Dfant Isore, Isege^/, an3. l^ijric/*, '^cy 



On this dark Grass rustic superstition avers that no sheep or lamb 

 will browse. Disregartiinf^ the poetical charm which lingers 

 around the fairy superstition, and oblivious of the poet's asse- 

 veration that — 



" Of old the merry elves were seen 

 Pacing witli printless feet the dewy green," 



some naturalists have ascribed the phenomenon of these rings to 

 lightning ; others to the work of ants ; and others, again, to the 

 growth of a small esculent Fungus called Agaricus Oycadcs. How- 

 ever, Edmund Jones, a celebrated preacher, of Monmouth, who in 

 1 813 wrote a book on apparitions, declares that in St. Matthew 

 xii., 43, is to be found an authority for the popular belief. He says, 

 " The fairy rings are found in dry places, and the Scripture saith 



that the walk of evil spirits is in dry places." In Sussex, elves 



and fairies are sometimes called " Pharisees " by the country folk, and 

 in Tarberry Hill, on Harting, are Pharisees' rings, where the simple 



people sa}' the Pharisees dance on Midsummer Eve. To dream 



of Grass is a good omen ; if the Grass be fresh and green, the dream 

 jiortends long life, good luck, and great wealth; but if withered and 

 decayed, misfortunes and sickness may be expe(fted, if not the death 

 of loved ones. To dream of cutting Grass betokens great troubles. 



GROUNDHEELE.— This plant, known in Germany as 

 Grundheil, and in France as Herbe aux Ladres, is identified by Do(5lor 

 Prior with Veronica officinalis, which he says was so called from its 

 having cured a king of France of a leprosy, from which he had 

 suffered some eight years — a disease, called in Germany, grind. 

 Quoting from Brunschwygk, our author tells us that a shepherd 

 had seen a stag, whose hind quarter was covered with a scabby 

 eruption from the bite of a wolf, cure itself by eating of this plant, 

 and rolling itself upon it ; and that thereupon he recommended the 

 king to try it. 



Ground-Ivy. — See Ivy. 



GROUNDSEL. — The Scnccio vulgaris is called, in Scotland, 

 Grundy Swallow, a term derived from the Anglo-Saxon word 

 grundstvelgc, ground glutton, and of which Groundsel is evidently a 

 corruption. Scnecio Saracenicus is said to have been used by the 

 Saracens in the cure of wounds. Common Groundsel has the 

 power of softening water if it be poured while boiling on the plant* 

 The Highland women often wear a piece of its root as an amulet 

 to guard them from the Evil Eye. A bunch of Groundsel worn 

 on the bare bosom was formerly reputed to be an efficacious 

 charm against the ague. Pliny prescribes Groundsel for the tooth- 

 ache. A root must be pulled up, and a portion of it cut off with 

 a sharp razor; then the Groundsel must be immediately replanted, 

 and the excised portion applied three or four times to the ailing 

 tooth. A cure is probable, says Pliny, provided the mutilated and 

 replanted Groundsel should thrive : if otherwise, the tooth will 



