31 6 pfant Tsore, Tsegef^^/, ansl Tsijne/', 



consider that the real Ebony-tree is the Diospyrus Ebemis, a native 



of Jamaica. In ancient times it was much more in use and 



esteem, Pluto, the sovereign of the infernal regions, is represented 

 as seated on a throne of Ebony; the statues of the Egyptian gods 

 were wrought in Ebony. According to Pausanias, the statue of the 

 Pythian Apollo was formed of this wood ; and that writer recounts 

 that a Cyprian, well versed in plant lore, had told him that the 

 true and veritable Ebony was a plant that produced neither leaf, 

 flower, nor fruit; and, moreover, that it grew entirely underground 

 in certain places known to the Ethiopians, who periodically 



visited those spots, and took away the wood. Pulverised Ebony, 



mixed with the charcoal of a burnt snail, is recommended by 



Sidrach as an application to lessen the white of the eye. There 



is an old saying, that a bad man's heart is as black as Ebony. This, 

 probably, originated from the iaii, that while the alburnum of 

 the Ebony-tree is white, its foliage soft and silvery, and its flowers 



brilliant, the heart alone is really black. Among the many 



wonders described by Sir John Maundevile, as having been seen by 

 him when on his Eastern travels, in the fourteenth century, was a 

 certain table of Ebony, or black wood, "that once used to turn into 

 flesh on certain occasions, but whence now drips only oil, which, 

 if kept above a year, becomes good flesh and bone." 



EDELWEISS.— The Edelweiss, or Alpine Cudweed (Leo7t- 

 topodium Alpinmn or Gnaphalium), grows on the Swiss mountains 

 on the line of perpetual snow, and from thence is brought down by 

 travellers as a proof that they reached this altitude. As in many 

 cantons it only grows in nearly inaccessible places, it is considered 

 an act of daring to gather it, and the flower is therefore much 

 valued by the Swiss maidens as a proof of the devotion of their 

 lovers. Although hardy, this plant is delicate and fragile, en- 

 veloping itself in soft down, and only blooming on rocks exposed in 

 full midday. Its bloom is surrounded by white velvety leaves ; even 



the stem has a down upon it. With the exception oi the A Ipenrose, 



no other mountain flower is so characfteristic of the Alpine districfts, 

 so dear to the native heart, so celebrated by Alpine poets, or so 

 popular among Swiss tourists. Indeed, its very popularity has 

 threatened to lead to its extincftion in the districts most frequented 

 by visitors ; and to prevent this, the German and Tyrolese Alpine 

 Clubs have imposed fines for plucking the Edelweiss, and the 

 Austrian Alpine Club has forbidden its members to continue the 



custom of wearing a sprig of Edelweiss in their hats. The worst 



persecutors of the plant are the picTturesque Bergano herdsmen and 

 herdboys, who come up from the Italian side of the Alps at the 

 beginning of the season, and remain on the mountains with their 

 flocks until the snow begins to fall. They pluck up the Edelweiss 

 mercilessly by the roots, which they endeavour to dispose of to 

 passing travellers. The Communes of the Upper Engadine have 

 taken the plant under their protection, and sellers of the plant in 



