THE FOXGLOVE. 243 



Fuchius's glove, Fuch's glove, corrupted into fox- 

 glove. It so happens, however, that the English 

 name of folk's-glove, the proper designation, exists 

 in a list of plants, as old as the time of Edward 

 III., while Fuchs flourished in the sixteenth cen- 

 tury, and doubtless it was of far older date, modern 

 corruption alone having changed it into "foxglove." 

 The proper term of folk's-glove, i.e., glove of the 

 folks, fair-family, or fairies, or perhaps, even folk's- 

 love, refers to the many superstitions (commencing 

 with its being the sacred plant of the Druids, used 

 in their midsummer sacrifices) attached to this plant, 

 which the peasant declares to be a favourite lurk- 

 ing-place of the fairies, who, in the mythology of 

 South Wales, are said to occasion the snapping 

 sound made when children hold one end of the 

 digitalis bell, and strike the hand suddenly down 

 on the other end to hear the clap of fairy thunder, 

 with which the indignant little fairy is supposed 

 to make its escape from its injured retreat. 



In the south of Scotland, it is called "bloody- 

 fingers/' more northward, " deadnien's bells ;" while 

 in the neighbourhood of Greenland, it is called 

 "King's-ell-wand, or, " King Edward's-ell-wand," 

 probably in allusion to some legend or tradition. 

 Amongst the Flemish colonists of Wales, it is known 

 as " fairy -folkVfmgers/' or, " lamb's-tongue leaves ;" 

 amongst the Welsh themselves, it bears the several 

 names of elves-gloves (menyg.ellyllori), red-fingers 



then prevalent throughout Europe. Botanists have con- 

 founded cause and effect 



M 2 



