The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1891-03-01
FOR THE YOUNG FOLKS.
FACTS AND FANCTES LIKELY TO
PLEASE THEN.
A Magic Plant which Has Been Much Writ
ten About by the English Poets-Birds Lost
in the For-They Get Bewlldcred and Make
for the Nearest Light.

ten About by the English Poets-Birds Lost
in the For-They Get Bewlidcred and Mako
for the Nearest Light.
It's 10 be doubted whether any better in
stance could be found Of the wealth of trnli-
ton. legend and story that ccniers in
single little plant than that which has accu-
mulated round the mandrake. il has liter
AZURE all 10 itself, and learning seems to have
exhausted itself over its etymology. The
plant itself is so insignificant that it would
not naturally excite amy great interest. Its
leaves are long. sharp-poin.ed. and hairy. MS
ing Immediately from the ground. and are Of
vivid dark green. It's flowers are dingy
white stained with veins Of purple. md its
fruit of a pale orange, about the size OF nut
meg. The root Is spndle'l-slnped. often III
vlded into two or three forks. and rudciy
resembles the human form. from winch posi-
Div IL takes its name But II we turn from
the plant itself Ia the monument of learning
that las been erected around it. II is impossl
BILE not TO be struck with the universal inter-
est IL has possessed for all people and in all
ages. We do not know how many Shakes
peareon commentators have puzzled over the
alluslun in Juiet's immortal soiloquy:
And shrieks like mandrakes torn ont Of the
earth,
That living mortsls hearing them run mad;
and conirasted it with the parallel apostrophe
of Sufolk in king Henry VI" who. asked
by Queen Margaret whether he has not spirit 10
curse his enemies. replies
Would curses kill, as doth the mandrake's
grOan.
vonli invent as bitter. searching terms.
As curst, SIS harsh. as horrible To hear.
As the legend runs in order to procure the
magic plant II was necessary 20 cut away all
the suckers 10 the main root before pulling II
up. which would cause death 10 any man or
creature who heard the human scream it
made They had an ingenious if cOwanlly
way Of getting over the difficulty. which would
certainly not commend itself nowadays TO the
Society for the Prevention of Cruelty 10 AM
mails After carefully stopping their cans.
they took dog and tied its tail securely io
the plant, and then walking away To n short
distance called the dog 10 follow. In doing
this the luckless animal would pull up
the much-coveted root. but would fall dead
upon the spot. This was. at any rate. accord
ing 10 Josephus. the old Jewish practice: but
the tradition. M least. long survived. What
ever NAV be the origin for the theory that the
root shnekcd or grOaned when separated from
the earth. II certainly remained a current ira
dition long after Shakespeare immortaiZedit
imaginary resemblance TO the human figure
It is not unnatural to suppose that II may have
been credited with possessing some of the nj
tributes of human feeling. Langhorne. in the
latter part of the eighteenth century, tells
rs TO
Mark how that rooted mandrake wears
His human feet. ms human hands
Among its names in this connection are
those Of the Devils Food" and the Devils
Apple" the 'ruphach el Sbeitan" Of the
Arabs That this uncanny belief continued
down TO almost modern times. Is shown by an
anecdOte for which Madame du Mover is re-
spOnsible. According to this. on the murder
of the Marecha de Fabert in 1862. which was
popularity attributed 10 his having broken a
compact with the devil two mandrakes Of cx-
traOrdinary beauty We're found by his friends
in his rooms. and these were regarded as con-
elusive proofs of the diabOical league. of
which they failed TO find as they hoped, any
written record. II has always been in great
vogue in the Fast, both Jews and Arabs haV-
ing from time immemorial also valued
il for the magic virtues which
were 50 long commonly attached 10 a love
philter. This attribute, which dates at least
from the Old Testament times, remained Cur
rent in Italy until the Middle Ages for there
are plenty Of records showing that there was
a brisk demand for the root among the linllAn
ladies' Perhaps the most extraordinary of tho
properties attributed 10 IL are those which II
shared III common with the Rastrvtrava of
Russin, of enabling house-breakers TO pick
locks, which is certainly one Of the most
amusing developments of the solar theory.
Love" it is said. laughs at locksmiths:"
but the connection between the manGiake
and "burglng" seems little forced. There
is q tradition that the mOOnwOrt will lnshOe
horses If they step upon the plant. and sim-
lar powers have been attributed to the veryain
and the mandrake Chambers Journal.