black-thorns

Updated: July 7, 2026

I pointed out to him a very handsome black-thorn stick among the votive offerings, and asked him would it be a sin to steal it, as black-thorns were in demand over the water. He told me if I did that whatever disease was laid down there by the owner of the stick would cleave to me. I thought of Gehazi and restrained my hands from stealing the black-thorn.

Margaret Moran Dixon McDougall - The Letters of "Norah" on Her Tour Through Ireland