POETICAL LANGUAGE OF FLOWERS. 199 
GLORY— Laurel. Was used by the ancients to crown 
those heroes who returned from the wars victorious. 
Chaucer, our oldest English poet, says— 
“He rode home crown’d with laurel, like a conqueror.” 
GRATITUDE— Agrimony. A sweet, lowly plant, adorned 
with small, beautiful, golden-colored flowers, that up- 
cone like a pile of stars. It is greatly valued by the 
herb-gatherers in the country, and considered by many 
to make much better tea than half the rubbish which 
is sold under that name. 
GRIEF or PAIN— Marigold. Often alluded to by our 
ancient poets, as bowing its head and mourning for the 
absence of the sun. 
| HAPPY RETIREMENT —Wild Harebell. See « Daisy 
of the Dale,” page 115. 
HOPE— Hawthorn. See Legend of the “ Queen of May,” 
page 131, and Poem of “How May was first made,” 
page 144. 
HOSPITALITY— Oak. In former days the ancients 
were wont to entertain their guests beneath a tree. 
Under the Oak of Mamre, Abraham welcomed the 
angels. 
HUMILITY— Broom. See Legend of “ Old Saxon Flow¬ 
ers,” page 69. 
ILL-NATURE— Crab-blossom. “As sour as a crab,” is 
an old English saying,—hence its signification. 
