FLOWER OF REMEMBRANCE 283 



little flower. Henry of Lancaster in his exile 

 adopted it, with the motto, " Souveigne vous de 

 moy," as his emblem, and it is a legitimate inference 

 that " Hope's gentle gem, the sweet forget-me-not," 

 as Coleridge calls it, bore its share in the subse- 

 quent transition from the fugitive in exile to the 

 monarch on the throne. Another plant that shared 

 the name was the Germander speedwell, another 

 charming little wildling that we are happy enough 

 to induce to take up its abode with us. The flowers 

 of this latter are very fugacious ; hence it was, and 

 is, the speedwell, a valedictory name, a form of 

 farewell, and this in turn easily grew into the appeal 

 forget-me-not. It is a plant that we have already 

 referred to on an earlier page. 



Another plant full of interesting associations is 

 the rosemary : " the flower of remembrance and of 

 rejoicing." It was held to strengthen the heart 

 and the memory, and was associated alike with the 

 happiest and the saddest days. Herrick writes 

 of it 



" It matters not at all, 

 Be't for my bridal or my burial." 



It was associated, too, with the Christmas festival, 

 and decked the home at that period of rejoicing, 

 and thus this fragrant evergreen plant became to 

 our forefathers a symbol of the deepest feeling. It 

 will be recalled by the lover of Shakespeare how, 



