pPant bore, bcgent)/, oincl bLjric/, 527 



" comforter of the brain," and a strengthener of the memory. In 

 England, Rosemary worn about the body is said to strengthen the 

 memory, and to afford successful assistance to the wearer in any- 

 thing he may undertake. In an ancient Italian recipe, the 



flowers of Rosemary, Rue, Sage, Marjoram, Fennel, Quince, &c., 

 are recommended for the preservation of youth. Iji Bologna, there 

 is an old belief that the flowers of Rosemary, if placed in contacft 

 with the skin, and especially, with the heart, give gaiety and 

 sprightliness. Spirit of wine distilled from Rosemary produces the 

 true Hungary water. By many persons Rosemary is used as tea 



for headaches and nervous disorders. An Italian legend, given 



in the Mythologie des Plantes, tells that a certain queen, who was 

 childless, one day, whilst walking in the palace gardens, was 

 troubled with a feeling of envy whilst contemplating a vigorous 

 Rosemary-bush, because of its numerous branches and offshoots. 

 Strange to relate, she afterwards gave birth to a Rosemary-bush, 

 which she planted in a pot and carefully supplied with milk four 

 times a day. The king of Spain, nephew of the queen, having 

 stolen this pot of Rosemary, sustained it with goat's milk. One day, 

 whilst playing on the flute, he saw to his astonishment a beautiful 

 princess emerge from the Rosemary-bush. Captivated by her beauty, 

 he fell desperately in love with this strange visitor ; but being obliged 

 to depart to fight for his country, he commended the Rosemary-bush 

 to the special care of his head gardener. In his absence, his sisters 

 one day amused themselves by playing on the king's flute, and 

 forthwith the beautiful princess emerged once more from the 

 Rosemary. The king's sisters, tormented by jealousy, struck her; 

 the princess forthwith vanished, the Rosemary began to droop, and 

 the gardener, afraid of the king's wrath, fled into the woods. At 

 the midnight hour, he heard a dragon talking to its mate, and 

 telling her the story of the mystic Rosemary-bush. The dragon 

 let fall the facft, that if the Rosemary was to be restored, it could 

 only be by being fed or sprinkled with dragons' blood : no sooner 

 did the gardener hear this, than he fell upon the male and female 

 dragons, slew them, and carrying off some of their blood, applied 

 it to the roots of the king's Rosemary. So the spell was broken: 

 the king returned, and soon after married the charming Princess 



Rosa Marina. A curious charm, or dream-divination, is still 



extant in which Rosemary plays an important part ; the mode of 

 procedure is as follows: — On the eve of St. Magdalen, three maidens, 

 under the age of twenty-one, are to assemble in an upper room, 

 and between them prepare a potion, consisting of wine, rum, gin, 

 vinegar, and water, in a ground-glass vessel. Into this each maid 

 is then to dip a sprig of Rosemary, and fasten it in her bosom ; 

 and after taking three sips of the potion, the three m^ids are silently 

 to go to sleep in the same bed. As a result, the dreams of each 

 will reveal their destiny. Another elaborate spell for effecfling the 

 same result on the first of July, consists in the gathering of a sprig 



