P^ant bore, bege?^/, ami, bijnc/'. 461 



desirous of poisoning the Danes, treacherously took the oppor- 

 tunity, during a period of truce, to mix the poisonous Nightshade 

 with the beer with which they had agreed to supply them. Thus 

 stupefied, Sweno's army slept soundly, and the Scots, falling upon 



their enemies, destroyed them in their helplessness. According 



to Gassendi, a shepherd in Provence produced visions and pro- 

 phesied, through the use of Deadly Nightshade. The Nightshade 



{Solamtm Dulcamara) has poisonous red berries ; but the root and 



leaves have been applied to several medicinal uses. The Vale 



of Furness, Lancashire, is still known by the name of Valley of 

 Nightshade, on account of the plant being exceedingly plentiful 

 there. Sprigs of Nightshade appeared on the ancient seals of the 

 Abbey. 



NIMBU. — The Nimbu {Melia Azedarach) is a native of the 

 warm parts of Asia, and bears a variety of names in different 

 countries, such as the Holy Tree, Pride of India, Bead Tree (in 

 allusion to the seeds being strung for chaplets) Persian Lilac, and 

 Hill Margosa. Bishop Heber saw it in India, and states that the 

 natives have a profound reverence for the tree, which they believe 

 has the power to ward ofT witchcraft and the Evil Eye. 



NIPA PALM.— The Nipa, or Susa {Nipa fynticans), is the 

 sacred tree of Borneo, and is the most valuable of all growing things 

 to the Dyaks of that country. The seeds, it is recorded, lie dor- 

 mant in the fruit several years before germination, when the fruit 

 becomes detached from the plant and is floated off by the tide to 

 establish itself on some other mudbank. This plant only grows 

 where fever and Mangroves flourish. 



None-so-Pretty, or Nancy-Pretty. — See London Pride. 



Nosebleed. — See Yarrow. 



NUTMEGS.— In the Middle Ages, a curious belief existed 

 that Nutmegs, Cloves, Cinnamon, and Ginger all grew on the same 

 tree. The strength of the Nutmeg in the season is said so to over- 

 come the birds of Paradise, that they fall helplessly intoxicated. 



To dream of Nutmegs is stated to be a sign of many impending 

 changes. 



NUTS. — When the Scandinavian god Loki, transformed into 

 a falcon, rescued Idhunn, the goddess of youthful life, from the 

 power of the Frost-giants, it was in the shape of a Hazel-nut that 



he carried her off in his beak. The Hazel was sacred to Thor, 



and was in olden times regarded as an adfual embodiment of light- 

 ning : hence it possessed great virtue as a promoter of fruitfulness, 

 and Hazel-nuts became a favourite medium in divinations relating 



to love and marriage. In old Rome, Nuts were scattered at 



marriages, as they are now in Italy and in Altmark. In West- 

 phalia and other parts of Germany, a few Nuts are mixed with the 

 seed-corn to act as a charm in making it prolific. In Hertford- 



