248 THE SHAKESPEARE GARDEN 



Very poetically, therefore, Shakespeare alludes to 

 it as "Dian's Bud," and most appropriately does 

 it appear in the moon-lit forest. Gerard, however, 

 quaintly says that is was named for Queen Arteme- 

 sia, wife of Mausolus, King of Caria, who built the 

 Mausoleum, which was one of the "Seven Wonders 

 of the World." The ancients liked its flavor in their 

 wine as many people still like vermouth, one of its 

 infusions. 



In Shakespeare's time people hung up sprays of 

 wormwood to drive away moths and fleas ; and there 

 was a homely verse : 



Whose chamber is swept and wormwood is thrown 

 No flea for his life dare abide to be known. 



Wormwood was also kept in drawers and closets. 

 To dream of the plant was of good augury: happi- 

 ness and domestic enjoyment were supposed to re- 

 sult. Mugwort is another old name for the plant. 

 MONK'S-HOOD (Aconitum Napellus). This 

 plant has three names: monk's-hood, wolf's-bane, 

 and aconite. Aconite is the "dram of poison" that 

 Romeo calls for, 11 and Shakespeare alludes to 

 aconitum in "King Henry IV," where the king, ad- 

 dressing Thomas of Clarence, compares its strength 



1 "Romeo and Juliet"; Act V, Scene I. 



