180 
INDEX OF THE 
DIFFICULTY— Blackthorn. Which is so armed with 
sharp and piercing thorns, that it is difficult to gather 
the blossoms without tearing the hand. 
DISAPPOINTED LOVE— Willow. Shakspeare made 
Othello’s maid, poor Barbara, go about the house 
hanging her head aside, and singing, “ Oh, willow, 
willow! ” for he she loved proved false. 
DISSENSION — The Stalk from which the Flower is 
broken off. This is a better emblem than a broken 
straw, and more expressive. 
DOUBT —Blossom of the Apricot. Which requires gentle 
rains, and warm, bright, sunshiny weather, to bring 
the fruit to perfection. Any other delicate blossom 
would have been as applicable an emblem. 
ELEGANCE— Acacia. There is something about the 
form of these beautiful flowers, as they droop and 
wave in the breeze, that conveys an idea of elegance 
and neatness, without being gaudy. They conjure 
up the image of a lady chastely and not garishly 
attired. The Yellow Acacia is also the emblem of 
Friendship. 
ENCHANTMENT— Vervain. Supposed to have been 
used by the wizards of old in their spells, omens, 
&c.; but that power is now transferred to the be¬ 
witching face of woman, for that is the true enchanter 
of modern times. 
ENVY— Bramble. Tears and rends everything it clings 
to, and is the dread of fair ladies who venture to 
ruralise in old forests, thick with underwood. The 
Brier and Thorn are old emblems of Pain, Envy, 
and Suffering, and are frequently alluded to by our 
poets. Burns, in his “ Banks o’ Doon,” says,— 
“And my false lover stole the rose. 
But ah ! he left the thorn with me.” 
ESTEEM — Sage. So called, no doubt, in floral lan- 
