THE MOUNTAIN ASH. 



281 



die of WiggiUf and nailed the branches all up and 

 down the cow-house/' in order to counteract the 

 effect produced on his cow by the overlooking" 

 of a supposed witch. 



It is not a little singular, that, in Kke manner 

 as we saw (page 182) similar superstitious prac- 

 tices holding in Ireland and the East with regard 

 to the Hawthorn and a tree closely resembling 

 it, so we find in India a tree bearing a strong 

 resemblance to the Mountain Ash, to which the 

 same superstition attaches. 



Bishop Heber, in the 18th chapter of his In- 

 dian Journal^ gives the following account of this 

 tree, and the superstition connected with it :— 



As I returned home, I passed a fine tree of the 

 Mimosa, with leaves at a little distance, so much 

 resembling those of the Mountain Ash, that I was 

 for a moment deceived, and asked if it did not 

 bring fruit ? They answered, no ; but it was a 

 very noble tree, being called ' the Imperial tree,' 

 for its excellent properties, — that it slept all 

 night,* and wakened and was alive all day, with- 

 drawing its leaves if any one attempted to touch 

 them. Above all, however, it was useful as a 

 preservative against magic ; a sprig worn in the 

 turban or suspended over the bed was a perfect 

 security against all spells, evil eye^ &c., inso- 

 much that the most formidable wdzard would 

 not, if he could help it, approach its shade. One, 

 indeed, they said, who was very renowmed for his 



* Most plants of tiie Acacia tribe, which have compound leaves, 

 like the Ash, fold the leaflets together during the night, thus pro- 

 tecting their upper surfaces from the cold and damp. A like 

 property resides in clover, and several other English plants of the 

 same natural order. 



