Sweet Basil. _Oscimum Basilicum._
Dedicated to _St. Basil_.
~June 15.~
_Sts. Vitus_, or _Guy_, _Crescentia_, and _Modestus_, 4th Cent. _St.
Landelin_, Abbot, A. D. 686. _B. Bernard_, of Menthon, A. D. 1008.
_St. Vauge_, Hermit, A. D. 585. _B. Gregory Lewis Barbadigo_, Cardinal
Bp. A. D. 1697.
_St. Vitus._
This saint was a Sicilian martyr, under Dioclesian. Why the disease
called St. Vitus’s dance was so denominated, is not known. Dr. Forster
describes it as an affection of the limbs, resulting from nervous
irritation, closely connected with a disordered state of the stomach and
bowels, and other organs of the abdomen. In papal times, fowls were
offered on the festival of this saint, to avert the disease. It is a
vulgar belief, that rain on St. Vitus’s day, as on St. Swithin’s day,
indicates rain for a certain number of days following.
It is related, that after St. Vitus and his companions were martyred,
their heads were enclosed in a church wall, and forgotten, so that no
one knew where they were, until the church was repaired, when the heads
were found, and the church bells began to sound of themselves, which
causing inquiry, a writing was found, authenticating the heads; they
consequently received due honour, and worked miracles in due form.
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