Sentinel of the valley. [volume] (Woodstock, Va) 1841-1848, 1845-01-16

! lies concealed, and in the other
knowledge of the things to come
Three virgins constantly attend on this
tree, to sprinkle its leaves with water
| from the magic fountains, and this
water, fo.ling onthe earth in the shape
ofdew, produces honey. Man, accor-
ding to the Edda, w as formed fronl the
wood of this tree Ancient writers Of
/ all nations state that the serpent enter
tains an extraordinary respect for the
lash. Pliny says that if serpent be
placed near a FIRE, and both surrounded
by ashen twigs, the serpent will sooner
run into the fire than pass over the pie
ces of ash; and Dioscorides asserts
that thejuice ofash leaves, mixed with
wine, is cure for the bite ofthat reptile.
The OAK appears early to have
been an object Of worship among the
Celts and ancient Britons. Under the
form of this tree the Cells worshipped
their god Tuet, and the Britons Tarna-
wa, their god ofthunder. Baal, the
Celtic god fire, whose festival Chat Of
Yule) was kept at Christmas, was also
worshipped under the semblance of an
oak. The Druids professed to main-
tain perpetual fire; and once every year
all the fires belonging to the people
| were extinguished, and relighted from
the sacred fire of their priests. This
was the origin Of the Yule log, with
which, even SO lately as the middle Of
last century, the Christmas fire, in
parts of the country, was some
always kindled; a fresh log being
thrown on and lighted, but taken off
before it was consumed, and reserved
to kindle the Christmas fire the follow
ing year. The Yule log was always
of oak, and as the ancient Britons be-
lieyed that 1t was essential for their
hearth fres to be renewed every year
/ from the sacred fire of the Druids, so
their descendants thought that some
misfortune would befall them if any
accident happened to the Ynle log.
The worship of the Druids was gen
orally performed under an oak, and a
heap of stones or cairn was erected on
which the sacred fire was kindled. =
Before the ceremony of gathering the
mistletoe, the Druids tasted for several
days, and offered sacrifices in wicker
baskets or frames, which however, were
not Of willow, but of oak twigs curious
~ interviewer, and were similar to that
still carried by Jack-in-the- green on
May day, which according to some, is
"a relic of Druidism. The we'll known
chorus of "Hey, derry down." accor-
ding to Professor Burnet, was a Drui-
die chant, signifying literally, "En a
circle the oak move around" Crimi-
nails were tried under an oak-tree; the
judge, with the jury, being seated un-.
der its shade, and the prit placed in
a circle made by the chief Druid s wand.
The Saxons also held their national
meetings under an oak, and the cele-
brated conference between the Saxons
and the Britons, after the invasion of
the former was held under the oaks of
Dartmoor. ea9
E9sTHE M1sTLEToE, particularly that
which grows on the oak, was held in
great veneration by the Bri1ons. At
the beginning of the year, the Druids
went in solemnprocession into the for
ests, and raised grass altarat the foot
Of the finest oak, on which they inscrib-
ed the name ofthose gods which were
considered as the most powerful AT
ter this the chief Druid, clad in white
garment, assembled the tree, and cropp-
the mistletoe withaa. consecrated goI-
den pruning hook, the other Druids
receiving it impure white cloth which
they held beneath the tree. The mis-
tletoe was then dipped in water by the
principal Druid, and distributed among
the people, as a preservative against
twitchcraft and diseases. If any part
of the plant touched the ground, it was
considered to be the omen of some
dreadful misfortune which was about to
fall upon the land. The ceremony
was always performed when the moon
was SIX days old, and too white bulls
were sacrificed at the conclusion. haIn
Scandinavian mythology, Loke, the e.
vii spirit, is said to have made the ar
row with which he wounded Bladder
(Apollo,) the sun of Friga Venus of
mIstietoe branches. Bladder was charm
ed against injury from everything which
sprang from fire, earth, air, and water;
but the mistletoe, springing from nei-
ther, was found to be fatal, and Bladder
was not restored to the world till by al
general effort Of the other gods. The
magical properties of the mistletoe are
mentioned both by Virgil and Ovid