544 pfant lS)ore, Tsege'f^b/, and, TSLjric/. 



the superstitious Scandinavian and German peasantry the Sorb 

 is esteemed a magical tree, typical of fecundity and generation ; it 

 is also regarded as a funereal tree, and Mannhardt relates an Ice- 

 landic legend, according to which the Sorb sprang from the bodies 

 of two young men, who, although quite innocent, had been con- 

 demned to death. 



SESAME.— It is from the delightful story of 'The Forty 

 Thieves,' in the ' Arabian Nights' Entertainment,' that most Eng- 

 lish people have become acquainted with the Sesame — the wondrous 

 plant that at the command of Ali Baba — " Open, Sesame ! " — 

 gained him an entrance to the secret treasure-cave. In this capa- 

 city of opening the doors of caverns, &c., the Sesamum-flower 

 resembles the Springwort, and, like that mystic plant, would 

 seem to be an embodiment of lightning, if we may judge from 



its Indian name of Vajrapushpa, Thunderbolt-flower. Gerarde, 



in his ' Herbal,' speaks of it as "the oily pulse called Sesamum" 

 (or Sesama), and says " it is one of the summer grains, and is sown 



before the rising of the seven stars, as Pliny writeth." The plant 



is a native of the East Indies, and the Hindus say that it was 

 created by Yama, the god of death, after a lengthy penance. They 

 employ it specially in funeral and expiatory ceremonies as a purifi- 

 cator and as a symbol of immortality. In their funeral rites in 

 honour of the departed, they pour Sesame grain into the three 

 sacrificial vases, wherein the sacred Kusa and the holy oil have 

 already been placed, the while invoking the pulse as " the Sesame 

 consecrated to the god Soma." At the annual festival in honour of 

 the childless god Bhishma, the four Indian castes pray for the de- 

 parted god, and by this acfl of piety procure for themselves abso- 

 lution for all sins committed during the past year, provided that, at 

 the conclusion of the ceremony, an offering is made of water, 

 Sesame, and Rice. Sesame, with Rice and honey, enters into the 

 composition of certain funeral cakes offered to the Manes in the 

 ceremonies, but eaten bythe persons present. The Indian funeral 

 offering, made at six different periods, is called " the offering of six 

 Sesames," and if this is faithfully made, the natives hope to be 

 delivered from misfortune on earth and to be rewarded with a place 

 in the heaven of Indra. At an Indian funeral, when the corpse has 

 been burnt, the devotees bathe in a neighbouring river, and leave 

 on its banks two handfuls of Sesame, as nourishment for the soul 

 of the departed whilst on its funeral journey, and as a symbol of 

 the eternal life offered to the deceased. 



SHAMROCK.— The word Shamrock (which means Little 

 Trefoil) is from the Erse seamrog, a diminutive of seamar, Trefoil. 

 The shamrock, or Trefoil, in heraldry, is the badge of the king- 

 dom of Ireland, and St. Patrick, the patron saint of that isle, 

 is represented in the habit of a bishop, holding a Trefoil — St. 

 Patrick's Cross, as it is called by Irishmen. It is said that St. 



