MARK TIDE. 115 



APRIL 24. St. Fidelis of Sigmarengen, martyr, 

 A.D. 1622. 



St. Melitus, abp. of Canterbury, in 624. 



SS. Bona and Dona, virgins and abbesses, 673. 



St. Robert, abbot, in 1067. 



Ohs. St. Fidelis was born in 1577 at Sigmarengen, a town in 

 Germany. In 1612 he received holy orders : on the 24th of April, 

 1622, he preached a sermon at Gruch, in which he clearly foretold 

 his death to several persons. From Gruch he went to preach at 

 Sexis ; on his road back to Gruch he met twenty Calvinist heretic 

 soldiers, who after urging him in vain to embrace their sect, put him 

 to death in the most cruel manner. He died in 1622, the forty fifth 

 year of his age, and was buried by the Christians the next day. 



This being the eve of St. Mark, it used to be customary for su- 

 perstitious people to watch in the porch of the church all night, in 

 hopes to see the ghosts of their departed friends. See Perennial 

 Calendar, in loco. 



Blackthorn Prunus spinosa flowers abundantly. 



Gentianella Gentiana acaulis in full flower. 



The Blackthorn which opens its blossoms on our bare hedges a 

 week or ten days ago is now pretty generally in bloom, and is one 

 of the chief characteristics of the vernal period ; it continues in flower 

 till the end of May, so that before it is gone it mixes with the White- 

 thorn or May Bush, hereafter to be described. Both together serve 

 to ornament our hedges next month, and when seen in flower to- 

 gether in the end of May the difference between them is very 

 remarkable. This lias been called Sandmartin Uay, and in the 

 Ephemeris Trogtitephoria, 



The flowers of the large Coltsfoot Tussilago Petasites may now be 

 seen in flower ; they emerge from the ground late in March. 



Beds of the Gentianella, with its deep azure flower, have a very 

 rich appearance at this time of year in our great nurseries, and con- 

 trast well with those of early Tulips, Anemones, Ranunculuses, 

 Primulas, Violets, Hyacinths, and Narcissi. 



