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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 protedlion to those who had to undergo the ordeal
of holding red-hot iron in their hands. This ordeal was pradlised
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, inspedlion being
made by the clergy alone. The suspeifled 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 ailion 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 P'leabane,
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
affeiSled by witchcraft. The Marsh Mallow is held by astrologers
to be a herb of Venus.
M A R SH M A R IG O LD .—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 Phoebus 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.
M A S T IC .—The Mastic or Pistachio-tree {Pistacia Lentiscus),
the symbol of purity and virginity, was particularly dear to Dic-
tynna, 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.
M a th e r .—See Mayweed.
Maudle in, Maudelyne , or Maud lin ,—See Costmary.
Maudlin W o r t .— See Moon Daisy.
R IT I A . The Moriche Palm {Mauritiaflexuosa) 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.
m a y .—T he 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) .
M A Y F L O W E R .—The Mayflower of New England, Epigaa
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.
M A YW E E D .—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 signi,
fying 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
Ma i th e s , Costmary, and Moon Daisy.)