THE FENNEL. 109 



which he thus translates : 



" Of fennell, roses, veruain, rue, and celandine, 

 Is made a water good to cleere the eine." 



This was a very prevalent belief of old, when it 

 was even supposed that the knowledge of its efficacy 

 in cases of blindness extended to the serpent tribe, 

 who were said to eat it in order to restore their 

 sight ; as is asserted in the following list of the vir- 

 tues of the fennel, extracted from the "Stockholm 

 Manuscript :" 



" As sayth Mayster Macrobius, 

 Fenel is erbe precyows, 

 In somer he growyth hey [high] et grene, 

 And beryth his sed, semly to sene, 

 It is no nede hym to dis-crye [describe] 

 Iche man hy knowyth at eye, 

 Good is his sed, so is his rote 

 And to many thyngys bote ; [useful*] 

 Ye sed is good fastende to ete, 

 And ek in dragef after mete 



Ageyn wyckid huores [? humours] et bolyng [swellings] 

 Ageyn wyckid wynd et many oyer thyng ; 

 Water of fenel to a plyth [apply] 

 Is wonder holsu [wholesome] for he syth ; [sight] 

 Medeled [mingled] wt. water of roset 

 Half in aporcin [in equal quantities] nothyng bet. [better] 

 Fenel in pottage et in mete 

 Is good to done, whane yu schalt ete 

 All grene, loke it be corwy [cut, e.g., "cow," Scotch] small 

 In what mete yu usyn schall, 

 In what drynk yu use it sekyrly 

 It is good for ye pose et sucke. 



* As in bootless (boteless) useless. 



t Dreg, Scotch, very small quantity of liquid, " Archaeo- 

 logia." 



