328 rVKLS AUCLTAKIA. 



Know too well what slie can do. Slie has long owed inc a grudf^o ; and my oow, 

 which was in very izood lifaUh, foil sick innncdiatcly after Sally had 1)c<mi seen 

 to look in at the door of the cow-honso, just as night was coming on. The cow 

 grew worse, and so I went and cnt a bit of wiggin, (monntain ash,) and I nailed 

 the branches all np and down the cow-honse; and, sir, yon may sec tliem there, 

 if yon will take the trouble to step in. 1 am a matcdi for old Sally, now. and she 

 can't do me any more harm, st) long as the wiggin branches hang in the place 

 where I have nailed them. My poor cow will get better in spite of her.' Alas ! 

 thought 1 to mysclt, as the deluded man was finishing his story, how much there 

 is yet to be done in our country by the school-master of the nineteenth century." 

 The author of " Woodland (ilcanings," says, '-The moimtain ash, so esteemed 

 among our northern neighbours as a protection against the evil designs of wizards 

 and witches, is propagated by the Parisians for a very different purpose. They 

 arc used as one of the principal charms for enticing the Frcncli belles into the 

 public gardens, where they are permitted to use all the spells and witcheries of 

 which they are mistresses; and certainly this tree, ornamented by its brilliant 

 scarlet fruit, has a most enchanting appearance when lighted up with lamps, in 

 the months of August and September." Miss Kent, in her "Sylvan Sketches," 

 m alluding to this tree, says, "In former times, this tree was supposed to be pos- 

 sessed of the property of driving away witches and evil spirits ; and this property 

 is recorded in one of the stanzas of a very ancient song, called The Laidley 

 Worm of Spindlestoii Heiighs^ 



'Their spells were vain ; the hass return'd 



To the (nieeii in sorrowful inoiul, 

 Crying llial witches liave no po'wer 



Where there is roan-tree wood.' 



The last line of this stanza leads to the true reading of a line in Shakspeare's 

 tragedy of Macbeth. The sailor's wife, on the witch's requesting some chesnuts, 

 hastily answers, 'A rown-tree, witch!' but all the editions have it 'Aroint 

 thee, witch ! ' which is nonsense, and evidently a corruption." If the phrase 

 ^^ Aro'i7it thee^'' had occurred but once in Shakspeare, we might be disposed to 

 adopt the above explanation ; but as it is to be found twice, we have reason to 

 suppose that it is of Saxon origin, and signifies away I ruji ! The Saxon glos- 

 saries supply ryne for running ; and the old Icelandic runka^ signifies to agitate^ 

 or to move. Hone, in his "Religious Mysteries," gives a fac-simile of an old 

 drawing called the Descent into Hell, in which our Saviour is represented with a 

 roan-tree cross in his left hand, while with the right he appears to draw a contrite 

 spirit from the jaws of hell.* It is remarkable, that nearly the same superstitions 

 should exist also in India, as maybe seen by perusing Bishop Heber's "Journal," 

 &c. And it is no less remarkable than true, that the American mountain ash is 

 regarded by our native Indians as an object of veneration and awe. From time 

 immemorial, they have made offerings to the spirits of their departed heroes, by 

 casting round it the boughs of other trees. Ask them why they do this, and 

 they will tell you that its branches " are eloquent with the ghosts of their war- 

 rior-sires, who will come at evening, in the chariot of cloud, to fire the young to 

 deeds of war." Their offerings, or their remains, are frequently to be found at 

 the foot of this tree, and in some cases, mounds have been formed from the 

 immensity of their numbers, which have passed into decay. 



Soil and Situation. The mountain ash will grow in any soil, and in the most 

 exposed situations, as it is found near the sea-shore, and on the tops of mountains 

 in various parts of the globe. Hence it is an excellent tree for plantations intended 

 to resist the sea-breeze, or to be placed in situations exposed to the fury of th 



* See Sylvan Sketches, pp. 251 et 252. 



