330 pPant bore, bcgef^t)/, anel bijnc/. 



them to cast their old skin, and by its use they recover their sight 

 if it becomes dim. Gerarde says, that the seed "drunke for cer- 

 taine daies together, fasting, preserveth the eyesight, whereof was 

 written this distichon following: — 



" Fivnicubim, Rosa, Verbena, Chelidonia, Ruta, 

 Ex his fit aqua qtun lumina reddit acuta. 



" Of Fennell, Roses, Vervain, Rue, and Celandine, 

 Is made a water, good to cheere the sight of eine." 



The ancients believed that the use of Fennel gave strength to the 

 constitution, and made fat people grow lean. The roots of Fennel, 

 pounded with honey, were considered a remedy for the bites of 



mad dogs. Fennel is one of the numerous plants dedicated 



to St. John, and was formerly hung over doors and windows on 

 his vigil. Astrologers state it is a herb of Mercury under Virgo. 



FERN. — Among Celtic and Germanic nations the Fern was 

 formerly considered a sacred and auspicious plant. Its luck-bringing 

 power was not confined to one species, but belonged to the tribe in 

 general, dwelling, however, in the fullest perfe(5tion in the seed, the 

 possessor of which could wish what he would, and the Devil would 

 be obliged to bring it to him. In Swabia, they say that Fern-seed 

 broucrht by the Devil between eleven and twelve on Christmas 

 night enables a man to do as much work as twenty or thirty 

 ordinary men. 



In mediaeval days, when sorcery flourished, it was thought 

 the Fern-seed imparted to its owner the power of resisting magical 

 charms and incantations. The ancients believed that the Fern 

 had no seeds, but our ancestors thought it had seed which was 

 invisible. Hence, after the fantastic dodtrine of signatures, they 

 concluded that those who possessed the secret of wearing this seed 

 about them would become invisible. Thus, we find that, in 

 Shakspeare's ' Henry IV.,' Gadshill says : " We steal as in a 

 castle, cock-sure : we have the receipt of Fern-seed, we walk in- 

 visible." 



The people of Westphalia are wont to relate how one of their 

 countrymen chanced one Midsummer night to be looking for a foal 

 he had lost, and passing through a meadow just as the Fern-seed 

 was ripening, some of it fell into his shoes. In the morning he went 

 home, walked into the sitting-room, and sat down, but thought it 

 strange that neither his wife, nor indeed any of his family, took the 

 slightest notice of him. " I have not found the foal," said he. 

 Everybody in the room started and gazed around with scared looks, 

 for they had heard the man's voice, but saw no one. Thinking that 

 he was joking, and had hid himself, his wife called him by his 

 name. Thereupon he stood up, planted himself in the middle of 

 the floor, and said, " Why do you call me ? Here I am right before 

 you." Then they were more frightened than ever, for they had 

 heard him stand up and walk, and still they could not see him. 



