330 CATHERINE TIDE. 



NOV. 25. St. Catherine, virgin and m. 3d cent. 

 St. Erasmus or Elme, bishop in Ireland. 



Obs. St. Catherine the virffiii and niattyi" was born, accordhiir to lierleeend, 

 at Alexandria, and of so wonderful a caiiacity that, having in 305 disputed with 

 fifty heathen pliilo-opheis, she converied them all to the'true faith. For this 

 offence the Emperor Maxentius caused her to be instantly cast into prison. 

 Here by her eloquence and learnini; she converted the empress and one of the 

 principal generals of Maxenlius; this so enraged the emperor, that he ordered 

 her to be tortured wiih four cutting wheels, in which were saws of iron, sharp 

 nails, and sharp knives ; the wheels turned one against another, and thus the 

 saus, knives, and nails met. She was so tied to one of the "heels, that the 

 other, being turned the contrary way, her body might be torn in different 

 places with the sharp instruments: she was afterwards beheaded. The Cathe- 

 rine Wheel Used as a sign to public honses, and as a name for pinwheels, a 

 sort of artificial fireworks, deiived their orii;iu from this instrument of torture; 

 and St. Catlierinc is usually represente i with alarge wlieel by her side. From 

 a corrupted pronunciation of St. Catherine's Wheercanie also'the common sign 

 of the Cat and Wheel at public houses and shops. 



In the church of \A'cst Wickham in Kent is an old painting in a window of 

 St. Catherine frmipling on the Emperor Maxentius. This picture has been 

 copied by .Mr. Hone, and made one of the subjects of the numerous woodcuts 

 D his Even/ Da;/ Book. 



St. C.itherine being esteemed the patroness of learned men, her image is fre- 

 (juently to be seen in the libraries of Christendom, just as that of the fabulous 

 ^linerva used to be iu the libraries of the antients. Indeed the Catholic 

 Church in the middle aiies, by allowing the invocation of particular saints for 

 the protection of particular sciences, trades, and callings, did no more than 

 encouratre all her faithful children to associate every occupation of life with the 

 contemplation of heaven, the anticipation of which really enhances all worldly 

 enjoyments. Since this pious habit of invokimr the saintly servants of <iod tor 

 our operations on earth has gi own out of fashion, the world has become by 

 desrefS more sordid, commercial, and avaricions, than in times when, all our 

 works-being dedicated to Heaven, and patronised by those already its blest 

 inhabitants', we lost sight of the value of perishable in the hope of e'ndless en- 

 joyments. 



Sweet Coltsfoot Tussilago fragrans fl. 



The Scented Coltsfoot Tiissiltii^o fmsrans in very mild weather begins to 

 blow about this titne, an I erects its sweetly smelling blossoms, while its old 

 leaves are rotting on the ground. It is the first of the few p ants that consti- 

 tute the true Hvbernal Flora. We have noticed this plant as in blow on the 1st 

 of January, wlifch it often is: for it continues flowering all the winter when 

 the weather is open. The next species in succession that flowers with us is the • 

 White Coltsfoot, "hich flowers at the end of January ; then the common Yel- 

 low Coltsfoot in March ; and, lastlv, the lame Butterbur, at the end of March 

 or beginning of April. But the present species and the while one arc the only 

 two that can be called hybernal. 

 We have now frequently high winds, at other times dead calms. 

 On the last faUiiis' Leaves, by La Feuille. 



l)e la tige d^tachee 



Pauvre feuille dessech^e 



Oii vas tu ?^e n'en sais rien ; 



L'orage a frappe le ch^ne 



Qui seul etait mon soutien ; 



De son inconstante haleine, 



Le Zephyr ct I'Aquilon, 



Depuis ce jour me promfene 



De la forSt a la plaine, 



De la montagne aa vallon ; 



Je vais ou le vent me m^ne 



Sans me plaindre ou ni'effrayer; 



Je vais ou va toute chose, 



Ou va la feuille de rose, 



£t la feuille de laurier. 



