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Apple. In Sicily, when a young man is in love, he presents the
objedt of his affections with a love Apple. At Mount San Giuliano,
in Sicily, on St. John’s Day, every young girl throws from the
window of her room an Apple into the street, and watches to see
who picks it u p : should a woman do so, it is a sign that the maiden
will not be married during the year ; if the Apple is only looked at
and not touched, it signifies that the maiden, after her marriage,
will soon become a widow: if the first person passing is a priest,
the young girl will die a virgin. In Montenegro, the mother-in-
law presents an Apple to the young bride, who must try and
throw it on the roof of her husband’s house: if the Apple falls on
the roof, the marriage will be blest, that is to say there will be
children. At Taranto, in Southern Italy, at the wedding breakfast,
when the Apples are introduced, each guest takes one, and having
pierced it with a knife, places a piece of silver money in the
incision: then all the Apples are offered to the young bride, who
bites each, and takes out the money.
In a Roumanian legend, the infant Jesus, in the arms of the
blessed Virgin, becomes restless, will not go to sleep, and begins
to cry. The Virgin, to calm the Holy Child, gives Him two Apples.
The infant throws one upwards, and it becomes the Moon ; He
then throws the second, and it becomes the Sun. After this exploit,
the Virgin Mary addresses Him and foretells that He will become
the Lord of Heaven.
In old picflures of St. Dorothea, the virgin martyr is represented
with a basket'containing Apples and Roses: this is in
allusion to the legend of her death, which tells that as Dorothea
was being led forth to martyrdom, Theophilus, a lawyer, mockingly
bade her send him fruits and flowers from Paradise. Dorothea, inclining
her head, said, “ Thy request, O Theophilus, is granted ! ”
Whereat he laughed aloud with his companions, but she went on
cheerfully to death. Arrived at the place of execution, she knelt
down and prayed ; and suddenly there appeared at her side a
beautiful boy, with hair bright as sunbeams. In his hand he held
a basket containing three Apples and three fresh-gathered and
fragrant Roses. She said to him, “ Carry these to Theophilus,
and say that Dorothea hath sent them, and that I go before him
to the garden whence they came, and await him there.” With
these words she bent her neck, and received the death-stroke.
Meantime, the angelic boy sought Theophilus, and placed before
him the basket of celestial fruit and flowers, saying, “ Dorothea
sends thee these,” and vanished. Struck by the marvellous incident,
Theophilus tasted of the heavenly fruit, and commenced a
new life, following in Dorothea’s footsteps, and eventually obtaining
the crown of martyrdom.
Mr. Dyer quotes the following from ‘ Notes and Queries’ :—
“ In South-east Devon and the neighbourhood, a curious legend is,
we learn, current among the farmers respecting St, Dunstan and
p F a n t Isore, Tsege"^/, d o cl TiSqrie/. 223
the Apple-trees. It is said that he bought up a quantity of Barley,
and therewith made beer. The Devil, knowing that the Saint
would naturally desire to get a good sale for his beer, which he
had just brewed, went to him and said, that if he would sell himself
to him, then he (the Devil) would go and blight the Apple-trees,
so that there should be no cider, and, consequently there would be
a far greater demand for beer. St. Dunstan, naturally wishing to
drive a brisk trade in his beer, accepted the offer at once ; but
stipulated that the trees should be blighted in three days, which
days fell on the 17th, i8th, and 19th of May. In the almanacs,
the 19th is marked as St. Dunstan’s Day, and, as about this time
the Apple-trees are in blossom, many anxious allusions are generally
made to St. Dunstan ; and should, as is sometimes the case,
a sharp frost nip the Apple-blossoms, they believe they know who
has been at the bottom of the mischief. There seems to be several
versions of this legendary superstition. According to some, on_ a
certain night in June, three powerful witches pass through the air,
and if they drop certain charms on the blossoming orchards, the crops
will be blighted. In other parts of the country, this is known as
‘ Frankum’s Night,’ and the story is, that long ago, pn this night,
one Frankum made ‘ a sacrifice ’ in his orchard, with the object
of getting a specially fine crop. His spells were answered by a
blight; and the night is thus regarded as most critical.”
In a Polish legend, derived doubtless from the myth of the
Hesperides, the hawk takes the place of the dragon. _ A young
princess, through magic, is shut up in a golden castle situated on
a mountain of ice: before the castle she finds an Apple-tree
bearing golden Apples. No one is able to come to this castle.
Whenever a cavalier ascends the side of the ice mountain in order
to release the princess, the hawk darts down and blinds his horse,
and both horse and rider are precipitated down the abyss. At
length the appointed hero arrives, slays the hawk, gathers the
golden Apples, and delivers the princess.
According to a Hanoverian legend, a young girl descends to
the infernal regions by means of a staircase, which she discovers
under an Apple-tree growing at the back of the house. She sees a
garden, where the sun seems to shine more brightly than on earth;
the trees are blossoming or are loaded with fruit. The damsel fills
her apron with Apples, which become golden when she returns
to earth. , * , • ■,
In the popular tales of all countries, the Apple is represented
as the magical fruit par excellence. The Celtic priests held the
Apple sacred, and in Gaelic, Norse, German, and Italian stories it
is constantly introduced as a mysterious and enchanted fruit. Mr,
Campbell, in the introduction to his Tales of the West Highlands,
points out that when the hero wishes to pass from Islay to Ireland,
he pulls out sixteen Apples and throws them into the sea one after
another, and he steps from one to the other. When the giant’s
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