Della Valle, an Italian traveller of the seventeenth century, relates how, at Ikkeri, he saw an Indian widow, on her way to the funeral pyre, riding on horseback through the town, holding in one hand a mirror, in the other a Citron, and whilst gazing into the mirror she uttered loud lamentations. De Gubernatis thinks that perhaps the Citron was the symbol of the life become bitter since the death of her husband.——Rapin recommends the Citron for heart affections:—
“Into an oval form the Citrons rolled
Beneath thick coats their juicy pulp unfold:
From some the palate feels a poignant smart,
Which though they wound the tongue, yet heal the heart.”
CLAPPEDEPOUCH.—The Capsella Bursa pastoris, or Shepherd’s Purse, was so called from the resemblance of its numerous flat seed-pouches to a common leather purse. Dr. Prior says that the Irish name of Clappedepouch was applied to the plant in allusion to the licensed begging of lepers, who stood at the crossways with a bell and a clapper. Hoffmann von Fallersleben, in his Niederländische Volkslieder, says of them: “Separated from all the world, without house or home, the lepers were obliged to dwell in a solitary, wretched hut by the roadside; their clothing so scanty that they often had nothing to wear but a hat and a cloak, and a begging wallet. They would call the attention of the passers-by with a bell or a clapper, and received their alms in a cup or a bason at the end of a long pole. The bell was usually of brass. The clapper is described as an instrument made of two or three boards, by rattling which they excited people to relieve them.” The lepers, Dr. Prior thinks, would get the name of Rattle-pouches, and this be extended to the plant, in allusion to the little purses which it hangs out by the wayside. The plant was also known by the names of Poor Man’s Parmacetie, and St. James’s Weed—the former in allusion to its medicinal virtues. (See [Shepherd’s Purse]). It is considered a herb of Saturn.
CLEMATIS.—The Clematis vitalba, Gerarde informs us, was called Travellers’ Joy, “as decking and adorning waies and hedges when people travell.” It was also termed “Old Man’s Beard,” from the hoary appearance of its seeds; and Virgin’s Bower, out of compliment to Queen Elizabeth, and in allusion to its climbing habits. It became the emblem of Artifice because beggars, in order to excite compassion, were in the habit of making false ulcers in their flesh by means of its twigs, the result often being a real sore.——The Clematis flammula, or upright Virgin’s Bower, is an acrid plant, that inflames the skin. Miller says of it that if one leaf be cropped in a hot day in the summer season, and bruised, and presently put to the nostrils, it will cause a smell and pain like a flame.——Clematis integrifolia, or Hungarian Climber, is known in Little Russia as Tziganka (the Gipsy Plant). Prof. De Gubernatis has given in his Mythologie des Plantes the following legend connected with this plant:—The Cossacks were once at war with the Tartars. The latter having obtained the advantage, the Cossacks commenced to retreat. The Cossack hetman, indignant at the sight, struck his forehead with the handle of his lance. Instantly there arose a tempest, which whirled away the Cossack traitors and fugitives into the air, pounded them into a thousand fragments, and mingled their dust with the earth of the Tartars. From that earth springs the plant Tziganka. But the souls of the Cossacks, tormented by the thought of their bones being mixed with the
accursed earth of the stranger, prayed to God that he would vouchsafe to disseminate it in the Ukraine, where the maidens were wont to pluck Clematis integrifolia to weave into garlands. God hearkened to their Christian prayers, and granted their patriotic desires. It is an old belief in Little Russia that if everybody would suspend Briony from his waistbelt behind, these unfortunate Cossacks would come to life again.
CLOVE.—The aromatic Clove-tree (Caryophyllatus aromaticus) is a native of the Moluccas, where its cultivation is carefully guarded by the Dutch. The islanders wear its white flowers as a mark of distinction. These flowers grow in bunches at the end of the branches, and are succeeded by oval berries, which are crowned with the calyx. It is these berries, beaten from the trees before they are half grown, and allowed to dry in the sun, which are the Cloves of commerce. The Clove is considered to be one of the hottest and most acrid of aromatics; its pungent oil (which is specifically heavier than water) has been administered in paralytic cases. Gerarde says, that the Portuguese women, resident in the East Indies, distilled from the Cloves, when still green, a certain liquor “of a most fragrant smell, which comforteth the heart, and is of all cordials the most effectual.”——There is an old superstition, still extant, that children can be preserved from evil influences and infantile disorders, by having a necklace of Cloves suspended as an amulet round the neck.
CLOVER.—The old English names for Clover were Trefoil and Honey-suckles.——The word Clover is derived from the Anglo-Saxon Clœfre. The club of Hercules was called by the Latins clava trinodis; and the “club” of our playing cards is so named from its resemblance to a Clover-leaf—a leaf with three leaflets (tria folia). Hence the herb’s generic name of Trifolium, or Trefoil.——Hope was depicted by the ancients as a little child standing on tiptoe, and holding a Clover-flower in his hand. Summer is also represented with the Trefoil.——In the Christian Church, the Trefoil is held to be the symbol of the Trinity; hence Clover is used for decorations on Trinity Sunday. It is often employed as an architectural emblem: the limbs of crosses are sometimes made to end in Trefoils, and church windows are frequently in the same form.——Clover possesses the power of vegetating after having existed in a dormant state for many years. If lime is powdered and thrown upon the soil, a crop of white Clover will sometimes arise where it had never been known to exist; this spontaneous coming-up of the flower is deemed an infallible indication of good soil.——Clover-grass is reputed always to feel rough to the touch when stormy weather is at hand; and its leaves are said to start and rise up, as if it were afraid of an assault.——The Druids held the Clover, or Trefoil, in great repute, and it is believed that they considered it a charm against evil spirits. Formerly the Clover was thought to be not only good for cattle, but noisome to witches, and so “the holy Trefoil’s charm,” was very generally prized as a protective.——A sprig of Clover with only two leaves on it is employed by the lads and lasses of Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, and Suffolk, as a charm to enable them to ascertain the names of their future wives and husbands:—