SEPTEMBER. 423 



MOORE, in his Irish Melodies, has seized upon the 

 same simile, in the following beautiful stanza 



" Oh the heart that has truly lov'd, never forgets, 

 But as truly loves on to the close ; 

 . As the Sunflower turns to his God when he sets, 

 The same look 'which he had when he rose." 



Unfortunately, ' however, for these fine images, this 

 " same look," as Paddy might say, " is often no look 

 at all; for many and many's the time we have seen 

 Sunflowers obdurately pointing to the north all day 

 long, having good cause, no doubt, to be sulky with 

 the sun ; and it is by no means uncommon in a group 

 of Sunflowers, to perceive their staring dial-like coun- 

 tenances pointing to every quarter of the Compass. 

 The French have perpetuated this error in their name 

 Tournesol ; though, no doubt, as old G-ERAED long ago 

 observed, " the flower of the Sunne is called in Latine 

 Flos Solis, taking that name from those that have 

 reported it to turne with the sunne, the which I could 

 never observe, although I have endeavoured to find 

 out the truth of it ; but I rather thinke it was so 

 called, because it doth resemble the radiant beames 

 of the Sunne, whereupon some have called it Corona 

 Solis, and Sol Indianus, the Indian Sunflower." 



No doubt the Heliantlmm obtained its name from 

 the large ray-like golden flower sometimes exceeding 

 a foot in diameter, resembling the disc of the sun, 

 and so CHURCHILL mentions it as 



" the proud giant of the garden race, 



Who, madly rushing to the sun's embrace, 

 O'ertops his fellows with aspiring aim, 

 Demands his wedded love, and bears his name." 



But a confusion has arisen on the subject from the 

 old European Mary gold (Calendula officinalis) or 



