146 THE SWALLOW 



Swallowwort, in the far-away and ignorant 

 times of which we are learning, was believed 

 to have the same healing power as the swal- 

 low stone. It was fabled that swallows 

 used the herb upon the eyes of their young, 

 and that they first taught its use to man. 

 But whether this be true or not, swallow- 

 wort was once so common and well recog- 

 nized a remedy^ that an old scholar wrote 

 of it: "When a child loses its sight through 

 some disease they apply an herb called 

 celandine, which heals the eyes and restores 

 the sight." 



We must also mention another practice, 

 one which was very common many years 

 ago in the countries of the south of Europe. 

 It was to kill a swallow, take out its warm 

 beating heart, and give it to a boy or girl 

 to eat. Why did they do this? Because 

 the parents believed that the swallow's heart, 

 if eaten, would make the child grow up wise 

 and learned. In different places they looked 

 for different results from this strange diet. 



