210 FLORA DOMESTICA. 



Jessamine is one of the shrubs of which Milton forms 

 the bower of Adam and Eve in Paradise : 



" Thus talking, hand in hand alone they pass'd 

 On to their blissful bower : it was a place 

 Chosen by the sovereign Planter, when he framed 

 All things to man's delightful use; the roof 

 Of thickest covert was inwoven shade. 

 Laurel and myrtle, and what higher grew 

 Of firm and fragrant leaf; on either side 

 Acanthus, and each odorous bushy shrub, 

 Fenced up the verdant wall; each beauteous flower. 

 Iris all hues, roses, and jessamine, 



Rear'd high their flourish'd heads between, and wrought 

 Mosaic ; underfoot the violet. 

 Crocus^ and hyacinth, with rich inlay 

 Broider'd the ground, more colour'd than with stone 

 Of costliest emblem." 



Mr. T. Moore speaks of the Jessamine as more fragrant 

 by night than by day : 



" 'Twas midnight — through the lattice, wreathed 

 With woodbine, many a perfume breathed 

 From plants that wake when others sleep ; 

 From timid jasmine buds, that keep 

 Their odour to themselves all day. 

 But, when the sun-light dies away. 

 Let the delicious secret out 

 To every breeze that roams about." 



" The jessamine, with which the queen of flowers. 

 To charm her god, adorns his favourite bowers ; 

 Wliich brides by the plain hand of Neatness drest, 

 Unenvied rival ! wear upon their breast ; 

 Sweet as the incense of the morn, and chaste 

 As the pure zone which circles Dian's waist." 



Churchill. 



Jessamine abounds in Italian gardens. In the East it 

 is cultivated for the stems, of which pipes are made. 



