^62 pfaat "bore, "begelib/, anil "ISLjrlc/. 



is shown the Terebinth of Jacob, near which Joshua raised an altar. 

 The angel appeared to Gideon to encourage him to engage in battle 

 near a Terebinth-tree at Ophra, and on this spot, after the vi(5tory, 

 Gideon raised an altar. The Jews, by preference, bury their dead 

 beneath the shadow of a Terebinth. 



THISTLE. — The Thistle {Cardims), in the first days of man, 

 was sent by the Almighty as a portion of the curse passed upon 

 him when he was made a tiller of the soil. God said, " Thorns 

 and Thistles shall it bring forth to thee (Gen. iv.). One species, 

 the Milk Thistle {Carduus Mariaims), is distinguishable by the milky 

 veins of its leaves, which were supposed to have derived their 

 peculiar colour from the milk of the Virgin Mary having fallen 

 upon them. This is sometimes called the Scotch Thistle, but it is 

 not so : it grows on the rocky cliffs near Dumbarton Castle, where, 

 if tradition be true, it was originally planted by the unfortunate 

 Mary, Queen of Scots. The Thistle of Scotland is believed to be 

 the Onopordmn Acanthium, the Cotton Thistle, which grows by the 

 highways : this is the national insignia, and its flower-cup and 

 bristling leaves accord well with the motto, ''■Nemo vie imptme lacessit." 

 Tradition says that the Thistle, with the motto rendered in homely 

 Scotch, " Wha daur meddle wi' me ? " was adopted as the symbol of 

 Scotland from the following circumstance : — A party of invading 

 Danes attempted to surprise the Scotch army by night. Under 

 cover of darkness, they approached the slumbering camp, but one 

 of them trod upon a prickly Thistle, and his involuntary cry of 

 pain roused some of the Scots, who flew to arms, and chased the 

 foe from the field. The Onicus acaitlis, or stemless Thistle, is by 

 some considered to be the true Scotch Thistle, as it accords best 

 with the legend of the defeated Norsemen, and is, besides, the 

 Thistle seen in the gold bonnet-piece of James V. Carduus acan- 

 thoides and C. nutans are by others supposed to be the 



" Proud Thistle, emblem dear to Scotland's sons, 

 Begirt with threatening points, strong in defence, 

 Unwilling to assault." 



The Thistle has given its title to a Scotch order of knighthood, 

 which is said to have been instituted by Achaius, king of the 

 Scots, when he obtained a vi(5tory over Athelstan. The insignia 

 borne by the knights of the Order of the Thistle is a gold collar, 

 with Thistles and a sprig of Rue interlaced. A gold medal is also 



worn, bearing a figure of St. Andrew. Mannhardt states that 



in Mecklenburg there is a legend current which relates that in a 

 certain wild and barren spot, where once a murder had been com- 

 mitted, there grows every day at noon a strangely-formed Thistle : 

 on the weird plant are to be seen human arms, hands, and heads, 

 and when twelve heads have appeared, the ghastly plant myste- 

 riously vanishes. A shepherd, one day, passed the spot where the 

 mystic Thistle was growing. His staff became tinder, and his 



