4 76 pPant bore, bege^/, onel bijnc/. 



and vexation. To dream of Olive-trees bearing Olives denotes 

 peace, delight, concord, liberty, dignity, and fruition of your 

 desires. To dream that you beat the Olives down is lucky for all 

 but servants. 



ONION.— By the ancient Egyptians the Onion was regarded 

 as a plant partaking of a sacred characfler and as a symbol of the 

 Universe. With them it was a common objedl: of worship, and 

 their veneration for this and other vegetable producfts is ridiculed 

 by the satirist Juvenal — 



" How Egypt, mad with superstition grown, 



Makes gods of monsters but too well is known : 



'Tis mortal sin an Onion to devour, 



Each clove of Garlic hath a sacred power ; 



Religious nation sure, and blest abodes, 



When every garden is o'errun with gods I " 



The Onions of Egypt, which were of large size and exquisite 

 flavour, were remembered with regretful longings by the discon- 

 tented Israelites in the wilderness ; and although the priests of 

 ancient Egypt were forbidden to partake of them, yet they were 

 admitted among the offerings placed on the altars of the gods. 



Mythologists relate that the goddess Latona, having, during 



an indisposition, lost her appetite, regained it by eating an Onion, 

 and thenceforth adopted this vegetable, which was accordingly 



consecrated to her. The disciples of Pythagoras abstained from 



eating Onions, ostensibly because they grew during the falling 

 moon, but probably because, like Beans, they were considered too 

 stimulating in their eflfecflis. Among the Greeks, it would seem that 

 the Onion was considered symbolic of generation, since we find 

 that at the nuptials of Iphicrates with the daughter of King Cotys, 

 he received, among other presents, a jar of snow, a jar of Lentils, 



and a jar of Onions. It is thought that, as with the Egyptians, 



or with the English Druids, the Onion was an emblem of the deity, 

 and to this day it is a custom in some parts of England for girls to 

 divine by it. Barnaby Googe, in ' Ye Popish Kingdome,' tells us : — 



•' In these same days young wanton gyrles that meet for marriage be 

 Doe search to know the names of them that shall their husbands be ; 

 Four Onyons, five, or eight they take, and make in every one 

 Such names as they do fancie most, and best to think upon. 

 Then nere the chimney them they set, and that same Onyon then 

 That firste doth sproute doth surely bear the name of their good man." 



In olden times, country lasses used to resort to a method of divi- 

 nation with an Onion named after St. Thomas : this they peeled 

 and wrapped in a clean kerchief; then, placing it under their heads, 

 they repeated the following lines : — 



" Good St. Thomas, do me right, 

 And let my true-love come to-night, 

 That I may see him in the face, 

 And him in my fond arms embrace.'* 



