THE PIMPERNEL. 



369 



it is. It grows plentifully in northern as well as 



southern climates, and the A. 



arvensis is a common weed 



in the valley of the Nile. Its 



botanical name is the same as 



the Greek avayaAAi?, which 



some pretend to interpret, 



the reviver of the spirits, in 



allusion to the medical and 



magical properties for which 



it was formerly so highly 



valued, but which seem now 



to be doubted. A record of 



them may, however, be traced 



in the Welsh Gwlydd Mair, 



" Mary's (the Virgin) gentle- 



ness/'which refers to her mercy, 



in bestowing it as a remedy 



for illness ; and in Gwrryw, 



signifying manliness, which 



alludes to the strength it was 



supposed to impart against 



evil spirits. 



The valuable "Stockholm 

 MS." so often quoted, thus de- 

 scribes the pimpernel family, and details the uses of 

 the little scarlet species figured in the woodcut : 



" Pypnielle a noble gres 

 Yt pinpernolle callyd is : 

 Of yis erbe arn spycis [species] iij* 



* It is difficult to tell to what plant the writer refers 

 under his description of the first. We have in Britain but 



B 3 



SCARLET PIMPERNEL. 

 Anagallis arvensis. 



