286 OfanC "bore, "begel^L)/, cmS. "bijrio/, 



lepers, Dr. Prior thinks, would get the name of Rattle-pouches, 

 and this be extended to the plant, in allusion to the little purses 

 which it hangs out by the wayside. The plant was also known by 

 the names of Poor Man's Parmacetie, and St. James's Weed — 

 the former in allusion to its medicinal virtues. (See Shepherd's 

 Purse). It is considered a herb of Saturn. 



CLEMATIS. — The Clematis vitalba, Gerarde informs us, was 

 called Travellers' Joy, " as decking and adorning waies and hedges 

 when people travell." It was also termed " Old Man's Beard," 

 from the hoary appearance of its seeds ; and Virgin's Bower, out 

 of compliment to Queen Elizabeth, and in allusion to its climbing 

 habits. It became the emblem of Artifice because beggars, in order 

 to excite compassion, were in the habit of making false ulcers in 



their flesh by means of its twigs, the result often being a real sore. 



The Clematis flammtila, or upright Virgin's Bower, is an acrid plant, 

 that inflames the skin. Miller says of it that if one leafbe cropped in 

 a hot day in the summer season, and bruised, and presently put to 



the nostrils, it will cause a smell and pain like a flame. Clematis 



integrifolia, or Hungarian Climber, is known in Little Russia as 

 Tziganka (the Gipsy Plant). Prof. De Gubernatis has given in 

 his Mythologie des Plantes the following legend connecfted with this 

 plant : — The Cossacks were once at war with the Tartars. The 

 latter having obtained the advantage, the Cossacks commenced to 

 retreat. The Cossack hetman, indignant at the sight, struck his 

 forehead with the handle of his lance. Instantly there arose a tem- 

 pest, which whirled away the Cossack traitors and fugitives into 

 the air, pounded them into a thousand fragments, and mingled 

 their dust with the earth of the Tartars. From that earth 

 springs the plant Tziganka. But the souls of the Cossacks, tor- 

 mented by the thought of their bones being mixed with the 

 the accursed earth of the stranger, prayed to God that he would 

 vouchsafe to disseminate it in the Ukraine, where the maidens 

 were wont to pluck Clematis integrifolia to weave into garlands. 

 God hearkened to their Christian prayers, and granted their pat- 

 riotic desires. It is an old belief in Little Russia that if every- 

 body would suspend Briony from his waistbelt behind, these unfor- 

 tunate Cossacks would come to life again. 



CLOVE. — The aromatic Clove-tree {Caryophyllatus aromaticus) 

 is a native of the Moluccas, where its cultivation is carefully 

 guarded by the Dutch. The islanders wear its white flowers as a 

 mark of distincftion. These flowers grow in bunches at the end of 

 the branches, and are succeeded by oval berries, which are crowned 

 with the calyx. It is these berries, beaten from the trees before 

 they are half grown, and allowed to dry in the sun, which are 

 the Cloves of commerce. The Clove is considered to be one of 

 the hottest and most acrid of aromatics; its pungent oil (which is 

 specifically heavier than water) has been administered in paralytic 



