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into three portions, of which one was reserved for the Sun, which
with glowing rays, quickly came and carried it off.— —Herodotus
says, that Cinnamon was gathered from the nest of the Phoenix____
An d d writer affirms that the distilled water of the flowers of
the Cmnamon-tree excelled far in sweetness all the waters what
soever. The leaves yield oil of Cloves ; the fruit also yields an oil,
\Hii J was formerly, in Ceylon, made into candles, for the sole use
d the king ; the root exudes an abundance of Camphor ; and the
bark of the root affords oil of Camphor, as well as a particularlv
pure species of Camphor.
Cinquefoil iPotniUUa) much prevailed as an heraldic device ; the number of the leaves
answering to the five senses of man. The right to bear Cinquefoil
was considered an honourable distinction to him who had worthilv
conquered his affeCbons and mastered his senses. In wet weather
toe leaves of the Cinquefoil contract and bend over the flower
^ "^o^er it—an apt emblem of an
• affedionate mother protecting her child. Cinquefoil was formerlv
believed to he a cure for agues ; four branches being prescribed for
a quarton, three for a tertian, and one for a quotidian. Cinqueloil
IS deemed a herb of Jupiter,
C I S T U S . - J h e Cistus, according to Cassianus Bassus, derives
Its name from a Grecian youth named Kistos. Under this title is
embraced a most extensive genus of plants celebrated all over the
world for their beauty and fragility. Gerarde and Parkinson call
them Holly Roses, a name which has become changed into Rock
From the Ctstus Creticus (frequently called the Ladanifewus
Cistus) is o b t am j the balsam called Ladanum, a kind of resin, prized
lor Its tonic and stomachic properties, but more highly valued as a
perfume, and extensively used in oriental countries in fumffiations.
J i i s resin, which is secreted from the leaves and other parts of thè
shrub, is collected by means of a kind of rake, to which numerous
leather thongs are appended instead of teeth. In olden times this
resin was J l ie v e d to have been gathered from the shrubs by goats
who r u j e J h e i r bea J s against the leaves, and so colleffied the liquid
guin but G e r a r J affirms this to have been a monkish tradition—
a fable of the “ Calohieros, that is to say, Greekish monkes, who,
of very mockery have foisted that fable among others extant iè theiè
wor J s . Be t J s as it may, Bacon records the fact in his ‘ Natural
History, remarking: “ There are some teares of trees, which are
kembed from the beards of goats ; for when the goats bité and crop
toem, espemally m the morning, the dew being on, the teare cometh
t l t n u m ” kinde of
C IT R O N .—A native of all the warm regions of Asia, the
Citron was introduced mto Europe from Media, and hence obtained
the name oi Malus Medica. During the feast of the Tabernacles
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the Jews in their synagogues carry a Citron in their left hand; and
a conserve made of a particular variety of the fruit is in great
demand by the Jews, who use it during the same feast. According
to Athenaeus, certain notorious criminals, who had been condemned
to be destroyed by serpents, were miraculously preserved, and kept
in health and safety by eating Citrons. Theophrastus says that
Citrons were considered an antidote to poisons, for which purpose
Virgil recommended them in his Georgies, Gerarde thus translates
the passage:—“
The countrey Media beareth juices sad,
And dulling tastes of happy Citron fruit,
Than which no helpe more present can be had,
I f any time stepmothers, worse than brute.
Have poyson’d pots, and mingled herbs of sute
With hurtful charmes : this Citron fruit doth chase
Black venóme from the body in every place.
The tree itselfe in growth is large and big,
And very like in show to th’ Laurell-tree;
And would be thought a Laurell leafe and twig,
But that the smell it casts doth disagree:
The floure it holds as fast as floure may be :
Therewith the Medes a remedie do finde
For stinking breaths and mouthes, a cure most kinde,
And helpe old men which hardly fetch their winde.’’
Della Valle, an Italian traveller of the seventeenth century, relates
how, at Ikkeri, he saw an Indian widow, on her way to the funeral
pyre, riding on horseback through the town, holding in one hand a
mirror, in the other a Citron, and whilst gazing into the mirror
she uttered loud lamentations. De Gubernatis thinks that perhaps
the Citron was the symbol of the life become bitter since the death
of her husband. Rapin recommends the Citron for heart affections
:—
‘ ^ Into an oval form the Citrons rolled
Beneath thick coats their juicy pulp unfold:
From some the palate feels a poignant smart,
Which though they wound the tongue, yet heal the heart.”
C L A P P E D E P O U C H .—The Capsella Bursa pastoris, orShep-
herd’s Purse, was so called from the resemblance of its numerous
flat seed-pouches to a common leather purse. Dr. Prior says that
the Irish name of Clappedepouch was applied to the plant in
allusion to the licensed begging of lepers, who stood at the cross-
ways with a bell and a clapper. Hoffmann von Fallersleben, in his
Niederländische Volkslieder, says of them: “ Separated from all the
world, without house or home, the lepers were obliged to dwell in
a solitary, wretched hut by the roadside; their clothing so scanty
that they often had nothing to wear but a hat and a cloak, and a
begging wallet. They would call the attention of the passers-by
with a bell or a clapper, and received their alms in a cup or a bason
at the end of a long pole. The bell was usually of brass. The
clapper is described as an instrument made of two or three boards,
by rattling which they excited people to relieve them.” The