MEADOW SAFFRON. 403 



count the Colchicum was anciently regarded as 

 a preservative against all sorts of maladies. 



Could we divest the tales of antiquity of their 

 fabulous dress we should find them all explanatory 

 of real events, and not the mere ideas of poeti- 

 cal imaginations ; perhaps we should then dis- 

 cover that Medea having relieved ^son from a 

 fit of the gout, his subjects celebrated her praise 

 as having restored this monarch to youth and 

 sprightliness. As Medea is sometimes called 

 Colchis, we will surmise, for the consolation of 

 our gouty friends, that it was the Colchicum that 

 relieved Mson from his infirmities ; and we will 

 also hope that they may derive similar benefit 

 through the aid of their medical friend, assisted 

 by the virtues of this powerful plant. Most of 

 our superstitious customs, however ridiculous 

 they now appear, originated, in the first instance, 

 from some reasonable cause ; and thus, because 

 the Colchicum was a remedy against one com- 

 plaint, credulity magnified its powers as a sove- 

 reign antidote. The Swiss peasants tie the 

 flower of this plant around the necks of their 

 children, with a firm belief that it will render 

 them invulnerable to all diseases. 



The Colchicum is thought to be the same root 

 as the hermodactylus of the ancient physicians, 

 and which, after having been entirely disregarded 



2 D 2 



