FORGET-ME-NOT. 
177 
FORGET-ME-NOT. 
The name of this beautiful little flower, which 
enamels the hanks of our rivers with its corollas 
of celestial blue, corresponds with the signifi¬ 
cation that is now universally attached to it. 
That name is derived from a German tradition 
full of melancholy romance. It is related that 
a young couple, on the eve of being united, 
whilst walking along the delightful hanks of the 
Danube, saw a cluster of these lovely flowers 
floating on the stream, which was hearing it 
away. The affianced bride admired the beauty 
of the flower, and lamented its fatal destiny. 
The lover plunged into the water to secure it; 
no sooner had he caught it than he found him¬ 
self sinking, hut, making a last effort, he threw 
it on the hank at the feet of his betrothed, 
and, at the moment of disappearing for ever, 
exclaimed Vergiss mein nicht ! Since that event, 
this flower has been made emblematical of the 
sentiment, and been distinguished by the name 
of Forget-me-not. Its Linnean appellation is 
