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271
The Folk-lore of Plants
·
T. F. Thiselton-Dyer
83
CHAPTER
VIII.
LOVE-CHARMS.
Plants
have
always
been
largely
used
for
testing
the
fidelity
of
lovers,
and
at
the
present
day
are
still
extensively
employed
for
this
purpose
by
the
rustic
maiden.
As
in
the
case
of
medical
charms,
more
virtue
would
often
seem
to
reside
in
the
mystic
formula
uttered
while
the
flower
is
being
secretly
gathered,
than
in
any
particular
quality
of
the
flower
itself.
Then,
again,
flowers,
from
their
connection
with
certain
festivals,
have
been
consulted
in
love
matters,
and
elsewhere
we
have
alluded
to
the
knowledge
they
have
long
been
supposed
to
give
in
dreams,
after
the
performance
of
certain
incantations.
Turning
to
some
of
the
well-known
charm
formulas,
may
be
mentioned
that
known
as
"a
clover
of
two,"
the
mode
of
gathering
it
constituting
the
charm
itself:
"A
clover,
a
clover
of
two,
Put
it
in
your
right
shoe;
The
first
young
man
you
meet,
In
field,
street,
or
lane,
You'll
get
him,
or
one
of
his
name."
Then
there
is
the
hempseed
formula,
and
one
founded
on
the
luck
of
an
apple-pip,
which,
when
seized
between
the
finger
and
thumb,
is
supposed
to
pop
in
the
direction
of
the
lover's
abode;
an
illustration
of
which
we
subjoin
as
still
used
in
Lancashire:
"Pippin,
pippin,
paradise,
Tell
me
where
my
true
love
lies,
East,
west,
north,
and
south,
Pilling
Brig,
or
Cocker
Mouth."
The
old
custom,
too,
of
throwing
an
apple-peel
over
the
head,
marriage
or
single
blessedness
being
foretold
by
its
remaining
whole
or
breaking,
and
of
the
peel
so
cast
forming
the
initial
of
the
future
loved
one,
finds
many
adherents.
Equally
popular,
too,
was
the
practice
of
divining
by
a
thistle
blossom.
When
anxious
to
ascertain
who
loved
her
most,
a
young
woman
would
take
three
or
four
heads
of
thistles,
cut
off
their
points,
and
assign
to
each
thistle
the
name
of
an
admirer,
laying
them
under
her
pillow.
On
the
following
morning
the
thistle
which
has
put
forth
a
fresh
sprout
will
denote
the
man
who
loves
her
most.
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