98 UP AND DOWN THE BROOKS. 



not believe that, come here some morning, and 

 look in the grass below Ackillea and see if the 

 tears of Eos do not lie there, at the murderer's 

 feet. When I reflect on all the disgraceful his- 

 tories of these flowers and their relatives I hardly 

 feel like noticing them as I pass by. 



As for the blue lupines that adorn the sides of 

 the road on the hill yonder, they remind one of 

 the dreadful mistake said to have been made by 

 the Germans at one time. For these lupines be- 

 long to the Leguminosce, the same family that 

 contains the " sweet " and " everlasting " peas that 

 blossom in pink and white and blue in our gar- 

 dens. And it is written, though whether in 

 tradition or in history I know not, - that some 

 Germans at one time thought that sweet -pea 

 seeds would make good eating. So the seeds 

 were ground and mixed with flour, and indeed 

 fine bread was made from it. The Germans 

 thought that they had discovered a wonderful 

 way of proceeding, but after a while those who 

 continually ate the sweet-pea bread began to find 

 their limbs and joints becoming mysteriously 

 stiff. They grew worse and worse, and, by and 

 by, the poisonous bread made the people cripples 

 for life. 



Nor was this all. Some people had fed pigs on 

 such meal, and it is said that the pigs, too, lost 

 the use of their limbs entirely, and fell flat on the 

 ground. Here was a sad state of affairs. Ex- 



