



56 BITTERNESS, 
BIRTH. 
DITTANY OF CRETE, 
Wuen Juno presided at the birth of children, 
under the name of Lucina, she wore a wreath 
of dittany. The agreeable fragrance of this 
shrub, aud its medicinal qualities, which ren- 
dered it so celebrated among the ancients, still 
procure it much esteem. It was originally in- 
troduced from Crete. 
AR 
BITTERNESS. 
ALOE. 
Tur aloe is said to thrive best in the desert, 
and is only attached to the soil by a very slender 
fibre. Its taste is very sharp and bitter. So 
sorrow drives us away from the world, detaches 
our hearts from the earth, and fills them with 
bitterness. This plant derives its support 
almost entirely from the air, and assumes 
very singular and fantastic shapes. Le Vail- 
lant found many species very numerous in 
the deserts of Namaquoise; some of them 
six feet long, which were thick and armed with 
long spines. From the centre of these a light 
twig shoots forth to the height of a tall tree, 
all garnished with flowers. Others exalt 
themselves like the cactus, bristling with 
thorns. Others, again, are marbled, and seem 
like serpents creeping upon the earth. Bry- 

