similar ceremony prevailed, under the same designation, in which
the Rush-bearings were made in the form of females, with a fanciful
rosette for the head; and on looking at these in Ambleside, some
faint resemblance of the female form may be traced in the outline.
No satisfactory explanation of this ceremony has ever yet been
given: the attempt at one is, that it is a remnant of an antient
custom, which formerly prevailed, of strewing the church-floors
with Rushes to preserve the feet from damp ; but we cannot perceive
what resemblance there is between the pradtice of strewing
the church with Rushes, and the trophies which are now carried
from time immemorial.” To dream of Rushes portends unpleasantness
between friends.
R Y E .—The Rye-fields are thought by the superstitious German
peasantry to be infested by an evil spirit known as the Roggenwolf,
or Rye-wolf, and in some distridts the last sheaf of Rye is left
as a shelter for this field demon during the winter. -In Germany,
when a horse is tired, the peasantry will place on his back sorne
crumbs of Rye bread, with a sure convidtion that his fatigue will
vanish.
SA D T R E E .—The Indian Sad Tree {Nyctanthes Avhor-tnstis)
is a species of Jasmine whose sweet-smelling flowers open at sunset
and fall at sunrise, so that it is unadorned during the day, and has
thus obtained the name of the Sad Tree. Its flowers, which resemble
Orange-blossoms, are much used in temples.--— Thunberg
relates that the ladies of Batavia, when in the evening they pay
visits to one another, are decorated in a particular manner about
the head with a wreath of flowers of the Nyctanthes, run upon a
thread. “ These flowers are brought every day fresh to town for
sale. The smell of them is inconceivably delightful, like that of
Orange and Lemon-flowers : the whole house is filled with the
fragrant scent, enhancing, if possible, the charms of the ladies’
company.” At Goa, this flower is called Parizataco, a name given
to it from the following circumstances :-—A governor, named Pari-
zatacos, had a beautiful daughter, who inspired the Sun with passionate
love; but after a time he transferred his afleiffions to
another, and the poor deserted one was seized with such despair,
that at last she put an end to her existence. Over her grave
sprang up the Parizataco, or Night Jasmine, the flowers of which
have such a horror of the Sun, that they always avoid gazing on it.
S a f f r o n .— See Crocus.
S A G E .—Many species of Sage are highly esteemed in European
countries for their medicinal qualities, and most of the continental
names of the plant are like the botanical one of Salvia, from
Salvo, to save or heal. The ancients ascribed to the herb manifold
virtues, and regarded it as a preserver of the human race (“ Salvia,
Salvatvix, nature conciliatrix.” ). In mediæval times, the plant, on
account of its numerous properties, obtained the name of Officinalis
Christi, and was reported to have been blessed by the Virgin Mary.
So wholesome was the herb considered, that the school of
Salerno summed up its surpassing merits in the line—
“ Cur morietur homo cui Salvia crescit in horto ? ”
“ How can a man die who grows Sage in his garden ? ”
Probably this saying gave rise to the piece of advice contained in
the old English proverb—
“ He that would live for aye
Must eat Sage in May.”
Parkinson remarks that “ Sage is much used in the month of May,
fasting, with butter and Parsley, and is held of most to conduce
much to the health of man,” and Turner says that “ it restores
natural heat, and comforts the vital spirits, and helps the memory,
and quickens the senses ; it is very healthful to be eaten in May
with butter, and also to be drank in ale.” The Greeks of Crete
(where Sage is grown abundantly) are very careful to gather the
herb either on the first or second day of May, before sunrise. In
Sussex, to charm away ague fits, the peasantry eat Sage-leaves
fasting for nine mornings consecutively. In Franche-Comté, the
herb is believed to mitigate grief, moral as well as physical. In
Piedmont, there exists a tradition that if Sage is placed in a glass
phial and buried beneath a dung-heap, a certain animal will grow,
the blood of which, if tasted by dogs, will cause them to lose consciousness.
There exists, also, a belief among Piedmontese girls
that in every Sage-leaf is concealed a little toad ; and Robert
Turner, in his work on English plants (1687), states that “ Rue is
good to be planted amongst Sage, to prevent the poison which
may be in it by toads frequenting amongst it, to relieve themselves
of their poison, as is supposed ; but Rue being amongst it, they
will not come near it.” There is an old superstition that^
with the aid of Sage, young women may see their future husbands
by pracitising the following extraordinary spell:—On Midsummer
Eve, just after sunset, three, five, or seven young women are to
go into a garden, where there is no other person, and each is. to
gather a sprig of Red Sage, and then, going into a room by themselves,
set a stool in the middle of the room, ànd on it a clean
bason full of Rose-water, on which the sprigs of Sage are to be
put ; and tying a line across the room, on one side of the stool, each
maiden is to hang on it a clean smock, turned the wrong side outwards
; then all are to sit down in a row, on the opposite side of
the stool, as far distant as the room will allow, in perfedt silence.
At a few minutes after twelve, each maid’s future husband will
take her sprig of Sage out of the Rose-water and sprinkle her
smock with it. Sage is held to be a herb of Jupiter.
S A IN F O IN .—As at present applied, the name Sainfoin
appertains to Hedysarum Onobrychis, but the name was first given
to the Lucerne Medicago sativa. Sainfoin was, in earlier times,