3 8 2 pFairt bore, bege'qD/, orTil bijrie/.
untilled and sunny places. _ Its Italian name is Sfermcavallo, and in
in De Gnhernatis’ Mythologie des Plantes, we find a letter to the author
from Mdme. Valerie de Gasparin, detailing the superstition current
in Italy respedting this plant. The Countess writes “ In
our infancy, certain old people of the village spoke of the plant
which pulls off horse-shoes. My brother tells me that this superstition
IS to be found in all countries. It takes its origin from the
facff that the seed of the plant has the form of a horse-shoe.”____
The plant is also reputed by some people to open locks. An identical
superstition exists in England with regard to the Moonwort
{Botrychium Lunaria), which is known as Unshoe-the-Horse. (See
Moonwort).
H O U N D S T O N G U E .—The Cynogiossum was probably so
named on account of the form and soft texture of the leaf. It is
called Hound’s Tongue not only in England, but all over the
Continent, and the reason given by an old writer is, that “ it ties
the tongues of hounds; whether true or not, I never tried; yet I
cured the biting of a mad dog with this only medicine.” Miraldus
said, that if a portion of the plant were laid beneath the feet, it
would prevent dogs from barking at the wearer. Robert Turner
states that Hound’s Tongue “ cures the biting of dogs, either mad
or tame. I lay fourteen weeks once under a chyrurgeon’s hand for
cure of a dog’s biting; but, at last, I effected the cure myself, by
applying to the wound Hound’s Tongue leaves, changing them
once m four-and-twenty hours.” The plant has a strong and disagreeable
odour, which Gerarde tells us caused the Dutchmen to
change the plant’s name, substituting for “ Tongue ” an impolite
word, expressive of the odour of the foliage. Cynogiossum is a
herb of Saturn.
H O U S E L E E K . — The House-leek {Sempervivum) had, in
olden times, the names of Jupiter’s Beard, Jupiter’s Eye, Bullock’s
Eye, and Sengreene (a word derived from the Anglo-Saxon, and
expressing the same idea as the plant s Latin name Sempervivum,
evergreen). The old Dutch name of the Houseleek, Donderbloem,
Thunder-flower, refers to the popular belief that the plant was a
preservative against thunder. Charlemagne ordered the Houseleek
to be planted on the roof of every house on this account. Miraldus
IS stated to have declared that this lowly plant preserves what it
grows upon from fire and lightning; and Sir Thomas Browne has
left on record his belief that Houseleek is a “ defensative from
lightning.” In olden times there existed a belief that Houseleek
would suppress in children fevers given to them by witchcraft or
sorcery. According to Albertus Magnus, he who rubbed his hands
with the juice of the Houseleek would be insensible to pain when
taking red-hot iron in his hands. It is considered unlucky to
uproot the Houseleek; and there is a curious notion, still in existence,
that it IS also unlucky to let it blow; the flower-stalk is,
pfaot h o r & , h e g e f f , anel ‘bijric/. 38 3
therefore, carefully cut off direcftly it begins to shoot up. In
Italy, on Midsummer Eve, rustic maidens employ Houseleek for
divining purposes. They gather buds to represent their various
lovers, and on the following morning the bud which has flowered
the most freely indicates the future husband. In Tuscany, they
pound the Houseleek the first Friday after the birth of an infant,
and administer to it the expressed juice, which is thought to
preserve the babe from convulsions, and to ensure it a long life.
According to astrologers, Houseleek is a herb of Jupiter.
H u r t - S i c k l e .— See Centaury.
H Y A C IN T H .—From the time of Homer to the present day
the Hyacinth has been celebrated in the lays of the poets. Mythology
tells us that the flower sprang from the blood of Hyacinthus,
a comely Laconian youth, much beloved both by Apollo and
Z eph y r: preferring, however, the sun to the wind, he kindled in
the breast of the latter god a feeling of jealousy and desire for
revenge. The opportunity soon came. Unsuspecfting Hyacinthus
playing a game of quoits with Apollo, Zephyr, unperceived, seized
the opportunity basely to cause his rival to become the innocent
means of their common favourite’s death : for whilst a quoit thrown
by the sun-god whirled through the air. Zephyr treacherously blew
it from its course till it struck the head of the ill-fated Hyacinthus,
and killed him, to the great sorrow of his innocent slayer. Unable
to restore his favourite companion to life, Apollo, as a memorial of
him, caused the flower which has since borne his name to spring
from his blood. Rapin refers to the story as follows :—
“ I f spring proves mild ’tis Hyacinthus’ time,
A flower which also rose from Phoebus’ crime ;
Th’ unhappy quoit which rash Apollo threw,
Obliquely flying, smote his tender brow,
And pale alike he fell, and Phoebus stood,
One pale with guilt, and one with loss of blood ;
Whence a new flower with sudden birth appears,
And still the mark of Phoebus’ sorrow wears ;
Spring it adorns, and Summer’s scenes supplies
With blooms of various forms and various dyes.”
Ovid gives a slightly different version of the tragedy, which he
narrates in the following lines :—
“ The mid-day sun now shone with equal light
Between the past and the succeeding night;
They strip, then, smoothed with suppling oil, essay
To pitch the rounded quoit, their wonted play :
A well-pois’d disk first hasty Phoebus threw;
It cleft the air, and whistled as it flew;
It reach’d the mark, a most surprising length,
Which spoke an equal share of art and strength.
Scarce was it fall’n, when with too eager hand
Young Plyacinth ran to snatch it from the sand ;
But the curst orb, which met a stony soil,
Flew in his face with violent recoil.
II