At the foot of the hill, fed by the dew and rains that trickled down 

 its sides, ran a stream of pure water, which formed the ordinary 

 beverage of the villagers, who generally lived till they had attained 

 an age varying from a hundred to a hundred and thirty years. 

 Thus the people ascribe to the Motherwort the property of pro- 

 longing life. At the Court of the Cairi, the ecclesiastical potentate 

 of Japan, it is a favourite amusement to drink zakJd, a kind of 

 strong beer prepared from Motherwort-flowers. The Japanese 

 have five grand festivals in the course of the year. The last, which 

 takes place on the 9th of the 9th month, is called the Festival of 

 Motherwort ; and the month itself is named Kikousouki, or month 

 of Motherwort-flowers. It was formerly the custom to gather 

 these flowers as soon as they had opened, and to mix them with 

 boiled rice, from which they prepared the zakki used in celebrating 

 the festival. In the houses of the common people, instead of this 

 beverage, you find a branch of the flowers fastened with a string 

 to a pitcher full of common zakki, which implies that they wish 

 one another a long life. The origin of this festival is as follows : — 

 An emperor of China who succeeded to the throne at seven years of 

 age, was disturbed by a predicTtion that he would die before he 

 attained the age of fifteen. An immortal having brought to him, 

 from Nanyo-no-rekken, a present of some Motherwort-flowers, he 

 caused zakki to be made from them, which he drank every day, and 

 lived upwards of seventy years. This immortal had been in his 

 youth in the service of the Emperor, under the name of Zido. 

 Being banished for some misdemeanour, he took up his residence 

 in the valley before mentioned, drinking nothing but the water 

 impregnated with these flowers, and lived to the age of three 

 hundred years, wlience he obtained the name of Sien-nin-foso. 



MOUSE-EAR. — The plant now known as Forget-me-not, 

 was formerly called Mouse-Ear, from its small, soft, oval leaves. 

 It is called Herba Clavoruvi, because, according to tradition, it hinders 

 the smith from hurting horses when he is shoeing them. 



MULBERRY.— According to tradition, the fruit of the Mul- 

 berry-tree was originally white, but became empurpled by human 

 blood. Referring to the introduction of the Mulberry by the 

 Greeks, Rapin writes : — 



" Hence Pyramus and Thisbe's mingled blood 

 On Mulberries their purple dye bestowed. 

 In Babylon the tale was told to prove 

 The fatal error of forbidden love." 



This tale of forbidden love is narrated at length by Ovid : Pyramus, 

 a youth of Babylon, and his neighbour, Thisbe, became mutually 

 enamoured, but were prohibited by their parents from marrying ; 

 they therefore agreed to meet at the tomb of Ninus, under a white 

 Mulberry-tree. Thisbe reached the trysting-place first, but was 

 compelled to seek safety in a cave, owing to the arrival of a lioness, 



