King Solomon, whose books on Magic King Hezekiah destroyed lest their contents should do harm, ascribed great magical powers to a root which he called _Baharas_ (or _Baara_). Josephus, in his History of the Jewish Wars, states that this wonderful root is to be found in the region of Judæa. It is like a flame in colour, and in the evening appears like a glittering light; but upon anyone approaching it with the idea of pulling it up, it appears to fly or dart away, and will avoid its pursuer until it be sprinkled either with menstrual blood or _lotium femininum_. “The Mandrake’s charnel leaves at night” possess the same characteristic of shining through the gloom, and, on that account, the Arabians call it the Devil’s Candle. The ancients knew a certain herb called _Nyctilopa_, which had the property of shining from afar at night: this same herb was also known as _Nyctegredum_ or _Chenomychon_, and geese were so averse to it, that upon first spying it they would take to instant flight. Perhaps this is the same plant as the _Johanniswurzel_ or Springwort (_Euphorbia lathyris_), which the peasants of Oberpfalz believe can only be found among the Fern on St. John’s Night, and which is stated to be of a yellow colour, and to shine at night as brightly as a candle. Like the Will-o’-the-Wisp, the _Johanniswurzel_ eludes the grasp of man by darting and frisking about. Several plants are credited with possessing the power of preservation from thunder and lightning. Pliny mentions the _Vibro_, which he calls _Herba Britannica_, as a plant which, if picked before the first thunderblast of a storm was heard, was deemed a safeguard against lightning. In the Netherlands, the St. John’s Wort, gathered before sunrise, is credited with protective powers against lightning. In Westphalia, the _Donnerkraut_ (the English Orpine, or Live-long) is kept in houses as a preservative from thunder. In England, the Bay is considered a protection from lightning and thunder; the Beech was long thought to be a safeguard against the effects of lightning; and Houseleek or Stonecrop, if grown upon a roof, is still regarded as protecting the house from being struck by lightning. The _Gnaphalium_, an Everlasting-flower, is gathered on the Continent, on Ascension Day, and suspended over doorways, to fulfil the same function. In Wales, the Stonecrop is cultivated on the roof to keep off disease. The Selago, or Golden Herb of the Druids, imparted to the priestess who pressed it with her foot, the knowledge of the language of animals and birds. If she touched it with iron, the sky grew dark, and a misfortune befell the world.