MAGICAL PLANTS 93 



But on the other hand: 



" How Egypt, mad with superstition grown, 



Makes gods of monsters, but too well is known ; 

 'Tis mortal sin an Onion to devour; 



Each clove of Garlic has a sacred power. 

 Religious nation, sure and blessed abodes. 

 Where every garden is overrun with gods." 



l^he St. John^s Wort (called of old Fuga dcemo- 

 num) is a preservative against tempests, thunder, 

 and evil spirits, and possesses many magical pro- 

 perties. 



The Peony drives away tempests and dispels 

 enchantments. 



The Four-leaved Clover is a thoroughly magical 

 plant, and he who carries it on his person will be 

 successful in any undertaking, and will have the 

 power of detecting the presence, or even the ap- 

 proach, of evil spirits. 



In mediaeval days, when sorcery flourished, it was 

 thought that fern-seed imparted to its owner the 

 power of resisting magical spells and incantations. 



The ancients believed that the fern had no seeds, 

 but our ancestors thought it had seed which was 

 invisible. So, working on the fantastic doctrine 

 of signatures, they concluded that those who 

 possessed the secret of wearing this seed about 

 them would therefore become invisible. Thus in 

 " Henry IV." Gadshill says: " We have the receipt 

 of fern-seed, we walk invisible." 



The old English tradition is that the fern flowers 

 and seeds only at 12 o'clock on Midsummer night 

 (St. John's Eve), just at the precise moment at 

 which the saint was born; so at that time it must 



