The Quince. 45 



lobes of the calyx remaining permanently upon the 

 summit. In England the flavour of the quince, though 

 apple-like, is austere ; it cannot be eaten as a dessert 

 fruit. In warm countries, on the other hand, though still 

 delicately bitter, it is bland. A certain dainty roughness, 

 combined with aroma, constitutes, in fact, the grand 

 characteristic of the quince, wherever it may be ripened. 

 Because of this, and of the capital recommendation of its 

 great size, the quince has been esteemed for at least 

 two thousand years for the making of marmalade. The 

 Romans, for this purpose, boiled their quinces with 

 honey, calling the preparation melimelum, " mel " being 

 the Latin for honey. From this word, in course of time, 

 was made the Portuguese marmelada, and thus in English 

 we get " marmalade." The extension of the name to the 

 familiar conserve made of Seville oranges is quite modern, 

 metaphorical, and complimentary. Three or four centuries 

 ago marmalade was greatly esteemed in England much 

 more so than to-day, as was natural to a period when 

 choice of good things was limited. Miss Wood, in her 

 " Letters of Royal and Illustrious Ladies," relates an 

 amusing anecdote as to the fondness for it of fickle and 

 never-satisfied Henry VIII. In 1539 the new queen, 

 Anne of Cleves, desired to engage a maid-of- honour. 

 Lady Lisle, seeking to propitiate his majesty in favour of 

 her daughter Katharine, made him a present of some 

 damson-cheese, and some of this identical quince-jam, 

 then called " cotiniac." Whether the object was attained 

 or not we are left in doubt. So acceptable, however, to 



