172 THE GLORY OF THE GARDEN 



According to a Greek legend, the poetic narcissus 

 owes its origin to a youth of this name, whom, to 

 punish for his insusceptibiHty of heart, Nemesis 

 caused to become so enamoured of his own face in 

 the stream, that he fell in and was turned into a 

 flower. When the weeping Echo and her sister 

 nymphs, had prepared the funeral urn for him his 

 body was missing. 



The poetic Narcissus of classic fame is always 

 therefore regarded as emblematic of self-love. 



The botanical name of narcissus, having been 

 given to the daffodil, has confounded it with the 

 Greek narcissus, known in English by that name, 

 from " vdpKT),^^ torpor, on account of the overpower- 

 ing effect produced by the scent of the narcissus, 

 a quality from which the daffodil is perfectly free. 



The name of daffodil is simply the Old English 

 '' affodyll," or " that which cometh early," and it 

 was many years before the word was corrupted into 

 our present " daffodil." 



The Legend of the Mignonette. 



The word " Reseda," the generic name of the 

 mignonette, is derived from the Latin verb rese- 

 dare, to soothe. 



Pliny states that the Reseda was considered to be 

 possessed of the power to charm away many disorders, 

 and it is doubtless owing to this traditional healing, 

 as also to its delicious scent, that this fragrant little 

 plant has come to be known as " the emblem of 

 health !" 



This idea accounts for Shelley's rather morbid 

 reference in the lines : 



