268 
LANGUAGE OF FLOWERS. 
amining the leaves of the Nettle with a 
microscope, you are suprised to see them 
covered with stiff, articulated, sharp-pointed 
bristles, which are so many conductors to a 
sharp burning liquid, enclosed in a bladder 
at the bottom of each. These hairs and blad¬ 
ders are exactly like the stings of bees. In 
the insect as in the plant, it is the sharp 
humour which causes the pain. 
Cure, Balm of Gilead. This exquisite balm, so 
justly esteemed by the ancients, seems to 
have been provided by Nature to soothe pain: 
thus we often use the word balm in a moral 
and figurative sense, to express anything 
that allays and mitigates sorrow. Beneficent 
virtue and affectionate friendship are true 
balms, which heal the wounds of the heart, a 
thousand times more painful than any phy¬ 
sical evils. 
Curiosity , Sycamore. This tree is mentioned 
but once historically, and that is in the Bible. 
Zaccheus the publican mingled with the crowd 
on the day of our Saviour’s triumphal entry 
into Jerusalem, and, in order to obtain a 
better view of the Messiah, he climbed up 
