elpest many a grief,
And staunchest many a wound;
In the name of sweet Jesu,
I lift thee from the ground.'

Mr. Thiselton-Dyer says that a wreath of vervain is now presented to
newly-married brides in Germany, but whether this is a survival of the
sanctity of the plant, or of its ancient reputation as a love-philtre
and charm, is not very clear.

It is to be feared that vervain has sadly fallen out of favour in this
country, although not many years ago a pamphlet was written to recommend
the wearing of vervain tied by white satin ribbon round the neck, as
preservative against evil influences and infection.

'On the Continent'--rather a wide term--Mr. Hilderic Friend says, 'the
three essential plants for composing a magic wreath are rue,
crane's-bill, and willow.' The crane's-bill is the Herb Robert, or Robin
Hood, and the willow has always been connected with lovers. Such a
wreath, then, is made by lovers when they wish to see their 'fate.'
Love-sick maidens will employ such a wreath to find out how long they
have yet to remain single. They walk backwards towards some selected
tree, and as they walk throw the wreath over their heads until it
fastens on one of the branches. Failure to 'catch on' requires another
backward walk, and so on--each failure to buckle the tree counting as a
year of spinsterhood. It seems rather an awkward way of getting at the
future, but if not more blind than other processes of love divination,
would at least require the guarantee of the absence of tight-lacing
among the maidens practising it.

Aristotle mentions the use made by the Greeks of rue as a charm against
evil spirits, and he accounts for it, somewhat singularly, by the habit
of the Greeks in not sitting down to table with strangers. The
explanation is, that when they ate with strangers they were apt to
become excited and nervous, and so to eat too rapidly, with the result
of flatulence and indigestion. These effects were equivalent to
bewitchment, as, indeed, disorders of the digestive organs are
frequently regarded by many Eastern peoples even to this day. As rue was
found to be an effectual antidote to these distressing symptoms, it
became a charm against enchantment.

Among many old-wife recipes for the cure of warts is the use of rue.
Most people know the old folk-jingle:

'Ashen tree, ashen tree,
Pray bury these warts of me,'

which has to be accompanied by the thrust of a pin into the bark of the
tre