custom in cases of the death of animals supposed to be bewitched, to take out the heart of one of the victims, stick it over with pins, and burn it to a cinder over a fire composed of the wood of a Rowan-tree, which, as we have seen, has always been considered a terror and dread to witches.“Black luggie, lammer bead,Rowan-tree and red thread,Put the witches to their speed.”A witch touched with a branch of this sacred tree by a christened man was deemed doomed to be the victim carried off by the Devil, when he next came to claim his tribute.——Like the Hazel, Thorn, and Mistletoe, it was deemed, according to Aryan tradition, to be an embodiment of the lightning, from which it sprang, and was, moreover, thought to possess the magical power of discovering hidden treasure.——In the days of the Fenians,according to the Gaelic legend, of ‘The Pursuit of Diarmuid and Grainne,’ there grew in Ireland a celebrated Mountain Ash, called the Quicken-tree of Dubhros, which bore some wonderful berries. The legend informs us that, “There is in every berry of them the exhilaration of wine, and the satisfying of old mead, and whoever shall eat three berries of them, has he completed a hundred years, he will return to the age of thirty years.” These famed berries of the Quicken-tree of Dubhros were jealously guarded by one Searbhan Lochlannach, “a giant, hideous and foul to behold,” who would allow no one to pluck them: he was, however, slain by Diarmuid O’Duibhne, and the berries placed at the disposal of his wife Grainne, who had incited her husband to obtain them for her.——At Modrufell, on the north coast of Ireland, is or was a large Rowan, always on Christmas Eve stuck full of torches, which no wind could possibly extinguish; and one of the Orkneys possessed a still more mysterious tree with which the fate of the islands was bound up, since, if a leaf was carried away, they would pass to some foreign lord.RUDRÂKSHA.—De Gubernatis tells us, thatRudrâksha, which means literally the Eye of Rudra (Siva), or the Tear of Rudra, is a name given, in India, to the fruit of theEleocarpus, of which the natives manufacture their Rosaries, which are specially used in the worship of the god Siva. It is said that during the war of the gods with the Asuras, or demons, Siva burnt three towns; but he was grieved, and wept went he was told that he had also burnt the inhabitants. From the tears he then shed, and which fell to the earth, sprang the climbing plants whose fruits are to this day called by the faithful,Rudrâkshas.RUE.—It has been conjectured that the Moly, which, according to Homer, Mercury gave to Ulysses as an antidote to the enchantress Circe’s beverage, was the root of the wild Rue. In olden times, Rue (Ruta graveolens) was called Herb of Grace, from the fact that the wordruemeans also “repentance,” which is needful to obtain the grace of God. It was also known as the Serving-men’s Joy, but was specially held in high repute by women, who attributed to it all sorts of miraculous qualities. R. Turner states that “it preserves chastity, being eaten; it quickeneth the sight, stirs up the spirits, and sharpeneth the wit.... It is an excellent antidote against poisons and infections; the very smell thereof is a preservation against the plague in the time of infection.” Its virtues as a disinfectant are noted in the quaint rhyme of old Tusser:—“What savour is better, if physicke be true,For places infected, than Wormwood and Rue?”Dioscorides recommended the seed as a counterpoison against deadly medicines, the bitings of serpents, scorpions, wasps, &c.: and Gerarde adds, “It is reported that if a man bee anointed withthe juice of Rue, these will not hurt him, and that the serpent is driven away at the smell thereof when it is burned: insomuch that when the weasell is to fight with the serpent, shee armeth her selfe by eating Rue, against the might of the serpent.”——The famous counter-poison of Mithridates, King of Pontus, was composed of twenty leaves of Rue, two Figs, two Walnuts, twenty Juniper-berries, and a little salt. Rue entered into the composition of the once noted “vinegar of the four thieves.” It is said that four thieves, during the Plague of Marseilles, invented this anti-pestilential vinegar, by means of which they entered infected houses without danger, and stole all property worth removing. Piperno, a Neapolitan physician, in 1625, recommended Rue as a specific against epilepsy and vertigo: it sufficed for the patient to suspend some round his neck, renouncing at the time, in a stated formula, the devil and all his works, and invoking the Lord Jesus. This same doctor advocated the employment of Rue to cure dumbness caused by enchantment.——In England, Rue was thought to be efficacious in the cure of madness. Drayton gives the magic potion:—“Then sprinkled she the juice of RueWith nine drops of the midnight dewFrom Lunarie distilling.”In combination with Euphrasy, the herb appears to have been considered potent as an eye lotion.“Then purged with Euphrasy and RueThe visual nerve, for he had much to see.”—Milton.In olden times, there was a tradition that Rue always throve best when stolen from a neighbour’s garden; and it was popularly believed that the gun-flint boiled in Vervain and Rue ensured the shot taking effect.——In Venice, Rue is kept as a charm in a house, to maintain its good fortune; but it is reserved for the single members of the family; with it goes the luck of the house. When a plant cannot be procured, care is taken that at least a sprig is worn by some one between the stocking and leg.——In some parts of Italy, Rue is considered to be a protection against the Evil Eye and witchcraft.——In the Tyrol, anyone bearing a bundle of herbs, comprising Rue, Broom, Maiden-hair, Agrimony, and Ground Ivy, is enabled to see witches.——Astrologers claim Rue as a herb of the Sun, under Leo.RUSH.—The sea-nymph Galatea was devotedly attached to Acis, a young shepherd of Sicily, who warmly returned her affection. Unfortunately Galatea was passionately loved by the Cyclops Polyphemus, whom she treated with the greatest disdain. One day the Cyclops surprised the lovers who fled from his jealous wrath. The giant, however, hurled a mass of broken rock after Acis, and a fragment striking him, he was crushed to death. Galatea, inconsolable for the loss of her lover, determined to changehim into a stream. The blood of the mangled shepherd issuing from the fragment of rock which had overwhelmed him gradually changed into flowing water. Simultaneously“The stone was cleft, and through the yawning chinkNew Reeds arose on the new river’s brink;The rock from out its hollow womb disclosedA sound like water in its course opposed.When (wondrous to behold) full in the floodUp starts a youth, and navel-high he stood.Horns from his temples rise; and either hornThick wreaths of Reeds (his native growth) adorn.”The Flowering-rush (Butomus umbellatus) is considered to be the plant which sprang from the blood of Acis. The ancients knew it under name of theJuncus floridus, and Gerarde calls it the water Gladiole.——The flower now known as Acis is a dwarf Amaryllid.——In olden times, before carpets were known, it was usual to strew the floor with sweet Rushes, which diffused a fragrance. When William the Conqueror was born in Normandy, where that custom prevailed, at the very moment when the infant first saw the light and touched the ground, he filled both hands with the Rushes strewn on the floor, firmly grasping what he had taken up. This was regarded as a propitious omen, and the persons present declared the boy would become a king. This custom of strewing sweet Rushes was in vogue during Elizabeth’s reign, for we find several allusions to it in Shakspeare’s plays. Cardinal Wolsey, when in the zenith of his power, had the strewings of his great hall at Hampton Court renewed every day. It was customary formerly to strew Rushes on the floors of Churches on the Feast of Dedication, and on all high days. Till recently the floor of Norwich Cathedral was strewn withAcorus Calamuson feast days, or, if theAcoruswas scarce, then with yellow Iris-leaves. At the Church of St. Mary Redcliffe, Bristol, Rushes are strewn every Whitsuntide.——In Yorkshire, Cheshire, and Westmoreland, the old custom of Rush-bearing is observed, which apparently had for its origin the ancient practice of carrying Rushes to adorn the Church on the Feast of Dedication. The following account of a Rush-bearing at Ambleside is taken from ‘Time’s Telescope,’ for 1824:—“July 26, 1823.—On this and the following day, the antient custom of Rush-bearing took place at Ambleside. At seven o’clock on Saturday evening, a party of about forty young girls went in procession to the Church, preceded by a band of music. Each of the girls bore in her hands the usual Rush-bearings, the origin and signification of which have so long puzzled the researches of our antiquarians. These elegant little trophies were disposed in the Church, round the pulpit, reading-desk, pews, &c., and had a really beautiful and imposing effect. They thus remained during the Sunday, till the service was finished in the afternoon, when a similar procession was formed to convey these trophies home again. We understand that formerly, in some parts of Lancashire, asimilar ceremony prevailed, under the same designation, in which the Rush-bearings were made in the form of females, with a fanciful rosette for the head; and on looking at these in Ambleside, some faint resemblance of the female form may be traced in the outline. No satisfactory explanation of this ceremony has ever yet been given: the attempt at one is, that it is a remnant of an antient custom, which formerly prevailed, of strewing the church-floors with Rushes to preserve the feet from damp; but we cannot perceive what resemblance there is between the practice of strewing the church with Rushes, and the trophies which are now carried from time immemorial.”——To dream of Rushes portends unpleasantness between friends.RYE.—The Rye-fields are thought by the superstitious German peasantry to be infested by an evil spirit known as theRoggenwolf, or Rye-wolf, and in some districts the last sheaf of Rye is left as a shelter for this field demon during the winter.——In Germany, when a horse is tired, the peasantry will place on his back some crumbs of Rye bread, with a sure conviction that his fatigue will vanish.SAD TREE.—The Indian Sad Tree (Nyctanthes Arbor-tristis) is a species of Jasmine whose sweet-smelling flowers open at sunset and fall at sunrise, so that it is unadorned during the day, and has thus obtained the name of the Sad Tree. Its flowers, which resemble Orange-blossoms, are much used in temples.——Thunberg relates that the ladies of Batavia, when in the evening they pay visits to one another, are decorated in a particular manner about the head with a wreath of flowers of the Nyctanthes, run upon a thread. “These flowers are brought every day fresh to town for sale. The smell of them is inconceivably delightful, like that of Orange and Lemon-flowers: the whole house is filled with the fragrant scent, enhancing, if possible, the charms of the ladies’ company.”——At Goa, this flower is called Parizataco, a name given to it from the following circumstances:—A governor, named Parizatacos, had a beautiful daughter, who inspired the Sun with passionate love; but after a time he transferred his affections to another, and the poor deserted one was seized with such despair, that at last she put an end to her existence. Over her grave sprang up the Parizataco, or Night Jasmine, the flowers of which have such a horror of the Sun, that they always avoid gazing on it.Saffron.—SeeCrocus.SAGE.—Many species of Sage are highly esteemed in European countries for their medicinal qualities, and most of the continental names of the plant are like the botanical one ofSalvia, fromSalvo, to save or heal. The ancients ascribed to the herb manifold virtues, and regarded it as a preserver of the human race (“Salvia,Salvatvix,naturæ conciliatrix.”).——In mediæval times, the plant, on account of its numerous properties, obtained the name ofOfficinalisChristi, and was reported to have been blessed by the Virgin Mary.——So wholesome was the herb considered, that the school of Salerno summed up its surpassing merits in the line—“Cur morietur homo cui Salvia crescit in horto?”“How can a man die who grows Sage in his garden?”Probably this saying gave rise to the piece of advice contained in the old English proverb—“He that would live for ayeMust eat Sage in May.”Parkinson remarks that “Sage is much used in the month of May, fasting, with butter and Parsley, and is held of most to conduce much to the health of man,” and Turner says that “it restores natural heat, and comforts the vital spirits, and helps the memory, and quickens the senses; it is very healthful to be eaten in May with butter, and also to be drank in ale.” The Greeks of Crete (where Sage is grown abundantly) are very careful to gather the herb either on the first or second day of May, before sunrise.——In Sussex, to charm away ague fits, the peasantry eat Sage-leaves fasting for nine mornings consecutively. In Franche-Comté, the herb is believed to mitigate grief, moral as well as physical.——In Piedmont, there exists a tradition that if Sage is placed in a glass phial and buried beneath a dung-heap, a certain animal will grow, the blood of which, if tasted by dogs, will cause them to lose consciousness. There exists, also, a belief among Piedmontese girls that in every Sage-leaf is concealed a little toad; and Robert Turner, in his work on English plants (1687), states that “Rue is good to be planted amongst Sage, to prevent the poison which may be in it by toads frequenting amongst it, to relieve themselves of their poison, as is supposed; but Rue being amongst it, they will not come near it.”——There is an old superstition that, with the aid of Sage, young women may see their future husbands by practising the following extraordinary spell:—On Midsummer Eve, just after sunset, three, five, or seven young women are to go into a garden, where there is no other person, and each is to gather a sprig of Red Sage, and then, going into a room by themselves, set a stool in the middle of the room, and on it a clean bason full of Rose-water, on which the sprigs of Sage are to be put; and tying a line across the room, on one side of the stool, each maiden is to hang on it a clean smock, turned the wrong side outwards; then all are to sit down in a row, on the opposite side of the stool, as far distant as the room will allow, in perfect silence. At a few minutes after twelve, each maid’s future husband will take her sprig of Sage out of the Rose-water and sprinkle her smock with it.——Sage is held to be a herb of Jupiter.SAINFOIN.—As at present applied, the name Sainfoin appertains toHedysarum Onobrychis, but the name was first given to the LucerneMedicago sativa. Sainfoin was, in earlier times,called Holy Hay; the smell of this plant is supposed to excite the braying of asses; hence the specific name is taken from two Greek words, signifying an ass, and to bray. An Indian species (H. gyrans), which grows on the banks of the Ganges, exhibits a singular instance of spontaneous motion: its leaves constantly move up and down, now with sudden jerks, anon with a gentle waving motion. By day or night, and in whatever weather, this plant is never at rest.SAINTS’ PLANTS.—In monastic days, certain plants received the names of saints either from some peculiarity in their structure, or from their association with the objects of which the saint whose name the particular plant bore was patron. Thus St. Anthony, the patron saint of pigs, gave his name to theBunium flexuosum(St. Anthony’s Nut), and theRanunculus bulbosus(St. Anthony’s Rape). St. James’s-wort was so called because it was used for the diseases of horses, of which the saint was patron. St. Thomas, St. Christopher, and St. Benedict have each given their names to plants. TheNigella Damascenais St. Katherine’s Flower, from its resemblance to her wheel. TheSaxifraga umbrosaobtained the name of St. Patrick’s Cabbage because it grew in the West of Ireland, where St. Patrick lived. ThePrimula verisis St. Peter’s-wort from its resemblance to a bunch of keys. Most of these saintly names were, however, given to the plants because their day of flowering is connected with the feast day of the saint. HenceHypericum quadrangulareis the St. Peter’s-wort of the modern floras, from its flowering on the twenty-ninth of June;Hypericum perforatumis St. John’s-wort, being gathered to scare away demons on St. John’s Eve;Barbarea vulgaris, growing in the winter, is St. Barbara’s-cress, her day being the fourth of December, old style; andCentaurea solstitialisderives its specific Latin name, as well as its popular name, St. Barnaby’s Thistle, from its flourishing on the longest day, the eleventh of June, old style, which is now the twenty-second.SAINT JOHN’S WORT.—The common St. John’s Wort (Hypericum perforatum) has leaves marked with red blood-like spots, which tradition avers always appear on the 29th August, the day on which St. John was beheaded; but the plant derived its name from its being, according to ancient custom, gathered with great ceremony on the eve of St. John’s Day, the 24th of June, to be hung up in windows as a preservative against evil spirits, phantoms, spectres, storms, and thunder; whence it derived its ancient name ofFuga Dæmonum(Devil’s Flight).“St. John’s Wort, scaring from the midnight heathThe witch and goblin with its spicy breath.”For the same reason, the plant was also calledSol Terrestris, the Terrestrial Sun, because it was superstitiously believed that all the spirits of darkness vanish at the approach of the sun; and St.John’s Day falls on the summer solstice, the 24th day of June, the last of the three days which mark the culminating point of the solar ascension—the day when, in some latitudes, the sun never sets, and the heavens are illuminated and radiant with its glory through the night. The bright yellow blossom of theHypericum perforatum, with its glittering golden stamens, was not inappropriately calledSol Terrestris, as symbolising the sun (which, by its effulgence, disperses all evil spirits), and St. John the Baptist, of whom the Scriptures say he was “a light to them which sit in darkness.”——At the present time this plant is almost everywhere known by the name connecting it with the saint. The peasantry of France and Germany still gather it on St. John’s Day to hang over their cottage doors or in the windows, in the belief that its sanctity will drive away evil spirits of all kinds, and will also propitiate their patron saint.——In Switzerland, young girls on the Eve of St. John make nosegays composed of nine different flowers, of which the principal one is theHypericum, or St. John’s Wort. These nine flowers are plucked from nine different places. The posy is placed beneath the maiden’s pillow before she retires to bed, and she then endeavours to sleep and dream: should she, in her dream, see a young man, he will not fail soon to arrive and to make her his wife.——Somewhat similar customs to this, in connection with the Rose, the Moss-Rose, and the Sage, exist in England, one of which is, perhaps, referred to by Harte, who, when alluding to certain flowers, adds:—“And that which on the Baptist’s vigil sendsTo nymphs and swains the vision of their friends.”In Lower Saxony, the peasant girls on the Eve of St. John hang sprigs ofHypericumagainst the head of their bed or the walls of their chambers; if it remains fresh on the following morning, they are persuaded they will be married within a year; but if, on the contrary, it droops and fades, they have no hope of marriage within that time.“The young maid stole through the cottage-door,And blush’d as she sought the plant of power;‘Thou silver glow-worm, O lend me thy light!I must gather the mystic St. John’s Wort to-night,The wonderful herb whose leaf will decideIf the coming year will make me a bride.’”In Italy, theHypericumis called both St. John’s Wort and the Devil-chaser. On the Night of St. John it is worn about the person, as a preservative from witchcraft and sorcery, and it is suspended over doorways and windows with the same object.——In Scotland, it is carried about as a charm against witchcraft and enchantment, and the peasantry fancy it cures ropy milk, which they suppose to be under some malignant influence. According to Pennant, it is customary in Wales to stick sprigs of St. John’s Wort over every door on the Eve of St. John’s; and Stowe, in his ‘Survey of London,’ tells us that, “on the Vigil of St. John theBaptist, every man’s door being shadowed with green Birch, long Fennel, St. John’s Wort, Orpine, white Lilies, and such like, garnished upon with garlands of beautiful flowers, had also lamps of glass with oil burning in them all the night.”——The peasantry of the Isle of Man have a tradition that if you tread on the St. John’s Wort after sunset, a fairy horse will rise from the earth, and, after carrying you about all night, will leave you in the morning wherever you may chance to be at sunrise.——St. John’s Wort was by old medical writers deemed of great utility in the cure of hypochondriacal disorders, and B. Visontius commends the herb to one troubled with heart-melancholy. For this purpose it was to be gathered on a Friday, in the hour of Jupiter, when he comes to his effectual operation (that is, about the full moon in July); “so gathered, and borne or hung about the neck, it mightily helps this affection, and drives away all phantastical spirits.” Another remarkable quality ascribed to the plant was its power of curing all sorts of wounds: hence originated its old name of Tutsan, a corruption of its French cognomenla Toute-saine, or All-heal. In Sicily, they gatherHypericum perforatum, and immerse it in Olive-oil, which is by this means transformed into an infallible balm for wounds. A salve made from the flowers, and known as St. John’s Wort salve, is still much used and valued in English villages: it is a very old remedy, whose praises have been spoken by Dioscorides and Pliny, Gerarde, Culpeper, and all the old English herbalists. As these flowers, when rubbed between the fingers, yield a red juice, it has, among fanciful medical men, obtained the name ofsanguis hominis(human blood).SALLOW.—The Sallow (Salix caprea) is theSeljaof the Norsemen, an ill-omened plant possessing many magical properties. No child can be born in safety where a branch of this sinister tree is suspended; and no spirit can depart in peace from its earthly frame, if it be near them. It is the badge of the Scottish Clan Cumming.SAL-TREE.—The Sâla or Sâl (Shorea robusta) is one of the sacred trees of India. According to the Buddhists’ belief, it was while holding in her hand a branch of the sacred Sâla, that the mother of Buddha gave birth to the divine infant prince. It was beneath the shelter of two twin Sâl-trees, that Buddha passed his last night on earth, near Kuçinagara,“beneath a rain of flowers, with which the Sâl-tree growing there covered his venerated body.” Thus we read in Da Cunha’s ‘Life of Buddha’—“He then retired to Kuçinagara, and entered a grove of Sâl-trees (Shorea robusta); there, during the night, he received a gift of food from an artizan named Chanda, and was seized with illness. At early dawn next day, as he turned on to his right side with his head to the north, the Sâl-trees bending down to form a canopy over his body, he ceased to breathe.” It was not the season for Sâl-trees to bloom,but the twin trees beneath which he lay were covered with blossoms from crown to foot. Blossoms fell down on him, a shower of flowers fell from heaven, and heavenly melodies sounded over head as the Perfect One passed away. At the moment of his death, the earth quaked, thunders rolled, and the wife of Brahma announced the entry of Buddha into Paradise.SAMI.—The Indians employ the wood of Sami (Mimosa Suma) a species of Acacia for the production of fire in their sacrifices. For this purpose they rub a stick of Asvattha (representing the male element) against a stick of the Acacia Sami (regarded as the female symbol), in accordance with the Indian legend which relates how Pururavas, the Indian Prometheus, created fire by rubbing two woods together. At Indian weddings, after the sacrifice has been made, the husband and wife take in their hands some Rice (symbol of abundance) and some leaves of Sami (symbol of generation). Before building a house, it is customary to sprinkle the site by dipping a branch of Sami into some holy water. In the same way, the Indians sprinkle the spot when a grave is to be made.SAMPHIRE.—Samphire (Crithmum maritimum) grows on the rocky cliffs of our Southern shores, the name being a corruption of St. Pierre. The plant, from its love of sea-cliffs, was long ago dedicated to the fisherman saint, whose name in Greek (petros) signifies a rock. Samphire used formerly to be gathered from the cliffs at Dover by men suspended from the summit by a rope: hence Shakspeare’s lines in ‘King Lear’:—“How fearfulAnd dizzy ’tis to cast one’s eyes so low!The crows and choughs that wing the midway airShow scarce so gross as beetles: half-way downHangs one that gathers Samphire—dreadful trade!Methinks he seems no bigger than his head.”By astrologers Samphire is placed under the influence of Jupiter.SAMOLUS.—The Samolus was a plant held in high esteem by the Druids. It grew in damp places, and was only to be gathered by a person fasting—without looking behind him—and with his left hand. It was laid in troughs and cisterns where cattle drank, and when bruised was a cure for various distempers.SANDAL.—The Sandal-wood of India (Santalum album) is a small tree celebrated by the poets on account of its beauty and the perfume of its wood, which is used as incense in temples and also for medicinal purposes. In Hindu temples, the Du, or god, is, before the services, anointed with oil of Sandal-wood or with Sandal dust and water, and adorned with flowers; he is also presented with Betel-leaves. The Chinese Buddhists give the Sandal a place in the celebrated groves of their Paradise, and they say that the chariot of the Sun is made of gold and Sandal-wood. In an Indian religious fêtecalledMariatta Codam, the devotees anoint themselves with Saffron ointment, and go about collecting alms, in return for which they distribute scented sticks, partly composed of Sandal-wood, which are received with great veneration. In the Burman empire, it is customary on the12th of April (the last day of their calendar) for ladies to sprinkle with Rose-water and Sandal-wood all they meet, to wash away the impurities of the past year, and commence the new one free from sin. The Mussulmans of India in all their religious ceremonies burnood, an incense compound of Sandal-wood, Aloe, Patchouli, Benzoin, &c.Sundul, or Sandal-wood ointment, is likewise used in innumerable instances for religious purposes; and it is employed to exorcise evil spirits. Magic circles, squares, and figures are drawn on a plank withSundul, and the individual supposed to be possessed of a demon is made to sit in the centre: then the exorciser pronounces an incantation in Arabic, and burns some incense under the nose of the patient, who solemnly inhales the fumes, and by that means smokes out the demon. The Parsis, who are followers of Zoroaster, renew the undying sacred fire of their altars with Sandal and other precious woods.SANICLE.—The healing virtues of the Sanicle (Sanicula) have, in England, passed into a proverb: “He that hath Sanicle needeth no surgeon;” whilst the French have a corresponding old saying, recording its curative powers:—“Qui a la Bugle et la SanicleFait au chirurgions la nicle.”“Who Bugle and Sanicle hathMay safely at the surgeons laugh.”In England, it was in former days called Self-heal, for according to one old herbalist, it would “make whole and sound all wounds and hurts, both inward and outward.”——Sanicle is held to be under the rule of Venus.SARDEA.—It is considered that theSium latifoliumis the plant known by the ancients as Sardea, which was supposed to grow in Sardinia, and which possessed the singular power of provoking sardonic laughter. Sallust speaks of this mystic plant as resembling Celery.SATYRION.—The appellation of Satyrion (from the GreekSaturos, a Satyr) is applied to several species of Orchis, from their reputed aphrodisiac character. The Romans believed that the roots of these plants formed the food of the Satyrs, and, on account of its exciting nature, prompted them to commit those excesses which were one of their characteristics.——In Gerarde’s ‘Herbal,’ we read that most of these plants were used for the purpose of exciting the amatory passions: some of them were called Serapiades, because “sundry of them do bring forth floures resembling flies and such like fruitful and lascivious insects, as taking their namefrom Serapias [Serapis], the god of the citizens of Alexandria, in Egypt, who had a most famous temple at Canopus, where he was worshipped with all kinds of lascivious wantonnesse, songs and dances.” Turner says of the roots of Satyrion, that all the species have a double root, which alter every year, “when one waxeth full, the other perisheth and groweth lank.” The full root, he says, powerfully excites the passions, but the lank ones have exactly the opposite effect.——Astronomers place Satyrion under the rule of Venus.SAVIN.—The Savin (Juniperus Sabina), in some parts of Italy, is held in great abhorrence as a plant of evil repute: it is called the “Devil’s-tree,” and the “Magician’s Cypress,” on account of the great use of it made in olden times by sorcerers and witches when working their spells.——Savin is reputed by astrologers to be a herb of Mars.SAVORY.—Savory orSatureiawas considered by the ancients as a herb belonging to the Satyrs; hence matrons were specially warned to have nothing to do with it, as the plant was supposed to have disastrous effects on those about to become mothers.——Savory is held to be under the dominion of Mercury.SAXIFRAGE.—Of the genusSaxifraga, twenty species are indigenous to Great Britain. In olden times, it was noticed that these plants split rocks by growing in their cracks, so, on the doctrine of signatures, certain of the species were supposed to be efficacious in cases of calculus, and were indeed highly esteemed on that account by the Roman physicians. In England, the name Breakstone was bestowed on them for the same reason; the plants most employed by the herbalists being the Meadow Saxifrage, or Mead Parsley, the White Saxifrage, and the Burnet Saxifrage.To this family of plants belongsS. umbrosa, the familiar London Pride, known also by the names of None-so-pretty, Prattling Parnell, and St. Patrick’s Cabbage (from its growing in the West of Ireland).——Astrologers state that the Moon governs the Saxifrages.Scorpion Grass.—SeeForget-me-Not.Sea Holly.—SeeEryngo.SEA POPPY.—The Sea Poppy or Horned Poppy (Glaucium) is named after Glaucus, a Bœotian fisherman, who, whilst pursuing his calling, observed that all the fishes which he laid on the grass received fresh vigour as they touched the ground, and immediately escaped from him by leaping back into the sea. He attributed the cause of it to some herb growing among the grass, and upon tasting the foliage of the Sea Poppy, he found himself suddenly moved with an intense desire to live in the sea. Upon this he leaped into the water, and was made a sea god by Oceanus and Tethys. ThisGlauciumor Sea Poppy was called in the middle agesFicus infernalis:it was supposed to possess magical properties, and was prized by witches and sorcerers, who used it in their incantations. Ben Jonson, in the ‘Witches’ Song,’ says:—“Yes, I have brought to help our vows,Horned Poppy, Cypress-boughs,The Fig-tree wild that grows on tombs,And juice that from the Larch-tree comes.”Borlase tells us that, in the Scilly Isles, “this root (the Sea Poppy), so much valued for removing all pains in the breast, stomach, and intestines, is good also for disordered lungs, and is so much better here than in other places, that the apothecaries of Cornwall send hither for it; and some people plant them in their gardens in Cornwall, and will not part with them under sixpence a root. A very simple notion they have with regard to this root, which falls not much short of the Druids’ superstition in gathering and preparing their Selago and Samolus. This root, you must know, is accounted very good both as an emetic and cathartic. If, therefore, they design that it shall operate as the former, their constant opinion is that it should be scraped and sliced upwards—that is, beginning from the root, the knife is to ascend towards the leaf; but if it is intended to operate as a cathartic, they must scrape the root downwards.”SELAGO.—Selago was the name of a herb held in great repute by the Druids, and intimately connected with some of their mysterious rites. It was known as the Golden Herb or Cloth of Gold, and was reputed to confer the power of understanding the language of birds and beasts. It is variously supposed to have been the Club-Moss (Lycopodium Selago), theCamphorosma Monspeliaca, or a kind of Hedge Hyssop, which used in olden times to be calledGratiolaandDei Gratia, and was regarded as a charm as well as a medicine. Pliny, in his ‘Natural History’ (xxiv., 62), tells us with respect to the Druidic Selago, that it resembles Savin; and that it is gathered as if by stealth, without the use of iron. The person who gathers it must go barefoot, with feet washed, clad in white, having previously offered a sacrifice of bread and wine, and must pluck the plant with his right hand through theleftsleeve of his tunic. It is carried in a new cloth. The Druids of the Gauls asserted that it was to be regarded as useful against all diseases, and that its smoke was a remedy for all affections of the eyes.——In Johnson’s edition of Gerarde’s ‘Herbal,’ it is said that the Club Moss, or Heath Cypress, is thought to be theSelagomentioned by Pliny. “The catkins of this plant are described as being of a yellowish colour; and it is stated to be found growing in divers woody, mountainous places of Germany, where they call itWald Seuenbaum, or Wilde Savine.”——In his work on the Druids, called the ‘Veil of Isis,’ Mr. Reade gives a similar account of the gathering of theSelago, excepting that he states it was cut with a brazen hook. He further tells of a mysterious sisterhood ofDruidesses who inhabited the island of Sena (now Sain) at the mouth of the River Loire, where there was a Druidic oracle. These Sibyls devoted themselves chiefly to the service of the Moon, and worshipped her under the name of Kêd or Ceridwen, the Northern name for the Egyptian Isis. They consecrated a herb to her calledBelinuncia, in the poisonous sap of which they dipped their arrows to render them deadly. It was one of their rites to procure a virgin, and to denude her as an emblem of the moon in an unclouded sky. Then they sought for the mystic Selago, or Golden Herb. She who pressed it with her foot slept, and heard the language of animals. If she touched it with iron, the sky grew dark and a misfortune fell upon the world.“The herb of gold is cut: a cloudAcross the sky hath spread its shroudTo war.”When they had found the precious herb, the virgin traced the circle round it, and covering her hand in a white linen cloth which had never before been used, rooted it out with the tip of her little finger—a symbol of the crescent moon. Then they washed it in a running spring, and having gathered green branches, plunged into a river and splashed the virgin, who was thus supposed to resemble the moon clouded with vapours. When they retired, the virgin walked backwards, “that the moon might not return upon its path in the plain of the heavens.”Self-heal.—SeeSanicle.SENSITIVE-PLANT.—The leaves of most species of the genus Mimosa are more or less sensitive to the touch, butM. pudicais the true Sensitive Plant, of which Browne writes:—“Looke at the Feeling-plant, which learned swainesRelate to growe on the East Indian plaines,Shrinkes up his dainty leaves if any sandYou throw thereon, or touch it with your hand.”SERVICE-TREE.—The true Service-tree is thought by some to have obtained its name from the Latin wordcervisia, because from ancient times its fruit has been used for making a fermented liquor of the nature of beer. In France, the Service or Sorb-tree is calledSorbierorCormier, and an excellent drink, something like Cider, is made from its berries.——De Gubernatis tells us that among the Fins the Sorb is specially reverenced above all trees. In the poem ‘Kalevala’ allusion is made to a nymph of the Sorb-tree (Sorbus terminalis), who is regarded as the protectress of cattle. The Finnish shepherd sticks his staff of Sorb-wood in the middle of a field, and offers up his prayers for the safety of his flock. A branch of the Sorb-tree is the symbol of the lightning, which, according to the Vedic legend, first brought fire to the earth, whilst imparting it to certain privileged trees—on which it fell, not to destroy them, but to conceal itself.——Amongthe superstitious Scandinavian and German peasantry the Sorb is esteemed a magical tree, typical of fecundity and generation; it is also regarded as a funereal tree, and Mannhardt relates an Icelandic legend, according to which the Sorb sprang from the bodies of two young men, who, although quite innocent, had been condemned to death.SESAME.—It is from the delightful story of ‘The Forty Thieves,’ in the ‘Arabian Nights’ Entertainment,’ that most English people have become acquainted with the Sesame—the wondrous plant that at the command of Ali Baba—“Open, Sesame!”—gained him an entrance to the secret treasure-cave. In this capacity of opening the doors of caverns, &c., the Sesamum-flower resembles the Springwort, and, like that mystic plant, would seem to be an embodiment of lightning, if we may judge from its Indian name ofVajrapushpa, Thunderbolt-flower.——Gerarde, in his ‘Herbal,’ speaks of it as “the oily pulse called Sesamum” (orSesama), and says “it is one of the summer grains, and is sown before the rising of the seven stars, as Pliny writeth.”——The plant is a native of the East Indies, and the Hindus say that it was created by Yama, the god of death, after a lengthy penance. They employ it specially in funeral and expiatory ceremonies as a purificator and as a symbol of immortality. In their funeral rites in honour of the departed, they pour Sesame grain into the three sacrificial vases, wherein the sacred Kusa and the holy oil have already been placed, the while invoking the pulse as “the Sesame consecrated to the god Soma.” At the annual festival in honour of the childless god Bhishma, the four Indian castes pray for the departed god, and by this act of piety procure for themselves absolution for all sins committed during the past year, provided that, at the conclusion of the ceremony, an offering is made of water, Sesame, and Rice. Sesame, with Rice and honey, enters into the composition of certain funeral cakes offered to the Manes in the ceremonies, but eaten by the persons present. The Indian funeral offering, made at six different periods, is called “the offering of six Sesames,” and if this is faithfully made, the natives hope to be delivered from misfortune on earth and to be rewarded with a place in the heaven of Indra. At an Indian funeral, when the corpse has been burnt, the devotees bathe in a neighbouring river, and leave on its banks two handfuls of Sesame, as nourishment for the soul of the departed whilst on its funeral journey, and as a symbol of the eternal life offered to the deceased.SHAMROCK.—The word Shamrock (which means Little Trefoil) is from the Erseseamrog, a diminutive ofseamar, Trefoil. The Shamrock, or Trefoil, in heraldry, is the badge of the kingdom of Ireland, and St. Patrick, the patron saint of that isle, is represented in the habit of a bishop, holding a Trefoil—St. Patrick’s Cross, as it is called by Irishmen. It is said that St.Patrick, when on an evangelising mission in Ireland, made the doctrine of the Trinity, one day, the subject of his discourse. Finding his hearers unable to understand it, he plucked a leaf of Shamrock, and used it as an illustration. So easy and simple was the application, that their difficulties were removed, and they accepted Christianity. Ever since, the Shamrock has been the national emblem of Irishmen, and has been worn by them for many centuries on the 17th of March, which is the anniversary of St. Patrick. As to what was the herb which furnished the saint with so excellent an illustration of the Three in One, there is amongst botanists much dispute, but the plants that for a long time past have been sold in Dublin and London on St. Patrick’s Day as the national badge are the Black Nonsuch (Medicago lupulina), and the Dutch Clover (Trifolium repens). Several writers have advocated the claims of the Wood Sorrel (Oxalis acetosella), which is called by the old herbalistsShamrog, and is proved in olden times to have been eaten by the Irish,—one old writer, who visited their country in the sixteenth century, stating that it was eaten, and that it was asourplant. Wood Sorrel is a sour-tasting plant, is indigenous to Ireland, and is trifoliated. It grows in woods, where the people used to assemble, and where the priests taught and performed their mystic rites; and therefore it may have been the plant plucked by St. Patrick. It has also been contended that the Watercress (called “Shamrock” by Holinshed in 1586) was the plant gathered by the saint, but as its leaf is not trifoliate, this claim has not found much favour. The plant which is figured upon our coins, both English and Irish, is an ordinary Trefoil. Queen Victoria placed the Trefoil in her royal diadem in lieu of the French Fleur-de-lis.SHEPHERD’S PURSE.—TheCapsella Bursais commonly known as Pickpocket or Pickpurse, from its robbing the farmer by stealing the goodness of his land. It was known to our forefathers by the names of St. James’s-wort, Poor Man’s Parmacetty, Toywort, and Caseweed, and was considered to be “marvellous good for inflammation.” (SeeClappedepouch.)SHOLOA.—The Sholoa is a medicinal plant, employed by the Bushmen of South Africa. Before going into battle, they rub their hands with Sholoa, in order to be able to chafe the badly wounded to preserve their life. When they dig up this plant, they deem it necessary, to avert danger from themselves, to replant immediately a portion of the root, so that it may spring up again. Tradition says that a man who neglected this precaution was found speechless and motionless enveloped in the toils of serpents. These serpents were killed by the Bushmen in order to regain possession of the root, which was replanted. Their women are afraid of these roots, when freshly dug up; they are, therefore, always put into a bag before being taken into a hut.SNOWDROP.—The Snowdrop (Galanthus nivalis) was formerly held sacred to virgins, and this may account for its being so generally found in the orchards attached to convents and old monastic buildings.
“Rowan Ash and red threadKeep the devils frae their speed.”
“Rowan Ash and red threadKeep the devils frae their speed.”
“Rowan Ash and red thread
Keep the devils frae their speed.”
Another version of this charm renders it thus:—
“Roan-tree and red thread,Haud the witches a’ in dread.”
“Roan-tree and red thread,Haud the witches a’ in dread.”
“Roan-tree and red thread,
Haud the witches a’ in dread.”
Pennant remarks that the Scotch farmers carefully preserve their cattle against witchcraft by placing branches of Honeysuckle and Mountain Ash in the cowhouses on the 2nd of May; the milkmaids of Westmoreland often carry in their hands or attached to their milking-pails a branch of the Rowan-tree, from a similar superstitious belief; the dairymaids of Lancashire prefer a churn-staff of Rowan-wood to that of any other tree, as it saves the butter from evil influences; and in the North of England a branch of “Wiggin” (Mountain Ash) is frequently hung up in stables, it being deemed a most efficacious charm against witchcraft. Formerly, in some parts of the country, it was considered that a branch or twig held up in the presence of a witch was sufficient to render her deadliest wishes of no avail.——In an ancient song, called the “Laidly Worm of Spindlestone Heughs” is an allusion to this power of the Rowan-tree over witches:—
“Their spells were vain; the hags return’dTo the queen in sorrowful mood,Crying that witches have no powerWhere there is Roan-tree wood.”
“Their spells were vain; the hags return’dTo the queen in sorrowful mood,Crying that witches have no powerWhere there is Roan-tree wood.”
“Their spells were vain; the hags return’d
To the queen in sorrowful mood,
Crying that witches have no power
Where there is Roan-tree wood.”
In Cornwall, the Mountain Ash is called “Care,” and if there is a suspicion of a cow being bewitched or subjected to the Evil Eye, the herdsmen will suspend a branch over her stall, or twine it round her horns. Evelyn says that the Mountain Ash was reputed to be a preservative against fascination and evil spirits, “whence, perhaps, we call it ‘Witchen;’ the boughs being stuck about the door or used for walking-staves.” In Wales, this tree was considered so sacred in his time, that there was not, he tells us, a churchyard without one of them planted in it.——At the present time, in Montgomeryshire, it is customary to rest the corpse on its way to the churchyard under a Mountain Ash, as that tree is credited with having furnished the wood of the Cross.——In olden times, collars of the wood of the Rowan-tree were put upon the necks of cattle, in order to protect them from spells or witchcraft. In many parts of England, it was formerly the custom in cases of the death of animals supposed to be bewitched, to take out the heart of one of the victims, stick it over with pins, and burn it to a cinder over a fire composed of the wood of a Rowan-tree, which, as we have seen, has always been considered a terror and dread to witches.
“Black luggie, lammer bead,Rowan-tree and red thread,Put the witches to their speed.”
“Black luggie, lammer bead,Rowan-tree and red thread,Put the witches to their speed.”
“Black luggie, lammer bead,
Rowan-tree and red thread,
Put the witches to their speed.”
A witch touched with a branch of this sacred tree by a christened man was deemed doomed to be the victim carried off by the Devil, when he next came to claim his tribute.——Like the Hazel, Thorn, and Mistletoe, it was deemed, according to Aryan tradition, to be an embodiment of the lightning, from which it sprang, and was, moreover, thought to possess the magical power of discovering hidden treasure.——In the days of the Fenians,according to the Gaelic legend, of ‘The Pursuit of Diarmuid and Grainne,’ there grew in Ireland a celebrated Mountain Ash, called the Quicken-tree of Dubhros, which bore some wonderful berries. The legend informs us that, “There is in every berry of them the exhilaration of wine, and the satisfying of old mead, and whoever shall eat three berries of them, has he completed a hundred years, he will return to the age of thirty years.” These famed berries of the Quicken-tree of Dubhros were jealously guarded by one Searbhan Lochlannach, “a giant, hideous and foul to behold,” who would allow no one to pluck them: he was, however, slain by Diarmuid O’Duibhne, and the berries placed at the disposal of his wife Grainne, who had incited her husband to obtain them for her.——At Modrufell, on the north coast of Ireland, is or was a large Rowan, always on Christmas Eve stuck full of torches, which no wind could possibly extinguish; and one of the Orkneys possessed a still more mysterious tree with which the fate of the islands was bound up, since, if a leaf was carried away, they would pass to some foreign lord.
RUDRÂKSHA.—De Gubernatis tells us, thatRudrâksha, which means literally the Eye of Rudra (Siva), or the Tear of Rudra, is a name given, in India, to the fruit of theEleocarpus, of which the natives manufacture their Rosaries, which are specially used in the worship of the god Siva. It is said that during the war of the gods with the Asuras, or demons, Siva burnt three towns; but he was grieved, and wept went he was told that he had also burnt the inhabitants. From the tears he then shed, and which fell to the earth, sprang the climbing plants whose fruits are to this day called by the faithful,Rudrâkshas.
RUE.—It has been conjectured that the Moly, which, according to Homer, Mercury gave to Ulysses as an antidote to the enchantress Circe’s beverage, was the root of the wild Rue. In olden times, Rue (Ruta graveolens) was called Herb of Grace, from the fact that the wordruemeans also “repentance,” which is needful to obtain the grace of God. It was also known as the Serving-men’s Joy, but was specially held in high repute by women, who attributed to it all sorts of miraculous qualities. R. Turner states that “it preserves chastity, being eaten; it quickeneth the sight, stirs up the spirits, and sharpeneth the wit.... It is an excellent antidote against poisons and infections; the very smell thereof is a preservation against the plague in the time of infection.” Its virtues as a disinfectant are noted in the quaint rhyme of old Tusser:—
“What savour is better, if physicke be true,For places infected, than Wormwood and Rue?”
“What savour is better, if physicke be true,For places infected, than Wormwood and Rue?”
“What savour is better, if physicke be true,
For places infected, than Wormwood and Rue?”
Dioscorides recommended the seed as a counterpoison against deadly medicines, the bitings of serpents, scorpions, wasps, &c.: and Gerarde adds, “It is reported that if a man bee anointed withthe juice of Rue, these will not hurt him, and that the serpent is driven away at the smell thereof when it is burned: insomuch that when the weasell is to fight with the serpent, shee armeth her selfe by eating Rue, against the might of the serpent.”——The famous counter-poison of Mithridates, King of Pontus, was composed of twenty leaves of Rue, two Figs, two Walnuts, twenty Juniper-berries, and a little salt. Rue entered into the composition of the once noted “vinegar of the four thieves.” It is said that four thieves, during the Plague of Marseilles, invented this anti-pestilential vinegar, by means of which they entered infected houses without danger, and stole all property worth removing. Piperno, a Neapolitan physician, in 1625, recommended Rue as a specific against epilepsy and vertigo: it sufficed for the patient to suspend some round his neck, renouncing at the time, in a stated formula, the devil and all his works, and invoking the Lord Jesus. This same doctor advocated the employment of Rue to cure dumbness caused by enchantment.——In England, Rue was thought to be efficacious in the cure of madness. Drayton gives the magic potion:—
“Then sprinkled she the juice of RueWith nine drops of the midnight dewFrom Lunarie distilling.”
“Then sprinkled she the juice of RueWith nine drops of the midnight dewFrom Lunarie distilling.”
“Then sprinkled she the juice of Rue
With nine drops of the midnight dew
From Lunarie distilling.”
In combination with Euphrasy, the herb appears to have been considered potent as an eye lotion.
“Then purged with Euphrasy and RueThe visual nerve, for he had much to see.”—Milton.
“Then purged with Euphrasy and RueThe visual nerve, for he had much to see.”—Milton.
“Then purged with Euphrasy and Rue
The visual nerve, for he had much to see.”—Milton.
In olden times, there was a tradition that Rue always throve best when stolen from a neighbour’s garden; and it was popularly believed that the gun-flint boiled in Vervain and Rue ensured the shot taking effect.——In Venice, Rue is kept as a charm in a house, to maintain its good fortune; but it is reserved for the single members of the family; with it goes the luck of the house. When a plant cannot be procured, care is taken that at least a sprig is worn by some one between the stocking and leg.——In some parts of Italy, Rue is considered to be a protection against the Evil Eye and witchcraft.——In the Tyrol, anyone bearing a bundle of herbs, comprising Rue, Broom, Maiden-hair, Agrimony, and Ground Ivy, is enabled to see witches.——Astrologers claim Rue as a herb of the Sun, under Leo.
RUSH.—The sea-nymph Galatea was devotedly attached to Acis, a young shepherd of Sicily, who warmly returned her affection. Unfortunately Galatea was passionately loved by the Cyclops Polyphemus, whom she treated with the greatest disdain. One day the Cyclops surprised the lovers who fled from his jealous wrath. The giant, however, hurled a mass of broken rock after Acis, and a fragment striking him, he was crushed to death. Galatea, inconsolable for the loss of her lover, determined to changehim into a stream. The blood of the mangled shepherd issuing from the fragment of rock which had overwhelmed him gradually changed into flowing water. Simultaneously
“The stone was cleft, and through the yawning chinkNew Reeds arose on the new river’s brink;The rock from out its hollow womb disclosedA sound like water in its course opposed.When (wondrous to behold) full in the floodUp starts a youth, and navel-high he stood.Horns from his temples rise; and either hornThick wreaths of Reeds (his native growth) adorn.”
“The stone was cleft, and through the yawning chinkNew Reeds arose on the new river’s brink;The rock from out its hollow womb disclosedA sound like water in its course opposed.When (wondrous to behold) full in the floodUp starts a youth, and navel-high he stood.Horns from his temples rise; and either hornThick wreaths of Reeds (his native growth) adorn.”
“The stone was cleft, and through the yawning chink
New Reeds arose on the new river’s brink;
The rock from out its hollow womb disclosed
A sound like water in its course opposed.
When (wondrous to behold) full in the flood
Up starts a youth, and navel-high he stood.
Horns from his temples rise; and either horn
Thick wreaths of Reeds (his native growth) adorn.”
The Flowering-rush (Butomus umbellatus) is considered to be the plant which sprang from the blood of Acis. The ancients knew it under name of theJuncus floridus, and Gerarde calls it the water Gladiole.——The flower now known as Acis is a dwarf Amaryllid.——In olden times, before carpets were known, it was usual to strew the floor with sweet Rushes, which diffused a fragrance. When William the Conqueror was born in Normandy, where that custom prevailed, at the very moment when the infant first saw the light and touched the ground, he filled both hands with the Rushes strewn on the floor, firmly grasping what he had taken up. This was regarded as a propitious omen, and the persons present declared the boy would become a king. This custom of strewing sweet Rushes was in vogue during Elizabeth’s reign, for we find several allusions to it in Shakspeare’s plays. Cardinal Wolsey, when in the zenith of his power, had the strewings of his great hall at Hampton Court renewed every day. It was customary formerly to strew Rushes on the floors of Churches on the Feast of Dedication, and on all high days. Till recently the floor of Norwich Cathedral was strewn withAcorus Calamuson feast days, or, if theAcoruswas scarce, then with yellow Iris-leaves. At the Church of St. Mary Redcliffe, Bristol, Rushes are strewn every Whitsuntide.——In Yorkshire, Cheshire, and Westmoreland, the old custom of Rush-bearing is observed, which apparently had for its origin the ancient practice of carrying Rushes to adorn the Church on the Feast of Dedication. The following account of a Rush-bearing at Ambleside is taken from ‘Time’s Telescope,’ for 1824:—“July 26, 1823.—On this and the following day, the antient custom of Rush-bearing took place at Ambleside. At seven o’clock on Saturday evening, a party of about forty young girls went in procession to the Church, preceded by a band of music. Each of the girls bore in her hands the usual Rush-bearings, the origin and signification of which have so long puzzled the researches of our antiquarians. These elegant little trophies were disposed in the Church, round the pulpit, reading-desk, pews, &c., and had a really beautiful and imposing effect. They thus remained during the Sunday, till the service was finished in the afternoon, when a similar procession was formed to convey these trophies home again. We understand that formerly, in some parts of Lancashire, asimilar ceremony prevailed, under the same designation, in which the Rush-bearings were made in the form of females, with a fanciful rosette for the head; and on looking at these in Ambleside, some faint resemblance of the female form may be traced in the outline. No satisfactory explanation of this ceremony has ever yet been given: the attempt at one is, that it is a remnant of an antient custom, which formerly prevailed, of strewing the church-floors with Rushes to preserve the feet from damp; but we cannot perceive what resemblance there is between the practice of strewing the church with Rushes, and the trophies which are now carried from time immemorial.”——To dream of Rushes portends unpleasantness between friends.
RYE.—The Rye-fields are thought by the superstitious German peasantry to be infested by an evil spirit known as theRoggenwolf, or Rye-wolf, and in some districts the last sheaf of Rye is left as a shelter for this field demon during the winter.——In Germany, when a horse is tired, the peasantry will place on his back some crumbs of Rye bread, with a sure conviction that his fatigue will vanish.
SAD TREE.—The Indian Sad Tree (Nyctanthes Arbor-tristis) is a species of Jasmine whose sweet-smelling flowers open at sunset and fall at sunrise, so that it is unadorned during the day, and has thus obtained the name of the Sad Tree. Its flowers, which resemble Orange-blossoms, are much used in temples.——Thunberg relates that the ladies of Batavia, when in the evening they pay visits to one another, are decorated in a particular manner about the head with a wreath of flowers of the Nyctanthes, run upon a thread. “These flowers are brought every day fresh to town for sale. The smell of them is inconceivably delightful, like that of Orange and Lemon-flowers: the whole house is filled with the fragrant scent, enhancing, if possible, the charms of the ladies’ company.”——At Goa, this flower is called Parizataco, a name given to it from the following circumstances:—A governor, named Parizatacos, had a beautiful daughter, who inspired the Sun with passionate love; but after a time he transferred his affections to another, and the poor deserted one was seized with such despair, that at last she put an end to her existence. Over her grave sprang up the Parizataco, or Night Jasmine, the flowers of which have such a horror of the Sun, that they always avoid gazing on it.
Saffron.—SeeCrocus.
SAGE.—Many species of Sage are highly esteemed in European countries for their medicinal qualities, and most of the continental names of the plant are like the botanical one ofSalvia, fromSalvo, to save or heal. The ancients ascribed to the herb manifold virtues, and regarded it as a preserver of the human race (“Salvia,Salvatvix,naturæ conciliatrix.”).——In mediæval times, the plant, on account of its numerous properties, obtained the name ofOfficinalisChristi, and was reported to have been blessed by the Virgin Mary.——So wholesome was the herb considered, that the school of Salerno summed up its surpassing merits in the line—
“Cur morietur homo cui Salvia crescit in horto?”“How can a man die who grows Sage in his garden?”
“Cur morietur homo cui Salvia crescit in horto?”
“How can a man die who grows Sage in his garden?”
Probably this saying gave rise to the piece of advice contained in the old English proverb—
“He that would live for ayeMust eat Sage in May.”
“He that would live for ayeMust eat Sage in May.”
“He that would live for aye
Must eat Sage in May.”
Parkinson remarks that “Sage is much used in the month of May, fasting, with butter and Parsley, and is held of most to conduce much to the health of man,” and Turner says that “it restores natural heat, and comforts the vital spirits, and helps the memory, and quickens the senses; it is very healthful to be eaten in May with butter, and also to be drank in ale.” The Greeks of Crete (where Sage is grown abundantly) are very careful to gather the herb either on the first or second day of May, before sunrise.——In Sussex, to charm away ague fits, the peasantry eat Sage-leaves fasting for nine mornings consecutively. In Franche-Comté, the herb is believed to mitigate grief, moral as well as physical.——In Piedmont, there exists a tradition that if Sage is placed in a glass phial and buried beneath a dung-heap, a certain animal will grow, the blood of which, if tasted by dogs, will cause them to lose consciousness. There exists, also, a belief among Piedmontese girls that in every Sage-leaf is concealed a little toad; and Robert Turner, in his work on English plants (1687), states that “Rue is good to be planted amongst Sage, to prevent the poison which may be in it by toads frequenting amongst it, to relieve themselves of their poison, as is supposed; but Rue being amongst it, they will not come near it.”——There is an old superstition that, with the aid of Sage, young women may see their future husbands by practising the following extraordinary spell:—On Midsummer Eve, just after sunset, three, five, or seven young women are to go into a garden, where there is no other person, and each is to gather a sprig of Red Sage, and then, going into a room by themselves, set a stool in the middle of the room, and on it a clean bason full of Rose-water, on which the sprigs of Sage are to be put; and tying a line across the room, on one side of the stool, each maiden is to hang on it a clean smock, turned the wrong side outwards; then all are to sit down in a row, on the opposite side of the stool, as far distant as the room will allow, in perfect silence. At a few minutes after twelve, each maid’s future husband will take her sprig of Sage out of the Rose-water and sprinkle her smock with it.——Sage is held to be a herb of Jupiter.
SAINFOIN.—As at present applied, the name Sainfoin appertains toHedysarum Onobrychis, but the name was first given to the LucerneMedicago sativa. Sainfoin was, in earlier times,called Holy Hay; the smell of this plant is supposed to excite the braying of asses; hence the specific name is taken from two Greek words, signifying an ass, and to bray. An Indian species (H. gyrans), which grows on the banks of the Ganges, exhibits a singular instance of spontaneous motion: its leaves constantly move up and down, now with sudden jerks, anon with a gentle waving motion. By day or night, and in whatever weather, this plant is never at rest.
SAINTS’ PLANTS.—In monastic days, certain plants received the names of saints either from some peculiarity in their structure, or from their association with the objects of which the saint whose name the particular plant bore was patron. Thus St. Anthony, the patron saint of pigs, gave his name to theBunium flexuosum(St. Anthony’s Nut), and theRanunculus bulbosus(St. Anthony’s Rape). St. James’s-wort was so called because it was used for the diseases of horses, of which the saint was patron. St. Thomas, St. Christopher, and St. Benedict have each given their names to plants. TheNigella Damascenais St. Katherine’s Flower, from its resemblance to her wheel. TheSaxifraga umbrosaobtained the name of St. Patrick’s Cabbage because it grew in the West of Ireland, where St. Patrick lived. ThePrimula verisis St. Peter’s-wort from its resemblance to a bunch of keys. Most of these saintly names were, however, given to the plants because their day of flowering is connected with the feast day of the saint. HenceHypericum quadrangulareis the St. Peter’s-wort of the modern floras, from its flowering on the twenty-ninth of June;Hypericum perforatumis St. John’s-wort, being gathered to scare away demons on St. John’s Eve;Barbarea vulgaris, growing in the winter, is St. Barbara’s-cress, her day being the fourth of December, old style; andCentaurea solstitialisderives its specific Latin name, as well as its popular name, St. Barnaby’s Thistle, from its flourishing on the longest day, the eleventh of June, old style, which is now the twenty-second.
SAINT JOHN’S WORT.—The common St. John’s Wort (Hypericum perforatum) has leaves marked with red blood-like spots, which tradition avers always appear on the 29th August, the day on which St. John was beheaded; but the plant derived its name from its being, according to ancient custom, gathered with great ceremony on the eve of St. John’s Day, the 24th of June, to be hung up in windows as a preservative against evil spirits, phantoms, spectres, storms, and thunder; whence it derived its ancient name ofFuga Dæmonum(Devil’s Flight).
“St. John’s Wort, scaring from the midnight heathThe witch and goblin with its spicy breath.”
“St. John’s Wort, scaring from the midnight heathThe witch and goblin with its spicy breath.”
“St. John’s Wort, scaring from the midnight heath
The witch and goblin with its spicy breath.”
For the same reason, the plant was also calledSol Terrestris, the Terrestrial Sun, because it was superstitiously believed that all the spirits of darkness vanish at the approach of the sun; and St.John’s Day falls on the summer solstice, the 24th day of June, the last of the three days which mark the culminating point of the solar ascension—the day when, in some latitudes, the sun never sets, and the heavens are illuminated and radiant with its glory through the night. The bright yellow blossom of theHypericum perforatum, with its glittering golden stamens, was not inappropriately calledSol Terrestris, as symbolising the sun (which, by its effulgence, disperses all evil spirits), and St. John the Baptist, of whom the Scriptures say he was “a light to them which sit in darkness.”——At the present time this plant is almost everywhere known by the name connecting it with the saint. The peasantry of France and Germany still gather it on St. John’s Day to hang over their cottage doors or in the windows, in the belief that its sanctity will drive away evil spirits of all kinds, and will also propitiate their patron saint.——In Switzerland, young girls on the Eve of St. John make nosegays composed of nine different flowers, of which the principal one is theHypericum, or St. John’s Wort. These nine flowers are plucked from nine different places. The posy is placed beneath the maiden’s pillow before she retires to bed, and she then endeavours to sleep and dream: should she, in her dream, see a young man, he will not fail soon to arrive and to make her his wife.——Somewhat similar customs to this, in connection with the Rose, the Moss-Rose, and the Sage, exist in England, one of which is, perhaps, referred to by Harte, who, when alluding to certain flowers, adds:—
“And that which on the Baptist’s vigil sendsTo nymphs and swains the vision of their friends.”
“And that which on the Baptist’s vigil sendsTo nymphs and swains the vision of their friends.”
“And that which on the Baptist’s vigil sends
To nymphs and swains the vision of their friends.”
In Lower Saxony, the peasant girls on the Eve of St. John hang sprigs ofHypericumagainst the head of their bed or the walls of their chambers; if it remains fresh on the following morning, they are persuaded they will be married within a year; but if, on the contrary, it droops and fades, they have no hope of marriage within that time.
“The young maid stole through the cottage-door,And blush’d as she sought the plant of power;‘Thou silver glow-worm, O lend me thy light!I must gather the mystic St. John’s Wort to-night,The wonderful herb whose leaf will decideIf the coming year will make me a bride.’”
“The young maid stole through the cottage-door,And blush’d as she sought the plant of power;‘Thou silver glow-worm, O lend me thy light!I must gather the mystic St. John’s Wort to-night,The wonderful herb whose leaf will decideIf the coming year will make me a bride.’”
“The young maid stole through the cottage-door,
And blush’d as she sought the plant of power;
‘Thou silver glow-worm, O lend me thy light!
I must gather the mystic St. John’s Wort to-night,
The wonderful herb whose leaf will decide
If the coming year will make me a bride.’”
In Italy, theHypericumis called both St. John’s Wort and the Devil-chaser. On the Night of St. John it is worn about the person, as a preservative from witchcraft and sorcery, and it is suspended over doorways and windows with the same object.——In Scotland, it is carried about as a charm against witchcraft and enchantment, and the peasantry fancy it cures ropy milk, which they suppose to be under some malignant influence. According to Pennant, it is customary in Wales to stick sprigs of St. John’s Wort over every door on the Eve of St. John’s; and Stowe, in his ‘Survey of London,’ tells us that, “on the Vigil of St. John theBaptist, every man’s door being shadowed with green Birch, long Fennel, St. John’s Wort, Orpine, white Lilies, and such like, garnished upon with garlands of beautiful flowers, had also lamps of glass with oil burning in them all the night.”——The peasantry of the Isle of Man have a tradition that if you tread on the St. John’s Wort after sunset, a fairy horse will rise from the earth, and, after carrying you about all night, will leave you in the morning wherever you may chance to be at sunrise.——St. John’s Wort was by old medical writers deemed of great utility in the cure of hypochondriacal disorders, and B. Visontius commends the herb to one troubled with heart-melancholy. For this purpose it was to be gathered on a Friday, in the hour of Jupiter, when he comes to his effectual operation (that is, about the full moon in July); “so gathered, and borne or hung about the neck, it mightily helps this affection, and drives away all phantastical spirits.” Another remarkable quality ascribed to the plant was its power of curing all sorts of wounds: hence originated its old name of Tutsan, a corruption of its French cognomenla Toute-saine, or All-heal. In Sicily, they gatherHypericum perforatum, and immerse it in Olive-oil, which is by this means transformed into an infallible balm for wounds. A salve made from the flowers, and known as St. John’s Wort salve, is still much used and valued in English villages: it is a very old remedy, whose praises have been spoken by Dioscorides and Pliny, Gerarde, Culpeper, and all the old English herbalists. As these flowers, when rubbed between the fingers, yield a red juice, it has, among fanciful medical men, obtained the name ofsanguis hominis(human blood).
SALLOW.—The Sallow (Salix caprea) is theSeljaof the Norsemen, an ill-omened plant possessing many magical properties. No child can be born in safety where a branch of this sinister tree is suspended; and no spirit can depart in peace from its earthly frame, if it be near them. It is the badge of the Scottish Clan Cumming.
SAL-TREE.—The Sâla or Sâl (Shorea robusta) is one of the sacred trees of India. According to the Buddhists’ belief, it was while holding in her hand a branch of the sacred Sâla, that the mother of Buddha gave birth to the divine infant prince. It was beneath the shelter of two twin Sâl-trees, that Buddha passed his last night on earth, near Kuçinagara,“beneath a rain of flowers, with which the Sâl-tree growing there covered his venerated body.” Thus we read in Da Cunha’s ‘Life of Buddha’—“He then retired to Kuçinagara, and entered a grove of Sâl-trees (Shorea robusta); there, during the night, he received a gift of food from an artizan named Chanda, and was seized with illness. At early dawn next day, as he turned on to his right side with his head to the north, the Sâl-trees bending down to form a canopy over his body, he ceased to breathe.” It was not the season for Sâl-trees to bloom,but the twin trees beneath which he lay were covered with blossoms from crown to foot. Blossoms fell down on him, a shower of flowers fell from heaven, and heavenly melodies sounded over head as the Perfect One passed away. At the moment of his death, the earth quaked, thunders rolled, and the wife of Brahma announced the entry of Buddha into Paradise.
SAMI.—The Indians employ the wood of Sami (Mimosa Suma) a species of Acacia for the production of fire in their sacrifices. For this purpose they rub a stick of Asvattha (representing the male element) against a stick of the Acacia Sami (regarded as the female symbol), in accordance with the Indian legend which relates how Pururavas, the Indian Prometheus, created fire by rubbing two woods together. At Indian weddings, after the sacrifice has been made, the husband and wife take in their hands some Rice (symbol of abundance) and some leaves of Sami (symbol of generation). Before building a house, it is customary to sprinkle the site by dipping a branch of Sami into some holy water. In the same way, the Indians sprinkle the spot when a grave is to be made.
SAMPHIRE.—Samphire (Crithmum maritimum) grows on the rocky cliffs of our Southern shores, the name being a corruption of St. Pierre. The plant, from its love of sea-cliffs, was long ago dedicated to the fisherman saint, whose name in Greek (petros) signifies a rock. Samphire used formerly to be gathered from the cliffs at Dover by men suspended from the summit by a rope: hence Shakspeare’s lines in ‘King Lear’:—
“How fearfulAnd dizzy ’tis to cast one’s eyes so low!The crows and choughs that wing the midway airShow scarce so gross as beetles: half-way downHangs one that gathers Samphire—dreadful trade!Methinks he seems no bigger than his head.”
“How fearfulAnd dizzy ’tis to cast one’s eyes so low!The crows and choughs that wing the midway airShow scarce so gross as beetles: half-way downHangs one that gathers Samphire—dreadful trade!Methinks he seems no bigger than his head.”
“How fearful
And dizzy ’tis to cast one’s eyes so low!
The crows and choughs that wing the midway air
Show scarce so gross as beetles: half-way down
Hangs one that gathers Samphire—dreadful trade!
Methinks he seems no bigger than his head.”
By astrologers Samphire is placed under the influence of Jupiter.
SAMOLUS.—The Samolus was a plant held in high esteem by the Druids. It grew in damp places, and was only to be gathered by a person fasting—without looking behind him—and with his left hand. It was laid in troughs and cisterns where cattle drank, and when bruised was a cure for various distempers.
SANDAL.—The Sandal-wood of India (Santalum album) is a small tree celebrated by the poets on account of its beauty and the perfume of its wood, which is used as incense in temples and also for medicinal purposes. In Hindu temples, the Du, or god, is, before the services, anointed with oil of Sandal-wood or with Sandal dust and water, and adorned with flowers; he is also presented with Betel-leaves. The Chinese Buddhists give the Sandal a place in the celebrated groves of their Paradise, and they say that the chariot of the Sun is made of gold and Sandal-wood. In an Indian religious fêtecalledMariatta Codam, the devotees anoint themselves with Saffron ointment, and go about collecting alms, in return for which they distribute scented sticks, partly composed of Sandal-wood, which are received with great veneration. In the Burman empire, it is customary on the12th of April (the last day of their calendar) for ladies to sprinkle with Rose-water and Sandal-wood all they meet, to wash away the impurities of the past year, and commence the new one free from sin. The Mussulmans of India in all their religious ceremonies burnood, an incense compound of Sandal-wood, Aloe, Patchouli, Benzoin, &c.Sundul, or Sandal-wood ointment, is likewise used in innumerable instances for religious purposes; and it is employed to exorcise evil spirits. Magic circles, squares, and figures are drawn on a plank withSundul, and the individual supposed to be possessed of a demon is made to sit in the centre: then the exorciser pronounces an incantation in Arabic, and burns some incense under the nose of the patient, who solemnly inhales the fumes, and by that means smokes out the demon. The Parsis, who are followers of Zoroaster, renew the undying sacred fire of their altars with Sandal and other precious woods.
SANICLE.—The healing virtues of the Sanicle (Sanicula) have, in England, passed into a proverb: “He that hath Sanicle needeth no surgeon;” whilst the French have a corresponding old saying, recording its curative powers:—
“Qui a la Bugle et la SanicleFait au chirurgions la nicle.”“Who Bugle and Sanicle hathMay safely at the surgeons laugh.”
“Qui a la Bugle et la SanicleFait au chirurgions la nicle.”“Who Bugle and Sanicle hathMay safely at the surgeons laugh.”
“Qui a la Bugle et la SanicleFait au chirurgions la nicle.”
“Qui a la Bugle et la Sanicle
Fait au chirurgions la nicle.”
“Who Bugle and Sanicle hathMay safely at the surgeons laugh.”
“Who Bugle and Sanicle hath
May safely at the surgeons laugh.”
In England, it was in former days called Self-heal, for according to one old herbalist, it would “make whole and sound all wounds and hurts, both inward and outward.”——Sanicle is held to be under the rule of Venus.
SARDEA.—It is considered that theSium latifoliumis the plant known by the ancients as Sardea, which was supposed to grow in Sardinia, and which possessed the singular power of provoking sardonic laughter. Sallust speaks of this mystic plant as resembling Celery.
SATYRION.—The appellation of Satyrion (from the GreekSaturos, a Satyr) is applied to several species of Orchis, from their reputed aphrodisiac character. The Romans believed that the roots of these plants formed the food of the Satyrs, and, on account of its exciting nature, prompted them to commit those excesses which were one of their characteristics.——In Gerarde’s ‘Herbal,’ we read that most of these plants were used for the purpose of exciting the amatory passions: some of them were called Serapiades, because “sundry of them do bring forth floures resembling flies and such like fruitful and lascivious insects, as taking their namefrom Serapias [Serapis], the god of the citizens of Alexandria, in Egypt, who had a most famous temple at Canopus, where he was worshipped with all kinds of lascivious wantonnesse, songs and dances.” Turner says of the roots of Satyrion, that all the species have a double root, which alter every year, “when one waxeth full, the other perisheth and groweth lank.” The full root, he says, powerfully excites the passions, but the lank ones have exactly the opposite effect.——Astronomers place Satyrion under the rule of Venus.
SAVIN.—The Savin (Juniperus Sabina), in some parts of Italy, is held in great abhorrence as a plant of evil repute: it is called the “Devil’s-tree,” and the “Magician’s Cypress,” on account of the great use of it made in olden times by sorcerers and witches when working their spells.——Savin is reputed by astrologers to be a herb of Mars.
SAVORY.—Savory orSatureiawas considered by the ancients as a herb belonging to the Satyrs; hence matrons were specially warned to have nothing to do with it, as the plant was supposed to have disastrous effects on those about to become mothers.——Savory is held to be under the dominion of Mercury.
SAXIFRAGE.—Of the genusSaxifraga, twenty species are indigenous to Great Britain. In olden times, it was noticed that these plants split rocks by growing in their cracks, so, on the doctrine of signatures, certain of the species were supposed to be efficacious in cases of calculus, and were indeed highly esteemed on that account by the Roman physicians. In England, the name Breakstone was bestowed on them for the same reason; the plants most employed by the herbalists being the Meadow Saxifrage, or Mead Parsley, the White Saxifrage, and the Burnet Saxifrage.To this family of plants belongsS. umbrosa, the familiar London Pride, known also by the names of None-so-pretty, Prattling Parnell, and St. Patrick’s Cabbage (from its growing in the West of Ireland).——Astrologers state that the Moon governs the Saxifrages.
Scorpion Grass.—SeeForget-me-Not.
Sea Holly.—SeeEryngo.
SEA POPPY.—The Sea Poppy or Horned Poppy (Glaucium) is named after Glaucus, a Bœotian fisherman, who, whilst pursuing his calling, observed that all the fishes which he laid on the grass received fresh vigour as they touched the ground, and immediately escaped from him by leaping back into the sea. He attributed the cause of it to some herb growing among the grass, and upon tasting the foliage of the Sea Poppy, he found himself suddenly moved with an intense desire to live in the sea. Upon this he leaped into the water, and was made a sea god by Oceanus and Tethys. ThisGlauciumor Sea Poppy was called in the middle agesFicus infernalis:it was supposed to possess magical properties, and was prized by witches and sorcerers, who used it in their incantations. Ben Jonson, in the ‘Witches’ Song,’ says:—
“Yes, I have brought to help our vows,Horned Poppy, Cypress-boughs,The Fig-tree wild that grows on tombs,And juice that from the Larch-tree comes.”
“Yes, I have brought to help our vows,Horned Poppy, Cypress-boughs,The Fig-tree wild that grows on tombs,And juice that from the Larch-tree comes.”
“Yes, I have brought to help our vows,
Horned Poppy, Cypress-boughs,
The Fig-tree wild that grows on tombs,
And juice that from the Larch-tree comes.”
Borlase tells us that, in the Scilly Isles, “this root (the Sea Poppy), so much valued for removing all pains in the breast, stomach, and intestines, is good also for disordered lungs, and is so much better here than in other places, that the apothecaries of Cornwall send hither for it; and some people plant them in their gardens in Cornwall, and will not part with them under sixpence a root. A very simple notion they have with regard to this root, which falls not much short of the Druids’ superstition in gathering and preparing their Selago and Samolus. This root, you must know, is accounted very good both as an emetic and cathartic. If, therefore, they design that it shall operate as the former, their constant opinion is that it should be scraped and sliced upwards—that is, beginning from the root, the knife is to ascend towards the leaf; but if it is intended to operate as a cathartic, they must scrape the root downwards.”
SELAGO.—Selago was the name of a herb held in great repute by the Druids, and intimately connected with some of their mysterious rites. It was known as the Golden Herb or Cloth of Gold, and was reputed to confer the power of understanding the language of birds and beasts. It is variously supposed to have been the Club-Moss (Lycopodium Selago), theCamphorosma Monspeliaca, or a kind of Hedge Hyssop, which used in olden times to be calledGratiolaandDei Gratia, and was regarded as a charm as well as a medicine. Pliny, in his ‘Natural History’ (xxiv., 62), tells us with respect to the Druidic Selago, that it resembles Savin; and that it is gathered as if by stealth, without the use of iron. The person who gathers it must go barefoot, with feet washed, clad in white, having previously offered a sacrifice of bread and wine, and must pluck the plant with his right hand through theleftsleeve of his tunic. It is carried in a new cloth. The Druids of the Gauls asserted that it was to be regarded as useful against all diseases, and that its smoke was a remedy for all affections of the eyes.——In Johnson’s edition of Gerarde’s ‘Herbal,’ it is said that the Club Moss, or Heath Cypress, is thought to be theSelagomentioned by Pliny. “The catkins of this plant are described as being of a yellowish colour; and it is stated to be found growing in divers woody, mountainous places of Germany, where they call itWald Seuenbaum, or Wilde Savine.”——In his work on the Druids, called the ‘Veil of Isis,’ Mr. Reade gives a similar account of the gathering of theSelago, excepting that he states it was cut with a brazen hook. He further tells of a mysterious sisterhood ofDruidesses who inhabited the island of Sena (now Sain) at the mouth of the River Loire, where there was a Druidic oracle. These Sibyls devoted themselves chiefly to the service of the Moon, and worshipped her under the name of Kêd or Ceridwen, the Northern name for the Egyptian Isis. They consecrated a herb to her calledBelinuncia, in the poisonous sap of which they dipped their arrows to render them deadly. It was one of their rites to procure a virgin, and to denude her as an emblem of the moon in an unclouded sky. Then they sought for the mystic Selago, or Golden Herb. She who pressed it with her foot slept, and heard the language of animals. If she touched it with iron, the sky grew dark and a misfortune fell upon the world.
“The herb of gold is cut: a cloudAcross the sky hath spread its shroudTo war.”
“The herb of gold is cut: a cloudAcross the sky hath spread its shroudTo war.”
“The herb of gold is cut: a cloud
Across the sky hath spread its shroud
To war.”
When they had found the precious herb, the virgin traced the circle round it, and covering her hand in a white linen cloth which had never before been used, rooted it out with the tip of her little finger—a symbol of the crescent moon. Then they washed it in a running spring, and having gathered green branches, plunged into a river and splashed the virgin, who was thus supposed to resemble the moon clouded with vapours. When they retired, the virgin walked backwards, “that the moon might not return upon its path in the plain of the heavens.”
Self-heal.—SeeSanicle.
SENSITIVE-PLANT.—The leaves of most species of the genus Mimosa are more or less sensitive to the touch, butM. pudicais the true Sensitive Plant, of which Browne writes:—
“Looke at the Feeling-plant, which learned swainesRelate to growe on the East Indian plaines,Shrinkes up his dainty leaves if any sandYou throw thereon, or touch it with your hand.”
“Looke at the Feeling-plant, which learned swainesRelate to growe on the East Indian plaines,Shrinkes up his dainty leaves if any sandYou throw thereon, or touch it with your hand.”
“Looke at the Feeling-plant, which learned swaines
Relate to growe on the East Indian plaines,
Shrinkes up his dainty leaves if any sand
You throw thereon, or touch it with your hand.”
SERVICE-TREE.—The true Service-tree is thought by some to have obtained its name from the Latin wordcervisia, because from ancient times its fruit has been used for making a fermented liquor of the nature of beer. In France, the Service or Sorb-tree is calledSorbierorCormier, and an excellent drink, something like Cider, is made from its berries.——De Gubernatis tells us that among the Fins the Sorb is specially reverenced above all trees. In the poem ‘Kalevala’ allusion is made to a nymph of the Sorb-tree (Sorbus terminalis), who is regarded as the protectress of cattle. The Finnish shepherd sticks his staff of Sorb-wood in the middle of a field, and offers up his prayers for the safety of his flock. A branch of the Sorb-tree is the symbol of the lightning, which, according to the Vedic legend, first brought fire to the earth, whilst imparting it to certain privileged trees—on which it fell, not to destroy them, but to conceal itself.——Amongthe superstitious Scandinavian and German peasantry the Sorb is esteemed a magical tree, typical of fecundity and generation; it is also regarded as a funereal tree, and Mannhardt relates an Icelandic legend, according to which the Sorb sprang from the bodies of two young men, who, although quite innocent, had been condemned to death.
SESAME.—It is from the delightful story of ‘The Forty Thieves,’ in the ‘Arabian Nights’ Entertainment,’ that most English people have become acquainted with the Sesame—the wondrous plant that at the command of Ali Baba—“Open, Sesame!”—gained him an entrance to the secret treasure-cave. In this capacity of opening the doors of caverns, &c., the Sesamum-flower resembles the Springwort, and, like that mystic plant, would seem to be an embodiment of lightning, if we may judge from its Indian name ofVajrapushpa, Thunderbolt-flower.——Gerarde, in his ‘Herbal,’ speaks of it as “the oily pulse called Sesamum” (orSesama), and says “it is one of the summer grains, and is sown before the rising of the seven stars, as Pliny writeth.”——The plant is a native of the East Indies, and the Hindus say that it was created by Yama, the god of death, after a lengthy penance. They employ it specially in funeral and expiatory ceremonies as a purificator and as a symbol of immortality. In their funeral rites in honour of the departed, they pour Sesame grain into the three sacrificial vases, wherein the sacred Kusa and the holy oil have already been placed, the while invoking the pulse as “the Sesame consecrated to the god Soma.” At the annual festival in honour of the childless god Bhishma, the four Indian castes pray for the departed god, and by this act of piety procure for themselves absolution for all sins committed during the past year, provided that, at the conclusion of the ceremony, an offering is made of water, Sesame, and Rice. Sesame, with Rice and honey, enters into the composition of certain funeral cakes offered to the Manes in the ceremonies, but eaten by the persons present. The Indian funeral offering, made at six different periods, is called “the offering of six Sesames,” and if this is faithfully made, the natives hope to be delivered from misfortune on earth and to be rewarded with a place in the heaven of Indra. At an Indian funeral, when the corpse has been burnt, the devotees bathe in a neighbouring river, and leave on its banks two handfuls of Sesame, as nourishment for the soul of the departed whilst on its funeral journey, and as a symbol of the eternal life offered to the deceased.
SHAMROCK.—The word Shamrock (which means Little Trefoil) is from the Erseseamrog, a diminutive ofseamar, Trefoil. The Shamrock, or Trefoil, in heraldry, is the badge of the kingdom of Ireland, and St. Patrick, the patron saint of that isle, is represented in the habit of a bishop, holding a Trefoil—St. Patrick’s Cross, as it is called by Irishmen. It is said that St.Patrick, when on an evangelising mission in Ireland, made the doctrine of the Trinity, one day, the subject of his discourse. Finding his hearers unable to understand it, he plucked a leaf of Shamrock, and used it as an illustration. So easy and simple was the application, that their difficulties were removed, and they accepted Christianity. Ever since, the Shamrock has been the national emblem of Irishmen, and has been worn by them for many centuries on the 17th of March, which is the anniversary of St. Patrick. As to what was the herb which furnished the saint with so excellent an illustration of the Three in One, there is amongst botanists much dispute, but the plants that for a long time past have been sold in Dublin and London on St. Patrick’s Day as the national badge are the Black Nonsuch (Medicago lupulina), and the Dutch Clover (Trifolium repens). Several writers have advocated the claims of the Wood Sorrel (Oxalis acetosella), which is called by the old herbalistsShamrog, and is proved in olden times to have been eaten by the Irish,—one old writer, who visited their country in the sixteenth century, stating that it was eaten, and that it was asourplant. Wood Sorrel is a sour-tasting plant, is indigenous to Ireland, and is trifoliated. It grows in woods, where the people used to assemble, and where the priests taught and performed their mystic rites; and therefore it may have been the plant plucked by St. Patrick. It has also been contended that the Watercress (called “Shamrock” by Holinshed in 1586) was the plant gathered by the saint, but as its leaf is not trifoliate, this claim has not found much favour. The plant which is figured upon our coins, both English and Irish, is an ordinary Trefoil. Queen Victoria placed the Trefoil in her royal diadem in lieu of the French Fleur-de-lis.
SHEPHERD’S PURSE.—TheCapsella Bursais commonly known as Pickpocket or Pickpurse, from its robbing the farmer by stealing the goodness of his land. It was known to our forefathers by the names of St. James’s-wort, Poor Man’s Parmacetty, Toywort, and Caseweed, and was considered to be “marvellous good for inflammation.” (SeeClappedepouch.)
SHOLOA.—The Sholoa is a medicinal plant, employed by the Bushmen of South Africa. Before going into battle, they rub their hands with Sholoa, in order to be able to chafe the badly wounded to preserve their life. When they dig up this plant, they deem it necessary, to avert danger from themselves, to replant immediately a portion of the root, so that it may spring up again. Tradition says that a man who neglected this precaution was found speechless and motionless enveloped in the toils of serpents. These serpents were killed by the Bushmen in order to regain possession of the root, which was replanted. Their women are afraid of these roots, when freshly dug up; they are, therefore, always put into a bag before being taken into a hut.
SNOWDROP.—The Snowdrop (Galanthus nivalis) was formerly held sacred to virgins, and this may account for its being so generally found in the orchards attached to convents and old monastic buildings.