Anemone. 
83 
his opinion by the authority of Horace Smith, in his poem of 
“ Amarynthus 
‘ ‘ Coy anemone, that ne’er uncloses 
Her lips until they’re blown on by the wind.” 
It would certainly seem more characteristic for these frail 
blossoms to open their lips to the kisses of the sun, for, when 
he shines, 
“Thick strewn in woodland bowers, 
Anemones their stars unfold.” 
The anemones are natives of the East, whence their roots 
were originally brought. Their species are very numerous and 
have been much improved and diversified by culture. 
The Abbe la Pluche relates a suggestive anecdote of this 
flower. He informs us that M. Bachelier, a Parisian florist, 
having imported some very beautiful species of the anemone 
from the East Indies, kept them to himself in so miserly a 
manner that for ten successive years he would never allow the 
slightest fibre of his precious double-blossomed variety to pass 
out of his own hands, not even to his nearest and dearest friends. 
A councillor of the French Parliament, annoyed at seeing one 
man hoarding up for his own delight what Nature had most 
decidedly given for the benefit of the many, visited him at his 
country house, in the hope of obtaining means of breaking up 
this unjust monopoly. In walking round the garden, when he 
came to Bachelier’s bed of much-prized anemones, which were 
then in seed, he skilfully let his robe fall on them ; by this de¬ 
vice he swept off a considerable number of the little grains, 
which adhered to the garment. His servant, who had been 
previously instructed, dexterously wrapped them up in a mo¬ 
ment, without exciting any attention. At the first opportunity 
the councillor acquainted his friends with the successful result 
of his visit; and by their participation in his theft, the flower 
soon became generally known. 
The wise Egyptians, who beheld a deep signification in all 
the productions of Nature, regarded the anemones as the em¬ 
blem of sicktiess, probably, it has been suggested, on account 
of its noxious properties. In some countries people have such 
a prejudice against the flowers of the field-anemone that they 
believe they so taint the air, that those who inhale it often 
incur severe illness. 
6—2 
