THE THISTLE. 323 



when we quit them we do not find ourselves on 

 more certain ground. Some writers assert that it 

 owes its origin to Charles VII. of France, who died 

 the year of the accession of James III. of Scotland, 

 and to whose reign the existence of the badge has 

 been successfully traced back by Sir Harris Nicholas, 

 who meets with " thistles " in this monarch's " roll " 

 of jewels. The order is said to have been re-instituted 

 in 1687, and in it the old legendary account of its 

 origin under Achaius is gravely alluded to. 



We may here remark, in passing, that the thistle 

 is by some persons considered to be the Bourbon 

 emblem ; and, as such, to be introduced very fre- 

 quently in the scrolls and other ornaments of the 

 Bourbon Chapel in the Cathedral of Lyons. There 

 is, however, every authority for believing its occur- 

 rence, in this instance, to be in accordance with that 

 species of emblematic punning which was, as before 

 observed, at one period esteemed the most courtly 

 and delicate mode of conveying a compliment. In 

 short, Pierre de Bourbon, the son in-law of Louis XL, 

 when he built this chapel, used the thistle allusively, 

 in reference to the cher don (chardori) of the king 

 who had given him his royal daughter as a bride. 

 Such were the puns which men in those days were 

 not ashamed to perpetuate in all the architectural 

 dignity and durability of stone ! 



The Order of the Thistle is most usually stated 

 to have been established as late as the year 1500 ; 

 but it is to be remembered, as Dr. G. Johnston 

 shews, that the plant was " peculiarly the badge of 

 the clan Stewart " and it is not, therefore, unreason- 



