56 
THE FORGET-ME-NOT. 
MYOSOTIS PALUSTRIS. 
“ This is affection’s tribute, friendship’s offering, 
Whose silent eloquence, more rich than words, 
Tells of the giver’s faith and truth in absence. 
And says, * Forget me not. ’ ” 
i( This most elegant plant, the 4 Forget-me-not,’ or 
emblem of affection among the Germans, is the most 
distinct and best-known example of its genus, though 
too long confounded with other common species.” The 
colour of its buds is a fine pink, which in the expanded 
flower changes to a lovely azure, somewhat paler and 
less transparent than that of the germander speedwell, 
and reminding us of the tint of the turquoise, or the 
soft 44 peculiar blue” of an autumnal sky. 
The story whence it is supposed to have derived its 
tender appellation is of German origin, and not with¬ 
out interest. 44 Dans le temps ancien deux jeunes 
amans, a la veille de s’unir, se promenaient sur les 
bords du Danube. Une fleur d’un bleu celeste se ba¬ 
lance sur les vagues, qui semblent pretes a l’entrainer: 
