POETRY OF FLOWERS. 91 
FORGET-ME-NOT. 
Viola cucula . Class 5 ; Order 1. 
TRUE LOVE. 
Hope’s gentle gem, the sweet forget-me-not. 
Coleridge. 
The sweet forget-me-nots that grow for happy lovers. 
Tennyson. 
A beautiful little flower, tvhose name en¬ 
folds no hieroglyphic secret, but whose beloved 
face of heavenly blue is suggestive of its sor¬ 
rowful meaning, is the Forget-me-not. The 
German legend that accounts for the poetical 
appellation by which this tiny floral pet is 
known, runs thus: “ A knight and his betrothed 
were walking on the banks of the Danube, 
when the lady espied a bunch of the Myostris pa- 
lustris (as this blossom is termed by Linnaeus) 
floating away down the stream ; and, expressing 
a wish to possess it, with chivalrous promptitude 
the mail-clad gallant plunged into the river and 
grasped the flower; but, alas! encumbered by 
the weight of his armor, he was unable to re¬ 
mount the slippery bank. Finding himself, 
despite all his exertions, sinking fast beneath 
the waters, with a last effort he flung the blos¬ 
soms ashoi'e to his agonized mistress, crying, ere 
he sank for ever, ‘ Forget me not!’ ” 
