pfaat T9ore, "beger^/, aa3. Tsijric/-. 575 



On the Eve of St. Jolm (June 23rd), Vervain was for a long time 

 associated with tlie observances of Midsummer Eve. Thus we 

 read in ' Ye Popish Kingdome : ' — 



"Then doth ye joyfull feast of John ye Baptist take his tume 

 When bonfires great with loftie flame in every towne doe burne, 

 And young men round about with niaides doe dance in every streete. 

 With garlands wrought of Mother-wort, or else with Vervain sweete." 



J. White, Minister of God's Word, writes in 1624: — " Many also 

 use to weare Vervein against blasts ; and when they gather it for 

 this purpose firste they crosse the herb with their hand, and then 

 they blesse it thus : — 



' Hallowed be thou, Vervein, 

 As thou growest on the ground, 

 For on the Mount of Calvary 

 There thou wast first found 

 Thou healedst our Saviour Jesus Christ, 

 And staunchedst his bleeding wound. 

 In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, 

 I take thee from the ground.' " 



In many rural districts, Vervain is still regarded as a plant possess- 

 ing magical virtues as a love philtre. It has the reputation 

 of securing afl'ecftion from those who take it to those who ad- 

 minister it. The gun-flint boiled in Vervain and Rue ensures the 

 shot taking eflfecft. The root of Vervain tied with a white satin 

 ribbon round the neck a(fts as a charm against ague. Vervain and 

 baked toads, worn in silken bags around the neck, are a cure for the 

 evil. In the northern provinces of France, the peasants still con- 

 tinue to gather Vervain under the different phases of the moon, 

 using certam mysterious ejaculations known only to themselves 

 whilst in the acfl of collecfting the mystic herb, by whose assistance 

 they hope to effecft cures, and charm both the flocks and the rustic 



beauties of the village. The Germans present a hat of Vervain 



to the newly-married bride, as though placing her under the pro- 



te(flion of Venus Vicftrix, the patroness of the plant. Gerarde 



tells us that in his time it was called " Holie Herbe, Juno's Teares, 

 Mercurie's Moist Bloude, and Pigeon's Grasse, or Columbine, 

 because Pigeons are delighted to be amongst it, as also to eate 



thereof." Astrologers place Vervain under the dominion of 



Venus. 



VINE. — The Vine was held by the ancients sacred to 

 Bacchus, and the old historians all connecft the jovial god with 

 the " life-giving tree " : he is crowned with Vine-leaves, and he 

 holds in his hand a bunch of Grapes, whilst his merry followers 

 are decked with garlands of the trailing Vine, and love to 

 quaff with their master the divine juice of its luscious violet and 

 golden fruit, styled by Anacreon " the liquor of Bacchus." The 

 old heathen writers all paid honour to the \'ine, and attributed to 

 the earliest deified sovereigns of each country the gift of this am- 

 brosial tree. Thus Saturn is said to have bestowed it upon Crete ; 



