56 
THE MORAL OF FLOWERS. 
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.’ ” 
“ This most elegant plant, the ‘ 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 “ 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. “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: 
