in the air is the violet, specially the 

 double white violet, which comes 

 twice a year, about the middle of 

 April and about Bartholomew-tide." 



The silver-tongued Herrick in one 

 of his charming poems tells how the 

 violet became blue. He pictures the 

 flowers as young girls lovely and 

 sweet, — so sweet, in fact, as to arouse 

 the jealousy of Venus. She had a 

 dispute with Cupid as to the superi- 

 ority of her charms over those of her 

 more youthful rivals, and Cupid, ever 

 ready to stir up trouble, decided in 

 favour of the girls. This so incensed 

 Venus that she flew into a passion 

 and beat the poor girls till they were 

 quite blue I 



Rene Rapin, the Jesuit, a volumi- 

 nous writer on gardens, mingles to- 

 gether descriptions of flowers and all 

 kinds of graceful tales ; for instance, 

 that the violet is lanthis, who lurked 

 44 



