The Folk-lore of Plants

Then there are the downy thistle-heads, which the rustic maiden names after her lovers, in connection with which there are many old rhymes. Beans have not lost their popularity; and the leaves of the laurel still reveal the hidden fortune, having been also burnt in olden times by girls to win back their errant lovers. The garden scene in "Faust" is a well-known illustration of the employment of the centaury or bluebottle for testing the faith of lovers, for Margaret selects it as the floral indication whence she may learn the truth respecting Faust: "And that scarlet poppies around like a bower, The maiden found her mystic flower. 'Now, gentle flower, I pray thee tell If my love loves, and loves me well; So may the fall of the morning dew Keep the sun from fading thy tender blue; Now I remember the leaves for my lot-- He loves me not--he loves me--he loves me not-- He loves me! Yes, the last leaf--yes! I'll pluck thee not for that last sweet guess; He loves me!' 'Yes,' a dear voice sighed; And her lover stands by Margaret's side." Another mode of love-divination formerly much practised among the lower orders was known as "peascod-wooing." The cook, when shelling green peas, would, if she chanced to find a pod having nine, lay it on the lintel of the kitchen-door, when the first man who happened to enter was believed to be her future sweetheart; an allusion to which is thus given by Gay: