Ver vain. 
73 
that time above the earth to see it. It was likewise ordained 
for those who collected it, “ that before they take up the herb, 
they bestow upon the ground where it groweth, honey with 
the combs, in token of satisfaction and amends for the wrong 
and violence done in depriving her of so holy a herb.” 
The sacred character of this herb still reigned paramount 
during the middle ages. In those gay days when fairy folk 
were accustomed 
“To dance their ringlets to the whistling wind,” 
and hold “ their revels all the luscious night,” the vervain was 
greatly prized, and used in the composition of manifold charms 
and love-philtres. It was also deemed of exceeding value 
for medicinal purposes, and Culpepper assigns more curative 
virtues to it than a whole pharmacopoeia of these degenerate 
days affords. It was suspended round the neck as an amulet, 
and was deemed a sovereign remedy for venomous bites and 
all kinds of wounds. Sir William Davenant, in his poem of 
“ Gondibert,” alludes to its curative powers: 
“Black melancholy rusts, that fed despair 
Through wounds’ long rage, with sprinkled vervain cleared; 
Strewed leaves of willow to refresh the air, 
And with rich fumes his sullen senses cheered.” 
Although in these stem matter-of-fact times we have lost 
“ The enchantments, the delights, the visions all, 
The elfin visions that so blessed the sight 
In the old days romantic,” 
yet are still preserved many of the 
“Beautiful fictions of our fathers, wove 
In superstition’s web when Time was young, 
And fondly loved and cherished;” 
and amongst the few of these fond fancies not yet obliterated 
from the busy brains of men, are some of those connected 
with this emblem of enchantment. In some country districts 
this small insignificant flower still retains a portion of its old 
renown, and old folks tie it round the neck to charm away the 
ague: with many it still has the reputation of securing affec¬ 
tion from those who take it to those who administer it; and 
still in some parts of France do the peasantry continue to 
