OUR COMMON FRUITS. 



CHAPTEE I. 

 THE APPLE. 



FIEST mentioned of fruits in the most ancient of all 

 records, and holding, too, as the Apple does, so prominent 

 a place in the earliest history of our race, the very sound 

 of its name seerns an echo of Eden and the first age ; and 

 even in this nineteenth century, Art at least still links 

 that name to the old familiar form, and presents us in pic- 

 torial allegory with the lineaments of common orchard pro- 

 duce, rather than with citron, or shaddock, or pommeloe, 

 however literary criticism may insist on rather seeking 

 among these to find " forbidden fruit." And however its 

 right may be disputed to personate the subjects of Eastern 

 or classical story, yet when we come to the cold Norse 

 regions, far from " the land where the citron blows," we 

 can have no doubts as to the real pippinism of those apples 

 of immortality kept by the fair Iduna, by regaling on 

 which the gods of the Edda were wont to renew their 

 youth, until the wicked Loke stole and hid away both 

 the maiden and her fruit, leaving the bereaved. divinities 

 to pine away, losing their vigour both of mind and body 

 and neglecting the affairs of heaven and earth, until mor- 

 tals, deprived of celestial supervision, fell into all manner 

 of evil, and it almost happened that for "want of an apple 

 the world was lost." Well was it that at last, summon- 

 ing all that remained of their expiring energies, they 

 succeeded in forcing the robber to restore those precious 

 pomes on which the welfare of both realms depended. 

 The tree, connected with so many legends of remote 



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