,
present day rife in all parts of the country. Of these the following
are perhaps the principal:—For the cure of diseases ; Blue Cornflowers
gathered on Corpus Christi Sunday stop nose-bleeding if
they are held in the hand till they are warm. Club Moss is
considered good for all diseases of the eyes, and Euphrasy and
Rue for dimness of sight. Cork has the power of keeping off
the cramp, and so have Horse-chesnuts if carried in the pocket.
Elder-sticks in the pocket of a horseman when riding prevent
galling; and the same, with three, five, or seven knots, if carried
in the pocket will ward off rheumatism. A Potato (stolen, if
possible) or a piece of Rowan-wood in the trousers pocket will also
cure rheumatism. The roots of Pellitory of Spain and Tarragon,
held between the teeth, cure the toothache, and so will splinters of
an Cak struck by lightning. Hellebore, Betony, Honesty, and
Rue are antidotes against madness. The root of a male Peony,
dried and tied to the neck, cures epilepsy and relieves nightmare.
Castoreum, Musk, Rue-seed, and Agnus Castus-seed are likewise
all remedies for nightmare. Chelidonium placed under the bare
feet will cure jaundice. A twig of Myrtle carried about the person
is efficacious in cases of tumour in the groin. Green Wormwood
placed in the shoes will relieve pains in the stomach of the wearer.
Spurge and Laurel-leaves, if broken off upwards, will cause vomiting
; if downwards, purging. Plantain laid under the feet removes
weariness ; and with Mugwort worn beneath the soles of his feet a
man may walk forty miles without tiring. Agnus Castus, if carried in
the hand, will prevent weariness ; and when placed in a bed preserves
chastity. Henbane, laid between the sheets, also preserves chastity,
and will besides kill fleas. Necklaces of Peony-root, worn by children,
prevent convulsions. The excrescence found in Rose-bushes,
known as “ Robin Redbreast’s Cushion,” when hung round children’s
necks, will cure whooping-cough. Pansy-leaves, placed in the
shoe, or Sage-leaves eaten, will cure ague. The roots of white
Briony, bruised and applied to any place, when the bones are
broken, help to draw them forth, as also splinters, arrow-heads, and
thorns in the flesh. The root of an Iris, if it grow upwards, will
attract all thorns from the flesh; if, on the contrary, it inclines
downwards, it will cure wounds. A piece of Oak, rubbed in silence
on the body, on St. John’s Day, before the sun rises, heals all open
wounds. An Apple is deemed potent against warts, and so is a
green Elder-stick, rubbed over them, and then buried in muck, to
rot. Sometimes the Elder-stick has a notch cut in it for each
wart ; it is then rubbed over the warts, and finally burned. Warts
are also cured by pricking them with a Gooseberry-thorn passed
through a wedding-ring; and by rubbing them with a Bean-shell,
which is afterwards secretly taken under an Ash-tree by the
operator, who then repeats the words—
“ As this Bean-shell rots away,
So my warts shall soon decay.”
Catmint will cause those of the most gentle and mild dispositions
to become fierce and quarrelsome. Crocus-flowers will
produce laughter and great joy. Rosemary, worn about the body,
strengthens the memory. He who sows seed should be careful not
to lay it on a table, otherwise it will not grow. In sowing peas,
take some of them in your mouth before the sun goes down, keep
them there in silence while you are sowing the rest, and this will
preserve them from sparrows. A piece of wood out of a coffin
that has been dug up, when laid in a Cabbage-bed, will defend it
from caterpillars. A bunch of wild Thyme and Origanum, laid by
the milk in a dairy, prevents its being spoiled by thunder : Sunflowers
are also held to be a protection against thunder. A
bunch of Nettles laid in the barrel, in brewing, answers the same
purpose. Water Pepper, put under the saddle of a tired horse,
will refresh him and cause him to travel well again. Basil, if
allowed to rot under an earthen jar, will become changed into
scorpions, and the frequent smelling of this herb is apt to generate
certain animals like scorpions in the brain. The Oak being a prophetic
tree, a fly in the gall-nut is held to foretell war ; a maggot,
dearth ; a spider, pestilence.
Probably the most frequent visitors to the Witch’s cottage
were vain and silly maidens, desirous either of procuring some
potion which should enhance their rustic charms, or of learning
from the lips of the Witch the mysteries of the future. To such
credulous applicants the beldame would impart the precious secrets,
that Lilies of the Valley, gathered before sunrise, and rubbed over
the face, would take away freckles; and that Wild Tansy, soaked
in biitter-milk for nine days, and then applied as a wash to the face,
would cause the user to look handsome. For those who were
anxious to consult her as to their love affairs, or desired to test her
powers of divination, the Witch had an abundant stock of charms
and amulets, and was prepared with mystic and unerring spells.
She would take a root of the Bracken-fern, and, cutting its stem
very low down, would show to the inquiring maiden the initial letter
of her future husband’s name. She knew where to procure twoleaved
and four-leaved Clover, and even-leaved Ash, by the aid of
which lovers would be forthcoming before the day was over. She
could instruct a lass in the mystic rite of Hemp-sowing in the
churchyard at midnight on St. Valentine’s Eve. She knew and
would reveal where Yarrow was to be found growing on a dead
man’s grave, and would teach country wenches the charmed verse
to be repeated when the magic plant should be placed beneath
their pillow. She could superintend the construction of “ The
Witches’ Chain” by three young women, and could provide the
necessary Holly, Juniper, and Mistletoe-berries, with an Acorn for
the end of each link ; and she would instruct them how to wind this
mystic chain around a long thin log of wood, which was to be
placed on the fire, accompanied by many magical rites (the secret