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Spanish ; Perejil 
Illyrian Petrussin 
German Petersilie 
Danish Persilie 
French Persil 
Welsh Perllys * 
English Parsley 
may be all freely translated as “Peters” Moon Plant, &c. 
The connection of the name of Peter with it, is suggestive of 
the policy, by which the established prejudices of the rude 
people amongst whom Christianity was first introduced were 
met and modified, in the transference of objects of reverential 
4 regard from the tutelage of long honoured Pagan divinities to 
that of Christian Saints. 
As St. Peter, in his character of door keeper of Paradise, 
and receiver of souls, must naturally have been regarded as the 
successor of Charon, and the offering of pence is still made to 
_ him in the same manner and with the same object as was that 
_ of the Obolus to his gloomy prototype, it is not altogether 
_ strange, that the plant under consideration, evidently consecra- 
_ ted to some of the deities who presided over the death of 
mankind, should have been assigned with others of their 
attributes, to him. 
I am imformed by Greek, Illyrian, and Dalmatian friends 
that this superstition exists in their respective countries in as 
great force, and as commonly as in the Vale of Gloucester. 
The other instance to which I referred was the following: 
Some men were employed in removing an old hedgerow, 
partially formed of Elder trees. They had bound up all the 
_ other wood into faggots for burning, but had set apart the 
_ Elder, and enquired of their master how it was to be disposed 
_ of. Upon his saying that he should, of course, burn it with 
the rest, and ordering it to be faggoted, one of the men said 
_ with an air of undisguised alarm, “that he never heard of such 
_a thing as burning Ellan Wood ;” and, in fact, so strongly did 
**“ Per” a diminutive of Peter, as in Perkin.—“ Llys,’”’ a plant, herb. 
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