OLD ENGLISH FLOWER-NAMES 139 



much more than half a century. Somewhere in the 

 'twenties a ballad was written connecting it with 

 the story of a drowned lover ; but up tp that time 

 forget-me-not had been the name of one of the 

 bugles, which leaves a disagreeable bitter taste in 

 the mouth when bitten. 



No flower has a greater wealth of alias than the 

 pansy. Oberon explains its colour : 



' Yet marked I where the dart of Cupid fell ; 

 It fell upon a little western flower, 

 Before milk-white, now purple with love's wound, 

 And maidens call it Love-in-idleness.' 



Note, however, that this does not mean love in 

 indolence ; love-in-idleness, more commonly love-in- 

 idle, means love-in-vain hopeless love, as in the 

 Pardoner's Tale : 



* The other heste of hym is this, 

 Take not in ydel my name nor amys.' 



Spenser calls this flower the pawnee, and Dr. Prior 

 enumerates the following names for it herb Trinity, 

 three-faces-under-a-hood, fancy, flamy, kiss-me-ere- 

 I-rise, jump-up-and-kiss-me, pink-of-my-John, and 

 others such as fond lovers use. With all these to 

 choose from, it seems rather unfair that this spoiled 



