FLORAL EMBLEMS. 
253 
PRUDENCE. 
Mountain Ash .—Sorbus aucuparia. 
“ The mountain ash, whose flower-fill’d boughs 
Spread like a cloud at noon; 
Whose shade is a haunted place 
For the sweet airs of June. 
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I wreathed amid thy hair 
Its berries, like the coral crown 
That the sea-maidens wear.” 
L. E. L. 
This elegant tree seems to have been se¬ 
lected as the emblem of prudence, from its 
foliage being withheld until the equinoctial 
winds have ceased to commit their devasta¬ 
tions. 
Peacham says, “ Under prudence is com¬ 
prehended that discreet, apt, suiting and dis¬ 
posing, as well of action as words, in their due 
place, time, and manner.” 
