PEPPERMINT. 



suffuse it with its rosy hues, but the redness which guilt 

 imparts, for this plant is the hiding place of a culpable 

 nymph.'' 



PEPPERMINT {Mentha piperita). —WA.-KUT-R OF 

 Sentiment. 



Proserpina is said to have discovered a rival, in intrigue 

 with his sable majesty, her husband. The goddess, justly 

 indignant, changed that rival into this plant, which seems to 

 combine in its distinct effects upon the palate the coldness of 

 fear with the warmth of love. We cultivate this plant under 

 the name of Peppermint, and we owe to it the lozenges which 

 bear its name, and also a valuable essence of much use in 

 medicine. 



THE PERIWINKLE.— Pleasing Remembrances. 



Already have the winds purified the atmosphere, scat- 

 tered the seeds of vegetation over the earth and chased away 

 the gloomy clouds ; the air is fresh and pure, the sky seems 

 lifted higher above our head, the greenness of the grass is 

 revived on all sides, and the trees are covered with leaf-buds. 

 Nature is about to deck herself with flowers, but first she 

 prepares the back -ground of her pictures ; she covers them 

 with a general tint of verdure which is infinite in variety, 

 which rejoices our eyes and fills our hearts with hope. For 

 some time we have found in sheltered spots, the violet, the 



IS! 



