“ The luxury of the pleasure-garden,” says Mr. Curtis, “ is greatly heightened by the delightful odour 
which this little plant diffuses; and as it grows more readily in pots, its fragrance may be conveyed into the 
house. Its perfume, though not so refreshing perhaps as that of the Sweet-briar, is not apt to offend the 
most delicate olfactories. It flowers from May to the commencement of winter.” 
People have not been satisfied, however, with growing this little darling in pots ; it is more frequently 
seen cradled in the sunshine, in boxes the whole length of the window it is placed in. 
“ the sashes fronted with a range 
Of orange, myrtle, or the fragrant weed, 
The Frenchman’s darling.” 
Coivper. 
The seeds may be sown in April, and will grow very well in the open air, although it will not flower so 
early as when raised in a hot-bed ; they will, however, be much stronger. If sheltered in the winter, it will 
continue flowering most part of the year, but will not be so strong the second year as the first. It is gene- 
rally an annual. The earth should be kept moderately moist. 
During this month* Nature seems to experience a second spring. Several trees, particularly the oak 
and elm, put forth shoots and new leaves, enlivining the sombre woods. The hedges assume a lighter green; 
and if their leaves have been devoured in the spring by caterpillars, as is sometimes the case, they are now 
completely reclothed in the most delicate foliage. The ground already experiences the effect of the shortening 
days. The drought occasioned by the intense heat and long days of July has abated ; cool nights, dews, 
and occasional showers restore the mown fields and sunburnt pastures to a degree of verdure, and reanimate 
the remaining flowers. The small blue campanula, wild scabious, blue chicory, the large white convolvulus, 
hawkweeds, and the Calluna vulgaris, or common heath, still adorn wastes, fields, and waysides. The pink- 
and-white convolvulus has been one of the chief ornaments of summer, flowering in the dryest spots, where 
all around is brown from extreme drought, with cheerful beauty. A few clusters of honeysuckles may yet 
be seen, here and there, on the hedges. And the antirrhinum linaria, or common toad-flax, is in full flower 
in the thickets. 
Linnaeus compares the perfumes of mignionette to those of ambrosia : and it is sweeter and more pene- 
trating at the rising and setting of the sun than at noon. 
The mignionette has found its way into the armorial bearings of an ancient Saxon family ; and the 
following romantic story is said to have introduced this fragrant little flower to the Pursuivant at Arms; — 
“ The Count of Walstheim was the favoured aspirant for the hand of Amelia de Nordbourg, a young 
lady possessing all the charms requisite for the heroine of a modern novel, excepting that she delighted in 
exciting jealousy in the breast of her intended lord. As she was the only child of a widowed mother, a 
female cousin, possessing but little personal beauty, and still less fortune, had been brought up with her 
from infancy as a companion, and as a stimulus to her education. The humble and amiable Charlotte was 
too insignificant to attract much attention in the circles in which her gay cousin shone with so much splen- 
dour, which gave her frequent opportunities of imparting a portion of that instruction she had received to 
the more humble class of her own sex. Returning from one of these charitable visits, and entering the gay 
saloon of her aunt, where her exit or entrance was scarcely noticed, she found the party amusing themselves 
in selecting flowers, whilst the Count and the other beaux were to make verses on the choice of each of the 
ladies. Charlotte was requested to make her selection of a flower ; the sprightly Amelia had taken a rose, 
others a carnation, a lily, or the flowers most likely to call forth a compliment ; and the delicate idea of 
Charlotte, in selecting the most humble flower, by placing a sprig of mignonette in her bosom, would pro- 
bably have passed unnoticed, had not the flirtation of her cousin with a dashing colonel, who was more cele- 
brated for his conquests in the drawing-room than the battle-field, attracted the notice of the Count, so as 
to make his uneasiness visible, which the amiable Charlotte, ever studious of Amelia’s real happiness, wished 
to amuse, and to call back the mind of her cousin, demanded the verse for the rose. The Count saw this 
affectionate trait in Charlotte’s conduct, took out his pencil and wrote for the rose, 
Elle ne vit qu’un jour, et ne plait qu’un moment, 
which he gave to the gay daughter, at the same time presenting the humble cousin with this line on the 
mignonette : 
Ses qualites surpassent ses charmes. 
Amelia’s pride was roused, and she retaliated by her attention to the colonel, which she carried so far 
as to throw herself into the power of a profligate, who brought her to ruin. The Count transferred his 
affections from beauty to amiability ; and rejoicing in the exchange, and to commemorate the event which 
had brought about his happiness, and delivered him from a coquette, he added a branch of the sweet reseda 
to the ancient arms of his family, with the motto. 
Your qualities surpass your charms.” 
* William Howitt’s Book of the Seasons, (August,) p. 228. 
