PERPETUA TIDE. 67 



MARCH 7. SS. Perpetua, Felicitas, &c. mar- 

 tyrs, A.D. 203. 



St. Paul, anchoret. 



St. Thomas of Aquino, a.d. 1274. 



Obs. St. Perpetua, with several others, suffered In the violent 

 persecution of Severus at Carthage early in the third age. Her 

 extraordinary vision of a narrow ladder reaching to Heaven beset 

 with spikes on each side, and having a dragon at the bottom, on 

 whose head she trod to mount the first step, is related by herself in 

 her own acts, and transmitted to posterity by TertuUian and by St. 

 Augustin. The moral of the vision is of easy explanation. 



St. Thomas of Aquino was descended from the illustrious family 

 of Aquino, originally of Lombardy. He began his education early 

 in life in the Abbey on Mount Cassino. He took the habit of the 

 Order of St. Dominick when seventeen years old at Naples. He is 

 author of a celebrated work read by most young people entitled the 

 Following of Christ, to which work another has been added in later 

 times called LTmitation de la Ste. Vierge. In 1274 he confessed to 

 Father Regnold, took the Viaticum, and died on a cross of ashes. 

 He was canonized by Pope John XXII. in 1323. 



Early Daffodil Narcissus pseudonarcissus flowers. 



About this time in early years this elegant bulbous plant begins 

 to flower in our gardens, and by about Ladytide it is plentiful, conti- 

 nuing through April to adorn the fields and gardens with its elegant 

 pale yellow cups. Difference of soil, situation, and season com- 

 bined, will make near a fortnight of difference in the time of their 

 flowering : they generally come in just before the Crocuses and 

 Snowdrops go out, and thus enable us to compare their bright yel- 

 low with the deeper orange yellow of the Crocus and the greener 

 yellow of the Hellebore. They are very ornamental in clusters, 

 and mix well with Hepaticas, and afterwards with Crown Imperials. 

 The old Norfolk song, 



Daffydowndilly is coming to town, 



With her yellow petticoat and her green gown, 



related to this plant, as did the well known Ode of Herrick to the 

 Daffodilly. In Sussex the plant is called Lent Lily, from the pe- 

 riod of its coming into flower. 



