258 
LANGUAGE OF FLOWERS. 
Beloved Daughter, Cinquefoil. In wet wea¬ 
ther the leaves of this plant contract and 
bend over the flower, forming, as it were, a 
little tent to cover it—an apt emblem of an 
affectionate mother engaged in protecting a 
beloved child. 
Beneficence, Mallow. Page 138. The Potatoe, 
the peculiar vegetable of the poor, is also re¬ 
garded as an emblem of beneficence. This 
root, lasting but for a year, escapes the mo- 
nopoly of trade. Modest as true charity, the 
potatoe hides its treasures : it bestows them 
on the rich, and feeds the poor with them. 
America presented us with this useful vege¬ 
table, which has for ever banished from Eu¬ 
rope one of the direst calamities—famine. 
Beware of Excess, Saffron. A weak infusion 
of Saffron cheers the spirits, but those who 
drink too much of this liquor go mad. It is 
the same with its odour: if you smell to it 
slightly, it refreshes; if to excess, it kills. 
Blackness, Ebony-tree. Pluto, the sovereign 
of the infernal regions, was seated on a throne 
of Ebony. It is said of a wicked man—he 
has a heart as black as Ebony. This saying 
