Chapter XVI: Funeral Trees and Plants (14)

This St. Margaret of Cortona, who in mediæval days was very popular, had for some years, says Mrs. Jameson, led an abandoned life, but having repented and been canonised, she was regarded by the people of her native town as a modern Magdalene; and, like her prototype, was supposed, on account of her early habits, to preside over uterine diseases, and others peculiar to young women. The Daisy, and other flowers which were supposed from their shape to resemble the Moon, were by the ancients dedicated to the virgin goddess of the night, Artemis, or Diana: but in Christian times were transferred to the two saints who replace her, namely, St. Mary Magdalene and St. Margaret of Cortona. Dr. Prior, in his work on plant names, points out that this latter saint has often been confounded with a St. Margaret of Antioch, who was “invoked as another Lucina, because in her martyrdom she prayed for lying-in-women.” This maiden of Antioch is described in old metrical legends as

“Maid Marguerite that was so meeke and milde.”

The Daisy has been connected with several eminent women of the name of Margaret. Margaret of Anjou wore the flower as her device, and had it embroidered on the robes of her courtiers. Lady Margaret, the mother of Henry VII., wore three white Daisies; Margaret, the sister of Francis I., also wore the Daisy, and was called by her brother his Marguerite of Marguerites--his pearl of pearls. (See DAISY).

=MARIGOLD.=--The African Marigold (_Tagetes erecta_) is regarded as a sacred flower in Northern India, where the natives adorn the trident emblem of Mahâdeva with garlands of it; and both men and women wear chaplets made of its flowers on his festival.----The Romans named the European Marigold _Calendula_--the flower of the Calends--from a notion that it blossoms the whole year.----In the oldest of English herbals, the ‘Grete Herball,’ the Marigold is called Mary Gowles, but by the old poets it is frequently alluded to as Gold simply, and it is still called Goules or Goulans in some counties of England. Another old English name for these flowers was Ruddes.----From its tawny yellow blossom the Marigold is presumed to have been the _Chrusanthemon_, or Gold Flower, of the Greeks.----In mediæval times, this flower, along with numerous others, was dedicated by the monks and nuns to the Virgin, and had the prefix Mary appended to its name. According to an old tradition, however, the Marigold was so called because the Virgin Mary wore this flower in her bosom.----Shakspeare, in ‘Cymbeline,’ speaks of the flower as the Mary-bud, and in ‘A Winter’s Tale,’ alludes to its habit of closing at sunset and opening at sunrise:--

“The Marigold that goes to bed with the sun,
And with him rises weeping.”

Linnæus states that the flower is usually open from 9 a.m. till 3 p.m., and this foreshows a continuance of dry weather. Should the blossom remain closed, rain may be expected. This circumstance, and the plant’s habit of turning its golden face towards the sun, has gained for it the name of the “Sun-flower” and the “Spouse of the Sun”.----Marguerite of Orleans, the maternal grandmother of Henri IV., chose for her armorial device a Marigold turning towards the sun, and for a motto, “_Je ne veux suivre que lui seul_.”----In America, Marigolds are called Death-flowers, in reference to an existing tradition that the crimson and gold-coloured blossoms sprang upon ground stained by the life-blood of those unfortunate Mexicans who fell victims to the love of gold and arrogant cruelty of the early Spanish settlers in America.----In the reign of Henry VIII., the Marigold was called _Souvenir_, and ladies wore wreaths of them intermixed with Heart’s-ease.----To dream of Marigolds appears to be of happy augury, denoting prosperity, riches, success, and a happy and wealthy marriage.----The Marigold is deemed by astrologers a Solar herb, under the sign Leo.

=MARJORAM.=--The origin of Marjoram (_Origanum vulgare_: Greek, _Amarakos_) is related by the Greeks as follows:--A young man named Amaracus was employed in the household of Cinyras, King of Cyprus: one day, when carrying a vase containing perfumes, he unfortunately let it fall, and was so frightened at the mishap that he lost all consciousness, and became metamorphosed into an odoriferous herb called at first _Sampsuchon_, and afterwards _Amarakos_. According to Rapin, the goddess Venus first raised Sweet Marjoram. He says:--

“And tho’ Sweet Marjoram will your garden paint
With no gay colours, yet preserve the plant,
Whose fragrance will invite your kind regard,
When her known virtues have her worth declared:
On Simois’ shore fair Venus raised the plant,
Which from the goddess’ touch derived her scent.”

The Greeks and Roman crowned young married couples with Marjoram, which in some countries is the symbol of honour.----Astrologers place the herb under the rule of Mercury.

=MARSH MALLOW.=--The name _Althæa_ (from a Greek root meaning to cure) was given to this plant on account of its manifold healing properties, which were duly appreciated by the old herbalists. It was sometimes called _Bismalva_, being held to be twice as good in medicinal properties as the ordinary Mallow. As an ointment, it was celebrated for mollifying heat, and hence it became invaluable as a protection to those who had to undergo the ordeal of holding red-hot iron in their hands. This ordeal was practised by the ancient Greeks; for we read in the ‘Antigone’ of Sophocles, that the guards placed over the body of Polynices--which had been carried away surreptitiously--offered, in order to prove their innocence, to take up red-hot iron in their hands: a similar ordeal was extant in the Middle Ages, when invalids and delicate persons, particularly monks and ecclesiastics, were exempted from the usual mode of single combat, and were required to test their innocence by holding red-hot iron in their hands. These trials were made in the church during the celebration of mass, inspection being made by the clergy alone. The suspected person, therefore, if he had any friends at hand, was easily shielded by covering his hand with a thick coating of some substance which would enable him to resist the action of heat. Albertus Magnus describes a paste compounded in the thirteenth century for this express purpose. The sap of the Marsh Mallow, the slimy seeds of a kind of Fleabane, and the white of a hen’s egg, were combined to make the paste adhere, and the hands covered with it were perfectly safe.----According to a German tradition, an ointment made of the leaves of the Marsh Mallow was employed to anoint the body of anyone affected by witchcraft.----The Marsh Mallow is held by astrologers to be a herb of Venus.

=MARSH MARIGOLD.=--According to Rapin, the Sicilian shepherd Acis originally discovered the Marsh Marigold (_Caltha_) growing in his native pastures:--

“Nor without mention shall the _Caltha_ die,
Which Acis once found out in Sicily;
She Phœbus loves, and from him draws her hue,
And ever keeps his golden beams in view.”

The flower’s modern Italian name, _Sposa di Sole_, has probably been given to it in reference to this legend. On May-day, country people strew Marsh Marigolds before their doors, and twine them into garlands. Some think the _Caltha palustris_ to be Shakspeare’s “winking May-bud with golden eye,” which, if plucked with due care, and borne about, will hinder anyone from speaking an angry word to the wearer.

=MASTIC.=--The Mastic or Pistachio-tree (_Pistacia Lentiscus_), the symbol of purity and virginity, was particularly dear to Dictynna, a nymph of Crete, and one of Diana’s attendants. Following her example, the Greek virgins were fond of adorning themselves with Mastic-sprays; and at the present time, in the isle of Chios, where the Mastic-tree flourishes, they eat the gum to preserve sweetness of breath. The Mastic is stated to have been under the special protection of Bacchus, as being the tree under which the Bacchanals found and slew Pentheus, King of Thebes, who had forbidden his subjects to acknowledge the new god.

MATHER.--See Mayweed.

MAUDLEIN, MAUDELYNE, or _Maudlin_.--See Costmary.

MAUDLIN WORT.--See Moon Daisy.

=MAURITIA.=--The Moriche Palm (_Mauritia flexuosa_) is regarded as a sacred tree by the Mexican Indians. Certain tribes live almost entirely on its products, and, strange to say, build their houses high up amongst its leaves, where they live during the floods. These Indians have a traditional Deluge, which they call the Water Age, when there was only one man and one woman left alive. To re-people the earth, the Deucalion and Pyrrha of the new world, instead of stones, threw over their shoulders the fruit of the Moriche Palm, and from its seeds sprang the whole human race. The Moriche is regarded as a deity among the Tamancas, a tribe of Oronoco Indians.

=MAY.=--The Hawthorn has obtained the name of May, or May-bush, from the time of its flowering. In Suffolk, it is believed to be unlucky to sleep in a room in which there is May in bloom. In Sussex, to bring a branch of blossoming May into the house is thought to portend a death. It was a custom in Huntingdonshire, forty years ago, for the rustic swains to place a branch of May in blossom before sunrise at the doorway of anyone they wished to honour, singing the while--

“A branch of May we have brought you,
And at your door it stands;
It is but a sprout,
But it’s well budded out,
By the work of our good Lord’s hands.”

An Italian proverb describes the universal lover as “one who hangs every door with May.” (See HAWTHORN).

=MAYFLOWER.=--The Mayflower of New England, _Epigæa repens_, is the emblem of Nova Scotia. The trailing Arbutus, or Mayflower, is a native of North America; it grows abundantly in the vicinity of Plymouth, Massachusetts, and was the first flower that greeted the Pilgrims after their terrible winter.

=MAYWEED.=--The Mayweed, or more properly Maydweed (_Anthemis Cotula_), owes its name to its having been formerly used for the complaints of young women. In olden times, the plant was also known as Maghet, and Mather or Mauther, words signifying a maid.----The flower is distinguished as having, for its fairness, been likened to the brow of the Northern divinity Baldr.----The _Matricaria Chamomilla_ is called Stinking Maydweed. (See MAITHES, COSTMARY, and MOON DAISY.)

=MELON.=--According to a tradition of the Arabs, the Melon is to be found in Paradise, where it signifies that God is One, and that Ali is his true prophet.----Sebastian, a Roman traveller of the seventeenth century, recorded that on Mount Carmel, in the Holy Land, he had seen a field of Melons which had been turned into stones by the curse of Elias.----An old Tuscan legend records how the wife of a certain young king bore him three children, which were represented by the Queen’s jealous sisters to be a cat, a piece of wood, and a snake. The enraged king, upon this, cast his unfortunate wife into prison, whilst the three infants were secured by the wicked sisters in a box, and cast into the sea. A gardener found the box, and compassionating the helpless babes, brought them up, and taught them to tend his garden. Through the kindly offices of a good fairy, the king came to dinner one day, and a large Water Melon was gathered from the garden and placed before him. The king cut the Melon, when in place of seeds he discovered inside a number of precious stones. In astonishment, he demanded: “How is it possible that a Melon can produce gems?” Then the good fairy responded: “And how, sire, is it possible that a woman could give birth to a cat, a piece of wood, and a snake? Behold your three children, and hasten, cruel man, to release the poor innocent queen. The envy of her sisters has occasioned all this mischief.” The king was deeply affected; he embraced his children, and forthwith hastened with all speed to his wife, whose pardon he implored. Then he ordered public fêtes and rejoicings to take place, but condemned the wicked sisters to the stake.----According to dream oracles, a young woman who dreams of Melons is destined to marry a rich foreigner, and to live with him in a foreign land. If a young man dreams of Melons, it denotes that he will marry a rich foreign lady, by whom he will have a large family, but they will die young. If a sick person dreams of Melons, it is a prognostic of recovery by reason of their humidity or juicy substance.

MIDSUMMER MEN.--See Orpine.

=MIGNONETTE.=--The Mignonette, or Little Darling, is supposed to be an Egyptian plant, and to have been brought to England from the South of France, where it is called _Herbe d’Amour_, or Love-flower. Although a flower of no heraldic fame, the Mignonette is nevertheless, to be seen on the armoured shield of a noble Saxon house, and the origin of its adoption is related in the following legend:--A Count of Walstheim was betrothed to Amelia von Nordburg, a young and beautiful heiress, whose poor cousin Charlotte, an amiable girl of no particular personal charms, had been brought up with her from infancy. Returning one evening from a charitable visit, the humble dependent found her aunt’s saloon full of guests, the ladies busily occupied in selecting flowers for which their admirers were expected to improvise mottoes. Charlotte was invited to follow the example of her betters. Amelia von Nordburg had selected the Rose as her emblem, and her companions had naturally chosen such popular flowers as were best calculated to elicit gallant compliments. Thus most of the floral favourites had been appropriated; so Charlotte placed a modest spray of Mignonette in her dress. Noticing as she did so that her coquettish cousin was neglecting the Count of Walstheim for the fascinations of a gallant colonel, and anxious to recall the thoughtless heiress to her lover’s side, Charlotte asked the Count what motto he had ready for the Rose. Taking out his pencil, he wrote: “_Elle ne vit qu’un jour, et ne plait qu’un moment_;” and then presented her with this motto for her own Mignonette: “_Ses qualités surpassent ses charmes_.” His wilful fiancée took offence at the Count’s discrimination, and revenged herself by treating him with studied coldness and neglect; the result being that the Count transferred his affections to the dependent Charlotte, whom he soon afterwards married, and to celebrate the event added a spray of Mignonette to the ancient arms of his family.

=MILK THISTLE.=--The Thistle _Silybum Marianum_ is called the Milk Thistle from a supposition that it derived the colour of its leaves from the Milk of the Virgin Mary having fallen on them as she suckled the infant Jesus.

=MILKWORT.=--In olden times, the Milkwort (_Polygala vulgaris_), bore the names of Cross-flower, Rogation-flower, Gang-flower, and Procession-flower, which were given it because, according to ancient usage, maidens made garlands of the flower, and carried them in procession during Rogation Week. At this period it was customary to offer prayers against plagues, fires, and wild beasts, and as the bounds of the parish were traversed on one of the days, it was also termed Gang Week. This custom was a relic of the ancient Ambarvalia. The bishop, or one of the clergy, perambulated the limits of the parish with the Holy Cross and Litanies, and invoked the blessing of God upon the crops; on which occasion, Bishop Kennett tells us, the maidens made garlands and nosegays of the Milkwort, which blossomed in Rogation Week, the next but one before the Whitsuntide.----Gerarde relates that, in Queen Elizabeth’s time, Milkwort-flowers were “vulgarly knowne in Cheapside to the herbe women by the name of Hedge Hyssop.” The plant was called Milkwort from an old belief that it increased the milk of mothers who took it.----A Javanese species, _Polygala venenata_, is greatly dreaded by the natives of Java for its poisonous effects; violent sneezing and faintness seizes anyone touching the leaves of this ill-omened plant.

=MILLET.=--According to Schlegel, Millet has, among the Chinese, given its name to the constellation _Tien-tzi_, “Celestial Millet,” which is composed of five stars, and presides at the grain harvest. Its clearness and brilliance presage an abundant harvest, its absence foretells famine. This constellation the Chinese consider as the residence of the King of the Cereals.----The grain of Millet has become proverbial as indicative of anything minute: possibly on this account, Millet portends misery if seen in a dream.----There is a legend in North Germany, that, long ago, a rich merchant had a fine garden, in which was a piece of land sown with Millet. One day the merchant discovered that a part of the Millet had been shorn during the preceding night, so he set his three sons to watch in case the theft should be repeated. Both the eldest and the second son fell asleep during their respective vigils; and on each occasion the theft was repeated, and further portions of the Millet disappeared. On the third night, the youngest son, John, agreed to watch: he surrounded himself with Thorns and Thistles, so that if he felt sleepy, and began to nod, the Thorns should prick him, and thus keep him awake. At midnight he heard a tramping, and then a sound of munching among the Millet: pushing aside the Thorns, John sprang out from his hiding-place, and saw a beautiful little colt feeding on the Millet. To catch the little animal was an easy task, and it was soon safely locked up in the stable. The merchant, overjoyed at the capture his vigilant son John had made, made him a present of the colt, which he named Millet-thief. Soon after this, the brothers heard of a beautiful princess who was kept by enchantment confined in a palace that stood on the top of a glass mountain, which no one, on account of its being so slippery, could ascend; but it was said that whosoever should be so fortunate as to reach its summit, and ride thrice round the palace, would disenchant the princess and obtain her hand in marriage. Numbers had already endeavoured to ride up the slippery mountain, but were precipitated to its foot; and their skeletons lay bleaching all around. The three brothers determined to try and ascend the mountain, but, alas, the two eldest fell with their horses down the treacherous mountain side, and lay sorely hurt. Then John saddled his little colt Millet-thief, and to his delight, when ridden to the mountain, he easily rattled up to its summit, and trotted round the palace three times as though he knew the road perfectly. Soon they stood in front of the palace-gates, which opened spontaneously, and the lovely princess stepped forth with a cry of joy, as she recognised in Millet-thief her own little colt, who had been accustomed to take her by night down the steep mountain, so that she might enjoy a gallop across the green fields--the only indulgence permitted her by the cruel enchanter. Then the princess bestowed her hand upon her deliverer, and they lived happily, far removed from worldly cares, in the palace on the glass mountain.

=MIMOSA.=--The _Mimosa Catechu_, according to Indian mythology, was the tree which sprang from the claw lost by a falcon whilst engaged in purloining the heavenly Soma, or Amrita, the drink of immortality. The Vedas recount that, when the gods were pining for the precious beverage, the falcon undertook to steal it from the demons who kept it shut up: the attempt was successful, but the falcon, whilst flying off with its prize, was wounded by an arrow discharged by one of the demons, and lost a claw and a feather. They fell to earth, and struck root there; the claw becoming the Indian Thorn-tree, or _Mimosa Catechu_--the younger branches of which have straight thorns, that afterwards become hooked, and bear a strong resemblance to a bird’s claw.----Bishop Heber tells us that, whilst travelling in Upper India, he saw, near Boitpoor, a Mimosa-tree, with leaves at a little distance so much resembling those of the Mountain Ash, that he was for a moment deceived, and asked if it did not bear fruit. The Bishop says: “They answered no; but that it was a very noble tree, being called the Imperial Tree for its excellent properties. That it slept all night, and awakened, and was alive all day, withdrawing 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., insomuch that the most formidable wizard would not, if he could help it, approach its shade. One, indeed, they said, who was very renowned for his power (like Lorinite, in the Kehama) of killing plants and drying up their sap with a look, had come to this very tree and gazed on it intently; but, said the old man, who told me this with an air of triumph, look as he might, he could do the tree no harm. I was amazed and surprised to find the superstition which in England and Scotland attaches to the Rowan-tree here applied to a tree of nearly similar form. What nation has, in this case, been the imitator? Or from what common centre are these common notions derived?”----The _Mimosa sensitiva_ is the true Sensitive Plant, which collapses its leaflets upon the slightest touch (see SENSITIVE PLANT); and another member of this singular family droops its branches whenever anyone approaches; hence Moore has called it

“That courteous tree
Which bows to all who seek its canopy.”

Frankincense is the product of the Egyptian Mimosa, a tree spoken of by Theophrastus as an Acanthus, and referred to by Virgil.

=MIMUSOPS.=--The _Mimusops Elengi_ is one of the sacred trees of India, and dedicated to the god Krishna. An odoriferous water, highly prized, is distilled from the flowers, and the astringent bark of the tree is used medicinally.

=MINT.=--Ovid tells us, in his ‘Metamorphoses,’ that the nymph Minthe, a daughter of Cocytus, was beloved of Pluto, and that Proserpine, discovering her husband’s infidelity, transformed his mistress into the herb which is called by her name.----In olden times, Mint (_Mentha_) was called _Herba bona_ and _Herba sancta_, and the ancients were wont to weave garlands of its foliage to be worn by brides--_corona Veneris_. In later days, the herb was dedicated to the Virgin, under the name of _Herba Sanctæ Mariæ_.----It was formerly customary to strew the churches with Mint or other herbs or flowers. In ‘Appius and Virginia,’ an old play, is an illustration of this custom:--

“Thou knave, but for thee ere this time of day
My lady’s fair pew had been strewed full gay
With Primroses, Cowslips, and Violets sweet,
With Mints, and with Marygold and Marjoram meet,
Which now lyeth uncleanly, and all along of thee.”

Among the women of the Abruzzi there exists a curious superstition. If, whilst walking, they should chance to come across a plant of Mint, they will bruise a leaf between their fingers, in order to ensure that, on the day of their death, Jesus Christ will assist them.----In Holstein, at the funeral of peasants, Mint is carried by youths attending the ceremony.----Pliny was of opinion that “the smell of Mint doth stir up the minde and taste to a greedy desire of meat;” and other old writers state that Mint should be smelled, as being refreshing for the head and memory; probably on this account it was formerly a custom to strew it “in chambers and places of recreation, pleasure, and repose, and when feasts and banquets are to be made.” Gerarde says of this herb:--“It is poured into the eares with honied water. It is taken inwardly against scolopendres, beare-wormes, sea scorpions and serpents. It is applied with salt to the bitings of mad dogs.”

=MISTLETOE.=--According to Scandinavian mythology, Baldr (the Apollo of the North) was rendered by his mother Frîgg proof against all injury by the four elements, fire, air, earth, and water: Loki, the evil spirit, however, being at enmity with him, fashioned an arrow out of Mistletoe (which proceeded from neither of the elements), and placed it in the hand of Hödr, the blind deity, who launched the fatal dart at Baldr, and struck him to the earth. The gods decided to restore Baldr to life, and as a reparation for his injury, the Mistletoe was dedicated to his mother Frîgg; whilst, to prevent its being again used adversely to her, the plant was placed under her sole control so long as it did not touch the earth, the empire of Loki. On this account it has always been customary to suspend Mistletoe from ceilings; and so, whenever persons of opposite sexes pass under it, they give one another the kiss of peace and love, in the full assurance that this plant is no longer an instrument of mischief.----Like the Indian Asvattha, and the Northern Rowan, the Mistletoe was supposed to be the embodiment of lightning: hence its Swiss name, _Donnerbesen_; and like them, again, it is very generally believed to spring from seed deposited by birds on trees. Some naturalists, indeed, say that the seeds will not vegetate until they have passed through the stomach of a bird, and so recommend that fowls should be caused to eat the seeds, which, after evacuation, should be sown. This old belief in the Mistletoe-seed being sown by birds is referred to by Lord Bacon in his ‘Natural History.’ His lordship says:--“They have an idle tradition that there is a bird called a Missel-bird that feedeth upon a seed which many times she cannot digest, and so expelleth it whole with her excrement, which, falling upon a bough of a tree that hath some rift, putteth forth the Misseltoe.”----In Druidic times, the Mistletoe was regarded as a divine gift of peculiar sanctity, only to be gathered with befitting ceremonies, on the sixth day, or at latest on the sixth night, of the sixth moon after the winter solstice, when their year commenced.----Pliny tells us that “the Druids hold nothing more sacred than the Mistletoe and the tree upon which it is produced, provided it be an Oak. They make choice of groves of Oak on their own account, nor do they perform any of their sacred rites without the leaves of these trees, so one may suppose that for this reason they are called by the Greek etymology Druids, and whatever Mistletoe grows upon the Oak they think is sent from heaven, and is a sign of God Himself as having chosen that tree. This, however, is rarely found, but, when discovered, is treated with great ceremony; they call it by a name which in their language signifies the curer of all ills, and, having duly prepared their feast and sacrifices under the tree, they bring to it two white bulls, whose horns are then for the first time tied; the priest, dressed in a white robe, ascends the tree, and, with a golden pruning-hook, cuts off the Mistletoe, which is received into a white _sagum_, or sheet; then they sacrifice the victims, praying that God would bless His own gift to those on whom He has bestowed it.” As the Druids attributed to the Mistletoe marvellous curative properties, they placed it in water, and distributed this water to those who deserved it, to act as a charm against the spells of witches and sorcerers. If any portion of this plant came in contact with the earth, it was considered as ominous of some impending national disaster.----The practice of decorating dwellings with Mistletoe and Holly is undoubtedly of Druidic origin. Dr. Chandler states that, in the times of the Druids, the houses were decked with boughs in order that the spirits of the forest might seek shelter among them during the bleak winds and frosts of winter.----Among the Worcestershire farmers, there is a very ancient custom of taking a bough of Mistletoe, and presenting it to the cow that first calved after New Year’s Day, as this offering is presumed to avert ill-luck from the dairy.----In some provinces of France, they preserved for a long period the custom of gathering the Mistletoe of the Oak, which they regarded as a talisman. Many public documents attest that, in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, large gatherings of the country-people took place at the fêtes held in commemoration of the ceremony of the sacred Mistletoe, and which was called _Auguilanneuf_ (_Gui de l’an neuf_).----In Holstein, the peasantry call the Mistletoe the “Spectre’s wand,” from the supposition that a branch borne in the hand will enable the holder not only to see ghosts, but to compel them to speak.----The magical properties of the Mistletoe are alluded to by Virgil in his _Æneid_, as well as by Ovid and other ancient writers. Albertus Magnus states that the Mistletoe, which the Chaldæans called _Luperax_, the Greeks _Esifena_, and the Latins _Viscus Querci_, like the herb _Martagon_ (Moonwort), possessed the property of opening all locks. The Druids called it All-heal, and represented it as an antidote to all poisons, and a cure for all diseases. When there were no longer any Druids in England left to gather the holy plant with the customary sacred rites, it was gathered by the people themselves, with a lack of due solemnity, so that, according to Aubrey, this want of reverence met with miraculous punishment. He relates how some ill-advised folk cut the Mistletoe from an Oak, at Norwood, to sell to the London apothecaries: “And one fell lame shortly after; soon after each of the others lost an eye; and a rash fellow, who ventured to fell the Oak itself, broke his leg very shortly afterwards.” At this time, the powder of an Oak-Mistletoe was deemed an infallible cure for epilepsy; and Culpeper, the astrological herbalist, prescribed the leaves and berries of this precious plant, given in powder for forty days together, as a sure panacea for apoplexy, palsy, and falling sickness. Clusius affirmed that a sprig of the sacred plant worn round the neck was a talisman against witchcraft, always providing that the bough had not been allowed to touch earth after being gathered.----In the West of England, there is a tradition that the Cross was made of Mistletoe, which, until the time of the Crucifixion, had been a noble forest tree, but was thenceforth condemned to exist only as a mere parasite. Culpeper remarks that it was sometimes called _lignum sanctæ crucis_--wood of the holy cross--from a belief in its curative virtues in cases of consumption, apoplexy, and palsy--“not only to be inwardly taken, but to be hung at their neck.”----In Sweden, Oak-Mistletoe is suspended in the house to protect it from fire and other injuries; a knife with an Oak-Mistletoe handle is supposed by the Swedes to ward off the falling sickness: for other complaints, a piece of this plant is hung round the patient’s neck, or made into a finger-ring.

=MOLY.=--The Moly was a magical plant, beneficent in its nature, which Homer tells us, in the ‘Odyssey,’ was given by Mercury to Ulysses to enable him successfully to withstand and overcome the enchantments of the sorceress Circe, and obtain the restoration of his comrades whom the witch-goddess had by her enchantments transformed into swine. Ulysses, distressed at the fate of his companions, was visited by Mercury, who promised to give him a plant of extraordinary powers, which should baffle the spells of Circe;

“Thus while he spoke, the sovereign plant he drew
Where on th’ all-bearing earth unmark’d it grew,
And show’d its nature and its wondrous power:
Black was the root, but milky white the flower;
Moly the name, to mortals hard to find,
But all is easy to th’ ethereal kind.”--_Pope._

The Moly is generally supposed to have been a species of Garlick (a plant credited with many magical qualities), and Gerarde, in his ‘Herbal,’ describes several plants under the head of “Moly, or Sorcerer’s Garlick,” one of which he particularises as Homer’s Moly (_Moly Homericum_). The identity of the plant has, however, long been a matter for speculation among botanists of all ages. Dodonæus, Anguillara, and Cæsalpinus consider it to be _Allium magicum_; Matthiolus and Clusius, _Allium subhirsutum_; Sprengel, _Allium nigrum_; and Sibthorp, a plant which he names _Allium Dioscoridis_. Various treatises have appeared on the subject, in one of which the Moly is thought to be identified with the Lotus. Milton, in his ‘Comus,’ mentions a magical plant, designated Hæmony, which possessed similar properties to the Moly, and was potent in dispelling enchantments, ghostly apparations, mildew-blast, and unwholesome vapours.

MONEY FLOWER.--See Honesty.

=MONK’S HOOD.=--_Aconitum_ has two English names, Monk’s Hood and Wolf’s Bane. The former has been given it from the resemblance of the plant’s upper sepal to the cowl of a monk. The latter is of great antiquity, being the same as that of the Anglo-Saxon. By the ancients (who were unacquainted with mineral poisons) the Aconite was regarded as the most virulent of all poisons, and their mythologists declare it to be the invention of Hecate, who caused the plant to spring from the foam of the many-headed Cerberus, when Hercules dragged him from the gloomy regions of Pluto. The legend is thus told by Ovid:--

“Medea, to dispatch a dang’rous heir,
(She knew him) did a pois’nous draught prepare,
Drawn from a drug, long while reserved in store,
For desp’rate uses, from the Scythian shore,
That from the Echydnæan monster’s jaws
Derived its origin, and this the cause.
Through a dark cave a craggy passage lies
To ours ascending from the nether skies,
Through which, by strength of hand, Alcides drew
Chained Cerberus, who lagged and restive grew,
With his bleared eyes our brighter day to view.
Thrice he repeated his enormous yell,
With which he scares the ghosts, and startles hell;
At last outrageous (though compelled to yield),
He sheds his foam in fury on the field;
Which, with its own and rankness of the ground,
Produced a weed by sorcerers renowned
The strongest constitution to confound--
Called Aconite, because it can unlock
All bars, and force its passage through a rock.”

With this venomous plant the ancients were wont to poison their arrow-heads when engaged in war and also when in pursuit of wild beasts. As a poison, it had a sinister reputation. Ovid was of opinion that the _Aconitum_ derived its name from growing on rocks almost barren; and he describes, in his ‘Iron Age,’ the step-dame occupied in preparing a deadly potion of this plant:--

“_Lurida terribiles miscent Aconita novercæ._”

In Greece, the Wolf’s Bane is credited with many malignant influences, and the fevers so common in the neighbourhood of Corinth were attributed to it. Until the Turks were dispossessed, the Aga proceeded every year in solemn procession to denounce it and hand it over to destruction.----In North India, a species, _Aconitum ferox_, is used as a poison for arrows--the poison which is obtained from the roots being of remarkable virulence and activity when infused into the blood.

=MOON DAISY.=--The _Chrysanthemum Leucanthemum_, a large Daisy-like flower, resembles the pictures of a full moon, and on this account has acquired the name of Moon Daisy. From its use in uterine diseases, this plant was dedicated by the ancients to Artemis, goddess of the Moon, Juno Lucina, and Eileithuia, a deity who had special charge over the functions of women--an office afterwards assigned by the Romish Church to St. Mary Magdalene and St. Margaret. Hence, in the Middle Ages, the Moon Daisy became known as Maudelyne or Maudlin-wort.----The plant is also called the Ox-eye and Midsummer Daisy; and in France, this flower, known as the _Paquerette_, is employed, like the Bluet, as a divining-flower, to discover the state of a lover’s affections.----The Midsummer Daisy is dedicated to St. John the Baptist.

=MOONWORT.=--The Fern _Botrychium Lunaria_ has derived its name of Moonwort from the crescent shape of the segments of its frond. Perhaps it is this lunar form which has caused it to be so highly esteemed for its supposed magical properties. The old alchymists professed to be able, by means of the Moonwort, which they called _Lunaria minor_, or Lesser Lunary, to extract sterling silver from Mercury. By wizards and professors of necromancy no plant was held in greater repute, and its potency is attested by many old writers. Gerarde refers to the use made by the alchymists of this Fern in those mystic compounds over which they pored night and day, and he also states that it was a plant prized by witches, who called it Martagon. In Ben Jonson’s ‘Masque of Queens,’ a witch says to her companions:--

“And I ha’ been plucking plants among
Hemlock, Henbane, Adder’s-tongue;
Nightshade, Moonwort, Libbard’s-bane,
And twice by the dogs was like to be ta’en.”

Coles, referring to the mystical character of the Moonwort, observes: “It is said, yea, and believed by many, that Moonwort will open the locks, fetters, and shoes from those horses’ feet that goe on the places where it groweth; and of this opinion was Master Culpeper, who, though he railed against superstition in others, yet had enough of it himselfe.” Du Bartas, in his ‘Divine Weekes,’ thus refers to this superstition--

“Horses that, feeding on the grassie hills,
Tread upon Moonwort with their hollow heels,
Though lately shod, at night goe barefoot home,
Their maister musing where their shooes become.
O Moonwort! tell us where thou hidst the smith,
Hammer and pincers, thou unshodd’st them with.
Alas! what lock or iron engine is’t
That can thy subtill secret strength resist,
Sith the best farrier cannot set a shoe
So sure, but thou (so shortly) canst undo?”

Culpeper tell us that the Moonwort was a herb which, in his days, was popularly believed to open locks and unshoe horses that trod on it. “This,” he adds, “some laugh to scorn, and those no small fools neither, but country people that I know call it Unshoe-the-Horse. Besides, I have heard commanders say that on White Down, in Devonshire, near Tiverton, there were found thirty horse-shoes, pulled off from the Earl of Essex’s horses, being there drawn up in a body, many of them being newly shod, and no reason known, which caused much admiration; and the herb described usually grows upon the heaths.”--In Virginia, the _Botrychium Lunaria_ is called the Rattle-snake Fern, because that reptile shelters itself beneath its fronds.

=MOSS.=--The _Sifjar haddr_, or Hair Moss (_Polytrichum commune_), which supplies the Lapp with bedding, is dedicated to Sif, the wife of Thor. The _Supercilium Veneris_ is Freyja’s hair.--The good fairies called by the Germans _Moosweibchen_ are represented as being entirely covered with Moss. They live in the hollows of forest trees, or on the soft Moss itself. These beneficent fairies of the forest spin soft Moss of various kinds, which they weave into beautiful fabrics, and, according to their custom, occasionally make handsome presents to their protégés.----There is a legend that Oswald, King of Northumbria, erected a certain cross, which, after his decease, acquired miraculous properties. One day, a man who was walking across the ice towards this venerated cross, suddenly fell and broke his arm; a friend who was accompanying him, in dire distress at the mishap, hurried to the cross, and plucked from it some Moss, which was growing on the surface. Then, hastening back to his friend, he placed the Moss in his breast, when the pain miraculously ceased, and the broken arm became set, and was soon restored to use.----The _Bryum_ Moss, which grows all over the walls of Jerusalem, is supposed to be the plant referred to by Solomon as “the Hyssop that groweth out of the wall.”----According to tradition, headache is to be removed by means of snuff made from the Moss which grows on a human skull in a churchyard; and Gerarde says that this Moss is “a singular remedie against the falling evill and the chin-cough in children, if it be powdered, and then given in sweet wine for certain daies together.” Robert Turner tells us of this Moss that it is “a principal ingredient in the Weapon Salve; but the receipt is, it should be taken from the skull of one who died a violent death.”----The dust from the spore cases of Club-Moss is highly inflammable, and is used in fireworks; it is the _Blitz-mehl_, or lightning-meal, of the Germans. (See CLUB-MOSS.)

=MOSS ROSE.=--The country of the Moss Rose or Moss Provins Rose (_Rosa Muscosa_) is unknown, but the origin of its mossy vest is thus given by a German writer:--

“The angel of the flowers one day
Beneath a Rose-tree sleeping lay;
That spirit to whose charge is given
To bathe young buds in dews from heaven;
Awaking from his light repose,
The angel whispered to the Rose;
‘O fondest object of my care,
Still fairest found where all are fair,
For the sweet shade thou’st given to me
Ask what thou wilt, ’tis granted thee.’
‘Then’ said the Rose, with deepened glow,
‘On me another grace bestow:’
The spirit paused in silent thought
What grace was there that flower had not?
’Twas but a moment: o’er the Rose
A veil of Moss the angel throws,
And robed in Nature’s simplest weed,
Could then a flower that Rose exceed?”

The Moss Rose is one of the flowers specially plucked at the fall of the dew on Midsummer Eve for the purposes of love divination. This rite of rustic maidens is fully described in the poem of ‘The Cottage Girl’:--

“The Moss Rose that, at fall of dew,
Ere eve its duskier curtain drew,
Was freshly gathered from its stem,
She values as the ruby gem;
And, guarded from the piercing air,
With all an anxious lover’s care,
She bids it, for her shepherd’s sake,
Await the New Year’s frolic wake:
When, faded, in its altered hue
She reads--the rustic is untrue!
But if its leaves the crimson paint,
Her sick’ning hopes no longer faint;
The Rose upon her bosom worn,
She meets him at the peep of morn.”

=MOTHERWORT.=--According to Parkinson, the Motherwort (_Leonurus Cardiaca_) was so called from its being “of wonderful helpe to women in the risings of the mother;” its name of _Cardiaca_ was given because the herb was formerly noted for curing not only heartburn but the mental disorder known as heart-ache.----In Japan, the Motherwort is in great estimation. In bygone times it is related that to the north of the province of Nanyo-no-rekken, there was a village situated near a hill covered with Motherwort. At the foot of the hill, fed by the dew and rains that trickled down its sides, ran a stream of pure water, which formed the ordinary beverage of the villagers, who generally lived till they had attained an age varying from a hundred to a hundred and thirty years. Thus the people ascribe to the Motherwort the property of prolonging life. At the Court of the Cairi, the ecclesiastical potentate of Japan, it is a favourite amusement to drink _zakki_, a kind of strong beer prepared from Motherwort-flowers. The Japanese have five grand festivals in the course of the year. The last, which takes place on the 9th of the 9th month, is called the Festival of Motherwort; and the month itself is named _Kikousouki_, or month of Motherwort-flowers. It was formerly the custom to gather these flowers as soon as they had opened, and to mix them with boiled rice, from which they prepared the _zakki_ used in celebrating the festival. In the houses of the common people, instead of this beverage, you find a branch of the flowers fastened with a string to a pitcher full of common _zakki_, which implies that they wish one another a long life. The origin of this festival is as follows:--An emperor of China who succeeded to the throne at seven years of age, was disturbed by a prediction that he would die before he attained the age of fifteen. An immortal having brought to him, from Nanyo-no-rekken, a present of some Motherwort-flowers, he caused _zakki_ to be made from them, which he drank every day, and lived upwards of seventy years. This immortal had been in his youth in the service of the Emperor, under the name of Zido. Being banished for some misdemeanour, he took up his residence in the valley before mentioned, drinking nothing but the water impregnated with these flowers, and lived to the age of three hundred years, whence he obtained the name of _Sien-nin-foso_.

=MOUSE-EAR.=--The plant now known as Forget-me-not, was formerly called Mouse-Ear, from its small, soft, oval leaves. It is called _Herba Clavorum_, because, according to tradition, it hinders the smith from hurting horses when he is shoeing them.

=MULBERRY.=--According to tradition, the fruit of the Mulberry-tree was originally white, but became empurpled by human blood. Referring to the introduction of the Mulberry by the Greeks, Rapin writes:--

“Hence Pyramus and Thisbe’s mingled blood
On Mulberries their purple dye bestowed.
In Babylon the tale was told to prove
The fatal error of forbidden love.”

This tale of forbidden love is narrated at length by Ovid: Pyramus, a youth of Babylon, and his neighbour, Thisbe, became mutually enamoured, but were prohibited by their parents from marrying; they therefore agreed to meet at the tomb of Ninus, under a white Mulberry-tree. Thisbe reached the trysting-place first, but was compelled to seek safety in a cave, owing to the arrival of a lioness, who besmeared with blood a veil which the virgin dropped in her flight. Soon afterwards Pyramus reached the spot, and finding the bloody veil, concluded that Thisbe had been torn to pieces. Overcome with grief, he stabbed himself with his sword; and Thisbe, shortly returning, and beholding her lover in his death throes, threw herself upon the fatal weapon. With her last breath she prayed that her ashes should be mingled with her lover’s in one urn, and that the fruit of the white Mulberry-tree, under which the tragedy occurred, should bear witness of their constancy by ever after assuming the colour of their blood.

“The prayer which dying Thisbe had preferred
Both gods and parents with compassion heard.
The whiteness of the Mulberry soon fled,
And ripening, saddened in a dusky red;
While both their parents their lost children mourn,
And mix their ashes in one golden urn.”--_Eusden._

Lord Bacon tells us that in Calabria Manna falls upon the leaves of Mulberry-trees during the night, from whence it is afterwards collected.----Pliny called the Mulberry the wisest of trees, because it is late in unfolding its leaves, and thus escapes the dangerous frosts of early spring. To this day, in Gloucestershire, the country folks have a saying that after the Mulberry-tree has shown its green leaves there will be no more frost.----At Gioiosa, in Sicily, on the day of St. Nicholas that saint is believed to bless the sea and the land, and the populace sever a branch from a Mulberry-tree and preserve it for one year as a branch of good augury.----In Germany, at Iserlohn, the mothers, to deter the children from eating the Mulberries, sing to them that the Devil requires them for the purpose of blacking his boots.----According to Gerarde, “Hegesander, in _Athenæus_, affirmeth that the Mulberry-tree in his time did not bring forth fruit in twenty yeares together, and that so great a plague of the gout then raigned, and raged so generally, as not onely men, but boies, wenches, eunuches, and women were troubled with that disease.”----A Mulberry-tree, planted by Milton in the garden of Christ’s College, Cambridge, has been reverentially preserved by successive college gardeners. The Mulberry planted by Shakspeare in Stratford-on-Avon was recklessly cut down in 1759; but ten years later, when the freedom of the town was presented to Garrick, the document was enclosed in a casket made from the wood of the tree. A cup was also wrought from it, and at the Shakspeare Jubilee, Garrick, holding this cup aloft, sang the following lines composed by himself:--

“Behold this fair goblet, ’twas carved from the tree
Which, O my sweet Shakspeare, was planted by thee;
As a relic I kiss it, and bow at the shrine;
What comes from thy hand must be ever divine!
All shall yield to the Mulberry-tree;
Bend to the blest Mulberry;
Matchless was he who planted thee;
And thou, like him, immortal shall be.”

To dream of Mulberries is of good import: they denote marriage, many children, and all sorts of prosperity: they are particularly favourable to sailors and farmers.----Among the hill tribes of Burmah, the Mulberry-tree is regarded as sacred, and receives a kind of worship.----A Chinese folk-lore tale records that in the Tse dynasty, one Chang Ching, going out at night, saw a woman in the south corner of his house. She beckoned him to come to her, and said: “This is your honour’s Mulberry-ground, and I am a shên (fairy); if you will make next year, in the middle of the first moon, some thick congee and present it to me, I will engage to make your Mulberry-trees a hundred times more productive.” Ching made the congee, and afterwards had a great crop of silkworms. Hence came the Chinese custom of making thickened congee on the fifteenth of the first month.

=MULLEIN.=--The Mullein (_Verbascum_) was formerly employed by wizards and witches in their incantations. The plant is known as the Flannel-flower from its stem and large leaves being covered with wool, which is often plucked off for tinder. The Great Mullein (_V. Thapsus_) was called by the old Romans _Candela regia_, and _Candelaria_, because they used the stalks dipped in suet to burn at funerals, or as torches; the modern Romans call the plant Light of the Lord. In England, the White Mullein was termed Candle-week-flower; and the Great Mullein’s tall tapering spikes of yellow flowers suggested, at a period when candles were burnt in churches, the old names of Torches, Hedge-taper, High-taper, and Hig-taper, which became corrupted into Hag-taper, from a belief that witches employed the plant in working their spells.----The little Moth Mullein (_V. Blattaria_) derives its specific name from _blatta_, a cockroach, it being particularly disliked by that troublesome insect. Gerarde explains its English prefix by stating that moths and butterflies, and all other small flies and bats, resort to the place where these herbs are laid or strewed.----Mullein is known by country people as Bullock’s Lungwort, a decoction of the leaves being considered very efficacious in cases of cough: probably we are indebted to the Romans for this specific, for they attributed extraordinary properties to the Mullein as a remedy for coughs. (See also HAG-TAPER).

=MUGWORT.=--The old Latin name for this species of Wormwood was _Artemisia, mater herbarum_; and, according to Gerarde, the plant was so named after Artemisia, the wife of Mausolus, King of Caria, who adopted it for her own herb.

“_That_ with the yellow crown, named from the queen
Who built the Mausoleum.”--_Smith’s ‘Amarynthus.’_

Other authorities say that _Artemisia_ is derived from Artemis, one of the names of Diana, and that the plant was named after that goddess, on account of its being used in bringing on precocious puberty. Among the ancients, the Mugwort had a reputation for efficacy in the relief of female disorders. It was also used for the purpose of incantations. Pliny says that the wayfarer having this herb tied about him feels no fatigue, and that he who hath it about him can be hurt by no poisonous medicines, nor by any wild beast, nor even by the sun itself. Apuleius adds that it drives away lurking devils and neutralises the effect of the evil eye of men. The plant was also considered a charm against the ague.--T--here is an old Scotch legend which tells how a mermaid of the Firth of Clyde, upon seeing the funeral of a young girl who had died of consumption, exclaimed--

“If they wad drink Nettles in March,
And eat Muggins [Mugwort] in May,
Sae mony braw maidens
Wad not go to clay.”