The plant, with certain accompanying exorcisms, was reputed to be efficacious in cases of deafness caused by witchcraft. In Tuscany, the peasantry divine the harvest from the appearance of the Hellebore-plant. If it has four tufts, it will be good; if three, mediocre; if two, bad.——Astrologers say that Hellebore is a herb of Saturn.
HELMET-FLOWER.—The Scutellaria, or Skull-cap flower, is generally known by the name of the Helmet-flower, the blossoms being shaped similar to those of the Snap-Dragon. It is used in curing the tertian ague.
HEMLOCK.—The common Hemlock (Conium maculatum) is described by Dioscorides as a very evil, dangerous, hurtful, and poisonous herb, “insomuch that whosoever taketh of it into his body dieth remediless, except the party drank some wine before the venom hath taken the heart.” It is the Coneion of the ancients: that deadly poison distilled from the juices of the Hemlock, that was drunk by Socrates, Theramenes, and Phocion—the fatal drug given to him whom the Areopagus had condemned to death—the unfailing potion gulped down by ancient philosophers, who were weary of their lives, and dreaded the infirmities of old age. Resolved on their fate, these men crowned themselves with garlands, and with a smile upon their lips tossed off the fatal Coneion—dying respected by their countrymen for their fortitude and heroism.——The Hemlock is one of the deadly poisons that kills by its cold quality. Hence Pliny tells us that serpents fly from its leaves, because they also chill to the death: on this account probably it has been called Herba benedicta, or Herb Bennett.——The Eleusinian priests, who were required to remain chaste all their lives, were wont to rub themselves with Hemlock.——In Russia, the Hemlock under the name of Beh, is looked upon as a Satanic herb; and in Germany, it is regarded as a funereal plant, and as a representative of the vegetation of the infernal regions. In England, it was a favourite plant of the witches, gathered by them for use in their potions and hell-broths: it is still considered a plant of ill-omen, growing among ruins and in waste places, and being unsavoury and offensive to
the senses.
“By the witches’ tower,
Where Hellebore and Hemlock seem to weave
Round its dark vaults a melancholy bower
For spirits of the dead at night’s enchanted hour.”
The Hebrew prophet Hosea says of this sinister plant: “Judgment springeth up as Hemlock in the furrows of the field.”——At the end of Summer the dead stalks of the Hemlock rattle in the wind, and are called by country folk Kecksies, an old English word applied to the dry hollow stalks of umbelliferous plants. Formerly the Hemlock was called Kex.——Astrologers assign the plant to Saturn.
HEMP.—Herodotus speaks of Hemp (Cannabis sativa) as a novelty in his time, lately introduced into Thrace from Scythia.——A curious prophecy relating to English kings and queens, and the prosperity of England, has been preserved by Lord Bacon, who heard of it when Queen Elizabeth was “in the flower of her age”:—