FORGET-ME-NOT, OR MOUSE-EAR SCOR-
PION-GRASS. Myosotis Palustris.

Natural Order Asperifolia. Borragineæ, Juss.
Genus of the Pentandria Monogynia Class.

Pour exprimer l'amour, ces fleurs semblent éclore ;
Leur langage est un mot-mais il est plein d'appas !
Dans la main des amans elles disent encore:
Aimez-moi, ne m'oubliez pas.

Lettres à Sophie.

A

THIS beautiful little flower, which enamels the banks of our rivers with its corollas of celestial blue, has become celebrated by a German tale, so full of melancholy romance as to affect all the Damons and Phillises of Europe that haunt the purling streams.

It is related that a young couple, who were on the eve of being united, whilst walking along the delightful banks of the Danube, saw one of these lovely flowers floating on the waves, which seemed ready to carry it away. The affianced bride admired the beauty of the flower, and regretted its fatal destiny, which induced the lover to precipitate himself into the water, where he had no sooner seized the flower than he sank into the flood, but making a last effort, he threw the flower upon the

shore, and at the moment of disappearing for ever, he exclaimed, "Vergils mich nicht," since which time this flower has been made emblematical of, and taken the name of "Forget-me-not."

It has become a favourite flower with the German poets, as some lines of Lord Francis Leveson Gower's translation of Goethe's "Lay of the Imprisoned Knight" will evince :

Ah! well I know the loveliest flower,

The fairest of the fair,

Of all that deck my lady's bower,
Or bind her floating hair.

Not on the mountain's shelving side,
Nor in the cultivated ground,
Nor in the garden's painted pride,
The flower I seek is found.

Where time on sorrow's page of gloom

Has fix'd its envious lot,

Or swept the record from the tomb,

It says Forget-me-not.

And this is still the loveliest flower,

The fairest of the fair;

Of all that deck my lady's bower,
Or bind her floating hair.

This flower has been figured as a device on the

seals of lovers, and had its praises sung in their

verses:

To flourish in my favourite bower,

To blossom round my cot,

I cultivate the little flower

They call Forget-me-not.

It springs where Avon gently flows,
In wild simplicity,

And 'neath my cottage-window grows,
Sacred to love and thee.

This pretty little flow'ret's dye,
Of soft cerulean blue,
Appears as if from Ellen's eye

It had received its hue.

Though oceans now betwixt us roar,

Though distant be our lot,

Ellen! though we should meet no more,
Sweet maid, Forget me not!

The Myosotis Palustris is seen no where in greater perfection and abundance than on the banks of a stream in the environs of Luxembourg, which is known by the name of the Fairies' Bath, or the Cascade of the Enchanted Oak. The romantic banks of this stream are covered with these pretty blue flowers from the beginning of July until the end of August, and being reflected in the pure waters, appear more numerous than they really

are.

To this favourite spot the young girls often descend from the ramparts of the town to spend the leisure hours of their Saints' days, in dancing on the borders of this stream, where they are seen crowned with the flowers which the waters afford them, like so many nymphs celebrating games in honour of the Naiad of the Enchanted Oak.

These scenes forcibly call to our recollection

some beautiful lines of an anonymous poet, who

says,

I see thee yet, fair France, thou favour'd land
Of art and nature-thou art still before me;
Thy sons, to whom their labour is a sport,

So well thy grateful soil returns its tribute;

Thy sun-burnt daughters, with their laughing eyes
And glossy raven locks. But, favour'd France,
Thou hast had many a tale of woe to tell,

In ancient times as now.

The stream which we have just alluded to is called the Cascade of the Enchanted Oak, from the circumstance of the spring's escaping with a murmuring noise from the root of an oak of great antiquity.

For some years past this little flower has been cultivated in France with the greatest care, and when sent to the Parisian markets it finds a more ready sale than any exotic plant. The pots being filled with young cuttings that readily take root and blossom, present such a mass of these delicate little flowers, as must surprise those who have not seen them thus treated.

The generic name of this plant is derived from that given it by the ancients, who called it Muos WTIDY, Mouse-ear, from the form of the leaves; and the French on the same account call it Oreille de rat, Rat's-ear. It frequently flowers in May, and continues to give out a succession of blossoms until the end of August. It is increased by separating the roots, and planting them in a moist but free

earth; and when planted thickly on the banks or borders of streams or ornamental lakes, it is seen to peculiar advantage. When cultivated in pots, it should be shaded until the slips have taken fresh root; after which the pots should be placed in an open and free air, giving them water when the weather is dry. When in blossom, they may be taken into the house, where these elegant little blue flowers, with their bright yellow eye, cannot fail to attract all the admirers of Nature's charms. This plant is sometimes seen growing naturally in dry grounds, but in such situations both the plant and the flowers are very diminutive in comparison to those growing in or near the water.

We earnestly recommend the cultivation of this rustic little beauty, and particularly so to those cottagers who live near towns, as by transplanting the trailing branches from their borders into small pots, they would find it a profitable employ to send them to market, for few people would withstand the temptation of purchasing these alluring flowers, that carry in their eye the tale of "Forget-me-not."

We have lately found the Myosotis Versicolor growing in considerable quantities on the graves in the church-yard of Hoove, near Brighthelmstone, This beautiful but miniature flower exhibits a rare instance of plants producing flowers on the same stem of such opposite colours as blue and yellow.