THE LANGUAGE OF FLO WEES. 
9 
Shakespeare calls it “ rank Fumiter,” and places it among the 
weeds that Lear had crowned himself with in his madness. Miss 
Pratt tells us that ‘ ‘ the beautiful Cotton-thistle, which grows by 
the Scottish highways,” is generally regarded as that chosen for 
the national emblem, and that “its hard and sharp spines well 
accord with the proud defiant motto whicli accompanies it ; ” 
and she quotes, as a reason for Its being so adopted, this tradi¬ 
tion : On one occasion, when the Danes were invading the 
Scottish nation, and, according to their usual practice, attacking 
them during the period of sleep, one of them placed his naked 
foot on the spiny leaves of a Thistle, and instinctively uttered a 
cry, which aroused the slumbering warriors, and gave them 
timely notice of the approach of their foes, who were quickly 
defeated and driven from the spot. Many of the Thistles are 
truly noble plants, rising to a great height, with their crimson 
crowns, and spiny stalks, and large, glossy, serrated leaves ; and 
perhaps the most stately of them is that variety which, from 
having its leaves beautifully veined with white, is called the Milk- 
thistle (Carduus marianus), which is very rare in Scotland, 
although common enough in many parts of England. 
The Jessamine, however, beautiful and fragrant though it be, 
and common as it has become amongst us, is undoubtedly of 
foreign origin—a native of the sunny Orient—Persia, Arabia, 
and the islands of the Eastern Archipelago, being the countries in 
which it is principally known as a wild plant. It appears also to 
be very generally found as such in many parts of the south of 
Europe, where it was probably introduced by some of the early 
Crusaders. 
The Arum is also called Wake-robin, Jack-in-a-box, and 
Starch-wort, the latter because the roots were formerly employed 
in making starch. Culpepper, with commendable candour says : 
"Authors have left large commendations of this herb, you see, 
but for my part, I have neither spoken with Dr. Reason nor Dr. 
E.xperience about it.” 
The Daisy was with Keats—poor Keats!—one of the last of 
earthly memories, associated with calm and peaceable rest—that 
