believed that at the commencement of the world Osiris was born from the midst of chaos, from whence also proceeded his wife Isis, the Queen of Light, and Typhon, the Spirit of Darkness. Osiris was the ruler of all the earth; but Typhon, being jealous of him, seized him by strategy, nailed him in a chest, and cast it into the Nile, that it might float out to sea. Isis in despair wandered all over the country, searching for the dead body of her husband, and at length heard that the chest had been cast on shore at Byblos, and had there lodged in the branches of a Tamarisk-bush, which quickly shot up and became a large and beautiful tree, growing round the chest so that it could not be seen. The king of the country, amazed at the vast size of the Tamarisk-tree, ordered it to be cut down and hewn into a pillar to support the roof of his palace, the chest being still concealed in the trunk. Here it was discovered by Isis, who cut open the pillar, and took the coffin with her to Egypt, where she hid it in a remote place; but Typhon found it, and divided the corpse of Osiris into fourteen pieces. After a long and weary search, in which Isis sailed over the fenny parts of the land in a boat made of Papyrus, she recovered all the fragments except one, which had been thrown into the sea.——The Tamarix Gallica is called the Tamarisk of Apollo: the Apollo of Lesbos is represented with a branch of Tamarisk in his hand. Nicander called the Tamarisk the Tree of Prophecy. In Persia, the Magian priests (who claimed supernatural power) arrived at a knowledge of future events by means of certain manipulations of the mystic baresma, or bundle of thin Tamarisk twigs, the employment of which was enjoined in the Zendavesta books as essential to every sacrificial
ceremony.——Herodotus informs us that the Tamarisk was employed for a similar purpose by other nations of antiquity; and Pliny states that the Egyptian priests were crowned with its foliage.——According to tradition, it was from Tamarisk-trees that the showers of Manna descended on the famishing Israelites in the desert.——At the present day, the Manna of Mount Sinai is produced by a variety of Tamarix Gallica: it consists of pure mucilaginous sugar.——Astrologers state that the Tamarisk is under the rule of Saturn.
TANSY.—The herb Tansy (Tanacetum) has derived its name from the Greek athanasia, immortality, it being supposed that this herb was referred to in a passage in Lucian’s Dialogues of the Gods, where Jupiter, speaking of Ganymede, says to Mercury, “Take him away, and when he has drunk of immortality [athanasia], bring him back as cup-bearer to us.” In the Catholic Church the herb is dedicated to St. Athanasius, and in Lent cakes are flavoured with it. Gerarde says that the name athanasia was given to the plant because the flowers do not speedily wither: he also tells us that “in the Spring time are made with the leaves hereof newly sprung up, and with egs, cakes or tansies, which be pleasant on taste, and good for the stomacke.”——In some country places, it is customary to eat Tansy pudding at Easter, in allusion to the “bitter herbs” at the Passover. In Sussex, a charm against ague is to wear Tansy leaves in the shoe.——In some parts of Italy, people present stalks of the Wild Tansy to those whom they mean to insult.——The Tansy is held to be a herb of Venus.
TEA.—A Japanese Buddhist legend attributes the origin of the Tea-plant (Thea Sinensis) to the eyelids of a devotee, which fell to the ground and took root. The legend relates that about A.D. 519 a Buddhist priest went to China; and, in order to dedicate his soul entirely to God, he made a vow to pass the day and night in an uninterrupted and unbroken meditation. After many years of such continual watching, he was at length so tired, that he fell asleep. On awaking the following morning, he was so grieved that he had broken his vow, that he cut off both his eyelids and threw them on the ground. Returning to the same spot on the following day, he was astonished to find that each eyelid had become a shrub. This was the Tea-shrub (until then unknown in China)—the leaves of which exhibit the form of an eyelid bordered with lashes, and possess the gift of hindering sleep.—One Ibn Wahab, who travelled in China some time in the ninth century, makes the first authentic mention of Tea as a favourite beverage of the Chinese. He describes it as the leaf of a shrub more bushy than the Pomegranate; and says that an infusion is made by pouring boiling water upon it.
TEREBINTH.—The Terebinth (Pistacia Terebinthus) is a tree much venerated by the Jews. Abraham pitched his tent beneath the shade of a Terebinth at Mamre, in the valley of Hebron, and an altar was afterwards erected close by. The spot whereon the tree of Abraham had flourished was in the time of Eusebius still held in great reverence and sanctity, and a Christian church was erected there. Josephus, in his ‘History of the Jews,’ recounts that the Terebinth of Abraham had flourished ever since the creation of the world; but a second legend states that it sprang from the staff of one the angels who visited Abraham. At Sichem is shown the Terebinth of Jacob, near which Joshua raised an altar. The angel appeared to Gideon to encourage him to engage in battle near a Terebinth-tree at Ophra, and on this spot, after the victory, Gideon raised an altar. The Jews, by preference, bury their dead beneath the shadow of a Terebinth.
THISTLE.—The Thistle (Carduus), in the first days of man, was sent by the Almighty as a portion of the curse passed upon him when he was made a tiller of the soil. God said, “Thorns and Thistles shall it bring forth to thee (Gen. iv.). One species, the Milk Thistle (Carduus Marianus), is distinguishable by the milky veins of its leaves, which were supposed to have derived their peculiar colour from the milk of the Virgin Mary having fallen upon them. This is sometimes called the Scotch Thistle, but it is not so: it grows on the rocky cliffs near Dumbarton Castle, where, if tradition be true, it was originally planted by the unfortunate Mary, Queen of Scots. The Thistle of Scotland is believed to be the Onopordum Acanthium, the Cotton Thistle, which grows by the highways: this is the national insignia, and its flower-cup and bristling leaves accord well with the motto, “Nemo me impune lacessit.” Tradition says that the Thistle, with the motto rendered in homely Scotch, “Wha daur meddle wi’ me?” was adopted as the symbol of Scotland from the following circumstance:—A party of invading Danes attempted to surprise the Scotch army by night. Under cover of darkness, they approached the slumbering camp, but one of them trod upon a prickly Thistle, and his involuntary cry of pain roused some of the Scots, who flew to arms, and chased the foe from the field. The Onicus acaulis, or stemless Thistle, is by some considered to be the true Scotch Thistle, as it accords best with the legend of the defeated Norsemen, and is, besides, the Thistle seen in the gold bonnet-piece of James V. Carduus acanthoides and C. nutans are by others supposed to be the
“Proud Thistle, emblem dear to Scotland’s sons,
Begirt with threatening points, strong in defence,
Unwilling to assault.”
The Thistle has given its title to a Scotch order of knighthood, which is said to have been instituted by Achaius, king of the Scots, when he obtained a victory over Athelstan. The insignia borne by the knights of the Order of the Thistle is a gold collar, with Thistles and a sprig of Rue interlaced. A gold medal is also worn, bearing a figure of St. Andrew.——Mannhardt states that in Mecklenburg there is a legend current which relates that in a certain wild and barren spot, where once a murder had been committed, there grows every day at noon a strangely-formed Thistle: on the weird plant are to be seen human arms, hands, and heads, and when twelve heads have appeared, the ghastly plant mysteriously vanishes. A shepherd, one day, passed the spot where the mystic Thistle was growing. His staff became tinder, and his arms were struck with paralysis.——According to Apuleius, the wild Thistle, carried about the person, possessed the magical property of averting all ills from the bearer.——In Esthonia, they place Thistles on the Corn that has first ripened, to drive away any evil spirit that may come to it.——In divining, by an old English rite, a girl, to find out which of three or four persons loves her best, takes three or four heads of Thistles, cuts off their points, gives each Thistle the name of one of these persons, and lays them under her pillow. That Thistle which bears the name of the person loving her most will put forth a fresh sprout.——To dream of being surrounded by Thistles is a lucky omen, portending that the dreamer will be rejoiced by some pleasing intelligence in a short time.——Astrologers state that Thistles are under the rule of Mars.