gather it for this purpose, firste they crosse the herbe with their hand, and they blesse it thus:
"Hallowed be thou, Vervein,
As thou growest on the ground,
For in the Mount of Calvary
There thou wast first found.
Thou healedst our Saviour Jesus Christ,
And staunchedst his bleeding wound;
In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost,
I take thee from the ground."
These passages may be seen in "The Preface to the Reader," sec. 13, no page, but on the reverse of Sig. A 4.
The writer of this interesting communication winds up his paper with the following very valuable suggestion, which I earnestly commend to the consideration of such members of the Folk-Lore Society as, with a desire to promote its objects, may at any time come across any of these uninviting bulky folios of Controversial Divinity, and may have leisure to turn the opportunity to good account:
"It might at first appear somewhat strange that these interesting remnants of early belief should have escaped the notice of your numerous correspondents, whose attention has for so long a period been directed to this inquiry; but this may be accounted for if we remember that the volume in which they occur is one which would seem primâ facie least likely to afford any such materials. It is one of those uninviting bulky folios of which the reigns of James and Charles I. furnish us with so many specimens. Here we might fairly expect to discover abundant illustrations of patristic and scholastic theology, of learning and pedantry, of earnest devotion, and ill-temper no less earnest; but nothing whereby to illustrate the manners or customs, the traditions, or the popular usages or superstitions of the common people. This may be a hint for us, however, to direct our attention to a class of literature which hitherto has scarcely received the attention to which it would appear to be entitled; and I would venture to express my conviction, that, if those who are interested in the illustration of our popular antiquities were to give a little of their time to early English theology, the result would be more important than might at first be anticipated."
