HERBS USED IN DECORATIONS, ETC. 141 



released till he had done him some great service. 

 Presently, some Poles came close by and made a feast, 

 and were happy, leaving their horses to graze. The 

 Cossack Sabba coveted the horses and promised the Evil 

 One his liberty if he could manage to get them. The 

 Evil One then sent other demons to the field and caused 

 Mugwort to spring up, whereupon the horses trotted 

 away, and as they did so, the Mugwort moaned " bech, 

 bech" And now when a horse treads on it, the plant 

 remembers the Pole's horses and still moans " bech, bech ! " 

 for which reason, in the Ukraine it is still called by that 

 name. It is left untold whether the flight of the horses 

 was due to the magical nature of the plants, or to their 

 usual bitterness. The latter is likely enough, as accord- 

 ing to Dr Thornton, horses and goats are not fond of it, 

 and cows and swine refuse it. 



Other well-known varieties of Wormwood are H. 

 pontica, Roman wormwood whose leaves are less bitter ; 

 and A. Maritima, sea-wormwood, and A. Santonica, 

 Tartarian wormwood. 



Bay {Laurus Nobilis). 



Then in my lavender I'll lay, 

 Muscado put among it. 

 And here and there a leaf of bay, 

 Which still shall run along it. 



Ji-fusej' £iyjiur77. 



This done, we'll draw lots who shall buy 

 And gild the bays and rosemary. 



Hesperidei^ — Herrick. 



Down with the rosemary and bays, 

 Down with the mistletoe. 

 Instead of holly, now upraise. 

 The greener box, for show. 



Ceremonies for Candlemas Eve. — HeRRICK. 



A Bay-tree invites criticism, as it is certainly not a 

 " herb," but it is so often classed with some of them. 



