234 THE SHAKESPEARE GARDEN 



Thou knave, but for thee ere this time of day 

 My lady's fair pew had been strewed full gay 

 With primroses, cowslips and violets sweet, 

 With mints, with marigold and marjoram meek. 



Pliny said "the smell of mint doth stir up the 

 mind and taste to a greedy desire of meat." This 

 carries mint-sauce back into antiquity! Medieval 

 writers believed that the smell of mint refreshed 

 the head and memory; and in Medieval days the 

 herb was dedicated to the Virgin and called Herba 

 Sancta Maria and Menthe de Notre Dame. The 

 ancients dedicate it to Venus; hence it was used as 

 a garland for brides corona Veneris. The old myth 

 had it that Menthe was a nymph beloved of Pluto 

 and transformed into an herb by Proserpina who had 

 now become sufficiently interested in the husband 

 who had carried her off against her will to be jealous. 



FENNEL (Fceniculum vulgare}. Falstaff speaks 

 of fennel as a relish for conger in "King Henry 

 IV" ; 1 and Ophelia presents fennel to the King to 

 clear his sight just as she gave rosemary to Laertes 

 to refresh his memory, 2 for according to a belief held 

 by Pliny: "Fennel hath a wonderful property to 



'Act II, Scene IV. 



'"There's fennel for you and columbines" ("Hamlet"; Act IV, 

 Scene V). 



