kingdoms." According to a tradition current in Friesland,[6] no woman is
to be found at home on a Friday, because on that day they hold their
meetings and have dances on a barren heath. Occasionally, too, they show
a strong predilection for certain trees, to approach which as night-time
draws near is considered highly dangerous. The Judas tree (_Cercis
siliquastrum_) was one of their favourite retreats, perhaps on account
of its traditionary association with the apostle. The Neapolitan witches
held their tryst under a walnut tree near Benevento,[7] and at Bologna
the peasantry tell how these evil workers hold a midnight meeting
beneath the walnut trees on St. John's Eve. The elder tree is another
haunt under whose branches witches are fond of lurking, and on this
account caution must be taken not to tamper with it after dark.[8]
Again, in the Netherlands, experienced shepherds are careful not to let
their flocks feed after sunset, for there are wicked elves that prepare
poison in certain plants--nightwort being one of these. Nor does any man
dare to sleep in a meadow or pasture after sunset, for, as the shepherds
say, he would have everything to fear. A Tyrolese legend[9] relates how
a boy who had climbed a tree, "overlooked the ghastly doings of certain
witches beneath its boughs. They tore in pieces the corpse of a woman,
and threw the portions in the air. The boy caught one, and kept it by
him; but the witches, on counting the pieces, found that one was
missing, and so replaced it by a scrap of alderwood, when instantly the
dead came to life again."

Similarly, also, they had their favourite flowers, one having been the
foxglove, nicknamed "witches' bells," from their decorating their
fingers with its blossoms; while in some localities the hare-bell is
designated the "witches' thimble." On the other hand, flowers of a
yellow or greenish hue were distasteful to them.[10]