THE VALUED VERVAIN 111 



vayne agaynst witchcraft much avayling " ; a plant 

 held in reverential regard. An outward application 

 of the juice of the plant to the hands ensured, it 

 was believed, the possession of one's heart's desire, 

 gained the affections of all whose love was sought, 

 turned aside the malice of one's enemies, healed all 

 diseases. To gather a plant of such inestimable 

 worth it was necessary that neither sun nor moon 

 should be shining upon it at the time, and as atone- 

 ment for the robbing of the earth of such a treasure 

 an offering of honey was poured on the ground. 

 The Greeks and Romans purified their temples by 

 sprinkling water in their midst by means of 

 bunches of vervain, * and ambassadors and heralds 

 wore a crown of it on great occasions. Pliny tells 

 us that the Druids, too, of Gaul and Britain held 

 the plant in great veneration. To descend to more 

 mundane considerations, we are told that " if the 

 dining roome be sprinckled with water in whiche 

 the herbe hath beene steeped the guests will be 

 the merrier" a receipt for good-fellowship as old 

 as Dioscorides. 



The vervain throughout the Middle Ages main- 

 tained its reputation as a medicinal herb. Gerard, 



1 u Lift your boughs of vervain blue, 



Dipt in cold September dew ; 

 And dash the moisture, chaste and clear, 

 O'er the ground, and through the air ; 

 Now the place is purged and pure." 



MASON. 



