I. VIOLA. 23 



or spear- shape, with two deep cloven lateral flakes at its 

 springing from the stalk, which, in ordinary aspect, give 

 the plant the haggled and draggled look I have been 

 vilifying it for. These, and such as these, "leaflets at 

 the base of other leaves" (Balfour's Glossary), are called 

 by botanists 'stipules.' I have not allowed the word 

 yet, and am doubtful of allowing it, because it entirely 

 confuses the student's sense of the Latin 'stipula' (see 

 above, vol. i., chap, viii., 27) doubly and trebly im- 

 portant in its connection with 'stipulor,' not noticed in 

 that paragraph, but readable in your large Johnson ; we 

 shall have more to say of it when we come to ' straw ' 

 itself. 



28. In the meantime, one may think of these things 

 as stipulations for leaves, not fulfilled, or 'stumps' or 

 ' sumphs ' of leaves ! But I think I can do better for 

 them. We have already got the idea of crested leaves, 

 (see vol. i., plate); now, on each side of a knight's crest, 

 from earliest Etruscan times down to those of the Scalas, 

 the fashion of armour held, among the nations who 

 wished to make themselves terrible in aspect, of putting 

 cut plates or ; bracts ' of metal, like dragons' wings, on 

 each side of the crest. I believe the custom never be- 

 came Xorman or English ; it is essentially Greek, Etrus- 

 can, or Italian, the Gorman and Dane always wearing 

 a practical cone (see the coins of Canute), and the Frank 

 or English knights the severely plain beavered helmet ; 

 the Black Prince's at Canterbury, and Henry Y.'s at 



