[84 THE BOOK OF HERBS 



Andersen tells a charming story about her and the 

 pictures that she sometimes brings. It may happen, that 

 if furniture is made of the wood, Hylde-Moer may follow 

 her property and haunt and worry the owners, and 

 there is a tradition that, once when a child was put in a 

 cradle of Elder-wood, Hylde-Moer came and pulled it by 

 the legs and would give it no peace till it was lifted out. 

 Permission to cut Elder wood must always be asked 

 first, and not till Hylde-Moer has given consent by keep- 

 ing silence, may the chopping begin. He who stands 

 under an Elder-tree at midnight on Midsummer-Eve will 

 chance to see Toly, the King of the Elves, and all his 

 retinue go by. " The pith of the branches when cut in 

 round, flat shapes, is dipped in oil, lighted, and then put 

 to float in a glass of water ; its light on Christmas Eve is 

 thought to reveal to the owner all the witches and 

 sorcerers in the neighbourhood." ^ The Russians believe 

 that Elder-trees drive away evil spirits, and the 

 Bohemians go to it, with a spell, to take away fever. 

 The Sicilians think that sticks of its wood will kill 

 serpents and drive away robbers better than any other, 

 and the Serbs introduce a stick of Elder into their wed- 

 ding ceremonies to bring good luck. In England it was 

 thought that the Elder was never struck by lightning ; 

 and a twig of it tied into three or four knots, and carried 

 in the pocket, was a charm against rheumatism. A 

 cross made of Elder, and fastened to cow-houses and 

 stables, was supposed to keep all evil from the animals. 

 Canon EUacombe, in the Tyrol, says : " An Elder bush, 

 trimmed into the form of a cross, is planted in a new- 

 made grave, and if it blossoms, the soul of the person 

 lying beneath it is happy." Sir Thomas Browne takes 

 the " white umbrella or medical bush of Elder as an 

 epitome of the order arising from five main stems, quin- 

 cuncially disposed and tolerably maintained in their 

 1 Folkard. 



