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271
The Folk-lore of Plants
·
T. F. Thiselton-Dyer
84
There
are
numerous
charms
connected
with
the
ash-leaf,
and
among
those
employed
in
the
North
of
England
we
may
quote
the
following:
"The
even
ash-leaf
in
my
left
hand,
The
first
man
I
meet
shall
be
my
husband;
The
even
ash-leaf
in
my
glove,
The
first
I
meet
shall
be
my
love;
The
even
ash-leaf
in
my
breast,
The
first
man
I
meet's
whom
I
love
best;
The
even
ash-leaf
in
my
hand,
The
first
I
meet
shall
be
my
man.
Even
ash,
even
ash,
I
pluck
thee,
This
night
my
true
love
for
to
see,
Neither
in
his
rick
nor
in
his
rear,
But
in
the
clothes
he
does
every
day
wear."
And
there
is
the
well-known
saying
current
throughout
the
country:
"If
you
find
an
even
ash
or
a
four-leaved
clover,
Rest
assured
you'll
see
your
true
love
ere
the
day
is
over."
Longfellow
alludes
to
the
husking
of
the
maize
among
the
American
colonists,
an
event
which
was
always
accompanied
by
various
ceremonies,
one
of
which
he
thus
forcibly
describes:
"In
the
golden
weather
the
maize
was
husked,
and
the
maidens
Blushed
at
each
blood-red
ear,
for
that
betokened
a
lover,
But
at
the
crooked
laughed,
and
called
it
a
thief
in
the
corn-field:
Even
the
blood-red
ear
to
Evangeline
brought
not
her
lover."
Charms
of
this
kind
are
common,
and
vary
in
different
localities,
being
found
extensively
on
the
Continent,
where
perhaps
even
greater
importance
is
attached
to
them
than
in
our
own
country.
Thus,
a
popular
French
one--which
many
of
our
young
people
also
practise--is
for
lovers
to
test
the
sincerity
of
their
affections
by
taking
a
daisy
and
plucking
its
leaflets
off
one
by
one,
saying,
"Does
he
love
me?--a
little--much--passionately--not
at
all!"
the
phrase
which
falls
to
the
last
leaflet
forming
the
answer
to
the
inquiry:
Marker
Marker
Fine marker
White-out
Fine white-out
Circle
Paint
Unmarker
Hand
Scalpel
Dice
Sieve
Purify
Undo
Redo
Start over
