house; and in some parts of
Essex there is a current belief that sickness or death will inevitably
ensue if blossoms of the whitethorn be brought into a house; the idea in
Norfolk being that no one will be married from the house during the
year. Another ominous sign is that of plants shedding their leaves, or
of their blossoms falling to pieces. Thus the peasantry in some places
affirm that the dropping of the leaves of a peach-tree betokens a
murrain; and in Italy it is held unlucky for a rose to do so. A
well-known illustration of this superstition occurred many years ago in
the case of the unfortunate Miss Bay, who was murdered at the piazza
entrance of Covent Garden by Hackman (April 1779), the following account
of which we quote from the "Life and Correspondence of M. G. Lewis":--
"When the carriage was announced, and she was adjusting her dress, Mr.
Lewis happened to make some remark on a beautiful rose which Miss Kay
wore in her bosom. Just as the words were uttered the flower fell to the
ground. She immediately stooped to regain it, but as she picked it up,
the red leaves scattered themselves on the carpet, and the stalk alone
remained in her hand. The poor girl, who had been depressed in spirits
before, was evidently affected by this incident, and said, in a slightly
faltering voice, 'I trust I am not to consider this as an evil omen!'
But soon rallying, she expressed to Mr. Lewis, in a cheerful tone, her
hope that they would meet again after the theatre--a hope, alas! which
it was decreed should not be realised." According to a German belief,
one who throws a rose into a grave will waste away.

There is a notion prevalent in Dorsetshire that a house wherein the
plant "bergamot" is kept will never be free from sickness; and in
Norfolk it is said to be unlucky to take into a house a bunch of the
grass called "maiden-hair," or, as it is also termed, "dudder-grass."
Among further plants of ill omen may be mentioned the bluebell
(_Campanula rotundifolia_), which in certain parts of Scotland was
called "The aul' man's bell," and was regarded with a sort of dread, and
commonly left unpulled. In Cumberland, about Cockermouth, the red
campion (_Lychnis diurna_) is called "mother-die," and young people
believe that if plucked some misfortune will happen to their parents. A
similar belief attaches to the herb-robert (_Geranium robertianum_) in
West Cumberland, where it is nicknamed "Death come quickly;" and in
certain pa