112 THE GLORY OF THE GARDEN 



From the Scandinavian god Thor he obtains his 

 red beard and his pitchfork, and probably he gets 

 his name of " Old Nick " from his appearing as a 

 water-imp, or " Nix." 



The Mandrake is a gruesome herb, and is a dweller 

 in the dark places of the earth. Legend says that 

 it thrives under the shadow of the gallows, being 

 nourished by the exhalations or flesh of the criminals 

 executed on the gibbet. 



Old writers tell us that the mandrake has the 

 power of uttering sounds, and that when it is pulled 

 out of the ground it shrieks and groans, and so 

 terrible are these cries that few may hear them 

 and live. Shakespeare speaks of them thus : 



" Would curses kill, as doth the Mandrake's groans, 

 I would invent as bitter-searching terms, 

 As curst, and harsh, and horrible to hear." 



And Moore relates in verse another tradition: 



" The phantom shapes — oh touch them not — 

 That appal the maiden's sight, 

 Lurk in the fleshy Mandrake's stem 

 That shrieks when plucked at night." 



Shakespeare tells us again of these screams and 

 their effects: 



" And shrieks like Mandrakes, torn out of the earth, 

 That living mortals, hearing them, ran mad." 



The only way to guard against these dangers, 

 therefore, was to remove the surrounding soil 

 and harness a dog to the plant and let him drag 

 it out. The unfortunate animal immediately died, 

 but the root, when obtained, will act as a familiar 

 spirit to its owner. 



