74 
Vervain. 
gather the vervain, with ceremonies and words known only to 
themselves, and to express its juices under certain phases of 
the moon. At once the doctors and conjurors of their village, 
they alternately cure the complaints of their masters or fill 
them with dread ; for the same means which relieve their ail¬ 
ments enable them to cast a spell on their cattle and on the 
hearts of their daughters. They insist that this power is given 
to them by vervain, especially when the damsels are young 
and handsome. Thus vervain is still the plant of spells and 
enchantments, as it was amongst the ancients. 
This little lilac roadside flower, although it is very common, 
is said to never be found at a greater distance than half a mile 
from the habitations of man. Dr. Withering has dispelled this 
pleasant fiction, and states that he found it in plenty at the 
foot of St. Vincent’s rocks. 
