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ground. They sprinkled him with water, and when, after considerable
trouble, he was restored to consciousness, he sprinkled on the
roots one hundred jars full of milk; then prostrating himself with
his face to the earth, he pronounced this vow:—“ I f the tree does
not revive, I shall never arise again.” The tree at the same
moment shot forth branches, and little by little raised itself until
it attained its present height, which is about 120 feet. The number
of Bo-trees which have become objedts of veneration among the
Hindus, and especially the Buddhists, is infinite, and the worship
of the sacred Bodhidruma is still extant in India. The Bo-tree
is also specially consecrated to Vishnu, who is often portrayed as
seated on its heart-shaped and pointed leaves. It is represented
in the Vedas as being frequented by various birds, who eat its
sweet Figs. In the sacred city of Aniiradhapura, in Ceylon, is a
Bo-tree, which is supposed to be one of the oldest trees in existence,
and its age is not merely legendary, but substantiated by authentic
records. Kings have dedicated their dominions to it, in testimony
of their belief that it sprang from a branch of the identical tree
under which Buddha reclined for seven years whilst undergoing
his apotheosis. The precious branch was taken to Ceylon by the
king Asoka, and the tree of which it was the parent was planted
by the king Tissa, in the year 288 b .c . When planting it Tissa
prophesied that it should flourish eternally, and that it should be
an evergreen. It is too sacred to be touched by a knife, but the
leaves, as they fall, are eagerly gathered and treasured by Buddhist
pilgrims. In Ja v a , the Bo-tree is also held sacred, and a species of
Mistletoe which grows on its branches is supposed to afford much
gratification to the shades of the departed which revisit earth.
The Buddhists of Thibet call the sacred Bo-tree the bridge of
safety—the bridge by which mortals pass from the shores of the
world to the shores of the immortal land.
P E N N Y R O Y A L .—The Pennyroyal {Mentha Puhgium) used
formerly to be called Puliol Royal, and derived its name from the
Latin word puUces, fleas—insecfis it was thought to be specially efficacious
in destroying. In most of the Western Counties the plant
is known as Organ-herb, and is much prized by old-women herbalists
as a blood purifier. According to an ancient recipe. Organ
broth was used in witchcraft to make people see double. In
Sicily, children put Pennyroyal in their cots on Christmas Day, under
the belief that at the exacft hour and minute when the infant Jesus
was born this plant puts forth its blossom. The sapie woncier is
repeated on Midsummer Night. In Sicily, also. Pennyroyal is
given to husbands and wives who quarrel. According to astrologers,
Pennyroyal is a herb of Venus.
P E O N Y .—The Peony, or healing plant {Peonia), commemorates
the Homeric god Paeon, the first physician of the gods, who
healed the divinities Ares anci Hades of their wounds. Traciition
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asserts that the Peony is the floral descendant of Paeon, who was
a pupil of the great Æsculapius. Paeon first received the flower
on Mount Olympus, from the hands of the mother of Apollo, and
by its means he cured Pluto of a wound he had received from
Hercules ; but this cure created so much jealousy in the breast of
Æsculapius, that he secretly caused the death of Paeon. Pluto,
however, retained a grateful sense of his service, and so transformed
his body into the flower which to-day bears his name.------
Rapin has a totally different tale to tell as to the origin of the
blooming Peony, although from what source he derived his information
we are unable to discover. According to the French poet,
Paeonia is a nymph whose crimson hue is not the blush of modesty,
but the tell-tale witness of the sin of a shepherdess of Alcinous,
King of Phæacia, who seems to have been unable to withstand the
amorous advances of the Sun-god. In the emblematic language
of flowers, the Peony is the representative of bashful shame.------
Speaking of the Peony, Rapin says :—
“ Erect in all her crimson pomp you’ll see
With bushy leaves the graceful Piony,
Whose blushes might the praise of virtue claim.
But her vile scent betrays they rise from shame.
Happy her form, and innocent her red,
If, while Alcinous’ bleating flock she fed.
An heavenly lover had not sought her bed ;
’Twas Phoebus’ crime, who to his arms allured
A maid from all mankind by pride secured.”
The ancient Greeks held the Peony in great repute, believing its
origin to have been divine. It was thought to have been an
emanation from the moon, and that the flower shone during the
night, chased away evil spirits, and protedted the dwellings of those
who cultivated it. Hence, in later days, it came to be ranked as
a miraculous plant ; and it was thought that evil spirits would shun
the spot where it was planted, and that even a small piede of the
root, worn round the neck as an amulet, would protedt the wearer
from all kinds of enchantment. To this day, in Sussex, necklaces
of beads turned from the Peony-root are worn by young children, to
prevent convulsions and assist them in teething._ Apuleius states
that the Peony is a powerful remedy for insanity. Lord Bacon
tells us, in his ‘ Natural History,’ that “ it hath beene long received,
and confirmed by divers trialls, that the root of the male Piony
dried, tied to the necke, doth help the falling sicknesse, and likewise
the incubus, which we call the Mare. The cause of both
these diseases, and especially of the epilepsie -from the stomach, is
the grossenesse of the vapours, which rise and enter into the cells
of the braine ; and therefore the working is by extreme and subtill
alternation, which that simple hath.” In Germany, the Peony
is the Pentecostal Rose.-.——Astrologers say that both male and
female Peonies are herbs of the Sun, and under the Lion.
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