532 pFant "bore, "begcT^/, anil Iscjrlc/. 



the juice of Rue, these will not hurt him, and that the serpent is 

 driven away at the smell thereof when it is burned : insomuch that 

 when the weasell is to fight with the serpent, shee armeth her selfe 



by eating Rue, against the might of the serpent." The famous 



counter-poison of Mithridates, King of Pontus, was composed of 

 twenty leaves of Rue, two Figs, two Walnuts, twenty Juniper- 

 berries, and a little salt. Rue entered into the composition of the 

 once noted " vinegar of the four thieves." It is said that four 

 thieves, during the Plague of Marseilles, invented this anti-pesti- 

 lential vinegar, by means of which they entered infected houses 

 without danger, and stole all property worth removing. Piperno, 

 a Neapolitan physician, in 1625, recommended Rue as a specific 

 against epilepsy and vertigo : it sufficed for the patient to suspend 

 some round his neck, renouncing at the time, in a stated formula, 

 the devil and all his works, and invoking the Lord Jesus. This 

 same docftor advocated the emplo5'ment of Rue to cure dumbness 



caused by enchantment. In England, Rue was thought to be 



efficacious in the ^cure of madness. Drayton gives the magic 

 potion : — 



" Then sprinkled she the juice of Rue 

 With nine drops of the midnight dew 

 From Lunarie distilling.'' 



In combination with Euphrasy, the herb appears to have been 

 considered potent as an eye lotion. 



" Then purged with Euphrasy and Rue 

 The visual nerve, for he had much to see. — Milton. 



In olden times, there was a tradition that Rue always throve best 

 when stolen from a neighbour's garden ; and it was popularly 

 believed that the gun-flint boiled in Vervain and Rue ensured the 



shot taking effect. In Venice, Rue is kept as a charm in a 



house, to maintain its good fortune ; but it is reserved for the 

 single members of the family ; with it goes the luck of the house. 

 When a plant cannot be procured, care is taken that at least a 



sprig is worn by some one between the stocking and leg. In 



some parts of Italy, Rue is considered to be a protecftion against 



the Evil Ej-e and witchcraft. In the Tyrol, anyone bearing a 



bundle of herbs, comprising Rue, Broom, Maiden-hair, Agrimony, 



and Ground Ivy, is enabled to see witches. Astrologers claim 



Rue as a herb of the Sun, under Leo. 



RUSH. — The sea-nymph Galatea was devotedly attached to 

 Acis, a young shepherd of Sicily, who warmly returned her affec- 

 tion. Unfortunately Galatea was passionately loved by the Cyclops 

 Polyphemus, whom she treated with the greatest disdain. One 

 day the Cyclops surprised the lovers who fled from his jealous 

 wrath. The giant, however, hurled a mass of broken rock after 

 Acis, and a fragment striking him, he was crushed to death. 

 Galatea, inconsolable for the loss of her lover, determined to change 



