ter about them. Ask the poets which of the ^ T ?J^;t£r2£^ 

 n . ,f MIGNONETTE 



flowers are set as gems in literature: 



"The first snowdrop of the year/' what the 

 old herbalist Gerarde calls "the gallant grace 

 of violets/' the primroses, "tiny enchanted 

 princesses," the daisy, loved by Chaucer, and 

 "the wee, crimson-tipped flower" of Burns, 

 "the little speedwell's darling blue," cowslip, 

 Shakespeare's chosen flower, blue bottles, 

 praised by Holmes, brunella, Ruskin's "brownie 

 flower," lily-of-the-valley, chosen by an Arch- 

 bishop of Canterbury, gentian, of which Bryant 

 was the friend, harebell, St. Dominic's flower, 

 daffodils, of old called "Gregories," because 

 the flower of St. Gregory. 



To these add many loved by us in childhood: 

 Johnny-jump-up, ladies'-delight, tiny Quaker 

 ladies, forget-me-not, buttercups, "spend- 

 thrift of their gold," and the little wildlings, 

 bloodroot, trillium, windflower, bluets, and 

 Lowell's loved dandelion, with its "harmless 

 gold." 



"Dear common flower, that grow'st beside the way, 

 Fringing the dusty road with harmless gold." 



[95] 



