BAY. 109 



reside so much at his favourite villa, near 

 Laurentium. 



Theophrastus tells us, that superstitious 

 people would keep a bay-leaf in their mouths 

 all day, to preserve themselves from any mis- 

 fortune or pollution. The ancients also at- 

 tributed to the laurus the property of pre- 

 serving the corn from mildew. 



Amongst the other wonders related of the 

 bay, its decay was said to be ominous of some 

 fatal accident. Suetonius (in Galba) affirms, 

 that all the bay-trees withered to the very 

 roots in the winter, though it was very mild, 

 which preceded the death of Nero. This ac- 

 cident could only have been deemed fatal to 

 the monster and his creatures ! 



Evelyn tells us, that in 1629, preceding a 

 great pestilence at Padua, almost all the bay- 

 trees about that famous university grew sick and 

 perished ; upon which it was said that Apollo 

 and the muses were about to desert that city. 



We cannot pass this tree in the shrubbery 

 without having our recollection roused by the 

 remembrance of some anecdote connected with 

 ancient history. When under the shade of 

 the bay-tree we almost fancy ourselves in the 

 first temple which was raised to Apollo at 

 Delphi ; for this temple was formed entirely 

 of the branches of this tree, which were 



