THE FIELD AND THE GARDEN. 101 



little blossom half hidden by some overtopping weed 

 She did not quite comprehend my philosophy, and thought 

 it preferable that the beauties of the garden should be the 

 most conspicuous objects. I replied that many of her 

 weeds were as beautiful as her flowers ; that the Roman 

 wormwood, for example, generally despised, was nothing 

 less than the Ambrosia, which was served with nectar at 

 the feasts of the gods ; it is like a tree in its manner of 

 branching, and bears a leaf like that of a fern, — the 

 proudest of all plants in the structure of its foliage. 



On our way through the garden-path a large burdock 

 in an angle of the fence obtruded itself upon our sight, 

 covered with a splendid array of jDiirple globular flowers. 

 The burdock, she said, was allowed to occupy this obscure 

 nook for the benefit of its seeds, which, if made into a tea, 

 are a valuable remedy for weak nerves ; and she often 

 steeped its roots with certain aromatic herbs, to add a tonic 

 bitter to her " diet drink." . I added that it was once highly 

 prized as a medicinal herb, and that, setting aside the 

 beauty of its flowers, I should cherish this particular one 

 for the protection it afforded to a little creeping plant 

 then luxuriating in its shade. This little creeper was 

 the gill ; a very pretty labiate, displaying its blue and 

 purple flowers in whorls, and the stem with anthers that 

 meet and form a cross, and adorned with heart-shaped 

 leaves very neatly corrugated. This plant had gained 

 my admiration very early in life, among the weeds in 

 my own garden, and on account of its delicate beauty I 

 could not treat it as an outcast. 



Anions other curiosities of her garden, included in the 

 denomination of weeds, was a delicate euphorbia, a flat 

 spreading plant, lying so close upon the ground that it could 

 hardly be touched by the foot that was placed upon it 

 It grew in the garden walk, forming circular patches, and 

 covered with minute round leaves, having a purple spot 



