VERVAIN. 



VE R V A IN {I ^crbcna officinalis) . — E N c H A N T M E N T. 



Vervain was made use of by the ancients in different 

 kinds of divination. A thousand various properties were 

 assigned to it, among others the power of reconciHng enemies. 

 Whenever the Romans had occasion to send heralds to other 

 nations, with a message of peace or war, one of them wore a 

 wreath of vervain. To this custom our native poet Dryden 

 alludes, 



" A wreath of Vervain heralds wear, amongst our garlands named, 

 Being sent that dreadful news to bear, offensive war proclaimed." 



The Druids held this plant in high esteem, and did not 

 venture to gather it until they had offered sacrifice to the 

 Earth ; and now, in the north of France, the shepherds are 

 said to collect this sacred plant with ceremonies and words 

 known only to themselves. Thus in our time, as in the days 

 of the ancients, Vervain is looked upon as the emblem of 

 Enchantment. 



THE VINE {Vitis vinifci'd). — INTOXICATION. 



AnaCHARSIS used to say that the Vine bore three kinds of 

 fruit, — intoxication, voluptuousness, and repentance ; and that 

 he who was temperate in his speech, moderate in his diet, 

 and innocent in his amusements, was a perfect man. 



The Vine, notwithstanding that its produce has been. 



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