JUNIPER. 



and Shenstone. 



"A various wreath of odorous flowers she made, 

 Gay motleyed pinks and sweet Jonquils ; she chose 

 The violet blue, that on the moss-bank grows ; 

 All sweet to sense/' 



In " Flora Domestica," also, this is alluded to, — 



" Gallant Jonquils, fair tuberoses, 

 Short is your sweet life ;" 



and the American poet Bidlake says, — 



" The Jonquil loads with potent breath the air, 

 And rich in golden glory nods." 



Its strong- fragrance, at first agreeable, soon becomes oppres- 

 sive ; it is a pretty flower, and by the Turks has been made 

 the emblem of Desire. 



JUNIPER {Juniperiis cormmuiis). — ASYLUM. SuccoUR. 



" Sweet is the Juniper, but sharp his bough." — Spenser. 



The ancients consecrated this shrub to the Eumenides ; the 

 smoke of its burning green branches was the incense which 

 they offered to the deities of the lower regions ; they used to 

 burn its berries at funerals, to ward off malevolent spirits. 

 The simple peasantry now think that the perfume of the 

 Juniper berry purifies the air, and protects their humble 

 dwelling from evil genii. 



121 



^=^^ 



