230 FLORA HISTORICA. 



Malherbe, a French poet of the sixteenth cen- 

 tury, in an ode to Henry the Fourth, says- — 



Ta louange, dans mes vers, 

 D'amaranthe couronnee, 

 N'aura sa fin temiinee 

 Qu'en celle de I'univers. 



In Sweden they have Knights of the Amaranth. 

 This order was first instituted in the year 1653^ by 

 Christiana, Queen of Sweden, who, upon this occa- 

 sion, appeared at a fete in a dress completely covered 

 Avilh diamonds, and attended by a suite of sixteen 

 nobles of her court, accompanied by the same num- 

 ber of ladies. At the conclusion of the ball, the 

 Queen stripped herself of the diamonds and dis- 

 tributed them to the company, at the same time 

 presenting the new order of knighthood, consisting 

 of a ribbon and a medal, with an Amaranth in ena- 

 mel, surrounded with this motto : 



Dolce nella memoria. 



Love and friendship are also adorned with Ama- 

 ranth. In the garland of Julie are these four lines : 



Je suis la fleur d'amour qu'amarante on appelle, 

 Et qui vient de Julie adorer les beaux yeux. 

 Roses, retirez-vous, j'ai le nom d'immortelle, 

 II n'appartient qu'a moi de couronner les dieux. 



The name of this plant is derived from Ajw-a^avror, 

 incorruptible, because the flowers of several of the 

 species do not wither when gathered ; and hence the 



