Aloe. 
(BITTERNESS.) 
I F ever any one single production of nature was intended to 
supply all the manifold necessities of the human race, the 
favourite selected for that purpose was most assuredly the Aloe; 
for in some countries, more especially in Mexico, it provides 
for nearly every want that flesh is heir to, not the least of 
which are food and drink, raiment, decoration, building mate¬ 
rials, and medicine; indeed, what the rose is amongst plants 
for beauty, so is the emblem of bitterness for utility; and he 
who would attempt to wade through all that has been written 
concerning it and its valuable uses, would have to devote a life¬ 
time to the design. Many languages of flowers have selected 
this interesting plant as the representative oigrief, but for very 
trivial reasons ; and its adoption as the symbol of bitterness 
will be found on examination far more appropriate, and, indeed, 
far more ancient: “ as bitter as aloes ” is a proverbial expres¬ 
sion of great antiquity, doubtless derived from the well-known 
acrid taste of the medicine prepared from its juices. Chaucer 
alludes to this bitterness in the story of “Troilus and Cres- 
sida,” and in his “ Remedie for Love ” he speaks of its sweet¬ 
ness ; here, however, alluding to its odour, and not to its taste. 
The great antiquity of the use of aloes as a perfume is shown 
by the Bible: “All thy garments,” says a passage in the Psalms, 
“smell of myrrh, and aloes, and cassia;” and in the Song of 
Solomon it is mentioned as one of the chief spices. 
Eastern poets invariably speak of it as the symbol of bitter¬ 
ness: “As aloe is to the body, so is affliction to the soul: bitter, 
very bitter.” Alas ! alas ! how many of us, regarding this 
flower, thus can adopt it as our emblem, and cry out with Maud’s 
lover: 
