ANNUAL ADDRESS. 
19 
It is to be regretted that the famous scene in the Temple 
Gardens, so picturesquely described by Shakespeare in his play 
of Henry VI., must be regarded as a fanciful legend. 
The red and white roses are not the only flowers that have 
stood in opposition, because the lily is another instance. This 
flower of different colours was adopted as a badge by rival factions, 
in the party wars of Italy, which occupy so large a share of the 
history of the 12th to the 14th centuries. While the Guelphs, 
the Pope's partisans, wore the red lily, the white lily was for the 
Ghibellines, or supporters of the Emperor, and here again- the 
red triumphed. 
The Scotch Thistle — said to be one of the most ancient badges 
on record — may next claim our attention. The thistle is sug- 
gestive of untidiness and neglect, and we are apt to regard it as a 
troublesome weed that is often a source of annoyance to the 
farmer. Looked at, however, in its association with Scotland, 
everyone thinks of it with respect, because of the noble deeds 
wrought under its influence, and because it seems a type of the 
liardy and vigorous life of the inhabitants. A thistle, however, 
likes to grow on deep, good soil, and here again, some may see 
in it a fitting sign for a people, who are said to cross the Border to 
take up rich places further South. There are fourteen species of 
native thistles, and although with so many to choose from, it 
must be confessed it is unknown from which of them the national 
badge has been adopted. 
According to tradition the flower recalls the saving of the 
Scottish army in the 8th century from a surprise attack by the 
Danes, who, stealing silently under cover of night towards the 
slumbering camp, suddenly gave the alarm of their approach by 
one of them chancing to tread with unprotected feet on a thistle, 
whose sharp spines caused him to utter a loud cry of pain. 
The details of this legend, however, will not bear historical 
investigation, and the reputed leaders of the opposing armies are 
known to have lived a century apart, so the true origin of the badge 
remains in the clouds. Its place in history is more modern. The 
first mention of the thistle as the national emblem occurs in a 
poem, "The Thrissil and the Rose,"* written in a.d. 1503, and 
coins of the same date bear it as a device, but it is found that 
the drawings of the flower, which appear on these coins, ancient 
carvings, coats of arms, and painted glass, all differ from each 
other, and they cannot be recognised as belonging to any known 
species. 
It was not until thirty-seven years later, in a.d. 1540, that th* 
Noble Order of the Thistle was instituted with the thistle as its 
badge, and only in the time of James I. of England that the 
Order assumed its present high regard. 
* A poem by William Dunbar, composed on the occasion of the marriage 
-of James IV. of Scotland with Margaret, eldest daughter of Henry VIT. 
