OUR POISONOUS PLANTS 67 



purple hue. In the place of the flowers " come forth 

 great round berries of the bignesse of the black chery, 

 green at the first, but when they be ripe of the colour 

 of black jet or burnished home, soft, and full of purple 

 juice." It is these tempting berries that are "so 

 furious and deadly." " To give you an example 

 hereof," says our good herbalist, " it shall not be 

 amisse : it came to passe that three boies of Wisbich 

 in the Isle of Ely did eate of the pleasant and beauti- 

 full fruit hereof, two whereof died in lesse than eight 

 hours after that they had eaten of them. The third 

 child had a quantitie of honey and water mixed together 

 given him to drinke, causing him to vomit after : God 

 blessed this meanes, & the child recovered. Banish 

 therefore," adds this wise " master in chirurgerie," 

 " these pernitious plants out of your gardens, and all 

 places neere to your houses where children do resort." 

 The dwale, or deadly nightshade, is probably " the 

 insane root" of Shakespeare, which " takes the reason 

 prisoner"; and it is supposed to be the plant which 

 occasioned such disastrous consequences to the Roman 

 troops when retreating from the Parthians, concerning 

 which Plutarch tells us that "those who sought for 

 roots and pot-herbs found few that they had been 

 accustomed to eat, and in tasting unknown herbs they 

 met with one that brought on madness and death. 

 He that had eaten of it immediately lost all memory 

 and knowledge; but at the same time would busy 

 himself in turning and moving every stone he met 

 with, as if he was upon some very important pursuit. 

 The camp was full of unhappy men bending to the 

 ground, and thus digging up and removing stones, till 

 at last they were carried off by a bilious vomiting, 

 when wine, the only remedy, was not to be had." It 



