pfant T^ore, "Isec^zribf, and Tsqric/'. 505 



petal or flower-leaf of the Poppy, which, on being struck with the 

 other hand, was broken with a sharp sound : this denoted true 

 attachment ; but if the leaf failed to snap, unfaithfulness. From 

 Greece, this usage passed to Rome, and finally to modern Italy, 

 where, as well as in Switzerland, it is still extant. 



" By a prophetic Poppy leaf I found 



^'our changed affection, for it gave no sound, 



Though in my hand struck hollow as it lay. 



But quickly withered like your love away.'' — Theocritus. 



A superstitious belief exists that the red Poppies which followed 

 the ploughing of the field of Waterloo after Wellington's vi(ftory 

 sprang from the blood of the troops who fell during the battle. 



Accordmg to a Bengali legend, the origin of Opium was as 



follows: — There once lived on the banks of the holy river Ganga a 

 Rishi, or sage, in whose hut, made of Palm-leaves, there was a 

 mouse, which became a favourite with the seer, and was endowed by 

 him with the gift of speech. After awhile, the mouse, having been 

 frightened by a cat, at his earnest solicitation, was changed by the 

 Rishi into a cat ; then, alarmed by dogs, into a dog ; then into an 

 ape ; then into a boar ; then into an elephant ; and finally, being 

 still discontented with its lot, into a beautiful maiden, to whom the 

 holy sage gave the name of Postomani, or the Poppy-seed lady. 

 One day, whilst tending her plants, the king approached the Rishi's 

 cottage, and was invited to rest and refresh himself by Postomani, 

 who offered him some delicious fruit. The King, however, struck 

 by the girl's beauty, refused to eat until she had told him her 

 parentage. Postomani, to deceive the king, told him she was a 

 princess whom the Rishi had found in the woods and had brought 

 up. The upshot was that the king made love to the girl, and they 

 were married by the holy sage. She was treated as the favourite 

 queen, and was very happy ; but one day, whilst standing by a 

 well, she turned giddy, fell into the water, and died. The Rishi 

 then appeared before the king, and begged him not to give way to 

 consuming grief, assuring him that the late queen was not of royal 

 blood. Said he : " She was born a mouse, and, according to her own 

 wish, I changed her successively into a cat, a dog, a boar, an elephant, 

 and a lovely girl. Let her body remain in the well ; fill up the well 

 with earth. Out of her flesh and bones will grow a tree, which 

 shall be called after her Posto, that is, the Poppy-tree. From this 

 tree will be obtained a drug called Opium, which will be celebrated 

 through all ages, and which will be either swallowed or smoked as 

 a wondrous narcotic till the end of time. The Opium swallower 

 or smoker will have one quality of each of the animals to which 

 Postomani was transformed. He will be mischievous like a mouse, 

 fond of milk like a cat, quarrelsome like a dog, filthy like an ape, 



savage like a boar, and high-tempered like a queen. According 



to astrologers, the Poppy is a flower of the Moon. 



