62 



And once again the plant is mentioned, but equally vaguely, in Taminij of (he 

 Shrew, Act I., So. 1 — 



" But see ! while idly I stood looking on, 

 I found the effect of Love-in-idleness." 



It is, perhaps, a very prosaic task to seek the particular plant at all, but it is, 

 nevertheless, a tribute to the wonderful genius of the man, to search for the slender 

 facts he has so richly clothed in poetry. The common wild pansy is generally 

 believed to be the thread on which he hangs his beautiful imagery, and whether it 

 had the name before or not, it has it now, amongst the many others attributed 

 to it. Gerarde, the celebrated botanist and surgeon, a contemporary of Shake- 

 speare, but an older man, in his Herbal, gives many names to it : — " Hartes ease " 

 or " Paunsies," "Knapweed," "Bull weede," "Matfellow," " Herba Trinitatis," 

 (from the triple colour of its flowers), "Herba clavellata," "Live (not love) in 

 idleness " (as a wild waste weed was sure to do), " Call me tayou," " Three faces 

 under a hood," and it has since been called "Pink of my John," "Kiss behind 

 the garden gate," and, amidst its many other fanciful appellations, it will, doubt- 

 less, hereafter bear in literature, though not with common people, as its chief 

 name, " Love-in-idleness." The plant now presented to you as very possibly the 

 true "Love-in-idleness," has a very striking appearance from the peculiar way in 

 which its fennel-like leaves at first conceal the bud, and then support the blossom. 

 There is a purely white variety, but its usual colour changes from a creamy white 

 in bud, to blue in full blossom — the colour dedicated to true love. It was a com- 

 mon garden plant in Shakespeare's day. Tusser, at the beginning of the century, 

 recommended its black shining seeds to be sown in the open border in March, and 

 Gerarde mentions no less than three varieties in the Herbal. Its botanical name is 

 Nigella Romano, and its earliest English name was "Gith,"the Saxon for corn 

 weed. It is called, also, "St. Catherine's Wheel," or "The Golden Fennel 

 Flower," and, in Cambridgeshire, " Bishop's Woort," but its common names — the 

 names by which it is known by the people — are "Love in a Mist," "Love in a 

 Puzzle." The Germans call it, also, " Maid in the Green," " Bride in Hair," and 

 you will probably be prepared to admit that Love-in-idleness might sometimes 

 render its other common name, "The Devil in a Bush," peculiarly appropriate. 



This plant, the Nigella, has gone much out of fashion during the last century, 

 but it is happily growing into favour once more, and deserves to do so. 



The train was not delayed long at Honeybourne, and the itinerary began 

 again to be useful. 



The hill, so conspicuous on the right, is the great British fortress of Meon hill, 

 30 acres in extent, where British, Roman, and Saxon remains have been found. 

 The hills to the east, are those of Ilmington. 



At Milcote (where the tickets are taken) a vast number of skeletons were 

 found some 18 years ago, but it is chiefly remarkable as being the seat of one of 

 the GreviUes, who was pressed to death for refusing to plead to a charge of mur- 

 dering his steward. 



I 



