Part the Second. (continued 8)

MILKWORT.—In olden times, the Milkwort (Polygala vulgaris), bore the names of Cross-flower, Rogation-flower, Gang-flower, and Procession-flower, which were given it because, according to ancient usage, maidens made garlands of the flower, and carried them in procession during Rogation Week. At this period it was customary to offer prayers against plagues, fires, and wild beasts, and as the bounds of the parish were traversed on one of the days, it was also termed Gang Week. This custom was a relic of the ancient Ambarvalia. The bishop, or one of the clergy, perambulated the limits of the parish with the Holy Cross and Litanies, and invoked the blessing of God upon the crops; on which occasion, Bishop Kennett tells us, the maidens made garlands and nosegays of the Milkwort, which blossomed in Rogation Week, the next but one before the Whitsuntide.——Gerarde relates that, in Queen Elizabeth’s time, Milkwort-flowers were “vulgarly knowne in Cheapside to the herbe women by the name of Hedge Hyssop.” The plant was called Milkwort from an old belief that it increased the milk of mothers who took it.——A Javanese species, Polygala venenata, is greatly dreaded by the natives of Java for its poisonous effects; violent sneezing and faintness seizes anyone touching the leaves of this ill-omened plant.

MILLET.—According to Schlegel, Millet has, among the Chinese, given its name to the constellation Tien-tzi, “Celestial Millet,” which is composed of five stars, and presides at the grain harvest. Its clearness and brilliance presage an abundant harvest, its absence foretells famine. This constellation the Chinese consider as the residence of the King of the Cereals.——The grain of Millet has become proverbial as indicative of anything minute: possibly on this account, Millet portends misery if seen in a dream.——There is a legend in North Germany, that, long ago, a rich merchant had a fine garden, in which was a piece of land sown with Millet. One day the merchant discovered that a part of the Millet had been shorn during the preceding night, so he set his three sons to watch in case the theft should be repeated. Both the eldest and the second son fell asleep during their respective vigils; and on each occasion the theft was repeated, and further portions of the Millet disappeared. On the third night, the youngest son, John, agreed to watch: he surrounded himself with Thorns and Thistles, so that if he felt sleepy, and began to nod, the Thorns should prick him, and thus keep him awake. At midnight he heard a tramping, and then a sound of munching among the Millet: pushing aside the Thorns, John sprang out from his hiding-place, and saw a beautiful little colt feeding on the Millet. To catch the little animal was an easy task, and it was soon safely locked up in the stable. The merchant, overjoyed at the capture his vigilant son John had made, made him a present of the colt, which he named Millet-thief. Soon after this, the brothers heard of a beautiful princess who was kept by enchantment confined in a palace that stood on the top of a glass mountain, which no one, on account of its being so slippery, could ascend; but it was said that whosoever should be so fortunate as to reach its summit, and ride thrice round the palace, would disenchant the princess and obtain her hand in marriage. Numbers had already endeavoured to ride up the slippery mountain, but were precipitated to its foot; and their skeletons lay bleaching all around. The three brothers determined to try and ascend the mountain, but, alas, the two eldest fell with their horses down the treacherous mountain side, and lay sorely hurt. Then John saddled his little colt Millet-thief, and to his delight, when ridden to the mountain, he easily rattled up to its summit, and trotted round the palace three times as though he knew the road perfectly. Soon they stood in front of the palace-gates, which opened spontaneously, and the lovely princess stepped forth with a cry of joy, as she recognised in Millet-thief her own little colt, who had been accustomed to take her by night down the steep mountain, so that she might enjoy a gallop across the green fields—the only indulgence permitted her by the cruel enchanter. Then the princess bestowed her hand upon her deliverer, and they lived happily, far removed from worldly cares, in the palace on the glass mountain.

MIMOSA.—The Mimosa Catechu, according to Indian mythology, was the tree which sprang from the claw lost by a falcon whilst engaged in purloining the heavenly Soma, or Amrita, the drink of immortality. The Vedas recount that, when the gods were pining for the precious beverage, the falcon undertook to steal it from the demons who kept it shut up: the attempt was successful, but the falcon, whilst flying off with its prize, was wounded by an arrow discharged by one of the demons, and lost a claw and a feather. They fell to earth, and struck root there; the claw becoming the Indian Thorn-tree, or Mimosa Catechu—the younger branches of which have straight thorns, that afterwards become hooked, and bear a strong resemblance to a bird’s claw.——Bishop Heber tells us that, whilst travelling in Upper India, he saw, near Boitpoor, a Mimosa-tree, with leaves at a little distance so much resembling those of the Mountain Ash, that he was for a moment deceived, and asked if it did not bear fruit. The Bishop says: “They answered no; but that it was a very noble tree, being called the Imperial Tree for its excellent properties. That it slept all night, and awakened, and was alive all day, withdrawing its leaves if any one attempted to touch them. Above all, however, it was useful as a preservative against magic. A sprig worn in the turban, or suspended over the bed, was a perfect security against all spells, Evil Eye, &c., insomuch that the most formidable wizard would not, if he could help it, approach its shade. One, indeed, they said, who was very renowned for his power (like Lorinite, in the Kehama) of killing plants and drying up their sap with a look, had come to this very tree and gazed on it intently; but, said the old man, who told me this with an air of triumph, look as he might, he could do the tree no harm. I was amazed and surprised to find the superstition which in England and Scotland attaches to the Rowan-tree here applied to a tree of nearly similar form. What nation has, in this case, been the imitator? Or from what common centre are these common notions derived?”——The Mimosa sensitiva is the true Sensitive Plant, which collapses its leaflets upon the slightest touch (see Sensitive Plant); and another member of this singular family droops its branches whenever anyone approaches; hence Moore has called it

Frankincense is the product of the Egyptian Mimosa, a tree spoken of by Theophrastus as an Acanthus, and referred to by Virgil.

MIMUSOPS.—The Mimusops Elengi is one of the sacred trees of India, and dedicated to the god Krishna. An odoriferous water, highly prized, is distilled from the flowers, and the astringent bark of the tree is used medicinally.

MINT.—Ovid tells us, in his ‘Metamorphoses,’ that the nymph Minthe, a daughter of Cocytus, was beloved of Pluto, and that Proserpine, discovering her husband’s infidelity, transformed his mistress into the herb which is called by her name.——In olden times, Mint (Mentha) was called Herba bona and Herba sancta, and the ancients were wont to weave garlands of its foliage to be worn by brides—corona Veneris. In later days, the herb was dedicated to the Virgin, under the name of Herba Sanctæ Mariæ.——It was formerly customary to strew the churches with Mint or other herbs or flowers. In ‘Appius and Virginia,’ an old play, is an illustration of this custom:—

Among the women of the Abruzzi there exists a curious superstition. If, whilst walking, they should chance to come across a plant of Mint, they will bruise a leaf between their fingers, in order to ensure that, on the day of their death, Jesus Christ will assist them.——In Holstein, at the funeral of peasants, Mint is carried by youths attending the ceremony.——Pliny was of opinion that “the smell of Mint doth stir up the minde and taste to a greedy desire of meat;” and other old writers state that Mint should be smelled, as being refreshing for the head and memory; probably on this account it was formerly a custom to strew it “in chambers and places of recreation, pleasure, and repose, and when feasts and banquets are to be made.” Gerarde says of this herb:—“It is poured into the eares with honied water. It is taken inwardly against scolopendres, beare-wormes, sea scorpions and serpents. It is applied with salt to the bitings of mad dogs.”

MISTLETOE.—According to Scandinavian mythology, Baldr (the Apollo of the North) was rendered by his mother Frîgg proof against all injury by the four elements, fire, air, earth, and water: Loki, the evil spirit, however, being at enmity with him, fashioned an arrow out of Mistletoe (which proceeded from neither of the elements), and placed it in the hand of Hödr, the blind deity, who launched the fatal dart at Baldr, and struck him to the earth. The gods decided to restore Baldr to life, and as a reparation for his injury, the Mistletoe was dedicated to his mother Frîgg; whilst, to prevent its being again used adversely to her, the plant was placed under her sole control so long as it did not touch the earth, the empire of Loki. On this account it has always been customary to suspend Mistletoe from ceilings; and so, whenever persons of opposite sexes pass under it, they give one another the kiss of peace and love, in the full assurance that this plant is no longer an instrument of mischief.——Like the Indian Asvattha, and the Northern Rowan, the Mistletoe was supposed to be the embodiment of lightning: hence its Swiss name, Donnerbesen; and like them, again, it is very generally believed to spring from seed deposited by birds on trees. Some naturalists, indeed, say that the seeds will not vegetate until they have passed through the stomach of a bird, and so recommend that fowls should be caused to eat the seeds, which, after evacuation, should be sown. This old belief in the Mistletoe-seed being sown by birds is referred to by Lord Bacon in his ‘Natural History.’ His lordship says:—“They have an idle tradition that there is a bird called a Missel-bird that feedeth upon a seed which many times she cannot digest, and so expelleth it whole with her excrement, which, falling upon a bough of a tree that hath some rift, putteth forth the Misseltoe.”——In Druidic times, the Mistletoe was regarded as a divine gift of peculiar sanctity, only to be gathered with befitting ceremonies, on the sixth day, or at latest on the sixth night, of the sixth moon after the winter solstice, when their year commenced.——Pliny tells us that “the Druids hold nothing more sacred than the Mistletoe and the tree upon which it is produced, provided it be an Oak. They make choice of groves of Oak on their own account, nor do they perform any of their sacred rites without the leaves of these trees, so one may suppose that for this reason they are called by the Greek etymology Druids, and whatever Mistletoe grows upon the Oak they think is sent from heaven, and is a sign of God Himself as having chosen that tree. This, however, is rarely found, but, when discovered, is treated with great ceremony; they call it by a name which in their language signifies the curer of all ills, and, having duly prepared their feast and sacrifices under the tree, they bring to it two white bulls, whose horns are then for the first time tied; the priest, dressed in a white robe, ascends the tree, and, with a golden pruning-hook, cuts off the Mistletoe, which is received into a white sagum, or sheet; then they sacrifice the victims, praying that God would bless His own gift to those on whom He has bestowed it.” As the Druids attributed to the Mistletoe marvellous curative properties, they placed it in water, and distributed this water to those who deserved it, to act as a charm against the spells of witches and sorcerers. If any portion of this plant came in contact with the earth, it was considered as ominous of some impending national disaster.——The practice of decorating dwellings with Mistletoe and Holly is undoubtedly of Druidic origin. Dr. Chandler states that, in the times of the Druids, the houses were decked with boughs in order that the spirits of the forest might seek shelter among them during the bleak winds and frosts of winter.——Among the Worcestershire farmers, there is a very ancient custom of taking a bough of Mistletoe, and presenting it to the cow that first calved after New Year’s Day, as this offering is presumed to avert ill-luck from the dairy.——In some provinces of France, they preserved for a long period the custom of gathering the Mistletoe of the Oak, which they regarded as a talisman. Many public documents attest that, in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, large gatherings of the country-people took place at the fêtes held in commemoration of the ceremony of the sacred Mistletoe, and which was called Auguilanneuf (Gui de l’an neuf).——In Holstein, the peasantry call the Mistletoe the “Spectre’s wand,” from the supposition that a branch borne in the hand will enable the holder not only to see ghosts, but to compel them to speak.——The magical properties of the Mistletoe are alluded to by Virgil in his Æneid, as well as by Ovid and other ancient writers. Albertus Magnus states that the Mistletoe, which the Chaldæans called Luperax, the Greeks Esifena, and the Latins Viscus Querci, like the herb Martagon (Moonwort), possessed the property of opening all locks. The Druids called it All-heal, and represented it as an antidote to all poisons, and a cure for all diseases. When there were no longer any Druids in England left to gather the holy plant with the customary sacred rites, it was gathered by the people themselves, with a lack of due solemnity, so that, according to Aubrey, this want of reverence met with miraculous punishment. He relates how some ill-advised folk cut the Mistletoe from an Oak, at Norwood, to sell to the London apothecaries: “And one fell lame shortly after; soon after each of the others lost an eye; and a rash fellow, who ventured to fell the Oak itself, broke his leg very shortly afterwards.” At this time, the powder of an Oak-Mistletoe was deemed an infallible cure for epilepsy; and Culpeper, the astrological herbalist, prescribed the leaves and berries of this precious plant, given in powder for forty days together, as a sure panacea for apoplexy, palsy, and falling sickness. Clusius affirmed that a sprig of the sacred plant worn round the neck was a talisman against witchcraft, always providing that the bough had not been allowed to touch earth after being gathered.——In the West of England, there is a tradition that the Cross was made of Mistletoe, which, until the time of the Crucifixion, had been a noble forest tree, but was thenceforth condemned to exist only as a mere parasite. Culpeper remarks that it was sometimes called lignum sanctæ crucis—wood of the holy cross—from a belief in its curative virtues in cases of consumption, apoplexy, and palsy—“not only to be inwardly taken, but to be hung at their neck.”——In Sweden, Oak-Mistletoe is suspended in the house to protect it from fire and other injuries; a knife with an Oak-Mistletoe handle is supposed by the Swedes to ward off the falling sickness: for other complaints, a piece of this plant is hung round the patient’s neck, or made into a finger-ring.

MOLY.—The Moly was a magical plant, beneficent in its nature, which Homer tells us, in the ‘Odyssey,’ was given by Mercury to Ulysses to enable him successfully to withstand and overcome the enchantments of the sorceress Circe, and obtain the restoration of his comrades whom the witch-goddess had by her enchantments transformed into swine. Ulysses, distressed at the fate of his companions, was visited by Mercury, who promised to give him a plant of extraordinary powers, which should baffle the spells of Circe;

The Moly is generally supposed to have been a species of Garlick (a plant credited with many magical qualities), and Gerarde, in his ‘Herbal,’ describes several plants under the head of “Moly, or Sorcerer’s Garlick,” one of which he particularises as Homer’s Moly (Moly Homericum). The identity of the plant has, however, long been a matter for speculation among botanists of all ages. Dodonæus, Anguillara, and Cæsalpinus consider it to be Allium magicum; Matthiolus and Clusius, Allium subhirsutum; Sprengel, Allium nigrum; and Sibthorp, a plant which he names Allium Dioscoridis. Various treatises have appeared on the subject, in one of which the Moly is thought to be identified with the Lotus. Milton, in his ‘Comus,’ mentions a magical plant, designated Hæmony, which possessed similar properties to the Moly, and was potent in dispelling enchantments, ghostly apparations, mildew-blast, and unwholesome vapours.

Money Flower.—See Honesty.

MONK’S HOOD.—Aconitum has two English names, Monk’s Hood and Wolf’s Bane. The former has been given it from the resemblance of the plant’s upper sepal to the cowl of a monk. The latter is of great antiquity, being the same as that of the Anglo-Saxon. By the ancients (who were unacquainted with mineral poisons) the Aconite was regarded as the most virulent of all poisons, and their mythologists declare it to be the invention of Hecate, who caused the plant to spring from the foam of the many-headed Cerberus, when Hercules dragged him from the gloomy regions of Pluto. The legend is thus told by Ovid:—

With this venomous plant the ancients were wont to poison their arrow-heads when engaged in war and also when in pursuit of wild beasts. As a poison, it had a sinister reputation. Ovid was of opinion that the Aconitum derived its name from growing on rocks almost barren; and he describes, in his ‘Iron Age,’ the step-dame occupied in preparing a deadly potion of this plant:—

“Lurida terribiles miscent Aconita novercæ.”

In Greece, the Wolf’s Bane is credited with many malignant influences, and the fevers so common in the neighbourhood of Corinth were attributed to it. Until the Turks were dispossessed, the Aga proceeded every year in solemn procession to denounce it and hand it over to destruction.——In North India, a species, Aconitum ferox, is used as a poison for arrows—the poison which is obtained from the roots being of remarkable virulence and activity when infused into the blood.

MOON DAISY.—The Chrysanthemum Leucanthemum, a large Daisy-like flower, resembles the pictures of a full moon, and on this account has acquired the name of Moon Daisy. From its use in uterine diseases, this plant was dedicated by the ancients to Artemis, goddess of the Moon, Juno Lucina, and Eileithuia, a deity who had special charge over the functions of women—an office afterwards assigned by the Romish Church to St. Mary Magdalene and St. Margaret. Hence, in the Middle Ages, the Moon Daisy became known as Maudelyne or Maudlin-wort.——The plant is also called the Ox-eye and Midsummer Daisy; and in France, this flower, known as the Paquerette, is employed, like the Bluet, as a divining-flower, to discover the state of a lover’s affections.——The Midsummer Daisy is dedicated to St. John the Baptist.

MOONWORT.—The Fern Botrychium Lunaria has derived its name of Moonwort from the crescent shape of the segments of its frond. Perhaps it is this lunar form which has caused it to be so highly esteemed for its supposed magical properties. The old alchymists professed to be able, by means of the Moonwort, which they called Lunaria minor, or Lesser Lunary, to extract sterling silver from Mercury. By wizards and professors of necromancy no plant was held in greater repute, and its potency is attested by many old writers. Gerarde refers to the use made by the alchymists of this Fern in those mystic compounds over which they pored night and day, and he also states that it was a plant prized by witches, who called it Martagon. In Ben Jonson’s ‘Masque of Queens,’ a witch says to her companions:—

Coles, referring to the mystical character of the Moonwort, observes: “It is said, yea, and believed by many, that Moonwort will open the locks, fetters, and shoes from those horses’ feet that goe on the places where it groweth; and of this opinion was Master Culpeper, who, though he railed against superstition in others, yet had enough of it himselfe.” Du Bartas, in his ‘Divine Weekes,’ thus refers to this superstition—

Culpeper tell us that the Moonwort was a herb which, in his days, was popularly believed to open locks and unshoe horses that trod on it. “This,” he adds, “some laugh to scorn, and those no small fools neither, but country people that I know call it Unshoe-the-Horse. Besides, I have heard commanders say that on White Down, in Devonshire, near Tiverton, there were found thirty horse-shoes, pulled off from the Earl of Essex’s horses, being there drawn up in a body, many of them being newly shod, and no reason known, which caused much admiration; and the herb described usually grows upon the heaths.”—In Virginia, the Botrychium Lunaria is called the Rattle-snake Fern, because that reptile shelters itself beneath its fronds.

MOSS.—The Sifjar haddr, or Hair Moss (Polytrichum commune), which supplies the Lapp with bedding, is dedicated to Sif, the wife of Thor. The Supercilium Veneris is Freyja’s hair.—The good fairies called by the Germans Moosweibchen are represented as being entirely covered with Moss. They live in the hollows of forest trees, or on the soft Moss itself. These beneficent fairies of the forest spin soft Moss of various kinds, which they weave into beautiful fabrics, and, according to their custom, occasionally make handsome presents to their protégés.——There is a legend that Oswald, King of Northumbria, erected a certain cross, which, after his decease, acquired miraculous properties. One day, a man who was walking across the ice towards this venerated cross, suddenly fell and broke his arm; a friend who was accompanying him, in dire distress at the mishap, hurried to the cross, and plucked from it some Moss, which was growing on the surface. Then, hastening back to his friend, he placed the Moss in his breast, when the pain miraculously ceased, and the broken arm became set, and was soon restored to use.——The Bryum Moss, which grows all over the walls of Jerusalem, is supposed to be the plant referred to by Solomon as “the Hyssop that groweth out of the wall.”——According to tradition, headache is to be removed by means of snuff made from the Moss which grows on a human skull in a churchyard; and Gerarde says that this Moss is “a singular remedie against the falling evill and the chin-cough in children, if it be powdered, and then given in sweet wine for certain daies together.” Robert Turner tells us of this Moss that it is “a principal ingredient in the Weapon Salve; but the receipt is, it should be taken from the skull of one who died a violent death.”——The dust from the spore cases of Club-Moss is highly inflammable, and is used in fireworks; it is the Blitz-mehl, or lightning-meal, of the Germans. (See Club-Moss.)

MOSS ROSE.—The country of the Moss Rose or Moss Provins Rose (Rosa Muscosa) is unknown, but the origin of its mossy vest is thus given by a German writer:—

The Moss Rose is one of the flowers specially plucked at the fall of the dew on Midsummer Eve for the purposes of love divination. This rite of rustic maidens is fully described in the poem of ‘The Cottage Girl’:—

MOTHERWORT.—According to Parkinson, the Motherwort (Leonurus Cardiaca) was so called from its being “of wonderful helpe to women in the risings of the mother;” its name of Cardiaca was given because the herb was formerly noted for curing not only heartburn but the mental disorder known as heart-ache.——In Japan, the Motherwort is in great estimation. In bygone times it is related that to the north of the province of Nanyo-no-rekken, there was a village situated near a hill covered with Motherwort. At the foot of the hill, fed by the dew and rains that trickled down its sides, ran a stream of pure water, which formed the ordinary beverage of the villagers, who generally lived till they had attained an age varying from a hundred to a hundred and thirty years. Thus the people ascribe to the Motherwort the property of prolonging life. At the Court of the Cairi, the ecclesiastical potentate of Japan, it is a favourite amusement to drink zakki, a kind of strong beer prepared from Motherwort-flowers. The Japanese have five grand festivals in the course of the year. The last, which takes place on the 9th of the 9th month, is called the Festival of Motherwort; and the month itself is named Kikousouki, or month of Motherwort-flowers. It was formerly the custom to gather these flowers as soon as they had opened, and to mix them with boiled rice, from which they prepared the zakki used in celebrating the festival. In the houses of the common people, instead of this beverage, you find a branch of the flowers fastened with a string to a pitcher full of common zakki, which implies that they wish one another a long life. The origin of this festival is as follows:—An emperor of China who succeeded to the throne at seven years of age, was disturbed by a prediction that he would die before he attained the age of fifteen. An immortal having brought to him, from Nanyo-no-rekken, a present of some Motherwort-flowers, he caused zakki to be made from them, which he drank every day, and lived upwards of seventy years. This immortal had been in his youth in the service of the Emperor, under the name of Zido. Being banished for some misdemeanour, he took up his residence in the valley before mentioned, drinking nothing but the water impregnated with these flowers, and lived to the age of three hundred years, whence he obtained the name of Sien-nin-foso.

MOUSE-EAR.—The plant now known as Forget-me-not, was formerly called Mouse-Ear, from its small, soft, oval leaves. It is called Herba Clavorum, because, according to tradition, it hinders the smith from hurting horses when he is shoeing them.

MULBERRY.—According to tradition, the fruit of the Mulberry-tree was originally white, but became empurpled by human blood. Referring to the introduction of the Mulberry by the Greeks, Rapin writes:—

This tale of forbidden love is narrated at length by Ovid: Pyramus, a youth of Babylon, and his neighbour, Thisbe, became mutually enamoured, but were prohibited by their parents from marrying; they therefore agreed to meet at the tomb of Ninus, under a white Mulberry-tree. Thisbe reached the trysting-place first, but was compelled to seek safety in a cave, owing to the arrival of a lioness, who besmeared with blood a veil which the virgin dropped in her flight. Soon afterwards Pyramus reached the spot, and finding the bloody veil, concluded that Thisbe had been torn to pieces. Overcome with grief, he stabbed himself with his sword; and Thisbe, shortly returning, and beholding her lover in his death throes, threw herself upon the fatal weapon. With her last breath she prayed that her ashes should be mingled with her lover’s in one urn, and that the fruit of the white Mulberry-tree, under which the tragedy occurred, should bear witness of their constancy by ever after assuming the colour of their blood.

Lord Bacon tells us that in Calabria Manna falls upon the leaves of Mulberry-trees during the night, from whence it is afterwards collected.——Pliny called the Mulberry the wisest of trees, because it is late in unfolding its leaves, and thus escapes the dangerous frosts of early spring. To this day, in Gloucestershire, the country folks have a saying that after the Mulberry-tree has shown its green leaves there will be no more frost.——At Gioiosa, in Sicily, on the day of St. Nicholas that saint is believed to bless the sea and the land, and the populace sever a branch from a Mulberry-tree and preserve it for one year as a branch of good augury.——In Germany, at Iserlohn, the mothers, to deter the children from eating the Mulberries, sing to them that the Devil requires them for the purpose of blacking his boots.——According to Gerarde, “Hegesander, in Athenæus, affirmeth that the Mulberry-tree in his time did not bring forth fruit in twenty yeares together, and that so great a plague of the gout then raigned, and raged so generally, as not onely men, but boies, wenches, eunuches, and women were troubled with that disease.”——A Mulberry-tree, planted by Milton in the garden of Christ’s College, Cambridge, has been reverentially preserved by successive college gardeners. The Mulberry planted by Shakspeare in Stratford-on-Avon was recklessly cut down in 1759; but ten years later, when the freedom of the town was presented to Garrick, the document was enclosed in a casket made from the wood of the tree. A cup was also wrought from it, and at the Shakspeare Jubilee, Garrick, holding this cup aloft, sang the following lines composed by himself:—

To dream of Mulberries is of good import: they denote marriage, many children, and all sorts of prosperity: they are particularly favourable to sailors and farmers.——Among the hill tribes of Burmah, the Mulberry-tree is regarded as sacred, and receives a kind of worship.——A Chinese folk-lore tale records that in the Tse dynasty, one Chang Ching, going out at night, saw a woman in the south corner of his house. She beckoned him to come to her, and said: “This is your honour’s Mulberry-ground, and I am a shên (fairy); if you will make next year, in the middle of the first moon, some thick congee and present it to me, I will engage to make your Mulberry-trees a hundred times more productive.” Ching made the congee, and afterwards had a great crop of silkworms. Hence came the Chinese custom of making thickened congee on the fifteenth of the first month.

MULLEIN.—The Mullein (Verbascum) was formerly employed by wizards and witches in their incantations. The plant is known as the Flannel-flower from its stem and large leaves being covered with wool, which is often plucked off for tinder. The Great Mullein (V. Thapsus) was called by the old Romans Candela regia, and Candelaria, because they used the stalks dipped in suet to burn at funerals, or as torches; the modern Romans call the plant Light of the Lord. In England, the White Mullein was termed Candle-week-flower; and the Great Mullein’s tall tapering spikes of yellow flowers suggested, at a period when candles were burnt in churches, the old names of Torches, Hedge-taper, High-taper, and Hig-taper, which became corrupted into Hag-taper, from a belief that witches employed the plant in working their spells.——The little Moth Mullein (V. Blattaria) derives its specific name from blatta, a cockroach, it being particularly disliked by that troublesome insect. Gerarde explains its English prefix by stating that moths and butterflies, and all other small flies and bats, resort to the place where these herbs are laid or strewed.——Mullein is known by country people as Bullock’s Lungwort, a decoction of the leaves being considered very efficacious in cases of cough: probably we are indebted to the Romans for this specific, for they attributed extraordinary properties to the Mullein as a remedy for coughs. (See also Hag-taper).

MUGWORT.—The old Latin name for this species of Wormwood was Artemisia, mater herbarum; and, according to Gerarde, the plant was so named after Artemisia, the wife of Mausolus, King of Caria, who adopted it for her own herb.

Other authorities say that Artemisia is derived from Artemis, one of the names of Diana, and that the plant was named after that goddess, on account of its being used in bringing on precocious puberty. Among the ancients, the Mugwort had a reputation for efficacy in the relief of female disorders. It was also used for the purpose of incantations. Pliny says that the wayfarer having this herb tied about him feels no fatigue, and that he who hath it about him can be hurt by no poisonous medicines, nor by any wild beast, nor even by the sun itself. Apuleius adds that it drives away lurking devils and neutralises the effect of the evil eye of men. The plant was also considered a charm against the ague.—T—here is an old Scotch legend which tells how a mermaid of the Firth of Clyde, upon seeing the funeral of a young girl who had died of consumption, exclaimed—

In Italy, there is still a superstitious custom extant of consulting Mugwort as to the probable ending of an illness. Some leaves of Mugwort are placed beneath the pillow of the patient without his knowledge. If he falls asleep quickly, his recovery is certain: if he is unable to sleep, it is a sign that he will die.——Mugwort is one of the plants associated with St. John the Baptist, and is, indeed, called the Herb of St. John in Italy, Spain, Portugal, Germany, and Holland. There is a curious superstition regarding it which is related by Lupton in his ‘Notable Things.’ He says:—“It is certainly commonly affirmed that, on Midsummer Eve, there is found under the root of Mugwort a coal which keeps safe from the plague, carbuncle, lightning, and the quartan ague, them that bear the same about them: and Mizaldus, the writer hereof, saith that it is to be found the same day under the root of Plantain, which I know for a truth, for I have found them the same day under the root of Plantain, which is especially and chiefly to be found at noon.” Paul Barbette, writing in 1675, says, these coals were old dead roots, and that it was a superstition that “old dead roots ought to be pulled up on the Eve of St. John the Baptist, about twelve at night.”——In some parts of England, girls pull a certain root which grows under Mugwort, and which, they believe, if pulled exactly at midnight, on the eve of St. John, and placed under the pillow, will cause dreams of the future husband.——De Gubernatis tells us that, in Sicily, on the eve of the Ascension, the women of Avola form crosses of Mugwort, and place them on the roofs of their houses, believing that, during the night, Jesus Christ, as He re-ascends to heaven, will bless them. They preserve these crosses of Mugwort for a year. Placed in stables, they are believed to possess the power of taming unmanageable animals.——The same author gives the following legends:—In the district of Starodubsk, Russia, on the day of the Exaltation of the Cross, a young girl was searching for Mushrooms in a forest, when she saw a number of serpents curled up. She endeavoured to retrace her steps, but fell into a deep pit, which was the abode of the serpents. The pit was dark, but at the bottom she found a luminous stone; the serpents were hungry; the queen of the golden-horned serpents guided them to the luminous stone, and the serpents licked it, and satisfied their hunger; the young girl did the same, and remained in the pit until Spring. On the arrival of Spring, the serpents interlaced themselves in such a manner as to form a ladder on which the young girl ascended to the mouth of the pit. But in taking her leave of the queen of the serpents, she received, as a parting gift, the power of understanding the language of plants, and of knowing their medicinal properties, on the condition that she should never name the Mugwort, or Tchornobil (that which was black): if she pronounced that word, she would forget all that she had come to know. The damsel soon understood all that the plants talked about; but, one day, a man suddenly asked her, “What is the plant which grows in the fields by the side of the little footpaths?” Taken by surprise, the girl replied, Tchornobil; and, at the same moment, all her knowledge forsook her. From that time, it is said, the Mugwort obtained the additional name of Zabytko, or the Herb of Forgetfulness.——In Little Russia, Mugwort has obtained the name of Bech, which has a legendary etymology. The story goes, that the Devil had, one day, offended his brother, the Cossack Sabba, who took him and bound him, saying he should remain a prisoner until he did him some great service. Soon afterwards, a troop of Poles arrived in the neighbourhood, and began to make merry at a rustic feast, leaving their horses to graze. The Cossack Sabba wished to seize their horses, and promised the Devil his liberty if he would aid him to accomplish his object. The Devil despatched certain demons to the fields where the horses were feeding, who caused Mugwort to spring up. As the horses trotted away, the plant moaned “Bech, Bech”: and now, whenever a horse treads on the Mugwort, recollecting the horses of the Poles, the plant always moans, “Bech, Bech”; hence, the name which has been given to it in the Ukraine.——The Japanese manufactured a kind of tinder, called Moxa, from the dried leaves of Mugwort, and, according to Thunberg, twice in a year, men and women, young and old, rich and poor, were indiscriminately burnt with it, either to prevent disorders, or to cure rheumatism, &c.——Astrologers state that Mugwort is a herb of Venus.

MUSHROOM.—On account of their apparently spontaneous generation, Porphyrius calls Mushrooms sons of the gods.——In Indo-European mythology, the Sun-hero is represented as sometimes hiding under a Mushroom. He also appears as King of the Peas, and in a Russian legend, in this capacity, gives battle to the Mushroom tribes.——In Wales, the poisonous Mushroom is called Bwyd Ellyllon, or the meat of the goblins.——In many parts of England it is believed that the changes of the moon influence the growth of Mushrooms, and in Essex there is an old saying that

There is an old belief that Mushrooms which grow near iron, copper, or other metals, are poisonous; the same idea is found in the custom of putting a piece of metal in the water used for boiling Mushrooms, in order that it should attract and detach any poison from the Mushrooms, and thus render them innocuous.——Bacon characterises Mushrooms as “venereous meat,” but Gerarde remarks that “few of them are good to be eaten, and most of them do suffocate and strangle the eater. Therefore, I give my advice unto those that love such strange and new-fangled meates, to beware of licking honey among thornes, least the sweetnesse of the one do not countervaile the sharpnesse and pricking of the other.”——The Burman, if he comes across Mushrooms at the beginning of a journey, considers it as a most fortunate omen.——Dream oracles state that Mushrooms forbode fleeting happiness; and that to dream of gathering them indicates a lack of attachment on the part of lover or consort.

MUSTARD.—Among the Jews, “Small as a grain of Mustard-seed” was a common comparison; and our Saviour referred to it as being “the least of all seeds; but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof” (Matthew xiii., 31, 32). The Mustard-tree here alluded to is not, however, the English Mustard (Sinapis nigra), but a tree called by the Arabs Khardal (Salvadora Persica), a tree with numerous branches, among which birds may take shelter, while the seed is exceedingly small. In the north-west of India, this plant is known as Kharjal.——One of the Sanscrit names given to the Mustard-tree is the She-devil or Witch. By means of the seed the Hindus discover witches. During the night they light lamps and fill certain vessels with water, into which they gently drop Mustard-seed oil, pronouncing the while the name of every woman in the village. If, during this ceremony, as they pronounce the name of a woman, they notice the shadow of a female in the water, it is a sure sign that such woman is a witch.——In India, the Mustard-seed symbolises generation: thus, in the Hindu myth of the ‘Rose of Bakawali,’ the king of Ceylon destroys the temple in which the nymph Bakawali is incarcerated; having been condemned by Indra to remain there transformed into marble for the space of twelve years. A husbandman ploughs over the site of this temple, and sows a Mustard-seed. In course of time the Mustard ripens, is gathered, pressed, boiled, and the oil extracted. According to the custom of his class, the husbandman first tastes it, and then his wife: immediately she, who before had been childless, conceives, and nine months afterwards gives to the world a daughter (Bakawali), beauteous as a fairy.

MYROBALAN.—The Myrobalan Plum-tree produces a fruit similar to a Cherry, but containing only a juice of so disagreeable a flavour that the very birds refuse to feed upon it: the fruit, however, is much employed in Indian medicines. According to Hindu tradition, the wife of Somaçarman struck twice with a wand a Myrobalan-tree, whereupon the tree rose from the earth with her, and carrying her away, at last placed her on a golden hill in a golden town.

MYRRH.—Myrrh is an exudation from the tree Balsamodendron Myrrha; but the precious resin was held by the ancients to have been first produced by the tears of Myrrha, daughter of Cinyras, King of Cyprus, and mother of Adonis. Flying from the avenging sword of her father, for whom she had conceived an incestuous passion, the guilty Myrrha, after long and weary wanderings, reached the Arabian continent, and at length, in the Sabæan fields, overcome with fatigue and the misery of her situation, prayed with her dying breath to the gods to accept her penitence and to bestow upon her, as a punishment for her sin, a middle state “betwixt the realms above and those below.” “Some other form,” cries she, “to wretched Myrrha give, nor let her wholly die, nor wholly live.”

Myrrh is one of the ingredients of the sacred ointment or oil of the Jews, with which were anointed the Tabernacle, the Ark, the altars, and the sacred vessels (Exodus xxx.) It was also used to consecrate Aaron and his sons. The purification of women, as ordained by the Jewish law, lasted one year; the first six months being accomplished with oil of Myrrh, and the rest with other sweet odours. After our Lord’s death, Nicodemus brought a mixture of Myrrh and Aloes, about an hundred pounds weight, that his body might be embalmed.——Myrrh formed part of the celebrated Kuphi of the Egyptians—a preparation used in fumigations and embalmings. At the fête of Isis, which was celebrated with great magnificence, they sacrificed an ox filled with Myrrh and other aromatics. This ancient people delighted in displays of perfumes: in a religious procession which took place under one of the Ptolemies, marched one hundred and twenty children, carrying incense, Myrrh, and Saffron in golden basins, followed by a number of camels bearing precious aromatics.——At Heliopolis, the city of the sun, where the great luminary was worshipped under the name of Re, incense was burnt to him thrice a day,—resin at his rising, Myrrh when in the meridian, and the compound called Kuphi at his setting. In the temples of Isis similar rites were observed. According to Herodotus, powdered Myrrh formed one of the principal ingredients inserted in the bodies of mummies.——The Persian kings usually wore on their heads crowns composed of Myrrh and Labyzus.——In mediæval times, it was customary for the king to make an oblation on Twelfth Day. In pursuance of this custom, we read that so late as 1762 George III. made the usual offering at the Chapel Royal, of gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh—the gifts of the Magi, offered to the infant Saviour at Bethlehem; the gold typifying king; Frankincense, God; and Myrrh, man.

MYRTLE.—The father, mother, and brothers of Myrene, a beautiful Grecian, were murdered by robbers, who despoiled their home, and carried Myrene away. She escaped, however, and on her return was made a priestess of Venus. On the occasion of a festival, she discovered one of the assassins of her family, who was seized, and disclosed the hiding-place of his confederates. Myrene’s lover promised that, if she would yield him her hand, he would bring the rest of the band to punishment. He was successful, and received his promised reward; but Venus, offended at being deprived of her favourite priestess, caused the bridegroom to expire suddenly, and changed the bride into the Myrtle, which she ordained, as a proof of her affection, should continue green and odoriferous throughout the year. The Myrtle became, therefore, an especial favourite with Venus. Reputed to possess the virtue not only of creating love, but of preserving it, it was, both by the Greeks and Romans, considered symbolic of love, and was appropriately consecrated to Venus, the goddess of love, around whose temples groves of Myrtle were planted. It was behind a Myrtle-bush in the island of Cythera, that Venus sought shelter when disturbed at her bath by a band of Satyrs; with Myrtle she caused Psyche to be chastised for daring to compare her charms with the heaven-born beauty of her mother-in-law; and with Myrtle the goddess selected to deck her lovely brows when Paris adjudged to her the golden Apple—the prize for supremacy of beauty: hence the shrub was deemed odious to Juno and Minerva. Because she presided over the Myrtle, Venus was worshipped under the name of Myrtea, and had a temple dedicated to her under that appellation at the foot of Mount Aventine. It is probable that the Myrtle was dedicated to Venus because of its fondness for the sea—from the foam of which the goddess sprang, and was wafted by the Zephyrs to the shore, where she was received by the Horæ, and crowned with Myrtle. Myrtle chaplets were worn by her attendants, the Graces, and by her votaries when sacrificing to her. During her festivals in April, married couples (her protégés) were decked with Myrtle wreaths. The Myrtle of which the nuptial crowns were composed was the Myrtus latifolia of Pliny, called by Cato Myrtus conjugula.——The Myrtle was adopted by Minerva and Mars; the priests of the latter deity being sometimes crowned with it. The plant was also associated with Hymen, the son of Venus, and the Muse Erato, whose chaplet was composed of Roses and Myrtle. It sometimes symbolised unchaste love. In the festivals of Myrrha, the incestuous mother of Adonis, the married women crowned themselves with Myrtle. Virgil represents the victims of love in the infernal regions hiding themselves behind bunches of Myrtle. At the festival of the Bona Dea at Rome, where all other flowers and shrubs might be used, Myrtle was forbidden to be placed on the altar, because it encouraged sensual gratification.——The Greeks were extremely partial to the Myrtle. At their most sacred festival, the Eleusinian mysteries, the initiates, as well as the high priest, who officiated at the altar of Ceres, were crowned with Myrtle. The Athenian magistrates wore chaplets of the fragrant shrub in token of their authority; and bloodless victors entwined Myrtle with their Laurel wreaths. When Aristogiton and Harmodius set forth to free their country from the tyranny of the Pisistratidæ, their swords were wreathed with Myrtle.——With the Romans, the Myrtle was a highly-esteemed plant, and invariably expressive of triumph and joy. It also symbolised festivity, and, when steeped in wine, was supposed to impart to it invigorating qualities. On the 1st of April, Roman ladies, after bathing beneath the Myrtle-trees, crowned themselves with the leaves, and proceeded to the shrine of Venus to offer sacrifice. The Roman bridegroom decked himself with Myrtle on his bridal day; and the hero wore it as a badge of victory, and sometimes interweaved it with Laurel in honour of Venus and Mars. When the Romans fought to guard the captured Sabine women, they wore chaplets of Myrtle on their heads, and, according to Pliny, after the combatants had at length become reconciled, they laid down their weapons under a Myrtle, and purified themselves with its boughs. The tree was sacred to the Sabine Mars Quirinus; and two Myrtles stood before his temple, as two Laurels stood before the temple of the Roman Mars, symbolising the union of the Roman and Sabine peoples.——The Romans crowned themselves with Myrtle after a victory, but only when blood had not been shed.——Pliny relates that Romulus planted in Rome two Myrtles, one of which became the favourite of the patricians, the other of the people. When the nobles won, the people’s Myrtle drooped; when, on the other hand, the people were victorious, the patricians’ Myrtle withered. As a charm to ensure a successful journey, Roman pedestrians were accustomed to procure and wear a Myrtle wreath.——At Temnos, in Asia Minor, there is a statue in Myrtle-wood consecrated by Pelops to Venus, as a thank-offering for his marriage with Hippodamia. After the death of Hippolytus, Phædra, maddened with passionate grief, pricked innumerable small holes in the leaves of a Myrtle with a hair-pin. The geographer Pausanias states that this Myrtle was in his time to be seen near the tomb of Phædra at Trœzen.——The same writer relates that a Myrtle which had been the hiding place of a hare was selected by Diana to mark the site of a new city.——With the Jews, the Myrtle is a symbol of peace, and is often so referred to in the Old Testament, notably by Nehemiah and the prophets Zechariah and Isaiah. A variety, called the Broad-leaved Jew’s Myrtle, is held in especial veneration, and is frequently used in Hebrew religious ceremonies. Branches of this and other Evergreens are used in the erection of their tents at the Feast of Tabernacles. At Aleppo, these tabernacles are made by fastening to the corner of a wooden divan four slender posts as supports to a diaper-work of green Reeds on all sides, leaving only a space in front for the entrance, which on the outside is covered with fresh Myrtle. Jewish maidens were wont to be decked with a bridal wreath of Myrtle; but this wreath was never worn by a widow, or by divorced women. This custom is still retained in Germany, where the bride is adorned with a Myrtle wreath.——The Oriental nations are extremely partial to the Myrtle, and there is a tradition among the Arabs that, when Adam was expelled from Paradise, he brought the Myrtle with him, as being the choicest of fragrant flowers.——It is a popular belief in Somersetshire, that, in order to ensure its taking root, it is necessary when planting a sprig of Myrtle, to spread the skirt of your garment, and to look proud. In the same county, there is a saying that “the flowering Myrtle is the luckiest plant to have in your window, water it every morning, and be proud of it.”——In Greece, there is a superstitious notion that no one should pass near an odoriferous Myrtle without gathering a perfumed bunch; indifference to the attractions of Myrtle being considered a sign of impotence and death.——In the allegories of Azz Eddin, the Rose says that the Myrtle is the prince of odoriferous plants.——Rapin calls the Myrtle “of celestial race,” and in his poem has the following lines on it:—

To dream of seeing a fine Myrtle portends many lovers and a legacy. If a married person dreams of Myrtle, it prognosticates a second marriage. A similar dream for the second time portends a second marriage to a person who has also been married before. Myrtle seen in a dream denotes, as a rule, a numerous family, wealth, and old age.

NARCISSUS.—The white, or Poet’s, Narcissus owes its origin to a beautiful youth of Bœotia, of whom it had been foretold he should live happily until he beheld his own face. Caressed and petted by the Nymphs, and passionately loved by the unhappy Echo, he slighted and rejected their advances; but one day, when heated by the chase, he stopped to quench his thirst in a stream, and in so doing beheld the reflection of his own lovely features. Enamoured instantly of his own beauty, he became spell-bound to the spot, where he pined to death. Ovid relates how the flower known by his name sprang from the corpse of Narcissus:—

The cup in the centre of the flower is fabled to contain the tears of Narcissus. Virgil alludes to this (Georgic IV.) when, in speaking of the occupations of bees, he says: “Some place within the house the tears of Narcissus.” Milton also refers to this fancy in the following lines, when introducing the Narcissus under its old English name of Daffodil:—

The Daffodil is supposed to be one of the flowers which Proserpine was gathering when she was seized and carried off by Pluto (Dis). The Earth, at the instigation of Jupiter, had brought forth the lovely blossom for a lure to the unsuspecting maid. An old Greek hymn contains the tale:—

Shakspeare, in ‘A Winter’s Tale,’ alludes to the same story:—

Other accounts of a similar legend, slightly varied, state that it was at the instigation of Venus that Pluto employed the Narcissus to entice Proserpine to the lower world.——Ancient writers referred to the Narcissus as the flower of deceit, on account of its narcotic properties; for although, as Homer assures us, it delights heaven and earth by its odour and beauty, yet, at the same time, it produces stupor, madness, and even death.——It was consecrated both to Ceres and Proserpine, on which account Sophocles poetically alludes to it as the garland of the great goddesses. “And ever, day by day, the Narcissus, with its beauteous clusters, the ancient coronet of the ‘mighty goddesses,’ bursts into bloom by heaven’s dew” (Œdipus Coloneus).——The Fates wore wreaths of the Narcissus, and the Greeks twined the white stars of the odorous blossoms among the tangled locks of the Eumenides. A crown composed of these flowers was wont to be woven in honour of the infernal gods, and placed upon the heads of the dead.——The Narcissus is essentially the flower of Lent; but when mixed with the Yew, which is symbolical of the Resurrection, it becomes a suitable decoration for Easter:—

Herrick, Shakspeare, Milton, Wordsworth, all sing the praises of the Narcissus, or Lent Lily, the Daffodil and Daffadowndily of our forefathers,—names which they formed from the still older one of Affodilly, a corruption of Asphodelus.

NASTURTIUM.—According to Rapin, the Nasturtium was once a young Trojan huntsman; but the Jesuit poet gives no details of the metamorphosis, merely stating that

The shield-like form of the Nasturtium’s leaves and its curiously-shaped flowers, which resemble golden helmets, have obtained for the plant the Latin name of “Tropæolum” (trophy). Its old English names were Yellow Lark’s-heels and Indian Cress.——The seed of the Nasturtium, according to Macer Floridus, possess a great power to repel serpents.——Linnæus has recorded that his daughter Elizabeth Christina observed the flowers of the Nasturtium emit spontaneously, at certain intervals, sparks like electric ones, visible only in the evening.

NEEM.—The Neem-tree (Azardirachta Indica) is considered by the Indians a sacred tree, and is described by their poets as the type of everything bitter. Its bark is used as a substitute for Cinchona in cases of fevers.

NELUMBO.—The Nelumbo, Sacred Lotus, or Padma (Nelumbium speciosum), was the Sacred Bean of Egypt, the Rose Lily of the Nile spoken of by Herodotus. The beauty of its blossoms, which are sometimes of a brilliant red colour, but rarely white, hanging over broad peltated leaves considerably above the surface of the water, render this the most lovely and graceful of all the Water Lilies; and at the same time it is the most interesting on account of its remote historical associations. Four thousand years ago the Nelumbo was the emblem of sanctity in Egypt amongst the priests of a religion long since defunct; and the plant itself has long been extinct in that country, though in India and China the flowers are held especially sacred, and the plant is commonly cultivated. The Chinese call this sacred flower the Lien-wha, and prize it above all others. Celebrated for its beauty by their poets, and ranked for its virtues among the plants which, according to Chinese theology, enter into the beverage of immortality, this Lien-wha is to the Chinese what the Gul or Rose is to the Persians; and a moonlight excursion on a tranquil river covered with its yellow blossoms is numbered by the inhabitants of the Flowery Land among the supreme delights of mortal existence. (See also Lotus and Nymphæa).

NETTLE.—The Nettle is one of the five plants which are stated by the Mishna to be the “bitter herbs” ordered to be partaken of by the Jews at the Feast of the Passover.——In Ireland, the Nettle of Timor is known as Daoun Setan, or the Devil’s Apron; and in the southern parts of the island it is a common practice for schoolboys, once a year, to consider themselves privileged to run wildly about with a bunch of Nettles, striking at the face and hands of their companions or of such other persons as they fancy they may venture to assault with impunity.——The Roman Nettle (Urtica pilulifera) is the most venomous of British Nettles, and is found abundantly about Romney, in Kent, where, according to Camden, the Roman soldiers brought the seed with them, and sowed it for their own use, to rub and chafe their limbs when, through extreme cold, they should be stiff and benumbed; having been told before they came from home that the climate of England was so cold that it was not to be endured without having recourse to some friction to warm their blood and to stir up natural heat.——Among the various remedies once prescribed for the “trembling fever,” or ague, by Catherine Oswald, a noted herbalist, was one which related to plucking up a Nettle by the root three successive mornings before sunrise. In bygone times, Nettle and Milfoil carried about the person used to be believed to drive away fear, and to be a certain charm against malignant spirits.——The Scotch say that to cure the sting of a Nettle, the person stung must rub the leaves of a Dock over the part affected, repeating at the same time: “Nettle in, Dock out; Dock rub Nettle out.” This charm was known to Chaucer, who uses it as a common saying, implying lovers’ inconstancy, in ‘Troilus and Cresside’:—

In German mythology, the Nettle was consecrated to the god Thor.——In the Tyrol, during thunderstorms, the mountaineers throw Nettles on the fire to avert danger, and more especially to guard themselves from lightning; this custom also prevails in some parts of Italy.——In Germany, there exists a superstition that Nettles gathered before sunrise will drive away evil spirits from cattle.——The god Thor was, among the ancient Germans, regarded as the guardian deity of marriage; hence it is, perhaps, that in Germany Nettle-seed is believed to excite the passions and to facilitate births.——In dream lore, to fancy you are stung by Nettles indicates vexation and disappointment; to dream of gathering Nettles denotes that someone has formed a favourable opinion of you; and if the dreamer be married, then that the domestic circle will be blessed with concord and harmony.——Astrologers place Nettles under the dominion of Mars.

NIGHTSHADE.—The Deadly Nightshade (Atropa Belladonna), or Death’s Herb, is a plant of ill omen, and one of which witches are reported to be fond: it is so poisonous in its nature, that Gerarde says: “If you will follow my counsell, deale not with the same in any case, and banish it from your gardens, and the use of it also, being a plant so furious and deadly; for it bringeth such as have eaten thereof into a dead sleepe, wherein many have died.” Buchanan relates that the Scots, under Macbeth, being desirous of poisoning the Danes, treacherously took the opportunity, during a period of truce, to mix the poisonous Nightshade with the beer with which they had agreed to supply them. Thus stupefied, Sweno’s army slept soundly, and the Scots, falling upon their enemies, destroyed them in their helplessness.——According to Gassendi, a shepherd in Provence produced visions and prophesied, through the use of Deadly Nightshade.——The Nightshade (Solanum Dulcamara) has poisonous red berries; but the root and leaves have been applied to several medicinal uses.——The Vale of Furness, Lancashire, is still known by the name of Valley of Nightshade, on account of the plant being exceedingly plentiful there. Sprigs of Nightshade appeared on the ancient seals of the Abbey.

NIMBU.—The Nimbu (Melia Azedarach) is a native of the warm parts of Asia, and bears a variety of names in different countries, such as the Holy Tree, Pride of India, Bead Tree (in allusion to the seeds being strung for chaplets), Persian Lilac, and Hill Margosa. Bishop Heber saw it in India, and states that the natives have a profound reverence for the tree, which they believe has the power to ward off witchcraft and the Evil Eye.

NIPA PALM.—The Nipa, or Susa (Nipa fruticans), is the sacred tree of Borneo, and is the most valuable of all growing things to the Dyaks of that country. The seeds, it is recorded, lie dormant in the fruit several years before germination, when the fruit becomes detached from the plant and is floated off by the tide to establish itself on some other mudbank. This plant only grows where fever and Mangroves flourish.

None-so-Pretty, or Nancy-Pretty.—See London Pride.

Nosebleed.—See Yarrow.

NUTMEGS.—In the Middle Ages, a curious belief existed that Nutmegs, Cloves, Cinnamon, and Ginger all grew on the same tree.——The strength of the Nutmeg in the season is said so to overcome the birds of Paradise, that they fall helplessly intoxicated.——To dream of Nutmegs is stated to be a sign of many impending changes.

NUTS.—When the Scandinavian god Loki, transformed into a falcon, rescued Idhunn, the goddess of youthful life, from the power of the Frost-giants, it was in the shape of a Hazel-nut that he carried her off in his beak.——The Hazel was sacred to Thor, and was in olden times regarded as an actual embodiment of lightning: hence it possessed great virtue as a promoter of fruitfulness, and Hazel-nuts became a favourite medium in divinations relating to love and marriage.——In old Rome, Nuts were scattered at marriages, as they are now in Italy and in Altmark.——In Westphalia and other parts of Germany, a few Nuts are mixed with the seed-corn to act as a charm in making it prolific.——In Hertfordshire and other parts of England, as well as in Germany, a certain relation is believed to exist between the produce of the Hazel-bushes and the increase of the population; a good Nut year always bringing an abundance of babies. In Westphalia, the proverb runs, “Plenty of Nuts, plenty of babies.”——Brand says it is a custom in Iceland, when a maiden would know if her lover is faithful, to put three Nuts upon the bar of a grate, naming them after her lover and herself. If a Nut crack or jump, the lover will prove faithless; if it begin to blaze or burn, it is a sign of the fervour of his affection. If the Nuts named after the girl and her swain burn together, they will be married. This divination is still practised in Scotland on Hallowe’en, whose mysterious rites Burns has immortalised in his poem, containing these lines:—

A similar custom has for years existed in Ireland; and Gray, long before Burns, had evidenced that the superstitions of Hallowe’en or Nutcrack Night (October 31st) were known and practised in England, as thus—

In Bohemia, on Christmas Eve, girls fix coloured wax lights in the shells of the first parcel of Nuts they have opened that day, light them all at the same time, and set them floating in the water, after mentally giving to each the name of a wooer. He whose lighted bark first approaches the girl will be her future husband. If an unwelcome suitor seems likely to be first in, the girl endeavours to retard the shell by blowing against it, and by this means the favourite’s bark usually wins. Should, however, one of the lights be perchance blown out, it is accounted a portent of death.——The instrument used by the nutter in robbing the Hazel of its fruit seems to have been formerly regarded as opprobrious, and as suggestive of a thief: thus, in the ‘Merry Wives of Windsor,’ Nym says: “If you run the Nut-hook’s humour on me,” or, in other words, “If you call me a thief.” Again, in ‘Henry IV.,’ Part II., Doll Tearsheet cries out to the beadle: “Nut-hook, Nut-hook, you lie!”——In Sussex, there is a proverb current: “As black as the De’il’s nutting bag;” and it is held to be dangerous to go out nutting on Sunday, for fear of meeting the Evil One, who haunts the Nut-bushes, and sometimes appears to nutters in friendly guise, and holds down the branches for them to strip.——In bygone times, it was believed that a spirit of a weird and sinister character inhabited a Nut-grove.——There is a superstition that the ashes of the shells of Hazel-nuts have merely to be applied to the back of a child’s head to ensure the colour of the iris in the infant’s eyes turning from grey to black.——In Germany, Nuts are placed in tombs, as being emblematic of regeneration and immortality. Searchers in the old tombs of Wurtemburg sometimes found Pumpkins and Walnuts, but always a number of Nuts.——In some countries, Hazel-nuts are supposed to be endowed with the power of discovering or attracting wealth. Thus, in Russia, there is a belief that anyone carrying a Nut in his house will make money; and on this account many of the Russian peasantry invariably carry a double Nut in their purses. In fairy tales, we often find good fairies using Nuts as their carriages: as, in ‘Romeo and Juliet,’ Mercutio speaks of Queen Mab arriving in a Nut-shell.——There is a legend that St. Agatha every year crosses the sea from Catania to Gallipoli on a Nut-shell, which she employs as a boat.——Authorities on the subject say that to dream that you see Nut-trees, and that you crack and eat their fruit, signifies riches and content gained with toil and pain. Clusters of Nuts imply happiness and success: to dream of gathering Nuts is a bad omen; and to dream of finding Nuts that have been hid signifies the discovery of treasure.

NYMPHÆA.—The Nymphæa cœrulea is the Lily of the Nile, the Lotus of ancient Egypt; but not the Sacred Bean, which was the Nelumbium speciosum. (See Lotus and Nelumbo).——According to German tradition, the Undines often conceal themselves from mortal gaze under the form of Nymphæas.——This beautiful Water-lily was deemed by the Frisians to have a magical power. Dr. Halbertsma has stated that, when a boy, he remembers people were extremely careful in plucking and handling them; for if anyone fell with such a flower in his possession, he became immediately subject to fits.——The Wallachians have a superstition that every flower has a soul, and that the Water-lily is the sinless and scentless flower of the lake, which blossoms at the gates of Paradise to judge the rest, and that she will enquire strictly what they have done with their odours.

OAK.—Rapin tells us that among the ancients there were many conjectural reports as to the origin of the Oak, and the country which first knew the sacred tree: but the popular tradition which met with most credence, he considers, was as follows:—

To do full justice to the legendary lore connected with the Oak, it would be necessary to devote a volume to the subject: the largest, strongest, and as some say, the most useful of the trees of Europe, it has been generally recognised as the king of the forest,

“Lord of the woods, the long-surviving Oak.”

An emblem of majesty and strength, the Oak has been revered as a symbol of God by almost all the nations of heathendom, and by the Jewish patriarchs. It was underneath the Oaks of Mamre that Abraham dwelt a long time, and there he erected an altar to the Lord, and there he received the three angels. It was underneath an Oak that Jacob hid the idols of his children, for this tree was held sacred and inviolable (Gen. xxxv., 2–4). Under the “Oak of weeping,” the venerable Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, was interred. The messenger of the Lord that appeared to Gideon sat beneath an Oak; and it was a branch of one of these trees that caught the flowing hair of Absalom, and so caused the death of King David’s beloved son. The Oaks of Bashan are several times mentioned in the Bible, and in the sacred volume we are informed that the Israelites worshipped and offered sacrifices beneath the shadow of Oaks which they considered as sacred (Hosea iv., 13; Ezekiel vi., 13; Isaiah i., 29).

The ancient Greeks attributed the deluge of Bœotia to the quarrels between Jupiter and Juno. After the rain had ceased and the water subsided, an oaken statue became visible, erected, it is supposed, as a symbol of the peace concluded between the king of the gods and his consort. The Oak was thought by the Greeks to have been the first tree that grew on the earth, and to have yielded for man Acorns and honey, to ensure nourishment and fecundity. They called it, indeed, the mother-tree, and they regarded it as a tree from which the human race had originally sprung—a belief, shared by the Romans, for we find Virgil speaking

Acorns were the first food of man, and there is an old Greek proverb in which a man’s age and experience are expressed by saying that he had eaten of Jove’s Acorns. Some of the classic authors speak of the fatness of the earliest inhabitants of Greece and Southern Europe, who, living in the primeval forests, were supported almost wholly upon the fruit of the Oak; these primitive people were called Balanophagi (eaters of Acorns).

Homer mentions people entering into compacts under Oaks as places of security, for the tree was highly reverenced by the Greeks, and held a prominent place in their religious and other ceremonies. The Arcadians believed that by stirring with an Oak-branch the waters of a fountain near a temple of Jupiter, on Mount Lycius, rain could be caused to fall. The Fates and Hecate were crowned with Oak-leaves; and a chaplet of Oak adorned the brow of the Dodonæan Jove.

The Pelasgic oracle of Jupiter, or Zeus, at Dodona, was situated at the foot of Mount Tamarus, in a wood of Oaks, and the answers were given by an aged woman, called Pelias: and as pelias, in the Attic dialect, means dove, the fable arose that the doves prophesied in the Oak groves of Dodona. Respecting the origin of this oracle, Herodotus narrates that two priestesses of Egyptian Thebes were carried away by Phœnician merchants: one of these was conveyed to Libya, where she founded the oracle of Jupiter Ammon; the other to Greece. The latter remained in the Dodonæan wood, which was much frequented on account of the Acorns. There she had a temple built at the foot of an Oak in honour of Jupiter, whose priestess she had been in Thebes, and here afterwards the oracle was founded. This far-spreading speaking Oak was a lofty and beautiful tree, with evergreen leaves and sweet edible Acorns (the first sustenance of mankind). The Pelasgi regarded this tree as the tree of life. In it the god was supposed to reside, and the rustling of its leaves and the voices of birds showed his presence. When the questioners entered, the Oak rustled, and the Peliades said, “Thus speaks Zeus.” Incense was burned beneath the tree, and sacred doves continually inhabited it; and at its foot a cold spring gushed, as it were, from its roots, and from its murmur the inspired priestesses prophesied. The ship Argo having been built with the wood of trees felled in the Dodonæan grove, one of its beams was endowed with prophetic or oracular power, and counselled the hardy voyagers. Socrates swore by the Oak, the sacred tree of the oracles, and consequently the tree of knowledge.

The Romans regarded the Oak as sacred, and the chosen tree of Jupiter, who was sheltered by it at his birth. Thus Lucan mentions “Jove’s Dodonæan tree,” and Ovid, in alluding to the primitive food of man, speaks of Acorns dropping from the tree of Jove. The Oak, says Virgil, is

We have seen how Acorns formed the earliest food of mankind, and in ancient Rome the substitution of Corn was attributed to the bounty of Ceres, who, through the instrumentality of Triptolemus, taught the inhabitants of the earth its use and cultivation.

To commemorate this gift, Oak was worn in the festivals in honour of Ceres, as also by the husbandmen in general at the commencement of harvest. In the Eleusinian mysteries, Oaken chaplets were worn.

A Roman who saved the life of another was adjudged a crown of Oak-leaves: thus Lucan writes:—

This civic crown of Oak conferred many notable tokens of honour upon its possessor, who was exempted from all civil burdens, and enjoyed many rights. At Roman weddings, boughs of Oak were carried during the ceremonies as emblems of fecundity.

Like the Greeks and Romans, the Scandinavians, in their mythology, traced the origin of mankind from either the Ash or the Oak. By the Teutons and Celts the Oak was invested with a mystical sacred character, and it was connected with the worship of their god Teutates. Among the German people, who consecrated the Oak to the god Thunar, the cultus of the sacred tree lingered for a long time, even after Boniface, the apostle of the Germans, at Geismar, on the Weser, had caused the Oak consecrated to the god of thunder to be uprooted. After the establishment of Christianity, the Oak was long supposed to be the abiding-place of the terrible Northern god, and was, consequently, regarded with superstitious awe. Bishop Otho, of Bamberg, in the year 1128, found at Stettin pagan temples, situate near an Oak and a fountain, which had been objects of worship, and were still regarded with superstitious awe, as being consecrated to a god. As the good bishop could not induce the people to cut down these sacred Oaks, he persuaded them that they were inhabited by evil spirits and demons; and, in course of time, the people who before had prostrated themselves before the trees, shunned them in superstitious dread and terror.

The ancient Britons dedicated the Oak to Taranis, their god of thunder; and the Celts, under the form of an Oak, are by some authorities stated to have worshipped Baal, the god of fire. On the occasion of an auto-da-fé, we are told that fagots of “grey” Oak were always selected. The festival of Baal was kept at Yule (Christmas); and on the anniversary, the Druids are said to have ordained that every fire should be extinguished, and then re-lighted with the sacred fire, which, in their sacerdotal character, they always kept burning. In this rite, it is supposed, may be traced the origin of the Yule-log, the kindling of which, at Christmas-time, is still kept up in England, though in this country the log is often of Ash. Among the Germans, Czechs, Serbs, and Italians, however, the Yule-log is always of Oak.

The Mistletoe which grew on an Oak was regarded by the Druids as the most holy; it was beneath the shade of venerated Oaks that they performed their sacred rites; and when they offered up human sacrifices, the victims, in grim mockery, were crowned with Oak-leaves. The baskets in which they were immolated were composed of Oaken twigs, and the brands with which the sacrificial fires were kindled were cut from Oak-trees. The priests scattered branches of the Oak upon the altars, and after the sacrifice fresh Oak-leaves were cast upon the blood-stained stones.

Alluding to the human sacrifices which polluted the recesses of the Druidic groves of Oak, and caused them to be regarded with shuddering terror, Tighe says:—

When an Oak died, the Druids stripped off its bark, and shaped it reverently into the form of a pillar, a pyramid, or a cross, and still continued to worship it as an emblem of their god. In Anglesea, the ancient Mona, are still dug up great trunks of Oak, relics of the Druids’ holy groves. The central Oak was the peculiar object of veneration. The poet relates how men of old,

The Druids it is believed revered the form of the cross. It is stated to have been their custom to seek studiously for a large and handsome Oak-tree, growing up with two principal arms in the form of a cross beside the main stem. If the two horizontal arms were not sufficiently adapted to the figure, they fastened a crossbeam to it. Then they consecrated it by cutting upon the right branch the word Hesus, upon the middle stem Taranis, and upon the left branch Belenus, and over them the word Thau. The tree thus inscribed was deemed peculiarly sacred, and to it they directed their faces when offering prayer.

It was beneath the shade of the Oak that Druidic criminal trials were held—the judge and jury being seated under the branches, and the prisoner placed in a circle traced by the wand of the chief Druid. With the Saxons, the Oak retained its sacred character, and their national meetings were held beneath its shelter. It was below the Oaks of Dartmoor that they held their conference with the Britons, whose land they were invading.

In Great Britain, the Oak remained an object of veneration long after the establishment of Christianity. It was under an aged Oak that St. Brigid of Ireland established her retreat for holy women, whence called Kildara, or cell of the Oak. Here had been burning for many centuries the sacred fire of the Druids, but by the piety of St. Brigid the light of Christianity was henceforth to emit its flame from beneath

Many of the Druidical sacred Oaks were utilised by the early preachers of the Christian faith, who from beneath their boughs preached the gospel of Christ to the pagan inhabitants. Hence these trees became noted throughout the country as Gospel Oaks, a name which still appertains to many ancient trees existing at the present time in England. It is right to say, however, that other authorities consider the origin of the name to have been the custom of reading the Gospel of the day at a certain tree, when the priest went round the fields to bless the crops.

The Sclavonians worshipped Oaks, which they enclosed in a consecrated court. This spot was the sanctuary of all the country, and had its priest, its festivals, and its sacrifices. The inner sanctuary, where grew the sacred Oak, was reserved especially for the priests, sacrificers, and people in danger of their life, who had sought of the priests an asylum. It is said that the ancient Russians, upon arriving at the Isle of St. George, offered up sacrifices beneath a great Oak, before which the people and priests chanted a Te Deum. After the ceremony, the priest distributed the branches of the Oak among the people.

It is curious to note how the old Grecian belief in the sacred and supernatural character of the Oak has lingered in Italy. Prof. de Gubernatis tells us that in the Campagna of Rome, about seventeen years ago, a young shepherdess, during a storm, sought shelter under an Oak, and prayed to the Madonna. Whilst she prayed, a gracious lady appeared before her, and, thanks to her intercession, no rain fell on the Oak, and the girl was enabled to reach home without being wetted by a single drop. Everyone saw it was a miracle; the curé examined her, and from his representations the young girl was received into a convent at Rome, where she probably is preparing herself for canonisation. Under similar circumstances, two centuries ago, a Tuscan shepherdess, Giovanna of Signa, was canonised. In the district of Signa, near Ginestra, the villagers still show a sacred Oak, which people kneel to and adore. The story runs that one day the shepherdess Giovanna, surprised by a storm, called around her the shepherds and their flocks, and stuck her shepherdess’s crook into the ground; when, wondrous to relate, at the same instant shot forth an Oak, which sheltered beneath its branches shepherds and sheep. No one was wetted by the rain. On account of this miracle, Giovanna was made a saint, and near the sacred Oak a little chapel was erected to the Virgin. Strange to say, the tree throws down anyone climbing into its branches to cut boughs; but people are permitted to pluck sprays, which are believed to guard themselves and their houses from the effects of storms, provided that the names of Jesus and Mary are invoked with certain ceremonies.

Among the Bolognese, who inhabit a district once occupied by the Celts, and consequently Druidic, the sacred character of Oak-trees was long acknowledged. In the fourteenth century, there stood in Bologna an ancient Oak, which was regarded with the greatest reverence, and beneath its boughs all important gatherings of the people took place. In their religious processions the children still carry garlands of the Oak and Olive. In the country districts, images of the Virgin are often suspended from Oak-trees, and these effigies are called after the trees, the little Madonnas of the Oak. A legend of Bologna relates that in a chapel an image of the Virgin had long been neglected, and overlooked, till, one day, a pious shepherd took it away, and placed it in the trunk of a Cork-tree (a species of Oak, the Quercus Suber). Henceforth he visited it daily, and to honour the Virgin played on the flute. The thief having been denounced, the shepherd was seized and condemned to death; but during the night, through the intervention of the Madonna, the statue and the shepherd both returned to their favourite tree, and notwithstanding subsequent efforts to remove them, they again took up their place beneath its boughs. Then the people recognised a miracle performed by the Virgin, and falling on their knees before the statue in the Oak, they asked pardon of the shepherd.

The time-honoured belief in the sacred and supernatural attributes of the Oak have doubtless caused it to be regarded, even at the present day, as a tree which would vicariously bear the diseases of men. Thus, in England, Cross Oaks, which were trees planted at the juncture of cross-roads, were formerly resorted to by people suffering from ague, for the purpose of transferring to them their malady: this they did by pegging a lock of their hair into one of the trees, and then, by a sudden wrench, transferring the lock from their heads to the Oak, and with the lock the ague.

In Germany, there still exists a custom of creeping through an Oak cleft to cure hernia and other disorders. There was, near Wittstock, in Altmark, a bushy Oak, the branches of which had grown together again at some distance from the stem, leaving open spaces between them. Whoever crept through these spaces was freed from his malady, whatever it might be, and many crutches lay about, which had been thrown away by visitors to the tree whose ailments had been cured. In Russia, a similar custom is extant, the favourite tree there being the Quercus Ilex.

A belief that Oak-trees were the homes of Dryads, Hamadryads, spirits, elves, and fairies has existed since the days of the ancient Greeks. Pindar speaks of a Hamadryad as “doomed to a term of existence coeval with the Oak.” Callimachus represents Melia “deeply sighing for her coeval Oak,” and tells us that