176 The Dragon-fly. 



ing on the briars which there grow in profusion. 

 Some of these briars stretch forth into the meadow, 

 and then, bent down by their own weight, form an 

 arch crowned with flowers. There is an old super- 

 stition about these arches of briar hung out along the 

 hedgerow : magical cures of whooping cough and 

 some other diseases of childhood can, it is believed, 

 be effected by passing the child at sunrise under the 

 briar facing the rising sun. 



This had to be performed by the ' wise woman.' 

 There was one in every hamlet but a few years ago 

 and indeed here and there an aged woman retains 

 something like a reputation for witchcraft still. The 

 * wise woman ' conducted the child intrusted to her 

 care at the dawn to the hedge, where she knew there 

 was a briar growing in such a position that a person 

 could creep under it facing the east, and there, as the 

 sun rose, passed the child through. 



In the hollow just beneath the ha-ha wall, where 

 it is moist, grow tall rushes ; and here the great 

 dragon-fly darts to and fro so swiftl}* as to leave the 

 impression of a line of green drawn suddenly through 

 the air. Though travelling at such speed, he has the 

 power of stopping abruptly, and instantly afterwards 

 returns upon his path. These handsome insects are 

 often placed on mirrors as an ornament in farm- 

 houses. The laborers will have it that they sting 

 like the hornet ; but this they say also of manj- other 

 harmless creatures, seeming to have a general dis- 

 trust of the insect kind. They will tell you alarming 

 stories of terrible sufferings arms swollen to double 

 the natural size, necks inflamed, and so forth 

 caused by the bites of unknown flies. Not being 



