218 SCKOPHULAEIACEJE. 



bloom is a very lovely object. A touching anecdote is told of 

 the philosopher Rousseau relating to this plant. In his earliest 

 and happiest days he was exploring the country round Geneva 

 in company with a trusted friend. They came upon a plot 

 of the Germander Speedwell, and paused to admire its cheer- 

 ful loveliness. Thirty years afterwards he again visited that 

 neighbourhood. In the meanwhile his name had become the 

 watchword of learning and philosophy " falsely so called," 

 and though he had attained fame, he was a stranger to happi- 

 ness. He stood gazing on the beautiful prospect, his inward 

 eye scanning gloomily the view of his strange and unsatisfying 

 past ; suddenly his eye fell on the identical plot of Germander 

 Speedwell which had delighted him so much when his heart 

 had been light and innocent ; the associations it awakened 

 were too painful for his self-command, and he burst into tears. 

 Thus does it sometimes please God to address the conscience 

 of man by the voice of a humble flower. Children often call 

 this plant " Bird's-eye," and the corn-law poet evidently asso- 

 ciated it with that name. 



" Blue Eyebrighl, loveliest flower of all that grow 

 In flower-lov'd England ! Flower whose hedgeside gaze 

 Is like an infant's ! What heart does not know 

 Thee, clustered srailar of the banks, where plays 

 The sunbeam on the emerald snake, and strays 

 The dazzling rill, companion of the road." 



The Mountain Germander Speedwell (V, montana), closely 

 resembles the one just mentioned, but its blooms are lilac, its 

 spike less crowded, and the tint of the serrated leaves is paler. 

 It grows freely in hilly woods, and is very abundant about 

 Richmond, in Yorkshire. 



The Green Procumbent Speedwell (V. agrestis), is com- 

 mon on waste ground, and as a weed in gardens. Its flowers 

 are solitary, their footstalks longer than the heart-shaped cut 

 leaves. The corolla is grey. 



The Blue Procumbent Speedwell (Y. polita), has brighter 

 flowers ; it grows in similar situations. 



