LEMON-TREE. 221 



friend of his, who was governor of Egypt. This governor 

 had condemned two malefactors to death by the bite of 

 serpents. As they were led to execution, a person, 

 taking compassion on them, gave them a citron to eat. 

 The consequence of this was, that though they were ex- 

 posed to the bite of the most venomous serpents, they re- 

 ceived no injury. The governor being surprised at this 

 extraordinary event, inquired of the soldiers who guarded 

 them, what they had eaten or drank that day, and being 

 informed that they had only eaten a citron, he ordered 

 that the next day one of them should eat citron, and the 

 other not. He who had not tasted the citron died pre^A 

 sently after he was bitten ; the other remained unhurt. 



LILAC. 



SYRINGA. 



JASMINES. DIANDRIA MONOGYNIA. 



French, lilas commun; lilas; queue de renard de jardin [garden 

 fox-tail]. — Italian, siringa : in Sicily^ alberu di pacenzia. 



The name Syringa is of Greek origin, and signifies 

 a pipe. The old English name is Pipe-tree. Caspar 

 Bauhin supposes Syringa to be an African wood. Lin- 

 naeus was inclined to trace the name to the nymph Syrinx, 

 who, to escape the pursuit of the god Pan, was, at her 

 own request, changed by the gods into a reed ; of M'hich 

 Pan formed a musical instrument, and gave it the name 

 of his favourite nymph : 



" Among the Hamadryade Nonacrines, 

 (On cold Arcadian hills) for beauty famed, 

 A Nais dwelt ; the nymphs her Syrinx named. 



